Quick Overview

• The Commerce Department reported that new home sales rose by 13 percent in October to a record 1.424 million and more than expected. The big jump came from the western and northeastern regions. YoY, new home sales are up 7.6%.
  

• U.S. Durable goods orders were up 3.4% in October, more than expected. Excluding transportation however, orders were up 0.3%, less than expected.
  

• The Conference Board, said its consumer confidence index rose to 98.9 this month, the biggest rise in more than two years.
  

• The Chicago Federal Reserve's manufacturing index increased from 104.7 to 106.6 in October.
  

• Australia upped the estimate of its 2005-2006 wheat crop to 24.1 from 19.7 million tons. Last year Australia harvested 20.4 million tons of wheat.
  

• Japans household spending increased 1.2% in October.
  Japans industrial production was up 0.6%.
  Japans October unemployment rate increased from 4.2% to 4.5%.
  

• Gold prices closed above $500 an ounce in Asian trading for the first time since late 1987, driven by investor demand for the metal as a diversifying asset.
  

• Calpine Corp. replaced its longtime chief executive as well as its chief financial officer in a shake up that sent the company's stock price below $1.

• The USDA said that U.S. Cotton stocks for 2005/06 are forecast to rise 1 million bales to 6.5 million by season’s end, resulting in a stocks-to-use ratio of 29 percent and the highest in 4 years.

• YoY Surface trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico rose 11.4% in September to $61.2 billion, a second straight all-time monthly record, the DoT said Tuesday.

Moving right along. Seven Trillion two years ago -- eight Trillion today!

Quick Overview

• The Retail Federation said that U.S. shoppers spent $27.8 billion over the holiday weekend, up 22% YoY.
  

• Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell 2.7 percent last month to a 7.09 million annual rate, the slowest since March, the National Association of Realtors said. The number of unsold homes was the highest since April 1986.
  

• The USDA 2005/06 U.S. Ending Stocks for Rice Are Projected to Decline 30 Percent to 26.2 Million Cwt U.S. Rice ending stocks for 2005/06 are projected at 26.2 million cwt, down 11.5 million cwt from a year earlier. The resulting stocks-to-use ratio is projected at 10.6 percent, down from 16.4
  percent a year earlier and the lowest since 1980/81.

• The USDA reduced the estimate of Brazil's 2005-2006 coffee crop from 36.5 to 36.1 million bags.
  

• Rail freight traffic declined for the week ended Nov. 19, but intermodal continued to rise compared to the same week a year earlier, the Association of American Railroads reported

• Retail sales in Japan were down 0.3% in October. The policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Monday the country had yet to beat deflation.
  

• Mexico's peso hit a 29-month high on Monday.
  

Shipping lines raise charges by 12pc: Effective Dec 1, 2005
Justifying the move, the ‘notice to trade” points out that all member lines are facing considerable increases in charter rates that continue rising dramatically. It also attributes the hike to a worldwide shortage of container equipment. “Consequently, delays caused by these factors and on account of congestion continue affecting all member carriers of the IPBCC and these have a detrimental effect on member lines’ ability to operate efficiently,” the notice added.

Newmont considers a bid for Placer Dome
"In India, the largest gold market in the world, demand year over year to June was up 47 per cent, China was up 14 per cent," Mr Lassonde said.

Brown's gold sale losses pile up as bullion price surges
In due course, Brown sold off 300 tonnes at just $275 an ounce - close to a 20-year low.
Roughly a third of the proceeds were then invested in euros - which then proceeded to plummet.

U.S. Farmers Use Pesticide Despite Treaty
Ruiz and Jorge Fernandez, two California farmworkers, say they saw plenty wrong in the strawberry fields they worked, starting with the dogs, birds and deer that lay lifeless when the workers arrived to remove plastic sheeting from fumigated fields. "That's how we knew this was a dangerous chemical," Ruiz said.

Pension Officers Putting Billions Into Hedge Funds
Faced with growing numbers of retirees, pension plans are pouring billions into hedge funds, the secretive and lightly regulated investment partnerships that once managed money only for wealthy investors.

Math + science = innovation, but US lags in the equation
Behind these moves lurks the fear that many young Americans are abandoning math and science at a time when students in emerging countries like China and India are mastering the subjects. China graduated 500,000 engineers last year, and India 200,000, compared with 70,000 in the United States, according to the National Academy of Sciences study.

Newmont Mining's gold predictions
MOORE: Five hundred US dollars an ounce?
LASSONDE: Oh well passed that. I believe that by early next year you are going to see five twenty five and down the road even a lot higher than that.
MOORE: What is a lot higher?
LASSONDE: The question is gold prices will have three zeros after the first number.
MOORE: Three zeros?
LASSONDE: Ah huh.

How powerful is the Federal Reserve?
With Bernanke about to take over, time for a reality check

'Black Friday' tepid; Wal-Mart a winner
The official holiday shopping season appears to have gotten off to a lukewarm start, according to results announced Saturday by a national research group that monitors retail sales. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was one bright spot in the crowd, reporting its sales exceeded expectations.

Brokerage Firm Hack Endangers Investors
St. Louis-based Scottrade, one of the nation's largest private online stock brokerage houses, has alerted its customers that a hacker break-in may have compromised the security of an untold number of accounts

Scenes From A Bush Thanksgiving
Dubya pouts, Cheney scowls, no one brings pie -- and why is Rove looking at Barb that way?

Quick Overview

• Consumer prices in Germany were down 0.5% in November..
  

• YoY Hong Kong's GDP was up 8.2% in the third quarter.
  

• The European Union will cut its sugar subsidies by 36% and stop paying producers three times the world price. This is expected to be phased in over the next four years. Australia's sugar cane growers will benefit from the European Union agreeing to cut sugar subsidies, an industry spokesman said.
  

Foreign central banks add U.S. debt in week-Fed
Foreign central banks purchased more U.S. debt in the latest week, investing more money in Treasury and government-sponsored agency securities, Federal Reserve data showed on Friday.

Chart of the day

New York Stock Exchange "Volume" Advance Decline Line (Cumulative Daily Volume Breadth)

This chart is generated by subtracting the NYSE Composite "Volume" declines from that days "Volume" advances. The blue line plots the cumulative total.

Quick Overview

• The stock market was supported by a positive reading on the University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment. The index increased to 81.6 this month from 74.2 (a 13 year low) in October vs. 81.0 expected.
  

• The number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits rose by 30,000 to 335,000 last week, the Labor Department said.
  

• Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $1.64 billion to $829.60 billion in the latest week -- the Investment Company Institute said.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 400,000 barrels to 321.8 million.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were up 200,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil supplies were up 1.3 million barrels.
  Supplies of natural gas were down 8 billion cubic feet to 3.274 trillion cubic feet. YoY supplies are down 1%.
  

• The USDA said that world sugar production will be 144.2 million tons in 2005-2006, 3.6 million tons less than total use.
  

• Because of a NAFTA deadline, the U.S. has agreed to remove the 16.4% tariff on Canadian lumber, not right away. The U.S. wants to appeal the NAFTA decision as long as it can.
  

• YoY Mexico's trade deficit widened to $631 million in October from $564.
  

• YoY Japan's current account surplus shrank 28.8 percent in October,
  

• Canada's index of composite leading indicators was up 0.5% in October
  

• Brazil's central bank cuts its benchmark interest rate for the third consecutive month, despite higher-than-expected inflation.
  
  

• Gold mining company Placer Dome Inc. on Wednesday said its board is recommending shareholders reject a $9.2 billion takeover bid by Barrick Gold Corp.

Quick Overview

• Ben Bernanke, said Congress should limit the massive holdings of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to limit any danger their debt poses to the overall economy.
  
  

• Holiday sales at U.S. retailers may rise 6% over last year, up from an earlier 5% forecast, according to the National Retail Federation, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday
  
  

• The average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel fell for the fourth straight week, declining 8.9 cents to $2.513 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.
  
  

• The South African Chamber of Mines said that gold production totaled 72.4 tons in the recent quarter, down 15% YOY.
  
  

• The USDA said that as of October 31st, there were 15.52 million pounds of frozen bellies in storage, down 3% from a year ago. Frozen pork totaled 443.9 million pounds, up 5% YoY.
  
  

• The USDA said that there were 1.14 billion pounds of frozen orange juice concentrate in cold storage, down 25% YoY.
  

• The Commerce Department said that retail sales over the Internet totaled $22.3 billion in the recent quarter, up 26.7% YoY. Internet sales now account for 2.3% of total retail sales.

How the Media Can Restore Credibility They should be accessible. "Isolation impairs accountability," says Philip Seib, author of a book on reporting in the cyber era. An Ivory Tower mentality keeps news away. It's easier to track down Dick Cheney in his undisclosed location than to get your local news anchorperson on the phone. Too few newspapers and almost no broadcast outlets make it easy for their readers, listeners and viewers to contact their employees, whether to correct an error or suggest a story idea. Some newspaper websites don't even list their main phone number! Every newspaper by-line should carry its writer's direct phone number and email address, and they should be required to return their messages.

China stocks copper in Shanghai, prepares to cover LME positions
China is believed to have to scramble to meet the LME's requirement to deliver physical copper to approved LME warehouses. The futures contracts Liu traded will fall due on December 21, according to media reports.

China's welfare push to help economic rebalancing

White House used 'gossip' to build case for war

U.S. Press for Reform Prompts Talk of Showdown at the U.N.

Bush Discusses Murtha and Says Progress in Iraq is 'Amazing'

How the Bush administration got spooked

Quick Overview

• The New-York based Conference Board said its index of leading indicators rose 0.9 to 137.9 in October after a downwardly revised 0.8 percent decline in September.
  

• Canada's retail sales were down 0.9%, but up 5.5% YoY.
  

• YoY Indonesia's GDP was up 5.3% in the third quarter.
  

• Mexican retail sales rose 5.2 % in September.
  
  

• The Bank of Japan should move to a policy of raising interest rates soon and should be proactive in communicating to markets how it will go about such a policy shift, a Japanese business lobby said.
  
  
  

• Venezuela and Argentina bolstered ties on Monday with energy and commerce deals after their presidents discussed Venezuela's entry into the South American Mercosur trade pact and alternatives to U.S. proposals for the region.

• Gasoline pump prices continued to drop in the two weeks ended Friday, declining 18 cents to an average $2.27 a gallon for all grades, analyst Trilby Lundberg reported in her latest survey on Sunday.

• General Motors plans to close nine North American plants and cut 30,000 jobs in an effort to trim costs, news services reported Monday

• Rail freight traffic fell for the week of Nov. 12, however intermodal continued to rise compared to the same week last year , the Association of American Railroads reported.

We Must Hold the Scoundrels Accountable
Bush’s public support has plummeted. A majority of Americans believe Bush lied about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and now they doubt his integrity. Trapped in their lies, Bush and Cheney are lashing out at critics, proving once again the truth of Samuel Johnson’s 18th century observation that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."

Senate committee passes spyware bill
A U.S. Senate committee has approved a bill that would outlaw the practice of remotely installing software that collects a computer users' personal information without consent.

<How U.S. Fell Under the Spell of 'Curveball'
The senior BND officer who supervised Curveball's case said he was aghast when he watched Powell misstate Curveball's claims as a justification for war.

Global shipping: Challenges ahead
As on January 1, 2005, the world trading fleet was made up of 46,222 ships, with a combined 597,709,000 gross tonnes. The vast bulk of the fleet was made up of: general cargo ships (18,150), tankers (11,356), bulk carriers (6,139), passenger ships (5,679) and container ships (3,165). Other ship types accounted for 1,733 vessels.

The World's Best Ethical Travel Destinations

Our most notable and unexpected result is that Latin America emerges as the leader in ethical travel. While certain of our recommended destinations are already popular (Brazil, Costa Rica, and Peru), other top countries (Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Ecuador, and Uruguay) also have much to offer American tourists. Argentina has a vast array of natural wonders: from glaciers in the Andes to pre-Columbian villages in the North. Belize hosts Mayan ruins, as well as a lush rainforest. Uruguay, not as well known, contains spectacular beaches as well as trekking in the interior.

The Federal Reserve announced that as of March 2006, M-3 will no longer be posted.

M(3)urder Will Out!
Thus, the abandonment of M3 could disguise this Reichsbank-like response to America’s hypothetical future ills for some little while thence, delaying market fears of a hyperinflationary outcome, and so keeping "Blackhawk" Bernanke hovering over the scene of the emergency for a little longer than might otherwise be the case.

China copper trade woes send prices to new peaks
Officials for the centre and the bureau have told Reuters that any short positions were made on his own authority, adding to the uncertainty of whether the bureau will honour the obligations. If it refuses to do so, that could leave brokers facing huge losses.

The food you eat may change your genes for life
Szyf says his study shows how important subtle nutrients and supplements can be. "Food has a dramatic effect," he says. "But it can go both ways," he cautions. Methionine, for instance, the supplement he used to make healthy rats stressed, is widely available in capsule form online or in health-food stores - and the molecules are small enough to get into the brain via the bloodstream.

Survey Finds Deep Discontent With American Foreign Policy

Tortured men look like 'Holocaust victims

Pentagon To Probe Feith's Role In Iraq War

Lobbyist Probe Sparks Senate Fireworks

Quick Overview

• The European Central Bank is ready to raise interest rates moderately, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Friday, sending a clear signal it will tighten rates in December for the first time in five years
  

• Argentina's jobless rate fell to 11.1 percent in the third quarter from 13.2 percent in the same period last year.
  

• The British government posted a 2.2 billion pound surplus in October, up from a shortfall of 1.7 billion pounds a year ago. Revenues were up almost 10% YoY, while spending was down 3%.
  

• Canada's wholesale sales totaled C$39.9 billion in September, down 0.1% on the month and up 5.6% YoY
  

• The Bank of Japan said the nation's economy is continuing to recover.
  

• There are rumors the Chinese government may decline to own up to the 200,000 ton copper short position that their absconded trader left it with.
  

• The USDA said there were 11.475 million head of cattle on feed on November 1st, up 1.2% YoY. Placements in October were up 3.5% YoY and marketing’s were down 3.3%.
  

• The United States and the European Union reached a tentative deal on Friday expand aviation service and boost competition on both sides of the Atlantic
  
  

• UPS Inc. said it will raise its commercial ground services rates by 3.9% and its air and international services rates by 5.5% in 2006.
  

China to lose 100 million dollars from copper futures bet
China stands to lose at least 100 million US dollars on the London Metal Exchange after a bet by a state commodities trader went spectacularly wrong, a press report says.

Climate Shift Tied To 150,000 Fatalities

Group Seeks Further Inquiry in Frist's Stock Sales

New Disclosure Could Prolong Inquiry on Leak

Bernanke Gives Fed an Explicit Inflation Target

Quick Overview

• U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said that dividend and capital gains tax cuts put in place by U.S. President George W. Bush have created strong economic growth and should be extended.
  

• St Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said October inflation data showed the United States was not on an "inflation hair-trigger" and the central bank has room to allow the economy to grow.
  

• U.S. new housing starts fell 5.6% in October, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Through the first ten months of 2005, housing starts are up 5.3%.
  

• The number of U.S. workers filing initial unemployment benefits fell 25,000 to 303,000 last week, the lowest level since April, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
  

• U.S. industrial production rose 0.9% in October as factories rebounded from a decline, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.
  

• Manufacturing growth in the Philadelphia area fell this month from October but still showed expansion, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.
  

• The DoE said that underground supplies of natural gas increased 53 billion cubic feet to 3.282 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down just 1% YoY.
  

• Platinum futures reached $1,000 for the first time in over 25 years, and then settled lower, while gold continued its run to an 18 year high.
  

• The World Gold Council reported that gold demand was up 16% through the first three quarters of 2005.
  

• The European Commission said that the Euro-zone will grow by 1.3% this year, 1.9% in 2006, and 2.1% in 2007.
  

• Mexican stocks rose to a record high close on Thursday
  

CIA camps row heats up in Europe

Senate Panel Does Not Extend Tax-Rate Cut

Big Oil may face a $5 billion levy

Document Says Oil Chiefs Met With Cheney Task Force

Has gold lost its war chest status?
Trends indicate that international central bank's store of gold could fall further in future as yields received from the yellow metal decline, but is there another argument for investing in gold?

Ultra-sensitive microscope reveals DNA processes
The novel device allows users to achieve the highest-resolution measurements ever, equivalent to the diameter of a single hydrogen atom, says Steven Block, who designed it with colleagues at Stanford University in California.

Quick Overview

• US Consumer Price Index for October was up 0.2% vs. 0.0% expected and ex food and energy it was, as up an expected at 0.2% . YoY it was up 4.3%. Excluding food and energy prices were up 2.1% YoY.
  
  

• EuroZone CPI for October at 0.3% as expected.
  
  

• The Chinese government reportedly sold 20,000 tons of copper from its state reserves today after one of its traders disappeared while carrying a large copper short position.
  

• U.S. business sales were up 0.6% in September and up 7.8% YoY. Inventories were up 0.5% in September.
  

• The U.S. Treasury Department said foreign buys of US securities exceeded domestic purchase by 102 billion vs. 75 billion expected.
  

• The DoE said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were down 2.2 million barrels last week to 321.4 million barrels.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 900,000 barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were up 1.8 million barrels.
  

• Gold futures climbed over $10 an ounce to close at a one-month high, while silver prices finished above $8 an ounce for the first time since December 2004 and platinum futures set records.

• The U.K.'s unemployment rate for Q3 was 4.7%.

French gold sales allows FX reserves diversification Strauss-Kahn declined to say in what currencies the BOF would invest the proceeds of its plans to sell up to 600 t of gold reserves over a five year period - a strategy which it said last year it had agreed with the French finance ministry.

She told the conference that the BOF's gold reserves amounted to 3 024 t, comprising 55% of its total gold and foreign exchange reserves or 3,7% of gross domestic product.

Reserve bank may up gold reserves - Mboweni The central bank is very comfortable holding these gold reserves because of the metal's war-chest qualities, because gold is no-one's liability and because it allows prudent diversification in the bank's total reserves," Mboweni said in the text of the speech.

Brazilian farmers' dreams dry up
The so-called "Drought Polygon" is a nearly 390,000-square-mile area that includes nine northeastern states, practically a third of Brazil. Rain is so infrequent that Brazilians joke that the first sign of drought is news of supermarket looting.
Specialists, who are not joking, say the scant rainfall, deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable farming practices could make this region of 18 million people the world's largest new desert.

The fog of war: white phosphorus, Fallujah and some burning questions
The controversy has raged for 12 months. Ever since last November, when US forces battled to clear Fallujah of insurgents, there have been repeated claims that troops used "unusual" weapons in the assault that all but flattened the Iraqi city.

Quick Overview

• Ben Bernanke, the president's chief economist, told senators Tuesday he'll continue the policies of Alan Greenspan if confirmed as Federal Reserve chairman and will make sure the central bank remains free of political influence.
  
  
• Manufacturing growth in New York state rose in November, according to a monthly survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released on Tuesday.

• The U.S. Commerce Department said that retail sales were down 0.1% in October, stronger than expected. Excluding autos, retail sales were up 0.9% on the month.
  

• The U.S. producer price index rose 0.7% in October, while prices excluding food and energy fell 0.3%, the Labor Department said Tuesday.

• The average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel fell for a third straight week, dropping 9.6 cents to $2.602 a gallon, the Department of Energy.

• A copper trader for a secretive high-level Chinese government agency has disappeared. The position he left behind, rumored to be between 150,000 and 200,000 tons, was taken as a bet that copper would fall just as the industrial metal continued to make new highs.

• The London Bullion Market Association expects gold to reach $550 per ounce by the middle of 2006. They anticipate the driving force to be a weaker US economy and strong demand from India. Because of jewelry demand gold usage was up 10% in the first six month of 05.
  
  

• The Florida Citrus Processors said that there were 96.9 million gallons of frozen concentrated orange juice in inventory, down 29% YoY.
  

• YoY China's industrial output increased 16.1 percent in October to 632 billion yuan (78 billion dollars).
  

• Canada's manufacturing shipments were down 0.5% in September to C$51.6 billion.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in the U.K. increased 2.3% in September.
  

• GDP in the Euro zone was up 0.6% in the third quarter and up 1.5% YoY. For the EU-25, GDP was up 0.6% in the third quarter and up 1.6% YoY.
  

• Retail sales in New Zealand were down 0.8% in September.
  

Quick Overview

• The United States is having little trouble funding its big current account gap, but the shortfall cannot expand forever , Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Monday.
  

• European Central Bank policymakers issued warnings on inflationary dangers in the euro zone on Monday with two central bankers saying the ECB should raise interest rates before prices surge.
  

• The International Sugar Organization expects world consumption to outpace production by one million tons in 2005-2006 and by two million tons in 2006-2007.
  

• YoY Retail sales in the Euro zone were up 0.9% in September.

• Overseas investment in Japanese equities fell for a second month in October, according to a government report yesterday
  

• New motor vehicle sales in Canada were down 7.9% in September and down 0.5% YoY.
  
  

• We are not finding gold as fast as we are mining it as an industry,'' said Glamis Chief Executive Kevin McArthur. "This is developing into a bit of a train wreck,'' prompting companies to consider more acquisitions to boost output, McArthur said.

Gold output to fall to 80-year low
South African gold output was likely to fall to an 80-year low of 300 tons in 2005 down from 346 tons in 2004, which was the lowest level since 1931, Andisa Securities gold analyst Dr Dave Davis said on Monday.

Senate Approves Plan to Limit Detainee Access to Courts The Senate endorsed a plan yesterday that would sharply limit suspected foreign terrorists' access to U.S. courts, an effort to overturn a landmark 2004 Supreme Court ruling that has allowed hundreds of detainees held by the military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to challenge their detentions.




Power Über Alles On Thursday November 10, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted 49 to 42 to overturn the US Supreme Court’s 2004 ruling that permits Guantanamo detainees to challenge their detentions. How dare the US Supreme Court defend the US Constitution and the civil liberties of Americans when we have terrorists to fight, argued the Republican senators. What are civil liberties, the Republicans asked rhetorically, but legal tricks that allow criminals and terrorists to escape.

Housing Market Cooling, Data Say
But since May, the sales prices for the development have fallen -- and units like the one the Edmonds bought are now being sold for $699,900. The Edmonds are facing the prospect of a $100,000 loss in value before they even walk through the front door.

Chart of the day