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Monthly Archives: May 2011

China Stocks Drop The Most in Two months on Inflation Fears

China’s stocks fell the most in two months after the government said taming inflation is “critical,” signaling to investors that more policy tightening measures may be ahead even as economic growth slows.

“China Shenhua Energy Co., the nation’s biggest coal company, and Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. plunged more than 5 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the government may cap thermal coal prices to help power producers. Jiangxi Copper Co. and PetroChina Co. led a drop for commodity producers as metal and oil prices extended declines. China Citic Bank Corp. fell the most in six months after the China Securities Journal said the central bank will raise lenders’ reserve requirements this month.

“Curbing inflation is the top priority for the government,” said Wu Kan, a fund manager at Dazhong Insurance Co., which oversees $285 million. “China’s economic growth has shown signs of a slowdown but that won’t change the government’s intention to cool inflation with more monetary measures.””

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The Dollar Holds Meager Gains On Expectations of Stronger Job Growth

“The Dollar Index held onto yesterday’s gains on speculation U.S. reports will show employers added jobs for a 15th month and growth in service industries quickened, underpinning the appeal of American assets.

The yen weakened versus all of its 16 major counterparts as signs that the U.S. recovery remains on track sapped demand for Japan’s currency as a refuge. The pound traded 0.2 percent from a one-week low versus the dollar before a U.K. report that may show a construction index fell for a third month, supporting the case for the Bank of England to keep interest rates low.

“The U.S. data that is coming out is starting to paint a bit better picture,” said Matthew Brady, executive director for foreign exchange at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Sydney. “I’m starting to get a little bit bullish for the dollar at the moment.””

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Euro Gains strength and Copper Falls on Anticipation of Rate Hikes in China and the Euro zone

The euro strengthened while German bonds and copper fell on speculation the European and Chinese central banks are weighing rate increases. Portuguese stocks and bonds rose after a bailout agreement. U.S. futures advanced.

“The euro appreciated 0.3 percent against the dollar at 10:20 a.m. in London. The German two-year note yield rose three basis points, pushing the difference with 10-year bunds to the least since January 2009. Portugal’s two-year yield tumbled 69 basis points. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged 2.3 percent, the biggest drop among equity markets worldwide. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.1 percent, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped less than 0.1 percent. Copper fell 1.4 percent and silver futures retreated 1 percent.

Interest-rate futures are signaling European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet will map out more increases in borrowing costs at the end of a policy meeting tomorrow. The People’s Bank of China said in a report yesterday that stabilizing prices and managing inflation expectations are “critical.””

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Treasury Yields Hit a 6 Month Low

“Treasury yields were close to the lowest level in six weeks on speculation government efforts to curtail spending will hurt the economy, boosting demand for the perceived safety of fixed-income assets.

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are dropping bets against U.S. government securities after gross-domestic- product growth unexpectedly slowed last quarter. The U.S. is scheduled to announce today the amount of three-, 10- and 30- year debt it will auction next week.”

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Oil Put the Brakes on Downside Action in Reaction to Service Industry Growth in London

“Oil halted a two-day slide in London on forecasts that service industries accelerated last month in the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of crude.

Brent futures recouped an earlier loss of 0.6 percent. The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non-manufacturing companies rose to 57.5 from 57.3 in March, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists before today’s data. Another report may show companies added 198,000 workers to payrolls last month. Crude stockpiles probably increased from the highest since November, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Department report.”

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Silver and Gold Futures Fall; But at a Slower Rate Than the Past Few Sessions

“Silver futures dropped, heading for the biggest three-day fall since March 2008, as an increase in margin requirements on the Comex in New York drove investors away. Gold also fell after a report that Soros Fund Management LLC may have cut holdings.

Silver for July delivery slumped as much as 5 percent to $40.465 per ounce, after losing 7.6 percent yesterday and 5.2 percent on May 2. The metal was at $41.175 at 2:01 p.m. in Singapore, taking losses over the three days to 16 percent. Immediate-delivery gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,533.28 an ounce, also lower for a third session.

CME Group Ltd., Comex’s owner, said this week that the minimum amount of cash that must be deposited when borrowing from brokers to trade silver futures will rise to $16,200 per contract at the close of business yesterday, from $14,513. A year ago, the margin was $4,250.”

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Asian Markets Slide

The Heng Seng is down more than 1.4%. Most Asian markets are down more than 1% and European futures are called lower by almost 1%.

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Cutting Debt Important to 96% of Americans; 74% Want Gov’t Spending Cap

Los Angeles (May 3, 2011) — As the federal government rapidly approaches the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, 96 percent of Americans say it is important to reduce the national debt, according to a new Reason Foundation-Rupe poll. Of those surveyed, 69 percent believe reducing the national debt is “very important.”

With the debt piling up, it is also clear that taxpayers do not trust the federal government to live within its means. In fact, the Reason-Rupe survey finds 74 percent of Americans support implementing a spending cap that would prohibit the government from spending more money than it takes in during a fiscal year. Only 19 percent oppose a government spending cap.

The most popular policy prescription for reducing the national debt is spending cuts: 45 percent of people say Congress should bring down the debt by reducing spending without raising taxes. Another 16 percent favor reducing the debt primarily through spending cuts, but are open to some tax increases; 14 percent prefer an equal emphasis on spending cuts and tax increases; 8 percent want to reduce the debt primarily through higher taxes with some spending cuts; 4 percent say current spending levels should be maintained and taxes should be raised as needed; and 1 percent of Americans say we shouldn’t do anything about the debt.

Read the rest here.

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Geographers Had Predicted Osama’s Possible Whereabouts

“Could Osama bin Laden have been found faster if the CIA had followed the advice of ecosystem geographers from the University of California, Los Angeles? Probably not, but the predictions of UCLA geographer Thomas Gillespie, who, along with colleague John Agnew and a class of undergraduates, authored a 2009 paper predicting the terrorist’s whereabouts, were none too shabby. According to a probabilistic model they created, there was an 88.9% chance that bin Laden was hiding out in a city less than 300 km from his last known location in Tora Bora: a region that included Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed last night.”

Read the rest here.

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Concerted Coordinated Timing AKA Manipulation

Manipulation at its best to scare you….

“Just like yesterday and the day before, 6:30pm is now the official precious metal “bang the afterhours” launch time. As we predicted minutes ago, silver just got taken to the cleaners on what is now an apparent attempt to push silver around in the no volume part of after hours trading, in the 6-7 pm no man’s land……”

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MASH TV Star Wayne Rogers: U.S. Becoming a Fascist Economy

“Congress is messing up the nation’s banking and healthcare sectors by passing laws without giving much thought into their consequences, says Wayne Rogers, investor, entrepreneur and former star of the TV series “M*A*S*H.” Big government, big corporations, and big labor are “all in cahoots to strangle the entrepreneur,” he told Newsmax.TV. in an exclusive interview.

Financial-reform laws are making banks so big that they’re threatening the health of the financial sector, while an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare sector, popularly known as Obamacare, needs to be readdressed.”
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Seabed Radiation Levels Reach Up to 1000 times Normal Near Fukushima

The tuna that swim there will be in California by June – July….eat all the sushi you can

“Radiation readings have risen to 100-1,000 times the normal level on the Pacific seabed near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the operator said Tuesday.

The high levels of radioactive materials were detected from samples taken Friday from the seabed at points 20-30 meters deep, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co.

Source Kyodo News

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Arab Spring May Unleash Sectarian Violence

“As Syria steps up its bloody crackdown against anti-regime protesters, governments in the region are watching to see if President Bashar al-Assad will quash the uprising or if the country will descend further into chaos and civil strife.

Syria’s neighbors don’t agree on much, but there is a broad consensus that Assad’s ouster would unleash a wave of sectarian violence and extremism that could be catastrophic to regional stability…”

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U.S. Senate Report: Goldman Sachs Misled Clients

One question; when will people go to jail ?

A U.S. Senate report that said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)misled clients about mortgage-linked securities was formally referred to the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are reviewing its findings.

Senators Carl Levin and Tom Coburn, the Democratic chairman and senior Republican on the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, have signed a referral letter asking the agencies to examine the panel’s report, Levin said today in an interview. The results of the investigation, made public by the committee April 13, pinned much of the blame for the credit crisis on Wall Street banks that earned billions by enticing clients to buy the risky bond deals.

“If something comes up that needs to be reviewed by some agency, it gets referred,” said Levin. “That’s the way we do it.”

The scrutiny is a setback for Goldman Sachs, which hired lawyers, lobbyists and public relations specialists to monitor the two-year investigation and tamp down any controversy that arose from the subcommittee’s conclusions.”

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Las Vegas Sands Tanks on Earnings Miss

During the quarter the casino giant earned 37 cents a share on revenue of $2.11. Analysts were calling for a profit of 44 cents a share on revenue of $2.14 billion.

Shares of Las Vegas Sands have been pressured following news that it is being investigated by federal regulators both domestically and in China regarding potentially illegal business practices in Macau.

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Full report

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Green Mountain Blows Away the Street; Stock Haulted

WATERBURY, Vt.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., (NASDAQ:GMCR – News), a leader in specialty coffee and coffeemakers, today announced its fiscal 2011 second quarter results for the thirteen weeks ended March 26, 2011.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2011 Performance Highlights*

  • Net sales up 101% over the same period in fiscal 2010
  • GAAP EPS of $0.44; Non-GAAP EPS of $0.48
  • GAAP operating income increases 198% over Q2’10; Non-GAAP operating income improves 178% over the year ago quarter
  • GAAP net income increases 172% over Q2’10; Non-GAAP net income up 147% over Q2’10

Full report

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Flash: ValueClick beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs above consensus

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $0.21 per share, $0.03 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $0.18; revenues rose 21.7% year/year to $116.5 mln vs the $113.7 mln consensus. Co issues mixed guidance for Q2, sees EPS of $0.19-$0.20 vs. $0.20 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees Q2 revs of $120-$122 mln vs. $119.78 mln Thomson Reuters consensus.

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Flash: First Solar beats by $0.17, beats on revs; reaffirms FY11 EPS guidance, revs guidance

Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $1.33 per share, $0.17 better than the Thomson Reuters consensus of $1.16; revenues were unchanged from the year-ago period at $567 mln. Quarter over quarter, the net income decrease was primarily driven by lower net sales and gross margin. Year over year, the net income decrease was primarily driven by reduced average selling prices and higher expenses, partially offset by increased module production and lower module cost per watt. Gross margins 45.6% compared to 49.7% in prior year. Co reaffirms guidance for FY11, sees EPS of $9.25-9.75 vs. $9.52 Thomson Reuters consensus; sees FY11 revs of $3.7-3.8 bln vs. $3.79 bln Thomson Reuters consensus.

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