A counter punch to a recent article in the U.K. Guardian 

I can’t wait….

Let’s pour QE3 & 4 on this market and hit 15k by next quarter….

Forward looking predictions 

Easy money is causing concern for another potential crisis….

Some states will use the funds to fill budget gaps

Gapping up

TSL +8.4%, RIO +2.8%, FTNT +2.5%, DB +2.3%, BHP +2.3%, RBS +2.2%, TEF +1.9%, NOK +1.8%, REGN +10.7%, DBD +5.8%, MT +2.3%, GOLD +1.7%, SLV +1.2%, AUY +0.9%, GLD +0.6%

NBG +14.2%, LYG +3.8%, ING +3.4%, DB +2.3%, UBS +2.3%, RBS +2.2%, C +2.2%, BCS +2.1%, MS +2.1%, IRE +2%, BAC +2%, CS +1.5%, CYCC +11.5%,  DAN +7.1% ,

STP +4.8%, +4.8%, YGE +4.7%, LDK +4.5%, FSLR +2.5%, FTNT +2.5% ,  AMRN +4.8%

Gapping down

CHTP -39.9%, ALU -3.2%, ZIOP -5.3%, TXCC -3.1%,  ABC -0.4%,  ETFC -2%,

In Play

On the Wires 

A 10-15% correction is expected…

Jiabao actually said it is time for China to observe financial conditions and react to them in a timely manner; this of course sparked speculation that easing will begin shortly.

Joe Fahmy

When should traders be in or out of the market?

There are times when traders should NOT be in the market. There are other times when the market is rocking and traders should get aggressive. How can you tell the difference? Here are 5 helpful tips.

Read the rest here.

“The government’s deal with banks over their foreclosure practices after 16 months of investigations is cheap for the loan servicers while costly for bond investors including pension funds, according to Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Scott Simon.

In what the U.S. called the largest federal-state civil settlement in the nation’s history, five banks including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. yesterday committed $20 billion in various forms of mortgage relief plus payments of $5 billion to state and federal governments.

“This was a relatively cheap resolution for the banks,” said Simon, the mortgage head at Pimco, which runs the world’s largest bond fund. “A lot of the principal reductions would have happened on their loans anyway, and they’re using other people’s money to pay for a ton of this. Pension funds, 401(k)s and mutual funds are going to pick up a lot of the load.”

Read more here 

Read here:

The spread between yields on corporate bonds and Treasury debt widens or shrinks based on investors’ willingness to take on the riskier securities, which has a lot to do with their economic outlook.

You’d think that would have mean last week’s positive employment report would make that gap shrink because investors would be more confident.

But the spread tells a different story, said economists at Moody’s Capital Markets Research Group.

“Investors have responded with caution to favorable news on U.S. economic activity,” John Lonski, chief economist at Moody’s , wrote in a report Friday.

The gap between high-yield bonds and Treasurys did plunge the day the data came out, to 531 basis points from 554 basis points the day before, he said. (A basis point is one-on-hundredth of a percentage point.)

However, since then the spread has widened back out to 550 basis points.

Full article

All the bears seem to be contrarian shot callers; is it happening again ?

Source

Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) : The largest video-game publisher posted fourth-quarter profit that exceeded analysts’ estimates on sales of “Call of Duty.” The company’s forecast for this quarter fell short of projections.

Leapfrog Enterprises Inc. (LF) : The maker of electronic educational products for children forecast 2012 earnings would be 40 cents to 45 cents a share, compared with the average analyst projection for 43 cents, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Lear Corp. (LEA) : The maker of seats and other automobile parts boosted its quarterly dividend to 14 cents a share, from 12.5 cents a share. The Bloomberg forecast was for 15 cents.

LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) (LNKD US): The biggest professional- networking website reported fourth-quarter sales that more than doubled and profit that topped analysts’ estimates as advertising and subscription revenue increased.

Nuance Communications Inc. (NUAN) : The developer of voice-command technology reported first-quarter earnings excluding some items that missed the average analyst forecast by 5 percent.

Protective Life Corp. (PL) : The Birmingham, Alabama- based insurance company reported fourth-quarter earnings excluding certain items of $1.02 a share, beating the average analyst projection of 83 cents.

True Religion Apparel Inc. (TRLG) : The seller of jeans’ 2012 earnings and revenue forecasts missed the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

XL Group Plc (XL) : The insurer and reinsurer reported a fourth-quarter loss of 25 cents a share, compared with the average analyst estimate for a profit of 15 cents, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Gapping up 

ALU +16%, SWIR +13%, LNKD +9%, NXPI +6.4%, BRKS +6.3%, VPFG +5%, CBB +4.6%, AKRX +4.5%, BCS +4.4%, CBOE +3.9%, PMC +3.7%, CIE +2.9%, CARB +1.7%,

Gapping down

NGSX -23.8%, TRLG -22.4%, VALV -15.6%, XIDE -14.3%, NUAN -11.3%, GSVC -10.2%, LF -9.1%, UNIS -8%, EXPE -6.7%, LGF -6.4%, GDI -6%, HALO -5.4%,

EXEL -4.6%, EVEP -4.1%, CPST -3.6%, XL -2.9%, STMP -2.8%, AMKR -1.9%, TOT -1%

In Play

On the Wires

“A “mortgage deal from hell” between federal and state governments with big banks under which the latter will fork over more than $25 billion to aid struggling homeowners will do mainly one thing: punish responsible borrowers, says banking analyst Dick Bove.

Money will compensate victims of alleged foreclosure fraud and those who owe more on their homes then they’re worth.

It’s basically unfair and populist, says Bove, the vice president of equity research at Rochdale Securities, as those who made down payments and kept up with payments will see nothing while those who didn’t will be rewarded.

“Those people lucky or smart enough to stop making payments on their homes may get their loan balances reduced,” Bove tells CNBC. ”

Full article