So far discussions regarding the firm’s options have been internal where a range of scenarios that were unthinkable only weeks ago are being … [visit site to read more]

The banking giant’s stock is now trading around $5, and it may only be the beginning, reports CNBC. Since most institutional investors and pension funds are prohibited from owning stocks below $5, a selling wave could be triggered sending the share price even lower.

The stock doesn’t have to be sold immediately, but money managers would have to exit … [visit site to read more]

I don’t know if these pictures make us feel better - this has happened before and we have survived -or make us feel worse - this has happened before and we have learned nothing.

These graphs from Calculated … [visit site to read more]

There could be more trouble as an institution like Citigroup (C) below $5 must be sold by institutions prohibited from owning stocks below that price. Alwaleed, the wealthy Saudi who owned 4% of the stock, said he was upping his ownership to 5% today. Perhaps someone tapped him on the shoulder and told him to do that to prevent more selling. Obviously the Big Three auto companies are no longer in … [visit site to read more]

From the WSJ:
As home prices slide and loan defaults pile up, some mortgage companies are slashing the amount that borrowers owe, deciding that a permanent cut in the loan balance may pay off if that helps teetering borrowers avoid foreclosure.

The small but growing push sharply contrasts with most loan-modification programs. Borrowers often get a lower … [visit site to read more]

DIA 5-min chart:

The first pattern that jumps off the chart at you is what I call the “Measured Move” pattern, or more technically the “A to B equals C to D” structure - keep in mind these are not Elliott or any other special kind of chart notation.

A … [visit site to read more]

BUT…

you can’t exactly argue that we’re not heading in this direction.

Something else to think about: it’s fairly easy to argue that we got into this situation because our economic policy was designed to remove negative consequences from the economic cycle instead of just letting things run their course. SO, if we do the same via certain bailout strategies that are more aimed at maintaining the status quo, the … [visit site to read more]

That meant they generally ignored developments that took place more than a decade or two ago, or in the best case, prior to World War II. Of course, if they had not limited themselves in that way, … [visit site to read more]

Malls and department stores are empty, and to compete for customers’ attention, retailers are now offering up great sales and deals before the Christmas season has officially begun. Online, however, there is an even bigger war going on, as retail sites are price-cutting and offering free shipping to boot, report Claire … [visit site to read more]

According to Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Director Scott Rockfeld, the reason the software giant selected China Mobile as the first operator to get mobile IE 6 is because of vast growth in the number of new mobile users … [visit site to read more]

German solar powerhouse SolarWorld issued a press release yesterday, stating that the company plans to bid on four German production facilities and Opel’s Ruesselsheim development center and headquarters. (Opel is a German automaker that was acquired by GM in 1929, and continues to operate as a subsidiary.)

SolarWorld … [visit site to read more]

Barclays Globlal Investors has introduced a series of target-date funds, something that has become especially popular in retirement plans. John Spence for The Wall Street Journal explains these mutual funds are designed to manage portfolios by directing the allocations to stocks and bonds as workers approach retirement.

For example, if you … [visit site to read more]

Switzerland’s central bank said it was lowering its … [visit site to read more]

The Bush Administration, led by Hank Paulson, stepped in when faced with a crisis.  It was courageous and correct, even if the plan was a bit sketchy.

When they finally got Congressional approval it included both additional powers and additional oversight.  Paulson used the additional powers to make direct investments in financial firms, something … [visit site to read more]

The IMF will lend Iceland $2.1 billion, and Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will loan $2.5 billion to help the country re-float its currency and shore up its banking sector.

The Icelandic krona, or … [visit site to read more]

It’s not official yet. Apparently the committee of “esteemed” economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) doesn’t get paid for timeliness. But the statistics don’t lie… we’re in a recession.

And that’s got me giddier than an Obama supporter … [visit site to read more]

The failed $300 Billion Hope For Homeowners (H4H) program that the markets heralded when it was announced this summer is getting revamped. This is because it was a bad idea in the first place - only 100 applications have been submitted as of Oct 1st. Hear that?!? 100 applications. 100 freaking applications! Its no wonder why there is no faith in the solons … [visit site to read more]

While it is hard to think of any managements that seem less deserving of help than those of the Big Three, the spillover effects to the rest of the … [visit site to read more]

Either they love it or they hate it.

But for those who swear by it, the lines on those charts are more than points on a graph. They are windows into a world where the price action of the past gives clues into the price action of the future.

Needless to say, that is a “crystal ball” type of approach to the markets that leaves the non-believers simply shaking their heads. … [visit site to read more]

Retail investors are sharply increasing their demand for more gold bars and coins, as it has presented a safe place to keep their money during the market meltdowns. Last year, people bought 38 tons of gold coins in the third quarter alone; this year, that figure has rocketed to 61 tons, reports Dan Grech for Marketplace.

Meanwhile, … [visit site to read more]

The euro moved higher vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar today (Thursday) as the single currency tested offers around the US$ 1.2585 level and was supported around the $1.2470 level.  The common currency gained ground on a variety of factors. First, weekly U.S. initial jobless claims surged to their highest level in nearly sixteen years, up 27,000 to 542,000 while continuing jobless claims were at 4.012 million, the highest level since December 1982.  These data … [visit site to read more]

Investment strategies such as stock picking and bond investing are all in the red, so why not a fundamentally weighted indexed ETF?

Ron DeLegge for ETF Guide says fundamentally weighted ETFs try to beat the performance of a traditional index by selecting and weighting stocks according to various financial metrics such as earnings, dividends or book value. A … [visit site to read more]

S&P Daily

EURUSD Daily

USDJPY Daily

I personally shorted USDJPY at 95.77, as it is consistent with my long-term view of US dollar bearishness. The current trends, though, are clearly dollar strength as well as S&P bearishness, though, so these trades make sense from that standpoint as well.

The configuration of three triangles … [visit site to read more]

S&P 500 (^GSPC) Bear Market from 2000 to 2003 (Weekly):

The bull market peak occurred at 1,530 just before October 2000 before the S&P 500 lost a full 50% to bottom in October 2002, almost exactly two years later.

This chart captures the entirety of the bear market … [visit site to read more]

No question, such numbers are scary, especially for large-cap value fund investors who have experienced that 42% drop. And the fact that some of the biggest names in value investing have taken such big beatings has to be especially disconcerting for investors who already have had their confidence badly shaken and their portfolios … [visit site to read more]

BEIJING (Dow Jones) - China’s central bank is considering raising its gold reserve by 4,000 metric tons from 600 tons to diversify risks brought by the country’s huge foreign exchange reserves, the Guangzhou Daily reported, citing unnamed industry people in Hong Kong.

China’s foreign exchange reserves, at US$1.9056 trillion at the end of September, is the world’s largest. US dollar-denominated assets, including US treasury bonds and … [visit site to read more]

That labor flexibility has emerged as a key advantage during the industry downturn, allowing foreign-owned plants to rapidly downshift … [visit site to read more]

Read the following from Wikipedia:
Deflation in Japan

Deflation started in the early 1990s. The Bank of Japan and the government have tried to eliminate it by reducing interest rates (part of their ‘quantitative … [visit site to read more]

The world’s largest chemical company, BASF SE (BASFY), lowered its profit forecast and announced plans to halt operations at 80 factories. The Ludwigshafen-based company cited reduced orders from the auto, construction and textile … [visit site to read more]

As if a locked-up credit market and tidal waves of foreclosures weren’t already enough, we’re now watching unemployment climb and consumer confidence plunge.

But even when the housing market is taking on water, there are ways to stay afloat. Indeed, investors nimble enough to maneuver can even make money.

The … [visit site to read more]

So yesterday, US CPI fell 1% m/m, the largest monthly decline in the history of the series by a fairly wide margin. Frankly, Macro Man isn’t quite sure what to make of this. On … [visit site to read more]

This news comes as no surprise to Zacks senior financial analyst Neena Mishra, who just this past Tuesday posted a blog on Zacks entitled “Biz Redrawn for Treasury Access.” In it, she had this quote: … [visit site to read more]

For the DJIA index, the first hour was fine, and then there was a spike down for an hour, followed by side-tracking for most of the session until about 3:15pm. The final 45 minutes was a killer, once again. There is no confidence in the market as traders are … [visit site to read more]

Toni Vorbyova for Reuters reports that Russia did get props for Moscow’s response to the financial crisis, with its economy expected to grow 6% for 2008 and 3% in 2009. The deteriorating oil market, capital … [visit site to read more]

Deflation is the opposite of inflation Therefore, under the usual contemporary definition of inflation, ‘deflation’ means a decrease in the general price level. Alternatively, the … [visit site to read more]

The company’s results deteriorated throughout the third quarter and trends are … [visit site to read more]

Since I believe in the latter, I am acting  on my convictions:

I covered my short Nifty 2800 Call at Rs 18.  Recall I had sold it for Rs 112. 
Second, I added another 11% to my long equity position at Nifty 2510. So, net of the Call premium I have allocated 20% to equities at an average of Nifty 2582.
Net of my gains … [visit site to read more]

In this volatile market, I am having more success trading options than equities. … [visit site to read more]