So funny.
Comments »Monthly Archives: March 2012
Update: Greece Now Has a 75% Compliance Ratio
Watch Rick Santelli Go Glenn Beck
Consumer Confidence Soars to a Four Year High
“Household confidence improved last week to a four-year high as more Americans said the economy was improving and decided it was a good time to shop.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index (COMFCOMF) was minus 36.7 in the period ended March 4, the highest since April 2008, up from minus 38.8 in the prior period. The gauge on the state of the economy reached a one-year high, while the buying-climate measure climbed to a level last exceeded in December 2009.
For a fifth straight week, half of those surveyed also rated their personal finances as positive, bolstered by a resilient stock market, faster job growth and rising wages. Stronger household balance sheets may be helping ease the sting of the steepest gasoline prices in almost a year.
“Consumers are much more comfortable about their own personal financial situations, which is largely negating the recent rise in gasoline prices,” said Joe Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. “That said, consumer confidence remains at the low end of the historical range.”
Comments »Today’s Money Flows
ISSUE GAINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Apple AAPL NASD 534.02 +49.0 1.11
Bank Of America BAC NYSE 8.04 +23.2 1.84
McDonald's MCD NYSE 96.65 +19.7 1.26
Google GOOG NASD 610.50 +18.8 1.58
Nationstar Mortgage Hldgs NSM NYSE 13.79 +16.8 4.56
Intel INTC NASD 26.86 +16.3 2.19
Fossil FOSL NASD 125.16 +14.8 4.22
ExxonMobil XOM NYSE 85.07 +14.1 1.29
Schlumberger SLB NYSE 75.34 +13.9 2.73
General Electric GE NYSE 19.01 +12.1 1.95
Caterpillar CAT NYSE 109.01 +11.4 1.40
Amazoncom AMZN NASD 183.97 +11.4 1.51
HMS Hldgs HMSY NASD 29.09 +10.2 27.74
Freeport McMoran FCX NYSE 39.42 +9.9 1.45
Baidu BIDU NASD 137.25 +9.5 1.26
Chevron CVX NYSE 110.24 +9.4 1.53
Coach COH NYSE 76.39 +9.1 1.55
Select Sector SPDR-Matrls XLB ARCA 36.38 +8.7 3.08
Abbott Labs ABT NYSE 57.14 +8.5 1.70
Salesforcecom CRM NYSE 145.30 +8.3 1.69
ISSUE DECLINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Annaly Capital Mgmnt NLY NYSE 16.17 -69.6 0.25
American Capital Agency AGNC NASD 29.46 -43.0 0.49
Amer Intl Group AIG NYSE 28.48 -30.7 0.59
Microsoft MSFT NASD 32.19 -27.5 0.35
BP PLC BP NYSE 47.03 -23.9 0.20
iShs MSCI All Cty As x Jp AAXJ NASD 57.04 -23.2 0.02
Boeing BA NYSE 74.43 -20.1 0.23
JPMorgan Chase JPM NYSE 40.65 -15.2 0.55
Select Sector SPDR-Finl XLF ARCA 14.70 -13.8 0.28
Citrix Systems CTXS NASD 73.94 -13.7 0.32
Verizon Communications VZ NYSE 39.39 -13.0 0.60
IBM IBM NYSE 199.10 -12.7 0.62
Procter & Gamble PG NYSE 66.93 -10.4 0.36
Pfizer PFE NYSE 21.52 -9.0 0.45
Halliburton HAL NYSE 34.64 -8.1 0.41
Valero Energy VLO NYSE 27.46 -8.0 0.56
Wells Fargo WFC NYSE 30.89 -7.9 0.59
H&R Block HRB NYSE 15.77 -6.9 0.56
Citigroup C NYSE 33.42 -6.6 0.81
CBS Corp B CBS NYSE 30.53 -6.4 0.38
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52 Week Highs and Lows
NYSE
New Highs 46 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Allergan AGN 91.98 315,847 Alliance CA Municipal AKP 15.68 12,982 Amer Eagle Outfitters AEO 16.43 2,155,865 Amer Vanguard AVD 19.22 55,060 Anheuser Busch BUD 68.94 285,130 Apollo Residential Mtg AMTG 19.52 61,899 BlackRockMuni Tr BYM 15.90 8,873 BlRk Muyld NJ Qlty MJI 17.04 11,730 BlkRk MuniYld PA Quality MPA 17.25 6,168 BlkRk Cr Alloc Tr I PSW 10.29 17,685 Brookfield Infrastructure BIP 30.49 23,025 CBS Corp B CBS 30.60 1,458,579 CDI Corp CDI 16.61 12,111 CH Energy Group CHG 67.03 5,818 CoreSite Realty COR 22.98 6,206 Crown Castle Intl CCI 54.42 2,587,045 Delphi Fincl DFG 44.92 55,131 Dillard's DDS 62.38 89,195 Douglas Emmett DEI 22.05 64,664 El Paso Corp EP 28.67 586,286 Express EXPR 25.82 436,108 Foot Locker FL 30.17 197,534 Helios Multi-Sec Inco Fd HMH 6.10 9,705 Jarden Corp JAH 38.00 107,745 Just Energy Group JE 13.50 19,900 Kinder Morgan KMI 36.93 139,963 Lennar Corp A LEN 24.37 839,590 Lennar Corp B LEN/B 19.68 11,034 Liz Claiborne LIZ 11.88 132,402 Lowe's Cos LOW 29.35 5,031,395 MaquarieInfrastr MIC 31.73 27,326 Main Street Capital MAIN 24.43 24,008 MarkWest MWE 60.97 19,452 Mead Johnson Nutrition MJN 79.91 86,600 Men's Wearhouse MW 40.97 550,193 Motorola Solutions MSI 52.78 357,487 Neenah Paper NP 29.87 33,424 Packaging Corp Amer PKG 30.22 68,431 Rex American Resources REX 32.12 7,935 Rite Aid RAD 1.75 5,285,640 Rose Rock Midstream RRMS 25.42 5,201 STAG Industrial STAG 13.44 30,673 Sally Beauty Hldgs SBH 25.00 125,925 Sun Communities SUI 42.42 10,873 Target Corp TGT 57.05 560,113 Telecom New Zealand NZT 9.58 68,562 New Lows 4 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ DelhaizeGrp DEG 50.72 16,430 Dynegy DYN 1.15 225,825 Inergy LP NRGY 16.79 205,593 No Amer Engy Ptnrs NOA 4.51 14,714
NASDAQ
New Highs 44 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Access National ANCX 10.55 1,930 Amer Cap Mortgage Invt MTGE 24.11 210,988 American River Bankshares AMRB 7.09 100 Ameris Bancorp ABCB 11.96 2,961 Analogic ALOG 61.32 10,087 Annapolis Bancorp ANNB 5.49 1,150 Arctic Cat ACAT 39.95 22,934 athenahealth ATHN 73.17 21,084 Cal-Maine Foods CALM 40.32 16,358 Cerner CERN 76.52 162,469 Clean Energy Fuels CLNE 21.29 756,855 ClickSoftware CKSW 11.65 17,405 Comcast A Sp CMCSK 29.07 334,342 Cyanotech CYAN 9.66 61,664 Dollar Tree DLTR 92.49 106,060 Fiserv FISV 67.26 59,713 Furiex Pharmaceuticals FURX 23.28 28,617 Heska HSKA 11.42 16,660 Homeownrs Choice HCII 11.15 27,708 Homeownrs Choice wt HCIIW 1.12 16,935 Hot Topic HOTT 10.11 606,339 Huntingtn Pfd Cp 7.875% C HPCCP 27.70 330 IAC/InterActive IACI 48.12 164,706 MTR Gaming Group MNTG 4.23 30,490 MainSource Fincl Group MSFG 10.62 13,913 Mesa Laboratories MLAB 58.20 4,049 North Valley Bancorp NOVB 11.15 800 Novadaq Technologies NVDQ 7.98 5,300 O'Reilly Automotive ORLY 90.94 63,805 PETsMART PETM 57.24 146,039 RGC Resources RGCO 19.52 3,270 Repligen RGEN 5.12 104,886 Ross Stores ROST 55.51 161,458 SMTC SMTX 3.85 166,880 SXC Health Solutions SXCI 74.37 54,042 SeagateTech STX 28.00 1,799,779 Standard Parking STAN 19.79 3,771 Starbucks SBUX 50.67 2,084,536 Sucampo Pharm (Cl A) SCMP 7.52 2,400 TAYC Cp Tr I 9.75% pfd TAYCP 25.45 300 TearLab TEAR 2.68 95,227 Tessco Techs TESS 21.00 6,079 Town Sports Intl Hldgs CLUB 10.99 9,633 Ulta Salon Cosmetics ULTA 90.36 258,182 New Lows 8 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Deckers Outdoor DECK 65.52 962,533 First Solar FSLR 25.29 1,547,134 Overstockcom OSTK 4.97 67,286 Sigma Designs SIGM 4.87 242,895 Stewart Enterprs Cl A STEI 4.92 222,768 Trius Therapeutics TSRX 4.80 17,426 Wi-Lan WILN 4.38 67,111 ZELTIQ Aesthetics ZLTQ 5.94 233,534Comments »
Obama Misinforms U.S. Public About Meeting with Netanyahu: Promises Bunker Busters To Israel If Netanyahu Delays Iran Invasion Until After US Elections
The IRS is Going After Conservative Groups Seeking Tax Breaks as Non Profits
“A battle is brewing between politically-oriented nonprofit organizations and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about whether the groups deserve tax-protected status. Although such groups support both major political parties, it is the wealthier conservative groups, such American Crossroads and those affiliated with the Tea Party, that are up in arms.
Under the U.S. tax code, 501(c)(4) groups are tax-exempt because their purpose is “social welfare.” They are allowed to engage in a certain amount of political activity, but politics cannot be their primary focus. American Crossroads, co-founded by Karl Rove, and Priorities USA, backed by President Barack Obama, claim that they are apolitical social welfare organizations, a description that elicits snickers—at best—from independent observers. The IRS believes that these faux-social welfare groups should pay taxes.
According to the IRS, “The promotion of social welfare does not include any unrelated business activities or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.”
Also at issue is the suspicion that corporations are donating to political super PACs and then deducting their contributions as business expenses.”
Comments »
Today’s Heat Map and A/D Lines
Most Active Options Trades This Morning
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE MCD 6/16/12 105.0000 510 0.5700 dn 0.7100 AAPL 3/9/12 540.0000 233 1.3500 dn 0.0800 AAPL 3/9/12 535.0000 157 3.1000 up 0.4700 FITB 3/17/12 13.0000 147 0.6700 up 0.4100 BAC 3/9/12 8.0000 144 0.1000 up 0.0200 WFC 4/21/12 33.0000 141 0.3200 up 0.0900 DNDN 3/9/12 10.0000 140 0.1000 dn 0.4800 SBUX 3/17/12 52.5000 132 0.1400 up 0.1100 GS 4/21/12 125.0000 118 2.4500 up 0.5300 FCX 4/21/12 36.0000 108 4.1500 up 0.2500 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE DNDN 3/9/12 10.0000 563 0.6800 up 0.5700 DNDN 4/21/12 8.0000 211 0.6800 up 0.4300 DHI 4/21/12 14.0000 180 0.6600 dn 0.3000 AAPL 3/9/12 535.0000 126 4.7000 dn 1.9000 BAC 3/9/12 8.0000 117 0.0600 dn 0.0400 AIG 8/18/12 30.0000 110 3.5500 up 0.3000 C 3/17/12 30.0000 97 0.0600 dn 0.0400 GMCR 3/9/12 57.5000 95 0.2400 up 0.2000 AAPL 3/9/12 525.0000 92 1.1000 dn 1.3000 LOW 10/20/12 29.0000 83 2.4300 dn 0.2100 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 12585 10334 22919
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE BAC 4/21/12 9.0000 6336 0.1100 up 0.0100 VLO 3/17/12 27.0000 2484 0.9100 up 0.2500 BX 1/18/14 15.0000 1950 2.9000 up 0.2500 WFC 4/21/12 33.0000 1851 0.3100 up 0.0900 BAC 1/19/13 10.0000 1655 0.6400 up 0.0300 NYX 3/17/12 32.0000 1500 0.0100 dn 0.0400 AAPL 3/17/12 540.0000 1464 5.9000 up 0.4500 BAC 3/9/12 8.0000 1403 0.1000 up 0.0200 CCL 3/17/12 32.0000 1351 0.6500 up 0.2500 CCL 4/21/12 34.0000 1350 0.3800 up 0.0300 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE DHI 4/21/12 14.0000 3394 0.6900 up 0.0200 AAPL 3/9/12 535.0000 1975 4.2500 dn 2.6000 AAPL 3/9/12 525.0000 1530 1.0100 dn 1.3700 AAPL 3/9/12 530.0000 1496 2.1900 dn 2.0100 DHI 5/19/12 14.0000 1201 0.9400 up 0.0000 C 3/17/12 30.0000 865 0.0600 dn 0.0400 AGNC 3/17/12 29.0000 810 0.1100 up 0.0400 AAPL 3/9/12 520.0000 783 0.5100 dn 0.8400 AIG 3/17/12 28.0000 693 0.3600 up 0.1800 XOM 3/17/12 82.5000 678 0.2300 up 0.0800 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 305328 242576 547904Comments »
World’s Most Expensive Watch Revealed
Peter Schiff: Don’t Trust Warren Buffett on Gold
Experts: Obama Will Triple Dividend Tax Rate
EX- ECB’s Juergen Agrees With Jeremey Banks in That the ECB’s Balance Sheet “Gigantic”, Collateral Quality “Shocking”
“The German criticism of a mess they themselves have enabled (and benefit from via peripheral current account deficits funded via TARGET2 as shown previously here) at the ECB continues, and following public protests by Bundesbank head Jens Weidmann about recent ECB activity, it is the turn of former ECB executive board member Juergen Stark to take center stage. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine, warned that following the massive expansion in the ECB’s balance sheet, in which it is clear to anyone that the ECB will accept used candy bar wrappers as collateral, that “the balance sheet of the euro system, isn’t only gigantic in size but also shocking in quality.”
Of course, with the ECB now the bad banks’ bad bank, this is not at all surprising. Keep in mind that the recent $1.3 trillion balance sheet expansion was supposedly not the equivalent of “printing money” because the ECB made the cash available in the form of a loan in exchange for collateral. The problem is that the ECB accepted literally everything that was not nailed down and proceeded to give 100 cents on the dollar for some unamortized book value associated with it. The end result was the already documented here first encroaching ECB initiated margin calls which may or may not be an added twist in the European liquidity situation. However one thing is certain: the quality of the ECB’s balance sheet has deteriorated massively, as the European central bank rushes to catch up to the Fed in terms of asset “quality” backing the currency.
Marketwatch has more on the FAZ interview:
[Stark] added the structure of the balance sheet is a cause for concern because increasingly short-term debt claims are being replaced by long-term ones and this will make it more difficult for the bank to reverse its loose monetary policy.
With his comments, the bank’s former hawk Stark is backing Germany’s central bank president Jens Weidmann. The head of the Bundesbank told Der Spiegel weekly magazine over the weekend that requirements for banks’ cheap loans have been “very generous” and the program calms the situation in the short term, but this calm could be deceptive. He was concerned about the collateral requirements that the banks had to provide.
The ECB’s balance sheet soared past the EUR3 trillion level last week partly because the bank has flooded markets with over EUR500 billion in cheap loans for banks.
Of course, this long-term deterioration in prospects for yet another central bank means that it has bought a short-term reprieve, as has been reflected by rising asset prices. However, what happens when the effect of this latest dilution in the value of the paper currency fades, or worse, when the ECB’s balance sheet becomes non-performing and confidence in the montary authority is lost?
Well, since that will be “someone else’ problem” why worry?”
Comments »The ECB Cuts Eurozone GDP Growth Again
“LONDON—The European Central Bank Thursday admitted that the euro-zone’s economy is likely to contract this year, and that inflation will outstrip the bank’s medium target.
Opening his monthly press conference, Mario Draghi said that higher-than-expected energy prices, along with increases in various state-administered prices, meant that “inflation is expected to remain above 2% in 2012, with upside risks prevailing.”
The central inflation forecast for 2012 is now 2.4%, up from 2% three months ago, Mr. Draghi said….”
Comments »The U.S. Warns Apple and Other Tablet Makers That They Will Be Sued
“The Justice Department has warned Apple Inc. and five of the biggest U.S. publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books, according to people familiar with the matter.
Getty ImagesApple CEO Tim Cook speaks during Wednesday’s iPad product launch.
Several of the parties have held talks to settle the antitrust case and head off a potentially damaging court battle, these people said. If successful, such a settlement could have wide-ranging repercussions for the industry, potentially leading to cheaper e-books for consumers. However, not every publisher is in settlement discussions.
The five publishers facing a potential suit are CBS Corp.’s Simon & Schuster Inc.;Lagardere SCA’s Hachette Book Group;Pearson PLC’s Penguin Group (USA); Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH; and HarperCollins Publishers Inc., a unit of News Corp. , which also owns The Wall Street Journal….”
Comments »Credit Suisse Say Not to Worry About Oil Prices….Not Yet at Least
“From Credit Suisse’s Andrew Garthwaite:
The impact on GDP: each 10% rise in the oil price takes 0.2% off US GDP growth and 0.1% off global growth.This time the negative impact of a high oil price on growth is limited as: oil is only 10% above its 6-month MA (changes matter more than levels for growth); other energy prices are muted (coal prices are at 12-month lows, US gas prices down 40% yoy) and CPI food price inflation should fall by 5pp from here (adding 0.7% to disposable income); critically, unlike 2008 and 2011, neither the ECB nor GEM central banks are likely to raise rates in response to higher energy costs; and US macro momentum is currently consistent with GDP 0.8% above 2012 consensus, suggesting some buffer before consensus estimates get downgraded.
Impact on equities: since 2007, equities have tended to fall when oil prices rise by 40% yoy (i.e. an oil price of c$150/bbl). From a macro perspective, we would start worrying if the rise in the oil price pushed up US CPI above 4% (that is when equities de-rate, c$160/bbl), US GDP started being revised down (c$150/bbl) or European inflation rose above 2% year-end (c$140/bbl). Another warning signal is when inflation expectations decouple and start falling as oil continues to rise (as has happened in the past week). Each 10% rise in the oil price takes 2% off European EPS and c1% in the US, on our estimates (yet current valuations can accommodate a c10% fall in earnings).”
Comments »Jim Rogers Says the China Bears are Dead Wrong
“Business Insider recently spoke with investment guru Jim Rogers on a myriad of issues. Yesterday, we shared with you Roger’s thoughts on commodities and the U.S. economy.
Today, we share with you his bullish perspective on China.
…You’re a China bull. Could you tell me the one thing that you think China bears have got wrong?
Not quite sure. If you mean the people who say China is going to explode. Those guys have been saying that for three years. I guess someday they’ll be right. So far they’ve been dead wrong, for years. There will be setbacks in China along the way. In America in the19th century we had 15 depressions with a capital “D,” we had no human rights, we had not much rule of law, (and we) had a horrible civil war, yet we became the most successful country in the 20th century.
China is going to have plenty of setbacks but what these guys are mainly missing is China has been in decline for three or four hundred years but started turning it around in 1978. And there’s a long history of entrepreneurship, capitalism, they have the brains, they have the know-how, there are many overseas Chinese who will bring back money and management ability. And the Chinese have a very, very high savings rate. They save over 35 percent of their income and so even if they start going off, they’ve got something to fall back on, as opposed to America and the rest of the world….”
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