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Fed.1day RP + 50.00B [ SoFar
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
ECB, Fed, others pump dollars into money markets
Thursday September 18, 7:06 am ET
By Matt Moore, AP Business Writer
ECB, Fed, British, Japanese central banks to pump more dollars into money markets
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- The world's major central banks banded together on Thursday to inject as much as $180 billion into money markets in a bid to stave off the growing global financial crisis.
The European Central Bank said that it had joined with the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank to pump more short-term dollar liquidity into the financial system.
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Credit markets have tightened since Monday after the weekend collapse of investment house Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and central banks already provided billions Monday and Tuesday in hopes of turning the tide and to keep fearful banks from hoarding cash.
In a statement, the Fed said it had authorized a $180 billion expansion of swap lines, or reciprocal currency arrangements, with the other central banks, including amounts up to $110 billion by the ECB and up to $27 million by the Swiss National Bank.
The Fed also said new swap facilities had been authorized with the Bank of Japan for as much as $60 billion; $40 billion for the Bank of England and $10 billion for the Bank of Canada.
"These measures, together with other actions taken in the last few days by individual central banks, are designed to improve the liquidity conditions in global financial markets. The central banks continue to work together closely and will take appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures," the Fed said in a statement on its Web site.
Michael Schubert, analyst with Commerzbank AG, said the move was done in part to help banks that may not have direct access to the Fed.
"Firstly, some euro-area banks have no direct access to the Fed. Secondly, euro-area auctions for (U.S. dollars) provide better timing for euro-area banks," he said.
The ECB, which oversees the 15-nation euro zone, plans to provide as much as $40 billion to cash-starved banks, money that is being provided to it by the Federal Reserve swap line. The one-day operation opened for bids Thursday morning. The bank is also going to increase a 28-day tender operation the to $25 billion and an 84-day tender to $15 billion.
"Overall, the dollar funding operations conducted by the Eurosystem could reach an outstanding amount of $110 billion," the ECB said in a statement.
The Bank of England said it would inject $40 billion as part of the coordinated effort. So far, the London-based bank has provided a total of 25 billion pounds ($44.8 billion) to markets since Monday.
In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan said Thursday it has also concluded a U.S. dollar swap agreement worth $60 billion with the Federal Reserve to supply U.S. dollar funds to market participants in Japan. "The bank will continue to strive to maintain market stability through money market operations," it said in a statement.
In Washington, the Fed has pumped $70 billion into the nation's financial system to help ease credit stresses. In emergency sessions over the weekend, the Fed expanded its loan programs to Wall Street firms, part of an ongoing effort to get credit flowing more freely. On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department said that in an effort to help the Fed deal with unprecedented borrowing needs resulting from the current credit crisis, it will begin auctioning debt for the central bank.
Federal Reserve: http://www.federalreserve.gov
Schiff: Comrade Bernanke Does it Again
By Peter Schiff
Euro Pacific Capital, Inc.
17 September 2008
By nationalizing nearly 80% of AIG for $85 billion, the Fed is doing a lot more than simply flushing taxpayer money down the toilet. The greater wrong is allowing the agency that has the power to print money to take control of a private enterprise, especially without the approval of the company’s shareholders. The move represents the largest lurch toward socialism that this country has ever seen, and signals the end of the vibrancy of America’s once vaunted free market economy. Since there is no limit to the amount of money the Fed can create, there is no limit to the number of assets they can acquire.
The “line in the sand” that the Government seemed to draw by refusing to bail out Lehman Brothers was erased in just two days by the very next wave of financial panic.
While Fannie and Freddie were arguably quasi-government agencies that deserved special protection, no such status exists with AIG. Where does the Fed get the authority to use the money it prints to take over private companies? Congress never gave such authority and, even if it had, it would be unconstitutional, as Congress itself has no such authority to delegate. What about the shareholders? Why didn’t they get to vote on this acquisition? Whatever happened to private property rights?
Where does this stop? What other troubled companies will the Fed nationalize, and how much will it cost? Why stop at troubled companies? If the Fed can buy into a sick company, why not a healthy one? Now that we have allowed the Fed to take over any asset it wants, private property rights are meaningless. When oil prices get really high, why bother with a windfall profits tax when the Fed can simply nationalize Exxon-Mobil with a few cranks on its printing press. Who needs Bolsheviks when you have the Fed?
AIG is not a bank; it is not even an investment bank. The “lender of last resort” power was supposed to apply only to banks, to prevent runs. It was not meant to apply to any company that had been declared “too big to fail”.
I suppose the Fed is trying to get around some of the more obvious illegalities by having the new AIG shares issued on behalf of the Treasury. What happened to the concept of an independent Fed? Here you have the Fed seizing a private company and ceding control to the U.S. Treasury. Rather then acting independently, the Fed and the Government are merely partners in crime.
On the economic side, the Fed expects us to believe this is a smart investment. Does anyone really think that officials at the Fed and Treasury are suddenly private equity experts? These are the guys who missed both the tech and housing bubbles, and who assured us that subprime problems were contained. I would not trust them to run a lemonade stand, let alone one of the largest insurance companies in the world.
The idea that this bailout was necessary given that the alternative would be worse should by now be fully discredited. All of today’s financial problems are the direct consequence of Fed policy that was designed to weaken the recession that followed the bursting of the tech bubble and the shock of September 11th. Of course, the tech bubble itself resulted from the Fed’s actions to sooth the pain following the collapse of LTCM, the Russian debt default, the Asian crisis, and Y2K.
I suppose the precedent for all of these actions was established back in 1979 when the government guaranteed Chrysler’s debt. It sure would have been a lot better and a whole lot cheaper if we had simply let Chrysler fail. The road to financial hell, or in this case socialism, is certainly paved with “good” intentions. Today's historic surge in the price of gold shows that at least a few investors are refusing to march in the parade.
http://news.goldseek.com/EuroCapital/1221672467.php
Nice call frenchee /e
Futures (3) + World Indices
http://www.cme.com/trading/dta/del/globex.html
http://money.cnn.com/data/premarket/
http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/futboard/current/
- Has links for quotes and charts.
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
Washington Mutual Begins Auction to Sell Itself:
By Eric Dash, Andrew Ross Sorkin, and Michael J. de la Merced The New York Times | 17 Sep 2008 | 04:36 PM ET
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26761181
Washington Mutual, the struggling savings and loan, has put itself up for auction, people briefed on the matter said Wednesday.
The unsurprising announcement comes as the bank, which has suffered badly from losses on mortgages it had made, continues to stumble. Shares in Washington Mutual fell nearly 10 percent on Wednesday to $2.09; they have plunged 94 percent over the last 12 months. This week alone, investors have been frightened by Standard & Poor’s cutting of the bank’s debt rating to junk.
Goldman Sachs [GS 114.50 -18.51 (-13.92%)], which Washington Mutual has hired, started the auction several days ago, these people said. Among the potential bidders that Goldman has talked to are Wells Fargo [WFC 33.43 -1.50 (-4.29%)], JPMorgan Chase [JPM 35.77 -4.97 (-12.2%)] and HSBC.
TPG, the private equity firm that led a $7 billion cash injection into Washington Mutual [WM 2.01 -0.31 (-13.36%)] in April, said Wednesday afternoon that it would waive its right to be compensated if the bank sold more shares to raise capital. “Our goal is to maximize the bank’s flexibility in this difficult market environment,” TPG said in a statement.
The April deal gave the investing group roughly 822 million new shares, diluting existing shareholders by nearly 50 percent. TPG bought shares for roughly $8.75 each. Those shares have since fallen to $2.14 a share, meaning that the value of the investor group’s holdings at Tuesday’s close had declined 75.5 percent.
While the bank has a strong deposit base, the uncertainty of the markets and the increasingly poor housing market have increased concerns about Washington Mutual’s outlook. The bank plunged into the option adjustable rate mortgage business.
Copyright © 2008 The New York Times.
EGO, bot stock & Oct. call options.
EGOJU @ .35 ....Run Forrest, Run
Richard Kiley... Inspirational ... Encore...
Fed. No Action [net Drain -50.00B ]
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
Paulson = loan shark lol /e
W@G2 QQQQ 09/17/08 for a 09/19/08 close is
45.00 frenchee
43.00 bob3
AIG American Intl: Fed to give A.I.G. $85 bln loan and take 80% stake - NY Times (3.75 -1.01) -Update-
The NY Times reports, In an extraordinary turn, the Federal Reserve agreed Tuesday night to take a nearly 80% stake in the troubled giant insurance company, the American International Group, in exchange for an $85 billion loan. The Federal Reserve and Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase had been trying to arrange a $75 bln loan for the co to stave off the financial crisis caused by complex debt securities and credit default swaps. The Federal Reserve stepped in after it became clear Tuesday afternoon that the banking consortium would not be able to complete the deal. Without the help, A.I.G. was expected to be forced to file for bankruptcy protection. The need for the loans became necessary after the major credit ratings agencies downgraded A.I.G. late Monday, a move that likely to have forced the co to turn over billions of dollars in collateral to its derivatives trading partners worsening its financial health. Until this week, it would have been unthinkable for the Federal Reserve to bail out an insurance company, and A.I.G.'s request for help from the Fed of just a few days ago was rebuffed. But with the prospect of a giant bankruptcy looming — one with unpredictable consequences for the world financial system — the Fed abandoned precedent and agreed to let the money flow.
**Fed.(2)1day Foward 28day RP + 20.00 [net DRAIN -8.00B]
**Edit my error
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
Paulson cancels speech scheduled for later Tuesday
Fed. 1day RP 50.00B [ SOFAR
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
Futures (3) + World Indices
http://www.cme.com/trading/dta/del/globex.html
http://money.cnn.com/data/premarket/
http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/futboard/current/
- Has links for quotes and charts.
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
Fed Adds Most Reserves Since 9/11 as Banks Hoard Cash (Update1)
By Liz Capo McCormick
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve added $70 billion in reserves to the banking system, the most since the September 2001 terrorist attacks, to reverse a surge in borrowing costs sparked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Fed funds traded as high as 6 percent, or 4 percentage points above the central bank's target rate for overnight loans between banks, according to ICAP Plc, the world's largest inter- dealer broker. The margin was the greatest since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1998. The rate dropped to as low as 0.5 percent after the Fed added the temporary reserves.
The central bank uses repurchase agreements, or repos, to buy or sell Treasury, mortgage-backed and so-called agency debt for a set period, to help maintain enough money in the system to keep overnight interest rates close to the target. They don't signal a policy shift. Futures show traders boosted odds to 68 percent that the Fed will cut rates when policy makers meet tomorrow to offset financial market turmoil.
Demand for short-term funds ``dramatically increased,'' said Michael Darda, chief economist for MKM Partners LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut. ``If the Fed puts enough liquidity in the system, the funds rate will come down. It may actually trade below target for a while.''
The so-called effective funds rate was 2.1 percent on Sept. 12, or 10 basis points over the target rate. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports daily, for the previous trading session, the effective funds rate. It is a weighted average rate of unsecured overnight lending transactions. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Expanding Collateral Options
The Fed widened the collateral it accepts yesterday for loans to securities firms in an effort to help Wall Street weather Lehman's bankruptcy.
The Fed added $50 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system when it arranged overnight repurchase agreements, or repos, at 11:50 a.m., after providing $20 billion earlier.
``It is rare that overnight operations exceed $15 billion,'' Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist for New York-based Miller Tabak & Co., wrote in a note to clients. ``There is a longstanding pattern in which the funds rate falls in the afternoon, as banks scramble to unload their excess monies onto other banks, lest they get stuck with excesses earning nothing.''
SOMA Lending
When the Fed added the reserves at 9:40 a.m., federal funds, the overnight lending rate between U.S. banks, traded at 4.25 percent, above the central bank's target rate, according to ICAP. The rate was at 6 percent at the time of the second open market operation. Fed funds opened at 3.5 percent today.
A total of $5 billion in repos matures today. Wrightson, an ICAP research unit specializing in U.S. government finance, had expected the Fed to add about $15 billion in repos. Dealers submitted $270.1 billion in bids for the repurchase agreements.
Fed funds' weighted average was 2.1 percent on Sept. 12 after trading between 1.75 percent and 2.9375 percent, according to the central bank.
The Fed also accepted $25.8 billion in collateral as part of its daily System Open Market Account, or SOMA, securities lending program, the largest amount this year, according to Fed data tracked by Stone & McCarthy Research. Dealers submitted $29.8 billion in bids.
The Fed offers specific Treasury securities held by SOMA for loan to dealers against Treasury general collateral on an overnight basis. Dealers bid in a multiple-price auction held every day at noon. The securities lending program is separate from the Fed's Term Securities Lending Facility, or TSLF, one of the three liquidity measures the Fed initiated since the credit crisis ensued last year.
The TSLF offers Treasury general collateral held by SOMA for maturities longer than overnight in a single-price auctions with dealers who program-eligible collateral.
To contact the reporter on this story: Liz Capo McCormick in New York at Emccormick7@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 15, 2008 16:59 EDT
lol, add more dia put oct /e
From you & me, chichi2 and
all of our future generations
Temp Ops:
Dear John, without same Fed actions
or more....IMHO all will be lost, they did it once why not keep tossing $$$ all week.
what a mess you made
Fed.(2)1day RP + 50.00B [net ADD 65B]
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
Try to hold now QQQQ ~ FOMOOut ~ SOMA ~ SPX #msg-11379252
at the candle top
Fed.1day RP + 20.00B [net ADD + 15B
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
Fiscal oversight, no problem just
raise the Dept limit again.
Public Debt:
Limit ~ $10,600 T
9/11 ~~ $9,682 T
New $10.6 Trillion debt ceiling.
#msg-30998680
Fed’s Sunday Statement: Eligible Collateral Broadened
Here is the text of the Fed’s press release out late Sunday.
Release Date: September 14, 2008
For immediate release
The Federal Reserve Board on Sunday announced several initiatives to provide additional support to financial markets, including enhancements to its existing liquidity facilities.
“In close collaboration with the Treasury and the Securities and Exchange Commission, we have been in ongoing discussions with market participants, including through the weekend, to identify potential market vulnerabilities in the wake of an unwinding of a major financial institution and to consider appropriate official sector and private sector responses,” said Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. “The steps we are announcing today, along with significant commitments from the private sector, are intended to mitigate the potential risks and disruptions to markets.”
“We have been and remain in close contact with other U.S. and international regulators, supervisory authorities, and central banks to monitor and share information on conditions in financial markets and firms around the world,” Chairman Bernanke said.
The collateral eligible to be pledged at the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF) has been broadened to closely match the types of collateral that can be pledged in the tri-party repo systems of the two major clearing banks. Previously, PDCF collateral had been limited to investment-grade debt securities.
The collateral for the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) also has been expanded; eligible collateral for Schedule 2 auctions will now include all investment-grade debt securities. Previously, only Treasury securities, agency securities, and AAA-rated mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities could be pledged.
These changes represent a significant broadening in the collateral accepted under both programs and should enhance the effectiveness of these facilities in supporting the liquidity of primary dealers and financial markets more generally.
Also, Schedule 2 TSLF auctions will be conducted each week; previously, Schedule 2 auctions had been conducted every two weeks. In addition, the amounts offered under Schedule 2 auctions will be increased to a total of $150 billion, from a total of $125 billion. Amounts offered in Schedule 1 auctions will remain at a total of $50 billion. Thus, the total amount offered in the TSLF program will rise to $200 billion from $175 billion.
The Board also adopted an interim final rule that provides a temporary exception to the limitations in section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act. It allows all insured depository institutions to provide liquidity to their affiliates for assets typically funded in the tri-party repo market. This exception expires on January 30, 2009, unless extended by the Board, and is subject to various conditions to promote safety and soundness.
Source: Federal Reserve
MORE
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2008/09/14/feds-sunday-statement-eligible-collateral-broadened/
Bank of America Reaches Deal for Merrill
By MATTHEW KARNITSCHNIG, CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and DAN FITZPATRICK
September 15, 2008
In a rushed bid to ride out the storm sweeping American finance, 94-year-old Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed late Sunday to sell itself to Bank of America Corp. for roughly $44 billion.
The deal, which was being worked out in 48 hours of frenetic negotiating, could instantly reshape the U.S. banking landscape, making the nation's prime behemoth even bigger. The boards of the two companies approved the deal Sunday evening, according to people familiar with the matter.
Driven by Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America has already made dozens of acquisitions large and small, including the purchase of ailing mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. earlier this year. In adding Merrill Lynch, it would control the nation's largest force of stock brokers as well as a well-regarded investment bank.
A combination would create a bank of vast reach, involved in nearly every nook and cranny of the financial system, from credit cards and auto loans to bond and stock underwriting, merger advice and wealth management.
It would also show how the credit crisis has created opportunities for financially sound buyers. At $44 billion, or roughly $29 a share, Merrill would be sold at about two-thirds of its value of one year ago, and half its all-time peak value of early 2007. Merrill shares changed hands at $17.05 each on Friday, after falling sharply in the wake of Lehman's looming demise.
"Why would Bank of America do this?" said analyst Nancy Bush at NAB Research LLC in Annandale, N.J. "Ken Lewis always likes to buy the biggest thing he can. So why not this? You are master of the universe, basically."
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch wouldn't comment on any discussions.
Merrill would give Bank of America strength around the world, including emerging markets such as India. And Merrill is also strong in underwriting, an area Bank of America identified last week at an investors' conference where it would like to be more aggressive.
Dramatic Deal
A deal would be all the more dramatic because Merrill, upon the arrival of Chief Executive John Thain, did more than many U.S. financial giants to insulate itself from the financial crisis that began last year. It raised large amounts of capital, purged itself of toxic assets and sold big equity stakes, such as its holding in financial-information giant Bloomberg. That Merrill has opted to sell itself thus underscores the severity of crisis.
The integration of Merrill, known for its proud, and sometimes testy, brokerage force, could turn out to be the biggest test of Mr. Lewis's career. Typically, the bank has made one big deal and then taken time to carefully merge the two institutions. But in recent years, acquisitions have come at a furious pace. In 2004, the bank bought FleetBoston Financial Corp. A year later, the bank agreed to buy MBNA Corp., the credit-card firm. In 2007, Bank of America bought Chicago's LaSalle Bank as part of the break-up of Dutch bank ABN-Amro Holding NV. Then came this year's purchase of Countrywide.
As of Sunday evening, a deal had not yet been signed, said people briefed on the discussions. And other last-second bidders could emerge from the woodwork. Yet with news of the Bank of America talks breaking Sunday, it became all the more difficult for Merrill and Mr. Thain to rebuff a deal. Should the talks collapse, most on the Street were expecting Merrill's shares to fall even further amid widespread worries about independent broker-dealers.
Inside the Fed meetings in Lower Manhattan this weekend, there was a general worry that Merrill could be the next to fall after Lehman. Through the weekend, federal officials including Federal Reserve Bank of New York head Timothy Geithner made it clear that they strongly encouraged a deal to sell Merrill, said people familiar with the matter said.
If struck, a deal would come together at breakneck speed. On Friday, Bank of America's top executives were pushing for a deal with Lehman Brothers, scrambling to perform due diligence on Lehman's books. Just 48 hours later, they were locked in discussion with Merrill and its top executives.
During the flurry of historic dealmaking this weekend, Merrill approached Morgan Stanley about a possible deal, which would have united two of Wall Street's oldest brands, according to a person familiar with the talks. But the talks didn't go anywhere because there wasn't enough time for Morgan Stanley to review the idea and Merrill wanted to do the deal quickly, this person said. Merrill was also stepping up talks with commercial banks both in Europe and the U.S. While Mr. Thain had once orchestrated a trans-Atlantic deal for his old firm, NYSE Euronext, in this race, a U.S. deal proved the quickest, best option for Merrill.
'The Ultimate Realist'
"I think John Thain at Merrill is the ultimate realist," Ms. Bush said, the analyst, who expected federal regulators to bless the deal by relaxing deposit limits for bank-holding companies. "He knows if Lehman goes under he is not far behind. He wants to cut the best deal he can."
In the past 15 months, Merrill and Lehman have both had tens of billions of dollars worth of risky, illiquid assets carried on balance sheets that were leveraged at a debt-to-equity ratio of more than 20 to one. When the credit crunch hit in mid-2007, the assets kept deteriorating in value and couldn't easily be sold, eating into both firms' capital cushion. Recently, Lehman's balance sheet topped $600 billion and Merrill's $900 billion.
Merrill's one-time chief Stan O'Neal was ousted in October 2007, and his successor, Mr. Thain, tried to repair the firm's balance sheet by arranging an infusion of more than $6 billion in capital starting last December by investors led by Temasek Holdings, a Singapore government investment fund.
But as the losses kept coming this year, Mr. Thain was forced in July to sell a huge slug of more than $30 billion in collateralized debt obligations at a price of just 22 cents on the dollar. That step required the firm to raise still more capital, under painful terms that re-priced some of the December stock sales at about half the original price.
One top Merrill executive lamented the pending sale of the venerable company, saying "it's sad but inevitable." This executive said that he was pleased it was Merrill, rather than rival broker Morgan Stanley, that was hatching a deal with Bank of America.
The fate of both Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will be front and center Monday morning, as the Street wakes up to a world where the independent broker-dealer are increasingly thin in number.
This tumultuous year has made it clear that investment banks like Lehman and Bear Stearns face vulnerabilities that commercial banks such as J.P. Morgan and Bank of America are less prone to. The investment banks must constantly depend on short- and medium-term money markets to fund their operations. Commercial banks, meanwhile, can count on more stable consumer deposit bases.
In a highly volatile market, some advantages accrue to banks that can rely on those more stable deposit bases.
At Merrill, "we became convinced that for investment banking to be possible, we need to be part of a much bigger capitalized commercial bank," the Merrill executive said.
Merrill acted to avoid the same fate as Bear Stearns and Lehman, some analysts said. "Bear didn't think it could happen to them and Lehman didn't think it could happen to them either," said analyst David Trone of Fox-Pitt, Kelton. "I think management looked at Bear and Lehman and said we're not going to go down that slope, we're going to try and get our shareholders something before we end up in the same camp."
Overnight options limits are 5% down, or roughly 63 points on the S&P, 88 points for the Nasdaq, and 571-points for the Dow.
http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/equity-index/files/EquityIndexPriceLimitGuide.pdf
We're about 38 down on the S&P, 43 down on the NDX, and about 300 down on the Dow.
In other words, we're a roughly 1/2-way to limit down on the futures
Courtesy....ajtj99
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=32159145
Futures (3) + World Indices
http://www.cme.com/trading/dta/del/globex.html
http://money.cnn.com/data/premarket/
http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/futboard/current/
- Has links for quotes and charts.
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
Ike destroys a number of Gulf platforms
Sunday September 14, 5:16 pm ET
By John Porretto and Mark Williams, AP Business Writers
Fly-over reveals a number of Gulf platforms destroyed by Ike; pipelines damaged
HOUSTON (AP) -- Hurricane Ike appears to have destroyed a number of production platforms and damaged some of the pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico, federal officials said Sunday.
Fly-overs revealed that at least 10 production platforms were destroyed by the storm, said Lars Herbst, regional director for the U.S. Minerals Management Service.
"It's too early to if it's close to Katrina- and Rita-type damage," Herbst said.
There are about 3,800 production platforms in the Gulf, including 717 with full-time staffs aboard.
The MMS says Hurricane Katrina destroyed 44 platforms three years ago, and soon after Hurricane Rita destroyed 64.
Herbst stressed the assessments were preliminary, but the damage appeared far worse than that caused by Hurricane Gustav two weeks ago.
Specifics about the size and production capacity of the destroyed platforms were not immediately available.
In additional to pummeling platforms, Katrina and Rita also damaged about 150 pipelines that gather and transport oil and natural gas from offshore wells.
Herbst said the aerial inspections showed Ike damaged several large pipelines, but the extent of the damage was not known.
Since just before Gustav's arrival two weeks ago, nearly 100 percent of Gulf Coast crude production has stopped, or about 1.3 million barrels per day. About 98 percent of all natural gas production is on hold.
There was limited production between storms, but that ended as Ike approached.
Word that Ike did more damage than Gustav left open the question about how high gas prices would go, and how long they would remain there.
A gallon of regular gas soared past $5 per gallon in some areas, notably in regions that rely directly on a link to the mass of Gulf refineries that usually produce millions of gallons of gasoline each day.
More than half of Texas' refineries have been shut down by Ike, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
CME Group Announces Early Open on Sunday for Energy Products on CME Globex and ClearPort Related to Hurricane Ike
Notice No. 475
09/11/2008
CME Group Announces Early Open on Sunday for Energy Products on CME Globex and ClearPort Related to Hurricane Ike
CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, has announced that it will extend trading hours for energy futures and options contracts on the CME Globex® and ClearPort® electronic trading and clearing platforms due to the potential impact of Hurricane Ike on the US Gulf Coast this weekend.
CME Globex and ClearPort trading sessions for energy products only will begin on Sunday, September 14 at 10:00 a.m. (all times in Eastern time) with a 9:30 a.m. pre-open on CME Globex. All trades will be for the Monday, September 15 trade date.
All other products listed on CME Globex will follow their regular trading hours on Sunday.
"After extensive discussions with the energy trading community, including clearing member firms and independent software vendors, CME Group is modifying its Sunday trading hours to allow customers access to the markets that may be impacted by Hurricane Ike," said CME Group Chief Operating Officer Bryan Durkin. "Collectively, we recognize the need for the global energy markets to manage their risk during this potentially volatile time and felt this was in the best interest to serve their needs."
independent software vendors? get consulted..
http://www.nymex.com/notice_to_member.aspx?id=ntm475&archive=2008
USA National Gas Temp Map
http://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx
No Deal Reached Yet to Decide Lehman's Fate
By CARRICK MOLLENKAMP, DEBORAH SOLOMON, AARON LUCCHETTI, SERENA NG and SUSANNE CRAIG
September 13, 2008 9:02 p.m.
The outlines of plans to determine the fate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. emerged today even as it became increasingly clear that a clean sale of the entire firm to a big bank would be too difficult to execute.
Kurt Wilberding
Merrill Lynch Chairman and Executive John Thain leaving the meeting at the New York Federal Reserve
A sense of optimism that a rescue could be arranged today dimmed as a growing sense of gloom descended on Wall Street. Executives from top banks in the U.S. and Europe huddled with federal regulators in an attempt to come up with plans to either buy pieces of Lehman or prepare for an orderly winding down of the firm in a manner that would minimize the collateral damage for the ailing global financial system.
After 6 p.m., the formal meeting ended for the day with no resolution, though some participants stayed behind to continue talking. "Senior representatives of major financial institutions reconvened on Saturday with U.S. officials at the New York Fed. Discussions are expected to continue tomorrow," said a spokeswoman for the Federal Reserve.
At about 8 p.m., New York Fed President Timothy Geithner was still at the bank's headquarters. Officials from the New York Fed and various banks were expected to continue working through the night.
Under one plan, either Barclays PLC or Bank of America Corp. would buy Lehman's "good assets", such as its equities business, people familiar with the matter say. Lehman's more toxic, real-estate assets would be ring-fenced into a "bad" bank that would contain about $85 billion in souring assets. Other Wall Street firms would try to inject some capital into the bad bank to keep it afloat for a period of time so that a flood of bad assets don't deluge the market, damaging the value of similar assets held by other banks and insurers. The banks are also looking for the government to somehow financially backstop the bad bank.
The problem, though, is getting enough banks to back that plan. While teams of bankers are working through structures, it's clear that only a handful of banks are in a position to provide enough funding. Many banks are inclined to preserve capital ahead of third-quarter and year-end cash preservation moves. Also, banks aren't keen to see a big rival such as Barclays or Bank of America walk away with valuable assets by only paying a pittance.
As of Saturday afternoon, Barclays, the U.K.'s third-largest bank in terms of market value, appeared to have more interest in pulling off a deal for Lehman's good assets. At about 3 p.m. on Saturday, Barclays President Robert E. Diamond Jr. was seen entering the New York Fed's employee entrance on Maiden Lane, carrying a briefcase.
Bank of America, an obvious buyer, appeared to be cooling toward a deal, people familiar with the matter. Of course, some of this could be the posturing that happens in any auction. Neither Barclays nor Bank of America wants to buy all of Lehman without some government assistance, and so far the government has been reluctant to do so.
Both Bank of America and Barclays remain fixated on the disposal of the bad real estate assets, and are less focused on evaluating Lehman's investment bank, said one person involved in the due diligence process. Things were moving so quickly Saturday that there was little time to do extensive employee interviewing that typically happens in company auctions. "It's all triage," said this person.
The real fear in the discussions, this person added, was that the fire-sale prices, or "marks" of Lehman's real estate book could set off a cascade of problems for other Wall Street firms. If those marks were made against other banks' portfolios, it could eventually force those firms to raise more capital, too. For firms' considering funding the bad bank, the calculation has thus become the price of that contribution against the price of a widescale markdown.
There could be further effects to such an event, with the banks calling in loans from hedge funds and other clients, in turn setting off more forced selling that further depresses asset and securities prices.
"Unless something is settled, it's going to be a bloodbath Monday," said this person.
In a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in lower Manhattan, some participants also were discussing insurer American International Group Inc. and thrift-holding company Washington Mutual Inc. While those two financial firms aren't the focus of the emergency meeting, participants also are weighing the potential implications of their problems.
One person leaving the building said at least 100 people were gathered inside trying to settle the fate of Lehman, which has been staggered by its exposure to soured real-estate-related assets. By 5:15 pm, some Wall Street executives started to leave the New York Fed one at a time, getting in their cars inside a garage so they can't have their photos snapped.
Outside the Fed's downtown headquarters, a fleet of black towncars waited for bankers who were inside. At one point, the towncars blocked the narrow streets around the building, causing a traffic jam that had to be broken up by the Fed's uniformed guards. Meanwhile, bankers and Fed staffers milled around outside, smoking cigarettes and talking on their cell phones about subjects like counterparty risk.
"Everybody is hoping there will be a Wall Street solution to deal with Lehman's toxic assets," said one senior executive at a major bank. "It is a cheaper alternative than having everything unravel."
With it unclear whether the gap between the federal government and potential buyers can be bridged, a second group at the New York Fed is focusing on the possibility that there might be no alternative to liquidating Lehman and winding down its operations in an orderly fashion.
On Saturday afternoon, the credit-trading heads of major investment banks gathered at the meeting to discuss how to deal with their exposures to Lehman in the intertwined credit-default-swap market. The lack of a central clearinghouse in this market means that dealers, hedge funds and others are directly facing each other in insurance-like contracts that are tied to trillions of dollars in debt instruments.
Credit derivative traders at some firms were asked to come to work over the weekend to help quantify their exposures to Lehman and compile lists of outstanding contracts they have with the investment bank.
One person familiar with the matter said large dealers are trying to decide if they should show each other all their credit default swap trades with Lehman. Disclosing their positions could enable dealers to offset their positions with each other wherever possible. For example, if one dealer has bought a swap from Lehman and Lehman sold a similar swap to another bank, the two banks could agree to face each other directly.
Such moves could also help prevent individual firms from scrambling to find new counterparties to re-hedge their positions with when the markets reopen on Monday, potentially unleashing turmoil in the credit markets. They could also help facilitate an orderly wind-down of Lehman's derivative positions, if that becomes necessary.
It is not known how much in CDS contracts Lehman has. In a survey last year by Fitch Ratings, Lehman was listed among the 10 largest CDS counterparties by number of trades and the amount of debt to which the contracts were tied.
Wall Street traders poured into their offices Saturday for emergency meetings to consider the actions they would take if Lehman is forced into liquidation. They broke into teams to evaluate their positions and exposure to Lehman in everything from energy trades to equity derivatives to credit,
One trader said conditions in the credit default swap market and the short-term repo markets are more stable today than they were in March, when Bear Stearns nearly collapsed, but still, "if they go into liquidation," it is going to be a bad situation on Monday.
A disorderly unwind of Lehman's derivatives trades is only one worry. Another worry is that if Lehman collapses, its distressed assets -- such as commercial real estate -- could suddenly hit Wall Street for sale, forcing prices even lower and potentially forcing other dealers to mark down once again the value of their own holdings.
Lehman has hired law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP to prepare a potential bankruptcy filing, according to a person familiar with the situation. The New York-based Weil has a leading bankruptcy practice and advised Drexel Burnham Lambert on its 1990 bankruptcy filing.
In a Lehman bankruptcy, the firm's brokerage units would have to enter a Chapter 7 liquidation, in which a court-appointed trustee would take over, liquidate the firm's assets and get Lehman customers back their money. In general, securities that a customer holds at a brokerage firm are legally the investor's property and aren't exposed to the claims of the firm's creditors.
In trying to hold firm to their no-bailout stance even while pressing for a deal, federal officials could try to pit Bank of America and Barclays against each other. But that leverage can work only if both banks stay in the discussions.
Bank of America and Barclays know each other very well, having considered a merger several years ago. More recently, Bank of America agreed to pay $21 billion for ABN Amro Holding NV's LaSalle Bank of Chicago in 2007. That deal came at a time when Barclays was trying to buy ABN and fend off a European consortium bid. Bank of America's purchase was seen at the time as helping that Barclays bid, which ultimately failed.
At Barclays, a big question will be whether CEO John Varley and his No. 2, Mr. Diamond, both agree on buying all or part of Lehman. Mr. Diamond is eager to expand Barclays's U.S. investment bank operations. But the unit, called Barclays Capital, is also responsible for write-downs the bank has recorded.
After 5 p.m., bank executives began leaving the meeting, some getting into cars inside a garage where they couldn't be photographed. Those seen leaving included Merrill Lynch & Co. Chairman and Executive John Thain and Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Chairman and CEO Robert Kelly declined to comment.
While some executives had left the Fed meeting, those of other firms, including three carfuls of Barclays executives, remained at the Fed office past 6 p.m.
At least 20 New York Fed staffers left from another exit. They refused to say if they were done for the night.
--Robin Sidel, David Enrich, Jon Hilsenrath, Peter Lattman and Sudeep Reddy contributed to this report.
Write to Carrick Mollenkamp at carrick.mollenkamp@wsj.com, Deborah Solomon at deborah.solomon@wsj.com and Aaron Lucchetti at aaron.lucchetti@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122134089502132567.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
All alumnus from Goldman,
these 200 pt swings for the sheep are traded by these wize guys trying to make book in a shell game.
which orders are filled 1st...mine, yours or chichi's?
Hurricane Ike, Energy Infrastructure, Refineries and Damage Models Landfall Thread (Updated 9/13 9:00 EDT)
Posted by Prof. Goose on September 13, 2008 - 10:10am
Topic: Supply/Production
Updated 9/13 900 EDT. Hurricane Ike made landfall in Galveston in an area with extensive oil infrastructure, namely over 5 million bpd of US petroleum refining capacity. (5 MMBBL is about 30% of US capacity (about 15 MMBBL), and a bit less than 6% of global capacity (~85 MMBBL)).
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this storm. We would ask that you please keep this thread on point with Hurricane Ike and energy-related articles, stories, maps, data, and links in this thread.
Path observations and damage estimates for Hurricane Ike--Methaz NHC official track Sep 13 (7:00 EDT)-click twice to enlarge
For all graphics: Rigs/Platforms: Blue: evacuated only; Yellow will require inspection before restart; Red: damage requiring repair; Refineries: Black: operational impact (partial shutdown) Green: Operational impact (full shutdown) Red: Damage likely; Ports: standard hurricane flags for wind
Here is the latest update from Chuck Watson at KAC/UCF updating at 9/13 700 EDT:
Intensity: folks have questioned my landfall estimate, but the data supports it. Examples: Buoy 42035 broke loose from it's mooring, but apparently it passed through the eye and reported valid data. See attached plot (note: it's below the fold) - peak winds 55 kts/gusts to 75 kts. RLOT2 failed at 4z, last report was 50kts/65kts, water level 11ft above normal. The station near Texas City, in the left eye wall, peaked at 60 knots. Surge peaked about 12 feet. All of the data indicates landfall wind speeds were no more than 85 knots 2min average winds. The NHC estimated 110mph/95knts "sustained" (whatever that is; nothing measures a "sustained" wind), which would be about 92 knots 2 min average, but as noted earlier they always err on the high side.
Inland areas do NOT seem to be experiencing significant two minute average winds above hurricane force. Don't be mislead by the media reports of "hurricane force wind gusts". Gusts don't count. Scientific definitions matter. I get "hurricane force wind gusts" in thunderstorms here in Savannah all the time.
Impacts: I think the most severe impacts will be confined to the barrier islands. Galveston probably got whacked hard. But I don't think any of the refineries will suffer major damage, unless something broke that shouldn't have. It looks like Baytown never caught the peak surge. Texas City might have seen some flooding, but I doubt it was severe.
Don't get me wrong, there will be a lot of damage from this event - insured losses in the $15 to $20 Billion range, storm total impacts in excess of $60 Billion (if you include evacuation costs, etc.). But with what I see right now, my guess would be that the petrochemical industry recovers fairly quickly, with refinery down times in the days to 2 week time frame, not months. I think the biggest problem is going to be staffing and debris cleanup. The infrastructure was probably OK, but power and crews with damaged homes and cleanup issues will be a big problem.
Harder numbers later today, but my estimates from yesterday are probably pretty close on outage probabilities.
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/4525
No Leh resolution by
market open, not well with me also. add storm facts being with held...ugly!!
Feds ' Lehman Plan Doesn't Set Well With Street Execs
Executives from the major Wall Street firms expressed reluctance at a plan by government officials to
have each firm chip in money to buy Lehman Brothers' troubled real estate portfolio, worried
that even after Lehman, another firm might need a similar bailout as the financial
crisis continues to wreak havoc among the big investment banks, CNBC has learned.
Wall Street's reluctance to the plan came to head during an emergency meeting Friday
night when officials from the Federal Reserve asked members of Wall Street's biggest
firms, including Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan [JPM 41.17 -0.48 (-1.15%) ], John Mack of Morgan Stanley [GBC 8.58 --- UNCH (0) ] and John Thain
of Merrill Lynch [MER 17.05 -2.38 (-12.25%) ] to play a role in the bailout of Lehman, much like they did in 1998, when the big Wall Street
firms chipped in billions of dollars in capital to save the troubled hedge fund Long Term Capital Management.
But times have changed.
In 1998, Wall Street was flushed with cash as the dotcom boom fueled underwriting
revenues. Right now, Wall Street is in the middle of one of its most protracted profit droughts in years.
Compounding the street problems, the LTCM bailout was an isolated incident.
In addition to Lehman other Wall Street firms, such as Merrill Lynch, have soured real estate loans on their books and may suffered a similar
loss of investor confidence as Lehman has in recent days, forcing the firm's
CEO Dick Fuld to begin scouring the financial world for a white-knight buyer.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26681709/site/14081545?__source=yahoo|headline|quote|text|&par=yahoo|headline|quote|text|&par=yahoo
•• Earnings Calendar for the Week Ahead ••
B = Before-Market Hours
D = During-Market Hours
A = After-Market Hours
REPORTS TO BE ANNOUNCED FOR WEEK OF SEP 15 - SEP 19
#msg-32139953
Courtesy...Bullwinkle
Fed. Ops: 46.00B Matures this week.
Mon: 5.00B 3day
Tue: 8.00B 5day
Wed: 20.00B 28day
Thu: 5.00B 14day
>>> 8.00B 7day
========================================================
Temp Ops:
=======================================================
Public Debt:
Limit ~ $10,600 T
9/11 ~~ $9,682 T
New $10.6 Trillion debt ceiling.
#msg-30998680
=========================================================
The Slosh Report:
http://www.gmtfo.com/RepoReader/OMOps.aspx
=========================================================
RCKS, the net posted is diff
on daily basis only this one per the 4th action, click reply to.