STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday August 1

[ozymandius]

Source: DU

Wednesday August 1, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 540/font] LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2399 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2111 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2072
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 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 July 31, 2007

Dow... 13,211.99 -146.32 (-1.10%)
Nasdaq... 2,546.27 -37.01 (-1.43%)
S&P 500... 1,455.27 -18.64 (-1.26%)
Gold future... 679.30 +2.70 (+0.40%)
30-Year Bond 4.92% -0.04 (-0.75%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.77% -0.03 (-0.69%)






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

---

Read more: DU

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Market WrapUp

Dow Jones Industrials Skating on Thin Ice
BY GARY DORSCH

Perhaps the most important market in the world today is the vast network of foreign currencies, where total trading volume, including derivatives and futures, average around $2.9 trillion a day. This is ten times the size of the combined daily turnover on all the world’s equity markets. And as world’s economies have become increasingly integrated, so have the foreign exchange and global capital markets.

But the foreign exchange market is only one piece, albeit a very important one, of a bigger puzzle. Turnover of interest rate, currency and stock index derivative contracts rose 24% to a mind boggling $533 trillion in the first quarter versus the previous quarter, underscoring the enormous leverage in the global markets. Thus, any major unexpected event in the currency markets can touch off a panic and violent market reactions in the global bond and stock markets, or gold.

-cut-

But a new headache has emerged beyond the US dollar’s woes. Many high yield “Junk” bond funds lost 10% to 15% of their value over the past six weeks, amid concerns that defaults in securities backed by sub-prime mortgages may spread across the credit markets. Interest rates for leveraged buy-out artists, who issue junk bonds to finance acquisitions soared 120 basis points, and more than forty junk bond offerings were canceled or restructured worldwide in the past five weeks.

-cut-

Also spooking the DJI-30 is the escalating cost of crude oil, which topped $78 per barrel today, its highest in 12-months, just shy of the record high of $78.40 per barrel. Higher oil prices fuel inflation, crimps disposable income of consumers, and dents corporate profits. On July 16th, Goldman Sachs predicted crude prices could top $90 a barrel this autumn and hit $95 by the end of the year if OPEC keeps oil production capped at current levels of 26.6 million barrels per day.

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

[ozymandius]

2. I should have included this.

With the Dow Jones Industrials tumbling 146-points to close below key support to the 13,200 level, US Treasury chief, Henry Paulson is desperately trying to head-off a trade war between the US Congress and China. Paulson is in Beijing this week, and it might be a bit difficult for the chairman of the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, otherwise known as the “Plunge Protection Team” (PPT), to monitor market conditions from long distance.

The US Congress is passing “veto proof” legislation aimed at punishing China for its currency policy. “At a time when US exports are growing globally, such legislation also exposes the United States to the risk of mirror legislation abroad and could trigger a global cycle of protectionist legislation,” Paulson warned.

[Demeter]

6. They have sown the wind

They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind.
Author: Hosea: 8:7

[UpInArms]

7. Paulson to make his currency case to China's Hu

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070801/bs_nm/usa_china_paulson_dc

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson brings his overtures for a faster rise in the yuan to Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday, a day after the Bush administration warned that anti-China legislation in the U.S. Congress could provoke a global trade backlash.

Paulson and other top Bush aides are trying to head off several trade-focused bills that are aimed at ratcheting up pressure on Beijing to allow the yuan to appreciate more quickly to ease trade imbalances.

"At a time when U.S. exports are growing globally, such legislation also exposes the United States to the risk of 'mirror legislation' abroad and could trigger a global cycle of protectionist legislation," Paulson, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a joint letter to senior senators.

<snip>

In an interview with China's Xinhua news agency on Tuesday, Paulson said the meeting with Wu was "very constructive" and sought to downplay the trade tensions.

"I will not say anything other than the Treasury's view that legislation is not the proper way to proceed and deal with the currency issue," Paulson told Xinhua.

...more...

[DemReadingDU]

39. Rubin Should Teach Paulson Secret PPT Handshake

Rubin Should Teach Paulson Secret PPT Handshake: Caroline Baum

July 31 (Bloomberg) -- Where is the PPT?

If that acronym, short for Plunge Protection Team, doesn't immediately conjure up images of government officials and representatives of large Wall Street banks (think Goldman Sachs) conspiring to support the stock market, you don't spend enough time with the black-helicopter crowd.
.
.
.
All last week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 586 points, or 4.2 percent, in its worst week in more than four years, I kept waiting for the PPT to make an appearance.

Instead, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, who reportedly has reactivated the President's Working Group, was dispatched to calm financial markets on Friday, saying the subprime mortgage mess did not ``pose a threat to the overall economy.''

Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin must have forgotten to teach his former Goldman colleague the secret PPT handshake. Otherwise, how to explain Paulson's verbal damage control when the situation called for action?

Trader Bob was always a ``go with'' kind of guy, waiting until the dollar had bounced in 1995 before instructing the Fed to intervene in the foreign-exchange market. Maybe Hank's sticking to the Rubin playbook.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a87VERwuZP8c&refer=home

[Maeve]

43. Maybe he did....zoom in the final half hour of the day

At 3:30 we got this blather...

3:30 pm : The market continues to head lower going into the close as selling remains widespread across most areas. Seven out of 10 sectors are now trading lower, paced by declines of more than 2.0% in Energy and Materials -- this year's best performing sectors. The only area garnering any notable buying support is Utilities, but a 0.8% advance from a sector with only a 3.5% weighting on the S&P 500 is more than offset by just a 0.2% decline in the more heavily weighted Technology sector.

But as the closing bell nears--
Dow 13,362.37 Up 150.38 (1.14%)
Nasdaq 2,553.87 Up 7.60 (0.30%)
S&P 500 1,465.81 Up 10.54 (0.72%)

[DemReadingDU]

47. What a coincidence!

;-)

[UpInArms]

3. dollar watch

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

Last trade Change +0.109 (+0.13%)

US Dollar : More Problems Equals More Losses

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/US_Dollar___More_Problems_1185917304006.html

US Dollar: More Problems Equals More Losses

The markets are selling off once again as the troubles in the sub-prime sector continue to grow. Yesterday, everyone ignored news that American Home Mortgage (which commands 2.5 percent of the mortgage market) had to delay its dividend but today, the double blow of major losses at Sowood Capital and C-BASS was too much for them to handle. The Dow went from being up 135 points in the early US trading session to down 146 points at the market close. This was a swing of 281 points on an intraday basis. Unsurprisingly, bond yields and carry trades have also sold off while the VIX index resumed its rise, indicating the return of risk aversion. Economic data is also beginning to deteriorate. Aside from consumer confidence, every piece of US economic data released today was weaker than expected. On a growth front, personal income was unchanged in the month of June while spending slowed. In terms of inflation, the market was looking for the monthly core PCE deflator to increase, but instead, it remained unchanged. House prices and construction spending deteriorated as well but the big surprise today was the sharp decline in the Chicago PMI index and the jump in consumer confidence. Despite continued weakness in the US dollar, regionally, growth in the manufacturing sector is beginning to slow. With both the Philly Fed and Chicago PMI index dropping significantly, tomorrow’s national manufacturing index (ISM) will likely follow suit. Do not be too discouraged however as things may actually get better at the end of the week. According to the “Jobs Plentiful less Hard to Get” category in the consumer confidence report and the employment component of the Chicago PMI, non-farm payrolls due out Friday could actually be firm since both increased sharply. Whether or not this will overshadow any further losses in the subprime sector remains to be seen. Contrary to what some people may think, the Fed IS watching the stock market. President Poole hinted today that the central bank is watching the markets closely and will act “in due time if and when evidence accumulates that action is appropriate.” That would involve deterioration in both inflation and employment, which makes keeping an eye on NFPs even more important.

Carry Trades Liquidation: How Bad Can it Get?

Carry trades have sold off significantly over the past few weeks with GBP/JPY being the biggest loser. Having fallen from a high of 251.15 down to its current level of 241, it only took six trading days for the currency pair to erase the 1000 pip rally that was 3 months in the making. NZD/JPY, AUD/JPY and CAD/JPY all suffered the same fate, having each registered over 700 points in losses. As one of the most popular and successful trading strategies over the past few years, the strength of recent losses has caught everyone by surprise. To the dismay of Mrs. Watanabe and anyone still long carry this is not the worse case of carry trade liquidation that we have seen. Between December 2005 and June 2006, our Dynamic Carry Trade basket had a drawdown of as much as 13 percent. From its peak last Monday, the portfolio is down 7 percent. There is still more room to fall before we get to 13 percent, which is the biggest drawdown that the portfolio has seen over the 20 past years. The idea of long carry is breaking down and if the Asian markets finally follow suit, which they haven’t in the past week that could be the trigger for further losses. Last night’s Japanese data was mixed. Labor cash earnings, overall household spending, and the PMI index all weakened, but the jobless rate and housing starts improved. With no more significant Japanese data on the calendar this week, the fate of the Yen will continued to be determined by the movements in the Dow.

...more...

US ISM Manufacturing Likely to Force Large Moves in EURUSD

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/cross_markets_data_reaction/US_ISM_Manufacturing_Likely_to_1185918691384.html

AUG 1
US ISM Manufacturing (JUL) (08:30 EST; 12:30 GMT)
Expected: 55.5
Previous: 56.0

Prices Paid (JUL)
Expected: 65.5
Previous: 68.0

How Will The Markets React?

US financial markets have seen extraordinary volatility through the past week of trade, with domestic equities falling considerably in a matter of days. This has coincided with a likewise violent rally in bond markets, which has left yields substantively below recent heights. Yet the US dollar remains higher through the same period on a flight to safety across all asset classes. The greenback has become the recipient of funds from previously over-leveraged bets on the high-flying carry trade currencies. This status as a safe haven leaves the dollar especially vulnerable to sharp fluctuation in fixed income and equity markets, which makes upcoming economic data important to gauge the direction USD pairs. Wednesday morning’s ISM Manufacturing report is typically a large market mover in forex markets and stocks alike. Given both bonds and equities near critical technical levels, it will be very important to watch how traders react to the US economic release.

...more...

USD/CAD : Going to 1.40?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/USD_CAD___Going_to_1_40__1185908241736.html

The long term Elliott wave pattern along with sentiment indicators suggest that the USD/CAD is forming a multi-year low. The pattern on the hourly chart confirms the longer term bullish bias and provides a high reward/risk entry point.



We have maintained that the USDCAD is forming a significant low. Our most recent quarterly report (technical outlook) focused on the fact that the USDCAD is close to completing 5 waves down from 1.6189. That report can be seen here.

The 5th wave of the decline, from 1.4002, takes the form of an ending diagonal. An ending diagonal moves with the trend but consists of overlapping waves (notice the arrow that shows how waves i and iv overlap). These terminal patterns are often fully retraced. As such, a multi year target for the USDCAD is 1.4000, which is also very close to the 61.8% retracement of the 1.6189-1.0340 decline. A less bullish correction would most likely test at least the 38.2% (.618 x .618 = .382) at 1.2574. This level matches up with the May 2005 high at 1.2732. We of course do not know what the form of the correction will be, but given that the bottom forming is from an ending diagonal, it is likely that the initial leg of the correction will be sharp.



...more...

[UpInArms]

29. dollar wheezing

Last trade 80.750 Change -0.040 (-0.05%)

Settle Time 15:00 Open 80.819

Previous Close 80.790 High 80.967

Low 80.728 2007-08-01 09:21:46, 30 min delay

52wk High 87.3 52wk High Date 2006-10-13

52wk Low 80.016 52wk Low Date 2007-07-24

Contract High 0.7 Contract High Date 2007-03-12

Contract Low 0.05 Contract Low Date 2007-06-07

Open Time 19:00 Close Time 15:00

[UpInArms]

4. World stocks in meltdown over US economy fears

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070801/bs_afp/stockseuropeworld

LONDON (AFP) - European and Asian stock markets plummeted Wednesday, mirroring heavy losses the previous day in New York, on mounting fears that weakness in the US housing sector could infect the world economy.

In London, Frankfurt and Paris the main share indices were down almost 2.0 percent nearing the half-way stage.

The yen meanwhile hit a four-month high against the dollar and oil traded close to an all-time peak in New York as investors exited risky investments and turned to safe-havens, dealers said.

Wall Street took a pounding Tuesday, with its three main markets closing down more than 1.0 percent as news of spreading troubles in the US mortgage sector prompted investors to bank profits.

<snip>

Analysts say the New York oil price could strike a new all-time peak, above its current record of 78.40 dollars a barrel, should the US Department of Energy reveal on Wednesday a further drop in US energy inventories.

...more...

[UpInArms]

18. here's a look at those numbers:

FTSE 100	-85.30	-1.34%	6,274.80
XETRA-DAX	-83.19	-1.10%	7,500.95
CAC 40     	-107.55	-1.87%	5,643.53
HANG SENG	-729.58	-3.15%	22,455.36
NIKKEI 225	-377.91	-2.19%	16,870.98

[JNelson6563]

27. Blood everywhere!

When I was catching futures around 5 am things looked just as ugly here. Looks like the PPT is working the early shift, like yesterday. Apparently it's those 3 martini lunches that'll kill ya.

Batton down the hatches Marketeers! I don't think our "unsinkable" ship will hold up.

Julie

[Eugene]

24. Paulson says subprime woes contained

Source: Reuters

Paulson says subprime woes contained
Wed Aug 1, 2007 8:47AM EDT

By David Lawder

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said
on Wednesday that the market impact of the U.S. subprime
mortgage fallout is largely contained and that the global economy
is as strong as it has been in decades.

European and Asian stocks tumbled on Wednesday following a
sharp drop in U.S. shares on Tuesday, after American Home
Mortgage Investment Corp. said it may have to liquidate assets,
fuelling worries over problems in the subprime mortgage market
spilling over into other sectors.

The recent volatility in global stock and currency markets
reflected a repricing of risk and the unwinding of excesses in
U.S. mortgage and leveraged buyout financing, Paulson said.

-snip-

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSBJC00005820070801

[Ghost Dog]

33. Asia Stocks Extend Global Market Sell-Off on U.S. Subprime Rout

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=akc33YtiJEgg&refer=asia

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks slumped, extending a global equities rout, after Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Bear Stearns Cos. said funds may post losses as the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis spreads.

Macquarie, Australia's largest securities firm, fell the most in five years after saying investors in some of its funds may lose as much as 25 percent of their money. Bear Stearns Cos. blocked investors from pulling money out of a fund, sending U.S. share futures lower.

``Issues once specific to America are now flowing through to the rest of the world,'' said Hans Kunnen, who helps manage $117 billion at Colonial First State Global Asset Management in Sydney. ``People are nervous because Macquarie looks and smells a lot like the companies that have been affected by this in the U.S.''

Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan's second-biggest lender by assets, tumbled after saying first-quarter profit fell by half. Sony Corp. led declines among exporters on concern the U.S. housing rout will dent consumer spending.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index declined 2.6 percent to 151.89 at 6:10 p.m. in Tokyo, set to close at its lowest since June 27. All Asian markets fell, except in Vietnam. Taiwan's Taiex Index plunged 4.3 percent, the biggest drop in the region. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 3.3 percent, the most since Sept. 17, 2001.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 2.2 percent to 16,870.98 while the Topix index lost 2.2 percent. Toshiba Corp. paced declines among suppliers to Apple Inc. amid speculation the company will cut production of its widely touted iPhone.

The yen strengthened today as the hedge fund losses and a slump in Asian stocks prompted investors to cut riskier investments paid for by loans in Japan. Traders reduced so- called carry trades, pushing up the yen versus the 16 most- active currencies.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

36. Asian Currencies Slump as Investors Shun Emerging-Market Assets

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=aMAirvzOJKgc&refer=currency

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies slid, with the Indonesian rupiah reaching the weakest in more than a year, as investors sold emerging-market assets as losses related to U.S. subprime mortgages worsened and.

The rupiah and Philippine peso declined more than 1 percent as all 10 most-active Asian currencies weakened against the dollar. Macquarie Bank Ltd., Australia's largest securities firm, said investors in two of its high-yield funds may lose 25 percent of their money. Bear Stearns & Cos. yesterday halted redemptions from a third hedge fund.

``There's overflow from the U.S. markets and we're seeing risk aversion and a flight to quality,'' said Steve Rowles, an analyst at CFC Seymour Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``Whilst we don't think this is going to be a momentous change, some countries are getting hit today.''

The rupiah extended losses to a sixth day, dropping 1.1 percent to 9,321 per dollar as of 3:30 p.m. in Jakarta. The Philippine peso slipped 1.2 percent to 45.855 and the Singapore dollar declined 0.8 percent to S$1.5243, the biggest loss since May 2006.

Asia Genesis Management, a hedge fund based in Singapore that manages about $450 million, said it has shifted 95 percent of its holdings into cash to avoid losses. Macquarie Fortress Investments Ltd. was forced to sell assets and use the proceeds to reduce borrowings and comply with lending covenants, it said in a statement yesterday.

``The sentiment is going to afflict regional currencies for a while,'' said Saifuddin Morat, an economist in Kuala Lumpur at Aseambankers Bhd., a unit of Malaysia's biggest lender. ``It's not a good time yet to re-enter emerging markets.''

Benchmark equity indexes in South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan fell as much as 4 percent, while the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index of regional shares dropped 2.6 percent.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

34. FTSE slips 1.6 pct on heightened credit fears

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=londonMktRpt&storyID=2007-08-01T113029Z_01_L01573461_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BRITAIN-STOCKS-UPDATE-1.XML

LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index slid 1.6 percent by midday on Wednesday after the subprime mortgage crisis claimed more victims in the United States and Australia, crimping investors' risk appeitite and hurting global equities.

American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM.N: Quote, Profile , Research) and two Macquarie (MBL.AX: Quote, Profile , Research) funds were the latest victims of the credit crunch sparked by the deterioration in the U.S. lending market that threatens to spread to the wider economy.

At 1105 GMT, the FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 98.4 points at 6,261.7, but well off its day's low of 6,187.2, at which point the benchmark had lost about 42 billion pounds ($85.02 billion) in value. European shares also fell.

Persistent fears over credit markets had led to a 3.8 percent loss in the UK benchmark index for July.

"We saw a big drop in the Dow last night ... It looks to me that funds were going out of business at the last day of the month. There was a lot of liquidation selling," said Tom Hougaard, chief market strategist at City Index Markets. "You should see from now on a bounce in the market because you don't have these distress sellers anymore. But certainly people are nervous."

UK-listed financial shares took a lashing, after HBOS's (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile , Research) forecast-beating 13 percent rise in profits was overshadowed by a fall in its core UK retail banking profits and concern that group earnings were swelled by asset disposals in its Corporate unit. HBOS tumbled 5 percent.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile , Research) dipped 2.7 percent, HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile , Research) dropped 1.3 percent and Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile , Research) shed 3.6 percent. Continued...

/...

[Ghost Dog]

35. European shares briefly pare losses after U.S. open

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=eurMktRpt&storyID=2007-08-01T135546Z_01_WEB5588_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-URGENT.XML

FRANKFURT, Aug 1 (Reuters) - European shares briefly recovered some of their earlier losses on Wednesday after U.S. markets gained in early trade, but slipped again as U.S. indexes fell back.

At 1351 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was down 1.23 percent at 1530.89 points, after earlier losing as much as 2.5 percent as concern about a crisis in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector weighed.

Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE, was down 1.24 percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> fell 1.16 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> slipped 1.55 percent.

[Ghost Dog]

40. European stocks fall again on credit worries

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=eurMktRpt&storyID=2007-08-01T172749Z_01_L0118359_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-UPDATE-3.XML

FRANKFURT, Aug 1 (Reuters) - European stocks ended lower after a choppy day of trade on Wednesday as financial stocks led losers on renewed concern about the risky U.S. subprime market and miners such as Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile , Research) also tumbled.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> lost 1.53 percent to end at 1,526.26 points, erasing some of the previous session's short-lived rebound but recovering slightly after earlier losing as much as 2.5 percent.

"We did see somewhat of a firming on the market today. The indexes started much lower but during the day we were able to develop upwards and see some recovery," said Heinz-Gerd Sonnenschein, strategist at Germany's Postbank.

"But the market is very sensitive to news, particularly from hedge funds and the housing sector. So it could be pressured further due to current nerves."

The benchmark index, down about 5 percent over the past two weeks, is still up almost 3 percent on the year.

Financial stocks were among the main losers on Wednesday, bearing the brunt of global fears over the U.S. subprime market. Shares in Britain's Barclays Plc (BARC.L: Quote, Profile , Research) fell 3 percent while mortgage lender HBOS Plc (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile , Research) slipped 2.8 percent.

Miners were also on the retreat, hit by a drop in commodity prices, with BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile , Research) shedding 4.4 percent and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile , Research) dropping 4.5 percent.

...

Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index .FTSE fell 1.72 percent, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> dropped 1.45 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> fell 1.68 percent.

/...

[ozymandius]

5. Today's Reports

10:00 AM ISM Index Jul
Briefing Forecast 56.5
Market Expects 55.5
Prior 56.0

10:00 AM Pending Home Sales Jun
Briefing Forecast NA
Market Expects -0.6%
Prior -3.5%

10:30 AM Crude Inventories 07/27
Briefing Forecast NA
Market Expects NA
Prior -1103K

5:00 PM Auto Sales Jul
Briefing Forecast 5.4M
Market Expects 5.4M
Prior 5.2M

5:00 PM Truck Sales Jul
Briefing Forecast 6.9M
Market Expects 6.8M
Prior 6.5M

http://biz.yahoo.com/c/e.html

[UpInArms]

32. 10:00 reports - ISM Whoopsie! @ 53.8% vs 56.0% in June

01. June pending home sales index 8.6% below year-ago
10:00 AM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 33 seconds ago

02. Monthly increase in pending home sales highest in over 3 yrs
10:00 AM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 33 seconds ago

03. June pending home sales index rises 5%
10:00 AM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 33 seconds ago

04. U.S. July ISM manufacturing index below 55.5% consensus
10:00 AM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 33 seconds ago

05. U.S. July ISM manufacturing index 53.8% vs 56.0% in June
10:00 AM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 33 seconds ago

[ozymandius]

8. Oil prices fall on profit taking

VIENNA, Austria - Oil prices fell Wednesday as traders took profits after the front-month crude futures contract closed at a record price on expectations that U.S. crude inventories fell last week.

The contract had gained $1.38 to settle at $78.21 a barrel Tuesday, beating the previous record close of $77.03, set July 14, 2006.

Investors believe a weekly inventory report by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, due later Wednesday, will show that refiners drew down oil inventories last week as they continued to increase gasoline production, analysts said.

-cut-

Light, sweet crude for September delivery lost 46 cents to $77.75 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. September Brent crude fell 48 cents to $76.57 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange in London.

-cut-

Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, expected Wednesday's inventory report to show crude oil inventories fell 690,000 barrels in the week ended July 27 as refinery utilization rates rose 0.7 percentage points to 92.4 percent of operating capacity.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[UpInArms]

22. Why oil is rising but gas gets cheaper (spin spin spin)

http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/31/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- If you're like most American motorists, you've noticed two things lately: Oil prices are at record highs, yet gasoline prices have dropped.

Over the last two months, U.S. crude has gained nearly 25 percent, and is now just pennies away from its all-time high. Yet gasoline futures have lost 7 percent over the same time. Retail gasoline prices have fallen even further, declining 11 percent from the all-time high set in May.

Usually oil and gas prices move in tandem. Yet this time around, analysts say the disconnect is all about refining. If refineries keep churning out gas, and crude doesn't spike too much further, some say motorists could see gas prices under $2 a gallon by winter.

$80 oil lurks

"It's a seasonal play," said Peter Beutel, a former trader and now an oil analyst at the consultancy Cameron Hanover. "People buy gasoline ahead of the season and sell it during the season."

That play was more pronounced this year as lots of maintenance and a series of accidents kept refineries from producing normal amounts of gasoline during the spring.

The record low gas supplies prompted fears of a shortage during the summer driving season, and that helped prices to hit an all-time high of $3.227 back in May.

...more...

[UpInArms]

9. Bre-X gold scam figure not guilty on all counts

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070731/bs_nm/brex_trial_geologist_dc

TORONTO (Reuters) - John Felderhof, the lone remaining key figure in the multibillion-dollar Bre-X gold fraud, was found not guilty on Tuesday of insider trading and misleading investors in the only prosecution brought in the greatest mining scam of all time.

The Ontario Securities Commission, Canada's main market regulator, accused him in 1999 of four counts of each charge, saying he illegally sold C$84 million (now worth $79 million) of Bre-X stock in 1996, and issued misleading press releases touting the property's rich gold content.

Soon after, independent surveys showed the company's much-touted Busang gold deposit in Indonesia was worthless.

Shares of the company, which had soared to value the firm at around C$6 billion, collapsed to nothing, costing thousands of investors their savings, and leaving ruined shareholders to sell their stock certificates off as bitter souvenirs to a public fascinated by the story.

...more...

[ozymandius]

10. Dow Jones agrees to be bought by Murdoch

NEW YORK - Rupert Murdoch has sealed a deal to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion, ending a century of family ownership and adding a crown jewel to his global media empire, News Corp.

The companies said in the wee hours of Wednesday morning that they signed a definitive merger agreement after the deal won sufficient support to pass from a deeply divided Bancroft family, which has controlled the storied newspaper publisher for generations.

Murdoch is getting one of the great trophies of U.S. journalism and a newspaper that is considered required reading among the business and power elite.

The deal will also expand Murdoch's already massive global media and entertainment empire News Corp., which owns the Fox broadcast network, Fox News Channel, the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, MySpace, newspapers in Australia and the U.K., and several satellite TV broadcasters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070801/ap_on_bi_ge/dow_jones_murdoch

I think the writer is offended. But I feel that it's extremely difficult not to be offended by anything involving Rupert Murdoch.

[UpInArms]

11. Enron plaintiffs ask Bush to back 3rd-party suits

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSN3122631020070731?feedType=RSS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Enron Corp. shareholders on Tuesday called on the White House to support their efforts to hold third parties accountable when their actions help a company defraud investors.

In a last-ditch attempt to get the administration to back their effort to have the U.S. Supreme Court allow shareholders to sue third parties, the group of former Enron shareholders have written to President George W. Bush.

"As victims of the Enron fraud, the worst in American history, we respectfully ask for your support at a critical moment in our pursuit of justice," says the letter signed by more than a dozen former shareholders.

The letter asks the administration not to file a brief on behalf of defendants accused of wrongdoing in an upcoming Supreme Court case involving Charter Communications (CHTR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Scientific Atlanta.

The shareholders sued Scientific Atlanta and Motorola Inc. (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research), saying the companies aided a scheme to inflate Charter's revenues in 2000.

...more...

[UpInArms]

12. J&J to cut 4,800 jobs as big products suffer

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070731/bs_nm/johnsonandjohnson_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it would cut up to 4,800 jobs in hopes the savings will offset declining sales of its stents, its anemia drug Procrit, and two blockbuster medicines that will soon face generic competition.

The diversified health-care company, whose shares rose 1.8 percent, said it expects the plan to generate pretax savings of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion in 2008, or about 3 percent of its current cost base.

J&J (JNJ.N) -- which has 120,500 employees worldwide and makes a vast array of prescription drugs, medical devices and consumer products -- said it would cut 3 percent to 4 percent of its work force, or 3,600 to 4,800 jobs. Many of the cuts will be accomplished through attrition and hiring freezes.

"I think they will be able to incrementally increase profit (through 2010) thanks to the cost cuts," said Morningstar analyst Heather Brilliant. Strong demand for medical devices and consumer products should also help offset weakening drug sales, she said.

...more...

[ozymandius]

13. Stock poised to open lower

NEW YORK - Stock futures fell Wednesday as Wall Street appeared poised for another steep decline due to ongoing worries about U.S. home loans.

Wednesday's data from the National Association of Realtors on pending sales of existing homes in June could help investors better gauge the U.S. housing market's weakness. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported early Wednesday that its index of home loan applications slipped last week for the second straight week.

On Tuesday, Wall Street resumed the sharp slide it began last week, as concerns about home loan defaults re-emerged when American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. reported troubles with its credit lines. The Dow Jones industrials tumbled nearly 150 points, prompting investors to turn to government bonds as a safer investment.

Adding to that anxiety Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, reported that Bear Stearns Cos. — which riled the markets weeks ago when it shut two hedge funds that bet on risky home loans — now faces big losses in a third fund with about $900 million in mortgage investments.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070801/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

[ozymandius]

15. Bond Risk Soars as Bear Stearns Blocks Exit From Third Fund

Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The risk of owning corporate bonds soared after Bear Stearns Cos. blocked investors from withdrawing money in a hedge fund as subprime mortgage-related losses spill into other parts of the credit market.

Credit-default swaps on 10 million euros ($13.8 million) of debt included in the iTraxx Crossover Series 7 Index of 50 European companies jumped as much as 80,000 euros to 480,000 euros, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest one-day increase since the index began trading three years ago. The CDX North American Investment-Grade Index fell $4,000 to $79,000, after reaching $85,000 yesterday, according to Deutsche Bank AG. An increase indicates worsening perceptions of credit quality.

Bear Stearns, which triggered a credit market selloff in June because of the near-collapse of two hedge funds, yesterday halted withdrawals from its Asset-Backed Securities Fund that has about $900 million invested. Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd. said yesterday that investors in two of its hedge funds may lose 25 percent of their money and Sowood Capital Management LP said this week it lost $1.5 billion in July after declines in corporate debt markets.

-cut-

`Unprecedented' Crises

Sydney-based Macquarie, Australia's largest securities firm, said declining prices in the U.S. subprime mortgage market caused declines for its funds. Sowood, based in Boston, sold most of its assets to Citadel Investment Group LLC and said it will unwind two funds. Oddo & Cie., a Paris-based broker and money manager, plans to close three funds totaling 1 billion euros because of the ``unprecedented'' crisis in U.S. mortgages.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQhrJ.KQXrqs&refer=home

[UpInArms]

14. U.S. July ADP employment up 48,000

02. U.S. July ADP employment up 48,000
8:22 AM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 4 minutes ago

edited to add:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/adp-shows-private-sector-job-growth/story.aspx?guid=%7B1C94511A%2D7931%2D44B4%2D901B%2D62965C56F736%7D&dist=hplatest

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Employment in the U.S. private sector grew by 48,000 in July, according to the ADP employment report released Wednesday suggesting nonfarm payrolls may have grown much slower than the 133,000 anticipated by economists. Adding in some 25,000 government jobs, the ADP report suggests nonfarm payrolls grew by about 73,000 in July. The Labor Department will report on the nonfarm payrolls number on Friday.

[hatrack]

19. Super!! Nearly half the job numbers needed to match population growth!

Go, Bushboom, go!!!

[Roland99]

38. Half? It's not even 1/3!!

[hatrack]

41. Ah, but I was including government jobs - so it's really even BETTER than you thought!!

:sarcasm:

[Roland99]

48. Oh, silly me! How could I forget that the GOP is the party of "smaller" gov't!

[UpInArms]

16. Another Bear hedge fund hit by mortgage turmoil

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/another-bear-stearns-hedge-fund/story.aspx?guid=%7B54DCB67A%2D7FAD%2D4B13%2D83FB%2D1C749C949D71%7D&dist=morenews

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Another Bear Stearns hedge fund has been hit by turmoil in the mortgage market.

The $850 million Bear Stearns Asset-Backed Securities Fund has suspended investor redemptions and expects losses in July. During the first half of 2007, the fund was up roughly 5%.

"There are no plans to shut down the fund," Bear Stearns (BSC) spokesman Russell Sherman said in a statement late Tuesday.

"The fund portfolio is well positioned to wait out the market uncertainty. And we believe by suspending redemptions, we can ensure the best long term results for our investors," he added. "We don't believe it's prudent or in the interest of our investors to sell assets in this current market environment."

Bear Stearns has already been hit by the near-total collapse of two other hedge funds it runs. Those funds lost roughly $1.5 billion earlier this year after leveraged bets in subprime mortgage securities and other credit instruments went awry. See full story.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. As American Home falls, top banks may take a hit

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/american-home-mortgage-falls-wall/story.aspx?guid=%7BBE51427C%2D5C18%2D44C3%2D811B%2D7CCC6BFFAC2A%7D&dist=TNMostRead

Bank of America, UBS and Bear Stearns loaned billions to mortgage company

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Investors in American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. may not be the only casualties as that lender teeters on the brink of liquidation.
Wall Street banks may also be on the hook for billions of dollars in bad loans.

Barclays, UBS, Bear Stearns Cos. and Bank of America Corp. are among the banks that provided a combined $9.7 billion in loans to back American Home's (AHM) mortgage underwriting, according to the company's quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

American home said Tuesday it has missed margin calls from its lenders and has hired advisers to consider strategic options including the liquidation of its assets. Its shares plunged $9.43 to close at $1.04. See full story.

Among the loans American Home disclosed: a $2 billion pre-purchase facility with the Real Estate Securities unit of UBS (UBS), a $2.0 billion credit facility from Bear Stearns (BSC), a $1.3 billion syndicated loan led by Bank of America (BAC), a $1 billion loan from Barclays (BCS), a $1.5 billion syndicated loan led by
Calyon Securities and a $124 million loan from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM).

It also has a $250 million credit facility with ABN Amro (ABN).

...more...

[ozymandius]

20. Stocks could start ugly

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were poised to fall sharply Wednesday as the troubled subprime mortgage sector once again shook investors around the world.

At 7:58 a.m. ET, futures were lower, with a comparison to fair value pointing to heavy losses for Wall Street amid more signs that subprime problems are spreading.

But the futures rebounded off earlier lows following remarks from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that market impact of the U.S. subprime mortgage fallout is largely contained and that the global economy is as strong as it has been in decades.

Also lifting futures off of earlier lows is a report from job placement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas that showed planned job cuts in July fell 23 percent from June to a 12-month low.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/01/markets/stockswatch/index.htm?postversion=2007080107

[ozymandius]

21. Quote of the Day: "the stunning failure of responsibility"

From the author of The Long Emergency, comes this just about perfect summation as to the present situation:

"Last week's stock market meltdown suggested that a financial sector rigged for the falsification of reality eventually enters a danger zone where reality implacably reasserts itself, expectations dissolve, and all that remains is the sour odor of fraud.

This long episode of market mania, running for seven years, was based on the idea that non-performing loans could be turned into money by removing them from their point of origin and dressing them up in respectable clothes -- like taking all the winos in downtown Los Angeles, putting them in Prada suits, and passing them off as the faculty of the Harvard Business School. It was a transparently ludicrous racket and the wonder is that America proved to be so utterly bereft of regulating authority -- not to mention plain decency and self-restraint -- at every stage.

-cut-

It worked for the Goldman Sachs bonus babies, and the private equity scammers, and for the corporate CEOs and their board members, and for the politicians who parlayed their votes into cushy lobbying jobs, and even for the miserable quants in the federal government's termite mounds of statistical reportage. It even worked for about 18 months for millions of feckless US citizens gulled into contracts for houses they could never hope to pay for, under arrantly false and ruinous terms . . ."

Ouch!

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2007/08/quote-of-the-da.html

[ozymandius]

23. Not Me! Not me! (heckuva job Greenie)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

26. Kunstler scares me...

He's right too damn often.

[ozymandius]

25. Markets are ready to take your money.

9:30
Dow 13,208.49 Down 3.50 (0.03%)
Nasdaq 2,538.87 Down 7.40 (0.29%)
S&P 500 1,455.27 0.00 (0.00%)
10-Yr Bond 4.755% Down 0.016
NYSE Volume 26,460,000
Nasdaq Volume 53,011,000

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.0.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -4.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.0. Early sentiment continues to improve, but futures hitting their best levels of the morning still signal a dismal start for stocks. Time Warner (TWX) topping forecasts and planning a $5 bln buyback offered some support earlier; but reports that MetLife's (MET) subprime mortgage securities are 98% AA or AAA rated may be offering some added relief since such underlying fears of the subprime fallout are so impossible to quantify.

[UpInArms]

28. 9:48 EST tilting into the red

Dow 13,177.84 34.15 (0.26%)
Nasdaq 2,530.86 15.41 (0.61%)
S&P 500 1,450.39 4.88 (0.34%)
10-Yr Bond 4.753% 0.018

NYSE Volume 331,899,000
Nasdaq Volume 209,523,000

[UpInArms]

30. Bear Stearns blather added

09:40 am : A day after American Home Mortgage (AHM 1.27 +0.23) saying it doesn't have the necessary resources to fund mortgage loans rattled stocks, more negative developments on the subprime front leave the indices picking up where they left off, opening lower. The biggest blemish this morning comes from the very brokerage firm that exacerbated the subprime meltdown last month.

Bear Stearns (BSC 121.22) has reportedly suspended investor redemptions at a third hedge fund with about $900 mln in mortgage investments. Nonetheless, a sense that yesterday's sell-off was overdone and a Chrysler (DCX 90.75) financing getting done today easing the worst of fears about a possible credit crunch has helped stocks turn the corner right out of the gate. DJ30 +45.52 NASDAQ +8.73 SP500 +4.14 NASDAQ Vol 88 mln NYSE Vol 32 mln

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -5.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.0.

[UpInArms]

31. Bally Total Fitness files Chapter 11 bankruptcy (too much debt)

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0139351820070801

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp (BFTH.PK: Quote, Profile, Research), one of the largest U.S. health club operators, has filed for bankruptcy protection, after struggling in recent years with membership declines and too much debt.

The Chicago-based company and more than 40 affiliates filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors on Tuesday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Bally listed $396.8 million of assets and $761.3 million of debts as of December 31, court papers show.

The company said the reorganization process will not affect memberships or operations at its more than 375 health clubs. It also intends to keep paying employees and vendors.

Bally will seek approval of a "prepackaged" reorganization plan supported by holders of much of two bond issues.

It said the plan would reduce debt by $150 million and provide $90 million of capital through a rights offering backed by affiliates of Anschutz Investment Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Tennenbaum Capital Partners LLC. Existing stockholders would receive nothing for their shares, Bally has said.

...more...

[Bushwick Bill]

37. Oil sets record on drawdown...

"Inventory report shows huge drop in crude stocks, sending prices past old trading high and toward $79 a barrel."
http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/01/markets/oil_eia/index.htm?postversion=2007080110

[UpInArms]

42. Closing numbers - Ponies for everyone!

Dow 13,362.37 150.38 (1.14%)
Nasdaq 2,553.87 7.60 (0.30%)
S&P 500 1,465.81 10.54 (0.72%)
10-Yr Bond 4.757% 0.014

NYSE Volume 602,890,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,908,116,000

3:30 pm : The market continues to head lower going into the close as selling remains widespread across most areas. Seven out of 10 sectors are now trading lower, paced by declines of more than 2.0% in Energy and Materials -- this year's best performing sectors. The only area garnering any notable buying support is Utilities, but a 0.8% advance from a sector with only a 3.5% weighting on the S&P 500 is more than offset by just a 0.2% decline in the more heavily weighted Technology sector.

Further underscoring today's bearish tone has been a 10% surge on the VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) to its highest level in four years. Known as the "investor fear gauge," the spike higher suggests investors are actively buying put options in anticipation that too much money floating around will lead to more market declines, with things likely getting worse before they get better. DJ30 -63.74 NASDAQ -30.28 SP500 -15.68 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2237/797/2.30 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2639/655/1.80 bln

[Maeve]

44. Jinx! Been a while since we posted same thing same time, UIA!

Mine's up thread a bit, tho.

[UpInArms]

45. okay! do you want the new one or the old one?

[Maeve]

46. The design that says "classic" is newer than the one that says "new"

:crazy:

Lord, I remember the whole "New Coke" nonsense...what a fiasco! Giving people what you think they want instead of what they really want...and never the thought that no one ever ordered a rum & Pepsi...
:toast:
Slainte!

[ozymandius]

52. Maeve, you've been paying extra attention to the SMW lately.

I've noticed. And I'm grateful. Nice having you around again. Is there something you're paying attention to specifically? When veterans like you and Julie start showing up regularly - it makes me wonder if some sixth sense might be awakening with eyes toward our financial future.

Aside from that: how was your daughter's trip?

[Maeve]

54. I don't get any feeling of doom, ozy

Just attracted by the volatility. Anytime things start swinging, I get nervous. I've been waiting for the housing/mortgage mess to hit the fan for quite some time and I do want to see how it plays out.

Daughter's trip to France was great--the only problem was they tempered the food to American teen-aged tastes, so she didn't get as "French" an experience as she wanted! She also noted that the French countryside reminded her of West Virginia...:shrug:
She says it was worth all the months of work it took her to pay for it, so that is cool.

[Roland99]

49. 200+ pt swing in the last 25 min.?!?!

[UpInArms]

50. they were excited about the auto sales results - NOT! (lowest since Oct '05)

12. U.S. July import vehicle sales 4.0mln vs. 4.0mln
4:37 PM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 2 hours ago

13. U.S. July domestic vehicle sales 11.5mln vs. 11.6mln
4:37 PM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 2 hours ago

14. U.S. July vehicle sales fall to 15.5mln pace v. 15.6mln June
4:37 PM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 2 hours ago

15. U.S. July vehicle sales lowest since Oct. 2005: AutoData
4:37 PM ET, Aug 01, 2007 - 2 hours ago

[UpInArms]

51. end of day - buy program (PPT) - blather

For more than a week now it's become quite apparent that market volatility has returned amid a continued high level of risk to the downside on any credit-related news. Today's roller coaster ride was no exception as investors sold into every intraday recovery attempt before finally buying into the day's last dip and carrying widespread market gains into the close.

All three indices surging in synch with each other and logging roughly the same percentage gains on heavy volume suggests that the triggering of a buy program exacerbated the late-day rally to the upside. In fact, CNBC reported that once Wall Street traders realized that the day's Market-on-Close orders (buy and sell imbalances) were benign, the bulls raced back into equities in similar fashion to their mass exodus a day earlier.

The Dow swung within a 258-point range before finishing with an impressive 1.1% advance. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively, at one point but still garnered enough bargain-hunting interest to close in positive territory as well.

Per usual, the heavily-weighted Financial sector (+0.4%) dictated the day's action. Reports that a Bear Stearns (BSC 118.30 -2.92) hedge fund halted redemptions in an attempt to manage its way through a challenging credit market, even though it had less than 1.0% of its assets in subprime mortgages, kicked things off on a sour note and contributed to an early 2.2% plunge in Financials.

Australia's Macquarie Bank saying that investors in two of its funds could lose up to 25% due to the subprime fallout in the U.S. exacerbated the credit concerns while an increasingly more risk-averse market also digested speculation that Beazer Homes (BZH 11.48 -2.51) may go bankrupt. That rumor, which Beazer management later stated was "scurrilous and unfounded," initially offset an unexpected rise in pending home sales for June. The report checked in with its largest gain (5%) in more than three years.

Adding insult to injury late in the day was confirmation that Advanced Medical Optics (EYE 30.55 +0.32) was withdrawing its $75/share takeover offer for Bausch & Lomb (BOL 62.54 -1.39). New evidence suggesting that this year's record pace of M&A activity is slowing sent the Financial sector retracing its worst levels of the day heading into the final stretch.

Nonetheless, a sense that yesterday's sell-off was overdone, as well as an average pullback of 6% on the Dow and S&P 500 from their record closes on July 19, lured buyers from the sidelines in droves and prevented the bears from kicking off the historically weak month of August in typical fashion, trading lower. BTK -1.1% DJ30 +150.38 DJTA +0.3% DJUA +2.1% DOT +0.2% NASDAQ +7.60 NQ100 +0.7% R2K +0.2% SOX +0.4% SP400 +0.3% SP500 +10.54 XOI -0.5% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1799/1256/2.94 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1916/1392/2.36 bln

[ozymandius]

53. Paging SpecimenFred! Paging SpecimenFred!

Were mystery traders bidding against themselves in huge blocks today in the S&P pits?

Curious minds wanna know.

:hi: