Apr 2, 2010

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Daily Markets - Financial News And Opinions

Why Is Obama Suddenly Interested In Oil?

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 05:21 PM PDT

U.S. President Barack Obama generated a lot of hubbub with his decision to open up parts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico to oil drilling.

We’ve all heard the criticisms that some of the geological surveys are as much as 30 years old, and the arguments that the ecological impact of drilling off the U.S. East Coast isn’t worth the accessible oil, which some critics estimate could play out in as little as six months at current demand levels.

But even after more than a day of debate … [visit site to read more]


Referral Shout Out

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 05:01 PM PDT

As with many other sites, the visitor traffic I get often results from the efforts of others. With that in mind, I just wanted to give a shout out to the following sites, which were the biggest sources of referrals to Financial Armageddon during the first quarter of 2010:

The Daily Crux
Naked Capitalism
Rense.com
Calculated Risk
DollarCollapse.com
SurvivalBlog.com
FT Alphaville
Jesse’s Café Américain
Some Assembly Required
The Coming Economic Depression
When Giants Fall
The … [visit site to read more]

The Final 4 Of Indianapolis Stocks

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 03:54 PM PDT

Once a year, the final weekend of March Madness (which almost always occurs in April) generates a pilgrimage of college basketball fans to a different designated location. This year, fans, students and alumni from Duke, West Virginia, Michigan State and Butler are already beginning to descend on Indianapolis, IN for this year’s Final Four.
 
Indianapolis, better known for its annual Indy 500 race over Memorial Day weekend, will host the NCAA men’s basketball championship for the 6th time … [visit site to read more]

Harvard University, Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center For Ethics

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 03:37 PM PDT

Harvard University, Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics:
"Everyday Corruption: How Intensifying Market Competition Leads to Abuses of Public Trust, and What Should Be … [visit site to read more]

The Silver Boom Is Coming!

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 03:00 PM PDT

Many people know me as just a guy referred to by the news media as "local hothead" or sometimes "extremist loudmouth doom-and-gloomer" or (my favorite) "looney toon" but to most people I am known as just a guy who never shuts up about the horrors of inflation in prices that is going to be caused by the inflation in the money supply by the Federal Reserve.
Oh, I had tried other identities in trying to "find myself", of course, but "love god" never really worked out for me, … [visit site to read more]

Ten Of The Worst Performing ETFs Of The First Quarter

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 02:03 PM PDT

Although equity markets generally headed higher in the first quarter of 2010, there were a few funds that were not so lucky and became the early leaders in the Laggard of The Year race. The S&P 500 finished the quarter up close to 6%, but European markets stumbled in the wake of an on-and-off crisis in Greece. Moreover, cuts by cash-strapped governments to certain subsidies weighed on alternative energy industries. Below, we offer a list of equity funds that turned in less-than-stellar … [visit site to read more]

More Breakdown Of BLS Numbers

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 01:32 PM PDT

EDITOR’S NOTE: We conclude our in-depth analysis of today’s employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) with Part 2.

Participating More Fully

So why is the unemployment rate steady at 9.7% if we are actually adding jobs? In part because the numbers are derived from two different surveys. The unemployment rate numbers come from a survey of individual households, while for the employment numbers, they ask the employer.

The job growth shown by the household survey is … [visit site to read more]

The Funny Side Of The Downside

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 01:24 PM PDT

Although are lots of downsides to an economic downturn, especially one as deep and as prolonged as the current one is, it tends to bring out the creative best in a great many people. And sometimes, as “The Recession’s 10 Most Outrageous Jobs Stories,” from CNBC’s The Pony Blog, reveals, those efforts can also bring a smile to your face. Here are three examples:

Wanted: Fake Employee

When you think of odd jobs, you think of mowing lawns and cleaning houses.
But OddJobNation.com, a site … [visit site to read more]

Employment Report In-Depth

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 01:20 PM PDT

EDITOR’S NOTE: We are breaking up this analysis of today’s BLS report into 2 parts. This is Part 1.

In March, the overall official unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, even as the economy added 162,000 jobs, including 123,000 in the private sector.

While the headline number fell short of consensus expectations of a gain of around 200,000 jobs added, the shortfall was all in much-lower-than-expected government hiring for the Census. There were only 48,000 people hired to knock on the doors … [visit site to read more]

Recovery Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 01:17 PM PDT

The notable disparity between headlines, hard data and harsh realities
Check out this study in modern media, from Tuesday morning:
Bloomberg: Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Rose 0.3% in JanuaryHome prices in 20 U.S. cities unexpectedly rose in January, indicating the housing market is stabilizing as the economy expands. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index climbed 0.3% from the prior month…
MarketWatch: U.S. Jan. Case-Shiller Home Prices Fall 0.4%Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fell a … [visit site to read more]

On World “Improvers”

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 01:10 PM PDT

Professor James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia concept, says trying to save the planet is 'a lot of nonsense.'
Lovelock, 90, was the first to describe the earth as a single organism. Now, he notices that the earth sciences profession has sold out – just like economists before them:
"Scientist have moved from investigating nature as a vocation to being caught up in a career path where it makes sense to 'fudge the data.'
He's talking about Al Gore's scientists…and all the … [visit site to read more]

The Paper Entrepreneurs Are Winning Over The Product Entrepreneurs (A Thirty Year Retrospective)

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 12:36 PM PDT

The paper entrepreneurs are winning out over the product entrepreneurs.
Paper entrepreneurs — trained in law, finance, accountancy — manipulate complex systems of rules and numbers. They innovate by using the systems in novel ways: establishing joint ventures, consortiums, holding companies, mutual funds; finding companies to acquire, "white knights" to be acquired by, commodity futures to invest in, tax shelters to hide in; engaging in proxy fights, tender offers, antitrust suits, … [visit site to read more]

SEC Oversight Of Lehman, Or Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 12:21 PM PDT

Ignorance is never an excuse. Whether in regard to law enforcement, financial regulation, or other forms of supervisory oversight, ignorance may be the reality . . . but we can never allow it to be used as an excuse. Regrettably, ignorance (if not worse) was clearly on rampant display as the SEC (and in my opinion, FINRA as well) failed America miserably in its oversight of Lehman Brothers.

One of my favorite financial journalists, Bloomberg’s Jonathan Weil, highlights the pathetic … [visit site to read more]

Down To The Sea Again…

Posted: 02 Apr 2010 12:06 PM PDT

Every line in the financial world has a hook on it. And at the end, sooner or later, is a banker with the wit of a tuna.
Back in the early '00s, the Fed cast out a line, urging member bankers to lend more money. Dallas Fed chief Robert McTeer had bad advice for consumers too: "Buy a Hummer," he said, before the price of oil went over $100. A few years later, Alan Greenspan caught the entire financial sector in a net. Financial derivatives, he said, helped spread the risk and helped make … [visit site to read more]
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