STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday May 22

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday May 22, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 244
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2678 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2403 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2694
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

U.S. FUTURES &
MARKETS INDICATORS>
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 21, 2008

Dow... 12,601.19 -227.49 (-1.77%)
Nasdaq... 2,448.27 -43.99 (-1.77%)
S&P 500... 1,390.71 -22.69 (-1.61%)
Gold future... 928.60 +8.40 (+0.91%)
30-Year Bond 4.56% +0.03 (+0.57%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.82% +0.05 (+1.22%)






GOLD,EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact actionpost@legitgov.org

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

BY RYAN J. PUPLAVA, CMT

Oil inventories fell short of expectations last week. Supplies fell 5.32 million barrels to 320.4 million while analysts were anticipating a build. The market immediately responded and oil jumped on the release of the information and closed at $133.21 on the floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline also rose 9.19 cents to $3.3963 a gallon and heating oil rose 13.45 cents to $3.9095 a gallon -- despite a rise in refiner capacity to 87.9% utilization.

Now, the first look at this data one would think that this is an awesome day of victory for the energy bulls, of which I am. But the trader inside of me is saying, what a good opportunity to buy some puts or sell some covered calls on energy stocks in the midst of a 226 (400 plus if you count yesterday) point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDU). Somebody must be agreeing with me, because the Amex Oil Index (XOI) did an intra-day reversal and finished down on the day.

-chart-

.....

Unfortunately for us, precious metals and energy investors who place our bets in the companies that produce the commodity, sometimes we’re left open to stock market risk, and today is one of those days. The commodities are up, but the stock market is down and investors will liquidate in any sector to get cash if they get panicky. In addition, the short-term trade during March and April that acted on speculation the Federal Reserve would pause or begin raising interest rates to combat inflation should rear its head again based on the Federal Open Market Committee Minutes released today. I don’t believe in that short-cited thinking, yet it’s prevalent enough in mainstream investing that it will affect the markets and create noise that a long-term investor can either ignore or trade on.

You know what looks rather inviting? Alternative energy. Take a look at uranium prices – still sliding; yet stocks are starting to see some real buy signals light up this week with oil at $133. There is a major disconnect in uranium prices relative to any other energy commodity. I feel the same way about solar, wind, geothermal, and any other clean energy stock here with $133 oil after they had peaked in the fall of 2007. I wouldn’t advise anybody to go into the market and buy tomorrow, but a pullback in oil stocks over the next couple of weeks could provide ample opportunity to back up the truck in uranium and other alternative energy plays out there.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

08:30 Initial Claims 05/17
Briefing.com 370K
Consensus 372K
Prior 371K

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

01. U.S. 4-wk. avg. continuing jobless claims rise to 3.05 mln
8:30 AM ET, May 22, 2008

02. U.S. continuing jobless claims unchanged at 3.07 mln
8:30 AM ET, May 22, 2008

03. U.S. 4-wk. avg. initial jobless claims up 5,000 to 372,250
8:30 AM ET, May 22, 2008

04. U.S. weekly initial jobless claims fall 9,000 to 365,000
8:30 AM ET, May 22, 2008

03. U.S. Q1 OFHEO home prices down 1.7%
10:07 AM ET, May 22, 2008

BANGKOK, Thailand - Oil prices hit a record above $135 a barrel before falling back in Asia Thursday, with supply worries, rising global demand and a slumping dollar keeping crude futures on an upward track.

With gas and oil prices setting new records nearly every day, many analysts are beginning to wonder what might stop prices from rising. There are technical signals in the futures market, including price differences between near-term and longer-term contracts, that crude may soon fall. But with demand for oil growing in the developing world, and little end in sight to supply problems in producing countries such as Nigeria, few analysts are willing to call an end to crude's rally.

......

Crude prices blew past $130 on Wednesday amid concerns about demand, supplies and a weaker dollar, and then they just kept going. The rise accelerated when the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories fell by more than 5 million barrels last week. Analysts had expected a modest increase.

Late afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for July delivery was up $1.66 at $135.05 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Amid increasing public outcry over record-shattering oil and gas prices, senators on Wednesday hauled industry executives in to testify about the recent runup.

The Senate Judiciary Committee called the hearing to explore the skyrocketing price of oil, which jumped over $4 a barrel to a new record of over $133. The committee grilled executives from Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips Co., Shell Oil Co., Chevron and BP as to how their companies can in good conscience make so much money, while American drivers pay so much at the pump.

"You have to sense what you're doing to us - we're on the precipice here, about to fall into recession," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "Does it trouble any one of you - the costs you're imposing on families, on small businesses, on truckers?"

The executives said it did, and that they are doing all they can to bring new oil supplies to market, but that the fundamental reasons for the surge in oil prices are largely out of their control.

.....

The executives also frowned on a recently passed House bill giving the Justice Department the power to sue OPEC, saying it would have little effect in boosting production.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/21/news/economy/oil_hearing/index.htm?postversion=2008052112

Can anything stop runaway oil prices?

With prices for crude oil and gasoline setting records on a daily basis, many market watchers are beginning to wonder whether anything can stop energy's upward momentum—especially after oil futures not only passed $130 a barrel Wednesday for the first time, but kept going and shot past $134 during trading.

Gasoline, meanwhile, now costs more than an average of $3.80 a gallon nationally, is over $4 in Chicago and many other parts of the country and is expected to keep following oil higher.

.....

Oil's Wednesday move was fed in part by a report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, which said crude inventories fell by more than 5 million barrels last week. Analysts had expected a modest increase.

.....

Investors seized on the inventory report to boost prices Wednesday, but traders interested in pushing prices higher are increasingly picking and choosing which news they wish to pay attention to, analysts say.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-oil-may22,0,992237.story

---

Odd - everyone except speculators claims that speculation is leading the price of crude and gasoline higher.

... and everything except the War Machine...

American consumer and Congresscritters all to blame for high oil price.

While this headline was screaming the news at the bottom of the screen, CNBC Fast Money folk were speed talking about hedging bets to make money on oil trades.

Total disconnect.

Then we'll start the rationing:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/24725305
with video goodness.


Goodbye cheap plastic chinese crap - the bane of my existance. Well, one of many banes, I'm the irritable sort.

When I'm walking past a display full of neon plastic...whatever...oversized sunglasses, pimp hats, garden widgets, I always tell the Spousal Unit that they must think we're a nation of idiots or crazy people.

I guess I'll start a collection. In 5 years I can sell it on Ebay for a mint.

Although it's a bit pedantic, the main point was not lost on me.

The Chinese Government owns us. And not in a PWND!!! way either.

(It's a US production, Sundance 2005 or 2006, I think).

What's PWND?

(ed. First class photography and inspiring poetry, I thought at the time, BTW).

Pwn (/poʊn/, /puːn/, /pəʔˈoʊn/, /pɔːn/, /piˈoʊn/, /pwəʔˈn̩/) is a leetspeak slang term, derived from the word "own", that implies domination or humiliation of a rival, used primarily in the Internet gaming culture to taunt an opponent who has just been soundly defeated. Past tense is sometimes spelled pwnt (pronounced with a t sound), pwned, pwnd, pwn3d, or powned (with the standard d sound). Examples include "pwnage" or "you just got pwned".

In Internet security jargon, to "pwn" means "to compromise" or "to control", specifically another computer (server or PC), web site, gateway device, or application; it is synonymous with one of the definitions of hacking or cracking. An outside party who has "owned" or "pwned" a system has obtained unauthorized administrative control of the system.

Uh, mensaje recibido, gracias. Lo siento, sorry.

An internet chat language variety/version of the word "owned", used in the sence of beating/defeating/outclassing someone. Usually used in games such as Counter-strike or on messageboards when a user posts arguments or insults that can't possibly be counter-argued.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pwnd

I don't think this is only a US slang thing.

(I never chat or play inet games, i think).

:-(

I deal with kids so I am always encountering new terminlogy. The Urban dictionary helps.

(amongst others) please (and then show it to the kids)...

It's a good book... I thought so...

n/t

short list.

:hi:

05. ANWR drilling could begin in 2018, peak in 2028: DOE
10:00 AM ET, May 22, 2008

06. ANWR production could add 2.6B barrels to oil supply: DOE
10:00 AM ET, May 22, 2008

07. ANWR drilling could cut oil prices by $0.75 per barrel: DOE
10:00 AM ET, May 22, 2008

>>07. ANWR drilling could cut oil prices by $0.75 per barrel: DOE
10:00 AM ET, May 22, 2008<<

For a decrease of 75 cents per barrel we should drill in ANWR???

That's gotta be 75 cents per gallon, doesn't it? And when gasoline hits $12/gal, will 75 cents matter all that much?


Tansy Gold, shaking head.

and give up the last pristine area of the United States?

What are you, Tansy Gold - a miser? cruel?

Don't you think that EVERYONE should SACRIFICE something????

UIA

(there is no sarcasm/anger icon that covers my mood)

or as the magnet on my fridge says:

Life's a bitch, and so am I.


Tansy Gold



Admins -- we need a bigger :sarcasm:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Wednesday, posting their biggest losses in two weeks, amid fears the U.S. economy faces 1980s-style stagflation after the Federal Reserve slashed its economic growth forecasts while raising estimates for inflation.

Further fueling market concerns, oil prices surged further into uncharted territory, soaring over $4 a gallon, or 3.25 percent, to a record high close at $133.17, after U.S. government report showed a surprise drop in crude stockpiles.

.....
The Fed's warning on Wednesday led to a 2.6 percent fall in the S&P financials sub-index (.GSPF), its biggest drop in a month. The S&P financial sub-index is now 30 percent below its record high set a year ago.

In addition to its forecast on the economy, the Fed released the minutes from its last policy meeting, which signaled the central bank was unlikely to cut U.S. interest rates any time soon.

"The clear terminology about growth and inflation in the Fed's comments is like a bucket of cold water," said Peter Kenny, managing director at Knight Equity Markets in Jersey City, New Jersey.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080521/bs_nm/markets_stocks_dc

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell as crude oil's advance to more than $135 a barrel hurt transportation companies, overshadowing gains by fuel producers.

Qantas Airways Ltd., Australia's largest carrier, and Korean Air Lines Co. declined. China Cosco Holdings Co. led bulk- shipping companies lower after Credit Suisse Group cut its rating. Woodside Petroleum Ltd. climbed in Sydney and Nippon Oil Corp. gained in Tokyo on speculation crude prices will boost profits.

Asian governments are split on how to cope with energy costs, with some subsidizing expenses for consumers to contain inflation and others raising prices to lower the effect on their budgets.

``There is no immediate relief'' from rising oil prices, said John Praveen, U.S.-based chief investment strategist at the overseas investment-advisory unit of Prudential Financial Inc., which manages about $630 billion. ``That means that headline inflation is likely to remain high.'' Praveen spoke in Seoul.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 151.96 as of 4:18 p.m. in Tokyo, paring a 1.1 percent slump earlier. About three stocks dropped for every two that gained, and five of 10 industry groups declined.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 0.4 percent to 13,978.46, reversing an earlier loss of as much as 1.9 percent. Benchmarks elsewhere in Asia declined, apart from Australia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index in the U.S. rose 0.3 percent.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aQ6N7mJWU7Y8&refer=asia

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's export growth quickened more than economists estimated in April as shipments to Asia and emerging markets helped the nation weather the U.S. slowdown.

Exports, the driver of more than half of last quarter's expansion, rose 4 percent from a year earlier after climbing 2.3 percent in March, the Finance Ministry said today in Tokyo. The median estimate of 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 2.5 percent increase.

Shipments to the U.S. fell for an eighth month, extending the worst streak since 2004, as the yen gained and the housing recession stifled demand for cars and electronics in Japan's biggest market. Growth in China and a commodities boom in Russia and the Middle East have helped exporters including Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Komatsu Inc. resist the U.S. slump.

``There's a new global growth dynamic,'' Huw McKay, senior international economist at Westpac Banking Corp. in Sydney, said on Bloomberg Television. ``Japanese manufacturers are so diversified, they're in as good a position as any to take advantage of that.''

The yen traded at 102.84 per dollar at 12:24 p.m. in Tokyo from 103.07 before the report was published. The yield on Japan's 10-year bond rose 5 basis points to 1.655 percent.

Imports climbed 11.9 percent from a year earlier as oil prices surged to a record, narrowing the trade surplus by 46.3 percent to 485 billion yen ($4.7 billion), the ministry said. Economists expected a surplus of 739 billion yen.

U.S., China

Shipments to the U.S. fell 9.1 percent in April from a year earlier. Export growth to China accelerated to 14.1 percent last month from 3.1 percent in March. Shipments to Asia, where Japan ships about half its exports, rose 7.2 percent after gaining 1.8 percent a month earlier. Those to Europe climbed 1.3 percent.

``While exports to the U.S. will keep slumping because the country's economy is almost in a recession, exports to Asia and emerging countries will remain solid,'' said Mamoru Yamazaki, chief Japan economist at RBS Securities in Tokyo. ``With oil prices soaring, exports to the Middle East and Russia will remain strong.''

Fumio Ohtsubo, president of Matsushita Electric, last month said demand for Panasonic televisions in the Middle East and Russia will help profit climb 10 percent to a record in the year ending March 31.

Komatsu, Japan's largest maker of earthmovers, last month forecast a fifth year of record earnings, helped by sales of construction and mining equipment in China and resource-rich countries.

Profit Squeeze

Exports to emerging markets helped Japan's growth accelerate to an annual 3.3 percent pace last quarter.

Still, costlier raw materials and a stronger yen are squeezing profits even as exports grow. Crude oil has doubled in the past year and soared to a record $135.04 a barrel today. Japan imports virtually all of its oil.

``The main problem for Japan isn't the U.S., it's the terms of trade,'' said Westpac's McKay. ``Margins are under serious threat.''

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=aj.cebGk9wSk&refer=economy

TOKYO, May 22 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average clawed its way into positive territory on Thursday, rising 0.4 percent as Chiyoda Corp (6366.T: Quote, Profile, Research) gained on a brokerage upgrade while energy-related stocks came into favour after crude oil soared to a fresh record high above $135 per barrel.

The benchmark Nikkei had fallen almost 2 percent earlier in the day after U.S. stocks posted their biggest losses in two weeks on Wednesday amid fears about stagflation after the Federal Reserve slashed its economic growth forecasts while raising estimates for inflation.

The rebound came as a domestic fund was launched worth about 70 billion yen ($680 million) in Japanese stocks, which also helped spark short-covering, said Akihito Yamanoi, general manager at AIG Global Investment's Japan equity department.

"Investors were shocked and dumped stocks at the opening after the Dow lost more than 200 points, oil topped $132 a barrel and the yen firmed. But investors have now begun to feel comfortable buying due to supply and demand reasons," he said.

"Still, inflation worries in the United States, Europe and Japan seem to be capping the upside in the markets. High oil prices could trigger a slowdown in the global economy."

Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said the market went back to normal, helped by bulky buying in stocks and stock futures, even though the Nikkei started the day below the key 25-day moving average, which originally set a pessimistic mood for the day.

The Nikkei .N225 closed 52.16 points higher at 13,978.46, after starting the day at 13,772.65.

The broader Topix index added 0.7 percent or 9.58 points to 1,379.67.

Trade was moderate on the Tokyo exchange's first section, with 2.3 billion shares changing hands, compared with last week's daily average of 2.1 billion.

Advancing stocks beat declining ones by 951 to 631.

NIPPON OIL, ENERGY SHARES UP

Nippon Oil (5001.T: Quote, Profile, Research), Japan's largest oil distributor, and other energy-related shares rose after crude oil soared to a fresh record high above $135 per barrel on Thursday on fears of a supply crunch and a weaker dollar.

Shares of Nippon Oil climbed 5.3 percent to 833 yen, Nippon Mining Holdings (5016.T: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 4.2 percent to 720 yen and oil developer AOC Holdings (5017.T: Quote, Profile, Research) shot up 7 percent to 1,411 yen.

Trading houses also gained on higher oil prices as Japan's top trading firms invest heavily in overseas oil fields and mines.

Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 2.6 percent to 3,910 yen and Sumitomo Corp (8053.T: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 2.7 percent to 1,658 yen.

Chiyoda surged 8 percent to 1,027 yen, one of the biggest positive contributors to the Nikkei 225, after CLSA lifted its rating on the plant engineering firm two notches to "outperform" from "sell".

"Having passed the construction peak in Qatar, Chiyoda is starting to throw available manpower towards new orders," wrote analyst Takeaki Ueno, adding that he had raised his Chiyoda profit and order forecasts for this business year.

/.. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAT13663820080522?rpc=44&sp=true

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Shipping Corp. of India Ltd., the nation's biggest sea carrier, will borrow $1.3 billion to purchase more vessels to meet rising trade in the country.

The funds will pay for 28 vessels to be delivered within the next three years, its Chairman S. Hajara said in an interview in Mumbai yesterday. Most of the loans will be raised overseas as it's cheaper, Hajara said.

Shipping Corp. and other carriers including Nippon Yusen K.K. are increasing borrowing as the price of ships rise to a record. The Indian company also plans to start building ships as South Korean yards are booked out for the next three years.

``The high growth rate in India means increased activities in exports and imports,'' said Dharmakirti Joshi, an economist at the credit rating company Crisil Ltd., a unit of Standard & Poor's. ``The prospects for sea cargo are bullish in the long term.''

The Mumbai-based company needs money to expand as India's trade rises. India's exports in the fiscal year ended March 31 rose 23 percent to $155.5 billion while imports rose 27 percent to $236 billion, according to Indian government statistics. Almost 90 percent of India's trade is done through sea.

Nippon Yusen, Japan's largest shipping line, will this year increase borrowing from banks 11 percent to about $4 billion, the company said May 15.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aLxrhtKCkcBk&refer=asia

Thu May 22, 2008 4:25am EDT
PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) - European stocks dropped in early trade on Thursday, falling to a three-week low as inflation fears continued to rattle investors after a gloomy outlook by the Federal Reserve and a surge in oil prices.

But a rally in commodity-related stocks helped cushion the fall. Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) gained 1 percent, BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 0.7 percent and ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) added 1.6 percent.

At 0806 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.5 percent at 1,334.54 points, after falling to as low as 1,330.77 points, a level not seen since April 30.

"The current oil prices and the Fed that basically admitted they are going to pause are not good news for stocks," said Franz Wenzel, strategist at AXA Investment Managers, in Paris.

"But the pullback is not really a surprise. Stocks had been rallying since mid-March."

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed its U.S. economic growth forecast for 2008 and signalled that mounting concerns over inflation would make further interest rate cuts unlikely.

"The FOMC minutes reveal that the April rate cut was a close call. New economic projections show that the Fed is much more pessimistic on this year's growth and inflation rates," UniCredit said in a note to clients.

Oil vaulted to a high above $135 on Thursday, extending this month's near 20 percent rally after a steep fall in U.S. crude inventories and the weakening U.S. dollar triggered short covering by investors.

Airline stocks lost altitude again, tracking a selloff in the sector on Wall Street overnight on worries over high oil prices and after Lehman Brothers cut its price targets on eight U.S. airline companies, citing rising fuel costs and the prospect of a recession.

Air France (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), which posted a drop in 2007/08 net profit due to a provision, tumbled 9 percent, while Lufthansa (LHAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 3.2 percent and British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) lost 3.4 percent.

Banks were the heaviest negative weight on the market on Thursday, with UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) losing 2 percent. The Swiss lender launched a deeply discounted rights issue worth 16 billion Swiss francs ($15.55 billion), aiming to issue new stock at about a third below its latest market price.

Banking stocks have been hit over the past year by the U.S. subprime mortgage market that has forced financial institutions to write down assets and seek emergency capital injections.

UBS has lost 40 percent since the start of 2008, while the DJ Stoxx bank index has lost 20 percent over the same period, and the benchmark FTSEurofirst 300 index dropped 11 percent.

Germany's DAX index .GDAXI was down 0.7 percent on Thursday, UK's FTSE 100 index .FTSE flat and France's CAC 40 .FCHI down 0.7 percent.

/.. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL2249829720080522?rpc=44&sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, former chief executive of American International Group Inc (AIG.N), may face civil charges for his alleged role to improperly boost the insurer's financials, a spokesman for Greenberg said on Wednesday.

Greenberg received a "Wells notice" from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, indicating possible charges over his role in reinsurance transactions between AIG and Berkshire Hathaway's General Re Corp unit.

A Wells notice indicates that the SEC is considering civil charges, and gives the recipient a chance to mount a defense.

.....

The fraud accusations stem from a 2000 transaction in which AIG and General Re executives attempted to boost AIG's loss reserves to make the world's largest insurer look better to investors.

A former AIG executive and four former General Re executives, including Chief Executive Ronald Ferguson, were accused of conspiring to inflate AIG'S loss reserves by $500 million through fraudulent reinsurance transactions.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080521/bs_nm/aig_dc

There’s an old saying about the best way to travel: bring half the clothes and twice the money.

Now may be the time to take that advice to heart.

American Airlines said Wednesday that it would soon start charging passengers $15 to check their first bag each way, or $30 round-trip, if they are flying on a discounted fare.

The airline’s new policy — to take effect June 15 — comes only two weeks after many major carriers, including American, began charging $25 each way for checking a second bag.

.....

American Airlines executives said they had little choice but to impose such fees, given that the price of jet fuel is up more than 80 percent from a year ago.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/22air.html?em&ex=1211601600&en=43bef4a1b9d921ef&ei=5087%0A

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Moody's Corp., owner of the second- largest credit-rating company, faces increased government scrutiny after starting an internal probe into whether a computer error gave top rankings to securities that didn't deserve them.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said yesterday he is investigating New York-based Moody's for ``potential fraud'' in connection with a possible ``cover-up'' of inaccurate ratings. U.S. Senator Charles Schumer urged regulators to examine the matter and fine the company if it delayed disclosing the mistake to investors.

Moody's plunged the most in nine years yesterday after the ratings company said it is conducting ``a thorough review'' of whether a computer glitch caused it to assign Aaa rankings to about $4 billion of European securities that later fell in value. Blumenthal said his office was aware of possible errors before they were reported this week by the Financial Times.

.....

Some senior staff at Moody's ratings unit, Moody's Investors Service, were aware in early 2007 that constant proportion debt obligations, funds that used borrowed money to bet on credit-default swaps, should have been ranked as much as four levels lower, the FT reported. Moody's altered some assumptions to avoid having to assign lower grades after fixing the error, the FT said, citing internal Moody's documents.

After the report, Moody's said it began an investigation. The company also retained law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, according to a statement issued yesterday.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ar.8vyi373ZY&refer=home

From their website:

S&C’s securities litigators are among the most well respected in the legal profession by courts, regulators and adversaries alike. They are frequently called upon to serve in prominent government positions and have been fundamental in the evolution of the banking and securities laws of the United States. Leadership roles include service as the Former Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, a primary drafter of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the author of the Sarbanes-Oxley Deskbook, a three-volume guide hailed by Fortune Magazine as “the bible for securities lawyers.”

.....

The Firm regularly defends some of the world’s leading corporations and financial institutions in securities class action or other complex litigation. S&C lawyers also represent their clients in investigations and enforcement actions brought by the SEC or other regulators, which may be concurrent with private litigation. These investigations and lawsuits often involve allegations of violations of the federal securities laws, such as allegations of false or misleading disclosures to shareholders, insider trading and other types of financial fraud.

These are the metaphorical "Big Guns".

May 22 (Bloomberg) -- Cerberus Capital Management LP's $7.4 billion purchase of General Motors Corp.'s finance arm in 2006 also won control of a mortgage unit supplying a steady stream of cash to finance the auto lender. Then the home-loan money disappeared in a flood of subprime losses.

Now the GMAC LLC unit, Residential Capital LLC, is fighting to avoid bankruptcy. ResCap has been forced to stop making loans to borrowers with poor credit histories after losses of $5.3 billion during the past six quarters.

ResCap's problems have sucked time and money from what has become a $15 billion bet on selling cars and providing loans to the buyers. A year after it bought the 51 percent GMAC stake, New York-based Cerberus paid $7.4 billion for Chrysler LLC, including the carmaker's profitable auto-loan and leasing unit. Cerberus founder Stephen Feinberg now has to decide whether to inject more money into ResCap or let it die.

``At the time the deal was done, ResCap was the good part,'' said Tom Flaherty, a Philadelphia money manager at Aberdeen Asset Management Plc, which oversees more than $30 billion. His team owned ResCap bonds and sold them before they were cut to below investment grade. ``They're in an unexpected mess.''

Minneapolis-based ResCap said late yesterday bondholders tendered $8.6 billion of notes as part of its offer to exchange or buy back $14 billion of debt to help to stave off bankruptcy. The transaction gives ResCap time to come up with money to pay its debts and avoid a default.

Financing Needs

ResCap has said it may not be able to meet debt obligations unless it comes up with an additional $600 million by the end of June. Cerberus is unlikely to step in because it won't be able to recoup an additional investment given tight credit markets, said Sean Egan, managing director of Egan-Jones Rating Co. in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

``They're reducing their support by not stepping up when other parties have stepped up,'' he said. ``Cerberus has already made the decision that they can't keep pace with GMAC's needs.''

Brett Ingersoll, Cerberus's co-head of private equity, declined in an interview to comment directly on plans for ResCap. Gina Proia, a spokeswoman for GMAC in New York, also declined to comment.

Ingersoll said Cerberus is focused on making the auto- related strategy work. The company also owns Tower Automotive Inc., the maker of car and truck frames that filed for bankruptcy in 2005.

``Historically auto finance has done well, in up and in down markets,'' he said. ``We can be successful in troubled waters.''

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arMW36jHxP0Q&refer=home

:donut: and lurkers.
Today I would like to tune up the string section for Cerberus

:nopity::nopity::nopity::nopity: and play for them.....

Ring of Fire
Love is a burning thing
and it makes a firery ring
bound by wild desire
I fell in to a ring of fire...

I fell in to a burning ring of fire
I went down,down,down
and the flames went higher.
And it burns,burns,burns
the ring of fire
the ring of fire.

The taste of love is sweet
when hearts like our's meet
I fell for you like a child
oh, but the fire went wild..

I fell in to a burning ring of fire.....

And I must say, this couldn't happen to a better group of private investors. They will not be the only ones that will fall victim to the markets. Once some of these folks realize that they are just as susceptible to risk as the small investor, they should call for more transparency in investing, or at least realize the benefits of a healthy middle class. But if it goes like it has been-they will try to pull a Bear Sterns and want the government to bail them out. But the one thing that they will sadly come to realize is that the government cannot do that. It is the taxes and revenue generated by a healthy middle class that funds the government. And since there is now no healthy middle class-there is no one to bail them out. This is the end of the game. They killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. I hope they will pay heed to that cautionary tale....but I won't stay awake wondering about it-and I hope you don't either.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears

I love that!

lot's of these 'entitled' folks are going to be burned. It wasn't poor folk that jumped out of windows during the Crash. Food for thought.

I'll be more than glad to help!
:evilgrin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1pMeyy__r0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT72bL7xocM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-d5x-CiTUs&feature=related (of course (but listen to #1 first)).

/plenty more...

the frame-in on the girl lifting her tee-shirt in #3 is not in edition #1 (neither is the excellent imho intro where he sings, "you're probably not listening".

...think about it...

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 72.032 Change +0.140 (+0.19%)

US Dollar Sells Off as the Outlook for the Economy Worsens

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar_Sells_Off_as_1211406283042.html

The US dollar weakened across the board today as stronger economic data from around the world highlighted the underperformance of the US economy. Australian, German, Canadian and New Zealand economic data all surprised to the upside while MBA mortgage applications, which was the only number released from the US dropped 7.8 percent to match its year to date low. Despite the recent stability of US economic data, the outlook for the economy is still bleak. According to the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting, the Federal Reserve expects unemployment to increase significantly and growth to be much weaker than the January estimate. There are also little signs that the housing market is bottoming and any recovery could be fragile. Yet interestingly enough, the Fed still expects growth to rebound in the second half of the year. Their hope is that the stimulus checks and their more than 300bp of easing will finally hit the US economy. At the same time, inflation is becoming a growing problem, so much that the decision to cut by 25bp in April was a “close call.” In other words, the Federal Reserve is done with cutting interest rates. If they considered leaving rates unchanged last month, then there is nearly 100 percent chance they will pause in June. Fed fund futures are currently pricing in a 90 percent chance that rates will stay at 2.00 percent next month. These hawkish comments triggered a sharp wave of weakness in US equities that dragged nearly all of the carry trades lower. Tomorrow we are expecting jobless claims and the house price index. House prices in particular should be weak because they reflect the health of the most vulnerable parts of the US economy. There have been reports that home equity lines have been frozen or reduced by many banks. This could hurt the housing market even further by forcing the cancellation of many transactions.

...more...

Will the Australian Dollar Hit Parity?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/Will_the_Australian_Dollar_Hit_1211396993077.html

Who could have imagined that the value of one Australian dollar could be equal to one US Dollar? As recently as the beginning of this year, parity or an exchange rate of 1.0 still seemed like a far fetched idea because at the time, the Australian dollar was trading at 0.88 against the US dollar. Five months, 800 pips and 9 percent later, the AUD/USD is now within an arms reach of parity. Both the Canadian dollar and Swiss Franc have taken a stab at the same price level in the hopes of becoming more valuable than the US dollar, but only one of these currency pairs have been managed to be successful.

What is most impressive about the Australian dollar’s rally is the fact that it is coming at a time when the US Federal Reserve has reached the end of its monetary easing cycle. The AUD/USD pressed on to a new 24-year high above 0.96 thanks to rising commodity prices, a roaring economy and favorable yield differential. The big question now is if a move to parity is a done deal.

Reasons Why Parity Is Inevitable

Considering the unyielding strength of the AUD/USD’s advance, the market is looking at no shortage of reasons as to why the currency pair will reach parity. The primary support for bullish continuation is the divergence in economic activity between the Australian and US economies. Though the first quarter GDP reading has yet to be released for the Australian economy, the annualized pace of activity through the fourth quarter was running at a hearty 3.9 percent – a leader among most of its industrialized counterparts. On the other side of the world, the US economy has slowed to a crawl. Since the beginning of the year, annualized growth held at a 0.6 percent clip – matching the slowest rate of expansion in five years. What’s more, the outlook for economic activity is still heavily biased in Australia’s favor. While the Aussie economy is expected to stumble modestly due to slower consumer spending, the pace is not expected to slip substantially from its high-water market. On the other hand, there is still great debate surrounding the US economy and whether it will see negative growth or even a recession in the second half of the year.

Another reason why the AUD/USD should continue to rally comes from the combination of economic activity and inflation. Interest rate differentials are a primary valuation tool for the currency market; and few pairs enjoy as large and stable a gap as the AUD/USD. Indeed, looking at the chart below, the Australian currency has held a carry advantage over the greenback for many years. However, even when the differential was compressed with the Fed’s steady rate hikes from 2004 to 2006, the AUD/USD merely turned to consolidation. Now, we are seeing the carry potential at its highest level in years; and any rebound in risk appetite will direct carry interest to this economically-strong candidate. What’s more, the minutes from the latest RBA monetary policy meeting heavily alluded to the possibility of another rate hike in the near term – adding a level of hawkish speculation to an already significant yield advantage.

...more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080522/bs_nm/adelphia_rigas_sentencing_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge on Thursday will re-evaluate the prison sentences of Adelphia founder John Rigas and his son Timothy after an appeals court overturned one part of their convictions last year.

The pair, who were convicted by a jury in 2004 of concealing loans and stealing millions from the cable operator are currently serving prison terms of 15 and 20 years, respectively.

U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand in Manhattan will re-sentence the pair at noon, according to court documents.

The Rigases, who began serving their prison term last year, have voluntarily waived their right to appear in court for the re-sentencing, according to court documents.

After the Enron and WorldCom cases, Adelphia was one of the biggest corporate fraud prosecutions in recent years. The father and son, the company's former chief financial officer, were accused of looting the company to pay for personal land deals and vacation homes.

...more...

In May 2007, the U.S. appeals court in New York upheld the pair's convictions on 22 of 23 counts of conspiracy and securities and bank fraud. It reversed their conviction on one count of bank fraud, citing insufficient evidence

The Systemic Effects of Countrywide Going Bust…
Nouriel Roubini | May 21, 2008

It looks increasingly likely that the deal of Bank of America (BAC) buying Countrywide (CFC) may collapse: according to many banking experts once BAC does its due diligence on this deal it will become obvious that Countrywide is effectively bankrupt (negative equity) and saddled with a mountain of litigation and potential liabilities whose size are likely to be extremely large and uncertain. The point that is becoming clear is that BAC will be better off paying the modest break-up fee and walk away from a deal that sucks in every dimension. So if CFC goes bankrupt (its bank subsidiary into a FDIC receivership and the holding company into Chapter 7 liquidation) what will be the systemic implication of the biggest banking bust in US history? Remember that CFC originated almost 20% of all mortgages in the US in the last few years. So the collapse of the biggest mortgage lender will have massive and systemic ripple effects in financial markets.

Let us consider in more detail why Countrywide will go bust and what will be the systemic consequences of such massive bankruptcy…

Chris Whalen of Institutional Risk Analyst analyzed in a recent writing (under the title of “Why Bank of America + Countrywide Financial May Never Close”) why CFC is effectively bankrupt and why the BAC deal will not go through:

Now we look at the other prospect - namely a busted deal, a regulatory intervention and the sale of the bank sub by the FDIC as or after CFC enters bankruptcy…

Could it be that the torpor affecting some analysts, inertia which allowed them to believe that ratings for CFC actually would converge with those of BAC, has now ended? Did S&P and the rest of the ratings herd really believe a company facing hundreds of federal fraud, racketeering, truth-in-lending and other claims could be bought this side of a restructuring?

First, it becomes clear, to us at least, that BAC is unable to close the CFC transaction due to uncertainty regarding the target's liabilities. We know nothing new or specific here, but the delay added to the continuing disclosure to the effect that BAC cannot accept responsibility for the liabilities of CFC adds up to one thing, in our view: BAC (and its lawyers and accountants) is not willing to do a deal that leaves BAC shareholders facing a potentially staggering loss. A future write-down and likely restatement would ensure even more litigation and end the career of CEO Ken Lewis….

For BAC, a risky but better strategy than the course at hand may be to withdraw from the CFC merger, pay the $160 million breakup fee, and allow the entire company to slide into a managed default. As CFC's funding runs away, the OTS will be forced to invoke its statutory authority to appoint the FDIC as receiver of the insured bank subsidiary, thus precipitating a bankruptcy filing by CFC.

In the event, BAC and no doubt a crowd of other suitors will be standing by, waiting to bid for some or all of the bank's assets and liabilities in a competitive regulatory sale…

To that point, while retail depositors of Countrywide Bank FSB have little or no reason to be concerned in such a scenario, the jumbo depositors of CFC above the insured limit- if any remain - should take advice about their options. The jumbo deposit holders may or may not be paid immediately by the FDIC depending on their assessment of the bank's condition at the point of seizure.

Given the outline above, our view is that the equity of CFC is worth $0. This just again illustrates the point that price and value are not the same! The main point of this purely hypothetical discussion, however, is to illustrate the limited rights of shareholders and liability holders of bank holding companies, namely that the bank is subject to conservatorship by federal regulators in order to safeguard depositor funds. Bank depositors and the FDIC insurance fund are the senior creditors of any bank holding company, period. This places the full weight of losses at the parent holding company level on holders of equity and debt securities, in that order….

What are you waiting for?

If the BAC deal is not happening, then the only logical course is to pull the plug on the impossible dream of Ken Lewis, shoot the equity holders and get on with the CFC restructuring…

Just imagine the fun: Fed folks jaw boning, investors yowling, journalists wide eyed. A Chapter 7 against CFC will make for days of great headlines, maybe even congressional hearings and an interview with Maria on CNBC.

And a Chapter 7 filing by a creditor of CFC will prove once and for all that a large bank holding company can go through a market-based resolution without a subsidy from Washington.

The views of Whalen are – based on a survey I made of banking experts – shared by most bank analysts. On May 2nd S&P cut Countrywide's rating to junk; while on May 5th a number of analysts recommended that BAC walk away from this lousy deal. BAC is already sitting on a potential loss of about $1.3bn from its initial $2bn stake in CFC but as one analyst put it: "I hope Bank of America isn't throwing good money after bad".

Indeed foreclosures at CFC doubled to 1.44% of unpaid principal from last year; late payments advanced to 7.2% of unpaid balances from 4.6%; Countrywide's bank holds $61bn in deposits by end 2007, has already borrowed more than $51 billion from the Federal Home Loan Bank system and is now maxed out in its ability to borrow further. Moreover, about 75% of the $79.5 billion of loans held as long-term investments by Countrywide Bank are either option ARMs or home-equity loans.

Add to this the “hundreds of federal fraud, racketeering, truth-in-lending and other claims” that are in the pipeline and the billions and billions of implicit liabilities deriving from such tsunami of litigation.

So, unless a miracle occurs the BAC-CFC deal is now dead on arrival and CFC will end up bankrupt (the bank subsidiary into a FDIC receivership and the holding company into Chapter 7 liquidation).

Of course the bust of CFC is only a symptom of a much bigger systemic banking problem in the US: with 47% of the assets of all large US banks being related to real estate (residential, commercial, etc.) and with 67% of assets of smaller banks being related to real estate hundreds of smaller community banks and dozens of regional banks and a few national banks will be bankrupt in the likely scenario that home prices fall at least 20% (they are already down 14.7% from peak based on the Case and Shiller/S&P Index) and possibly as much as 30% by the time they bottom out in 2009-2010.

Of course hundreds of banks going belly up – this is the prediction of Whalen and most of the independent bank experts I spoke to in recent days – would lead to a systemic banking crisis. But in the short run the collapse of Countrywide alone (by far the biggest US mortgage lender) risks having systemic effects on financial markets, credit markets, credit derivative markets and equity markets.

Think of the morning where the headline goes “Biggest U.S. Mortgage Lender Goes Bust” and of the consequences of it. For the last couple of days equity markets have started to shed their recent complacency that the worst was behind us and that all was clear ahead: bad inflation news; lousy credit outlook for many financial institutions; oil at $130; and an economy contracting at a faster rate have brought a sober reality check to equity markets that had started to turn delusional after the bailout of Bear Stearns creditors. Now markets and investors are realizing that the financial storm is not over; rather we were for a short while in the eye of the storm where all looks calm right before the tempest starts raging again. So the worst is ahead of us – rather than behind us – for the economy and financial markets. And the coming bust of Countrywide will be one of the first signals that this year old financial crisis will get much worse before it gets any better.

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/252665/

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/19/pf/retirement/West_virginia_pensions.moneymag/?postversion=2008052014


Not too long ago on the Stock Market thread I mentioned the problem with underfunded state and local pension plans that will put the taxpayers on the hook. This problem will pit two groups of citizens against one another -- those that feel they should get their defined benefit pensions and those that feel they shouldn't have to pay for it through increased taxes and/or reduced services.

One of the reasons why folks are offered these perks is because teachers salaries are lower than comparable jobs in the business world. I initially took a 10K pay cut to go into School Nursing from a state teaching hospital. The salary difference now is 30K and had been for about 8 years and up until recently I have worked a part-time job-as do many teachers (in fact, working 4 days a month part time equaled my entire month's check when I first started school Nursing). Even this retirement perk does not keep teachers and especially Nurses in the school system. Within 3-5 years we lose most of the new hires to higher salaried jobs.

I worked in a teaching hospital that was also part of the TRS-so this retirement benefit does not just hit teachers-it hits many state workers-even Docs, Nurses, Professors at State Schools etc. You run the risk of a serious brain drain if this benefit is pulled.

My salary working as a school Nurse (and being a single mom) has never been enough to qualify me to buy a house, yet if I worked at a hospital, I earned enough to buy one out in suburbia. Teachers, unless they are married, frequently have similar problems. So if we can barely afford a home on most salaries, why would anyone think we could save for retirement too. A decent retirement package is a necessity to retain folks.

When I looked around for a job that would allow me to have more time to care for and raise my daughter, I opted for school Nursing. I also had enough fore site to realize that sacrificing some salary for a defined benefit pension plan was worthwhile. If most states choose to do away with their retirement package, they will have to come up with better compensation packets for teachers, as the pay in most states are substandard.

Right now, this year, we will be loosing many seasoned teachers and principals in our district. This is just the first of a big wave of retirements. We have fewer to take their places-and even fewer folks with experience.

"we can barely afford a home on most salaries, why would anyone think we could save for retirement too."

This is the core reason why 401(klepto) plans are just so much hot air.

If one's basic salary barely covers necessities, who cares if 401(k) contributions are tax deductible?

401(k)s just the 1%-ers way of easing their own conscience... It's yet another part of the whole bankrupt Up-by-the-bootstraps, "Supply Side", Trickle-down horse manure the Corporatist (And I include the Corporatist Dems in this)
have been trying to foist off on Labor for the last 30 or 40 years. Along with the asinine "Pay for Performance"
Kabuki dance. :grr:

Because I work for a non profit-we do not get any matching from our employers on a 403B-the state-like folks that get a matching from their employers.

If my spouse dies, I will not be able to get even Survivor's Social Security benefits even though I have, in my lifetime worked more than enough quarters to collect Social Security in my own right and this is a benefit that every widow and widower gets in this country. Since Bush and his Nazi accountants couldn't get away with 'privatizing' Social Security-they wanted to deny it to as many folks as they could so they tinkered with the law 2 years ago, so they picked on teachers and certain other state and municipal workers like firemen, police, and teachers. Most couples rely on both couple pensions' or SS to make it. Most women teachers made less than their hubby's and esp. if they worked at a school district that didn't contribute to SS-they have the choice of getting their smaller pension and losing all rights to spousal Social Security (which are normally larger than their pensions)or giving up their pension entirely. Yeah thanks for nothing.

So for all those years of hard work, scrimping and saving-you end up where most elderly women have always ended up in this country....in poverty and fighting your cat for the cat food.

I am working to save as much as I can but the comfort of my retirement depends on my being able to buy a house cash outright for 50K to to make it on BOTH our pensions. I have a 403B and have switched to a Roth for later investments because I know my pension will not be enough. I hate 401's and 403's because I have seen my accounts lose almost 1/4th of their value in a year and your ability to have a descent retirement should not hinge on the capriciousness of the Wall Street criminals, especially since they refuse any regulatory transparency.

over many, many years. That should have been invested wisely, so the kids wouldn't have to pay (again, more).

But (we feel) we were robbed.

In baseball, a triple play is the most coveted event for the defensive team. One, two, three, and the inning is over. It can save a pitcher, show case a team’s defensive abilities, shut down the offense, and most importantly win the game. Unfortunately, it appears the United States is on the offensive end of this triple play.

The Line Drive to Short: Oil Addicts

Goldman Sachs raised its forecast for the second half of the year to $141.00 a barrel.(1) Now, it appears that this may be on the low end of expectations. The United States is a nation of oil addicts. We cannot kick the habit. Currently, we are in a period where we will either one, check ourselves into rehabilitation by pushing the green energy themes and conserving the resources we have, or we will let the oil addiction kill us. With hat in hand, President Bush implored the Saudis to pump more oil. Thus far, the Saudis have responded with a mere 300,000 barrel increase.Mean-while,it is duly noted that large oil producers such as XOM, BP,andCOP are returning windfall profits to shareholders in the form of dividends.(2) Other companies like PQ and DNR are bound to hit a profit well beyond expectations.

While big oil receives a moral scolding from Congress, one cannot fault those who are making the best out of a supply and demand issue. In the 1970s and 80s, Green Energies never got the attention they deserved. By the 1990s no one cared as gas (adjusted for inflation) was near decade lows. Without foresight, and minimal amount of profitability, Green Energies remained a dream. Only now, when the addiction hurts are we turning to think of renewable resources. Be warned though, there are a number of .com type losers amid a winners. TAN may well be the safest play here, while other investors have been handsomely rewarded with home-runs like FSLR.

more....

http://seekingalpha.com/article/78423-the-triple-play-oil-addicts-the-credit-crunch-and-deflation

The alarm clock has been going off for some time and folks have insisted on hitting the snooze button. This is a good read.

May 22, 2008 -- Ben Bernanke's money machine is taking the summer off, leaving investors in a quandary that immediately triggered a stock rout yesterday.

Federal Reserve officials gave clear signals in documents released yesterday that inflation and runaway energy prices are too dangerous a threat to keep flooding our economy with cheap money.


Bernanke has lowered interest rates with eight months of rate cuts to push more money into the banking system in hopes of boosting growth - even though it lowers the greenback's value.

Some analysts say much of the new money, however, is being thrown into speculating on commodities and particularly crude oil, which is hovering near $134 a barrel.

more....

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05222008/business/fed__spigot_is_off_112035.htm

Wonder if the printing presses will take a vaca too.

from the "Gray Lady".

Comments, please?

(BTW, have most folks seen (the likes of) this (#7)?: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3321278#3322638 )

but they will continue to review the evidence.:hide:

Selma - An Indiana man is capitalizing on high oil prices with his own oil well - in his yard.

Greg Losh began drilling on his ten acre property for natural gas to heat his home and found it. Then he found more.

"Let's see if we can drill for oil. If there's gas here, there's got to be oil here," Losh said. "So, we drilled 300 feet deeper to see if we hit oil."

A camera shows where Losh and his fellow investors found oil, almost 1,300 feet below the surface. While he won't say how many barrels his well pumps each day, the $100,000 start-up cost will pay for itself in one year. The oil is pumped twice a day for 30 minutes into a tank, then it's sold.

Losh says his group of investors will drill four more wells nearby, confident that one of the nation's biggest oil fields in the late 1800's still has plenty of black gold. While he concedes that he's making money, Losh says there's another incentive for drilling at home.

more...

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=8348967

Make sure you own the mineral rights before you get out your shovels folks......:spray:

I wonder if we drilled a little deeper.

You can call me Jed.

You buy some land, you buy the surface only. What's (maybe) below (and above) belongs to "the Country" (or to "heaven".

As for "exploitation rights", mmmm, if not already, should be "nationalised", imho.

But then, your's has for some (not long) time been "cowboy country"... (which situation, we've (the majority) let go, so far.

BTW, did you notice, recently, they're now talking about likely "large" oil/gas deposits in the waters around the Malvinas (aka Falkland) Islands?

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2249493920080522

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - Delinquencies in U.S. subprime debt and higher-quality mortgages known as Alt-A securities are continuing to increase, Standard & Poor's said on Thursday.

Delinquencies for Alt-A mortgages rated between 2005 and 2007 are climbing, with total delinquencies rising as high as 17 percent in some cases, more than 6 percentage points higher than previous estimates, the ratings agency said in a report.

Lower-quality subprime mortgage delinquencies soared as high as 37 percent for mortgages originated in 2006, 4 percentage points higher than previous estimates, S&P said.

Subprime mortgages originated in 2007 saw delinquencies climb to almost 26 percent, 6 percentage points higher.

...more...

:wow:

http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSWNAS506520080522?sp=true

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it no longer expects to meet a long-held goal of returning to profitability in 2009 and would cut production through the remainder of this year to adjust to a slumping U.S. market.

Ford shares fell more than 5 percent in early trading.

In a statement, Ford said rising prices for commodities, particularly steel, and an accelerating consumer shift from larger trucks and sport utility vehicles would make it impossible to meet a key milestone in its efforts to turn around its loss-making North American operations.

Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally said the No. 2 U.S. automaker now expects to be "about break-even" in 2009, on a pretax basis and before special items, with strong results from Europe and South America.

"Unless there is a fairly rapid turnaround in U.S. business conditions, which we are not anticipating, it now looks like it will take longer than expected to achieve our North American Automotive profitability goal," Mulally said.

The lowered profit forecast could bring new pressure and investor scrutiny on Ford management at a time when billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian is tendering to buy more of the automaker's shares.

...more...

they wrote off 2008 a while back and now they're writing off 2009.

this is grim

:scared:

http://www.fasb.org/fasb_webcast_series/06-02-08_fasb_webcast.shtml

FASB is The Financial Accounting Standards Board.


INFO:

But thank you to all you stockmarketwatch posters, at least this 1 thread is rooted in reality.

I've been addicted to this thread for years. Great stuff. :toast:

Julie

he that has the gold, rules. We want to know who holds the strings-that has more of an effect on our lives than an election.

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSNYG00107520080522

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - Primary dealers submitted $46.13 billion of bids for the $75 billion of Treasuries offered on Thursday in the Federal Reserve's 28-day Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF) auction.

The bid-to-cover ratio, an indication of demand, was 0.62, compared with 0.79 at a $75 billion auction of this type in April.

Dealers can lend out the Treasuries in exchange for short-term cash loans in the $4.5 trillion U.S. repurchase market, to help shore up balance sheets that have been depleted by the credit crisis.

:wow:

:faint:

There's perceived value somewhere.

Dow 12,625.62 Up 24.43 (0.19%)
Nasdaq 2,464.58 Up 16.31 (0.67%)
S&P 500 1,394.35 Up 3.64 (0.26%)
10-Yr Bond 3.921% Up 0.099
NYSE Volume 3,957,877,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,939,862,625

4:15 pm : Stocks finished the session with a gain Thursday, reclaiming some of the losses seen in the previous two sessions. Despite some concerted selling efforts, the stock market spent most of its time in positive ground following plenty of corporate announcements.

In earnings news, Computer Sciences (CSC 48.19, +1.17), Limited Brands (LTD 18.85, +0.54), Hormel (HRL 39.39, -1.59), and GameStop (GME 48.85, -1.99) all announced better-than-expected earnings results for their most recent fiscal quarters and also issued outlooks that were in-line with analysts’ forecasts. Despite this, their shares traded in mixed fashion.

Shares of Ford Motor Company (F 7.16, -0.64) were shunned after the company announced plans to trim production of larger vehicles to focus on smaller models that match consumer preferences. Notably, Ford also trimmed its profit outlook.

In the financial sector, Swiss bank UBS (UBS 29.61, +0.27) will raise roughly $15 billion through a rights offering to its existing shareholders. The offering comes at a discount of about 31% to yesterday’s closing price. Shares traded higher on the news, helping lend support to the financial sector (+0.9%). The financial sector closed higher after posting losses in each of the last four sessions.

In merger news, NRG Energy (NRG 40.35, -2.16) has made a bid to acquire fellow utility Calpine (CPN 23.00, +1.72) in an all-stock merger, which values Calpine at $22.70 per share. Shares of Calpine traded higher to reflect the offer.

Crude oil prices took a breather after passing $135.00 per barrel in electronic trading, which marked another new record. Despite the run up, oil finished $2.43 lower at $130.74 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury Note fell out of favor Thursday, lifting its yield to 3.94% at one point, which is just a few basis points shy of the four-month high hit last week. The 10-year Treasury yield is still well below those seen one year ago.

On the economic front, initial jobless claims for the week ending May 17 fell by 9,000 to 365,000, which is below the 373,000 economists projected. The four-week moving average rose slightly to 372,250, but is essentially flat from previous averages.DJ30 +24.43 NASDAQ +16.31 SP500 +3.64 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1140/1721/1.93 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1395/1713/1.21 bln