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

Quick Overview

• DOW ends up 94 on Thursday after robust demand from overseas investors for U.S. government debt signaled confidence in the economy.
  

• U.S. consumer sentiment rebounded this month from 74.4 to 79.2, according to the University of Michigan's monthly consumer sentiment index released Thursday
  

• U.S. Jobless claims were up 2,000 last week to 326,000.
  

• The U.S. trade shortfall grew to a record $66.1 billion in September, as crude oil prices surged and exports dropped by the most in four years. U.S. exports were down 2.6% to $105.2 billion while imports increased 2.4% to $171.3 billion, the Commerce Department reported Thursday
  

• The USDA's 2005-2006 U.S. ending stocks estimate for:
  Corn increased from 2.220 to 2.319 billion bushels.
  Soybeans increased from 260 to 350 million bushels.
  Wheat remained at 530 million bushels.
  Sugar was lowered from 1.089 million to 667,000 short tons.
  Cotton increased from 6.40 to 6.50 million bales.
  

• Assets of the nation's retail money market mutual funds rose by $805.4 million in the latest week to $827.95 billion, the Investment Company Institute said Thursday.
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that underground supplies of natural gas were up 61 billion cubic feet at 3.229 trillion cubic feet. Supplies are now down 3% from a year ago.
  

• Canada's exports were up 2.8% in September to C$39.8 billion, a new record high. Imports were up 1.4% at C$32.7 billion, also a record high.
  

• Mexico’s Annualized inflation dropped to 3.05 percent at the end of October, its lowest rate since records began and just a shade higher than the midrange of the central bank's 2-4 percent 2005 target.
  
  

• France's GDP was up 0.7% in the third quarter and up 1.7% YoY stronger than expected.
  

• Australia's unemployment rate increased from 5.1% to 5.2% in October, the highest in seven months.
  

• The unemployment rate in New Zealand dropped from 3.6% to 3.4% in the third quarter, a record low.
  

• Japan's machinery orders were up 2.1% in the third quarter to 3.1 trillion yen, stronger than expected and the most in over four years.
  

Quick Overview

• The U.S. current account deficit is not sustainable but an adjustment need not be disorderly, provided the government and central bank deliver good policies, a top Federal Reserve policy-maker said on Wednesday.
  
  

• The U.S. Department of Energy said that:
  Supplies of crude oil were up 4.5 million barrels to 323.6 million barrels -- 700,000 barrels came from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  Supplies of unleaded gasoline were up 4.2 million barrels
  Supplies of Heating oil were down 1.5 million barrels
  

• The Mortgage Bankers Association said its mortgage application index was up 2.3% last week to 661.3
  

• In the U.K. consumer confidence fell to the lowest in at least 18 months in October as economic growth faltered and unemployment rose, the Nationwide Building Society survey showed.
  

• The Conference Board said the index of leading indicators for Japan increased 0.4% in September to 99.7.

• China is speeding up plans to allow local institutions to invest overseas, a move that could begin to release a portion of the billions of dollars of foreign currency now sitting in low-return Chinese bank deposits.
  

• Industrial production in Brazil fell more than expected in September from August, suggesting that high interest rates took a toll on Latin America's largest economy in the third quarter.

Courtesy of www.pfscan.com we have added the S&P500 Bullish Percentage Chart
here

US National Debt by Presidential Term, 1976-2004

Quick Overview

• Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. builder of luxury homes, reduced next year's sales forecast, saying the housing market is weakening after a five-year boom.
  

• Mexican gross fixed investment, a measure of spending on machinery, equipment and construction, soared in August as optimistic businessmen imported more tools than expected to churn out goods.
  

• The confidence of U.S. consumers rose in the latest week, buoyed by lower gasoline prices, ABC News and the Washington Post said on Tuesday.
  

• The U.S. and China agreed to trade limits on a range of clothing items for three years.
  

• Brazil's agricultural exports totaled $36.2 billion in the first ten months of 2005, a new record high, helped by sales of soybeans, ethanol, coffee, sugar, and orange juice.
  

• The British Retail Consortium said that retail sales in the U.K. were down 0.2% in the August to October quarter from a year ago.

• The national average retail diesel fuel price continued to fall, dropping 17.8 cents to $2.698 a gallon, the Energy Department said.