B4 The Bell Thursday October 7

[Hiding Bear]

Welcome to B4 the Bell and welcome new forum members!

 

Christmas comes early, and convienently before the election, for big business with some new tax cuts. Treasury Secretary Snow's former company is also getting a big break.

 

Damn the deficit says Congress:

 

Negotiators Approve Big Tax Cuts for Business

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS

 

Published: October 7, 2004

 

 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 - In an act of pre-election largess, House and Senate negotiators approved a sprawling corporate tax bill on Wednesday that would shower corporations and farmers in politically sensitive states with about $145 billion worth of new tax cuts.

 

The agreement involves the cozy deal-making that often characterizes pork-barrel politics, with lawmakers from both parties insisting on breaks for hometown industries in return for their support of the overall measure.

 

The big winners include General Electric, Exxon Mobil, electric utilities, movie producers and agricultural producers.

 

Keith Ashdown, vice president for policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a public advocacy group in Washington, said, "This legislation is an early Christmas gift for corporate fat cats."

 

The bill was initially intended to compensate exporters for the loss of $50 billion in tax breaks that the World Trade Organization had declared illegal, but Congressional negotiators approved a 633-page behemoth that doled out tax breaks worth nearly three times the original subsidy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/07/business...html?oref=login

 

 

Rockledge said this yesterday about heating oil:

 

I need to share some info... Mom & pop is back to the JP-8 biz, so 2 days ago while I was certifying/inspecting a 30,000 bbl. batch of fuel for the goverment, I had my usual conversations with the goverment inspector. I've known the goverment inspector for years now,... She says that the coal contracts she inspects are bogged down, at least 3 weeks late for delivery.. why? No rail road cars.

 

Mom & pop, in SLC wants to begin to ship a highly sought after hydro-carbon out of state, where the margins are better. The biggest concern, rail cars. There's none available on a routine basis.

 

LSD (Low sulfur diesel) has now blown pass ULP (Unleaded Premium) in price. The reason I'm mentioning this is because I'm certain that the U.S. is now in a full blown panic with regards to Heating oil. Inventory keeps on slipping and almost all folks believe that the product can just arrive on demand. That notion doesn't exist.

 

I'm betting that not only is heating oil supply short... it's going to get much worse, going foreward. Pipelines, in most cases are fixed... meaning that you can't stuff a ten pound bag of schitt into a 5 pound bag. Pipelines are limited, period!

 

Now,... so the pipelines are maxed out.. what other choices are there? Truck it. And trucks run on what? LSD.

 

Heating oil may look toppy now.... give it a few weeks. We'll see what toppy is then.

 

Good trading!

[Bearbones]

It looks like the government will fight this bear market until the average American is impoverished. Only the ignorance of the masses prevents change. While the ABC consumer comfort index slips to -12, meaning that the average Joe and Jane are getting squeezed, our erstwhile government passes a massive corporate welfare bill.

 

As Mark has often said "hats off to the plutocrats".

[zensmoke]

DJ US Political, Economic Calendar - Week Ahead

All dates are in ET Time.

 

 

Thursday, October 7, 2004

? ET/GMT? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Expected? Previous

0800/1200? ? ? ? ? Cleveland Fed Pres Pianalto speaks at

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  economy and business summit in

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Cincinnati

0830/1230? Oct 2?  Initial Jobless Claims ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? -19K? ? ? +18K

0930/1330? ? ? ?  Fed Vice Chairman Ferguson speaks on

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  free trade at Cato Institute conference

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  in Washington

0930/1330? ? ? ? ? US Tsy Secy Snow speaks with local

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  business leaders in

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Independence,Missouri

1000/1400? Sep 25? DJ-BTM Business Barometer ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  +0.7%

1100/1500? ? ? ? ? US Tsy Secy Snow tours Independence

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Center in Independence, Missouri

1300/1700? ? ? ? ? Fed Gov Bernanke speaks on central

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  banks and monetary policy at Japan

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Society luncheon in New York

1430/1830? ? ? ? ? Fed Chairman Greenspan speaks via

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  satellite at the "Reflections on

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Monetary Policy: Twenty-Five Years

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  After October 1979" conference at

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

1500/1900? Aug? ?  Consumer Credit? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? +$5.4B? ? +$10.9B

1630/2030? ? ? ?  Money Supply

1745/2145? ? ? ? ? Dallas Fed Pres McTeer speaks on the

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  economy in New York

1800/2200? ? ? ? ? Tsy Undersecy Taylor speaks at

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  "Reflections on Monetary Policy:25

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Years after October 1979" in St. Louis

1830/2230? ? ? ?  Atlanta Fed Pres Guynn speaks at

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  conference hosted by Federal Reserve

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Bank of Atlanta

?  N/A? ?  Sept? ? Chain Store Sales

 

Friday, October 8, 2004

? ET/GMT? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Expected? Previous

0830/1230? Sept? ? Unemployment Rate? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 5.4%? ? ? 5.4%

0830/1230? Sept? ? Non-Farm Payrolls? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? +145K? ?  +144K

0830/1230? ? ? ? ? US Tsy Secy Snow participates in

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  roundtable with family business

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  administrators in Toledo, Ohio

0940/1340? Sept? ? ECRI Inflation Gauge ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 118.5

1000/1400? Aug? ?  Wholesale Trade ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  +0.8%? ?  +1.3%

1000/1400? ? ? ? ? Fed Gov Bernanke participates in panel

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  discussion at "Reflections on Monetary

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Policy: Twenty-Five Years After October

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  1979" conference in St. Louis

1200/1600? ? ? ? ? Fed Vice Chairman Ferguson participates

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  in panel discussion? at the

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  "Reflections on Monetary Policy:

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Twenty-Five Years After October 1979"

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  conference in St. Louis

1200/1600? ? ? ? ? Tsy Undersecy Taylor speaks at

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  "Payments in the Americas" conference

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  in Atlanta

1230/1630? ? ? ? ? US Tsy Secy Snow tours Dana Automotive

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Systems Technology Center in Maumee,

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Ohio

1400/1800? ? ? ? ? Bond markets close early

1830/2230? ? ? ? ? Tsy Undersecy Taylor to speak at

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Wharton Finance Conference in

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Philadelphia

2100/0100? ? ? ? ? Pres Bush and Sen Kerry debate in St.

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?  Louis

Dow Jones Newswires

[zensmoke]

DJ Fannie Paid 21 Execs Over $1M Each In '02; Freddie Paid 7

(This article was originally published Wednesday)

 

  By Dawn Kopecki and Jennifer Corbett Dooren

 

  Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

 

  WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Fannie Mae (FNM) paid 21 executives more than $1 million each in total compensation in 2002, while just seven executives at sibling mortgage giant Freddie Mac (FRE) earned that much that year, according to compensation data released by Congress Wednesday.

 

  Rep. Richard Baker, R-La., released the information after questioning Fannie Chief Executive Franklin Raines at a hearing about accounting deficiencies at the company uncovered by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.

 

  The data, compiled by OFHEO last year, show that Freddie Mac's former top lobbyist Mitchell Delk was the company's sixth-highest paid executive that year, receiving roughly $1.1 million in pay, bonuses, stock and other benefits. Tom Donilon, who heads Fannie's lobbying and legal operations, was that company's sixth-highest paid executive with nearly $4.3 million in total compensation that year.

 

  Fannie employed at least one other million-dollar lobbyists, including Arne Christensen, who earned $1.5 million and was its 17th highest paid employee. Duane Duncan, who reported to Christensen, earned just under $1 million that year, and was the company's 22nd highest-paid employee. Christensen left Fannie late last year to head American Express' (AXP) lobby shop in Washington.

[machinehead]

Crude earl $52.50 +0.48

 

Mr. Market, Crude Earl gonna TOAST YO PIMPLY ASS.

[zensmoke]

OPEC daily basket price rises further to 44.26 dollars

The price of the OPEC Basket of seven crudes stood at 44.26 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, compared with 43.80 dollars the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.

http://www.dubaiinteract.com/Media_Section...bb-0a3c3c618957

[Guest]

Christmas comes early, and convienently before the election, for big business with some new tax cuts. Treasury Secretary Snow's former company is also getting a big break.

 

Damn the deficit says Congress

 

Know as the art of buying the vote.......with a pig's ear.

[Bearbones]

With all the bullhorning and blabbering, bonds beat stocks over the last seven years. Charles Clough, the strategist at Merril at the time, was fired for advocating bonds at the beginning of that period.

I don't believe this has happened since the 30's.

 

 

In U.S., Bonds Outperformed Stocks Over Seven Years, WSJ Says

2004-10-01 04:29 (New York)

 

 

By David Altaner

Oct. 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. bond returns beat stocks for the

seven years ended Aug. 31, even including the late 1990s stock-

market rally, the Wall Street Journal said, citing Lipper Inc.

numbers.

The Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index gained 7.1 percent

over the period, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.5

percent at the same time, the paper said.

The advantage for bonds comes even though stocks have

historically gained by 10 percent to 11 percent on average

annually, compared with an average 5 percent to 6 percent gain

for bonds, the paper said, citing the Schwab Center for

Investment Research, which was using data from Ibbotson

Associates.

 

(Wall Street Journal Online 10-1)

[machinehead]

Mmmm ... FRESH COPPER for breakfast --

 

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Copper and aluminum futures rose to nine-year highs in London as growth in worldwide demand, led by China, forced users to drain inventories of metals needed in construction and manufacturing.         

 

Copper stocks in warehouses monitored by exchanges in London, New York and Shanghai have plummeted about 80 percent this year to 164,724 metric tons, about four days' global use. BHP Billiton and other miners have failed to keep up with demand, spurring speculators to increase bets on rising prices.         

 

"Most commodities show under-investment in new capacity, not only in China, but the western world,'' Ingrid Sternby, an anal cyst at Barclays Capital in London, said in a telephone interview.

 

Smelted

 

FOUR DAYS OF COPPER, DUDE --

 

Sometimes I feel I need to scream --

 

AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

[zensmoke]

*DJ Ann Taylor Sees 3Q EPS 28c-32c, Had Seen 48c-50c >ANN

*DJ Ann Taylor Sees 4Q EPS 42c-44c, Had Seen 47c-49c>ANN

[zensmoke]

Is oil strike three for the U.S. economy?

With the tax cuts losing their punch and home equity tapped out, oil at $50 may be a blow the economy just can't shake off.

 

By Dan Ackman, Forbes

 

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/forbes/P96412.asp

[The brown one]

Consumer price inflation in the Netherlands hits 15-year low for September--1%.

 

Our house bubble ended in 2002 and (reportedly) more owners trying to sell,unable to keep up the payments.

 

Little country,one twentieth of US population,not a large supertanker --does NL predict the trend 2 years out?

[DrStool]

Your Golden Stool, including short and long term updated charts and price targets, is loaded. Even if you are not a goldbug, you should check out the Golden Stool. It's in your Anals daily. Take a subscribatory and download the Golden Stool RIGHT NOW!

 

30 Day Intro Subscribatory. Just $16.99! Get In RIGHT NOW!

[zensmoke]

............The prospect of a strike by oil workers in Nigeria on Oct. 11 is also keeping the market on edge, said brokers.

 

  The country's main oil workers' union said Wednesday it would join a national strike set to begin next week unless the government agreed to talks on rising fuel prices.

 

  Nigerian militia leader Moujahid Dokubo-Asari was also reported Wednesday to have backtracked from recent pledges to disarm, saying he doubted the government would satisfy his demands.

 

  Dokubo-Asari is calling for greater local control over resources in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta, where most of Nigeria's over 2.5 million b/d of crude are pumped.

 

  Brent prices built on gains racked up earlier in electronic trading, later hitting fresh highs on fears U.S. stocks of heating oil may be inadequate to see the world's biggest consumer of energy through the winter.

 

  Weekly U.S. commercial crude and product inventory data released Wednesday showed supplies of heating oil down 1.2 million bbl, and distillates down 2.1 million bbl, beating expectations for a draw of 420,000 bbl.

 

  Stocks are now thought to be languishing at 5-year seasonal lows, and are 0.5% below levels seen last year.

 

  Barclays Capital says long range forecasts for the U.S. northeast point to a colder than normal winter, and with U.S. distillate stocks 8.1 million b/d lower than a year ago, and U.S. northeast heating oil stocks looking particularly tight, the EIA is already forecasting record high U.S. winter fuel prices.

 

  The Nymex heating oil contract hit another an all-time high Thursday at $1.4300 a gallon.

 

.................

"With the key technical level of $51.90 now breached on WTI front month, our technical anal cysts are coming increasingly to the view that we are in the build-up to a classic commodity price spike that could ultimately take crude oil above $70/bbl," said Kevin Norrish, anal cyst at BarCap.

Dow Jones Newswires;

[DrStool]

Permanent link for Realestatebubblewatch.com now located above this forum block, below the top menu and ads. Register and participate in this great new forum today!