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Friday, November 27 2009  |  06:09 EDT  | 
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Market Currents Today - Friday, November 27, 2009
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  • 01:30 PM The iPhone (AAPL) goes on sale in South Korea Saturday and has seen 40,000 pre-orders, a notable step for a country that spent years erecting smart-phone trade barriers. Comment!
  • 01:20 PM It's no 1987, but today's 1.5% drop was the second-worst day after Thanksgiving for the Dow - a session usually good for gains. Comment!
  • 01:09 PM Today's session sunk what might have been a positive holiday week for stocks, with U.S. markets catching up to the global selloff. For the week: the Dow down 0.1%, S&P 500 down 0.01%, Nasdaq down 0.4%. Comment!
  • 01:03 PM Treasurys rallied, with 30-year futures +0.54% to 122-27; 10-year +0.45%; 5-year +0.24%; 2-year +0.11%. Dollar +0.4% against euro, +0.2% against pound, +0.3% against yen, +0.4% against Swiss franc, +0.9% against Aussie dollar. Comment!
  • 01:02 PM Stocks recovered somewhat before turning sideways and finishing a short session with some big losses. Declines were broad, with defensive sectors unable to make up for severe weakness in energy issues. The Dow closes -1.5% (-154.55) to 10,309.85. S&P 500 -1.7% (-19.13) to 1,091.50. Nasdaq -1.7% (-37.61) to 2,138.44. Crude -2.5% to $76. Gold -0.9% to $1,175.90. Comment!
  • 12:45 PM An audit pointing out lax budget practices and a possible SEC inquiry spur Miami to put off a $120M sale of bonds, planned to finance parking garages at the new Florida Marlins stadium. Comment!
  • 12:38 PM "While many have acknowledged ... the growing wedge between market valuations and economic and corporate realities, few have been willing to take their equity exposure down. The Dubai announcement is serving as this catalyst." - Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian, expecting "contagion to many markets." 2 Comments
  • 12:30 PM Sony (SNE) gets bold about 3-D TV, saying that the new sets will account for up to half the televisions they sell in three years. The company expects revenues of more than ¥1T ($11.4B) from 3-D products in 2013. 1 Comment
  • 12:19 PM Investor Jonathan Finger - whose family helped lead the shareholder revolt that stripped Bank of America's (BAC -1.9%) chairmanship from Ken Lewis - says the bank should stop holding up his departure, but that his firm is "cautiously optimistic" that delays mean an outsider candidate might be chosen. Comment!
  • 12:15 PM Sector ETF weakness: Coal– KOL -3.9%. Gold Miners– GDX -3.3%. Gasoline– UGA -2.9%. Oil Services– OIH -2.8%. Oil– USO -2.7%. Silver– SLV -2.7%. Steel– SLX -2.7%. Solar– TAN -2.7%. Comment!
  • 12:13 PM Still just weakness across Dow components: CAT -2.4%. AA -2.2%. BAC -2%. XOM -1.9%. GE -1.7%. MSFT -1.7%. HPQ -1.7%. Comment!
  • 12:08 PM Treasurys gained more strength, with 30-year futures +0.51% to 122-26; 10-year +0.42%; 5-year +0.23%; 2-year +0.09%. The dollar seeing an apparent flight to safety, +0.4% against euro, +0.3% against yen, +0.2% against pound, +0.3% against Swiss franc. Comment!
  • 12:01 PM There's an hour left in an abbreviated trading session (U.S. equity markets close at 1 p.m.) and stocks have steadily pared much of their early losses: the Dow -1.2% to 10,336; S&P 500 -1.4% to 1,095; Nasdaq -1.2% to 2,149. Crude -2.9%. Natural gas -0.9%. Gold -0.9%. Comment!
  • 11:47 AM Tumbling crude futures (now -3.4%, to $75.35/barrel) are taking their toll on oil stocks - notably Exxon Mobil (XOM -1.8%), Chevron (CVX -1.6%), BP (BP -2.1%), ConocoPhillips (COP -1.9%) and Total (TOT -2.6%). Comment!
  • 11:32 AM Adding transparency to opaque derivatives markets should be the uncontroversial move, but it's the part of government reform most at risk, writes Floyd Norris. Banks are trying - and succeeding - to convince their customers that keeping the markets secret is best for them. 3 Comments
  • 11:18 AM Dubai may actually owe much more than the $80B-90B assumed, say UBS analysts, pointing to off-balance sheet liabilities. Bondholders in property unit Nakheel might demand a "significant sweetener" to renegotiate, with an eye on which assets they could claim. 1 Comment
  • 11:04 AM Views on Dubai are coming together: The Roubini crowd thinks it could be the first of many sovereign defaults - or it could be just another CRE bust, or a one-of-a-kind event. 6 Comments
  • 10:50 AM Videogame sales - the bright spot in an otherwise dismal 2008 holiday season - are showing signs of weakness. "October unfortunately is a good predictor of what's going to happen in November and December," one analyst says. 1 Comment
  • 10:39 AM Spain's Joaquin Almunia will succeed Neelie Kroes as the EU's competition commissioner, and France's Michel Barnier will tackle tougher bank regulation, as EC President Jose Barroso assembles a new five-year economic team to guide Europe's recovery. Comment!
  • 10:30 AM Sector ETF weakness: Coal– KOL -4.2%. Oil– USO -3.7%. Gasoline– UGA -3.5%. Gold Miners– GDX -3.2%. Commodities– GSG -3.1%. Silver– SLV -3%. Solar– TAN -3%. Steel– SLX -2.9%. Heating Oil– UHN -2.8%. Comment!
  • 10:24 AM Previous market meltdowns have been spurred by shocks to the system like Dubai World's debt crisis - but even if fallout is contained to the emirate and U.K. banks, Dubai is delivering a wake-up call about sovereign risk: "Investors need to remember that governments can and will change the rules when necessary. Asset prices, buoyed by a faith in policy support, may need to adjust to that." Comment!
  • 10:15 AM Mexico's central bank keeps its benchmark interest rate unchanged, at 4.5%, as inflation figures came in at a lower than expected 3.2%. Comment!
  • 10:13 AM No gainers in Dow components. Pacing losses: AA -2.7%. GE -2.5%. CAT -2.4%. BA -2.3%. UTX -2.1%. CSCO -2.1%. DD -2.1%. 1 Comment
  • 10:05 AM Stocks are recovering from deep cuts at the open, but there's weakness across the board and decliners outnumber advancers 15 to 1. After a half-hour, the Dow -1.5% to 10,307; S&P 500 -1.8% to 1,090; Nasdaq -1.8% to 2,136. Thirty-year Treasury futures +0.46% to 122-24; 10-year +0.35%; 5-year +0.17%. Comment!
  • 09:49 AM The Dutch Supreme Court finds that Goldman Sachs (GS), ABN Amro and Internet provider World Online misled investors during World Online's 2000 initial public offering, via a prospectus that didn't mention its CEO sold discounted shares in advance. A shareholder group says investors lost €2.3B ($3.4B) and calls for damages. 1 Comment
  • 09:40 AM Oil futures have plunged, to a six-week low, as investors sell off commodities. Crude -5.5% to $73.68. Natural gas -5.6%. Gold -2.8% to $1,153.80. Silver -5%. Copper -4%. Platinum -3.4%. Comment!
  • 09:31 AM The Dow -1.2% to 10,342; S&P 500 -1.6% to 1,093; Nasdaq -2.7% to 2,116. Volume should be light in a short post-Thanksgiving session, but Dubai World has been roiling global markets. Comment!
  • 09:15 AM U.S. equity markets sat out some rough seas worldwide yesterday, but futures indicate today's short session (closing at 1 p.m.) could be rough: Dow -2% to 10,232; S&P 500 -2.3% to 1,080; Nasdaq -2.5%. Comment!
  • 09:10 AM Doorbuster reports: Best Buy's (BBY) CEO says Black Friday traffic is up. Anecdotal evidence shows some full parking lots and more cash payments so far. Shoppers were lined up well before midnight Thursday at Best Buy, Target (TGT) and Toys R Us stores, while Wal-Mart (WMT) broke the mold by remaining open for 24 hours during the holiday. (photos) 1 Comment
  • 09:00 AM Premarket gainers: Short ETFs (EDZ, DTO, SCO, TZA, FXP, EEV, FAZ, SPXU BGZ, VXX, TWM, SMN...)
    Losers: ING -18%. LYG -11%. CBAK -8%. MGM -8%. NG -8%. SQNM -8%. MBI -7%. AIB -7%. HBC -7%. BCS -7%. RBS -7%. TS -7%. HL -7%. APWR -7%. RTK -7%. SNV -7%. MPEL -7%. CHLN -6%. PMI -6%. AEG -6%. DB -6%. KGC -6%. IAG -6%. NBG -6%. EGO -6%. ESLR -6%. AU -6%. NLST -6%. EGLE -6%. JASO -6%. EXM -6%. SOLF -6%. AUG -6%. 1 Comment
  • 08:55 AM BHP Billiton (BHP) CEO Marius Kloppers says demand from China's steel sector remains surprisingly strong. Annual contract iron ore price talks between the world's biggest miners and steelmakers are getting underway; Kloppers' remarks may help boost expectations that miners will push for a sizable increase in price. 1 Comment
  • 08:45 AM UBS (UBS) whistleblower Brad Birkenfeld, soon to begin a 40-month prison term for aiding tax evasion, hopes to use a new federal whistleblower law to claim a multibillion-dollar reward from the American government. Legal experts say his odds are good. 1 Comment
  • 08:34 AM When Congress mandated in 2007 a more-than-doubling of ethanol use by 2012 to 15B gallons, it wasn't counting on a sharp drop in fuel demand. At the current maximum allowable blend, 10%, updated projections make 15B gallons all but a mathematical impossibility. 6 Comments
  • 08:25 AM The inspectors general of the Fed and Treasury criticized both agencies for being too slow to prevent risky lending at U.S. banks that were brought down by real-estate losses and other problems. Ten of the 12 bank-collapse reviews (I, II) released by inspectors this year fault oversight weaknesses including failure to limit excessive concentration in commercial real-estate loans. 1 Comment
  • 08:16 AM Sources say China's largest internet portal, Sina Corp. (SINA), has attracted three investment firms that, along with management, will invest $180M in the company. The group – Sequoia Capital, FountainVest Partners, and Citic Capital Holdings – will receive a 9.4% stake in the company. Sina's management is pitching in about $50M, while the investment firms are coughing up the rest. Comment!
  • 08:07 AM Japanese consumer prices declined in October for the eighth straight month, underscoring deflationary pressure. Core consumer prices fell 2.5% Y/Y, and 0.4% M/M. Comment!
  • 07:58 AM The ECB president and other senior European officials will fly to China this weekend to try and convince government officials there to let its currency rise against the euro, although a similar trip two years ago accomplished little. A senior China official said China will keep the yuan "basically stable around reasonable, balanced levels," suggesting China's unlikely to buy into a faster yuan appreciation. 2 Comments
  • 07:47 AM Lenovo (LNVGY.PK) plans to buy back Lenovo Mobile Communication Technology, a mobile handset maker it founded in 2002, for $200M in cash and stock - double the price it sold the unit for in Jan. 2008. The move will help diversify Lenovo's business, which is currently concentrated heavily on PCs. (PR) Comment!
  • 07:35 AM Euro area sentiment (.pdf) rises to a stronger than expected 88.8 (vs. 86.1 in October, consensus 88.1). The pickup in confidence was strongest among industry, while consumer sentiment rose less sharply as respondents expressed fears over losing their jobs. Comment!
  • 07:23 AM Dutch financial services company ING Group (ING) prices its €7.5B rights issue at a hefty 52% discount of €4.24/share, or 37.3% post dilution. ING will use the money repay the government half of its €10B bailout loan ahead of schedule. Shares -18% premarket. Comment!
  • 07:00 AM Asia markets took a thrashing for a second straight day as concerns about Dubai World's debt load continue to weigh on risk appetite. Europe has rebounded from early losses. Futures indicate U.S. markets will have some catching up to do after sitting out a volatile Thursday.
    Asia: Nikkei -3.2% to 9082. Hang Seng -4.8% to 21135. Shanghai -2.4% to 3096. BSE -1.3% to 16632.
    Europe at midday: FTSE -0.1% to 5190. CAC +0.1% to 3683. DAX -0.1% to 5610.
    Futures: Dow -2.1% to 10222. S&P -2.7% to 1079. Nasdaq -2.7%. Jan. crude -4.75% to $74.25. Gold -2% to $1,164. 30-year Tsy +0.59% to 122-29. 10-year +0.62%. 5-year +0.38%. 2-year +0.15%. Euro -0.8% vs. dollar. Yen +0.1%. Pound -0.8%. Loonie -1%. Comment!
  • 05:35 AM Japan's finance minister escalates his warnings against a soaring yen, calling the currency's rise to a fresh 14-year high "one-sided" and threatening to intervene if the rapid ascent continues. (ETF: FXY) 2 Comments
  • 03:39 AM U.S. markets will have some catching up to do after sitting out a volatile Thursday. Futures tell the story: Dow -2.5% to 10177. S&P -3.2% at 1074. Nasdaq -3.3%.
    Jan. crude -5.7% to $73.50. Gold -3% to $1,151.
    30-year Tsy +0.79% to 123-05. 10-year +0.82%. 5-year +0.52%. 2-year +0.21%.
    Euro -0.9% vs. dollar. Yen -0.5%. Pound -1.2%. Comment!
  • 03:36 AM Europe stocks are under pressure early on: FTSE -1.1% to 5140. CAC -0.5% to 3660. DAX -1.3% to 5541. Comment!
  • 03:35 AM Asia markets took a thrashing for a second straight day as concerns about Dubai World's debt load continue to weigh on risk appetite. Nikkei -3.2% to 9082. Hang Seng -4.8% to 21135. Shanghai -2.4% to 3096. BSE -2.9% to 16360. Comment!
  • 03:28 AM Frontline (FRO): Q3 EPS of -$0.07 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $233M (-59.6%) vs. $196M. (PR) Comment!
  • 12:05 AM Notable premarket earnings: FRO, SFL Comment!
  • 12:00 AM Friday's economic calendar:
    1:00 PM Early close for U.S. markets
    4:30 PM Money Supply
    4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet Comment!
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