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Why isn't Head Nutjob of the American Religious Right Pat Robertson being visited by men delivering him an orange jumpsuit? This fruitcake declared a day or so ago, that democratically elected (three times) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be assassinated... by the US.
So let's get this straight.... it would be OK for a religious leader in, say, Indonesia, to call for the assassination of, say, John Howard? Or is it only kosher when the 'religious leader' is a fat white guy who makes load of political contributions to the Republicans?
We have this - let's be frank - Taliban style religious maniac, calling for the US to violate international law and its own statutes that prohibit assassination; if it was a Muslim cleric calling for Iran to do likewise, Bush would have called a press conference and repeated whatever was spoken into his earpiece. Most of it would have been about how the US would not tolerate 'hate speech', and sabre rattling.
Yesterday we had the disgusting (and racist) 'conference' wherein John Howard trotted out some pet Muslims, and talked of gutting the religion - even to the extent that some of the 'plantation negro' religious 'leaders' advocated State regulation of who could be an 'imam'. Now I want that slimy little half-monkey to denounce Robertson.
As if. It'll never happen. If John Howard ever actually possessed testicles (Pru might know), they are now firmly ensconced in a jar in George Bush's fridge. I'm sure Bush will let Howard have them back once either one of them leaves office. They both should be dragged from office and hauled before the International Court of Justice in the Hague - they are responsible for far more deaths than Slobodan Milosevic, and at least Milosevic was fighting over land that was connected to the land he was born in.
Someone ought to help Pat Robertson get closer to the Flying Spaghetti Monster, frankly; if he's so keen on God and killin', let someone - anyone - connect the dots and send that batshit insane mother-pus-bucket straight to hell.
Federal Reserve Open Market Operations
The Fed's Open Market Operations desk performed 1 repurchase operation - a $6.75billion, overnight repurchase entirely in T-backed collateral undertaken at a 0.1 basis point premium to the Fed Funds Rate (FFR).
No discount, no moonshot. Simple as that.
Major US Indices
It could have been worse...
The Dow opened with the feeblest of attempts to rally - but stalled after 4 minutes (and 6 Dow points) of upward movement, topping out (for the day) at 10577.46 literally 4 minutes after the open. From there it was a zigzag for the rest of the day.
Citigroup was especially weak - recall that I've been talking about the highest-probability for a genuine bounce in C as being in the mid-to-low $42-ish area. It got a bit closer to that level last night - dipping to an intraday low of $43.38; given that it's the most heavily manipulated stock in the market, it remains the best of the bellwethers - if it ain't participatin' in an advance, there's something amiss. Recently it has been keen to join any decline, but absent during the up-days.
After its feeble opening pop, the Dow reversed for three hours - eventually bouncing after touching 10500 (it breached that level for 4 whole minutes). From there is was one-way action all the way back up to 10553 (10550-ish) before dipping into the close.
For the session, the index declined 50.31 points (0.48%), closing at 10519.58 points. The index hit an intraday high of 10577.46 at the open, and teased breakout traders by trading just below 1050 0(at 10496.73) at the low.
Within the blue-chip index, 7 stocks rose, the biggest gainers being SBC Communications (SBC, +0.71% to $24.20) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ, +0.68% to $26.71), which accounted for 3 Dow points between them. Losers in the Dow numbered 22 and were led by Alcoa (AA, -2.40% to $27.68) and Citigroup (C, -1.45% to $43.56), with these two stocks contributing -11 Dow points worth of downward pressure on the index. Volume traded was tilted in favour of the losers by 238.6m shares to 51.5m.
The broader S&P500 dipped 4.14 points (0.34%), ending the day at 1217.59. Within the index, gainers numbered 165, while 317 S&P500 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 1.6:1 in favour of the losers with 882.52 million units traded in the losers as compared with 536.33 million traded in the winners .
Over at Times Square, the Nasdaq Composite declined 4.16 points (0.19%), to close at 2137.25, while larger-cap technology issues fared worse with the Nasdaq100 losing 4.29 points (0.27%), to end at 1571.3 points. Within the tech benchmark, gainers numbered 31, while 63 Nasdaq100 stocks fell for the day. Volume was tilted 2.3:1 in favour of the losers with 357.95 million traded in the losers compared to 154.77 million in the winners .
NYSE Volume was chunky, with 1.68 billion shares changing hands, while Nasdaq Volume was pretty weak, with 1.34 billion shares traded.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 10519.58 | -50.31 | -0.48% |
| S&P500 | 1217.59 | -4.14 | -0.34% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 2137.25 | -4.16 | -0.19% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1571.3 | -4.29 | -0.27% |
| NYSE Volume | 1.68bn | - | - |
| Nasdaq Volume | 1.34bn | - | - |
Bellwethers
My 9-stock "bellwethers" group fell by an average of 0.48%
- General Electric (GE) -$0.00 (0%) to $33.97;
- Citigroup (C) -$0.64 (1.45%) to $43.56;
- Wal Mart (WMT) -$0.33 (0.71%) to $46.34;
- I.B.M. (IBM) -$0.57 (0.69%) to $82.03;
- Intel (INTC) -$0.34 (1.3%) to $25.72;
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) +$0.07 (0.4%) to $17.76;
- eBay (EBAY) -$0.17 (0.43%) to $38.98;
- Fannie Mae (FNM) -$0.01 (0.02%) to $50.85; and
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -$0.09 (0.15%) to $61.51.
Market Breadth & Internals
NYSE declining Issues beat out advancers by 1820 to 1447, for a single-day A/D reading of -373; and Nasdaq losers exceeded gainers by 1674 to 1327. The 10-day moving average of the A/D line fell to -55.7 on the NYSE, while the 10dma of the Nasdaq A/D fell to -155.2.
On the NYSE declining volume was greater than volume in advancing issues by 962.6 to 663.5 million shares; On the Nasdaq declining volume exceeded volume in advancing issues by 734.9 to 574.8 million shares.
71 NYSE-listed stocks rose to new 52-week highs, and 30 posted fresh 52-week lows, while on the Nasdaq there were 69 stocks that hit new 52-week highs, and 47 which fell to fresh 52-week lows.
| Market Breadth Statistics | ||
| NYSE | Nasdaq | |
| Advancers | 1447 | 1327 |
| Decliners | 1820 | 1674 |
| Advancing Volume (m) | 663.46 | 574.81 |
| Declining Volume (m) | 962.55 | 734.85 |
| New Highs | 71 | 69 |
| New Lows | 30 | 47 |
| Market Sentiment Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 13.38 | -0.09 | -0.67% |
| CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index | 15.62 | -0.34 | -2.13% |
| Equity Put-Call Ratio | 0.81 | 0.07 | 9.46% |
| 10-day PCR | 0.63 | 0 | 0% |
| SPX-VIX Ratio | 91 | 0.3 | 0.33% |
Bond Market Analysis
Bonds rose at the long end, with the yield on the benchmark 30-year Treasury bond shedding 2.1 bps to 4.405%.
The middle of the yield curve was broadly higher in price: five year yields fell to 4.049%, and ten-year yields fell to 4.187%.
Spreads between short-dated (2-yr) Treasuries and high-grade corporate bonds of similar maturity profiles were unchanged at -7.0 basis points; spreads between longer dated Treasuries and their corporate AAA counterparts fell to 46.0 bps for 10-year AAA, and 86.0 bps for 20-years.
Credit spreads (spreads between corporate bonds of the same maturity profile but different creditworthiness) were broadly wider with the AAA-A spread on 20-years 2.0 bps wider at 36.0 basis points and the 10-year AAA-A spread 5.0 bps looser at7.0 bps.
| Treasury Yields | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| UST 13wk (yld) | 3.44 | 0 | 0% |
| UST 2Y (yld) | 3.96 | -0.04 | -1% |
| UST 5Y (yld) | 4.049 | -0.026 | -0.64% |
| UST 10Y (yld) | 4.187 | -0.032 | -0.76% |
| UST 30Y (yld) | 4.405 | -0.021 | -0.47% |
The Banks Index dipped 0.85 points (0.85%), to end the session at 99.06; within the index,
- Citigroup (C) -$0.64 (1.45%) to $43.56;
- Regions Financial (RF) -$0.40 (1.2%) to $32.88;
- BB&T Corp (BBT) -$0.48 (1.16%) to $40.83;
- US Bancorp (USB) -$0.33 (1.1%) to $29.73; and
- Suntrust Banks (STI) -$0.79 (1.1%) to $71.25.
The Broker-dealer Index added 0.34 points (0.2%), at 170.97; the ticket clippers lined up as follows -
- E*Trade (ET) +$0.33 (1.99%) to $16.90;
- Ameritrade (AMTD) +$0.18 (0.89%) to $20.50;
- Raymond James (RJF) +$0.19 (0.64%) to $29.91;
- Bear Stearns (BSC) +$0.36 (0.36%) to $100.55; and
- Morgan Stanley (MWD) +$0.11 (0.21%) to $52.40.
The Philadelphia SOX (Semiconductor) index slid 0.2 points (0.04%), to end the session at 467.52
- Freescale Semiconductors (FSL-B) -$0.41 (1.72%) to $23.39;
- Micron Technology (MU) -$0.15 (1.33%) to $11.10;
- Intel (INTC) -$0.34 (1.3%) to $25.72;
- ST Microelectronic (STM) -$0.17 (1.01%) to $16.73; and
- KLA-Tencor (KLAC) -$0.48 (0.97%) to $49.11.
Gold & Silver Markets
Gold rose $1.30 (0.3%) to close at $441.20 per ounce.
The Gold Bugs Index slid 2.86 points (1.37%), closing at 205.28
- Coeur d'Alene (CDE) -$0.28 (7.22%) to $3.60;
- Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.28 (3.32%) to $8.16;
- Hecla Mining (HL) -$0.13 (3.29%) to $3.82;
- Golden Star (GSS) -$0.09 (2.92%) to $2.99; and
- Randgold Resources (GOLD) -$0.36 (2.57%) to $13.66.
Silver fell by $0.09 (1.3%) to close at $6.97 per ounce. The Gold and Silver Index (XAU) lost 0.58 points (0.6%), closing at 95.63 points.
- Harmony Gold (HMY) -$0.28 (3.32%) to $8.16;
- Meridian Gold (MDG) -$0.34 (1.77%) to $18.91;
- Kinross Gold (KGC) -$0.11 (1.68%) to $6.44; and
- Freeport McMoran (FCX) -$0.64 (1.54%) to $40.80.
| Precious Metals and Indices | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Gold | 441.20 | 1.30 | 0.3% |
| Silver | 6.97 | -0.09 | -1.3% |
| PHLX Gold and Silver Index | 95.63 | -0.58 | -0.6% |
| AMEX Gold BUGS Index | 205.28 | -2.86 | -1.37% |
Oil Market
Oil had a wild ride - early in the session it spiked to $66.20 before getting absolutely flogged for two hours (during which time the price dropped $1.50 a barrel to the session low of $64.65). By the close, the price had risen just $0.06 per barrel, closing at $65.71 per barrel.
The Oil and Gas Index (XOI) lost 4.57 points (0.47%), closing at 962.5
- Kerr Mcgee (KMG) -$1.05 (1.21%) to $85.67;
- Marathon Oil (MRO) -$0.63 (1.05%) to $59.62; and
- BP (BP) -$0.58 (0.86%) to $67.12.
The Oil service stocks (OSX) Index added 0.37 points (0.23%), to end the session at 161.33
- Rowan Companies (RDC) +$0.54 (1.58%) to $34.62;
- National Oilwells/Varco (NOV) +$0.68 (1.18%) to $58.40; and
- Baker Hughes (BHI) +$0.64 (1.15%) to $56.16.
| Energy Complex | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Reuters CRB | 312.92 | 0.37 | 0.12% |
| Crude Oil Light Sweet | 65.71 | 0.06 | 0.09% |
| Heating Oil | 1.8506 | 0 | 0.09% |
| Natural Gas | 9.683 | 0.12 | 1.24% |
| Unleaded Gas | 1.7937 | 0.01 | 0.46% |
| AMEX Oil Index | 962.5 | -4.57 | -0.47% |
| Oil Service Index | 161.33 | 0.37 | 0.23% |
Currency Markets
| USD Exchange Rates | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| US Dollar Index | 88.08 | -0.02 | -0.02% |
| Euro | 1.2235 | 0.0007 | 0.06% |
| Yen | 109.875 | 0.17 | 0.15% |
| Sterling | 1.8019 | 0.001 | 0.06% |
| Australian Dollar | 0.7556 | 0.0007 | 0.09% |
| Swiss Franc | 1.2704 | 0.0001 | 0.01% |
| Canadian Dollar | 0.8348 | 0.0023 | 0.28% |
