Robert Fisk: The true story of free speech in America
Sami al-Arian is 49 but he stayed on hunger strike for 60 days to protest the government outrage committed against him, a burlesque of justice which has, of course, largely failed to rouse the sleeping dogs of American journalism in New York, Washington and Los Angeles.
All praise, then, to the journalist John Sugg from Tampa, Florida, who has been cataloguing al-Arian's little Golgotha for months, along with Alexander Cockburn of Counter Punch.

Conservatives for the Constitution
Rejecting the suggestion that conservatives must remain silent because Bush is supposedly one of their own, Viguerie says, "Conservatives must not fail to oppose the massive expansion of presidential powers out of fear they will be aid and comfort to the Left. Concern about one branch of government acquiring excessive power should not be the providence of liberals, moderates, or conservatives. It must be the concern of all Americans who value liberty…"

Representatives okay Real ID ban Supporters of the ban said New Hampshire needs to send a clear statement that the federal government strayed too far.
"It is probably the worst piece of blackmail to come out of the federal government. This is pure, unadulterated blackmail," said. Rep. Sherman Packard, a Republican from Londonderry.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Unemployment rate improved from 4.5% to 4.4% in March with a net gain of 180,000 jobs, better than expected.
  

• U.S. Average hourly earnings were up 0.3% in March and up 4.0% YoY.

Climate change
The resulting document predicts the same sorts of consequences as its predecessor did in 2001, but with much greater confidence and precision, says Camille Parmesan, a professor at the University of Texas who vetted part of it. By her count, the chapter on current impacts alone rests on a review of over 1,000 academic studies, most of them already published—compared with about 100 last time around.

Quick Overview

• China today raised its reserve ratio by 0.5 points to 10.5%, which was the sixth hike in less than a year.
  
  

• The U.S. Labor Department said that jobless claims were up 11,000 last week to 321,000.
  
  

• The unemployment rate in Canada was unchanged at 6.1%.
  

• The Bank of England keep the interest rate unchanged at 5.25%.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said underground supplies of natural gas were up 58 billion cubic feet at 1.569 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are down 7% YoY.
  
  
  

Quick Overview

• The Institute of Supply Management's index of U.S. services dropped from 54.3 to 52.4 in March.
  

• Factory orders rose 1% in February following the biggest drop in six years, the Commerce Department said Wednesday
  
  

• An index of services in the U.K. increased from 57.4 to 57.6 in February, a sign of continued expansion.
  

• Eurostat said that retail trade volume in the Euro area was up 1.2% YoY.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 4.3 million barrels last week at 332.7 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline were down 5.0 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were down 200,000 barrels.
  YoY gasoline demand was up 1.7% and distillate demand was down 1.9% YoY.
  

• GFMS Ltd. said world gold mine production was down 3% in 06, the lowest level in ten years.
  

The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis
A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines.

Quick Overview

• The National Association of Realtors said U.S. pending home sales increased from 108.5 to 109.3 in February, more than expected.
  
  

• Industrial consumption of silver, used in film, batteries and medical devices, grew 11 percent to a record 409.3 million ounces in 2005, GFMS Ltd. said.
  
  
  

• Arrivals of cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast's, were around 920,500 metric tons, down by 2.3% between Oct. 1 and March 31.
  
  
  

• Copper rose to the highest in five months on speculation that mine output may lag behind demand, especially from China.

Quick Overview

• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole said the U.S. central bank's main concern remains inflation and he could be inclined to raise interest rates if price pressures did not ease.
  

• New Century Financial Corp. filed for bankruptcy Monday amid a surge in homeowner defaults, the biggest mortgage lender to collapse in the U.S. housing market.
  

• The Supreme Court Monday ordered the federal government to take a new look at regulating carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles, in a rebuke to the Bush administration’s policy on global warming, the Associated Press reported.
  
  

• The Institute of Supply Management's index of manufacturing dropped from 52.3 to 50.9 in March, slightly weaker than expected.
  
  

• Australia's retail sales were up 0.9% in February, better than expected.
  

• Japan's index of business sentiment, dropped 25 in December to 23 in March.
  

• Manufacturing index in the U.K. fell from 55.4 to 54.4 in March, more than expected.
  

• The USDA' said rain is badly needed in most Florida OJ areas.
  

• China announced that they will buy $12.5 billion worth of U.S. goods in May, including $2 billion of soybeans and $500 million of cotton

Quick Overview

• U.S. Personal income was up 0.6% in February and U.S. consumer spending rose 0.6%.
  U.S. Core rate of personal consumption expenditures rose 0.3% in February and 2.4% YoY.
  The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell from 91.3 to 88.4 MoM.
  The Chicago purchasing managers index rose from 47.9 to 61.7 MoM, more than expected.
  U.S. Construction spending rose 0.3% MoM.
  The U.S. said it will impose duties on imports of coated paper from China, raising fears of protectionism.

• Japans unemployment rate was 4.0% in February, the lowest in over eight years.
  Japans household spending in Japan was up 1.3% in February, stronger than expected.
  Japans Industrial production was down 0.2% in February, stronger than expected.
  YoY Japans consumer prices were down 0.2% in February.
  

• Canada's real GDP increased 0.1% in January and 2.0% YoY.
  Canada’s Industrial Product Price was up 4.4% YoY.
  

• Inflation in the euro 13 region will probably reach 1.9 percent in March, the European Union said Friday.
  The unemployment rate in the Euro area fell from 7.4% to 7.3% in February.
  Business sentiment in the Euro area rose from 109.7 to 111.2 MoM.
  

• The unemployment rate in France fell from 8.5% to 8.4% MoM, the lowest in 24 years.
  

• GDP in New Zealand rose 1.5% YoY.
  

• India's central bank raised interest rates to 7.75%.
  

• The USDA's Prospective Plantings report expects:
  90.45 million acres of corn planted this spring, up from 78.3 million acres a year ago. (The biggest corn plantings since 1944) (est. 87.98)
  67.14 million acres of soybeans, down from 75.5 million acres a year ago. (est. 69.17)
  60.30 million acres of wheat, up from 57.3 million acres a year ago.
  12.15 million acres of cotton, down from 15.27 million acres a year ago.
  

• The USDA said that on March 1, 07 there were:
  6.07 billion bushels of corn stocks, down 13% YoY.
  1.78 billion bushels of soybean stocks, up 7% YoY.
  856 million bushels of wheat stocks, down 12% YoY.
  
  
  

Updates resume March 31st.

Quick Overview

• The Conference Board index of U.S. consumer confidence dropped from 111.2 to 107.2 in March, weaker than expected.
  

• German business confidence rose from 107.0 to 107.7 in March, stronger than expected.
  

• The U.S. military denied reports that Iran fired a missile at a U.S. ship in the Persian Gulf. The rumors sent oil prices up more than 8 percent in after-hours trading.

Bloomberg Special Report - Phantom Shares
relinked

Quick Overview

• U.S. New home sales were weaker than expected down 3.9% from January's pace. This # is dimming hopes for a rebound in the housing market and increasing worries about the health of the economy
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. Leading indicators were down 0.5% in February, six of ten indicators showing a decline.

• U.K. Retail sales were up 1.4% in February, more than expected and the biggest jump in two years after
  

• The Fed said its holdings of Treasury and agency debt kept for overseas central banks rose $10.79 billion in the week ended March 21, to $1.882 trillion.
  

• Japans land prices increased 0.1% in 2006, the first increase in 16 years. Commercial land prices increased 2.3% and land in metropolitan areas increased more.
  

• The USDA said there were 483.6 million pounds of frozen pork in storage on February 28, 2007, down 8% YoY.
  

• The USDA said there were 732 million pounds of frozen orange juice concentrate in U.S. cold storage, down 32% YoY.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 17 billion cubic feet last week at 1.533 trillion cubic feet.
  

Agrifood Giant Nearly Rivals Carmakers On Emissions
Producing one kilo of cut veal produces as much greenhouse gas emissions as travelling 220 kilometres (137 miles) by car. However, meat from non ruminants turns out to be more environmentally friendly. One kilo of pork is equivalent to a car journey of just 20 kilometres, while a kilogramme of chicken is worth just 10 kilometres.

Quick Overview

• The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25%.
  
  

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said its index of mortgage application dropped 2.7% to 672.1.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 4.0 million barrels last week to 329.3 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline were down 3.4 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were down 300,000 barrels.
  YoY Gasoline demand was up 2.1%
  YoY distillate demand was up 3.0%.
  
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. New housing starts jumped 9% in February, following a slump in January, but still down 28.5% YoY.
  

• The Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged at 0.50%, as expected.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in the U.K. increased 2.8% in February.
  

• YoY Canada's consumer prices increased 2.0% in February.
  

Chart of the day


The Percent of ETF's (Exchange Traded Funds) on our list of 317 funds that are up in the last 20 days.

iRack

Quick Overview

• The National Association of Home Builders index of homebuilders' sentiment dropped from 39 to 36 in March.
  

• China's central bank raised it's one year lending rate 0.27% to 6.39% Sunday, the 3rd hike in 11 months.
  

• (AP)--The Yangtze River gets more than half of China's industrial waste and sewage. Europe's Danube has lost most of its surrounding wetlands. And the Rio Grande has become so shallow that salt water is seeping in, bringing ocean fish that threaten freshwater species.

Quick Overview

• YoY U.S. consumer prices rose 2.4% in February, more than expected.
  

• The U.S. Federal Reserve said that industrial output increased 1.0% in February, the biggest monthly gain in over a year.
  

• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index dropped from 91.3 to 88.8 in March, a six month low.
  

• Informa estimates 2007-08 U.S. planted corn acreage at 87.834 million acres, above last year's 78.3 million acres.
  
  

Quick Overview

• The producer price index rose 1.3% in February, while the core rate rose 0.4%, the Labor Department reported.
  

• The U.S. Treasury said that foreign investors bought $115.0 billion of U.S. securities in January while U.S. investors bought $17.6 billion of foreign securities.
  

• The New York Federal Reserve's index of manufacturing dropped from 24.4 to 1.9 in March.
  

• The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional index of manufacturing dropped from 0.6 to 0.2 in March.
  
  

• ExFederal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Thursday there was a risk that rising defaults in subprime mortgage markets could spill over into other economic sectors.
  

• Australia's unemployment rate increased from 4.5% to 4.6% in February.
  

• YoY Consumer prices in the Euro area were up 1.8% in February
  

• The Swiss National Bank increased its key interest rate from 2.00% to 2.25%.
  

Quick Overview

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said that its index of mortgage application increased 2.8% last week, the highest level this year.
  

• Consumer confidence in Australia increased to 115.5 in March, the highest score in over a year.
  

• YoY China's retail sales in the first two months rose a strong 14.7 %.
  

• Industrial production in the Euro area was down 0.2% in January and up 3.7% YoY.
  

• Asian soybean rust was found in a bin of soybeans that came from southeast Iowa last fall.
  

• The U.S. Energy Department (DOE) said that:
  Supplies of crude oil supplies were up 1.1 million barrels to 325.3 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline were down 2.5 million barrels.
  Supplies of heating oil were down 2.1 million barrels.
  Gasoline demand was up 2.8% YoY.
  Distillate demand was up 5.5% YoY.
  

• The Shanghai Futures Exchange is set to start zinc trading later this month.
  
  

• The Brazilian government may boost the amount of ethanol it blends with gasoline to 25%.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Retail sales rose 0.1% in February, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
  

• The International Coffee Organization increased its estimate of the 2007-2008 world coffee crop from 110.5 to 112.0 million bags. It reduced its estimate of 2007 world consumption from 118 to 117.5 million bags.
  

• YoY China's consumer prices were up 2.7% in February.
  

• Question marks continue to hang over the US mortgage market. The Securities & Exchange Commission is investigating troubled subprime mortgage lender New Century, the firm has revealed.
  
  
  

• Special Report: Phantom Shares
  Bloomberg Television premieres a half hour Special Report called "Phantom Shares" on Tuesday, March 13, 2007 at 7:00pm, 9:00pm, and 10:00pm ET.
  

Quick Overview

Japan changed its economic growth figures for the fourth quarter to an annual pace of 5.5 %, the strongest growth in three years.

U.S. Senator John Thune, R-S.D., has urged federal officials to consider a proposal for using a 20% blend of ethanol in vehicles.

The U.S. government posted at $120 billion deficit in February, slightly larger than the deficit a year ago. For the first five months of the new fiscal year, the deficit is $162.2 billion, down 25% YoY.

The Coming Entitlement Meltdown
The National Taxpayers Union reports that Medicare will consume nearly 40% of the nation's GDP after several decades because of the new drug benefit. That's not 40% of federal revenues, or 40% of federal spending, but rather 40 % of the nation's entire private sector output!

Quick Overview

• Japans machinery orders rose 3.9 percent.

• U.S. Initial jobless claims fell by 10,000 last week, following the previous week’s gain to a 14-month high, the Labor Department said Thursday.
  
  

• The European Central Bank raised its interest rate from 3.50% to 3.75%.
  The European Central Bank expects real GDP growth of 2.5% in 2007 and 2.4% in 2008.
  

• The Bank of England left its interest rate unchanged at 5.25%.
  
  

• Available power reserve margins may fall below required levels in four to six U.S. regions by 2009, Merrill Lynch analyst Elizabeth Parrella wrote in a recent research report.
  

Quick Overview

• The Federal Reserve said consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3.2% in January to $2.41 trillion.
  

• Australia's GDP rose 1.0% QoQ, and 2.8% YoY.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were down 4.8 million barrels last week,
  Supplies of gasoline were down 3.8 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were down 1.5 million barrels.
  Gasoline demand was up 3.3% YoY
  Distillate demand was up 7.8% YoY
  

The yen also rises
A generally stronger yen may spread a little discomfort

Quick Overview

• U.S. Factory orders were down 5.6% in January, the biggest monthly drop in over six years.
  

• Dow-Jones Newswires reports that Brazil is considering increasing the ethanol content of their fuel from 23% to 25%.
  

• Eurostat changed its estimate of 2006 real GDP growth in the Euro zone from 2.7% to 2.6%.
  

• Britain’s retail sales were up 3.3% YoY.

Quick Overview

• The Institute of Supply Management's index of U.S. services dropped from 59.0 to 54.3 in February
  
  

• Global causes may on balance have boosted U.S. inflation, but globalization has not affected the ability of the Federal Reserve to influence U.S. financial conditions, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said.
  
  

• Japan's unemployment rate improved from 4.1% to 4.0% in January.
  Japan’s household spending rose 0.6% in January.
  Japan's corporate spending increased 16.8% QoQ.
  

• China will boost its 2007 defense budget by 17.8 % the most in five years.
  
  
  

• At its Outlook Forum, the USDA said they expect 2007-2008 U.S. ending stocks of:
  Corn to fall from 752 to 637 million bushels.
  Soybeans to fall from 595 to 370 million bushels.
  Wheat to increase from 472 to 506 million bushels.
  Sugar to fall from 1.695 to 1.215 million tons.
  Cotton to fall from 8.30 to 5.80 million bales
  
  
  

• The International Cocoa Organization expects a world production deficit of 103,000 tons for 2006-2007.
  
  

• The U.S. produced 4.86 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006, up 24% YoY. U.S. ethanol demand totaled 5.4 billion gallons, a 33% YoY. According to the RFA, U.S. ethanol production capacity is 5.6 billion gallons with another 6 billion gallons under construction.
  
  
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. Personal incomes were up 1.0% in January, consumer spending was up 0.5%.
  

• The Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index increased from 49.3 to 52.3 in February
  

• U.S. Construction spending was down 0.8% from December's pace and down 1.2% YoY.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were down 132 billion cubic feet to 1.996 trillion cubic feet. YoY supplies are down 13%.
  

Quick Overview

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis changed its estimates of fourth quarter GDP growth sharply downward, to 2.2% compared with a previous estimate of 3.5%.
  

• New home sales fell by 16.6%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The monthly decline was the biggest, since a 23.8 percent drop-off in January 1994. The median sales price of a new U.S. home rose $400 to $239,800.
  

• The Chicago PMI fell to 47.9%, its lowest level since April 2003, suggesting contraction. MoM the prices paid component rose to 63.2 from 54.9.
  
  

• The unemployment rate in the Euro area improved from 7.5% to 7.4% in January.
  

• The inflation rate in the Euro area improved from 1.9% to 1.8% in January
  

• Industrial production in Japan was down 1.5% in January.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 1.4 million barrels to 329.0 million barrels.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were down 1.9 million barrels
  Supplies of heating oil were down 1.8 million barrels.
  YoY Gasoline demand over the past four weeks was up 3.6%
  

Quick Overview

• YoY Eurozone money supply grew at an annual rate of 9.8 percent in January.
  
  

• Shanghai’s composite index fell 9%.
  

• U.S. Durable goods orders were down 7.8% in January, weaker than expected. Excluding transport, orders were down 3.1% MoM.
  

• Consumer confidence rose from 110.2 to 112.5 in February, more than expected
  

• U.S. Existing home sales were at an annual rate of 6.46 million units in January, up 3% MoM, but down 4.3% YoY. There are 3.55 million homes for sale in the U.S. -- a 6.6 month supply.
  

US mortgage crisis goes into meltdown
Panic has begun to sweep the sub-prime mortgage sector in the United States after the bankruptcy of 22 lenders over the past two months, setting off mass liquidation of housing loans packaged as securities

Blow for beer as biofuels clean out barley
One consequence, he said, could be a long-term shift upwards in the price of beer. Barley and hops account for about 7-8 per cent of brewing costs.

Quick Overview

• Greenspan told a business conference in Hong Kong the U.S. economy may be about due for a recession.
  

• Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Shiozaki suggested the end of deflation is in sight.
  

• If the politicians in Washington do nothing, 23 million Americans will get hit by the alternative minimum tax next year, up from 4 million this year.
  
  

• Concern about subprime mortgage defaults continue.

Central Banks Diversify From Dollar, Survey Shows Central banks are still investing in riskier assets as they chase greater returns on yields. Sixty-nine percent said they were looking for more yield, having been forced to widen their asset range by a low-yielding environment.
More than half of the respondents said there is scope for central banks to diversify beyond traditional assets into equities, and around a third said banks should invest in commodities.

While you slumber, your brain puts the world in order Ever wondered why sleeping on a problem works? It seems that as well as strengthening our memories, sleep also helps us to extract themes and rules from the masses of information we soak up during the day.

Quick Overview

• U.S. jobless claims were down 27,000 to 332,000
  

• YoY German GDP was up 3.5% in the fourth quarter.
  

• The U.S. Energy Department (DOE) said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 3.7 million barrels to 327.6 million barrels.
  Supplies of gasoline were down 3.1 million barrels
  Supplies of natural gas were down 223 billion cubic feet to 1.865 trillion cubic feet.
  Supplies of heating oil were down 4.1 million barrels.
  U.S. gasoline demand was up 3.8% from YoY
  U.S. distillate demand was up 9.8% YoY.
  

• The USDA said there were 46.4 million pounds of frozen bellies in storage, down 15% YoY. Frozen pork inventories totaled 486 million pounds, down 8% YoY.
  

• The USDA said that, there were 729 million pounds of frozen orange juice in cold storage, down 32% YoY.

Corn Surges to 10-Year High as Rains May Limit U.S. Planting
Corn rose to a 10-year high in Chicago, extending this year's 12 percent rally, as wet weather in the Midwest threatened to prevent U.S. farmers from planting enough grain to meet surging demand for ethanol.

Quick Overview

• U.S. Consumer prices were up 0.2% in January and up 2.1% YoY. Excluding food and energy, prices were up 0.3% in January and up 2.7% YoY.
  

• U.S. index of leading indicators were up 0.1% in January, less than expected,
  

• The Bank of Japan raised rates from 0.25% to 0.50% by a vote of 8 to 1.
  
  

Quick Overview

• Canada's CPI was up 0.1% in January and up 1.2% YoY,
  

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

• Producer prices in Germany were up 3.2% YoY.
  

• The Florida Department of Citrus said there were 65.1 million gallons of frozen orange juice in storage on Feb. 10th, down 30% YoY.
  

• The USDA said that 2006 U.S. pork exports totaled 2.997 billion pounds, up 12% YoY.
  

• The USDA said that 2006 U.S. beef exports were up 65% YoY -- 46% below the 2003 record.
  

Anti-MRSA silver pyjamas trialled
Pyjamas and bed linen made with silver cloth are being trialled in a hospital to help combat the MRSA superbug.

Feeding your brain: new benefits found in chocolate
Funded by candy maker Mars Inc., which provided a specially formulated liquid cocoa concoction for the research, the studies suggest that flavanols increase blood flow to the brain and may hold promise for treating some vascular impairments.

Children's TV 'is linked to cancer, autism, dementia'
"It is the number of hours and the age at which they start which produces the biological effects. It is because of the medium, not the message, that these effects are occurring." - DR ARIC SIGMAN

Quick Overview

• The U.S. producer price index was down 0.6% in January. Excluding food and energy costs, prices were up 0.2% in January.
  

• U.S. housing starts were down 14% from December's pace and the weakest in ten years.
  

• The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index dropped from 96.9 to 93.3 in February, more than expected.
  

• World Weather Inc., a private weather firm, released a new outlook that indicated dry conditions may begin in the U.S. around July due to a shift from El Nino into La Nina conditions.
  

Quick Overview

• U.S. Industrial production fell 0.5% in December, the most in over a year.
  
  

• The price of goods imported to the United States fell 1.2% in January, the most in three months.
  
  

• First-time U.S. jobless jumped last week by 44,000, the biggest increase since September 2005, the Labor Department said Thursday
  

• International investors slowed their purchases of U.S. stocks and bonds in December. They purchased $63.0 billion U.S. securities while U.S. investors bought $47.4 billion of foreign securities. This is the lowest net funds inflow in five years.
  
  

• Retail sales in the U.K. were down 1.8% in January.
  
  

• The International Coffee Organization estimates 2007-2008 world coffee production unchanged at 110.5 million bags They estimate Consumption at 118 million bags, up from 116 million bags last year.
  
  

• The DoE said that underground supplies of natural gas were down 259 billion cubic feet to 2.088 trillion cubic feet. YoY supplies are down 8%.
  

• The World Gold Council estimates 2006 world gold mine production at 2,467 tons down 2% . They estimate 2006 demand at 3,362 million tons, down 10%.