STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday December 18

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday December 18, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 399 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2527 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2249 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2210
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

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

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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 17, 2007

Dow... 13,167.20 -172.65 (-1.29%)
Nasdaq... 2,574.46 -61.28 (-2.32%)
S&P 500... 1,445.90 -22.05 (-1.50%)
Gold future... 799.30 +1.30 (+0.16%)
30-Year Bond 4.62% -0.03 (-0.73%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.19% -0.04 (-0.92%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

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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

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Read more: du

BY ROB KIRBY

This past weekend I was reading a snippet of the Privateer; a brilliantly prescient newsletter that was re-iterating the words of financial journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in describing the unprecedented and coordinated Central Bank actions last week,

“Never before have the central banks of North America, Europe, and Britain acted together as such a unified phalanx, but never before have transatlantic credit markets seized up with such violent effect.”

The folks at the Privateer went on to add,

Behind Closed Doors – Frankfurt Explodes In Rage:

“The European Central Bank (ECB) is a full-scale participant in the desperate global attempt to get the western world’s banking and financial system restarted. In Frankfurt, the officials are seething at the enormous scale of borrowing by British banks at the European Central Bank’s window, calling much of it “central bank arbitrage”. The main British banks are doing this because it is cheaper and easier to borrow from the ECB’s window than it is for them to borrow in the London Libor market or in any other market. But in the process of borrowing from the ECB, the British banks cause the ECB to create new volumes of Euro currency vastly beyond the Eurozone’s own needs. That inflates the Euro.”

....

This is highly suggestive that British banks took down a disproportionate amount of “now toxic and illiquid U.S. paper” and that the most recent “bail-out” plan hatched by the Central Bank community last week was most likely primarily aimed at these same British banks who are now “scrambling” to find the cheapest and most anonymous sources to finance their “now apparent” BLUNDER.

While the latest rescue package announced last week by the Central Banking community exhibits a veneer of co-operation and cohesion – it is more than apparent that a great deal of finger-pointing and the “blame game” is occurring in earnest, buried out-of-sight for the time being.

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

8:30 AM Housing Starts Nov
Briefing Forecast 1170K
Market Expects 1175K
Prior 1229K

8:30 AM Building Permits Nov
Briefing Forecast 1180K
Market Expects 1150K
Prior 1170K

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

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose slightly Tuesday amid expectations a midweek U.S. government report will show crude stockpiles fell for a fifth straight week.

Wednesday's report by the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration for the week ended Dec. 14 will show U.S. crude supplies fell 1.3 million barrels, according to the averaged forecasts of nine analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose 10 cents to $90.73 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. In London, Brent crude futures added 14 cents to $91.43 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The analysts also expect the EIA report to show distillate inventories, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell about 300,000 barrels while gasoline stockpiles are expected to rise 700,000 barrels.

....

Analysts said Friday's U.S. government report that consumer inflation jumped in November by the largest amount in more than two years continues to weigh on markets.

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

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home builder sentiment held at a record low for a third consecutive month in December, weighed down by problems in the mortgage market and a huge supply of unsold houses, an industry group said on Monday.

The National Association of Home Builders said its preliminary NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index was unchanged at 19 in December, remaining at its lowest reading since the gauge started in January 1985.

....

The December index was in line with expectations based on a Reuters survey of economists.

Readings below 50 indicate more builders view market conditions as poor than favorable.

....

The gauge of current single-family homes sales rose to 19 from 18, compared with 33 a year ago and 40 in February. The index of sales expected in the next six months rose to 26 from 24, down from 49 a year earlier and from 53 in February. The prospective-buyer traffic measure declined to 14 from 17, below 23 a year ago and the 2007 high of 29 set in February.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071217/bs_nm/usa_housing_homebuilders_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A new Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N) stock hedge fund could be launched with more than $6 billion, with some investors expecting the fund to attract as much $10 billion, people familiar with the fund said.

Goldman has been raising money and preparing to launch its latest fund for the past few months. Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein told investors last month the new long-short fund would focus on equities and help diversify the firm's fund offerings for clients.

....

Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, the new fund, is set to open for business on January 1. It will be managed by two men who traded for Goldman's own accounts: Raanan Agus, head of principal strategies since 2003, and Kenneth Eberts, head of U.S. investments over the same period.

It has been an unusually tough year for Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), where market turmoil slammed Goldman's Global Alpha fund, which started 2007 with more than $10 billion in assets and could end the year at less than $6 billion after market declines and withdrawals.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071218/bs_nm/goldmansachs_hedgefund1_dc

:hatinhands:

Let's build ANOTHER one! :D

WASHINGTON - A Federal Reserve plan being unveiled Tuesday would give people taking out home mortgages new protections against shady lending practices.

The rules to be proposed are especially geared to providing some future safeguards to the riskiest "subprime" borrowers, already painfully stung by the housing and credit debacles. The proposal is expected to apply to new, or future, loans made by all types of lenders, including banks and brokers. The plan could be finalized next year.

....

Fed policymakers also will look into improving financial disclosures so people better understand the terms and conditions of their mortgages. It will consider ways to crack down on misleading mortgage advertising.

The Fed's response has taken on heightened importance given the meltdown in the housing and credit markets that has led to record numbers of home foreclosures. The crisis has raised the odds that the economy might fall into a recession, roiled Wall Street and given Democrats and Republicans much fodder to blame each other.

The plan, if ultimately adopted, offers Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who took over the helm in February 2006, an important opportunity to put his imprint on the Fed's regulatory powers. Some critics have complained that Bernanke's predecessor — Alan Greenspan, who ran the Fed for 18 1/2 years — failed to act as a forceful regulator especially during the 2001-2005 housing boom, where easy credit spurred lots of subprime home loans and many exotic types of mortgages.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071218/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_mortgage_crisis

WASHINGTON - Despite intense political pressure, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve a proposal Tuesday that will allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper — overturning a 32-year-old ban.

Republican Chairman Kevin Martin says his plan is a "relatively minor loosening" of the rule, but it has received a considerable amount of opposition.

On Monday, 25 senators, including four Republicans, sent him a letter threatening that if he goes ahead with the vote, they will move legislation to revoke the rule and nullify the commission's action.

But according to a letter that surfaced late Monday, it is clear the chairman has the full support of the White House. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez wrote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Dec. 4 expressing the administration's opposition to legislation approved by the Senate Commerce Committee that would have delayed a vote.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071218/ap_on_bi_ge/media_ownership

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The size of China's economy is overestimated by some 40 percent, but it remains the world's second largest using a ranking based on purchasing power, the World Bank said Monday.

In a report ranking the world's economies for 2005, the World Bank said its updated survey using "purchasing power parity" (PPP) shows a much smaller value for China than earlier estimates which the Bank called "less reliable."

The study carried out by the World Bank and other partners was "the most extensive and thorough effort" to measure the relative size of 146 economies using the PPP method which strips out the effect of exchange rates, a Bank statement said.

China participated in the survey for the first time and India for the first time since 1985.

While the economies of China and other developing countries appear larger using the PPP method compared to using market rates, the new estimates include more reliable data on goods and services in China.

....

Using market methods, Japan would be the second largest economy and China would rank behind Germany, roughly equivalent to the economies of Britain and France, according to the World Bank report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071217/bs_afp/worldbankeconomysurveychina

The Japanese government expressed worries Tuesday about soaring crude oil prices and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, noting in a key economic report that Japanese corporate profits may be weakening.

The Cabinet Office maintained its view that the world's second-largest economy remained on a steady recovery track supported by exports, and kept much of the same language from previous reports.

....

And while it said exports were growing, especially to Asia, the U.S. and Europe, the government highlighted the risks of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, Japan's biggest export market, due to the housing slump and credit crunch there.

Another threat is the surging price of oil, which Japan must import.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8TJQJHG0.htm

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal prosecutors are investigating whether a Bear Stearns Co Inc fund manager improperly withdrew his own money from a fund while making rosy forecasts about the prospect of the portfolio, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Journal said that in the weeks before two Bear Stearns funds collapsed Ralph Cioffi took about $2 million of his own money from the riskiest of the two funds, and moved it to another internal fund with a different investment strategy.

No other Bear executive had been invested in the fund, the Journal said.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=OBR&date=20071218&id=7953213

(Fortune) -- Never easy, the automobile business has gotten exponentially more difficult in recent months, as manufacturers rewrite their new model plans to cope with the eventual tightening of fuel economy standards.

The latest victim is Volvo. According to a report in a Swedish auto magazine, Volvo is performing euthanasia on its popular sport-utility, the XC90. A revamped XC90 that was due to hit the market in 2010 has been cancelled because Volvo had no hybrid powertrain to put in it. For a brand that aspires to greenness as Volvo does, such an absence could be highly damaging to its environmental image. So after a facelift that will keep it on the market until 2012, the popular and highly-profitable XC90 will go wheels-up.

The XC90 joins some other familiar names in the automobile graveyard. According to intelligence work by Global Insight, the Waltham, Massachusetts research and consulting firm, General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) has decided not to replace the old Chevy TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy when they expire in 2010. And Lexus has designated no successor to the FX 470 when it goes away at the end of the 2009 model year.

....

It is an ignoble end to a proud motoring era. Not more than 15 years ago, SUVs ruled the automotive landscape and produced record profits during Detroit's last golden age. Now the most popular SUV of that era, the Ford Explorer, is headed to the scrap heap, done in by fuel economy and the lingering effects of tire-shredding and rollover issues from several years ago.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/17/magazines/fortune/motorworld_suv.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007121803

:)

Hmm, I'm thinking someone could live in a beached Hummer. :idea:

:donut: and lurkers. Prag-your idea of living in a beached Hummer is not to far off. I am starting to see an up tick in our permanent residents at the resort RV park. I think the wheels are turning as we speak. I went to another store last night. Again, the same story as Sunday at Target. These are American Middle Class stores. No trouble getting a parking spot and inside a ghost town. More of these stores are staying open later now but time to shop is not the problem-money, more specifically the lack of it is the problem. Today I was talking to a parent in the school. When I mentioned living without credit cards for 4 years now and all, she said she and hubby had been talking about it. Of course-I introduced her to my fav-Dave Ramsey. She asked me to write it down for her (that makes 2 in 3 days). She said she likes the cards but she is ready to tear hers up. I don't think she is alone. Folks that have good credit are getting tired of being nickeled and dimed to death by the credit card companies and money is just tight enough that they are thinking about how much this is costing them. I know it has been said before but credit cards will be the next crash.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

:hangover:

Yep, unsecured credit is the Pink Dancing Mastodon on the back of the Polka-dotted perfumed Mortgage Sperm
Whale balanced on the shaky wicker coffee table in the middle of the fancy living room... Still nobody is
talking about it and the FUNDAMENTALS ARE UP! UP! UP! :eyes:

Congrats on perhaps saving another person from debt slavery.

Have a great day.

I want me some of that coffee you are always hovering over if I can get that type of er, uh, "reception".

WS and the MSM have not been talking about business fundamentals since Jimmy Carter. That is one of the reasons Berkshire Hathaway has done so well. Everyone else was chasing a quick buck via technical trading and Buffet is old school fundamentals.

and that all that aggressive metal on the outside is just trim to shout "I'm rich! I'm important! I have a shriveled little dick! Get out of my way!"

I know they aren't much fun to drive, but I'm afraid families won't be able to live in them. Maybe couples. Chummy couples.

Asian shares ended mixed on Tuesday with Australia, Japan, and China under pressure as investors continued to weigh concerns about the US economy and fears that high inflation will prevent the US Federal Reserve from cutting rates to revive growth.

Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore managed modest gains as investors picked up bargains after recent selling.

The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.4 pct to 6,236.9 though it was well above its morning low of 6,105.6. The index has lost nearly 4 pct in just two sessions, coming under pressure Monday after shopping centre operator Centro Properties Group issued a profit warning.

The All Ordinaries finished down 0.6 pct at 6,292.6.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-21737886.htm

12/17/07 Staring into the Abyss
The Collapse Of The Modern Day Banking System By Mike Whitney

some snippets:
.
.
Most people have no idea how grave the present situation is or the disaster the country will face if trillions of dollars of over-leveraged bonds and equities begin to unwind. There's a widespread belief that the stewards of the system—Bernanke and Paulson—can somehow steer the economy through this “rough patch” into calm waters. But they cannot, and the presumption shows a basic misunderstanding of how markets work. The Fed has no magical powers and will it allow itself to be crushed by standing in the path of a market-avalanche. As foreclosures and bankruptcies increase; stocks will crash and the fed will step aside to safety. That much is certain.

In the last few weeks, Bernanke and Paulson have tried a number of strategies that have failed miserably. Paulson concocted a plan to help the major investment banks consolidate and repackage their nonperforming mortgage-backed junk into a “Super SIV” to give them another chance to unload their bad investments on the public. The plan was nothing more than a public relations ploy which has already been abandoned by most of the key participants. Paulson's involvement is a real black eye for the Dept of the Treasury. It makes it look like he's willing to dupe investors as long as it helps his well-heeled Wall Street buddies.
.
.
As the downgrades on CDOs and MBSs continue to accelerate, there'll likely be a frantic “flight to cash” by investors, just like the recent surge into US Treasuries. This will be followed by a series of spectacular bank and non-bank defaults. The trillions of dollars of “virtual capital” that was miraculously created through securitzation when the market was buoyed-along by optimism; will vanish in a flash when the market is driven by fear. In fact, the equity bubble has already been punctured and the process is well underway.

lots more...
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18913.htm

The Fed issued a statement that “it will make up to $24 billion available to the European Central Bank (ECB) and Swiss National Bank to increase the supply of dollars in Europe.” (Bloomberg)


The Fed is paying other countries to hold on to their dollars? Is that what that means? Is that why the dollar has gone up? I'm confused. Any insight would be appreciated!

12/18/07
LONDON (Reuters) - There is more bad news to come for the financial sector and central banks have joined forces to prevent a sharp slowdown in the world economy due to the credit crunch, Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said on Tuesday.

"The problems in the financial sector remain with us," King told parliament's Treasury Select Committee. "A painful adjustment faces the global banking sector over the next few months as losses are revealed and new capital is raised to repair bank balance sheets."

Five of the world's leading central banks announced an unprecedented assault on the credit crunch last week, pledging to make more money available to markets.

"The actions demonstrate that central banks are working together to forestall any sharp tightening in credit conditions that might lead to a downturn around the world," King said.

The BoE on Tuesday offered 10 billion pounds of three-month money to the market which was taken up at a minimum bid rate of 5.36 percent, following on from the European Central Bank's own injection of cash.

But King said the central banks' action might not be enough.

more...
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSL1802235020071218?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0


edit to add from the article...
King said a lack of cash was not a problem for banks, but highlighted their unwillingness to lend to each other.

Overlooked in this morning's coverage of the almost half a trillion going to the banks was an item on the BBC that Northern Rock was having all of its assets guaranteed as opposed to the initial $50B. Am I the only one who sees this as a transfer of wealth? The way I see it the banks and other financial institutions played fast and loose with a credit bubble. The reaped billions in profits. Now that the losses are being exposed, they are quietly being shift over to tax payers and their children. I remember the S&L Crisis, which wouldn't even be a "crisis" by today's standard. We're going through the same song and dance now - bailouts, fix-ups, new programs to help a few of the people harmed by the thuggery. Seems to me that if you want to do something to prevent this from happening again, you make them disgorge their profits and throw some bankers in jail.

WASHINGTON — Housing construction fell in November and single-family activity dropped to the lowest level in more than 16 years as a severe housing slump showed no signs of a turnaround.

The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 3.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.187 million units.

Construction of single-family homes fell by 5.5 percent to an annual rate of 829,000 units, the lowest level since April 1991, while multi-family construction was up 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 332,000 units.

In a bad sign for future activity, the government reported that applications for building permits fell for a sixth straight month, dropping by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.15 million units, the slowest pace for building permits since June 1993.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5386670.html

Let's see...who was President in 1991

:think:

For the third time in a month, an analysis of state finances is warning that budget deficits and spending cuts are on the way.

Thirteen states say they could face shortfalls for the fiscal year that begins July 1 in most states, including large states like California and New York.

The deficits could reach at least $23 billion, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released Tuesday.

The report says another 11 states expect problems with their budgets over the next two years, suggesting a return to the bleak economic outlook states faced at the beginning of the decade.



http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5386730.html


This is the thing that Neocons fail to grasp. If they starve the federal government, responsibilities shift to the state. Many states are in no fiscal position to preform these federally mandated programs. They rely on property taxes but with the housing bust and subsequent re-valuation...there will be even less. This is one of those ripples I have talked about before. Fasten your seat belts and make sure your trays are locked in their upright position. :hide:

NEW YORK — Wheat prices surged above $10 a bushel for the first time ever Monday amid concerns that strong demand globally could result in a grain shortage in the United States next year — worsening food price inflation.

Other commodities markets mostly declined, with energy, other agricultural futures and metals moving lower.

Wheat supplies in the U.S. have dwindled this year as one wheat crop after another around the world has been damaged by poor weather, most recently in Australia and Argentina. That's sent buyers scrambling for stockpiles at any cost. U.S. wheat exporters already have sold more than 90 percent of the 1.2 billion bushels the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects will be exported during the whole marketing year, which ends in June 2008.

Wheat prices crossing the $10-a-bushel threshold won't immediately translate into a spike in retail prices for bread, cereal, cookies and other products, experts say. That's partly because companies like Kellogg Co., General Mills, ConAgra Foods and Kraft Foods typically protect themselves from price volatility with long-term supply contracts. But analysts say consumers should expect that higher wheat prices will eventually work their way into the grocery aisle.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5385850.html

This is how contaminated gluten gets into this country. Food sources are becoming outsourced and it a short step from a business deal to an embargo or nationalization in times of crop failure.

on local news last night - first they talked about how holiday sales aren't all that great on the national level,then they followed it up by talking to a few local merchants, asking them if their sales are up or down from last year

lots of hemming-hawing doding the questions and basically saying they hope this last week will bring out shoppers as no snow/ice storms in the forcast.... translation: sales suck, losing my shirt and only a miracle can save my butt this year

then they talked to a few shoppers - spending more/less than last year. to a person they said they are spending less, just don't have the money, any extra money they would have had is being eaten up by heat/gas prices even groceries and other necessities going up..