STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 27 April

[ozymandius]

Wednesday April 27, 2005

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 3 YEARS, 269 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 4 YEARS, 135 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 3 YEARS, 191 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1249
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 2
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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON April 26, 2005

Dow... 10,151.13 -91.34 (-0.89%)
Nasdaq... 1,927.44 -23.34 (-1.20%)
S&P 500... 1,151.74 -10.36 (-0.89%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.27% +0.02 (+0.38%)
Gold future... 439.00 +3.20 (+0.73%)

GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie




PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

[ozymandius]

1. WrapUp by Ike Iossif

THE SP500 AT A GLANCE

I figure that for today we'll take a look at some of what we call our "core indicators" as they apply to the SP500.

1. The first indicator we look at is the "Trend Indicator." At a glance it can immediately tell us if the intermediate trend is negative, positive, or neutral. It is comprised of two components: the 20 day trend, and the 10 day trend. If both of them are pointing in the same direction, the overall intermediate term trend for the market is of the same direction as well.

As we can see from the chart below, both the 10- and the 20-day components are declining, which means that the intermediate term trend for the SP500, remains negative.



2. The second indicator we look at is the S25. The S25 is "composite" indicator that is made up of all the 25 indicators that are in our arsenal on a regular basis. If it is above zero, it means the plurality of the indicators are above zero, indicating a generally positive technical background. If it is below zero, it means the plurality of the indicators are below zero, indicating a generally negative technical background.

Negative SI25 suggests the path of least resistance is to the downside.

more...

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

[jamesinca]

2. Morning Ozzy

good cartoon today. Has anybody noticed that yesterday the Dow closed down 4.1% from when Bush took office and that is why we should invest in, I mean not invest Social Security in the market. That was my morning snark.

[ozymandius]

5. Good morning James.

Those numbers are really sobering. Soft securities have gotten the attention of news writers in describing the shakiness of Bush's SS piratization.

[AnneD]

28. priatizaton....lol

good snark...we're in grand form today.

[UpInArms]

3. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 84.29 Change +0.33 (+0.39%)

Red-Hot Housing Market Fuels Dollar Rally

http://www.dailyfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=864&Itemid=39

US Dollar

The red-hot housing market here in the US is providing a strong cause of optimism ahead of next week's Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting. Although yesterday's existing home sales report also showed improving conditions, new home sales has been leading the pack. Across the nation, developers have been tearing down existing homes and replacing them with new multiple dwelling complexes. The 12.2% rise to 1.431 million has been driven by low interest rates and steady employment growth. This new trend has made it a banner year for the housing market with today's report reflecting the strongest annualized new home sales growth on record. In fact, home sales, which tends to take the back seat to the US consumer confidence report actually steered the dollar for most of the day. The market completely shrugged off the 5.3-point drop in consumer confidence. This is the third consecutive month of more pessimism amongst consumers who are certainly frustrated with the sharp rise in gasoline prices during the month of March. Yet, there is reason for the market to focus more on the housing market than confidence. The rise in new home sales confirms that the Fed's work is far from done while the relationship between confidence and consumer spending has broken down over the past year. The index averaged 96 in 2004, when consumer spending increased by the most in four years.

...more...

US Dollar – What Are The Most Market Moving Economic Indicators?

http://www.dailyfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=819&Itemid=39

While most participants in the FX market are purely technicians, it has been estimated that 25% of all foreign exchange dealers trade with fundamentals, compared to 30% who use technicals. Among the speculative day trading community, this ratio is probably even more weighted towards technicals. However, as we have all learned throughout the past year, fundamental releases have become increasingly important market movers. Based upon our observations, the most significant movements in the dollar (against the euro) tend to occur in the first 20 minutes following the release.

Relative importance of data changes over time

The relative importance of economic releases also tend to evolve with time. In 1992, the trade balance was the number one market moving US economic release on a 20-minute basis while non-farm payrolls (and unemployment data) was the third. In 2004, these two indicators switched places with non-farm payrolls being the biggest market mover for the dollar and the trade balance taking third place. Intuitively this finding makes sense as the market shifts its attention to different economic sectors and data—for example, trade balances may take precedence when a country is seen to be running unsustainable deficits. Similarly, in an economy that has difficulty creating jobs, unemployment data will be viewed by the market as more important.

According to a paper written by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) conducted in 1999, the importance of economic data was ranked as the following:

FX Dealer Ranking of Importance of Economic Data: Changes over time



What is also important to take into account is that prices do retrace throughout the course of the day, therefore the biggest 20-minute mover for the dollar may not be the most significant market mover over the course of an entire trading day. According to our own analysis of 20-minute and daily ranges, we have found and created the following rankings for economic data:



...more...

Have a Great Day Marketeers!

[UpInArms]

29. Dollar weakens after surprise durable goods orders drop

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.3614835648-834642765&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - The dollar lost strength against the yen and euro early Wednesday after news that durable goods orders last month declined 2.8%, the largest drop since September 2002 and the third consecutive monthly decline. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting orders to rise 0.3%. The euro rose to $1.2947 from $1.2927 before the news while the dollar fell to 106.07 yen from 106.20 yen.

I still want to know who these "surprised" economists are. Only someone with their head firmly inserted in a very dark place would be surprised.

Oh, wait...

[UpInArms]

53. Currencies: Dollar hit by soft patch worries after weak data

(they have a new term! Yeah! "Soft patch"!)

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B832372D3%2D0F2C%2D4996%2DB5DE%2DCDACDCD96C1E%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar was sent lower early Wednesday by renewed questions about the economy's strength, after unexpected news that orders for durable goods last month posted the largest decline in two and a half years.

The euro traded at $1.2975, up from $1.2927 before the news, while the dollar fell 0.2% to 105.91 yen. Sterling rose 0.1% to $1.9083.

Orders for durable goods declined 2.8% in March, the largest drop since September 2002 and the third consecutive monthly decline, according to the Commerce Department.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting orders to rise 0.3%.

In general, currency markets are not especially concerned about durable goods data, but market players reacted because of the large gap between the expected rise and the actual decline.

"The market sent out a smoke signal that there may not be a whole lot to this," said Bill Hoerter of Alaron Forex, predicting that the dollar is not likely to fall much further on the news.

...more...

And now we have "smoke signals" too! Yippee!

[ozymandius]

63. "smoke signals" and a "soft patch":

Recurring terms used by people who do not know jack about jack. Smoke signals? Really?

[UpInArms]

54. a peek at the buck

Last trade 83.88 Change -0.08 (-0.10%)

Settle 83.96 Settle Time 23:32

Open 84.02 Previous Close 83.96

High 84.37 Low 83.87

Last tick: 2005-04-27 09:09:12 ET
30-min delayed quote.

and from a peek at the real-time other currency charts

http://www.weblinks247.com/exrate/

it looks like it's going to get worse.

[ozymandius]

65. There's your smoke signal, alright.

Maybe the buck will do better at the fire sale.

[UpInArms]

4. Today's Reports:

Apr 27	8:30 AM	Durable Orders		Mar	-	0.0%	0.3%	0.5%	-

also, there will be reports for MBA (Mortgage Banking Association) and the EIA Petroleum Status Report.

[UpInArms]

6. Lower interest rates spark mortgage applications jump

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.2916804398-834636663&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Paced by a pickup in refinancings, the volume of mortgage applications rose 5.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ended April 22 compared to the prior week, according to the latest data compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for mortgages to purchase homes increased 3.3% on a week-to-week basis, while refinancings jumped 9.8%. Compared to this time last year, however, refinancing activity is down 14.6%, said the MBA's Michael Cevarr. Refinancings accounted for 39.3% of total applications, up from the prior week's 38.0%, while adjustable-rate mortgages slipped to 34.7% from 35.4%. The MBA also reported that contract interest rates on 30- and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages stood last week at 5.75% and 5.33%, respectively, down from 5.83% and 5.40% in the previous week. One-year ARMs saw their rates average 4.15% last week, down from 4.22% a week earlier.

[UpInArms]

18. seems to be a conflict in reporting on MBA

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/breaking/breakingnewsarticle.asp?feed=OBR&Date=20050424&ID=4391500

excerpt:

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest survey, applications for U.S. home mortgages decreased last week. Its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity fell 1.6 percent to 672.6 in the week ended April 15.

The dip in mortgage applications came despite a drop in fixed mortgage rates, which some analysts believe is an indication of waning housing demand.

Fixed 30-year mortgage rates averaged 5.83 percent last week, excluding fees, down 12 basis points from 5.95 percent the previous week, according to the MBA.

...more...

[UpInArms]

23. BAD news with Durable Goods - Orders and Inventories

U.S. March durable goods orders down 2.8%

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.3544983449-834642082&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. orders for durable goods declined 2.8% in March, the largest drop since September 2002, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting orders to rise 0.3%. This is the third consecutive month orders for durable goods have fallen. Core orders - capital equipment used by businesses - fell 4.7% after falling 2.5% in February. It was the largest decline since November 2003.

8:30am 04/27/05 U.S. MARCH DURABLE GOODS INVENTORIES UP 0.4%

8:30am 04/27/05 U.S. MARCH CORE CAPITAL GOODS ORDERS DOWN 4.7%

8:30am 04/27/05 U.S. MARCH DURABLE GOODS SHIPMENTS DOWN 0.2%

8:30am 04/27/05 U.S. MARCH DURABLE GOODS ORDERS BIGGEST DROP IN 2.5 YRS

8:30am 04/27/05 DURABLE GOODS ORDERS BELOW EXPECTACTIONS OF UP 0.3%

8:30am 04/27/05 U.S. MARCH DURABLE GOODS ORDERS DOWN 2.8%

(edited for typo)

[54anickel]

33. Ewww, capital equipment used by business down 4.7% So just when

in the heck are they going to take up the baton from consumers? Wasn't that going to be the next step according to Greenspin and friends?

So, corporations have begun repatriating their foreign earnings with that nice tax break offered to them in the Jobs Creation Act. We've seen them use the measly tax due on those funds to reduce their balance sheets (scapegoat?). Yet they don't seem to be investing it in capital goods, and the data fails to show them creating many jobs either.

Sure seems to be a lot of whole lotta M&A activity goin' on though. And that's always so good for jobs. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

34. have you noticed all the stock buyback programs

going on, also?

It looks like a lot of ploys to get the share prices jacked back up to me. :eyes:

[ozymandius]

39. file under the heading "inspiring investor confidence"

I heard an IBM spokesman last night comment on their buyback plan. He states that how else can the company better show confidence in itself than to buy its own stock, and perhaps, elevate the price.

[UpInArms]

41. don't forget about those now tax-free dividends that they upped`

along with their buyback!

Just don't talk about the 20,000 people that are going to get axed in the process.

:argh:

[54anickel]

58. Heh, there's that 50-50 chance that buybacks could create jobs though.

A New Loophole

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/3691070/c_3691078?f=TodayInFinance_Inside

snip>

Signed into law in October 2004 by President Bush, the goal of the legislation was to create jobs by offering tax breaks to U.S.-based companies. For multinationals, those breaks include a one-year tax holiday during which companies could repatriate their overseas earnings at a much lower rate — 5 percent versus 35 percent. The problem? There are no rules specifically earmarking those savings for new jobs back home.

snip>

Economists at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. predict that the tax holiday could yield as many as 600,000 new jobs. But without specific guidance, the repatriated amounts may be used to pay down debt or buy back stock, moves that might create jobs only as a side effect by potentially strengthening companies' finances. In fact, 46 percent of the 28 companies surveyed by JPMorgan Chase planned to use the funds to pay down debt. "For better or worse, Congress has enacted a law that really doesn't require much in terms of how the money would be spent," says John M. Peterson Jr., a partner at Baker & McKenzie LLP in Palo Alto, Calif.

There are many possibilities. For example, a firm could use repatriated funds to pay for research and development, but it would not need to increase its existing R&D budget incrementally, and instead could buy back stock. Then there is the worst-case scenario: a company might be able to use the funds to finance an acquisition, a move that could actually eliminate jobs.

Such a scenario is what Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and former senator John Breaux (D-La.) sought to avoid when they proposed an amendment to limit the uses of the repatriated sums to job-generation activities. But the amendment was defeated, and now the Treasury Department is working on further guidance.

more...

So what guidance did the Treasury Department come up with? Far as I can remember they couldn't use the money for CEO bonuses and options. Was there anything else" :shrug:

[UpInArms]

66. it appears that they are using the "but" sentence instead

Economists at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. predict that the tax holiday could yield as many as 600,000 new jobs. But without specific guidance, the repatriated amounts may be used to pay down debt or buy back stock, moves that might create jobs only as a side effect by potentially strengthening companies' finances.

and the jobs would only be a "side-effect" - see IBM as a prime example - 20,000 jobs to be axed.

[54anickel]

70. Then there is the worst-case scenario

a company might be able to use the funds to finance an acquisition, a move that could actually eliminate jobs.

DOH!

[UpInArms]

73. here's a google news search

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=M%26A&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

Results 1 - 10 of about 1,200 for M&A

1,200 M&A article in recent news

:(

[54anickel]

94. Yep, seems the economy is weakening, coming into lean times so

the begin the cannablization to survive. Not saying that M&As always point to bad times for the companies involved, sometimes they do make sense for individual companies.

But with 1200 recent hits on the topic, it does not appear to be healthy mergers building growth and prosperity but rather a dog eat dog fight for survival.

[UpInArms]

38. Street stunned by 2.8% fall in March durable-goods orders

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B12E171EA%2D1290%2D48E6%2DBB1A%2DAAC564824A4E%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures are indicating a lower open Wednesday as an unexpected drop in March durable-goods orders sparked concern over an economic slowdown.

The report overshadowed a mixed batch of quarterly results, with a strong first quarter from Verizon Communications offset by disappointment at Amazon.

Dow futures were down 43 points at 10,118, Nasdaq 100 futures were off 7.5 points at 1,421.50 while S&P 500 futures dipped 3.90 points to 1,149.80.

"The durable goods orders coming in well below expectations at 2.8% on the headline number will definitely put some pressure on the market," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services.

Mendelsohn said the weak order number certainly strengthened the case of those investors who believe the economy is slowing down.

On Tuesday, stocks ended sharply lower as a strong housing report and a $5 billion share buyback and higher dividend from IBM (IBM: news, chart, profile) were offset by weak confidence data and a mixed batch of earnings reports.

...more...

Stunned? But... but... but... IBM raised it dividend and did a $5 BILLION buyback!

[ozymandius]

47. Do I still get some pie and a free pony?

Just like fearless leader has promised...

[UpInArms]

57. Well, of course!

'cause our feckless leader says his economic plan is working and we need to own our retirement!



hope you don't mind that I took a piece first :D



and the pony kinda played in the paint!

[ozymandius]

59. LOL! But then, something odiferous snaps me back to reality.

[UpInArms]

69. it's a winner!

but what won the ribbon?

the pie?

or the pony?

:rofl:

[54anickel]

72. Ahhh, the ribbon went to the feckless horse's ass that made the promise!

[UpInArms]

78. DOE Petroleum Inventories - still troubles at the refinery level

10:32am 04/27/05 DOE: DISTILLATE FUEL SUPPLIES DOWN 1.4 MILLION BARRELS

10:31am 04/27/05 DOE: CRUDE SUPPLIES UP 5.5 MILLION BARRELS

10:32am 04/27/05 DOE: GASOLINE SUPPLIES DOWN 300,000 BARRELS

[UpInArms]

86. API Inventories - another huge variance - even bigger drops

in distillates and gasoline.

10:49am 04/27/05 API: CRUDE SUPPLIES UP 4.7 MILLION BARRELS

10:49am 04/27/05 API: GASOLINE SUPPLIES DOWN 1.1 MILLION BARRELS

10:50am 04/27/05 API: DISTILLATE SUPPLIES DOWN 2.9 MILLION BARRELS

[UpInArms]

7. Kohler workers learn of more layoffs

http://www.thedailycitizen.com/articles/2005/04/27/news/top_stories/top01.txt

excerpt:

An April 26 Kohler press release announced that the company is "readjusting its workforce by 63 associates" at the Searcy plant. Currently, 329 are employed there, according to the press release.

<snip>

Tippy works as a cell operator and puts the finishing touches on sinks, adding design elements. Based on what has passed though his hands in recent months, Tippy said that the latest round of layoffs did not entirely surprise him.

An unusually high number of sinks, imported from the Mexican plant that has in recent years replaced much of the Searcy plant's production, have arrived to the Searcy plant for Tippy to finish, said Tippy. Stockpiles of inventory, Tippy said, often precede layoffs and signify that a decrease in production may follow. The exact same thing happened in January when production of a specific line of sinks was sent to Mexico, Tippy said.

<snip>

The sinks that have come to him this past month contradict, in Tippy's opinion, the notice on the bulletin board. The notice about the layoffs explains Kohler's decision in terms of a weak demand for housing in this country.

<snip>

Tippy is hoping that those laid off this week will receive the same benefits as those fired in January. Because production was being exported to Mexico, then workers were eligible for benefits under the Trade Adjustment Act, Tippy said.

These workers were eligible for two years of education and unemployment assistance, said Tippy. Tippy is worried that because the company is citing the housing market as the reason behind this latest round of layoffs, these benefits will not extend to the workers fired this week.

...more...

Looks like someone is definitely not telling the truth. MBA says it's "red hot" housing - dollar says it's "red-hot" housing - reports say "red-hot" housing - Kohler says "weak demand for housing". :think:

[UpInArms]

16. Red hot housing market just moving higher

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D89NJ8Q00.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down

APR. 27 2:42 A.M. ET After four record-breaking years, home sales were supposed to slow in 2005 under the weight of rising interest rates. But so far, the red-hot market keeps getting hotter.

"Phenomenal. I am speechless," said real estate agent Maurice Veissi of Miami, who has been selling homes for 33 years. "I have never seen a market as robust for as long a period of time as this one."

<snip>

And it's not just in Florida and Connecticut. The government reported Tuesday that purchases of new single-family homes shot up 12.2 percent in March, the biggest percentage gain in more than a decade. The big gain pushed sales to an annual rate of 1.43 million units, the highest in history and well past the 1.3 million rate set last October.

The March surge surprised analysts. They had been forecasting sales would decline around 2 percent last month, reflecting the rise in mortgage rates during the month. The 30-year mortgage rose at the end of March to 6.04 percent, the high so far this year.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. Housing Experts Wary of Bubble Fatigue

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/breaking/breakingnewsarticle.asp?feed=OBR&Date=20050424&ID=4391500

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bubble or not, the U.S. housing market has stayed afloat at a high altitude for the past two years.

So what do experts look for as the first signs of fatigue in a frothy housing market?

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Economy.com, said it won't be buyers who will disappear. Instead, he believes disgruntled sellers will bring the market to a halt.

``People will start pulling their homes off the market if they think they can't sell it at a 'fair price,' which is now perceived to be a very high price,'' he said.

While debates about whether the robust housing market will burst like a bubble or land like a slowly deflating balloon dominate discussions everywhere -- from think tanks to cocktail parties -- most agree that what goes up must come down.

``You'll see transactions fall off very rapidly,'' Zandi said. ``It's not that prices are coming down. It's that there's nothing selling. The first piece of data where you get a sense of that is not home sales. It's mortgage applications.''

...more...

[54anickel]

46. "red hot" housing - the gift of short-sightedness that seems to permeate

the US economy and the "experts" who report on them. Heh, now that I think of it, you ever notice how Greenspin rarely points to the long-term unless it offers him a way out of his latest pickle?

[UpInArms]

50. I'm still waiting

'cause we're right on the cusp
just around the corner
in the next quarter
sometime soon
in the next year

gonna have that rebound!

[UpInArms]

8. Shady Business At AIG

http://www.forbes.com/markets/equities/2005/04/26/cz_bc_0426aig.html

NEW YORK - The American International Group board was advised by outside counsel as far back as 1992 that the workers' compensation practices now under scrutiny were illegal, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced earlier today that a recently uncovered "internal memorandum" earlier that year stated that a company practice of underreporting workers' compensation premiums to cut its mandated contributions to state funds was illegal. That document was written by a "former senior executive," say two people briefed on the document. One of those sources tells Forbes.com that the board then asked for a second opinion from Sullivan & Cromwell, and that the law firm reported back "a few months later" criticizing the ex-employee's memo as somewhat dramatic but supporting its conclusion.

AIG spokesman Chris Winans declined to comment on the matter. He did say, however, that the workers compensation practice under investigation was "largely corrected by 1997."

The practice involved booking workers' comp premiums as general liability ones. That enabled the company to avoid paying its "true share" into various state funds, according to Spitzer's office. Spitzer says the internal document from 1992 estimated "unlawful benefits" at "tens of millions" of dollars annually.

...more...

[UpInArms]

15. WSJ: AIG got warning in '92

http://money.cnn.com/2005/04/27/news/fortune500/aig_warning.dj/

Report says insurer was told that workers' comp reporting 'permeated with illegality.'

NEW YORK - In 1992, American International Group Inc.'s (AIG) top lawyer said in a memo to then-Chief Executive Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg that the insurer's reporting of workers' compensation premiums "is permeated with illegality" that was "so serious it could threaten the existence of senior management if disclosed," people who have seen the document told The Wall Street Journal.

That legal conclusion was backed by AIG's outside attorneys a few months later, yet regulators believe the reporting practice continued for years after that, people familiar with the matter said. Mr. Greenberg, ousted last month as regulatory scrutiny increased, has become a focus of authorities investigating whether AIG officials duped investors and regulators with misleading financial information.

At issue was whether American International Group could report to New York state insurance officials some premiums as revenue from general-liability insurance policies - as one person familiar with the matter said AIG had done since the 1970s - or if the giant insurance company had to report all the revenue as coming from workers' compensation policies.

<snip>

It is unclear what motive AIG would have had for undercounting the workers' comp premiums because, from about 1990 until mid-2001, the Workers Compensation Security Fund was flush enough that New York law barred the state from collecting the assessment from publicly traded insurers. Insurers also must pay into four other state funds, but those fees weren't based on premiums until after 1999.

...more...

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. Jeez

Will they drag the venerable firm of Sullivan & Cromwell down with them?

[UpInArms]

21. well, you know, when you have that big conflict

who's paying for the party - what answer do you think you will get?

[alcibiades_mystery]

31. Yeah...AIG's a big dog down town

May as well have been Goldman, as far as the insurance specialized guys at S&C are concerned.

Too bad though...

[UpInArms]

77. CA regulator to look into AIG workers' comp reporting

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.4343200116-834648588&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi will look into how American International Group (AIG) reported its workers' compensation premiums to the state, spokesman Norman Williams said in an email. "The Department will look into whether any such irregularities occurred regarding AIG or other insurers in California," Williams said. The move follows allegations made yesterday by the office of New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the New York Insurance Department, which claimed AIG purposely under-reported its workers' compensation premiums in New York to avoid paying millions of dollars to state-run workers' comp programs.

AIG appears to be a rotten fetid mass of ooze these days.

[UpInArms]

9. FTC chairwoman to sit out Valero-Premcor case

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B96C3684E%2D976F%2D47AC%2DBF6C%2D324D49C2140C%7D

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission will not take part in the antitrust review of Valero Energy Corp.'s (VLO) $6.9 billion bid for rival independent oil refiner Premcor Inc. (PCO) because of a conflict of interest.

Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras recused herself from reviewing the merger, which would create the largest refiner in North America, because a client of her husband's law firm, Jones Day, is involved in the transaction, said FTC spokeswoman Nancy Judy.

Also Tuesday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said the deal would reduce competition and raise energy prices. In a letter to Majoras, she asked the commission to scrutinize the deal "and reject it if you find it will further undermine competition in the oil industry."

<snip>

The acquisition of Premcor would give Valero a second refinery in the Northeast, which raised questions about antitrust approval. Valero Chairman and Chief Executive William Greehey predicted Monday that regulators would approve the purchase because they let Sunoco Inc. (SUN), the largest refiner in the region, buy a New Jersey refinery from El Paso Corp. (EP) last year.

...more...

[54anickel]

67. Hasbro needs to update their game board and replace the railroads

with refineries.

[UpInArms]

10. Radisson Hotel Goes Into Foreclosure

http://www.globest.com/news/271_271/denver/133543-1.html

AURORA, CO–JER Properties of Dallas has appointed Denver-based Sage Hospitality Resources as the receiver for the 479-room Radisson Hotel at Interstate 225 and Parker Road here. The hotel is one of four hotels for which Sage is acting as the receiver. Two of the other hotels that are delinquent on their mortgages are in Montana and Dallas, says Walter Isenberg, president and CEO of Sage. JER is a long-time client of Sage.

Mary Wenke, Arapahoe county commissioner, says the Radisson foreclosure is the first large commercial property she has seen since taking the job half dozen years ago. Last year was the worst year for foreclosures since the record set in 1988, as the market reeled from a poor economy, a crash in oil prices, overbuilding and the 1986 tax law changes regarding real estate.

Back then, a large number of offices, apartment buildings, hotels and retail centers were returned to their lenders or taken over by the RTC, the Congressionally created entity to dispose of the assets of failed savings and loans.

...more...

[UpInArms]

11. HP declares jobs report misses mark

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/04/27/news/community/wed03.txt

Hewlett-Packard Co. is downplaying a broadcast report that the global technology company has plans to slash as many as 3,500 jobs at its Corvallis plant.

According to the report, aired Monday by the Eugene CBS affiliate KVAL, the wife of an HP employee told the station that 3,500 of the company's 3,900 Corvallis workers were offered a choice between taking a voluntary severance package or possibly losing their jobs with just two weeks' pay. Neither the woman nor her husband was identified by the station.

The story sparked a flurry of phone calls to the Gazette-Times and city officials from people fearing massive job cuts at Corvallis' largest private employer.

<snip>

As previously reported in the Gazette-Times, the company has offered voluntary severance packages worth up to 14 months' base pay to U.S. employees of its imaging and printing group, the business unit to which most of HP's Corvallis employees belong.

The company has not said how many jobs it plans to cut, either locally or companywide, but employees have known since January that the imaging and printing group would be restructured in the face of mounting competition.

...more...

[UpInArms]

12. Toyota sees global 2005 sales topping company target, rising to 8.3M vehic

Toyota sees global 2005 sales topping company target, rising to 8.3M vehicles

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B99887AEC%2D504E%2D4F3C%2DA9C6%2DABCC27959BDA%7D

BANGKOK (MarketWatch) -- Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) expects global sales to reach 8.3 million vehicles in 2005, exceeding the company's target of 8 million, Senior Managing Director Akio Toyoda said Wednesday.

The Japanese automaker expects to sell 8.5 million vehicles in 2006, Toyoda said at a news conference.

He gave no comparative figures and didn't specify whether he was referring to fiscal or calendar year sales.

...more...

Toyota to invest $455 million in Thai production plant

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B412FCB94%2DFD49%2D4534%2D8481%2D7901CFE34477%7D

BANGKOK (MarketWatch) -- Japan auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) Wednesday announced plans to invest a total of THB18 billion (US$455 million) to set up a new plant in Thailand that will produce pickup trucks, and to increase production capacity of passenger cars at an existing plant in the country.

Toyota also plans to jointly invest THB19 billion (US$480 million) with its Thai suppliers to expand local production of auto parts.

"Once completed, Thailand will be one of the Toyota's largest automobile production bases," Toyota Motor's Senior Managing Director Akio Toyoda told a news conference.

After the expansion, Toyota's local unit Toyota Motor Thailand Ltd., or TMT, will have a total production capacity of around 550,000 units a year by 2007 from 360,000 units at present.

The Japanese firm will invest THB15 billion, via TMT, to build a new plant, which will be located in the outskirts of Bangkok.

...more...


Aren't Toyota's trucks more fuel efficient than GM's?

[UpInArms]

27. More GM layoffs, closings possible

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050427/BUSINESS/504270393/1003

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp., faced with shrinking North American market share and evaporating profits, may have no choice but to close more plants and lay off thousands of additional workers.

The automaker is trying to wring cost out of its money-losing North American business, which is saddled with excess manufacturing capacity.

In the past 16 months, GM has been forced to shut down North American assembly plants for 121 weeks because of slow sales and bloated inventories, according to an analysis by The Detroit News.

This week alone, GM temporarily laid off 7,000 workers, who joined an estimated 8,500 workers already idled due to previous plant closings or permanent production cuts. By contract, GM must pay the workers 95 percent of their wages.

<snip>

GM has closed eight plants in North America and shed more than 127,000 factory jobs since 1992. But short of a major sales turnaround, analysts predict, GM will be forced to close additional assembly and parts plants over the next few years.

...more...

[54anickel]

74. You just know damned well that what the analysts really wanted to say

was:

short of a major freakin' miracle, analysts predict, GM will be forced to close additional assembly and parts plants over the next few years.

[UpInArms]

111. Better include Ford in that "freakin' miracle" prediction

11:57am 04/27/05 FORD CREDIT CUT TO BBB BY DOMINION BOND RATING SERVICE

[UpInArms]

13. Looks like banks are making a killing

Bank of America Profit Rises 75 Percent

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=8210039&src=rss/businessNews

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp. (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , the No. 3 U.S. bank, on Monday said first-quarter profit rose 75 percent, helped by consumer banking growth and its acquisition of FleetBoston Financial Corp.

<snip>

Revenue rose 47 percent to $14.22 billion. Lending income increased 35 percent to $8.07 billion, while fee income surged 65 percent to $6.15 billion. Bank of America added a net 759,000 savings accounts and 610,000 checking accounts in the quarter, both records, and 1.3 million credit card accounts.

...more...

[AnneD]

32. HMMMMM

that must explain why they had to have that bankruptcy bill passed, to protect them from those crafty consumers that rip them off.:evilfrown:

[UpInArms]

14. Laying off 4400 at Colgate-Palmolive - was it a bad move?

Colgate-Palmolive Quarterly Profit Falls

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?jsessionid=E0CERLTMXRJ1GCRBAEOCFFA?type=businessNews&storyID=8312176

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Wednesday first-quarter profit fell due to restructuring charges.

Profit was $300.1 million, or 53 cents per share, compared with $338.5 million, or 59 cents a share, a year ago.

...very short newsblurb...

Colgate President Shanahan to retire

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.3009195602-834637651&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Colgate-Palmolive (CL) said Wednesday that William S. Shanahan, 65, president, plans to retire in the third quarter. Ian M. Cook, 52, currently COO, will be elected president upon Shanahan's retirement. Shares of Colgate-Palmolive fell 95 cents to $50.70 on Tuesday.

here's what they did:

Posted 12/7/2004

Colgate-Palmolive plans to cut about 4,400 jobs

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/2004-12-07-colgate-cuts_x.htm

NEW YORK — Colgate-Palmolive (CL), maker of Ajax detergent and Irish Spring soap, announced Tuesday that it plans to cut 4,400 jobs, or about 12% of its workforce and close one-third of its factories, as part of a plan to boost profit.

It did not say where the job cuts would be made in its global workforce of 37,000 as part of a four-year restructuring plan. nor did it immediately identify which factories would be closed.

It said the plan would results in charges against earnings of $550 million to $650 million after taxes over the four years, but would generate savings in the range of $250 million to $300 million annually by the fourth year of the program.

The plan includes almost 100 initiatives, such as moving some business support functions to shared-service centers and globally managing all purchasing, including media.

<snip>

Other steps include a focus on marketing and new products. Colgate wants to improve sales and marketing organizations, especially in markets where it sees high potential, such as Eastern Europe, Russia, China and parts of Latin America and Asia.

Investors cheered the plan.

...more...

(edited to fix link)

[RawMaterials]

20. US house market boom set for bust?

Is the current property boom an unwelcome replay of the dot.com bubble of the late Nineties and destined to burst in the same way, showering a lot of people with a lot of pain?

In financial crazes, there's usually a general frenzied belief that the old rules of economic gravity have been superseded - but are we about to (re)learn the hard way that prices that go up can come down with a bump?

snip..

Sharp price rises

In February, the government in the United States reported the biggest monthly rise in sales of new homes in four years.

Rising interest rates are prompting people to buy early in the belief that prices will rise.

In New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Diego (fastest of all), the price of an average family home has pretty well doubled in the last five years.

Twenty years ago in the United States, the price of a middle of the range home would have represented about five years of income for the house-holder.

Now, it's nearly eight years.

snip..

Limited upside?

But caution does seem to be in order.

There can't be any certainty that property prices will continue their steep, relentless rise, particularly since interest rates are going up, perhaps higher than previously feared if oil starts to inject inflation into the economy.

And rising interest rates ought to give some pause for thought to anyone thinking of borrowing big sums to buy assets that may not rise in price.

Big debts when asset prices are falling is bad arithmetic.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4480897.stm

[RawMaterials]

22. Fears Mount That Germany Faces Recession

FRANKFURT, April 26 - Six influential German economic institutes have cut their growth forecast for this year in half, prompting a new rash of fears that the German economy is on the brink of recession.

After four years of lackluster growth, the downward revision - to 0.7 percent from 1.5 percent - illustrates that economic forecasting in Germany has become mostly an exercise in finding ever-more-precise ways to measure stagnation, economists say.

snip..
Given such weak underpinnings, economists said it was quite possible that the German economy, Europe's largest and an engine for much of the Continent, could fall into a recession - classically defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.

But this, they said, would scarcely be different from the current state of affairs.

"Trend growth in Germany is now so low that you can easily meet the technical definition of recession," said Thomas Mayer, the chief European economist at Deutsche Bank in London.

In fact, Mr. Mayer said, he viewed the forecast as optimistic because it assumes that Germany will keep growing, despite the spike in oil prices and the softening of the global economy.

"If oil prices keep going up, Germany won't even hold on to the 0.7 percent number," he said. "You would end up with stagnation, and more importantly, there would be no recovery next year."

Even without rising oil prices, there is no shortage of grim news in the report. The institutes, which generally anticipate the government's own forecast, predict that growth will be only 1.5 percent in 2006, less than in 2004, which was 1.6 percent.

With a growth rate this anemic, economists say, Germany cannot generate new jobs.

The current unemployment rate of 12 percent is a record in the post-World War II period, and poses a mounting political threat to Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. He faces a difficult state election next month in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's depleted industrial heartland.

"We had hoped that domestic growth would pick up, but there is no sign of that happening," said Bert Rürup, the head of Mr. Schröder's council of economic advisers.

Germany needs to grow from 1.5 percent to 2 percent a year, Mr. Rürup said, to generate significant new jobs.

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/27/business/worldbusiness/27germany.html?

[UpInArms]

24. Looks like a grim setup for the morning

8:31am 04/27/05 JUNE DOW INDUSTRIALS FUTURES DOWN 41 AT 10,120

8:31am 04/27/05 DOLLAR PARES GAINS VS. EURO, YEN

8:31am 04/27/05 10-YR YIELD DROPS TO 4.258%O VS 4.287% BEFORE DATA

[Renew Deal]

25. Bear on the loose in Milwaukee

OMG, it's a sign. The bears are out literally. :scared:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3130007#3130128

:sarcasm:

[AnneD]

26. Morning Marketeers

:donut: Gee, wasn't that a swell ride yesterday. They need to place warnings when they loose cabin pressure like that. The offical word is that our buffed faerie is indeed female-she is just big boned and has a thyroid (not steroid) problem.
Have a great day, and watch out for the bears.

[UpInArms]

30. Morning AnneD!

So glad to hear that our big faerie is in the clear! I have a feeling that her services will definitely be needed :D

:hi:

[AnneD]

35. Morning UIA

:hi: I think the faeries may be running low on pixie dust. I am looking forward to following the market today.

[MARALE]

49. I think though, she is half bear

She may be working for the other side. She will be sprinkling "bearie dust"

Ducking tomatoes :hide:

[UpInArms]

51. LOL!

:rofl:

bearie dust

:rofl:

[UpInArms]

36. First Albany loss grows

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.3713980208-834643517&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- First Albany Cos Inc (FACT) said Wednesday its first quarter loss grew to $6.90 million, or 54 cents a share from $1.93 million, or 18 cents a share a year ago. Net revenue fell to $28.6 million, from $42.4 million last year. "Profitability for the first quarter was negatively impacted by a difficult trading environment in fixed income and lower net revenue in equities," First Albany said in a press release. First Albany shares fell 20 cents Tuesday and closed at $7.21.

and just what is First Albany?

First Albany Companies Inc.. The Group's principal activity is to act as an independent investment bank and asset management firm serving the institutional market, corporate middle market and public institutions. The Group operates through Taxable Fixed-Income, Municipal and Equity Capital Markets divisions by providing its clients with strategic, research-based, innovative investment opportunities. The Group offers a diverse range of products and advisory services in the areas of corporate and public finance as well as fixed income and equity sales and trading. The Group provides venture capital, management and guidance for companies in the emerging growth sectors of information technology and energy technology. The Group has 19 offices in 12 states in the United States. On 17-May-2004, the Group acquired Descap Securities Inc.

[Maeve]

37. Salutations, Marketeers!

Looks like another day on the rollercoaster coming up (or down, more like)...justdropped by to warn y'all to fasten those seatbelts and keep the motion-sickness pills handy.

I've got a gig today so won't be around, but I am two-handed again (yipee! ouch...still need to regain mobility)

[UpInArms]

40. Morning Maeve!

So glad you are now a two-handed mouse typing DUer again!

I've fastened my seatbelt and put my motion sickness pills at the ready!

:hi:

[ozymandius]

42. Hi there! Good morning to you Maeve.

Congratulations on reclaiming your hand! :thumbsup:

Bears are stomping. Gonna be a wild ride today.

Ozy :hi:

[AnneD]

56. my tray is upright

and in its locked position and my seat belt is on. I think you may be right about the 'bearie' dust. Happy hunting.

[UpInArms]

43. Treasurys bolstered by weak data - 'Soft patch' theory gets rekindled

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B281F8CF3%2D1D38%2D4318%2DAD8B%2DB41A748DB8A4%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Treasury prices jumped higher, pressuring yields, early Wednesday after news of an unexpected decline in durable goods orders last month provided new evidence for the theory that the economy is in a soft patch.

The 10-year Treasury bond was up 7/32 at 98-3/32 with a 4.24% yield, down from 4.27% late Tuesday.

The two-year note was up 2/32 at 100-8/32 with a 3.61% yield and the 30-year bond up 10/32, yielding 4.55%.

In March orders for durable goods declined 2.8%, the largest drop since September 2002 and the third consecutive monthly decline, according to the Commerce Department.

<snip>

The durable goods report was the latest economic report to support a much-debated theory that economic growth is slowing, according to Action Economics economist Mike Englund.

Analysts in recent weeks have been confused by a number of conflicting signals in economic data because some reports have indicated economic acceleration while others have pointed to a slowing.

...more...

So when do these folks figure out that we're between I-rock and a hard place?

[ozymandius]

44. pre-open blather

9:15AM: S&P futures vs fair value: -4.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -7.0. Negative bias persists in pre-market trading, still suggesting a lower open for the cash market... In addition to the unexpected decline in Mar. durable orders weighing on sentiment, worries about slowing profit growth - due in large part to Amazon.com's disappointing quarter - have also contributed to the lack of early buying interest

9:00AM: S&P futures vs fair value: -3.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.5. Stage remains set for the cash market to open lower, as futures indications still trade below fair value... Meanwhile, earnings within the Energy sector (i.e. COP, KMG, AHC, BHI, DO) continue to impress, but uncertainty within the Semiconductor group continues to linger, following a Q1 earnings miss from STMicroelectronics (STM) and lowered guidance from Japanese chipmakers NEC and Fujitsu

[UpInArms]

45. pre-opening blather from ino.com

ino.com

The June NASDAQ 100 was lower overnight as it extends Tuesday's decline, which led to a close below weekly support crossing at 1433.06 and the 10-day moving average crossing at 1428.60. Stochastics and the RSI are neutral signaling that sideways trading is possible near-term. If June resumes this month's decline, weekly support crossing at 1387.77 is the next downside target. Closes above last week's high crossing at 1454.50 are needed to confirm that a short-term low has been posted. The June NASDAQ 100 was down 4.00 pts. at 1425 as of 5:45 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to lower opening by the NASDAQ composite index later this morning.

The June S&P 500 index was lower overnight as it extends Tuesday's decline below the 10-day moving average crossing at 1153.49. Stochastics and the RSI are turning neutral signaling that sideways trading is possible near-term. If this month's decline resumes, the 62% retracement level of the August-March rally crossing at 1130.03 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20-day moving average crossing at 1168.97 are needed to confirm that a short-term low has been posted. The June S&P 500 Index was down 1.50 pts. at 1152.20 as of 5:48 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to lower opening when the day session begins later this morning.

(edited 'cause Ozy is on the same wavelength :hi: )

[ozymandius]

48. markets are open for bidness

look at the Nasdaq volume opening with a jolt....

Dow 10,141.31 -9.82 (-0.10%)
Nasdaq 1,919.99 -7.45 (-0.39%)
S&P 500 1,151.04 -0.70 (-0.06%)
10-Yr Bond 4.218% -0.05

NYSE Volume 3,611,000
Nasdaq Volume 31,063,000

[UpInArms]

52. 9:36 EST

Dow 10,113.45 -37.68 (-0.37%)
Nasdaq 1,920.07 -7.37 (-0.38%)
S&P 500 1,148.42 -3.32 (-0.29%)
10-Yr Bond 4.214 -0.53 (-1.24%)

NYSE Volume 43,115,000
Nasdaq Volume 76,343,000

methinks it's going to get ugly

[ozymandius]

55. 9:44 in bearish glory, with warts

Dow 10,097.78 -53.35 (-0.53%)
Nasdaq 1,916.98 -10.46 (-0.54%)
S&P 500 1,146.17 -5.57 (-0.48%)
10-Yr Bond 4.223% -0.04

NYSE Volume 106,942,000
Nasdaq Volume 150,925,000

[ozymandius]

60. 22 minutes into trading - look at the volume!

Dow 10,105.02 -46.11 (-0.45%)
Nasdaq 1,918.84 -8.60 (-0.45%)
S&P 500 1,147.26 -4.48 (-0.39%)
10-Yr Bond 4.225% -0.04

NYSE Volume 166,324,000
Nasdaq Volume 210,260,00

[ozymandius]

62. bit of blather

Stocks Dip on Disappointing Economic News

Stocks Move Lower As a Drop in Durable Goods Orders Raises New Questions About Economy

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks slumped Wednesday as an unexpectedly steep drop in durable goods orders raised new questions about the strength of the economy, eclipsing earnings news from Dow component Verizon Communications Inc. and other companies.

-cut-

The dollar, initially higher in overseas trading, retreated against other major currencies following the disappointing data on U.S. durable goods orders. Gold prices fell. Crude oil was down 21 cents at $53.99 in electronic trading ahead of the government's weekly inventory report.

In Washington, the Commerce Department said orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket items plunged 2.8 percent in March, the biggest setback in 2 1/2 years and the third straight decline. The weaker-than-expected drop was seen as fresh evidence that the economy may be entering another "soft patch" as consumers and businesses, jolted by a sharp increase in energy prices, cut back on spending.

more...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050427/wall_street.html?.v=8

How long have we been hearing about this economic 'soft patch'? Wasn't Greenscam using this about a year ago? So goeth the Bush economic miracle.

[UpInArms]

64. 10:03 EST numbers - can even the thyroid faerie help?

Dow 10,084.11 -67.02 (-0.66%)
Nasdaq 1,914.50 -12.94 (-0.67%)
S&P 500 1,144.55 -7.19 (-0.62%)
10-Yr Bond 4.221 -0.46 (-1.08%)

NYSE Volume 243,355,000
Nasdaq Volume 286,992,000

[UpInArms]

68. side of blather

10:00AM: Equities still on the defensive as nine out of ten economic sectors trade in negative territory... Pacing the way lower again has been Materials (-1.5%), due primarily to the disappointing durable goods data, while Industrials and Consumer Discretionary have also extended losses... Technology has been weak across the board while not even falling bond yields have been enough to lift interest rate-sensitive sectors like Financial and Utility...

Energy has also been weak ahead of the EIA's weekly oil report at 10:30 ET - crude oil inventories (consensus +650K), gasoline supplies (consensus -1.0 mln) and distillates (consensus +100K)... Telecom Services (+0.3%), however, has shown relative strength amid a 47% surge in Q1 profits at Verizon Communications (VZ 34.42 +0.42)...NYSE Adv/Dec 752/1644, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 681/1652

everything's weak - but don't pay attention to that!

[54anickel]

61. The corporate jet: Necessity or ultimate executive toy?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2005-04-26-corp-jets-cover_x.htm

snip>

Virtually all CEOs' personal flight costs were paid by their companies. Since the IRS values personal flight time as taxable income, many companies also covered CEOs' flight-related taxes. For example, eBay spent $229,145 for CEO Meg Whitman's personal plane use in 2004 and what the online auctioneer characterized as a $128,390 "bonus" to cover her taxes on the imputed income.

The swelling numbers reflect heightened post-Sept. 11 security concerns, a thriving business-jet market, a tax code that allowed executives to fly at ultralow prices and companies to claim tax breaks, and more broadly, growing acceptance by corporate boards that personal flight time is a perk necessary to keep CEOs happy. Big users:

snip>

"It's clear companies giving this perk perform poorly, and there's no reason to think that's changed," he says. "There may be a justifiable business purpose, but there are lots of companies that wouldn't have bought planes in the first place if the CEO didn't have his eye on it for the toy factor."

Setting a tone

With executive compensation skyrocketing, corporate governance experts say shareholders shouldn't foot the bills. "When setting the tone, boards need to ensure there isn't one playbook for executives and another for the rank and file," says Eleanor Bloxham of The Value Alliance. "Why pay for perks CEOs could easily buy for themselves?"

snip>

Under a provision of the 2004 American Jobs Creation Act, companies lost the ability to deduct the difference between the imputed income value to CEOs and more accurate costs of their flights, including fuel, crew expenses and landing fees. The IRS hasn't determined what formula it will require companies to use to report more accurate costs. Some firms already account for higher incremental charges, but that methodology "severely understates actual costs," says David Cay Johnston, author of Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich — and Cheat Everybody Else.

more...

[ozymandius]

83. JEEZ! You gotta read this!

Exec Perks: An Ugly Picture Emerges

Executive perks have always occupied a special place in Corporate America -- largely hidden from view. Unlike information about salaries, bonuses, and stock options, which is readily available, details about executive perks have usually been skimpy at best and, for the most part, consigned to footnotes in the company proxy.

But thanks to reforms by the Securities & Exchange Commission, that's starting to change. Companies are being prodded to disclose more perks -- and in more detail -- than ever before. And the picture isn't pretty.

-cut-

"THE DAM BROKE." The reason for the sudden openness on the subject: The SEC's tough new stance on disclosure. In September, the agency issued a cease-and-desist order to General Electric (NYSE:GE - News), saying its disclosure of the perks former CEO John Welch Jr. would receive in retirement violated reporting rules. GE neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.

-cut-

"IT'S JUST PLAIN UNSEEMLY." It's hard to imagine a giveaway more over the top than the one Moonves and Freston receive at Viacom. Moonves, who lives in Los Angeles, owns a home in New York. When he stays at that home while traveling on business, he's reimbursed -- to the tune of $105,000 in 2004. Likewise, Freston -- who lives in New York and owns a home in Los Angeles -- was reimbursed $43,100 for staying at his L.A. domicile last year. Both executives earned about $20 million apiece in 2004. The company declined to comment.

more... if you can stomach it

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/bw/20050427/bs_bw/nf200504274085db042&e=3

[UpInArms]

90. My Gawd that is ugly!

Leonard Schaeffer, the chairman of WellPoint (NYSE:WLP - News), stepped down as CEO on Jan. 31 with a severance package estimated at $120 million -- but apparently that wasn't enough. The company also gave him a mind-boggling array of retirement benefits, including four years of medical benefits, three club memberships, and title to a car.

Says Paul Hodgson, senior research associate with governance-watchdog group The Corporate Library: "It seems to me someone who just received $120 million can probably take care of their own country-club dues without any help from stockholders."

WellPoint says $68.5 million of Schaeffer's benefits come from 19 years of "guiding a company that went from nearly insolvent (to) one of the most successful and admired health-care companies in the industry." Moreover, the business says it has routinely reported elements of Schaeffer's agreement over the last eight years.

$120 MILLION!

the gap between the rich and the poor is un-freakin'-believable and this is where our healthcare expenses get nailed to the wall.

:argh::argh::argh::argh::argh::argh::argh::argh:

[UpInArms]

103. WellPoint raises forecasts, splits stock

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B917985F2-7536-4B12-8462-B8E8A665CADF%7D&siteid=google

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Net income at newly merged WellPoint Inc. jumped as expected during the first quarter, as the health insurer raised its estimates on second-quarter earnings and announced a 2-for-1 stock split on Wednesday.

WellPoint (WLP: news, chart, profile) reported net income of $611.7 million, or $1.97 a share, compared with $295.6 million, or $2.08 a share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue was $10.16 billion vs. last year's $4.09 billion.

The 2004 per-share earnings figure included 47 cents in one-time gains. WellPoint said its 2005 first-quarter results included a gain of 9 cents a share from a favorable tax ruling.

<snip>

The 2004 results include only the operations of the former Anthem Inc., which merged with WellPoint Health Networks in November. Since their merger, the company's shares have risen steadily, prompting Wednesday's announcement that the stock would be split.

...more...

Nowhere do they talk about the $120 MILLION for Leonard Schaeffe :shrug:

Lovely M&A going on there, huh?

[ozymandius]

71. 10:12 numbers and blather

Dow 10,085.96 -65.17 (-0.64%)
Nasdaq 1,913.97 -13.47 (-0.70%)
S&P 500 1,145.16 -6.58 (-0.57%)
10-Yr Bond 4.216% -0.05

NYSE Volume 300,468,000
Nasdaq Volume 340,841,000

10:00AM: Equities still on the defensive as nine out of ten economic sectors trade in negative territory... Pacing the way lower again has been Materials (-1.5%), due primarily to the disappointing durable goods data, while Industrials and Consumer Discretionary have also extended losses... Technology has been weak across the board while not even falling bond yields have been enough to lift interest rate-sensitive sectors like Financial and Utility...

Energy has also been weak ahead of the EIA's weekly oil report at 10:30 ET - crude oil inventories (consensus +650K), gasoline supplies (consensus -1.0 mln) and distillates (consensus +100K)... Telecom Services (+0.3%), however, has shown relative strength amid a 47% surge in Q1 profits at Verizon Communications (VZ 34.42 +0.42)...NYSE Adv/Dec 752/1644, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 681/1652

[ozymandius]

75. Advances & Declines

Advances NYSE 734 (24%) Nasdaq 632 (23%)
Declines NYSE 2081 (70%) Nasdaq 1909 (70%)
Unchanged NYSE 140 (4%) Nasdaq 161 (5%)
Up Vol* NYSE 47 (20%) Nasdaq 67 (21%)
Down Vol* NYSE 180 (78%) Nasdaq 229 (74%)
Unch. Vol* NYSE 3 (1%) Nasdaq 10 (3%)

[54anickel]

79. Zowie! Hey, Treasuries are getting some traffic - isn't there an

auction coming up again? Won't be too many bargains at the sale if this keeps up.

[54anickel]

81. 10:37 and the AM bounce is kicking in a bit

Dow 10,114.85 -36.28 (-0.36%)
Nasdaq 1,921.46 -5.98 (-0.31%)
S&P 500 1,148.23 -3.51 (-0.30%)
10-Yr Bond 42.13 -0.54 (-1.27%)
NYSE Volume 469,969,000
Nasdaq Volume 500,303,000


Wouldn't tell it on the Adv/Dec numbers though. Looks like some well place purchases are being made.

Advances & Declines
NYSE Nasdaq
Advances 764 (25%) 651 (23%)
Declines 2123 (70%) 1961 (70%)
Unchanged 142 (4%) 162 (5%)

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

Up Vol* 60 (17%) 90 (22%)
Down Vol* 270 (80%) 309 (76%)
Unch. Vol* 5 (1%) 4 (0%)

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

New Hi's 11 8
New Lo's 97 148

[54anickel]

76. Hey, I think I found the site that "Chopper" Ben hangs out at Check it out

http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/pl/page.treasurechest/dn/default.cfm

[ozymandius]

84. LOL 54anickel! Absolutely biting!

[UpInArms]

80. 10:37 EST numbers - Yippee! We're awash in crude that we can't refine!

Dow 10,114.55 -36.58 (-0.36%)
Nasdaq 1,921.46 -5.98 (-0.31%)
S&P 500 1,148.23 -3.51 (-0.30%)
10-Yr Bond 4.213 -0.54 (-1.27%)

NYSE Volume 463,035,000
Nasdaq Volume 494,540,000

[UpInArms]

82. blather

10:30AM: Market continues to trade near session lows as investors weigh a mixed batch of earnings and guidance... Even though 20 of this morning's 30 S&P companies out with earnings have beaten analysts' expectations - from Dow components BA and VZ to blue chips like WLP, COP, CEG and PD - the uncertainty of slowing growth following Amazon.com's (AMZN 31.17 -1.54) disappointment last night continues to weigh on sentiment... AMZN reported a 30% drop in Q1 profits and forecasted a decline in Q2 earnings of 7-42%...NYSE Adv/Dec 723/2140, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 639/1947

[UpInArms]

85. Raymond James fined for account violations

I went to www.raymondjames.com to see the press release for information, but it appears that he must be one of the talkinghead economists that is seen on TV and he doesn't want to tell us why he got a $750,000 fine

www.raymondjames.com/quarterly_earnings_announcement.htm

Raymond James Financial Chairman and CEO Tom James discusses second quarter earnings April 18th on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” To view a replay of the discussion, please select an appropriate player and speed below and click “Play.”

10:42am 04/27/05 NASD FINES RAYMOND JAMES $750,000 FOR ACCT. VIOLATIONS

I can hardly wait to have my Social Security piratized into the hands of guys like this!

[UpInArms]

96. link and details

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?siteid=mktw&guid=%7BA157A824-0D2F-4F49-9086-677574257C16%7D&

BOSTON (MarketWatch) - The National Association of Securities Dealers Wednesday said it has fined Raymond James & Associates Inc. and Raymond James Financial Services Inc. $750,000 for violations tied to the firms' fee-based brokerage business. The firms will also pay restitution totaling $138,000, NASD said. Shares of Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) fell 21 cents Wednesday morning to $26.58.

I wonder if Raymond James will disclose his nefarious acts when he next appears on the little screen?

[UpInArms]

104. Here's ole' Raymond now

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BD187F885%2D8DCF%2D4D4C%2DA997%2D304FA78ECFE8%7D&siteid=mktw

excerpt:

After the bell Tuesday, the Houston-based oil and gas producer (EOG: news, chart, profile) said its net income was $200.8 million, or 83 cents per share, compared with income of $98.1 million, or 42 cents per share, earned a year ago. The year-ago quarter was restated to reflect the 2-for-1 stock split effective March 1.

Raymond James analysts said EOG would have earned 86 cents a share without mark-to-market derivative losses.

Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected per-share earnings of 79 cents, on average.

"The variance was primarily due to better-than-expected production, price realizations and exploration expense," the analysts said in a note to clients.

...more...

[54anickel]

87. More Trouble May Be Found at Fannie Mae (Good grief-will it ever end?)

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050426/mortgage_giants.html?.v=2

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The accounting problems that have rocked Fannie Mae may run even deeper, the federal regulator overseeing the mortgage giant suggested Tuesday.

Uncertainty created by the accounting scandal at the biggest U.S. buyer of home mortgages has the potential of spilling into the housing industry and making mortgages less available for homebuyers, Armando Falcon said in an Associated Press interview.

snip>

Falcon (fal-CONE'), who is leaving next month after six years as agency director, recently told Congress that Fannie Mae employees falsified signatures on accounting transactions that helped the company meet earnings targets for 1998, allowing $27 million in bonuses to be paid to top executives.

Asked Tuesday whether further discoveries could emerge from OFHEO's investigation, Falcon said, "We very well might find more problems as we continue to review the company's accounting."

If the agency hadn't acted to identify and correct problems at Fannie Mae, Falcon said, "I think they would have eventually manifested themselves in the form of some larger problem that might have created some kind of systemic disruptions" in the housing market.

more...

[UpInArms]

89. so when will fraud charges be filed?

Falcon (fal-CONE'), who is leaving next month after six years as agency director, recently told Congress that Fannie Mae employees falsified signatures on accounting transactions that helped the company meet earnings targets for 1998, allowing $27 million in bonuses to be paid to top executives.

:argh:

[54anickel]

98. Ahh, come on. Fraud is such a harsh word. Consider it

"Strategic Planning". That 27 million in bonuses allowed them to continue to remain competitive in the market for a high-quality management team.




Besides, it was really all Clinton and the Dems fault....(are the Dems being framed again?)

snip>

The agency had been overwhelmed for years by the lobbying power of the two companies. When Falcon, a Democrat appointed by President Clinton, took his post in 1999, the agency had been without a director for nearly three years.

At a hearing in October by a House panel, after Fannie Mae's accounting woes came to light, Democratic lawmakers still staunchly defended the two companies against Republican attempts at tighter government regulation and turned their criticism against Falcon, who testified.

snip>

"It's not easy to get up in front of a congressional committee and have them accuse you of everything from having improper motives to poor judgment to being poorly qualified," Falcon said. "It was difficult at times, having to deal with all that, especially from people who I'd worked with over the years."

The people, notably Democratic lawmakers who benefited from housing investments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their districts, became Falcon's harshest critics.

Now there is a drive in Congress, endorsed by the administration, to tighten the government's hand over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and create a new regulator with broader powers, including reducing their combined $1.5 trillion mortgage porfolios.

[54anickel]

88. Bush offers old bases for oil refineries (has the looting begun?)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3155443

WASHINGTON - President Bush is offering to make closed military bases available for new oil refineries and will ask Congress to provide a "risk insurance" to the nuclear industry against regulatory delays to spur construction of new nuclear power plants, administration officials said Tuesday.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will outline his proposals in a speech today in which he intends to emphasize how new technologies can be used to ease the energy supply crunch.

The White House acknowledged that none of the initiatives was expected to provide any short-term relief from soaring oil prices. It is Bush's second speech on energy within a week, reflecting the growing concern within the White House over the political fallout over high energy prices.

more...

[UpInArms]

91. 11:06 EST numbers and blather

Dow 10,114.78 -36.35 (-0.36%)
Nasdaq 1,918.74 -8.70 (-0.45%)
S&P 500 1,147.43 -4.31 (-0.37%)
10-Yr Bond 4.221 -0.46 (-1.08%)

NYSE Volume 627,399,000
Nasdaq Volume 618,134,000

11:00AM: Indices spike higher, as oil prices turn south following a better than expected weekly oil report, but the market continues to chalk up losses... While crude oil inventories rose a much larger than expected 5.5 mln barrels (consensus +650K) - the highest weekly jump since May 2002 - the smaller than expected draw of 300K barrels in gasoline inventories (consensus -1.0 mln) has mitigated some of the nervousness about the weight of high gas prices on discretionary spending...

Distillates, however, fell 1.4 mln barrels, much worse than the 100K build analysts expected; but the commodity's influence on spending continues to diminish heading into the summer driving months... Meanwhile, crude oil futures ($53.10/bbl -$1.15), which fell nearly 2.0% within 5 minutes of the report and broke below $53/bbl, remain under pressure... XOI -2.1, NYSE Adv/Dec 1056/1901, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 827/1860

huh? but the commodity's influence on spending continues to diminish heading into the summer driving months

I thought that was when the influence would be the greatest - when people were taking to the road going on vacations!

[UpInArms]

95. 11:24 EST numbers (almost all better!)

Dow 10,142.34 -8.79 (-0.09%)
Nasdaq 1,923.55 -3.89 (-0.20%)
S&P 500 1,150.63 -1.11 (-0.10%)
10-Yr Bond 4.220 -0.47 (-1.10%)

NYSE Volume 742,705,000
Nasdaq Volume 705,116,000

[54anickel]

100. Nah, they figure nothing will hold folks back from hittin' the road to

go on vacation! HA, could explain that huge increase in credit cards in your earlier post.

To hell with high gas prices - it's vacation time! CHARGE IT!! :evilgrin:

[54anickel]

92. And You Thought Oil Was A Worry

Why do they vilify nations when they attempt to get a fair price, while ignoring the price gouging and backroom deals made by US corporations? Must be the re-edumacation - what's good for corporate profits is good for me. :shrug:

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20050426/bs_bw/b3931044mz011;_ylt=AsrSr07_h6JE8a0mVBY6K_S1v0gC;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Oil prices are through the roof. OPEC is sitting pretty. Could things get any worse for energy buyers? You bet. There are troubling signs that natural gas producers are moving toward forming their own version of OPEC. While not an immediate threat, such a move could eventually drive up prices for an indispensable element of the U.S. long-term energy supply: In January, the Energy Dept. predicted that gas imports from outside North America will increase more than 700% and account for a quarter of U.S. consumption by 2025.

The concept of a natural gas OPEC is becoming less far-fetched. On Apr. 25-27, a little-known, four-year-old organization called the Gas Exporting Countries Forum will meet in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Although the organization says it wants to promote cooperation with gas-consuming nations and "does not seek to control...pricing and supply," in past meetings members have discussed mutual efforts to capture a bigger share of the wealth generated by their own natural resources. That's exactly the line of inquiry that led to the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries 45 years ago.

Natural gas meets one key requirement for price-fixing: a high degree of market concentration. In the last quarter of 2004 members of the forum accounted for 53% of the natural gas imported by the industrialized nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development. That's in line with the 52% share of OECD oil imports that OPEC provided in the quarter, according to the International Energy Agency. The Trinidadian hosts list the countries invited as forum members as Algeria, Bolivia, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Many are OPEC members and thus know a thing or two about price-fixing. Norway, Argentina, and Equatorial Guinea have been invited to observe.

Why now? For one thing, technology is making it easier to set up a cartel and enforce control over prices. Until recently almost all exported gas was delivered by pipeline under long-term contract. But with advances in natural gas liquefaction, more of the fuel is being delivered in refrigerated ships. That has led to a developing spot market, similar to that of oil. In a unified market with a single spot price, withholding output in one part of the world can affect prices everywhere.

more...


Speaking of oil and the evils of OPEC...
Damned those developing nations trying to gain prosperity and with it increasing consumption of oil! They were supposed to remain in poverty!!!

http://www.prudentbear.com/archive_comm_article.asp?category=Guest+Commentary&content_idx=42466

Oil: The big picture

snip>

Its All About Consumption
From everything we now know, it is apparent to us that consumption has been the driving force behind the rising oil prices. As the charts show, production increases have not been keeping up with consumption. Africa, Asia and especially China have been consuming oil at rates that have baffled many of the “experts.”

I say “experts” because the conventional wisdom from Wall Street has been that the consumption rates of these regions would top out years ago. It hasn’t and it is not likely to for many years, even decades to come.

snip>

Urbanization/Development Drive Consumption
To give you an idea of the size of the future consumption needs, according to Simmons & Co., currently 1 billion people (Prosperity) use 85% of the world’s oil. There are 5 billion other people in the world. 3 billion (Poverty) use the remaining 15% of the world’s oil. As these 3 billion develop, moving from poverty to prosperity, their consumption (of everything, including oil) will sky-rocket. Even if their consumption grows to only 1/3 of the consumption of the prosperous, per capita, oil production would have to double. And that doesn’t include the remaining 2 billion people not using any energy yet.

The UN estimates that over the next 45 years, the population of Africa is expected to double. Asia is likely to see an increase of about 34%, Latin America and the Caribbean about 39%. The developing regions have a shift going on internally from rural to urban. City life requires the consumption of more energy.

snip>

Can’t They Just Pump More Oil?
No. Contrary to popular belief, OPEC and the other oil producing countries are not a bunch of evil, money-grubbing rich guys that are purposely holding the world hostage to high oil prices while they swim in pools of petroleum.

more...

[UpInArms]

93. "Bigger and Softer" Soft Spot

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B2F581312%2D053F%2D4382%2D88AA%2DBE67BCD5C017%7D&siteid=mktw

excerpt:

"The soft spot is looking to be bigger and softer all the time," said Robert Brusca, chief economist for FAO Economics.

<snip>

Negative data building up

Regional reports on the manufacturing sector have been mixed for April, but the Beige Book was mostly positive about the factory sector. The new orders index in the Institute for Supply Management survey was also very healthy.

Much of the March economic data, including employment and retail sales, have looked weak, with cool temperatures and a very early Easter holiday having some negative impact.

But how much of weakness is statistical noise and how much is real won't be known for months.

Gasoline prices also peaked in March, putting both consumers and businesses on the defensive.

"If it walks like a soft-spot and talks like a soft-spot, it just might be a soft-spot," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisers.

"The soft patch idea is alluring to investors, but we believe it is a siren song," said Steve Stanley, chief economist for RBS Greenwich Capital.

...more...

[AnneD]

102. Since when did a rough or rocky patch

become a soft spot or patch. Is this more GOPspeak? A soft spot is comfortable, a rough spot isn't....and this market and economy 'ain't' comfortable.

[UpInArms]

97. GOP Rep. Baker mulls delay of trade rule

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B7BAE8DC3%2D8A42%2D4F19%2DB4AE%2D5593F48E19D2%7D&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The chairman of a powerful House subcommittee on capital markets is considering ways to delay the implementation of a federal rule regulating the buying and selling of stocks.

Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., told reporters after a conference Wednesday that Congress could pass a measure that would result in "a slowing down" of the Securities and Exchange Commission's "trade-through" rule, which is designed to secure the best price for a trade no matter where it is executed.

Baker chairs the capital markets subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee.

Baker said he wants to have discussions with New York Stock Exchange CEO John Thain about what the NYSE's recent merger means for the recently approved trade-through rule. The exchange announced plans to buy Archipelago Holdings (AX: news, chart, profile) on April 20. The deal would move the NYSE from a not-for-profit company into a for-profit public company called NYSE Group Inc.

...more...

These guys are always true to form.

[UpInArms]

99. SEC rebukes Deloitte on Adelphia audit spin

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D89NPJ100.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down

APR. 27 9:54 A.M. ET Deloitte & Touche LLP incurred the wrath of federal regulators Tuesday over public statements that appeared to shift the blame away from the auditing firm for failed audits of Adelphia Communications Corp. and Just for Feet Inc.

Deborah Harrington, a Deloitte spokeswoman, said regulators requested that the firm revise the first press release it put out. The second release omitted some disputed statements.

Deloitte, the U.S. accounting branch of Big Four accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Tuesday agreed to pay $50 million to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it failed to detect fraud at Adelphia. It was the largest fine ever imposed on an auditing firm.

<snip>

In its original press release on the two settlements, Deloitte blamed its clients and said that "the primary basis of the SEC's claim is that the wrongdoing by the client and certain members of its management should have been uncovered, despite their collusion in some instances with others specifically to deceive the external auditors."

Regulators took exception because two SEC orders had instead found that Deloitte had chosen not to explore warning signs or had backed down under pressure when it completed audits of the two longtime clients.

<snip>

Deloitte revised its statement to say that "the primary basis of the SEC's claim is that the audits were deficient and failed to uncover fraud committed by the companies and certain members of their management in the face of identified risks."

...more...

Ah, the wonderful age of accountability!

[UpInArms]

101. Rigases called 'crooks' who corrupted firm (Adelphia)

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20050427/1041381.asp

WASHINGTON - A day after the Rigas family agreed to surrender most of its fortune to settle civil and criminal charges, the head of the Bush administration's Corporate Fraud Task Force Tuesday lashed into the Rigases, calling them "crooks" who corrupted the cable company they founded.

"The Rigases sort of hit for the cycle of corporate crime," said Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey. "You had self-dealing, you had accounting fraud, you had bank fraud, you had looting. You had everything you see in corporate crime."

Speaking to a small group of reporters at the National Press Club, Comey summed up the Bush administration's three-year effort to fight corporate crime. And in doing so, he described what separated the Rigases' company, Adelphia Communications Corp., from other companies caught up in corporate scandal.

"The challenge in Adelphia was that the crooks owned the house," Comey said.

Federal officials announced Monday that the Rigases had agreed to forfeit 95 percent of their assets or more than $1.5 billion - to help settle the charges against them and against Adelphia. Experts called it the biggest corporate-crime asset forfeiture ever.

...more...

[54anickel]

106. Have you noticed a recurring theme in many of the "corporate" crime

articles the last couple of days. They are bringing up the Beelzebush maladmin's (and the Repukes in general) fight against corporate crime. Suddenly the new corporate goverance rules were all the Repukes ideas - hell the Dems were against checking into Fannie and Freddie.

Beelzebush and friends are getting extremely worried about those poll results. I think we will be reading a lot of Repuke Superhero comics in the fight against corporate crime and the evil libruls that allowed it to happen in the build up to the 2006 elections.

Just a hunch.

[UpInArms]

108. LOL! Pretty soon, they'll start

a campaign that has Eliot Spitzer named as a GOPer :rofl:

Anyone with half a brain (oops! that seems to exclude all those "surprised" economists) will see through such a cheap trick.

[54anickel]

117. Never under estimate the power of stupidity.

[UpInArms]

147. Adelphia To Set Up Victims Fund

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/adelphia_fund.html

Several government agencies that had a hand in prosecuting bankrupt Adelphia Communications have established a Victim Fund to compensate stock and bondholders who lost money as a result of the accounting fraud schemes and the wholesale looting of the company. The Victim Fund will be jointly administered by the Department of Justice and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.


In addition, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced the signing of two agreements which, between cash, stock and Rigas Family real estate, will result in the provision of assets to the Adelphia Victim Fund totaling more than $720 million.

The first agreement, between the United States and the family of Adelphia founder John J. Rigas, provides that the Rigas family will forfeit to the United States in excess of 95 percent of all the Rigas Family's assets.

"Last summer, when these defendants were convicted in this case, it was a day of justice for corrupt corporate executives. Today is a day of restitution for the victims of corporate corruption," said Gonzales.

...more...

Look at the pro-torturer stand up tall for the little guy! :sarcasm:

[UpInArms]

105. 12:01 numbers (look Ma! No Red!)

Dow 10,168.13 +17.00 (+0.17%)
Nasdaq 1,927.96 +0.52 (+0.03%)
S&P 500 1,153.76 +2.02 (+0.18%)
10-Yr Bond 4.230 -0.37 (-0.87%)

NYSE Volume 921,025,000
Nasdaq Volume 847,542,000

It didn't even leave a welt!

[54anickel]

107. 12:06 and it's the lunch special

Dow 10,194.07 +42.94 (+0.42%)
Nasdaq 1,932.42 +4.98 (+0.26%)
S&P 500 1,155.98 +4.24 (+0.37%)
10-Yr Bond 42.23 -0.44 (-1.03%)
NYSE Volume 954,798,000
Nasdaq Volume 874,505,000

[UpInArms]

110. noon blather

12:05PM: Eased inflation concerns amid falling oil prices provide investors just enough of a spark to offset reignited concerns about slowing earnings growth and economic expansion still weigh on overall sentiment... Mar. durable orders unexpectedly fell 2.8% - the biggest one-month drop in 2 1/2 years - following a downwardly revised decline of 0.2% a month earlier, a disappointment could slow Q1 GDP growth to below 3%...

Meanwhile, the majority of blue chip earnings out this morning (i.e. BA, VZ, WLP, COP, CEG and PD) have again beaten analysts' expectations, but Amazon.com's (AMZN 31.10 -1.61) disappointment last night has left a shadow of uncertainty looming... However, a 3.0% decline in crude oil futures ($52.35/bbl -$1.85) following a better than expected read on weekly oil inventories, has arguably renewed buying interest in stocks, as six out of ten economic sectors now trade in positive territory...

The EIA reported the highest weekly build in crude oil inventories - to 5.5 mln barrels (consensus +650K) - since May 2002 while gasoline inventories fell by a much less than expected 300K barrels (consensus -1.0 mln), calming the nerves of many an investors about the impact high gas prices have has on discretionary spending... Telecom Services (+1.6%) has paced the way higher, taking a bullish cue after Verizon Communications (VZ 34.83 +0.83) posted a 47% surge in Q1 earnings... Interest rate-sensitive sectors like Financial and Utility have also found buyers amid falling bond yields, as the 10-year note (+10/32) now yields 4.22% following the disappointing durable goods data... Health Care has also reversed course while Technology has gotten a boost from a rebound in Semiconductor...

See? It's all good news!

[UpInArms]

112. here's a technology corp that didn't fare so well

NEC Corp. quarterly profit drops 77%

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.5080630324-834654493&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- NEC Corp. (NIPNY) (JP:6701) on Wednesday reported net earnings for the quarter ended March 31 of 3.25 billion yen ($30.7 million) compared with 14.42 billion yen a year ago. Sales were 1.436 trillion yen, compared with 1.457 trillion yen last year. The Tokyo-based electronics maker forecast fiscal 2006 sales of 5 trillion yen, up 3% compared with fiscal year 2005. NEC forecast income of 15 billion yen for the first half of the 2006 fiscal year and 150 billion yen for full-year 2006. It also sees net income of 14 billion yen for the first half of fiscal 2006 and 60 billion yen for full-year 2006.

NEC Corporation. The Group's principal activities are to provide systems, components, services and integrated solutions for computing and communications applications to corporations and public sectors. The Group operates through three principal segments: NEC IT Solutions develops, designs, manufactures and sells computer systems, Internet-related services, support and software to government agencies and enterprises. NEC Networks provides Internet solutions systems such as W-CDMA mobile communications systems to the broadband and communication service providers. NEC Electron devices include develops, designs, manufactures and sells semiconductors, displays, electronic components and other electron devices such as color LCDs, etc to equipment manufacturers. The Group's manufacturing facilities are located in Japan, the United States of America, Europe and Asia and markets products throughout the world.

[MARALE]

109. Rockwell Collins earnings, sales rise

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B5A51E990-2B64-42E3-8C59-04980D1073F5%7D&siteid=google

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, avionics, electronics and communications systems firm also boosted its fiscal 2005 earnings and revenue expectations, citing strength in both its government and commercial businesses.

For the fiscal second quarter, Rockwell Collins earned $95 million, or 52 cents a share, up from $71 million, or 39 cents a share, last year.

Fiscal second-quarter revenue totaled $829 million with defense electronics sales reaching $287 million, up from $238 million last year.

Last year, the company brought in $719 million in total sales.
...

I used to work for RC a few years ago. This is coming from the government contracts that they have been getting. That is a big part of their business.

[UpInArms]

113. defense and energy companies are hitting the jackpot

Baker Hughes profit nearly doubles

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BB7CA579B%2DD967%2D4ABB%2D97F7%2DD8EA6189CE23%7D&siteid=mktw

DALLAS (MarketWatch) - Baker Hughes Inc. said Wednesday its first-quarter profit nearly doubled as prices for its services and drilling activity increased.

In a sharply lower market, shares in Baker Hughes fell 2%, or 92 cents, to $44.20 in morning trading.

Houston-based Baker Hughes (BHI: news, chart, profile) , said first-quarter net income rose to $180 million, or 53 cents a share, from $94.6 million, or 28 cents a share. Sales jumped 19% to $1.65 billion.

Analysts expected Baker Hughes to earn 50 cents a share, on average.

On April 15, Baker Hughes increased its earnings estimate for the first quarter, citing pricing power, among other positive factors. See archived story.

The company said it expects market conditions to remain favorable for both revenue growth and price improvements in 2005.

...more...

everything else seems to be sucking pondwater

[54anickel]

114. 008: Licence to Rant (Mogambo)

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/daughty/daughty042705.html

- The world is slowly coming apart, and the big news, for me, is that some yahoo high up in the Chinese banking world, Zhou Xiaochuan, who is the governor of the People's Bank of China, admits that they may be prodded along by international pressure to more quickly allow their currency to appreciate against ours. How much? Well, I have no idea, but the Financial Times newspaper noted that the futures market was "betting on an exchange rate of Rmb7.818 to the dollar in 12 months' time," down from the current peg of about currency 8.3 to the dollar. So, in answer to your question, the dollar will suffer a 6% devaluation, give or take, in twelve months. Since there is nothing that says that the devaluation will stop there, perhaps you had better count on a 12% devaluation in twenty-four month's time, too.

snip>

The reality is that to move the peg to Rmb7.8 to the dollar from 8.3 means that they are raising prices to the world's best customer! And not only that, but the gigantic hoard of American debt and assets, that the Chinese government and the Chinese citizens now own, will be worth 6% less yuan in one year! I know what you are thinking. You are laughing and going "hahahaha" at the Chinese idiots who thought that buying all that American debt and equities was such a smart move! And if you REALLY want a big laugh, then if interest rates also rise in the year, they will lose an additional big chunk of change on top of that, as their American bonds will go down in price! Hahahaha! They could easily be looking at a 50% loss on their investments that totals to a huge, whopping huge, gigantically huge loss of wealth! Hahahaha! Chinese chumps!

Bill Bonner of the Daily Reckoning says he already knows that 1) we have inflation in the USA and almost everywhere in the world, and that 2) the Chinese are going to suffer losses due to a devaluation of the dollar, and 3) he certainly doesn't need a nitwit like me to call him up to tell him either of those things. Then I innocently ask "Then what DO you need a nitwit to call you up about?" But instead of answering me, he sums up the inflation and dollar-devaluation thing with the pithy "U.S. standards of living must fall; foreign lenders must get stiffed."

snip>

- E.R. Maybury, in the Mar-Apr 2005 issue of his Early Warning Report, notes that "Every major war Washington has ever gotten into has produced inflationary trends. This means, for speculators, wartime is as close as it gets to a no-brainer." So the way to make a few bucks on this is to invest in those areas that benefit from inflation? A nice piece of investment advice! And the good news is that you don't even have to be in a hurry, because you have all the time in the world to get your money invested in things that will benefit from inflation, as he concludes that "The 1990s were the decade of high tech. Next, I am afraid, will be the decade of war." And thus, I assume, the decade of inflation. And profits from owning the stocks of companies that make war materiel, too.

more...

[54anickel]

116. Credit card debt and the K-wave (the deflationist view)

http://www.kitco.com/ind/Droke/apr252005.html

snip>

Speaking of inflation, the Financial Times reports that the Bank of Japan is poised to abandon its forecast of a return to inflation this fiscal year, delaying an exit from zero interest rates until March 2007 at the earliest. The BOJ apparently believes that "deflation is not over yet" and the BOJ’s deputy governor told the Times his bank would reverse its prediction that the Japanese economy would climb out of deflation this year by registering a consumer price rise of 0.1 percent. Instead it would predict more deflation, he told the Times.

This shows us that the long-wave worldwide deflationary trend (K-wave) is still with us and should succeed in keeping inflationary pressures from getting out of hand when they arise from time to time. Whenever the central banks try to reflate the major economies, including the U.S., K-wave deflation is right there to put pressure on top of prices before they threaten to skyrocket to ridiculous extremes. Remember, the K-wave is tentatively scheduled to bottom along with the Kress Master Cycle of 120-years around 2012-2014. We’ve still got a ways to go before we get there.

There is so much debt out there – to the tune of trillions of dollars – that whenever the Fed starts pumping the liquidity pump like they did from 2001-2004, instead of that money being used to pay down the excessive debt levels is only used to add even more debt. While reflation does resuscitate the economy to an extent and lift consumer spending, consumers have a relentless tendency to take on even more debt in different forms. The Fed is slowing down the money supply rate of change (ROC) as we’ve noted in recent months, among other reasons, to keep the debt bubble from over-expanding too quickly.

snip>

Business Week did a 2-page spread last week titled "Tough love for debtors" about credit card rules that will raise minimum payments for debtors. According to BW, because of a crackdown by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, "most banks and credit-card issuers will ratchet up required minimum monthly payments over the next 12 months or so," adding that in the future, "the payments must cover all fees and interest and pay down at least some of the outstanding borrowing." Monthly payments on many cards will double to about 4% of balances, according to BW.

The stated goal of this is assisting debtors pay their bills in a timely fashion and slash the interest due. The actual reason is that before the next credit inflation can occur, there must first come a contraction – a temporary deflation of the credit bubble. "Two steps forward, one step back" as the saying goes. The regulators are busy paving the way for the final phase of the decennial pattern (not to mention the final integration of the global economy) which calls for a final mini-boom in 2007-2009 before the final "hard down" phase of K-wave deflation and the 120-year cycle begins.

Time to pay the fiddler? Heh, notice how as the cycle sets to turn, the banks are pretty damned well insulated. :tinfoilhat:

[UpInArms]

115. Goldman and ArcaEx knew of conflicts re: NYSE merger

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BDEF4BB09%2D9833%2D4F7A%2DBA85%2DD3E1EA451D27%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Archipelago Holdings and Goldman Sachs were both aware of the investment bank's conflicts of interest in the New York Stock Exchange merger, but they decided to press on with the deal, according to a letter made available in a federal filing on Wednesday.

Critics have focused on the multiple roles that Goldman (GS: news, chart, profile) in last week's landmark agreement with Archipelago (AX: news, chart, profile) , fueling the possibility of an NYSE takeover bid from a rival faction on Wall Street.

Under the pact, owners of the exchange's seats would control a 70% stake in the combined company. See full story.

Goldman, which advised the NYSE in the deal, also owns the Big Board's biggest trading-specialist unit and holds significant equity stakes in both the exchange itself and Archipelago.

Goldman owns 1.5% of the NYSE and 15.6% of Archipelago, according to the letter, dated April 15. The bank is set to receive a fee of $3.5 million for its work on the Archipelago deal, the letter says.

Goldman has argued that it avoided any conflicts by disclosing all of its relationships.

...more...

too funny! avoiding conflicts by disclosing - not distancing :rofl:

[Jackpine Radical]

120. So, if I go into a bank with a gun

& announce, "This is a stickup," I'm legally off the hook because I announced the fact...

[UpInArms]

145. well.... uh.... according to the rules they are playing by

I guess that's about right :eyes:

[UpInArms]

144. NYSE Deal = $100 Mln for Goldman Sachs

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=8318431

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Not only has Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) burnished its reputation as Wall Street's consummate dealmaker by brokering the New York Stock Exchange's planned purchase of Archipelago Holdings, it is profiting handsomely.

Based on new disclosures, the investment bank has seen its holdings in both parties swell by more than $100 million on top of $7 million in advisory fees. Goldman also would emerge as the largest shareholder in a bigger, faster-growing NYSE, with a 5.7 percent stake.

Under the terms of the transaction, the closely held NYSE would buy Archipelago Holdings Inc. (AX.P: Quote, Profile, Research) in a reverse merger. Exchange members would swap their membership "seats" for 70 percent of the combined company, NYSE Group Inc., plus $400 million cash. That gives each seat an implied value of about $2.5 million.

Goldman Sachs owns about 21 of the NYSE's 1,366 membership seats, or a 1.5 percent stake, according to Goldman's April 15 letter of engagement with Archipelago, released in a U.S. Securities and Exchange filing on Tuesday.

...more...

[UpInArms]

118. 1:09 EST numbers and blather (WHEE!)

Dow 10,197.31 +46.18 (+0.45%)
Nasdaq 1,934.29 +6.85 (+0.36%)
S&P 500 1,156.87 +5.13 (+0.45%)
10-Yr Bond 4.233 -0.34 (-0.80%)

NYSE Volume 1,187,115,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,055,964,000

1:00PM: More of the same as stocks continue to trade in a narrow range near intra-day highs... Continuing to find broad-based buying support has been Financial (+1.0%)... Two analyst upgrades on Aflac (AFL 39.66 +3.51), after it beat Q1 earnings forecasts by $0.03 and showed improved sales prospects at both its Japanese and U.S. operations last night, has helped Insurance (+1.6%) lead the charge... Better than expected earnings and raised FY05 guidance from Countrywide Financial (CFC 35.40 +1.51), coupled with falling bond yields, has also assisted in the sector's leadership to the upside...NYSE Adv/Dec 1617/1530, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1272/1628

12:30PM: Little changed since the last update, as market internals now indicate a mixed bias to the tone of trading... Advancers on the NYSE now hold an 8 to 7 advantage over decliners while declining issues on the Nasdaq hold a 15 to 12 edge over advancing issues, less bearish than the more than 2 to 1 edge about an hour ago... Even the ratio of up to down volumes at both the Big Board and the Composite suggests a much improved underlying sentiment, as the indices hold their own in positive territory...NYSE Adv/Dec 1647/1463, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1251/1590

(edited for html)

[54anickel]

122. Fire sale catching on with the US$ as well

Last trade 84.17 Change +0.21 (+0.25%)

Settle 83.96 Settle Time 23:32

Open 84.02 Previous Close 83.96

High 84.37 Low 83.87

[ozymandius]

119. Remember all that bad news this morning? Nevermind.

1:12

Dow 10,217.64 +66.51 (+0.66%)
Nasdaq 1,936.96 +9.52 (+0.49%)
S&P 500 1,159.73 +7.99 (+0.69%)
10-Yr Bond 4.233 -0.34 (-0.80%)

NYSE Volume 1,207,187,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,070,177,00

[54anickel]

123. But Ozy, there are such bargains to be had today!

[ozymandius]

124. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

n/t

[UpInArms]

125. LOL!

:spray::spray::spray::spray:

gotta clean my screen again!

[UpInArms]

121. Yahoo CEO Semel collects $55 mln from stock sales

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BC5A32FF0%2DA11D%2D450C%2D8167%2D0CB28375AE54%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel continues to profit from the Internet giant's turnaround under his watch, pocketing about $55 million in recent days from selling stock acquired from the exercise of options.

Last Friday and this week, Semel exercised 2.05 million stock options and sold the resulting shares at $34.67 to $35.32 each. Semel's $55-million profit resulted after paying the exercise price on the options, which ranged from $4.62 to $8.81 apiece, according to filings made late Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The recent windfall adds to a string of Semel's profits from Yahoo stock. In 2004, the CEO reaped $230 million from selling about 10 million option-related shares.

Shares of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo traded recently at $34.72 each, more than three times the stock's split-adjusted price at the close of Semel's first day of work in 2001.

Semel, a former movie-studio head, is credited with reviving the fortunes of the once-faltering Internet pioneer. Last week, Yahoo said its first-quarter net income more than doubled, and the company raised revenue projections for 2005.

...more...

Guess he's going to donate huge chunks of that money so that there will be fewer homeless schoolchildren

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1426496

[ozymandius]

126. numbers and blather

1:50
Dow 10,199.53 +48.40 (+0.48%)
Nasdaq 1,933.16 +5.72 (+0.30%)
S&P 500 1,157.41 +5.67 (+0.49%)
10-Yr Bond 42.39 -0.28 (-0.66%)

NYSE Volume 1,353,823,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,190,463,000

1:30PM: Indices extend their reach into positive territory, perhaps getting a boost from upbeat comments about the economy from GE's CEO... Within the last 15 minutes, it has been reported that General Electric (GE 36.37 +0.19) Chairman and CEO Jeffrey has said that the U.S. economy is "still pretty strong'' and that orders at GE are expected to meet forecasts for 2005...

Since GE is widely regarded as a strong gauge of broad global economic conditions, such comments have arguably helped counter some of the negativity surrounding this morning's disappointing durable goods data, which will prompt economists to lower their forecasts for Q1 GDP... NYSE Adv/Dec 1819/1367, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1414/1502

[54anickel]

131. Which GE division would that be, hmmm? Couldn't be their appliance

division, I'm guessing it's the side that has to do with the "military-industrial-complex". Heh, that or medical imaging, although I've heard they haven't been able to compete as well on that side of the company these days.

[ozymandius]

133. Well, GE is a huge defense contractor, after all.

They also do a bit of broadcasting - also known as a limitless bucket of money.

[UpInArms]

127. SEC charges Bio-Heal Laboratories with stock fraud

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.564901412-834659320&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Bio-Heal Laboratories (BHLL) was charged Wednesday by the Securities and Exchange Commission with issuing 12 million illegal shares to three investors who reaped profits of $10 million by "dumping Bio-Heal shares while the stock was being touted to investors through the Internet." Acting on an emergency request by the SEC, a federal court in Florida issued a restraining order against Bio-Heal to halt further trades and froze the assets of MRMG Holdings, Kess Associates Inc. and ICOR Inc., who were the investors charged with dumping the shares on the market. The SEC seeks to recover $10 million in proceeds.

[ozymandius]

129. another great Social Security investment opportunity n/t

[UpInArms]

128. SEC charges Good Guys director with insider trading

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38469.5709825579-834659749&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A former director of Good Guys, John L. Martin of Irvine, Calif., agreed Wednesday to pay $150,000 to settle insider trading charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC said Martin bought 100,000 shares of Good Guys on margin in August and September 2003 after learning of an offer by privately held CompUSA to buy Good Guys. The shares rose 33% to $2 when the purchase was announced, giving Martin a profit of $73,625, the SEC said. Martin failed to file required forms reporting his purchases and sales. Martin, without denying or admitting the charges, agreed to a five-year ban on serving on any public company board.

[ozymandius]

130. numbers and blather

2:28
Dow 10,203.15 +52.02 (+0.51%)
Nasdaq 1,934.29 +6.85 (+0.36%)
S&P 500 1,158.01 +6.27 (+0.54%)
10-Yr Bond 42.35 -0.32 (-0.75%)

NYSE Volume 1,496,431,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,308,591,00

2:00PM: Market holds on to the bulk of today's gains, led by spirited leadership from a number of blue chips... On the Dow, Verizon Communications (VZ 34.96 +0.96) continues to pace the way higher as strong growth in its Wireless business helped Q1 profits surge 47%... Trading higher in sympathy has been SBC Communications (SBC 23.50 +0.34) while Microsoft (MSFT 25.02 +0.26) has climbed ahead of its Q1 earnings report (tomorrow after the close)... Other notable names posting a gain of at least 1.0% include AIG, AXP, C, IBM, JPM and MO...

Minimizing gains, however, has been strong follow through selling interest in Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 20.08 -0.39), which has now lost roughly $3.0 bln in market value since Monday... Caterpillar (CAT 87.72 -1.14) has also lost more than 1.0%, taking a hit following the weak durable goods data... NYSE Adv/Dec 1796/1393, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1385/1559

[ozymandius]

132. into the final hour

Dow 10,210.10 +58.97 (+0.58%)
Nasdaq 1,936.08 +8.64 (+0.45%)
S&P 500 1,158.22 +6.48 (+0.56%)
10-Yr Bond 42.31 -0.36 (-0.84%)

NYSE Volume 1,673,211,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,449,851,00

3:00PM: More of the same, as buyers remain an active bunch heading into the final hour of trading... Helping to support much of today's reversal from early-morning lows has been the continued slide in crude oil prices, which have closed down nearly 5.0% at $51.55/bbl (-$2.65) within the last 30 minutes... While the influence of oil prices on stocks over the last few weeks has arguably been displaced by worries of a weakening economy and decelerating profit growth, it appears oil's direct impact on the indices has, at least temporarily, returned from the sidelines... NYSE Adv/Dec 1781/1442, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1391/1591

[54anickel]

134. At 3:34 the exuberance is waning

Dow 10,185.42 +34.29 (+0.34%)
Nasdaq 1,930.68 +3.24 (+0.17%)
S&P 500 1,155.34 +3.60 (+0.31%)
10-Yr Bond 42.37 -0.30 (-0.70%)
NYSE Volume 1,833,522,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,579,440,000

"Even Steven" on the up/down volumes


Advances 1779 (52%) 1442 (45%)
Declines 1451 (42%) 1589 (49%)
Unchanged 163 (4%) 167 (5%)

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

Up Vol* 843 (48%) 717 (47%)
Down Vol* 847 (48%) 724 (47%)
Unch. Vol* 43 (2%) 78 (5%)

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

New Hi's 38 27
New Lo's 123 195

[ozymandius]

135. 3:37 and climbing down

Dow 10,183.57 +32.44 (+0.32%)
Nasdaq 1,930.17 +2.73 (+0.14%)
S&P 500 1,155.24 +3.50 (+0.30%)
10-Yr Bond 42.37 -0.30 (-0.70%)

NYSE Volume 1,853,123,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,595,422,000

[54anickel]

137. Notice the change in the 3:00 blather from what you posted? Had to

work in Shrub's little energy speech. Just so no one thinks he's in bed with Big Oil or anything....:eyes:

3:00PM: More of the same, as buyers remain an active bunch heading into the final hour of trading... Helping to support much of today's reversal from early-morning lows has been the continued slide in crude oil prices, which have closed down nearly 5.0% at $51.55/bbl (-$2.65) as President Bush recapped the use of new technology to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil...
While the influence of oil prices on stocks over the last few weeks has arguably been displaced by worries of a weakening economy and decelerating profit growth, it appears oil's direct impact on the indices has, at least temporarily, returned from the sidelines... NYSE Adv/Dec 1781/1442, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1391/1591



And from the In Play section....

2:55PM Summary of Bush speech on energy :Bush's speech didn't cover too much new ground, as he recapped many of his proposals from previous speeches. The President focused on how technology can be used to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil... Says one of most promising sources of energy is nuclear power, recommends building new plants, wants to reduce uncertainty in licensing process and insurance... Wants to build new oil refineries on closed military facilities, ease regulatory burden... Reiterates call to expand domestic exploration in oil and natural gas, including Arctic National Wildlife Refuge... Recommends expanding use of liquified natural gas, wants to expedite review of new LNG projects... Reits call to develop clean coal technology, as well as hydrogen-powered fuel cells... Recommends ethanol as alternative fuel source, as well as biodiesel; spoke of legislation that would support use of these... He recommended expanding use of wind, solar, and biomass as sources of fuel, and in transportation promoted the use of hydrogen-powered vehicles, hybrid cars, and clean diesel technology... Bush spoke of expanded use of superconducting power lines, and said it was time to build a modern electricity grid.

[Roland99]

141. Hmm...why do we need legislation to support alternative fuels?

You mean, corporations aren't researching on their out of the goodness of their hearts?

[UpInArms]

142. did Dimson give that speech from his bunker?

and btw on a personal note regarding energy - we just checked about putting a wind generator up (we live rurally and have lots of wind) and wanted to know if we could tie into the grid and sell our excess energy back to the power company.

Well, it seems that under this mal-administration there have been some changes made that "help" the power companies by allowing them not to purchase the power they get from independent sources at a fair market rate - they pay 1/4 the rate on a sporadic basis - and they are not bound even to do that.

[54anickel]

149. Heh, sounds like a personal problem there UIA -

(we have lots of wind) :evilgrin:

But seriously, I hadn't heard of that change, must be new to the Bush years. There's an old bar a few miles from my home that happens to own a damn that produces power. The old guy that owned it was getting his checks from the power company on a regular basis - at least before he died about 6 years ago. Place hasn't sold since then and I haven't kept up on the recent small town "gossip", er I mean news.

[UpInArms]

150. the guy at the state agency that works with

alternative energy said that it was new to this administration.

It doesn't resolve our power problems - looks like we would have to completely do a storage and inverter situation (really costly) and so it just may not happen :(

[54anickel]

152. Figures, I am so sorry you are running into this obstacle. Guess the

big power companies might somehow feel threatened by this. I mean, hey suppose you put one up, then another guy, then another - pretty soon this damned wind idea starts catching on and looking feesible. Can't have that now, can we?

I know that our power company has been talking down wind solutions as nonsense. They have a few up around Fond du Lac and complain that they are a maintenance nightmare. Funny how folks in the neighborhood never seem to see any maintenance work being done though. :shrug:

[54anickel]

139. and the 3:30 blather - "99 bottle of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer"

3:30PM: Market continues to put together a respectable advance ahead of this quarter's largest afternoon of earnings reports... After the bell, investors will have earnings from 99 companies to sift through while tomorrow, as market participants digest the biggest morning of Q1 reports (131), they will also have some key economic data to keep in their sights... At 8:30 ET, an advance read on Q1 GDP (consensus 3.5%) and its chain deflator (consensus 2.1%) - a key inflation measure - will hit the wires alongside the Labor Dept.'s release of weekly jobless claims (consensus 230K)...NYSE Adv/Dec 1771/1476, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1449/1584

[UpInArms]

136. AFL-CIO demands Pfizer explain chief's retirement package

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BD281176B%2D87CC%2D4A12%2DBC70%2D5E5C14A22F1B%7D

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The nation's largest labor group is asking Pfizer Inc. (PFE) to explain pension benefits for the company's chief executive reportedly worth $80 million.

In a letter to Pfizer, the AFL-CIO demanded that the drug maker address the issue at its annual meeting of shareholders, scheduled for Thursday in San Diego.

The AFL-CIO, a federation of unions representing 13 million workers, described the retirement package awaiting Henry McKinnell, Pfizer's 62-year-old chairman and chief executive, as "extraordinary." McKinnell is expected to retire in 2008.

The group cited a recent New York Times article that calculated McKinnell's retirement package to be worth $80 million. "Pfizer has slightly underperformed its competitors over the past five years," the AFL-CIO said in the letter, dated Monday. "Giving Dr. McKinnell a multimillion dollar pension benefit will reward this unexceptional performance."

...more...

Now tell me - what is the minimum wage again? Oh, that's right. It's $5.15 per hour.

:argh:

[54anickel]

138. Damn, that's a heckuvalota moola!

[Gregorian]

151. His and hers jets- $30 million

Money doesn't go very far when you're living large.

[ozymandius]

140. HA HA! MBNA gets drubbed with its own legislation.

http://www.thestreet.com/_tscrss/stocks/banking/10219019.html

MBNA Hit by Customer Paydowns

Shares of credit card giant MBNA (KRB:NYSE - commentary - research) were getting squeezed in Thursday trading, after the company announced a 94% decline in first-quarter profits and offered a dismal earnings outlook for the rest of the year.

The Delaware-based card company's stock plunged $3.70, or 16%, to $19.41.

In the quarter, MBNA said profits fell to $31.7 million, or 2 cents a share, down from $519.7 million, or 4 cents a share, as the result of a $767 million pretax restructuring charge.

Without the charge, the card company said it would have earned $514 million, or 40 cents a share. MBNA's operating figure, however, fell 6 cents shy of the Thomson Financial consensus estimate.

To compound matters, MBNA, in a press release, said that on the basis of the current trend, it expects full-year earnings to come in "significantly below its 10% growth objective."

more...

Screw them and the Congressional whores who help them.

[UpInArms]

143. hoorah for the paydowns!

to those that have stuffed it back at MBNA :yourock:

[UpInArms]

146. Sony Reports $533M 4Q Group Net Loss

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=707497

TOKYO Apr 27, 2005 — Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. on Wednesday reported a bigger group net loss for the January-March quarter compared to a year ago, battered by slumping sales and restructuring costs.

Tokyo-based Sony recorded a group net loss of 56.5 billion yen ($533 million) for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss one year earlier of 38.2 billion yen.

Sony, which also has key music, movie and video-game businesses, said in a statement that sales shrank 4.2 percent to 1.697 trillion yen ($16 billion) from 1.772 trillion yen ($16.7 billion) for the same quarter last year.

Sony has been fighting off growing competition in consumer electronics from cheaper Asian manufacturers, while falling behind other rivals in critical hits like the iPod from Apple Computer Inc. Sony has been struggling to make a turnaround, but the latest results show its recovery remains weak.

Sales declined during the quarter in mobile phones, portable music players and old-style TV sets, although they were up in flat-panel and rear-projection televisions. The launch of the PlayStation Portable, the handheld video-game machine, helped boost sales in Sony's game operations, Sony said.

...more...

but.... who cares! It's time to BUY!

[Zynx]

153. Sony is a very troubled company and has been in trouble for some time.

I don't know if I would buy it even at relatively low levels.

[54anickel]

154. Bummer, I really like a lot of their "stuff". I've even been able to find

forgiveness in my heart for their bone-headed move in the old Beta vs VHS war.

[RawMaterials]

148. Closing Numbers and Blather

Dow 10198.80 +47.67 (+0.47%)
Nasdaq 1930.43 +2.99 (+0.16%)
S&P 500 1156.38 +4.64 (+0.40%)
10-Yr Bond 4.237% -0.30

NYSE Volume 2,086,512,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,763,676,000



Close: Stocks opened sharply lower, amid concerns of slowing economic growth, but as investors found renewed support from falling oil prices, the indices reversed course and closed to the upside... While a slowdown in orders was widely anticipated, an unexpected 2.8% fall (consensus +.03%) in durable goods orders during March - the biggest one-month drop in 2 1/2 years - coupled with a downward revision to the previous month's figure, underpinned a sense of nervousness at the outset...

Excluding the transportation component, the decline was a less severe 1.0%, but overall weakness in business investment invited the likelihood that Q1 GDP growth may now come in below 3% (consensus 3.5%)... Also weighing on sentiment early on was a disappointing Q1 report from Amazon.com (AMZN 31.67 -1.04), which offset better than expected earnings from the majority (20 of 30) of this morning's S&P companies out with results (i.e. BA, VZ, WLP, COP, CEG and PD)...

However, a nearly 5.0% sell-off in crude oil futures ($51.61/bbl -$2.59), following a better than expected read on weekly oil inventories and America's reduced dependence on foreign oil via President Bush's speech on energy, eased inflationary pressures and improved overall sentiment, as eight out of ten economic sectors finished in positive territory... The EIA reported the highest weekly build in crude oil inventories since May 2002 - to 5.5 mln barrels (consensus +650K) - while gasoline inventories fell by a much less than expected 300K barrels (consensus -1.0 mln)... Arguably providing some additional support for stocks around 1:00 ET were upbeat comments about the economy from General Electric (GE 36.37 +0.19) Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt...

Since bellwether GE is widely regarded as a strong gauge of broad global economic conditions, Immelt saying the U.S. economy is "still pretty strong," especially in the wake of disappointing economic data, perhaps alleviated some of fears about a slowdown in the economy... Meanwhile, Telecom Services (+1.8%) paced the way higher, fueled by a 47% surge in Verizon Communications' (VZ 35.20 +1.20) Q1 earnings... Interest rate-sensitive sectors like Financial (+1.3%) and Utility (+0.7%) also attracted buyers following better than expected earnings from AFLAC Inc. (AFL 39.61 +3.46) and First Energy (FE 42.80 +0.28), respectively...

Falling bond yields also assisted in each sectors' advance, as Treasurys got a boost from the disappointing durable goods data as well as short-covering ahead of tomorrow's advance read on GDP... The benchmark 10-year note closed up 7 ticks to yield 4.23%... Health Care (+0.9%) was also an influential leader to the upside, assisted by strong Q1 reports from WellPoint (WLP 124.96 +6.93) and Becton Dickinson (BDX 58.65 +2.10)...

Even Technology gained ground, as strength in Microsoft (MSFT 24.97 +0.21) - ahead of its Q1 report tomorrow after the bell - and tech bellwether Intel (INTC 23.52 +0.20) offset overall losses in Software (-0.2%) and Semiconductor (-0.2%)... Energy (-2.2%), however, again fell in sympathy to declining oil prices and a sell-the-news reaction to strong earnings from the likes of COP, KMG, AHC, BHI and DO... Materials (-0.8%) also closed lower amid strong follow through selling interest and the surprise decline in durables... NYSE Adv/Dec 1762/1498, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1360/1689



Have a great night everyone :hi: