Kill the Euro, Win a $400K Prize

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Current Portfolio as of 9/30/11

Our investment portfolio consists of companies that we believe represent the “megatrends” that have the potential to drive the market in the decades to come. GSV invests in companies that combine what we believe are powerful technological, economic and social forces that create growth opportunities in the economy. At the end of the third quarter 2011, GSV’s portfolio included investments in the following companies: Bloom Energy Corporation; Chegg, Inc.; Facebook, Inc.; GILT Groupe, Inc.; Groupon; Kno, Inc.; PJB Fund LLC (loan linked to the value of Zynga, Inc.); Serious Energy, Inc.; SharesPost, Inc.; Silver Spring Networks, Inc.; TrueCar, Inc.; Twitter, Inc.; and ZoomSystems.

Financial Results
	September 30, 2011
Total Investments	$41,389,584
Total Cash	$32,098,207
Total Assets	$73,715,970
Total Liabilities	$527,941
Net Assets	$73,188,029
Net Asset Value Per Share	$13.26

	For the three months ended September 30, 2011	For the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to September 30, 2011
Total Investment income	$ 53,408	$ 53,408
Net Investment Loss	$ (680,088)	$ (1,356,201)
Net Change In Unrealized Depreciation on Non– Control/Non-Affiliated Securities	$ (494,170)	$ (553,804)
Net Decrease in Net Assets Resulting From Operations	$ (1,174,258)	$ (1,910,005)
Net Decrease in Net Assets Resulting From Operations Per Average Share ([1])	$ (0.34)	$ (0.78)
(1) Weighted average common shares for the period from January 6, 2011 (date of inception) to September 30, 2011, was calculated starting from the issuance of 100 shares on February 28, 2011. Weighted average common shares were 3,430,100 and 2,460,565 for the three-month and since inception periods,

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UPDATE: The content below is from a source linked to at the end of this post. It does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of iBankCoin Financial News. 

________________

Last week’s guilty verdict in the trial of 28-year-old Brittany Norwood — accused of first-degree murder in the grisly slaying of her 30-year old co-worker Jayna Murray — has brought to a close — for now, at least — the latest ugly chapter in the history of Lululemon, the posh yoga apparel company whose suburban outlet on the outskirts of Washington, DC was the setting for a killing that seasoned homicide detectives have described as one of the worst they’ve ever seen.

It would be tempting to dismiss the savage murder — Norwood stabbed and bludgeoned Murray an estimated 330 times over the course of 20 minutes, severing her spinal cord — as a bizarre and random event. That’s surely what the Canadian-based Lululemon, which seems to have nine lives when it comes to recurring scandal and controversy, is hoping for. But for the American yoga community, which extols the virtues of peace and non-violence, the killing raises deeply disturbing issues. How could two female “yogis” — the Sanskrit word for devotees of the ancient Hindu practice — arrive at a place where lethal force became an “option”? And what kind of workplace environment would fuel, or at least fail to ameliorate, such a dispute?

Lululemon is no typical workplace, in fact. It’s highly competitive — indeed, cultish — corporate culture has raised serious ethical concerns for years, and so have the company’s exploitative marketing and advertising policies. But those concerns have largely been ignored, or downplayed, because of Lululemon’s position as the yoga industry’s leading “pioneer,” with net revenues of $239 million projected for 2011, six times the level reached in 2004. The company, with stocks publicly traded on Wall Street since 2007, has been in the forefront of re-branding yoga as a trendy, eco-friendly lifestyle, similar to the way an earlier generation of marketers exploited urban hip-hop to reap billions from suburban whites starved for “authenticity.”

In fact, most of America’s up-and-coming yoga “gurus” — men like John Friend, a self-styled corporate mogul — who are anxious to see their spiritual movement expand — and their own celebrity enhanced — have struck a Faustian bargain of sorts with companies like Lulelemon. They’ve largely stayed quiet, amid a string of controversies like this one, hoping to exploit yoga’s commercial success, even if Lululemon’s commitment to yoga as an authentic “wellness” practice — in fact, even much of the pricey apparel it sellshas no actual relation to yoga — remains dubious at best.

The seeds of the company’s problems were planted early, with its initial founding in Vancouver in 1998. Former CEO Chip Wilson, an avid snowboarder, said he came up with “Lululemon” because he delighted in the idea that trying to pronounce the name — with its three syllables beginning with “l'” — would pose a special challenge for the Japanese, whom he enjoyed making fun of. From that less-than-enlightened starting point Nelson went on to create a huge controversy in 2005 when he announced that the firm would rely on child labor and “sweat shops” in China, after three competitors in his native Vancouver went belly up due to rising labor costs.

Wilson, with characteristic elan, argued that Lululemon would be giving poor Chinese youth jobs, and should be applauded, not lambasted, for wanting to assist in Third World “development.” Critics didn’t see it that way, of course, noting that Chinese youth would be better off getting an education, and that sweatshop workers, usually young women, couldn’t support themselves with the wages they’d be paid. But Nelson, still smarting from criticism from Canadian trade unions that his past use of local non-union Vancouver labor hadn’t really demonstrated a socially responsible commitment to the welfare of his workforce, would hear none of it.

It took only a year for Lululemon to step into an even larger controversy. In 2006, the firm rolled out a line of “Vita-Sea” apparel bags that it claimed were made with seaweed fiber, and had health and medicinal effects for consumers, including stress reduction, through the release of amino acids and vitamins into the skin’s natural moisture. But skeptics, including the New York Times, decided to sponsor lab tests, which revealed that Lululemon wasn’t just misleading consumers: it was lying. There was no seaweed of any kind in the bags the newspaper tested. There was no difference, in fact, between the Lululemon bags and other bags made of cotton – except that Lululemon’s, of course, were a lot more expensive.

Company executives, with characteristic arrogance, refused to issue an apology and privately chalked it up as a “growth” experience. But apparel industry watchdogs weren’t amused: a major investigation of the eco-claims of a large number of mainstream companies ensued.

And then there’s Lululemon and sex. Sex-based advertising has become increasingly
popular in the yoga world, even appearing in the pages of the industry trade magazine Yoga Journal. But Lululemon, as always, has been a trend setter. It’s creepiest manifestation, perhaps, was revealed in early 2008 when a mother and her daughter unwittingly discovered secret messages woven into the fabric of Lululemon products that appeared to extol the virtues of getting high and having multiple orgasms. Lululemon had also included more traditional inspirational messages but the more risque adages had been placed underneath those, apparently to be digested subliminally.

How has Lululemon managed to fend off one scandal after another? Recording record profits year after year for your shareholders surely helps, but so does the firm’s clever co-optation strategy. Most of its stores offer free weekly yoga classes taught by “neighborhood” yogis who often turn out to be specially recruited fitness pros new to yoga but who have already drunk the Lululemon kool-aid. The company calls these local yogis “brand ambassadors” — currently, there are roughly 1,000 nationwide — and often features them in Lululemon publications. It’s a win-win deal: the yogis get free marketing, and a ready-made pool of prospective yoga clients. Lulu reaps extraordinary “word-of-mouth” and gets more shoppers into its stores, where they typically receive 15% discounts just for attending the free yoga class.

Lululemon is quite blunt in its assessment of the “typical” yoga personality. Wilson early on experimented with yogis who extolled the virtues of stillness and introspection — genuine yoga, that is — but found that as workers, hard-core spiritual yogis didn’t move his merchandise fast enough. Wilson is also devotee of the Landmark Forum, a successor organization to EST “human potential” movement started by scientologist Werner Erhard in the 1970s. Wilson and his successors talk a lot about transitioning people from “mediocrity to greatness,” and freely admits that he likes to recruit highly competitive “Type-A” personalities to staff and run his stores. That’s great for business, perhaps, but the concentration of estrogen and ego, heightened by a faux Tantric mysticism that celebrates every woman as a reincarnation of Shakti — or worse, Kali, the goddess of destruction — has the potential to turn your company into a furnace of creativity — or simply an emotional powder keg.

Which is why for Lululemon, the less said about the workplace murder, the better, perhaps. Last Thursday, in a bizarre public statement, the company’s CEO Christine Day, who’s anxious to do for the company what she previously did for Starbucks — expand its empire overseas – personally thanked the judge, the prosecutor, the police, and the jury for their speedy resolution of the case. Her statement contains none of the language one might expect from a company genuinely concerned about the welfare of its employees, other than stating that Norwood’s behavior was “contrary to our values.” There was no mention of the incident as a “terrible tragedy” or the need for “healing” in the two families, let alone any call for “reflection” or a promise to review internal policies. Just the usual exculpatory language one might expect from a company that’s boldly taking yoga where it’s never gone before and that clearly doesn’t want a nasty, still-unexplained murder conducted on its premises standing in its way.

Occupy Wall Street? That’s the new rallying cry of yoga progressives. And why not — that’s where you’ll find Lululemon’s investors, extolling the firm’s phenomenal growth and record profits amid the nation’s rampant joblessness and recession.

But that’s why protesting yogis might want to take their critique of greed and capitalism one step further, and end their semi-official silence on a company that’s more predator than partner, more pariah than pioneer. The demand for corporate responsibility, like most things in life, begins at home. Physician, heal thyself.

SOURCE 

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Perhaps it was not a dead cat bounce, but the money flows to buy Italian bonds that got the markets excited is a far cry from what is really needed. It did however make Italian bond yields ease; don’t look at France’s yields.

DOW up 113

NASDAQ up 2.79

S&P up 10.5

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MARKET                    MONEY FLOW (in millions)    RATIO 
                                    TODAY     PREV DAY 
       DJIA                         -191.6       -110.4       0.92 
         Blocks                     -159.6       -122.5       0.54 
       Russell 2000                  -37.4       -272.5       0.99 
         Blocks                      -28.1        -37.5       0.90 
       S & P 500                    -519.2       -420.2       0.97 
         Blocks                     -234.8       -276.9       0.79 
       DJ U.S. Total Stock Market   -641.1      -1809.3       0.98 
         Blocks                     -351.3       -743.1       0.87 

ISSUE GAINERS                 SYMBOL   EXCH   LAST PRICE   MONEY FLOW    RATIO 
                                                          (in millions) 
SPDR S&P 500                   SPY     ARCA      123.84      +176.9       1.08 
Brclys 1-3 Yr Trsry Bd         SHY     ARCA       84.55      +121.2      11.39 
iShrs Tr Russell 1000          IWB     ARCA       68.49       +30.1       4.53 
Schwab US Large Cap            SCHX    ARCA       29.43       +29.1      11.15 
Select Sector SPDR-Util        XLU     ARCA       34.78       +23.5       2.73 
Marriott Intl                  MAR     NYSE       30.10       +19.3       2.10 
Research in Motion             RIMM    NASD       17.40       +17.0       1.26 
Merck                          MRK     NYSE       35.01       +14.4       1.18 
SPDR S&P O&G Exp & Prd         XOP     ARCA       54.65       +13.5       1.24 
McKesson Corp                  MCK     NYSE       81.72       +13.0       1.51 
Siemens                        SI      NYSE       98.18       +12.9       1.55 
Boston Scientific              BSX     NYSE        5.86       +11.7       2.22 
Pioneer Natural                PXD     NYSE       91.50       +11.5       1.17 
Direxion Daily Sm Bear 3x      TZA     ARCA       32.15       +11.5       1.05 
Honeywell Intl                 HON     NYSE       53.42       +11.4       1.39 
Baker Hughes                   BHI     NYSE       56.66       +10.9       1.24 
Amazoncom                      AMZN    NASD      209.93       +10.4       1.04 
Ingram Micro                   IM      NYSE       18.28       +10.3       3.09 
iShrs MSCI Emerg Mkts          EEM     ARCA       39.63        +9.9       1.13 
Fidelity National              FIS     NYSE       25.01        +9.7       5.08 

ISSUE DECLINERS               SYMBOL   EXCH   LAST PRICE   MONEY FLOW    RATIO 
                                                          (in millions) 
Apple                          AAPL    NASD      383.65      -174.9       0.94 
Cisco Systems                  CSCO    NASD       18.65       -85.5       0.73 
SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF        MDY     ARCA      157.73       -74.1       0.50 
iShrs MSCI Brazil (Free)       EWZ     ARCA       59.94       -57.1       0.50 
Select Sector SPDR-Ind         XLI     ARCA       32.97       -55.8       0.39 
Google                         GOOG    NASD      594.55       -43.8       0.90 
PwrShrs QQQ Tr Series 1        QQQ     NASD       56.59       -42.8       0.84 
iShrs MSCI Germany             EWG     ARCA       20.07       -39.0       0.11 
Bebidas de Americas ADS        ABV     NYSE       32.90       -30.8       0.18 
Citigroup                      C       NYSE       28.53       -30.0       0.85 
iShrs Russell 2000             IWM     ARCA       72.02       -29.9       0.92 
Brigham Exploration            BEXP    NASD       36.40       -27.6       0.31 
ExxonMobil                     XOM     NYSE       78.42       -25.3       0.83 
Chevron                        CVX     NYSE      105.15       -25.2       0.87 
Wright Medical Group           WMGI    NASD       14.66       -23.1       0.05 
Direxion Daily Sm Bull 3x      TNA     ARCA       42.98       -21.3       0.91 
Healthspring                   HS      NYSE       54.13       -21.2       0.18 
SPDR S&P Bank                  KBE     ARCA       19.16       -19.6       0.15 
Green Mountain Coffee          GMCR    NASD       40.31       -19.5       0.95 
SPDR S&P Retail                XRT     ARCA       51.70       -18.0       0.71

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NYSE

New Highs 20 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Alliance CA Municipal         AKP         14.04                8,752 
American Water Works Co       AWK         31.25              649,531 
Bankrate                      RATE        21.94              195,413 
BlkRk MuniYld CA Fd           MYC         14.86               32,794 
Cabot Oil & Gas               COG         87.41            2,235,607 
Constellation Energy Grp      CEG         40.71            1,493,346 
Generac Holdings              GNRC        25.42              133,609 
Imperva                       IMPV        25.88              333,243 
Kenexa                        KNXA        25.00              117,481 
Massmutual                    MCI         18.51               33,953 
MassMutual Participation      MPV         16.33               20,965 
Nuveen Ins CA                 NXC         13.59               17,801 
Nuveen Insured CA Muni 2      NCL         14.91               41,810 
Pier 1 Imports                PIR         13.13            2,386,090 
PIMCO MuniFd                  PMF         14.07               42,074 
Simon Prprty Grp 8.375% J     SPGpJ       69.74                  318 
SolarWinds                    SWI         30.44            1,598,697 
Stepan 5.5% Conv. pfd.        SCLp        94.54                1,000 
Stepan Co                     SCL         82.75               55,754 
Sunoco Logistics Partners     SXL         102.18              57,417 

New Lows 33 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
Amrep Corp                    AXR         6.05                 5,362 
Artio Global Invs Inc         ART         6.35               116,578 
Bank Of Ireland               IRE         4.77               608,804 
Bitauto Holdings ADS          BITA        4.21                72,125 
CBIZ                          CBZ         5.87                94,098 
China Mng Yng Wnd Pwr ADS     MY          2.25               279,253 
Computer Sciences             CSC         24.92            4,767,362 
Daqo New Energy ADS           DQ          2.66               369,069 
Elster Group SE ADS           ELT         13.39              240,563 
Enduro Royalty Trust          NDRO        18.40              556,776 
Federal Signal                FSS         3.94               247,979 
Federated Enhanced Treas      FTT         14.33               66,860 
First BanCorp Rts             FBPr        0.04             1,127,700 
FITrGSNotes6.75%ClA           TFG         24.50                2,600 
IntraLinks Holdings           IL          4.78             3,623,486 
Lloyds Banking Grp            LYG         1.71             3,728,872 
Memc Elec Materials           WFR         4.50             5,032,319 
Maidenform Brnds              MFB         17.11              909,006 
Marriott Vacations Wi         VACw        17.05              201,854 
MaxLinear                     MXL         4.84                29,704 
Mizuho Fnl Grp ADS            MFG         2.59               450,009 
Niska Gas Storage Ptrs        NKA         9.75               221,741 
Old Republic Intl             ORI         8.20               965,920 
Panasonic Cp                  PC          8.77               146,699 
Quad/Graphics                 QUAD        13.75              786,789 
Rosetta Stone                 RST         6.57               157,984 
Sony Corp ADS                 SNE         16.94              821,364 
Sun Life Fincl                SLF         20.94              555,558 
Terreno Realty                TRNO        11.69               15,726 
Thermo Fisher Sci             TMO         47.48            3,748,510 
Time Warner Cbl               TWC         59.55            2,060,259 
Walgreen                      WAG         31.59            7,195,540 
Xylem Inc.                    XYL         23.73              824,994 

 NASDAQ

New Highs 13 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      HIGH                VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
AmerElecTech                  AETI        3.93                 3,645 
Arabian American Dev          ARSD        5.78                34,476 
Arrowhead Research            ARWR        1.19             5,496,148 
Barrett Business Svcs         BBSI        17.96               23,118 
First Republic Prf Cap D      FRCCO       26.85               72,613 
Gyrodyne                      GYRO        84.22                1,626 
ID Systems                    IDSY        6.34                92,663 
INX                           INXI        8.63                 9,992 
Market Leader                 LEDR        3.02                15,922 
Mediware Info Sys             MEDW        14.83               28,492 
SPS Commerce                  SPSC        21.98               41,958 
Susser Hldgs                  SUSS        24.21               97,970 
Tangoe                        TNGO        15.20              191,872 

New Lows 65 

COMPANY                       SYMBOL      LOW                 VOLUME 
-------                       ------      ----                ------ 
AcelRx Pharmaceuticals        ACRX        2.73                 2,300 
Aehr Test Sys                 AEHR        0.64                58,917 
Albany Molecular Research     AMRI        2.56               161,815 
Amicus Therapeutics           FOLD        2.80                14,855 
Amyris                        AMRS        12.40              268,654 
Anchor Bancorp Wisconsin      ABCW        0.47                30,663 
BCD Semiconductor Mfg ADS     BCDS        3.70                60,246 
BTU Intl                      BTUI        3.05                 9,375 
Blue Wolf Mongolia Hldgs      MNGL        9.47                61,000 
Canadian Solar                CSIQ        2.70             1,422,702 
Cardiome Pharma               CRME        2.66                68,660 
CardioNet Inc                 BEAT        2.49                84,244 
Central European Distr        CEDC        2.75             2,955,119 
Ceragon Networks              CRNT        8.02               166,508 
China Medical (ADS)           CMED        3.60             1,238,973 
China Sky One Medical         CSKI        1.33               244,002 
China Sunergy Co              CSUN        0.91               168,655 
Chyron                        CHYR        1.35                44,148 
Complete Genomics             GNOM        4.22               415,985 
Comverge                      COMV        1.41                66,462 
Delta Petroleum               DPTR        0.57             4,111,881 
DexCom                        DXCM        7.05               235,547 
Digital River                 DRIV        16.61              376,300 
Echelon                       ELON        5.46               167,354 
EDGAR Online                  EDGR        0.37               773,341 
eGain Communications          EGAN        4.64               365,149 
eLong  (ADS)                  LONG        12.39                7,165 
Energy Conversion Devices     ENER        0.34               572,223 
Enzon Pharmaceuticals         ENZN        6.62                95,069 
Exar                          EXAR        5.40               107,301 
FNB United                    FNBND       15.75                1,674 
Hampton Roads Bankshares      HMPR        3.70                29,173 
Hanwha SolarOne Co Ltd        HSOL        1.80               507,235 
Human Genome Sciences         HGSI        9.22             2,509,257 
Immersion                     IMMR        4.85               221,136 
Imperial Sugar Co             IPSU        5.28               479,251 
Joe's Jeans                   JOEZ        0.50                93,952 
Mercer Intl                   MERC        5.54               457,376 
NTELOS Hldgs                  NTLSD       20.81               39,604 
Penford                       PENX        4.90                16,674 
Penson Worldwide              PNSN        0.93               290,839 
Powerwave Techs               PWAVD       2.02               315,493 
Primo Water                   PRMW        3.02             3,038,393 
Princeton National Bncp       PNBC        2.00                 3,200 
Pure Bioscience               PURE        0.56                70,673 
QuinStreet                    QNST        8.57               488,777 
Research in Motion            RIMM        17.17           24,863,751 
Responsys                     MKTG        7.30               792,117 
Rovi Cp                       ROVI        27.50            5,927,057 
Savient Pharmaceuticals       SVNT        2.77             2,238,198 
Selectica                     SLTC        2.94                 1,000 
Sequenom                      SQNM        4.02             1,639,827 
Shengkai Innovations          VALV        0.72               748,442 
Silver Standard Resources     SSRI        14.52            5,773,670 
Smith Micro Software          SMSI        1.11               274,738 
Torm A/S                      TRMD        0.93                71,520 
Tennessee Commerce            TNCC        0.07               549,233 
TigerLogic Corp               TIGR        2.04                31,278 
Tornier                       TRNX        16.69              191,113 
TransAct Techs                TACT        6.52                50,838 
21Vianet Group ADS            VNET        8.31               331,860 
US Auto Parts Ntwk            PRTS        3.53               200,256 
U S Concrete                  USCR        3.16                15,295 
Valence Tech                  VLNC        0.79               643,052 
Vermillion                    VRML        1.30               454,035

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Please

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“The U.S. economy could be hurt by Lehman-like financial contagion if the eurozone debt crisis engulfs major European countries such as Italy, Moody’s Investors Service said.

That is still not the assumption adopted by the ratings agency, which expects the economy to grow between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent in 2012.

Moody’s has warned, however, that any significant departure from that growth range could have implications for the United States’ Aaa rating. ”

Full article

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Full article

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According to a private investigator a voice detector software program says Cain is not lying.

Full article 

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C & GS make the list

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=============================================================================== 
                                          ----- Percent Change ------ 
    Sector                 Index       Daily   1 Wk.    1 Mo.    3 Mo.    1 Yr. 
=============================================================================== 

Telecom Equip                  5694.63   133.86   -1.27    7.63   22.88   -9.57 
Exploration & Production       7456.20   124.74   -3.37   16.50   11.59   11.50 
Farming & Fishing              5509.25   118.06   -1.54   -0.11   11.26   16.76 
Delivery Serv                  7543.32    92.66   -2.75    4.41   10.34   -4.03 
Asset Managers                 5175.95    88.08   -4.42    7.62    7.50  -16.46 
Oil Equip & Serv               5976.56    79.44   -4.44   11.42    2.03    3.90 
Tobacco                        4452.72    78.25   -0.36    3.49   10.94   16.40 
Integrated Oil & Gas           5389.25    76.28   -2.14    5.24   15.26   13.84 
Industrial Suppliers           3883.62    73.91   -2.29   12.62   30.26   29.44 
Nonferrous Metals              6261.27    73.49   -5.95    8.85   -7.16  -24.94 
Medical Supplies               6749.11    64.79   -2.49   -0.17    5.77    3.32 
Broadcasting & Entertainment   3661.13    64.65   -2.95    0.50    9.58    4.09 
Medical Equip                  5357.11    59.09   -2.74    0.23    6.13    1.84 
Commercial Vehicl & Trucks    10573.78    56.79   -4.21   12.12   11.88   -1.21 
Nondurable Household Prod      5490.21    56.22   -1.31   -2.21    7.55   -1.02 
Footwear                       7224.94    54.31   -2.93    0.07   12.19   16.16 
Pipelines                      6571.07    53.05   -2.09   18.56   25.10   43.96 
Drug Retailers                 6119.68    51.79   -2.00    6.23    9.34   14.28 
Health Care Providers          4724.83    50.17   -1.60    8.08   12.87   10.21 
Specialty Chemicals            5676.27    45.73   -4.16    7.39    6.03    1.94 
Distillers & Vintners          4719.57    43.80   -2.59   -0.02   17.89    2.09 
Home Construction              2225.78    43.47   -3.93   15.10   20.99  -12.39 
Media Agencies                 3738.12    41.15   -3.16    9.02   12.85  -10.33 
Software                       7667.76    40.70   -4.23    2.21   13.83    3.39 
Personal Prod                  4525.96    36.14   -1.33   -0.09   11.44   12.62 
Pharmaceuticals                2293.58    35.36   -1.19    1.52   12.12    7.42 
Water                          4921.15    35.01   -1.13    2.55   10.88   10.63 
Life Insurance                 3003.62    34.21   -4.63    8.47    9.71  -15.79 
Consumer Electronics           8141.02    33.47   -6.21   13.43   28.97  -12.28 
Computer Serv                  6903.88    33.40   -2.87   -1.04   11.70   18.86 
Electronic Equip               3378.95    31.97   -3.38    9.68   15.23   -0.37 
Restaurants & Bars             9060.41    31.86   -1.97    6.05   13.03   17.95 
Apparel Retailers              3738.03    31.38   -2.91    1.95   17.14   14.52 
Industrial Machinery           4549.63    30.87   -4.33    8.51   14.41    0.33 
Trucking                       3291.91    30.38   -3.10    1.28    8.76   -1.77 
Financial Admin                4145.26    30.21   -2.99    3.95   12.04    7.00 
Soft Drinks                    3815.42    29.45   -1.60    1.10    5.23    3.80 
Build Materials & Fixtures     2331.66    29.41   -3.29    8.26   15.09   -0.18 
Brewers                        4322.95    27.98   -0.93   -2.97   -0.39  -15.44 
Iron & Steel                   2365.25    26.96   -5.02   13.35    4.97  -12.41 
Specialty Finance              3683.73    26.21   -4.17    8.05    9.70   -5.18 
Home Improv Retailers          6271.61    26.07   -1.83    7.57   28.19   12.09 
Diversified Industrials        2508.42    25.86   -2.84    2.71    8.44   -1.45 
Toys                           3691.25    25.18   -4.29    2.02   23.04   12.27 
Transportation Serv            2396.17    24.86   -3.32   12.06   14.83    6.12 
Auto Parts                     2312.95    24.54   -4.48    2.56    6.92   -5.39 
Publishing                     2181.88    22.60   -2.55    1.72   12.80   -2.32 
Furnishings                    2646.59    19.84   -3.59    6.35   17.25   14.72 
Recreational Serv              2279.96    19.38   -4.45    4.39   10.90  -16.77 
Electr Components & Equip      2267.46    19.31   -4.48    6.39   14.54   -4.82 
Commodity Chemicals            2317.29    19.29   -3.57    6.40    4.89   -0.47 
Durable Household Prod         1617.25    16.97   -2.40   10.41   11.19   -4.97 
Prop & Casualty Insurance      3648.23    15.14   -2.63    7.51   14.29    0.82 
Gas Distribution               1985.80    14.52   -2.18    5.65   16.14   14.76 
Reinsurance                    5975.35    13.96   -3.17    3.09   11.72   -7.45 
Marine Transportation          1379.60    13.72   -2.61   10.49   11.55  -15.60 
Hotels                         2571.95    11.30   -4.68    6.20   14.19  -14.41 
Fixed Line Telecom             1098.97    11.29   -1.07    0.74    5.93    1.57 
Containers & Packaging         2498.21    10.02   -3.57    4.33    6.27    1.33 
Invest Serv                    3057.07     9.59   -6.40    2.19   -0.47  -28.33 
Electricity                    1831.09     9.08   -1.77    1.96   12.83    9.17 
Real Estate Invest & Serv      2074.51     9.01   -5.30    9.56   -5.69  -17.32 
Biotechnology                  3604.05     8.86   -1.88   -0.41   12.50    3.11 
Forestry & Paper               1542.66     8.40   -3.86    9.29   16.59    2.64 
Defense                        4406.57     8.31   -2.78    3.20   12.08   -3.69 
Aluminum                       1337.54     8.12   -5.01    2.14   -9.85  -25.19 
Banks -SS                      1967.07     7.39   -5.75    1.96    3.83  -22.30 
Paper                          1210.15     6.18   -3.84    9.52   16.16    1.93 
Business Support Serv           968.92     6.09   -3.54    2.49   11.95    8.00 
Insurance Brokers              2796.25     5.91   -2.49    8.43   11.43   16.74 
Mobile Telecom                 1234.18     5.06   -2.20    4.73    3.67  -12.15 
Multiutilities                 1398.17     4.77   -1.81    1.92   16.71   10.48 
Food Retailers & Wholesalers   1767.23     4.71   -2.16    2.46    7.21    0.90 
Full Line Insurance             316.39     4.30   -4.00    0.72    0.98  -26.23 
Tires                           411.93     3.48   -5.58   19.62   16.10   12.71 
Clothing & Accessories         2888.40     2.63   -4.52    3.60   17.67   24.38 
Consumer Finance               5464.66     2.60   -3.25    5.56   13.19   17.16 
Electronic Office Equip         891.61     1.65   -4.91    5.03    5.30  -26.43 
Waste & Disposal Serv          1238.62    -1.74   -3.03   -3.78    9.74    1.67 
Real Estate Invest Trusts      1960.14    -1.82   -4.53    5.25    5.32   -1.78 
Mortgage Finance                165.46    -1.84   -6.18   -0.34    3.83  -22.86 
Heavy Construction             4017.42    -3.65   -5.25    1.94    4.27   -9.83 
General Mining                 2827.85    -6.45   -5.44    7.52   -9.39   -2.40 
Gold Mining                    2419.44    -8.42   -3.71    7.16   18.44   14.21 
Broadline Retailers            4018.11   -11.09   -2.95    0.28   15.52   11.80 
Internet                       2075.23   -11.52   -2.48    9.92   12.01   -6.04 
Automobiles                    1777.46   -11.97   -6.70   -0.65    2.94  -28.96 
Travel & Tourism               2535.66   -13.18   -4.02    7.64    5.23   14.92 
Food Prod                      2852.52   -13.59   -3.12   -0.24    4.24   12.40 
Specialty Retailers            2954.66   -15.01   -3.19    3.15   11.73    3.81 
Airlines                        539.13   -15.71   -5.73   -3.12    4.21  -39.47 
Specialized Consumer Serv      3538.50   -24.67   -5.18   -0.61    4.52    1.63 
Coal                           3738.21   -34.66   -7.97   11.55   -5.79  -25.10 
Computer Hardware              8354.03  -139.52   -4.98    0.59    4.85    4.19 
Gambling                       6108.96  -175.66   -6.53   -3.30    3.41   -8.08

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-CALLS-
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE
BAC        11/19/11           6.0000         501            0.2800      dn 0.1100
AAPL       1/21/12         400.0000         435           18.3000      dn 4.8500
CSCO       12/17/11          19.0000         422            0.6800      up 0.2600
BAC        1/21/12           7.5000         395            0.2400      dn 0.0400
BAC        12/17/11           6.0000         393            0.5500      dn 0.0800
AAPL       11/11/11         400.0000         393            0.1300      dn 1.6000
AAPL       11/11/11         395.0000         385            0.3600      dn 3.7900
CSCO       11/19/11          19.0000         376            0.2200      up 0.0300
BAC        11/11/11           6.0000         350            0.1300      dn 0.1200
CSCO       11/19/11          20.0000         343            0.0300      dn 0.0300 

 -PUTS-
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE
BAC        11/19/11           5.0000        4031            0.0300      up 0.0000
DELL       11/19/11          14.0000        1822            0.2200      dn 0.0600
DELL       11/19/11          15.0000        1686            0.5700      dn 0.0800
BAC        11/11/11           6.0000        1022            0.0800      up 0.0000
BAC        2/18/12           6.0000         555            0.8300      up 0.0400
BAC        11/19/11           6.0000         275            0.2400      up 0.0300
BAC        2/18/12           7.0000         266            1.4100      up 0.2400
BAC        12/17/11           6.0000         251            0.5000      up 0.0400
GMCR       12/17/11          45.0000         239            7.0600      up 5.7100
AAPL       11/11/11         385.0000         236            2.9000      up 1.7700 

 -VOLUME-
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL
64641    99511        164152

CBOE

-CALLS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
ETFC       1/21/12          14.0000       18514            0.3300      up 0.0100 
VIAB       1/19/13          40.0000       17411            8.1000      up 1.1000 
VIAB       1/21/12          40.0000       17411            4.5000      up 1.2000 
C          11/19/11          31.0000        5907            0.3300      dn 0.1200 
CSCO       1/21/12          19.0000        5901            0.8900      up 0.3000 
CSCO       11/19/11          19.0000        5901            0.2000      up 0.0000 
WFT        1/21/12          15.0000        4663            1.8500      up 0.1200 
WFT        1/21/12          17.5000        4603            0.7900      up 0.0600 
AAPL       11/11/11         395.0000        4449            0.2900      dn 3.6600 
CSCO       11/19/11          18.0000        4414            0.9000      up 0.3300 

 -PUTS- 
OPTION    EXP.DATE       STRIKE PRC.     VOLUME        LAST S/PRC.    NET CHANGE 
MGM        12/17/11           9.0000       20325            0.4300      up 0.0100 
TRX        11/19/11           2.0000        5123            0.1500      up 0.1000 
CSC        12/17/11          20.0000        5000            0.3000      up 0.1500 
GLD        11/11/11         170.0000        4768            0.4500      dn 0.3800 
SNY        3/17/12          33.0000        3750            2.5000      dn 0.2000 
GMCR       11/19/11          40.0000        3254            2.0000      up 1.7200 
AAPL       11/11/11         385.0000        3186            3.3500      up 2.2400 
NLY        11/19/11          16.0000        3164            0.1600      up 0.0200 
ALU        12/17/11           2.0000        3001            0.2500      up 0.0500 
NLY        11/19/11          14.0000        3000            0.0100      dn 0.0100 

 -VOLUME- 
 CALLS      PUTS           TOTAL 
1326625    1595383        2922008

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Heat Map

A/D Line

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“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank is concentrating “intently” on reducing unemployment and projects inflation to stay under control for the “foreseeable future.”

“For a lot of people, I know, it doesn’t feel like the recession ever ended,” even with the economy growing for two years, Bernanke said today in prepared remarks for a town hall- style meeting with soldiers at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.”

Full article

 

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Supply constraints have investors worried about future sales.

Full article

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A small acquisition of $30 million was made and they plan to open juice bars next year.

Full article

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For now a lot of companies will stay with temporary workers.

Full article

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DIRECT YOUTUBE LINK HERE

[youtube:http://trade.cc/for 550 412]

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Italy moved closer to a national unity government on Thursday, following Greece’s lead in seeking a respected veteran European technocrat to pilot painful economic reforms in an effort to avert a euro zone bond market meltdown.

After four days of chaotic haggling, former European Central Bank vice-president Lucas Papademos was appointed to head an interim crisis cabinet charged with saving Greece from default, bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone.

In Rome, former European Commissioner Mario Monti emerged as favorite to replace Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi within days and lead an emergency government that would implement long delayed reforms of pensions, labor markets and business regulation.

Political and economic turmoil in Italy has spurred fears of a possible break-up of the euro zone with borrowing costs for Europe’s third biggest economy at unsustainable levels and the 17-nation currency bloc unable to afford a bailout.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Europe’s main paymaster, called for broad political support for reforms in Greece and said she believed Italy was winning back confidence, but political clarity was still needed in Rome.

She rejected talk of a possible shrinking of the currency area, saying: “We only have one goal, that is to bring about a stabilization of the euro zone in its current form.”

European Union officials continued to dither and pass the buck on how best to fight the worsening sovereign debt crisis.

Three senior ECB policymakers rebuffed pressure from investors and foreign governments to intervene massively as a lender of last resort on bond markets to shield Italy and Spain from rapidly spreading financial contagion.

“We have gone pretty far in what we can do but there is not much more that can be expected from us. It is now up to the governments,” ECB governing council member Klaas Knot told the Dutch parliament.

Knot, who is also Dutch central bank chief, said bond-buying only had a temporary effect. The ECB has bought more than 180 billion euros of peripheral euro zone bonds and traders said it was active again in the market on Thursday, but the purchases have failed to lower borrowing costs durably.

Stepping up the scale of bond-buying would eventually force the ECB to start printing money with the risk of stoking inflation, which was why the EU treaty had excluded such action, Knot said.

ECB executive board member Peter Praet said it was not the task of the central bank to intervene “when there are fundamental doubts about the sustainability of some countries.” Outgoing ECB chief economist Juergen Stark earlier rejected calls for the ECB to act as lender of last resort like the U.S. Federal Reserve or the Bank of England.

In Brussels, a euro zone official said there were no plans to use the bloc’s 440-billion-euro ($600 billion) rescue fund to help Italy, even with a precautionary credit line.

“Financial assistance is not in the cards,” the official said. A second official said: “The ECB will be drawn like every one else by the weight of gravity (to act).

MARKETS STEADIER

Italian 10-year bond yields steadied at around 7 percent, a level seen as unquestionable in the long term, due to signs that the political deadlock may be easing. Rome paid less to sell 1-year treasury bills than many had feared.

Sources in Berlusconi’s conservative PdL party said he was now convinced it would be better not to call elections at the moment, an abrupt reversal. The billionaire media magnate has agreed to resign within days after parliament approves long delayed economic reforms demanded by European partners.

PdL parliamentary floor leader Fabrizio Cicchitto said the party was considering backing a unity government led by Monti, a respected economist favored by the center-left opposition.
Berlusconi’s populist coalition partner, the Northern League, said it would not support a Monti government.

Monti, 68, was appointed a senator for life on Wednesday in a move that appeared to prefigure his possible rise to the premiership, but he has made no public statement and it is unclear what conditions he may set for taking office.

In Athens, Papademos said after agreeing to head a crisis coalition: “The Greek economy is facing huge problems despite the efforts undertaken.

“The choices we will make will be decisive for the Greek people. The path will not be easy but I am convinced the problems will be resolved faster and at a smaller cost if there is unity, understanding and prudence.”

The euro rose from a one-month low and world stocks inched up on hopes that new governments being formed in Italy and Greece could help fend off a euro zone break-up.

SMALLER EURO ZONE DENIED

Merkel, French officials and the EU’s executive Commission all tried to quash talk of a possible shrinking of the euro area, although they raised the possibility last week that Greece might leave the single currency.

EU sources told Reuters that French and German officials had held informal discussions on a two-speed Europe with a more tightly integrated and possibly smaller euro zone and a looser outer circle.

The discussions among senior policymakers, still in the realms of the theoretical, have focused on how to protect the euro zone from breaking up via tighter common policies which some members may by unable or unwilling to live with.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso issued a stark warning of the dangers of a split in the European Union.

“There cannot be peace and prosperity in the North or in the West of Europe, if there is no peace and prosperity in the South or in the East,” Barroso said in a speech in Berlin.

Merkel called on Wednesday for changes in EU treaties after French President Nicolas Sarkozy advocated a two-speed Europe in which euro zone countries accelerate and deepen integration while an expanding group outside the currency bloc stays more loosely connected.

The head of the International Monetary Fund called for political clarity in efforts to tackle Italy’s debt crisis, warning that the world could face a “lost decade” if Europe’s problems were not tackled boldly.

Uncertainty around who would succeed Berlusconi was fuelling market volatility, Christine Lagarde said on a visit to China.

“No one exactly understands who is going to come out as the leader. That confusion is particularly conducive to volatility,” she told a news conference in Beijing. “Political clarity is conducive to more stability and my objective from the Fund’s point of view is better and more stability.”

A senior G20 source said the idea of convening an emergency meeting of finance ministers of the world’s leading economies to discuss support measures for the euro zone before the French presidency ends at the end of the year had been dropped. They would meet next in Mexico in February.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed on Monday on a road map for leveraging the currency bloc’s rescue fund to shield larger economies like Italy and Spain from a possible Greek default.

But markets are running faster than policy and there are deep doubts about the efficacy of those complex leveraging plans, and with Italy’s debt totaling around 1.9 trillion euros even a larger bailout fund could struggle to cope.
Read more: http://trade.cc/fnmixzz1dKaVeh1k

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