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

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Meh, who knows. The month of August is typically very slow and boring.. lowest average volume of the year. Wall Street still needs vacations, you know. That's usually why nothing happens in August.. all the fun happens in Oct.

Hmmm...

UPDATE 1-Amcore to sell 2 more bank branches in Wisconsin
www.reuters.com...

UPDATE 1-NewStar Financial not to acquire Southern Commerce
www.reuters.com...

Oil $72.46 :shk:

[edit on 8/19/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Originally posted by fromunclexcommunicate
The Dow may retest the Monday low or bounce off 9150 and close at Standers 9272.

In all the anals of Western adventure$, there is nothing under the sun like the high excitement of . . .

www.youtube.com...



[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/09927756e1c1.jpg[/atsimg]



[edit on 8/19/2009 by stander]

Interesting. If people remember LAST year, oil kept rising enormous amounts and stocks kept heading higher while China was crashing and then the U.S. fell eventually. Maybe China is our future as they were before?

reply to post by stander


My bad stander the Monday low was 9117 so an average with 9150 would be 9133. The real low today turned out to be 9132. I think we are being too hard on ourselves even consistently calling opens and closes within 10 points should be considered acceptable. So was that 7 points just exuberance factor or will Mr. Goldman be giving you a bonus for the touchdown?

What's that?

That?
www.gericarepharm.com...

Yes, that.

That's a laxative. Take it.

For what?

------>

Originally posted by stander
And so I was thinking to bounce volume indexed prices into the next day. So I did it and the result is that tomorrow the Dow will gain 54 points. That means not 53 nor 55 -- just cool 54. The problem is that I have to quote myself tomorrow, and if I miss, I have to eat my own sh-t.

Hold it! I was right; I nailed it to the head. The Dow ended at 9,272.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b87ad572f66e.jpg[/atsimg]

That comes from 3:52, not from 4:00.

That's because there was no end at 4:00. The power went off, the ticker tape went blank, and so they rang the bell manually at 3:52.

Are you telling me the truth?

Yes. I got a pic of it:
www.chx.com...

Keep forming fractal wedges over and over again here...

trend looks up for now


www.sierrachart.com...


longer term 30 min look

little over a month back

[edit on 19-8-2009 by GreenBicMan]

[edit on 19-8-2009 by GreenBicMan]

Did I see that right on CNBS???

Gov to drop a $262B future Financial rescue plan???

UPDATE 1-U.S. deficit estimate to be cut to $1.58 trillion
www.reuters.com...

UPDATE 2-US FDIC to vote Aug 26 on private equity rules
www.reuters.com...
www.cnbc.com...

Hmmm...the Banks are all better and can stand on their own???

Prez is packing up to go on Vacation...new AIG CEO on Vacation...over-seas even...no $ for Clash-4-Clunkers yet...

200+ NY Dealers Pull Out of Clunkers Program
www.cnbc.com...

And Art Cashins cryptic remarks of late...a "Warning"?

Art Cashin: Next 6-8 Weeks 'Very Critical'
www.cnbc.com...

Former regulator Lockhart heads to WL Ross
www.reuters.com...

~
Lockhart will join the investment team at WL Ross & Co. LLC, the distressed investment affiliate of Invesco, which has large stakes in mortgage companies like Assured Guaranty (AGO.N) and BankUnited.

BBVA expected to win Guaranty auction: sources
www.reuters.com...

~
The FDIC provoked a backlash when it proposed tough guidelines in July, but is expected to soften the policy when it meets August 26.

Why do I not like the sound of all of this...Hairs standing up on the back of my neck...26th???

And in related news...

Consumer Gains on Credit-Card Reform Law Pared by Lenders' Rate Hikes
www.bloomberg.com...

Swiss Government to Dump $1.67 Billion UBS Stake
www.cnbc.com...

[edit on 8/19/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Art Cashin is saying that he has never seen more people confused in this market-and he has been around the markets for almost 30 years. That means, if you don't want to have a heart attack, stay out

Citigroup’s Asset Guarantees to Be Audited by TARP (Update1)
www.bloomberg.com...

Ouch. Colonial Left a Mark! (on Loans)
www.calculatedriskblog.com...

From Peter Eavis at the WSJ: Colonial Bank Marks a New Low for Loans

In doing the deal, BB&T is marking down Colonial loans and real-estate collateral by 37%, a number that reflects a large amount of estimated losses. The biggest mark is on construction loans; BB&T is cutting their value by 67%.

www.bbt.com...

Yes, Colonial had some really bad loans. Peter Eavis quoted Daryl Bible, BB&T's chief financial officer: "When we looked at Colonial's portfolio versus ours, we saw a lot of borrowers we turned away."

Still it appears the BB&T / Colonial marks are the lowest yet.

Follow-up on $262B budget cut...

U.S. deficit estimate to be trimmed to $1.58 trillion
www.reuters.com...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will trim its budget deficit forecast for fiscal 2009 to $1.58 trillion, after scrapping money earmarked for bailing out more banks, officials said on Wednesday.

The record deficit has made investors anxious and threatens to thwart Obama's ambitious domestic agenda to overhaul healthcare, reform education and make the country less reliant on fossil fuels.

Polls show the deficit is one of the top concerns of Americans who fear that it could lead to higher taxes.

An administration official said the drop in the projected deficit was due to the elimination of $250 billion that had been set aside for further possible financial rescues.

The new estimate involves a calculated judgment that financial markets have sufficiently stabilized and the administration will not have to go back to the U.S. Congress to ask for additional money to bail out more banks.

More at Link...

Shanghai Composite 2,820.87 10:53PM ET Up 35.28 (1.27%)
Taiwan Weighted 6,699.78 10:49PM ET Down 88.80 (1.31%)

FV Futures
9259.16 9272.0 12.84
994.91 997.0 2.09

[edit on 8/19/2009 by Hx3_1963]

www.ft.com...

A hedge fund just spent millions of dollars on calls to buy natural gas at 9 dollars/bcu. That means they are betting natural gas will TRIPLE in price by the time winter ends since these calls expire in January and February.

Natural gas is at a 7 year low and bearishness is all around the commodity. Perhaps it is time to begin looking into it since oil and coal and other commodities are rising yet natural gas is decreasing in price and rigs are decreasing and the commodity may pick up in demand due to these price discrepancies?

Also it is worth noting a hedge fund did the same in '07 betting on oil at 150/barrel. Most pit traders thought it was a lottery ticket and I am sure this will be viewed as one as well.

They stand to gain at least a few thousand of percents on their investment if right.

reply to post by Hx3_1963


Well isn't the just beautiful, they are going to scrap the earmarks for additional bailout funds, to fudge the numbers, then come next year(fiscal year) they will add it back in.

I don't see any indications that the markets are stabilizing. The only thing I see is companies gearing up for a less than stellar Christmas(oh sorry Holiday, for the PC police, ) seasons.

reply to post by Hx3_1963


BB&T must have gotten a sweet deal with the FDIC to be able to absorb such a horrible portfolio .. that's some major non-preforming loan ratios.

Considering anyways, that many banks much larger than BB&T couldn't even absorb the mess that was Colonial.

The budget cuts are, imo, directly related to having trouble selling the Tbills.. that's almost $300 billion they won't have to auction now.

Wheee...more fee's to be passed down to the "Living Dead" (that would be us now...)

Expect banks to be hit with major fees for deposit insurance
www.marketwatch.com...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The manner in which five banks collapsed on Friday, costing the resource-stretched Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. roughly $3.7 billion, is raising concerns about the agency's depleted insurance fund used to protect depositors.

That's driving expectations the agency will look in the short-term to cover losses by slapping large additional special fees on banks, with larger financial institutions taking on the brunt of the costs.

The bank collapses and the FDIC's depleted deposit insurance fund -- $13 billion on hand as of May -- are leading observers to speculate that the agency will hit banks with two large special fees it said it would consider in September and December that could each roughly match a $5.6 billion one-time fee it charged banks in May. That fee is payable by Sept. 30.

So far the FDIC has administered 77 bank failures in 2009, significantly more than the 25 failures in 2008 and 45 collapses in the previous 10 years. According to a May report, 305 institutions were on the agency's "troubled bank" list. A follow up report is expected shortly, as soon as next week.

In addition to the assessment, banks are charged periodic fees -- totaling $15 billion a year-- to fill the fund, which used to pay depositors of failed institutions.

"The first thing they will do to fill the fund is take advantage of their capacity to impose additional fees on financial institutions," said Samuel Golden, managing director at restructuring firm Alvarez & Marsal Financial Industry Advisory Services.

Nancy Bush, director of NAB Research LLC, concurs.

"FDIC has no choice but to impose additional special assessments," Bush said. "Wall Street is beginning to factor these assessments into their budgets, so they know more is coming."

In Appraisal Shift, Lenders Gain Power and Critics
www.cnbc.com...

[edit on 8/19/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


They tried to levy additional premiums back in March I believe, and the result was few actually paid up. Since the Banks were at crisis point, the Fund was never replenished.. the FDIC appears to be loosing it's grip over the financial sector. We will see how the next round of premium levies go.

reply to post by Hx3_1963

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Bank regulators have a Texas-sized problem on their hands -- though it's easy to see much of the trouble resides farther west.

Guaranty Bank, an Austin-based savings institution with $13.5 billion in assets, is expected to be seized by the FDIC by the end of the week. According to multiple reports late Wednesday, Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV) has won the bidding for Guaranty.

I believe this is another top-10 US Bank failure to happen by the end of the week.

money.cnn.com...

reply to post by RetinoidReceptor


Exxon Mobile Natural Gas division just recently signed a contract with China.

As China is currently buying up & stockpiling as many commodities as possible, it may be that there will be less available to sell here in the US

BBVA(SpanishBank) taking over Guaranty with FDIC help

Spanish bank BBVA has been selected to take over the assets of Austin-based Guaranty Financial Group in a government-assisted transaction. BBVA is Spain's second-largest bank and has 583 branches in the US.

The Office of Thrift Supervision has taken over Guaranty's board functions since it declared last month that is was unable to raise capital and would probably fail.

According to Bloomberg, Blackstone Group LP, Flexpoint and U.S. Bancorp were among other groups considering bids.

Guaranty’s biggest shareholders include Omni Hotels owner Robert Rowling.

Source

and

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA of Spain was selected to take over assets of ailing Texas lender Guaranty Financial Group Inc. in a U.S.-assisted transaction, said people familiar with the situation.

The acquisition, arranged by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., would mark the second of a U.S. bank by a Spanish lender. Banco Santander SA, Spain’s biggest lender, in January acquired Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bancorp Inc., once the second- largest U.S. savings and loan. BB&T Inc. last week acquired Colonial BancGroup Inc. in a deal also arranged by the FDIC.

The purchase shows “those companies didn’t make serious acquisition errors years ago,” said Gary Townsend, president of Hill-Townsend Capital LLC in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and a former bank analyst. “As in the case of BB&T buying Colonial BancGroup, it gives BBVA the opportunity to expand on the cheap.”

Guaranty said last month that it was unable to raise capital as demanded by regulators and will probably fail. The Office of Thrift Supervision has taken over board functions, directed the Austin, Texas-based bank to turn itself over to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and is pursuing transactions likely to wipe out shareholders, Guaranty said in a July 23 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bids for the bank were due yesterday, the people said.

Guaranty remains “open for business. We continue to work with our regulators,” John Wessman, a spokesman, said in an e- mailed statement. The bank provides the same FDIC deposit insurance coverage as other member banks, he said.

BBVA spokesman Ed Bilek and FDIC spokesman Andrew Gray declined to comment.

More here

Originally posted by marg6043
This will be interesting to know.

UBS-US Tax Deal Details to Be Revealed Soon

I am glad that my family always bury their gold in the backyard

Details of the settlement are likely to emerge in the news conference, but the Wall Street Journal reported that the settlement is likely to yield about 10,000 account identities and disclose 4,450 client names.

www.cnbc.com...

some follow up...

Swiss govt announces sale of stake in UBS
Posted: 20 August 2009 0628 hrs


Photos 1 of 1

The New York office of Swiss banking giant UBS



GENEVA - Switzerland is selling its nine-percent stake in UBS, the federal government said Wednesday, soon after the bank reached a deal with Washington over its tax fraud investigation.

"The Federal Council (government) has decided to immediately and completely end its commitment" to UBS, a finance ministry statement said.

The government had instructed a consortium to place its 332.2 million UBS shares on the market, said the statement.

It had also agreed to sell UBS, for cash, the remaining coupons of its mandatory debt conversion, thus allowing Bern to get back all of its initial investment in the bank and make "an adequate profit," the statement added.

The news came hours after Switzerland and the United States reached a deal under which UBS would disclose details of 4,450 accounts to US authorities in part-settlement of potentially damaging tax fraud charges against the bank.

Channel News Asia

another comment on it from Bloomberg

There may be one day more of a little confrontation between the buy&hold oldtimers like Warren Buffett and the high tech speculators who have essentially took of the market. Then, everything goes back to the efficient pattern we've seen so far. Between now and the 10k projected for the last week of September, there surely will be time where the word of the market not going in sync with the economy will be loud and clear. The piggy bank will be made lighter, and then the buy&hold middle class crowd will rejoice upon the news that from the boiler market analysts that the market is undersold and a great bargains to be had. And so it will go on and on until the oil starts to hurt. Then a major profit taking will take place.


[edit on 8/20/2009 by stander]