STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday 27 February

[ozymandius]

Monday February 27, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 1057 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1894 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1594 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1555
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


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




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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON February 24, 2006

Dow... 11,061.85 -7.37 (-0.07%)
Nasdaq... 2,287.04 +7.72 (+0.34%)
S&P 500... 1,289.43 +1.64 (+0.13%)
30-Year Bond 4.52% +0.00 (+0.07%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.57% UNCH (UNCH)
Gold future... 561.20 +10.30 (+1.84%)






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

[EuroObserver]

1. Tokyo: Nikkei up 0.57% Topix up 0.55%. Yen strong pending policy moves.

Tokyo stocks gain for 3rd straight day but yen's rise caps upside
(Kyodo) Tokyo stocks advanced Monday for the third consecutive trading day, but gains were pared as export-oriented issues such as Toyota Motor were sold after the U.S. dollar fell to a one-month low against the yen. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 91.04 points, or 0.57 percent, to 16,192.95. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 9.08 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,656.82.

The Tokyo market got off to a firm start, inheriting the upward momentum seen in recent sessions. The market was also supported by expectations there will be fresh demand for stocks due to the establishment of a series of investment trusts later this week, brokers said. The benchmark Nikkei climbed nearly 190 points at one point in the morning, but the gains were trimmed later in line with the dollar's fall from the lower 117 yen level to the upper 115 yen level during the day.

The yen drew buying on growing expectations that the Bank of Japan will soon end its ultra-loose monetary policy, according to currency traders. "The market carried over sentiment seen last week when shares rebounded on eased worries over foreign investors' selling," said Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. But given sluggish trading activity in terms of value, it was hard not to feel that the Tokyo stock market's sustained gains were merely supported by a lack of active selling, Sato said. Brokers said market participants will keep close tabs on upcoming releases of Japanese economic data, especially industrial output data for January, due out Tuesday, and the consumer price index for January, due out Friday.

Trading value on the TSE's First Section remained under the key 3 trillion yen mark for the ninth consecutive trading day. Trading volume on the TSE's main section came to 2,216.67 million shares against Friday's 1,887.52 million shares.

Hiroichi Nishi, equities chief at Nikko Cordial Securities Inc., said, "The market was on a recovery track," citing support from the favorable state of the Japanese economy and continued net buying by foreign brokerages in pre-opening order placement. Buying of stocks with high dividends is also expected to help buoy the market ahead of the book-closing of the current fiscal year at the end of March, he added. ...more...

Nikkei rises on steel stocks; Nippon Sheet Glass up
TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average rose 0.57 percent on Monday as Nippon Steel Corp. (5401.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other steel stocks rose on earnings prospects, while Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd. (5202.T: Quote, Profile, Research) gained on speculation it was set to seal a deal to buy British glass maker Pilkington Plc (PILK.L: Quote, Profile, Research). Investors looking for bargains also picked up Advantest Corp. (6857.T: Quote, Profile, Research), though Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) and other exporter blue chips fell after the yen strengthened against the dollar, reducing the value of their overseas earnings.
...

The market sentiment remains strong, but further proof of the strength of company earnings will be needed to plough ahead, said Junichi Misawa, a senior fund manager at STB Asset Management. "There are expectations that corporate earnings will grow 5 to 10 percent next fiscal year, but we don't have enough evidence to support that, and without (that proof) it will be difficult for the Nikkei to rise to 16,500 or 17,000 at the moment," he said. ...more...

[EuroObserver]

5. Yen soars as BOJ policy shift seen near

TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The yen rallied to a one-month high against the dollar and six-week peak versus the euro on Monday, strengthening on hopes the Bank of Japan will soon scrap its ultra-loose monetary policy and eventually raise interest rates. The Japanese currency rose more than one percent against both the dollar and the euro at one stage, extending a rally since Thursday.

Speculation has swirled that an upbeat consumer price index report on Friday could prompt the BOJ to end quantitative easing as soon as a meeting late next week. Most analysts expect a policy shift to come at the central bank's late April gathering.

Traders said that senior policy makers seemed to be coming round to the idea of an end to the extreme policy sooner rather than later. "Looking at recent comments from the government, it feels like an agreement has been made between the BOJ and the government about the BOJ's policy change," said Hideaki Inoue, forex manager at Mitsubishi Trust and Banking Corp.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said on Monday that a shift in monetary policy would be decided by the BOJ in line with the government and central bank's mandate of defeating deflation. A day earlier, Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano had said that it was up to the BOJ to decide when the time was ripe to end the super loose policy.

Most market players now think the end of quantitative easing is a done deal as economists have forecast a 0.4 percent rise in Japan's core consumer price index in January from a year earlier. That would be the highest since early 1998 and provide the latest evidence of the economy pulling free from nearly a decade of deflation.

"Press reports are pointing to a BOJ move as early as March, but I think the majority of market participants don't believe that story because such a shift could create volatility before fiscal year-end in March," said Tomoko Fujii, senior currency strategist at Bank of America in Tokyo. "But it's true that the BOJ wants to proceed with this policy shift as soon as possible," she said. ...more...

[EuroObserver]

6. Japan braces for near-term BOJ policy shift

TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Japan braced for a near-term end to the Bank of Japan's ultra-easy policy on Monday after key government officials appeared to endorse a move and a poll showed that markets think the shift is set for April.

Government bond yields hit new five-year highs -- back to levels before the BOJ started its policy of flooding the banking system with huge amounts of money in March 2001 -- while the yen rose to a one-month high against the dollar and a six-week peak versus the euro.

Following hawkish comments from senior BOJ officials last week, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sounded more resigned than ever to a policy shift despite worries that an eventual rise in interest rates may hamper government efforts to trim state debt. "What measures are needed is something that the BOJ will determine, in line with the government and BOJ's mandate of overcoming deflation," he told reporters.

On Sunday, Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano gave his strongest endorsement yet to a policy shift, saying the BOJ should feel free to end its so-called quantitative easing policy once conditions for a move were met.

In a sign that government is becoming less resistant to a BOJ policy shift, top government spokesman Shinzo Abe told a news conference on Monday that Yosano's view should be respected. ...more..

[EuroObserver]

7. Japan ponders post-deflation plan

(BBC) Rising consumer prices mean Japan's central bank is almost certain to begin tightening its monetary policy in April, a survey of analysts has found.

More than 90% of the 88 market watchers polled by Reuters said the Bank of Japan (BoJ) would act by 28 April. They expect the BoJ to cut the amount of money pumped into the banking system and then start raising interest rates, currently at 0%, later in the year.tary policy to help lift growth in Japan's economy.
...

Japan's nationwide consumer price index rose 0.1% year-on-year in November and December, the first consecutive rise for almost eight years. January's figures are due out later this week and are expected to show a rise of 0.4%.

Most of the analysts and traders surveyed by Reuters thought the Bank of Japan would begin changing its policy at its 28 April policy meeting.

Further evidence of an impending change came last Sunday when Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano said that Japan had beaten deflation. However, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi contradicted him on Monday by refusing to accept that deflation was over.

...more...

[JNelson6563]

8. Question

I haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the Japan situation, what is their prime rate these days? Wasn't it zero at one time? I remember it was something crazy at one time, not long ago.

Cheers,
Julie

[EuroObserver]

22. BOJ prime lending rate 2.0% since Feb 10th

up from 1.8%: http://www.boj.or.jp/en/stat/kinri/prime.htm

Lots of BOJ data here: http://www.boj.or.jp/en/stat/stat.htm

[JNelson6563]

37. Thanks EO!

Great info. as always. :toast:

[UpInArms]

20. Comments by govt, politicians on BOJ policy

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-02-27T071919Z_01_T144123_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-JAPAN-BOJ-GOVT-SUMMARY.XML

TOKYO, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Recent remarks by Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui have boosted speculation that the central bank will abandon its super-loose policy around April.

Some ruling party lawmakers and government officials have long warned against any hasty move by the central bank, while others, encouraged by increasing signs of a steady economic recovery, have recently become less resistant to a shift as long as interest rates are kept near zero.

The BOJ was granted more independence from the government when the BOJ Law was revised in 1998, but politicians still wield clout over monetary policy.

Under the revised BOJ Law, representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office can sit in on policy-setting meetings.

They cannot vote but can put in a request to delay a policy decision. Government representatives took that step when the BOJ decided to end its zero interest rate policy in August 2000.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

28. Japan's economy: Picking itself up

Feb 23rd 2006 | TOKYO
From The Economist print edition http://economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=5555870
The recovery is spreading, by and large

IF THE latest figures are to be believed, then last year, Japan (yes, Japan) grew faster, at 2.8%, than any G7 economy except America. And as of the final quarter of the year, it was growing faster than America as well, clocking up a 4.2% growth rate, year-on-year. Japan's GDP figures are notoriously prone to revision, so some of the shine may yet come off last year's performance. What is not in doubt, though, is that Japan's recovery is solid and increasingly broad-based.

In the recovery's early stages, rapid export growth played a crucial part in boosting industrial production and so company profits. After a soft patch early last year, export growth has accelerated again, with demand from China particularly strong. But what is striking now is the recovery in domestic demand. Companies with growing order books are spending on capital goods: fixed-capital investment grew at an annualised 7.2% in the last quarter of the year, while the outlook for machinery orders looks buoyant. Companies need to hire more workers. So the availability of jobs continues to grow. For the first time in over a decade, for instance, Japan has as many jobs on offer as there are applicants. Demand for workers is pushing up wages, and that is now clearly being felt in the shops. In the last quarter of 2005, personal consumption jumped sharply, growing at an annualised 3.2%. Department stores in and around Tokyo report brisk winter sales, and the first retail growth in nine years looks set to continue.

Confidence is returning to the housing market, too. New housing starts are holding up in the face of heavy winter snows, as well as a confidence-sapping scandal involving faked earthquake-resistance data for condominiums. And after a period when the housing recovery was confined chiefly to the Tokyo area, it has now spread to other parts, notably around Osaka and Nagoya. Thanks partly to the demand for mortgages, bank lending is starting to pick up again for the first time in years. With Japan pulling out of deflation, the Bank of Japan is likely to begin winding down its policy of super-loose money as soon as March or, more likely, April.

What are the dark spots in this picture? Taking a mildly contrarian stance, Richard Jerram, Japan economist at Macquarie Research, finds a couple. One is fairly soft import growth for such a purportedly robust recovery. This in part reflects the extent to which the recovery is taking place not chiefly in the manufacturing sector, but rather in services, where import demand is relatively low.

A second, more worrying, blot, is that for all that the labour market has tightened over the past year, employment growth, at an annualised 0.5%, is still too sluggish. This, says Mr Jerram, could point to a skills mismatch in the economy, where people are insufficiently suited for the kind of jobs being offered; if he is right, then the situation is not likely to improve anytime soon.

...a little more...

[EuroObserver]

2. Europe: Positive open. M&A still in vogue. Vodafone hurts UK telecoms

Swiss SMI opens up 0.30% at 7978.44 in Zurich 09:02:03 CET
CAC 40 opens up 0.2% at 5,083.46 in Paris 09:03 CET
Xetra Dax 30 opens up 0.1% at 5,876.92 in Frankfurt 09:03 CET
FTSE 100 opens up 0.4% at 5,885.7 in London 08:02 GMT


Bourses edge ahead as Suez and GdF merge
Europe’s bourses starting slightly higher as Suez and Gaz de France detailed their planned merger. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 added 0.1 per cent to 1,361.39 with the Xetra Dax up 0.2 per cent to 5,879.55, the CAC 40 in Paris just ahead at 5,075.55 and the FTSE 100 in London up 0.2 per cent to 5,872.8. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 hit a fresh 4½ year high last week boosted by swirling utility sector consolidation talk and strength in the banking sector. ...source...

Merger activity helps European stocks nudge up
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - European stocks started the week a touch higher, with utility mergers firmly in focus after Suez (LYOE.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Gaz de France (GAZ.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) detailed their tie-up and National Grid (NG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) agreed to buy KeySpan Corp. (KSE.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Also among major movers, acquisition activity boosted Saipem (SPMI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research), positive profit statements boosted Pearson (PSON.L: Quote, Profile, Research), while Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped after warning of slower mobile revenue growth.
...

"M&A is definitely driving things," said a trader. "I don't see any downside to it, and because M&A activity is in vogue we're seeing everyone piling in."

Gaz de France was among the top gainers with a 3.5 percent rise, while Suez tumbled 6 percent after the companies said their deal would be on a one-for-one basis after a special one euro per share dividend payment to Suez shareholders. National Grid rose 1.9 percent after it agreed a deal to buy U.S. natural gas distributor KeySpan for around $7.3 billion in cash, or $42 cash per share, plus assumed debt of $4.5 billion.

In other merger action, Pilkington (PILK.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 1.4 percent after Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd. (NSG) (5202.T: Quote, Profile, Research) said it will buy the remaining 80 percent of British glass maker it does not own for 1.8 billion pounds for cash. Italian oilfield services contractor Saipem rallied 5.6 percent after it bought engineering unit Snamprogetti from parent Eni (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) for 680 million euros. ...more...

London advances despite Vodafone hit
London equities moved higher in early trade on Monday as a flurry of companies reporting impressive full-year results helped offset a disappointing trading update from market heavyweight Vodafone Group. In an unscheduled trading statement, Vodafone warned that it expected to report an impairment of the group’s goodwill in the range of £23bn to £28bn, reflecting a lower view of growth prospects. Shares in Vodafone fell 4.5 per cent to 111¾p in early trade. Several other telecoms moved lower in sympathy with Cable & Wireless down 1.6 per cent to 107¾p and BT Group 1.2 per cent lower at 208½p. ... little more...

[EuroObserver]

4. Investors focus on Japanese inflation and eurozone rates

(FT )The European Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter point to 2.5 per cent on Wednesday in a pivotal week for global liquidity conditions. Japanese headline inflation for January, due on Thursday, is expected to rise to 0.5 per cent, providing the trigger for ending Japan’s ultra-loose monetary policy. The start of “normalisation” of monetary policy in Japan is an important shift for global financial markets. Capital Economics suggests the ECB could raise eurozone interest rates to 3.5 per cent by the end of the year, higher than currently expected by money markets. The more forward-looking indicators, such as the purchasing managers’ surveys (manufacturing on Wednesday and service sector on Friday) are pointing to a more upbeat picture of growth prospects in 2006. ...source...

[EuroObserver]

81. Reporting late: Europe closed moderately positive (lazy daze)

Swiss SMI up 0.51% at 7995.05 in Zurich 17:31:56 CET
CAC 40 up 0.1% at 5,080.5 in closing Paris exchanges 17:45 CET
Xetra Dax 30 up 0.8% at 5,915.2 in closing exchanges in Frankfurt 16:40 CET
FTSE 100 up 0.3% at 5,875.9 in closing exchanges in London 16:39 GMT
FTSE Eurofirst 300 closes up 0.3% at 1,363.8 in London 17:19 GMT
FTSE 250 closes up 0.3% at 9,506.6 in London 17:18 GMT


European stocks end at 4-1/2 year high on M&A fever
PARIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Acquisitions fever propelled European stocks to their highest close in 4-1/2 years on Monday as Suez (LYOE.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) and Gaz de France (GAZ.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) outlined a deal to create Europe's second-largest energy utility, offsetting Vodafone's (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) warning of slowing mobile revenue growth.

"We are convinced that M&A will continue ... it is not over yet and our guess is that it has only just started," said Franz Wenzel, senior investment strategist at Axa Investment Management in Paris.
...

The German utility RWE (RWEG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) rose more than 1 percent on a report that Britain's National Grid Plc (NG.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is set to conclude deals to buy two of its Dutch gas network businesses. Shares in National Grid closed slightly lower after they agreed to buy U.S. natural gas distributor KeySpan Corp. (KSE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) for around $7.3 billion in cash. Hopes of consolidation in the utilities sector boosted stocks such as International Power (IPR.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE.L: Quote, Profile, Research) by 3.8 percent and 1.5 percent respectively.

"Merger talk among utilities has been dominating markets for days and you cannot say when this will end," said Guenter Senftleben, an equity strategist at Bankgesellschaft Berlin. ...more...

Results fuel near-5-yr FTSE high; Vodafone slides.
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A continuing run of well-received company results boosted Britain's FTSE 100 share index to its highest level in nearly 5 years on Monday, but a big fall in Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) capped gains. ...more...

[EuroObserver]

82. Britain's gender pay gap worst in Europe

"Many women are working day in, day out far below their abilities."
Baroness Prosser

By Kate Holton

LONDON (Reuters) - The gender pay gap is worse in Britain than anywhere else in Europe, with women in full-time work earning 17 percent less than men, a government-appointed commission said on Monday.

The Women and Work Commission called for a change of culture in schools and workplaces, saying the gap was costing Britain up to 23 billion pounds a year in lost productivity and wasted talent.

"Many women are working day in, day out far below their abilities," said Commission chairwoman Baroness Prosser.

"This waste of talent is an outrage at a time when the UK is facing increasing competition in the global marketplace, and an outrage for those women personally."

...more...

[EuroObserver]

3. Morning Ozy, folks. Good toon.

Ports (stevedoring) would have been a traditional Mafia fief in the old days, am I right?

If you have the right contacts, I guess your containers just won't get inspected, no way...

[ozymandius]

9. Good morning EO and all!

:donut:

All too true - one can grease the skids to move the containers and grease the palms, too, to move the containers. And no one of import is the wiser.

[AnneD]

16. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: Talking about greasing palms, when I worked at oil co's many moons ago, some of my friends that worked overseas, esp in Nigeria, told me that the only way your things got unloaded was if palms were greased. You could go out and see a mass of ships waiting to be lines up. One guy watched the ship with his household good in the bay for a good 2 mos before it was unloaded.

Well, there are lots of numbers out this week involving consumers. Numbers expected are new and old home sales, consumer spending, etc. WS won't be happy unless Joe Main Street is squeezed even harder.

Happy Hunting and watch out for the bears....hibernation is ending soon and they will be stirring from their dens. They are hungry and grumpy when they first wake up so watch out.

[EuroObserver]

83. "watched the ship with his household goods"

I had an experience like that years ago in the Canary Islands.

I didn't have to grease any palms. But it certainly did help the fact that I eventually located the office and the man in charge, made personal contact, had a drink and a chat, we went out to the quay (it was more of a quay than a wharf) together and: BINGO!

[54anickel]

38. I'm still waiting for the Dilbert cartoons to come out on C-TPAT

(Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism). It just reminds me so much of the ISO 9000 Certification programs we went through at work - we had plenty of Dilbert cartoons plastered up in the cubicles back then. I wonder how many specialists and consultants there are for C-TPAT?

Gotta love some of the answers on this Terrorism FAQ page, they inspire such warm, fuzzy, safe feelings....Probably not, Possibly

http://cfrterrorism.org/security/ports2.html#Q7

snip>

That’s the idea behind the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, known as CT-PAT. Under its terms, companies provide more information to Customs and take on more security-related roles; in return, they receive preferential treatment in the government inspection process.

snip>

What has been done since September 11 to increase security in U.S. seaports?
Before the attacks, the Coast Guard devoted not more than 2 percent of its operations to port security. In the months immediately following September 11, it spent 50 percent to 60 percent of its time and effort defending U.S. ports. Since then, that figure has fallen to between 20 percent to 30 percent because of other commitments and mounting costs.

What new port security measures are in place?
To prevent hijackings, sea marshals board ships when they enter U.S. ports. Customs agents screen more cargo and use more high-tech tools, such as X-ray and gamma-ray scanners. Ships must provide electronic information about cargoes 24 hours before they embark for U.S. ports so U.S. agents can target ships and shipments that might be dangerous.

Have these new measures removed the security risk?
Probably not. A 2000 federal commission ranked U.S. seaports as “poor to fair” at stopping drug trafficking, cargo theft, fraud, and vandalism. Defending ports from determined terrorists is an even more daunting challenge, and most experts agree that U.S. ports still have a long way to go. Part of the problem, some experts say, is that in the 1990s facilitating global trade took priority over security. Agencies’ funding failed to keep pace with the increase in port traffic. But more resources alone will not reduce the threat significantly. Rethinking the way port security is managed is critical, Coast Guard and Customs officials increasingly argue, as do many outside experts.

Could terrorists smuggle weapons of mass destruction into the United States through a U.S. port?
Possibly....

more...


http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/ctpat_faq.xml

Q: What is Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)?
A: C-TPAT is a voluntary government-business initiative to build cooperative relationships that strengthen and improve overall international supply chain and U.S. border security. C-TPAT recognizes that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can provide the highest level of cargo security only through close cooperation with the ultimate owners of the international supply chain such as importers, carriers, consolidators, licensed customs brokers, and manufacturers. Through this initiative, CBP is asking businesses to ensure the integrity of their security practices and communicate and verify the security guidelines of their business partners within the supply chain.



Q: What kinds of businesses can apply for C-TPAT?
A: Currently, open enrollment for C-TPAT is available for the following business types related to the U.S. import supply chain cargo handling and movement
U.S. Importers of record
U.S./Canada Highway Carriers
U.S./Mexico Highway Carriers
Rail Carriers
Sea Carriers
Air Carriers
U.S. Marine Port Authority/Terminal Operators
U.S. Air Freight Consolidators, Ocean Transportation Intermediaries and Non-Vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCC)
Mexican manufacturers
Certain Invited Foreign Manufacturers
Licensed U.S. Customs Brokers


How were these trade participation categories selected?
CBP is responsible for screening all import cargo transactions. Utilizing risk management principles, C-TPAT seeks to enroll compliant low-risk companies who are directly responsible for importing, transporting, and coordinating commercial import cargo into the United States. The goal is to identify compliant trusted import traders who have good supply chain security procedures and controls to reduce screening of their imported cargo. In turn, this enables CBP to focus screening efforts on import cargo transactions involving unknown or high-risk import traders.



Will the costs of this "self-certification" be passed down to consumers? Guess that's one way to make those cheap imports a bit more expensive. :eyes:

[ozymandius]

10. WrapUp by Tim W. Wood

THE DOW REPORT
Housing: What Do the Charts Say?

In my October 28, 2005 Wrap Up, I explained that the charts were showing us that the housing market was slowing. I want to begin by saying in that Wrap Up I had told you about having seen single family houses along the Alabama Gulf Coast, which is a major tourist destination on the Gulf Coast, double in the last year. Well, now I can report to you that I have seen price cuts in new medium to upper end homes of 20%. I am also seeing and hearing similar stories in other hot spots. Most recently, I read about price cuts just over 30% in Key West, FL. So, the charts were correct back in October in telling us that a slowdown was in the making. But I also posed the question, “Was this just a slow down or was it the top?” Today, I want to revisit these charts and evaluate where we are some 4 months later.

Below is a chart of the Dow Jones Home Construction Index. I have again marked the last three intermediate term cycle lows with a blue “I.” The first one you see on this chart occurred in March 2003, the second one occurred in May 2004, and the last one occurred April 2005. Notice that each one of these intermediate term lows occurred at a higher level than the preceding low. At present, we have what appears to be a failed rally, as is noted in blue. I say failed because the advance into the January high could not, or at least has not yet, bettered the July high. Now, if the current advance fails before the more recent January high is bettered, then we should look for the October 2005 low to be tested, and the likelihood then becomes that the April 2005 low will be violated. Cyclically, this index should have intermediate term lows coming in over the next couple of months. It is the decline into that low that will tell us if the recent slowdown has in fact been a temporary event or if the bubble is bursting. Violation of the April 2005 low will be the first time a previous intermediate term low has been violated since the Greenspan housing bubble began and will serve to confirm the housing market top.

-see chart-

The bottom line is that we should be seeing the Housing Sector rolling over into intermediate term lows in the next couple of months. It is the decline into those lows that are ever so important for housing. Holding above the previous intermediate term lows will tell us that the recent weakness is only a temporary slowdown, while violation of those lows will serve to confirm that a much more significant top has been made.

more...

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

[ozymandius]

11. one report today

10:00 AM New Home Sales Jan
Briefing Forecast 1245K
Market Expects 1260K
Prior 1269K

[UpInArms]

25. Jan New Home Sales Fell 5% - more "surprised economists"

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B7A324C0B%2DDAFF%2D438C%2D96BF%2DE50042A5E655%7D&siteid=mktw&symbol=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of new homes in the United States fell 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.233 million in January, the lowest in a year, the Commerce Department said Monday.

The number of new homes on the market increased 2.5% to a record 528,000, representing a 5.2-months supply at the January sales pace. The months' supply is the largest in nine years.

Sales in December were revised higher to a 1.298 million pace from 1.269 million previously estimated. For all of 2005, new home sales rose 6.6% to a record 1.285 million.

Economists were expecting home sales to remain level at about 1.27 million in January, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch, figuring that warm weather in the month would have kept seasonally adjusted sales above their slowing trend.

The median sales price increased 6.7% year-over-year to $238,100, which is exactly the median price for all of 2005.

The growth in inventories and the slower pace of price appreciation are factors suggesting the booming housing market of the past four years is losing steam as mortgage rates rise and affordability falls.

...more...

U.S. Jan. median new home sales price up 6.7% y-o-y
10:00 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

U.S. Dec. new home sales revised up to 1.298 mln pace
10:00 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

U.S. Jan. new home inventory up 2.5% to record 528,000
10:00 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

U.S. Jan. new home sales fall 5% to 1.233 mln pace
10:00 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

[UpInArms]

26. US Jan new home sales hit slowest pace in a year

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-27T150047Z_01_N24191378_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-HOMES-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. homes fell 5 percent in January to their slowest pace in a year while the number of homes on the market climbed to a record high, according to a government report on Monday that signaled further cooling in the housing market.

Sales of new single-family homes declined to a 1.233 million unit annual pace from an upwardly revised 1.298 million unit pace in December, the Commerce Department said.

January's sales pace was slower than expected. Economists had forecast new homes sales would ease to a 1.260 million unit rate from the originally reported 1.269 million unit pace in December.

The number of new homes available for sale at the end of January rose to a record 528,000. At the current sales pace, that represented 5.2 months' supply -- the largest inventory since November 1996.

...more...

[AnneD]

52. It was the weather I tell ya.....

It was the weather.:spray: Let's see here, the consumers income (read potential homebuyers)has gone down and interest rates have gone up, and that doesn't even take into account the job market. And they are STILL surprised :eyes:.

[54anickel]

48. U.S. Economy: Sales of New Homes Decline, Inventory a Record

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=ayLpL8tt9uDc&refer=us

snip>

Higher mortgage rates and home prices will push down sales and may contribute to a slowing of the economy in the second half, economists said. Home construction may not add to economic growth this year for the first time in more than a decade, leaving homebuilders less optimistic.

``The combination of slower demand and looser supply is likely to put downward pressure on housing-price growth,'' said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York. ``Housing won't be the driver for growth as it has been.''

snip>

Economic Growth

Resales make up 85 percent of the housing market and are counted when the sale is closed, while new homes account for the rest and are recorded when a contract is signed. Sales of new and existing homes will fall to a combined 7.91 million this year, the third highest on record, according to the Realtors.

The slowdown in the housing market may weigh on economic growth in the second half of the year, Federal Reserve policy makers said in the minutes of their Jan. 31 meeting, released earlier this month. The central bank increased its main interest rate for the 14th time at that meeting, to 4.5 percent, and said more increases ``may be needed'' to keep inflation under control.

The economy probably will grow at a 4 percent annual rate this quarter, slowing to 3 percent by the last three months of the year, according to a Bloomberg survey from Jan. 31 to Feb. 8. An improving outlook for jobs and incomes may keep home sales from falling too far. Economists, including those at Lehman Brothers Inc., have raised their first-quarter forecasts since the poll was taken as record warm weather increased housing starts and retail sales.

more....

Guess we'll just party like there's no tomorrow until the second half of the year :eyes:

[AnneD]

55. News Flash....

If we already have inventory built up.....we already have a serious slowdown. More air is leaking out of the bubble at a faster rate. Next comes a decrease in building permits with crews being layed off, home values drop and eguity is less, people with equity lines of credit become upside down in the loans, people begin to default, banks are stuck with inventory and up loan requirements and the snowball continues to gather momentum. It is not a pretty sight. I think if the Feds raise the interest rates now they are overshooting the mark and will actually make the situation worse.

Disclaimer: I am not an economist, surprised or otherwise, but this is following the same trends I saw here in Houston many years ago when we went through our RE crash.

[UpInArms]

68. the inventory level, which is "off the charts"

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-27T183259Z_01_N27375277_RTRIDST_0_CONSTRUCTION-HOUSING-REPORT.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. home builders fell on Monday after a government report showed new home sales dropped to their lowest level in a year in January as the supply of properties swelled, signaling a further cooling in the housing market.

The U.S. Commerce Department said sales of new single-family homes fell 5 percent in January from the prior month.

"I'm kind of skeptical of the number," Raymond James and Associates analyst Rick Murray said. "It would seem to be counter intuitive to show a positive year-over-year comparison."

Murray said his checks with builders showed that they believe business has slowed on a year-to-year comparison.

The more worrisome feature is the inventory level, which is "off the charts," Murray said.

The number of developed lots, homes under construction and those finished and still unsold rose to 528,000, representing a supply of 5.2 months -- the largest inventory since November 1996.

Of the total figure, about 118,000 were finished homes. The 312,000 homes under construction and still unsold accounted for the largest part of the inventory level.

...more...

[ozymandius]

12. Oil eases from steep Saudi-led gains

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday, unwinding gains made after a foiled al Qaeda attack on the world's biggest oil processing plant in Saudi Arabia.

No supplies were disrupted from the leading oil exporter, but tension remained high.

Al Qaeda has warned of further attacks and Saudi forces on Monday killed five suspected militants believed to be linked to Friday's suicide bomb attempt.

-cut-

Prices had jumped more than $2 a barrel on Friday when news of the Saudi assault added to nervousness about supply disruption in Nigeria, as well as tension between the West and Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

more...

[UpInArms]

18. Gas Prices Drop 6 Cents Nationally - to $2.27 per gallon - Yeah!

:eyes:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060226/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_prices%3b_ylt=AloTQhQDq1u8NI25AMORBWOs0NUE%3b_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-

CAMARILLO, Calif. - Retail gas prices across the country dropped an average of 6 cents in the past two weeks, according to a new survey.

The weighted average price for all three grades had dropped to $2.27 a gallon by Friday, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the semimonthly Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations around the country.

Self-serve regular averaged $2.24 a gallon nationwide. Mid-grade cost $2.34 a gallon while the price for premium was $2.44.

Gas prices are 33 cents higher than they were a year ago, Lundberg said Sunday.

...more crap at link...

Remember when the WUHSPH said that $1.39 was too hard on consumers and would threaten our economy?

[EuroObserver]

23. Iran to grant gas contracts to European firms + more deals with China

DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x528062

[EuroObserver]

24. China paves way for £14bn BP oil stake

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1717857,00.html

Breakthrough deal with Sinopec would make UK energy major Beijing's biggest overseas partner

Nick Mathiason
Sunday February 26, 2006
The Observer

BP has been given the green light to make the largest investment by an overseas company in China.

The Observer has learnt that in recent days Beijing has agreed to allow BP to enter into a joint venture with Sinopec, the foreign-listed arm of China Petroleum Chemical Corporation, which is China's biggest oil producer and refiner. This could see BP take a $14bn stake - equivalent to 25 per cent of Sinopec's shares.

The signal from senior Chinese government figures that it has sanctioned an investment into one of its most important energy firms represents a spectacular breakthrough for the UK energy giant, though it appears to rule out a total takeover of the Chinese firm by BP.

But a deal will put BP at a strategic advantage, making it the most significant overseas player in what will shortly be the most voracious energy-consuming country in the world. If successful with a tie-up, BP will rival Exxon as the world's biggest energy firm. For Sinopec, a deal with BP will help with its exploration activities - an area where it currently lags behind its two national rivals.

...more...

[UpInArms]

27. April Crude @ $62 bbl - April NatGas @ $7.02 mln btus

April crude falls 91c, or 1.5%, to $62/brl in early trading
10:03 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

April natural gas down 29.3c, or 4%, at $7.02/mln BTUs
10:03 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

[UpInArms]

36. Venezuela Prepared to Stop U.S. Exports

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/26/AR2006022600756.html

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela could easily sell oil to markets other than the United States and is prepared to end exports to its No. 1 buyer if needed, the oil minister said in comments published Sunday.

President Hugo Chavez's government has recently stepped up threats to cut off oil exports to the United States and sell Venezuelan-owned refineries there amid rising tensions with President George W. Bush's administration.

"If our country, our process, our constitution are attacked by the Bush administration, we are not going to send any more oil," Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez told the Ultimas Noticias daily in an interview. "We'll see then which of the two governments is able to manage this type of a situation better."

<snip>

Industry experts have said Venezuela would find it difficult to find alternative markets for its oil because the country's heavy, highly sulfurous crude requires special refineries which are limited. Also, the U.S. market is only five days away by tanker, and exports elsewhere would be more costly.

...more...

[54anickel]

41. Well now, that article sure points out the problem of relying on

Industry Experts

[EuroObserver]

39. BTW, I guess the "Budget Boondoggle" thread deserves a place here today:

UiA weekend DU thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2133388

Buried in the huge budget-reconciliation bill, on which House and Senate conferees are putting the final touches right now, are a few paragraphs that accomplish an extraordinary feat. They roll back the price of a barrel of crude oil to what it sold for two years ago. They create this pretend price for the benefit of a small group of the politically well connected. You still won't be able to buy gasoline for $1.73 per gal. as you did then, instead of today's $2.28. You still won't be able to buy home heating oil for $1.60 per gal., in place of today's $2.39. But a select group of investors and companies will walk away with billions of dollars in tax subsidies, not from oil but from the marketing of a dubious concoction of synthetic fuel produced from coal and dependent on government tax credits tied to the price of oil.

[UpInArms]

42. the "gasification" of coal -

what a freakin' stupid assinine theory -

making a silk purse from a sow's ear

turning lead into gold

and we, the taxpayers, are paying for this utter stupidity so that the freaking corporations can shove it up our arses.

one poster put it most succinctly:

"shove a stick up my ass and call me a sucker"

[ozymandius]

13. Former Top Enron Accountant to Testify

HOUSTON - The former top accountant for Enron Corp.'s profitable trading division struck a deal with the government unlike most others — he shelled out half a million dollars to settle civil allegations, but didn't admit to a crime.

Yet Wesley H. Colwell could offer insight into whether Enron founder Kenneth Lay and former Chief Executive Jeffrey Skilling knew that allegedly fraudulent accounting maneuvers helped create a falsely bright picture of Enron's financial health in the months before the company crashed into bankruptcy protection in December 2001.

Colwell, 46, is expected to testify Monday as the government's fifth witness in the fraud and conspiracy trial of the two former executives.

more...

[ozymandius]

14. Stock index futures point higher as oil dips

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher market open on Monday as oil dipped below $62 a barrel, easing worries about the impact of high energy costs on corporate profits and consumer spending.

Shares of Avon Products Inc. (NYSE:AVP - news) may trade on news that the cosmetics company won government approval to resume direct-selling in China after a seven-year hiatus.

On Friday, oil shot up $2 a barrel, rattling stock investors, after suicide bombers attempted to attack an oil facility in Saudi Arabia.

-cut-

"Of all the news that's affecting the market today, most important would probably be the energy prices," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "Iran's trying to calm the international community in terms of how it enriches uranium, so if we pull back in oil prices, we should probably see a bid in the (stock) market this morning."

more...

[ozymandius]

15. 7:56 blather

S&P futures vs fair value: +1.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.0.

Versus fair value, futures trade suggests a somewhat higher start for the cash market. A 1.1% drop in oil prices, to $62.19 per barrel, and some Merger Monday activity are supportive factors. The M&A news includes reports that Suez SA (SZE) will merge with French counterpart Gaz de France SA for $37.98 billion; National Grid (NGG) will buy KeySpan (KSE) for $7.3 billion in cash; and General Electric is vying to purchase a stake in a TXU business. In addition, a Barron's article speculates on the possibility of Apple (AAPL) bidding for Walt Disney (DIS).

[UpInArms]

17. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 90.66 Change +0.11 (+0.12%)

Yen Soars to One Month Highs

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_financial_markets_headlines/dailyfx_financial_markets_headlines/6986_yen_soars_to_one_month.html

The Yen soared to one month highs against dollar today as comments from economic minister Yosano, Prime Minister Koizumi, and finance minister Tanigaki indicated that the government was willing to back an upcoming shift in BoJ monetary policy as long as economic conditions remained robust. With these key government officials openly endorsing a change to BoJ’s stance, last week’s Yen bullish comments by BoJ governor Fukui are now being taken even more seriously, with some traders believing the shift in quantitative easing policy may occur as early as the March 8-9 meeting. After opening against the dollar around 116.82, the Yen surged over 100 pips higher against the dollar in early Asian trade with the pair bid as low as 115.65 before comments from Finance minister Tanigaki helped to stem any further move downward. While Tanigaki said that he supports the BoJ making its own decision, he also said that he would be monitoring the FX situation carefully as a stronger Yen has been hurting exporter sales as well as sending ripples through the stock market. As of 8:50 GMT, the pair has settled down just above the 116.00 figure as the market looks to the Japanese CPI data this Friday for further confirmation of an upcoming shift in monetary policy.

Gains among banking and steel shares boosted the Japanese stock market on Monday, countering falls in the real estate sector. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to close at 16,192.95, with the Topix also up 0.6% to 1,656.82. Steel stocks rose strongly, boosted by expectations of high earnings this year. Nippon Steel jumped 5.2% to Y465. Sumitomo Metal Industries was up 3.6% to Y520, with JFE rising 3.8% to Y4,420. The banking sector gained today as well, rising nearly 1%. Mitsubishi UFJ, the world’s biggest bank by assets, was up 2.4% to Y1,700,000. Nippon Sheet Glass leapt 5.2% to Y509 on expectations that its bid to merge with Pilkington, the British glass maker, would succeed. The Osaka Securities Exchange, jumped 6.9% to Y1,060,000 after the problem-free launch of a new trading system on Monday. On the downside, real estate stocks fell despite further evidence that foreign investors had returned to the market. The sector declined 1.3% on Monday. Tokyu Land plunged 4% to Y1,039, although Mitsui Fudosan, Japan’s biggest property company, was unchanged at Y2,435.

The bid on the Japanese 10-year government bonds slipped slightly today to 100.084, boosting the yield one basis point to 1.590%.

...charts at link...

Churn

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/strategy_pieces/trade_or_fade/6984_.html

Another week of slow churn as the dollar managed to squeeze 54 basis points out of the euro, with all of the gains occurring on Friday. The dollar rallied despite a drop of –10.2% in the Durable Goods orders against an expectation of only –2.0% decline. Granted the headline number was far worse than the underling data (ex-transports the figure actually rose 0.6%). Still a –10% month over month fall is an ominous sign. It was the biggest such drop in nearly 6 years and may presage a weakness in overall demand. Nevertheless, FX traders preferred to focus on rates. On Friday night a UK clearer raised their Fed funds forecast to 5.5% and that was reason enough for dollar bulls to push the pair below the 1.1900 figure.

Of course US rates are very likely to depend on US growth – even the Fed stated that they will be more data dependent as the year moves on. To that end next week’s releases on Housing Sales and Manufacturing activity should provide the market with a clearer view of the whether US economy maintains its pace or is about to stall out.

Finally, last week saw the sudden resignation of Fed Vice Chairman Roger Furgeson to pursue, "other professional opportunities". By itself Mr. Furgeson’ s departure may not have raised too many eyebrows, but given the fact that Philly Fed President Santomero is also leaving bringing the total turnover to 2 Fed Governors and 6 out of the 12 Fed Presidents in the last 2 years, some may wonder why are so many professionals leaving what are the most powerful monetary policy jobs in the world?

...more...

[UpInArms]

31. US yuan push can only backfire: Chinese researcher

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-02-27T071015Z_01_PEK207392_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY-CHINA-YUAN.xml

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States will obtain no satisfactory result if it continues to pressure China to allow the yuan <CNY=CFXS> to appreciate more quickly, a Chinese government researcher said in comments published on Monday.

Zhang Ming, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government think-tank, said in an article published on the Xinhua news agency's Web site that U.S. pressure would only disturb China's own efforts to let the yuan strengthen.

"There are only two possible results of U.S. pressure for the yuan to appreciate: that the Chinese government will resist the pressure and maintain its own route; or that the yuan will appreciate quickly, leading to a depression in the U.S. and global economies," Zhang warned.

"It's really stupid for the United States to press for yuan appreciation on the basis of domestic political motivations," he added.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

33. Worth underlining that last sentence, imho n/t

[UpInArms]

19. Eleven banks cooperate on interest rate derivatives

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-27T122112Z_01_L27748495_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-DERIVATIVES-CME.XML

LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Eleven banks have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to improve pricing and transparency in interest rate derivatives, they said on Monday.

The banks will set agreed prices and guarantee liquidity in a market dominated by voice-broking and electronic trading platforms, but lacking a central pricing resource.

"We have achieved a commitment from major dealers to provide a deep pool of liquidity that can be distributed through any channel," said Gavin Dixon, global business manager for fixed income trading at BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research). "It will provide clients with a source of prices and transparency they don't have today."

<snip>

The founding banks (Bank of America, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS) each have an equal share in the venture.

...more at link...

In the 80s, the things that sank all those banks were called "participation loans" - I wonder if this time it will be the derivative participations?

[54anickel]

51. Global credit ocean dries up (Another "Oh crap" report)

The cash machine that sustained a world boom is about to close, and it's going to get ugly, says Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/02/24/cccredit24.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2006/02/24/ixcoms.html

One by one, the eurozone, the Swedes, the Swiss and now even the Japanese, are turning off the tap of ultra-cheap credit that has flushed the global system for the past year, keeping the ageing asset boom alive.

The "carry trade" - as it is known - is a near limitless cash machine for banks and hedge funds. They can borrow at near zero interest rates in Japan, or 1pc in Switzerland, to re-lend anywhere in the world that offers higher yields, whether Argentine notes or US mortgage securities.

Arguably, it has prolonged asset bubbles everywhere, blunting the efforts of the US and other central banks to restrain over-heating in their own countries.

snip>

"The carry trade has pervaded every single instrument imaginable, credit spreads, bond spreads: everything is poisoned," said David Bloom, currency analyst at HSBC.

"It's going to come to an end later this year and it's going to be ugly, even if we haven't reached the shake-out just yet," he said.

lots more...

[AnneD]

57. Got paper.....

:hurts: :evilgrin:

[54anickel]

59. Sure, no problem - may as well use this

[AnneD]

62. It's cheap

and plentiful...but does it absorb well and is it septic tank safe:think:

[UpInArms]

21. US Treasuries up slightly as buyers take their turn

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-27T143514Z_01_N27208460_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices rose slightly on Monday as buyers stepped in to take advantage of cheaper prices after three days of selling last week and before important new homes data.

Treasuries sold off last week and yields rose as investors girded themselves for one or possibly two more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve before June. But traders said the market may have been oversold ahead of a busy data week.

"We had a decent down trade, so there is some short covering before the number parade begins," said Adam Brown co-head of U.S. Treasury trading at Barclays Capital.

That parade gets started later on Monday with the release of January U.S. new home sales and as traders squared positions, benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> were 3/32 higher in price for a yield of 4.57 percent from 4.58 percent late on Friday.

"We've got the new homes number coming out, but the market is a little oversold right here," said Alan De Rose, a trader at CIBC World Markets in New York.

...more...

[UpInArms]

32. Printing Press Alert: Fed buys coupons, adding permanent reserves

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-27T154151Z_01_N27369397_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Monday that it was buying coupons, adding permanent reserves to the banking system.

The Fed said it was buying coupons with maturities ranging from April 30, 2006 to January 31, 2007. All callables were excluded as well as seven other issues.

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

Earlier, the Fed added temporary reserves to the banking system through overnight system repurchase agreements.

[UpInArms]

67. Treasurys weaken in face of heavy corporate supply

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B611E9D6E%2DBCBB%2D496C%2D9CD8%2DF81EAD335459%7D&siteid=mktw&symbol=

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasury prices remained lower Monday afternoon, sending yields higher, as investors lightened their holdings in government instruments to position themselves for several large corporate bond offerings this week.

The benchmark 10-year note last was down 1/32 at 99-11/32 with a yield ($TNX 45.89, +0.22, +0.5% ) of 4.585%, up 4.569% in late trade Friday.

Government instruments are receiving some competition from two separate $3 billion corporate issuances from United Healthcare Group (UNH 59.06, +0.17, +0.3% ) and Credit Suisse. Both offerings could be priced as early as Monday.

Earlier prices were higher after the Commerce Department reported that sales of new homes in the U.S. fell 5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.233 million in January, the lowest in a year. See full story.

Economists were expecting home sales to remain level at about 1.27 million in January, assuming that warm weather would have kept seasonally adjusted sales above their slowing trend, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch.

Sales in December were revised higher to a 1.298 million pace from the 1.269 million previously estimated. For all of 2005, new home sales rose 6.6% to a record 1.285 million.

The number of new homes on the market increased 2.5% to a record 528,000, the largest supply in nine years.

...more...

[UpInArms]

29. 10:07 EST numbers and blather

Dow 11,107.66 +45.81 (+0.41%)
Nasdaq 2,299.31 +12.27 (+0.54%)
S&P 500 1,293.86 +4.43 (+0.34%)
10-Yr Bond 4.573 +0.06 (+0.13%)

NYSE Volume 306,386,000
Nasdaq Volume 292,659,000

10:00 am : The major averages have edged higher, and garner support from eight of the ten economic sectors. The Consumer Discretionary sector is faring best, driven by a solid rise in retailers. Lowe's (LOW 68.00 +2.48) remains the brightest spot, but nearly all of the S&P 500's retail stocks are presently trending higher. Wal-Mart's (WMT 45.68 +0.23) assertion that it expects a 3.2% same-store sales gain for February, which is in the middle of the company's forecast, has helped to spark some optimism ahead of the industry's same-store-sales reports later in the week. Due to the flurry of M&A activity relating to it, the Utilities sector (+0.6%) also contributes some early leadership. Separately, new home sales fell a slightly more than expected 5%, to 1.233 million, in January. The market's immediate reaction has been a muted one.DJ30 +52.74 NASDAQ +13.61 SP500 +5.25 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 971/1589/269.3 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 997/1757/190.1 mln

09:40 am : As expected, the stock market started the week on gaining ground. A 1.4% decline in crude oil futures, to $62.03 per barrel, is a supportive factor. Reports that Russia and Iran are discussing a joint uranium-enrichment program do not ease concerns over Iran's long-term intentions, but that news has helped drive oil lower today. Some Merger Monday action also helps to stir some early buying. On that front, there are reports that National Grid (NGG) will acquire KeySpan (KSE) for $7.3 billion in cash; GE and an Australia's Macquarie Bank are each vying for a stake in TXU's electricity delivery business valued in the $5 billion range; and Suez SA (SZE) and its French counterpart have agreed to a $37.98 billion merger deal. Better than expected earning results from Lowe's (LOW), and upside EPS guidance for the current quarter and full-year, helps underpin the upbeat tone. The housing sector is likely to be in focus today, due also to the January New Home Sales report (consensus 1.26 million) that will be released at the top of the hour.DJ30 +30.26 NASDAQ +7.16 SP500 +2.11

09:13 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +6.5.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.0. Futures trade has headed higher and continues to suggest a positive start for stocks. A pullback in the price of crude futures continues to support the early market, and the flurry of merger and acquisition news also helps drive some buying action. Lowe's (LOW) is an underpinning factor. Further to the earnings front, Cablevision (CVC) and Newmont Mining (NEM) are two additional companies that have released better than expected earnings

(updated blather on edit)

[UpInArms]

30. Smokin' the good shit: Business economists bump up growth forecasts

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-02-27T054136Z_01_N2434380_RTRUKOC_0_US-ECONOMY-SURVEY.xml

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth will rebound in the first quarter of 2006, prompting two more rate increases from the Federal Reserve, before slowing in the second half of the year, according to a survey of economists released on Monday.

A panel of 53 professional forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics bumped up their consensus outlook for first-quarter economic growth to a 4.5 percent annual rate, up from 3.4 percent forecast three months ago.

"The NABE panel sees the economy roaring back in early 2006 following the fourth quarter's tepid 1.1 percent growth," said Stuart Hoffman, NABE president and chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

For all of 2006, the panel expects GDP growth to slow to 3.3 percent, down from 3.5 percent in 2005 but unchanged from NABE's November forecast. Growth will slow further to 3.1 percent in 2007.

The economists expect Fed policy-makers to raise the fed funds rate to 5.0 percent, the likely peak of this tightening cycle, before the end of the summer.

"In 2007, the full panel expects the Fed to gradually lower the fed funds rate back to 4.50 percent by the end of that year, the panel's estimate of the neutral rate," the group said in a statement.

...more...

Just around the corner, right on the cusp, in the next quarter, very soon now.....

:rofl:

[UpInArms]

43. US economy set to roar back: survey

but... but... I thought they had been saying that we were at full roar already :eyes:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060227/bs_afp/useconomygrowthoutlook%3b_ylt=A9FJqZHnuwJEytIA5QOmOrgF%3b_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US economy is set for a strong rebound in the first quarter of 2006, shaking off the hurricane-related weakness of the fourth quarter, a survey of business economists showed.

The survey of the National Association of Business Economists called for the economy to expand at a robust 4.5 percent pace in the current quarter -- the fastest since 2003 -- after a disappointing 1.1 percent annualized rate in the fourth quarter.

"The NABE panel sees the economy roaring back in early 2006 following the fourth quarter's tepid 1.1 percent growth," said Stuart Hoffman, NABE president and chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

"Our forecasters expect the economy to shake off the effects of last years hurricanes and surging oil price."

The report based on a survey of 53 economists projected the overall pace of growth for 2006 at 3.3 percent.

<snip>

The NABE panel saw a somewhat uneven pace of growth, with a deceleration in the second half of 2006. They called for an average four percent growth pace in the first half and a three percent expansion in the second half.

...more...

[AnneD]

60. Our theme song today is....

that show stopping hit from Annie..."Tomorrow". This song is dedicated to those cubicle economist that parrot the Faux fax instead of the writing on the wall.

[UpInArms]

44. SnowJob the liar adds his crap into the mix

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-27T163118Z_01_WBT004866_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-SNOW-GROWTH-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth was strong and benefiting from tame core inflation, Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Monday as he repeated long-standing arguments for tax cuts to be made permanent.

"The American economy is now unmistakably in a trend of expansion, and those trend lines can be clearly traced to the enactment of tax relief," he told the Credit Union National Association in prepared remarks.

"Core inflation also remains low, and that's good news for everyone," he said.

Market participants have worried high energy prices might prompt the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates more than currently expected. But so far, core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, has remained relatively mild.

[54anickel]

47. Bernanke, Like Greenspan, Won't Get in Way of Asset Price Rises

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

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, like his predecessor Alan Greenspan, doesn't plan to get in the way of surging home or stock prices.

Bernanke, staking out a key policy in his first month on the job, said yesterday at Princeton University that the central bank ``doesn't really have good instruments for addressing asset price bubbles should they exist, particularly if they are in one particular segment or another.''

Bernanke's views on dealing with rising asset prices match those of Greenspan, who was faulted by some economists for allowing a stock-price bubble to inflate in the late 1990s and for letting U.S. home prices soar in recent years. Timothy Geithner, vice chairman of the Fed panel that sets the benchmark U.S. rate, said last month the role of asset prices in Fed policy may expand.

``It's generally a bad idea for the Fed to be the arbiter of asset prices,'' said Bernanke, 52, who became chairman Feb. 1, succeeding Greenspan, who was in the post for 18 1/2 years. ``The Fed doesn't really have any better information than other people in the market about what the correct value of asset prices is.''

snip>

Blinder said the Greenspan-Bernanke approach to bubbles is ``basically, you do nothing, and then the corollary to that is that you mop up after they burst to keep the financial system from taking a big fall.'' Bernanke's hands-off approach has ``been his position for years, since he was an academic,'' Blinder said.

more...

[54anickel]

63. If there's no inflation, why do we fight it?

The Fed insists inflation isn’t an issue, yet it juggles the numbers and laps up applause as a tough inflation-fighter.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/P143793.asp

snip>

Have your higher-priced cake and eat it, too
What gets me to talking about this is a rather glaring inconsistency. On the one hand, there seems to be denial about inflation being a problem -- witness the repeated use of "core inflation," which is generally used to mean all the things that didn't go up in price. Then, contrast this sanguine view of inflation with the fear that Benny B. is going to get "tough."

If one wanted to make the case that inflation is not under control in this country and that the men at the Fed are serious and intent on doing something about it, that would be a logical, consistent argument. However, the men at the Fed are avowed inflationists. They blew up a stock bubble and refused to do anything about it. Ditto the real-estate bubble.

Meanwhile, they habitually refer to core inflation, as opposed to what is obviously happening, so they can continue on their merry ways. And now, people are worried that the appointment of a Fed chairman whose academic endeavors revolved around fighting deflation means that the Fed will get tough?

snip>

Thus, when I look at the universal denial of inflation on the part of the public at large, Wall Street and the Fed (witness Bernanke's own projections for inflation in 2007 of 1.75% to 2%), I find it quite incongruous that the markets fear the Fed will push rates up to contain something that everyone has agreed is not a problem. (Speaking of the illogical nature of the markets these days, if folks are really worried about the Fed being tough, why are they piling into housing stocks? And why is the PHLX / KBW Bank Sector Index ($BKX.X) breaking out?)

more...

[UpInArms]

34. SEC Took Rare Step to Subpoena Journalists

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/print?id=1662112

WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission routinely subpoenas companies and financial market figures. Rarely does it go after journalists' records, yet it sought recently to compel two reporters to turn over material.

The legal move comes at a time of heightened sensitivity over press freedom and government action against journalists.

After issuing a subpoena on Feb. 7 to two financial journalists, the SEC decided last week against compelling them, at least for now, to surrender records as part of an investigation into allegations of stock manipulation.

The subpoena went to columnists for two Dow Jones & Co. publications, Herb Greenberg of MarketWatch and Carol Remond of Dow Jones Newswires. The subpoena sought telephone records, e-mails and other documents related to the online retailer Overstock.com. Greenberg and Remond have written columns about Overstock.

<snip>

The SEC is investigating allegations by Overstock that a research firm, Gradient Analytics, issued negative reports on the retailer in exchange for payments from a hedge fund seeking to profit from a drop in its stock price. Overstock has sued Gradient and the hedge fund in question, Rocker Partners; they deny any wrongdoing.

...more...

[UpInArms]

76. SEC halts pursuit of subpoena for records

http://www.modbee.com/24hour/politics/story/3202135p-11917902c.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is taking the unusual step of halting pursuit of a subpoena for records from two journalists until the agency considers the matter, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said Monday.

Underscoring the sensitivity of the issue, Cox said in a statement that neither he nor the SEC's general counsel or any of the other four SEC commissioners had been informed or consulted regarding "such an extraordinary step" before news reports appeared on it over the weekend.

Normally, SEC enforcement attorneys issue subpoenas in an investigation without specific approval by the commissioners, who approve only the overall investigations.

The issue of subpoenaing journalists will be considered by the five SEC commissioners "before this matter proceeds further," Cox said.

After issuing a subpoena on Feb. 7 to two financial journalists, the SEC decided last week against compelling them, at least for now, to surrender records as part of an investigation into allegations of stock manipulation.

...more...

[UpInArms]

35. Citigroup says SEC probe over Argentina expands

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyid=2006-02-24T231135Z_01_N24232773_RTRUKOC_0_US-FINANCIAL-CITIGROUP-ARGENTINA.xml

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has expanded an accounting probe into the bank's activities in Argentina, and subpoenaed materials for four additional years.

In its annual report filed with the agency, the largest U.S. bank said the SEC has subpoenaed witness testimony and information over its accounting and internal controls for the years 1997 to 2004.

Citigroup had previously said the agency's subpoenas covered only 2001 to 2004.

The subpoenas relate to the SEC's investigation into New York-based Citigroup's accounting for its Argentina business for the fourth quarter of 2001 and first quarter of 2002, at the height of that country's fiscal crisis.

<snip>

The bank announced the widened probe less than one month after former emerging markets chief Victor Menezes agreed to pay $2.68 million to settle SEC insider trading charges.

...more...

[UpInArms]

40. April Gold @ $555.80 oz - May Silver @ $9.65 oz

April gold falls $5.40, or 1%, to $555.80/oz in NY
11:10 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

May silver falls 17.5c, or 1.8%, to $9.65/oz
11:10 AM ET Feb. 27, 2006 -

[54anickel]

58. Gold May Approach 25-Year High as Investors Seek Better Returns

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aptP66Ss6.gs&refer=us

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may approach a 25-year high this week as investors seek better-performing assets than stocks and bonds, a Bloomberg News survey shows.

Twelve of 28 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Sydney to Chicago on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 advised buying gold, which rose 1.2 percent last week to $561.20 an ounce in New York. Six respondents said prices will fall, and 10 forecast little change.

Investors and consumers bought a record $53.6 billion of gold last year, estimates the producer-funded World Gold Council in London. Gold prices have gained $100 since November and in January had the biggest advance since September 1999 as concern mounted of accelerating inflation. An attack on a Saudi oil- processing plant last week renewed concern of terrorist threats.

``I don't care if I buy gold at $510 or $550, it's going to be a lot higher in the years ahead, and so anywhere in here is fine,'' said Larry Jeddeloh, chief investment officer of North Oaks, Minnesota-based TIS Group Inc., which manages about $85 million, including shares of some gold-mining companies. ``You will see better than $1,000 before the end of the decade.''

snip>

``We regard gold as an essential barometer in the grand battle between hard and financial assets,'' Citigroup Inc. analyst John Hill said on Feb. 23. ``Gold prices have been resilient following oil, nuclear, geopolitical jitters, lackluster earnings for broader equities and fretting global economic imbalances.''

Citigroup said gold will average $540 an ounce this year and will rise close to $600. A drop in prices to between $520 and $540 should not be viewed as negative, San Francisco-based Hill said, citing eight pullbacks of $20 or more in price from 2004 to 2005.

Inflation Hedge

more...

[UpInArms]

45. Goldman Sachs CEO Paulson 2005 total pay $38.8M

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BA08E0C96%2D6F3E%2D44DC%2D860A%2D02860007951D%7D&siteid=mktw&symbol=&print=true&dist=printTop

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) on Monday said Chairman and Chief Executive Henry M. Paulson Jr. received total compensation of about $38.8 million, including a restricted stock award valued at $30.1 million and a 220,392 stock-options grant, for the fiscal year ended Nov. 25, 2005.

The New York investment banking and securities firm first reported the restricted stock award and grant of stock options to the executive in a regulatory filing last December.

Goldman Sachs said in a definitive proxy filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Paulson received a $600,000 salary in fiscal 2005, unchanged from the prior year ended Nov. 26, 2004. The company also said the executive received no bonus for fiscal 2005, unchanged from fiscal 2004.

The company said the 220,392 stock options Paulson received have a grant-date present value of about $7.3 million. Goldman Sachs said it granted Paulson the options Dec. 13, 2005, and that the options have an exercise price of $131.64.

According to the filing, Goldman Sachs said the 220,392 stock options are scheduled to expire Nov. 27, 2015.

For fiscal 2004, Goldman Sachs CEO Paulson received a restricted stock award valued at about $29.2 million and no stock-option grant.

The company said the executive received "other compensation" of $203,431 for fiscal 2005, compared with $169,982 for fiscal 2004.

...more one sentence paragraphs...

[UpInArms]

46. 11:45 EST numbers and blather - WHEEE!!!!

Dow 11,122.20 +60.35 (+0.55%)
Nasdaq 2,310.39 +23.35 (+1.02%)
S&P 500 1,295.92 +6.49 (+0.50%)
10-Yr Bond 4.577 +0.10 (+0.22%)

NYSE Volume 802,129,000
Nasdaq Volume 728,708,000

11:30 am : Advances in several sectors have helped push the indices higher. Tech is now up a market-leading 1.1%. Strength in the hardware industry, which is particularly due to rising Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 33.29 +1.27) shares, is a driving force. Telecom, the S&P 500's year-to-date leader, has now registered a matching 1.1% gain. AT&T (T 27.86 +0.29) and Qwest (Q 6.40 +0.08) are the drivers there. Relative strength in biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks has helped that sector notch a supportive 0.9%. In the latter group, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY 23.29 +0.32) is garnering some added attention, following an article in The Wall Street Journal that suggested the company may become a takeover target once its patent issues with Plavix are settled.DJ30 +55.15 NASDAQ +15.43 SP500 +4.66 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1137/1711/656.8 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1301/1742/512.1 mln

11:30 am : Advances in several sectors have helped push the indices higher. Tech is now up a market-leading 1.1%. Strength in the hardware industry, which is particularly due to rising Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 33.29 +1.27) shares, is a driving force. Telecom, the S&P 500's year-to-date leader, has now registered a matching 1.1% gain. AT&T (T 27.86 +0.29) and Qwest (Q 6.40 +0.08) are the drivers there. Relative strength in biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks has helped that sector notch a supportive 0.9%. In the latter group, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY 23.29 +0.32) is garnering some added attention, following an article in The Wall Street Journal that suggested the company may become a takeover target once its patent issues with Plavix are settled.DJ30 +55.15 NASDAQ +15.43 SP500 +4.66 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1137/1711/656.8 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1301/1742/512.1 mln

[ozymandius]

49. lunchtime check-in

12:05
Dow 11,121.72 +59.87 (+0.54%)
Nasdaq 2,309.81 +22.77 (+1.00%)
S&P 500 1,295.83 +6.40 (+0.50%)
10-Yr Bond 45.89 +0.22 (+0.48%)
NYSE Volume 879,898,000
Nasdaq Volume 793,493,000

[54anickel]

50. Hedge fund's money is AWOL

Paper says only $150,000 found of reported $150M in assets at International Management Associates.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/27/funds/atlanta_funds/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Only about $150,000 of the allegedly $150 million in assets of an Atlanta-based hedge fund has been found by investigators probing allegations of fraud there, according to a published report.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of Kirk Wright, founder and CEO of Atlanta-based International Management Associates, in hopes of getting his help in the search for the firm's assets.

The paper reports that over the past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission and a receiver appointed to mind International Management's assets have scoured the hedge-fund firm's offices, records and accounts, but found only a fraction of its reported net worth.

more...

[54anickel]

53. Arab investors largely avoid U.S.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/26/business/invest.php

Despite soaring oil revenue in the Middle East and the uproar over the attempt by a Dubai company to control seaport terminals at several American ports, Arab countries have made little effort to acquire hard assets in the United States, confining their investment mostly to holdings in real estate, oil refining and financial services.

Middle Eastern countries account for less than 1 percent of the $1.5 trillion of foreign direct investment in U.S. businesses and real estate, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service. That lags far behind the largest foreign investors: Britain, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands and France.

In fact, before DP World took over Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation of Britain, Middle Eastern investors largely avoided direct control by obtaining partial ownership through shares in publicly owned companies.

The most prominent investor from the region is a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who gained recognition for acquiring a minority holding in the 1990s in Citigroup. He later became one of its top shareholders, with a 3.9 percent stake.

more...

[54anickel]

54. Halliburton said to get disputed Iraq costs

Report: While not perfect, Army to reimburse contractor nearly all of $263 million in question.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/27/news/companies/halliburton.reut/index.htm

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has decided to reimburse a Halliburton Co. subsidiary for nearly all of the $263 million in disputed costs over a contract to deliver fuel and repair oil equipment in Iraq, the New York Times reported Monday.

Citing Army officials, the Times said the military had decided to pay Halliburton engineering and construction unit Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) all but $10 million of the costs which Pentagon auditors had identified as potentially inflated or unsupported by documentation.

Halliburton (Research), formerly led by Vice President Dick Cheney, has been criticized for its work in Iraq, particularly for some contracts awarded on a "no-bid" or noncompetitive basis.

The disputed costs reported by the Times were part of a $2.4 billion no-bid contract in Iraq. Army officials said that while some actions by KBR had driven up costs, the company had done as well as could be expected under the chaotic conditions of war, according to the Times report.

Under the type of contract awarded to KBR, "the contractor is not required to perform perfectly to be entitled to reimbursement," Rhonda James, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was quoted in the report as saying.

more...

Just what type of contract is that, anyway? :eyes:

[wordpix]

61. would you pls. post this as separate thread on LBN? This is important.

A $2.4 billion NO-BID contract? Geez, I compare prices when I'm buying a TV or jar of pnut butter but US gov. can't bother getting more than one bid for $2.4 billion worth of goods/services?:wtf:

[54anickel]

64. There is a thread out there from yesterday's Time article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2134244

On edit:

I gave it a kick, but it just doesn't seem to be getting much interest. Guess we DUers have gotten accustomed to Bushco's SOP. It really doesn't come as much of a surprise to anyone.

[ozymandius]

69. Democratic congressman calls for subpoena of Halliburton profits

Washington, D.C. -- In a letter to Chairman Davis, advanced to RAW STORY, Rep. Waxman (D-CA) outlines over $250 million in Halliburton charges refuted by Defense Department auditors.

Rep. Waxman is asking the Committee on Government Reform to subpoena documents relating to the charges.

The letter, in full, follows:

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Democratic_congressman_calls_for_subpoena_of_0227.html

[54anickel]

71. What are his chances? Seems each time I think the tide is turning

and Bushco can't hide or bury an investigation, they manage to bury another one. By the time Waxman makes it through all the red tape, IF he even gets that far, Hellaburnin will have long ago been paid, KBR will no longer exist as KBR and we taxpayers are just out a whole heck of a lot more money.

With all that this mal-admin has gotten away with, I have a hard time being optimistic anymore. I wish Rep. Waxman much success, but getting the documents is one small step. Actually stopping the robber barons, obtaining justice and reimbursement are a loooong way off. Keeping stuff like this in the headlines may help defeat the Republicans in '06, but I doubt there are many legislators that really want to deal with biting the hands that feed. While there are a few good reps, I think most do the bidding of the plutocracy.

[EuroObserver]

79. Plenty and increasing examples of fan+fecal matter

in messy conjunction (for the rest of us in proximity) recently.

Radical (but only) solution: outlaw ALL private financial contributions to pols, period. Allocate resources (eg. airtime) to legit pols/parties from the public (yes, taxpayers) purse. REQUIRE the media to give all candidates space and time, gratis.

Long jail sentences and inhabilitation for cheats.

You get my drift, I think. Your Constitution or other basic laws say anything about this?

[54anickel]

86. What Constitution? That GD piece of paper * refers to?

It was bastardized when they twisted it to give personhood to corporations. Bush is just finishing the job.

[54anickel]

56. Cut Fannie's Holdings, Critics Say

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/24/AR2006022401952.html

Critics of Fannie Mae yesterday renewed calls to rein in the company and its smaller rival, Freddie Mac, following the release of former senator Warren B. Rudman's report on the mortgage finance company's $10.8 billion accounting scandal.

Though the report documented no new problems, the critics said, Rudman's detailed account of widespread accounting violations makes it important to adopt a tougher set of regulations for the company.

snip>

"It is inconceivable that a fraud of this magnitude, so amply documented in this 2,700 page report, went completely undetected by Fannie Mae's regulator the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise (OFHEO) and Fannie's Board for years. . . . Fannie Mae operated with impunity because it had nothing to fear from its regulator," W. Michael House, executive director of FM Policy Focus, said in a statement. FM Policy Focus is backed by several big banks that compete with Fannie and Freddie.

Paul Miller, an analyst for Friedman, Billings Ramsey Group Inc., was among several analysts who were skeptical that the report would be enough to break the legislative stalemate.

"While the report reveals many accounting violations, the Rudman report may not be a catalyst that pushes the Senate into portfolio limitations favored by Senator Shelby. We still believe that the odds for . . . reform this year are slim," Miller wrote in a research note Thursday.

more...

[54anickel]

65. Bush, Rats & a Sinking Ship (Could get ugly!!!)

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2006/022506.html

In just this past week, conservative legend William F. Buckley Jr. and neoconservative icon Francis Fukuyama have joined the swelling ranks of Americans judging George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq a disaster.

“One can’t doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed,” Buckley wrote at National Review Online on Feb. 24, adding that the challenge now facing Bush and his top advisers is how to cope with the reality of that failure.

“Within their own counsels, different plans have to be made,” Buckley wrote after a week of bloody sectarian violence in Iraq. “And the kernel here is the acknowledgement of defeat.”

Fukuyama, a leading neoconservative theorist, went further citing not just the disaster in Iraq but the catastrophe enveloping Bush’s broader strategy of preemptive military American interventions, waged unilaterally when necessary.

“The so-called Bush Doctrine that set the framework for the administration’s first term is now in shambles,” Fukuyama wrote Feb. 19 in The New York Times Magazine.

snip>

If Bush can’t hold William F. Buckley Jr. – and if even the ranks of the neocons are starting to crack – Bush may soon be confronted with a hard choice of either acknowledging his errors or tightening his authoritarian control of the United States.

more...

[54anickel]

66. On The Brink In Iraq

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/24/on_the_brink_in_iraq.php

With Iraq perched at the very precipice of an ethnic and sectarian holocaust, the utter failure of the Bush administration’s policy is revealed with starkest clarity. Iraq may or may not fall into the abyss in the next few days and weeks, but what is no longer in doubt is who is to blame: If Iraq is engulfed in civil war then Americans, Iraqis and the international community must hold President Bush and Vice President Cheney responsible for the destruction of Iraq.

The CIA, the State Department, members of Congress and countless Middle East experts warned Bush and Cheney— to no avail— that toppling Saddam could unleash the demons of civil war. They said so before the war, during it and in the aftermath, and each time the warnings were dismissed. Those warnings came from people like Paul Pillar, the CIA veteran who served as the U.S. intelligence community’s chief Middle East analyst, from Wayne White, the State Department’s chief intelligence analyst on Iraq and from two CIA Baghdad station chiefs who were purged for their analysis. Pillar, who wrote this month in Foreign Affairs that pre-war intelligence on Iraq was distorted by the Bush-Cheney team, is being excoriated by the right.

For the most radical-right neoconservative Jacobins amongst the Bush-Cheney team, the possibility that Iraq might fall apart wasn’t even alarming: they just didn’t care, and in their obsessive zeal to overthrow Saddam Hussein they were more than willing to take the risk. David Wurmser, who migrated from the Israeli-connected Washington Institute on Near East Policy to the American Enterprise Institute to the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans to John Bolton’s arms control shop at the State Department to Dick Cheney’s shadow National Security Council in the Office of the Vice President from 2001 to 2006, wrote during the 1990s that Iraq after Saddam was likely to descend into violent tribal, ethnic and sectarian war.

In a paper for an Israeli think tank, the same think tank for which Wurmser, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith prepared the famous “Clean Break” paper in 1996, Wurmser wrote in 1997 : “The residual unity of the nation is an illusion projected by the extreme repression of the state.” After Saddam, Iraq would “be ripped apart by the politics of warlords, tribes, clans, sects, and key families,” he wrote. “Underneath facades of unity enforced by state repression, politics is defined primarily by tribalism, sectarianism, and gang/clan-like competition.” Yet Wurmser explicitly urged the United States and Israel to “expedite” such a collapse. “The issue here is whether the West and Israel can construct a strategy for limiting and expediting the chaotic collapse that will ensue in order to move on to the task of creating a better circumstance.”

Such black neoconservative fantasies—which view the Middle East as a chessboard on which they can move the pieces at will—have now come home to roost. For the many hundreds of thousands who might die in an Iraqi civil war, the consequences are all too real.

more...

[UpInArms]

70. CNN: The breakaway Republicans

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/27/gop.tm/

The closest thing to a working political antenna at the White House these days may be the one on Dan Bartlett's car radio. Congressional anger over President George W. Bush's decision to allow a Dubai-owned company to operate terminals at major U.S. ports had been at a low boil for days before the White House got its first inkling of the furor: Bartlett, the presidential counselor, happened to tune in to conservative talk-show host Michael Savage on the way home from work. By the time the President moved to quash it several days later with assurances that he wouldn't have allowed the deal "if there was any chance that this transaction would jeopardize the security of the United States," it was far too late to quell the Republican rebellion. "This freight train had already left the station," says a Bush aide. And the President's threat to use his first-ever veto was no obstacle to its momentum.

If there is any message that Bush should take forward after the blistering he got last week from virtually the entire Republican Party, it is that "Trust me" is no longer a viable political strategy. That's because nervous Republicans don't -- at least not when their futures are at stake. With Bush's bungling of the ports controversy, they are starting to say privately that they cannot afford to risk their fate on the agenda and instincts of an unpopular President who never has to face the voters again. What began months ago as a routine government-approval process for a business deal -- in this case, one made politically radioactive by the fact that it would allow an Arab-government-owned company to manage terminals at major U.S. ports -- has exploded into the sharpest and most bitter confrontation that Bush has had with his party. And it has hastened the declaration of independence toward which Republicans have been edging for months. "This is the tipping point," said a House leadership strategist. "No longer will Republicans sit idle when they have a difference with the President." A senior Senate aide spoke even more bluntly: "It's every man for himself."

<snip>

Perhaps, but it wasn't just the unthinkable possibility of appearing weak on national security next to Hillary Clinton and Edward Kennedy that drove Hill Republicans to take on the President. It was a feeling that he was treating them with contempt. Even as McClellan spoke about appeasement, there was grumbling that the White House still hadn't contacted Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert directly to talk matters through, and a House leadership aide noted that "with the veto threat and then the accusation that members were being xenophobic, alienated them even more."

Beyond feelings of personal insult, a look at the electoral map offers another compelling reason some members might seize an opportunity to put distance between themselves and Bush. Nine of the 10 most endangered House incumbents this fall are Republicans, noted nonpartisan political analyst Stuart Rothenberg in a recent column for the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. Bush remains a big draw for the hard-core Republican faithful, but it was hard not to notice the absence of Ohio Senator Mike DeWine when the President arrived at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport last week to raise $1.1 million for DeWine at a private event in the tony Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill. (DeWine's probable Senate opponent observed that "DeWine doesn't want to be seen with President Bush in public.") One of the first to denounce the ports deal was Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum, a Senator whose re-election battle--already the toughest in the country -- will be even harder to win without improved support in Philadelphia, one of the affected ports. Close behind Santorum was Senate majority leader Bill Frist, who is struggling to establish his identity for a possible 2008 presidential run.

...more...

[54anickel]

73. Last paragraph....

White House officials, recognizing the likelihood that Republicans on Capitol Hill will go their own way, say they have designed an agenda that relies on Congress for very little in this election year. Instead, they say, the President will deploy his bully pulpit for such issues as overhauling the entitlement programs--Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--that eat up half the budget and could balloon as baby boomers retire. By judiciously asserting his influence, Bush believes he can set "an agenda that our party and, one would hope, the country can unite behind," White House communications director Nicolle Wallace said. But the flap over port security, coming after the controversy over Vice President Dick Cheney's handling of his accidental shooting of a hunting companion, shows that the White House will have to sharpen its game to regain even that much ground. An Administration official said Bush's aides realize that they'll be taking more Republican shots "every year that we're closer to being done." But in the end, the wounds that hurt the most may be the ones that are self-inflicted.


:wtf: is that last sentence...some sort of veiled threat? Are they saying the Republicans might do a Whittington and get in Bush's line of fire?


Tell me why
Everything turned around
Packing up
Shacking up is all you wanna do

If I could
Baby I’d give you my world
Open up
Everything’s waiting for you

You can go your own way
Go your own way
You an call it
Another lonely day
You can go your own way
Go your own way

[AnneD]

75. Hey 54anickel...

that's all 'rumours' any way. I have these 'dreams' that 'we'll never go back again' and have the GOP 'chains' on us again.



edited cause I had to reflect on Fleetwood for a minute.

[54anickel]

77. Heh-heh, "What makes you think you're the one.....

Who can laugh without cryin'?
What makes you think you're the one
Who can live without dyin'?
Every little bit
Is there
To see
Every little bit
Of you
And me

What makes you think i'm the one
Who'll be there when you're callin'?
What makes you think i'm the one
Who will catch you when you're fallin'?
Every little bit
Is there
To see
Every little bit
Of you
And me

[AnneD]

78. One day...

we'll have to get togather and go to a karaoke bar. :toast: :party:

[54anickel]

80. Sure, but I don't think you'd appreciate my singing very much - I've

got this weird voice - imagine Stevie Nicks, Kris Kristofferson and Elvis combined into one....trust me - it ain't purty!

[AnneD]

85. The secret is...

in the consumption of spirits to 'lubricate' the vocal cords. Why do you think the Irish have so many 'folk' songs. It is directly proportional to the number of pubs...

[UpInArms]

72. Michigan car parts supplier cuts 100+ jobs at Virginia plant

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/business/13974700.htm

LEBANON, Va. - Declining demand for sport utility vehicles has led to layoffs for more than 100 workers at a Virginia plant that makes parts for General Motors cars and trucks.

The cuts at the Southfield-based Lear Corp. factory resulted from the closing of a General Motors plant in Oklahoma where GMC Envoys and Jimmy sport utility vehicles were assembled, said company spokeswoman Andrea Puchalsky.

Nearly 80 percent of the door panels, arm rests and center consoles made at the Lebanon, Va., plant go into GM cars and trucks. With GM planning to cut more than 30,000 jobs and close 12 plants by 2008, more workers could lose their jobs in Lebanon, Puchalsky told the Bristol, Va., Herald Courier last week.

"We only build door panels as needed," she said. "We don't just keep building door panels indefinitely. That's a really good way to start losing money."

...more...

[UpInArms]

74. US SWAPS-Spreads mixed on supply, curve flattens (1st inversion in 15 yrs)

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-02-27T202149Z_01_N27546605_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-SWAPS.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. swap spreads were mixed
on Monday, prompted by new debt supply, and the swap curve
flattened with Treasuries after inverting for the first time in
more than 15 years last week, market sources said.

Swap spreads were 10 basis point tighter to 0.25 basis
point wider with 10-year spreads at 52.50 basis points.

Bond dealers often pay in swaps to lock in yields on the
debt they underwrite, which widens swap spreads. Once the debt
is sold, they unwind these "rate locks" by receiving in swaps,
which tightens spreads.

This week's new offerings included a $1.5 billion 5-year
issue from the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corp.; $3
billion of debt from Credit Suisse's <CSGN.VX> U.S. unit and
$2.25 billion in bonds from Comcast <CMCSA.O>.

The swap curve flattened with its Treasury counterpart.
Bond yields rose on players' closing out month-end positions
and this week's fresh supply, analysts said.

"It's month-end activity and a bit more supply than
expected," said Beth Malloy, bond market analyst at
Briefing.com.

...more...

[ozymandius]

84. time to close up shop

Have a great evening!

Ozy :hi:

Dow 11,097.55 +35.70 (+0.32%)
Nasdaq 2,307.18 +20.14 (+0.88%)
S&P 500 1,294.12 +4.69 (+0.36%)
10-Yr Bond 45.90 +0.23 (+0.50%)
NYSE Volume 1,975,323,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,753,777,000

4:20 pm : Buyers dominated the trading action Monday, and drove the market higher. The indices managed to sustain moderate gains and closed within the day's relatively narrow range. A sharp decline in the price of crude was behind the advance, and it underpinned an upbeat tone set by an early bout of merger and acquisition news.

After spiking on geopolitical concerns last week, crude futures gave back 3.4% and closed at $60.76 per barrel today. Prices across the energy complex were lower, with natural gas particularly easing. A respite in what have been ongoing geopolitical developments allowed the market some relief today. Reports that Iran and Russia's nuclear chiefs over the weekend agreed to establish a joint uranium-enrichment venture on Russian soil was another factor behind today's pullback. While that news does not abate concerns over Iran's long-term nuclear ambitions, it was interpreted as a positive today. The energy price action did not bode well for the Energy sector (-1.4%), but its decline was offset by gains across eight other sectors.

The Technology sector (+1.0%) led. Buying there was wide-spread, and took nearly each of the market's tech industries higher. Due to strength in tech and in biotech issues, the Nasdaq outperformed. Pharmaceuticals teamed with the latter industry in pushing the Healthcare sector to a supportive 0.8% gain. Most of the Merger Monday front related to utility companies, and that sector registered +0.9%. That front featured reports that National Grid (NGG 52.92 -0.53) will acquire KeySpan (KSE 40.75 -0.66) for $7.3 billion in cash, that General Electric (GE 33.33 +0.19) is vying to purchase a stake in TXU's (TXU 52.58 +2.83) electricity delivery business, and that Suez SA (SZE 37.72 -2.27) will merge with its French counterpart in a $37.98 billion all-stock deal that will form one of the world's largest utilities.

For several reasons, the Consumer Discretionary sector (+0.9%) also fared well today. Home improvement retailer Lowe's (LOW 69.30 +3.78) delivered strong fourth quarter results, and issued upside profit guidance for the current quarter and full-year. Wal-Mart (WMT 45.71 +0.26), meanwhile, said that it expects a 3.2% same-store sales gain for February. That estimate falls in the middle of its prior forecast, and helped generate some optimism ahead of the industry's same-store sales results that will arrive later this week. Disney (DIS 28.39 +0.41) was another bright spot following an article in Barron's that suggested Apple (AAPL 70.99 -0.47) could potentially make a bid for the company. The pullback in energy prices was also a supportive factor for discretionary stocks today.

Due to a slightly more than expected drop in new home sales last month, the home building industry somewhat tempered the Discretionary sector's rise. Because some home builders have recently noted that sales have weakened in selected markets and that cancellations have picked up, the 5% decline was not a big surprise. Nonetheless, expectations had been for a fairly flat level and the data reflected the lowest level in about a year. In our view, the data serves as an early indication that the Fed's rate hikes are beginning to bite. The market awaits a relatively heavy week of economic data, which will continue to garner added attention in light of ongoing interest rate uncertainty. Tomorrow, fourth quarter GDP and the January Existing Home Sales report will be released. DJ30 +35.70 NASDAQ +20.14 SP500 +4.69 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1266/1797/1.75 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1364/1894/1.44 bln

[JNelson6563]

87. Just finished the day's thread, another

great edition!

Thank you Marketeers. I didn't have time to watch today but after reading the thread I feel like I didn't miss a thing.

:toast: