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Monday, October 6 2008
Earliest at Top
Page auto-refreshes as new events occur (times are ET)
  • 1:25 PM Dow 10,000! - from the other direction. Irrational? Only time will tell. But certainly not Irrational Exuberance.
  • 1:12 PM Emerging market stocks (ETF: EEM) fell the most in at least 20 years, and exchanges in Brazil (EWZ) and Russia (RSX) halted trading as the global banking crisis escalated in Europe and oil fell below $90 a barrel. "Fear of a deeper global recession is building."
  • 12:59 PM The yen's up a cool 4.2% against the dollar, to 0.009987. Other currencies aren't so lucky. Euro -2.22% to $1.352. Pound -1.95% to $1.74. $Cdn -2.3% to $0.905.
  • 12:47 PM Markets are down 10% since 2 PM last Friday. Time for a capitulation rally - or just another bus stop on the road to oblivion?
  • 12:34 PM A Goldman Sachs alumnus in charge of the nation’s economic rescue? Hmm... Meet Neel Kashkari, the man with the $700B wallet.
  • 12:21 PM Bond bulls aren't worried that yields are already below the fed funds target rate, because they're almost sure the Fed will lower rates again. Bears, meanwhile, think we may be close to a bottom, especially if the Fed's $700B rescue plan succeeds in unlocking credit markets.
  • 12:08 PM Even once-untouchable Russian oligarchs are being squeezed by the credit crunch, as the Russians discover leverage cuts both ways.
  • 11:57 AM A look at Wall Street's shadow market: Jim Grant discusses credit default swaps on CBS's 60 Minutes.
  • 11:57 AM Live on C-Span: Dick Fuld on Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy.
  • 11:48 AM Net equity withdrawal from mortgages plunged to near-zero in Q2, a level not seen in 14 years. "Less equity extraction means less consumption over the next few quarters," Calculated Risk says.
  • 11:35 AM "If financial conditions fail to improve quickly, near-term economic prospects could deteriorate markedly," NABE says in its Outlook. Two out of three economists believe we're already in recession, or will be there before year end.
  • 11:19 AM Sector ETF weakness: Coal– KOL -14.5%, Solar– KWT -13.6%, Steel– SLX -12.5%, Solar– TAN -10.7%, Oil Services– OIH -10.6%.
  • 11:18 AM Sector ETF strength: Gold– GLD +3.0%.
  • 11:17 AM Dow leaders: none. Dow laggards: C -9.6%, AA -7.3%, BA -5.9%, GM -5.9%, GE -5.5%.
  • 11:06 AM Treasury: Statement by the President's Working Group on Financial Markets
  • 11:04 AM Nine years after first breaking through to five digits, the DJIA is a four-horse buggy once again. Last time 10,000 was breached? Oct. 29, 2004.
  • 11:04 AM Fed officials plan to meet with top execs from commodities exchanges to push for the creation of a new, more transparent marketplace for credit default swaps. The new exchange could be up and running within weeks.
  • 11:01 AM Up volume vs. down volume: NYSE 23M to 1.736B (99%). Nasdaq 24M to 693M (96%). Amex 74M to 385M (84%).
  • 10:59 AM Advancers vs. decliners says it all. NYSE 98 to 3,082 (96%). Nasdaq 300 to 2,510 (87%). Amex 133 to 953 (85%).
  • 10:57 AM Ten-year credit default swaps on U.S. Treasury debt rose to record levels, climbing to 40 basis points from 36 basis points on Friday.
  • 10:41 AM Major averages are bleeding. Dow -4.75% to 9,837. S&P -5.73% to 1,036. Nasdaq -6.03% to 1,829.
  • 10:29 AM Experts wrongly predicted job loss during the credit crisis would bolster the offshore outsourcing market. Instead, growth estimates for the outsourcing industry continue to be revised downward in a 'fundamental restructuring' of financial services.
  • 10:23 AM Nintendo's (NTDOY.PK) new portable video game console will be on store shelves in Japan next month, and will reach overseas markets by 2009. The device is part of an effort to fight Apple's (AAPL) entrance into the portable gaming market with its iPhone.
  • 10:15 AM Dow trades below 10,000. Currently -3.4% to 9,969.
  • 10:07 AM The $700B bailout plan will help not just homeowners, but Hollywood too. As a sweetener to help the bill get through Congress, tax-breaks were attached to help a wide range of industries, including movie and TV productions.
  • 10:02 AM Markets went up, then back down, in first half hour. Presently Dow -2.91% to 10,024. S&P -3.4% to 1,061. Nasdaq -3.7% to 1,875.
  • 9:57 AM Treasury's Paulson is expected to choose Neel Kashkari to oversee the $700B rescue plan at least through January. Kashkari is a key Treasury adviser that Paulson has relied on heavily during the financial crisis.
  • 9:52 AM 94-year-old Seth Glickenhaus, one of the few still on Wall St. who worked there during the Depression, says the market may be bottoming - temporarily.
  • 9:45 AM Stocks moving on Barron's recommendations: ABX +4.8%, CME +2.8%, AOC +2.6%, ALL +2.2%, LVS -5.3%, MGM -4.4%, WYNN -4.2%.
  • 9:38 AM Netflix (NFLX) is down 12% in early trading. It trimmed its Q4 revenue guidance to $353-359 from $357-363, and cut its subscriber estimate to 8.95-9.25M from 9.1-9.7M.
  • 9:32 AM Dow opens down 2.75%. S&P -3.14%. Nasdaq -2.76%.
  • 9:18 AM Crude -3.1% to $90.95. Gold +3.56% to $862.90.
  • 9:17 AM Markets will open much lower. Dow futures -2.06% to 10,150. S&P -2.5%. Nasdaq -2%.
  • 9:16 AM Research In Motion (RIMM) is down 5.5% premarket. Deutsche Bank thinks BlackBerry Bold will ship late from AT&T (T), increasing likelihood RIMM will miss its guidance. Lowers price target to $50 from $70.
  • 9:15 AM eBay (EBAY) cuts 10% of its workforce, totaling roughly 1,000 permanent workers and several hundred temporary employees, in an effort to improve the performance of its core marketplace division.
  • 9:00 AM The credit crisis is hitting maritime trade particularly hard, and weaker shippers and shipyards may be weeded out. Global trade could be significantly slowed as over 90% of the world's traded goods by volume are carried by sea.
  • 8:56 AM Retailers rolled out major sales promotions to lure consumers, but wallet-conscious shoppers haven't taken the bait. Same-store sales for September are expected to show major declines, with this retail season shaping up to be the worst since 1991.
  • 8:51 AM The spreading financial crisis in Europe pushes the euro to its largest one-day drop against the yen since its 1999 debut. The euro also hits a 14-month low against the dollar.
  • 8:48 AM A senior officer at Italy's Economic Development ministry argues a pan-European bailout fund would make the continent stronger and more credible. Italy's proposed joint fund would be worth around 3% of GDP.
  • 8:45 AM Hartford Financial Services (HIG) posts a Q3 loss in the range of $8.50-$8.80/share, and announces Allianz (AZ) will invest $2.5B for up to a 20% stake in Hartford. Pre-market: AZ -1.9%. HIG +4.0%.
  • 8:34 AM Fed to pay interest on banks' required and excess reserve balances, which should leverage its control over interest rates. It also substantially increases the size of Term Auction Facility (TAF) auctions.
  • 8:28 AM The plunge in commodities prices has economists worried about deflation as a lack of credit strangles growth, pushing housing prices even lower, leading to more defaults, and even tighter credit etc. - a phenomenon one money manager calls a vicious deflationary cycle.
  • 8:20 AM Commodities markets are poised to post their biggest annual decline since 2001 as slowing economic growth erodes demand for raw materials, and investors bail out of leveraged positions.
  • 8:05 AM Scotiabank (BNS) to pay C$2.3B for a 37.6% stake in CI Financial, Canada's number-three mutual fund company.
  • 7:59 AM eBay (EBAY) buys Bill Me Later, the number two online-oriented payments brand, for $945M in cash ($820M) and options ($125M), opening up "deferred payments and promotional financing service to the tens of millions of customers who use eBay and PayPal."
  • 7:53 AM Bank losses could more than triple to $1.7T as they begin to tap the government's bailout plan, which will force them to write down some still overvalued assets, and may drive yields on more tame debt issues down.
  • 7:39 AM The cost of borrowing dollars overnight, Libor, jumped 37 BPs to 2.37%, while three-month Libor fell five BPs to 4.29%.
  • 7:30 AM Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks studio finalizes its split from Viacom's (VIA) Paramount Pictures. The parting seemed to be amicable, leaving open the possibility of future collaboration.
  • 7:22 AM How long before the Wall Street credit crisis clogs up Main Street?
  • 7:09 AM Following a similar move by U.S. counterparts, Europe's automakers plan to ask the European Commission for a $55B loan to speed the switch to environmentally- friendly cars.
  • 7:06 AM ING Groep (ING) wants to raise its stake in Bank of Beijing to 20%, and may apply for a retail banking license in China. ING wants 20-25% of its profits to come from the Asia-Pacific region within the next ten years, as compared to 6% today.
  • 7:06 AM A sworn affidavit by Wachovia (WB) CEO Robert Steel suggests the bank came close to failing at least twice in the last week, and that the FDIC pushed Steel to abandon a pact with Citigroup (C) in favor of Wells Fargo (WFC), thereby letting the government off the hook.
  • 6:56 AM UBS lowers its forecast for China's 2009 GDP growth to 8.0% from 8.8%, citing anemic global growth and forecasts of a severe U.S. recession. This is the second time in less than three months that UBS has lowered its outlook on China's growth.
  • 6:54 AM U.S. futures are shaky, but have climbed from overnight lows. Dow -2.06%. S&P -2.37%. Nasdaq -2.2%.
  • 6:53 AM Europe's limping into lunchtime: London -3.3%. Paris -5.9%. Frankfurt -5.5%.
  • 6:52 AM Asia markets saw deep shades of red on Monday. Nikkei -4.25% to 10,473. Shanghai -5.23% to 2,174. Hang Seng -4.97% to 16,804. BSE -5.61% to 11,824. Jakarta -10.03%.
  • 6:50 AM Makoto Utsumi, formerly a top official at Japan's Finance Ministry, says "there was and will be no chance for a coordinated rate cut" by the U.S., Europe and Japan to prop up the dollar.
  • 6:48 AM Asian money-market rates maintain their nine-month highs as the $700B fails to inspire confidence and European countries struggle to rescue faltering financial companies.
  • 6:30 AM The German government and banks craft a $68B rescue package for Hypo Real Estate after an earlier plan faltered. Germany's central bank warned Hypo's failure could have "triggered unpredictable consequences" like those of Lehman's failure.
  • 6:24 AM BoA (BAC) agrees to settle claims regarding some subprime loans or option adjustable-rate mortgages originated by Countrywide Financial. The deal will cover nearly 400K borrowers and could be worth up to $8.4B.
  • 6:23 AM The cost of borrowing in euros for three months, or Euribor, hit a record of 5.35% - its seventh straight record-breaking day. The TED spread - the difference between Treasurys and what banks pay to borrow in dollars - was at 3.89% today.
  • 6:12 AM BNP Paribas (BNPQY.PK) agrees to buy Fortis' Belgium and Luxembourg units for $19.8B after an earlier government rescue failed.
  • 5:22 AM A U.K. firm specializing in corporate insolvencies expects a wave of failures amongst U.K. retailers at the start of 2009. With the 'banking honeymoon' nearing its end, the firm warns there are few white knights around to rescue companies in distress.
  • 5:10 AM At the weekend's summit of EU leaders, Germany refused to back a pan-European bailout, and announced a full guarantee on bank deposits, pressuring other countries to follow suit. EU members not included in the talks expressed their disquiet.
  • 4:41 AM Fed officials and execs from Citi (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) try to resolve their volatile battle for Wachovia (WB). The lead solution involves divvying up Wachovia's branches by geographic area, Wells taking its asset-management and brokerage units - and no FDIC help for either.
  • 4:38 AM Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has full confidence China's financial system is safe, and says the economy may be able to sustain its rapid growth even in the midst of the global financial crisis.
  • 4:35 AM The ECB has been busy. Yesterday it lent €24.6B to banks through its above-market 5.25% marginal lending facility and took in €38.8B in its below-market 3.25% deposit facility. Today it plans to launch a quick liquidity absorbing tender up to €220B.
  • 4:20 AM European markets are down heavily in the early going. London -2.4%. Paris -4.7%. Frankfurt -4.4%.
  • 4:19 AM Flight-to-safety mindset is evident in Treasury futures. 30-year +1.01%. 10-year +0.73%. 5-year +0.53%. 2-year +0.23%.
  • 4:18 AM Crude has dipped below $90, currently -4.45% to $89.70. Gold +0.18% to $834.70.
  • 4:17 AM It's still the middle of the night, but U.S. futures look ugly. Dow -2.07%. S&P -2.39%. Nasdaq -2.66%.
  • 3:59 AM ImClone (IMCL) agrees to be acquired by Eli Lilly (LLY) for around $6.1B.
  • 3:48 AM Asian markets plunge on fears of financial crisis contagion: Nikkei -4.3%. Hang Seng -4.7%. Shanghai -5.2%. BSE -3.6%.
  • 12:00 AM Monday's economic calendar:
    9:00 Former Fed chief Volcker and vice-chief Ferguson speak on financial supervision
    11:30 Treasury's Ryan speaks at industry conference
    12:00 Fed's Evans speaks on economic outlook in Texas
    12:00 Fed's Fisher speaks on Fed, economy
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