Langlui's Big Board and Options Plays

[MBoomer17]

Reality Check...



Monday, May 18, 2009
Fed Says First-quarter Delinquency Rates Surge

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Federal Reserve said on Monday that delinquency rates on all loans jumped to their highest level since 1991, with delinquencies on credit cards hitting the highest rate on record. In addition, the Fed said, all consumer loans hit a delinquency rate of 4.7%, also the highest rate on record, while delinquencies on residential real estate hit the highest rate on record as well. Delinquencies on commercial real estate hit 6.4%, the highest rate since 1993, the Fed said.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/chargeoff/delallsa.htm

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American Express says it will eliminate 4,000 jobs
American Express slashing 4,000 jobs, 6 percent of work force, as part of $800M in cost cuts
On Monday May 18, 2009, 6:52 pm EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- American Express said Monday it is eliminating about 4,000 jobs as part of a plan to slash another $800 million in costs for the remainder of the year.
The layoffs represent about 6 percent of the New York-based credit card issuer's current global work force.

Many of the affected workers were notified in recent days and the remainder will be notified in coming weeks, said company spokeswoman Joanna Lambert.

Lambert could not specify how many U.S. workers would be laid off, but said the cuts will be across the board.

The newest plan follows $1.8 billion in cost cuts -- including 7,000 layoffs -- announced in October of last year. The company also suspended management-level salary increases and instituted a hiring freeze at the time.

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Swine Flu in Japan May Trigger Pandemic Declaration by WHO

May 19 (Bloomberg) -- The spread of swine flu in Japan may prompt the World Health Organization to raise its pandemic alert to the highest level, said a former WHO adviser on infectious diseases.

Japan reported its first locally transmitted swine flu case on May 16, and the number jumped to 135 today from 4 less than two weeks ago. Evidence of human-to-human transmission in a region outside North America, where a majority of the almost 9,000 cases worldwide have occurred, may prompt the WHO to raise its pandemic alert by a notch to the highest level of 6.

Health officials are trying to gauge whether swine flu, known as H1N1, is spreading widely enough for the WHO to declare the first pandemic since 1968. The WHO’s pandemic alert is at phase 5, the second-highest level, meaning the organization believes “a pandemic is imminent.”

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General Motors and Chrysler to close hundreds of dealerships nationwide...

Last week, 789 U.S. Chrysler dealers were notified they would be dropped by the struggling automaker. About 1,100 GM dealers were expected to get the same bad news.

The White House’s Auto Task Force urged the dealership closings as the automakers struggle to stay alive using federal bailout money. But the closings put 150,000 jobs in jeopardy, according to lawmakers.

...these dealer reductions and its ripple effects would have a serious and adverse impact on the United States.

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Applied Materials says U.S. economy still declining
Mon May 18, 2009 4:15pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Applied Materials Inc (AMAT.O) Chief Executive Mike Splinter said on Monday the U.S. economic decline has slowed but is not over, calling recent optimism about the economy unjustified.

"Perhaps the United States is bottoming out, but my view is the decline is slowing, but that's about it," Splinter said in a presentation at the J.P Morgan Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in Boston. "People are talking more optimistically in the United States than I think the economy would warrant."

Splinter's comments join a lively debate among technology companies on whether the U.S. economy has indeed bottomed out.

Last month, the chief executive of chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) said he believed the PC market had hit bottom, but executives of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N) and software giant Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said shortly after that there was no evidence the worst was behind the sector.

The back-to-school shopping season will be an important indicator of consumer willingness to spend on electronic gear, Splinter said, adding he did not expect to see a pickup from last year.

Worldwide, Splinter said he had seen signs of improvement in the Chinese economy as government incentives stimulated consumer spending on mobile phones and televisions.

"After that, I have a tough time getting excited about any economies," Splinter said. "Europe and Japan are still deteriorating."

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The grass is not nearly as green as Geithner and Obama want you to believe...