Hahahahaha…told you this would happen.
Comments »Monthly Archives: June 2012
7 More Banks Pay Back TARP Bailout Money $TAYC, $ABCB, $FDEF, $FFKT, $LNBB, $FCVA, $UBMI
“The U.S. Treasury Department is that much closer to winding down the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Today came word that over the last week it has received some $245 million in proceeds from seven different financial institutions. While none of these are major banks, the argument that the government did not do well here weakens just that much more as this was profitable.”
Comments »Quest Software Says They Received an Offer for $25.50 – $QSFT
“Database software maker Quest Software Inc. (NASDAQ: QSFT) said this morning that the company had received a takeover offer of $25.50/share from an unnamed “strategic bidder.” The company had already agreed to a March takeover bid of $23/share from Insight Venture Partners, with a 60-day ‘go-shop’ period that Quest essentially said it would ignore.”
Comments »How NOT to Argue That Derivatives are the Devil’s Spawn
“Every now and then, The New York Times takes a big ol’ swipe at derivatives for being evil and whatnot. That’s fine and well — and sometimes obligatory, particularly when it comes to certain structured products for which it’s hard to discern the benefit to anyone outside of a bank.”
Comments »Lance Armstrong Faces New Doping Charges: Washington Post
“(Reuters) – The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has brought formal doping charges against U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong and he has been immediately banned from competition in triathlons as a result, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Armstrong, a seven-time Tour de France winner, denied the charges in a statement: “I have never doped, and, unlike many of my accusers, I have competed as an endurance athlete for 25 years with no spike in performance, passed more than 500 drug tests and never failed one.”
Comments »State of the Union: Only 1 in 10 Long-Term Unemployed Find Work
“NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — We all know by now that it’s hard for the long-term unemployed to get back into the workforce.
But just how hard is it? Economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve put a number on the odds.
In the first few weeks after losing their jobs, about 3 in 10 people are able to find work.
But after about a year of being out of work, the chances of landing a job fall to just 1 in 10 per month.
People with the best job prospects tend to find new opportunities fairly quickly. But those who come from industries that are downsizing or who have outdated skills can wind up unemployed for many months or even years.”
Comments »Insight: Top heart doctors fret over new blood thinners
“(Reuters) – For millions of heart patients, a pair of new blood thinners have been heralded as the first replacements in 60 years for warfarin, a pill whose hardships and risks have deterred many from using the stroke-prevention medicine.
But growing complaints of risks and deaths tied to the new crop of drugs have made some top U.S. cardiologists hesitant to prescribe them. Some are proposing a more rigorous monitoring regimen for when they are used.”
Comments »FX Markets Bracing For Major Event
“Last night we noted that OandA will shut-down trading on Sunday ahead of the market-moving events surrounding the Greek election (as it seems they are unwilling to take the agency risk and potentially counterparty risk on a large gap). Nowhere is this more clearly priced into the market than the short-dated FX option market. EURUSD 1 week implied vol is at its greatest premium to realized vol ahead of this weekend than at any time in the last three-and-a-half years. The last time the level of short-dated vol was near this high (in absolute and relative terms) was December 9th 2011 and EURUSD fell 400 pips in the next few days.”
Comments »U.S. Child Born in 2011 May Cost $234,900 to Raise, USDA Says
“A middle-income family may spend $234,900 to raise a child born in 2011 to the age of 18, a 3.5 percent increase in a year, according to a government report.
Expenses for child care and education, transportation and food represented the biggest jumps, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report obtained by Bloomberg News and being released Thursday. Adjusted for anticipated inflation, a child in a middle-class family would cost $295,560 to raise, the department said.
“It’s not just the cost, it’s the pressure,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute based in New York. Competitive educational environments and an awareness of what it takes for children to succeed are prompting more spending, she said in a telephone interview.”
Comments »Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
ABB, ADBE, BBVA, BBY, BOKF, BP, EAT, CBS, HGSI, IRG, NAV, BPOP, RF, TSLA, XNPT, ACI, DD, SRE, HES, FSLR, CHSI, STX, QCOM, CVS, EXC, CCE, HIG,
Comments »Initial Claims: Prior 377k, Market Expects 375k, Actual 386k
Continuing claims: Prior 3293k, Market Expects 3275k, Actual 3278k
CPI: -0.3% – food and energy up 0.2%
Current Account Deficit: -$137.3 Billion
Comments »Mark Mobius: I’m Worried About Growing Protectionism
“An escalating European debt crisis may prompt governments to roll out protectionist policies, which would benefit nobody, says global investor Mark Mobius, executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group.
“With growth in many countries slowing this year (tied in part to the crisis in the eurozone), I’m concerned that protectionism could be on rise. In the end, I believe these policies don’t really protect anyone,” Mobius writes in a letter.
Overall, global trade may be slowing but so far, widespread protectionist policies haven’t popped up.”
Comments »Foreclosures Rise for First Time in 27 Months as Repossession Spike Looms
“Lenders initiated foreclosure proceedings against more U.S. homeowners in May, setting the stage for increases in home repossessions and short sales — scenarios that could further weigh down home values in coming months.
Default or scheduled-home-auction notices were filed for the first time against 109,051 homes last month. That’s an increase of 12 percent from April and up 16 percent versus May last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The firm monitors documents filed on properties with mortgages that have gone unpaid. Once that process begins, homes can end up foreclosed-upon, sold at auction or via a short sale. A short sale is when the bank agrees to accept less than what the borrower owes on their mortgage.”
Comments »FLASH: The Carlyle Group is in Talks to Purchase a Refinery From Sunoco – $CG, $SUN
In Play and On the Wires
Obama to Address Doubts Over Economy, Romney Predicts “Cheap Words”
“Reuters) – President Barack Obama, seeking to counter deep doubts about his economic leadership, will ask voters on Thursday for more time to boost growth while arguing that his Republican rival Mitt Romney would resurrect policies that plunged the United States into crisis.
Obama will use a campaign speech in the battleground state of Ohio to try to bounce back from a series of recent setbacks.”
Comments »Geithner: 2% Growth Rate Won’t Cut It on Jobs
A hint to congress to act ? Perhaps, and if all else fails the clam has your back…..
Comments »Early AM Stocks on the Move
Poor Pork Margins Hurt Smithfield’s Profits
Citi’s Tom Fitzpatrick Says Over Promise in Spain Means You Need to Sit the Fuck Down and Prepare for Turbulence
Fitzpatrick warns:
“Our sense when we look across our charts is this is yet another over-promise, under-deliver dynamic coming out of Europe,” he said. “Overall, everything we look at suggests to us that things are going to get worse in Europe before they get better.”
He sees problems sweeping across the global financial markets…”
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