Monthly Archives: January 2012
Fed’s Beige Book Reveals Economy Grew at a Moderate Pace
It’s a Short Squeeze Bonanza
Stocks with more than 10% of shares sold short, lifting off today.
No. Ticker % Change Short as % of Float
1 JKS 39.73 49.88
2 EK 35.78 28.80
3 HSOL 34.40 13.96
4 BORN 29.85 19.90
5 JASO 29.17 10.66
6 STP 28.13 15.69
7 TSL 28.08 33.87
8 ENER 22.58 24.51
9 KV-A 21.13 22.34
10 YGE 18.45 22.80
11 LDK 18.16 50.04
12 HGSI 17.06 18.00
13 PWER 15.47 28.00
14 CSIQ 13.23 18.10
15 KBH 13.12 37.86
16 HOV 12.81 34.60
17 ZIOP 12.75 15.80
18 NUVA 12.44 11.40
19 SHLD 12.31 44.90
20 IDIX 12.17 12.60
21 TZOO 11.99 81.00
22 AONE 11.74 26.50
23 DNDN 11.46 16.30
24 PRMW 10.55 18.20
25 DANG 10.29 33.21
26 MELA 10.21 26.70
27 RUE 9.79 43.90
28 YOKU 9.70 15.48
29 SATC 9.53 22.80
30 FSLR 9.36 45.30
31 USG 9.26 20.60
32 KERX 8.95 21.70
33 QPSA 8.92 25.40
34 MOBI 8.88 11.79
35 OSG 8.53 46.60
36 MITK 8.31 14.20
37 AKS 8.16 21.00
38 MAKO 7.97 38.50
39 CGA 7.88 10.60
40 CEDC 7.48 16.55
41 CECO 7.46 17.66
42 RLD 7.45 12.70
43 DIN 7.44 14.20
44 HOLI 7.18 14.30
45 ODP 7.11 11.50
46 FRO 6.99 26.00
47 OCLR 6.96 16.50
48 ZLC 6.95 15.60
49 APP 6.90 14.90
50 QTWW 6.87 12.50
Israel Comments on the Assassination of an Iranian Nuclear Scientist
Benny Gantz, Chief of Staff, Israel’s Defense Forces: “For Iran, 2012 is a critical year in combining the continuation of its nuclearisation, internal changes in the Iranian leadership, continuing and growing pressure from the international community and things which take place in an unnatural manner.”
Comments »SOMEONE IS KILLING IRANIAN NUCLEAR SCIENTISTS (VIDEO)
The United States swears on a stack of korans to have nothing to do with the magnetic bomb attached to the car of a nuclear scientist today. Israel could not be reached for comment.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-wjb4EoIkk 603 500] Comments »CES gets under way, and Microsoft begins to bow out
Comments »Usually, trade shows are all about playing with prototypes and spotting future trends. But at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, which opened Tuesday in Las Vegas, what’s creating the most buzz is what’s not there.
Of course, there are thousands of devices being introduced this week in the desert.
Nokia is back with Windows-based smart phones and is vowing to slay the Android giant. There are connected cars and smart refrigerators (yes, again). And computers. Ultra laptops–small, svelte, near-instant-on computers–are being pushed with several manufacturers announcing slick devices.
But what’s not at the show are two components that could stifle the ultra yawns: Intel’s new mobile processors, which won’t appear until the spring, and Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system with touch features, which wasn’t ready in time for a CES debut.
Instead, the big Microsoft news has been that it’s abandoning CES. This will be its final appearance at the trade show, and CEO Steve Ballmer’s desultory final CES keynote didn’t exactly inspire the technorati. The Kinect gesture and voice recognition game controller will now (officially) work with PCs, and Windows 8 will be out later this year, according to Ballmer. The CEO also promised that current Windows 7 PCs will be able to run the new Window 8 software (translation: if it works on existing hardware, it’s not much of an upgrade).
Also failing to make an appearance are new gaming console models, updates to Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 3, or Nintendo’s Wii. Nintendo has promised a new model, and Microsoft and Sony are rumored to be preparing announcements for this summer.
However, it may be too little, too late as televisions continue to offer more features and power–including casual games and online entertainment.
FLASH: SOVEREIGN YIELDS ARE COMING IN–EVEN IN GREECE!
INDIA HAS A HUMAN ZOO (VIDEO)
Another wonderful country from the east.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU_kErjx6RI 603 500] Comments »FLASH: SOLAR STOCKS ARE RETARDO TO THE UPSIDE
Geithner holds economic meeting with Chinese
Comments »Beijing (CNN) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met Chinese leaders on Wednesday with discussions expected to focus on cooperation between the world’s top two economies to bolster global growth as well as possible sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Geithner held talks Wednesday with Vice President Xi Jinping — tipped to become China’s next president later this year— and Vice Premier Li Keqiang.
He was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Wen Jiabao later Wednesday.
Geithner met with his counterpart, Vice Premier Wang Qishan, on Tuesday night and pledged cooperation on global economic issues.
China and the United States “have a lot of issues to talk about in the areas of economy, finance, trade and investment,” Wang said at a news briefing on Tuesday.
While China has called on the United States to loosen export regulations, Washington has said that Chinese currency controls keep the yuan undervalued and give Chinese exporters an unfair advantage at a time when the global economy is suffering.
Lunch Break: Ron Paul’s N.H. Speech
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da6irSCvnZY 450 300]
Comments »French journalist killed in Syria
Comments »Damascus, Syria (CNN) — A French journalist died Wednesday in a mortar strike on a pro-government rally in Homs, the Syrian city that has become the symbol of grass-roots resistance against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The violence comes as international journalists and Arab League monitors viewed the tumult rippling across restive cities. A journalist who witnessed the incident told CNN that a civilian also died in the strike. A Dutch journalist and nine civilians were injured.
The dead journalist is Gilles Jacquier of the France 2 TV network, the network confirmed. There are different casualty figures filtering out of Homs. France 2 also said seven people died in the same place. Jacquier’s cameraman was lightly injured, France 2 said. It said they were there as part of a trip authorized by the government.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe expressed his condolences and condemned the “heinous act.”
“We are asking for an inquiry to be launched to shed all light on the circumstances of this tragedy,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Scottland preparing vote for indepence from U.K.
Comments »LONDON — Scottish leader Alex Salmond clashed with the British government Wednesday by insisting that the people of Scotland should set the terms of a referendum on independence, not British politicians.
British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government favors allowing the Scots a vote on whether their country should become independent, but suggested that Scotland should choose between total separation and the status quo.
But Salmond told the BBC Wednesday that the Scottish parliament should decide how to frame the question posed to voters. He said Scotland should also be allowed to decide if it did prefer a third option of more independence from Britain that stops short of total separation.
Salmond’s party has long campaigned for Scotland to leave the United Kingdom and go it alone. Scotland now has a legislature that governs its own internal affairs and social policies, but cedes control of foreign policy and defense issues to London.
Salmond has said he will hold a vote on Scottish independence in the fall of 2014. Cameron — who opposes any breakup of the United Kingdom, which also includes Wales and Northern Ireland — has urged Scotland to make its intentions clear “sooner rather than later,” arguing that a lengthy period of uncertainty would harm Britain’s economy.
North Korea critical of U.S. politicizing food aid
Comments »SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Wednesday that before Kim Jong Il’s death the United States offered to provide food aid if it halted its uranium enrichment program, and although Pyongyang blasted Washington for “politicizing” food shipments, it appeared to leave the door open for a deal.
Comments about the proposed deal, attributed to an unidentified Foreign Ministry spokesman in Pyongyang, carried an indignant tone, but the North’s statement also said it would wait and “see if the United States has a willingness to establish confidence” with North Korea.
The statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency offers an early look at how the government now led by Kim’s son, Kim Jong Un, will handle two of North Korea’s most pressing issues: a long-running food crisis and international pressure to end its nuclear program.
Ron Paul persists after every attempt to ignore him
Comments »After a second place finish in the New Hampshire primaries, Ron Paul will take his campaign to South Carolina, bypass the Florida primaries, and head to Nevada where he hopes to get a head start in the push to garner Latino support in one of the recession’s hardest hit states.
The Nevada Caucus on February 4th, and the Florida primary on January 31st, will mark the first time that Hispanic Republicans will get their shot to significantly weigh in on the race for the GOP nominee –a point that has not been lost on the Paul campaign – which launched its Hispanics for Ron Paul National Coalition in an effort to organize Latino volunteers in states like Nevada, Colorado, and Washington.
According to the Paul campaign, they reportedly will bypass Florida because of the huge cost of advertising and campaigning in the state – which his campaign estimated to be about $9 million to compete for the state’s winner-takes-all 50 delegates. Instead, Paul’s Hispanic Outreach campaign continues pushing hard to win Republican Latinos in Nevada. Just over 9% of Nevada’s voter population is Latino.
“We’ve been working with several newspapers in the area, English and Spanish language local affiliates, and are focused on bringing out the Hispanic vote in Nevada for Dr. Paul,” said Fernando Cortes, the Deputy Controller and Director of the Ron Paul campaign’s Hispanic Outreach Program. Cortes, 28, controls 5 staffers in the coalition and 20 “mostly bilingual” volunteers thus far who are set to meet on a Saturday afternoon in Henderson, Nevada on January 14th to put in place an outreach strategy directed specifically to Latino voters in Nevada.
Romney appears to continue leading GOP primary
Comments »Mitt Romney stormed out of New Hampshire Wednesday with a historic achievement under his belt, having scored back-to-back wins in the first two nominating contests, and vowing to take that momentum into South Carolina.
The former Massachusetts governor was able to pull off a commanding victory in the New Hampshire primary, winning with 39 percent of the vote with 95 percent of precincts reporting.
Up next, South Carolina. The state is not the friendliest of territory for the candidate Newt Gingrich has branded as a “Massachusetts moderate.” Polls show Romney holding a modest lead in South Carolina, but Gingrich and Rick Santorum also are polling strong. However, Romney is rallying supporters on a message of creating opportunity and shaking the nation out of the doldrums represented, he claims, by the current president.
To that end, Romney scolded his opponents in New Hampshire for criticizing his record at investment firm Bain Capital over the last few days. He accused them of reading right out of the Democratic playbook.
Which GOP Candidates Makes the Most Corrupt Members of Congress List ?
Moody’s anticipates lower non-financial corporate credit ratings
Comments »The European high-yield market experienced two distinct halves in 2011 as increasing investor risk appetite in the first half was followed by the new issuance market effectively closing in the second half as concerns over European sovereigns dominated credit markets. As negative macro-economic trends persist in Europe, we anticipate a material increase in negative rating actions for high-yield non-financial corporates across the region in 2012…
