B4 The Bell Thursday June 17

[Hiding Bear]

Welcome to B4 the Bell!

 

Got a letter from OPEC -

 

OPEC to ask non-members to boost output: Follows Iraq attack

 

Financial Post - Canada; Jun 17, 2004

 

JAKARTA - OPEC will ask large non-member oil producers to boost output in an attempt to blunt rising prices after attacks on Iraqi oil facilities, the cartel's president said yesterday.

 

"I will send letters to some non-OPEC members, such as Russia, Mexico, Angola and Oman appealing them to increase their output," said Purnomo Yusgiantoro, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

 

http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?i...arch&state=Form

 

Help, energy production is falling -

 

The hallmark of U.S. energy policy is a steadfast refusal to confront choices. On oil, Americans want low prices and secure supplies, which are inconsistent. The lower the price, the less reason to buy fuel-efficient vehicles. The more oil we use, the more we import -- and the greater our vulnerability to a catastrophic loss. Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet. Although today's high oil prices may slightly hurt the economy, they're more of an inconvenience than a tragedy. Still, people must now realize that many dangers (terrorism, war, revolution, political extortion) could trigger a huge -- and tragic -- loss of Middle East oil for which we are utterly unprepared.

 

A similar unreality afflicts natural gas policy. It's a favored fuel. For electricity generation, it's cleaner than coal and less fearsome than nuclear power. But we also restrict drilling: Waters off the East and West coasts are prohibited, as are parts of the Gulf of Mexico; producers complain about approval delays in Rocky Mountain states. New drilling remains essential because production from existing wells drops more than 25 percent annually.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Jun16.html

 

Bill Gross -

 

Pimco chief says global outlook unstable

By Deborah Brewster in New York

Published: June 16 2004 21:50 | Last Updated: June 16 2004 22:18

 

The outlook for the global economy is the most uncertain for 20 or 30 years, according to Bill Gross, the influential chief investment officer of Pimco, the world's biggest bond fund manager.

 

"Too much debt, geopolitical risk and several bubbles have created a very unstable environment which can turn any minute.

 

"More than any point in the past 20 or 30 years, there's potential for a reversal," he warned in an interview with the Financial Times.

 

"We have become a levered global economy, specifically in Japan and the US.

 

"With all this consumer debt, business debt, government debt, smaller movements in interest rates have a magnified effect . . . a small movement can tip the boat."

 

He said there were bubbles in commodities and the UK housing market, as well as the US currency.

 

"The US dollar is being supported by the kindness of strangers - Japan and China.

 

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?p...p=1012571727088

 

Good trading.

[Guest yobob1]

Looks like HB and Doc are both MIA this AM so...

 

Welcome to B4 the Bell

 

3 AM dose of Viagra right on time as per usual.

 

As we finnish up Scam-o-Rama week, we can look forward to the beginnings of earnings pre-announcements combined with an end of the quarter tape painting party which will immediately be followed by the beginning of Q2 earnings in which, those who are going to be missing earlier projections on which their current prices are based have already pre-announced and when actual earnings are announced they will be heralded as having beat the estimates by a penny. Got it? Remember, there is no such thing as bad news only refreshed investment opportunities.

 

They've been running this buggy pretty hard now and I'm questioning if they can keep the wheels on until the election. You do understand that this is what this is all about don't you? Happy DOW = Happy voter.

 

I'm still lobbying for a "none of the above" box on all ballots. In most cases I'm sure it would be the majority winner.

[Guest yobob1]

Sorry HB, didn't see the new thread. Might be a good idea to close the previous days thread when opening a new one?

[Lock Limit Down]

Yobob

You got it

News in Iraq is awful

Yield tumbling

PPI downside surprise?

Move along suckers

[Lock Limit Down]

UP ,8%

YOY 5%

core BS ,3%

[Lock Limit Down]

Claims DOWN 15000 to 336000

Sled

Are you here?

UFB

[Madame Wrecked Him]

UI Weekly Claims

In the week ending June 12, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 336,000, a decrease of 15,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 351,000. The 4-week moving average was 343,250, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 346,000.

 

The Office of Workforce Security

[Guest]

If the markets don't like uncertainty, and we are headed into the most uncertain time in our lives, then the following seems worthy of your consideration. If you don't want to know about it, or don't care, please scroll past this entire posting. If you wish to remove it or move it elsewhere, feel free.

 

VP Cheney is scheduled to appear as a special guest tonight on CNBS at 7:00 to discuss the economy. I note that this interview was arranged a couple days ago, just prior to the announcement that the PPI report would also be relaeased on the same day as Cheney's appearance. Surely this is another happy coincidence.

 

This appearance on CNBS by Mr. Cheney is his second in the past two weeks. The first was with Larry Kudlow on the same day that the "wildly better than expected" jobs numbers were released.

 

If Mr. Cheney is this administration's spokesperson for the economic recovery, then this administration, and by extension, this economy, is in deep trouble. If they lied about WMD and links to Al Qaeda to justify a war, are we to believe the jobs numbers?

 

 

 

WHERE THE TRUTH LIES?

 

America's credibility is in question today. What impact will result in the bond market and in the value of the U.S. Dollar, and by extension, in the U.S. stock market... if it comes to pass that America's spokespeople with respect to the economy (Bush, Cheney, and Greenspan), are determined not to be truthful?

 

The following, from my perspective, illustrates a path to a pending invasion of Iran, and potentially, a crisis of credibility that will damage the entire U.S. and global economy. These matters are inextricably linked, whether you like it or not. If Greenspan is viewed to be a pawn of Cheney, and Cheney is viewed to be not truthful, Greenspan's power to move the markets with his words alone will be diminished.

 

If Greenspan loses his credibility, and all of his proclaimations are called into question, then what?

 

 

 

 

Cheney, Greenspan to attend forum in Colorado

 

By Associated Press

June 17, 2004

 

VAIL - Vice President Dick Cheney and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan are expected to attend a private, three-day forum this week to discuss critical issues facing the nation.

 

The American Enterprise Institute World Forum opens Thursday in Vail. Former President Ford, who started the annual gathering in 1982 and serves as its official host, will also attend.

 

http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/ar...2969780,00.html

 

 

 

The Plain Truth

Published: June 17, 2004

 

It's hard to imagine how the commission investigating the 2001 terrorist attacks could have put it more clearly yesterday: there was never any evidence of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11.

 

Now President Bush should apologize to the American people, who were led to believe something different.

 

No serious intelligence anal cyst believed the connection existed; Richard Clarke, the former antiterrorism chief, wrote in his book that Mr. Bush had been told just that.

 

Nevertheless, the Bush administration convinced a substantial majority of Americans before the war that Saddam Hussein was somehow linked to 9/11. And since the invasion, administration officials, especially Vice President Dick Cheney, have continued to declare such a connection. Last September, Mr. Bush had to grudgingly correct Mr. Cheney for going too far in spinning a Hussein-bin Laden conspiracy. But the claim has crept back into view as the president has made the war on terror a centerpiece of his re-election campaign.

 

Mr. Bush is right when he says he cannot be blamed for everything that happened on or before Sept. 11, 2001. But he is responsible for the administration's actions since then. That includes, inexcusably, selling the false Iraq-Qaeda claim to Americans. There are two unpleasant alternatives: either Mr. Bush knew he was not telling the truth, or he has a capacity for politically motivated self-deception that is terrifying in the post-9/11 world.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/17/opinion/17THU1.html

 

 

 

 

Cheney Won't Back Down on Saddam-Qaeda Links -Aides

Wed Jun 16, 2004 09:13 PM ET

 

"Hell no!" another administration official said when asked if Cheney would retract his statements after the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks found no evidence that Iraq aided al Qaeda attempts to strike the United States.

 

Administration officials disputed suggestions that Cheney's comments conflicted with the report's findings.

 

Officials said Cheney asserted on Monday that there were links between Saddam and al Qaeda, not that Saddam helped al Qaeda carry out attacks against the United States, although critics say Cheney and other officials at times created the impression that Saddam was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks.

 

"It's not surprising people make that connection," Cheney said at one point as polls showed most Americans believed Iraq was involved.

 

"The administration's statements rest on a solid foundation of history and facts. The record of links between Iraq and al Qaeda is clear to anyone who has open eyes and an open mind," a White House official said on Wednesday.

 

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?t...storyID=5442226

 

 

 

 

Who is AbuMusab Al-Zarqawi? CIA-Pentagon Terrorist

 

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi is presented to World public opinion, as the upcoming terrorist mastermind, overshadowing "Enemy Number One", Osama bin Laden.

 

The U.S. State Department has increased the reward for his arrest from $10 million to $25 million, which puts his "market value" at par with that of Osama. Ironically, Al Zarqawi is not on the FBI most wanted fugitives list.

 

(http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/fugitives.htm )

 

According to the New York Times, Al Zarqawi fled Afghanistan to Iran in late 2001, following the entry of US troops. Official US reports suggest that he was protected at the highest levels of the Tehran government.

 

"United States intelligence officials say they are increasingly concerned by the mounting evidence of Tehran's renewed interest in terrorism [and support to Al Zarqawi], including covert surveillance by Iranian agents of possible American targets abroad. American officials said Iran appeared to view terrorism as deterrent against possible attack by the United States.

 

Al Zarqawi's Links to Al Qaeda

 

Al Zarqawi is often described as an "Osama associate", the bogyman, allegedly responsible for numerous terrorist attacks in several countries. In other reports, often emanating from the same sources, it is stated that he has no links to Al Qaeda and operates quite independently. He is often presented as an individual who is challenging the leadership of bin Laden.

 

It is worth mentioning, in this regard, that news stories on the chemical weapons plant in Northern Iraq, have continued to be churned out, despite the fact that US Forces said that it did not exist. In a recent story in the Washington Times:

 

Zarqawi stands as stark evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein's autocratic regime and bin Laden's al Qaeda terror network. Zarqawi, 38, operated a terrorist camp in northern Iraq that specialized in developing poisons and chemical weapons.(Washington Times, 8 June 2004)

 

The Spanish Connection

 

Meanwhile in Spain, Bush's coalition partner, Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar had initiated his own disinformation campaign, no doubt in liaison with US officials.

 

The information had been fabricated. The Spanish Ministry of Defense report confirmed that the "lethal chemicals" turned out to be "harmless and some were household detergent... " (quoted in Irish News, 27 February 2003, emphasis added):

 

Following Powell's February 2003 presentation to the UNSC, Al-Zarqawi immediately gained in public notoriety.

 

Since early 2004, his name appears almost daily in CNN reports. All in all, his name is linked to some 25 "terrorist attacks" in Iraq, not to mention numerous terrorist warnings, threats or alerts. Already before the war in Iraq, he was presented in media reports as an ally of Saddam Hussein.

 

The press reports, which quoted Colin Powell's UNSC 5 Feb 2003 speech, confirmed that Al Zarqawi was back in Iraq, working hand in glove with Ansar Al-Islam, which was held responsible for the attack on the UN in Baghdad. In August 2003, Zarqawi was identified, without supporting evidence, as having played a role in the attack on the UN, which led to the death of the UN head of mission and 24 other people.

 

Bear in mind Ansar was also said to be behind the alleged ricin plant in Northern Iraq, which was confirmed to be a fake.

 

Was it a coincidence? At the very outset of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, there were rumors of an Al Zarqawi terrorist attack on American Soil, in Jordan as well as in Iraq.

Al Zarqawi identified by CNN as "the lone wolf" was, according to these reports, planning terrorist attacks simultaneously in several countries. Then there was the mysterious video on the Nicholas Berg execution.

 

Also appearing on the tape, Azme Jayoussi, who says his orders came from this man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the same man the U.S. says is behind many of the violent attacks in Iraq.

 

AZME JAYOUSSI, ACCUSED PLOTTER (through translator): I took advanced explosives course, poisons, high level, then I pledged allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to obey him without any questioning, to be on his side. After this Afghanistan fell. I met Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq.

 

VAUSE: Al Jayoussi was only shown in profile. He had marks on his hand, neck and face. The Jordanians who taped the confessions say the suspect suffered the injuries during the arrest. CNN was not allowed access to any of those arrested. The Jordanian government says this plot is only the latest attempt by al Qaeda to destabilize this country.

 

The press reports which followed the original CNN report, often quote CNN as the sole source for their information.

 

Alleged Al Zarqawi "Attack on America"

 

Two days later, following the alleged terrorist threat on Jordanian intelligence, the State Department announced that Al Zarqawi was planning an attack on America (29 April 2003, CNN Report). Note that the rumours of an attack on America and the attack in Jordan took place virtually at the same time.

 

The State Department today said the number of terrorists attacks around the world declined last year, but the government's annual report on terrorism includes a chilling warning about the year ahead.

 

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The State Department says terrorists are planning an attack on U.S. soil. High on their anxiety list, terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

AMB. COFER BLACK, COORDINATOR FOR COUNTERTERRORISM: He is representative of a very real and credible threat. His operatives are planning and attempting now to attack American targets, and we are after them with a vengeance.

 

Bear in mind that the Attack on America report, focusing on "We are after them with a vengeance", was published on day following the CBS 60 minutes program on torture at the Abu Ghraib prison. (Complete transcript at http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CBS405A.html ).

 

The Nicholas Berg Video

 

Barely a couple of weeks later (11 May 2004), Al Zarqawi is reported as being the mastermind behind the execution of Nicholas Berg on May 11, 2004.

 

Again perfect timing! The report coincided with calls by US Senators for Defense Sec Donald Rumsfeld to resign over the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. It occurs a few days after President Bush's "apology" for the Abu Ghraib prison "abuses" on May 6.

 

The CIA confirms that Nicholas Berg's killer was Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; The CIA acknowledges sticking to strict rules in tough interrogations of top al Qaeda prisoners." (CNN)

 

BLITZER Because originally our own linguists here at CNN suspected that -- they listened to this audiotape and they didn't think the it sounded, the sounded like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. But now definitively, the experts at the CIA say it almost certainly is Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?

 

Al Zarqawi is Jordanian. Yet the man in the video "posing as Jordanian native Zarqawi does not speak the Jordanian dialect. Zarqawi has an artificial leg, but none of these murderers did. The man presented as Zarqawi had a yellow ring, presumably a golden one, which Muslim men are banned from wearing, especially so-called fundamentalists."

 

Immediately when the issue of his artificial leg was mentioned in relation to the video, US officials revised their story, stating they were not sure whether he actually lost a leg: "U.S. intelligence officials, who used to believe that Zarqawi had lost a leg in Afghanistan, recently revised that assessment, concluding that he still has both legs." (News and World Report, 24 May 2004).

 

Extending the War on Terrorism

 

Are "we winning or loosing" the war on terrorism. These statements are used to justify enhanced military operations against this illusive individual, who is confronting US military might, all over the World. Al Zarqawi is used profusely in Bush's press conferences and speeches in an obvious public relations ploy.

 

You know, I hate to predict violence, but I just understand the nature of the killers. This guy, Zarqawi, an al Qaeda associate -- who was in Baghdad, by the way, prior to the removal of Saddam Hussein -- is still at large in Iraq. And as you might remember, part of his operational plan was to sow violence and discord amongst the various groups in Iraq by cold- blooded killing. And we need to help find Zarqawi so that the people of Iraq can have a more bright -- bright future. (Press Conference, 1 June 2004, emphasis added)

 

And with a new interim Iraqi government, US and British troops would be in Iraq at "the request" of the interim government, in an agreement sanctioned by the UN. "The terrorists are still at large": The tasks of the so-called "multinational force" would include "preventing and deterring terrorism", namely going after Al Zarqawi, as a means to "establishing democracy" under G-8's "political and economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa."

 

http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/channel.cf...&contentid=1311

[Madame Wrecked Him]

Producer Price Indexes -- May 2004

 

The Producer Price Index for Finished Goods advanced 0.8 percent in

May, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.

Department of Labor reported today. This increase followed a 0.7-percent

rise in April and a 0.5-percent gain in March. At the earlier stages of

processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods climbed

1.1 percent in May, after posting a 1.4-percent rise in the previous month.

The crude goods index went up 2.8 percent, following a 3.0-percent jump in

April.

 

Before seasonal adjustment, the finished goods index increased 1.2

percent to 149.1 (1982=100). From May 2003 to May 2004, prices for

finished goods rose 5.0 percent. This is the largest 12-month increase in

the finished goods index since a 5.7-percent advance for the 12 months

ended December 1990. For the 12 months ended May 2004, the indexes for

finished energy goods, finished consumer foods, and finished goods other

than foods and energy advanced 15.0, 7.4, and 1.7 percent, respectively.

At the earlier stages of processing, prices for intermediate goods

increased 7.1 percent for the 12 months ended May 2004, and the crude goods index surged 21.9 percent during the same period.

 

 

 

BS from the BLS

[Lock Limit Down]

Where are all thesE phantom jobs coming from

THE LIES ARE OUT OF CONTROL

ELECTION YEAR bullshit

[Madame Wrecked Him]

Where are all thesE phantom jobs coming from

THE LIES ARE OUT OF CONTROL

ELECTION YEAR bullshit

LLD - a lot of people have been downscaled to lower pay levels and many others are working parttime. They're still getting their pie, just a smaller mouthful than before.

[Lock Limit Down]

Absoloutly loaded the boat at 820am

Dow and RUT short

Hope you all have a great day

Go get them B4

[HiHat]

Plunger........everything you have been posting is totally relevant

to the so-called "markets".

 

High Regards

[Guest yobob1]

RE: Weekly jobless claims. Unemployment offices closed last Friday for Reagans funeral.

 

Hmm, 350K filing for lost job insurance weekly and yet monthly job creation numbers up 250K? Must be the NEW MATH created for THE NEW ECONOMY. Less equals more.

[HiHat]

alright.....another narrow range day yesterday. thought it would

break to downside , but it was not to be.

 

took no position yesterday because my sell parameters not met.

 

expecting this to break to downside again today....however we are

at tricky crossroads here..........perhaps which ever way it breaks will be

fakeout............and reversed quick to true direction.

 

i bet down