STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, April 29, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, April 29, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON April 28, 2011

Dow 12,763.31 +72.35 (+0.57%)
Nasdaq 2,872.53 +2.65 (+0.09%)
S&P 500 1,360.48 +4.82 (+0.35%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.33 +0.01 (+0.39%)
30-Year Bond 4.43 +0.02 (+0.36%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
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Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
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Handy Links - Government Issues:
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Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports

Apr 29 08:30 Personal Income Mar 0.7% 0.4% 0.3%
Apr 29 08:30 Personal Spending Mar 1.2% 0.5% 0.7%
Apr 29 08:30 PCE Prices - Core Mar 0.1% 0.1% 0.2%
Apr 29 08:30 Employment Cost Index Q1 0.5% 0.5% 0.4%
Apr 29 09:45 Chicago PMI Apr 62.0 68.0 70.6
Apr 29 09:55 Michigan Sentiment - Final Apr 70.0 69.6 69.6

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm#ixzz1KuPZdfBb

[Po_d Mainiac]

14. Spending up over income?

Me thinks that has happened in the past, an it didn't work out too well.

Tax return season, and the number of people living rent free (while w8ing for the foreclosure) may explain the differential.
YMMV

[Demeter]

56. Michigan Sentiment, Sample of 1: Don't Ask!

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil near $112 amid slowing US economic growth

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to near $112 a barrel Friday in Asia as slowing U.S. economic growth blunted crude's 33 percent gain over the past two months.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 53 cents at $112.33 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract added 10 cents to settle at $112.86 on Thursday and reached $113.97 during in the session, the highest since September, 2008.

In London, Brent crude for June delivery was down 63 cents to $124.39 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

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

[xchrom]

6. Arab Pipelineistan's high stakes

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD30Ak03.html

Once again this week the Arab Gas Pipeline had to be shut down - with no gas flowing to Israel and Jordan. An "unknown armed gang" bombed the al-Sabil gas terminal near the coastal city of el-Arish, less than 350 kilometers northeast of Cairo in the Sinai Peninsula.

On March 27, an "unknown armed gang" tried to blow up the terminal but failed. On February 5, they did succeed - the flow of gas to Israel and Jordan was interrupted.

The Sinai Peninsula is a de facto red zone. Local Bedouins rule. Security is spotty. Weapons smuggled to Gaza and other parts of


he Middle East flow through the Sinai - that is, within striking distance of the Arab Gas Pipeline.

The Arab Gas Pipeline is the star of Arab Pipelineistan - linking Egyptian gas to the north to Israel and to the south towards the Gulf of Aqaba and from there across Jordan to Syria and via Damascus towards Lebanon.

[Po_d Mainiac]

9. With the DX now more than testing the temps below 73

we may be looking at the lows for petroleum for a considerable time into the future...At least two FOMC meetings out.

In the mean time, PM's are pricing future FRN decline.

[xchrom]

66. Korea to get ‘emergency’ oil supplies from Iraq

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2935499

Iraq has agreed to supply Korea with at least 250,000 barrels of oil a day during emergency situations, which would amount to about 10 percent of the country’s daily needs.

The agreement, announced during a visit to Seoul by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, will help stabilize overseas oil supplies to Korea, which is the world’s fifth-largest oil importer.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Korea will be given priority to be supplied with 91.2 million barrels of crude oil per year from Iraq, which has the world’s third-biggest oil reserves.

The Iraqi government has agreed to sign the energy deal because of Korea’s participation in Iraqi reconstruction and development projects.

[xchrom]

69. Oil near 31-month peak on weak dollar, unrest

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-markets-oil-idUSTRE72D01W20110429

(Reuters) - Oil prices hovered near 31-month highs as a weak dollar and violence in North Africa and the Middle East outweighed concerns about slowing growth in top consumer the United States.

On its last trading day of April, U.S. crude was heading for an eighth consecutive month of gains, the longest run of monthly increases since 1983, Reuters data showed.

U.S. crude was up 41 cents at 1217 GMT at $113.27 a barrel, the highest since the close on September 22, 2008. Brent futures were also rose 44 cents to $125.46, less than $2 short of its 2011 high of $127.02, reached on April 11.

Both U.S. and Brent crude recouped losses posted earlier on Friday after euro zone data showed the inflation rate rose further above the European Central Bank's target in April.

[xchrom]

80. Oil giants post steep jumps in Q1 profits

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/oil-giants-post-steep-jumps-in-q1-profits-396889.html

Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell posted steep jumps in first-quarter profits and beat analysts' forecasts, helped by high oil prices and buoyant refining margins.

Profits for the world's biggest oil producers have surged as oil prices moved above $100 per barrel in the first quarter on unrest in the Middle East and Africa and growing global demand for energy.

Exxon, the world's largest publicly listed company, posted a 69 percent increase in earnings to $10.65 billion, its biggest profit since the third-quarter of 2008, when oil prices last traded above $100 per barrel.

The company was alone among its Western peers to so far record an increase in production in the quarter, notching up a 10 percent increase from a year-earlier to 4.82 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), helped by its takeover of US natural gas company XTO last year.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Drift Between Gains and Losses; RIM Shares Slide

U.S. stock futures drifted between gains and losses after the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed to the highest level since June 2008.

Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry, tumbled 11 percent in European trading after cutting its earnings forecast. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) fell 1.2 percent after reporting sales in the Windows division that missed analysts’ predictions. SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) jumped 35 percent after Total SA offered to buy as much as 60 percent of the company.

S&P 500 futures expiring in June rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,355.3 at 10:27 a.m. in London, indicating the gauge will complete a second straight weekly advance. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were little changed at 12,709 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures gained 0.1 percent to 2,403.75.

“There have been some small disappointments in the U.S., such as Microsoft,” said Yves Marcais, a sales trader at Global Equities in Paris. “So there is a bit of caution.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-29/u-s-stock-index-futures-drift-between-gains-and-losses-rim-shares-slide.html

[Festivito]

4. Debt: 04/27/2011 14,295,127,825,809.10 (DOWN 9,282,681,917.00) (Wed, DOWN some.)

(Over the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 1-billion dollars. Good day.)
Oh my, a quick trip to Ann Arbor for the evening workaholics.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,648,789,481,220.81 + 4,646,338,344,588.29
DOWN 2,332,483,455.54 + DOWN 6,950,198,461.46

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,206.33 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.62, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 311,883,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,834.85.
A family of three owes $137,504.54. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 3,980,679,722.30.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,786,475,805.61.
The average for the last 33 days would be 2,533,159,823.28.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 142 reports in 209 days of FY2011 averaging 5.17B$ per report, 3.51B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 634 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.2 and 17.6T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
04/27/2011 14295127825809.1 BHO (UP 3,668,250,776,896.02 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,733,504,794,917.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,281,001,196,865.32 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
04/06/2011 -000,011,756,275.73 ----
04/07/2011 +002,235,163,853.48 ------------*********
04/08/2011 +000,001,314,747.36 ------------******
04/11/2011 +000,390,366,211.15 ------------******** Mon
04/13/2011 +000,216,450,469.86 ------------********
04/14/2011 +004,827,508,513.07 ------------*********
04/15/2011 +021,566,615,397.70 ------------**********
04/18/2011 +000,320,133,441.47 ------------******** Mon
04/19/2011 +000,498,845,624.51 ------------********
04/20/2011 +000,031,154,878.79 ------------*******
04/21/2011 -029,604,944,039.31 -
04/22/2011 +000,169,463,975.78 ------------********
04/25/2011 +000,297,069,525.13 ------------******** Mon
04/26/2011 +000,207,526,568.97 ------------********
04/27/2011 -002,332,483,455.54 --

-1,187,570,563.31 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4830740&mesg_id=4830769

[Festivito]

97. Debt: 04/28/2011 14,282,598,097,540.70 (DOWN 12,529,728,268.35) (Thu, DOWN some.)

(BACK UNDER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 11-billion dollars. Good day.)
Go Randi and bounce your boobies now.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,641,079,277,378.41 + 4,641,518,820,162.34
DOWN 7,710,203,842.40 + DOWN 4,819,524,425.95

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,206.25 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.62, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 311,890,592 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,793.62.
A family of three owes $137,380.85. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 3,382,401,648.07.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,367,681,153.65.
The average for the last 31 days would be 2,291,304,342.24.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 143 reports in 210 days of FY2011 averaging 5.04B$ per report, 3.43B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 633 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.2 and 17.6T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
04/28/2011 14,282,598,097,540.75 BHO (UP 3,655,721,048,627.67 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,720,975,066,649.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,253,123,330,128.02 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
04/07/2011 +002,235,163,853.48 ------------*********
04/08/2011 +000,001,314,747.36 ------------******
04/11/2011 +000,390,366,211.15 ------------******** Mon
04/13/2011 +000,216,450,469.86 ------------********
04/14/2011 +004,827,508,513.07 ------------*********
04/15/2011 +021,566,615,397.70 ------------**********
04/18/2011 +000,320,133,441.47 ------------******** Mon
04/19/2011 +000,498,845,624.51 ------------********
04/20/2011 +000,031,154,878.79 ------------*******
04/21/2011 -029,604,944,039.31 -
04/22/2011 +000,169,463,975.78 ------------********
04/25/2011 +000,297,069,525.13 ------------******** Mon
04/26/2011 +000,207,526,568.97 ------------********
04/27/2011 -002,332,483,455.54 --
04/28/2011 -007,710,203,842.40 --

-8,886,018,129.98 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4831959&mesg_id=4831970

[xchrom]

5. well -- they're married.

:party: :toast: :party:

[DemReadingDU]

7. I wasn't going to watch, but spouse turned on TV

and then u get hooked
:)

[xchrom]

10. lol!

:evilgrin: it was a trap all along.

i love this stuff though.

[xchrom]

8. asia: 'Milestone' debut of yuan stock tanks

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/MD30Cb01.html

HONG KONG - Li Ka-Shing, who tops the Forbes rich list of Chinese, failed to deliver quick rewards for his numerous Hong Kong investing admirers on Friday when for the first time shares priced in yuan were traded outside China after an initial public offering (IPO) worth more than US$1 billion.

Shares in Hui Xian Real Estate Investment Trust, controlled by 82-year-old Li's Cheung Kong Holdings, fell as much as 11% from their opening price after Fang Zheng, chairman of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, hailed the debut as a milestone on the way to the internationalization of the mainland


Chinese currency. It ended its first day 9.4% lower at 4.75 yuan.

Li's initial announcement that he intended to list Beijing-focused Hui Xian in Hong Kong attracted public attention as it offered a way to capture appreciation of the Chinese currency while investing in a Hong Kong-listed stock. The yuan on Friday strengthened beyond 6.5 per US dollar for the first time since 1993, amid speculation the central bank would allow further appreciation to help tame the fastest inflation in more than two years, according to Bloomberg.

[Po_d Mainiac]

11. Further indications that the FRN is losing it's place at a trading medium?

:shrug:

[DemReadingDU]

15. Almost seems like a repeat of 2008

Dollar kept diving, stocks ramped, especially oil. gas to $4 gallon.

Similar today...
Dollar is diving, stocks ramping, especially oil, and gas is $4.15!

I think the winds will be shifting, like they did in 2008...dollar will rise, stocks will decline.

[Demeter]

28. This time with Feeling

[Po_d Mainiac]

29. Couple-few thoughts

In 08:
China was buying, not dumping US T's

The Frauderal Reserve was not monetizing Treasury debt

The extent of how shitty the paper on the bernanks books was unknown

The housing bust was still being passed off as mostly a sub-prime problem, and expected to recover.

The stimulous package was supposed to stem unemployement

Yes, the dollar may very well rise, but from what level? The current USD/CAD is down to $.95, and we get what from Canada?
YMMV

[xchrom]

17. i honestly don't know.

you probably know better than i do.

[xchrom]

40. China grants $3 bln new QDII foreign investment quotas

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/china-qdii-idINL3E7FT1Y220110429

(Reuters) - China's foreign exchange regulator granted $3 billion in fresh quotas for domestic money managers to invest in overseas markets in the first four months of the year, bringing the total quotas under that programme to $72.6 billion.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said on its website on Friday that a total of 92 institutions have now been given quotas under the Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme, under which banks and fund managers may invest client money abroad within set limits.

SAFE said that a parallel programme for foreign institutions to invest in mainland capital markets, the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) scheme, expanded to 103 licensed institutions with total quotas of $20.7 billion as of Friday.

In the first four months of the year, 13 foreign institutions were given $970 million in fresh QFII quotas, while eight domestic institutions were given QDII quotas worth $3.0 billion.

[xchrom]

45. U.S. capitalism's love affair with communist China - Freeland

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/idINIndia-56644420110428?type=economicNews

(Reuters) - The American blogosphere lit up this week with discussion of a report from the International Monetary Fund that, by some measures, the Chinese economy will be bigger than the U.S. economy by 2016.

It makes a great headline, but that story was, of course, old news: Given China's size, and the speed with which it is growing, simple arithmetic tells you that its economy will one day be bigger than that of the United States. The only question is precisely when.

The bigger surprise is the huge affection U.S. capitalists have for Communist China.

"I would say that today when I go to China, I find more people in government who are interested in learning about the things that private equity can do to help an economy and help companies than you often do in Washington," David Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of the Carlyle Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, said when I interviewed him at a Thomson Reuters conference this week.

[xchrom]

67. Starbucks set to double its presence in Korea

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2935498

Howard D. Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks, announced plans to double the global coffee chain’s presence in Korea in five years.

In a visit to Korea during a multinational book tour, Schultz said that current record-high coffee prices are not expected to last. As for its recent foray into the instant coffee arena, Schultz hinted that the company would soon launch its instant coffee brand here. Schultz held court with a bevy of local reporters yesterday to emphasize Starbucks’ optimistic outlook on Korea in the cozy yet elegant Deoksu Palace in the heart of Seoul - in the very structure where King Gojong of the Joseon Dynasty liked to drink coffee, no less. “ built a significant business here with almost 340 stores, and over the next five years we will double the store count to more than 700,” Schultz said.

Schultz outlined Starbucks’ positive earnings record despite the current 34-year, record-high price of coffee. “We are optimistic that fiscal 2012, we’ll be able to navigate through extraordinarily high commodity prices and do it in a way that hopefully will not be on the backs of our customers,” he said. “Cyclical changes in the price of coffee have been seen through Starbucks’ 40-year history, and I personally do not believe that the record high we are experiencing today is sustainable.”

[xchrom]

83. Samsung Electronics warns of tough conditions

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2935549

Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest maker of televisions and flat-screen displays, warned yesterday that business conditions could remain “adverse” in the second quarter after its profits fell for the first time in more than a year.

Samsung reported net earnings declined by 30 percent in the January-March period, which it blamed on lower profit margins for televisions and liquid display panels due to increased competition.

The electronics giant is betting the introduction of more smartphones and tablet PCs along with “smart” and 3-D televisions to help it regain earnings momentum in the months ahead.

Samsung shares fell 0.8 percent to close at 893,000 won ($835.40) yesterday. Its shares have lost 5.9 percent this year.

[xchrom]

84. WB raises China 2011 GDP forecast

http://en.ce.cn/Business/Macro-economic/201104/29/t20110429_22391773.shtml

The World Bank on Thursday improved its forecast for China's GDP growth to 9.3 percent this year, from a previous prediction of 8.7 percent, due to strong corporate investment and a robust labor market.

WB raises China 2011 GDP forecast

In its latest China Quarterly Update, the World Bank said that the country's economic growth has remained resilient and the economic outlook remains broadly favorable.

"We now project China's real GDP growth at 9.3 percent in 2011 and 8.7 percent in 2012, as a normalized macroeconomic stance, inflation, and somewhat slower global growth is likely to be partly offset by solid cooperate investment and a still robust labor market," said Ardo Hansson, the World Bank's Lead Economist for China.

Inflation risks and the property market remain key challenges facing the country, according to the World Bank.

[xchrom]

85. RMB fund planned to aid Latin America

http://en.ce.cn/subject/chinamarkets/mktfunds/201104/29/t20110429_22392210.shtml

The Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank), a major policy bank, will formally launch a yuan-denominated sovereign fund before the end of this year to invest in Latin America, a senior executive said on Thursday.

The fund, which amounts to $1 billion, will be mainly put into infrastructure construction in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Liu Liange, vice-president of China Eximbank, told China Daily.

In late March, the two banks signed a letter of intent to establish an infrastructure investment mechanism to finance public and private sector projects across the region, with the yuan as one of the currencies to undertake the investments.

"Investment in the infrastructure sector fits well with the developmental needs of Latin America," said Liu, adding that he expected the investments conducted in yuan could help companies hedge risks brought by currency fluctuations.

[xchrom]

86. Census: Population hits 1.37b

http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/201104/29/t20110429_22391685.shtml

Nearly half live in urban areas and 13 percent are over 60

As China's population hits 1.37 billion people, challenges, including an ageing society and labor crunches, may prompt the authorities to fine-tune the 30-year-old family planning policy.

The population increased slightly by 73.9 million people in the past decade, due largely to the policy limiting most urban couples to just one child, according to preliminary results from the sixth national census released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Rapid urbanization has been a notable feature of the past decade and the census also revealed an ageing population. Nearly half of the 1.37 billion people, including 1.34 billion on the mainland, now live in urban areas, up 13.46 percentage points from 2000. Those over the age of 60 make up 13.26 percent of the population, up 2.93 percentage points from the count a decade ago.

[Pale Blue Dot]

12. Swiss Franc Hits All Time High Against Dollar After SNB Books Profit From UBS Bad Bank,

And the parade of dollar negative news continues this morning. First the USDCNY an 18 year low, now the USDCHF hit an all time low, trading as low as 0.8675. This is astounding considering the pair had traded north of parity for pretty much all time until last summer when the USD succumbed to Bernanke's strong dollar policy. The reason for the record surge is attributed to comments by SNB president Philipp Hildebrand who, in observing the economy, says that the "inflation outlook still in range of price stability and Swiss economy grows more vigorously than anticipated." Translation: record CHF has killed off all our exports, and Nutella is about to picket our offices. And in other related, and very entertaining news the SNB said that posted a first-quarter profit of 1.9 billion Swiss francs ($2.18 billion), thanks to gains from currency transactions and a fund in which it parked toxic assets from banking giant UBS. In other words, SNB has now become AIG, booking MTM profits on its literally toxic subprime assets (thank you Brian Sack and Chicago permabid IWR algos), all the while ignoring the 220 billion in USD backing the "asset" side of its balance sheet, which if fairly marked would likely bankrupt the central bank overnight. And people say we can't teach the euros a thing or two about banking...

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/swiss-franc-hits-all-time-high-against-dollar-after-snb-books-profit-ubs-bad-bank

[Pale Blue Dot]

13. Chinese Yuan Hits 18 Year High Against Dollar

The world's most anticipated currency revaluation continues at its traditional glacial pace. And while it is not a surprise to anyone, the overnight PBOC fixing for the CNY dropped below the psychological 6.50 level (or 6.4990 to be precise) for the first time since 1993. Granted, if the US and Chuck Schumer in particular were to stop pushing China to revalue, it would have long since done so at a faster pace, however in light of the diplomatic effort to force it to do so, the ongoing snail's pace shift in FX will continue (and may well reverse now that even more legislation is introduced to the "enforce" China's currency manipulator status). Yet what is notable is that over the past 4 days the CNY has seen a dramatic 0.75% appreciation: easily one of the most aggressive weekly moves by PBoC bands. Is this move merely a political ploy to silence the critics, or is China truly starting to crack under the weight of its own inflation? We shall know soon enough.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/chinese-yuan-hits-18-year-high-against-dollar

[Pale Blue Dot]

16. McDonalds Hires 62,000, Turns Away Over 938,000 Applicants For Minimum Wage, Part-Time Jobs

This is what the US economy has been reduced to: McDonalds reports that as part of its employment event to hire 50,000 minimum wage, part-time (mostly) workers, subsequently raised to 62,000 it received a whopping 1 million applications, or a Tim Geithner jealousy inducing 6.2% hit rate (h/t X. Kurt. OSis). Alas, the US economy is now so pathetic that the bulk of the population will settle for anything. Literally anything. And the saddest part: over 938,000 applicants were turned away. Here's hoping to Burger King needs a few million janitors in the immediate future too. And yes, aside from reality, things in America are really recovering quite nicely.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/mcdonalds-hires-62000-turns-away-over-938000-applicants-minimum-wage-part-time-jobs

[Demeter]

27. Maybe We Should Poke Out the Eyes of Those Who Cannot See

or harvest them for transplants....they sure aren't using those eyes. And while we are at it, take their hearts (also disconnected) and their wallets (to feed the unemployed).

I am very cranky.

We had over inches of rain this week, 3 inches on Weds. alone. Water is standing all over the place and leaking into one of the condos still. When it stops raining, wind gusts at 60 mph. Then the sky clouds over and the cycle begins again. It never gets up to 60F long enough to do anything except open windows for an hour or two.

I don't think I can tread water much longer.

[hamerfan]

34. I've sure noticed

a lot more ads on tv for antidepressants these days. Could be a good indicator of the times.

[Demeter]

54. Did I mention it's a breezy 40F at 10 am?

Going out to get frostbite now...

[Roland99]

60. My daughter beat the crowd

She was just looking for some part-time work for some supplemental income (has a babysitter in her mother-in-law).

She's been there, oh, 6 weeks? 8 maybe?

Called me yesterday and said she's already been moved to shift manager and is doing orientation for the new-hires.

[xchrom]

18. Online reputations in the dirt

http://www.economist.com/node/18620636

THEY are two of the biggest names in technology and each is grappling with a huge and highly embarrassing debacle. On April 26th Amazon’s finance chief, Thomas Szkutak, said the firm was still trying to get to the bottom of a glitch that caused numerous websites it hosts for other businesses to crash or run painfully slowly during the previous week. The same day, Sony of Japan revealed that names, addresses, passwords and possibly credit-card details of 77m accounts were stolen when hackers gained access to the network it runs in 60 countries for its PlayStation online-gaming system, as well as for Qriocity, a service offering music, films and television shows.

The two cases are different, but each has, in its own way, revived worries about the safety of storing and processing data over the internet—worries that have largely faded since the web’s early days, as countless individuals and companies have come to find that the benefits of doing things online greatly outweigh the risks. The two crises have also raised questions about the speed and quality of information provided by tech companies when confronted with systems failures.

Details of what happened at Amazon Web Services, which offers computing services and data storage over the internet “cloud”, were still emerging as we went to press. But it seems that a serious problem in a data centre in northern Virginia triggered an outage that affected some of the firms using that centre’s infrastructure, including Foursquare, a social-media company, and a number of other prominent start-ups. Some data seem to have been lost permanently. Amazon irritated its corporate customers with the vagueness of its early updates. Keith Smith, the boss of BigDoor, a gaming firm, complained in a blog post that these seemed to have been written by lawyers and accountants “rather than by a tech guy trying to help another tech guy.”

[xchrom]

19. across the oder

http://www.economist.com/node/18621769

POLES driving across the Oder into Germany seem less scary than Tunisians coming to Italy by sea. Yet Germans are edgy about May 1st, when their labour market opens to citizens of eight east European countries that joined the European Union in 2004. Germany (and Austria) put the day off as long as possible. Seven years ago the economy was weak and unemployment was high. Letting newcomers in would have brought benefits (it did to Britain) but Germany dared not grasp them. Now its economy is the envy of Europe and employment is near a record. The eastward opening should be less alarming.

“There are big fears in the low-wage sector,” says Günter Baaske, the labour minister of Brandenburg, on the Polish border. Trade unions fret about “wage dumping” in tourism and gastronomy. The government has fixed a minimum wage for temporary work, to stop eastern undercutting. On May 1st Germany must also open up to eastern construction firms and industrial-cleaning companies. Builders, who pay higher social-security contributions than their competitors, are nervous.

The authorities expect a trickle of eastern workers, not a flood. Germany has already eased restrictions for some. The government guesses that 100,000 more a year will come from the eight countries (Romania and Bulgaria must wait until 2014). The IAB, the research arm of the Federal Employment Agency, thinks 140,000 a year is possible. That is hardly enough to make up for the shrinkage of Germany’s ageing labour force, which is expected to shed 5m workers over the next 15 years

[Demeter]

30. Maybe Because they figure their victims won't forget

Tunisians at least wouldn't come with that baggage....

[xchrom]

32. oh. dear.

:spray:

[xchrom]

20. The Destruction of Economic Facts

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_19/b4227060634112.htm

During the second half of the 19th century, the world's biggest economies endured a series of brutal recessions. At the time, most forms of reliable economic knowledge were organized within feudal, patrimonial, and tribal relationships. If you wanted to know who owned land or owed a debt, it was a fact recorded locally—and most likely shielded from outsiders. At the same time, the world was expanding. Travel between cities and countries became more common and global trade increased. The result was a huge rift between the old, fragmented social order and the needs of a rising, globalizing market economy.

To prevent the breakdown of industrial and commercial progress, hundreds of creative reformers concluded that the world needed a shared set of facts. Knowledge had to be gathered, organized, standardized, recorded, continually updated, and easily accessible—so that all players in the world's widening markets could, in the words of France's free-banking champion Charles Coquelin, "pick up the thousands of filaments that businesses are creating between themselves."

The result was the invention of the first massive "public memory systems" to record and classify—in rule-bound, certified, and publicly accessible registries, titles, balance sheets, and statements of account—all the relevant knowledge available, whether intangible (stocks, commercial paper, deeds, ledgers, contracts, patents, companies, and promissory notes), or tangible (land, buildings, boats, machines, etc.). Knowing who owned and owed, and fixing that information in public records, made it possible for investors to infer value, take risks, and track results. The final product was a revolutionary form of knowledge: "economic facts."

[xchrom]

21. What's wrong with America's economy?

http://www.economist.com/node/18620710

PESSIMISM about the United States rarely pays off in the long run. Time and again, when Americans have felt particularly glum, their economy has been on the brink of a revival. Think of Jimmy Carter’s cardigan-clad gloom in the inflation-ridden late 1970s, or the fear of competition from Japan that marked the “jobless recovery” of the early 1990s. Both times the United States bounced back, boosted on the first occasion by Paul Volcker’s conquest of inflation and on the second by a productivity spurt that sent growth rates soaring in the mid-1990s even as Japan stalled.

That record is worth bearing in mind today. Americans are unhappy, and becoming more so, about their country’s prospects and politicians’ efforts to improve them. In a new New York Times/CBS News poll, seven out of ten respondents said America is on the wrong track. Almost 60% of Americans disapprove of Barack Obama’s handling of the economy, and three out of four think Congress is doing a lousy job.

This malaise partly reflects the sluggishness of the recovery. Though unemployment has been falling and share prices are close to a three-year high, house prices are still in the dumps and the price of petrol has soared to levels not seen since the summer of 2008. But it’s not all about oil or indeed the short term. A careful reading of the polls suggests that Americans’ worries stretch well beyond the next couple of years: about stagnating living standards and a dark future in an economy slow to create jobs, saddled with big government deficits and under threat from China. Tellingly, a majority now regard China, not America, as the world’s leading economy.



if someone posted this yesterday -- my apologies.

[Demeter]

37. Corporate Kleptocracy

and unless The Economist knows of some quiet plan to overturn the New World Order, there isn't going to BE any revival.

Yes, the 70's were a dry run--but the public protests short-circuited the war and Nixon got thrown out.

Now we got 3 wars, no chance of "protests" stopping them, and no chance that Obama will be overthrown. No degrees of freedom, all restrictions channeling the people to violence.

Then we will see if modern technology in all its horrible forms and unscrupulous use can overcome primeval rage and fundamental despair.

May we live to see the end of these "interesting times". Only we haven't been cursed by the Chinese...

[xchrom]

42. ...

:thumbsup:

[DemReadingDU]

57. And many people still have no clue what is going on

Example - This morning on our daily chat with my sisters, one still hadn't heard of the tragic massive tornadoes in Alabama. Granted she's been busy sewing costumes for a local recital, but still. How can a person nowadays, not hear or see any news at all???

And she's my sister, but I know many other people just like her, totally clueless. That's why I think when the global financial Ponzi bubble implodes, it's going to be BIG, and catch most people unawares.

P.S. This is my sister who prior to retirement, was a VP bank executive in Massachusetts.
:eyes:

[Demeter]

58. We Have to Fight the Plutocrats to Build an Economy that Works

http://www.alternet.org/story/150675/we_have_to_fight_the_plutocrats_to_build_an_economy_that_works?page=entire

This can be our moment. A new activism is emerging in the United States and abroad, where people, in unexpected places, are standing up to challenge the rich and powerful. From recent uprisings in Egypt, to young people and workers in Europe marching and striking against shortsighted austerity plans, to the battle of nurses, teachers, firefighters and community members in Wisconsin, and the sit-ins and occupations of banks starting around the country, a movement is starting to grow.

After being battered and on the defensive, we have an opportunity in the United States to go on the offensive to transform the economy and politics of our country and create shared prosperity for all. Corporations have $1.6 trillion in cash reserves and are making record profits. The CEOs of Wall Street and the big banks paid themselves record compensation and bonuses of $135 billion in 2010 ($7 billion more than in 2009). After trillions in bailouts, they are even bigger and more dominant than before the economic crash. Now can be our moment to build a movement that both captures the popular imagination and has a strategy to engage millions of people to improve their lives by harnessing:

SEE LINK FOR MUCH MORE

[xchrom]

22. Buffett to Face Questions on Praising Sokol Before Audit Report

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-04-29/buffett-to-face-questions-on-praising-sokol-before-audit-report.html

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Warren Buffett has asked for tough questions at the annual meetings of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. He may get his wish after praising the outgoing executive who was later faulted by a board committee for misleading the company about stock trades.

Buffett uses his meeting and annual Omaha, Nebraska, press conference to promote Berkshire’s growth, pitch the company as an acquirer to potential takeover targets and tout his emphasis on ethics. The 80-year-old chief executive officer started having journalists screen shareholder inquiries in 2009 and encouraged them to pick the most challenging ones to replace inquires from prior years about baseball and religion.

The departure of David Sokol, 54, in March, after he invested in a firm he pitched as a buyout candidate, raised questions about Buffett’s oversight and succession planning. Sokol, once considered a possible replacement for Buffett as CEO, violated Berkshire’s ethics, the audit committee said April 26, weeks after Buffett praised his “extraordinary” contributions in announcing his resignation.

“Buffett is going to get questions about his own behavior” at tomorrow’s meeting said Lyman Johnson, professor of corporate law at Washington and Lee University School of Law. “I do think that Buffett erred in his initial announcement.”

[xchrom]

23. Russia Unexpectedly Raises Benchmark Rate to Subdue Prices

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-04-29/russia-unexpectedly-raises-benchmark-rate-to-subdue-prices.html

Updates with analyst comments starting in seventh paragraph.)

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Russia’s central bank unexpectedly increased its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year to cap inflation in the world’s biggest energy supplier.

Bank Rossii raised the refinancing rate to 8.25 percent from 8 percent, it said on its website today. Fifteen of 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey expected no change. Policy makers in Moscow also increased the overnight deposit rate a quarter point to 3.25 percent and the overnight auction-based repurchase rate by the same amount to 5.5 percent. The change is effective May 3. Reserve ratios remained unchanged.

The inflation rate has been above the central bank’s target of between 6 percent and 7 percent for this year since October, driven by rising food and fuel prices. The European Central Bank lifted interest rates this month for the first time in almost three years, while regulators in Brazil, India and China raised borrowing costs at least four times in the past year.

“The decision was made due to continued high inflation expectations, exceeding inflation guidelines for the year, and also noting the mixed effect on the Russian economy of the trends on global financial and commodities markets,” the bank said in its statement.

[xchrom]

24. maybe SMW needs an inflation watch?

there's tons of reporting on inflation all over the world -- but i couldn't tell anybody what it all means.

[Po_d Mainiac]

39. U mean like the price of a Rolex? n/t

[xchrom]

41. LOL!

or in my case -- a new pair of cole-haan shoes.

[Demeter]

44. Inflation is like the weather

what and where is constantly changing...it would be a full-time beat, with no instruments or theory.

You can look at individual prices...or go for some homogenized, highly over-processed and ultimately useless global figure, like the economists do.

But what could anybody do with that kind of information? It would be as significant as baseball stats.

[xchrom]

46. i guess because the inflationary pressure coming so fast

on the heels of 'the recovery' and it's relationship to the arab spring.

that was certainly a very good analogy inflation and weather. -- very true.

[xchrom]

25. india: RBI likely to hike rates by 25 bps, banks to follow suit

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/rbi-likely-to-hike-rates-by-25-bps-banks-to-follow-suit-_539267.html

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao is unlikely to spring any surprise in the monetray policy meet next Tuesday. Despite high inflation figures that makes this policy meet very crucial, Subbarao is expected to continue with his calibrated approach in hiking policy rates by 25 basis points only. In its recent report, the Asian Development Bank has warned that rising food and fuel prices could hurt growth in India and push millions of countrymen into extreme poverty.

Going with the street consesus of a 25 bps hike each in repo and reverse repo rates, most banks are bracing up for another round of lending rate hikes post the RBI policy announcement. "Interest rates are near the peak . If RBI hikes policy rates (repo and reverse repo), we would also pass it on our borrowers" said S Raman, CMD, Canara Bank . He expects the RBI to hike both by 1% each in FY 2011-12. Raman, however, sees a limited scope of a deposit rate hike as we are already ahead of the curve.

Repo is the rate (6.75%) at which banks borrow money from RBI. Reverse repo is the rate (5.75%) at which banks lend to RBI.

[xchrom]

26. RBI's rate hike to make market, banking stocks volatile

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/market-edge/rbis-rate-hike-to-make-market-banking-stocks-volatile_539332.html

Domestic market ended in red on the last day of the week due to selling pressure. Moreover, the RBI's policy statement next week created additional pressure on banking stocks and indices, dragging them down. Experts feel that the central bank will go ahead with the 25 basis points hike in key rates but if the rates are hiked by 50 bps, then the market sentiment will get hugely impacted.

“5830 on the Nifty was broken down and it came like a shock on the downside. However, I don’t see a big collapse coming in soon,” said Rahul Mohindar of Viratechindia.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay, president at Destimoney Securities said that the market is worried due to the recent RBI pronouncements regarding savings rate deregulation. He said, “This is one area which will change the entire cost structure in the banks. They were heavily dependent on CASA which was very low cost for them. Once the saving rate deregulation comes, that entire dynamics will change and that will have a significant impact on the entire banking space."

However, Bandopadhyay feels there is hope that the RBI hikes interest rates by 25 bps only because inflation needs to be controlled, inflation needs to be managed but since the market has already factored in 50 bps, it is getting volatile.

[xchrom]

31. Gold cos due for re-rating, may see new high: DSP BlackRock

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/mf-interview/gold-cos-due-for-re-rating-may-see-new-high-dsp-blackrock_539172.html

As dollar continues to weaken and crude oil prices persist to rise, gold continues to be the most preferred bet in the commodities space. The yellow metal on Friday was within sight of historic highs and is expected to head only higher from here.

With 78% of fund investments in gold, DSP BlackRock Investment Managers feels these companies are due for re-rating. "This will help take them to new highs," said Pankaj Sharma.

[Po_d Mainiac]

48. Ag has done better

Ag:Au is now at 31.5:1 which should stem the rate of gain a bit, but still leaves addition room for closure. With PRC now encouraging private ownership of PM's, and India establishing an exchange in the near future, gold and silver could see significant gains against the crashing FRN.

Chairsatan did little to stem the slide with his not so subtle begging (Whimpy style) to EM's to 'invest' (meaning buy T's) in the USA

[xchrom]

35. U.S. eyes India arms deals beyond fighter setback

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/idINIndia-56646920110429

(Reuters) - India's choice of European warplanes in an $11 billion competition to update its combat fleet was a setback for U.S. aerospace companies, but it is not game over for the Americans.

U.S. arms makers are still jockeying for billions of dollars in sales to India, which plans to modernize its old, Soviet-era military equipment and technology.

Joel Johnson, an international aerospace trade expert, said India may have opted for a European fighter because of a history of U.S. sanctions tied to its nuclear program and because of technology transfer constraints.

"U.S. contractors may get defeated by politics, but not by quality," he said. "India is likely to turn to the U.S. again for unique know-how and products."

[xchrom]

38. Indian shrs drop in April; post worst weekly loss since late Feb

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/india-stocks-idINL3E7FT1CC20110429

MUMBAI, April 29 (Reuters) - Indian shares declined for the third month out of the four in 2011, and ended lower for the fifth straight session on Friday, as investors exercised caution on expectations the central bank may adopt a hawkish approach at its policy on Tuesday.

They also posted their worst weekly loss since late February, after foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Indian equities for the first three sessions this week.

Traders expect the market to take cues from the Reserve Bank of India's action next week, but ruled out a sell-off by foreign funds.

Financials were the top losers as the market expected the RBI to raise key short-term rates by at least 25 basis points, which would mark the ninth increase since mid-March last year, to curtail persistently high inflation. For a Take a Look

[xchrom]

43. Indian rupee stronger on weak dollar; oil weighs

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/markets-india-rupee-idINL3E7FT18220110429

(Reuters) - The Indian rupee remained stronger in afternoon trades on Friday, aided by the euro's gains against the dollar, but payments for oil imports capped the gains.

* At 2:00 p.m., the partially convertible rupee was at 44.335/340 per dollar, compared with its previous close of 44.43/44.

* Traders expect the rupee to trade in a range of 44.30-44.50 per dollar intraday.

[xchrom]

33. Shared Value vs. Don't Be Evil

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/04/shared_value_vs_dont_be_evil.html

Michael Porter and Mark Kramer's article in January's HBR tries to advance our world's shared values by arguing that doing right is the best long-term business strategy. But their argument is weakened by the very optimism that also gives it its appeal. If our interest is in building a better world, then "Don't be evil" is a better guide than "Incorporate shared value as a key part of your business strategy."

But first, let's praise Porter and Kramer. Their article puts Porter's reputational weight behind an idea that in itself has, well, shared value. It has stirred up useful debate, and provides cover for executives making the case for doing what's right. These are no small things and I share Porter and Kramer's values. But...

In 399 BCE, shortly before Socrates was executed for the crime of corrupting the youth with his heretically human views, he argued that no one knowingly does evil. For example, if you knew you were corrupting the youth of your community, you'd know that you were making your community a worse place to live. But, no one wants to live in a place that is worse than it needs to be. Thus, Socrates' crime must have been one of ignorance, not evil — or so he pleaded.

[Demeter]

47. Oh, The Corporate Elite KNOW They Are Doing Evil

Hence the turn to religion for the financial troops in The City I posted yesterday.

But their Masters just don't care. We are less than the dirt beneath their expensively-shod feet. Until they find themselves shoeless and soon-to-be headless.

There isn't any alternative. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and all those high-profile "philanthropists" were an attempt to sugar-coat Reality and do what Rockefeller did in his day...giving out dimes to all and sundry to refurbish his image.

We need a Teddy and an FDR, and a step further--a total rewrite of the Constitution that denatures the Corporation. Or we will have chaos--not because I say so, but because mothers will have no other option for keeping their children alive.

[xchrom]

50. hear! hear! nt

[xchrom]

36. More to explore for world trade deal, EU says

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/idINIndia-56659620110429?type=economicNews

(Reuters) - The European Union presented world trade negotiators with a last-minute plan to rescue stalled free trade talks on Friday, saying there were still avenues of negotiation to explore after 10 years of trying.

In a presentation to a key meeting of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries, the plan aims to find some middle ground between the United States and major emerging economies, especially China, on the key sticking point of the discussions -- tariffs on industrial goods.

"Our view has always been that not all options and avenues, in this market access area had been explored," said Jean-Luc Demarty, European Commission Director General for Trade of the Doha round of trade talks that began in 2001.

"This is why we felt we should formulate ideas to stimulate further engagement," he said in a statement released as the Geneva meeting of the 153-member WTO's Trade Negotiations Committee began.

[DemReadingDU]

49. Coffee May Rise 40%

4/29/11 Coffee May Rise 40% on Frost After Kraft, Smucker Raised Prices

Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee grower, is facing the risk of frost after hail this month, raising the prospect of a 40 percent jump in bean costs after Kraft Foods Inc. and J.M. Smucker Co. already increased prices.

Kraft, based in Northfield, Illinois, increased U.S. prices on Maxwell House and Yuban ground coffees by about 22 percent on March 16, spokeswoman Bridget MacConnell said. Orrville, Ohio- based Smucker, maker of Folgers coffee, raised them by 10 percent in February, Vincent Byrd, director and president of U.S. retail coffee, said on a conference call that month.

Arabica coffee, preferred by coffee shops such as Starbucks Corp., climbed as rains associated with La Nina damaged crops in Colombia, the fourth largest producer last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Brazil’s crop will be 13 percent smaller than last year, Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry estimates.

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-29/coffee-may-climb-another-40-on-frost-after-kraft-smucker-raised-prices.html


First chocolate raised prices, now coffee. How am I going to get thru the day!
:evilgrin:

[xchrom]

51. don't screw with my coffee!!!

:mad: you won't like me very much if i don't have coffee.

[Roland99]

61. Glad I always drank tea....

[Demeter]

52. How Are We Doing?

Aren't you sorry we asked?

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gallup-poll-shows-more-americans-believe-us-depression-growing-%E2%80%A6-are-they-right

[Demeter]

53. Jobless Claims: Barf

http://market-ticker.org/

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm

"In the week ending April 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 429,000, an increase of 25,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 404,000. The 4-week moving average was 408,500, an increase of 9,250 from the previous week's revised average of 399,250."

Oh look, they revised the previous week up by a thousand too! Nice unbroken chain of revisions you have there my friends.

Not much else to say on this one.... other than you can't make an argument for a jobs recovery when we're printing up 400,000+ jobless claims numbers on a weekly basis.

Again: "Here it comes."

[DemReadingDU]

55. Those are some scary charts

the Economy is not recovering

[Demeter]

59. The Rent's Too Damn High but It's a Problem With an Easy Solution... If Only

http://www.alternet.org/story/150756/the_rent%27s_too_damn_high_but_it%27s_a_problem_with_an_easy_solution..._if_only?page=entire

A study released this week by researchers at Harvard University found that rents are rising fast, and an increasing number of Americans are forking over half of their gross income or more on rent. It's a big squeeze on struggling households. There is, however, an elegant, simple solution to what is a growing problem. But it's a policy focused on helping individuals, rather than corporate America, and, as you might expect, it has so far languished in Congress under a barrage of lobbying.

According to the study (PDF), “the share of US households unable to find affordable rentals has been on the rise for a half-century,” but has seen “an especially large jump in the last decade.” More than a quarter of all renters – or about ten million Americans – paid more than 50 percent for their digs in 2009. Conventional wisdom among financial planners is that rent should make up about a 3rd of one's gross income.

In 1980, landlords asked an average of 30 percent of renters' incomes for apartments. Since 2002, that figure has averaged around 40 percent...

[xchrom]

62. Grauman's Chinese Theatre to be sold to movie producers

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/04/graumans-chinese-theatre-is-.html

One of Hollywood's most iconic landmarks, Grauman's Chinese Theatre, is once again changing hands.

A partnership between Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures parent Viacom Inc. has signed an agreement to sell the historic theater on Hollywood Boulevard for an undisclosed sum to a pair of movie producers: Don Kushner, executive producer of "Tron: Legacy," and the flamboyant and controversial entrepreneur Elie Samaha, two people familiar with the deal said Thursday.

The sale, which is scheduled to close May 20, also includes the operating lease of the Mann's Chinese 6 multiplex, located in the adjacent Hollywood and Highland retail mall.

The single-screen Grauman's -- known for its giant, red Chinese pagoda, signature Chinese dragon guard dogs at the entrance and cement block footprints and hand prints of famous Hollywood figures -- was declared a historic and cultural landmark in 1968.

[xchrom]

63. CD and mobile music sales fall in 2010, but vinyl continues its resurgence

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/

Vinyl is back.

While sales of compact discs and ringtones suffered double-digit declines last year, vinyl records enjoyed what appears to be an enduring resurgence in 2010, according to figures released Thursday by the Recording Industry Assn. of America.

CD sales dropped 21% in 2010 to $3.36 billion, down from $4.27 billion in 2009, said RIAA, whose members include the industry's largest record labels. Vinyl LP sales, meanwhile, surged 26%, albeit to a modest $4 million, up from $3.2 million in 2009. The increase comes partly from live DJs who prefer vinyl over digital and partly from a new generation of collectors who see them as valuable souvenirs.

[xchrom]

64. Microsoft leans less on Windows

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2014901246_microsoft29.html

As Windows faltered, Office stepped in and rescued Microsoft.

Word, Excel, PowerPoint and business software may not be as sexy as an Apple iPad, but the old reliables helped save the day in the company's latest quarterly financial report, with growth of 21 percent to $5.3 billion in sales.

The new Xbox Kinect also came on strong, with sales growth of 60 percent.

Overall, sales in the quarter — the third of fiscal 2011 — rose 13 percent to $16.4 billion, slightly more than the $16.2 billion analysts had forecast. Last year, sales were $14.5 billion.

[xchrom]

65. Weyerhaeuser turns 1Q profit on timberlands sale

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014905645_apusearnsweyerhaeuser.html

Weyerhaeuser Co., one of the world's largest wood products companies, turned a profit in the first quarter, mostly because it sold acres of timberland in southwest Washington.

The Federal Way company on Friday reported net income of $99 million, or 18 cents per share, in the first three months of the year, compared with a loss of $20 million, or 10 cents per share, last year.

Earnings in the most recent quarter included an after-tax gain of $96 million on the previously announced sale of 82,000 acres of timberlands in southwest Washington. Excluding this item, the company reported net earnings of $3 million.

[xchrom]

68. Gold set for seventh weekly gain as dollar sags

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-markets-precious-idUSTRE73786N20110429

Reuters) - Gold steadied on Friday, just shy of fresh record highs and set for its seventh successive weekly gain, driven largely by the decline in the dollar to its lowest in nearly three years.

The dollar fell to its lowest since July 2008 against a basket of major currencies, after data this week painted a picture of an economy with slower growth and higher inflation, and after the Federal Reserve signaled it would not tighten monetary policy any time soon.

An environment of low interest rates, a weak dollar and accelerating price pressures is usually positive for gold, which becomes cheaper to non-U.S. investors and can help insulate a portfolio against inflation.

Gold's inverse correlation to the U.S. dollar makes it cheaper for non-U.S. investors and means it draws more strength from weakness in the greenback. Highlighting gold's dependence on the dollar is the tepid performance of the metal versus other major currencies such as the euro, against which it has barely moved this week.

[xchrom]

76. Positive investor sentiment sees gold hit new highs

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/positive-investor-sentiment-sees-gold-hit-new-highs-396882.html

Positive investor sentiment and greater confidence in the timing of jewellery purchases saw gold reach new all-time highs in early April, the World Gold Council said on Friday.

Against a backdrop of uncertain global markets, and a rising price, gold remained one of the least volatile commodities in the wider commodities mix, and ultimately breached the $1,500/oz mark earlier this month, it said in a report.

The gold price rose by 2.4 percent during Q1 to $1,439.00/oz by March 31, a more modest rise relative to average gains of 6.2 percent per quarter over the past two years.

Central banks continued to be net buyers of gold in Q1 2011 with emerging market countries, including Russia and Bolivia, being among the key net buyers.

[xchrom]

89. Silver fever is about to break, and break badly

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/silver-fever-is-about-to-break-and-break-badly-2011-04-29?link=home_carousel

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — I was just starting to work on a column about silver mania Tuesday morning when a big, beautifully produced ad insert on silver, of all things, arrived with my Financial Times.

Proclaiming that “silver is the single greatest profit opportunity of our time,” the insert featured a huge, nearly three-dimensional replica of a one-ounce U.S. silver eagle, with Liberty herself reaching out her hand and In God We Trust right there for all to see.

The coin replica, some 3 ½ inches in diameter, shone like a harvest moon, glittering with the possibility of instant riches.

And — you just can’t make this stuff up — it came just a day after silver prices hit their highest level in three decades.

[maddogesq]

91. As the song sez: "Should I stay or should I go?

I bought bullion in Dec. when it was around $30/ox. For the first time in my life, I could make some serious profit if I dumped it today. What's a doggy to do?

[Demeter]

92. If Silver Hasn't Peaked, and You Have no Better or Urgent Need of Dough

are you not better off riding the silver wave? Especially with the uncertainty factor!

[tclambert]

95. Keep an eye on it. If this is a bubble, it can turn down fast.

The trouble with trying to get rich off bubbles is they can keep inflating for who knows how long, and burst whenever.

Big ads syaing it's a great opportunity mean it WAS a great opportunity some time ago. If you bought last August at $18.50, you'd be up about 170%. Now that people are starting to say it could be a bubble, that's usually a good sign it's a bubble. But, you know, house prices kept going up for a year or two after we started saying bubble.

[maddogesq]

98. Thanks.

The good news is that the place I get the bullion from gives a nice return over the spot price, which in a way gives one a bit more time to make a choice. These cats have been around my town for years, and they have a great rep. It shows because they are always busy every time I go there.

[maddogesq]

99. FYI: I bugged out yesterday.

Good thing, as Ag has dropped over $4/oz. tonight on the Asian market. Can you say crash and burn? I knew that you could.

I call 'em as I see 'em.

[xchrom]

70. europe: Euro zone inflation rises, points to higher ECB rates

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-eurozone-economy-idUSTRE73S1OS20110429

(Reuters) - Euro zone inflation rose further above the European Central Bank's target in April, increasing the chances of an interest rate rise in June, despite a weakening of economic sentiment and household demand.

Inflation in the 17 countries using the euro rose to 2.8 percent year-on-year this month from 2.7 percent a month earlier, the highest level since October 2010, when it was 3.2 percent.

Consensus expectations had been for a flat reading compared to March ahead of next Thursday's European Central Bank meeting on interest rates. Analysts said the numbers raised the odds on a rise in rates in June.

"Although we expect a rate increase at the July meeting, the balance of risks is tilted toward an earlier move," said Aline Schuiling, senior economist at ABN AMRO.

[xchrom]

73. [french company] Total to tender for majority stake in SunPower

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-sunpower-idUSTRE73R79320110429

(Reuters) - French energy company Total SA offered to pay up to $1.37 billion for a majority stake in U.S. solar company SunPower Corp, one of the biggest moves ever by an oil and gas giant into the market for renewable energy.

Solar power has been one of the fastest growing energy industries in recent years, but still remains tiny compared with oil, gas and coal because of its higher cost. With Total's financial heft behind it, SunPower said solar energy would become competitive with fossil fuels more quickly.

"It's a vote of confidence from a much larger company and a vote of confidence for the solar industry as a whole," Wedbush analyst Christine Hersey said.

Total will launch a tender offer for up to 60 percent of SunPower's outstanding Class A common shares and 60 percent of its Class B common shares for $23.25 a share.

[xchrom]

90. Volvo, solar companies pace mildly higher Europe

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/total-daimler-weigh-on-europe-stocks-2011-04-29

MADRID (MarketWatch) — European stock markets traded mildly higher Friday amid lower volumes with London trading closed, as Volvo AB scored gains and solar companies rose across the board on news of a deal in the sector, but Daimler AG fell on earnings disappointment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp ST:STOXX600 +0.26% rose 0.3% to end at 283.78 on the last full trading day of the month.

U.S. stocks were mixed amid a heavy earnings schedule.

London markets were closed for a Royal Wedding national holiday and will also be shuttered Monday for a bank holiday.

[OnlinePoker]

71. Toon

He's crying because the government probably had to pay for the rope.

[xchrom]

72. GE's Immelt resigned from NY Fed board last month

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/us-usa-fed-immelt-idUSTRE73R70F20110428

Reuters) - General Electric (GE.N) Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt resigned from the New York Federal Reserve Bank's board of directors last month due to other commitments, the regional central bank said on Thursday.

Immelt had been a member of the New York Fed's board since January 2006, helping provide anecdotal input to policymakers about developments in the U.S. and global economy.

"I am, with great regret, tendering my resignation as a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York given the increased demands on my time," Immelt wrote in a letter to New York Fed President William Dudley dated March 9.

[Demeter]

93. Ha! What a conflict of interests!

Juggling GE, Obama, and the NY Fed all on his own. Enough jobs for 6 people, enough influence to rule the world.

I wonder if he found out he'd have to tax/imprison/fine himself...

[xchrom]

74. Exelon to buy Constellation Energy for $7.9 billion

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/28/us-constellation-exelon-idUSTRE73Q8BS20110428

(Reuters) - Power company Exelon Corp (EXC.N) struck a deal to buy rival Constellation Energy Group (CEG.N) for $7.9 billion in stock in a bid to become the largest generator of competitively priced electricity in the United States.

It would be the latest in a string of deals in the fragmented U.S. utility industry, like Duke Energy's (DUK.N) $13.7 billion bid for Progress Energy (PGN.N) and AES Corp's (AES.N) $3.5 billion deal for DPL Inc (DPL.N). Utilities face new costs to upgrade power grids and meet environmental controls, which has spurred the deal activity..

Unlike most of those deals, where utilities have looked for regulated businesses to shore up their operations in the face of weak power prices, Exelon is picking up a business with significant unregulated operations.

Exelon CEO John Rowe said on a conference call that he believes investors were concerned that the company "would try to buy an all-regulated company to diversify that risk."

[xchrom]

75. middle east: Global wellbeing survey ranks UAE in top 20

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/global-wellbeing-survey-ranks-uae-in-top-20-396885.html

The UAE has been ranked among the top 20 countries in the world in a wellbeing survey conducted by Gallup.

The global wellbeing poll for 2010 revealed a median of 21 percent across 124 countries were "thriving" last year, based on how people rated their lives at the current time and their expectations for the next five years.

The UAE, ranked 16th in the list, had 55 percent of respondents saying they were thriving, with a further 44 percent believing they were struggling with their lives.

The percentage rating their lives well enough to be considered thriving ranged from a high of 72 percent in Denmark to a low of one percent in Chad.

[xchrom]

77. Dubai's pearl heritage makes comeback with trade

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/dubai-s-pearl-heritage-makes-comeback-with-trade-383011.html

Pearl hunting vanished from these desert coasts a century ago, but now lavish skycrapers and shopping malls are attracting cultured pearl sellers hoping to tap into deep pockets and renewed demand for the milky gems.

Jewellery is a booming business in Dubai, home to one of the region's biggest gold souks, and where flashes of gold, silver, gemstones and pearls can be seen from the folds of women's cloaks.

"They're classic, they don't date," said Noor, an Emirati lady strolling through Dubai's Gold Souk. "In London, I have seen many young ladies wearing pearls, they're mixing them with ribbons and other jewellery."

Over a century ago, bronzed fishermen dove forty metres into the Gulf's turquoise waters, hunting for pearls that provided the main source of income for people across shores from what is now the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain.

[xchrom]

78. Alabbar inks $1.6bn Malaysian smelter deal

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/alabbar-inks-1-6bn-malaysian-smelter-deal-396939.html

Leading UAE businessman Mohamed Alabbar has teamed with one of Malaysia’s best known entrepreneurs to develop a $1.6 billion aluminium smelting plant in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Gulf International Investment Group (GIIG) Holdings, headed by Malaysian entrepreneur Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary and Alabbar, also the chairman of Emaar, have entered into a joint venture agreement with Aluminium Corporation of China (CHINALCO) to develop the project.

Smelter Asia will develop, own and operate the private aluminium plant with an annual capacity of 370,000 metric tonnes during the first phase.

On further availability of power from the grid, the plant capacity is planned to be increased up to 700,000 metric tonnes.

[xchrom]

79. Bahrain loses edge as financial hub, firms eye Dubai

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bahrain-loses-edge-as-financial-hub-firms-eye-dubai-396671.html

Bahrain is unlikely to regain its status as a financial hub losing out to Dubai in the wake of the political turmoil in the Gulf state, analysts said Wednesday.

Dubai, on the brink of a debt default in 2009, has emerged as a magnet for investors fleeing widespread political unrest across the Middle East.

Analysts are warning that Bahrain, home to one of the oldest financial centres in the region, could already have lost its edge as a financial hub as political instability deters foreign firms.

“Bahrain probably has lost out in the competition, or has lost its status as a financial centre to Dubai,” Brad Bourland, chief economist at Jadwa Investment, said. “I think Bahrain has some longer term losses from the turmoil that Dubai…is a clear beneficiary. Many have already left and moved down here and I doubt that it will be reversed and that they would move back

[xchrom]

81. MidEast oil exporters to grow, unrest bites poor states: IMF

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/mideast-oil-exporters-grow-unrest-bites-poor-states-imf-396384.html

Economic growth for most Middle Eastern and North African oil exporters is likely to accelerate this year, although some may see a sharp slowdown due to social unrest, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

Regional real gross domestic product (GDP) should expand by 4.9 percent this year, less than the 5.0 percent projected by the IMF in October but well above 3.5 percent in 2010, the multilateral lender said in its regional economic report.

"Growth is likely to be uneven in 2011, but the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) as a group is racing ahead. Bahrain, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen are likely to be negatively affected but the rest are expected to grow well above trend," the IMF said.

The forecast for the region, home to six of the world's top 10 oil exporters, is not fully comparable with previous figures as the IMF chose to exclude Libya, torn by fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi.

[xchrom]

82. Abu Dhabi sees 10% rise in visitors in Q1

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-dhabi-sees-10-rise-in-visitors-in-q1--396884.html

Abu Dhabi saw a 10 percent rise in hotel guests in the first quarter of this year, with increases also recorded for guest nights, occupancy levels, revenue and length of stay.

According to the latest figures from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), some 510,114 guests stayed in Abu Dhabi's hotels in the first three months of this year producing 1.56 million guest nights - up by a quarter on the same period in 2010.

March alone achieved a nine percent rise in hotel guests with some 180,931 people checking into the emirate's hotels, ADTA added.

While the Q1 mainstay was the domestic market, the UK came in as the top overseas producer with 37,710 guests during the quarter - a 20 percent rise on Q1 2010.

[xchrom]

87. U.S. stocks waver as Dow nears resistance

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-tentatively-up-at-the-start-2011-04-29?dist=markets

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks wobbled Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average bolstered by blue-chip component Caterpillar Inc.’s better-than-expected earnings.

The Dow industrials /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed DJIA +0.50% rose 29.06 points to 12,792.37, with 16 of 30 components rising, led by equipment maker Caterpillar /quotes/comstock/13*!cat/quotes/nls/cat CAT +2.37% , up 2.9%.

“The Dow faces psychological and technical resistance at 13,000. I think it would be appropriate to expect caution today,” said Marc Pado, a market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.

[tclambert]

96. Those who talk about "resistance" and "support" are over-educated morons.

Those terms come from trend analysis, a quasi-mathematical way of trying to make sense out of senseless fluctuations in the market.

He is right about 13,000 having psychological importance, however. People think numbers with lots of zeroes have special significance. And 13! Americans think that's unlucky. (Japanese think 4 is unlucky, because "shi" is also their word for death. One, two, three, death.) Now that is a rational way of looking at the irrationality of human behavior. Understanding how human irrationality works--what the weird, illogical rules are for actual human behavior--that is the way to true understanding. It's a lot like dealing with crazy people. Maybe exactly like it. When you understand the rules of a person's delusions, some of their behavior begins to make sense.

One of the rules, though, is they like to break the rules. Outside events may scare or excite them. A royal wedding or a celebrity going into rehab may distract them from really important things. Mythical, mystical belief systems may distort their behavior, also, like believing in any sort of Republican economic theories.

[xchrom]

88. Nursing-home shares fall on rate proposal

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nursing-home-shares-fall-on-rate-proposal-2011-04-29

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — At least four nursing-home operators saw their shares plunge Friday after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed cutting federal reimbursements by 11.3% for the coming fiscal year.

The agency listed such a reduction as one of several options for the 2012 fiscal year, saying that nursing homes saw an unexpected spike in payments during 2011. If enacted, nursing facilities would lose nearly $4 billion in payments.

Conversely, the agency also proposed a routine rate increase of 1.5%.

Still, this was enough to take a huge bite out of the shares of Sun Healthcare Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!sunhd/quotes/nls/sunh SUNH -14.37% , which shed more than 16% to $11.41 in recent action.

[Roland99]

94. 2:10pm - DJ 13K is on the horizon. Oil purshing $1134/bbl. Gold over $1,562. Euro approaching $1.50

Dow 12,811 +48 +0.38%
Nasdaq 2,872 -0 -0.01%
S&P 500 1,363 +3 +0.20%
GlobalDow 2,256 +10 +0.46%
Gold 1,562 +31 +2.02%
Oil 113.91 +1.05 +0.93%
Euro /$1US 1.4841 0.0016
$1US / Yen 81.1300 -0.4200
Pound / $1US 1.6707 0.0073
Aud / $1US 1.0965 0.0040
10yr T-note 3.30 -0.02
2yr T-note 0.61 -0.01