STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday 14 January

[ozymandius]

Friday January 14, 2005

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 4 YEARS, 6 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 4 YEARS, 34 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 3 YEARS, 88 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1149
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 2
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

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

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON January 13, 2005

Dow... 10,505.83 -111.95 (-1.05%)
Nasdaq... 2,070.56 -21.97 -1.05%)
S&P 500... 1,177.45 -10.25 (-0.86%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.19% -0.05 (-1.16%)
Gold future... 425.10 -1.40 (-0.33%)





GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie

---

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

---

[ozymandius]

1. WrapUp by Martin Goldberg

INFLATION -- Not Good for Corporate Profits or Stocks
and Bad for Business

The increasing instances of inflation we have been observing in our daily lives has finally been acknowledged by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan according to the fed meeting minutes released last week. The inflation we were seeing at the supermarket wasn’t just an illusion after all! So will inflation inflate the Dow to 20,000? Will inflation boost corporate profits as measured in inflated dollars? Tonight, in order to provide some perspective on the effects of inflation on business and the stock market, I will reference with two separate views: One from an all time great value investor – Benjamin Graham (1), and another from an author of a Master’s level text on engineering economics – Kenneth K. Humphreys (2). The effect of inflation on business is “insidious,” and the potential benefit of inflation on the stock market and corporate profits suggested of late, is overstated.

-cut-

Inflation Makes It Tough to Do Business

The following discussion, dealing with the effects of inflation on corporate real profits, is from, Jelen’s Cost and Optimization Engineering, by Kenneth K. Humphreys, a text book on engineering economics. Following a detailed discussion of how to account for inflation in project calculations there is a discussion on “Allowance for Inflation” on page 143.

"Inflation has another serious consequence: It causes companies to reinvest funds on an after-tax basis just to stay even. Thus depreciation is based on the original investment and not on the current cost. The depreciation expense for accounting purposes is less than the true current cost. Consequently, the tax base is higher than it should be and taxes are overpaid. The true profits are less than those indicated. The inadequate allowance for depreciation is not the sole culprit. Inventory increases in value even if it remains the same physically and reinvestment of money is required just to stay even.

-cut-

In my words, if business and commerce is being conducted in terms of dollar currency, an unstable inflating dollar makes it tough to do business on a competitive basis, especially in world markets. Inflation creates a serious and unpredictable moving target that businesses must predict and factor into their strategic decisions. Taxes are also an additional negative factor caused by inflation for many companies. While traders in the short term are cheering the very short-term benefits of a falling dollar and inflation, the “insidious” effects of inflation are likely to come calling soon. Inflate to Dow 20,000? It just isn’t that easy!

more...

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

[ozymandius]

2. Good morning all.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

Gotta run. My average commute time has been an hour. I hope to shorten that by leaving earlier.

Yesterday, I could have joined you briefly - but my computer has an Internet connection problem. Maybe today will be different.

Have a great day at the Casino!

Ozy :hi:

[Tace]

3. Good Morning Ozy! -- S&P Futures Commentary From Ino.Com

Indexes Spotlight

The March S&P 500 index was higher overnight due to short covering as it consolidates below the 25% retracement level of last year's rally crossing at 1181.58. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold and are neutral hinting that a short-term low might be in or is near. Multiple closes below the 25% retracement level would open the door for a test of December's low crossing at 1175.70 then the November 22 reaction low at 1171. Closes above the 10-day moving average crossing at 1187.65 are needed to confirm that a short-term low has been posted. The March S&P 500 Index was up 2.90 pts. at 1180.80 as of 5:44 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to firmer opening when the day session begins later this morning.

http://www.ino.com/

[54anickel]

4. Quick fly by post. I posted this late last night in yesterday's thread

regarding the tax break for repatriated foreign funds. Think we could see quite an increase in M&A activity this year and we all know what that tends to do to jobs. Just a guess from the list of allowed expenditures. :shrug:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ainPUquggAxA&refer=top_world_news

snip>

Until the Treasury Department issued the technical guidance today, companies had been ``fairly guarded'' about how they intended to comply with the new rules contained in the corporate tax bill that President George W. Bush signed into law in October, Kelly said. The law allows foreign profit to be repatriated at a reduced 5.25 percent tax rate over one year if the funds are reinvested in the U.S. to create jobs.

The notice by the Treasury Department said the repatriated funds can only be used for hiring and training, capital investment, research and development, debt retirement, pension investment, advertising, acquisitions in the U.S. and acquisition of patent rights.

It prohibits their use for share buy-backs, dividend payments, tax liabilities, executive compensation, portfolio investments and new debt instruments.

snip>

`Good Use of Funds'

``Being able to pay off the litigation would be a good use of funds for them, but as always, the details will be important,'' said Scott Henry, a Merck analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. in Boston. Henry has a ``neutral'' rating on the stock and doesn't own shares.

Kelly said some companies hadn't expected the Treasury Department to place such tight restrictions on the use of the profit.

California Representative Bill Thomas, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in an interview today that the new rules reflected the intent of Congress in passing the law.

more...

[54anickel]

39. Foreign-Profit Tax Break Is Outlined

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/14/business/14treasury.html?oref=login

snip>

Investors reacted with disappointment to the new rules. Stocks of companies that pushed hard for the tax break - Eli Lilly, Hewlett-Packard, Merck, Oracle and Pfizer - all declined slightly after the rules were announced.

The rules would help companies finance some activities that do little to directly increase employment, and a few - like corporate acquisitions - that might lead to job cuts.

snip>

Under the "guidance" published by the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, companies do not face a specific deadline for actually reinvesting the money and merely have to do so within "a reasonable time."

Nor do companies have to invest more money on hiring or new equipment, or even advertising, than they did the year before. Companies would be able to apply the tax break to investments that they had already planned before their new "domestic reinvestment plan," and even to investments that they had already budgeted and planned to finance with other sources of money.

"The Treasury Department and the I.R.S. do not intend to provide a template for a domestic reinvestment plan," the administration said in its set of guidelines, which totals 39 pages.

Despite the unenthusiastic response from investors to the new rules, the tax break could provide a huge windfall to many technology and pharmaceutical companies that have earned billions of dollars in low-tax countries like Ireland.

more...

[54anickel]

5. U.S. Notes Decline as Poole Sees Fed Removing `Measured' Pace

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a1et43fNgSB0&refer=us

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury notes fell in Europe after comments from Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole sparked concern the central bank will speed up the pace of interest-rate increases.

Poole said the bank will eventually drop its pledge to raise its rate at a ``measured'' pace as economic growth accelerates. Monetary policy will have to ``become more data-dependent'' at some time, he said. The government said yesterday retail sales in December climbed by the most in three months, with sales rising in 2004 at the fastest in five years.

``The Fed commentary has been taking a more hawkish tone and I've even heard there is a risk that they could be raising the interest rate by 50 basis points at the next meeting,'' said John Davies, a London-based fixed-income strategist at WestLB AG. ``We're seeing solid data and Fed tightening which will all help yields to rise.''

snip>

``At some point the measured language will come out of the statement,'' Poole said. ``It won't be in there forever. At some point, policy will have to become more data-dependent. I didn't predict that that would be at the next meeting,'' or in any time frame at all, he said.

snip>

``The Fed has said they're going to raise rates and they're not going to slow down and the ECB is on hold, so you're going to get a widening spread to about 80 points in the next few months,'' said Anthony O'Brien, a fixed-income strategist at Barclays Capital in London.

Declines in Treasuries may be tempered after President George Bush, in an interview with the USA Today newspaper, said he'll freeze some programs and deny funding to others to cut a budget shortfall, which widened to a record $412 billion in the 12 months ended Sept. 30.

more jaw-boning...

[UpInArms]

17. Treasurys lower as Fed view assessed

Trio of economic reports prove negative for bonds on net

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B5902C379%2DA775%2D4BD9%2D938C%2DFE7AB7EC8EED%7D&siteid=mktw

CHICAGO (CBS.MW) - Treasurys were lower Friday following hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve official, strong industrial production data and a producer inflation report offering a mixed message.

The closely tracked 10-year note was 15/32 lower at 100 7/32 in morning trading. Its yield ($TNX: news, chart, profile) rose to 4.22 percent.

The bond market will close one hour early on Friday, ahead of Monday's holiday honoring Martin Luther King. All U.S. financial markets are closed Monday.

St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said in a speech late Thursday that the U.S. central bank will have to eventually drop the much scrutinized "measured" pace of rate hikes wording from its policy statements and react more immediately to changing economic data.

The bond market already expects the Fed to raise interest rates over coming months, but a more-aggressive Fed could cause fixed income investments to lose more ground.

Poole's view was supported by a report Friday that revealed output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.8 percent in December.

...more...

[UpInArms]

26. Fed not 'wedded' to patterned rate hikes

Poole: 'Measured' pace of increases to end eventually

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B7FF3242D%2DB4F3%2D411F%2D8B66%2DFB53BBC9A578%7D&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Federal Reserve policymakers aren't bound to the idea of implementing interest-rate hikes at what the central bank's called a "measured" pace, said William Poole, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank.

"It would certainly be a mistake for the market to believe that there is a path to which we are wedded come hell or high water," Poole said, according to a report carried on Reuters.

"The market must not believe that," he said.

The dollar surged after Poole's comments. See full story.

In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose and prices retreated as market participants read Poole's comments as a hawkish sign. See Bond Report.

...more...

Ahh, "Poole the tool" spews through his blowhole.

[54anickel]

6. A Chinese Revaluation May Not Help U.S.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/14/business/worldbusiness/14yuan.html?oref=login

snip>

Making the yuan more expensive against the dollar would mean that American exporters to China, like Boeing, could sell more goods. Importers like Wal-Mart would have to pay more for the toys, clothes and other goods they buy. That would give Wal-Mart and others an incentive to import from other nations, or even use American suppliers.

Yet executives in many industries say that China's competitive advantages are so great that even the largest increase in the yuan that Beijing might approve this year, perhaps 10 percent, would not significantly cut into the American trade deficit with China. Indeed, revaluation is likely to increase the deficit for months and perhaps years, by immediately driving up the already considerable cost of what the United States imports from China.

A stronger yuan would give a boost to American companies exporting to China because their goods would become cheaper here. But the United States now buys nearly five times as much from China as China does from the United States. So the gains from a rise in the smaller amount of exports are likely to be overwhelmed by the much higher cost of the larger amount of imports.

Alan G. Hassenfeld, the chairman of Hasbro, said that a revaluation of 3 percent to 5 percent this spring seems most likely. But that degree of change would not prompt toymakers to look seriously at moving production to lower-wage countries like Vietnam or India. Chinese toy factories, he said, had a big advantage over factories elsewhere in the quality and dedication of their workers and managers.

Even a 25 percent increase in the value of the yuan, which few say they expect, would still allow many toymakers to export a wide range of products from China successfully. An increase that big would probably prompt manufacturers to move some of their bulkiest products, like car-racing sets, to countries closer to the United States to save on shipping costs, Mr. Hassenfeld said.

"You wouldn't run," he said, "but you would take some items and move them back to a Mexico" or some other nearby country.

more...

[UpInArms]

7. daily dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DXY0

Last trade 83.10 Change +0.59 (+0.72%)

http://www.dailyfx.com/article_daily_brief_011405.html

Euro Mugged while Yen Above the Fray

Everybody wants a lower euro. Jean-Claude Trichet wants it. George Bush wants it. John Snow wants it. Most importantly the world's dealing desks - eagerly eyeing the psychologically important 1.3000 level chuck full of stop orders - want it. So it comes as no surprise that in tonight's European session the euro is coming under pressure despite the record US Trade Balance deficit reported this Wednesday and decidedly mixed US economic data yesterday.

The euro started to weaken after George Bush reiterated that he was "prepared to deal" with the twin deficits while St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President William Poole noted that, "at some point the measured language will come out of the statement '', suggesting that future rate hikes may be higher than the present steady rate of 25bp increases every month. Jean Claude Trichet added to the jawboning by saying that the Asian governments must adopt a more flexible currency regime. The comment was interpreted as a warning to BOJ to refrain from intervention and an appeal to BOC to expedite the loosening of the yuan/dollar peg.

Net result of market action was lower euro but a steady yen causing EUR/JPY to tumble over 150 points in the last 24 hours. The yen also found some support from most recent economic data which hinted that Japan' s economy may be rebounding from last year's slowdown caused by rocketing oil prices and contracting global demand. The most impressive number of the night was the much larger than expected increase in Machine orders (19.9% vs. 3.3% expected) fueled by renewed demand for consumer electronics. The healthy growth in capital investment should translate to faster GDP growth in the next 2 quarters.

Not all is well in the Land of Rising Sun as the Eco Watchers survey, which polls "man-in-the-street" respondents registered the lowest readings of the year with the outlook component printing at 44. However, if business demand continues to pick up, the survey numbers may be simply a result of lagging consumer attitudes of more positive economic changes to come.

...more...

Sorry I'm late to the party - life's like that sometimes :hi:

Have a Great Day Marketeers!

[UpInArms]

8. Today's Reports

Jan 14 8:30 AM
Business Inventories Nov
report 1.0%
briefing.com 0.9%
market 0.6%
last report 0.4%
revised from 0.2%

Jan 14 8:30 AM
Core PPI Dec
report 0.1%
briefing.com 0.2%
market 0.2%
last report 0.2%
revised -

Jan 14 8:30 AM
PPI Dec
report -0.7%
briefing.com -0.2%
market -0.2%
last report 0.5%
revised -

Jan 14 9:15 AM
Capacity Utilization Dec
report 79.2%
briefing.com 78.9%
market 78.9%
last report 78.7%
revised -

Jan 14 9:15 AM
Industrial Production Dec
report 0.8%
briefing.com 0.4%
market 0.5%
last report 0.2%
revised -

reports

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. 2004 MOTOR VEHICLE OUTPUT UP 2.5%

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. 2004 HIGH-TECH OUTPUT UP 18.6%

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. DEC. MANUFACTURING OUTPUT UP 0.7%

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. CAPACITY UTILIZATION AT 4-YEAR HIGH

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. 2004 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP 4.1%, 4-YEAR HIGH

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. DEC. CAPACITY UTILIZATION 79.2% VS. 78.8% EXPECTED

9:15am 01/14/05 U.S. DEC. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP 0.8% V 0.4% EXPECTED

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. NOV. BUSINESS INVENTORIES UP 1%

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. NOV. BUSINESS SALES UP 0.4%

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. NOV. INVENTORY-TO-SALES RATIO 1.31

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. 2004 PPI ANNUAL GAIN LARGEST SINCE 1990

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. 2004 CORE PPI UP 2.2% VS 1.0% IN 2003

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. 2004 PPI UP 4.1% VS 4.0% IN 2003

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. DEC. CORE PPI UP 0.1% VS. RISE 0.2 % EXPECTED

8:30am 01/14/05 U.S. DEC. PPI DOWN 0.7% VS. FALL 0.1% EXPECTED

[UpInArms]

9. blurbs

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.3856137037-831008882&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

U.S. Dec. industrial production up 0.8% By Rex Nutting
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - The output of U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose a better-than-expected 0.8 percent in December, the Federal Reserve reported Friday. The capacity utilization rate rose to 79.2 percent, the highest in four years. Economists were expecting a slower 0.4 percent growth in December output and for the utilization rate to rise to 78.8 percent from a revised 78.7 percent in November. Industrial production had risen 0.2 percent in November. Total output increased 4.1 percent in 2004, the best growth since 2000. Capacity of the nation's industries increased a modest 0.7 percent for the year.

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.3543088079-831006961&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

U.S. Nov. business inventories up 1% By Corbett B. Daly
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- U.S. business inventories jumped 1 percent in November, more than double the 0.4 percent gain in sales, the Commerce Department said Friday. The inventory-to-sale ratio, a key measure of intended inventories, rose slightly to 1.31 in November from October's record low of 1.30. Inventories rose in all major subcategories. Retail and wholesale inventories each rose 1.1 percent in November, while factory inventories rose 0.7 percent.

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.3543246991-831006966&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

U.S. Dec. PPI down 0.7%, up 4.1% in all of 2004 By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - U.S. prices of raw materials and other producers' inputs fell 0.7 percent in December, the Labor Department reported Friday. Energy prices had their largest monthly drop since April 2003. Excluding food and energy costs, the core PPI rose 0.1 percent. The decline in the overall PPI was larger than expected. Economists were expecting producer prices to fall 0.1 percent and the core rate to rise 0.2 percent. Over the past year, the PPI has risen 4.1 percent and the core rate is up 2.2 percent.

[UpInArms]

19. Inventories Rise as Car Lots Stockpiled

http://www.smartmoney.com/bn/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20050114-000622-0900

WASHINGTON -- Businesses added aggressively to inventories during November as car lots stockpiled following a breather and other retailers posted their biggest increase in four years.

Inventories rose 1% to a seasonally adjusted $1.275 trillion, after climbing 0.4% in October, the Commerce Department said Friday. Stockpiles were initially seen up 0.2% in October.

November's increase was the largest since July's identical rate and it exceeded what was expected on Wall Street, which was looking for a 0.6% move up.

<snip>

Economists see rising inventories as either a sign of confidence in future demand or a result of an unanticipated sales drop that has led to involuntary stockpiling. To determine which is the case, experts look at the inventory-to-sales ratio.

<snip>

Auto inventories shot up 1.6%, after falling 2.2% in October. The industry's inventory-to-sales ratio went up to 2.07 from 2.02.

...more...

Hmmmm.... Aren't they out there trying to spin how wonderful the increased production of autos is?

[UpInArms]

10. Fines and Charges

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.3268534722-831005582&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

Marsh offers $600 mln to settle with Spitzer - WSJ

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Insurance broker Marsh & McLennan (MMC) has offered to pay $600 million to settle bid rigging charges with New York State, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The paper said New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has been seeking $750 million from the company in a settlement, plus a public statement of contrition. The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said a final pact is expected by the end of the month. Marsh shares fell 53 cents to $30.37.

[UpInArms]

15. Ohio official files suit against OfficeMax

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B348221AE%2D1D25%2D45CB%2DA9C4%2DEAF8010A1A19%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- OfficeMax Inc. was sued by the Ohio Attorney General's office Friday for allegedly failing to honor rebates and provide rainchecks when items on sale weren't in stock.

"Stores that use rebates and sales to lure in consumers must honor what they advertise, or they are in violation of Ohio consumer laws," said Attorney General Jim Petro in a statement.

OfficeMax (OMX: news, chart, profile), the nation's third-largest office products retailer, saw its shares rise 9 cents to $28.73 in recent dealings, retreating from a high of $28.84 early in the session.

Petro added that his office has received more than 100 complaints in the past two years about Boise, Idaho-based OfficeMax.

<snip>

The lawsuit marked the second piece of bad news in three days for the beleaguered company. On Wednesday, OfficeMax said it will postpone the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings reports, pending the conclusion of a now-expanded probe into an accounting fraud.

...more...

can you say "systemic"?

[Mitt Chovick]

46. I used to work at Office Max

Worst run company on earth. I figured after Boise bought it (long after my departure) things would have gotten better, especially with the former psychotic CEO gone -- gone with a golden parachute.

[UpInArms]

16. NASD fines Fulcrum Global analyst over RF Micro rumor

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.4383016435-831011680&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- The National Association of Securities Dealers said Friday that it has fined Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Walter Piecyk Jr. $75,000 for circulating a rumor about RF Micro Devices (RFMD) in 2002. The NASD said the telecommunications analyst spread a rumor through instant messages and phone calls that RF Micro's largest customer, Nokia Corp. (NOK) , was delaying equipment orders to the company. The NASD said Piecyk failed to investigate the basis of the rumor and sold the stock short for proceeds of $7,815. Piecyk neither admitted or denied the charges as part of the settlement.

I wonder if anyalysts plan to do this crap when *Co gives them all those FICA retirement funds?

10:13am 01/14/05 NASD FINES ANALYST $75K FOR CIRCULATING RF MICRO RUMOR

10:12am 01/14/05 NASD FINES ANALYST FOR SPREADING RUMOR ABOUT RF MICRO

(edited to update with link)

[UpInArms]

18. Ex-Tyson VP 1 of 9 charged

http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=Business&storyid=104869

Nine people, including a former Tyson Foods vice president, who worked for companies that supplied a U.S. unit of Royal Ahold NV were charged Thursday with falsifying documents that helped company executives inflate earnings by more than $800 million.

The nine — including employees from General Mills Inc. and Springdale-based Tyson Foods Inc. — conspired to create false accounting records that enabled the executives to conceal inflated earnings at Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold’s U.S. Foodservice unit, prosecutors said.

Ahold spokesman Walter Samuels declined to comment on the charges.

Among those charged were Michael Rogers, a former Tyson vice president for sales, and John Nettle, a former account manager at General Mills. Rogers and Nettle weren’t immediately available for comment. The nine are accused of conspiracy to falsify books and records, which carries a maximum five-year prison term. "Tyson Foods has cooperated fully with the and U.S. attorney in this matter and intends to continue to do so," Tyson said in an e-mailed statement. Rogers resigned from the company in early 2003. Shares of Tyson Foods closed at $17.58, down 10 cents or 0.57 percent, in trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. General Mills spokesman Marybeth Thorsgaard said Nettle "acted alone and in violation of company policy."

<snip>

The arrest was the largest ever of suppliers accused of helping a company defraud investors and signaled that prosecutors will target anyone connected to corporate fraud, Kelley said.

...more...

Wow! Defrauding Investors! Gee, I hope those investors don't rely on that stock for their retirement!

[UpInArms]

20. Edward Jones received $82.4 mln (payola!)

Broker releases details of undisclosed deals with funds

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BBC6AAA68%2DE85B%2D400E%2DAE78%2D5E9C2E367C08%7D&siteid=mktw

BOSTON (CBS.MW) -- Broker-dealer Edward D. Jones received $82.4 million from seven mutual-fund firms from January to November of 2004 that wasn't disclosed to investors, the company said Thursday on its Web site.

As required by its recent settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Edward Jones listed the amounts it received to sell mutual funds from "preferred fund families" American Funds, Federated, Goldman Sachs, Hartford, Lord Abbett, Putnam and Van Kampen.

In late December, Edward Jones agreed to pay $75 million to settle SEC and New York Stock Exchange charges that the company didn't disclose information about revenue-sharing payments, and managing general partner Douglas Hill agreed to voluntarily retire at the end of 2005 and pay $3 million.

In its settlement with the SEC, Edward Jones did not admit or deny the allegations.

Edward Jones said in its Web site statement that preferred fund families had "greater access to our investment representatives to provide training, marketing support and education presentations.

...more...

Gosh and golly gee! Don't we feel more comfortable out using the stock market and its paid for buddies to invest our retirement funds?

[UpInArms]

22. Macy's settles racial-profiling case

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B7BD14659%2D4635%2D4904%2DAE5A%2DCEBC00D9F639%7D&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Macy's has agreed to adopt measures to ensure that its security officers comply with a chainwide policy of not using racial or ethnic profiling to combat shoplifting, the retailer said Friday.

As part of a settlement reached with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, Macy's, a unit of Federated Department Stores (FD: news, chart, profile), is to pay $600,000 to repay state costs incurred in the investigation of complaints by black and Hispanic customers who said they were more often detained and questioned, searched and handcuffed than white customers.

<snip>

Last week, Federated's former chairman and chief executive officer, James Zimmerman, was indicted on a charge of perjury. According to the indictment, Zimmerman lied under oath to conceal evidence of possible antitrust violations in the bridal industry.

That unrelated charge stemmed from an investigation that began in 2003 in which Spitzer alleged that Cincinnati-based Federated, along with May Department Stores (MAY: news, chart, profile), Lenox Inc. and Waterford Wedgewood USA, took part in a scam to shut out Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY: news, chart, profile) in the sale of Lenox and Waterford products. See full story.

...more...

Can you say "systemic"?

[UpInArms]

11. Layoffs

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/207812_joa14.html

(Seattle) Times plans 90 to 110 layoffs
Cuts needed to restore profitability, newspaper says; specifics not given

The Seattle Times plans to cut 90 to 110 positions, or about 7 percent of its full-time work force, as part of an effort to shore up its finances and return the newspaper to profitability.

Seattle Times Co. President Carolyn Kelly disclosed those numbers to employees yesterday, three weeks after warning that job cuts were coming. Kelly wrote in a memo that the company plans by mid-February to inform the people to be let go. The memo did not break down the reduction plan by department or job type.

"We haven't finalized anything as far as specifics," said Times spokeswoman Kerry Coughlin. "We're trying to move quickly toward that -- we know there's always a lot of anxiety."

In her memo, Kelly wrote that the 90 to 110 layoffs are all that's currently planned among full-time employees. However, she added that the company couldn't guarantee no more would be made.

...more...

http://www.rrstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050114/BUSINESS05/501140314/1002

Start of Sundstrand layoffs likely in Feb.

ROCKFORD -- Targeted workers at Hamilton Sundstrand could get their walking papers as soon as Feb. 21, starting a process that will eventually eliminate 275 members of United Auto Workers Local 592 from the aerospace manufacturer.

The layoffs are part of the company's push to reduce labor costs and consolidate production.

The cuts affect workers in Sundstrand's repair and overhaul operations at the Harrison Avenue plant, and electronics manufacturing at its 11th Street facility. Melissa Marsden, a company spokeswoman, said all workers at repair and overhaul would be terminated by June 1, while the electronics manufacturing operation would be shuttered by the end of 2005.

On Dec. 23, union leaders received a 60-day warning of impending layoffs; employees were first informed of the decision during meetings with company executives Nov. 5.

...more...

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.3881972338-831009117&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

Lightbridge cuts 40 employees as it closes call center

LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Lightbridge (LTBG) said it will close its Broomfield, Colorado Call Center on Jan. 28 and distribute the business to its other call centres. 40 employees, or 8 percent of the total call center workforce, will be cut.

[UpInArms]

13. Rubbermaid plant to layoff workers

http://www.semissourian.com/story.html$rec=154311

Southeast Missourian

Anticipating the layoff between 60 and 65 employees at Rubbermaid in Jackson, the Missouri Department of Economic Development has activated its Rapid Response Team to meet with employees. The company's work force is being reduced due to a slowdown in production requirements and company reorganization.

According to Jim Grebing of the DED, the team also came to Rubbermaid July 19 and 20 when the company announced a reorganization and slowdown.

Layoffs are expected to be made Monday, Feb. 4 and Feb. 28, Grebing said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

23. PeopleSoft layoffs could hit today

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_2524578

PLEASANTON — Rumors have circulated throughout the corridors of the former-PeopleSoft Inc. headquarters that sometime either today or Saturday an overnight package will arrive at the door of employees with news of their future.

If it's thick, it means there's severance information and the person will be laid off. If it's thin, it's an offer to continue with Redwood City-based Oracle Corp.

Current Oracle employees could get similar packages as well.

But this is just popular speculation on the PeopleSoft campus in Pleasanton.

The truth is that only the top Oracle brass can say for sure how the fate of its more than 11,700 PeopleSoft employees, and the more than 41,000 Oracle employees worldwide, will be played out as a result of the $10.3 billion acquisition of PeopleSoft by Oracle earlier this month.

<snip>

"Starting (today) it's going to be very nervous times at PeopleSoft as the first round of cuts get under way," said Paul Hamerman, an industry analyst with Forrester Research. "People are going to show up to work not knowing whether they are going to have a job or not at day's end."

...more...

[UpInArms]

30. Larry Ellison's assurances look weak after layoffs

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3156907a13,00.html

A promise by United States entrepreneur Larry Ellison's that Oracle would over-support PeopleSoft customers had a hollow ring yesterday when his firm sacked 15 of PeopleSoft New Zealand's 50 staff, days after completing a $US10.3 billion ($NZ14.78 billion) takeover.


There was a similar cleanout in Australia and, around the world, up to 6000 of PeopleSoft's 11,000 staff will not be turning up to work on Monday.

Oracle refused to comment on the lay-offs and PeopleSoft New Zealand manager Andrew Batchelor, who was offered a job in Australia with Oracle, also stayed quiet.

Oracle was only interested in retaining billable staff such as those in technical support.

PeopleSoft had about 140 sites in New Zealand, 85 of them picked up in the 2003 merger with JD Edwards.

...more...

[UpInArms]

29. Sanmina Layoffs (New York)

http://www.wicz.com/news/news.asp?m=v&a=6258

ANOTHER OWEGO COMPANY IS NOT ADDING WORKERS, BUT LAYING OFF MORE OF THEM.

WORKERS AT THE SANMINA S-C-I FACILITY IN OWEGO SAY SOME MANAGERS WERE FIRED WEDNESDAY, AND DOZENS OF RANK-AND-FILE WORKERS WERE LAID-OFF YESTERDAY.

THE MOVES COME ONE MONTH AFTER THE COMPANY DISMISSED ABOUT 60 PEOPLE, INCLUDING SOME WHO'D WORKED AT THE PLANT FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES. WORKERS WHO REMAINED HAD THEIR HOURS SLASHED BY 20 PERCENT.

...more...

[UpInArms]

31. Enterasys Networks announces layoffs of 115

http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2005/01/10/daily71.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Enterasys Networks Inc. will lay off 115 employees across the company this quarter, for a savings of $9.5 million, the company announced today.

Andover-based Enterasys (NYSE: ETS) is a network security company. The restructuring is part of an ongoing attempt by the company to reduce costs, CEO William O'Brien said in a statement. The job reductions are part of the company's growth strategy and not related to its fourth quarter or anticipated first quarter results, O'Brien said.

The company will take face combined total severance charges of $3.5 million to $3.8 million in both the fourth and first quarters related to this layoff.

Enterasys will shrink from 1,176 employees worldwide to 1,040 by the second quarter with this action.

...more...

[UpInArms]

32. In financial crunch, Eziba expects layoffs, restructuring

http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9054~2653475,00.html

NORTH ADAMS -- Financial problems are plaguing Eziba after a computer error left the online, catalog and retail company scrambling to recoup lost sales from last September and October.

As a result of the error, which was on the part of the company charged with mailing out tens of thousands of Eziba's catalogs in anticipation of fall sales, Eziba is in a cash crunch, and is struggling to pay its creditors. The company expects to make employee layoffs across the board, Eziba co-founder Richard Sabot said Thursday.

"The company is working with its creditors to find a way to make the company's debt manageable so that the company can then go forward in one form or another," Sabot said. "... The goal right now is to make sure there's a future for the company. There's a team now at work on the rebuilding of the company."

...more...

[UpInArms]

33. Boeing Production Changes To Result In 750 Job Cuts

http://www.nbc4.tv/technology/4082706/detail.html

LONG BEACH -- The Boeing Co. announced Friday it will end production of its 717 jetliner, a decision expected to result in the loss of at least 750 jobs in Long Beach, where the aircraft is built, starting next year.

"The 717 brings tremendous value to the airlines that operate it. Unfortunately, the overall market for the airplane does not support continuing 717 production beyond delivering on our current commitments," said Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally in a statement from the company's headquarters in Chicago.

"We extend our appreciation and gratitude to all our employees, customers and partners who worked so well together on the 717. The moving production line pioneered on this airplane will be a lasting legacy across our current and future airplane programs."

The aerospace giant will close the Long Beach plant that manufactures the 717, the last commercial jetliner built in California, once orders for 18 of the planes are filled, according to an internal memo obtained by the Press-Telegram before Friday morning's announcement.

...more...

[UpInArms]

12. 9:56 EST numbers and blather

Dow 10,529.92 +24.09 (+0.23%)
Nasdaq 2,080.97 +10.41 (+0.50%)
S&P 500 1,180.36 +2.91 (+0.25%)
10-Yr Bond 42.20 +0.33 (+0.79%)

NYSE Volume 135,979,000
Nasdaq Volume 249,334,000

9:40AM: Market shrugs off yesterday's weakness and opens on a high note, in line with futures indications, following solid economic data... The December Producer Price Index plunged 0.7%, much sharper than the 0.2% decline economists expected, due in large part to the biggest decline in energy prices since April 2003... Core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, checked in at +0.1%, below forecasts and last month's increase of 0.2% and less than gains of 0.3% over the three months prior (Aug, Sept, Oct), which had raised concerns that inflation was firming...

With the December core rate coming in a bit better than anticipated, however, it appears inflation so far remains contained...

9:15AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +3.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.5. Still shaping up to be a modestly higher open for the cash market... Boeing (BA) could garner attention after announcing plans to recognize Q4 (Dec) pre-tax charges totaling about $615 mln while investors keep a watchful eye on General Motors (GM) following several cautious analyst comments related to the automaker's disappointing FY05 guidance... Meanwhile, BB&T Corp (BBT), the only notable company reporting earnings this morning, missed Q4 forecasts by a penny

9:00AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +2.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.0. Expectations remain set for a modestly higher open for the cash market, as futures indications hold their own above fair value... Drug stocks could be in focus today after Banc of America initiated coverage of Wyeth (WYE) and Eli Lilly (LLY) with Buy ratings and Schering-Plough (SGP) with a Sell recommendation...

[UpInArms]

21. 10:40 EST UPdate and blather

Dow 10,557.85 +52.02 (+0.50%)
Nasdaq 2,086.61 +16.05 (+0.78%)
S&P 500 1,183.25 +5.80 (+0.49%)
10-Yr Bond 4.217 +0.30 (+0.72%)

NYSE Volume 323,492,000
Nasdaq Volume 543,580,000

10:30AM: Major indices maintain much of their early gains with spirited leadership across most industry groups... Semiconductor (+1.2%) and software (+1.0%) have paced the way in technology, offsetting weakness in computer hardware (-0.7%)... Also showing strength early on has been airline, retail, utility, materials, health care, energy and brokerage... Homebuilding has shown little follow through from yesterday as bonds have reversed course, while pharmaceutical and telecom services have also experienced some modest selling pressure... NYSE Adv/Dec 1712/1159, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1571/1007

10:00AM: Stocks hold steady at higher levels as buyers continue to rally around this morning's better than expected batch of economic releases... Manufacturers, despite experiencing a decades-long decline in manufacturing employment, appear to be ending the year on an upbeat note, as December Industrial Production jumped to a record 0.8% (consensus +0.5%), indicative of good underlying growth... Meanwhile, Capacity Utilization checked in at 79.2% (consensus 78.9%), not yet suggestive of inflation concerns but beginning to grab attention, as 80% remains the hypothetical mark where inflation picks up...

[UpInArms]

14. financing the coronation

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1175152,00.html

They bankroll Bush inaugural

http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1175152,00.html

excerpt:

So far, Bush's inaugural committee has collected nearly $18 million in contributions, mostly in $250,000 and $100,000 checks. Many of the large donors could benefit from key items on Bush's agenda, such as allowing oil exploration in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, revising clean air and water standards and limiting civil liability lawsuits.

The committee has identified three benefactors from the Garden State: John L. "Jay" Kemmerer III of Morristown (who gave $100,000), Marc S. Goldman of Hoboken ($100,000) and the Long Beach Acceptance Corp. ($250,000), an automotive financing firm based in Paramus and run by Stephen W. Prough of California.

All three men are frequent givers to Republican causes, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, an independent group that tracks political contributions.

<snip>

The committee says 44 donors have given $250,000 to qualify as "underwriters." The top donors include such Fortune 500 giants as AT&T, Exxon Mobil Corp., Ford Motor Co., Time Warner and United Parcel Service.

Individuals who have given the maximum include Michael Dell, founder of Dell Computer; former Enron President Richard Kinder; Cincinnati financier Carl Lindner and Dallas oilman T. Boone Pickens.

...more...

[RawMaterials]

24. 12:00 EST Market Update

11:30AM: Little changed in the last half hour as equities continue to trade at improved levels... Treasuries, however, have continued to trade lower... Bonds, despite rallying a bit on the PPI headline reading of -0.7% earlier, have erased gains following stronger than expected industrial production and capacity utilization figures... In response, the 10-year note was knocked down 13 ticks to yield 4.21%, which is where the benchmark treasury continues to trade...NYSE Adv/Dec 1963/1130, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1768/989

11:00AM: Buyers remain in control of the action as stocks continue to boast noticeable gains... Crude oil falling to new session lows below $48/bbl over the last half hour has provided a driving force behind a recent uptick that pushed the indices to new session highs... Commodities traders have been cautiously watching for remarks from OPEC related to additional production cuts as well as any news out of Iraq concerning elections scheduled for January 30... But volatile trading in the commodity has lifted crude oil back to $48.30/bbl (+$0.26) and taken some of the steam out of the knee-jerk rally...NYSE Adv/Dec 2000/1030, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1839/871

10:30AM: Major indices maintain much of their early gains with spirited leadership across most industry groups... Semiconductor (+1.2%) and software (+1.0%) have paced the way in technology, offsetting weakness in computer hardware (-0.7%)... Also showing strength early on has been airline, retail, utility, materials, health care, energy and brokerage... Homebuilding has shown little follow through from yesterday as bonds have reversed course, while pharmaceutical and telecom services have also experienced some modest selling pressure...

http://finance.yahoo.com/mo

[UpInArms]

25. latest lying spin from the Whitehouse re SS privatization

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38366.4937175926-831014357&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

OMB's Bolten: Soc. Sec. accounts not true debt boost

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- White House budget director Josh Bolten on Friday said the costs associated with allowing workers to divert part of their Social Security payroll taxes into private investment accounts would not mark a true increase in federal debt, but would affect near-term fiscal balances. Bolten, who heads the Office of Management and Budget, argued that such "transition financing" would allow Social Security to be brought into long-term balance, eliminating more than $10 trillion in Social Security's long-term unfunded commitments. Bolten said transition costs wouldn't be reflected in the fiscal 2006 budget outline due to be sent to Congress next month because President Bush hasn't yet settled on a detailed proposal.

:nuke:

[UpInArms]

27. here's the L-I-E expander now

White House: No debt rise from private Social Sec. accounts

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B1E4D96D3%2D26A1%2D4C3E%2D8649%2D4F7F91B384BB%7D&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - Allowing workers to divert a chunk of their Social Security payroll taxes into private investment accounts would boost government borrowing in coming years but wouldn't increase federal debt, White House budget director Josh Bolten said on Friday.

Bush has ruled out raising payroll taxes to fund the transition to private accounts. Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bolten reasserted the administration's stance that the transition should be funded by increased government borrowing.

While borrowing requirements - estimated at as much as $2 trillion over the next decade - would be reflected in the near-term fiscal picture, it wouldn't represent "an increase in debt," Bolten said.

He argued that the costs would be a wash over the long haul, with a revamped Social Security system wiping out the program's long-term projected shortfall of more than $10 trillion.

<snip>

Bolten criticized use of the term "transition costs" to describe the borrowing associated with creating the accounts, saying it would be better described as "transition financing."

...more...

Yeah! Borrow $2 Trillion but have no Debt! Hurray for smoke and mirrors! New words to come! "Transition Financing" - the change from your pocket to theirs! Hurray for the cabal! :argh: :grr:

[spotbird]

28. DJIA 1:50 PM 10,543.59 +37.76

+0.36%

kick

[UpInArms]

34. 3:31 EST numbers and blather

Dow 10,557.48 +51.65 (+0.49%)
Nasdaq 2,084.13 +13.57 (+0.66%)
S&P 500 1,183.79 +6.34 (+0.54%)
10-Yr Bond 4.216 +0.29 (+0.69%)

NYSE Volume 1,125,009,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,806,146,000

3:00PM: A renewed wave of buyers step in and push the market averages to new highs heading into the last hour of trading... Much of today's action has returned to depressed groups, like transportation (+0.8%) and utility (+0.6%), which have fallen 7.0% and 1.6%, respectively, so far in the New Year... Also witnessing a resurgence in buying interest have been small cap issues, with gains in the Russell 2000 (+0.7%) and S&P SmallCap 600 (+0.8%) Indexes somewhat minimizing 2005 losses of 6.4% and 5.6%, respectively...NYSE Adv/Dec 2026/1241, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1854/1156

2:30PM: Still a basically unchanged market with not much to move the indices in the late afternoon... Meanwhile, the Bank Index (BKX +0.06%), essentially the only interest-rate sensitive group that failed to catch a bid yesterday at the expense of lower bond yields, has bounced around the flat line all day and currently clings to slim gains... Investors have taken a cautious approach to the group over the last few sessions as the majority of stocks within the S&P 500 banking subgroup are expected to report quarterly results next week... NYSE Adv/Dec 2024/1240, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1831/1187

2:00PM: Not much conviction on the part of sellers as the broader averages preserve modest gains... On the Dow, Walt Disney (DIS 28.30 +0.55) has gained the most ground after Merrill Lynch upgraded the media giant to Buy from Neutral based on earnings acceleration while Altria Group (MO 62.98 +0.68) has also surged after its subsidiary Phillip Morris USA said it would raise prices on certain cigarette brands by $0.10 a pack...

[54anickel]

35. Heh, a cool 8 billion in repos today on the heels of 10 biggies

yesterday. Got another treasury auction coming up or something? :shrug:

http://www.321gold.com/fed/temp_bank_res.html

[54anickel]

36. No Fear in Stocks (Nice opening paragraph)

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/hamilton/hamilton011405.html

The behavior of the US stock markets in recent months has been utterly fascinating. From the market-igniting presidential elections a couple months ago to the anomalous January weakness plaguing the markets now, strange things are definitely afoot.

To set the stage to investigate we first have to peer back into 2004. In the entire year until Election Day on November 2nd, the S&P 500 was up just under 1.7%. After topping early in the year, the markets were actually in a distinct downtrend until just before the elections when the bulls started stampeding.

But from Election Day until the end of the year, the S&P 500 exhibited stupendous performance and rallied another 7.2%. Fully 4/5ths of the gains for the entire year accrued in the last two months of trading after the election uncertainties finally evaporated! This strong and impressive election rally has led to today's environment where there is no fear in the stock markets.

In the first week of this year however, the S&P 500 actually fell 2.1%, a rather odd event. In a single week not only were nearly a third of the election rally's gains stripped away, but the stock-market performance in the first week of the year is considered to be a key metric for one variation of the popular January Effect. As goes the first week, so goes the year per this particular barometer.

So we had a 2004 that was trending relentlessly to a negative finish for its first ten months, then a powerful rally on an exogenous event that cannot be repeated for four years, and then a rare down first week in 2005 when fresh new pension capital usually deluges into the markets and boosts stock prices significantly. In light of these events I would think caution should be in order. A two-month election rally does not necessarily nullify a ten-month downtrend.

more...

[ChiciB1]

37. Let's All Join The SS BandWagon!!

What do we have to lose????

I know, been there, done that and still in the HOLE!

[54anickel]

38. Stocks end lackluster week on up note

Tame inflation report inspires buying; Disney shares rise

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?column=Market+Snapshot&siteid=mktw&dist=

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- U.S. stocks ended higher Friday in a week where blue chips retreated on earnings-related losses for Alcoa, General Motors and Verizon Communications, while the Nasdaq was little changed, cushioned by better-than-expected results from Intel and Apple Computer.

Investors also had to digest a fresh spike in oil prices, news of a record U.S. trade deficit for November but also the biggest monthly drop in U.S. wholesale prices in nearly two years.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU: news, chart, profile) ended up 52.17 points at 10,558 on the fifth anniversary of its all-time high of 11,750. On the week, the benchmark index slipped 0.4 percent.

snip>

The performance of the market was "disappointing," said Joe Liro, equity strategist at Stone & McCarthy Research Associates.

Liro said the economic and earnings news over the last five days was broadly positive, yet the market failed to rally.

"The standard response is profit taking off the fourth quarter rally," said Liro. "I'm not so convinced it's that. The market is maybe repricing itself to a somewhat less positive outlook for the spring and summer months when economic growth isn't going to be as strong and earnings momentum is going to slow."

U.S. markets will be closed Monday in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday.

more...

[54anickel]

40. Saboteurs strike Iraq's oil industry on daily basis: minister

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1518&ncid=1518&e=7&u=/afp/20050113/bs_afp/iraqoilsabotage_050113192342

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Insurgents are carrying out at least one attack a day on Iraq (news - web sites)'s vital oil infrastructure, at times shutting down all fuel lines to Baghdad, Oil Minister Thamer Ghadban said.

"Over the past three months, attacks have increased to about one or two attacks every day," Ghadban told a press conference.

He warned the attacks were not random but part of a deliberate strategy to create fuel shortages in the capital. Ghadban said attacks numbered more than 200 in 2004 and had averaged about 24 per month.

"There is a leadership running these terrorist attacks. That leadership has maps and is aiming to isolate the city of Baghdad," Ghadban said.

Insurgents deliberately target fuel lines from Kirkuk, Baiji and Nafat Khana to the north that supply Baghdad's main refinery in the southern suburb of Dura, which in turn provides fuel to the capital's main electricity plant, Ghadban said.

more...

[54anickel]

41. Fed's Poole: Fannie, Freddie inadequately protected

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=7324100

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - A U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Thursday Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were inadequately protected against risks while studies from the central bank questioned the public good they offer.

Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , hit hard by accounting woes in the past two years that led them to oust top executives, should be required to hold more capital to cushion against shocks, even ones that seem unlikely, St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said.

"Their capital positions are thin relative to the risks these firms assume," Poole told the St. Louis Society of Financial Analysts.

In his speech, he reiterated his belief that the companies pose a "substantial risk" to the U.S. economy and told Reuters in an interview they should be cut loose from government protection and privatized.

During audience questions, he said he would raise the companies' capital requirements to the equivalent of banks. Markets would then be the arbiters of adequate capital.

Poole's comments came hours after Fed released three studies suggesting, among other things, that the companies were falling short of one of the core goals that justify their government backing -- lowering borrowing costs to make home ownership more accessible.

more...

[54anickel]

42. And the closing numbers -

Dow 10,558.00 +52.17 (+0.50%)
Nasdaq 2,087.91 +17.35 (+0.84%)
S&P 500 1,184.52 +7.07 (+0.60%)
10-yr Bond 4.216% +0.029
30-yr Bond 4.734% +0.018
NYSE Volume 1,334,819,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,092,143,000

Close Dow +52.17 at 10558.00, S&P +7.07 at 1184.52, Nasdaq +17.35 at 2087.91: With inflation in check and good underlying growth indicated by stronger than expected economic data, concerns of an oversold market were removed as broad-based buying interest pushed virtually every sector into positive territory... Most closely watched was the Labor Dept's producer price index (PPI), which relieved growing inflationary pressures with the first broad decline in wholesale prices seen in six months, igniting a positive sentiment in the early going...
Dec PPI fell 0.7%, (consensus -0.2%), led by the largest decline in energy prices in 20 months, while the core PPI (excluding food and energy prices) checked in stronger as well, at +0.1% (consensus +0.2%)... A strong gain of 0.8% in Dec industrial production (consensus +0.5%) pushed total 2004 growth to 4.1%, the best annual performance in 4 years, while decent capacity utilization of 79.2% (consensus 78.9%) further helped suppress economic growth concerns... Also acting as a supportive factor was Standard & Poor's affirmation of General Motor's (GM 37.13 -0.19) debt rating...

Homebuilding (+1.7%) and utility (+0.7%) were strong, despite a sell off in treasuries that pushed the benchmark 10-year note down 12 ticks and lifted the yield to 4.21%... Strength in semiconductor (+1.8%) and software (+1.4%) offset weakness in computer hardware (-0.7%), which was under pressure following a sector downgrade from Bear Stearns and impacted by weakness in Sun Microsystems (SUNW 4.22 -0.36), which reported Q2 revenues below expectations... Energy (+0.9%) was also higher, despite volatility in crude oil prices ($48.30/bbl +$0.26), while retail, transportation, biotech, materials, health care and financial also posted gains...

Small cap stocks, which have lost substantial ground so far in 2005, also witnessed a resurgence in buying interest with gains in the Russell 2000 (+1.2%) and S&P SmallCap 600 (+1.3%) Indexes... Volumes were lighter than usual heading into the holiday weekend but activity was prevalent enough to keep a tight lid on selling interest... Meanwhile, the dollar was stronger against the euro (1.3101) and the yen (102.04) for the second consecutive session, pushing gold futures down $2.10 to close at $423.00/ounce...DJTA +1.0, DOT +1.7, NYSE Adv/Dec 2208/1105, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 2050/1020

3:30PM : Equities continue to vacillate near session highs with few catalysts to send them noticeably lower... While the markets will be closed on Monday, in observance of Martin Luther King Day, Tuesday will bring an onslaught of earnings reports, especially from the banking industry... Companies in focus before the bell will be ABT, BAC, C, MMM, USB and WFC while AMD, IBM, MOT, STX and YHOO will report quarterly results after the close... The only piece of economic data Tuesday will be the January NY Empire State Index (consensus 26.5) at 8:30 ET...NYSE Adv/Dec 2092/1190, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1885/1165

Advances & Declines
NYSE Nasdaq
Advances 2247 (64%) 2077 (64%)
Declines 1079 (30%) 1014 (31%)
Unchanged 167 (4%) 138 (4%)

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

Up Vol* 942 (70%) 1335 (63%)
Down Vol* 361 (27%) 730 (34%)
Unch. Vol* 33 (2%) 27 (1%)

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

New Hi's 103 65
New Lo's 20 27


Have a great weekend everyone :hi:

[54anickel]

43. Malaysia May Scrap Dollar Peg Before China

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_pesek&sid=a8qC8BaAHR_0

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Currency speculators -- financial barbarians, some might say -- are again at Malaysia's gate. Only this time, they're not exploiting weaknesses in Asia's 10th biggest economy, but its strength.

Foreign money is rushing here amid speculation Malaysia will scrap its six-year-old currency peg to the U.S. dollar. The hope is to profit from a one-off jump in the value of the ringgit, which many analysts think is roughly 20 percent undervalued.

Will the bet pay off? It may indeed now that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi seems to be dropping hints that a change in currency regimes may be afoot.

``It's become a matter of when, not if, the peg will be done away with,'' says Nik Azhar Abdullah, chief investment at Avenue Asset Management Services Sdn. here in Kuala Lumpur.

snip>

Tinge of Nationalism

There's also a tinge of nationalism at play here. When Abdullah's predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, pegged the ringgit in 1998, the International Monetary Fund derided it as an ``extremely retrograde step.'' By December 2002, the IMF was calling the peg a ``stability anchor'' of a rebounding economy. Every day the peg remains, one could argue, is a day Malaysia can say it's going its own way economically.

Once a change it made, Malaysia won't let the ringgit float freely right away. The odds favor it adopting a Singapore-like system in which the ringgit is managed in a trading range dictated by a basket of currencies.

more...

[ausiedownunderground]

44. Lads or maybe a lady? Is the US "fucked" or not?

Is America "fucked" economically, of course?

Down here in OZ we are operating as if you are! I work for a multinational company in Oz + Asia-Pacific (Thank god for the Tsunami!!! - We've got work for at least 10 years!. First order "rocked in" last Tuesday - 100 million!). Sounds like the US might miss out from Asian Tsunami work!!! Just a rumour down here! But hell you people have got Iraqi work all sown up! HAHAHAHAHA

[54anickel]

45. Well, thanks to Bush our name is mud the world over! I believe that

rumor may hold true - the US will be looked to as a last resort. I can't agree with your sentiment of "Thank god for the Tsunami!!!", but aside from that, sounds about right.