Monday, December 12, 2005

hear no evil,see no evil,say no evil

The bulls are expecting stocks to climb anywhere from 5% to 25% next year, as a steadily growing economy, solid corporate profits, controlled inflation and a likely end to Federal Reserve rate increases make equities attractive. The median forecast is for a 9% gain, which would put the Dow industrials at the doorstep of 12,000 and at an all-time high. Characteristic of the bulls' perspective is Tobias Levkovitch of Citigroup, who says: "Investor sentiment, earning and valuation all are saying that we'll get strong gains in the market." He calls his forecast of a 12% rise in the S&P 500, to 1400, "conservative." (BARRONS)

…Ed Keon of Prudential Equity Group, who early this year turned from lukewarm to extremely positive and now sees the market rocketing higher by 25%, to 1530 on the S&P 500(in 2006). (BARRONS)

U.S productivity grew a revised 4.7% annual rate during the third quarter, faster than the initial estimate of a 4.1% gain, as labor costs fell 1% (WSJ)

December 6, 2005 -- Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest traders of energy contracts on Wall Street, is selling a New Jersey power plant it acquired just two years ago in what some observers peg as a signal the global energy market is reaching a peak. (NY POST)

Unemployment is down to 5%, better than the average for the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The economy has expanded by 4.5 million new jobs since May 2003, including 215,000 in November. Just last week, the third quarter estimate for growth in domestic output was revised upward, to 4.3 %.( NY SUN)

An investment-led US economy in 2006 and beyond, with technology and energy in the forefront, adjusting to a lower dollar and to the need for higher domestic savings, is not only desirable and feasible, but in fact highly probable. In our opinion, longer term, it will also lead to significantly higher equity prices.( Nicocles Leandros Michas, director of economics & investment strategy,Alexandros Partners)

CLUMSY typing cost a Japanese bank at least £128 million and staff their Christmas bonuses yesterday, after a trader mistakenly sold 600,000 more shares than he should have. (TIME on LINE)

The Department of Homeland Security said it is aware of the problem and is working with local enforcement agencies to prevent it. "Roosevelt Avenue is one of the primary areas in New York City to buy false documents, but it is not limited to any borough, or any immigrant community, and it is not new," a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Mark Thorn, said. Earlier this week the Queens district attorney's office, working with the New York Police Department's Special Fraud Unit, took a swipe at the market. In one of the largest investigations in recent years, authorities arrested more than a dozen alleged dealers in false documents, including the location where this reporter bought a fake green card last Thursday for $100. It will take more than one sweep, however, to put the brakes on this market. (NY SUN)

Montreal (CNSNews.com) - The debate over climate change evolved into a battle of the sexes at a U.N. Climate Change Conference in Montreal on Monday. A feminist environmentalist accused men of being the biggest contributors to human-caused "global warming" and lamented that women are bearing the brunt of the negative climate consequences created by men.

Montreal (CNSNews.com) - The Kyoto Protocol on climate change was declared "dead" by several organizations attending the 11th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference this week in Montreal.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressing doubt about the Holocaust and suggesting Israel be moved to Europe are appalling and reprehensible, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

A statement from the Guangdong (CHINA)provincial authorities said a commander of the People's Armed Police, a division of the People's Liberation Army, was detained for "wrong actions" that led to the deaths Tuesday of villagers protesting land seizures in a coastal town north of Hong Kong. (NY SUN)

ROME - Italians would have to pay a 20 percent tax on pornography according to a budget amendment that cleared a first legislative hurdle, news reports said Thursday. The proposed tax was approved at committee level and is expected to go before the Chamber of Deputies, Italy's lower parliamentary house, early next week.(AP)

DECEMBER 8--In a blow to New Yorkers who enjoyed having their premium marijuana delivered to their doorsteps, Drug Enforcement Administration agents have busted up a six-year-old pot ring calling itself the Cartoon Network that was busy preparing its festive holiday shipments before federal agents kicked in the door. (The Smoking Gun)

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi citizens turned over a high-ranking Al Qaeda member known as "the Butcher" to U.S. forces in Ramadi Friday a military statement said…."He is the highest ranking Al Qaeda in Iraq member to be turned into Iraqi and U.S. officials by local citizens," Capt. Jeffrey S. Pool said in a statement released from Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi. "His capture is another indication that the local citizens tire of the insurgents' presence within their community." (FOX NEWS)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Voting begins Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home.

"We are very prepared for the elections, and we are highly determined," Interior Minister (IRAQ) Bayan Jabr said. "We hope that everyone participates and that it will be a safe day. ... We are at a historic juncture." (AP)

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