B4 The Bell Thursday September 30

[zensmoke]

IEM --- Iowa Electronic Markets

DATA: 2004 US PRESIDENTIAL VOTE SHARE MARKET

Historical prices for September

 

http://128.255.244.60/pricehistory/pricehi...fm?market_ID=66

[Guest Icky Twerp]

Charmin@GoldStool -- getting better all the time, seems to me. . . nice charts

 

I've never seen a money tree, but they say money does grow on trees. Now that it's fall, do they naturally fall off the money tree? Why if it was a $50 money tree it certainly has some fall colors. I keep seeing "the new color of money" and supposedly "they" need to spice up the color to stay ahead of the criminal paper printers - as if they weren't criminal.

 

Anyway, they are talking money at some G7 meetings and they probably are going to be rubbing elbows with Chinese officials and Asian nations who've done a good job of supporting ol buck for their own benefit. Well, maybe they are helping us, but if your going to be getting an annual 3% wage increase this year and the next I can probably safely say inflation is probably running at least twice that.

 

For some reason I got a few things banging in my brain about gold. The first is a weekly Dinapoli 422 objective - an overbought trendline and Doc's last target in the 417 area for near term objectives. Doesn't mean it won't just keep on going up to higher objectives, but then maybe we'd have to expect Buck to keep dropping off a cliff. I'm actually in favor of a trading range consolidation from a 412 creek area up to 422-426 before busting higher to the top at 436.

[zensmoke]

Complete Text of the Debate

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/2004/...-home-headlines

[zensmoke]

It's the Spin, Not the Debate

 

Yes, the Thursday night debate will be critically important to John Kerry and George W. Bush. Polls indicate that 60% to 84% of the electorate will watch all or part of it. And yes, the candidates are right to be feverishly studying, memorizing and rehearsing for their 90-minute encounter. But the real question is not how many tens of millions of people tune in, and it's not necessarily how well the candidates perform either. The real question is what happens in the moments, hours and days after the debate is over.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commen...omment-opinions

[zensmoke]

Intrade.com 2004 Presidential Election futures

http://www.intrade.com/jsp/intrade/contractSearch/

[zensmoke]

DJ US Pressuring China To Move Toward Currency Flexibility

 

 

? WASHINGTON (AP)--The Bush administration is trying to step up pressure on China to overhaul a currency system that American manufacturers contend gives Chinese companies a huge competitive advantage.

 

? The administration was heading Friday into a second day of talks with a high-level delegation of Chinese officials. Several members of Congress say the Chinese are dragging their feet and they believe it is time to file an unfair trade case.

 

? The dispute involves China's system of pegging the value of its currency, the yuan, tightly to the U.S. dollar. American manufacturers say that practice keeps the yuan undervalued by as much as 40 percent, giving Chinese companies a huge price advantage over American products.

 

? Treasury Secretary John Snow and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan began talks Thursday with a group of Chinese officials led by Finance Minister Jin Renqing.

 

? U.S. officials were to be joined Friday night at a dinner where the Chinese will be special guests of the Group of Seven leading industrial countries -the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.

 

? It will the first time China has attended a G-7 meeting and it could mark the beginning of a process in which China is eventually admitted to the group or at least the expanded Group of Eight, which also includes Russia.

 

? However, a group of eight senators and 22 House members complained Thursday that China should be forced to immediately stop manipulating its currency to gain trade advantages. They called on the administration to bring a case against China before the World Trade Organization, which could lead to trade sanctions against Chinese goods.

 

? Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the administration's attempts to use quiet diplomacy have proved to be a failure and tougher action was required.

 

? "It is time to bring out the big stick and enforce U.S. trade laws," Schumer said.

 

? The lawmakers pointed to a U.S. trade deficit with China which hit $124 billion last year, the highest ever recorded with any country, and is running at an even higher annual rate above $140 billion this year.

 

? Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., said China's currency system was "literally shutting down family businesses that have been employing people for generations."

 

? The issue has also arisen in the presidential campaign. Democratic candidate John Kerry charges that the Bush administration has failed to do enough to attack China and other sources of unfair foreign competition at a time when the country has seen the loss of nearly 2 million manufacturing jobs.

 

? .........................................................................................

? The finance meetings, scheduled to run from Friday through Sunday, were being held under heavy security following the revelation in August that both the IMF and World Bank headquarters were on a list of terrorist targets.

Dow Jones Newswires

[The brown one]

I though Kerry looked quite "statesman-like" ! According to Debrett's Peerage

he is more aristo than Botch and will win.Never failed to predict the next prez(so I hear--disclaimer!!!).