The BofE warms of global slowdown if policy makers do not solve the Euro debt problem. They signaled there may be more stimulus to come and the Pound fell while the Gilt yield hit new record lows.
Comments »Monthly Archives: November 2011
Global Markets & U.S. Futures Take a Red Bath
S&P 500 Sector Cumulative A/D Lines
via Bespoke:
Monday, November 14, 2011 at 12:05PM
The monstrous rally in the S&P 500 off the October lows has helped cumulative breadth nearly make up all of the Summer declines. As of Friday’s close, in fact, breadth was one or two good days from making a new high. Technicians often look for breadth to confirm price, so theoretically this is a positive signal. We would note, however, that back in July breadth also made a new high, but the S&P 500 failed to take out its Spring 2011 highs.
In the charts below we highlight the cumulative breadth charts of all ten sectors. At this point, only three sectors (Consumer Staples, Energy, and Utilities) have seen breadth hit new highs in this rally, while Consumer Discretionary, Health Care, and Materials are very close to making new highs in the last year. One notable sector that isn’t even close to new highs in terms of breadth is Technology. Although the sector has been outperforming the overall market, breadth remains well off its highs. One explanation for this divergence is the fact that a lot of the strength in the Technology sector this year has been in the sector’s largest stocks like Apple (AAPL), IBM, Intel (INTC), QUALCOMM (QCOM), and Visa (V).
To see the pretty charts, go here.
Gerald Celente’s Gold Account Was Emptied by MF Global
The recent bankruptcy of financial stalwart and Wall Street casino failure MF Global in the US, has claimed a new and unlikely victim. Following the company’s glorious collapse, Trends Research founder Gerald Celente had his own six figure gold investment account completely looted by chapter 11 trustees, and he is fighting to get it back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kt-mVWYvOm0
Comments »Revealed: Warren Buffett Helped Shape Bailout Rules, Then Made Massive Profits from Them
In the wake of the $700 billion TARP bailout, Warren Buffett apparently shaped a plan to clean up toxic assets that Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner later adopted–resulting in massive profits for Buffett.
That’s the latest bombshell revelation from investigative journalist and Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer’s sensational new book, Throw Them All Out.
According to Schweizer, after the bailout bill’s passage, Warren Buffett sat down and wrote then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a four-page private letter laying out a plan to clean up the toxic assets plaguing numerous financial institutions. Buffett proposed something he called a “public-private partnership fund.” For every $10 billion the private sector invested, Buffett said the government should put up $40 billion.
After Paulson’s exit, incoming Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner tweaked the plan and rolled it out in March 2009. But according to quarterly reports from Buffett’s holdings company, Berkshire Hathaway, between the time the billionaire crafted his plan and Geithner adopted it, Buffett quietly purchased 12.4 million shares of Wells Fargo stock and 1.5 million shares of U.S. Bancorp. Once the government unveiled its “Public-Private Investment Program,” bank stocks jumped, resulting in large profits for Buffett.
How much Buffett profited is hard to calculate, since there’s no way to know what his purchase price was. But prior to the government adopting Buffett’s plan, Wells Fargo had been trading at roughly $20 a share. In the weeks after Geithner’s announcement, the stock jumped to $30 a share. Likewise, U.S. Bancorp went from $8 in February 2009 to more than $20 a share by May.
Schweizer’s revelations contradict the image Warren Buffett has worked hard to create as that of a folksy, grandfatherly figure who stays above the political fray and rarely gets mired in the muck of partisan politics. Indeed, Throw Them All Out uncovers other alarming acts of apparent crony capitalism performed by the so-called “Oracle of Omaha.”
For example, Schweizer examines Buffett’s intense private lobbying efforts and deftly-timed stock buys that leveraged TARP bailout monies to create up to $3.7 billion in windfall profits for Berkshire Hathaway.
In September of 2008, Buffett invested $5 billion in the over-leveraged investment house of Goldman Sachs, having obtained impressive terms: Berkshire Hathaway would receive preferred stock with a 10% dividend yield, and the option to buy another $5 billion at $115 a share.
As the political debates surrounding the proposed $700 billion TARP bailout bill heated up, Buffett maintained an appearance of naivete, an “aw shucks” shtick that deferred to the judgment of politicians. “I’m not brave enough to try to influence the Congress,” Buffett told the New York Times.
Behind closed doors, however, Buffett had become a shrewd political entrepreneur. With his Goldman bet in place, the billionaire exerted his considerable political influence in a private conference call with then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats. During the meeting, Buffett strongly urged Democratic members to pass the $700 billion TARP bill to avert what he warned would otherwise be “the biggest financial meltdown in American history.”
Read the rest here.
Comments »FLASH: S&P FUTURES NOSEDIVE AS THE EURO CRATERS
S&P futures are diving, down 11, on renewed Euro worries. The Euro is down rather dramatically by 0.63%.
Comments »Obama Anything BUT a Post-Racial President
President Barack Obama’s overall approval rating remains in the mid-40s, where it has been since July, and he continues to receive much higher marks for foreign policy than for domestic issues, according to a new national survey out one year before he is up for re-election.
A CNN/ORC International Poll released Tuesday indicates that 52% of all Americans approve of how the president is handling the situation in Iraq, an indication that Americans tend to favor Obama’s decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from that country by year’s end. Forty-eight percent of those questioned approve of how he is handling the war in Afghanistan. By contrast, only 35% have a positive view of his economic track record, and just 38% approve of how he is handling health care policy.
It all adds up to an overall 46% approval rating for the president, with 52% saying they disapprove of how Obama is handling his job in the White House.
“That’s par for the course for Obama, whose overall approval rating has been hovering in the mid 40s in every CNN poll conducted since June,” CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.
In comparison to recent incumbents running for re-election, Obama’s 46% approval ranks above only Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford – who both lost their re-election bids – in November of the year before an election. Most incumbents who were re-elected had an approval rating above 50% a year before the election. But George W. Bush, at 50%, and Richard Nixon, at 49%, also won re-election, and Bush’s father George H.W. Bush had a 56% approval rating yet lost to Bill Clinton the following year.
“Translation: while the approval rating is an important indicator of a president’s strength, it is not a foolproof predictor of election results,” Holland said.
See how Obama’s number stack up.
The poll indicates that the standard partisan divide over the president remains, with three-quarters of Democrats giving Obama a thumbs up but only 15% of Republicans approving of the job he’s doing in office. By a 54%-42% margin, independent voters disapprove of how the president’s handling his duties.
Women are divided on how Obama’s performing, but men disapprove by a 55%-43% margin. White Americans give Obama a thumbs down by a 61%-36% margin, with non-white Americans give the president a thumbs up by a more than 2-1 margin.
The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from November 11-13, with 1,036 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
Comments »The First Amendment is Not the Ultimate Catchall
FLASH: SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST OCCUPY WALL STREET LOSERS
They are no longer able to sleep at Zuccotti in their fucking tents and defecate near mailboxes.
Comments »The SEC Fails Again; This Time With Dark Pools
They, SEC, Collect Money and nobody admits guilt or goes to jail.
Comments »Dell Beat on the Bottom Line Despite Light Revenues; Stock Trades Mixed in A.H.
Another Day of Digestion; Much Better Than European Indigestion
DOW up 17
NADAQ up 28
S&P up 6
Good news got the day off to a rally. This quickly faded to negative territory. Then as the dollar reversed gains the market went from red to green. Pushing the markets higher was a story that Monti in Italy will get his act together. Otherwise yields and spreads were blowing out all over Europe keeping a lid on any real rally.
Berlusconi to release collection of love songs
Comments »ROME — Just in time for Christmas, an album of Neapolitan love songs written by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is about to warble its way onto the airwaves, ANSA news agency reported.
The CD entitled “Il Vero Amore” (The True Love), will be released November 22 featuring songs written by Berlusconi, a former cruise-ship singer, and performed by the singer Mariano Apicella.
Berlusconi has not had much to croon about lately, given that he resigned under pressure last Saturday to make way for a new government amid a national debt crisis.
ANSA reported there was speculation the album, originally scheduled for September release, had been deliberately delayed for political reasons.
But Apicella said that was “nonsense” and the delay was “purely for technical reasons.”
The new CD represents the fourth collaboration between Berlusconi and Apicella.
{PHOTO} Reversal at Zuccotti Park: Police on Inside, Protestors Outside
Contagion Goes from Soft to Hard Core (video)
Why is everyone in the EU suffering yield problems ? Contagion is spreading.
Comments »Fed’s Fisher: Regulators Should Break Up ‘Behemoth’ Banks
“Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said regulators should break up so-called too-big-to-fail financial institutions to curtail the risk they pose to financial stability.
“I believe that too-big-to-fail banks are too-dangerous- to-permit,” Fisher said in the text of remarks given in New York today.
“Downsizing the behemoths over time into institutions that can be prudently managed and regulated across borders is the appropriate policy response. Then, creative destruction can work its wonders in the financial sector, just as it does elsewhere in our economy.”
Regulators in the U.S. and abroad have attempted to address the risks posed by such systemically important financial institutions, and if “properly implemented,” the Dodd-Frank overhaul legislation “might assist in reining in the pernicious threat to financial stability,” Fisher said.
Banks deemed too big to fail must hold as much as 2.5 percentage points in additional capital as part of efforts to prevent another financial crisis, global regulators said in June. The additional capital buffers will range from 1 percentage point to 2.5 percentage points, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said.
U.S. regulators are also required under the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul legislation to impose heightened standards on the biggest U.S. banks to curtail systemic risk. Last month, MetLife Inc., the nation’s largest life insurer, said the Fed rejected its plan to increase its dividend and resume share purchases. The insurer said it will try to sell its banking businesses, thus reducing government oversight….”
Comments »Bernanke Secretly Wages War With China
Today’s Winners and Losers
===============================================================================
----- Percent Change ------
Sector Index Daily 1 Wk. 1 Mo. 3 Mo. 1 Yr.
===============================================================================
Computer Hardware 8458.24 116.34 0.32 -4.23 -0.50 9.45
Delivery Serv 7692.15 78.36 0.11 4.43 4.81 -1.45
Heavy Construction 4156.15 51.03 -0.82 0.67 -2.24 -5.32
Pipelines 6631.78 38.13 -0.53 16.62 16.60 44.30
Software 7847.11 35.89 0.17 1.26 9.63 8.23
Soft Drinks 3860.94 35.51 0.26 0.93 0.29 5.22
Telecom Equip 5858.83 32.30 0.59 6.89 11.32 2.02
Gambling 6445.51 31.63 1.37 1.11 -2.15 -1.52
Computer Serv 7060.87 31.62 0.05 -1.46 7.26 23.84
Farming & Fishing 5607.82 26.74 -0.45 0.80 6.77 22.36
Nondurable Household Prod 5497.05 23.19 -0.75 -2.49 1.62 -0.56
Restaurants & Bars 9168.14 22.05 -0.68 4.91 8.04 19.79
Publishing 2224.08 20.43 -0.35 0.88 6.19 0.91
Commercial Vehicl & Trucks 10883.15 18.14 -0.50 9.41 4.49 2.23
Insurance Brokers 2812.98 17.28 -1.17 7.04 5.32 17.38
Industrial Machinery 4670.60 17.06 -0.56 6.27 6.73 3.57
Drug Retailers 6223.41 16.21 -0.80 7.02 4.09 18.73
Iron & Steel 2473.64 15.84 0.46 12.18 1.00 -6.20
Financial Admin 4190.80 14.93 -1.05 1.90 6.03 9.06
Build Materials & Fixtures 2379.56 14.28 -0.46 6.45 7.89 2.82
Distillers & Vintners 4847.70 13.81 -0.29 2.38 9.82 4.48
Consumer Finance 5529.06 12.83 -1.40 4.07 5.54 21.68
Medical Equip 5425.56 12.66 -0.62 0.56 -0.49 5.14
Trucking 3362.04 12.64 -0.59 -0.47 3.23 0.29
Defense 4491.28 11.31 -0.45 4.11 7.37 1.16
Integrated Oil & Gas 5433.42 9.43 -0.75 3.51 6.51 15.91
Mobile Telecom 1256.79 8.85 -0.74 1.02 -3.08 -8.33
General Mining 2651.39 8.57 -1.48 -4.15 -24.38 -5.01
Hotels 2642.17 7.13 -1.14 4.51 7.25 -9.88
Travel & Tourism 2568.89 6.66 -0.01 5.76 1.53 20.55
Electr Components & Equip 2311.91 5.81 -0.87 3.26 5.24 -0.62
Broadcasting & Entertainment 3751.79 5.26 -0.93 -0.64 3.43 7.81
Internet 2127.58 4.91 0.51 3.79 10.97 0.53
Marine Transportation 1408.50 3.46 -0.27 4.63 6.89 -13.79
Tires 427.43 3.07 -0.45 13.11 2.43 18.48
Tobacco 4464.98 2.99 -0.55 2.66 5.40 17.58
Real Estate Invest Trusts 1970.99 2.18 -2.01 4.45 -2.35 1.49
Business Support Serv 979.07 1.44 -1.69 0.32 4.94 11.46
Real Estate Invest & Serv 2099.31 1.35 -1.83 5.53 -9.17 -14.07
Food Prod 2884.54 1.10 -0.26 -1.67 -0.11 14.47
Food Retailers & Wholesalers 1795.45 0.92 -0.90 3.50 4.36 2.53
Mortgage Finance 165.74 0.36 -0.96 -0.57 -3.31 -19.27
Reinsurance 5992.87 0.27 -1.47 2.79 4.61 -5.25
Diversified Industrials 2543.68 0.25 -0.75 0.88 1.58 1.65
Waste & Disposal Serv 1247.97 0.15 -1.65 -3.46 1.89 2.99
Brewers 4399.94 0.05 -0.87 -0.83 -5.90 -13.66
Full Line Insurance 322.34 0.00 -1.06 -1.13 -7.49 -21.12
Gas Distribution 2002.07 -0.36 -1.07 5.36 8.65 15.97
Multiutilities 1401.63 -1.40 -1.44 2.52 8.97 11.70
Electronic Equip 3426.12 -1.60 -0.82 7.26 5.78 1.68
Electricity 1833.22 -1.68 -1.28 2.17 5.39 9.83
Specialized Consumer Serv 3602.30 -1.77 -1.08 -2.88 0.91 5.05
Furnishings 2711.37 -1.99 -1.34 4.60 9.44 20.05
Fixed Line Telecom 1094.37 -2.20 -1.25 -0.48 1.17 2.30
Oil Equip & Serv 6125.32 -2.22 -1.18 6.53 -5.18 8.06
Pharmaceuticals 2311.66 -2.77 -0.87 1.61 5.52 9.20
Media Agencies 3759.31 -3.18 -1.45 6.38 5.25 -8.45
Gold Mining 2443.40 -3.60 -1.53 5.64 13.06 18.66
Apparel Retailers 3802.93 -4.62 -0.93 3.14 11.59 17.94
Specialty Finance 3656.11 -4.66 -3.06 3.03 0.44 -4.11
Electronic Office Equip 891.34 -4.72 -1.24 2.25 -1.80 -25.08
Paper 1205.39 -4.72 -2.69 5.48 6.04 4.05
Home Construction 2234.81 -5.39 -1.67 12.63 11.37 -6.49
Industrial Suppliers 3955.97 -5.39 -0.69 14.11 20.77 33.64
Banks -SS 1957.53 -5.41 -2.65 -0.17 -4.63 -20.92
Airlines 553.59 -5.47 -0.77 -7.77 -0.51 -36.77
Forestry & Paper 1536.29 -5.95 -2.70 5.04 6.50 4.77
Exploration & Production 7498.60 -6.07 -1.72 10.50 2.09 13.14
Prop & Casualty Insurance 3657.22 -6.47 -1.51 7.40 6.55 2.49
Personal Prod 4529.04 -6.73 -0.64 -1.76 4.73 11.12
Automobiles 1805.19 -7.66 -0.76 -3.47 -4.20 -29.05
Durable Household Prod 1643.78 -8.66 -1.49 7.39 1.87 -2.05
Commodity Chemicals 2347.82 -8.77 -1.15 3.87 -1.31 2.67
Specialty Retailers 3018.09 -9.65 -1.02 2.66 7.03 8.04
Aluminum 1343.88 -11.43 -2.79 0.69 -16.78 -22.23
Asset Managers 5223.46 -12.38 -2.30 7.03 1.03 -14.95
Recreational Serv 2289.05 -12.47 -1.65 0.55 3.80 -14.56
Containers & Packaging 2512.92 -14.44 -1.97 1.71 0.29 3.45
Coal 3748.19 -14.64 -1.34 2.16 -16.00 -24.67
Life Insurance 3026.17 -15.81 -1.87 3.54 1.44 -12.80
Biotechnology 3612.89 -16.21 -0.87 -1.44 4.22 3.82
Toys 3678.06 -18.26 -1.71 0.84 12.43 13.55
Clothing & Accessories 2942.98 -18.52 -0.98 2.00 10.75 29.36
Invest Serv 3039.43 -19.65 -2.64 0.64 -8.41 -27.81
Water 4903.59 -19.66 -1.41 2.37 2.85 10.09
Transportation Serv 2434.01 -19.80 -2.03 5.66 6.37 10.66
Auto Parts 2332.64 -20.13 -1.59 -1.76 -1.76 -3.21
Medical Supplies 6747.77 -21.45 -1.29 0.05 -1.57 4.41
Health Care Providers 4787.31 -23.07 -0.91 7.32 5.08 13.83
Specialty Chemicals 5752.99 -23.53 -1.40 4.40 -1.17 6.35
Footwear 7373.99 -30.37 -0.75 -0.16 6.18 21.08
Nonferrous Metals 6277.48 -33.23 -1.37 5.85 -13.24 -22.78
Broadline Retailers 4048.57 -51.93 -1.47 -1.85 11.78 15.52
Consumer Electronics 8083.13 -63.51 -2.96 3.60 9.34 -11.02
Home Improv Retailers 6419.35 -72.01 -0.25 9.02 19.60 16.23
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The Big Run: Bond Market Contagion
Anything for Politics
The department of energy pressured Solyndra to hold off on layoffs until after November elections. The Dems lost that election, but if the story broke it would certainly not have helped them.
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