STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday February 13

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday February 13, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 343
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2579 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2305 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2596
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

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

---

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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON February 12, 2008

Dow... 12,373.41 +133.40 (+1.09%)
Nasdaq... 2,320.04 -0.02 (-0.00%)
S&P 500... 1,348.86 +9.73 (+0.73%)
Gold future... 911.10 -15.60 (-1.71%)
30-Year Bond 4.46% +0.06 (+1.34%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.68% +0.06 (+1.69%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Before we get down to bidness,

let me say that I am several shades of deep red from the outpouring of hearts. Never before, in my years here, have I been the recipient of so many. Thank you.

:grouphug:

[JNelson6563]

9. I'm not surprised.

:toast:

[Maeve]

10. Neither am I!

:grouphug:

[Roland99]

12. Me threither.

me neither the third.

ha ha



ok...i need caffeine.

[TalkingDog]

13. I like incoherent rambling. It reminds me of a prof I knew at my alma mater

He had a "conversion experience" at Stonehenge in the late 60's. Thought he might be channeling William Blake. Became a minister in his own Church (The First Church of William Blake) and proceeded to marry a series of young hottie co-ed, father children with them, then when the marriage inevitably grew apart (in part due to the decades of age difference), would annul the marriage and move on. Lather rinse repeat. The relationships seemed to end amicably and he was tenured, so he made enough money to pay all that child support....

Anyway...His images and texts are interesting:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aethelred_Eldridge
http://www.albionawake.com/wall.html

I've got one of his teeshirts with a standard type image and the text reads:

Fear Robs the Mind. Thank God for Thieves.

....

maybe I've had TOO much caffine.

[Roland99]

14. Hmmm... sounds intriguing. I may have to subscribe to his newsletter.

lol!

[Ghost Dog]

32. Hmmmm

[UpInArms]

16. me fourther?

:hi:

(and thanks to whoever gifted me, too! :blush: )

[Hugin]

38. Ozy!

No prob. :)

[ozymandius]

2. Market WrapUp: What Buffett Bounce?

BY FRANK BARBERA, CMT

Well, Well, Well…Warren Buffett to the rescue. Ah…maybe! Certainly today’s news of the Buffett offer to reinsure municipal bonds has to be seen as a potentially substantial help in that the Muni Bond market at nearly 1 trillion dollars would surely have undergone a major quake had the major monolines failed, and no one stepped up to the bar. Yet, Buffett is not looking to bail out or assist any of the major firms currently in such dire straits, and nor will his actions have any affect on the sagging housing market and sinking sub-prime loans. In fact, the Muni Bond market has been functioning quite well and really was not showing any particular signs of being in any trouble. Yet, trouble could have followed in the sense that all of these bonds would have needed to be re-priced (sending out a negative wealth affect and lots of additional ripples) had the monoline insurers failed as a result of there CDO foray. With Buffett entering the picture, at least one corner of the market and an important one at that, Muni Bonds, looks likely to withstand a failure from one or more of the monolines, implying there will be one less domino to fall. Kudos to Buffett for stepping up and sensing a sweet deal, offering re-insurance for bonds that don’t need it, but must have it.

Yet, this changes the picture in only a very small manner. Over the last few days to week or so, the bulk of the news has been crushing for the bulls, disheartening to say the least. First off, the situation with Ambac and MBIA and garnering a bail out fund supported by 8 to 10 of the largest banks seems DOA. In my mind, this is mind numbingly stupid behavior since, if one of these companies fails, it will be the banks that are forced to take another round of massive write downs on capital. Yet, banks are hoarding capital, banks are acting in a darwinistic ‘survival of the fittest mode’ and seemingly instead of pulling together to forestall a larger systemic risk, are acting in a selfish, self-preservation mode, and by doing so, are putting us all on the path for the 2008 version of financial Russian Rolette.
.....

Taking a look at the charts, we still see lots of sign posts which signal cause for concern. In the charts below, we show the monocline insurers, both of which remain locked in strong down trending patterns, with today’s action revealing a break down below near term support. No wonder the stock market gave back most of the gains, as problems in the financial sector are now the problems for the market as a whole. Rule #1 in the stock market: the stock market hates uncertainty. The longer the uncertainty is allowed to breed and fester the more potent the downside outcome; and what we see here looks like a failing rally.

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

[TalkingDog]

11. Since I am merely a dabbler and not a duck

in this whole market/economy thingy, I figured it was just me.....

But I couldn't quite see how Buffett's offer was supposed to save the day to the degree reflected in yesterday's Dow close.
And all this before any one of the holders even agreed to sell anything. (which as of today has one refusal and 2 no comments so far)

I've seen sugared-up, caffinated, hormonally challenged teenagers react with more reflexive aplomb.

My lot, over the next couple of weeks is to suffer the life of the early birds. So if I don't get to chat until later today, I hope you all have the nicest, bestest day EVARR!!!!

Thanks again for my thoughtful candy-apple red considerations. Here's back at'cha.



Ummm....Wait...that's not how it goes......



There. That's more like it.

[Warpy]

29. Well, it allowed the financial planner guy a good day to call

and confirm his plans to turn up here and treat me to an expense account lunch next week. I've noticed he hates to call when the market takes a dump, not that I blame him. I'm sure his less sanguine investors blame him personally when it does.

He's also grudgingly admitting I'm right in that it'll be one step forward, two steps back for the near future, at least until we get rid of these dreary and incompetent Republics, an amazing admission for a guy whose job it is to talk up all the profits to be made in the future.

Trust my dad to find the one money guy in the country who's a Democrat.

I'm sure this isn't the last dead cat bounce/sucker rally we'll see for a very long time. Until we know the extent of the credit mess we're in and until demand side economics begin to be addressed, it's all we're going to see.

[ozymandius]

3. Today's Reports

8:30 AM Retail Sales Jan
Briefing Forecast 0.0%
Market Expects -0.3%
Prior -0.4%

8:30 AM Retail Sales ex-auto Jan
Briefing Forecast 0.5%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior -0.4%

10:00 AM Business Inventories Dec
Briefing Forecast 0.8%
Market Expects 0.5%
Prior 0.4%

10:30 AM Crude Inventories 02/09
Briefing Forecast NA
Market Expects NA
Prior 7052K

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

[UpInArms]

20. U.S. Jan. retail sales ex-gasoline up 0.1%

14. U.S. retail sales up 3.9% yr-on-yr in Jan.
8:30 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 59 minutes ago

15. U.S. Jan. retail sales ex-auto and ex-gas flat
8:30 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 59 minutes ago

16. U.S. Jan. retail sales ex-gasoline up 0.1%
8:30 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 59 minutes ago

17. U.S. Jan. retail sales ex-autos up 0.3% vs x.x% expected
8:30 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 59 minutes ago

18. U.S. Jan. retail sales up 0.3% vs down 0.3% expected
8:30 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 59 minutes ago

[Warpy]

30. Meanwhile, they predicted ex gas retail sales

would be up 1.5% due to all the people cashing in their gift cards on luxuries.

Well, surprise surprise. They're spending those gift cards only on necessities: food at Wally's, gas at Costco, and undies at the big department stores.

[Ghost Dog]

39. ...

Driving the overall improvement in retail sales, auto dealers saw sales rebound 0.6 percent last month compared with a sharp 1.1 percent decline in December. The gain was the strongest since September of last year.

Gasoline station sales increased 2.0 percent after remaining unchanged in the prior month.

And a rebound in clothing store turnover also helped pump up overall sales activity.

Clothing sales rebounded 1.4 percent in January following a 2.3 percent drop in December.

The rebound in clothing sales suggests consumers responded to retailers' tantalizing incentives last month, as many retailers slashed prices in a bid to pare their inventories.

Economists said sales of jackets, suits, jeans, dresses and other fashion accoutrements may also have gotten a lift last month from Christmas gift cards.

The lingering housing slump appeared to temper spending, however, as sales of furniture and other home furnishings declined 0.5 percent in January against a sharper 0.9 percent drop in December.

Electronics and appliance stores reported a 1.0 percent decline in sales compared with a heavy 3.2 percent slump in the last month of 2007 while building material and garden accessory sales fell 1.7 percent compared with 2.5 percent in December.

/... http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080213/ts_alt_afp/useconomyretailsales_080213152125

[UpInArms]

21. U.S. Dec. business inventories up 0.6% vs 0.5% expected

01. U.S. Dec. inventories-sales ratio rises to 1.26 vs 1.25 Nov
10:00 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 4 minutes ago

02. U.S. Dec. business sales down 0.5%, biggest drop since Jan
10:00 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 4 minutes ago

03. U.S. Dec. retail inventories down 0.1%
10:00 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 4 minutes ago

04. U.S. Dec. business inventories up 0.6% 0.5% expected
10:00 AM ET, Feb 13, 2008 - 4 minutes ago

[ozymandius]

4. Oil falls below $93 on supply outlook

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell Wednesday as traders overlooked Venezuela's halt of crude sales to Exxon Mobil and instead focused on forecasts for rising U.S. supplies and falling global demand.

The state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, said Tuesday it has halted crude sales to Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's biggest oil company, in response to its court bid to freeze billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.

Exxon Mobil is challenging the nationalization of its Venezuelan oil ventures in a dispute that has seen President Hugo Chavez threaten to cut off all supply to the United States.

Venezuela is currently the United States' fourth largest oil supplier.
.....

Investors were also eyeing the release of U.S. petroleum supply data later in the day. In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration was expected to report that crude inventories grew 2.7 million barrels last week, according to the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

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

[ozymandius]

5. Fed auctions $30 billion

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve, seeking to combat the effects of a serious credit crisis, said Tuesday it had auctioned $30 billion in funds to commercial banks at an interest rate of 3.010 percent.

It marked the fifth in a series of auctions that so far have pumped $130 billion in money into the nation's banking system in an effort to provide cash-strapped banks with extra reserves. The Fed's hope is that the increased resources will keep banks lending and prevent a severe credit squeeze from making the current economic slowdown worse.

The latest auction results showed that the Fed's effort is having success. The 3.010 percent interest rate is the lowest rate for any of the five auctions held so far. It was slightly below the previous auction where the interest rate had been 3.123 percent.
.....

Many economists believe that growing signs the economy may have already slipped into a recession will prompt the Fed to keep cutting rates at upcoming meetings — with many analysts forecasting a half-point reduction when the Fed next meets on March 18.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080212/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_credit_crisis

[ozymandius]

6. Budget deficit running at faster pace

WASHINGTON - The federal budget deficit is running at a pace that is more than double last year's imbalance through the first four months of the budget year.

In its monthly review of the government's finances, the Treasury Department said Tuesday that the budget was in surplus in January, but totals a deficit of $87.7 billion so far this budget year, double the $42.2 billion imbalance recorded during the same period in 2007. The new budget year started last Oct. 1.

The Bush administration sent its final budget request to Congress last week, projecting that the deficit for all of 2008 will total $410 billion, very close to the all-time high in dollar terms of $413 billion in 2004.

So far this year, federal spending is 8.3 percent ahead of last year's pace, at $949.1 billion. That is far ahead of the 3.2 percent increase in revenues, which have totaled $861.4 billion in the current budget year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080213/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/monthly_budget

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

24. Trashing the hotel room on his way out....

Now watch this drive!


Me need bananas!

[ozymandius]

7. Urban home foreclosures surge in '07: RealtyTrac

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home foreclosure filings surged in the largest metropolitan areas in the United States during 2007, with cities in California, Ohio, Florida and Michigan reporting among the highest rates in the country, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said on Wednesday.

The U.S. foreclosure rate of households in the top 100 metropolitan areas was 1.38 percent and the total number of foreclosure filings rose 78.2 percent last year to 1.775 million, said RealtyTrac, an online market of foreclosure of properties, in its Year-End 2007 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report.

Fifteen of the metro areas with the top 20 metro foreclosure rates were located in four states: California with six; Ohio with four; Florida with three and Michigan with two, the report said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN1225946020080213

[AnneD]

26. Detroit was U.S. foreclosure king in 2007

LOS ANGELES — The Detroit area, hit hard by the double-whammy of unemployment and a slumping housing market, had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last year, with several cities in California ranked close behind, an analysis of foreclosure activity in the country's largest 100 metropolitan areas shows.

Some 4.9 percent of the households in the Detroit metro area were in some stage of foreclosure in 2007 — 4.8 times the national average, according to the study being released today by mortgage research company RealtyTrac Inc.

Things were vastly different in Texas, where the foreclosure rate was down nearly 5 percent from 2006. In the fourth quarter of 2007, the statewide foreclosure rate was down nearly 4 percent from the same period a year ago, and no Texas communities cracked RealtyTrac's top 20 in foreclosure rates.

Stockton, Calif., ranked second with about 4.8 percent of its households in some stage of foreclosure, while the Las Vegas metro area was third with a 4.2 percent rate.

LOS ANGELES — The Detroit area, hit hard by the double-whammy of unemployment and a slumping housing market, had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation last year, with several cities in California ranked close behind, an analysis of foreclosure activity in the country's largest 100 metropolitan areas shows.

Some 4.9 percent of the households in the Detroit metro area were in some stage of foreclosure in 2007 — 4.8 times the national average, according to the study being released today by mortgage research company RealtyTrac Inc.

Things were vastly different in Texas, where the foreclosure rate was down nearly 5 percent from 2006. In the fourth quarter of 2007, the statewide foreclosure rate was down nearly 4 percent from the same period a year ago, and no Texas communities cracked RealtyTrac's top 20 in foreclosure rates.

Stockton, Calif., ranked second with about 4.8 percent of its households in some stage of foreclosure, while the Las Vegas metro area was third with a 4.2 percent rate.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5537515.html
Same source-local spin......

[kineneb]

33. re: Stockton

The place was billed as a cheap(er?) solution to the high cost of the SF Bay Area... then gasoline got expensive, and folks there discovered it was not all that cheap, and that the commute was hell... and Stockton in the summer is hell.

I know I would rather pay more to live closer than commute that far and that long. Ugh. And we did, for a while, until WorldCom went toesies. Now my regular commute consists of getting out of bed, ambling to the next room and checking on Hubby, to make sure he is still alive. Caregiving is exhausting.

[AnneD]

45. Caregiving....

exhausting, unpaid or underpaid, undervalued, and seldom appreciated until there is a need.:hug:

[Demeter]

53. We Know, We Know

Michigan is now doing as bad at it did in 1929--it even hit the local fishwrap!

[AnneD]

27. Lenders to postpone some foreclosures

After prodding from the Bush administration, a group of major mortgage lenders will allow some homeowners facing foreclosure to delay losing their homes for 30 days.

The plan, announced by the Treasury Department on Tuesday, was described by officials as an incremental step toward alleviating the broader problems currently roiling the housing and mortgage markets.

<snip>
The plan, called Project Lifeline, applies only to borrowers who have missed more than three months of mortgage payments, and officials said they did not know how many homeowners would be helped by the plan.

<snip>

Jim Gaines, an economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, said the Bush plan won't have a significant impact on borrowers because "responsible lenders" are already trying to contact customers who are late paying their mortgages.

"I think most of this is window dressing," Gaines said.

If anything, the effect will be more psychological, enticing some borrowers too intimidated to contact their lenders to come forward, he said.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5536459.html

And the Truth will set you free.....:eyes:

[ozymandius]

8. U.K. Treasury Holds Northern Rock Talks With Virgin (Update1)

Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. Treasury is in ``active'' talks with billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group Ltd over its bid to acquire Northern Rock Plc, a spokesman for the government department said.

Virgin's offer is stronger than another put forward by Northern Rock's management team, although there is no preferred bidder at this stage, the spokesman said today. Nationalization of the bank also remains an option, the spokesman added.

..quite short..

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aNuAKCASzCGs&refer=uk

[UpInArms]

15. dollar watch

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

Last trade 76.352 Change -0.020 (-0.03%)

Warren Buffet Rescues Bond Insurers and Currencies, but Watch Out for Retail Sales

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/Warren_Buffet_Rescues_Bond_Insurers_1202857041515.html

Warren Buffet Rescues Bond Insurers and Currencies, but Watch Out for Retail Sales

Warren Buffet’s willingness to take on risk has encouraged other traders to do so as well. According to a plan announced by the world’s most famous investor, Berkshire Hathaway will be stepping in to cover the liabilities of $800 billion in municipal bonds. This vote of confidence has helped to stabilize the stock and currency markets but the lack of a meaningful reaction in US treasuries indicates that Buffet’s investment may not be enough. There are also some strings attached. In order to assume the liability, current insurers would need to pay Berkshire 1.5 times the premium that they are currently receiving. One bond insurer has already rejected the offer and the other two have yet to respond. Focusing on bond insurers will not relieve the credit derivatives market, which has taken the biggest hit in the latest financial crisis. For currencies this means that the rebound in carry trades may be short lived. This weekend, G7 Finance Ministers warned that write-offs on US subprime mortgages could reach $400 billion. Only $120 billion have been announced so far, suggesting that there could be more reasons to sell stocks and high yielding currencies in the weeks and months to come. Carry trades have rebounded today, but don’t expect the recovery to last for long, unless we see some positive US data such as stronger than expected US retail sales. Japan will be reporting their domestic corporate goods price index, current account, trade balance and consumer confidence figures this evening, but we do not expect this data to be particularly market moving because for the Bank of Japan, good news or bad news will not cause them to alter interest rates at their monetary policy meeting on Friday morning.

For Dollar Bulls, Consumer Spending Holds the Key

The US dollar is holding onto its gains as the rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and the fiscal stimulus package announced by the Bush Administration leads traders to believe that the downturn in the US economy will be quick and shallow. Whether or not this is true will be decided by tomorrow’s retail sales report. Consumer spending encompasses 70 percent of the US economy. In the month of December, retail sales dropped for the first time since June. January retail sales figures are expected to drop for the second month in a row by 0.3 percent, which would be the first back to back decline since December 2001. With non-farm payrolls negative last month, chain store sales and consumer confidence declining, it would be surprising if retail sales rebounded. However in the past six years, we have never seen a back to back decline which means that this downturn may be unlike any other. The credit and derivatives driven market turmoil is new and housing has not collapsed like this in decades. As a result, it may be too optimistic to believe that the downturn in the US economy will not last. What we do agree with is the fact that other countries will find themselves behind the curve. When US growth finally stabilizes, many other countries like the Eurozone and Australia may be only at the beginning of dealing with their own slowdown. This scenario is still months away. In the more immediate future, growth is the Federal Reserve’s primary focus. Don’t forget that the futures curve is still pricing in 75bp of easing by June.

...more...

Pound Bounces, BoE Remains Hawkish Suggesting Cuts Will Be Limited

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio2/Pound_Bounces__BoE_Remains_Hawkish_1202904060805.html

UK labor markets recorded surprising strength as jobless claims declined by -10.8K versus -5.0K projected suggesting that the current turmoil in financial markets is having little negative impact on employment for the time being. With unemployment rate remaining steady at 5.2% while wages continued expand at a healthy 3.7% annual pace, UK economy is showing few signs of serious economic slowdown. The one exception is the housing sector which continues to deteriorate materially as asset prices in the latest RICS survey showed a decline of 54.7% vs. 52.5% expected.

Pound rallied on the positive labor markets news, however what really boosted cable in early morning European trade was the resoundingly hawkish inflation report from the BoE. For more info please read British Pound Gains as the Bank of England Suggests Future Rate Cuts Will Not Be Aggressive. The UK monetary authorities acknowledged that steep declines in asset prices posed downside risks to growth which could be exacerbated by tighter credit conditions. Nevertheless, the bank cautioned that an aggressive monetary easing campaign could stoke further inflation pressures which MPC officials consider to be anathema to the UK economy. Governor King went out of his way to emphasize that he was “very, very determined to get CPI under control.”

In short tonight’s message from the BoE provided a clear signal to the currency markets that any easing will be gradual and cautious in nature. Traders should not anticipate any dramatic moves from UK authorities a la Fed’s recent 75bp and 50bp cuts. Instead the BoE is far more likely to lower rates in small increments of 25bp at time perhaps pausing several month pause in between each move.

Of course Governor King’s mettle will be tested should UK economic conditions suddenly turn for the worse. For now the monetary authorities can enjoy the political protection offered by relatively buoyant labor markets. However, should that situation change the BoE will become far more accommodative and 50bp rate cuts could be back on the agenda by next quarter. The currency traders seemed to have sensed this possibility and cable rallied only modestly in the aftermath of the release. Nevertheless, for time being the path of least resistance for sterling is up as some of the bigger worries about the health of the UK economy have been alleviated.

In North America trade today the ,marquee release will be the US Retail Sales numbers. Conventional wisdom suggests that it may miss to the downside given the horrid auto-sales results in January. However, this release is notoriously difficult to handicap and furthermore may be dismissed by the market as “yesterday news” reflecting the gloomy bottom of consumer attitudes that prevailed in January. Although recent US economic data has been anything but positive, financial markets may be focusing on the latest news regarding Warren Buffets possible rescue of the monocline insurers. In short if equity markets remain positive in spite of a weak Retail Sales number, the high yielders amongst the majors should continue to rally against the greenback as carry flows continue.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

36. Euro= USD 1.458, GBP 0.742, CHF 1.614 and JPY 158.1 at this time

[UpInArms]

17. Economists' Tea Leaves Point to Recession

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/business/13econ.html?ex=1360558800&en=300fa53658ff1f57&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

According to Wall Street’s forecasters, the recession of 2008 is now unavoidable. That is, if you read between the lines of their predictions.

In a survey released Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, forecasters said on average there was a 47 percent chance that the economy would shrink in the first quarter of this year. But the economists surveyed, many working for investment banks or Wall Street research firms, are an optimistic bunch, and every time they have gotten so worried over the last four decades, the economy has ended up in a recession.

There have been six recessions since 1968, the year that the quarterly survey of economists began. At the start of each one, economists put the odds that the economy would shrink in the current quarter at 40 percent or more.

...more...

[UpInArms]

18. In Price and Supply, Wheat Is the Unstable Staple

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/business/13wheat.html?ex=1360558800&en=058988f0f402e36a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

CHICAGO — For decades, wheat was a commodity no American needed to think much about, except the farmers who grew it. The grain was usually plentiful and prices were low.

All of a sudden, those assumptions have been turned upside down. With demand soaring abroad and droughts crimping supply, the world’s wheat stockpiles have fallen to their lowest level in 30 years, and stocks in the United States have dropped to levels unseen since 1948.

Prices have been gyrating in recent days as traders tried to figure out what to make of the situation. On Tuesday, prices for a sought-after variety, spring wheat, jumped to $16.73 a bushel on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, the latest of several records.

Prices for common wheat are up nearly 50 percent since August, and they are up even more for the most sought-after varieties, leaving buyers, growers and longtime commodity traders shaking their heads.

“Anyone who tells you they’ve seen something like this is a liar,” said Vince Boddicker of the Farmers Trading Company in Mitchell, S.D.



...more...

[DemReadingDU]

19. Healthcare fraud trial in Columbus, Ohio - Update

2/12/08 Health-care execs testify National Century routinely overfunded companies

Two executives of health-care companies testified in the National Century Financial Enterprises Inc. trial Tuesday that the company gave them far more funding than they deserved.

In a session abbreviated because of the inclement weather, the government witnesses - both former chief financial officers of National Century customers - told jurors the Dublin business funded their financially troubled employers with millions of dollars in excess of the receivables it had purchased so the firms could continue operating.

National Century bought accounts receivable from health-care providers at a discount in exchange for fast cash to the owners. It would then package the receivables as bonds and sell them to investors, while collecting on its customers' bills. The privately held company collapsed in 2002 owing nearly $3 billion to creditors.

Bryan Weiss testified that his former employer, MediManagement, ran several southern California psychiatric clinics and a 46-bed hospital in east Los Angeles that were so strapped for money they operated week to week. He told the jury he was concerned about the long-term viability of MediManagement because it had a large amount of unsecured debt owed to National Century, its only lender.

MediManagement, Weiss said, was owned by National Century and three of its executives, CEO Lance Poulsen, Chief Operating Officer Donald Ayers and Vice Chairwoman Rebecca Parrett.

National Century financed MediManagement through its NPF XII fund, which the Justice Department has alleged the owners of National Century used to divert millions of dollars to benefit themselves.

more...
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/02/11/daily17.html


link to previous articles
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3173586&mesg_id=3173794

[UpInArms]

22. 10:19 EST it's a party! I wonder what's being served? A Buffett?

Dow 12,475.83 102.42 (0.83%)
Nasdaq 2,349.62 29.58 (1.27%)
S&P 500 1,358.20 9.34 (0.69%)
10-Yr Bond 3.694% 0.015

NYSE Volume 587,359,375
Nasdaq Volume 412,623,781.25

10:00 am : The major indices have dipped off their best levels, but continue to post decent sized gains.

Some of the retreat is due to Coca-Cola (KO 59.72, -0.20), which has been unable to hold its opening gains as it falls into negative territory. Traders originally drove the stock higher after the company reported a 79% increase in net income that topped expectations. Some of that positive bias faded, after a negative response to the company's earnings call.

Just reported, business inventories 0.6% month over month, compared to the expected rise of 0.5%.DJ30 +89.90 NASDAQ +27.81 SP500 +7.39 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 563/1777/227 mln

09:40 am : Stocks open on a higher note, buoyed by better than expected earnings and retail sales data.

With regard to earnings, Coca-Cola (KO), Applied Materials (AMAT), Deere (DE) and Waste Management (WMT) topped expectations.

The Dept. of Commerce said January retail sales grew by 0.3%, and also grew by 0.3% when excluding autos. This topped the excepted decrease of 0.3% for retail sales, and rise of 0.2% when excluding autos.DJ30 118.92 NASDAQ 32.67 SP500 14.29

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +9.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +21.2.

09:02 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +9.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +22.0. A higher start is expected, as futures continue to hold onto most of their post retail sales data boost. Crude oil is trading basically flat ahead of the government's weekly energy inventory report at 10:30 ET.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +10.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +21.5. Futures get a lift on better than expected retail sales data. The Dept. of Commerce said January retail sales rose 0.3%, compared the expected decline of 0.3%. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.3%, compared to the expected rise of 0.2%.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.5. Stock futures point to a modestly higher start to the trading session. Better than expected reports from Coca-Cola (KO), Waste Management (WMI) and Applied Materials (AMAT) are helping to give the market support. January retail sales are set for release by the Dept. of Commerce at 8:30 ET. Economists expected sales to decrease by 0.3%, although they do expect a 0.2% rise when excluding autos.

06:28 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.5.

06:28 am : FTSE...5865.50...-44.50...-0.8%. DAX...6935.09...-32.75...-0.5%.

06:28 am : Nikkei...13068.30...+46.34...+0.4%. Hang Seng...23169.55...+247.88...+1.1%.

05:28 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.5.

[AnneD]

23. Morning Marketeers....

donut: and lurkers. Again thank you so much for my hearts-that is such a kind gesture.

I took 2 treatments yesterday for a bad muscle spasm in my neck. My muscles feel like pounded veal today but I am doing much better. I also had some acupuncture (electric) also. The results from the acupuncture were amazing.

Now my Chiropractor and his wife (a newly minted Chiropractor) are right wing, conservative, church going. Usually that might bring condemnation from a lot of folks on this board. But I like them because they just don't talk the talk -they walk the walk. Many times they gave hubby and I treatments when we could not afford them. Two of their 5 kids are serving in the military and will soon be destine for Iraq. They have been as conservative as I am liberal-and we have had many a good exchange. They have, however become very disgusted with the GOP leaders. I as Mrs B who she was voting for. She said her first choice was Mitt because he actually had some business sense and experience. The deficit scares her as bad as it does most of us on this thread. She said she would not back McCain because it would be more of the same as we have now. I asked her who would she vote for and she surprised me a bit. She said she would vote of Hillary. As she said-I voted for Bill both times-I can vote for Hillary. She said hubby would have a case of hives-but his vote was for would be for Hillary too. I guess today's toon is not far off the mark. She said she liked Edwards too. She said she feels like the leaders of both parties are failing us and we need a 3rd party. I told her I would settle for direct elections myself. And then we talked the economy-she was much more populist than she realized. By the time I got on to Roosevelt and the regulation of some industries-I think I had her convinced that we had more in common that we had differences. It was an interesting day.

Happy hunting and watch our for the bears.

[CatholicEdHead]

42. Newsweek is all over McCain this week

I think part of this is just ratings for the extreme right talking heads and they will fall in line after the GOP Convention the end of August. Another part of it is the tendency of "follow the leader" in the GOP base. If you are not 100%, you are then 0% in the eyes of the movement. Remember, the litmus test level is Saint Ronnie Reagan, anything less than the mythical figure will not do.

This cycle could be one where the Republicans are thinking they can maybe take a four year break if things are going in the dumps, McCain seems like a Bob Dole right now, a election placeholder who paid his party dues and is now getting his chance on the ballot. The GOP gamble is to let the tough times fall on the backs of the Democratic Party, have us take the blame and set up a "Carter II" to lead into another glorious "Morning In America". :puke:

Remember they still have their eyes on social security and still want to "drown the government in a bathtub of debt" but they know they have to pull back if they want to continue later as they refuse to take the heat of their economic failures. Yet if Hillary or Obama can carry even part of a neo-FDR mantle with some neo-New Deal plans then that type of thinking will go away for a generation or two.

Everyone here in Minnesota are getting really restless as everything is obviously slowing down, being cut back, closed down, etc... The recent Caucuses had a much bigger DFL than GOP turnout and people are getting worried about economic stability.



http://www.newsweek.com/id/109695

Ann Coulter has made controversy her currency, outrage her oeuvre. And a lot of currency it is: over the past decade, Coulter's earned a huge amount of money from an unbroken streak of six best sellers, each an angry diatribe against liberals, most featuring her slim blond figure on the cover. Coulter Inc. has helped inspire a cottage industry of imitators, books that all seem designed to feed off the frustrations of the angry right. ("Liberal Fascism," by Jonah Goldberg, is the latest to hit it big.) But Coulter has a subspecialty all her own: uttering remarks so off the charts, so contrary to every norm of civil discourse, that they attract national news coverage. A few months ago she declared on TV that Jews need "to be perfected," and suggested that America would be better off if it were all Christian. Last week Coulter attacked her own party's presumptive nominee. John McCain, Coulter said, was a traitor to conservatives, so much so that she'd campaign for Hillary Clinton if he were nominated. Was there anything the Arizona senator could do, NEWSWEEK e-mailed her later, to change her mind? Would she really stump for Clinton? "I don't know," she wrote. Then she added: "McCain could invent a time machine, travel back in time" and take back all his liberal-leaning votes in Congress. "Short of that," she said, "the only thing that would work is if he put a gun to my head, but since McCain is also against gun rights, that's out." (McCain backed a measure to close a gun-show loophole on background checks, but is otherwise supportive of gun rights.)

[Demeter]

25. Can DU Marketeers Put Brains Together & Help Me Anaylze and Strategize?

I live in a 360 unit market-rate co-op in which there is a large minority that wants to go condo.

Going condo means:

1) Paying off a blanket $6.6 million mortgage on the property contracted at the height of the interest rates (just before Greenspan dropped the funds rate 11 times), plus the prepayment penalty to cover the fact that nobody's getting 7.31% these days. This penalty is approaching $3 million, and every funds rate cut makes it grow faster than we are amortizing. And there's another $1.3 million short-term loan for siding replacement (capital repairs) that will also be paid off.

2) There is a push to demand of shareholders another $2 million for capital maintenance (repairs to roofs) at closing.

3) There are all kinds of "sky-is-falling" scenarios being argued to convert now.
There's talk of a "death spiral" as people walk away because they can't pay the monthly charges.
There's talk of the roofs collapsing immediately (which the property site manager, who ought to know, doesn't think is likely).

4) There's all kinds of "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow" talk. Yes, appraisers give more value to condos than co-ops, even though nothing changes except each new owner will be shouldering 50% more debt if he takes out a mortgage for the conversion, and the city taxes double.

5) There is a reputable law firm that specializes in this (at least it's not a do-it-yourself project any more!), and they work on contingency, so of course they want to make a deal.

It's complicated. If the conversion were delayed until 2013, then the costs drop in half. The Prepayment penalty drops to half a million, the principle is way down (mortgage dies in 2017). The short-term loan would be paid off. The roofs would be replaced.

People think they can cash out--sell to a greater fool because those fools will get lower-quality loans to borrow more money as a mortgage than they could for a "share loan". In Michigan's economy, there are no jobs, no reason for anyone except U of M Students to move here.

Since I was foolish enough to a) move here, b) want to stay here, c) be on the board, I want the best possible outcome for all.

The sticking point (other than the horrendous amount of extra cost) to immediate conversion for me is that operations and maintenance costs are currently divided on a per share basis, and we have 29!!! different share categories, and only 4 basic styles of townhouses. So 2/3 of the owners are subsidized by the other third. I want these costs shared equally among all the units, since the costs are equal (roughly) to our best estimate.

Any ideas? By the way, the board is packed with subsidized shareholders.

[Warpy]

31. Forget about those subsidized shareholders paying equally

and a close look at them will probably reveal that more than a few are retirees on fixed incomes or other folks who really can't afford to shoulder the burden.

In any case, it's obvious that conversion right now will cost too much. In addition, it might be instructive to supply the condo vacancy rates for your city. Most cities with huge condo conversion rates are now finding those condos converting to rental housing, something even the subsidized shareholders will want to avoid for as long as possible.

Thanks for reminding me why I chose a shabby fixer in a crummy neighborhood with no HOA.

[AnneD]

28. Cereal stockpiles continue to fall

ROME — Cereal stockpiles are expected to hit their lowest level in over two decades, contributing to keeping their prices high, a U.N. food agency said.

The low stocks combined with continuously strong demand — also driven by the growing biofuels industry — to keep prices elevated, the Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report on the global food situation, which was being released Wednesday.

By the close of the current season, stocks are expected to fall to 405 million tons — down 22 million tons, or 5 percent, from the start of the season, the Rome-based agency said. It would be the lowest level since 1982.

The food-and-supply demand remains tight, despite an increase

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5537357.html

This will have long reaching impact......good market choice.:think:

[kineneb]

35. hmmm, wheat, rye or oats...

Wonder what I can grow in the backyard (our lot is 1/4 acre)... That is, after the application of dynamite to plow up the damned dirt...then there is sieving out all the rocks...oh, never mind.

I will stick with fruit trees and raised beds.

Seriously, folks, if you have any space to grow something, even just a window box, this might be the year to consider planting a garden. Inflation, thy name is grocery store.
(PS. stock up on TP, it has gotten outrageously expensive)

[Ghost Dog]

37. Guerrilla Gardeners – Eat Your Heart Out

http://www.lowimpactliving.com/blog/2008/01/25/urban-organic-gardening/ :-)

[AnneD]

44. Thanks....

I bookmarked the site.

I just started growning herbs 2 years ago. Most grew back last years and I have more than I know what to do with. I grew a couple of tomato plants and bell peppers. It was great. Because they were in containers-I didn't have to do much. I recomment it highly to anyone. Now is the time to plan and plant.

[Ghost Dog]

34. European stocks end flat as telecoms offset cars

PARIS, Feb 13 (Reuters) - European stocks ended flat on Wednesday, pausing after the previous session's sharp rally as weak telecoms and mining shares offset rises in auto stocks which reported solid results.

Telefonica (TEF.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 1.8 percent, hit by worries over the prospect of greater competition in Spain, while Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 1.7 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed unchanged, at 1,334.25 points. The index gained as much as 0.6 percent in afternoon trading following better-than-expected monthly U.S. retail sales.

"It is tempting to call the bottom of the market, but the economic scenario is far from clear," said Arthur van Slooten, strategist at Societe Generale, in Paris.

Data showed sales at U.S. retailers rose 0.3 percent in January, an unexpected pickup that follows a 0.4 percent decline in December, and was contrary to Wall Street analysts' forecasts for a 0.2 percent decline.

"U.S. Jan retail sales headlines were marginally better than expected, but I doubt this is going to change the broader view that consumer spending is decelerating and that the consumer remains very vulnerable to negative shocks going forward," Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital, wrote in a note.

...

LOVE AFFAIR OVER

The FTSEurofirst 300 index gained 3.4 percent on Tuesday, after U.S. billionaire investor Warren Buffett offered to reinsure municipal bonds held by top bond insurers, easing fears that the crisis in the credit market could worsen.

But despite Tuesday's rally, Europe's benchmark index is still down 11.4 percent in 2008 as concerns over the prospect of a U.S. recession and fears of more writedowns in the banking sector hammered stocks.

That compares with a 6 percent drop on the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI and a 7.5 percent fall on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX.

In a research report, Merrill Lynch said global investors' appetite for European shares has diminished.

"Six months ago, close to a net 60 percent of global investors were overweight Europe. Today this sits at only 7 percent. The love affair is over," Merrill Lynch analysts wrote.

"Investors flip-flop between expensive defensives and the itch to buy beaten up cyclicals. This will carry on until they can draw a line in the sand on the credit risk to banks and financials."

Around Europe, Germany's DAX index .GDAXI gained 0.1 percent, UK's FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.5 percent and France's CAC 40 .FCHI rose 0.3 percent.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/eurMktRpt/idUKL1393025420080213?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

[Ghost Dog]

40. Banking worries pare Asian gains

(FT) Asian shares started broadly higher Wednesday as regional markets echoed gains on Wall Street from Warren Buffett's proposal to help bond insurers, but the gains were erased later as investors couldn't shake off persistent concerns over the health of the banking systems in the US and Europe.

Shares on the Hang Seng backed off an earlier 1.8 per cent gain to close up 0.9 per cent at 23,131.67 while the main index of Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong rose 1.5 per cent.

Over in Shanghai, where shares dropped 2.4 per cent to 4,490.72, trading was also thin after a week-long pause for the Lunar New Year. The Kospi closed down 0.7 per cent at 1,631.78 while Taipei was almost unchanged at 7,550.55.

"There remains residual uncertainty about the long-term health of the Western banking system," said Khiem Do, head of Asian multi-asset funds at Baring Asset Management. "It's not worries about the US recession any longer. Most investors are resigned to the fact that the US economy will be entering some kind of recession, maybe a short one, but that's in the price."

The Nikkei 225 closed up 0.4 per cent at 13,068.30 after being up 1.4 per cent at the lunchtime break. The broader Topix fell 0.1 per cent to 1,285.35.

Sentiment in Tokyo was hurt by an announcement by Aiful, the consumer finance company, that it would issue $1.1bn in shares and convertible bonds to shore up its working capital, a clear message that the sector's woes after regulatory changes in 2006 are far from over. Aiful slumped 12 per cent to Y1,735 and took the shares of other consumer finance companies with it. Takefuji dropped 3.4 per cent to Y2,585 while Promise dropped 3.2 per cent to Y3,040.

Banking shares gave up early gains from the news that Mr Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway investment group had offered to take over $800bn of municipal bonds guaranteed by Ambac, MBIA (NYSE:MBI) and FGIC. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial fell 0.4 per cent to Y939 after earlier rising 1.7 per cent. In Hong Kong, HSBC closed up 1.9 per cent at HK$112.40 after gaining as much as 2.9 per cent. Singapore's DBS rose 0.1 per cent to S$16.80 after rallying 2.3 per cent and naming a new chief executive.

In Australia, banks weighed down the market after Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced a less-than-expected 4 per cent increase in half-year earnings due to higher loan provisions.

The S&P ASX 200 dropped 1.2 per cent to 5,542.10. Commonwealth Bank shares slid 6.5 per cent to A$46.20. National Australia Bank (NYSE:NAU) dropped 5.6 per cent to A$30.40.

/... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20080213/bs_ft/fto021320080549368068;_ylt=Avqh1nPmw.vc0pD_UQ6ljAr2ULEF

[Ghost Dog]

41. Insight: Refuge may be found via new frontiers

Global equity markets are experiencing dramatic volatility. During December and January, the MSCI All-Country World Index, which includes both the developed markets and the emerging markets fell close to 10 per cent in US dollar terms. The MSCI World index which includes only the developed markets around the world was down 8.8 per cent during the last the two months. The MSCI Emerging Market Index was down 12.1 per cent.

Investors will be excused for asking if there are any equity markets that offer relative protection from this turmoil.

We would point to those frontier markets that remain below the radar screen of global capital flows as potential sources of low correlation with the larger developed markets.

Frontier markets are defined as those markets that tend to have a smaller capitalisation, fewer securities traded and are less liquid even than emerging markets. They are composed of countries exhibiting different levels of economic development. Some of the frontier markets have high gross national product per capita, such as the Gulf Countries. Others have low GNP per capita, such as Nigeria and Vietnam.

For December and January, the MSCI Frontier Market Index rose 4.6 per cent. Of course, not all frontier markets rose over the past two months. Some in eastern Europe, including Bulgaria and Romania fell in step with the developed markets and the emerging markets. But most performed better than the developed and emerging markets.

The frontier markets that rose the most were in the Gulf region, including Bahrain which climbed 9.8 per cent, Kuwait, up 14.3 per cent, and Oman, 10.8 per cent. A few frontier markets in the other regions were in demand, including Nigeria, which rose 5.4 per cent.

/... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20080213/bs_ft/fto021320081134388099;_ylt=Ap4vjW2KZfbaQ3M8sh4ungz2ULEF

[UpInArms]

43. Morgan Stanley cuts mortgage business, 1,000 jobs

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1335823020080213

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will slash 1,000 jobs, scale back its U.S. residential mortgage operations and shut down British home lending unit Advantage Home Loans as new management takes a hard look at the continued deterioration in mortgage markets.

The cuts will effect employees that engaged in wholesale and correspondent mortgages, generating loans through brokers and other third parties. The company said the moves also mean undisclosed reductions in people who packaged these loans into bonds that could then be sold and traded.

Morgan Stanley is closing its British mortgage origination business, but will continue servicing through its Morgan Stanley Mortgage Servicing Ltd unit.

A year after investment banks first revealed that a housing slump was leading to subprime mortgage losses, the market for mortgage-backed securities remains effectively frozen. As a result Wall Street firms, which built up home lending businesses that could feed their securitization activities, have no place to sell these assets.

...more...

[cosmicdot]

46. selling gold and silver

A friend is considering selling some gold and silver, and is looking for a safe, reliable company for such transaction ... one place she's found online is CSG, Inc., dba 'only gold' and 'coingallery' in Phoenix, Arizona. She's in Virginia.

http://www.onlygold.com/AboutUsPages/Who_We_Are_FS.htm

http://coingallery.com/

PM any suggestions and/or guidance.

[citizen snips]

47. Yahoo Exploring Alliance With News Corp.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Yahoo Inc. is discussing a possible Internet partnership with media conglomerate News Corp., its latest effort to repel Microsoft Corp.'s takeover bid or pry a better offer from the unsolicited suitor, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The specifics of the proposed joint venture haven't been worked out, according to the person, who didn't want to be identified because the talks are considered confidential.

Both The Wall Street Journal and a prominent blog, TechCrunch, reported that News Corp. is interested in folding its popular online social network, MySpace.com, and other Internet assets into Yahoo -- an idea that first came up last year. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.

News Corp. and a private equity firm reportedly would buy significant stakes in Yahoo as part of a complex deal designed to boost the Sunnyvale-based company's market value above Microsoft's initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/microsoft_yahoo.html

[citizen snips]

48. Coca-Cola Profit Rises As Sales Jump

ATLANTA (AP) -- The Coca-Cola Co. reported Wednesday a 79 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit and maintained its growth targets despite a slowing U.S. economy, but has no plans to be more aggressive with its stock buybacks.

The results posted by the world's largest beverage maker beat Wall Street expectations, but company shares slipped.

The Atlanta-based company said it earned $1.21 billion, or 52 cents a share, for the three months ending Dec. 31, compared to a profit of $678 million, or 29 cents a share, a year earlier, when the company took a big impairment charge at its largest bottler.

Excluding one-time items, Coca-Cola said it earned $1.36 billion, or 58 cents a share, in the quarter, ahead of the 55 cents a share analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were expecting.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/earns_coca_cola.html

[citizen snips]

49. DJIA Leaders & Laggards: AA AXP T AIG

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Alcoa Inc., American Express Co., and AT&T Inc. rose on Wednesday and helped send the Dow Jones industrial average to a higher close.

The blue-chip index picked up 178.83 points, or 1.5 percent, to finish at 12,552.24, following a report from the Commerce Department that showed an unexpected rise in retail sales last month.

Aluminum maker Alcoa rose $2.02, or 6 percent, to $35.51.

Shares of American Express Co. rose $1.77, or 3.9 percent, to $46.85.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/djia_laggards.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

50. MGIC Swings to $1.5B Loss in 4Q

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Mortgage insurer MGIC Investment Corp. said it's looking for ways to boost capital after announcing it lost almost $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter as more homeowners struggled to make payments.

The nation's largest mortgage insurer still doesn't see making money this year, if delinquencies and losses continue to rise and fewer homeowners get back on track with payments, chairman and chief executive Curt S. Culver said.

The news sent the Milwaukee-based company's shares down more than 11 percent Wednesday.

MGIC said it lost $1.47 billion, or $18.17 per share, in the three months ending Dec. 31, compared with a profit of $121.5 million or $1.47 per share in the same period a year ago.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/earns_mgic.html?.v=9

[citizen snips]

51. France Wants Global Oil Tax

PARIS (AP) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked the head of the International Monetary Fund to consider a tax on oil companies' profits to help countries without energy reserves, the finance minister said Wednesday.

Christine Lagarde told LCI television that Sarkozy had asked the new IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a Frenchman, to consider a tax that would affect oil companies worldwide.

The decision comes in the wake of announcements of record earnings by many oil majors, boosted by historic crude prices.

Sarkozy wants "to think on a global level about a kind of tax that would allow those countries that have the least energy to benefit from these exceptional earnings," Lagarde said.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/france_oil_tax.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

52. Feds Look Into Chocolate Price Fixing

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- If you feel your Valentine's Day chocolates are not such a sweet deal this year, you're not alone. Regulators are investigating price fixing among candy makers in at least three different countries.

In the last week, the German Federal Cartel Office raided the offices of seven of leading chocolate companies including Mars Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and Nestle SA searching for documents. Three months ago, Canada's Competition Bureau searched the offices of several companies, many of the same ones as in Germany.

The Canadian investigation sparked several American lawsuits accusing the world's biggest chocolate companies of violating antitrust laws.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/chocolate_prices.html?.v=2

[Demeter]

57. How Sweet It Is!

(I'll just be standing over here in the corner so you can slap me, all. Apologies to Jackie Gleason)


And Happy Valentine's Day! I heart you all!

[citizen snips]

54. Nasdaq 100 Leaders & Laggards: VRTX WYNN

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose on Wednesday and helped lift the Nasdaq 100 index, after the biotechnology company said it will raise up to $405.8 million from an offering of shares and notes.

Vertex shares rose $2, or 11.7 percent, to $19.14. Separately, Vertex posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, which was weighed down by expenses.

The index, which includes 100 of the largest nonfinancial securities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, added 42.46 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,823. The broader Nasdaq composite advanced 53.89 points, or 2.3 percent, to 2,373.93.

Shares of Applied Materials Inc. rose $1.84, or 10.2 percent, to $19.91. The chip-manufacturing equipment maker's fiscal first-quarter profit beat expectations.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/nasdaq_100_laggards.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

55. Treasurys Fall on Strong Retail Sales

NEW YORK (AP) -- Treasury prices fell Wednesday after a new retail sales report showed an unexpected increase in consumer spending for January after the dismal holiday season.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month, compared with a Thomson/IFR forecast for a drop of 0.3 percent.

Sales had fallen 0.4 percent in December as retailers suffered through their worst holiday shopping season in five years. So investors saw Wednesday's news as a possible indication that the weak consumer activity seen at the end of 2007 may have come to an end.

Treasurys, which are perceived as safe assets and tend to perform best when the economy is in peril, fell on the news. The report also helped inspire a stock market rally.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/bonds.html?.v=5

[citizen snips]

56. Sector Glance: Homebuilders Rise

NEW YORK (AP) -- Housing stocks posted modest gains Wednesday, lifted along with the broader market by positive news about the economy.

Most homebuilders rose, with Beazer Homes USA Inc. pacing the gainers.

The Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 0.3 percent in January, more than expected by analysts. That assuaged concerns consumers had curbed spending on worries that the economy was entering recession. Consumption has long been the motor of the U.S. economy.

The S&P 500 index, considered the best measure of the broader market, added 1.2 percent in afternoon trading.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/homebuilders_glance.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

58. Sector Glance: Precious Metals Producers

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of precious metals producers rose Wednesday, though the price of gold slipped in New York in a second consecutive day of profit-taking.

Gold for April delivery fell 90 cents to settle at $910.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver gained 10.3 cents to settle at $17.353 an ounce, while March copper fell 2.95 cents to settle at $3.5305 a pound.

Gold and silver fell overnight on Tokyo's stock market. Shanghai's exchange remain closed for Chinese New Year.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Curran raised his price target on Hecla Mining Co. Wednesday to $12 from $11 with a "Sector Perform" rating after the company said it would buy Rio Tinto PLC's 70.3 percent stake in the Green Creek mine for $750 million. Hecla has owned remaining interest in the mine since 1987, he said.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/precious_metals_sector_glance.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

59. Chemical Group Lobbied on Health Issues

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American Chemistry Council spent nearly $1.3 million in the second half of 2007 to lobby the federal government.

The trade group lobbied on various issues and legislation related to climate change, health risks from toxic chemicals, energy efficiency, the environment and security of chemical plants, according to a disclosure form posted online Wednesday by the Senate's public records office. The trade group spent $1.1 million in the first six months of 2007 to lobby on largely the same issues.

The group -- which represents more than 130 companies, including Dow Chemical Co., Chemtura Corp. and Monsanto Co. -- lobbied Congress and numerous agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency and the Homeland Security and Transportation departments, among others.

Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/chemical_producers_lobbying.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

60. NYSE Bars Trader for 10 Years

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Stock Exchange's regulatory arm on Wednesday suspended a stock trader for 10 years for trading malfeasance in the heady days just before the end of the last bubble.

Luis Miguel Cespedes, who worked for A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., was found to have put more than a dozen clients' money into volatile technology securities and then piled on margin debt. When the bubble burst, the investors -- many of them elderly, inexperienced investors -- were "wiped out."

"There's an overall pattern to these accounts," the NYSE panel's enforcement expert, Christopher Frank said. "So it's highly unlikely that 15 customers came in and said, 'You know what, damn the torpedoes, I want to be in aggressive equity.' That stretches the imagination a bit."

NYSE officials couldn't immediately recall the last time a 10-year ban was issued. Permanent bans are handed out but typically only when traders are found to have committed multiple offenses.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/nyse_trader_suspended.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

61. SEC Wants Online Brochures for Investors

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. money managers would have to provide online brochures describing their services, fees, investment performance and potential conflicts of interest under a proposal approved Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC voted 3-0 to float long-awaited changes to information provided by investment advisers to current and prospective clients. As proposed, advisers would have to supply "user-friendly" plainly written brochures to supplement bare-bones information now available online.

U.S. regulators first called for expanded online disclosure from advisers in 2000 but the idea proved controversial and the SEC eventually settled on a requirement for advisers to provide basic information online, leaving details in printed brochures.

Although advisers now may provide online brochures to state regulators, they are not required to supply them to the SEC or investors. Moving to a mandatory electronic filing to state and federal regulators is expected to reduce compliance costs for nearly 10,000 U.S. investment advisers and yield savings on printing and mailing.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080213/sec_investment_advisers.html?.v=1

[ozymandius]

62. Ooooh wee! Someone sure spiked the punch today. (close)

See you in the morning! :hi:

Dow 12,552.24 Up 178.83 (1.45%)
Nasdaq 2,373.93 Up 53.89 (2.32%)
S&P 500 1,367.21 Up 18.35 (1.36%)
10-Yr Bond 3.6940% Up 0.0150
NYSE Volume 3,856,557,750
Nasdaq Volume 2,260,741,000

4:35 pm : After a late-day push, stocks finished Wednesday near their session highs. Each of the major indices posted gains in excess of 1% as all ten economic sectors finished in positive territory. Today marked the stock market's third consecutive advance.

Stocks opened trading higher after January retail sales increased 0.3%, which is better than the 0.3% decline economists expected. Sales, excluding autos, increased 0.3%, also ahead of the expected 0.2% increase. The data are reasonably good and should help cool recessionary talk.

Applied Materials (AMAT 19.91, +1.84) topped earnings estimates for its most recent quarter. The company posted profits of $0.23 per share, which is above the $0.20 per share consensus. Riding along with Applied Materials, Google (GOOG 534.62, +16.53) and Apple (AAPL 129.40, +4.54) finished the day on higher ground, helping the technology sector (+2.5%) finish the day as a relative leader. Their performance lent support to large cap tech stocks. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed the broader market on a relative basis, finishing 2.4% higher.

In other earnings news, Coca-Cola (KO 59.39, -0.53), Deere (DE 85.54, -0.94) and Waste Management (WMI 34.04, +0.91) also reported better than expected results today, though the market showed mixed reaction to their announcements.

Energy stocks (+2.3%) provided support for the market's late day push. The oil and gas industry (+2.4%) was helped by oil equipment and services companies (+4.2%). Schlumberger (SLB 84.89, +3.40) was upgraded at Bear Stearns to Outperform from Peer Perform. Crude oil finished the day $0.44 higher at $93.22 per barrel after inventories grew less than expected.

The health care sector (+0.6%) was a relative underperformer today. Health care insurers were pressured by news that New York Attorney General Cuomo issued 16 subpoenas to various HMO companies for manipulating bids, according to Dow Jones News. Cuomo officially charged Ingenix, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group (UNH 46.97, -1.30), while issuing a portion of the subpoenas to Aetna (AET 49.26, -1.32), Humana (HUM 69.84, -1.15), and WellPoint (WLP 74.42, -1.46).

Yahoo! (YHOO 29.88, +0.31) made its way back into the news today. News Corp. (NWS.A 19.25, -0.12) is interested in combining MySpace and other online properties, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move is likely intended to stave off Microsoft's (MSFT 28.96, +0.62) bid to acquire Yahoo!.

Separately, President Bush signed into law a $168 billion stimulus plan. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson believes 130 million recipients will begin receiving checks in early May, according to Reuters.

(Disclosure: Briefing.com has a business relationship with Yahoo! and Microsoft.)DJ30 +178.83 NASDAQ +53.89 NQ100 +2.4% R2K +2.3% SP400 +1.3% SP500 +18.35 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 811/2190/2.24 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1088/2084/1.41 bln

[UpInArms]

63. oh, Ozy, I just don't understand

I've been cruisin' the biz pages and things are just getting horrific out there

see this thread on folks being thrown into the streets - renters who are in the dark about the foreclosures that their landlords are facing - more homeless are being created by the minute

Eviction can come suddenly for renters in U.S.

to (and this one really terrifies me

Debt crisis spreads to US municipalities (you ain't seen nothin' yet - this one is really bad)

20 percent interest being charged to municipalities on their bonds!!!!

and now - and I'm not even going to start a thread on this one - but....

Southern California home sales fall to 20-year low

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Southern California home sales fell to a 20-year low in January, as buyers and sellers appeared to be waiting for market turbulence to pass, according to a report issued on Wednesday.

Median home prices for the six-county area fell 14.4 percent from a year earlier to a three-year low, DataQuick Information Systems said in the report.

A total of 9,983 new and existing houses and condominiums sold last month in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties, the report said.

The six counties are the most populous region of California and were some of the hottest residential property markets during the recent U.S. housing boom.

January volume was the lowest of any month since La Jolla-based DataQuick began keeping statistics in 1988. Sales were down 24.6 percent from December and down 44.9 percent from the year-ago period, the report said.

...more...

but this all has me really worried.