Thu May 24, 2012 9:03pm EST
Tadas presents the case for a new secular bull market. One of his considerations is thought-provoking:
One could also argue that (secular) bear markets don’t end in panic, but rather in disgust and there seems to be plenty of disgust in the stock market to go around at the moment.
Read the article here.
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 8:19pm EST
Matt Stoller at Naked Capitalism on the announcement of Barofsky’s new book, Bailout. Stoller hopes the book my allow a new impression of Obama to emerge:
A true impression of Obama would be both devastating and hilarious. It would also require a profound level of bravery and skill to showcase a picture of the first black President as a corrupt plutocrat.
Read the article here.
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 7:55pm EST
Here is your daily dose of hybrid movers, click here for charts.
Courtesy of The PPT
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 6:15pm EST
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtVrJl0yFPU 450 300]
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 6:11pm EST
Disturbing images of Greece as the population faces austerity, uncertainty, and a reality partially created by the banksters.
Full video
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 6:00pm EST
Margins have been taken down 13% for crude and 10% for gold.
Perhaps a way to help stabilize the equity markets.
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 5:57pm EST
Oddly enough the individual investor has pulled funds out of a cyclical bull market for 52 of the past 56 weeks. One has to wonder if this is fear or a serious need to get at funds. At any rate, last week saw the 13th consecutive week of liquidation totaling $3.5 billion.
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 5:48pm EST
Shilling admits manufacturing is picking up, but the quality of manufacturing is poor and not creating the jobs we need.
Full article/video
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 5:41pm EST
The following companies are making moves in after hours: $CHK, $BLK, $PAY, $CRM, $ROSG, $BLOX, $BG
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 4:20pm EST
Too many to list so get to it here.
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 4:16pm EST
Things will come to a head this and next quarter. Normura is decisive on how it will end.
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 4:13pm EST
Please lets get this torture over with already.
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 4:10pm EST
Bradly Schiller is accused of running a four year long ponzi scheme. As if you did not make enough money being a floor trader…..
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 4:07pm EST
All joking aside Ichan seems to get things done in the long run. Short term he makes a lot of waves. It is also being reported that Blackrock has significantly increased their stake in $CHK as well.
Full article
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 2:27pm EST
Charlie Sheen (Photo by Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (WFAN) – At the end of last week, NFL Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl XXV ring was sold for an ungodly price of $230, 401.
But who was the man (or woman) behind the acquisition of this prized piece of jewelry?
Nobody knew — and they still don’t for sure — but now there are some clues as to who made the purchase.
And here’s a hint: he’s still winning!
READ MORE HERE
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 2:24pm EST
The Times-Picayune, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina, announced on Thursday a plan to slash its print publication to three days a week—effectively leaving New Orleans without a daily newspaper.
Read More
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 1:58pm EST
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Bank profits rose in the first quarter of 2012, reaching their highest quarterly levels since the second quarter of 2007, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s quarterly banking report, released Thursday. However, total loan and lease balances on the books of banks declined by $56 billion in the quarter, a situation that FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said was “disappointing” after the industry saw three quarters of growth last year. Bank net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $35.3 billion, up by $6.6 billion from the first quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, revenues — driven partly by gains on loan sales — increased for only the second time in the past five quarters. Net operating revenue increased by $5 billion from the year-earlier querter. The FDIC said that once again lower provisions for loan losses contributed to earnings improvement. The number of banks on the FDIC’s “problem list” fell to 772 from 813 during the first quarter of 2012, and the assets of problem institutions declined to $292 billion from $319 billion.
Read here:
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 1:56pm EST
ROME/HELSINKI (Reuters) – At least half of euro zone governments as well as banks and large companies are making contingency plans in case Greece decides to leave the single currency area, even though the preferred option is still for Athens to keep the euro.
Italy’s Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said his country was ready for such a possibility, if Greek voters on June 17 give power to parties that reject reforms agreed with the EU and IMF in exchange for emergency loans.
Greece’s deficit means that without the EU/IMF money, which would stop flowing if Athens were to tear up the agreement on reforms, it would not be able to pay salaries and would have to leave the euro zone and start printing its own currency.
“We always have to be ready in any case,” Grilli said, when asked by reporters if Italy was preparing for a Greek exit. “All options are possible, though our objective is to avoid that happening.”
Senior European Union officials have told member states to prepare contingency plans in case Greece quits the euro zone, sources told Reuters on Thursday.
European Union leaders have urged Greece to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout program.
Read more here:
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 1:54pm EST
BEIJING (MarketWatch) — China’s Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that a months-long investigation had revealed that U.S. support for six clean energy projects violated World Trade Organization rules and acted as barriers to trade.
State-controlled Xinhua news agency said later that the ministry found that the U.S. government provided renewable energy companies unfair grants that are prohibited under WTO rules and distorted normal trade.
The ministry’s charges are likely to heighten trade tensions between the two countries. The U.S. and China have recently sparred more frequently over clean energy issues, ranging from copyright violations of wind-power technology to subsidies for manufacturers of solar and wind-turbine components. The two countries are also at odds over China’s rare-earth quotas and imports of Iranian crude oil.
The U.S. Commerce Department last week announced a preliminary decision to impose 31% tariffs on several of China’s largest solar-panel companies that it had found guilty of dumping.
The Chinese government blasted the U.S. decision as “protectionist”
Read more here:
Comments »
Thu May 24, 2012 1:53pm EST
China’s manufacturing sector continued to shrink in May, according to preliminary data released Thursday.
HSBC’s Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 48.7 in May from 49.3 the previous month. Any reading below 50 indicates the manufacturing sector has been shrinking.
While the news comes as yet another sign of weakness for China, the outlook for the world’s second largest economy is still far from clear.
Mark Williams, chief Asia economist for Capital Economics, said the latest PMI report seems to indicate a slowdown in China’s gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy. He said it also runs counter to other reports showing that income is growing for urban households and migrant workers.
“This weak PMI reading, and the general climate of economic uncertainty, suggests that a pickup in consumer spending growth is unlikely to lift the economy out of its current malaise,” said Williams, in a research note.
But he believes the economy could gain steam going forward, with a boost from the government.
Read more here:
Comments »