Friday, April 30, 2010
FA..."Take Some Money Off the Table":
Rally Fails to Shake Ortel's Bearish View
Posted Apr 29, 2010 02:56pm EDT by Heesun Wee in Investing, Recession, Banking
Related: dia, spy, ^GSPC, tlt, tbt, GE, ^DJI
After the Fed reiterated its pledge to keep benchmark interest rates near zero for an "extended period" on Wednesday, some market watchers wonder: when will the easy-money end? Our guest Charles Ortel, managing partner at Newport Value Partners, is a vocal opponent of the Fed's policies and remain suspicious of the current rally, which resumed in earnest on Thursday.
"I don't know how much more patience foreign investors are going to have with this easy money policy," Ortel tells Aaron in the accompanying clip."Foreign investors are going to looking more and more askance at what they see going on in this country." (Click here for a prior segment with Ortel on what he calls the Obama administration's "war on capitalism.")
What happened to Dow 6,000? Ortel appeared on our show in November and said "forget Dow 11,000, it's looking more like Dow 6,000" and last summer said GE was heading for $2. Obviously, neither forecast has panned out.
While admittedly "early" in his calls, Ortel stresses that his clients are true long-term investors. And he rightly notes being ahead of the curve in urging investors to buy credit default protection on U.S. Treasuries back in August 2008.
"You see very clearly that sophisticated investors are more than concerned about the profligate, economically illiterate management of many governments around the world," he says. (For example, Ortel says a default may make a lot more sense than a huge IMF-EU bailout.)
Meanwhile, Ortel remains firm on his view that this rally will unravel. His advice to investors:
-- Take some money off the table now
-- Look outside America's borders and consider investments beyond traditional U.S. equities
Posted Apr 29, 2010 02:56pm EDT by Heesun Wee in Investing, Recession, Banking
Related: dia, spy, ^GSPC, tlt, tbt, GE, ^DJI
After the Fed reiterated its pledge to keep benchmark interest rates near zero for an "extended period" on Wednesday, some market watchers wonder: when will the easy-money end? Our guest Charles Ortel, managing partner at Newport Value Partners, is a vocal opponent of the Fed's policies and remain suspicious of the current rally, which resumed in earnest on Thursday.
"I don't know how much more patience foreign investors are going to have with this easy money policy," Ortel tells Aaron in the accompanying clip."Foreign investors are going to looking more and more askance at what they see going on in this country." (Click here for a prior segment with Ortel on what he calls the Obama administration's "war on capitalism.")
What happened to Dow 6,000? Ortel appeared on our show in November and said "forget Dow 11,000, it's looking more like Dow 6,000" and last summer said GE was heading for $2. Obviously, neither forecast has panned out.
While admittedly "early" in his calls, Ortel stresses that his clients are true long-term investors. And he rightly notes being ahead of the curve in urging investors to buy credit default protection on U.S. Treasuries back in August 2008.
"You see very clearly that sophisticated investors are more than concerned about the profligate, economically illiterate management of many governments around the world," he says. (For example, Ortel says a default may make a lot more sense than a huge IMF-EU bailout.)
Meanwhile, Ortel remains firm on his view that this rally will unravel. His advice to investors:
-- Take some money off the table now
-- Look outside America's borders and consider investments beyond traditional U.S. equities
FA...Stocks rise on earnings, drop in jobless claims; European debt problems remain a focus
Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writer, On Thursday April 29, 2010, 6:06 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks surged higher after another series of upbeat earnings reports and a reading on unemployment provided more evidence of an improving economy.
The Dow Jones industrials rose 122 points Thursday after the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. And companies including Motorola, Time Warner Cable and Starwood Hotels & Resorts reported earnings that topped analysts' forecasts.
It was the market's second straight winning day after a plunge Tuesday that took the Dow down 213. Greece's debt problems, one of the triggers for that slide, appeared less dire Wednesday and Thursday, and that allowed investors to focus on the growing signs of healing in the U.S.
The Labor Department said first-time claims dipped to 448,000, slightly above analysts' forecast of 445,000, according to Thomson Reuters. It was the second weekly drop and lifted hopes that layoffs are slowing.
Dealmaking and strong corporate earnings reports added to the growing optimism.
Hewlett-Packard Co. said late Wednesday it is buying smart phone maker Palm Inc. in an all-cash deal worth $1.4 billion. Acquisitions are a sign that the economy is recovering and companies are comfortable spending cash to build their businesses.
"Business are in a very strong position financially," said Doug Lockwood, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management in Auburn, Ind. Companies have built up big cash reserves that can not only go toward deals, but also eventually to hire back workers, Lockwood said.
Companies including Motorola, Time Warner Cable and Starwood Hotels & Resorts reported earnings that topped analysts' expectations, as have many other companies that announced first-quarter results in recent weeks.
"It just seems like the market is moving and moving and nothing is going to get in its way," said Steve Stahler, president of the Stahler Group Inc. in Baton Rouge, La.
On Friday, the government will give its first assessment of overall economic activity during the first quarter when it issues the gross domestic product. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast that the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, down from 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter. However, many economists have warned for months that the hectic pace at the end of 2009 would not be sustained, so a lower rate of growth won't be seen as a negative -- as long as it meets or beats expectations.
The Dow rose 122.05, or 1.1 percent, to 11,167.32, bringing its two-day advance to 175.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.42, or 1.3 percent, to 1,206.78, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 40.19, or 1.6 percent, to 2,511.92.
European stock markets rose Thursday after two days of steep declines. On Wednesday Spain became the third European country this week to see its debt rating slashed by Standard & Poor's, following Greece and Portugal.
There are concerns that debt problems will spread across the continent and slow a global economic recovery. The most pressing problems are in Greece, which is still trying to tap a bailout package worth nearly $60 billion. European Union officials said again Thursday that Greece would have access to the money that will help it avoid defaulting on debt payments next month. The downgrades of Greek and Portuguese debt on Tuesday sent indexes worldwide tumbling.
Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist of Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, said the Greece crisis is "the tip of the iceberg for the European Union."
The debt crisis has the potential to drag down a European economic recovery and lead to a collapse of the euro, a currency shared by 16 member nations, LeBas said. That could hurt the recovery in the U.S. and other countries as well.
Some analysts said investors were overreacting to the situation in Europe when they sent stocks tumbling Tuesday. But analysts also acknowledged that the market was due for a pullback after moving steadily higher for months. When stocks go in one direction for a sustained period of time, market watchers worry that investors are buying or selling indiscriminately.
Earnings were one of the primary drivers of stocks Thursday.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s profit jumped sharply as more people checked in its hotels, including the Sheraton, W, and Westin. Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., phone maker Motorola Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. also reported stronger earnings.
Dow component ExxonMobil Corp.'s profit rose during the quarter, but fell short of expectations. Exxon Mobil fell 53 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $68.66.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts rose $3.02, or 5.7 percent, to $56.29, while Bristol-Myers Squibb rose $1.03, or 4.2 percent, to $25.37. Motorola jumped 24 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $7.16 and Time Warner Cable rose $4.02, or 7.6 percent, to $57.15.
Hewlett-Packard shares fell 40 cents to $52.88, while Palm surged $1.21, or 26 percent, to $5.84.
About three shares rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.1 billion shares, down from 6.4 billion on Wednesday.
Bond prices rose slightly after an auction for $32 billion in seven-year Treasury notes. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.73 percent from late Wednesday's 3.77 percent.
Gold fell, while oil rose.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 15.35, or 2.1 percent, to 737.74.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.4 percent. Japan's market was closed for a holiday.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks surged higher after another series of upbeat earnings reports and a reading on unemployment provided more evidence of an improving economy.
The Dow Jones industrials rose 122 points Thursday after the Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. And companies including Motorola, Time Warner Cable and Starwood Hotels & Resorts reported earnings that topped analysts' forecasts.
It was the market's second straight winning day after a plunge Tuesday that took the Dow down 213. Greece's debt problems, one of the triggers for that slide, appeared less dire Wednesday and Thursday, and that allowed investors to focus on the growing signs of healing in the U.S.
The Labor Department said first-time claims dipped to 448,000, slightly above analysts' forecast of 445,000, according to Thomson Reuters. It was the second weekly drop and lifted hopes that layoffs are slowing.
Dealmaking and strong corporate earnings reports added to the growing optimism.
Hewlett-Packard Co. said late Wednesday it is buying smart phone maker Palm Inc. in an all-cash deal worth $1.4 billion. Acquisitions are a sign that the economy is recovering and companies are comfortable spending cash to build their businesses.
"Business are in a very strong position financially," said Doug Lockwood, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management in Auburn, Ind. Companies have built up big cash reserves that can not only go toward deals, but also eventually to hire back workers, Lockwood said.
Companies including Motorola, Time Warner Cable and Starwood Hotels & Resorts reported earnings that topped analysts' expectations, as have many other companies that announced first-quarter results in recent weeks.
"It just seems like the market is moving and moving and nothing is going to get in its way," said Steve Stahler, president of the Stahler Group Inc. in Baton Rouge, La.
On Friday, the government will give its first assessment of overall economic activity during the first quarter when it issues the gross domestic product. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast that the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.4 percent, down from 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter. However, many economists have warned for months that the hectic pace at the end of 2009 would not be sustained, so a lower rate of growth won't be seen as a negative -- as long as it meets or beats expectations.
The Dow rose 122.05, or 1.1 percent, to 11,167.32, bringing its two-day advance to 175.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15.42, or 1.3 percent, to 1,206.78, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 40.19, or 1.6 percent, to 2,511.92.
European stock markets rose Thursday after two days of steep declines. On Wednesday Spain became the third European country this week to see its debt rating slashed by Standard & Poor's, following Greece and Portugal.
There are concerns that debt problems will spread across the continent and slow a global economic recovery. The most pressing problems are in Greece, which is still trying to tap a bailout package worth nearly $60 billion. European Union officials said again Thursday that Greece would have access to the money that will help it avoid defaulting on debt payments next month. The downgrades of Greek and Portuguese debt on Tuesday sent indexes worldwide tumbling.
Guy LeBas, chief fixed income strategist of Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, said the Greece crisis is "the tip of the iceberg for the European Union."
The debt crisis has the potential to drag down a European economic recovery and lead to a collapse of the euro, a currency shared by 16 member nations, LeBas said. That could hurt the recovery in the U.S. and other countries as well.
Some analysts said investors were overreacting to the situation in Europe when they sent stocks tumbling Tuesday. But analysts also acknowledged that the market was due for a pullback after moving steadily higher for months. When stocks go in one direction for a sustained period of time, market watchers worry that investors are buying or selling indiscriminately.
Earnings were one of the primary drivers of stocks Thursday.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc.'s profit jumped sharply as more people checked in its hotels, including the Sheraton, W, and Westin. Drug maker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., phone maker Motorola Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. also reported stronger earnings.
Dow component ExxonMobil Corp.'s profit rose during the quarter, but fell short of expectations. Exxon Mobil fell 53 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $68.66.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts rose $3.02, or 5.7 percent, to $56.29, while Bristol-Myers Squibb rose $1.03, or 4.2 percent, to $25.37. Motorola jumped 24 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $7.16 and Time Warner Cable rose $4.02, or 7.6 percent, to $57.15.
Hewlett-Packard shares fell 40 cents to $52.88, while Palm surged $1.21, or 26 percent, to $5.84.
About three shares rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.1 billion shares, down from 6.4 billion on Wednesday.
Bond prices rose slightly after an auction for $32 billion in seven-year Treasury notes. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.73 percent from late Wednesday's 3.77 percent.
Gold fell, while oil rose.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 15.35, or 2.1 percent, to 737.74.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.4 percent. Japan's market was closed for a holiday.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
FA...Strong earnings help stocks bounce back after Spain's debt ratings latest to get slashed
Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writer, On Wednesday April 28, 2010, 6:13 pm
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors gave stocks a rebound after reassuring words from the Federal Reserve and another batch of upbeat earnings reports.
The Dow Jones industrials rose 53 points Wednesday, making back a quarter of the 213 they lost the previous day.
Investors were able to shake off Standard & Poor's downgrade of Spain's debt, the third European country in two days to have its rating lowered. Instead, they focused on the domestic economy.
In an economic assessment statement that accompanied the Fed's decision to keep interest rates stable, the central bank said the labor market is "beginning to improve" and it noted that housing starts have edged up. The statement, which came at the end of a two-day policymaking meeting, did say that employers are still reluctant to hire, but that came as no surprise to investors.
The Fed said it expects to keep rates low for an "extended period" to help strengthen the economy.
"The Fed essentially kicked the can down the road," said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial in Boston. Eventually the Fed will have to raise rates, but that might not happen now until early in 2011, White said.
But the Fed's view of the economy is actually more conservative than data suggests, White said. That's because it is concerned about European debt problems, White added, noting that a slowdown in Europe's economy could slow U.S. exports and affect the domestic recovery.
Earnings provided a boost to stocks throughout the day. Cable company Comcast Corp., defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. and Dow Chemical Co. were the latest companies to top earnings expectations.
Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City, said that improving sales at companies like Dow Chemical prove the economy is healing.
"It indicates consumers may be getting back on their feet," Courtney said.
The Dow rose 53.28, or 0.5 percent, to 11,045.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.65, or 0.7 percent, to 1,191.36, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.26, or 0.01 percent, to 2,471.73.
Wednesday's trading was far quieter than on Tuesday, when the market plunged on news that S&P slashed its credit ratings on Greece and Portugal. Greece's debt was cut to junk status, deepening the country's credit crisis.
"When you get some of these negative headlines, you will get a short-term negative pullback," said Brett D'Arcy, chief investment officer at CBIZ Wealth Management Group in San Diego.
European leaders calmed investors' nerves early Wednesday. They said Greece would receive bailout money in time to cover $11.3 billion in debt payments due on May 19.
German leaders said their country's portion of a nearly $60 billion bailout for Greece could be approved by the end of next week. Germany, the largest of the 16 countries that use the euro, has been demanding further spending cuts from Athens before it approves the bailout package.
Debt concerns across Europe have sent the euro sharply lower in the last few months. The euro traded in a narrow range against the dollar again on Wednesday, though it did touch its lowest level in a year earlier in the day.
Some analysts believe the debt problems could spread throughout the continent and hurt an economic recovery.
"Greece and Portugal will be Europe's subprime problem," said John Lekas, portfolio manager at Leader Capital in Portland, Ore.
After the close of trading, it was announced that Hewlett-Packard Co. was buying smart phone pioneer Palm Inc. for about $1 billion in cash. HP stock, which edged up 3 cents to $53.28 in regular trading, fell back to $52.93. Palm, which had closed down 2 cents at $4.63, shot up to $5.90, a 27 percent surge.
Dow Chemical rose $1.76, or 5.9 percent, to $31.83. Comcast rose 35 cents to $18.81, while Northrop Grumman rose $1.49, or 2.2 percent, to $68.67.
About three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.4 billion shares, down from 7.5 billion Tuesday.
Bond prices dipped after surging higher a day earlier. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.77 percent from 3.69 percent late Tuesday.
Gold and oil both rose.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.12, or 0.2 percent, to 722.39.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 1.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average tumbled 2.6 percent
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors gave stocks a rebound after reassuring words from the Federal Reserve and another batch of upbeat earnings reports.
The Dow Jones industrials rose 53 points Wednesday, making back a quarter of the 213 they lost the previous day.
Investors were able to shake off Standard & Poor's downgrade of Spain's debt, the third European country in two days to have its rating lowered. Instead, they focused on the domestic economy.
In an economic assessment statement that accompanied the Fed's decision to keep interest rates stable, the central bank said the labor market is "beginning to improve" and it noted that housing starts have edged up. The statement, which came at the end of a two-day policymaking meeting, did say that employers are still reluctant to hire, but that came as no surprise to investors.
The Fed said it expects to keep rates low for an "extended period" to help strengthen the economy.
"The Fed essentially kicked the can down the road," said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial in Boston. Eventually the Fed will have to raise rates, but that might not happen now until early in 2011, White said.
But the Fed's view of the economy is actually more conservative than data suggests, White said. That's because it is concerned about European debt problems, White added, noting that a slowdown in Europe's economy could slow U.S. exports and affect the domestic recovery.
Earnings provided a boost to stocks throughout the day. Cable company Comcast Corp., defense contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. and Dow Chemical Co. were the latest companies to top earnings expectations.
Tim Courtney, chief investment officer at Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City, said that improving sales at companies like Dow Chemical prove the economy is healing.
"It indicates consumers may be getting back on their feet," Courtney said.
The Dow rose 53.28, or 0.5 percent, to 11,045.27. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 7.65, or 0.7 percent, to 1,191.36, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.26, or 0.01 percent, to 2,471.73.
Wednesday's trading was far quieter than on Tuesday, when the market plunged on news that S&P slashed its credit ratings on Greece and Portugal. Greece's debt was cut to junk status, deepening the country's credit crisis.
"When you get some of these negative headlines, you will get a short-term negative pullback," said Brett D'Arcy, chief investment officer at CBIZ Wealth Management Group in San Diego.
European leaders calmed investors' nerves early Wednesday. They said Greece would receive bailout money in time to cover $11.3 billion in debt payments due on May 19.
German leaders said their country's portion of a nearly $60 billion bailout for Greece could be approved by the end of next week. Germany, the largest of the 16 countries that use the euro, has been demanding further spending cuts from Athens before it approves the bailout package.
Debt concerns across Europe have sent the euro sharply lower in the last few months. The euro traded in a narrow range against the dollar again on Wednesday, though it did touch its lowest level in a year earlier in the day.
Some analysts believe the debt problems could spread throughout the continent and hurt an economic recovery.
"Greece and Portugal will be Europe's subprime problem," said John Lekas, portfolio manager at Leader Capital in Portland, Ore.
After the close of trading, it was announced that Hewlett-Packard Co. was buying smart phone pioneer Palm Inc. for about $1 billion in cash. HP stock, which edged up 3 cents to $53.28 in regular trading, fell back to $52.93. Palm, which had closed down 2 cents at $4.63, shot up to $5.90, a 27 percent surge.
Dow Chemical rose $1.76, or 5.9 percent, to $31.83. Comcast rose 35 cents to $18.81, while Northrop Grumman rose $1.49, or 2.2 percent, to $68.67.
About three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.4 billion shares, down from 7.5 billion Tuesday.
Bond prices dipped after surging higher a day earlier. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.77 percent from 3.69 percent late Tuesday.
Gold and oil both rose.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.12, or 0.2 percent, to 722.39.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 1.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average tumbled 2.6 percent
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
You can't spend on borowed money and expect to be on your way to wealth accumulation......
-- "In the short run, markets are typically wrong – they do the wrong thing. In the long run, the fundamentals win out." -- “The fact the dollar is rising when it should be collapsing doesn't surprise me
FA...Stocks Plummet as Market Wakes Up to "Real Crisis," Says Peter Schiff
Stocks Plummet as Market Wakes Up to "Real Crisis," Says Peter Schiff
Posted Apr 27, 2010 04:39pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing, Recession, Banking
Related: ^dji, ^gspc, udn, uup, ^ftse, spy, ^ixic
Fear of a sovereign debt crisis in Europe resurfaced Tuesday, sending stocks tumbling around the globe. In the U.S. the Dow shed 213 points and the S&P lost 28 points. Meanwhile, gold rose to its highest level in 2 weeks, hitting $1165 per ounce at its intraday peak.
In other words, today was a great day for Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital.
"A lot of people were confused – they thought the market going up was somehow ratifying what the government had done – that the stimulus and bailouts were good and the economy was improving – it's not," Schiff says. "The economy is in worse shape than in 2008."
Rather than resolved the crisis, all we've done is papered over problems in the banking system with "phony accounting" and "dug ourselves deeper into debt," says Schiff, a longtime deficit hawk.
The crisis of 2008 was merely the "overture" to the "real crisis" Schiff (still) sees coming: "The real crisis is going to be a currency crisis, a funding crisis, a sovereign debt crisis – and that's when we have to pay the piper," he says. "We're in very bad shape. Sovereign credit risk in the U.S. is just as great -- if not greater than [in] Greece."
Even the most casual watchers of financial media know that Schiff has been saying much of the same thing for a long time now. Clearly, the U.S. stock market and the dollar have fared better in the past year than Schiff expected (at least judging by his public pronouncements).
But, as always, the Senate candidate and author remains undaunted and unbowed, as revealed by the following quotes:
-- "The market has rallied because it dropped so substantially," he says in the accompanying clip. The Dow lost 50% from its 2007 peak so "you're going to get some kind of short-covering bounce, especially when you have the Federal Reserve throwing money at the market."
-- "In the short run, markets are typically wrong – they do the wrong thing. In the long run, the fundamentals win out." -- “The fact the dollar is rising when it should be collapsing doesn't surprise me
-- it makes perfect sense; they same thing happened with dot.com stocks and condos in Vegas. The dollar is just as flawed and will collapse – it's only a question of when. The longer it takes to fall, the bigger the drop.”
Like his warnings about America's coming demise, Schiff’s investment thesis also remains the same: He's "trying to capitalize on better opportunities that exist abroad" by being long commodities like gold and sliver, agriculture, global resource producers and emerging market stocks, notably in China.
Schiff admits some of his stocks "have gotten beaten up in the last couple of days" as the global market, including in China, has shuddered. "But I'm not short-term focused; I'm looking at the big picture so I'm not too concerned," he says.
Posted Apr 27, 2010 04:39pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing, Recession, Banking
Related: ^dji, ^gspc, udn, uup, ^ftse, spy, ^ixic
Fear of a sovereign debt crisis in Europe resurfaced Tuesday, sending stocks tumbling around the globe. In the U.S. the Dow shed 213 points and the S&P lost 28 points. Meanwhile, gold rose to its highest level in 2 weeks, hitting $1165 per ounce at its intraday peak.
In other words, today was a great day for Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital.
"A lot of people were confused – they thought the market going up was somehow ratifying what the government had done – that the stimulus and bailouts were good and the economy was improving – it's not," Schiff says. "The economy is in worse shape than in 2008."
Rather than resolved the crisis, all we've done is papered over problems in the banking system with "phony accounting" and "dug ourselves deeper into debt," says Schiff, a longtime deficit hawk.
The crisis of 2008 was merely the "overture" to the "real crisis" Schiff (still) sees coming: "The real crisis is going to be a currency crisis, a funding crisis, a sovereign debt crisis – and that's when we have to pay the piper," he says. "We're in very bad shape. Sovereign credit risk in the U.S. is just as great -- if not greater than [in] Greece."
Even the most casual watchers of financial media know that Schiff has been saying much of the same thing for a long time now. Clearly, the U.S. stock market and the dollar have fared better in the past year than Schiff expected (at least judging by his public pronouncements).
But, as always, the Senate candidate and author remains undaunted and unbowed, as revealed by the following quotes:
-- "The market has rallied because it dropped so substantially," he says in the accompanying clip. The Dow lost 50% from its 2007 peak so "you're going to get some kind of short-covering bounce, especially when you have the Federal Reserve throwing money at the market."
-- "In the short run, markets are typically wrong – they do the wrong thing. In the long run, the fundamentals win out." -- “The fact the dollar is rising when it should be collapsing doesn't surprise me
-- it makes perfect sense; they same thing happened with dot.com stocks and condos in Vegas. The dollar is just as flawed and will collapse – it's only a question of when. The longer it takes to fall, the bigger the drop.”
Like his warnings about America's coming demise, Schiff’s investment thesis also remains the same: He's "trying to capitalize on better opportunities that exist abroad" by being long commodities like gold and sliver, agriculture, global resource producers and emerging market stocks, notably in China.
Schiff admits some of his stocks "have gotten beaten up in the last couple of days" as the global market, including in China, has shuddered. "But I'm not short-term focused; I'm looking at the big picture so I'm not too concerned," he says.
FA...US stocks follow European markets sharply lower as Portugal, Greece debt downgraded
Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writer, On Tuesday April 27, 2010, 5:59 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are again worried that debt problems in Greece and Portugal could threaten the global economic recovery.
Stocks plunged in the U.S. and Europe Tuesday after Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt of the two European countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 213 points, its biggest loss in almost three months. All the major market indexes were down about 2 percent.
The ratings downgrades also sent the dollar up more than 1.1 percent against the euro, hitting its highest level in about a year. At the same time, gold and Treasury prices rose as investors sought safer investments. The three often do not trade in the same direction.
"It was a knee-jerk reaction," said Brian Peardon, a wealth adviser at Harrison Financial Group in Citrus Heights, Calif. Peardon said the small size of Greece and Portugal's economies mean their debt struggles are not yet a major problem. But if they were to default on their debt, other countries that hold their bonds would also suffer.
Debt-strapped countries would also likely find it harder to spend more to stimulate their economies and help feed the global economic recovery.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's debt to junk status and lowered Portugal's debt two notches to A-minus from A-plus. Greece has already admitted it can't pay debts coming due shortly and it has asked for a bailout from European neighbors and the International Monetary Fund. And there are growing concerns about Portugal's ability to handle its debts.
Investors have been on edge for months about Greece's fiscal crisis even as they've sent stocks higher on signs of an improving U.S. economy. They have also been worried that Portugal could be the next European country to need help. That has undermined confidence in the euro, and raised questions about whether some of the 16 nations that share the currency might abandon it.
"This is a major test case for the euro," said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist with Prudential Financial. The European Union "needs a viable template on how to deal with these issues," Krosby added, noting that troubles extend beyond just Greece.
The drop in the euro can be a problem for U.S. companies that do business in Europe. When the dollar is up against the currency, the profits they earn in European countries translate to fewer dollars and can cause a dip in earnings.
Greece agreed last week to tap a rescue package from the euro nations and the International Monetary Fund. However, there are now worries that Greece won't have access to the money before it is forced to make a big debt repayment on May 19.
A setback in the European economic recovery "sends a U.S. recovery back and spreads to emerging markets," said Eric Thorne, an investment adviser at Bryn Mawr Trust Wealth Management in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
The debt problems have the potential "to have devastating effects," Thorne said. Thorne noted, however, he doesn't yet predict a worst-case scenario that would put a global recovery completely on hold.
Tuesday's downgrades overshadowed a jump in consumer confidence and the latest upbeat earnings reports from U.S. companies including 3M and Dupont. Still, many analysts, noting that the market has been going up almost relentlessly the past two months, have said stocks were due for a pullback.
The news about Greece and Portugal also drew some of the market's attention away from testimony by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and other top executives from the bank on Capitol Hill. The executives testified about the company's dealings in mortgage-backed securities during the credit crisis.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Goldman with civil fraud, accusing it of misleading investors about investments tied to subprime mortgages.
Goldman was actually one of the relatively few winning stocks Tuesday. Analysts said investors were reassured by the fact there were few new details in the testimony. The stock rose $1.01, or 0.7 percent, to $153.04.
The Dow fell 213.04, or 1.9 percent, to 10,991.99. It was the biggest drop for the average since it fell 268.37 on Feb. 4, also amid concerns about European debt problems.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 28.34, or 2.3 percent, to 1,183.71, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 51.48, or 2 percent, to 2,471.47.
Only 498 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while 2,592 fell. Volume came to a heavy 1.68 billion shares, compared with 1.2 billion Monday. It picked up markedly when news of the ratings downgrades came out.
Portugal's main stock index dropped 5.4 percent, while Greece's plummeted 6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.6 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 2.7 percent, and France's CAC-40 tumbled 2.8 percent.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, known as the market's fear gauge, surged 30.6 percent. It often jumps when investors become rattled. Still, at about 22, it is far below the 89 that it reached in October 2008, at the height of the financial crisis.
Bond prices surged as investors sought safety in U.S. government-backed debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite to its price, fell to 3.69 percent from 3.81 percent late Monday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 17.59, or 2.4 percent, to 721.27.
Dow components 3M Co. and Dupont Co. both reported better-than-expected first-quarter profits. The pair also boosted their earnings outlooks for the year based on improving sales and a rebounding economy.
3M shares rose 53 cents to $87.97, while DuPont dropped $1.55, or 3.7 percent, to $39.42.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index jumped to 57.9 in April. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast it would rise to 53.5.
On Wednesday, the market will be watching the Federal Reserve, which will end a two-day, rate-setting meeting. The Fed has said it plans to keep rates at historic lows for an extended time to help the recovery. However, eventually rates will need to climb to fight inflation as the economic rebound continues. Investors are hoping the Fed will hold off on raising rates for some time.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are again worried that debt problems in Greece and Portugal could threaten the global economic recovery.
Stocks plunged in the U.S. and Europe Tuesday after Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt of the two European countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 213 points, its biggest loss in almost three months. All the major market indexes were down about 2 percent.
The ratings downgrades also sent the dollar up more than 1.1 percent against the euro, hitting its highest level in about a year. At the same time, gold and Treasury prices rose as investors sought safer investments. The three often do not trade in the same direction.
"It was a knee-jerk reaction," said Brian Peardon, a wealth adviser at Harrison Financial Group in Citrus Heights, Calif. Peardon said the small size of Greece and Portugal's economies mean their debt struggles are not yet a major problem. But if they were to default on their debt, other countries that hold their bonds would also suffer.
Debt-strapped countries would also likely find it harder to spend more to stimulate their economies and help feed the global economic recovery.
Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's debt to junk status and lowered Portugal's debt two notches to A-minus from A-plus. Greece has already admitted it can't pay debts coming due shortly and it has asked for a bailout from European neighbors and the International Monetary Fund. And there are growing concerns about Portugal's ability to handle its debts.
Investors have been on edge for months about Greece's fiscal crisis even as they've sent stocks higher on signs of an improving U.S. economy. They have also been worried that Portugal could be the next European country to need help. That has undermined confidence in the euro, and raised questions about whether some of the 16 nations that share the currency might abandon it.
"This is a major test case for the euro," said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist with Prudential Financial. The European Union "needs a viable template on how to deal with these issues," Krosby added, noting that troubles extend beyond just Greece.
The drop in the euro can be a problem for U.S. companies that do business in Europe. When the dollar is up against the currency, the profits they earn in European countries translate to fewer dollars and can cause a dip in earnings.
Greece agreed last week to tap a rescue package from the euro nations and the International Monetary Fund. However, there are now worries that Greece won't have access to the money before it is forced to make a big debt repayment on May 19.
A setback in the European economic recovery "sends a U.S. recovery back and spreads to emerging markets," said Eric Thorne, an investment adviser at Bryn Mawr Trust Wealth Management in Bryn Mawr, Pa.
The debt problems have the potential "to have devastating effects," Thorne said. Thorne noted, however, he doesn't yet predict a worst-case scenario that would put a global recovery completely on hold.
Tuesday's downgrades overshadowed a jump in consumer confidence and the latest upbeat earnings reports from U.S. companies including 3M and Dupont. Still, many analysts, noting that the market has been going up almost relentlessly the past two months, have said stocks were due for a pullback.
The news about Greece and Portugal also drew some of the market's attention away from testimony by Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and other top executives from the bank on Capitol Hill. The executives testified about the company's dealings in mortgage-backed securities during the credit crisis.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Goldman with civil fraud, accusing it of misleading investors about investments tied to subprime mortgages.
Goldman was actually one of the relatively few winning stocks Tuesday. Analysts said investors were reassured by the fact there were few new details in the testimony. The stock rose $1.01, or 0.7 percent, to $153.04.
The Dow fell 213.04, or 1.9 percent, to 10,991.99. It was the biggest drop for the average since it fell 268.37 on Feb. 4, also amid concerns about European debt problems.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 28.34, or 2.3 percent, to 1,183.71, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 51.48, or 2 percent, to 2,471.47.
Only 498 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while 2,592 fell. Volume came to a heavy 1.68 billion shares, compared with 1.2 billion Monday. It picked up markedly when news of the ratings downgrades came out.
Portugal's main stock index dropped 5.4 percent, while Greece's plummeted 6 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.6 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 2.7 percent, and France's CAC-40 tumbled 2.8 percent.
The Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, known as the market's fear gauge, surged 30.6 percent. It often jumps when investors become rattled. Still, at about 22, it is far below the 89 that it reached in October 2008, at the height of the financial crisis.
Bond prices surged as investors sought safety in U.S. government-backed debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite to its price, fell to 3.69 percent from 3.81 percent late Monday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 17.59, or 2.4 percent, to 721.27.
Dow components 3M Co. and Dupont Co. both reported better-than-expected first-quarter profits. The pair also boosted their earnings outlooks for the year based on improving sales and a rebounding economy.
3M shares rose 53 cents to $87.97, while DuPont dropped $1.55, or 3.7 percent, to $39.42.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index jumped to 57.9 in April. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast it would rise to 53.5.
On Wednesday, the market will be watching the Federal Reserve, which will end a two-day, rate-setting meeting. The Fed has said it plans to keep rates at historic lows for an extended time to help the recovery. However, eventually rates will need to climb to fight inflation as the economic rebound continues. Investors are hoping the Fed will hold off on raising rates for some time.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Goldman Sucks............
"Reminiscences..." is an excellent book. The main character goes into detail about how crooked the stock market operators were, how the pools worked, how he went bankrupt on multiple occasions and stayed poor for years before coming back, how the government changed rules in the markets to bail out insiders and caused him losses, how to "be right and busted", i.e., get cleaned out because you were too leveraged and your timing was wrong, how no one ever beats the stock market, how the game never changes because people do not change...The fabled trader eventually committed suicide. His life story is a cautionary tale if ever there was one, but the suckers all think it sounds like great fun.
Jesse Livermore shorted the market. He didn't create toxic assets he bet against. Goldman Sucks did. Goldman Sucks deliberately made toxic assets and sold them and shorted them knowing they'll fail. Oh, and took the entire world down. What a self-serving diagnosis.
Jesse Livermore shorted the market. He didn't create toxic assets he bet against. Goldman Sucks did. Goldman Sucks deliberately made toxic assets and sold them and shorted them knowing they'll fail. Oh, and took the entire world down. What a self-serving diagnosis.
TA..."Don't Fight the Tape," Jon Markman Says: Classic Advice That's "Very Relevant" Today
Posted Apr 26, 2010 03:27pm EDT by Aaron Task in Investing
Related: ^DJI, ^GSPC, SPY, DIA, GS, XLF, QQQQ
Ask any Wall Street trader over a certain age (say 22) what books help readers best understand the market and "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" is certain to come up.
Written in 1923 by Edwin Lefèvre, "Reminiscences" is the fictionalized account of real-life speculator Jesse Livermore, who made and lost several massive fortunes in the early part of the 20th century, most famously by shorting the market in 1929.
"The newspapers all blamed the crash on Jesse Livermore -- he was heavily short [and] made a fortune," says Jon Markman, Marketwatch columnist and author of a new annotated version of LeFevre's investing classic, which marries actual events with the fictionalized account.
If that "blame the shorts" mantra sounds a lot like the current brouhaha over the role John Paulson, Goldman Sachs, and others allegedly played in the 2008 credit crisis, it's no coincidence, Markman says. "There is nothing new on Wall Street."
Although the original "Reminiscences" was written in 1923, "all the events in that are described in that book have analogs to what's happening today," he continues. "All of the advice that's given by the great Jesse Livermore...is as fresh today as when it was articulated in 1923."
Although Livermore was a noted short-seller, he was fond of saying, "When you're in a bull market, you have to trade with the bulls," says the very bullish Markman. "That's something very relevant today. Jesse Livermore would say: ‘As long as the trend is up, you got to stay with that trend. Don't fight the tape.'"
Related: ^DJI, ^GSPC, SPY, DIA, GS, XLF, QQQQ
Ask any Wall Street trader over a certain age (say 22) what books help readers best understand the market and "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" is certain to come up.
Written in 1923 by Edwin Lefèvre, "Reminiscences" is the fictionalized account of real-life speculator Jesse Livermore, who made and lost several massive fortunes in the early part of the 20th century, most famously by shorting the market in 1929.
"The newspapers all blamed the crash on Jesse Livermore -- he was heavily short [and] made a fortune," says Jon Markman, Marketwatch columnist and author of a new annotated version of LeFevre's investing classic, which marries actual events with the fictionalized account.
If that "blame the shorts" mantra sounds a lot like the current brouhaha over the role John Paulson, Goldman Sachs, and others allegedly played in the 2008 credit crisis, it's no coincidence, Markman says. "There is nothing new on Wall Street."
Although the original "Reminiscences" was written in 1923, "all the events in that are described in that book have analogs to what's happening today," he continues. "All of the advice that's given by the great Jesse Livermore...is as fresh today as when it was articulated in 1923."
Although Livermore was a noted short-seller, he was fond of saying, "When you're in a bull market, you have to trade with the bulls," says the very bullish Markman. "That's something very relevant today. Jesse Livermore would say: ‘As long as the trend is up, you got to stay with that trend. Don't fight the tape.'"
FA...S&P dips as profit fears hit banks; CAT lifts Dow
On Monday April 26, 2010, 4:30 pm EDT
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Monday as bank shares fell on fears that financial reform making its way through Congress will curb profits, while Caterpillar's strong results buoyed the Dow.
A proposal to overhaul financial regulation that could restrict lucrative derivatives trading was expected to face a crucial Senate test vote on Monday and weighed on financial shares.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM - News) fell 2.3 percent to $43.89 and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News) slipped 2.1 percent to $18.05. The KBW bank index (Philadelphia:^BKX - News) dropped 3.1 percent.
"Most of the big banks' profits come from trading and if you restrict their trading profits, that's going to restrict their overall profits," said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California.
"The regional banks will be hurt the most because they can't make up the cost of the fees the financial reform is going to charge them."
But Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT - News) shares rose after the heavy machinery maker raised its full-year profit forecast and said "economic conditions are definitely improving." The stock gained 4.2 percent to $71.65, keeping the Dow industrials afloat in positive territory.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) edged up 0.75 point, or 0.01 percent, to close at 11,205.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) dropped 5.23 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,212.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) lost 7.20 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,522.95.
On the New York Stock Exchange, nearly eight shares fell for every seven that rose, while on the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by a ratio of about 14 to 13.
Shares of health insurer Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM - News) fell 4.3 percent to $43.56 over the fallout from the recently passed health reform law and on profit-taking after the company posted a strong earnings report.
The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index (AMEX:^HMO - News) tumbled 2.7 percent and all its components were negative.
Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C - News) fell 5.1 percent to $4.61 after the U.S. Treasury said it would begin selling part of the 27 percent stake it holds in the bank after $45 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts.
Positive corporate earnings and a flurry of deals pushed some stocks sharply higher.
Whirlpool Corp (NYSE:WHR - News) jumped 10 percent to close at $112.42. Earlier, Whirlpool's stock hit an all-time high at $118.44 after the world's largest appliance maker reported earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year profit view.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ - News) said it agreed to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc (NYSE:DTG - News) for about $1.2 billion, while Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - News), the U.S. clinical research company, said it plans to acquire Shanghai-based WuXi PharmaTech Inc (NYSE:WX - News) for $1.6 billion.
Dollar Thrifty's stock gained 10.9 percent to $43.07, while shares of acquirer Hertz shot up 14.1 percent to $14.69.
In the pharmaceutical research realm, the U.S.-listed shares of WuXi surged 17.1 percent to $19.41, while the stock of acquirer Charles River Laboratories slid 15.6 percent to $33.55.
In the financial services sector, a stock transaction was in the news. Stifel Financial Corp (NYSE:SF - News) will acquire rival Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc (NasdaqGM:TWPG - News) for about $300 million in stock, the companies announced.
Stifel Financial's stock slipped 2.4 percent to $54.41 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Thomas Weisel shares soared 68.1 percent to $7.33 on Nasdaq.
About 9.31 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged lower on Monday as bank shares fell on fears that financial reform making its way through Congress will curb profits, while Caterpillar's strong results buoyed the Dow.
A proposal to overhaul financial regulation that could restrict lucrative derivatives trading was expected to face a crucial Senate test vote on Monday and weighed on financial shares.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM - News) fell 2.3 percent to $43.89 and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News) slipped 2.1 percent to $18.05. The KBW bank index (Philadelphia:^BKX - News) dropped 3.1 percent.
"Most of the big banks' profits come from trading and if you restrict their trading profits, that's going to restrict their overall profits," said Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California.
"The regional banks will be hurt the most because they can't make up the cost of the fees the financial reform is going to charge them."
But Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT - News) shares rose after the heavy machinery maker raised its full-year profit forecast and said "economic conditions are definitely improving." The stock gained 4.2 percent to $71.65, keeping the Dow industrials afloat in positive territory.
The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) edged up 0.75 point, or 0.01 percent, to close at 11,205.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) dropped 5.23 points, or 0.43 percent, to 1,212.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) lost 7.20 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,522.95.
On the New York Stock Exchange, nearly eight shares fell for every seven that rose, while on the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by a ratio of about 14 to 13.
Shares of health insurer Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM - News) fell 4.3 percent to $43.56 over the fallout from the recently passed health reform law and on profit-taking after the company posted a strong earnings report.
The Morgan Stanley healthcare payor index (AMEX:^HMO - News) tumbled 2.7 percent and all its components were negative.
Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C - News) fell 5.1 percent to $4.61 after the U.S. Treasury said it would begin selling part of the 27 percent stake it holds in the bank after $45 billion in taxpayer-funded bailouts.
Positive corporate earnings and a flurry of deals pushed some stocks sharply higher.
Whirlpool Corp (NYSE:WHR - News) jumped 10 percent to close at $112.42. Earlier, Whirlpool's stock hit an all-time high at $118.44 after the world's largest appliance maker reported earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year profit view.
Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NYSE:HTZ - News) said it agreed to buy Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc (NYSE:DTG - News) for about $1.2 billion, while Charles River Laboratories International (NYSE:CRL - News), the U.S. clinical research company, said it plans to acquire Shanghai-based WuXi PharmaTech Inc (NYSE:WX - News) for $1.6 billion.
Dollar Thrifty's stock gained 10.9 percent to $43.07, while shares of acquirer Hertz shot up 14.1 percent to $14.69.
In the pharmaceutical research realm, the U.S.-listed shares of WuXi surged 17.1 percent to $19.41, while the stock of acquirer Charles River Laboratories slid 15.6 percent to $33.55.
In the financial services sector, a stock transaction was in the news. Stifel Financial Corp (NYSE:SF - News) will acquire rival Thomas Weisel Partners Group Inc (NasdaqGM:TWPG - News) for about $300 million in stock, the companies announced.
Stifel Financial's stock slipped 2.4 percent to $54.41 on the New York Stock Exchange, while Thomas Weisel shares soared 68.1 percent to $7.33 on Nasdaq.
About 9.31 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65 billion.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)
Monday, April 26, 2010
How To Speak about God When He Hurts Us
John Piper
The book of Lamentations is the heart-cry of Jeremiah when he and his people were being hurt by God, and by their enemies, and by their own sin. How he speaks of this divine hurting shows us some of the various ways we may speak about God in our own pain. If we affirm them all, then not one of them will be taken amiss.
The Lord directly does the hurting (2:1-4).
"The Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! . . . The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; . . . He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; . . . he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around. . . . 4 He has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion."
The enemies have done the hurting and God has exalted their might (2:16-17).
"All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry. . . . The Lord has done what he purposed; . . . he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes."
The enemy has done the hurting, as if the Lord were not watching! (1:9-11; 3:49-50).
Her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. 'O Lord , behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed! . . . Look, O Lord, and see, for I am despised.' . . . My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees."
The hurting happens as if by God's "forgetting" and "forsaking" them (5:20).
"Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?"
The Lord will repay the enemies who did the hurting on earth (3:64).
"You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands."
The Lord will follow his hurting with compassion (3:32).
"Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love."
God's hurting us is not "from his heart"—not his deepest delight (3:33).
"He does not willingly [literally "from his heart" millibboi] afflict or grieve the children of men."
In his hurting the Lord shows mercy every morning (3:22-23).
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
God's decisive mercy is his causing the erring people to repent; he removes the cause of his own wrath (5:21).
"Cause us to return (hasibenu) to yourself, O Lord, and we will return (wunasub)! Renew our days as of old."
When God is hurting us, wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord (3:26).
"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him."
In and after God's hurting us, he is our only hope and portion (3:24).
"'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'"
Pastor John
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
The book of Lamentations is the heart-cry of Jeremiah when he and his people were being hurt by God, and by their enemies, and by their own sin. How he speaks of this divine hurting shows us some of the various ways we may speak about God in our own pain. If we affirm them all, then not one of them will be taken amiss.
The Lord directly does the hurting (2:1-4).
"The Lord in his anger has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud! . . . The Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; . . . He has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; . . . he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around. . . . 4 He has killed all who were delightful in our eyes in the tent of the daughter of Zion."
The enemies have done the hurting and God has exalted their might (2:16-17).
"All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry. . . . The Lord has done what he purposed; . . . he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes."
The enemy has done the hurting, as if the Lord were not watching! (1:9-11; 3:49-50).
Her fall is terrible; she has no comforter. 'O Lord , behold my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed! . . . Look, O Lord, and see, for I am despised.' . . . My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees."
The hurting happens as if by God's "forgetting" and "forsaking" them (5:20).
"Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?"
The Lord will repay the enemies who did the hurting on earth (3:64).
"You will repay them, O Lord, according to the work of their hands."
The Lord will follow his hurting with compassion (3:32).
"Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love."
God's hurting us is not "from his heart"—not his deepest delight (3:33).
"He does not willingly [literally "from his heart" millibboi] afflict or grieve the children of men."
In his hurting the Lord shows mercy every morning (3:22-23).
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
God's decisive mercy is his causing the erring people to repent; he removes the cause of his own wrath (5:21).
"Cause us to return (hasibenu) to yourself, O Lord, and we will return (wunasub)! Renew our days as of old."
When God is hurting us, wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord (3:26).
"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him."
In and after God's hurting us, he is our only hope and portion (3:24).
"'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'"
Pastor John
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
FA...Administration says direct costs from financial bailouts could be as low as $87 billion
Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer, On Friday April 23, 2010, 7:51 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is telling Congress that the administration believes the final cost of the government's heavily criticized financial bailout effort could be as low as $87 billion.
Geithner made the new estimate in a letter Friday to congressional leaders that was obtained by The Associated Press.
A year ago, officials were estimating the bailout could cost as much as $500 billion.
The new estimate said the biggest losses will occur from the government's support of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That loss was put at $85 billion followed by a loss of $49 billion from providing help to homeowners facing the threat of losing their homes through foreclosures.
Treasury estimates the cost of Fannie and Freddie's rescue will rise to $188 billion, but that amount will be offset by dividends paid by the two mortgage giants over 10 years and returns on mortgage-backed securities purchased by the government. With those two sources of income taken into account, the net cost is expected to be $85 billion.
Geithner's letter estimated that the government would lose $48 billion through the support provided to insurance giant American International Group and another $28 billion would be lost through the billions of dollars in assistance provided to General Motors, Chrysler and their auto financing arms.
The biggest offset to those losses will be earnings of $115 billion that the administration expects the Federal Reserve to realize from the extraordinary assistance it has given to provide liquidity to the financial system.
The new estimates, which President Barack Obama is expected to cite in his weekly radio address on Saturday, are part of the administration's intensified lobbying campaign to get Congress to pass sweeping financial overhaul legislation.
Democrats have set an initial showdown vote for next Monday on legislation pending in the Senate. The House has already passed its version of what would be the most sweeping overhaul of the financial system since the 1930s.
"The cost of stabilizing the financial system is likely to be significantly lower than previously expected," Geithner wrote in the letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
He said that the administration was estimating a year ago that the effort to support the financial system would cost more than $500 billion, or 3.5 percent of the total economy, as measured by the gross domestic product. He said the new lower estimate would be the equivalent of less than 1 percent of GDP.
He said because of the lower costs, the federal deficit and the total national debt will be lower than earlier projections. Administration officials said the costs could fall even further as it prepares updates to the bailout costs included in the budget Obama sent to Congress in early February.
In his letter, Geithner included some revised estimates that the administration had already released along with new projections in some areas.
The administration had already lowered the cost of the $700 billion bailout program, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, to $117 billion. That covers the losses from the auto, AIG and the mortgage foreclosure programs and earnings of up to $11 billion from several other programs under TARP.
In addition to the $117 billion in TARP losses, the administration is estimating losses of $85 billion from the support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those two categories of losses would be offset by the $115 billion in earnings the administration expects will be realized from the Fed's support programs.
AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is telling Congress that the administration believes the final cost of the government's heavily criticized financial bailout effort could be as low as $87 billion.
Geithner made the new estimate in a letter Friday to congressional leaders that was obtained by The Associated Press.
A year ago, officials were estimating the bailout could cost as much as $500 billion.
The new estimate said the biggest losses will occur from the government's support of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That loss was put at $85 billion followed by a loss of $49 billion from providing help to homeowners facing the threat of losing their homes through foreclosures.
Treasury estimates the cost of Fannie and Freddie's rescue will rise to $188 billion, but that amount will be offset by dividends paid by the two mortgage giants over 10 years and returns on mortgage-backed securities purchased by the government. With those two sources of income taken into account, the net cost is expected to be $85 billion.
Geithner's letter estimated that the government would lose $48 billion through the support provided to insurance giant American International Group and another $28 billion would be lost through the billions of dollars in assistance provided to General Motors, Chrysler and their auto financing arms.
The biggest offset to those losses will be earnings of $115 billion that the administration expects the Federal Reserve to realize from the extraordinary assistance it has given to provide liquidity to the financial system.
The new estimates, which President Barack Obama is expected to cite in his weekly radio address on Saturday, are part of the administration's intensified lobbying campaign to get Congress to pass sweeping financial overhaul legislation.
Democrats have set an initial showdown vote for next Monday on legislation pending in the Senate. The House has already passed its version of what would be the most sweeping overhaul of the financial system since the 1930s.
"The cost of stabilizing the financial system is likely to be significantly lower than previously expected," Geithner wrote in the letter to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate.
He said that the administration was estimating a year ago that the effort to support the financial system would cost more than $500 billion, or 3.5 percent of the total economy, as measured by the gross domestic product. He said the new lower estimate would be the equivalent of less than 1 percent of GDP.
He said because of the lower costs, the federal deficit and the total national debt will be lower than earlier projections. Administration officials said the costs could fall even further as it prepares updates to the bailout costs included in the budget Obama sent to Congress in early February.
In his letter, Geithner included some revised estimates that the administration had already released along with new projections in some areas.
The administration had already lowered the cost of the $700 billion bailout program, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, to $117 billion. That covers the losses from the auto, AIG and the mortgage foreclosure programs and earnings of up to $11 billion from several other programs under TARP.
In addition to the $117 billion in TARP losses, the administration is estimating losses of $85 billion from the support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Those two categories of losses would be offset by the $115 billion in earnings the administration expects will be realized from the Fed's support programs.
AP Real Estate Writer Alan Zibel contributed to this report.
FA...Regulators shut down 7 banks in Illinois; 57 closures for the year
Stevenson Jacobs, AP Business Writer, On Friday April 23, 2010, 8:32 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Regulators on Friday shut down seven banks in Illinois, putting the number of U.S. bank failures this year at 57.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over four banks in Chicago: New Century Bank, with $485.6 million in assets; Citizens Bank&Trust Company, with $77.3 million in assets; Broadway Bank, with $1.2 billion in assets; and Lincoln Park Savings Bank, with $199.9 million in assets.
The FDIC also took over Amcore Bank of Rockford, which had $3.8 billion in assets; Peotone Bank and Trust Company in Peotone, with $130.2 million in assets; and Wheatland Bank of Naperville, with $437.2 million in assets.
MB Financial Bank agreed to acquire the deposits of both Broadway Bank and New Century Bank. Republic Bank of Chicago agreed to assume Citizens' deposits, while Chicago-based Harris National Association agreed to acquire Amcore Bank's deposits.
Northbrook Bank and Trust Company of NorthBrook agreed to acquire the deposits of Lincoln Park Savings Bank. First Midwest Bank of Itasca agreed to assume Peotone Bank and Trust's deposits. Wheaton Bank & Trust will acquire the deposits of Wheatland Bank.
The failure of Broadway Bank is expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund $394.3 million. For the other banks, the estimated costs are: Amcore Bank, $220.3 million; New Century Bank, $125.3 million; Citizens Bank&Trust Company, $20.9 million; Lincoln Park Savings Bank, $48.4 million; Peotone Bank and Trust Company, $31.7 million; and Wheatland Bank, $133 million.
Broadway Bank was owned by the family of Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat who is running for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. The bank was heavy into real estate loans and lost $75 million last year.
There were 140 bank failures in the U.S. last year, the highest annual tally since 1992 at the height of the savings and loan crisis. They cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008 and only three succumbed in 2007.
The number of bank failures likely will peak this year and will be slightly higher than in 2009, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said recently.
As losses have mounted on loans made for commercial property and development, the growing bank failures have sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year, hitting a $20.9 billion deficit as of Dec. 31.
The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list jumped to 702 in the fourth quarter from 552 three months earlier, even as the industry squeezed out a small profit. Still, nearly one in every three banks reported a net loss for the latest quarter.
The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to grow to about $100 billion over the next four years.
The agency mandated last year that banks prepay about $45 billion in premiums, for 2010 through 2012, to replenish the insurance fund.
Depositors' money -- insured up to $250,000 per account -- is not at risk, with the FDIC backed by the government. Apart from the fund, the FDIC has about $66 billion in cash and securities available in reserve to cover losses at failed banks.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Regulators on Friday shut down seven banks in Illinois, putting the number of U.S. bank failures this year at 57.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over four banks in Chicago: New Century Bank, with $485.6 million in assets; Citizens Bank&Trust Company, with $77.3 million in assets; Broadway Bank, with $1.2 billion in assets; and Lincoln Park Savings Bank, with $199.9 million in assets.
The FDIC also took over Amcore Bank of Rockford, which had $3.8 billion in assets; Peotone Bank and Trust Company in Peotone, with $130.2 million in assets; and Wheatland Bank of Naperville, with $437.2 million in assets.
MB Financial Bank agreed to acquire the deposits of both Broadway Bank and New Century Bank. Republic Bank of Chicago agreed to assume Citizens' deposits, while Chicago-based Harris National Association agreed to acquire Amcore Bank's deposits.
Northbrook Bank and Trust Company of NorthBrook agreed to acquire the deposits of Lincoln Park Savings Bank. First Midwest Bank of Itasca agreed to assume Peotone Bank and Trust's deposits. Wheaton Bank & Trust will acquire the deposits of Wheatland Bank.
The failure of Broadway Bank is expected to cost the FDIC's deposit insurance fund $394.3 million. For the other banks, the estimated costs are: Amcore Bank, $220.3 million; New Century Bank, $125.3 million; Citizens Bank&Trust Company, $20.9 million; Lincoln Park Savings Bank, $48.4 million; Peotone Bank and Trust Company, $31.7 million; and Wheatland Bank, $133 million.
Broadway Bank was owned by the family of Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, a Democrat who is running for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. The bank was heavy into real estate loans and lost $75 million last year.
There were 140 bank failures in the U.S. last year, the highest annual tally since 1992 at the height of the savings and loan crisis. They cost the insurance fund more than $30 billion. Twenty-five banks failed in 2008 and only three succumbed in 2007.
The number of bank failures likely will peak this year and will be slightly higher than in 2009, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said recently.
As losses have mounted on loans made for commercial property and development, the growing bank failures have sapped billions of dollars out of the deposit insurance fund. It fell into the red last year, hitting a $20.9 billion deficit as of Dec. 31.
The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem" list jumped to 702 in the fourth quarter from 552 three months earlier, even as the industry squeezed out a small profit. Still, nearly one in every three banks reported a net loss for the latest quarter.
The FDIC expects the cost of resolving failed banks to grow to about $100 billion over the next four years.
The agency mandated last year that banks prepay about $45 billion in premiums, for 2010 through 2012, to replenish the insurance fund.
Depositors' money -- insured up to $250,000 per account -- is not at risk, with the FDIC backed by the government. Apart from the fund, the FDIC has about $66 billion in cash and securities available in reserve to cover losses at failed banks.
FA...Stocks climb on home sales; Dow posts 8th straight weekly gain for first time since 2004
Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writer, On Friday April 23, 2010, 6:25 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors expecting a pullback in stocks -- and there are plenty of them -- are going to have to wait. As of Friday the Dow Jones industrial average marked its longest winning streak in more than six years.
Stocks climbed again Friday after a strong report on new home sales offset mixed news from corporate earnings reports. Investors were also keeping a cautious eye fixed on Greece's ongoing debt problems after the country decided to tap a bailout program.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day higher for the 11th time in the past 12 trading days. Friday's 70-point gain wrapped up the index's eighth straight weekly rise, which matches its longest string of gains since a two-month stretch that ended in January 2004.
Analysts have been saying for weeks that the market could be primed for a pullback, yet it still hasn't materialized.
"It's been quite a run," said Stephen Carl, head of equity trading at The Williams Capital Group in New York. Carl said momentum could be slowing after stocks have been on a nearly unbroken path upward over the past two months.
The Dow is up 8.5 percent during its two-month climb. The pattern of slow, steady gains leads analysts to believe that investors are becoming less discerning in their stock picking, leaving the market vulnerable if sentiment shifts for the worse.
"The market is trying to sort out how overbought it is," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global in Chicago. "That's left us in a choppy state."
Volume has been low during the stretch, which analysts say is proof that investors are not fully confident that the gains are built on a solid foundations.
Despite that skepticism, stocks continued their recent pattern of slow but steady climbs upward Friday.
The Dow rose 69.99, or 0.6 percent, to 11,204.28 on Friday, closing near its high for the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.61, or 0.7 percent, to 1,217.28, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.08, or 0.4 percent, to 2,530.15.
The gains followed another report showing the economy is getting better. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes jumped 27 percent in March, bouncing off a record low in February. It was the best month since July and the biggest monthly increase in 47 years. However much of the recent big gains in home sales were likely fueled by customers who are trying to qualify for federal tax credits that will expire at the end of this month.
Friday was the second straight day the sector got good news. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes also rose last month.
Joe Heider, principal at Rehmann in Cleveland, said the home sales report is a strong indication that consumers are growing more confident about the economy.
"We're seeing that people have the confidence to make the biggest purchase of their lives," Heider said. "And that bodes well for the markets."
Shares of homebuilders including PulteGroup Inc. and Lennar Corp. rose sharply as hopes grew that the troubled housing sector may finally be on the mend. Housing has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in the economy, helping to the economy into recession in late 2007.
Gold and oil rose after the housing report, pushing shares of energy and materials stocks higher throughout the day.
Before the housing report, major indexes were slightly lower following mixed earnings from two Dow components. There was also skepticism that the latest effort to resolve Greece's debt problems would work out in the long term.
Dow components Microsoft Corp. and Travelers Cos. both fell after their quarterly results failed to impress investors. Travelers fell 41 cents to $53.38. Microsoft's shares fell 43 cents to $30.96.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq was hurt by a disappointing earnings outlook from Amazon.com Inc. Its shares fell $6.46, or 4.3 percent, to $143.63.
Homebuilders were the big gainers on the day. Pulte shares rose 71 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $13.19. Lennar jumped 79 cents, or 4 percent, to $20.53.
Five stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 5.4 billion shares, versus 6 billion shares Thursday.
In Europe, stock indexes rose after Greek officials said they would tap a rescue package from the 15 other countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund. The move gives Greece better interest rates on its debt than it would be able to get from private investors.
Some remained skeptical, however, if the bailout would provide a long-term solution to Greece's debt woes. Investors also expect that other weak European countries such as Portugal may require help, further undermining confidence in the euro, Europe's shared currency.
The euro did rebound late in the day against the dollar after touching its lowest level in a year against the U.S. currency earlier Friday.
Bond prices fell as investors moved into stocks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.82 percent from 3.78 percent late Thursday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.61, or 1 percent, to 741.92.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.3 percent.
For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 185.62, or 1.7 percent, at 11,204.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25.15, or 2.1 percent, to 1,217.28. The Nasdaq composite index is up 48.89, or 2 percent, at 2,530.15.
The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of small company stocks, rose 27.30, or 3.8 percent, to 741.92.
The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index -- which measures nearly all U.S.-based companies -- rose 288.83 points, or 2.3 percent, to 12,607.66.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors expecting a pullback in stocks -- and there are plenty of them -- are going to have to wait. As of Friday the Dow Jones industrial average marked its longest winning streak in more than six years.
Stocks climbed again Friday after a strong report on new home sales offset mixed news from corporate earnings reports. Investors were also keeping a cautious eye fixed on Greece's ongoing debt problems after the country decided to tap a bailout program.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day higher for the 11th time in the past 12 trading days. Friday's 70-point gain wrapped up the index's eighth straight weekly rise, which matches its longest string of gains since a two-month stretch that ended in January 2004.
Analysts have been saying for weeks that the market could be primed for a pullback, yet it still hasn't materialized.
"It's been quite a run," said Stephen Carl, head of equity trading at The Williams Capital Group in New York. Carl said momentum could be slowing after stocks have been on a nearly unbroken path upward over the past two months.
The Dow is up 8.5 percent during its two-month climb. The pattern of slow, steady gains leads analysts to believe that investors are becoming less discerning in their stock picking, leaving the market vulnerable if sentiment shifts for the worse.
"The market is trying to sort out how overbought it is," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global in Chicago. "That's left us in a choppy state."
Volume has been low during the stretch, which analysts say is proof that investors are not fully confident that the gains are built on a solid foundations.
Despite that skepticism, stocks continued their recent pattern of slow but steady climbs upward Friday.
The Dow rose 69.99, or 0.6 percent, to 11,204.28 on Friday, closing near its high for the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.61, or 0.7 percent, to 1,217.28, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.08, or 0.4 percent, to 2,530.15.
The gains followed another report showing the economy is getting better. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes jumped 27 percent in March, bouncing off a record low in February. It was the best month since July and the biggest monthly increase in 47 years. However much of the recent big gains in home sales were likely fueled by customers who are trying to qualify for federal tax credits that will expire at the end of this month.
Friday was the second straight day the sector got good news. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes also rose last month.
Joe Heider, principal at Rehmann in Cleveland, said the home sales report is a strong indication that consumers are growing more confident about the economy.
"We're seeing that people have the confidence to make the biggest purchase of their lives," Heider said. "And that bodes well for the markets."
Shares of homebuilders including PulteGroup Inc. and Lennar Corp. rose sharply as hopes grew that the troubled housing sector may finally be on the mend. Housing has been one of the hardest-hit sectors in the economy, helping to the economy into recession in late 2007.
Gold and oil rose after the housing report, pushing shares of energy and materials stocks higher throughout the day.
Before the housing report, major indexes were slightly lower following mixed earnings from two Dow components. There was also skepticism that the latest effort to resolve Greece's debt problems would work out in the long term.
Dow components Microsoft Corp. and Travelers Cos. both fell after their quarterly results failed to impress investors. Travelers fell 41 cents to $53.38. Microsoft's shares fell 43 cents to $30.96.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq was hurt by a disappointing earnings outlook from Amazon.com Inc. Its shares fell $6.46, or 4.3 percent, to $143.63.
Homebuilders were the big gainers on the day. Pulte shares rose 71 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $13.19. Lennar jumped 79 cents, or 4 percent, to $20.53.
Five stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 5.4 billion shares, versus 6 billion shares Thursday.
In Europe, stock indexes rose after Greek officials said they would tap a rescue package from the 15 other countries that use the euro and the International Monetary Fund. The move gives Greece better interest rates on its debt than it would be able to get from private investors.
Some remained skeptical, however, if the bailout would provide a long-term solution to Greece's debt woes. Investors also expect that other weak European countries such as Portugal may require help, further undermining confidence in the euro, Europe's shared currency.
The euro did rebound late in the day against the dollar after touching its lowest level in a year against the U.S. currency earlier Friday.
Bond prices fell as investors moved into stocks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.82 percent from 3.78 percent late Thursday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.61, or 1 percent, to 741.92.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.3 percent.
For the week, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 185.62, or 1.7 percent, at 11,204.28. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25.15, or 2.1 percent, to 1,217.28. The Nasdaq composite index is up 48.89, or 2 percent, at 2,530.15.
The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of small company stocks, rose 27.30, or 3.8 percent, to 741.92.
The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index -- which measures nearly all U.S.-based companies -- rose 288.83 points, or 2.3 percent, to 12,607.66.
Friday, April 23, 2010
FA...Stocks recover after Obama speech on financial reform; upbeat home sales report lifts builders
Stephen Bernard and Tim Paradis, AP Business Writers, On Thursday April 22, 2010, 5:43 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market recovered from early losses and closed modestly higher Thursday after President Barack Obama's speech on financial reform contained no unpleasant surprises.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 9 points after being down about 108. Broader indexes also turned higher.
The market fell sharply early in the day as Greece's debt problems worsened and on fears that Obama would advocate tough restrictions on banks. When he didn't, stocks recovered.
Prices also got a boost from a jump in sales of existing homes last month.
In a speech in New York, Obama said the economy is recovering quickly but the progress needs to be felt more deeply among the millions of unemployed Americans. He has blamed Wall Street for helping push the country into recession. Obama gave a speech in support of his efforts to pass legislation that would overhaul financial markets.
The Senate could debate the financial overhaul bill next week. The House has already passed its own version.
Investors were rattled early in the day by news about Greece. The country's borrowing costs surged again when Europe's statistics agency found that Greece's budget deficit last year was even larger than previously thought. The findings pushed Greece closer to tapping loans from 15 European countries and the International Monetary Fund. Moody's Investor Services downgraded Greece's debt and said more downgrades could be coming.
"It rings the alarm bell at least in the very short-term," said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co., referring to the latest problems in Greece.
Greece's debt crisis has undermined confidence in Europe's shared currency, the euro, and raised the troubling possibility that other weak European economies such as Portugal may also need to be bailed out.
Investors sent homebuilder stocks higher after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose 6.8 percent last month after falling 0.8 percent in February. Sales of previously occupied homes had been expected to rise 5.2 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.
Stocks have been climbing steadily over the past 13 months, and the gains in the past two months have come with very few breaks. Many analysts have been expecting a break in the market's ascent, which would be in keeping with historical patterns. As occurred Thursday, most recent drops have faded quickly as buyers step in.
The Dow rose 9.37, or 0.1 percent, to 11,134.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.73, or 0.2 percent, to 1,208.67, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 14.46, or 0.6 percent, to 2,519.07.
Bond prices fell, lifting yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.78 percent from 3.74 percent late Wednesday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold fell.
Crude oil rose 2 cents to $83.70 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Labor Department reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dipped to 456,000 last week, after rising unexpectedly the past couple of weeks. The drop was about in line with expectations.
Homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. rose 25 cents, or 4 percent, to $6.57. KB Home rose $1.12, or 6.3 percent, to $18.87.
Stronger corporate earnings reports in the past two weeks have brought an important signal that the economy is recovering. But not all the numbers have been as strong as investors would like.
Shares of eBay Inc. fell $1.51, or 5.7 percent, to $24.78 after the online auction house's profit forecast fell short of what analysts had been expecting.
Profits at mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. missed analysts' forecasts. The stock fell $1.96, or 13.1 percent, to $12.99. Dow component Verizon Communications Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings but the stock fell after the company brought in fewer new customers than predicted. Verizon fell 28 cents, or 1 percent, to $29.28.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6 billion shares compared with 5.7 billion Wednesday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.12, or 1.1 percent, to 734.31.
Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 1 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.3 percent.
NEW YORK (AP) -- The stock market recovered from early losses and closed modestly higher Thursday after President Barack Obama's speech on financial reform contained no unpleasant surprises.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 9 points after being down about 108. Broader indexes also turned higher.
The market fell sharply early in the day as Greece's debt problems worsened and on fears that Obama would advocate tough restrictions on banks. When he didn't, stocks recovered.
Prices also got a boost from a jump in sales of existing homes last month.
In a speech in New York, Obama said the economy is recovering quickly but the progress needs to be felt more deeply among the millions of unemployed Americans. He has blamed Wall Street for helping push the country into recession. Obama gave a speech in support of his efforts to pass legislation that would overhaul financial markets.
The Senate could debate the financial overhaul bill next week. The House has already passed its own version.
Investors were rattled early in the day by news about Greece. The country's borrowing costs surged again when Europe's statistics agency found that Greece's budget deficit last year was even larger than previously thought. The findings pushed Greece closer to tapping loans from 15 European countries and the International Monetary Fund. Moody's Investor Services downgraded Greece's debt and said more downgrades could be coming.
"It rings the alarm bell at least in the very short-term," said Steven Goldman, chief market strategist at Weeden & Co., referring to the latest problems in Greece.
Greece's debt crisis has undermined confidence in Europe's shared currency, the euro, and raised the troubling possibility that other weak European economies such as Portugal may also need to be bailed out.
Investors sent homebuilder stocks higher after the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose 6.8 percent last month after falling 0.8 percent in February. Sales of previously occupied homes had been expected to rise 5.2 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.
Stocks have been climbing steadily over the past 13 months, and the gains in the past two months have come with very few breaks. Many analysts have been expecting a break in the market's ascent, which would be in keeping with historical patterns. As occurred Thursday, most recent drops have faded quickly as buyers step in.
The Dow rose 9.37, or 0.1 percent, to 11,134.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.73, or 0.2 percent, to 1,208.67, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 14.46, or 0.6 percent, to 2,519.07.
Bond prices fell, lifting yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.78 percent from 3.74 percent late Wednesday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold fell.
Crude oil rose 2 cents to $83.70 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Labor Department reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dipped to 456,000 last week, after rising unexpectedly the past couple of weeks. The drop was about in line with expectations.
Homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. rose 25 cents, or 4 percent, to $6.57. KB Home rose $1.12, or 6.3 percent, to $18.87.
Stronger corporate earnings reports in the past two weeks have brought an important signal that the economy is recovering. But not all the numbers have been as strong as investors would like.
Shares of eBay Inc. fell $1.51, or 5.7 percent, to $24.78 after the online auction house's profit forecast fell short of what analysts had been expecting.
Profits at mobile phone maker Nokia Corp. missed analysts' forecasts. The stock fell $1.96, or 13.1 percent, to $12.99. Dow component Verizon Communications Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings but the stock fell after the company brought in fewer new customers than predicted. Verizon fell 28 cents, or 1 percent, to $29.28.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6 billion shares compared with 5.7 billion Wednesday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.12, or 1.1 percent, to 734.31.
Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 1 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.3 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.3 percent.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Let GO, Let GOD.......
The Source of Our Strength
Ephesians 6:10-12
People can have very different reactions to similar circumstances. For instance, suppose two women from the same church are battling cancer—let's call them Jean and Barbara. Both are believers, but only Jean is living peacefully, even joyfully, through her ordeal—she long ago admitted her weakness and need for the Lord's intervention. While Barbara prays for God to "help me get through this," Jean says, "God, I cannot. Please carry me through."
Jean knows that Jesus Christ is the source of her strength, but Barbara is relying mostly upon herself. Everyone has a certain amount of fortitude, but that human capacity can carry a person only so far. Some situations will sap every drop of energy we have and still demand more. Through the Holy Spirit, believers can access an endless well of supernatural power to triumph in any trial.
However, the second woman is not receiving the same infusion of the Spirit's power as Jean. Barbara wants help—which is why she desperately calls out to the Lord—but refuses to admit that she cannot face cancer alone. In truth, we all dislike acknowledging that we are weak. Human pride is a potent force that must be uprooted before we can be filled with the Spirit's power.
Our weakness frees God to make His greatest triumphs. His power is loosed when His children admit they are not in control and can do nothing to help themselves. Only then do we find the energy, courage, and peace we need to go on living for His glory.
For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org
Ephesians 6:10-12
People can have very different reactions to similar circumstances. For instance, suppose two women from the same church are battling cancer—let's call them Jean and Barbara. Both are believers, but only Jean is living peacefully, even joyfully, through her ordeal—she long ago admitted her weakness and need for the Lord's intervention. While Barbara prays for God to "help me get through this," Jean says, "God, I cannot. Please carry me through."
Jean knows that Jesus Christ is the source of her strength, but Barbara is relying mostly upon herself. Everyone has a certain amount of fortitude, but that human capacity can carry a person only so far. Some situations will sap every drop of energy we have and still demand more. Through the Holy Spirit, believers can access an endless well of supernatural power to triumph in any trial.
However, the second woman is not receiving the same infusion of the Spirit's power as Jean. Barbara wants help—which is why she desperately calls out to the Lord—but refuses to admit that she cannot face cancer alone. In truth, we all dislike acknowledging that we are weak. Human pride is a potent force that must be uprooted before we can be filled with the Spirit's power.
Our weakness frees God to make His greatest triumphs. His power is loosed when His children admit they are not in control and can do nothing to help themselves. Only then do we find the energy, courage, and peace we need to go on living for His glory.
For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit www.intouch.org
You can't hide your sin
April 21, 2010
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
--1 John 1:9
What is sin? Have you ever thought about it?
Well, the Scripture offers numerous descriptions of sin. It's described as disease and destruction, as a stain, and as a separation from God's presence. So not surprisingly, sin has devastating effects. Look at the effect that unconfessed sin had on King David.
No one loved God more than David. But he was overtaken by lust when he saw Bathsheba bathing, and he committed adultery. And his sin didn't stop there. Later, when it was discovered that she was pregnant with David's child, he arranged the murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, who was one of his generals.
For more than a year, David tried to hide his sin. But it took a toll on David's mind and emotions. He was riddled with guilt. His sinful acts dominated his thoughts. David said, "My sin is ever before me." He couldn't escape his stinging conscience.
It wasn't until God confronted David through the prophet Nathan that he finally confessed his sin and began the journey to restoration.
Are you suffering from sin's devastating effects? Is your sin ever before you? There is only one answer. Run to God and confess your sin!
Resist the temptation to hide it. And God will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
RUN TO GOD AND CONFESS YOUR SIN!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
--1 John 1:9
What is sin? Have you ever thought about it?
Well, the Scripture offers numerous descriptions of sin. It's described as disease and destruction, as a stain, and as a separation from God's presence. So not surprisingly, sin has devastating effects. Look at the effect that unconfessed sin had on King David.
No one loved God more than David. But he was overtaken by lust when he saw Bathsheba bathing, and he committed adultery. And his sin didn't stop there. Later, when it was discovered that she was pregnant with David's child, he arranged the murder of Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, who was one of his generals.
For more than a year, David tried to hide his sin. But it took a toll on David's mind and emotions. He was riddled with guilt. His sinful acts dominated his thoughts. David said, "My sin is ever before me." He couldn't escape his stinging conscience.
It wasn't until God confronted David through the prophet Nathan that he finally confessed his sin and began the journey to restoration.
Are you suffering from sin's devastating effects? Is your sin ever before you? There is only one answer. Run to God and confess your sin!
Resist the temptation to hide it. And God will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
RUN TO GOD AND CONFESS YOUR SIN!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org
FA...Dow squeaks out a gain, led by Boeing
The Dow pulled off a gain in the final minutes of trading Wednesday as investors scooped up recovery plays in the industrial, consumer discretionary and technology sectors. But health care and telecom stocks ended lower amid worries about the outlooks in those sectors.
The Dow rose 7.86, or nearly 0.1%, to close at 11,124.92, led by Boeing and United Technologies. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%.
Volatility seems to have subsided as well: After pushing 20 last week, the CBOE volatility index ended today below 17.
AT&T topped forecasts as the company added 1.9 million subscribers during the quarter but investors sold off the stock amid worries that the number of new subscribers with contracts added was nearly half of what it was a year earlier and the lowest since 2004, suggesting the market may be getting saturated. It stock ended down 1.2%.
Qualcomm, the largest maker of cellphone chips, reported after the bell. It beat earnings estimates amid double-digit increase in chip sales during the quarter but delivered a forecast that was weaker than what Wall Street had expected. Its shares tumbled in late trade, down more than 7%.
eBay, and Starbucks also turned in results after the bell. eBay shares tumbled more than 8% in late trading Wednesday after its profit outlook for current quarter fell far short of estimates and it handed in a full-year outlook that also disappointed. While Starbucks posted results for the most recent quarter that cruised past analysts' estimates and boosted its profit outlook for 2010. Its shares were up more than 1.5% in after-hours trade.
Banks had moments of strength today but ended mostly lower amid renewed worries about financial reform after a Senate panel today voted to ban banks from the lucrative swaps market, one of the strictest financial-reform measures proposed to date. President Obama is heading to New York Thursday to try to convince Wall Street to get behind financial reform.
Wells Fargo skidded 2% after the bank reported its profit fell amid a drop in mortgages. But Morgan Stanley jumped 4% after it swung to a profit of 99 cents a share in the first quarter from a net loss of 57 cents a share a year earlier amid strong trading revenue, beating analysts estimates.
However, this morning brought some good news on the housing front: Mortgage applications bounced back from three-month lows last week as buyers rushed to take advantage of the federal-tax credit before it expires and refinancing picked up. The average on the fixed 30-year dropped to around 5%.
Apple shares shot up 6% after the company reported its earnings doubled during the quarter as investors cheered the company's position, including news that its market share of the future customer base - college students and Chinese consumers - is on the rise.
Elsewhere, McDonald's posted earnings of $1 a share, slightly ahead of estimates, while Boeing also beat estimates. McDonald's ended flat, while Boeing advanced 3.9%.
Airline stocks were mostly lower after the industry lost an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue in the aftermath of the Icelandic volcano. United Parent UAL and Continental shares tumbled 1.6% and 2.2% respectively, as merger talks continued. United is also in the midst of talking about a possible merger with U.S. Airways. U.S. Airways closed 5.3% lower.
Also on the M&A front, Google slipped 0.1% amid buzz that the Internet giant may be in talks to acquire travel-software maker ITA Software in an attempt to break into the online-travel booking business. Reports suggest the deal could be as much as $1 billion.
© 2010 CNBC Asia
The Dow rose 7.86, or nearly 0.1%, to close at 11,124.92, led by Boeing and United Technologies. The tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.2%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%.
Volatility seems to have subsided as well: After pushing 20 last week, the CBOE volatility index ended today below 17.
AT&T topped forecasts as the company added 1.9 million subscribers during the quarter but investors sold off the stock amid worries that the number of new subscribers with contracts added was nearly half of what it was a year earlier and the lowest since 2004, suggesting the market may be getting saturated. It stock ended down 1.2%.
Qualcomm, the largest maker of cellphone chips, reported after the bell. It beat earnings estimates amid double-digit increase in chip sales during the quarter but delivered a forecast that was weaker than what Wall Street had expected. Its shares tumbled in late trade, down more than 7%.
eBay, and Starbucks also turned in results after the bell. eBay shares tumbled more than 8% in late trading Wednesday after its profit outlook for current quarter fell far short of estimates and it handed in a full-year outlook that also disappointed. While Starbucks posted results for the most recent quarter that cruised past analysts' estimates and boosted its profit outlook for 2010. Its shares were up more than 1.5% in after-hours trade.
Banks had moments of strength today but ended mostly lower amid renewed worries about financial reform after a Senate panel today voted to ban banks from the lucrative swaps market, one of the strictest financial-reform measures proposed to date. President Obama is heading to New York Thursday to try to convince Wall Street to get behind financial reform.
Wells Fargo skidded 2% after the bank reported its profit fell amid a drop in mortgages. But Morgan Stanley jumped 4% after it swung to a profit of 99 cents a share in the first quarter from a net loss of 57 cents a share a year earlier amid strong trading revenue, beating analysts estimates.
However, this morning brought some good news on the housing front: Mortgage applications bounced back from three-month lows last week as buyers rushed to take advantage of the federal-tax credit before it expires and refinancing picked up. The average on the fixed 30-year dropped to around 5%.
Apple shares shot up 6% after the company reported its earnings doubled during the quarter as investors cheered the company's position, including news that its market share of the future customer base - college students and Chinese consumers - is on the rise.
Elsewhere, McDonald's posted earnings of $1 a share, slightly ahead of estimates, while Boeing also beat estimates. McDonald's ended flat, while Boeing advanced 3.9%.
Airline stocks were mostly lower after the industry lost an estimated $1.7 billion in revenue in the aftermath of the Icelandic volcano. United Parent UAL and Continental shares tumbled 1.6% and 2.2% respectively, as merger talks continued. United is also in the midst of talking about a possible merger with U.S. Airways. U.S. Airways closed 5.3% lower.
Also on the M&A front, Google slipped 0.1% amid buzz that the Internet giant may be in talks to acquire travel-software maker ITA Software in an attempt to break into the online-travel booking business. Reports suggest the deal could be as much as $1 billion.
© 2010 CNBC Asia
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
FA...Stocks finish mixed after financials recover from concerns about Goldman; Dow rises 73 points
Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer, On Monday April 19, 2010, 5:38 pm
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors snapped up financial stocks Monday after concerns eased about the government's case against Goldman Sachs.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended with a gain of 73 points after sliding for much of the day. The advance followed a drop of 126 points Friday after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs related to mortgage investments.
The Standard & Poor's index also rose, while the Nasdaq composite index fell.
Analysts said reports that the SEC voted 3-2 along party lines to press its case against Goldman Sachs eased some of investors' worries. Investors seemed placated by the fact the vote wasn't unanimous. A rebound in Goldman helped lift financial shares.
Investors have been concerned about potential repercussions tied to the charges against Goldman. The SEC said the company didn't inform clients about conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold. Goldman has said it would fight the charges. The suit comes just as Congress is taking up a bill to overhaul regulation of the financial industry.
"Is financial reform going to be a big setback for financial company earnings?" said Colleen Supran, a portfolio manager at Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough in San Francisco. "And what is that going to mean for overall earnings for, say, the S&P, which is what we really care about."
Meanwhile, airline stocks fell after most European airports remained closed for a fifth day following the spread of ash from a volcano in Iceland. Analysts estimated that airline losses topped $1 billion. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. fell 4.3 percent, while United parent UAL Corp. lost 5.1 percent.
The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index lagged ahead of a report from International Business Machines Corp. The company said after the closing bell that its first-quarter profit rose in part because of higher revenue. The stock slipped in electronic trading.
The market drew some support from a steep increase in the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators. The report signals that economic activity will strengthen in the next three to six months. The Conference Board's leading indicators index rose to 1.4 percent for March. Economists had predicted growth of 0.9 percent.
"It's just giving you more indication that the road to recovery is not as tenuous as you might have thought," said Brett Hryb, portfolio manager with MFC Global Investment Management in Toronto, referring to the leading indicators report.
The stock market has been generally rising for about 13 months on expectations that the economy would begin improving, and over the past two months they have been on a nearly unbroken climb. Analysts said the bounce off the lows Monday signaled that there are enough buyers around to help the market to continue its advance.
The Dow rose 73.39, or 0.7 percent, to 11,092.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.39, or 0.5 percent, to 1,197.52, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 1.15, or 0.1 percent, to 2,480.11.
Falling stocks narrowly outnumbered those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.6 billion shares compared with 8.1 billion Friday.
Bond prices slipped, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.80 percent from 3.77 percent compared with late Friday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies. Gold fell.
Crude oil fell $1.79 to $81.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Stocks dropped Friday after the SEC announced the charges against Goldman. The Dow ended with a loss of 125 points but was down as much as 170 points during trading. It closed above 11,000 last week for the first time in 18 months.
Goldman shares rose after falling for much of trading. The stock climbed $2.62, or 1.6 percent, to $163.32 after tumbling 12.8 percent Friday.
Citigroup rose 32 cents, or 7 percent, to $4.88 after the bank said its first-quarter profit improved because of strong investment banking operations. Citi also said its losses from failed loans fell slightly from the previous quarter, but executives remain cautious about a recovery. The bank was among the hardest hit by the credit crisis. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. last week also posted big improvements in profits.
IBM rose $1.60, or 1.2 percent, to $132.23 in regular trading. The stock fell $2.90, or 2.2 percent, to $129.33 in after-hours trading.
Apple Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Goldman Sachs are slated to report earnings on Tuesday.
UAL fell $1.17, or 5.1 percent, to $21.66, while AMR fell 38 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $8.41.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.22, or 0.5 percent, to 711.40.
Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 1.7 percent.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors snapped up financial stocks Monday after concerns eased about the government's case against Goldman Sachs.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended with a gain of 73 points after sliding for much of the day. The advance followed a drop of 126 points Friday after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs related to mortgage investments.
The Standard & Poor's index also rose, while the Nasdaq composite index fell.
Analysts said reports that the SEC voted 3-2 along party lines to press its case against Goldman Sachs eased some of investors' worries. Investors seemed placated by the fact the vote wasn't unanimous. A rebound in Goldman helped lift financial shares.
Investors have been concerned about potential repercussions tied to the charges against Goldman. The SEC said the company didn't inform clients about conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold. Goldman has said it would fight the charges. The suit comes just as Congress is taking up a bill to overhaul regulation of the financial industry.
"Is financial reform going to be a big setback for financial company earnings?" said Colleen Supran, a portfolio manager at Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough in San Francisco. "And what is that going to mean for overall earnings for, say, the S&P, which is what we really care about."
Meanwhile, airline stocks fell after most European airports remained closed for a fifth day following the spread of ash from a volcano in Iceland. Analysts estimated that airline losses topped $1 billion. American Airlines parent AMR Corp. fell 4.3 percent, while United parent UAL Corp. lost 5.1 percent.
The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index lagged ahead of a report from International Business Machines Corp. The company said after the closing bell that its first-quarter profit rose in part because of higher revenue. The stock slipped in electronic trading.
The market drew some support from a steep increase in the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators. The report signals that economic activity will strengthen in the next three to six months. The Conference Board's leading indicators index rose to 1.4 percent for March. Economists had predicted growth of 0.9 percent.
"It's just giving you more indication that the road to recovery is not as tenuous as you might have thought," said Brett Hryb, portfolio manager with MFC Global Investment Management in Toronto, referring to the leading indicators report.
The stock market has been generally rising for about 13 months on expectations that the economy would begin improving, and over the past two months they have been on a nearly unbroken climb. Analysts said the bounce off the lows Monday signaled that there are enough buyers around to help the market to continue its advance.
The Dow rose 73.39, or 0.7 percent, to 11,092.05. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.39, or 0.5 percent, to 1,197.52, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 1.15, or 0.1 percent, to 2,480.11.
Falling stocks narrowly outnumbered those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.6 billion shares compared with 8.1 billion Friday.
Bond prices slipped, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.80 percent from 3.77 percent compared with late Friday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies. Gold fell.
Crude oil fell $1.79 to $81.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Stocks dropped Friday after the SEC announced the charges against Goldman. The Dow ended with a loss of 125 points but was down as much as 170 points during trading. It closed above 11,000 last week for the first time in 18 months.
Goldman shares rose after falling for much of trading. The stock climbed $2.62, or 1.6 percent, to $163.32 after tumbling 12.8 percent Friday.
Citigroup rose 32 cents, or 7 percent, to $4.88 after the bank said its first-quarter profit improved because of strong investment banking operations. Citi also said its losses from failed loans fell slightly from the previous quarter, but executives remain cautious about a recovery. The bank was among the hardest hit by the credit crisis. Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. last week also posted big improvements in profits.
IBM rose $1.60, or 1.2 percent, to $132.23 in regular trading. The stock fell $2.90, or 2.2 percent, to $129.33 in after-hours trading.
Apple Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Goldman Sachs are slated to report earnings on Tuesday.
UAL fell $1.17, or 5.1 percent, to $21.66, while AMR fell 38 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $8.41.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.22, or 0.5 percent, to 711.40.
Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average lost 1.7 percent.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Why I love forex......
.....................the forex market is a trader’s market.
It’s a market that’s open around the clock six days a week,
enabling traders to act on news and events as they happen.
It’s a market where half-billion-dollar trades can be executed
in a matter of seconds and may not even move prices noticeably.
Try buying or selling a half billion of anything in another
market and see how prices react........................................
Average daily currency trading volumes exceed $2 trillion
per day. That’s a mind-boggling number, isn’t it?
$2,000,000,000,000 — that’s a lot of zeros, no matter how you
slice it. To give you some perspective on that size, it’s about
10 to 15 times the size of daily trading volume on all the
world’s stock markets combined.
Estimates are that upwards of 90 percent of daily trading
volume is derived from speculation (meaning, commercial or
investment-based FX trades account for less than 10 percent
of daily global volume). The depth and breadth of the speculative
market means that the liquidity of the overall forex
market is unparalleled among global financial markets.
It’s a market that’s open around the clock six days a week,
enabling traders to act on news and events as they happen.
It’s a market where half-billion-dollar trades can be executed
in a matter of seconds and may not even move prices noticeably.
Try buying or selling a half billion of anything in another
market and see how prices react........................................
Average daily currency trading volumes exceed $2 trillion
per day. That’s a mind-boggling number, isn’t it?
$2,000,000,000,000 — that’s a lot of zeros, no matter how you
slice it. To give you some perspective on that size, it’s about
10 to 15 times the size of daily trading volume on all the
world’s stock markets combined.
Estimates are that upwards of 90 percent of daily trading
volume is derived from speculation (meaning, commercial or
investment-based FX trades account for less than 10 percent
of daily global volume). The depth and breadth of the speculative
market means that the liquidity of the overall forex
market is unparalleled among global financial markets.
Soros was dead right about Mahathir
Malaysiakini-Manjit Bhatia: Soros was dead right about Mahathir
Manjit Bhatia
malaysiakini, Jan 26, 10, 12:40pm
What's the difference between former Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Nothing.
Both are charlatans. Both are racist to their core. Both must be condemned without hesitation and reservation.
Ahmadinejad has been adamant that the Jewish holocaust during Hitler's reign was a figment of Western imagination. Worse, it was a conspiracy to hoodwink the rest of the world into offering sympathy to the Jewish race and the Jewish state of Israel.
Mahathir is renowned for his anti-Semiticism. Recall, during the height of the late nineties financial crisis when he blamed billionaire George Soros and his Quantum Fund for trying to bring the Malaysian economy to its knees.
All that without a shred of evidence. For which he was pasted by Soros, calling Mahathir a 'menace to his own country'. Soros was dead right.
Nevertheless Mahathir has continued with his imbecilic rants. Last week he suggested that if Americans can make 'Avatar', the world's top-grossing film, so spectacularly and convincingly, then they must have also manufactured their own bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York and elsewhere in and around Washington, DC and all this just to pin blame on the world's Muslims.
Mahathir has never been one to depend on cold, hard evidence. He banged up Anwar Ibrahim without a cantlet of evidence, and countless other times when he willfully nabbed and jailed under the Stalinist ISA his critics and opponents.
You can be sure people like Ahmadinejad who are Mahathir's ardent fans would have applauded him.
And Malaysians across the races have long put Mahathir on a pedestal. They even called him an international 'statesman'. Je was even named him 'Man of the Millennium'.
Go figure: Why reward a desperate xenophobic and devious dictator with ludicrous titles and banal praise?
Racist neo-nationalism
So what's Mahathir's motive for making such inane comments? Is it politically calculated?
Mahathir is a crass populist. Always has been. Read Barry Wain's book 'The Malaysian Maverick', thus far 'refused sale' in Malaysia. It's code for banning the book.
Such oft-contradictory idiocy by the Malaysian ministers and their bureaucratic class has stopped amazing me a long time ago. Idiocy is expected, by nature, in Malaysian political life.
Mahathir has always used his brand of Malay-ness (despite his Indian ancestry, of which he refuses to discuss or even accept, wholly usurping his Malay mother's side and crafting his 'Malay' identity through this), his brand of racist neo-nationalism, his brand of Islam, which can warp from time to time depending on his political agenda, and melding all of these into pushing forth his authoritarianism by centralising power in his hands for 22 years.
Except for the reprehensible sections of the world who see authoritarianism and the brutalising of human rights as a virtue whilst they cronyistically siphon off the wealth of their own countries, the rest of the world has ignored Mahathir. And this cuts him up.
The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur refused to comment, not because they didn't want to buy into his tired baloney, but because he's just not worth their time.
Mahathir is a tired, angry old fogey who craves attention. He fears his growing irrelevance amongst his adoring Muslim brotherhood, at least of the monied class, and even amongst those in Malaysia who have supported him.
The next generation of Malaysians, including Malays, may not know Mahathir any more than they will know much else given the parlous and shameful state of Malaysian education, which borders on the lunacy of inwardness, irrelevance and incompetence.
Which explains so-called policies such as '1Malaysia' and the National Civics Bureau - all baldfaced attempts that seek, in fact, to ideologically indoctrinate innocuous Malays, pitting them against non-Malays on the basis of barefaced lies and institutionalised racism.
Even the Malaysian constitution, so bastardised since independence by ruling Malaysian politicians, defends and embeds institutionalised racism, almost on par with the former apartheid system in South Africa.
Such massive corruption
Mahathir is a menace to his country, even in retirement. Nobody is telling him to shut up. He has every democratic right to voice his opinions. It's a pity that he disenfranchised these same democratic rights from the rest of the Malaysian citizenry during his 'lordship' except for his cronies, whom he helped enrich at the expense of the bulk of other Malaysians.
Mahathir not only lied to them; he also cheated his 'own' Malays, many of whom continue to live at the same level of poverty that previous generations had in the 1950s and 60s. The New Economic Policy was a spectacular failure.
Mahathir's 'The Malay Dilemma' was a joke aimed at delivering him and his cronies to the pinnacle of power.
Mahathirism is laughable because it only fanned such massive corruption throughout Malaysia that today it reaches every echelon of the cabinet, bureaucracy and security forces, including the hopelessly incompetent police force.
Mahathir had presided over this corruption in full knowledge. He should be hammered from all sides for this, and for his diehard racism.
He must be constantly reminded that he's not god, any more than he may think that he's above the law. But the gutless Najib Abdul Razak regime won't even dare touch him.
MANJIT BHATIA, an academician and writer, is also research director of AsiaRisk, a political, economic and risk analysis consultancy in Australia. He specialises in international economics and politics, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific.
Manjit Bhatia
malaysiakini, Jan 26, 10, 12:40pm
What's the difference between former Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Nothing.
Both are charlatans. Both are racist to their core. Both must be condemned without hesitation and reservation.
Ahmadinejad has been adamant that the Jewish holocaust during Hitler's reign was a figment of Western imagination. Worse, it was a conspiracy to hoodwink the rest of the world into offering sympathy to the Jewish race and the Jewish state of Israel.
Mahathir is renowned for his anti-Semiticism. Recall, during the height of the late nineties financial crisis when he blamed billionaire George Soros and his Quantum Fund for trying to bring the Malaysian economy to its knees.
All that without a shred of evidence. For which he was pasted by Soros, calling Mahathir a 'menace to his own country'. Soros was dead right.
Nevertheless Mahathir has continued with his imbecilic rants. Last week he suggested that if Americans can make 'Avatar', the world's top-grossing film, so spectacularly and convincingly, then they must have also manufactured their own bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York and elsewhere in and around Washington, DC and all this just to pin blame on the world's Muslims.
Mahathir has never been one to depend on cold, hard evidence. He banged up Anwar Ibrahim without a cantlet of evidence, and countless other times when he willfully nabbed and jailed under the Stalinist ISA his critics and opponents.
You can be sure people like Ahmadinejad who are Mahathir's ardent fans would have applauded him.
And Malaysians across the races have long put Mahathir on a pedestal. They even called him an international 'statesman'. Je was even named him 'Man of the Millennium'.
Go figure: Why reward a desperate xenophobic and devious dictator with ludicrous titles and banal praise?
Racist neo-nationalism
So what's Mahathir's motive for making such inane comments? Is it politically calculated?
Mahathir is a crass populist. Always has been. Read Barry Wain's book 'The Malaysian Maverick', thus far 'refused sale' in Malaysia. It's code for banning the book.
Such oft-contradictory idiocy by the Malaysian ministers and their bureaucratic class has stopped amazing me a long time ago. Idiocy is expected, by nature, in Malaysian political life.
Mahathir has always used his brand of Malay-ness (despite his Indian ancestry, of which he refuses to discuss or even accept, wholly usurping his Malay mother's side and crafting his 'Malay' identity through this), his brand of racist neo-nationalism, his brand of Islam, which can warp from time to time depending on his political agenda, and melding all of these into pushing forth his authoritarianism by centralising power in his hands for 22 years.
Except for the reprehensible sections of the world who see authoritarianism and the brutalising of human rights as a virtue whilst they cronyistically siphon off the wealth of their own countries, the rest of the world has ignored Mahathir. And this cuts him up.
The US embassy in Kuala Lumpur refused to comment, not because they didn't want to buy into his tired baloney, but because he's just not worth their time.
Mahathir is a tired, angry old fogey who craves attention. He fears his growing irrelevance amongst his adoring Muslim brotherhood, at least of the monied class, and even amongst those in Malaysia who have supported him.
The next generation of Malaysians, including Malays, may not know Mahathir any more than they will know much else given the parlous and shameful state of Malaysian education, which borders on the lunacy of inwardness, irrelevance and incompetence.
Which explains so-called policies such as '1Malaysia' and the National Civics Bureau - all baldfaced attempts that seek, in fact, to ideologically indoctrinate innocuous Malays, pitting them against non-Malays on the basis of barefaced lies and institutionalised racism.
Even the Malaysian constitution, so bastardised since independence by ruling Malaysian politicians, defends and embeds institutionalised racism, almost on par with the former apartheid system in South Africa.
Such massive corruption
Mahathir is a menace to his country, even in retirement. Nobody is telling him to shut up. He has every democratic right to voice his opinions. It's a pity that he disenfranchised these same democratic rights from the rest of the Malaysian citizenry during his 'lordship' except for his cronies, whom he helped enrich at the expense of the bulk of other Malaysians.
Mahathir not only lied to them; he also cheated his 'own' Malays, many of whom continue to live at the same level of poverty that previous generations had in the 1950s and 60s. The New Economic Policy was a spectacular failure.
Mahathir's 'The Malay Dilemma' was a joke aimed at delivering him and his cronies to the pinnacle of power.
Mahathirism is laughable because it only fanned such massive corruption throughout Malaysia that today it reaches every echelon of the cabinet, bureaucracy and security forces, including the hopelessly incompetent police force.
Mahathir had presided over this corruption in full knowledge. He should be hammered from all sides for this, and for his diehard racism.
He must be constantly reminded that he's not god, any more than he may think that he's above the law. But the gutless Najib Abdul Razak regime won't even dare touch him.
MANJIT BHATIA, an academician and writer, is also research director of AsiaRisk, a political, economic and risk analysis consultancy in Australia. He specialises in international economics and politics, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific.
2 great blogs........
http://dq-liberte.blogspot.com/2010/01/malaysiakini-manjit-bhatia-soros-was.html
http://art-harun.blogspot.com/
http://art-harun.blogspot.com/
Soros's bet against the British pound......
He bet 10 billion which is more than the capitalisation of his fund and made 1 billion......
The money's made in the sitting and the waiting, not the trading... Jesse Livermore
The losses's made in the sitting and the waiting, not the trading... Mike Cable
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
FA...Stocks post sixth straight advance; UPS boosts earnings forecast, Weekly jobless claims rise
Stephen Bernard and Tim Paradis, AP Business Writers, On Thursday April 15, 2010, 4:49 pm
NEW YORK (AP) -- An encouraging earnings forecast from UPS and stronger manufacturing figures gave the stock market its sixth straight advance.
The gains Thursday were modest following a surprise increase in the number of newly laid off people seeking unemployment benefits.
Analysts said a slowdown in the market's upward push was overdue. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21 points after racing higher by nearly 104 points on Wednesday. The Dow closed above 11,000 Monday for the first time in a year and a half. Other major stock indexes also stand at their highest levels since 2008.
The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index posted the biggest rise of major indexes ahead of earnings from Google Inc. The Internet search company reported after the closing bell that its first-quarter profit rose 37 percent but the stock fell 3 percent in electronic trading on concerns the company wasn't holding down costs.
The forecast from UPS raised hopes that the economy is strengthening. The company raised its full-year earnings target because of an increase in international deliveries. As the world's largest shipping company, UPS's results are seen as an early indicator of overall business activity.
UPS shares rose 5.3 percent.
The UPS report and stronger manufacturing reports from the Federal Reserve helped to offset some of the concern about the jobs figures.
The Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly for a second straight week. First-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 to 484,000 last week, the highest level since late February. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast a drop. The Easter holiday could have skewed the numbers, analysts said.
The stock market has been churning steadily higher after major indexes hit 12-year lows in March last year. Growing expectations for a recovery have been driving the climb. The increases in the past two months have been more subdued, with fewer big moves.
Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital in Pittsburgh, said the market's more consistent advance is welcome because it means investors aren't getting overly optimistic.
"We are seeing a straight line (higher) but there's not a whole lot of exuberance to it," he said. "There is a tremendous amount of skepticism about the market and that's a good thing."
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 21.46, or 0.2 percent, to 11,144.57, its highest close since Sept. 19, 2008. The Dow hasn't risen six straight days since mid-March.
The S&P 500 rose 1.02, or 0.1 percent, to 1,211.67, while the Nasdaq rose 10.83, or 0.4 percent, to 2,515.69.
Falling stocks narrowly outnumbered those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.2 billion shares, compared with 1.1 billion Wednesday.
Bond prices rose, pushing their yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.84 percent from 3.87 percent late Wednesday.
The dollar and gold both rose.
Crude oil fell 33 cents to $85.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.1 percent in March. The increase was less than most economists had forecast but the report still indicated growth at the nations' factories, mines and utilities for the ninth straight month.
The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State Manufacturing Survey rose more than expected for April. A similar snapshot of regional manufacturing from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve also signaled that conditions are improving.
Among stocks in the news, UPS rose $3.44, or 5.3 percent, to $68.89.
Citigroup fell 12 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $4.81 after trading as high as $5.07. It hadn't topped the psychological barrier of $5 since October.
Yum Brands Inc., the parent of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC restaurant chains, rose to a new high after the company's first-quarter earnings topped expectations. Yum shares closed up $1.10, or 2.6 percent, to $42.78. The stock rose as high as $43.76 following its report after regular trading hours Wednesday.
Google Inc. rose $6.30, or 1.1 percent, to $595.30. In after-hours trading the stock fell $17.86, or 3 percent, to $576.69.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.81, or 0.3 percent, to 724.21.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, while Germany's DAX index and France's CAC-40 each rose 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent.
NEW YORK (AP) -- An encouraging earnings forecast from UPS and stronger manufacturing figures gave the stock market its sixth straight advance.
The gains Thursday were modest following a surprise increase in the number of newly laid off people seeking unemployment benefits.
Analysts said a slowdown in the market's upward push was overdue. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 21 points after racing higher by nearly 104 points on Wednesday. The Dow closed above 11,000 Monday for the first time in a year and a half. Other major stock indexes also stand at their highest levels since 2008.
The technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index posted the biggest rise of major indexes ahead of earnings from Google Inc. The Internet search company reported after the closing bell that its first-quarter profit rose 37 percent but the stock fell 3 percent in electronic trading on concerns the company wasn't holding down costs.
The forecast from UPS raised hopes that the economy is strengthening. The company raised its full-year earnings target because of an increase in international deliveries. As the world's largest shipping company, UPS's results are seen as an early indicator of overall business activity.
UPS shares rose 5.3 percent.
The UPS report and stronger manufacturing reports from the Federal Reserve helped to offset some of the concern about the jobs figures.
The Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly for a second straight week. First-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 24,000 to 484,000 last week, the highest level since late February. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast a drop. The Easter holiday could have skewed the numbers, analysts said.
The stock market has been churning steadily higher after major indexes hit 12-year lows in March last year. Growing expectations for a recovery have been driving the climb. The increases in the past two months have been more subdued, with fewer big moves.
Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital in Pittsburgh, said the market's more consistent advance is welcome because it means investors aren't getting overly optimistic.
"We are seeing a straight line (higher) but there's not a whole lot of exuberance to it," he said. "There is a tremendous amount of skepticism about the market and that's a good thing."
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 21.46, or 0.2 percent, to 11,144.57, its highest close since Sept. 19, 2008. The Dow hasn't risen six straight days since mid-March.
The S&P 500 rose 1.02, or 0.1 percent, to 1,211.67, while the Nasdaq rose 10.83, or 0.4 percent, to 2,515.69.
Falling stocks narrowly outnumbered those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.2 billion shares, compared with 1.1 billion Wednesday.
Bond prices rose, pushing their yields lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.84 percent from 3.87 percent late Wednesday.
The dollar and gold both rose.
Crude oil fell 33 cents to $85.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.1 percent in March. The increase was less than most economists had forecast but the report still indicated growth at the nations' factories, mines and utilities for the ninth straight month.
The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State Manufacturing Survey rose more than expected for April. A similar snapshot of regional manufacturing from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve also signaled that conditions are improving.
Among stocks in the news, UPS rose $3.44, or 5.3 percent, to $68.89.
Citigroup fell 12 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $4.81 after trading as high as $5.07. It hadn't topped the psychological barrier of $5 since October.
Yum Brands Inc., the parent of the Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC restaurant chains, rose to a new high after the company's first-quarter earnings topped expectations. Yum shares closed up $1.10, or 2.6 percent, to $42.78. The stock rose as high as $43.76 following its report after regular trading hours Wednesday.
Google Inc. rose $6.30, or 1.1 percent, to $595.30. In after-hours trading the stock fell $17.86, or 3 percent, to $576.69.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.81, or 0.3 percent, to 724.21.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, while Germany's DAX index and France's CAC-40 each rose 0.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Faith that has substance
April 14, 2010
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
--Hebrews 11:6
The Scripture says that without faith, we can't please God. Or in other words, if you and I want to please God, we need to have faith in him!
Faith is the essential element of your walk with God. Faith honors him. And when you sincerely seek him, he honors your faith and fills you with the substance of his presence. We truly need our faith to have substance so that it can withstand life's battles.
I love the story about prize fighter Mike Tyson. The boxer was preparing for a fight and his trainer said, "Champ, this guy's got a plan to knock you out. He's got a plan!" And Tyson said, "Everybody's got a plan till you hit 'em in the mouth."
Now, you may not be a boxer, but you have an opponent who's got a plan to knock you out. So when the devil comes along and deals you a nasty blow, you need something that's going to get you back on your feet and back in the fight. What you need is faith!
In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, "All things are possible for one who believes."
Believe in Jesus. Put your trust in him and prepare to see the impossible!
DOES YOUR FAITH HONOR GOD?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
--Hebrews 11:6
The Scripture says that without faith, we can't please God. Or in other words, if you and I want to please God, we need to have faith in him!
Faith is the essential element of your walk with God. Faith honors him. And when you sincerely seek him, he honors your faith and fills you with the substance of his presence. We truly need our faith to have substance so that it can withstand life's battles.
I love the story about prize fighter Mike Tyson. The boxer was preparing for a fight and his trainer said, "Champ, this guy's got a plan to knock you out. He's got a plan!" And Tyson said, "Everybody's got a plan till you hit 'em in the mouth."
Now, you may not be a boxer, but you have an opponent who's got a plan to knock you out. So when the devil comes along and deals you a nasty blow, you need something that's going to get you back on your feet and back in the fight. What you need is faith!
In Mark 9:23, Jesus said, "All things are possible for one who believes."
Believe in Jesus. Put your trust in him and prepare to see the impossible!
DOES YOUR FAITH HONOR GOD?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more from PowerPoint Ministries and Dr. Jack Graham, please visit www.jackgraham.org
Parenting...Encouragement builds confidence14
April 2010
CHILDWISE
By RUTH LIEW
CHILDREN often hear remarks such as: “You are always so hyper”, “You are stubborn”, “You are such a crybaby”, and “Don’t be so naughty”.
They feel helpless when it comes to challenges that confront them. So their first reaction to anything difficult is to say: “I don’t know what to do.”
Children learn about themselves from adults’ reactions to them. I have heard the following comments from mothers: “My son is too soft. He acts like a girl.” Or “It must be because he is a boy. He is too active for me.” Even “He is hopeless in everything.”
Children’s self-concept is built on the information they get from significant people in their lives. As time goes by, they will either feel guilty or proud of their ways. Children with positive feelings about themselves tend to take up challenges easily. They are not afraid of making mistakes. They know if they keep trying, they will succeed one day.
Adults who like to think and act for their children cannot help them to develop positive self-esteem. Children who are not allowed to think for themselves constantly question their own decisions. With no practice, they will never know when they are ready.
Children know that there are many skills that they have yet to acquire. But they do not want the adults in their lives to pacify them. They want adults to encourage them when they work on the challenges. Instead they hear remarks such as: “You are still too young. When you are older, you will do better.”
There are also children who are not aware of what they are capable of. They do not have enough information about their attributes. Parents praise their children with words such as:
“You are a good boy” or “You did a good job” when childen do good.
They don’t tell them things like: “You spent a great deal of time and effort to get these results. You were persistent and patient.”
Many of our children today have to cope with standards that are too high for them. I talked to a childcare supervisor who felt sorry for a five-year-old in her centre. The boy’s mother is forcing him to focus on reading and writing, and ignoring his developmental needs. Whenever he has to do something new, he would refuse to cooperate because he fears failure.
Parents must know whether children are developmentally ready when helping them to improve their self-esteem. They should refrain from put-downs and doing things for children when they can learn to help themselves.
Children who are good with their hands are confident. They know what they do has a purpose. The tasks they do for themselves will define them as capable people. Even if they do not do it well, they still like the idea that they are working towards being successful. If they make mistakes, let them try again and encourage them with words like: “Soon you will get it right.”
Focus on your child’s potential and not her problems.
Children can learn organisational skills such as how to concentrate on a task at hand, plan each step of a task, check that their approach is working, persevere and make changes where necessary. Once they have acquired self-instruction skills, they will take up challenges and be able to manage them.
Primary school-age children need acknowledgement as they face increasing demands from school and home. Instead of feeling positive about their skills, they often find themselves berated for not knowing how to do half the things that are expected of them.
Children like to receive acknowledgement for what they are doing right. If they have completed a task, ask them: “What do you think of it?” “Did you have fun doing the project your teacher assigned?”
You can share your opinion by saying: “I like the way you prepared for the project.”
Acknowledgement focuses on the process rather than how well the child did. You can tell your child: “You practised this piece of music well. I can tell how confident you are when you are asked to play this piece.” Children like to know that their effort makes a difference and contributes to their success.
Do not judge children using adult standards. Children need to know that they are progressing in good time. Help them to see that they will get the results they seek as they persist and work on the task at hand. Make sure you let them take control of their own behaviour. Say to them: “You are the only person who can make yourself work at a certain task.” Be available whenever they need you.
CHILDWISE
By RUTH LIEW
CHILDREN often hear remarks such as: “You are always so hyper”, “You are stubborn”, “You are such a crybaby”, and “Don’t be so naughty”.
They feel helpless when it comes to challenges that confront them. So their first reaction to anything difficult is to say: “I don’t know what to do.”
Children learn about themselves from adults’ reactions to them. I have heard the following comments from mothers: “My son is too soft. He acts like a girl.” Or “It must be because he is a boy. He is too active for me.” Even “He is hopeless in everything.”
Children’s self-concept is built on the information they get from significant people in their lives. As time goes by, they will either feel guilty or proud of their ways. Children with positive feelings about themselves tend to take up challenges easily. They are not afraid of making mistakes. They know if they keep trying, they will succeed one day.
Adults who like to think and act for their children cannot help them to develop positive self-esteem. Children who are not allowed to think for themselves constantly question their own decisions. With no practice, they will never know when they are ready.
Children know that there are many skills that they have yet to acquire. But they do not want the adults in their lives to pacify them. They want adults to encourage them when they work on the challenges. Instead they hear remarks such as: “You are still too young. When you are older, you will do better.”
There are also children who are not aware of what they are capable of. They do not have enough information about their attributes. Parents praise their children with words such as:
“You are a good boy” or “You did a good job” when childen do good.
They don’t tell them things like: “You spent a great deal of time and effort to get these results. You were persistent and patient.”
Many of our children today have to cope with standards that are too high for them. I talked to a childcare supervisor who felt sorry for a five-year-old in her centre. The boy’s mother is forcing him to focus on reading and writing, and ignoring his developmental needs. Whenever he has to do something new, he would refuse to cooperate because he fears failure.
Parents must know whether children are developmentally ready when helping them to improve their self-esteem. They should refrain from put-downs and doing things for children when they can learn to help themselves.
Children who are good with their hands are confident. They know what they do has a purpose. The tasks they do for themselves will define them as capable people. Even if they do not do it well, they still like the idea that they are working towards being successful. If they make mistakes, let them try again and encourage them with words like: “Soon you will get it right.”
Focus on your child’s potential and not her problems.
Children can learn organisational skills such as how to concentrate on a task at hand, plan each step of a task, check that their approach is working, persevere and make changes where necessary. Once they have acquired self-instruction skills, they will take up challenges and be able to manage them.
Primary school-age children need acknowledgement as they face increasing demands from school and home. Instead of feeling positive about their skills, they often find themselves berated for not knowing how to do half the things that are expected of them.
Children like to receive acknowledgement for what they are doing right. If they have completed a task, ask them: “What do you think of it?” “Did you have fun doing the project your teacher assigned?”
You can share your opinion by saying: “I like the way you prepared for the project.”
Acknowledgement focuses on the process rather than how well the child did. You can tell your child: “You practised this piece of music well. I can tell how confident you are when you are asked to play this piece.” Children like to know that their effort makes a difference and contributes to their success.
Do not judge children using adult standards. Children need to know that they are progressing in good time. Help them to see that they will get the results they seek as they persist and work on the task at hand. Make sure you let them take control of their own behaviour. Say to them: “You are the only person who can make yourself work at a certain task.” Be available whenever they need you.
FA...Stock climb on earnings from Intel and JPMorgan Chase; S&P tops 1,200 and Dow adds 104 points
Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer, On Wednesday April 14, 2010, 6:51 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- Upbeat forecasts from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. propelled the stock market higher for a fifth day.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index topped the 1,200 mark Wednesday for the first time in a year and a half. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 104 points and moved above 11,100.
The good news came from all directions: Corporate earnings numbers and government reports on retail sales and regional economic conditions indicated that the recovery is taking hold.
One of the biggest forces behind the market's climb came from JPMorgan Chase, which reported a better-than-expected profit for the January-March quarter. The bank is still facing big losses from souring consumer loans, but CEO Jamie Dimon said there have been clear improvements in the economy.
The forecast from chipmaker Intel boosted the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index. Intel posted earnings and revenue after the closing bell Tuesday that topped analysts' expectations. The company also raised its 2010 outlook.
JPMorgan rose 4.1 percent, while Intel added 3.3 percent.
Michael Binger, portfolio manager at Thrivent Investment Management in Minneapolis, said the strong results from leaders of the banking and technology industries are signs that a rebound is in place.
"It diminishes the chance that we go back into a double-dip recession," he said. "It lends credence that the financial industry is recovering and the tech industry is beyond recovering and is doing very well."
A Commerce Department report that retail sales rose more than expected in March added to a sense that consumers are feeling more comfortable spending.
The Federal Reserve said its survey of regional economic activity found that business was getting better in most areas of the country. The report offered a brighter assessment of the economy than the previous survey in early March.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress' Joint Economic Committee that the recovery should hold but that high budget deficits must be addressed to avoid big jumps in interest rates. Bernanke cautioned that unemployment will remain an obstacle.
The stock market has been rising for more than a year and has advanced steadily for two months on encouraging signs of growth. Some analysts have warned that shares have climbed too high, but the latest reports eased some concerns that prices are stretched.
The Dow rose 103.69, or 0.9 percent, to 11,123.11. The Dow closed over 11,000 on Monday for the first time since September 2008. It is up 2.1 percent in five days, its best advance since early March.
The S&P 500 index rose 13.35, or 1.1 percent, to 1,210.65. It was the biggest percentage gain since March 5. Like the Dow, the S&P 500 index is at its highest level since September 2008, when the financial crisis began. The S&P 500 index is up 79 percent from a 12-year low in March last year though it would still need to gain 23 percent to reach its October 2007 high of 1,565.
The Nasdaq rose 38.87, or 1.6 percent, to 2,504.86. It hasn't been above 2,500 since June 2008. The Nasdaq has nearly doubled since last March but it is still down by half from its peak of 5,048.62 in March 2000.
The stronger signs about the economy hurt bond prices and raised yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.87 percent from 3.82 percent late Tuesday.
The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold rose.
Crude oil rose $1.79 to $85.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Strength at JPMorgan Chase's investment bank helped offset losses from consumer loan defaults and propelled the company's profit above analysts' expectations. JPMorgan said it plans to add 9,000 employees in the U.S.
Intel's first-quarter results easily topped analysts' expectations. The results indicated that businesses are stepping up their technology spending on growing confidence about the economy. Intel said its profit margin will be better than it had estimated for 2010 and that it plans to hire 1,000 workers.
JPMorgan and Intel were the biggest gainers among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials. JPMorgan rose $1.86, or 4.1 percent, to $47.73. Intel climbed 75 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $23.52.
CSX, the nation's third largest railroad, rose $2.18, or 4.1 percent, to $55.46 after reporting a 20 percent increase in its first-quarter earnings. The company said it has seen "gradual and steady growth" in the economy. It has also started hiring.
"That was the real positive surprise. You hadn't really heard about big companies hiring," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Council in Charlottesville, Va.
Tuz said the strength of the earnings signals that stocks could be properly valued and perhaps even cheap.
The government offered investors more signs the economy is improving. Retail sales rose 1.6 percent in March, the third consecutive month of growth. That was bigger than the increase of 1.2 percent economists had expected, according to Thomson Reuters.
The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation at the retail level, rose 0.1 percent in March. That was in line with economists' forecast.
The Fed has said that inflation isn't a problem. Without an immediate threat of rising prices, policymakers have been able to hold the Fed's key interest rate at a record low of essentially zero. The Fed wants to keep rates low to stimulate lending and help revive the economy.
Health care, consumer staples and utilities stocks lagged after traders grew more confident about the economy. These industries are seen as safe in weak economies but fall out of favor when business growth is expected to increase.
About three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume rose to 5.7 billion shares compared with 5.4 billion Tuesday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 15.37, or 2.2 percent, to 722.40.
Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.8 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.4 percent.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Upbeat forecasts from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. propelled the stock market higher for a fifth day.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index topped the 1,200 mark Wednesday for the first time in a year and a half. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 104 points and moved above 11,100.
The good news came from all directions: Corporate earnings numbers and government reports on retail sales and regional economic conditions indicated that the recovery is taking hold.
One of the biggest forces behind the market's climb came from JPMorgan Chase, which reported a better-than-expected profit for the January-March quarter. The bank is still facing big losses from souring consumer loans, but CEO Jamie Dimon said there have been clear improvements in the economy.
The forecast from chipmaker Intel boosted the technology-dominated Nasdaq composite index. Intel posted earnings and revenue after the closing bell Tuesday that topped analysts' expectations. The company also raised its 2010 outlook.
JPMorgan rose 4.1 percent, while Intel added 3.3 percent.
Michael Binger, portfolio manager at Thrivent Investment Management in Minneapolis, said the strong results from leaders of the banking and technology industries are signs that a rebound is in place.
"It diminishes the chance that we go back into a double-dip recession," he said. "It lends credence that the financial industry is recovering and the tech industry is beyond recovering and is doing very well."
A Commerce Department report that retail sales rose more than expected in March added to a sense that consumers are feeling more comfortable spending.
The Federal Reserve said its survey of regional economic activity found that business was getting better in most areas of the country. The report offered a brighter assessment of the economy than the previous survey in early March.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress' Joint Economic Committee that the recovery should hold but that high budget deficits must be addressed to avoid big jumps in interest rates. Bernanke cautioned that unemployment will remain an obstacle.
The stock market has been rising for more than a year and has advanced steadily for two months on encouraging signs of growth. Some analysts have warned that shares have climbed too high, but the latest reports eased some concerns that prices are stretched.
The Dow rose 103.69, or 0.9 percent, to 11,123.11. The Dow closed over 11,000 on Monday for the first time since September 2008. It is up 2.1 percent in five days, its best advance since early March.
The S&P 500 index rose 13.35, or 1.1 percent, to 1,210.65. It was the biggest percentage gain since March 5. Like the Dow, the S&P 500 index is at its highest level since September 2008, when the financial crisis began. The S&P 500 index is up 79 percent from a 12-year low in March last year though it would still need to gain 23 percent to reach its October 2007 high of 1,565.
The Nasdaq rose 38.87, or 1.6 percent, to 2,504.86. It hasn't been above 2,500 since June 2008. The Nasdaq has nearly doubled since last March but it is still down by half from its peak of 5,048.62 in March 2000.
The stronger signs about the economy hurt bond prices and raised yields. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.87 percent from 3.82 percent late Tuesday.
The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold rose.
Crude oil rose $1.79 to $85.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Strength at JPMorgan Chase's investment bank helped offset losses from consumer loan defaults and propelled the company's profit above analysts' expectations. JPMorgan said it plans to add 9,000 employees in the U.S.
Intel's first-quarter results easily topped analysts' expectations. The results indicated that businesses are stepping up their technology spending on growing confidence about the economy. Intel said its profit margin will be better than it had estimated for 2010 and that it plans to hire 1,000 workers.
JPMorgan and Intel were the biggest gainers among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials. JPMorgan rose $1.86, or 4.1 percent, to $47.73. Intel climbed 75 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $23.52.
CSX, the nation's third largest railroad, rose $2.18, or 4.1 percent, to $55.46 after reporting a 20 percent increase in its first-quarter earnings. The company said it has seen "gradual and steady growth" in the economy. It has also started hiring.
"That was the real positive surprise. You hadn't really heard about big companies hiring," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Council in Charlottesville, Va.
Tuz said the strength of the earnings signals that stocks could be properly valued and perhaps even cheap.
The government offered investors more signs the economy is improving. Retail sales rose 1.6 percent in March, the third consecutive month of growth. That was bigger than the increase of 1.2 percent economists had expected, according to Thomson Reuters.
The Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation at the retail level, rose 0.1 percent in March. That was in line with economists' forecast.
The Fed has said that inflation isn't a problem. Without an immediate threat of rising prices, policymakers have been able to hold the Fed's key interest rate at a record low of essentially zero. The Fed wants to keep rates low to stimulate lending and help revive the economy.
Health care, consumer staples and utilities stocks lagged after traders grew more confident about the economy. These industries are seen as safe in weak economies but fall out of favor when business growth is expected to increase.
About three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume rose to 5.7 billion shares compared with 5.4 billion Tuesday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 15.37, or 2.2 percent, to 722.40.
Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.8 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.4 percent.
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