STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday 18 March

[ozymandius]

Friday March 18, 2005

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 3 YEARS, 308 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 4 YEARS, 95 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 3 YEARS, 151 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1209
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 2
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

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

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AT THE CLOSING BELL ON March 17, 2005

Dow... 10,626.35 -6.72 (-0.06%)
Nasdaq... 2,016.42 +0.67 (+0.03%)
S&P 500... 1,190.21 +2.14 (+0.18%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.47% -0.05 (-1.06%)
Gold future... 439.10 -5.10 (-1.16%)





GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie

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PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

[UpInArms]

1. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 82.20 Change +0.36 (+0.44%

http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/noticies/afx/noticia.asp?pv_noticia=1111138453-30410f08-14185

Forex - Dollar firms on reports South Korea will not diversify reserves

LONDON (AFX) - The dollar received a boost this morning on reports that South Korea has no plans to change the proportion of reserves it holds in the US currency

Although a Wall Street Journal article said the South Korean central bank is looking to maximise profits from its foreign-exchange holdings by investing in a broader range of assets, it had no plans to alter its dollar reserves

"The WSJ's article claiming that South Korea would not diversify its dollar reserves into other currencies should work in favour of the dollar," said Hans Redeker, global head of FX strategy at BNP Paribas

Last month, the Bank of Korea sparked a wave of dollar selling when it said it intended to "diversify" its reserves, which traders interpreted as a hint that the bank would start selling the sliding dollar

That overall theme of dollar diversification by reserve banks has been a major backdrop in the currency markets over the last few months

Only last week, Japan's prime minister Junichiro Koizumi added fuel to the fire when he indicated that the country needs to consider diversifying its foreign exchange reserves away from the US currency

...more...

http://www.fxstreet.com/nou/noticies/afx/noticia.asp?font=Reuters&pv_noticia=MTFH18720_2005-03-18_12-46-59_L18583248

FOREX-Dollar recovers ground as Fed meeting approaches

LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - The dollar rose more than half a percent against the euro on Friday as traders looked ahead to next week's U.S. central bank meeting and decided the greenback's slide over the past month had gone far enough.

Markets have already priced in a quarter-point rise in U.S. interest rates next Tuesday and will focus attention on the Federal Reserve statement for clues on how fast rates will go up in the coming months.

After a wave of selling since mid-February, the dollar has steadied this week, helped by figures showing foreign buying of U.S. assets has been more than enough to cover the United States' huge trade deficit.

"There is a sense that the dollar's sell-off has moved very far very quickly and a lot of dollar-positive cyclical numbers have been ignored," said Daragh Maher, currency strategist at Calyon.

...more...

Love that 'toon, Ozy :D

Have a Great Day Marketeers!

[spotbird]

9. Won't increasing interest rates also increase the debt?

It makes loaning us more profitable but hastens dooms day, right?

Also, isn't this Korean news sort of grabbing at crumbs? S.Korea makes its intentions known, the WSJ says they didn't mean it and the dollar improves? Won't S.Korea's intentions become clear before long?

What am I missing here?

[UpInArms]

10. increasing the interest rates

will (supposedly) tighten the monetary supply - what it will do eventually pit the consumer against the fed for money, which drives the interest rates even higher - kind of a vicious circle.

I looked the SK news as rather a tool - get something to blame and then make it go away - rather a type of verbal intervention - as soon as the rubes catch on they'll ignore it, too.

:hi: spotbird

[spotbird]

56. Hey Upinarms!

It looks like others are now scratching their heads about the WSJ report also.

[UpInArms]

58. I understand that the WSJ

has had a reputation for being an honest reporting vehicle - but imho that reputation should have flown out the door when John Fund was allowed to pen his droolings on their pages.

I now consider it a WH vehicle for propaganda. :shrug:

Glad that others are delving into this (and they should look at all of the publication with more intensity).

:thumbsup:

[MARALE]

21. The S. Koreans already said that, didn't they?

Right after they got in trouble for saying those terrible words "bigger basket" Isn't this the same thing, or am I missing something?

Loved that toon, made me laugh out loud.

[spotbird]

22. It is a strange report.

But it seems to be working, for today.

[UpInArms]

2. Today's Reports

Mar 18 8:30 AM
Export Prices ex-ag. Feb
report -
briefing.com NA
market NA
last report 0.7%
revised -

Mar 18 8:30 AM
Import Prices ex-oil Feb
report -
briefing.com NA
market NA
last report 0.2%
revised -

Mar 18 9:45 AM
Mich Sentiment-Prel. Mar
report -
briefing.com 95.0
market 94.9
last report 94.1
revised -

[UpInArms]

4. U.S. Feb. import prices up 0.8% on oil

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.3542054398-833315603&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Prices of imported goods increased 0.8 percent in February on higher oil prices,the Labor Department reported Friday. Excluding the 3.9 percent rise in petroleum prices, import prices rose a modest 0.2 percent. Import prices are up 6.1 percent in the past 12 months. Prices excluding oil are up 2.9 percent year-over-year. Economists were expecting a slightly smaller 0.7 percent increase in February import prices, but January's increase was revised lower to 0.7 percent from 0.9 percent reported a month ago, offsetting the overshoot. Export prices, meanwhile, were unchanged in February.

8:29am 03/18/05 U.S IMPORT PRICES UP 6.1% YEAR-OVER-YEAR

8:29am 03/18/05 U.S. JAN. IMPORT PRICE INDEX REVISED 0.7% FROM 0.9%

8:29am 03/18/05 U.S. FEB. EX-PETROLEUM IMPORT PRICES UP 0.2%

8:29am 03/18/05 U.S. FEB. EXPORT PRICES FLAT

8:29am 03/18/05 U.S. FEB. IMPORT PRICES RISE 0.8% VS. 0.7% EXPECTED

[UpInArms]

5. Petroleum Pushes Import Prices Higher

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&storyID=7944813

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Higher petroleum prices pushed the cost of goods imported to the United States up 0.8 percent in February, slightly more than expected, a government report showed on Friday.

<snip>

The cost of petroleum imports advanced 3.9 percent last month following a 3.4 percent January increase. Petroleum import prices have jumped 29.6 percent over the past 12 months despite declining in the final two months of 2004, the government reported.

<snip>

Foods, feeds and beverages rose 1.3 percent in February, and 7.3 percent over the past 12 months.

...more...

[UpInArms]

24. Consumer Sentiment down to 92.9

9:48am 03/18/05 U.S. MARCH UMICH CONSUMER SENTIMENT 92.9

ooops! guess those economists are going to be "surprised" again :eyes:

(additional info and link on edit)

9:51am 03/18/05 U.S. MARCH UMICH CURRENT CONDITIONS 107.3 VS. 109.2

9:51am 03/18/05 U.S. MARCH UMICH EXPECTATIONS 83.6 VS. 84.4

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.4117878935-833317798&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

U.S. March UMich consumer sentiment falls to 92.9

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer sentiment faded slightly in March, according to media reports of research from the University of Michigan. The UMich consumer sentiment index fell to 92.9 in early March from 94.1 in February. It's the lowest reading since November. Economists were expecting the index to rise to about 94.6. The index has been essentially flat for a year. The current conditions index fell to 107.3 in March from 109.2 in February. The expectations index fell to 83.6 in March from 84.4 in February. It's the lowest since May.

[MARALE]

28. How can I become an economist?

I could be wrong as much as they are. Accually, I didn't think it would be that good. Gas prices really have a lot to do with how people think the economy is going. We would really help the economy if we would get some more efficient cars and/or different energy sources.

[UpInArms]

30. hate to break it to you, Marale,

you wouldn't be able to pull off "surprised" nearly so often :evilgrin:

[AnneD]

67. There are several ways the figure the stats that tic me off...

For example, excluding food and gas because they are too volitile...Just because you exclude them from your leading indicators doesn't mean they don't exist and have an effect on the economy (esp those that live at the margins). And how about calculating the unemployment based on those people that are drawing unemployment...HELLO, are they any less employed because they don't collect unemployment insurance anymore. I think in a consumer driven economy, that is an important factor. I guess pantry economics or economists are passe. Marale, guess honest people aren't cut out to be economists.:toast:

[UpInArms]

3. Dollar/Yen in a Delicate Diversification Dance

http://www.dailyfx.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=376&Itemid=39

In the absence of any material economic news, tonight's comments by Japanese Finance Minister Tanigaki that BOJ has no intention of diversifying its reserves out of dollar assets brought the whole issue back to the forefront and spurred a little dollar buying in the European session. Since Bank of Korea's diversification announcement several weeks ago that started the whole debate, many smaller Central Banks, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe have made pronouncements regarding diversification. While the assets of these banks, such as the Bank of Ukraine for example, are miniscule relative to the size o the FX market, the mere notion that many are contemplating such action cannot be welcome news to dollar bulls. If sentiment towards the dollar really turns sour and the FX market experiences a wholesale stampede into the euro then 1.5000 EUR/USD level could be reached in a heartbeat.

That is why tonight's comments by Mr. Tanigaki are so interesting because they were clearly meant to reassure a skittish FX market. Yet in the old do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do manner, are Japan's words backed up by its deeds? Not quite. One of the primary reasons why the TICS data had so little positive effect on the greenback despite printing far above expectations was the fact that Japan was a liquidator of more that $10 Billion of US Treasuries according to the report. Indeed, many analysts believe that the dollar would come under massive selling pressure if BOJ and PNBOC simply formed a "buyers strike" refusing to purchase additional US debt without resorting to liquidation. Certainly this is not the last we will hear about this issue in the FX market as it is shaping up to be one of the major themes of 2005

Meanwhile, the daily session remains predictably calm going into the week-end as the calendar carries very little event risk with only Import and Export prices and U of Michigan data expected during the US session. Just as oil receded from its all time highs so has the euro dropped against the dollar and we continue to believe that for the near term this will be the key driver for the FX market. For the time being FX is under the influence of NYMEX.

...more...

[RawMaterials]

6. Up, up and away -- home prices soar

Another month, another real estate record.

Median prices for existing homes in the Bay Area hit an all-time-high of $569,000 in February, rocketing 19.5 percent from $476,000 in February 2004 and up 2.3 percent from $556,000 in January.

Prices are increasing at their fastest pace in four years, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla (San Diego County) real estate market research firm.

"It's stronger than we'd anticipated," said John Karevoll, a DataQuick analyst. "These numbers show there's still gas in the tank, and the market has a way to go before it levels off. We did not anticipate a downturn but thought we'd be coming in for a soft landing."

Instead, prices for single-family homes continued to soar.

Home buyers in the nine-county Bay Area snapped up 4,905 resale single- family residences in February, a slight decline from 4,925 last February. The highest median price was in Marin County, at $808,000, followed by San Mateo at $711,000 and San Francisco at $701,000, according to DataQuick.

snip..

"The disparity between the people who are doing well, namely the sellers, and the people who are struggling and scraping together every cent they have and still maybe not succeeding in their goal is terrible," Baxter said.

snip..

Interest rates a factor

Rising interest rates could finally put the brakes on the real estate market.

"If they get to be too high, it will cause the bottom of the market to erode because entry-level buyers will have to drop out," Underwood said.

DataQuick's Karevoll said he thinks the way lawmakers address the federal budget deficit could accelerate an increase in interest rates.

"If the deficit continues to grow and there are no indications to the financial markets that the growth will be seriously cut back, then interest rates will go up more than they would if the deficit were to be dealt with," he said.

"When the 30-year fixed interest rate starts to hit about 6.8 (percent), that's when buyers, instead of migrating from one mortgage type to another, will turn around ... and walk away," Karevoll said.

Meanwhile, there still seems to be plenty of life in the market. The record February prices, which reflect homes that were on the market in historically slow December and January, are likely to be exceeded once the spring season gets in full swing.

"The winter market picks up when the referee blows the whistle that the Super Bowl is over," McDowell said. "Our Thursday (broker) tours now are one- third of what they normally are when it gets really busy during April, May and June."








http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/03/17/BUGN2BQE9R1.DTL&type=business

[MARALE]

26. How can people afford those prices??

We have a $140,000 morgage. My house has over 3500 sqft of space and we are on several acres of land. My husband and I make around $90,000 a year and are doing okay, but I could not imagine buying a house for $500,000. What is the average wage in San Fran?

[UpInArms]

27. San Francisco demographics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco,_California

(scroll way down the page)

The median income for a household in the city is $55,221, and the median income for a family is $63,545. Males have a median income of $46,260 versus $40,049 for females. The per capita income for the city is $34,556. 11.3% of the population and 7.8% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 13.5% of those under the age of 18 and 10.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

[MARALE]

39. Here are my calculations

Amortization Table
$500000.00 at 0.054000000000000006 over 30 years.
Monthly payment= $2807.65

The total amount of interest paid would be $510757.55.
The total amount of payments paid would be $1010754.


$63,545/12= $5295.41

with taxes and daily expenses, you would have to really watch your budget. I could not do it, not with 3 kids, 2 are teenagers!
I would rather live here! Although, we have to drive further to get things, so gas does get expensive, but there is not much traffic!

[RawMaterials]

37. The banks are lending people 6,7 times AIG

instead of the traditional 2.5

Marale, I wish i could get your house and land for 140, my wife and I make around 70 and want to get our first house but cant afford the asking price of the neighborhood we like. I'm debating about waiting till the coming crash to purchase, but we need the tax break of owning a home.

[MARALE]

42. I'll tell you our secret

We got the land cheap, old pasture land(boy the grass grows great!) Then we put on a modular house that cost about 75,000-that is with installation. We sprang for a geothermal heating and cooling system since we had the land. Our heating bills don't get over $45 in the coldest months. In Iowa, that is pretty cold. We get a special rate since we are all electric. Also we sprang for a foam insulated basement, we get an r-value of 50. We knew when we put it in, that gas would be going up and wanted to be more earth friendly. It has paid off for us.
If you can find some cheap land there, you may want to go the same route. PM me if you want some more info on this. Modulars are built a lot better these days.

[Gregorian]

50. Can I chime in here?

First, let me say that in several hours it is expected that the sale of my property is to close. I'm holding my breath, as I already bought the next place...

Here's my little story- I grew up in San Francisco. Not being able to predict the future, I partied until I saw what was happening. So around 1986 I got busy. I bought my first house in 1990. And from there on, I bought and sold up until today. The sad part is, it was a kamakazee run. I can't go back. I was part of the problem- buy low and sell high, never to be able to have that home where I grew up.

And here are some neat little tidbits-
While looking at a fixer upper, I found a 1929 newspaper. It was the San Francisco Call Bulletin. A house on the SF penninsula was the same price as a car- $1000!
In my previous property, I found a 1950 newspaper from SF. By then a house was $12,000.
By 2000, that same house was $750,000.
While looking at land along the Mendocino coast, about six years ago, I found 40 acres for $400k. To my surprise (and depression), that same property today is (wait for it...) two million dollars! I called my realtor, and we both just laughed.
So now I find myself in southern Oregon. Like a fish out of water- no sourdough. No Democrats. Far from my aging parents. Unable to go back. Wouldn't want to do back for all of the humvees. And wondering just what the future bodes for the market.

Folks, it's insane. But, as I usually point out, it's the demand. It's the number of people who need a place to live. It's the population, if you can bear to indulge me in my own private philosophy.

[UpInArms]

62. your story mirrors the things that I

saw on my trip out west recently.

I couldn't help but think that the generations that follow us will never be able to afford the homes that we live in.

:(

[MARALE]

89. Have you seen this website?

You probably have, I just came across it, and now am more afraid of a crash than ever before:

http://www.stock-market-crash.net/coming-crash.htm

>>>

How the Crash May Occur

Because our nation’s consumers are deeply in debt, losing jobs to outsourcing will cause many to go bankrupt. This, in turn, will cause housing prices to drop because foreclosures will become more frequent. Increased bankruptcies and falling housing prices has negative effect on stocks, which will also be sold by retiring Baby Boomers. Basically, a vicious circle will occur as the economy snowballs into a long bear market.

Based on the evidence, we’ve seen that the economy is on very shaky ground. If even just one of these aforementioned scenarios comes true, the stock market will drop considerably. Most likely, these unfortunate events will trigger each other and topple our house of cards economy.

<<<

Much more on this site, it is interesting...

[UpInArms]

7. 250,000 BPO jobs by 2009! (in India and Phillipines)

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/mar/18bpo.htm

Call centre markets of India and the Philippines are set to see further boom through 2009, a study says.

The report, 'The Future of Contact Centre Outsourcing in India and the Philippines', published by Datamonitor, an American analyst firm, predicts that over 250,000 new call centre agent positions will be created in two countries by 2009, and the Philippines will be poaching the market increasingly, which India currently dominates.

The United States and the United Kingdom are the biggest clients in the call centre industry. According to Datamonitor, both India and the Philippines will see substantial growth in call centres.

With the US presidential elections out of the way, US businesses will now be able to ramp up their offshore operations, via call centres, the report also said.

More firms are set to follow the likes of British Airways, Citibank, General Electric and HSBC, all of which have spun off a part or all of their operations to India.

...more...

[RawMaterials]

8. Outsmarting Market Trends

Shortly before the stock market crash of 1929, Yale economist Irving Fisher famously declared that stocks had reached what appeared to be a permanently high plateau. Undoubtedly, Fisher was neither the first person nor the last one to believe that prevailing conditions would never change. Those ideas appear to be as common at market bottoms as they are at market tops. Yet if history reveals one permanent feature of business conditions or stock returns, it is this: They change.

In fact, they tend to change cyclically. If the cycles lasted only one week at a time, then no one would be fooled by them, but bull markets, bear markets, and business cycles can last for years, and their relative durability seduces investors. Among other reasons, I think this occurs because many investors lack a historical perspective, and many more have a short-term focus. Patient, knowledgeable investors can avoid this pitfall by valuing securities and the broad market based on normalized results.

This sort of analysis warns investors away when market prices imply that peak performance will be sustained over the long term, and it invites them to take advantage of a sort of arbitrage opportunity when prices imply that adverse conditions will never improve. That is, patient investors can profit on the arbitrage between their long-term horizon and the short-term focus of many other market participants.

Estimates of normalized results can be made with moderate confidence for mature companies, and with greater confidence for entire industries. Because we have more than 130 years of data on the broad stock market, and because it represents a major portion of the entire national economy, we can estimate its normalized results with the highest degree of confidence. I've described some examples below.

.more..

http://biz.yahoo.com/ms/050316/129184_1.html?printer=1

[RawMaterials]

13. a little snipit from the article

Unfortunately, I think that today's stock market is a polar opposite of 1979. It is markedly overvalued by the normalized P/E or Q ratio, as well as by Buffett's favorite metric, the ratio of total market capitalization to GDP. That ratio was recently about 1.3 against a long-term average near 0.62 and a long-term median of roughly 0.56. There are probably many contributing reasons for this unhappy state of affairs (unhappy because it means that prospective returns are low), but one might be analogous to the situation described for managed-care companies.

Jeremy Grantham calls corporate profit margins the most reliably mean-reverting series in finance, and Buffett wrote that the margin (total aftertax corporate profits as a percentage of GDP) generally remains between 4% and 6.5%. He remarked that it's rare for the rate to go above 6.5%. However, that margin reached 7.92% last year, according to a report by Arnold Van Den Berg. That value was exceeded only once during the last 80 years--in 1929.

[punpirate]

66. Since productivity...

... is growing in drips and drabs, that means that corps are paying way less in taxes, therefore redistributing income upwards... again, much the same as in 1929....

[UpInArms]

11. (Wells Fargo) Kovacevich received 22% raise in 2004 to $11.1 million

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.375533287-833316453&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Wells Fargo (WFC) Chief Executive Richard Kovacevich earned a total compensation package of $11.1 million in 2004, a 22 percent increase over his 2003 compensation package of $9.9 million, according to a company filing made late Thursday. Kovacevich earned $995,000 in salary, a $7.5 million bonus and $1.85 million in stock awards. Wells Fargo shares closed up 7 cents to $59.60 on Thursday.

:wow: That's a lot of late fees!

[UpInArms]

12. 11 Molson Coors executives quit

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.3753318287-833316362&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Molson Coors Brewing Co. (TAP) said Friday 11 executives are leaving the company after exercising change of control clauses as a result of the beer giants' recent merger. The Golden, Colo. brewer said it expects to take severance expense charges of about $13 million to $17 million in the first quarter. Executives leaving the company include Coors CFO David Barnes and Carl Barnhill, Coors' chief revenue officer. Executives quitting from the Molson side include Chief Accounting Officer Ronald Tryggestad and Rob Klugman, the chief strategy officer. Shares closed up 45 cents to $74.71 Thursday.

[RawMaterials]

14. maybe they don't want to go to jail

:) CFO and CAO, but the shares still went up

[UpInArms]

15. must have been one hell of a clause in that contract

[Wright Patman]

16. Why isn't it Coors Molson?

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

(Back in my misbegotten youth, I had a chance to sample both products, so I realize that Molson deserves to be mentioned first.)

[UpInArms]

17. pre-opening blather

briefing.com

9:15AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +2.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.0.

9:00AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +2.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.0. Futures market holding fairly steady this morning in positive territory, setting the stage for a modestly higher open for the cash market... Software should garner attention following Oracle's (ORCL) revised bid for Retek (RETK) while Semiconductor should be in focus following a drop in Feb chip equipment and an upgrade on Intel (INTC)... Other notable analyst actions include upgrades on AAPL, ADBE, ANN and ODP, raised FY05 EPS estimates on GE and a downgrade on UPS

8:30AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +2.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.0. Still shaping up to be a modestly higher start for the indices as futures trade has stabilized above fair value... The S&P 500 begins its float rebalancing today, as the US S&P Indices shift to a half float-adjusted calculation to enhance liquidity, with one of the biggest impacts being felt in Wal-Mart (WMT) shares...

Citigroup (C) should be in focus after the Fed warned the bank to clean up its regulatory compliance while better than expected earnings last night from NKE, COMS and ADBE should attract investors' attention

8:00AM: S&P futures vs fair value: +2.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +5.0. Futures market suggesting a slightly higher open for the cash market ahead of economic data and triple witching options expiration-related activity... Contributing to the upbeat sentiment has been falling oil prices (below $57/bbl) coupled with strong overnight gains in the Nikkei (+0.9%) and modest strength in European markets...

ino.com

The June NASDAQ 100 was slightly higher overnight due to short covering as it consolidates some of this week's decline, which led to a spike below January's low crossing at 1496.50. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near- term. Multiple closes below January's low crossing at 1496.50 would open the door for a possible test of weekly support crossing at 1473.54. The June NASDAQ 100 was up 2.50 pt. at 1501.50 as of 5:50 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to higher opening by the NASDAQ composite index later this morning.

The June S&P 500 index was higher overnight due to short covering as it consolidates some of Wednesday's decline, which led to a breakout below this year's uptrend line. Stochastics and the RSI are bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near-term. If June extends this week's decline, a test of the reaction low crossing at 1189 then gap support crossing at 1179 are the next downside targets. The June S&P 500 Index was up 2.20 pts. at 1196.30 as of 5:48 AM ET. Overnight action sets the stage for a steady to higher opening when the day session begins later this morning.

[ozymandius]

18. Good morning alll. Here's your WrapUp.

WrapUp by Martin Goldberg

A Technical Look at Important Consumer Stocks

The seemingly worldwide economic boom is one of development and production in Asia, and debt and consumption in the US. Tonight I will look at the technical charts of some of the key consumer stocks in the US in order to gain some insight into the condition on the US consumer. The technical charts are indicating that the US consumer appears to be slowing down in their purchase of big ticket items such as cars, furniture and big screen TVs; yet is still going strong when it comes to smaller ticket items such as crafts. The lower middle class consumers have slowed their spending some time ago as indicated in the chart of Wal-Mart. Parents still are reluctant to conserve when it comes to providing for their kids.

-cut-

Retail for Those on a Budget – Wal-Mart and Costco

It is no secret that the lower middle class US consumer is slowing down as he struggles with the realities of this economy including gas prices without the deception provided from an inflated home value and mutual fund portfolio. Without this perceived wealth, his spending is slowing down and this clearly shows on the one-year chart of Wal-Mart.

On Wednesday, Wal-Mart Stores closed below a bearish support line. The picture is bearish; yet as I draft this on Wednesday night, I’m betting that a whip-saw will ensue because this has been a fairly consistent behavior of most stocks breaking support over the last 2 years. Failure to whip-saw shorts may indicate that the trend of the overall market has turned to bearish. There is more on Wal-Mart’s action below in “Today’s Market.”

-cut-

Today’s Market

-cut-

Traders who were waiting to sell into the breakdown of Wal-mart stock were treated to a 2% whipsaw today, the same type that caught Cisco bears about 2 weeks ago. Yet there are now pockets of weakness where stocks can be shorted profitably, although caution is important, until necklines breaking in stocks such as Cisco and Wal-mart become more commonplace. General Motors has been a profitable short as have auto parts companies, for-profit education companies, and home finance companies. Yet there is still risk in chasing any stock, either up to buy or down to sell short.

more...

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

[RawMaterials]

19. S&P to start process of altering index share weightings

NEW YORK -- Standard & Poor's on Friday will make one of the most significant changes to its prestigious S&P 500 index since its inception 80 years ago.

The S&P 500 will change the weightings of many of its shares, effectively reducing the influence that some companies carry and increasing the clout of others. S&P will make the same changes to its SmallCap 600 and MidCap 400 indexes.

All three indexes are "market-weighted," meaning the biggest companies by market capitalization--number of outstanding shares multiplied by share price--move the indexes more than those with lower market caps.

Under the new initiative, called the "full-float adjustment," S&P aims to increase liquidity, or ease of trading, by reducing the influence of companies with a lot of shares that are not publicly traded because they are held by a founding family, a government entity or another corporation.

The first step of the shift will take place after the close of trading Friday, when S&P goes to "half float." That means that half of the unavailable shares will be removed from the index calculation. The full-float adjustment takes effect Sept. 16.

In a float-adjusted index, the number of shares of a company reflects only the shares available to investors, not the total shares outstanding. Over the last few years, float adjustment has become the accepted standard for capitalization-weighted indexes, said S&P. The overhaul brings the S&P indexes into line with measures such as the Russell 2000.

The move is important because trading more closely held stocks can be hard. The shift will better reflect what's going on in the overall market, said David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee.

Under the plan, Exxon Mobil Corp. will remain the index's most heavily weighted stock. All of its shares are available for public trading. It will be followed by General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp., though Microsoft's weighting will decline because a portion of the company's shares are closely held.

But the biggest impact will be felt by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Its weighting will drop by roughly 20 percent and its market capitalization as calculated by S&P will fall by $4 billion.

Chicago-area companies whose weighting will decline include Glenview-based Illinois Tool Works Inc., Lisle-based Molex Inc., Warrenville-based Navistar International Corp., Chicago-based Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. and Melrose Park-based Alberto-Culver Co.








http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0503180182mar18,1,3999687.story?coll=chi-business-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true

[loudsue]

46. What does this mean, exactly? Will their stock prices drop? Or....

:cry: I don't understand!! :cry:

Is there a Marketeer who can 'splain it to those of us who don't get it? This sounds pretty ominous to me, but I'm not sure if it will effect the stock market, or if it will just place some number on the affected stocks that doesn't mean shit to anyone but the accountants.

:kick::kick::kick:

[UpInArms]

60. here's another article regarding this change

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BFFCAE68B%2D9813%2D4F21%2D9929%2D8F907F3D449C%7D&siteid=mktw

excerpt:

Float weighting is favored by passive index-fund managers because it helps prevent price squeezes when, for example, a company with large insider holdings is added to an index, because too much indexed money is chasing too few shares.

This causes the stock's price to artificially rise and index-fund investors end up paying more for the stock than they otherwise would, a phenomenon known as "index effect." Traders and speculators who attempt to jump in front of index-fund trades often magnify the price pop.

Conversely, a company's shares tend to fall when it is dropped from a widely-tracked index.

[loudsue]

83. So...if I get this right: Since there is too much money chasing too few

shares, and that artificially raises the price of the stocks, then the prices of closely held stocks should FALL to levels that reflect the actual number of shares that are available....kind of putting the closely held company stocks on parity with those that aren't so closely held.

So....when closely held stocks are sold by the ones who hold them "closely" :crazy: , i.e., Bill Gates or the Waltons, what price do they receive? Whatever the rest of the shares would then sell for not counting the closely held shares? Wouldn't that price be lower than the financials would have indicated would be a good market price for the stock?

Sorry to keep beating this horse, but I'm trying to get it. Thank you for the article you linked! :hi: But, in my case, I'm afraid it gave me just enough information to get stupider! Because, if I read it correctly, Bill Gates and the Waltons would be pretty upset about it, and people don't usually like to upset them too much. In fact, it would seem that ANY shareholder in those companies might take a hit on the stock price, after this announcement and revaluation.

:kick:

[UpInArms]

84. what you came up with sounds like I am interpreting it

loudsue -

I would imagine that for tax purposes, since they say that they will publish but the old and the new method, it would be used by those that closely hold those stocks to their advantage :eyes:

[UpInArms]

20. 9:36 EST markets are open

Dow 10,646.37 +20.02 (+0.19%)
Nasdaq 2,015.04 -1.38 (-0.07%)
S&P 500 1,190.58 +0.37 (+0.03%)
10-Yr Bond 4.503 +0.33 (+0.74%)

NYSE Volume 303,916,000
Nasdaq Volume 258,478,000

[RawMaterials]

23. 940 Blather

Markets are happy, morning everyone :hi:

9:40AM: Stocks open on an upbeat note ahead of consumer confidence data but the market trades with a tinge of caution as oil prices inch higher... While crude oil prices ($56.66/bbl +$0.26) have bounced back to the upside over the last hour, the commodity remains below $57/bbl, providing some modest relief for investors... Meanwhile, market participants can arguably expect to see vigorous trading activity across the board due to triple witching options expiration and added uncertainty surrounding the S&P 500 float rebalancing...

http://finance.yahoo.com/mo

[RawMaterials]

25. Stocks mixed as oil gains

Dow inches higher, while broader market struggles for direction; oil prices resume upward climb.

snip..

Investors continued to keep an eye on oil prices Friday.

U.S. light crude oil for April delivery rose 28 cents to $56.68 a barrel in electronic trading.

Friday is apt to be volatile for several reasons.

The first factor is the quadruple options expiration, a quarterly event in which stock index futures and options, and individual stock futures and options all expire simultaneously. It can lead to wild gyrations in the prices in the underlying stocks as investors either exercise their positions or roll them forward at the last minute.

Friday is also likely to be volatile as Standard & Poor's begins to rebalance a number of indexes, including the S&P 500, to reflect the number of publicly traded shares a company has available, rather than overall shares.

This is the first step in a move by S&P that won't be completed until September.

Shortly after the open, investors get the first read on March consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan. The sentiment index likely rose to 95.3, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com. It stood at 94.1 in February.

Treasury prices slipped in the early going, raising the 10-year note yield to 4.49 percent from 4.46 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and yen.

COMEX gold fell $2.10 to trade at $437 an ounce, falling with other dollar-traded commodities.

In global trade, Asian stocks ended higher Friday, and European markets rose at midday.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/03/18/markets/markets_nyopen/index.htm

[UpInArms]

29. Fannie delays 2004 filing, may add ($2.4 BILLION) to losses

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?siteid=mktw&dist=mktwsnap&guid=%7B482CBEC2-CD0D-4245-9682-D15119F49395%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae is delaying the filing of its 2004 annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission and said it could have to add another $2.4 billion in losses when it does report.

On Thursday, the company said it delayed its filing because it hasn't completed its 2004 financial statements, and added that the new losses may come from how the firm accounts for hedging activities.

"To the extent that it is determined that Fannie Mae misapplied additional accounting principles, the impact may be significant to Fannie Mae's financial position or the results of operations for 2004 and restated results of operations for prior periods that Fannie Mae ultimately reports," Fannie said in an SEC filing.

Fannie (FNM: news, chart, profile) is in the midst of restating earnings from 2001 to mid-2004 following an SEC decision that the company misapplied accounting rules. The correction could reach $9 billion.

...more...

Let's see... $9 BILLION plus $2.4 BILLION equals $11 BILLION

$11,000,000,000

:wow: that's a lot of 000!

[UpInArms]

31. Crude opens at $56.70 bbl

10:02am 03/18/05 APRIL CRUDE OPENS UP 30 CENTS AT $56.70

[UpInArms]

32. Crude futures make another run to $57

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.4217372222-833318161&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

DALLAS (MarketWatch) -- April crude futures added 30 cents to $56.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Concerns over supplies have been driving the energy futures group higher. April heating oil was up 0.26 cent at $1.594 a gallon, and April unleaded gasoline gained 0.68 cent to $1.5684 a gallon.

[UpInArms]

88. May Crude closes at $57.24 - up 33 cents

3:10pm 03/18/05 MAY CRUDE CLOSES AT $57.24, UP 33 CENTS

3:09pm 03/18/05 MAY CRUDE UP 3.8% FOR THE WEEK

3:08pm 03/18/05 APRIL CRUDE UP 4.2% FOR THE WEEK

3:05pm 03/18/05 APRIL CRUDE CLOSES AT $56.72, UP 32 CENTS

April, May crude-oil close higher for the session, week

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.6354686111-833326420&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

DALLAS (MarketWatch) -- Larger-than-expected declines in supplies and a higher world demand forecast out of OPEC drove crude-oil futures to a higher close Friday and for the week. April crude, up 4.2 percent for the week, closed at $56.72 a barrel, up 32 cents. The April contract expires Monday. May crude, which becomes the front month contract Tuesday, rose 33 cents to close at $57.24 a barrel. The contract was up 3.8 percent this week.

(edited to add link)

[UpInArms]

33. 10:19 EST numbers and blather

Dow 10,636.09 +9.74 (+0.09%)
Nasdaq 2,013.02 -3.40 (-0.17%)
S&P 500 1,189.50 -0.71 (-0.06%)
10-Yr Bond 4.507 +0.37 (+0.83%)

NYSE Volume 549,031,000
Nasdaq Volume 550,025,000

10:00AM: More of the same as the major averages continue to trade in split fashion... Meanwhile, the University of Michigan March Consumer Sentiment report was released within the last 15 minutes, having declined for the third straight month with a read of 92.9 (consensus 94.9), down from a prior read of 94.1, but has had little impact on the market... While the data can sometimes cause a market reaction, particularly when consumer spending trends are in question, the report has held little significance since spending clearly remains strong at the moment... NYSE Adv/Dec 1119/1385, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 987/1438

[RawMaterials]

34. at the moment..........

While the data can sometimes cause a market reaction, particularly when consumer spending trends are in question, the report has held little significance since spending clearly remains strong at the moment...


:wtf: ya no one cares until it hits them in the wallet.

[UpInArms]

36. but the retail sector is issuing

warnings on its sales

:shakesheadfromsidetoside:

at the moment?

how about in 5 minutes?

wasn't there an article yesterday (I'll go looking) that said that with gas rising, people were going to have to start making spending choices and they were probably not going to stop driving?

idiot blather makes my head spin

[UpInArms]

38. here's that article

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1321583&mesg_id=1321583

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2005-03-17T192309Z_01_N17150053_RTRIDST_0_PICKS-ECONOMY-GASOLINE-DC.XML

excerpt:

While many analysts are still forecasting annualized growth as high as 4 percent in both consumer spending and gross domestic product in the first quarter -- in line with 4.2 percent spending growth and 3.8 percent GDP expansion in the final three months of last year -- some are not so sure.

"To simply say it's not going to have an impact is what I call 'whistling past the grave'," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.

"Consumers have been swallowing these gains (in energy prices) quite well, but it worries me," he said. "For a lot of people these price increases are hurtful ... and there is only so far they can go before they really have to start cutting back on spending."

...more...

[ausiedownunderground]

35. Why don't American Unions tie their "Claims" to reality!

Foods,Feeds (Whatever that is?) and beverages rose by 7.3% over the last American year. But in America, "Greenscam" has inflation under control. LOL! While everything appears good for American's, it could be better. Your average American citizen needs a rather large "pay rise"!!! But America is the most hostile country to the concept of "Collective" Bargaining, arguably, because you are the most "Capitalistic" country in the Anglo-Saxon world. LESS Government taxation rules to help friends! would be a good start! American Union's are no different to all Anglo-Saxon Union's. In absolute "key" industries they are here to stay. Everybody earns a reasonable income, because these industries involve incredibly hard "Thinking" work combined with incredibly hard "Do it" work. These industries are not "Service" industries!! These are industries that actually make something. If people decide that these industries should collapse, then "Service" industries will "struggle" as well. Most Service industry people completely depend on people who actually "make something" for their income! American union's hopefully can position themselves into a position whereby they will not negotiate a wage increase of their salary for their workers of more than 1 year! Corporation's want American Union's to negotiate for 3 plus years. The World Economy is going "Gangbusters" right now. But some American workers, who actually "Make" something! are "locked" into long term pay agreements which are "locking" them out of fully benefiting from this "World" boom. Their negotiator's need to quickly know, that the Rest of the World has to much demand for what it can supply. If America stopped invading the Rest of the World then its trade position would change "quite significantely" and its people who actually "make things", might be able to make some serious money. However it is these people, that we in OZ, are lead to believe, are leading the fight for "Democracy and Freedom" in Iraq!!!

[ozymandius]

47. You'll get little argument from me.

Unions have been in Bush's crosshairs since day one. If one extrapolates the lines of today's prevailing conservative philosophy, it becomes quite clear that this administration seeks to return this nation to the days of the robber barons: the Gilded Age. Where no Taminy Hall disaster will find those responsible subject to prosecution. And our legislative process will have barred the victims from seeking redress in the courts.

This, one could infer, is the goal to be achieved by "any means necessary".

EDIT: usual reasons

[UpInArms]

40. Fed warns Citi of tighter scrutiny

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B419E9E43%2D8F31%2D4454%2D83BA%2D97F8961572B8%7D&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve is warning Citigroup to clean up its regulatory compliance, hinting that it may not approve more attempts by the company to make large banking acquisitions.

In a 22-page decision approving the financial services conglomerate's purchase of First American Bank, Houston, the Fed took Citigroup (C: news, chart, profile) to task for past shortcomings.

"Given the size, scope and complexity of Citigroup's global operations, successfully addressing the deficiencies in compliance risk management that have given rise to a series of adverse compliance events in recent years will require significant attention" by the company, the Fed said Wednesday.

<snip>

Citigroup has been at the center of several scandals in recent years. It had to pay more than any other bank in the $1.3 billion settlement over Wall Street's tainted stock research. Its private bank was shut by Japanese regulators last year. Citigroup bond traders in Europe are under investigation for misdeeds in the sovereign debt market.

...more...

[UpInArms]

41. 10:41 EST numbers and blather (all red now)

Dow 10,611.95 -14.40 (-0.14%)
Nasdaq 2,009.11 -7.31 (-0.36%)
S&P 500 1,187.03 -3.18 (-0.27%)
10-Yr Bond 4.506 +0.36 (+0.81%)

NYSE Volume 642,978,000
Nasdaq Volume 665,475,000

10:30AM: Little changed since the last update as sector leadership remains mixed... Pacing the way higher has been Energy (+0.9%), as oil prices continue to trade above $56/bbl while Homebuilding (+0.8%) has recovered some of the 1.8% it lost yesterday... Modest gains in Intel (INTC 23.55 +0.14) following an analyst upgrade, however, have not been enough to lift Semiconductor (-0.8%), under pressure following a drop in Feb chip equipment orders...

Also weak has been Transportation (-0.8%), amid weakness in Airline and a downgrade on UPS (UPS 73.10 -1.43), while Financial, Health Care, Consumer Discretionary, Telecom Services and Utility have also been influential leaders trading lower...NYSE Adv/Dec 1085/1706, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 988/1644

[ozymandius]

43. 10:54 - deeper in the red all around

DJIA 10,603.67 -22.68 -0.21%
Nasdaq 2,008.65 -7.77 -0.39%
S&P 500 1,186.16 -4.05 -0.34%
Gold future 437.40 -1.70 -0.39%
10-Year Bond 4.49% +0.02 +0.47%

[MARALE]

44. It will go under 10,600 today

That is not a good thing. This week has been full of bad indicators it seems. I see all the spinning in the news as a sign that they are trying to minimize the fall as much as they can. They problem is, no one is believing them anymore.

[ausiedownunderground]

45. Morale- Move countries, before your Dollar is worth nothing!

American's feel their dollar is worth something! It is, at the moment, but if your government, keeps "Killing" the Rest of us, it will fall away very quickly! In January the "Caribbean Holding's" increased their holdings of US debt by 23 billion in one month. There total holdings are now 92.5 billion. Before January their holdings were 69.5 billion. Who are these people? Your American Media will say they are "Speculators"! They could be! But they are investing "Against" the US Peso. Or they could be "Greenscam's" friend's buying US dollars offshore. A rise of "Caribbean Holdings" this "huge" in one month means absolute trouble ahead for your "Average" investment guru!

[MARALE]

49. I wish I could move to Australia!

Your country seems wonderful. I am scared of what is happening. I do have most of my holdings in foreign stock right now. It is just to volatile right now here for me.
I think other countries have to buy our debt to help keep their economies going without a lot of fluctuation. I also think that they are quietly looking to invest more in the euro as time goes on. Also, the debt holdings give them a lot of power over the US and I think they will use that to affect policy. The holdings in the Caribbean are probably US businesses that know they have to invest in our debt to keep the dollar afloat.

That said, your country has the best looking guys, it is the accent the gets me too!

[UpInArms]

48. Wal-Mart settles illegal immigration case for $11M

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.4582327431-833320733&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Wal-Mart Storees Inc. (WMT) has agreed to pay $11 million to settle federal allegations it used illegal immigrants to clean its stores, the Associated Press reported Friday, citing attorneys in the case. The world's largest retailer is due to make an announcement regarding the settlement at 12:45 ET. Since 1997, the AP said, federal authorities have uncovered the cases of at least 250 illegal immigrants who were employed by janitor contracting services and hired by Wal-mart in 21 states. Many of the janitors worked seven days or nights a week without overtime pay or injury compensation, the AP quoted attorney James Linsey as saying. Those who worked nights were often locked in the store until the morning, Linsey reportedly said. The $11 million settlement clears Wal-Mart of federal charges for hiring the illegal immigrants, the AP reported. Federal officials reportedly refused immediate comment Friday morning, as did Wal-Mart officials.

history:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2003-10-23-walmart-arrests_x.htm

Wal-Mart cleaners arrested in sweep

excerpt:

Wal-Mart uses more than 100 third-party contractors to perform cleaning services in more than 700 stores, Williams said, and those contractors are required to use only legal workers.

The arrests stem from a November 1998 investigation done with the Pennsylvania attorney general's office. That inquiry also targeted store-cleaning contractors and subcontractors used by Wal-Mart.

The cleaning crews did not receive health insurance and were paid below the minimum wage, sometimes as little as $2 a day, a federal official said.

The workers arrested Thursday were released if they had no criminal records, but they must appear later before immigration judges.

Arrests were made in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, ICE officials said.

...more...

[ozymandius]

51. That hardly seems like a punishment.

11 million bucks is probably what Wal-Mart grosses in twenty seconds. I wonder if the cleaning companies were fined and if those abused by their practices received any compensation.

[punpirate]

69. A bit longer than that...

... if the 2004 Wal-Mart gross is an indication, they're only bringing in about $500,000 a minute. So, it would take them 22 minutes to generate that much cash....

[UpInArms]

96. Wal-Mart can pay feds in 21 minutes

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B5CD7C6AB%2DE5B2%2D4E83%2DAAF5%2DA0775ADD756E%7D&siteid=mktw

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) - While it is Uncle Sam's largest-ever payoff from a single immigration action, the $11 million the government is set to collect from Wal-Mart represents a mere 21 minutes worth of the retail giant's 2004 sales.

On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division announced the civil settlement with Wal-Mart. It arose from an investigation into the hiring of illegal aliens for janitorial services by independent contractors at dozens of the company's U.S. stores from 1998 through 2003.

The government will get $11 million from Wal-Mart (WMT: news, chart, profile) and an additional $4 million from the dozen janitorial services who directly employed the workers. The forfeited funds will be used for future investigations of much the same type. See full story.

The $11 million works out to 21 minutes worth of Wal-Mart sales by averaging out the company's more than $285 billion in revenue during 2004. The figure represents sales spread out over a 24-hour period for each of the year's 366 days. Some Wal-Marts are open 24 hours but many are not, and hours of operation vary from store to store.

...more...

That was some great math, punpirate!

[punpirate]

98. I was a little off...

... I thought their gross sales number last year was $261 billion....

:)

One thing for sure... the point is that it doesn't hurt them at all. It's a bit like turning off Niagara Falls for twenty minutes--the level of the river changes so little, it's barely noticeable.

Hope this convinces a few more customers to support other stores, such as Costco, though.

[ozymandius]

52. 11:34 and still hovering in the red.

Though I have seen the Dow and Nasdaq climb into the black briefly.



DJIA 10,621.47 -4.88 -0.05%
Nasdaq 2,011.17 -5.25 -0.26%
S&P 500 1,188.57 -1.64 -0.14%
Gold future 439.30 +0.20 +0.05%
10-Year Bond 4.50% +0.03 +0.67%


EDIT:

11:00AM: Sellers show some resolve as oil prices spike to session highs, erasing blue chip gains... The Dow has lost more than 30 points over the last 30 minutes as crude oil futures have surpassed the $57/bbl mark for the first time this morning...

While reports suggest that OPEC has given authorization to order a possible second increase in production quotas ahead of its next meeting (June 7) - a move that would arguably cool volatile markets - ongoing concerns over existing supplies being insufficient to meet demand continues to sustain buying interest in the commodity and underpin a cautious sentiment for stocks... NYSE Adv/Dec 1068/1840, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 937/1827

[ozymandius]

54. updated blather

11:30AM: Choppy trading persists as triple witching coincides with re-weighting activity in the S&P... Not only has quarterly options expiration - in which stock and index futures and options all expire simultaneously - added some instability to the market, but the S&P's adjustment efforts to enhance liquidity and more accurately reflect what's actually available for purchase by regular investors, has attached an extra bit of caution...

One stock immediately affected by the rebalancing has been Wal-Mart (WMT 52.09 -0.24), as its weighting in the S&P 500 will be almost halved (from 2.04% to 1.2%) by the process' completion on Sept. 9, 2005...NYSE Adv/Dec 1126/1891, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 938/1893

[UpInArms]

53. Executive Pay/Perks/Stocks/Bonuses

General Dynamics CEO got $24.85 mln from excercising options in 2004

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B1A105819%2DD8CD%2D4D6B%2DB9EE%2DCC77B7889F3F%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- General Dynamics Corp. (GD) disclosed Friday that Chairman and Chief Executive Nicholas Chabraja realized about $24.85 million in value from exercising 440,000 stock options last year, according to the company's annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

As reported earlier this month, Chabraja received a $2.7 million annual bonus for 2004, up from $2.5 million in the prior year.

According to the proxy, Chabraja's compensation for 2004 included a restricted stock award valued at about $2.72 million. As of Dec. 31, 2004, the executive held a total of 129,718 restricted shares with a market value of roughly $13.6 million.

In addition, Chabraja received a base salary totaling $1.25 million in 2004, compared with $1.1 million in 2003.

The aerospace and defense company also granted the executive 260,150 stock options in 2004.

...have to click the link to see the "perks"... :argh:

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B60AE0CDE%2D3B23%2D4DCE%2DBFAE%2D0F279EE835A3%7D&siteid=mktw

State Street CEO got second bonus
Co. failed to disclose $1.5 mln to SEC earlier this week

BOSTON (MarketWatch) - State Street says that Chairman and CEO Ronald Logue received an additional bonus of $1.5 million for 2004 that the company failed to report earlier this week in an annual filing on executive compensation.

The company earlier this week disclosed that Logue, who assumed his role in June after the unexpected retirement of former chairman and chief executive David Spina, received a $1.3 million bonus last year, said spokeswoman Hannah Grove said Friday.

The disclosure of the additional $1.5 million brings Logue's total compensation for 2004 - including salary and bonuses - to about $6 million, Grove said.

State Street (STT: news, chart, profile) , based in Boston and the No. 1 provider of services to institutional investors, re-filed its proxy with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday afternoon.

It said Logue earned the $1.5 million bonus for his previous role as president and chief operating officer in overseeing the integration of Deutsche Bank's global securities-servicing businesses, Grove said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

61. CR Bard CEO's 2004 total pay rises 38 pct to $3.27 mln

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B4FC3A910%2D5422%2D45C9%2D884C%2DD83A3093E06F%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- C.R. Bard Inc. (BCR) said Friday that all of its top officials took home higher base salaries in 2004 compared with 2003, with Chairman and Chief Executive Timothy M. Ring receiving the biggest amount.

Ring received a salary of $783,333 in 2004, up 17% over the 2003 amount. In addition, Ring's base salary was increased to $800,000 in March 2004, according to the health-care products maker's proxy filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

C.R. Bard said base salaries for its executives are determined by evaluating their responsibilities, as well as corporate and individual performance.

The CEO's 2004 total pay package was $3.27 million, up about 38% from the 2003 amount of $2.37 million. Besides salary, the package comprised of a bonus of $1.39 million compared with $871,773 for 2003, other annual compensation of $522,513 versus $377,146, long-term incentive plan payout of $470,700 versus $374,950 and all other compensation of $114,852 compared with 2003's $76,337.

...more...

I am so glad that the minimum wage didn't rise above $5.15 an hour - just think how it would have affected the profits of the corporations and the paltry wages of the CEOs. /sarcasm

:argh:

[UpInArms]

81. Monster details CFO compensation

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BA4FB1ECF%2DE354%2D434D%2D8408%2DBBE4628F2D7C%7D&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Monster Worldwide Inc.'s former chief financial officer is receiving $550,000 as part of his departure from the company, while its new CFO's base salary has been set at $500,000, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday.

<snip>

Sileck will also receive $550,000 from the online provider of job placement services, payable in bi-weekly installments of approximately $21,153.85.

...more...

What a piker! A mere $21,153.85 every two (2) weeks! The poor dear :nopity:

[UpInArms]

55. Layoffs

http://onlineathens.com/stories/031805/new_20050318049.shtml

Region takes another layoff hit
128 Hart jobs headed south of the border

A pair of production lines and a prototype shop are moving from a Hartwell plant to Mexico, continuing a trend of layoffs in Northeast Georgia.

In all, Tenneco Automotive will lay off 128 people - including eight salaried employees - by 2006 as it moves some operations to Celaya, Mexico, the company said this week in a news release. Despite the relocations, most of the factory's operations will remain at the Hartwell facility, according to the release.

<snip>

The company is expected to begin moving the operations in late summer, and the relocation could last until the middle of 2006, according to the release. About 440 people work at the company's Hartwell plant, which makes ride control components, such as shock absorbers, for DaimlerChrysler and Nissan.

<snip>

In April, Fort Mill, S.C.-based Springs Industries said it was closing its towel finishing plant in Hartwell. About 280 people were to be let go with that plant closing.

Last month, Robert Bosch Tool Corp. announced it was closing its Toccoa plant and would lay off 145 people, possibly starting as early as June. The plant is expected to close completely by December.

In September, New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson announced it was closing its Royston location and moving its dental-floss waxing production at the facility to an existing factory in Brazil to maximize efficiency. About 300 are expected to lose their jobs with the closing.

...more...

http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=3094321&nav=51s7Xdh8

Georgia-Pacific Plans 100 Layoffs at Broadway Plant

Georgia-Pacific plans to eliminate 100 jobs at its Broadway mill in Green Bay.

Workers tell Action 2 News the company is holding meetings to tell them about the layoffs. They say Georgia-Pacific is asking employees who have been with the company for a while to accept a buyout, and giving them until April 1st to decide.

<snip>

Exactly a year ago this week, Georgia-Pacific met with workers in the same fashion when it eliminated 200 positions.

...more...

[UpInArms]

57. washed-up has-been dishonest thieving political hack opens yap

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.5005495139-833322441&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

Greenspan: inner-city development needs empirical data

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Community development programs aimed at improving high-poverty neighborhoods need to develop better empirical data on their results, said Federal Reserve board chairman Alan Greenspan. "In a quest to do good for our society's most-vulnerable populations and communities...analysts must embrace the challenge to develop objective and quantifiable standards for assessing community development programs," Greenspan said Friday in remarks prepared for delivery to the 2005 National Community Reinvestment Coalition Conference. Greenspan did not discuss the economy or monetary policy in his speech.

12:00pm 03/18/05 GREENSPAN DOES NOT DISCUSS ECONOMY IN SPEECH

12:00pm 03/18/05 GREENSPAN: INNER-CITY DEVELOPMENT NEEDS EMPIRICAL DATA

[ozymandius]

64. They should put you in charge of writing the headlines!

IOW - we need to study the study (i.e. do nothing for a long time)

[punpirate]

70. Wonder if Greenspin...

... is doing some subtle shilling for the Bushies (2006 budget gets rid of a lot of community development block grants, doesn't it?)....

[UpInArms]

71. following the shill around

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5074781/

Greenspan increases White House visits
Fed chairman meets frequently with Bush officials

May 27, 2004

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's visits to the White House and meetings with top administration officials increased sharply after President Bush took office in January 2001, according to records released to an academic researcher under the Freedom of Information Act.

<snip>

Since the 1950s, when the Fed's independence was firmly established, its chairmen have generally taken pains to maintain their distance from the executive branch. The Fed's ability to conduct monetary policy without regard to political fallout is thought to be key to its credibility in financial markets.

<snip>

Greenspan's frequent contacts with the Bush administration do raise questions for Kenneth H. Thomas, a lecturer in finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. "There's the appearance that might not just be affected by economic winds, but possibly by political winds," said Thomas, who obtained records of Greenspan's appointments back to 1996 through the Freedom of Information Act, and who published his findings in an article in the American Banker last month.

<snip>

Greenspan's frequent contacts with the Bush administration do raise questions for Kenneth H. Thomas, a lecturer in finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. "There's the appearance that might not just be affected by economic winds, but possibly by political winds," said Thomas, who obtained records of Greenspan's appointments back to 1996 through the Freedom of Information Act, and who published his findings in an article in the American Banker last month.

<snip>

The chairman has met with Vice President Cheney at least 17 times since early January 2001; Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, 11 times; Rice, 12 times; Card, six times; Powell, once; Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, twice; and Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis Libby, once, according to the Fed's copies of Greenspan's schedule.

...more...

Q: So what is Meanspin's agenda?

A: Follow the money to the BFEE.

[punpirate]

74. I am getting mental pictures...

... of silent movie, Simon Legree-type grinning, leering and hand-rubbing all of a sudden....

[UpInArms]

75. I will add Meanspin aka Simon Legree

to my list :D

[UpInArms]

59. north american vehicle production down 4%

12:13pm 03/18/05 N.A. VEHICLE PRODUCTION AT 343K UNITS-WARD'S

12:12pm 03/18/05 N.A. WEEKLY VEHICLE PRODUCTION DOWN 0.4%-WARD'S

[ozymandius]

63. 12:27 and sinking again

DJIA 10,613.94 -12.41 -0.12%
Nasdaq 2,010.45 -5.97 -0.30%
S&P 500 1,188.31 -1.90 -0.16%
10-Year Bond 4.50% +0.03 +0.74%

12:00PM: Market struggles to gain traction midday as volatility in oil prices continues to weigh on overall sentiment and renew inflation concerns amid triple witching and S&P rebalancing... Ongoing supply concerns have kept crude oil futures ($56.60/bbl +$0.20) in focus as there has been little else in the way of market-moving earnings or economic data to digest...

However, an unexpected decline in March Consumer Sentiment, to 92.9 (consensus 94.9) from a prior read of 94.1 - which initially had little influence on market action - combined with higher oil has arguably underscored the lack of enthusiasm on the part of buyers... Triple witching options expiration overlapping with the S&P 500 float rebalancing has also added an extra level of volatility and uncertainty heading into the weekend... Meanwhile, Energy continues to be a bright spot for investors as oil prices trade near record highs... Renewed buying interest in Homebuilding (+0.6%) has sidelined two weeks of profit taking while Software has eked out modest gains amid better than expected Q1 earnings and increased Q2 and FY05 guidance from Adobe Systems (ADBE 66.78 +2.89)...

Weakness in Semiconductor (-1.0%), following a drop in Feb chip equipment orders, and Hardware (-1.3%), however, have kept Technology underwater... Transportation (-0.9%) has also been weak following a downgrade on UPS (UPS 72.76 -1.77) while Financial, Health Care, Consumer Discretionary, Telecom Services, Utility and Materials remain influential leaders on the downside... Treasurys have also been weak following a larger than expected increase in import prices but continue to trade in quiet fashion, as the benchmark 10-year note is down 7 ticks yielding 4.49%...

[UpInArms]

65. some more blather

12:30PM: Indices still mired in tight trading ranges below the flat line as a firmly bearish bias remains intact... Decliners on the NYSE hold 19 to 11 margin over advancers while declining issues on the Nasdaq hold a 19 to 10 edge over advancing issues... Huge volumes - more than 1.0 bln shares already changing hands on both the Big Board and the Composite - have been a focal point today as triple witching action has kept trading quite vigorous throughout the session...NYSE Adv/Dec 1125/1978, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1001/1921

and it looks like some of the dollar's green color might be starting to wear off


Last trade 82.08 Change +0.24 (+0.29%)

Settle 81.84 Settle Time 00:35

Open 81.86 Previous Close 81.84

High 82.40 Low 81.77

Last tick: 2005-03-18 12:05:29 ET
30-min delayed quote.

[UpInArms]

68. 1:07 EST numbers and blather (under 10,600 and new nasdaq low)

Dow 10,594.66 -31.69 (-0.30%)
Nasdaq 2,005.65 -10.77 (-0.53%)
S&P 500 1,185.97 -4.24 (-0.36%)
10-Yr Bond 4.497 +0.27 (+0.60%)

NYSE Volume 1,088,766,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,134,652,000

1:00PM: While weakness has been witnessed across the board, selling pressure remains most prevalent on the Nasdaq... Pacing the way lower has been Computer Hardware (-1.5%) after palmOne (PLMO 22.00 -2.05) guided Q4 (May) EPS and revenues below analysts' expectations... Minimizing some of the losses, however, has been strong buying interest in Apple Computer (AAPL 42.83 +0.58) after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to Overweight citing a much larger than anticipated Mac conversion rate within AAPL's iPod customer base...NYSE Adv/Dec 1155/1970, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1009/1938

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.545156875-833324142&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

Dow falls below 10,600 for first time in 6 weeks ($INDU) By Tomi Kilgore
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Dow industrials ($INDU) were last down 27 points to a six-week low of 10,599. The last time the Dow was below the 10,600 level was on Feb. 4, when it hit an intraday low of 10,586. The last close below 10,600 was Feb. 3, when it closed at 10,593. The Dow has now fallen 341 points since the Mar. 4 close (10,940).

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38429.5414203009-833323842&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

Nasdaq hits new 2005 low ($COMPQ) By Tomi Kilgore
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ) was last down 9 points at 2,007, which is the lowest level seen since Nov. 4, 2004. The technology-rich index had hit an intraday low of 2,008.68 on Jan. 24 before closing at 2,008.70 that day. The Nasdaq has now lost 84 points since the Mar. 7 close (2,090.21) and 168 points since the end of 2004 (2,175.44). The last time the Nasdaq was below 2,000 was also on Nov. 4, when the index hit an intraday low of 1,992.07 before rallying to close at 2,023.63.

[UpInArms]

73. 1:49 EST numbers and blather (redder still)

Dow 10,566.79 -59.56 (-0.56%)
Nasdaq 2,002.03 -14.39 (-0.71%)
S&P 500 1,183.43 -6.78 (-0.57%)
10-Yr Bond 4.499 +0.29 (+0.65%)

NYSE Volume 1,218,706,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,266,239,00

1:30 Stocks fall to session lows as the indices fail to hold key technical levels... The S&P 500, off roughly 2.2% for the year and down 1.2% this week alone, has fallen below initial support near 1188 and has recently tested its Jan low (1184.16)... The Nasdaq, however, has fallen below its Jan trough (2008) and established a new 4-month low while the Dow, down the least (-1.8%) of the major averages in 2005, has tested levels not seen in about a month... ..NYSE Adv/Dec 1031/2159. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 927/2053.

[MARALE]

77. They are now testing the 2000 mark

Not a good Friday, marketeers.

[ozymandius]

78. ten minutes later - not doing anyone any favors

DJIA 10,567.83 -58.52 -0.55%
Nasdaq 2,003.08 -13.34 -0.66%
S&P 500 1,184.16 -6.05 -0.51%
10-Year Bond 4.50% +0.03 +0.69%

No wonder thay're hauling out Babs to do sell Junior's plan.

[UpInArms]

80. 2:13 EST and a whiff of fairy dust appears

Dow 10,580.61 -45.74 (-0.43%)
Nasdaq 2,003.96 -12.46 (-0.62%)
S&P 500 1,185.41 -4.80 (-0.40%)
10-Yr Bond 4.504 +0.34 (+0.76%)

NYSE Volume 1,301,466,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,352,146,000

2:00PM: Indices continue to languish near their lows as buying remains scarce across the board... Aside from the obvious sector (i.e. Energy) gaining ground on a down day, one sub-sector catching a bid has been Electronic Manufacturing Services (+2.6%)... The group has been lifted by a strong performance in shares of Jabil Circuit (JBL 28.07 +2.05), which last night boosted Q3 and FY05 guidance above consensus estimates... Trading higher in sympathy have been SANM (+0.9%) and MOLXE (+0.2%) while competitors SLR (-0.4%), FLEX (-0.4%) and CLS (-1.10%) have been less fortunate...NYSE Adv/Dec 1078/2138, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 932/2070

[UpInArms]

82. 2:32 EST numbers (back up to 10,600)

Dow 10,600.12 -26.23 (-0.25%)
Nasdaq 2,005.76 -10.66 (-0.53%)
S&P 500 1,186.69 -3.52 (-0.30%)
10-Yr Bond 4.501 +0.31 (+0.69%)

NYSE Volume 1,360,238,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,407,692,000

2:30 Market lifts off its worst levels, but not nearly enough to make a significant change in the standings, as overall sentiment remains bearish... Investors continue to weigh the positives of economic expansion, strong earnings and resurgence in M&A activity against the negatives of inflationary pressures and rising interest rates... While the latter has not been of grave concern today, as yields on the 10-year note (-8/32) have held below the psychological 4.50% mark, oil prices trading near record highs continue to fuel concerns that the Fed may have to hike interest rates at a faster pace in order to keep inflation under control... Next Tuesday, the FOMC is widely expected to raise the Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points for the seventh consecutive time... ..NYSE Adv/Dec 1068/2163. ..NASDAQ Adv/Dec 947/2089.

Must've been some good dust :eyes:

[nolabels]

86. Mid day bounce

The long term investor is staying at other places

Psychology of The Investor

Behavior of the individual investor has long been the interest of academics and portfolio managers, but not investors themselves. The herd mentality sometimes dominates over reason, but why? Ask Dr. Daniel Kahneman, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology at Princeton University, about investor behavior, however, as it relates to risk or loss aversion and some fascinating concepts emerge
(snip)

Loss aversion describes the basic concept that, although the average investor carries an optimism bias toward their forecasts (“this stock is sure to go up”), they are less willing to lose money than they are to gain.

An example: Would you accept this gamble? A “50 percent chance to win $15,000” or a “50 percent chance to lose $10,000”. Most people would reject this gamble as too risky. The aversion to lose the $10,000 is greater than the optimism to win the $15,000.

How does this effect trading? Most investors think they can beat the market (overconfidence) although evidence is overwhelming that they cannot. An associate of Dr. Kahneman, Terry Odean studied the behavior of buying and selling stock. His findings point out that “when an investor sells a stock and immediately buys another, the stock that is sold does better in the following year, by 3.4% on average”.
(snip)
http://easy-money-investing.com/investor_psyhology.html

[UpInArms]

87. 3:04 EST numbers and blather (fairy dust faded)

Dow 10,566.57 -59.78 (-0.56%)
Nasdaq 2,001.65 -14.77 (-0.73%)
S&P 500 1,183.92 -6.29 (-0.53%)
10-Yr Bond 4.503 +0.33 (+0.74%)

NYSE Volume 1,483,840,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,520,439,000

3:00PM: Recent recovery effort stalls as the major indices remain underwater heading into the final hour of trading... Renewed buying interest over the last half hour of trading had bumped the indices to their best levels since lunch, albeit still in negative territory, as the immediate impact of rising oil prices temporarily subsided with the closing of the commodities market... But the fact that crude oil futures closed higher ($56.70/bbl +$0.30) for the sixth consecutive week and flirted with $58/bbl just two days ago, sellers have returned to keep a negative sentiment firmly intact...NYSE Adv/Dec 1175/2073, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 1033/2006

[punpirate]

72. After this week in the markets...

... how would you like to be in Bush's shoes, out trying to sell a privatized SS plan? :)

[KayLaw]

76. Yeah

It seems like they'd be doing more to prop up the markets. Is this the best they can do?

[nolabels]

79. If we have any luck the fool might continue on the agenda for while longer

It's like watching a sail boat try to head directly into the wind.

I don't believe anything about whatever they were trying pull off with any of it.

They knew they could / would never win but it would a safe time to hammer at it with impunity, shore up the base and create a distraction

Did I say I hate republicans yet?

[MARALE]

85. I think you are right

We need to let them keep trying this, but I also think we need to start asking about that Gay-marriage issue thing. Didn't they bring that up a lot before the election? Where is that now? Why aren't we talking about it? He thinks people will forget about it, we need to bring this issue up more, we know it won't get passed, so let's get him to fight for it. Be a big waste of time and might occupy them enough so they won't invade any more countries.

[nolabels]

92. "Throw everything against the wall and see what sticks" is their mantra

Using their strengths against them is the only way it can work. Getting them to over react, over-commit and under-achieve. Sort of like what they have been doing. I think everybody has been helping them with this and probably could continue with that on going plan.

Just remember however bad it seems or angry they may get, just continue on with helping them with it anyway.

Because the bottom line is that is the progressive thing to do ;-)

On edit, sure glad I don't have to make a living proof reading or writing

[spotbird]

93. The market is up 500 since the election.

Some corrections are to be expected, what's you're problem?

Seriously, it will not be observed that it still isn't back to where it was when he was placed in the WH five years ago.

[UpInArms]

90. Foreclosure postings rise for April (Fort Worth)

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/11164046.htm

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

Houses headed to foreclosure are increasingly the result of defaults on home-equity loans and houses that aren't worth what their owners owe on them, according to an Addison-based company that compiles foreclosure figures.

Area foreclosure postings continue to run at unusually high levels, said George Roddy Sr., president of the Foreclosure Listing Service.

There are 3,111 houses posted for foreclosure for the April 5 auction, according to the service. That is a 4.1 percent increase from the 2,989 houses posted for foreclosure a year ago in Tarrant, Denton, Dallas and Collin counties.

<snip>

When foreclosures started rising a few years ago, Roddy said, most of the defaulting owners had lost jobs or taken large pay cuts. Now there seems to be a rise in home-equity defaults and people who owe more than their houses are worth, especially if they made small down payments.

The service said 18.3 percent of the properties on the foreclosure list had debt exceeding the property value. And 5.7 percent were home-equity loan defaults.

...more...

[MARALE]

91. Wow, this goes along with what I just posted #89

Just one minute earlier. This scares me even more now.!.

[UpInArms]

94. 3:46 EST numbers and blather (pixie dust all over the place)

Dow 10,619.33 -7.02 (-0.07%)
Nasdaq 2,009.59 -6.83 (-0.34%)
S&P 500 1,189.06 -1.15 (-0.10%)
10-Yr Bond 4.511 +0.41 (+0.92%)

NYSE Volume 1,722,212,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,751,569,000

3:30PM: Sellers remain in control of the action with only a half hour left to go as the indices look to close lower for the second straight week... And with huge volumes - spurred by the quarterly expiration of stock and index futures and options - drying up heading into the close, market participants will have to wait until next week to see if the indices can convincingly recover some of the ground lost thus far in 2005... Meanwhile, investors will likely redirect their attention to earnings reports, guidance and corporate news on Monday as there will be no noteworthy economic data to digest...

The three most notable companies out with quarterly results will be CCL, KBH and PAYX... Economic data, however, will return to the forefront on Tuesday as investors get the latest read on inflation with Feb. PPI and core PPI data (8:30 ET) ahead of the FOMC's policy announcement (2:15 ET)...NYSE Adv/Dec 1051/2200, Nasdaq Adv/Dec 997/2042

they must have had some might big pixies :eyes:

[ozymandius]

97. Dow back up by 60 with three minutes to close!

DJIA 10,626.71 +0.36 +0.00%
Nasdaq 2,007.50 -8.92 -0.44%
S&P 500 1,189.23 -0.98 -0.08%
Gold future 439.70 +0.60 +0.14%
10-Year Bond 4.51% +0.04 +0.92%

[MARALE]

104. Those pixies have to be worn out today!

Time to celebrate!

[spotbird]

95. They weren't going to let it close below 10,6000.

How long can the market be supported?

[ozymandius]

99. They surely didn't. Here's how the pixie dust settled.

DJIA 10,629.67 +3.32 +0.03%
Nasdaq 2,007.79 -8.63 -0.43%
S&P 500 1,189.65 -0.56 -0.05%
Gold future 439.70 +0.60 +0.14%
10-Year Bond 4.51% +0.04 +0.92%

blather forthcoming

EDIT: s&p numbers

[ozymandius]

101. volume was through the roof

NYSE Volume 2,341,180,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,087,387,000

[ozymandius]

102. blather trickling out

3:50PM Afternoon Wrap: Multi-month lows amid heavier volume : The averages extended the March breakdown amid broad based pressure (Healthcare -1.7%, Steel -1.4%, Insurance -1.4%, Semi -1.1% and Networking -1.1%) into the afternoon on heavier volume. Although the Nasdaq Comp established a new four month low (tested psych support at 2000) and both the Dow and S&P 500 broke below their late Feb lows some improvement has been noted in late trade.

[ozymandius]

103. final blather

Close: Last-minute buying interest lifted blue chips into the green but the market still left little to be desired as rising oil and higher import prices renewed inflationary pressures and a waning sentiment data kept a negative bias intact amid triple witching and S&P rebalancing... While the Dow, which fell below the 10,600 mark for first time in 6 weeks, eked out a slim gain, the S&P struggled to close above Jan. lows and the Nasdaq finished at its worst levels in roughly four months virtually every sector closed in negative territory...

Continued worries about existing oil supplies not being large enough to meet demand again lifted crude oil futures above $57/bbl intraday, before the commodity closed higher for the sixth consecutive week at $56.72/bbl (+$0.32)... A larger than expected increase in import prices to 0.8% amid surging oil prices also underpinned inflation worries, spurring modest pressure in Treasurys which lifted yields back above the psychological 4.50% on the 10-year note (-10/32)... Meanwhile, an unexpected fall in March consumer sentiment to 92.9 (consensus 94.9), from 94.1 a month earlier, exacerbated more worries heading into the weekend...

Also, triple witching options expiration coincided with the S&P Indices shifting to a half float-adjusted calculation, adding an extra level of instability to the market as total volume was much larger than usual... Earmarked to experience the largest negative impact from the S&P's re-weighting was Wal-Mart (WMT 51.86 -0.47), which was also among the most actively traded NYSE-listed stocks after settling an $11 mln labor suit...

You folks have a great weekend! See you on Monday.

Ozy :hi:

[nolabels]

100. As long as they can still print money

A long time ago back in the ole neighborhood all of us kids would play some pretty intense games of monopoly, and every once in while someone would try to cheat. It was all still great fun though
(snip)

The more money you have, the easier it is to own it all - so print your own! Just click on the image of the money you want to find a whole page-full.
http://www.hasbro.com/monopoly/pl/page.treasurechest/dn/default.cfm