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Friday, September 5 2008
Earliest at Top
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  • 5:11 PM Freddie Mac (FRE) is changing its corporate charter. As disclosed in an 8K today, the old rules denied voting rights to holders of more than 20% of FRE shares. Today a big buyer could afford to buy more than that and would expect to have some say.
  • 4:54 PM Former Fed chair Paul Volcker pronounces the U.S. (and U.K.) financial system "broken," foresees very slow growth and more bank losses.
  • 4:35 PM How Wall Street keeps itself busy these days.
  • 4:21 PM Crude oil -1.2% to 106.00.  Gold +0.64% to 803.50.
  • 4:19 PM The markets squeaked into positive territory by market close, except for Nasdaq's near miss. Dow +0.29% to 11220.96.  S&P +0.44% to 1242.31.  Nasdaq -0.14% to 2255.88.
  • 4:19 PM "The economy has clearly slipped into a jobs recession because the housing meltdown and credit market turmoil has spread to the broader economy," Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics, says. "Persistent job losses will eventually pull the overall economy into recession."
  • 3:43 PM "While it is possible to paddle a canoe upriver," Michael Kahn says of buying weakness here, "it usually takes a lot of work. And one lapse in judgment could erase any gains made, and then some."
  • 3:26 PM Jim Cramer: Six reasons to begin looking for bargains amid the rubble.
  • 3:03 PM The first signs of a cold season for advertising: Warnings some retailers have cut marketing budgets.
  • 2:37 PM For trendline readers, the picture is clear: The U.S. dollar tide has turned.
  • 2:35 PM How soon we forget: 10 years ago, Long Term Capital Management collapsed. Today, more hedge funds falter. Bringing to mind Adam Smith: "Memory can get in the way of such a jolly market."
  • 2:05 PM Crude oil  -1.9% to 105.99 Gold -0.1% to 797.10.
  • 2:04 PM Alternating buying and selling trends are seesawing the markets just below even. Dow -0.03%. S&P -0.26%. Nasdaq -0.43%.
  • 2:00 PM The new Dell (DELL): a little more attentive online, and a little more paranoid. "It may be hard to remember now, but the company used to be as famous for good service as it was for good prices."
  • 1:38 PM A record 1.2 million U.S. homes were in foreclosure in Q208, the first time that the quarterly increase in foreclosures as a percentage of all loans has surpassed 1%. Another 2.9 million homeowners are behind in their payments - up 25% yoy.
  • 1:36 PM Recent strength in retail stocks isn't the result of investors sensing a turnaround, WSJ's Gregory Zuckerman says: "Hedge funds are closing out commodity trades and international plays and searching for something that might work, if only for a few weeks."
  • 1:32 PM European markets are almost uniformly down at day's end. FTSE -2.26%, DAX -2.42%, CAC40 -2.49%.
  • 1:30 PM Barron's says shares of Perrigo (PRGO) - the world's largest maker of store-brand nonprescription medicines - should benefit as cash-strapped shoppers buy more store-brand medications.
  • 1:29 PM The FDA has identified a potential serious risk of Celgene's (CELG) drug Revlimid. CELG -4.12%.
  • 1:11 PM ChinaStakes is caught off guard by the ramifications of the PBoC's cash shortage: "If the PBoC needs to turn to the Ministry of Finance to shore up its capital, and if this represents a transfer of power from the PBoC to the MoF, it may very well represent a further weakening of the monetary camp in China."
  • 12:41 PM The Russian central bank has stepped in to shore up the ruble after that currency dropped to its lowest in almost a year. Investors have pulled $4.6 billion out of Russia since the start of the Georgia war.
  • 12:17 PM Bill Gross on Cramer.
  • 11:59 AM Despite all the negative press surrounding Yahoo (YHOO), other tech stars have done even worse. Ranked by biggest percentage drop YTD: 1) GOOG. 2) EBAY. 3) MSFT. 4) YHOO. 5) AMZN.
  • 11:33 AM Global stock markets are now trading below annual sales, Brett Arends notes. "Value investors should be pricking up their ears."
  • 11:27 AM Goldman Sachs downgraded Merrill (MER) to 'sell,' adding it to its conviction sell list. MER -3.28%.
  • 11:11 AM Had Microsoft (MSFT) known it lost a €497M EU antitrust ruling by just one vote, it would have appealed. The lack of consensus "bodes more favorably for companies currently under investigation," Fitch analyst Jason Pompeii says.
  • 11:00 AM Crude oil -0.51% to 107.34. Gold +0.66% to 803.20.
  • 10:51 AM U.S. bank borrowing from the Fed hit a new record this week, reaching a daily average of $18.98B vs. last week's record of $18.47B per day. The increase signals banks' growing reluctance to lend to each other.
  • 10:30 AM After dropping nearly 2% before noon, at midday markets are bouncing back toward even. Dow -0.13%. S&P -0.38%. Nasdaq -0.63%.
  • 10:25 AM Global stocks hit a two-year low on fears that U.S. economic troubles could make bets on growth elsewhere too risky. The MSCI All-Country World index was down 0.6%, its lowest level since August 2006.
  • 9:49 AM Poor Nokia (NOK). Shares fell 11.3% in Stockholm after it said tough competition and a weak handset portfolio would pinch its market share in Q3.
  • 9:29 AM After today's weak job data, Fed funds futures show a 10% chance the Fed will drop its target rate to 1.75% from 2% by year-end.
  • 9:23 AM Crude -0.05% to $107.84. Gold +1.78% to $817.
  • 9:23 AM Equity futures have recovered some of the jobless-data gap down, but still indicate a lower open. Dow -0.51%. S&P -0.63%. Nasdaq -0.72%.
  • 9:04 AM A peak of 7% to 8% is quickly becoming a possibility, not just a bad dream. "Anyone hoping that the jobs data was going to help markets is in for another disappointment."
  • 8:55 AM Where's the Second Half Recovery?
  • 8:53 AM Long-term unemployed rose 163K to 1.8M. Newly unemployed increased by 400K. Number of people working part-time for economic reasons was unchanged.
  • 8:50 AM The dollar is trading down. -0.04% vs. euro. -0.19% vs. pound. -0.81% vs. yen. -0.75% vs. $Cdn.
  • 8:48 AM "We think the unemployment rate will keep growing, probably reach between 6-6.5% by mid-2009, and only start declining in the second half of next year," The Conference Board's Gad Levanon said before the report. He was a year off.
  • 8:44 AM "We have a labor market that's bleeding jobs," BMO Markets' Sal Guatieri says. "Consumer spending already looks like it'll retrench. It increases the risk of a deeper recession."
  • 8:43 AM 6.1% unemployment is the highest level since 2003. Steep hiring cuts stung nearly every major category: manufacturing -61K; professional & business services -53K; construction -8K; hospitality -4K.
  • 8:40 AM Treasurys continue to climb after jobless data. 30-year +0.77%. 10-year +0.54%. 5-year +0.41%. 2-year +0.13%.
  • 8:33 AM Indexes gap down following unemployment jump. Dow -0.9%. S&P -0.99%. Nasdaq -0.99%.
  • 8:31 AM August payrolls fell by 84,000 - worse than the 75,000 economists expected. July revised to -60K from -51K. Unemployment jumps to 6.1% vs. 5.7% consensus.
  • 8:25 AM Treasurys: 30-year +0.46%. 10-year +0.27%. 5-year +0.19%. 2-year +0.06%.
  • 8:25 AM Index benchmark prior to payrolls number: Dow -0.32%. S&P -0.47%. Nasdaq -0.41%. Crude -0.77% to $107.05. Gold -0.12% to $802.20.
  • 8:15 AM Economists anticipate employers cut 75,000 payroll jobs in August, following July's 51K drop. This would be the eighth-straight month of job contraction, bringing the year's total to 538,000 (see also ADP jobs). Data due at 8:30.
  • 8:03 AM NY AG's saber-rattling pays off. Bank of America (BAC) says it is ready to settle state and federal auction-rate securities probes.
  • 7:48 AM Dell (DELL) plans to sell most, if not all, of its computer factories worldwide, acknowledging that its once-successful production model is no longer competitive.
  • 7:35 AM Altria (MO) is in advanced talks to buy tobacco maker UST (UST) for over $10B. Sources involved in the negotiations say the two sides are trying to complete the deal as soon as Monday. UST +16.3% premarket.
  • 7:20 AM Samsung Electronics may buy SanDisk (SNDK) in an effort to boost its market share in chips used in cameras and portable music players. SanDisk posted its largest quarterly loss in nearly 7 years, and is under pressure to consolidate. SNDK is up 20.4% premarket.
  • 7:05 AM The FDA orders stronger warnings for arthritis drugs marketed by Amgen (AMGN), Wyeth (WYE) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). The drugs had $13.5 billion in combined sales last year, placing them among the 25 biggest drugs worldwide.
  • 6:50 AM Goldman downgrades Merrill (MER) to Sell from Neutral - and adds MER to its Conviction Sell list, citing the likelihood of further write-downs. "Merrill currently trades at the highest price-to-book multiple in our large-cap brokerage universe..."
  • 6:33 AM Lehman (LEH) may spin off $32B of its commercial mortgages and real estate into a new 'bad bank' company to relieve pressure on the parent. $8B of the equity would come from Lehman; the entity would borrow the other $24B from Lehman or outside investors.
  • 6:18 AM Giant hedge fund Atticus Capital denies rumors it will liquidate its positions and shut down after its two main funds lost 25% and 32% this year. Investors are jittery after Ospraie's announcement this week that it will close its largest fund after heavy losses.
  • 6:04 AM The People's Bank of China, China's highly-leveraged central bank, is in need of a capital infusion. It owns about $1T in Treasury and mortgage-backed debt - on a capital base of just $3.2B - the value of which is declining sharply on the heels of a strong yuan.
  • 5:57 AM Earnings previews for companies reporting early this morning: NSM
  • 4:59 AM Crude is down 1.6% to $106.20. A stronger dollar takes its toll on the commodities for currencies hedge.
  • 4:46 AM Europe takes a turn for the worse, futures follow suit. London -1.55%. Paris -1.4%. Frankfurt -1.6%. Dow -0.5%. S&P -0.57%. Nasdaq -0.31%.
  • 4:08 AM Recovering from early weakness, overnight futures are flattish. Dow -0.04%. S&P 0%. Nasdaq +0.15%. Crude -0.93% to $106.89. Gold -0.27% to $801.
  • 3:55 AM Europe is lower in early trading. London -0.4%. Paris -0.7%. Frankfurt -0.8%.
  • 1:11 AM Asian markets echo yesterday's U.S. weakness in midafternoon trading. Nikkei -2.9%, Hang Seng -3.12%, Shanghai -2.4%, BSE -2.21%.
  • 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Friday's open: NSM, SCMR
  • 12:00 AM Friday's economic calendar:
    8:30 Non-farm payrolls
    10:30 ECRI Weekly Leading Index
    3:55 PM Fed's Yellen speaks on U.S. economic outlook
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