Just when you thought things were improving, apparently, Japanese officials have disclosed nuke plant #2 is registering its highest radiation readings to date.
Comments »Huge Explosion in Jerusalem
Early reports indicate some sort of bus bombing in Jerusalem with dozens dead and/ or injured.
Comments »TEPCO May Receive Cash Infusion
Major Japanese institutions are considering injecting almost $25 billion in Tokyo Electric by the end of the month. Even before this crisis, TEPCO had the worst balance sheet, out of all the major electricity providers, in the world.
With a potential $300 billion price tag to rebuild Japan, TEPCO is in dire need of financing, not only to rebuild infrastructure, but to fend off litigation.
Essentially, this is a bailout.
Comments »Colgate to Buy Sanex
Former Sara Lee subsidiary, Sanex, will be bought by Colgate from Unilever for $940 million.
Sanex is a personal care company, specializing in shower gel.
Comments »Egyptian Market Plunges
After two months of being close, the Egyptian market opened today and investors sold every which way but loose, ending lower by 9%.
Comments »Commodities Strong in Pre-Market
Futures are down about 4 on the S&P, but commodities are up.
Oil is up 0.5%, gold 0.3%, silver 0.9%, copper 2% and even natural gas is up 0.8%.
Comments »Saudi Arabia to Hold Elections, Except for Women
The cavemen in Saudi Arabia have decided to hold local elections on April 23rd. However, women will not be allowed to vote, for the Sauds believe women are less than men.
I am sure President Obama will bow down again to the King of such a wise country, whenever they meet again.
Related: Saudi Arabia last held elections in 2005.
Comments »Timeline of Recent Middle East Upheaval
Tokyo City Proper Detects Radiation in Tap Water
Officials are warning parents to avoid giving infants tap water, due to dangerous levels of radiation iodine.
Related: shares of TEPCO are down 8%+ on that news. The NIKKEI is down close to 2%.
Comments »Violence in Syria (VIDEO)
These video were taken in the city of Daraa, Syria.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bO7DWRLoGY&feature=youtu.be 616 500] [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GoKA-9nlf4 616 500]Apparently, Syrian forces indiscriminately killed up to 7 people, and injured scores more, at a mosque.
Comments »Small Cap Energy Stocks Soaring
With oil prices on the rise, investors have been upping their appetite for risk, buying up shares of small cap energy stocks.
Here are some of today’s winners.
1 CHGS 62%
2 SHZ 29%
3 REE 25%
4 ROYL 20%
5 LEI 18%
6 MCP 17%
7 HNR 14%
8 RAME 13%
9 GMET 12%
10 PDO 12%
11 SYMX 11%
12 MXC 11%
13 DEJ 10%
14 FTK 9%
15 CXPO 9%
16 QBC 8%
17 LNG 8%
18 ICO 7%
19 CBEH 6%
20 FPP 6%
Update on Coalition of the Winning Progress in Libya
Via BBC:
0359: The Pentagon says that of Tuesday, the US military had flown 212 aerial missions over Libya, while 124 had been flown by other coalition forces. A total of 108 air strikes had been carried out and 162 Tomahawk missiles had been fired, it adds.
162 tomahawks at $569,000 per.
Comments »
Asian Markets Mixed
Flash: High Radiation at Nuclear Plant #2 Prompts Evacuation
Apparently things are not running along smoothly at nuke plant #2. High levels of radiation are forced an evacuation.
Comments »Flash: Reports of Heavy Fire in Syrian City of Daraa
People reporting first hand accounts of Syrian troops indiscriminately firing on people in the city of Daraa.
UPDATE: It’s being reported that Syrian troops have opened fire on people inside the Omari mosque.
UPDATE II: It’s also being reported that opposition leader, Taher Masalmeh, was killed.
Comments »Apollo Global Prepares for IPO
Joining other publicly traded private equity firms KKR, FIG and BX, Apollo Global intends on raising $417 million in an ipo, giving it a market cap of $7 billion.
Related: Carlyle Group may file for an ipo later this year.
Comments »Maintaining Libyan No Fly Zone to Cost Upwards of $1 billion per month
Rough estimates to enforce the Libyan no fly zone are about a billy.
However, exogenous events, like $150 milly F-15’s falling from the sky, can put the price tag exponentially higher.
Related: the afghan war costs $9 billion per month, ballpark.
Comments »Howard Stern Sues Sirius/XM
This is odd.
Comments »“When Sirius needed Stern, it promised him a share in any success that the company achieved,” according to the suit. “But now that Sirius has conquered its chief competitor and acquired more than 20 million subscribers, it has reneged on its commitment to Stern, unilaterally deciding that it has paid him enough.”
Sprint to Protest AT&T for T-Mobile Deal
The CEO of Sprint said he would appeal this deal to congress, saying the combined entity would have “tremendous power.”
If completed, AT&T and VZ would control 79% of the US mobile market.
Comments »Biggest Winners/Losers, Month to Date (ETF’s)
The following are some of the biggest winners/losers for March, 2011, ETF’s only.
SOXS +22%
TYP +15%
EWV +15%
SSG +15%
GAZ +13%
TVIX +14%
AGQ +12%
PSLV +12%
DRV +12%
SQQQ +11%
—————
URA -24%
SOXL -22%
TYH -18%
ZSL -17%
USD -14%
DZK -14%
NIB -14%
DRN -13%
DTO -13%
TQQQ -12%
Data provided by The PPT
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