STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 10 May

[ozymandius]

Wednesday May 10, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 985 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1966 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1666 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1627
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


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




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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 9, 2006

Dow... 11,639.77 +55.23 (+0.48%)
Nasdaq... 2,338.25 -6.74 (-0.29%)
S&P 500... 1,325.14 +0.48 (+0.04%)
Gold future... 701.50 +21.60 (+3.08%)
30-Year Bond 5.20% +0.01 (+0.23%)
10-Yr Bond... 5.13% +0.01 (+0.12%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver


PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

[ozymandius]

1. WrapUp by Ike Iossif - WEEKLY CHARTS

This week at the last minute, the indices were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat while most indicators either overcame resistance at the zero line, or found support at their rising bottoms line, which in the short-term tends to be supportive of higher prices. At the moment the path of least resistance is to the upside and we ought to expect higher prices. Having said that, we also want to state that we view the current move "terminal" due to the form of its origination. Upside break-outs accompanied by divergences that we have witnessed over the past two months tend to be the "end of something" instead of being the "beginning of something." Also please read "Gold and Momentum Stocks."

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

10:30 AM Crude Inventories 05/05
no numbers available

2:00 PM Treasury Budget Apr
Briefing Forecast $120.0B
Market Expects $116.5B
Prior $57.7B

2:15 PM FOMC policy statement

[UpInArms]

60. DOE: Petroleum Inventories Report

10:31 AM ET 5/10/06 U.S. CRUDE SUPPLY UP 300,000 BRLS LAST WK: ENERGY DEPT

10:31 AM ET 5/10/06 U.S. DISTILLATE SUPPLY UP 200,000 BRLS: ENERGY DEPT

10:31 AM ET 5/10/06 U.S. GASOLINE SUPPLY UP 2.4 MLN BRLS: ENERGY DEPT

[UpInArms]

63. API: Petroleum Inventories Report (varies from DOE's rpt)

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B2984EBBF%2D2A3A%2D47E7%2DB546%2DE50603924530%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The American Petroleum Institute said motor gasoline inventories rose 922,000 barrels for the week ended May 5. That compares to the 2.4 million-barrel increase reported by the Energy Department. The API also said distillate inventories were up 1.8 million barrels. Crude stocks fell 47,000 barrels, the API said, contrary to the government's reported 300,000-barrel rise.

[UpInArms]

86. Federal Deficit @ -$184.1 bln

2:00 PM ET 5/10/06 U.S. FEDERAL DEFICIT FALLS 22% YEAR-TO-DATE TO $184.1BLN

2:00 PM ET 5/10/06 U.S. APRIL BUDGET SURPLUS RISES TO $118.9 BILLION

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BDD7AD634%2D27BC%2D4C7C%2DB161%2D41CAC542E85D%7D&symbol=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Strong growth in tax receipts pushed the federal government's surplus to $118.9 billion in April, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

The surplus was more than double the $57.7 billion surplus recorded in April 2005. It was slightly less than the $120 billion forecast by the Congressional Budget Office last week.

For the fiscal year so far, the deficit is $184.1 billion, down 22% from the $236.9 billion at this time last year.

CBO said the deficit for the fiscal year, which ends in September, would likely be significantly below $350 billion and perhaps as low as $300 billion. The White House had forecast a $423 billion deficit in January.

...more...

[UpInArms]

88. FOMC raises rates to 5%; next move uncertain

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC VOTE UNANIMOUS

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC MAINTAINS CALM MARCH 28 VIEW OF INFLATION OUTLOOK

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC: HOUSING, LAGGED IMPACT OF RATE HIKES TO SLOW GROWTH

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC SAYS GROWTH LIKELY TO MODERATE

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC ADDS THE EXTENT AND TIMING OF RATE HIKES DATA DEPENDENT

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC REPEATS SOME FURTHER TIGHTENING 'MAY YET BE NEEDED'

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC MAKES SLIGHT CHANGES TO MARCH 28 STATEMENT

2:17 PM ET 5/10/06 FOMC HIKES RATES BY QUARTER POINT TO 5.0%

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BF6B17D59%2D76EC%2D4E34%2DB8B7%2D92B9DE33694E%7D&symbol=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 5% on Wednesday and left the market in the dark about what it would do next.

After an unprecedented 16 straight rate hikes, the Fed's statement leaves open the possibility that the Federal Open Market would hold interest rates at 5% for quite a while. Or the Fed could decide further rate hikes are needed to cool the economy and to keep inflation in check.

Some economists expect the Fed funds rate to hit 5.5% by year-end before the Fed is finished. Others say the Fed is now done.

"The committee judges that some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks but emphasizes that the extent and timing of any such firming will depend importantly on the evolution of the economic outlook as implied by incoming information," the statement said.

The Fed's next move will depend on how the incoming economic data fit in with the Fed's forecast for a moderation in growth with relatively contained inflation. The Fed is on guard for higher-than-expected inflation, but also for any sharp slowdown in spending due to high energy costs or a decline in housing values.

...more...

[stop the bleeding]

89. they will raise it again in August

thanks for the update

[ozymandius]

3. Oil holds above $70; eyes on US gasoline, Iran

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil held above $70 on Wednesday as an expected build in gasoline stocks in the United States was countered by renewed fears over Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West.

-cut-

U.S. oil prices had lost up to over $1 on Monday after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wrote to his U.S. counterpart, but slid back as he made no proposals for resolving the row over Tehran's nuclear plans and Washington was dismissive of the letter.

-cut-

"The Iran letter turned out to be a non-event. Everyone had thought that it would have been the grounds for some negotiation and prices came off but now it is quite clear that the fall had been a knee-jerk reaction," said Tony Nunan, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp.'s risk management business.

"The short-term focus is now on the upcoming stocks data, particularly on gasoline inventories. If it builds as expected, then prices would probably drift lower but the downside will be limited as the market has been waiting for a dip to buy."

more

[ozymandius]

4. Alaska Gov. to Unveil Natural Gas Contract

JUNEAU, Alaska - Twice a Superior Court judge has ordered Gov. Frank Murkowski to release a natural gas contract he negotiated with three oil companies.

Twice the governor has said no. Murkowski, however, said he'll unveil the contract Wednesday.

Judge Larry Weeks ordered Murkowski to make public the terms of the contract with BP PLC, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. by Tuesday afternoon. The governor was to release those portions of the contract to which all parties have agreed.

Just before the deadline, Assistant Attorney General Larry Ostrovsky filed a notice with the court that the state could not comply because nothing had been agreed.

more

[ozymandius]

5. Confidence dips with rising energy costs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence dipped this month as rising energy prices took their toll, while wholesale inventories rose at a less-than-expected rate in March, according to data released on Tuesday.

Also, two measures of chain store sales declined in the first week of May, although they rose compared to the same week in 2005.

Investor's Business Daily and TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence said their economic optimism index declined for the third month in a row to 46.1 in May from 48.6 in April. A reading below 50 indicates pessimism.

-cut-

The dip in the IBD survey could point to a lower reading in a more closely watched index of consumer sentiment for May which the University of Michigan will release on Friday, Denison said.

more

[UpInArms]

57. June Crude @ $70.45 bbl - June NatGas @ $6.59 mln btus

10:14 AM ET 5/10/06 JUNE CRUDE FALLS 24C TO $70.45/BRL AHEAD OF U.S. SUPPLY DATA

10:14 AM ET 5/10/06 JUNE NATURAL GAS UP 0.9C AT $6.59/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

82. Crude prices climb near $72; gasoline up 5% - @ $71.85 bbl

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B39FAFEBF%2DF2FE%2D4D3D%2D9B1C%2DA485E1347D45%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- June crude climbed $1.16, or 1.6%, to $71.85 per barrel in afternoon dealings. It reached a high of $71.95 earlier. Prices found support from a 9.59-cent gain in June unleaded gas, which traded at a one-week high of $2.145 a gallon. The Energy Department reported that crude supplies were at an eight-year high and gasoline supplies rose for a second week as refinery utilization climbed. But at the same time, gasoline supplies remain below the year-ago level. July natural gas tacked on 12.9 cents to $6.71 per million British thermal units ahead of Thursday's government update on supplies of the fuel.

[UpInArms]

98. June Crude closes @ $72.13 bbl - June NatGas @ $6.90 mln btus

2:58 PM ET 5/10/06 JUNE CRUDE CLOSES AT ONE-WEEK HIGH OF $72.13/BRL, UP $1.44

2:58 PM ET 5/10/06 JUNE NATURAL GAS ENDS AT $6.90/MLN BTUS, UP 31.9C, OR 4.9%

[Robbien]

101. Stratfor is reporting a China/Venezuela crude oil deal

Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) signed an agreement with China on May 10 to construct 18 new oil tankers to move crude between the two nations. A statement released by PDVSA said the $1.3 billion shipbuilding project is intended to increase transport volumes of crude to China from 15 percent to 45 percent by 2012, and to further diversify oil exports with an increased focus on the Asian market.

http://www.stratfor.com/products/premium/read_article.php?id=265982

[ozymandius]

6. Fed Expected to Boost Key Interest Rates

WASHINGTON - After nearly two decades of decoding Alan Greenspan's famously opaque speaking style, financial markets are having to learn to interpret his successor — Ben Bernanke. So far, the results have been a little rocky.

Wall Street widely expects Fed policy-makers will boost a key interest rate to the highest level in five years when they meet on Wednesday.

It would be the 16th quarter-point increase in a credit tightening cycle that began nearly two years ago and would leave the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, at 5 percent.

A Fed rate increase would raise borrowing rates for millions of consumers and businesses as commercial banks match the move with a quarter-point jump in the prime lending rate, pushing it to 8 percent.

more

[ozymandius]

7. Wall St cautious ahead of Fed meeting

Wall Street traded cautiously on Monday as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting tomorrow and focused on mergers and acquisition activity, with deals news coming from Wachovia (NYSE:WB - news), Thermo Electron (NYSE:TMO - news), and the mining sector.

"The market is considering the big party we had on Friday and is taking a moment to pay its respects to the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday," said Alfred Goldman, chief market strategist at AG Edwards and Sons.

"Everybody and their shoeshine boy is looking for rates to go up 0.25 percentage points. My guess and hope is that the Fed says 'we're stopping here, but we're going to remain vigilant'."

more

[Roland99]

90. Fed raises key interest rate 0.25% to 5%...hints it's not finished yet.

FOMC raises rates; next move uncertain
Further rate hikes may yet be needed
http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BF6B17D59%2D76EC%2D4E34%2DB8B7%2D92B9DE33694E%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 5% on Wednesday and left the market in the dark about what it would do next.

After an unprecedented 16 straight rate hikes, the Fed's statement leaves open the possibility that the Federal Open Market would hold interest rates at 5% for quite a while. Or the Fed could decide further rate hikes are needed to cool the economy and to keep inflation in check.

Some economists expect the Fed funds rate to hit 5.5% by year-end before the Fed is finished. Others say the Fed is now done.

"The committee judges that some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks but emphasizes that the extent and timing of any such firming will depend importantly on the evolution of the economic outlook as implied by incoming information," the statement said.

[ozymandius]

8. Quarles sees no foreign flight from Treasuries

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Aggressive foreign diversification away from U.S. Treasury securities is "fairly implausible," although foreign holdings of Treasuries could shift over time, a senior Treasury official said on Tuesday.

"Foreign holdings of U.S. Treasuries are very substantial and foreign demands for Treasuries could evolve over time," Treasury Undersecretary Randal Quarles said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Money Marketeers of New York University, a group of economists.

Quarles said a broad-based shift in foreign portfolio demands away from Treasuries toward other private securities could push Treasury yields higher and drive yields on private securities lower. But based on demand for Treasuries, any such upward pressure would probably be "modest and temporary," he said.

In a speech about risks to U.S. financial stability, Quarles renewed the Treasury Department's warning that risks posed by government-sponsored mortgage finance enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are a high priority and urged Congress to act soon to address those risks.

more

[ozymandius]

9. 2006 home sales to fall 7 to 10 pct: Fannie

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home sales will likely fall 7 to 10 percent in 2006 from 2005's record level but still would mark the third strongest year ever, Fannie Mae's (NYSE:FNM - news) president and chief executive officer Daniel Mudd said on Tuesday.

Home prices would grow at a slower pace this year at about 2.5 percent to 3.0 percent on weaker demand and low home affordability, Mudd said in a teleconference call to analysts and investors.

Meanwhile Fannie Mae's investment portfolio, worth $721 billion at the end of March, grew at a mid-teen annualized rate in April, following a slim 0.5 percent rate in March, said Rob Levin, the company's chief business officer, during the conference call.

more

[ozymandius]

10. Economic Health May Be in Eye of Beholder

WASHINGTON - America's economy is strong. Or it's in trouble. It just depends on who's talking. Trying to retool his message and right his listing presidency, President Bush is speaking out more frequently and forcefully on the economy.

-cut-

The latest reports show healthy increases in economic growth, job creation, home ownership, retail sales and consumer spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is at a six-year high.

-cut-

Across town, Democrats are peddling a different message: Soaring gasoline and health care costs are burdening ordinary people; mortgage costs and credit card rates are on the rise; jobs are threatened by outsourcing.

-cut-

"One reason the president can't get a lot of traction when talking about the good economy is because it's not good for everyone," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

more

[rfranklin]

11. Healthy job creation?

Has job creation under the Bush junta even come close to one year of job growth under Clinton?

[Tace]

12. MOGAMBO GURU: Another 138,000 new jobs, and only 271,000 of them are fake

Richard Daughty, the angriest guy in economics -- World News Trust

The Federal Reserve is still increasing Total Fed Credit, which increases credit in the banks, which increases loans, which increases the money supply, which increases prices, which increases my wailing and crying about how we are all freaking doomed by inflation, and last week they increased it by only another $3 billion, which was used (apparently) to buy stocks and bonds. A quick look at the Repo market ("peep") shows that the Fed is providing money like crazy, and last Thursday there were more than $20 billion of Repos in one day! One day!

The foreign central banks are still plowing money into the United States, and last week Custody Holdings of U.S. Debt held at the Fed ballooned up another $8.2 billion, which seems to demonstrate a very, very low level of intellectual capacity, as the dollar lost about 7% of its value in the last month alone, socking them with nice losses! Hahaha!

Probably because of the huge amounts of credit and money being created by the world's central banks, I seem to notice more and more people referring to this massive and irresponsible "printing" of money as the beginning of a new Weimar era, which is itself a reference to the massive printing of money by post-WWI Germany and the utter economic devastation that resulted.

But this not about whether the rulers of the old Weimar Germany were buttheads (they were) or whether the rulers of America's economy are buttheads (they are) but about the horrible economic price that a nation pays for such irresponsible stupidity. And don't look to me for a solution, as there isn't one, because if there was a painless solution to this insane system of a fiat currency created by debt, then at least one other person in all of history would have thought of it already. And when you also allow banks to operate with zero reserves (and thus infinite multiplication of deposits), the absurdity of thinking that there is a solution becomes even more ludicrous. And when you further allow the massive increase in the size and cost of government, then asking for a solution becomes so ludicrous (the audience shouts out "How ludicrous, Mogambo?") I can do little but laugh hahahaha!

more

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=3518

[Roland99]

30. Wouldn't have to do with..oh...cessation of publication of M3?

[Ghost Dog]

34. Hahaha! n/t

[AnneD]

49. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: and lurkers. Happy School Nurses Day and Happy Teacher/Nurse appreciation week.:toast: Here's to those that take care of us and help us educate our children for the challenges they will face.:toast:

I wonder how long this 'irrational exuberance ' on WS will last. Between high gas prices and increases in interest rates (raising in real time on these second mortgages), the consumers are not able to tread water anymore.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Roland99]

67. Well, you can add a new job for the May numbers!!!!

Just got the call. Got an offer.

It's a long-term contract with an option to hire on afterward. Better pay and it has benefits (and I can even swing some paid vacation).

Oh, man, what a relief!!!

[Mojorabbit]

74. Congrats Roland99! eom

[UpInArms]

77. Yeah! Hurrah!

Doin' the happy dance :D

:woohoo:

:thumbsup:

[54anickel]

79. Great news Roland!!! Very happy for you - That was fast! n/t

[Roland99]

80. Thanks, everyone. Sure was fast. Interview on Mon...offer on Wed.!

But, right after I took that call another place called me up and said they need to fill a position by this Fri. so I'm going to talk to them this afternoon. Would be a better location and even better job duties so we'll see...


Maybe we've been wrong all along about this economy?





naaaaaahhh!!


;)


The fundamentals of this economy are still completely fabricated which is why I'm glad this one offer is from a manufacturing facility whose business has picked up and does a lot of international business.

[AnneD]

84. Whopee....

:woohoo::woohoo::toast::party::popthecork::personalhappydance::nanernanerboobootooldboss:

[Roland99]

97. Woo hoo! AnneD be havin' a par-tay!

:D

[Roland99]

99. And a thought on the speed of this and general tightness in labor market

I don't hear a lot of people looking to move around to better their pay/benefits.

Seems people are sticking to whatever they have. I know a few people who could easily switch and get better jobs with better pay but they're staying with something that gives them some seniority.

It may be a job hunter's market (at least here in Louisville in the IT industry) but it's far from being very robust.

[AnneD]

102. I am blessed to be in this career at this time...

there is a glut of job openings for Nurses. I can make more, but I have a great boss and senority. If I want extra money, I work at my part time job with my other great boss. At this time in my life, nice matters. I will not be mistreated-I don't ask for much just a little dignity, a little respect, and a tolerable salary. Nice matters.

[Roland99]

105. There ya go! Work shouldn't be a stressor (at least not mostly)

And I have the utmost respect for those in the medical field. With the many trips to the hospital with my oldest in the last year or so, I've seen a lot of what nurses have to do, put up with, tolerate, etc. They do all the work and for hours and hours on end.

[ozymandius]

104. Congratulations Roland! Rock on!

:yourock: :toast: :woohoo:

[InkAddict]

106. Hope it works out for you, but....

did you read this contract - it probably has a clause whereby they can readjust/cancel the damn thing whenever/however...been there. Oh, and BYW, the contractee probably doesn't want a new inventory of employees, which is why they hire consultant contractors on a rotating basis,FIFO/LIFO,either way or no particular way, and promises of a hire-on after a while or NOT, just wishful thinking to hook a new Amerikan slave. Don't do anything stupid and save every penny, cause you'll probably need it about 8 months down the road, AGAIN. Sorry, no trust here - but glad you won't starve in the meantime.

[UpInArms]

13. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 84.58 Change -0.19 (-0.22%)

No Dollar Bulls in FX

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_brief/No_Dollar_Bulls_in_FX_1147257850765.html

The EUR/USD breached the 1.2800 figure before receding ever so slightly while USD/JPY broke below 110.50 and now looks to target 110 as the next level of attack.

The dollar continued to be pummeled in early European trade today setting new yearly lows against both the euro and yen. The FX market has been completely overtaken by dollar bearish sentiment and even the near certainty of a rate hike by the Fed to 5% is not enough to prop up the greenback these days. The market appears to have lost faith in the ability of US policymakers to sustain economic growth and as a result the latest move in the currency market is less about demand for euros and yen and more of a wholesale repudiation of US dollars.

Whether, today’s FOMC statement stems the slide in the dollar remains to be seen, but as of now the European traders apparently do not think so, as market expectations grow that the Fed will be increasingly hemmed in its ability to tighten further by the slowing housing market and lackluster labor conditions. The one bright hope of dollar bulls - a bet on a buoyant job environment that would assure increased consumer spending and further growth in the US economy – has been nearly extinguished by Friday’s disappointing report that recorded only 138K jobs against expectations of 200K. As many analysts have pointed out a slowdown in the US housing with its concomitant layoffs is unlikely to help the employment situation going forward as this sector has represented more than 25% of US GDP growth since 2002. Given that reality, the Fed today would have to be extremely optimistic and ultra hawkish to convince the market that the buck is a buy. For the time being there are no dollar bulls in FX.

...more...

US Dollar Is Drowning

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_technicals/US_Dollar_Is_Drowning_1147258637185.html

EUR/USD – Euro bulls simply have not let up and the pair currently hovers around the 1.2800 figure. On Friday morning, we remarked that “EUR/USD gained for the 16th day in 20 yesterday , which has happened on two separate occasions since the advent of the euro.” We entered unprecedented territory after the Friday close when EUR/USD gained for the 17th day in 20. However, slowing momentum is illustrated by CCI on the daily now residing below 100. A continuation of strength past 1.2770 targets the confluence of the 2/18/2004 high / 161.8% extension at 1.2927/31. The 61.8% fibo of 1.3474-1.1640 resides at 1.2773 along with the 138.2% fibo extension of 1.1640-1.2331 from 1.1825 (1.1825 + 138.2% * (1.2331-1.1640). This confluence has held the euro at bay for the last 3 days but a break would expose the 61.8% of 1.3666-1.1640 at 1.2890.

<snip>

USD/JPY – USD/JPY has traded back below 111.00 and now rests at the 61.8% fibo of 104.18-121.38 at 110.77. The trend down is strong as evidenced by ADX above 50 for the first time since November towards the end of the run to 121.38. Looking back at November, ADX crossed above 50 on 11/17 when USD/JPY was at 118.80 and the ended up rallying another 140 pips before correcting. Initial support is the mentioned 61.8% fibo at 110.77 with additional losses exposing the 7/21/05 low at 109.85. Positive divergence with MACD and RSI on the hourly suggests a correction is imminent but keep in mind that corrective moves lately have been small. Still, resistance stems from the 5/1 low at 112.33 as well as the 10 day SMA at 112.78.

<snip>

USD/CAD – USD/CAD made a massive outside day yesterday – first testing the 5/2 high at 1.1166 and then plunging through the 161.8% fibo of 1.1297-1.1771 at the psychological 1.1000. The pair has since rallied back above 1.1000. Like USD/CHF, ADX is > 50 and has not seen current levels since May 2003 when the pair had just completed its first leg of the multi-year decline from 1.6000. Upon declining back below 50, USD/CAD did correct from 1.3400 to 1.4180. Of course, history tends to rhyme more so than simply repeat so use the information presented merely as a guide. The next major support in our eyes is the 200% fibo of 1.1297-1.1771 at 1.0825. If the pair can distance itself from 1.1000, then resistance is at the confluence of yesterday’s high / 5/2 high at 1.1164/66.

...more...

[54anickel]

45. Hawkish Fed may not shoo away dollar bears

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2006-05-09T192809Z_01_N09296065_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARKETS-DOLLAR-FED.xml

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors' bearish sentiment toward the dollar has become so entrenched that even a hint from the Fed on Wednesday that it will not pause in raising U.S. interest rates may fail to stop the greenback's slide.

Uncertainty over what the Federal Reserve's post-meeting statement may say has given the dollar some respite recently from the aggressive selling that has pounded it to one-year lows against the euro and an eight-month low against the yen.

snip>

"A hawkish Fed statement will give some pause to the dollar bulls, but at the end of the day it's going to be the structural themes, which are unlikely to be pushed into the background unless the (U.S.) data continues to come in strong," said Daniel Katzive, foreign exchange strategist at UBS.

snip>

If the Fed does leave some wiggle-room on rates on Wednesday, trading is still likely to be volatile as just a couple of hours after the statement, the U.S. Treasury releases its semi-annual foreign exchange report, in which it may cite China as a currency manipulator.

more...

[54anickel]

58. As Dollar Weakens, More Investors Snap Up Debt in Local Currencies

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114722609375548522.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

More money managers are embracing a potentially risky approach to investing in developing countries: They're snapping up debt that pays back interest and principal in currencies like Mexican pesos, Turkish lira or Brazilian reals.

For years, they did just the opposite, buying bonds like these only when they were issued in dollars or other major currencies. The fear was that the local currency could tumble, eroding their returns.

Now, however, as the dollar weakens -- it's fallen 4.47% this year, according to the U.S. Dollar Index -- the tables are starting to turn. A weakening dollar makes foreign-currency returns worth more when converted back into dollars. With yields on emerging-market dollar debt near historic lows, investors are putting money into higher-yielding local-currency government bonds in places like Mexico, South Africa, Brazil and Turkey.

snip>

"The risk is that the currency could devalue," says Tom Cooper, who manages GMO Emerging Country Debt Fund in Boston, and typically avoids local-currency bonds. "We've seen it in Iceland and New Zealand, and we could see it in Mexico, Brazil or Turkey."

Even if currencies don't collapse, any weakness can undermine the bonds' returns. Last year, with the dollar rallying against many currencies, the J.P. Morgan local-currency index returned only 3%, compared with 12% for its emerging-market dollar-bond index.

more...

[UpInArms]

95. dollar swoons after FOMC minutes

2:45 PM ET 5/10/06 DOLLAR TAKES DOWNTURN IN AFTERNOON TRADE

2:45 PM ET 5/10/06 DOLLAR DOWN 0.7% AT 110.21 YEN

2:46 PM ET 5/10/06 EURO UP 0.5% VS. U.S. DOLLAR AT 1-YR. HIGH OF $1.2818

[Ghost Dog]

14. CORRECTED - Dollar to fall but Japan should not intervene-Feldstein

http://yahoo.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=economicNews&storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH22442_2006-05-10_10-49-27_L10388257&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 6:49 AM ET
Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS
(Page 1 of 2)
In LONDON item headlined "Dollar to fall but Japan should not intervene-Feldstein", please read in first paragraph ... "Feldstein said on Wednesday" ... instead of ... "Feldstein said on Thursday". (corrects day).

A corrected version follows.

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - The dollar needs to decline but Japan should not intervene as it would prevent natural adjustment in the currency market, influential Harvard economics professor Martin Feldstein said on Wednesday.

In an interview with Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei, Feldstein, who was a candidate to succeed former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan and now seen by markets as a possible successor to U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow, noted that whether a slowdown in consumption affects gross domestic product depends on improvement in the trade balance.

"If spending moves to domestic goods from imported goods, the influence on GDP will be limited. The only way to make that happen is (to have) moves in the foreign exchange market. The dollar needs to decline to a level which would be more competitive overseas," he said.

"Japan should not intervene. If one tries to prevent natural adjustment in the currency market, it would trigger a protectionist reaction in the United States," said Feldstein, who heads the private National Bureau of Economic Research, a think tank renowned for its policy-oriented research.

/more...

[Ghost Dog]

16. LEAD: Japan jittery with yen's surge, says G-7 does not see weaker dollar

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060510/kyodo/d8hgs70g0.html
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFO)

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Wednesday the Group of Seven nations are not seeking depreciation of the U.S. dollar, in reference to the dollar's sharp falls against the yen and other major currencies in recent trading.

"G-7 members do not call for depreciation of the dollar. We don't have talks about being tolerant of such a move," Tanigaki told a news conference.

He made the comments after the dollar had fallen by 7 yen to the 110 yen level since G-7 financial leaders called at their April 21 meeting in Washington for greater exchange rate flexibility in China and other emerging economies to help address current-account imbalances.

Citing the currency part of the G-7's statement, Tanigaki said, "Excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates are undesirable for economic growth," whether a currency moves up or down against other currencies.

Tanigaki said exchange rates should move in reflection of economic fundamentals.
ADVERTISEMENT

"In this sense, we continue to monitor exchange markets closely," he said.

/more...

[54anickel]

37. "I see four lights - FOUR LIGHTS!!!" n/t

[Tace]

64. That Was A Classic DU Post

about the lights.

[54anickel]

72. The William Rivers Pitt one from '02?

http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/10.17A.wrp.4.lights.htm

snip>

One of the best 'The Next Generation' episodes is called 'Chain of Command.' A two-part cliffhanger, the story revolves around the abduction and torture of the captain of the Enterprise, Jean-Luc Picard, at the hands of an enemy commander named Gul Madred. Madred strips Picard naked, implants a device in his body that delivers agonizing pain at the push of a button, and over the course of many days attempts to wear Picard down through a disturbingly simple process of psychological warfare. Picard is seated in a chair with four bright lights shining in his face, and Madred attempts through painful coercion to make him say that there are, in fact, five lights. Every time he refuses to say there are five lights, he is drilled with pain. In essence, Picard is expected to deny the reality described by his own eyes, and surrender the will of his mind to the definition of reality offered by his captor.

In the end, Picard's will wins through the torture. He is rescued, and as he is led from the torture chamber - bloody, shivering, but unbowed - he turns back to Madred and husks, "There...are...four...lights!" Despite the agony, the deprivation, and the commanding voice of a controlling authority who demanded that a simple truth be subjugated, Picard never appeared to release the knowledge that his eyes were right. He refused, it seemed, to allow another to define his reality, even under torture. There were four lights.

This plot line is lifted directly from George Orwell's book, '1984.' The main character, Winston, is given a demonstration of how Doublethink works; O'Brien, his torturer, holds up four fingers before Winston's face, all the while increasing his agony, until Winston is compelled to say that he sees five fingers. The diabolical aspect of this is the incredible effectiveness of the coercion. Winston, at the end of the experience, actually does see five fingers before him.

Watching television news is not torture, nor is reading a local newspaper, at least not in the physical sense. No one has implanted any devices in our flesh that twist us in agony if we refuse to believe and parrot what we see and read. Yet we are being asked, every day, to say there are five lights when, in fact, there are four.

more...

[Ghost Dog]

17. BOJ to raise econ outlook in May report -sources

http://yahoo.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=economicNews&storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH21783_2006-05-10_10-18-06_T298857&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 6:18 AM ET
Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS
(Page 1 of 2)
By Tamawa Kadoya

TOKYO, May 10 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan will likely use a stronger wording to describe the improving economic outlook in its monthly report next week, although its overall economic assessment will not be altered, sources close to the central bank said on Wednesday.

Media reports this week that the BOJ would upgrade the overall assessment by using the word "expanding" for the first time in nearly 15 years fuelled speculation of an imminent policy tightening, but the monetary authorities were only considering using that word for the outlook for now, the sources said. The minute changes in the wording are closely scrutinised in financial markets because they can be seen as a sign that the central bank is confident about the economy and is close to ending an era of virtually zero interest rates.

In recent months, the BOJ monthly report has described the economy as being in a continued steady recovery.

"The timing for a change in our basic assessment will depend entirely on economic data that will be coming out," one senior monetary source said. "There really hasn't been anything significant since our last assessment," he said of the assessment in the central bank's semi-annual report published on April 28.

He added that labour market data and figures for capital spending plans in the BOJ's next quarterly tankan corporate survey due out on July 5 will be important.

The central bank will release its monthly economic report on May 19, when its nine-member Policy Board concludes a two-day policy-setting meeting.

BAD TIMING

The BOJ's wariness over upgrading the assessment right away is partly due to the fact that the report comes on the same day as gross domestic product figures for the January-March quarter, which are likely to show a sharp slowdown in the growth rate.

/more...

[Ghost Dog]

18. Toyota profit soars on sales

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060510/3/2kcfx.html
Photo: Reuters
Click to enlarge
TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. , the world's most profitable car maker, booked a 53 percent rise in quarterly operating profit on Wednesday on healthy sales, cost cuts and a weaker yen, and predicted more growth this year despite currency headwinds and a spike in capital outlays.

Riding a reputation for making good, reasonably priced cars, Japan's top auto maker has won over customers around the globe, adding half-a-million cars to its annual sales for the past five years. It expects to build more than 9 million vehicles in 2006.

Toyota, whose market capitalization of $217 billion values it higher than the South African economy, has cranked up profits to record levels even as it faced soaring raw materials prices and cut-throat competition and spent more on facilities and vehicle development.

/more detail...

[Ghost Dog]

19. Japanese Stocks Fall

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060510/ap/d8hgqorg3.html

Japanese stocks dropped Wednesday amid renewed concern that the stronger yen will hurt exporters' earnings.

The Nikkei 225 index fell 238.98 points, or 1.39 percent, to finish at 16,951.93 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The broader Topix index, which includes all shares on the market's first section, shed 22.44 points, or 1.28 percent, to 1,725.06.

/more detail...

[Danascot]

55. How does a currency collapse?

http://www.kitco.com/ind/AuthenticMoney/may082006.html

• Look back a couple of years and we saw the $ reigning supreme.
• Then warnings were given against it as the Trade deficit began to grow.
• The Fed or the Administration then allied itself to the euro, giving it the respite it has enjoyed over the last year.
• Now there seems to be a breaking down of the $ of late and some Central Banks switching to the Euro out of the $. These were three distinct stages.
• The next stage is for the $ to fall heavily against the Euro and Euro oriented currencies.
• Next will come the defence of the $ until the weight of selling pressure exhausts the $ against other currencies
• This could delay the fall for some time, but history has shown that when a Central Bank defends a rate in the market, it gives in periodically and devalues. If insufficient it has to defend again and again.
• I have no doubt that Central Banks will use this defence to unload their dollars back to the States.
• At some stage the U.S. will have to impose Controls to prevent foreign capital from exiting the States and rejecting dollars coming home. These are called Exchange Controls.
• When this happens many currencies will begin facing the same problems as their reserves become suspect too and they cannot defend their own Balance of Payments deficits.
• At this point for the global economy to function adequately, a new “Global Currency” will have to be established and be supplied sufficient so as to regain global confidence. We cannot see this happening without gold in there to a greater or lesser extent.

[UpInArms]

15. US home loan demand falls as rates hit 2006 highs

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-10T110120Z_01_N10380658_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-MORTGAGES-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications fell last week, led by a steep decline in home refinancing loans as interest rates hit their highest this year, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended May 5 decreased 5.8 percent to 562.1 from the previous week's 596.8.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase mortgage index fell 3.9 percent to 416.5.

The purchase index -- considered a timely gauge of U.S. home sales -- was also substantially below its year-ago level of 526.2.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.61 percent, up 0.04 percentage point from the previous week, its highest level since June 2002 when it reached 6.65 percent.

The group's seasonally adjusted index of refinancing applications decreased 8.8 percent to 1,427.4, its lowest level this year. A year earlier the index stood at 2,263.3.

The refinance share of mortgage activity decreased to 33.8 percent of total applications from 35.2 percent the previous week, which was its lowest share of activity since June 2004.

...more...

[UpInArms]

69. Need to keep house payments low? Try a 50-year (ARM) mortgage

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/housing/2006-05-09-long-mortgage-usat_x.htm

Those struggling to afford a home may be wondering how long their mortgage payments can be stretched out.

The new answer: a half-century.

A handful of lenders have begun offering 50-year adjustable-rate loans to buyers who need to keep payments low in the face of record home prices and rising rates.

<snip>

Two issues to keep in mind: A borrower with a 50-year mortgage builds equity very slowly. And because rates on the loans are adjustable, borrower's monthly payments could rise.

Still, the 50-year isn't considered as risky as an interest-only loan or a mortgage that lets borrowers pay even less than the interest.

With those loans, a borrower might not build any equity and could end up owing more than a home is worth — called negative amortization.

...more...

[UpInArms]

83. Fannie CEO says worries about adjustable mortgages- foreclosures to come

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-10T172436Z_01_WBT005332_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-FANNIE-MORTGAGES-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - Fannie Mae's (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) chief executive said on Wednesday the U.S. housing market will face significant resetting of adjustable rate mortgages over the next two years and he worries about this sparking foreclosures in some locations.

Daniel Mudd, president and chief executive officer of the government-sponsored mortgage giant, told Reuters in an interview that Fannie Mae models suggest a couple of reset "spike periods" in the next two years, based on past originations of mortgages with adjustable rates and other features such as low initial "teaser rate" periods.

It is still unclear what will happen to the housing market when these mortgages reset, especially given some of the weakening in certain housing markets, such as vacation areas with a lot of investment buyers.

[Ghost Dog]

20. RPT-Asia market near-term outlook sweet, risks seen

http://yahoo.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=economicNews&storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH20580_2006-05-10_09-20-53_HKG298528&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 5:20 AM ET
Printer Friendly | Email Article | Reprints | RSS


(Repeats to send to more clients)

HONG KONG, May 10 (Reuters) - Asian financial markets are in a sweet spot, with strong liquidity and robust economic growth driving reigonal markets higher, but if history is anything to go by investors should do well to be cautious, a panel of financial experts said on Wednesday.

"While the near-term looks very positive, there is always the possibility of over-euphoria, excessive risk-taking and speculative bubbles in domestic financial markets," said Lars Thunell, executive vice president of the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Thunell, speaking at a discussion panel to mark the 50th anniversary of the IFC -- the World Bank's investment arm -- said things have changed for the better since the 1997 Asian crisis with regional banks and corporate governance in better shape.

"The situation is different but at the same time, we should be worried when things just go up, up and up."

/more waffle...

[UpInArms]

21. Gold Keeps Moving Higher, and the Dow Does the Same

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/business/10gold.html?ex=1304913600&en=ffd7e80c00e06420&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

Prices for gold, platinum and other precious metals surged to new heights yesterday as investors weighed an assortment of worries over energy and Iran's nuclear program.

Gold futures, which have risen 36 percent so far this year, jumped 3.1 percent, to $701.50 a troy ounce, and platinum rose 3.4 percent, to $1,235.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

<snip>

But gold seemed to dominate yesterday's discussions. Traditionally seen as a hedge against inflation and rising energy prices, the metal appears to be enjoying a run that is attracting other investors who are eager to get in on the action, analysts said.

<snip>

Gold last traded above $700 an ounce in 1980 during the Iran hostage crisis, after which prices began a long and generally downward slide for more than 20 years. The metal established a record of $834 an ounce on Jan. 21, 1980. Adjusted for inflation, that record would be $2,022.25 an ounce in today's dollars, a fact that many gold investors say suggests the metal remains a relative bargain.

Yesterday, Iran was again cited as an explanation for the recent run-up in gold, as the nuclear standoff between Iran and the West showed no sign of abating. Unlike stocks and bonds, commodity prices thrive on financial and political uncertainty, because they are considered to have intrinsic value, unlike companies and governments, which can go out of business or default on their debts.

...more...

[UpInArms]

52. June Gold @ $699.50 oz - July Silver @ $14.22 oz - July Copper @ $3.645 lb

9:49 AM ET 5/10/06 JUNE GOLD FALLS $2 TO $699.50 AFTER $701.50 HIGH

9:49 AM ET 5/10/06 JULY SILVER DOWN 23.5C, OR 1.7%, TO $14.22/OZ

9:49 AM ET 5/10/06 JULY COPPER CLIMBS 4.9C TO $3.645/LB AFTER A RECORD $3.67

[54anickel]

73. Dehedging forecast at 12 million ounces of gold

http://www.mineweb.net/sections/gold_silver/306487.htm

LONDON (Mineweb.com) -- Mitsui Global Precious Metals, in conjunction with Virtual Metals, has released its latest assessment of the global gold mine hedge book and concludes that the market impact of the change in the book in the first quarter of this year was a contraction of 5.0 million ounces. That equates to 155.5 tonnes or the equivalent of almost exactly the output of Barrick over the whole of last year (which was 154.2 tonnes). Alternatively it is roughly equivalent to the quarterly output of South Africa, the United States and Papua New Guinea put together.

The study asserts that the decline was due almost exclusively to the activity of Barrick Gold, which reduced its book by 4.7 million ounces in the quarter. This is equivalent to 23% of the company’s global book and is the largest single company hedge reduction on record. Barrick has since reduced its book by a further million ounces (between the need of the quarter and May 3) and intends to take another 2.0 million ounces off the book by the end of the year, thus accounting for 7.7 million ounces or 239 tonnes.

The report estimates that the global hedge book now stands at 48.2 million ounces (1,499 tonnes), less than half the peak position in the first quarter of 2003. On a committed ounce basis, the reduction was slightly lower, at 4.9 million ounces.

The Barrick reduction comes hard on the heels of the company’s acquisition of Placer Dome in which the company inherited 7.5 million ounces of hedging commitments. Note that Barrick’s de-hedging plans for this year therefore just exceed the size of the book acquired via Placer. The Placer book consisted of 6.5 million ounces of forwards and one million ounces of calls with roughly 1.4 million ounces of puts. The company had closed out the call options of 0.5 million ounces of what the study assumes were forwards by February 22. The book calculates that the average hedge reduction from Barrick works out at 76,000 ounces for every business day, leaving Barrick with a hedge book equivalent to 20 months’ production. Central Bank sales, meanwhile, are estimated at 4.4 million ounces over the period.

more...

[54anickel]

75. Barrick's South Deep Output May Halve After Accident

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=asbOh0y9PiRU

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Gold production from the world's largest deposit, a mine run by Barrick Gold Corp., will be 50 percent lower than forecast this year because of damage to the main shaft at the site, its partner in the project said.

``Initial estimates are that the main shaft will be out of commission for nine to 12 months,'' Johannesburg-based Western Areas, which owns the other half of South Deep, said today in a statement to the city's stock exchange. The mine produced 469,168 ounces of gold last year and is currently producing at half its planned rate through an older shaft, the company added.

The accident will slash output at a time when gold breached $700 an ounce for the first time in 25 years. Developed by Western Areas and Placer Dome Inc. before it was bought by Barrick, South Deep cost more than $1 billion and was three years late starting production. At over two miles, it's Barrick's deepest mine, making it more dangerous to operate than shallower pits.

``It's catastrophic,'' Andisa Securities' David Davis, South Africa's top-rated gold analyst, said by phone from Johannesburg. ``The question is what impact this will have on Barrick's nerves and whether their appetite for deep-level mining in South Africa will dry up.''

Barrick is the only foreign company among the top 10 gold producers with operations in South Africa, the world's largest source of the metal.

more...

[54anickel]

78. Longer Bull Run = Bigger bubble: Marc Faber

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2006/may/10faber.htm

snip>

You say in your books -- "don't listen to analysts; listen to markets" -- could you explain that?

I think analysts are frequently not very objective because they work for large investment banks and have a vested interest. It is very seldom in life to find someone who is in real estate who is negative about real estate or an art dealer who will tell you art prices will go down or a stock broker who will tell you stocks will go down.

snip>

How important is it to understand the role of the Federal Reserve to understand the world economy?

I think it is very important to understand the fact that we have a central banking system where the central banks can indicate, theoretically drop dollar bills from Helicopters. You won't be able to do that because all American helicopters are in Iraq. But they can print money, that is a fact and they can flood the system with liquidity.

Then you have to find a measurement of inflation. We measure inflation by rise in money supply. It would be wrong to think that the inflation is just consumer price increases. Inflation is a loss of purchasing power of your currency, dollar or Rupee.

It can manifest itself by rise in consumer price but it can also manifest itself by a loss of purchasing power of money against real estate, or against stocks and real estate.

more...

[UpInArms]

85. Gold at new heights; others set record - @ $705 oz

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BA62AFA11%2D2DDC%2D4EFA%2D9EC6%2D565F7DE14280%7D&symbol=

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures remained at lofty levels Wednesday afternoon after stretching to yet another multidecade high of almost $707 an ounce in electronic trading, and platinum and copper set records as dollar weakness and fund demand continued to support the rally in metals.

Gold for June delivery was last up $3.50 at $705 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, having earlier risen to as high as $706.80 in the electronic trading session. The contract reached an intraday high of $704.50. Futures prices haven't traded at levels this high since October 1980.

The gains came "quietly, but with conviction," according to Jon Nadler, investment products analyst at Kitco.com, capping a one-month performance that has propelled gold upward about $115 an ounce.

<snip>

Indeed, "it does not appear the gold and silver markets will be taking a summer vacation," said Peter Spina, a chief investment strategist at GoldSeek.com.

Overall, "few people want to sell as has been the case for a couple of hundred dollars," agreed Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com. "The little man is not in this market at all.

"Don't expect a major correction, but do expect corrections or consolidations prior to new highs," he warned. "Both gold and silver are headed higher -- much higher."

...more...

[UpInArms]

87. June Gold closes @ $705.70 oz - July Silver @ $14.28 oz

1:44 PM ET 5/10/06 GOLD FUTURES CLOSE AT A FRESH, NEARLY 26-YEAR HIGH

1:44 PM ET 5/10/06 JUNE GOLD UP $4.20 TO END AT $705.70/OZ AFTER A $706 HIGH

1:44 PM ET 5/10/06 JULY SILVER CLOSES AT $14.28/OZ, DOWN 18.5C, OR 1.3%

[UpInArms]

22. Ford Motor Company to Close Seven North American Plants

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/business/10auto.html?ex=1304913600&en=af2001513e4f3166&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

DETROIT, May 9 (Reuters) — The Ford Motor Company lowered its global market share projections and said on Tuesday that it would close seven North American plants from 2010 to 2012 as part of its previously announced revamping.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Ford said that rising fuel prices and new product releases from rivals might affect its traditional areas of strength: full-size trucks and sport utility vehicles.

"We anticipate that our market share will be down or flat for the full year," the company said in the filing. Ford had earlier expected its market share to remain flat or improve. The filing gave no specific market share figures., and a spokeswoman said the outlook dealt with global market share.

<snip>

A rebound in the United States is crucial to turning around Ford's money-losing auto operations in North America, where it has announced it will close 14 plants and cut up to 30,000 jobs.

Ford said in its filing that seven plants would be idled from 2010 to 2012. It did not identify those plants. The other seven plants are expected to be idled by 2008.

...more...

[UpInArms]

23. Saudis Plan Middle East Financial Center

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/business/worldbusiness/10exchange.html?ex=1304913600&en=18471810c43d0889&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

LONDON, May 9 — Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it hoped to build a Middle East financial district in the capital city, Riyadh, and to sell a majority stake in its stock exchange, the Tadawul, to investors.

The changes follow a recent drop in the value of the companies traded on the Tadawul. Oil money helped to pump up stock exchanges across the Middle East in the last year, but in recent months some have experienced corrections.

The new Saudi financial center will be the Middle East's "first financial district on a scale and of regulatory and technological standards" to match the world's major global financial centers, the kingdom said in a news release.

<snip>

The move is also part of a Saudi plan to pump oil revenue back into the local economy. In addition to the stock exchange and local headquarters for global banks, officials said the financial center would be home to an educational center to train financial analysts and planners.

...more...

[54anickel]

40. Saudi Arabia to sell off bourse to bolster shares

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/05/10/277143/Saudi_Arabia_to_sell_off_bourse_to_bolster_shares.htm

SAUDI Arabia, the biggest stock market in the Middle East by market value, plans to sell its stock exchange in the "next few months" in an attempt to rekindle demand for the country's shares.

The kingdom plans to sell most of the bourse, the company's General Manager Abdullah al-Suweilmy said in an interview at a conference in Riyadh yesterday. "We're doing a price valuation of the exchange, but it's still too early to say what the market is worth."

Saudi Arabia's benchmark Tadawul Index has slumped 86 percent since reaching a record on February 25 on concern shares have become too expensive relative to earnings prospects. The measure has rallied with other Middle East markets in the last three years as higher oil prices buoyed economic growth and earnings.

"It will be good for the market," Hesham Abojamee, a senior financial analyst at Bakheet Financial Advisors, said in a telephone interview from Riyadh.

more...


Heh, but what's the real name?....

Saudi Arabia to launch Middle East's major financial district
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Tuesday May 9, announced the creation of the King Abdullah Financial District, in Riyadh.
http://www.ameinfo.com/85504.html


snip>

The master plan for the King Abdullah Financial District will be completed by the end of the year. Construction will begin in 2007 and will create thousands of construction and related jobs over an intense three year period of building and development.

The King Abdullah Financial District is designed as a state-of-the-art and fully self contained centre for doing business and facilitating investment and enterprise in the Kingdom and, in due course, in the wider region.

Many of the world's major banks, financial institutions and professional service companies - already operating in Saudi Arabia - have indicated their intention to locate in the District in order to play a major part in the diversification of the world's major oil economy.

The King Abdullah Financial District will be the headquarters for the Capital Market Authority (CMA) and the Stock Exchange (Tadawul), and for financial institutions and other service providers such as accountants, auditors, lawyers, analysts, rating agencies, consultants, and IT providers.

snip>

His Excellency Jammaz Al-Suhaimi, Chairman of the CMA, said: 'We are working hard to strengthen and develop our capital market. The role of the King Abdullah Financial District will be to facilitate the financial sector's contribution to our national economic growth in every way we can.

more...


Hey, what's this about....One little article from Canada that floats to the top on a google

U.S. PANEL URGES SANCTIONS ON SAUDIS
http://www.menewsline.com/stories/2006/may/05_08_1.html

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. government panel has recommended sanctions on Saudi Arabia for its ban on religious freedom and funds for Islamic violence.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said the United States should penalize the Saudi kingdom for its violations of religious freedom. The commission, mandated by Congress, said this could include a ban on U.S. weapons and advanced technology exports.

"As of today, no action with regard to Saudi Arabia has been announced by the U.S. government," commission member Nina Shea said.

In its annual assessment, the 10-member commission deemed Saudi Arabia a major violator of religious freedom. The panel said that despite U.S. appeals, Riyad has not improved its record and remains a financier of hate and violence toward non-Muslims.


Fuller story here: http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=16401

Saudi blasted for its religious freedom violations
US Congress-mandated commission urges 'aggressive action' against Saudi Arabia on violations of religious rights.

A US Congress-mandated commission urged the government to take "aggressive action" against Saudi Arabia for alleged religious freedom violations and warned that religious rights were under threat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom also urged Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to keep Saudi Arabia, as well as China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Vietnam, on the annual government blacklist of "severe religious freedom violators."

In addition, the commission proposed that Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan be included on the blacklist.

Those designated as "countries of particular concern" in the State Department's annual international religious freedom report could face sanctions.

more...

Ewwww, looks like this Commission report is not making many friends http://news.google.com/news?q=Commission+on+International+Religious+Freedom+&hl=en&lr=&sa=X&oi=news&ct=title


:wtf: We are now the world's religion police now? Sheesh, you'd think if we paid more attention to human rights, this freedom of religion business might just fall into place on its own.

[UpInArms]

42. I guess it's just more of the *Co Crusade - all done to the tune of

Onward Christian Soldiers

:eyes:

[54anickel]

46. Interesting article on the Commission from 2003

Why the U.S.'s International Religious Freedom Commission Is Harming Its Status In the World Community

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/hamilton/20030130.html

They say you should never bring up religion or politics at a polite dinner party. Unfortunately, the United States has decided to combine both topics, and speak out loudly to the international community.

That's a big mistake. We need to learn when to speak, when not to speak, and when to speak only softly and subtly on that most delicate of issues: religious liberty. Instead, we maintain an organization - the International Religious Freedom Commission (IRFC) - the very mandate of which is to continually criticize other countries on this topic.

Other countries are rightly annoyed at our judgmental condescension on religious liberty issues, as embodied and perpetuated by the IRFC. Accordingly, the IRFC has contributed to creating rifts with needed allies, including France.

It is crucial, now more than ever, for the U.S. to avoid being, or even appearing to be, the world's imperialistic bully. It's one thing to be a leader, but quite another to be the world's judge and jury. Yet the meddling of the IRFC only strengthens the very image we are trying to avoid projecting.

The Genesis of the IRFC

Few seem to realize it, but President Clinton was one of the friendliest Presidents to religious interests in this nation's history. Statutes, new executive branch positions, new foreign initiatives--you name it, he supported it, if it was desired by a religious constituency.

more...

[Ghost Dog]

24. UPDATE 1-Turkey says no formal tax inquiry on investors

http://yahoo.reuters.com/investing/FinanceArticle.aspx?type=economicNews&storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH23458_2006-05-10_11-30-06_L10174916&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 7:30 AM ET

(Adds details, finance minister's quote)

ANKARA, May 10 (Reuters) - The head of Turkey's Revenue Administration said on Wednesday there was no formal investigation into whether investors were avoiding withholding tax, but it had sought information from settlement institutions.

Vatan newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Finance Ministry, which includes the Revenue Administration, had launched an investigation into how some banks were using derivatives to avoid a 15 percent withholding tax on financial instruments that was introduced in January.

The paper said this was a factor in pushing Turkish markets lower on Tuesday.

"There's no question of us having started any investigation," Osman Arioglu, acting chairman of the Revenue Administration, told Reuters.

"We only asked for information from foreign settlement institutions about circumvention with regard to stocks."

/more...

[Ghost Dog]

25. Foreign investment in Turkish bourse down 44 pct

http://yahoo.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH21768_2006-05-10_10-17-24_L1087099&rpc=44&search=.XU100&searchtype=symbol&norics=1
Wed May 10, 2006 6:17 AM ET

ISTANBUL, May 10 (Reuters) - Net foreign investment in Istanbul's stock exchange fell 43.7 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2006, bourse data showed on Wednesday, as Turkey was hit by cooling sentiment towards emerging markets.

Stock market data showed net foreign investment fell to $839 million between January and April this year from $1.49 billion in the same period last year.

Analysts said the outlook for further U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate hikes after Wednesday's expected increase is limiting the flow of funds into emerging markets.

The main Istanbul share index <.XU100> jumped 59 percent last year as net foreign buying grew to a record $4.09 billion, boosted by successes in the country's IMF-backed privatisation programme and the October start of European Union entry talks.

However, recent uncertainty over the appointment of a central bank governor as well as tensions with neighbouring Iran have highlighted political risks, analysts say.

Separately, rising global commodity prices have led to an increase in the current account deficit, one of analysts' major concerns about Turkey's economic picture.

/more detail...

[Ghost Dog]

26. FTSE trims losses after BoE report, awaits Fed

http://yahoo.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH22197_2006-05-10_10-37-09_IRE038213&symbol=.FTSE&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 6:37 AM ET

By Matt Falloon

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - UK stocks trimmed losses on Wednesday after the Bank of England said inflation will hit its target in two years if rates rise very gradually, but investors remained cautious ahead of a U.S. interest rate decision due after the close.

<snip>

By 1014 GMT, the FTSE 100 was 2.1 points lower at 6,103.5 points, having dipped as low as 6,089.7 before the Bank of England published its widely-anticipated inflation report at about 0930 GMT.

"We still think most likely (UK interest) rates are on prolonged hold into 2007," said Kevin Grice, economist at American Express Bank. "Expectations that they would hike in August...were a bit ambitious."

/more detail...

[Ghost Dog]

27. London mining shares have room to rise -analysts

http://yahoo.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH23332_2006-05-10_11-24-11_L10122218&symbol=.FTASX1770&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 7:24 AM ET

By Dan Lalor

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Leading London-listed mining stocks <.FTASX1770> have doubled in value over the past year to top 130 billion pounds ($240 billion), driven by soaring metals prices but, analysts say, there is still time to catch the boat.

Pick a miner, pick an investment bank and it's short odds that the latter will have a "buy" rating on the former's shares with a price target appreciably above current levels.

The story is simple: booming global demand led by China's rapid industrialisation has sent the price of metals such as copper, zinc and aluminium through the roof, taking miners' profits with them.

/more huh?...

[Ghost Dog]

28. UPDATE 3-Copper soars above $8,000/t, more to come

http://yahoo.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH22010_2006-05-10_10-28-51_L10431749&symbol=.SPX&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 6:28 AM ET

(Adds fresh comment/details, changes dateline PVS Singapore)

By Nick Trevethan

LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Copper surged above $8,000 a tonne for the first time on Wednesday, up sixfold from lows in 2001, as demand from emerging economies and investors hungry for profits heated up the market.

Three-month copper futures <MCU3> on the London Metal Exchange (LME) touched a record peak of $8,010 in early trading, up $195 from Tuesday's close.

"The trend is firmly higher. The next stage will be to establish the price above $8,000 and I see no reason why it should not be able to do that," Sempra Metals economist John Kemp said.

Traders said the market would aim for round numbers at $9,000 and $10,000, but predicting a top to the market had become a fool's errand.

/more from the fools...

[54anickel]

36. Copper Rises to $8,000 a Ton for First Time as Metals Rally

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a2BIUTOgFpzM&refer=top_world_news

May 10 (Bloomberg) -- Copper rose to $8,000 a ton for the first time as a mine closure in Mexico fueled speculation among investment funds that returns from metals will keep outpacing stocks and bonds.

Gold also rose to a 25-year high, platinum and zinc were at records and aluminum climbed above $3,000 for a second day. Copper has gained as labor disputes and production threats from Mexico to Indonesia have dented global metal stockpiles. Grupo Mexico SA, the world's seventh-largest copper miner, said today it shut the San Martin mine as a strike deepened concern about safety.

``It's hard to see how the momentum can stop at this moment,'' said Roy Carson, a London-based trader at Triland Metals Ltd., which trades on the floor of the London Metal Exchange, the world's biggest metals bourse. ``Continued speculative buying'' is stoking prices.

snip>

Pension and hedge funds are pouring money into commodities as raw materials from sugar to oil produce returns that are outpacing other assets. Crude oil has gained 16 percent this year in New York and traded above $71 a barrel today. Fund investments in commodities may exceed $120 billion by 2008, up from $80 billion last year, according to Barclays Plc.

snip>

Speculator `Damage'

The ``damage'' done by speculators ``will bring into question whether the LME copper price should continue to be the recognized reference price for our industry,'' the copper consumer group known as the London-based International Wrought Copper Council, of which Nexans is a member, said in a statement to the LME last month.

Funds tracking commodity indexes may hold copper futures contracts equal to as much as 465,000 tons, almost three times more than physical metal stored in warehouses monitored by exchanges in London, New York and Shanghai, Bloomsbury Minerals Economics Ltd. said in a May 5 report. The shortfall in supplies of the metal may drive prices above $9,000 a ton this year, the London-based metals consulting company said.

``I don't understand the dynamics of this market anymore,'' Andrew Silver, a trader at Natexis Metals in London, said in an interview today. ``A lot of our customers have stopped trading. Nobody wants to take any risk.''

more...

[Ghost Dog]

32. Bank (of England) sees inflation on target in two years

http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-05-10T114953Z_01_L09379107_RTRUKOC_0_UK-ECONOMY-BRITAIN-BANK.xml
Wed May 10, 2006 12:50 PM BST

LONDON (Reuters) - Inflation will hit its 2.0 percent target in two years assuming interest rates rise very gradually as implied by the market yield curve, the Bank of England forecast on Wednesday.

The central bank's quarterly Inflation Report showed CPI inflation rising in the near-term on the back of higher energy and import costs before falling back to around the 2.0 percent target in two years.

"The central projection is for CPI inflation to move above the target over the next year or so and then fall back to the 2 percent target at the two-year horizon," Bank Governor Mervyn King told a news conference after the report was published.

Some Monetary Policy Committee members, however, thought that inflation would be little higher while others thought it would be lower. They agreed the risks were broadly balanced.

/more...

[UpInArms]

29. Ohio College - Wooster - Puts Its Money Into Hedge Funds (nearly 80%)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/business/10place.html?ex=1304913600&en=e42dbaf1fc62f5b7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

THE College of Wooster is a small, liberal arts college in Ohio whose graduates have historically gravitated toward careers as Presbyterian ministers, music teachers or college professors, not traditionally high-paid professions.

Yet its endowment is on a roll. Nearly 80 percent of the endowment's assets are invested in hedge funds — making Wooster among the endowments with the largest exposure to hedge funds, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

<snip>

There are currently more than 8,000 funds with $1.2 trillion in assets. Driven largely by institutions like Wooster piling into hedge funds, the sector is expected to maintain its rapid growth.

<snip>

Mr. Massey developed his love of numbers as a student at Wooster.

When he was a junior, he said, he ran out of beer money and applied for a job at the school. They hired him as a bookkeeper in the office of finance, tracking entries into the endowment ($15 million at the time).

<snip>

Wooster measures itself against a self-created index, a composite of the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, a bond index, a global stock index and 90-day Treasury bills. Over the same time period, that index returned 20.4 percent and the S.& P. delivered 8.21 percent. Those returns were generated with significantly less volatility and with less overall risk, according to data presented by Mr. Massey.

...more...

:eyes:

[UpInArms]

68. Boston University Gave Ex-Chief $6.1 Million, Officials Disclose

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/education/10silber.html

Officials at Boston University disclosed yesterday that the institution's long-term president and chancellor, John R. Silber, collected $6.1 million last year, two years after he stepped down as leader.

The money includes $3.3 million in deferred compensation from the 32 years that Dr. Silber worked at the university and a house in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Boston that university trustees agreed he could live in for the rest of his life. Living in the house was valued at $305,000 a year. The package also includes $770,000 from an unusual arrangement in which the university rewarded Dr. Silber with an extra year's salary for every five years worked.

<snip>

In a written statement, Dr. Silber, 79, said the bulk of the payout, totaling $4.5 million, was money he had earned and set aside in a "segregated investment account run by the university" during his years as president and chancellor, plus returns on those investments.

<snip>

"This is not a bonus," he added. "It is not a golden parachute or a gift from the university."

<snip>

Experts said Dr. Silber's compensation package was the steepest they had seen, and it was revealed at a time of wide discontent over tuition increases at universities that regularly outpace inflation. Tuition, room and board at Boston University is $41,600 a year, officials said.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

31. UPDATE 1-Russia VSMPO to supply 60-70 pct of Airbus titanium

http://yahoo.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060510:MTFH23261_2006-05-10_11-21-04_L10521973&symbol=VSMO.RTS&rpc=44
Wed May 10, 2006 7:21 AM ET

(Adds details, quotes)

By Robin Paxton
FACT BOX
VSMO.RTS (Verkhnesaldinskoye Metallurgical Assoc)
Last: $248.00
Change: +8.00
Up/Down: +3.33%
MayAugNovFeb
Quote
Full Chart
Company Profile
Analyst Research
Click here to find out more!

MOSCOW, May 10 (Reuters) - Russia's VSMPO-Avisma (VSMO.RTS: Quote, Profile, Research) (VSMO.MM: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's top supplier of titanium to the aerospace sector, has won a 60-70 percent share of contracts worth $1.4 billion to supply Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) until 2012, its co-owner said on Wednesday.

Vyacheslav Bresht said the deal would help dispel fears that titanium shipments to international clients would be disrupted should VSMPO-Avisma be acquired by Rosoboronexport, the state-owned arms trader that has said it wants to buy the firm.

"VSMPO will be the strongest supplier in the next five years to Airbus and Boeing. That's absolutely clear," Bresht, who is also chairman of VSMPO-Avisma, told Reuters.

/find out more!...

[Ghost Dog]

33. Ghost Dog headbanged this morning

Hearing Neil Young. Will BUY.

Ghost Dog may be heading for the (Pyrennean) mountains for a while, by diesel, then on foot, today.

Don't need no more lies.

America the beautiful. OK.

sayonara...

[UpInArms]

35. Have a great time on your trek, GD!

:hi:

[AnneD]

65. I'll second that GD....

:hi: there are some beautiful spots in the region. I have heard that Catalan was a pretty area.

[UpInArms]

38. NYTs: Poll Gives Bush Worst Marks Yet on Major Issues

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/washington/10poll.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

Americans have a bleaker view of the country's direction than at any time in more than two decades, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. Sharp disapproval of President Bush's handling of gasoline prices has combined with intensified unhappiness about Iraq to create a grim political environment for the White House and Congressional Republicans.

Mr. Bush's approval ratings for his management of foreign policy, Iraq and the economy have fallen to the lowest levels of his presidency. He drew poor marks on the issues that have been at the top of the national agenda in recent months, in particular immigration and gasoline prices.

Just 13 percent approved of Mr. Bush's handling of rising gasoline prices. About a quarter said they approved of his handling of immigration, as Congressional Republicans try to come up with a compromise for handling the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.

The poll showed a further decline in support for the Iraq war, the issue that has most eaten into Mr. Bush's public support. The percentage of respondents who said going to war in Iraq was the correct decision slipped to a new low of 39 percent, down from 47 percent in January. Two-thirds said they had little or no confidence that Mr. Bush could successfully end the war.

<snip>

Mr. Bush's overall job approval rating hit another new low, 31 percent, tying the low point of his father in July 1992, four months before the elder Mr. Bush lost his bid for a second term to Bill Clinton. That is the third lowest approval rating of any president in 50 years; only Richard M. Nixon and Jimmy Carter were viewed less favorably.

<snip>

"We should have stayed out of Iraq until we knew more about it," Bernice Davis, a Republican from Lamar, Mo., who said she now disapproved of Mr. Bush's performance, said in a follow-up interview on Tuesday. "The economy is going to pot. Gas prices are escalating. I just voted for Bush because he's a Republican, even though I disapproved of the war. If I could go back, I would not vote for him."



...more...

[UpInArms]

41. from page 2

Seventy percent of respondents said the country was heading in the wrong direction, compared with 23 percent who said they approved of the direction in which the country was heading. Those findings are not significantly different from the responses to a CBS News poll last week and suggest that Americans are more pessimistic about the country's direction than at any other time in the 23 years that The Times and CBS News have asked the question.

<snip>

The two biggest problems for Mr. Bush and Republicans are gasoline prices and Iraq. By 57 percent to 11 percent, respondents said they trusted Democrats more than Republicans to find a way to curb gasoline prices.

[54anickel]

66. My Encounter with Rumsfeld - By RAY McGOVERN

http://www.counterpunch.com/mcgovern05082006.html

snip>

As soon as the event was over, CNN asked me for my sources, which I was happy to share. The CNN folks seemed a bit surprised that they all checked out. To their credit, they overcame the more customary "McGovern said this, but Rumsfeld said that"--and the dismissive "well, we'll have to leave it there"--kind of treatment. In Rumsfeldian parlance, what I had said turned out to be "known knowns," even though he provided an altered version on Thursday of his "we know where they are." Better still, in its coverage, CNN quoted what Rumsfeld had said in 2003.

That evening a friend e-mailed me about a call she got from a close associate in "upper management at CNN" to ask about me. She quoted the CNN manager: "We checked and double-checked everything this guy had to say, and he was 100 percent accurate." He then asked if those protesting the war "were getting organized or something." She responded, "Indeed we are and have been for some time, and it's about time the mainstream media caught up."

With the exception of CNN--and MSNBC which also did its homework and displayed the tangled web woven by the normally articulate defense secretary--the other networks generally limited their coverage to the "he-said-but-he-said" coverage more typical of what passes for journalism these days. Even CNN found it de rigueur to put neocon ideologue Frank Gaffney on with me for Wolf Blitzer. Gaffney is well to the right of Rumsfeld, so I should not have been surprised to hear Gaffney take the line that the U.S. may still find evidence of ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda, and of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Hope springs eternal.

snip>

All in all, my encounter with Rumsfeld was for me a highly instructive experience. The Center's president, Peter White, singled out Rumsfeld's "honesty" in introducing him, and 99 percent of those attending seemed primed to agree. Indeed, their reaction brought to mind film footage of rallies in Germany during the '30s. When Rumsfeld replied to my first question about his false statements on Iraq 's WMD, the applause was automatic. "I did not lie then," he insisted.

This was immediately greeted with what Pravda used to describe as "stormy applause," followed immediately by rather unseemly shouts by this otherwise well-disciplined and well-heeled group to have me summarily thrown out. At the end, as we all filed out slowly, I could make eye contact with only one person--who proceeded to berate me for being insubordinate.

more...

[54anickel]

43. WTF are people thinking? How can he rate so stinking high on the

campaign against terrorism while the foreign policy and Iraq numbers keep going down? Sheesh folks - it's all related! (Well Iraq wasn't related to terrorism until Bush declared that illegal, pre-emptive war-thingie).

All I can think of is that the "fear factor" is still working for him...Dems have got find a way to show this campaign against terrorism for what it really is...Oh wait - I forgot, the DINOS are just as much behind their corporate masters as the Repukes.

[rfranklin]

50. The new meme should be "The Phoney War on Terror"

To cede this to the incomptents in the WH is ridiculous. It is obvious to all but the terminally stoopid that this adventure has accomplished virtually nothing in terms of stemming terrorism--in fact terror incidents around the world have increased tremendously since Bush started his anti-terror campaign.

[UpInArms]

39. The Blueprint for the Economic Takeover of the Middle East

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=9276

about 1/3rd down the page:

The initial blueprint for the takeover of Iraq came in 1992 in the final year of the Bush I administration. The 1992 "Defense Planning Guidance" (DPG) describes America's overall military strategy and represents guidance from the president and secretary of defense. The 1992 DPG was written by Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, Zalamy Khalizad, Scooter Libby, Eric Edelman and Colin Powell - six men who served Bush I and II, most worked in the Reagan administration as well.

The DPG was written after the success of the 1991 Gulf War, and the failure to remove Saddam Hussein from power - two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the emergence of the U.S. as a sole superpower. The document, built on the Carter Doctrine and remained in effect through the Clinton years, states the goal clearly - the objective of the United States in the Middle East is "to remain the predominant outside power in the region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region's oil." The document describes an aggressive, unilateral, preemptive military agenda - that includes ad hoc coalitions of countries - rather than working through organizations like the U.N.

Many in this same group reunited in 1997 to establish the Project for the New American Century. PNAC restated support for the DNG and sought U.S. military dominance in the world. They recognize the importance of economic dominance as a compliment to unrivaled military power. They proposed an annual increase in military spending of $15 to $20 billion. Being able to act preemptively in the Middle East gets special attention noting that "the United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security." They describe Saddam Hussein as providing an "immediate justification" for a "substantial American force" in the Middle East. In January 1998 PNAC wrote President Clinton urging the removal of Saddam Hussein from power noting that Hussein was a threat to "a significant portion of the world's supply of oil."

Another key group was the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. The group was founded in 2002 by Robert Jackson, a Lockheed Martin executive who wrote the Republican Party foreign policy platform in 2000. He formed the Committee while at Lockheed and advocated aggressively for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein. The Chairman of the Committee was former Secretary of State and Bechtel executive, George Shultz. Shultz wrote a column in The Washington Post in 2002 claiming the US must "ACT NOW. The danger is immediate. Saddam must be removed." The article argued heavily for an immediate attack because of weapons of mass destruction and Saddam's ties to terrorism saying: "If there is a rattlesnake in the yard, you don't wait for it to strike before you take action in self-defense." Shultz fanned the flames of fear saying the risk is "tens or hundreds of thousands killed by chemical, biological or nuclear attack." After the occupation Lockheed Martin received more than an $11 billion increase in sales and contracts including $5.6 million for work with the Air Force in Iraq. Bechtel received nearly $3 billion in Iraq reconstruction contracts.

[UpInArms]

44. Whirlpool to cut 4,500 jobs in Maytag consolidation

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B37BCEC62%2DFF15%2D47C1%2D9693%2DC6DFA1A9B4D5%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Whirlpool Corp. (WHR 93.09, +0.31, +0.3% ) said Wednesday it would slash 4,500 jobs at former Maytag washer and dryer making plants in Illinois, Arkansas and Iowa, costing about $30 million. Whirlpool plans to move production to its Ohio factories, creating about 1,500 positions. Maytag administrative offices will also be consolidated at a cost of $135 million to $140 million. Whirlpool said it is unable to estimate total costs for its manufacturing closures.

[Roland99]

47. Unable to estimate costs? *cough*Bullshit*cough*

If I were a stockholder, I'd be pissed as hell as the execs for not disclosing costs before engaging in a major move like that. If the costs outweigh the benefits, why pursue it?

[Roland99]

48. 9:38am - Stumbling out of the gate

DJIA 11,627.52 -12.25 -0.11%
Nasdaq 2,330.29 -7.96 -0.34%
S&P 500 1,322.38 -2.76 -0.21%
Dow Util 405.55 -0.35 -0.09%
NYSE 8,624.57 -22.39 -0.26%
AMEX 2,034.51 -10.27 -0.50%
Russell 2000 777.90 -2.82 -0.36%
Semcond 514.81 -5.19 -1.00%
Gold future 698.00 -3.50 -0.50%
30-Year Bond 5.19% -0.01 -0.17%
10-Year Bond 5.11% -0.01 -0.27%

[stop the bleeding]

54. you can say that again

;)

[Roland99]

56. 9:38am - Stumbling out of the gate

:rofl:


Oh, I kill me!


I'm here all week. Don't forget to tip your waiter or waitress!

[AnneD]

76. Roland...

you are spending FAR too much time at the tracks:rofl:.But I think you might do better on the tracks than WS.

[Roland99]

91. What can I say? I pulled the winner from a pot and bet $2 across the board

:D :D :D

[UpInArms]

51. Printing Press Hums: Fed adds reserves via overnight repos

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-10T133439Z_01_N10343999_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS.XML

NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it added temporary reserves to the banking system via overnight system repurchase agreements.

The benchmark fed funds rate last traded at 4.875 percent, above the Fed's current target of 4.750 percent for the overnight lending rate on loans between banks, but below the 5.00 percent rate that the Fed is expected to boost its fed funds target to at its policy meeting on Wednesday.

Further details of the operations are available at: http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

[Roland99]

53. M3? Whuzzat?

[54anickel]

59. Harsh tactics spur calls for Japan lending curbs

:wtf: Call me naive, but I was surprised to find this happening in Japan.

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/453a6ace-dfb8-11da-afe4-0000779e2340.html

snip>

Aiful’s practices, according to the Financial Services Agency, included calling up a borrower at work despite being asked not to and pressing another’s family about repayment. They have become a rallying point for critics of Japan’s Y24,000bn ($202bn, €169bn, £117bn) consumer finance market, who are seeking a radical overhaul of the industry’s rules, including a cut in maximum interest rates.

They want to see stricter regulations to curb what they believe is excessive and unhealthy lending that targets low-income individuals and frequently leads to personal bankruptcy. “It is not a healthy necessity” that consumer finance companies are serving, says Kenji Utsunomiya, a lawyer who represents troubled borrowers.

But the industry and its many foreign investors have expressed serious concerns about the impact greater regulation could have on growth – not just of the sector but of the entire economy. They predict a credit crunch that would snuff out consumption and hit economic recovery.

snip>

But the clash is not just about regulating the consumer finance sector. “The debate is a deep one. It has to do with what kind of society Japan should establish,” says one government official.

On the one side are those, like Mr Utsunomiya, who believe the government must play a greater role in ensuring that the weaker members of society are protected.

To them the problems in the consumer finance market represent the negative consequences of deregulation and free-market capitalism, which they say is fostering a two-tier society.

more...

[54anickel]

61. Lack of locusts boosts stocks

http://www.prudentbear.com/randomwalk.asp

snip>

But things could be worse. Nowhere in RBC’s press release was there mention of plague or locusts, and that was as good a reason as any for the Dow to rally triple digits on Friday. Bulls also liked the weak employment number, figuring it might inspire the Fed to back away from the interest rate hiking machine and try the new Sony Playstation for a change. Of course some sectors of the economy are smoking hot, the April pricing component of the ISM service sector was the highest on record (1997) and prices in the manufacturing version of the index were high as well. Meanwhile, metal prices are rising so fast that Americans are buying Lo-Jacks for their patio furniture.

Even if the RBC numbers were a blip, a whopping 73% of those responding said that the country is “on the wrong track.” Who knows, maybe RBC interviewed an unusually large number of retired generals.

On track or off, Mississippi senators just want the whole thing moved inland. The stretch of rail in question runs along the Gulf Coast, and Trent Lott and Thad Cochran are worried that another hurricane could muck up transportation all over again. So they want to move the rail line inland a bit, even though CSX and its insurance company already repaired it at a cost of $300 million. Still, the senators are really, really concerned about the integrity of rail in Mississippi, so they have attached this $700 million earmark to the spending bill passed by the Senate.

Besides, the railroad is in the way of some high dollar beachfront casino and hotel developments.

more...

[UpInArms]

62. More Troubles at B&L: Bausch accounts error costs soar

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4754469.stm

Bausch & Lomb says an investigation into accounting irregularities could spark a $19m (£11m) writedown of 2000-2004 results.

The investigation into the accounts of the eye care firm's foreign units has been widened from Korea to India, Japan, Thailand and Brazil.

The irregularities will also hit its 2005 results, which have been delayed.

The investigation comes soon after Bausch & Lomb withdrew a contact lens solution linked to a rare eye disease.

The product - ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens solution - has been connected to increased cases of a potentially blinding eye infection called fusarium keratitis.

...more...

[54anickel]

70. Central bankers' Worst Nightmare - the Gold and Bond Vigilantes

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/sirchartsalot/dorsch051006.html

snip>

The US and global economies are seemingly immune to massive oil price shocks, and not afraid of the "Commodity Super Cycle" which has lifted base metals to stratospheric levels and gold to $680 per ounce, its highest in 25 years. Global equity markets are still riding the massive wave of liquidity injected into the money markets by G-10 central bankers over the past five years.

Global central bankers are still inflating their money supplies to keep borrowing costs low, in the face of strong loan demand, especially for corporate takeovers. Globally, 5,800 takeovers valued at $859 billion were announced in the first three months of 2006, the fastest start since the record M&A year of 2000. The Euro zone's M3 money supply is 8.6% higher from a year ago, and the UK's M4 is 12.2% higher. China's M2 money measure is 18.8% higher. The US M3 is off the charts.



snip>

Should Beijing, Tokyo, or Riyadh decide to curtail their purchases of US bonds or turn into net sellers in the months ahead, it would provide greater freedom for the bond vigilantes to lift long-term yields. Ironically, any attempt by the Bernanke Fed to cushion US home prices with a lower fed funds rate could backfire, if the US dollar comes under heavy speculative attack, and foreign central banks sell US bonds.

snip>

Dangerous Divergences ahead or False Alarms?

Former US Treasury secretary Robert Rubin was once asked by his boss Bill Clinton, if he could be re-incarnated, what would he like to be? Rubin replied, "The bond market, because it controls everything." Cheap long-term borrowing rates provided the glue that held the world economy together in 2004 and 2005, but the risk of a sudden rise in global bond yields could see an otherwise upbeat outlook for stock markets come unstuck.

Among the myriad influences on the global economy, it is hard to overestimate the pivotal role that persistently low global borrowing rates had in fueling the most rapid world expansion in three decades. Super low interest fostered a climate for the biggest corporate spending spree since the Internet bubble burst in 2000. Global equities were buoyed by $1.1 trillion in takeovers in the US, followed by Europe with $1.04 trillion, and Asia with $312 billion in 2005. Leveraged mergers and acquisitions injected fresh cash into global markets, pushing stock indices to 5-year highs.

lots more....

[UpInArms]

71. Hartford Financial admits misconduct in annuities- pays $20 Mil Fine

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-10T143559Z_01_N10426367_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-HARTFORD-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer said Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) admitted misconduct in connection with its sale of group annuities and will pay $20 million in fines and restitution.

In a statement, Spitzer said Hartford has also issued an apology and will implement reforms designed to make its marketing of retirement products transparent. Spitzer said a similar agreement was announced by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

[UpInArms]

81. False premises reminiscent of Enron

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk0MDAmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY5MzI5NDQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXky

What a shame that Ken Lay is no longer front-page news.

Even the former Enron chief's personal testimony at his criminal fraud trial hasn't catapulted him from the business pages of most newspapers. There, details of Lay's extravagant lifestyle complement the accounts of extravagant corruption and extraordinary arrogance that led to the collapse of what was once one of the world's largest corporations, a darling of both Washington and Wall Street.

<snip>

What we did not know as the Enron scandal unfolded is that an even larger scandal was developing. We were, in fact, turning the U.S. government into a taxpayer-funded Enron.

<snip>

The first false premise of our current governmental mess was, in fact, laid out early in the 2000 presidential campaign: That taxes could be cut repeatedly without affecting government services or operations. The second, more deadly, deception was that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction and posed a dire threat to the United States.

To conceal the collapse of both these premises, our government concocts schemes. The president declares "our tax cuts are working," ignoring the increase in the deficit and the debt burden being loaded on taxpayers -- and generations of future taxpayers. What's more, the White House and congressional Republicans have just agreed to more wild foolishness: $70 billion in tax cuts that mostly will go to affluent investors with income from dividends and capital gains.

...more...

[UpInArms]

92. 2:25 EST numbers and blather

Dow 11,635.21 -4.56 (-0.04%)
Nasdaq 2,323.21 -15.04 (-0.64%)
S&P 500 1,321.12 -4.02 (-0.30%)
10-Yr Bond 5.100 -0.25 (-0.49%)

NYSE Volume 1,516,854,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,377,338,000

2:15 pm : As expected, the Federal Reserve raised the fed funds rate by 25 basis points to 5.00%, marking the 16th consecutive 1/4% rate hike. With respect to the accompanying policy directive, the Fed has asserted that further firming may be needed to address inflation pressures but timing will be determined on incoming data. Initial responses in both the stock and bond markets are negative, but volatile market action throughout the rest of the session can be expected. DJ30 -11.56 NASDAQ -16.39 SP500 -4.48 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1819/1168/1.30 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1763/1424/990 mln

2:00 pm : In the 15 minutes ahead of the FOMC announcement, the market has slipped to afternoon lows, with the Nasdaq still pacing the way to the downside amid weakness in tech. The yield on the 10-yr note, however, still stands at 5.09%. Oil prices spiking toward highs within the last 30 minutes may be adding to an already cautious tone, but whether the upcoming policy statement suggests the Fed will pause after this rate hike or if another hike is likely at the next meeting in June will be the true catalyst behind any further market moves. DJ30 -2.32 NASDAQ -13.03 SP500 -2.56 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1761/1216/1.24 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1736/1445/924 mln

[Roland99]

93. 2:29pm - moving down/up a lot

DJIA 11,609.59 -30.18 -0.26%
Nasdaq 2,319.45 -18.80 -0.80%
S&P 500 1,318.62 -6.52 -0.49%
Dow Util 405.64 -0.26 -0.06%
NYSE 8,605.88 -41.08 -0.48%
AMEX 2,030.14 -14.64 -0.72%
Russell 2000 774.32 -6.40 -0.82%
Semcond 507.34 -12.66 -2.43%
Gold future 705.70 +4.20 +0.60%
30-Year Bond 5.22% +0.02 +0.33%
10-Year Bond 5.14% +0.01 +0.25%

[UpInArms]

94. 2:42 EST charts look like a psychoid embolism

Dow 11,634.17 -5.60 (-0.05%)
Nasdaq 2,319.57 -18.68 (-0.80%)
S&P 500 1,321.37 -3.77 (-0.28%)
10-Yr Bond 5.134 +0.09 (+0.18%)

NYSE Volume 1,651,250,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,502,642,000

2:30 pm : Stocks are still languishing in negative territory as investors find little conviction in the wording of the policy statement to indicate a pause at the next FOMC meeting in late June. The actual text of the statement reads: "The Committee sees growth as likely to moderate to a more sustainable pace, partly reflecting a gradual cooling of the housing market and the lagged effects of increases in interest rates and energy prices.

As yet, the run-up in the prices of energy and other commodities appears to have had only a modest effect on core inflation, ongoing productivity gains have helped to hold the growth of unit labor costs in check, and inflation expectations remain contained. Still, possible increases in resource utilization, in combination with the elevated prices of energy and other commodities, have the potential to add to inflation pressures.

The Committee judges that some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks but emphasizes that the extent and timing of any such firming will depend importantly on the evolution of the economic outlook as implied by incoming information. In any event, the Committee will respond to changes in economic prospects as needed to support the attainment of its objectives." DJ30 -25.05 NASDAQ -19.48 SP500 -6.13 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1856/1149/1.39 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1813/1385/1.06 bln

[Roland99]

96. 3:01pm - Perhaps they found a cure?

At least for the DOW

DJIA 11,656.90 +17.13 +0.15%
Nasdaq 2,325.18 -13.07 -0.56%
S&P 500 1,324.30 -0.84 -0.06%
Dow Util 407.55 +1.65 +0.41%
NYSE 8,638.77 -8.19 -0.09%
AMEX 2,038.10 -6.68 -0.33%
Russell 2000 776.88 -3.84 -0.49%
Semcond 509.73 -10.27 -1.98%
Gold future 705.70 +4.20 +0.60%
30-Year Bond 5.19% -0.01 -0.19%
10-Year Bond 5.13% UNCH UNCH

[UpInArms]

100. Northern Trust raises prime rate to 8.00 percent (best rate/best customers

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-10T190345Z_01_WEN7395_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-NORTHERNTRUST-PRIMERATE-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - Northern Trust Co. (NTRS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday raised its prime rate, a borrowing rate that banks charge their best customers, to 8.00 percent from 7.75 percent.

The increase came after the Federal Open Market Committee, the policymaking body of the U.S. Federal Reserve, earlier in the day increased its key overnight rate on loans between banks by 0.25 of a percentage point to 5.00 percent.

Most lending institutions use the overnight rate, known as the federal funds rate, as a benchmark for what they charge consumers for everything from credit cards to home loans.

[ozymandius]

103. time to close up shop

Dow 11,642.65 +2.88 (+0.02%)
Nasdaq 2,320.74 -17.51 (-0.75%)
S&P 500 1,322.85 -2.29 (-0.17%)
10-Yr Bond 51.25 0.00 (0.00%)
NYSE Volume 2,273,341,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,057,284,000

4:20 pm : The major indices closed in split fashion as investors found little conviction in the wording of the policy statement to indicate a pause at the next FOMC meeting in late June.

As expected, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to 5.00%. However, the stock market did not get the indication it wanted from the Fed that the ongoing cycle of monetary tightening is finished. Instead, the statement read, "some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks but emphasizes that the extent and timing of any such firming will depend importantly on the evolution of the economic outlook." Thus, if economic growth remains strong, further rate hikes are likely; if inflation picks up much at all, rate hikes will be almost certain; but if economic growth slows, and inflation remains contained, today's increase could possibly be the final rate hike... for now.

Also, with the market still digesting the impact of Dell's (DELL 24.89 -0.31) warning yesterday with regard to tech spending, a disappointing sales forecast from tech bellwether Cisco Systems (CSCO 20.75 -0.93) last night exacerbated concerns of slowing growth in such an influential sector of the economy. Even though Cisco beat estimates by a penny and posted its strongest April quarter since 2000, playing into our bullish outlook on the company as a suggested holding in our Active Portfolio, Wall Street was left wondering why positive CEO commentary didn't translate into a stronger growth forecast. As a result, Technology pacing the way lower among the six economic sectors posting losses, weighed heavily on an already cautious sentiment heading into the Fed's decision to raise rates for a 16th straight time which left the door open for even more rate hikes.

Energy, however, provided some upside leadership as oil prices extended yesterday's gains. Nonetheless, a 2.1% surge in the price of crude and back above $72 a barrel, coupled with another 25-year high in gold prices also providing no relief on the commodity front, sidelined Energy's leadership as concerns of further tightening curtailing additional upside in the market took precedence. DJ30 +2.88 DJUA +0.7% DOT -0.4% NASDAQ -17.51 NQ100 -1.0% R2K -0.6% SOX -2.5% SP400 -0.2% SP500 -2.29 XOI +1.0% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1979/1085/2.02 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1848/1392/1.61 bln