STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday May 3

[ozymandius]

Source: DU

Thursday May 3, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 627 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2314 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2024 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1984
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 9
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

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

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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 2, 2007

Dow... 13,211.88 +75.74 (+0.58%)
Nasdaq... 2,557.84 +26.31 (+1.04%)
S&P 500... 1,495.92 +9.62 (+0.65%)
Gold future... 675.10 -2.20 (-0.33%)
30-Year Bond 4.82% +0.00 (+0.06%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.65% +0.00 (+0.09%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

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PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: DU

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Market WrapUp

Sector Valuation Analysis
BY CHRIS PUPLAVA

Sector analysis was done by looking at relative twelve month performance of each sector to the S&P 500 (a measure of overbought or oversold) and sector valuations. Twelve month relative performance for each sector relative to the S&P 500 is shown below. Values greater than zero represent twelve month periods of excess returns over the S&P 500 and values less than zero indicate periods of underperformance. The red lines indicate two standard deviations (SDs) above and below the mean (relative average performance since 1990), with values falling within the two redlines approximately 95% of the time (assuming performance is normally distributed). Values near or beyond the solid red lines indicate statistical extremes of value, either undervalued (lower red line) or overvalued (upper red line), where values should fall outside these limits only 5% of the time.

The twelve month relative performance shown was smoothed and serves as a type of momentum gauge in terms of price performance.

Accompanying the twelve month relative performance charts are composite valuations of price-to-book value (P/BV), price-to-sales (P/S), price-to-cash flow (P/CF) and price-to-earnings (P/E) given below showing the average for the deviations from the mean for each individual price multiple. When earnings displayed extreme cases of volatility the composite valuation for that particular sector excluded the P/E multiple and included the other three measures. The sectors with all four price multiples included were health care, consumer staples, and financials, with the other sectors excluding P/E. The top five sectors will be presented based on their 2007 year-to-date (YTD) performance, with the lagging five sectors presented next week.

-see chart/cut-

The Markets

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached another record, breaking the 13,200 mark for the first time, and the S&P 500 was one point from breaking the 1,500 mark near the end of the day before retreating slightly. Factory orders for March came in better than expected and above February’s levels, sending the markets higher as the numbers were taken as signs of a stable economy. The positive news from factory orders propelled the Dow to nearly a triple-digit gain on the day, up 75.74 to close at 13211.88 (+0.58%). The NASDAQ was up 26.31 points to close at 2557.84 (+1.04%) and the S&P 500 was up as well, rising 9.62 points to close at 1495.92 (+0.65%).

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

8:30 AM Initial Claims 04/28
Briefing Forecast 325K
Market Expects 325K
Prior 321K

8:30 AM Productivity-Prel Q1
Briefing Forecast 0.8%
Market Expects 0.8%
Prior 1.6%

10:00 AM ISM Services Apr
Briefing Forecast 54.0
Market Expects 53.0
Prior 52.4

http://biz.yahoo.com/c/e.html

[UpInArms]

6. 8:30 reports:

24. U.S. Q1 unit labor costs up 1.3% y-o-y vs 3.4% Q4
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

25. U.S. Q1 productivity up 1.1% y-o-y vs 1.6% Q4
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

26. U.S. Q1 unit labor costs weakest since Q2 '06
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

27. U.S. Q1 unit labor cost up 0.6% vs 2.1% expected
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

28. U.S. Q1 productivity up 1.7% vs. 0.8% expected
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

29. U.S. continuing jobless claims down 93,000 to 2.50 mln
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

30. U.S. 4-week avg. jobless claims down 4,500 to 328,750
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

31. U.S. weekly jobless claims at lowest level since Jan. 13
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago

32. U.S. weekly jobless claims down 21,000 to 305,000
8:30 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 11 minutes ago
last week was revised upward by 5,000

[UpInArms]

15. US April ISM surprises to the upside! Whee! 56.0 vs 53.3 expected

19. U.S. April ISM prices paid 63.5% vs. 63.3%
10:02 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 15 minutes ago

20. U.S. April ISM new orders 55.5% vs. 53.8%
10:02 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 15 minutes ago

24. U.S. April ISM services index 56.0% vs. 53.3% expected
10:00 AM ET, May 03, 2007 - 17 minutes ago

[mojavekid]

18. Bloomberg: U.S. Factory Orders Rise More Than Forecast in March (Update2)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=awVm5HPozpVU&refer=economy

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Orders placed with U.S. factories rose more than forecast in March, reinforcing signs in the past week that business investment was on the mend going into the second quarter.

Factory orders rose 3.1 percent, the most in a year, after increasing 1.4 percent in February, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Excluding transportation equipment, bookings rose 1.9 percent after no change in February.

Orders rose for goods such as machinery, power generation equipment and commercial aircraft, while higher energy costs boosted the value of chemicals and other non-durable products. The Federal Reserve, forecasting improved second-half growth, is counting on a bigger contribution from business spending as housing remains in a slump and consumer spending weakens.

``Business investment looks like it picked up at the end of the first quarter, leaving good momentum for the current quarter,'' Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York, said in an interview. ``The Fed will be encouraged by the improvement, given that business spending has been a concern.''

more...

[ozymandius]

3. Oil prices remain under $64 a barrel

SINGAPORE - Oil prices were little changed Thursday after U.S. government fuel stocks data showed gasoline supplies shrank less than expected, while crude stocks rose.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery edged up 4 cents to $63.72 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore. The contract on Wednesday fell 72 cents to settle at $63.68 a barrel.

Brent crude contract for June delivery gained 20 cents to $66.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly inventory report released Wednesday showed a 1.1 million barrel drop in gasoline stocks last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a slightly larger drop of 1.2 million barrels.

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

[mojavekid]

17. Bloomberg: Oil Erases Gains as Nigeria Militants Pledge Hostage Release

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aquIZlQNCQnU&refer=energy

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil gave up earlier gains in New York after a Nigerian militant group pledged to release eight foreign hostages taken today from a vessel operated by an Eni SpA unit.

Crude oil for June delivery fell 18 cents to $63.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 1:48 p.m. London time, after climbing 37 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $64.05 earlier.

Brent crude for June settlement gained 16 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $66.41 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.

end..

[ozymandius]

4. Good morning everyone.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

I'm sorry to be so few with posts this morning. Just overslept a bit. I will be able to return after the markets open for bidness.

Ozy :hi:

[AnneD]

13. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: Well, the Queen is coming for a visit. Spit shine the silver and wipe the plates with the dish rag. I have seen her before-twice. Well actually, if you stand on any street corner in London for any length of time you see her. She and Philip were going to some function promoting tourism. She was talking to Philip and he was doing what all husbands do, stare out the window vacantly, not saying a word.

The airport rules have changed a bit since she was her last and she might not find things so 'agreeable'. Every Homeland Security Guard in a airport can tell you that all terrorist are disguised as little old ladies. The tiara will set of the metal detector and have to go. The taking off of shoes will not pose a problem, but the body search....well, let's just say that it has been a while since an unauthorized hand has been there.

And now we get to the baggage/purse search. Oh to be the guard opening her Majesty's purse. For years I have pondered what she carries in those large ugly purses. There are no little kids in the palace at the moment so no nappies or wipes, so they are very roomy and can hold any number of royal essentials.

I know she is quite the horse woman (and here REAL reason for going to Virginia) so I suspect she has a recent racing form and an old ticket stub. She probably has a fiver or a ten pound note for the odd tip or wager. I also know she smokes. She offered the guy that broke into her quarters a cigarette and an ashtray and they shared a smoke. So she has cigarettes and a book of free matches from her bookie(she is very frugal). She must has a tin of mint altoids too, what with all the speaking engagements. She probably has a monogrammed hankie, a tube of red lipstick, and a compact. I can't think of too much more she might have. If she is smart, she won't carry much more than that. Folks get a little testy with you if you slow up the line-even if you ARE the Queen of England.

Edited to add. Hope she has a great time here. The exchange rate is favourable, so she can pick up a few bargains.


Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[UpInArms]

5. dollar watch

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

Last trade 81.672 Change -0.095 (-0.12%)

Dollar Momentum, Dow Highs Could Be Derailed By ISM Services And NFPs

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/cross_markets_data_reaction/Dollar_Momentum__Dow_Highs_Could_1178147695215.html

ISM Non-Manufacturing (APR) (14:00 GMT)
Expected: 53.0
Previous: 52.4

Nonfarm Payrolls (APR) (Friday 12:30 GMT)
Expected: 100K
Previous: 180K

How Will The Markets React?

After a brief lull in fundamental action from the US economic calendar, event risk will quickly return with Thursday’s ISM non-manufacturing report. The proprietary gauge of service sector activity is expected to improve for the first time in three months and in doing so pull the indicator off of four-year lows. Considering the tepid pace of growth in the first quarter and the steady trend of declines from other areas of the economy, a rebound in the large service sector is needed to revive confidence in the US and its investment vehicles. Looking for clues to support the expected recovery, we only need to go as far as yesterday’s factory report. Though there are big structural and size differences between the two gauges, they follow the same underlying economic trends. As an overall guide, the manufacturing report marked a big rebound in April with a 54.7 print that was the fastest pace of expansion in a year. For better guidance, the components reveal where most of the improvements will likely come from. Breaking Tuesday’s headline number into its individual sub-gauges, it is easy to see that many of the bigger improvements came from the same areas that the service sector has struggled with in recent months. Strong performance from domestic and foreign orders as well as employment numbers read could easily be repeated in the non-manufacturing gauge. Alternatively, other indicators keep the air of doubt in place. Key among them is consumer confidence which slipped to a 14-month low in April as housing woes spread and rising gasoline prices dampens discretionary spending. However the ISM number hits the wires, its influence on the markets may ultimately be hampered by the payrolls report due the following day. The Labor Department’s NFP print is a monthly favorite for traders and its presence will not go unnoticed. At the same time, the ISM’s employment component will certainly contribute to the ever-evolving NFP outlook.

...more...

Dollar Digests Gains - Is a (Dollar) Low in Place?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_technicals/Dollar_Digests_Gains___Is_1178193598192.html

EURUSD – We are still looking for price to come under last week’s low at 1.3541 to more strongly signal that a top is in place. This level is reinforced by 2 month trendline that is just above 1.3550 (20 day SMA is also at 1.3553). Oscillators on the daily are bearish as RSI has rolled over from above 70 and a bearish MACD crossover occurred Tuesday. Near term, it is possible to count a 5 wave decline from 1.3677 and the rally from 1.3559 looks corrective and may be playing out as a double zigzag. In this case, we would see one more small down-up scenario before a bigger decline takes place. The next level of short term resistance is the 61.8% at 1.3632.

<snip>

USDJPY – The USDJPY has chopped lower from yesterday’s high at 120.28 in quiet trading. Resistance is at the 78.6% of 122.17-115.14 at 120.67. A potential resistance line drawn off of the 3/12 and 4/16 highs is near 120.50. Bigger picture, the entire rally from 115.14 takes on a wedge shape, which is a bearish pattern. We are looking for the USDJPY to chop higher to 120.50/67 – after which reward/risk will favor shorts.

<snip>

GBPUSD – Cable has come under trendline support but the short term double bottom at 1.9864/66 keeps shorts on the defensive at the moment. The 100% extension of 2.0131-1.9864 / 2.0071 at 1.9804 is a measured objective following a break under 1.9864. A decline much below there targets the 161.8% extension at 1.9639. A decline to 1.9804 or 1.9639 could be the C wave in an A-B-C decline from the top. An intraday reaction high at 1.9968 is initial resistance.

...more...

[UpInArms]

7. China to take up currency row directly with US Congress

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070503/bs_afp/uschinaforexcongress

WASHINGTON (AFP) - China is expected to confront head on with the US Congress on the thorny issue of Beijing's undervalued currency, which American lawmakers complain is hurting the US economy.

Tough-talking Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi is to meet with key Congressional panels during her visit to Washington this month for a "strategic economic dialogue" launched by the two powers in December, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.

"Now I happen to think it is a big positive that the Chinese would be here when Congress is in full session because they will have an opportunity -- Wu Yi is a very persuasive woman and she is a force of nature -- to go up and behind closed doors and talk with some of the key committees and leaders out there," Paulson told a forum of top economists, scholars and government officials.

He said Wu Yi's meetings with the American lawmakers "can make a real difference" in helping address the currency issue, a key component of increasing US trade concerns with China that had seen Beijing being dragged to the World Trade Organization by Washington on various fronts.

...more...

[UpInArms]

8. Mortgage Unit Produces Loss for GMAC

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/business/03gmac.html?ex=1335844800&en=90f171d1b8ac2521&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

DETROIT, May 2 (Reuters) — General Motors’ former finance arm, GMAC, posted a first-quarter loss on Wednesday as pressure on the mortgage market forced the company to take charges at its housing finance unit.

GMAC, in which G.M. retains a 49 percent stake, posted a net loss of $305 million, in contrast to a profit of $495 million a year earlier.

GMAC’s mortgage unit, ResCap, posted a quarterly loss of $910 million, more than offsetting gains from its insurance and auto finance divisions, which earned $605 million.

GMAC said it had taken steps to lower the risks for ResCap by selling off subprime mortgages at a loss, marking down its remaining portfolio and curtailing new loans to borrowers with weaker credit.

...more...

[UpInArms]

9. Ex-Governor Assailed as Inept in Trial of Conrad Black

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/business/03black.html?ex=1335844800&en=315a922a9c1f547b&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

CHICAGO, May 2 — Defense lawyers in the trial of Conrad M. Black questioned the memory, business acumen and integrity of the former governor of Illinois, James R. Thompson, on Wednesday as they tried to cast doubt on his oversight of financial decisions at the media giant Hollinger International.

Mr. Thompson was the third and final member of the Hollinger audit committee to testify in the trial of Mr. Black and three former associates, Jack A. Boultbee, Mark S. Kipnis and Peter Y. Atkinson, who are accused of siphoning off $60 million in cash.

The exchanges were often heated as defense lawyers tried time and again to portray Mr. Thompson, who was chairman of the audit committee, as inept or not paying attention to detail.

On Wednesday during nearly eight hours of testimony, the lawyers one after another painted a harsh picture of Mr. Thompson, saying that he had signed off almost absentmindedly on hundreds of millions of dollars given to top executives while keeping poor watch over critical financial transactions.

At one point, a lawyer for one of Mr. Black’s co-defendants described, in meticulous detail, how Mr. Thompson had helped sign off on management fees, compensation perks and stock options that totaled some $300 million.

...more...

Does his "ineptitude" make Black less of a crook? :eyes:

[UpInArms]

10. Heavy Options Activity Stirs Suspicions (Murdoch's bid for the Dow Jones)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/business/media/03options.html?ex=1335844800&en=d82043aa4fafd445&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Did word of Rupert Murdoch’s offer for Dow Jones leak out early?

On April 25, less than a week before the $60-a-share offer was publicly disclosed, an investor bought an option to buy 280,000 shares of Dow Jones for $40 in September.

The investment was extraordinary for several reasons. Shares of Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, were trading at about $36 at the time and had not crossed $40 in a year. The future for newspaper companies, meanwhile, was widely considered to be grim. As a result, the options cost the investor a mere 85 cents a share on the American Stock Exchange.

After Mr. Murdoch’s offer was announced on Tuesday, however, shares of Dow Jones shot up to $56 and the value of the options jumped to $17.20. The buyer of the options had a profit, on paper, of $4.6 million as of yesterday afternoon.

The investor was either lucky, highly perceptive or — as many on Wall Street suspect — acting on insider information.



...more...

[Demeter]

11. Today's Cartoon Really Hits Hard--Right on the Nail!

Thanks for posting it!

[UpInArms]

12. Big US mortgage firms won't back subprime principles (Debtor relief)

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN0241507720070503

WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - The two largest mortgage lenders in the United States have declined to endorse a set of principles that would help troubled subprime borrowers avoid foreclosure, a lawmaker who proposed the principles said on Wednesday.

Representatives from Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research both attended a mid-April 'subprime summit' organized by the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, but those companies did not endorse the seven principles, which were formalized after that meeting.

<snip>

Among the principles, mortgage servicers should seek to modify the terms of subprime loans before the interest rates are reset higher, and they should set aside dedicated resources and staff to help those borrowers.

Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research should work with lenders to make credit available to borrowers who have trouble refinancing subprime loans, the document also states.

Another principle calls for servicers to make early contact with subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages to determine if they qualify for a more stable loan.

...more...

[UpInArms]

14. GM profit plunges 90% after housing finance loss

http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USN0346709520070503

DETROIT, May 3 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research on Thursday reported a 90 percent drop in first-quarter earnings, missing Wall Street estimates by a wide margin, as mortgage-related losses at its GMAC affiliate more than offset an improvement in its automotive operations.

GM, which Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research displaced as the world's largest automaker in the first quarter, said profit fell to $62 million, or 11 cents a share, from $602 million, or $1.06 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned 17 cents per share.

On that basis, analysts on average had expected 87 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. Estimates from 13 analysts ranged from 47 cents to $1.30.

GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson said weaker GMAC results were the major reason earnings missed even the lowest of Wall Street expectations.

...more...

[mojavekid]

16. Daily Pfennig 5/3/07: Manufacturing Continues to Surprise...

http://www.kitcocasey.com/displayArticle.php?id=1362

Good day... Data released yesterday continues to show U.S. manufacturing is rebounding from its recent slowdown. Factory orders for the month of March were up 3.1%, well above the 2.2% level predicted by economists. Last month's figures were also revised up from 1% to 1.4%. This data follows Tuesday's ISM Manufacturing reading, which also surprised the markets on the upside. Even the poor U.S. automobile industry saw a slight pick-up with domestic vehicle sales coming in slightly above estimates. This data enabled the dollar to continue its recent rebound as many traders are again discounting any need for the FOMC to cut rates and many predict the Fed will need to raise rates.

In an email late last night, Chuck brought to my attention one piece of data which was largely overlooked by the markets. The employment tracking firm Challenger & Gray's latest report shows that layoff announcements rose 18.4% YOY in April. We will get a better picture of the employment situation with the weekly jobs report today, and the monthly data, which will be released tomorrow. If the housing industry is as slow as expected during the next few months, the employment picture will only get worse. The Fed will have their hands tied and will not be able to raise interest rates to combat inflation for fear of further slowing the economy. So all eyes are now focused on tomorrow's monthly jobs report.

snip...

Enough of that, let me review what happened in the currency markets during the past 24 hours. The European Commission said prospects for economic growth in the euro region this year are "more favorable" than for many years, driven by investment and consumer spending as well as exports. "Domestic demand is an important driver of economic growth in the euro area," as reflected by the "continued buoyancy of investment spending and the revival in household spending" the EU said in a report released this morning. "Euro area exports are well placed to continue their strong performance." So the euro is set to continue to benefit from strong economic fundamentals. As Chuck points out in this month's Review and Focus, instead of just saying one should buy the euro because it is the offset currency to the dollar, we can say that the Eurozone's economic growth is strong as well!

more...

[mojavekid]

19. Bloomberg: Dick Cheney's Banker Grantham Sees World Bubble

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_pesek&sid=axjQJ8._t2Dk

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- You'd expect someone whom the famously dour Dick Cheney entrusts with millions of his dollars might have a gloomy view of the world. Jeremy Grantham does indeed.

``From Indian antiquities to modern Chinese art; from land in Panama to Mayfair; from forestry, infrastructure and the junkiest bonds to mundane blue chips -- it's bubble time,'' he writes in Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co.'s latest quarterly letter titled ``The First Truly Global Bubble.''

Grantham, 68, is chairman of the Boston-based company that, according to financial disclosure reports, in 2005 managed as much as $6.1 million for U.S. Vice President Cheney. And if his own recent actions are any guide, he's quite the multitasker.

more...

[TrogL]

20. Loonie Watch

Highlights

Current:



30-day and 90-day vs.greenback:



30-day vs. Euro, Yen, UK Pound and Swiss Franc




Currency Comparison: http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/looniewatch.html

Detailed analysis: http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD

Up-to-the-minute graph: http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CME_CD.H06&v=s

Historical values http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/CAD/data30.html

2007-04-02 Monday, April 2 0.865351 USD
2007-04-03 Tuesday, April 3 0.86408 USD
2007-04-04 Wednesday, April 4 0.863334 USD
2007-04-05 Thursday, April 5 0.868885 USD
2007-04-06 Friday, April 6 0.868734 USD
2007-04-09 Monday, April 9 0.867905 USD
2007-04-10 Tuesday, April 10 0.871156 USD
2007-04-11 Wednesday, April 11 0.873439 USD
2007-04-12 Thursday, April 12 0.880127 USD
2007-04-13 Friday, April 13 0.878812 USD
2007-04-16 Monday, April 16 0.884251 USD
2007-04-17 Tuesday, April 17 0.885504 USD
2007-04-18 Wednesday, April 18 0.885897 USD
2007-04-19 Thursday, April 19 0.886054 USD
2007-04-20 Friday, April 20 0.89071 USD
2007-04-23 Monday, April 23 0.890869 USD
2007-04-24 Tuesday, April 24 0.890631 USD
2007-04-25 Wednesday, April 25 0.897183 USD
2007-04-26 Thursday, April 26 0.892698 USD
2007-04-27 Friday, April 27 0.8967 USD
2007-04-30 Monday, April 30 0.903506 USD
2007-05-01 Tuesday, May 1 0.901876 USD
2007-05-02 Wednesday, May 2 0.901957 USD


Current values

Last trade 0.9045 Change +0.0009 (+0.10%)
Previous Close 0.9038 Open 0.9043
Low 0.9037 High 0.9058


Blather (from http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD)

The June Canadian Dollar was steady to slightly higher in overnight trading as it consolidates above the 75% retracement level of the September-February decline crossing at .9006. Stochastics and the RSI are overbought but are neutral hinting that a short-term top might be in or is near. Closes below the reaction low crossing at .8920 would signal that a short-term top has been posted. If June extends the rally off February's low, the 87% retracement level of the September-February decline crossing at .9098 is the next upside target. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to higher opening in early-day session trading.


Analysis

The housing bubble in the US has begun to collapse, probably taking the economy with it. An analyis posted in yesterday's thread showed strong fundamentals for the Canadian economy.

[AnneD]

21. Honeybee die-off threatens food supply

BELTSVILLE, Md. — Unless someone or something stops it soon, the mysterious killer that is wiping out many of the nation's honeybees could have a devastating effect on America's dinner plate, perhaps even reducing us to a glorified bread-and-water diet.

<snip>

U.S. beekeepers in the past few months have lost one-quarter of their colonies — or about five times the normal winter losses — because of what scientists have dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder. The problem started in November and seems to have spread to 27 states, with similar collapses reported in Brazil, Canada and parts of Europe.

<snip>
Experts from Brazil and Europe have joined in the detective work at USDA's bee lab in suburban Washington. In recent weeks, Hackett briefed Vice President Cheney's office on the problem. Congress has held hearings on the matter.

<snip>
Beginning this past fall, beekeepers would open up their hives and find no workers, just newborn bees and the queen. Unlike past bee die-offs, where dead bees would be found near the hive, this time they just disappeared. The die-off takes just one to three weeks.

<snip>
A quick experiment with some of the devastated hives makes pesticides seem less likely. In the recent experiment, Pettis and colleagues irradiated some hard-hit hives and reintroduced new bee colonies. More bees thrived in the irradiated hives than in the non-irradiated ones, pointing toward some kind of disease or parasite that was killed by radiation.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4770971.html

This was the first article that had a little hope. My Grandpa was a legendary bee keeper. Never wore the netting and didn't get stung. Poor mom is allergic, but me? I'm more like Grandpa. If I lived in the country, I'd have my own hive. Love the honey, love the comb, love the bees.:loveya:

[mojavekid]

23. Grist: Fork it Over: Ways of bee-ing - more hopefound here AnneD,

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/5/2/111815/2043

Reader Brooklynolmec writes in to inquire: are organically managed bees faring any better these days than their industrially farmed peers?

As most readers will know, the U.S. is currently in the grip of a widespread honeybee-colony collapse. Nationwide, something like a quarter of bee colonies have succumbed to what's known as "colony collapse disorder," in which bees abandon hives en masse, for unknown reasons, never to be seen again. In some areas, the collapse rate has reached as high as 70 percent, flummoxing scientists and endangering huge mono-cropped fields that rely on domesticated-bee pollination to fruit, like California's super-sized almond groves.

But the answer to Brooklynolmec's question is a qualified "yes": Organic bee production is tricky these days -- see below -- but bees kept on a small scale, for honey to be consumed nearby, don't seem to be dropping like, well, flies.


Organic honey production is tough. For one thing, for honey to be free of pesticide and other chemical residue, bees can't forage on conventionally managed farm fields. Thus organic certification requires that hives not be placed within foraging range -- about six miles -- of conventional farms.

more at link...

[mojavekid]

22. The Mogambo Guru: Bond Buyers Fail I.Q. Test

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Daughty/may032007.html

Sirens are blaring from the Big Mogambo Bunker (BMB), alerting me to economic danger and driving everyone absolutely crrrrrazy. Instead of turning them off, I am fearfully curled up in the fetal position in the back of the hall closet, under some coats, with the door closed, locked from the inside, the lights off, whimpering like the little crybaby coward that I am; all the while, clutching an AK-47 assault rifle in a death grip - ready to spray wild, expensive fusillades of hot lead at anything that moves or even looks suspicious, because brother, let me tell you, I am suddenly scared, scared, scared.

Total Fed Credit was down another $1.2 billion last week, and that means that insane amounts of money still ain't being created like they have been for the last couple of decades; and it is a long, long, LONG way from all the money that must be created if we are to keep this bizarre system of sheer economic lunacy going for much longer.

And foreign central banks only bought another piddly $2.1 billion of U.S. government and agency debt last week to add to the huge, enormous gobs of it in their accounts at the Fed, now totaling a whopping $1.92 trillion.

Almost predictably - since new credit is not being created, and since new credit is how new debt is created, and since new debt is how money is created - the latest figures for M2 show that the money supply is predictably declining, and is down a little, to about $7.2 trillion.

The most telling sign that something is seriously amiss, is that the banks financed about $60 billion in repurchase agreements last week! Annualized, that would come to over $3 trillion a year! A quarter of GDP! Who in the hell needs to borrow $60 billion for a few days, and why?

read on and despair!.........

[tinfoilinfor2005]

24. My husband was at an estate sale of a friend today.

She is selling four thousand silver quarters (pure silver coins). What should he offer her for the lot?

[DemReadingDU]

25. that's a lot of quarters!

I wish I knew more about the value of old coins

[tinfoilinfor2005]

26. He is basically more interested in the value of the silver than the coinage

although I'm certain he would be picking through the lot to find something rare as described in some coin catalogue. I'm just devastasted because he likes to watch those tv auctions and thinks that he has come upon a bag full of treasure when I am certain that he will just be stuck with a crate of moldy old coins that will only give him face value and not the thousands that he is investing. None of these are mint quality...just an old collection in the bottom of gallon jug.