White House Aide Denies Agreement to Release Oil Reserves

Source

“The U.S. and U.K. haven’t agreed on a release of oil from strategic stocks, according to an Obama administration official.

A report that the two nations will cooperate in an effort to cut rising gasoline prices is inaccurate, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations between President Barack Obama and U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron at the White House yesterday.

Obama and Cameron discussed oil supplies and use of the strategic reserve without reaching any decision, a U.K. official with knowledge of the talks said.

Crude oil for April delivery dropped 37 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $105.06 a barrel at 12:15 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price dropped to $103.78 after Reuters reported that the U.K. has decided to cooperate with the U.S. in a bilateral agreement to release strategic oil supplies.

The national average retail price of unleaded regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to $3.821 a gallon yesterday, according to a daily survey by the American Automobile Association (3AGSREG). That’s 7.5 percent higher than a year ago, according to AAA’s survey.

Rising gasoline prices have opened a line of attack by Republican presidential candidates, as higher energy costs overshadow gains elsewhere in the economy, including the addition of 227,000 new jobs in February….”

Source

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said it assigned a CCC rating to new bonds issued byGreece.

The ratings company said its sovereign credit ratings on Greece will remain at selective default until the exchange is concluded, which may occur by April 11. After the exchange, S&P said it will likely assign a rating of CCC to Greece.

Today’s Industry Highlights via Yahoo Finance

Led higher by Financials, the S&P 500 has come in touch with the 1400 line for the first time since June 2008. The broad market measure is now up about 11% year to date. Meanwhile, oil prices continue to oscillate. The latest action comes in response to conflicting reports regarding the release of U.S. strategic oil reserves. Oil prices are currently down 0.4% at $105 per barrel.

Market Update

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcR2AuiRMvg&feature=related 450 300]

Source

"By Richard Mably	
    LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Britain has decided to
cooperate with the United States in a  bilateral agreement to
release strategic oil stocks, two British sources said, in an
effort to prevent high fuel prices derailing economic growth in
a U.S. election year.  	
    A formal request from the United States to the UK to join
forces in a release of oil from government-controlled reserves
is expected "shortly" following a meeting on Wednesday in
Washington between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister
David Cameron, who discussed the issue, one source said. 	
    Britain would respond positively, the two sources said.	
    "We regularly consult with the British on energy issues and
any discussion that we had was in that context. We will continue
to monitor the situation and consult with them and others," an
Obama administration official said.	
    Rising world oil prices, up to $125 a barrel for Brent crude
, have pushed U.S gasoline prices up sharply this year
and threaten to choke U.S. economic recovery ahead of Obama's
bid for re-election in November.   	
     Details of the timing, volume and duration of the emergency
drawdown have yet to be settled but a detailed agreement is
expected by the summer, one of the sources said.	
    Other countries may also be approached by Washington to
contribute, a further source said, Japan among them.      	
    Previous emergency oil drawdowns, the latest last year, 
have been coordinated by the 28-member Paris-based International
Energy Agency (IEA) to meet its mandate to cover substantial
supply disruptions on the world oil market. Libyan oil
production was closed for much of last year during civil war...."

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtZxm-RCkzs 450 300]

3D heat map 

S&P A/D Line

NASDAQ A/D Line 

ISSUE GAINERS                 SYMBOL   EXCH   LAST PRICE   MONEY FLOW    RATIO 
                                                          (in millions) 
Apple                          AAPL    NASD      595.85      +154.6       1.11 
Lehman 20+ Year Treas          TBT     ARCA       20.95      +129.6      18.52 
Allison Transmission           ALSN    NYSE       22.94       +63.4       4.42 
Capital One Fincl              COF     NYSE       52.27       +37.4       1.59 
Bank Of America                BAC     NYSE        9.01       +29.2       1.36 
El Paso Corp                   EP      NYSE       28.86       +28.0       2.46 
WsdmTr Emrg Mkts Eqty Inc      DEM     ARCA       58.24       +25.5      49.54 
Demandware Inc                 DWRE    NYSE       24.39       +20.0       2.74 
IBM                            IBM     NYSE      205.46       +15.2       1.87 
Google                         GOOG    NASD      618.62       +13.8       1.37 
Oracle                         ORCL    NASD       29.79       +11.7       2.39 
ExxonMobil                     XOM     NYSE       85.87       +11.6       2.00 
Amazoncom                      AMZN    NASD      182.67       +10.7       1.33 
Starbucks                      SBUX    NASD       52.82        +9.8       2.70 
Sel Sec SPDRCnsmr Stples       XLP     ARCA       33.67        +8.4       8.47 
Freeport McMoran               FCX     NYSE       38.62        +7.8       1.44 
Direxn Daily Finl Bull 3x      FAS     ARCA      103.63        +7.2       1.20 
Union Pacific                  UNP     NYSE      111.34        +7.2       1.26 
Time Warner                    TWX     NYSE       35.76        +7.1       1.86 
Caterpillar                    CAT     NYSE      111.84        +7.1       1.28 

ISSUE DECLINERS               SYMBOL   EXCH   LAST PRICE   MONEY FLOW    RATIO 
                                                          (in millions) 
SPDR S&P Dividend              SDY     ARCA       56.80      -124.8       0.03 
CurrencyShs Jpn Yen Tr         FXY     ARCA      118.01       -37.7       0.03 
SPDR S&P 500                   SPY     ARCA      140.06       -17.6       0.90 
JPMorgan Chase                 JPM     NYSE       43.92       -16.1       0.79 
Hewlett-Packard                HPQ     NYSE       24.38       -15.3       0.22 
General Electric               GE      NYSE       19.98       -15.0       0.48 
Johnson & Johnson              JNJ     NYSE       65.02       -13.6       0.36 
Lowe's Cos                     LOW     NYSE       30.48       -13.3       0.33 
US Bancorp                     USB     NYSE       31.20       -12.5       0.38 
Microsoft                      MSFT    NASD       32.84       -11.8       0.59 
Intel                          INTC    NASD       27.70       -11.6       0.52 
McDonald's                     MCD     NYSE       97.49       -10.8       0.52 
Goldman Sachs                  GS      NYSE      121.41       -10.0       0.76 
Advance Auto Parts             AAP     NYSE       88.73        -9.8       0.12 
Abbott Labs                    ABT     NYSE       58.88        -9.3       0.45 
ConocoPhillips                 COP     NYSE       77.48        -9.1       0.40 
AT&T                           T       NYSE       31.45        -9.0       0.41 
Chevron                        CVX     NYSE      110.52        -8.3       0.62 
TJX Cos                        TJX     NYSE       37.81        -7.7       0.31 
EMC Corp                       EMC     NYSE       28.99        -7.2       0.41

NYSE

New Highs 36 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
ACCO Brands                   ABD         13.20              240,494 
Abbott Labs                   ABT         59.16            1,266,329 
Airgas Inc                    ARG         84.29               28,460 
Allergan                      AGN         94.06              178,664 
BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Tr     BPT         124.92               5,111 
Bally Technologies            BYI         47.07               84,742 
Blyth                         BTH         80.71               16,522 
Cabelas                       CAB         36.90               70,419 
Calamos Strat Fd              CSQ         10.06              258,386 
Chipotle Mexican Grill        CMG         402.95              48,852 
Energ Gerais-Cemig            CIG         23.83              123,220 
Cummins                       CMI         125.19             364,036 
Cytec Indus                   CYT         62.46               62,920 
Dollar General                DG          44.63               80,942 
EPAM Systems                  EPAM        16.90               37,002 
Estee Lauder                  EL          63.26              308,587 
Exelis Inc.                   XLS         12.47              100,984 
WR Grace                      GRA         58.11               26,797 
Hels Advantage Inco Fd        HAV         8.94                 2,631 
Herbalife                     HLF         70.82              274,465 
INVESCO                       IVZ         26.08              250,129 
IBM                           IBM         205.63             408,413 
Kennametal                    KMT         47.63              103,991 
PVH Corp.                     PVH         89.49              129,977 
Penske Automotive             PAG         25.67              111,271 
Philip Morris Intl            PM          85.80              333,181 
Prestige Brands Hldgs         PBH         17.39               65,040 
Proto Labs                    PRLB        34.13                3,300 
QR Energy                     QRE         23.75               25,582 
Telecom New Zealand           NZT         10.28               48,621 
Torchmark                     TMK         49.82               46,052 
Toro Co                       TTC         71.98               13,464 
U.S. Silica Holdings          SLCA        19.00               85,636 
United Parcel Service B       UPS         78.45              309,401 
US Bancorp                    USB         31.55            2,572,582 
UnitedHealth Group            UNH         56.25              699,081 

New Lows 7 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Arch Coal                     ACI         11.25              969,383 
GDL Fd Pfd B                  GDLpB       50.51                1,029 
Inergy LP                     NRGY        15.26              194,435 
Peabody Energy                BTU         29.78              853,712 
RadioShack                    RSH         6.50               603,537 
STR Holdings Inc.             STRI        5.13               157,652 
Standard Register             SR          1.35                 8,623

NASDAQ

New Highs 44 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
ASML Hldg NV                  ASML        47.79              176,503 
Acadia Healthcare             ACHC        15.45                5,620 
Affymax                       AFFY        12.02              658,495 
Allot Comm                    ALLT        21.21               37,799 
Ameris Bancorp                ABCB        12.45                1,550 
Apple                         AAPL        600.01           8,326,938 
BE Aerospace                  BEAV        48.00               65,672 
Bazaarvoice                   BV          19.19               49,518 
Brightcove                    BCOV        18.95               40,526 
Builders FirstSource          BLDR        3.80               150,508 
Cempra                        CEMP        8.50                51,075 
Check Point Sftwre Techs      CHKP        61.83              103,039 
Chefs' Warehouse              CHEF        23.75                8,605 
ChipMOS Techs Bermuda         IMOS        17.60              285,448 
Cirrus Logic                  CRUS        24.48              161,586 
EOS Preferred pfD             EOSPN       25.02               27,500 
Fifth Third Bancorp           FITB        14.41            2,785,497 
First California Finl Grp     FCAL        5.43                 7,022 
First Tr ISE Cloud Comp       SKYY        20.86                3,476 
FirstBank  (Michigan)         FBMI        8.24                 5,672 
Heritage Commerce             HTBK        6.07                 5,628 
Hudson Tech                   HDSN        3.65                   190 
JB Hunt Transport             JBHT        53.72               81,828 
IRIS Intl                     IRIS        12.04                6,587 
Indiana Community Bancorp     INCB        23.00                  450 
Intl Bancshares               IBOC        20.34               14,004 
iPass                         IPAS        2.48               259,530 
Jive Software                 JIVE        25.70               56,545 
Manhattan Associates          MANH        50.18                6,410 
Multimedia Games Holding      MGAM        11.39               78,877 
Old Dominion Freight Line     ODFL        48.43               30,055 
Orexigen Therapeutics         OREX        4.73               449,701 
Pacific Premier Bancorp       PPBI        8.22                 3,300 
Panera Bread Co               PNRA        165.23              15,843 
Pinnacle Fincl Partners       PNFP        17.98                3,269 
pricelinecom                  PCLN        659.55             106,800 
Provident Fincl Hldgs         PROV        10.97                  300 
SS&C Techs Hldgs              SSNC        21.86               79,337 
Scholastic                    SCHL        40.17              505,528 
Snyders-Lance                 LNCE        24.18                7,453 
Socket Mobile                 SCKT        3.90                84,005 
Southern Comm Cap Tr II       SCMFO       7.25                 6,500 
SVB Cap II 7.00% pfd.         SIVBO       26.10                  471 
vitacost com Inc              VITC        8.65                25,644 

New Lows 9 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
AVEO Pharmaceuticals          AVEO        12.18               11,888 
Ameritrans Cap 9.375% pfd     AMTCP       1.90                 1,652 
Ampio Pharmaceuticals         AMPE        2.88                17,303 
D Medical Industries          DMED        0.45                32,244 
Marshall Edwards              MSHL        0.70                33,190 
Mission NewEnergy             MNEL        0.72                69,082 
Orckit Comm                   ORCT        0.39                 1,100 
Utd Online                    UNTD        4.67                66,191 
Wave Systems  (Cl A)          WAVX        1.60               111,688

This one is out of a novel…..

I’ll say it again; FUCK THIS COMPANY

Source 

“When it comes to human rights, critics often charge the United Nations with being selective at best. Especially with regards to Israel. And a recent bit of news coming out of the U.N. Human Rights Council will do nothing to assuage that sentiment, given its choice of human rights role models. In this instance, the late despot Moammar Gadhafi.

Fox News brings the story:

A United Nations panel has adopted a report praising Qaddafi-era Libya for its human rights record, a year after the report was sidelined amid international objection.

The report initially came before the U.N. Human Rights Council in the middle of the uprising against the Muammar Qaddafi regime. At the time, the U.N. had just voted to suspend Libya from the rights council — under pressure to maintain a consistent message toward Libya, the council later postponed consideration of the report.

But the Human Rights Council on Wednesday returned to the document — and approved it.

So, Gadhafi is a human rights star, according to the U.N. Cynics might think that means the U.N. has low standards. Consider the following from a report in The Guardian from 2009:

The United Nations’ most senior human rights official said last night that the Israeli military may have committed war crimes in Gaza. The warning came as Israeli troops pressed on with the deadly offensive in defiance of a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire.

Navi Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, has called for “credible, independent and transparent” investigations into possible violations of humanitarian law, and singled out an incident this week in Zeitoun, south-east of Gaza City, where up to 30 Palestinians in one house were killed by Israeli shelling.

Pillay, a former international criminal court judge from South Africa, told the BBC the incident “appears to have all the elements of war crimes”.

So what’s behind giving star treatment to a country whose dictator was recently overthrown because of human rights abuses, but a democratic government backed by the U.S. is being condemned? The fact that Israel isn’t on the Human Rights Commission, whereas Saudi Arabia and the People’s Republic of China are, may have something to do with it.”

Source

EDINBURGH (MarketWatch)—Scotland’s financial-services industry has for several hundred years taken its cue from London, but that could change if a proposed 2014 vote in the Celtic nation brings the United Kingdom’s 300-year-old union to an end.

As one of Europe’s leading financial centers, Scotland is home to global players in banking, pensions and life insurance. Major British investment houses remain based here, including Martin Currie Investment Management Limited UK:MNP -0.73% , Baillie Gifford & Co UK:BGFD +0.30% , Standard Life PLC SLFPF +11.77% , Artemis Investment Management LLP and Aberdeen Asset Management PLC UK:ADN -0.39% .

Scotland is recognized for its strength in asset management because of a long association with the industry dating back to the 1870s, when Scotsman Robert Fleming pioneered investment trusts.

Scottish Financial Enterprise, the body that represents Scotland’s financial-services industry, estimates that Scotland has around 750 billion British pounds ($1.21 trillion) in assets under management.

However, if Scotland votes for independence from the U.K. in a referendum in just under two years, its thriving financial-services industry could be forced to adapt to an entirely different business and regulatory environment. This prospect is causing anxiety in some quarters of the industry.

Click to Play

Rangers enters administration

One of Scotland’s biggest football clubs, Rangers, puts itself into administration despite all its success in recent seasons.

Ross Leckie, director of communications at Artemis Investment Management, said: “If there’s one thing this industry dislikes, it’s uncertainty.” Leckie added: “We’re long term investors, it takes a long time to grow our business, so we need to know what this means sooner rather than later.”

Leckie said that some Artemis clients have expressed concern about the potential ramifications of independence. Concerns center on what a change of regulator might do to the legal arrangements of their investments.

Today, various London-based authorities including the Financial Services Authority are responsible for regulating the region’s financial institutions. The Bank of England, also London-based, controls the levers to monetary policy. A “yes” vote to Scottish independence would likely see those powers transferred to Edinburgh.

For fund managers north of the English border, the prospect of major changes is particularly problematic because their focus is on finding long-term investment opportunities. That’s hard to do if the underlying planning environment is subject to change….”

Read more

Source

“Conventional wisdom has it that stocks are the safest way to earn reasonable investment returns over the long term. But Boston University management professor Zvi Bodie and financial consultant Rachelle Taqqu beg to differ.

They argue in a Wall Street Journal essay that the stock market is full of pratfalls.

“Despite the assurances of the financial industry, stocks are always a risky investment, and the longer you hold them, the better your chances of getting blindsided by a downturn,” the duo writes.

“The usual way of mitigating that risk, diversification, holds no guarantees, either — for the simple reason that investments don’t always move the way we want in relation to one another.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has soared 11 percent so far this year, so it’s easy to see why investors are tempted to dive in.

What should they do instead?

“A safer way to build and protect retirement assets is to picture your goals as clearly as possible. Then pare things back to the basics,” Bodie and Taqqu write.

“Figure out the bare-bones level of income you need and invest in products that guarantee it, such as inflation-protected bonds.”

Not everyone is pessimistic about stocks.

“We have had a good series of economic data come out the past few months,” Jason Pride, director of investment strategy for Glenmede, tells The New York Times. And that offers strength to the market. “

Source 

The U.S. economy is recovering “pretty well” and trying to juice it up by allowing a little extra inflation would be disastrous, said Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman known for successfully reining in double-digit inflation.

“I think that is kind of a doomsday scenario,” Volcker told an economic summit when asked if the Fed should foster higher inflation to stimulate faster growth.

Higher inflation would backfire by causing interest rates to rise. “You are not going to get any stimulus and you are going to make it much harder to restore price stability,” Volcker told the Atlantic magazine conference.

Some economists have speculated that the Federal Reserve might allow inflation to exceed the central bank’s 2 percent target in an attempt to lower the unemployment rate, still stubbornly high at 8.3 percent.

Volcker, famed for pushing up interest rates into double digits in the early 1980s to tame inflation, would not comment directly on current Fed policy.

But he said a “debt tsunami” that hit the financial system in 2008 did huge amounts of damage, and there are no magic bullets for cleaning up that damage quickly.

“We have an economy that needs support. We are doing that with extreme fiscal policy. We are doing that with extreme monetary policy,” Volcker said.

Once the economy is on a sounder footing, he expressed confidence that the Fed will face no difficulty in shrinking its balance sheet without causing disruptions. “They do not in my judgment present a technical problem,” he said.

Read more: 

Tattle tales to come out of the wood work…..

A new fossil has scientist asking if a new species of human has been discovered…..

Doug Kass is very cautious these days