Friday, September 30, 2005

Mighty Mice Regrow Organs
Genetically altered mice discovered accidentally at the Wistar Institute in Pennsylvania have the seemingly miraculous ability to regenerate like a salamander, and even regrow vital organs.
Researchers systematically amputated digits and damaged various organs of the mice, including the heart, liver and brain, most of which grew back

Quick Overview

  • Manufacturing growth in Chicago jumped from 49.2% to 60.5% in September following its first contraction in more than two years, the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago said Friday

  • U.S. consumer confidence dropped this month to 76.9 from 89.1 in August, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer sentiment index.

  • U.S. personal income in August was down 0.1% while spending was down 0.5%, the biggest drop in three years, led by a slump in automobile purchases, the Commerce Department reported Friday


  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that 12 refineries remain closed, resulting in the daily loss of 1.3 million barrels of gasoline, 700,000 barrels of distillates, and 400,000 barrels of jet fuel

  • Pennsylvania will build the nation's first commercial plant to convert waste coal into no-sulfur diesel fuel and home-heating oil, the Associated Press reported.

  • The U.S. Minerals Management Service said today that 98% of oil production and 79% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains closed.

  • The USDA said that, as of September:
    Corn stocks totaled 2.112 billion bushels, up 120% YoY and the most in twelve years.
    Soybean stocks totaled 256 million bushels, up 127% YoY.
    Wheat stocks totaled 1.919 billion bushels, down 1% YoY.

  • U.S. railroad freight traffic rose for the week ended Sept. 24 from a year ago despite damage caused to rail lines by Hurricane Rita, the Association of American Railroads said.

  • The USDA also said that the 2005-2006 U.S. wheat crop will total 2.098 billion bushels, down from last month's estimate of 2.167 billion bushels.

  • December soybean oil was up 1.09 to 23.95, the highest close in nearly two months, with talk that high energy prices may increase demand for biodiesel.

  • The USDA said that as of September 1st all U.S. hogs and pigs were 61.536 million head, up slightly from a year ago. YoY The September 1st breeding herd was also up slightly and YoY the June to August pig crop was up 0 .4%.

  • Japans household spending was up 3.2% in August, the first gain in four months; Industrial production was up 1.2% in August; Consumer prices were down 0.3% in August. The positive consumer price data showing that deflation was easing, combined with other upbeat economic figures on Friday, added fuel to the debate on whether the Bank of Japan should soon end its ultraeasy monetary policy.


  • Brazil's stocks notched yet another record high on Friday thanks to strong foreign investor appetite for assets in Latin America's largest country.

  • YoY India's GDP was up 8.1% in the first quarter- topping forecasts.

  • Retail sales in Australia were up 0.6% in August.

  • Canada's GDP was up 0.2% in July and up 2.6% YoY.

Freezing gas prices
There is a man who fills up his tank once every two months. One tank of gas, literally, lasts him two months. He is freezing the price of gas by freezing something else.

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Quick Overview

  • The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3.3% in the second quarter, down from 3.8% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

  • U.S. Jobless claims dropped 79,000 to 356,000, less than expected. According to CBS Market Watch 60,000 of the jobless claims were linked to Hurricane Katrina.

  • The DoE said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 53 billion cubic feet last week to 2.885 trillion cubic feet. YoY supplies are now down 4%.

  • The U.S. Minerals Management Service said that 99% of oil production and 80% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remain stopped.

  • U.S. Manufacturers want to see China's Yuan currency "appreciate significantly," the largest U.S. manufacturing group said on Thursday in its latest salvo over what it sees as Beijing's unfair trade practices.

  • Germany's unemployment rate increased from 11.6% to 11.7% in September.

  • Retail sales in Japan were up 1.5% in August, stronger than expected.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

DeLay Is Indicted and Forced to Step Down as Majority Leader
State law prohibits use of corporate contributions to advocate the election or defeat of state candidates, and prosecutors accuse the DeLay organization of engaging in a complex scheme to circumvent the law.
Green energy 25-30 pct of world mix by 2050-Shell

Growth in renewable energy sources is robust and they may account for a quarter of global consumption by 2050, an executive with Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday.

Quick Overview

  • U.S. orders for durable goods rose 3.3% in August, more than analysts had expected, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.


  • Starting Thursday, Minnesota will become the first state to require that all diesel fuel contain 2% biodiesel made from soybeans in its mix, the St. Paul Pioneer Press newspaper reported.

  • California's housing market is overvalued by up to 45 percent and at a "tipping point" that will end its red-hot growth cycle, the UCLA Anderson Forecast projected on Wednesday.

  • The DOE said today that as much as 15 percent of U.S. refinery capacity could be out for another couple of weeks or more. Today's inventory report showed that last week refineries were operating at 86.7% of capacity.

  • The U.S. Minerals Management Service said that 100% of oil production and 80% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains closed.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said that:
    Crude oil supplies were down 2.4 million barrels last week to 305.7 million barrels.
    Unleaded gasoline supplies were up 4.4 million barrels
    Heating oil supplies were down 2.5 million barrels.

  • YoY the GDP in the U.K. increased 1.5% in the second quarter.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Crying Sheep
Are global oil supplies about to peak? Are they, in other words, about to reach their maximum and then go into decline? There is a simple answer to this question: no one has the faintest idea.

Quick Overview

  • The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence for September slid to 86.6, down from 105.5 in August and the lowest reading in nearly two years.

  • Sales of new homes plunged in August by the largest amount in nine months as the nation's housing industry continued to flash mixed signals about whether the boom is starting to fade.
    The report showed sales of single-family homes decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.237 million last month from 1.373 million. The 9.9% decline reported by the Commerce Department was the largest since sales fell 10.0% in November 2004.

  • German business confidence unexpectedly rose to 96 from August's 94.6 an eight-month high in September.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Quick Overview

  • Sales of existing homes rose to the second-highest level on record in August, to a 7.29 million annual rate, and the median price rose 15.8 percent to a record $220,000 the National Association of Realtors said Monday.

  • U.S. railroad freight traffic set new records for the week ended Sept. 17, the Association of American Railroads said.

  • While the high-flying housing market still holds risks, especially for the financially stretched, most homeowners are in a fairly good position to weather a shock if prices drop, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday.

  • The U.S. Minerals Management Service said today that 100% of oil production and 78% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico remains closed.

  • China's central bank predicted that GDP will be up 9.2% this year.

An Evening With Mr. Galloway
George Galloway, like Cindy Sheehan, represents what, in the study of chaos, is known as the “butterfly effect,” (i.e., the capacity for individuals to affect change through the reiteration of their influences upon a system). Such people serve as “attractors” to others who share their sentiments. Through such spontaneous and open-ended means as the Internet, men and women are able to create networks of shared opinions. They become catalysts for change, a process upon which all creative and productive systems depend
American fury over Greenspan leak
French claim Fed chairman admits US has lost control of budget
NSA granted Net location-tracking patent
The National Security Agency has obtained a patent on a method of figuring out an Internet user's geographic location. Patent 6,947,978 describes a way to discover someone's physical location by comparing it to a "map" of Internet addresses with known locations. The NSA's patent relies on measuring the latency, meaning the time lag between...

Saturday, September 24, 2005

Dangers of a Drunk Dubya
Like the President, I’m a recovering alcoholic. Unlike him, I’ve been sober for 11 years, three months and 16 days. Bush says he quit drinking without help from any organized program. I had a lot of help – from family, friends and Alcoholics Anonymous. As an alcoholic, I can say without hesitation that available evidence tells me that Bush is drinking and drinking heavily.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Brazil to ask WTO to impose trade sanctions on US
A WTO resolution in March asked the US government to eliminate subsidies on cotton producers and exporters, saying they caused a grave damage to Brazil because of their negative effect on the international price of cotton.

Quick Overview

  • Almost 30% of U.S. oil-refining capacity is offline because of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, Bloomberg reported Friday.

  • Mexico's central bank on Friday pushed interest rates 25 basis points lower for the second straight month to revive a tepid economy.

  • China's central bank surprised the markets this morning by saying that they would increase the Yuan's daily allowable range from 1.5% to 3.0% for the non-dollar currencies.

  • Brazil's stocks closed at a new all-time high on Friday for the third time this week, while the national currency surged to a fresh 41-month high .


  • The United States is under rising pressure to make hard concessions on farm subsidies after a Friday meeting with three other trade powers failed to break a deadlock that threatens global trade talks.

  • November lumber closed up its $10 daily limit again, at $326.00, with traders anticipating a lot of re-building activity after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

  • The USDA said that there were 10.0 million head of cattle on feed as of September 1st, up slightly from a year ago. August placements were down 5% from a year ago and marketing’s were up 6%

Thursday, September 22, 2005

EPA Proposes Easing Reporting Requirements on Toxic Pollution

The looser reporting requirements are intended to let off the hook as many as a third of the 23,000 companies that now report their pollution to the government, according to the EPA.

Build a "BETTER" Bush
Oil Rigs in the Gulf & Rita

Quick Overview

  • The index of U.S. leading economic indicators fell 0.2 % in August to 137.6 for a second straight month as rising gasoline prices lowered consumer confidence even before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the Conference Board reported Thursday.

  • The number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits jumped by 8,000 last week to 432,000, the highest level in more than two years, following dislocations and job losses in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. (103,000 of those claims were said to be related to Hurricane Katrina).

  • Saudi Arabia's foreign minister on Thursday rejected suggestions of an oil shortage and said prices should drop to $40 to $45 a barrel from well over $60.

  • Reuters is reporting that 21% of U.S. refinery capacity is closed - ten refineries in Texas and one in Louisiana.

  • The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground natural gas supplies were up 74 billion cubic feet last week to 2.932 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are now down 3% from a year ago

  • Archer Daniels Midland said that they plan to increase their ethanol production by 500 million gallons by the year 2008.

  • November lumber closed up $10 it’s max daily limit due to the hurricanes.

  • Brazil's jobless rate held steady at a three-year-low in August and inflation slowed, official data showed on Thursday.

  • Japan's trade surplus shrank 80 percent in August from a year earlier, much more than economists had expected as high oil prices boosted import costs, but firm exports suggested that an economic recovery remained on track.

  • Canada's consumer price index was up 2.6% in August from a year ago, the biggest gain in two years. Excluding energy, consumer prices were up 1.6% in August from a year ago.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005


Fed May Sacrifice Growth to Prevent Inflation
``When push comes to shove, the Fed will opt in an unmistakable fashion to preserve the inflation achievements they have,'' said Anthony Karydakis, chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. ``They will be very willing to sacrifice some growth for a while to keep inflation under control.''

Quick Overview

  • The DOE said that:
    Crude oil supplies were down 300,000 barrels at 308.1 million barrels.
    Unleaded gasoline supplies were up 3.4 million barrels
    Heating oil supplies were up 1.7 million barrels.
    Gasoline demand over the past four weeks was down 2.1% from a year ago.
    The DOE also said that last week refineries were operating at 90.8% of capacity

  • The USDA said that there were 22.1 million pounds of frozen pork bellies in storage on August 31st, up 45% YoY, but down substantially from last month's 50.3 million pounds.

  • The USDA said that Frozen pork totaled 417.7 million pounds, up 9% YoY.

  • The USDA said there were 1.40 billion pounds of frozen orange juice concentrate in storage as of August 31st, down 23% YoY.

  • The world economy is set to grow a swift 4.3 percent this year and next -- above the 3.9 percent average of the past decade -- despite higher oil prices and a battering from Hurricane Katrina, the IMF said on Wednesday.

  • Canada's retail sales hit a new high of C$31.3 billion in July, up 1.5% on the month and up 7.9% from a year ago.

  • Consumer spending in France was up 1.9% in August.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Quick Overview

  • The Federal Reserve on Tuesday boosted the fed funds rate for the 11th straight time and signaled that more rate hikes were probable even as the country recovers from the destructive effects of Hurricane Katrina.

  • Australia, Brazil and Thailand have accused the European Union
    of failing to comply with a World Trade Organization decision that its
    subsidies to sugar producers were illegal.

  • A group of commercial fishermen has filed a suit over alleged damage to fisheries caused by oil that spilled following Hurricane Katrina.

  • Land prices in central Tokyo rose for the first time since 1990 in the 12 months ended July 1.

  • OPEC on Tuesday offered up every last barrel of its spare production. OPEC agreed to keep their production at 28.0 million barrels a day, but will make another 2.0 million barrels of crude oil a day available for three months beginning on October 1st.

  • New construction on US housing units slipped 1.3 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.009 million units. The decline was slightly larger than expected. Economists were calling for a decline to 2.025 million, from 2.042 million in July.

  • Texas refineries are still in Rita's anticipated path for later this week.

  • Canada's composite index of leading indicators increased 0.3% in August to 206.3. Wholesale sales were down 0.5% in July to C$39.7 billion, the first decline in six months.

  • Chile and China could sign a free trade agreement as early as November, linking the world's biggest producer and consumer of copper, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos told Reuters on Tuesday.

  • Italy's unemployment rate dropped from 7.8% to 7.7% in the second quarter, the lowest in over a decade.
US fiscal fix needed for global adjustment--study
A balanced U.S. budget, a 20 percent decline in the dollar and a sharp rise in Asian currencies are needed to cut the U.S. current account gap to a sustainable level, a study released on Monday said.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Rising cost of debt much more dangerous
In the 1970s, the Fed tried to accommodate both higher energy costs and war by creating more, not less, availability of credit. The result was inflation. Even with Alan Greenspan gone, they're not likely to make that mistake again
Greenspan, Fed face new 'conundrum' on rate hike
"All the bets are on a Fed rate hike," said David Rosenberg, chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch. "Futures are priced 86 percent of the way for a Fed rate hike this Tuesday."

Quick Overview

  • With fallout from the Hurricane Katrina disaster expected to slow economic growth over the rest of the year, the Federal Reserve could postpone its campaign of raising interest rates, the Associated Press reported Monday. .. And Rita may be on the way

  • Some federal lawmakers are considering delaying spending projects, including within the $286 billion federal highway act signed into law in August, in the wake of massive bills facing the country because of Hurricane Katrina, the Associated Press reported.

  • The USDA's good to excellent crop ratings for:
    Corn was 52%, up from 51% last week.
    Soybeans were 53%, down from 54% last week.
    Cotton was 62%, down from 65% last week.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Clues to a Hedge Fund's Collapse
All three men knew the situation was dire at Bayou - the funds' losses had vastly overwhelmed their gains for more than two years. Something had to be done, and fast.
Chart of the day
Gold Point & Figure