STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday July 25

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday July 25, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 180
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2742 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2467 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2758
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.
$1 USD = EUR 1.06678
$1 USD = JPY 116.6200

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON July 24, 2008

Dow... 11,349.28 -283.10 (-2.43%)
Nasdaq... 2,280.11 -45.77 (-1.97%)
S&P 500... 1,252.54 -29.65 (-2.31%)
Gold future... 922.70 -0.10 (-0.01%)
30-Year Bond 4.61% -0.09 (-1.89%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.02% -0.13 (-3.18%)






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. Market WrapUp: Bear Market Phases

BY MIKE SHEDLOCK

In a bull market, everyone ignores the greed and fraud that runs rampant. No one wants to take away the spiked punch, even after it is perfectly clear that everyone is drunk. The party continues long after any reasonable person might have expected the party to end. Eventually the party goers all pass out on the floor and the pool of greater fools exhausts itself.

In a bear market, the there are more distinct, readily observable phases.

Ten Bear Market Phases

1. A huge buy the dip mentality sets in during the initial decline. Most party goers cannot fathom that the party has ended.
2. Moderate concern sets in when buy the dip stops working.
3. Initial panic.
4. Numerous bottom calls are made, all wrong.
5. Search for the guilty.
6. Punishment of the innocent.
7. More panic.
8. Lawsuits fly.
9. Regulatory power is given to those most responsible for spiking the punch bowl.
10. Congress gets in the act and makes things worse.

Steps 4-10 are repetitive, may overlap, and may occur in any order during repetition. Certainly there have been numerous bottom calls for months now, but each rally has failed.

.....

The government/quasi-government body most responsible for creating this mess (the Fed), will attempt a big power grab, purportedly to fix whatever problems it creates. The bigger the mess it creates, the more power it will attempt to grab. Over time this leads to dangerously concentrated power into the hands of those who have already proven they do not know what they are doing.

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

[Demeter]

14. That Was a Refreshing, Mince-No-Words Dash of Reality

[Dr.Phool]

19. I bought 3 kinds of dip last night.

None of it worked.

Maybe I should have gotten bean dip.

[InkAddict]

29. Ah, yes....

Beans, beans, the musical fruit.
The more you eat, the more you toot,
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So eat beans at every meal.

[Warpy]

58. I know there has been a little shopping I've wanted to do

but for some reason I've been sitting on my hands and just can't seem to get up.

It's probably all those times I've referred to the chart from 1929-1935 and looked at all those dips and sucker rallies.

As for letting the people who spiked the punch write regulation to prevent spiking the punch, it worked in the 30s. At least they knew how the job had been done and how to prevent other brash young men from doing the same thing. It worked very well until they all died off and a new crop of brash young men came along and sold too many of us on the idea that spiked punch would get us all high.

Too many of us had forgotten that it only worked when you'd inherited a big enough cup.

[Dr.Phool]

65. Same here.

I was doing some shopping on Costco.com the other night. The wife suggested that we spring for a generator for hurricane season. I saw one that looked reasonable, and really neat GPS, and a...

I said, nah. I just paid off the Costco AMEX, and I don't need to put anything on it. If we have a hurricane, I can sweat for a couple of weeks. And I really don't need any gizmos. I emptied my basket and said "screw it".

Now, I do have to buy some home improvement stuff today, especially since AnneD was kind enough to find me a Round Tuit yesterday, maybe I'll buy another book.

[DemReadingDU]

24. more Shedlock: Worldwide Hard Landing Is Coming

7/25/08 New Zealand has joined the ranks of the US, UK, and EU in concerns over growth. Mike Shedlock

A worldwide recession is coming. China, India, Brazil, and third world economies simply cannot pick up the slack for the US, UK, EU, and now New Zealand.

Admittedly New Zealand is just a tiny cog in the global economy. Nonetheless it offers confirmation of things seen elsewhere.

Australia and Canada will follow in a mind boggling drop once the air is let out of the China commodities balloon. Brace for a worldwide hard landing. One is coming.

more...
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/worldwide-hard-landing-is-coming.html

[DemReadingDU]

27. Shedlock: Punishment Of The Innocent

From the wrapup link...

Taxpayers are on the hook. The Fed has already assumed a $29.5 billion responsibility in the take-under of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan (JPM). Now the Congressional Budget Office says Fannie, Freddie Rescue May Cost $25 Billion.

Rest assured the Fannie bailout will be $200 billion (if not far more), after Congress is done meddling.

Innocent taxpayers who sat this bubble out now are on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out the drunken party goers. Losses are socialized. Profits go to the already wealthy. Sadly, that is how our corrupt system

direct link to today's wrapup...
http://www.financialsense.com/Market/shedlock/2008/0724.html

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

08:30 Durable Orders Jun
Briefing.com 0.0%
Consensus -0.3%
Prior 0.0%

10:00 Mich Sentiment-Rev. Jul
Briefing.com NA
Consensus 56.4
Prior 56.6

10:00 New Home Sales Jun
Briefing.com 507K
Consensus 505K
Prior 512K

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[UpInArms]

20. U.S. June durable-goods orders up 0.8% vs fall 0.3% expected

01. U.S. June durable-goods orders ex-defense up 0.1%
8:30 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

02. U.S. June durable-goods shipments rise 0.5%
8:30 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

03. U.S. June durable goods orders ex-transportation rise 2.0%
8:30 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

04. U.S. June durable-goods orders gain highest since Feb.
8:30 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

05. U.S. June durable-goods orders up 0.8% vs fall 0.3% expected
8:30 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

[UpInArms]

25. June durable goods orders rise unexpectedly

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN2433211220080725

WASHINGTON, July 25 Reuters) - New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose surprisingly in June on demand for metals, machinery, electrical equipment, and military needs, even though transportation orders were weak, a government report showed on Friday.

A key barometer of business investment also rose unexpectedly, a Commerce Department report showed.

Durable goods orders were up 0.8 percent, after a revised 0.1 percent gain in May. When volatile transportation orders were excluded, orders climbed 2 percent last month, the sharpest rise since December. Orders for defense jumped 10.7 percent.

Non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, viewed as a telling gauge of business spending, jumped 1.4 percent after a revised 0.1 percent decline in May.

...more...

maybe that carton of milk was supposed to last longer? :shrug:

[Ghost Dog]

62. Durable Goods Orders for defense jumped 10.7 percent.

Indeed, of this supposed 0.8% rise, month-on-month, 87.5% was due to Military (& I suppose 'fatherland security and emergency management')- and especially transport - supplies; only 12.5% to 'other' consumers.

[UpInArms]

28. more details:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/durable-goods-stage-upside-surprise/story.aspx?guid=%7B551A5C5E%2D94B1%2D4F20%2D97A5%2D8F44356E5C97%7D&dist=msr_1

<snip>

Orders for primary metals rose 5.1% after falling 1.8%. Shipments rose 2.8% after 1.4%.

Orders for fabricated metals rose 1.7% after a 0.3% drop in May. Shipments rose 0.6% after a 0.4% fall.

Orders for electrical equipment rose 5.0% after 2.0%. Shipments fell 0.4% after a 0.4% gain.

Orders for machinery rose 2.3% after shrinking 3.7% in May. Shipments rose 2.4% after 0.1%.

Orders for transportation goods fell 2.6% after growing 1.9%. Shipments rose 1.4% after falling 3.8%.

Orders for computers equipment (excluding semiconductors) fell 1.1% after jumping 2.8%. Shipments (including semiconductors) fell 1.1% after rising 2.8%

...more...

[JNelson6563]

37. CNBC was sickening this morning.

You would think this was the only consideration in the entire financial world. And that Michelle Caruso Cabrerra, she's an embarrassment.

Julie

[MilesColtrane]

39. God Bless America

The Surge...Stimulus Checks...Number Massaging is working.

:patriot:

[UpInArms]

43. U.S. July UMich consumer sentiment 61.2: reports (we luv $4 gal gas!)

01. U.S. July UMich consumer sentiment above 56 expected
9:58 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

02. U.S. July UMich consumer sentiment 61.2: reports
9:58 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

[UpInArms]

44. U.S. June new-home sales down 0.6% to 530,000 pace

01. U.S May new-home sales revised to 533K pace vs 512K prev est
10:00 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

02. U.S June new-home sales above 513K cycle-low set in March
10:00 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

03. U.S. June new-home sales stronger than 501,000 pace expected
10:00 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

04. U.S. June new-home sales down 0.6% to 530,000 pace
10:00 AM ET, Jul 25, 2008

[Pale Blue Dot]

49. These numbers don't even make any logical sense.

Foreclosures are down 121% YOY, layoffs are increasing, banks have tightened up on mortgage lending... how do these numbers add up? Are people foreclosing on their homes and then buying brand new ones? Are the super-wealthy snapping up all the new homes they can while prices are low? And if the latter's the case, why aren't they snapping up existing homes as well?

These numbers don't pass the smell test, IMHO.

[burf]

54. My sister works for a

pretty good sized homebuilder. They had an inventory of around 40 homes and business has been lousy. They only way they could get rid of any inventory was to basically sell em for what they had in them. At one closing, she had to bring a check for $3K. That had to hurt. She has also said they are behind in their taxes and the banks are not being real cooperative about it. Whoever is selling the story that the worst is over, I for one ain't buying it.

[UpInArms]

55. Gauge of future US economy near a 5-year low- ECRI

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSNAT00423020080725

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - A gauge of future U.S. economic growth fell to its lowest level in nearly five years and its annualized growth rate was also down, indicating that an upturn in the business cycle is not yet in sight, a research group said on Friday.

The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based independent forecasting group, said its Weekly Leading Index fell to 129.4 in the week to July 18 from 131.1 in the previous period, downwardly revised from 131.2.

The decline in the index --to its lowest since it hit 129.0 in the week to Oct. 24, 2003-- was due to higher interest rates and jobless claims and to weaker housing, Lakshman Achuthan, managing director at ECRI said in an instant message interview.

The index's annualized growth rate slipped to a 10-week low at negative 6.9 percent from minus 6.5 percent, revised down from minus 6.4 percent.

...more...

no recovery in sight

[ozymandius]

3. Oil rises above $126 after recent lows

SINGAPORE - Oil extended a rebound Friday, rising above $126 a barrel after several declines over the past two weeks, although the market remains weighed down by the belief that flagging fuel demand does not justify the recent high prices.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 64 cents to $126.13 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by early afternoon in Singapore. The contract rose $1.05 to settle at $125.49 a barrel on Thursday.

Oil prices fell sharply the day before, tumbling $3.98 to settle at $124.44 a barrel, its lowest finish since June 4. Crude has fallen in six of the past eight sessions, and now sits nearly 15 percent below its peak above $147 a barrel earlier this month.

....

Americans used 2.4 percent less fuel over the past four weeks than they did a year ago, the latest figures by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration show. While that may not sound like much, industry experts say it represents a significant shift by the world's largest energy consumer, especially during America's summer driving season.

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

[ozymandius]

8. Regulators Say Company Manipulated Oil Market

Commodity regulators in Washington on Thursday accused a Dutch trading company of manipulating the prices of crude oil, heating oil and gasoline over an 11-day period last year.

The scheme, which the defendants referred to in conversations caught on tape as a plan to “bully the market,” produced illegal profits of more than $1 million, according to regulators. On at least five occasions, global benchmark prices of those products settled at artificial levels, they said.

Though the price movements were small and the scheme was detected within days, the case is still likely to resonate in Washington. The Senate has been debating proposals to tackle high oil prices by curbing market speculation — and lawmakers, at more than 40 hearings this year, have repeatedly demanded tougher enforcement by market regulators.

.....

According to the complaint, two Optiver traders discussed extending their scheme to a type of oil traded in London on a market owned by the IntercontinentalExchange, of Atlanta. But the complaint contained no allegations that the traders actually tried to manipulate that oil contract.

The Nymex scheme involved making a huge number of trades at or near the end of the trading day — a practice known as “banging the close” — to move final prices in directions that would benefit Optiver, according to the complaint.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/25/business/25cftc.html

---

I believe an old adage holds true here. "If you see one roach, you have roaches."

[Hugin]

10. "banging the close" -- We've been seeing that lately.

Just a moment to say thanks to you Ozy and UpInArms and all the other contributors here in the SMW.

:hi:

[ozymandius]

12. You're welcome. And thanks to you too!

:hi:

You're right about the 'banging the close' being a common stunt these days. I've noticed a particularly big bang on days when NYSE trading volume surpasses 5 billion shares.

[TheWatcher]

73. Ozy you are an invaluable Memeber of DU

And I second the above Post.

SMW is always my first stop of the day on DU. Let it be known that your and all the regular contributors efforts are vastly appreciated.

It's a beacon of sanity and reason in the midst of an economy and Markets that no longer contain either.
:)

[UpInArms]

22. Oil majors' profits to soar on record crude

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSL559586320080725?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&sp=true

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's five largest fully publicly traded oil companies are expected to, yet again, report record profits next week, thanks to high oil prices, even as investors fret over the recent pullback in crude.

In addition to earnings, investors will also be watching for news on controversial, long-delayed service agreements with Iraq and for signs soaring costs are easing.

Oil prices averaged over $120 a barrel in the second quarter -- almost double the level in the same period of 2007 -- before rising to a record high above $147/barrel on July 11.

Analysts predict this will push sector earnings up around 30 percent in the quarter compared to the same period in 2007, and is likely to attract further criticism from politicians and hard-pressed motorists.

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's largest non-government controlled oil company by market value, is predicted to post quarterly net income of over $13 billion on Thursday, according to Reuters calculations, compared to $10.3 billion last year.

Earlier the same day, industry No. 2, Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is forecast to report a 20 percent rise in current cost of supply (CCS) net income, excluding one-off items, of $8.3 billion, according to a Reuters poll of 9 analysts.

...more...

[UpInArms]

35. NYMEX crude up on pre-weekend short-covering

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2544282320080725?sp=true

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures were up Friday morning, extending Thursday's technical rebound and as traders covered short positions ahead of the weekend.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:40 a.m. EDT (1240 GMT), September crude CLU8 was up 33 cents or 0.26 percent at $125.82 a barrel, trading from 4125.38 to $126.51.

The contract rose $1.05 on Thursday, recovering from a seven-week low of $123.50. At that price, NYMEX crude had fallen more than $23 or 16 percent from the record $147.27 hit on July 11.

In London, September Brent crude LCOU8 was up 31 cents or 0.25 percent at $126.75 a barrel, trading $126.39 to $127.51.

Some analysts said the day's price direction may come from equities markets, which tumbled on Thursday amid weakness in the economy reflected in falling demand for oil and concerns about corporate profits.

"But with the stock market coming under increasing downside pressure, a case for an improving economy capable of reviving petroleum demand any time soon could prove difficult to establish," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates.

...more...

banging the open?

[ozymandius]

4. Bleeding cash, Ford looks to Europe for help

DEARBORN, Mich. - Bleeding cash and with its very survival uncertain, Ford Motor Co., an icon of American automaking, will try to import some of its success from across the Atlantic.

Ford reported its worst-ever quarterly loss Thursday and announced plans to bring over six small, fuel-efficient cars it makes in Europe and start selling them in North America, where Ford is losing billions on its truck-heavy lineup.

The company burned through nearly $11 billion of its cash stockpile in the past year and reported a second-quarter loss of $8.7 billion.

Ford is trying to save itself by quickly morphing from a truck company into a car company. But the help from Europe won't arrive until 2010: It takes time to retool U.S. plants, and importing the cars directly is too costly.

Industry watchers wonder whether Ford has enough cash to survive until then.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_bi_ge/ford_s_future

[ozymandius]

5. The slump persists: Home sales tumble across US (recap from yesterday)

WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes tumbled more sharply than expected in June, pushing activity down to the lowest level in more than a decade.

With an already huge glut of homes on the market, median prices fell compared to a year ago and analysts predicted prices would keep falling until next spring as tighter credit, a slipping job market and rising foreclosures scare potential buyers away.

The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales dropped by 2.6 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units, the slowest sales pace since the first quarter of 1998.

The decline was more than double the 1 percent drop that economists had been expecting and left sales 15.5 percent below where they were a year ago.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_bi_ge/home_sales

[ozymandius]

17. Fitch Updates Ratings Model; Projects Steep Housing Price Declines

analysis from CalculatedRisk here

Fitch Ratings said Thursday that it had enhanced its U.S. residential mortgage loss mode ... Fitch’s revisions suggest ... a very bearish take on housing prices over the next five years: Fitch said in its report that it is expecting home prices to decline by an average of 25 percent in real terms at the national level over the next five years, starting from the second quarter of 2008.

And that’s the base case scenario.

.....

Fitch will also roll out new 25 MSA-level risk factors influencing frequency of foreclosure and loss severity estimates, the agency said; the 25 MSAs chosen are those that have exhibited strong non-conforming mortgage lending activity in the past.

“Some MSAs such as San Diego and San Francisco, CA are expected to experience home price declines by as much as 47 percent and 33 percent over the next five years, while home prices in MSAs such as San Antonio, TX are expected to appreciate by 7 percent,” (Huxley Somerville, group managing director and head of Fitch’s U.S. RMBS group said).

It's important to note these are real prices - adjusted for inflation. A 7% increase in 5 years, with 3% inflation per year, is a nominal price decline of about 8%.

---

The original Housing Wire story can be found here.

[ozymandius]

6. US home foreclosures jump 14% in 2nd quarter: survey

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US home foreclosures leapt nearly 14 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, research group RealtyTrac said Friday in a sign of deepening housing woes.

On an annual basis, home foreclosure filings soared 121 percent from the same period in 2007, RealtyTrac said in releasing a survey of the country's 100 largest metropolitan areas.

.....

RealtyTrac said that foreclosure filings were reported on 739,714 US properties during the second quarter.

The California-based company said that one in every 171 US households had received a foreclosure filing and the distress was nationwide.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080725/bs_afp/uspropertyfinanceforeclosure_080725095713

[ozymandius]

9. Foreclosures Double in Second Quarter as U.S. Home Prices Fall (more info)

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. foreclosure filings more than doubled in the second quarter from a year earlier as falling home prices left borrowers owing more on mortgages than their properties were worth.

.....

About 25 million U.S. homeowners risk owing more than the value of the their homes, according to Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co. That would make it impossible for them to negotiate better loan terms or sell their property without contributing cash to the transaction. Falling home values have prompted RealtyTrac to almost double the projected number of foreclosures this year to about 2.5 million, said Rick Sharga, executive vice president for marketing.

....

Bank seizures in the first half of the year increased by 154 percent to 370,179 from the same period in 2007, RealtyTrac said. Last year's second-quarter data on bank repossessions was not available, according to RealtyTrac.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aomtw8.Pro2E&refer=economy

[ozymandius]

11. An observation -

I went to craigslist.org for the Atlanta area. I input the search term 'foreclosure' under the category of 'real estate for sale'. The results, should you decide to follow the link, will probably bruise your psyche as people are desperately trying to avoid foreclosure by unloading their homes. Some write eloquently about their anguish. The wretched reality for people in a pre-foreclosure situation places them in direct competition with bank owned properties, thereby undercutting prices dramatically. Emotionally charged times like these makes prey for scammers too.

BTW - the craigslist postings for foreclosure properties is running at nearly 100 per day in the Atlanta area.

[ozymandius]

7. UBS Defrauded Investors, Cuomo Alleges in Lawsuit

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed a securities fraud lawsuit yesterday against UBS, alleging that the Zurich investment bank marketed billions of dollars in unconventional bonds to investors around the country while improperly claiming they were as safe and liquid as cash.

The suit alleges that UBS defrauded more than 50,000 customers out of more than $20 billion by knowingly misrepresenting the investments, which are known as auction-rate securities, while several senior bank executives were selling off more than $21 million of their personal holdings in these bonds.

.....

Auction-rate securities are variable-rate bonds that are put up for bid as often as once a week to determine their interest rate. Normally, the bidding process produces a lower rate than that of traditional bonds. But over the past few months, as the credit crisis spread across the financial system, bidders have been unwilling to buy these bonds except at high rates.

In February, as the credit crisis was getting worse, the $330 billion market for auction-rate securities froze up as the nation's largest firms declined to bid on them. This meant that investors could not take their money out or sell them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072403740.html?hpid=sec-business

[ozymandius]

13. Asian Stocks Fall Most in Six Weeks on Credit, Profit Concerns

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell the most in six weeks, snapping a four-day rally, after National Australia Bank Ltd. said credit losses may surge and Samsung Electronics Co.'s profit missed estimates.

National Australia, the country's biggest bank, and Australian & New Zealand Banking Group, the third largest, plunged the most since the October 1987 stock market crash, dragging financial shares to their biggest drop since March. Samsung, Asia's largest maker of flat screens, tumbled in Seoul. AU Optronics Corp. slumped in Taipei after earnings fell short of estimates and Canon Inc. retreated in Tokyo after profit dropped.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 2.4 percent to 133.46 as of 7:55 p.m. in Tokyo, the most since June 12 and extending its decline this year to 15 percent. About six stocks fell for each that rose. The index rallied 5.9 percent in the first four days of this week as concerns eased that bank losses will expand and oil tumbled from a record.

.....

Today's 4 percent decline in Asian financial shares follows a 9 percent advance in the previous four days after Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported results that topped analyst estimates and Deutsche Bank AG said financial companies are overcoming credit losses.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=stocksonmove&refer=&sid=asZI1_41NtVc

[Ghost Dog]

51. Asia stocks drop, haunted by growth fears

... As the MSCI Asia ex-Japan benchmark index looks likely to post its best week since May, some investors might be asking whether markets are near a bottom. At the very least, have valuations fallen enough to make stocks relatively attractive?

Not quite, said Garry Evans, strategist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

Valuations in Asia are running at 2.1 times trailing book value, far above the 1.2 times reached in the last three major periods of market volatility in 1998, 2001 and 2003.

Using price-to-expected earnings ratios to measure relative value, shows that Asian stocks are quite cheap. They have slid to 11.7 times 12-month forward earnings from 17 times in the last year.

But Evans said consensus earnings forecasts for 2009 could come down sharply in a matter of months.

"We think it unlikely, though, the bear market is over. Investors have not yet capitulated," he said in a note. "In the worst case, there could still be a long way to fall."

Institutional investors, who usually move large amounts of money with longer time frames, apparently agreed.

They did not take part in this week's global equity rally and actually pulled back their accumulation of European stocks over the last month to the slowest since January, according to State Street Global Markets, which tracks about $15.3 trillion in assets held in custody by the bank.

In addition, large investors have been selling the U.S. and European energy sectors as well as emerging market equities and moving into sovereign bonds, State Street data showed.

"This mini-rally looks as though it is built on unsafe foundations. State Street Global Markets flow measures suggest that institutional investors are staying on the sidelines," the firm said in a weekly note.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINSP798520080725?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

52. Nikkei down 1.9 pct; exporters fall on US worry, yen

(Updates to midafternoon)

TOKYO, July 25 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average slid 1.9 percent on Friday, after gaining about 6 percent this week, as investors sold exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on concerns about the health of the U.S. economy and a stronger yen.

Industrial robot maker Fanuc Ltd (6954.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) tumbled over 7 percent after a brokerage warned about its second-quarter profits, while Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped after posting a 12 percent fall in quarterly profit due to sluggish copier demand and a stronger yen.

Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and other bank shares, which tend to move in tandem with U.S. peers, also fell after weak housing data renewed worries about the state of the U.S. economy and hit financial stocks there.

"Japan lives on exports and there's no way it can avoid being affected by a slowdown in overseas economies," said Takahiko Murai, general manager of equities at Nozomi Securities.

"America is really close to a recession. If housing sales sag, consumption will slow and car sales will obviously go down."

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAT2101420080725?rpc=44&sp=true

[DemReadingDU]

66. National Australia Bank will shock Wall Street

7/25/08 Robert Gottliebsen: NAB will shock Wall Street

The National Australia Bank's decision to write off 90 per cent of its US conduit loans will have dramatic repercussions around the world. Wall Street will be deeply shocked when they understand the repercussions of what NAB has done. It is clear global banks have nowhere near provided for their exposures to US housing loans which in the words of John Stewart are experiencing a “meltdown”.

We are now way beyond sub-prime. NAB says that it is suffering a 55 per cent loss on American housing loans – an event that has never happened in the history of a developed country in recent memory. This is an unprecedented event and means that the cost of bailing out the US financial system is now far beyond the highest estimates. A US recession is now locked in, but more alarmingly, 55 per cent loan losses point to the possibility of a depression.

It means the cost of bailing out housing exposures to the two mortgage insurers will be so great that it will leave no room to bail out anything else and there are several US banks that are now in big trouble. NAB says that the dislocation in the residential market is separate from the corporate market, but the flow on is inevitable.

How did NAB get caught in $1.2 billion mess? They had a number of big clients who wanted to invest in these US housing loans. They were sucked in by the 'triple A rating' given to the securities by the rating agencies. They did not take into account that the monoline insurers who guaranteed some of the loans had no substance. To become a player NAB took out $1.2 billion in these triple A securities and 90 per cent of it has been lost.

Many Australian institutions are very angry. NAB is paying out far too much in dividends and should be conserving capital. The American bank it purchased, Great Western, was a good idea but it is now clear it overpaid for it. Fortunately it only has a small exposure to the bad loans. But what’s happening to the NAB is not the main game.

The global banks have been marking to market the assets they held on their balance sheet, but the vast amounts held in so called 'conduit trust accounts' have not been written down because they were not marketable. NAB wrote them down when they saw the bad mortgages.

US banks have written down $450 billion in bad housing loans. The revelation from NAB means that they will now certainly need to take provisions to $1,000 billion. But write-downs of $1,300 billion and perhaps even more are on the cards.

a bit more...
http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/NAB-will-shock-Wall-Street-GV4M7?OpenDocument&src=sph

[DemReadingDU]

67. NAB makes provision in response to unprecedented global credit conditions

7/25/08 Full-text, unedited ASX release from National Australia Bank.

NAB makes provision in response to unprecedented global credit conditions

National Australia Bank today announced an additional provision of A$830 million to its portfolio of 10 Collateralised Debt Obligations of Asset Backed Securities (ABS CDOs).

These ABS CDOs contain US residential mortgages and are held in international conduit facilities used to finance customers.

The amount announced today is in addition to the $181 million charge taken in the Group’s half year results to 31 March 2008.

The portfolio is now provisioned to a level of nearly 90%.

NAB Group CEO, John Stewart said: “This provision reflects the unprecedented conditions in global credit markets and, in particular, the rapid deterioration in the United States housing market.

“Earlier this year CDOs were subject to rating agencies’ downgrades that also affected thousands of similar investments, at which time appropriate provision was made.

“The continued deterioration in the US housing market has been further highlighted in recent weeks with foreclosures mounting and recovery rates from security in some categories falling to less than half of the loan value,” Mr Stewart said.

“Although current losses on the assets underlying the CDOs in our portfolio relating to the provision average approximately 2% of the total portfolio, our detailed analysis and recent default activity indicates the portfolio will continue to deteriorate.

“We believe it is prudent to take a full provision now, based on a worst case scenario,” he said.

“We have a specialist team based in New York that will continue to investigate all avenues for mitigating losses, including the effects of the recently passed American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008. No benefit for these is factored into the provisioning decision at this time.

“The remaining conduit assets are all performing in line with our expectations for corporate lending and will continue to be closely reviewed given the current economic cycle.

“As previously described, the purchase of CDOs was part of the initial development of nabCapital’s securitisation business providing access to international debt markets for our customers. NAB’s purchase of this type of ABS CDO ceased in March 2007.

“The CDOs were all rated AAA when liquidity facilities were put in place as part of the establishment of our securitisation business.

“These were sound commercial and credit decisions given the market and ratings data available at the time. The likelihood of default was independently assessed as being extremely small.

“All relevant processes are considered robust and were properly followed at the time.”

Mr Stewart said the final dividend will be unaffected by the creation of this provision. NAB remains comfortably within its target capital ranges.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/NAB-makes-provision-in-response-to-unprecedented-g-GVBGJ?OpenDocument

[Demeter]

78. Gotta Admire the Aussies!

No girlie men they.

[DemReadingDU]

68. Bank boss takes a beating as analysts delve for answers

7/26/08
JOHN Stewart knew he would take a belting in the market, from the media and in profit terms yesterday, after deciding to set aside another $830 million for debt securities that have collapsed in value.

What the National Australia Bank boss possibly didn't expect was the hour-long grilling he got from banking analysts because he couldn't, or wouldn't, satisfy their hunger for greater detail on the billion-dollar exposure to the wicked witch of the capitalist West ("I'm melting, I'm melting") — the US home mortgage market.

more...
http://business.theage.com.au/business/bank-boss-takes-a-beating-as-analysts-delve-for-answers-20080725-3l3u.html

[DemReadingDU]

69. Bad debt bombshell from National Australia Bank

7/26/08
THE National Australia Bank has effectively kissed goodbye to $1 billion it poured into ill-fated securities backed by home mortgages in the US.

NAB chief executive John Stewart yesterday revealed the bank was increasing its bad debt provision on the securities by $830 million, which comes on top of $181 million disclosed in May.

Last night ratings agency Standard & Poor's put the NAB on negative credit watch, warning the bank's AA rating was at risk if NAB's credit costs blew out or investors deserted the bank.

Mr Stewart said the global credit crisis was worse than he had thought and had yet to hit bottom. "The worst-case scenario might not be too far away from the most likely scenario," he said.

Mr Stewart took a swipe at ratings agencies, saying they had not done a "thorough" job when giving the securities a AAA rating.

more...
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24078649-664,00.html

[DemReadingDU]

15. GMAC, Cerberus Accord With FDIC Provides $3 Billion

GMAC, Cerberus Accord With FDIC Provides $3 Billion (Update2) By David Mildenberg

July 24 (Bloomberg) -- GMAC LLC, the auto and housing lender owned by General Motors Corp. and Cerberus Capital Management LP, must provide $3 billion of credit to its banking unit, according to an agreement with federal banking regulators.

The credit line is among conditions imposed in an order by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that was posted on the agency's Web site today. The New York-based company said last week that the FDIC granted a 10-year waiver that permits GMAC Bank to remain under current ownership.

GMAC arranged more than $60 billion of new and refinanced credit last month after rising foreclosures left its home- lending unit on the brink of bankruptcy. The FDIC order requires GMAC Bank to maintain an 11 percent leverage ratio over the next three years and liquidity levels the FDIC ``deems appropriate.'' The agency also gets approval on terms of the credit line.

``They are trying to insure that the institution will have significant support and send a message to others that if you want to get into banking, it's going to cost you,'' said Robert Serino, a partner at the law firm Buckley Kolar LLP in Washington. Serino is a former director of the enforcement and compliance division of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

The accord limits transactions among affiliates and requires FDIC approval of any new senior bank executives for seven years. The agency also must give consent before the bank can hire a senior executive with ties to Stephen Feinberg, the founder of Cerberus, or any of his entities.

Cerberus manages about $26 billion in private equity and hedge funds, entities that typically prefer not to disclose their investments and strategies. Feinberg must give the agency any information ``as the FDIC deems necessary concerning any Feinberg Entity and its relationship with the bank,'' according to the document.

If disclosure tied to a non-U.S. Feinberg company is prohibited in some way, the accord says Feinberg must cooperate with the FDIC by ``seeking timely waivers or exemptions from any applicable confidentiality or secrecy restrictions.''

In total, Feinberg can't control more than 25 percent of the board of GMAC Bank, and the bank can't put branches, loan offices or automated teller machines in property owned, leased or occupied by Feinberg's entities, the document says.

General Motors Corp. sold 51 percent of GMAC about two years ago to Cerberus, the New York-based private equity firm. The sales agreement included an FDIC ruling that Cerberus would sell the GMAC bank by November, relinquish FDIC insurance, register as a bank holding company or gain a waiver.

``We're pleased with the extension and we're pleased that we are able to hold the bank for 10 more years,'' GMAC spokeswoman Gina Proia said. ``We're aware of the conditions. The bank is a key part of our funding equation.''

Barr declined to comment on the GMAC order, citing FDIC policy. Cerberus spokesman Peter Duda referred inquiries to GMAC.

GMAC Bank is an increasingly important funding source for GMAC as credit has become more difficult to obtain. GMAC Bank's deposits rose 64 percent to $15.4 billion in the year ended March 31, according to the FDIC.

The FDIC defines ``well-capitalized'' banks as having leverage ratios of at least 5 percent, FDIC spokesman David Barr said. The ratio refers to the amount of stockholders' equity and retained earnings as a percentage of average total assets.

Residential Capital LLC, GMAC's mortgage unit, lost $5.3 billion during the past six quarters in the worst housing slump since the 1930s. Those issues have stalled discussions about combining GMAC with Chrysler LLC's Chrysler Financial unit, a move that potentially would help cut costs and boost profit. Cerberus acquired Chrysler last year.

ResCap is obligated to repay $3.5 billion of bonds and a $3.5 billion loan from GMAC in 2010. ResCap has sought capital infusions at least three times in two years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQUKh8rr9Gb0&refer=home

[ozymandius]

16. Lehman May Sell Neuberger Berman to Raise $8 Billion, CNBC Says

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. may sell at least part of its Neuberger Berman asset management unit to raise as much as $8 billion, CNBC reported, citing people it didn't name.

A sale of the unit may make it difficult for Lehman, the smallest of the major Wall Street investment banks, to compete as an independent company, CNBC said.

.....

Lehman, once the biggest U.S. underwriter of mortgage bonds, has declined 72 percent this year in New York trading as investors grew concerned about mounting losses in the mortgage market and client defections. The New York-based firm has already raised almost $14 billion from investors over the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aKlfTu1aGfIs&refer=funds

---

The securities firm, shaken by speculation that it's losing clients, may sell Neuberger Berman or consider ``sizeable'' assets sales, UBS AG analysts said earlier this week.

[UpInArms]

18. dollar watch

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

Last trade 72.602 Change -0.258 (-0.35%)

US Dollar: The Best of the Worst?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar__The_Best_of_1216937098160.html

The US data released today was weak, but the reaction in the dollar has been limited. The lowest level of existing home sales in 10 years and the highest level of jobless claims since March only drove the dollar lower against the Japanese Yen. The greenback held onto its recent gains against the other major currencies such as the Euro, British pound, Australian and New Zealand dollars as the US dollar is the best of the worst which seems to be the theme of the day. Existing home sales continue to paint a gloomy picture for the housing market while jobless claims confirm that there will be further losses in non-farm payrolls next week. However a continual deterioration in the US economy has been priced into the market while the severity of the recent misses in UK and Eurozone economic data have been a big surprise. The fear now is that the pace of deceleration will be a lot worse for our friends across the pond. After consistent gains since last Wednesday, the stock market has plunged which has weighed on all of the Japanese Yen crosses and high yielding currency pairs. There is also a story in Reuters citing G7 sources as saying that Europeans want the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in order to prop up the value of the dollar. Although the article also indicates that the Europeans concede that they are unlikely to get their wish, this is certainly helping the US dollar keep its head above water. Durable goods, consumer confidence and new home sales are due for release tomorrow. The market that will have the biggest reaction to the data will be equities, which by extension will impact USD/JPY. In contrast, EUR/USD and GBP/USD traders will have to consider who has the direr outlook, the US, Eurozone or the UK.

...more...

A Sharp Reversal Threatens The Rebound In The Carry Trade And Risk Appetite

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/A_Sharp_Reversal_Threatens_The_1216986098178.html

A sharp drop in high-yielding currencies and equities over the past few days may have sabotaged a crucial rebound in risk appetite and the currency market’s favored carry trade. Since last Friday, the DailyFX Carry Trade Index has dropped 336 points after briefly pushing to a new four-month high. Now, the index is threatening to officially close the rebound from March’s swing low as spot hovers just above notable support in a prevailing wedge formation. However, market condition indicators certainly do not support fears of an imminent breakdown in the carry and general risk sentiment. Volatility across the currency market has actually dropped 0.61 percentage points to 9.75 percent – the lowest level since late February – suggesting speculation of a potential breakout is low. What’s more, the steep drop in USDJPY risk reversals (denoting growing demand for puts) from last week has made an about face of its own..

From a fundamental standpoint, the health of risk appetite - and consequentially the carry trade - is just as mixed as the technical formation in the carry basket would suggest. On the upside, the credit and financial market fears centered on the potential collapse of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have eased as both lenders’ conditions seem to have stabilized. Along similar lines, market participants’ and economists’ worst case scenarios for second quarter earnings were never met. However, earnings are still down, banks have reported another round of staggering write offs and mortgage markets continue to teeter. Further adding to the pressure on risk appetite, the capital markets are still pitched into bearish territory and policy authorities are officially taking steps to depress yield differentials. Just a short-time ago, the RBNZ surprised the market with its first rate hike in years. This negative rate bias for the high-yielding currencies stands in direct contrast to forecasts for tightening for funding currencies. Going forward, the market will be closely weighing the potential for returns against the threat of volatility when gauging the future of the carry trade.

...more...

[ozymandius]

21. 5 big losers in the banking crisis (CEOs to eat cat food?)

These financial companies have suffered serious, long-term damage to their businesses. They may not be going under, but their futures look grim.

.....

American International Group

The company's AAA credit rating once gave American International Group (AIG, news, msgs) a huge edge over its competitors in selling insurance and other products. Before the financial crisis that began in 2007, only seven U.S. companies carried this highest of credit ratings. American International was able to use the rating not only to raise money more cheaply than its rivals but also to convince customers that it was more certain to be around in the future to pay off insurance claims. That perceived extra margin of safety had helped American International sell to risk-averse consumers in the emerging economies of Asia.

Citigroup

It isn't just that, so far, Citigroup has booked more losses than anybody else since January 2007. (Citigroup's total of $55 billion in the period, according to Bloomberg, is impressively ahead of No. 2 Merrill Lynch, at $46 billion.) It's that this crisis has reduced the company's vaunted financial supermarket strategy to a shambles. With the announcement July 21 that Michael Klein, the former head of Citigroup's investment bank, would leave the company, almost all the managers who had helped then-CEO Sandy Weill engineer the merger of Citigroup and insurance and brokerage giant Travelers are gone.

Merrill Lynch
With losses of $46 billion and counting, Merrill Lynch (MER, news, msgs) trails only Citigroup in total write-downs since January 2007. But I think the long-term damage to Merrill Lynch makes a strong case for the company as the biggest loser in the financial crisis so far.

Wachovia
Wachovia picked a bad time to try to make the jump from superregional to a truly national bank. In May 2006, the bank agreed to buy Golden West Financial, then the second-largest savings and loan in the country, for $26 billion. The key prize in the acquisition was Golden West's $32 billion in deposits and 123 branches in California.

No doubt the deal made North Carolina-based Wachovia a true coast-to-coast bank. But it also saddled Wachovia with a huge portfolio of adjustable-rate mortgages, Golden West's specialty, just as the California real-estate market was topping out.

Washington Mutual

What do you do when your business model gets vaporized? That's the question Washington Mutual will have to answer, assuming it survives as an independent company. The savings and loan, the nation's largest mortgage lender before the crisis, built a very profitable business out of originating mortgages for riskier borrowers. The company would then sell those mortgages to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and use the proceeds from those sales to originate more mortgages.

lots more...

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/5BigLosersInTheBankingCrisis.aspx?page=3

---

By the way - the 'CEOs to eat cat food' quip was merely my wishful thinking.

[DemReadingDU]

23. Stiglitz: Fannie’s and Freddie’s free lunch

Fannie’s and Freddie’s free lunch By Joseph Stiglitz
Published: July 24 2008 18:25

Much has been made in recent years of private/public partnerships. The US government is about to embark on another example of such a partnership, in which the private sector takes the profits and the public sector bears the risk. The proposed bail-out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac entails the socialisation of risk – with all the long-term adverse implications for moral hazard – from an administration supposedly committed to free-market principles.

Defenders of the bail-out argue that these institutions are too big to be allowed to fail. If that is the case, the government had a responsibility to regulate them so that they would not fail. No insurance company would provide fire insurance without demanding adequate sprinklers; none would leave it to “self-regulation”. But that is what we have done with the financial system.

Even if they are too big to fail, they are not too big to be reorganised. In effect, the administration is indeed proposing a form of financial reorganisation, but one that does not meet the basic tenets of what should constitute such a publicly sponsored scheme.
.
.
A basic law of economics holds that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Those in the financial market have had a sumptuous feast and the administration is now asking the taxpayer to pick up a part of the tab. We should simply say No.

more...
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c6999a06-5994-11dd-90f8-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

[UpInArms]

26. Stocks face longer bear market as more tap nest eggs

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN2441457420080724?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major U.S. stock indexes, already trapped in bear territory, face a tougher road to recovery, as more Americans crack into their nest eggs to withdraw cash to cope with rising economic pressures.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500, which have fallen 20 percent or more from their closing highs of last October, qualifying them as bear markets, have taken big hits from the drastic slowdown in housing and credit as well as record oil prices.

The troubles hanging over the U.S. economy and the stock market are deep enough that a sharp rally this spring and a brief summer rebound have done little to reverse the damage. For the year so far, the Dow is down 14.4 percent, the S&P 500 is off 14.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index is also down 14 percent.

Even worse, stocks that have dropped to where they are seen as compelling buys get battered further by renewed fears over the stability of the banking system.

"Every time the 'long only' guys tip their toes in the water, they get whacked -- it's been absolutely tough," said Keith Wirtz, president and chief investment officer of Fifth Third Asset Management, which manages $22 billion.

...more...

[UpInArms]

30. Washington Mutual hit by funding concerns: Unsecured creditors reduce exposure to thrift, analyst sa

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/wamu-hit-concerns-creditors-pulling/story.aspx?guid=%7B5EA5F544%2D6F59%2D418A%2D8A8F%2D73FE17C90BED%7D&dist=TNMostRead

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Washington Mutual's stock took a hit on Thursday on concern the nation's largest thrift is losing access to some sources of funding.

Many of WaMu's (WM: 4.05, -0.60, -12.9%) unsecured creditors are "quietly" reducing their exposure to the troubled bank, according to a report by Kathleen Shanley, an analyst at Gimme Credit, citing information in the company's second-quarter earnings report.

That means the thrift has to rely more on insured deposits and borrowing from the Federal Home Loan Banks for funding, she wrote in a note to investors.
WaMu shares dropped 13% to $4.03 on Thursday.

A WaMu spokesman said the company does not need to rely on funding from outside sources.

"As we stated publicly months ago, Washington Mutual funds all of its business through its banking operations," the spokesman added.

At end of June, WaMu had more than $40 billion in liquidity, or access to cash and other assets that can be easily converted to cash. The thrift stopped using commercial paper, one common source of short-term borrowing for some companies, roughly a year ago.

However, in the company's results released earlier this week, it said that total deposits fell by $6.13 billion during the second quarter.

...more...

[UpInArms]

60. Washington Mutual debt protection costs jump

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2519623620080725

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Credit protection costs on Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose sharply on Friday, a day after an analyst said some creditors reduced their exposure to the largest U.S. savings and loan.

The cost of protecting Washington Mutual's debt for five years rose to $1.85 million on an upfront basis, plus $500,000 in annual premiums, up from about $1.35 million plus $500,000 annually on Thursday, according to a trader.

[DemReadingDU]

70. Shedlock: Uninsured Depositors At WaMu Are Begging For Trouble

7/25/08 Uninsured Depositors At WaMu Are Begging For Trouble by Mike Shedlock

Anyone with uninsured deposits (those exceeding FDIC limits) at Washington Mutual are begging for trouble.

If you work for a corporation that has its payroll or large corporate account (above the FDIC limit) at WaMu and you want to get paid, you better get this message to corporate headquarters right away

I do not know if there is a run on WaWu or not. What I do know is that if you are reading this and are above the FDIC limit, and you don't immediately do something about it, then you you have no right to complain if WaMu goes under and you lose every penny above the FDIC limit.

Sheila Bair seems proud of saying only 13% of trouble banks fail. However, even if one accepts that number, it makes no economic sense to take risks when there is nothing to gain and everything to lose when one is over the FDIC limit.

By the way, I am not just talking about WaMu here. Any bank whose share price is in the single digits is at extreme risk. Any bank whose share price is under $5 is at risk of imploding overnight. Here is a partial list:

Washington Mutual (WM)
Corus Bank (CORS)
Bank United (BKUNA).
National City Corporation (NCC).

If you have money above the FDIC limit at any of those banks, you better do something about it immediately.

a bit more...
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/07/uninsured-depositors-at-wamu-are.html

[UpInArms]

75. went off chasing an answer and found a not very good one

which only proves that my beaner is just not as sharp as it used to be :eyes:

okay - here 'tis

earlier when I was think about WaMu being a "savings and loan", I had forgotten this very important piece of information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Savings_and_Loan_Insurance_Corporation

The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) is a now-defunct institution that once administered deposit insurance for savings and loan institutions in the United States. It was abolished in 1989 by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, which passed responsibility for savings and loan deposit insurance to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

...more...

[AnneD]

80. Don't beat yourself up....

there is the NCUA which insures credit unions, so there is another deposit insurance company. I haven't seen FSLIC since the S&L's went belly up. My bank that went under then was FDIC. Mine went under early in the long string of failed banks and S&L's of the 80's. I learned a lot from that experience.

[UpInArms]

31. Wachovia CFO Wurtz to leave company

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/wachovia-cfo-wurtz-leave-company/story.aspx?guid=%7BC5350197%2DFE86%2D464F%2DB712%2D201315D5EBB9%7D

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Wachovia Corp. said late Thursday Chief Financial Officer Thomas Wurtz will leave the company. Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia (WB: 15.69, -1.96, -11.1%) said Wurtz will leave "after a successor is named to the role. The company will begin an immediate search for a replacement." Shares of Wachovia fell more than 1% in late trading, to $15.38.

[UpInArms]

32. U.S. retailer Boscov's fights for survival: report (97 year old family retail chain)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080725/bs_nm/boscovs_dc

(Reuters) - U.S. department store chain Boscov's is struggling to keep itself afloat as a drop in consumer spending across the mid-Atlantic region has hammered its sales and drained its cash, The New York Post said.

About half of the major suppliers to the 97-year-old, family-owned chain have halted merchandise shipments for lack of payment, sources told The Post.

Additionally, commercial lenders including CIT Group Inc (CIT.N), GMAC and Milberg have stopped guaranteeing deliveries to Boscov's stores, the paper said citing sources.

Pennsylvania-based Boscov's, which operates about 50 mid-price stores that sell clothing, appliances, electronics and furniture, is looking for alternatives to a bankruptcy filing, including the closing of up to 10 underperforming stores, The Post said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

33. Freddie Mac June holdings, May delinquencies rise

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN2551009320080725

NEW YORK, July 25 (Reuters) - Freddie Mac's (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) retained mortgage portfolio jumped by more than a 33 percent annual rate in June to about $792 billion while delinquencies on bonds it holds and guarantees kept climbing in May, the second-largest U.S. home funding company said on Friday.

These holdings had jumped 53.4 percent in May to $770.4 billion.

Delinquency rates on single-family mortgages guaranteed and held by Freddie Mac rose in May to 0.86 percent from 0.81 percent in April and 0.77 percent in March.

[UpInArms]

34. Legg Mason posts loss on charges

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSWNAB274920080725

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. asset manager Legg Mason Inc (LM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a quarterly loss on Friday as it took charges related to a bail-out of money market funds exposed to risky securities.

Legg Mason, the second-largest publicly traded U.S. asset manager, reported a net loss of $31.3 million, or 22 cents a share, for its fiscal first quarter, compared with net income of $191 million, or $1.32 a share, a year earlier.

[antigop]

36. Wal-Mart slams suit claiming its 401(k) fees are over the top

http://financialweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/REG/702504488

Wal-Mart, hit with a class-action lawsuit that claims fees in its $9.9 billion

401(k) plan are excessive, has fired back. In a 35-page response to the original complaint, the company claims the employees’ allegations are little more than “mere speculation” and lack any real substance.

According to Wal-Mart’s filing, the suit’s “myopic focus on the fees charged by the Plan’s investment options—without regard to the roles that these fees play in the overall costs of administering the Plan—ignores the economics of participant-directed individual account plans.”

Wal-Mart also claims that “ERISA does not require plan fiduciaries to consider only ‘price’ in selecting investment options, much less to select the least expensive alternative available.”

The original complaint against Wal-Mart was filed in March, led by employee Jeremy Braden. Like many of the roughly dozen other lawsuits filed against large plan sponsors since late 2006, the suit against Wal-Mart claims it violated its duty as a fiduciary by offering costly funds in its 401(k).

[UpInArms]

38. 9:31 EST banging the open

Dow 11,386.73 37.45 (0.33%)
Nasdaq 2,294.20 14.09 (0.62%)
S&P 500 1,256.76 4.22 (0.34%)
10-Yr Bond 4.054% 0.038

NYSE Volume 34,195,937.5
Nasdaq Volume 39,730,570.312

[Pale Blue Dot]

40. Layoffs 7/25

Good morning everyone!

Saint-Gobain - worldwide - 4,000 jobs lost

PARIS (AFP) — French construction group Saint-Gobain said Thursday it would cut 4,000 jobs this year, mostly in Britain, Spain and the United States, as part of a cost-cutting drive in the face of a sharp downturn in the housing market.

"Faced with the gradual deterioration in the international economic environment since summer 2007, the group has stepped up the cost cutting program put in place for the United States in the second half of 2006 and for certain European countries at the end of 2007," Saint-Gobain said in an earnings statement.

"In total, these programs will lead to additional full-year workforce reductions of 6,000, including 4,000 in 2008, and generate savings of 435 million euros (682 million dollars), of which 300 million euros for 2008."

Group managing director Pierre-Andre de Chalendar said most of the cuts would affect facilities in Britain, Spain and the United States.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iZjcNbeEnCsUe1huxrqSB7w7vzBA

Alaska Airlines - nationwide - ?? jobs lost (on top of 13% reduction earlier)

Alaska Airlines will cut management staff by 5 percent and reduce passenger capacity as much as 10 percent to "help us survive what is shaping up to be the most difficult period in commercial aviation history," Alaska Air Group chairman and CEO Bill Ayer said today.

The Seattle-based parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Airlines also will raise fares and other fees, it said.

The moves were announced as Alaska reported that excluding special items, it had a second-quarter net loss of $14.1 million, or $0.39 per share, compared to 2007 net income of $47.2 million, or $1.16 per share.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008070201_webalaskaearn24.html

Maui Land & Pinapple Co. - Maui, Hawaii - 174 jobs lost

274 employees with Maui Land & Pineapple Company will be laid off.

The announcement came Wednesday afternoon the layoffs are part of a company reorganization to save about $11 million a year.

At a time when gas prices are hitting record highs and unemployment continues to climb Maui Land & Pineapple Company has decided to cut jobs.

“It's a bad time, it's a devastating time, its going to be a big bad time,” ILWU Maui William Kennison said.
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/25891709.html

Wood-Mode - Middlecreek Township, PA - 120 jobs lost

KREAMER -- Wood-Mode, the largest manufacturing company in Snyder County, announced Thursday that it is laying off 120 employees -- 7 percent of its workforce -- because of a slowdown in sales.

This is the second layoff at the plant in Middlecreek Township in eight months. Tom Morgensen, director of human resources, said Wood-Mode employs about 1,830 workers, and after the layoffs, it will have about 1,710.

Manufacturing and office positions are being affected. In addition, some management positions have been changed.

The reason, he said, is because of the continuing decline in the housing and remodeling industry. The overall housing industry affected all segments of the business," Morgensen said, "whether it's new housing construction, commercial high-rise developments or remodeling."
http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/local_story_207003041.html

Pechanga Resort & Casino - Riverside COunty, CA - 400 jobs lost

Unemployment in Riverside and San Bernardino counties was estimated at 8 percent in June, highest in about a decade, according to the state Employment Development Department. There were almost 147,000 unemployed payroll workers last month.

The Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians announced Tuesday it was laying off about 400 people, almost 9 percent of its workforce. With 4,700 employees, the hotel and casino is the largest employer in southwestern Riverside County.

Flournoy said EDA teams have been on the site letting people know the agency's locations and services. County workers are trained to assess skill levels and guide workers into jobs. She said job fairs that would invite employers who are actually hiring and would need Pechanga workers' skills, are a possibility.
http://www.pe.com/business/local/stories/PE_Biz_S_pechanga25.1.3a40b87.html

Hynix Semiconductor - Eugene, OR - 1,113 jobs lost

Amid a lousy market and low prices for computer memory chips, Hynix Semiconductor plans to close its west Eugene factory and lay off 1,113 employees in the next two months, company officials said Wednesday.

Hynix’s public statement came after Jong Kap Kim, chairman of the local plant’s parent company in South Korea, shared those plans in closed-door meetings with Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy.

Hynix officials said they plan to shut down the Eugene factory and look for other ways to use the facility, whether that be pursuing a related business themselves, selling the complex to another semiconductor manufacturer, or moving the equipment and selling the building and land.

The layoffs are the largest by a single employer in Lane County in memory.
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=124995&sid=1&fid=1

Tiara Yachts - Holland, MI - 95 jobs lost

HOLLAND -- For the second time this month, Holland luxury boat manufacturer Tiara Yachts is announcing layoffs.

The company announced Wednesday that it will indefinitely lay off 95 employees by the first week of August, and another 70 employees will be on a one-week hiatus next week. The move was based on expected production numbers for the 2009 model year, according to a company spokesman.

"After these adjustments, we believe we are staffed at the appropriate level for 2009," said David Slikkers, chief executive officer of S2 Yachts, Tiara's parent company said in a release. "We remain committed to actions that stabilize corporate profitability. We are secure if we are profitable."

The announcement follows the layoff earlier this month of 110 employees from Tiara's plant at 725 E. 40th St., and another 10 employees in late June.
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/07/tiara_yachts_in_holland_announ.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

42. Closures & Layoffs (July 20-26): Shake Up Amid Beer Distributors

This is an excellent link - it's very comprehensive, and lists many layoffs that I've missed.

http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=2694A9F80D51F0672AC0C334C2B95096

[Dr.Phool]

46. You know it's bad when the casinos are laying off.

I had lunch up in Cleveland last week with a couple of former co-workers. One is still working, and the other just retired as an International Union VP. The union VP's wife was also our veterinarian up there, so they're not hurting.

The just returned from a trip to Vegas, and the crowds are gone. They talked to a cocktail waitress who told them that they're being pressured to monitor how much people at the slots are gambling, before they give them a free drink. And they're watching them through the "eye in the sky", just like the gamblers. Failure to comply is fired.

My sister also works at a large casino out there. She has good seniority, but has been cut back from 5 days to 3 days per week. Next stop, Extra Board.

[Juneboarder]

61. Vegas Really Is Hurting...

I have a majority of my family that lives in The Lakes part of Vegas, and I even used to live there. I saw the boom while I was there from 97-00 and now it looks like a totally different town. The last time I visited in May, the casinos were totally dead. People were getting shows for $20 on the strip; rooms for under $100 at MGM and a lot of other good ones on the strip. That being said, the population has totally grown, and so I feel they will be able to overcome what's going on as long as people remain in Vegas... you can get a brand new condo there for under $100,000!!! That's unheard of, at least where I live in San Diego.

[Dr.Phool]

63. My sister says they have foreclosure tours.

They ask what do you want, and where do you want it, and they book you on the next bus for that criteria.

[Juneboarder]

64. Vegas is a sea of tract homes...

So, yes, basically it's like a McDonald's out there. Would you like a gated community or not, pool/no pool, big yard or townhome, east side/west side... I really didn't like living there; went broke getting back to SD, but so damned glad I did!!

[DemReadingDU]

41. Whitney: Crystal Ball Gazing: Visualize the Dow at 6,000

7/24/08 Crystal Ball Gazing: Visualize the Dow at 6,000 By Mike Whitney

Last Wednesday, at an improvised press conference, George Bush gave what may have been the most comical performance of his eight year presidency. Looking like the skipper on the flight-deck of the Hindenburg, Bush tried his best to reassure the public that “all’s well” with the economy and that everyone’s deposits were perfectly safe in the rapidly disintegrating US banking system. Leaning lazily on the presidential podium, Bush shrugged his shoulders and said,

“My hope is that people take a deep breath and realize that their deposits are protected by our government. We’re not seeing the growth we’d like to see, but the financial system is basically sound.”


Stock market mayhem is just around the corner. Visualize the Dow at 6,000 and then hang on for dear life. The indexes will tumble and Wall Street will be reduced to Dresden-type rubble, nothing left but toxic fumes and twisted iron. By the end of 2009, the last few bulls will be driven out of the exchanges and onto the streets where they’ll be slaughtered one by one. It won’t be pretty.

According to Bloomberg News: “Investors worldwide are betting more than $1 trillion on a collapse in stock prices”.

But no matter how bad it gets, the media will still bang-out its “Sunny Jim” market-forecasts while reiterating every mangled phrase and muddled thought from our alcohol-addled Dear Leader. The lines from the shelters, pawn shops and soup kitchens may stretch from the Golden Gate to the Statue of Liberty, but the perennially upbeat predictions of a “bottom in housing” or an “economic turnaround” will continue to blast from every media bullhorn in the nation. America’s financial media is an never-ending source of baseless optimism and hogwash.

It’s funny; while Bush was hosting his faux-press conference, live-footage was appearing on other media of fully-armed LA policemen being dispatched to the various Indymac locations. Their task was to remind the gathering of elderly “blue-hair” women and middle-aged white guys in Tommy Bahama T-shirts that any public display of outrage would be swiftly met with Rodney King-style justice. Hmmm. So now withdrawing one’s savings from the bank is not only riskier; it’s tantamount to committing a felony. My, how America has changed.

more...
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/crystal-ball-gazing-visualize-the-dow-at-6000-by-mike-whitney/

[UpInArms]

45. 10:02 EST Hurrah! Siss! Boom! Bah! We're Saved!

Dow 11,437.13 87.85 (0.77%)
Nasdaq 2,302.55 22.44 (0.98%)
S&P 500 1,262.53 9.99 (0.80%)
10-Yr Bond 4.044% 0.028

NYSE Volume 360,055,500
Nasdaq Volume 302,209,218.75

09:40 am : Stocks have opened higher, helped by encouraging economic data. Noticeably absent from the session's immediate advance is the financial sector.

The financial sector encountered some concerted selling in yesterday's session and is currently down 0.8%.

A drop in oil is also helping the broader market. Oil was up in early action, but is now down 1.3% to trade below $124 per barrel.DJ30 +30.05 NASDAQ +11.54 SP500 +3.80 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1279/86 mln/745 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1464/60 mln/800

09:16 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +7.0. Stocks remain on track for a positive start. From the financial sector, Legg Mason (LM) posted a loss of $0.22 per share amid charges, which may not be comparable to the consensus estimate. Meanwhile, T Rowe Price (TROW) announced it earned $0.60 per share, which is on par with analysts' average estimate.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +8.5. The stock market remains on track for an upward start, according to futures. Freddie Mac (FRE) reported its single-family delinquency rate for all loans increased five basis points to 0.86% in May from April. Its total mortgage portfolio has increased at an annualized rate of 9.4% year-to-date and 5.7% in June.

[Dr.Phool]

47. I guess they haven't seen the latest headline on MSNBC.

New Home Sales down 0.6% in June.

Foreclosure filings jump 121% in one year.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

[Pale Blue Dot]

48. Things are slightly less bad than we thought! Let's spend!

Does anyone else find this all frustrating and infuriating?

[Dr.Phool]

50. This has been one strange week.

Wachovia loses almost $9 bln, and their stock jumps 27%.

It looks like they've adopted the same techniques the chimp administration uses for the deficit. Predict the worst, and if it's not quite that bad, proclaim, "We cut the deficit".

It's like saying, "Damn, the shark only ate one of my legs, but I expected him to eat both. I'm going swimming"!

[Ghost Dog]

53. European stocks pare losses after U.S. data

PARIS, July 25 (Reuters) - European stocks pared losses to turn flat on Friday afternoon, afterdata showed U.S. consumer sentiment recovered unexpectedly in July, and sales of newly built single-family homes were stronger than expected in June.

At 1409 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was flat at 1,170.78 points, after being down by more than 1 percent earlier in the session.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL510785620080725?rpc=44

[Ghost Dog]

71. Europe stocks dip as profit warnings eclipse data

PARIS, July 25 (Reuters) - European stocks ended slightly lower on Friday, after a flurry of better-than-expected U.S. economic data failed to eclipse a profit warning by Munich Re (MUVGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that knocked insurers lower.

On the upside, Danone (DANO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) surged 7.7 percent after the food and beverage group lifted its 2008 operating margin target and confirmed 2008 sales and profit growth outlook.

UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) sank 6.1 percent on the back of news that New York State has filed a lawsuit accusing the bank of deceptively selling auction-rate securities as cash equivalents.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.1 percent lower at 1,169.59 points, after falling by more than 1 percent during the session.

...

Among the biggest losers, the DJ Stoxx European insurance index shed 4.3 percent. Munich Re slashed its forecasts for 2008 profit, blaming turbulent equity markets, and Hannover Re (HNRGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said it will be difficult to reach full-year targets if capital markets do not calm down.

"This is bad news. It shows insurers can't be trusted and that even now they don't have a clear idea what they will make this year," said Michael Huttner, insurance analyst at JP Morgan.

Munich Re tumbled 7.3 percent, Hannover Re shed 7.2 percent, while AXA (AXAF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 4.8 percent, Aegon (AEGN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 6 percent and Allianz (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped 4.6 percent.

Other sectors were also hit by profit warnings. Belgacom (BCOM.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shed 6.9 percent after cutting its revenue forecast for 2008, citing pressure on mobile call prices and a gloomy economic environment.

"There are more profit warnings coming out and they appear to become more severe," said portfolio strategist Andreas Huerkamp at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, adding that he expected earnings to continue to deteriorate in the coming two quarters.

"It looks like especially June and July came in much worse than many management boards expected," he said.

On the upside, energy heavyweights gained ground ahead of their earnings reports due next week and which are expected to show record profits thanks to high oil prices.

BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 1 percent, Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 0.4 percent and Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 1.5 percent.

EDF (EDF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 5.6 percent as investors saw the potential acquisition of British Energy (BGY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as positive. A source briefed on the matter told Reuters that nuclear operator British Energy agreed to be taken over by the French utility for about 775 pence a share.

Around Europe, Germany's DAX index .GDAXI lost 0.06 percent, UK's FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 0.2 percent and France's CAC 40 .FCHI gained 0.7 percent. So far this year, the DAX has lost 20 percent, the FTSE 100 has lost 17 percent and the CAC 40 has dropped 22 percent.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL519204320080725?rpc=44&sp=true

[UpInArms]

56. East West Bancorp posts Q2 loss on bad-loan provision

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSBNG11918820080725

July 25 (Reuters) - East West Bancorp (EWBC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a huge quarterly loss, as the bank holding company's provision for bad loans soared, and forecast a weak second half.

The company said the loss for the quarter could increase due to a goodwill impairment charge, which the company was currently reviewing.

Second-quarter loss was $25.9 million, or 41 cents a share, compared with earnings of $40.5 million, or 66 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts were expecting a profit of 5 cents a share, excluding special items, according to Reuters Estimates.

"If there is any goodwill impairment, noninterest expense will increase and earnings per share and net income will be reduced for the quarter," the company said in a statement.

The provision for loan losses was $85 million, a 55 percent increase sequentially. For the same quarter last year, the company did not record any provision for bad loans.

...more...

[kickysnana]

57. Sorry wrong place n/t

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

59. 11:30 Energy Markets update:

Oil: 123.58, down 1.91. Was down 2.97 for a short bit.

RBOB: 3.105 -0.0444

NG: 9.272 -0.051

HO: 3.5328 -0.0343

More to come. Looks like downward movement might be, once again,active after lunch.

[DemReadingDU]

72. 900 troubled banks?

7/24/08 Why wasn't IndyMac on FDIC problem list?

<snippet>

Christopher Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, says "everyone expects regulators to be ahead of the curve, but they never are. It's hard for regulators to be proactive. If the FDIC was beating the hell out of IndyMac a year ago, the congressmen that represent IndyMac would have been all over them."

Whalen says the problem list understates the number of troubled banks. Of about 9,000 institutions, "we have identified about 10 percent that are in significant distress and another 10 to 15 percent headed in that direction," he says.

Whalen says the problem list should be closer to 900 companies instead of 90.


more about Why wasn't IndyMac on FDIC problem list? ...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/23/BU9A11TUKC.DTL


:wow:

[UpInArms]

74. Chrysler's financial arm to stop leasing vehicles

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2542581020080725

DETROIT (Reuters) - Chrysler LLC's financial arm is planning to stop offering vehicle lease options to consumers and would focus on financing retail vehicle purchases, spokesman Bill Porter said on Friday.

"We are shifting our strategy to focus on retail products," he said. "Effective August 1 we will no longer offer lease products in the United States."

[TalkingDog]

76. Busy today, but checking in for the 30 minute miracle

Today: A little dab'll do ya.



See? Another satisfied customer.

[nolabels]

77. I get the feeling they are trying to hold it together till November....

but looking at the periphery and the scope of it things will probably fall apart before then, at least in the financial. The US looks to be a basket-case if not much worse. The magic # i look to is 11000 with DJI which should have been around 14000 if we would of had real growth. They are now just grabbing their own butt cheeks and blowing smoke up the rest of our asses. It's all much too late x(

[ozymandius]

79. closing the day with piddly stock gains ('cept for the Nasdaq)

Dow 11,370.69 Up 21.41 (0.19%)
Nasdaq 2,310.53 Up 30.42 (1.33%)
S&P 500 1,257.76 Up 5.22 (0.42%)
10-Yr Bond 4.1110% Up 0.0950
NYSE Volume 4,580,285,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,050,454,000

4:25 pm : The stock market traded in choppy fashion Friday before finishing the session just 0.4% higher. The advance was too small to give stocks a gain for the week, finishing a bit below the unchanged mark instead. Still, the stock market is up 4.8% from its low last week.

Early session gains were driven by upbeat economic data and pleasing earnings results. Yet when the financial sector began trading without clear direction the broader market fluctuated as no clear leader emerged.

A rise in durable goods orders for June lifted early sentiment. The increase in orders totaled 0.8%, which is up from the prior increase of 0.1% and better than economists expected. Excluding transportation, orders increased 2.0%, up from the 0.5% downturn in the prior month. Importantly, the report suggests businesses continue to spend, which bodes well for second quarter economic growth.

June new home sales totaled 530,000, which is down from the upwardly revised 533,000 new homes sold in May. The results were also better than expected and suggest signs of stabilization, despite yesterday’s existing home sales data.

Earnings announcements were also generally upbeat. Wynn Resorts (WYNN 90.44, -1.55), YRC Worldwide (YRCW 17.23, -3.06), Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI 98.05, -0.72), and Fortune Brands (FO 58.78, +0.49) all exceeded expectations.

From the financial sector, Legg Mason (LM 39.51, +1.30) posted a loss, but T Rowe Price (TROW 56.62, +0.61) announced earnings results that matched the consensus earnings per share estimate.

Following yesterday’s concerted selling effort the financial sector struggled to make a sustainable advance Friday. The sector finished 0.6% lower after being up as much as 2.2% in early action.

Particular weakness was seen among mortgage thrifts for the second straight session as Fannie Mae (FNM 11.55, -0.47) and Freddie Mac (FRE 8.27, -0.54) were the subject of continued credit and housing concern. Importantly, rating agency Standard & Poor's placed the two on CreditWatch Negative.

In the end, technology emerged as the best performing economic sector, advancing 1.6%. In turn, the tech-rich Nasdaq outperformed its counterparts, trading in positive territory for the entire session before finishing 1.3% higher.

The Nasdaq was aided by strong gains from heavyweights Microsoft (MSFT 26.16, +0.72), Apple (AAPL 162.12, +3.09), Qualcomm (QCOM 54.45, +2.02), and Google (GOOG 491.98, +16.36). With the exception of communications equipment maker Qualcomm, each encountered heavy selling pressure in yesterday’s session.

Fellow communications equipment company Juniper Networks (JNPR 26.57, +4.00) reported strong earnings per share results that topped Wall Street's forecast and issued upside guidance.

As a side note, oil finished the session below $124 per barrel, bringing its week-to-date decline to 4.3%. Oil is currently more than 19% below its record high, but still up more than 28% year-to-date. Importantly, lower oil prices ease inflationary pressures.DJ30 +21.41 NASDAQ +30.42 NQ100 +1.6% R2K +1.1% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +5.22 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1706/2.03 bln/1078 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1760/1.29 bln/1339

[Demeter]

81. What a Day! I Feel Punch-Drunk

The worst of it is the reflexive lying--there's a whole bunch of Black Knights out there!


"It's only a flesh wound!"

[DemReadingDU]

82. 7/25/08 - 2 banks fail

FDIC Failed Bank List
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html


First Heritage Bank, NA, Newport Beach, CA
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/heritage.html

First National Bank of Nevada, Reno, NV
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/fnbnv.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

83. Wow. Thanks for posting.

I'm spreading the word.

[DemReadingDU]

84. If you have an account at a recent failed bank, check this link

There is a drop-down box for a list of the most recent failed banks for people to inquire about their accounts.

http://www4.fdic.gov/dip/index.asp

[Karenina]

85. SMW: Get your Weekend Economist HERE!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x372981

[JNelson6563]

86. lol Thanks for the fix!

I'm always a little bummed on weekends as there's no Stock Watch Thread action. Was surprised to see yesterday's thread so high up on page one this morning.

Cheers! :toast:

Julie