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Fed. 1day RP + 11.50B [Net add All ]
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
W@G2 QQQQ 02/27/08 for a 02/29/08 close
45.00 rayrohn
44.10 dr_sean
43.25 bob3
42.78 frenchee
Capstone Announces New Distributor Agreement for the Southeastern Region of the United States
Wednesday February 27, 5:00 am ET
CHATSWORTH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.microturbine.com) (NASDAQ:CPST - News), the world’s leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, today announced the signing of a new Distributor agreement with Reagan Equipment Co., Inc. for all applications and market segments in the Southeastern region of the United States including Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida and the US Gulf of Mexico.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/080227/20080227005186.html?.v=1
The King Report
M. Ramsey King Securities, Inc.
Tuesday February 26, 2008 – Issue 3821 "Independent View of the News"
Here’s the compelling question: Why did S&P make a public AAA ratings reaffirmation on the twokey monoliners while a bailout for AMBAC was reportedly at hand?
Once again only the British media has answers. The Times: A proposed $3 billion (£1.5 billion)bailout of Ambac, the bond insurer, by a consortium that includes Barclays and Royal Bank ofScotland could be at least a week away and may not be enough to rescue the firm… Ambac couldneed far more than an extra $3 billion and are moving to ensure that the rescue does not open them up to unlimited liabilities.
And get this important disclosure that S&P apparently ignored or didn’t know: MBIA, Ambac’s rival, was yesterday notified that it was being sued by the law firm Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins for allegedly issuing false and misleading statements about its exposure to CDOs.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/
business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article3434636.ece
The S&P AAA reaffirmation obfuscated negative news for both AMBAC and MBIA – no imminent bailout for AMBAC and MBIA being sued over CDO exposure reporting. This news would’ve disturbed the market, which would’ve reacted violently because it was expecting very good news.
After Monday’s close, MBIA said it would stop insuring asset-backed securities for 6 months and separate municipal insurance from asset-back insurance within five years…Who can wait 5 years?...CEO Jay Brown asserted, "We can expect a bumpy ride over the coming months and possibly longer."
MBIA, which raised $2.6B over the past three months, insures $673B of municipal and asset-backed securities. How are a couple billion dollars enough to remedy their problems?
Pundits aver the dubious S&P AAA rating reaffirmation for monoline insurers boosted stocks because the market is relieved that there won’t be imminent write-downs for banks, brokers and wise guys.In other words, S&P’s AAA reaffirmation keeps financial concerns from marking some of their crappypaper to reality and allows people to continue the charade that all is well so the stock market and consumer confidence can survive another day. And some believe the markets are efficient & rational?!?
Late night the WSJ reported: FDIC Readies for a Rise in Bank Failures The Federal Deposit InsuranceCorp. is taking steps to brace for an increase in failed financial institutions as the nation's housing and credit markets continue to worsen. The FDIC is looking to bring back 25 retirees from its division of
resolutions and receiverships. Many of these agency veterans likely worked for the FDIC during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 1,000 financial institutions failed amid the savings-and-loan crisis.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120398607404892
133.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news
You wanna bet the FDIC story will be mostly ignored even though it’s highly significant?
Barry Ritholtz: MBI was forced to sell surplus notes at par that yielded 14% during that capital raise - that is way above junk bond levels. In the markets, it’s trading between 97-100. The US Govt is AAA, GE is AAA, Exxon Mobil, Johnson & Johnson, Berkshire Hathaway and Northwestern Mutual are also AAA.
Peter Boockvar of Miller Tabak: "What S&P is saying is that a bond yielding 14% in the marketplace is also AAA. It's now a game among the rating agencies, regulators and banks with whether the bond insurers are rated AAA or not when they clearly are not and their securities don't trade as they are. This is being done in an attempt to prevent the banks from going through another round of writedowns."
What of Ambac? Any hope of its AAA ratings reaffirmations are likely contingent upon a deal going thru -- and if it falls apart so, do any hope of AAA ratings for Ambac. What this really points out is how worthless and corrupt the S&P and Moody's ratings actually are.
Forget that the foxes are watching the henhouse, it appears that the regulators, banks, insurers, and SEC,Federal Reserve -- pretty much anyone else you can think of -- are all in cahoots with each other. It’sAmerican Socialism at its finest…
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/02/monoline-rescue.html
Monday trading commenced under the pall of negative news for financial stocks. No AMBAC bailout appeared. CIBC analyst Meredith Whitney said Citi might show a quarterly loss. Goldman said the following write-down might occur: Bear Stearns $1.4B, Citi $12B, LEH $3.5B, MER $4B, JPM $3.4B and Morgan Stanley $3.1B…Goldman downgraded Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Wachovia.
Also weighing on financial stocks was ubiquitous commentary about deteriorating credit spreads.Credit spreads have doubled YTD; but equities have declined just 10% YTD. The spread between corporate bonds and 10-year Treasuries is about 300bps, the widest since the Depression.
Barron’s notes leveraged loans are trading about .88 on the dollar, which implies a default rate of 10% to15%. This would be a record default level and is higher than the implied default rate on junk bonds.
What is striking about the loan market trading so ugly is the Fed over the weekend tried to mollify market fears about the collateral it was accepting by stating that half of the collateral it has accepted is loans.
Monday’s FT: Fed’s collateral book mostly in loans More than half the collateral backing cash advances made by the Federal Reserve to banks operating in the US is in the form of loans rather than securities, the New York Fed has told the Financial Times.
This is the first time the Fed has offered any insight into its collateral portfolio, and the news is likely to diminish market concerns about the nature of the assets backing the Fed loans.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/69f8e9c6-e326-11dc-803f-0000779fd2ac.html
-END-
http://www.lemetropolecafe.com/james_joyce_table.cfm?pid=6698
Courtesy... basserdan
Real-Time Forex Streamers (2)
http://www.netdania.com/QuoteList.asp
http://www.forex-markets.com/quotes.htm
Real-Time Forex Streamers (2)
http://www.netdania.com/QuoteList.asp
http://www.forex-markets.com/quotes.htm
Futures (2) + World Indices
http://www.cme.com/dta/del/globex.html
http://money.cnn.com/data/premarket/
World Indices (2) Mini Charts
Updates every 60sec ~ Watch the dates!!
http://www.wwfn.com/commentary/oscharts.html
http://www.allstocks.com/markets/World_Charts/Asian_Stock_Markets/asian_stock_markets.html
OT: Myself
This is very strange, copy:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
you have mail what is holding up this these markets and why isn't the vix taking off
any idea?
no idea this market, all holding for magic from benny l guess
put 600, 605, 610 OEX p on my watch list
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Glad l took no action
OT: Myself
sent you mail, have not recv any from you
Palladium up 9 chart reply to/
Silver content nightwear to launch in UK to protect from superbug
A big UK chain store is putting a range of nightwear on the market incorporating silver thread as a biocide to help prevent hospital acquired infections.
Author: Lawrence Williams
Posted: Monday , 01 Oct 2007
LONDON -
One of the biggest UK clothing chain stores, Marks & Spencer (M&S), is to launch a line of pyjamas containing silver thread to protect against hospital superbugs like MRSA in two weeks time.
As reported in Mineweb some months ago - see article Esoteric uses keep silver demand flying high, it is silver's bivalency which is perhaps the key, which makes the metal highly reactive to the extent that, among other things, it is a natural biocide which means growing medical usage - and it is being used in clothing too for people in arduous occupations - like the military. It has uses in combating many viruses like legionella - and in the UK perhaps in the fight against hospital borne diseases like MRSA.
According to a report on The Telegraph website Sunday, M&S will market a range of nightwear under the "Sleep Safe" banner and the first item in the line will be a men's pyjamas set to be sold at a cost of £45 (about US$90).
MRSA, a superbug which has hit many UK hospitals, is a major concern among many patients undergoing surgery. Again, according to The Telegraph, Katherine Murphy, a spokesperson from the Patients Association, said: "Superbugs are the number one concern of every patient going into hospital...We welcome the fact these are going on sale, but it shows how desperate the public is", while Dr Mark Enright, a microbiologist at Imperial College London, said the pyjamas would reduce the risk of a patient getting a skin infection that could infect a wound.
MRSA is linked to over 1500 deaths a year in the UK.
http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page57?oid=37659&sn=Detail
Silver content nightwear to launch in UK to protect from superbug
A big UK chain store is putting a range of nightwear on the market incorporating silver thread as a biocide to help prevent hospital acquired infections.
Author: Lawrence Williams
Posted: Monday , 01 Oct 2007
LONDON -
One of the biggest UK clothing chain stores, Marks & Spencer (M&S), is to launch a line of pyjamas containing silver thread to protect against hospital superbugs like MRSA in two weeks time.
As reported in Mineweb some months ago - see article Esoteric uses keep silver demand flying high, it is silver's bivalency which is perhaps the key, which makes the metal highly reactive to the extent that, among other things, it is a natural biocide which means growing medical usage - and it is being used in clothing too for people in arduous occupations - like the military. It has uses in combating many viruses like legionella - and in the UK perhaps in the fight against hospital borne diseases like MRSA.
According to a report on The Telegraph website Sunday, M&S will market a range of nightwear under the "Sleep Safe" banner and the first item in the line will be a men's pyjamas set to be sold at a cost of £45 (about US$90).
MRSA, a superbug which has hit many UK hospitals, is a major concern among many patients undergoing surgery. Again, according to The Telegraph, Katherine Murphy, a spokesperson from the Patients Association, said: "Superbugs are the number one concern of every patient going into hospital...We welcome the fact these are going on sale, but it shows how desperate the public is", while Dr Mark Enright, a microbiologist at Imperial College London, said the pyjamas would reduce the risk of a patient getting a skin infection that could infect a wound.
MRSA is linked to over 1500 deaths a year in the UK.
http://www.mineweb.co.za/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page57?oid=37659&sn=Detail
Fed. 7day RP + 9.00B [net drain -1.75B
Fed. 7day RP + 9.00B [net drain -1.75B
Gold Bugs Could Call IMF’s Bluff
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks
-- Posted Tuesday, 26 February 2008 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
Traders have a saying -- that “opportunity moves to size” -- and we may get to see it play out as a dramatic showdown in the gold market if the IMF receives a go-ahead from the U.S. to sell 400 tonnes of bullion from its inventory. The prospect surfaced yesterday when it was revealed that the Treasury Department apparently has been lobbying Congress to approve the sale, proposed last May by the IMF to cover a widening income shortfall. At a current price of around $939 an ounce, the auction would raise a little more than $12 billion.
That may sound like a lot of money, but in comparison to, say, the quarterly losses that any number of large banks have reported recently, it would be barely enough to shore up the books of even one of them for more than a few months. But those 400 metric tons of gold would look microscopically small in comparison to pent-up demand for bullion from the very largest buyers, most particularly sovereign governments that hold sizable dollar reserves and who presumably are eager to hedge them against further erosion in value.
Billions vs. Trillions
As a practical matter, there has not been enough gold for sale to mitigate the kind of exposure we are talking about, since the foreign-currency reserves held by China, Japan and Europe alone total near $3 trillion. And even that number could prove to be small in comparison to the demand for gold from individual investors, most of whom are undoubtedly more nervous about the erosion of paper money’s worth than the nations that print it. So with such huge potential demand, why on earth did investors dump gold yesterday, causing it to fall $16 in mere minutes, when word of Treasury’s support for an IMF bullion sale hit the tape? Considering the facts noted above, there can only be one answer: Because the investors are too stupid to do the math.
Which brings us to the prospect of opportunity moving to size. Traders know that when an exceptionally big block of stock is offered for sale, it has a way of coaxing forth demand that might not otherwise have shown itself. That demand can come from hedgers and arbitrageurs, from long-term investors or short-term traders. In this case, it is likely to come from a buyer or buyers so big that they would only risk moving aggressively if there were a big enough offer to allow them to do so without roiling the markets. And that is what we predict will happen the next time a size block of gold is offered by the IMF: the piranhas will pick it clean so fast that the bankers, disdaining gold as they evidently do, are going to regret not having offered a thousand tonnes instead. For gold bugs, that will be remembered as the day the hard-money advocates called the bankers’ bluff.
***
Seats Going Fast
The 12 seats I’d allotted for the March 8-9 Hidden Pivot seminar are beginning to fill up. If you’d like to attend this online event, click here for further details and instructions on how to register. The class will be held on Saturday/Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mountain Time. If you want to learn how to forecast stocks and commodities as confidently and precisely as top pros, this is an opportunity you should not pass up.
http://news.goldseek.com/RickAckerman/1204009260.php
Bernanke On The Hot Seat ***
by Dr. Scott Brown
***Welcome New board markers***
February 25 – February 29, 2008
Fed Chairman Bernanke will present his semi-annual monetary policy to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday and to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. He is likely to hint at further rate cuts, but will also recognize that the Fed must keep its eye on inflation – suggesting that rates are likely to be raised as soon as the outlook improves. Lawmakers will surely criticize the Fed for not doing enough sooner, but it’s hard to say that the Fed hasn’t done a lot already.
There are three major factors behind the current economic slowdown. The first is the housing sector. Residential construction activity will continue to contract, but the drag on overall growth will fade as homebuilding approaches a bottom. The second is the tightening in credit conditions. Despite a 225-bp reduction in the Fed funds target rate (and a 275-bp drop in the discount rate), credit markets remain under considerable strain. The credit troubles have subprime problems at their root, but weakness has spread broadly. Clarification on a bailout of the bond insurers would surely help, and hopefully, Bernanke will share his views on this – but until there is a concrete plan, the credit markets are unlikely to improve much. The third factor is the impact of higher food and energy prices. Household budgets are constrained and discretionary spending has been cut. A softening in the job market threatens to slow aggregate wage income growth. Hence, the near-term consumer spending outlook is poor (and remember, consumer spending accounts for about 70% of GDP).
Many were quick to label the Fed as being “behind the curve.” However, with the exception of the 25-bp cut at the December policy meeting, it’s hard to fault the Fed’s decisions at each point over the last several months. Certainly, with perfect hindsight, the Fed should have eased faster. However, policymakers made up for that in late January, cutting 125 basis points. Remember, the current easing cycle began with a Fed funds rate that was at a high-neutral level, not restrictive. Credit conditions improved in October (the Fed cut by 25 bps at the end of the month), before weakening again in November. In December, credit conditions continued to deteriorate, partly due to seasonal liquidity issues heading into the end of the year. The Fed disappointed the markets at the December 11 policy meeting, but unveiled its new Term Auction Facility a day later. The Fed has been successful in supplying the markets with needed liquidity. However, stimulating the economy has proved to be a different situation.
In a conference call on January 9, it was clear to FOMC members that downside risks to growth had “increased significantly” and most felt that “substantial additional policy easing in the near term might well be necessary.” On another conference call on January 21, officials indicated that data collected since the previous call had “reinforced the view that the outlook for economic activity was weakening.” Strains in some financial markets “intensified” and investors “were becoming increasingly concerned about the economic outlook and the downside risks to activity.” The 75-bp intermeeting cut was made to demonstrate the Fed’s “commitment to act decisively to support economic activity,” and in turn, to reduce the concerns that had weakened financial markets, and to prevent an adverse feedback loop from developing (where tight credit leads to weaker growth and even tighter credit and so on).
At the late-January policy meeting, the five Fed governors and 12 Fed district bank presidents revised lower their outlooks for GDP growth, and increased their outlooks for unemployment and core inflation. The Fed still expects growth to improve in the second half of the year, while moderating food and energy price increases and slower economic growth should keep inflation in check. However, “downside risks to growth remain.”
The Fed sets policy based on where the economy is expected to be six to 12 months away, but also has to balance the risks to the outlook. It’s not an easy job.
http://www.raymondjames.com/monit1.htm
Out: Filled Sell to Close PAL
My Pal
Some dilution l'd expect.
US Treasury to support IMF gold sales if linked to cost-cutting, reforms
Mon, Feb 25 2008, 15:04 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com
WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The US Treasury, in a significant policy shift, has decided it will support gold sales from the International Monetary Fund's reserves if they are part of a package of cost-cutting and other reforms of the way the international financial organization operates.
Under Secretary for International Affairs David McCormick will lay out the details in a Washington speech later today. In a pre-address briefing for reporters, he said the Bush administration -- which had until now opposed selling IMF gold reserves -- would support a sale of the scale of roughly 8 pct of the IMF reserves or 12.9 mln ounces as part of a package of reforms which also included significant cost-cutting in IMF operations.
The proceeds would be used to create an endowment from which the income would be used to finance the IMF operations.
McCormick said also that the IMF needs to refocus its mission toward international exchange rate surveillance and global financial stability and away from its traditional lending to emerging market countries.
Those economies are now increasingly able to borrow in the private international financial markets, and the loss of their interest payment revenue is a key source of the IMF's current financial problems.
US Treasury to support IMF gold sales if linked to cost-cutting, reforms
Mon, Feb 25 2008, 15:04 GMT
http://www.afxnews.com
WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The US Treasury, in a significant policy shift, has decided it will support gold sales from the International Monetary Fund's reserves if they are part of a package of cost-cutting and other reforms of the way the international financial organization operates.
Under Secretary for International Affairs David McCormick will lay out the details in a Washington speech later today. In a pre-address briefing for reporters, he said the Bush administration -- which had until now opposed selling IMF gold reserves -- would support a sale of the scale of roughly 8 pct of the IMF reserves or 12.9 mln ounces as part of a package of reforms which also included significant cost-cutting in IMF operations.
The proceeds would be used to create an endowment from which the income would be used to finance the IMF operations.
McCormick said also that the IMF needs to refocus its mission toward international exchange rate surveillance and global financial stability and away from its traditional lending to emerging market countries.
Those economies are now increasingly able to borrow in the private international financial markets, and the loss of their interest payment revenue is a key source of the IMF's current financial problems.
Fed. 1day RP + 10.75B [net Add +5.75B ]
Fed. 1day RP + 10.75B [net Add +5.75B ]
W@G1 QQQQ 02/25/08 for a 02/27/08 close
45.25 bob3
44.84 Farooq
44.11 frenchee
OT: VERY INTERESTING STUFF
In the 1400 ' s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"
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Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.
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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S . Treasury.
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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
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The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven:
$ 16,400
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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
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The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.
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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air, the person died because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn ' t added until 5 years later.
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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
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Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand
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Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
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Q. What is the only food that doesn ' t spoil?
A. Honey
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Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father ' s Day
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In Shakespeare ' s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes, the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase..."Goodnight, sleep tight"
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It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride ' s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down."
It ' s where we get the phrase "mind your P ' s and Q ' s"
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Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.
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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
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Don ' t delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn ' t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
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YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...
1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave.
2. You haven ' t played solitaire with real cards in years.
3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.
4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don ' t have e-mail addresses.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen
8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn ' t even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )
12. You ' re reading this and nodding and laughing.
13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn ' t a #9 on this list.
~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.
Go on, forward this to your friends. You know you want to!
Coming Week: Horror Show
02/23/08 - 10:14 AM EST
ABK C (Action Alerts PLUS PICK) HD JWN LOW M MBI SHLD TGT WB
The large batch of economic data due out next week reads like a lineup for the soundtrack of a horror show for financial markets.
http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/markets/marketfeatures/10404685.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA
Bears Routed By Bailout Talk
By: Rick Ackerman, Rick's Picks
Sunday, 24 February 2008
The most violent short-squeeze we’ve witnessed in well more than a week transformed an ugly and despondent stock market on Friday into the proverbial lipsticked pig, but don’t expect the little oinker to fly much higher when stocks start to trade again. The rally occurred with such unexpected swiftness and so late in the day that even the Wall Street Journal’s market wrap-up lagged well behind the excitement and its apparent cause. A half hour after the NYSE closed, and nearly an hour after the blitzkrieg rally began, the Journal’s Peter McKay was still reporting, “Wary Mood Pressures Stocks.”
In fact, it was the un-wariest mood imaginable that had turned stocks maniacally higher, prompted by a “report” that there were “hopes” for a bailout of bond insurer Ambac Financial Group. We enclose these words in quotes because, an hour after the NYSE closed, it was still unclear where the news had come from. Columnist McKay referred in his lead to “hopes for a bailout,” and to “word of a possible deal to bail out the troubled bond insurer” in the next sentence, but he made no further mention of the story/rumor or its source.
Thimble-Riggers
Even so, there can be little doubt that it was put into play by some of the most capable arse bandits on the Street, timed as it was to hit in the final half-hour of the trading week. The fact that it could not be sourced immediately by The Wall Street Journal further suggests that the story was a plant, and a spectacularly effective one at that. To put the reaction to it in perspective, if you had bought just ten S&P futures contracts at 3:20 p.m. (EST), just before the rally took off, you would have made about $75,000 in a little less than thirty minutes.
Not that we think the thimble-riggers who sprang this heist were shooting so low. No sirree, if we were sleuthing around in the time-and-sale records of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, we’d be absolutely flabbergasted if we failed to turn up some shadowy operator who had quietly accumulated at least a thousand contracts ahead of the quote-unquote news. Let’s do the math: At $7,500 in nearly instant profits per contract, that would amount to a quick $7.5 million. That may be small potatoes in the Merc pits, but not so small that the dupes who sold ahead of the rally, and who effectively gave up that $7.5 million, would not try to track down the perpetrators. (Here’s an offer: If you’re one of those who got fleeced, click here and I’ll put you in touch with my old partner-in-crime-solving, Kyle Rimdahl, the storied San Francisco private eye at Lipset Service.)
Ambac’s Re-Rescue
We should also point out that this was not the first time stocks have gotten some hefty unearned mileage from Ambac’s recurring rescue story. Recall that, a couple of weeks ago, Warren Buffett made an offer to take Ambac and two other insurance biggies out of their headaches by buying up the least risky tranches of their portfolios. They turned him down, but not before stocks had reversed 500 points at the mere prospect of a white knight.
Not that anyone other than Kudlow and a few other CNBC shills actually believes that a supposed “bailout” of Ambac is going to save the world. Trouble in the mortgage markets has already metastasized so completely that moral hazard has spread to the entire universe of credit instruments -- even to your supposedly perfectly safe money market fund. Concerning Friday’s knee-jerk reaction to shadowy news of yet another huge bailout (assuming such a thing were even possible in so fearfully skeptical an environment), it is not believers who cause such short-squeezes as we just saw, but rather, panicky shorts who know full well that the nose-pickers in the trading pits will not long ponder whether the Ambac news is genuinely “good” before leaping wildly to buy stocks.
The Buffett rally detumesced quickly when reality reasserted itself the next day, and this rally will too. At least it will have given the pundits and shills another opportunity to make fools of themselves, even if their mindlessly conjectural optimism is completely forgotten in a few days.
http://news.goldseek.com/RickAckerman/1203836400.php
More on Palladium, Platinum, Gold and Electricity
#msg-27058725
Palladium, Platinum, Gold and Electricity
by Sol Palha
February 23, 2008
"If you see the bandwagon... you've missed it." ~ James Phillips
The price differential between Palladium and Platinum has now reached historic proportions; if one goes back all the way to 1977 the price differential between the two metals was never more than 550. Today the price differential is over 1300 dollars; Palladium is trading at roughly 420 and Platinum is trading at roughly 1800 dollars. It is more than double that of the prior price differential which stood roughly at 550 dollars. Just this one fact alone is enough to suggest that Palladium is going to go ballistic. Before we carry on remember this good deals do not present themselves everyday and they take time to become good for if everyone realised they were good no one would be able to make a killing. Good deals depend on mass stupidity and mass impatience; this was clearly seen in the dot.com bust, the housing mania, the Gold, silver bull (both took a long time to manifest themselves), base metals, the silent palladium bull, the agricultural commodities and so forth. We got our subscribers into Silver, gold and Palladium bullion early and initially it looked like we might have done the wrong thing for prices pulled back and then did nothing for almost a year. Fast forward now and look how well patience was rewarded. First entry for Palladium bullion was in the 180 ranges and the second was in the 330 ranges.
The second massive anomaly is the fact that Gold is selling for more than Palladium when in fact Palladium is the rarer and thus essentially more valuable of the two metals. Now we have what amounts to a double intra market positive divergence signal; these signals are very rare and so we hardly speak of them. Basically when you get such a signal it indicates that one of the markets is oversold relative to the other to such a point that in most cases it's a result of massive manipulation. This manipulation always comes to an end and when it does the resulting move is huge to say the least. We also have several massive positive divergence signals and so when one adds all these factors its all but a given that Palladium must and will have its day in the sun.
With the advent of the 2500 dollar car from India and a whole plethora of sub 3000 cars which are on the drawing boards of almost all major car manufacturers, palladium is going to be the top metal of choice to use in Catalytic converters. If you have to cut costs down to the last penny are you going to pay 1800 dollars an ounce for platinum or 420 an ounce for Palladium?
Next one of world's largest Platinum and gold producers are having issues with electricity generation; the country is none other than South Africa. Last Friday according to the Wall Street Journal Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum holdings and Lonmin PLC had to halt some or all of their production activities due to severe power shortages in the country. Eskom holdings, which generate 95% of South Africa's power, told miners that it couldn't guarantee power supply as a result of an "unprecedented level of imbalance". Expert's state that Platinum production may have peaked in 2006 due to power issues and it could be while before this industry gets to these old levels again. Now we have an additional force pushing Palladium up; potential Platinum bottle necks due to lack of electricity. This is how the element of fear starts to get traction. Electricity generation is not something that can be solved overnight. On a separate note this once again illustrates the power full bull in uranium that is just waiting to resume its upward trend. Nation after nation is going to desperately jump on the nuclear band wagon and they will do so as always right towards the end. Uranium is another long term investment that needs both patience and discipline; prices will soar just as fast as they corrected and they will soar to heights that will one day be looked as unbelievable.
South Africa is not the only country experiencing power issues; China is notorious on this front. Industries are constantly fighting for power and have to deal with rolling black outs; in some areas production is timed to certain hours of the day because that's all they have to work with. Chalco the world's second Largest Aluminium maker (based in China) stated that two of its smelters in South Western China had to be closed this week as a result of power shortages. The copper industry in Zambia is only experiencing power problems and the situation is only going to get worse. All these nations rich in commodities raced to increase production of their natural resources but none of them paid attention to the fact that all this increased activity is based on electricity. There is a very serious possibility that many nations will be prevented from increasing production due to power issues and this will have a further upward driving force on commodities.
Palladium stands out like a sore thumb because unlike the rest it has not been in a rampant bull market and now the reasons for a massive spike have just doubled.
If you look at these two charts you can see clearly see that until now the price differential was never more than 550 dollars.
One can see the fortress of resistance the 360-420 zones have presented to Palladium in the last few years. The final layer to break past now is 420, as the 360 price point has been taken out nicely. We believe the momentum will pick up when 420 is taken out for 27-30 days in a row. It's possible that Palladium could trade all the way to 540 before experiencing a meaningful correction.
Platinum has been going through step channel formation and so far this formation has held for 9 years (ignore the price swing to 2400; Prophets Data appears to be wrong and it will be adjusted later on). Platinum looks like it could trade all the way to 2100-2400 mark before pulling back hard.
Palladium surged past 420 with ease on Monday and even though it dipped below 420 on an intraday basis on Tuesday it still managed to close above this level. As stated above it needs to trade above this zone for between 27-30 days; the longer the better. With rolling blackouts now hitting South Africa and with demand for Palladium increasing due to the roll out of the sub 3000 dollar cars we have conditions that could user in a very rapid price move.
Additional comments Feb 23, 2007
Since initially writing this article Palladium has indeed skyrocketed. There are many reasons for this but the primary reason now is that speculators have jumped in as they hope that Palladium will follow in Platinum's footsteps. We have been advising our subscribers for quite sometime now that the price discrepancy between the two metals could not last forever; the price differential is now at an extreme point. When you couple this with the electricity problems South Africa is experiencing it provides almost the perfect scenario to usher in higher prices for the foreseeable future. Platinum production, gold production and the production of various other metals will now be capped IN South Africa because there is simply not enough electricity to support new growth. The advent of the 2,500 dollar car by India's TATA motors has already pushed automotive manufacturers to look into Palladium as an alternative to platinum for use in catalytic converters; add in South Africa's energy issues and you have a very combustible situation at hand. For the record Anglo Platinum Limited (based in South Africa) is the worlds largest producer of Platinum; it alone account for roughly 38% of the world's production. As the energy issues in South Africa are going to take years to resolve this lost demand has to be made up elsewhere and ramping up production is not something that can be achieved over night. The only other option is to look for alternatives and in this case Palladium is a perfect alternative to Platinum. Now the ride up is not going to be one straight line; in a few short weeks palladium is up a whopping 45%. We expect Palladium to trade significantly higher; along the way up we expect several serious corrections and thus knowledge of these markets is essential if you plan on profiting from this ride up. In the metals markets there are only two metals right now that make sense to play and one of them is Palladium.
Interestingly enough there is almost no resistance after 450; the fact that palladium took out 450 so easily suggests that it could essentially trade up all the way to 630 before pulling back. How fast it gets there will off course depend on how many people decide to jump in. Speculators are busy jumping into the futures markets and speculators are notorious for pushing markets to extreme points before bailing out. As always never over allocate money to any given market no matter how good that market looks, to do so would be to go against all the common sense rules of money management. There are also several stocks one could jump into though most of them have moved up and the best time to get into them now would be on a pull back. In the end one must always buy when others are dreaming of buying and sell when others are dying to buy.
Extracted in part From the Feb 6 2007 Market update.
"Architect. One who drafts a plan of your house, and plans a draft of your money." ~ Ambrose Bierce 1842-1914, American Author, Editor, Journalist, "The Devil's Dictionary
http://www.safehaven.com/article-9544.htm
Palladium, Platinum, Gold and Electricity
by Sol Palha
February 23, 2008
"If you see the bandwagon... you've missed it." ~ James Phillips
The price differential between Palladium and Platinum has now reached historic proportions; if one goes back all the way to 1977 the price differential between the two metals was never more than 550. Today the price differential is over 1300 dollars; Palladium is trading at roughly 420 and Platinum is trading at roughly 1800 dollars. It is more than double that of the prior price differential which stood roughly at 550 dollars. Just this one fact alone is enough to suggest that Palladium is going to go ballistic. Before we carry on remember this good deals do not present themselves everyday and they take time to become good for if everyone realised they were good no one would be able to make a killing. Good deals depend on mass stupidity and mass impatience; this was clearly seen in the dot.com bust, the housing mania, the Gold, silver bull (both took a long time to manifest themselves), base metals, the silent palladium bull, the agricultural commodities and so forth. We got our subscribers into Silver, gold and Palladium bullion early and initially it looked like we might have done the wrong thing for prices pulled back and then did nothing for almost a year. Fast forward now and look how well patience was rewarded. First entry for Palladium bullion was in the 180 ranges and the second was in the 330 ranges.
The second massive anomaly is the fact that Gold is selling for more than Palladium when in fact Palladium is the rarer and thus essentially more valuable of the two metals. Now we have what amounts to a double intra market positive divergence signal; these signals are very rare and so we hardly speak of them. Basically when you get such a signal it indicates that one of the markets is oversold relative to the other to such a point that in most cases it's a result of massive manipulation. This manipulation always comes to an end and when it does the resulting move is huge to say the least. We also have several massive positive divergence signals and so when one adds all these factors its all but a given that Palladium must and will have its day in the sun.
With the advent of the 2500 dollar car from India and a whole plethora of sub 3000 cars which are on the drawing boards of almost all major car manufacturers, palladium is going to be the top metal of choice to use in Catalytic converters. If you have to cut costs down to the last penny are you going to pay 1800 dollars an ounce for platinum or 420 an ounce for Palladium?
Next one of world's largest Platinum and gold producers are having issues with electricity generation; the country is none other than South Africa. Last Friday according to the Wall Street Journal Anglo Platinum, Impala Platinum holdings and Lonmin PLC had to halt some or all of their production activities due to severe power shortages in the country. Eskom holdings, which generate 95% of South Africa's power, told miners that it couldn't guarantee power supply as a result of an "unprecedented level of imbalance". Expert's state that Platinum production may have peaked in 2006 due to power issues and it could be while before this industry gets to these old levels again. Now we have an additional force pushing Palladium up; potential Platinum bottle necks due to lack of electricity. This is how the element of fear starts to get traction. Electricity generation is not something that can be solved overnight. On a separate note this once again illustrates the power full bull in uranium that is just waiting to resume its upward trend. Nation after nation is going to desperately jump on the nuclear band wagon and they will do so as always right towards the end. Uranium is another long term investment that needs both patience and discipline; prices will soar just as fast as they corrected and they will soar to heights that will one day be looked as unbelievable.
South Africa is not the only country experiencing power issues; China is notorious on this front. Industries are constantly fighting for power and have to deal with rolling black outs; in some areas production is timed to certain hours of the day because that's all they have to work with. Chalco the world's second Largest Aluminium maker (based in China) stated that two of its smelters in South Western China had to be closed this week as a result of power shortages. The copper industry in Zambia is only experiencing power problems and the situation is only going to get worse. All these nations rich in commodities raced to increase production of their natural resources but none of them paid attention to the fact that all this increased activity is based on electricity. There is a very serious possibility that many nations will be prevented from increasing production due to power issues and this will have a further upward driving force on commodities.
Palladium stands out like a sore thumb because unlike the rest it has not been in a rampant bull market and now the reasons for a massive spike have just doubled.
If you look at these two charts you can see clearly see that until now the price differential was never more than 550 dollars.
One can see the fortress of resistance the 360-420 zones have presented to Palladium in the last few years. The final layer to break past now is 420, as the 360 price point has been taken out nicely. We believe the momentum will pick up when 420 is taken out for 27-30 days in a row. It's possible that Palladium could trade all the way to 540 before experiencing a meaningful correction.
Platinum has been going through step channel formation and so far this formation has held for 9 years (ignore the price swing to 2400; Prophets Data appears to be wrong and it will be adjusted later on). Platinum looks like it could trade all the way to 2100-2400 mark before pulling back hard.
Palladium surged past 420 with ease on Monday and even though it dipped below 420 on an intraday basis on Tuesday it still managed to close above this level. As stated above it needs to trade above this zone for between 27-30 days; the longer the better. With rolling blackouts now hitting South Africa and with demand for Palladium increasing due to the roll out of the sub 3000 dollar cars we have conditions that could user in a very rapid price move.
Additional comments Feb 23, 2007
Since initially writing this article Palladium has indeed skyrocketed. There are many reasons for this but the primary reason now is that speculators have jumped in as they hope that Palladium will follow in Platinum's footsteps. We have been advising our subscribers for quite sometime now that the price discrepancy between the two metals could not last forever; the price differential is now at an extreme point. When you couple this with the electricity problems South Africa is experiencing it provides almost the perfect scenario to usher in higher prices for the foreseeable future. Platinum production, gold production and the production of various other metals will now be capped IN South Africa because there is simply not enough electricity to support new growth. The advent of the 2,500 dollar car by India's TATA motors has already pushed automotive manufacturers to look into Palladium as an alternative to platinum for use in catalytic converters; add in South Africa's energy issues and you have a very combustible situation at hand. For the record Anglo Platinum Limited (based in South Africa) is the worlds largest producer of Platinum; it alone account for roughly 38% of the world's production. As the energy issues in South Africa are going to take years to resolve this lost demand has to be made up elsewhere and ramping up production is not something that can be achieved over night. The only other option is to look for alternatives and in this case Palladium is a perfect alternative to Platinum. Now the ride up is not going to be one straight line; in a few short weeks palladium is up a whopping 45%. We expect Palladium to trade significantly higher; along the way up we expect several serious corrections and thus knowledge of these markets is essential if you plan on profiting from this ride up. In the metals markets there are only two metals right now that make sense to play and one of them is Palladium.
Interestingly enough there is almost no resistance after 450; the fact that palladium took out 450 so easily suggests that it could essentially trade up all the way to 630 before pulling back. How fast it gets there will off course depend on how many people decide to jump in. Speculators are busy jumping into the futures markets and speculators are notorious for pushing markets to extreme points before bailing out. As always never over allocate money to any given market no matter how good that market looks, to do so would be to go against all the common sense rules of money management. There are also several stocks one could jump into though most of them have moved up and the best time to get into them now would be on a pull back. In the end one must always buy when others are dreaming of buying and sell when others are dying to buy.
Extracted in part From the Feb 6 2007 Market update.
"Architect. One who drafts a plan of your house, and plans a draft of your money." ~ Ambrose Bierce 1842-1914, American Author, Editor, Journalist, "The Devil's Dictionary
http://www.safehaven.com/article-9544.htm
"Let 'em Eat Kobe Steak" .
New York Post, Feb. 23, 2008
While foreclosed homeowners across America pack cartons of belongings this weekend, a band of junk-mortgage bankers is checking into a lavish Aspen, Colo., lodge to celebrate and dine on $105 steaks - with junk king Countrywide picking up the tab.
The disgraced mortgage outfit - which already has foreclosed on 90,000 loans peddled to largely unsuspecting home buyers - is hosting a three-day getaway at the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch ski resort for 30 mortgage-banking pros who packaged many of Countrywide's mortgages.
Countrywide has teetered on the edge of bankruptcy from its mishandled junk mortgages, firing nearly 12,000 of its employees. It has narrowly escaped ruin by agreeing to sell itself in coming weeks to Bank of America in a $4 billion insider deal.
The handpicked guests, who'll stay in rooms starting at $750 a night, begin their long weekend with a party at Wolfgang Puck's famed new Spago restaurant at the lodge, where Kobe steak is $105, and Kabocha pumpkin flan is $54.
Countrywide defends its extravagant entertainment as necessary business, although event schedules show just four hours a day devoted to business meetings. The rest of the time is for skiing, drinking and dining.
The business meetings would relate to the daily work performed by the guests, who represent smaller mortgage banks that originated home loans and sold them by the carload to Countrywide, earning huge commissions and fees.
An outraged Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has demanded that Countrywide cancel the event and instead use the money to help distressed homeowners refinance their mortgages to prevent evictions.
Countrywide is paying for the hotel rooms, meals, skiing, and tips, says a program given to the attendees.
(Registration)
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02232008/business/let_em_eat_kobe_steak_98946.htm
Don Coxe: Fridays weekly audio program.
http://events.startcast.com/events/199/B0003/#
Copper, follow the flag.
Courtesy...TheSlowLane @ SI
Coxe referred to it as "the place to be" this weekend, but the weather must have held up my invitation as I haven't seen it yet <g>. He sounded quite bullish on the metals on the call today. Said to look for a big move in copper here. Gold chart looks incredibly bullish. Should be good for the stocks...
Don Coxe: Fridays weekly audio program.
http://events.startcast.com/events/199/B0003/#
Copper, follow the flag.
Courtesy...TheSlowLane @ SI
Coxe referred to it as "the place to be" this weekend, but the weather must have held up my invitation as I haven't seen it yet <g>. He sounded quite bullish on the metals on the call today. Said to look for a big move in copper here. Gold chart looks incredibly bullish. Should be good for the stocks...
Sales Pitch Changes for Online Brokers
Friday February 22, 5:10 pm ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Schwab, Ameritrade and E-Trade Sell Ways to Ward Off Bear Market Conditions
NEW YORK (AP) -- Breaking even has never sounded so good.
As a once-bull market boom extends its descent into bear market misery, the Big Three U.S. online brokerages are having to rewrite their sales pitches. While Charles Schwab, E-Trade, and TD Ameritrade used to talk about making money for investors, now in the credit crisis era, it's instead about preserving capital.
"Active traders today aren't swinging for homeruns anymore, they're happy with base hits," said Joseph Vietri, vice president of Charles Schwab Corp.'s active trading and investing services.
Indeed, the focus is just navigating choppy market conditions. The Dow Jones industrials are off 6.7 percent for the year, and since the start of the month have jumped sharply one week only to pull back the next.
This zigzag pattern has caused brokerages to begin pushing everything from risk management tools to investment seminars for wary investors. Advertising that once touted super-fast trades and reduced fees now promotes defensive measures to help protect assets.
Ameritrade's pitchman, actor Sam Waterston, star of "Law & Order," is preaching the wisdom of mutual funds in TV commercials. His sober countenance is a far cry from Stuart, the young tattooed punk who tried to teach his elders about beating the market, "socking it in the guts, holding it upside down and shaking the change loose," in commercials that helped establish Ameritrade's reputation with millions of investors.
"We're running more television spots toward risk management, things to stay more disciplined," said Jay Pestrichelli, senior vice president of the trader group at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. "For those bold enough to trade in this market, I've talked to traders who say you'll need to work twice as hard to make half as much money."
Online brokerages are trying to remind customers about some of the conservative strategies that can be used in tough markets. They're all promoting risk management software designed to help investors determine if their portfolios might be overexposed in certain sectors, and even how to diversify.
Alternative trading strategies are being highlighted to take advantage of volatile markets -- especially investments in options contracts. The brokerages have reported a surging interest in stock options, which allow investors to bet if a stock will move lower over a period of time.
Bonds -- once considered a complicated market for retail investors to traverse -- are also becoming easier to buy online. E-Trade Financial Corp. this coming week will unveil a fixed-income platform that it pledges will make buying government and corporate bonds similar to investing in a stock.
Big swings in major stock indexes have caused investors to seek more stable fixed-income investments, such as bonds, according to the brokerages.
"They've know they needed to diversify for a long time, but as long as the markets were doing well they put it off," said E-Trade's Liat Rorer, who heads the broker's securities business. "There's no question they had a bit of a wake-up call, which caused a big flight to quality."
Investors' desire for stability in their investments tends to grow with age. With millions of baby boomers nearing retirement, the brokerages have responded by hosting seminars nationwide aimed at helping map out new strategies.
Many investors appear eager for such advice. They're enjoying longer life expectancies -- which means they're likely to need a more sophisticated mix of investments to provide adequate income.
Ken McCoy, a 58-year-old engineering manager from Redwood City, Calif., is just such an investor. He attended a recent E-Trade conference to determine how to adjust to a bear market.
Fear, he said, was the main motivation: "This is the first time in my investment life that I've actually been concerned about the stability of the whole system -- we could be on the verge of a serious financial meltdown, and I want to be prepared."
From our Pal EZ2 aka Enie Minie MO
[edit...had E-mail from Schwab reducing fees on trades & options.
Fed. Ops: 28.25B Matures this week.
Mon: 5.00B 3day
Thu: 15.00B 14day
>>>> 8.00B 7Day
Float: 39.25B
=================================================
Temp Ops:
Perm Ops:
=================================================
Public Debt:
Limit ~ $9,815 T
2/21 ~~ $9,315 T ~~ New high...again
=========================================================
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
=========================================================
The next time you hear a politician use the words "billion" casually, think about whether you want that politician spending your tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective in one of its releases:
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate Washington spends it.
Fed. Ops: 28.25B Matures this week.
Mon: 5.00B 3day
Thu: 15.00B 14day
>>>> 8.00B 7Day
Float: 39.25B
=================================================
Temp Ops:
Perm Ops:
=================================================
Public Debt:
Limit ~ $9,815 T
2/21 ~~ $9,315 T ~~ New high...again
=========================================================
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
=========================================================
The next time you hear a politician use the words "billion" casually, think about whether you want that politician spending your tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into perspective in one of its releases:
A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate Washington spends it.
printmail01, thank ye for DD
l'm long PAL from 2/9, sold a bit into spike..
Bot PAL PALCU Mar 7.5 calls 2/21 am
stock & options up nicely on shortage of product, many mufflers
on car & truck fleets in my area and of course local paper brings out more thiefs.
have order in close option not hit yet...
Hard reverse -100 +100, no real news
but the mindset is now changed, the crooks are there.
Ambac rescue may be announced Mon or Tues-source
Fri Feb 22, 2008 4:02pm EST
NEW YORK, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A rescue for bond insurer Ambac Financial Group Inc (ABK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) may be announced on Monday or Tuesday, a person familiar with the matter said on Friday.
Ambac, the second-largest bond insurer in the United States, is facing billions of dollars of expected losses after guaranteeing bonds linked to subprime debt and other risky assets.
Banks working with Ambac include Barclays Plc (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Allianz's (ALVG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) Dresdner Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), UBS AG (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Wachovia Corp (WB.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Progress has been made in recent days but a deal may still fall through. The potential deal was first reported by U.S. financial television network CNBC. (Reporting by Dan Wilchins, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)