STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 17 May

[ozymandius]

Wednesday May 17, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 980 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1971 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1671 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1632
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 16, 2006

Dow... 11,419.89 -8.88 ( -0.08%)
Nasdaq... 2,229.13 -9.39 (-0.42%)
S&P 500... 1,292.08 -2.42 (-0.19%)
Gold future... 692.90 +7.90 (+1.14%)
30-Year Bond 5.22% -0.05 (-0.89%)
10-Yr Bond... 5.11% -0.05 (-0.93%)






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

[Tace]

1. MOGAMBO GURU: Every Dip Is Lady Fate Smiling On You

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

snip

It is democracy run amok here in America that has produced a huge, suffocating, expensive, socialist, communist, fascist system of local, state and federal government that consumes almost half of the income in the country. And then gives a monthly check to almost half of the people in America. And it is a government system that employs one out of every six workers in the whole country.

And why is the government doing this? Because the people, democratically, have created that kind of government! Year after year after year, decade after decade, they elected and re-elected people who actually campaign on a platform of providing a free lunch to more, and then more, and then yet more "deserving" people and organizations. This is insane! This is absolutely, preposterously, my-head-is-exploding, I-can't-believe-I'm-seeing-this insane! And if that ain't failure of democracy, then what in the hell is it?

And as for the Iranian's call for a more "religion-based" economy, the Bible is full of timeless, correct, and classic economic wisdom, all the way from the insistence on honest weights and measures to the admonition to "neither a borrower nor a lender be."

If we had merely (if nothing else!) adhered to the requirement of honest weights and measures, for example, then our money would still be gold (or function like it), inflation would always be zero, and there would be no frightening income mal-distributions (which is the condition where there are some people who are very, very rich, versus many, many, very, very, poor, poor people), because it would have been impossible with a fixed stock of money. It would be impossible for the rich to accumulate so much money, as it would constitute having accumulated ALL the damned money!

Instead, we have a fiat currency, produced by excess creation of credit and debt by the banks, which produces more money, which flows to the rich, creating obscene income disparity, and the attendant woes, one of which is the inflation in prices and social unrest that is going to consume us in a roaring bonfire. Ugh.

more

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=3537

[Ghost Dog]

138. I thought this bit very good, coming from that idiot Mogambo:

-- With all the hoopla over the newly proposed tax cuts, I would like to take this opportunity to declare that tax cuts do not necessarily have an effect on the economy. Either you spend the money, or the government takes the money from you, and spends it. Either way, it gets spent. The only difference is HOW the money is spent.

If both the government and I plan to spend the money in the same way, say, on a new computer and a rocket launcher, then the economy is boosted by the manufacture (and sale) of one computer and one rocket launcher, no matter who buys them. The economy gains, and is unaffected by who bought them.

But if the government instead decides to spend the money on, say, increased welfare benefits, then the economy loses the sale of one computer and one rocket launcher, and the incentive to produce more of them, but it gains more subsistence consumption. Thus the economy mutates. But the same amount of money is spent.

Nowadays, "growth" in GDP is created only by increasing debt, which creates new money, which increases prices, which is also a measure of an increase in GDP, and then the inflation that produced the higher prices (and thus the higher GDP) is ignored, making it look like the economy "grew."

Indeed: all about mutating the economy...

[Ghost Dog]

139. Also:

-- The famous letter that Iran sent Bush has been completely dismissed by the White House and by the American press, but not here at the Mogambo Bunker. And the reason is that it said that democracy has failed, and boy, oh boy, are the Iranians ever right about that!

It is democracy run amok here in America that has produced a huge, suffocating, expensive, socialist, communist, fascist system of local, state and federal government that consumes almost half of the income in the country. And then gives a monthly check to almost half of the people in America. And it is a government system that employs one out of every six workers in the whole country.

And why is the government doing this? Because the people, democratically, have created that kind of government! Year after year after year, decade after decade, they elected and re-elected people who actually campaign on a platform of providing a free lunch to more, and then more, and then yet more "deserving" people and organizations. This is insane! This is absolutely, preposterously, my-head-is-exploding, I-can't-believe-I'm-seeing-this insane! And if that ain't failure of democracy, then what in the hell is it?

And as for the Iranian's call for a more "religion-based" economy, the Bible is full of timeless, correct, and classic economic wisdom, all the way from the insistence on honest weights and measures to the admonition to "neither a borrower nor a lender be."

[Ghost Dog]

2. LEAP/E2020: acceleration phase of global systemic crisis

http://www.newropeans-magazine.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3983&Itemid=84
June 2006 – Beginning of phase 2 of the global systemic crisis: the phase of acceleration
Written by LEAP/E2020
Tuesday, 16 May 2006

Seven concrete consequences for economic and political players and decision-makers

Last February, LEAP/E2020 anticipated that a global systemic crisis was to be triggered at the end of March. Today, three months later, LEAP/E2020 can anticipate that the initial phase of this crisis is about to be finished and that, as soon as the beginning of June 2006, the crisis will enter a phase of acceleration. Before detailing the main features of this new phase (described in GEAB Nr5), LEAP/E2020 would like to clarify the 4 different phases of a global systemic crisis.

A global systemic crisis develops following a complex process where 4 phases can be distinguished, overlapping one another:
• in the first so-called “trigger” phase, a variety of until then un-related factors, start converging and interacting in a way that is perceptible mostly by careful observers and central players
• in the second “acceleration” phase, a large majority of players and observers suddenly become aware that a crisis is there and that it has already begun to affect a growing amount of the system’s components
• in the third so-called “impact” phase, the system starts to transform radically (implosion and/or explosion) under the strain of cumulated factors, simultaneously affecting the whole system
• in the fourth and last “decanting” phase, the features of the new system born from the crisis begin to appear.

In the present situation, LEAP/E2020 estimates that the initial trigger-phase is about to finish and that, during June 2006, the world will enter a phase of acceleration of the crisis.
Indeed, in less than three months, many certainties as to the future were turned upside down (« inescapable » dollar-denomination, « return » to cheap oil, « peaceful » solution to the Iran/USA conflict, « sustainability » of the US real-estate bubble, US « domination » over two other key global players – China and Russia,…) and a great number of indicators now point at converging directions, all of them sources of unbalance for the current system (vertiginous rise in gold and precious metals prices, escalation of inflationary pressures, increase of the interest rates, EURUSD approaching 1.30, large amounts of central banks’ reserves being switched to Euros, rise of Asian currencies, stock market and currency crises developing in various areas in the world, growing amounts of articles published in the international and national press using words such as « krach, crisis, collapse, risk, conflict, … » ).

<snip>

LEAP/E2020 therefore estimates that these sectoral losses of confidence will converge in the course of June 2006, and induce the acceleration of the crisis process. The acceleration should elapse over 3 to 6 months and convey seven concrete consequences:

1. accelerated collapse of the Dollar
2. internal social and political crisis in the US
3. Iran/USA/Israel military conflict
4. increased global inflation
5. stop of the process of trade and economic globalisation
6. accelerated emergence of new regional/continental « blocks »
7. rebalancing of world assets’ comparative value.

The passage to phase 3 (so-called « impact-phase ») of the global systemic crisis process will occur when at least four of the previously mentioned factors will have taken place. Simultaneously, it is possible, during the acceleration-phase already, to distinguish some of the tendencies that will shape up the future global system, and therefore to start initiating the decisions and policies likely to prepare a post-crisis future.

/more... concise, incisive.

[teryang]

8. Here's a similar article from 2004.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/p72747.asp?Printer

The 7 stages of a dollar crisis

By Bill Fleckenstein


Here, then, is my outline of a 7-step process of creating a full-blown crisis...

Step 4. The dollar now tests everyone's resolve by resuming its decline. The currency markets will not respond to jawboning by finance ministers.

Step 5. In this step, the finance ministers are forced to take action. (Think about it. Even if they'd stated that they wanted the dollar to go up, nothing either explicit or implied indicates they'll do anything about what's happening. That will come next.) When they do take action, the market will do what they want -- but only for a while.

Step 6. The ministers take some additional action, but it won't be enough, and the currency markets won't do what the ministers want.

Step 7. Finally, we'll have a full-blown crisis, and that will be the end game

The author concludes that the currency crisis can't be fixed because we've exported the majority of our manufacturing capital overseas.

[PATRICK]

99. re-entering Bushworld

This big picture contains elements desirable and necessary to the White House agenda. In fact they have deliberately precipitated some of these factors in order to create or manage such a crisis. it is interesting to note they had in their control the fate of some of these factors but have been unwilling and incapable of abandoning or managing them. It seems to me that they are beyond the point of no return in their gambit but certainly cannot face any such global analysis that would cause them even to second guess their whole plan and present commitment.

With Cheney in charge I cannot think of a more hubristic determinism set in place to plunge into these factors without a chance of change. That makes it purely easy to see how this theory either works or is simply another way describing the progress of sh#t toward fan.

I think it would be interesting to see, in that hellish ideal world of Bush/Cheney, how each of these things was meant to transpire originally, back when they began to hijack the future. Likely, that is how the hardened ones still think in the inner circle.

[UpInArms]

101. maybe some clues for you here

The Case for Sedition

A case for sedition can be made against the Bush Cabal, including George Herbert Walker Bush, James Baker, Cappy Weinberger, and the late Bill Casey et al. They perpetrated a series of frauds against the public purse under the thinly disguised veil of political policies, to wit, the tremendous increase in military and defense expenditures, in order to try to defeat the "Evil Empire" of the Soviet Union, which in itself was a ruse.

This enormous multi-trillion dollar increase in defense spending was used by the Bush Cabal to suck money out of the public purse by the commission of a variety of schemes and to bleed money out of defense appropriations by incessant payments from defense contractors to a shadowy network of Republican-controlled arms companies, security research consultant companies, and offshore research institutes.

<snip>

In other words, the Bush Cabal knew that what they were doing would severely weaken the United States, both militarily and economically. The country is weakened militarily by loading US military inventories with a lot of high tech weapons systems that don't work. The country is weakened economically by many years of purported multi-hundred billion dollar deficits, claimed to be $350 or $400 hundred billion dollar deficits, but which were actually (as we have pointed out before) twice as high as claimed at any given time.

The Bush Administration just disguised the numbers through a series of smoke-and-mirror accounting tricks, as we have said before. (See Numbers Don't Lie, Bushes Do.)

<snip>

The Bush I Regime, the period from 1980-1992, is so named because Ronald Reagan was simply a figurehead. Reagan never formulated any policies on his own and he hardly had any of his own people in the cabinet. When you think about it, the only pure Reaganite was Donald Regan, and he was intimidated by George Bush. He even publicly said so. The big powerhouses in the administration, like James Baker, Bill Casey, Cappy Weinburger, Brent Scowcroft, were all old Bush Cabalists. These were not Reaganites.

<snip>

The Bush idea was (I remember Jeb used to say this) that, "Look, you hit them in every single hat they wear." That was the idea. He used to call them fodder. You hit the fodder in their hats as Taxpayers. You hit them in their hats as Investors and Savers. You hit them in their hats as Insurance Policy Owners through all these insurance scams his brother was involved in. Then there was, of course, Jeb's International Medical Corporation. Jeb also liked health care scams. But that was the idea the Bushes had, that you take the American taxpayer (which they called "One Fodder Unit," or OFU) and you hit them in every single hat they wear.

...more...

[PATRICK]

108. Groan

So many clues, too many clueless. What resides at the heart of this black hole is indeed the Bush dynasty
which essentially is a profiteering murderer that treats the human race like a flock to be fleeced and slaughtered. Multi-generational too and consistent. Worse than Napoleon who was one man, has this family been the sole catalyst for a staggering world crisis? Had the Bushes never existed would Hitler and WWII happened? Any civilization, if you have the collective will to call it that, that can be derailed and mismanaged by one or a small group of men is not only fatally vulnerable, but absurd. We have not progressed then beyond the age of fascism but in fact have become worse, all the worse for never having dealt with prior crises.

But in their mind, once the human race is fleeced into their dystopia, would the proposed crisis events have taken on a quite different form? PNAC Empire fronting for a select corporate plutocracy control. Humans, not their needs, managed by destruction of democracy and information flow. Continuing the playing off of dependent greed, competing interests, multiplying horrors in a manageable brutal format for the ruling class. warping all progress and scientific advances, etc. within the total focus required for these pyramidal ends. If the competing blocs or individual plutocrats are "undesirable" by more ruthless American dominance they each have unstable nations and nukes in their respective neighborhoods, and all those convenient, equally indefensible bio-plagues and climate change eco-disasters.

[UpInArms]

113. I do believe you nailed it with this statement

We have not progressed then beyond the age of fascism but in fact have become worse, all the worse for never having dealt with prior crises.

We (collectively) have been easily bought with shiny baubles and catchy jingles into believing that we might be able to someday be a part of the monied club - oops that club seems to be used to destroy us - it has turned into a battering ram that steals the jobs, destroys the food supply, channels ever more money into the murder and destruction of anything that might live on or near a resource that can be exploited.

We (collectively) have allowed ourselves to be blinded by "wedge issues" that have nothing to do with reality - will gays being married and having stable relationships ruin my marriage???? EEEEKKKK!! Be afraid! Be very afraid! Today's color is red! 45 minutes to doom, run! run! Spend $45 billion dollars for a one-word safety plan: RUN!

And we (collectively) need to turn all our intelligence and anger upon those that have written the laws to protect themselves from being removed from office, those that grovel for your dollars so that they can rob you blind.

:rant:

[Ghost Dog]

135. .

:-)

[MARALE]

172. Boy, do I agree with you

There are a lot of people that just don't think any more. even people I love.
We were at church this weekend and someone had printed some papers that Dobson has out to talk to your senator about gay marriage.
My husband picked one up and saw the look I had and said, "Do you want gay people marrying?"
I said I really did not care if gay people married, but what I did not want was the government telling the churches what they could or could not do. If a church wants to marry a gay couple, it has nothing to do with me, but if the government tells a church they can not do what they want to, that scares the hell out of me.
He looked at me and said, I did not think about it that way, you are right.

He usually is more level headed than that.

I think the Bush cabal wants to ruin the economy. I am not sure why they do the things they do except for short term gain for themselves. If the middle class is poor and has to work a lot to make ends meet, then these type of issues are the only ones that people have the time to understand.

We need a political type of show like survivor that can inform and entertain at the same time. sigh.

[54anickel]

175. Nice rant UIA. Touche! n/t

[ozymandius]

3. Bush's Trade Strategy Backfires as Prospects for Global Agreement Recede

Hat tip to radfringe who alerted me to the article.

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's strategy of using individual accords as stepping stones to a unified, global system of trade may be backfiring.

The bilateral pacts have increased pressure on Canada, China and Europe to seek their own separate deals at the expense of a new World Trade Organization accord, economists and lawmakers say. The result is a series of conflicting agreements that may do more harm than good, they say.

-cut-

Worst of All Worlds

That price is starting to become more evident, said Claude Barfield, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington and former consultant to the U.S. trade office. ``You may end up in the worst of all possible worlds,'' he said. ``A world made up of bilateral agreements, with multiple sets of rules and tariff rates and market fragmentation, is much less efficient.''

-cut-

Additionally, by focusing on small trade pacts, Bush has sapped support in Congress by overloading lawmakers with trade votes, said Doug Irwin, a historian and economics professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

``They've used up a lot of political capital trying to get these things through for very little payoff,'' Irwin said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/economy/politics.html

[54anickel]

31. Bwahaha, another failure for the "Little Bush". I remember posting

a couple of articles a few weeks back on how these trade negotiations were suppose to be another big part of his legacy. He has a certain number as a goal, and a Congressional deadline to meet, AND he was failing (thank Bob!)

Yep, that's our pResident - one big miserable failure!

[ozymandius]

4. WrapUp by Ike Iossif - WEEKLY CHARTS

Summary

Last week we said, "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 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."

The markets sold off hard last week prompting calls for the end of Western civilization as we know it! Well, we do not think it will happen this week; we can still enjoy driving our gas guzzling Hummers while drinking our overpriced lattes. Why? Because the markets are deeply oversold and most indicators are--at most--a day away from the bottom of their range. The deeply oversold condition combined with Options Expiration this week ought to give the market the opportunity to bounce, and we expect it to do so by Wednesday. If it doesn't, that would mean we are facing a major change in trend, and in that case, the Western civilization may not end, but those who remain bullish, they'd better run for the hills! Also please read: "Actors and Manipulators."

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

[Ghost Dog]

5. Dollar hits 11-month low in lower 109 yen in Tokyo deals

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060517/kyodo/d8hlegco0.html

(Kyodo)The U.S. dollar tested its downside in the lower 109 yen level in Tokyo on Wednesday, hitting an 11-month low on rekindled speculation of an imminent end to U.S. interest rate hikes after meager U.S. inflation data was released overnight.

After hitting the day's low of 109.02 yen shortly after 4 p.m., the dollar fetched 109.16-18 yen at 5 p.m., compared with its Tuesday 5 p.m. quotes of 109.70-80 yen in New York and 110.21-23 yen in Tokyo.

<snip>

"The basic trend for the dollar is downward amid the weak economic data," said Akihiro Tanaka, planning manager at the market trading division at Resona Bank, adding the next support will be at the 108.70 yen line.

The dollar was also pulled down along with the euro, which traded near its seven-week low against the yen after remarks by European Central Bank Governing Council member Christian Noyer, Tanaka added. Noyer indicated a favorable view of the rise in Asian currencies, while expressing concerns over a rapid rise in the euro.

Other Asian currencies, including the Indonesian rupiah and the Korean won, also are rising after the remarks, Tanaka said. "So it is no surprise that the yen has been going this far."

He also noted the influence of the rising yuan on Asian currencies, especially on the yen. On Monday, China set the yuan's official central parity rate for the dollar below the key 8.0000 line, at 7.9982, for the first time since the July 2005 revaluation. The yen is often considered a proxy for the yuan.

/more...

[Ghost Dog]

7. Japanese shares snap six-day losing streak

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060517/afp/060517082742business.html

(AFP) TOKYO - Japanese share prices snapped a six-day losing streak as bargain hunters finally emerged to scoop up stocks from their eight-week lows, dealers said. They said many investors remained nervous, however, because of the recent appreciation of the yen which hits exporters' earnings.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange's benchmark Nikkei-225 index rose 149.25 points or 0.92 percent to 16,307.67, a day after falling to the lowest closing level since March 16. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section shares gained 12.10 points or 0.74 percent to 1,657.07.

<snip>

Tachibana Securities chief strategist Kenichi Hirano said retail investors and some mutual funds here were among the active buyers. "But investors continued to fret about the adverse impact of the yen surge on exporters," he said. "As long as the dollar stays below the 110 yen mark -- widely considered as the critical point for many export-oriented companies -- few players are willing to snap up shares," he added.

Analysts said many market participants were refraining from taking positions ahead of the release later Wednesday of US April consumer price data as well as Japanese first-quarter economic growth figures due Friday. The market is also awaiting the Bank of Japan's regular policy board meeting and governor Toshihiko Fukui's press conference Friday although the central bank is widely expected to maintain zero interest rates for now.

Among the notable winners were non-ferrous metal producers, steel makers, cable manufacturers, machinery makers and telecommunications companies.

/more detail...

[Ghost Dog]

9. Key 10-year Japanese gov't bond yield briefly falls below 1.9%

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060517/kyodo/d8hldl580.html

(Kyodo) _ The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond briefly fell below 1.9 percent for the first time in about two weeks Wednesday due to growing concern over prospects for the U.S. economy and receding speculation that the Bank of Japan will end its zero-interest-rate policy in June.

In interdealer trading, the yield on the No. 279 2.0 percent issue lost 0.045 percentage point from Tuesday's close to finish the day at 1.910 percent, after briefly hitting 1.895 percent.

The price of the key June futures contract for 10-year bonds gained 0.42 point to 132.57 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, sending the yield down 0.038 percentage point to 2.069 percent.

/not much more...

[ozymandius]

6. Today's Reports

8:30 AM Core CPI Apr
Briefing Forecast 0.2%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior 0.3%

8:30 AM CPI Apr
Briefing Forecast 0.4%
Market Expects 0.5%
Prior 0.4%

10:30 AM Crude Inventories 05/12
Briefing Forecast NA
Market Expects NA
Prior 272K

[UpInArms]

35. CPI numbers in - surprised economist time

8:29 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. CPI CORE UP 2.3% IN PAST 12 MONTHS

8:29 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. CPI UP 3.5% IN PAST 12 MONTHS

8:29 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. APRIL CPI ENERGY PRICES UP 3.9%, HIGHEST SINCE JAN.

8:29 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. APRIL CORE CPI UP 0.3%, VS. 0.2% EXPECTED

8:29 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. APRIL CPI UP 0.6% VS 0.5% EXPECTED

[UpInArms]

36. U.S. April CPI up 0.6%, core rate up 0.3%

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BFD527DFC%2D6EFE%2D490E%2DB14D%2DCF81864349A2%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer prices increased a larger-than-expected 0.6% in April, led by higher energy prices, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The core consumer price index - which excludes food and energy prices- increased 0.3%, also slightly higher than expected. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.5% in April after a 0.4% gain in March. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% in April after rising 0.3% in the previous month. Energy prices rose 3.9%, the highest since January. About half of the increase in the core CPI came from rising shelter costs. The increases in the seasonally adjusted CPI should put pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates instead of pausing to allow the impact of the past 16 rate hikes to work through the economy.

[ozymandius]

38. That's going to ruin the party.

And not just for those "surprised" economists.

08:31 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.8. Now shaping up to be a lower open for equities as CPI data provide little relief on the inflation front. Total CPI rose 0.6% in April (consensus 0.5%) – the biggest rise in three months while the closely watched core rate (ex-food and energy) rose a more than expected 0.3% (consensus 0.2%), countering yesterday's tame inflation read. Bonds, which were off slightly ahead of the report, have slipped further into negative territory. The 10-yr note is now down 12 ticks to yield 5.14%.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.5. Futures versus fair value are signaling a slightly higher open for the cash market following strong earnings. Both Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Applied Materials (AMAT) beat expectations and issued upside guidance. However, the lack of an even more bullish tone can be attributed to a sense of reserve ahead of the influential CPI report, which has the potential to move stock and bonds in noticeable fashion.

[spotbird]

43. If that's what they're admitting to,

imagine what the numbers really are.

[ozymandius]

46. Honestly.

Just look at the futures numbers at post #44. The internals must suck completely.

[54anickel]

50. Heh-heh, one peek at the charts tell the story. Stock futures dive, gold

dives which means the buck must be up which means the possibility of more Fed tightening. Oh yeah, a picture's worth a thousand words.

[AnneD]

74. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: and lurkers. Gee we have been saying their numbers were off for months now. And of course you feel like you are a gloomy Gus when you watch the Business reports and everyone is making happy happy. Then when you get numbers like this-instead of feeling happy to be vindicated-you are immediately filled with a sense of dread and a desire to :puke: because you know the numbers are even WORSE than you thought. Forewarned is forearmed.;hide: Hope all you guys are positioned. I think the roulette wheel is about to spin soon and I don't think some of the leaders and advisers will be able to control it.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[UpInArms]

67. DOE Petroleum Inventories Report

10:31 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. CRUDE SUPPLY DOWN 100,000 BARRELS LAST WK: ENERGY DEPT

10:31 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. DISTILLATE SUPPLY DOWN 100,000 BARRELS: ENERGY DEPT

10:31 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. GASOLINE SUPPLY UP 1.3 MILLION BARRELS: ENERGY DEPT

[UpInArms]

71. API posts fall in gasoline, crude supplies (big variance)

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B47E4E0E3%2D7F36%2D4E58%2DB93A%2D238117F65755%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The American Petroleum Institute said motor gasoline inventories fell 2 million barrels for the week ended May 12, contrary to the 1.3 million-barrel increase reported by the Energy Department. Crude stocks fell 4.7 million barrels, the API said. But it also revised the tally for the week ended May 5 to 347.96 million from 346.8 million. The government had reported a 100,000-barrel decline for crude stocks. Distillate inventories were down 326,000 barrels, the API said.

[UpInArms]

80. Cleveland Fed: US Median CPI up 2.8% y-o-y (most since Jan '03)

11:13 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. MEDIAN CPI UP 2.8% Y-O-Y, MOST SINCE JAN. '03

11:13 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. APRIL MEDIAN CPI UP 0.3%: CLEVELAND FED

[ozymandius]

10. Oil edges up toward $70 ahead of stock data

SEOUL (Reuters) - Oil prices edged higher for a second day toward $70 a barrel on Wednesday, halting recent sharp losses after U.S. data showing milder-than-expected inflation helped soothe worries over high prices denting demand.

-cut-

"A big fall on Monday was triggered by the International Energy Agency report saying demand was being adversely affected by high prices -- a lot of that is now already built into prices," said Tony Nunan, assistant general manager of risk management at Mitsubishi Corp.

Support for crude and gold prices came from U.S. government data on Tuesday. It showed U.S. producer prices, excluding food and energy, rose less than expected last month, helping calm inflation worries and encouraging speculation the
Federal Reserve may be able to end its campaign of interest rate rises.

A partial loss of crude exports from Nigeria and concern over possible disruptions from Iran amid its nuclear dispute also continued to support oil prices.

more

[ozymandius]

12. Most Americans aren't likely to make big cuts in gasoline use

Americans are unlikely to slice their gasoline use despite high fuel prices — a striking notion viewed against the current clamor for fuel-efficient cars, the buzz about alternatives to gasoline and the anger about sending our petro dollars to hostile but oil-rich countries.

Many factors play into America's reluctance to conserve, but two facts of human behavior dominate, psychologists say: We get used to high prices that are reached incrementally. And we're more afraid of losing something than we are motivated by the advantages of giving it up.

-cut-

"In many ways, this is an insurmountable problem. There is no simple solution to get people to change their driving," says Nick Epley, psychologist and assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

-cut-

That's called "loss aversion," and it's hard to overestimate its influence, says David Dunning, psychology professor at Cornell University and executive officer of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. "In making judgments, losses loom much greater than gains."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2006-05-15-conserve-usat_x.htm?csp=34

[ozymandius]

13. As Pump Prices Rise, So Do Iffy Ways to Boost Mileage

-excerpt-

"I normally get 255 miles to the tank," said Rivera, who drives a Porsche SUV. After popping the gas additive BioPerformance Fuel into his tank several times, he said, "my mileage jumped up to 305. I didn't research it, but it worked for me, so I shared it with my friends."

-cut-

But neither Rivera nor his friends could explain how BioPerformance Fuel lowered emissions or increased gas mileage, citing only anecdotal evidence and referring questions to the company's website. They could not provide the corporate office's phone number — which was also not available on the website — explaining that the company does all of its business online.

Rivera is one of many independent distributors around the nation selling BioPerformance Fuel, which is sold in a pill or powder. According to its website, BioPerformance Inc., with corporate headquarters in Irving, Texas, started in December 2005 and claims to have made more than $25 million in sales.

-cut-

The myriad devices on the market work in a variety of ways: bleeding air into the carburetor, heating the fuel, enhancing the vaporization of the air-fuel mixture, to name a few. In 2005, Consumer Reports tested three products — Tornado, Fuel Genie and Platinum Gas Saver, with prices ranging from $70 to $119 a pop — and found that none of them enhanced fuel economy significantly.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wondergas15may15,1,5904098.story?coll=la-headlines-business

[UpInArms]

61. June Crude @ $69.50 bbl - June NatGas @ $6.345 mln btus

10:02 AM ET 5/17/06 U.S. APRIL GASOLINE DEMAND FALLS 1.9% VS. YEAR AGO: API

10:02 AM ET 5/17/06 JUNE CRUDE FALLS 3C TO $69.50/BRL AHEAD OF U.S. SUPPLY DATA

10:02 AM ET 5/17/06 JUNE NATURAL GAS UP 9.3C, OR 1.5%, AT $6.345/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

62. U.S. April gasoline demand falls 1.9% vs. year ago: API

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=423f4a79-67ff-420f-a281-ba89da34cbbe&siteid=mktw&dist=MorePulse

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. gasoline deliveries, a proxy for demand, fell 1.9% in April compared to a year ago, the American Petroleum Institute said in a monthly report issued Wednesday. In total, petroleum deliveries for April were down 1.5% from a year earlier, the API said. Refinery utilization averaged 87.7% in April, down from 92.6% in the year-ago period, it said. The API also pointed out that with the transition this spring to a greater use of ethanol in gasoline, "more inventory is likely to appear as 'blending components' rather than as 'finished gasoline," because ethanol is typically blended into gasoline as the product leaves the terminal for the retail outlets.

[Ghost Dog]

11. European stocks lifted by strong earnings

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d785397a-e56e-11da-b309-0000779e2340.html
Published: May 17 2006 07:33 | Last updated: May 17 2006 10:12

European and UK equity markets rallied on Wednesday as strong gains in Asia, upbeat earnings and rallying mining stocks helped offset the effects of a further slide for the US dollar and a tick up in oil prices.

By mid morning, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.3 per cent to 1,351.66, while Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax added 0.4 per cent to 5,876.4. The CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4 per cent to 5,101.59 and London’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.2 per cent to 5,855.0.

/more...

[Ghost Dog]

96. European shares suffer biggest fall since Oct 02

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/investing/MarketReportArticle.aspx?type=eurMktRpt&storyID=2006-05-17T154204Z_01_L17773141_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-CLOSE-URGENT.XML
Wed May 17, 2006 4:42 PM BST

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - European shares suffered their biggest points fall since October 2002 on Wednesday to close at over a three-month low as strong U.S. inflation data sparked fresh fears over rising interest rates.

The session's slide wiped over 180 billion euros off the value of Europe's top 300 companies.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares unofficially closed 2.6 percent or 35 points weaker at 1,312.21 points.

"The market was due for a correction and I think it may take another few days for it to settle down a bit," said a trader.

The market had been trading flat before data showed headline U.S. consumer prices rose by 0.6 percent in April with core prices up an unexpectedly strong 0.3 percent, fuelling worries the Federal Reserve will continue tightening monetary policy.

/more...

[Ghost Dog]

100. Here's the closing Europe ("blue chip") picture:

Zurich SMI 7658.52 -2.89%
Paris CAC 4920.31 -3.17%
Frankfurt DAX 5652.72 -3.40%
Madrid IBEX 11,248.20 -3.00%
Amsterdam AEX 436.47 -3.24%
London FTSE-100 5,675.50 -2.92%
Europe FTSE EUROTOP 2,787.33 -2.66%
Europe DJ EURO STOXX50 3,605.37 -3.35%

[Ghost Dog]

171. Ah. I see nobody cries for Argentina.

In the self-fixated USA.

[ozymandius]

14. Economic Reports Mixed Picture for Fed

WASHINGTON - Galloping energy prices, hotter industrial production and cooler housing activity are painting a mixed economic picture for Federal Reserve policymakers to ponder.

The latest batch of economic reports released Tuesday underscored the difficult crosscurrents Fed policymakers must wade through in charting the course of interest rates.

A Labor Department report showed wholesale prices jumped by 0.9 percent in April, the most in seven months. The main culprit behind the rise: soaring costs for gasoline and other energy products.

-cut-

Global competition is forcing some U.S. companies to absorb higher prices for energy and raw materials out of their profits rather than through boosting customers' prices, said Kenneth Beauchemin, economist at Global Insight.

more

[ozymandius]

15. Bernanke Urges Caution on Hedge Funds

WASHINGTON - Financial authorities must stay attuned to any potential risks posed by the growth of hedge funds, an investment domain of the wealthy that has become more popular with smaller investors, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested Tuesday.

"Authorities should and will try to ensure that the lapses in risk management of 1998 do not happen again," Bernanke said, referring to the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, a hedge fund that had received a $3.6 billion private bailout.

Bernanke made his remarks to a conference in Sea Island, Georgia, on hedge funds and risk organized by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. A copy of his remarks was distributed in Washington.

While Bernanke made a case for close monitoring of hedge funds, he shied away from advocating that they be directly and more heavily regulated like banks.

more

[ozymandius]

33. Market power of hedge funds stirs regulators

If you are a hedge fund manager, your ears were burning on Tuesday. It's not Big Oil, but the $1 trillion hedge fund industry is on the hot seat in the run-up in commodity prices.

Hedge funds, which are private, secretive investment pools aimed primarily at wealthy investors and institutions, became faddish after the stock market hit the rocks in 2000.

A growing number of ordinary business people, from home builders to electrical equipment-makers, are beginning the feel the effects of having basic commodities, such as industrial metals and energy, become the fodder for quick-buck speculators who run hedge funds.

But the political power of hedge funds comes not from fund managers but from the major banks and exchanges that profit from the funds' trading and borrowing business. Hedge funds account for a third of the action at the New York and London stock exchanges.

more

[KoKo]

81. Why do I keep hearing this annoying voice telling me Hedge Funds

are busily creating the next "Bubble" which will be Commodities...Small investors start chasing the ETF's just like the QQQ's and Spyders and Diamonds of the past.

Didn't "Financial Sense" have several articles about how our economy is now dependent on creating ever more "Bubbles" each one replacing the last when the air start's to leak out as it now is in the great Real Estate/Asset Boom.

We are getting close to the point when there will be nothing left to inflate. Commodities might be the last great Hindenburg... :-( Just my opinion on this but my gut is really giving me indigestion on this...

[UpInArms]

102. from the MSM and the Fed - soothing noises

:hide:

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T163450Z_01_N17257496_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-TREASURY-HEDGEFUNDS.XML

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - The flood of assets into hedge fund is not a fad, but a reaction of markets to find new, more lucrative forms of investment, U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary Emil Henry said on Wednesday.

"I am comfortable saying that hedge funds aren't filling some passing fancy of a dilettante investor class -- like hoola hoops or pompadours or disco music," Henry said in remarks prepared for delivery to the Exchequer Club.

...more...

[KoKo]

163. How old is this guy? "hoola hoops and pompadours, disco music?"

Sounds like he's senile or was locked away in a closet for about 35 or more years and they just let him out! GACK! US Treasury Assistant.

[Ghost Dog]

173. Well, hoola-hoops were the rage a good 43 years ago,

I'm just old enough to recall... Like, Yo-yos too.

Then, the (Western) world appeared to change, a little...

So, you have a point.

[ozymandius]

16. Stock index futures flat before CPI data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors braced for consumer price data for an indication about the pace of inflation and the outlook for interest rates.

Technology shares may get a boost after Dow component Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - news), the No. 2 computer maker, posted higher quarterly profit late on Tuesday.

The consumer price index for April follows by a day another government report that showed producer prices rose more than expected last month, but core producer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, showed a rise less than economists forecast.

-cut-

"The PPI put markets on hold insomuch as we were looking ahead to see if there's a pass-through into CPI," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "If we do have a confirmation of higher prices today after yesterday's higher-than-expected headline PPI, that would be concern in early market trading."

more

[UpInArms]

17. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 83.90 Change -0.18 (-0.21%)

Dollar Gains Do Not Last Long as Core Prices Fall Short of Expectations

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/Dollar_Gains_Do_Not_Last_1147811670532.html

In the current market environment, the dollar never seems to be able hold onto its gains for long. The fact that economic data is far from resoundingly positive has put to question how much longer the Federal Reserve can remain hawkish. Today, headline producer prices increased more than expected in the month of April as energy prices skyrocket, but at the same time, the growth in core prices remained subdued, rising by a weaker 0.1 percent. This makes core consumer prices even more important tomorrow as the Fed places greater emphasis on the core component of the report over the more volatile headline component. If core prices do not meet up to expectations and rise only modestly, even a very strong headline number may not be good enough to turn it into a dollar positive report. Furthermore, the housing market is also showing strong signs of weakness. Yesterday, we saw a sharp dive in the NAHB housing market report which reflects the sentiment of builders. Today, we saw a 7.4 percent drop in housing starts. Both were far weaker than expected. We have long said that if the housing market goes so will the Fed’s plans to raise interest rates any further. The only good news today was the industrial production report which rose a more than expected 0.8 percent. Capacity utilization also increased to 81.9 percent, a six year high. Although this should keep the labor market supported for the time being, it is irrefutable that the outlook for the US economy is murkier. The key will be how consumers respond to the weaker readings from the housing market. With more than a month between now and the next Fed meeting, we have plenty of time to assess the health of the economy. So far, one hint may be today’s Redbook retail sales report, which fell for the second week in a row.

...more...

[ozymandius]

23. Dollar slips ahead of US inflation data

The dollar fell to an eight-month low against the yen and lost ground against the euro on Wednesday ahead of eagerly anticipated US consumer price data.

The data, due at 1230 GMT, were expected to show a 0.2 per cent rise in core US consumer price inflation in April, although analysts warned that a weaker number could further dampen expectations of a rise in US interest rates at June's FOMC meeting given Tuesday's unexpectedly weak US producer price and housing data.

"Wednesday's consumer price data is critical to investor sentiment," said Mansoor Mohi-uddin, chief FX strategist at UBS. " A weak number will increase expectations that the Fed will pause in June while paradoxically a high number may also hurt the dollar if investors feel that the Fed is getting behind the curve on inflation."

-cut-

Instead, traders focused on a statement from the European Central Bank's Christian Noyer. Mr Noyer, a governing council member, echoed last month's call from the G7 for Asian currencies to appreciate, demanding more Asian currency flexibility and saying that the G7 did not see a change in the euro's rate against the dollar as part of the solution to the problem of global current account imbalances.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20060517/bs_ft/fto051720060730198439

[Ghost Dog]

107. Guardian comment on ECB's Christian Noyer here:

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1776289,00.html
Fears for eurozone if dollar crashes

· ECB boss warns of future damage to export demand
· Poor US economic data adds to the pressure

Larry Elliott, economics editor
Wednesday May 17, 2006
The Guardian

The European Central Bank warned last night of the dangers to the world economy of a plunge in the dollar as the US currency came under renewed pressure on foreign exchange markets.

Christian Noyer, a member of the ECB's governing council, said a marked depreciation in the greenback would be bad for growth in the 12-nation eurozone and run counter to agreements made by the G7 industrial nations.

Mr Noyer's remarks, made in an interview on Reuters TV, came as a business survey in Germany showed that a stronger euro and higher commodity prices may already be hurting confidence.

The ZEW expectations index - a barometer of Germany's future economic health - fell sharply from 62.7 in April to 50 this month, its fourth consecutive decline. Analysts said Germany - the eurozone's biggest economy - had been boosted by strong demand for its exports, but that this trend would be jeopardised if the single currency continued to rise.

<snip>

Mr Noyer said he did not believe the euro's rise was the start of the sort of disorderly unwinding of global imbalances feared by some economists. Any such development would be counter-productive, he added.

"I exclude that kind of development. I don't think it would happen but if it were to happen it would not anyhow correct the imbalances, it would aggravate global imbalances. This would be worrying for world growth ... This is certainly not something which is hoped or wished for by any authority within the G7."

The euro is up almost 6% against the dollar since the start of April. "If we had big movements in the foreign exchange market which could hamper the economic growth in the euro area, it would run exactly contrary to what is deemed as necessary by the G7 to help rebalancing the global economy," Mr Noyer said.

/more...

[UpInArms]

41. Dollar remains lower after CPI data

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B9E98F38F%2DB70C%2D4B14%2DB9B2%2DEAAD5ACEFF04%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar initially pared some losses in the wake of slightly hotter-than-expected consumer inflation data, before weakening again versus major rivals as bearish sentiment towards the greenback continued to prevail in the currency market. U.S. consumer prices increased a larger-than-expected 0.6% in April, the Labor Department said. The core consumer price index - which excludes food and energy prices- increased 0.3%, also slightly higher than expected. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.5% and the core rate to rise 0.2%. "The relative lack of reaction could be a good signal of how bearish overall U.S. dollar sentiment remains. From here, dollar bears could well be emboldened should fresh dollar gains not be forthcoming quickly," said research firm Action Economics. The euro was last up 0.4% at $1.2902, while the dollar was down 0.6% at 109.05 yen.

[54anickel]

53. Hmmm, that's a pretty big hint to the Fed that interest rate differentials

ain't gonna cut it anymore. Seems the deficits are going to start to matter, eh?

[54anickel]

18. Gold Resumes Rally as Dollar Falls, Investors Return to Metals

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=alZ839ZOOSeo&refer=top_world_news

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Gold rose in London, heading for the biggest gain since the terrorist attacks on the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, as the dollar fell against the euro, making the precious metal more attractive as an alternative investment.

Bullion, which fell the most since 1993 two days ago after a nine-week rally, gained almost 39 percent this year while the dollar weakened 8.9 percent against the euro. The dollar is trading near a one-year low versus the euro on expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will pause its interest-rate cycle after 16 straight increases.

``This market is hit, inch by inch, by a tsunami of money from institutional investors,'' Ross Norman, a director of TheBullionDesk.com, in Saffron Walden, U.K., said in an interview today. ``It's almost a buyers-only market.''

snip>

``The dollar, and also the firmer oil price are clearly providing the underpinning for bulls coming back into the market,'' Norman said. Following Monday's sell-off, ``more investors are willing to take up the positions of those leaving this market.''

Gold surged almost 70 percent in the past year and climbed to a 26-year high of $730.40 on May 12, partly as investors bought the metal as an anti-inflationary hedge amid record oil prices. Bullion also gained as some investors purchased gold as a haven as the standoff between the U.S. and Iran over the latter's nuclear research program intensified.

more...

[markam]

65. both silver and gold have dropped

all morning. Not huge, but it seems that they should have spiked today. Somebody is pushing buttons somewhere.

[54anickel]

19. Moody's Plans to Lift Ratings on Most of $1.2 Trillion of Loans

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aHfAkgdvtWWA&refer=us

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Moody's Investors Service plans to raise credit ratings on most of the $1.2 trillion of loans it monitors, potentially saving U.S. borrowers as much as $4.6 billion a year in interest.

Loans deserve higher ratings because lenders usually get paid more than twice as much as bondholders when companies default on their debt or go bankrupt, said Kenneth Emery, director of syndicated loan research at New York-based Moody's. Ratings on loans will rise one to two levels on average when the new system is rolled out later this year, he said.

U.S. companies borrowed a record $195 billion of high-yield loans so far this year as banks charged the lowest premiums ever compared with lending benchmarks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Standard & Poor's. A two-step upgrade by Moody's may reduce those premiums by about 64 basis points, or $6.4 million for every $1 billion borrowed, according to S&P.

``I prefer loans to bonds,'' said Brian Arsenault, a high- yield debt strategist at Morgan Stanley in New York, in an interview yesterday. ``It seems like a no-brainer that in a default you have a better recovery rate from a loan.''

more...

[54anickel]

20. Honda Will Build Sixth North American Assembly Plant

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aw51aa4ZRiic&refer=asia

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Honda Motor Co., the world's second- largest automaker by market value, will invest $400 million to build its sixth automobile factory in the U.S. to meet rising demand for fuel-efficient cars.

The company will also spend 70 billion yen ($639 million) to build its first Japanese factory since 1976 to assemble cars in Yorii, Saitama prefecture, the Tokyo-based automaker said in a statement.

President Takeo Fukui is using record profits to expand in North America, the company's most profitable market. U.S. sales of the Civic model jumped 22 percent in the four months ended in April as rising gasoline prices prompted consumers to avoid light trucks and sport utility vehicles built by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.

``Honda clearly needs more capacity to meet strong demand for its fuel-efficient vehicles in North America and it's the ideal timing for the automaker to expand after just posting record earnings,'' said Norihito Kanai, an analyst at Meiji Dresdner Asset Management Co., whose firm manages $2.5 billion in equities.

more...

[ozymandius]

28. GM to scale back UK plant, 900 jobs to go

ELLESMERE PORT (Reuters) - General Motors will cut 900 jobs at its plant in northwest England to boost productivity, dealing the latest blow to Britain's carmaking industry.

GM, the world's largest carmaker by volume, said on Wednesday it would axe one of three shifts at its Ellesmere Port plant, affecting about 900 jobs as it seeks to compensate for an expected decline in sales of its Astra compact model.

-cut-

"Our industry simply cannot afford to stop continually improving productivity in its Western European car plants," GM Europe President Carl-Peter Forster, who angered workers after flagging the job cuts last week, said.

The cuts, to take effect later in the summer, follow plans announced by Peugeot Citroen last month to close its central England plant, eliminating 2,300 jobs, and more than 5,000 job losses when British carmaker MG Rover collapsed last year.

more

[UpInArms]

76. GM shakes up its accounting office

11:05 AM ET 5/17/06 GM ACCTG CHIEF PETER BIBLE TO ALSO RESIGN, EFFECTIVE JUNE 1

11:04am 05/17/06 GM to combine posts after controller's planned retirement - MarketWatch.com

11:03am 05/17/06 GM to combine controller, chief accounting officer positions - MarketWatch.com

11:03am 05/17/06 GM to restructure its corporate controller's office - MarketWatch.com

[ozymandius]

30. UAW OKs strike at Delphi

The United Auto Workers said Tuesday that its 24,000 members at Delphi Corp. voted overwhelmingly to authorize UAW leaders to call a strike if the bankrupt auto supplier tries to impose wage cuts.

More than 95 percent of the UAW members at 21 Delphi plants voted to back the measure, the union said in a short statement.

-cut-

Delphi has asked Judge Robert Drain to void existing labor contracts with the UAW and other unions in order to slash payroll costs and close factories as part of a sweeping reorganization of its U.S. operations.

But if that happens, the UAW now has the option to strike Delphi and shut off the supply of parts to its biggest customer and former corporate parent, General Motors Corp. Still, any walkout would be weeks away, pending the outcome of the deliberations in bankruptcy court.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060517/AUTO01/605170337/1148

[54anickel]

34. Uh-oh. Wonder if GM will get down graded to "poop"? Wasn't there

an article a while back stating this strike could lead to bankruptcy for GM?

[ozymandius]

39. sure was

Bankruptcy hearing could seal GM's fate

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

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

-cut-

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

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

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

[54anickel]

40. Thanks Ozy! n/t

[Jim Warren]

64. Anybody know where the new plant will be? nt

[UpInArms]

68. Honda says U.S. plant to be located in Midwest

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T142524Z_01_N17234979_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-HONDA-PLANT-URGENT.XML

DETROIT, May 17 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co Ltd. (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) is in the final stages of securing a U.S. plant site in the Midwest, company executives said on Wednesday on a conference call.

Honda has said it would hire over 1,500 factory workers to staff a new U.S. assembly plant it expects to bring on line by 2008 at a cost of about $400 million.

Honda, which has been gaining U.S. market share, did not identify the location for its new assembly plant which several states have been competing to land.

Representatives from Indiana and Ohio have said they have been in negotiations with Honda about its plant.

[TrogL]

122. They're also building an engine plant near Toronto

[54anickel]

21. The Real Assault on America (Paul Craig Roberts)

http://vdare.com/roberts/060515_assault.htm

The neoconservative Bush regime has adroitly used 9/11 to create fear of terrorism among Americans that blinds Americans to the Bush regime’s assault on our constitutional system. Americans have meekly acquiesced to the Bush regime’s brutal assaults on civil liberties, human rights, the separation of powers, and statutory law, because Americans have been brainwashed to believe that the “war on terror” takes precedence and cannot be waged under the rules established by the Founding Fathers.

By elevating its “war on terror” above the US Constitution, the neoconservative Bush regime has made itself a far greater threat to Americans than are foreign terrorists. Two constitutional scholars, Timothy Lynch and Gene Healy, document the Bush regime’s forceful assault on the US Constitution in “Power Surge: The Constitutional Record of George W. Bush” released May 3 by the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. (available at).

Lynch and Healy show that Bush has failed in his most important responsibility “to preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution and, thus, is in violation of his sworn oath of office. The two scholars document the Bush regime’s “ceaseless push for power, unchecked by either the Courts or Congress” on issues ranging from war powers, habeas corpus, and federalism to free speech and unwarranted surveillance. Bush’s assault on the Constitution “should disturb people from across the political spectrum.”

Alas, it doesn’t. Many Americans believe that Bush’s dictatorial powers will only be applied to terrorists. This belief is extremely foolish, because it means that “the liberty of every American rests on nothing more than the grace of the White House.”

more...

[UpInArms]

22. Chopper Ben plays Meanspin in refusing to look at Hedge Funds

Fed Chairman Sees Risks in Stiffer Hedge Fund Regulation

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/business/17bernankeweb.html?ex=1305518400&en=1d271da46b1ec3a4&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

SEA ISLAND, Ga., May 16 (Reuters) — Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, said on Tuesday that stiffer hedge fund regulation could make financial markets less stable, as he backed the current focus on ensuring that hedge fund trading partners manage their risks well.

Mr. Bernanke argued the approach followed since the 1998 collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, which was seen as a threat to the broad financial system, had been effective.

"Authorities' primary task is to guard against a return of the weak market discipline that left major market participants overly vulnerable to market shocks," Mr. Bernanke said in remarks prepared for delivery at a conference in Sea Island sponsored by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank.

"A risk of any prescriptive regulatory regime is that by creating moral hazard in the marketplace, it leaves the system less, rather than more, stable," he said.

<snip>

Hedge funds — private investment pools that cater mostly to wealthy investors, endowments and pension funds — often pursue complicated trading strategies and are big players in the market for highly sophisticated financial derivatives.

The loosely regulated industry is estimated to have assets topping $1 trillion, but funds often leverage their assets and use borrowed money to take even larger positions.

...more...

[54anickel]

45. Can't be biting the hand that feeds ya. Seems there are Greenspin

nourished monsters lurking everywhere these days. Check out this Daily Reckoning piece on Fannie and Freddie. Didn't Snow and Greenspin spout off a couple of years back that the GSEs were NOT too big to fail, hinting the gov't would not step in? These things have gotten so huge and out of hand it's not even a matter of whether or not the gov't WILL step in to clean up after them, there's just no way they CAN anymore. The rest of the world will not sit by while Chopper Ben fires up the printing presses for that amount of money. There will come a time when they'll decide to cut their losses.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/28/4956/2006-05-17.asp?wid=28&nid=4956

snip>

Of course, in keeping with the general sentiment of our government whenever exorbitant sums of money are involved - no one batted an eye at this figure. The Washington Post reports:

“Contrast the $800 million cleanup cost with the $62 million annual budget of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the agency in charge of ‘regulating’ Fannie and Freddie. That office, which plans to issue its final report on Fannie Mae by the end of the month, has a staff of 225 people, not one-tenth the number Fannie has hired for the cleanup.

“Congress dares not complain because it is culpable. Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's lobbyists have so totally ingratiated themselves with lawmakers that they've been able to fend off regulatory initiatives for the past two decades.”

So, not a word from the world improvers on the Hill, but surely Wall Street would have something to say, right?

Wrong. The Post continues, “Wall Street, like Washington, has no choice but to support Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, no matter what. If they failed, they could take down the stock market, the bond market, the housing market and perhaps the entire U.S. economy because their stocks and bonds are so widely held and they are so essential to the mortgage market. No one can afford to let that happen. That's why Congress is so afraid of grabbing the regulatory reins and why Wall Street keeps touting Fannie and Freddie as good investments.

more...

[UpInArms]

47. doesn't Fannie have to come up with a way to clean up $10 Bln in

accounting errors this week?

[54anickel]

49. Yeah, but somehow I'm thinking they'll get another pass. They seem

to hold an awful lot of these -

[UpInArms]

51. hmmm.... Report On Fannie Mae's Accounting Problems Ready For Release

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7003599932

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Authorities are ready to release a report on a three-year investigation into Fannie Mae's (FNM) accounting and management problems.

As a result, officials at FNM, are canceling appointments, including chief executive, Daniel H. Mudd, who passed on a scheduled keynote luncheon speech at the UBS Global Financial Services Conference in New York.

Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith says, "In light of yesterday's announcement, the company has decided to cancel any presentations to investor conferences until the release of the report on May 23."

Peter Niculescu, Fannie Mae's executive vice president of capital markets, has also skipped out on a speech, this one at the Bear Stearns Mortgage Finance and Housing Markets Conference in New York.

<snip>

The investigation came after an accounting scandal that caused $10.8 billion in errors.

...more at link...

[54anickel]

57. Ewww, cancelling all sales pitches? Time to circle the wagons, try

to grease a few palms, or maybe show the investigators how bad it really is in an attempt to scare them into backing off...that seemed to work for the derivative guys? :shrug:


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/3865048.html
Fannie Mae to Suspend Issuing Securities

WASHINGTON — Fannie Mae said Monday that it would temporarily suspend issuing certain medium-term debt securities until May 23, the day its chief regulator will release a massive special examination into the mortgage company's accounting and management problems.

Fannie Mae has acknowledged that it must correct $10.8 billion in accounting errors, and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report is expected to be sharply critical of the company.

"OFHEO has requested that representatives of Fannie Mae review the draft report and we will comply with our regulator's request," the government-sponsored enterprise said in a press release. "Fannie Mae will be prohibited by law from disclosing the contents of the report until its public release by OFHEO. As a result, we have temporarily suspended our public offering of Benchmark and medium-term debt securities until May 23rd."

Fannie Mae said Friday that it would suspend issuing noncallable benchmark notes in May _ the first time it's elected not to issue since December 2004 _ but did not indicate why. Monday's announcement indicates that the company will suspend issuing even more types of debt, though the company will still issue short-term debt for liquidity purposes.

snip>

OFHEO released a similar examination into Freddie Mac in December 2003, and fined the McLean, Va.-based company $125 million as a result of the agency's findings.

[54anickel]

75. I have no idea what this all means, but it seems interesting...

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/ackerman/current.html

snip>

...I worked at exiting an option spread in Fannie Mae – a June 50–May 50 put spread that I’d legged into a few weeks ago for a quarter (0.25). The spread itself has performed nicely, quintupling in value as the stock has fallen from the mid-$50s down to around $50. But just try to get out of it. How many at-the-money, expiring puts do you think traded yesterday in Fannie Mae, one of the largest financial institutions in the world? Would you believe fewer than 30? Even the May 50 calls traded under 100 contracts.

My friend Larry, editor of The Amernick Letter, noticed it too: “I am watching weird option activity on the CBOE,” he wrote in an e-mail after the close. “Usually, volume in Open Interest troughs on the Monday after the expiration date and builds to a peak on the Friday of options expiration. This has occurred during every three-month option cycle since 1995 (the period for which I have comprehensive daily option data).

Meaning of Contraction?

“Yesterday's CBOE option data recorded a contraction of 22 million contracts! As I stated earlier, I would expect to see this type of volume contraction next Monday. May options expire this Friday. Therefore, I think I'm witnessing an early race for the sidelines by institutional option players. Certain players are heading to the sidelines to stay out of the way of Friday's expiration. Maybe these people believe that Friday's expiration will be accompanied by an increase in volatility. You know options better than anyone I know. Perhaps, you could explain the sudden squaring of positions so soon before the expiration date?”

I’d move to the sidelines myself if I could, Larry. But my hunch is that the expiring May puts in my Fannie Mae calendar spread are going to give me a good whipping on Friday, as FNM shares oscillate around $50 like an eel trapped in a garden hose....

[Ghost Dog]

110. Don't want no "moral hazard in the marketplace"

...That sounds just like what immoral people would say.

[UpInArms]

24. HP Layoff Coming: H-P to consolidate global data centers; cutting to 6 fr

H-P to consolidate global data centers; cutting to 6 from 85

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BFF4A355D%2D5EB3%2D4474%2DA97A%2DBEF5DF6C387D%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ 31.11, -0.52, -1.6% ) Wednesday said it plans to consolidate its global data centers in a move it expects to reduce its information technology spending by $1 billion in the coming years. The Dow component, which reported better than expected results for the second quarter after Tuesday's closing bell, said it anticipates restructuring operations to have six larger data centers in three U.S. cities, down from its current 85 centers worldwide. H-P said the consolidation will result in deployment of its information technology infrastructure in two facilities each in Atlanta, Houston and Austin, Texas. The stock rose 1.4% to $32.50 in pre-market action on Instinet.

[stop the bleeding]

25. Good morning everyone and Thank you for all of the work that

you all do:applause:

[UpInArms]

26. g'morning, stop the bleeding!

looks like there will be lots of movement in the markets today :eyes:

:donut:

[ozymandius]

27. good morning stop the bleeding

and thank you very much!

:hi: Ozy

[UpInArms]

29. Treasuries fall on profit-taking ahead of CPI

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T122053Z_01_N17288055_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS.XML

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury prices fell on Wednesday on profit-taking ahead of a report on U.S. consumer inflation which could help investors to decide whether the Federal Reserve might pause after two years of rate increases.

"It's all going to be about the CPI today," said Lundy Wright, head of Treasuries and agency trading Nomura Securities International in New York.

The median forecast on the headline consumer price index (CPI) among analysts polled by Reuters was a 0.5 percent increase in April from March.

The poll's median forecast on the CPI core rate, which excludes food and energy prices, was a 0.2 percent rise in April.

The market will fall if the CPI core surprises on the upside fanning inflation fears, and will rise if the core rate comes below expectations, Nomura's Wright said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

54. Printing Press Hums: Fed adds reserves through overnight system repos

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T133049Z_01_N17341877_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS.XML

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it added temporary reserves to the banking system through overnight system repurchase agreements.

Federal funds were trading at 5 percent at the time of the operation, the Fed's current target for the benchmark overnight lending rate.

For details on the operation, see http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

[UpInArms]

60. SnowJob Froths at Mouth - Raves Maniacally during Testimony to Congress

10:00 AM ET 5/17/06 SNOW: U.S. CANNOT RESOLVE GLOBAL IMBALANCES ALONE

10:00 AM ET 5/17/06 SNOW DEFENDS NOT NAMING CHINA AS CURRENCY MANIPULATOR

10:00 AM ET 5/17/06 SNOW ATTACKS PROTECTIONISTS, NOT CHINA

10:00 AM ET 5/17/06 TREASURY'S SNOW REPEATS NEED FOR CHINA TO ADJUST CURRENCY

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B4C06CF4A%2DB394%2D4525%2D84C9%2D45C2C91BD8A1%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Treasury Secretary John Snow told lawmakers on Wednesday that countries like China "need to play a more active role in managing global imbalances" by adopting policies to encourage domestic consumption, including greater flexibility of currency values. Last week, the Treasury Department released its semiannual report on currencies, which did not name China as a currency manipulator as many had urged. Much of Snow's testimony to the House Financial Services Committee was devoted to a strong defense of open trade amid growing protectionist sentiment around the globe.

I do believe that the marbles have all fallen out :eyes:

[UpInArms]

70. Spittle and Lies still flying

10:35 AM ET 5/17/06 SNOW: CORE INFLATION REMAINS WELL CONTAINED

[UpInArms]

73. Now it's really getting comical in its own pathetic way

10:50 AM ET 5/17/06 SNOW WILL NOT COMMENT ON RUMORS ABOUT HIS DEPARTURE

10:50 AM ET 5/17/06 REP. FRANK: BUSH, OTHERS HAVE UNDERCUT SNOW'S CREDIBILITY

[UpInArms]

78. US's SnowJob dismisses reports he leaving as "fiction"

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T150856Z_01_WAT005577_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-SNOW-FICTION-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow dismissed on Wednesday recurring reports of his expected departure as "a lot of fiction" and said they had not undermined his credibility.

"I think we've seen a lot of fiction here and it doesn't do any good for me to comment on rumors and speculation," Snow said in response to a question from Rep. Barney Frank, a Massachusetts Democrat, during a hearing in the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

These jokers would not know the truth if it slapped them in the face.

[ozymandius]

32. Labels Sue XM Over Its Device

Major record labels sued XM Satellite Radio on Tuesday, alleging that a new device the company sells allowing subscribers to digitally record songs violates music copyrights.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, is the latest salvo in a battle over the size of licensing fees the fledgling satellite radio industry should pay music companies when enabling customers to record.

At issue is XM's new Inno radio — a $400 device that receives XM's 170 satellite stations and can record 50 hours of music.

-cut-

The record companies contend that because the Inno and related devices allow XM listeners to pick and choose which songs to save — creating playlists of as many as 1,000 tunes — XM is in effect a music distributor. As a result, they argue, XM should pay the higher fees demanded of online music retailers such as Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-xm17may17,1,5072598.story?coll=la-mininav-business

[ozymandius]

37. Tech lifts futures, inflation could spoil

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Futures were getting a lift from strong tech earnings ahead of a much anticipated inflation report due before markets open.

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a higher open for U.S. markets, although they were off from earlier highs reached after better than expected earnings gain from computer and peripheral maker Hewlett-Packard (Research) as well as from chip equipment maker Applied Materials (Research).

Shares of HP gained nearly 4 percent in after-hours trading following the report Tuesday, while Applied Materials initially rose, then fell on revenue guidance that was lower than forecasts.

The direction of futures could change after 8:30 a.m. ET when the U.S. Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the government's main inflation measure will be up 0.5 percent in April on higher energy prices, following a 0.4 percent rise in March. The so called core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, is forecast to be up 0.2 percent.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/17/markets/stockswatch/index.htm

[UpInArms]

42. Willie: US$: Revolt, Downgrade & Disorder

http://news.goldseek.com/GoldenJackass/1147878240.php

Anyone who cannot detect rumblings with more magnitude than early volcanic tremors is brain dead, plain and simple. For a full year, the USDollar enjoyed a sizeable counter-trend bounce. It relieved the long-term oversold condition. In usual times, in typical markets, such a period of time would offer the fundamentals an opportunity to catch up, for the remedy to work its medicine, for the condition to heal itself. In the case of the USDollar, the trade deficit worsened. The Jan2005 trade deficit was a grandiose $58.3 billion, pretty doggone rotten. By Jan2006, a full twelve months for the “fix” to take hold, to work through the system, the trade deficit had ballooned to a shocking, yawning $68.6 billion, as nothing but more metastasis flowed their the body economic. Our Pied Piper Sir Alan Greenspan, who skipped town before the upcoming crises, much like Robert Rubin skipped town in June2000, proclaimed the lame line that financed deficits were a sign of flexibility. Plenty of flexibility is manifested in a bank overdraft on a stretched credit line awaiting default also. The Maestro and GoldBugs should be aware, that a revolt, an insurrection, a mutiny is in progress. The greenback is being rejected, perhaps as much as the USGovt leadership is getting a global vote of “NO CONFIDENCE.” Polls internal to US shores show low confidence in our leadership trio, in parallel.



THE HEGEMON, NOT POKEY-MON

In recent months a new phenomenon is unmistakable, dangerous, ominous, and so real. The world is not only sensing the unfixable nature of all things USDollar-based, it has begun to create alliances to protect itself from the US hegemon. No longer does the United States rely upon innovation, investment, and work, but rather upon attempts at “full spectrum dominance,” deceptive coercion, and blatant inflation. Refer not to the pocket monster, aka pokey-mon. The hegemon is the dominant big guy who plays dirty, throws his weight around, ignores the law, and dares a reaction. No, he even retaliates in the face of warranted protective response. For those who do not understand this “hegemon” term, think of the nastiest evilest wretchedest bully who didn’t just steal school lunch money, but who would kidnap your daughter to ensure debt payment in shylock setting. Think of dark shadowy men who threaten and deploy the most sinister of weapons against a perceived enemy. From the other side of the chess board, recall Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian writer thought to inspire a dissident movement against the Soviets from London. He was assassinated by a KGB agent using an implanted ricin poison capsule by means of an umbrella on a city street sidewalk.



Think of installing tyrants in foreign lands, rich in resources, for the unexpressed unsanctioned purpose of securing contracts for commodity supply to fulfill the needs of the insatiable USEconomy. Think of criminal access granted to gold miners for leasing and selling the US national gold treasure, at nil interest rate for years on end, and zippo accountability before the people’s representative in Congress. Think of the IMF and pressured tactics to raise interest rates in Argentina, after putting that nation’s accumulated deficits on an installment loan, then warning aristocrats to vacate their bank accounts into New York City accounts before bank closures and confiscation of accounts. My sister-in-law was such a victim. Think of heavy pressure leaned upon the Bank of Japan, to comply and to supply the West with 0% money in return for no trade tariffs whatsoever as Tokyo accumulates over $600 billion in reserves in return for the favor of open market access to US retail centers and car showrooms. Note the cries of foul when China does the same trick without a central bank for the hegemon to control. Think of disinformation and distortion of intelligence for the purpose of motivating then waging a war in a land rich in crude oil and fresh water. Think of conducting naval exercises off the coast of nations which make public statements against the USTBond and the implied coercion to recycle Asian trade surplus into bloated USTreasury Bonds. These are tactics used by a hegemon. Foreigners are very familiar with these nasty weapons, while Americans are largely ignorant of them. Remaining in the dark might be a necessary ploy in order to maintain distrust of outsiders. We are all too familiar with the tactics of the underworld crime syndicates, with much more obvious devices like murder, extortion, bombings, fires, kidnaps, hijacks, loan sharks, and basic heists. The hegemon strives to walk the fine line balancing respectability, deniability, professionalism, and diplomatic leadership, a narrow walk indeed. This hegemon is slowly being disrespected, challenged, undermined, as opponents openly plan their alliances and devices of their own making. A revolt is in progress. A scheiss storm comes.

...more...

[54anickel]

48. SNARF!! "Weimar Ben" I LIKE that one!!! n/t

[ozymandius]

44. futures falling into the abyss

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -8.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -13.5. Futures indications continue to weaken, setting the stage for stocks to open sharply lower. Even though the recently released CPI data by no means indicate that inflation is picking up significantly, since it remains difficult to argue that there is not a firming trend of some degree, the likelihood of the Fed moving to a restrictive monetary policy increases.

[UpInArms]

52. 8:30 and it's ugly

Dow 11,362.94 -56.95 (-0.50%)
Nasdaq 2,214.56 -14.57 (-0.65%)
S&P 500 1,287.22 -4.86 (-0.38%)
10-Yr Bond 5.161 +0.56 (+1.10%)

NYSE Volume 36,618,000
Nasdaq Volume 66,015,000

[54anickel]

55. Zowie! That IS ugly at the starting gun. Looks like they can't get out

of the NAS door fast enough when you check out the volume.

[JNelson6563]

56. 9:45 Update

Dow 11,349.13 -70.76 (0.62%)
Nasdaq 2,218.31 -10.82 (0.49%)
S&P 500 1,285.40 -6.68 (0.52%)
10-Yr Bond 5.169% +0.64


Holy cannolli!! 64 basis pt. jump on the 10yr?? Pretty bloody.

Julie

[UpInArms]

59. 10:00 EST Ouch! not bounce

Dow 11,339.60 -80.29 (-0.70%)
Nasdaq 2,217.35 -11.77 (-0.53%)
S&P 500 1,286.12 -5.96 (-0.46%)
10-Yr Bond 5.173 +0.68 (+1.33%)

NYSE Volume 301,012,000
Nasdaq Volume 317,224,000

09:40 am : Market opens sharply lower as disappointing April CPI data put pressure on the Fed to keep raising rates. Total CPI rose 0.6%, as energy prices rose 3.9% -- the highest since January. The more closely watched core rate, which excludes energy, also rose more than expected, suggesting a modest buildup in inflationary pressures that may prompt the Fed to raise interest rates further -- concerns that support our Neutral market view and are weighing heavily on early trading. Core CPI was up 0.3%, matching the large March gain to leave a 2.3% year/year growth. DJ30 -66.90 NASDAQ -13.12 SP500 -7.17 NASDAQ Vol 134 mln NYSE Vol 80 mln

[UpInArms]

58. Moody's warns of poor risk disclosure at financial firms

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=mktw&guid=%7BB97B0E52%2D706D%2D4417%2D9FCA%2DC993898D8020%7D&symbol=

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Moody's Investors Service Inc. (MCO) warned Tuesday that banks and securities firms around the world are failing to disclose the full scope and nature of the risks they are taking and how they intend to neutralize those risks.

The ratings agency said in a "special comment" that disclosures from these firms tend to be limited to indicators, such as value-at-risk, that give an incomplete picture of risk and use "boilerplate language" to describe risks.

Moody's said disclosures usually lack "contextual and qualitative elements" which are necessary to understand the true size and nature of risk exposures.

It said the problem is exacerbated by the lack of a standard format for releasing company risk-exposure information, which is often scattered across company annual reports and doesn't allow meaningful comparisons.

...more...

[UpInArms]

63. 10:12 EST Triple Digit DOW loss - blather

Dow 11,316.71 -103.18 (-0.90%)
Nasdaq 2,214.20 -14.93 (-0.67%)
S&P 500 1,283.37 -8.71 (-0.67%)
10-Yr Bond 5.171 +0.66 (+1.29%)

NYSE Volume 404,398,000
Nasdaq Volume 405,506,000

10:00 am : Equities are still on the defensive as the bulk of industry leadership remains negative. Pacing the way to the downside is the influential Financial sector, as surging bond yields diminish the desire to own rate-sensitive banks and brokerages. In contrast to the last few sessions, Technology is among the best of the worst, trading relatively flat as strength in computer hardware, following Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ 32.18 +1.07) strong report, and semiconductors provide some support. The latter is benefiting from a 2.0% surge in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 31.46 +0.65), which makes chips for HPQ. DJ30 -74.52 NASDAQ -11.59 SP500 -6.07 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1800/741/318 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2112/588/220 mln

[ozymandius]

66. stemming the flow a bit at 10:26

Dow 11,329.20 -90.69 (-0.79%)
Nasdaq 2,215.96 -13.17 (-0.59%)
S&P 500 1,285.02 -7.06 (-0.55%)
10-Yr Bond 51.61 +0.56 (+1.10%)
NYSE Volume 503,132,000
Nasdaq Volume 496,666,000

[UpInArms]

69. "unwinding of the elements currently propping up financial markets"

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T143225Z_01_N17416054_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-GROSS.XML

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Bill Gross, managing director of bond fund giant PIMCO, raised his forecast for the benchmark Treasury note's yield, conceding he had underestimated the strength of the world economy.

Gross, in a newsletter released late on Tuesday, lifted his three-to-five-year forecast for the 10-year note's <US10YT=RR> yield to between 4.0 percent and 5.5 percent. His previous call of 3 percent to 4.5 percent was made a year ago.

"PIMCO's secular economic forecasts in recent years have emphasized ... moderate disinflationary growth that would lead to benign and ultimately bullish movements in global bond markets," Gross wrote in his June/July note.

Gross is now pointing to "surging global growth that has caused central banks and indeed private investors to enforce higher real yields as recompense. 5.20 percent 10-year Treasuries are sort of outside of our forecasted range, wouldn't you say?"

"My bad," Gross wrote.

<snip>

Overall, however, PIMCO reckons a global economic slowdown and an unwinding of the elements currently propping up financial markets will keep bond yields low and inflation in check for the rest of the decade.

...more...

:eyes:

[54anickel]

72. How can all of these e-CON-omists continue to use the phrase

"benign inflation"? Oh yeah, the CPI - what a joke! Keep them blinders on, you'll never know what hit ya. :eyes:

So, when does the Fed fall behind the curve as the markets demand a higher rate of return for their ever diminishing dollar holdings?

[54anickel]

79. Fed Gets Less Respect as Bond Traders See Inflation (Update1)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a9ro6thkK3WM&refer=us

May 17 (Bloomberg) -- The biggest investors in the U.S. bond market aren't buying the Federal Reserve's line that ``inflation expectations remain contained.''

The gap between yields on 10-year Treasuries and inflation- linked government debt with similar maturities widened to 2.74 percentage points this month, the most since March 2005. The difference reflects investors' expectations for what inflation will average over the next decade.

Record prices for commodities such as copper, oil and zinc and a decline in the dollar are raising concern that inflation will accelerate, especially if Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other policy makers refrain from raising interest rates at their next meeting on June 28-29.

``The markets are in some ways calling Bernanke to the mat and saying, `We don't believe you,''' said John Brynjolfsson, who oversees $60 billion in inflation-protected strategies at Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach, California. ``The increase in Treasury yields we're seeing is indicative of inflationary fears among investors.''

snip>

Fed statements indicate policy makers don't expect high commodity prices to bleed through to core inflation, while the market anticipates that the economy is strong enough to cause increases in consumer prices to accelerate, Helsen said.

So does that mean the Fed believes the economy is actually too weak to cause increases in consumer prices, no pricing power? Hmmm, that's an interesting thought - erroding pricing power and purchasing power at the same time? :freak: Might that lead to the dreaded stagflation?

[Ghost Dog]

164. I think this is significant.

Hyperinflation warning. Helicopters insufficient/counterproductive. Large interest rate rises required. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

77. 11:10 EST pukin' and chokin'

Dow 11,291.42 -128.47 (-1.12%)
Nasdaq 2,207.49 -21.64 (-0.97%)
S&P 500 1,280.48 -11.60 (-0.90%)
10-Yr Bond 5.180 +0.75 (+1.47%)

NYSE Volume 817,539,000
Nasdaq Volume 730,072,000

[UpInArms]

82. 11:15 EST Does anyone know what just happened?

Dow 11,276.93 -142.96 (-1.25%)
Nasdaq 2,199.56 -29.57 (-1.33%)
S&P 500 1,277.81 -14.27 (-1.10%)
10-Yr Bond 5.178 +0.73 (+1.43%)

NYSE Volume 865,162,000
Nasdaq Volume 775,729,000

My question is something must have happened because every indice has now gone below its key position - and they're falling fast.

:wtf:

[AnneD]

83. The Roulette Wheel....

has come off the axis and is hitting the folks in the pits. Wonder when the vultures will swoop in.

[stop the bleeding]

84. F*ck the Nasdaq Comp just fell through it's 200 day MA !!!!!

2195???

[CabalPowered]

85. CPI data is ugly

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060517/wall_street.html?.v=12

[UpInArms]

86. yes, but was it worth a 1.5% drop in all the indices?

11:38 EST

Dow 11,253.72 -166.17 (-1.46%)
Nasdaq 2,197.80 -31.33 (-1.41%)
S&P 500 1,274.35 -17.73 (-1.37%)
10-Yr Bond 5.178 +0.73 (+1.43%)

NYSE Volume 1,079,020,000
Nasdaq Volume 939,116,000

11:30 am : Selling remains the name of the game as every notable index is posting a loss of at least 1.5%. Getting hit the hardest is the Russell 2000 Index (-1.7%), since higher rates greatly impact the borrowing power of small-cap companies. The Nasdaq is building on six day's of downturns and is now matching the Dow's 1.5% decline as tech is now weak across the board. Even the S&P 400 MidCap Index, which has outrperformed both the large and small cap indices for several years, is off 1.6%, leaving very few areas of buying interest anywhere.DJ30 -173.38 NASDAQ -32.42 SP500 -19.21 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2172/656/850 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2458/598/696 mln

[Ghost Dog]

149. See #100 above. n/t

[UpInArms]

155. GD, you're discounting the resilience of the market driven US

capital markets! :sarcasm:

[Ghost Dog]

174. ¡Gotcha!

Curbs in (absent recently-programmed Oct 87). Fuel rods the hell out. :-)

[stop the bleeding]

87. people on other threads are saying Inflation news/worries n/t

things may be trying to find some intraday support right now

[UpInArms]

89. Reuters says "inflation worries" - Nasdaq now negative for the year

Nasdaq turns negative for year on inflation worry

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T152112Z_01_N17245069_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-STOCKS-UPDATE-7-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq Composite index erased its gains for the year on Wednesday as U.S. stocks tumbled on inflation concerns.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 140.16 points, or 1.23 percent, at 11,279.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 13.81 points, or 1.07 percent, at 1,278.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 28.24 points, or 1.27 percent, at 2,200.89.

The Nasdaq is down 0.2 percent since the beginning of 2006. The Dow is up 5.2 percent and the S&P 500 is also up 2.4 percent.

[54anickel]

88. Cripes, look at the buck fly!

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

Last trade 84.75 Change +0.67 (+0.80%)

Settle Time 15:01 Open 84.06

Previous Close 84.08 High 84.75

Low 83.73

[UpInArms]

90. that didn't last long

:eyes:

Last trade 84.56 Change +0.48 (+0.57%)

Settle Time 15:01 Open 84.06

Previous Close 84.08 High 84.70

Low 83.73 2006-05-17 11:17:04, 30 min delay

did someone run in and sell when it went up so fast?

[54anickel]

94. Deficits don't matter, Yes they do, No they don't, Yes they do...n/t

[UpInArms]

103. US debt levels no cause for alarm, SnowJob says

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T161620Z_01_WBT005381_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-SNOW-DEBT-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - Rising U.S. debt levels are no cause for alarm because they are low in comparison with the rest of the world and past U.S. history, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Wednesday.

"The debt levels have risen ... but compared to most of the rest of the countries of the world, our debt levels are low," Snow said in testimony before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

"And even if you go back in history, our debt levels are quite low today relative to the levels that they've been in the past, so I don't think we should be alarmed," Snow said.

<snip>

"But it is comforting to know, when you look at the rest of the world, we're at the low end of debt," he said.

...a bit more at link...

[54anickel]

104. So that's a yes they do, but we ain't as bad off as the rest of the world?

:wtf: is he :smoke: and where can I get some of that?

[TrogL]

125. Glad he thinks so

What if China calls in their markers?

[Ghost Dog]

150. Did somebody say: "Currency Manipulators?" n/t

[UpInArms]

93. Treasury's SnowJob - dollar collapse prospects 'remote'

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-17T154728Z_01_WBT005380_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-SNOW-DOLLAR-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Wednesday dismissed the prospect of a sudden and catastrophic drop in the value of the U.S. dollar.

Asked by a lawmaker at a hearing before the House of Representatives Financial Services committee about what plans Treasury had in place to deal with the possibility of a dollar tumble, Snow said: "I think that prospect is remote."

He also said the global economy cannot function well if countries use their currency policies to gain a competitive edge in the trade arena, a hot topic on Capitol Hill given U.S. exporters' criticism of China's rigid foreign exchange regime.

"What we're trying to do is to get the global economy to function the way it needs to function. And if it's to function right, one of the fundamental rules of the game is trade -- free trade, free capital flows and not pursuing 'beggar-thy-neighbor' policies with your currency," he said.

[54anickel]

98. Well, I know I'll sleep much better tonight now that it's only a remote

possibility...all we gotta do is convince the rest of the world to continue playing by our rules and everything will be A-Okay. That should be a piece of cake! :eyes:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2289743&mesg_id=2289743
World opinion of U.S. sinking, Dislike of everything American on the rise

[Ghost Dog]

152. Would also be a relief to know that

(Beautiful) America could be soon determined to no longer follow principles of "not pursuing 'beggar-thy-neighbor' policies with (its) currency," or other forms of economic power.

¿Huh?

[UpInArms]

157. buck has grown wings!

Last trade 85.08 Change +1.00 (+1.19%)

Settle Time 15:00 Open 84.06

Previous Close 84.08 High 85.10

Low 83.73 2006-05-17 14:36:07, 30 min delay

[UpInArms]

91. 11:49 EST Curbs on in on the DOW

11:49 AM ET 5/17/06 NYSE COMPOSITE DROP OF 160+ PTS TRIGGERS TRADING COLLARS

edited to add:

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B652E7E54%2DB239%2D44EA%2DBAC0%2D03C06EF257C5%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The NYSE Composite Index ($NYA 8,221.05, -166.52, -2.0% ) was last down 164 points at 8,224, enough to trigger curbs on computer-generated sell programs on the NYSE. Index-arbitrage sell orders, or program trading, can resume if the NYSE Composite's daily loss is reduced to less than 80 points.

[UpInArms]

92. OT: Former GOP official to be sentenced on phone-jamming charges

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/05/17/former_gop_official_to_be_sentenced_on_phone_jamming_charges/

CONCORD, N.H. --A former Republican National Committee official convicted in an Election Day phone-jamming plot against New Hampshire Democrats faced up to seven years in prison at his sentencing Wednesday.

<snip>

Tobin, 45, stepped down as New England chairman of President Bush's re-election campaign in 2004 when Democrats accused him of playing a role in the jamming on Election Day 2002. That's when Republican John Sununu won a hotly contested U.S. Senate race against then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

At the time of the jamming, Tobin was serving as regional political director for the RNC and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, overseeing Senate campaigns in several states, including New Hampshire and Maine.

<snip>

The RNC has spent about $3 million defending Tobin, which Democrats -- and some Republicans -- say makes it appear the GOP tolerates corruption. Democrats renewed their criticism Wednesday in response to news that White House political adviser Karl Rove will attend a state party fundraiser next month.

"By helping the New Hampshire Republican Party cover the costs of their lengthy legal stonewall, Karl Rove is once again using the power of the White House to bury this investigation," state Democratic Chairwoman Kathy Sullivan said in a statement. "Three and a half years after the phone-jamming, New Hampshire voters still don't know who paid for the crime, who knew about it, or who authorized it."

...more...

The Culture of Republican Corruption marches on.

[UpInArms]

95. 12:09 EST numbers and blather

Dow 11,257.88 -162.01 (-1.42%)
Nasdaq 2,202.43 -26.69 (-1.20%)
S&P 500 1,276.24 -15.84 (-1.23%)
10-Yr Bond 5.169 +0.64 (+1.25%)

NYSE Volume 1,281,220,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,098,144,000

12:00 pm : The bottom continues to fall out of the market midday / Market bounces off its worst levels midday but renewed inflation fears following a disappointing CPI report put pressure on the Fed to keep raising rates keep a bearish bias fully intact and stocks lower across the board The Dow is now off 1.4% while the Nasdaq's 1.3% pullback has pushed the tech-heavy index into negative territory for the year.

Before the bell, total CPI rose 0.6%, as energy prices rose 3.9% -- the highest since January. Adding insult to injury, the more closely watched core rate, which excludes energy, also rose more than expected. The 0.3% rise in core CPI matched the large March gain to leave a 2.3% year/year growth.

With the Fed saying on May 10th that "some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks" and reiterating its focus on "incoming" data dictating Fed policy, today's data suggesting a modest buildup in inflationary pressures has erased most of the optimism about a potential pause. Yesterday, futures traders priced in only 36% likelihood the central bank will raise rates to 5.25% at its June 29 meeting, but now they're pricing in about a 54% chance the Fed will go further than expected with its tightening efforts. Such concerns support our Neutral market view and our belief that higher interest rates will lead to earnings deceleration in the second half of the year.

All ten economic sectors are trading lower, led by a 2.2% decline in Energy as oil prices slip to their lowest levels of the day below $69 a barrel (-1.8%). A rebound in the dollar has also sent the Materials sector down more than 2.0%. However, a 1.7% decline in Financials, as a rise in borrowing costs diminishes the desire to own rate-sensitive banks and brokerages, is providing the most influence to the downside. The yield on the 10-yr note stands near four-year highs of 5.17%.

One bright spot to be found under such a dark cloud has been Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 32.35 +1.23), which is up nearly 4.0% after Q2 profits surged 51% year/year and issued upside guidance, playing into our Overweight rating on Technology. HPQ is the only Dow component trading in positive territory. DJ30 -160.65 NASDAQ -27.96 SP500 -16.65 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2263/645/1.06 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2637/475/898 mln

11:30 am : Selling remains the name of the game as every notable index is posting a loss of at least 1.5%. Getting hit the hardest is the Russell 2000 Index (-1.7%), since higher rates greatly impact the borrowing power of small-cap companies. The Nasdaq is building on six day's of downturns and is now matching the Dow's 1.5% decline as tech is now weak across the board. Even the S&P 400 MidCap Index, which has outrperformed both the large and small cap indices for several years, is off 1.6%, leaving very few areas of buying interest anywhere.DJ30 -173.38 NASDAQ -32.42 SP500 -19.21 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2172/656/850 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2458/598/696 mln

[54anickel]

97. New spin on the dollar's death spiral (Another Greenspin fan)

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19172668-643,00.html

SINCE early 2002, when the US dollar hit a recent peak, the swollen ranks of misery-mongers in the media and financial markets have been predicting a collapse for the US currency. With it, they insist, will come Armageddon for US markets and the broader economy.

Market reaction in the past week to the US dollar's drop suggests many investors buy this Great Dollar Death Spiral story. They shouldn't. Handled properly, with careful nurturing by the US and other central banks, the dollar's fall should prove to be - not a trap door through which the world economy disappears - but a pleasantly upholstered springboard, propelling it to further sustained growth.

big snip>

The last time the US dollar adjusted downwards, a large current account deficit came in the second half of the 1980s. In 1985, the US was running a record current account deficit - 3 per cent of GDP. In the following year the dollar fell by 25 per cent; by early 1988 it had dropped almost 40 per cent. The decline was enough to wipe out the US current account deficit by the early 1990s.

And what happened to the US economy? Soaring inflation? The average rate of consumer price inflation fell between mid-1985 and early 1988 - to just over 3 per cent from 3.5 per cent in 1985-86. Sky-high interest rates? Ten-year Treasury yields dropped from 10.5 per cent in June 1985 to just over 8 per cent by February 1988. And the economy enjoyed solid growth for the rest of the 1980s.

But hang on, you'll say, didn't the dollar's fall lead directly to the Great Stock Market Crash of October 1987, when prices fell 22 per cent in a day, businesses were ruined, investors jumped from window ledges and widows and orphans had their savings wiped out?

To which I respond: what stock market crash? Sure, prices fell that day and for a while afterwards, but within months they were back where they had been. In economic terms, the crash was a non-event.

more...

[JNelson6563]

105. 12:58 Blood everywhere

Dow 11,245.22 -174.67 (1.53%)
Nasdaq 2,204.12 -25.01 (1.12%)
S&P 500 1,275.51 -16.57 (1.28%)
10-Yr Bond 5.165% +0.60

Uh-oh.

[zippy890]

106. 'Uh-oh'? Won't the fairys send in a swat team

later?

I alway's follow SMW thread & you guys do such good work,

wondering about the fairys today- the late date rallys

on edit - is fairies the plural?

[northamericancitizen]

114. Faries are good... I join my thanks to yours for the great infos on SMW

[UpInArms]

109. 11:24 EST Fan+Fecal Matter = Shitstorm

Dow 11,229.06 -190.83 (-1.67%)
Nasdaq 2,201.66 -27.46 (-1.23%)
S&P 500 1,273.91 -18.17 (-1.41%)
10-Yr Bond 5.169 +0.64 (+1.25%)

NYSE Volume 1,651,059,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,404,885,000

1:00 pm : More of the same for stocks as selling remains widespread across most areas. Even though Health Care is also trading lower, the sector's defensive characteristics are showing up for a third straight session in a few select areas. Four of the only 9 S&P industry groups (out of a 139 total groups) trading higher are tied to the sector. Health Care Services is turning in the day's second best performance, but is only up 0.72%. Managed Health ranks fourth among a few other places attracting some bargain hunting interest, but the group's 0.69% gain isn't making a dent in its year-to-date losing 16.89%. Health Care Facilities and Health Care Supplies round out the No. 8 and No. 9 spots but their paltry gains of less than 0.1% aren't much to write home about either.DJ30 -161.33 NASDAQ -21.31 SP500 -14.46 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2146/805/1.32 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2615/568/1.11 bln

[Robbien]

111. Bush To Sign $70 Billion Tax Cut Extension Today

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/money/9229230/detail.html

WHITE HOUSE -- President George W. Bush is hoping for an election-year boost Wednesday as he signs a $70 billion tax cut package.

The measure extends a pair of tax breaks -- one benefiting investors, the other upper-middle-income families.

Racking up another $70b hit to the deficit and corresponding hit to the confidence in the US dollar.

[TrogL]

128. What part of "Reaganomics doesn't work" doesn't he understand?

It's not trickling down.

[UpInArms]

132. Silly Rabbit! Tricks are for Kids!

It's not supposed to "trickle down"! It was never supposed to "trickle down".

That was a mantra just like "compassionate conservative".

It is used only to lure the sheeple into believing that they might get something yellow on their heads. They just never listened to Zappa.

:hi:

[Ghost Dog]

159. They just never listened to Zappa.

Or to (Emiliano) Zapata.

[UpInArms]

134. Tax Cuts for Everyone! California home for sale for $75 million

See! Those tax cuts will definitely have a place to be spent!

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1896&e=20&u=/nm/20060517/us_nm/life_home_dc

CORONA DEL MAR, California (Reuters) - A Southern California oceanfront home would break a record if sold for its $75 million listing price, an analyst with the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

The 30,000-square-foot custom-built estate belongs to Frank Pritt, founder of software company Attachmate Corp. The estate features a car museum, entertainment complex, gymnasium and mini water park.

<snip>

The record U.S. home sale price was posted two years ago when Ron Perelman sold his Palm Beach, Florida, home for $70 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.

...more at link...

[Buttercup McToots]

137. This is evil...

Bloody Bastard

[happynewyear]

112. big overdue sell-off going on, Scottrade's server having problems

Wow what a mess. *sigh*

:dem:

[Buttercup McToots]

115. Is this the end?

182.18...
Wow

[Renew Deal]

116. It was just 204.77

:nuke:

[UpInArms]

117. Nah - there's another 11,000 to go

;)

[Buttercup McToots]

118. controls

What about the controls?

[UpInArms]

119. I believe the curbs are already in place today - limiting trade

via electronic presets -

Program Trading Curbs

Whenever CNBC runs a banner on your television screen that says CURBS IN or CURBS IN, we receive a ton of email from investors asking "What are curbs?" Here is the answer for you:

Program Trading "Collars"
A collar on program trading firms instituted by the NYSE is most commonly referred to on CNBC as "curbs in". The NYSE applies program trading curbs whenever the NYSE Composite Index (NYA) moves 160 points higher, or 160 points lower than the previous day's closing price.

This NYSE restriction on program trades stays in place until the NYA returns to within 80 points of the previous day's closing price; or, until the end of the trading day at 3:00 CT. The restrictions will be re-imposed each time the NYA advances or declines 150 points. NYSE Trading Curbs apply only to our firm's (and other program trading firm's) computer assisted program trades. Contrary to what the public thinks, these collars do not completely stop all program trading, nor do they cancel out today's premium (prem) execution levels.

The NYSE defines a Program Trade as:
1. A basket of 15 or more stocks from the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index.
2. A basket of stocks from the Standard & Poor's 500 Index valued at $1 million or more.

Once the NYSE program trading collar is in place, Program Selling can be executed only on an up-tick. That means that the last trade was executed at a higher price than the trade before it. Program Buying can be executed only on a down-tick. That means that the last trade was executed at a lower price than the trade before it.

<snip>

Program Trading "Circuit Breakers"
If the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 10%, trading is halted on the New York Stock Exchange for 60 minutes. If the Dow Jones rallies 10%, there is no restriction. Why? Because program buying and the accompany rally is always perceived as "good".

If the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 20%, trading is halted on the New York Stock Exchange for two hours. There is no trading halt if it rallies 20%, as that would be perceived as "very very good".

If the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 30%, trading is halted on the New York Stock Exchange for the day. There is no trading halt if it rallies 30%, as that would be perceived as "the best thing that ever happened in the history of the world".

...more...

[happynewyear]

124. OMG I bet you are right

the "servers" aren't really "down" - they are not working right because they don't want them to work right.

I'm sure glad I am not an online trader. It must be hell at the moment.

[Renew Deal]

120. Damn the controls. Dow 2000

:party: :bounce: :silly:

[AnneD]

131. Spray Alert...

UIA...you crack me up :rofl: 11,000 to go :spray:

I always remember what Louis Rukheyser said the time the market bottomed out in the 80's. To paraphrase him, the people that loved you yesterday will love you today and those that were your friends yesterday will be your friend today. So be out their with your friends and loved ones because that is what really matters.

I think this is looking like a day to remember those words.

[happynewyear]

123. I think it is the beginning of a long very overdue correction

I am baffled by even why the DOW is over 11,000 at the moment. It seems to be grossly overvalued considering how many companies have gone bankrupt, how many people can't make the payments on their homes and other debts. And then again, there all of those that are unemployed out there that are not counted.

I could go on and on but I hope you get the ideas I've identified.

And the worst thing going on right now in inflation. It is massive - approx 25% or more I believe.

Only the rich and those that are self-sufficient will survive. I wouldn't want one red cent invested in the stock market. I believe it is a great way to lose a lot of money very fast. I have old stock certificates dated 1928. They are worthless. That is right, worthless.

:(

:kick:

[mike923]

156. Do you understand what the DOW is?

It's not poll or a rating of economic times, it's the average stock price of a small set of large corporations.

If you or i are having difficulties paying the rent, it doesn't effect the price for a share of GE.

[happynewyear]

177. yes I know what the DOW is

and I also know that it is unpredictable and that you can lose a lot of money very fast in it.

[ozymandius]

121. Dow staunching the gusher at -181

1:51
Dow 11,238.43 -181.46 (-1.59%)
Nasdaq 2,205.49 -23.64 (-1.06%)
S&P 500 1,275.74 -16.34 (-1.26%)
10-Yr Bond 51.61 +0.56 (+1.10%)
NYSE Volume 1,799,932,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,518,249,000

[Buttercup McToots]

126. ouch

I am so glad I sold ALL my stocks on Mon. morning..
I am looking at them now and wincing...ouch

[AnneD]

133. I got out in January...

I took advantage of the Santa Clause rally, but I will admit there for a while I felt overly cautious. I have a much smaller holding in a Mutual fund now (it is a balanced with 1/3 in secure interest being, a small amt in large and small caps, and a 1/3 in overseas). Can't wait to see what is going on.

[northamericancitizen]

127. ...In the mean time chimps is talking live on TV about prosperity.....

[UpInArms]

129. Bush signs bill to extend $70B in tax cuts over five years

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B10DB3541%2D2EA8%2D4124%2DAD65%2DEFCC0257C12D%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Bush on Wednesday signed a bill that will extend around $70 billion in tax cuts over the next five years. The bill extends through 2010 a lower rate on capital gains and corporate dividends, which was otherwise set to expire at the end of 2008. It also extends through 2006 a "patch" that will prevent around 15 million middle- and upper-middle-income taxpayers from being hit by the alternative minimum tax. The measure extends cuts that "have helped the American economy become the envy of the industrialized world," Bush said. Democrats argue that the investor-oriented tax cuts will primarily benefit the wealthy while running up federal deficits.

[UpInArms]

130. meanwhile: Rumsfeld Seeks Extra Funds for War Bills ($65 billion more)

thanks to DoYouEverWonder and this DU thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2289445

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-rumsfeld,0,4521170.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

WASHINGTON -- With war bills to pay, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is calling on Congress to pass President Bush's request for an extra $65 billion to cover costs in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.

His scheduled appearance Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee was his first public testimony on Capitol Hill since retired generals issued a series of calls for Rumsfeld to resign earlier this spring. Rumsfeld, with strong public backing by Bush, appears to have weathered that storm.

It also was Rumsfeld's first opportunity to comment on Bush's announcement Monday that he is sending 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S. southern border to support the federal Border Patrol. The administration has not said how much it expects that to cost, nor has it set a hard time limit on the assistance.

Although the Guard troops will be operating under state governors' control, the cost will be paid by the federal government.

...more...

[IChing]

136. So really that is another 135 billion dollars in a give away to

the rich and the war profiteers.
Un-fucking - believable

[Ghost Dog]

161. Believe it, I Ching.

__ __
__ __
__ __
__ __
__ __
__ __

[Ragin_mad]

142. It's a tax cut that will never happen.

By the time it goes into effect we will control the White House and Congress and this will be repealed.

[bain_sidhe]

140. Holy cow!

It's like a slaughterhouse in there!

But why's gold going *down*? I'd think it would be going up as people pull their money off the bloody floor and look for somewhere "safe" to stash it.

[gasperc]

143. wonder if this has to do with Rove's pending indictment

his indictment will be like a frontal lombotomy to Bush

[UpInArms]

145. reminds me of that old Fred Allen joke

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy :evilgrin:

[CountAllVotes]

147. sadly, the U.S. Mint is sold out of gold eagle proofs

They were selling for $770.00 each for a one once gold proof eagle. They are sold-out now along with the gold proof set and smaller denomination gold proof coins.

If you were smart enough to see this as an investment, you'd be doing good right now, even if gold drops back to $500 or less an ounce, the proof coins will retain their value. That was a good deal that was going up until very recently. It was still going up until a couple of weeks or so ago. Seems they sold out once gold hit $700.00 an oz.

:kick:

[UpInArms]

141. 2:37 EST styptic pencil proven ineffective

Dow 11,209.87 -210.02 (-1.84%)
Nasdaq 2,201.46 -27.67 (-1.24%)
S&P 500 1,272.55 -19.53 (-1.51%)
10-Yr Bond 5.165 +0.60 (+1.18%)

NYSE Volume 2,066,092,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,713,768,000

2:30 pm : Market retraces their lowest levels of the day as aggressive selling efforts continue to take a toll on virtually everything. Even gold, which was shrugging off the stronger dollar as an alternative investment to stocks and bonds and a hedge against inflation, is now trading slightly lower.DJ30 -211.12 NASDAQ -26.76 SP500 -18.88 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2156/878/1.67 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2619/621/1.46 bln

[Chimichurri]

144. Now it's down 226 pt -2.0% How bad is that in laymen's terms?

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B17D1B7BC%2D52A1%2D4EF8%2D9215%2D7BAECAB2C98F%7D&siteid=mktw&dist=

[AnneD]

154. In layman's terms....

Styptic pen is usless...but some KY might be useful. If it continues, switch over to the industrial strength Vaseline in the 55 gallon drums.

[UpInArms]

146. 2:47 EST ShitStorm Shit-o-cane - DOW under 11,200

Dow 11,192.31 -227.58 (-1.99%)
Nasdaq 2,196.93 -32.20 (-1.44%)
S&P 500 1,269.67 -22.41 (-1.73%)
10-Yr Bond 5.169 +0.64 (+1.25%)

NYSE Volume 2,135,974,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,769,959,000

[skids]

151. Was that a "Mr Leahy" reference?

Just wondering :-) The winds of shit are sure howling!

[UpInArms]

153. no - I must have missed the Leahy moment

I just had a visual of a swirling shitstorm :D

[UpInArms]

148. Halliburton Shareholders vote down human rights review proposal

2:44pm 05/17/06 Halliburton shares down 2.4% at $73.20 - MarketWatch.com

2:42pm 05/17/06 Halliburton to distribute new shares July 14 - MarketWatch.com

2:43pm 05/17/06 Halliburton: Holders vote down human rights review proposal - MarketWatch.com

2:42pm 05/17/06 Halliburton says stock split record date will be June 23 - MarketWatch.com

Anyone who owns this stock should feel great and unrelenting shame. :mad:

[Blackhatjack]

158. CNN just reported "heavy volume" in sell off today - still 200 pts down

This looks a lot like an "across the board" drop of stocks. Still time to go lower before the afternoon bell.

[clar8130]

162. GM stock

GM stock didn't drop as much as I expected. Only down 1.07 currently. Perhaps the faeries were too busy bolstering it to take care of everything else?

[Blackhatjack]

160. Edit: deleted

Edit: deleted

[ozymandius]

165. coming to the close

3:43
Dow 11,228.50 -191.39 (-1.68%)
Nasdaq 2,201.98 -27.15 (-1.22%)
S&P 500 1,273.65 -18.43 (-1.43%)
10-Yr Bond 51.53 +0.48 (+0.94%)
NYSE Volume 2,563,671,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,119,402,000

3:30 pm : Stocks are off their worst levels going into the close but the indices continue to trade sharply lower. Meanwhile, with the Dow less than 14 points away intraday from hitting its all-time high of 11,722.98 one week ago today, concerns that the market was overbought on a short-term basis left some wondering if a "correction" was in the making, which typically implies a decline of 10% or more. It is worth noting that even with today's 1.7% pullback on the index, led by profit-taking in the Dow's best performing components of late (e.g. AA, BA, CAT, GM, HON, MMM, UTX, and XOM), the blue chip index is still only 4.3% off its intraday high of 11709.09 on May 10th.DJ30 -194.23 NASDAQ -30.36 SP500 -1897 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2226/803/2.02 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2691/588/1.80 bln

[AnneD]

167. I can't wait to hear...

from all those surprised eCONomist tonight.:eyes:

[radfringe]

166. Lemmings are back????

SELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELLSELL

http://radfringe.tripod.com/
attack of the Lemmings....scroll down a bit below 1st cartoon

have a chuckle

[ozymandius]

168. Heh...indeedy

Just look at those futures charts at the top of the main page. They are somewhat cliff-like. Perfect for lemmings.

[ozymandius]

169. final numbers

Dow 11,205.61 -214.28 (-1.88%)
Nasdaq 2,195.80 -33.33 (-1.50%)
S&P 500 1,270.31 -21.77 (-1.68%)
Gold future 691.80 -1.10 -0.16%
30-Year Bond 5.27% +0.06 +1.07%
10-Year Bond 5.15% +0.05 +0.94%

NYSE Volume 2,807,779,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,337,805,000

Given all, gold did pretty well.

blather forthcoming

[ozymandius]

170. and the blather

4:20 pm : Stocks got rocked Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected rise in the core CPI exacerbated fears that building inflationary pressures will force the Fed to keep raising rates.

Before the market opened, the Labor Dept. showed that consumer prices rose 0.6%, as energy prices rose 3.9% -- the highest since January. Adding insult to injury, the more closely watched core rate, which excludes energy, also rose more than expected. The 0.3% rise in the core CPI matched the large March gain to leave a 2.3% year/year growth. With the Fed saying one week ago today that "some further policy firming may yet be needed to address inflation risks" and reiterating its focus on "incoming" data to dictate whether further rate hikes will be needed, today's data silenced last week's optimism about a potential pause.

Yesterday, futures traders priced in only 36% likelihood that the central bank will raise rates to 5.25% at its June 29 meeting, but now they're pricing in about a 54% chance the Fed will go further than expected with its tightening efforts. Such concerns support our Neutral market view and our belief that higher interest rates will lead to a slowdown in earnings growth during the second half of the year.

Making matters worse, above average volume provided even more conviction behind Wednesday's widespread sell-off, as more than 2.0 bln shares trading hands on both the NYSE and the Nasdaq. Further underscoring the nervousness behind was a 15.9% surge on the VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) to a new 2006 high. Known as the "investor fear gauge," the spike higher suggests investors are cautiously buying options to hedge against further declines in equities. The Dow turned in the worst performance among the majors, losing more than 200 points as sellers were in control from start to finish shaving 1.9% off of its year-to-date leading 6.6%. It was the worst one-day decline since January. The Nasdaq also sold off, extending its losing streak to 7 days and turning negative for the year. The S&P 500 fell to a three-month low as all ten economic sectors posted losses, led by declines of more than 2.0% in Energy, Materials and Telecom.

Thinning hopes that the Fed will pause at its next meeting in late June also weighed on Treasuries, lifting the yield on the 10-yr note to as much as 5.18% before finishing at 5.14%. The spike in bond yields weighed heavily on Financials, as the rise in borrowing costs diminished the desire to own rate-sensitive banks and brokerages. Since higher rates spark valuation concerns among growth stocks and also greatly impact the borrowing power of smaller companies, today's broad-based downturn especially hit the Russell 2000.

One bright spot rearing its head between the dark clouds and not succumbing to the adage "sell in May and go away" was Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 32.16 +1.05). The stock surged 3.4% after a 51% year/year rise in Q2 profits prompted the PC maker to raised its Q3 EPS outlook, which played into our Overweight rating on Technology. HPQ was the only Dow component to finish in the green. BTK -1.5% DJ30 -214.28 DJTA -2.7% DJUA -1.9% DOT -1.9% NASDAQ -33.33 NQ100 -1.5% R2K -1.6% SOX -1.2% SP400 -1.8% SP500 -21.76 XOI -2.5% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2230/849/2.39 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2652/647/2.08 bln

[TrogL]

178. Whatever happened to the Plunge Protection Team?

Did they even try?

[ozymandius]

179. I'd say they were overwhelmed.

When it's you against the world - bet money on the world.

[DemReadingDU]

176. Are we imploding yet

Stock market artificially high, expensive gas, huge amounts of debt, inflation worries, dollar falling.

YIKES!

[Roland99]

180. UPS to hire more than 5,000 in ($1 billion) expansion (in Louisville, KY)

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060517/BUSINESS/60517016

UPS will increase the capacity of its Worldport hub at Louisville International Airport by 60 percent in an expansion expected to cost more than $1 billion and employ more than 5,000, the company said Wednesday.

In announcing the expansion Wednesday morning, UPS said it would hire 1,284 full-time workers and 3,787 part-timers to staff the expanded hub. UPS already employs about 18,000 in Louisville.

The full-time jobs will pay an average of $41.73 per hour before benefits and include additional pilots and executives, according to UPS’ application for state incentives. The part-time jobs don’t qualify for state tax breaks.

...

In Frankfort Wednesday morning, the state approved UPS to receive $31.6 million in incentives, according to Donna Duncan, commissioner for the department of financial incentives.

Certainly good for this area. Louisville has always seemed to buck any major downward trends. Seems there's always been some major company to move to the area or expand whenever some downward cycle in the economy would hit.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

181. That's going to leave a mark.

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