The volt has had some trouble with fires occurring after the Volt is in an accident. In order to keep up the brand name and push the green theme GM has offered to fix your hunk of metal.
Comments »Monthly Archives: January 2012
U.S. Equities Pare Losses With the NASDAQ Going Green
Who is Richard Cordray?
Comments »After months of pushback from Republicans in Congress, President Obama has finally decided to go over their heads and appoint former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau without them.
So who is he?
We’ve written a lot about him at Business Insider. Partly because, no matter what side of the aisle you’re on, there’s no denying he’s incredibly impressive. Cordray is an undefeated, five-time Jeopardy! champion (he won $45,303), has a masters in economics from Oxford University, and was also editor-in-chief of the University of Chicago Law Review.
After law school he clerked for Supreme Court for a Reagan appointee, and represented the U.S. government before the Supreme Court there three times — once for George H.W. Bush and twice for Bill Clinton. That was all before running for AG of Ohio (a swing state) as a Democrat.
So what’s the problem with Cordray? There are two, one is an old Washington problem, and the other is purely Wall Street’s:
1.Republicans said they would never support anyone to head the CFPB — Period —that is, unless the White House made serious changes to the agency. (Politico)
2.He doesn’t just go after Wall Street Institutions. He goes after individual executives as well.
Let’s expand on point 2 with some more examples of how Cordray fought Wall Street as Ohio AG:•In 2009, representing several state public pension funds, he reached a settlement with Hank Greenberg and other AIG execs that blew the SECs settlement out of the water. Cordray got $115 million, the SEC got a mere $15 million.
•The following year he settled another suit against AIG itself (also for Ohio) for $750 million. Some reports said the insurance company would actually be paying out $1 billion.
•And then there was the Bank of America Merrill Lynch merger. Cordray sued on behalf of Ohio pensions on the grounds that BofAS concealed billions of dollars of Merrill Lynch losses from their clients before the merger. The case settled for $475 million.
When we talked to him about the Merrill/BofA case in 2009, he, of course, explained the why he was suing, but also revealed why he’s such a threat:My understanding of a bonus is that it’s a special reward for superior performance. There wasn’t any superior performance for special reward; nonetheless, they (BofA and Merrill execs) wanted the bonuses. They ultimately, as best we know, got approval to pay out somewhere between $3 and $4 billion in bonuses, which was a very material element to the value of the merger. That was not disclosed to investors.
…we’ve also pursued some of the top executives — not just the corporations themselves. We do think that they bear their share of the blame — we think that they need to be held accountable as well. We think that that’s a principle that sends a message to other corporate executives on Wall Street that is a further disincentive for this kind of thing in the future.There’s your new sheriff, Wall Street. As we reported earlier today, it’s likely Republicans will fight Obama’s appointment in Court. In the meantime, Cordray will be able to nice and comfy at the CFPB.
Lowest mortgages rates ever fail to stimulate housing
Comments »WASHINGTON (AP) — 2012 looks to be another year of opportunity for the few who can afford to buy or refinance a home.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.91 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That matches the record low reached two weeks ago.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage ticked down to 3.23 percent from 3.24 percent. That’s up from 3.21 percent two weeks, also a record low.
Mortgage rates are lower because they tend to track the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which fell below 2 percent this week. They could fall even lower this year if the Fed launches another round of bond purchases, as some economists expect.
Still, cheap mortgage rates have done little too boost the depressed housing market. For eight straight weeks at the end of 2011, the average fixed mortgage rates hovered around 4 percent. Yet many Americans either can’t take advantage of the rates or have already done so.
High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many don’t want to sink money into a home that they fear could lose value over the next few years.
Previously occupied homes are selling just slightly ahead of 2010’s dismal pace. New-home sales in 2011 will likely be the worst year on records going back half a century.
Oil Inventories: Prior -3.89mm, Market Expects NA , Actual +3.2mm
52 Week Highs and Lows Made This Morning
NYSE
New Highs 27 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Atlas Pipeline Partners APL 39.13 49,068 BlackRock CA Municipal Tr BFZ 14.85 9,326 BlkRk Muni NY Inter Dur MNE 14.56 3,033 BlkRk MuniHldgs CA Qlty MUC 15.03 10,189 BlkRk MuniHldgs II MUH 15.64 6,657 BlkRk MuniHldgs Qlty II MUE 14.58 2,450 BlRkMunyldQltyIII MYI 14.25 48,213 China Pete & Chemical SNP 116.00 124,354 6.375% CorTS IBM HZK 27.90 2,830 DCP Midstream Ptnrs DPM 49.13 11,995 Dreyfus Strategic Munis LEO 9.07 18,827 Enterprise Pdts Partners EPD 47.35 136,287 Kinder Morgan KMI 33.94 413,338 Magellan Midstream MMP 69.57 10,525 Merck MRK 38.63 2,166,263 Nuveen Div Fnd NAD 14.68 10,674 Nuveen Enhncd Mun Val Fd NEV 14.45 17,684 Nuveen MD Premium Income NMY 15.18 1,770 Nuveen NY Div Fnd NAN 14.39 12,857 Nuveen NY Performnce Plus NNP 15.55 2,323 Philippine Long Distance PHI 60.75 14,388 Pier 1 Imports PIR 14.48 477,560 Pimco Calif Fund PCQ 13.53 3,061 PIMCO MuniFd PMF 14.44 10,356 Provident Energy PVX 10.03 164,831 Western Gas Partners LP WES 42.16 9,488 Williams Ptnrs un WPZ 62.15 17,811 New Lows 9 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ CPI Corp CPY 1.50 92,323 Cellcom Israel CEL 15.70 68,805 Eastman Kodak EK 0.36 7,415,654 Feihe International ADY 2.44 6,420 Hugoton Royalty Tr Un HGT 18.52 19,036 IDT Corp B IDT 8.80 24,012 K12 Inc LRN 17.07 27,611 Rogers Corp ROG 32.19 149,869 Solera Hldgs SLH 43.74 23,089
NASDAQ
New Highs 9 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Acorn Energy ACFN 7.11 20,296 Analysts Intl ANLY 5.98 8,416 Apollo Grp (Cl A) APOL 54.59 359,888 Clovis Oncology CLVS 14.99 12,634 LKQ LKQX 31.37 67,929 Nathan's Famous NATH 21.40 250 Oneida Fincl ONFC 9.75 300 Silicon Motion Tech (ADS) SIMO 21.69 64,569 Superior Uniform SGC 12.86 2,956 New Lows 12 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Aastrom Biosciences ASTM 1.75 50,488 Auburn National AUBN 18.04 1,643 BioMimetic Therapeutics BMTI 2.26 58,188 Duckwall ALCO Stores DUCK 8.08 2,052 Globe Specialty Metals GSM 12.26 485,253 Intellipharmaceutics Int IPCI 2.49 5,400 Orchard Supply Hardware A OSH 19.80 33,372 Overstockcom OSTK 7.21 11,149 Perceptron PRCP 4.60 2,400 Pinnacle Airlines PNCL 0.75 30,470 Rue21 Inc RUE 20.54 25,495 Sears Hldgs SHLD 30.00 290,109Comments »
Black Markets and Their Role in the World Economy
Florida Ponzi Schemer Lays Out Players Involved in RICO Acts; Says Maddoff Had the Same Style of Connections
A one man fraud show is nearly impossible. Does this story say something about the 2008 financial debacle ?
Comments »Johnson & Johnson Recalls Children’s Tylenol After Death and Lawsuit
It is alleged that JNJ knew about the problems and did a stealth recall to save public face….
Comments »Today’s Money Flows, Heat Map, & S&P A/D Line
Money Flows
ISSUE GAINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Apple AAPL NASD 414.26 +45.0 1.21
SPDR S&P 500 SPY ARCA 126.59 +29.7 1.11
iSh JPM USD Emg Mkts Bd EMB ARCA 108.71 +26.1 33.94
Target Corp TGT NYSE 47.48 +16.9 1.35
ExxonMobil XOM NYSE 85.10 +15.5 1.70
Wells Fargo WFC NYSE 28.44 +14.5 2.84
Monsanto MON NYSE 76.03 +12.4 1.51
Intel INTC NASD 25.10 +11.5 1.65
General Electric GE NYSE 18.33 +11.4 1.99
Amgen AMGN NASD 64.03 +11.2 3.57
Vanguard MSCI Emerg Mkts VWO ARCA 38.69 +9.6 4.36
Qualcomm QCOM NASD 55.64 +9.4 2.00
Bank Of America BAC NYSE 5.86 +8.7 1.31
Colgate-Palmolive CL NYSE 90.07 +8.1 2.66
Occidental Pete OXY NYSE 95.72 +7.7 1.85
Verizon Communications VZ NYSE 38.78 +7.7 1.71
JC Penney JCP NYSE 32.93 +7.6 1.61
Nike Inc NKE NYSE 97.19 +6.8 2.03
PepsiCo PEP NYSE 66.35 +6.5 2.70
Caterpillar CAT NYSE 94.18 +6.4 1.46
ISSUE DECLINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Google GOOG NASD 661.00 -26.1 0.82
Pfizer PFE NYSE 21.49 -25.1 0.37
Chevron CVX NYSE 108.35 -23.2 0.47
Eli Lilly LLY NYSE 39.63 -22.5 0.47
Public Storage PSA NYSE 131.22 -15.7 0.19
Procter & Gamble PG NYSE 66.52 -15.5 0.37
IBM IBM NYSE 183.68 -15.4 0.63
Kohl's Corp KSS NYSE 46.13 -15.2 0.50
DuPont DD NYSE 46.24 -14.0 0.33
SeagateTech STX NASD 17.88 -11.9 0.56
iBoxx InvesTp Inv Grde Bd LQD ARCA 113.45 -11.6 0.16
McDonald's MCD NYSE 98.90 -10.9 0.57
Johnson & Johnson JNJ NYSE 65.00 -10.3 0.60
Cisco Systems CSCO NASD 18.86 -9.9 0.42
UnitedHealth Group UNH NYSE 52.16 -9.3 0.31
Bristol-Myers BMY NYSE 33.80 -9.0 0.46
iShrs MSCI Brazil (Free) EWZ ARCA 58.86 -8.3 0.51
Cummins CMI NYSE 92.20 -8.1 0.67
Waste Management WM NYSE 32.23 -7.9 0.11
EOG Resources EOG NYSE 100.36 -7.8 0.44
Comments »
Most Active Options Trades
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE BAC 1/21/12 6.0000 1768 0.1900 up 0.0100 STX 1/21/12 19.0000 505 0.2700 up 0.1500 MSFT 1/21/12 27.5000 203 0.4900 dn 0.0500 MSFT 3/17/12 28.0000 146 0.6800 up 0.0100 BAC 2/18/12 5.5000 146 0.6300 up 0.0700 BAC 2/18/12 6.0000 140 0.3300 up 0.0100 YHOO 7/21/12 19.0000 130 0.5700 dn 0.1100 NOK 4/21/12 6.0000 130 0.4700 up 0.1100 X 1/21/12 26.0000 113 2.3100 dn 0.5700 AAPL 1/6/12 415.0000 104 1.6300 dn 0.3500 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE BAC 1/21/12 5.0000 500 0.0500 up 0.0100 BAC 2/18/12 5.5000 294 0.2700 dn 0.0100 GLD 1/21/12 150.0000 172 0.7900 up 0.0000 BAC 1/21/12 5.5000 165 0.1500 up 0.0100 LLY 2/18/12 33.0000 150 0.1100 up 0.0100 TGT 1/21/12 47.0000 138 0.6300 up 0.4300 BAC 1/21/12 6.0000 131 0.3200 dn 0.0400 GLD 1/21/12 154.0000 123 1.9100 up 0.1100 AAPL 1/6/12 405.0000 118 0.2000 dn 0.1200 AAPL 4/21/12 360.0000 100 9.3000 dn 2.6500 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 16150 10709 26859
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE X 1/21/12 26.0000 9095 2.3100 dn 0.6300 IAG 2/18/12 17.0000 2686 1.0000 dn 0.0500 CSCO 1/21/12 20.0000 2563 0.0700 dn 0.0100 PFE 1/21/12 21.0000 2140 0.6600 dn 0.2500 PFE 2/18/12 22.0000 2073 0.3600 dn 0.1100 MU 1/21/12 7.5000 1861 0.1100 dn 0.0200 AAPL 1/6/12 415.0000 1693 1.8400 up 0.2100 C 1/21/12 27.0000 1532 1.4900 dn 0.4800 ALL 1/21/12 27.0000 1500 0.5500 dn 0.3500 ALL 2/18/12 26.0000 1500 1.7500 dn 0.3700 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE WMB1 1/21/12 30.0000 10720 0.2500 dn 0.0500 GM 2/18/12 21.0000 2711 0.9500 dn 0.0200 CSCO 2/18/12 16.0000 2543 0.1300 up 0.0000 AAPL 1/6/12 410.0000 1123 0.7500 dn 0.3600 FXE 1/21/12 135.0000 1079 7.5000 up 1.3900 C 1/18/14 30.0000 1000 8.8000 dn 0.4500 T 1/21/12 30.0000 891 0.4700 up 0.0900 CAT 5/19/12 80.0000 889 3.2500 up 0.0500 BAC 2/18/12 5.5000 850 0.2700 up 0.0000 NFLX 1/6/12 80.0000 813 1.7000 dn 0.1500 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 252948 202079 455027Comments »
Boeing to Pink Slip 2100
Citadel Posts 20.4% Gains for 2011 Leaving Competition in the Dust
Keep your eye on Citadel; while following smart money is not going to predicate future returns…it is good to keep tabs on the leaders of a tumultuous year.
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