| January 2006
It'll make his posts here more enjoyable in the future because I do. So, I'm going to lay down this challenge to the rest of you totally anonymous blurkers. I'd like to know who you are (via private e-mail, of course). It increases your standing on the blog in my eyes. And makes my blogging experience richer. Question: Are you ready to come in from the cold? .
Larry Craig sets out to prove you don't have to be Al Gore to win an ...
Spoilerfix says Alan Shore (James Spader) will defend Crane, so we'll finally get a glimpse of how a spirited defense might have sounded if Craig hadn't pled guilty. Of course, unlike Craig, Crane has five ex-wives and several co-workers who can vouch for his womanizing. He also has better writers, who won't humiliate him with Craig lines like "Jiminy!" and "Oh, crimey!" Spoilerfix doesn't say whether Crane's restroom encounter is a one-off deal or will come back to haunt him. The site says that in the next week's episode, Shatner's character tries to join the National Guard, but is rejected. Craig knows the feeling. In 1972, the Guard discharged him after six months for an unspecified "physical disqualification." Ironically, Craig told the Idaho Statesman his ailment was "flat feet." Not to be outdone, Craig's office announced last week that his if-I-only-had-a-lawyer routine was itself a fiction.
RP rejects bids for 4-year Treasury bond
The Philippines rejected all bids for its 4-year Treasury bonds at a government auction on Tuesday due to high rates.
The Bureau of Treasury was meant to auction P7.5 billion ($183 million) worth of bonds but the average rate of bids was 6.184 percent, compared to 5.876 percent at the previous auction in December.
Banks tendered P12.42 billion worth of bids.
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XOI vs. Oil and SPX
Crude oil's fundamentals are extraordinarily bullish. Global demand for oil is growing relentlessly, and most consumers have little choice but to pay virtually any price for this critical fuel. Meanwhile global production growth is slowing as old oilfields deplete and major new finds become exceedingly rare. This structural deficit has driven oil prices to record highs, leading to fortunes earned by the companies that produce this scarce and valuable commodity. Investors and speculators have naturally migrated into oil stocks to ride this secular trend. But lately owning the oil stocks has been an exercise in frustration. On January 2nd, oil surged 3.4% to a record $99 per barrel. Yet the oil stocks seemed to ignore this driver of their profits as the flagship XOI oil-stock index lethargically hiccupped 0.2% higher.
What a society we have become!!!
Based on the knee-jerk reactions of the comments, I see that anti-French feeling in Canada is still going strong. The Globe and Mail is not much better, just doing the same thing in a more polite fashion. Posted 04/12/07 at 9:11 AM EST | Link to Comment .
Asian markets hit by report KKR unable to roll over commercial paper ...
The oil price spike comes a day after China reported its highest inflation reading in 11 years. It also comes as the Australian central bank appears set to further hike rates to combat inflation. Oil prices cooled somewhat in Asian trade, but held above 99 dollars a barrel. "There's a great deal of uncertainty out there," said Andrew Sekely, head of Australian equities at Intersuisse. "The opinion in the market at present is we haven't hit the bottom yet, and while that attitude is around you are likely to see prices going lower. The Nikkei closed down 3.3 percent at 13,310.37 and the broader Topix was down 3.2 percent at 1,302.72. Investors were further unsettled by a Nikkei report that the government will downgrade its view of the economy for the first time in 15 months in February, due to weak exports and a slowdown in production.
Court Gives Business 2 Wins, 1 Loss
James LaRue of Southlake, Texas, said the value of his stock market holdings plunged $150,000 when administrators at his retirement plan failed to follow his instructions to switch to safer investments. The issue in the LaRue case was whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act permits an individual account holder to sue plan administrators for breaching their fiduciary duties. The language of the law refers to recovering money for the "plan" rather than for an individual, raising the question of whether a participant can sue solely for himself. Business groups argued that ERISA is aimed at encouraging employers to set up pension plans, while guarding against administrative abuses involving the plan as a whole. But Justice John Paul Stevens, in his opinion for the court, said such suits are allowed.
Russia's Economy Looks Good From Davos
Before Thursday, the ruble-denominated MICEX index, where Russian stocks are most traded, had shed 20 percent since its Dec. 12 high -- the common definition of a bear market. On Thursday, the index jumped by 5.8 percent, its biggest gain in 19 months. The dollar-denominated RTS index added 5.2 percent Thursday. (Story, Page 5.) Optimism over Russia's outlook seems to be prompting some investors, including Pakistan's largest private bank, Habib Bank, to take a closer look at the country. "I think the emerging markets are going to be largely immune to the subprime crisis," said R. Zakir Mahmood, president and CEO of Habib Bank, which has more than 1,400 branches. Mahmood said he was looking to establish ties with Russian banks and companies and would attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this June for the first time.
Barclays Launches Eight Commodity Sub-Sector iPath(R) Exchange Traded ...
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays Bank PLC announced today the launch of eight new iPath(R) Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) on the NYSE Arca stock exchange. The iPath ETNs are the first Exchange Traded Notes designed to offer exposure to sub-indexes of the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index(SM). They are linked to agriculture, copper, energy, grains, industrial metals, livestock, natural gas, and nickel. "The new iPath sub-sector ETNs provide investors with access to harder-to- reach markets," said Philippe El-Asmar, Head of Investor Solutions, Americas at Barclays Capital. "Investments in iPath Exchange Traded Notes surpassed $3.6 billion in just under 16 months from inception, and we believe these new ETNs will continue to attract attention particularly with daily creations and redemptions available since October 1, 2007." "The new iPath ETNs demonstrate Barclays continued commitment to providing investors with innovative investment solutions to the commodity markets," added Benoit de Vitry, Head of Commodities, Emerging Markets Rates and Quantitative Analytics at Barclays Capital.
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