October 17th, 2005
Hello,
What’s it going to take to get this market going? The good news continues to ad up even though you would never know it.
Yes the FED frets over inflation, but you don’t have to be a Nobel prize winner to know that New Orleans is a major shipping port in USA and to take it out of service raises more than oil and natural gas prices, include coffee, and lumber and many other commodities as well as the destruction to fishing and housing, and industry in the gulf region, all increase pricing pressures. Weather this is the beginning of a sustained period of inflation remains to be seen. As anyone who buys gas a lot over the last several months knows that energy prices can be quite volatile. In the long run it may be meaningless. Productivity growth may simply absorb increased energy prices. I do think we are in a period of prolonged increase in energy prices, but as we have seen in the past, increases in efficiency of energy use, last for ever but take time to implement. The out sized profits in the energy business will sooner or later be converted into investment into the energy infrastructure. It is import to point out raising prices in themselves do not necessarily mean inflation; sometimes it is just that demand is much greater than supply. Strong demand and low supply push prices up (law of supply and demand). Supply can also be constrained, not only by a dissipating asset but by foolish policies of regulation and taxation or just plain poor business practices. To be inflationary prices must increase in excess of excess demand. I am not really sure that is currently the case, so like I said the jury is still out on inflation.
I know you have all been distracted by a potential pandemic of bird flu, energy crisis, the war on terror, pictures of Karl Rove’s garage and Monday night football. You may have simply not noticed that we are near the anniversary of the 1987 October 19th stock market crash. We also had a mini crash in 1997 on the very same date. Since that time the first 3 weeks or so of October have been very scary. There will be some kind of a catalyst that will turn this market around in a big way .What exactly the catalyst will be I am not sure, but sure as Halloween always comes at the end of October, the market turns and takes off.
Is this becoming a lost decade for stock investing? After all we are starting to look like the market will be down for the first times ever for a full 10 years? Folks as with inflation the jury is still out but if the past is any guide the last 4 years of any decade seem to be the sweet spot. After all look at the roaring 80’s and 90’s the market in both looked rather pathetic the first 5 years then as they say the rest was history.
James
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
more "Kumbayah crap"
WASHINGTON - The American government is demanding that Saudi Arabia account for its distribution of hate material to American mosques, as the State Department pressed Saudi officials for answers last week and as the Senate later this month plans to investigate the propagation of radical Wahhabism on American shores. (NY SUN)
Iran was today accused by Britain of supplying Iraqi insurgents with the technology and explosives to kill its soldiers in the south of the country. A senior government official, briefing correspondents in London, said that there was evidence that the Iranians were in contact with insurgent groups fighting coalition forces in Iraq.
(http://www.guardian.co.uk)
UNITED NATIONS — United Nations investigators scrambling to discover the extent of a bribery scandal spreading out from the organization's procurement department may soon be looking toward the building's 38th floor — the U.N's executive offices.( Claudia Rosett and George Russell)
"It all circles back to fears of inflation and fears of further rate increases" by the Federal Reserve, said Larry Peruzzi, and equity trader at Boston Company Asset Management. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON -- Amid growing concerns about bird flu spreading to humans, the Bush administration says it plans to bolster vaccine production in the U.S., purchase huge quantities of antiviral drugs and lay out a detailed system to coordinate federal, state and local response efforts to a pandemic. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration opposes a bailout of municipal bondholders on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, Treasury Secretary John Snow told Congress. (WSJ)
Democrats need to cut the “Kumbayah crap” from their rhetoric, James Carville said Thursday night.
WASHINGTON - The world's largest "wealth management" firm, UBS, will be investigated by Congress for possibly laundering money for two state sponsors of terrorism, Cuba and Iran, lawmakers here told The New York Sun.
BERLIN – Conservative leader Angela Merkel confirmed a coalition deal that will make her Germany's first female chancellor under the terms of a power-sharing agreement that would end Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder's seven years in office. (WSJ)
“If Schröder was a sprinter, Merkel is a long-distance runner,” says Wolfgang Nowak, head of the Alfred Herrhausen Society, a think-tank run by Deutsche Bank. She is considered extremely methodical, going through all the options before making a decision. Insiders call her a “learning machine”. And she has certainly learned a lot since Helmut Kohl picked her out of obscurity in 1991, not least from Mr Schröder’s often frustrated efforts to reform the economy.(the Ecomomist)
Will post-war Germany’s second grand coalition be a success? If history is any guide, a new marriage of elephants would neither disappoint nor over-perform. The first grand coalition, in 1966-69, worked through quite an impressive legislative agenda: emergency legislation, …(the Economist)
NEW YORK -- Refco Inc. said it discovered through an internal review that the company was owed about $430 million by an entity controlled by Chairman and Chief Executive Phillip Bennett, who has repaid the receivable, including accrued interest, in cash. Refco also said that Mr. Bennett is taking a leave of absence, at the request of Refco's board. Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President William Sexton, who previously planned to leave the company, agreed to remain at the financial-service company as CEO. (WSJ)
October 10, 2005 -- Giant Verizon is stepping up its battle to win control of wireless Internet business from a group of rivals offering popular Wi-Fi access. Verizon's effort comes in the wake of Philadelphia's government-backed effort to make the entire city a Wi-Fi hotspot — an area in which anyone could get on to the Internet without wires (NY POST)
Three explosive devices found in a courtyard between two Georgia Tech dormitories on the East Campus Monday morning were part of a "terrorist act," an Atlanta police official said. (http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=70306 )
According to most reports, Joel Hinrichs III was a young man with a history of depression who used a homemade explosive device to commit suicide just 100 yards or so from the school’s football stadium, which was filled with over 80,000 people at the time. Officials were quick to call the incident a suicide, but rumors and reports of Hinrichs’ attempts to buy large quantities of ammonium nitrate and ties to the Muslim community have raised a lot of questions and the answers thus far are not forthcoming. (http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2005/10/10/publiceye/entry931118.shtml )
Boys and young men in the key demographic group reported watching a whopping 24 percent fewer films in the all-important summer cinema season in 2005 than they did over the same period in 2003, consumer research firm Online Testing eXchange (OTX) said. "The perception among young male moviegoers that there wasn't much to see his year was a difficult barrier to overcome, regardless of price," said Vincent Bruzzese of OTX. (AFP)
Iran was today accused by Britain of supplying Iraqi insurgents with the technology and explosives to kill its soldiers in the south of the country. A senior government official, briefing correspondents in London, said that there was evidence that the Iranians were in contact with insurgent groups fighting coalition forces in Iraq.
(http://www.guardian.co.uk)
UNITED NATIONS — United Nations investigators scrambling to discover the extent of a bribery scandal spreading out from the organization's procurement department may soon be looking toward the building's 38th floor — the U.N's executive offices.( Claudia Rosett and George Russell)
"It all circles back to fears of inflation and fears of further rate increases" by the Federal Reserve, said Larry Peruzzi, and equity trader at Boston Company Asset Management. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON -- Amid growing concerns about bird flu spreading to humans, the Bush administration says it plans to bolster vaccine production in the U.S., purchase huge quantities of antiviral drugs and lay out a detailed system to coordinate federal, state and local response efforts to a pandemic. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration opposes a bailout of municipal bondholders on the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, Treasury Secretary John Snow told Congress. (WSJ)
Democrats need to cut the “Kumbayah crap” from their rhetoric, James Carville said Thursday night.
WASHINGTON - The world's largest "wealth management" firm, UBS, will be investigated by Congress for possibly laundering money for two state sponsors of terrorism, Cuba and Iran, lawmakers here told The New York Sun.
BERLIN – Conservative leader Angela Merkel confirmed a coalition deal that will make her Germany's first female chancellor under the terms of a power-sharing agreement that would end Social Democrat Gerhard Schroeder's seven years in office. (WSJ)
“If Schröder was a sprinter, Merkel is a long-distance runner,” says Wolfgang Nowak, head of the Alfred Herrhausen Society, a think-tank run by Deutsche Bank. She is considered extremely methodical, going through all the options before making a decision. Insiders call her a “learning machine”. And she has certainly learned a lot since Helmut Kohl picked her out of obscurity in 1991, not least from Mr Schröder’s often frustrated efforts to reform the economy.(the Ecomomist)
Will post-war Germany’s second grand coalition be a success? If history is any guide, a new marriage of elephants would neither disappoint nor over-perform. The first grand coalition, in 1966-69, worked through quite an impressive legislative agenda: emergency legislation, …(the Economist)
NEW YORK -- Refco Inc. said it discovered through an internal review that the company was owed about $430 million by an entity controlled by Chairman and Chief Executive Phillip Bennett, who has repaid the receivable, including accrued interest, in cash. Refco also said that Mr. Bennett is taking a leave of absence, at the request of Refco's board. Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President William Sexton, who previously planned to leave the company, agreed to remain at the financial-service company as CEO. (WSJ)
October 10, 2005 -- Giant Verizon is stepping up its battle to win control of wireless Internet business from a group of rivals offering popular Wi-Fi access. Verizon's effort comes in the wake of Philadelphia's government-backed effort to make the entire city a Wi-Fi hotspot — an area in which anyone could get on to the Internet without wires (NY POST)
Three explosive devices found in a courtyard between two Georgia Tech dormitories on the East Campus Monday morning were part of a "terrorist act," an Atlanta police official said. (http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=70306 )
According to most reports, Joel Hinrichs III was a young man with a history of depression who used a homemade explosive device to commit suicide just 100 yards or so from the school’s football stadium, which was filled with over 80,000 people at the time. Officials were quick to call the incident a suicide, but rumors and reports of Hinrichs’ attempts to buy large quantities of ammonium nitrate and ties to the Muslim community have raised a lot of questions and the answers thus far are not forthcoming. (http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2005/10/10/publiceye/entry931118.shtml )
Boys and young men in the key demographic group reported watching a whopping 24 percent fewer films in the all-important summer cinema season in 2005 than they did over the same period in 2003, consumer research firm Online Testing eXchange (OTX) said. "The perception among young male moviegoers that there wasn't much to see his year was a difficult barrier to overcome, regardless of price," said Vincent Bruzzese of OTX. (AFP)
flu bug,Columbus and the 1987 crash and more "kumbayah crap"
October 6, 2005
Hello,
So here we are in October, and we all know that for some confluence of reasons perhaps it the season of Halloween but the market always seems to get “spooked” in a big way the first 2 weeks and then rebound strongly sometime during the end of the third week and begins the year ending rally. The rally that follows the October drop follows a first in first out principle with many of the leading sectors regaining there step proceeding the sell off. The sell off is market driven bigger than any single stock and global in scope. I have noticed this annual occurrence since October 19th 1987. So while we search for the market bottom and in celebration of new discoveries lets follow the lead of Columbus and sail west to go east another words, instead of panic selling in mid October lets capitalize on the yearly reoccurrence by looking to pick up shares in leading sectors on the cheap and as they say buy low and look to sell high. So what you ask would Columbus do?
Well in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue….first he had a plan to find a direct route to the east ,for most it is simply a matter of financial security ,but you have to have a plan,2) he had perseverance ,short term set backs were no match for his long term vision ,he new what he had to do and he kept doing it ,we call this follow up 3)Columbus was also well diversified using three ships instead of one ,one large and two smaller and faster ships, when one ran aground the other pick up the slack, your portfolio should work the same 4) Columbus favored using ‘dead reckoning” instead of the strategy of coordinating points based on the position of the heavenly bodies. Columbus believed in knowing were you were and taking direct measurements form that point to identify were you are now. Investors can use the same to track their portfolio and understand where they are and what it will take to get were they want to be, instead of focusing on the stars.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
Hello,
So here we are in October, and we all know that for some confluence of reasons perhaps it the season of Halloween but the market always seems to get “spooked” in a big way the first 2 weeks and then rebound strongly sometime during the end of the third week and begins the year ending rally. The rally that follows the October drop follows a first in first out principle with many of the leading sectors regaining there step proceeding the sell off. The sell off is market driven bigger than any single stock and global in scope. I have noticed this annual occurrence since October 19th 1987. So while we search for the market bottom and in celebration of new discoveries lets follow the lead of Columbus and sail west to go east another words, instead of panic selling in mid October lets capitalize on the yearly reoccurrence by looking to pick up shares in leading sectors on the cheap and as they say buy low and look to sell high. So what you ask would Columbus do?
Well in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue….first he had a plan to find a direct route to the east ,for most it is simply a matter of financial security ,but you have to have a plan,2) he had perseverance ,short term set backs were no match for his long term vision ,he new what he had to do and he kept doing it ,we call this follow up 3)Columbus was also well diversified using three ships instead of one ,one large and two smaller and faster ships, when one ran aground the other pick up the slack, your portfolio should work the same 4) Columbus favored using ‘dead reckoning” instead of the strategy of coordinating points based on the position of the heavenly bodies. Columbus believed in knowing were you were and taking direct measurements form that point to identify were you are now. Investors can use the same to track their portfolio and understand where they are and what it will take to get were they want to be, instead of focusing on the stars.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Financial crimes and misdemeanors in the news
WASHINGTON -- House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted by a Texas grand jury for campaign-finance violations, shaking the capital's Republican leadership and aggravating fissures within the party that could unsettle its decade-long dominance of Congress. (WSJ)
HCA Inc. said Thursday it has been informed that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a formal order of investigation relating to trading of the company's securities. The announcement relates to the SEC's probe of stock sales made by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, whose family founded the company.(WSJ)
September 29, 2005 -- Twelve top investment banks and financial institutions have been told they must defend a lawsuit claiming they participated in an industrywide scheme to rig initial public offerings. (NY POST)
September 29, 2005 -- The accounting disaster at Fannie Mae, the giant mortgage guarantor already in the midst of a multiyear investigation of financial shenanigans, appears to be much worse than previously thought. Investigators now say that the $11 billion estimate of Fannie Mae's accounting gimmicks appears to be a best-case scenario. (NY POST)
The two men who founded Bayou Management LLC, the Connecticut hedge-fund firm that allegedly exaggerated results for years before closing shop unexpectedly in July without returning investors' money, are expected plead guilty to criminal fraud charges in federal court today, a person familiar with the matter said. (WSJ)
The relisting of Parmalat stock will cap the turnaround of the Italian company by government-appointed administrator Enrico Bondi. He took control of the company -- best known for producing milk with a long shelf life -- when it filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2003 after the discovery of a decade-long fraud allegedly masterminded by former executives. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON -- The money that led to the indictment this week of two Las Vegas pastors and the wife of one of them came from federal grants arranged by Sen. Harry Reid in September 2001, a Reid spokeswoman said Wednesday.
( http://www.reviewjournal.com)
A detailed lawsuit filed against Delphi Corp. by two state pension funds and one of Europe's biggest employee-pension funds alleges the auto-supplier's senior executives encouraged inventory deals with a bank and two other companies that artificially boosted profits from 1999 to 2002. (WSJ)
HCA Inc. said Thursday it has been informed that the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a formal order of investigation relating to trading of the company's securities. The announcement relates to the SEC's probe of stock sales made by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, whose family founded the company.(WSJ)
September 29, 2005 -- Twelve top investment banks and financial institutions have been told they must defend a lawsuit claiming they participated in an industrywide scheme to rig initial public offerings. (NY POST)
September 29, 2005 -- The accounting disaster at Fannie Mae, the giant mortgage guarantor already in the midst of a multiyear investigation of financial shenanigans, appears to be much worse than previously thought. Investigators now say that the $11 billion estimate of Fannie Mae's accounting gimmicks appears to be a best-case scenario. (NY POST)
The two men who founded Bayou Management LLC, the Connecticut hedge-fund firm that allegedly exaggerated results for years before closing shop unexpectedly in July without returning investors' money, are expected plead guilty to criminal fraud charges in federal court today, a person familiar with the matter said. (WSJ)
The relisting of Parmalat stock will cap the turnaround of the Italian company by government-appointed administrator Enrico Bondi. He took control of the company -- best known for producing milk with a long shelf life -- when it filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2003 after the discovery of a decade-long fraud allegedly masterminded by former executives. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON -- The money that led to the indictment this week of two Las Vegas pastors and the wife of one of them came from federal grants arranged by Sen. Harry Reid in September 2001, a Reid spokeswoman said Wednesday.
( http://www.reviewjournal.com)
A detailed lawsuit filed against Delphi Corp. by two state pension funds and one of Europe's biggest employee-pension funds alleges the auto-supplier's senior executives encouraged inventory deals with a bank and two other companies that artificially boosted profits from 1999 to 2002. (WSJ)
Financial crimes and misdemeanors
October 4 2005
Hello,
Is there no shame? From the UN to the halls of congress to boardrooms from sea to shining sea corruption seems to be the order of the day. What’s an investor to do? Yes some actions are out and out criminality, some are solely the province of an isolated single individual, some are debates of accounting tactics and tax payments and some are simply wild eyes accusations. Is corruption at epidemic proportions or is it simply ingrained in many institutions in our society? Many institutions acting more like criminal enterprises thinly veiled in a cloak of legitimacy.
Stocks that play by the rules ,follow proper accounting procedures and keep shareholders and employees informed ,in the long run they have their stocks rewarded .Companies that over pay their executives, and don’t act in the best interest of shareholders and employees are in the long run looked at with suspicion and their stock prices are penalized. We all know the stories of World com ,lucent, AT&T ,Enron and so on many of these stocks are no longer with us or trading at very low valuations. It is important to stay calm and separate acts of fraud, bad management or poor business judgment. Remember General Motors not selling enough SUV’s with $3 a gallon gasoline is not corruption it is just very bad management.
How do you know what they say is true? First there are accounting standards that are practiced uniformly in most parts of the world. Standards have some differences country to country but are generally uniform in most of the industrialized world. Most exchanges are self regulatory bodies and have standards of there own that companies have to meet to remain listed on their exchange. There are state administrators and Federal regulators that demand certain level of compliance with regulation and companies must demonstrate compliance to the regulators as well as the exchanges. Companies hire auditors, who are liable for the company meeting the regulatory requirements. It is also important to note that bulletin board or penny stocks have almost NO requirements and some countries have historically weak compliance and enforcement, Japan, Italy, Brazil for instance and some countries like China have no standards and are currently trying to develop standards, policies and procedures. However an Italian or Japanese or Brazilian stock that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange has to meet NYSE standards, US standards and there own country standards. This is not to cast dispersions on certain countries or companies .The USA was a model for transparency until the Clinton Era scandals of the 1990’s ie.. Enron, World Com and well you know the story…
So again what’s an investor to do? I have some simple rules, they don’t inoculate you against everything but it is a good place to start.
1) Don’t buy stocks that don’t have audited financials,2) Over hyped CEO’s often lead to underperforming stocks,3) It is what they do not what they say,4) longer term consistency of earning and revenue growth,5) the companies articulated strategy has to make sense. 6) The stock is listed on a major exchange like the NYSE which has even higher standards. 7) A company’s openness to share information with shareholders. It is important to remember that there are over 8000 mutual funds and about 8000 stocks so the amount of financial crimes is rather small, but often spectacular.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
http://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
Hello,
Is there no shame? From the UN to the halls of congress to boardrooms from sea to shining sea corruption seems to be the order of the day. What’s an investor to do? Yes some actions are out and out criminality, some are solely the province of an isolated single individual, some are debates of accounting tactics and tax payments and some are simply wild eyes accusations. Is corruption at epidemic proportions or is it simply ingrained in many institutions in our society? Many institutions acting more like criminal enterprises thinly veiled in a cloak of legitimacy.
Stocks that play by the rules ,follow proper accounting procedures and keep shareholders and employees informed ,in the long run they have their stocks rewarded .Companies that over pay their executives, and don’t act in the best interest of shareholders and employees are in the long run looked at with suspicion and their stock prices are penalized. We all know the stories of World com ,lucent, AT&T ,Enron and so on many of these stocks are no longer with us or trading at very low valuations. It is important to stay calm and separate acts of fraud, bad management or poor business judgment. Remember General Motors not selling enough SUV’s with $3 a gallon gasoline is not corruption it is just very bad management.
How do you know what they say is true? First there are accounting standards that are practiced uniformly in most parts of the world. Standards have some differences country to country but are generally uniform in most of the industrialized world. Most exchanges are self regulatory bodies and have standards of there own that companies have to meet to remain listed on their exchange. There are state administrators and Federal regulators that demand certain level of compliance with regulation and companies must demonstrate compliance to the regulators as well as the exchanges. Companies hire auditors, who are liable for the company meeting the regulatory requirements. It is also important to note that bulletin board or penny stocks have almost NO requirements and some countries have historically weak compliance and enforcement, Japan, Italy, Brazil for instance and some countries like China have no standards and are currently trying to develop standards, policies and procedures. However an Italian or Japanese or Brazilian stock that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange has to meet NYSE standards, US standards and there own country standards. This is not to cast dispersions on certain countries or companies .The USA was a model for transparency until the Clinton Era scandals of the 1990’s ie.. Enron, World Com and well you know the story…
So again what’s an investor to do? I have some simple rules, they don’t inoculate you against everything but it is a good place to start.
1) Don’t buy stocks that don’t have audited financials,2) Over hyped CEO’s often lead to underperforming stocks,3) It is what they do not what they say,4) longer term consistency of earning and revenue growth,5) the companies articulated strategy has to make sense. 6) The stock is listed on a major exchange like the NYSE which has even higher standards. 7) A company’s openness to share information with shareholders. It is important to remember that there are over 8000 mutual funds and about 8000 stocks so the amount of financial crimes is rather small, but often spectacular.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
http://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
in the news
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin held a press conference a little bit ago, and started losing control to a media pool assembled that was showing signs of panic, due to the previous incompetence in the region by the local and state government. Lt. Gen. Russel Honore stepped in and literally took over. ….Here's what he had to say: Male reporter: General, a little bit more about why that's happening this time, though, and did not have that last time... Honore: You are stuck on stupid. I'm not going to answer that question. We are going to deal with Rita. This is public information that people are depending on the government to put out. This is the way we've got to do it. So please. I apologize to you, but let's talk about the future. Rita is happening. And right now, we need to get good, clean information out to the people that they can use. And we can have a conversation on the side about the past, in a couple of months. (http://www.radioblogger.com/)
CNSNews.com) - The New Orleans police chief resigned abruptly on Tuesday, giving no reason. But as the Houston Chronicle reported, Police Superintendent Eddie Compass stepped aside on the same day that he and Mayor Ray Nagin were accused by the New Orleans Times-Picayune of embellishing stories of post-Katrina crime and mayhem at the Convention Center and Superdome.
It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing .(observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story)
Hillary Clinton was asked whether she favored curbs on the Internet, after the DRUDGE REPORT made headlines with coverage of her husband's affair with a White House intern. "We are all going to have to rethink how we deal with this, because there are all these competing values ... Without any kind of editing function or gatekeeping function, what does it mean to have the right to defend your reputation?" she said.(Matt Drudge)
(CNSNews.com) - Authorities in China, where at least three journalists have been jailed this year for political "crimes" involving the Internet, clamped down further at the weekend by introducing new regulations for online news services.
(CNSNews.com) - Following five years of United Nations control and billions of dollars of international aid, Kosovo is a lawless region "owned" by the Albanian mafia, characterized by continuing ethnic cleansing and subject to increasing infiltration by al Qaeda-linked Muslim jihadists, according to a whistleblower interviewed by Cybercast News Service.
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. orders for durable goods rose a greater-than-expected 3.3 percent in August, rebounding from the biggest drop in 18 months, as businesses sought to rebuild stocks depleted by surging sales.
Orders rose in all categories except defense equipment.
The Federal Reserve's success in taming the economy's ups and downs may have also raised the risks of reckless investor behavior, Chairman Alan Greenspan said. (WSJ)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, drawing on new research he has personally supervised, said American consumers have become enormously dependent on borrowing against their homes to fuel their spending, and that a rise in mortgage rates could trigger a spending pullback. Mr. Greenspan's new data show that borrowing against home values added a stunning $600 billion to consumers' spending power last year, equivalent to 7% of personal disposable income -- compared with 3% in 2000 and 1% in 1994 (WSJ)
Defying expectations, sales of previously owned homes rose in August to the second-highest level on record with home prices rising at the fastest pace in 26 years. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes rose 2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.29 million units, a sales pace that was exceeded only by an all-time high of 7.35 million units in June. (MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP)
NEW YORK -- This summer's back to back superstorms are proof positive we have entered a new period of "global warming emergency," artist/citizen Barbra Streisand warns.(Matt Drudge)
Although this has been an exceptional year in terms of the number of storms, there have so far not been as many as there were in 1995, when we had 19. There have been similarly active seasons dating back decades. In both 1960 and 1961 there were two Category 5 storms in the Atlantic region and in 1933 there were 21 storms. ( Julian Heming of the Met Office in Exeter)
If you discount Ophelia, which grazed the Carolinas, three hurricanes have so far made landfall over the US this year. In 1886, records show that there were seven. (Julian Heming of the Met Office in Exeter)
CNSNews.com) - The New Orleans police chief resigned abruptly on Tuesday, giving no reason. But as the Houston Chronicle reported, Police Superintendent Eddie Compass stepped aside on the same day that he and Mayor Ray Nagin were accused by the New Orleans Times-Picayune of embellishing stories of post-Katrina crime and mayhem at the Convention Center and Superdome.
It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying 'toxic dart' guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing .(observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story)
Hillary Clinton was asked whether she favored curbs on the Internet, after the DRUDGE REPORT made headlines with coverage of her husband's affair with a White House intern. "We are all going to have to rethink how we deal with this, because there are all these competing values ... Without any kind of editing function or gatekeeping function, what does it mean to have the right to defend your reputation?" she said.(Matt Drudge)
(CNSNews.com) - Authorities in China, where at least three journalists have been jailed this year for political "crimes" involving the Internet, clamped down further at the weekend by introducing new regulations for online news services.
(CNSNews.com) - Following five years of United Nations control and billions of dollars of international aid, Kosovo is a lawless region "owned" by the Albanian mafia, characterized by continuing ethnic cleansing and subject to increasing infiltration by al Qaeda-linked Muslim jihadists, according to a whistleblower interviewed by Cybercast News Service.
Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. orders for durable goods rose a greater-than-expected 3.3 percent in August, rebounding from the biggest drop in 18 months, as businesses sought to rebuild stocks depleted by surging sales.
Orders rose in all categories except defense equipment.
The Federal Reserve's success in taming the economy's ups and downs may have also raised the risks of reckless investor behavior, Chairman Alan Greenspan said. (WSJ)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, drawing on new research he has personally supervised, said American consumers have become enormously dependent on borrowing against their homes to fuel their spending, and that a rise in mortgage rates could trigger a spending pullback. Mr. Greenspan's new data show that borrowing against home values added a stunning $600 billion to consumers' spending power last year, equivalent to 7% of personal disposable income -- compared with 3% in 2000 and 1% in 1994 (WSJ)
Defying expectations, sales of previously owned homes rose in August to the second-highest level on record with home prices rising at the fastest pace in 26 years. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes rose 2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.29 million units, a sales pace that was exceeded only by an all-time high of 7.35 million units in June. (MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP)
NEW YORK -- This summer's back to back superstorms are proof positive we have entered a new period of "global warming emergency," artist/citizen Barbra Streisand warns.(Matt Drudge)
Although this has been an exceptional year in terms of the number of storms, there have so far not been as many as there were in 1995, when we had 19. There have been similarly active seasons dating back decades. In both 1960 and 1961 there were two Category 5 storms in the Atlantic region and in 1933 there were 21 storms. ( Julian Heming of the Met Office in Exeter)
If you discount Ophelia, which grazed the Carolinas, three hurricanes have so far made landfall over the US this year. In 1886, records show that there were seven. (Julian Heming of the Met Office in Exeter)
just trying not to be"... stuck on stupid?"......
September 27, 2005
Hello,
Some sound advice was offered to all investors this week in the after math of hurricane Rita by National Guard Lt. General Russel Honore, when he asked rhetorically “You are stuck on stupid”? Often the stock market has a habit of making anyone feel that way. Wall Street firms JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs not to be out done are trying to factor the risk of global warming and climate change into your portfolio. Ask any Dinosaur how climate change can be detrimental to your health. As for me I would just be happy if some one could accurately predict the weather for tomorrow.
After the worst week in three months on Wall Street, there still seems a chance that September could finish positive for a change, considering the market sells off with higher oil prices and rallies when they subside. While Katrina took many by surprise in typical fashion lighting seldom strikes twice in the same spot and so Rita caused far less damage then was originally feared. Although there is much debate on the health of the oil industry in the gulf, the big issues are simple; the energy infrastructure in the USA has been significantly underinvested in for some time perhaps 40 years so there really is just not much room for “Murphy’s law” or a category 4-5 hurricane in the gulf.
Energy stocks like housing stocks seems to be operating under the, “if it can’t get any better than this, some cataclysmic event comes along that makes it even better”. All I have to say is that after 4 hurricanes in south Florida last year home prices showed enormous price appreciation. It is the same theme over and over again. My concern is that many of the home builders have traded off there highs significantly, this may be the signal of a coming slow down in housing or just another temporary consolidation, the jury is still out for the moment .Remember that in situations of over speculation things often look best just before the damn breaks, like in March of 2000 with the Tech and dot com bubble.
Rates look to keep rising as the FED seeks to temper the huge infusion of aid to the gulf region knowing that adding enormous amounts of liquidity should give the economy a bit of a sugar rush for the next several months.
And on a final note one look at the “new apprentice” it becomes obvious that Martha Stewart belongs in the kitchen. Don’t for get to check out my website www.jamesfoytlin.com and blog http://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ for updates.
James
Hello,
Some sound advice was offered to all investors this week in the after math of hurricane Rita by National Guard Lt. General Russel Honore, when he asked rhetorically “You are stuck on stupid”? Often the stock market has a habit of making anyone feel that way. Wall Street firms JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs not to be out done are trying to factor the risk of global warming and climate change into your portfolio. Ask any Dinosaur how climate change can be detrimental to your health. As for me I would just be happy if some one could accurately predict the weather for tomorrow.
After the worst week in three months on Wall Street, there still seems a chance that September could finish positive for a change, considering the market sells off with higher oil prices and rallies when they subside. While Katrina took many by surprise in typical fashion lighting seldom strikes twice in the same spot and so Rita caused far less damage then was originally feared. Although there is much debate on the health of the oil industry in the gulf, the big issues are simple; the energy infrastructure in the USA has been significantly underinvested in for some time perhaps 40 years so there really is just not much room for “Murphy’s law” or a category 4-5 hurricane in the gulf.
Energy stocks like housing stocks seems to be operating under the, “if it can’t get any better than this, some cataclysmic event comes along that makes it even better”. All I have to say is that after 4 hurricanes in south Florida last year home prices showed enormous price appreciation. It is the same theme over and over again. My concern is that many of the home builders have traded off there highs significantly, this may be the signal of a coming slow down in housing or just another temporary consolidation, the jury is still out for the moment .Remember that in situations of over speculation things often look best just before the damn breaks, like in March of 2000 with the Tech and dot com bubble.
Rates look to keep rising as the FED seeks to temper the huge infusion of aid to the gulf region knowing that adding enormous amounts of liquidity should give the economy a bit of a sugar rush for the next several months.
And on a final note one look at the “new apprentice” it becomes obvious that Martha Stewart belongs in the kitchen. Don’t for get to check out my website www.jamesfoytlin.com and blog http://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/ for updates.
James
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
lots of news this week
Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, an Army intelligence officer who worked on the program, said Thursday that before the Able Danger data was destroyed, he had briefed senior officials in the Pentagon and White House on ways to excise U.S. persons' names without losing the entire database. He said the Pentagon must have obliterated the data for another reason that it is not disclosing. .( By John M. Donnelly from The Congressional Quarterly)
The chart topping hip hop rapper star who used a network hurricane fundraiser to charge "George Bush doesn't care about black people" was loudly and lustily booed during last night's NFL kickoff show. The appearance of Kanye West, who was beamed into the Boston stadium via remote from Los Angeles, received a strongly negative response from the crowd. "The boos were thunderous and lasted for much of his number," reports the BOSTON GLOBE.
Red Cross workers arrived in New Orleans with enough food, water and blankets for thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims the night before levees broke and flooded the city, but were prevented from delivering the aid to stranded citizens by state officials."I'm told that they were ready as soon as the winds died down and the roads were passable, which means before the levees broke," Fox News Channel's Major Garrett reported Thursday.(NEWSMAX)
Americans used 4% less gasoline amid skyrocketing pump prices last week than they did the week before Hurricane Katrina hit, the federal government reported. But whether that indicates consumers have decided to conserve or merely that they couldn't find all the gasoline they wanted isn't clear. (WSJ)
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Wealthy OPEC nation Kuwait is donating $500 million worth of oil products and other humanitarian aid to its ally the United States to ease the impact of Hurricane Katrina, state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday."The humanitarian aid is oil products that the devastated (U.S.) states need in these circumstances, plus other humanitarian aid to lessen the devastation these three states have been subjected to," Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told KUNA.Sheikh Ahmad said the gesture was a duty toward a friend by the tiny Gulf Arab state which was liberated in 1991 by a U.S.-led multinational coalition from seven months of occupation by IraqThe minister, who is also the OPEC chief, was speaking after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers. Tiny Kuwait controls nearly a tenth of global petroleum reserves.
“The floodgates would have blocked the flow of water from the Gulf of Mexico, through Lake Borgne, through the Rigolets [and Chef Mentuer] into Lake Pontchartrain,” declared Professor Gregory Stone, the James P. Morgan Distinguished Professor and Director of the Coastal Studies Institute of Louisiana State University. “This would likely have reduced storm surge coming from the Gulf and into the Lake Pontchartrain,” Professor Stone told Michael P. Tremoglie during an interview on September 6. The professor concluded, “[T]hese floodgates would have alleviated the flooding of New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.”… Why was this project aborted? As the Times-Picayune wrote, “Those plans were abandoned after environmental advocates successfully sued to stop the projects as too damaging to the wetlands and the lake's eco-system.” (FrontPageMagazine.com)
"The inescapable conclusion from the committee's work is that the United Nations organization needs thorough reform -- and it needs it urgently," the report said (WSJ)
The document — the fourth report released by the IIC, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker— lays out a pattern of "illicit, unethical and corrupt behavior" that overwhelmed the United Nations. It criticizes Annan and slams his stewardship and management skills, as well as the oversight of the Security Council. (FOXNEWS)
An analysis of the confidential medical report on Yasser Arafat's death reveals three main possibilities as to the cause: poisoning, AIDS or an infection. (By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A large solar flare was reported Wednesday and forecasters warned of potential electrical and communications disruptions. The flare was reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo. Significant solar eruptions are possible in the coming days and there could be disruptions in spacecraft operations, electric power systems, high frequency communications and low-frequency navigation systems, the agency said. "This flare, the fourth largest in the last 15 years, erupted just as the ... sunspot cluster was rotating onto the visible disk of the sun," said Larry Combs, solar forecaster at the center. The flare has affected some high-frequency communications on the sunlit side of Earth, NOAA reported.
"The equity research [analysts] question the investment bank's ability to accept stricter rating standards at the expense of revenues," wrote John Hoffmann, then head of research for Salomon Smith Barney, Citi's securities unit, to its banking boss Michael Carpenter in a 2002 memo. (NY POST)
The chart topping hip hop rapper star who used a network hurricane fundraiser to charge "George Bush doesn't care about black people" was loudly and lustily booed during last night's NFL kickoff show. The appearance of Kanye West, who was beamed into the Boston stadium via remote from Los Angeles, received a strongly negative response from the crowd. "The boos were thunderous and lasted for much of his number," reports the BOSTON GLOBE.
Red Cross workers arrived in New Orleans with enough food, water and blankets for thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims the night before levees broke and flooded the city, but were prevented from delivering the aid to stranded citizens by state officials."I'm told that they were ready as soon as the winds died down and the roads were passable, which means before the levees broke," Fox News Channel's Major Garrett reported Thursday.(NEWSMAX)
Americans used 4% less gasoline amid skyrocketing pump prices last week than they did the week before Hurricane Katrina hit, the federal government reported. But whether that indicates consumers have decided to conserve or merely that they couldn't find all the gasoline they wanted isn't clear. (WSJ)
KUWAIT (Reuters) – Wealthy OPEC nation Kuwait is donating $500 million worth of oil products and other humanitarian aid to its ally the United States to ease the impact of Hurricane Katrina, state news agency KUNA reported on Sunday."The humanitarian aid is oil products that the devastated (U.S.) states need in these circumstances, plus other humanitarian aid to lessen the devastation these three states have been subjected to," Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah told KUNA.Sheikh Ahmad said the gesture was a duty toward a friend by the tiny Gulf Arab state which was liberated in 1991 by a U.S.-led multinational coalition from seven months of occupation by IraqThe minister, who is also the OPEC chief, was speaking after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers. Tiny Kuwait controls nearly a tenth of global petroleum reserves.
“The floodgates would have blocked the flow of water from the Gulf of Mexico, through Lake Borgne, through the Rigolets [and Chef Mentuer] into Lake Pontchartrain,” declared Professor Gregory Stone, the James P. Morgan Distinguished Professor and Director of the Coastal Studies Institute of Louisiana State University. “This would likely have reduced storm surge coming from the Gulf and into the Lake Pontchartrain,” Professor Stone told Michael P. Tremoglie during an interview on September 6. The professor concluded, “[T]hese floodgates would have alleviated the flooding of New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina.”… Why was this project aborted? As the Times-Picayune wrote, “Those plans were abandoned after environmental advocates successfully sued to stop the projects as too damaging to the wetlands and the lake's eco-system.” (FrontPageMagazine.com)
"The inescapable conclusion from the committee's work is that the United Nations organization needs thorough reform -- and it needs it urgently," the report said (WSJ)
The document — the fourth report released by the IIC, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker— lays out a pattern of "illicit, unethical and corrupt behavior" that overwhelmed the United Nations. It criticizes Annan and slams his stewardship and management skills, as well as the oversight of the Security Council. (FOXNEWS)
An analysis of the confidential medical report on Yasser Arafat's death reveals three main possibilities as to the cause: poisoning, AIDS or an infection. (By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A large solar flare was reported Wednesday and forecasters warned of potential electrical and communications disruptions. The flare was reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Environment Center in Boulder, Colo. Significant solar eruptions are possible in the coming days and there could be disruptions in spacecraft operations, electric power systems, high frequency communications and low-frequency navigation systems, the agency said. "This flare, the fourth largest in the last 15 years, erupted just as the ... sunspot cluster was rotating onto the visible disk of the sun," said Larry Combs, solar forecaster at the center. The flare has affected some high-frequency communications on the sunlit side of Earth, NOAA reported.
"The equity research [analysts] question the investment bank's ability to accept stricter rating standards at the expense of revenues," wrote John Hoffmann, then head of research for Salomon Smith Barney, Citi's securities unit, to its banking boss Michael Carpenter in a 2002 memo. (NY POST)
sun spots in my eyes
September 12 2005
Hello,
While the country is still arguing about who’s fault the hurricane Katrina is ,I have moved on to new hurricanes and a more plausible explanation ; sun spots. For years science has studied these solar flares know to the laymen as sun spots. They have been credited with the bull market of the 1980’s and 1990’s, the end of the Second World War, the fall of the Roman Empire; Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs and on and on. Some studies suggest that the good performance in the stock market tracks certain sun spot phenomenon. It has been rumored that certain large Wall Street firms has devoted significant resources to studying solar flares effect on the market. My personal experience has been a bit more mixed. Sun spots seem to explain only the crazy market inconsistencies and So if things seem a bit off, stocks down when they should be up the next time you hear blame game, just think quietly to your self, it is all about sun spots.
First it was all about who to blame for Katrina, now its blame everything on Katrina. Company after company is rushing to tell us that its not bad management, accounting irregularities, lack of vision, or poor judgment. It is just good old mother nature reeking havoc to the unsuspecting masses, yea right.
As I said in the last email Semi’s still looked good, with their technical charts intact and the first week of September was surprisingly strong .Of coarse last week things went back to the normal September swoon and sold off. As I have said before the key to the market returning to more normal performance would be a sizable rally in the Semi conductors. I am still looking at weakness thru the 3rd week of October and then a substantial year end market rally.
Looking over the past couple of years it is becoming increasing clear that it is all about timing and asset mix, I can have 20 accounts with the same stocks and yet the performance could run the gamut from up 30% to down 25% all depending on the date of purchase and percentage of a particular asset. Energy has dominated the winners, but several times I have been under the impression that the sector has gotten way a head of itself. It looks to me that the pressure on energy prices stems more from underinvestment, restrictions and underdevelopment of the infrastructure to deliver the energy to the consumer not some depletion of reserves as many would have you believe. I think what is confusing to lot of people is that the long term trend of raising energy prices and raising energy stocks, yet short term, which could last several months the corrections are giving very strong sell signals ,later to reverse to a strong buy signal. The pricing mechanism of the stock market seems to still be off, no efficient market at work here and it can take some time to dig yourself out when a stock goes against you and can take sometime for a stock to move up for very obvious reasons.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
Hello,
While the country is still arguing about who’s fault the hurricane Katrina is ,I have moved on to new hurricanes and a more plausible explanation ; sun spots. For years science has studied these solar flares know to the laymen as sun spots. They have been credited with the bull market of the 1980’s and 1990’s, the end of the Second World War, the fall of the Roman Empire; Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs and on and on. Some studies suggest that the good performance in the stock market tracks certain sun spot phenomenon. It has been rumored that certain large Wall Street firms has devoted significant resources to studying solar flares effect on the market. My personal experience has been a bit more mixed. Sun spots seem to explain only the crazy market inconsistencies and So if things seem a bit off, stocks down when they should be up the next time you hear blame game, just think quietly to your self, it is all about sun spots.
First it was all about who to blame for Katrina, now its blame everything on Katrina. Company after company is rushing to tell us that its not bad management, accounting irregularities, lack of vision, or poor judgment. It is just good old mother nature reeking havoc to the unsuspecting masses, yea right.
As I said in the last email Semi’s still looked good, with their technical charts intact and the first week of September was surprisingly strong .Of coarse last week things went back to the normal September swoon and sold off. As I have said before the key to the market returning to more normal performance would be a sizable rally in the Semi conductors. I am still looking at weakness thru the 3rd week of October and then a substantial year end market rally.
Looking over the past couple of years it is becoming increasing clear that it is all about timing and asset mix, I can have 20 accounts with the same stocks and yet the performance could run the gamut from up 30% to down 25% all depending on the date of purchase and percentage of a particular asset. Energy has dominated the winners, but several times I have been under the impression that the sector has gotten way a head of itself. It looks to me that the pressure on energy prices stems more from underinvestment, restrictions and underdevelopment of the infrastructure to deliver the energy to the consumer not some depletion of reserves as many would have you believe. I think what is confusing to lot of people is that the long term trend of raising energy prices and raising energy stocks, yet short term, which could last several months the corrections are giving very strong sell signals ,later to reverse to a strong buy signal. The pricing mechanism of the stock market seems to still be off, no efficient market at work here and it can take some time to dig yourself out when a stock goes against you and can take sometime for a stock to move up for very obvious reasons.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
in and out of the news
Louisiana disaster plan, pg 13, para 5 , dated 01/00'The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating'...(Matt Drudge)
WALL STREET shuddered yesterday after Alan Greenspan, the United States’ central banker, warned American homebuyers that they risk a crash if they continue to drive property prices higher.(TIMES ON LINE)
J.D. Smith, a defense contractor who claims he worked on the technical side of the unit, code-named "Able Danger" (search), told reporters Friday that he helped gather open-source information (search), reported on government spending and helped generate charts associated with the unit's work. Able Danger was set up in the 1990s to track Al Qaeda activity worldwide. (FOXNEWS)
Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson prompted a firestorm of media outrage on Tuesday after he suggested that the Bush administration should assassinate a foreign leader who posed a threat to the U.S. - in this case, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But when senior Clinton advisor George Stephanopoulos publicly argued for the same kind of assassination policy in 1997, the press voiced no objection at all. (NEWS MAX)
(CNSNews.com) - The al Qaeda terrorist network may be planning a terrorist attack in a major city in Asia as a bid to undermine investor confidence and cause serious economic damage, one of Europe's leading terrorist investigators has warned.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. jets launched airstrikes Tuesday near the Syrian border, destroying three houses and killing a ``known terrorist,'' the U.S. military said. Iraqi authorities said fighting had broken out in the area between a tribe that supports foreign fighters and another that backs the government. (AP)
Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."
UNITED NATIONS - In a move hailed by American officials as "dramatic," and which has given hope to Syrian dissidents who aim to replace the Baath regime of Bashar Assad with a democracy, a U.N. investigator yesterday pointed to five former Lebanese security officials - all of whom have close ties to Syria - as possible suspects in the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. (NY SUN)
A group led by New York financier Carl Icahn is considering making a tender offer to buy as much as 10% of Time Warner Inc., hoping to put more pressure on the media conglomerate to respond to Mr. Icahn's overtures (WSJ)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N. investigators quizzed five senior pro-Syrian figures, including a top aide to Lebanon's president, on Tuesday as suspects in the February killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Lebanese police and U.N. investigators detained three former security chiefs in dawn raids, the first time they have implicated allies of Syria in the killing that shook Lebanon and hastened the departure of Syrian troops after three decades.
JERUSALEM – The arrests today of three pro-Syrian security chiefs over the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has many leaders, security officials and top journalists in Beirut who may be seen as threats to Damascus worried about possible reprisals against them – with some having already departed the country. (ARON KLIEN, World Net Daily)
UNITED NATIONS -- A sweeping yearlong probe of the Iraq oil-for-food program has concluded that the United Nations allowed "illicit, unethical, and corrupt behavior" to overwhelm the $64 billion operation, and must adopt sweeping reforms to reclaim its credibility before taking on such tasks again. (WSJ)
the issue is becoming the scale of corruption in the U.N.'s normal operations — and which individuals and corporations are reaping the benefits of a network of bribery and conspiracy that investigators have just begun to uncover. So far, those identities are still a mystery — but perhaps not for much longer. (FOXNEWS)
WALL STREET shuddered yesterday after Alan Greenspan, the United States’ central banker, warned American homebuyers that they risk a crash if they continue to drive property prices higher.(TIMES ON LINE)
J.D. Smith, a defense contractor who claims he worked on the technical side of the unit, code-named "Able Danger" (search), told reporters Friday that he helped gather open-source information (search), reported on government spending and helped generate charts associated with the unit's work. Able Danger was set up in the 1990s to track Al Qaeda activity worldwide. (FOXNEWS)
Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson prompted a firestorm of media outrage on Tuesday after he suggested that the Bush administration should assassinate a foreign leader who posed a threat to the U.S. - in this case, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. But when senior Clinton advisor George Stephanopoulos publicly argued for the same kind of assassination policy in 1997, the press voiced no objection at all. (NEWS MAX)
(CNSNews.com) - The al Qaeda terrorist network may be planning a terrorist attack in a major city in Asia as a bid to undermine investor confidence and cause serious economic damage, one of Europe's leading terrorist investigators has warned.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. jets launched airstrikes Tuesday near the Syrian border, destroying three houses and killing a ``known terrorist,'' the U.S. military said. Iraqi authorities said fighting had broken out in the area between a tribe that supports foreign fighters and another that backs the government. (AP)
Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."
UNITED NATIONS - In a move hailed by American officials as "dramatic," and which has given hope to Syrian dissidents who aim to replace the Baath regime of Bashar Assad with a democracy, a U.N. investigator yesterday pointed to five former Lebanese security officials - all of whom have close ties to Syria - as possible suspects in the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri. (NY SUN)
A group led by New York financier Carl Icahn is considering making a tender offer to buy as much as 10% of Time Warner Inc., hoping to put more pressure on the media conglomerate to respond to Mr. Icahn's overtures (WSJ)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - U.N. investigators quizzed five senior pro-Syrian figures, including a top aide to Lebanon's president, on Tuesday as suspects in the February killing of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Lebanese police and U.N. investigators detained three former security chiefs in dawn raids, the first time they have implicated allies of Syria in the killing that shook Lebanon and hastened the departure of Syrian troops after three decades.
JERUSALEM – The arrests today of three pro-Syrian security chiefs over the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has many leaders, security officials and top journalists in Beirut who may be seen as threats to Damascus worried about possible reprisals against them – with some having already departed the country. (ARON KLIEN, World Net Daily)
UNITED NATIONS -- A sweeping yearlong probe of the Iraq oil-for-food program has concluded that the United Nations allowed "illicit, unethical, and corrupt behavior" to overwhelm the $64 billion operation, and must adopt sweeping reforms to reclaim its credibility before taking on such tasks again. (WSJ)
the issue is becoming the scale of corruption in the U.N.'s normal operations — and which individuals and corporations are reaping the benefits of a network of bribery and conspiracy that investigators have just begun to uncover. So far, those identities are still a mystery — but perhaps not for much longer. (FOXNEWS)
rally interupted
August 29th 2005
Hello,
With Katrina smashing into New Orleans, looks like I will have to put off my trip to the French quarter for another couple of months. Worse yet better batten down the hatches, September is by and large the worst month to own stocks historically. The historical data suggest that 30% of the time September is an up month, 70% of the time September is a down month. The average return is a loss of 1.31% making it the worst month of the year .Up months have produced an average return of 3.49% and losing moths have produced an average loss of about 4.69%. This makes September the worst month statistically, but as they say in baseball this could be one of the 3 in 10 that is actually up.
Taking a break from the, I told you so’s and blame game surrounding the after math of the hurricane, the, market looks more likely to continue its rally interrupted. By interrupted I refer to the summer rally that sprouted during the early days of June till the middle of July. If oil prices fall from there decade highs, and the FED decides enough is a enough two of the central features of the current environment that continue to put a lid on the markets at every attempt to rally will be subdued at lest temporarily.
What makes me optimistic is that the Semi conductors though unable to get going the last few weeks, continue to have their positive chart action intact. The Semi’s in the past have led the way to higher market highs. I am also very positive about the hurricane ,yes that’s right because in the past the after math of hurricanes have led a booming building trade and all the elements that feed the process. The negatives of coarse abound, the media and human nature have a tendency to view the world thru short term negatives, but long term the power will come back on, the rigs will start pumping. the ships will sail, the refineries will snap, crackle and pop and we might actually start to get some sensible energy policy once and for all.
James
Hello,
With Katrina smashing into New Orleans, looks like I will have to put off my trip to the French quarter for another couple of months. Worse yet better batten down the hatches, September is by and large the worst month to own stocks historically. The historical data suggest that 30% of the time September is an up month, 70% of the time September is a down month. The average return is a loss of 1.31% making it the worst month of the year .Up months have produced an average return of 3.49% and losing moths have produced an average loss of about 4.69%. This makes September the worst month statistically, but as they say in baseball this could be one of the 3 in 10 that is actually up.
Taking a break from the, I told you so’s and blame game surrounding the after math of the hurricane, the, market looks more likely to continue its rally interrupted. By interrupted I refer to the summer rally that sprouted during the early days of June till the middle of July. If oil prices fall from there decade highs, and the FED decides enough is a enough two of the central features of the current environment that continue to put a lid on the markets at every attempt to rally will be subdued at lest temporarily.
What makes me optimistic is that the Semi conductors though unable to get going the last few weeks, continue to have their positive chart action intact. The Semi’s in the past have led the way to higher market highs. I am also very positive about the hurricane ,yes that’s right because in the past the after math of hurricanes have led a booming building trade and all the elements that feed the process. The negatives of coarse abound, the media and human nature have a tendency to view the world thru short term negatives, but long term the power will come back on, the rigs will start pumping. the ships will sail, the refineries will snap, crackle and pop and we might actually start to get some sensible energy policy once and for all.
James
Friday, September 02, 2005
come out support the arts!!!!!
This show has been banned!
Kristine D. Paige and the Sound and Vision has been banned yes that’s right banned from performing at the Monroe Center in Hoboken. Law enforcement was threatened to be brought in and the show stopped. But our savior has arrived and in last minute through the kindness and generosity of Hudson County Art Supply a daring offer through great personal cost was made to host the event. The new venue just 2 short blocks from the Monroe Center,( simply park in the back for free at the Monroe Center and take the elevator up the hill from the light rail station to Jersey City Heights and walk straight up Congress Street). Come Saturday September 3rd starting around 9pm 38 Congress Street, Jersey City (yes it is safe, the only danger to you is the inspiration of Art and Music) and see what all the fuss is about. Don’t let our constitutional right of freedom of speech be trampled, join us and support the Sound and Vision the show, forced to flee its original venue but now relocated at 38 Congress Street ,Jersey City.
The Sound and Vision Show featuring 17 Paintings and 21 Sketches by Kristine D. Paige and Live music by Denise Barbarita
BE THERE
James & Kristine
(201)966-7788
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Energy prices continued their recent rapid surge yesterday, with both oil and natural gas setting new nominal records in trading, as the state of Hawaii prepared to impose a cap on rising gasoline prices -- the first such move in the U.S. since the early 1970s.(WSJ)
SINGAPORE – Asia's economic growth is at risk from high oil prices, International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said Thursday, calling especially on Indonesia and the Philippines to combat inflationary pressures. WSJ)
The officer, Scott J. Phillpott, said in a statement on Monday that he could not discuss details of the military program, which was called Able Danger, but confirmed that its analysts had identified the Sept. 11 ringleader, Mohamed Atta, by name by early 2000. "My story is consistent," said Captain Phillpott, who managed the program for the Pentagon's Special Operations Command. "Atta was identified by Able Danger by January-February of 2000." (NYT)
The U.S., bucking a global trend, is the only major economic power these days with fertility rates high enough to keep the size of its work force relatively constant as the population ages, and that portends continued prosperity, a report says. (WSJ)
Mainland China has the distinction of being the first major economy to grow old before they grow rich," said Richard Jackson, director of the Global Aging Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. (WSJ)
09:06 ET Baidu forecasts a slowdown in revenue growth -- FT : Baidu.com, China's leading internet search company, expects revenues to rise by between 11 and 16 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, a marked slowing in the new Nasdaq star's sequential sales growth. The revenues mainly come from the sale of advertising links that appear alongside its website's search results, a model that emulates that of global search giant Google. Baidu has won plaudits for its success in building an effective marketing team in China and for adapting its search technology to the needs of users in a market very different from the US. However, questions have been raised about the sustainability of its "MP3" online music search service, which accounts for more than 20 per cent of traffic to the site but which has been targeted by music publishers for allegedly promoting piracy.(Briefing.com)
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a "terrific danger" to the United States (AP)
You owe $145,000, and the bill is rising every day. That's how much it would cost every American man, woman and child to pay the tab for the long-term promises the U.S. government has made to creditors, retirees, veterans and the poor. (Robert Tanner AP, Arizona Republic)
Freedom is on the march in Cuba, and Fidel Castro seems nervous. Over the past month, he has intensified his crackdown on political dissenters, making arrests at a pace unseen since the last wave of repression in 2003. Now Rene Gomez Manzano, a dissident leader arrested in his bed on July 22, is starting a hunger strike to protest his unjust imprisonment, as The New York Sun's Meghan Clyne reported Friday. Mr. Gomez Manzano will join Akbar Ganji, the jailed Iranian journalist who also has gone on a hunger strike, as a hero of the struggle for democracy. (NY SUN)
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- China National Petroleum Corp., the nation's biggest oil company, agreed to buy PetroKazakhstan Inc. for $4.18 billion, topping a bid by an Indian producer and securing supplies for the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. companies, which have been reluctant to part with their mountain of cash, may start spending more of it -- and spur the economy in the process. Flush from three years of soaring profits, the top U.S. corporations hold $634 billion in cash, the biggest hoard relative to their market value in 17 years, according to Standard & Poor's. Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Dell Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are hearing from investors who say it's time to either spend more to expand their business, or pay higher dividends.
Bottom line? With three weeks left to go, the broadcast nets are down a collective 10% among adults 18-49 vs. last summer -- and 15% in viewers 18-34. ABC is the only net up over last year, while Fox is flat; other four nets are down sharply. (Varitey.com)
"China's growing income gap is likely to trigger social instability after 2010 if the government finds no effective solutions to end the disparity," the Ministry of Labour and Social Security warned in the China Daily.
PRESSURE was intensifying on ministers last night to live up to their promised crackdown on Islamic fanatics by charging or deporting a Saudi radical who backs the killing of British soldiers in Iraq. MPs from all parties and several foreign governments have demanded action against Muhammad al-Massari, who has asylum in Britain. His radio station, al-Tajdeed, backs suicide attacks and his website shows the beheadings of Western hostages. (London Times.com)
COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, making a historic visit on Friday to a synagogue once destroyed by the Nazis, said Christians and Jews must join forces so the "insane racist ideology" that led to the Holocaust never resurfaces. (Reuters)
Pressure is mounting in Washington over the United Nations' support of anti-Israel propaganda distributed in the Gaza Strip, with New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, entering the fray yesterday, demanding answers about the funding process that led to the United Nations bankrolling the materials. (NY SUN)
August 23, 2005 -- The status of housing as the least-taxed investment in the U.S., which has helped fuel an eight-year boom in real estate values, may be in jeopardy as a presidential commission considers changes to the federal tax code. The panel, which is headed by former Senators Connie Mack and John Breaux and due to report to President Bush by Sept. 30, is studying options to lower taxes on many types of investments to meet Bush's goal of spurring savings and economic growth. Changes to housing-related tax incentives will also be considered, Jeffrey Kupfer, the panel's staff director, said in an interview. Economists say such policies would have the effect of eroding the relative advantage housing has enjoyed over other investments since 1997, when Congress effectively made most sales of primary residences tax-free. (NY POST)
We were sitting in Nayeb restaurant in central Tehran. I’d been holding a piss through the hours of prayer service. So after I ordered my lunch, I excused myself to the men’s room. “Men’s” was written in Farsi above, and “Manly” in English below. I stepped into the water closet, grateful to just have to piss. If I’d had more serious business there, it would’ve been a squat job with no hook for one’s jacket. Now, that would’ve been manly. (Sean Penn Tehran)
SINGAPORE – Asia's economic growth is at risk from high oil prices, International Monetary Fund managing director Rodrigo Rato said Thursday, calling especially on Indonesia and the Philippines to combat inflationary pressures. WSJ)
The officer, Scott J. Phillpott, said in a statement on Monday that he could not discuss details of the military program, which was called Able Danger, but confirmed that its analysts had identified the Sept. 11 ringleader, Mohamed Atta, by name by early 2000. "My story is consistent," said Captain Phillpott, who managed the program for the Pentagon's Special Operations Command. "Atta was identified by Able Danger by January-February of 2000." (NYT)
The U.S., bucking a global trend, is the only major economic power these days with fertility rates high enough to keep the size of its work force relatively constant as the population ages, and that portends continued prosperity, a report says. (WSJ)
Mainland China has the distinction of being the first major economy to grow old before they grow rich," said Richard Jackson, director of the Global Aging Initiative of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. (WSJ)
09:06 ET Baidu forecasts a slowdown in revenue growth -- FT : Baidu.com, China's leading internet search company, expects revenues to rise by between 11 and 16 per cent in the third quarter compared with the previous three months, a marked slowing in the new Nasdaq star's sequential sales growth. The revenues mainly come from the sale of advertising links that appear alongside its website's search results, a model that emulates that of global search giant Google. Baidu has won plaudits for its success in building an effective marketing team in China and for adapting its search technology to the needs of users in a market very different from the US. However, questions have been raised about the sustainability of its "MP3" online music search service, which accounts for more than 20 per cent of traffic to the site but which has been targeted by music publishers for allegedly promoting piracy.(Briefing.com)
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson called on Monday for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him a "terrific danger" to the United States (AP)
You owe $145,000, and the bill is rising every day. That's how much it would cost every American man, woman and child to pay the tab for the long-term promises the U.S. government has made to creditors, retirees, veterans and the poor. (Robert Tanner AP, Arizona Republic)
Freedom is on the march in Cuba, and Fidel Castro seems nervous. Over the past month, he has intensified his crackdown on political dissenters, making arrests at a pace unseen since the last wave of repression in 2003. Now Rene Gomez Manzano, a dissident leader arrested in his bed on July 22, is starting a hunger strike to protest his unjust imprisonment, as The New York Sun's Meghan Clyne reported Friday. Mr. Gomez Manzano will join Akbar Ganji, the jailed Iranian journalist who also has gone on a hunger strike, as a hero of the struggle for democracy. (NY SUN)
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- China National Petroleum Corp., the nation's biggest oil company, agreed to buy PetroKazakhstan Inc. for $4.18 billion, topping a bid by an Indian producer and securing supplies for the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. companies, which have been reluctant to part with their mountain of cash, may start spending more of it -- and spur the economy in the process. Flush from three years of soaring profits, the top U.S. corporations hold $634 billion in cash, the biggest hoard relative to their market value in 17 years, according to Standard & Poor's. Companies including Exxon Mobil Corp., Dell Inc. and Pfizer Inc. are hearing from investors who say it's time to either spend more to expand their business, or pay higher dividends.
Bottom line? With three weeks left to go, the broadcast nets are down a collective 10% among adults 18-49 vs. last summer -- and 15% in viewers 18-34. ABC is the only net up over last year, while Fox is flat; other four nets are down sharply. (Varitey.com)
"China's growing income gap is likely to trigger social instability after 2010 if the government finds no effective solutions to end the disparity," the Ministry of Labour and Social Security warned in the China Daily.
PRESSURE was intensifying on ministers last night to live up to their promised crackdown on Islamic fanatics by charging or deporting a Saudi radical who backs the killing of British soldiers in Iraq. MPs from all parties and several foreign governments have demanded action against Muhammad al-Massari, who has asylum in Britain. His radio station, al-Tajdeed, backs suicide attacks and his website shows the beheadings of Western hostages. (London Times.com)
COLOGNE, Germany (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, making a historic visit on Friday to a synagogue once destroyed by the Nazis, said Christians and Jews must join forces so the "insane racist ideology" that led to the Holocaust never resurfaces. (Reuters)
Pressure is mounting in Washington over the United Nations' support of anti-Israel propaganda distributed in the Gaza Strip, with New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, entering the fray yesterday, demanding answers about the funding process that led to the United Nations bankrolling the materials. (NY SUN)
August 23, 2005 -- The status of housing as the least-taxed investment in the U.S., which has helped fuel an eight-year boom in real estate values, may be in jeopardy as a presidential commission considers changes to the federal tax code. The panel, which is headed by former Senators Connie Mack and John Breaux and due to report to President Bush by Sept. 30, is studying options to lower taxes on many types of investments to meet Bush's goal of spurring savings and economic growth. Changes to housing-related tax incentives will also be considered, Jeffrey Kupfer, the panel's staff director, said in an interview. Economists say such policies would have the effect of eroding the relative advantage housing has enjoyed over other investments since 1997, when Congress effectively made most sales of primary residences tax-free. (NY POST)
We were sitting in Nayeb restaurant in central Tehran. I’d been holding a piss through the hours of prayer service. So after I ordered my lunch, I excused myself to the men’s room. “Men’s” was written in Farsi above, and “Manly” in English below. I stepped into the water closet, grateful to just have to piss. If I’d had more serious business there, it would’ve been a squat job with no hook for one’s jacket. Now, that would’ve been manly. (Sean Penn Tehran)
moutain of cash and a Jihad of my own
August 24, 2004
Hello,
So Pat Robertson on the 700 club called for the removal, death to the infidel, ok assassination of Hugo Chavez President of Venezuela. Oh the outrage .., weather it is the Mullahs calling for death to America or Bush haters calling for the assignation of the president seems to be a lot of that going around these days. It must be those high oil prices and the hot weather making everyone nuts. Today I go on a Jihad of my own. The State of Hawaii has imposed price controls on whole sale gas prices. This was tried in the 1970’s by the carter administration and it was the direct cause of gas lines and shortages. If this is adapted by other states it spells disaster for the US economy. Folk’s price controls always I repeat always result in shortages. This is the primary reason command and control economies like the old Soviet Union failed .I know there are many of you pining away for the old Soviet Union and are simply shocked that the simple law of supply and demand crumbled a vast empire, but it is none the less true and I am afraid it will have the same result where ever it is tried. No, we are not smarter or blessed with more resources, it is simply stupid policy doomed to massive failure.
This gives us a much needed strong indication of the direction of the stock market the next several months. Despite huge gains Energy continues to look like the play for the decade and currently Bio Techs still look good and Semiconductors look like they are trying to break out, but this still remains to be seen . I have and will remain suspicious of housing for some time but the sector seems as strong as ever.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
http://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
Hello,
So Pat Robertson on the 700 club called for the removal, death to the infidel, ok assassination of Hugo Chavez President of Venezuela. Oh the outrage .., weather it is the Mullahs calling for death to America or Bush haters calling for the assignation of the president seems to be a lot of that going around these days. It must be those high oil prices and the hot weather making everyone nuts. Today I go on a Jihad of my own. The State of Hawaii has imposed price controls on whole sale gas prices. This was tried in the 1970’s by the carter administration and it was the direct cause of gas lines and shortages. If this is adapted by other states it spells disaster for the US economy. Folk’s price controls always I repeat always result in shortages. This is the primary reason command and control economies like the old Soviet Union failed .I know there are many of you pining away for the old Soviet Union and are simply shocked that the simple law of supply and demand crumbled a vast empire, but it is none the less true and I am afraid it will have the same result where ever it is tried. No, we are not smarter or blessed with more resources, it is simply stupid policy doomed to massive failure.
This gives us a much needed strong indication of the direction of the stock market the next several months. Despite huge gains Energy continues to look like the play for the decade and currently Bio Techs still look good and Semiconductors look like they are trying to break out, but this still remains to be seen . I have and will remain suspicious of housing for some time but the sector seems as strong as ever.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
http://onesmallvoice.blogspot.com/
Friday, August 19, 2005
news 24/7
PARIS (AFX) - European countries said that Iran's resumption of nuclear activities has created a 'grave crisis' that requires a united response from the international community.
American and British researchers say that they have found, in umbilical cord blood, a new type of cell -- neither embryonic nor "adult" -- which is more versatile than the latter while avoiding the ethical dilemmas surrounding the former. And in a further development, the scientists have found a way to mass-produce the new cells, sidestepping the problem of limited supply of embryonic cells. (CNSNEWS)
WASHINGTON - The American budget deficit narrowed to $52.8 billion in July from a year earlier as tax revenue surged on higher incomes and business profits. The deficit compares with a shortfall of $69.2 billion in July 2004 and was the smallest for the month since 2002, the Treasury reported today in Washington. Revenue rose 5.7% to a July record of $142.1 billion and spending fell 4.3%. (NY SUN)
Last year's deficit was a record in dollar terms, though many previous deficits in the mid-1980s and early 1990s were larger when measured against the size of the economy. The White House and most economists say that the more relevant measure of the deficit is to weigh it against the size of the economy. Measured that way, the latest estimates for this year are slightly worse than recent historic averages. (AP)
... between early September 2001 and 2004, New York City lost 170,000 jobs, as Steven Malanga of the Manhattan Institute recently noted in these pages, meaning that New York still has a lot of work to do to get back to where it started. Although Mr. Bloomberg tries to spin his jobs number as evidence that the city's economy is growing overall on his watch, New York still lags the competition. In the 2004 edition of its annual report of "best performing cities," the Milken Institute ranked New York ninth among the 10 largest cities in America in terms of economic performance, noting that the city's employment numbers were still 4% below their peak in 2000. (NY SUN)
August 16, 2005 -- Tech-savvy Saudis are circumventing the state's religious edict preventing unrelated men and women from communicating in public by text-messaging each other on Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones. (NY POST)
“It is difficult to exaggerate the perniciousness of the comparable worth theory," Judge Roberts wrote to his boss, Fred Fielding, the White House counsel, on February 3, 1984. "It mandates nothing less than central planning of the economy by judges." (NY SUN)
Judge Roberts, who was 29 at the time, even suggested the congresswomen, Ms. Snowe, Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, might be Marxists. "Their slogan may as well be 'From each according to his ability, to each according to her gender,'" Judge Roberts quipped. (NY SUN)
American and British researchers say that they have found, in umbilical cord blood, a new type of cell -- neither embryonic nor "adult" -- which is more versatile than the latter while avoiding the ethical dilemmas surrounding the former. And in a further development, the scientists have found a way to mass-produce the new cells, sidestepping the problem of limited supply of embryonic cells. (CNSNEWS)
WASHINGTON - The American budget deficit narrowed to $52.8 billion in July from a year earlier as tax revenue surged on higher incomes and business profits. The deficit compares with a shortfall of $69.2 billion in July 2004 and was the smallest for the month since 2002, the Treasury reported today in Washington. Revenue rose 5.7% to a July record of $142.1 billion and spending fell 4.3%. (NY SUN)
Last year's deficit was a record in dollar terms, though many previous deficits in the mid-1980s and early 1990s were larger when measured against the size of the economy. The White House and most economists say that the more relevant measure of the deficit is to weigh it against the size of the economy. Measured that way, the latest estimates for this year are slightly worse than recent historic averages. (AP)
... between early September 2001 and 2004, New York City lost 170,000 jobs, as Steven Malanga of the Manhattan Institute recently noted in these pages, meaning that New York still has a lot of work to do to get back to where it started. Although Mr. Bloomberg tries to spin his jobs number as evidence that the city's economy is growing overall on his watch, New York still lags the competition. In the 2004 edition of its annual report of "best performing cities," the Milken Institute ranked New York ninth among the 10 largest cities in America in terms of economic performance, noting that the city's employment numbers were still 4% below their peak in 2000. (NY SUN)
August 16, 2005 -- Tech-savvy Saudis are circumventing the state's religious edict preventing unrelated men and women from communicating in public by text-messaging each other on Bluetooth-enabled cellular phones. (NY POST)
“It is difficult to exaggerate the perniciousness of the comparable worth theory," Judge Roberts wrote to his boss, Fred Fielding, the White House counsel, on February 3, 1984. "It mandates nothing less than central planning of the economy by judges." (NY SUN)
Judge Roberts, who was 29 at the time, even suggested the congresswomen, Ms. Snowe, Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, and Claudine Schneider of Rhode Island, might be Marxists. "Their slogan may as well be 'From each according to his ability, to each according to her gender,'" Judge Roberts quipped. (NY SUN)
Good bye CBGB's
August 15th 2004
Hello,
Just think its been 70 years since the creation of social security, lots of things have changed inn those 70 years but not social security, you can still have any color you want as long as it is black, but for small investors there are many more opportunity’s to save for the proverbial rainy day. Individual retirement plans, 401k plans, Simple IRA plans, Roth IRA plans, SEP plans, Single K Plans the trick is pick a plan and follow thru.
It has also been about 27 years since the last time I was at CBGB’s and I still don’t know what OMFUG stands for. This month the landmark may close it doors forever. So you want to know what a famous Downtown New York City Punk Rock club has to do with the stock market? Well first if you under 30, there used to be something in New York called the “down town scene” and yes people used to play instruments and not lip-sinc. People even smoked and drank and fought about ideas and other really stupid things. In those days the City (NYC) was the place to go when you wanted to do things you couldn’t do anywhere else. It was dark, dirty and dangerous, but it was a lot of adventurous fun. Yes there were poseurs but there was always a feeling that this really mattered and was or will be the next big thing. Like East Siders who never cross to the West side, the downtown scene was a world onto its own. Today of coarse none of this exists. The music is stale, the clubs are boring and the beer is very over priced. New York with a Starbucks on every corner has become clean, “nice” and totally suburbanized. Streets that were once filled with rockers boasting Mohawks are now filled with tourists from Japan talking photos of menus. Like the bands of that era Blondie, The Talking Heads ,Johnny Thunders and the Ramones there is simply no place for a CBGB’s ,it just doesn’t belong anymore. In the late 1970’s when things were really rotten, the music was desperate, the economy bad and the Bronx was on fire people who were willing to admit how bad things really were and how awful “disco” was flocked to clubs like CBGB’s looking for answers. Overtime the creative process produced a whole new music scene. Madonna popularized the “down town look” and it is no surprise that fall of “disco” in 1982 and the rebirth of music coincided with the birth of a bull market that would not end till spring of 2000. The moral to the story is that when the music is awful so is the stock market, the creative process seems to foretell coming booms and busts in the economy .Don’t believe me notice they started playing “disco” again in the summer of 1999,by March 2000 we were done.
James
Hello,
Just think its been 70 years since the creation of social security, lots of things have changed inn those 70 years but not social security, you can still have any color you want as long as it is black, but for small investors there are many more opportunity’s to save for the proverbial rainy day. Individual retirement plans, 401k plans, Simple IRA plans, Roth IRA plans, SEP plans, Single K Plans the trick is pick a plan and follow thru.
It has also been about 27 years since the last time I was at CBGB’s and I still don’t know what OMFUG stands for. This month the landmark may close it doors forever. So you want to know what a famous Downtown New York City Punk Rock club has to do with the stock market? Well first if you under 30, there used to be something in New York called the “down town scene” and yes people used to play instruments and not lip-sinc. People even smoked and drank and fought about ideas and other really stupid things. In those days the City (NYC) was the place to go when you wanted to do things you couldn’t do anywhere else. It was dark, dirty and dangerous, but it was a lot of adventurous fun. Yes there were poseurs but there was always a feeling that this really mattered and was or will be the next big thing. Like East Siders who never cross to the West side, the downtown scene was a world onto its own. Today of coarse none of this exists. The music is stale, the clubs are boring and the beer is very over priced. New York with a Starbucks on every corner has become clean, “nice” and totally suburbanized. Streets that were once filled with rockers boasting Mohawks are now filled with tourists from Japan talking photos of menus. Like the bands of that era Blondie, The Talking Heads ,Johnny Thunders and the Ramones there is simply no place for a CBGB’s ,it just doesn’t belong anymore. In the late 1970’s when things were really rotten, the music was desperate, the economy bad and the Bronx was on fire people who were willing to admit how bad things really were and how awful “disco” was flocked to clubs like CBGB’s looking for answers. Overtime the creative process produced a whole new music scene. Madonna popularized the “down town look” and it is no surprise that fall of “disco” in 1982 and the rebirth of music coincided with the birth of a bull market that would not end till spring of 2000. The moral to the story is that when the music is awful so is the stock market, the creative process seems to foretell coming booms and busts in the economy .Don’t believe me notice they started playing “disco” again in the summer of 1999,by March 2000 we were done.
James
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Monthly Performance of Dow from 1900-2004
Monthly Performance of Dow from 1900-2004
Month% of (+)% of (-)Average Return Average Loss Average Return
Months Months(+) Months(-) Months(1900-2004)
January 63% 37% 3.66%-3.58% 1.02%
February 49% 51% 3.06%-2.94% 0.30%
March 59% 41% 3.59%-3.72% 0.57%
April 57% 43% 4.58%-3.50% 1.08%
May 54% 46% 3.43%-4.18%-0.08%
June 48% 52% 4.25%-3.20% 0.34%
July 61% 39% 4.50%-3.53% 1.42%
August 65% 35% 3.86%-4.47% 0.99%
September 30% 70% 3.49%-4.69%-1.31%
October 59% 41% 3.60%-4.54% 0.32%
November 59% 41% 4.69%-5.28% 0.63%
December 70% 30% 3.13%-3.07% 1.27%
May 54% 46% 3.43%-4.18%-0.08%
June 48% 52% 4.25%-3.20% 0.34%
July 61% 39% 4.50%-3.53% 1.42%
August 65% 35% 3.86%-4.47% 0.99%
September 30% 70% 3.49%-4.69%-1.31%
October 59% 41% 3.60%-4.54% 0.32%
November 59% 41% 4.69%-5.28% 0.63%
December 70% 30% 3.13%-3.07% 1.27%
(Amateur Investors*)
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
news
LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair said he will seek the enactment of new deportation measures for use against people who foster hatred and advocate violence, following last month's bombings of London's transportation system. Clerics who preach hate and Web sites or book shops that sponsor violence would be targeted, Mr. Blair said, and foreign nationals could be deported under the new measures. (WSJ)
The Securities and Exchange Commission has told Scott DeSano, the former head of Fidelity Investments' powerful stock-trading desk that it is considering civil charges against him in the agency's investigation of gifts allegedly lavished on Fidelity employees by Wall Street firms, according to people familiar with the matter. (WSJ)
August 9, 2005 -- Two former Citigroup executives are accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars back to the company instead of passing them along to the firm's mutual fund investors. (NY POST)
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers added 207,000 workers in July, more than forecast, suggesting companies are gaining confidence as the economy picks up steam in the second half. The unemployment rate held at 5 percent.
Federal prosecutors have stepped up their criminal investigation of Milberg Weiss, the nation's largest class-action law firm, granting immunity to two former partners as they intensify their scrutiny of a third, prominent litigator William S. Lerach. (WSJ)
Next week sees the anniversary of the Netscape initial public offering – an event that triggered Wall Street’s dotcom mania. Netscape’s browser made the internet a more conducive place for the non-technical user and spurred the creation of companies such as eBay, Yahoo and Amazon.com, which have all had 10th birthday parties of their own – although most dotcom companies never made it this far. (FT)
Web search engine Baidu.com, billed as China's answer to Google Inc., quadrupled to more than $120 a share in its debut Friday after raising its price for a second time and boosting the number of shares sold to the public. (WSJ)
Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record, nearing $63 a barrel in New York, as surging fuel demand strains refineries and after a terror threat against the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia heightened concern about Middle East supplies.
TOKYO — Postal privatization minister Heizo Takenaka said Monday that Japan faces a huge loss due to the upper house's rejection earlier in the day of bills aimed at privatizing state-run postal services. "For the future of Japan and the nation's economy, it's a considerably huge loss," he told reporters. (JapanToday.com)
Citing U.S. military and intelligence officials, NBC said American soldiers intercepted a large shipment of high explosives last week, smuggled into northeastern Iraq from Iran. The officials told the network the shipment contained dozens of recently-manufactured "shaped charges" -- especially lethal weapons designed to concentrate and direct a more powerful blast into a small area. (NBC)
The letter, written to Jordanian leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by a fighter calling himself Abu Zayd, was discovered by U.S. forces during a raid on an insurgent safe house in Mosul on July 27, He complains that the Mosul leadership of the Al Qaeda in Iraq branch is incompetent, lacks training, and does not collaborate. (FOX NEWS)
When Mrs. Clinton first came to us and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked New York to put out a welcome mat and we did," the Westchester County district attorney said in a statement. "But now she wants us to re-elect her even though she won't promise to serve out her term and wants to use us as a springboard to the presidency. She's asking us to become her doormat." (ALBANY, N.Y. -- Jeanine Pirro, a high-profile prosecutor in the New York City suburbs, said Monday she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton next year.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission has told Scott DeSano, the former head of Fidelity Investments' powerful stock-trading desk that it is considering civil charges against him in the agency's investigation of gifts allegedly lavished on Fidelity employees by Wall Street firms, according to people familiar with the matter. (WSJ)
August 9, 2005 -- Two former Citigroup executives are accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars back to the company instead of passing them along to the firm's mutual fund investors. (NY POST)
Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers added 207,000 workers in July, more than forecast, suggesting companies are gaining confidence as the economy picks up steam in the second half. The unemployment rate held at 5 percent.
Federal prosecutors have stepped up their criminal investigation of Milberg Weiss, the nation's largest class-action law firm, granting immunity to two former partners as they intensify their scrutiny of a third, prominent litigator William S. Lerach. (WSJ)
Next week sees the anniversary of the Netscape initial public offering – an event that triggered Wall Street’s dotcom mania. Netscape’s browser made the internet a more conducive place for the non-technical user and spurred the creation of companies such as eBay, Yahoo and Amazon.com, which have all had 10th birthday parties of their own – although most dotcom companies never made it this far. (FT)
Web search engine Baidu.com, billed as China's answer to Google Inc., quadrupled to more than $120 a share in its debut Friday after raising its price for a second time and boosting the number of shares sold to the public. (WSJ)
Aug. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a record, nearing $63 a barrel in New York, as surging fuel demand strains refineries and after a terror threat against the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia heightened concern about Middle East supplies.
TOKYO — Postal privatization minister Heizo Takenaka said Monday that Japan faces a huge loss due to the upper house's rejection earlier in the day of bills aimed at privatizing state-run postal services. "For the future of Japan and the nation's economy, it's a considerably huge loss," he told reporters. (JapanToday.com)
Citing U.S. military and intelligence officials, NBC said American soldiers intercepted a large shipment of high explosives last week, smuggled into northeastern Iraq from Iran. The officials told the network the shipment contained dozens of recently-manufactured "shaped charges" -- especially lethal weapons designed to concentrate and direct a more powerful blast into a small area. (NBC)
The letter, written to Jordanian leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi by a fighter calling himself Abu Zayd, was discovered by U.S. forces during a raid on an insurgent safe house in Mosul on July 27, He complains that the Mosul leadership of the Al Qaeda in Iraq branch is incompetent, lacks training, and does not collaborate. (FOX NEWS)
When Mrs. Clinton first came to us and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked New York to put out a welcome mat and we did," the Westchester County district attorney said in a statement. "But now she wants us to re-elect her even though she won't promise to serve out her term and wants to use us as a springboard to the presidency. She's asking us to become her doormat." (ALBANY, N.Y. -- Jeanine Pirro, a high-profile prosecutor in the New York City suburbs, said Monday she will seek the Republican nomination to challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton next year.)
BIADU spells NETSCAPE in Chinese
August 6,2004
Hello,
Ok I have held my tongue long enough, if Jason Giambi can make a come back so can the stock market. Jason has gone from the scrap heap of the steroid scandal, “Mr Washed up” to the New York Yankee player of the month in July batting over 350 and connecting on 14 home runs.
Incidentally while you were away on your summer vacation and in case you missed it, the last 8-6 weeks have been the best trading weeks in 5 years. Yes I know not all stocks are up but now for the first time since the turn of the century, the turn of the millennium and the turn of the decade, the bull market has resumed and stocks are going up and now we have a chance. Yes I know I never though it would last this long, I thought things would pick up much earlier. Earnings and productivity growth looked like they would be enough. Unlike many other market analysis columns, I take my swings and analyze my mistakes. Unfortunately often it is the failures that you learn the most from. Some times you can be in the right place in the right sector but the timing can be slightly off. Sometimes you can buy the same investment for hundreds of investors and show different returns for each one. In recent years we have gone from what I would call an almost instantaneous response to events by stock prices to a more cynical delayed response suggesting an extreme distrust of information sources. This lag has altered significantly the stock trading landscape. Some stocks seem to suffer by what I would call the believability factor, no matter what the results suspicions abound, and while other stocks seem to gain instant credibility no matter what their results.
It is just about 10 years since the NETSCAPE IPO. It was clearly the IPO that changed the world; bringing the internet to Joe and Jill six pack. The real impact of the internet on how we live and work is just beginning to be felt. In the post bubble world we all have a tendency to forget how special the advent of the internet really is. The internet gives us information at our fingertips, the ability to customize solutions at a mass produced price, setting us free to compete with much larger competitors, transforming almost every sector of the economy it touches. Don’t think so, think about the world before the internet; astonishing isn’t it. On the other hand, recent rallies in Chinese internet stocks such as BIADU or rallies in GOOGLE seem to be a reminder of the bitter taste of past follies.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
Hello,
Ok I have held my tongue long enough, if Jason Giambi can make a come back so can the stock market. Jason has gone from the scrap heap of the steroid scandal, “Mr Washed up” to the New York Yankee player of the month in July batting over 350 and connecting on 14 home runs.
Incidentally while you were away on your summer vacation and in case you missed it, the last 8-6 weeks have been the best trading weeks in 5 years. Yes I know not all stocks are up but now for the first time since the turn of the century, the turn of the millennium and the turn of the decade, the bull market has resumed and stocks are going up and now we have a chance. Yes I know I never though it would last this long, I thought things would pick up much earlier. Earnings and productivity growth looked like they would be enough. Unlike many other market analysis columns, I take my swings and analyze my mistakes. Unfortunately often it is the failures that you learn the most from. Some times you can be in the right place in the right sector but the timing can be slightly off. Sometimes you can buy the same investment for hundreds of investors and show different returns for each one. In recent years we have gone from what I would call an almost instantaneous response to events by stock prices to a more cynical delayed response suggesting an extreme distrust of information sources. This lag has altered significantly the stock trading landscape. Some stocks seem to suffer by what I would call the believability factor, no matter what the results suspicions abound, and while other stocks seem to gain instant credibility no matter what their results.
It is just about 10 years since the NETSCAPE IPO. It was clearly the IPO that changed the world; bringing the internet to Joe and Jill six pack. The real impact of the internet on how we live and work is just beginning to be felt. In the post bubble world we all have a tendency to forget how special the advent of the internet really is. The internet gives us information at our fingertips, the ability to customize solutions at a mass produced price, setting us free to compete with much larger competitors, transforming almost every sector of the economy it touches. Don’t think so, think about the world before the internet; astonishing isn’t it. On the other hand, recent rallies in Chinese internet stocks such as BIADU or rallies in GOOGLE seem to be a reminder of the bitter taste of past follies.
James
www.jamesfoytlin.com
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
in the news this week
Washington, D.C.-Senator Norm Coleman today submitted a statement into the Congressional Record denouncing a final report issued by the United Nations' Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG) suggesting that the U.N. assume global governance of the Internet. Since its inception and creation in the United States, the U.S. has assumed the historic role of overseeing the Internet's growth and has overseen its development. The U.N. taskforce report suggests that in addition to terminating the U.S.'s leadership role, the authority and functions of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization overseen by the U.S. Department of Commerce, should be transferred as well. Senator Coleman strongly opposes these measures. (Matt Drudge)
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent annual pace from April through June, the ninth straight quarter exceeding 3 percent, as booming sales allowed companies to pare bloated inventories. Inflation slowed. .. The string of quarterly growth increases exceeding 3 percent is the longest since the 13 quarters ended in the first three months of 1986.
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- A handwritten lyric of the Beatles song, ``All You Need is Love,'' sold for a hammer price of 600,000 pounds ($1 million) last night at a sale of John Lennon memorabilia in London's Hippodrome rock-music venue.
Economists are lifting projections for U.S. economic growth in the second half on expectations that the nation's retailers and manufacturers will be restocking inventories and ramping up production to keep up with demand. (WSJ)
August 2, 2005 -- Morgan Stanley's new CEO, John Mack, addressed his beleaguered retail brokerage troops yesterday on the firm-wide squawk box and helpfully explained that "Kissing ass just won't cut it anymore." (NY POST)
We are appealing to the United Nations, human rights groups, and other nations to pressure our government to release my husband. Our struggle must reach out past the borders of Iran now. Our leaders will not listen to their people, they will only respond to external pressure." (The wife of dissident journalist Akbar Ganji yesterday told The New York Sun)
(Washington, NY SUN)- A spokesman for Iran’s union of student organizations. Tahkim Vahdat says a hunger strike by jailed dissident journalist, Arbar Ganji, has inspired the country’s democracy movement.
“Before deploying from Savannah, Georgia, to Iraq by a chartered airliner, the troops of the 48th Brigade Combat Team, a National Guard unit, had to go through the same security checks as any other passengers. Lt. Col. John King, the unit's commander, told his 280 fellow soldiers that FAA anti-hijacking regulations require passengers to surrender pocket knives, nose hair scissors and cigarette lighters. "If you have any of those things," he said, almost apologetically, "put them in this box now" as you cannot take them onto the airplane with you. The troops were, however, allowed to take their assault rifles, body armour, helmets, pistols, bayonets and combat shotguns.”
Sources familiar with the investigation tell ABC News an additional 12 bombs and four improvised detonators were found in the trunk of a car believed to be rented by suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer. Police believe the bombers drove the car to Luton, where they boarded trains to London. (ABC)
Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen of Russia who appeared to have an email was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Sunday, Interfax reported Monday .He died after suffering repeated blows to the head. (MosNews.com)
"I summon my blue-eyed slaves anytime it pleases me. I command the Americans to send me their bravest soldiers to die for me. Anytime I clap my hands a stupid genie called the American ambassador appears to do my bidding. When the Americans die in my service their bodies are frozen in metal boxes by the US Embassy and American airplanes carry them away, as if they never existed. Truly, America is my favorite slave."(King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz, Jeddeh 1993)
Eminem and the Tweenies might make unusual bedfellows. But the BBC was yesterday forced to censor a song by the popular children's characters, not for reasons of sex or violence but because it was likely to cause tooth decay. (The Guardian)
The sculpture, a plastic bottle of water full of melted ice from the Antarctic, was intended to be a telling comment on the dangers of global warming. But one light-fingered, and presumably thirsty, visitor to the exhibition may have missed the point. Rather than musing on the hazards that will be created if the icecaps melt, the visitor is believed to have drunk the piece. Police have been called in to investigate the mystery of the missing water bottle, which vanished from the Way With Words literary festival at Dartington Hall in south Devon. (The Guardian)
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy grew at a 3.4 percent annual pace from April through June, the ninth straight quarter exceeding 3 percent, as booming sales allowed companies to pare bloated inventories. Inflation slowed. .. The string of quarterly growth increases exceeding 3 percent is the longest since the 13 quarters ended in the first three months of 1986.
July 29 (Bloomberg) -- A handwritten lyric of the Beatles song, ``All You Need is Love,'' sold for a hammer price of 600,000 pounds ($1 million) last night at a sale of John Lennon memorabilia in London's Hippodrome rock-music venue.
Economists are lifting projections for U.S. economic growth in the second half on expectations that the nation's retailers and manufacturers will be restocking inventories and ramping up production to keep up with demand. (WSJ)
August 2, 2005 -- Morgan Stanley's new CEO, John Mack, addressed his beleaguered retail brokerage troops yesterday on the firm-wide squawk box and helpfully explained that "Kissing ass just won't cut it anymore." (NY POST)
We are appealing to the United Nations, human rights groups, and other nations to pressure our government to release my husband. Our struggle must reach out past the borders of Iran now. Our leaders will not listen to their people, they will only respond to external pressure." (The wife of dissident journalist Akbar Ganji yesterday told The New York Sun)
(Washington, NY SUN)- A spokesman for Iran’s union of student organizations. Tahkim Vahdat says a hunger strike by jailed dissident journalist, Arbar Ganji, has inspired the country’s democracy movement.
“Before deploying from Savannah, Georgia, to Iraq by a chartered airliner, the troops of the 48th Brigade Combat Team, a National Guard unit, had to go through the same security checks as any other passengers. Lt. Col. John King, the unit's commander, told his 280 fellow soldiers that FAA anti-hijacking regulations require passengers to surrender pocket knives, nose hair scissors and cigarette lighters. "If you have any of those things," he said, almost apologetically, "put them in this box now" as you cannot take them onto the airplane with you. The troops were, however, allowed to take their assault rifles, body armour, helmets, pistols, bayonets and combat shotguns.”
Sources familiar with the investigation tell ABC News an additional 12 bombs and four improvised detonators were found in the trunk of a car believed to be rented by suicide bomber Shehzad Tanweer. Police believe the bombers drove the car to Luton, where they boarded trains to London. (ABC)
Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen of Russia who appeared to have an email was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Sunday, Interfax reported Monday .He died after suffering repeated blows to the head. (MosNews.com)
"I summon my blue-eyed slaves anytime it pleases me. I command the Americans to send me their bravest soldiers to die for me. Anytime I clap my hands a stupid genie called the American ambassador appears to do my bidding. When the Americans die in my service their bodies are frozen in metal boxes by the US Embassy and American airplanes carry them away, as if they never existed. Truly, America is my favorite slave."(King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz, Jeddeh 1993)
Eminem and the Tweenies might make unusual bedfellows. But the BBC was yesterday forced to censor a song by the popular children's characters, not for reasons of sex or violence but because it was likely to cause tooth decay. (The Guardian)
The sculpture, a plastic bottle of water full of melted ice from the Antarctic, was intended to be a telling comment on the dangers of global warming. But one light-fingered, and presumably thirsty, visitor to the exhibition may have missed the point. Rather than musing on the hazards that will be created if the icecaps melt, the visitor is believed to have drunk the piece. Police have been called in to investigate the mystery of the missing water bottle, which vanished from the Way With Words literary festival at Dartington Hall in south Devon. (The Guardian)
lost in Space..........All You Need is Love....and no more kissing (up)....
July 29th 2005
Hello,
Am I the only one that doesn’t think it is cool for NASA to ground the shuttle fleet while there is still a mission going on? Somehow I don’t think it is a confidence builder for the Discovery astronauts.
According to Bloomberg Radio 87% of companies are making their earning this earnings season, that’s a far cry from the pessimistic view that was expected. My question is and why was, is everyone so pessimistic? The net effect of all this pessimism is the current summer rally. How long will the rally last, my guess till sometime in August perhaps as late as very early September. Again I think we could consolidate through September till the 3rd week in October. Then if all goes well the semiconductors should begin to take off. The new bull market looks after 5 years of sub par returns to be upon us. Housing continues to prove resilient, through many of the stocks seem a bit peaky. Semi ‘s are moving and Bio Techs are on fire. Of coarse the story of the decade, energy also continues to act positively. Why am I not jumping into Bio Techs? In the past I have found that the Bio Techs are very hard to trade and no matter what kind of company or how established, you could lose most or all of your money at the drop of the hat. With Bio Techs I prefer to find patient investors who are willing to buy them when they are down and out and just wait till they get lively selling into the rally.
Bring back the long bond they say. So what would be the net effect of the return of the 30 year Treasury bond which was discontinued in 2001. My bet is the reintroduction of the long term bench mark will give traders of both stocks and bonds a better feel for which way long term interest rates and inflation are moving. More supply of 30 year bonds will also have the effect of raising long term rates by increasing the supply of 30 year bonds and thus lowering the 30 year bond prices and yes this could lead to higher mortgage prices. I was one of those people that thought that the Treasury should have never gotten rid of the 30 year to begin with. The 30 year was a very good predictor of future economic activity, the 10 year simply could not cut it and I think that its demise has led to some very weak stock markets the last few years.
James
Hello,
Am I the only one that doesn’t think it is cool for NASA to ground the shuttle fleet while there is still a mission going on? Somehow I don’t think it is a confidence builder for the Discovery astronauts.
According to Bloomberg Radio 87% of companies are making their earning this earnings season, that’s a far cry from the pessimistic view that was expected. My question is and why was, is everyone so pessimistic? The net effect of all this pessimism is the current summer rally. How long will the rally last, my guess till sometime in August perhaps as late as very early September. Again I think we could consolidate through September till the 3rd week in October. Then if all goes well the semiconductors should begin to take off. The new bull market looks after 5 years of sub par returns to be upon us. Housing continues to prove resilient, through many of the stocks seem a bit peaky. Semi ‘s are moving and Bio Techs are on fire. Of coarse the story of the decade, energy also continues to act positively. Why am I not jumping into Bio Techs? In the past I have found that the Bio Techs are very hard to trade and no matter what kind of company or how established, you could lose most or all of your money at the drop of the hat. With Bio Techs I prefer to find patient investors who are willing to buy them when they are down and out and just wait till they get lively selling into the rally.
Bring back the long bond they say. So what would be the net effect of the return of the 30 year Treasury bond which was discontinued in 2001. My bet is the reintroduction of the long term bench mark will give traders of both stocks and bonds a better feel for which way long term interest rates and inflation are moving. More supply of 30 year bonds will also have the effect of raising long term rates by increasing the supply of 30 year bonds and thus lowering the 30 year bond prices and yes this could lead to higher mortgage prices. I was one of those people that thought that the Treasury should have never gotten rid of the 30 year to begin with. The 30 year was a very good predictor of future economic activity, the 10 year simply could not cut it and I think that its demise has led to some very weak stock markets the last few years.
James
Friday, July 29, 2005
Thank you from the MDA
Just wanted to take this time to thank you for your generous donations to the MDA, The New Jersey MDA chapter has 1700 clients who receive direct benefits. I really appreciate you're efforts to contribute.
Thank you again
James J Foytlin
Thank you again
James J Foytlin
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Monday, July 25, 2005
RDX or TATP what does it matter ..if the summer rally continues?
July 17,2005
Hello,
This week it is all about earnings, hurricanes and takeovers. About 1000 companies report earnings, Hurricane Emily crashes a shore near Cancun and not to be out done investment bankers are capitalizing on the low equity valuations perusing the urge to merge. Going into the week Semi conductors and Bio Techs have been leading the way, but let’s see if this weeks earning announcements move this trend forward or make it yesterday’s news. There seems to be a lot of resilience in this market weather it be an act of international terrorism or a natural disaster.
The big news seems to be that China has begun the long overdue process to turn the Yaun into a fully convertible currency. This initial step of letting the Yaun fluctuate versus a basket of currencies first major effect so far has been to cause a sell down in the US treasury market, perhaps alleviating the flatness in the yield curve. The translation into plain English means long term rates ie…mortgage rates will begin to rise. Will rates raise enough to discourage home buying ,I am not sure .The Magic number with mortgage rates is like the magic number of the price of gas .What price will it take to discourage one type of economic activity and encourage another? What may hurt home buyers, may very positively enhance equity valuations because as the saying goes a flat yield curve leads to a recession. What is a flat yield curve? Again this is far less complicated than it sounds and simply means that short term interest rates are the same or more than long term rates, another words there is no time premium for the lender. The stock market views a flat yield curve very negatively, because it points to a slow down in future economic activity. How flat was the yield curve, well the 3month yield is 3.35% and the 30 years is 4.50%. That’s not exactly flat but for example July of last year the 3 month was 1.35% and the 30 year was 5.20%, now that’s a yield curve. Another issue that has crept up is the specter of inflation. A stronger Chinese currency means higher prices for Chinese goods. Again it is one of those magic number issues, another words how much of and increase in the Yaun would be needed to raise prices noticeably. This sounds like more of the sky is falling argument, in the current economic circumstances runaway inflation has about as much chance of coming back as Jimmy Carter getting elected president in 2008. There are many on Wall Street who continue to harp that inflation is coming, inflation is coming, given that fact that we had a market bubble bust in 2000, followed by the attack of 9/11, the FED and the Treasury used an enormous amount of resources to fight and avoid deflation (like the 1930’s) any inflation would simply be temporary as there is a slight boost to inflation after all calamities have subsided due to the excess liquidity created to fight the calamities.
Again since you asked, the average car payment in the USA is $385.00 per month, if you invested the same amount starting with zero in 30 years at 9% return you would accumulate $417,569 after $108,488 taxes at a 28% rate. (Historically the stock market has returned around 11% per year) .If you were to invest tax free of $4000 per year ($334 per month)in a ROTH or Traditional IRA at 9% for 30 years you would end up with $585,483. A car payment can get you started so call me……
James
1(888)599-1188
Hello,
This week it is all about earnings, hurricanes and takeovers. About 1000 companies report earnings, Hurricane Emily crashes a shore near Cancun and not to be out done investment bankers are capitalizing on the low equity valuations perusing the urge to merge. Going into the week Semi conductors and Bio Techs have been leading the way, but let’s see if this weeks earning announcements move this trend forward or make it yesterday’s news. There seems to be a lot of resilience in this market weather it be an act of international terrorism or a natural disaster.
The big news seems to be that China has begun the long overdue process to turn the Yaun into a fully convertible currency. This initial step of letting the Yaun fluctuate versus a basket of currencies first major effect so far has been to cause a sell down in the US treasury market, perhaps alleviating the flatness in the yield curve. The translation into plain English means long term rates ie…mortgage rates will begin to rise. Will rates raise enough to discourage home buying ,I am not sure .The Magic number with mortgage rates is like the magic number of the price of gas .What price will it take to discourage one type of economic activity and encourage another? What may hurt home buyers, may very positively enhance equity valuations because as the saying goes a flat yield curve leads to a recession. What is a flat yield curve? Again this is far less complicated than it sounds and simply means that short term interest rates are the same or more than long term rates, another words there is no time premium for the lender. The stock market views a flat yield curve very negatively, because it points to a slow down in future economic activity. How flat was the yield curve, well the 3month yield is 3.35% and the 30 years is 4.50%. That’s not exactly flat but for example July of last year the 3 month was 1.35% and the 30 year was 5.20%, now that’s a yield curve. Another issue that has crept up is the specter of inflation. A stronger Chinese currency means higher prices for Chinese goods. Again it is one of those magic number issues, another words how much of and increase in the Yaun would be needed to raise prices noticeably. This sounds like more of the sky is falling argument, in the current economic circumstances runaway inflation has about as much chance of coming back as Jimmy Carter getting elected president in 2008. There are many on Wall Street who continue to harp that inflation is coming, inflation is coming, given that fact that we had a market bubble bust in 2000, followed by the attack of 9/11, the FED and the Treasury used an enormous amount of resources to fight and avoid deflation (like the 1930’s) any inflation would simply be temporary as there is a slight boost to inflation after all calamities have subsided due to the excess liquidity created to fight the calamities.
Again since you asked, the average car payment in the USA is $385.00 per month, if you invested the same amount starting with zero in 30 years at 9% return you would accumulate $417,569 after $108,488 taxes at a 28% rate. (Historically the stock market has returned around 11% per year) .If you were to invest tax free of $4000 per year ($334 per month)in a ROTH or Traditional IRA at 9% for 30 years you would end up with $585,483. A car payment can get you started so call me……
James
1(888)599-1188
Friday, July 22, 2005
Thursday, July 21, 2005
just the news
July 21 (Bloomberg) -- China loosened its fixed-exchange rate against the dollar for the first time in a decade, letting the yuan fluctuate versus a basket of currencies, the People's Bank of China said on its Web site.
One of the sources said that investigators found the TATP in the Leeds apartment rented by Magdy el-Nashar, an Egyptian biochemist detained for questioning Thursday in connection with the London attacks. (CNN)
CAIRO, Egypt - A well-liked Egyptian with an American college degree and no apparent interest in politics has been arrested as part of the investigation into the London bomb blasts. In Pakistan Friday, security forces investigating connections with the suicide bombings detained four suspects, a police office said. (MSNBC)
British-born Haroon Rashid Aswad was seized at a religious school with a suicide bomb belt, explosives and GBP 13,000 in cash. Security sources in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, claim he had up to 20 telephone conversations with London bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. One of these is believed to have been just hours before the blasts. (Matt Drudge)
July 15, 2005 — One of the bombers in last week's attacks made a direct phone call to a suspected recruiter for an extremist group in New York. (ABC NEWS LONDON)
(CNSNews.com) - An American Muslim group under federal investigation is actually the U.S. division of a Pakistan-based faction with ties to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, according to notes from an official meeting that were posted on an obscure Middle Eastern website and obtained by Cybercast News Service
"I believed very strongly that it was important for the Committee to conclude publicly that many of the statements made by Ambassador Wilson were not only incorrect, but had no basis in fact." (Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts)
"The former Ambassador (Joe Wilson), either by design or through ignorance, gave the American people and, for that matter, the world a version of events that was inaccurate, unsubstantiated, and misleading” (Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts)
Sen. John Kerry, who called for Karl Rove to be fired over allegations that he revealed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame, outed a genuine undercover CIA agent just this past April - even after the agency asked that his identity be kept secret. Kerry blew the cover of CIA secret operative Fulton Armstrong during confirmation hearings for U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton (NEWSMAX)
If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons,” said General Zhu Chenghu. (FT)
Hedge Funds have pried into nearly every nook of the investing world as they hunt for good returns. Recently, they have increased their focus on a sometimes tricky game: lending money to ailing, cash-strapped companies. (WSJ)
While employment keeps declining at American factories, they are cranking out more products than ever, and they are running closer to capacity than they have in half a decade. (WSJ)
"Contrary to the view out there that American manufacturing is dead or dying, [production] is growing at a pretty good clip," says Joseph Carson, director of global economic research with Alliance Capital Management LP in New York.
Two larger trends are at play in the increases. The first is continued productivity gains in the manufacturing sector, which means factories are producing more products with fewer workers. The other is a growing global economy, which allows U.S. producers to expand production even as upstart factories in places like China and Mexico build up market share. (WSJ)
July 20, 2005 -- Morgan Stanley's board is under attack by a pension fund looking to recover millions the company has paid to departing executives and a $1.58 billion court award the firm lost to mogul Ron Perelman.(NY POST)
July 21, 2005 -- THE Securities & Exchange Commission is investigating whether brokerage firms that did business with Fidelity Investments cheated by placing their own trades ahead of those of the big mutual fund company. On Wall Street this is called "front running." That simply means a brokerage firm, knowing that Fidelity is about to purchase or sell stock in a particular company, will execute its own orders first so as to guarantee itself a profit.(NY POST)
"I don't want to go outside the Green Zone in Baghdad," said the peripatetic stock picker. "Does that make me fearful, or smart? Sometimes fear keeps me from making bad decisions." (Jim Cramer, a former Goldman Sachs trader, hedge fund manager and current host of "Mad Money" on CNBC)
CHICAGO (AP) - The AFL-CIO succumbed to division Sunday, with its largest union deciding to bolt the 50-year-old federation and three others poised to do so in a dispute over how to reverse organized labor's long slide. The four unions, representing nearly one-third of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members, announced Sunday they would boycott the federation's convention that begins Monday. They are part of the Coalition to Win, a group of seven unions vowing to reform the labor movement - outside the AFL-CIO if necessary. ( RON FOURNIER)
One of the sources said that investigators found the TATP in the Leeds apartment rented by Magdy el-Nashar, an Egyptian biochemist detained for questioning Thursday in connection with the London attacks. (CNN)
CAIRO, Egypt - A well-liked Egyptian with an American college degree and no apparent interest in politics has been arrested as part of the investigation into the London bomb blasts. In Pakistan Friday, security forces investigating connections with the suicide bombings detained four suspects, a police office said. (MSNBC)
British-born Haroon Rashid Aswad was seized at a religious school with a suicide bomb belt, explosives and GBP 13,000 in cash. Security sources in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, claim he had up to 20 telephone conversations with London bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer. One of these is believed to have been just hours before the blasts. (Matt Drudge)
July 15, 2005 — One of the bombers in last week's attacks made a direct phone call to a suspected recruiter for an extremist group in New York. (ABC NEWS LONDON)
(CNSNews.com) - An American Muslim group under federal investigation is actually the U.S. division of a Pakistan-based faction with ties to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, according to notes from an official meeting that were posted on an obscure Middle Eastern website and obtained by Cybercast News Service
"I believed very strongly that it was important for the Committee to conclude publicly that many of the statements made by Ambassador Wilson were not only incorrect, but had no basis in fact." (Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts)
"The former Ambassador (Joe Wilson), either by design or through ignorance, gave the American people and, for that matter, the world a version of events that was inaccurate, unsubstantiated, and misleading” (Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts)
Sen. John Kerry, who called for Karl Rove to be fired over allegations that he revealed the identity of CIA employee Valerie Plame, outed a genuine undercover CIA agent just this past April - even after the agency asked that his identity be kept secret. Kerry blew the cover of CIA secret operative Fulton Armstrong during confirmation hearings for U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton (NEWSMAX)
If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons,” said General Zhu Chenghu. (FT)
Hedge Funds have pried into nearly every nook of the investing world as they hunt for good returns. Recently, they have increased their focus on a sometimes tricky game: lending money to ailing, cash-strapped companies. (WSJ)
While employment keeps declining at American factories, they are cranking out more products than ever, and they are running closer to capacity than they have in half a decade. (WSJ)
"Contrary to the view out there that American manufacturing is dead or dying, [production] is growing at a pretty good clip," says Joseph Carson, director of global economic research with Alliance Capital Management LP in New York.
Two larger trends are at play in the increases. The first is continued productivity gains in the manufacturing sector, which means factories are producing more products with fewer workers. The other is a growing global economy, which allows U.S. producers to expand production even as upstart factories in places like China and Mexico build up market share. (WSJ)
July 20, 2005 -- Morgan Stanley's board is under attack by a pension fund looking to recover millions the company has paid to departing executives and a $1.58 billion court award the firm lost to mogul Ron Perelman.(NY POST)
July 21, 2005 -- THE Securities & Exchange Commission is investigating whether brokerage firms that did business with Fidelity Investments cheated by placing their own trades ahead of those of the big mutual fund company. On Wall Street this is called "front running." That simply means a brokerage firm, knowing that Fidelity is about to purchase or sell stock in a particular company, will execute its own orders first so as to guarantee itself a profit.(NY POST)
"I don't want to go outside the Green Zone in Baghdad," said the peripatetic stock picker. "Does that make me fearful, or smart? Sometimes fear keeps me from making bad decisions." (Jim Cramer, a former Goldman Sachs trader, hedge fund manager and current host of "Mad Money" on CNBC)
CHICAGO (AP) - The AFL-CIO succumbed to division Sunday, with its largest union deciding to bolt the 50-year-old federation and three others poised to do so in a dispute over how to reverse organized labor's long slide. The four unions, representing nearly one-third of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members, announced Sunday they would boycott the federation's convention that begins Monday. They are part of the Coalition to Win, a group of seven unions vowing to reform the labor movement - outside the AFL-CIO if necessary. ( RON FOURNIER)
Monday, July 18, 2005
Don’t laugh it worked for Martha...........
"i will come and visit you." , (mom )
Hey man, this pic looks great on you!!
Are you sure you'r collecting money for that cause? (I picture you in Mexico enjoying it!) (another happy client)
"Can I donate money to keep you in?" , (a client )
I haven't divulged it , but I am disabled with a neuro condition and a beneficiary of much of the work that MDA does. (a fellow blogger)
"that is a terrible picture of you. You look like you belong behind bars. Just for letting that picture be released, I think I'll let you stay there..." (another happy client )
"Thanks for your interest in The John Batchelor Show. Check out our new website: http://www.blogger.com/www.JohnBatchelorShow.com! All our books, music, and ways to contact John are available there."
Good luck and do not drop the soap!!!! (Freind)
"OK, You've gotton my sympathy. How can I make a donation ? :)" (friend)
How much in pledges are you looking for....when is this? And if so, can I be locked up with your girlfriend's friends? (another friend)
Hey man, this pic looks great on you!!
Are you sure you'r collecting money for that cause? (I picture you in Mexico enjoying it!) (another happy client)
"Can I donate money to keep you in?" , (a client )
I haven't divulged it , but I am disabled with a neuro condition and a beneficiary of much of the work that MDA does. (a fellow blogger)
"that is a terrible picture of you. You look like you belong behind bars. Just for letting that picture be released, I think I'll let you stay there..." (another happy client )
"Thanks for your interest in The John Batchelor Show. Check out our new website: http://www.blogger.com/www.JohnBatchelorShow.com! All our books, music, and ways to contact John are available there."
Good luck and do not drop the soap!!!! (Freind)
"OK, You've gotton my sympathy. How can I make a donation ? :)" (friend)
How much in pledges are you looking for....when is this? And if so, can I be locked up with your girlfriend's friends? (another friend)
I’M GOING BEHIND BARS FOR GOOD!
I’M GOING BEHIND BARS FOR GOOD!A warrant has been issued for my arrest! As one of the area’s “Most Wanted,”I’m going to be “Locked up” to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association.With your help they may even let me out on good behavior! Contribute to my bail by donating to MDA via check or credit card. Stop by, call me Toll Free 1- 888-599-1188 or e-mail: jamesfoytlin@optonline.netyour offer to help.MDA©
Dow Jones Utilities Index
Raising utilities stock prices suggest an interest rate top?
*chart from the WSJ
Friday, July 15, 2005
this week in the news
The growth of higher wage jobs is outpacing that of lower-paying jobs for the first time in nearly four years, a study found. (WSJ)
WASHINGTON - As three senators joined President Bush's call for the Iranian regime to release dissident journalist Akbar Ganji from prison, the secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, yesterday refused to comment when pressed, claiming ignorance on the matter. (NY SUN)
Britain is in shock. Not just from the traumatic and grudging realization last Thursday that the country is at war, but from the discovery that the attack on London was the work of four suicide bombers, all of them young British Muslims. (NY SUN)
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration is cutting its estimate of this year's U.S. budget deficit to about $330 billion, a Senate Republican aide said, as the growth in jobs and income boosts tax payments.
BRUSSELS (AFP) -European Commission said it had raided offices of Intel Corp and computer makers and sellers across Europe.
EUROPE wants to begin to regulate the internet for the first time by introducing controversial rules to cover television online. (TIMES ON LINE)
Controversial new European laws which could outlaw thousands of vitamin and mineral supplements were upheld by European Court judgesy. (Evening Standard UK)
(CNSNews.com) - Britain's main Muslim umbrella organization has reacted with shock to the news that police believe last Thursday's terrorist bombings in London were carried out by members of the British Muslim community rather than foreigners.
(CNSNews.com) - Britain's national broadcaster re-edited some of its online coverage of last Thursday's London bombings to remove references to "terrorists" and related words, after earlier appearing to have set aside its policy of not using the terms.
The man accused of killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh confessed to a Dutch court that he acted out of his religious beliefs, saying he would do "exactly the same" if he were ever set free. (AFP)
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 oil-consuming countries, said oil demand will accelerate and rise 2.1 percent next year, a sign that prices at $60 a barrel have done little to restrain growth.
PARIS, July 13 - A sudden and mysterious drop in China's oil consumption helped to push down the International Energy Agency's estimate on Wednesday of global demand for this year. After growing 11 percent in 2003 and 15.4 percent last year, China's overall oil use declined 1 percent in the second quarter from the comparable quarter a year earlier, the agency said. (NYT)
"In the past decade, the United Kingdom's undisputed political, economic, and cultural center has also become a major world center of political Islam and anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American activism," writes Hebrew University of Jerusalem academic Robert S. Wistrich …(CNS NEWS)
WASHINGTON - President Clinton yesterday added his voice to a growing chorus of Americans of various political persuasions who disagree with a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government's use of eminent domain powers to take private property from one owner and give it to another. (NY SUN)
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. retail sales rose a larger-than- expected 1.7 percent in June, as price cuts at General Motors Corp. fueled spending on automobiles while summer temperatures drove purchases of such goods as barbecue grills, lounge chairs and lightweight clothing. Shoppers also spent more on gasoline.
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in June, reflecting cheaper energy and apparel, a government report showed today.
WASHINGTON - A major source of chemical contamination in the Arctic turns out to be bird droppings. Wind currents and human activities long have been blamed for fouling the pristine Arctic. But a study by a group of Canadian researchers found that the chemical pollution in areas frequented by seabirds can be many times higher than in nearby regions. (AP)
WASHINGTON - As three senators joined President Bush's call for the Iranian regime to release dissident journalist Akbar Ganji from prison, the secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, yesterday refused to comment when pressed, claiming ignorance on the matter. (NY SUN)
Britain is in shock. Not just from the traumatic and grudging realization last Thursday that the country is at war, but from the discovery that the attack on London was the work of four suicide bombers, all of them young British Muslims. (NY SUN)
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration is cutting its estimate of this year's U.S. budget deficit to about $330 billion, a Senate Republican aide said, as the growth in jobs and income boosts tax payments.
BRUSSELS (AFP) -European Commission said it had raided offices of Intel Corp and computer makers and sellers across Europe.
EUROPE wants to begin to regulate the internet for the first time by introducing controversial rules to cover television online. (TIMES ON LINE)
Controversial new European laws which could outlaw thousands of vitamin and mineral supplements were upheld by European Court judgesy. (Evening Standard UK)
(CNSNews.com) - Britain's main Muslim umbrella organization has reacted with shock to the news that police believe last Thursday's terrorist bombings in London were carried out by members of the British Muslim community rather than foreigners.
(CNSNews.com) - Britain's national broadcaster re-edited some of its online coverage of last Thursday's London bombings to remove references to "terrorists" and related words, after earlier appearing to have set aside its policy of not using the terms.
The man accused of killing Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh confessed to a Dutch court that he acted out of his religious beliefs, saying he would do "exactly the same" if he were ever set free. (AFP)
July 13 (Bloomberg) -- The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 oil-consuming countries, said oil demand will accelerate and rise 2.1 percent next year, a sign that prices at $60 a barrel have done little to restrain growth.
PARIS, July 13 - A sudden and mysterious drop in China's oil consumption helped to push down the International Energy Agency's estimate on Wednesday of global demand for this year. After growing 11 percent in 2003 and 15.4 percent last year, China's overall oil use declined 1 percent in the second quarter from the comparable quarter a year earlier, the agency said. (NYT)
"In the past decade, the United Kingdom's undisputed political, economic, and cultural center has also become a major world center of political Islam and anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American activism," writes Hebrew University of Jerusalem academic Robert S. Wistrich …(CNS NEWS)
WASHINGTON - President Clinton yesterday added his voice to a growing chorus of Americans of various political persuasions who disagree with a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld the government's use of eminent domain powers to take private property from one owner and give it to another. (NY SUN)
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. retail sales rose a larger-than- expected 1.7 percent in June, as price cuts at General Motors Corp. fueled spending on automobiles while summer temperatures drove purchases of such goods as barbecue grills, lounge chairs and lightweight clothing. Shoppers also spent more on gasoline.
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in June, reflecting cheaper energy and apparel, a government report showed today.
WASHINGTON - A major source of chemical contamination in the Arctic turns out to be bird droppings. Wind currents and human activities long have been blamed for fouling the pristine Arctic. But a study by a group of Canadian researchers found that the chemical pollution in areas frequented by seabirds can be many times higher than in nearby regions. (AP)
Ganji must be Free
July 12, 2005
Hello,
I just love a summer rally, yes that’s right the market continues to rally and you herd it here first not every stock not everyday and sure the volume is a bit weak but none the less the summer rally is in full bloom. NASDQ looks to have pushed through some very significant resistance around the 2100 level. Again I will repeat the market stages a summer rally, followed by a September through 3rd week of October sell off .Then after about October 20th give or take the real decade rally starts, similar to the fall off 1995 thru mid 1996. The semiconductors are beginning to move upward. They are often one of first sectors to rally signifying the beginning of a new bull market. Mind you it is important to continue to look for confirmation, if the Semi’s fail all bets are off. I know you have herd it all be for, so let the market show you. Scale in making the decision to add more to equities with each passing day buying on weakness or adding to strong positions.
So how does it work, the government lowered tax rates and tax revenues increased? Think of it like running an airline and you want to fill all your planes and eliminate all the empty seats. You simply cut fares and more people fly .Now that wasn’t so complicated was it. Gee you mean people are smart enough to take advantage of sales and discounts, are you? You mean people will buy more when they get a discount? Perhaps you have even made a purchase decision based on the opportunity to take advantage of a sale, I certainly have? I know, never; you always pay more just to prove you’re paying your way …yea right. Everybody loves a bargain, especially business looking to make investments in equipment and expansion. Still not sure ask GM about the Employee discount for everyone program. Taxes are a cost we all share and if taxes are decreased costs decline: more money for you, more fore me to buy, hire, build, expand and advertise; It is really that simple.
Get Me Out Of Jail,fund raiser for MDA
Yes I am going behind bars .I am going to be locked up to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Association .With your help by contributing to my bail we can make a difference! Contribute today by donating to MDA via check, or credit card or cash! No donation is to small! Stop by and see me, call 1(888) 599-1188 or email jamesfoytlin@optonline.net, or I can pick up a check at your home or office.Thank you,James Foytlin
Hello,
I just love a summer rally, yes that’s right the market continues to rally and you herd it here first not every stock not everyday and sure the volume is a bit weak but none the less the summer rally is in full bloom. NASDQ looks to have pushed through some very significant resistance around the 2100 level. Again I will repeat the market stages a summer rally, followed by a September through 3rd week of October sell off .Then after about October 20th give or take the real decade rally starts, similar to the fall off 1995 thru mid 1996. The semiconductors are beginning to move upward. They are often one of first sectors to rally signifying the beginning of a new bull market. Mind you it is important to continue to look for confirmation, if the Semi’s fail all bets are off. I know you have herd it all be for, so let the market show you. Scale in making the decision to add more to equities with each passing day buying on weakness or adding to strong positions.
So how does it work, the government lowered tax rates and tax revenues increased? Think of it like running an airline and you want to fill all your planes and eliminate all the empty seats. You simply cut fares and more people fly .Now that wasn’t so complicated was it. Gee you mean people are smart enough to take advantage of sales and discounts, are you? You mean people will buy more when they get a discount? Perhaps you have even made a purchase decision based on the opportunity to take advantage of a sale, I certainly have? I know, never; you always pay more just to prove you’re paying your way …yea right. Everybody loves a bargain, especially business looking to make investments in equipment and expansion. Still not sure ask GM about the Employee discount for everyone program. Taxes are a cost we all share and if taxes are decreased costs decline: more money for you, more fore me to buy, hire, build, expand and advertise; It is really that simple.
Get Me Out Of Jail,fund raiser for MDA
Yes I am going behind bars .I am going to be locked up to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Association .With your help by contributing to my bail we can make a difference! Contribute today by donating to MDA via check, or credit card or cash! No donation is to small! Stop by and see me, call 1(888) 599-1188 or email jamesfoytlin@optonline.net, or I can pick up a check at your home or office.Thank you,James Foytlin
Monday, July 11, 2005
Get Me Out Of Jail,fund raiser for MDA
Yes I am going behind bars .I am going to be locked up to benefit Muscular Dystrophy Association .With your help by contributing to my bail we can make a difference! Contribute today by donating to MDA via check, or credit card or cash! Stop by and see me, call 1(888) 599-1188 or email jamesfoytlin@optonline.net, or I can pick up a check at your home.
Thank you,
James Foytlin
54 Washington Place
Ridgewood NJ 07450
Thank you,
James Foytlin
54 Washington Place
Ridgewood NJ 07450
this week in the news
Iran's president-elect has proclaimed an Islamic revolution of global proportions. Mahmood Ahmadinejad said his election coincided with what he termed a new Islamic revolution. "The wave of the Islamic revolution will soon reach the entire world," Ahmadinejad said. "In one night, the martyrs strode down a path of 100 years." (World Tribune)
A former American hostage in Tehran who claims Iranian President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one of his kidnappers, says the country's new leader threatened to kidnap his handicapped son and cut off his fingers and toes. David Roeder, 66, told the German magazine Der Spiegel Ahmadinejad was present for at least a third of the interrogations during the time he was held, November 1979 to January 1981 "You don't forget someone like that," said the former assistant Air Force attache. (WorldNet Daily.com)
European diplomats are preparing for a breakdown of their negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme in a sign of mounting pessimism following the election last week of conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. Although Britain, France and Germany still intend to keep their promise to put forward new compromise proposals to Iran by the beginning of August, some of the countries' diplomats now have little expectation that any deal will be accepted by Tehran. (FT)
BRUSSELS -- A lunch meeting between a leading parliamentarian in Belgium and counterparts from Iran has been cancelled because the beer-loving Belgian could not stomach a ban on alcohol. "Even for the tolerant Herman De Croo, that was a bridge too far," De Croo, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, told De Standaard daily on Thursday. (Reuters)
June 30, 2005 -- Jack Resnick & Sons this week became the latest sophisticated city real estate family to cash out some of its holdings. The family firm quietly hired investment orchestrator Doug Harmon of Eastdil to market The Gershwin, a 1998 rental tower at 250 W. 50th named after the composer. The 41-story building, on the southeast corner of Eighth Avenue across from the Gershwin Theatre, has already attracted a full range of bidders. It could break records when it trades close to the $400 million mark. (NY POST)
June 30, 2005 -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Piper Jaffray Cos. and 17 other firms will pay a combined $1.65 million to the NASD for late and improper reporting of municipal bond trades — a record fine by the regulator for such lapses. (NY POST)
June 30, 2005 -- Google and Yahoo! moved yesterday to position their companies to capture a larger piece of fast-growing local online advertising revenues. (NY POST)
July 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's administration will report this week that surging tax revenue is shrinking this year's budget deficit from the record 2004 level, possibly by as much as $90 billion, giving him a shot at fulfilling his deficit reduction promise three years early.
July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Blackstone Group LP, the world's two biggest buyout firms, are making 2005 an unprecedented year for leveraged buyouts, generating more than $4 billion of fees for investment bankers.
July 11 (Bloomberg) -- VNU NV, the Dutch owner of market researcher ACNielsen, agreed to buy IMS Health Inc. for $6.3 billion to become the world's biggest provider of health care market data.
A brutal, oppressive dictator, guilty of personally murdering and condoning murder and torture, grotesque violence against women, execution of political opponents, a war criminal who used chemical weapons against another nation and, of course, as we know, against his own people, the Kurds. He has diverted funds from the Oil-for-Food program, intended by the international community to go to his own people. He has supported and harbored terrorist groups, particularly radical Palestinian groups such as Abu Nidal, and he has given money to families of suicide murderers in Israel. (Senator John Kerry. In the same speech, Kerry faulted Bush for waiting so long to deal with the menace of Saddam Hussein)
July 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. factory orders increased in May by the most in a year and sales of business equipment increased, a sign manufacturing will provide a bigger boost to the economy in the second half than in the first.
July 6, 2005 -- American International Group Inc., the insurer sued for improper accounting, named Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as a special adviser to its board. (NY POST)
Marina Bai has sued the U.S. space agency, claiming the Deep Impact probe that punched a crater into the comet Tempel 1 late Sunday "ruins the natural balance of forces in the universe," the newspaper Izvestia reported Tuesday. A Moscow court has postponed hearings on the case until late July, the paper said. (AP)
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Inmates from the US-led war on terror held at the prison camp at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are well treated, play outdoor sports, and have access to a broad Muslim-approved menu, a US senator who traveled to the site said.
(CNSNews.com) - Islamic schools, called "madrassahs," operate around the world, teaching children reading, writing, religion and, in some cases, how to participate in terrorist attacks.
A former American hostage in Tehran who claims Iranian President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one of his kidnappers, says the country's new leader threatened to kidnap his handicapped son and cut off his fingers and toes. David Roeder, 66, told the German magazine Der Spiegel Ahmadinejad was present for at least a third of the interrogations during the time he was held, November 1979 to January 1981 "You don't forget someone like that," said the former assistant Air Force attache. (WorldNet Daily.com)
European diplomats are preparing for a breakdown of their negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme in a sign of mounting pessimism following the election last week of conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad. Although Britain, France and Germany still intend to keep their promise to put forward new compromise proposals to Iran by the beginning of August, some of the countries' diplomats now have little expectation that any deal will be accepted by Tehran. (FT)
BRUSSELS -- A lunch meeting between a leading parliamentarian in Belgium and counterparts from Iran has been cancelled because the beer-loving Belgian could not stomach a ban on alcohol. "Even for the tolerant Herman De Croo, that was a bridge too far," De Croo, a Dutch-speaking Liberal, told De Standaard daily on Thursday. (Reuters)
June 30, 2005 -- Jack Resnick & Sons this week became the latest sophisticated city real estate family to cash out some of its holdings. The family firm quietly hired investment orchestrator Doug Harmon of Eastdil to market The Gershwin, a 1998 rental tower at 250 W. 50th named after the composer. The 41-story building, on the southeast corner of Eighth Avenue across from the Gershwin Theatre, has already attracted a full range of bidders. It could break records when it trades close to the $400 million mark. (NY POST)
June 30, 2005 -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Piper Jaffray Cos. and 17 other firms will pay a combined $1.65 million to the NASD for late and improper reporting of municipal bond trades — a record fine by the regulator for such lapses. (NY POST)
June 30, 2005 -- Google and Yahoo! moved yesterday to position their companies to capture a larger piece of fast-growing local online advertising revenues. (NY POST)
July 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's administration will report this week that surging tax revenue is shrinking this year's budget deficit from the record 2004 level, possibly by as much as $90 billion, giving him a shot at fulfilling his deficit reduction promise three years early.
July 11 (Bloomberg) -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Blackstone Group LP, the world's two biggest buyout firms, are making 2005 an unprecedented year for leveraged buyouts, generating more than $4 billion of fees for investment bankers.
July 11 (Bloomberg) -- VNU NV, the Dutch owner of market researcher ACNielsen, agreed to buy IMS Health Inc. for $6.3 billion to become the world's biggest provider of health care market data.
A brutal, oppressive dictator, guilty of personally murdering and condoning murder and torture, grotesque violence against women, execution of political opponents, a war criminal who used chemical weapons against another nation and, of course, as we know, against his own people, the Kurds. He has diverted funds from the Oil-for-Food program, intended by the international community to go to his own people. He has supported and harbored terrorist groups, particularly radical Palestinian groups such as Abu Nidal, and he has given money to families of suicide murderers in Israel. (Senator John Kerry. In the same speech, Kerry faulted Bush for waiting so long to deal with the menace of Saddam Hussein)
July 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. factory orders increased in May by the most in a year and sales of business equipment increased, a sign manufacturing will provide a bigger boost to the economy in the second half than in the first.
July 6, 2005 -- American International Group Inc., the insurer sued for improper accounting, named Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as a special adviser to its board. (NY POST)
Marina Bai has sued the U.S. space agency, claiming the Deep Impact probe that punched a crater into the comet Tempel 1 late Sunday "ruins the natural balance of forces in the universe," the newspaper Izvestia reported Tuesday. A Moscow court has postponed hearings on the case until late July, the paper said. (AP)
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Inmates from the US-led war on terror held at the prison camp at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are well treated, play outdoor sports, and have access to a broad Muslim-approved menu, a US senator who traveled to the site said.
(CNSNews.com) - Islamic schools, called "madrassahs," operate around the world, teaching children reading, writing, religion and, in some cases, how to participate in terrorist attacks.
cant make a silk purse from a sows ear?
July 5th 2004
Hello,
First my sympathy and hope goes out to all Londoners. Interesting choice of a terror target, Londoners seem to have accumulated a lot of fortitude after years of fearing IRA attacks .I am not sure this Terrorist Attack in will have the negative impact that the terrorist would hope for. At this juncture it does not appear to be a precursor of a huge sell off ,particularly given that oil prices have declined at lest early rather significantly. The US markets seem to have factored in terrorism as a part of life like hurricanes. It remains to be seen if Europe is of the same mind set.
I was in the middle of writing this……..Yes it is hurricane season and with the storms comes the seasonal increase in the price of fuel. No mystery simply the geographic location of about 38% of refining and oil and natural gas drilling rigs for the US. Many oil stocks are trading significantly below their highs of earlier this year when oil prices were much lower. Oil stocks may not make new highs but there looks to be some room for an upward price move, barring a major geopolitical setback. I have said this before increasing fuel prices seem to be factored into the market. So far increasing fuel prices have acted to keep economic growth moderate allowing to FED to continue to raise rates incrementally. A huge jump in prices would cause an oil shock, but as I have said before what would constitute a huge spike I am not sure. My best guess would be in the $90 a barrel range.
It is also the summer slow down which means in the summer the economy slows down. The media every year will fill the airwaves with dire prediction, that the end is near and the world ended yesterday. If it sounds familiar it is because it is the story gets reused every year while the press is on summer vacation.
So now a bit of history from 1924-1929 the DOW made a parabolic move of over 300% going from 100 to 400 .The Crash in 1929 brought the DOW back down to 50 ,a drop of 88%. After bottoming in the middle of 1932, the DOW then rose 140% from 50 to 120 and settled into a trading range from about 80-120 till the middle of 1935 then breaking out 67% to 200 by 1937. Now let’s look at the NASDQ. The current NASDQ made the parabolic move from 1996 to 2000, rising over 400% from 1000 to 5100. Then the crash came and knocked the NASDQ from 5100 to 1100 by 2002, losing 78% of its value. In 2002 thru 2003 the NASDQ rallied 95% to 2100, and then traded sideways till the present from 1750 to 2190 till the present. Hummmmm….yes we could still make a new low … but to date this decade has underperformed the 1930’s, and folks this is not the great depression.
Be safe
James
Trading
Portfolio Management
Tax Free Bonds
Retirement Planning
Small Business Retirement Planning
Charitable Planning
Hello,
First my sympathy and hope goes out to all Londoners. Interesting choice of a terror target, Londoners seem to have accumulated a lot of fortitude after years of fearing IRA attacks .I am not sure this Terrorist Attack in will have the negative impact that the terrorist would hope for. At this juncture it does not appear to be a precursor of a huge sell off ,particularly given that oil prices have declined at lest early rather significantly. The US markets seem to have factored in terrorism as a part of life like hurricanes. It remains to be seen if Europe is of the same mind set.
I was in the middle of writing this……..Yes it is hurricane season and with the storms comes the seasonal increase in the price of fuel. No mystery simply the geographic location of about 38% of refining and oil and natural gas drilling rigs for the US. Many oil stocks are trading significantly below their highs of earlier this year when oil prices were much lower. Oil stocks may not make new highs but there looks to be some room for an upward price move, barring a major geopolitical setback. I have said this before increasing fuel prices seem to be factored into the market. So far increasing fuel prices have acted to keep economic growth moderate allowing to FED to continue to raise rates incrementally. A huge jump in prices would cause an oil shock, but as I have said before what would constitute a huge spike I am not sure. My best guess would be in the $90 a barrel range.
It is also the summer slow down which means in the summer the economy slows down. The media every year will fill the airwaves with dire prediction, that the end is near and the world ended yesterday. If it sounds familiar it is because it is the story gets reused every year while the press is on summer vacation.
So now a bit of history from 1924-1929 the DOW made a parabolic move of over 300% going from 100 to 400 .The Crash in 1929 brought the DOW back down to 50 ,a drop of 88%. After bottoming in the middle of 1932, the DOW then rose 140% from 50 to 120 and settled into a trading range from about 80-120 till the middle of 1935 then breaking out 67% to 200 by 1937. Now let’s look at the NASDQ. The current NASDQ made the parabolic move from 1996 to 2000, rising over 400% from 1000 to 5100. Then the crash came and knocked the NASDQ from 5100 to 1100 by 2002, losing 78% of its value. In 2002 thru 2003 the NASDQ rallied 95% to 2100, and then traded sideways till the present from 1750 to 2190 till the present. Hummmmm….yes we could still make a new low … but to date this decade has underperformed the 1930’s, and folks this is not the great depression.
Be safe
James
Trading
Portfolio Management
Tax Free Bonds
Retirement Planning
Small Business Retirement Planning
Charitable Planning
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