STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday 24 October

[ozymandius]

Monday October 24, 2005

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 3 YEARS, 90 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1768 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1467 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1429
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 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 October 21, 2005

Dow... 10,215.22 -65.88 (-0.64%)
Nasdaq... 2,082.21 +14.10 (+0.68%)
S&P 500... 1,179.59 +1.79 (+0.15%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.39% -0.07 (-1.55%)
Gold future... 469.10 +5.90 (+1.26%)






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 Tim W. Wood

THE DOW REPORT
A Brief Follow Up on Key Non-Confirmations

A few week’s ago I addressed the fact that the recent decline had been confirmed by some indexes, but unconfirmed by others. From a Dow theory perspective the only confirmations that count are those which occur between the Industrials and the Transports. Today, I want to revisit these non-confirmations.

Below is a chart of the Industrials vs. the Transports. From a strict Dow theory perspective, we must use close-only charts and ignore the opens, highs and lows. In doing so, the decline into the recent lows carried the Industrials below both their September and their July lows. To date, the Transports have held above these levels. This in turn has created short-term non-confirmations between these two indexes that continue to hold. Until/unless both averages move above or below their corresponding high or low points, the averages are not considered to be “in gear.” Furthermore, when the averages are not “in gear,” their movements are not to be trusted until confirmation occurs. At such time that confirmation by both averages occurs, they are then considered to be back “in gear” at that level.



-cut-

Moving forward to our current situation, we have a non-confirmation that occurred at the recent price lows. This non-confirmation has been a month in the making, which is a relatively short time in terms of many of the previous non-confirmations. But, there is an even shorter-term wrinkle now developing. Notice that as a result of this downside non-confirmation, the Retailers have advanced above their late September short-term high. Yet, the Industrials haven’t. Therefore, the Industrials are either simply lagging the Retailers or perhaps the advance out of the recent low is already over.

more...

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

[UpInArms]

2. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 90.30 Change -0.01 (-0.01%)

Dollar Keeps Majors Guessing

http://www.dailyfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4377&Itemid=39

Trader’s Outlook:

The price action is beginning to resemble a shoving match as majors continue to trade within a narrow range. As the market continues to get its bearings, this trader remains on sidelines as there are no definite clues to the direction of the short-term price action as it’s extremely “noisy” and I believe there is no real money in trading “noise”, just excessive volatility and an increased chance of having your stop-loss order hit, as market widely fluctuates with overall price levels remaining static.

...more...

Dollar-Based Pairs Shake Up Market

http://www.dailyfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4371&Itemid=39

Oil Woes
On top of less-than-ideal data, oil prices dipped below $60 per barrel when Hurricane Wilma missed the Gulf Coast refineries this morning. Oil did recover to trade back above $60 a barrel but it did very little to help the suffering CAD as the dollar continued to rally. With the hurricane past the critical point, worries of reoccurring nightmares from early September were calmed and the dollar continued to gain strength. Meanwhile, traders continued to unload overweight CAD positions leaving the currency rather hopeless.

Technically Speaking
The strong rally the dollar made against the loonie was still full of steam even as liquidity was slowly sapped out of the market going into the close. A retest of the double top 1.1893 level will likely offer the first stop, but carrying through would not be a difficult proposition. The downside is increasingly being contained by a rising trendline that is now at 1.1770.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. Japan life insurers shun hedged dollar bonds

http://today.reuters.com/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2005-10-24T074334Z_01_T285734_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-JAPAN-INSURERS-WRAPUP.XML

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Japanese life insurance companies are becoming wary about investing in dollar bonds, as rising U.S. interest rates make the cost of hedging against currency risks expensive, while buying bonds without hedging looks precarious.

A Reuters survey of nine major insurers, whose foreign bond holdings total $168 billion, showed that many had either already slashed hedged dollar bond positions in first half of the 2005/06 business year that began in April or plan to reduce them in the second half because of the prohibitive hedging costs.

By both selling the foreign bonds and unwinding hedges, the insurers' actions would have little impact on currencies. Some said they were favouring hedged euro bond purchases, which also would have no currency impact.

At the same time, many were reluctant to buy dollar bonds without currency hedging because the dollar has already risen 11 percent against the yen this year and may soon retreat, according to investment officers from the insurers interviewed by Reuters.

"We sold all of our hedged foreign bonds in August and September because the cost of hedging is heftier now," said Hirofumi Watanabe, manager of investment planning at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, Japan's third largest.

...more...

[UpInArms]

37. Dollar dips vs. yen on China comment

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BA87DB6AE%2D3880%2D4998%2DA54B%2DB551A9C94FC8%7D&siteid=mktw

HICAGO (MarketWatch) - The U.S. dollar fell against its Japanese counterpart on Monday, following comments hinting at further appreciation of the Chinese yuan and by proxy, the region's benchmark, the yen.

China's Yu Yongding, who heads the Institute of World Economics and Politics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said yuan appreciation was inevitable over time, but that changes would likely be gradual, according to analysts' reports citing those comments.

U.S. officials have welcomed China's initial steps but have stressed in recent comments the need for more reform. On July 21, China dropped a decade-old yuan-dollar peg, a mechanism in place to keep Chinese-made goods more competitive. Since then, net yuan appreciation has been minimal, with the currency trading within a daily band against a basket of the world's leading currencies.

The comments alone weren't that newsworthy, analysts said. Rather, they provided the catalyst many in the foreign-exchange market were looking for to trigger dollar selling after the U.S. currency hit a wall of option-related resistance above 116 yen.

...more...

[54anickel]

84. Bit more on repatriated profits in this one

http://today.reuters.co.uk/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=usDollarRpt&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20051024:MTFH47414_2005-10-24_14-55-10_N2433641:1

snip>

The dollar has been boosted for much of 2005 as rising U.S. interest rates and yields have burnished the appeal of dollar-denominated deposits.

"Higher rates are attracting capital, while corporates repatriating profits from overseas will also keep demand high for the dollar," Mazanec said.

Analysts say the dollar is in a tug-of-war -- inflows are coming from corporations looking to benefit from a one-time tax break on repatriated income related to the Homeland Investment Act, while central banks looking to diversify their reserves are selling dollars.

more...

There's also a headline from the WSJ that reads, "Rising Stock Buybacks Align With Repatriated Profits" but I don't have a subscription to get to the article.

[UpInArms]

103. peek at the stumbling buck

Last trade 89.94 Change -0.37 (-0.41%)

Settle 90.31 Settle Time 23:35

Open 90.38 Previous Close 90.31

High 90.43 Low 89.81

[UpInArms]

3. Big Oil bears brunt over gas prices

http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-10-23T165910Z_01_MOL361097_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIZFEATURE-OIL.xml

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Like many Americans, Douglas Meltzer says he has little doubt about who is to blame for his pain at the gas pump.

It's not Katrina or Rita, but Big Oil.

"For them, this is all about how big their profits are going to be," the New York cinematographer said as he filled up his sport-utility vehicle at a Manhattan pump. The fuel that would have cost him about $40 a few months ago has jumped to more than $60.

With gasoline prices up one-third from a year ago after two powerful hurricanes disrupted energy production, Big Oil has returned to the forefront of consumer consciousness as the latest corporate villain.

Large oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Chevron Corp. (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) were never the most popular corporate denizens in consumers' minds, but the sticker shock of $3-plus gas prices as the nation struggled in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath has unleashed a new fury among drivers.

As stunned Americans watched rampant looting on the streets of New Orleans after Katrina flooded the city, one Boston Globe writer opined that Big Oil was the biggest looter of them all.

...more...

[UpInArms]

4. Refco seeks fast approval to sell unit

Refco seeks fast approval to sell unit

http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-10-22T131548Z_01_SCH179624_RTRUKOC_0_US-FINANCIAL-REFCO.xml

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bankrupt Refco Inc. sought fast approval for the sale of its brokerage unit to a private equity consortium on Friday, despite receiving a higher bid that sparked hopes among bond investors of a bidding war.

The commodities broker appealed to a bankruptcy court to quickly sell the company's most sought after asset, its futures brokerage, while several Refco creditors revealed more about their exposure to the company.

Refco's (RFXCQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) futures brokerage unit is still operating and has not filed for bankruptcy, and one of its key customers, Cargill Inc., said it will continue trading with the business.

Cargill is not alone. Jacob Goldfield, a member of the J.C. Flowers & Co.-led group that has offered to buy the futures unit said customers are now staying with the business and that the client base has stabilized.

But Refco cautioned in a court filing that time is of the essence, and selling the business quickly is crucial.

"Given the fragility of the acquired business, the buyer's commitment to proceed with the sale requires that the sale be consummated quickly," Refco said.

J.C. Flowers, led by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) banker Christopher Flowers, offered to buy the unit last week for $768 million after being was approached by Refco.

...more...

[UpInArms]

5. Thomas Lee will not manage firm's next fund-report

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=fundsNews2&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20051022:MTFH09856_2005-10-22_04-50-04_N22407621:1

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Thomas H. Lee does not plan to manage the next private equity fund at Thomas H. Lee Partners, the investment firm he founded, according to a BusinessWeek online report that cites unnamed people familiar with the matter.

According to the report, the move comes at a time when Lee is helping the firm to rescue its multi-million dollar investment in futures broker Refco Inc. (RFXCQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research), which filed for bankruptcy this week.

Thomas H. Lee Partners bought a 57 percent stake in Refco last year for about $507 million, and has four seats on the company's board. It sold a portion of its shares when Refco went public in August and now owns a 38 percent stake.

BusinessWeek, citing people familiar with the pitch, said the firm has been telling potential investors in an upcoming fund aimed at raising $7.5 billion that Lee wouldn't be managing the investments.

...more...

[UpInArms]

54. Refco role raises tough questions for equity

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/10/24/business/refco.php

NEW YORK Peter James had been working at Refco less than two months when he noticed something this past summer that teams of accountants had apparently missed for years.

James, a recently hired employee in the controller's office, wondered why a larger-than-normal interest payment had been made to Refco on an outstanding loan made by the company.

In August he started to ask questions, eventually taking his concerns to the chief financial officer, Gerald Sherer. The answers would lead to the departure of the chief executive and the rapid unraveling that prompted Refco's filing for bankruptcy-court protection last week.

<snip>

James had been hired by Sherer, who himself joined Refco only in January, to help bolster the company's financial operations. Sherer had alerted the board to problems with Refco's internal controls, which are the practices or systems for keeping records and preventing abuse or fraud. That weakness was disclosed in Refco's regulatory filings before its initial public offering in August.

Now, questions are mounting over why others - among them, the company's auditor and the underwriters that took Refco public in August - never discovered what James did.

The collapse of Refco has been a black eye particularly for Thomas H. Lee Partners, the private equity firm that bought a majority stake in Refco in August 2004.

...more...

[UpInArms]

82. Man reemerges among possible Refco bidders

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T153345Z_01_N24299140_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-REFCO-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Man Group Plc (EMG.L: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest listed hedge fund firm, reemerged on Monday as a potential bidder for Refco Inc. futures brokerage unit and joined other possible suitors objecting to the proposed sales process.

Refco, the largest independent U.S. futures and commodities broker, has sought court approval for an agreement to sell its futures trading arm to a group led by private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co. for about $768 million, with a breakup fee of 2.8 percent.

But several possible bidders, including Refco rival Man Financial and Marathon Asset Management, raised objections to the process in the U.S. bankruptcy court and voiced concerns about the breakup fee, whether the unit would be sold to the highest bidder and Refco's push to seal a deal within weeks.

Man Financial, the futures brokerage unit of Man Group that had taken itself out of the bidding last week, said on Monday in a filing with the U.S. bankruptcy court that it could be a bidder for all or part of bankrupt Refco Inc.'s Refco LLC futures brokerage business.

But in the filing, Man objected to the way the Refco(RFXCQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) unit is being sold, saying that proposed bidding procedures "significantly impeded" its ability to bid and make its highest and best offer for the business.

...more...

[UpInArms]

96. Dubai Investment Group tops bids for Refco unit

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T161016Z_01_N24630291_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-REFCO-DUBAI-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Dubai Investment Group on Monday said it submitted a bid worth about $828 million for bankrupt Refco Inc.'s (RFXCQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) futures brokerage unit, trumping offers from two other suitors for the sought-after asset.

In a filing with a U.S. bankruptcy group, Dubai Investment Group -- the investment arm of Dubai's government -- said it was leading a group willing to pay 111 percent of the net regulatory capital of the business and no breakup fee.

A group led by private equity firm J.C. Flowers & Co. has offered to buy the futures trading arm of Refco for 103 percent its net regulated capital, which stood at $746 million when the deal was struck, with a 2.8 percent break-up fee.

...more...

[UpInArms]

6. (Morgan Stanley) Judge denies motion to seal Perelman affidavit

(following up from Friday)

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-21T234733Z_01_N21628697_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-MORGANSTANLEY-UPDATE-2.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A Florida state judge denied a motion by Morgan Stanley (MWD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday to seal an affidavit, the contents of which might lead to criminal sanctions against the investment bank and some top executives, people involved in the case said.

The sanctions relate to a March ruling that Morgan Stanley misled the court as to why it failed to produce e-mails in a fraud lawsuit brought by Ronald Perelman.

Three months later, the billionaire financier was awarded $1.58 billion after a jury trial over the bank's role in advising appliance maker Sunbeam Corp. in its 1998 purchase of Perelman's camping goods company, Coleman Co.

Morgan Stanley contends that the affidavit, provided by former executive Arthur Riel, contains information protected by attorney-client privilege, a spokesman for the bank said.

Riel, let go earlier this month, once oversaw Morgan Stanley's e-mail archives. During the Perelman trial, he signed a document certifying that the company gave Perelman's legal team all e-mails it had agreed to produce.

The judge in that case, Elizabeth Maass, thought the certification was false. Frustrated at Morgan Stanley's failure to provide e-mails, she ruled before trial that the bank and Sunbeam conspired to defraud Perelman. This ruling was a major factor in the jury's decision and damage award.

...more...

[UpInArms]

7. Unisys overbilled US Government: report

http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2005-10-23T030355Z_01_SCH310968_RTRUKOC_0_US-UNISYS.xml

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Unisys Corp. (UIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) overbilled the U.S. Government on a $1 billion airport technology contract, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

Federal auditors found that the Blue Bell, Pennsylvania-based technology company "overbilled taxpayers by charging up to $131 for 171,000 hours worth of labor for employees who were paid less than half that amount," according to the report on the newspaper's Web site.

The Post cited an unreleased Defense Contract Audit Agency report and said it had obtained a copy independently. The result of the audit, conducted on behalf of the Transportation Security Administration, has not yet been made public.

"There certainly was no attempt here to commit any type of misdeed of any form," Unisys' managing partner of homeland security, Tom Conaway, told the Post.

According to the newspaper's account, the audit report said that "auditors discovered that timesheets were repeatedly adjusted to change job and labor categories long after the work was performed without 'adequate explanations.'"

...more...

[UpInArms]

9. Mississippi sues 86 drug makers for overcharging

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-21T220046Z_01_N21473304_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-MISSISSIPPI.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Mississippi has sued 86 drug companies, saying they "grossly" overcharged its Medicaid program by deceptively and fraudulently pricing and marketing drugs.

"Fair and honest pricing is a vital matter for the State and its citizens," Attorney General Jim Hood added in the suit.

Jacob Ray, the attorney general's spokesman, estimated 20 states had either filed similar suits, or were in the process of doing so. Mississippi filed its suit Thursday.

Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) was one of the few major drug makers not named, Ray noted.

"The reason being is that we're in settlement talks with Pfizer," he said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

11. Texas regulator eyes possible CenterPoint overcharges

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-21T202830Z_01_N21651534_RTRIDST_0_UTILITIES-CENTERPOINT-UPDATE-1.XML

HOUSTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Power and gas distributor CenterPoint Energy (CNP.N: Quote, Profile, Research) appears to have overcharged Houston-area customers by $105 million in 2004, staff at the Texas Public Utility Commission said on Friday.

According to a memo issued to the three commissioners who regulate the state's utilities, CenterPoint's revenues were about 9.4 percent higher than its mandated rate of return.

"Based on our review of CenterPoint's earnings report, Staff has concluded that the amount of CenterPoint's potential excess revenues is approximately $105 million," the report said.

A spokesman for CenterPoint said he had not yet seen the staff memo, but said the company disagreed with their opinion that it had overcharged.

"Our filing ... showed that we did not over-earn for 2004," Floyd LeBlanc, spokesman for the company, said.

The commission staffers recommended initiating a "rate proceeding" to determine whether CenterPoint's charges were justified. The issue is expected to be discussed at the commission's Oct. 28 meeting.

...more...

[UpInArms]

42. Unisys tumbles in wake of report of government billing probe

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38649.4190906018-847296841&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Shares of Unisys (UIS) lost nearly 9% to $5.05 in early action on Monday following published reports that the federal government is investigating whether the company overbilled the Transportation Security Administration for work on a $1 billion networking contract. The probe was reported in The Washington Post over the weekend.

[UpInArms]

105. Unisys down 20% amid issuing denials of wrongdoing

1:18pm 10/24/05 UNISYS: CONTRACT ISSUES ARE BEING ADDRESSED

1:18pm 10/24/05 DST SYSTEMS CUT TO EQUAL WEIGHT BY MORGAN STANLEY

1:19pm 10/24/05 UNISYS SHARES DOWN 20% AT $4.40

1:17pm 10/24/05 UNISYS: 'NOT UNUSUAL' TO HAVE ISSUES OVER CONTRACTS

1:16pm 10/24/05 UNISYS SAYS IT HAS NOT SEEN FULL COPY OF FEDERAL AUDIT

[UpInArms]

8. Visteon to restate results on accounting errors

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-21T224127Z_01_N21717674_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-VISTEON-ACCOUNTING-UPDATE-1.XML

CHICAGO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Auto parts maker Visteon Corp. (VC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it will restate three years of results because of accounting errors and improper conduct by former employees, reporting wider losses for 2002 through 2004.

Many accounting errors resulted mainly from improper conduct by two former, non-executive finance employees who oversaw the matters, Visteon said.

The restatements stemmed from reporting expenses for freight, raw materials and other costs originating in North America after Dec. 31 instead of in prior periods, it said.

The company said the restatements will increase its 2004 net loss of $1.499 billion by about 3 percent, its 2003 net loss of $1.21 billion by about 2 percent, and its 2002 net loss of $368 million by about 4 percent.

...more...

[Zynx]

29. Everyone of the 3 major auto parts makers have done this now.

Dana, Delphi, and now Visteon.

[UpInArms]

51. Automakers shrug off GM downgrade

It seems to be the "who cares about reality?" market.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38649.4397497222-847299297&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Auto shares, led by DaimlerChrysler's 2.1% gain, shrugged off a brokerage firm downgrade of sector giant General Motors' stock on Monday. Keybanc Capital Markets cut its rating on GM (GM) to underweight from hold and also reiterated its sell on Ford Motor (F) . Still, both stocks moved more than 1% higher. Japanese manufacturers turned in similar advances, with Toyota Motor (TM) leading the way, up 1% at $88.17. DaimlerChrysler (DCX) is on tap to report its third-quarter results later this week.

[Zynx]

61. Anal-cyst(that is intentional) downgrades should mean nothing.

They are usually behind the times.

[ozymandius]

10. Oil Prices Slip As Wilma Strikes Florida

VIENNA, Austria - Crude-oil prices slipped below $60 a barrel Monday as Hurricane Wilma crashed ashore in Florida, avoiding already battered Gulf of Mexico oil producing and refining facilities.

Analysts also said perceptions of relatively plentiful supply and revised assessments showing less damage from previous hurricanes also contributed to the downward trend.

Wilma made landfall near Cape Romano in southwest Florida, battering the area with 125 mph winds and pounding waves. The hurricane had sent large swells into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, forcing several operators to evacuate workers and shut down platforms, and supporting a brief run-up in crude futures.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery slipped 92 cents to $59.71 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed Friday at $60.63 a barrel, up 61 cents up.

more

[ozymandius]

12. Average U.S. Gas Price Drops 25 Cents

CAMARILLO, Calif. - Retail gas prices across the nation fell an average of 25 cents in the past two weeks as refineries in the Gulf Coast steadily resumed production, according to a survey released Sunday.

Still, prices remained slightly higher than pre-Hurricane Katrina levels.

The weighted average price for all three grades declined to $2.69 a gallon on Oct. 21, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.

Self-serve regular averaged $2.66 a gallon nationwide. The price for midgrade was $2.76, while premium-grade hit $2.86.

more

[UpInArms]

23. Hurricane Wilma makes landfall on Florida coast (near Naples)

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T104109Z_01_N24605869_RTRIDST_0_WEATHER-WILMA-LANDFALL-URGENT.XML

MIAMI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Hurricane Wilma made landfall on Florida's southwest Gulf Coast on Monday as a powerful Category 3 storm capable of causing structural damage to buildings, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Wilma, once the most powerful hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic, had winds of 125 mph (200 kph) when it came ashore around Cape Romano, near the city of Naples, the center said.

[UpInArms]

72. 2.5 million Florida Power & Light customers in the dark

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B818E9A36%2DE7EE%2D4DF0%2DBBA5%2D7AC8F5984374%7D&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Roughly 2.5 million homes and businesses were in the dark Monday morning as Hurricane Wilma pounded the Florida peninsula, utilities said.

Wilma made landfall in Florida early Monday as a Category 3 hurricane before being downgraded to a Category 2 storm with winds speeds of 90 miles per hour.

Wilma is the eighth major hurricane to hit Florida in the past 14 months.

Florida Power & Light, a utility subsidiary of FPL Group Inc. (FPL), said 2.5 million of its 4.3 million customers were without power on Monday.

More than half of the outages - 1.7 million - are in Miami Dade and Broward Counties, along the southeast coast of Florida, said Tim Pagel, spokesman for the utility.

West Palm Beach County has an additional 430,000 outages and Sarasota, in the southwest, has reported 400,000 customers without power, Pagel said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

43. Dec Crude @ $59.45 bbl - NatGas @ $12.83 mln btus

10:04am 10/24/05 DEC CRUDE DROPS $1.18, OR 2%, TO $59.45/BRL IN EARLY TRADE

10:04am 10/24/05 NOV NATURAL GAS DOWN 4.2C AT $12.83/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

79. Dec Crude @ $60.05 bbl - NatGas @ $13.01 mln btus

11:24am 10/24/05 NOV NATURAL GAS TURNS HIGHER, UP 13.8C AT $13.01/MLN BTUS

11:24am 10/24/05 DEC CRUDE DOWN 58C, OR 1%, AT $60.05/BRL AFTER $59.30 LOW

11:24am 10/24/05 NOV HEATING OIL FALLS 2.4%; NOV UNLEADED GAS DOWN 1.5%

[UpInArms]

109. Dec Crude @ $60.08 bbl

1:58pm 10/24/05 DEC CRUDE STILL LOWER, BUT BACK ABOVE $60 IN LATE NY TRADE

1:58pm 10/24/05 DEC CRUDE LAST DOWN 55C, OR 0.9%, AT $60.08/BRL

[54anickel]

59. Saudi Oil Income to Reach $163 Bln; Most in 22 Years

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=af9QtYIUPGaw&refer=top_world_news

snip>

The price of Saudi crude oil will average $51 a barrel in 2005, 45 percent more than 2004's $35.17 a barrel, the Riyadh-based lender said in a report on the economy received by e-mail yesterday.

``This boom is coming at a time when the region as a whole has identified important gaps in physical infrastructure after years of neglect,'' said Ala'a Al-Yousuf, chief economist at Manama, Bahrain- based Gulf Finance House said. That's encouraging governments and companies to spend more on property development and industrial projects, Al-Yousuf said in a telephone interview today.

Unemployment among Saudi males of about 9 percent is helping underpin a militant campaign to overthrow the ruling al-Saud family. Militants with suspected links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network have been targeting Westerners and other foreigners in the kingdom in a bid to scare them out, raising concern about security in the world's largest oil producer.

snip>

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and three other Persian Gulf monarchies will generate a record $305 billion of oil revenue this year, a third more than in 2004, on higher international oil prices, according to Standard Chartered Plc, a U.K. bank.

Foreign assets at the Saudi central bank will triple to $141 billion by year-end, from $47 billion in 2004, Samba said.

more...

[ozymandius]

13. Texas Tycoon (friend of Bush) Charged in Oil-for-Food Indictment

WASHINGTON — A famed Texas oilman was charged Friday with paying millions of dollars in kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's regime, in the highest-profile prosecution yet stemming from the defunct United Nations oil-for-food program.

In the indictment against Oscar S. Wyatt Jr., the founder and former chairman of Coastal Corp., prosecutors in New York alleged that he had used secret bank accounts and other shadowy tactics to funnel millions of dollars to Hussein to obtain the right to pump millions of barrels of oil from Iraq between 2000 and 2003.

-cut-

The indictment of Wyatt — a Texas wildcatter and political donor known for his sometimes flamboyant dealings with dictators — is the latest in a wide-ranging investigation into the oil-for-food program run by the U.N.

-cut-

If convicted, Wyatt could face a maximum prison sentence of 62 years and a fine of up to $1 million, prosecutors said. They are also seeking restitution — at least $1 billion that they say were the proceeds from sales of oil obtained as a result of the alleged violations.

more

[UpInArms]

14. Plastic not fantastic: US card industry in revolt

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-10-23T180749Z_01_MOL365222_RTRIDST_0_PICKS-BIZFEATURE-CREDITCARDS-DC.XML

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nobody seems happy with the U.S. credit-card industry these days -- not the consumers who use the cards, the retailers and merchants who accept them, or the lawmakers who oversee the industry.

The merchants accuse the industry of illegally fixing the processing fees its charges them and they are not taking it any more. A growing number have filed suit against the industry's two biggest associations, alleging violations of U.S. antitrust law.

Consumers, meanwhile, accuse the industry of larding its contracts with fine-print "gotcha clauses" that trigger rate increases and penalties -- and they're not taking it anymore either. A growing number are complaining to the Better Business Bureau, where credit-card gripes are now the third-largest source of complaints, and to representatives in Congress.

<snip>

Another, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility Disclosure Act of 2005, sounds less threatening to the industry, but its author, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), has called credit cards "nothing less than wallet-sized predatory loans."

<snip>

This month, the industry's PR problems deepened when Consumer Reports, a monthly magazine published by Consumers Union -- an independent, nonprofit product testing and information service -- blasted the industry's policies in a story headlined: "Credit Cards: They really are out to get you."

...more...

[UpInArms]

99. Banks behaving badly

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/14/pf/bad_banks_0511/index.htm

NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - Zero percent interest for the next six months, or even a year, on all balance transfers. No annual fees. Rewards points for everyday purchases. Choose airline tickets, hotel stays, car rentals, a variety of great brand-name products or just get cash back.

What red-blooded American credit-card holder could resist such a deal?

Well, if you're smart, maybe you.

Tantalizing offers like these from your bank or credit-card issuer are increasingly filled with traps that can pile on unexpected fees or trigger punitive interest rates, some as high as 35 percent.

True, the details are spelled out in the fine print of promotions and cardholder agreements. But, says Curtis Arnold of CardRatings.com, "You have to be incredibly diligent to avoid the tripwire."

...more...

[UpInArms]

15. (Reverse M&A?) Cendant to split into four companies, cuts outlook

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T120810Z_01_N24718106_RTRIDST_0_LEISURE-CENDANT-UPDATE-4.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Travel, hotels and real-estate services company Cendant Corp. (CD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday it would break itself up into four companies, reversing more than a decade of expansion through dozens of acquisitions.

Shares in Cendant, which also cut its earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter and for 2006, rose 9 percent in premarket trading on the Inet electronic brokerage system.

"It's one way of unlocking value on a lot of disparate businesses that somehow got glued together over the last 10 or 15 years. I think it'll be pretty good for shareholders," said Steve Previs, a dealer at Jefferies International in London.

The New York-based owner of Avis car rental, online travel agency Orbitz and the Century 21 real-estate brand said the break-up was aimed at boosting the value of its stock, which has been a laggard since 1997, when a predecessor company, HFS Inc., merged with CUC International to create Cendant.

The market later discovered that CUC had been involved in what was then the largest accounting fraud ever.

...more...

[UpInArms]

16. Weyerhaeuser to close Wright City plywood plant

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T103752Z_01_N24437415_RTRIDST_0_TIMBER-WEYERHAEUSER-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said it would close its veneer and plywood facility in Wright City, Oklahoma, effective immediately.

The company said the closure would affect 250 jobs. The plywood plant had an annual production capacity of 250 million square feet.

The closure of the Wright City facility follows a decision last week to close two mills in Washington state and a move earlier this month to indefinitely close a facility in Saskatchewan.

[UpInArms]

18. CEO sees Delphi shrinking by a fifth - paper

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T072827Z_01_L24582135_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-DELPHI-MILLER.XML

FRANKFURT, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Delphi Corp (DPHIQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Executive Steve Miller expects the biggest U.S. automotive parts supplier to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection around a fifth smaller than it is now, a newspaper reported on Monday.

"Twenty percent is a good ballpark number," industry paper Automotive News quoted Miller as saying in an interview last week, adding that the United Auto Workers and other unions could have a say in how much Delphi shrinks by in the United States.

Cutting its business by a fifth would mean Delphi will shed plants and lines of business with revenue totaling about $5 billion before it leaves Chapter 11 protection some time in 2007, the paper said.

<snip>

Miller has said Delphi must cut wages and benefits to match competitors, who pay their hourly workers a half to a third as much as Delphi does. It also expects to sell or close a substantial part of its U.S. operations.

...more at link...

[UpInArms]

19. Cold Realities For Novell (1100 job cuts coming?)

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_44/b3957125.htm

In the fall of 2004, Chris Stone, then vice-chairman of Novell Inc (NOVL )., took a nine-week executive education course at Harvard Business School. Stone was considered a rising star at the software company. Several Novell insiders say they thought his Harvard stint was the final step in polishing his skills before he took over as chief executive from Jack L. Messman.

But Stone was in for rude surprise. As the course was wrapping up, he met with Messman, and the boss forced him to resign. Neither man will talk about the incident. But former Novell executives say the two had clashed several times previously over who should take credit for the company's decision to shift its focus to selling the Linux open-source operating system. Two sources close to the company say that disagreement was the primary reason for the final split.

The reverberations of that meeting are still being felt today. Earlier this year, investors privately expressed concerns about Messman's ability to retain key execs and manage operations. Then on Aug. 25, the Waltham (Mass.) company surprised Wall Street with a 90% decline in quarterly profits, to $2 million, and a 5% sales slide, to $290 million. Critics quickly went public with their concerns and began calling for change at the top. "I think ultimately fresh leadership is needed," says analyst Jason Maynard of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSR ). Blum Capital, with a 5% stake in Novell, told the company in a letter that its strategy is sound, but "the question is whether the current management and board will execute."

Change could come rapidly now. Novell insiders say the company plans to announce a major restructuring on Oct. 31 that will include layoffs of at least 20% of the 5,800-person workforce. Blum Capital is expected to wage a proxy battle for several seats on the board. The deadline for proxy measures is Oct. 27 and the entire board is up for reelection next April.

...more...

[UpInArms]

20. (Semi-Conductors) Front-end weakness to cause job cuts, says analyst

http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800379737_480200_732910e4_no.HTM

The value of the market for front-end semiconductor manufacturing equipment is set to drop sequentially for the next three quarters, and give rise to a new round of layoffs in the sector, according to The Information Network, a market research company.

The front-end market is set to resume growth in mid-2006 but overall 2006 is still set to drop 3.0 percent following a 9.6 percent drop in market value 2005, the company said. On a quarterly basis The Information Network forecasted a 15 percent drop in Q3 year-over-year and another 19 percent drop in Q4. Sequentially, Q3 2005 over Q2 2005 is set to fall back 2 percent while Q4 2005 over Q3 2005 will drop 13 percent, the firm said.

The company did not give absolute values for the market size at these different times.

The front-end equipment market is set to contract before rebounding to reach growth of 23.5 percent in 2007 and and 31.0 percent in 2008, according to the New Tripoli, Pennsylvania-based company.

<snip>

"Our forecast for 2005, which we made in August 2004, has not changed at negative 9.5 percent and we took into consideration the excess equipment purchases in 2004, a slowdown in the semiconductor market from the 27 percent to 30 percent range in 2004 to the 5 percent to 7 percent range in 2005, capacity utilization of tools, global economies, and apprehension on the part of semi manufacturers to spend money and precipitate another inventory glut problem," noted Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, in a statement.

...more...

[UpInArms]

21. The Broken (Retirement) Promise

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1122017,00.html

It was part of the American Dream, a pledge made by corporations to their workers: for your decades of toil, you will be assured of retirement benefits like a pension and health care. Now more and more companies are walking away from that promise, leaving millions of Americans at risk of an impoverished retirement. How can this be legal? A TIME investigation looks at how Congress let it happen and the widespread social insecurity it's causing

The little shed behind Joy Whitehouse's modest home is filled with aluminum cans--soda cans, soup cans and vegetable cans--that she collects from neighbors or finds during her periodic expeditions along the roadside. Two times a month, she takes them to a recycler, who pays her as much as $30 for her harvest of castoffs. When your fixed income is $942 a month, an extra $30 here and there makes a big difference. After paying rent, utilities and insurance, Whitehouse is left with less than $40 a week to cover everything else. So the money from cans helps pay medical bills for...

...more only with subscription...

[ozymandius]

22. early blather

8:32AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +4.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.5. The cash market remains poised for an upside open. Contributing to early optimism is Cendant's (CD) restructuring announcement; despite the company's lower than expected Q3 EPS reported this morning, investors have sent shares 7% higher after Cendant disclosed its plan to split into four independent, publicly traded companies. The price of crude, as well as gasoline, continue to trade lower in the early going.

8:02AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +3.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.0. Futures trade suggests a higher start for stocks today. Trading below $60.00 per barrel, the price of crude oil ($59.62/bbl) has slipped 1.7% upon reports that Hurricane Wilma spared the refinery rich Gulf Coast and instead struck southwest Florida. Further helping early sentiment is a better than expected Q3 earnings report from Dow component Merck (MRK).

[ozymandius]

27. US stock futures point higher

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures suggested a stronger market open on Monday as better-than-expected profit from companies like drug maker Schering-Plough Corp. (NYSE:SGP - news) stirred investor enthusiasm for equities.

Of the nearly 200 Standard & Poor's companies that have reported earnings so far, about 72 percent have topped Wall Street consensus estimates, compared with about 58 percent in the same period a year ago, according to Reuters Estimates.

Among the biggest names announcing results are financial services provider American Express Co. (NYSE:AXP - news) and oil services company Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL - news)

"Generally speaking, the earnings results have been good. We've got another quarter of solid growth. It suggests to me investors should not be quibbling about the backdrop of the market," said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist and head of research at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd.

more

[ozymandius]

30. pre-open blather

9:14AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +3.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.5.

9:03AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +3.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.5. Versus fair value, futures trade continues to suggest that stocks will head higher this morning. With no economic data scheduled for release today, traders' focus is apt to rest upon the continuation of third quarter earnings reports and the downtick in energy prices. Today's trends in each continue to help foster the early positive tone.

[ozymandius]

24. Merck profit rises, but sales fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co. on Monday said its third-quarter earnings rose, as lower costs offset the loss of its withdrawn arthritis drug Vioxx and sharply lower U.S. and overseas demand for its Zocor cholesterol fighter.

Merck, based in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, said it earned $1.42 billion, or 65 cents per share, compared with $1.33 billion, or 60 cents per share, in the 2004 quarter.

Analysts, on average, expected 62 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company's shares have fallen 18.5 percent so far this year, compared with a 3.1 percent decline for the American Stock Exchange Pharmaceutical Index

more

[UpInArms]

36. Ethan Allen 1st-qtr profit declines

http://today.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=marketsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20051024:MTFH41544_2005-10-24_11-52-41_N244614:1

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (ETH.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Monday that its quarterly profits dropped, hurt by charges.

The furniture maker and retailer reported first-quarter net income of $17.1 million, or 49 cents per share, compared with $18.8 million, or 51 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding the impact of the restructuring and impairment charge, the company said earnings per share were 57 cents. Analysts, on average, expected 55 cents per share before special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

Net sales rose to $251.3 million from $230.3 million a year ago. Wall Street was targeting sales of $238.8 million.

"While order trends remain encouraging, written business has slowed from the levels noted during the past three months," said Farooq Kathwari, chairman and CEO, in a statement. "In addition, we remain cautiously aware of the threat of further increases in the cost of fuel and raw materials and the impact such events could have on consumer spending and profitability."

...more...

[UpInArms]

56. D Banknorth 3rd-quarter profit falls 9 pct

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T143630Z_01_N24300667_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-TDBANKNORTH-EARNS-UPDATE-2.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - TD Banknorth Inc. (BNK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday said quarterly profit fell 9 percent, in part reflecting accounting matters related to the acquisition of a majority stake in the New England banking company by Canada's Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO: Quote, Profile, Research).

Net income for Portland, Maine-based TD Banknorth fell to $88.7 million, or 51 cents per share, in the third quarter from $97.8 million, or 55 cents, a year earlier.

Results included 1 cent per share of charges related to mergers and derivatives. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average forecast profit of 53 cents per share.

...more...

[ozymandius]

25. Kimberly-Clark quarterly profit falls

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Kimberly-Clark Corp. (NYSE:KMB - news) on Monday posted lower third-quarter profit due to restructuring costs, but sales rose, aided by price increases on items such as Huggies diapers.

Net income fell to $325.3 million, or 68 cents per share, from $441.3 million, or 89 cents a share, a year earlier. Profit before unusual items was $451.7 million, or 95 cents per share.

Analysts, on average, expected Kimberly-Clark, whose products also include Kleenex tissues, to earn 95 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. That view was in line with a forecast the Dallas-based company gave in July, when it called for a profit of 94 cents to 96 cents a share.

Sales rose 6 percent to $4 billion.

more

[UpInArms]

26. Treasurys ease on back of expected stock gain, oil-price dip

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38649.3655554977-847291537&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices dipped and yields edged higher Monday as investors passed up bonds for stocks thanks to a fall in the price of oil futures to below $60 a barrel. A relatively light calendar for economic releases and Fed speeches this week left the bond market to largely consolidate and look ahead to an auction of 2-year notes on Wednesday. The influx of new competing supply could keep the bond market on the defensive. At last check, the benchmark 10-year note was down 4/32 to 98 26/32, shedding roughly $1.25 per each $1,000 worth of securities. Its yield edged back to 4.4% from 4.38% Friday. The 2-year note was down 2/32 at 99 18/32, yielding 4.24% vs. 4.2%.

[UpInArms]

38. Printing Press Warm-Up: Fed adds reserves via overnight system RPs

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T134847Z_01_N24352048_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Monday it was adding temporary reserves to the U.S. banking system through overnight system repurchase agreements.

The benchmark federal funds rate last traded at 3.750 percent, the Fed's target for the overnight lending rate.

Further details of the operations are available at: http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

See for recent Fed open market operations.

[UpInArms]

44. Treasuries dip as market pauses after Friday rally

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T140514Z_01_N24348390_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasuries fell slightly on Monday as investors took a breather following Friday's buying spree and as dipping oil prices helped push bond prices down in a market worried high energy costs will hurt growth.

Without any economic data releases scheduled for Monday, traders said the market was looking rangebound and likely to stay that way until the next big report, which is Friday's first measurement of third-quarter U.S. economic growth.

Traders said an oversold condition that took hold in the market after numerous Federal Reserve speakers stressed the need to raise interest rates to fight off inflation had, for the moment, run its course.

Earlier in the month, that technical selling brought yields on 10-year notes to a six-month high and those on two-year notes to a 4-1/2-year high. But many in the market say they expect yields to keep trending higher, and prices lower, as the Fed's continuing fight to control inflation evolves.

...more...

[UpInArms]

67. Printing Press Running: U.S. Treasury to sell $18 bln 4-week bills Tuesday

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T150736Z_01_WBT004067_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-BILLS-ANNOUNCEMENT-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday said it will sell $18.0 billion of four-week bills on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

The four-week bills will be issued on Oct. 27.

Proceeds from the sale will be used to refund about $8.0 billion of publicly held bills maturing Oct. 27 and to raise new cash of about $10.0 billion.

The four-week bills announced on Tuesday mature Nov. 25. Treasury said the net long position reporting threshold is $6.30 billion.

Noncompetitive bids on the four-week bill offering must be received 11:00 EDT (1500 GMT) and competitive bids by 11:30 p.m. EDT (1530 GMT).

...more...

[54anickel]

77. I suppose that's one way to drive the price down. Let's just flood the

market. Is Chopper Ben calling the shots at the Treasury these days? :eyes:

[UpInArms]

80. "Chopper" Ben nears the lever: U.S. Treasury to sell $20 billion in 2-year

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T152415Z_01_WBT004066_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-TREASURY-NOTES-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Monday it will sell $20 billion of 2-year notes on Wednesday, Oct. 26.

The two-year notes will be issued Oct. 31 and will mature Oct. 31, 2007. The Treasury said the proceeds would refund $25.82 billion of publicly held notes maturing Oct. 31 and pay down about $5.82 billion in debt.

Treasury said the net long reporting threshold for the notes is $7 billion.

The CUSIP number for the notes will be 912820 MG9

Treasury said noncompetitive bids will be accepted in full up to $5 million at the highest yield accepted for the issue.

...more...

[UpInArms]

92. Treasurys fall in late reaction to Fed news

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BF428E40C%2D20CA%2D4F0E%2DBC31%2DC53CB050D5D6%7D&siteid=mktw

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - Treasurys fell Monday as what's thought to be an impending White House announcement to name Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's replacement eventually weighed on the bond market.

"Traders say the markets are more likely to react closer to the Feb. 1 start date for the new Fed chief," wrote analysts at Action Economics in an intraday update.

But speculation that the new Fed chief will be White House economic adviser and former Fed governor Ben Bernanke raised some concern that he will follow in the inflation-fighting footsteps of Greenspan.

...more...

[UpInArms]

98. Treasuries fall on talk Bernanke is next Fed chief

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T161852Z_01_N24432475_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-BERNANKE.XML

NEW YORK, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices dipped on Monday on talk White House economic adviser Ben Bernanke would be named later Monday to head the U.S. Federal Reserve once Alan Greenspan retires early next year.

Some market sources dismissed the price movements, saying they reflected generalized jitters that would accompany any succession at the Fed.

But an undercurrent of anxiety surrounding Bernanke and his history as an inflation targeter was also cited in the bond market, and traders and strategists said downward movement in prices was consistent with such worries.

Inflation targeters tie decision-making on interest rates to specific inflation targets -- a practice that worries some in the market because it can be overdependent on past inflation data instead of anticipating economic developments.

"The bottom line is that he's been wrong about what's happening with inflation for two years," said Josh Stiles, senior bond strategist at IDEAglobal in NEW YORK. "He's more focused on structural disinflation forces than he is on the cyclical inflationary forces from excessive accommodation," Stiles said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

108. US rate futures cut losses as Bernanke nominated

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T172241Z_01_CHB000100_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-FEDFUNDS-BERNANKE-URGENT.XML

CHICAGO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - U.S. short-term interest rate futures were lower on Monday but pared losses after Ben Bernanke, tapped to be the new Federal Reserve Chairman, pledged to maintain the continuity of the Alan Greenspan era.

Bernanke, a former Fed governor who is now a White House economic adviser, was nominated to take over from Greenspan, whose 18-year stint ends in January.

"If I am confirmed to this position my first priority will be to maintain continuity with the policies and policy strategies established during the Greenspan years," Bernanke said in a White House appearance.

Rate futures show the projected fed funds rate by mid-2006 at 4.46 percent, up from 4.43 percent on Friday but down from a peak of 4.49 percent hit shortly before Bernanke's nomination was announced.

[UpInArms]

115. Treasurys end lower, rattled for now by Bernanke's approach

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38649.6425967593-847325293&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The benchmark 10-year Treasury note ended Monday down 15/32 at 98 14/32. The note was yielding ($TNX) 4.44% compared to 4.38% Friday, pushed higher by the uncertainties wrought by a widely expected nomination for Ben Bernanke to be chairman of the Federal Reserve. The bond market was focusing on whether Bernanke will keep up the inflation fight that formed current chairman Alan Greenspan's reputation. Inflation eats up the worth of fixed interest payments on bond investments.

[UpInArms]

28. Wagoner's GM May Sell Trucks Unit To Isuzu

http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/24/gm-isuzu-trucks-cx_vc_1024autofacescan01.html

In the late 1980s, Japan's Isuzu Motors ran a series of extremely funny ads in the U.S. featuring a pitchman making wild exaggerations about its cars. There may be an issue of overstatement again this morning--or not.

An Isuzu (otc: ISUZY - news - people ) spokesman said Monday that his company is wrapping up talks with General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) to take over GM's commercial truck business in Australia. A GM spokeswoman put the brakes on that, but said GM remains interested in strengthening ties with the Japanese company. (Japan's largest business newspaper, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, reported today that Isuzu also expects to take a majority stake in a truck unit to be spun off from a GM subsidiary in South Africa.)

The Australia deal wouldn't be that farfetched: Isuzu already owns 60% of Isuzu-General Motors Australia. And earlier this month, GM, headed by Richard G. "Rick" Wagoner, said it was selling its 20% stake in the maker of Subaru cars, Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries. Toyota Motor (nyse: TM - news - people ) bought an 8.7% in Fuji from GM for about $315 million.

Given GM's struggles right now, you could be forgiven for thinking all this smacks of charity. But history often has an ironic way of repeating itself: GM set up an alliance with Isuzu in 1971, and at once point owned as much as 49% of it. About five years ago, Isuzu hit the financial rocks. After widespread cost cutting--and the trimming of GM's stake to 12%--it returned to profitability last year. One for the lesson books, perhaps.

...more...

[ozymandius]

31. markets are open for giving you the bidness

9:30Dow 10,228.99 +13.77 (+0.13%)
Nasdaq 2,082.21 0.00 (0.00%)
S&P 500 1,179.59 0.00 (0.00%)
10-Yr Bond 44.04 +0.14 (+0.32%)
NYSE Volume 7,366,000
Nasdaq Volume 23,876,000

[ozymandius]

32. movement among all major indeces now

9:31
Dow 10,254.13 +38.91 (+0.38%)
Nasdaq 2,089.45 +7.24 (+0.35%)
S&P 500 1,182.74 +3.15 (+0.27%)
10-Yr Bond 44.04 +0.14 (+0.32%)
NYSE Volume 22,560,000
Nasdaq Volume 31,390,000

[UpInArms]

33. 9:38 EST and moving up

Dow 10,282.22 +67.00 (+0.66%)
Nasdaq 2,090.75 +8.54 (+0.41%)
S&P 500 1,185.71 +6.12 (+0.52%)
10-Yr Bond 4.398 +0.08 (+0.18%)

NYSE Volume 78,818,000
Nasdaq Volume 65,028,000

[UpInArms]

40. blather

9:45AM: As futures trade had foreshadowed, the equity market opened higher this morning. This week marks the third quarter's busiest week of earnings reports; while today's collection will not have broad impact, positive reports from the likes of Merck (MRK), Schering-Plough (SGP), and Ashland (ASH) help add to the overall view that earnings are on-track for a solid quarter - and for aggregate growth of about 18%. Extended declines in energy prices, aided today by reports that the refinery-rich Gulf Coast evaded Hurricane Wilma, may help investors find reason to seize bargains left in the wake of three straight weeks of declines in the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq. Crude has lost 1.5% in the early going, and remains below $60.00/bbl. While no economic data is scheduled for release today, traders will receive a fair amount of reports this week. Real GDP, slated for Friday, is expected to rise at about a 3.6% annual rate and would mark the tenth straight quarterly increase above long-term trends.

[UpInArms]

34. Hurricane (Katrina) cuts could hurt La. higher ed

http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4018282

BATON ROUGE, La. Higher education officials in Louisiana are studying budgets in anticipation of worst-case scenarios that could include "devastating" budget cuts up to 25 percent leading to massive layoffs and even institutional closures.

The state is projecting a one-and-a half (b) billion dollar budget shortfall as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and education is one of the areas most at risk along with health care in the state's general fund.Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie says if the federal hurricane response proposal does not come through for Louisiana financially, then the state's worst fears could be realized.Savoie says budget cuts could begin as soon as the November sixth special legislative session and peak in a potential January special session once more is known about federal assistance.Louisiana Tech University President Dan Reneau says one of the biggest fears is "widespread layoffs" that could mean larger class sizes and fewer class offerings.He says it's imperative for the state not to overlook higher education in this process and not kill the momentum created in the past 20 years, since universities are so essential to the state's work force.

...short blurb...

[UpInArms]

35. Dec Gold @ $467.30 oz

9:40am 10/24/05 DEC GOLD FALLS $1.80 TO $467.30/OZ IN MORNING NY TRADE

9:40am 10/24/05 DEC COPPER DOWN 3.4C, OR 1.9%, AT $1.759/LB

[UpInArms]

78. Dec Gold @ $468.10 oz

11:27am 10/24/05 DEC GOLD DOWN $1, OR 0.2%, AT $468.10/OZ

11:27am 10/24/05 DEC SILVER UP 2.5C, OR 0.3%, AT $7.72/OZ

[UpInArms]

86. Dec Gold @ $470.40 oz

11:43am 10/24/05 DEC GOLD CLIMBS $1.30 TO $470.40/OZ AFTER $465.60 LOW

[UpInArms]

39. Signs of Inflation

US businesses see rising prices, but growth steady

http://today.reuters.com/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=uri:2005-10-24T045816Z_01_MOR417855_RTRIDST_0_PICKS-ECONOMY-BUSINESS-DC.XML

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. businesses are finding it easier to pass along higher costs to consumers and plan to keep pushing prices up in the coming months, according to a survey of businesses released on Monday that also showed steady economic growth despite recent hurricanes.

"Our survey respondents are telling us they have been -- and will be -- raising prices more aggressively than in the past," Eaton Corp. Chief Economist Jim Meil said, referring to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics.

The survey of 101 businesses found 40 percent had raised prices in the third quarter, compared to only 2 percent that had cut them. The resulting net rising index of 38 percent -- the difference between the two -- was the second highest in the survey's 24-year history.

In addition, 46 percent of the firms said they expected to push prices up over the next three months, in contrast to only 4 percent who said they were likely to lower them.

The current survey and one conducted after the close of the second quarter also showed businesses were having an easier time of making price increases stick than around the turn of the year.

...more...

I guess consumers are just not saying "no" to higher prices. :eyes:

[dweller]

41. stay home, and starve

If You Don't Eat or Drive, Inflation's No Problem

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/business/yourmoney/23view.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1130162741-+d/yQp89KJ8SI7IlKjRa4w

:eyes:


dp

[UpInArms]

45. thanks dp!

great article -

ASIDE from the stuff that's becoming more expensive, like food and energy, there is no problem with inflation in the economy. That's the message economists want us to take from recent inflation reports.

On Oct. 14, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Consumer Price Index, the main inflation gauge, rose by a whopping 1.2 percent in September and by 4.7 percent in the last 12 months. The bureau also said the Producer Price Index, which measures inflation experienced by businesses, rose 1.9 percent in September alone.

Amid these alarming reports, many economists urged Americans to remain calm and to focus on the so-called core C.P.I. - the inflation measure that excludes the volatile costs of energy and food. The core rate rose just 0.1 percent in September, and is up only 2 percent in the last 12 months.

The dueling numbers seem to offer a classic case of how economists and consumers view the world differently. If only we lived in some futuristic biosphere where we didn't need energy or food, inflation wouldn't matter.

Government economists have been stripping out energy and food costs from the price gauge for more than three decades. After the Arab oil embargo of 1973, Arthur Burns, who was then the chairman of the Federal Reserve, correctly reasoned that temporary shifts in the price of oil shouldn't influence monetary policy unduly. So he asked Fed economists to show him a measure of price changes that excluded energy costs. Later, he asked for one that also excluded food costs.

...more...

I guess we're just supposed to not look, not notice and quit caring?

[54anickel]

48. When will Toto pull back the curtain?

[shrike]

52. We're thinking of going vegetarian

Once or twice a week, not for moral reasons, but to save money.
We have a vegetarian cookbook with delicious-looking recipes for beans, lentils, etc. Might be time to give it a try.

[ozymandius]

73. We're doing the same.

Our standard meal is: one meat, one veggie, one starch. Stews made with winter vegetables is getting our attention this season.

[shrike]

89. Good idea

I'm freezing vegetables -- the lady who runs the local farmers market tells me she freezes tomatoes, either whole or chopped. The only thing is, don't thaw them before throwing them into the pot -- just run them under warm water. If you thaw em, they'll be mushy.

[ozymandius]

46. 10:17 and slowing

Dow 10,284.70 +69.48 (+0.68%)
Nasdaq 2,095.44 +13.23 (+0.64%)
S&P 500 1,188.86 +9.27 (+0.79%)
10-Yr Bond 44.02 +0.12 (+0.27%)
NYSE Volume 373,838,000
Nasdaq Volume 265,069,000

10:00AM: Sustaining their opening gains, each of the three major averages swing higher. All ten of the economic sectors similarly trend positive, with early leadership offered by Utilities (+1.3%), Materials (+1.1%), and Energy (+1.2%). With respect to the latter sector, the prolonged decline in energy prices has not detered traders' bargain hunting efforts this morning; of the S&P's 29 energy issues, all but one are on the rise. Ashland (ASH) is the lone laggard, despite exceeding analysts' Q3 earnings expectations by $0.07 this morning. NYSE Adv/Dec 1981/741, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1694/732

[54anickel]

47. A Rather Volatile Mix

(End of the Credit Bubble Bulletin)

http://www.prudentbear.com/creditbubblebulletin.asp

snip>

There is a school of thought out there that we are in the midst of a healthy “mid-cycle slowdown” similar to the 1994/95 tightening, implying little necessity for any wrenching system adjustment period. Let me briefly touch on why I believe the odds that this view is correct are low. The 1994 hedge fund tumult and subsequent Mexican crisis/bailout ushered in The Golden Age of Wall Street Finance. Importantly, the GSE’s unparalleled expansion - blossoming with 1994’s speculative de-leveraging - created a new and powerful marketplace liquidity backstop. This (quasi-central bank) market support mechanism – with virtually unlimited capacity to issue essentially government debt – bolstered the fledgling Mortgage Finance, hedge fund and “structured finance” Bubbles. And, importantly, the “disinflationary” global backdrop gave the U.S. Credit system and monetary policymakers extraordinary leeway to pursue their expansionary ambitions.

Outside of Fed “tightening,” the contrasts between now and 1994/95 could not be starker – or more fascinating. We are today in Bubbleville, and I am simply not able to contemplate a reasonable scenario that would place us today in “mid-cycle” Bubbleville. The Mortgage Finance, hedge fund, and “structured finance” Bubbles have gone to astonishing excess and are today acutely vulnerable.

Wall Street is today heavily exposed to a leveraged speculating community boom turning to bust and, importantly, there is today no GSE liquidity backstop. The banking system is these days heavily exposed to inflating housing markets and dangerous Mortgage Finance Bubble dynamics, imbued with the false confidence that it (and the system) possesses the capacity to off-load meaningful amounts of this risk (notably, Credit and interest rate) to “the market.” The maladjusted U.S. Bubble economy has become acutely susceptible to any slowdown or interruption in Credit creation or system liquidity. Meanwhile, system liquidity is today dependent upon the ongoing rapid expansion of suspect (late-cycle) financial claims including mortgage-related ABS, “private-label” MBS, CDOs, “repo” liabilities, and other financial sector liabilities created in the process of financing leveraged securities speculation.


snip>

Importantly, the U.S. Current Account Deficit has spiraled completely out of control. To put things into perspective, the U.S. ran a Current Account Deficit of about $325 billion during the five years 1990 through 1994. Over the past five years, our Deficit has swelled to almost $2.5 Trillion, and will soon surpass $800 billion annually. New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner should be commended for his speech this week that focused on the risk of associated with the U.S. Current Account Deficit (and global imbalances). It is, today, the key defining issue.

The “bullish” consensus view is that housing is slowing, the consumer is in the process of retrenching, the underlying economy is weak, inflationary pressures are transitory, and there will soon be pressure on the Fed to reverse course. Some argue the Fed is already too tight. But these views ignore the clearest evidence that monetary conditions remain highly accommodative – the massive Current Account Deficit. And it is this deficit that is most responsible for fueling global inflationary pressures, as well as providing the liquidity for the ever-expanding – and destabilizing – global pool of speculative finance. The notion that we are approaching the end of Fed “tightening” ignores the reality that today’s Current Account Deficits are both destabilizing and unsustainable.

Unfortunately, the nature of current lending and speculating patterns (Monetary Processes) coupled with the ill-structured U.S. Bubble economy ensure that real restraint will be required to rein in Current Account Deficits and initiate the necessary adjustment process. Such restraint could be imposed by the Fed or, more likely, by the markets. The bottom line is that dysfunctional Monetary Processes must be crippled, which implies financial dislocation and recession. There is certainly every indication that the U.S. financial sector is absolutely determined to perpetuate the boom – fed dysfunctional processes.

more...

[54anickel]

49. Global: Wrong on the China Slowdown (Roach)

http://www.morganstanley.com/GEFdata/digests/20051021-fri.html#anchor0

The long-awaited China slowdown has failed to materialize. There have been some brief periods of hesitation over the past year but nothing on the order of magnitude of the cyclical downshift I had been expecting (see my 23 May 2005 dispatch, “What if China Slows?”). This raises a key question for the global economy: Can anything temper the Teflon-like resilience of a rapidly growing Chinese economy?

snip>

So where did I go wrong? When I first sounded the alarm on the China slowdown, I worried about two major sources of deceleration -- an internally-led downshift of fixed asset investment and an externally-driven slowing in exports. The investment slowdown was supposed to have been driven by official actions to contain China’s property bubble. The announcement of a major tightening campaign in early May seemed to fit this script to a tee. Property prices in Shanghai immediately softened and construction activity seemed set to slow with a lag. Well, the lags never kicked in -- at least, not yet. The real estate development piece of fixed asset investment continued to grow at a 22% y-o-y rate through the first nine months of this year -- little different from comparisons earlier in the year. I have discussed the construction outlook with some of China’s leading property developers, and they all speak of a likely softening in new building activity in coastal property markets. At the same time, they are quick to speak of the property they have just purchased and the new projects that are on the drawing boards. I have to concede that the case for an administratively directed slowdown in Chinese residential construction activity now seems like more of a stretch than it did last spring.

An equally significant piece of the Chinese investment puzzle lies in the explosive capital spending growth now occurring in the Chinese materials sector -- most likely a conscious effort on the part of the nation’s leadership to alleviate potentially serious bottlenecks in the domestic industrial production supply chain. That’s especially true of the Chinese energy complex. Investment growth in coal mining was up 77% in the first nine months of 2005 relative to the comparable period of 2004, and investment in domestic oil and gas extraction is up 31% over the same timeframe. China is very concerned over potential shortages of strategic materials and seems to be going flat out in order to lessen the blow of the energy shock of 2005 by ramping up on low-cost coal production. Not by coincidence, investment in rail transport -- the major distribution channel for a coal-intensive economy -- is up 41% over the first nine months of this year.

snip>

My call for an export slowdown in China went equally astray. For 3Q05 as a whole, Chinese export growth averaged about 29% -- down only slightly from the 35% growth in 2003-04 but well above the 19% average growth over the 2001-03 period. I thought there would be two forces squeezing Chinese exports -- the first being a possible downshift of the US consumer. Inasmuch as the US is China’s biggest export market -- accounting for about 33% of all Chinese exports -- a capitulation by the American consumer would take a major toll on China, as well as on the rest of Asia’s China-centric supply chain. Alas, there was no such capitulation -- real US consumption growth has held at a 3.4% average annual rate in the first three quarters of this year. Little wonder Chinese export momentum remained intact. Externally-imposed trade friction was a second force that I thought would impede Chinese export growth. Tensions in the US-China bilateral relationship are especially noteworthy in this regard in light of strong support in the US Congress to impose stiff sanctions on a broad array of Chinese imports into the US. China has tried to address this issue by finally unveiling a new foreign exchange mechanism last July. But the failure of the Chinese leadership to allow much of an adjustment in the foreign exchange rate only serves to underscore the possibility that trade frictions and protectionism will have to be given a higher weight over the years to come. One way or another -- currency appreciation or trade sanctions -- external pressures on Chinese exports are still likely to intensify in the years ahead.

Here, as well, the issue is whether the call for a China export slowdown was simply early. Actually, I am more sympathetic to this excuse than I am for the mistake on the investment call. The reason: The energy-shocked American consumer now seems to be in imminent danger. Barring quick relief in energy product prices, US households will have to face an annualized energy tax that Dick Berner estimates at around $130-billion; moreover, consumers will have to cope with an energy shock with a “zero” personal saving rate -- a far cry from the 8% saving rate prevailing, on average, during the three previous energy crises. A significant cutback in discretionary consumption is inevitable, in my view -- a cutback that will, in turn, take a meaningful toll on China largest export market. This is a clear and present danger for China. It is also a big challenge for what is still a two-engine world economy -- the American consumer on the demand side and the Chinese producer on the supply side. The time-honored rhythm of the business cycle tells us that if the producer gets hit with a demand shortfall, a production adjustment is necessary to clean up the resulting inventory overhangs. That remains a distinct possibility for China in 2006, in my view.

more...

[UpInArms]

50. Consider a Refco-Oil Conspiracy

(this is a subscription only article - but worth thinking about what little can be read)

https://secure2.thestreet.com/cap/login/rm_mbp_summarylong.jsp?nosummary=yes&flowid=5ab0e73d3&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestreet.com%2Fp%2F_googlen%2Frmoney%2Fjamesjcramer%2F10249026.html&denied

Perhaps the peak in crude comes because the powers that were keeping oil up have collapsed along with Refco. Refco was brazen and dishonest enough to lie to Thomas Lee and to the government about a $400 million loan. Why not believe that Refco used its clearing information to keep oil high?.

...more for subscribers only...

[54anickel]

53. The king of real estate's cashing out

http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/21/news/newsmakers/barrack/index.htm

NEW YORK (Fortune) - Tom Barrack, arguably the world's greatest real estate investor, is methodically selling off his U.S. real estate holdings as prices drive the market to nosebleed levels.

He likens the current real estate market to a game of polo.

"I feel totally safe playing polo on a field full of pros," says the bronzed 58-year old. "But when amateurs are all over the field, someone can get killed. They have more guts than brains. They charge after every ball and don't know when to hold back."

It's the same with U.S. real estate right now. "There's too much money chasing too few good deals, with too much debt and too few brains." The amateurs are going to get trampled, he explains, taking seasoned horsemen, who should get off the turf, down with them.

snip>

And he sees the bubble deflating soon. Barrack thinks the catalyst will be a trend few others are talking about, a steep rise in the price of building materials and labor. "Construction costs have spiked 20 percent in the past nine months," he says. The reasons: Shortages of labor and materials like lumber because of the building boom, and increases in the price of oil, needed to produce everything from plastic piping to insulation to shingles.

more...

[UpInArms]

55. Bush believed ready to name Greenspan successor

I wonder which one of *Cos personal accountants he will name?

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T143819Z_01_N24427499_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-FED-BUSH-UPDATE-1.XML

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush was believed poised on Monday to announce who he wants to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, according to sources familiar with the situation.

White House officials had no comment, but other sources said Bush was believed to be ready to make his announcement. The markets were awash in rumors that an announcement was coming.

Greenspan's 18-year tenure at the Fed runs out on Jan. 31. Although he could stay longer if a successor is not in place, the Fed chief has signaled he prefers to leave on time.

Three potential candidates are regularly mentioned for the Fed chairman job: Glenn Hubbard, a past adviser to Bush; Harvard economist Martin Feldstein; and Fed governor-turned White House adviser Ben Bernanke.

Other potential contenders include former Bush economic aide and ex-Federal Reserve Governor Lawrence Lindsey; Fed Governor Donald Kohn; Fed Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson; and ex-Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer.

...more...

[UpInArms]

62. Announcement scheduled for 1:00 EST

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T145641Z_01_WBT004064_RTRIDST_0_BUSH-FED.XML

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Monday there would be an announcement on the nomination of a new Federal Reserve chairman soon.

An administration official said the announcement would be at 1 p.m. EDT.

[54anickel]

63. Oh good grief, there goes the market. Put out a Piehole alert...n/t

[UpInArms]

66. Bush expected to pick Bernanke as Fed chief

another of the worst of decisions by the crew that couldn't shoot straight

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T150953Z_01_WBT004068_RTRIDST_0_BUSH-FED-BERNANKE-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush was expected to announce on Monday that he has picked economic adviser Ben Bernanke to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, a knowledgeable source said.

[ozymandius]

70. But of course! Of coarse!

How could Bush resist anyone who's name is nearly synonymous with helicopter?

[54anickel]

75. So much for my thinking Ben might be out in post #74. That's what I get

for starting to post a thought and then stepping away from the computer for a bit before I finish.

Things in life just move too fast for me these days. ;-)

[54anickel]

74. I'd be shocked if it's Ferguson. Kohn's a possible surprise after all

the yammerin' Bush has been doing about a non-political, independent Fed. I'm thinking Chopper Ben might be out of the running, and if that's the case the banking/finance sector could revolt.

Who knows. :shrug: Have to wait and see.

Most of the candidates are Republicans. But Kohn is a political independent and Ferguson a moderate Democrat.



On a somewhat related note:

On both sides of aisle, Miers' nomination poses a dilemma
http://www.freep.com/news/nw/miers24e_20051024.htm

WASHINGTON -- Harriet Miers' embattled Supreme Court nomination has Democrats and Republicans in the Senate in a bind.

Their supporters oppose her, and she's having trouble convincing lawmakers that she's qualified to sit on the nation's highest court.

For Republicans, a vote for or against Miers is a choice between loyalty to the president and loyalty to their conservative base. It means trusting that Bush selected a true conservative when he chose Miers, a Texas ally who's now his White House counsel but has no record of championing conservative causes.

To Democrats, Miers initially appeared to be the type of nonideological nominee they wanted to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. But after meetings with senators and reports that she is an evangelical Christian who once supported a constitutional amendment to ban most abortions, some Democrats are having second thoughts.

snip>

The question for Democrats and Republicans alike is what Bush would do if Miers were defeated. Would he retaliate against her conservative opponents by naming a moderate in the mold of O'Connor, or would he try to pacify his conservative base by naming an outspoken conservative jurist in the mold of Antonin Scalia?


more...

:wtf: So they are suppose to accept Miers despite what appears to be incompetence out of fear that BeelzeBush might retaliate with someone even worse? That's the type of evil "leadership" we're dealing with! Geez, I wish people would wake up.

[54anickel]

57. Eminent domain trumps hand-operated elevator

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/saporta/1005/24saporta.html

The federal government is using eminent domain to acquire the building, which has been owned since 1947 by Robert and Co., an architectural and engineering firm. The General Service Administration is acquiring most of the block at the famous Fairlie-Poplar intersection to expand office space and storage for the U.S. Court of Appeals.

"It's sort of ironic they are being displaced by the only other activity that's been there longer, and that's the federal government," says Mike Roper, GSA's director of development in Atlanta. "It used to be that every federal activity in Atlanta was in that building."

"Ironic is one word for it," says Mike Kluttz, Robert and Co.'s CEO. It's clear Kluttz is not happy with the prospect of having to move the company that has been within the same couple of blocks since it was founded in 1917.

The building's historic elevator has become an integral part of the firm.

snip>

Kluttz says the company will have to move by Sept. 30. Although he would like to stay downtown, Kluttz says the company hasn't been able to find a suitable building there to buy. "The area really is coming back," he says. "I hate to lose our building when everything around here is starting to thrive."

more...

[UpInArms]

58. The Village Voice's No-Alternative News: Corporate Takeover

:cry:

The nation's two largest alternative newspaper chains plan to announce a merger today, a long-rumored combination that champions of quirky, iconoclastic, locally controlled papers have been sniping at for months.

New Times, the Phoenix-based publisher with 11 newspapers from Miami to San Francisco, is acquiring the Village Voice, the storied New York weekly co-founded by Norman Mailer, and five other papers owned by the Voice.

New Times will export its brand of "desert libertarianism on the rocks, with sprigs of neocon politics," writes Bruce Brugmann, publisher of the rival San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Hogwash, says Michael Lacey, New Times's executive editor, insisting that "individual editors in individual cities determine the content of their papers week to week. . . . I wish there were more conservative writers at the papers. There aren't. There isn't anything imposed about the editorial viewpoint from Phoenix."

Reaction is likely to be chilly among many staffers at the notoriously fractious Voice, where columnist Cynthia Cotts described a 2000 acquisition attempt by New Times as a "hostile takeover" by a company whose media purchases produced a "signature bloodbath."

...more...

bye-bye Village Voice :(

[UpInArms]

60. C(hicago)M(erc) E(xchange) says order routing problem hits pit trading

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2005-10-24T145059Z_01_CHB000099_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-CME-ROUTING-URGENT-REPEAT.XML

CHICAGO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - A problem with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's (CME.N: Quote, Profile, Research) order-routing system is affecting trading in open-outcry futures and options contracts on Monday, an exchange official said.

The cause of the outage is being investigated.

The CME's so-called CUBS system relays orders from the Globex electronic platform to workstations located on CME's trading floors.

The outage means brokers are reverting to writing orders by hand -- potentially slowing but not halting trading.

[UpInArms]

64. 11:06 EST Market loves uncertainty!

Dow 10,278.62 +63.40 (+0.62%)
Nasdaq 2,089.42 +7.21 (+0.35%)
S&P 500 1,187.72 +8.13 (+0.69%)
10-Yr Bond 4.404 +0.14 (+0.32%)

NYSE Volume 663,464,000
Nasdaq Volume 469,033,000

10:30AM: Comfortably above the flat line, the indices continue to maintain their gains. While Healthcare (+0.3%) accompanies the other nine economic sectors on positive turf, its gain sits in last place. Although the sector is home to two of the session's upside earnings reporters, relative weakness in Johnson & Jonhnson (JNJ 63.67 -0.40) and Pfizer (PFE 21.11 -0.14) cap its advance. Ahead of the bell, Merck (MRK 26.23 +0.05) delivered Q3 EPS of $0.65, $0.03 ahead of estimates; its FY05 guidance, however, adds to the list of Dow components issuing in-line guidance that appears to eclipse their earnings' effect. Reporting EPS of $0.08, Schering-Plough (SGP 21.32 +0.21) also surpassed analysts' expectations this morning.NYSE Adv/Dec 2254/631, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1792/776

10:00AM: Sustaining their opening gains, each of the three major averages swing higher. All ten of the economic sectors similarly trend positive, with early leadership offered by Utilities (+1.3%), Materials (+1.1%), and Energy (+1.2%). With respect to the latter sector, the prolonged decline in energy prices has not detered traders' bargain hunting efforts this morning; of the S&P's 29 energy issues, all but one are on the rise. Ashland (ASH) is the lone laggard, despite exceeding analysts' Q3 earnings expectations by $0.07 this morning. NYSE Adv/Dec 1981/741, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1694/732

New Fed Chief? Who cares! Let's Party! :party:

[ozymandius]

68. The real party starts after the nominee is announced.

Party for a bunch of squares, that is.

:party: like it's 1999? I expect a the markets will stall while a potential successor's bearing on policy is considered.

[UpInArms]

76. I wonder if the new mantra will be

FREE MONEY!

[ozymandius]

81. Question Mark Man for FED CHAIRMAN!!!

At least when compared to Chopper Ben - He has gravitas!

[UpInArms]

85. the gravitas of The Question Mark Man

http://www.blacktable.com/going050929.htm

t's difficult to listen to a man who has snot hanging out of his nose. Something about the way the glistening blubber mimics the ebb and flow of his upper lip causes you, the listener, to discredit whatever it is that he's saying. Of course, you have no idea what that is because you're too busy focusing on the nasal goop. How can you take this man seriously? The answer is: You can't. You just can't. Finally, you throw your hands up in surrender. You must tell him that if he doesn't stop now, he's going to swallow it…

...more...

[54anickel]

88. Ewwww!!! That's a puker...n/t

[ozymandius]

65. News and Numbers

11:12
Dow 10,273.02 +57.80 (+0.57%)
Nasdaq 2,087.66 +5.45 (+0.26%)
S&P 500 1,187.09 +7.50 (+0.64%)
10-Yr Bond 44.02 +0.12 (+0.27%)
NYSE Volume 696,233,000
Nasdaq Volume 490,121,000


11:00AM: Though still standing solid, the market's majors pull back from early levels and parallel crude's action - the price of which, while off 1.2%, is approaching $60.00/bbl. Technology's dip into the red, amid broad-based selling that leaves a host of bellwethers with losses, serves a weighty drag on overall upward efforts. Reports that President Bush will name a successor for Fed Chief Greenspan at 1pm ET today, earlier than the December timeframe many had anticipated, may also be acting as a catalyst behind the equity market's recent movement. Front runners remain Bernanke, Hubbard, Feldstien and Kohn. At the same time, the Treasury market appears unfazed by the reports.NYSE Adv/Dec 2182/788, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1695/1000

[UpInArms]

71. Greenspan replacement naming good for stock: analyst

but...but... What will the market do without the Washed-Up Has-Been Partisan Hack??

The are excited about "Chopper" Ben?

:crazy:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38649.4614183218-847301907&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Some market analysts believed President Bush's naming of a successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan would help the stock market as it removes a veil of uncertainty. "Getting the nomination out would be a positive for the market as it would represent closure," said James Park, director of institutional trading at Rodman & Renshaw. Greenspan is slated to leave the Fed on Jan. 31 after 18 years. President Bush will name Greenspan's successor Monday afternoon, according to published reports. The Dow industrials ($INDU) were last up 55 points at 10,270 and the Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) was up 5 points at 2,087.

[UpInArms]

106. Analysts mixed on how markets will react to Bernanke

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B0A222CED%2D1D01%2D432D%2DAAF0%2DC43864709CDE%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Amidst all the political and media fanfare associated with the nominating of a new Federal Reserve chairman, Wall Street analysts were mixed on how the financial markets would react to a new Fed boss.

Meanwhile, the proof may be in the markets themselves: after some brief jitters, stocks nudged even higher and bonds dipped slightly.

The Dow Jones Industrials Average ($INDU) was up about 70 points when reports surfaced that the successor would be named shortly. It knee-jerked lower by about 20 points, then bounced to record further gains after who the successor would be was widely known.

<snip>

Others felt that the markets won't tip their hand fully for another 3 months until the new boss officially takes over for.

"Traders say the markets are more likely to react closer to the Feb. 1 start date for the new Fed chief," wrote analysts at Action Economics in an intraday update.

...more...

[Capn Sunshine]

69. WSJ announces Bernacke will be new Fed chief

gotta go figure this out

[UpInArms]

83. 11:41 EST high stakes game of Russian Roulette

Dow 10,305.67 +90.45 (+0.89%)
Nasdaq 2,094.91 +12.70 (+0.61%)
S&P 500 1,190.31 +10.72 (+0.91%)
10-Yr Bond 4.432 +0.42 (+0.96%)

NYSE Volume 838,508,000
Nasdaq Volume 594,316,000

11:25AM: Stocks bounce back yet remain within the morning's narrow range. Energy continues to lead the market, extending a 1.7% gain behind which Utilities (1.3%), Materials (+1.1%), and Telecommunications (+1.0%) follow. Helping to re-direct buyers to the Energy sector, Goldman Sachs stated this morning that, despite a 15% pull-back quarter-to-date, Energy remains the top performing sector in the S&P 500, sporting a 21% year-to-date return versus the broader market's 2% decline. The firm believes the recent pull-back is only temporary, and that much of the demand decline is likely involuntary and stems from inventory scarcity; Goldman believes that, even if low demand persists, major refinery and production shut-ins should keep markets tight, prices high, and corporate profits flush. Separately, reports suggest that Ben Bernanke will be named Alan Greenspan's successor this afternoon. The bond market has recently declined - with the benchmark 10-year (-12/32) yielding 4.43% and the 30-year (-26/32) offering 4.65%. NYSE Adv/Dec 2195/837, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1741/995

[54anickel]

87. FAT CAT IS BACK

http://www.nypost.com/business/55992.htm

October 24, 2005 -- Booming profits at Wall Street's most powerful firms have real estate agents, art dealers and luxury car salesman brimming in anticipation of what many expect to be a round of sky-high bonuses.

Last week's blockbuster earnings reports from Citibank, J.P. Morgan and Merrill Lynch set the tone for firms to hand out an estimated $17.5 billion in bonuses to more than 150,000 traders, brokers and bankers, according to executive search firm Options Group.

Tom Angello, managing partner of executive search firm Horizon Group, said he expected this year's round of bonuses to be at their highest level in many markets with some on Wall Street likely to take home up to 15 times their base salary.

"Last year was a good year for everybody but I would expect the compensation to be up to 30 percent higher this time around," he said. "Some traders and bankers and people in hedge funds will exceed 12 times their base salary. Bonuses of $5 million or more would not be surprising."

more...

:eyes: Amazing, ain't it? Investors have watch the markets tread water for 5 freakin' years, yet SOMEBODY is making big bucks. :puke:

[54anickel]

90. `Stapled' Loans Create Potential Conflicts for Merger Advisers

Gee, ya think? :eyes:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aNS.Y5u9qCb8&refer=top_world_news

Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Investment bankers, trying to squeeze more fees from a record $222 billion of leveraged buyouts this year, are advising the sellers and buyers in the same deals, and creating potential conflicts.

Credit Suisse First Boston, the securities unit of Zurich- based Credit Suisse Group, was criticized in June by Delaware Chancery Court Judge Leo Strine for the practice in Toys ``R'' Us Inc.'s sale to a group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. CSFB, which advised Wayne, New Jersey-based Toys ``R'' Us, created an ``appearance of impropriety'' by taking $10 million of fees for arranging financing for the acquirers, Strine said.

While ``playing into already heightened suspicions about the ethics of investment banking firms,'' New York-based CSFB did nothing wrong because the loans were arranged after the takeover agreement was reached, Strine wrote. The $7.5 billion purchase of Toys ``R'' Us was completed in July.

``If the same investment bank is having relationships with both parties, there are alarm bells that go off,'' said Kenneth Froewiss, a finance professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. ``Does the investment bank consciously or even subconsciously tilt the auction so that the bidder that emerges victorious is the one that will take the financing?''

Providing ``staple financing'' to LBO firms has increased during the past two years, said David Wood, 51, Deutsche Bank AG's co-head of European leveraged finance in London. Conflicts of interest ``are something that we are fully aware of, and we have very strict compliance guidelines to follow,'' he said.

snip>

Banks offer staple financing when the bidder needs loans. LBO firms borrow about two-thirds of the purchase price to finance acquisitions. They've been involved in about 11 percent of the global mergers and acquisitions announced since the start of 2004, up from 10 percent in 2003 and from less than 1 percent in 2000, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

more...

[UpInArms]

91. Frist LIED: Letters Show Frist Notified Of Stocks in 'Blind' Trusts

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/23/AR2005102301201.html

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) was given considerable information about his stake in his family's hospital company, according to records that are at odds with his past statements that he did not know what was in his stock holdings.

Managers of the trusts that Frist once described as "totally blind," regularly informed him when they added new shares of HCA Inc. or other assets to his holdings, according to the documents.

Since 2001, the trustees have written to Frist and the Senate 15 times detailing the sale of assets from or the contribution of assets to trusts of Frist and his family. The letters included notice of the addition of HCA shares worth $500,000 to $1 million in 2001 and HCA stock worth $750,000 to $1.5 million in 2002. The trust agreements require the trustees to inform Frist and the Senate whenever assets are added or sold.

The letters seem to undermine one of the major arguments the senator has used throughout his political career to rebut criticism of his ownership in HCA: that the stock was held in blind trusts beyond his control and that he had little idea of the extent of those holdings.

<snip>

"I think really for our viewers it should be understood that I put this into a blind trust," Frist replied. "So as far as I know, I own no HCA stock." He added that the trust was "totally blind. I have no control."

Two weeks before that interview, M. Kirk Scobey Jr., a Frist trustee, informed the senator in writing that one of his trusts had received HCA stock valued at between $15,000 and $50,000.

...more...

[54anickel]

93. More Homeowners With Good Credit Getting Stuck With Higher-Rate Loans

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-subprime24oct24,1,2512286.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true

Low interest rates and aggressive marketing campaigns have driven home lending to record levels. But increasingly Americans with good credit are being saddled with loans designed for high-risk borrowers.

These higher-cost loans have been the fastest-growing segment of the mortgage market — accounting for 20% of the home loans issued last year, up from 10% a decade ago.

Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance giant, estimates that more than 20% of people who get these so-called sub-prime loans could have qualified for more-conventional prime loans.

Consumer advocates say it's a "borrower beware" market. Companies and independent brokers generally are not legally required to tell customers that they might get a better deal elsewhere, and regulations have not kept pace with the booming mortgage refinancing market and skyrocketing home prices.

"The reality is, if you happen to walk into the wrong door, you can be trapped," said Kathleen Keest, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit advocacy group in Durham, N.C.

more...

[54anickel]

94. FDIC chief weighs in on high-risk home loans

If market fades, he says, borrowers and banks will be in danger

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3408615

WASHINGTON - Increasingly popular high-risk mortgages could imperil both borrowers and banks if the hot housing market cools off, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said last week.

With home prices breaking records, FDIC Chairman Donald Powell became the latest regulator to voice concern over people who took out interest-only or option adjustable-rate mortgages to buy homes they otherwise could not afford. Borrowers and mortgage lenders could be at risk if housing prices drop or interest rates rise.

"Credit losses are very low now, but mortgage lenders need to be prepared for higher losses," Powell said in a speech to a gathering of community bankers in Orlando, Fla.

"Homeowners taking on these types of mortgage products need to understand how their obligation may grow when their low introductory interest rates expire."

The FDIC and other federal agencies that regulate banks are evaluating the risks to lenders and examining banks' lending policies and will issue guidelines for banks where needed, Powell said.

more...

[UpInArms]

95. Does anyone remember Edwin Gray?

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n11_v22/ai_9218110

excerpt:

Edwin Gray, who headed the Federal Home Loan Bank Board in the mid-1980s, says he was frustrated in trying to sound the alarm by his inability to release pertinent information to the press. The law says that doing so could have cost him his job as well as a year in prison. Gray now contends that the S&L losses would never have grown so large had the public been given more information about the problem sooner. "That would have gone a long way to helping," he says.

House Banking Committee Chairman Henry Gonzalez puts it this way: "The savings and loan scandals grew in the dark basements of official government secrecy."

The information blackout on financial institutions has been so severe that even law enforcement officials have had trouble getting the information they need to stop crooks. Jim Watson, one of the California attorney general's top narcotics officers, said that two years ago he couldn't even get the Federal Reserve to tell him whether banks in its Los Angeles region were sending a lot more cash back to the Reserve than they were taking and, hence, possibly laundering drug money. The Reserve now acknowledges that Los Angeles area banks do have large cash surpluses, but it still won't release cash totals for individual banks. Reserve spokesman Ron Supinski says the secrecy stems from "a business relationship. don't want that released, and the Federal Reserve does not want it released, so it's not released."

<snip>

Former thrift regulator Gray argues that because the United States insures all deposits, "that makes every taxpayer in America a shareholder in every federally insured institution, and if they are shareholders, then it seems to me we at least ought to disclose to taxpayers the same kind of information as shareholders get." But we don't. Few banks and thrifts are public, so for the most part, taxpayers can't even learn if an institution is giving its executives excessive salaries or if its activities have drawn the special attention of regulators.

...more...

[UpInArms]

97. 12:23 EST Kool-Aid flows freely all over the floor

Dow 10,332.81 +117.59 (+1.15%)
Nasdaq 2,097.80 +15.59 (+0.75%)
S&P 500 1,192.73 +13.14 (+1.11%)
10-Yr Bond 4.434 +0.44 (+1.00%)

NYSE Volume 1,016,363,000
Nasdaq Volume 716,234,000

12:05PM: The equity market's early rise has been sustained over the course of the morning and extended into the lunch hour. While reports that President Bush will announce Fed Chief Alan Greenspan's successor at 1:00 pm ET today served as an initial detour for the northbound indices, subsequent reports that Ben Bernanke is the administration's choice helped them head higher. This week marks the third quarter's busiest in terms of the earnings calendar, and, while the early docket did not have a broad impact, the collection continues to reaffirm the view that earnings remain poised for 18% aggregate growth. After three straight weeks of declines in the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq, continued pullbacks in energy prices may have helped further spur bargain hunting efforts and drive buyers back to the table. Down 1% today and hovering below $60.00 per barrel, the price of crude has been kept in check by news that the refinery-rich Gulf Coast evaded further damage as Hurrican Wilma slammed southwestern Florida. Despite the energy price action, the Energy (1.5%) sector remains the session's leader - bolstered by Goldman Sachs optimistic comments on the sector and contention that its substantial quarter-to-date decline is only temporary. With respect to today's earnings reports, Ashland Corp. (ASH 53.19 +0.61) beat analysts' estimates by $0.07 this morning and lends a 1.2% gain to the sector. Surging Verizon (VZ 30.30 +0.78) shares, following Barron's positive write-up, has added to follow-through buying interest across the Telecommunications sector to drive its 1.5% gain while also supporting the Tech sector (+0.3%). The influential Financials sector - up 1.2% - represents a strong upward force, while the Materials sector (+1.9%) similarly attracts wide-spread buying interest today. Healthcare (+0.4%), although retaining its positive stance, stands as the last place sector despite housing two of the morning's most notable upside earners. Merck (MRK 26.49 +0.31) and Schering-Plough (SGP 21.19 +0.08) each beat respective EPS consensus estimates, but Merck added to the list of Dow components issuing in-line FY05 guidance that appears to eclipse their earnings reports' effect. As a result, Merck's rise has been minimizes and somewhat muted by Pfizer's (PFE 21.08 -0.17) extended decline and by relative weakness in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 63.71 -0.36) - which announced its agreement to purchase the Rembrandt Brand of oral care products from Gillette today. Separately, the bond market has unexpectedly fallen on the Bernanke news and amid an absence of economic data on today's docket.NYSE Adv/Dec 2327/795, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1859/953

[ozymandius]

100. and sustaining the punch-drunken revelry

1:01
Dow 10,329.35 +114.13 (+1.12%)
Nasdaq 2,102.83 +20.62 (+0.99%)
S&P 500 1,193.06 +13.47 (+1.14%)
10-Yr Bond 44.42 +0.52 (+1.18%)
NYSE Volume 1,157,425,000
Nasdaq Volume 836,564,000

12:30PM: Running higher, the indices establish fresh highs of the day. While Energy (+1.9%) continues to occupy the driver's seat, significant strength in Financials (+1.3%) serves as the broad market's heftiest push while erasing some of its own 4.1% year-to-date loss. Each of its sub sects currently offer gains, with all but one of the S&P's 84 financial issues trending positive - and with over a quarter of them lending gains of 2% or more. Brokers, up 2.2% in aggregate, stand as an especial pocket of strength, while a 2.0% gain in Dow component American Express (AXP 48.13 +0.98) buoys both the sector and the market at large. Rising ahead of its Q3 earnings report, analysts expect the consumer finance giant to report earnings of $0.74 per share after today's close. NYSE Adv/Dec 2402/765, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1869/965

[UpInArms]

102. updating party gossip

1:05PM: President Bush announces Ben Bernanke as Greenspan's predecessor. The Stock market stands steady at session highs, but the bond market fares worse. While the 10 year is off 15 ticks and yielding 4.44%, the 30-year - which is more sensitive to inflation - is down 1-00/32 ticks and up to a 4.67% yield. It appears that there is specualtion amongst Treasury traders that the new Fed Chief may not match the iron fist with which Greenspan has attacked inflation.NYSE Adv/Dec 2418/760, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1945/930

[UpInArms]

101. Bernanke named as Fed Chief

Katie, bar the door!

1:04pm 10/24/05 CORRECT:BUSH:BERNANKE RIGHT MAN TO BUILD ON GREENSPAN RECORD

1:04pm 10/24/05 BUSH: BERNANKE ONE OF THE MOST CITED ECONOMISTS IN THE WORLD

1:01pm 10/24/05 GREENSPAN MUST LEAVE HIS POST AT THE FED BY JAN. 31, 2006

1:01pm 10/24/05 BERNANKE IS CHAIRMAN OF BUSH'S COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISORS

1:01pm 10/24/05 BUSH NAMES BEN BERNANKE AS NEXT FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38649.5429201273-847312326&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- President Bush on Monday named Ben Bernanke, the current chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, to succeed Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke, 51, worked at Princeton University for 17 years before joining the Federal Reserve Board in 2002. At the board, Bernanke tackled some of the toughest questions facing monetary policy, including the threat of deflation. Greenspan, who has led the U.S. central bank for 18 years, must leave his post by Jan. 31.

[UpInArms]

104. Washed-Up Has-Been Partisan Hack recites lines written by Rove

1:15pm 10/24/05 GREENSPAN: BERNANKE A DISTINGUISHED CHOICE TO LEAD FED

1:15pm 10/24/05 GREENSPAN: BERNANKE HAS IMPORTANT INSIGHTS INTO ECONOMY

1:15pm 10/24/05 GREENSPAN: BERNANKE WILL BE CREDIT TO NATION AS FED CHAIR

[54anickel]

110. O Sage! O Confidence Man!

http://www.forbes.com/business/global/2005/1031/028A.html

The public worships Alan Greenspan for his oracular wisdom. But what is his legacy? It includes a crazy housing market, overextended consumers and a burst stock bubble

The most revered figure in American finance happens to be an aging price controller. Until the end of January the price of a short-term loan--the federal funds rate--will be whatever the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board decides to make it.

Never mind the conundrum of a flattish yield curve, where ten-year Treasurys now yield only six-tenths of a percentage point more than the funds rate. Alan Greenspan, 79, is a conundrum himself, personally: capitalist price controller, Ayn Rand-trained public servant and, most oxymoronic of all, beloved central banker.

His imminent leave-taking presents an occasion both to appraise his 18-year Fed stewardship and, more important, to speculate on its consequences to all who hold, save or invest the U.S. dollar.

snip>

Don't expect the people to confer such oracular status on his successor. They will come to see that the next chairman is unable to predict the future and improve it before it can happen. Even the nimblest practitioner of the art of interest-rate management is sooner or later bound to run out of luck.

And feeling betrayed, people will retroactively demote Greenspan, his celebrity notwithstanding, and shred his reputation for infallibility. He falls as short of the old papal standard as any private economist, financial journalist or central banker who ever uttered a forecast. The early-1990s real estate and banking difficulties caught him looking the wrong way. So did the excesses and imbalances of the late-1990s stock market bubble. In pushing the funds rate to 1% to forestall an imagined deflation in 2003, Greenspan hit his wall. As yields go higher and higher, bondholders will eventually hit theirs.

more...

[54anickel]

107. NO-O-O-O-o-o-o-o-o!!! Build up the levies! Batton down the hatches!

Hug a tree! They'll all be reduced to pulp to keep Chopper Ben in paper!

[AnneD]

111. Sweet Jesus on a popsicle stick

I don't sign in in the morning and all hell breaks loosen when I check in. Now we know Congress doesn't know much about economics so they will probably approve it (yeh like Bush knows more). Damn I have a headache and an office full of kids with the stomach flu...I am not having a good day. Think I'll join the kids:cry: :puke:

[ozymandius]

112. 2:30

Dow 10,334.57 +119.35 (+1.17%)
Nasdaq 2,102.17 +19.96 (+0.96%)
S&P 500 1,194.05 +14.46 (+1.23%)
10-Yr Bond 44.48 +0.58 (+1.32%)
NYSE Volume 1,507,597,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,060,730,000

Should we get used to seeing red bond numbers?

2:00PM: Broad-based buying continues to take the market higher... Spearheaded by its storage and transport group, Energy continues to run and now notches a 2.5% gain. In particular, shares of Williams Companies (WMB 22.59 +1.03) have surged 4.8% today, while peers El Paso (EP 11.71 +0.27) and Kinder Morgan (KMI 89.67 +1.51) extend respective 2.4% and 1.7% gains. Exxon Mobil (XOM 56.64 1.27), meanwhile, has emerged as one of the blue chip average's best areas of support and stands amongst one-third of the Dow's constituents that have jumped over 2% today.NYSE Adv/Dec 2399/825, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1954/962

[ozymandius]

113. Markets rally to Bernanke's steady hand on the wheel of Titanic.

However, bond traders are pissed.

3:27
Dow 10,338.09 +122.87 (+1.20%)
Nasdaq 2,104.63 +22.42 (+1.08%)
S&P 500 1,194.37 +14.78 (+1.25%)
10-Yr Bond 44.46 +0.56 (+1.28%)
NYSE Volume 1,792,903,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,274,254,000

[ozymandius]

114. blather update

3:00PM: Little has changed within the stock market, holding the indices and each economic sector relatively still...
Of the 26 Dow components proffering gains, American Express (AXP 48.75 +1.60) is in the lead. The company recently released its Q3 earnings results, delivering EPS of $0.69. As the figure includes a $105 mln tax benefit, a $56 mln after-tax reengineering charge, and a $49 mln Hurricane Katrina provision, it is not comparable to the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.72. Having sent shares upwards by 3.2%, investors appear satisfied with the report. Lending further support to the average and overall market are the likes of Caterpillar (CAT 50.28 +1.36) - recovering after Friday's earnings-induced plunge - Exxon Mobil (XOM 56.68 +1.31), and Merck (MRK 26.75 +0.57) - which continues to attract buyers after beating Q3 expectations this morning. On the other side of the aisle, weakness in Pfizer (PFE 21.07 -0.17) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 63.65 -0.42) are the Dow's sorest spots and continue to impede the Healthcare sector's (+0.3%) rise.NYSE Adv/Dec 2417/846, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1976/979

2:30PM: Although the price of crude has jumped out of its mid-day range and pared much of today's loss, the major averages hold steady. Gasoline remains lower on the day, but natural gas has reversed course and recently risen 1.2%. The already-surging Energy sector has, as a result, gotten an added bounce and now posts a 3.2% gain. The energy price-sensitive Consumer Discretionary sector (+1.4%), meanwhile, remains one of the session's leaders. Buying within the sector is reflective of action across the overall market, and has pushed nearly 90% of S&P's discretionary issues to gains. Particularly pacing the way higher is Carnival Corp. (CCL 49.04...

[54anickel]

116. We are all gonna be stinkin' RICH, I tell ya!!! We will literally be

awashed with cash, big bucks, bu co dinero! Chopper Ben is coming to town!!!

[ozymandius]

117. closing numbers

Dow 10,385.00 +169.78 (+1.66%)
Nasdaq 2,115.83 +33.62 (+1.61%)
S&P 500 1,199.38 +19.79 (+1.68%)
10-Yr Bond 44.46 +0.56 (+1.28%)
NYSE Volume 2,178,990,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,551,479,000

blather later...

I gotta run. See you tomorrow!

Ozy :hi:

[54anickel]

118. The closing babble

Rallying from its launch, the stock market closed at its best levels of the quarter with the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq posting respective 1.7%, 1.7%, and 1.6% gains. Bargains left in the wake of three weeks' declines had perhaps lured buyers back to the table, and another round of reassuring Q3 earnings reports, alongside extended pullbacks in energy prices, fed the bullish tone throughout the day. The session's biggest news item and driver was, though, President Bush's nomination of Ben Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan. The announcement dispelled uncertainty over the Fed Chairman's successor a couple of months earlier than investors had anticipated, and Bernanke's stated intention of maintaining continuity during the transition, as well as a confirmation that Greenspan will remain Fed Head until the official end of his 18 year term in January, seemed to relieve stock investors. While the fourth quarter has been thus far characterized by a lack of leadership, today stood in stark contrast. Each of the ten sectors spent the day on positive ground, and wide-spread buying interest closed eight of them with gains in excess of 1%. Despite crude's 1% decline - and although the commodity hovered below $60.00/bbl for a large part of the day - the Energy sector surged 3.4%. Its 15% quarter-to-date slide likely captured bargain hunters' eyes, and Goldman Sachs' positive comments on the sector and contention that its decline of late is just temporary helped re-attract traders. An upside earnings report from refiner Ashland (ASH 53.40 +0.82) lent some additional support. Speaking of energy prices, the sustained pullbacks sent Consumer Discretionary to a 1.9% gain. Like the Energy sector, Utilities similarly rebounded today from recent profit-taking and posted a second-place 2.6% gain. Driven by an upgrade-induced jump in Eastman Chemical (EMN 50.58 +2.93) as well as surging Phelps Dodge (PD 124.68 +3.72) shares, the Materials sector rose 2.3%. Soaring Verizon (VZ 30.09 +0.57) shares, following Barron's positive write-up, added to follow-through buying interest across the Telecommunications sector and pushed it 1.8% higher while also supporting the Tech sector. Buyers headed towards that sector this afternoon, and a particular rise in Oracle (ORCL 12.84 +0.58) offset the effect of Unisys' (UIS 4.51 -1.04) 18% plummet and sent Tech to a +1.2% finish. A double dose of negative news items sent shares of the latter reeling: The Wall Street Journal reported the government's follow-up over-billing investigation, while Barron's feature on the stock concluded that things could get worse before they get better. Financials (+1.2%), boosted especially by surging brokers, received a strong shot of support after American Express (AXP 49.54 +2.39) disclosed its Q3 earnings intraday. Healthcare, while standing solid throughout the session, did not manage to move out of the laggard seat. Home to two of the morning's most notable upside earners, Merck (MRK 26.99 +0.81) and Schering-Plough (SGP 21.07 -0.04), an extension of relative weakness in Pfizer (PFE 21.12 -0.13) weighed upon pharmaceuticals and stunted the sector's momentum throughout the better part of the session. However, the intensified afternoon buying action sent MRK shares higher and pushed the sector out of its narrow trading range - and to a 0.8% close. Separately, the bond market unexpectedly fell on the Fed Chief announcement and remained weak over the course of the session. While the selection came with little surprise, given that Bernanke was the President's choice to chair his Council of Economic Advisors, speculation that the he may not match the iron fist with which Greenspan has attacked inflation - and instead prove more pro-growth with his policy tactics - appears to have somewhat roiled Treasury traders today.NYSE Adv/Dec 2524/789, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 2173/848