STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday October 8 - Thread #2

[UpInArms]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday October 8, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 104
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2815 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2540 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2831
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.
$1 USD = EUR 1.06678
$1 USD = JPY 116.6200

In recognition of those prescient of the Dow's precipitous return of Bush values (9/29/08): JuneBourder and AnneD

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 7, 2008

Dow... 9,447.11 -508.39 (-5.11%)
Nasdaq... 1,754.88 -108.08 (-5.80%)
S&P 500... 996.23 -60.66 (-5.74%)
Gold future... 882.00 +15.80 (+1.82%)
30-Year Bond 4.03% +0.08 (+2.13%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.51% +0.08 (+2.34%)






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



(UIA - just filling in for Ozy!)


Read more: du

[UpInArms]

1. I made an executive decision - in light of the fact that it is not yet

noon and the first thread was more than 150 posts ....

well, just thought it would be easier to do it now than later

:hi:

[DemReadingDU]

2. Thank you!

another busy day

[Roland99]

4. I (and my phone) thank you!

[Soylent Brice]

8. Thank you!

Ozy's threads are usually my first read every day. preciate' cha' filling in!!

[UpInArms]

3. Paulson's Piehole to open after markets close

01. Paulson to hold a press conference at 3:00 pm eastern
11:00 AM ET, Oct 08, 2008

guess the dipstick finally got hit by the clue bus

[Roland99]

5. Last hour of trading will be interesting

I'm sure he'll wax on about unfreezing credit by making it cheaper to borrow

[tosh]

6. Yet to be seen.

[Tace]

7. U.S. Stocks Are Open Until 4p ET

If Paulson is to hold a press conference at 3 p.m., the markets are scheduled to still be open. Cheers

[Demeter]

88. Quick! Somebody Tell Hank!

[TalkingDog]

9. King Solomon heads Wachovia deal: to split baby in half

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a927JFo.jWFs&refer=news

Wachovia Corp. is bracing for a split that may give most of the bank to Wells Fargo & Co. with Citigroup Inc. taking the rest, as regulators prod the suitors to end their takeover fight, two people briefed on the talks said.

Wells Fargo may buy Wachovia of Charlotte, North Carolina, and then sell parts to New York-based Citigroup, said one of the people, who declined to be identified because negotiations are private. Citigroup would get branches in the Northeast and about a quarter of Wachovia's deposits, and Wells Fargo would take the branches in the South and Mid-Atlantic states, the person said.

Citigroup and Wells Fargo are competing for control of Wachovia's $448 billion of deposits in 21 states. Citigroup offered $2.16 billion last week for the banking operations, and Wells Fargo, based in San Francisco, trumped that by bidding about $15 billion for the whole company. The banks agreed Oct. 6 to halt the ensuing court battle for two days while regulators tried to broker a compromise.

Wachovia, which was on the verge of being seized last week by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has a limited role in the talks, the people said. While Wachovia is publicly sticking to its signed merger agreement with Wells Fargo, the bank is open to proposals that would get shareholders a better deal, one person said.

[54anickel]

10. Roll Back the Reagan Tax Cuts (from last August) in honor of one of McCain's heros

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/06/3003

Our bridges are falling apart (among other things), and its Ronald Reagan's fault.

A few hours before the bridge collapsed in Minnesota, a news release landed (among hundreds) in my email inbox. It was from the right-wing "Heartland Institute" and a Minnesota conservative group calling itself the "Taxpayers League of Minnesota." It read:

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) issued 20 full or partial vetoes of tax hikes and spending increases in May, giving taxpayers reason to smile. ...

snip>

Ultimately, it was the DFL's inability to override any of Pawlenty's vetoes--particularly of the transportation bill--that resulted in a comparatively small $3 billion increase in state spending with no new taxes.

Said Krinkie of the 2007 session, "Minnesotans really need to thank Gov. Pawlenty and Rep. Seifert's House Republicans. These guys stood strong in the face of overwhelming pressure and came through for taxpayers when they really needed them."

If by "taxpayers" one means "millionaires, billionaires, and corporations," the news release was accurate. And now its authors have blood on their hands.

After the Republican Great Depression, FDR put this nation back to work, in part by raising taxes on income above $3 to $4 million a year (in today's dollars) to 91 percent, and corporate taxes to over 50% of profits. The revenue from those income taxes built dams, roads, bridges, sewers, water systems, schools, hospitals, train stations, railways, an interstate highway system, and airports. It educated a generation returning from World War II. It acted as a cap on the rare but occasional obsessively greedy person taking so much out of the economy that it impoverished the rest of us.

Through the 1950s, though, more and more loopholes for the rich were built into the tax code, so much so that JFK observed in his second debate with Richard Nixon that dropping the top tax rate to 70% but tightening up the loopholes would actually be a tax increase.

JFK pushed through that tax increase to take us back toward FDR/Truman/Eisenhower revenue levels, and we continued to build infrastructure in the US, and even put men on the moon. Health care and college were cheap and widely available. Working people could raise a family and have security in their old age. Every billion dollars (a half-week in Iraq) invested in infrastructure in America created 47,000 good-paying jobs as Americans built America.

But the rich fought back, and won big-time in 1980 when Reagan, until then the fringe "Voodoo economics" candidate who was heading into the election trailing far behind Jimmy Carter, was swept into the White House on a wave of public concern of the Iranians taking US hostages. Reagan promptly cut income taxes on the very rich from 70% down to 27%. Corporate tax rates were also cut so severely that they went from representing over 33% of total federal tax receipts in 1951 to less than 9% in 1983 (they're still in that neighborhood, the lowest in the industrialized world).

The result was devastating. Our government was suddenly so badly awash in red ink that Reagan doubled the tax paid only by people earning less than $40,000/year (FICA), and then began borrowing from the huge surplus this new tax was accumulating in the Social Security Trust Fund. Even with that, Reagan had to borrow more money in his 8 years than the sum total of all presidents from George Washington to Jimmy Carter combined.

more...

[TalkingDog]

15. When McCain invoked the spirit of ol' Ronnie during the debate last night

the Spousal Unit had to prevent me from throwing things at the TV.

Affable malfeasance is no way to run a country.
And neither is Shrub's willfully ignorant malfeasance.

[54anickel]

21. Sad how after all these years the mention of his name invokes such a visceral response in so many -

myself included. Yet at the same time I feel empathy for him and his family for the years he spent wasting away, his brain turning to swiss cheese. Always invokes a Sybil moment for me.

[Roland99]

11. 11:43am - Lurching back down again.

Dow 9,311.23 -135.88
Nasdaq 1,739.26 -15.62
S&P 500 982.77 -13.46
10-year 3.69% +0.18
Oil $90.06 $2.25
Gold $916.00 $34.00

[bain_sidhe]

12. The (new) DU-SMW pool!

Posting for Prag (and extending my deepest sympathies for his graphics card).

---

Guess the date for when the Dow will close down 20% of it's value from the Great Reset value of 10,578. That would be
8462.59. I doubt anyone could claim there isn't a recession at that value.

Similar rules to AnneD's pool apply... HARSH REGULATION WILL BE OBSERVED! The pool will lock at 500 points above
the target value or 8963.59.

Will today be the day...?

uppityperson... 10/08/08

radfringe... 10/09/08 (765 432 1 Countdown!)
dweller... 10/15/08
loudsue... 10/16/08
Karenina... 10/20/08
AnneD... 10/24/08 (Note: AnneD is a Sentimentalist)
Roland99... 10/27/08
Dr.Phool... 10/30/08
MsLeopard... 10/31/08 (Note: BOO!)
Wednesdays... 11/05/08
Pigwidgeon... 11/17/08


Good luck and keep a sharp eye for those ice bergs!

---

Come on in, the water's fine! Please post your picks as a reply to this post, and I'll add them to the list in the order they're received. If we're following the rules for the previous pool, in the event of a tie, first one in wins!

[UpInArms]

13. I'll jump in on October 28!

:hi:

thanks for posting the pool rules, bain_sidhe!

:grouphug:

[bain_sidhe]

16. Noted...

I'll add it to the draft and repost the updated list tonight. And, of course, tomorrow (with any late additions) 'roundabout noon.

[Tansy_Gold]

14. Leave mine where it was

10/13, my birthday.

What the hell.

TG

[bain_sidhe]

20. hmm.. wasn't on the list

but it is now!

[Tansy_Gold]

68. Oh, sorry, I meant where it was on the original pool

I'd forgotten that we'd, um, moved on to bigger (?) and better (?) wagers.


It's a shame we couldn't just move on to bigger and better wages. . . .




TG

[DemWynner]

22. Hey, That is my son's B-day too

He will be 20 and has been watch the markets as much as I am.

[krispos42]

23. 11/6

After the election and the election fraud fails to pay off.

[bain_sidhe]

26. Noted! n/t

[bain_sidhe]

30. Stakin' my claim to 10/10/08

The day the "troopergate" report is supposed to come out. And a Friday.

[Ghost Dog]

37. Mind if I take the same date as you, bain_sidhe?

10/10

Although I suspect it may at least touch that, if not close below, tomorrow (depending on what Paulson has to say shortly...). :(

[bain_sidhe]

50. You got it!

Although the markets appear to be taking a U-turn for the moment.

I've been refreshing frequently to watch for the "lock" target of 8963.59, because it was looking like we might make it. And we still might, but as of right now the direction is up.

[Birthmark]

86. Sign me up of 10/17, please. eom

[bain_sidhe]

87. All set! eom

[bain_sidhe]

93. End of day pool standings...

---

Guess the date for when the Dow will close down 20% of it's value from the Great Reset value of 10,578. That would be 8462.59. I doubt anyone could claim there isn't a recession at that value.

Similar rules to AnneD's pool apply... HARSH REGULATION WILL BE OBSERVED! The pool will lock at 500 points above the target value or 8963.59.

When last we saw our intrepid poolsters...

uppityperson... 10/08/08
:-(
Alack, alas,
this date has passed.
uppityperson, assuage your sorrow
and try again upon the morrow!

Next up...

radfringe... 10/09/08 (765 432 1 Countdown!)

bain_sidhe... 10/10/08
Ghost Dog... 10/10/08
Tansy_Gold... 10/13/08 (Note: Happy Birthday, Tansy!)
dweller... 10/15/08
loudsue... 10/16/08
Birthmark... 10/17/08
Karenina... 10/20/08
AnneD... 10/24/08 (Note: AnneD is a Sentimentalist)
Roland99... 10/27/08
UpInArms... 10/28/08
Dr.Phool... 10/30/08
MsLeopard... 10/31/08 (Note: BOO!)
Wednesdays... 11/05/08
krispos42... 11/6/08
Pigwidgeon... 11/17/08


Good luck and keep a sharp eye for those ice bergs!

---

[Roland99]

17. 12:08pm - Pushing session lows

Dow 9,231.02 -216.09
Nasdaq 1,714.54 -40.34
S&P 500 973.38 -22.85
10-year 3.66% +0.15
Oil $86.80 -$3.26
Gold $914.00 $32.00

[antigop]

18. Berkshire Hathaway B below $4,000 per share

http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=BRK.B

Just in case anyone is interested....

[AnneD]

45. The market floor....

is begining to resemble Gimbles basement :spray: That ought to flush out the other old timers.

[Roland99]

19. TED Spread calming down... 3.76.

[DemReadingDU]

25. Calming down! Yikes!

[Imperialism Inc.]

24. I have to admit I do not understand this. Are that many stocks

that overvalued?

Seems like maybe this would be a good time to buy.

[DemReadingDU]

27. I suppose you could buy

but the market is trending lower, so you could lose, unless the market goes up in a short rally

I think of the stock market as a gambling casino, too difficult for me to win at

[TalkingDog]

28. Wait 6 months.... n/t

[Pale Blue Dot]

31. Here's the problem as I see it.

We're still at the beginning of this crisis. We haven't even started to see the cutbacks and job losses that are going to happen just because of the events of the last two weeks. It's a a deep, downward spiral and I honestly don't see how it ends. I don't know where the bottom is, or even the possible mechanism for creating a bottom.

Legal note: My advice is worth what you paid for it. :)

[Roland99]

36. Did my check to you clear yet?

:)

[progressive_realist]

42. Depends on your risk profile.

Investors worried about their balance sheets in the short term (older investors and pension funds that have to maintain a certain level of capitalization) are exiting the stock market and sitting on their cash. I also think hedge funds are doing the same, because of some combination of the short-selling ban, the danger of being highly leveraged in the current environment, and the fact that some (many?) of them have frozen brokerage accounts due to the failure of Lehman Bros.

So at this point, I think it is a safe bet that markets are going to continue to decline until something major changes. Too many investors can't afford further losses and will stay on the sidelines. And that $700B bailout isn't going to do anything to help the situation.

That said, it is a good environment to buy if you are a younger investor who can afford to wait for a market recovery. Since the main risk for a long-term investor is company bankruptcies, buying into broad-based index funds seems like the safest bet right now. Especially since with the credit markets freezing up, even good companies are at risk of going under in the next few weeks. Buying shares of any individual firm right now seems incredibly risky.


Disclaimer: I am not a professional and this is purely my semi-informed opinion.

[AnneD]

46. Index funds are a good option.....

Brokers don't like to sell them but they really a good way to hedge your bets.

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

29. Short Selling Ban: Will It Expire? Or, Will It Be Extended?

What would be the consequences of either? I heard an "expert" (I just don't trust that term any more) say this morning that short selling rallies would have prevented the recent series of losses. I question that logic. Is he right? I don't know enough about market operations to make a determination myself.

[Pale Blue Dot]

32. That "expert" would certainly be going against the conventional wisdom.

It seems to me that short selling would have exacerbated the problem in the short term, but the ban probably makes it worse in the long term.

[Roland99]

34. Hedge funds are taking a bath because they made a good amt of money off shorting.

[54anickel]

43. I've not heard them called short selling rallies, it's usually a short squeeze where short sellers

get caught on the wrong side of the bet. Betting the price will go down, they "borrow" a stock to sell with the intent to pay it back with a stock they purchase at a lower price than what they sold the borrowed stock for. So, IMHO, a short squeeze can't really be considered a rally at all. It's a momentary movement created by people gaming the system.

Course I could just be full of shit too.....

[Ghost Dog]

33. Europe stocks at 5-yr closing low despite rate cuts

Wed Oct 8, 2008 4:56pm BST FRANKFURT, Oct 8 (Reuters) - European shares sank to a near 5-year closing low on Wednesday after highly volatile trade, shrugging off coordinated rate cuts by top central banks as economic growth worries persisted.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares, closed unofficially down 6.1 percent at 941.93 points -- the lowest close since Dec. 17, 2003.

The benchmark European index was down nearly 8 percent in early trade, then gave up most of its losses following the rate cuts, only to tumble again late in the day.

...

The banking sector took the most points off the index, with UniCredit (CRDI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) sliding 12.6 percent, Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) falling 10.7 percent and Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) down 2.4 percent.

...

HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) jumped 24.5 percent while Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 0.8 percent.

Fears of a steep slowdown in economic growth sharpened, with the International Monetary Fund slashing its 2009 forecast for world growth to 3.0 percent from a July projection of 3.9 percent, and warning that a recovery from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s would be unusually slow.

/.. http://uk.reuters.com/article/eurMktRpt/idUKL832695220081008
________

[Roland99]

35. Wonder if that's where our markets are getting direction? Hit 9,194 a bit ago. 9,228 now.

[Ghost Dog]

38. Everybody following each other around in circles,

around the globe, as far as I can see lately.

My apologies for posting the above as a graphic, btw. Would take time to reformat otherwise, and I'm in the middle of revarnishing the front gates, before the light goes here... :hi:

[Dr.Phool]

39. Just in case anyone is interested.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11219554&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|3605|77253&N=4032064&Mo=8&No=4&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=77253&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1〈=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

Due to overwhelming response, this item will be delivered in 10-15 business days.

[AnneD]

53. They sell those like gang buster here....

hurricane season and all. They are good.

What I learned this go round with a hurricane.

1) Forget that shit they tell you about having 3 days worth of emergency food and water saved. Power goes out for longer than 3 days. I have yet to see a 3 day disaster-get you several of these buckets or MRE's.
2) Double or triple the amount of water they say to have on hand. Without heat or AC, the body is under stress and bodies under stress require more water.
3) Books and decks of cards are your best distraction.
4)you can never have too much....mosquitoe spray, fly swatters, batteries, and liquor.

Just my 2 cent and lots of experience.

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

40. What's with the 30-40 point swings?

Odd.

[Dr.Phool]

49. Traders are having a hard time deciding whether to shit or go blind.

If you want to see swings, check back about 3:00pm. They go nuts about then, lately.

[Ghost Dog]

51. Confirm that: Options fear gauge soars to record high (VIX)

Wed Oct 8, 2008 1:40pm EDT CHICAGO, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street's favorite measure of investor fear, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index .VIX, hit a record intraday high on Wednesday, suggesting more turbulence for U.S. stocks.

The VIX jumped as much as 10 percent to 59.06, surpassing its record intraday high set on Monday, using the modern VIX format that goes back only to 1990. On Tuesday, the VIX ended at 53.68, marking its second straight close at a record high.

In early afternoon, though, the VIX was up just 5.03 percent at 56.38 at about 1:30 p.m. as the three major U.S. stock indexes whipped slightly higher in volatile trading. Earlier in the session, the indexes had tumbled as much as 2.7 percent to the day's lows as investors dumped stocks on fears that Wednesday's globally coordinated interest-rate cuts would fail to unfreeze the credit markets and avert a global recession.

The VIX measures near-term anticipated stock market volatility conveyed by option prices for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX. It usually moves inversely to the benchmark S&P 500. An upward spike in the VIX often occurs when the market suffers steep losses. This is said to reflect anxiety among investors as they seek options to insure their portfolios.

...

"There appears to be no ceiling for the cost of insurance at the present time," said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut. "Investors are taking things one day at a time," Wilkinson said. "When the VIX was trading in the 40s last week, people thought it was expensive, and today that looks like a bargain."

"Even in the aftermath of the concerted central bank monetary policy easing, I still can't see a catalyst to restore investor confidence in the world's broken economies," Wilkinson added.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUKN0853144420081008?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

52. Duped (server sticky)

[UpInArms]

41. 1:07 EST the wild ride continues

Dow 9,370.96 76.15 (0.81%)
Nasdaq 1,749.05 5.83 (0.33%)
S&P 500 994.72 1.51 (0.15%)
10-Yr Bond 3.698% 0.192

NYSE Volume 4,681,910,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,937,636,500

[Roland99]

44. Say hi to the faeries! DJIA up 14

[54anickel]

47. Are we adjusting to the latest Commercial Paper Funding Facility tool?

Looks like they're about ready to take the training wheels off.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/monetary/20081007c.htm

Release Date: October 7, 2008

For release at 9:00 a.m. EDT

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced the creation of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF), a facility that will complement the Federal Reserve's existing credit facilities to help provide liquidity to term funding markets. The CPFF will provide a liquidity backstop to U.S. issuers of commercial paper through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will purchase three-month unsecured and asset-backed commercial paper directly from eligible issuers. The Federal Reserve will provide financing to the SPV under the CPFF and will be secured by all of the assets of the SPV and, in the case of commercial paper that is not asset-backed commercial paper, by the retention of up-front fees paid by the issuers or by other forms of security acceptable to the Federal Reserve in consultation with market participants. The Treasury believes this facility is necessary to prevent substantial disruptions to the financial markets and the economy and will make a special deposit at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in support of this facility.

The commercial paper market has been under considerable strain in recent weeks as money market mutual funds and other investors, themselves often facing liquidity pressures, have become increasingly reluctant to purchase commercial paper, especially at longer-dated maturities. As a result, the volume of outstanding commercial paper has shrunk, interest rates on longer-term commercial paper have increased significantly, and an increasingly high percentage of outstanding paper must now be refinanced each day. A large share of outstanding commercial paper is issued or sponsored by financial intermediaries, and their difficulties placing commercial paper have made it more difficult for those intermediaries to play their vital role in meeting the credit needs of businesses and households.

By eliminating much of the risk that eligible issuers will not be able to repay investors by rolling over their maturing commercial paper obligations, this facility should encourage investors to once again engage in term lending in the commercial paper market. Added investor demand should lower commercial paper rates from their current elevated levels and foster issuance of longer-term commercial paper. An improved commercial paper market will enhance the ability of financial intermediaries to accommodate the credit needs of businesses and households.


I have no idea what half of that means

[Demeter]

89. Don't Worry. It's Probably BS Anyway

[Roland99]

48. Say hi to the faeries! DJIA up 14

[Dr.Phool]

54. Passing out hallucinogens! Up 135!

[Dr.Phool]

55. Stuttering Market?

My wife just sent me a joke. We need a little humor, and it might apply to today's market action.
______________________________________

A teacher is explaining biology to her 4th grade students. "Human Beings are the only animals that stutter," she says.
A little girl raises her hand. "I had a kitty-cat who stuttered."
The teacher, knowing how precious some of these stories could become, asked the girl to describe the incident.
"Well", she began, "I was in the back yard with my kitty and the Rottweiler that lives next door got a running start

and before we knew it, he jumped over the fence into our yard!"


"That must've been scary," said the teacher.


"It sure was," said the little girl. "My kitty raised his back, went Sssss, Sssss, Sssss" and before he could say "Shit," the Rottweiler ate him!

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

56. RBOB busts $2.00

CLX08.NYM Crude Oil Nov 08 87.24 1:05pm ET Down 2.82 (3.13%)
HOX08.NYM Heating Oil Nov 08 2.4415 1:05pm ET Down 0.0642 (2.56%)
NGX08.NYM Natural Gas Nov 08 6.707 1:05pm ET Down 0.061 (0.90%)
PNX08.NYM Propane Gas Nov 08 1.245 12:50pm ET 0.00 (0.00%)
RBX08.NYM RBOB Gasoline Nov 08 1.9822 1:04pm ET Down 0.0806 (3.91%)

Now for HO to drop.

[Roland99]

69. Nationwide average should be about $2.60-2.70. We're about $0.80 above that.

[antigop]

57. SURPRISE! Look who's the kingpin at new firm rising from Lehman's ashes

http://financialweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081008/REG/810089997/1036

President's cousin now kingpin at firm rising from Lehman's ashes
Walker heads an independent Neuberger; 'aggressively moving forward'

George H. Walker is the kingpin in the newly reincarnated asset management firm that’s emerging from the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

When Mr. Walker, the President’s cousin, assumed the role of managing director and global head of the investment management unit of the i-bank late in 2006, an investment banker said: “Everyone in the universe is watching what George Walker will do at Lehman.”

The same is true now that Mr. Walker has managed to negotiate a deal to sell the $230 billion asset management division he heads to private equity firms Bain Capital Partners and Hellman & Friedman.

The two private equity firms are paying $2.15 billion in cash and will be equal partners in the newly independent money management unit, which will be known as Neuberger Investment Management and based in New York. The acquisition includes the Lehman Brothers investment management units of Neuberger Berman, which manages equities and mutual funds; Lehman Brothers Asset Management, which manages fixed-income, commodities and quantitative investment strategies; and Lehman Brothers’ private investments groups, including hedge fund and private equity fund of funds, secondary private equity and co-investment, as well as several startup private equity businesses (infrastructure and mezzanine debt).

[Dr.Phool]

59. Before I opened the post, I would have bet money it was Jeb.

He stuck all of Florida's Hurricane disaster fund in Lehman before he left office, and worked for them as a "consultant".

I haven't heard anyone in Florida ask about that money - yet.

[antigop]

60. Close guess, but incorrect. n/t

[Dr.Phool]

62. There's so many thieves in that family,

You'd have a good chance of winning by just naming one of them.

Except maybe Babs. Thievery takes work, and she don't do it.

[Demeter]

90. That's Beyond Unbelievable

Think it's actionable?

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

58. Nice little rally

Somebody heard something they liked.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

63. lunch at delmonicos

was good, time to fleece the suckers

[juno jones]

61. K&R! n/t

[TrogL]

64. 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

2008-08-28 Thursday, August 28 0.949938 USD
2008-08-29 Friday, August 29 0.949938 USD
2008-09-01 Monday, September 1 0.940645 USD
2008-09-02 Tuesday, September 2 0.934754 USD
2008-09-03 Wednesday, September 3 0.942507 USD
2008-09-04 Thursday, September 4 0.93985 USD
2008-09-05 Friday, September 5 0.940115 USD
2008-09-08 Monday, September 8 0.935104 USD
2008-09-09 Tuesday, September 9 0.936593 USD
2008-09-10 Wednesday, September 10 0.931532 USD
2008-09-11 Thursday, September 11 0.926183 USD
2008-09-12 Friday, September 12 0.942863 USD
2008-09-15 Monday, September 15 0.937207 USD
2008-09-16 Tuesday, September 16 0.931359 USD
2008-09-17 Wednesday, September 17 0.926956 USD
2008-09-18 Thursday, September 18 0.934929 USD
2008-09-19 Friday, September 19 0.955201 USD
2008-09-22 Monday, September 22 0.963113 USD
2008-09-23 Tuesday, September 23 0.965717 USD
2008-09-24 Wednesday, September 24 0.96609 USD
2008-09-25 Thursday, September 25 0.967305 USD
2008-09-26 Friday, September 26 0.965997 USD
2008-09-29 Monday, September 29 0.962186 USD
2008-09-30 Tuesday, September 30 0.943663 USD
2008-10-01 Wednesday, October 1 0.942774 USD
2008-10-02 Thursday, October 2 0.928591 USD
2008-10-03 Friday, October 3 0.924642 USD
2008-10-06 Monday, October 6 0.906865 USD
2008-10-07 Tuesday, October 7 0.904568 USD
2008-10-08 Wednesday, October 8 0.889205 USD

Current values

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

Market            Open   High    Low   Last  Change    Pct Time
CD.Y$$ Cash     0.9065 0.9065 0.8891 0.8914 -0.0132 -1.46% 13:01 
CD.Z08 Dec 2008 0.9027 0.9090 0.8915 0.8960 -0.0108 -1.19% 13:11 
CD.H09 Mar 2009 0.8997 0.8997 0.8980 0.8997 -0.0086 -0.95% 13:18 
CD.M09 Jun 2009 0.9880 0.9880 0.9880 0.9089 +0.0024 +0.26% set 15:07 
CD.U09 Sep 2009 0.9350        0.9340 0.9082 +0.0031 +0.34% set 15:07 
CD.Z09 Dec 2009 0.9845 0.9845 0.9845 0.9082 +0.0037 +0.41% set 15:07 
CD.H10 Mar 2010 0.9370 0.9370 0.9370 0.9082 +0.0043 +0.47% set 15:07 

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

Market              Open    High     Low    Last   Change     Pct 
AUSTRALIAN $/CANADIAN $ (NYBOT:AS)
ACD.Z08 Dec 2008 0.7887 0.7887 0.7887 0.7887 +0.0168 +2.13%  
EURO/BRITISH POUND (NYBOT:GB)
GB.Z08.E Dec 2008 (E) 0.7824 0.7922 0.7824 0.7922 +0.0120 +1.54%   
EURO/JAPANESE YEN (NYBOT:EJ)
EJ.Z08.E Dec 2008 (E) 135.100 137.775 134.000 136.140 -1.735 -1.26% 
EURO/US$ (SMALL) (NYBOT:EO)
EO.Z08.E Dec 2008 (E) 1.3736 1.3768 1.3632 1.3768 +0.0115 +0.84%   

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

The December Canadian Dollar was lower overnight as it extends this week's decline below September's low. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold but remain neutral to bearish signaling that additional weakness is possible near-term. If December extends the decline, weekly support crossing at 89.66 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20-day moving average crossing at 94.13 would confirm that a short-term low has been posted. First resistance is broken support marked by September's low crossing at 92.22. Second resistance is the 10-day moving average crossing at 93.58. First support is the overnight low crossing at 90.04. Second support is weekly support crossing at 89.66.

Analysis

I got to listen to a later business show than usual 'cause I was at a Jack Layton campaign function (got to shake his hand - again and got some good pics I'll post later).

They were going on about the big countries' banks (Canada, US, China (surprisingly enough), Britain, some others) doing a coordinated drop in interest rates in an attempt to stimulate the economy.

The loonie is falling solely because of both oil and non-oil commodity prices.

Canada's banks are in fine shape. We never did have a sub-prime crisis because of Canadian banking regulations, which are far more conservative than most countries.

Sun Life and Manulife are looking at snapping up failing US banks. It's a fire sale out there.

[Dr.Phool]

66. That's not very encouraging for the Florida economy.

A lot of businesses were counting on Canadians spending a lot of money here this winter after the CD hit parity and above. Now, it looks like a 10-15% penalty to spend money here.

[Dr.Phool]

65. Did you hear? IMF sez we're gonna have a recession!

Is somebody selling clue futures on the market?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27083134/

IMF predicts credit crisis will cut world economic output sharply


updated 51 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The world economy will slow sharply this year and next, with the United States likely sliding into recession reflecting mounting damage from the most dangerous financial jolt in more than a half-century.

The International Monetary Fund, in a World Economic Outlook released Wednesday, slashed growth projections for the global economy and predicted the United States — the epicenter of the financial meltdown — will continue to lose traction.

"The world economy is now entering a major downturn in the face of the most dangerous shock in mature financial markets since the 1930s," the IMF said in its report.

(more)

[TalkingDog]

67. Also from the "Beeb"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7659086.stm

[Roland99]

70. Half an hour close and it's Happy Hour!

Dow 9,558.54 +111.43
Nasdaq 1,799.97 +45.09
S&P 500 1,019.41 +23.18
10-year 3.72% +0.21
Oil $88.95 -$1.11
Gold $906.50 $24.50

[Roland99]

71. 3:41pm - Awww...the bluebird of happiness flew away.

Dow 9,424.09 -23.02
Nasdaq 1,776.66 +21.78
S&P 500 1,002.7 +36.50
10-year 3.72% +0.21
Oil $88.95 -$1.11
Gold $906.50 $24.50

[Dr.Phool]

72. The happy Fizzies party is fizzling!

[Roland99]

73. The Fizzies party got busted by the cops! Whoa!

Dow 9,319.67 -127.44
Nasdaq 1,750.94 -3.94
S&P 500 992.94 -3.29
10-year 3.72% +0.21
Oil $88.95 -$1.11
Gold $906.50 $24.50

[Roland99]

74. 4:00 - For whom the bell tolls.

Dow 9,238.19 -208.92
Nasdaq 1,739.06 -15.82
S&P 500 984.87 -11.36
10-year 3.72% +0.21
Oil $88.95 -$1.11
Gold $906.50 $24.50

:wtf:

30 min. ago it was +111!

News of Iceland maybe going bankrupt? Or MetLife's warning?

[MsLeopard]

75. It's pretty incredible, isn't it?

The up and down all day has made me dizzy.... The Fed, and BushCo, are throwing everything they can to see what might stick - and nothing is working. From my limited knowledge of the market (all of which I've learned from reading this thread for seven years) the spikes do not bode well. If the rate cut didn't work this morning, then it looks like nothing will work. We are well and truly screwn.

[MsLeopard]

76. Paulson says global markets remain strained

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081008/meltdown_paulson.html

Ya think?

[Ghost Dog]

83. He sure did. Reuters puts a rather different emphasis on it than does AP:

Paulson wants more global cooperation on markets

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Wednesday urged intensified global cooperation to stabilize financial markets and said countries must be careful not to harm one another while they guard their own interests.

"Governments have and must continue to take individual and collective actions to provide much needed liquidity, strengthen financial institutions through the provision of capital ... and protect the savings of our citizens," he said in a statement.

...

Paulson recited the numerous measures that members of the G7 -- the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan -- and others have taken to try to halt plunging stock prices and rebuild confidence, but said more was needed.

"We must also take care to ensure that our actions are closely coordinated and communicated so that the action of one country does not come at the expense of others or the stability of the system as a whole," Paulson said.

The United States garners much of the blame for the global crisis, which originated in subprime mortgage markets for risky borrowers and has since tainted nearly all classes of lending and caused banks to hoard capital.

Paulson said he wants a special meeting of the Group of 20, which includes key emerging-market countries that also are hard-hit by the financial crisis, after the G7 meeting.

He warned that the turmoil "will not end quickly." He also said it may be several weeks before the Treasury Department begins buying unwanted and illiquid assets from financial firms under the $700 billion bailout program that Congress approved last week and that is now U.S. law.

Paulson described U.S. and global financial markets as "severely strained" and said investors were reluctant to commit capital to financial firms.

"Investor confidence is critical to restore liquidity and enhance the stability of our financial system," he said.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN0816185320081008?rpc=44&sp=true
________

Note that, at the same time as banks are "hoarding capital", global financial markets are severely strained because "investors are reluctant to commit capital" to financial institutions.

Which investors, precisely, are those, again?

[Roland99]

77. At the close - Thanks, Hank! moran.

DJIA 9,257.15 -189.96 -2.01%
Nasdaq 1,740.33 -14.55 -0.83%
S&P 500 984.94 -11.29 -1.13%
Dow Util 367.59 -9.10 -2.42%
NYSE 6,306.34 -82.04 -1.28%
AMEX 1,490.00 -60.50 -3.90%
Russell 2000 546.57 -12.38 -2.21%
30-Year Bond 4.06% +0.04 +0.89%
10-Year Bond 3.72% +0.21 +5.96%
Semcond 256.17 +1.51 +0.59%
Gold future 906.50 +24.50 +2.78%

[Roland99]

78. It's dropped 1,225.70 since Thursday's close (last day before Bailout Bill passed) Down 11.7%!

yikes.

[ozymandius]

80. The closing blather takes special note of the S&P.

Stocks traded in an extremely volatile manner on Wednesday as investors digested a coordinated global interest rate cut, economic concerns and turmoil in the financial markets.

The S&P 500 settled with a loss of 1.1% after a surge in selling interest in the final half-hour of trade sank stocks from a 2% gain. The S&P 500 traded as high as 2.5% and down as much as 2.5%. Eight of the ten economic sectors posted a loss in heavy trading volume.

The Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Bank of Canada, and Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden) made an emergency intermeeting coordinated 50 basis point rate cut. Increased economic risks and moderating inflation pressures warranted the move in an effort to improve liquidity and reduce strains in the financial market, the Fed said. The fed funds rate is now at 1.50%, and the discount rate is at 1.75%.

The move to cut interest rates came as global equities tumbled due to tight credit markets and economic worries. Japan's Nikkei plummeted 9.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 8.2%. Europe fell 6.0% as its financial institutions remain troubled -- Britain announced a plan to bailout its banking system, which included a pledge for $87 billion in direct support for eight major banks, according to reports.

In corporate news, Bank of America (BAC 21.97, -1.80) fell 7.6% after its $10 billion common stock offering was priced at a 7.5% discount to yesterday's closing level and a 31.7% discount to BofA's closing level on Monday. BofA plunged more than 25% on Tuesday after announcing disappointing third quarter earnings, giving a dour outlook, cutting its dividend by 50% and announcing the $10 billion common stock offering.

The financial sector (-3.0%) ended the session as a laggard after giving up a 3.9% gain in late-session selling pressure as investors were aware that the SEC short-selling ban is scheduled to expire at midnight tonight.

Dow component Alcoa (AA 14.60, -2.11) marked the start of the third quarter earnings season on a negative note after the aluminum maker's results fell well short of expectations. Third quarter earnings per share dropped 40% year-over-year due to falling aluminum prices, softening demand and higher costs.

Despite the weakness in Alcoa, the material sector outperformed with a gain of 2.6%. Agriculture chemical company Monsanto (MON 81.63, +7.45) pleased investors with its quarterly earnings report.

Several retailers reported a decline in September same-store sales and cut their third quarter earnings outlook. Wal-Mart (WMT 54.57, -0.27) and Costco (COST 56.89, -0.91) both posted solid growth, however, benefiting from bargain-hunting consumers.

In commodity trading, oil prices saw large swings, moving largely in tandem with stocks, as traders speculated how the global economic turmoil will impact demand. The government's weekly energy inventory data showed larger-than-expected increases in crude and gasoline stockpiles. Oil prices fell 1.6% to $88.64 per barrel.

Despite the economic turmoil and uncertainty, Treasuries came under selling pressure after the government sold additional debt to meet high investor demand, according to reports. The 10-year note dropped 46 ticks to send its yield up to 3.67%.

The S&P 500 has posted six consecutive losses in a row -- the longest losing streak since 2002.

[Dr.Phool]

81. But, he says he's gonna pull a rabbit out of his hat!

Oops. Wrong hat.

[Demeter]

91. 300 Pt.s. in a Half Hour--10 Points/Minute

[ozymandius]

79. Thanks UpInArms for this second thread.

My day was so frantic that I could not check in until now.

:hi:

[UpInArms]

84. mine has just gotten a break - glad you're back!

I knew my day was in a holding pattern for a bit - until now - so did it when there was time :)

:hi:

[Roland99]

82. Combat Republican claims that homeowners are at-fault for the mortgage crisis >>>>>>

March 2004

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040326-15.html

One other thing I've done, is I've called on private sector mortgage banks and banks to be more aggressive about lending money to first-time home buyers. And the response has been really good. There's a lot of people in this -- our communities around the country that deeply care about the issue of homeownership, and they've been responsive.

And after the sub-prime crisis triggered the collapse of over-leveraged and unregulated investment vehicles:


August 2008

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070831-5.html

First, we're going to work to modernize and improve the Federal Housing Administration -- that's known as the FHA. The FHA is a government agency that provides mortgage insurance to borrowers through a network of private sector lenders. Sixteen months ago I sent Congress an FHA modernization bill that would help more homeowners qualify for this insurance by lowering down-payment requirements, by increasing loan limits and providing more flexibility in pricing. These reforms would allow the FHA to reach families that need help, those with low incomes and less-than-perfect credit records or little savings.

That was legislation the Democratic-controlled Congress delayed on....for good reason!



So...Bush, himself, has pushed for aggressive lending even after the crisis was in full gear.

[Roland99]

85. Walgreens withdraws bid for Longs, citing deterioration in economy

WALGREEN WITHDRAWS BID FOR LONGS, CITING DETERIORATION IN ECONOMY
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/walgreen-formally-withdraws-bid-longs/story.aspx?guid=%7B88E5F705%2D56E4%2D4B5E%2D9ABF%2D70FFF29134C4%7D

[Lydia Leftcoast]

92. Fascinating: The dollar is down against the yen, but up against the euro and pound

:shrug: