STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday March 11

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday March 11, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 316
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2606 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2332 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2623
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 March 10, 2008

Dow... 11,740.15 -153.54 (-1.29%)
Nasdaq... 2,169.34 -43.15 (-1.95%)
S&P 500... 1,273.37 -20.00 (-1.55%)
Gold future... 971.80 -2.40 (-0.25%)
30-Year Bond 4.45% -0.09 (-2.05%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.44% -0.10 (-2.91%)






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. Market WrapUp: The World's Worst Kept Secret

BY ROB KIRBY

When bond maven Bill Gross openly writes about it – as he did in his January Investment Outlook - it’s perhaps inappropriate to use the word “secret”:

Pyramids Crumbling

“But today’s banking system as pointed out in recent Investment Outlooks, has morphed into something entirely different and inherently more risky. Our modern shadow banking system craftily dodges the reserve requirements of traditional institutions and promotes a chain letter, pyramid scheme of leverage, based in many cases on no reserve cushion whatsoever. Financial derivatives of all descriptions are involved but credit default swaps (CDS) are perhaps the most egregious offenders.”

Perhaps it was a Freudian slip, Gross naming this piece Pyramids Crumbling, but he surely hits the mark – albeit from a narrow bond / credit centric point of view – that today’s financial system is an elaborate and grotesque ponzi scheme with its hallmark being the ‘crafty dodge.’

But it goes much deeper than this.

If one takes a moment to consider this from Investopedia, the Top 5 Reasons For A Stock Slide, you would see that all reasons for sharp price declines are precipitated by a “crystallizing event” with the bottom line being:

There is almost always a tangible reason behind the downward movement in a given share price after earnings are released, but it's up to the investor to play the role of detective and to try to determine what that reason is.

The Role of the Detective and Forensic Economics

When markets experience sharp or dramatic price movements – there is usually an identifiable cause or reason. Bill Gross illustrates how the bond / credit complex has denigrated into the morass of an alphabet soup of derivative defaults – all under the watchful eye of regulators and at the tacit direction of the Federal Reserve.

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Report

8:30 AM Trade Balance Jan
Briefing Forecast -$59.5B
Market Expects -$59.0B
Prior -$58.8B

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

[UpInArms]

25. U.S. trade gap widens 0.6% to $58.2 billion for January

04. U.S. trade gap widens 0.6% to $58.2 billion for January
8:37 AM ET, Mar 11, 2008 - 4 minutes ago

10. U.S. Jan. trade gap widens 0.6% to $58.2 bln
8:34 AM ET, Mar 11, 2008 - 7 minutes ago

[Ghost Dog]

44. Jan trade gap widens less than expected

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade deficit widened-less-than expected in January, as strong foreign demand boosted exports to a record and as oil prices averaging $84 per barrel pushed imports to an all-time high, a Commerce Department report showed on Tuesday.

The trade gap swelled slightly to $58.2 billion, from a downwardly revised estimate of $57.9 billion for December. Wall Street analysts had expected the January trade gap to widen to $59.7 billion, from $58.8 billion previously estimated for December.

U.S. financial markets paid little attention to the report, focusing instead on a coordinated move by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to pump liquidity into the financial system.

The U.S. oil import bill hit a record $27.1 billion in January, as average prices for imported oil rose for an 11th consecutive month to a record $84.09 per barrel. A year earlier, the average price was $52.23 per barrel, 61 percent lower.

The petroleum portion of the overall deficit exceeded the non-petroleum portion for the first time since October 1992, partly reflecting slackening U.S. demand for foreign-made goods such as TVs, clothing, appliance and furniture as the economy slows.

Imports of industrial machinery and other capital goods also fell in January.

Imports from China, which maintains a tightly managed foreign exchange rate, rose nearly 2.0 percent in January to $26.2 billion. But from the European Union, imports declined 4.6 percent to $27.3 billion. The euro has risen sharply in value as the dollar has declined, making European exports more expensive in world markets.

U.S. exports rose 1.6 percent in January to a record $148.2 billion, led by record foreign demand for U.S. industrial and consumer goods, as well as food.

However, U.S. shipments to China fell 15.1 percent in January to $5.9 billion. The drop in exports and rise in imports from that country pushed the closely-watched trade gap with China to $20.3 billion, up 8 percent.

/. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080311/bs_nm/usa_economy_trade_dc;_ylt=AjjK7piJp52mAvJj4ovWxfS573QA

Hmmm. Exports 148.2; Imports quoted 27.3 + 26.2 + 27.1 = 80.5; Deficit 58.2; So there's another $125.9 billion of non-oil imports coming from outside Europe and China... Japan, to a large measure, and elsewhere in EastAsia I guess, but interesting figures all the same. Would some of this be trade with (on paper) offshore tax havens?

[ozymandius]

3. Oil prices above $107 a barrel in Asia

SINGAPORE - Oil prices were steady above $107 a barrel after rising to a record in the previous session as the U.S. dollar weakened further.

Speculation that rising prices for oil and other commodities will offset the falling dollar has driven oil's rally from $87 a barrel in January.

The dollar has fallen to three-year lows against the yen and the head of the European Central Bank expressed concern Monday about the "disorderly movements" of exchange rates.

"This surge to new records is driven by the speculative and large funds moving money into commodities. It's primarily a U.S. dollar and inflation play by financial investors," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
.....

Many analysts believe speculative investing attracted by the weak dollar is the primary reason oil has risen so far so fast in recent months. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the dollar is falling.

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

---

This is a no-brainer. Oil guarantees a return on investment. The big investment banks know this - and do they ever need positive returns on their money.

[ozymandius]

8. Gas prices hit record level

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The price of gasoline matched its record high Tuesday, according to the widely followed survey conducted for the motorist group AAA.

The average price of regular rose to $3.227, up half a cent from $3.222 Monday, AAA said on its Web site. That matched the record originally set last May 24, just before the Memorial Day weekend.

Regular was $2.957 on average at this time last month and $2.54 a year ago.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/11/news/economy/gas_prices/index.htm?postversion=2008031104

[ozymandius]

4. Countrywide falls to 13-yr low on FBI probe reports

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N) shares dropped 14 percent to a 13-year low on Monday following reports the largest U.S. mortgage lender was being investigated by the FBI for possible securities fraud.

The decline in the stock came even as Bank of America Corp (BAC.N), the No. 2 U.S. bank, indicated it will move ahead with its roughly $3.7 billion acquisition of Countrywide.

.....

Countrywide is being investigated over whether it misrepresented its financial condition and the quality of its loans in securities filings, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times over the weekend. The papers cited people with knowledge of the case.

An FBI spokeswoman declined to comment. Countrywide has said it was unaware of any such investigation.

The stock closed down 71 cents at $4.36 on the New York Stock Exchange, just above $4.35, its lowest level since April 1995, according to Reuters data. Bank of America shares fell $1.43, or 3.9 percent, to $35.31, also on the NYSE. Stocks of large U.S. financial companies broadly declined.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080310/bs_nm/countrywide_dc

[ozymandius]

5. (Frequently surprised) Economists emerge from cave, see US avoiding recession

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. economy will suffer as the slumping housing market eats away at job creation and consumer spending, but the nation should avoid slipping into a recession this year, according to a new economic report.

A recession could still happen though, if the credit crisis that has stifled the housing market deepens, preventing consumers from buying big-ticket items like cars and businesses from spending on equipment, according to the quarterly Anderson Forecast by the University of California at Los Angeles.

.....

The forecast expects the economy to post gross domestic product growth of about 1.5 percent this year, rising to about 3 percent growth in 2009. GDP grew 2.2 percent in 2007, the weakest showing in five years.

The no-recession forecast runs counter to the outlook among many economists and financial pundits, who contend the economy has already started to shrink amid rising unemployment, job losses, record oil prices, and the lingering effects of the housing and credit crises.

The U.S. lost 63,000 payroll jobs last month, the second consecutive month of job losses. The last time the U.S. posted a two-month drop in payroll jobs was in 2003, when employers were still struggling through the aftermath of the 2001 recession.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_bi_ge/economic_forecast

[Birthmark]

13. Those first two paragraphs...

...are the funniest thing that I've read in some time. Reminds me of the old <i>Simpson's</i> episode where Bart is at Kamp Krusty, a real dilapidated mess, and keeps chanting the mantra, "Krusty is coming!" with the idea that Krusty will fix everything.

"The consumers are coming!"

Dudes: We'un's is broke. And those of us who aren't won't be buying baubles anytime soon.

[vickitulsa]

22. Oh man, one of the best episodes ever!

My key memory from seeing it years ago: The "IMITATION Gruel" which the kids at Kamp Krusty were served at mealtimes!

It was totally hilarious then; you know, not even "real" gruel, but some ugly, gray mass of slop served from containers properly labeled, Imitation Gruel -- and I laughed out loud.

But I feel like that's pretty much what I'm getting by on these days, while what some view as an "economic downturn" or "incipient recession" is to me and millions of other poor folks already an utter disaster. The most basic and necessary of all items, groceries, are getting to be literally "out of sight" at an amazingly rapid clip.

Wonder if it would do any good for me to start sewing wallets? You know, like the freezing kids at KK, in the dark, using only candlelight to see or stay "warm."

Nah ... that's just more slave labor and won't benefit US, the People. *Sigh!* As in heavy sigh.


Now, what was it, exactly that Krusty actually DID when he finally arrived at his "summer camp," anyway? Seems that camp where Bart had saved his money to go was only one in a chain of such fraudulent places owned and run by the evil clown, right? For his own personal financial gain? I can't seem to recall that part very clearly....


Could this entire economic nightmare be a bait and switch charade of some twisted sort? OR, in fact, a "false clown" operation or somethin'??

It's getting to where I can't make heads or tails of events these days, and that wasn't the case back before 2000, even though there were plenty of disturbing things to sort out, always.

[TalkingDog]

34. yum gruel

Gruel is actually pretty tasty. But probably not when it's all you've eaten for days and you know it's all you'll eat for the forseeable future.

And I guess if butter, salt and sweetener are in short supply it would not be quite so pleasant.

Okay,so it's basically ground up cardboard stew with some seasoning to make it palatable.



Mush is good too. Especially with some butter and salt. (or in my experienced middle age, tamari)

I think I need to go get some breakfast.

I'll check you guys later.

[Warpy]

63. Cornmeal mush is the best

because when it gets cold you can fry it up and serve it with either sweet or savory stuff, should you have any on hand.

I know I never ate oatmeal when I was a kid because my mother lived on it 3 meals a day in the Depression and wouldn't have it in the house. My own poverty food is whole grains like rice and millet with roasted or grilled root veggies (they get sweet).

Cornmeal mush and acorn squash. It's what's for dinner.

[Birthmark]

100. That "Imitation Gruel" got me, too.

I laughed very loud.

Krusty closed down the camp and took the kids to Tijuana. The show ended with a montage of stills with the musical accompaniment of Frank Sinatra's "South of the Border." Good stuff.

[radfringe]

88. if you strangle the goose

you won't get any golden eggs

[Birthmark]

99. Must resist...

...choked chicken joke!!

[AnneD]

112. Bad Birthmark Bad

You'll fit right in.:evilgrin::hi:

[CGrantt57]

19. Two jokes

Why did God create economists?

To make weathermen look good.

and...

If you laid 1,000 economists end to end they still wouldn't reach a conclusion.

Regards,

[Demeter]

23. Easy Prediction! The Recession Started in 2007

[ozymandius]

6. AFM ends trading suspension on Carlyle Capital shares UPDATE

AMSTERDAM (Thomson Financial) - Dutch stock market regulator AFM has lifted the suspension on the trading in shares of Carlyle Capital Corp, which has encountered funding problems amid a deterioration in the market for residential mortgage-backed securities.

Trading in Carlyle shares resumed on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam shortly after 9.00 am CET.

Carlyle Capital shares had been suspended since 9.00 am on Friday after the company said it has received margin calls and default notices from banks that help finance its RMBS portfolio.

The Dutch-listed affiliate of US buyout firm Carlyle Group also said this morning it is still in talks with its lenders on various matters, including the execution of standstill agreements, while evaluating all other available options.

Lenders have issued Carlyle Capital margin calls on more than 400 mln usd.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/11/afx4756101.html

[Roland99]

7. heh. nice 'toon. Futures at 6:24am....

Dow +80
NASDAQ +6.20
S&P +8.40

[ozymandius]

9. Thanks. It seems really quiet on economic news.

Futures baffle me as to why they're rocketing. Maybe Spitzer's troubles have something to do with it. :shrug:

[Ghost Dog]

55. Some players were clearly tipped off about the Fed's forthcoming move... n/t

[ozymandius]

10. Here's why futures are bright: Hope

Stocks ready to rebound

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Stock futures moved higher early Tuesday after the previous session's selloff as hopes for more Federal Reserve rate cuts helped improve the mood.

At 5:06 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher, with a comparison to fair value pointing to a positive open for Wall Street.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/11/markets/stockswatch/index.htm?postversion=2008031105

[Dr.Phool]

20. Or, they nailed Spitzer. Wall Street is open for business again.

Funny business.

[AnneD]

29. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: and lurkers. I am sure you have been reading the headlines about Spitzer. Seldom has the average citizen and small investor had such an advocate on Wall Street. I am sure there was much celebration in some Manhattan apartments, but from my house on main street-there was sadness and sympathy.

Frankly, I am old enough to realize my own shortcomings and I don't expect perfection in others-esp my elected officials. I'll not cast the first stone. Frankly, as long as taxpayer money was not used-I think things like that between consenting adults are personal choices. Your personal code of conduct is just that-personal. It is the same way I feel about some laws regarding personal behaviour being unjust and should therefore be revisited or relaxed. I think prostitution, gambling, and minor drug use are small personal foibles (when not carried to excess) and not the lynch pins of society. I take a dimmer view of lying, bribery, and theft because we as a society need to have a certain level of trust in order to function.

So I wish Gov. Spitzer the best of luck in what comes his way. He will have many fences to mend. I appreciate all that he did for millions of ordinary folks like me in trying to create a more transparent investing environment.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[MadinMo]

45. Well said, AnneD.

You put all of my own thoughts into words.

I hope all goes well for him, too. I had high hopes for Spitzer, so this news is very sad.

[Dr.Phool]

57. I feel sorry for him in a Gary Hart sort of way.

If ever there were a "President in Waiting", it was Gary Hart. He had the charisma, intellect, and support to become a good president. Until he blew it.

I always felt that Spitzer might make a good president. I still do actually. But, he blew it. I can overlook his little lapse. I'm only human. Hell, I grabbed a hooker myself in Vegas about 25 years ago. But I hadn't pissed off a lot of powerful people yet either.

Elliot, don't resign. Keep quiet, do your job. Keep going after the crooks.

[AnneD]

66. You know.....

Hubby is a musician and from India too. We always laugh about women throwing themselves at him (literally and in front of me sometimes). I always tell him that if he ever did that, it would be over....but to be honest, I truly have become more tolerant in my older age.

I am more into salvaging than discarding. There are more things about my Hubby that I like than dislike. I think that really is the mature way we need to handle these things. Does that mean I want to keep a pedophile (most have seemed to be GOP anyway ;) )in office-hell no. I have limits to my forgiveness.

However, I do believe in mercy and charity. I can understand the value of what Spitzer does and would like to continue his work. Receiving forgiveness from his wife and family however, will be another matter. I can't see totally destroying a person over this.

[Demeter]

37. Greater Love Hath No Man Than That He Give Up His Life for the Market

unintentionally, I'm sure.


Please tell me that Spizter wasn't the only opponent to the fraudsters, that there's someone to back up the effort, now that Elliot is out of the picture.

That FISA sure paid off, didn't it?

[spotbird]

41. Sure did.

Then Congress gives the administration a blank check on FISA, what will Bush do with it? Even the Republicans should know they're lackeys now. The palatalization of DOJ is entrenched, it isn't going to change with a new administration. Assuming Bush gives up power.

[Demeter]

42. The AP Reports These Were Authorized Wiretaps

based on suspicious money flows tracked by the IRS...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_re_us/spitzer_prostitution_70

Sounds a little too convenient. Why were they going after call girls, when there's Countryside and all?

[InkAddict]

46. Easy answer.

Making love is sinful; making money is not. Though, when deregulated, both have a way of spreading dis-ease.

[spotbird]

56. They weren't going after prostitutes,

they were going after Spitzer.

There is massive, unchecked mortgage fraud which could very well collapse the economy, but political revenge is a federal priority. Maybe they were worried about their own asses if Spritzer wasn't stopped. We'll never know, he's a goner.

[Demeter]

62. Yeah, I Came to that Conclusion After Rereading

Now why would the Feds decide that going after a Governor was fair game? Perhaps because of the Sigelman success? Because they could? J Edgar Hoover Lives Again!

I mourn my lost country--a nation that died with the 20th century.

[Hugin]

69. Me, as well.

*sigh*

To quote from yet another movie, "Well, it was a nice dream while it lasted." -- It's a Mad Mad Mad World.
When the others figure out "The Big DoubleYou" the money is buried under is a group of palm trees.

[Demeter]

70. How Ironic! W, Palm Trees, Mad, Mad, World...

Do you ever feel that you are living in a badly-written episode of a droolingly stupid sitcom?

We need a theme song for today--any suggestions?

[AnneD]

80. I think....

Send in the Clown

<snip>

Isn't it rich?
Don't you love farce?
My fault I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want.
Sorry, my dear.
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns.
Don't bother, they're here.

Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer,
Losing my timing this late
In my career?
And where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns.
Well, maybe next year.



It just feels right on so many levels. :sarcasm:
:evilfrown:

[Wednesdays]

81. Except when the chest is unearthed

We'll find it's already been stripped clean by the fat cats.

[spotbird]

40. What the hell was wrong with Spitzer?

How could he possibly think he could jaywalk, must less pay to transport a prostitute across state lines?

Was he targeted? Duh! How didn't he know he'd be a target is the real question.

[Roland99]

30. Futures up about 2%! Wheeeeee!!!

[ozymandius]

11. Six months after the first rate cut

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Despite five interest rate cuts in the past six months, Wall Street has remained impervious to the Federal Reserve's wooing, with investors taking a "thanks, but..." attitude to Ben Bernanke & Co.'s attempt to recharge the economy and stock market.

Since September, the central bank has lowered its federal funds rate, a key overnight bank lending rate, from 5.25 percent to 3 percent. This included a 75 basis point emergency cut in January. There are 100 basis points in one percentage point.
.....

Since the first rate cut on Sept. 18 of last year, through Monday's close, the S&P 500 is down 16.2%. That makes this the worst performance for the market following a series of rate cuts since the 1950s, according to Standard & Poor's research. And that's taking into account other times when the economy was in a recession, as may be the case now.
.....

Did we mention that quarterly earnings are at a five-year low and that the dollar is plunging? And that oil and gold prices are at or just below record highs?

All of this speaks to the possibility that the Fed may have waited too long to start cutting rates, therefore muting the impact, said Scott Armiger, portfolio manager at Christiana Bank & Trust.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/11/markets/market_ratecuts/index.htm?postversion=2008031103

[CountAllVotes]

113. Fed cutting rates is idiotic!

Bernake needs to be fired IMO. I don't know why he keeps cutting rates with the dollar sinking. It is not having the effect he'd hoped to see on the DOW nor is it lowering lending rates for those that are borrowing. It is making things worse, much worse. It is adding to the inflationary problems, causing the prices of everything to go straight through the roof.

He is an idiot IMO, one big idiotic fool! :dunce:

:dem:

[ozymandius]

12. Asian markets rebound on bargain hunting - UPDATE

SINGAPORE, Mar. 11, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Asian markets reversed early losses to trade mostly higher Tuesday afternoon as investors searched for bargains after Monday's slump with Japan, Malaysia and South Korea leading the rebound.

Most markets across the region extended Monday's losses when trading opened after Wall Street fell for the third session overnight following more bad news about the US financial sector and as crude oil prices topped 108 dollars per barrel.

But bargain hunters soon took notice of the sharp fall and began snapping up battered stocks.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-23671642.htm

[Ghost Dog]

14. Asia Stocks Gain, Erasing Earlier Drop; Automakers, Banks Rise

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rebounded from earlier declines, led by automakers and financial companies, amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will broaden measures to bolster the world's largest economy.

Hyundai Motor Co. rose in Seoul and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, surged after the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. policy makers may lend directly to financial institutions other than banks. BHP Billiton Ltd. led a decline among mining companies after metals prices slumped.

``Investors are hoping for some inter-meeting measures by the Fed to stabilize financial markets,'' said Daphne Roth, a Singapore-based vice president of equity research at ABN Amro Private Banking, which manages about $31 billion in Asian assets. ``Beside injecting liquidity to stabilize the financial markets, a rate cut will also prompt more money to flow out of the U.S. to seek higher returns.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.6 percent to 138.25 as of 5:21 p.m. in Tokyo, after earlier falling 1.2 percent. The MSCI benchmark is down 20 percent from its Nov. 1 record on fears the U.S. will enter a recession amid increasing losses linked to investments in the country's mortgage industry.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average and South Korea's Kospi index both added 1 percent. Malaysia's benchmark rallied after tumbling the most in a decade yesterday.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aGX2WltrByP4&refer=asia

[Ghost Dog]

60. 5 Years MCSI Asia Pacific Index ex-Japan:

[Ghost Dog]

64. 5 Years Nikkei 225:

[Ghost Dog]

15. Asian Currencies Fall, Led by Won, Rupiah, on Credit Losses

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies fell, led by the Indonesian rupiah and the South Korean won, on speculation deepening credit-market losses will spur foreign investors to cut holdings of emerging-market assets.

The won dropped to a two-year low and the rupiah touched a one-month low as overseas investors cut holdings of emerging- market assets this month. Currencies pared losses after the Wall Street Journal said the Federal Reserve may consider measures such as buying mortgage-backed securities and lending to financial institutions other than banks to head off a recession.

...

``If people are taking hits in the U.S., they could be selling assets in the region,'' said Ramon Lim, treasurer at Philippine National Bank in Manila. ``We've been seeing money outflows.''

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aKXlprBPZ7Ec&refer=asia

[Ghost Dog]

61. China's Inflation Surges to 8.7% as Food Prices Soar

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- China's inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in 11 years as the worst snowstorms in half a century disrupted food supplies, adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.

Consumer prices climbed 8.7 percent in February from a year earlier after gaining 7.1 percent in January, the statistics bureau said today. That was faster than the 7.9 percent median forecast of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Food costs soared 23 percent after blizzards destroyed crops and snarled transport links, causing shortages. China, the biggest contributor to global growth, raised rates six times last year in a failed attempt to curb prices and more increases risk triggering an economic slump as export demand weakens.

...

The government has named overheating as the biggest challenge this year for the world's fastest-growing major economy, even as export growth weakens partly because of a U.S. slowdown. Overseas shipments rose 6.5 percent in February, the least in almost six years.

Pork prices soared 63 percent from a year earlier, vegetables climbed 46 percent, and edible oil rose 41 percent, adding to the burden on the 300 million people estimated by the World Bank to be living in poverty.

``Food prices make up one third of the consumer price index but for poor households it makes up more than 50 percent of their household budgets,'' said Sherman Chan, a Sydney-based economist with Moody's Economy.com.

...

Non-food inflation was 1.6 percent, up from 1.5 percent in January. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 1 percent.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a4EOSEKhSvPo&refer=asia

[Ghost Dog]

16. Oils, banks help Europe shares higher; Nokia falls

Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:07am EDT
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - European shares rose in volatile early trade on Tuesday, driven by gains in oil shares and banks, with Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lifted by positive brokerage comment from Goldman Sachs.

The gains more than offset weakness in technology stocks on pricing concerns and miners hurt by persistent recession fears.

At 0945 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.9 percent at 1,265.75 points, having fallen 0.1 percent earlier.

...

Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis (FOR.BR: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 2.5 percent after Web site El Confidential said Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) and several sovereign wealth funds were among candidates who may inject up to 2 billion euros in Fortis.

Santander and Fortis declined comment.

Around Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE was up 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI was up 0.6 percent and France's CAC .FCHI was 1.1 percent higher.

/...http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL1181111920080311?rpc=611&pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

[Ghost Dog]

67. Europe shares bounce 2 pct after Fed liquidity move

Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:20pm GMT
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - European shares rose by more than 2 percent by midday on Tuesday after the Federal Reserve and other major central banks unveiled measures to inject liquidity into strained money markets, which pushed up financials.

Banks replaced utility and energy stocks as the best performers on the broader market after the Fed said it would lend up to $200 billion in Treasury securities to primary dealers and would act in concert with the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and the Swiss National Bank to calm the money markets.

HBSC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) shares were the top positive weight on the broader market, rising by nearly 5 percent, while Banco Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 4.5 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained nearly 7 percent.

The DJStoxx index of European banks was up 4.5 percent, set for its largest one-day rally since Jan. 24.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 2.3 percent at 1,283.86 points by 1307 GMT. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by nearly 12 to one, compared with a ratio of about four to one earlier in the day.

"The Fed appears to be working or stepping beyond just the interest rate measures which clearly some people were starting to believe just weren't working," said Philip Isherwood, a strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort.

"Predictably equities have rallied on the back of it and bond yields have backed up. But I think we'd still expect the Fed to do more next week," he said.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/eurMktRpt/idUKL1124727020080311

[Ghost Dog]

92. Europe shares rally on Fed-led liquidity pledge

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - European stocks rallied on Tuesday, after the U.S. Federal Reserve said it and other major central banks would inject liquidity into cash-starved money markets, providing particular comfort to financial stocks.

...

The measures boosted stocks in Europe by over 2.5 percent. But the FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 1.2 percent at 1,269.46 points as U.S. indexes pared gains.

Financials were the best performers, having been especially comforted by the central banks' measures. The DJStoxx index of European banks was up 3.3 percent, its largest one-day rally in a month.

It is the second time in three months that central banks from around the globe have launched such coordinated efforts.

HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was the biggest weighted gainer, up 2.7 percent, while Banco Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 3.3 percent and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 4.5 percent.

But not all analysts were comforted by the move.

"The liquidity injection does not change anything in substance. It is no solution to the underlying problems of the credit crisis and it is comparable to the liquidity injections we saw at year-end 2007," said Tammo Greetfeld, equity strategist at UniCredit. "The positive effect on the market should prove to be only temporary".

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/eurMktRpt/idUKL1190466420080311

[Ghost Dog]

17. Euro rallies above $1.54, stop-loss levels give way

Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:28am EDT
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - The euro rallied to session highs versus the dollar and the yen on Tuesday, propelled higher by the breaking of key stop-loss levels ahead of a key German ZEW sentimwent survey at 1000 GMT. Traders also said the yen came under selling pressure after Japan's main opposition party rejected the government's nomination of Toshiro Muto for the Bank of Japan governor job.

"I think the market went stop-loss hunting. There was a big stop-loss through $1.5380," said a trader in London.

Another trader mentioned stops around $2.0110 in sterling, with strong buying interest from a Swiss private bank.

/.. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL1183886520080311?rpc=611

Hmm. Wouldn't surprise me if the Swiss National Bank were also selling Francs to buy Pounds, in an effort to cool the rise its currency.

[Ghost Dog]

18. Euro Rises to Record Against Dollar, Extending Gains After ZEW

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- The euro rose to a record against the dollar, extending gains after a private report showed German investor confidence unexpectedly rose in March.

The euro rose as high as $1.5489 and traded at $1.5481 by 10:47 a.m. in London, from $1.5343 yesterday in New York. The common currency traded at 157.96 yen from 156.12.

/.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=a9mOr0jyaVWI&refer=currency

[Ghost Dog]

33. Euro= (was, temporarily) USD 1.547, GBP 0.767, CHF 1.574 and JPY 158.3 at this time

[Ghost Dog]

38. Euro-trash

By Chan Akya

I suggested in last week's article (Dead Dollar Sketch), that the (era) of the US dollar hegemony as the global reserve currency has ended. It is only out of habit (meaning a complete lack of either competence or imagination or both) rather than economic rationale that Asian central bankers continue to hold US dollars and indeed even talk about the currency when describing reserves.

In the same article, I dismissed out of hand the notion that the euro could possibly replace the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. On second thoughts though, it is clear to me that a cursory dismissal of the notion may be misconstrued as an exercise in the authors' prejudiced view of the world. Quite to the contrary, the idea certainly has been evaluated at some length across the markets and its adjunct professions with a unanimous conclusion on the lack of suitable merit for the candidacy.

It is fair to say that two main sources of objection are the European Central Bank (ECB) and the political system of Europe. On the former, while the ECB has been unique in its focus on inflation at the expense of economic stimuli, its actions belie its words - in effect, it can be proved that the primary source of inflation that may confront Europe in the next few months is the one created by the ECB itself. Things are worse on the political front. Be it the tax pursuits of Germany and Britain, political imbroglio of Spain and Italy or the circular logic loop of French reforms, there is no reason for hope across the Old continent.

Trichet's hypocrisy
First, look at the ECB. By refusing to cut interest rates in the wake of substantial decline in both investment and consumption across Europe, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet has raised a banner of sorts for a return to the simple past of inflation targeting that served as the primary purpose of a central bank.

This course of action has led him to be one of the most unpopular central bankers in the world, particularly in his own backyard. Not a week goes by when a French politician of some hue or other doesn't take a potshot at the venerable president for failing to do enough for the European economy. Much the same venom is delivered on Trichet from other quarters including Germany and Italy. Everyone likes an underdog, and all the political attacks make Trichet the poster-boy of monetary economists, assuming they still have space on their walls after posters of Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke.

This adulation, though understandable, is also completely illogical because the ECB is the body that has unleashed the very forces of inflation that Europe will have to confront in coming months. This has been done through the enhanced liquidity facilities made available for European banks since last summer.

It is no secret across the banking world since the time that the first rumors of a UK bank being in trouble surfaced that the ECB has been quite generous in providing cheap liquidity access for banks. Over the course of the last one-third of 2007, the facilities were expanded to include all kinds of dud collateral.

When the US Fed last week made an announcement that it would expand its Term Auction Facility (TAF), the idea was greeted with sardonic smiles across the boardrooms of European banks. After all, the Fed had only made operational in March what the ECB had been doing since last summer.

...

If the euro were to be acceptable to global central banks as the new reserve currency, it should bring with it a promise of superior performance against what is being replaced. The US dollar certainly offered all that and more when it pushed the pound sterling away in the years following World War II and certainly by the mid-60s.

In contrast, while the euro has been moving higher against the US dollar, much of this can be explained by the behavior of its own banks. The financial system of Europe is broken even more than that of the United States while its political system chases its own tail. Neither of this can help the case of the euro. If anything, the opposite is true - anyone buying the euro is doing so merely to avoid the recent problems of the US economy. When the problems of Europe come to the fore, the mad rush to the exit will leave the region and its currency unmasked as the frauds that they are.

/article here:... http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JC11Dj07.html

... While I can agree with most of what he says here on the economic front (although the UK remains quite different, with its 'anglo-saxon model' from elsewhere in Europe), I don't agree so much with his political analysis, which underplays the degree of inherent stability provided, with varying eficacy, by Europe's 'social model(s)', although I'm not sure I could argue the case very coherently.

[Ghost Dog]

68. Euro= USD 1.530, GBP 0.765, CHF 1.584 and JPY 158.6 at this time

[JNelson6563]

21. haha That 'toon says it all!

:toast:

We're in for a shit storm. We can all be grateful though that the uber-wealthy will be OK.

Julie

[Demeter]

24. Subprime Lending's Smartest Guys in the Room By Nomi Prins / Mother Jones

http://www.motherjones.com/news/outfront/2008/03/subprime-lendings-smartest-guys-in-the-room.html

Corporations "restating" earnings; fawning business media; chief executives diverting the blame; Securities and Exchange Commission probes initiated after the damage is done. This Enron-WorldCom déjà vu is brought to us courtesy of America's housing industry, and the standard narrative is that irrationally exuberant buyers drove up home values while banks made too many loans to the wrong people. The truth, however, is that this latest boom-and-bust is about stock prices as much as housing prices—and that's where the real scandal lurks.

Skyrocketing home prices dominated the headlines during the boom, but they were nothing compared to the bubble experienced by Wall Street's housing sector. From early 2002 through late 2005, average home prices rose about 32 percent nationwide, but the paper value of companies like Countrywide Financial, Beazer Homes, and New Century Financial skyrocketed at least 10 times as fast, with their shares posting gains of 300 to 400 percent.

Now those stocks are in free fall—and lurking behind the hand-wringing about overextended buyers and dubious lending practices are the other key culprits: the ceos who misrepresented their books and cashed out before the public knew what was happening, and the credulous finance reporters and securities analysts who cheered them along until it was too late. And let's not leave out the SEC—the body charged with protecting the stock-buying public from just this kind of trickery—which stood by and watched as the signs of trouble accumulated. Investigations of housing-sector fraud are only now ramping up, long after they should have. As Gary Aguirre, a former senior investigative counsel for the commission, told me, "It's only once news hits the headlines and the shock waves and consequences are out there that the sec will get involved."

It didn't take a genius to see this coming. Companies have to file key data about their performance with the SEC each quarter, and business reporters as well as analysts should know perfectly well how to spot the gaps between rosy rhetoric and the hard financials. Digging into those numbers was something I did all the time as a managing director for Goldman Sachs and for other Wall Street firms. So I selected one big housing company as a test case, just to see what its filings might reveal.SEE ARTICLE ABOUT LENNAR CORP


Sure enough, although the SEC waited until last March to form a "subprime working group," indications of blatant misbehavior are proving plentiful. In October, the commission launched a probe of Countrywide, the nation's largest lender, regarding the questionable timing of a $130 million stock sale by ceo Angelo R. Mozilo. Around the same time, the commission began looking into reports that Beazer Homes, one of the nation's largest home builders, had exaggerated its earnings starting in 2004. The sec has also been looking at KB Home, the nation's fifth-largest home builder, over allegations that former ceo Bruce Karatz—paid $50 million at the boom's pinnacle in 2005—further inflated his compensation by backdating stock options, which is akin to betting on a horse race that's already been run.

Then there are the companies that have gone belly-up even as executives cleaned up: The founders of New Century Financial, once the nation's second-largest subprime lender, dumped millions of dollars' worth of stock just months before the company's April bankruptcy—the sec is now investigating the company. And last October, the fbi opened an investigation into criminal misconduct at American Home Mortgage, one of the nation's largest loan originators, which went bankrupt in August of that year. Shareholders have also filed more than a dozen civil suits claiming that American Home executives misrepresented the firm's finances; the sec, so far, has demurred. Spokesman Kevin Callahan would not comment on specific investigations.

The chattering classes still blame desperate borrowers for not reading the fine print, but perhaps they should reserve some vitriol for Wall Street's watchdog. If there's one lesson the commission should have learned long ago, it's that booms aren't fueled by market forces alone, but also by healthy doses of fraud, deception, and unchecked opportunism. And it's invariably everyday folks who pay the price. "The SEC, instead of watching Wall Street, insulates it," notes Aguirre. "The subprime issue is a direct consequence of the sec's failure to act proactively to intercept fraud as it develops."

[UpInArms]

26. dollar watch

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

Last trade 72.629 Change -0.366 (-0.48%)

FX Intervention: Will the BoJ, ECB, & RBNZ Try to Stop the Dollar's Decline?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/FX_Intervention__Will_the_BoJ__1205169910066.html

The broad weakness of the US dollar has hit the forex markets hard recently. Indeed, over the past few weeks, the currency has plummeted amidst dovish rhetoric from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and signs that the US is already in a recession. The flip side of the trade is just as important: the Euro is hitting new highs almost daily, the Japanese yen is nearing 9-year highs, and the New Zealand dollar has broken to 26-year highs. The rapid appreciation of these currencies could prove especially worrying for government and central bank officials, as the Euro-zone, Japan, and New Zealand all depend on exports for economic growth, especially as consumers tighten their purse strings and spending fades. As a result, it is worth questioning if the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, and the Reserve Bank of Zealand will make a coordinated effort to stave off an all-out crash of the US dollar in an attempt to weigh down their own currencies.

These Banks are no strangers to intervening in the currency markets. The last time a major coordinated effort was made to intervene was in September 2000, when the Fed, BOE, BoJ, and BoC joined forces with the ECB to support a beleaguered euro. Meanwhile, the RBNZ intervened just last year to cap gains in the New Zealand dollar. Will we see a repeat in 2008?

Bank of Japan – Most Likely to Intervene Independently

Of the G-10 countries, Japanese policymakers are the most likely to get their hands dirty and intervene in the currency markets when the Japanese yen’s price movements are too volatile and extreme for their liking. However, the Bank of Japan and Ministry of Finance have been a bit more lenient in recent years, as the last official intervention was conducted in March 2004. Nevertheless, policymakers have plenty of reason to be concerned about the Japanese yen’s most recent surge, as the USDJPY pair has recently tumbled to am 8-year low of 101.40. The strength of the currency is hurting the profit margins of major Japanese corporations, as the most recent Tankan survey showed that most Japanese corporations forecast the value of USDJPY in 2008 to be around 113.00. With the pair now rapidly approaching the 100 level, those hedges are deep in the red. Furthermore, Japanese Economy Minister Hiroko Ota noted that the approximate break-even point for companies is at the 106.60 level, and firms like Toyota, Yamaha Motor Co., and Nippon Steel have all reported disappointing earnings as a result. Unsurprisingly, the shares of exporters have taken a hit and are a major reason why the Nikkei Stock Average has plummeted declined 6 percent over the past five days, the biggest loss since the week ended August 17.

...more...

Why the US Dollar Could Rebound this Week

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/Why_the_US_Dollar_Could_1205184684903.html

Since the beginning of the year, one of the best trades in the currency market has been to short US dollars. Although we think that the dollar will continue to fall over the next few months, there is a good chance that it could rally this coming week. We have two pieces of data that could trigger the rally, Tuesday’s trade balance report and Friday’s consumer price release. With oil futures closing above $107 a barrel, inflation is a big problem. The Boston Globe has some great graphics on rising food costs. According to their report, egg prices have increased 50 percent over the past 2 years, while the prices of a red delicious apple and a gallon of whole milk have increased 20 percent. For the time being, retailers appear to be absorbing the costs. This weekend’s Financial Papers have extensive coverage on how restaurants are substituting ingredients or altering their menu offerings in order to reduce costs without raising prices. None of these changes would need to be made if increasing food prices are not hitting the bottom line. It can be argued that headline inflation may rise sharply but the growth of core prices will remain muted. However with gasoline prices in many states hitting record highs, prices of goods excluding food and energy should begin to rise as well. As for the trade balance, which is more immediate, the weakness of the US dollar should have helped to increase exports and reduced imports. The risk of course is the retail sales report in the middle of the week. Consumer spending is expected to be weak, but rising prices could also boost the value of the goods sold. Wholesale inventories have increased nonetheless which suggests that even though hiring has slowed and the US economy has weakened, this has not stopped business leaders from restocking their shelves. Meanwhile intervention is the big buzz word in the currency market today but do not expect the Federal Reserve to participate. Whether they admit it or not, they like the fact the US dollar is falling because it is currently supporting growth by boosting exports.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

76. "rising prices could also boost the value of the goods sold"

However, surely the real value of goods is not measured by price, especially not by inflated prices, but by quantity, quality and usefulness (and there should be an 'eco-friendliness' factor in there too). The monetary price of an item, surely, is only relevant in relation to the prices of everything else - just ask any Zimbabwean.

[Demeter]

27. Putting 2 and 2 Together / Daily Reckoning.com

Falling employment means families have less to spend. Rising prices mean they will need to spend more to stay in the same place. And here, Dear Reader, do you see what has happened? The immoveable force of deflation has run smack into the irresistible force of inflation right in Americans’ own backyards. And we will tell you how the smash up will resolve itself: standards of living will fall.
...And here comes the New York Times with even more bad news. “Seeing an end to the good times,” begins its report. Then, it allows as how the good times weren’t really so good after all. The median household earned $49,244 in ’99. Now, it earns $48,201. It is a strange boom that doesn’t boost family incomes. But heck, we’ve been saying that it was a freak and an imposter all along.

Inevitably, the feds have to react to the weakening U.S. economy. They can’t allow people to realize that their living standards are going down – not in an election year! In theory, they can boost economic activity by lowering the cost of credit. In practice, things often turn out much differently...while prices look random, and professors of economics earned Nobel Prizes for proving that they were random, they really are not. Nor are they fixed...nor do they respond to simple, mechanical manipulation. You may push on Lever A...but you might get either Result B or Result Q...or something entirely unexpected. As we say here at The Daily Reckoning , and you may quote us: prices are neither fixed, nor random, but subject to influence...The Fed is desperately pulling on levers. Each day brings more evidence of a system-wide credit breakdown. The Fed intends to stop the meltdown in the only way it can – by pulling on the lever of inflation; that is, by introducing more ‘liquidity’ into the marketplace.

This might work, if the problem really were merely a lack of available cash and credit. But consider the problem in housing. A man’s house goes down in price . He has a mortgage to pay. He notices that the mortgage is greater than the value of the house. In the past, he may have been too embarrassed or too proud to do it, but now he is likely to resort to what is being called ‘jingle mail.’ That is, he’s likely to put the keys in the mailbox...and walk away...What can the feds do about this? The problem is not liquidity. You could offer to lend the man more money on his house, but that doesn’t really help his situation. And to whom would you lend more money, with the value of the collateral falling? As the value of the collateral falls, so do the value of the derivative assets and the institutions that hold them. All up and down the credit capital structure, losses whack into one another like balls on a billiard table. Hedge funds...banks...lenders...borrowers – as one takes a loss, the next one in line takes a hit...which causes the third to lose money too.

It is not a liquidity problem, in other words, but a solvency problem. Too much debt has led to too much lending to too many people who can’t pay it back. And this lending was secured by too many assets that aren’t worth what investors hoped they’d be worth. The losses are there. They are real. They won’t go away – even if you offer more credit....Now, here’s one of those curve balls that nature’s markets like to throw. The Fed decreases rates – but actual borrowing costs go up! Mortgage rates are higher today than they were when the Fed began cutting last September. As asset prices slip...and the financial industry takes losses...lenders are afraid that they might not get repaid; they want higher yields to justify the risks. And since the real cost of borrowing is going up, real business activity is going down. The economy is sinking...along with the value of the collateral.
Meanwhile, the feds do the only thing they can – lower rates and come up with schemes to put more money in circulation. This produces the financial world we have come to know and love, with inflation on the one side (coming from the feds) and deflation on the other (coming from a natural market correction). Our hypothesis continues to be that the feds cannot reflate the real economy. The problem is debt – too much of it. Offering to lend more won’t help. On the other hand, the feds’ inflation will drive up commodity, gold, oil and consumer prices.

[kineneb]

86. "It is not a liquidity problem...but a solvency problem."

uh, duh.

Says it in a nutshell, and dropping interest rates to 0% will not solve the "solvency problem".

:banghead:

If'n nobody gots money, they ain't buyin' nuttin'.

[Demeter]

28. BERNANKE GETS IT BACKWARDS by The Mogambo Guru

Dailyreckoning.com

I tried to watch Ben Bernanke’s question-and-answer appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, but there was Christopher Dodd, chairman of that committee, who is the guy I accuse of being directly responsible for the entire economic mess we are in, as the economic mess we are in is the same kind of economic mess that happens every damned time the banks are allowed to act irresponsibly, and this preening Congressional-doofus was in charge of questioning the head of the Federal Reserve to keep the banks from acting crazy and keeping greedy, corrupt, lying bankers in line. But he blew it, big time, and I shall never forgive Connecticut for electing this bozo.

Almost right off the bat, Bernanke implied that Milton Friedman was wrong, and that the whole Monetarist School of economics was wrong when they said that “inflation in prices is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon” – which is exactly, exactly right. Instead, Ben “Butthead” Bernanke says that inflation is caused, not by irresponsible over-creation of money and credit, but by rising commodity prices, especially the rising price of oil! Hahaha! What an idiot!
And ol’ Butthead says he is on the lookout for signs that the rising costs that producers of goods and services must pay are not filtering through to retail prices, and if he ever sees any inflation, he will take “action”! Hahaha! I can’t believe I am hearing this! Hahaha!

This Bernanke dim bulb, who apparently knows nothing about economics at all, was the chairman of the economics department of Princeton (which doesn’t say much for Princeton University), and is apparently unaware that Milton Friedman was right; the rise in retail prices is caused by a prior rise in the money supply, which is caused by the Federal Reserve creating excessive amounts of money and credit. High prices, therefore, are the RESULT of the ridiculous excesses of the Federal Reserve, not the cause.....And the proof is simplicity itself; if there is a static supply of money, then the only way for increased sales of one item (thus bidding up the price) to occur is if there are decreased sales of other items (dropping the price), so that aggregate inflation is zero....But with the money supply growing at over 15% a year in the U.S.A. and as bad, or worse, almost everywhere else in the freaking world, Ben Bernanke is thus a complete idiot when he then (as I recall) said something like, “I fully expect a return to strong growth and falling inflation over the next few years ahead.” Hahahaha!

And nobody on the committee asked the one question that was burning a hole in the brains of Mister, Miz and Missus America, namely, “Why do you believe that? And what is more, how in the hell can anybody be so stupid as to think something so asinine that it makes me laugh so hard that my stomach hurts and makes me grind my teeth in outrage so hard that sparks actually fly out of my mouth from the friction?”...Since nobody asked that question, it was a delicious moment when he then finished saying that remarkable statement and then cast his eyes down; it was then I knew that he knew that I was out here watching him, and he knows that I know that he knows that I am watching him, and now he knows that I know that he has exposed himself as the lying piece of neo-Keynesian econometric crap that I figured he was, which means that he will, again, be the lead-in story in tonight’s Mogambo Inter-Galactic News (MIGN) broadcast, with the headline “Ben Bernanke: Lying piece of corrupt, neo-Keynesian econometric trash, or something worse?”

I think you know how I will finish that particular editorial rant!

[4dsc]

31. Fed to Lend $200 Billion, Take on Mortgage Securities

They are jumping for joy at CNBC!!!

The Federal Reserve plans to lend up to $200 billion of Treasury securities in exchange for debt including private mortgage-backed securities that have slumped in value as homeowners defaulted on their payments.

The Fed set up a new tool, the Term Securities Lending Facility, to lend Treasuries to primary dealers for 28-day periods, through weekly auctions. The Fed also said in a statement in Washington that it's increasing the amount of dollars available to European central banks through swap lines

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6LLuTru5Sio&refer=home

[Demeter]

32. We're Doomed, Aren't We?

Save the banks, bury the people. The economic equivalent of a neutron bomb.

Of course, the banks would be radioactive, and there'd be no populace left to victimize and feed off, but you can't have everything!

[InkAddict]

36. WTF?

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced it is ramping up efforts to provide more relief in the spreading credit crisis, saying it will make up to $200 billion in cash available to cash-strapped financial institutions.

The Fed said it will lend the money to financial institutions for a term of 28 days, rather than overnight. The action is being coordinated with central banks in other countries to try to provide help in a global credit crises that threatens to push the U.S. economy into its first recession since 2001 if it hasn't already.


What's up w/this??? Lending ever more promises-to-pay (debt) down the road? Would you buy a Treasury from this man?

Under the hood, there's this little problem with the transmission(gears stuck), the distributor/alternator is arching (spark gap incorrectly set), the tank is leaking(precious fuel), and the tires are flat(broke),but it sure looks purty with all those colorful brand logos?

Hey Ben. Put down the helicopter and pick up a slightly used NASCAR.

Yet another soon-to-be worthless credit-swap???

[DemReadingDU]

77. Roubini: The Fed artificially propping up the market

Nouriel Roubini Tuesday morning update:

The just announced new Fed facility - the the Term Securities Lending Facility that will to lend up to $200 billion of Treasury securities in exchange for debt including agency and private mortgage-backed securities - confirms that the Fed has now entered into the business of artificially propping up the agency debt market and the residential MBS market. With credit risk for GSEs recently rising for fundamental reasons the manipulation of this market just increases moral hazard and saddles the Fed with meaningful credit risk.

Roubini discusses details of the seriously worsening financial conditions…
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/248801

more discussion in article about MBS and GSEs
MBS - mortgage backed securities
two huge GSEs are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

[Ghost Dog]

47. Fed again takes steps to boost market liquidity

...The Fed said it was cooperating with other central banks, including the Bank of Canada, Bank of England, European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank on steps to deal with pressures in global financial markets.

It announced that its policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee has authorized increases in existing swap lines with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

/... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080311/bs_nm/usa_fed_liquidity_dc;_ylt=AjvC3J8hdB8SAmrTYxWVUQq573QA

[Zorra]

106. 200 Billion? Mister Banker...

..Mister please,
how much does money mean
Won't you reconsider mister
Won't you do this thing for me
Ain't got no house
Ain't got no car
All I got, Lord, is my guitar
But you can have that mister banker
Won't you bury my papa for me
Oh mister banker please
Listen to the way I sound

I would not be here on my knees
But hey mister banker
It means so much to me
Oh won't you reconsider mister
Won't you do this thing for me

I told you mister
I ain't got no house
Ain't got no car
I got me a 1950 Les Paul guitar
Won't you take it mister banker
Won't you bury my papa for me
Oh mister banker please

(Van Zant-Rossington)

[InkAddict]

35. Sorry, dupe n/t

[TalkingDog]

39. HOLY COW!

I go away to get some gruel and BOOM!!! the futures so bright I gotta wear shades.

The Dow is up 141 instant soup mix style.

Wow. Looks like it will be interesting today.

I'll be peaking in to see if it pops the top or wears itself out early.


Later

[Demeter]

43. The Instant Rally

Lasts only 30 minutes...less filling, tastes good!

[InkAddict]

49. The appetizer/cocktail before they eat the Clydesdales. n/t

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4258794138972547179

[SpiralHawk]

51. The Spitzer Rally

The Big Bad Wolf is gone. Time to celebrate.

[Ghost Dog]

48. Major indexes open up 2 pct on Fed move

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The three major stock indexes opened 2 percent higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve announcement of a new effort with other central banks to add up to $200 billion to strained credit markets boosted investor optimism.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) jumped 268.66 points, or 2.29 percent, to 12,008.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 27.18 points, or 2.13 percent, at 1,300.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 56.41 points, or 2.60 percent, at 2,225.75.

/. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080311/bs_nm/markets_stocks_dc

[Roland99]

50. The Fed "finally gets it" is one comment. ugh.

:banghead:

[burf]

52. And in the end

we are the ones who are really gonna "get it".

[Demeter]

53. Timing Is Everything

And this announcement was a happy coincidence--far too convenient. They had been keeping it in reserve for a special occasion, no doubt. No need for CPR when just a Spitz will do!

[Betty]

58. what a joke

only a temporary break before the plummet resumes.

[CatholicEdHead]

71. Yes it is, once the Spitzer news goes away

The bottom will fall out faster to catch up to where it should have been if not for Spitzer euphoria set in.
Everything else is pretty depressing to read and the market will continue to decline. We are putting off the problem for another day.

[Hugin]

54. Yup, the Spitzer Rally...

Might as well close up shop... The Corporatist have gotten their stick to beat us down with.

For the foreseeable future the Corporate Media is going to be bleating....

EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot
EliotSpitzerSpitzerEliotProstitutionEliotETPhoneHomeEliotSpitzerSpitzerEliot

I'm already receiving the chirps from my Right Wing Brainwashed contacts...

There will be no saving the Middle Class... No reforms... No punishment of
those who have done the wholesale destruction of the American way of life.

Never mind there are others who have raped this Country and what it stands for
mercilessly... They are now granted a free pass. This is the 'one-drop-of-the-wrong-blood'
effect in action.

It's done.

If I may quote from the movie, "Hunt For Red October"... "You Arrogant Ass, You've killed us!"

[AnneD]

59. Dear Prag....

I think that is why I'm blue about this. We, the small investors, had an uneven playing field to begin with but Spitzer at least handed us something besides a sling shot-and he untied one of our hands too. The only hope is that is the good people of NY stand behind Spitzer.

This probe, FISA, et al will have a chilling effect on everything and anyone that tries to commit the crime of Justice. This does not bode well for anyone-no matter WHO is in office.

We, the average still working Joe, our pensions, retirement, and any investment vehicle, and any semblance of a middle class lifestyle are screwn. It's bad enough we have to worry about the Bears and Bulls-now we have to watch out for the wolves too.

[Hugin]

65. It's back to the 'Caveat emptor' paradigm...

No guarantees... No Justice... Only the feeding by those who don't need it on those who can't
afford to be without it.

[antigop]

74. Yep. That's exactly what it is. We're going backwards about 100 years.

And we'll have to re-do the New Deal.

And we'll have to go through the labor movement all over again.

Doomed to repeat history?

[CatholicEdHead]

85. That will not be easy

as any labor movement also has to be done on a global level like corporations are on a global level. They need to be shown that they need to pay up wherever they are doing business in the world. This will be extremely difficult (not impossible) but it can be done. As of now, the biggest trump card domestically against a new-New Deal is the ability to easily outsource to different countries.

[Ghost Dog]

94. Global Unions News:

http://www.global-unions.org/

International Trade Union Confederation:

http://www.ituc-csi.org/spip.php?rubrique2

[DemReadingDU]

72. Healthcare fraud trial in Columbus, Ohio - Update

3/10/08 Closing remarks in National Century case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Executives of a failed health care company turned a good business into 'a pack of lies' as part of a scheme that defrauded investors of $1.9 billion, a federal prosecutor said Monday during closing statements in a month-old white collar crime trial.

Two former owners and three former executives of National Century Financial (other-otc: CYFL.PK - news - people ) Enterprises broke promises, misled investors and tried to cover up wrongdoing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Wes Porter said in U.S. District Court.

'These defendants directed the course of National Century and turned an otherwise good business model into a pack of lies and a constant need to cover up how this business actually worked,' Porter told jurors.

Prosecutors argue executives of the company, based in suburban Dublin, authorized millions in unsecured loans to health care providers, then misled investors about those loans.


Defense arguments were scheduled to continue Tuesday, followed by the government's chance to respond.

more...
http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2008/03/10/afx4754795.html


link to previous articles...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3214016&mesg_id=3214066

[Demeter]

73. Today's Theme: "Ole Man River" from Showboat!

Dere's an ol' man called de Mississippi
Dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be!
What does he care if de world's got troubles?
What does he care if de land ain't free?

Ol' man river,
Dat ol' man river
He mus'know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin',
He jes'keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along.

He don' plant taters,
He don't plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants'em
is soon forgotten,
But ol'man river,
He jes keeps rollin'along.

You an'me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin' an' racket wid pain,
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!
Git a little drunk
An' you land in jail.

Ah gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' skeered of dyin',
But ol' man river,
He jes'keeps rolling' along.

Colored folks work on de Mississippi,
Colored folks work while de white folks play,
Pullin' dose boats from de dawn to sunset,
Gittin' no rest till de judgement day.

Don't look up
An' don't look down,
You don' dast make
De white boss frown.
Bend your knees
An'bow your head,
An' pull date rope
Until you' dead.

Let me go 'way from the Mississippi,
Let me go 'way from de white man boss;
Show me dat stream called de river Jordan,
Dat's de ol' stream dat I long to cross.

O' man river,
Dat ol' man river,
He mus'know sumpin'
But don't say nuthin'
He jes' keeps rollin'
He keeps on rollin' along.

Long ol' river forever keeps rollin' on...

He don' plant tater,
He don' plant cotton,
An' dem dat plants 'em
Is soon forgotten,
but ol' man river,
He jes' keeps rollin' along.

Long ol' river keeps hearing dat song.
You an' me, we sweat an' strain,
Body all achin an' racked wid pain.
Tote dat barge!
Lif' dat bale!
Git a little drunk
An' you land in jail.

Ah, gits weary
An' sick of tryin'
Ah'm tired of livin'
An' skeered of dyin',
But ol' man river,
He jes'keeps rollin' along!


http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/showboat/olmanriver.htm



I had thought perhaps "A Little Priest" from Sweeney Todd, but it was too joyful.

[Hugin]

75. I was going to suggest...

Neil Diamond's "Song Song Blue", but, I'm thinking yours is better for my mood at the moment.

[AnneD]

82. I posted it up a bit...

Send in the Clowns.....

[Roland99]

78. 12:15pm - Off the highs (profit taking?)

Dow 11,930.65 +190.50
Nasdaq 2,204.40 +35.06
S&P 500 1,292.27 +18.90
10 YR 3.59% 0.15
Oil $108.10 $0.20
Gold $973.50 $1.70

[olddad56]

79. I say it finishes in the Red today.

[AnneD]

83. Spitzer....

doesn't change the fundamentals.x(

[Hugin]

87. The Wingers will ride this wave of Hot Air through the GE...

It's already in motion.

Meanwhile, the real Americans will ride through yet another, Miraculous, Jobless, (This time Foodless) "Recovery".

Nope, Sptizer doesn't change the fundamentals... But, he makes it easier for the spin-masters to divert attention
away from the suffering and back to "American Idol" or whatever packaged escape mechanism they can fling out.

Ahhhh, it's just the way our Corporate Masters like it. Down trodden masses of unemployed desperate people.
All of the resources. No taxes. No accountability. Greed is the ugliest of Sins, IMHO. But, unfortunately,
it's rarely against the Law and for some odd reason... Celebrated in the upper echelons of our supposedly,
"Moral" society. Oh, by the way... That 'Moral' crap is just more programming installed and managed to
enable the 1%.

[Demeter]

101. No, But Evidently 200 Billion Does

That's half a billion per point! Such a deal!

Edited to add 3 zeroes. My bad.

[Zynx]

89. In markets like this a lot of traders are happy to mitigate their losses to any extent and then go

to cash, waiting for lower levels.

[Zynx]

84. The appropriate time for the Fed to take this action was...SIX MONTHS AGO.

I've been discussing with professors here at Madison how the Fed has been far too passive in approaching the crisis and they've waited until a spot of cancer in the credit markets became full-blown lymphoma before intervening meaninfully.

[nolabels]

90. Simply stated: volatility often signals more weakness

Sort of like watching a flock of birds maneuver around objects as they fly south :shrug:

[Hugin]

91. ~14:15 EDT: Spitzer Rally continues...

Lookie there, almost back up to that 12,000 PIL the White House holds so dear.

Index Last Change % change
• DJIA 11995.46 +255.31 +2.17%
• NASDAQ 2218.25 +48.91 +2.25%
• S&P 500 1299.88 +26.51 +2.08%

[specimenfred1984]

93. "Free Market" FED sure is tampering with these markets today

Throw another $200 billion at 'em FED, it's either that or the UAE buys them all out. Too bad none of it addresses the culture of corruption that is the root cause.

[Roland99]

95. 3:11pm - Pushing up to about 3% up on the day! WHEEEE!!! FREE MONEY (oh wait...)

Dow 12,068.48 +328.33
Nasdaq 2,233.80 +64.46
S&P 500 1,309.49 +36.12
10 YR 3.60% +0.16
Oil $108.80 $0.90
Gold $976.00 $4.20

[Mojorabbit]

96. Well Admiral Fallon

just resigned. Is war on for Iran? Will it affect the markets? Stay tuned.
a depressed mojorabbit

[Roland99]

97. 4:02pm - All over but the shouting...and boy was it loud!

Dow 12,157.54 +417.39
Nasdaq 2,255.76 +86.42
S&P 500 1,320.41 +47.04
10 YR 3.60% +0.16
Oil $108.75 $0.85
Gold $976.00 $4.20


Investors are *that* confident in the market?!?!


HA!!


:eyes:

[UpInArms]

98. Fed Offers $200 Billion to Prop Up Lenders; Wall Street Responds With Biggest Rally of 2008

well, it looks like those banks and investment houses will not suffer - it surely is a shame that this is being shoved up the asses of every taxpayer in this country - and I can't tell you how much I hate this crooked and corrupt mal-administration and its henchmen and cronies.

:explodinghead:

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080311/fed_credit_crisis.html?.v=21

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Staring at spreading financial dangers, the Federal Reserve announced a rescue package that would pour as much as $200 billion into banks and investment houses and allow them to put up risky home-loan packages as collateral.

Wall Street rebounded on the news Tuesday with its biggest rally of the year -- and hoped the Fed had even more cards to play.

The Federal Reserve's maneuver, coordinated with central banks overseas, was its latest effort to stem the global credit crisis and severe housing woes that threaten to bury the United States in its first recession since 2001. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues have been stretching for new and imaginative ways to confront the situation.

They are hoping to bring relief where it is sorely needed: in the market for mortgage securities. Home loan financing has become much harder to get as nervous lenders have hunkered down.

"It is a highly significant move. The Fed is innovating in a way that is going to push liquidity directly into the mortgage markets, where it is most needed," said David Jones, president of DJM Advisors.

On Wall Street, the Fed's action propelled stocks upward. The Dow Jones industrials jumped by some 416 points.

Traders will be looking for still more action. Recent stock rallies have been followed by renewed selloffs by investors who believe the economy is still headed for recession, if it isn't there already.

...more...

[ozymandius]

105. I always feel like a million damn dollars after pawning my soul too.

Whistling from the pawn shop, knowing I'll never have to pay it back because my generation will be dead and buried.

Fuckers.

[Capn Sunshine]

102. well, here's what's happening

That upside blowoff is options driven. You could blame the banks. Like mine. We're sitting on a pile of put options that are going against us. We really could use the lifeline the Fed tossed today because unless we find some larger entities to buy our very vanilla CMOs we will book another losing quarter. Last quarter was the first loser in our history, mainly because we had to move several packages of CMOs at fire sale rates because those were the only bid out there. So in theory the FED liquidity helps get the wheels of the machinery moving again and credit loosens up enough for those guys to complete the LBOs that are hanging on in limbo, and the stock option part of the transaction records and that boots up the market, particularly the S&P and all the attendant funds and options being held by Hedgers from here to Timbuktu like us, because at the moment we have to keep selling calls to keep our books balanced as we await DOW 10,950. See where this is going? The higher the market goes, the more calls we have to sell,which means somewhere someone os pledgeing their shares and they get removed from the market driving the bid up etc etc, and eccch, it's so complicated my head wants to explode, but basically everyone is on the wrong side of this blowoff top and trying to get right before the 15th.

Well by everybody, I mean me and all of our associates who create the dreaded derivatives market referred to earlier, and I think we should be able to get control of the process by tomorrow,probably by selling in Tokyo and Paris so look out below......

I gotta go get more Pepto. Ciao.

[Ghost Dog]

103. Thanks for that, Capn!

How do you get on the right side without someone else getting on the wrong side, eg. Tokyo & Paris, and why would they do that?

[ozymandius]

107. I appreciate this post.

So seldom do we hear from the pits. I do wonder though - how much will this money injection grease the gears? Will it transition to another sucker rally?

[Ghost Dog]

108. Sure looks and sounds like it, Ozy.

Asian Stocks Rise on Fed's Plan to Boost Liquidity; Banks Surge

By Masaki Kondo and Emma O'Brien

March 12 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks jumped, joining a global rally, after the Federal Reserve said it will pour as much as $200 billion into the financial system to revive lending among banks.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. surged the most in more than 10 years, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 5.8 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. shares were bid higher on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Fed said it plans to lend Treasuries in exchange for debt that includes mortgage-backed securities, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to its biggest rally in more than five years.

``It's a good bit of news when the market anticipated none,'' said Troy Angus, who helps manage the equivalent of $3.5 billion at Paradice Investment Management Ltd. in Sydney. ``Financials broadly will be rallying pretty hard.''

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9 percent to 139.06 as of 9:04 a.m. in Tokyo, set for its biggest gain in a week. The gauge remains down 19 percent from its Nov. 1 record on fears the U.S. will enter a recession amid increasing losses linked to investments in the country's mortgage industry.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.5 percent to 12,841.59, while the broader Topix index climbed 1.4 percent to 1,252.37.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 4.1 percent to 5,344.10 in Sydney, set for the biggest jump since Jan. 25. South Korea's Kospi Index advanced 2.6 percent.

Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Fannie Mae led the Standard & Poor's 500 Financials Index to its biggest gain in eight years on expectations the Fed's move will spur lending.

...

By lending Treasuries in exchange for mortgage-backed securities, the Fed will allow banks to switch debt that is less liquid for bonds that are easily tradable. Fed officials told reporters on condition of anonymity that the program may be increased as needed.

Banks around the world have posted $188 billion in writedowns and credit losses stemming from the collapse of the subprime- mortgage market.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aP3ZqjrR9Os0&refer=japan

This is similar to the ECB's immediate strategy, since last summer, was it not? (see eg. article at #38).

But, how will the Fed place values on the debt being swapped?

[dweller]

110. ' trying to get right before the 15th'

march, or april?

just curious.
dp

[Hugin]

104. "Infomercial trading whizzes charged with fraud" -- AP via MSNBC.com

"‘Teach Me to Trade’ system cost customers $3,000 to $40,000"


AP
updated 45 minutes ago
McLEAN, Va. - Two self-proclaimed experts at trading stocks who used infomercials and hotel seminars to tout their abilities have been indicted on federal fraud charges.

Linda Woolf, 48, of Sandy, Utah, and David Gengler, 34, of Draper, Utah, passed themselves off as successful investors and persuaded consumers to pay anywhere from $3,000 to $40,000 to learn the "Teach Me to Trade" stock picking system, according to an indictment in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.

Prosecutors say Woolf and Gengler lied or omitted pertinent information about their profits in the stock market and their annual gains and losses during presentations given at hotel seminars across the country. One of Teach Me to Trade's supposed stock trading experts was actually recruited by Woolf from a nail salon, according to the indictment.


_____________________________________________________________________________

:eyes:

[Ghost Dog]

109. Bear Stearns shares recover late Tuesday

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Bear Stearns Cos (BSC.N) shares pared losses late Tuesday after securities regulators said they were comfortable with capital levels at the largest U.S. investment banks, including Bear, and a company insider denied Bear was facing a cash crunch.

After falling as much as 11 percent earlier in the day, Bear shares rose 3.15 percent to $64.26 in late afternoon trading. The shares fell on concerns that the investment bank could face a cash crunch from bigger-than-expected write-downs, and could be hampered by a business model based on risky mortgage securities.

/... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080311/bs_nm/bearstearns_dc;_ylt=AgDn__pINkPOiSZnaOiUofm573QA

[dweller]

111. 'A Democrat being prosecuted for illicit sex?'

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!


thanks Dave Letterman.
dp