STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday June 15

[ozymandius]

Source: DU

Friday June 15, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 584 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2354 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2066 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2027
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

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

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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 June 14, 2007

Dow... 13,553.73 +71.38 (+0.53%)
Nasdaq... 2,599.41 +17.10 (+0.66%)
S&P 500... 1,522.97 +7.30 (+0.48%)
Gold future... 655.90 +3.20 (+0.49%)
30-Year Bond 5.29% +0.02 (+0.30%)
10-Yr Bond... 5.22% +0.02 (+0.33%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

more Radical Fringe here


Read more: DU

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Market WrapUp

Revisiting the '87 Crash
BY RYAN J. PUPLAVA, CMT

One of the wonderful attributes of technical analysis is the ability to go back in history to view how prices performed and visually compare their traits with events that are happening today. The past performance of the financial market is never an indicator of future results, but we can learn from the past to avoid repeating mistakes. I think that the events that led up to the crash in October of 1987 strike a remarkable resemblance to events taking place today in commodities, bonds, the dollar, and stocks. If my analysis on the relationships among the financial markets in 1987 is correct, and it resembles our current situation, then it would be prudent to take steps to manage risk in a similar environment. Let’s take a look at each of the major contributing factors to the 1987 crash and then compare these to the current markets.

-cut-

The S&P 500 grew from 180 in 1985 to almost 340 on the index in three years leading up to the October 1987 crash. Low commodity prices in 1985 and low interest rates fed the fire of economic expansion and stock growth. This began a wonderful trek in the stock market from 1985 up until late 1987. How did Japan’s growth affect the rest of the markets? A trade imbalance widened, the dollar started falling, commodity prices rose, and interest rates started climbing.

-cut-

Bond prices were rising through 1985 and leveled off in 1986. In 1987, bond prices began to fall, reaffirming the intermarket relationship between commodity prices and bond prices (as commodities rise, fear of inflation drives investors out of bonds). As bond prices fell, yields climbed higher than 10% by October. At 10%, investors generally have to reevaluate an income return of 10% in treasury bonds versus the inherent risk of investing in the stock market.

All of the events in 1987 (Japanese and US stock bubble, higher commodity prices, cheap bonds creating high interest rates, falling dollar) created the market crash in 1987. I would say the highest contributor had to have been a US government bond yield of 10%. How does the 1987 market crash resemble our current market today? You’re probably already linking some of the traits I see in the market today: over-exuberance in the Chinese stock market, rising commodity prices, a falling dollar, and rising interest rates.

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports-a-plenty

8:30 AM Current Account Q1
Briefing Forecast -$203.0B
Market Expects -$202.0B
Prior -$195.8B

Jun 15 8:30 AM NY Empire State Index Jun
Briefing Forecast 14.0
Market Expects 12.0
Prior 8.0

Jun 15 8:30 AM CPI May
Briefing Forecast 0.6%
Market Expects 0.6%
Prior 0.4%

Jun 15 8:30 AM Core CPI May
Briefing Forecast 0.2%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior 0.2%

Jun 15 9:00 AM Net Foreign Purchases Apr
Briefing Forecast -
Market Expects -
Prior $67.6B

Jun 15 9:15 AM Industrial Production May
Briefing Forecast 0.1%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior 0.7%

Jun 15 9:15 AM Capacity Utilization May
Briefing Forecast 81.5%
Market Expects 81.6%
Prior 81.6%

Jun 15 10:00 AM Mich Sentiment-Prel. Jun
Briefing Forecast 89.0
Market Expects 88.0
Prior 88.3

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

[UpInArms]

10. 8:30 reports: There is NO inflation!

06. U.S. June Empire State index highest since June '06
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

07. U.S. May CPI prescription drug prices fall 0.1%
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

08. U.S. June Empire State index well above consensus 12.7
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

09. U.S. June Empire State index 25.8 vs 8.0 in May
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

10. U.S. May CPI owners equivalent rent up 0.1%
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

11. U.S. May CPI food prices up 0.3%
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

12. U.S. May CPI energy prices up 5.4%
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

13. U.S. CPI up 2.7% year-over-year
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

14. U.S. core CPI up 2.2% year-over-year, 1-year low
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

15. U.S. May core CPI up 0.1% vs. 0.2% expected
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

16. U.S. May CPI rises 0.7% as expected
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

17. U.S. Q4 2006 current account deficit revised to $187.9 bln
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

18. Current account deficit smaller than $200 bln forecast
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

19. U.S. Q1 2007 current account deficit rises to $192.6 bln
8:30 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 12 minutes ago

[ozymandius]

12. Whew! That's a relief.

For a moment there, I thought we might have to pay more for food and energy.

[Roland99]

32. WHEEEEEEE!!!!!

:crazy:

[Roland99]

38. CPI running hot, but core rate remains cool

CPI running hot, but core rate remains cool
May's consumer prices show second-largest gain in 16 years
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/cpi-running-hot-core-remains/story.aspx?guid=%7B17BA443E%2D6D21%2D4325%2D83A1%2D0834C685A3C1%7D&dist=MostReadHome

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Higher energy prices drove the U.S. consumer price index up by 0.7% in May, its largest increase since Hurricane Katrina and the second largest in 16 years, the Labor Department reported Friday.

But while consumer inflation was scorching hot, the core rate of inflation -- which excludes food and energy costs -- rose just 0.1%.

The Federal Reserve "is right on track to bring inflation down to levels that make us all comfortable," wrote Stephen Cecchetti, the Rosenberg professor of global finance at Brandeis University.

Core inflation has thus risen at a 2.2% rate in the past 12 months, the smallest gain in more than a year and close to the Federal Reserve's target range.

Well, I guess we *could* all be comfortable...


As soon as we all learn to live without food and energy!!!

[UpInArms]

21. Net Foreign Purchases and Industrial Production reports:

36. Capital flows to U.S. rise to $111.8 bln in April
9:00 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 1 hour ago

29. U.S. May capacity utilization falls to 81.3% vs 81.5% April
9:15 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 51 minutes ago

30. U.S. April industrial production up rev 0.4% vs 0.7% prev
9:15 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 51 minutes ago

31. U.S. May industrial production unchanged vs up 0.1% est.
9:15 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 51 minutes ago

[UpInArms]

22. UMich reports widespread unhappiness @ 83.7 for June vs 88.3 for May

01. June Reuters/UMich consumer sentiment said 83.7 vs. 88.3
10:01 AM ET, Jun 15, 2007 - 4 minutes ago

[ozymandius]

3. Oil prices remain above $67 a barrel

Oil prices were down slightly Friday after reaching a nine-month high overnight on worries that the U.S. refining industry can't meet peak summer gasoline demand.

At midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for July delivery was down 26 cents at $67.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract rose $1.39 to settle at $67.65 a barrel Thursday, the first time since September that Nymex crude closed above $67 a barrel.

-cut-

Refinery utilization, which had been expected to grow by 0.8 percent, fell 0.4 percent to 89.2 percent, the second straight weekly decline, according to the Energy Information Administration. Most analysts say refineries should be using 94 percent to 95 percent of their capacity at this time of year.

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

[UpInArms]

4. dollar watch

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

Last trade 83.102 Change +0.002 (0.00%)

US Dollar Hits 5 Year High, Mortgage Rates See Biggest Jump in 3 Years : Problems Ahead?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar_Hits_5_Year_1181856494476.html

With the stock market continuing to rise, it is not surprising that the US dollar hit a new five year high against the Japanese Yen today. In fact, the dollar is stronger across the board as inflationary pressures continue to manifest themselves. Producer prices increased 0.9 percent in the month of May while core prices increased 0.2 percent. This brought the annualized pace of inflation to the highest in 11 months. However it was not just past prices that had traders worried. Domestic supply concerns also drove oil prices to an 11 week high. This means that not only did inflationary pressures increase last month, but they are alive and kicking. This should keep Federal Reserve officials extremely hawkish, but don’t expect them to raise interest rates anytime soon because thirty year mortgage rates increased to 6.74 percent, the highest level since July 2006. The 21 basis point jump over the past week is the largest rise in 3 years. Thirty year mortgage rates have been skyrocketing since the middle of May and it is certainly not a coincidence that foreclosures hit record levels in the first quarter according to the Mortgage Bankers Association as well. More updated numbers from RealtyTrac Inc. also indicate that foreclosures are up another 90 percent last month. Federal Reserve President Moskow was spot on when he said that the spike in bond yields could trim growth because the housing market is exactly where the pain of higher yields will be felt. Although we expect the US economy to slow, a major contraction will probably be averted thanks to the offsetting stimulus that a weak dollar brings to the table. Consumer prices are on tap tomorrow along with the Empire State manufacturing survey, the current account balance, industrial production and the Treasury International Capital flow report. Given the rise in import prices and PPI, there is a strong chance that CPI will surprise to the upside as well. The rest of the data is also expected to be dollar positive.

...more...

FX Market: Could The Bank Of Japan Move Earlier Than Expected?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/FX_Market__Could_The_Bank_1181758828610.html

Given the recent string of central bank surprises in the past month or so, one has to wonder whether or not the currency markets may be in for a doozey when Bank of Japan officials meet this week. Although the market is overwhelmingly confident that rates will not change this time around, there is a small contingent that believes either a rate hike or considerably more hawkish comments could ultimately emerge. And there’s plenty of economic data to back up this speculation.

Some will remember to the beginning of the year when the Canadian dollar was discarded as a nonstarter currency. However, with economic growth in full force recently, the underlying currency has been on a 1000 basis point tear against the US dollar over the past several months. The same can be said of the world’s second largest economy. With things just beginning to change slightly in Japan, conditions may be prime for a breakout.

What’s Changed In Japan?

Since the beginning of the year, economic fundamentals have improved significantly. First and foremost, inflationary pressures have remained positive for consecutive months. Although still hovering near the zero percent level, current price increases are far from the deflationary levels that were clearly evident the previous year. Unfortunately, this has been spurred on by rising producer prices and corporations passing the higher cost onto the market, rather than the legitimacy of higher prices on demand. Domestic consumption continues to remain weak in the economy, helping to keep increases at bay. The notion lends to speculation that should consumers pick up spending habits, the figure will very well increase, grabbing the attention of the Bank of Japan. However, as policy makers have noted, consumer inflation is not the sole reason to lift rates. And so we turn to growth. Recently, gross domestic product, a measure of expansion in the economy, outpaced both the Eurozone and the United States. Posting a second consecutive quarter of expansion, annualized growth hit 3.3 percent in the second quarter of the year. The figure, founded on a strong export sector, is eventually going to lead to higher rates of inflation as productivity and employment emerge. Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui is confirming the bullish bias, forecasting that economic growth is to remain above trend, expanding at 2 percent well into 2008. Ultimately, the notion is likely to serve as the impetus for officials to increase rates ahead of schedule even if pressure comes in the form of governmental bantering.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

27. Yen Falls Against Dollar, Euro; BOJ Sees Gradual Rate Increase

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aQI9I83LkSeg&refer=asia

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- The yen fell to its weakest in 4 1/2-years against the dollar and dropped to the record low against the euro as Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said the central bank will raise borrowing costs gradually.

Traders increased investments using borrowed yen in the so- called carry trade after European Central Bank official Axel Weber said the ECB is ready to curb inflation. The dollar fell against the euro after a government report showed consumer prices in the U.S. rose less than forecast in May.

``The soft comment from Fukui is opening up more appetite for carry trades,'' said Robert Sinche, head of global currency strategy in New York at Bank of America Corp. ``Fukui was less aggressive on a potential rate hike than the market expected.''

The yen fell 0.44 percent to 123.45 against the dollar at 9:30 a.m. in New York, compared with 121.72 a week ago. Japan's currency declined 0.71 percent to 164.79 per euro after falling as low as 164.88, the all-time low. The dollar dropped 0.28 percent to $1.3349 per euro.

The U.S. currency weakened against its European counterpart after the Labor Department said today in Washington that so- called core U.S. consumer prices, which exclude food and fuel, rose 0.1 percent last month after a 0.2 percent gain in April.

/...

[mojavekid]

30. Daily Pfennig 6/15/07: Dollar Trades in a Tight Range...

http://www.kitcocasey.com/displayArticle.php?id=1442

The U.S. dollar stuck in its recent range yesterday even after Producer prices rose more than forecast. The increase in PPI reflected the fourth consecutive jump in fuel prices that will undoubtedly foreshadow a broader pickup in inflation. Core prices, excluding fuel and food (who really needs to drive or eat?) only climbed .2%, which is pretty much in line with what the FOMC has predicted. Attention is now focused on this morning's CPI data, which will likely show another increase. As I see it, this data will confirm that inflation (as underreported by our government) is slowly rising. The possibility of higher inflation will continue to keep the Fed from lowering rates, while the eminent housing meltdown will keep them from raising rates. The FOMC has their hands tied, and they are just going to have to sit back and watch what happens, along with the rest of us.

While the FOMC isn't going to be able to do anything with rates, Bernanke will still be able to try and jawbone the markets with his comments. As I reported earlier this week, his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, has been doing a lot of talking about the current state of the U.S. economy lately. One of the lead stories on Bloomberg overnight was how Greenspan and PIMCO's Bill Gross have been debating the direction of the U.S. economy. Gross, the manager of the world's largest bond fund, says the U.S. housing market is in such perilous shape that the Fed may need to cut interest rates in six to nine months. Greenspan, on the other hand, says the odds are 2 to 1 that the economy will avoid a downturn, and that the subprime loans are just a small part of the outstanding mortgages. While I respect Alan Greenspan's knowledge, I am siding with Gross on this one. And recent data back his assertion that the housing market will continue to drag down our economy.

Yesterday I read a report that showed the number of Americans who may lose their homes because of late mortgage payments rose to a record in the first quarter. These U.S. mortgages entering foreclosure were led by subprime borrowers pinched in an economy that grew at the slowest pace in four years. But wait a minute, the Fed's Beige Book said that the economy was turning the corner, and the fears of the mortgage meltdown were overblown. Tell that to the subprime mortgage holders. The rate of subprime loans entering foreclosure in May rose to a five-year high, and even the prime loan foreclosures hit a record. The median U.S. home price will likely fall this year for the first time since the Great Depression. Tumbling prices make it difficult for people who fall behind in loan payments to escape foreclosure by selling. Unfortunately, the Fed's Beige Book only had it partially right. The housing market may be turning a corner, but it is the continuous corner of a death spiral.

more...

[citizen snips]

37. Dollar Down, Gold Higher in Europe

LONDON (AP) -- The U.S. dollar was lower against most other major currencies in European trading Friday. Gold prices rose.

The euro traded at $1.3353, up from $1.3307 late Thursday in New York. Later, in midday trading in New York, the euro fetched $1.3370.

Other dollar rates in Europe, compared with late Thursday, included 123.56 Japanese yen, up from 122.97; 1.2433 Swiss francs, down from 1.2468; and 1.0636 Canadian dollars, down from 1.0684.

The British pound traded at $1.9765, up from $1.9694.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/dollar_gold.html?.v=4

[ozymandius]

5. BoJ holds interest rates steady amid economic uncertainties

TOKYO (AFP) - The Bank of Japan left its ultra-low interest rates unchanged at 0.5 percent Friday amid weak inflation and uncertainty about the outlook for the US economy, driving the yen down to fresh lows.

BoJ governor Toshihiko Fukui said the central bank would raise interest rates only gradually, dampening speculation about a possible hike next month.

The BoJ's decision, which was unanimous, had been widely expected given recent falls in Japanese consumer prices although there had been market speculation about a possible split vote with some members backing a hike.

Fukui told reporters that the Japanese economy remained on a recovery track thanks to brisk exports, expanding domestic demand, a strengthening job market and stable prices.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070615/bs_afp/japaneconomybankrateforexmoney

[ozymandius]

6. Stocks point higher on Intel, CPI looms

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a flat to slightly higher open on Friday, with technology shares likely to underpin gains after a broker upgrade of Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile , Research), but investors were cautious ahead of key inflation data.

Intel shares rose 1.8 percent to $23.64 in electronic trade after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the chipmaker, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI>, to "buy" from "neutral."

Investors will scrutinize a report on the May U.S. Consumer Price Index due before the bell for further direction.

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=2007-06-15T112529Z_01_N12242323_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-MARKETS-STOCKS-DC.XML

[ozymandius]

7. Cadbury pleads guilty to contamination

BIRMINGHAM, England—Cadbury Schweppes PLC pleaded guilty Friday to three violations of food and hygiene regulations after some of its chocolates were found to be contaminated with salmonella.

Cadbury recalled a number of its chocolate products last year after the contamination was discovered. The recall cost at least 30 million pounds ($60 million), the company said.

The company's lawyer, Anthony Scrivener, entered the pleas during a 10-minute hearing in Birmingham Magistrates Court. Cadbury International Ltd. is based in Birmingham, where John Cadbury started the business in 1824.

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_6148589

[cosmicdot]

60. according to Cadbury candy bars I've bought

Hershey's (now exporting jobs) manufactures Cadbury chocolate under license. I did not know that.

Paying more attention to ingredients, I read the label :)

Hershey's was, also, written about the Cadbury milk chocolate bar ingredients, in particular wondering about PGPR (how it appears on the label) and 'artificial flavors' ... fwiw, here's the reply:

Thank you for contacting The Hershey Company. Your comments about our
chocolate product are important.

Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (PGPR) — An emulsifier to insure
consistency. It is a fatty acid. It is derived from castor bean oil that is
used to improve processing characteristics in chocolate. PGPR has been
used in various food applications since the 1950s. The origin of PGPR is
castor oil. It does not contain any allergens.

I do not have the information regarding what artificial flavors we use
in our products. This information is proprietary and is not available.

Additives in foods are used to improve flavor, appearance, consistency,
color, and the nutrition value of foods. Some additives are used to
control spoilage and acidity. Without food additives, many of the foods
taken for granted today would be greatly changed or would disappear
from the marketplace entirely.

Food additives can occur naturally or can be made in laboratories.
Some food additives are made in the laboratory because they occur
naturally only in small or unstable amounts. Our company only uses food
additives that are safe.

Your interest in our company is appreciated.

Yummy, castor oil.

Information about what people consume is 'proprietary and is not available'. ~~
Now, isn't that special?

Compare ingredients in chocolate by American companies vs., say, Belgian. The latter
tend to have the basics needed: sugar, cocoa, etc., while US companies have loads of stuff.
Shelf life seems more important than human life.

I hope more people will inquire about ingredients, including chain restaurant menu foods.
The of us doing that the better.

Take Chili's, for example ...


Thank you for your inquiry and for your interest in Chili's.

... we understand your concern regarding the sources and origins of ingredients
for the entrée. Please rest assured that we purchase products in accordance with good
manufacturing practices and our suppliers/products also undergo a third party inspection
to ensure quality. The salmon for this entrée is from Chile and it is farm-raised.

Additionally, we do request information on GMO's from our suppliers for tracking
purposes, however we do not have a policy in place that prohibits the use of GMO's
within our food items. Therefore, we are unable to provide any specific GMO
information for Chili's menu items at this time. Also, Chili's prepares their fried food
menu items in soybean oil and almost all soybean production in the United States is
GMO-derived.


It should be required on the menu that GMOs are served.

[ozymandius]

8. UPDATE: Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Liquidates Positions

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - A Bear Stearns hedge fund sold about $4 billion worth of subprime mortgage-backed securities on Thursday after reportedly losing money earlier this year.

The High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund sold $3.8 billion to $4 billion worth of AAA and AA rated securities, four people familiar with the situation said on Thursday.

The fund started less than a year ago with about $600 million in assets, but used leverage, or borrowed money, to expand its holdings to more than $6 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. But subprime mortgage trades that went wrong left the fund down 23% in the first four months of 2007, the newspaper said.

Russell Sherman, a spokesman for Bear Stearns (BSC) , declined to comment. Shares of the investment bank closed up 11 cents at $149.60 on Thursday.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200706141921DOWJONESDJONLINE001084_FORTUNE5.htm

[ozymandius]

9. U.S. Consumer Prices Probably Rose in May as Gasoline Jumped

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer prices in the U.S. rose at a faster pace in May, propelled by increases in energy costs that have concerned some Federal Reserve policy makers, economists said before a report today.

Prices rose 0.6 percent last month after a 0.4 percent gain in April, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 78 economists before the Labor Department's report. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2 percent for a second month, the survey showed.

-cut-

The gap in the current account, the broadest measure of trade because it includes transfer payments and investment income, widened to $221 billion in the January-to-March period from $195.8 billion in the last three months of 2006, according a Bloomberg survey median. The Commerce Department's report is also due at 8:30 a.m.

-cut-

Airlines are passing on higher fuel costs to consumers, even as competition keeps some fare increases from sticking. The five largest U.S. airlines followed smaller rival AirTran Holdings Inc. last week in raising some round-trip fares as much as $20 along the U.S. East Coast.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=am9.4NlnJxaI&refer=home

[UpInArms]

13. CPI running hot, but core remains cool

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/cpi-running-hot-core-remains/story.aspx?guid=%7B17BA443E%2D6D21%2D4325%2D83A1%2D0834C685A3C1%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Higher energy prices drove the consumer price index up by 0.7% in May, its largest increase since Hurricane Katrina and the second largest in 16 years, the Labor Department reported Friday.

But while consumer inflation was scorching hot, the core rate of inflation - which excludes food and energy costs - rose just 0.1%.

Core inflation has thus risen at 2.2% in the past 12 months, the smallest gain in more than a year and close to the Federal Reserve's target range. Core inflation has risen at just 1.6% annualized in the past three months.

The 0.7% gain on the headline CPI was just as expected by economists. But the 0.1% increase was less than the 0.2% anticipated by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

The hot and cold inflation keeps the Federal Reserve in a bind. It's been expecting core inflation to subside, but it's also worried that higher energy and labor costs would bleed over into other prices, fueling a new round of generalized inflation.

...more...

[ozymandius]

18. Raise your hand if you don't use food or energy.

reminder from yesterday

from the Bonddad blog

Now that we have that silliness out of the way..... From the WSJ:

Wholesale prices in the U.S. rose sharply for a fourth straight month in May on higher energy prices. But outside the volatile food and energy sectors, prices remained largely contained, suggesting that while inflation remains a risk, it doesn't appear to be taking hold.

The Labor Department said the producer-price index for finished goods rose 0.9% in May, up from a 0.7% gain in April and well above economists' expectations. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was up a more moderate 0.2% after holding steady the previous two months. In the 12 months through May, wholesale prices rose 4.1%, the largest increase since June 2006. In contrast, the core PPI was up just 1.6% from a year ago.

The PPI report comes on the heels of a sharper-than-expected rise in May import prices. The key question is whether higher import and wholesale prices will seep into consumer prices -- a trend that could prompt the Federal Reserve to hit the economic brakes by raising interest rates.

The Fed has a core inflation rate target of 1%-2%. At this point, I am wondering if that level is even possible. We have a global economy that is increasing in size. That means there is a lot of competition for all sorts of resources. All of the competition will drive costs up. It's that simple.

[Systematic Chaos]

52. Pick me pick me pick me!!!

I eat styrofoam packing peanuts and propel myself around by my farts!

:rofl:

[ozymandius]

11. Lax oversight, globalization erode product safety

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Colgate's announcement Thursday that it found fake and potentially dangerous "Colgate"-branded toothpaste sold in some stores is the latest in a series of product scares that have recently spooked American consumers.

More importantly, these incidents of counterfeit toothpaste, melamine-tainted pet food and toothpaste laced with anti-freeze imported from China are raising concern about the quality of food and other products that enter the U.S. and the overall safety of the global supply chain.

"Why this is happening more frequently highlights the limited authority of the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission," Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety and senior counsel with advocacy group Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

-cut-

What's more, Weintraub said limited budgets have prevented both the FDA and CPSC from implementing adequate product safety mechanisms.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/14/news/economy/supplychain_risk/index.htm?postversion=2007061413

[UpInArms]

14. Cadbury pleads guilty to salmonella contamination

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_bi_ge/britain_cadbury

BIRMINGHAM, England - Cadbury Schweppes PLC pleaded guilty Friday to three violations of food and hygiene regulations after some of its chocolates were found to be contaminated with salmonella.

Cadbury recalled a number of its chocolate products last year after the contamination was discovered. The recall cost at least 30 million pounds ($60 million), the company said.

<snip>

The charges alleged that Cadbury put contaminated chocolates on the market between Jan. 19 and March 10. 2006; that it failed to promptly notify authorities; and that it failed to identify the hazards posed by salmonella contamination.

Cadbury said it had traced the problem to a leaky pipe at its factory in Marlbrook in Herefordshire in western England.

...more...

[ozymandius]

15. Asia stocks rise

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- Asian stocks extended earlier gains on Friday as energy companies such as INPEX tracked a spike in oil, while Japanese government bonds rose after the central bank left interest rates on hold.

Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.7 percent to end at a one-week high, boosted by exporters such as Honda Motor as the yen dipped. Honda gained 1.9 percent.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/06/15/asiastox.friday.reut/index.html

[Ghost Dog]

23. Asian Stocks Advance, Led by BHP Billiton on Metals, Oil Rise

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=azOfDbvbGRZ0&refer=asia

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks rose for a second day, led by BHP Billiton Ltd. and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., after prices of copper, nickel and crude oil climbed.

``Globally, economic growth looks strong enough to sustain high levels of demand for commodities,'' said Hans Kunnen, who helps manage $107 billion at Colonial First State Global Asset Management in Sydney. ``You can expect strength to continue in related stocks for as long as that view holds.''

China Construction Bank Corp. led Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index to a record high after saying it plans to sell shares valued at $5.5 billion in Shanghai. Cathay Financial Holding Co. paced Taiwan's Taiex index to its highest in almost seven years after the island's lawmakers approved a bill to allow insurers to invest more of their assets overseas.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index advanced 0.6 percent to 151.55 as of 6:40 p.m. in Tokyo, set for a 0.7 percent gain this week. Raw materials and energy-related shares jumped the most among the benchmark's 10 industry groups.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 0.7 percent. Toyota Motor Corp. led exporters higher after the yen fell to the lowest against the dollar in four years, boosting the value of U.S. sales. Benchmarks in South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia also closed at new highs.

...

A measure of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange gained 1.9 percent yesterday. Copper prices added 2.2 percent while nickel jumped 4.9 percent. Crude oil rose 2.1 percent in New York. Commodity prices have been driven up by demand from China, which said today that factory and property investment had surged.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

28. China Factory Investment Surges, Adding Rate Pressure

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

June 15 (Bloomberg) -- China's factory and property investment surged, fueling speculation that an interest-rate increase is imminent after exports, industrial production and inflation accelerated.

Fixed-asset investment in urban areas rose 25.9 percent in the first five months from a year earlier to 3.2 trillion yuan ($420 billion), the statistics bureau said in Beijing today. The increase was 25.5 percent in the first four months.

The final indicator for May underscores the government's failure to cool an economy that grew 11.1 percent in the first quarter. Premier Wen Jiabao this week highlighted the risk of an investment rebound and signaled that the central bank may need to raise borrowing costs for a third time this year or further curb bank lending.

``The economy is absolutely booming and after a brief correction the stock market has taken off again,'' said Jing Ulrich, chairwoman of China equities at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Hong Kong. ``Clearly the central bank has a tightening bias after this week's economic data.''

Spending rose by more than the 25.4 percent median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. China's fixed-asset investment in the first five months was more than the gross domestic product of Belgium.

Stocks Fall

The CSI 300 Index of stocks fell 0.3 percent as of the 11:30 a.m. trading break in Shanghai. The benchmark has rebounded by 16 percent since June 4, after plunges that followed the tripling of a share-trading tax. It's almost doubled this year.

/...

[UpInArms]

16. U.S. futures turn higher after inflation data

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/third-straight-rally-seen-after/story.aspx?guid=%7B5ADF46B6%2DD0B1%2D4BC6%2DB4C4%2D8670B45D9620%7D

LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock market futures pointed to a third day of strong gains on Friday after core consumer prices didn't rise as quickly as forecast, with an upgrade of microchip giant Intel Corp. also likely to help the bulls.

S&P 500 futures rose 8.7 points at 1,548.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 13 points at 1,964.25. Dow industrial futures climbed 65 points.

The Dow industrials have climbed over 258 points over the last two sessions, buoyed by a stabilizing of bond yields. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71 points, the S&P 500 rose 7.3 points and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 17.1 points.

Those gains are likely to be extended after the inflation figures.

Higher energy prices drove the consumer price index up by 0.7% in May, its largest increase since Hurricane Katrina and the second largest in 16 years, the Labor Department reported Friday. But while consumer inflation was scorching hot, the core rate of inflation - which excludes food and energy costs - rose just 0.1%. Core inflation has thus risen at 2.2% in the past 12 months, the smallest gain in more than a year and close to the Federal Reserve's target range.

...more...

Doncha know only peons have to eat and worry about the price of energy? :crazy:

[texpatriot2004]

17. K & R nm

[ozymandius]

19. early numbers and blather

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +10.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.0. Futures trade spikes higher following encouraging economic data, pointing to an even stronger start for stocks. Total CPI rose 0.7% (consensus 0.6%) in May but the more closely-watched core rate rose just 0.1% (consensus 0.2%). That pushes the year/year rate down to 2.2%, which is closer to the Fed's "comfort zone" and will at worst keep policy makers on hold with any tightening efforts for the time being.

The NY Empire State Index rose to a surprisingly strong 25.8 in June (consensus 12.0) from 8.0 in May. Bonds have also improved in response to the data; the 10-year note is now up 7 ticks to yield 5.19%.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.1. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.3. Early indications suggest a two-day rally in equities may carry over into the opening bell. An analyst upgrade on Dow component Intel (INTC) and Nymex (NMX) reportedly exploring a possible sale are contributing to the positive underlying tone.

However, that disposition is certainly subject to change as the closely-watched CPI report (8:30 ET), given its influence on the market's outlook for the economy and monetary policy, will be the catalyst behind today's performance. A larger than expected read on core-CPI is apt to renew inflation concerns that have plagued the bond market for two weeks while a lower than expected number should lend further evidence behind recent stabilization in Treasuries that has helped stocks rebound since Tuesday's sell-off.

[ozymandius]

20. Markets are open for bidness.

9:31
Dow 13,628.43 Up 74.71 (0.55%)
Nasdaq 2,626.13 Up 26.72 (1.03%)
S&P 500 1,530.38 Up 7.41 (0.49%)
10-Yr Bond 5.198% Down 0.019
NYSE Volume 199,853,000
Nasdaq Volume 376,217,000

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +9.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.8. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures are holding steady near their recent highs as today's tame reading on core CPI continues to ease the overblown inflation fears that crushed equities last week. With stocks trading in lockstep with movements in the Treasury market of late, yields trending lower across the curve are arming the bulls with even more evidence that stocks are attractively valued at current levels. The 10-year note is now up 8 ticks, pushing the yield to 5.18%.

[UpInArms]

10:12 EST Markets have ecstacy attack

Dow 13,655.01 101.29 (0.75%)
Nasdaq 2,621.99 22.58 (0.87%)
S&P 500 1,534.77 11.80 (0.77%)
10-Yr Bond 5.205% 0.012

NYSE Volume 801,255,000
Nasdaq Volume 735,758,000

10:00 am : The indices are off their opening highs but the bulk of industry leadership is positive. Of the 10 economic sectors trading higher, Utilities (+1.4%) is pacing the way; but that's understandable since the rate-sensitive sector becomes more attractive to income-oriented investors when bond yields fall. The 10-year yield is currently at 5.19%, well off its overnight high earlier in the week of 5.32%.

The Materials (+1.1%) sector ranks second, getting a huge boost after Monsanto (MON 66.98 +3.67) raised its FY07 profit outlook while follow-through buying in oil helps earmark Energy (+1.0%) as today's third best performer. Of the 147 S&P industry groups, Airlines (-0.5%) is the only in negative territory; but its decline is modest at best and largely attributed to crude's slight uptick.DJ30 +99.18 DJUA +1.3% NASDAQ +23.54 SP500 +11.54 XOI +1.3% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 584/2018/612 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 435/2431/400 mln

[ozymandius]

24. Dow up triple digits at 10:12

Everyone buying stocks -and- bonds. Yet we aren't any happier?

Dow 13,657.29 Up 103.57 (0.76%)
Nasdaq 2,622.05 Up 22.64 (0.87%)
S&P 500 1,534.35 Up 11.38 (0.75%)
10-Yr Bond 5.203% Down 0.014
NYSE Volume 689,979,000
Nasdaq Volume 745,764,000

...edited for the blathery headbump with UIA...

:hi:

[UpInArms]

29. mornin' Ozy!

Can you believe the load of crap they are dumpin'?

:shakesheadatallthestupidity:

gotta run - but it was fun while I was here :hi:

[Ghost Dog]

25. Recouped FTSE pushes to seven-year highs

http://mwprices.ft.com/custom/ft2-com/html-story.asp?pulse=true&siteid=ft&dist=ft&guid=%7B881dc53f%2Debd7%2D4dcb%2Da077%2D2bc4fc0846bb%7D

London’s benchmark index recovered from a nine-day dip and was reaching seven-year highs by midday on Thursday, helped by strong gains in the retail sector following news of the Qatari royal family’s stake-building in J Sainsbury. The supermarket chain extended morning gains and was leading the blue-chips at 1230, trading up 4.9 per cent at 593p after Delta Two, an investment firm backed by Qatar’s prime minister, bought 123m shares in the supermarket group for £732m, taking its stake in the company to over 25 per cent. Investor excitement centred on a possible takeover bid and on the potential for an outside buyer to unlock the value of retailers’ real estate assets. The prospect lifted most retail majors. William Morrison gained 1.9 per cent to 306½p, helped by Panmure Gordon raising its stance on the supermarket chain to “hold” from “sell.” Tesco rose 1.3 per cent to 458½p. Kingfisher rose 1 per cent to 243p. The FTSE 100 was 0.6 per cent higher at 6,689, a gain of 39 points, at 1230 BST. Mid-cap retailers also helped lift the FTSE 250, up 0.5 per cent to 11,868, a rise of 59 points.

[Ghost Dog]

26. Banks and oils lift European equities

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=102&topic_id=2881967&mesg_id=2882099

European equity markets were higher on Friday supported by banks and oil groups.In late morning trade, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 0.6 per cent to 1,614.8, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax added 0.6 per cent to 7,892.04, the CAC 40 in Paris climbed 0.4 per cent to 6,073.87 and London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 per cent to 6,687.8. EADS, the European aerospace group, rose 4.4 per cent to €24.55 after François Fillon, France’s prime minister, said in a newspaper interview that the company was strategic for France but added that ”there is no question of nationalising the company.” Commerzbank was up 2.3 per cent to €36.31 after the prospect of a capital increase diminished after the city of Berlin’s government said it was selling its 81 per cent stake in Landesbank Berlin to DSGV, the public-sector savings bank, for €4.622bn. Oil companies also helped lift the markets as crude prices remained above $70 a barrel. France’s Total added 1.1 per cent to €58.61, Spain’s Repsol gained 1.3 per cent to €28.02 and Austria’s OMV climbed 1.3 per cent to €50.10.

[mojavekid]

31. SDUT: $700,000 pens and $40,000 purses raise a new luxury standard

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20070614-1321-over-the-topspending.html

NEW YORK – Forget about the $350 stilettos. Shoes with status these days come with $1,000 price tags. And $600 handbags have become so bourgeois. A-listers don't want to be seen with anything costing less than $5,000.
It's no secret that luxury sales have been booming over the past six years. But at a time when the average American is grousing about meager wage growth and feeling strapped by a 30-cent spike in the price of gas, splurging by the wealthy has risen to gaudy proportions as the super rich seek new heights in pampering, price tags and one-of-a-kind items that set them apart.

snip...

Luxury sales worldwide topped $150 billion last year, of which 30 percent came from the U.S., where such sales have been rebounding after taking a pause following the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to Telsey Advisory Group's James Hurley.

While U.S. store executives say that the weakening dollar has fueled a surge of tourists from Asia and emerging countries like Russia, whom experts say tend to go for the bling, luxury stores don't have to just wait for foreigners. Sure, investment bankers and Internet entrepreneurs have kept luxury sales booming, but the latest source of new wealth are hedge fund managers – the top 25 last year made more than a combined $14 billion a year, according to Institutional Investor.

more...

[citizen snips]

33. Grains, Soybeans Rise

CHICAGO (AP) -- Grain and soybean futures advanced in early activity Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Wheat for July delivery rose 1 cent to $6.07 1/2 a bushel; July corn rose 8 cents to $4.17 1/2 a bushel; July oats rose 1 1/2 cent to $2.92 a bushel; July soybeans rose 11 cents to $8.38 1/2 a bushel.

Beef futures increased while pork futures were mixed in early trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

August live cattle rose .42 cent to 90.97 cents a pound; August feeder cattle rose .08 cent to $1.0765 a pound; July lean hogs rose .20 cent to 76.60 cents a pound; July pork bellies fell .90 cent to 98.30 cents a pound.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/board_of_trade.html?.v=2

[citizen snips]

34. Trump Entertainment Rises on Upgrade

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. rose Friday after an analyst upgraded the casino operator to "Buy" from "Hold" on long-term opportunities in Atlantic City, N.J., and delays of competition in Pennsylvania.

Morgan Joseph & Co. analyst Adam Steinberg said that while he considers Atlantic City a near-term challenge, he still views the market favorably over the long haul.

"We continue to believe Atlantic City is one of the premier gaming markets in the United States with a stable regulatory and tax environment and a significant local population," he wrote in a note to clients.

Also, a vote on zoning measures to allow the construction of new casinos in nearby Philadelphia by Foxwoods Resort Casino and SugarHouse Gaming was tabled at a Thursday meeting and postponed until September. The postponement of the vote until September means the companies probably won't be able to open those casinos until at least the second half of 2009, Steinberg said.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/trump_entertainment_resorts_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

35. Out of the Gate: Expedia Soars

NEW YORK (AP) -- Expedia Inc. shares hit an annual high Friday on chatter that the operator of the Expedia.com travel Web site is planning to go private, cut jobs and spin off its TripAdvisor travel advice business.

Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Scott Devitt said the company was speculated to be mulling a buyout at $30 per share, a 22.6 percent premium to Thursday's closing price of $24.46. The rumored plan also includes 400 job cuts, or six percent of the company's work force, he said.

Expedia did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Devitt's price target it $29 per share. He did not comment on the likelihood of a deal, but said it would "make sense" because investors are underestimating TripAdvisor's value. In addition, he said Liberty Media Interactive, which owned 20 percent of outstanding Expedia shares at the end of last year, began referring to TripAdvisor as a separate business.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/expedia_out_of_the_gate.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

36. Sector Snap: RV Makers

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of recreational vehicle makers traded mostly higher Friday as competitors of Winnebago Industries Inc. digested the motor home manufacturer's disappointing third-quarter earnings.

Winnebago's net income slipped 14.4 percent in the quarter as higher materials and labor costs on newly-introduced vehicles hurt margins.

The company earned $11.3 million, or 35 cents a share, in the three months ended May 26 versus $13.2 million, or 40 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue grew 5.2 percent to $231.7 million from $220.3 million in the prior year.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/sector_snap_recreational_vehicles.html?.v=1

[Roland99]

39. 12:50pm - Lunchtime losing luster?

Dow 13,653.30 99.58
Nasdaq 2,622.37 22.96
S&P 500 1,534.03 11.06
10 YR 5.18% -0.04
Oil $68.02 $0.37
Gold $657.80 $1.90

[citizen snips]

40. Gas Prices Expected to Rise at Pump

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gasoline futures extended their rally Friday, raising the prospect that prices at the pump will reverse course and again head higher in the coming weeks. Oil futures moved above $68 a barrel.

Retail gasoline prices, which typically lag the futures market, fell again by 1.4 cents overnight to a national average price of $3.029 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices peaked at $3.227 a gallon on May 24.

"Unfortunately, I think this is about as good as it gets," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service.

That's because gasoline futures have risen sharply in the wake of a government report on Wednesday that shocked traders by showing gasoline inventories remained flat as refineries used less of their capacity than they had the week before.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/oil_prices.html?.v=13

[citizen snips]

41. Shares of Continental Airlines Slip

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Continental Airlines Inc. slipped Friday after a Goldman Sachs analyst cut his rating on the stock, saying it's fully valued given industry weakness and higher oil prices.

In a research report, Goldman Sachs' Robert Barry wrote that he thinks Continental shares deserve to trade at a premium to competitors, but he doesn't see further upside. He downgraded the shares to "Neutral" from "Buy" and cut his price target to $34 from $39.

The Houston-based company's stock fell 52 cents to $33.39 in afternoon trading after earlier dipping as low as $33.07. Airline stocks were mostly down, with seven of 10 stocks on the Amex Airline index trading lower, while the broader market made strong gains after the government reported better-than-expected inflation numbers, excluding food and energy prices. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 9.62 to 1532.59.

Even with their recent pullback amid anxiety about weakening domestic results, Barry wrote that he doesn't see many positive catalysts for airline stocks.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/continental_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

42. Sector Snap: Semiconductor Stocks Up

NEW YORK (AP) -- Semiconductor stocks mostly advanced in Friday midday trading, after analysts issued bullish comments on some companies in the sector.

Intel Corp. shares rose 75 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $23.98 after Goldman Sachs analyst James Covello upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral." Earlier, shares rose to $24.24, eclipsing a previous 52-week high of $23.53.

In a client note, Covello said he upgraded the stock because "AMD's likely move to an outsourced business model will create significant benefits for Intel over the longer term."

Also helping Intel shares was a coverage resumption at "Strong Buy" by Raymond James analyst Hans Mosesmann.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/semiconductors_sector_snap.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

43. Sector Snap: Chinese Net Stocks Rise

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S.-listed shares of Chinese Internet stocks traded mostly higher Friday, led by CDC Corp.

Shares of the online gaming and software company added 30 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $8.86 in heavy afternoon trading Friday. During the past year, the stock has traded between $3.85 and $11.45.

Pacific Growth Equities analyst Derrick Wood said CDC has met with investors during the past few weeks to update them on rapid growth in its software and gaming businesses.

Wood also noted that CDC's software unit is beating the industry average with about 15 percent to 20 percent organic growth over last year, while CDC's online gaming division had about 90 percent organic growth in its first quarter.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/internet_sector_snap.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

44. Siemens Hits High on CreditWatch Removal

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Siemens AG jumped to an all-time high Friday after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services removed the German engineering conglomerate's credit ratings from CreditWatch.

American Depository Receipts of Siemens rose $5.96, or 4.4 percent, to a new high of $143. The stock previously traded between $77.80 and $137.29 over the past year.

The ratings service put Siemens' "AA-" long-term and "A-1+" short-term credit ratings on CreditWatch with negative implications on April 26 after former CEO Klaus Kleinfeld's resignation. Kleinfeld was replaced by Peter Loescher last month.

Standard & Poor's said it removed its watch on Siemens' ratings because the appointment reflects "reduced uncertainty about the company's strategic direction."

The ratings service also affirmed the debt ratings with a negative outlook.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/siemens_credit_ratings.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

45. Treasury Prices Gain on Inflation Report

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. Treasury prices continued to build on early gains Friday sparked by a tame consumer inflation report, which shook the market from its recent negative tone.

At 11 a.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was up $3.13 per $1,000 in face value, or 10/32 point, from its level at 5 p.m. Thursday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, fell to 5.18 percent from 5.23 percent.

The 30-year bond rose 20/32 point. Its yield fell to 5.26 percent from 5.30 percent.

The 2-year note rose 2/32 point. Its yield fell to 5.06 percent from 5.09 percent.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/bonds.html?.v=2

[ozymandius]

46. 1:37 update

Dow 13,646.07 Up 92.35 (0.68%)
Nasdaq 2,622.81 Up 23.40 (0.90%)
S&P 500 1,533.23 Up 10.26 (0.67%)
10-Yr Bond 5.175% Down 0.042
NYSE Volume 1,841,626,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,580,661,000

1:30 pm : Not much has changed since the last update as the major averages continue to vacillate in relatively narrow ranges. Sector leadership, however, is no longer unblemished. Within the last 15 minutes, Telecom has slipped into the red.

It is worth noting, though, that since the sector only accounts for 3.7% of the total weighting on the S&P 500, it's slight reversal has been countered by an uptick of the same magnitude in Energy, which holds a 10.1% influence on the broader market. Not to mention, Telecom's worst performer is Centurytel (CTL 48.89 -0.61), not either of the sector's two Dow components (e.g. T, VZ), and CTL closed at an all-time high yesterday. DJ30 +95.82 NASDAQ +22.78 SP500 +10.46 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 983/1971/1.56 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 703/2516/1.16 bln

1:00 pm : With very few catalysts today available for the bears to feed their overbought argument, oil prices recently hitting their highest levels of the day have given them a small window of opportunity.

Crude for July delivery has recently surpassed the $68/bbl level and was up as much as 0.9% about 30 minutes ago. However, the Energy sector finding some justification behind its 1.1% intraday advance has more than acted as an offset to oil's latest uptick. Also, oil at current prices still doesn't seem to pose much of a concern since commodity prices represent a very small percentage of total costs to consumers and rising energy prices have yet to produce overall inflationary pressures.
DJ30 +94.06 NASDAQ +22.21 SP500 +10.45 XOI +1.4% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 900/2016/1.45 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 603/2595/1.08 bln

[citizen snips]

47. MGM Mirage Climbs As Price Target Raised

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of MGM Mirage climbed Friday as an analyst raised his price target on the casino operator and Penn National Gaming Inc. said it agreed to be acquired.

Lawrence Klatzkin of Jefferies & Co. increased his price target on MGM Mirage to $94 from $85.50, saying in a client note that he's been conservative on the company in the past.

He cited several factors in the change, including the establishment of a new MGM Mirage unit, Kirk Kerkorian's buyout offer and recent Las Vegas land transactions.

Last month MGM Mirage said it was creating MGM Mirage Hospitality LLC to focus on extending its hotel brands and developing new luxury hotel brand concepts domestically and abroad. It also hired financial and legal advisers to consider an offer from its majority shareholder, a Kerkorian-controlled group, to buy two Las Vegas properties and possibly restructure the resort and casino operator.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/mgm_mirage_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

48. Novartis Shares Up on Prexige Data

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of drug developer Novartis AG rose Friday after the company released positive data on its Cox-2 inhibitor Prexige.

Prexige is intended primarily as a pain reliever for patients with osteoarthritis

The company said the drug lowered blood pressure slightly in patients with osteoarthritis, when compared with the over-the-counter pain reliever ibuprofen.

The data were presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Barcelona.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/novartis_mover.html?.v=1

[mojavekid]

49. Motley Fool: Housing Collapse Squishes Bear

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2007/06/14/housing-collapse-squishes-bear.aspx

( A Great Title, had to post..)


This just in: The housing bubble wasn't just making mad funny money for the likes of Pulte Homes (NYSE: PHM), Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL), or lenders such as Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFW) and the 81 sub-primers listed on the mortgage "Implode-O-Meter

The risky mortgages that drove the mania were also prime ways for Wall Street to cash in on the greedy and naive. And now that the air is escaping and credit is being crunched, we're seeing the results. Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is feeling the pain, beginning with a 32% drop in earnings that the company blamed on bad performance in its fixed income segment. You know things are bad when the outfit is forcing its 10-month-old, poetically named hedge fund, the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, to dump billions (WSJ subscription required) in mortgage-backed securities. Note the name, folks. "High-Grade Structured Credit." Sounds like the fellows at Bear were drinkin' too much of their own Flavor Aid.

snip...

Very Clever Men bought toxic-waste loans, chopped them into bits, recombined them into tranches of varying yields -- differentiated by risk -- and sold these, now marked with disturbingly sanguine credit ratings, to eager bagholders across the world who were hungry for yield and oblivious to the hidden time bombs within. Along the way, marking mortgage "securities" to market, booking illusory profits on unpaid interest from option ARMs, taking inadequate reserves, and other accounting hocus pocus helped many companies in the food chain post record "profits."

It was a perfect perpetual motion machine, until it stopped swirling. When non-performing loans and foreclosure rates climbed, the apparatus started to grind, smoke, and hiss.

more...

[mojavekid]

50. TDR: Hedge Fund-Style Investments To The Masses

http://www.dailyreckoning.co.uk/article/hedgefundstyleinvestmentstothemasses0176.html

In the old days, before funds came along, it was the banks who arranged financing for companies in need of it. But one innovation leads to another. First came sophisticated machine guns in World War I and then came the tanks. From the Somme to the Blitzkrieg, the history of warfare is one innovation after another. And in finance, after sub-prime mortgage lending blasted the ranks of Americas middle- and lower middle classes...along comes the Superfund to mop up the survivors.


Bill Bonner in Paris:

We read the IHT news just to find out what our fellow
countrymen are thinking about. If we want a laugh, we
turn to the editorial pages.

But today’s financial news practically caused a
ruptured spleen.

A headline from International Herald Tribune:

“Bringing hedge fund-style investments to the masses.”

Ha...ha...ha...oh stop it, please...our stomach muscles
can’t take much more of this.

For about the only financial edge the lumpeninvestoriat
has enjoyed recently is that it has not been able to
get into hedge funds. But along comes an entrepreneur
with a plan to eliminate that saving grace; Mr. Christian
Baha proposes to do for the middle classes’ financial
needs roughly what sub-prime lenders did for their
housing needs.

“Merrill pioneered the retailing of stocks,” says the CEO
of Superfund; “Fidelity did the same thing with mutual
funds. One day Superfund will be a household name.”

We don’t doubt it. Superfund could easily become as
popular and well-known as New Century Financial. And
Christian Baha’s name, too, could go right up there in
the great financial headlines, along with Charles Ponzi.

more...

[mojavekid]

51. WaPo: The Takeover Boom, About to Go Bust

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201801.html

To understand why there's a credit bubble, how it's inflating the price of stocks and what it will mean for you when it bursts, let's consider the acquisition of Avaya, a large telecommunications equipment maker, announced last week by two private-equity firms, Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners.

Avaya is expected to post revenue of about $5.4 billion this year. It has virtually no debt and has $825 million in the bank. Operating earnings -- profit before counting things like interest payments, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- are expected to reach $700 million. And if that's correct, it means the price being paid for Avaya, $8.2 billion, is 12 times operating profit, making it one of this season's richest deals.

What's driving such high valuations is cheap debt, and plenty of it. We don't know yet how the all-cash purchase of Avaya will be financed, but if it follows the pattern of other recent buyouts, the new owners will take on at least $6 billion in debt. Given the junk-bond rating that has already been assigned to the deal, that is likely to work out to an average interest rate of about 8 percent, along with the obligation to pay back 1 percent of principal every year. Add it all together, and the new, improved Avaya will have to pay about $540 million more a year in debt service than it does now.

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[Ghost Dog]

53. Stephen Roach: On 25 years at Morgan Stanley

http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/index.html

...

As I look back on the journey, I am struck by three macro milestones: At the top of my list is the extraordinary disinflation of the past 25 years. When I began working at Morgan Stanley, the ravages of America’s double-digit inflation were just starting to recede. Following nearly a 12% average annual increase in the CPI in 1980-81, the 6% increase that was unfolding in 1982 came as welcome relief. Interestingly enough, no one at the time really believed it would stick. The shock was that it did. US inflation settled down to a 3.5% trajectory over the balance of the 1980s and memories of the Great Inflation finally started to fade. This was the defining development for the greatest bull run in modern financial-market history. On the back of sharply receding inflation, yields on 30-year US Treasuries (the bond market benchmark at the time) were literally cut in half – falling from 11% in early 1983 to around 5% at present – and the S&P 500 went up about fifteen-fold over the same 25-year period.

During the second half of the 1970s and the early 1980s, we agonized endlessly on how to arrest the Great Inflation. In retrospect, the cure was painfully simple – a wrenching monetary tightening. It took the vision and courage of Paul Volcker to pull it off – at one point in 1981 pushing the federal funds rate up to 19%. Ironically, central banks may be better equipped to fight high inflation than they are to preserve the gains of low inflation. While the new religion of monetary discipline succeeded in keeping inflation and inflationary expectations in check, the confluence of two powerful structural forces – the IT revolution and globalization – took a secular disinflation to the brink of an unwelcome deflation. Japan fell into that trap in the 1990s and the US came dangerously close a decade later – occurrences that in both cases were unmistakable outgrowths of the bursting of major asset bubbles. As the multiple-bubble syndrome of the past several years suggests, the authorities still have a lot to learn in managing low-inflation economies – and in avoiding the liquidity-driven pitfalls that come from exceedingly low nominal interest rates.

-cut-

Globalization is certainly on a par with the other two milestones of the past 25 years. In this case, the comparison between 1982 and 2007 is like day and night. I walked into this job when global trade stood at just 18% of world GDP; this year, that ratio is likely to hit a record 32%. The problem with globalization is that we have done a lousy job in understanding and explaining it. And by “we” I mean my fellow economists, policy makers, politicians, business leaders, and other pundits. Far from the nirvana promised by the imagery of a “flat world” and the ecstasy of the “win-win” mantra, the road to globalization has led to saving and current-account imbalances, income disparities, and trade tensions – all having the potential to spark a very destabilizing backlash. The threat of just such a backlash remains a clear risk in today’s environment.

Notwithstanding those concerns, globalization has been a huge success – at least on one level. Despite persistent and devastating poverty in many poor countries, there has been a doubling of per capita GDP growth in the developing world over the past decade. What is still missing in this newfound prosperity is a key element of sustainability – the emergence of consumer-driven growth models in these still largely export- and investment-led economies. At the same time, in the rich countries of the developed world, the benefits of globalization have accrued far more to the owners of capital than to the providers of labor; labor shares of national income in the major developed economies are at record lows, whereas the shares going to capital are at record highs. Moreover, the distribution of gains within the labor share of the developed economies has become increasingly skewed toward the very few at the upper end of the income distribution – at the expense of those in the middle and at the lower end. Therein lie the seeds for a potentially powerful backlash: As the pendulum of economic power has swung from labor to capital, the pendulum of political power is now in the process of swinging back from a pro-capital stance to that which provides support for labor. The case for trade protectionism – especially in the United States – is alarmingly high as a result. Sadly, this is antithetical to the global stewardship that is so desperately needed in today’s world.

In one sense, these past 25 years have been an era of powerful transitions – transitions from high to low inflation, from stagnant to rapid productivity growth, and from closed to open economies. Transitions, by definition, have a finite duration. A key challenge for the global economy and world financial markets is what happens after these transitions have run their course – when disinflation comes to an end, when the productivity revival has crested, and when globalization hits its structural limits in terms of import penetration in the developed world and investment-led growth in the developing world. Don’t get me wrong – a post-transition climate need not be characterized as a return to rapid inflation, stagnant productivity growth, or trade protectionism. The endgame could be considerably more benign – modest inflation, “adequate” productivity growth, and a leveling out of the global trade share of world GDP. While these outcomes offer less dynamism to the global economy than we have seen in recent years, they do not represent relapses to more problematic macro climates. At the same time, such post-transition scenarios may well deny world financial markets the high-octane fuel that has produced such spectacular results over the past 25 years.

/...

[citizen snips]

54. Sector Glance: Software

NEW YORK (AP) -- Software stocks were mixed in a fairly quiet trading session on Friday.

Publishing and design software maker Adobe Systems Inc. fell despite the company's forecast for an unseasonably strong summer. One analyst, Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster speculated that Wall Street may have expected more from third-quarter guidance.

For the second-consecutive day, shares of RightNow Technologies, a Bozeman, Mont.-based maker of customer management software used by sales executives, surged. There was no news from the company.

The stock closed up 4.7 percent at $16.28 on Thursday, and finished up another 2.6 percent at $16.71 on Friday.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/sector_glance_software.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

55. Market Spotlight: Utilities

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors have trounced utility stocks in recent weeks, slamming the brakes on an industry that had been enjoying a steep climb.

Since May 22, the Philadelphia Utility Sector Index has lost about 6.5 percent of its value. The S&P 500 index, meanwhile, is roughly flat over the same period.

The reason for the recent crater: interest rates worries. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note last week surpassed 5 percent for the first time since the summer of 2006, and investor hopes for a possible rate cut withered.

Utility stocks with their relatively rich dividends have historically competed with Treasury bonds for investor dollars. When interest rates rise, investors have flocked to the higher bond payouts. When rates decline, utilities' yields look better.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/utilities_market_spotlight.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

56. Sector Glance: Aluminum

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Century Aluminum Co. traded down as much as 1.5 percent Friday after an analyst downgraded the stock, but rebounded to end the week high, along with other aluminum stocks.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Victor Lazarovici cut Century's rating from "Outperform" to "Market Perform" and reduced his target price by $2 to $55, after the company announced a public offering of 7.25 million shares. Lazarovici lowered his earnings estimates as a result of the offering.

"However, we continue to believe aluminum's fundamentals remain solid and prices are rising, underpinning higher earnings and cash flow for producers," he wrote in a note to investors.

Shares of Century Aluminum, ended up 7 cents, at $54.50.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/sector_glance_aluminum.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

57. Sector Glance: Telecom

NEW YORK (AP) -- Telecom stocks rose Friday, with wireless carrier MetroPCS Communications Inc. up more than 8 percent as an analyst reassured investors that the company's plan to expand in Los Angeles is intact.

Bear Stearns analyst Philip Cusick said in a note to clients that Metro's plans for its Los Angeles launch are unchanged despite investor worries.

"We would emphasize that if there were any delay it would only be temporary and create minimal impact on our long-term numbers, and look at recent weakness as a buying opportunity," he wrote, reiterating an "Outperform" rating on the stock.

Shares of Rural Cellular Corp., a small wireless service provider, hit a 52-week high, at $42.41, capping off a week of steady gains.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/sector_glance_telecom.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

58. DJIA Leaders & Laggards: Intel, GM

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is nearing its June 4 record close following a three-day run-up, was boosted Friday by an analyst upgrade of chipmaker Intel Corp.

The index rose 86.76 points to finish at 13,639.48, leading the index to its biggest three-day point gain since November 2004. The index is up more than 340 points in the period, lifted by strong economic data.

Intel shares jumped $1.01, or 4.4 percent, to $24.24, after reaching a new 52-week high of $24.25. Goldman Sachs analyst James Covello raised his rating on Intel shares to "Buy" from "Neutral," saying Intel will benefit from rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s plan to outsource more of its business.

General Motors Corp. shares added $1.06, or 3.2 percent, to $34.66 after the automaker said it might have hydrogen-powered cars on the road in the next five or six years.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070615/djia_leaders_laggards.html?.v=1

[ozymandius]

59. finals

Looks like a good weekend to hold stocks. Have a safe and fun one folks!

Ozy :hi:

Dow 13,639.48 Up 85.76 (0.63%)
Nasdaq 2,626.71 Up 27.30 (1.05%)
S&P 500 1,532.91 Up 9.94 (0.65%)
10-Yr Bond 5.171% Down 0.046
NYSE Volume 3,409,601,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,566,352,000

4:20 pm : Stocks put together another strong performance Friday as investors rallied around a tame inflation read that pushed interest rates lower, a resurgence in M&A activity, and an upgrade of a Dow component.

Another day of broad-based buying enabled the major averages to string together their best three-day performance since the third week of March. Since Tuesday's sell-off, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted respective gains of up 2.6%, 2.7%, and 3.0%. From March 19 through 21, they surged 2.8%, 3.5%, and 3.5% respectively.

With the Fed still exhibiting a hawkish stance on inflation, and given the monthly CPI report's influence on monetary policy, core CPI rising just 0.1% in May was the springboard behind today's strong follow-through efforts. The year/year rate fell to 2.2%, which is now at levels the Fed should be comfortable with heading into the next FOMC meeting in two weeks.

With stocks moving in lockstep with the action in Treasuries of late, bond traders also embracing further evidence of easing inflationary pressures pushed yields lower across the curve and gave stock market the bulls the green light to keep buying.

Regarding the M&A activity, Penn National Gaming (PENN 62.12 +10.98) confirmed it will be taken private for $8.6 bln (including debt). Speculation that Nymex (NMX 141.98 +2.18) is exploring a possible sale, and reports late in the day that Financial Times parent Pearson plc (PSO 17.21 +0.21) is seeking partners for a possible bid for Dow Jones (DJ 59.01 +1.11), provided further evidence that a recent surge in borrowing costs has not derailed this year's record pace of deal making.

Of the nine sectors posting gains, Utilities (+1.6%) led the charge; but that wasn't surprising since the rate-sensitive sector has increasingly become attractive to income-oriented investors alongside the recent reversal in bond yields. The 10-year yield fell five basis points to 5.16%, well off its overnight high earlier in the week of 5.32%.

Energy turned in the next best performance as oil prices eclipsed $68/bbl for the first time since late March. Materials, which got a boost after Monsanto (MON 64.90 +1.59) raised its full-year profit outlook, was the only other sector up at least 1.0%.

Strong leadership from Technology (+0.9%) also helped lift the S&P 500 intraday to within one point of its historic closing high. The heavily weighted sector got a big lift after Goldman Sachs upgraded Intel (INTC 24.24 +1.01) to Buy from Neutral. Intel, which is a recommended holding in the Briefing.com Active Portfolio, surged 4.4% to a new 52-week high and led the way among the 25 Dow components finishing in positive territory.

Friday's volume was heavier than usual, which was a function of the increased trading that took place with the expiration of stock options, index options, index futures and single stock futures. BTK +1.2% DJ30 +85.76 DJTA +0.4% DJUA +1.6% DOT +0.6% NASDAQ +27.30 NQ100 +0.9% R2K 1.3% SOX +1.7% SP400 +0.6% SP500 +9.94 XOI +1.7% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1015/2020/2.15 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 708/2598/2.02 bln