The "up-to-the-minute Market Data" thread

There's No Pill for This Kind of Depression
online.wsj.com...
Six months after the collapse, a "pandemic of fear."

It is six months since Lehman fell and the crash (or the great recession, or the collapse—it's time it got its name) began. An aspect of the story given less attention than it is due, perhaps because it doesn't lend itself to statistics, is the psychic woe beneath the economic blow. There are two parts to this. One is that we have arrived at the first fatigue. The heart-pumping drama of last September is gone, replaced by the drip-drip-drip of pink slips, foreclosures and closed stores. We are tired. It doesn't feel like 1929, but 1930. People are in a kind of suspended alarm, waiting for the future to unspool and not expecting it to unspool happily.

Two, the economy isn't the only reason for our unease. There's more to it. People sense something slipping away, a world receding, not only an economic one but a world of old structures, old ways and assumptions. People don't talk about this much because it's too big, but I suspect more than a few see themselves, deep down, as "the designated mourner," from the title of the Wallace Shawn play.

:snip:

Gun sales continue up. The FBI's criminal background check system showed a 23% increase in February over the previous year, a 29% increase in January, a 24% increase in December and a 42% increase in November, when a record 1.5 million background checks were performed. Yes, people fear Obama will take away the guns he thinks they cling to, but a likely equal contributor to what The Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch called a "gun-buying binge" is captured in the slogan on one firearms maker's Web site: "Smith & Wesson stands for protection." People are scared.

They are taking cash out of the bank in preparation for a long-haul bad time. A friend in Florida told me the local bank was out of hundred-dollar bills on Wednesday because a man had come in the day before and withdrawn $90,000. Five weeks ago, when I asked a Wall Street titan what one should do to be safe in the future, he took me aback with the concreteness of his advice, and its bottom-line nature. Everyone should try to own a house, he said, no matter how big or small, but it has to have some land, on which you should learn how to grow things. He also recommended gold coins, such as American Eagles. I went to the U.S. Mint website the next day, but there was a six-week wait due to high demand. (I just went on the Web site again: Production of gold Eagle coins "has been temporarily suspended because of unprecedented demand" for bullion.)

Glad (if you can say that) to see others aren't completely blind to what's going on out here...


[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


Well hunny alot of that fear is well founded I believe. Last night we had a group of at least 3 teen aged gang bangers try and break in when my hub left for his poker game. Luckily he had brought me a 357 super mag from my bro in law due to robberies in the area. Needless to say I stuck it in their faces told em to pull down the bandanna's then told them I knew them and if i ever saw them again I wouldn't think twice! then I told them to walk off and pretend we never met.
Now I am sitting here letting the tranq wear off while downing coffee like a truck driver because my hub left for work at 5am (an hour late I was freaking out I can admit it) and praying the sun comes up soon!
Later this afternoon I am going to the man who gave me direction in life and begging him to move me and the kids the hell out of city limits.
I think that that market tech was right on the money! As far as the gold I am still on the fence; if it gets so bad for the gov they will just take it anyway. I would rather have barter items and ways to produce clean food, water and clothes for my kids and others.
I really do hope all the confidence building will somehow turn this around, but after last night I seriously think we have hit a one way road.

reply to post by xoxo stacie
Sorry to hear that...I'm glad you were packin' heat!!!

It sounds like it's time to move on...I wouldn't want my children or grand children to have to live in fear like that.

I hear wyoming has a low unemployment rate...kind of sparse area though...hope you get out before it comes to you or them...

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Gold $932.30
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Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,172.45 9:51am ET 2.39 (0.03%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 750.58 9:52am ET -0.16 (-0.02%)

BTW: Yer signature is uplifting...considering the story you just told...

[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


Are you using the bloomberg quotes? My yahoo is way different than that... yeah I like the saying makes sense

P.S Does it worry you that they have been saying all week that the rise is on Citi? I mean what if they lied? Then what?

[edit on 13-3-2009 by xoxo stacie]

Originally posted by Hx3_1963
reply to post by marg6043

 

Between that buying and the memo, I think someone should be looking into to this pronto!!!

Major big time scam!!!

I can't believe not one word mentioned about it yet...well...except us...

Yes it seems that they are looking into the four members that did the buying, also one of them will be resigning in April.

Still the media didn't caught with it until yesterday.

I thought that Martha Steward went to jail for that same thing. Right?

[edit on 13-3-2009 by marg6043]

reply to post by marg6043


If I remember correctly she went in for a sale (her stock) that was done on insider information and she made a big chunk of change on it.

reply to post by xoxo stacie
That last quote was cnn money...I usually use the yahoo, but, had that tab opened sooo...

Citi didn't technically lie...just omitted that fact they hadn't counted the out side of their balance sheet...make no mistake they're making money, but, not saying how much they have to pay out...

Plus the fact they owe us 10's of Billions still, sooo...

If you saw that article back on the last page...explains it very well...


[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by xoxo stacie


Oh, my dear I am glad you handle the situation very well, my husband keeps his gun next to the bed and I have it all day long as he can not carry it into the base where he works.

I will have not problem using it if a warning is not taken.

I thank our good fortune that our neighborhood is nice and quiet and we have a sheriff living down the street.

Plus we are on the outside of the city but the city limits is catching up with us our once peaceful pecan surroundings are not been sold for development and so far just across from us we are having a high scale village with two banks and professional buildings and we just found out that just in our own neighborhood they are to build a grocerie chain that while I love their products and they are not cheap it will bring too much traffic and with it crime.

We are already planning to move if things get to crowded and our peaceful surroundings start turning into violence.

For some reason they are trying to raise the value of our homes with all this development.

is two housing areas ours and the one next to us that are already complaining to the city about all this development in the planning.

Bad news.

reply to post by XTC_savedmyLife


A lot of the post have very good links with quality information that people can very much look into.

Is not that people are not smart but that many members including me are learning from what is going on in this volatile markets in an economy that no only is in recession but bordering in Depression.

The markets are not the sole indicator of the economic health of the nation, other factors have to be taken into consideration like unemployment, GDP (even when I don't trust the manipulation of the government) foreclosures and the nation losing productivity with outsourcing.

No only links to information from quality sources are posted but we like to post our own opinions on how we see the situation developing.

Is up to those that come into the thread to make their own conclusion with the information they get.

reply to post by XTC_savedmyLife

I would LOVE to think that we are at bottom, but the inflation-adjusted data clearly shows that the credit bubble hasn't fully deflated. Until the market is fully corrected, I'll remain sceptical of all bottom-callers.

reply to post by marg6043
Star 4 U!

Wasn't that nice of him to pop in and call us out...

I gave him a Star anyways...just for having the kahunahs to do it...


Hope he has lots of land with rice & cabbage on it...he might make some money riding the wave he's talkin' about, but, in the end, ya can't eat money...(well ya could, if ya took out that pesky plastic strip, but, that's another thread LoL)

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Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,167.67 10:31am ET -2.39 (-0.03%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 750.21 10:31am ET -0.53 (-0.07%)

[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

reply to post by Hx3_1963


He reminds me a while back before the July 2007 bubble crash that while many here were predicting the upcoming economic problems the so call hopefuls were calling it a hoax we came to the conclusion that while the older analyst were sending warnings the younger analyst were counteracting the older while mocking them.

Guess what I take the advised of an older analyst that a new one anytime.

NO offense to any young analyst in the forum is just personal choice. After all they were all right as we see now.

reply to post by marg6043


I have a house full of 3 young cops/fire rescue (they have others sleep over, when on swing shifts) living two doors down! Hub went and got them to do a search but no punks. There is also another local cop up at the end of the street about 35 seconds on foot. It doesn't seem to matter to these people anymore I guess. Seems that perhaps with the few stories of food lines and shootings and crime increase that we will be hearing more soon here where I live

Back on topic . Seems that the market increase is holding so far...

I'm not liking some of the %'s on financials & Insurances today...

Coming in to high for my liking....

Gonna have to scan around...see if there's anything to this or just blind optimism...

Life insurers may need to raise capital, FBR says
Sector may find it tough to earn its way out of trouble as credit losses mount
www.marketwatch.com...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Life and health insurers, including MetLife Inc. and Conseco Inc., may need to raise capital because they will find it more difficult to earn their way out of trouble amid mounting credit losses and slumping equity markets, analysts at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey said Tuesday.

FBR's Randy Binner and Kevin Barker downgraded MetLife to market perform from outperform, saying these insurers may be particularly vulnerable to such issues.
MetLife shares jumped 15% to $14.83, buoyed by a broad surge among financial-services shares after several days of losses. Conseco slumped 23% to 29 cents.

"Recent spread-widening and economic deterioration significantly impacted our analysis, which implies that most life and health insurers are at risk of needing to raise capital as their prospects for earning their way out of the credit losses are diminishing, especially for stock-market-sensitive names," the analysts wrote in a note to investors.

A gloomy forecast of future credit losses suffered by life and health insurers, which includes losses that have yet to be realized, suggests there's a "significant" need for capital across the industry, they said.

[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Originally posted by xoxo stacie
reply to post by Hx3_1963

 

Well hunny alot of that fear is well founded I believe. Last night we had a group of at least 3 teen aged gang bangers try and break in when my hub left for his poker game. Luckily he had brought me a 357 super mag from my bro in law due to robberies in the area. Needless to say I stuck it in their faces told em to pull down the bandanna's then told them I knew them and if i ever saw them again I wouldn't think twice! then I told them to walk off and pretend we never met.

Holy cow, stacie! That was pretty gangster in and of itself. After you said that you stuck the gun in their faces, I half expected you to tie them up, rob them, beat the snot out of them, and then call the police on them.

Good job protecting your family.

You should move. Like, yesterday. Those Bay Area gangs are no good, and their income is down just like everybody else.


[edit on 13-3-2009 by theWCH]

reply to post by theWCH

Holy cow, stacie! That was pretty gangster in and of itself. After you said that you stuck the gun in their faces, I half expected you to tie them up, rob them, beat the snot out of them, and then call the police on them.

That's funny as heck!!!

They bum rush you and you turn around and rob them!!!

That would of been da whip!!!

Send them out the door in their underware...

...then they'd be like...damm man the peep's more Desperate than us!!!

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Gold $928.14
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Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,145.76 11:42am ET -24.30 (-0.34%)
Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,130.63 11:53am ET -39.43 (-0.55%)
Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,123.86 11:55am ET -46.20 (-0.64%)

S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 746.49 11:42am ET -4.25 (-0.57%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 744.92 11:53am ET -5.82 (-0.78%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 744.16 11:54am ET -6.58 (-0.88%)
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FINANCIAL BULL 3X 4.94 11:16AM ET -0.11 (-2.18%) 145,839,890
WELLS FARGO & CO NEW 13.70 11:19AM ET -0.25 (-1.79%) 84,954,952
XLF (NYSE ARCA) $7.98 -0.17 -2.06%

Looming transatlantic clash
www.marketwatch.com...

Clash over stimulus spending clouds G20 outlook
U.S. officials turning up pressure on Europe to boost stimulus

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Don't look for the world's most powerful economic policy makers to come up with a sweeping prescription for a deepening global recession when they gather this weekend in southern England.
The meeting of finance ministers and central bankers from the world's 20 largest industrialized and emerging economies Friday and Saturday at a luxury hotel near Brighton comes amid a growing disagreement between the United States and Europe over Washington's call for additional government spending to rev up slumping global demand.

European officials say they've done enough on the spending front and that the focus should now be on overhauling how the global financial system is regulated.
"The possibility that the upcoming [Group of 20] meeting could provide a unified plan to help tackle the 'Great Recession' seems to be receding very rapidly," said Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon. "Instead, the evidence of the past few days indicates an increased split of opinion between the U.S. and the euro zone over the best approach."

Marvelous...great...fantastic...
Always remember and never forget...(all together now...)...

Buy on the rumor...Sell on the News...

Bulls getting a little winded
www.marketwatch.com...


Will strong buck cut stocks?
www.marketwatch.com...

BTW: Strange not to see P4T or Stander posting much lately...must be some people have a life...unlike me...hope I didn't run 'em off...



[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Seen this?

US warships head for South China Sea after standoff

www.timesonline.co.uk...

The episode complicated fragile military relations between the US and China, which appeared to have improved after the two held defence talks in Beijing last month.

Logs ahoy!!!!

Well S&P broke the 741 support level, but, is facing resistance...

...Aye Keptin...she's breakin' up...she...can't...hold on...

...go on take the money and run....
(profit taking for weekend beer money )

S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 742.46 12:20pm ET -8.28 (-1.10%)
Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,109.05 12:21pm ET -61.01 (-0.85%)
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Wall Street slides as banks fade, tech weighs
biz.yahoo.com...

[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Originally posted by marg6043
reply to post by xoxo stacie

 

I thank our good fortune that our neighborhood is nice and quiet and we have a sheriff living down the street.

I would be keeping one eye on that sheriff if I were you. They will be the enforcers when tshtf. Trust me I know.

Sounds like G-20 is shootin' down any more spending at this point...

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FTSE 100 3,749.68 12:25PM ET 37.62 (1.01%)
CAC 40 2,705.63 12:39PM ET 11.38 (0.42%)
DAX 3,957.45 12:26PM ET 1.23 (0.03%)
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Gold $927.94
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Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,148.71 12:50pm ET -21.35 (-0.30%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 748.12 12:49pm ET -2.62 (-0.35%)
NASDAQ Composite 1,415.43 12:50pm ET -10.67 (-0.75%)
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holding on...lower...

fence sitting...beer money profit taking...


Gettin' closer to my lower end 750-800 rally limit...

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FINANCIAL BULL 3X 4.89 12:42PM ET -0.16 (-3.17%) 205,783,338

BTW: Where's CNBC they hiding Rick Santelli these days?

[edit on 3/13/2009 by Hx3_1963]