STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday October 23

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday October 23, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 455 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2474 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2194 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2155
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

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

---

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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 22, 2007

Dow... 13,566.97 +44.95 (+0.33%)
Nasdaq... 2,753.93 +28.77 (+1.06%)
S&P 500... 1,506.33 +5.70 (+0.38%)
Gold future... 760.00 -8.40 (-1.11%)
30-Year Bond 4.67% -0.02 (-0.36%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.39% -0.01 (-0.18%)






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 actionpost@legitgov.org

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell Tuesday amid worries about a possible slowdown in the U.S. economy that would reduce demand for oil and petroleum products.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery lost 25 cents to $85.77 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Singapore. The contract fell 93 cents to settle at $86.02 a barrel Monday.

November Nymex crude, which hit a record $90.07 a barrel last week, settled on expiration Monday at $87.56, down $1.04 from Friday's close.

The U.S. stock market's sharp downturn Friday has reignited concerns that the U.S. economy might be slowing, cutting demand for oil and petroleum products.

-cut-

Predictions about the future of oil prices range from $60 to $120, depending on whether the analyst believes oil supplies will tighten amid growing demand in the fourth quarter.

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

NEW YORK - Wall Street finished a back-and-forth session higher Monday as investors overcame some of their nervousness about the credit markets and uneven earnings and found solace in the technology sector.

Several companies including drug maker Merck & Co. reported decent third-quarter results, but investors were unhappy with rival drug maker Schering Plough Corp.'s results. They were also mindful of the downbeat profit outlooks from several blue chip companies last week.

Still, after an early slide, the market seemed to grow optimistic about Apple Inc.'s earnings, which did top Wall Street's expectations when the company reported after the closing bell. The eager anticipation of the report sent tech stocks higher, and by early afternoon, other stocks were tagging along.

Disappointing earnings and Standard & Poor's downgrade of another series of mortgage-backed securities sent stocks plunging Friday, taking the Dow Jones industrials down 366 points.

"It is not unusual for a big down day to be followed by an up day. I think the bargain hunters are out there," said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist for ING Investment Management. "It seems there's fairly strong demand out there, despite all the bloodletting on Friday."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071022/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street

SAN FRANCISCO - After getting panned much of the year, online DVD rental pioneer Netflix Inc. finally won rave reviews on Wall Street with a surprisingly strong performance in its third quarter.

The results released late Monday erased worries that Netflix's profits would plunge while the Los Gatos-based company battles to regain the upper hand in a bruising battle with rival Blockbuster Inc.

Bolstered by a price-cutting strategy that revived its subscriber growth, Netflix earned $15.7 million, or 23 cents per share, for the three months ended in September. That represented a 23 percent increase from net income of $12.8 million, or 18 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Analysts, on average, had been anticipating the company's earnings would decline in the period to 15 cents per share, according to Thomson Financial.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071023/ap_on_hi_te/earns_netflix

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal regulators appear to be resisting a formal probe of alleged anticompetitive practices of semiconductor giant Intel Corp., despite requests from members of Congress and corporate rivals.

For years, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has charged that Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker, violates U.S. antitrust laws. One accusation is that Intel gives rebates to computer maker customers on the condition they not buy some AMD products, a charge the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company included in a 2005 lawsuit against Intel.

The company "has illegally abused its monopoly position," AMD spokesman Mike Silverman said. "We encourage all antitrust enforcers around the world, including in the United States, to stop illegal conduct."

Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Intel, said the company's discounts are legal and benefit consumers. Intel denied offering rebates to customers that exclude AMD products in a legal filing in the 2005 lawsuit.

The FTC's apparent reluctance to investigate Intel was detailed Monday in a New York Times news report. FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell said she couldn't comment.

In August, Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand asked the FTC to probe Intel. A letter to the FTC from the New York Democrats said: "If the allegations against Intel are true, the potential harm to consumers could be profound."

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7249896

NEW YORK (AP) - Issuance of securities backed by subprime mortgages and home equity loans remains weak compared to recent history, as rising delinquencies and defaults among the loans continue to drag down the market.

Through Oct. 19, monthly issuance of subprime mortgage and home equity loan-backed securities totaled $2.65 billion, a 94 percent decline from total volume in October 2006, according to JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM PRH) (NYSE:JPM PRX) (NYSE:JPM PRK) (NYSE:JPM PRJ) (NYSE:JPT) (NYSE:JPM) & Co.

Investors have shied away from purchasing the securities, as the loans pooled together to back them have gone increasingly delinquent and into default in recent months. Because of the lack of investors, mortgage lenders have scaled back their originations of the loans, further depressing the market.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-20408383.htm

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The European Union's highest court overturned a 47-year-old law protecting Volkswagen AG from a takeover, allowing Porsche AG to take control of the region's largest carmaker.

Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, has been shielded since 1960 by a law that limits investors' voting rights. Porsche, the maker of the 911 sports car, has amassed a 31 percent stake in Volkswagen over the past two years and said last month it wants to ``significantly'' increase the holding.

Germany ``failed to demonstrate why such a position has to be maintained in order to protect the general interests of minority shareholders,'' the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled today. The decision cannot be appealed.

The ruling may bring Porsche Chief Executive Officer Wendelin Wiedeking a step closer to expanding the automotive empire of the Piech and Porsche families. Volkswagen stock has more than doubled this year on speculation Porsche will pursue a takeover. The sports-car maker said today it ``welcomes'' the ruling and will ``exercise its rights'' as an investor.

-cut-

Porsche offered 35.9 billion euros, the lowest legally permitted amount, in March for full control of Volkswagen. The offer expired on May 29. Porsche is now free to increase its Volkswagen stake to 50 percent without having to make the same offer to all shareholders.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a9Lo8OSwVZhw&refer=home

BRUSSELS, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) ended three years of resistance on Monday, finally agreeing to comply with a landmark 2004 antitrust decision by the European Commission.

The defeated software giant announced it would not appeal against a decisive European Union court ruling two months ago that backed the bloc's executive Commission.

"The repercussions of these changes will start now and will continue for years to come," Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes told a news conference, adding that Microsoft's agreement would have "profound effects" on the software industry.

"It is a victory for the consumer," she said.

Microsoft, which was fined nearly half a billion euros in 2004 and a further 280.5 million euros ($400.6 million) in 2006 for non-compliance, faced the prospect of steep new fines if it did not accommodate the Commission.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technology-media-telco-SP/idUSL2226614720071023

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures were stronger Tuesday after positive earnings reports in the technology sector, led by Apple Computer, lifted sentiment.

At 4:56 a.m. ET, Nasdaq futures were sharply higher, pointing to a positive open. The broader market, however, looked set for a tougher start.

Apple (Charts, Fortune 500) posted sharply higher revenue and earnings after the market close on Monday. The results handily beat Wall Street's estimates.

-cut-

Another slew of corporate earnings is on tap Tuesday, including results from AT&T (Charts, Fortune 500), Dupont (Charts, Fortune 500) and Amazon.com (Charts, Fortune 500).

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/23/markets/stockswatch/index.htm?postversion=2007102305

06:19 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +4.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.3.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

It's time for me to head outta here. Have a great day watching La-La Land.

ozy :hi:

The vet just called and my cat is responding well! She's passing urine and things are looking up!!! I was preparing myself for the worst today...thinking this was kidney failure and it would all be over today but this is awesome news!!

:bounce: :woohoo:

That coupled with the revelation that the market weakness last Friday was only some sort of
global misunderstanding makes for a pretty good day. Well, the part about your kitty anyway. :)

Ponies for everyone! :party:

it was caught in time. I am happy for your good news.


:party: :bounce: :woohoo: :party:

I'll feel better once I actually get her home.

I've got a cat and a dog, they're like family members.

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

Last trade 77.783 Change -0.174 (-0.22%)

Dollar - Doomed At 1.45?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/Dollar___Doomed_At_1_45__1193031587859.html

For dollar bulls the past week must have seemed like a never ending nightmare. The greenback once again set record lows against the euro amidst a torrent of truly awful economic data. The worst of the lot included housing starts which dropped more than 10% and jobless claims which swelled to 337K against 312K expected. The news pushed the Fed Funds futures to a 75% chance of a rate cut in October dragging the dollar to new lows. To add insult to injury the TICs data proved shockingly weak, printing at -$69 Billion versus $60 Billion projected. Many analysts noted that the vast majority of the outflow was in equities during the massive liquidation in August. With equity markets having recaptured and exceeded their record highs, the expectation for next month is that many of these negative capital flows will reverse.

Although the prospect of an October rate hike is quite real, as we noted in our brief on Friday, “Chairman Bernanke must be aware that further monetary easing so soon after the 50bp cut in September, would immediately spur speculation of yet more cuts before the year end and could easily push the EURUSD to the 1.4500 figure within a matter of weeks, destabilizing an already woefully weak dollar.”

Next week the US calendar is relatively uneventful with yet more housing data and durable goods on the docket. The G-7 communiqué may have some impact at the start of the week, but dollars only friend these days appears to be risk aversion. If the DJIA corrects further, the dollar will gain on the carry trade unwind. However, if the market becomes convinced that the Fed will cut rates in October, even that dynamic may not be of much help to dollar bulls.-BS



...more...

US Dollar Recoups Some Losses, But Concerns of an August-Style Credit Crunch Loom Large

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar_Recoups_Some_Losses__1193090856172.html

The US Dollar made solid headway higher on Monday, but with little fundamental impetus other than simple short covering following the uneventful G7 meeting, the move highlights the speculative nature of the markets. Fed fund futures currently price in a 86 percent chance of a rate cut by the Federal Open Market Committee on October 31st, up from 78 percent this morning but down from 92 percent on Friday. At this juncture, the central bank has been giving very mixed signals, as their previously hawkish stance has been toned down significantly and instead has shifted to focus on economic conditions. Furthermore, while the health of the financial markets is clearly of importance to the Federal Reserve, the matter of whether the bank is essentially “bailing out” the stock markets and companies that irresponsibly got caught in the borrow-short-lend-long squeeze during August is still being debated. Indeed, when the Dow plummeted more than 2 percent last Friday, expectations of a 25 basis point cut at the end of the month rocketed higher. What about that pesky inflation issue? Headline CPI has climbed to an annualized rate of 2.8 percent on the back of food and energy prices. However, energy prices aren’t just high – oil continues to trade near record highs – and food prices haven’t ticked up – wheat futures rocketed to a record in September. Nevertheless, Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin said over the course of the weekend that core inflation measures, which exclude food and energy costs, are a “better guide” as they “provide a clearer picture of underlying inflation pressures.” With core CPI holding relatively steady at an annualized rate of 2.1 percent, Mishkin’s comments suggest that the FOMC potentially has more room to cut rates. However, it is worth noting that core CPI also happened to be stable at these levels throughout late 2004 through early 2006 – the same period of time that the FOMC was aggressively raising interest rates. As a result, there may be good reason for all this confusion over the Fed’s policies, especially as additional rate cuts may confirm one of the biggest fears of the markets: the potential for another August-style credit crunch may be greater than many would like to believe.

...more...

first you get sucked in to these rip off ARM mortgages, then you get screwed by these shyster companies. Talk about your double dutch.:grr:

I'm with AnneD from the old school... Layoffs = Poor management. (or possibly corruption)

:donut: and lurkers. Hubby goes to get his arm casted this am. He's taking it in stride. He has to take himself there. I put some soup on in the crockpot so we'll have a nice dinner together tonight. By us working opposite shifts-we don't always get to enjoy each others company as much as we would like. But at least we are together, we have good jobs, we have decent health, and we have a good roof over our heads and good food to eat. Lot's of folks are missing one or more of those things.

And speaking of missing out on the basics...This housing bust will soon start to ripple out into the economy. Home improvement stores will be hit. Finances are taking a hit. Manufactures of home improvement supplies will take a hit. Retailers will soon be taking a hit. Then further down the way, cities and states will take a hit in the form of less sales tax revenue taken in. That in turn will effect services. Fasten your seat belts, it will be a bumpy ride.

And speaking of bumpy rides......It is an exciting day for us here at the school. One of our kid's dad is an astronaut and will go up today-so we will be watching the launch. He brought a school banner in and we signed it. I wrote greetings in Cherokee (that may be another first as far as I know). So when you look to the sky, you will have warm wish sent in an old tongue.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

a coworker is on vacation at Disney and is taking today off of the parks. Going to head toward the coast to see the launch. Good luck w/the cast. A dear friend broke her kneecap last fri. and has her leg in a cast. Everyone be extra careful out there!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007
BMO increases gold price forecasts
Story link: http://www.metalmarkets.org.uk/2007/10/23/bmo-increases-gold-price-forecasts/
BMO increases gold price forecasts by Gill Montia
BMO Capital Markets has increased its 2008 and 2009 gold price forecasts to $800 oz, whilst at the same time raising the long-term forecast to $600 oz.

The US-based financial service provider has also increased price forecasts for silver and platinum saying that it was “reflecting the view that other precious metals prices cluster around the broad trends set out by gold”.

BMO analysts have raised the 2008 silver price forecast from $14.50 oz to $15.50 oz and for 2009 from $15 oz to $16.50 oz. The long-term silver forecast remains at $12.50.

The platinum forecast for 2008 has been increased from $1,225 oz to $1,350 oz; for 2009 from $1,100 oz to $1,200 oz. The long-term platinum forecast remains at $1,000 oz.

The analysis takes into account that so far in 2007, gold has outperformed most major stock markets, broad base metal price indices, currencies and bonds.

The factors noted in the performance of gold include a weakening US dollar, concerns over inflation and investors turning away from areas of high risk.

BMO also sees the possibility of the Euro being devalued to protect trade balances with China, other emerging economies, and the US.

In addition, gold is likely to continue to be a popular hedge against increasing oil and food prices and investors’ potential capital losses in bond portfolios.

At the same time, sales of gold in China, India and the rest of the developing world are expected to increase with rising middle class incomes.

Finally, the future price of gold will also be affected by production costs, which are rising substantially as a result of increased energy costs and a shortage of labour and machinery.

Nouriel Roubini | Oct 22, 2007

The First Crisis of Financial Globalization and Securitization. And the Coming Generalized Credit Crunch

The recent turmoil and volatility in U.S. and global financial markets and the sudden and unexpected liquidity and credit crunch suggest the following question: how did some defaulting sub-prime mortgages in California, Nevada, Arizona, Florida lead to a worldwide financial turmoil as far as Australia, France, Germany and parts of Asia? Or more formally, why did systemic risk increase rather than decrease in recent years?

Blame the turmoil on financial globalization and the related phenomenon of securitization. In the past banks that were originating loans and mortgage were keeping these assets on their books and thus holding the credit risk. Then, when a recession occurred – like the housing bust in the US in the late 1980s – many banks that were into mortgage lending (the Savings & Loans Associations) went belly up; this led to a banking-wide crisis and credit crunch and a US recession in 1990-91.

much more...
http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/222079

10/22/07
A Troubled 'Ownership Society' Peter Coy
As lenders cease making small, second loans, the homeownership rate is starting to decline, and the outlook for the housing market could worsen

After three decades of stability, the national rate of homeownership suddenly began rising around 1995. The rush to buy homes fueled an enormous surge in housing construction and home prices. Experts differed on the cause of the increase in homeownership, from 64.2% of households in early 1995 to 69.1% in early 2005. Was it the aging of the population? Or was it an expression of what President George W. Bush calls the "ownership society"?

Neither. Surprising new research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta concludes that the bulk of the increase was caused by innovations in the mortgage market, in particular the explosion of "piggyback" or "combo" loans that made it possible for people to make small or zero down payments. Young families with little savings flocked to those loans to buy first homes.

more...
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2007/db20071019_946332.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story

10/22/07 Mike Larson comments on the above article
http://interestrateroundup.blogspot.com/2007/10/real-reason-housing-market-took-off.html

INVESTMENT TIP---- BUY AN UMBRELLA, ITS GONNA BE RAINING BANKERS

ELEVATOR TO THE ROOF PLEASE.... THE WHITE COLLAR "UPPER MGMT" JUST DISCOVERED THAT THEY ARE NOT REALLY PART OF THE REPUBLICAN NEO-CON FINAL SOLUTION...
it must be scary to live a pampered "paris hilton" life and then to end up in prison...
KENNY-BOY LAY... could you weigh in on this one? No. To bad. How is the global warming down there? Say "hi" to Ronny for us, hope he found his jellybeans. HEY RONNY... stem-cell research? No opinion? Cat got your tongue?

WHEN "IT ALL" IMPLODES, THE FUNNIEST THING WILL BE SEEING THE FACES OF THOSE WHO "WORKED THE HARDEST" TO CLIMB THE LADDER..WHEN THEY REALIZE THAT THEY ARE NOT AMONG THE CHOSEN FEW.

WHY THIS OPINION----
BECAUSE GATORS EAT THEIR YOUNG

WHEN THE CORPORATE BUBBLE BROKE.... THE CEOs GRABBED THE MONEY AND RAN FOR THE DOOR....
THE WEALTHY ONCE WERE KIND ENOUGH TO SHARE WITH EACH OTHER, TO STAY OUT OF EACH OTHERS BEDROOMS, TO NOT SHIT WHERE THE OTHER ONE ATE... BUT AS THE GRAND MONOPOLY GAME OF AMERICA HAS REACHED ITS LATER STAGES, THE FEW REMAINING PLAYERS HAVE GONE GATOR ON EACH OTHER... THE RULES ARE OFF... ITS GRAB WHAT YOU CAN AS FAST AS YOU CAN... AND THE AMORAL GOP (AND HILLARY, THE GOP LITE CANDIDATE) ARE HAVING AT EACH OTHER

the children today are SMART ENOUGH to realize that the reading, writing, and arithmetic in school will only prepare them for a better slave job than their friends---- that there is NO HOPE of social security paying off... that global warming and other man-made failures (think george w bush) will implode upon them.
AND HIP HIP HOORAY.... THE UPPER-MIDDLE-CLASS IS THE LAST TO KNOW....
JOHNNY, TELL THESE FOOLS WHAT THEY HAVE WON.......
"well happy, these losers are the last to understand that they ARE losers. their carefully stashed cash will NOT buy them what is behind door number one, or door number two... they will be getting what senator craig gives you in stall number 3"

I'd like to thank "The Weather Girls" for todays song....It's Raining Men

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20071023/bs_ft/fto102320070021439848;_ylt=Aqvk1C0qGknpRAXHbvf9zuX2ULEF

... Now the crisis over the structured investment vehicles (SIVs) shows all that is going into reverse. In retrospect, one wonders why anyone thought that rich people would graciously assume the losses incurred by the financial sector's excesses. That is not why they are rich in the first place.

The SIV was invented to be a bank without capital, because this time there would not be any losses to speak of. That is not what happened. They are a pile of securities, some good, some not. The market will not fund them any more, so the bank holding companies and banks have to fund them. But the banks do not have enough room on their balance sheets to keep that up. So they have to sell off assets to the "market", aka hedge funds and other speculators.

The hedge funds and the like will, in the end, only buy the good paper, and that at a discount. So, after some back-and-forth with deals and lawyers, the worse stuff will be repossessed and go back on the balance sheets of the banks. Any losses on those bad assets will be paid for by a steep yield curve and credit risk curve over the next several years.

In other words, the securitisation- risk-dispersion-hedge-fund-rich-people-eat-losses solution to the problem of financial excess did not work. Profits will be privatised, and losses socialised, just like they were in the last cycle. That will be the reality behind the chit-chat in the form of "public-private" legal constructions, convenient accounting fictions, think-tank chin-stroking, and editorial finger-waving.

/...

:hi: Welcome to DU and SMW

and welcome to SWT. :hi:

I'm ready to put my platforms on and dance.....

Humidity's rising, barometer's getting low,
According to all sources, the street's the place to go.
Coz tonight, for the first time, at just about half past ten,
For the first time in history, it's gonna start raining men.

<snip>

Humidity's rising, barometer's getting low,
According to all sources, the street's the place to go.
Coz tonight, for the first time, at just about half past ten,
For the first time in history, it's gonna start raining men.

<snip>

I'm gonna go out, I'm gonna let myself get absolutely soaking wet.
It's raining men, Hallelujah, it's raining men, every specimen,
Tall, blond, dark and mean, tough and tough and strong and lean.

God bless Mother Nature, she's a single woman too,
She took on a heaven and she did what she had to do.
She taught every angel to rearrange the sky,
So that each and every woman could find her perfect guy.

It's raining men, go get yourself wet, girl, I know you want to,

I feel stormy weather moving in, about to begin.
Hear the thunder, don't you lose your head,
Rip off the roof and stay in bed.

I know you know the chorus;)

Hey, everyone -- remember that discussion the other day about pension funds and the PBGC...

Take a look at this letter to Ted Kennedy from the National Retiree Legislative Network.

http://www.nrln.org/Letters_Norby/NRLN_pension_buyouts.10.17.07.htm

Thanks for the link

I wouldn't expect it to happen overnight. It probably wouldn't affect pensioners in their 80's. But people who have just started receiving their pension, and people still hoping to get one when they retire, problaby shouldn't expect their pension forever.


edit for clarity

Congress should prevent this from happening.

But many retirees also thought their companies were going to pay for their health care expenses too, whatever wasn't picked up by Medicare.

Your pension benefits are "Vested" under ERISA.

Retiree health benefits were not vested under ERISA.

(This does not excuse companies from reneging on their promises. People worked many years for those benefits that were pulled out from underneath them.)

However, the problem with retiree health benefits was that ERISA did not cover vesting of retiree health benefits -- which is why companies could legally take them away.

Pension benefits, are currently protected under ERISA -- and they should stay that way.

The letter from the NRLB to Ted Kennedy is to ward off proposed legislation for pension benefits.

<edit to add> Congressman Tierney introduced a bill to provide ERISA protection for healthcare benefits.
Of course, it never got any Republican co-sponsors.

'Sell all your mutual funds!' (Yes, all!)
Top adviser: They're 'ripping you off,' so he takes own advice, sells!

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/sell-all-your-mutual-funds/story.aspx?guid=%7B4B8CD1AC%2DE5B4%2D46E0%2D9C24%2D03B45347A67F%7D&dist=MostReadHome



Much more at the link!

Folks, something is deeply wrong with the American mutual fund industry when one of our best and the brightest financial advisors makes such a strong indictment of corruption in the entire $10 trillion fund industry, and then not only sells all his funds but wants everyone else to sell too. Think about it, maybe you should sell!

But, my retirement plan holds me while the insiders punch me.

Ask me about... Mandated investment retirement AKA 401(k)s. :eyes:

and he kept telling everyone "now is the time to buy", even though the bubble still had a long way down to go. If anyone had followed his advice then, they'd have lost 75% of their investment, at least. So, I do believe him when he says this:

---"How did Edelman go from strong advocate to arch-enemy of the fund industry engaged in a sell-off. What pushed him? He was betrayed. Remember back in the 2003-2004 era, the massive scandals? Not just Edelman, we were all betrayed -- you, me and the rest of America's 95 million Main Street investors were betrayed by the illegal and immoral behavior of the entire fund industry, which continues even today."---

I think he was "betrayed" long before that, specifically in 1998-2000, he definitely "betrayed" his TV viewers back then anyway. Who knows if Edelman actually took his own trading advice then or now.

on this thread that until we have more accounability and transparency with companies-stocks are risky for the average investor. Sarbanes is not enough. We also need to know clearly what the CEO makes as their salaries ARE eating into the bottom line. We also need CLEAR fee statements from mutual funds. Until the the antiseptic nature of light is shown on some of these dealing-the small time investor just as well take his funds to Vegas (but you knew that) ;)

I ALSO think CEO's should not use the pension fund to balance their books. When they go bankrupt....the pension should go to the front of the line of creditors-not the end like they do now and they should be fully funded under lock and key-totally out of company hands!

(Sorry I missed a few days - swamped at work. I'm still swamped but the last two ino emails I got made no sense so now I want to know what's going on.)

Highlights

Current:



30-day and 90-day vs.greenback:



30-day vs. Euro, Yen, UK Pound and Swiss Franc




Currency Comparison: http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/looniewatch.html

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

Up-to-the-minute graph: http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CME_CD.Y%24%24&v=s&w=5&t=l&a=1

Historical values http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/CAD/data30.html

2007-09-24 Monday, September 24 0.998901 USD
2007-09-25 Tuesday, September 25 0.9995 USD
2007-09-26 Wednesday, September 26 0.99552 USD
2007-09-27 Thursday, September 27 0.99691 USD
2007-09-28 Friday, September 28 1.00412 USD
2007-10-01 Monday, October 1 1.00715 USD
2007-10-02 Tuesday, October 2 0.9998 USD
2007-10-03 Wednesday, October 3 1.00392 USD
2007-10-04 Thursday, October 4 1.002 USD
2007-10-05 Friday, October 5 1.01885 USD
2007-10-08 Monday, October 8 1.01885 USD
2007-10-09 Tuesday, October 9 1.01564 USD
2007-10-10 Wednesday, October 10 1.01906 USD
2007-10-11 Thursday, October 11 1.02627 USD
2007-10-12 Friday, October 12 1.02701 USD
2007-10-15 Monday, October 15 1.02501 USD
2007-10-16 Tuesday, October 16 1.0227 USD
2007-10-17 Wednesday, October 17 1.02712 USD
2007-10-18 Thursday, October 18 1.02743 USD
2007-10-19 Friday, October 19 1.03767 USD
2007-10-22 Monday, October 22 1.01926 USD


Current values

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

Market            Open   High    Low   Last  Change    Pct 
CD.Y$$ Cash        1.0367 1.0376 1.0338 1.0338 +0.0146 +1.43% 
CD.Z07 Dec 2007    1.0377 1.0390 1.0315 1.0347 +0.0154 +1.51%  
CD.H08 Mar 2008    1.0336 1.0355 1.0322 1.0350 +0.0158 +1.55% 
CD.M08 Jun 2008    1.0283 1.0283 1.0247 1.0191 -0.0176 -1.73% 
CD.U08 Sep 2008    1.0322 1.0344 1.0322 1.0344 +0.0157 +1.54% 
CD.Z08 Dec 2008    1.0330 1.0330 1.0330 1.0330 +0.0152 +1.49% 
CD.H09 Mar 2009    1.0055 1.0060 1.0050 1.0169 -0.0177 -1.74% 

Other combinations:

AU.Z07 AUSTRALIAN $/US$ Dec (NYBOT)          0.88120 -0.01155  
HY.Z07 CANADIAN $/JAPANESE YEN Dec (NYBOT) 118.360   +2.595 
GB.Z07 EURO/BRITISH POUND Dec (NYBOT)        0.6963  -0.0032 
EP.Z07 EURO/CANADIAN $ Dec (NYBOT)           1.37490 -0.01395 
EJ.Z07 EURO/JAPANESE YEN Sep (NYBOT)       162.74    +1.97 

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

The December Canadian Dollar was sharply higher overnight and trading above the 10-day moving average crossing at 102.56 as it consolidates some of Monday's decline. Stochastics and the RSI are overbought, diverging and are turning neutral to bearish signaling that a short-term top might be in or is near. Closes below the 20-day moving average crossing at 1.0165 would confirm that a short-term top has been posted. If December extends this fall's rally, upside targets are hard to project if it extends this fall's rally into uncharted territory. First resistance is last Friday's high crossing at 1.0383. First support is Monday's low at crossing at 1.0179 then the 20-day moving average crossing at 1.0165.

Analysis

Previous Close 1.0192 ... Open 1.0377. OK, that's just plain :crazy:.

Yesterday the greenback took off. Today it corrected. Other currencies are settling into the routine "uncharted territory" kinda thing. Euro's off a bit. Oh, God is the yen ever taking a pounding. (http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=102320071000) That can't be good. Neither is a $CAN high of 103.9. There's some huge arguments starting up with retailers, customers and wholesalers about the disparate $US and $CAN pricing on most goods. Retailers are saying their price is set by the wholesaler and they're locked into that price (and markup) by contract.

Oil's going through the roof. I bought a cute little foldup bicycle (used, I didn't pay anywhere's near that) yesterday. Granted, so far I'm only using it to get from the parking lot to work (about 3 football fields - I'm in overflow, overflow, overflow parking) but I may ride it down to the University tonight to save parking and gas.

The Gold Bugs are probably also in full cry. Don't get me started. Copper's up, which supports the push towards eliminating the $CAN.penny.

I'll drop by later (hopefully) to see if things settle down any.

Current values

Market            Open   High    Low    Last Change    Pct  
CD.Y$$     Cash 1.0367 1.0376 1.0338 1.0353 +0.0161 +1.58% 
CD.Z07 Dec 2007 1.0377 1.0390 1.0315 1.0348 +0.0155 +1.52% 
CD.H08 Mar 2008 1.0336 1.0355 1.0322 1.0346 +0.0154 +1.51% 
CD.M08 Jun 2008 1.0283 1.0283 1.0247 1.0344 +0.0153 +1.50% 
CD.U08 Sep 2008 1.0322 1.0344 1.0322 1.0340 +0.0153 +1.50% 
CD.Z08 Dec 2008 1.0330 1.0330 1.0330 1.0331 +0.0153 +1.50% 
CD.H09 Mar 2009 1.0055 1.0060 1.0050 1.0322 +0.0153 +1.50% 

Blather (from ino.com)

The December Canadian dollar closed up 155 points at 1.0348 today. Prices closed near the session high today and hit a fresh contract high, after big losses on Monday. Bulls are right back in the driver's seat and have the solid upside technical advantage.

...

The December U.S. dollar index closed down 50 points at 77.52 today. Prices closed near the session low as the
bulls wilted quickly after good gains posted Monday. There was not good follow-through buying today and a bullish "key reversal" up on the daily bar chart was not confirmed. The dollar index bears are still in full technical control.

...

The December Japanese yen closed down 45 points at .8773 today. Prices closed nearer the session low. Bulls still
have some upside technical momentum, but need to show power soon to keep it.

Dow 13,676.23 109.26 (0.81%)
Nasdaq 2,799.26 45.33 (1.65%)
S&P 500 1,519.59 13.26 (0.88%)
10-Yr Bond 4.405% 0.012

NYSE Volume 3,318,233,750
Nasdaq Volume 2,420,313,500

4:20 pm : When American Express (AXP 58.66, +1.79), AT&T (T 42.02, +0.85), DuPont (DD 46.81, +0.24), UPS (UPS 75.64, +0.55), Burlington Northern (BNI 86.54, +3.54) and Apple (AAPL 186.16, +11.80) all deliver better than expected earnings results, there is ample reason to think the stock market will enjoy a bullish session. That happened to be the case on Tuesday, as the indices rode that batch of good earnings news to higher levels.

The tech sector powered the advance, or more specifically, Apple did. The innovative technology company posted a 67% gain in fiscal fourth quarter net income and topped analysts' consensus EPS estimate by $0.16. By all accounts, Apple delivered a blowout report and its stock reflected investors' enthusiasm for the results.

Apple's good news fueled continued buying interest in other, leading momentum favorites such as Research In Motion (RIMM 124.53, +11.15), Google (GOOG 675.77, +25.02) and Amazon.com (AMZN 100.82, +9.53). Not surprisingly, the Nasdaq 100 logged a healthy 2.1% advance that carried the broader Nasdaq Composite higher.

The semiconductor group trailed the action as it was pinned down by a fourth quarter revenue warning from Texas Instruments (TXN 31.43, -2.84) that was tied to increased competition.

Separately, retailer Coach (COH 36.60, -4.87) also issued a disappointing outlook for the fourth calendar quarter that hit its stock hard. Meanwhile, Target (TGT 61.36, -0.19) cut its October same-store sales guidance to 2-4% from 3-5% and Wal-Mart (WMT 43.93, -1.32) told attendees at its analyst meeting that it is trimming its capital expenditure forecast for fiscal 2008 and that it expects sales to grow at a slower pace than before in the next two fiscal years.

Despite these pockets of weakness which contributed to a mid-morning sell-off, the stock market maintained a bullish bias as the dip was greeted with renewed buying interest. In fact, there was a rush of buying interest in the final half hour that left the major indices at, or near, their best levels of the day at the closing bell.

Six of the ten economic sectors registered gains greater than 1.0%. The financial (+0.7%) and consumer discretionary (+0.4%) were not in that grouping, and although they ended higher, they underperformed the broader market.

There weren't any economic releases today, which meant it was very much an earnings-driven advance. On Wednesday the market will receive the September existing home sales report and will digest another large batch of earnings results from such luminaries as Amazon.com, Boeing (BA 94.95, +0.02), Merrill Lynch (MER 67.12, +0.65) and WellPoint (WLP 79.48, +0.79).DJ30 +109.26 NASDAQ +45.33 SP500 +13.26 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1141/1793/2.39 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1065/2208/1.31 bln

3:30 pm : The Dow and S&P have slipped of their best levels of the session, while the Nasdaq is holding near its intraday highs.

After the close, 67 companies will be reporting their earnings, including Amazon.com (AMZN 97.99, +6.70). Amazon is expected to report earnings of $0.18 per share.

Tomorrow, the National Association of Realtors will release its September Existing Home Sales Report at 10:00 ET. The weekly energy report will be released at 10:30 ET. DJ30 +58.53 NASDAQ +33.35 SP500 +6.44 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1401/1523/1.93 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1344/1891/955 mln