CNBC: Germany NOT Going to Ban Short Selling
As per German officials, responding to market rumors, there will NOT be a ban on short selling.
Comments »Obama Bows to Corporate Masters Again
Liquidity Reaches “Terminal Velocity”
The Case for Not Relying on Gold To Boost Your Portfolio During Potentially Troubled Markets
Why We Are Not Japan 2.0
Other Banks that May Need Blankfien’s High Profile Lawyer
CBO Releases a Very Upbeat Outlook for U.S. Economy
Liquidity Crunch a Big Fear As BoE Extends Swap Lines
Uranium production market remains soft
Comments »NEW YORK, NY–(Marketwire -08/25/11)- The uranium market has slowed to a halt in recent weeks amid continued uncertainty surrounding the global nuclear energy industry. Meanwhile, uranium producers are posting lackluster results as demand for the radioactive material slows. The Bedford Report examines the outlook for companies in the Uranium Sector and provides investment research on Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ – News) (TSX: CCO.TO – News) and Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ: URRE – News).Access to the full company reports can be found at:
The spot price for uranium has declined 24 percent since the week before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami damaged Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi power station. According to Ux Consulting Co., “A number of market participants have indicated that recent market activity has been very limited… This lack of activity has been described as the market looking like a ghost town.”
“Some activity still proceeds as the spot price floats near the $50 level,” Ux said. “Several spot transactions have been posted over the past week, most involving smaller quantities.”
Chinese corn import laws increasingly define agriculture trade
Comments »A legal battle between two of the world’s most powerful agribusiness companies is shedding light about the growing role of China in agricultural commodities markets.
Syngenta, the Switzerland-based agrochemicals producer, is suing New York-listed Bunge, one of the world’s largest food traders, for refusing to accept a type of its biotech corn. Bunge – the “B” of the “ABCD” group of companies that includes ADM, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus and control agriculture trading – refuses to buy from farmers growing Syngenta’s new Agrisure Viptera corn because it has not been approved for sale in China.
Syngenta said the action was illegal and that its new corn is approved for sale into “major” export destinations, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Korea and Taiwan. But, it acknowledged, not in China.
The lack of approval for sale into China would not have been a problem only a couple of years ago, as Beijing was self-sufficient in corn. But China has recently become a big importer. And Bunge said on Tuesday it was expecting that imports would “grow significantly this year”, one of the strongest statements yet from a trading house about the issue.
The US Department of Agriculture estimates that China imported 1.5m tonnes of corn in the 2010-11 season, which is about to end, the highest since 1994-95. For most of the 1990s and early 2000s, China’s corn imports were negligible, at just a few tonnes. For 2011-12, the USDA forecasts imports of 2m tonnes. But private sector analysts are far more bullish, predicting imports anywhere between 5m-10m tonnes, the biggest ever.
The legal battle between Syngenta and Bunge reveals that the trading house believes that imports from China would grow much more than the level suggested by the USDA. It also confirms an open secret in the industry: all the ABCD companies are battling to establish themselves as Beijing’s favourite party to carry the corn deals. Until now, Louis Dreyfus of France has been a leading seller, but Cargill and Bunge are battling to keep pace.
Trucking Industry to Face Wage Inflation Due to Shortage of Drivers
Obama Administration to Propose New Mortgage Refinancing Proposals
Foreclosures made up 31% of 2Q home sales
Comments »WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreclosures made up roughly one-third of all home sales this spring. While that’s a smaller share of sales from the previous quarter, it’s six times the percentage of foreclosures in a healthy housing market.
Foreclosure sales, which include homes purchased after they received a notice of default or that were repossessed by lenders, accounted for 31 percent of the market in the April-June quarter, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
The share of the market would likely have been larger this spring if not for a state and federal investigation into faulty paperwork by banks and servicers. The probe has led many banks to delay foreclosure sales. Once that is complete, foreclosures will likely surge later this year.
As a slice of all home purchases, foreclosure sales peak two years ago at 37.4 percent. In the second quarter, they declined from 36 percent in the January-March period.
In all, 265,087 homes in some stage of foreclosure or owned by banks were sold in the second quarter, down 11 percent from the same period a year ago. Sales of all other types of homes also declined, according to RealtyTrac’s figures, which differ from other home-sales estimates.
Bank-owned homes, which are sold after being repossessed, accounted for nearly 19 percent of all sales. That’s unchanged from the previous quarter.
Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
Upgrades
KMT – Kennametal assumed with Outperform at Credit Suisse
RA – RailAmerica upgraded to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus
PTI – Patni Computer Sys downgraded to Sell from Neutral at UBS
TTC – Toro upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Janney
OCN – Ocwen Fincl assumed with Overweight at Piper Jaffray
FFIV – F5 Networks upgraded to Buy at Stifel Nicolaus
CAE – CAE upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS
RCKB – Rockville Financial initiated with a Buy at Stifel Nicolaus
WETF – WisdomTree initiated with Overweight at Piper Jaffray
SAY – SAP AG initiated with Buy at RBS
AEO – American Eagle upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Lazard Capital Markets
PVX – Provident Energy Trust upgraded to Buy from Hold at TD Newcrest
Downgrades
MET – MetLife target lowered to $46 from $54 at Argus
ECA – EnCana downgraded to Hold at The Benchmark Company
HPQ – Hewlett-Packard downgraded to Sector Perform
AMAT – Applied Materials target lowered to $13 at Needham
ORCL – Oracle target lowered to $36 at Macquarie
MU – Micron target lowered to $9 from $12.50 at Wedbush
UTHR – United Therapeutics target lowered to $53 from $77 at Oppenheimer
VE – Veolia Environnement downgraded to Neutral at Credit Suisse
GGG – Graco downgraded to Hold from Buy at BB&T
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
OCNF +7.3%, TIVO +7.1%, BCS +5.6%, PSS +32.3%, RGS +3.6%, Z +2.6%, CLR +1.9%, MT +1.2%, PSTI +4.8%, BAC +3.3%, RBS +3%, GAME +7.4%, BBL +1.6%, BHP +1.3%, STEM +6.6%, SIG +11.6%, DEO +4.8%, ORIT +3.4%,PMI +9.1%, RDN +7.5%, MTG +2.4%, FFIV +2.9%, DB +2.1%, ING +1.8%, STD +0.9%, UBS +0.7%,
Gapping down
GMCR -3.6%, GES -3.3%, AMAT -3.2%, OXBT -26.4%, RUE -11%, SIGM -10.4%, BP -2%, RCL -1.6%, GTAT -1.4%, SMTC -4.9%, AAPL -4.6%, SDRL -4.6%,
