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

News for the day

Free Market Meltdown? Economists Fret Over Return to Price Controls

WSJ: Treasury To Force Bonus Repayment (ed. AIG that is) 3-16-09 1458EST
*WSJ: Tsy Will Use 30B Infusion Into AIG To Force Co To Repay Bonuses
*WSJ: Infusion Not Finalized Until Bonuses Are Repayed
*WSJ: NY AG Investigating Whether Contracts May Be Unenforceable For Fraud
Obama: AIG can't justify 'outrage' of exec bonuses
AIG massive payments to banks stoke bailout rage
Tax AIG Executive Bonuses, Dodd Says
Obama going to personally block AIG bonuses

Mexico to impose sanctions on US exports

US Credit Card Defaults Hit 20 Year High

Now It's Official: Public Private Partnership to Overpay for Toxic Bank Assets

Today's Tickers
One Good Idea On Taxes: Cap Gains
What SCHEME Is AIG?
Beware A Monster Short Squeeze

Daily Show where Cramer gets reamed clips - Just in case you missed it
Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3

And a little Madoff Humor

Yep - numbers back up -

LAYOFF DAILY
Mon 3-16-2009

Imperium Renewables Biodiesel Plant -24
Idaho Statesman -25
Kaiser Permanente IT Jobs -860
Electrolux Cuts Again
Trussway Ltd. -131
News and Observer -78
Lufkin Industries -77
New Hanover County -27
Rowan Co. -150
Lincoln Industries -60
Boise ID School District -122
Jeld-Wen Cuts Again -50
Daewoo Bus Corp. -507
Jones Plastic Engineering -11
Brookdale Hospital -222

Cambodia Garment Orders Drop 40% -51,000
www.phnompenhpost.com...

School District U46 -350
UBS Plans More Layoffs -5,000
Art Iron Inc. Toledo OH -Dozens
Catholic Charities In AZ -18
Eaton Cuts Again -17
R.R. Donnelley Plant Closes -160
Columbia County Schools -100
Huron County Ohio Unemployment 18.3%
Maine Audubon -12
Green Diamond Resources -85
Phoenix Technologies -68

HIRING
Aldi Inc. Denton TX +400

reply to post by redhatty


This was a great post. The Jim Cramer interview was amazing. I'm happy Jon Stewart is there saying it like it is.

I took a look at my charts..

I still like C, Bank of America more and more

FAS needs to hold this level, it ended up getting totally hammered at the end of the day..

True Story..

Middle of the day I was sitting with my dad, DJIA was up 160.. he said I bet you anything market closes at a negative..

I told him I would eat my top hat if the DJIA closed negative..

Im now shopping for a small edible hat..

Goldman Sachs was totally killing the market today, my dad saw this falling fast, then called the down market, and then FAS started falling fast and my dad said Citi is done going up for a long time.. I think he is dead wrong on this call, lets see though

But heres what I think

We still see Dow 7500 and soon - the end of the day was profit taking after a great week in the market

On the upside.. the market really didnt go "down" per say.. more of an extended rally bust...

I still think we rally short term.. lets see what happens and on what volume we pass 7500..

Ill go for a -50 dow tomorrow to +150 (i know broad range right?)

Opinions are welcomed of course

Originally posted by disgustedbyhumanity
Today was good. The fact we didn't have an all out crash upon reversal is promising. A breather was in order and today we got it. Now we can resume upwards.

Im thinking the same thing..

Although if it wasnt for that total BS showing of NASDAQ and Goldman which totally killed my FAS.. Im still steaming about FAS

In my house we are split on this.. I still think we see Dow 7500 this week..

I also charted Citi in another "small" breakout even after the way it ended with major resistance around 3 - if it breaks this again with another 1.5 billion volume like we saw today my call on 4-5 shouldnt be far away



[edit on 16-3-2009 by GreenBicMan]

Originally posted by Hx3_1963
reply to post by GreenBicMan

 

Direxion Shs Etf TrFAS (NYSE ARCA) 4.82 Change:-0.33 -6.41%Volume:258,209,504

Uh...yep...should of listened to Stander...

I'm still not sure how he does it but...

Dow Jones Industrial Average 7,216.97 4:03pm ET -7.01 (-0.10%)
S&P 500 INDEX,RTH 753.89 4:07pm ET -2.66 (-0.35%)
NASDAQ COMPOSITE 1,404.02 4:07pm ET 27.48 (1.92%)

[edit on 3/16/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Come on HX - I did get the C and BAC right.. GS crushed me today..

Another stock I used to trade quite a bit TTWO

Extremely undervalued IM*H*O

Im thinking we see 8-10 here real quick on this one.. the earnings news was sold off on, but it always is with this stock..

Here is the chart..

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/7cc1b7dc79e6.jpg[/atsimg]

And for all you poor folk like me, even something "we" can all get in on lol

Your favorite satellite radio stock (the only one!) SIRI!!!

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/cae094d751bf.jpg[/atsimg]

If we inch up (ok well millimeter up lol) Im thinking we see a whole 15 CENT jump to 40 CENTS !!!!!

Talk about a bull market eh?

[edit on 16-3-2009 by GreenBicMan]

Shanghai Composite 2,181.94 Mar 16 28.65 (1.33%)
Hang Seng 12,999.01 11:59PM ET 22.30 (0.17%)
Nikkei 225 7,837.77 11:54PM ET 133.62 (1.73%)
Seoul Composite 1,147.83 11:55PM ET 22.37 (1.99%)
Taiwan Weighted 5,005.78 11:55PM ET 34.46 (0.69%)
===
Gold $920.28
===
S&P 500 +0.90 754.90 3/17 0:01am
Fair Value 750.60 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +4.30

NASDAQ -2.25 1150.00 3/16 11:45pm
Fair Value 1146.28 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +3.72

Dow Jones -12.00 7171.00 3/16 11:46pm
===
Justice Thomas Says Americans Self-Indulgent, Don't Sacrifice
www.foxnews.com...

Bernanke May Need `Massive' Asset Purchases to Counter Deeper Contraction
www.bloomberg.com...

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Federal Reserve policy makers may have to ramp up their purchases of mortgage securities and other assets after the economy and job market deteriorated further since they last met.

The Federal Open Market Committee, gathering today and tomorrow in Washington, needs to redouble its efforts after the central bank’s balance sheet shrank 17 percent from a $2.3 trillion December peak, Fed watchers said. The retreat came even as Bernanke acknowledged the chance that the unemployment rate will exceed 10 percent for the first time in a quarter century.

“It takes massive balance-sheet expansion to generate significant easing in financial conditions,” said Andrew Tilton, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York who used to work at the Treasury. “More needs to be done.”

This week’s FOMC meeting could mark a shift toward more aggressive monetary expansion to fight deflation after demand waned for many of the Fed’s existing programs. One top consideration is an increase in the pace and size of a $600 billion program to buy bonds issued and backed by U.S. housing agencies such as Fannie Mae, analysts said.

Other measures could include everything from purchases of Treasuries to corporate bonds, Tilton said. The Fed has already agreed to work with the Treasury on implementing a program to revive consumer and business loans, which the Obama administration has said could reach $1 trillion.

Great...here goes some more cash out the door...when are they ever gonna learn...

How much damn money have they got floating around out there now???

I can see why Marg was so livid today!!!

Star 4 Her!!!

Now ya'll gather up yer Monopoly money...at this rate...it will look more attractive than Fed Treas notes...

U.S. Bailouts Add to Risk of Depression, Rogers Says (Update1)
www.bloomberg.com...

March 17 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. risks sending the world into a depression as its bailouts of failed companies rob healthy businesses of capital, investor Jim Rogers said.

“The U.S. is taking assets from competent people and giving them to incompetent people,” said Rogers, chairman of Singapore-based Rogers Holdings and the author of books including “Investment Biker” and “Adventure Capitalist.” “That’s bad economics.”

The U.S. government should let American International Group Inc. go bankrupt, Rogers added in a Bloomberg Television interview today. AIG, whose fourth-quarter loss was the worst in corporate history, had earmarked $1 billion in retention pay for about 4,600 of the company’s 116,000 employees so they won’t leave the insurer.

The Treasury this week intends to provide more information about a $1 trillion plan to remove distressed mortgage assets from banks’ balance sheets. The Federal Reserve is also scheduled this week to start the first phase of a $1 trillion program to revive the market for securities backed by consumer and business loans.

The Treasury forced the New York-based insurer to reduce some retention payments in 2009 by 30 percent. AIG said it still planned to distribute about $165 million in payments because of legally binding contracts.

The U.S. is repeating the mistakes made by Japan in the 1990s and risks creating “zombie banks” by rescuing failed lenders that should have been allowed to go under, Rogers said.

Goldman Offers Loans to Stretched Employees
www.nytimes.com...

Goldman Sachs got its bailout. Now some of its bankers, those aristocrats of Wall Street, apparently need a bit of a bailout too.

Goldman, which accepted billions of taxpayer dollars last fall and, as learned Sunday, was also a big beneficiary of the rescue of the American International Group, is offering to lend money to more than 1,000 employees who have been squeezed by the financial crisis. The loans, offered via e-mail last week, could range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands.

Working at Goldman has long been regarded as a sure path to riches. But Goldman’s employees are losing money on their personal investments — particularly in Goldman’s own elite investment funds, which have been considered one of the perks of working at the bank.

Now these funds have stumbled, and some Goldman employees who financed their gilded lifestyles by borrowing in good times are suddenly short on cash needed to meet commitments to their personal investments in the funds. “It’s a problem with the culture of spending,” said Gustavo Dolfino, the president of Whiterock Group, a Wall Street recruitment firm. “No matter how much you have, you spend like you have a lot more.”

This has to be the saddest story I've ever read...

Poor Bankers might need to borrow money from their company, to cover obligations on held stocks...

Oh what is the Mad World coming to!!!


OH Hari-Kari!!!

Iowa Senator Says AIG Executives Should 'Resign or Commit Suicide'
www.foxnews.com...

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley suggested on Monday that AIG executives should take a Japanese approach toward accepting responsibility for the collapse of the insurance giant by resigning or killing themselves.

The Republican lawmaker's harsh comments came during an interview with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT. They echo remarks he has made in the past about corporate executives and public apologies, but went further in suggesting suicide.

"I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe they ought to be removed," Grassley said. "But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.

"And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology."

WOW...this is gettin' deep!

[edit on 3/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

AIG likely won’t be able to pay taxpayers back
www.msnbc.msn.com...
Ties to foreign partners siphoning off some of the $170 billion lent to it

Pressure is mounting on the government to revise its bailout of AIG to ensure that taxpayers are repaid as much as possible of the $170 billion lent to the troubled insurer.

Experts warn we shouldn't expect to get much back.

The problem stems from AIG's obligations to its trading partners. So far, the hobbled insurance giant has honored in full its contracts with U.S. and foreign banks. It's paid out more than $90 billion in taxpayer money to keep some of the biggest names in finance from losing money on bad bets linked to subprime mortgages and other risky assets.

As the cost of the rescue swells, experts says it's becoming harder to envision a scenario in which the government could recoup its full investment. Even though the AIG payouts to major banks have angered critics of the bailout, it might be legally impossible to claw back any of the billions already doled out.

"A contract is a contract," said Russell Walker, a risk management professor at Northwestern University. "That money all went to people who bought protection from AIG."

Like we didn't expect to hear this sooner or later...

They didn't even negotiate for a lessor price...just paid it...no questions asked!!!

Didn't we already lose over $78B in other stuff earlier?

===
Shanghai Composite 2,198.22 1:30AM ET 44.93 (2.09%)
Hang Seng 13,051.28 1:30AM ET 74.57 (0.57%)
Nikkei 225 7,923.26 1:25AM ET 219.11 (2.84%)
Seoul Composite 1,158.43 1:26AM ET 32.97 (2.93%)
===
S&P 500 +4.60 758.60 3/17 1:29am
Fair Value 750.60 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +8.00

NASDAQ +1.00 1153.25 3/17 0:27am
Fair Value 1146.28 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +6.97

Dow Jones +30.00 7213.00 3/17 1:15am
===
Gold $920.78

[edit on 3/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Originally posted by stander
Pause, we must investigate the unexpected drop that the Dow will go through on Monday before it happens and prevent further erosion of shares value.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d058fd4897de.jpg[/atsimg]

Pause, we really have to analyze the unexpected drop to prevent these things happening in the future. You take the morning and I take the afternoon. The boss will see us in an hour or so, and he wants to know if the hackers messed up today computer-guided trading session, as I suspected yesterday and informed the boss about the possibility.

Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . .

So what's the story? What happened?

Well, boss, we looked at it closely -- Pause and I -- and we found that the Dow went up and then down.

I don't pay you for that, do I? I can figure that for m'self.
Hackers? Any sign of hackers?

Spinning Wheel.

Where does he live?

No, Spinning Wheel is the name of the computer virus. Hard to detect fellow. Can give you a runny nose . . .

Do you have a photo of those hackers?

Better than that. I got the whole video of them hacking away:

reply to post by stander


Whats your take on tomorrows action sir?

Well, today we managed to completely retrace the plunge that began last Wednesday, even if we ended in the red. 745 on the S&P is the "resistance line", that's our bottom trendline and right now we are holding it, if it goes below that, we *could* see lots of red in the future.

The S&P is in an inverted hammer position right now, and while not a strong indicator, it could be a signal of a reversal, we are pretty close to overbought on the stochs, but I won't be surprised if we hold on to 745 for a little longer.

The story of the AIG clawbacks is a big motivator today. Not for AIG, but the counterparties who have exposure, they are feeling it.

Morgan, Sachs and Stanley all dropped on high volume today. They may feel more of the AIG impact than AIG itself.

Alcoa got slapped after the bell with both a warning and a capital raise notice. I feel confident they will survive, but if they don't, we have much more to worry about than just Alcoa going to 0.

FASB released it's informal guidance notice on MTM, should they decide to suspend MTM we will see a rocket shot in financials, but until it happens, we won't know. I wouldn't want to be caught short on any financials when FASB makes it's final decision.

Tomorrow is FOMC, but since the 10-yr Treasuries are intricately tied into Fannie and Freddie right now, I don't expect much in the way of changes, I think they will hold steady where they are.

reply to post by redhatty
Have you been following the Hypo story?

I'm starting to hear nasty rumors...even TF has some posts on it...

I wonder if this was the "big one" referenced recently?

If Hypo Real Estate (HRE) collapses, worse than Lehman?
www.tickerforum.org...

J.C. Flowers, Finance Ministry Officials Meet to Discuss Hypo Real Rescue
www.bloomberg.com...

Flowers Says Hypo Seizure Would Risk Scaring Investors Away From Germany
www.bloomberg.com...

Flowers Has to Wait to Resume Hypo Talks Until Germany Passes Seizure Law
www.bloomberg.com...

Ackman Seeks General Growth Seat, Expects Bankruptcy (Update2)
www.bloomberg.com...

March 16 (Bloomberg) -- Hedge-fund manager William Ackman said he may join the board of General Growth Properties Inc. and that he expects the shopping-mall owner to file for bankruptcy “imminently.”

Ackman, who heads Pershing Square Capital Management LP, said in a Bloomberg Television interview today his company has taken stakes that could give it 25 percent of Chicago-based General Growth. He said he advocates a bankruptcy plan in which “the equity survives intact.”

“Most of the time, insolvent companies go bankrupt,” Ackman said. “It’s rare for a solvent company to go bankrupt. This is a solvent company with a liquidity problem.”

General Growth, which has stakes in or manages more than 200 malls in 44 U.S. states, warned again last week it may be forced into bankruptcy if it can’t renegotiate its debts. The company, which last month said it has $1.18 billion in past-due debt, has suspended its cash dividend, cut its workforce by 20 percent, and put properties up for sale.

General Growth spokesman Tim Goebel didn’t immediately return telephone calls seeking comment on Ackman.

General Growth has until today to pay a $95 million mortgage secured by the Oakwood Shopping Center in Gretna, Louisiana. It also is asking holders of about $2.25 billion of unsecured notes to forbear through the end of this year from exercising remedies related to defaults. The forbearance agreement solicitation expires today.

General Growth gets some lender consents on waivers
www.reuters.com...

Ouch...a contender, but, there are bigger to fall yet...



...And more fer yer reading pleasure...

Citi, Morgan Stanley look to sidestep bonus caps: report
www.reuters.com...

European Factors--Shares set to snap winning run
www.reuters.com...

PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - European stocks were seen edging lower on
Tuesday, taking a breather after a five-session winning run, as investors turn
cautious after fresh signs of trouble in the credit market and ahead of U.S.
data on the housing sector. American Express (AXP.N) reported a rise in the number of people struggling
to make credit card payments, dampening the mood on Wall Street on Monday, where
stocks closed lower. But Asian stocks climbed on Tuesday, led by strong gains in
the banking sector. Financial spreadbetters expect Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 12 to 17
points lower, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open flat to down 15 points, and France's
CAC-40 .FCHI to open 11 to 22 points lower. "Yesterday's rally in equity markets seems set to make way for a degree of
profit taking as Tuesday's session gets underway although expectations are for
any retreat to be far more measured than we saw on Wall Street last night," Matt
Buckland, dealer at CMC Markets, wrote in a note. Investors were bracing for U.S. data on housing starts in February, as well
U.S. monthly price producer data and Germany's ZEW index, while also looking
ahead to a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve meeting starting later in the day.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares gained 2.7
percent on Monday, led by buoyant banking shares.

===
Shanghai Composite 2,218.326 3:00AM ET 65.035 (3.02%)
Hang Seng 13,086.55 3:43AM ET 109.84 (0.85%)
Jakarta Composite 1,318.39 3:58AM ET -6.46 (-0.49%)
Nikkei 225 7,949.13 3:00AM ET 244.98 (3.18%)
Straits Times 1,573.19 3:43AM ET -13.13 (-0.83%)
Seoul Composite 1,163.88 2:01AM ET 38.42 (3.41%)
Taiwan Weighted 5,041.39 1:46AM ET 70.07 (1.41%)
===
S&P 500 +1.10 755.10 3/17 3:46am
Fair Value 750.60 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +4.50

NASDAQ +7.00 1159.25 3/17 3:32am
Fair Value 1146.28 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +12.97

Dow Jones +17.00 7200.00 3/17 3:46am
===
Gold $919.09
===
CAC 40 2,758.19 4:03AM ET -33.47 (-1.20%)
AEX General 212.07 4:04AM ET -3.72 (-1.72%)
Stockholm General 205.34 4:03AM ET -0.94 (-0.46%)

[edit on 3/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Futures seem to be trending downward...

S&P 500 -1.30 752.70 3/17 4:16am
Fair Value 750.60 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +2.10

NASDAQ +7.00 1159.25 3/17 3:32am
Fair Value 1146.28 3/16 10:43pm
Difference* +12.97

Dow Jones +5.00 7188.00 3/17 4:00am
===
FTSE 100 3,831.72 4:02AM ET -32.27 (-0.84%)
CAC 40 2,748.82 4:17AM ET -42.84 (-1.53%)
DAX 4,015.10 4:03AM ET -29.44 (-0.73%)



[edit on 3/17/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Shell confirms its under investigation in the United States for violation of foreign corrupt practices act.

Here's a report on it

And another with more info

Wonder if this will leave a mark???

And this won't help you sleep any better at night (day? lol)

&dist=hplatest]Foreig n debt purchases fall sharply in January

A big jump in foreign sales of long-term U.S. securities raised concerns Monday that the U.S., in the midst of a massive debt issuance to fund its economic revival plans, may run into trouble getting other countries to finance its deficit.
Foreign purchases of long-term U.S. Treasurys, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bonds, corporate debt and stocks -- netted for acquisitions of foreign debt from U.S. residents -- dropped to negative $43 billion in January from positive $34.7 billion in December, said the Treasury Department Monday.
January's sales marked a record low, said currency strategist Michael Woolfolk, and the reasons for the plunge could spell bad news for the U.S. dollar.
"This was a truly awful report, throwing into question the funding of the U.S. current account deficit," said Woolfolk, senior currency strategist at the Bank of New York Mellon, in emailed comments.

Maybe the Obama admin needs to rent my avatar???

Nokia to cut 1,700 jobs worldwide

[edit on 3/17/09 by redhatty]

reply to post by Hx3_1963

Poor Bankers might need to borrow money from their company, to cover obligations on held stocks...

Oh what is the Mad World coming to!!!

Yeah, remember how Panasonic ordered its employees to spend $1.000 on Panasonic

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
reply to post by stander

 

Whats your take on tomorrows action sir?

Boy, you are being reactive.
The real Movers don't do things by reacting to "graphs". They create the results.
Creative behavior in the markets or in casinos is a winner.
Start doing that, and use whatever you have to create some results, not for fishing in muddy waters stirred by others.

Some early news reports for today

Auto delinquency rates rise nearly 9 percent in 4Q

The percentage of auto loans past due 60 days or more rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with the prior-year period, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. And the numbers point to auto delinquencies shooting to their highest point in a decade by the end of the year.

The rate rose to 0.86 percent for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with 0.79 percent in the 2007 fourth quarter.

Auto-loan delinquencies tend to be cyclical, with the fourth quarter typically showing the fewest problematic payments. But the recession appears to be changing those patterns.

"Certainly the overall economy, the weak labor markets, disposable income, are all affecting auto debts as well," said Peter Turek, automotive vice president in TransUnion's financial services group.

Delinquencies were highest in Mississippi, at 1.62 percent, followed by California, at 1.46 percent, and Louisiana, at 1.37 percent. The states with the lowest auto-loan delinquency rates were Alaska, at 0.19 percent, North Dakota, at 0.34 percent and Wyoming, at 0.41 percent. In all, 10 states are above the national average and 30 are below it.

Average auto debt fell 0.2 percent to $12,713 from the prior year. The state with the highest average auto debt continued to be Nevada, at $15,225, followed by Texas at $14,848. Nebraska had the lowest, at $10,685. TransUnion said the nationwide decline reflects fewer loans on the market as credit remains tight.

Turek is forecasting the rate of auto delinquencies will rise to 1.13 percent nationally by the end of 2009, which would be the highest rate on record since TransUnion started tracking statistics about 10 years ago

(AU)Royal Bank of Scotland pulls out of project financing

THE Royal Bank of Scotland will end its involvement in project financing and infrastructure funding in Australia as the troubled parent bank shores up its damaged balance sheet.

RBS yesterday replaced the ABN AMRO brand in Australia as part of an extensive global integration process.

As a result of a bank-wide strategic review, RBS will no longer underwrite project and lending finance, which was one of ABN AMRO's major strengths in Australia.

General Growth Properties Allows Finances to Weaken (by missing Bond Payment

The financial condition of General Growth Properties Inc. became even more precarious as the mall giant let a Monday due date for $395 million in bonds pass without payment.

General Growth, which is trying to coax its bondholders into a nine-month extension, is betting that holders of the past-due bonds will forgo filing an involuntary bankruptcy petition against it and instead allow it to restructure its $27 billion debt load out of court.

Some investors, however, consider a bankruptcy filing likely. Among them is activist investor William Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management LLC, who bought 7.5% of General Growth's stock in recent months and put an additional 18% under swap contracts in a bet that the company's equity will survive a bankruptcy filing unscathed. Mr. Ackman also expects to soon get a seat on General Growth's board.

"We think the company will ultimately have to file for bankruptcy, but we think that it's a wholly solvent company with a liquidity problem," Mr. Ackman said in an interview Monday. "I don't think they'll need to dilute shareholders. All they need to do is extend the maturities [in bankruptcy court] and they can refinance those debts as they come due."

A bankruptcy filing by General Growth would be one of the largest for a real-estate company.

Maybe not Hypo????

[edit on 3/17/09 by redhatty]

and some index updates

BLOOMBERG EUROPEAN 500 123.02 -0.76 -0.61% 07:20
DJ EURO STOXX 50 € Pr 2,019.45 -14.27 -0.70% 07:07
DJ STOXX 50 € PR 1,773.91 -10.87 -0.61% 07:07
DJ EURO STOXX € Pr 186.42 -1.21 -0.64% 07:07
DJ STOXX 600 € Pr 172.20 -0.99 -0.57% 07:07
DJ STOXX EU ENLARGED 15 1,292.64 -7.63 -0.59% 07:07
DJ STOXX EU ENLARGED TMI 120.22 -0.49 -0.41% 07:07
FTSE EUROTOP 100 INDEX 1,543.63 -9.55 -0.61% 07:07
FTSEUROFIRST 300 INDEX 716.53 -4.35 -0.60% 07:07
MSCI EURO 596.68 -4.49 -0.75% 07:22
MSCI PAN-EURO 584.34 -4.24 -0.72% 07:22
S&P EUROPE 350 INDEX 716.13 -4.80 -0.67% 07:12
S&P EURO INDEX 798.95 -5.90 -0.73% 07:22
BLOOMBERG EUR NEW MKT 50 182.43 -0.59 -0.32% 07:22
EURONEXT TOP 100 INDEX 471.96 -4.17 -0.88% 07:07
EURONEXT TOP 150 INDEX 852.09 -0.93 -0.11% 07:07
FTSEurofirst 80 Index 2,557.51 -18.72 -0.73% 07:07
FTSEurofirst 100 Index 2,279.48 -17.61 -0.77% 07:07
FTSE MED 100 INDEX 5,306.61 -3.28 -0.06% 07:07
NEW EUROPE BLUE CHIP IX 698.66 -2.09 -0.30% 07:07
FTSE 100 INDEX 3,840.69 -23.30 -0.60% 07:07
FTSE 250 INDEX 6,214.63 -55.68 -0.89% 07:07
FTSE 350 INDEX 1,988.91 -13.51 -0.67% 07:07
FTSE SMALLCAP INDEX 1,697.01 -6.57 -0.39% 07:07
FTSE ALL-SHARE INDEX 1,939.01 -13.06 -0.67% 07:07
FTSE techMARK 100 INDEX 1,206.62 -8.71 -0.72% 07:07
FTSE AIM ALL SHARE INDEX 382.59 -0.30 -0.08% 07:07

US Futures

DJIA INDEX 7,190.00 7.00
S&P 500 755.00 1.00
NASDAQ 100 1,154.00 1.75

Metals

GOLD 100 OZ FUTR (USD/t oz.) 921.700 -0.300
SILVER FUTURE (USD/t oz.) 12.910 0.020