STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 27 October

[ozymandius]

Wednesday October 27, 2004

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 85
DAYS UNTIL W* GETS HIS PINK SLIP 6
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 3 YEARS, 320 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 3 YEARS, 9 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1070
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
Recent Acquisitions: Ken Lay
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 2
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

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

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AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 26, 2004

Dow... 9,888.48 +138.49 (+1.42%)
Nasdaq... 1,928.79 +14.75 (+0.77%)
S&P 500... 1,111.09 +16.28 (+1.49%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.99% +0.02 (+0.43%)
Gold future... 427.60 -2.20 (-0.51%)





GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie

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PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

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[UpInArms]

1. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 84.95 Change -0.26 (-0.31%)

THE ENERGY REPORT

http://futures.fxstreet.com/Futures/content/100120/content.asp?menu=commodities&dia=27102004

Strike off? Strike on? Norway did a strike off and the oil futures fell in response. Oil companies threatened a lock out and the Norwegian government stepped in and forced an end to the 16 week dispute. Traders had pushed the market to new highs on the lock out news only to reverse in a hurry and abandon their long positions and the correction was underway.

A strike on in Nigeria? Norway has settled their dispute but is Nigeria getting ready to strike again? Labor officials are asking for a strike vote among its laborers. The last Nigerian strike did not hurt exports so the market may feel this potential strike won't hurt either.

The strike against the oil market that really hurts is the loss of production in the Gulf of Mexico. Can imports save the day? We'll find out when the reporting agencies give us this week's numbers.

The drop in the US dollar could also help to stop the drop in energy prices. The sinking green back could slow any measurable sell off and the key thing to remember is it highly unlikely this bull is over. The question is how deep will the correction be.

...more...

GLOBAL MARKETS-European shares, dlr recover but $55 oil a worry

http://futures.fxstreet.com/Futures/news/afx/singleNew.asp?menu=economicnews&pv_noticia=MTFH07631_2004-10-27_09-55-10_RAJ720718

LONDON, Oct 27 (Reuters) - European stocks gained ground on Wednesday after Wall Street's strongest one-day rally since June, but oil holding stubbornly above $55 a barrel continued to fan growth and profit worries.

The dollar recovered from a 10-day beating that saw it hit fresh 8-month lows against the euro earlier this week after a downbeat assessment of risks to euro zone growth, but is still within 2 cents of record lows to the euro.

The European Commission warned on Tuesday that record high oil prices would cut euro zone growth next year and further sharp euro gains could make matters worse, after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had expressed currency concerns.

"Overall they don't like to see the euro at these high levels. Sure it helps offset a high oil price, but they don't want to be seen giving a green light for euro/dollar to go to $1.35," said Paul Mackel, currency strategist at ABN AMRO.

Mixed U.S. economic data, uncertainty over next week's presidential election and a revival of concerns over the U.S. current account deficit have conspired to undermine the dollar.

Markets will get a fresh read-out on the health of the U.S. economy at 1230 GMT when durable goods orders data are out. Economists expect a 0.5 percent rise in September after a 0.3 percent decline in August.

...more...

Instability looms as currencies slide

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/795C4D0A-95DD-4C66-B55A-4BF9C275AAEA.htm

excerpt:

Japan has always made no secret that it subsidises the US economy by propping up the dollar. The Japanese banks do this in order that US consumers can continue to buy affordable Japanese exports.

Also, Japanese companies can increasingly invest in a cheaper US. But as foreigners flee a profitless America, any dollar fall will set the Euro against the Yen.

Whose currency can remain competitive? Whose currency can attract foreign investment to introduce cash, or liquidity, into their national arena?

So we have a combination of high energy costs, slowing demand from China, a lack of profits in the US and a faltering Europe.

This could mean that major currencies will race each other to the bottom of the pile to stay ahead of each other. At the moment it is the Euro and the dollar that look the most overvalued but the Yen will also be pressured against both.

...more...

(I recommend reading this entire article - I could only get a small part to pique your interest)

Today's Reports:

Oct 27 8:30 AM
Durable Orders Sep
report -
briefing.com anticipates 0.8%
market anticipates 0.5%
last report -0.3%
revised -

Oct 27 10:00 AM
New Home Sales Sep
report -
briefing.com anticipates 1120K
market anticipates 1150K
last report 1184K
revised -

Oct 27 2:00 PM
Fed's Beige Book

Have a Great Day Marketeers!

[ozymandius]

8. Is Electoral Uncertainty Adding To The Dollar’s Woes?

We have long argued that the U.S. economy has the debt disease and now appears on the verge of contracting the dollar disease. The efforts of U.S. policy makers to avoid a full unwinding of the 1990’s stock market bubble through the encouragement of a credit bubble and a housing bubble has, despite something of a recovery, made both conditions worse over the past few years. The combination of an aggressive Fed and runaway GSE’s have facilitated, if not caused, a remarkable rise in the household incremental debt to income ratio in recent years. This ratio literally exploded in the past couple of years.

That the US debt/dollar disease would gradually become a problem has been conceded by even the greatest apologist for US profligacy, Dallas Fed President Robert McTeer, a few weeks ago. When the breaking point would come has been a more germane consideration for market practitioners, as opposed to questioning its existence altogether.

-cut-

To be sure, the conditions for a financial/dollar crisis have been in place for several months (years?), which is why we examine the possibility of a highly litigated electoral outcome bringing to the fore these longstanding, albeit latent, concerns on the part of the markets. One normally does not associate rising political risk premiums with the country long deemed to be the ultimate safe haven in times of global crisis, but it does increasingly appear as if next month’s US Presidential elections will do little to bring closure to the traditional uncertainties that often afflict investors in advance of a tightly contested election.

-cut-

We know both conventional fiscal and monetary policy have been set on a full court press for the past couple of years. We know policy makers remain acutely aware of the sensitive dependence of the US reacceleration to US financial asset prices and US financial market conditions. We cannot presume they would entertain an uncontrolled dollar decline by declaring it the will of the free market given this orientation. But who will be pulling the levers after next week? What kind of a consensus can be built for radical policy action if the very legitimacy of the incumbent is called into question by repeated legal challenges? Regardless whether one agrees with his agenda, there is little doubt that Mr Bush’s Presidency has proved exceptionally polarizing, within the US (as well as outside), so the effects of long-term litigation against the backdrop of a highly divided electorate and a political system coping with mounting financial fragility, could prove to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back in the eyes of the country’s growing foreign creditors. For the sake of the reduced market turmoil, one can only hope that a reasonably decisive victory by one candidate or the other moves the country away from this scenario. We shall know more by next Wednesday morning (one hopes).

http://64.29.208.119/internationalperspective.asp

[54anickel]

17. Why greenback looks decidedly shaky now

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,133628,00.html?

THE US dollar is teetering on the edge of what looks like a steep cliff - and there's a growing worry that it may not take much to tip it over the edge. Already, storm clouds are gathering. The Swiss franc has soared to its strongest level against the US unit in eight years. And the Canadian dollar exploded overnight to levels not seen in 12 years.

snip>

What worries currency traders most is that big moves can - and often do - take place suddenly and very swiftly. Recall the Thai baht's collapse in mid-1997. A new surge in oil prices, for example, could send Wall Street crashing and take the US dollar down with it. Another possible catalyst might be a series of weak US stats this week. Or even an ill-timed statement from a senior government official or central banker - and we've seen quite a few of those in the past week.

In the background, nagging worries about the large and growing US current account deficit refuse to go away. At 6 per cent of GDP, the current shortfall requires fresh inflows of more than US$1 billion into the US economy each day - just to stabilise the greenback. And what's scarier is that some believe the shortfall can only grow. We've recently heard estimates that it could hit 8 to 10 per cent of GDP if something is not done to fix it. And the sooner, the better.

Until recently, the twin deficits did not seem to present any urgent problem, since US fiscal largesse at home, as well as American purchases of goods from abroad, were both comfortably financed by chunky capital flows from overseas. Simply put, the overseas parties who were selling most to the US ploughed the bulk of the US-dollar export proceeds back into US dollar-denominated assets.

But ominously, recent statistics that we highlighted to readers a week ago suggest that such return flows to the US could well be drying up. And events of the past week suggest that things could get worse before they get better.

more...

[54anickel]

29. Dollar Loses Confidence Vote

Not sure if this was posted yesterday or not. If so, I apologize for the redundancy.

http://www.forexnews.com/AI/default.asp

The US consumer confidence index falls to 92.8 in October, from a revised 96.7 in September, posting its lowest level since April’s 93.30. The consumer expectations index fell to 92.0 from 97.7 while the jobs hard to get index dropped to 27.8 from 28.0.

With president Bush and Senator Kerry running neck and neck in most polls and rising chances of an impasse in swing States, there are chances that the presidential election may not be decided on November 2nd. Such scenario would only intensify the declines in equities and the dollar, as speculators recycle funds into bonds and gold. The dollar index has reached 84.90, less than 0.5 points away from February’s 9-year lows of 84.56.


The chart below shows the revolution of the stock market as illustrated by the Dow Jones Industrial Index since the first Presidential debate of September 30th. The progression of the debates led to a further narrowing in President Bush’s lead from double to single digits, diminishing chances of a pro-markets incumbent victory.

Did Stocks Lose Confidence After Kerry Led the Debates?



What’s different about the current euro rally

Unlike in February, when the euro highs were accompanied by oil prices in their mid $30s, today’s euro climb is accompanied by a record highs oil prices, a better growth outlook in the Eurozone and higher inflation risks in the Eurozone and Germany (note yesterday’s German CPI to 2.1% from 1.8%). Thus, we do not expect the ECB to rush to the wires and issue tough interventionist rhetoric, as was the case in February, when the risks of a higher currency clearly outweighed their benefits on containing oil-fuelled inflation. Today, the ECB finds the euros’ appreciation to be more advantageous in containing inflationary expectations, thus enabling it to hold off from a monetary policy tightening.

more...

[54anickel]

30. Excellent article there from Aljazeera, UIA. Quite disturbing. n/t

[54anickel]

43. Mid-East power to grow as oil surges

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,11205898%255E643,00.html

SOARING global energy demand will leave the West increasingly in thrall to the Middle East, the world's energy watchdog has warned.

The International Energy Agency yesterday forecast that the world's daily burn rate for oil would rise by almost half over the next 25 years, to 121 million barrels a day, as global energy consumption rises inexorably.

The IEA predicts that demand for energy of all types will soar by 59 per cent by 2030, leaving developed economies increasingly dependent on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

By 2030 the oil cartel's Middle Eastern members would provide half of the world's supplies of crude oil, the agency said in its annual assessment in the World Energy Outlook.

Dependency on the Middle East would also heighten the risk of supply disruptions from political turmoil or terrorist strikes.

more...

[UpInArms]

2. Murphy Oil 3Q Profit Jumps on Oil Prices

http://www.forbes.com/business/energy/feeds/ap/2004/10/26/ap1611542.html

Oil and gas producer Murphy Oil Corp. on Tuesday said its third-quarter profits soared on increasing oil prices, beating industry estimates.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company reported earnings of $118.7 million, or $1.27 per share, up from $68.7 million, or 74 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Earnings in the most recent quarter included income from discontinued operations of 3 cents per share related to the sale of assets in Western Canada, as well as a $24.6 million gain from the sale of property in Britain and Malaysia.

Income from continuing operations was $115.8 million, or $1.24 per share, up from $66.8 million, or 72 cents per share, in the same period of 2003, while total revenue grew to $2.29 billion from $1.25 billion a year earlie

...more...

[UpInArms]

3. Is AIG's Hank Greenberg next?

http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/26/news/fortune500/aig_outlook/

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The recent federal and state investigations aimed at global insurer American International Group are leading investors to wonder if Chairman Maurice "Hank" Greenberg may soon retire due to so-called regulatory fatigue.

Greenberg, a 79-year-old icon of the insurance industry who has headed AIG since 1967, may succumb to the same pressures that last year finally forced former Citigroup chairman and chief executive Sandford Weill to give up his top spot, industry experts said.

Like Weill did in 2003, Greenberg now faces a series of state and federal probes.

<snip>

New York-based AIG is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in the world.

"The company's credibility and integrity is being questioned like it never has been before," said Clifford Gallant, an insurance analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.

And according to analyst Michael Paisan at Legg, Mason, Wood, Walker, AIG the company and Hank Greenberg the man are "intertwined."

<snip>

"What's really worrisome is what Mr. Spitzer is going to do next," said Burnham, who holds 50,000 shares of AIG worth $2.8 million. "I don't know what wrongdoing AIG might have done. I would be very inclined to buy more of AIG but I don't know what Spitzer has up his sleeve."

...more...

[UpInArms]

4. U.S. Sept. durable-goods orders up 0.2% (not good)

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?guid={6FAE2ED9-9B56-4FAD-BAE8-D06BEF00DB80}&siteid=mktw&dist=bnb

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - New orders for U.S.-made durable goods increased 0.2 percent in September, held back by a big drop in orders for transportation goods, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Excluding the 3.6 percent drop in transportation goods, orders for durable goods increased 1.7 percent. Economists were expecting orders to rise about 0.4 percent in September, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch. Meanwhile, shipments of durable goods fell 1.2 percent in September, the biggest drop in 13 months. Unfilled orders rose 0.7 percent while inventories increased 0.3 percent. Orders for core capital goods - a proxy for business investment in equipment - rose 2.6 percent, the most in six months.

[ozymandius]

5. WrapUp by Ike Iossif

PART 1: THE TECHNICAL PICTURE

-cut past many charts-

"Foreign Central Bank Buying Drives The US Stock Market 10/23/04

Sufficient demand to drive expansion of the bubble will only be forthcoming if rates continue to fall. The demand for credit at rates at, or above, current levels has been met. Further declines are only likely if foreign central banks keep the US government on the dole. There have been signs at recent Treasury Suctions that they may be pulling the plug, or at least cutting back. Recently as well, the Fed's custodial holdings for foreign governments has stopped growing, an indication that Uncle Fukui, Uncle Dung and others are slamming on the brakes. What does that matter? Simple. Without the subsidization of our markets by foreigners, in particular the central banks of Japan and China, and organizations like OPEC, the prices of US financial assets, in particular stocks, will fall. The correlation between foreign central bank buying of Treasuries and the performance of US stock prices is direct and undeniable, as the chart below illustrates. Since May of 2003 the SPX has directly mimicked the 8 week moving average of the 4 week rate of change in the Fed's foreign custodial holdings.



The US gummit, thieving corporations, thieving corporate insiders, and the Wall Street distribution machine are creating such an enormous supply of securities all the time, that unless foreign central banks continue to add to their holdings at an annualized rate of increase of 30% or so, there is not enough demand to support all the new toilet paper flooding the market. To those who say that our foreign benefactors will keep this up indefinitely I say, Gimme a break! The evidence of the last 6 months says that either they will not, or they cannot.

Consumer borrowing, (and hence, consumer spending) is beginning to break down.

When the cash from the refi bulge came through between March and May, consumers reduced their direct unsecured borrowing. That ended May 12, at a real estate loans peak. Consumers then went on a credit card binge. The record for this series was set on June 16, at $678.7 billion, up 7% in the prior 12 months. Since then the trend has been flat, raising the question of whether consumers are just taking a breather or are finally tapped out. That question was answered this week. Meanwhile, economists were surprised that total consumer debt was down as reported in early October. What were they looking at? It was clear from the weekly commercial banking data, what was going on.

-cut-

The failure of the money supply to move very much on the recent expansion of credit in the banking system suggests that the real engine of money creation, GSE mortgage credit, which is not reflected in banking data, may be faltering. We were talking about this before the OFHEO report on the problems of FNMA became public. The MoGauge has been sputtering for months. Actual retained portfolio data from the GSE's themselves is only released with a 6 week lag, (Fannie, Freddie) so it is not of much help in terms of what's happening in real time. The announcement that Fannie will have to hold higher cash reserves is the precursor to tighter liquidity in general.

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

[ozymandius]

6. Stocks Seen Near Unchanged at Opening

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures trimmed early losses and pointed to a flat open on Wednesday as oil prices remain near record highs while Wall Street pulls back a bit from Tuesday's broad rally.

-cut-

S&P 500 futures were down 1 point, slightly below fair value accounting for dividends, interest rates and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial index futures fell 4 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.5 points.

"I think we're seeing a little bit of a pull back after yesterday's surge, as the price of oil is still around $55," said Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst and chief strategist at SW Bach and Co. Cardillo also said that the extremely tight U.S. presidential election and the uncertainty of its outcome will continue to weigh on the market.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=1196&e=1&u=/nm/bs_nm/markets_stocks_dc&sid=95609877

Funny, how there was such little talk of oil yesterday.

[UpInArms]

7. pre-opening blather

briefing.com

9:16 ET S&P futures vs fair value: -0.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.0. Little change in the futures makret over the course of the past 30 minutes or so... accordingly, the cash market remains poised to start the session on a relatively flat note... New Home Sales report will be released at 10:00 ET; consensus estimate is pegged at 1150K

8:56AM: S&P futures vs fair value: -0.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.5.

8:33AM: S&P futures vs fair value: -1.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.5. Volatile durable goods report was released and caused little stir in the futures market... to that end, the total number of +0.2% was a bit weaker than the consensus estimate of 0.5%, but the ex-transportation number was stronger than expected at +1.7% (consensus +0.4%)... non-defense capital goods orders, ex-aircraft, which is a proxy for business investment, rose a respectable 2.6%

8:11AM: S&P futures vs fair value: -1.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.0. Futures market showing some reserve this morning after yesterday's sizable blue chip advance... Presently, indications point to a relatively flat start for the cash market... Procter & Gamble (PG) and Boeing (BA) are leading today's earnings parade with each Dow component posting better than expected results

ino.com

The December NASDAQ 100 was slightly lower overnight as it consolidates below initial support marked by the 10-day moving average crossing at 1446.10. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near-term. Closes below this month's low crossing at 1419 would confirm a breakout below the August-September uptrend line thereby signaling that a double top has been posted. Closes above last week's high crossing at 1482.50 are needed to keep the rally off August's low alive. The December NASDAQ 100 was down 2.00 pts. at 1441.50 as of 5:53 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to lower opening by the NASDAQ composite index later this morning.

The December S&P 500 index was lower overnight due to light profit taking as it consolidates some of Tuesday's rally, which led to a close above the 10-day moving average crossing at 1104.85 signaling that a short-term low has been posted. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold and are turning bullish signaling sideways to higher prices are possible near-term. If December extends this week's rebound, a test of last week's reaction high crossing at 1118.30 is the next upside target. The December S&P 500 Index was down 3.20 pts. at 1108.30 as of 5:56 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to weaker opening when the day session begins later this morning.

[UpInArms]

9. 9:47 EST numbers and blather

Dow 9,855.74 -32.74 (-0.33%)
Nasdaq 1,928.43 -0.36 (-0.02%)
S&P 500 1,108.33 -2.76 (-0.25%)
10-Yr Bond 3.976% -0.013

NYSE Volume 90,714,000
Nasdaq Volume 162,104,000

9:45 ET A sluggish start for the equity market with the major indices just below the unchanged mark... Hefty gains netted in yesterday's session, combined with another rise in the price of crude oil (to $55.28/bbl) ahead of this week's inventory report at 10:30 ET, have dimmed the spirits of buyers... The September Durable Orders report also didn't provide much of an impetus for upside as the figure (at +0.2%) came in under the consensus estimate (of +0.5%), but the ex-transportation figure handily topped the market's expectation of 0.4%... The last economic report of the day will be released at 10 ET... September New Home Sales are expected to decline to 1.15 mln... ..NYSE Adv/Dec /. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec /.

[ozymandius]

10. 9:51 and mixed

Dow 9,865.02 -23.46 (-0.24%)
Nasdaq 1,930.20 +1.41 (+0.07%)
S&P 500 1,109.38 -1.71 (-0.15%)
10-Yr Bond 3.976% -0.013
NYSE Volume 110,266,000
Nasdaq Volume 192,243,000

[ozymandius]

11. Here's some blather.

U.S. stocks open in the red


NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Stocks opened to the downside Wednesday morning, seeing no follow through to the previous session's rally, even amid a number of bullish profit reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI - News) was down 35 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,853 in the opening minutes of trade while the Nasdaq Composite Index (NasdaqSC:^IXIC - News) slipped about a point to 1,928 and the Standard & Poor's 500 (CBOE:^SPX - News) lost 3 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,108.

-cut-

Checking other markets, the dollar got a slight lift, but remained lower on the day against its major rivals, as details found within a U.S. durable goods orders report proved much stronger than the report's headline number.

-cut-

Meanwhile, shipments of durable goods fell 1.2 percent in September, the biggest drop in 13 months.

http://biz.yahoo.com/cbsm-top/041027/ab5f504d7253cc43eacb795546fda893_1.html

[UpInArms]

12. U.S. Sept. new home sales up 3.5% to 1.21 mln units

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38287.4172222222-824853447&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Sales of new homes in the United States unexpectedly rose 3.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.206 million units, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It's the highest level since May and the third highest level on record. Economists had been expecting a decline to about 1.14 million units, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch. Meanwhile, the number of new homes sold in August was revised lower to 1.165 million from the 1.184 million estimated last month.

10:00am 10/27/04 U.S. AUG. NEW HOME SALES REVISED TO 1.17 MLN FROM 1.18

10:00am 10/27/04 U.S. SEPT. NEW HOME SALES UP 3.5% TO 1.21 MLN UNITS

10:00am 10/27/04 U.S. SEPT. NEW HOME SALES LEVEL IS 3RD HIGHEST EVER

10:00am 10/27/04 U.S. SEPT. NEW HOME SALES FORECAST WAS 1.14 MLN UNITS

[UpInArms]

33. more indepth article here

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BDB86F769%2D5102%2D4DEA%2DB3C1%2D70FE9525F188%7D&siteid=mktw

U.S. Sept. new home sales rise 3.5%
Sales hit 1.206 million units, third highest level on record

WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Sales of new homes in the United States unexpectedly rose 3.5 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.206 million units, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

It's the highest level since May and the third highest level on record. Economists had been expecting a decline to about 1.14 million units, according to a survey conducted by CBS MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.

Economists had expected depressed sales as a result of the hurricanes that ravaged the Southeast last month.

<snip>

The government cautions that its housing data are subject to large sampling and other statistical errors. It can take six months for a new trend in new home sales to be established.

Over the past six months, new home sales have averaged a 1.181 million annual rate, down from 1.192 million computed for the same interval last month.

...more...

[UpInArms]

13. 10:04 EST numbers and blather

Dow 9,842.83 -45.65 (-0.46%)
Nasdaq 1,926.95 -1.84 (-0.10%)
S&P 500 1,107.55 -3.54 (-0.32%)
10-Yr Bond 3.972% -0.017

NYSE Volume 173,962,000
Nasdaq Volume 285,526,000

10:00AM: Indices slip a bit lower as selling mounts in the blue chips... Banking, industrial, basic material, telecom service, and airline have led the market lower and offset buying seen in multiple groups (managed care, drug) of health care... The Nasdaq, however, has not drifted far from the flat line thanks to relative strength seen in semiconductor, disk drive, and software.... The latter has been boosted by an upwardly revised Q4 (Nov) outlook from Adobe Systems (ADBE 53.89 +0.17)...

Separately, September New Home sales was just released and came in at 1.206 mln - higher than the consensus estimate of 1.15 mln... So far, there has been little response from the stock market...NYSE Adv/Dec 1544/1027, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1236/1096

[ozymandius]

18. recovering a bit at 10:17

Dow 9,863.40 -25.08 (-0.25%)
Nasdaq 1,931.58 +2.79 (+0.14%)
S&P 500 1,109.31 -1.78 (-0.16%)
10-Yr Bond 3.964% -0.025
NYSE Volume 231,468,000
Nasdaq Volume 358,585,000

[54anickel]

14. US Trade Deficit No Cause for Alarm-Evans

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?jsessionid=DF0XHXGZ0IASGCRBAE0CFFA?type=businessNews&storyID=6619548

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans on Tuesday brushed off financial market concerns about America's massive trade deficit and stressed that a recent sharp uptick was fueled in part by surging energy prices.

"There's no reason to be alarmed about the trade deficit," Evans told Reuters a week before the Nov. 2 presidential election as the U.S. dollar tried to struggle back from heavy recent losses partly caused by worries about the trade gap.

snip>

In an interview, Evans said while the trade deficit was "something you keep you eye on" it reflected faster economic growth in the United States than in other big economies and had been pushed up by more costly and larger oil and gas imports.

snip>

"The last time we had a trade surplus was when we were in recession in the 1991-92 period. And the one period before that when we had a substantial trade surplus, we were in a depression," Evans said.

The long-time friend of President Bush argued one of the best ways to trim the gap was to negotiate more free trade agreements.

"Eighty percent of our trade deficit is with countries we do not have a free trade agreement with. And so it sure seems like to me we need to continue the president's policy of more free trade agreements," Evans said.

more laughs at the article, I've already posted too much...

[UpInArms]

15. Don Evans needs to forfeit his pay and have it applied to this

The estimated population of the United States is 294,640,785
so each citizen's share of this debt is $25,250.69.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$1.67 billion per day since September 30, 2003

[54anickel]

21. It's a good thing! Everywhere you turn there is positive data, nothing to

worry about here. Nothing to see - move along.

"Just every place that I look I see very positive optimistic data telling us the trends are our friends," he said, saying this was also the case with jobs numbers.

[UpInArms]

16. Crude futures steady, hold above $55 ahead of data

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38287.4203587963-824853866&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- December crude is up a penny at $55.18 a barrel in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. supply updates from the Energy Department and American Petroleum Institute are due after 10:30 a.m. Eastern. Many analysts expect to see a climb in crude inventories for the week ended Oct. 22, along with a decrease in distillate and gasoline supplies.

[UpInArms]

24. distillates down 2.4 million barrels

10:32am 10/27/04 U.S. DISTILLATE STKS DOWN 2.4 MLN BRLS: ENERGY DEPT

10:31am 10/27/04 U.S. CRUDE STKS UP 4 MLN BRLS LAST WK: ENERGY DEPT

10:31am 10/27/04 U.S. GAS STKS UP 1.3 MLN BRLS LAST WK: ENERGY DEPT

[UpInArms]

26. Oil prices fall as Energy Dept posts crude stock rise

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38287.4423726852-824856374&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- December crude in New York is down 17 cents at $55 a barrel after the Energy Department said crude supplies rose 4 million barrels to 283.4 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 22. Distillate inventories, however, fell for a sixth week, down 2.4 million barrels at 116.6 million barrels. Gasoline stocks rose by 1.3 million barrels to total 201.2 million barrels. November heating oil is down 0.31 cent at $1.565 a gallon and November unleaded gasoline is down 0.75 cent at $1.405 a gallon.

Who cares if distillates fell again? Whee! Up is down and down is up!

[ozymandius]

19. Have a wonderful day, folks.

I am going out of town, to return sometime this evening.

Have fun at the Casino!

Ozy :hi:

[54anickel]

22. Bye Ozy, have a safe journey. n/t

[UpInArms]

25. safe journeys to you Ozy!

:hi:

[54anickel]

20. Canada's Dodge Says Interest Rates Will Rise Again

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=a8HhIkSIpUow&refer=canada

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge said the central bank will raise interest rates for the third time this year to slow inflation amid record oil prices and accelerating economic growth.

``Over time, we are going to have to move interest rates up, but we are very careful to point out that we aren't in the situation where we see the economy driving lickety-split right through capacity, and so we will watch developments carefully to determine the pace at which we move,'' Dodge told the House of Commons Finance Committee in Ottawa.

Dodge's comments echo ones he made last week after raising rates for a the second time in two months, citing oil prices and an unexpected gain in exports that moved the economy close to full output. The central bank will probably raise borrowing costs at its Dec. 7 policy announcement by a quarter point to 2.75 percent, trading in interest-rate futures suggests.

snip>

Canada's dollar is being ``pushed up'' by higher prices for the commodities that make up 30 percent of the country's exports, and by a falling U.S. currency, Dodge said. The currency's record 21 percent gain last year has hurt exports less than expected, he told the committee.

``That may mean that there is more to come, because there are lags in this process,'' Dodge said....

more...

[TrogL]

37. I don't get it

How will raising Canadian interest rates slow inflation if the inflationary numbers are being driven by external events - the international price of oil and brain-dead US consumer debtors.

[54anickel]

23. Countrywide's CEO Mozilo Gets Crazy Bonus Plan

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_crystal&sid=arCrldQHhvus

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Angelo Mozilo, the chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., is a fine performer. And he is also finely paid, with just about the wackiest bonus plan I have ever encountered.

Measuring his performance between Feb. 3, 1998, the day before he became CEO of the Calabasas, California-based company and last Friday, Countrywide generated a 16.8 percent a year total return compared with a 2.8 percent return for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. In stock price appreciation during the same period,

Countrywide ranked in the 86th percentile of S&P 500 companies, meaning that the company outperformed all but 14 percent of the companies in the index.

The 65-year-old Mozilo's pay packages have been breathtaking, considering the size of his company. From 2001 through 2003, his total pay was, respectively, $21.2 million, $15.6 million and $31.8 million. (Total pay consists of salary; bonus; my estimate for the present value of stock options, measured on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes model; the value of free shares awarded; payouts under other long-term incentive plans; and miscellaneous compensation. Data for this article were obtained from Aon Consulting's eComp database.)

To get a better sense of how high Mozilo's compensation was in 2003, I looked at all nine other U.S. commercial banking institutions with total assets of $50 billion to $150 billion. Countrywide's total assets as of Dec. 31, 2003, were $97.9 billion.

more...

[UpInArms]

27. 11:03 EST numbers (everything's dandy!)

Dow 9,911.26 +22.78 (+0.23%)
Nasdaq 1,951.42 +22.63 (+1.17%)
S&P 500 1,115.35 +4.26 (+0.38%)
10-Yr Bond 3.968% -0.021

NYSE Volume 436,437,000
Nasdaq Volume 620,068,000

[UpInArms]

28. adding blather

11:00AM: Equities shift into the green following the better than expected crude oil inventories report... The Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed a 4 mln barrel rise (consensus of +800K) in crude oil inventories, a 1.3 mln barrel rise in gasoline inventories (consensus of +675K), and a 2.4 mln fall in distillate inventories (consensus of -750K)...Crude oil initially spiked on the report to new record highs, but has since dropped and is now showing slight losses for the day... Stocks have come roaring back on the dip, surging to their best levels under the auspices of a strong tech sector...

Bonds, conversely, have given back some and are now close to unchanged...NYSE Adv/Dec 1638/1318, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1396/1298

[Zorra]

31. Bu$h sugar daddies for the rest of the week? n/t

[UpInArms]

32. Mortgage rates likely to move up slowly (6.5% by Y/E)

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B0F27E923%2DB308%2D4D06%2DA216%2D6C3FD83FBEB2%7D&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Mortgage rates are likely to move only slightly higher through the end of this year, and then rise gradually throughout 2005 until they hit about 6.5 percent by year-end, according to the latest forecast from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Doug Duncan, the MBA's chief economist, delivered his economic outlook and interest-rate assessment at the organization's annual convention here Wednesday.

"Any way you cut it, these are still good interest rates," Duncan said.

Despite three interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve in the second half, the national average rate on the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage has actually fallen to its lowest level in six months, just under 5.7 percent, according to the most recent data from Freddie Mac.

And while Duncan expects the Fed to raise rates once again at its November meeting, he said the U.S. central bank is likely to pause in its series of increases after that to assess just where the economy is headed.

"The economy has been growing at over 3 1/2 percent annually since 2001. The thing is, we haven't been adding as many jobs as we would have expected with that level of growth," Duncan said. "Corporate capital expenditures are still lower than they have been in the last two or three expansions."

...more...

But there are "risks" he says. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

34. 1:17 EST numbers and blather

Dow 9,979.32 +90.84 (+0.92%)
Nasdaq 1,963.42 +34.63 (+1.80%)
S&P 500 1,122.13 +11.04 (+0.99%)
10-Yr Bond 4.039% +0.050

NYSE Volume 951,502,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,211,501,000

12:55PM: The bulls remain in charge of the action with the indices well above the unchanged mark... The Nasdaq (+1.5%) continues to lead the Dow (+0.5%) and S&P 500 (+0.6%) as tech and biotech remain winning groups for the session... Despite the relatively smaller gains, the Dow continues to perform very well with 26 of its issues showing gains... Procter & Gamble (PG 51.32 -1.89) has been one of the only laggards - chalking up losses of nearly 4%...

The company showed upside to the top and bottom-line estimates in the Q3 (Sept) report, but analysts such as Goldman Sachs, for instance, has pointed out that EPS upside was driven more by favorable other income...NYSE Adv/Dec 2028/1124, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1780/1149

12:30PM: Stocks hold around their earlier highs as buyers remain persistent... Advancers are outpacing decliners by a roughly 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE and Nasdaq, and up volume is leading down volume by a 2-to-1 margin at the NYSE and a 4-to-1 margin at the Nasdaq... Traders are rotating into tech after sending the blue chips disproportionately higher yesterday... The bond market, conversely, is being hit by selling across the curve... Traders have taken profits in response to the equities' spike higher and the fall in crude oil prices...

Should crude oil halt its treacherous climb, it would suggest the global economy is still on track and would thus lessen the appeal of bonds...NYSE Adv/Dec 2073/1036, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1758/1130

[loudsue]

35. Thanks, Marketeers!

:yourock: Thanks for keeping us up to date! :yourock:

:kick::kick::kick:

[MARALE]

36. 10,000 before elections?

There does not seem to be enough good news for this rally, are there some that are trying to get it above 10,00 before Tues. in support of *bush? Any ideas on this?

[ramapo]

39. Doesn't matter

Nobody is going to change their vote because the Dow hits 10K

[JNelson6563]

38. Humble contribution to today's Mighty SWT

1:58 and here's how it's lookin':

Dow 9,977.13 +88.65 (+0.90%)
Nasdaq 1,962.99 +34.20 (+1.77%)
S&P 500 1,121.91 +10.82 (+0.97%)
10-Yr Bond 4.064% +0.075

Hope it's all good with you Marketeers, great thread as usual!

Julie

[ECH1969]

40. Currently

The Dow up +105.58
The Nasdaq up +35.84

[ECH1969]

41. The Dow is over 10000 again

[54anickel]

42. 2:33 update - altitiude leveling off somewhat for the past hour

Dow 9,994.37 +105.89 (+1.07%)
Nasdaq 1,963.68 +34.89 (+1.81%)
S&P 500 1,123.51 +12.42 (+1.12%)
10-yr Bond 4.07% +0.081
30-yr Bond 4.827% +0.065
NYSE Volume 1,217,224,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,497,794,000

2:30PM: Equity market remains on a course of new session highs as conviction on the part of buyers remains strong... Breadth figures continue to be bullish, sector participation widespread, and technical developments constructive.. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have both successfully breached their 200-day simple moving averages (with the S&P 500 having taken out its 50-day moving average as well)... The improvement comes on heavier than average volume has prompted more buying in just about every industry group... Meanwhile, it has only provoked more selling in treasuries...
The price of crude oil has continued to decline, now down over 4% to $52.90/bbl, which has affected trading in both stocks and bonds...NYSE Adv/Dec 2143/1078, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1915/1077

2:00PM: Still plenty of gains up on the board as sellers remain a scarce bunch... So far, they have limited their activity to household product (Procter & Gamble, in response to its Q3 earnings report) and insurance... AFLAC delivered a better than expected Q3 (Sept) report last night, but then issued soft guidance for Q4 (Dec)... The company attributed its shortfall to its intention to spend more on marketing expenses to stimulate sales... The stock was then downgraded at Prudential, SunTrust, and Goldman Sachs...

Other insurance areas - such as broker - have held up much better, though, following Marsh McLennan's (MMC 28.75 -0.12) conference call this morning... For details, check out Briefing.com's In Play page, a Platinum product...NYSE Adv/Dec 2081/1123, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1862/1121

Advances & Declines
NYSE Nasdaq
Advances 2129 (62%) 1899 (59%)
Declines 1101 (32%) 1097 (34%)
Unchanged 159 (4%) 179 (5%)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up Vol* 789 (68%) 1155 (79%)
Down Vol* 348 (30%) 272 (18%)
Unch. Vol* 8 (0%) 17 (1%)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Hi's 194 132
New Lo's 24 47

[loudsue]

46. Rove said early on if Dow is over 10,000 on 11/2, shrub will win

So...are all his millionaire friends, both in the US & Saudi Arabia, putting their nickels on the line to try to make that come true?

There's no way in hell, with the financial situation in the US, that this could happen without some sort of hanky panky going on behind the scenes.

:kick::kick:

[54anickel]

47. I'll agree it does seem rather fishy, but it could very well be some

big-B lil'-argain hunters the past couple of days. If some chips aren't taken off of the table for safe-keeping for the week-end I will definitely smell at rat.

Could be rich friends, the PPT abusing the repos more than usual or just plain bargain-hunting idiots. :shrug:

[54anickel]

48. Look at those closing numbers compared to today's wrap up. It's

like they were targeting what he printed. Sort of spooky, aint it?

On the S&P:

In order for the bullish case to stay alive, 3 conditions must be met next week:

1. The SP must remain above 1091.68. (1091.68 is the line in the sand.)
2. It must close above its 50 hour m.a. at 1106.
3. Then it must follow thru with a close above 1126.

If all three conditions are met, the probability--according to our system--of a further rally to 1145, will stand at 66.67%. A failure at any of these 3 points, especially at 1091.68, will eliminate most of the bullish possibilities. If the SP closes below 1091.68, the probability--according to our system--of a further decline to 1080, will stand at 87.18%, and if the SP closes below 1080, the probability--according to our system--of a further decline to 1055 will stand at 62.57%,

On the NASDAQ:

Notice that the 1887 level represents both channel support, and also a 38.2% Fib. re-tracement level. In order for the bullish case to stay alive, 3 conditions must be met next week:

1. NASDAQ must remain above 1887.
2. It must close above its 50 hour m.a. at 1925.
3. Then, it must follow thru with a close above 1960.

If all three conditions are met, the probability--according to our system--of a further rally to 2020 will stand at 72.15%. A failure at any of these 3 points, especially at 1887, will eliminate most of the bullish possibilities. If NASDAQ closes below 1887, the probability--according to our system--of a further decline to 1835, will stand at 85.76%, and if NASDAQ closes below 1835, the probability--according to our system--of a further decline to 1750 will stand at 61.88%,


It must be noted that both NASDAQ and the SP have held above critical support at 1887 and 1091 respectively. Consequently, by definition the trend is still UP, and the bears are not in complete control yet, despite Friday's decline.

[54anickel]

44. 3:19 and soaring like an eagle

Is that Greenspin I hear singing "I've got a pocketful of miracles"?

Dow 10,008.52 +120.04 (+1.21%)
Nasdaq 1,968.57 +39.78 (+2.06%)
S&P 500 1,125.24 +14.15 (+1.27%)
10-yr Bond 4.087% +0.098
30-yr Bond 4.844% +0.082
NYSE Volume 1,427,348,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,723,255,000

2:30PM: Equity market remains on a course of new session highs as conviction on the part of buyers remains strong... Breadth figures continue to be bullish, sector participation widespread, and technical developments constructive.. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have both successfully breached their 200-day simple moving averages (with the S&P 500 having taken out its 50-day moving average as well)... The improvement (which comes on heavier than average volume) has prompted more buying in just about every industry group... Meanwhile, it has only provoked more selling in treasuries...
The price of crude oil has continued to decline, now down over 4% to $52.90/bbl, which has affected trading in both stocks and bonds...NYSE Adv/Dec 2143/1078, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1915/1077

2:00PM: Still plenty of gains up on the board as sellers remain a scarce bunch... So far, they have limited their activity to household product (Procter & Gamble, in response to its Q3 earnings report) and insurance... AFLAC delivered a better than expected Q3 (Sept) report last night, but then issued soft guidance for Q4 (Dec)... The company attributed its shortfall to its intention to spend more on marketing expenses to stimulate sales... The stock was then downgraded at Prudential, SunTrust, and Goldman Sachs...

Other insurance areas - such as broker - have held up much better, though, following Marsh McLennan's (MMC 28.75 -0.12) conference call this morning... For details, check out Briefing.com's In Play page, a Platinum product...NYSE Adv/Dec 2081/1123, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1862/1121

Advances & Declines
NYSE Nasdaq
Advances 2156 (63%) 1919 (59%)
Declines 1094 (32%) 1106 (34%)
Unchanged 167 (4%) 183 (5%)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up Vol* 928 (69%) 1317 (80%)
Down Vol* 389 (29%) 312 (18%)
Unch. Vol* 13 (0%) 14 (0%)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Hi's 211 137
New Lo's 25 51

[54anickel]

45. BeigeBook summary (In case any one is interested)

http://www.federalreserve.gov/FOMC/BeigeBook/2004/20041027/Default.htm

Reports on consumer spending in September and early October were mixed by District and spending category. In contrast, business outlays appeared to pick up in most regions, with modest increases in both capital spending and hiring. Residential real estate activity remained robust in most Districts, although it slowed in some. Nonresidential activity was still relatively weak across the nation, though there were scattered signs of improvement. Manufacturing activity increased further since the last Beige Book. Household loan demand seemed to soften somewhat, but business loan demand picked up. Businesses in most Districts continued to express concern over the rising costs of energy and other inputs, although more manufacturers and business service providers were reportedly able to pass part--if not all--of these cost increases along to their customers. However, increases in wages and retail prices generally were subdued. Fall harvests were ahead of the normal pace, and yields of corn and soybeans were expected to set records in some Districts. Energy-related activities continued to increase, despite some disruptions caused by Hurricane Ivan.

Consumer spending/tourism

Consumer spending in September and early October was mixed by region and category. Many Districts indicated that retail sales were soft during the reporting period, while others noted modest improvement. Apparel sales were mixed across the nation. Unseasonably warm temperatures were blamed for weak sales of fall merchandise in the Cleveland, Chicago, and Minneapolis Districts. Hurricanes disrupted retail activity in the Atlanta District, though they did provide a boost to sales of building materials. Most retailers appeared content with inventory levels heading into the holiday shopping season. Light vehicle sales were strong in many Districts during September, although they dropped off in early October. Boston, New York, and San Francisco reported strong tourism activity, but Atlanta said that tourism "took a substantial hit because of the hurricanes." Contacts in many Districts said that high energy costs were constraining household spending, and some said the presidential election was heightening uncertainty among consumers.

Business spending/hiring

On balance, capital spending appeared to pick up modestly. Philadelphia, Chicago, and Kansas City reported that manufacturing firms increased their capital outlays, while Cleveland and St. Louis said that spending was mixed by industry segment. Chicago added that special factors, such as expiring tax incentives and changing environmental regulations, contributed to higher capital outlays. Several Districts reported strong demand for transportation services, and shipping companies were said to be purchasing equipment to keep up with rising freight volumes. With regard to other business spending, Philadelphia noted an increase in technology spending while Chicago and San Francisco reported gains in advertising.

Hiring activity varied by region and industry, but appeared to increase modestly. Nearly half of the Districts said that demand for temporary help increased since the last Beige Book, although momentum slowed in some areas. Reports of permanent hiring became more frequent, notably in manufacturing industries. Five District reports suggested a general increase in manufacturing jobs, while none indicated an outright decline. Boston noted some "sizable increases" in retail employment, and Richmond said that a broad array of service-producing firms were adding workers. Hiring reportedly improved in financial services (New York and Minneapolis) and transportation (Dallas) as well.

Some Districts continued to report isolated shortages of workers in particular occupations such as skilled manufacturing (Boston, Chicago), truck drivers (Cleveland), and upper-level finance occupations (Minneapolis). In addition, some Districts noted signs of more broad-based firming of labor markets. New York said "there are fewer people seeking (office worker) positions;" contacts in the Richmond District suggested there were "fewer qualified candidates to fill permanent positions;" Chicago noted there were "fewer applications for open positions;" and Minneapolis indicated that "labor markets have tightened for a number of industries."

yada, yada, yada...

[54anickel]

49. Closing time Blather sounds like it was a real Rally - no monkey business

Dow 10,002.03 +113.55 (+1.15%)
Nasdaq 1,969.99 +41.20 (+2.14%)
S&P 500 1,125.40 +14.31 (+1.29%)
10-yr Bond 4.087% +0.098
30-yr Bond 4.844% +0.082
NYSE Volume 1,747,912,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,090,598,000

Close: It started out as another dull day in stocks, but the market exploded around 10:45 ET under a wave of broad-based buying... The catalyst for the appreciation was a greater than expected rise in weekly oil inventories...Crude oil inventories increased 4 mln barrels (consensus of 800K) and gasoline inventories rose 1.3 mln barrels (consensus of 675K), helping to put to rest concerns about meeting winter demand... As a result, crude oil experienced its largest decline in 5 weeks as the price fell 5% to $52.46/bbl at the close...
The rapid plunge prompted a huge swoon in buying that only accelerated as the day went on... Technology was at the forefront of the advance, and saw brokerage, biotech, transportation, homebuilding, drug, retail, and homebuilding join its ranks... The latter was boosted by a 3.5% increase in September New Home Sales to 1.206 mln (consensus of 1.15 mln) for the the third strongest level on record... In general, sector participation was widespread and translated into extremely bullish breadth figures that were accented by heavy volume levels... Energy was the only real sector to fall behind, and that was due to the crude oil decrease...

Economic reports largely had little impact on trading today, with September Durable Orders coming in at 0.2% (consensus of +0.5%) and the ex-transportation figure checking in at 1.7% (consensus of +0.4%).... Comments from the Fed's Beige Book - in which memebers commented the economy 'showed continued economic expansion through early October' - were largely ignored given the late date of the dataNYSE Adv/Dec 2286/1017, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 2143/927

3:30PM : Market remains on fire as its continues to top previous best levels... All areas of technology (semiconductor, computer hardware, networking, software) plus financial, transportation, health care, and retail have surged higher in the afternoon rally... Only utility has bucked the trend and experienced selling pressure today (in response to the rapid price of crude oil fall)... Tonight, the market will digest several earnings reports from industry leaders such as Biogen IDEC (BIIB 58.19 +1.51), JDS Uniphase (JDSU 3.49 +0.10), and Plexus (PLXS 11.74 +0.50)...

Readers can check Briefing.com's After Hours Report for a rundown on the proceedings...NYSE Adv/Dec 2147/1110, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1982/1055



And the US Buck-a-roo took off about the same time 11:00am, looking at the chart. See, it's all good - nothing but blue skies from now on.

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

Last trade 85.41 Change +0.22 (+0.26%)

Settle 85.44 Settle Time 16:36

Open 85.32 Previous Close 85.21

High 85.51 Low 84.79


Anyone else notice that repos have become a daily occurence the past couple of months? Didn't it used to be 2, maybe 3 times a week? Or is my imagination running away again? :shrug:

http://www.321gold.com/fed/temp_bank_res.html