STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday May 30

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday May 30, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 236
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2686 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2411 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2702
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

U.S. FUTURES &
MARKETS INDICATORS>
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 29, 2008

Dow... 12,646.22 +49.19 (+0.39%)
Nasdaq... 2,508.32 +21.62 (+0.87%)
S&P 500... 1,398.26 +7.42 (+0.53%)
Gold future... 881.20 -23.80 (-2.70%)
30-Year Bond 4.77% +0.07 (+1.45%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.08% +0.07 (+1.75%)






GOLD,EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [e-mail]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp: Is Crude Oil a "Bubble" Ready to Burst?

BY GARY DORSCH

“A trend in motion, will stay in motion, until some outside force, knocks it off its course!” After watching the parabolic rise in crude oil prices, doubling from a year ago to above $130 a barrel last week, central bankers who under-estimated the power and resiliency of the “crude oil vigilantes” are now praying for a “Bubble” that is destined to burst under its own weight, and at a moment’s notice.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, one of the world’s biggest hedge fund traders, Mr. George Soros said although the weak US dollar, depleting supplies from ageing oil fields, government fuel subsidies, and record Chinese and Indian demand could explain the parabolic surge in energy prices; the crude oil market is also significantly inflated by speculation. “Speculation is increasingly affecting the price, which has a parabolic shape, which is characteristic of bubbles,” he said.

However, Soros warned that the oil bubble wouldn’t burst until both the US and British economies slipped into recession, after which oil prices could fall dramatically. “You can also anticipate that the bubble will eventually correct, but that is unlikely to happen before the recession actually reduces the demand. The rise in the price of oil and food is going to weigh and aggravate the recession.”

.....

Who is Inflating the Bubble in the Global Oil Market?

The Federal Reserve is the chief culprit, by slashing the fed funds rate 325-basis points to a negative -2% after adjusting for inflation and expanding the US-M3 money supply by 16.5% from a year ago in a desperate effort to stop the slide in the sinking US banking sector. By slashing interest rates deep into negative territory, the Fed encourages speculation in commodities by pushing down the dollar, which in turn is pushing up the price of dollar-denominated commodities, such as crude oil and gold.

So far, the Fed’s aggressive rate cuts haven’t found any meaningful traction in the S&P Banking Index, which is still languishing at the March lows and -40% lower from a year ago, with banks posting hundreds of billions in losses from toxic sub-prime mortgage debt. The Fed’s single focus on rescuing the banking sector, with no regard for the inflationary consequences of its actions, has led to the emergence of the “crude oil vigilantes” who punish central bankers with sharply higher oil prices whenever they become too abusive with the money supply.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

08:30 Personal Income Apr
Briefing.com 0.2%
Consensus 0.2%
Prior 0.3%

08:30 Personal Spending Apr
Briefing.com 0.3%
Consensus 0.2%
Prior 0.4%

08:30 PCE Core Inflation Apr
Briefing.com 0.1%
Consensus 0.1%
Prior 0.2%

09:45 Chicago PMI May
Briefing.com 49.5
Consensus 48.5
Prior 48.3

10:00 Mich Sentiment-Rev. May
Briefing.com 59.5
Consensus 59.5
Prior 59.5

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[UpInArms]

14. April real incomes flat for 2nd month - April consumer spending flat - PCE price index up 0.2%

08. U.S. April PCE price index up 0.2%
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

09. U.S. April personal savings rate unchanged at 0.7%
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

10. U.S. April nominal consumer spending up 0.2%
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

16. U.S. April nominal incomes up 0.2%
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

17. U.S. April core PCE price index up 0.1%
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

18. U.S. April real consumer spending flat
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

19. U.S. April real disposable incomes flat for 2nd month
8:30 AM ET, May 30, 2008

[UpInArms]

16. Incomes and spending both slow in April

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

WASHINGTON - Consumer spending barely budged in April and growth in personal income slowed sharply, even though the government started sending out billions of dollars in economic stimulus payments.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending edged up a small 0.2 percent in April, just half the 0.4 percent rise in March. Excluding inflation, the performance was even weaker, showing no gain in spending after excluding price changes.

Incomes rose by just 0.2 percent in April, just half of the March increase. That performance would have been even weaker without the boost it got as the government began mailing the first of $106.7 billion in economic stimulus payments.

Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of total economic activity, is being closely watched at present for signs that the economy could be slipping into a recession.

The weak increases in spending and incomes were in line with expectations. Some analysts said that with the economy so feeble at the moment, spending could falter further in coming months.

...more...

[UpInArms]

22. U.S. May Chicago PMI 49.1 vs 48.3 in April

01. U.S. May Chicago PMI above consensus 48.5
9:46 AM ET, May 30, 2008

02. U.S. May Chicago PMI 49.1 vs 48.3 in April
9:46 AM ET, May 30, 2008

[UpInArms]

23. U.S. May UMich consumer sentiment 59.8 vs. 62.6 April

05. U.S. May UMich inflation expectations highest in 20+ years
10:01 AM ET, May 30, 2008

06. U.S. May UMIch consumer expectations 51.1 vs. 53.3 April
10:01 AM ET, May 30, 2008

07. U.S. May UMich consumer sentiment 59.8 vs. 62.6 April
9:59 AM ET, May 30, 2008

[Mojorabbit]

3. Questions still hover over future of Libor

snip
Since August, spikes in borrowing rates have characterised the ending of bank fiscal quarters. Goldman Sachs. Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley end their fiscal years in November and the last week of May marks the completion of their second quarter.

“With quarter-end for three large dealers coming lenders seem to be a little more aggressive in seeing what borrowers are willing to pay,” said Michael Cloherty, strategist at Banc of America Securities. He also said with market interest rates rising, “money market funds have seemed to be buying more three-month paper, which means they have been pulling cash out of their overnight bucket”.

Expectations of a Fed rate hike in October have intensified this month. The policy-sensitive two-year Treasury note yield has risen from 1.60 per cent in April and was 2.75 per cent on Thursday, its highest level since early January when the funds rate was 4.25 per cent.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4fdb2d94-2db6-11dd-b92a-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

[UpInArms]

19. The Lowdown on Libor

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20080530/bs_bw/0823b4087080330066

Financial institutions the world over use Libor -- short for the London interbank offered rate -- to set the interest paid on everything from mortgage loans to complex financial instruments. But now questions are being raised about whether the rate has been manipulated. Here's what you need to know about how Libor affects you.

What exactly is Libor?

Libor is a global interest rate benchmark that's used to set rates on $150 trillion worth of financial products. Each day, the London-based British Bankers' Assn. (BBA) surveys 16 banks, asking each for the rate they'd charge their peers to borrow cash -- ranging from an overnight loan to one that matures in 12 months. From the reported rates on 15 different maturities, BBA drops the top and bottom four and averages the middle eight to calculate the rate. On May 27, the six-month Libor was 2.84938%.

What does Libor have to do with me?

Libor is a popular tool for setting rates on consumer loans. It has the biggest reach in the mortgage arena, where, for example, it was used in 2005 and 2006 to set rates on approximately 75% of subprime, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) -- about $700 billion worth of the loans, according to Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. Of prime, adjustable-rate mortgages, up to 40% were pegged to Libor, too. Currently, about half of private student loans are pegged to Libor. (The rate has no effect on federal student loans, such as the Stafford Loan, which are set using fixed-rate instruments.)

What's the recent controversy about?

With the aftereffects of the credit crunch lingering, a high Libor, especially relative to U.S. Treasuries, would set off alarm bells that capital-starved financial institutions are still at risk for further meltdowns, says market research firm Global Insight's Brian Bethune. Some industry insiders have accused the banks of quoting falsely low rates for the surveys in order to force down Libor and paint a rosier picture of the lending environment. It's more likely that the banks are simply reporting their best rates, not the rate at which they're most commonly lending, Bethune says. The BBA is conducting what it calls "a regular review," with results due May 30. In the meantime, proposals have been offered to ensure Libor's accuracy, from surveying more banks to ditching Libor in favor of an alternative rate.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

26. And which are the 16 select banks? Check it out for yourself (and enlighten eg. me):

(What, on the face of it, ought to be a more-or-less statistically sound methodology): eg.

Libor Banks Misstated Rates, Bond at Barclays Says (Update2)

May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Banks routinely misstated borrowing costs to the British Bankers' Association to avoid the perception they faced difficulty raising funds as credit markets seized up, said Tim Bond, a strategist at Barclays Capital.

``The rates the banks were posting to the BBA became a little bit divorced from reality,'' Bond, head of asset- allocation research in London, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``We had one week in September where our treasurer, who takes his responsibilities pretty seriously, said: `right, I've had enough of this, I'm going to quote the right rates.' All we got for our pains was a series of media articles saying that we were having difficulty financing.''

Discrepancies in the rates that banks quote are creating a crisis of confidence in the London interbank offered rate, the benchmark for 6 million U.S. mortgages and more than $350 trillion of derivatives and corporate bonds. In the first four months of 2007, the difference between the highest and lowest rates for three-month Libor didn't exceed 0.02 percentage point, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. In the same period this year, it was as wide as 0.17 percentage point.

BBA Announcement

The criticism has prompted the BBA to accelerate a review of the 24-year-old system of setting rates. The findings, due tomorrow, may determine how fast the banking industry recovers from the credit crisis.

The rate surged in August as banks suddenly became wary of lending to each other because of mounting losses on assets tied to U.S. subprime mortgages. Writedowns have reached $382 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The gap between Libor and the three-month U.S. Treasury bill, known as the TED spread, widened to 2.40 percentage points on Aug. 20 and has since narrowed to 0.77 percentage point.

Barclays Plc, the U.K.'s third-biggest bank and parent of Barclays Capital, quoted three-month dollar rates to the BBA that averaged 7 basis points more than those of their peers in the first week of September. Barclays dropped 9.1 percent on the London Stock Exchange that week, compared with the 5.5 percent decline in the 59-member Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index.

`Above the Parapet'

``Other banks tried to push their head above the parapet on occasions as well, but with every attempt you were met with a lot of rumor and innuendo,'' Bond said in the interview. ``It wasn't a very easy environment.''

Simon Eaton, a spokesman for Barclays Capital in London, declined to comment.

As well as varying from member to member, rates show little correlation to banks' costs of insuring debt from default. UBS AG, whose default-insurance costs rose 919 percent between July 2 and April 15 as it racked up $38 billion of writedowns and losses, quoted dollar-borrowing costs that were lower than its rivals on 85 percent of the days during that period, Bloomberg data shows.

By contrast, the U.K.'s Lloyds TSB Group Plc, which wrote down $1.4 billion, quoted rates that averaged less than 1 basis point above Libor. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

The BBA, an unregulated trade group, asks 16 member banks each day how much it would cost them to borrow from each other for 15 different periods ranging from overnight to one year, in currencies from dollars to euros and yen. It then calculates averages, throwing out the four highest and lowest quotes, and publishes them at about 11:30 a.m. in London. Three-month dollar Libor was set at 2.68 percent today.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aMSoLbYpbHWk&refer=uk

[Ghost Dog]

37. This is going to be interesting, I see:

Libor Proxies Gain as Traders Seek Truth With Swaps (Update4)

By Liz Capo McCormick

May 29 (Bloomberg) -- Traders are starting to use alternative measures for borrowing costs as the British Bankers' Association struggles to keep the London interbank offered rate as the global standard.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a6Ik316RKJBc&refer=exclusive

[Ghost Dog]

38. On a (not dissimilar) another note:

Moody's Implied Ratings Show MBIA, Ambac Turn to Junk (Update1)

May 30 (Bloomberg) -- Moody's Investors Service has created a new unit that surprises even its own director.

The team from Moody's Analytics, which operates separately from Moody's ratings division, uses credit-default swap prices as an alternative system of grading debt. These so-called implied ratings often differ significantly from Moody's official grades.

The implied ratings frequently show that swap traders think debt is in more danger of defaulting than Moody's credit ratings signify. And here's the kicker: The swaps traders are usually right.

``When I first saw this product, my reaction was, `Goodness gracious, Moody's has got a product that is basically publicizing where the market disagrees with Moody's,''' says David Munves, managing director for credit strategy research at Moody's Analytics. The implied-ratings unit works in a corner of Moody's new world headquarters in lower Manhattan, across the street from Ground Zero.

``But these differences are out there,'' Munves says. ``We might as well capture and learn from it what we can.''

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a_II8NPcdihg&refer=exclusive

...Feeling out of your depth? Me too...

[ozymandius]

4. Oil prices fall to near $126 a barrel

BANGKOK, Thailand - Oil prices fell to near $126 a barrel Friday in Asia, extending a decline of more than $4 in the previous session despite a huge unexpected drop in U.S. crude oil stocks.

The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said delays in unloading oil tankers along the Gulf Coast had led to the 8.8 million-barrel drop in crude oil inventories for the week ended May 23. Analysts surveyed by Platts had expected a gain of 750,000 barrels. Usually such a discrepancy would send prices soaring.

.....

Traders instead focused on gains in the U.S. dollar, he said, which hit a three-month high against the yen overnight. In Asia currency trading in Tokyo, the dollar has held near 105.50 yen, while the euro is trading around $1.55.

Investors who buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the dollar is falling tend to sell when the greenback strengthens. Also, a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive to investors dealing in foreign currencies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[ozymandius]

5. $4 gas – it's our fault (opinion)

.....
Today, with gasoline prices climbing past $4 a gallon, and diesel near $5, I am reminded of the Katzenjammers. As Rollo might say, "We brought it on ourselves, Uncle Sam!"

More than 30 years have passed since the first "energy crisis" pummeled the American economy. It hurt. People lost jobs. Prices for gasoline went way up, people waited in long lines to refuel, and some service stations even ran dry.

What have Americans done since? Not nearly enough. And that explains some of our current distress.

When the first crisis struck in the 1970s, Congress, the White House, and the Big Three automakers all initially responded. Cars were downsized. Engines were made smaller and more efficient. Highway speed limits were cut to 55 miles per hour. Tough, new gas mileage requirements were imposed.

.....

The effect was so dramatic that it scared the living daylights out of the oil giants such as Saudi Arabia and Iran by showing them that Americans could get along without so much of their expensive oil. Supplies soon rose and prices dropped. Then America went back to sleep.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080529/cm_csm/ydillin29

[ozymandius]

7. $8-a-gallon gas: Eight reasons higher prices will do us a world of good

.....
Americans should be celebrating rather than shuddering over the arrival of $4-a-gallon gasoline. We lived on cheap gas too long, failed to innovate and now face the consequences of competing for a finite resource amid fast-expanding global demand.

A further price rise as in Europe to $8 a gallon -- or $200 and more to fill a large SUV's tank -- would be a catalyst for economic, political and social change of profound national and global impact. We could face an economic squeeze, but it would be the pain before the gain.

.....

1. RIP for the internal-combustion engine
2. Economic stimulus: $8 gas would trigger all manner of investment sure to lead to groundbreaking advances.
3. Wither the Middle East's clout
4. Deflating oil potentates
5. Mass-transit development
6. An antidote to sprawl
7. Restoration of financial discipline
8. Easing global tensions

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/eight-reasons-youll-rejoice-we/story.aspx?guid=%7B82FCE1B0%2D1889%2D43B0%2DA465%2DE29BFEE95576%7D&dist=MostReadHome

---

He has some good points. Though I disagree with some of them (like his short list of oil potentates) and his original premise of $8/gal gasoline. I believe that these lessons to be learned here will sink in before we reach that level of expense.

[Gregorian]

25. Thank you for posting this.

For nearly thirty years I've been saying this. Screaming this.

However, I always point out several things- It could have been done with intelligence, but now that we've been lazy it'll be done with violence. And it'll hurt the wrong people.

This life has not been easy for people who see the bigger picture. Now it's going to be extreme for everyone.

Frugal isn't in the American vocabulary.

[mdmc]

33. I was just a kid in the 70's

I thought Jimmy Carter was brilliant.
Then Ray-gun came along with his "kick their ass, take their gas" charisma and put us on this conservative (neo-conservative) track.

[ozymandius]

10. Gas prices keep climbing even as oil prices drop

NEW YORK - The gasoline price record keeps getting broken with each passing day. AAA puts the national average for a gallon of regular at a record $3.95. It's jumped 35 cents in the past month and is 76-cents-a-gallon higher than a year ago.

If you need premium, it's also never been more expensive. The auto club says the national average for premium is $4.35. That's an 84-cent-a-gallon jump over last year.

Oil prices fell back Thursday ahead of a report expected to show U.S. inventories of crude and petroleum products grew last week.

.....

Demand for gasoline fell 5.5 percent last week compared to the same week last year, according to the weekly MasterCard SpendingPulse survey. The survey also found that, on average, demand over the past four weeks is off 6.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_prices

[ozymandius]

12. U.S. oil probes focusing on price manipulation: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. regulatory probe into potential oil-market trading abuses is focusing on possible short-term manipulation of benchmark crude prices and the use of information related to important oil storage tanks to influence prices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The report comes a day after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, under pressure from U.S. lawmakers to crack down on speculators they blame for pushing energy prices to record highs, said it would step up market surveillance.

The CFTC announced a nationwide investigation into energy trading last December, but is in fact pursuing several oil investigations, many of which relate to one another, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with enforcement priorities of the agency.

It has expanded its probe into alleged short-term manipulation of crude-oil prices via a widely used price-reporting system run by Platts, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos (MHP.N), the newspaper reported.

The probes appear to focus on gambits well known by traders in the opaque physical oil market, where trading a small volume of cash crude or gasoline during a short period when benchmark prices are set can yield big profits on derivatives positions.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080530/bs_nm/cftc_probe_wsj_dc

[UpInArms]

20. States grapple with fuel costs for school buses

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_prices_school_buses

RALEIGH, N.C. - The reality of rising fuel prices cost students in a Tennessee school district their bus ride to school this week on the last day of the year.

That's a minor inconvenience compared with what might happen this fall in Minnesota, where a district west of Minneapolis plans to eliminate classes every Monday to come up with the extra $65,000 it needs to fill its buses' tanks.

"I know $65,000 may not sound like a lot, but it's more than one teaching position," said Greg Schmidt, the superintendent in the 700-student MACCRAY district.

<snip>

When North Carolina lawmakers drafted the state's current two-year spending plan, they estimated a gallon of diesel would cost $1.69 this school year and $1.83 starting this fall. Those estimates proved to be woefully low, forcing state education officials to scramble for an extra $27 million to get the state's school bus fleet through the end of this school year.

...more...

[UpInArms]

21. U.S. gasoline futures jump 7 cents to record $3.52/gln

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2945808520080529

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. gasoline futures soared to a new intraday record on Thursday after the U.S. government said gasoline stocks fell last week by a much larger-than-expected amount.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:37 a.m. EDT (1437 GMT), RBOB gasoline for June delivery RBM8 was up 4.70 cents or 1.36 percent at $3.4946 a gallon, trading from $3.4040 to a record $3.52.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said that for the week to May 23, domestic gasoline stocks fell 3.2 million barrels to 206.2 million barrels last week, against forecasts for just a 200,000 barrel drawdown in a Reuters poll of analysts.

[ozymandius]

29. At the retail level

gasoline just passed the $4.01 9/10 mark for regular here in Atlanta. Georgia, BTW, has the second lowest gasoline taxes in the country. Our gas prices tend to be among the lowest in the nation.

[54anickel]

31. About that last line of your snippet, so just how much oil investing in foreign currency is

going on these days? Are we finally witnessing the demise of the Petrodollar we've been discussing here for what seems like forever? Sure has been a quite demise, like they're hoping nobody actually notices. Inquiring minds and all. :freak:

snippet>
Also, a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive to investors dealing in foreign currencies.


Came across this from last week - not a whole lot of hits googling petrodollars these days....

http://www.fxstreet.com/technical/market-view/daily-analysis/2008-05-21.html
The dollar may no longer be king
Wed, May 21 2008, 13:18 GMT

Constantly rising oil prices may cause an energy crisis that will eventually lead to a new world financial system based on multiple currencies instead of the U.S. dollar, according to a Rice University study. The dollar can no longer buy what it used to, most economists believe that in the very near future most countries if not all will start to diversify the currencies that they buy oil with, Iran and Kuwait have already started the process of excepting Euros and Yens, all in all this would be a huge step forward in fair trade and ending the U.S petrodollar monopoly.

Rising inflation fed largely by oil-producing countries will force Western governments to tighten monetary policies, undermining export-driven economies in China and India, according to a study released by the Houston-based University’s Institute for Public Policy. That would undercut energy demand, ending cheap credit worldwide that is fueled by so-called petrodollars and further undermining the global economy. ``We think that energy markets may play an important role in bringing about a financial crisis that may transform the global financial system,'' the study's authors wrote. The U.S. dollar's status ``would likely come to an end.''

more...


SWF's seem to come up more often on the same google search for petrodollars....here's a site that has accumulated quite a collection of articles

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/business/May-June-08/Prince-Andrew-Defends-Sovereign-Wealth-Funds-.html

[Ghost Dog]

36. Fine "Freudian" slip there, maybe, from fxstreet: "Iran and Kuwait have already started the process

Iran and Kuwait have already started the process of excepting Euros and Yens" - where I understand they're trying to say accepting the same (but, normally, unless under attack like in Iran's case, without excepting USD).

It's been the Yanks who've been trying (and succeeding) all these years to exclude (and make an exception of themselves, and, it would seem, for some reason, Zionist Israel) vis-a vis the Rest of the World.

One recalls the attempts to trash the Euro project before it was even born...

But then, of course, looks like some Yanks have always thought, well, if the Worst comes to the Worst, we can always withdraw into isolationism (unlike most of the Rest)... Except also, of course, China.

;-)

[Mojorabbit]

6. mogambo The dollar-aligned dollar

The dollar-aligned dollar
By The Mogambo Guru

The Economist magazine says that as wildly inflationary as is the growth in the money supplies of the United States, the European Union and the whole freaking developed world, now that you mention it, it is worse in the developing world, as "Money supplies are growing almost three times as fast as in the developed world"! Yikes!

My surprise was such that I almost missed it when they said that it all seems very likely since wages are growing at 30% a year in Russia and about 20% in China! My God! It's the dreaded wage-price spiral!

Guts churning at these prospects of runaway inflation, I read on



and discover that "As the Fed cut interest rates, emerging economies that link their currencies to the dollar have been forced to run a looser monetary policy, even though their economies are overheating. Emerging economies with currencies most closely aligned to the dollar, notably in Asia and the Gulf, have seen the biggest price rises."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JE31Dj01.html

[ozymandius]

8. Gotta love the Mogambo

The lesson here seems to be, "don't put all your eggs in one basket."

I almost pity the folks who bet everything on the U.S. dollar.

[Mojorabbit]

9. Stop the Fed before it's too late

edit...put this in wrong place in thread. Not enough coffee.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JE31Dj04.html
Stop the Fed before it's too late
By Hossein Askari and Noureddine Krichene

Since the Fed in August 2007 aggressively resumed the inflationary policy it had followed during 2001-2006, oil prices have been rising at an accelerating pace, from US$65 to $135 per barrel, food prices have increased at an unprecedented rate causing riots around the globe, and the dollar has been sinking.

Each interest rate cut has been immediately followed by an inflationary spike in oil and food prices and a falling dollar; and in turn accompanied by a rapid fall in real incomes of the working classes and pensioners. It would appear that the Fed has been



trying to repair the dire consequences of its overly expansionary policy of 2001-2006 by ominously and erroneously pursuing a re-inflationary policy aimed at jerking up falling housing prices and rescuing failing banks.

But the Fed's present course could lead to serious social and economic consequences. While the Fed has failed to reverse housing prices, which continue to be depressed, it has pushed the US economy into a likely recession, accelerated inflation, and could disrupt vital energy and food markets, risking malnutrition and social stability in many countries.

[ozymandius]

11. Bond prices fall following upward revision to GDP

NEW YORK - Treasury prices mostly fell Thursday after the government said the economy grew at a faster pace than previously estimated last quarter, quelling some investors concerns of a broad slowdown.

The report and falling oil prices helped push stocks higher, damping demand for the safety of government debt.

The Commerce Department revised its reading of first-quarter gross domestic product to an annual rate of 0.9 percent, up from the agency's previous estimate of 0.6 percent. It was also above fourth-quarter growth of 0.6 percent.

.....

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 23/32 to 98 9/32 and yielded 4.09 percent, up from 4.01 percent late Wednesday, according to BGCantor Market Data. Bond prices move in the opposite direction of yields.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_bi_ge/bonds

[ozymandius]

13. Merger of United Airlines, US Airways Is Off the Table for Now

Plans to merge UAL Corp.'s United Airlines and US Airways Group Inc. were suspended -- for now -- when UAL Chief Executive Glenn Tilton told his counterpart, Doug Parker, Thursday that United is very near an alliance agreement with Continental Airlines Inc., said two people familiar with the situation.

United and US Airways had been in merger-exploration talks for more than two months. After stop-and-go discussions, Messrs. Tilton and Parker had lunch Thursday, these people said. During the meeting, Mr. Tilton raised concerns about the merger plan and said United thinks it is close reaching an alliance agreement with Continental, a plan that wouldn't require all the pain of upfront merger-integration costs and antitrust scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department.

If United follows this path, it would confound a commonly held theory that the merger plan announced in April between Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. would lead to at least one follow-on merger by a pair of large carriers. But with fuel prices skyrocketing, credit increasingly tight and the economy slowing down, mergers are looking riskier than ever. And certain financial aspects of a UAL-US Airways deal related to labor contracts looked daunting.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121211208876331563.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[UpInArms]

15. dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 73.151 Change +0.181 (+0.25%)

US Dollar Rally Extended As Growth, Rate Forecasts Lifted

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar_Rally_Extended_As_1212102625838.html

Conditions seem to be improving for the ailing US dollar. A strong showing from the economic docket, falling crude prices and a boost to interest rate expectations all helped to drive the greenback to its third consecutive rally today. Looking at the fundamental source of this dollar strength, the first quarter GDP revision took the lead. Though the change to the annualized figure from an initially reported 0.6 percent clip to 0.9 percent merely matched economists’ expectations, the rebound helped sideline fears of an impending recession. The breakdown of the growth report revealed the narrowing of the trade balance to a five-year low - thanks to record exports and curbed imports - marked the largest positive change to the headline reading. However, consumer spending was unchanged at 1.0 percent growth from the year before – the slowest pace of expansion since the 2001 recession. This statistic should act as a warning for traders not to be too optimistic on the outlook for the second half. Indeed, the past two quarters expansion was still the worst period of growth in five years and consumer spending is expected to drop much further as the housing recession deepens and employment trends recede. Looking beyond the economic calendar, the pickup in the growth number added to the hawkish outlook for the June FOMC rate decision that has already been padded by the heavy inflation concerns in the minute’s forecasts and recent Fed speak. Fed Fund futures suggest the market is pricing in a 98 percent chance that rates will be held in June and a 34 percent probability of a quarter point hike in September.

...more...

US Dollar Recovers On Hawkish Comments From Fed's Fisher

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/currency/eur_fundamentals/US_Dollar_Recovers_On_Hawkish_1212098052825.html

The US dollar strengthened as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher spurred speculation that the Fed may consider rate hikes in the near future, helping the greenback to advance against all of the major currencies, except for the Canadian dollar, as oil prices eased. The New Zealand dollar took the biggest plunge against the US dollar, and was followed by Australian dollar as the pair traded near 0.9550. On the other side of the spectrum, the Swiss franc and Japanese yen continued to tally up losses against the greenback, while the Euro and British pound fell to trade near 1.5500 and 1.9750, respectively.

A speech by Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher spurred bets that the Fed may raise the benchmark interest rates earlier than expected as he highlighted upside inflationary risks to be a major concern for the central bank. Furthermore, he said he expected the FOMC to change course if “inflation expectations continue to worsen.” On the economic front, US Q1 GDP was revised higher to 0.9 percent from 0.6 percent, with falling import demands helping to narrow the trade deficit. The headline reading for Personal Consumption remained unchanged at 1.0 percent, while the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure index edged lower to 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent. Amid the minor improvement in growth figures, the labor market continued to deteriorate as Initial Jobless Claims rose to 372K from 368K, while Continuing Claims rose to a four year high of 3104K.

The stock markets continued to rack up gains as oil fell below $127 per barrel, with MasterCard adding to the mix as they increased future growth forecasts. As a result, the DJIA rose 52.19 points to 12,646.22 points, with 22 of the 30 components advancing. Among the broader indices, the S&P500 picked up 7.42 points to hold off at 1,398.26 points, with 138 stocks rising to a new 52 week high.

US Treasury prices continued to face downside pressures as the stock markets advanced throughout the week, and swayed demands for risk free bonds. As a result, the benchmark 10-Year yield rose to 4.083 percent from 4.021 percent, while the 2-Year yield surged to 2.686 percent from 2.632 percent.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. Does SocGen have a Loser Magnet? Ex-Bear exec to head SocGen CIB unit: report

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080530/bs_nm/societegenerale_dc

PARIS (Reuters) - Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) may appoint Michel Peretie, ex-chief executive of Bear Stearns bank in Europe, as head of corporate investment banking (CIB), French daily La Tribune reported on its website on Friday.

Peretie would replace Jean-Pierre Mustier, whose future has been seen as uncertain since France's second largest listed bank was hit by a $7.7 billion rogue trading scandal in January, the newspaper website said in an unsourced report.

SocGen was not immediately available for comment.

[InkAddict]

24. Maybe they see it more as appointing those who have a

more well-developed sense of how to build "trust" among the both the peasants and the mover/shakers? It's certainly easier to "put one over" on those who do. (He must be really good) :shrug: (or not so much). Shorter leash? :sarcasm:

[UpInArms]

18. Tiffany reports 19 pct rise in 1st-quarter profit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_tiffany

NEW YORK - Jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. reported Friday that strong growth in the Asia-Pacific and European markets helped its first-quarter profits rise 19 percent but said that it doesn't expect an improvement in the U.S. until later this year.

Tiffany said profits totaled $64.4 million, or 50 cents per share, in the three-month period ended April 30. That compared with $54.08 million, or 39 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

The company's sales rose 12 percent to $668.15 million from $595.7 million in the year-ago period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 40 cents per share on sales of $649 million.

Shares rose 5.8 percent, or $2.76, to $50.50 in premarket trading.

Total sales in the Americas region, which includes the U.S., Canada and Latin and South America, rose 6 percent to $373.6 million from $353.3 million in the year-ago period due to incremental sales from new stores. Same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, in the U.S. were unchanged from the prior year.

Same-store sales rose 16 percent in Tiffany's New York flagship store due to increased foreign tourist spending, but same-store sales at branch stores fell 4 percent. Combined catalog and Internet sales in the U.S. rose 1 percent.

...more...

[UpInArms]

27. Fed might accept foreign collateral: Kohn

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fed-might-accept-foreign-collateral/story.aspx?guid=%7BA2737127%2DB1AD%2D4E18%2D81C6%2D0ED1DF0AEC89%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve is actively considering creation of a lending facility that would accept "very safe" foreign collateral from "sound" global banks in case of a widespread liquidity crisis, Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said Thursday.

A new global discount window is "under active study," Kohn said. "It is possible that over time, major central banks could perhaps agree to accept a common pool of very safe collateral, facilitating the liquidity management of global banks," he said, stipulating that such loans only be made to sound institutions.

Kohn's suggestion came in prepared remarks wrapping up a special conference in New York on liquidity in money markets that was sponsored by the New York Fed and the Columbia Business School. Read his prepared remarks

"Market functioning remains far from normal," Kohn said, pointing in particular to large spreads between overnight bank rates such as Libor and other short-term rates. Such large spreads indicate that markets still are in shock.

Kohn argued that the Fed and other central banks had prevented a global run on Bear Stearns and possibly other major financial institutions in March, but the emphasis of his talk was on what lessons central banks and the financial system should take from the liquidity crisis that spread like topsy from subprime mortgages to asset-backed securities to the collapse of one of the world's biggest investment banks. See latest story on Bear Stearns

"One of the things we have learned over recent months is that broker-dealers, like banks, are subject to destructive runs when markets aren't functioning well," Kohn said.

...more...

:crazy:

[ozymandius]

28. lunchtime check-in

12:35
Dow 12,663.32 Up 17.10 (0.14%)
Nasdaq 2,522.14 Up 13.82 (0.55%)
S&P 500 1,402.24 Up 3.98 (0.28%)
10-Yr Bond 4.038% Down 0.041
NYSE Volume 1,463,844,875
Nasdaq Volume 890,671,875

12:35 pm : The stock market is holding steady with slight gains. Strength in tech (+0.7%) and energy (+0.6%) is being partially offset by weakness in financials (-0.4%) and consumer discretionary (-0.4%)

The stock market is poised to end the month with a 1.1% gain despite all the fears over spiking oil prices. In fact, the stock market's gain this month was made with the rise in oil. The S&P 500 was up 3.0% at its monthly closing high on the May 19 -- during that time crude prices soared 12%. The stock market has retreated 1.75% from its monthly high, yet crude prices have remained unchanged during that time.

High oil prices are clearly a negative for the stock market's earnings growth, but it seems that the media overemphasizes oil's effect on declining stock prices, and ignores rising oil prices when the market is rising.DJ30 +10.75 NASDAQ +13.05 SP500 +3.65 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1378/1355/873 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1449/1562/435 mln

12:00 pm : Investors are hesitant thus far to make a concerted move ahead of the weekend, demonstrated by the stock market's tightest trading range since October 2007. The S&P 500 has remained in positive territory for the majority of the session, benefiting from several better-than-expected earnings reports and reassuring economic data.

Much of the action has been within the Nasdaq 100, with Dell (Dell 23.54, +1.73) spiking 7.9% on its unexpected quarterly profit increase. Semiconductor company Marvell Technologies Group (MRVL 17.25, +3.17) also soared on its earnings report, gaining 22.5%. Tech is providing leadership with a 0.8% advance.

[Hugin]

32. Based on the 'toon above: Today's Media Market Musical Interlude...

Note: I recall playing this repeatedly way back in those times which seem so fuzzy to the Corporate Media now.
(It was pretty clear to me... As it was to anyone paying attention.)



"Love Fool" -- The Cardigans.

"Dear, I fear were facing a problem
You love me no longer, I know
And maybe there is nothing that I can do
To make you do

Mama tells me I shouldn't bother
That I ought to stick to another man
A man that surely deserves me
But I think you do!

So I cry, I pray and I beg

Love me love me
Say that you love me
Fool me fool me
Go on and fool me
Love me love me
Pretend that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
Love me love me
Say that you love me
Leave me leave me
Just say that you need me
I cant care bout anything but you...

Lately I have desperately pondered,
Spent my nights awake and I wonder
What I could have done in another way
To make you stay
Reason will not lead to solution
I will end up lost in confusion
I don't care if you really care
As long as you don't go."


http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cardigans/lovefool_20027060.html

One for the 'tubers... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWht2yQ99cw

[TalkingDog]

40. Don't you love upbeat songs with sad lyrics?

It's kinda like Steve Martin says: The banjo is such a happy instrument--you can't play a sad song on the banjo - it always comes out so cheerful!: plays "death destruction grief and strife!"


Pointer Sisters: Fairytale

I'll pack up all my things and walk away,
I don't want to hear another word you have to say
I've been waiting for so long,
And just found out there's something wrong
Nothing will get better if I stay

There's no need to explain anymore
I tried my best to love you,
Now I'm walkin' out the door
(Walkin' out the door)
You used me, you deceived me,
And you never seem to need me
But I bet, you won't forget me when I go
Oh no, no, no

Seems I've been lost in a dream
Pretending that you care
But now I've opened up my eyes
And found it's all been just a great big fairytale
I've been lovin' you so long
Don't think I even know how to forget you
But now the way that things have been
I think I'm better off alone than to be with you
You don't love me it's plain to see

There's no need to explain anymore
I tried my best to love you,
Now I'm walkin' out the door
(Walkin' out the dor)
Ahh, you used me, you deceived me,
And you never seem to need me
But I'll bet you won't forget me when I go
Oh no, no, no

Seems I've been lost in a dream
Pretending you were mine
Someday you'll open up your eyes
And realize that a good woman's hard to find
Yes I've been lost in a dream
Pretending that you care
But now I've opened up my eyes
And found it's all been just a great big fairytale
(To fade)

[Ghost Dog]

42. Eh, "Bela Fleck and the Flecktones (eg. Big Country)" comes to mind...

Gonna play the CD (not too loud, I see the neihghbors are home) right now.

:thumbsup:

No lyrics necessary...

[DemReadingDU]

30. WSJ series: The Fall of Bear Stearns

5/27/08 Lost Opportunities Haunt Final Days of Bear Stearns
Executives Bickered Over Raising Cash, Cutting Mortgages
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121184521826521301.html?mod=Leader-US

5/28/08 Fear, Rumors Touched Off Fatal Run on Bear Stearns
Executives Swung From Hope To Despair in the Space of a Week
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121193290927324603.html?mod=Leader-US


5/29/08 Bear Stearns Neared Collapse Twice in Frenzied Last Days
Paulson Pushed Low-Ball Bid, Relented; a Testy Time for Dimon
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121202057232127889.html?mod=Leader-US

[DemReadingDU]

34. S&L Crisis vs. Current Crisis

5/30/08 From Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis
Posted by Michael Shedlock at 12:12 PM

"Mish" says...
I have been talking about an expected wave of bank failures for quite some time, most recently in Too Late To Stop Bank Failures. Recently I was asked to compare the current crisis to the 1980's S&L Crisis in regards to to whether or not this crisis will be worse.

By sheer number of failures the S&L crisis will dwarf what's coming hands down. Here is a chart from MarketWatch that tells the story.

However, numbers alone are not the proper way to measure things.

A proper focus must include an analysis of the magnitude of the failures, who will be affected by those failures, and what actions the Fed might have at its disposal to handle the situation.

Let's start with a look at bank consolidations. Following is a history of just one bank, courtesy of Mr. Practical :

Roll Up

Here's an incomplete list of former financial institutions that now comprise what is known as JPMorgan (JPM):

* Bank One
* Chase Bank
* U.S. Trust
* Manufacturer's Hanover Trust
* Chemical Bank
* First Chicago
* National Bank of Detroit
* First U.S.A
* Bear Stearns (BSC)

Of course there are thousands of smaller financial institutions that have been rolled up into this behemoth. Many of us believe that the last and most famous "acquisition” was really a bail-out of JPMorgan, the deal in reality injecting some $50 billion of capital into this amalgamation of finance.

So what you say? Well I think as we watch bank after bank (Royal Bank of Scotland(RBS) this morning as an example) take recurring “one-time” write-offs we can begin to see just what a ponzi scheme this has been over the years. Banks book loans, mark them up in value, and show the difference in profits. They've done the same thing with the phantom book value these deals present when consummated. Over the last few decades banks have not really made any money; they have merely been a conduit for the Fed to create massive credit. The U.S. money supply is now over 99% debt.

The ponzi scheme is unwinding and investors continue to be gullible. Those that bought Citigroup (C) on its dilutive stock offering are now over 20% in the red. The implications are vast. Risk is high.

The failure of Bear Stearns alone is enough to counterbalance hundreds of what really amounts to branch failures during the S&L crisis.

From the MarketWatch article: "During the late 1980s, banks in Texas couldn't open a new branch in another county without forming a new commercial bank. That meant there were lots more lenders in the state when the S&L crisis struck. So when a bank failed, "40 of its other banks failed on the same day," Cassidy recalls."

Today there are some huge banks and brokers at risk. Wachovia (WB), Washington Mutual (WM), Lehman (LEH), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS), Merrill Lynch (MER), Countrywide Financial (CFC) , Keycorp (KEY), Fifth Third (FITB), and Regions Financial (RF) for starters.

That list looks ominous if not preposterous. Yet two years ago if someone said Bear Stearns and Countrywide would fail and that Citigroup, Morgan Staley, Lehman and others would need repeated capital infusions from Dubai, Singapore, and China they would have been laughed off the street.


a lot more from "Mish"
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/05/s-crisis-vs-current-crisis.html

[TalkingDog]

35. With Blinders On: or how we got here.

I was eating lunch at a little dog house (no, not children, hotdogs) today and at a nearby table was an older couple and their daughter. Mom and Dad are late 60's, daughter is mid 40's. And this being a very, very small town, I vaguely recognized them as being of the "well-to-do".

And they are chatting and eating and throwing around bits of gossip.

Suddenly Daughter pipes up and says: "She's got me looking at a million dollar house." My ears prick up. Around here, that's rather hard to do unless you are talking a nicely appointed house directly ON Lake Norman. Or a bigger, nicer house to the north of that (but not on the Lake)

Mom asks some question and Daughter goes on to explain how "she" wants a lap pool with this and that and knowing familial dynamics, it seems she might be talking about a teen daughter. So I lose interest for a moment until Daughter says, "We were looking in Winston (Salem) and the houses are bigger and nicer, but for less money. I can't understand that."

At this point I had to restrain myself. Take a deep breath and just sit.

I was thinking: Where the F*CK have you been for the past 2 years!? Have you opened a newspaper? Looked at a TV news report? TALKED to ANYBODY???!!!

The economy is going into the crapper all around. And I can point at half a dozen news stories easily accessed in our tiny town rag that discuss the housing market, Charlotte's leveling effect on nearby towns and Winston's economic troubles now that Big Tobacco has fled.

Can you not put 2 and 53 million together, for pity's sake? Economy Bad. In Winston, Economy even Badder. In and around Charlotte, Economy Good. People owe too much money on house, sell it quick cheap. How hard is that?

If it had been average Joe's sitting over there, I may not have batted an eye. But these people have a little bit of pocket change. How can one be that out of touch and still make the kind of money they have?

Whatever it is, I'm lining up for it. Give it to me now.

[Hugin]

39. Seconded!

Gimmie! Gimmie! :rubbinghands:

"How can one be that out of touch and still make the kind of money they have?" <-- Ah, the eternal question, TalkingDog.

*sigh*

[skoalyman]

49. Thirded good god talk about being rich in the pockets

but not so much in the noggin :spray:

[Ghost Dog]

41. You're saying, around this lake, TD?

I'm not meaning to intrude. Just saying: a fine old solid house in such a fine location with plenty of fine land (backyard) as viewed from this relatively large, not-so densely populated European country (Spain - don't even talk to me about UK) at $1 Million (converted into Euros) looks hellish cheap, on paper, to my eyes...

(I was trying to recall a common cliché in this regard but it's not coming to me now).

Hmmm. Maybe it is time to start looking at (fine-quality) bottom-fishing possibilities over there... Available to some.

Ed. Plenty of shoreline, too. Or is this all sprawled-over, like Maryland's Chesapeake coast (where my brother hangs out, living on a 'trash' Atlantic-crossing 35ft sailing boat)?

[TalkingDog]

43. That would be the one.

It's man made. The poor Catawba River, the most damned river in America.

As the crow flies we're probably 30 miles upstream.

I live on one of the oldest roads in the state. It probably started out as a deer trail down to the river, then a foot path for my ancestors, then a wagon trail for my other ancestors, then a paved road.

As for prices, the median income for our little town is 36K per year. Median home price 140K

And at 240 people per square mile for the entire county (which includes Lake Norman) it is considered a high density area.

Median income for the Lake Norman area is about 70K per year. Median home price 350K

Residents with income below the poverty level in 1999:
Lake Norman area: 2.9%
Whole state: 12.3%

Residents with income below the poverty level in 1999:
My town: 14.2%
Whole state: 12.3%

So you can see the disparity between the two. It's a 15 minute drive to the Lake from downtown, but.... Down here it's called: Being from the other side of the tracks.

But if you've got money to burn, come on over. We love selling houses to out of towners. They pay LOTS more than the locals are willing to cough up.... *hee hee*

[Ghost Dog]

44. Don't worry, no way would I be that stupid.

Nor would I want to in any way sully your ancestors' sacred (seriously) trails.

I was just sayin'. Hell, we've got "new rich" Russians and Eastern Europeans moving in and buying most everybody up, just recently, around here... (Canary Islands)...

[TalkingDog]

45. Sorry, you asked about size:

http://www.visitlakenorman.org/faq.html

And for a nominal fee they'll send you a packet and everything.....

(hmmmm.... maybe I should start sending out packets)

[Ghost Dog]

46. Wow. And no public access except at one point. Now that is weird,

from a normal European point of view (although France does tend to be rather different in this regard).

Yes: why not start looking at selling out to some newly-arriving (arriviste) new-rich foreigners with little common sense (or, just young, strong, risk-enjoying, confrontational and hungry enough) who feel they'd like to "take over" parts of America? If you'd like to, if that's the way you feel.

But then, where would you like to go, where would you prefer to be (at what stage in life)?

That's supposed to be a serious question looking for serious answers?

[TalkingDog]

52. Public Access... Yes, just a little different

The commonly held idea here is that once you own it, you own all of it. But interestingly, when you buy a house on this lake you only own the house proper. Duke Power owns the land it sits on and you merely lease it.(usually for 99 years)

Public Access is where all the Unwashed have to go for access. If you know someone, know where the neighborhood access is or know where the homes are that are 2nd, 3rd or vacation homes (and have a bit of chutzpah) you can get to the water fairly easily.

In terms of selling to hordes of people, I'd rather pay them to go away. IMHO it's too crowded around here.

In my perfect world I win the lottery, buy up all the neighbor's properties so I can just wander around in the woods with the dogs. I'm A-OK with lots of quiet.

[ozymandius]

48. The only other reason for this kind of ignorance is the willful kind.

In either case, the decision made is an ill-informed one. A dope slap would be a waste of jules on this person.

[ozymandius]

47. closing up shop

Dow 12,638.32 Down 7.90 (0.06%)
Nasdaq 2,522.66 Up 14.34 (0.57%)
S&P 500 1,400.38 Up 2.12 (0.15%)
10-Yr Bond 4.046% Down 0.033
NYSE Volume 3,847,263,750
Nasdaq Volume 2,214,322,500

4:20 pm : An active month ended on a tame note Friday, with the stock market sticking to a very tight trading range. The S&P 500 settled with a slight gain, as strength in tech stocks and reassuring economic data helped offset weakness in financial stocks.

In earnings news, shares of Dell (DELL 23.06, +1.25) and Marvell Technologies (MRVL 17.36, +3.28) soared 5.7% and 23% respectively. Both companies reported earnings that easily topped expectations. Tech stocks (+0.6%) outperformed on the day, helping the Nasdaq post a gain of 0.6%, compared to the S&P 500's advance of 0.2%.

Retailing stocks received added attention following earnings results from Tiffany & Co (TIF 49.03, +1.29) and J. Crew Group (JCG 37.27, -9.64). Tiffany provided an upside surprise on robust European and Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) demand. J. Crew provided an ugly full year outlook, which prompted a 21% decline in its stock.

Six of the ten economic sectors posted a gain, led by tech (+0.6%), energy (+0.7%) and materials (+0.7%). Financials (-0.7%) and consumer discretionary (-0.4%) posted the largest losses.

In economic news, April personal consumption expenditures, at 0.2% growth, were flat when adjusted for inflation. This reflects sluggish, but not declining, consumer spending. Briefing.com expects that personal consumption expenditures will increase at an annual rate of 1.5% in May and June as the fiscal stimulus kicks in. Personal income was flat when adjusted for inflation, although the results were modestly better than expected.

Chicago PMI, a regional manufacturing survey, rose 1.7% to 49.1. The results topped the expected reading of 48.5. It is the fourth straight month that the survey has reflected contraction in manufacturing activity in the Chicago region. The stock market overlooked the data.

The May University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading was revised slightly higher to 59.8 from 59.5. This marks the lowest consumer sentiment in 28 years, however, this survey has weak correlation with consumer spending so it should not be overemphasized.

Separately, the British Banker's Association (BBA) decided not to change the way Libor is calculated, despite critics' calls that Libor is not accurate. The news had a limited impact on trading. Libor -- a measure of the interest rates at which banks borrow from each other -- is used as a benchmark for what banks charge for about $350 trillion in loans, ranging from student loans to derivative contracts.

In commodity trading, crude oil rebounded 0.8% to $127.59 following its steep 3.4% decline in yesterday's trade. The CRB Index advanced 1.0%.

The month of May ended in mixed fashion. For the month, the Dow fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq rose 4.6% and the S&P rose 1.1%. Crude oil prices surged 12.4%, with commodities as a whole rising 3.2%. DJ30 -7.90 NASDAQ +14.34 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +0.4% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +2.12 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1317/1577/2.12 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1376/1731/1.41 bln

[Hugin]

50. Boy, they're really heaping high hopes on that Economic Coke Snort Package...

"Briefing.com expects that personal consumption expenditures will increase at an annual rate of 1.5% in May and June as the fiscal stimulus kicks in."

Maybe, too high.

[skoalyman]

51. yep as ozy would say free ponys all around lol

:toast:

[ozymandius]

53. annual rate -- rrrrright

As much as I admire Briefing.com for what they do well - the blather writers are daft.