The "up-to-the-minute Market Data" thread

reply to post by Hx3_1963


So if for 15 months we see a negative number of jobs lost... we can assume no jobs where created in surplus right?

So onto the 5.1 million jobs lost, we can add the 1.8million college graduates every 12 months who won't have jobs.

Also see this thread: New Wave of Foreclosures...

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Nope - rarely ever do hold over weekend - trade stuff that is.

I ran some DOG - another 3x - early in the week and made some nice coin.

I do NOT trade by emotion, I trade by fundamentals, trends and swings.

and like you won't touch SKF, I won't touch FAS.

I do a lot of futures, /ES and /YM and sometimes, I pick up something that looks ready for a rocket shot.

I will use 2x or 3x inverse rather than "shorts", mostly because if I'm wrong, I can hold on to break even rather than be forced to cover.

of course, I am trading with a LOT more than $900 to play with

Semi-retired from trading now - it's my major income stream, so I have learned (mostly the hard way) to be VERY wary of abnormal market movement.

Thursday, most financials (XLF and individual bank stocks) came just under VWAP. I kept looking for them to do more than kiss it for an entry, but it didn't happen, so I stayed flat.

I'd rather keep my $$ for a better day

Hmmm...now...how long till this is swept under the "Magic Rug" also ???

Bailed-out banks face probe over fee hikes: report
www.reuters.com...

(Reuters) - U.S. banks that received money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) are facing a probe over increases in rates and fees, the Wall Street Journal said. The Congressional Oversight Panel, the body named by Congress to oversee the federal bailout, is working on a report examining instances of potentially inappropriate lending by banks that got taxpayer capital, according to the paper.

"The people who are subsidizing the activities of the banks through their tax dollars are the same people who are furnishing the high profits through consumer lending," Elizabeth Warren, chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel told the Journal in an interview.

"In a sense, we're asking taxpayers to pay twice," Warren told the paper.

The U.S. Treasury Department's $700 billion TARP was intended to provide lenders with more capital to spur lending and improve the economy.

Since TARP was launched in October, banks bolstered by capital infusions have boosted charges on a wide range of routine transactions, hiked rates on credit cards and continued making loans criticized as predatory by consumer advocates, the Journal said.

reply to post by Rockpuck
Sure there have been jobs created, but, from record high continuing UE claims, it's not keeping up with demand...

...And don't forget all the High School grad's...

There will be a lot of competition at Hot-n-Now soon, between HS Grad's and UBS job seekers...

I wonder if any of those Bankers or Wall St guys EVER had a "REAL" job...ya know...like at a factory or gas station???


They'd probably be trying to start a "side" business there somehow to make some extra coin...

HSBC says considering sales of office buildings
www.reuters.com...

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Europe's largest bank, HSBC Holdings (0005.HK)(HSBA.L), confirmed on Monday it was considering selling three of its major office buildings and said it had received interest from potential buyers.

HSBC, which recently raised nearly $19 billion in a rights issue, said it may sell and lease back-office buildings in New York, Paris and London, including its headquarters at Canary Wharf.

London's Sunday Telegraph reported that HSBC was considering selling three of its biggest office buildings to raise 2.7 billion pounds ($3.98 billion).

"We are taking a look at the market, yes," spokesman David Hall said in Hong Kong.

"There are people interested in buying at an appropriate price," Hall said.

He declined to give further details.

More at Link...

ING to unload $10.6 billion in assets
money.cnn.com...

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -- Dutch financial services group ING Group said on Thursday it plans to divest operations worth up to $10.6 billion to reduce risk and will focus its banking activities on Europe.

ING (ING), which was loss-making in 2008 and got a €10 billion injection from the Dutch state last October, said in a statement it wants to divest non-core activities worth €6 billion to €8 billion, or 10 to 15 businesses.

ING, which also said its insurance business would in future focus on life insurance and retirement services globally, had previously targeted divestments of €2 to €3 billion and had already sold a stake in ING Canada.

ING, the biggest Dutch bank and insurance group measured by balance sheet assets, joins banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland and U.S. Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) which are cutting operations after being hit by the credit crisis and getting state aid.

"It is making us focus on, first of all, making sure we get through the crisis but also to set ourselves up after the crisis. To have a position in markets where we can lead," ING Chief Executive Jan Hommen told reporters.

More at Link...

[edit on 4/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

in case these articles were missed in the fast movement of this thread, I offer them yet again

Time To Breakup Goldman Sachs

It's time to breakup Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and for that matter any bank or holding company deemed too big to fail. It's not just the "too big to fail" hazard that is troubling, it's also the power these corporations have and the potential to abuse that power that is also troubling.

Please consider the article Incredibly Shrinking Market Liquidity as posted on the Zero Hedge blog.

A very interesting data point, also provided by the NYSE, implicates none other than administration darling Goldman Sachs in yet another potentially troubling development. The chart below demonstrates the program trading broken down by the top 15 most active NYSE member firms. I bring your attention to the total, principal, customer facilitation and agency columns.

**see article at link for chart**

Key to note here is that Goldman's program trading principal to agency+customer facilitation ratio is a staggering 5x, which is multiples higher than both the second most active program trader and the average ratio of the NYSE, both at or below 1x. The implication is that Goldman Sachs, due to its preeminent position not only as one of the world's largest broker/dealers (pardon, Bank Holding Companies), but also as being on the top of the high-frequency trading/liquidity provision "food chain", trades much more often for its own (principal) benefit, likely in tandem with the other top dogs on the list: RenTec, Highbridge (JP Morgan), and GETCO.

In this light, the program trading spike over the past week could be perceived as much more sinister. For conspiracy lovers, long searching for any circumstantial evidence to catch the mysterious "plunge protection team" in action, you should look no further than this.

Readers know that I am not a subscriber to Plunge Protection Team (PPT) theory. However, I am open to the idea that it is possible for Broker Dealers or Bank Holding Companies to be trading their own accounts ahead of customer accounts and/or advising clients (or the public) one way (and trading the other), on purpose.

That is not a direct accusation. Instead it is a statement of what is possible due to lack of sufficient separation between trading groups, advisory groups, and a myriad of hedge funds sponsored by the broker dealers and bank holding companies.

More at link

and from the referred link

Incredibly Shrinking Market Liquidity, Or the Upcoming Black Swan of Black Swans

Following on the circumstantial evidence track, as Zero Hedge pointed out previously, over the past month, the Volume Weighted Average Price of the SPY index indicates that the bulk of the upswing has been done through low volume buying on the margin and from overnight gaps in afterhours market trading. The VWAP of the SPY through yesterday indicated that the real price of the S&P 500 would be roughly 60 points lower, or about 782, if the low volume marginal transactions had been netted out. And yet the market keeps on rising. This is an additional data point demonstrating that the equity market has reached a point where the transactions on the margin are all that matter as the core volume/liquidity providers slowly disappear one by one through ongoing deleveraging.

Unfortunately for them, this is not a sustainable condition.

As more and more quants focus on trading exclusively with themselves, and the slow and vanilla money piggy backs to low-vol market swings, the aberrations become self-fulfilling. What retail investors fail to acknowledge is that the quants close out a majority of their ultra-short term positions at the end of each trading day, meaning that the vanilla money is stuck as a hot potato bagholder to what can only be classified as an unprecedented ponzi scheme. As the overall market volume is substantially lower now than it has been in the recent past, this strategy has in fact been working and will likely continue to do so... until it fails and we witness a repeat of the August 2007 quant failure events... at which point the market, just like Madoff, will become the emperor revealing its utter lack of clothing.

So what happens in a world where the very core of the capital markets system is gradually deleveraging to a point where maintaining a liquid and orderly market becomes impossible: large swings on low volume, massive bid-offer spreads, huge trading costs, inability to clear and numerous failed trades. When the quant deleveraging finally catches up with the market, the consequences will likely be unprecedented, with dramatic dislocations leading the market both higher and lower on record volatility. Furthermore, high convexity names such as double and triple negative ETFs, which are massively disbalanced with regard to underlying values after recent trading patterns, will see shifts which will make the November SRS jump to $250 seem like child's play.

MUCH more at link

NO suprise here...the beginning of another "end.":

GM Told To Prepare For Bankruptcy

abcnews.go.com...

Will no doubt be a "great" start to the week,LOL!

reply to post by irishchic


a lot of people are saying this is a media campaign for bondholders to accept their terms.. or politics in media..

i read this earlier in the night and also just heard this on CNBC (cough, cough) this morning

reply to post by redhatty


thats interesting..

i have nevr traded futures, but im sure the contracts however they are
priced, are way out of my league for now..

im trying to get into options, but the more i get into it, the more it makes me want to stay away...

if i get some gains, i might explore an option play in the future..

p.s.

seeing huge pre market volume in Citi - was up .30 at one point, up around 10-15 now.. i wanted to get in around 2.90 - i hope i see that point in intraday still..

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Be very careful with that Citi. They report their quarterly earnings on the 17, before market open, DURING OpEx.

It very easily could turn and backfire on you HARD.

Getting stuck in a losing squeeze is not a nice place to be, especially if you end up owing more than you put into it in the first place.

I really hope you followed the links to the 2 articles I posted a few up.

And if you don't understand futures contracts, you need to do a LOT more studying before you take your series 7!!!

reply to post by redhatty


yeah i know about the options expiring, i was thinking about buying a 5.00 citi put and going long with rest.. but i have no where close to the amt. of $$ to put that into play..

but in my series 7 book - no where has it mentioned futures contracts - were you tested on this??? my book is from 2003 or 04 I believe... am i missing something??

redhatty-

in that post about goldman trading..

is that saying that goldman is trading 5x the amt. of public shares between the MM's and institutions?

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
but in my series 7 book - no where has it mentioned futures contracts - were you tested on this??? my book is from 2003 or 04 I believe... am i missing something??

260 questions and a 6 hour time limit it is VERY comprehensive

Prospecting for and Qualifying Customers - 9 Q's
Evaluating Customer Needs and Objectives - 4 Q's
Providing Customers with Investment Information and Making Suitable Recommendations - 123 Q's
Handling Customer Accounts and Account Records - 27 Q's
Understanding and Explaining the Securities Markets' Organization and Participants to Customers - 53 Q's
Processing Customer Orders and Transactions - 13 Q's
Monitoring Economic and Financial Events, Performing Customer Portfolio Analysis and Making Suitable Recommendations - 21 Q's

of course, the Q's are designed for ENTRY LEVEL PROFICIENCY but there are some things even a entry level is expected to know.

It covers a broad range of investments including stocks, bonds, options, limited partnerships, and investment company products (e.g., open- and closed-end funds). Futures fall in the "options" category. Q's will vary, but there is usually at least a couple of them in there.

reply to post by redhatty


did you do all self study? or did you go to like a pre licencing class or whatever you want to call it?

I was thinking about hitting up a 4-day class (ive been studying for about 2 months solid straight) just because I think I would pick up the rest better if I was in a "live" classroom environment

reply to post by GreenBicMan


It means that GS is buying it's own shares 4X MORE than any other large bank or bank holding co.

In other words, even though the shares are moving, they are moving out of GS's principal account back INTO GS's principal account.

This is reducing liquidity in the market and falsely propping up the price of GS stock

reply to post by redhatty


isnt that illegal?

I cant remember the term (of course, right?!) , but MM would trade between each other to make the appearance of volume.. ahhh im never going to pass this test!!! lol

Looks like gold is on the move up... 896.60

DXY is falling... 84.99

TNX falling before sales later...

Euro climbing...

GBP all over the place

Futures falling...

FV 8043.38 7952.0 -91.38



[edit on 4/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


Check out this one...Looks like the bait and switch isn't working on everyone after all.

TOKYO, April 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co said on Monday it planned to cut its unhedged foreign bond holdings while increasing its hedged foreign bond holdings this business year to offset currency risks.

The nation's third-largest life insurer by assets also said it has been experimenting with trades in yen swap rates since March to seek higher yields, and said it would boost its yen bond holdings mostly in super-long Japanese government bonds.

Meiji Yasuda said it planned to reduce its unhedged foreign bond holdings by about 100 billion yen ($997 million), and raise its currency-hedged foreign bond holdings by 200 billion yen in the year to March 2010.

"We have seen sizable losses in the past, and it is our stance not to take risks on something we cannot have a clear outlook on," Yasuharu Takamatsu, deputy president of Meiji Yasuda Life, told a news conference.

Meiji Yasuda held 1.5 trillion yen of foreign bonds as of the end of March, of which about 65 percent was not hedged against currency risks.

In purchasing currency-hedged overseas bonds, Meiji Yasuda said it would compare yield levels with those of domestic bonds and pick whichever offer higher yields.

Last financial year, it sold a net 200 billion yen of unhedged foreign bonds when the yen soared broadly amid the height of the financial crisis.

U.S. dollar-denominated bonds account for half of its unhedged foreign bond holdings, with 40 percent in euro-denominated bonds and the rest in the British pound and Australian dollar, Takamatsu said.

Ummm exactly when did life insurance companies buy unhedged bonds? I am so lost with this one. About half of their unhedged is in US dollars.(40% in euro's, the rest in pounds and austrailian dollars)
So they are going to get rid of them, that can't be looking good for all of us here being that last year they alone had almost 2 trillion in these bonds. Being they are one of the largest insurer's over their the one's under them are sure to follow their lead.

linky
www.reuters.com...

reply to post by GreenBicMan


GBM, where ya been kiddo?

Everything going on lately has been illegal!!!

The problem is that instead of enforcing laws already on the books, they are playing a HUGE game of hide the carp-sandwich (you can figure that one out)

Look at my avatar - do you know what that skittle pooping unicorn represents? The miracle that the Administration (beginning with Bush and the Bailout & still going on) is waiting for.

Only problem is that the skittle pooping unicorn has lost it's horn and it looks more and more like we need a skittle pooping Dragon!

reply to post by xoxo stacie
Yep...they don't like being left in the dark either...

Swapping un-hedged for hedged will give them a back door if rates slide out of their target range...smart...

Insurance Company's deal in about anything anymore...crazy...


TNX falling 28.78 Hmmm

Oil under $50 ...

Gold rises above $890 on worries over GM, banks
&siteid=nbsh]MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures rose above $890 an ounce Monday, as bargain hunters bought the metal after its third straight weekly loss while worries over General Motors and bank earnings raised the metal's investment appeal.

More at Link...

And another worry...

Girard Gibbs LLP Files Class Action Lawsuit against Citigroup Inc.
&siteid=nbsh]MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO, Apr 13, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The law firm of Girard Gibbs LLP ( www.girardgibbs.com...) has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of Citigroup, Inc. 8.50% Non-Cumulative Preferred Stock (NYSE: C-M) issued pursuant and/or traceable to the May 2008 public offering of approximately 81.6 million Series F depositary shares. It charges global banking corporation Citigroup and certain of its affiliates, officers and directors, and the underwriters of the offering with violations of the Securities Act of 1933.

The class action, entitled Pellegrini v. Citigroup Inc. et al, 09-cv-3669, is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The plaintiff is represented by Girard Gibbs, a law firm specializing in the prosecution of investor class actions with extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud. If you would like to serve as lead plaintiff in this action, you must move the Court no later than June 2, 2009. If you wish to discuss your rights as an investor, please contact Girard Gibbs LLP ( www.girardgibbs.com/citi.asp) or call 866-981-4800. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of his or her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint alleges that Citigroup consummated the offering pursuant to a false and misleading registration statement and prospectus. Specifically, Citigroup sold approximately 81.6 million Series F depositary shares at $25 per share for proceeds of approximately $2 billion. After Citigroup completed the offering, the company ultimately announced multi-billion dollar write-downs associated with its exposure to subprime mortgages, related collateralized debt obligations, commercial real estate loans and investments, as well as loans to companies with low credit ratings, causing the price of the Securities to decline dramatically.

More at Link...

Dow Jones Industrial Average 8,001.50 9:34am ET Down 81.88 (1.01%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 847.60 9:34am ET Down 8.96 (1.05%)
NASDAQ Composite 1,638.07 9:35am ET Down 14.47 (0.88%)

[edit on 4/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Didn't see this posted...

China's FX reserves growth collapses

A recent report has revealed that Chinese foreign exchange reserves have declined dramatically owing to reduced exports in recent months.

The People's Bank of China disclosed on Saturday that the reserves -- the world's largest -- had risen 16 percent year-on-year to tally USD 1.95 trillion as at the end of March. "Even with a growth of USD 7.7 billion for the first quarter of this year, the increase was USD 146.2 billion lower than the same period in the preceding year," Xinhua reported.

Analysts say the diminutive growth rate is linked to fluctuations in the value of non-US dollar assets and money flows under the capital account.

"Changes of foreign exchange reserves in the first quarter were mainly driven by non-US-dollar assets' volatile fluctuation," said Liu Yuhui, an economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

During this period - mainly January and February, non-dollar foreign currencies plummeted considerably against the US dollar. The revaluation resulted in significant depreciation of nearly 40 percent of the country's non-dollar assets.

In unison, the country's trade surplus decreased throughout the first quarter as a result of declining foreign demands for Chinese exports.

Exports dropped 17.5 percent in January, 25.7 percent in February and 17.1 percent in March. In February, China's trade surplus tumbled by USD 34.3 billion to just USD 4.8 billion.

Official statistics indicate that during the first two months, actually-utilized foreign direct investment dropped by 26.2 percent.

A great proportion of China's foreign exchange reserves are invested in US treasuries and banknotes.