STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday 26 January

[ozymandius]

Thursday January 26, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 1089DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1862 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1562 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1523
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES




AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON January 25, 2006

Dow... 10,709.74 -2.48 (-0.02%)
Nasdaq... 2,260.65 -4.60 (-0.20%)
S&P 500... 1,264.68 -2.18 (-0.17%)
30-Year Bond 4.66% +0.09 (+1.86%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.48% +0.09 (+2.03%)
Gold future... 558.10 -0.60 (-0.11%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie


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

[still_one]

1. I wonder why the futures are up so much

have you heard any news?

[EuroObserver]

3. I don't know, but

Japan and Europe are both happy so far today...

(Oil to fall further?)

[ozymandius]

4. three things

Oil is down. Some tech companies are up. European and Japanese markets are trading higher.

Some investor confidence is returning - even if it only last 24-48 hours.

[still_one]

18. thanks

as far as oil being down, that is a joke. Forbes predicted that oil would go to 35 bucks a barrel this year, no way

Energy will not be cheap again.

I do like your analysis of investor confidence though, "even if it only lasts 24-48 hours"

[EuroObserver]

20. If it lasts 'till close Friday, I'll be flabbergasted! n/t

[trogdor]

55. It might go below $60/bbl.

Especially as winter winds down, and it hasn't been a particularly harsh winter in the first place. I don't see $35/bbl. though. That's just more neocon "the check's in the mail" blather.

[still_one]

58. I agree that is pure RW spin

Oil will stay above 50 dollars a barrel. Would be nice if we had a real energy policy though

[hatrack]

74. 250K BPD Gulf Coast Oil Will Remain Offline When Hurricane Season Starts

Something else to chew on re. oil prices.

MODS: Press release, including whole item.

KEY POINTS: At least 167 platforms destroyed or damaged by Rita and Katrina
Nearly 2/3 of all large pipelines (10" or bigger) still offline
Currently, 396,000 bpd, 1.8 billion cfpd natural gas offline
By June 1st, estimates of 255,000 bpd, 400 million cfpd natural gas still offline

NEW ORLEANS – The Minerals Management Service today released its analysis of the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Analysis of the damage assessment data, along with ongoing research requested by the agency, will be incorporated in plans for future hurricane seasons.

The Gulf of Mexico, one of the nation’s largest sources of oil and gas production, was dealt a one-two punch by these hurricanes, causing destruction and substantial damage to offshore platforms within a four-week period in August and September.

MMS estimates that 3,050 of the Gulf’s 4,000 platforms and 22,000 of the 33,000 miles of Gulf pipelines were in the direct path of either Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. Because of the large amount of infrastructure in the path of hurricane-force winds and waves, the amount of damage was substantial. In comparison with Hurricane Ivan in 2004, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita accounted for considerably more damage because of the paths taken by these two devastating storms. However, there was no loss of life or significant oil spills from wells on the outer continental shelf (OCS) attributed to either storm.

Hurricane Katrina, which was a category 5 hurricane when it entered the OCS, destroyed 46 platforms (Table 1) and damaged 20 others (Table 2). To date, 100 damaged pipelines and 211 minor pollution incidents on the OCS have been reported to MMS. Minor pollution incidents are defined as incidents involving less then 500 barrels of oil that do not reach the coast line. Included in the 100 damaged pipelines in Federal waters were 36 large diameter pipelines (10” or larger) that were damaged (Table 3). Twelve of these 36 have returned to service.

Hurricane Rita, which was a category 4 hurricane when it entered the OCS, destroyed 69 platforms (Table 4) and damaged 32 others (Table 5). To date, 83 damaged pipelines and 207 minor pollution incidents on the OCS have been reported to MMS. Included in the 83 damaged pipelines in Federal waters were 28 large diameter pipelines (10” or larger) that were damaged (Table 6). Ten of these 28 have returned to service.

MMS has requested research proposals on six subject areas related to the hurricanes and the damage to offshore oil and gas facilities. The six areas are the following: (1) Assess and evaluate pipeline movement or damage; (2) Assess and evaluate platform damage; (3) Provide hurricane hindcast data; (4) Evaluate and assess the performance of jack-up rigs; (5) Assess methods to eliminate hydrates in pipelines and risers during startups after a hurricane; and (6) Assess the response of waves and currents throughout the water column in the northern Gulf of Mexico slope and shelf.

“The overall damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has shown them to be the greatest natural disasters to oil and gas development in the history of the Gulf of Mexico,” MMS Regional Director Chris Oynes said. He noted, “Just last year, in the devastating Hurricane Ivan, there were seven platforms destroyed, compared with the 115 platforms destroyed in Katrina and Rita.”

One hundred percent of Gulf oil production, which is approximately 1.5 million barrels a day, was shut-in during both storms and 94 percent of gas production, which is 10 billion cubic feet of gas a day, was shut-in during Hurricane Katrina. More than 90 percent of the manned platforms and 85 percent of working rigs were evacuated at one time. Daily production of about 396,000 barrels of oil and about 1,804 cubic feet of gas remain shut-in. For a long-term projection, approximately 255,000 barrels a day and 400 million cubic feet of gas a day will probably not be restored to production prior the start of the 2006 hurricane season.

Oynes noted that, “Assessments on pipeline and facility damages are still ongoing, and any updates will be reflected in future releases. It is likely that additional damage will be reported as underwater damage assessments are completed. These have been delayed because of overwhelmed support resources, such as diving equipment, support vessels, and remotely operated vehicles.”

MMS, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages offshore oil and gas exploration as well as renewable and alternative energy sources such as wind, wave, and solar on 1.76 billion acres of the Outer Continental Shelf while protecting the human, marine, and coastal environments. The OCS provides 30 percent of oil and 21 percent of natural gas produced domestically, and sand used for coastal restoration. MMS collects, accounts for, and disburses mineral revenues from Federal and American Indian lands, and contributes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other special use funds, with Fiscal Year 2005 disbursements of approximately $9.9 billion and more than $153 billion since 1982.

http://www.mms.gov/ooc/press/2006/press0119.htm

[still_one]

87. shhhhh don't tell anyone

[EuroObserver]

90. MMS, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior...

Wow, you mean these are, like, nationalised resources, like in most countries?

[AnneD]

93. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: I believe in my heart of hearts that the days of cheap energy are over. I worked in oil until '82 and worked under a brilliant widely recognized and respected geologist. When we would put together proposals for drill sites-we would laugh. Some of the other teams would go 'elephant hunting' (looking for the big undiscovered fields. If they won it would mean millions of dollars in research and workup, all for naught. Elephants are extinct he would tell me.....but there are still a few mice left to catch. And so we would do just that-find the mice. He had a very successful record and we always got most of the funding when we asked. I learned much from him.
I bring this up because metals are important to production. As the price of oil goes up, the price of extracting metal will jump. I suspect countries are lining up their supplies in preparation for what they fear may come to pass. I know that is what is driving gold and silver-INSECURITY.
Happy Hunting and watch out for the bears.

[EuroObserver]

96. INSECURITY: Welcome to the future, already.

Good morning AnneD.

[TheWatcher]

89. Also, let's not forget The Greenspan Retirement Rally

There is no reason for the Futures to be up this much, especially with the GM news.

[ozymandius]

2. WrapUp by Chris Puplava

THE GROWTH ECONOMY

You’ve heard it said that “money makes the world go around.” Just looking at components of our economy and government will support this: growth in the money supply, growth in housing prices, growth in the trade deficit, growth in the budget deficit, and growth in Social Security and Medicare liabilities. Low interest rates and the readily available credit and an incredible expansion in money supply (M3) have driven the growth (financial, not true growth) over the past few years.

The rapid growth in the money supply has been on a tear since 1997. The M3 money supply is up 50% since 2000 and has doubled since 1997. Prior to 1997 it took fourteen years for the money supply to double, but only requiring nine years since 1997.

-cut-

In December over $145 billion in new money has been created and if that rate was continued, M3 would double in 4 years! Maybe the fact that the printing presses have been running at full speed and are even accelerating is the cause for the discontinuation of the M3 data by the Federal Reserve. The growth in the money supply has ushered in liquidity into the economy and markets. If you want proof, look at the charts below!

-cut-

There is a concept in finances known as mean reversion, where some quantity that is measured will have an average (normal value) and will deviate from this on the low and high side over time, but will ultimately revert back to the norm/average over time when over or under extended. Stocks are seen to do this with their moving averages from a technical stand point. Companies exhibit this behavior as well with their earnings cycle as seen by the stock price and the company’s earnings (PE ratio). Think of mean reversion like a rubber band that gets stretched too much--the more energy is put into stretching it, the more energy that will be unwound like a spring once the force stretching it is removed. The effects of easy credit and the constant printing of the money press is causing the current economic and market conditions to stretch to dangerous levels, and the more that it is stretched, the more pain that will be felt in its unwinding.

more...

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

[kisstheman]

11. If this is true then why is inflation not having a fit?

[EuroObserver]

19. Isn't your basic cost of living rising quite fast?

See the Mogambo on this, latest here, and, say, here.

[ozymandius]

21. Welcome to DU and the SMW kisstheman!

This is a great question - one that has been deliberated by sharp people who do this sort of thing for a living. The type of inflation that the Fed under Greenscam has attempted to manage is wage inflation. By controlling wage inflation, price inflation would remain in check. The extremely low unemployent rate in the late '90s worried Greenscam. His attempts to rain on the stock market with phrases like "irrational exuberance" sought to dampen the furious rise in stock prices in young companies. By extention, he sought to curb the fantastic salaries being awarded to employees.

The logic worked like this: If workers made more money, companies would have to raise prices for the goods and services. If the prices of goods and services rose then workers would demand more pay to cover the cost-of-living increase. And so on...

The sand in the gearbox for today's workers is that the cost-of-living (mainly energy) has risen faster than inflation of goods and wages. Retailers know this. So increased costs for the distribution of goods and service have been mostly absorbed by retailers because they are aware of their customers inability to spend more.

There's more to the picture if I had the time.

[kisstheman]

30. Makes sense

[dweller]

34. " curb the fantastic salaries being awarded to employees"

but nothing to 'curb' fantastic salaries being awarded to employers, ceo's, etc.

dp

[PATRICK]

107. Postal employees

who make less than their union brothers in UPS and other private firms are looking very good by simply treading water and gaining benefits these better paid craft workers made decades before- the hard way as always.

But by simple dint of being less technically trained than factory workers we are vulnerable. It is not about being "overpaid". We are not and making a case for more is structurally impossible still in the semi-private sector USPS. The same incompetence that keeps the USPS from turning larger productivity awards and profits also makes it less than competent in cheating us at the bargaining table. The win/lose balance also keeps us slightly ahead and management dependent on the work force to make up for mistakes in planning and mechanization.

But we are just as endangered as the auto worker unions despite earning less in wages and benefits than other mail delivery firms. This argument is small cover for management and owners and any sacrifice would not change having losers in charge who had the future written in large letters long ago- and only made things worse and inevitably bad.

[donkeyotay]

108. so, they'er all for trickle down economics unless it should actually

reach the wage slave. Then it's inflation and they're against it. The markets can soar like the eagle, Greenspan can create credit to the moon, and corporations can raise the cost of everything from energy to health care, but there's no problem unless there is an increase in wages to pay for it. Go borrow.

[EuroObserver]

133. Damn right donkeyotay and PATRICK:

...The buck, it seems, stops with the workers.

[ozymandius]

142. yes, basically

Greenscam has done more than any individual to eliminate the middle class. In order to feel like a middle class individual, one is pushed into debt. The objective is to mortgage our future financial security for what is essentially trinkets and beads. Whether it be the car, the home, the portfolio that one feels compelled to brag about - wearing one's wealth is "in". Conspicuous displays are common.

[TheWatcher]

91. First of all, Welcome to DU

Second of all, Inflation is all around you. If you don't see it, you haven't been paying attention. It is evident in Energy Prices, Food Prices, Gas Prices, Health Care, etc. Sure, all those Electronic Gadgets we are so addicted to and all the Chinese Made Trinkets we all shuffle off to collect day after day are not experiencing this, but where it matters, it's there.

Third Of All, you need to understand the way the Government reports Inflation through the CPI Numbers is an absolute propagandistic joke.

The CPI Report always EXCLUDES Food and Energy costs. By doing this, the number is an absolute joke and meaningless. But, it keeps the herd in line by making them believe all is well and contained.

The Average American really needs to wake up to where our economy truly is. We are in big trouble, yet most sleep.

[AnneD]

99. You forgot the other way manufactures and retailer hide inflation....

they sell you a box of something and it may seem like a dime or 2 more, until you look at the number of ounces in the box. It now come several oz lighter. I have observed this because I calculate cost per oz on many purchases and have a record.

[TheWatcher]

113. Very Good Eye. Thank You For Pointing That Out.

It is an excellent point, and further illustrates the mind-boggling aspects of what we are facing. There are SO MANY ways we are being swindled and bled to death, it is staggering.

There are many other signs you can point to as well, I just decided to go with the main ones that are on my critical list that always seem to get ignored. The Average American has absolutely no idea how any of this works. They have no idea what goes on right under their noses.

[EuroObserver]

23. But for American investors, the real danger

is that investor capital could flee Japan and run back into U.S. Treasuries. That would send long-term interest rates tumbling and create an inverted yield curve.

“The lesson,” says Addison Wiggin, author of NY Times bestseller Empire of Debt and editorial director of The Daily Reckoning, “is that the globalization of the financial markets has placed an ever more precarious amount of U.S. debt in the hands of foreign central banks and investors.

“That means the fate of the American economy is moving out of America’s hands. It increasingly rests in the hands of foreign investors and central bankers who may or may not have our interests in mind when they make financial decisions.”

Japanese investors buying U.S. debt and inverting the yield curve is just one example. But Japan is not the only country wielding this kind of power.

“If China wanted to start selling U.S. debt rather than gobbling it up,” warns Wiggin, “they could really drive up interest rates in our country. And the Federal Reserve would have very few options to counter it.”

/more...

[EuroObserver]

5. Tokyo rose 1.53%: stronger dollar is good news

Tokyo stocks rise for 3rd straight day on broad-ranging gains
(Kyodo) _ (EDS: ADDING INFO) Tokyo stocks rose for the third straight day Thursday on optimism over upcoming third-quarter earnings announcements and the U.S. dollar's rise against the yen.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 240.02 points, or 1.53 percent, to 15,891.02. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange climbed 24.83 points, or 1.53 percent, to 1,643.29.

All sectors rose, excluding mining and air transportation.

The brokerage sector was the best performing one, after the previous day's release of strong earnings results by Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. and Shinko Securities Co. Brokers said such strong earnings fueled investor optimism over earnings in other firms in the sector.

High-tech issues, such as Sony, Sharp and Fujitsu, were also bought following the dollar's rise to the upper half of the 115 yen range.
...
The TSE's Second Section index was up 70.15 points, or 1.38 percent, to 5,146.36 on a volume of 187.02 million shares. In Osaka, the near-term March Nikkei 225 index futures contract gained 210 points to 15,910.
/more...

------------------ NIKKEI 225 IN PERSPECTIVE-------------------

Move on day +1.53 percent
Year high 16490.27
Year low 15059.52
Change on yr -1.37 percent
All time high 38915.87 29 DEC 1989
All time low 85.25 06 JUL 1950

(See also Asian markets opening waffle: STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Higher; eyes on results, oil price drop)

[EuroObserver]

15. Japan: retail and non-resident investors both bullish

Japan retail investors net stock buying 2nd largest
TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Individual investors bought 529.69 billion yen ($4.57 billion) worth of Japanese shares last week, the highest amount of net purchases for a single week since Black Monday in 1987, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said on Thursday.

The record, set in October 1987 when the worst stock market crash in history took place, is 650.4 billion yen. The TSE began compiling the data in July 1982.

Data also showed that foreign investors bought a net 23.83 billion yen of Japanese shares on the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya exchanges last week. That marked their fifth straight week as net buyers. /more...

Nonresident investors remain net Japan stock buyers for 5th week
(Kyodo) _ Nonresident investors remained net buyers of Japanese stocks last week for the fifth straight week at the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya bourses, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said Thursday.

Nonresident investors purchased a net 23.83 billion yen worth of Japanese stocks during the period on the three stock exchanges, down from 113.16 billion yen the previous week, the TSE said.

Individual investors were net stock buyers for the fourth consecutive week. They purchased a net 529.69 billion yen last week, up from 375.60 billion yen. /more...

[EuroObserver]

16. Japan's trade surplus less than China's for first time in 2005

Japan trade surplus slips below China's for first time
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's trade surplus saw its first fall in four years in 2005 due to high energy prices and in another first, slipped below China's, now the world's workshop, official figures show.

The data also continued to reflect an economic recovery in Japan, with exports posting strong growth even through they did not match imports.

Japan's trade surplus shrank 26.5 percent to 8.79 trillion yen (75.8 billion dollars) in 2005, reversing growth of 17.3 percent in 2004, the finance ministry said in a preliminary report.

This was below the record trade surplus of 101.9 billion dollars China posted for last year. Figures out Wednesday also showed China to have overtaken France and Britain to be the world's fourth largest economy behind the United States, Japan and Germany.
...
Imports grew 27.3 percent to a record 5.42 trillion yen as exports rose 17.5 percent to 6.34 trillion yen, leaving a surplus of 913.99 billion yen, down 19.3 percent from a year earlier.

"High crude oil prices had the biggest impact on the trade balance. Exports also grew but their growth was offset," Torikoshi said.

For the year, exports rose 7.3 percent to 65.66 trillion yen, with automobile shipments increasing 7.8 percent but imports jumped 15.6 percent to 56.88 trillion yen, the fastest growth rate in five years.

This was largely due to a soaring energy bill, with crude oil up 45.4 percent, coal up 38 percent and liquefied natural gas up 20.3 percent.

Overall, Torikoshi said the trade data showed "the ongoing economic recovery is gaining steam" as imports posted healthy growth in volume terms in the latter half of 2005, reflecting firm domestic demand.
...
"Asian nations are of course important for Japan's exports but destinations are also widening," with shipments to Latin America up 56.6 percent and Russia up 111.2 percent last month, he said.

Japan's surplus with Asia fell 11.7 percent to 6.54 trillion yen in 2005 while trade deficits with China rose 41.8 percent to 3.13 trillion yen as imports of computers and related equipment jumped 22.4 percent.

The surplus rose 11.1 percent to 7.74 trillion yen with the United States but fell 5.3 percent to 3.19 trillion yen with the European Union.

/more...

[EuroObserver]

6. European markets: today's outlook, companies reporting

European stocks - Factors to watch on Jan 26
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - European shares look set to gain on a busy day for earnings after a strong showing from Japanese stocks while the dollar edged back towards a four-month low against the euro.

Oil stemmed losses but was still trading around $66 a barrel and gold was also down although copper rallied to a record peak and silver hit a near 19-year high.

A raft of European firms are reporting while U.S. company results are also in focus with Microsoft (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Caterpillar (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) topping the agenda. Economic data is light with U.S. durable goods orders for December at 1330 GMT the highlight alongside U.S. weekly jobless figures.
...
* Spread betters in London are calling the FTSE 100 , CAC 40 , and DAX indexes between 10 and 20 points higher.
...
SIEMENS: German conglomerate Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 10-percent drop in first-quarter operating earnings, missing the average forecast of 21 analysts in a Reuters poll, who had expected a 1-percent rise.

NOKIA: The world's biggest handset maker is set to report a sharp increase in fourth quarter sales volumes, but margins remain under pressure despite strong demand, a Reuters poll of analysts showed. Analysts expect Q4 earnings per share of 0.25 euros and fourth-quarter sales are forecast at 10.0 billion euros, up 6 percent from the same period in 2004.

AXA: The French insurer reported a 6.9 percent rise in 2005 revenue on Thursday that came above the consensus forecast, helped by higher sales of savings products throughout its business.

BAYER: The Bayer drug Trasylol, widely given to heart surgery patients to prevent excessive blood loss, doubles the risk of kidney failure and stroke, researchers reported on Wednesday. It also raises the chance of heart failure or heart attack by 55 percent, according to the study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

GLAXOSMITHKLINE: The drug firm is to start final clinical trials in a bid to find a vaccine against pandemic flu, which experts fear may be triggered by bird flu, its chief executive Jean-Pierre Garnier said.

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM: The group is due to issue key performance indicators later.

RICHEMONT: Strong Christmas sales of Richemont's jewellery business and its range of specialist watches helped boost third- quarter sales by 16 percent at current exchange rates, the luxury house said.

H&M: The Swedish fashion giant is expected to post a 14-percent rise in pre-tax profit when it reports next week. Pre-tax profit is seen at 4.6 billion Swedish crowns, up from 4.1 billion a year ago and 3.3 billion crowns in the third quarter. Sales are expected to total 18 billion crowns, a poll of analysts showed.

SAINT GOBAIN: The French building material firm is expected to show a slight rise in profits as soaring energy costs capped strong construction activity. It is seen posting a 2005 net profit excluding capital gains of 1.35 billion euros.

ACCOR: Europe's biggest hotel group posted a forecast-beating 7.9 percent rise in 2005 sales on Wednesday, helped by growth at its budget hotels and services business, and reiterated its profit targets. Accor, which operates the Sofitel, Ibis and Mercure hotel chains, said in a statement that full-year turnover was 7.62 billion euros against 7.06 billion in 2004.

BANCO SABADELL: The Spanish bank is expected to announce a 26 percent rise in 2005 net profit, backed by strong revenue growth -- although slower than its rivals -- a poll of six analysts showed.

AIR LIQUIDE: Sales rose 10.7 percent in 2005, thanks to higher natural gas prices, demand for hydrogen and growth in Asia, and the industrial gases group maintained a forecast of double-digit net profit growth.

TF1: The French broadcaster is expected to report lower 2005 advertising income but several analysts say the decline should not be as bad as initially feared, as growth returned in the fourth quarter.

PPR: Europe's biggest non-food retailer, reported a slightly lower than expected 4.4 percent rise in fourth-quarter sales on Thursday but the French company said a strong sales momentum gave a solid platform for growth in 2006.

[EuroObserver]

8. European bourses open positively; Repsol suspended, will cut reserves

Bourses rise as Siemens climbs
Last Update: 1/26/2006 4:07:16 AM
European bourses moved ahead on Thursday morning as oil fell to around $66 a barrel, Tokyo stocks forged ahead and the the dollar remained near four-month lows against the euro. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 rose 0.6 per cent to 1,298.88 with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt 1 per cent ahead at 5,478.50, the CAC-40 in Paris up 0.7 per cent to 4,825.31 and the FTSE 100 in London 0.5 per cent to the good at 5,731.0. Siemens, the German engineering and telecoms conglomerate, said it won almost a third more new orders in its fiscal first quarter, way ahead of analysts’ expectations, but profits fell short of forecasts. The stock climbed 3.2 per cent to €73.65. Siemens and Alstom benefited from news Deutsche Bahn is to spend €3bn in the coming years on new regional trains and freight trucks. The company’s purchasing manager named Siemens, Alstom and Bombardier of Canada as already having expressed an interest. Alstom added 4.3 per cent €60. Repsol shares were suspended as the Spanish oil company warned it cut its proven oil and gas reserves by 25 per cent. The cuts mainly affected gas reserves in Bolivia and Argentina and amounted to 1.254 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company said its full-year 2005 results would be in line with the first nine months.

(Swiss SMI up 0.61% at CHF 7729.25 11:31:24 CET)

London lifted as P&O diverts to different port
Last Update: 1/26/2006 4:10:20 AM
London’s equities market’s moved further into positive territory on Thursday, as traders were lifted by further expectations of a bidding war for control of P&O after it agreed to a bid from PSA, dropping support for DP World’s offer. The FTSE 100 extended its 1.3 per cent advance made during the previous session to open 0.4 per cent stronger at 5,725.5. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was 0.2 per cent higher at 9,075.8. /more...

London listed miners make more gains on broker comment
Last Update: 1/26/2006 5:12:03 AM
The mining sector once more made strong gains in London, moving to the forefront of the UK rally, after more broker comment on its constituents and as Lonmin said first quarter production met its expectations as platinum reached a fresh record high. The news helped Antofagasta 2 per cent higher to £20.92, Anglo American made gains of 1.6 per cent to £21.06, boosted by JP Morgan increasing its rating on the stock to “neutral” from “underweight”. Xstrata was 1.4 per cent higher at £16.39 after the broker upped tis rating to “overweight” from “neutral”. Lonmin itself posted a smaller rise after a strong run before the numbers. It opened just 0.1 per cent higher at £19.57. Rio Tinto stayed flat after JP Morgan cut its rating to “neutral” from “overweight”.

[EuroObserver]

9. Repsol revives doubts about oil companies' reserves (oh yes)

Repsol slashes proven reserves by 25%
Last Update: 1/26/2006 5:20:37 AM
Shares in Repsol YPF were suspended on Thursday as the Spanish oil and gas group revealed it would have to revise down proven reserves equivalent to 25 per cent of its total. More than half of the revisions relate to Bolivia, where the company said it would make a downward adjustment of 658m barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) of gas and oil. It mainly blamed reforms to the country’s hydrocarbons law under new socialist president Evo Morales, which it said would affect investment and production. However, rumours that Repsol had overstated its Bolivian reserves, constantly denied, have been swirling around the Spanish stock market for more than a year. The company said: “In Bolivia, the introduction of the new hydrocarbon law has rendered future production at certain fields and several development projects no longer commercially viable.” In neighbouring Argentina, 509m barrels are affected, Repsol said. The news re-kindled concern about the oil industry’s ability to locate and quantify sufficient amounts of crude oil to meet ever-rising global demand, and hit shares in London-listed oil majors. BP slipped 0.2 per cent lower to 659.5p and Royal Dutch Shell’s A shares by the same margin to £18.38.

[UpInArms]

46. Repsol cuts proved reserves by 25%

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B37D0728D%2D4CCC%2D4AAB%2D852F%2DBEE0936486CD%7D&symbol=&siteid=mktw

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Oil and gas explorer Repsol YPF on Thursday cut its proved-reserves estimate by 25%, citing new laws in Bolivia that make it more costly to extract gas as well as more field information from Bolivia and Argentina.

Repsol (REP) said it's cutting its proved-reserves estimates by 1.25 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, with 52.5% of that coming from Bolivia, 40.6% from Argentina, 4.7% from Venezuela and 2.2% from the rest of the world.

Madrid-listed shares tumbled 8% in afternoon trade after a morning suspension. European rivals also were lower. See Europe markets.

The shift echoed Royal Dutch Shell's (RDS.A) move in January 2004, when it cut its proved oil and gas reserves estimates by more than 20%, triggering an exodus of senior management and a merger of the company's U.K.-listed and Amsterdam-listed arms.

"We had been expecting a downgrade to Repsol's reserves in Bolivia, but the downgrades are far more wide ranging than that," said Mark Hume, an analyst at J. P. Morgan, who reiterated an underweight rating on the company.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

77. Repsol currently down 8.72%, (was 9.02%: recovering, maybe)

Repsol se desploma en Bolsa
(Translating: Repsol tumbles in the market)
...
This will have a negative impact on net profits of the company between 160 and 170 million euros in 2006, Repsol's president Antonio Brufau said.
...
The reduction in proven reserves implies a reduction in predicted production to 2009, which changes from 1.3 million barrels a day to 1.18 million barrels a day, that is, 120,000 fewer barrels a day.

Brufau indicated that 400 million euros in investments in Bolivia will remain frozen "until the regulatory framework is clarified," although he emphasised the company's willingness to engage in dialogue with the country's new government.

The bulk of the reduction, 52%, corresponds to the adjustments made in Bolivia, on account of the uncertainty created by the new president Evo Morales's Hydrocarbons Law. 41% corresponds to revisions in Argentina, 4.7% in Venezuela, and 2.2% in the rest of the world.

/more (Spanish)...

[EuroObserver]

132. Repsol closed down -1.90 (-7.67%) at €22.88 EUR n/t

[EuroObserver]

12. Air Liquide rises on hydrogen sales, Asian growth

Air Liquide 2005 sales rise 11 pct, upbeat on 2006
PARIS, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Industrial gases group Air Liquide's (AIRP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) sales rose almost 11 percent in 2005, boosted by higher gas prices, hydrogen demand and growth in Asia, the company reported on Thursday.

The company also stuck to its forecast of at least a 10 percent rise in net profit for last year and said continued stong demand for hydrogen, gases for the healthcare sector and specialty gases for the electronics industry should sustain further progress in 2006.
...
Large industries, like oil refineries, the chemicals and metals industries, helped propel growth in all regions thanks to the ramp up of new hydrogen units in the Americas, China and Europe.
...
Full-year sales rose to 10.44 billion euros ($12.83 billion) compared with the 10.26 billion euro average forecast from 21 analysts on Reuters Estimates.
...
China powered sales growth in the large industries business in the Asia-Pacific region and many new contracts would further strengthen performance there, Air Liquide said.

Robust economic growth benefited the company in the Americas. Air Liquide's industrial customers, like research laboratories and food processing plants, had a very buoyant fourth quarter even though energy costs rose.

Higher natural gas prices, which hit a year high in the fourth quarter, added 211 million euros to sales, excluding currency effects, or 2.2 percent for the group in 2005. Air Liquide buys natural gas on long-term contracts and has been able to pass price increases on to its customers.

/more...

[EuroObserver]

13. Nokia reports good Q4 sales, earnings, but lower handset prices; falls 4%

European shares trim gains on Nokia fall
Thu Jan 26, 2006 10:15 AM GMT
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - European shares trimmed gains on Thursday after heavyweight mobile handset maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) fell 4 percent after releasing fourth-quarter figures.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was 0.8 percent up at 1,301.82 having been up 1 percent before the Nokia results.

(Nokia data relayed (FT):
Nokia says full-year dividend up to €0.37 per share from €0.33 a year ago 10:11
Nokia says Q4 earnings per share up to €0.25 from €0.23 in the same period a year ago, in line with expectations 10:09
Nokia Q4 net sales beat expectations of €10.06bn 10:08
Nokia says Q4 net sales €10.3bn 10:07)

Nokia sees continued pressure on phone prices
Thu Jan 26, 2006 05:19 AM ET
HELSINKI, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The world's biggest mobile phone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) said selling prices of its phones continued to fall in the fourth quarter and it expected prices to be at best on the same level in the first three months of 2006.

Nokia reported sales of 10.3 billion euros, above forecasts of 10.0 billion in a Reuters poll, boosted by strong Christmas handset sales. Nokia repeated its forecast for more than 10 percent growth for global phone shipments from the 795 million sold in 2005. But Nokia expects its average selling prices (ASPs) in the first quarter be stable at best compared to the 99 euros in the last three months of 2005.

/more...

Nokia Q4 profitability disappoints, shares fall
Thu Jan 26, 2006 05:40 AM ET
HELSINKI, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Nokia, the world's biggest mobile phone maker, reported fourth-quarter earnings roughly in line with expectations, but said margins continued to suffer as it sold more low-priced phones.

Nokia said Christmas sales were strong in the last three months of 2005, boosting its sales and recovering more of the market share it had lost. Demand in China and North America helped it sell 84 million phones in the last three months of 2005, about 34 percent of the overall market.

But profitability suffered, slipping to 13.2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with expectations of 14.1 percent in a Reuters poll of 35 analysts. "The average selling prices have come down more than expected, and that of course affects the margin," said Petri Arjama, analyst at Handelsbanken.

/more...

[EuroObserver]

24. H&M down 2.6% on weaker profit, Q4 sales

H&M misses expectations after decline in sales
Hennes & Mauritz, Europe’s largest fashion retailer, on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net profit of SKr4.3bn, an increase of 6 per cent from the previous year but far below market expectations of a 13 per cent rise. Group turnover for the whole year was SKr61.2bn, an increase of 14 per cent compared to last year, but shares fell 2.6 per cent to SKr260.5 as investors were disappointed that the group had missed foecasts. The Stockholm based group said that weaker sales at the start of the fourth quarter led to an increase in resources allocated to marketing. The group added that the reintroduced textile quotas for China increased the cost of goods sold compared to the previous quarter of last year.

[EuroObserver]

25. Seimens up 3.2% on strong orders, Asia growth

Siemens higher as strong order book outshines weaker-than-expected PBT
Shares Siemens, the German engineering and telecoms conglomerate, climbed 3.2 per cent to €73.65 on Thursday as investors concentrated on a strong forward order book rather than softer than forecast profits. The company said it won almost a third more new orders in its fiscal first quarter, way ahead of analysts’ expectations, but profits fell short of forecasts, falling ffrom €1.57bn to €1.4bn as a result of restructuring charges. The group recorded basic earnings per share of 91 cents, down from €1.12 in the comparable period a year ago. Orders rose 31 per cent to €26.8bn and sales were up 22 per cent to €20.7bn driven by a strong performance in the Asia-Pacific region. Growth was especially strong in India where orders more than trebbled and China where orders and sales increased 73 per cent and 59 per cent respectively.

[EuroObserver]

29. European markets at midday: buoyant

Swiss SMI up 0.53% at CHF 7723.54 13:05:50 CET
Xetra Dax 30 up 1.6% at 5,511.23 in Frankfurt 12:27 GMT
CAC 40 up 1.3% at 4,853.96 in mid-session trade in Paris 12:18 GMT
FTSE 100 up 0.4% at 5,725.5 in mid-session trade in London 12:01 GMT

[EuroObserver]

94. Axa revenues accelerate in the fourth quarter

http://mwprices.ft.com/custom/ft-com/story.asp?dateid=38743.4357291667-858517234&guid={505EC99B-A594-4E32-A7DC-F63F345FBDB5}
Axa, the French insurance group, reported a 6.9 per cent rise in annual revenues as it said on Thursday that activity in all business lines had picked up in the fourth quarter. Shares in Axa gained 2.6 per cent in afternoon trade in Paris to €27.61. Sales last year rose to €71.7bn from €67bn in 2004, restated under IFRS accounting regulations, as demand grew strongly in France for unit-linked products in its life and savings business. On a comparable basis, sales growth was 5.2 per cent. Henri de Castries, chief executive, said in a statement: “We were broadly on track with our long-term activity objectives in 2005 and are seeing promising signs in all of our key markets.” In the life and savings division, new business, on an annual premium equivalent (APE) basis designed to smooth out volatility, rose by 13.6 per cent, as reported, to €5.5bn, driven by growth in France, the US and Asia. Unit-linked new business, on which Mr de Castries has focused to boost earnings, increased 16 per cent to represent 45 per cent of total APE, up from 42 per cent in 2004. Sales in France were strong, with life sales overall up 17 per cent, driven by a 60 per cent rise in unit-linked premiums, against market growth of 45 per cent, according to JPMorgan.

[EuroObserver]

125. Europe: good closing. (UK not so strong)

Xetra Dax 30 closes up 2.2% at 5,548.91 in Frankfurt 16:42 GMT
CAC 40 closes up 1.8% at 4,876.52 in Paris 16:43 GMT
Swiss SMI up 0.87% at CHF 7749.41 17:31:22 CET
FTSE Eurofirst 300 up 0.9% at 1,303.15 in closing exchanges in London 16:34 GMT
FTSE 100 closes up 0.3% at 5,722.6 in London 16:43 GMT
FTSE 250 closes up 0.3% at 9,081.7 in London 16:41 GMT

(ed: "Spain is different!"):

FTSE closes off day's high as oils, tobaccos slip
LONDON,, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index got within sight of a fresh 4-1/2 year high on Thursday, supported by strong bank stocks, but closed well off the day's best level as oil and tobacco shares fell.

Cigarette makers Gallaher (GLH.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) shed more than 2 percent, and BAT (BATS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 1.1 percent as concerns of a European price war grew. Traders said a slide of as much as 7 percent in Spanish-French Altadis after Philip Morris cut the cost of its Marlboro brand in Spain had unsettled investors.

News that Spain's Repsol (REP.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) cut its oil and gas reserves by 25 percent sent the UK oil majors lower, reminding investors of Shell's 2004 announcement that it had overstated its oil and gas reserves by 20 percent. BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 1 percent, and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) eased 0.3 percent. /more...

(FT tries the usual "following Wall St." crap):

Bourses close with strong gains after positive start on Wall St
European bourses forged ahead on Thursday as Siemens, the German engineering and telecommunications group, powered upwards, on better than expected orders and as Wall Street opened strongly on a raft of corporate earnings and hopes for next week’s Opec meeting. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 rose 0.9 per cent to 1,303.15 with the Xetra Dax in Frankfurt 2.2 per cent ahead at 5,548.91. The CAC-40 in Paris was up 1.8 per cent to 4,876.52 and the FTSE 100 in London closed 0.3 per cent to the good at 5,722.6, held back by the lack of engineering and technology stocks.

[ozymandius]

7. Today's Reports

Jan 26 8:30 AM Durable Orders Dec
Briefing Forecast 2.0%
Market Expects 1.0%
Prior 4.4%

8:30 AM Initial Claims 01/21
Briefing Forecast 300K
Market Expects 300K
Prior 271K

10:00 AM Help-Wanted Index Dec
Briefing Forecast 39
Market Expects 39
Prior 39

[UpInArms]

39. 8:30 reports

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. CONTINUING JOBLESS CLAIMS UP 53,000 TO 2.58 MLN

8:30am 01/26/06 FOUR-WEEK AVG. CLAIMS LOWEST SINCE JULY 2000

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. 4-WEEK AVG. JOBLESS CLAIMS DOWN 10,750 TO 288,750

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. WEEKLY JOBLESS CLAIMS UP 11,000 TO 283,000

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. DURABLE GOODS ORDERS RISE 1.3% VS. 0.5% EXPECTED

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. DURABLE GOODS ORDERS RISE 1.3% VS. 0.5% EXPECTED

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. 2005 DURABLE GOODS ORDERS RISE 8.2%

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. CORE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT ORDERS RISE 3.5%

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. DURABLE GOODS INVENTORIES UNCHANGED

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. DURABLE GOODS SHIPMENTS RISE 3.5%

8:30am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. DURABLE GOODS ORDERS EX-TRANSPORTATION UP 0.9%

[UpInArms]

40. U.S. weekly jobless claims up 11,000 to 283,000 (last wk rev'd +1K)

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38743.3545271296-858505550&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- First-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 283,000 in the week ended Jan. 21, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average of new claims fell, down by 10,750 to 288,750 last week. The number of workers receiving unemployment benefits also rose, to 2.58 million, up by 53,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were expecting claims to rise to about 305,000.

[AnneD]

109. Huhhh

:wtf: I don't think any of us believed the low ball figures last time. So they ratchet them up a little bit so it doesn't look so bad and next reporting time they restate the previous numbers and ratchet it up a little more.....What is that game called, not Ponzi, maybe bait and switch or shell game?:mad: How are they going to hide the Ford and GM numbers.....talk about the elephant in the livingroom.

[UpInArms]

41. U.S. Dec. durable goods orders rise 1.3%

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38743.3545525926-858505555&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Orders for U.S.-made durable goods rose 1.3% in December despite a large decline in aircraft orders, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The 1.3% gain was stronger than the 0.5% expected by economists. The details of the report were even stronger. November's orders were revised higher by a full percentage point to 5.4%. Shipments of durable goods -- a measure of production - rose 3.5% in December, the biggest increase in a year. Core capital goods orders - a key metric for business investment - rose 3.5% in December, the most since August. Shipments of core capital goods increased 3.2%, the most in a year.

[UpInArms]

76. Dec Help-Wanted Index unchanged @ 39

10:00am 01/26/06 HELP-WANTED ADS RISE IN 4 OF 9 U.S. REGIONS IN 4Q

10:00am 01/26/06 U.S. DEC. HELP-WANTED INDEX STEADY AT 39: CONFERENCE BOARD

[UpInArms]

79. HelpWanted Index reflects less than 200,000 per mth jobs

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T150230Z_01_NAT001974_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-HELPWANTED-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The number of help-wanted ads
in U.S. newspapers was unchanged in December from November,
suggesting only moderate job growth in the months ahead, a
private research group said on Thursday.

The Conference Board said its gauge measuring help-wanted
ad volume in the United States was 39 in December, the same as
in November. It was 40 a year ago.

"The latest readings on print want-ad volume suggest that
job growth won't reach the 200,000-a-month pace for at least
the next few months," said Conference Board economist Ken
Goldstein.

"The number of new jobs offered online was no stronger than
job offers in major newspapers through the end of December.
Also, initial unemployment claims turned flat through December.
And the latest JOLTS data on job openings and labor turnover
exhibit this same flat trend. Consumer confidence data about
job prospects over the next six months also suggest that the
economy is not going to build momentum anytime soon," he said.

...more...

[ozymandius]

10. Greenspan to set up consulting firm: report

Greenscam claims that pizza makes a great stocking stuffer.

*cough*

TOKYO (Reuters) -
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan plans to establish a consulting firm called Greenspan Associates in Washington after he leaves the central bank at the end of the month, the Wall Street Journal reported on January 26, quoting people familiar with the matter.

The paper said Greenspan also plans to give speeches and write a book.

Michelle Smith, who the Fed said on Wednesday will leave her job as director of its office of board members to join Greenspan's new firm, will be among his first hires, the paper said.

more...

[54anickel]

83. Heh-heh, steps down on the same day as the SOTU. What else

could they schedule for that Tuesday? Any market moving reports? The rest of that week could be interesting Market Watching.....

Perhaps the "Ides of February" will go down in history for Bush's Empire? Monday, Februaury 13th 2006. :evilgrin:



The Roman calendar organized its months around three days, each of which served as a reference point for counting the other days:

Kalends (1st day of the month)
Nones (the 7th day in March, May, July, and October; the 5th in the other months)
Ides (the 15th day in March, May, July, and October; the 13th in the other months)

[ozymandius]

14. Group: Housing Slowdown May Hurt Economy

WASHINGTON - The five-year housing boom is showing increased signs of cooling, and that's likely to mean slower growth for the entire national economy. The big question now is whether home prices will come crashing to earth with even more severe consequences.

The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes climbed to an all-time high of 7.072 million units in 2005, up 4.2 percent from 2004 and the fifth straight year sales have set a record.

However, in a sign of slowing activity, sales fell by 5.7 percent in December, marking the third straight monthly decline, something that had not occurred since early 2002.

"The bloom is definitely off the housing rose. Housing peaked last summer and has been weakening ever since," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

more...

[EuroObserver]

17. "Scorching hot" industrial metals (copper, zinc)

Metals scorch to all-time highs on fund appetite
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Industrial metals were in keen demand on Thursday, with record prices paid for copper and zinc contracts as global investment fund managers continued to flock into red-hot commodities in search of higher returns.

"It is just more and more money being thrown at the market -- it just goes from strength to strength -- I've never seen anything like it," a senior trader said.

The key three-month contract for copper, which is used in construction and wiring, jumped to a new all-time high of $4,823 a tonne, having ended Wednesday trade at $4,782. It stood at $4,785/4,790 at 1030 GMT.

"Bullish outlook and fundamentals are making funds more aggressive about including base metals into their portfolios," said Hiroyuki Kitakata, a director at Barclays Capital Japan Ltd.

"Metals are rising very fast, but this bullish trend should stay during the first half of the year," Kitakata said.

Analysts said there has been no respite from the waves of buying that have accelerated upmoves in London Metal Exchange (LME) markets since the start of the year, despite increasing suspicions that the bubble might be near bursting point.

"Needless to say it is very difficult to justify the moves, but until the current environment changes it is dangerous to stand in the way, as seen by copper's move overnight to $4,800 and aluminium's challenge of $2,500," William Adams, analyst with Basemetals.com said in a report.

Copper is up nearly 10 percent this year after gaining almost 40 percent in 2005.

Some saw $5,000 as the next target given the ease with which copper had pushed through resistance, initially at $4,750 the previous day, followed by $4,800 on Thursday.
...
Zinc, which is used to galvanise steel and protect it from corrosion, hit a new peak of $2,317 before settling at $2,285/2,290. At the start of 2006 it fetched around $1,900.

/more...

[xchrom]

26. isn't there some long term strength seen in commodities

that this metals report reflects?

[EuroObserver]

31. Rising commodities prices

(in part due to speculation? / search for safe havens?) soon puts the squeeze on manufacturers, and eventually consumers...

[ozymandius]

22. Oil resumes rise after fall on US stock data

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, recovering from three days of selling, as persistent worries about the fragility of international supplies offset the impact of a short-term surplus of crude.

After U.S. inventory data showed much bigger than expected rises in stocks of refined products, prices on both sides of the Altantic fell more than a dollar on Wednesday.

"The market is well supplied," said Alexandre Kervinio of SG Commodities in Paris. "But the market has been buying in the dips. The focus is on geopolitics."

Technical analysts said that the selling that has dragged prices down from a four-month peak of $69.20 for U.S. crude hit on Monday, an uptrend begun in November was still intact.

more...

[UpInArms]

36. Marathon Oil profit almost triples

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38743.3397819329-858503439&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Marathon Oil, an oil and gas producer and refiner, said Thursday that its fourth quarter net income nearly tripled from higher oil and gas prices and a big improvement in refining and marketing results. The company (MRO) said it earned $1.27 billion, or $3.43 a share, compared with year-ago net income of $429 million, or $1.23 a share. Excluding special items, Marathon would have earned $1.33 billion, or $3.61 a share. Analysts were looking for per-share earnings of $3.02, according to a Thomson First Call survey.

[UpInArms]

37. Crude Oil Gains as Iran Nuclear Standoff Stokes Supply Concern

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=aG1PQo98pgkk&refer=latin_america

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose for the first day in four on concern action against Iran for its nuclear program would jeopardize exports from the world's fourth-largest oil producer.

``People are concerned that the Iranian issue is still not resolved,'' said Paul Goodhew, a broker at ABN Amro in London. ``If the market goes any lower from here, the funds would start buying again.''

Hedge funds are reducing their bets crude prices will fall, after Iran resumed research the U.S. says could produce a nuclear bomb. Concern the United Nations would impose sanctions that hurt Iran's oil industry or that Iran may react by curbing oil exports sent prices to a four-month high of $69.20 a barrel this week.

Crude oil for March delivery today gained 31 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $66.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped 1.8 percent yesterday after a government report showed U.S. stockpiles of gasoline and distillates, including heating oil, climbed for a fourth straight week. Oil has declined 6.8 percent from a record $70.85 in August.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

51. China backs plan to have Iran's uranium enriched in Russia

26/01/2006 08h38
BEIJING (AFP) - China expressed support for a plan to have Iran's uranium enriched in Russia as a way to end the global impasse over the Islamic republic's nuclear program.

"We think the suggestion would be a good attempt at breaking the stalemate," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a regular press briefing when asked about the proposal.

Kong also reiterated China's stance that it preferred diplomatic efforts to any other method of ending the global stand-off over Iran's nuclear program.

"We always advocate resolving issues through negotiations. Under this context we support all diplomatic efforts to properly resolve the issues," he said.

Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, who arrived in Beijing Thursday for a one-day visit, expressed qualified support on Wednesday for the plan to enrich his nation's uranium on Russian territory.

/more...

[UpInArms]

82. March Crude @ $66.05 bbl - Feb NatGas @ $7.97 mln btus

10:08am 01/26/06 MARCH CRUDE CLIMBED 20C TO $66.05/BRL IN EARLY NY TRADING

10:08am 01/26/06 FEB NATURAL GAS DROPS 49C TO $7.97/MLN BTU AHEAD OF STK DATA

10:08am 01/26/06 FEB NATURAL GAS TRADES AT LOWEST LEVEL SINCE LATE MAY

[UpInArms]

95. DOE: US NatGas Stock Down 81 billion cubic ft

10:33am 01/26/06 U.S. NATURAL GAS STKS DOWN 81 BLN CUBIC FT: ENERGY DEPT

10:33am 01/26/06 FEB NATURAL GAS DROPS 66C, OR 7.8%, TO $7.80/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

129. March Crude @ $66.30 bbl - Feb NatGas @ $8.12 mln btus

12:35pm 01/26/06 MARCH CRUDE TRADES UP 45C AT $66.30/BRL AFTER $65.50 LOW

12:35pm 01/26/06 FEB NATURAL GAS STILL LOWER, DOWN 4% AT $8.12/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

146. March Crude closes @ $66.26 bbl

2:53pm 01/26/06 MARCH CRUDE CLOSES AT $66.26/BRL, UP 41C, OR 0.6%

[UpInArms]

27. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 88.38 Change 0.00 (0.00%)

Economists predict sliding dollar

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4647928.stm

China and US consumers will determine the fate of the global economy in 2006, according to experts at the World Economic Forum.

So far the world economy had been far more resilient than predicted, they said, managing to live with high oil prices and US deficits.

However, they warned that China's current economic model was not sustainable.

Spending and savings habits of US consumers would have to change as well.

Speaking at the traditional "update" on the global economy at the start of the World Economic Forum (WEF), AIG vice-chairman Jacob Frenkel said the dire predictions of a dollar slump had not materialised because the US economy was much more robust, flexible and competitive than many had assumed.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

137. Dollar less weak today so far mostly all round:

[UpInArms]

28. US Treasuries sink; sloppy auction sours sentiment

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-01-25T215527Z_01_N25599003_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-3.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices took a dive on Wednesday as a poorly received auction of short-term notes compounded fears about the market's ability to accommodate a big spike in government borrowing.

The sell-off triggered the biggest one-day spike in benchmark yields in six months, with unusually heavy volume.

Bond investors already had plenty to worry about even before they discovered that indirect bidders, which include foreign central banks, would show very little interest in the new $22 billion in two-year notes.

For one thing, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates again next week, and traders are wondering whether the central bank will hint that it is done tightening monetary policy or signal the need for further hikes.

Moreover, next week also brings a major transition as Ben Bernanke takes the helm at the Fed from Chairman Alan Greenspan. Such changes of the guard have often been accompanied by turbulent financial markets in the past.

<snip>

This was a breach of key technical thresholds and well above the 4.35 percent level at the start of the week. Existing two-year notes <US2YT=RR> slumped 4/32 to yield 4.46 percent, up from 4.39 percent late Tuesday.

...more...

[UpInArms]

43. Printing Press Report:Fed adds banking reserves via 14-day system repos

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T132319Z_01_N26301689_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Thursday that it added temporary reserves to the U.S. banking system through 14-day system repurchase agreements.

The benchmark fed funds rate last traded at 4.375 percent, above the Fed's current 4.25 percent target for the overnight lending rate.

The Fed is widely expected to lift its fed funds target to 4.50 percent after its policy meeting on Jan. 31.

Further details of the operation are available at: http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

[54anickel]

139. 10 freakin' billion on top of the 13 billion 1 day repo. Man, this is

going to start adding up to some serious cash pretty soon! Wonder how much of that is making it's way into the market today?

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 26 Jan 2006 at 06:43:12 PM GMT is:




Nearing the ceiling....(from Jan 8)

U.S. hovers close to its debt ceiling
Treasury boss says government business could be affected

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/08/BUG7IGJHEI1.DTL&type=business

If consumers are overextended with credit, they're not alone. The U.S. government is poised to exceed its charge card limit and may have to quit paying its bills unless Congress raises the national debt limit soon.

That's what Treasury Secretary John Snow said in a recent letter to Congress, warning that unless the current $8.2 trillion debt ceiling is raised by mid-March, "we will be unable to continue to finance government operations."

snip>

"The antics they go through are incredible, and they've gotten worse,'' said Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Washington, D.C.

For instance, in his Dec. 29 letter, Snow said that while the debt limit "will be reached in mid-February 2006," he could delay default for a month using "available prudent and legal actions."

These actions, MacGuineas said, would include putting IOUs instead of cash into federal retirement accounts -- a tactic that Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin first employed in 1996, when Republican lawmakers balked at raising a debt ceiling then at $4.9 trillion.

Back then, some lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives called for Rubin's impeachment, saying his action usurped the powers of Congress. But in 2002, when the Bush administration was about to hit the $5.95 trillion debt limit it inherited from President Bill Clinton, then-Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill employed Rubin's tactic to buy time until Congress raised the debt ceiling to $6.4 trillion in June.

Alas, that limit lasted just 11 months. In May 2003, Congress authorized borrowing of $7.4 trillion. In November 2004, lawmakers upped the credit ante to $8.184 trillion. Now, Snow says the limit must be raised yet again to protect "the 'full faith and credit' of the United States."

more...

[UpInArms]

48. US Treasuries fall on strong durable goods orders

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T134025Z_01_NYG000119_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-DURABLES-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices extended losses on Thursday on broad strength in December durable goods orders data, adding fuel to views the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates in March as well as in January.

Orders for durable goods rose 1.3 percent last month, above economists' expectations of 1.0 percent growth and November's upwardly revised 5.4 percent result.

Orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a measure of business investment, rose 3.5 percent, easily topping economists' expectations of a 0.5 percent increase. Also November's earlier 2.1 percent decline was revised up to a positive 0.2 percent growth.

Benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> moved down 9/32 in price for a yield for of 4.517 percent, against 4.481 on Wednesday.

...more...

[UpInArms]

61. Treasury prices lower, yields surge after firm orders data

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38743.3827664236-858509578&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Treasury prices dropped early Thursday, sending yields to their highs of the year to date, after the Commerce Department reported that durable goods orders last month rose 1.3%, much stronger than the 0.5% gain expected by economists polled by MarketWatch. The fixed-income market also is pressured by exceptionally abundant corporate and government issuance this month. The benchmark 10-year note last was down 7/32 at 99-30/32 with a yield ($TNX) of 4.506%, a level not seen since Dec. 13, 2005.

[UpInArms]

67. Printing Press Rpt #2:Fed adds banking reserves via overnight system repos

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T143433Z_01_N26344049_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Thursday said that it added temporary reserves to the U.S. banking system through overnight system repurchase agreements.

Earlier, the Fed added temporary reserves through 14-day system repurchase agreements.

The benchmark fed funds rate last traded at 4.375 percent, above the Fed's current 4.25 percent target for the overnight lending rate.

The Fed is widely expected to lift its fed funds target to 4.50 percent after its policy meeting on Jan. 31.

Further details of the operation are available at: http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

[UpInArms]

100. US government world's biggest borrower in 2006-S&P

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T153539Z_01_WNA9740_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-S-P-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States is on track to borrow more money than any other government in the world during 2006, with its debt expected to amount to 34 percent of gross global government borrowing, Standard & Poor's said on Thursday.

S&P predicted U.S. government issuance of medium- and long-term debt to add up to $364 billion this year, up 14 percent from 2005.

[UpInArms]

110. US government will need to issue $1.87 TRILLION in securities THIS YEAR

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T155609Z_01_N26118758_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-S-P-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States will likely borrow more money than any other government in the world during 2006, with its debt expected to amount to 34 percent of global government borrowing, Standard & Poor's said on Thursday.

The credit rating agency estimated the U.S. government would need to issue $1.87 trillion in medium- and long-term debt this year, making it the world's top debt issuer.

S&P also predicted the U.S. government's net borrowing requirement would rise to $364 billion this year, up 14 percent from 2005.

The group also foresaw a rise in total debt held by the public to $5.08 trillion by the end of 2006, up from $4.71 trillion last year.

Borrowing could exceed such forecasts, S&P said, should the U.S. economy slow more sharply than economists currently expect.

...more...

[UpInArms]

102. Printing Press Alert: Fed buying coupons (permanent reserves)

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T154334Z_01_N26380106_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS.XML

NEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Thursday that it was buying coupons, adding permanent reserves to the banking system.

The Fed said it was buying coupons dated September 30, 2007 through October 15, 2008.

All callables are excluded.

Other exclusions and further details of the operation are available at: http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

The benchmark fed funds rate last traded at 4.375 percent, above the Fed's current 4.25 percent target for the overnight lending rate.

Earlier, the Fed added temporary reserves through 14-day system repurchase agreements and overnight repurchase agreements.

[54anickel]

143. Awful lotta Permanent Open Market Ops so far this year - and we're

only in January!

http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/pomo/display/index.cfm?showmore=1

[AnneD]

114. Street tranlation...YO

Hos on da street fo Pimpdaddy 'Span, bud Johnny not spreading da grease.

[EuroObserver]

32. How much destiny does a decadent empire have?

Let’s see how our major trends are holding up...

The days of cheap energy are over. Kuwait confessed that it has about half the oil it once claimed. And like a fat lady in the pastry section before a snowstorm, China is buying up oil reserves wherever it can find them - in Nigeria, in Ecuador, and in Syria.

Meanwhile, wealth leaks rapidly out of the West and into the East. Bloomberg tells us that China’s economy grew at 9.9% last year, overtaking France’s in total output. That puts China in the number five position, just behind Britain, Germany, Japan and the United States. Economists expect China to run past Britain this year. Then, it will be snapping at Germany’s heels.

The U.S. Empire loses ground against China and the rest of Asia, too. Its domestic economy grew only about a third as fast last year, and not half as well. China is growing, albeit in a reckless and dangerous way, by building more productive capacity. That’s real growth...growth that can add to its wealth. America, on the other hand, is “growing” by consuming its wealth, like a man who sells the family business in order to buy a beach condo. He seems richer. He feels richer. He gets a new girl friend and a tan. At least, he looks healthy and happy when he arrives in bankruptcy court.

“The American economy heads into 2006 with a full head of steam,” claimed the empire’s chief executive. Neither war, nor high oil prices, nor hurricanes could keep it from its rendezvous with destiny, he went on. He is surely right; but how much destiny does a decadent empire have?

According to the LA Times, polls show that half the public “thinks the economy is in bad shape and that Bush is doing a bad job of managing it.” One survey showed that 30% of the population believes the United States is in a recession. And the bankruptcy figures show that for many people, the United States might as well be in a slump; they don’t seem to be able to make ends meet. After energy, health care, and housing cost increases, they have less than nothing left over. But at least they have plenty of that! They spent more than they made last year. And now comes news that Ford is getting rid of another 30,000 decent-paying jobs.

Oh Alan, Alan ...what have you done? You have lured a whole generation into a debt trap from which they cannot get out. Debt service, as a percentage of income, is at a record high. Even with Mom and Dad both working, family expenses exceed income. What can the lumpenhouseholders do but pray for a miracle...file for bankruptcy...or cut back even more?

/ much more..., including:

The Habitual Deceptions Of The Political Class

...
Last is the myth of politicians. There can be no such profession in a free market. Politicians do not arise through free market competition. Politicians, inherently, must influence and coerce their way to the top.
...
Thievery and chicanery are essential in this political process. The free market relies on voluntary agreements. A voluntary agreement is an agreement that mutually benefits both parties.

A politician cannot help one person without first stealing from someone else. This forced redistribution is anti-free market because the redistribution is not voluntary. People have already voted for their desires on redistribution and charity through their own bank accounts. The charitable offerings voluntarily approved show true desires.

This theft by the government is necessary to achieve the most power and influence. Theft is dishonest. Hence, being a "good" politician must also always be dishonest and involve theft.

The free market rejects theft. Murray Rothbard excellently drew the connection between thieves and the government in Man, Economy, and State by saying,

"If governments budget their revenues and expenditures, so must criminals; where a government levies taxes, criminals extract their own brand of coerced levies; where a government issues fraudulent or fiat money, criminals may counterfeit. It should be understood that, praxeologically, there is no difference between the nature and effects of taxation and inflation on the one hand, and of robberies and counterfeiting on the other. Both intervene coercively in the market, to benefit one set of people at the expense of another set. But the government imposes its jurisdiction over a wide area and usually operates unmolested. Criminals, on the contrary, usually impose their jurisdiction on a narrow area only and generally eke out a precarious existence. Even this distinction does not always hold true, however. In many parts of many countries, bandit groups win the passive consent of the majority in a particular area and establish what amounts to effective governments, or States, within the area. The difference between a government and a criminal band, then, is a matter of degree rather than kind, and the two often shade into each other." (Murray Rothbard, Man, Economy, and State)

Government spreads further deceit through the predictions of the Federal Reserve and the Congressional Budgeting Office. If these groups are so accurate, why do they not work? Why do financial companies constantly search for further answers to trends in the economy when people such as Alan Greenspan are supposedly so prescient?

/more...

[JNelson6563]

33. The whole world at my fingertips

Hey there Marketeers! Another fabulous thread! Not even 8 am Eastern time and I have reports from around the world and everything else (including the usually excellent "wrap-up") right here, at a glance.

European Observer, you sure add a lot of great stuff to the discussion! Ozy, UIA and 54, you guys rock, as always. And it's great to see so many visitors stopping in and posting on the thread.

In relation to the great posts, yeah, I knew copper would do this, what with all our nation building and what have you....of course, been long on gold since before it hit $400 an ounce. Greenspan is out and going to rake it in on the premise of his "greatness" as the Fed when in reality he mastered how to keep the printing presses rolling at a high enough volume to make it seem like it's all good. On energy, can't recall who said it here today but couldn't agree more, it will never be cheap again.

I find the action in the Treaury markets to be very troubling.

Will check back on market action later. You guys are all great and thank you so much for this fabulous daily compilation of info!

:yourock:

Julie

[UpInArms]

38. G'morning Julie!

Those treasury auctions seem to be getting a bit hairy.

There is definitely a flood of government and corporate bonds - I fear it will get a lot worse before improvement is seen.

:hi:

[EuroObserver]

42. China may ease curbs on (domestic) oil price + other business news

Good morning Julie! Glad you'll appreciate this:

Govt may ease curbs on oil price
CHINA (Xinhua) The government is expected to relax controls over retail oil prices in its domestic market soon, bringing them more into line with international prices, a National Bureau of Statistics official said.

Other Chinese Business Headlines:
Coal supply, demand to strike balance (01-26)
Copper imports grow for 2nd time in 3 years (01-26)
Steel profits likely to decline (01-26)
Securities firm declares bankruptcy (01-26)
HK to invest 4.5b HKD in airport enhancement ( 01-26 )
Trade deficit against Asian partners down 0.4 pct ( 01-26 )
Better business outlook for Q1 in HK: survey ( 01-26 )
HK exports value up 6.7 pct in Dec. ( 01-26 )
Major banks' NPL ratio falls to 8.9 pct ( 01-26 )
China needs to encourage domestic consumption: top banker ( 01-26 )
Rolled steel price drops 13.1 pct in Dec. ( 01-26 )
304.6 bln SMS sent in 2005 ( 01-26 )

[ozymandius]

72. Good morning Julie and thanks for dropping by.

Always a pleasure to hear from you. I thank you very much for your compliments!

Ozy :hi:

[UpInArms]

35. GM's Quarterly Loss is $4.8 Billion

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?siteid=mktw&dateid=38743.3404124537-858503531&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Motors (GM) reported a fourth-quarter loss of $4.8 billion, or $8.45 a share, vs. a loss of $99 million, or 18 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Excluding non-recurring items, the loss would have been $1.2 billion, or $2.09 a share, vs. a year-ago profit of $726 million, or $1.28 a share. Revenue rose to $51.2 billion from last year's $51.4 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call had been expecting a loss of 16 cents a share and revenue of $41.7 billion, on average. The automaker's North American operations lost $1.5 billion vs. a year-ago profit of $449 million. The company said it expected to lower North American structural costs by $6 billion by the end of 2006. The stock, a component of the Dow industrials, closed Wednesday up 80 cents at $23.85.

8:02am 01/26/06 GM expects to cut NA structural costs by $6B by year-end '06 - MarketWatch.com

8:00am 01/26/06 General Motors sold 9.2M vehicles in '05 - MarketWatch.com

7:59am 01/26/06 General Motors Q4 rev. $51.2B vs. $51.4B - MarketWatch.com

7:59am 01/26/06 General Motors Q4 First Call ave. loss est. 16c - MarketWatch.com

7:58am 01/26/06 General Motors Q4 loss $8.45 vs. loss 18c - MarketWatch.com

7:59am 01/26/06 General Motors Q4 adj. loss $2.09 vs. adj. earns $1.28 - MarketWatch.com

7:54am 01/26/06 Gm up 1.5% at $24.20 premarket - MarketWatch.com

[UpInArms]

49. General Motors Has Fifth Straight Quarterly Loss Amid Cuts

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aLcfTN4pJIRU&refer=home

Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, reported its fifth straight unprofitable quarter and first annual loss since 1992 as market share losses to Toyota Motor Corp. and other rivals force plant closings and job cuts.

The loss was $4.78 billion, or $8.45 a share, compared with a loss of $99 million, or 18 cents, the same quarter a year earlier, Detroit-based GM said in a statement today.

The loss comes a day after billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who is pressuring Wagoner to cut costs faster and sell non-essential assets, said he spent $263 million to regain a 9.9 percent stake in the automaker. GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner is struggling with rising health-care costs, a non- investment grade credit rating and the company's lowest U.S. market share since 1925.

``This is a journey of 1,000 miles, and at this point, the company is only taking baby steps,'' said Shelly Lombard, senior high-yield bond analyst at New York-based Gimme Credit Publications Inc. said yesterday ``The company is basically running through cash at a rate of about $2 billion a quarter. We'd like to see some improvement in that.''

...more...

[UpInArms]

104. GM loses $8.6 billion in 2005

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060126/NEWS11/60126004

General Motors Corp. on Thursday reported a loss of $8.6 billion for 2005, the automaker’s first unprofitable year since 1992, due to heavy losses in North America and a $2.3 billion after-tax charge from its exposure to bankrupt automotive parts supplier Delphi Corp.

For the first time, GM estimated that it is obligated to pay at least $3.6 billion, or $2.3 billion after tax, in benefit guarantees for some former GM U.S. hourly workers who transferred to Delphi. GM had said previously that the cost of those obligations could range anywhere from nothing to a maximum $12 billion.

Now GM estimates that range is between $3.6 billion to $12 billion. Assuming that GM, Delphi and its unions can reach some sort of a deal, those costs would most likely be in that low end, GM said. As a result, GM established a reserve of $3.6 billion, or $2.3 billion after taxes, during the fourth quarter to cover those costs.

GM lost $7.6 billion in its North American automotive operations last year. That includes costs from November’s announcement that GM plans to stop production at 12 North American plants and cut 30,000 jobs by the end of 2008.

<snip>

GM’s loss last year was the steepest for any of the U.S. automakers since 1992, when GM lost $23.5 billion due to changes in accounting procedures that required companies to include health-care costs in financial results.

...more...

Hmmm... Who was in office in 1992? Oh, yeah - GHWB :eyes:

[UpInArms]

128. GM net loss $4.8 billion, much worse than expected

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=marketsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T145017Z_01_N26395913_RTRIDST_0_AUTOS-GM-EARNS-UPDATE-2.XML

DETROIT, Jan 26 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a fourth-quarter net loss of $4.8 billion on Thursday, much worse than Wall Street had expected, amid high costs, shrinking market share and sluggish sales of sport utility vehicles.

It was the fifth straight quarterly loss for the world's largest automaker and brought its losses for all of 2005 to $8.6 billion.

"The numbers are much worse than I thought they would be, especially given how Ford beat the estimates earlier this week," Argus Research analyst Kevin Tynan said.

On Monday, Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a surprising 19 percent rise in fourth-quarter earnings.

GM shares dropped 80 cents, or 3.35 percent, to $23.05 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's 8.375 percent bonds due in 2033 were quoted at 72.5 cents on the dollar, down 0.5 cent, according to MarketAxess.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

44. India allows mutual funds to launch gold-exchange traded funds

www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-26 20:05:59
NEW DELHI, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- The Securities and Exchange Board of India, India's marker regulator, amended its regulations, allowing mutual funds to launch gold-exchange traded funds (GETF), newspaper Daily News and Analysis (DNA) reported Thursday.

A gold-exchange traded fund unit would be like a mutual fund unit. It would be held mostly in dematerialized form. An investor would get a securities certificate given by mutual fund running the GETF defining the ownership of a particular amount of gold.

/more...

[ret5hd]

47. isn't the amount of "paper gold" already something like 40 times ...

the amount of real gold ever mined?

if you want gold, buy gold...not a piece of paper that says you are owed gold.

[EuroObserver]

53. Leveraged, yeah: More insecurity in the system

and damage to come if/when there's an eventual crash...

[AnneD]

116. I know a smidge about Indian mentality....

Most are cash in hand folks (no credit) and love actual gold in hand (on the hand actually). I think this is a clever way to wean Indians out of that and start getting them to accept the notion of credit and paper investments (tie it to something they love). The Indian economy is booming and because the Indians live simply and costs are cheap, wealth is accumulating. The theives are moving the shell game to India and China. Just my 2 rupees worth.

[UpInArms]

68. Feb Gold @ $554.80 oz - March Silver @ $9.45 oz

9:44am 01/26/06 FEB GOLD FALLS $7.70 TO $554.80/OZ IN MORNING TRADING

9:44am 01/26/06 MARCH SILVER LOSES 6C TO $9.45/OZ

[54anickel]

73. Did you hear about the new Austrian Airlines "gold jet"?

I always wanted to get a Vienna Philharmonic gold coin for my collection but just never got around to it. Then I lost my income, and gold kept rising, I just couldn't justify the extra $ for the Philharmonic over other gold choices. I would imagine demand for the Phil may be higher this year than most.

http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/3685.html

Austrian Airlines has created a Vienna Philharmonic-themed jet in celebration of the Mozart Year of 2006 and Austria's presidency of the European Union, the airline announced.

The plane, an Airbus A340-300, bears the name of the orchestra and images of a violin, a cello, and a Vienna F-horn, a design used only by the Philharmonic. It has also been decorated with an image of a gold Vienna Philharmonic coin first minted in 1989.

The plane will be used to transport the Philharmonic to New York for its American tour later this year. Otherwise, it will be used primarily for flights to Japan.

bit more....



Austrian 'Gold Jet' May Set Japan Gold Coin Sales Flying
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/060126/15/3y7cd.html

Having trouble with the link right now, seems like it's trying to load but this is all I can get at: :shrug:

By Jim Hawe
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TOKYO (Dow Jones)--A rather unusual plane touched down at Narita Airport earlier this month, carrying with it the potential to lift Japanese gold coin sales out of a three-year slump.

ADVERTISEMENT

Maybe someone will have better luck with the link later.

[EuroObserver]

98. Link's ok now

Since gold coins can be easily bought in small quantities, they are seen as a key gauge of interest in bullion among individual investors. But recent trends may suggest that the yellow metal is getting too pricey for small investors in Japan.

So the mint and its primary sales agent in Japan, Tanaka Kikinzoku, will try to arrest this trend by offering buyers of Harmony gold coins a music CD commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, along with a model of the gold jet.

However, investors here are more likely to buy gold to preserve the value of their assets and as a golden nest egg for their retirement.

"Gold will continue to have strong appeal, and we expect sales of gold coins to remain solid, despite the higher gold prices, as the range of buyers expands," said an official with Tanaka Kikinzoku.

Gold was quoted at $561.40 Thursday in Asia, down from $563.35 oz overnight in New York, and Tanaka Kikinzoku was selling one-ounce Philharmonic gold coins for Y74,734. /more...

Hmmm. I make that about $650 per oz at current rates...

[54anickel]

105. That's about right. Going for $630 at Austin Coins. It's a beautiful

coin, no doubt.

[UpInArms]

121. Feb Gold @ $558.10 oz - March Silver @ $9.54 oz

11:52am 01/26/06 FEB GOLD FALLS $4.40 TO $558.10/OZ AFTER $554.40 LOW

11:52am 01/26/06 MARCH SILVER UP 3C AT $9.54/OZ AFTER $9.585 18-YR HIGH

[54anickel]

127. Gold futures fall, but trade above the day´s low

http://futures.fxstreet.com/Futures/news/afx/singleNew.asp?menu=latestnews&pv_noticia=1138295479-f05e0f08-38334

Gold futures fall, but trade above the day's low SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- February gold fell $4.30 to $558.20 an ounce in New York, but traded above the day's low of $544.40. "Despite the continuing consolidation, there are few gold sellers," said Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com. "Any pullback is already bringing buyers." March silver gained 4 cents to $9.55 an ounce after touching a fresh 18-year high of $9.585

[54anickel]

130. The "Flim-Flam" Act (Richard Russell)

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/russell/russell012606.html

snip>

You see, this mighty bull market in the precious metals has been giving prospective buyers the old "flim-flam" act all along. The bull market has used every device known to man and the markets to keep the public and the funds and the pros out of gold and silver.

The central banks selling gold was an early scare-device. "Golly, how can we buy gold when those smart central banks are selling their own nation's gold by the carload?" Then came the know-nothing analysts who continued to tell us that gold was an "ancient relic," and that the new accepted money is paper. Next came the know-just-a-little technicians who warned us that gold was overbought and dangerous to fool with. And most recently came the brokerage houses who had forgotten about gold, and were answering with a "duh, what?" when their customers called to ask about the metal.

As a result, we have a bull market that is climbing in the face of a world that is swimming in newly created oceans of fiat paper. And ironically, it seems that only those so-called "gold-bugs" have loaded up with gold and silver and gold shares and gold funds and GLDs and CEFs.

Poor ignorant devils, don't they know how dangerous it is to hold these overbought relics of the past? What's this? You say that silver has just advanced to new highs, thereby confirming gold? Damn.

snip>

In turn, gold and silver see what the Fed is doing. And the precious metals are "adjusting" accordingly. Of course, that isn't the only reason gold is rising. Gold is under accumulation around the world. It's now the fourth major currency, and even the central banks know it.

more...

Commodities bull market - partial supply/demand, partial race to devaule currencies. Too much printed money around the globe chasing too few resources.

[UpInArms]

144. Feb Gold closes @ $559.90 oz - March Silver @ $9.605 oz

2:07pm 01/26/06 MARCH SILVER ENDS UP 9.5C AT $9.605/OZ, HIGHEST SINCE 1987

2:06pm 01/26/06 FEBRUARY GOLD ENDS DOWN $2.60 AT $559.90/OZ, OFF $554.40 LOW

[EuroObserver]

45. More hostages taken in Nigeria? Shell denies...

Shell denies 4 more hostages taken by Nigerian militants
www.chinaview.cn 2006-01-26 18:18:08

LAGOS, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- An official from the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has denied the taking of four more hostages by militants in southern Nigeria.

"This is totally untrue," Bisi Ojediran, spokesman of the Shell company, told Xinhua by telephone on Thursday when confirming a report by a local newspaper The Guardian saying four more hostages were taken on Wednesday by militants who attacked a SPDC oil vessel off the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the report, the militants attacked the E. A. Field where Shell is producing oil from its Sea Eagle vessel around 3.00 p.m. on Wednesday, shooting their way to a security vessel -- Liberty Service -- operated by Tidex, an oil servicing company working for the SPDC.

Last week, four foreigners working for the SPDC were taken hostage by an armed group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, southern Nigeria.

Although reports said the four hostages would be likely released by the end of this week, Ojediran did not show any optimism about it, saying he knew nothing about it.

/more...

[UpInArms]

50. PIEHOLE ALERT: *Co Press Conference (yeah right) at 10:15 EST

8:54am 01/26/06 BUSH TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE AT 10:15 A.M. EASTERN THURSDAY

[54anickel]

52. Bet it's Hamas on his mind this morning. Lord, don't let him say

anything stupid. (Guess I'm asking for a miracle on that one)

[UpInArms]

54. Every time *Co opens his mouth, stupid falls out ..... eom

[UpInArms]

60. PIEHOLE Agenda: Hamas and Illegal and UnConstitutional Spying on Americans

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T140737Z_01_N268196_RTRIDST_0_BUSH-NEWSCONFERENCE-UPDATE-1.XML

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will hold a news conference on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. (1515 GMT), the White House announced.

It will be his first solo news conference since mid-December. The event in the White House press briefing room will give Bush an opportunity to comment on Palestinian elections in which the Hamas militant group swept to victory.

He was also likely to once again defend a hotly debated domestic eavesdropping program that allows the government to bypass warrant requirements and monitor communications into and out of the United States by people believed linked to al Qaeda.

[54anickel]

62. DEFEND his spygate? This should be good. Toss in a bit of fear

while he's at it. Maybe we'll hear about all of the successfully thwarted attacks by Quakers. :evilgrin:

[UpInArms]

64. or those scary vegans

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2065896

[UpInArms]

69. expanding agenda: include Rah-Rah Economy

I wonder if anyone will ask about that GROWING Budget Deficit that doesn't even count for his war spending (Afghanistan and Iraq) or the money for rebuilding New Orleans.

:eyes:

[54anickel]

75. Are the questions going to be part of the script again? That used to

work so well for him. :eyes:

Don't know if I'll be able to stomach watching, but I sure would like to tune in to see if they'll be any "real journalists" (endangered species) allowed instead of the usual presstitutes.

[AnneD]

118. HMMMM

How about a good right wing Lebanese lunch....Hummus and falafel....my treat.....

[EuroObserver]

56. "Investor appetite for risk continued to recover" (Blurb)

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks, metals surge as risk appetite rises
Thu Jan 26, 2006 08:51 AM ET
(Updates with U.S. data, Wall St outlook, fresh prices)

By Lincoln Feast LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - European and Asian stocks jumped and prices of several metals tested fresh highs on Thursday as investor appetite for risk continued to recover, while a rise in U.S. durable goods orders hit struggling government bonds.

U.S. stocks were set to open higher after forecast-beating earnings from companies including heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) but shares in General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) fell in pre-market trade after it posted a $4.8 billion fourth-quarter loss.

Data showing U.S. durable goods orders rose 1.3 percent in December pushed yields on both euro zone government bonds and U.S. Treasuries to levels not seen since December.

European shares rallied as investors cheered encouraging updates from several blue-chip companies including industrial conglomerate Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) and insurer AXA (AXAF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) .

Siemens rallied 5.5 percent as a big rise in new orders offset disappointing quarterly profits, while AXA rose 2.8 percent after reporting a forecast-beating rise in 2005 revenues.

Technology bellwether Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) dipped 1.5 percent, however, after disappointment about its selling prices weighed despite in-line profits.

The FTSEurofirst 300 Index was up 0.7 percent to 1,300 points, building on Wednesday's 1.1 percent rally.

"Earnings are the big variable for European stock investors this year because unless you believe earnings are going to come off sharply, it is very hard to be bearish on equities," said Rolf Elgeti, an equity strategist at ABN AMRO, noting the support from modest valuations and takeovers.

/more...

(ed: over to you guys now...)

[UpInArms]

57. Scammers Report: $100 million mail-order swindle

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1138268505217260.xml&coll=2

Cincinnati- Americans were swindled out of more than $100 million by a mail-order operation in Ohio that sold over-the-counter herbal supplements and vitamin pills promising everything from slimmer bodies to better sex.

The pills probably worked best to separate people from their money.

Former top executives of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals Inc. in Cincinnati admitted Wednesday that the firm charged credit cards without authorization and altered credit card numbers and expiration dates to keep money flowing.

Ex-insiders describing the scam had held high-level positions, including president, vice president, controller and a division head.

<snip>

In written agreements to plead guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, the ex-Berkeley insiders outlined their roles in the scheme. They described a culture of dishonesty that was so pervasive that the company's director of "customer care" was fictitious.

...more...

[UpInArms]

59. pre-opening blather

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +7.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +10.5. Stage remains set for the indices to open on an upbeat note, though futures trade continues to weaken heading into the open. While some earnings-induced carryover momentum from yesterday's attempts to reignite a rally is providing an early boost, continued choppy conditions during earnings season have taken some steam out of more aggressive pre-market buying efforts and perhaps suggest that today's overly bullish bias may not be too dissimilar from the exaggerated pessimism that pounded stocks last Friday.

08:31 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +8.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.5. Futures indications are off their best levels but still suggest stocks will open on an upbeat note. Reports that investor Kirk Kerkorian boosted his stake in GM to 9.9% (from 7.8%) gave the auto an initial boost but shares have since reversed course following another huge quarterly loss. Separately, initial claims rose 11K to 283K (consensus 300K) and Dec durable orders checked in at 1.3% (consensus 1.0%), but reaction has been muted as investors remain preoccupied sifting through the week's biggest day of earnings.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +9.4. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.5. Futures market versus fair value suggests the cash market will open sharply higher. Providing the largest source of early buying support has been a deluge of better than expected earnings reports, from Technology (i.e. T, LSI, NVLS, SEBL, ALTR, TLAB and CNXT) to Industrials (i.e. CAT, HON, LMT and TXT) and Health Care (i.e. AMGN, LLY, BAX and BDX).

[54anickel]

63. Americans: world's worst savers

Among developed countries, Americans are the most cash-strapped people.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/24/pf/worst_savers/index.htm

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Americans are among the world's most cash-strapped people, according to the latest semi-annual survey from ACNielsen released Tuesday.

Nearly a quarter (22 percent) of Americans have no money left once they've paid for their essential living expenses and spent their discretionary dollars. That puts the United States at the top of a list of 42 countries for saving futility. The United States is neck and neck with Portugal.

snip>

Others in the top 10 for most cash-strapped countries included Canada, No. 3, at 19 percent, the United Kingdom (No. 4, 17 percent) and France (No. 5, 16 percent).

In contrast, only 3 percent of respondents in Thailand were not able to save money.

Some good news for Americans -- the results were an improvement from six months earlier, when 28 percent of those surveyed had nothing left at the end of the month.

more...

[UpInArms]

65. US CBO sees fiscal 2006 budget gap at $337 billion (doesn't include $100B

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T141240Z_01_WBT004669_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-DEFICIT-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. budget deficit will hit $337 billion this year, the Congressional Budget Office said on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the forecast.

The forecast does not include a potential $80 billion to $100 billion in additional funds the Bush administration might request to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or more money that likely will be needed this year for Gulf Coast hurricane rebuilding.

The new deficit estimate for fiscal 2006 is up from CBO's August forecast of $314 billion and up from the actual fiscal 2005 deficit of $318.62 billion.

[UpInArms]

70. US CBO sees real GDP growth shrinking for the next five years

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T144508Z_01_WAT004727_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-CBO-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. economy will grow at a rate of 3.6 percent this year, the Congressional Budget Office forecast on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the report.

Real GDP growth will be 3.4 percent next year, fiscal 2007, CBO estimated, according to the source, who asked not to be identified.

In 2008-2011, GDP will grow at an average rate of 3.1 percent, according to the report, which is expected to be made public at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).

[UpInArms]

78. CBO underestimates deficit

10:05am 01/26/06 CBO: IRAQ, HURRICANE RELIEF COULD ADD $20-$25B TO DEFICIT

10:04am 01/26/06 CBO SEES '06 DEFICIT AT 2.6% OF GDP

10:04am 01/26/06 CBO SEES DEFICIT RISING TO $337 BLN. IN 2006

[UpInArms]

124. Dimson's policies have added $2.2 Trillion in US Debt

excerpt:

But CBO estimates do not include several big-ticket items, such as war costs and tax policy changes, that likely would significantly add to the flow of red ink unless Congress finds a way to shrink spending in other areas.

Democrats said the CBO report challenges Bush administration claims that it is making progress in cutting the deficit. Under George W. Bush's presidency, deficit spending has contributed to an additional $2.2 trillion in U.S. debt and the administration is seeking another $781 billion in borrowing authority.

"The Bush administration is accumulating a mountain of debt," said Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, the senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

He added that CBO's new estimates "show that we will not just grow out of these deficits and far from resolving the problem, the Bush administration policies make the deficit worse."

...more...


The estimated population of the United States is 298,355,388
so each citizen's share of this debt is $27,450.39.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$2.18 billion per day since September 30, 2005

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

01/23/2006 $8,174,270,999,692.73

09/28/2001 $5,807,463,412,200.06
09/29/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86

Actually, I come up with $2.3 Trillion

[ozymandius]

66. markets are ready to take your money

9:33
Dow 10,754.32 +44.58 (+0.42%)
Nasdaq 2,274.47 +13.82 (+0.61%)
S&P 500 1,270.76 +6.08 (+0.48%)
10-Yr Bond 45.07 +0.28 (+0.63%)
NYSE Volume 65,793,000
Nasdaq Volume 85,885,000

pity the bond merchants this morning

[moroni]

112. Bush Bombshell - Links to Naked Short Selling, Hedge Funds, Crooked Lobbyi

http://www.thesanitycheck.com/BobsSanityCheckBlog/tabid/56/EntryID/42/Default.aspx


They are already taking your money. FTDs (failure to delivers) is pure and simple theft. Get involved if you invest. Tell your friends. The NEWS won't cover this. Move along, nothing to see here..... Very involoved and crooked.

[UpInArms]

119. Marvin Bush and Mangan and McColl Hedge Fund

(thanks moroni!)

http://www.nypost.com/business/62202.htm

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

January 25, 2006 -- An exclusive corner of the New York financial community is buzzing about why a politically-connected and high-profile hedge fund didn't tell investors that regulators slammed one of its founders with a six-figure fine for shady trading.

Investors in Mangan and McColl Partners' flagship hedge fund were never told John Mangan was nailed by the NASD for sleazy trading in a separate business, in a puny Nasdaq stock called Compudyne.

<snip>

According to the NASD, Mangan's illegal trading was done using a company McColl owned, called HLM Securities. Fund investors told The Post the existence of HLM was never disclosed to them.

<snip>

The fund also has a close relationship with Marvin Bush, the brother of President George W. Bush and a founder of private-equity and fund-of-funds Winston Partners. Bush told The Post he happily served as a reference for Mangan when he was raising capital for the fund.

...more...

[AnneD]

148. Good Catch..... But I hit paydirt too

Let me guess....they don't tell investors because they are high profile and politically connected?:eyes:
It seems to me that Dubya and Jeb have the political gene and are the distraction or confidence men while Marvin and Neal are the pickpockets.
I dug a little deeper on the daughter Dorthy Bush Koch (married to Robert 'Bobby' Koch of Koch Industries). I struck a vein of gold....
This shyte gets deep :tinfoilhat:

<snip>
Acquisitions and related milestones
The following is a partial list of acquisitions and related events:

1940: Fred Koch co-founds Wood River Oil and Refining Company.
1946: The company acquires Rock Island Oil & Refining Co. in Oklahoma.
1959: The company changes name to Rock Island Oil & Refining.
1967: Koch's death prompts the company, now led by Charles Koch, to be named Koch Industries in honor of its co-founder.
1977: Koch acquires 100% of equity in Abcor and later renamed it as Koch Membrane Systems in 1985
1981: The company acquires refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, from Sun Oil.
1986: The company acquires the C. Reiss Coal Company.
1989: The company purchases the assets of the John Zink Company.
1992: The company acquires United Gas Pipeline.
1993: Elf Asphalt is acquired.
1997: The company acquires Delhi Group.
1998: Purina Mills is acquired.
1998: The company forms KoSa after acquiring 50 percent ownership of Hoechst's polyester division.
2000: A U.S. Bankruptcy court cancelled out all equity in Purina held by Koch, in order to maintain Purina's viability.
2001: The company partners with Entergy Corporation to form the limited partnership Entergy-Koch, which includes Koch's United Gas Pipeline subsidiary.
2004: Koch acquires the INVISTA fibers and resins business from DuPont. Entergy-Koch is sold.
2005: Koch acquires Georgia-Pacific, its largest acquisition ever, and surpasses Cargill as the largest privately owned U.S. company.

Political activity
The Koch brothers also operate the Koch Family Foundations, a major source of funding for conservative and libertarian political causes in the United States, including think tanks such as the Cato Institute. (Their father helped found the John Birch Society). David's political activism also includes running as the vice presidential nominee of the United States Libertarian Party in 1980, when he and running mate Edward Clark finished fourth with 921,299 votes.

<snip>
Criticism
In 1989, the US Senate Committee on Investigations stated, "Koch Oil, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, is the most dramatic example of an oil company stealing by deliberate mismeasurement and fraudulent reporting." (Palast p.150) During the Clinton administration, Koch was charged with 315 acts of pollution. Koch Industries denied the allegations, but the cases were settled in January 2000 for $35 million in fines.

In another instance, Koch was charged with 97 counts of covering up evidence in the case of a benzene spill in Corpus Christi, Texas. The government sought fines as high as $350 million. Four of its employees were also charged with criminal offenses in the case, facing up to 35 years in prison. In 2000, the Justice Department reduced the number of counts from 97 to 11 to nine to seven. Just before the case went to trial - only three months after the Bush administration took office - the Justice Department dropped the remaining seven counts and settled the case for $20 million. Koch pled guilty to one count of concealing evidence, which they had self-reported in 1996, and the criminal charges against the employees were dropped. (Center for Public Integrity -- Williams et al., July 2004)

The article goes on to specualate that these charges, brought up during the Clinton admin was an reason for Bush getting involved in the 2000 election.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koch_Industries

OK I googled this so I'm soo screwed---hubby makes overseas calls to India and Dubai...:hide:

[ozymandius]

71. 9:55 numbers and blather

Dow 10,770.89 +61.15 (+0.57%)
Nasdaq 2,274.80 +14.15 (+0.63%)
S&P 500 1,271.87 +7.19 (+0.57%)
10-Yr Bond 45.01 +0.22 (+0.49%)
NYSE Volume 301,455,000
Nasdaq Volume 302,479,000


09:40 am : As futures trading presaged, the market opened sharply higher across the board. Since a few earnings disappointments of late have taken much of the air out of early 2006 buying momentum, a flood of better than expected earnings, especially from blue chips like Caterpillar (CAT 63.01 +0.94), AT&T (T 25.38 +0.17), Honeywell (HON 36.48 +0.42) and Lockheed Martin (LMT 67.09 +2.08), has underpinned a positive underlying tone. While it is probably too early to start looking for an earnings season rally, earnings optimism heading into a year of widely expected earnings deceleration has certainly helped calm investors' nerves. DJ30 +59.47 NASDAQ +16.68 SP500 +7.95 NASDAQ Vol 166 mln NYSE Vol 96 mln

[stepnw1f]

80. GM Reports Big Loses and the Numbers are Up?

WTF... I just don't get it....

[UpInArms]

84. markets no longer reflect the economic well-being of US main street or

manufacturers.

Markets now seem to reflect how rapidly money can be shaken back and forth in a box to make it sound like the box is full. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

81. 10:10 EST YEEHAW!

Dow 10,785.22 +75.48 (+0.70%)
Nasdaq 2,274.71 +14.06 (+0.62%)
S&P 500 1,272.29 +7.61 (+0.60%)
10-Yr Bond 4.507 +0.28 (+0.63%)

NYSE Volume 444,666,000
Nasdaq Volume 425,999,000

10:00 am : Equities continue to chalk up strong gains as the bulk of industry leadership remains positive. Pacing the way higher has been a 1.0% surge in the influential Financial sector, led by strength in insurance and asset managers, while strong earnings from BMY, CAH, BDX and MCK have helped Health Care move higher. Better than expected earnings from the likes of TLAB, NVLS and LSI and reports that First Data (FDC 46.21 +3.21) will spin off its $4 bln Western Union business have provided a boost to Technology. DJ30 +58.03 NASDAQ +14.33 SP500 +6.72 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 828/1669/360 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 753/1866/234 mln

[UpInArms]

86. 10:18 EST Is the Piehole Open? Markets retreating...

Dow 10,763.42 +53.68 (+0.50%)
Nasdaq 2,270.81 +10.16 (+0.45%)
S&P 500 1,270.01 +5.33 (+0.42%)
10-Yr Bond 4.507 +0.28 (+0.63%)

NYSE Volume 507,957,000
Nasdaq Volume 480,141,000

[ozymandius]

101. pulling back and holding... what pray tell the piehole bringeth?

10:48
Dow 10,766.25 +56.51 (+0.53%)
Nasdaq 2,268.03 +7.38 (+0.33%)
S&P 500 1,269.18 +4.50 (+0.36%)
10-Yr Bond 45.13 +0.34 (+0.76%)
NYSE Volume 742,655,000
Nasdaq Volume 675,410,000

[EuroObserver]

92. Lockheed Martin (LMT 67.09 +2.08). For Suuuurrre n/t

[EuroObserver]

85. British set to launch inquiry into Qinetiq float (ref. Bliar/Carlyle)

http://mwprices.ft.com/custom/ft-com/story.asp?dateid=38743.4069444444-858513409&guid={505EC99B-A594-4E32-A7DC-F63F345FBDB5}
An independent inquiry into the sale of the government-owned defence company Qinetiq is to be launched by the National Audit Office, the Financial Times understands. Qinetiq’s controversial flotation, expected next month, is Tony Blair’s first full privatisation since coming to power in 1997. It has come under fire from critics including former ministers who argued that the initial sale of a government stake to Carlyle, the US private equity investor, was too cheap. The NAO inquiry, expected to be announced imminently, will be wide-ranging, examining the choice of a privatisation strategy, the management of the process, the price achieved and whether the deal is likely to meet its objectives.

Guardian: Carlyle Group to reap huge profit from QinetiQ float
QinetiQ, the government's defence and security technology business, will come to the stock market next month with a value of up to £1.33bn, making multi-millionaires of its chairman and chief executive and huge profits for the US private equity group, Carlyle. Shares in the biggest privatisation under the Blair administration will be priced at between 165p and 205p, with the grey market - the City's guesstimate of the final strike price - standing between 190p and 203p.

If the shares were sold at 205p, the top of the price range, the 31% Carlyle stake - bought for £42.4m in 2003 - would be worth £338m. QinetiQ chairman Sir John Chisholm's holding would be valued at £26m and chief executive Graham Love's stake would be worth £22m. The company's biggest shareholder, the Ministry of Defence, which has been criticised for selling the stake to Carlyle too cheaply, would see its 56% holding worth £623m.

Under the terms of the initial public offering the company will raise £150m, while Carlyle and the MoD will sell about half their stakes. Taking into account the new shares being issued by QinetiQ, that will reduce their holdings to just under 13% and 23.7% respectively. Neither Sir John nor Mr Love are selling shares as part of the float and the two main shareholders have said they will not sell any for six months.

Eligible staff will be given £500 of shares and 1% of the shares on offer will be earmarked for sale to employees. Many received options in 2003 which are now thought to be worth in the region of £3,000, according to company sources. The total fees being paid by the company, MoD and Carlyle in connection with the float amount to £25.7m.
...
QinetiQ began life as part of the Minstry of Defence's research laboratories. It can trace its history from the birth of powered flight in Britain, through the development of radar during the second world war, to thermal imaging, liquid crystal displays and internet technology during the cold war. In 1991 the government put its non-nuclear defence research operations, much of which subsequently became QinetiQ, into a separate company - DERA. In 2002 Carlyle was chosen as a strategic partner, purchasing its stake in the following year.

/more...

(Another reason why the BLiar expects a juicy position at BFEE's Carlyle once he finally resigns...)

[UpInArms]

88. Weird PieHole Spewings: (up-dating as line items are added)

10:18am 01/26/06 BUSH: CAN WORK WITH CONGRESS DESPITE COMING FALL ELECTION

10:20am 01/26/06 BUSH SAYS WILL ASK CONGRESS TO MAKE TAX CUTS PERMANENT

(note: One-Trick Pony Routine)

10:27am 01/26/06 BUSH: HAMAS MUST RENOUNCE ITS CALL FOR ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION

(note: Or What Will YOU Do, Dimson? Is that another threat?)

10:34am 01/26/06 BUSH SAYS DOMESTIC SPY PROGRAM IS LEGAL



http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38743.4460428356-858518545&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- President Bush said he is looking forward to his State of the Union speech scheduled for Jan. 31 and said he would continue to press Congress to pass his "optimistic agenda" including making his tax cuts permanent. Bush said he did not believe that the coming fall congressional elections would create too much partisanship to pass his proposals. Bush said the U.S. economy is strong. Bush said it was too early to discuss the new Palestinian government because it has not been formed in the wake of elections. But Bush said that the Islamic Hamas party, which has done well in the Palestinan elections, should renounce its support for the destruction of Israel if it wants cooperation from the United States.

10:51am 01/26/06 BUSH: SUPPORTS REFORM OF 'EARMARKS' IN CONGRESS BUDGET BILLS

10:57am 01/26/06 BUSH SAYS PEACE, PROSPERITY TO BE TOP FALL ELECTION ISSUES

[UpInArms]

106. Bush says ready to use veto if Congress overspends

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T155259Z_01_WAT004729_RTRIDST_0_BUSH-BUDGET-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Amid word of rising deficits, President George W. Bush said on Thursday he was ready to use his veto power on budget bills if the U.S. Congress overspends.

"I'm fully prepared to use the veto if they overspend," he told a news conference.

[UpInArms]

117. Dimson touts $39.7 Billion in Welfare cuts - omits off-budget war spending

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-01-26T161559Z_01_N2673151_RTRIDST_0_BUSH-BUDGET-UPDATE-1.XML

excerpt:

Bush touted a five-year bill to cut spending on social welfare and other programs by $39.7 billion. The measure was approved by the U.S. Senate but still needs final passage in the House of Representatives.

Approval by the House of that bill would show a resolve for fiscal discipline, Bush said.

[54anickel]

138. Bwahahaha, fully prepared to use the veto. Yeah right. How many

times have we heard that one? The idgit hasn't veto'd a damned thing since blowin' into town - I seriously doubt he knows how. He just changes the meaning of any bill he doesn't like with one of his damned signing statements and quitely declares his interpretation is the law of the land. The man is delusional and this ignoring his signing statements frankly scares the hell out of me.

[EuroObserver]

145. He doesn't need a veto

When your Senate and House simply (all-but) rubber-stamp all his initiatives and offer no resistance of their own.

And now, soon, with the Supreme Court also loaded on his side, I guess it's all over.

Ugh.

[AnneD]

149. Euro....

this is why so many of us on this board are concerned. Last night I told hubby about KBR getting the $365 (or 8)mill contract to build detention centers. If you have never see a dark skinned Indian turn white let me tell you, it is not a pretty picture. Once he got over the shock he started muttering in Telegu. That tropics weather loving guy was ready to head to Canada, Germany, or Switzerland. We want to hold out a bit longer but we are definantly getting our papers in order.

[UpInArms]

97. Four years on, Enron men face their day of reckoning

http://www.guardian.co.uk/enron/story/0,,1694901,00.html

When former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling walk into a Houston courtroom next week to face 42 counts of conspiracy, fraud and insider trading, Charles Prestwood will be watching closely.

Mr Prestwood, 67, who lives with his dog and two horses in nearby Conroe, Texas, worked for Houston Natural Gas, which became part of Enron in 1985. He put in 33 years of hard work for the two companies as a welder and machine operator.

When he retired in 2000 he had amassed $1.3m (£730,000) in life savings. All of it was held in Enron stock. The company management told him again and again that Enron shares were undervalued and the best place to park his money. But even as they told him this, the business was secretly starting to crumble. When it went bust, Mr Prestwood was left with less than $8,000 - about £4,500.

"I had great plans," he said this week. "I wanted to travel, to see part of this good old USA. Now I can't even afford to cross the county line. I don't make plans now. I don't live, I barely exist."

It has been more than four years since Enron collapsed, after its campaign to conceal debts and produce fake earnings through false accounting finally fell apart. The headlines have become less frequent, but Mr Prestwood and countless others like him who lost everything still live with the consequences. Their anger is undimmed.

"I want justice done," he said. He intends to make the hour-long trip to the courthouse at least once during the trial. "I would love to look them in the eye. I'll go to my grave believing they are guilty."

...more...

[UpInArms]

111. Skilling's Global Galactic problem

http://money.cnn.com/2006/01/26/news/newsmakers/pluggedin_fortune/

NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - An eleventh-hour tussle over a crucial document is providing tantalizing glimpses into last-minute strategizing by prosecutors and defense lawyers as they prepare for the start of next week's criminal trial of former Enron CEOs Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay.

The importance of the document is suggested by its tongue-in-cheek name: the Global Galactic Agreement. Andrew Fastow, the former Enron CFO who pled guilty in January 2004, has long been expected to testify that he and Enron's then accounting chief, Richard Causey, drew up the Global Galactic sometime between July and September 2000.

It purports to set down the terms of a series of secret, illegal, side-deals entered into between Enron and certain partnerships run by Fastow, and it appears to be initialed by both Fastow and Causey. (The document's name apparently derives from Fastow's fondness for Star Wars movies; he named several of his partnerships after characters from the series.)

The Global Galactic has always been a focus of attention because the conduct it describes is so clearly illegal. While Enron's outside accountants at Arthur Andersen approved many of Enron's other arguably deceptive accounting maneuvers, allowing Enron's top officials to argue that they believed those to be proper, the side-deals listed in the Global Galactic were kept secret from Arthur Andersen. In the Global Galactic, for instance, Enron commits to buying back certain assets from Fastow's partnerships within months after selling them, suggesting that the sales were shams from the get-go, intended only to inflate Enron's quarterly earning figures.

Even after Causey pled guilty on December 28, dropping out of the trial, the government reiterated its intention to introduce the document, suggesting that it hopes to tar Skilling and, perhaps, even Lay with it in some way. (Lay was farther removed from Enron's daily operations at that time than Skilling, however.) Many have speculated, for instance, that Causey might now testify for the government that Skilling knew about the Global Galactic -- a development potentially devastating to Skilling's defense.

...more...

[converted_democrat]

103. Just saw this in another forum, and thought of you guys..

http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-walmart26.html
Snip-
"Eighteen months after the Chicago City Council torpedoed a South Side Wal-Mart, 24,500 Chicagoans applied for 325 jobs at a Wal-Mart opening Friday in south suburban Evergreen Park, one block outside the city limits."

on edit-
24,500 people applying for 325 jobs that pay next to nothing.. How sad..

[UpInArms]

120. a race to the bottom

:(

[UpInArms]

115. ChoicePoint to pay $15 mln to settle data breach charges (163000 affected)

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?siteid=mktw&dateid=38743.4708945486-858522133&

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- ID services company ChoicePoint (CPS) will pay $15 million to settle U.S. charges related to fraudulent data access, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday. The company will pay $10 million in civil charges and $5 million back to consumers to help them recoup losses. Last year, ChoicePoint said more than 163,000 consumers' personal financial records were compromised in a data breach. Shares of ChoicePoint were recently off $3.08, to $43.22.

[ozymandius]

122. Word of the day: yeehaw

GM's impending belly-up posture is a good reason as any to have a party.

12:12
Dow 10,816.68 +106.94 (+1.00%)
Nasdaq 2,280.18 +19.53 (+0.86%)
S&P 500 1,275.53 +10.85 (+0.86%)
10-Yr Bond 45.25 +0.46 (+1.03%)
NYSE Volume 1,316,367,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,180,220,000

11:30 am : Little changed since the last update as the major averages vacillate in roughly the same ranges. The rate-sensitive Utilities sector, however, has slipped deeper into the red amid further deterioration in Treasuries, but the sector's paltry 3.4% weighting on the S&P has had little influence on the rest of the market. Financial, Tech, Health Care and Industrials -- the S&P 500's most influential sectors accounting for a combined 61% of the weighting on the broader market -- are also turning in the day's best performances. DJ30 +64.69 NASDAQ +10.59 SP500 +6.61 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1059/1730/920 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1165/1829/682 mln

[UpInArms]

126. yeehaw-ing blather

12:00 pm : The market is trading at its best levels midday, as a flood of better than expected earnings incites broad-based buying and underpins a bullish underlying tone.

Financial is not just back in positive territory for the year but currently provides the bulk of early leadership (+1.8%). The brokerage index (XBD +2.2%) is at a new 52-week high while strong gains have also been realized in banks and insurance. Technology has also been a source of leadership, as chip stocks have benefited from strong earnings and guidance from Novellus Systems (NVLS 30.50 +2.58) while the data processing group has surged amid reports that First Data (FDC 45.67 +2.67) will spin off its $4 bln Western Union business. Of the four Dow components that beat Wall Street's forecasts, two of them -- Caterpillar (CAT 63.27 +1.20) and Honeywell (HON 36.53 +0.47) -- have provided a big boost to Industrials. Strong results from Lockheed Martin (LMT 67.82 +2.81) and Textron (TXT 81.64 +5.69) have lent additional sector support and lend credence to our Overweight rating on Industrials.

Consumer Discretionary has been in focus following reports that investor Kirk Kerkorian boosted his stake in General Motors (GM 22.17 -1.68) to 9.9% (from 7.8%). The news initially gave the auto maker a boost in pre-market trading but shares have since plummeted following another huge quarterly loss Weakness in auto has been offset by gains in homebuilding, cable, retail and restaurants, with the latter group getting a lift following the spin off of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 46.10 +24.10) by McDonald's (MCD 35.49 +0.33), a suggested holding in our portfolio for active investors. Even Energy, which was off more than 1.2% earlier, has clawed back to extend its leading year-to-date gain to 10%.

Utilities, though, is the only sector under pressure, as dividend-paying stocks have lost some luster amid rising borrowing costs. Treasuries have been weak across the curve ahead of supply concern and following strong economic reports, lifting the yield on the 10-yr note through the psychological 4.5% level. Before the bell, Dec. durable goods rose for a third straight month, up a solid 1.3%, while new claims rose 11K to a low 283K, leaving a 4-week average of 289K -- the lowest since July 2000, suggesting continuously improving labor conditions.BTK +0.6% DJ30 +97.25 DJTA +1.1% DJUA -0.4% DOT +2.0% NASDAQ +18.40 NQ100 +1.0% R2K +0.9% SOX +3.0% SP400 +0.9% SP500 +10.38 XOI +0.1% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1016/1841/1.1 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1227/1841/882 mln

[54anickel]

131. Zowie!!! Just checking in on a quick break from tearing up the carpet

- pulling staples from the padding is a beee-itch! Wouldn't be so bad, but I've got gig practice tonight - gonna be hard to shape them chords on the strings after my left hand has spent the day gripping a pliers.

So, a bit off the highs right now but what gives? This is the first "reverse pie-hole" day that I can think of. Looks like we're all gonna be rich!!! Anyone smell a Friday fleecing coming up?

[EuroObserver]

123. Fear of Fearlessness

(Translation of some of the article "Miedo a no tener miedo" by Ernesto Ekaiser, Special Correspondant in Davos for Spain's El País)

Larry Summers, ex-treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and actual president of the University of Harvard, put fear into the hearts of an overflowing auditorium yesterday when he affirmed that one of the things "we should fear is that financial markets feel no fear," in reference to the lack of equilibrium in the global economy: US budget and trade defecits, surpluses in China and India and weak European economic growth. On the first day in Davos, both countries loom large as the great long-term locomotives of the world economy...
...
"Two things move the world. And two things move the economy: Hope and fear," Summers explained. "In the short term, I'm afraid that in the financial markets there is too much hope and too little fear. This may be to exaggerate a little, but in the long-term the risk, I believe, is that there is going to be a lot of fear," he added. Summers analysed the instability in trade and in exchange rates in the international economy. He doesn't believe, like Robert Rubin, ex-treasury secretary, and Martin Feldstein of the National Economic Research Office, that the present situation can be maintained indefinitely. Turning to the situation in Asia, Summers is very enthusiastic. "What is happening in India and China and in emerging markets has the potential to be one of the three most important phenomena of the last thousand years, on a par with the renaissance and the industrial revolution," he said.
...
...Cheng Siwei, vice-president of the council of directors of the National Congress of the Chinese Peple, explained that his country will grow at an 8% annual rate over the next five years.

"Demand for energy will be double the growth rate in GNP. For this reason we need to increase significantly our investment in
external energy sources," said Liu Changle, managing director of Hong Kong's Phoenix Satellite Television.

India, according to the official data presented yesterday, during the next five years will grow at an annual rate of 10% or more. Anand G. Mahindra, vice-president of an agricultural machinery company explained, for example, that his company is at the moment setting up a factory in China to manufacture compact tractors with a singular objective: export to the USA.

Most economists in Davos last year predicted that the dollar would fall strongly in relation to the Euro and other currencies. However, exactly the opposite occured. Now, we are told, the factors which falsified that prediction -- European weakness, the difference in interest rates between the dollar and the euro, amongst others -- will have the opposite effect this year. "The dollar has begun to fall since a month ago," this newspaper was assured by the US economist Nouriel Roubini.

/más (Spanish, subscribers)...

[UpInArms]

134. Con Edison doubles profit (pickpocketing of New Yorkers)

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7B11D337C9%2D34D1%2D4349%2DBE4E%2D93339D8106B3%7D&symbol=&siteid=mktw

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Consolidated Edison Inc., the electric utility that serves most of New York City, reported Thursday a doubling of fourth-quarter earnings, with higher retail prices for its power and a cold fall pushing up revenue.

Con Edison (ED) said net income for the three months ended Dec. 31 totaled $138 million, or 56 cents a share, up from $51 million, or 21 cents, a year ago. The year-ago results carried a $65 million charge, however, that lowered results by 27 cents a share.

Earnings from ongoing operations totaled $146 million, or 59 cents a share, up from a year-ago equivalent profit of $52 million, or 22 cents a share.

The average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call was for a profit of 53 cents a share for the year's final three months.

Revenue rose 43% to $3.11 billion from $2.18 billion a year ago, with much of the increase pinned to state regulators' approval in April of a higher electric rate plan for Con Edison's utility.

...more...

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

135. US Nat. Debt Tue=$8,185,315,076,347.87 - Limit=$8.18 Trillion.

Now what? Guess we just need to raise that credit card limit again.

[ozymandius]

136. deflation

1:04
Dow 10,789.94 +80.20 (+0.75%)
Nasdaq 2,274.89 +14.24 (+0.63%)
S&P 500 1,272.79 +8.11 (+0.64%)
10-Yr Bond 45.25 +0.46 (+1.03%)
NYSE Volume 1,593,571,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,396,497,000

1:00 pm : No change to the prevailing trend as three of the nine economic sectors trading higher -- Financial, Materials and Telecom Services -- continue too enjoy gains in excess of 1.0%. More notably, though, is the fact that today's broad-based rally has come on above average volume, as the number of shares trading hands on the NYSE has just surpassed the 1.0 bln share mark. DJ30 +96.54 NASDAQ +14.05 SP500 +8.29 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1021/1873/1.4 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1177/1970/1.1 bln

[54anickel]

140. VANCOUVER, IRAN, RUSSIA, EUROPE (Willie)

http://www.gold-eagle.com/editorials_05/willie012506.html

snip>

The biggest surprise to me was what went unsaid, except by me. It seemed not a single speaker, analyst, or writer cited the heightened risk connection between the Iran nuclear confrontation and the defense of the Petro-Dollar with the inauguration of the Iranian Oil Exchange in March. All three topics are integrally related. They see it only as a geopolitical stress point and conflict which has drawn several key world players in an energy region. Nobody sees the Iranian sale in euros as connected to the claimed nuclear threat. My view is that Iran has years to go before it can conduct the necessary steps on the scientific laboratory front, regardless of what the International Atomic Energy Commission has stated. Recall just three years ago, certain agencies were strongarmed into claiming Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Wake up and smell the disinformation branded coffee!!! Huge steps must be accomplished before peaceful nuclear fueled electric generation can jump to the weapons grade processing for bombs. And then there is missile delivery system. A bigger problem for the US & West is that Iran can defend its coast with missile batteries, unlike Iraq since its "No Fly Zone" was imposed. Beware of closure of the Persian Gulf itself, whose narrow passageway is the Strait of Hormuz. This is the ultimate pressure point, the carotid artery in the neck whose blood leads to the brain, for those who have a brain.

THE IRAN THREAT
The bigger threats in my view are two-fold. The real nuclear threat might be from Russia in defense of Iran, if attacked. Last summer, Russian President Putin promised a military response to any outside aggression against Iran. This creates a standoff with the United States, and helps to explain why the USGovt has appealed to the for UN sanctions. Let it be known that when it came to Iraq, the USGovt leaders proclaimed the extreme irrelevance and corruption of the United Nations generally. Now the UN is critical to US interests? No way! In my view, the US is hamstrung and frustrated to respond to Iran, which is working with Russia on nuclear technology. Last March 2005, Putin promised that Russian processor plants would treat all spent nuke plant fuel, to assure that any weapons grade material would not fall into Iranian hands. That gesture seemed to defuse the entire Iran problem for the entire spring, summer, and autumn. So why is Iran suddenly so important? That is an easy question to answer, at least for those who are naturally suspicious.

The Iranian Oil Exchange opens for business in March, to sell oil in euro currency denomination. That is what! Iran intends to do what Saddam did, to sell oil for euros and to undermine the US-centric world banking system. This is so strange. Ben Laden pronouncements identified the financial vulnerability of the West, yet when a choke point is threatened, nobody seems aware of it.

My contacts in Zurich inform me of recent pressure by banks to shut down Iranian bank accounts. So a nuclear problem in Iran has seen a bank response. Bull. The proper viewpoints is that Iran represents an assault on the banking system, so a bank response was the first volley. Naturally, since the real threat is to the Petro-Dollar. By accepting euros in transactions to sell oil, and soon natural gas and more, once again the world banking system superstructure is shaken. The year 2006 will go down as the one when the USDollar lost its tight grip on the commercial transaction world.

more...

[EuroObserver]

147. India, China and the Asian axis of oil

Yep, having printed out and read most of this now (recommended), I was reminded of a thought-piece by Siddharth Varadarajan I came across last night in The Hindu that ended, as you'll see, remarking: "An Asian oil market trading in European euros. Now surely that's a good recipe for a multipolar world?". Since I regularly delete my cache and eliminate bookmarks here, it's taken me a little while to find, but here it is:

Siddharth Varadarajan in The Hindu

The new Sino-Indian partnership could serve as the foundation for an Asian Energy Union and much more.

IN LESS than a year, India and China have managed to confound analysts around the world by turning their much-vaunted rivalry for the acquisition of oil and gas assets in third countries into a nascent partnership that could alter the basic dynamics of the global energy market.

At stake is not just the issue of joint acquisition, although the most important of the agreements signed in Beijing on January 12 during the visit of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar envisages ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) placing joint bids for promising projects elsewhere.

Rather, the prospects for Sino-Indian cooperation across the length of the hydrocarbon chain could pave the way for the creation of an Asian energy market and architecture — an Asian axis of oil — with major geopolitical consequences for the United States.
...
Above all, India and China need to keep in mind the big picture — the evolution of an Asian market for crude and products with long-term supply contracts and stable prices, and, eventually, an Asian Energy Union. As Mr. Aiyar pointed out in a lecture to Chinese energy specialists in Beijing, the European Union started life as a coal and steel union before growing eventually into a full-fledged economic and political community. Could energy play the same role in Asia with India and China serving as sheet anchors in the way France and Germany did in Europe? With India and China committed to building strategic petroleum reserves, South Korea offering to work on an `Inter-Asia Oil and Gas Transportation System,' and Iran planning its own hydrocarbon bourse, such an idea is no longer far-fetched.

Linked to an Asian oil market is the billion euro question of non-dollar denominated energy trade. Asian countries collectively hold more than two trillion dollars worth of foreign reserves, the overwhelming share of which is in dollar-denominated instruments. Prudential norms suggest the diversification of the Asian reserve portfolio is overdue. In China, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has signalled its intention to explore the more "efficient use" of the country's forex reserves and in India, commentators like S. Venkitramanan (see `Playing it Safe — Lessons from China's reserves management,' The Hindu Business Line, January 23, 2006) have suggested the RBI start thinking along similar lines.

One way to sustain this shift would be to consider yen or euro-based trading in energy. The economic dynamism of Asia for the foreseeable future suggests what is needed is a strategic rather than tactical change in the composition of reserves. The huge and unsustainable deficits being run by the U.S. are undermining the "oil standard" that has been central to the hegemony of both the dollar and Washington for more than three decades. Relying on the dollar for energy trade will hurt Asia's producers and consumers alike in the long run. An Asian oil market trading in European euros. Now surely that's a good recipe for a multipolar world?

/more...

[54anickel]

150. Like I've said before, the rest of the world is moving along with

their contingency plans while BeelzeBush gets us stuck deeper into the quagmire known as George 'n Dick's Suicidal MidEast Adventures. What was the term Albirght used again, "benign neglect". I prefer "dereliction of duty" myself.

[ozymandius]

141. Dow streaking toward +100 again

2:17
Dow 10,802.83 +93.09 (+0.87%)
Nasdaq 2,276.32 +15.67 (+0.69%)
S&P 500 1,272.39 +7.71 (+0.61%)
10-Yr Bond 45.27 +0.48 (+1.07%)
NYSE Volume 1,957,962,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,690,083,000

1:55 pm : Buyers remain in control of the action but the market continues to pare some if its strong gains. While a 1.5% surge in crude futures ($66.85/bbl) typically provides strong buying support for oil refiners, drillers and explorers, the absence of leadership in the Energy sector (-0.1%) has prevented the market from retracing mid-day highs and reminded some investors about higher energy bills and their impact on discretionary spending. DJ30 +71.72 NASDAQ +11.73 SP500 +6.53 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1063/1860/1.60 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1268/1905/1.30 bln

1:30 pm : Indices are holding on to the bulk of today's gains but weakening leadership from a few of blue chips has taken the Dow to its lowest level of the afternoon. General Motors (GM 22.78 -1.07) still stands out as the index's weakest link, but modest reversals in Wal-Mart (WMT 45.90 -0.07), ExxonMobil (XOM 60.12 -0.09), and Altria (MO), as well as further deterioration in Disney (DIS 25.12 -0.32) and a pullback in Microsoft (MSFT 26.38 -0.02) ahead of its earnings tonight, has taken the Dow back below the 10,800 mark. DJ30 +77.32 NASDAQ +14.02 SP500 +7.86 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1004/1907/1.52 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1230/1949/1.21 bln

[54anickel]

151. Jeebus, someone's cranked the volume for the close!

[greiner3]

152. Only got here after the closing bell;

Dow up almost 100. Well, that's another 100 that will have to come off when the crash comes. Dems will be blamed for it, I'm sure and people will agree I fear!

[AnneD]

153. Well, that might be true..

BUT they can't pin the deficit on our :kick:
We left with a surplus.

[54anickel]

154. The closing....(for historical purposes)

Dow 10,809.47 +99.73 (+0.93%)
Nasdaq 2,283.00 +22.35 (+0.99%)
S&P 500 1,273.83 +9.15 (+0.72%)
10-yr Bond 4.523% +0.04
30-yr Bond 4.703% +0.05
NYSE Volume 2,909,105,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,504,760,000

4:20 pm : A broad-based rally amid above average volume closed stocks near session highs and the major averages with their best gains in weeks, as earnings optimism returned to offset some of last Friday's profit compression-induced correction. Since a few earnings disappointments from large cap names have recently taken much of the air out of early 2006 buying momentum, a plethora of better than expected earnings provided bargain-hunting opportunities across the board.

The biggest beneficiary Thursday was Financial, which not only turned positive for 2006 but posted an impressive 1.6% gain. Ongoing expectations of strong M&A activity this year helped send the brokerage index (XBD +2.5%) to a historic high while attractive valuations and the first rise in six weeks for 30-yr mortgage rates helped banks and mortgage lenders shrug off rising bond yields. The 10-yr note (-11/32) finished the day near session lows to yield 4.51% in the wake of strong economic data. Initial claims checked in below the 300K level for a second straight week, suggesting the labor market may be strengthening even more than previously thought, while further signs of economic strength came from a solid 1.3% rise in Dec. durable goods orders.

Taking full advantage of a third straight monthly increase in durables, but more notably benefiting from better than expected earnings from Dow components Caterpillar (CAT 65.06 +2.99) and Honeywell (HON 37.33 +1.27), was the Industrials sector. Strong results from Lockheed Martin (LMT 66.99 +1.98) and Textron (TXT 83.33 +7.38) lent additional sector support and helped validate our Overweight rating on the sector. Technology also turned in a winning performance, as the semiconductor group benefited from strong earnings and guidance from Novellus Systems (NVLS 29.88 +1.96), which played into our Overweight rating on the sector. A surge in data processing, amid reports that First Data (FDC 45.30 +2.30) will spin off its $4 bln Western Union business, and software, following Siebel Systems' (SEBL 10.64 +0.03) jump in Q4 profits also helped offset weakness in hardware and networking.

Health Care was another influential leader to the upside. Becton Dickinson (BDX 64.32 +5.21), after beating analysts' forecasts and raised FY06 guidance, was the sector's best performer (+8.8%) while renewed interest in drug stocks spurred by strong earnings from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY 22.50 +0.53) and strengthened by late-day FDA approval of Pfizer's (PFE 25.05 +0.22) cancer drug Sutent provided additional support. Consumer Discretionary also posted a respectable gain, as strength in homebuilding, cable, retail and restaurants offset weakness in autos. The latter group lost ground as another huge quarterly loss from General Motors (GM 22.17 -1.68) overshadowed reports that investor Kirk Kerkorian boosted his stake in GM to 9.9% (from 7.8%). Restaurants were in focus following the spin off of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 44.00 +22.00) by McDonald's (MCD 34.94 -0.22), a suggested holding in our portfolio for active investors.

Utilities, however, turned in the day's worst performance, as rising interest rates made dividend-paying stocks less attractive. Energy also lost ground as ongoing concern about the sector's profit outlook overshadowed a near 1.0% surge in crude oil futures. BTK +1.2% DJ30 +99.73 DJTA +1.6% DJUA -0.9% DOT +1.7% NASDAQ +22.35 NQ100 +0.8% R2K +1.7% SOX +2.9% SP400 +1.2% SP500 +9.15 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 959/2077/2.40 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1151/2141/2.07 bln