• 18May

  America’s Underclass: Growing Gap Between the Rich and Poor

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  America’s Underclass: Growing Gap Between the Rich and Poor
  Macro economic data suggest the great recession is over. But the gap between the haves and the have-nots is growing, thanks, in large part, to a jobless recovery. Wall Street Cheat Sheet’s Damien Hoffman says the growing underclass now accounts for about 10% of the U.S. population.

  In this clip, he and his brother Derek, who jointly run the Wall Street Cheat Sheet website, point to several signs America is turning into a two-class society:  

  -The foreclosure problem. 2.8 million homes were foreclosed in 2009.  RealyTrac expects that number to increase to 3-3.5 million in 2010.  Damien Hoffman thinks it could be even higher if “strategic foreclosures” become a more accepted practice.
  - Unemployment.  The official rate is 9.9% but the wider measure of under employed and those who have given up on their job search is more like 17%.   That’s more than 24 million Americans out of work.
  - Record numbers using food stamps. The Agriculture Department said a record 40 million Americans, or 1 in 8 Americans, may not be able to eat without government assistance.  “This is the ultimate sign of an under class,”  the Hoffman Brothers say.
  - Take a look at Dollar Tree Stores. The discounter’s stock is near an all-time high while revenues are up 12.5% this year.  In other words, more Americans are chasing cheaper goods.

  Tags: America's Underclass: Growing Gap Between the Rich and Poor, dji, dltr, gspc, kbh, TLT, xhb, xrt

• 02Apr

  Yield on 10-year note near 4%, highest since June ‘09

  breaking market news, breaking news, breaking stock market news, breaking stock news, breaking wall street news, leverage, liquidity, usa economics No Comments

  Yield on 10-year note near 4%, highest since June ‘09

   

  The biggest increase in jobs in three years pushed interest rates higher in the bond market as bond prices fell. The dollar rose. The stock market was closed.

  The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.95% from 3.87% late Thursday, its highest level since last June and the latest sign of confidence that the U.S. economy is recovering.

  The stock market is closed for Good Friday. Stock futures rose in an abbreviated session of electronic trading. Dow Jones industrial average futures and Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures each rose about 0.3%.

  The yield on the 10-year note is approaching 4%, a level that hasn’t been seen since October 2008, just before the financial crisis peaked.

  The 10-year’s yield went as high as 4.09% that month, before plummeting as low as 2.06% in December 2008 as the credit crisis erupted and investors poured money into bonds as they cut back their exposure to risk.

  Friday’s trading was the closest the yield has been to 4% since last June, when it reached 3.96%.

  The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 162,000 jobs in March. Economists had forecast an increase of 190,000 jobs. However, private employers accounted for most of the growth. Some analysts had forecast that temporary government hiring for the 2010 Census would play a bigger role.

  The dollar rose as confidence increased about the U.S. economy. The ICE Futures US dollar index, which measures the dollar against six currencies, rose 0.6%.

  The Dow on Thursday within 43 points of the psychological barrier of 11,000, a level it hasn’t topped in 18 months.

  The Dow gained 4.1% for the quarter, its best first-quarter performance since 1999. Small, daily gains replaced the big triple-digit moves that defined the market’s rally throughout much of 2009 as major indexes hit 12-year lows in March of that year.

  The S&P 500 rose 4.9% during the first quarter, its best first-quarter since 1998.

  Tags: highest since June '09, Yield on 10-year note near 4%

• 20Mar

  Friday 03/19/2010 the market sold off, what was the cause?

  Movers & Shakers, analysis, breaking market news, breaking news, breaking stock market news, breaking stock news, breaking wall street news, daily stock picks, daily stock tips, free stock info, free stock picks, free stock tips, leverage, market analysis, market facts, market projections, short term investments, stocks, technical analysis, trading, trading ideas, trend, usa economics No Comments

   

  Friday 03/19/2010 the market sold off, what was the cause?
  Was it “Quadruple Witching Day?” “tightening money in India and China?” “whispered threats of another surprise raise in our discount rate?” “the imminent passing of a healthcare bill?”
  There was profit taking, plus volume and volatility spiked this Quadruple Witching Friday.
  It’s unlikely that the U.S. economy will slip back into recession, as some fear.  Even the most pessimistic forecasts see annual growth running about 2% this year and next.  The bad news: The unemployment rate will likely remain high

  Health plans sub group mostly up today CNC + 5.7% AET + 3.6% CI + 3.4% AGP + 3% UNH + 2.3%
  Blockbusters gained 20% on the day to 24cents per share.
  NCS +4.12%
  FAZ +2.16%
  SDS +0.99%

   

  First signs of a potential sell off started showing up a few days ago, yesterday on the hourly chart SDS and FAZ signalled bullish indicators. Which as inverse ETF’s was a sign that we could see some profit taking in Fridays session.

  PALM options volume is running 17 times the usual, with 135,000 contracts traded and call activity representing about 99% of the activity.

   

   

  Friday’s Markets
   
   
  DJIA *10741.98-37.19-0.35 
   
  Nasdaq *2374.41-16.87-0.71 
   
  S&P 500 *1159.90-5.93-0.51 

  CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) +0.53 to 17.15. +2.11%

  Tags: Friday 03/19/2010 the market sold off, what was the cause?

• 04Mar

  House passes tax breaks for new hires

  Life settlement, Taxes, government, leverage, settlement, trading, trading ideas, trend, usa economics No Comments

  House passes tax breaks for new hires
  Legislation passes 217-201; many argue measure won’t create many jobs
  Despite doubts among many lawmakers that it’ll create many jobs, the House on Thursday passed legislation giving companies that hire the jobless a temporary payroll tax break.

  The measure passed 217-201 on a mostly party-line vote. The bill also extends federal highway programs through the end of the year.

  Some Democrats feel the approximately $35 billion jobs bill is too puny, while others say the tax cut for new hires won’t generate many new jobs. However, the pressure is on to address jobs and deliver a badly needed win for President Barack Obama and a Democratic Party struggling in opinion polls and facing major losses in the upcoming midterm elections. Further jobs measures are promised.

  “If that’s the only thing that I can vote on … I’ll vote for it, obviously,” said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J. “We’ve got to get something moving. We’ve got to get something done.”

  “It’s really not a jobs bill,” said Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. “It’s one small piece.” Lee said she instead wants money in the legislation for job training and youth summer jobs.

  The House had passed a much larger measure in December that contained almost $50 billion in infrastructure funding, $50 billion in help for cash-starved state governments, and a six-month extension of jobless aid. That bill conspicuously left out the proposals to award tax credits for hiring new workers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was among those skeptical of that idea.

  The Senate responded last week with the far smaller measure that the House is reluctantly accepting. The House amended the measure Thursday to conform with so-called pay-as-you-go budget rules that have become an article of faith among moderate Democrats. The rules require future spending increases or tax cuts to be paid for with either cuts to other programs or equivalent tax increases.

  The minor tweak means that the notoriously balky Senate would have to act again before Obama could sign the bill into law.

  The $35 billion bill — blending $15 billion in tax cuts and subsidies for infrastructure bonds issued by local governments with the $20 billion in transportation money — is far smaller than the massive economic stimulus bill enacted a year ago.

  The jobs bill has been a source of tension between House and Senate Democrats.

  “It’s ridiculous that it’s taken so long for the Senate to overcome indifference and obstruction to finally send a bill back to the House which represents just a fraction of what we need to do to help the unemployed,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis. “But better late than never, and better something than nothing.”

  Across the Capitol, the Senate is debating a far more costly measure to clean up a lot of unfinished business from last year. The $100 billion-plus bill would extend unemployment assistance, revive a bevy of expired tax breaks, help states with soaring Medicaid costs and prevent doctors from having to absorb big cuts in Medicare payments. The popular initiatives are traditionally extended on a bipartisan basis for brief periods of time, which hides their long-term costs.

  The Senate plans to act on the jobs bill after wrapping up the unfinished-business bill, which means it probably won’t be sent to Obama until next week.

  The jobs bill contains two major provisions. First, it would exempt businesses hiring the unemployed from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and give them an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year. The Social Security trust fund would be reimbursed for the lost revenue.

  Second, it would extend highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump in $20 billion in time for the spring construction season. The money would make up for lower-than-expected gasoline tax revenues.

  Small businesses would continue to be able to write off equipment purchases as a business expense. Much of the bill is financed by cracking down on offshore tax havens.

  Several lawmakers in both parties criticized the payroll tax break, saying that it wouldn’t do much to create jobs and that the bulk of it would go to employers for new hires that would be made anyway.

   

  “It simply encourages conduct that would occur anyway,” said Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas.

  Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, said he asked businessmen at town meetings in his Rust Belt district whether they would hire people based on the payroll tax holiday. “Nobody raised their hands,” LaTourette said. “This is not going to create one job.”

  “It’s an insipid, weak piece of legislation,” said Jim McDermott, D-Wash.

  “It’s not that good, but it’s better than nothing,” said Jim McGovern, D-Mass. “And we’re going to have to do more. But the bill that I would have liked to have seen pass can’t pass the United States Senate.”

  Economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com said the new hiring tax credit could spur creation of about 250,000 new jobs. The economy has shed 8.4 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007.

  Tags: House passes tax breaks for new hires

• 21Feb

  What you need to know about credit card reform

  banking, cash, credit, deals, government, leverage, liquidity, loan, market facts, money, return rate, savings, stockmarket analysis, trading ideas, trend, usa economics No Comments

  What you need to know about credit card reform
   The new credit card regulations are finally here. Starting Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, banks will need to abide a spate of new rules on terms and disclosures. The idea behind the landmark law was to prevent banks from using unfair practices that dig borrowers deeper into debt.
  The new credit card law is finally here. Starting Monday, banks will need to abide by new regulations on terms and disclosures. The idea behind the landmark law was to prevent banks from using practices that often dug borrowers deeper into debt.
  A look at how the credit card law affects key aspects of your account.

  INTEREST RATES

  THEN: Banks could raise the interest rate on an account at any time, including the rate on an existing balances, even if you weren’t late on payments.

  NOW: The rate cannot be raised in the first year after an account is opened unless an introductory rate has come to an end. After that, cardholders must be notified 45 days in advance of any rate change.

  For existing balances, rates can’t be raised unless the account is at least 60 days past due. If payments are made on time for six consecutive months, the original rate must be restored.

  There’s still no cap on rates.

  DISCLOSURES

  THEN: The fine print on cardholder agreements was often difficult to understand. Rates, fees and penalties for other services such as cash advances, for example, could be hard to find. The impact of the interest rate on paying down a balance was hard to compute.

  NOW: Cardholders will see how many months it will take to pay off a balance if only minimum payments are made. Statements will also indicate how much needs to be paid each month to pay off a balance within three years.

  SERVICE FEES

  THEN: Banks could charge as much as they wanted. They could assess annual fees, activation fees and other fees. This was mostly a problem for subprime cards marketed to those with poor credit scores. One popular card, for example, the Premier Bankcard, charged $256 in first-year fees for a $250 credit line.

  NOW: Service fees, such as activation and annual fees, will be capped at 25 percent of the credit limit during the first year of use. After that, there is no cap.

  GRACE PERIODS

  THEN: Some card companies sent out statements not long before payments were due, and sometimes shifted payment due dates from month to month, meaning that payments would not always have enough time to arrive and get processed before being deemed late. As a result, some cardholders ended up getting charged interest or late fees even when they thought they were sending in payments on time.

  NOW: The law requires that due dates remain consistent. Statements must be sent out 21 days before the payment due date, and finance charges and fees cannot be applied before that period is up. In practice, about half of card issuers have extended grace periods to as long as 25 days.

  OVER-THE-LIMIT FEES

  THEN: Banks set credit limits, then routinely allowed charges to exceed those limits. When that happened, though, the customer was charged an over-the-limit fee as high as $39. These fees were often triggered by interest charges or late-payment fees that pushed a balance over the credit limit. What’s more, multiple over-the-limit fees could get charged in a single billing cycle if the balance was paid down and another charge pushed the balance back over the limit.

  NOW: The cardholder must specifically agree to permit transactions that exceed the credit limit. Only then can over-the-limit fees be charged. But the fees can’t be triggered by other fees or interest charges. Only one over-the-limit fee may be imposed during a billing cycle. No over-the-limit fees may be charged unless the cardholder has specifically agreed to permit transactions exceeding their authorized credit limit. These fees can no longer be triggered by other fees or interest charges imposed by the card issuer, and only one such fee may be imposed during a billing cycle.

  In practice, several of the largest card companies have dropped these fees. Some banks are using pop-up boxes on their Web sites or other methods to obtain consumer authorization.

  UNIVERSAL DEFAULT

  THEN: If you made a late payment on one credit card or loan, or even late payments for obligations like utility bills, that could trigger interest rate hikes on other credit card accounts.

  NOW: Card companies cannot raise interest rates on existing credit card balances. Interest rates can’t rise during the first year an account is open, unless the original agreement spelled out a promotional rate for a limited time.

  Consumers with older accounts must be informed of any interest rate increase on new charges at least 45 days in advance. They must also be given a chance to opt out of the hike by canceling the account and paying down the balance at the old interest rate. If an interest rate is increased, the card company must review the account once every six months to assess whether the rate should be dropped.

  STUDENTS

  THEN: Students arriving on college campuses often confronted a gantlet of credit card marketers handing out T-shirts, pizza and other gifts in exchange for filling out card applications. Credit cards were frequently handed out without checking the applicant’s income sources. In 2008, 84 percent of undergraduates had at least one credit card. Average balances topped $3,100.

  NOW: Credit cards may no longer be issued to anyone under age 21, unless the applicant has a co-signer, or can show independent means to repay the debt. Colleges must disclose any marketing deals they make with credit card companies. Banks are not allowed to hand out gifts on or near campuses or at college-related events.

  Tags: credit card, credit card regulations, What you need to know about credit card reform

• 25Dec

  U.S. Ends Cap on Fannie, Freddie Lifeline for 3 Years

  Financial transaction, Movers & Shakers, breaking market news, breaking news, breaking stock market news, breaking stock news, breaking wall street news, daily stock picks, daily stock tips, daytrades, deals, financial settlement, free stock info, free stock picks, free stock tips, leverage, liquidity, market analysis, market projections, markets, money, return rate, short term investments, stockmarket analysis, stocks, technical analysis, trading, trading ideas, trend, usa economics No Comments

  Stockshakers are looking to go LONG  FRE and FNM

  Options are very cheap and thinly traded.

  U.S. Ends Cap on Fannie, Freddie Lifeline for 3 Years

   

  The U.S. Treasury Department will remove the caps on aid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for the next three years, to allay investor concerns that the companies will exhaust the available government assistance.

  The two companies, the largest sources of mortgage financing in the U.S., are currently under government conservatorship and have caps of $200 billion each on backstop capital from the Treasury. Under the new agreement announced today, these limits can rise as needed to cover net worth losses through 2012.

  The Obama administration is “beginning to realize it’s not getting better and it’s not likely to get better” soon in the housing market, said Julian Mann, who helps oversee $5.5 billion in bonds as a vice president at First Pacific Advisors LLC in Los Angeles. “They don’t want the foreclosures now, so they’re saying, we’ll pay whatever it takes to continue to kick the can down the road.”

  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now are using a combined $111 billion of the total $400 billion lifeline. Treasury Department officials said they didn’t expect the companies to need assistance beyond what is available under the current caps, barring significant deterioration in the economic outlook.

  Today’s announcement “should leave no uncertainty about the Treasury’s commitment to support these firms as they continue to play a vital role in the housing market during this current crisis,” the Treasury said in a statement in Washington.

  Portfolio Size

  The Treasury also relaxed its timeline for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to shrink their portfolios of mortgage assets. Previously, the companies were instructed to reduce their portfolios at a rate of 10 percent a year. Now, they will be required to keep the value of their portfolios below a maximum limit, currently $900 billion, that will go down by 10 percent a year.

  This means they will not need to take immediate action to trim their holdings and could allow them to rise. Fannie Mae’s portfolio ended October at $771.5 billion and Freddie Mac’s holdings at the end of November were $761.8 billion, according to the latest figures released by the companies.

  “Treasury does not expect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be active buyers to increase the size of their retained mortgage portfolios, but neither is it expected that active selling will be necessary,” the Treasury said.

  Fed Program

  The change in the portfolio limits may ease investor concern that the companies could be forced to shrink their portfolios at the same time that the Federal Reserve ends its $1.25 trillion mortgage-bond purchase program. That could have exacerbated pressure on mortgage rates caused by the end of the Fed program, Laurie Goodman, an analyst in New York at Amherst Securities Group LP, said this month.

  The Treasury said today that it is ending its mortgage- backed security purchase program as of Dec. 31, after about $220 billion in purchases. The government also is eliminating a short-term credit facility for the two companies and the Federal Home Loan Banks that was never used.

  Also today, the companies disclosed in regulatory filings that Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Michael Williams and Freddie Mac CEO Charles Haldeman Jr. are each eligible for compensation of as much as $6 million this year.

  Executive Pay

  Pay at the mortgage-finance companies, which were seized by the U.S. in September 2008, added to debate over salaries for executives at companies dependent on government bailouts. Compensation must be sufficiently high to “attract and retain” top talent, their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement.

  In addition to the CEO pay, 10 additional executives at the two companies are eligible collectively for $30.1 million in compensation for this year. Overall, pay for top executives of the mortgage-finance companies is down 40 percent from before they were seized, the regulator said.

  Brian Faith, a Fannie Mae spokesman, and Michael Cosgrove, a Freddie Mac spokesman, declined to comment on the executive compensation and didn’t immediately return messages on the later Treasury announcement.

  The Obama administration is still developing its long-term plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In today’s statement, the department said it expected to release a preliminary report on the companies as part of the 2011 budget, due in February.

  ‘Prudent’ Policy

  Recent announcements from the companies and the Federal Housing Administration “demonstrate a commitment to prudent housing finance policy that enables a transition to an environment where the private market is able to provide a larger source of mortgage finance,” the Treasury said.

  The Treasury and Federal Housing Finance Agency seized control of the mortgage-finance companies almost 16 months ago amid fears the two were at risk of failing. The government- sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, own or guarantee about $5.5 trillion of the $11.7 trillion in U.S. residential mortgage debt.

  Officials set up the Treasury lifelines, which were expanded in May, to keep the companies solvent. If the two firms exhaust that backstop, regulators will be required to place them into receivership.

  Treasury officials weren’t likely to take the chance of allowing the companies to fall into receivership, which is a bankruptcy-like process that would increase the companies’ debt costs and disrupt the mortgage markets, Paul Miller, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets in Arlington, Virginia, said in an interview last week.

  GSE Losses

  Washington-based Fannie Mae has lost $120.5 billion over the past nine quarters and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac has recorded $67.9 billion in cumulative losses over the past nine quarters amid a three-year housing slump.

  The companies are an integral part of President Barack Obama’s housing-relief plan and have been pushed by the government to help more homeowners renegotiate their mortgages to stay out of foreclosure.

  As part of today’s announcements, made ahead of a Dec. 31 expiration of some of the Treasury’s authority, the department said it would delay setting certain fees connected with the assistance program until the end of next year. The Treasury also made technical changes that affect the definition of mortgage assets and other accounting issues.

  Tags: call options, fnm, fre, Freddie Lifeline for 3 Years, long, U.S. Ends Cap on Fannie

• 18Dec

  Credit card’s newest trick: 79.9 percent interest

  Financial transaction, Life settlement, banking, breaking market news, breaking news, breaking stock market news, breaking stock news, breaking wall street news, credit, debt, equity, leverage, liquidity, loan, money, savings, settlement, trend, usa economics No Comments

   

  Credit card’s newest trick: 79.9 percent interest
  First Premier card carries heavy interest rate

  It’s no mistake. This credit card’s interest rate is 79.9 percent.

  The bloated APR is how First Premier Bank, a subprime credit card issuer, is skirting new regulations intended to curb abusive practices in the industry. It’s a strategy other subprime card issuers could start adopting to get around the new rules.

  Typically, the First Premier card comes with a minimum of $256 in fees in the first year for a credit line of $250. Starting in February, however, a new law will cap such fees at 25 percent of a card’s credit line.

  In a recent mailing for a preapproved card, First Premier lowers fees to just that limit — $75 in the first year for a credit line of $300. But the new law doesn’t set a cap on interest rates. Hence the 79.9 APR, up from the previous 9.9 percent.

  “It’s the highest on the market. It’s the highest we’ve ever seen,” said Anuj Shahani, an analyst with Synovate, a research firm that tracks credit card mailings.

  The terms are eyebrow raising, but First Premier targets people with bad credit who likely can’t get approved for cards elsewhere. It’s a group that tends to lean heavily on credit too, meaning they’ll likely incur steep financing charges.

  So for a $300 balance, a cardholder would pay $20 a month in interest.

  First Premier said the 79.9 APR offer is a test and that it’s too early to tell whether it will be continued, according to an e-mailed statement. To comply with the new law, the bank said it will no longer offer the card that has $256 in first-year fees as of Feb. 21, 2010. However, customers will still be able to use their existing cards.

  According to First Premier’s Web site, the credit cards are issued by its sister organization Premier Bankcard. The company, based in Sioux Falls, S.D., says Premier Bankcard is the 10th largest issuer of MasterCard and Visa cards in the country, with more than 3.5 million customers.

  In a mailing sent to prospective customers in October with the revamped terms, First Premier writes “…you might have less-than-perfect credit and we’re OK with that.” The letter notes that an online application or phone call is still required, but guarantees a 60-second status confirmation.

  The letter also states there are no hidden fees that aren’t disclosed in the attached form. That’s where the 79.9 percent interest rate and $75 annual fee are listed. There’s also $29 penalty if you pay late or go over your credit limit. The credit limit is $300.

  The bank did not say how many people were offered the 79.9 APR card, but noted that it needed to “price our product based on the risk associated with this market.”

  Even if First Premier doesn’t stick with the 79.9 APR, it will likely hike rates considerably from the current 9.9 percent to offset the lower fees, said Shahani of Synovate.

  The revamped terms may not be the only changes; First Premier also appears to be moving away from the riskiest borrowers.

  The bank typically mails offers to subprime households, meaning those with credit scores below 700. In the third quarter, however, 84 percent of its offers were sent to subprime households, down from 91 percent the same period last year, according to Synovate.

  First Premier could be cleaning up its credit card portfolio since the new regulations will limit its ability to raise interest rates. That could mean First Premier won’t issue cards as liberally to those with bad credit.

  As harsh as First Premier’s terms seem, that could be a blow to those who rely on the card, said Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of CardHub.com.

  “Even when the cost of credit is astronomical, for people in true emergencies, it’s much better than not having access to credit,” said Papadimitriou.

  Until Feb. 21, First Premier is still offering its even-higher-fee card online. So the price for credit the bank charges is at least $256 in first-year fees.

  Tags: Credit card's newest trick: 79.9 percent interest

• 14Oct

  Internals point to a rally in Wednesdays US Equities

  Movers & Shakers, breaking stock market news, breaking stock news, breaking wall street news, daily stock picks, daily stock tips, free stock info, free stock picks, free stock tips, leverage, market analysis, market projections, short term investments, technical analysis, trading, trading ideas, trend, watchlists No Comments

  Stockshakers are long the market here.

  Long the /YM Dow futures
  Calls on:

  INTC
  GOOG
  JPM

  Stockshakers will aggressively manage trades between 9900 - 10000 levels for the DOW.

  If the DOW reaches 10000 this number could act like a magnet it has historically.

  Trade the trend and do not get caught on the wrong side of the trade.
  Keep your stops tight.

  Tags: call options, dow futures, goog, intc, JPM, kong the market, long, ym

• 11Oct

  Market projections for the U.S. Equities markets Monday 10/12/2009

  Financial transaction, daily stock picks, daily stock tips, daytrades, fed action, financial settlement, free stock info, free stock picks, free stock tips, global economy, hedge fund, leverage, liquidity, market analysis, savings, settlement, short term investments, structured settlements, technical analysis, trading, trading ideas, trend No Comments

   

  Sideways trading in this market.
  Internals point down, Futures started up at 6:00 EST Sunday 10/11/09
  The Dollar is still driving the equities rally, as the dollar drops the inverse reaction has been occurring in the equities market.

  Stockshakers actively trades the /ym Dow Futures, currently long with very tight stops. 9:00PM EST 10/11/09 Sunday.

   

  Dollar Reaches Breaking Point at Banks Shifting Record Reserves

  Central banks flush with record reserves are increasingly snubbing dollars in favor of euros and yen, further pressuring the greenback after its biggest two- quarter rout in almost two decades. Policy makers boosted foreign currency holdings by $413 billion last quarter, the most since at least 2003, to $7.3 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nations reporting currency breakdowns put 63 percent of the new cash into euros and yen in April, May and June, the latest Barclays Capital data show. That’s the highest percentage in any quarter with more than an $80 billion increase.

  World leaders are acting on threats to dump the dollar while the Obama administration shows a willingness to tolerate a weaker currency in an effort to boost exports and the economy as long as it doesn’t drive away the nation’s creditors. The diversification signals that the currency won’t rebound anytime soon after losing 10.3 percent on a trade-weighted basis the past six months, the biggest drop since 1991.

  “Global central banks are getting more serious about diversification, whereas in the past they used to just talk about it,” said Steven Englander, a former Federal Reserve researcher who is now the chief U.S. currency strategist at Barclays in New York. “It looks like they are really backing away from the dollar.”

  Sliding Share

  The dollar’s 37 percent share of new reserves fell from about a 63 percent average since 1999. Englander concluded in a report that the trend “accelerated” in the third quarter. He said in an interview that “for the next couple of months, the forces are still in place” for continued diversification.  America’s currency has been under siege as the Treasury sells a record amount of debt to finance a budget deficit that totaled $1.4 trillion in fiscal 2009 ended Sept. 30.

  Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s Dollar Index, which tracks the currency’s performance against the euro, yen, pound, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc and Swedish krona, fell to 75.77 last week, the lowest level since August 2008 and down from the high this year of 89.624 on March 4. The index, trading at 76.489 today, is within six points of its record low reached in March 2008.

  Foreign companies and officials are starting to say their economies are getting hurt because of the dollar’s weakness.

   

  Stockshakers are buying CLWR.
  If the stock fails 7.03 the position will be reversed.

  GOOG Calls - Android fuel?
  

  Tough choices for feds giving out broadband money

   

  The federal government will soon start handing out the first $4 billion from a pot of stimulus funds intended to spread high-speed Internet connections to more rural communities, poor neighborhoods and other pockets of the country clamoring for better access. The challenge is that the government has received $28 billion in requests.

  So the reviewers at the Commerce and Agriculture Departments who will award the broadband money must make hard choices. The 2,200 applications each envision something different _ more fiber-optic lines, for example, or computer labs or municipal wireless networks. But they all promise that their proposals will create jobs and bring new economic opportunities.

  What follows are snapshots of four projects representing a cross section of the broadband stimulus hopefuls. It’s too soon to know which plans will win federal grants or loans, either in this round of funding or in the next, as the total broadband stimulus expands to $7.2 billion. Those that do get picked may not get the full amount they are seeking.But perhaps one _ or more _ of these projects has a chance.

   

  For the Coeur d’Alene Indian tribe in the Idaho panhandle, the stimulus money could mean a lifeline to the outside world.The tribe is asking for $12.2 million for a ring of fiber-optic lines that could connect up to 3,500 homes on one side of its rural reservation, which is about half the size of Rhode Island.

  Right now, the tribe’s landline broadband options are limited. The local cable company has pulled out of the market. And the phone company, Verizon Communications Inc., offers digital subscriber line (DSL) service to just a small slice of the the reservation.

  Although the tribe launched its own wireless network in 2005 with the help of Agriculture Department funding, that network reaches less than half the reservation and slows to a crawl whenever too many people get online at once.

  Valerie Fast Horse, the tribe’s information technology director, says stimulus money would let the Coeur d’Alene Indians build a network that is “more stable and more reliable” and could deliver faster connections at lower prices.The tribe’s wireless network currently offers top speeds of 1.5 megabits per second, comparable to standard DSL service available elsewhere. But it charges users about $100 a month, about four times the standard price. The proposed fiber network would deliver a 20-megabit connection _ faster than what most cable subscribers get _ for $100 a month. Or tribe members would be able to get a 1.5-megabit connection for $25 a month.

  Fast Horse envisions all sorts of uses for the fiber lines, including distance learning. Tribe members already use video conferencing to participate in classes at North Idaho College, about 35 miles away, when the roads are too icy to drive. But

  that requires them to travel to the tribe’s education center, which has a landline connection to the Internet. A fiber-to-the-home network would let tribal members take classes without leaving their kitchens, she says.It would also enable Coeur d’Alene members to consult with medical specialists around the country. And it would help the tribe preserve its language and culture, by allowing more members to access the tribe’s video-sharing Web site, Rezcast. Among other things, the site features clips of powwows and online tutorials with tribal elders speaking their native language.

   

  Clearwire Corp., a company pioneering the use of a next-generation wireless technology known as WiMax, is upfront about the fact that some markets don’t make sense for telecom providers that need to show a profit.So Clearwire is asking for $19.4 million to build a high-speed wireless network in a handful of poor Detroit neighborhoods that it otherwise might not serve anytime soon.

  Although those neighborhoods have more than 800,000 people, high unemployment and poverty levels make for a tough business case. But federal dollars would change the equation, says John Bunce, president of the Clearwire unit applying for stimulus funding.

  And with that seed money as a starting point, the company pledges to spend its own capital to expand the wireless network across metropolitan Detroit, including more lucrative suburban markets.

  The company offers a range of wireless plans, including a $45-a-month package that delivers speeds averaging 3 megabits to 6 megabits per second. On the low end, the company offers a basic 1-megabit connection for $25 a month.

  In Detroit, Clearwire says, it would also provide free and discounted accounts for poor residents through nonprofit partners.

   

   

  In Appalachia, a nonprofit Internet provider called the Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN) wants help expanding a service started back in the dial-up Internet days so that people in the mountains of North Carolina wouldn’t have to make a long-distance phone call to get online.

  MAIN is asking for $2.5 million to extend its wireless network in Asheville, N.C., and several remote mountain communities. A sister non-profit is asking for $38.8 million to install fiber lines that would connect that network to the Internet.Launched in 1996, MAIN today has about 1,200 dial-up subscribers, 400 wireless subscribers and several hundred additional customers who pay to access a Wi-Fi connection for a few hours or a few days at a time. Stimulus money would enable the non-profit to spread its wireless “cloud” to 11,000 additional homes in Asheville public housing projects and surrounding low-income neighborhoods.

  Wally Bowen, MAIN’s executive director, says the service would bring inexpensive mobile Internet connections _ with speeds of 3 megabits per second for $30 a month _ to a transient, low-income community that includes struggling artists and young entrepreneurs. Many of those people, he says, cannot sign up for the typical one-year or two-year contracts required to get the cheapest Internet rates from the big phone companies.

  MAIN would also use federal funding to bring wireless connections to 1,700 homes in Graham County, an isolated, rural district that has no four-lane highway. Although the library and community college in Graham County’s only town,

  Robbinsville, do provide high-speed Internet access, budget cuts have restricted the number of hours that those computer centers are open.

  In addition, MAIN would use stimulus money to extend its wireless service to Mount Mitchell State Park, home to the highest point east of the Mississippi. That would allow campers, park rangers and visiting scientists studying acid rain and biodiversity to get real-time updates on weather and trail conditions.

   
  Philadelphia is making its second run at a big municipal broadband project.

  The city is asking for $21.8 million to connect police precincts, fire stations, libraries, housing projects, recreation centers and community organizations across three inner-city neighborhoods.

  Allan Frank, Philadelphia’s chief technology officer, envisions doing this with a combination of fiber lines and a wireless network. That would bring high-speed links to city buildings to handle municipal affairs _ while also enabling garbage

  collectors, emergency responders, fire inspectors and other city workers to stay connected using handheld devices in the field.Philadelphia also has two other stimulus proposals: The city’s public housing authority would like $2.4 million to place computer labs in housing projects. And the city’s library system, working closely with community groups, is asking for $15 million to set up Internet training programs, supply laptops and install Internet connections to get low-income residents online.

  Five years ago, Philadelphia partnered with EarthLink Inc. to blanket the city with wireless access, in hopes of providing cheap connections for poor neighborhoods. But that effort ended in failure: EarthLink concluded the venture had no business model and pulled out. Now the city hopes to buy the network assets that EarthLink left behind.Frank says the stimulus money is an opportunity to “restart the conversation about what our technology future should look like.” By retaining control over the project and focusing on broadband adoption as well as access, he added, the city would avoid the mistakes it made last time.”This is a game reset for us,” he says.

   
  Android to overtake iPhone in 2012 says analyst
  Symbian still on top, but BlackBerry down

   

  Google’s Android will have more than quadrupled its market share by the end of 2012, market watcher Gartner has claimed. But Symbian looks set to remain the dominant smartphone OS for several years to come.Android’s market share stood at a paltry 1.6 per cent during Q1 2009, but will grow to 14.5 per cent by the time Q4 2012 rolls around, Gartner forecast, based on an estimated 522m smartphones shipping worldwide during the period.As a result, Android will move from its current position as the sixth most popular operating system for smartphones to become the second most popular, Gartner said.

  The main reason for Android’s market share growth will, Gartner VP Ken Dulaney told website AppleInsider, be because “unlike Apple, they [Google] license their OS to multiple OEMs”.Dulaney said many handset makers are betting their futures on Android, while Apple is just one company.Speaking of Apple, its share of the smartphone OS market will also grow - but only from 10.8 per cent to 13.7 per cent, Gartner said.

  Symbian will remain the most popular OS. However, its market share will drop from 49.3 per cent during Q1 2009 to 39 per cent by Q4 2012.Research in Motion’s BlackBerry OS is currently the second most popular handset OS, Gartner said, with a Q1 2009 market share of 19.9 per cent. But it will slip to fifth place by Q4 2012 with market share of just 12.5 per cent.Windows Mobile’s share will grow from 10.3 per cent to 12.8 per cent during the same quarters, Gartner added, which will see it remain as the fourth most popular phone-based OS.

   

  Total Campaign Contributions/Lobbying by TARP Recipients

  Return on Investment
  Total campaign contributions and lobbying by TARP recipients*

  >
  

  Company	Campaign Contributions, 07-08 Cycle	Lobbying Expenditures, 2008	TARP Payment	Return on Investment
  Bank of America Corp**	$5,752,630	$8,790,000	$45,000,000,000	309335%
  Citigroup Inc.	$4,799,678	$7,660,000	$50,000,000,000	401194%
  AIG	$929,774	$9,690,000	$40,000,000,000	376556%
  JPMorgan Chase & Co.	$4,778,638	$5,390,000	$25,000,000,000	245754%
  Wells Fargo & Company	$1,553,471	$1,200,740	$25,000,000,000	907601%
  General Motors Corporation	$916,142	$14,071,000	$10,400,000,000	69293%
  The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.	$5,690,351	$3,280,000	$10,000,000,000	111378%
  Morgan Stanley	$3,689,027	$3,120,000	$10,000,000,000	146764%
  The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.	$68,525	$0	$7,579,200,000	11060389%
  U.S. Bancorp	$496,461	$570,000	$6,599,000,000	618676%
  Chrysler Holding LLC and Cerberus Capital Management	$1,075,350	$7,927,782	$5,500,000,000	60990%
  GMAC LLC	$72,207	$4,620,000	$5,000,000,000	106460%
  SunTrust Banks, Inc.	$175,903	$0	$4,850,000,000	2757101%
  Capital One Financial Corporation	$700,161	$1,132,000	$3,555,199,000	193944%
  Regions Financial Corp.	$161,775	$180,000	$3,500,000,000	1023966%
  Fifth Third Bancorp	$149,550	$80,000	$3,408,000,000	1484544%
  American Express Company	$1,028,038	$3,790,000	$3,389,000,000	70240%
  BB&T Corp.	$262,737	$0	$3,133,640,000	1192591%
  Bank of New York Mellon Corporation	$886,701	$558,402	$3,000,000,000	207498%
  KeyCorp	$159,280	$210,000	$2,500,000,000	676893%
  CIT Group Inc.	$23,200	$90,000	$2,330,000,000	2058204%
  Comerica Inc.	$210,538	$0	$2,250,000,000	1068591%
  State Street Corporation	$152,627	$980,000	$2,000,000,000	176481%
  Marshall & Ilsley Corporation	$57,400	$0	$1,715,000,000	2987705%
  Northern Trust Corporation	$240,892	$0	$1,576,000,000	654135%
  Zions Bancorporation	$117,159	$60,000	$1,400,000,000	790151%
  Huntington Bancshares	$188,700	$232,971	$1,398,071,000	331455%
  Synovus Financial Corp.	$10,150	$0	$967,870,000	9535565%
  Popular, Inc.	$12,700	$390,000	$935,000,000	232083%
  First Horizon National Corporation	$30,050	$0	$866,540,000	2883561%
  M&T Bank Corporation	$3,500	$10,000	$600,000,000	4444344%
  City National Corporation	$262,965	$0	$400,000,000	152011%
  Webster Financial Corporation	$14,850	$0	$400,000,000	2693503%
  First Bancorp	$4,900	$0	$400,000,000	8163165%
  Fulton Financial Corporation	$5,700	$0	$376,500,000	6605163%
  TCF Financial Corporation	$103,300	$0	$361,172,000	349534%
  South Financial Group, Inc.	$29,100	$0	$347,000,000	1192340%
  Wilmington Trust Corporation	$59,850	$0	$330,000,000	551278%
  East West Bancorp	$4,800	$0	$306,546,000	6386275%
  Sterling Financial Corporation	$5,750	$0	$303,000,000	5269465%
  Whitney Holding Corporation	$27,950	$0	$300,000,000	1073245%
  Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc	$6,850	$0	$300,000,000	4379462%
  Valley National Bancorp	$950	$0	$300,000,000	31578847%
  UCBH Holdings, Inc.	$42,750	$0	$298,737,000	698700%
  New York Private Bank & Trust Corporation	$6,350	$0	$267,000,000	4204624%
  Cathay General Bancorp	$2,500	$0	$258,000,000	10319900%
  Wintrust Financial Corporation	$4,401	$0	$250,000,000	5680427%
  SVB Financial Group	$18,300	$0	$235,000,000	1284053%
  International Bancshares Corporation	$116,100	$0	$216,000,000	185947%
  Trustmark Corporation	$6,500	$0	$215,000,000	3307592%
  Umpqua Holdings Corp.	$650	$0	$214,181,000	32950823%
  MB Financial Inc.	$15,150	$0	$196,000,000	1293629%
  First Midwest Bancorp, Inc.	$1,750	$0	$193,000,000	11028471%
  Pacific Capital Bancorp	$500	$480,000	$180,634,000	37493%
  United Community Banks, Inc.	$12,250	$0	$180,000,000	1469288%
  Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc.	$6,400	$0	$154,000,000	2406150%
  Independent Bank Corp.	$2,250	$0	$150,000,000	6666567%
  National Penn Bancshares, Inc.	$1,500	$0	$150,000,000	9999900%
  Dickinson Financial Corporation	$94,050	$0	$146,000,000	155137%
  Central Pacific Financial Corp.	$19,750	$0	$135,000,000	683444%
  Sterling Bancshares, Inc.	$9,150	$0	$125,198,000	1368184%
  FirstMerit Corp.	$4,500	$0	$125,000,000	2777678%
  Banner Corporation	$6,140	$0	$124,000,000	2019444%
  Signature Bank	$7,875	$0	$120,000,000	1523710%
  1st Source Corporation	$450	$0	$111,000,000	24666567%
  S&T Bancorp	$3,200	$0	$109,000,000	3406150%
  Park National Corporation	$10,500	$0	$100,000,000	952281%
  Old National Bancorp	$8,250	$0	$100,000,000	1212021%
  F.N.B. Corporation	$1,000	$0	$100,000,000	9999900%
  Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc.	$29,850	$0	$95,000,000	318158%
  Iberiabank Corporation	$2,000	$0	$90,000,000	4499900%
  Plains Capital Corporation	$59,650	$0	$87,631,000	146809%
  Midwest Banc Holdings, Inc.	$2,800	$0	$84,784,000	3027900%
  Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc.	$250	$0	$83,094,000	33237500%
  Columbia Banking System, Inc.	$2,500	$0	$76,898,000	3075820%
  TowneBank	$4,750	$0	$76,458,000	1609542%
  Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc.	$18,150	$0	$75,000,000	413123%
  Bank of the Ozarks, Inc.	$11,150	$0	$75,000,000	672546%
  Wesbanco Bank Inc.	$208	$0	$75,000,000	36057592%
  Green Bankshares, Inc.	$1,200	$0	$72,278,000	6023067%
  Virginia Commerce Bancorp	$8,850	$0	$71,000,000	802160%
  Southwest Bancorp, Inc.	$50,650	$0	$70,000,000	138103%
  Flushing Financial Corporation	$2,300	$0	$70,000,000	3043378%
  Superior Bancorp Inc.	$250	$0	$69,000,000	27599900%
  Nara Bancorp, Inc.	$2,000	$0	$67,000,000	3349900%
  First Bancorp	$2,650	$0	$65,000,000	2452730%
  SCBT Financial Corporation	$250	$0	$65,000,000	25999900%
  CoBiz Financial Inc.	$1,000	$0	$64,450,000	6444900%
  Union Bankshares Corporation	$1,000	$0	$59,000,000	5899900%
  Liberty Bancshares, Inc.	$20,900	$0	$58,000,000	277412%
  Great Southern Bancorp	$2,500	$0	$58,000,000	2319900%
  WSFS Financial Corporation	$21,550	$0	$53,000,000	245840%
  Ameris Bancorp	$1,000	$0	$52,000,000	5199900%
  State Bankshares, Inc.	$4,800	$0	$50,000,000	1041567%
  Home Bancshares, Inc.	$1,500	$0	$50,000,000	3333233%
  Fidelity Southern Corporation	$300	$0	$48,200,000	16066567%
  MetroCorp Bancshares, Inc.	$1,500	$0	$45,000,000	2999900%
  Cadence Financial Corporation	$8,250	$0	$44,000,000	533233%
  Exchange Bank	$2,750	$0	$43,000,000	1563536%
  Sterling Bancorp	$1,300	$0	$42,000,000	3230669%
  Eagle Bancorp, Inc.	$801	$0	$38,235,000	4773308%
  Bridgeview Bancorp, Inc.	$6,600	$0	$38,000,000	575658%
  OceanFirst Financial Corp.	$3,300	$0	$38,000,000	1151415%
  First Defiance Financial Corp.	$2,000	$0	$37,000,000	1849900%
  State Bancorp, Inc.	$6,850	$0	$36,842,000	537739%
  Fidelity Financial Corporation	$1,657,052	$2,190,000	$36,282,000	843%
  Yadkin Valley Financial Corporation	$1,250	$0	$36,000,000	2879900%
  West Bancorporation, Inc.	$250	$0	$36,000,000	14399900%
  Porter Bancorp	$5,000	$0	$35,000,000	699900%
  Encore Bancshares Inc.	$4,300	$0	$34,000,000	790598%
  First Security Group, Inc.	$3,350	$0	$33,000,000	984975%
  Centrue Financial Corporation	$1,000	$0	$33,000,000	3299900%
  Pulaski Financial Corp	$1,000	$0	$33,000,000	3299900%
  Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation	$2,300	$0	$28,685,000	1247074%
  Centerstate Banks of Florida Inc.	$500	$0	$27,875,000	5574900%
  Citizens & Northern Corporation	$700	$0	$26,000,000	3714186%
  Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc.	$2,125	$0	$25,054,000	1178912%
  Shore Bancshares, Inc.	$3,800	$0	$25,000,000	657795%
  Horizon Bancorp	$2,600	$0	$25,000,000	961438%
  Intervest Bancshares Corporation	$2,300	$0	$25,000,000	1086857%
  HF Financial Corp.	$250	$0	$25,000,000	9999900%
  Heritage Financial Corporation	$1,250	$0	$24,000,000	1919900%
  Wainwright Bank & Trust Company	$15,250	$0	$22,000,000	144162%
  Citizens South Banking Corporation	$750	$0	$20,500,000	2733233%
  First Financial Service Corporation	$7,325	$0	$20,000,000	272938%
  BNCCORP, Inc.	$5,050	$0	$20,000,000	395940%
  C&F Financial Corporation	$250	$0	$20,000,000	7999900%
  Carver Bancorp, Inc	$5,300	$0	$19,000,000	358391%
  Bar Harbor Bankshares/Bar Harbor Bank & Trust	$500	$0	$19,000,000	3799900%
  Security Federal Corporation	$1,250	$0	$18,000,000	1439900%
  ECB Bancorp, Inc./East Carolina Bank	$1,000	$0	$18,000,000	1799900%
  Timberland Bancorp, Inc.	$430	$0	$16,641,000	3869900%
  Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc.	$1,250	$0	$16,000,000	1279900%
  BankFirst Capital Corporation	$500	$0	$16,000,000	3199900%
  Monarch Financial Holdings, Inc.	$1,997	$0	$14,700,000	736004%
  Magna Bank	$2,250	$0	$13,795,000	613011%
  Morrill Bancshares, Inc.	$3,100	$0	$13,000,000	419255%
  LCNB Corp.	$1,000	$0	$13,000,000	1299900%
  OneUnited Bank	$3,550	$0	$12,063,000	339703%
  First Manitowoc Bancorp, Inc.	$2,500	$0	$12,000,000	479900%
  1st Constitution Bancorp	$2,000	$0	$12,000,000	599900%
  Pacific Coast Bankers’ Bancshares	$250	$0	$11,600,000	4639900%
  Mid Penn Bancorp, Inc.	$1,800	$0	$10,000,000	555456%
  Uwharrie Capital Corp	$1,500	$0	$10,000,000	666567%
  Midland States Bancorp	$500	$0	$10,000,000	1999900%
  New Hampshire Thrift Bancshares, Inc.	$500	$0	$10,000,000	1999900%
  Citizens First Corporation	$74,700	$0	$8,779,000	11652%
  Syringa Bancorp	$750	$0	$8,000,000	1066567%
  First Sound Bank	$2,716	$0	$7,400,000	272359%
  Western Community Bancshares, Inc.	$5,600	$0	$7,290,000	130079%
  Fidelity Bancorp, Inc.	$5,100	$0	$7,000,000	137155%
  Somerset Hills Bancorp	$2,000	$0	$7,000,000	349900%
  American State Bancshares, Inc.	$5,350	$0	$6,000,000	112050%
  Patapsco Bancorp, Inc.	$1,050	$0	$6,000,000	571329%
  Seaside National Bank & Trust	$400	$0	$6,000,000	1499900%
  Northeast Bancorp	$1,000	$0	$4,227,000	422600%
  Pacific Commerce Bank	$1,500	$0	$4,060,000	270567%
  Capital Pacific Bancorp	$1,750	$0	$4,000,000	228471%
  Bank of Commerce	$15,950	$0	$3,000,000	18709%
  FPB Financial Corp.	$500	$0	$3,000,000	599900%
  Treaty Oak Bancorp, Inc.	$250	$0	$3,000,000	1199900%
  Grand Total	$37,477,300	$76,702,895	$305,212,309,000	267208%

  *TARP recipient list accessed at Treasury.gov on Feb. 2, 2009. List includes only recipients that spent money on lobbying or were associated with campaign contributions. Campaign contributions include money from PACs and individuals but do not include post-election fundraising.

  **Includes data for Merrill Lynch, which was acquired by Bank of America

  Tags: daytrading, dow futures, investing, Market is open on Columbus day, market outlook, option plays, option trades, short term trades, trade ideas, trading ideas

• 30Sep

  Stockshakers are short this market

  Financial transaction, Movers & Shakers, daily stock picks, daily stock tips, daytrades, etf, financial settlement, free stock info, free stock picks, free stock tips, leverage, market analysis, short term investments, technical analysis, trading, trading ideas, trend, usa economics No Comments

  Open short positions on the /YM and puts on the indexes and ETFs of the indexes. (Opened Short over Monday and Tuesdays trading sessions)

  There will be a reversal early in the session Wednesday. We may not see much of a bounce early so watch the futures on the US Dollar for turn indicators.

  Long trade on RIMM from the low Monday to the High Tuesday netted solid returns, The call options and the equity enhanced the return value.

  Look for the US Dollar to signal the turns in the US Equities markets.

  The dollar is due for a bounce which will triger selling in the US Equities markets along with fears of the a bleak October for the markets. The Heads of the institutional trading firms will be preparing today with some window dressing.

   

  Don’t get caught on the wrong side of the trade.

  Tags: reversal, short the market

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