STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 5 February 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, 5 February 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 4 February 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 4 February 2016
[center][font color=green]
Dow Jones 16,416.58 +79.92 (0.49%)
S&P 500 1,915.45 +2.92 (0.15%)
Nasdaq 4,509.56 +5.32 (0.12%)


[font color=green]10 Year 1.84% -0.02 (-1.08%)
30 Year 2.68% -0.02 (-0.74%) [font color=black]


[center][/font]

[HR width=85%]

[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
[center]
(click on link for latest updates)
Market Updates
[/center]

[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

[/center]

[center]

[/center]

[HR width=95%]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
[center]
Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
[center]
The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
[center]
Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
[center]
LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
[center]
Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
[/center]

[div]
[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts
08/03/15 Former City (London) trader Tom Hayes found guilty of rigging global Libor interest rates. Each fo eight counts carries up to 10 yr. sentence.
08/21/15 Charles Antonucci Sr, former pres. Park Ave. Bank sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and attempt to steal $11MM in TARP bailout funds, as well as $37.5MM fraud on OK insurance company. To pay $54MM in restitution and give up additional $11MM.
09/21/15 Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn apologizes for VW cheating on air quality standards with emission testing avoidance device. Stock drops 20%, fines may total $18B.
09/22/15 Stewart Parnell, CEO Peanut Corp. of America, sentenced to 28 years in prison for selling salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed nine.
12/17/15 Martin Shkreli, former CEO Turing Pharmaceuticals and notorious price gouger, arrested on securities fraud charges. Posted $5M bail, resigned as CEO.




[HR width=95%]


[center]

[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[ErisDiscordia]

1. I'm surrounded by mounds of soft, fluffy clouds

of used tissues. I'd make chicken soup, if I could stand long enough to cut up the chicken. Or open a can, even.

There's also a fraction of an inch of new snow outside. Not enough to put in a bug's ear.

[Roland99]

3. Oh no...get well soon

my wife is all sniffly and stuffy. We've had 3 days straight of highs in the 80s. Wind chill this morning in the 40s, though. brrr!

[Hotler]

8. I had a touch of the flu last weekend and...

spiking big fever that kicked my ass. Shaking with chills hard enough to wake me from sleep, almost shooked myself out of bed.

Feel better soon.

[bread_and_roses]

14. I do hope you feel better soon (n/t)

[Hotler]

2. The world's biggest steel maker just lost $7.9 billion

ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steelmaker, and BG Group, the FTSE 100-listed oil giant, both took big hits last year, according to financial results released on Friday morning.

Let's start with Arcelormittal, the Dutch listed steel giant. Arcelor — whose boss Lakshmi Mittal was once the 6th richest man on earth — took an enormous loss of $7.9 billion (£5.4 million) in 2015, as the price of iron ore, a key component in making steel, continued to tank last year. The company is also trying to raise a whopping $3 billion (£2.06 billion) to deal with debt. The price of iron ore — a key ingredient in steel — fell by nearly 40% over the course of 2015.

$3 billion more in debt being added to the mountain of debt that is being pointed the straw that will break economic camels back sometime this year.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-worlds-biggest-steel-maker-just-lost-dollar79-billion/ar-BBp9VH6?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp

On the side note; I'm in the structural steel business and lower steel prices can be a good thing.

[Roland99]

4. U.S. trade deficit climbs 2.7% to $43.4 billion in December

[Roland99]

5. U.S. gains 151,000 jobs in January, shy of forecast; jobless rate falls »

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-creates-151000-jobs-in-january-unemployment-49-2016-02-05

The U.S. created 151,000 new jobs in January, a sharp slowdown after a torrid pace of hiring in the waning months of 2015. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected an increase of 180,000 nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, dipped below 5% for the first time in eight years, falling to 4.9%. Employment gains for December and November, meanwhile, were little changed, the Labor Department said Friday. The government said 262,000 new jobs were created in December instead of 292,000. November's gain was raised to 280,000 from 252,000. Average hourly wages jumped 0.5% to $25.39 in January, another sign that a tightening labor market is forcing companies to pay more to attract workers. Hourly pay rose 2.5% from January 2015 to January 2016. The amount of time people worked each week rose 0.1 hour to 34.6 hours, matching a postrecesion peak. The labor-force participation rate wsa basically flat at 62.7% in January.

[Roland99]

6. So, unemployment ticked down while LFPR was flat, Jan jobs were under. Nov/Dec adjustments a wash

hmmmm

[Hotler]

7. To recap; BG Group books a massive loss

BG Group, the oil exploration group that will soon be absorbed into Shell in one of the largest oil and gas mergers of all time, also had poor year in 2015, although compared to the performance of Arcelor, it looks pretty mild.

The oil giant booked a loss of $1.17 billion (£810 million) in the final quarter of 2015, which is actually a substantial improvement on losses seen in the same period of 2014, when BG took an $8.3 billion (£5.7 billion) hit. Like iron ore, the price of oil has collapsed substantially over the last year, down from a high above $110 (£75.70) to around $30 (£20.64) a barrel.

Here are some of the key takeaways from BG's results:
Earnings before interest and tax fell a massive 62% from $9.2 billion (£6.3 billion) in 2014, to $5.6 billion (£3.85 billion) in 2015;
Upstream earnings — getting oil out of the ground — fell by 35% to $4.16 billion (£2.86 billion), while earnings in the liquid natural gas sector fell 46%;
Business Performance earnings fell to $1.7 billion (£1.17 billion), while earnings per share dropped to 49.7 cents, both down by 58%;
Free cash flow fell 8% to $5.2 billion (£3.6 billion):
Dividends for the end of 2015 have been cancelled.

Dividends have been cancelled, no phone calls please.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/the-worlds-biggest-steel-maker-just-lost-dollar79-billion/ar-BBp9VH6?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp

[Hotler]

9. Why the Fed’s interest rate plans may get turned upside down

After years of of near-zero interest rates, it appeared the Federal Reserve would able to guide its benchmark short-term interest rate close to 1% by year’s end. Sure, that’s low by historical standards, but rhetoric coming from the Fed and many analysts on Wall Street was that in 2016 the price of money would begin to rise back to levels that we were used to before the financial crisis.

But troubles in the Chinese economy have metastasized, in part causing the oil market to crater and American investors to question the health of the global economy. Analysts who argue that the United States could soon be dragged into recession have yet to find a smoking gun to prove their case, but slower economic growth in the fourth quarter, weak retail sales growth, and a slight uptick in jobless claims do bolster their case.

Economists have long thought negative interest rates were impossible because of the existence of paper money. If the central bank were to set a negative interest rate, people would respond by hoarding cash rather than paying a bank for the privilege of keeping their money. But several central banks, including Japan’s and Denmark’s, have adopted negative rates, proving that the central banks can get financial institutions to pay them to hold reserves.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/why-the-fed%e2%80%99s-interest-rate-plans-may-get-turned-upside-down/ar-BBp9P4p?li=BBnb7Kv&ocid=iehp

Hoarding cash might not be a bad thing. Although it might piss of Lloyd Blankfein which would be a good thing in my book.

[Hotler]

10. Sports Authority preparing to file for bankruptcy.

Sports Authority is preparing to file for bankruptcy, according to a Bloomberg report that cited sources with knowledge of the situation.

The sporting goods retailer has a debt payment due in less than two weeks and is discussing a reorganization deal with lenders, the sources told the news service. Part of the plan includes the previously rumored move to close as many as 200 of its roughly 450 stores.

In January, there was speculation that Sports Authority would be preparing to shut almost half of its locations, sending shares of competitor Dick's Sporting Goods higher. It was estimated that Dick's could gain $238 million on its rival's store closings due to rapid same-store sales growth and regained market share.
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/04/

Sports Authority's world headquarters is about a mile from my house here in Englewood, Colorado. It used to be called Gart Brothers when I was a kid.

[Hotler]

11. More money, more problems: The rise of wealth therapy

Four years ago, Manhattan therapist Clay Cockrell met a patient with an unusual problem. The 21-year-old college senior said he’d recently received traumatic news. “He seemed scared,” Cockrell recalls. “Like, really scared. He wasn’t sure he could trust me, so for the first few sessions we just talked generally about his life.”

The patient had attended public schools, worked summer jobs as a lifeguard and camp counselor, and drove an old Toyota. During the previous year, he’d struggled to decide what career to pursue after college.

Then, on his 21st birthday, his father, a businessman, called him into his office and dropped a bombshell. According to Cockrell, “the father told his son, ‘I’ve been keeping something from you: We’re actually quite wealthy.’ ” The family, it turned out, owned a multinational corporation.

“Do people actually like me for myself or because of my wealth? Who can I trust?”

It’s hard to sympathize with the afflictions of great wealth—especially as income inequality soars worldwide. In the U.S., one-tenth of the top 1 percent owns as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent combined, according to the Institute for Policy Studies. But just because you can burn $100 bills to keep the estate warm doesn’t mean you’re at peace with it or immune to being demonized by Occupy protesters or Bernie Sanders. The discomfort of peering over the wealth gap—as well as insecurities about how money can change people and affect relationships, especially in the wake of the financial crisis—helps explain why affluent people are turning to therapy to discuss their First World problems in private and why banks are incorporating wealth therapy into services for high-net- worth families. “Either there are more problems or there’s more recognition for those problems,” says Madeline Levine, a wealth therapist and author of The Price of Privilege.

“Do people actually like me for myself or because of my wealth? Who can I trust?”

Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Dimon don't seem to need a shrink because of their wealth.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/more-money-more-problems-the-rise-of-wealth-therapy/ar-BBp5Ws7?li=BBnba9J&ocid=iehp

[Hotler]

12. Time for me to get my ass to work.

Take care my friends and be safe.

[Hotler]

13. A little music before I go.