STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday 9 May

[ozymandius]

Tuesday May 9, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 986 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1965 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1665 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1626
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


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




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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 8, 2006

Dow... 11,584.54 +6.80 (+0.06%)
Nasdaq... 2,344.99 +2.42 (+0.10%)
S&P 500... 1,324.66 -1.10 (-0.08%)
Gold future... 679.90 -4.40 (-0.65%)
30-Year Bond 5.19% -0.01 (-0.17%)
10-Yr Bond... 5.12% +0.01 (+0.22%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars, Loonie and Silver


PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

[ozymandius]

1. One report today -

10:00 AM Wholesale Inventories Mar
Briefing Forecast 0.4%
Market Expects 0.5%
Prior 0.8%

[UpInArms]

44. Wholesale Inventories Report (check out prior months' revisions)

10:00 AM ET 5/9/06 U.S. MARCH WHOLESALE INVENTORIES RISE 0.2%

10:00 AM ET 5/9/06 U.S. MARCH WHOLESALE SALES RISE 0.7%

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BB3D758D2%2D0FC6%2D4869%2DA18F%2DDF9B4C025F9A%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Inventories at U.S. wholesalers increased by 0.2% in March, while sales climbed 0.7%, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday. The inventory-to-sales ratio fell to 1.16 from 1.17 in February. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting a 0.5% rise in inventories in March. February's inventory gain was revised to 0.9% from the 0.8% reported earlier. February sales rose a revised 0.3%.

[UpInArms]

58. ALERT!: BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) Revisions to Reports Coming!

10:36 AM ET 5/9/06 REVISIONS AFFECT MANUFACTURING DATA, BLS SAYS

10:36 AM ET 5/9/06 BLS TO REVISE Q1 PRODUCTIVITY, UNIT LABOR COSTS DATA

I guess the LIES haven't been blatant enough :eyes:

[UpInArms]

65. BLS to publish correction to Q1 manufacturing labor costs

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BB517875A%2DA876%2D4F22%2DB7B0%2D94104F64BEB1%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Labor Department will publish a correction Tuesday at 2 p.m. Eastern to data on compensation and labor costs in manufacturing industries that was released last Thursday as part of the first-quarter productivity report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a release that the error was due to erroneous industry tabulations of employee compensation provided by the Commerce Department. Data covering the business and nonfarm business sectors was not affected by the error.

[54anickel]

68. Wonder which way they will go? Do they need to help out this weeks

Treasury auctions or is their aim a joyful Stock Market?

[UpInArms]

81. WHEE! CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-US Q1 productivity rises at 3.2 pct pace

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-09T152821Z_01_N09300796_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-PRODUCTIVITY-CORRECTED-OFFICIAL.XML

In May 4 WASHINGTON story headlined "U.S. Q1 productivity
rises at 3.2 pct annual pace," please read in final paragraph "
... actually declined, at a 1.7 percent annualized pace ... "instead of " ... actually declined, at a 2.6 percent ... "
(corrects figure).

Also, in same paragraph, please read " ... advanced at a
rate of 2.4 percent ... " instead of " ... advanced at the
tepid rate of 1.5 percent ... " (changes to reflect official
corrections from the Labor Department).


A corrected repetition follows:

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. nonfarm productivity
rose at a faster-than-expected 3.2 percent annual rate in the
first quarter while unit labor costs were nearly double
forecasts as hourly compensation surged, preliminary Labor
Department data showed on Thursday.

Wall Street analysts polled by Reuters had expected
productivity to climb at a rate of 3.0 percent, after gross
domestic product growth accelerated sharply at the start of the
year. Fourth-quarter productivity was revised slightly higher
to show a 0.3 percent annualized decline compared with the 0.5
percent dip previously reported.

"Because hourly compensation increased faster than
productivity, unit labor costs increased during the first
quarter," the Labor Department said in a statement.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

89. Reuters appears to have been recently arm-twisted. Rats. n/t

(cf. http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Ghost%20Dog/1)

[54anickel]

94. Heh-heh, sort of nullifies this article...

Wages No Bar to Fed Pause After Move Tomorrow

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_berry&sid=aCO4SLusxU44

May 9 (Bloomberg) -- There's no reason for Federal Reserve officials to stop thinking about a pause in raising interest rates after going to 5 percent when they meet tomorrow. Recent data on labor costs show inflation isn't a problem now.

On May 4 some analysts thought inflation alarm bells were ringing when the Labor Department reported that non-farm business labor costs rose at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter, on the heels of a 3 percent increase in the previous three months.

Should such numbers concern Fed officials thinking about a pause in their drive to raise the target for the overnight lending rate after one more quarter-percentage point increase at tomorrow's Federal Open Market Committee meeting?

Probably not, because buried in the Labor report were some other eye-popping figures for non-financial corporations that Fed officials regard as more reliable, and they gave no reason for any concern.

Productivity at non-financial corporations -- which account for more than half of gross domestic product -- rose 5 percent last year, and unit labor costs were up a scant 0.5 percent in that sector.

more...

[UpInArms]

69. RPT-U.S. March job openings little changed - number of hires dipped

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-09T144905Z_01_N09296190_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-JOBS-OPENINGS-REPEAT.XML

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. job openings in March held steady, while the number of hires during the month dipped from the previous month, the U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday.

March job openings stood at 3.989 million, down from 3.994 million in February, the department said in its latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Job openings rose strongly from 3.658 million a year earlier.

Total private sector openings rose to 3.549 million in the month from 3.531 million in February with gains in construction, manufacturing, and education and health services. Openings declined in trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and government.

March hires, or positions filled during the month, fell to 4.848 million from 4.954 million the prior month, and was below the 4.902 million in the year-ago month, the report said.

Fewer positions were filled in construction, trade, transportation and utilities; education and health services; leisure and hospitality; and government, the report said.

...a bit more...

[Roland99]

92. Well, my # of interviews is skyrocketing....

whew...had an interview yesterday (went great), met this morning w/the guy that runs placement firm that got me that interview. Have a phone interview at 2pm and an in-person interview at 3:30. Meeting another placement firm tomorrow at 1:30. Another in-person interview Thur. morning (it's one I would really like to get). And another possible interview in the works. All this week....whew!

[54anickel]

98. Hmmmm, maybe I should venture back out into the employment

seeking scene? I was hoping to hold off until after the summer...decisions, decisions.

[Roland99]

101. Well, from personal experience from the LAST time this happened to me...

Looking after summer and toward Q4 will result in lukewarm response as companies don't want to bring on additional labor costs that late in the year.

[54anickel]

107. Yeah, I've heard that---but, I'm enjoying my free-time. I hate to see it

end at the height of my favorite time of year! I dunno, should I go back out and bust my arse to get my hands on an ever depreciating buck, or just "let the good times roll" and enjoy it while I can....Tough call. Either way - in the end I'm broke. :P

[Roland99]

109. Well, I'm staring at the short end of the welfare stick

Unemployment won't last forever and I'm not 100% sure I will even qualify (will know next week).

So, I'm going to look at this as an opportunity to right-size my salary (which has been severely deflated since 2003)

:)

[54anickel]

125. When you right-size your salary, take GD's advice. Just lie to yourself,

tell yourself you're making the same deflated salary, sign up for the increase to get auto deposited into a savings at an inconveniently located bank. That's what I did when I was makin' the big bucks - it wasn't easy to not go dippin' in at first. It's paid off well for me in my early, though forced "semi-retirement". ;-)

[Roland99]

126. That's the essential plan

Have to pay off some sizable debts from a former business of mine first, though.

[54anickel]

128. Consider auto payments from that same account. That's how I paid

off my existing debt. Once it was paid off the money accumulated rather nicely.
But, hey, that's just me...money tends to burn a hole in my pocket so I could never allow myself to get my hands, or debit card, or checking account on it. }(

[Ghost Dog]

113. Save more. Spend less.

Be (energy) efficient. What do you really need? Enjoy life.

You know it makes sense :-)

[AnneD]

152. You're going to need

a vacation to recoup from the job search. Still have my fingers crossed for you.

[Roland99]

164. Yeah...I've been busier this week than I have in a while!

[ozymandius]

2. Oil under $70 on Iran, US gasoline build forecast

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil held below $70 on Tuesday as Washington dismissed Iran's move suggesting ways to ease tension over Tehran's nuclear plan, and gains will likely be limited by forecasts for another increase in U.S. gasoline stocks.

U.S. light crude edged up 5 cents to $69.82 a barrel by 0758 GMT, after falling 42 cents on Monday on hopes the unprecedented letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to President Bush could help break the diplomatic impasse.

-cut-

U.S. officials have shrugged off the Iranian letter, an 18-page treatise that does not address concerns over Tehran's nuclear policy beyond defending its rights to scientific research and focused on U.S. foreign policy misdeeds.

"The impact of the Iran letter on the markets is still quite uncertain. At worst, it is neutral and at best, it's good because this is the first time that, at least, there is a willingness to talk," said Michael Coleman, managing director of hedge fund Aisling Analytics.

more

[ozymandius]

3. Japan, China to Hold Talks on Gas Deposits

TOKYO - Japan and China will hold talks on disputed undersea gas deposits next week in Tokyo, Japan's top government spokesman said Tuesday.

China claims it has rights to the gas, but Tokyo says the two countries should share them. Repeated meetings between both countries aimed at resolving the dispute have ended in disagreement.

more

[ozymandius]

4. Fuel prices may affect farmers' planting decisions

WASHINGTON — High energy prices are increasing farmers' production and living expenses, adding burdens at a time when agricultural income is already coming off recent record levels.

Farm fuel costs are expected to rise at least 10% this year, with prices 113% above 2002 levels.

Energy inflation might be affecting planting decisions. A March U.S. Agriculture Department survey found farmers intend to plant 5% less corn and 7% more soybeans this year than in 2005.

One possible factor is that soybeans, which can convert nitrogen from the atmosphere, cost much less than corn to plant and fertilize. Pricey natural gas accounts for the most of the cost of producing nitrogen fertilizer.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-05-08-gas-coping-farmers_x.htm?csp=34

[54anickel]

73. Awww man, I'm not sure I'm gonna like tofu tortillas! n/t

[AnneD]

171. Try....

BBQ ing it...keeps falling through the grill and doesn't hold the sauce well.:spray:

[ozymandius]

5. Cheaper oil will come with elections (opinion)

By JAN GLIDEWELL, Times Columnist
Published May 8, 2006

This is my prediction:

Gas prices will remain ridiculously high - maybe even increase - during the summer and will begin to decline in late August or so and decline throughout the fall until early November.

See where I am going with this?

-cut-

And I am well aware that I am not the first person on Earth to think that we are being manipulated. "Fine-tuned" is the term Jimmy Carter used years ago, but he was talking about the oil-producing nations, specifically the Arab nations, trying to gain the ability to do that to the American economy.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/08/Columns/Cheaper_oil_will_come.shtml

[54anickel]

71. Bwahahaha, "Gnats on crack"! Geez, he's pegged it there!!! n/t

[ozymandius]

6. Chavez Tax Targets Foreign Oil Companies

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is targeting foreign oil companies again — this time with a new tax aimed at lucrative projects in the oil-rich Orinoco River basin.

The measure announced over the weekend comes shortly after Chavez's ally, Bolivian President Evo Morales, nationalized his country's natural gas sector and as both governments increasingly seek a larger share of soaring energy prices.

-cut-

For foreign companies, that effectively means the measure will affect those extracting heavy crude in the Orinoco tar belt, including BP PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, France's Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA. Those companies now pay a 16.6 percent royalty tax, meaning they will pay the difference — an additional 16.7 percent.

Companies operating elsewhere in the country in joint ventures with state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, already pay a 33.3 percent royalty, eliminating the need to pay the new tax.

more

[UpInArms]

27. UAL loss deepens to $306-million (U.S.) on record fuel costs

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060509.RTICKERMAIN09/TPStory/Business

United Airlines parent UAL Corp., which emerged from bankruptcy three months ago, said its first-quarter loss widened as spending for fuel jumped by a third to a record.

UAL, whose United is the world's second-largest airline, had a loss of $306-million (U.S.) excluding a bankruptcy accounting benefit, compared with a $302-million loss a year ago. Sales rose 14 per cent to $4.47-billion, UAL said yesterday.

Higher ticket prices and more passengers couldn't compensate for increases in fuel and labour spending, and United said it will cut annual expenses beginning next year by $400-million more than originally planned. It trimmed $7-billion in annual costs during its 38 months of bankruptcy protection.

"The quarter was a major disappointment," said Ray Neidl, an analyst for Calyon Securities. "These guys have a huge job to do getting down their unit costs. The high fuel price environment aggravates that problem."

<snip>

The company declined to say how many jobs may be eliminated or how much spending on marketing and promotion will be cut.

"We know we can do more to reduce our costs," said Peter McDonald, United's chief operating officer. "We are attacking non-fuel costs with a comprehensive set of strategies."

...more...

[UpInArms]

29. Crude slightly higher as Iran letter dismissed

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BD4517AB1%2DBF22%2D49B5%2DA69F%2DFFDA6351D0BF%7D&symbol=

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures rose slightly early Tuesday, after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a letter from the Iranian president to President Bush contained nothing new in the form of proposals that might help end its nuclear standoff with the West.

Crude for June delivery was last up 8 cents at $69.85 a barrel in electronic trade.

On Monday, the contract closed at its lowest level since early April -- and even touched an intraday low at $68.25 -- with the news that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had made Iran's first communication with the U.S. in 27 years igniting hopes Tehran was moderating its stance on its nuclear research.

But the U.S. government later dismissed the letter as a ploy, saying it was merely a rehash of recent comments made by Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials, the Associated Press reported.

...more...

[54anickel]

47. Ghost Dog posted an interesting article yesterday that brought

the Shanghai Cooperation Organization back into the light. I remember reading/posting on the SCO a while back - but it dropped off of my radar.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=%20EN20060507&articleId=2401
America's Geopolitical Nightmare and Eurasian Strategic Energy Arrangements

snip>

The SCO and Iran events

The latest developments around the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Iran further underscore the dramatic change in the geopolitical position of the United States.

The SCO was created in Shanghai on June 15, 2001 by Russia and China along with four former USSR Central Asian republics-- Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Prior to September 11 2001, and the US declaration of an Axis of Evil in January 2002, the SCO was merely background geopolitical chatter as far as Washington was concerned. Today the SCO, which has to date been blacked out almost entirely in US mainstream media, is defining a new political counterweight to US hegemony and its ‘one-polar’ world.

At the next June 15 2006 SCO meeting, Iran has been invited to become a full SCO member.

snip>

US out in cold in Central Asia

The admission of Iran into SCO opens many new options for Iran and the region. By virtue of SCO membership, Iran can now take part in SCO projects, which in turn means access to badly-needed technology, investment, trade, infrastructure development. It will have major implications for global energy security.

The SCO has reportedly set up a working group of experts ahead of the June summit to develop a common SCO Asian energy strategy, and discuss joint pipeline projects, oil exploration and related activities. Iran sits on the world’s second largest natural gas reserves, and Russia has the largest. Russia is the world’s second largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia. These are no small moves.

India is desperate to come to terms with Iran for energy but is being pressured by Washington not to.

The Bush Administration last year tried to get ‘observer status’ at SCO but was turned down. The rebuff - along with SCO's demands for a reduced American military presence in Central Asia, deeper Russia-China cooperation and the setbacks to US diplomacy in Central Asia – have prompted a policy review in Washington.

much more...a good read. Thanks again to Ghost Dog



So anyway, I decided to add the SCO to my morning search routine. Look what pops up today....

China urges to repatriate "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist suspects
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/09/content_4526898.htm

snip>

The U.S. government announced last Saturday it had set free five Chinese Uygur Muslims from the Guantanamo Bay detention center and allowed them to go to Albania as refugee for resettlement.

"The five people accepted by the Albanian side are by no means refugees, but "Eastern Turkistan" terrorist suspects," Liu said at a routine press conference held in Beijing on Tuesday.

"I think they should be repatriated to China," Liu said, adding, "The acts of the U.S. and Albanian sides are a gross violation of international law and UN resolution, and we are strongly opposed to this."

"We have made strong representations to related sides and urged them to repatriate the five terrorist suspects to China as soon as possible," he said.

"Eastern Turkistan" is a component of international terrorists and has close contacts with Al Qaida and Taliban, he said.

more...the page goes on to highlight some of the up coming Foreign Minister visits - lots going on over there

[54anickel]

135. Bush and Repugs at Their Most Dangerous; Scorching the Earth Behind Them

http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/print_friendly.php?p=opedne_ron_full_060507_scorching_the_earth_.htm

This could be the most dangerous period of Bush's reign.

By Ron Fullwood

If it's true that the next presidential election has already begun, then it's also true that the end of the Bush regime is unfolding as well. I should be feeling some satisfaction in that, and, I will, when it's over.

This could be the most dangerous period of Bush's reign. The carefully layered walls of Bush's bubble are disintegrating as the outer layers of purchased politicos are beginning to peel away, revealing the core ideologues of the cabal. Long gone are wistful architects of the new, bloody American imperialism like Wolfowitz and Perle. As they receded, loyalists like Rice, Hadley, Gordon England, etc. advanced up the chain they forged with their military industrial alliances into catbird seats, lording over our defense budgets, plotting out their imperious ambitions with no fear in their fiefdom.

Stepping out from behind the curtain into the positions of power are faces of past bloody mis-adventures like Negroponte, and engineers of the new American fascism, like Gen. Hayden, whose tenure is marked by the admission of the treasonous act of spying on Americans he shared with the president who directed him there.

This bunch's retreat from their privileged bunkers at the end of Bush's term will be marred by more than misplaced furniture and missing typewriter keys. They are neck-deep in two occupations (both with active, violent resistance), complete with over a thousand prisoners, most held without charges, and many subject to torture which continues even in the wake of the revelations at Abu Ghraib; they are actively engaged in another similar face down of another sovereign nation, Iran, threatening them with preemptive war without any evidence of any threat, direct or otherwise; and our nation is being held hostage to outrageous prices for gas and oil, fueled in a great part by the very militarism that Bush's father promised in the first Gulf war would secure the flow of oil in the Persian Gulf.

The core ideologues who comprise the leadership in the U.S. offices of war and muckraking have long nursed their ambitions to ride the nation's military machine to world dominance and influence. Unchecked, they're going to scorch the earth before their regime dies.

more...

[Ghost Dog]

55. Iran's first communication with the U.S. in 27 years? Puhleeeze!

eg:

http://www.afp.com/english/news/stories/060509072225.y1hahd6w.html
<snip>

A Western diplomat in Tehran, speaking on condition of anonymity, said news of Ahmadinejad's letter was a "diplomatic bombshell" -- given that communications via the Swiss have invariably been between the Iranian foreign ministry and the US State Department, far below the presidential level.

Diplomats from both sides have also held confidential meetings, most recently following the defeat of Afghanistan's Taliban in 2001 and prior to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

/more...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1770658,00.html
and http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,1770657,00.html
<snip>

Mr Bush's formal response to Mr Ahmadinejad's letter will be crucial. The temptation will be to view it as a sign of weakness and rebuff it, as happened in May 2003 when Tehran proposed unconditional, comprehensive talks. That offer, conveyed as now via Swiss diplomats, received no response from a White House buoyed by the fall of Baghdad. But Mr Bush was far stronger, politically and militarily, then than now. A generation of enmity, sharp ideological differences, and personal distaste will be weighed against pragmatic considerations. Flat rejection will be interpreted by Tehran and others as confirmation that the US is using the nuclear issue as a lever for regime change.

/more...

BTW, If Ghost Dog seems quiet today, it's because there's a lot of reading, thinking, reflecting, re-researching, rethinking... (and some physical exercise meanwhile) to be done, :-)

[54anickel]

60. China says "start talkin, damn it!"

China says diplomacy is best option for solution to Iranian nuclear issue
http://english.people.com.cn/200605/09/eng20060509_264217.html

China said on Tuesday diplomatic means remain the best option for the solution of the Iranian nuclear issue.

"The Iranian nuclear issue now stands at a critical moment. We urge all parties concerned to remain sober-minded, patient and restrained, show flexibility and refrain from worsening the situation," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

Diplomatic talks are also in the interests of all parties concerned, Liu acknowledged.

Liu also reiterated that the Chinese government has always disapproved of the use of sanctions or force in international affairs. The Chinese side hopes that the relevant parties would go on taking a constructive attitude and resolve the Iranian nuclear issue peacefully through diplomatic means

more...

Gotta wonder if that letter wasn't a bit coherced by China/Russia heading into the SCO meeting next week? :freak:

[Ghost Dog]

70. See also: China Forum calls for better understanding about China

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-05/09/content_4523710.htm
www.chinaview.cn 2006-05-09 04:47:06

CHICAGO (UNITED STATES), May 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chicago 2006 China Forum opened here on Monday, with participants urging intensified efforts to promote better understanding between China and the United States as a major step to deepen bilateral ties.

Former Senator Adlai Stevenson III from Illinois said in his keynote speech that ignorance about China proved to be a main difficulty in U.S.-China relations.

"I find the Chinese better informed about America than American about China, and therein lies the main difficulty in U.S.-China relations -- ignorance," said Stevenson, who had just returned from his China visit.

"It (ignorance) is easily acquired and in American politics sometimes convenient but it isn't bliss. Ignorance is dangerous," he said.

"Changes in China are so profound and rapid that the realities of China lag our perceptions of China and reflect little of the dynamic social and institutional change which animates this proud and ancient country," he said.

/more...

Great Game? Not just chess. Think Wei-Chi (Go). Plus martial arts. And then some.

[54anickel]

75. Now there's a sad comment on our "of, for, by the people" gov't

He said the Chinese friends should not confuse America with its government in Washington.

[Oversea Visitor]

88. Was it not

That the lawyer that Dick shot was with the Swiss Ambassador.

[Ghost Dog]

93. Not quite. With the US Ambassador to Switzerland, it seems:

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Third_hunter_revealed_in_Cheney_hunting_0213.html

The U.S. ambassador to Switzerland was the third member of a hunting party which went awry after Vice President Dick Cheney accidently shot 78-year-old Austin, Texas attorney Harry Whittington, according to a story written for the Cox news service, RAW STORY has learned.

Pamela Willeford, a former Texas education official, accompanied Cheney and Whittington as they hunted quail at the Armstrong ranch in Texas on Saturday.

(/more...)

:hi:

ed: No doubt just another fundraiser and/or crony. More attuned to "lucrative exchange of favors" than anything approaching serious diplomacy. Though I may be wrong: seems there are still some serious diplomatic cadres at (lowly) Ambassador level - cf. Joe Wilson. But not these days even in deranged PoodleLand (aka UK):

[UpInArms]

37. KCS Energy Inc. net income up 85%

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B01EDE81F%2D7C0E%2D4CA8%2DAAC6%2D567ED95460F3%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- KCS Energy Inc. (KCS 30.88, -0.05, -0.2% ) on Tuesday said first-quarter net income rose 85% to $35.8 million, or 71 cents a share, from $19.4 million, or 39 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue jumped 58% to $104.6 million. The company said it saw a 24% increase in oil and natural gas production, a 35% increase in net production contributing to cash flow, and a 26% increase in average realized prices. The average estimate in a survey of analysts by Thomson First Call was for earnings of 65 cents a share.

[UpInArms]

45. June Crude @ $70.05 bbl - June NatGas @ $6.60 mln btus

10:06 AM ET 5/9/06 JUNE CRUDE CLIMBS 28C TO $70.05/BRL IN EARLY NY TRADING

10:06 AM ET 5/9/06 JUNE NATURAL GAS FALLS 9.6C, OR 1.4%, TO $6.60/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

76. June Crude @ $71.30 bbl

11:16 AM ET 5/9/06 JUNE CRUDE JUMPS $1.53, OR 2.2%, TO $71.30/BRL

[54anickel]

91. Bush's legacy at the gas pump

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0509/p08s02-comv.html

snip>

"Nothing has really taken me aback more, as secretary of State, than the way the politics of energy is ... warping diplomacy around the world," Condoleezza Rice told a Senate panel recently.
:eyes: Sheesh Condi, get real, don't act so freakin' surprised! Our government has been taken over by "oil barrons" - :wtf: did you expect?

That diplomatic scramble was on full display last week during a trip to oil-rich Central Asia by Dick Cheney. Not only did the American vice president use his travels to criticize Russia for using its energy exports as "tools of intimidation and blackmail," he embraced the authoritarian ruler of Kazakhstan. Mr. Cheney was seeking ways for the oil of that Central Asian giant to bypass the clutches of the Kremlin. His trip comes just months after a similar tour to the region by Ms. Rice.

Greater Central Asia has become a front line of oil geopolitics over ensuring stable supplies. Last month, Mr. Bush played host to the president of Azerbaijan. And in the past few years, Russia and China have corralled countries in the region into an alliance known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. That grouping appears increasingly anti-Washington - Iran may be invited to join the group next month.

Cheney's trip was mainly a defensive move, like a queen on a chessboard, in a 21st-century version of the old "great game" of big powers vying to control the heart of Eurasia.

more...

[AnneD]

138. This from the mouth..

of the woman that sat on the board of Cheveron and had a tanker named after her.

:spray::rofl:

Gee, should we by her a clue?

[54anickel]

143. Sorry, but if it ain't a Ferragamo clue, she won't be interested and we'd

be wasting our money.

[AnneD]

150. Hmmmmm

Shoeless :dilemma: clueless

[54anickel]

154. Bwahaha! And we know what her choice is - hands down!

[Ghost Dog]

158. Condi meets new British (ex.CND) Foreign Minister (AFP photo):

[AnneD]

167. I think she had more fun with

other guy, Straw (?).

[Ghost Dog]

168. I (we, many of us) think so too.

Sorry, err, jerk-off Jack. :evilgrin:

Sorry for you, too, sad-case Condapleeza.

Margaret Beckett may even yet surprise us all (touch wood. you fool). Including you, Mr. Poodle Bliar.

[54anickel]

105. Big changes are in store for Big Oil (OMG- who wrote this POS!)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12689611/

snip>

Browne's comments underscore a surprising point. Big Oil, that clutch of oil and gas giants in the U.S. and Europe, has big problems. Yes, we know it sounds ridiculous. Exxon Mobil Corp. has been reporting the lushest earnings in the history of the business, notching up $8.4 billion in its latest quarterly report. Combine the forecasted 2006 earnings of BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Total, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil, and you get roughly $135 billion, a sum greater than the gross domestic product of the Czech Republic or Israel. These companies, moreover, enjoy huge political clout in their home countries, have spotty environmental records, and staunchly defend outrageous prices at the gasoline pump. Why worry about them?

Well, you don't have to love the big oil companies to worry about their ability to provide us with the energy we need. That job is getting difficult, thanks to huge technical challenges, competition from national oil companies, and demanding, even hostile foreign governments. Just look at events in Bolivia on May 1, when the government abruptly nationalized the nation's gas fields.

snip>

But even if oil prices were to slump — and pros like BP's Browne believe that prices could still "turn on a dime" — the predicament of Big Oil and its customers would persist, since so much of the global oil patch is now off-limits. In theory that shouldn't matter, as long as someone is getting the oil to market. In practice, though, the private oil companies are better than national companies at the technology and innovation that get the best results. Over the long haul, if Big Oil can't apply its skills fully, consumers will suffer more than they expect.

snip>

Companies also say it's not easy finding the personnel needed to man these projects, especially in the West. In Russia, China, and elsewhere, it's a different story. Russia's Gubkin Institute of Oil & Gas has an enrollment of 8,000 students and adds 1,500 each year — more than the total native British and U.S. students studying petroleum science, says Joseph A. Stanislaw, senior adviser to Deloitte & Touche's energy practice. The scarcity of people and equipment is delaying projects, putting further pressure on costs and prices. Rigs are being channeled to development projects, which provide quicker profits, rather than pure exploration, possibly diminishing future prospects.

Wait a minute, how does that paragraph was with the snippet right before it?

more...

[UpInArms]

140. Well, I did hear that Big Oil was rolling out their propaganda starting

yesterday.

:eyes:

[54anickel]

156. Gonna get even deeper?

[ozymandius]

7. China's "cancer villages" pay heavy price for economic progress

LIUKUAIZHUANG VILLAGE, China (AFP) - Sitting on his bed in his spartan house in one of China's so-called cancer villages, a 77-year-old retired cadre sheds tears as he speaks of the pollution he believes is killing him.

-cut-

The man, who requested anonymity out of fear of government reprisals, was diagnosed with lung cancer several years ago, which he believes was caused by years of breathing in the local chemical-filled air and drinking contaminated water.

-cut-

But the industry that brought the villages wealth and employment also ended up destroying the environment and is widely believed to have ultimately cost the health and lives of many residents.

Locals say over 200 residents in the two villages have been diagnosed with diseases including bone, lung, liver and breast cancers, while a handful of children are suffering from leukemia.

more

[AnneD]

46. If this is the village I am thinking of...

you can see it on LandSat photos. It is a ribbon of yellow. There is little air circulating in this valley and the air pollution hangs in that valley for most of the year.

[Ghost Dog]

74. I see from the latest 5-year plan

that the Chinese government is now placing a very strong priority on cleaning up its act in relation to the environment.

Everyone I've spoken to with direct experience in China makes the same comment: they're destroying the environment (even worse than the US); they're poisoning themselves (and the world) with (industrial) success.

Let's see if they can really deliver. I guess, if anyone has the power, the information and the imagination, it's the Chinese system.

[AnneD]

139. They have historically had a bad enviromantal record...

Remember, it was photos of the deforestation in China (the Yellow River I think), that prompted Teddy Roosevelt to inact the National Forest Laws for the US.

[ozymandius]

8. European stocks lifted by strong earnings

European stocks were higher on Tuesday as strong earnings from Adidas and KPN offset a lacklustre performance overnight on Wall Street.

-cut-

On Wall Street on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.1 per cent to 11,584.54, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.1 per cent to 2,344.99. After the close, however, computer maker Dell said its first-quarter profit failed to meet its expectations.

Back in Europe, Arcelor, the steelmaker, gained 2 per cent to EU35.70 after Mittal Steel said it was willing to raise its offer for the Luxembourg-based company if the deal was recommended by the board. Mittal said, however, that there were no signs that Arcelor was willing to enter into meaningful discussions.

more

[Ghost Dog]

48. European shares trudge higher but techs, Fed weigh

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/investing/MarketReportArticle.aspx?type=eurMktRpt&storyID=2006-05-09T111030Z_01_L09781972_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-UPDATE-2.XML
Tue May 9, 2006 12:10 PM BST

PARIS, May 9 (Reuters) - Pleasing updates from car giant Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and telecoms group KPN (KPN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research) led European shares higher by midsession on Tuesday, but weak technology issues capped the market's advance.

<snip>

By 1040 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was 0.4 percent firmer at 1,404.92, just below a near-five-year high of 1,407.08 hit on Monday. The benchmark index has gained 10 percent since the start of the year, lifted by a wave of takeover deals and generally solid corporate earnings.

<snip>

But European equity markets may be peaking, analysts said, as rising interest rates and the new found strength of the euro against the dollar make investment this side of the Atlantic less appealing. "We think investors should be much more cautious this year," said Teun Draaisma, strategist at Morgan Stanley in London. "There are a lot of macro risks, the weak dollar is one, and higher rates and higher oil prices are not helpful either."

Morgan Stanley sees European equity markets about 3 percent lower than their current level with a 12-month view, and advises its clients to prefer U.S. stocks, as a weaker dollar is likely to give U.S. companies a boost, Draaisma said.

Around Europe, London's FTSE 100 <.FTSE> index gained 0.6 percent, while Paris's CAC 40 <.FCHI> and the Swiss Market Index <.SSMI> both added 0.4 percent.

/more...

[ozymandius]

9. WrapUp by Rob Kirby

QUESTIONS BEGGING ANSWERS?

Barclays Global Investors’ iShares Silver Trust began trading Friday, April 28. As of May 5, 2006 (six trading days later) – the trust reports it has acquired 1,368 tonnes of silver. For those of you who might be a little troubled with the conversion – that amounts to slightly more than 48 million ounces of silver bullion.

So this begs the question: how much is 48 million ounces of silver?

Because I thought none of you would ever ask, I would like to explain to folks what’s involved in “physically acquiring” a good slug of silver. But before we do that – we need to understand that there is a big difference between “buying paper silver” and physically taking possession of the same.

-cut-

Buyer Beware

What all of this definitely means is “not much.” Barclays may have bought the “stash” for their ETF from one entity - who had it stored all in one place – someone like Warren Buffet. But no, Warren Buffet revealed this past weekend at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting that Berkshire had not benefited from the sharp rise in silver prices, despite at one time owning a lot of the metal. In Buffet's words,

"I bought it very early, I sold it very early. Other than that it was perfect"

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

[TrogL]

103. OK, so what's the silver equivalent of "gold bug"?

"Silver snake"?

[AnneD]

172. Sounds like

a name you'd give to e sex toy (adult novelty gift for those of you in Texas).

[ozymandius]

10. Enron's Lay Will Be Tried for Bank Fraud While Jury Deliberates

May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay faces 30 years in prison even if he is acquitted of conspiracy and securities fraud charges at his criminal trial in Houston.

Lay, 64, will have a trial-within-a-trial on four bank-loan charges as a jury deliberates whether he lied to investors about Enron's finances and sold inflated company stock. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake will try Lay on the bank offenses starting May 18, a day after the principal charges against Lay are scheduled to go to the jury.

Lay is charged with one count of improperly using lines of bank credit to purchase stock and three counts of lying to lenders. Lake will hear evidence that Lay violated Regulation U, part of a package of Depression-era laws meant to guard against reckless investing in shares, such as buying them on credit and using stock as collateral.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a__DIU7_0zx0&refer=news_index

[ozymandius]

11. Dell Warns, But Rollins Says Price Cuts Will Pay Off

New York - "Ultimately," good things may come. But will Dell investors stay the course?

That is the question Kevin B. Rollins is asking himself. He's the chief executive of Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ), and the computer maker issued news Monday that was sobering--for the near-term, anyway.

The company, founded by eponymous Chairman Michael Dell, warned that earnings for the first quarter of 2007 would fall short of prior projections.

-cut-

But as Dell faces competition from Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) and IBM (nyse: IBM - news - people ), the CEO explained the price cuts as a necessary sacrifice for the present, in order to build the future--and fend off.

http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/08/dell-earnings-warning-cx_gl_0508autofacescan13.html

[ozymandius]

12. SGI Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Struggling high-end computing vendor Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Mountain View, Calif.-based SGI said it reached an agreement with all of its major debt holders that would reduce its debt by $250 million as part of the move.

-cut-

Pat Edwards, vice president of sales at Alliance Technology Group, a Hanover, Md.-based solution provider that has worked with SGI for about 18 months, said his company has seen a number of signs pointing to either a Chapter 11 filing or a sale of the company.

-cut-

Edwards said it will be interesting to watch what happens with SGI's customer base, including many "dark sites," or government installations that are shrouded in secrecy. "SGI has a big base of loyal users," he said. "When customers buy SGI, they stick with the company. The problem recently has been getting new accounts."

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=187201232&subSection=All+Stories

[stop the bleeding]

14. Thank you for the information - Good morning marketeers

;)

Waiting on the Fed to raise interest rates

[AnneD]

35. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: and lurkers. The Revolution is still on track. The camoflage in the book store remained intact yeaterday save for one book-I think it was a sale. Changing the hearts and minds of Americans, one at a time.:evilgrin:

The Enron trial wrapped up and I am sure it will go to Jury today after the Judge's instructions. Many people were hurt by this shell game. The Texas Teacher's Retirement System lost enough that it hastened changes to the retirement (age+service=90 instead of 80 and you take the average of the highest 5 years of seervice vs 3).

I want to bring to your attention to a Treasury report that will be coming out soon.


Businesses Await U.S. Report on Chinese Currency
by Adam Davidson

Morning Edition, May 9, 2006 · The Treasury Department prepares to issue its semi-annual report on the Chinese currency. The report examines whether the Chinese government is manipulating the value of its currency. It is likely to make waves in the U.S. no matter what it says.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5392871

Basically it will state that China is keeping their currency artificially low. I wonder if it will be one of those Friday evening news releases. Some how, I don't think it will mention our Treasury Department currency manipulation. Wonder when Sec. Snow will go. :eyes:

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[UpInArms]

13. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 85.27 Change -0.06 (-0.07%)

A Double Dose of Volatility on Wed - FOMC and US Treasury FX Report

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/A_Double_Dose_of_Volatility_1147121650889.html

It has been a good day for the US dollar as the greenback gains ground against all of other the major currencies in the US trading session. To see broad dollar strength seems to be rare these days but the combination of lower oil prices, news that the Iranian President wrote a letter reaching out to President Bush and the prospects for higher interest rates in the US later this week gives dollar bulls a reason to be hopeful. Although there are a lot of key global economic data due for release, politics will probably trump economics as the primary driver of the FX markets this week. The Bush Administration has been mum about the contents of a letter that Iranian President Ahmandinejad has sent to US President Bush, but according to an Iranian government spokesperson, the letter analyzes the current world situation and ways to relieve tension between the two countries. Oil prices and the dollar has rallied on fresh hopes that there may actually be a solution to the tensions in the Middle East, but given the most recent threat by members of the Iranian Parliament to withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the hopes for resolution may be wishful thinking. With both sides standing strong, there is the risk that any concessions by Iran in the letter could be minimal and it is even possible that the solution they are proposing involves the US backing off more than Iran itself. Any US responses to the letter is sure to have an impact on the currency market and the specifically, the US dollar. Furthermore, the date for the Treasury’s FX report has been set for Wednesday at 4pm EST, the same day as the Federal Reserve rate decision. The question of whether the Treasury brands China as a currency manipulator is still up in the air, but with two much anticipated events scheduled for the same day, we can expect some big moves. The market unanimously agrees that the Fed will raise rates by a quarter of point on Wednesday, but they remain divided on whether the Fed would tone down the statement to prepare the market for a pause or even an end to their tightening cycle. The fundamental factors pressuring the US dollar are still here to stay and as I said on CNBC today, the only saving grace for the dollar are investors like Warren Buffett, who may still be bearish on the dollar, but are looking for alternative ways to express this view because shorting the dollar outright has become an expensive bet. Two years ago, selling the US dollar would have cost 1 percent in interest, but with this week’s rate hike, it now costs 5 percent.

...more...

Anti-US Dollar Correction

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_technicals/Anti_US_Dollar_Correction_1147170474768.html

EUR/USD – EUR/USD printed its first red candle on the daily chart in over a week and lower prices in early morning trading suggest that we may see two consecutive red candles for the first time since 4/6 and 4/7. We’ll reiterate yesterday’s remarks that the rally from 1.1825 to 1.2786 pierces 1.2770, or the 138.2% of wave 1 (1.1640-1.2323) with wave 3 beginning at 1.1825. “This is compelling technical evidence that a short term top may be forming” (yesterday). A continuation of strength past 1.2770 targets the confluence of the 2/18/2004 high / 161.8% extension at 1.2927/31. If this is indeed a short-term top, then look for contra moves towards the 5/4 low at 1.2570 as well as the 23.6% and 38.2% fibos of 1.1640-1.2790 at 1.2521 and 1.2351. A bullish bias remains intact as long as the 1/25 high of 1.2323 holds as support.

<snip>

USD/JPY – After puncturing 111.00 yesterday, USD/JPY rallied to close above the 50% fibo of 101.65-121.37 at 111.50. If yesterday’s low at 110.96 holds as support, then contra moves towards the 5/1 low at 112.33 as well as the 23.6% fibo of 118.82-110.96 at 112.81 are possibilities. A break of yesterday’s low exposes the 7/21/05 low at 109.85. Taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, the decline from the 121.38 high made on 12/5/2005 to 113.41 on 1/12/06 can be numbered the first wave in a larger decline which means that possible downside targets are 108.43 (118.82 - 138.2% * (121.38-113.41)) and 106.57 (118.82 - 161.8% * (121.38-113.41)).
<snip>

USD/CAD – USD/CAD has rallied off recent lows to test the 5/2 high at 1.1166 and currently sits at the 10 day SMA at 1.1140. The consolidation of the extreme losses could still test the 23.6% fibo of 1.1771-1.1011 at 1.1188 with a break exposing the confluence of the 38.2% fibo / 3/2 low at 1.1297/1.1300 – a level which if held keeps the recent downtrend from 1.1771 intact. A resumption of the downtrend encounters the 5/3 low at 1.1011 low and eventually the 20% fibo of 1.1297-1.1771 at 1.0825. The downtrend remains intact as long as the low from 3/2 at 1.1297 holds as resistance.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

57. Loonie heading for parity right now. Where's TrogL?

:hi:

[UpInArms]

66. Canadian dollar hits highest since Jan. 1978

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-09T144129Z_01_TOR000957_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-CANADA-DOLLAR-URGENT.XML

TORONTO, May 9 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar hit a 28-year high against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as the greenback came under broad selling pressure.

At. 10:37 a.m., the Canadian dollar was at C$1.0995 to the the U.S. dollar, or 90.95 U.S. cents, its highest since January 1978.

[whododayis]

67. i always thought it benefitted Canada to have a lower loonie?

[TrogL]

112. That's only if compared to the greenback

and assuming that the US will continue to be Canada's primary trading partner.

Canada has been diversifying its economy especially in relationship to China and Europe. The loonie needs to stay stable relative to those currencies or make slight gains (which it's been doing. see the Loonie Watch website below).

If the US falls into recession, nobody will be able to afford Canada's products anyway, and the recent unfavourable resolution to the softwood lumber dispute isn't helping matters.

[TrogL]

104. Here!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2271992#2272648

Sorry I'm late. I saw the numbers and fainted.

[Ghost Dog]

77. Happening fast.

http://today.reuters.com/Investing/Currencies.aspx
Tue 9 May 2006 | 11:19 AM ET

1 US $ = US $ 1.0000 ¥en 111.1100 Euro 0.7828 Can $ 1.1001 UK £ 0.5357 Aust $ 1.2931 SFranc 1.2201

[UpInArms]

87. Dollar at 8-mth yen low before Fed, Treasury report

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B22D03DF3%2DF8CD%2D40F2%2DA8C3%2D10C6E801E904%7D&symbol=

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - The dollar fell to a fresh eight-month low against the yen and hovered around a one-year low against the euro Tuesday, amid growing concern the Federal Reserve would pause after raising interest rates for the 16th time Wednesday.

With another quarter-point rate hike a foregone conclusion, currency investors will scrutinize the accompanying statement for clues as to what might happen at the next meeting in June and beyond. The Fed has increased interest rates at 15 consecutive meetings since June 2004. The federal funds rate currently stands at 4.75%.

"In general, it still seems there's downward pressure on the dollar," said John McCarthy, director of foreign exchange trading at ING Capital Markets. The euro may strengthen to $1.2795 today, he said.

In New York trading, the dollar weakened to 110.85 yen, the lowest level since Sept. 16, before paring losses to trade at 111.2 yen, down 0.4%. The euro changed hands at $1.2765, up 0.5%. The British pound last traded up 0.5% at $1.8668. The dollar weakened 0.7% to 1.2201 Swiss francs.

Mike Malpede, senior currency analyst at Man Global Research, said there's talk in the market that China's buying gold, that Iran might price oil in euros, and that U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow will resign, all of which weighed on the greenback.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

116. (Currencies) Symbolic Question:

Can most folks around the world read these symbols, under their current computer operating systems?

viz:

$ (dollar)
¥ (yen)
€ (euro)
£ (pound sterling)

Please shout especially if you don't see the €uro correctly.

(I ask as a one-time (amongst other roles) european graphic designer as well as software engineer).

[UpInArms]

119. great keyboarding, Ghost Dog!

how you do that?

:hi:

[Ghost Dog]

147. Spanish keyboard for €

(+ cut-&-paste for £,¥).

ed: You may also find the following works on a US keyboard under Windoze?:

€ (euro) - Alt+0128
£ (pound sterling) - Alt+0165

[TrogL]

122. Works on Solaris 10

With no internationalization installed other than the US default.

[Ghost Dog]

148. Great. Glad to hear that! n/t

[AnneD]

151. And we have the report about

currency manipulation coming out. I think the Forex will have more gyrations than a belly dancer in an earthquake before the week is out.

[UpInArms]

97. The buck drops here - Fallout from dollar's retreat felt far and wide

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/C1RDBKLcD7jqlMc0Vbkg1px?dist=RNPullDown&siteid=mktw&symbol=&print=true&dist=printTop

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (MarketWatch) -- What if they gave a falling dollar party and no one came?

The long-awaited drop in the greenback has begun, and what do you know: Not only do few people care -- many are actually cheering it on!

The nation's manufacturers are leading the pack.

<snip>

So what's the downside to a puny dollar?

Well there's a little thing called inflation. A lower dollar means higher prices for foreign-made goods, which, in turn, might give some domestic companies the opportunity to fatten their tags as well.

The threat of inflation is anathema to the fixed-income markets -- not to mention to the Federal Reserve. That's one reason why interest rates have risen across the board and why they're likely to rise further in the months ahead.

...more...

[54anickel]

129. Dollar Spin (Roach)

http://www.morganstanley.com/GEFdata/digests/20060508-mon.html#anchor0

Dollar depreciation is back on track again, and my guess is there is a good deal more to come. The good news is that the decline now appears likely to be measured and orderly -- a welcome departure from the dollar-crisis scenario I had previously feared. Knock on wood you damned fool! The bad news is that a weaker dollar will accomplish surprisingly little in fixing all that ails an unbalanced world.

The US dollar appears to be entering the second major phase of its multi-year structural decline. The first, which lasted from early 2002 through late 2004, saw the broad trade-weighted dollar index decline 16% in real terms. The bulk of this decline was concentrated against the euro, which rose nearly 60% versus the dollar, from 0.86 on 31 January 2002 to 1.36 on 31 December 2004. By contrast, the dollar adjusted considerably less against Asian currencies; the yen/dollar cross rate appreciated by 32% from early 2002 through early 2005, whereas the Chinese currency peg remained unchanged over that period.

The mistake we all made -- and I am certainly as guilty as anyone -- was in believing the dollar’s downtrend would continue in a straight line. With the consensus tightly clustered around that presumption in late 2004, the currency markets did what they always seem to do best -- go the other way. The dollar rose instead of fell for most of 2005 -- appreciating 5% in real terms on a broad-trade-weighted basis, or unwinding about one-third of the decline that had occurred over the preceding 34 months. The case for global rebalancing, which had done an excellent job in explaining the first leg of the currency realignment, was suddenly in tatters. New paradigmers came out in force, arguing that the world had reorganized itself around a “Bretton Woods II” framework -- in effect, an expanded dollar bloc that required a cheap currency for the producers/savers (Asia) and a strong currency for the recipient of surplus saving (the United States).

snip>

The US dollar is headed lower. In a rebalancing framework, this move should be seen as a necessary, but by no means sufficient condition for fixing America’s trade deficit. The recent actions of the G-7 and the IMF, in conjunction with signals from the world’s major central banks, are consistent with a resumption of the dollar’s structural depreciation that began in early 2002. Over time, I believe this downtrend in the dollar will be reinforced by an important evolution in the reserve management practices of developing economies -- moving a significant portion of what Larry Summers estimates to be some $2 trillion of “excess” reserves out of a massive overweight in low-yielding, dollar-denominated assets into higher-yielding investments that are more compatible with urgent development needs (see my 5 May dispatch, “Imbalances Matter More than Ever”). This could well be one of the most important developments -- as well as one of the biggest risks -- currency markets will need to face in the years ahead.

The major thing that has changed for me is that I no longer see a dollar crisis as a high-probability outcome for an unbalanced world. Courtesy of encouraging actions by the stewards of globalization, the fat tail has just gotten thinner. That hardly puts me in the strong dollar camp. It means, instead, that I now embrace a managed dollar-decline scenario that could take the broad dollar index down on a “measured” basis by about 10-15% over the next couple of years. What that also means, of course, is that in the end there must be far more to global rebalancing than currency realignment. The heavy lifting on the policy front has only just begun.

more...

Hey Roach, get yer head outta-yer-ass and take a good look at the dimplomatic "skills" of this mal-admin; Then get back to me on that one. :eyes:

[54anickel]

133. Global Central Banks Focus

http://www.pimco.com/LeftNav/Late+Breaking+Commentary/FF/2006/FF+May+2006.htm

big snip>

Put more simply, should a central bank be willing to deviate from the short-rate path implied by real economic conditions of growth, employment and inflation so as to influence asset prices, notably to either preempt or prick asset price bubbles? The Fed says no, while both the ECB and the Bank of Japan say yes. This difference is hugely relevant to understanding – and forecasting! – relative monetary policy between the three institutions and, thus, the prospective course for relative exchange rates.

Right now, the Fed is signaling that it anticipates a meaningful slowing in growth in aggregate demand toward growth in potential supply, notably in response to slowing appreciation in home prices (which, of course, the Fed is not “targeting”!). If the Fed’s forecast is realized, the Fed will not just pause in its tightening campaign, but bring it to an end. In contrast, both the ECB and the Bank of Japan seem hell bent to “normalize” up their policy rates, not primarily to slow growth in aggregate demand for goods and services, but rather to slow growth in the demand for credit – and thus, money – that is supporting bubbly asset markets.

Yes, we in America, as President Nixon famously intoned, are all now Keynesians. Or perhaps more accurately, we are all now Taylorites. In contrast, there is a new breed of monetarism infecting Keynesian thought at the ECB and the BOJ: using credit and money growth as a symptom of bubbles, and including money growth as a shadow independent variable in their Taylor Rules.

Such a configuration of policy choices is a siren signal for the Euro and the Yen to appreciate against the dollar. We here at PIMCO are listening!

[UpInArms]

15. Ex-Gemstar Chief Is Ordered to Pay $22 Million for Role in Fraud

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/business/09gemstar.html?ex=1304827200&en=fd081c29126915ba&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

A federal court yesterday ordered Henry C. Yuen, former chief executive of Gemstar-TV Guide International, to pay $22 million for his role in a scheme to defraud investors by inflating the company's revenue, regulators said.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said the decision in the civil case came after a three-week trial in December in which a court ruled that Mr. Yuen, who also served as chairman, committed securities fraud through misrepresentations and omissions about Gemstar revenue.

The federal court in Los Angeles ordered Mr. Yuen to pay about $22 million in penalties, interest and restitution. It also barred him from serving as an officer or a director of a public company.

Mr. Yuen also pleaded guilty in October to criminal charges of obstructing a federal investigation, in a deal with prosecutors in Los Angeles.

...more...

[UpInArms]

16. Man Group: Brokerage Firm Accused of Fraud (Hedge Fund)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/business/09man.html?ex=1304827200&en=4ecd6cca8c2bf8d0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

The Man Group's United States brokerage firm and seven of its employees were accused of fraud and racketeering yesterday by a court-appointed receiver seeking to recoup investor assets lost in the collapse of a Philadelphia hedge fund.

Man Financial was a broker for Philadelphia Alternative Asset Management, which collapsed last year after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission claimed it had concealed more than $140 million in trading losses.

Man Financial is accused of violating the Commodity Exchange Act and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, by allowing the fund to hide its losses in a brokerage account.

"Man Financial and its employees enabled and facilitated the wrongful conduct," the receiver, C. Clark Hodgson, wrote in a complaint filed yesterday in Federal District Court in Philadelphia. They engaged in "a pattern of racketeering activity, which included numerous acts of fraud," he wrote.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. Faux Down-Payment Charities Raise Home Prices, Foreclosure Risk

http://realtytimes.com/rtcpages/20060508_fauxdownpayment.htm

Federal agencies are putting under the microscope the burgeoning cottage industry of home financing assistance programs that set up as a tax-exempt charities and then use sellers' funds to finance buyers' down payments.

The Feds say not only is the tax-exempt scheme illegal, the operations artificially inflate the cost of housing, they undermine underwriting quality and they put home ownership at risk.

That's not all.

"So-called charities that manipulate the system do more than mislead honest home buyers and ultimately jack up the cost of the home. They also damage the image of honest, legitimate charities," said IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson.

The Internal Revenue Service's "Revenue Ruling 2006-27" explains down payment assistance programs that provide cash assistance to home buyers who cannot afford to make the minimum down payment or pay the closing costs involved in obtaining a mortgage can qualify as tax-exempt organizations under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), provided they are properly structured and operated.

Seller-funded programs don't qualify if they funnel down-payment assistance from sellers to buyers through "self-serving, circular-financing arrangements" the IRS said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

18. S.Korea seeks 15 years in jail for Daewoo founder (Fraud and Embezzlement)

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-05-09T093954Z_01_SEO240585_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRIME-KOREA-DAEWOO.xml

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean prosecutors sought on Tuesday a 15-year prison sentence and the return of billions of dollars from the Daewoo group founder, a once revered businessman who is suspected of massive fraud and embezzlement.

Kim Woo-choong, 69, turned Daewoo into the second-largest conglomerate in the country before fleeing in 1999 as his empire was collapsing under more than $75 billion in debts.

He returned last June, saying he wanted to make peace with his past. Kim was taken into custody at the airport upon arrival on a flight from Vietnam.

Last year, prosecutors charged Kim with illegally procuring loans of about 10 trillion won ($10.70 billion), misallocating about $20 billion in Daewoo funds through overseas accounts and helping doctor Daewoo's books to falsify assets of about 41 trillion won ($43.86 billion).

<snip>

The chaebol were allowed to expand rapidly using easy credit from local banks helped by questionable ties with South Korean officials, who were often willing to turn a blind eye as the economy recovered from the ruins of the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The trend was partly blamed for contributing to the financial crisis of the late 1990s and also to poor corporate governance standards at many conglomerates.

...more...

[UpInArms]

19. Fannie Mae identifies new accounting problems

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-09T112458Z_01_WEN7200_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-FANNIE-URGENT.XML

CHICAGO, May 9 (Reuters) - Fannie Mae, still investigating $11 billion of accounting problems, on Tuesday said it identified new problems in two areas, but that it still expects to meet capital requirements set by regulators.

Fannie (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a shareholder-owned but government-sponsored mortgage finance company, said it found problems in its accounting for consolidation of certain securitization transactions and accounting for the mortgage-backed securities it held in its own portfolio.

[UpInArms]

26. Fannie Mae discovers two new accounting errors

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BD4800CE4%2DB05D%2D44C1%2DB7EB%2DAB9226053905%7D&symbol=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Fannie Mae (FNM), the mortgage giant that is still recovering from a $10.8 billion accounting scandal, has discovered two more accounting mistakes in the process of finalizing its internal review, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The mortgage giant also said it expects to spend more than $800 million this year on its restatement, which would include a fine from its chief regulator, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

Among its newly discovered mistakes, the mortgage giant said it did not properly account for certain trusts used for securitization transactions, which will require it to consolidate an additional $28.5 billion onto its balance sheet.

Fannie Mae also recognized mistakes in how it recorded some guaranty fee income.

Fannie Mae said it would not be able to measure the mistakes' impact on its regulatory capital until it completes its restatement, possibly by the end of the year.

Last year, Fannie Mae announced that its accounting mistakes resulted in $10.8 billion in errors. Since the board and multiple regulators began looking at Fannie Mae's accounting in 2003, Chief Executive Officer Franklin Raines and Chief Financial Officer Timothy Howard have been forced out.

...more...

[54anickel]

83. Mistakes, I've made a few. But then again too few to mention...

Yeah, I know it's supposed to be regrets - but they ain't got any...yet. :evilgrin:

[UpInArms]

20. It's Your Money: United shows in-flight video of military glamour jobs

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2006-05-08-united-military_x.htm

CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. Department of Defense is paying United Airlines to run in-flight videos touting glamorous military jobs, but passengers aren't told that the Pentagon produced the spot, according to a published report.

The 13-minute video titled "Today's Military" is played in between standard in-flight programming, such as NBC sitcoms or Discovery Channel productions. It profiles five military jobs, although none are in dangerous regions like Iraq or Afghanistan, where thousands of U.S. military personnel are supporting the war.

The video shows only one solider beyond U.S. borders: a Hawaii-based Army animal-care specialist on a humanitarian mission in Thailand, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The defense department is paying United about $36,000 to run the video from April 17 through May 17, said Lt. Bradley Terrill, project officer for the video.

Although United usually pays content providers to run their programs, the airline says it's not unusual for companies to pay to have their promotional spots run on flights.

...more...

[UpInArms]

21. also from the article (this video is more intentional propaganda)

Tom Bivins, a professor of media ethics at the University of Oregon, said it's ethically questionable for the military to omit production credits on the video.

"People need to realize they are being advertised to," Bivins said.

Bivins likened the military program to video news releases that several federal agencies have distributed in recent years — many of them created to appear as if they were produced by TV stations.

[saigon68]

22. Got to pay the million $$$ exec salaries some way.

Ass-Clowns

[UpInArms]

23. Former Ney (R-Ohio) aide expected to plead guilty to fraud and conspiracy

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&guid=%7BC76C48B2-F0D8-4995-ACCA-EE55887DD2FB%7D&keyword=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Federal prosecutors were expected Monday to notch another guilty plea in an ongoing probe of corruption on Capitol Hill.

News reports said Neil G. Volz, a lobbyist who formerly served as communications director and chief of staff to Rep. Robert Ney, R-Ohio, was expected to plead guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit fraud and to violating rules that require former congressional staffers to wait a year before lobbying.

Volz was a subject in the same sweeping investigation that drew guilty pleas from former Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and two former aides to Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. DeLay has not been charged in the probe, but the scandal forced the former House majority leader to give up plans to return to the Republican leadership earlier this year.

In a criminal information filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, prosecutors accused Volz of conspiring with Abramoff and former DeLay aides Michael Scanlon and Tony Rudy "to unjustly enrich themselves by corruptly receiving, while public officials, and providing, while lobbyists, a stream of things of value with the intent to influence and reward official acts and attempting to influence members of Congress in violation of the law.

...more...

[UpInArms]

24. Some in Ohio Having Doubts on GOP Congressman (Ney)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/3850172.html

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — The groundskeeper at the Muskingum County Courthouse in the middle of U.S. Rep. Bob Ney's sprawling eastern Ohio district was thinking of cutting more than just the bushes.

Robbie Frame, a 27-year-old Republican, was considering ending his consistent vote for Ney, the six-term congressman who handily won his GOP primary last week despite a widening ethics scandal that has snared his former chief of staff.


Neil Volz pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to corrupt Ney, his staff and other members of Congress with trips, free tickets, meals, jobs for relatives and campaign events.

<snip>

In a nine-page document that focused on Ney's conduct, Volz described 16 actions he said his old boss took on behalf of Abramoff clients. From January 2000 through April 2004, Volz said Abramoff and his lobbyists gave Ney and members of his staff trips to Lake George in New York state; New Orleans; the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., in 2003; and a weeklong golfing retreat to the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland, with a second leg to London.

...more...

[UpInArms]

25. Sara Lee profit, sales fall

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B894B174C%2D0BC1%2D4288%2DB2C1%2DC0684C0BBBEB%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Sara Lee Corp. (SLE 18.69, +0.14, +0.8% ) said Tuesday that third-quarter income fell to $42 million, or 6 cents a share, from $189 million, or 24 cents, a year ago. Excluding charges and other items, earnings would have been 22 cents a share, while earnings from continuing operations came to 18 cents a share. Sales for the three months ended April 1 fell to $3.79 billion from $3.84 billion in last year's third-quarter. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call forecast earnings, on average, of 25 cents a share on sales of $4.43 billion. For the fourth quarter, the Chicago consumer-goods company forecast earnings at 27 cents to 32 cents a share. Full-year earnings are seen at 98 cents to $1.03 a share. Analysts' estimates stand at 32 cents and $1.22, respectively.

[54anickel]

85. But, but , but I thought "nobody doesn't like Sara Lee". n/t

[UpInArms]

28. Supermarket Chain: A&P loss widens on charges, costs

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B4286C712%2D1B32%2D487F%2DB086%2DE9D1F1EA4159%7D&symbol=

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Supermarket operator Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. on Tuesday posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, hurt by reorganization charges and higher costs.

A&P (GAP 27.59, +0.05, +0.2% ) , of Montvale, N.J., reported a net loss $39.1 million, or 95 cents a share, versus a year-ago loss of $5.7 million, or 15 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call forecast a loss, on average, of 40 cents a share.

Excluding discontinued businesses, A&P would have posted adjusted income from operations of $1.7 million versus a year-ago loss of $18 million.

Sales for the three months ended Feb. 25 fell to $1.61 billion from $2.56 billion in last year's fourth quarter. Last year's results included sales of $853 million from A&P Canada, which was sold in August. U.S. same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose 1.4%, the company said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

30. Insurance Bid Rigging: Insurer Sued Over Payments to Brokers

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/06/business/06insure.html?ex=1304568000&en=0553bc19a5a7432a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Attorneys general in New York and Connecticut sued the insurance company Liberty Mutual Group yesterday as part of a two-year investigation of bid rigging.

Liberty Mutual, based in Boston, fabricated quotes and made payoffs to insurance brokers in exchange for business, the suits said. They were filed by the New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer, and the Connecticut attorney general, Richard Blumenthal. The suits seek restitution for policyholders and punitive damages.

"Brokers and agents responded to these incentives, steering their clients to Liberty Mutual and in many cases violating their fiduciary duty to assist their clients in finding the best insurance for the lowest price," Mr. Spitzer said in a statement.

Mr. Spitzer has negotiated six settlements since touching off an industrywide investigation of collusion, receiving $3 billion from companies, including the Marsh & McLennan Companies and the American International Group.

Kevin Bott, a former Liberty executive, agreed to cooperate with Mr. Spitzer's investigation after pleading guilty in August 2005 to criminal charges.

...more...

[UpInArms]

31. Hedge Fund Crooks Wanted: A Run-In With Regulators Hasn't Hurt His Résumé

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/business/worldbusiness/09place.html?ex=1304827200&en=1e4b9bd966b04773&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

MONTHS after British regulators accused one of Europe's best-known hedge fund mangers of insider trading, financial powerhouses are pursuing him for another reason: they're trying to hire him.

Dozens of banks and hedge funds have been trying to recruit the manager, Philippe Jabre, since he left GLG Partners, one of Europe's biggest hedge funds, with $13 billion in assets, according to three executives who say they speak regularly with Mr. Jabre.

Mr. Jabre left GLG Partners last month, after saying that he would contest a fine of £750,000 ($1.4 million) against him in an appeal that is expected to come before a public tribunal this year.

<snip>

Hedge funds rarely venture into the spotlight, and when they do, the attention is usually bad for business. In the case of Mr. Jabre and GLG, it may be that demand for top hedge funds and private equity is now so strong that regulatory scrutiny no longer scares off investors as it once did.

...more...

[UpInArms]

32. Gold rises as Iran hopes fade; platinum sets record

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7B10684FFE%2D7104%2D469E%2D95F1%2DD85F08435D96%7D&symbol=

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose early Tuesday, as hopes Iran might be adopting a more moderate stance on its nuclear standoff with the West faded as the U.S. government said a letter from the Iranian president offered no new proposals.

Gold for June delivery was last trading up $5.80 at $685.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract closed lower for the first time in seven sessions Monday, as traders locked in some of the metal's recent sharp gains.

Gold prices have climbed $29 since the beginning of May alone, propelled higher by a now familiar list of factors, including inflation fears, geopolitical worry, a weaker dollar and burgeoning demand from investment funds seeking better returns than are currently available in other asset classes.

Citigroup believes investors held commodity positions worth more than $120 billion April, with $30 billion in oil and $30 billion in gas. Gold came in third place at $13 billion, while the long position in copper stood at $4 billion, according to Investec Securities.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -- Iran's first communication with the U.S. in 27 years - contained nothing new in the way of proposals that might help break the nuclear stalemate with the West, the Associated Press reported.

While details of the letter have not yet been released, it is understood to criticize Bush for the Iraq invasion and for his handling of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S., among other things, AP said.

<snip>

Silver futures were last up 15 cents at $13.92 an ounce. Platinum galloped to a new record at $1,236 an ounce, and was last up $30.10 at $1,232 an ounce. Palladium rose $11.10 to $386.35 an ounce and copper rose 1.4 cents to $3.515 an ounce.

...more...

[UpInArms]

39. Gold Futures at 26-year high of $692 oz

9:34 AM ET 5/9/06 GOLD FUTURES AT 26-YEAR HIGH OF $692 AN OUNCE

9:34 AM ET 5/9/06 PLATINUM FUTURES SET RECORD AT $1,236 AN OUNCE

[Roland99]

40. Hope is fading because this administration has shot it in the face

"Before the chickenhawks bomb, you will deny me three times."
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1136864&mesg_id=1136864

[UpInArms]

42. June Gold @ $692.20 oz - July Silver @ $14.05 oz - July Copper @ $3.555 lb

BULLETIN>> GOLD TOPS $693, LATEST 26-YEAR HIGH; PLATINUM ROCKETS $30 TO RECORD LEVEL

9:46 AM ET 5/9/06 JUNE GOLD UP $12.30 AT $692.20/OZ AFTER $693.50 HIGH

9:46 AM ET 5/9/06 JULY SILVER CLIMBS 28C, OR 2%, TO $14.05/OZ

9:46 AM ET 5/9/06 JULY COPPER UP 4.56C AT $3.55/LB AFTER A RECORD $3.555

[54anickel]

49. Holy Ba-jeebus! Look at the Buck! New low 84.72

Last trade 84.77 Change -0.56 (-0.66%)

Settle Time 15:00 Open 85.31

Previous Close 85.33 High 85.49

Low 84.72 2006-05-09 10:21:47, 30 min delay

52wk High 92.63 52wk High Date 2005-11-16

52wk Low 84.22 52wk Low Date 2005-05-11


Edit to add the 52 week high and low - Happy Anniversary! :party:

[TrogL]

106. Compared to what?

Is it one of those "basket of currencies" things? Which ones?

[54anickel]

117. It's from the INO site used for the daily dollar post

US$ INDEX (NYBOT:DX) http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX

Though from previous discussions here it's not necessarily the same weightings the Fed uses.

http://www.xpresstrade.com/usdx_futures.html

The U.S. Dollar Index provides the world with a comprehensive barometer of the value of the U.S. Dollar, 24 hours a day. Similar in many respects to the Federal Reserve Board's trade-weighted index, the Dollar Index (USDX) is calculated continuously by Reuters using foreign exchange quotes from hundreds of banks around the world, and disseminated by the FINEX Division of the New York Board of Trade to all leading market data services. The USDX tracks the value of the Dollar against a basket of six major world currencies.

Just as the Dow Jones Industrial Average provides a general indication of the value of the U.S. stock market, the U.S. Dollar Index provides a general indication of the international value of the U.S. Dollar. The USDX does this by averaging the exchange rates between the U.S. Dollar and six major world currencies.


The Dollar Index is computed using a trade weighted geometric average of the six currencies shown below. These currencies constitute the bulk of international trade with the United States. The USDX is computed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, based on exchange rates supplied to Reuters by some 500 banks worldwide.

Euro - Weight of 0.576
Japanese Yen - Weight of 0.136
British Pound - Weight of 0.119
Canadian Dollar - Weight of 0.091
Swedish Krona - Weight of 0.042
Swiss Franc - Weight of 0.036


Here's the Fed's....Oh my, and lookie here - it will only be updated on the web from now on -

http://federalreserve.gov/releases/H10/Current/

H.10(512) May 8, 2006



Note:

The Federal Reserve Board on Monday announced that it will cease publication of the weekly
H.10 statistical release on Monday, May 22.

All data contained in the weekly H.10 release, which shows daily foreign exchange rates for
the previous week, is already available in the Board's H.10 daily update available online at
www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h10/update/.

[Ghost Dog]

157. Uh, those weights for USD/EUR and USD/GBP are negative...

...for some reason, 54a?

I found and posted this in SMW on May 3rd (from own archives; online link somewhere around DU):

According to this source the formula employed is:
USDX = 50.14348112 × EURUSD-0.576 × USDJPY0.136 × GBPUSD-0.119 × USDCAD0.091 × USDSEK0.042 × USDCHF0.036

Interesting, though, re. End Times, the information now so cooked, it needs simply to be supressed...

[54anickel]

161. Huh? Wha-chuu-talkin-bout GD? What's negative? I don't see it.

Give me a little of that insight - obviously I'm blind as a bat.

[Ghost Dog]

166. Sorry, it's late (Iwent for a walk):

I'm just cutting and pasting here, so I dunno, but I read it as a mathematical formula (I did read 'pure mathematics' at (English) 'A'-level back in the early 'seventies). Let me add the (mathematically given) pluses, so as to contrast with the minus (below), and format a little.

(On the other hand, without spending time looking for a statistical sample of sources, who knows? who cares these days? Maybe the typist was just sloppy?)

Of course, to make sure this formula is what it says it is: feed in real data and then reflect upon the results. If you can afford the time.

USD Index formula (note: at present: changes over time):

USDX = (50.14348112 × (EURUSD-0.576) × (USDJPY+0.136) × (GBPUSD-0.119) × (USDCAD+0.091) × (USDSEK+0.042 )× (USDCHF+0.036))

the referenced source continues:

"These 17 countries (12 countries of the Euro zone plus the five other nations whose currencies are represented in the USDX) constitute the bulk of international trade with the United States, and have well-developed foreign exchange markets with rates freely determined by market participants. In addition, many currencies not included in the USDX move in close correlation with those that are included. The USDX is computed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"Currencies and weights used in the calculation of the USDX are the same as those used in the Federal Reserve Boards trade-weighted US Dollar Index.

"Since the USDX is based only on indications of foreign exchange rate values, it may occasionally differ from a value calculated using other data sources.

"The USDX is calculated as a geometric weighted average of the change in six foreign currency exchange rates against the US Dollar relative to March 1973. The USDX measures the dollar's general value relative to a base of 100.00. A quote of 105.50 means the dollar's value has risen 5.50% since this base period.

"March 1973 was chosen as a base period because it represents a significant milestone in foreign exchange history when the world's major trading nations allowed their currencies to float freely against each other. This agreement was reached at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and was a victory for free market theorists. The Smithsonian agreement replaced the unsuccessful fixed rate regime established approximately 25 years earlier at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

"The current level of the USDX reflects the average value of the dollar relative to this 1973 base period. Since that time, the Dollar Index has traded as high as the mid-160's and as low as the high-70's. Volatility of this instrument is comparable in range and variability to a broad-based, multi-capitalization stock index future."

Image 1:



Image 2:



Image 3:

[54anickel]

170. Sorry, but that just makes my head hurt! n/t

[UpInArms]

50. June Gold @ $698.50 oz - Holy Shit!

10:17 AM ET 5/9/06 JUNE GOLD CLIMBS TO $698.50/OZ, UP $18.60, OR 2.7%

[54anickel]

53. Heh-heh, must be that "great minds" thingie again. We were both

looking at the same thing from different angles. I saw that gold price and thought - "Geez, what's that got to say for the almight buck?"
Funny how the buck hit that low near 80 back in Dec '04 and yet gold, the loonie and just about everything else were climbing right along side her when she made that "recovery" through '05.
Hey Snowjob, tell me again how is that falling dollar you want so baddly gonna help me out here?

[UpInArms]

78. June Gold hits $700 oz - 1st time since Oct '80 - now @ $699.80 oz

11:28 AM ET 5/9/06 GOLD FUTURES TAP $700 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE OCT. 1980

11:28 AM ET 5/9/06 JUNE GOLD LAST UP $19.90, OR 2.9%, AT $699.80/OZ

[UpInArms]

82. Gold futures tap $700 for first time in nearly 26 years

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B29DEF677%2D6062%2D41EC%2DA07A%2DECD210054FED%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures tapped the $700-an-ounce level Tuesday for the first time since October 1980, with the June contract last up $19.90 at $699.80. "It is not the fact that gold is close to breaking above $700 that has surprised us, but rather the pace at which it is expanding," said Matthew Parry, an economist at Moody's Economy.com. He emphasized, however, that his company "does not ... envisage the current bull-run having much further to go once $700 has been broken." Assuming the recent escalation of geopolitical tensions subsides going forward, and global inflation comes under control, the price of gold should return to negative territory, falling back below $600 in 2007...."

[clar8130]

99. While details of the letter have not yet been released???

What idjits. It's on the net.

[UpInArms]

110. reminds me of Chertoff saying that there were no problems in NOLA

even though it was being reported live on the tube.

:eyes:

[UpInArms]

123. June Gold @ $700.80 oz (hit $701 oz)

1:09 PM ET 5/9/06 JUNE GOLD CLIMBS AS HIGH AS $701/OZ, A NEARLY 26-YR HIGH

1:09 PM ET 5/9/06 JUNE GOLD LAST UP $20.90, OR 3.1%, AT $700.80/OZ

[UpInArms]

130. June Gold closes @ $701.50 oz - Silver @ $14.465 - Copper @ $3.596 lb

1:49 PM ET 5/9/06 GOLD FUTURES CLOSE ABOVE $700 FOR FIRST TIME SINCE OCT. 1980

1:49 PM ET 5/9/06 JUNE GOLD ENDS AT $701.50/OZ, UP $21.60, OR 3.2% FOR THE DAY

1:45 PM ET 5/9/06 JULY COPPER ENDS AT A RECORD $3.596/LB, UP 9.45C, OR 2.7%

1:45 PM ET 5/9/06 SILVER FUTURES CLOSE AT A LEVEL NOT SEEN SINCE EARLY 1983

1:45 PM ET 5/9/06 JULY SILVER UP 69.5C, OR 5.1%, TO CLOSE AT $14.465/OZ

1:30 PM ET 5/9/06 JUNE PALLADIUM UP $19.65, ENDS AT 4-YR HIGH OF $394.90/OZ

1:29 PM ET 5/9/06 JULY PLATINUM CLOSES AT A RECORD $1,239.30/OZ, UP $37.40

[UpInArms]

33. Today's Laff: Consumer attitudes fail to reflect US economy's performance

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20060508/bs_ft/fto050820061746457219?_ylt=AskpYC2OP1YdGGRHyAO3zQGyBhIF?_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

excerpt:

But as the Fed prepares to meet on Wednesday to decide on interest rates, the US economy appears to be in excellent health. In fact, as the stream of positive figures continues to flow, it is starting to resemble the fabled Goldilocks period of the late 1990s (not too "hot" or too "cold" an economy).

The combination of strong growth and low inflation has been as good as anything seen since the 1960s, with the sole exception of the explosive growth of the late 1990s. The economy is on track to grow by about 3.5 per cent for the second consecutive year - close to the level economists view as the speed limit before inflation starts to rise. The core inflation rate has remained remarkably subdued despite the upward pressures expected from surging oil prices. Wage growth may have struggled to keep pace with inflation, but soaring house prices have more than made up for this shortfall for the two-thirds of the population that own their own homes.

US economists have been suitably impressed. The last of the pessimists, Stephen Roach of Morgan Stanley, recently started to strike a brighter tone.

But the public has remain-ed sceptical. The latest Michigan consumer sentiment index suggested that Americans continue to fret about the immediate future. The index level at 87.7 is well below the levels from 1997 to 2000 when it hovered between 100 and 110.

<snip>

Perhaps the main reason for the lack of a feelgood factor has been the failure of wages to keep pace with inflation. Between 1997 and 2000 real average hourly earnings rose by an average of 1.5 per cent a year. Since January 2004 they have been falling by 0.6 per cent year on year, mainly through higher fuel prices.

...more...

I want whatever those folks at the Fed are smokin'!

[AnneD]

52. I think our theme today should be

Artist: B.B. King Lyrics
Song: The Thrill Is Gone Lyrics

The thrill is gone
The thrill is gone away
The thrill is gone baby
The thrill is gone away
You know you done me wrong baby
And you'll be sorry someday

<snip>

The thrill is gone
It's gone away for good
Oh, the thrill is gone baby
Baby its gone away for good
Someday I know I'll be over it all baby
Just like I know a man should

You know I'm free, free now baby
I'm free from your spell
I'm free, free now
I'm free from your spell
And now that it's over
All I can do is wish you well

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/martinscorsesebestoftheblues/thethrillisgone.htm

[Ghost Dog]

79. Free. Free. Free.

(Now there's a song I can sing along to). Hi AnneD.

These songs of freedom. Don't forget, this Thursday, May 11th, anniversary of Bob Marley's death. Redemption songs.

[AnneD]

136. Ghost Dog

:hi: Need to think of an appropiate Marley tune.

[UpInArms]

34. Treasurys open lower; inventories, auction ahead

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BA1E47AA4%2D2223%2D4757%2DACA6%2D697A12EC8761%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Treasury prices opened lower Tuesday, sending yields a bit higher, ahead of wholesale inventories data for March and an auction of $21 billion in 3-year notes. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note last was down 6/32 at 95-5/32 with a yield ($TNX 51.40, +0.21, +0.4% ) of 5.135%, up from 5.118% at Monday's close. The MarketWatch forecast, based on a poll of economists, is for a 0.5% increase in inventories in March, contrasting with a flat reading in February. Trading should be restrained ahead of the 1 p.m. auction, which will be monitored carefully for indications of whether foreign central banks are backing away from U.S. government assets. In addition, investors are likely to behave cautiously ahead of Wednesdays' Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. The Treasury market fully expects the Fed to put in place another quarter point increase in the fed funds rate on Wednesday, hiking the key rate to 5%, but investors will be eager to read the policy statement accompanying the decision.

[UpInArms]

80. US Treasuries slip ahead of supply, Fed meeting

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-09T152444Z_01_N09406509_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-1-REPEAT.XML

NEW YORK, May 9 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices eased on Tuesday as investors worried about absorbing fresh supply at a time of high uncertainty over Federal Reserve interest rate policy.

The Treasury Department was slated to sell the $21 billion in three-year notes later on Tuesday, but dealers were wary about the market's ability to shoulder the new debt just one day before the central bank meets to set rates.

Such anxiety was keeping 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> 3/32 lower in price for a yield of 5.13 percent, up from 5.12 percent late on Monday.

The Fed is widely expected to raise the federal funds rate a quarter percentage point to 5 percent on Wednesday, the 16th consecutive increase.

Yet the future is less certain, and market analysts are keen to dissect the Fed's post-meeting statement for clues on policy down the road -- even if such an exercise might prove futile.

...more...

[UpInArms]

36. Be Afraid,Very Afraid:Two Experts Criticize Film as Unrealistic Propaganda

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/09/arts/television/09squa.html?ex=1304827200&en=0fae87fe05aa25fc&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

"Fatal Contact," tonight's ABC movie about bird flu reaching the United States, has been denounced as medically unrealistic by two prominent flu experts who have seen it, one of whom is the film's technical consultant.

While much of the film follows conventional wisdom about how a pandemic might unfold, scenes of blood spouting from victims, bodies dumped in mass graves and the suggestion that the virus could mutate until it is 100 percent fatal were "over the top," both said.

<snip>

"To say it's overdone is an understatement," Mr. Barry said. He declined to help publicize the film, he said, but did not ask that his name be removed. His consulting, he said, had been merely a two-hour conference call and some later comments on the script, which he did not write. He compared his role to that of a lawyer whose client pays for his advice but ignores it.

<snip>

Dr. Osterholm was harsher. "It's really bad," he said of the film's science. The ending "looks like the Jonestown massacre, not something caused by infectious disease." He also ridiculed a scene in which bodies are poured from dump trucks into what looks like an open-pit mine. "Corpse management will be a problem in a pandemic," he said, "but none of us believe that will happen."

...more...

:eyes:

[Mojorabbit]

41. This really disappoints me

I have followed every mutation of this thing and was hoping with John Barry as a consultant it would be educational and not sensational. There is enough horror to depict if it does happen without making it over the top. Should have know that this would happen.
Too serious a potential problem to play around like this with the subject.

Still, I like a badly done horror type movie and will watch for the fun of it.

[UpInArms]

38. pre-opening blather

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.0.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.2. Stage remains set for the indices to open with a sense of reserve as the stock market remains on Fed Watch, especially since incoming data are likely to require the Fed to raise rates more than one more time with or without a pause. Speaking of economic reports, the lack of any notable data this morning to set a more definitive tone to trading has left the door open for more consolidation in Treasuries following Friday's run-up, as the yield on the 10-yr note clawing back above 5.13% could stall recent momentum in Financials.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -0.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -1.5. Stocks still cautious in pre-market action, as futures indications trade below fair value, but some of the weakness among blue chips could be offset by some upbeat news. General Motors (GM) is up 3% after revising Q1 results to show a profit while McDonald's (MCD), a suggested holding, is also trading higher after posting a larger than expected 6.2% rise in global comparable sales.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.0. Futures versus fair value are signaling a modestly lower start for the cash market. Aside from continued nervousness partly attributed to the specter of tomorrow's FOMC meeting, with special emphasis on the accompanying policy statement for some direction on Fed policy, Dell (DELL) warning that Q1 profits will miss forecasts due to "pricing decisions" is also weighing on early sentiment, especially tech.

[UpInArms]

43. 3 NYSE (LeBranche) Specialists permanently barred by NYSE

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BC8D8783A%2DACE0%2D40F1%2D9456%2D4E0EDC1A707A%7D&symbol=

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Three New York Stock Exchange specialists were permanently barred by the NYSE's regulatory unit, the Big Board said Tuesday.

Eugene McCarthy, Vincent Papandrea and Anthony Picerni, who worked at LaBranche & Co. (LAB 14.80, -0.13, -0.9% ) were barred for failing to appear and provide testimony in NYSE Regulation Inc.'s investigation into front-running and other trading violations made between 1999 through June 2003.

"These three individuals chose expulsion from the industry rather than face further questioning," said Susan Light, a NYSE regulation official in a statement.

McCarthy, Papandrea, Picerni's and LaBranche settled the case in March 2004, without admitting or denying guilt. Under terms of the settlement they agreed to pay $63.5 million.

...more...

[UpInArms]

51. (FL AZ UT) AOL Laying off 1,300 - 7% of its workforce will be without jobs

10:18 AM ET 5/9/06 AOL TO LAY OFF STAFF AT CALL CENTERS IN UTAH AND ARIZ.: AP

10:18 AM ET 5/9/06 AOL CLOSING ITS CALL CENTER IN JACKSONVILLE, FLA.: AP

10:17 AM ET 5/9/06 AOL LAYING OFF 1,300 STAFF, OR 7% OF ITS WORKFORCE: AP

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=5a063121-6371-4ad4-94e4-d8eae4dd4e53&siteid=mktw&dist=MorePulse

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX ) AOL unit is laying off 1,300 employees, or roughly 7% of its workforce, and closing its call center in Jacksonville, Fla., according to a published report Tuesday. AOL will lay off 780 employees when it closes the call center; 300 employees are being laid off at its call center in Tucson, Ariz. and 125 in Ogden, Utah, the Associated Press reported.

[UpInArms]

137. AOL blaming users for layoffs - not their crappy service or censorship

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4755103.stm

AOL, the internet arm of Time Warner, is to sack 1,300 of its US call centre staff because, it said, customers are now better equipped to help themselves.

<snip>

"That's a remarkable success in terms of customer care," he said.

"It requires us to balance our work force."

<snip>

The number of callers has also slipped because subscriptions are on the slide.

AOL had 26.7 million customers in September 2002, but this had fallen by more than 25% by last December.

...more...

[AnneD]

141. Do we see a pattern here..

The American automotive makers blame consumers for their loss of market shares too.:eyes: Do they teach this crap in business schools these days or what?

[Robbien]

54. Another rise to debt ceiling is hidden in fine print of the budget plan

A $2.7 trillion budget plan pending before the House would raise the federal debt ceiling to nearly $10 trillion, less than two months after Congress last raised the federal government's borrowing limit.

The provision -- buried on page 121 of the 151-page budget blueprint. . .

. . .

With passage of the budget, the House will have raised the federal borrowing limit by an additional $653 billion, to $9.62 trillion. It would be the fifth debt-ceiling increase in recent years, after boosts of $450 billion in 2002, a record $984 billion in 2003, $800 billion in 2004 and $653 billion in March. When Bush took office, the statutory borrowing limit stood at $5.95 trillion.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801425.html

[UpInArms]

61. Those freakin' thievin' bandits are intent on destroying the future of

this country :mad:


The estimated population of the United States is 298,675,618
so each citizen's share of this debt is $28,000.86.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$1.95 billion per day since September 30, 2005

:nuke:

09/30/2002 $6,228,235,965,597.16
09/28/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06

[DemReadingDU]

114. Our country is imploding

No way can we citizens cough up $28,000.86. We can barely exist as it is with jobs being outsourced and wages decreasing.

Send the bill to the CEOs making $11 million per year - let them pay off our national debt with their greedy profits.

[UpInArms]

115. that $28,000.86 is per person (man, woman, child) - for a family of 4

that is a current debt of $112,003.44.

Maybe I'll go digging in the couch for mine :eyes:

[DemReadingDU]

118. rolling up my coins to buy gas

Seriously! This is outrageous. Yet Bush & cronies keep reaping in larger and larger profits, before everything collapses. Reminds of of Enron.

[54anickel]

120. I'm tellin' ya - best business venture today is to open a pawn shop

adjacent to the local gas station...best local commercial I've seen!!! Bwahahahaha

http://www.versantsolutions.com/html/sewts/index.aspx?play=video

[DemReadingDU]

124. That was clever!

But actually, it's all so true. People are actually pawning stuff to buy gas

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12423158

[54anickel]

127. Yeah, I've heard that. Pretty damned sad state we're in. I doubt those

people would see the humor in the ad campaign.

Still love the line in the radio spot...."Look around!!! I've got Ming vases and Picassos here."
I guess it's the guy's accent and the inflection in his voice that cracks me up.

[54anickel]

63. Oh. My. God. But wait, what's this line of BS....

In recent days, Congress has received some good news on the budget front. A surge of tax revenues this spring, sparked by economic growth, prompted the Congressional Budget Office last Thursday to revise its 2006 deficit forecast from around $370 billion to as low as $300 billion.

Come on now, sheesh! You don't think that 2005 Job Destruction Act one-time tax break that got multi-nationals to repatriate billions of dollars at a much reduced tax rate had anything to do with the "windfall" - do ya? Lying bastards!!!

[Ghost Dog]

86. Uh, yeah, this guy Walter J. (John) Williams comments (fiscal deficit):

http://www.weedenco.com/welling/Downloads/2006/0804welling022106.pdf

back in February, on the subject of "Government’s “Creative” Statistical Reports
" (.pdf - worth reading the whole thing):

Well, if you look at 2005, the official deficit was reported at around
$319 billion. Using generally accepted accounting principles, the 2005
Financial Report of the U.S. Government published by the U.S.
Treasury, showed a deficit of $760 billion. That’s without considering
Social Security and Medicare. However, in the 2004 report’s management
discussion and analysis section, the Bush II Administration basically
said, “Hey, guys, you’d better be aware of how these numbers
work.” Where the official federal deficit in 2004 was reported at about
$412 billion, and the GAAP-based deficit was around $616 billion, they
said that if you added in the net present value of the underfunding of
Social Security and Medicare, the one-year deficit in 2004 was $11.1
trillion. That’s trillion, not billion. That amounted to almost 100% of
GDP at the time. Now, that $11 trillion included a one-time spike of
about $8 trillion, to account for what Congress and the President did in
setting up the Medicare drug benefit without funding it going forward.
But you can see that if you back out that one-time charge, that on a
GAAP basis, accounting for Social Security and Medicare, in 2003 the
deficit was around $3.7 trillion; in 2004 it was $3.4 trillion; and in 2005
it was $3.5 trillion. We’ve had three years in a row here where the GAAP
deficit has been basically $3.5 trillion. So the deficit and the total bligations
of the federal government are increasing by roughly the amount of
GDP every three years. In fact, the fiscal 2005 statement shows that
total federal obligations at the end September were $51 trillion; over
four times the level of GDP. It is unprecedented for a major country to
have its actual obligations so far out of whack.

That’s some whopping credit card bill.

It’s beyond control. Keep in mind that 2005’s $3.5 trillion GAAP deficit
is roughly 10 times bigger than the “official” deficit. But that is the size
of the shortfall. Even if you were to raise personal income taxes to 100%,
take all of everyone’s salaries, and put all those funds into a pot against
this deficit, you’d still have a deficit. (If you also threw in corporate
taxes, you actually might get it a little bit to the plus side.) But we are at a
point where we cannot cover the deficit by raising taxes. So what are we
doing? We are lowering taxes to try to stimulate the economy. People
are talking about new big spending programs going forward. Yet you’d
have to cut back Social Security and Medicare drastically here, beyond
anything that I can imagine is politically feasible, to bring things into
balance. Of course, there is no way you can tax all of people’s income.
And I think it’s a political impossibility to eliminate Social Security and
Medicare, or a goodly portion of it. But that is the political situation
we’re faced with right now. This is why I really refuse to align myself
with any of these jokers down in Washington (to use as sensitive, or as
gentle a term as I can for them). Those people have a thinking horizon,
a planning horizon, of the next election.

/plenty more...

But I guess US folks already know what to do about that, right?

[Oversea Visitor]

90. Ouch

You making sense
OUCH OUCH OUCH
:spank: you giving me NIGHTMARE.

[Ghost Dog]

175. Sorry, OV,

Just pure data and (psycho)-sociology.

It's called 'soft' science.

Then, they say, "go figure".

(Isn't freedom of thought/expression wonderful)?

[54anickel]

56. Treasuries weaker as refunding sale looms

http://biz.yahoo.com/ft/060509/fto050920060927287368.html?.v=1

Treasuries were lower and yields nudged higher on Tuesday as investors readied for the first of the Treasury's big quarterly refunding sales and for Wednesday's key Federal Reserve policy meeting.

The Treasury will today auction $21bn in new three-year notes and on Thursday it will sell $13bn in new 10-year paper. Tuesday's sale will be particularly closely watched to gauge foreign demand following the dollar's recent slide and market forecasts that it could weaken further.

"The auction process could turn out to be extremely sloppy," warned analysts at 4Cast consultancy, who feared that professional traders could hold back ahead of the upcoming Fed meeting and the release on Wednesday of a Treasury report that could label China a currency "manipulator" - a move that will bring exchange rates and the US need for foreign investors back into focus.

"This could leave the primary dealer community and domestic investor base to shoulder a larger than usual underwriting responsibility," said 4Cast.

bit more...

[UpInArms]

121. 3-yr Treasury Auction results:

1:06 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> 10-YR TREASURY AUCTION HAS 2.31 BID-TO-COVER RATIO

1:06 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> 10-YR TREASURY AUCTION PRODUCES MEDIAN 4.977%

1:04 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> 10-YR TREASURY NOTE AUCTION PRODUCES HIGH YIELD 4.995%

not spectacular on the bid-to-cover, but not horrible

adding the following "corrections" on edit (it appears they called this a 10-yr note auction, when it was actually the 3-yr note auction) 10-yr results still to come:

1:10 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> CORRECT 3-YR TREASURY NOTE AUCTION HAS HIGH YIELD 4.995%

1:09 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> CORRECT 3-YR TREASURY AUCTION HAS 2.31 BID-TO-COVER RATIO

1:10 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> CORRECT 3-YR TREASURY AUCTION PRODUCES MEDIAN 4.977%

1:09 PM ET 5/9/06 <$TNX> CORRECT 3-YR TREASURY HAS 24.9% INDIRECT BID

[Roland99]

59. 10:44am - Mexed Missages yet again

DJIA 11,599.89 +15.35 +0.13%
Nasdaq 2,337.89 -7.10 -0.30%
S&P 500 1,325.00 +0.34 +0.03%
Dow Util 406.38 -1.52 -0.37%
NYSE 8,644.34 +21.12 +0.24%
AMEX 2,035.14 UNCH UNCH
Russell 2000 780.72 -0.88 -0.11%
Semcond 518.63 -6.74 -1.28%
Gold future 696.50 +16.60 +2.44%
30-Year Bond 5.21% +0.02 +0.39%
10-Year Bond 5.14% +0.02 +0.33%

[skids]

62. Clean energy indexes launch (NASDAQ:CLEN/CLNX NYSE:NGE.X)

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (NASDAQ) and Clean Edge, Inc. today announced plans to launch the NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Index, an innovative and powerful tool for clean-energy investing. Clean Edge is a leading research and publishing firm that helps companies, investors and policymakers understand and profit from clean technologies. NASDAQ will begin disseminating the index on May 18.

...

The NASDAQ Clean Edge U.S. Index includes companies engaged in the manufacturing, development, distribution and installation of emerging clean-energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics, biofuels and advanced batteries. The five major sub-sectors that the index will cover are Renewable Electricity Generation, Renewable Fuels, Energy Storage & Conversion, Energy Intelligence and Advanced Energy-Related Materials.

http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=44855

A new index tracking the performance of a portfolio of US alternative energy stocks is set to be launched on Friday, among the first to focus on the relatively young and fast-growing sector.

...

Merriman Curhan Ford, the San Francisco-based boutique investment bank, has developed the Merriman next generation energy index, which will be listed on NYSE Arca from on Friday.

...

The inclusion and weighting of companies in the new index is based on a range of factors, including Mr Tanous' analysis. Fuel cell and solar technologies will each account for 25 per cent of the index, while alternative fuels and energy storage will carry a weighting of 15 per cent each.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12650264/

In addition, the fledgeling weekly podcast from Renewable Energy Access just added 1-2 minute stock market section. This week covered the "Wilder Hill Clean Energy Index" and mentioned an interesting Dutch report on socially responsible investing.

http://renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/podcasts

[UpInArms]

64. Continental Tire moves up 700 layoffs timeline - jobs to Mexico and Brazil

http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/mecklenburg/?ArID=119368&SecID=3

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Continental Tire North America Inc. announced Monday that it will eliminate more than 700 jobs and stop tire production at its Charlotte plant in July, two months ahead of schedule.

Officials attribute the cuts to the rising cost of energy and raw materials, and a decline in business.

After the layoffs, the Charlotte plant will employ fewer than 200 workers and most of its production will shift to plants in Brazil and Mexico.

...more...

[UpInArms]

72. On This Day in History: 1974 -

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/050906/sta_20060509010.shtml

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

• In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee opened hearings on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Nixon.

I certainly wish that we had an independent House Judiciary Committee today :eyes:

[UpInArms]

84. 11:39 EST WHEE! It's all good! Markets Impersonate Alfred E. Newman!

Dow 11,620.40 +35.86 (+0.31%)
Nasdaq 2,342.51 -2.48 (-0.11%)
S&P 500 1,325.62 +0.96 (+0.07%)
10-Yr Bond 5.134 +0.15 (+0.29%)

NYSE Volume 839,828,000
Nasdaq Volume 777,682,000

11:30 am : Major indices continue to add to their best levels of the morning, but gains remain for the blue chip averages remain modest at best as Dell (DELL 24.96 -1.47) hitting new 52-week lows continues to limited the market's upside. To wit, Dell's 5% decline, which has also weighed on Intel (INTC 19.89 -0.22), are the biggest reasons behind the tech-heavy Nasdaq's inability to turn positive. DJ30 +31.05 NASDAQ -2.44 SOX -1.1% SP500 +1.35 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1546/1319/734 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1510/1520/548 mln

11:00 am : More of the same for equities as the Nasdaq and Dow continue to trade in opposing directions. With regard to the former is has again broken through the 11,600 mark as oil prices now near session highs prompts a turnaround in ExxonMobil (XOM 64.00 +0.29). Crude oil futures are up nearly 2.0% and back above $71 a barrel. Other Dow components turning positive and helping the index hit session highs within the last 30 minutes include BA, HON, PG, T and UTX. DJ30 +20.11 NASDAQ -6.46 SP500 +0.60 XOI +0.8% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1598/1180/588 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1459/1504/436 mln

[54anickel]

95. Mergers hit fastest pace since 2000

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2006-05-09-merger-usat_x.htm

NEW YORK — Arguably, the most popular phrase on Wall Street these days is: "Let's make a deal."

The hottest bull market in recent months is not the usual buying and selling of shares of a company's stock; it is companies buying other companies.

The mergers-and-acquisitions business is booming this year. Companies flush with cash looking to boost growth, profit and geographical clout are shaking hands on M&A deals at the fastest pace since the record-setting year of 2000.

Through Monday, 3,223 deals worth $479.6 billion have been announced, the most at this point in the year since six years ago, Thomson Financial says. Monday, Wall Street got to digest two of 2006's top six deals: Wachovia bank's $25.5 billion stock-and-cash deal for Golden West Financial and Thermo Electron's $10.2 billion stock deal for Fisher Scientific to create a scientific and lab equipment supplier.

The wave of deals continues a renaissance that began in 2004, following a tough three-year stretch from 2001-03 after the stock-market bust and resulting corporate scandals. If the trend continues, deals this year could top $1 trillion, says Richard Peterson, senior researcher at Thomson. "It's a sign of confidence, a sign of good times," he says.

more...

[Roland99]

102. Don't mergers result in "right-sized" job losses?

More profits for the corporations, less wages for the employees (and fewer employed for that matter)

[54anickel]

108. Yep. Look at the bright side, it helps fight wage inflation. Bwahahaha!

[Roland99]

111. Always the optimist you are!

[Nickster]

134. In my limited economics knowledge, it would seem that a quickened

pace of M&As would also be a symptom of a smaller amount of demand for goods and services from the markets. First step in the demand curve moving to the left would be mergers and then eventually the merged companies in certain sectors just disappearing all together. In other words, not a sign of good times at all. Or am I off here?

[54anickel]

96. Why there are no Indian Wal-Marts

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/05/15/8376903/index.htm

snip>

Inderlok is at the heart of India's growing middle class, which makes up a third of the country's 1.1 billion population. And that's exactly where international retailers like Wal-Mart (Research), Tesco (Research), and Carrefour want to be.

But those companies' stores, ubiquitous in other countries, are nowhere to be found in India, thanks to restrictions on foreign investment. Even the promise of lower prices and more efficient supply chains isn't enough to offset the political power of India's 12 million shopkeepers, who account for 97 percent of the country's $258 billion in annual retail sales. Or the muscle of large Indian companies that have recently realized the potential of moving into retail and are urging the government to slow down reforms that would open the sector to foreign competition.

"Make it difficult - then the foreigners will have to pay more," says Kishore Biyani, founder, chairman, and managing director of Pantaloon. "Why should we make it easy for them?"

Biyani, who plans to expand the floor space of his $450 million retail empire fivefold over the next three years, is believed by his peers to be bulking up to boost the price he can ask from a foreign joint venture partner - possibly Wal-Mart.

Biyani denies that, and Wal-Mart spokeswoman Beth Keck wouldn't comment beyond saying the U.S. giant is open to all investment structures and has been talking to potential partners, "though we would prefer a controlling interest."

more...

[TrogL]

100. Loonie Watch

Highlights

Current:



30-day and 90-day:



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

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

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

Current TSE



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

2006-04-10 Monday, April 10 0.872144 USD
2006-04-11 Tuesday, April 11 0.872829 USD
2006-04-12 Wednesday, April 12 0.871156 USD
2006-04-13 Thursday, April 13 0.868508 USD
2006-04-14 Friday, April 14 0.868583 USD
2006-04-17 Monday, April 17 0.87321 USD
2006-04-18 Tuesday, April 18 0.87558 USD
2006-04-19 Wednesday, April 19 0.87974 USD
2006-04-20 Thursday, April 20 0.878272 USD
2006-04-21 Friday, April 21 0.879353 USD
2006-04-24 Monday, April 24 0.879275 USD
2006-04-25 Tuesday, April 25 0.883626 USD
2006-04-26 Wednesday, April 26 0.887233 USD
2006-04-27 Thursday, April 27 0.890076 USD
2006-04-28 Friday, April 28 0.892618 USD
2006-05-01 Monday, May 1 0.898473 USD
2006-05-02 Tuesday, May 2 0.903424 USD
2006-05-03 Wednesday, May 3 0.903179 USD
2006-05-04 Thursday, May 4 0.903669 USD
2006-05-05 Friday, May 5 0.903261 USD
2006-05-08 Monday, May 8 0.899604 USD


Current values

Last trade 0.9083 Change +0.0079 (+0.88%)
Previous Close 0.9005 Open 0.9009
Low 0.9008 High 0.9120


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

The June Canadian Dollar was lower due to profit taking overnight as it consolidates some of this spring’s rally. The daily ADX (a trend-following indicator) is turning neutral signaling that a short-term top might be in or is near. Closes below the 10-day moving average crossing at .8989 would signal that a short-term top has been posted. Overnight action sets the stage or a lower opening in early-day session trading.


Analysis

Oh, God. Look at the graph here (http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CME_CD.M06&v=s).

The loonie's taking off like a rocket (at least compared to the greenback).

I'm still looking to see how it's doing compared to other currencies.

[TrogL]

132. Update: It's rising against everything

(formatting and clarification)

The graphs on loonie watch just updated (http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/looniewatch.html) and everything I'm tracking is going up.

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

2006-05-09 Tuesday, May 9 0.907276 USD

Current values

Last trade 0.9093 Change +0.0089 (+0.99%)
Previous Close 0.9005 Open 0.9009
Low 0.9008 High 0.9120


http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2006/05/09/gold.html

Rising gold and oil prices helped the Canadian dollar gain more than a cent against its U.S. counterpart in Tuesday trading, boosting it to a 28-year high.

The loonie was quoted at 91.00 cents US at 11:10 a.m. EDT, up 1.13 cents from Monday's close. That was the dollar's highest level since Jan. 16, 1978, according to the Bank of Canada.

The dollar was propelled by rising gold and oil prices. Gold futures hit $700 US an ounce in New York trading Tuesday – the highest level for the precious metal in more than 25 years. That was up more than $20 US from Monday's close.

On May 2nd, they posted a feature article on the rising loonie.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dollar_cdn/



The loonie's been flying in large part because the U.S. economy has been struggling to get off the ground. Washington is facing budget and trade deficits that have never been higher. In 2005, the U.S. bought $723.6 billion more in foreign goods and services than it sold, registering yet another record annual trade deficit.

...

While the international flight from the U.S. dollar to other currencies affects that currency, Canada's economic performance plays a big role in boosting the loonie. Canada's jobless rate was at a 32-year low of 6.3 per cent in early 2006, as more than 330,000 jobs had been created in the previous year. Growth in GDP was running at more than 3 per cent.

...

Another factor that has helped to push up the Canadian dollar is rising commodity prices – especially a run-up in the price of oil. As a net exporter of oil, Canada is seen as benefiting overall from record oil prices. But it's not just oil. Canada exports huge amounts of nickel, copper, aluminum and zinc. All of these commodities are at or near record highs. With commodities accounting for 35 per cent of Canada's exports, the loonie is seen around the world as a "commodity-based currency," and has been bid up accordingly.

They forgot several key commodities:

• diamonds (NWT and Nunavit)
  
• uranium (Ontario)
  
• iron (a new find near Peace River, Alberta)
  

Another thing that they're completely ignoring is Canada's credit/deficit standing. Alberta has paid out everything. Canada federally and most provinces have surpluses. Investors can expect few bad surprises from Canada economically. The Conservative government has been in place for awhile. While my prediction that it would fall on the budget (which still hasn't passed) hasn't born fruit, they haven't planned anything monumentally stupid (although I don't think they've thought lowering the GST entirely through because of the hardship of reprogramming all the cash registers).

The article also points out that the Bank of Canada has had to be fairly aggressive to avoid inflation by messing around with interest rates. The same cannot be said for the US. Hence, some people have been borrowing south. With the rise of the loonie against the greenback, their loonies will pay out more of their greenback loan faster.

Also, Snowbirds are getting better bang for their buck ... errr ... loot for their loonie ... errr ... I'm mixing my metaphors.

[TrogL]

153. 2nd update

I've never had to do a second update!

Current values

Last trade 0.9099 Change +0.0095 (+1.05%)
Previous Close 0.9005 Open 0.9009
Low 0.9008 High 0.9120

[Ghost Dog]

173. Watch out. Maybe 'THEY''re also looking north, again,

... as well as east, west and south,

for what 'THEY' really want (just what you need (sic)).

[54anickel]

131. Trouble, Trouble, Debt, and Bubble (Long piece)

http://www.monthlyreview.org/0506tabb.htm#Volume

snip>

Even conceding that investment in the United States may be somewhat higher than official data show, it is not doing much to help the United States become more competitive. The nation’s problems are more severe, upsetting not only to its working people but to some unexpected establishment ideologues who have long celebrated globalization. Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, argues that Bush is not good for America. He writes that the country “faces a huge set of challenges if it is going to retain its competitive edge. As a nation, we have a mounting educational deficit, energy deficit, budget deficit, health care deficit and ambition deficit. The administration is in denial on this, and Congress is off on Mars.” Friedman asks where are the American corporate leaders who would benefit from a serious effort to address these deficits. He can point to G.M.’s interest in health care since its benefit costs have made it noncompetitive and asks if there is any corporation in America that should not be protesting Bush’s cuts in federally sponsored basic research, a key source of innovation. But he also answers with a different voice noting that many key U.S.-based industries get most of their profits and increasingly their best talent from abroad. They are less motivated than in the past to deal with a Congress “catering to people who think ‘intelligent design’ is something done by God and not by Intel.”

There is, however, another way of looking at this. Consider that part of the higher return enjoyed by American investors results from the power of the U.S. imperial state, power that insures against bad treatment. U.S. power sets the rules on debt repayment, intellectual property rights, investor security, market access, and so on, things that no other state can insure for its investors, at least not to the same degree. The difference in the rate of return exists because foreigners are interested in a safe return and the security of their principal, while Americans investing in risky assets have some assurance that the global state economic governance institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, or if needed the U.S. Marines or threats by the State Department, will enforce debt collection so that their debts will be collected. U.S.-based firms charge exorbitantly for intellectual property and collect intellectual property rents, enforced by the World Trade Organization and the U.S. government, but these go to the bottom line of the companies in question. This is surely good news for those who own those U.S. assets abroad.

Sadly, working-class Americans, who are experiencing stagnant or falling real wages, do not share this satisfaction. For them, wages, shrinking benefits, and deteriorating job quality matter more than the external balance position of the United States. In the United States in which they live, income inequality grows dramatically, health care costs rise beyond the means of families, and secure retirement is a vanishing prospect. These are the real deficits for most Americans, serious shortfalls from what they have been led to expect. They are now told that to be competitive, their country must sacrifice its working people’s legitimate hopes.

In the United States where the president talks of creating an ownership society in which workers would “own” their own health care and retirement through privatized individual accounts, defined-benefit pensions, which guarantee a fixed amount of money after retirement, are replaced by defined-contribution plans, in which benefits depend upon what a worker can put in and the uncertainty of the equity market. The basic idea of social insurance, where all contribute and receive based on need, is canceled as those who can afford more not only get more but receive favored tax treatment for each dollar they set aside for their own welfare.

snip>

There is a clear thread that connects domestic developments in the U.S. income distribution, debt-funded growth, the increased dominance of the rentier capitalists who profit from these developments, and global ambitions and the projection of imperial dominance. A century ago John A. Hobson argued that as the power of rentiers grows and taxation becomes more dramatically regressive, a hegemonic power (then Great Britain) is tempted to engage in imperialism. Hobson urged higher taxation of incomes generated as a result of financial speculation and government favoritism to produce a more equal distribution of income and higher working-class and middle-income spending, which would encourage domestic investment and make imperialism less attractive. He wrote,

The issue in a word, is between external expansion of markets and of territory on the one hand, and internal social and industrial reforms upon the other; between a militant imperialism animated by the lust for quantitative growth as a means by which the governing and possessing classes may retain their monopoly of political power and industrial supremacy, and a peaceful democracy engaged upon the development of its national resources in order to secure for all members the conditions of improved comfort, security, and leisure essential for a worthy national life. (John A. Hobson, “Free Trade and Foreign Policy,” Contemporary Review 64 <1898>: 179, quoted in Leonard Seabrooke, “The Economic Taproot of US Imperialism: The Bush Rentier Shift,” International Politics 41, no. 3 (September 2004): 293–318.

Today the “rentier shift” produces the very conditions Hobson warned of in the context of Great Britain a century ago. The growth of the rentier economy and the drive for external expansion long evident in U.S. history (and surely under both Clinton and Bush, albeit with a different policy mix) has been fed by an investor politics that has favored the very rich disproportionately in both taxation and government spending priorities. The dramatic increases in the upward redistribution of income have contributed to driving the investor class to look for opportunities abroad as the slower growth, and indeed saturation, of domestic markets pushes them to do. And this is taking place even as their increased class dominance—with trade unions and working-class power weakening, and real wages stagnating—allows them to push for a greater degree of regressive taxation and less progressive redistributive state spending.

much more...

[54anickel]

142. 2:55 Pretty much a yawner day

Dow 11,622.64 +38.10 (+0.33%)
Nasdaq 2,337.88 -7.10 (-0.30%)
S&P 500 1,324.35 -0.31 (-0.02%)
10-yr Bond 51.27 +0.08 (+0.16%)
30-yr Bond 51.99 +0.13 (+0.25%)
NYSE Volume 1,636,503,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,453,447,000

2:30 pm : Market continues to vacillate in roughly the same ranges as the Dow remains the only area of strength among the major averages. Having only closed above the 11,600 mark once before and the fact that the day's best performing component -- General Motors (GM 24.71 +1.16) -- is purely a sentiment-driven stock, however, leaves in question whether such a milestone will be achievable today ahead of such uncertainty regarding Fed policy. Only three other Dow components (e.g. AA, DIS, and MRK) are posting gains of more than 1.0% while HPQ is still off 2.6% in sympathy with Dell's 4.85 drubbing. DJ30 +27.77 NASDAQ -8.54 SP500 -1.32 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1738/1275/1.34 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1647/1573/1.04 bln

2:00 pm : Still no conviction on the bullish or bearish side of the aisle as the markets remain mixed. Despite more than half of the 31 components that make up the S&P Materials Index trading lower, the sector is now pacing the way higher (+0.5%), getting its biggest lift from gold futures closing above $700 an ounce for the first time in nearly 26 years and surging 3.2% on the day. Aside from a 1.6% surge in oil prices helping increase the precious metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation, the commodity has found additional momentum amid another decline in the dollar and fading hopes for a resolution over Iran's nuclear initiatives.DJ30 +27.15 NASDAQ -8.21 SP500 -1.10 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1738/1279/1.24 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1629/1566/960 mln

1:30 pm : Stocks continue to trade in a relatively narrow range. The market's holding pattern has been further evidenced in the A/D line. Advancers and decliners on the NYSE remain evenly matched while decliners on the Nasdaq only hold a 16-to-13 edge over advancers. A nearly 2-to-1 ratio of down to up volume on the Composite, however, suggests more of a negative bias as Dell's (DELL 25.35 -1.08) disappointment continues to drag on Tech. DJ30 +33.14 NASDAQ -6.86 SP500 -0.76 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1633/1355/1.14 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1589/1575/874 mln

1:00 pm : Not much changed among the blue chip averages, but the Nasdaq continues to hit afternoon lows. The PHLX Semiconductor retracing its worst levels of the day is weighing most heavily on the tech-heavy Composite while the AMEX Biotech Index slipping into negative territory for the year, due in part to an analyst downgrade on Genzyme (GENZ 57.03 -1.59) is also keeping buyers on the sidelines.BTK -1.1% DJ30 +32.59 NASDAQ -8.06 SOX -1.3% SP500 -0.55 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1620/1337/1.06 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1560/1573/812 mln

12:30 pm : No change to the prevailing trend as trading enters the lunch hour. Construction & Engineering is still turning in the day's best performance following Fluor's (FLR 103.58 +9.83) standout quarter. Extending its year-to-date leading 80% surge with another 5.0% advance from Archer Daniels Midland (ADM 45.49 +2.27) has been Agricultural Products while Diversified Metals & Mining, amid further weakness in the dollar, has added to its impressive 31% gain in 2006, replacing Construction & Farming as the year's fourth best performing S&P industry group.DJ30 +33.52 NASDAQ -3.81 SP500 +0.44 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1568/1361/960 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1507/1614/724 mln

edit for html and to add Adv/Dec


NYSE Nasdaq
Advances 1598 (47%) 1298 (40%)
Declines 1636 (48%) 1724 (54%)
Unchanged 139 (4%) 155 (4%)

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

Up Vol* 780 (50%) 556 (39%)
Down Vol* 750 (48%) 811 (58%)
Unch. Vol* 13 (0%) 26 (1%)

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

New Hi's 243 168
New Lo's 64 39

[54anickel]

144. Why Economists Worry About Who Holds Foreign Currency Reserves

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114710757447146758-8hXAsTMDWCjIX1vBwZ27SI4m3JY_20060607.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

snip>

New International Monetary Fund data show that official currency reserves of the developing world nearly quadrupled over the past decade to $2.9 trillion last year, while those of industrialized countries rose 150%. Last year alone, emerging-markets' reserve holdings grew 18% from the previous year, against a 1.5% decline among developed countries. That has put nearly 70% of global currency reserves in developing-countries' hands, "a staggering accumulation" says former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers.

The share of total reserves held in dollars was 66.5% in 2005, up from 65.9% in 2004. And the total amount of reserves has doubled in the last five years. So there are more reserves overall -- and they're concentrated in less reliable hands.

The more closely economists study that data, the more they worry. This radical shift increases the volatility in -- and decreases U.S influence over -- the world's largest market, the $2 trillion in foreign exchange that changes hands daily. The dollar forex market can increasingly be shifted by decisions that foreign governments make about selling dollar assets. What's also at stake is leverage on matters as diverse as U.S. home-mortgage rates and America's global political clout.

"The irony is that the three countries in the world adding to reserves the fastest, and thus buying the most U.S. debt now, are China, Saudi Arabia and Russia, none of them democracies," says Brad Setser, director of research at Roubini Global Economics. Not far behind are Venezuela and Iran, countries eager to use their oil riches to undermine the U.S. "We are increasingly counting on a group of creditors who are not our closest friends but have a bigger and bigger stake in America."



more...

[Robbien]

145. US Iraq envoy tells business to invest in Iraq

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d39f3776-df8c-11da-afe4-0000779e2340.html

Don't be scared he says. He uses that lie about 14 of 18 provinces having little or no insurgent or terrorist violence.

Many of the representatives of the more than 1,000 companies exhibiting in Amman say future investment decisions hinge on the ability of Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister-designate, to install a stable government over the next few months, a point acknowledged by Mr Khalilzad.

[54anickel]

146. New Chinese Banking Rules

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114712801239747110.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

China is preparing a system to insure bank deposits that is part of an effort to prepare China's financial system for December, when it has pledged to start letting foreign banks take customer deposits of the yuan.

That's the good news for foreign bankers.

The bad news is that the new rule could require foreign banks to incorporate their branches in China, a costly and complicated process that correspondent James Areddy says could inject new uncertainties into their nascent Chinese operations.

Yet it's hard to argue with the Chinese logic.

Bank account balances are growing quickly and regulators want a deposit-insurance program like that of the U.S. or Hong Kong that would offset the risks of financial liberalization, growing competition among banks and consumer trends to spend more and save less.

• To read James Areddy's report, go to:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114712234266546980.html

From that link:

snip>

In a written response to questions about the program, the commission said it will be tailored to China and modeled on a program the U.S. has long had and on one that Hong Kong is about to implement. Both were established in the wake of runs on banks that authorities feared could threaten an entire financial system. Each program is funded by banks setting aside a small percentage of deposits.

In China, the insurance system could pose problems for foreign banks just as they are getting new rights to expand. Commission officials said that in recent weeks they have told top officials of foreign banks with retail outlets, including Citigroup Inc. of the U.S. and U.K.-based HSBC Holdings PLC, that in order to participate in the insurance program, the banks will be encouraged to substantially alter the legal setup they have in China.

In effect, the regulatory body wants foreign banks to put their China branches into a company legally incorporated and managed in China. "It's quite an understandable request," a senior commission official says.

In its statement, the commission suggested that cross-border supervision and bailout responsibility for foreign banks raise tricky questions, should a problem require tapping deposit insurance. Currently, most foreign banks own their China branches through headquarters in their home country, which also retains management responsibility. Few, if any, countries require foreign banks to incorporate their branches locally.

Managers of Citigroup and HSBC, which already have started building retail networks in China, declined to comment.

more....

[54anickel]

149. China's Currency Allies

Some U.S. Economists Urge Beijing
Not to Ease Grip on the Yuan

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114713006092947175.html?mod=article-outset-box

WASHINGTON -- When Stanford University economist Ronald McKinnon visits China, at times he is mobbed by students asking him to autograph his latest book, "Exchange Rates under the East Asian Dollar Standard: Living with Conflicted Virtue."

Why the celebrity reception for the author of an economics textbook? One reason is Mr. McKinnon argues China should resist the Bush administration's hectoring and refuse to abandon its policy of keeping the value of its currency, the yuan, nearly locked to the U.S. dollar. Allowing the yuan to rise significantly, he warns his Chinese audiences, could send China into the kind of deflationary slump that hit Japan in the 1990s.

His signature closing line during speeches in China: "Don't let what happened to Japan happen to you by letting go of the exchange rate."

snip>

Tomorrow, the Treasury Department is scheduled to release its semiannual foreign-exchange report, in which it could formally accuse Beijing of manipulating the yuan's value to gain an edge in global trade. Speculation over such a move has roiled Asian currency markets in recent days. When the last report was issued, Treasury Secretary John Snow implied that time was running short for Beijing to make the exchange rate substantially more flexible.

Mr. McKinnon is one of a well-credentialed group of U.S. economists urging China to resist U.S. demands. "There is very significant concern among a lot of economists about the pressure being put on China to revalue at gunpoint," says Benn Steil of the Council on Foreign Relations, who attended a closed-door meeting last month among top Treasury officials and a number of academics.

more...

[AnneD]

169. That's the report

I've been talking about. Should be juicy....Forex should be interesting Friday.

[Ghost Dog]

174. It's always been "hard to argue with the Chinese logic".

I say this on the basis of deep, long, international historical experience.

China is, of course, center of world, superior people, chosen race. Err, very respectful freespeech (possibly stupid, possibly brilliant) sarcasm (kowtow). :hi: ... and slim, fit body, keen mind, bright shining eyes.

[AnneD]

178. Well...

I hear than in Lake Wobegone Minnesota, all the women are strong, all the men good looking, and all the kids are above normal.

[54anickel]

155. Bankruptcy hearing could seal GM's fate

A judge will rule on whether Delphi can dump its labor contracts. The decision could lead to a strike that forces GM into Chapter 11.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/09/news/companies/delphi_gm/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The answer to whether General Motors stays out of bankruptcy could well be found in another company's bankruptcy court hearing that started Tuesday.

At the hearing, which started in federal court in New York Tuesday morning, auto parts maker Delphi (Research) is arguing it needs to dump labor contracts that run through September 2007, while three unions will argue their members shouldn't be penalized for what they call management mistakes.

The United Auto Workers union has threatened a strike at Delphi if the auto parts maker is allowed to void its labor contract, a move that would bring GM (Research)'s operations to a virtual halt. UAW members are voting on whether to authorize a strike and another union at Delphi, the International Union of Electrical and Communications Workers, has already approved a walkout.

Delphi, which is seeking pay cuts of 40 percent from its unions, has 33,000 hourly workers in North America, while GM employs 113,000 workers who are members of the UAW in the United States

snip>

There is virtually no chance that GM can keep running during a shutdown at Delphi; the former GM unit was spun off in 1999 but is still the automaker's largest supplier. A 54-day strike at just one Delphi plant in 1998 shut down production at GM and caused a $2 billion reduction in earnings at GM and Delphi.

And most industry observers believe a prolonged shutdown at GM would cause losses severe enough to force GM into bankruptcy.

more...

[54anickel]

159. Hmmm, and yet GM is the DOWs winner for the day. Go figure. n/t

[ozymandius]

160. fork-stickin' time

Dow 11,639.77 +55.23 (+0.48%)
Nasdaq 2,338.25 -6.74 (-0.29%)
S&P 500 1,325.14 +0.48 (+0.04%)
10-Yr Bond 51.25 +0.06 (+0.12%)
NYSE Volume 2,152,381,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,917,212,000

4:20 pm : The market exhibited another cautious tone ahead of Wednesday's FOMC meeting as split industry leadership closed the major indices in mixed fashion and kept stocks mired in relatively tight ranges throughout most of the day. Going into the close, however, General Motors (GM 25.80 +2.25) soaring to its best levels of the year and Walt Disney (DIS 29.58 +0.81) hitting a new 52-week high helped the Dow Jones Industrials Average finish above the 11,600 mark for just the second time ever and only 83 points away from its all-time high of 11,722.98 reached on January 14, 2000.

GM, the Dow's worst performing component over that time frame, surged nearly 10% after it restated what was initially a sixth consecutive quarterly loss to show a profit for Q1. Disney, a suggested holding in our Active Portfolio, surged 2.8% ahead of its Q2 (Mar) earnings report after the bell. The Nasdaq, however, did not fare as well as its blue chip counterparts as Dell's (DELL 25.20 -1.23) warning that Q1 sales and profits will miss forecasts due to "pricing decisions" weighed heavily on Technology. Concerns that Dell's pricing pressure may impact Intel (INTC 19.90 -0.21) also acted an overhang on the sector, contributing to a 1.0% decline in semiconductor. Nevertheless, ongoing uncertainty as to how much higher interest rates are going, pause or no pause at tomorrow's Fed meeting, was the market's larger focus and a fixture throughout the day.

Among the seven sectors posting gains, Materials turned in the day's best performance, getting a big boost from gold futures surging 3.2% and closing above $700 an ounce for the first time in nearly 26 years. Aside from a 1.3% surge in oil prices helping increase the precious metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation, gold found additional momentum as the dollar approached a one-year low versus the euro amid speculation the Fed will no longer support the greenback with more rate hikes. Energy was a close second, extending its year-to-date leading advance to over 17% as crude oil climbed back above $70 a barrel amid renewed concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions and ahead of tomorrow's weekly inventories data.

Consumer Discretionary also provided some upside leadership, led by the 2.8% surge in Disney and a 1.2% advance in McDonald's (MCD 35.83 +0.44), another suggested holding which posted strong comparable sales growth in all three of its largest markets. While not an S&P 500 component, former McDonald's subsidiary Chipolte Mexican Grill (CMG 66.87 +7.60) hitting new highs after Q1 profits more than tripled also helped renew enthusiasm in restaurant stocks. Another strong earnings report came from Flour Corp. (FLR 101.95 +8.20), which soared to an all-time high and underscored our Overweight rating on Industrials after it nearly doubled Q1 profits and raised its FY06 EPS outlook.

Health Care, however, joined Tech and Utilities to the downside as further consolidation left HMOs as the day's worst performing S&P industry group. An analyst downgrade on Genzyme (GENZ 56.93 -1.69) and Watson Pharmaceuticals (WPI 27.45 -2.54) hitting an intraday 52-week low after posting a 35% decline in Q1 profits and issuing downside FY06 EPS guidance were also drags on the sector, offsetting a strong earnings report and upside FY06 EPS guidance from Hospira (HSP 42.03 +3.31). DJ30 +55.23 NASDAQ -6.74 SP500 +0.48 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1782/1305/1.89 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1676/1596/1.52 bln

[54anickel]

162. Oh Ozy, Do you think GM is suddenly a bargain? I'm not sure I'm buiying

into that one. Have to dig this one up on that!

[ozymandius]

177. not betting a cent on that one now with Delphi destabilized

well... I will admit that it might seem attractive once it hits the penny stocks board.

[Roland99]

165. A thought occurred to me today re: this rapid rise in the market indices..

Is this a way to combat the massively underfunded pension plans out there? Is paper money being pushed into the mix to back obligations?

[JNelson6563]

163. Shiny, pretty gold

Wow! Who saw that coming?? heh :hi:

Julie

[Ghost Dog]

176. :eyes:

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you'll have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.

Black and bay, dapple and grey,
Coach and six little horses,
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby,
When you wake, you'll have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.

Way down yonder, down in the meadow,
There's a poor wee little lamby.
The bees and the butterflies pickin' at its eyes,
The poor wee thing cried for her mammy.

Hush-a-bye, don't you cry,
Go to sleepy little baby.
When you wake, you'll have cake,
And all the pretty little horses.

ed: source (apart from memory): http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/prettyhorses.htm