STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday November 1

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday November 1, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 447 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2482 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2202 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2163
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

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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 October 31, 2007

Dow... 13,930.01 +137.54 (+1.00%)
Nasdaq... 2,859.12 +42.41 (+1.51%)
S&P 500... 1,549.38 +18.36 (+1.20%)
Gold future... 796.00 +8.20 (+1.04%)
30-Year Bond 4.75% +0.08 (+1.67%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.48% +0.09 (+2.10%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

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PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp

Dissecting 3rd Q GDP
BY CHRIS PUPLAVA

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released the first look at third quarter GDP, which showed the economy expanded at a 3.9% annualized rate in real GDP. This was above the consensus expectations of 3.0% growth and slightly larger than the 3.82% second quarter growth rate in real GDP.

What is not widely reported in the financial press regarding the GDP report was the implicit price deflator. The implicit price deflator used to subtract inflation from nominal GDP to obtain real GDP was 4.23% in the first quarter, 2.63% in the second quarter, and 0.75% in the third quarter. Nominal GDP came in this quarter at 4.67% and subtracting the implicit price deflator gives real GDP of 3.90%.

What is incredibly hard to believe is that inflation grew an annualized 0.75% in the third quarter despite oil pushing over $90/barrel, surging food prices where the food & beverage CPI is running at an accelerated 4.4% YOY rate, core CPI running at a 2.14% YOY rate, and the ultimate inflation barometer, gold, pushing through $800/oz intraday and approaching an all-time high.

What is interesting is that the implicit price deflator was directionally correlated with West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices in 2006, where both trended lower. However, they decoupled this year with the deflator falling since the first quarter while crude has been trending up the whole year as has food inflation. In the GDP revisions to come down the road, expect the growth rate to be adjusted downward as the implicit price deflator is likely grossly understated, which in turn overstates GDP.

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

[Roland99]

13. Ah HA! I *knew* they were cooking the books.

[Nimrod2005]

2. Good morning and good luck!

[ozymandius]

3. Today's Reports by the bushel

8:30 AM Personal Income Sep -
Briefing Forecast 0.4%
Market Expects 0.4%
Prior 0.3%

8:30 AM Personal Spending Sep
Briefing Forecast 0.5%
Market Expects 0.4%
Prior 0.6%

8:30 AM Core PCE Inflation Sep
Briefing Forecast 0.1%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior 0.1%

8:30 AM Initial Claims 10/27
Briefing Forecast 335K
Market Expects 330K
Prior 331K

10:00 AM ISM Index Oct
Briefing Forecast 52.0
Market Expects 51.5
Prior 52.0

10:00 AM Pending Home Sales Sep
Briefing Forecast -
Market Expects -
Prior -6.5%

5:00 PM Auto Sales Oct
Briefing Forecast 5.0M
Market Expects 5.1M
Prior 5.2M

5:00 PM Truck Sales Oct
Briefing Forecast 7.1M
Market Expects 7.1M
Prior 7.3M

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

[UpInArms]

19. 8:30 reports:

30. U.S. Sept. PCE price index up 0.2%; up 2.4% in past year
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

31. U.S. Sept. personal savings rate rises to 0.9%
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

32. U.S. Sept. real disposable incomes up 0.2%
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

33. U.S. Sept. real consumer spending rises 0.1%
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

34. U.S. core inflation up 1.8% in past year
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

35. U.S. 4-week avg. continuing jobless claims rise to 2.53 mln
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

36. U.S. Sept. core inflation rises 0.2% as expected
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

37. U.S. continuing jobless claims rise 65,000 to 2.58 million
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

38. U.S. 4-week avg. initial jobless claims up 1,750 to 327,000
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

39. U.S. weekly initial jobless claims fall 6,000 to 327,000
8:30 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 57 minutes ago

[UpInArms]

29. U.S. Oct. ISM index 50.9% vs. 51.5% expected

01. U.S. Oct. ISM index 50.9% vs. 51.5% expected
10:01 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 30 seconds ago

[Roland99]

66. Perilously close to... *gasp* ... contraction

[Roland99]

4. Wholesale gas topping $2.36/gal

[ozymandius]

5. $100/bbl here we come!

Oil above $96 on drop in US supplies

SINGAPORE - The price of oil rose to a new record above $96 a barrel Thursday after a surprise drop in U.S. crude stockpiles raised concerns about supplies for coming winter demand. Other energy futures also gained.

It was the second week in a row the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a sharp and unexpected drop in oil inventories.

-cut-

Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as high as $96.24 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore before dropping back to $95.59 a barrel.

Crude prices have reached inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on the how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $101 or more today.

-cut-

Cushing supplies have been under pressure in recent months due to differences in the price between front-month oil contracts and those for delivery in future months. This price difference, or spread, has given storage tank owners a financial incentive to sell their oil, rather than hold it in inventory. Analysts have also blamed falling Cushing supplies, in part, for the rally in which oil prices have jumped 35 percent since August.

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

[ozymandius]

8. China fuel crisis spreads

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's worst fuel crisis in two years spread to the capital and other inland areas by Wednesday, and one man was killed in a brawl at a petrol station queue, upping pressure on the government to intervene.

Diesel shortages in China's political heart, which escaped previous supply crunches unscathed, highlight tensions between the government and its increasingly independent oil firms about who should pay for the country's generous fuel subsidies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071031/ts_nm/china_oil_shortages_dc

[Roland99]

14. Check out this reasoning for the skyrocketing oil prices....

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/crude-oil-breaches-96-barrel/story.aspx?guid=%7B5E810140%2D5344%2D494D%2D9667%2DFEFC2997E388%7D

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) - Crude-oil prices, already at electronic-trading intraday records, breached $96 a barrel Thursday, continuing to rally on news that U.S. inventories dropped more than expected as well as a weakened dollar in the wake of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate cut.

The surge came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said that commercial crude-oil inventories, which are inventories excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 3.9 million barrels to 312.7 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 26. That's the lowest since October 2005.

"It's basically supply and demand that's pushing up oil," said Greg Gibbs, ABN Amro's director of foreign exchange strategy in Sydney. "Demand is still strong and supply has been somewhat constrained, especially outside of OPEC."

The front-month contract for December delivery jumped as high as $96.24 a barrel in electronic trading before slipping back. It was recently quoted at $95.70 a barrel, $1.17 higher than the previous close on the New York Mercantile Exchange.


:banghead:

[JNelson6563]

15. What a pantload.

Supply and demand my eye.

Oy.

[DemReadingDU]

87. Don't ya wonder why gas is being manipulated?

Why is light crude oil almost $100 barrel? There has to be a reason why we aren't yet paying $5 gallon gas at the pump. Someone is manipulating the prices behind the scenes.

[ozymandius]

6. Foreclosure filings soar in 3rd quarter

LOS ANGELES - A soaring number of U.S. homeowners struggled to make mortgage payments in the third quarter, with properties in some stage of foreclosure more than doubling from the same time last year, a mortgage data company said Thursday.

A total of 446,726 homes nationwide were targeted by some sort of foreclosure activity from July to September, up 100.1 percent from 223,233 properties in the year-ago period, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc.

The current figure was 33.9 percent higher than the 333,731 properties in foreclosure in the second quarter of this year.

There was one foreclosure filing for every 196 households in the nation during the most recent quarter, RealtyTrac said.

-cut-

With home sales in decline and prices down or flat in many regions, more homeowners are landing in foreclosure because they can't afford to sell their homes after falling behind on payments.

The three states with the highest foreclosure rates during the third quarter were Nevada, California and Florida, RealtyTrac said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071101/ap_on_bi_ge/foreclosure_rates

[ozymandius]

7. Credit Suisse profits slashed by US subprime crisis

ZURICH, Switzerland (AFP) - Swiss banking group Credit Suisse on Thursday recorded a 31 percent drop in net profit for the third quarter due to fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States.

Switzerland's second largest bank said in a statement that third quarter net profit had been slashed to 1.302 billion Swiss francs (775.5 million euros, 1.122 billion dollars).

-cut-

The drop in quarterly profit was in line with a warning issued by the group last month.

Nine-month net profit, however, stood at a record 7.22 billion Swiss francs, an increase of nine percent over the same period last year.

Credit Suisse had voiced caution in August about the potential impact on its second half results of the US subprime crisis. In September, the group announced it was shedding 150 jobs, mainly in London and New York.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071101/ts_afp/switzerlandbankingearningscompanycreditsuisse_071101094012

[ozymandius]

9. 47 million Americans lack health insurance: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of Americans lacking health insurance rose by nearly 8.6 million to 47 million from 2000 to 2006, with children and workers from every income level losing coverage, a new report said on Thursday.

The increase was "driven primarily by the continued erosion in employer-provided health insurance," said the report by the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute.

In 2006, 2.3 million fewer Americans received health benefits from their employers than in 2000, the report said, noting the decline does not take the population increase into account.

Nearly 60 percent of the nation's children are covered by the insurance provided by their parents' employers, but 3.4 million fewer children had benefits in 2006 compared with 2000.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071101/ts_nm/healthcare_states_dc

[ozymandius]

10. Bush calls children's health insurance bill a 'trick'

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Wednesday again vowed to veto a renewed push to expand a popular children's health care program, saying it would play a "trick" on Americans by moving the country closer to a federalized health system.

Bush vetoed a previous version of the legislation that congressional Democrats have deemed a top priority.

-cut-

Bush was referring to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, the state-run, federally funded program that was set to expire September 30 but was extended at current levels until the passage of new legislation.

-cut-

The current program covers about 6 million children whose parents earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, the federal health insurance program for the poor, but who can't afford private insurance.

The new version would expand the program by nearly $35 billion over five years -- the same level as the previous bill, according to Democrats. They want to extend the program to another 4 million, paying for it with a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/31/bush.schip/

[Hugin]

18. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em...

Do it for the children!

"61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal tax on cigarettes." Who tacked a regressive tax on there anyway?

:smoke:

[AnneD]

21. Morning Marketeers...

:donut: and lurkers. Happy Dia del Muerte....Day of the Dead. A day when families go out to the graves for a family picnic and celebration. Where the treats for the day all have skeletons on them and you can't figure out whether you are at a Grateful Dead gathering or an Addam's Family Reunion movie set.

And speaking of blood baths and other mayhem, I think the GOP-even IF they win the Presidency will decisively lose this next year. I think this SCHP program will be the stake in the heart of the GOP and I think that is one of the reasons Bush is trying so hard to project this on the DEM's. But is not sticking this time. I was hearing on NPR that in Georgia a family has to make 2x over the poverty level to qualify (that is 40K for a family of 4). Even if the Congress passes a stop gap measure to fund at the current level, many states will come up short and have to drop kids. As one lady said-'how can you decide who stays on and who gets dis enrolled. We have kids undergoing chemo, diabetics, and asthmatics. How can we make a choice.' IMHO Bush's plan should be called "The Sophia's Choice" Plan (with no disrespect intended to the author). Trillions of dollars and a 10+ year commitment to Iraq, but not a 1 year 10 mill (and deferred via cigarette tax) to the health of the poorest American children. Now THAT folks is a frightening prospect for this Day Of The Dead.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.....

[happyslug]

45. But "Dia del Muerte" is more November 2, than November 1.

While the "Day of the Dead" has some pre-Christian Roots for the last couple of Hundred years it has been connected, In Mexico, with the Catholic Holidays of All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). In other Latin American Countries it appears to be more November 2 (i.e Tied in with "All Souls Day" not "All Saints Day").

For more see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/feature/daydeadindex.html

[AnneD]

52. Maybe they get ...

a jump start here...instead of a Christmas creep, we have a death creep:spray:
Instead of a war on Christmas-a war on the dead:rofl:
Fogive me, I am so easily amused-thanks for the info...

[ozymandius]

11. Good morning.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

Time for me to leave. Have a wonderful day folks.

Ozy :hi:

[AnneD]

16. Morning Ozy.....

while you're teaching economics.....teach the kids how to count back change. I always taught the kids how to count back.

I went through a drive through yesterday and gave the person a 20 for an order for 7.01. She was taking so long I managed to find a penny. She took the penny but called over the manager to ask what she did now (the register was still open and she had a handful of coins). I don't know whose eyes were rolling more-mine or the manager's. No wonder we are in deep doo:banghead:

[JNelson6563]

12. Splendid toon!

So, shall we start a pool on when gold's going to break $800? ;-)

Julie

[AnneD]

58. Or when ....

oil breaks 100

[TalkingDog]

17. Is the Confederate army approaching DC yet?

Well, I guess it's a moot point, since we already have a "confederate" adminstration.

In after-hours trading, the loonie went as high as $1.0617 US, eclipsing the previous 50-year high of $1.0614 US set on August 21, 1957.

That's the highest the Canadian dollar has climbed since it was allowed to float in 1950.

You have to go back more than a century to find a time when the Canadian dollar was worth more.

According to a history of the dollar posted on the Bank of Canada website, the U.S. dollar plunged in 1864 as the Confederate Army approached Washington during the U.S. Civil War and the Union government temporarily shut down gold trading.

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2007/10/31/dollarjump.html

My Favorite Master Artist: Karen Parker GhostWoman Studios

[UpInArms]

20. dollar watch

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

Last trade 76.728 Change +0.189 (+0.25%)

Dollar Bounces as Relief Rally Takes Hold

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio2/Dollar_Bounces_as_Relief_Rally_1193911755478.html

After reaching record lows against the euro in the wake of yesterday’s Fed’s 25bp rate hike, the dollar rebounded in early European trade as better than expected US economic data and a hawkish sounding FOMC communiqué put in doubt any further greenback weakness for the time being. As we had noted several days ago, “a 25bp cut may actually prove dollar positive with the unit possibly staging a temporary relief rally.”

The key to any additional dollar strength will be contingent upon Friday’s NFP report. If the US economy can generate more than 100K+ jobs in October, the data would put to rest any immediate threat of a possible US recession. Much of the recent dollar weakness has been the result of the currency market pricing in just such a dour scenario. Should the labor markets prove to be resilient some of the late EURUSD longs may be unwound as traders pare back their expectations of additional Fed rate cuts for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile we are likely to see more consolidation ahead of the US session when the ISM numbers and personal income data hit the screen. Given yesterday’s weak Chicago PMI numbers there is some danger that ISM may print below forecast as well, but the markets may focus more on the US personal income/personal spending numbers. In order for dollar longs to make a credible case that US economy is not vulnerable to a substantial slowdown, the report will have to demonstrate that US consumers enjoyed steady income growth in October. Growth in income is critical to the health of US consumer spending during the upcoming Christmas shopping season, especially so this year, when many US consumers have seen their net worth erode in the relentless decline of the housing sector.

In Europe today, the docket was very quiet with only Swiss and UK PMI data on tap. The Swiss numbers rebounded, but UK manufacturing continues to show signs of deterioration as higher exchange rates and interest rates are starting to weigh on the country’s producers. Nevertheless, despite slipping to 52.9 from 54.5 projected manufacturing activity remained comfortably above the 50 boom/bust level and is unlikely to motivate the BoE to move off its neutral stance in November. It does however suggest that the continent’ s industrial sector may be finally feeling the impact of high exchange rates. Tomorrow’s EZ PMI manufacturing numbers will tell more of the story and should they surprise to the downside further EURUSD weakness could follow.

...more...

Oil Just Whiskers Below $100, but Can it Drive Canadian Dollar Beyond 90 Cents?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/Oil_Just_Whiskers_Below__100__1193867622215.html

The Canadian dollar has recently rallied to fresh multi-decade heights against the US dollar, with record crude oil costs stoking strong demand for the Canadian currency. With the world’s second-largest proven oil reserves, Canada has undoubtedly benefitted from the commodity’s meteoric uptrend. Given the fact that it is the single-largest exporter of oil to the United States, it is little surprise that the US Dollar-Canadian dollar exchange rate has held a historically high correlation to the price of crude oil. However this correlation is waning, indicating that US dollar weakness is becoming a bigger driver of USD/CAD than just oil prices. Therefore it remains to be seen whether $100 oil will drive USDCAD below 90 cents.



More recently, however, the strength of the correlation between the USDCAD and oil prices has begun to falter. After turning positive through mid-2007, the 50-day rolling correlation actually remains at its weakness since 2005. The conclusions of such results are relatively straightforward: crude oil has certainly played a large part in the broader USDCAD downtrend, but it remains clear that its influence has become less significant as time has worn on. The more recent leg of USDCAD weakness seems to follow recent market tendencies towards US Dollar selling – indicating that oil prices is not the only factor driving the currency pair low. As such, it remains critical to examine any factors that may affect the US dollar.

...more...

[UpInArms]

24. Dollar falls vs yen as U.S. stocks weigh

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSHER60421520071101?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar retreated against the yen on Thursday, reversing earlier gains, hurt by declines in U.S. stocks as investors backed out of riskier assets.

The dollar earlier reacted little to U.S. data showing modest inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy in September and a fall in U.S. jobless claims. Currency traders were more focused on the stock market's price action.

A fall in the U.S. equity index futures, following the drop in Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shares, prompted investors to sell the dollar and buy the yen.

"S&P is down further and this is hurting the carry trade. Dollar/yen and other yen crosses are getting hit hard," said a trader with Forex.com in Bedminster, New Jersey.

Investors use the low yielding yen to buy higher-yielding currencies and other assets such as the Australian and New Zealand dollars. The dollar slipped 0.1 percent against the yen to 115.17, off the day's highs at 115.92. The euro fell half a percent to 166.13 yen.

Earlier on Thursday, U.S. data showed that the underlying U.S. inflation index came in line with expectations and jobless claims fell more than expected in the latest week.

...more...

[UpInArms]

22. 9:39 and some really horrible bloody numbers

Dow 13,736.71 193.30 (1.39%)
Nasdaq 2,819.84 39.28 (1.37%)
S&P 500 1,525.56 23.82 (1.54%)
10-Yr Bond 4.432% 0.043

NYSE Volume 112,952,140.625
Nasdaq Volume 152,428,281.25

09:16 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -16.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -17.3.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -18.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -20.3. Additional profit taking has pushed the futures market lower. Oil is now flat at $94.58 a barrel.

08:33 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -10.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.5. Futures dipped following a worse than expected earnings report from Dow component Exxon Mobil (XOM). At 8:30 ET, futures then made a slight recovery immediately following the Core PCE Inflation reading of 0.2% and the weekly initial jobless claims reading of 327k. Economists were expected the Core PCE Inflation to be 0.2% and the weekly initial jobless claims to be 330K.

08:01 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -8.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -6.5. Futures are pointing to a lower open, but losses are modest compared to yesterday’s rally following the 25 basis point rate cuts. Profit taking catalysts include rising oil prices, a CIBC assertion that the Citigroup (C) has a $30 billion capital shortfall, and a report from RealtyTrac that U.S. foreclosures increased in the third quarter by 30%. The majority of today’s earnings reports have beat estimates.

06:21 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -6.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -5.5.

06:20 am : FTSE...6681.00...-40.60...-0.6%. DAX...7995.98...-23.14...-0.3%.

[JNelson6563]

26. Wow!!

This is some serious ugliness! :scared:

[AnneD]

63. So are we to assume....

the market wanted/expects a bigger rate cut?

Dang we are in for some nastiness in '08 (or when ever this house of cards falls). If there is any justice it will collapse during the Bush Admin. and we will never have a neocon GOP ever elected to office again.Amen.

[UpInArms]

23. Small Check-Kiting Operation: Fed adds $8.0 bln in reserves via 14-day repo

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSNYG00082420071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it was adding temporary reserves to the banking system through a 14-day repurchase agreement.

Federal funds were trading steady at 4.63 percent in the market after the operation was announced, above the 4.50 percent target rate the Fed sets.

[UpInArms]

35. More Kiting: Fed adds $12 bln reserves through overnight repos

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSNYD00011320071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it added $12 billion of temporary reserves to the banking system through overnight repurchase agreements.

The Fed said the collateral accepted on the overnight repurchase was made up of $7.16 billion of Treasuries, $3.025 billion of agencies and $1.815 billion of mortgage-backed securities. A total of $70.15 billion in bids were submitted for the overnight repurchase.

[UpInArms]

36. More for a total of $41 Billion: Fed adds $21 bln in reserves through 7-day repos

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSNYD00011220071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it added $21 billion of temporary reserves to the banking system through 7-day repurchase agreements.

The Fed said the collateral accepted on the 7-day repurchase was made up of $1 billion of Treasuries and $20 billion of mortgage-backed securities. A total of $86.2 billion in bids were submitted for the 7-day repurchase.

[wordpix]

88. WTF? Does this mean the USD is worth NOTHING now?

[UpInArms]

25. Gold nears $800 on inflation worries and weak dollar

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSL3119491020071101?sp=true

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices hit a 28-year high on Thursday, a hair's breadth away from the key $800 mark, stoked by a tumbling dollar, record-high oil and inflation concerns.

Prices eased later with a marginal recovery in the dollar, but sentiment remained bullish and the metal was seen moving towards its lifetime high of $850 next year, analysts said.

"Higher oil prices could certainly be triggering inflation concerns in the minds of investors and speculators," said Suki Cooper, precious metals analyst at Barclays Capital.

"The two key drivers are continued dollar weakness and oil price strength, and we are forecasting that both would move favorably for gold."

Gold hit a peak of $799.30 an ounce, its highest since January 1980 when it scaled an all-time high of $850. It eased to $792.60/793.30 by 6:56 a.m. EDT, against $791.70/792.50 in New York late on Wednesday.

After adjusting for inflation, gold's lifetime high is equal to $2,079 an ounce at 2006 prices. Prices have jumped 25 percent since the latest rally began in mid-August.

Oil leaped more than 1 percent, briefly topping $96 a barrel for the first time and extending the previous day's 5 percent jump after an unexpected sharp fall in U.S. crude stocks and data showing strong economic growth.

...more...

[UpInArms]

27. 9:46 EST Look Ma! No Curbs! Now down 210+

Dow 13,719.07 210.94 (1.51%)
Nasdaq 2,816.62 42.50 (1.49%)
S&P 500 1,526.49 22.89 (1.48%)
10-Yr Bond 4.433% 0.042

NYSE Volume 156,503,281.25
Nasdaq Volume 188,124,343.75

[54anickel]

47. I wonder if that no curbs BS was just that - BS. Someone knew the brown matta was gonna hit and

the no curbs mantra makes it somehow more digestible. Nothing to worry about, it's just the lack of curbs which really weren't doing anything to effect the markets in the longer-than-a-day term anyway. Nothing to see here - move along, it's a buy and hold mentality that wins in the long run. :eyes:

[Hugin]

49. Curbs smack of the R-word...

R-E-G-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Doesn't sit well with the, "I WANT IT NOW!" pseudo-free-market crowd.

[UpInArms]

50. see my post #38 - curbs in

:shrug:

[UpInArms]

28. Hahahaha - check out headline: GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks turn sharply lower after Fed-induced rally

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSL0112939220071101?sp=true

LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - World stocks fell from earlier all-time highs on Thursday while credit market sentiment worsened as investors scaled back expectations for further monetary policy easing a day after the Fed cut interest rates.

Oil briefly topped $96 a barrel after an unexpectedly sharp fall in U.S. crude oil stocks, while gold hit a 28-year high, bolstered by the still weak dollar. Surging commodity prices lifted emerging market stocks, which hit an all-time high.

Risky assets quickly erased Wednesday's gains and turned sharply lower. Investors have shifted their focus to the Fed's assessment that the risk of inflation was about equal to downside risks to growth, dampening expectations for future rate reductions.

"(The Fed) indicated that they're moving towards a neutral bias which effectively takes out the probability of any cuts supporting the market," said Puneet Sharma, credit strategist at Barclays Capital.

The MSCI main world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS: Quote, Profile, Research) was down 0.4 percent, having earlier hit a record high. U.S. stock futures (SPc1: Quote, Profile, Research) were down more than 1 percent, indicating a weaker open on Wall Street later. The FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3: Quote, Profile, Research) was down 1.5 percent on the day.

"We've got through the worst of the jitters in the credit market but there is a lot of concern about general global growth," said Ian Williams, strategist at Blue Oar Securities.

...more...

[DemReadingDU]

30. possibly billions of bogus mortgage debt in pensions

Do you know how many billions of bogus mortgage bubble debt have blown up in your pension fund?

What’s Your Exposure?
October 29, 2007 at 7:33 pm · Filed under Daily Musings

There is much talk about the impact on Wall Street and the banking system of the dramatic drop in the price of mortgage backed securities. Last week I heard a presentation that estimated that 94% of all BBB CDO’s would default and 16% of all AAA CDO’s would default. The silence about what this will do to US pension funds, particularly public pension funds is quite eerie.

Here is a link to Public Pension Fund Web Sites:

http://www.seiu.org/mbe/retirement_security/pensionfundsites.cfm

For instance, in the Ohio Public Employee Retirements System (OPERS), at the end of 2006, had $7.5billion in mortgage-backed bonds, accounting for 9.7% of the total value of the portfolio. Add to that government securities related to the mortgage markets, US real estate investments as well as homebuilding and related stocks (like banks and Wall Street firms) and we are talking about a lot of money.
In the Montana Teachers’ Retirement System fund, the ten largest fixed income holdings at market value (then, we wonder about the true market value now) are mortgage securities:

1. Freddie Mac——————————-$12,951,830
2. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp——12,770,069
3. Federal Home Loan Pool G11812———12,400,941
4. Federal National Mortgage Assn———-11,749,780
5. Federal Home Loan Pool G02070———11,001,336
6. FNMA Pool 745250 ————————10,722,292
7. Federal Home Loan Pool G11777———10,278,513
8. Federal Home Loan Pool G11670———–9,962,779
9. ARIA CDO————————————-9,651,403
10. Cypresstree Synthetic CDO—————–9,290,660

The fastest way to finance successful communities is to stop financing the destruction of communities. Do you know where your retirement savings is and what it is doing? We encourage you to start digging through the available financial disclosure….
http://www.solari.com/blog/?p=200

***********************************

Note: This site is for Public Pension Funds, but wouldn't other pensions funds possibly be affected?

***********************************

Edit to add:
July 2007 The Poison in Your Pension
Banks are selling the riskiest CDO portions, known as toxic waste, to public pensions and state trust funds.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/marketsmag/pension.html

[Hugin]

31. Chrysler lays off thousands of salaried workers -- AP

"DETROIT - Chrysler LLC is laying off thousands of hourly workers in the Midwest as part of an effort to slash costs and match slowing demand for some vehicles, a person briefed on the plan said Thursday.

The company is cutting one shift each at three plants in Michigan, a plant in Belvidere, Ill., and a plant in Toledo, Ohio, according the person, who requested anonymity because the plan hadn’t yet been released. The person said the exact number of jobs affected would be disclosed later Thursday.

The affected plants in Michigan are Jefferson North, which makes the Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Sterling Heights plant, which makes the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, and the Mack Avenue engine plant."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21566956/
_____________________________________

Other sources say it may be higher than 12,000 workers.

[Hugin]

33. Update: Chrysler to cut up to 12,000 jobs -- AP

"DETROIT - Chrysler LLC said Thursday it plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs as part of an effort to slash costs and match slowing demand for some vehicles.

The automaker will cut 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs through 2008 and salaried employment by about 2,100. It will eliminate shifts at five North American assembly plants and eliminate four products from its line-up."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21566956/
_______________________________

!

[UpInArms]

39. line item details:

05. Chrysler to eliminate four models through 2008
10:05 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 31 minutes ago

06. Chrysler to reduce salaried employees by 1,000
10:04 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 32 minutes ago

07. Chrysler to cut 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs through 2008
10:03 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 33 minutes ago

08. Chrysler to eliminate shifts at 5 North American plants
10:02 AM ET, Nov 01, 2007 - 34 minutes ago

[Roland99]

69. 12:02[F] Ford October sales fall 9.5% to about 195K vehicles

[Hugin]

32. Stocks plunge amid data, surging oil -- AP

Big banks Citigroup, Bank of America downgraded


"NEW YORK - Wall Street plunged in early trading Thursday as surging oil prices and slower growth in consumer spending erased optimism about the Federal Reserve’s positive take on the economy just a day earlier."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3683270/
_______________________________

So much for the fun-duh-mental cases... :eyes:

[Hugin]

34. ~10:30 EST: Still in the red...

Index Last Change % change
• DJIA 13702.97 -227.04 -1.63%
• NASDAQ 2815.96 -43.16 -1.51%
• S&P 500 1521.73 -27.65 -1.78%

[Hugin]

37. US manufacturing growth nearly stalled in Oct -- Reuters

"NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Growth at U.S. factories deteriorated to its slowest pace since March as tighter credit conditions and a housing downturn proved a drag on production, according to a report released on Thursday.

The Institute for Supply Management said its index of U.S. manufacturing fell to 50.9 from 52.0 in September, below economists' median forecast for a dip to 51.5. A reading of 50 separates growth from contraction."

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2007-11-01T140501Z_01_N01418571_RTRIDST_0_USA-ECONOMY-MANUFACTURING-URGENT.XML

__________________________

A little more than reply above...

[UpInArms]

38. Big Board imposes stock trading curbs

I thought they did away with those???

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0137853220071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange said on Thursday it instituted downside trading curbs at 9.38 a.m. (1338 GMT) as U.S. stocks fell sharply in early trading.

A downgrade of Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 1 U.S. bank, sparked concerns about the financial sector.

The New York Stock Exchange Composite Index (.NYA: Quote, Profile, Research), which is used to determine when to begin trading curbs, was down 212 points, or 2 percent, at 10,099.

The trading curbs require that all program selling of S&P 500 stocks must be on an up-tick.

[Hugin]

55. Kicked to the curb...

Buttercup posted this yesterday:

"Buttercup - I think what they did away with is the 'trading collars' also known as program trading curbs- on the bottom of the chart below.
The 'circuit breakers' , to deal with really big drops , are still in effect I believe.


CIRCUIT-BREAKER LEVELS
FOR FOURTH-QUARTER 2007
In the event of a 1350-POINT decline in the DJIA (10 percent):

Before 2 p.m.
1-HOUR HALT
2-2:30 p.m.
30-MIN. HALT
After 2:30 p.m.
NO HALT

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the event of a 2700-POINT decline in the DJIA (20 percent):

Before 1 p.m.
2-HOUR HALT

1-2 p.m.
1-HOUR HALT
After 2 p.m.
MARKET CLOSES

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the event of a 4050-POINT decline in the DJIA (30 percent), regardless of the time, MARKET CLOSES for the day.

TRADING-COLLAR LEVELS
FOR FOURTH-QUARTER 2007
In the event of a 190-POINT ADVANCE in the NYA, all index-arbitrage buy orders of the S&P 500 stocks must be stabilizing for the remainder of the day. Collar will be removed if the NYA moves back to within 90 points of the previous days close.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the event of a 190-POINT DECLINE in the NYA, all index-arbitrage sell orders of the S&P 500 stocks must be stabilizing for the remainder of the day. Collar will be removed if the NYA moves back to within 90 points of the previous days close.

Note: Effective October 1 - December 31 "

______________________________________________

I think I'll keep a copy of these someplace.

[54anickel]

59. Hmmmm, I wonder if it wasn't the up-tick rule they were trying to work around. I haven't

been able to follow much of anything these days - just catchin' the breeze over the top of my head when I check in here. I'm afraid we have entered those dark stormy waters where the trusty old compass can no longer be relied upon. Damned, too bad we can't make out the stars anymore either. Time to hang on and batton down the hatches.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

103. Shake and move.

The "rules" are fluid.

[UpInArms]

40. Falling interest rates weaken dollar and cost consumers more

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/lower-interest-rates-can-hurt/story.aspx?guid=%7BB2040A68%2D4F86%2D42F9%2D94DB%2D8445AC0455C6%7D

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve's move Wednesday to lower interest rates one-quarter of a percentage point might be a short-term panacea for businesses, financial institutions and the markets. But it will be a stress test for consumers.

Consumers already feeling the financial pains of rising prices at the gasoline pump and the grocery store should brace themselves for another round of punches as lower interest rates put more pressure on the dollar's value.

Because so many commodities -- oil among them -- are valued in dollars worldwide, their prices rise when the dollar falls.

Though oil-producing countries don't set the prices on oil they do control production and aren't shy about holding it back if the declining dollar is going to affect either sales or profits.

At the same time, however, a weaker dollar cuts the prices for international energy consumers whose currencies -- euros and the Canadian dollar, for example -- are appreciating against the dollar. In other words, it becomes cheaper for consumers in Paris and Toronto to buy gas and heat their homes while the prices in Chicago surge.

"When the dollar is weak, oil goes on sale for everyone else in the world," said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for Alaron Futures and Options in Chicago. "While we try to cut the costs here by consuming less oil, they're encouraged to consume more, driving the demand."

...more...

[Hugin]

41. Man the pumps!

Fed adds reserves via 7-day, overnight repos -- Reuters

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it was adding temporary reserves to the banking system through 7-day repurchase agreements, to be followed by an overnight repurchase agreement.

Federal funds, the benchmark overnight lending rate to banks, last traded at 4.625 percent, above the Fed's targeted rate of 4.50 percent.

($21 Billion)

Fed adds $12 bln reserves through overnight repos -- Reuters

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve said on Thursday it added $12 billion of temporary reserves to the banking system through overnight repurchase agreements.

The Fed said the collateral accepted on the overnight repurchase was made up of $7.16 billion of Treasuries, $3.025 billion of agencies and $1.815 billion of mortgage-backed securities. A total of $70.15 billion in bids were submitted for the overnight repurchase.

_______________________________________________

Looks like a good day to fly a kite... ;)

[UpInArms]

44. Fed has biggest day of injections since Sept 2001

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0141922220071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve added a total of $41 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system on Thursday, the biggest single day of such injections since September 2001.

The Fed's infusions may reflect the central bank's efforts to bring the federal funds rate down nearer to its target just one day after a widely expected rate cut.

Fed funds last traded at 4.625 percent on the open market, above the Fed's target rate of 4.50 percent.

A Fed spokesman would not comment on the total size of the operations, but did say it was the largest single day of operations since a total of $50.35 billion was injected on Sept. 19, 2001, following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

...more...

[Hugin]

48. It's a whopper...

:wow:

[Theres-a]

53. That can't be good. nt

[AnneD]

56. Decisions decisions....

does the economy suck or does it blow:think:

[UpInArms]

42. Consumers tend to be the last to see how Fed cuts help them

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fed-cuts-credit-card-holders-ask/story.aspx?guid=%7B1CACA42E%2D3470%2D498C%2D8B26%2D23724DBF50B0%7D

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- For most consumers with hefty credit-card bills, the Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday to trim interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point will leave them asking: Where's mine?

Indeed, most consumers have yet to feel any monetary benefits from the half-point cut the Federal Reserve made six weeks ago.

"For the average consumer, there's a lot of confusion over interest-rate moves," said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's. "Interest rates on credit cards move very slowly and some of them don't move at all."

The majority of credit cards -- 57% -- have interest rates that are tied to the prime rate that banks charge on consumer loans, so those holders will see declines -- eventually -- as banks cut in concert with the Fed. See full story.

The Fed's half-percentage point paring in mid-September is just now showing up on the statements of many credit cards and may not appear on others for some time. The discrepancy is tied to payment and rate-reset cycles of both the card issuer and holder. If the card issuer, for example, resets its interest rate immediately after the prime rate falls, the change on the payment wouldn't appear until the next billing cycle.

...more...

[Hugin]

43. How long is never?

I have *NEVER* in my life had a CC interest rate which automatically went DOWN. -NEVER-

They have gone down when I've called or otherwise contacted a company... But, it hasn't happened as part
of any sort of program or Fed rate cut.

[AnneD]

54. I'd file that with....

Elvis sighting, Sasquatch sightings, the Piltdown man, and other hoaxes...maybe the consumers are catching on to the propaganda.

[Hugin]

57. I'm going to tell Elvis you said that...

We do lunch on Thursdays. :D

[AnneD]

60. Let me...

and my alien cousin tag along and I'll apologize personally AND pick up the tab;)

[Hugin]

61. Not a problem...

I'll warn you, tho.

Elvis eats cheap. Only wants a PB&Banana sandwich. But, his pet chupacabra really puts away the steak tar-tar. ;)

[UpInArms]

46. Citigroup shares drop amid capital questions ($30 BILLION undercapitalization????)

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSN0164492420071101

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup shares dropped 7.6 percent on Thursday morning, reaching their lowest level in over four years, after an analyst said the largest U.S. bank may have to raise $30 billion of capital.

Pressure on the company's capital, and shares, will likely further intensify calls for Citi CEO Chuck Prince's ouster, portfolio managers said.

Meredith Whitney, analyst at CIBC World Markets, said in a note to investors that with Citigroup's current capital levels, Citi might have to raise $30 billion through moves such as selling assets or cutting dividends.

Whitney downgraded Citi to "sector underperformer" from "sector performer."

"I think the market is just fed up with Prince," said Lee Norton, an analyst covering financials at JS Asset Management, which owns Citi shares.

...more...

[wordpix]

89. as i said when Citi shares rose to $48+ on bad news a month ago---"pump and dump"

someone at SEC should look at this :(

[wordpix]

93. wow, this analyst is a month behind the curve ball

[UpInArms]

51. Sprint loses customers, profit down 77%, shares fall

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0139831020071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp's (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research) profit fell 77 percent in the third quarter as it lost subscribers, and it withdrew its 2008 profit growth forecast, sending shares down 2.4 percent on Thursday.

The third-largest U.S. mobile service provider, which is searching for a new chief executive, also said customer growth would remain under pressure in the current quarter after a net loss of 60,000 subscribers in the third quarter.

"Overall I think they're pretty disappointing results. It seems like all channels were weak in the quarter," said Stanford Group analyst Michael Nelson, who had expected Sprint to add 283,000 subscribers in the third quarter. "The outlook looks equally disappointing with no real turnaround in sight."

The results also appeared to put pressure on Virgin Mobile USA (VM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which rents capacity on Sprint's network and is the company's biggest wholesale customer. Virgin Mobile shares fell 36 cents or almost 3 percent to $11.79.

Sprint's profit fell to $64 million, or 2 cents per share, from $279 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.

...more...

[UpInArms]

62. 11:35 EST numbers and what's with the Dewey Decimals in the volumes?

Dow 13,710.86 219.15 (1.57%)
Nasdaq 2,821.24 37.88 (1.32%)
S&P 500 1,524.30 25.08 (1.62%)
10-Yr Bond 4.373% 0.102

NYSE Volume 870,873,562.5
Nasdaq Volume 958,911,937.5

[Roland99]

64. Is a 1/2 share going to matter when we're talking billions?

But, the markets are doing exactly what they did last month after the 50bp cut. Tanking the day after spiking. And today they're tanking despite the Fed pumping 40 gazillion dollars into the "economy".


What's the definition of insanity again?

[AnneD]

73. And our theme song...

courtsey of Pink Floyd


Brain damage

The lunatic is on the grass
The lunatic is on the grass
remembering games and daisy chains and laughs
got to keep the loonies on the path

The lunatic is in the hall
the lunatics are in the hall
the paper holds their folded faces to the floor
and every day the paper boy brings more

And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
and if there is no room upon the hill
and if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
you raise the blade, you make the change
you rearrange me ' till I'm sane
you lock the door
and throw away the key
there's someone in my head but it's not me

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
you shout and no one seems to hear
and if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon

[Roland99]

79. good choice!

[Roland99]

81. oops...

[UpInArms]

65. GMAC suffers $1.6 bln loss on mortgages

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0142580820071101?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - GMAC, the finance company once controlled by General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), reported a $1.6 billion third-quarter loss on Thursday, as housing and capital market disruptions caused losses to hemorrhage at its home lending unit.

Results reflected a $2.26 billion loss in GMAC's Residential Capital LLC, or ResCap, mortgage unit, including a $1.81 billion operating loss and a $455 million goodwill write-down.

Moody's Investors Service on Thursday downgraded GMAC and ResCap's debt ratings deeper into "junk" territory, saying ResCap may need more capital to keep operating normally.

On an operating basis, GMAC lost $1.14 billion in the quarter. Operating profit at the rest of GMAC, including in auto finance and insurance, rose 51 percent to $665 million. GMAC had posted a $293 million second-quarter profit and a $305 million first-quarter loss.

"The third-quarter financial performance of ResCap is a major disappointment," GMAC Chief Executive Eric Feldstein said in a statement. "Weakness in the housing market and mortgage industry continues to prevail."

On October 17, ResCap said it would eliminate 3,000 jobs, or 25 percent of its work force, on top of 2,000 job cuts earlier in the year.

...more...

[UpInArms]

67. UPDATE 1-Moody's cuts GMAC, ResCap deeper into junk status

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0143465020071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on
Thursday cut its ratings on GMAC LLC deeper into junk status
and also cut its mortgage unit, Residential Capital, saying
heightened risks at ResCap could affect GMAC's profits and
liquidity.

GMAC, the finance company once controlled by General Motors
Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), reported a $1.6 billion third-quarter loss on
Thursday as falling housing prices and capital market
disruptions caused losses to hemorrhage in its home lending
unit. For details see .

Results reflected a $2.26 billion loss in GMAC's
Residential Capital LLC mortgage unit, including a $1.81
billion operating loss and a $455 million goodwill write-down.

"In Moody's view, GMAC has insufficient capital to provide
support to ResCap without weakening its leverage beyond levels
that are appropriate for the current credit grade," Moody's
said in a statement.

...more...

[Demeter]

78. And I Thought GM Was Slitting Its Own Throat By Selling Off Their Credit Business!

Maybe they aren't as dumb as we think (or maybe they just got lucky).

[AnneD]

85. I thought the same thing.....

boy, it takes a real cooperate genius to lose money in a credit business.

[UpInArms]

68. NY AG sues First American unit in mortgage probe (colluding on appraisals)

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0143151620071101

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that he has sued First American Corp (FAF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and one of its units for allegedly colluding with Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to inflate the appraisal values of homes, helping trigger the mortgage market meltdown.

The lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court, Cuomo said in a news release. Washington Mutual was not named as a defendant in the case, according to the attorney general's statement.

First American subsidiary eAppraiseIT "caved to pressure" from Washington Mutual to use a list of preferred appraisers who provided inflated home appraisals, Cuomo's statement said.

Through this, "First American helped set the current mortgage crisis in motion," he said.

"The independence of the appraiser is essential to maintaining the integrity of the mortgage industry," Cuomo said. "First American and eAppraiseIT violated that independence when Washington Mutual strong-armed them into a system designed to rip off homeowners and investors alike."

...more...

[TrogL]

84. That's practically standard operating procedure

All financial institutions have their pet appraisers. They use on set when they want the value to be high, a different set when they want it low.

[antigop]

70. State Street sued over bond fund losses

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-20655894.htm

Institutional money manager State Street Corp. (NYSE:STT) now faces three lawsuits over its management of bond funds that were touted for their conservative investment strategies, yet posted losses over the summer because of risky holdings tied to the subprime mortgage industry.

Managers of public employee funds in at least two states that suffered losses are following the litigation closely but have yet to file their own complaints.

The latest lawsuit was filed last week in federal court in Boston by Nashua Corp. (NASDAQ:NSHA) , a Nashua, N.H.-based maker of paper and imaging products, against State Street's investment arm, State Street Global Advisors.

State Street also was named in similar lawsuits filed earlier in October by Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Co., a manager of retirement plans, and by New York-based publisher UniSystems Inc.

Nashua lost $5.6 million by investing company pension funds in State Street's Bond Market Fund, due to the fund's 'overexposure in mortgage-related securities,' according to the lawsuit.

[antigop]

71. Pensions may be outsourced....(posted in GD)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2182892&mesg_id=2182892

Will they be able to invest the pension funds in CDOs?

[Roland99]

72. Asset-backed commercial paper falls for 12th week

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/asset-backed-commercial-paper-falls-12th/story.aspx?guid=%7B16263033%2D4AD7%2D4D72%2D97DF%2D121551683520%7D&dist=sp_inthis

The outstanding level of asset-backed commercial paper fell for the 12th straight week, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.

Asset-backed paper dropped by $9 billion, or 1%, to $875 billion in the week ending Wednesday.

Asset-backed paper, the short-term IOUs backed by assets such as mortgages, credit cards or other receivables, has plunged by $308 billion, or 26%, since the crisis of confidence in credit began in early August.

The collapse of the market has prompted mortgage companies and others who relied on the commercial paper market to seek alterntiave sources of funding, mainly by tapping existing credit lines at large banks. The banks, in turn, have sought alternative funding for their special investment vehicles.

ouch.

[harun]

74. Curbs keeping market a float and stopping a harsher crash (n/t)

[specimenfred1984]

75. Yesterday's "rally" wasn't real? I'm shocked.

Sarcasm aside, I am really f-ing sick of being lied to every single second of every single day by a corrupt media full of political sycophants, torture-supporters, war mongers and complete whores whose only concern is selling today's lie so they can steal more money.

Our society is mad, constantly angry about the BS we're all supposed to swallow and I'm not talking about the politically active people only, I'm talking about everybody. When every "leader" we have is in office to lie only, when FEMA's putting out pure Nazi propaganda videos, when our markets are so corrupt that nobody can even begin to believe what economic statistics are put out, we, the citizens of this country, are screwed; screwed like Argentina, the Former Soviet Union and every other failed country.

We're in big, big trouble, trouble that'll smack everyone in the face during the 1st cold wave that rolls through the East and causes heating oil and gas to skyrocket to a point where 1/2 of our people won't even be able to afford it, except on the black market.

[UpInArms]

76. Tsunami sighting: S&P-Seven CDOs issued "Event of Default" notices

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0142207720071101?sp=true

NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's said on Thursday that seven collateralized debt obligations tied to deteriorating subprime mortgage loans have received default notices.

Rating downgrades on U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities, or RMBS, led to the "Event of Default" notices and potentially may result in liquidation of various CDOs, S&P said.

"In short the events of default have come because of the triggers on over-collateralization," S&P analyst Patrice Jordan said on a conference call.

An event of default can occur when a predetermined ratio of collateral is breached. It also can be triggered by a bankruptcy, obligation acceleration, debt restructuring or failure to pay.

The most recent event of default came on Oct. 24 for a debt structure known as "Sagittarius CDO I". S&P last month put 590 ratings on 176 CDOs on watch for possible rating cuts, affecting $20.6 billion in debt.

The seven affected CDOs range in ratings from top-rated "AAA" to "BB-plus," the highest junk rating, according to S&P, which did not have an estimate for how many more may be affected.

...more...

well, lookie there - I guess those top-rated "AAA" to "BB-plus" thingies just don't mean shit :eyes:

[Hugin]

77. I think I'll call it... "Trickle Up".

Those ratings are as fake as the Three Sister's Credit Scores they've been ruining lives with for years.

[TrogL]

80. Loonie Watch

Highlights

Current:



30-day and 90-day vs.greenback:



30-day vs. Euro, Yen, UK Pound and Swiss Franc




Currency Comparison: http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/looniewatch.html

Detailed analysis: http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD

Up-to-the-minute graph: http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CME_CD.Y%24%24&v=s&w=5&t=l&a=1

Historical values http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/CAD/data30.html

2007-09-21 Friday, September 21 0.999201 USD
2007-09-24 Monday, September 24 0.998901 USD
2007-09-25 Tuesday, September 25 0.9995 USD
2007-09-26 Wednesday, September 26 0.99552 USD
2007-09-27 Thursday, September 27 0.99691 USD
2007-09-28 Friday, September 28 1.00412 USD
2007-10-01 Monday, October 1 1.00715 USD
2007-10-02 Tuesday, October 2 0.9998 USD
2007-10-03 Wednesday, October 3 1.00392 USD
2007-10-04 Thursday, October 4 1.002 USD
2007-10-05 Friday, October 5 1.01885 USD
2007-10-08 Monday, October 8 1.01885 USD
2007-10-09 Tuesday, October 9 1.01564 USD
2007-10-10 Wednesday, October 10 1.01906 USD
2007-10-11 Thursday, October 11 1.02627 USD
2007-10-12 Friday, October 12 1.02701 USD
2007-10-15 Monday, October 15 1.02501 USD
2007-10-16 Tuesday, October 16 1.0227 USD
2007-10-17 Wednesday, October 17 1.02712 USD
2007-10-18 Thursday, October 18 1.02743 USD
2007-10-19 Friday, October 19 1.03767 USD
2007-10-22 Monday, October 22 1.01926 USD
2007-10-23 Tuesday, October 23 1.03381 USD
2007-10-24 Wednesday, October 24 1.02987 USD
2007-10-25 Thursday, October 25 1.03381 USD
2007-10-26 Friday, October 26 1.03961 USD
2007-10-29 Monday, October 29 1.04745 USD
2007-10-30 Tuesday, October 30 1.04888 USD
2007-10-31 Wednesday, October 31 1.05307 USD
2007-11-01 Thursday, November 1 1.05296 USD


Current values

http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD)

Market         Open   High    Low   Last  Change    Pct 
CD.Y$$ Cash     1.0598 1.0598 1.0526 1.0546 -0.0027 -0.26% 
CD.Z07 Dec 2007 1.0593 1.0600 1.0510 1.0552 -0.0019 -0.18% 
CD.H08 Mar 2008 1.0511 1.0588 1.0510 1.0553 -0.0018 -0.17% 
CD.M08 Jun 2008 1.0515 1.0515 1.0512 1.0512 -0.0057 -0.54% 
CD.U08 Sep 2008 1.0525        1.0525 1.0525 -0.0041 -0.39% 
CD.Z08 Dec 2008 1.0501 1.0501 1.0500 1.0500 -0.0061 -0.58% 
CD.H09 Mar 2009 1.0055 1.0060 1.0050 1.0556 +0.0103 +0.98% 
 

Other combinations: (http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?c=currencies)

Market              Open    High     Low    Last   Change     Pct 
AUSTRALIAN $/CANADIAN $ (NYBOT:AS)
AS.Z07 Dec 2007  0.87540 0.87540 0.87540 0.88040 +0.00655 +0.74%  
AUSTRALIAN $/US$ (NYBOT:AU)
AU.Z07 Dec 2007   0.9307 0.9307 0.9307 0.9307 +0.0139 +1.49%  
CANADIAN $/JAPANESE YEN (NYBOT:HY)
HY.Z07 Dec 2007  117.640 117.640 117.640 121.295 +1.510 +1.24%  
EURO/AUSTRALIAN $ (NYBOT:RA)
RA.Z07 Dec 2007   1.6035 1.6035 1.6035 1.5580 -0.0172 -1.10%  
EURO/BRITISH POUND (NYBOT:GB)
GB.Z07 Dec 2007   0.6970 0.6972 0.6945 0.6945 -0.0034 -0.49%   
EURO/CANADIAN $ (NYBOT:EP)
EP.Z07 Dec 2007  1.37490 1.37830 1.37490 1.37175 -0.00480 -0.35%  
EURO/JAPANESE YEN (NYBOT:EJ)
EJ.Z07 Dec 2007   166.20 166.20 165.57 165.57 -0.80 -0.48%   
EURO/US$ (LARGE) (NYBOT:EU)
EU.Z07 Dec 2007 1.4433                      1.4433 -0.0068 -0.47%  

Blather (from http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD)

The December Canadian Dollar was steady to slightly lower overnight as it consolidates some of Wednesday's rally. Stochastics and the RSI are overbought but are neutral to bullish signaling that sideways to higher prices are possible near-term. Upside targets are hard to project if December extends this fall's rally into uncharted territory. Closes below the 20-day moving average crossing at 1.0314 would confirm that a short-term top has been posted. First resistance is Wednesday's high crossing at 1.0617. First support is the 10-day moving average crossing at 1.0409. Second support is the 20-day moving average at crossing at 1.0314.


Analysis

(yes, I know the numbers in the blather don't match the ones up above - talk to ino)

The loonie broke through $1.06 briefly overnight. This rated five minutes on CBC radio news. They had an economist on explaining exactly what's going on. His comments were along the lines of "the marketplace now considers the loonie an Oil Currency hence any upward swing in oil prices will tend to drive it up. Be that as it may, the Canadian economy sits on sound fundamentals including resources rich in a variety of metals. The market also looked favourably on the Conservative's announcement of a GST cut." Apparently the loonie last hit this mark in 1957.

[wordpix]

91. well it helps to be sitting on top of oil sands with no Iraq/Afghan War to pay for

Canada barely has a military so not much is going there, either.

[Spazito]

96. Actually, it is more helpful that the Canadian populace believe

in spending our tax dollars on universal healthcare and other social programs instead of waging illegal war all over the place and spending more on warfare than any other country and less on the welfare of it's citizens.

[Roland99]

82. Fidelity reportedly set to layoff as many as 200 workers

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fidelity-reportedly-set-layoff-many/story.aspx?guid=%7B03F3B36C%2D1650%2D4725%2DB565%2DF11A75B69F23%7D

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Fidelity Investments, the Boston-based mutual-funds giant, has told some of its managers to begin letting employees in specific divisions know of impending layoffs, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The report, citing analysts and people close to the firm, also said that information technology and retirement services could be impacted. A source also told the paper that as many as 200 people might be notified of layoffs on Thursday. A company spokeswoman declined to comment.

[UpInArms]

83. 1:56 EST and the exits are crowded and floor is slippery

Dow 13,663.06 266.95 (1.92%)
Nasdaq 2,814.11 45.01 (1.57%)
S&P 500 1,520.03 29.35 (1.89%)
10-Yr Bond 4.352% 0.123

NYSE Volume 1,613,323,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,540,458,750

1:30 pm : Since the economic releases in the morning, there has not been much market moving news. That has kept the major indices heading mostly sideways relative to their large intraday ranges.

In currency trading, the dollar has strengthened as indicated by the DXY Index which is up 0.13%. Meanwhile the CRB Index, which tracks commodities, is down 0.27%.DJ30 -218.99 NASDAQ -94.36 SP500 -23.44 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2293/637/1.40 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2585/585/873 mln

12:55 pm : The major indices continue to trade in negative territory, with the Dow slightly trailing the broader market.

Only five of the 30 components in the Dow Jones Industrial Average are currently showing gains, with Microsoft (MSFT 37.29, +0.48) providing leadership. Financial stocks are the largest drags on the Dow. Citigroup (C 38.70, -2.66), AIG (AIG 60.39, -2.73) and JPMorgan (JPM 45.06, -1.94) are the main laggards.DJ30 -206.55 NASDAQ -35.50 SP500 -22.12 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1.27 bln/2298/625 NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2596/547/786 mln

12:30 pm : Since the last update, the stock markets recovered some losses, but the gains are modest compared to this session's range. The energy sector (+0.02%) has had a notable turnaround as it follows crude oil's recovery.

Crude has pared a good portion of its intraday losses, and is now down 0.4% to $94.12. On Sept. 11th, OPEC decided to increase production by 500,000 barrels a day, which officially took effect today. DJ30 -183.39 NASDAQ -31.55 SP500 -19.66 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2280/615/1.15 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2619/498/703 mln

[pwb]

86. Remember when corporations just had to make a profit .?

Now they have to increase profits every quarter or they are not performing.

A, profit is better than the new increased profit push.

[wordpix]

90. it's a racket taht encourages corps to lie about their numbers/manipulate them so they're indecipher

able. :puke:

[Roland99]

92. 3:27pm - LOOKOUT BELOW!!

Dow 13,624.36 -305.65
Nasdaq 2,803.96 -55.16
S&P 500 1,514.58 -34.80
Oil $93.49 $-1.04
Gold $793.70 $-1.60
10 YR 4.36% -0.11

[UpInArms]

94. 3:35 EST bleeding profusely toward the close

Dow 13,610.30 319.71 (2.30%)
Nasdaq 2,804.49 54.63 (1.91%)
S&P 500 1,513.72 35.66 (2.30%)
10-Yr Bond 4.361% 0.114

NYSE Volume 2,207,109,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,150,136,500

3:30 pm : The major indices have hit fresh intraday lows following another increase in selling interest. There is not a specific news item that accounts for the dip and selling is broad-based.

Tomorrow, the market will be digesting 172 company's earnings reports. On the economic front, the potentially market moving employment report will be released. This report includes the nonfarm payrolls, unemployment rate, hourly earnings and average workweek.DJ30 -313.94 NASDAQ -54.95 SP500 -36.14 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2373/633/1.97 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2694/540/1.21 bln

2:55 pm : The stock market is off its lows following a modest increase in broad-based buying interest.

California utility holding company PG&E Corp. (PCG, 46.44, -2.49) announced third quarter earnings of $0.77 per share this morning , which were $0.08 below the consensus analyst estimate. Year-over-year, earnings per share decreased approximately 10 percent. DJ30 -236.22 NASDAQ -39.05 SP500 -26.13 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2375/615/1.81 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2716/496/1.11 bln

[Buttercup McToots]

95. Nasty

All red and bloody...eck

[spotbird]

97. What happened to curbs?

Or wasn't this drop significant enough?

[Hugin]

98. The curbs were activated at 09:38 ET...

But, they only hold for a short time or until there is an 'up-tick'.

Big Board imposes stock trading curbs
Thu Nov 1, 2007 4:39pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Stock Exchange said on Thursday it instituted downside trading curbs at 9.38 a.m. ET as U.S. stocks fell sharply in early trading.

A downgrade of Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the No. 1 U.S. bank, sparked concerns about the financial sector.

The New York Stock Exchange Composite Index (.NYA: Quote, Profile, Research), which is used to determine when to begin trading curbs, was down 212 points, or 2 percent, at 10,099.

The trading curbs require that all program selling of S&P 500 stocks must be on an up-tick.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

101. I saw this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3047245&mesg_id=3048179

[UpInArms]

102. yet, just this morning ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3049949&mesg_id=3050203

[JNelson6563]

99. S&P futures looking mighty grim tonight

I'll tune in at 5:30 or so tomorrow, wonder what it'll look like. :shrug:

Julie

[ozymandius]

100. End of the day Blood-n-Eyeballs inventory time

Jeebus! Blood and eyeballs on the floor.
Dow 13,567.87 Down 362.14 (2.60%)
Nasdaq 2,794.83 Down 64.29 (2.25%)
S&P 500 1,508.44 Down 40.94 (2.64%)
10-Yr Bond 4.361% Down 0.114
NYSE Volume 4,326,967,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,619,556,500

4:25 pm : The stock market started November on a sharply lower note. On Thursday, a downgrade of Citigroup (C 38.51, -2.85), a disappointing earnings report from Exxon Mobil (XOM 88.48, -3.52), and a less than stellar ISM Index reading in the wake of Wednesday's questionable rally prompted a broad-based sell off.

Yesterday, the stock market rallied following the Fed's decision to cut policy rates by 25 basis points. Briefing.com believes the market got ahead of itself, considering a 25 basis point cut was expected. Additionally, wording in the Fed's directive indicates that future rate cuts are far from certain.

Citigroup was downgraded by CIBC to Sector Perform from Sector Outperform this morning. The downgrade, though, isn't the focal point for investors so much as the thesis behind the ratings change.

CIBC analyst Meredith Whitney believes that Citigroup will need to raise more than $30 billion in capital over the near-term through either asset sales, a dividend cut, a capital raise, or a combination thereof. Whitney adds that Citigroup's tangible capital ratio stands at just 2.8 percent versus an average of 5.0 percent for its peers.

Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil, the world's largest company by market cap, reported its biggest drop in quarterly profits in more than three years. The company reported net income of $9.41 billion or $1.70 per share - four cents below estimates.

Economic data were mixed on Thursday. The national ISM survey of manufacturing conditions for October disappointedly dipped to 50.9 from 52.0 in September. This was only a bit below expectations of a 51.5 reading, but gave investors a reason to take additional profits. A reading above 50 is intended to reflect manufacturing growth.

The Core PCE Deflator, income and spending for September were generally in-line with expectations. The core PCE deflator for September was up only 0.2%, indicating that inflation remains well contained.

New claims for unemployment for the week ended October 27 fell to 327,000 from 333,000 the week before. Despite sluggish economic growth, layoffs are low. When the recession started in 2001, claims jumped to 450,000 per month. This won't alter expectations of an 80,000 to 100,000 October payroll gain to be reported tomorrow.

All ten of the economic sectors spent the day in the red. Given the negative Citigroup headlines, it was not surprising that the financial sector (-4.6%) was the main laggard. The materials (-3.4%) and telecom (-2.9%) sectors also underperformed.

The tech (-1.7%), healthcare (-1.7%) and consumer staples (-1.9%) sectors outperformed on a relative basis.

There was risk adversion in the market today as indicated by the rally in bonds and the relative outperformance of the defensive sectors. Also, the small-cap Russell 2000 Index had a steep 4.0% drop.

Crude oil hit an all-time high of $96.24 in electronic trade, but retreated during the day to $92.86.DJ30 -362.14 NASDAQ -64.29 SP500 -40.94 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 2465/576/2.58 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2838/436/1.75 bln