STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday June 23

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday June 23, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 212
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2710 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2435 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2726
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 June 20, 2008

Dow... 11,842.69 -220.40 (-1.83%)
Nasdaq... 2,406.09 -55.97 (-2.27%)
S&P 500... 1,317.93 -24.90 (-1.85%)
Gold future... 903.70 -0.50 (-0.06%)
30-Year Bond 4.70% -0.05 (-1.03%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.14% -0.06 (-1.48%)






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

[Lasher]

1. Historic gas prices

http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx?time=24

The US average price for regular on January 22, 2001: $1.46 per gallon according to The Energy Information Administration

[UpInArms]

15. Gas prices rises 10 cents a gallon over 2 weeks

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080622/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_prices

CAMARILLO, Calif. - A national survey shows consumers across the nation are paying an average of 10 cents a gallon more for gasoline than they were two weeks ago.

The average price of regular gasoline at self-serve stations was $4.10 a gallon on Friday. Mid-grade was $4.22 a gallon and premium went for $4.33. That's according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations nationwide, released Sunday.

The survey showed the average U.S. price for gas is $1.10 higher than it was a year ago.

The cheapest gas was in Tulsa, Okla., where the price for regular was $3.76 a gallon.

...more...

btw - great chart, Lasher!

:hi:

[Lasher]

24. I got the chart from the Gas Buddy website

I couldn't post it here, however, until I captured it into a file which I uploaded to PhotoBucket.

Did you see where Obama has come up with a plan to close the Enron loophole? Good move, and one that could actually help in the near term - unlike drilling in ANWR and off the Gulf coast.

[uppityperson]

48. ours is up 30-40 cents/gal in last 2 wks.

[ozymandius]

2. Market WrapUp: Cash Out Of Luck?

BY BRIAN PRETTI

Yup. We all knew it would eventually come to pass as the residential housing cycle always has been and always will be one cyclical beast, and so is the mortgage credit cycle. Time for a quick check in on the character of mortgage refi activity in 1Q 2008. Why? Because meaningful change has arrived. You can see below that as of 1Q, only 56% of refi activity involved cash monetization. This is the lowest level of cash out activity since the second quarter of 2004. It's absolutely fair to say that the current cycle peak of cash out activity is well behind us now, having falling quite significantly over the last few quarters. The fact that residential real estate prices continue to show us no signs of bottoming as of yet, even on a rate of change basis, it's a good bet that cash out activity falls further from here in the quarters ahead as a percentage of total refis undertaken. Less nominal dollars available to households to fund what is a clear increase in the cost of living vis-à-vis energy and food price inflation. A good thing for macro consumption stateside, or otherwise?

-chart-

So in summation, in 1Q we saw 55% of refis extracting cash, 9% of refis done actually lowering loan amounts, and 36% done at existing loan levels. Without question this character change is in good part being driven by the refis being done due to forced adjustable mortgage loan interest rate resets we all know are peaking. Have no fear, as per the more than well known numbers; the majority of option ARM loan resets peaks in the late first to early second quarter of next year. In case you missed this year’s mortgage rate reset festivities, you still have yet another chance to grab a first row seat in early 2009.

.....

Okay, probably the three most important charts of this discussion are below. First, let's set the stage for why we believe the following data is important to review right now. As we all know, the benevolent US government has bestowed upon a fair number of the American populace a $168 billion gift of sorts, called the tax rebate. Remember the number. So to kick things off, below we review the actual nominal dollars extracted in the residential mortgage refi process by quarter since 1993. This is probably the most important data as we get down to dollars and cents, and away from the more ethereal view of life in percentages. Point blank, as of the latest quarter, roughly $30 billion was extracted in the refi process. As you can clearly see, this is down from the $80-plus billion quarterly number seen over the 2006-early 2007 period.

-chart-

Of course you can see the punch line coming. The $168 billion in current tax rebates will only offset maybe three+ quarters of diminished refi cash out activity in terms of nominal dollar influence on the general economy. If we really want to stretch for comparative perspectives, the Case Shiller housing price data tell us that on a year over year basis, residential real estate values have fallen close to 15%. As a percentage of roughly $20 billion in household residential real estate assets, that loss in value comes close to $3 trillion. A $168 billion tax rebate shot in the arm is going to have a very tough time standing up to the decline in residential real estate values combined with the loss in nominal dollar cash out refi activity clearly well underway at this point. In fact, in the greater picture of household circumstances, the $168 billion is close to being pocket change. And you know, we never once mentioned a word about skyrocketing consumer energy and food costs.

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

[UpInArms]

3. dollar watch

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

Last trade 73.423 Change +0.326 (+0.45%)

Dollar's Fate in Fed's Hands

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/Dollar_s_Fate_in_Fed_s_Hands_1214170587743.html

Midway through this week we wrote, “Another night of back and forth price action as EURUSD continued to swing on either side of the 1.5500 figure which has become the literal and figurative level of equilibrium in the pair. The directionless price action is a reflection of the general confusion in the currency market as traders try to ascertain the true intentions of President Trichet and Chairman Bernanke.”

This week the game should become much more interesting as the FOMC rate announcement takes place on Wednesday and currency traders will get a much better idea if Chairman Bernake is serious about raising rates or is merely bluffing. While no one expects a hike this week, a hawkish tone in the post announcement communiqué would signal that a rate increase is coming as soon as September which in turn should prove dollar bullish or at very least supportive to the greenback.

With EZ rates seemingly assured to rise at least another 25bp as hawkish rhetoric from the region continues to signal further tightening, the pressure on the Fed to make good on their promise has increased markedly. If the FOMC statement maintains a neutral tone the buck is likely to see more stress next week with 1.5800 level coming into view. The one possible reprieve for the dollar could come from the oil market. If crude prices weaken materially dropping below $130.00 inflation expectations may ease, eliminating some of the urgency for a rate hike. At this point however even with the week-end announcement from Saudi Arabia that they will increase production by 2%, that scenario seems like a long shot and buck's best chance lie with a hawkish Fed. - BS



...more...

US Dollar: First Oil Summit, then Fed Meeting

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar__First_Oil_Summit__1213997699858.html

The US dollar faces two major event risks next week – the Oil Summit in Jeddah and the FOMC rate decision. This weekend, Saudi Arabia will be hosting an Oil Summit in the city of Jeddah, located on the coast of the Red Sea. They have invited executives from oil companies, leaders of nations and the world’s largest oil producers. Oil is the world’s biggest problem and the market is hoping that Saudi Arabia can drive down the price oil. However this hope may be overly optimistic since the market has failed to respond to Saudi Arabia’s prior announcement about increasing production. With Venezuela, one of the most important members of OPEC absent from meeting, we do not expect any groundbreaking results. Most OPEC nations including Iran do not believe that increasing supply is the solution because their belief is that oil is being primarily driven higher by speculation. The Saudi Arabia meeting alone will not cause a long term top in oil but how oil trades after the meeting will certainly impact the US dollar. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will be making a monetary policy announcement. After cutting interest rates by 325bp since August, the Fed is expected to pause. With the pause should come hawkish comments that pave the way for an interest rate hike before the end of the year. The debate in the markets right now is whether a rate hike will come before or after the US Presidential elections in November. Currently, Fed fund futures are pricing in a strong likelihood of a September rate hike and the tone of the FOMC statement should shed more light on the Fed’s urgency to contain inflation. Hawkish comments will be positive for the US dollar while neutral comments will be very dollar negative. Aside from the FOMC rate decision, consumer confidence, durable goods, new and existing home sales, the final release of first quarter GDP, personal income and personal spending are due for release. Not only will it be a big week for the US dollar, but the FOMC statement could set the tone for trading for weeks to come.

...more...

[ozymandius]

4. no goobermint reports today

[ozymandius]

5. Oil rises despite Saudi output pledge

VIENNA, Austria - Traders again shrugged off a pledge by Saudi Arabia to increase its oil production if needed and oil prices rose Monday, with the focus on disruptions to Nigerian supply and heightened Middle East tensions.

Saudi Arabia said Sunday it would produce more crude oil this year if the market needs it. The kingdom announced a 300,000 barrel per day production increase in May and said before the start of the meeting in Jeddah that it would add another 200,000 barrels per day in July, raising total daily output to 9.7 million barrels.

The announcement had already been factored into oil prices, analysts said.

.....

Light, sweet crude for August delivery traded up $1.26 at $136.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by noon in Europe. On Friday, the contract rose $2.76 to settle at $135.36 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia's pledge fell far short of U.S. hopes for a specific increase. The United States and other nations argue that oil production has not kept up with increasing demand, especially from China, India and the Middle East. But Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries say there is no shortage of oil and instead blame financial speculation and the falling U.S. dollar.

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

[UpInArms]

6. UBS shares hit by talk of further losses, tax evasion case

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080623/bs_afp/switzerlandbankingcompanyearningsubs

ZURICH (AFP) - Shares in Swiss banking giant UBS came under pressure on Monday amidst talk of further losses, and as investors worried that a US tax-evasion case around a former employee could widen to the bank itself.

At 10.55 am, UBS shares were showing a fall of 1.65 percent to 22.70 Swiss francs on the Zurich stock exchange, after a loss of 3.27 percent on Friday. The overall market was down 0.35 percent.

In a note to investors, an analyst at Credit Suisse warned that UBS' wealth management could come under "significant pressure" if the tax evasion investigations broadens to a case directly impacting the bank.

"In a worst case scenario, UBS could lose its banking license which could have adverse effects on the global private banking franchise," she wrote.

<snip>

Analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank also expect the bank to post losses of between 2.0-4.0 billion Swiss francs in the three months ending June.

UBS has been hard hit by the US subprime crisis, having written down the value of assets by more than 37 billion dollars since the crisis took hold last year.

...more...

[ozymandius]

8. Makes me wonder if Phil Gramm will have any friends left

after a year. His meteoric rise in wealth and stature arcs toward a pile of cow pats.

[Demeter]

57. Seems To Me that Slime ALWAYS Has Friends

If I weren't an optimist (under all that stress), I'd give up entirely.

We need more enforcement and justice!

[ozymandius]

7. Report: Citigroup to slash investment-banking jobs

NEW YORK - Citigroup is preparing fire thousands from its worldwide investment-banking division, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said the layoffs are part of a plan to cut about 10 percent of the staff of the 65,000-member investment-banking group.

.....

It was not immediately clear if the reported job cuts would be in addition to cuts announced by Citigroup in April. After reporting a $5.1 billion first-quarter loss, the bank said then it was reducing its staff by 9,000, in addition to the 4,200 job cuts the bank announced late last year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_bi_ge/citigroup_job_cuts

[ozymandius]

52. Citi halfway done cutting 6,500 in i-bank: source

NEW YORK - Citigroup Inc. is about half-way through cutting 10 percent of the 65,000 employees in its investment banking unit, a person familiar with the job cuts said Monday.

The unit, as previously reported, plans to lay off about 6,500 workers in the division, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the job cuts are still under way.

.....

In total, Citigroup has announced 13,200 job cuts this year as it tries to recover from bad investments on mortgages and leveraged loans that cut billions of dollars from its portfolio. Citigroup, which is the nation's largest bank by assets and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide, posted a $5.1 billion loss in the first quarter and a nearly $10 billion loss in the fourth quarter of last year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_bi_ge/citigroup_jobs

[UpInArms]

9. Housing rebound to be prolonged: Harvard study (rebound??? I think the word is "slump')

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/bs_nm/usa_housing_harvard_study_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Record foreclosures and limited access to credit will make it harder than usual to rebound from this U.S. housing market slump, the worst at least since World War Two, according to a Harvard University study on Monday.

A two-year home price drop is eating into housing wealth, curbing consumer spending and slicing away economic growth. This is unlikely to change until potential home buyers are convinced that prices have stopped tumbling, the study found.

The downturn has room to run.

The highest home loan rates in nine months and strict lending standards are keeping buyers on the sidelines, even after aggressive Federal Reserve intervention and a 16 percent national home price slide from the 2006 peak, by some measures.

"Historically, housing markets recover only after the economy has entered a recession and a combination of falling mortgage interest rates and house prices have improved housing affordability," Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, said in a statement.

"It will take longer this time to rebound given the unusually high levels of foreclosures and constrained credit markets," he said. "The slump in housing markets has not yet run its full course."

...more...

What a lousy headline writer - what was that? It appears to me to be a stupid piece of headline propaganda and it really pisses me off.

:grr:

[UpInArms]

20. Shaky job market threatens housing recovery - Housing slump rivals deepest slowdowns in 60+ years

same report - here's the headline it deserves

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/housing-slump-shaping-up-worst/story.aspx?guid=%7B2932BBD7%2D4139%2D4A56%2D9155%2DDA6941690F44%7D

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The housing slump, already shaping up to be the worst in a generation, still hasn't run its full course, according to Harvard University's annual report on housing, released on Monday.

And if job losses accelerate in coming months, it could take even longer for local markets to regain their footing, said Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the university's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Job losses could be "the last shoe to drop, but a pretty heavy shoe," he said in a telephone interview.

The center releases its "State of the Nation's Housing" report each year, and not surprisingly, the 2008 edition gave a grim prognosis for housing markets throughout the country.

In short, local markets are dealing with drops in housing starts, new home sales and existing home sales -- corrections that are rivaling the deepest slowdowns since the World War II era, the center reported. On top of that, the fall in home prices and the rise in mortgage defaults are the worst on record since the 1960s and 1970s. See the Joint Center for Housing Studies Web site.

All this adds up to a downturn that is "the most severe that we have seen," Retsinas said.

...more...

[Lasher]

27. Ignoring the elephant in the room.

Well, they did say the housing slump still hasn't run its full course but that's about it. If you want to talk about a housing 'recovery', get back to me after those additional ARMs reset next year.

[ozymandius]

10. US agriculture giants join in $4.4 billion deal

NEW YORK - Agriculture heavyweight Bunge Ltd. will buy Corn Products International Inc. in a stock deal worth about $4.4 billion, the company said Monday.

At the equivalent of $56 for each Bunge share, the buyout represents a 31 percent premium to Corn Products' closing share price of $42.90 on Friday.

Two of the nation's oldest agricultural businesses would become one in the deal, in which Bunge would also assume $414 million of Corn Products' debt.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080623/ap_on_bi_ge/bunge_corn_products

[UpInArms]

11. BofA sees $3.5 billion writedown at Merrill, $7 billin(?) at UBS

What's "billin"? Is this more of that crappy Reuters headline writing or is it just a typo from Bangalore?

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSBNG6471520080623

(Reuters) - Banc of America Securities expects Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and UBS AG (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to write down $3.5 billion and $7 billion respectively in the second quarter and forecast a quarterly loss for the investment banks.

Analyst Michael Hecht expects continued markdowns on troubled asset inventories, tough comparisons and weakness in a number of sales and trading areas for the second quarter.

Hecht forecast a quarterly loss of $1 a share for Merrill, compared with his earlier view of a profit of 21 cents a share, saying the marks on its collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-related exposures would be more severe than prior expectations.

Hecht also changed his second-quarter estimate for UBS to a loss of $1.70 a share from a profit of 31 cents, saying the company's U.S. sub-prime exposure had overshadowed the firm's other segments including wealth management, investment banking and asset management.

...more...

[UpInArms]

14. Merrill CEO may face new write-downs

http://uk.reuters.com/article/stocksAndSharesNews/idUKNOA33274820080623?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - For some time Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has been stressing the brokerage does not need to take more write-downs or raise more capital, but his confidence may have been misplaced.

Merrill Lynch & Co Inc (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was rumored to be close to issuing a profit warning on Friday and a day after Citigroup warned of substantial second quarter write-downs.

The talk was taken seriously by investors, who pushed the shares down 4.6 percent on Friday on growing concern about the investment bank's exposure to complex debt securities and derivatives known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).

<snip>

Merrill will likely also get hurt by having used bond insurer MBIA Inc (MBI.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to reduce its risk from CDOs. MBIA was stripped of its top ratings late on Thursday, leaving Merrill with more credit risk than it expected.

That means both Merrill's toxic CDO assets and the trades it used to reduce the risk of those assets could hurt the bank this quarter and potentially push it to sell shares or assets to raise more capital, analysts said.

...more...

[Demeter]

58. Just Dropping a Zero---Alphabetic Deflation

Expect to see some of that in the numerical form soon.

[ozymandius]

12. Wall Street balks as Fed's tightrope gets thinner

NEW YORK - After the Federal Reserve's meeting this week, the Fed policymakers are expected to voice a tough stance on inflation. Talk about poor timing.

Though Wall Street's inflation concerns have not abated — crude oil remains above $134 a barrel — worries about the health of the U.S. financial system and broader economy have returned in force.

Last week, Citigroup Inc. warned that it expects substantial debt losses in the second quarter; two bond insurers lost their Moody's "AAA" rating; Fifth Third Bancorp said it needs to raise $2 billion in capital; the broker MF Global said widening credit spreads will dampen its profit.

.....

Wall Street's trifecta of troubles — the economy, inflation and financials — drove the Dow Jones industrial average down by 3.78 percent last week. It closed below 12,000 for the first time since mid-March. The Standard & Poor's 500 index ended the week down 3.10 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index closed 1.97 percent lower.

.....

Another important piece of data is the Commerce Department's final reading on first-quarter gross domestic product. The estimate was revised up last month to 0.9 percent, and economists, on average, expect the government to ratchet it up again to 1.0 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080622/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street_week_ahead

[ozymandius]

13. Republic to Acquire Allied Waste Industries In $6.24 Billion Deal

Republic Services Inc. agreed to acquire Allied Waste Industries Inc. in a $6.24 billion deal that would combine the nation's second- and third-largest trash haulers, creating a formidable rival to market leader Waste Management Inc.

Under the terms of the deal, expected to close by the fourth quarter, Allied shareholders will get 0.45 share of Republic stock for each Allied share held. As of Friday's closing prices, that values each Allied share at $14.04, a 3.4% premium. Republic closed Friday at $31.19, and neither stock saw premarket activity.

The deal's terms are the same as reported 10 days ago by The Wall Street Journal, which first disclosed that merger talks were in progress. The deal had been in discussion for "well over two years," Republic Chief Executive James E. O'Connor said on a conference call.

.....

Allied, currently the country's second-largest competitor based on revenue, operates in 37 states and Puerto Rico and has about 10 million customers. Republic is active in 21 states, operating primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Together, the companies would own 228 landfills and 86 recycling facilities.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121421706756096329.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Ghost Dog]

16. Asian stocks tumble

- (Reuters) Asian stocks tumbled to multi-month lows on Monday on fears that more bad news could be lurking in the global financial sector, and as oil prices climbed above $136 a barrel on escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Inflation concerns at a time of slowing global economic growth and financial sector woes continues to dampen the mood. World energy powers met for an emergency session at the weekend in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but had no quick fix to crude prices that have doubled over the past year.

...

The MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan fell 0.8 percent, after dropping at one point to its lowest since March 25. The index has fallen for five straight weeks and is down more than 17 percent this year.

...

Tokyo's Nikkei average (Osaka:^N225 - News) dropped 1.1 percent, led down by blue-chip exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp (Tokyo:7203.T - News) and financial firms such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (Tokyo:8306.T - News).

Japanese firms' sentiment on business conditions hit a four-year low in April-June as commodity-driven inflation and a dim global outlook took their toll.

South Korean shares (KSE:^KS11 - News) also fell 1.1 percent, hitting at one point their lowest level in 12 weeks, while stocks in Taiwan (Taiwan:^TWII - News) touched a four-month low.

Shares in Shanghai (^SSEC - News) fell 1.6 percent after the central bank warned monetary policy might need to be tightened to fight inflation following last week's hike in domestic fuel prices.

Shares in Australia (ASX:^AXJO - News), Singapore (^FTSTI - News), Taiwan (Taiwan:^TWII - News) and Hong Kong (HKSE:^HSI - News) were down less than 1 percent.

/... http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080623/markets_global.html?.v=2

[Ghost Dog]

17. GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKAHEAD-Investors share Fed's dilemma

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) - There is little doubt what the main focus for financial markets will be this week -- the U.S. Federal Reserve meets to discuss interest rates after a burst of hawkish rhetoric about inflation risks.

It is not, however, simply a question of whether the Fed policymakers hike rates or, as most analysts expect, keep them steady at a low 2.0 percent to stave off economic decline .

What is of crucial importance for financial markets is how the Fed -- and others such as the European Central Bank and Bank of England, for that matter -- sees the balance between slowing economic growth and rising inflation.

The growing dilemma for policy makers between wanting to cut rates to stimulate growth and wanting to raise them to squelch inflation is shared by investors trying to decide what to do with their money.

As the first half of 2008 ends, many market players find themselves torn between embracing a potential economic recovery and seeking shelter from a storm of continuing moribund activity newly spiked with inflation. "This is the conundrum we have. Are we in a structural bear market or are we in a bull market?" said Charlie Morris, head of absolute returns for HSBC Global Asset Management.

The investment bank Lehman Brothers was particularly open with their clients about it last week.

"As a team we try to stay focused on a medium- to long-term view of investment policy, but we've found ourselves checking our market screens and newswires much more frequently than usual," Aaron Gurwitz, a senior strategist, wrote in a note.

"This isn't just idle interest," he continued. "We're trying to discern whether the dramatic market moves we've been seeing are simply the heightened volatility typically surrounding a turn in the business cycle or whether we're in the midst of a fundamental structural shift in the way asset classes behave."

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL2166621520080623?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

42. Not sure if these were reported here last week, but to be sure:

Morgan Stanley warns of 'catastrophic event' as ECB fights Federal Reserve
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Last Updated: 1:29am BST 17/06/2008

The clash between the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve over monetary strategy is causing serious strains in the global financial system and could lead to a replay of Europe's exchange rate crisis in the 1990s, a team of bankers has warned.

"We see striking similarities between the transatlantic tensions that built up in the early 1990s and those that are accumulating again today. The outcome of the 1992 deadlock was a major currency crisis and a recession in Europe," said a report by Morgan Stanley's European experts.

Just as then, Washington has slashed rates to bail out the banks and prevent an economic hard-landing, while Frankfurt has stuck to its hawkish line - ignoring angry protests from politicians and squeals of pain from Europe's export industry.

Indeed, the ECB has let the de facto interest rate - Euribor - rise by over 100 basis points since the credit crisis began.

Just as then, the dollar has plummeted far enough to cause worldwide alarm. In August 1992 it fell to 1.35 against the Deutsche Mark: this time it has fallen even further to the equivalent of 1.25. It is potentially worse for Europe this time because the yen and yuan have also fallen to near record lows. So has sterling.

Morgan Stanley doubts that Europe's monetary union will break up under pressure, but it warns that corked pressures will have to find release one way or another.

This will most likely occur through property slumps and banking purges in the vulnerable countries of the Club Med region and the euro-satellite states of Eastern Europe.

"The tensions will not disappear into thin air. They will find fault lines on the periphery of Europe. Painful macro adjustments are likely to take place. Pegs to the euro could be questioned," said the report, written by Eric Chaney, Carlos Caceres, and Pasquale Diana.

/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/06/16/bcnecb116.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

RBS issues global stock and credit crash alert
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Last Updated: 12:19am BST 19/06/2008

The Royal Bank of Scotland has advised clients to brace for a full-fledged crash in global stock and credit markets over the next three months as inflation paralyses the major central banks.

"A very nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," said Bob Janjuah, the bank's credit strategist.

A report by the bank's research team warns that the S&P 500 index of Wall Street equities is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1050 by September as "all the chickens come home to roost" from the excesses of the global boom, with contagion spreading across Europe and emerging markets.

Such a slide on world bourses would amount to one of the worst bear markets over the last century.

RBS said the iTraxx index of high-grade corporate bonds could soar to 130/150 while the "Crossover" index of lower grade corporate bonds could reach 650/700 in a renewed bout of panic on the debt markets.

"I do not think I can be much blunter. If you have to be in credit, focus on quality, short durations, non-cyclical defensive names.

"Cash is the key safe haven. This is about not losing your money, and not losing your job," said Mr Janjuah, who became a City star after his grim warnings last year about the credit crisis proved all too accurate.

/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/money/2008/06/18/cnrbs118.xml

[Ghost Dog]

18. WRAPUP 1-Euro zone economy contracts in June as prices soar

LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - The euro zone economy took a significant hit in June from high oil prices and falling demand, data showed on Monday, although the corporate pain will probably not be enough to deter the ECB from hiking rates in July.

A contraction in the closely watched PMI surveys, combined with weaker than expected data from Germany's Ifo survey, will add to fears of stagflation in the euro zone as growth cools quickly while oil prices stoke inflationary pressure.

Business weakness will complicate the European Central Bank's efforts to ready markets for a rate hike in July.

"The falls are probably not sharp enough to stop the ECB hiking in July ... But the data today will cause some intense debate about rate-setting," said Juergen Michels at Citi.

The RBS/Markit Eurozone Purchasing Managers Index for services companies, which range from cafes to banks, fell to 49.5 in June from 50.6 in May, the first time it has sunk below the 50.0 mark dividing growth from contraction since June 2003.

Only three of 36 economists had forecast a move below 50.0, with the lowest prediction being 49.7 and the median 50.5.

Euro zone manufacturing also suffered a bruising month. The RBS/Markit Eurozone PMI for the sector fell to 49.1 from 50.6, its lowest level since May 2005 as new orders slipped further. Economists had forecast a dip to 50.2.

Meanwhile, German business morale fell more than forecast in June to its lowest level since December 2005 with the Ifo index at 101.3 from 103.5 in May.

The euro <EUR=> hit session lows after the data to around $1.5501 to the dollar from $1.5559, while bund futures also rallied to session highs.

Earlier Flash data showed French growth in both manufacturing and services contracted in June, but remained above the 50.0 level in Germany, Europe's biggest economy.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL2324373520080623?rpc=44&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

[UpInArms]

19. Goldman cuts stir fears of accelerating job losses: report

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/goldman-cuts-stir-fears-accelerating/story.aspx?guid=%7BE93741DD%2DC6E7%2D49BB%2DAD5F%2D17D24B2A21DC%7D

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Investment bankers are preparing themselves for an acceleration in job cuts after Goldman Sachs (GS 183.77, -3.16, -1.7%) made further cuts at its investment banking division, despite being the best performer in the sector, according to a report in the Financial Times Monday. Goldman is cutting about 10% of the division, which offers advice on deals and corporate fundraising, and has also been sending U.S. and European staff to the Middle East and Asia, where business remains stronger, the newspaper reported. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the Citigroup (C 19.30, -0.87, -4.3%) plans to lay off as much as 10% of its investment banking division.

[UpInArms]

21. Commentary: Rotten Monday in the works?

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/rotten-monday-works/story.aspx?guid=%7BBDB9DD83%2D31F7%2D4859%2DA3E1%2D1145703CC84A%7D&dist=MostReadHome

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Stocks cascade down all week. Key letters are worried, and one is terrified.

This spring, Dow Theory Letter's Richard Russell completed his remarkable conversion from permabear to superbull by withdrawing diplomatic recognition from the 2000-2 bear market. (Yes, yes, you read that right.) See Mark Hulbert's April 9 column

Now Russell is obviously feeling under enormous pressure. He wrote after Friday's 220-point down day: "It wouldn't take much to push the Industrials down to a new 2008 low. But the Transports are still far above their own low ... With Transports as of close a large 1,052 points above their Jan. 17 low, I find it hard to envision the Transports heading down and actually violating their January low. Of course, the stock market can do anything, but I'd be shocked to see the Transports crashing 152 points from here."

That's important for Russell in terms of Dow Theory. As he has said: "I'd love to see the Dow drop to a new low (below 11,740.15) with the Transports refusing to confirm."

But Russell added on Friday night: "Volume on the NYSE expanded to over 5 billion today on a lower market. Not good...The financials and banks continue to cascade -- where's the bottom? The market appears to be saying that Wall Street's troubles are far from over. As I showed above, the economic contraction is spreading out around the world."

<snip>

Encouraging afterthought: "Lousy Fridays are often followed up by rotten Mondays."

...more...

[ozymandius]

22. SEC Chief Under Fire as Fed Seeks Bigger Wall Street Role (feces/fan tango)

One Friday in March, with investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. teetering toward collapse, the chieftains of U.S. financial regulation dialed into a 5 a.m. conference call to craft a bailout plan. When they were done, the Treasury secretary informed the president. The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York called Bear Stearns.

Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, didn't call anyone. Though the SEC was Bear Stearns's regulator, he didn't take part in the meeting.

.....

Critics say America's top securities regulator didn't act boldly enough to restore confidence when the financial world shuddered. His profile was low just when the SEC may have most needed an outspoken champion: The Bear Stearns meltdown has fueled calls to reorganize U.S. financial regulation, just as a proposal was published to eliminate the SEC and shift responsibility for Wall Street to the Fed.

On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called for broadening the Fed's oversight role over a range of institutions, likely including investment banks. The SEC and the central bank are in the final stages of negotiating an agreement that would start that process (see related article). Congress is planning hearings on the matter beginning next month.

.....

Some of these predecessors are getting vocal. Ex-Chairman Arthur Levitt has been peppering Mr. Cox with emails urging him to move more aggressively to preserve the SEC's authority. At a recent public round-table meeting at the SEC, Mr. Cox asked a panel of former chairmen for advice. In talking about plans to change future financial regulation, Mr. Pitt responded the SEC should "lead the discussion, instead of being led in the discussion."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121418338517895735.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

---

When Arthur Levitt is giving someone shit about not stepping up to the job - something is way wrong with their performance.

[Dr.Phool]

31. Cox isn't there to regulate.

He's there to decimate. Cox never was qualified to do the job. It's typical Bush Administration policy. Put an unqualified lackey in charge of any agency that you want to destroy.

Somewhere, Milton Friedman must have hidden a how-to book. These clowns found it.

[TalkingDog]

23. From a post yesterday

by Time for Change.

Plutocracy Reborn: (Re-creating the Gap that Gave Us the Great Depression.) http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080630/extreme_inequality

[UpInArms]

28. thanks td

that really made me sad

:(

[skoalyman]

64. here's somthing that kept catching my eye on cnbc the clown network

just a program sort of like the rich and famous but only these are the super rich

[UpInArms]

25. WaMu drops ax again, cuts 1,200 jobs, including 260 at Seattle headquarters

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008007838_wamu20.html

Washington Mutual's struggles to right itself will cost 1,200 more people their jobs, including 260 at the troubled lender's downtown Seattle headquarters.

Seattle-based WaMu, which already has shed more than 3,500 jobs this year, said Thursday it was cutting jobs that weren't "mission-critical," meaning they weren't directly related to its core business or to its efforts to tighten credit standards and hold down expenses.

The layoffs include workers in WaMu's mortgage business, which has been sharply curtailed as the company tries to recover from a rising tide of defaults and foreclosures, the aftereffects from a binge of loose lending.

Centralizing support functions will also claim jobs in technology, human resources and general corporate functions, spokeswoman Darcy Donahoe-Wilmot said.

Though the cuts are spread throughout the company, the Seattle region is taking one of the hardest hits.

The 260 people losing their jobs here are about 5.7 percent of WaMu's local employment of 4,600 (including about 3,500 at the 42-story WaMu Center at Second Avenue and Union Street).

...more...

[UpInArms]

26. State, city layoffs: 45,000 and counting

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/23/news/economy/local_government_layoffs/?postversion=2008062304

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The latest hit to the economy could come from state houses and city halls as state and local governments across the nation find themselves in their worst budget crisis in years due to the economic slowdown.

With revenue from sales and income taxes falling and property tax declines looming on the horizon, states, cities and towns have already laid off tens of thousands of government employees and many expect more job cuts ahead.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, a public employees union, says about 45,000 government layoffs have been announced this year and far more are likely in the months ahead as public officials struggle with trying to balance their budgets.

All but four states are set to begin their new fiscal years on July 1, which means that tough decisions will have to be made soon. Economists say that cutbacks in jobs and spending by local governments could be a major drag on the overall economy in the last half of this year.

"This isn't a wrecking ball to a healthy economy, but it could be the straw that broke the camel's back," said Bob Brusca, economist with FAO Economics in New York.

There are 29 states, including California, Florida and Ohio, facing a combined budget shortfall of at least $48 billion in the fiscal year that starts July 1, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), a liberal think tank.

...more...

[Pale Blue Dot]

32. Several jobs were just cut in our school system.

The move was unexpected. Important support services (school counselors, social work) were cut back. :-(

[ozymandius]

29. Futures curbing confidence at 8:05

08:05 ET
(BRIEFING.COM) S&P futures vs fair value: +1.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.0.

Futures suggest a slightly higher start following last week's steep decline. Farm products company Bunge (BG) is acquiring Corn Products (CPO) for $4.8 billion in a all stock transaction, including the assumption of $414 million in Corn Products' debt. Bunge also raised its earnings guidance. Separately, Republic Services (RSG) announced a merger where Allied Waste (AW) shareholders will receive 0.45 shares of Republic common stock.

06:24 ET
S&P futures vs fair value: +3.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.5.

[ozymandius]

34. and now reversing course

09:01 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +7.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.5.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.0. Futures indicate a modestly higher start to the trading day. Citigroup is going to lay off 6,500 investment banking employees, or 10% of the group's workforce, according to the Wall Street Journal. In earnings news, Walgreen (WAG) reported that third quarter earnings per share increased to $0.58 per share, but the results fell short of the consensus estimate by a penny. In commodity trading, oil is up 0.9% to $136.51 per barrel, despite Saudi Arabia announcing that it is adding 200,000 barrels in output per day starting in July.

[ozymandius]

30. Blackstone's year of discontent

...
It was exactly one year ago on June 22 that the private equity giant staged the biggest U.S. public offering that the markets had seen in years, raising more than $4 billion by selling a 12.3% stake in the firm and opening up the
red-hot private equity industry to everyday investors.

.....

But the buzz about Blackstone (BX) proved short-lived. Shares of the private equity giant plunged in the months that followed as the credit markets blew up.

The stock bottomed out at $13.40 a share on March 17 - the first trading day after JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) announced its dramatic last-minute rescue of Bear Stearns.

Blackstone's share price has improved since then. But at $18 a share, it is still trading more than 50% below the all-time high of $38 it hit during its first day of trading.

.....

Profits in the third and fourth quarter of last year, excluding compensation charges, fell short of estimates. Blackstone reported an actual net loss in both quarters when including the compensation expenses.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/23/news/companies/blackstone/index.htm?postversion=2008062304

[ozymandius]

33. Record corn prices mean more expensive meat, dairy

NEW YORK (AP) -- Raging Midwest floodwaters that swallowed crops and sent corn and soybean prices soaring are about to give consumers more grief at the grocery store.

In the latest bout of food inflation, beef, pork, poultry and even eggs, cheese and milk are expected to get more expensive as livestock owners go out of business or are forced to slaughter more cattle, hogs, turkeys and chickens to cope with rocketing costs for corn-based animal feed.

The floods engulfed an estimated 2 million or more acres of corn and soybean fields in Iowa, Indiana, Illinois and other key growing states, sending world grain prices skyward on fears of a substantially smaller corn crop. The government will give a partial idea of how many corn acres were lost before the end of the month, but experts say the trickle-down effect could be more dramatic later this year, affecting everything from Thanksgiving turkeys to Christmas hams.

.....

It's a similar story for U.S. beef producers, who now spend a whopping 60-70 percent of their production costs on animal feed and are seeing that number rise daily as corn prices hover near an unprecedented $8 a bushel, up from about $4 a year ago.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080622/midwest_flooding_food_prices.html

[ozymandius]

35. Here we go.

9:30
Dow 11,861.74 Up 19.05 (0.16%)
Nasdaq 2,416.55 Up 10.46 (0.43%)
S&P 500 1,319.77 Up 1.84 (0.14%)
10-Yr Bond 4.164% Up 0.027
NYSE Volume 27,907,724.609
Nasdaq Volume 29,596,207.031

[ozymandius]

37. lacking momentum

9:47
Dow 11,879.16 Up 36.47 (0.31%)
Nasdaq 2,414.56 Up 8.47 (0.35%)
S&P 500 1,323.74 Up 5.81 (0.44%)
10-Yr Bond 4.15% Up 0.013
NYSE Volume 256,372,703.125
Nasdaq Volume 124,467,921.875

09:45 am : The stock market opens on a modestly higher note, which follows the steep sell-off last week that sent the S&P 500 near a three-month low.

There are a few merger and acquisition items of note. Farm products company Bunge (BG 124.67, +2.50) is buying Corn Products (CPO 54.26, +11.26) for $4.8 billion, including roughly $400 million in debt. Waste companies Republic Services (RSG 30.94, -0.25) and Allied Waste Industries (AW 13.52, -0.04) are going to merge, with Republic paying roughly $6 billion in stock to acquire Allied.

In earnings news, Walgreen (WAG 35.73, +0.66) reported a increase in quarterly profit compared to last year, but its earnings of $0.58 per share fell short of Wall Street's expectations by a penny.

Crude oil has traded in a volatile manner in premarket trading, and is currently up 0.6% to $136.13 per barrel despite Saudi Arabia announcing that it is increasing its output by 200,000 barrels per day starting in July.DJ30 +41.60 NASDAQ +12.31 SP500 +5.85

[formercia]

36. Bernard von der not Haus und his zoot mit der Feds

http://www.gata.org/node/6383

U.S. government sued over seizure of Liberty Dollars
Submitted by cpowell on Fri, 2008-06-20 16:37. Section: Daily Dispatches

By Joseph Goldstein
New York Sun
Friday, June 20, 2008


The federal government's attempt to stop a group of gold-standard activists from minting an alternative to the greenback is about to face its first legal test.

A dozen people around the country filed suit in U.S. District Court in Idaho this week demanding the return of all the copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins -- more than seven tons of metal in all -- that the FBI and Secret Service seized in November during raids of a mint in Idaho and a strip mall storefront in Indiana.

The Justice Department had decided that the coins, many of which bear the familiar symbol of Lady Liberty and the phrase "Trust in God," were being illegally marketed as government-sanctioned currency, according to the sworn affidavit of an FBI agent.

The creator of the coins, Bernard von NotHaus, who lives in Miami, claims that the federal government is trying to shut down production of his liberty dollars, as the coins are called, because of the competition they pose to the greenback. In recent years his precious metal coins have outperformed the dollar, whose value has plunged in relation to gold.

--snip--

[Pale Blue Dot]

38. With boom just a memory, South Florida homes can now take months, even years, to sell

Welcome to South Florida's real estate twilight zone. During the real estate boom, homes could sell in weeks or even days. Now, it's months or even years.

In fact, at least 9,828 homes — about one of every 10 homes for sale in South Florida — have been on the market for more than a year, according to ZipRealty, a real estate firm that tracks properties by listing date. At least 1,058 have languished for more than two consecutive years in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

...

Steve Lee moved from Pompano Beach to Los Angeles but hasn't been able to sell his three-bedroom condo, which he put on the market in April 2006, despite cutting the price from $224,900 to $99,000.

Part of the problem, he said, is the home was damaged after a water leak and sewer backup. The repairs are done, but he's still tied up in lawsuits with his condo association. He's begging the bank to foreclose so he can cut his losses.

"I don't want a penny, just take it," Lee said. "It's absolutely destroyed me — mentally, physically and emotionally."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/sfl-flbhouses0622sbjun22,0,162469.story?ref=patrick.net

And if that's not a sign of the times, I don't know what is.

[Dr.Phool]

40. Same thing in the Tampa Bay area.

When I first moved here 6 years ago, houses in the neighborhood sold as fast as they went on the market. Now we have homes on my street that have been for sale for over 2 years. One place, across the street on the Anclote River flipped 3 times in about a 6 month period. The latest buyer is stuck with it. It's vacant, but at least he keeps it up.

When I first moved here, it took me 4 years to sell my home in Cleveland, at a $20k loss. It was in a nice neighborhood, and I'd lived in it since 1992. It seems like the rest of the country is catching up with the rust belt.

[Tansy_Gold]

41. It's worse than it looks, because there's so much we don't see

Those of us who live in some of the "boom" areas -- Arizona, California, Nevada, Florida -- see a lot of it in the form of unsold houses in new developments, for sale signs lined up along the roadsides, etc. But there's a lot that the general public doesn't see.

There was an article posted on DU yesterday that referenced the explosive growth in places ilke Buckeye, Arizona, which until about 2000 was a tiny little rural community on the outer fringes of the Phoenix metro area. I lived there for 20 years, until 2006. The problem the article focused on was the problems vacated, foreclosed, unsold homes cause for neighbors and neighborhoods, and the inability of the communities to deal with it. Well, my 20 years in Buckeye told me that town's management couldn't even come close to dealing with it: they'd never prepared for explosive growth to begin with.

So the general public doesn't get from the newspaper reports and the bland stats on number of foreclosures, number of unsold homes, etc., the true impact -- the fears of squatters, the vandalism, the stagnant swimming pools (all four of the states I mentioned are in the sun belt, and swimming pools are not only common, but they were often used at the end of the boom as "come-ons" to entice buyers).

But I have a feeling it goes even deeper than what that article reported. There are houses that look "normal" and yet are members of the foreclosure community. A friend was telling me just yesterday morning that he was shocked to find his next-door neighbors installing one of those "POD" things in their driveway Saturday morning. He saw these people on a daily basis, chatted casually with them right up to Friday. He had no inkling that anything was amiss, until he saw the POD -- and they told him they were getting divorced, they were in debt over their heads, the mortgage payments were 90 days in arrears, they'd refinanced two years ago to pull equity out and now the mortgage was at least $150,000 more than the estimated market value. As if that wasn't enough of a shock, the neighbor also told my friend that at least two other homes on their block were in foreclosure, even though there were no outward signs of anything unusual; and another, which was a winter home for a retired couple from Illinois, had been on the market for two years despite having the asking price slashed in half, to less than what it cost new.

"Ya know, it's like when you buy a new house," my friend mused sadly. "You go on a binge of buying: all the furniture, the curtains, the dishes, all the stuff it takes to fill a house and make it a home. And you put it on the credit cards with the expectation that you'll pay it off. But then you have to stop buying for the next ten years until you do pay it all off, because the credit card payments eat up the disposable income. That's kind of what the country's done, isn't it? We went on a buying binge where we spent the next ten years' income in two years, and now we can't buy anything more until we get this stuff paid off. If we ever can."

He himself had been planning to put his house on the market and look for a slightly larger one but has decided maybe he'd better stay put.


Tansy Gold, also staying put

[Dr.Phool]

43. Same here.

We bought right before the boom hit in our area.

And I plan on dying here.

[InkAddict]

45. Ve haaav veys to change your plans. n/t

[kineneb]

70. As we also did

Sold the house in the SF East Bay, purchased land (1/4 acre) and mfg. house outright and took a small equity loan to finish off the work. My house payment, with insurance and property tax, is about $350/month.

[ozymandius]

44. I am so glad we did not buy two years ago.

In the belly of the Atlanta beast, property values have taken an appreciable hit. Foreclosures are common regardless of neighborhood - but tend to hit the poorest areas.

[Tansy_Gold]

46. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

I sold my house in Buckeye at the very top of the boom; mine was the last house my RE agent sold, after a steady run of 2-3 closings a week. I got the full asking price, and it was way beyond what I'd ever expected. The buyers had no cash down, borrowed more to remodel, ended up in foreclosure 20 months later and the house went at action for $88k less than I sold it.

But I also bought at the top, and even though I got a good price on my new place -- the buyers were eager to sell and needed the money -- it has definitely decreased in value over the past 26 months. However, I have no mortgage, so I'm not worried about it.

Anyone here remember Edward R. Murrow's "Harvest of Shame" documentary? Maybe we need another NBC "White Paper" like that, exposing the whole greed-based economy that is destroying the middle- and working-classes and massively benefiting the very wealthy. Not, of course, that we'd ever see it on NBC. . . .. Michael Moore's "Roger and Me" gives some idea, but that focuses only on the effects in one community as a result of one company's policies; we need something that examines governmental/political policies and how they've affected the nation, and ultimately the global economy.

Tansy Gold, who is not a documentarian but wishes she were

[Hugin]

49. Never fear! We're saved! Through the miracle of...

Couch Science!

Yes, you heard me! Couches and our mighty Couch Manufacturing Infrastructure will pull us through this minor (very
minor... So, minor it's hardly worth mentioning) Economic almost slowdown!

Really, I heard it only this morning on Bloomberg! :silly:

(I don't think the Morning Anchors there at Bloomberg bought it either, judging from the look on their faces. :rofl: )

[skoalyman]

66. llol I could pic bush throwing it out there as a new deal

well build couch's in every abandoned foreclosed house even in our apartments lol we will pull ourselves up by out cushions lmao

[TalkingDog]

69. Look, even the homeless and unemployed need a place to veg out.

Couches: The future of America.




The next time you see a couch, step up to it proudly and say: Couch, Here's to you and all the pieces of patriotic furniture like you. I salute you!


typo.

[skoalyman]

71. lol not a bad looking couch kinda on the flashy side though

I'd defiantly leave one for bush outside his Texas home.

[Hugin]

72. Great find!

A couch fit for Teddy Roosevelt!

:patriot:

[Roland99]

47. A buddy of mine is in a very similar position as Mr. Lee.

Can't afford to get the leak fixed. Home equity loan wouldn't get approved because it appraises below the payoff amount due to the damage in the basement.

What to do?



But, being selfish here, I'm looking good for buying a nice home about this time next year. Whether it's here or a potential move to central FL.

I'm hearing of problems of people I know getting close to not being able to cover rent due to the increase in gas prices. People that were paying maybe $100/mo. in gas are now paying $250. And when you're talking a backbone-of-America $10-12/hr job, that's a big cut in the take-home.

[ozymandius]

39. losses spread to all indeces

10:06
Dow 11,829.50 Down 13.19 (0.11%)
Nasdaq 2,399.79 Down 6.30 (0.26%)
S&P 500 1,317.44 Down 0.49 (0.04%)
10-Yr Bond 4.154% Up 0.017
NYSE Volume 502,920,375
Nasdaq Volume 245,199,171.875

[formercia]

50. Asian Clearing Union to give euro equality with dollar

http://www.gata.org/node/6387

Asian Clearing Union to give euro equality with dollar
Submitted by cpowell on Mon, 2008-06-23 00:05. Section: Daily Dispatches

By Siddique Islam
All Headline News, Palm Beach, Florida
Sunday, June 22, 2008

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011350417

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Central bank chiefs of the Asian Clearing Union (ACU) have agreed to introduce the euro alongside the U.S. dollar for settlement of payments among the member countries beginning January 2009.

The decision was made at the 37th meeting of the ACU board of directors, held in Nay Pyi Taw, administrative capital of Myanmar, on June 17-18, officials in Dhaka said today.

"The ACU board has agreed in principle to allow the euro as an alternative currency alongside the U.S. dollar from January 2009, aiming to make the payment system easier," the governor of the Bangladesh central bank, Salehuddin Ahmed, told AHN along with a group of reporters here after returning from Myanmar.

--snip--


Soon, all Dollars will be good for is asswipe.

[ozymandius]

53. Why was the SDR created and what is it used for today?

The Special Drawing Right (SDR) was created by the IMF in 1969 to support the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system. A country participating in this system needed official reserves—government or central bank holdings of gold and widely accepted foreign currencies—that could be used to purchase the domestic currency in world foreign exchange markets, as required to maintain its exchange rate. But the international supply of two key reserve assets— gold and the U.S. dollar—proved inadequate for supporting the expansion of world trade and financial development that was taking place. Therefore, the international community decided to create a new international reserve asset under the auspices of the IMF.

.....

The value of the SDR was initially defined as equivalent to 0.888671 grams of fine gold—which, at the time, was also equivalent to one U.S. dollar. After the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in 1973, however, the SDR was redefined as a basket of currencies,today consisting of the euro, Japanese yen, pound sterling, and U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar-value of the SDR is posted daily on the IMF's website. It is calculated as the sum of specific amounts of the four currencies valued in U.S. dollars, on the basis of exchange rates quoted at noon each day in the London market.

...

The basket composition is reviewed every five years to ensure that it reflects the relative importance of currencies in the world's trading and financial systems.

---

The dollar just ain't what it used to be just as formercia says.

[formercia]

55. For too long, countries have been locked into using the Dollar

There always has been resentment at the effective US hegemony in international financial transactions.

Thanks to Junior and his glorious and awe-inspiring foreign policy achievements, countries now have a good reason to shift from the Dollar to other currencies.

[Ghost Dog]

67. The SDR appears to be worth around $1.62 right now

http://www.reuters.com/article/comktnews/idUKN2347660420080623?rpc=77

[ozymandius]

51. lunchtime check-in

12:42
Dow 11,833.57 Down 9.12 (0.08%)
Nasdaq 2,390.67 Down 15.42 (0.64%)
S&P 500 1,316.84 Down 1.09 (0.08%)
10-Yr Bond 4.156% Up 0.019
NYSE Volume 1,993,475,875
Nasdaq Volume 930,862,312.5

12:30 pm : After a brief stint in positive territory, the stock market retreats into negative ground. Market breadth is bearish, with decliners outpacing advancers by 7-to-4 on the NYSE and by 11-to-5 on the Nasdaq.

The financial sector (-2.6%) falls to a fresh session low, as it trades at its lowest level since 2003.

U.S. auto manufacturers (-6.6%) are on the retreat, after posting a loss of 11% last week.DJ30 -18.24 NASDAQ -16.50 SP500 -1.79 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 856/858 mln/1900 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1098/456 mln/1925

12:00 pm : Market bulls are not pleased with the start of the trading week, as the S&P 500 is unable to garner buying interest despite dropping more than 3% last week. Meanwhile, crude oil is up 1.2% to $136.85 per barrel, even though Saudi Arabia announced plans to raise output by 200,000 barrels per day starting in July.

At midday, the stock market is trading near the unchanged mark, with four of the ten sectors in negative territory. There is notable weakness within financials (-2.4%) and consumer discretionary (-1.1%). Both sectors were downgraded to Underweight at Goldman Sachs, according to Reuters.

Weakness is broad-based within the financial sector as 97% of stocks in the sector are posting a loss, although large-cap names are getting hit especially hard. Citigroup (C 18.65, -0.65) is preparing to cut 10% of its investment banking staff, or 6,500 employees, according to reports.

Energy is helping to offset the losses, advancing 2.4% as crude trades in positive territory.

There were plenty of merger and acquisition items this morning.

Farm products company Bunge (BG 112.03, -10.10) is buying Corn Products International (CPO 50.73, +7.83) for $4.8 billion, including roughly $400 million in debt.

Waste companies Republic Services (RSG 31.03, -0.16) and Allied Waste Industries (AW 13.30, -0.26) are going to merge, with Republic paying roughly $6 billion in stock to acquire Allied.

Synthetic material manufacturer Huntsman (HUN 12.71, -0.13) is suing private equity firm Apollo and two partners for fraud, for inducing Huntsman to terminate its merger agreement with Basel and enter a merger agreement with Apollo affiliate Hexion Specialty Chemicals instead. Last week, Apollo filed suit in an effort to get out of its $10.6 billion buyout of Huntsman, citing Huntsman's increased debt and lower-than-expected earnings.

Shares of Halliburton (HAL 52.63, +2.60) are trading just eight cents shy of their 52-week high after the oil equipment and services company said it is no longer pursing its $3.6 billion acquisition of Expro International, according to reports.

In earnings news, Walgreen (WAG 34.93, -0.14) reported an increase in quarterly profit compared to last year, but its earnings of $0.58 per share fell short of Wall Street's expectations by a penny.
DJ30 -8.55 NASDAQ -12.65 SP500 -0.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 890/778 mln/1847 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1178/416 mln/1823

[ozymandius]

54. still hovering around the unchanged mark

1:17
Dow 11,842.03 Down 0.66 (0.01%)
Nasdaq 2,394.24 Down 11.85 (0.49%)
S&P 500 1,318.41 Up 0.48 (0.04%)
10-Yr Bond 4.166% Up 0.029
NYSE Volume 2,240,069,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,047,866,187.5

1:00 pm : The stock market has stuck its nose back into positive territory. Six of the ten economic sectors are trading with gains.

Energy remains a strong performer, up 2.8%, currently testing its session high. Exxon Mobil (XOM 86.80, +1.89) is providing the most leadership. Chevron (CVX 98.19, +1.57) is also lending support.

Crude oil is trading higher, but off its best levels. The commodity is up 1.6% at $137.50 per barrel.DJ30 +5.78 NASDAQ -10.90 SP500 +0.66 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 926/998 mln/1845 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1185/528 mln/1879

[ozymandius]

56. Treasurys tick higher as bank layoffs rise

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices gained ground Monday, pushing yields down for a second day, as reports that banks are on the verge of making further staff reductions served to raise concerns about the economy.

Ten-year note yields fell 4 basis points to 4.14%. Bond prices move inversely to their yields.

Citigroup Inc. may cut 10% of its 65,000 workers in investment banking, according to The Wall Street Journal. And according to the Financial Times, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is cutting 10% of investment-bank division.

"It's a not-so-subtle reminder that there are difficulties out there," said Kevin Flanagan, fixed-income strategist at Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management. "Not all is well, and the market has been getting ahead of itself. If the Fed isn't on the verge of raising rates, yields are too high."

While investors largely expect the Federal Reserve to keep benchmark interest rates steady at 2% when policymakers meet Tuesday and Wednesday, speculation remains over how the U.S. central bank will characterize risks to inflation and economic growth.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/treasurys-gain-reported-bank-layoffs/story.aspx?guid=%7B1B2CB13B-E151-452B-B5A1-BA04AF74ED31%7D&dist=msr_1

[antigop]

59. The Nation, 2002: Reformer from Goldman Sachs (Corzine) (Check out the quote)

Thought you might want to read this article that appeared in The Nation in 2002:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020311/greider

As scandalous revelations bubble up around other companies, Corzine worries about a danger that hasn't yet gotten much attention--the potential impact on the US economy and America's vulnerability as a debtor nation. "If people don't have confidence in how they go about making investment decisions," he explained, "it soon will show up in aggregates in regard to investment.... For instance, I don't think it's going to happen to my old company, but if a company like Goldman Sachs, which is super-well-regarded in the economic and financial system, or GE or Citigroup, came unwound like it's Enron, then people start losing confidence in what they believe in--then you have a much more serious effect."

[ozymandius]

60. Goldman cuts U.S. financials, admits goofed on upgrade

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs & Co strategists urged U.S. stock investors to "underweight" the nation's financial and consumer discretionary sectors, admitting that it was mistaken when it upgraded both sectors just seven weeks earlier.

The downgrades sparked selling in stocks in both sectors, as investors feared that weakening consumer demand and deterioration in the credit markets would weigh on profitability.

"We boosted our consumer discretionary and financials weights in May on the belief the sectors would benefit from bank recapitalizations and fiscal stimulus," Goldman strategists led by David Kostin wrote. "Our thesis was clearly wrong in hindsight."

.....

Financial stocks had fallen 18 percent since the May 5 upgrade, Goldman said, as investors grew increasingly worried that more lenders would cut their dividends and conduct dilutive capital-raisings as losses mounted from mortgages and other debt.

Consumer discretionary stocks, meanwhile, had fallen 7 percent, Goldman strategists said. Many observers have been concerned that debt-heavy consumers would be unlikely to spend the tax rebates the government began handing out earlier this year in a bid to stimulate the flagging U.S. economy.

http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/080623/financial_research_goldman.html?.v=2

[Demeter]

61. The invasion of Iraq cost the world $6 trillion in higher energy prices alone. Geoffrey Lean reports

Mamdouh Salameh believes the oil price would now be no more than $US40 a barrel, less than a third of the current price, if not for the Iraq war.

An oil economist adviser to the World Bank and the UN Industrial Development Organisation, Dr Salameh says that among the world's biggest oil producers, Iraq alone has enough reserves to increase flow substantially. Production in eight others - the United States, Canada, Iran, Indonesia, Russia, Britain, Norway and Mexico - has peaked, he says, while China and Saudia Arabia, the remaining two, are nearing the point of decline. Before the war, Saddam Hussein's regime pumped 3.5 million barrels of oil a day, but this has fallen to just 2 million barrels.

Salameh told a British parliamentary committee last month that Iraq had offered the US a deal, three years before the war, that would have opened 10 new giant oil fields on "generous" terms, in return for lifting sanctions. "This would certainly have prevented the steep rise of the oil price," he said. "But the US had a different idea. It planned to occupy Iraq and annex its oil."

Chris Skrebowski, editor of Petroleum Review, said: "If there had been a civil war in Iraq even less oil would have been produced."

So what will happen next?

At nearly 86 million barrels a day, global oil production has stagnated since 2005, despite soaring demand, suggesting production already has reached the geological limit of "peak oil".

Recession in the West may not provide price relief, because economic demand is increasing in countries such as China, Russia and members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries - where heavy subsidies cushion consumers against rising prices.

The future could unfold in a number of ways.

An oil price collapse could result from fuel subsidies being scrapped. Cost pressures have forced Malaysia, Indonesia (which has given notice of quitting OPEC, having become a net oil importer) and Taiwan to cut them, but China is hardly strapped for cash. The net oil exporters of OPEC are under no pressure to abolish subsidies; as the oil price rises, they get richer.

There are fears in Europe that oil will soar because Russian output has gone into decline; Saudi Arabia has shelved plans to expand production capacity, and advisers to the Nigerian government predict its output will fall by 30 per cent by 2015. In this scenario, big producers could be expected to divert exports for home consumption.

After 50 years of growth the oil age has begun its retreat to the end. At peak oil - the point where production starts to decline - the resource on which all modern economies depend gets scarcer and more expensive. And the consequences are potentially devastating.

Pessimists believe production has passed its peak. Optimists say it may be 20 years away. The hitherto optimistic International Energy Agency has belatedly admitted it may have overestimated future capacity. Chris Skrebowski, once an optimist himself, thinks the world is now in the "foothills of peak oil". Prices may ease a bit over the next few years, but then the real crunch will come.

The price then? "Pick a number," Skrebowski says.

China and India and other developing countries will drive up demand for oil and compete for scarce supplies. This has already helped to raise prices: demand for oil from Western countries has fallen over the past two years, but the emerging economies have more than made up the slack. And they have the money to do so.

Chinese and Indian consumers have so far been insulated from the effects of the price increase by heavy government subsidies, and their industrial revolutions and rapid growth are largely fuelled by oil. There is little sign the growth in demand will slacken. These countries are also likely to follow the time-honoured Western tradition of making deals with oil-exporting countries, and backing unpleasant regimes, to try to secure supplies.

And the early victims? Oil provides 95 per cent of the energy used in transport, so this sector will be hit hard and soon. Airlines are expected to be the first to suffer.

Last month the British Airways' chief, Willie Walsh, declared the era of cheap

flights was over, suggesting environmentalists who made them the main target for combating climate change may have been wasting their breath.

The Independent


This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/06/20/1213770924692.html

[Demeter]

62. 1930s Marital Scale

http://www.magatsu.net/maritaltest/

How do you rate as a husband or wife of the 1930s?

Click on link and take test!

(Now I know what I did wrong---should have married a man of my father's generation!)

(Oops! Correction: Grandfather's!)

[Demeter]

63. The New Trophy Home, Small and Ecological By FELICITY BARRINGER

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/us/22leed.html?_r=2&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=login&adxnnlx=1214244059-1Fht+Si2NPIiYxK5hbbHfQ



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 22, 2008

For the high-profile crowd that turned out to celebrate a new home in Venice, Calif., the attraction wasn’t just the company and the architectural detail. The house boasted the builders’ equivalent of a three-star Michelin rating: a LEED platinum certificate.

The actors John Cusack and Pierce Brosnan, with his wife, Keely Shaye Smith, a journalist, came last fall to see a house that the builders promised would “emit no harmful gases into the atmosphere,” “produce its own energy” and incorporate recycled materials, from concrete to countertops.

Behind the scenes were Tom Schey, a homebuilder in Santa Monica, and his business partner, Kelly Meyer, an environmentalist whose husband, Ron, is the president of Universal Studios. Ms. Meyer said their goal was to show that something energy-conscious “doesn’t have to look as if you got it off the bottom shelf of a health-food store.”

“It doesn’t have to smell like hemp,” she said.

That was probably a good thing. The four-bedroom house was for sale, with a $2.8 million asking price.

Its rating was built into that price. LEED — an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the hot designer label, and platinum is the badge of honor — the top classification given by the U.S. Green Building Council. “There’s kind of a green pride, like driving a Prius,” said Brenden McEneaney, a green building adviser to the city of Santa Monica, adding, “It’s spreading all over the place.”

Devised eight years ago for the commercial arena, the ratings now cover many things, including schools and retail interiors. But homes are the new frontier.

While other ratings are widely recognized, like the federal Energy Star for appliances, the LEED brand stands apart because of its four-level rankings — certified, silver, gold and platinum — and third-party verification. So far this year, 10,250 new home projects have registered for the council’s consideration, compared with 3,100 in 2006, the first year of the pilot home-rating system. Custom-built homes dominate the first batch of certified dwellings. Today, dinner-party bragging rights are likely to include: “Let me tell you about my tankless hot water heater.” Or “what’s the R value of your insulation?”

But if a platinum ranking is a Prada label for some, for others, it is a prickly hair shirt. Try asking buyers used to conspicuous consumption (a 12,000-square-foot house) to embrace conspicuous nonconsumption (say, 2,400 square feet for a small family). Or to earn points by recycling and weighing all their construction debris (be warned: a bathroom scale probably won’t cut it). The imperatives of comfort and eco-friendliness are not always in sync.

For instance, the Brosnans, environmental advocates who admired Ms. Meyer’s house, are now building a home of their own and “really want to do it green,” said David Hertz, their architect. Mr. Brosnan may adopt many environmentally sound building techniques, but he “is not going to live in a 2,400-square-foot home,” the architect said.

Mr. Hertz’s complaint goes beyond size. He says the rating system is rigid and cumbersome, something that has been heard across the country as green building slowly ceases to be a do-gooder’s hobby. The ratings are now woven into building codes in Los Angeles, Boston and Dallas. The federal government and many states and cities use LEED standards or the equivalent for their own buildings. The system is based on points earned for a variety of eco-friendly practices; builders choose among them, balancing the goals of cost control, design and high point totals.

Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia, not to mention Chicago, Cincinnati and Bar Harbor, Me., give tax incentives or other concessions, like expedited permitting or utility hookups, for construction that is up to the nonprofit council’s standards.

And “LEED-accredited professional” is a new occupational status.

Worries about climate change and rising energy costs are part of the equation: roughly 21 percent of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions come from homes; nearly 40 percent come from residential and commercial structures combined. As energy prices rise, the long-range economic value and short-range social cachet of green building are converging.

More than 1,500 commercial buildings and 684 homes have been certified but just 48 homes have received the platinum ranking, among them a four-bedroom home in Freeport, Me., as well as homes in Minneapolis; Callaway, Fla.; Dexter, Mich.; and Paterson, N.J. The checklist for certification can be more daunting than a private-school application, which prompts many to abandon the quest. Mr. Schey is not seeking LEED certification on his next home (though the project’s architect, Melinda Gray, is seeking it for hers).

Randy Udall, a builder in Colorado who wrote a piece critical of the process after building two accredited ski resort additions, said, “You’re happy when you’re released from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Abu Ghraib,” though he added, “You typically end up with a delightful building.”

One requirement for getting a home certified is hiring an on-site inspector approved by the council to test the new systems and help fill out the huge amount of paperwork, which is reviewed by the nonprofit council. The organization charges from $400 for a home to $22,500 for the largest buildings to register and certify costs.

Joel McKellar, a researcher with LS3P Associates, an architecture firm in Charleston, S.C., said that to earn credit for adequate natural light, “you have to calculate the area of the room, the area of the windows, how much visible transmittance of light there is.”

Michael Lehrer, who designed the platinum-rated Water + Life Museum complex in Hemet, outside Los Angeles, said, “They have mundane things in there that are pretty nonsensical and others things that are pretty profound.” He added, “At a time when everybody and their sister and brother are saying ‘We are green,’ it’s very important that these things be vetted in a credible way.”

To cope with the growing appetite for accreditation, the council this spring asked other agencies to help make LEED certifications. A new code, which addresses some of the criticisms, is at www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1849.

Is LEED a useful selling tool? Offered with great fanfare last fall on eBay for $2.8 million, the Meyer/Schey home in Venice, which can be seen on their Web site, www.Project7ten.com got no bids at the time; it recently found a potential buyer, for $2.5 million.

But Maria Chao, an architect in Amherst, Mass., said her new home’s certification rating had meant instant recognition. “This is a small town,” Ms. Chao said. “When I mention I live in the house on Snell St., people say, ‘Oh, the green home.’ ”

Frances Anderton, a KCRW radio host and Los Angeles editor of Dwell magazine, longs for the day when LEED recognition is irrelevant. “Architects should be offering a green building service,” Ms. Anderton said, “without needing a badge of pride.”

[Pale Blue Dot]

65. Sentiment Shifts: Credit Crunch Isn't Over, March Wasn't 'The' Low

The stock market is in limbo today, unable to make much headway as traders await some key economic news and earnings due later in the week. Of course, Wednesday's Fed meeting is the biggest "known known" this week and it's now pretty clear the Fed won't raise rates, even as they're growing more concerned about inflation.

With the Fed meeting still ahead a lot of traders are looking back to last week, when major averages tumbled below important technical and psychological levels. These include Dow 12,000 and 1350 on the S&P 500, which represented a 50% retracement of the rally off the March lows.

Amid reports of more layoffs on Wall Street, last week's downgrades of MBIA and Ambac, as well as concerns about Ford and GM's long-term viability, there's a growing realization that the credit crunch isn't over yet, and that the March lows weren't "the" lows, as so many believed at the time.

If and as that mindset becomes conventional wisdom, the market's worst days could be ahead of it. Typically, bear markets don't bottom until the majority of participants cry "Uncle" and dump their positions, and we haven't seen that (yet) in this downturn.

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/yftt_29283/Sentiment-Shifts:-Credit-Crunch-Isn%27t-Over,-March-Wasn%27t-%27The%27-Low?tickers=MBI,ABK,C,RIMM,ORCL,GM,F

[Pale Blue Dot]

68. Bond insurers try to erase securities insurance

Following a series of downgrades from ratings agencies, bond insurers are in talks with banks, looking to wipe away some $125 billion of insurance on debt securities, the Financial Times reported today.

Insurers, including New York-based Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., Ambac Assurance Corp. of New York and MBIA Inc. of Armonk, N.Y., gave the banks insurance contracts in the form of credit default swaps. These swaps insured payments on collateralized debt obligations, which were normally backed by subprime mortgages.

Should the banks erase the insurance coverage (also known as “commuting” a contract), they will nix the contract in return for a payment from the insurers.

Those mortgages have plummeted in value in the past couple of years, following numerous defaults and foreclosures.

http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080623/REG/588757460/-1/RSS02&rssfeed=RSS02

Can someone explain this to me in English? Is it important?

[Hugin]

73. I can think of a few contracts I'd like to "commute"...

:eyes:

I'm by no means an expert, but, I've read here on the SMW that one of the big problems right now is that due to
the questionable ratings given to these 'Financial Instruments' in order to allow their sale to otherwise restricted
buyers... (read: Municipalities, Pension Funds, so forth.) Much more was sold value wise than the Bond Insurers could
cover in case of default. Bond Insurance is another requirement on the sale of bonds to restricted buyers.

Yes, it's pretty important.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x39769

^ More clarification.

[ret5hd]

74. ooohhh, pointy. ouch!

you could hurt yourself with those charts.

[Demeter]

75. Somebody Was Probably Risking a Hernia Keeping the Dow Up

Tomorrow ought to be really fun.

Where's AnneD? I need to get back into the pool. Things are getting interesting finally.

[Hugin]

76. I haven't seen AnneD...

in a couple of weeks.

:worry:

She did say she was going to be working... So, I imagine summer time is keeping her busy.

[UpInArms]

77. putting a cap on this day

Dow 11,842.36 0.33 (0.00%)
Nasdaq 2,385.74 20.35 (0.85%)
S&P 500 1,318.00 0.07 (0.01%)
10-Yr Bond 4.168% 0.031

NYSE Volume 4,219,495,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,925,927,500

4:15 pm : The stock market was unable to muster a gain on Monday despite dropping more than 3% last week, marking a disappointing session for the bulls. Continued concerns over financials weighed on sentiment, as did a 1.2% rise in crude prices -- despite Saudi Arabia announcing plans to increase its output by 200,000 barrels per day, or 2%.

The stock market settled the session near the unchanged mark with six of the ten economic sectors in the green. The Nasdaq underperformed with a decline of 0.9%, with weakness in large and small-cap tech.

The financial sector fell 2.7%, extending its year-to-date decline to 26.5%. Several factors contributed to the selling interest. Citigroup (C 18.59, -0.71) is preparing to layoff 10% of its investment banking staff, or 6,500 employees, according to reports. The financial sector was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, according to Reuters. Finally, AIG (AIG 30.36, -1.74) had its earnings estimates cut at Credit Suisse.

The consumer discretionary sector slipped 1.6%, as it was also downgraded to Underperform at Goldman Sachs.

The energy sector soared 3.7% on the gain on crude prices, which helped to offset weakness in the consumer discretionary and financial sectors. All 39 stocks within the energy sector posted a gain, with large-cap names providing leadership.

Walgreen (WAG 34.68, -0.39) was the sole item on the earnings calendar. The retailer reported an increase in quarterly profit compared to last year, but its earnings of $0.58 per share fell short of Wall Street's expectations by a penny.

Although the earnings calendar was light, there were plenty of merger and acquisition items to keep market participants busy.

Farm products company Bunge (BG 110.86, -11.31) is buying Corn Products International (CPO 50.76, +7.86) for $4.8 billion, including roughly $400 million in debt.

Waste companies Republic Services (RSG 31.04, -0.15) and Allied Waste Industries (AW 13.31, -0.25) are going to merge, with Republic paying roughly $6 billion in stock to acquire Allied.

Synthetic material manufacturer Huntsman (HUN 12.79, -0.05) is suing private equity firm Apollo and two partners for fraud. Huntsman claims that it was induced to terminate its merger agreement with a Dutch company and enter a merger agreement with Apollo affiliate Hexion Specialty Chemicals instead. Last week, Apollo filed suit in an effort to get out of its $10.6 billion buyout of Huntsman, citing Huntsman's increased debt and lower-than-expected earnings.

Shares of Halliburton (HAL 53.08, +3.05) spiked to a new 52-week high after the oil equipment and services company said it is no longer pursing its $3.6 billion acquisition of Expro International, according to reports. DJ30 -0.33 NASDAQ -20.35 NQ100 -0.8% R2K -0.8% SP400 -0.1% SP500 +0.07 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 829/1.89 bln/2040 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1048/1.09 bln/2108