Oil Put Options, MACD, RSI, Implied Volatilities, OVX Update

Watch oil here..

"Oil Options Hit Highs as Verleger Predicts 44% Plunge (Update3)

By Alexander Kwiatkowski and Grant Smith

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traders are paying more than ever in the options market to protect against a plunge in crude prices.

The gap between prices of options betting on a decline and those that would profit from a rise in oil widened to a record 10 percentage points, according to five years of data compiled by Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch. Crude stockpiles in the U.S. are 14 percent larger than a year ago and OPEC is pumping 600,000 barrels a day more than the world needs, according to the International Energy Agency."

"“There’s all this heating oil with no place to go,” Philip Verleger, a professor at the University of Calgary and head of consultant PKVerleger LLC, said in a phone interview. “I’m fairly certain we’ll see prices in the $30s this year.”"

"While Verleger has dropped a forecast made in July that oil would sink to $20 a barrel, traders are anticipating a decline. The Nymex’s most popular option is the right to sell December crude at $60 a barrel, with 69,244 contracts outstanding, exchange data show. The right to sell at $50 a barrel is the second most widely held. The December 60 put option rose today 47 percent to $1.66." (Full Bloomberg article)

Today the December $60 put closed at $1.09 with 67,502 open. Premium was pulled down since that Bloomberg article. For recent views on oil put/call implied volatility visit these blogs.

Oil Put Demand, That Is (Daily Options Report)
Volatility Skew in Crude Oil Options (Don Fishback)
Bloomberg Option Blooper (Sigma Options)

Crude ($WTIC) looks like it's trading in an ascending triangle which is bullish however it must break above $75 with conviction. A break below $69 would create a lower reaction low and be bearish for crude (with volume). Technical indicators are forming a symmetrical triangle around critical levels. For example the MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) and RSI (Relative Strength Index) are at the 0 and 50 level respectively. A run above or below those levels will decide the direction of strength and momentum. Oil has been riding the 50 day moving average higher and must break below that level (69.50) to prove it can move lower.


$WTIC Chart Courtesy of Stockcharts.com

Another interesting chart is the Oil Volatility Index ($OVX) which is hitting 40 lows for the fourth time. The OVX has been in the 40-50 range since May with oil trading between 63-75.


OVX Courtesy of Stockcharts.com
Will the reflation trade (commodities, S&P, levered loans, risk) just pause and refresh or will it shake out longs at some point? But with what the Government is doing how could they ever be nervous? Crude oil inventories are still up year over year. Read the DOE report ending 9/11. Inventory data is set to be released today. The American Petroleum Institute showed a rise in inventories on 9/18. Oil Falls After Industry Report Shows Increase in Fuel Supplies (Bloomberg). Stay tuned..

ARBX Financial Trends Plus a Volume Spike (Hitting Switches at Arbinet)

I saw a volume spike in Arbinet Corp (ARBX). Over 200,000 shares traded, a number not seen since April.


ARBX 4 Month Chart

DV analyzed Arbinet's financials on April 3 and here is an update. Quarter over quarter revenue and equity declines are leveling off and operating and cost improvements, along with a forex gain, helped out operating and net income this quarter. The operating and net income lines increased every quarter since 12/31/08 but they are still clocking losses. Net income is almost in the black at -967k. The charts below of total revenues, operating income, net income and equity use financial data from Yahoo Finance. Also price/sales(ttm)=0.14 and price/book(mrq)=1.14.

Continue reading >>

Restaurant Delevering Continues, Tishman On CRE (Video)

Restaurant sector continues to delever and reorganize it's balance sheet.



Roseville developer shuts his T.G.I. Friday's restaurants (Sacbee.com)

Owner of 70 Jack in the Box restaurants seeks bankruptcy protection (MercuryNews.com)

Alizadeh's Jack in the Box franchise forced to seek Chapter 11 (Rosevillept.com)

Tavern on the Green Files for Chapter 11 (New York Times)

Bankruptcy Takes A Bite Out Of The Big Apple (WSJ Blogs)

Tishman, CEO of the Tishman Construction Corporation, discusses the commercial real estate industry on CNBC. Commercial Real Estate Is Next Bubble to Burst: Tischman (CNBC).






More News On CRE:

Moody's: Commercial real estate prices falling (AP)

Investors Expect Bank Woes May Finally Jump-Start Distressed Buying Opportunities (CoStar)

BMO's Adornato on CRE, Capitalized REITs and Distressed Buys (Interview Aug 24)

LeFrak, Bair: Commercial Real Estate Loan Losses On Small Banks 2010 (Interviews)

$UUP Back In Early 2008 Channel (Charts, Call Option Interest)

Here are recent UUP (US Dollar Bullish ETF) charts (2 year, 6 months, 2 months, 6 weeks). It is trading at 22.76. First off, looking at the 2 year chart UUP is back in the early 2008 channel (21.92-23.07). UUP has been trending lower since April and volume recently picked up in the ETF and it's call options. $UUP could retest the downtrend to fill that 23.14 gap but requires a strong catalyst to break above that trend. Below is open interest that stood out in the October, December and March 2010 options. Wondering if there's an ounce of speculation in the calls. UUP volume is hitting levels not seen since September 2008, right after Lehman went under. Right now there is a lot of pressure on the USD, from carry trades (1, 2) to shorts betting against USD dilution. However it is interesting that UUP short interest ending on 9/1 was down 52% from 1.53 million shares short to .72 million. Watch the daily updated $UUP chart below to scope out a potential trade on an upside trend break, or watch it die. Mo' Money, Mo' Problems Bernanke!!

October $23 Call, 14,879 open at 0.25
October $24 Call, 19,563 open at 0.10
October $24 Put, 2,713 open at 0.50

December $23 Call, 32,623 open at 0.45
December $24 Call, 24,127 open at 0.30
December $25 Call, 12,055 open at 0.15
December $23 Put, 3,418 open at 0.80
December $24 Put, 3,278 open at 1.52
December $25 Put, 1,030 open at 2.30

March $24 Call, 6,628 open at 0.55
March $24 Call, 32,029 open at 0.30
March $24 Put, 2,423 open at 1.75

Continue reading >>

Q2 Household Equity Up But Asset/Liabilities Ratio At 65 Year Low!

Well reflation is working at some extent. Household net worth increased $2 trillion during the second quarter as DV expected mainly because the stock market rallied, housing prices ticked up month over month and debt declined a tad. This is interesting, from 2007 (around the peak) to 2009-Q2 household assets were down 14% ($78.2 to $67.2 trillion) while liabilities were only down 1.7% ($14.318 to $14.068 trillion)...

Continue reading >>

Peter Schiff for Senate 2010, Stop Mal-Investment!

Lets make America worth something other than one big sub-prime credit. Stop the mal-investment, Peter Schiff for Senate, US Dollar Index to 185 by 2012!!


Trade Weighted US Dollar Index (St. Louis Fed)

Recent Shipping & Maritime Industry News: SeaTrade Asia Online

Check out http://www.seatradeasia-online.com/ for latest news stories on the global shipping industry.

"About Seatrade

The original Seatrade magazine and quarterly Seatrade Cruise Review are the premier providers of information on the global shipping and cruise markets.

Seatrade also provides management training for the cruise sector through Seatrade Cruise Academy and for general shipping through Seatrade Anatomy of Shipping courses at Cambridge, England.

Some Seatrade events are owned by CMP and organised in association with Seatrade Communications Ltd.

For more details please visit www.seatrade-global.com"

Posted by newsbysector.blogspot.com.

Natural Gas: V-shaped Recovery Or $2.50 Retest, Karl Miller is Bearish

If the economy sees a V-shaped recovery why not natural gas? Karl Miller, a globally recognized energy executive and institutional investor who bid on over $25 billion in energy assets in his career, thinks natural gas will correct to $2.50-$2.75 mmbtu. He wasn't bullish on MLPs either and thought equities were overvalued. Natural gas rallied hard to $3.80 today from an intraday low of $2.40 last week. Karl aside, is natural gas seeing a V-shaped recovery or another bear market rally? Below I provided the Natural Gas December 2009 Futures chart which is at an inflection (or deflection) point and the most recent EIA storage report which is bearish and must revert to the 5 year range for $NATGAS to see a sustained bid imho.

Energy Industry Icon Calls for Lower U.S. Natural Gas Prices; Industry at Record Storage Levels and No Demand Drivers

MIAMI, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Karl W. Miller, a senior energy executive and institutional investor, today issued the following statement through his advisor VBCC, regarding the fact that U.S. natural gas is at record storage levels and overpriced.

Mr. Miller re-affirms expectations for natural gas to correct to the $2.50 to $2.75 mmbtu price range and will continue getting cheaper, as there will be no sustainable drivers either by natural gas fired electricity generation or industrial demand in the U.S. for the next 6-8 quarters.

The natural gas pipeline companies, master limited partnerships (MLP's) and natural gas producers will suffer substantially reduced earnings during the next 6-8 quarters and are substantially overvalued at the current time.

Oil is dollar based, but has no linkage to the price or demand of natural gas in the U.S.

Mr. Miller retains a sell recommendation on U.S. publicly listed renewable energy companies. He predicts we will see many of these companies, which are reliant upon massive government subsidies, state approval of pass through price increases, and highly levered fail and/or will be purchased at distressed prices. Source

----------------------

Energy Industry Icon Calls Markets Overvalued and Overbought; Energy Commodities Especially at Risk

MIAMI, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Karl W. Miller, a senior energy executive and institutional investor, today issued the following statement through his advisor VBCC, Markets Overvalued and Overbought; Energy Commodities Especially at Risk.

Mr. Miller agrees with Mr. Art Cashin's, director of floor operations at UBS Financial Services, statements today that the equity markets are substantially overvalued and overbought.

Earlier today, Mr. Miller predicted that natural gas will correct to the $2.50 to $2.75 mmbtu price range and will continue getting cheaper, as there will be no sustainable drivers either by natural gas fired electricity generation or industrial demand in the U.S. for the next 6-8 quarters.

In line with Mr. Cashin, Mr. Miller expects the natural gas pipeline companies, master limited partnerships (MLPs) and natural gas producers will suffer substantially reduced earnings during the next 6-8 quarters and are also substantially overvalued at the current time.

Mr. Miller retains a sell recommendation on U.S. publicly listed renewable energy companies. He predicts we will see many of these companies, which are reliant upon massive government subsidies, state approval of pass through price increases, and highly levered fail and/or will be purchased at distressed prices. Source

Natural Gas December 2009 Future (Courtesy of OptionXpress)

"Working gas in storage was 3,392 Bcf as of Friday, September 4, 2009, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 69 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 495 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 503 Bcf above the 5-year average of 2,889 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 163 Bcf above the 5-year average following net injections of 55 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 269 Bcf above the 5-year average of 830 Bcf after a net injection of 13 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 72 Bcf above the 5-year average after a net addition of 1 Bcf. At 3,392 Bcf, total working gas is above the 5-year historical range." source: eia.doe.gov



Working Gas in Storage Compared to 5 Year Range (eia.doe.gov)

Natural gas has been a great trade during bear market rallies. At some point the 1.3 year downtrend will break and perhaps that is why 10,000 January 2010 Calls are open at $10. To be continued.

Track Active Vessels via Maps, Google Earth Satellite: Vesseltracker.com

Check out Vesseltracker.com if you are interested in monitoring active ships on the waters globally. Definitely a great economic indicator if ships are DARK. They cover vessels across ports and regions around the globe. Download their Google Earth file and you can see if ships are active or not via satellite.

Posted by newsbysector.blogspot.com.

Baltic Dry Index Exposed, Down 43% From June Highs (Chart)

Perhaps the reason why the $BDI is down 43% since June? When is the next inventory rebuild?



Read ZeroHedge post for more info and pics.. and vesseltracker.com for updated pics
1) Thousands Of Rusting Ship Hulls Are A Fitting Tribute To The Speculative Market Bubble (Zero Hedge)

2) Revealed: The ghost fleet of the recession anchored just east of Singapore (DailyMail)

3) Baltic index drifts lower, cargo enquiry light (Reuters India)

4) Shipping Rates Seen Falling 50% on China, Fleet Size (Bloomberg, Aug 31)

Continue reading >>

For Solar News & Commentary Visit Solar Feeds

I needed to add a solar site to newsbysector. I follow SolarFeeds on Twitter and they have a good blog for information and news on the solar sector. Their website is http://www.solarfeeds.com aka Solar Feeds. They have a bunch of contributors. About Solar Feeds:

"Solar Feeds is the largest solar power news and commentary blog network on the web."

Overall it will be a great site for the eventual push into solar energy. Also check out nanosolar.com.

Posted by newsbysector.blogspot.com.

S&P Above 38.2% Fibonacci Retracement, Eyeing 50% at 1,121

Technical update: From October 2007 highs 1,576.09 to March 2009 lows 666.79, with the S&P currently trading at 1,053 it is above the 38.2% retracement level 1,014 and is eyeing the 50% retracement level at 1,121.44. Meaning the S&P is eyeing the level to recoup 50% of it's losses from the October 2007 high. It is riding the steep uptrend and there's a downtrend that hits just above the 50% level. Watching for a blow out top sooner or later.


S&P 500 (Courtesy of Stockcharts.com)

US Dollar 3-Month Libor Cheaper Than Yen, Franc (Chart), 0.295%

Remember when banks were frozen and 3M Libor spiked to 4.75% on October 9, 2008? Remember it was a big relief when Overnight Libor declined 51% to 2.469% the next day? Now USD 3M Libor is at 0.29%! Perhaps Bernanke deserves some "props" for unfreezing credit lines for working capital. When looking at 3 Month Libor today across popular carry currencies, the USD is now cheaper than the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc to fund higher yielding assets. Will funds continue to pile onto this trade and devalue the USD or will a catalyst widen yields and unwind the carry trade?






Other articles:
Dollar Near Weakest This Year on Record-Low Borrowing Costs (9/15/09)
Dollar Diminishing Makes U.S. Favorite for High-Yield (9/14/09)
Lord Lamont: Dollar As Carry Currency Is Risky Phenomenon (blog post today)

For Libor charts go to Bloomberg.com: US Dollar 3M Libor, Yen 3M Libor, Franc 3M Libor.

Rick Santelli and Liesman Argue On Lehman's Anniversary

Hell yeah Rick!



Previous clips:

Rick Santelli and Traders Rally for Capitalism at the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT)

and..

Liesman vs. Santelli Regarding "Dumb Things"!

Lord Lamont: Dollar As Carry Currency Is Risky Phenomenon (CNBC)

Former British Chancellor Lord Lamont was on CNBC with Jim Rogers this morning. Jim is still banking on a currency crisis or terrible inflation and mentioned the risk of protectionism and dealing with Central Europe's horrible loans.

Lord Lamont said we've seen the end of fear and output falling but the road ahead will not be a strong recovery because there is still debt deflation in the system and banks will be cautious to lend. At the end Lamont said the US Dollar becoming a carry currency is a risky phenomenon. By the way, Germany just issued $4 Billion in Dollar Denominated bonds.

Nassim Taleb Speaks Before Congress on Value-at-Risk Model Defects

Nassim Taleb (Fooled by Randomness speaks before congress on the defects of modeling complex systems.

Bank of China's Zhu Min Bloomberg Interview (9/10/09)

I couldn't embed the full interview, the full video is here.


Quick points from the interview:

• Plenty of infrastructure projects in China to soak up liquidity
• Risk of asset bubbles forming due to ample liquidity
• Money needs to go to real projects
• Wall Street feels like the crisis never happened (over-myopic)
• Financial crisis stabilized from a cliff drop
• At the end he said: The real economic crisis is just starting

Wall Street Is ‘Myopic,’ Bank of China’s Zhu Says (Bloomberg)
Bank of China’s Zhu Sees ‘Bubbles’ in Asset Markets (Bloomberg)
China’s New Lending Quickens, Money Supply Rises by Record (Bloomberg)

More analysis by Andy Xie (Former Economist at Morgan Stanley):
Andy Xie: Shanghai Index Fairly Valued At 2,000, Could See Bounce (Video)
FXI Put Protection, Andy Xie On China's Bubble

Input Prices Rise Globally (ISM, JPM Global PMI, HSBC China PMI)

Tonight DV Economics will look at backward looking data, the U.S PMI, JP Morgan Global PMI and CLSA/HSBC China PMI report (Purchasing Manager's Index). The U.S ISM report showed decent growth in Manufacturing, New Orders and Input Prices but a contraction in Employment as expected. The JPM Global PMI and China PMI showed similar growth. It looks like the global stimulus effort reflated crude goods (commodities) to manufacturing inputs successfully. Will input price inflation spread to producer-finished goods and consumer prices?? I charted input price trends below.

Continue reading >>

Headlines and Statistics on the Tire Business

Go to Tirebusiness.com for information on the tire business! You can find global statistics including tire company operating ratios, earnings ratios, spending trends, R&D spending trends, largest Chinese owned tire makers etc. They also have an online news video (TB:Live). Their RSS feed provides headlines. Interesting on the tire biz.

Posted by newsbysector.blogspot.com.

China Rubber Industry Association Responds To Tire Tariff

If you've been reading the news lately, tariffs and duties on Chinese steel and tire imports have been enforced by the Obama Administration. The China Rubber Industry Association responded to Obama today (below). Prof. Perry at Carpe Diem does a simple economic analysis and cost v. benefit on the tire tariff. Bush had a tariff on imported steel back in 2003 but lifted it after 20 months. Last thing we need right now is trade disruption.

Continue reading >>

Puts Active On XLF and Regional Banks For Next Week

Yesterday was an interesting day in XLF. Fred Ruffy of WhatsTrading.com saw that 108,000 traded on the September $14 Call at $0.15. Fred mentioned this on Twitter along with a 50k ratio put spread on $WFC. Open interest increased today over 100k so the trade wasn't closing out an existing seller, was it a new seller?? The trade could be hedging a potential head and shoulders top which could eventually test the $13.88 neck line. If it was bought-to-open, the $1.62 million (108k*100*.15) used to buy these contracts have 5 business days to exercise below $13.85 or sell out on a volatility spike. It is currently trading at $14.54.

Continue reading >>

Check Out Nanosolar's Panel Assembly Factory (Video)

Is solar the next big thing?

Nanosolar Completes Panel Factory, Commences Serial Production (Nanosolar.com)
An Overview of Nanosolar’s Cell Technology Platform (White Paper, 9/09)




ht beanieville

Hecla Mining Breaks Out, Calls Up On Silver Production, Cost Outlook

Hecla Mining ($HL) spiked 11% today on it's revised silver production and cash cost outlook. They also mention the Lucky Friday Mine. Hecla is riding the silver train at the moment (more below).

Hecla Updates Guidance Increasing Silver Production and Lowering Cash Costs Per Ounce

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 9, 2009-- Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is pleased to announce improved operating performance, increased exploration spending and an update on the development plans for the Lucky Friday mine.

Hecla’s operations continue to show marked improvement as a result of previously implemented plans which focused on lowering cash costs through cost-cutting and optimization programs. Increased production volumes, improved grade control measures and greater availability of hydroelectric power at the Green Creek mine have led to lower operating costs in 2009 compared with 2008. Prices for by-product base metals have also rebounded sharply since early June which helps to reduce operating costs at both the Greens Creek and Lucky Friday mines.

As a result of these programs and improved business conditions, Hecla is revising anticipated full year 2009 silver production to 10.5 to 11 million ounces from 10 to 11 million ounces. The estimate of cash cost per ounce of silver has been reduced by a third to less than $3.00 per ounce of silver from the previously announced estimate of $4.50 per ounce.

Hecla Mining Company President and Chief Executive Officer Phillips S. Baker, Jr., said, “If prices for metals remain at their current levels we should generate substantially more operating cash flow this year than anytime in Hecla’s hundred year history. Second quarter cash flow was $20 million and, importantly, compares favorably with our competitors who produced more silver but at higher operating costs thereby providing less operating margin.”

Baker continued, “Our people have done an excellent job of managing the operations. At Greens Creek we lowered operating costs by increasing throughput while the ore grade at the Lucky Friday mine has improved approximately 10% as a result of grade control measures. In addition, we have also benefited from higher by-product metal prices. I am excited that we have announced a second reduction in our cost guidance and I am confident that we should have full-year cash costs below $3.00 per ounce. These are important achievements and I believe that the location of our mines in the U.S., Hecla’s leverage to a rising silver price and the cash flow generation that we are seeing today makes Hecla an attractive investment.”

EXPLORATION

As part of Hecla’s commitment to grow its production and reserves in its four district-controlling land packages, Hecla has expanded planned exploration expenditures almost 40% to $9.5 million for the year with $7 million being spent in the second half of 2009.

Surface drilling is already underway on the Northeast Contact target at the Greens Creek mine, on the Vindicator property east of the Lucky Friday mine and on the Bulldog vein which is part of the San Juan joint venture in Colorado where Hecla owns a 70% interest. The remaining 30% of the joint venture is held by Emerald Mining and Leasing, LLC and Golden 8 Mining, LLC. Surface drilling should commence at the San Sebastian property in Mexico in the fourth quarter. By early October, nine drill rigs are expected to test our projects in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho and Mexico.

LUCKY FRIDAY MINE

Preliminary work on studies underway at the Lucky Friday mine in Idaho indicates that mine-life can be materially extended under several alternatives. The studies are examining deep development options to mine beyond 2015 under different capital and development schedules. The lower capital alternative could extend mine-life at Lucky Friday by four years for an estimated investment of less than $10 million. The capital required would be deployed to increase the cooling capacity of the ventilation system and for mine development using existing infrastructure.

A second scenario, requiring a greater capital investment is currently the subject of a feasibility study that will detail long-term infrastructure development of the mine that could extend mine-life by several decades. The feasibility study started earlier in the year... Continued here.

Hecla's Home Page can be accessed on the Internet at www.hecla-mining.com.

Source: Hecla Mining Company

DV is revisiting a Hecla post from May 20. Hecla is up with silver due to inflation expectations and a weak dollar¹. There is still business risk involved with this company, they recently deferred preferred dividend payments to conserve cash and to not violate a bank credit agreement. Earlier this year they had to amend credit agreements and raise equity to pay down debt. Since April look at the HL vs. SLV, UUP (Silver ETF, US Dollar ETF) chart.


HL/UUP/SLV (Courtesy of Stockcharts.com)
Back in May Dvol thought the size open in Hecla's back-month calls was interesting. If you revisit the post on May 20 there were 67,000 January 2010 calls open at the $2.50 strike for a $1.05 and 19,000 calls open at the $5.00 strike for $0.36. Fast forward to today, with spikes and corrections along the way, Silver and Hecla both broke out and Hecla's stock is up 31%, the January 2010 $2.50 call is up 71% and the $5.00 call is up 39% (the $5.00 call could have been sold in a spread not sure). Also different time frames tell a different story, HL spiked at the end of May but corrected in the 2s in June/July. It closed at $4.20 today and if silver tanks here, watch out!


Hecla Mining Stock (HL)

Hecla Mining January Calls (Courtesy of Yahoo Finance)

No recommendation going forward. These small caps are high risk. DV occasionally tries to find valuation and/or turnaround plays in small to mid cap stocks. Here are previous posts on Thinkorswim Group before the TD Ameritrade buyout, Skyworks Solutions 1, 2 in February, Arbinet Corp in April and Hecla in May.

Pros and Cons of High Frequency Trading (Larry Tabb of Tabb Group)

Interesting video from Datacenterknowledge.com. Larry Tabb also spoke at the Money:Tech Conference in early 2008 before HFT was even an issue. Adam Sussman of TABB was also interviewed recently on Tech Ticker. I remember hearing Sussman talk about dark pools in early '08 at a P&I conference....

Full Obama Health Care Speech Video/Text (9/9/2009)

Text of President Barack Obama's address to Congress on health care reform Wednesday, as prepared for delivery and provided by the White House.

------

Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, and the American people: When I spoke here last winter, this nation was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We were losing an average of 700,000 jobs per month. Credit was frozen. And our financial system was on the verge of collapse.

As any American who is still looking for work or a way to pay their bills will tell you, we are by no means out of the woods. A full and vibrant recovery is many months away. And I will not let up until those Americans who seek jobs can find them; until those businesses that seek capital and credit can thrive; until all responsible homeowners can stay in their homes. That is our ultimate goal. But thanks to the bold and decisive action we have taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink.

I want to thank the members of this body for your efforts and your support in these last several months, and especially those who have taken the difficult votes that have put us on a path to recovery. I also want to thank the American people for their patience and resolve during this trying time for our nation.

But we did not come here just to clean up crises. We came to build a future. So tonight, I return to speak to all of you about an issue that is central to that future -- and that is the issue of health care.

I am not the first president to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. And ever since, nearly every president and Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, has attempted to meet this challenge in some way. A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session.

Our collective failure to meet this challenge -- year after year, decade after decade -- has led us to a breaking point. Everyone understands the extraordinary hardships that are placed on the uninsured, who live every day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. These are not primarily people on welfare. These are middle-class Americans. Some can't get insurance on the job. Others are self-employed, and can't afford it, since buying insurance on your own costs you three times as much as the coverage you get from your employer. Many other Americans who are willing and able to pay are still denied insurance due to previous illnesses or conditions that insurance companies decide are too risky or expensive to cover.

We are the only advanced democracy on Earth -- the only wealthy nation -- that allows such hardships for millions of its people. There are now more than 30 million American citizens who cannot get coverage. In just a two year period, one in every three Americans goes without health care coverage at some point. And every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. In other words, it can happen to anyone.

But the problem that plagues the health care system is not just a problem of the uninsured. Those who do have insurance have never had less security and stability than they do today. More and more Americans worry that if you move, lose your job, or change your job, you'll lose your health insurance too. More and more Americans pay their premiums, only to discover that their insurance company has dropped their coverage when they get sick, or won't pay the full cost of care. It happens every day.

One man from Illinois lost his coverage in the middle of chemotherapy because his insurer found that he hadn't reported gallstones that he didn't even know about. They delayed his treatment, and he died because of it. Another woman from Texas was about to get a double mastectomy when her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne. By the time she had her insurance reinstated, her breast cancer more than doubled in size. That is heartbreaking, it is wrong, and no one should be treated that way in the United States of America.

Then there's the problem of rising costs. We spend one-and-a-half times more per person on health care than any other country, but we aren't any healthier for it. This is one of the reasons that insurance premiums have gone up three times faster than wages. It's why so many employers -- especially small businesses -- are forcing their employees to pay more for insurance, or are dropping their coverage entirely. It's why so many aspiring entrepreneurs cannot afford to open a business in the first place, and why American businesses that compete internationally -- like our automakers -- are at a huge disadvantage. And it's why those of us with health insurance are also paying a hidden and growing tax for those without it -- about $1000 per year that pays for somebody else's emergency room and charitable care.

Finally, our health care system is placing an unsustainable burden on taxpayers. When health care costs grow at the rate they have, it puts greater pressure on programs like Medicare and Medicaid. If we do nothing to slow these skyrocketing costs, we will eventually be spending more on Medicare and Medicaid than every other government program combined. Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close. Continued....

Thoughts?

Mary Bartels of BofA/Merrill Sees 15-20% Downside in S&P 500 (Video, Chart)

It is time for TARP banks to take their TARP profits!?

Mary Ann Bartels, head technical analyst at Bank America Securities/Merrill Lynch, said the S&P may correct 15-20%. She's watching 5 "trip wires" to catalyze a market correction. 3 out of the 5 trip wires went negative. She sees this current rally as a "breadth thrust" like '75 and '82 when the market rallied over 60% and had a 14% correction. Since there is no uptick rule today she sees more volatility on the downside. The correction would be part of a "base building" process. She's also bullish on commodities and sees a possible head and shoulders bottom in gold. If it breaks out of the reverse H&S pattern $1,300 is in the cards. Watch the full BloombergTV video interview.

Negative:

1. China market correction
2. Buy volume deteriorating, higher volume on sell offs; Negative breadth
3. Investor Intelligence Survey: Pessimism at 2007 lows

Positive:

1. Percent of NYSE stocks above 200 day moving average at 91%, highest in 5 years
2. Tech outperformance

What this correction would look like..

U.S. Stocks at Risk for 20 Percent Decline: Technical Analysis (Bloomberg Article).

DV agrees with Mary and sees a correction once this "breadth thrust" loses it's supply of Pez

Bullish Set Up For US Dollar? 24K UUP December 23 Calls Trading

The Dollar is getting BEAT DOWN with the market rally. There is interesting volume today in the UUP December $23 Call (24,010 traded today w/3,299 open). 22,791 UUP December $24 calls are also open killing all open interest in the puts. Not sure if those were shorts or what. There are also 31,578 March 2010 calls open at the $26 strike killing all put interest as well. Just something to know about if this thing bases out and/or the market "trips".


UUP December Option Chain (Courtesy of Yahoo Finance)
UUP March Option Chain (Courtesy of Yahoo Finance)
UUP 3 Year Chart, clear downtrend

50 Cent on Power Lunch (CNBC Video) and First Song Ever Made

Rapper 50 Cent talks about the rap industry, his new book "The 50th Law" (co-authored by Robert Greene), $100 million he made on the Vitamin Water buy out and the recession. He has an estimated net worth of $150 million!

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Santelli vs. Pento on Gold, Charts: CRB, Gold, Dollar, 30Y Treasury

On September 3, Michael Pento of Delta Global Advisors and Rick Santelli argued about the price of gold going forward on CNBC. Gold broke out recently and is now fighting the $1,000 resistance level.

Pento: Gold will hit $1200 by the end of the year, mentions ISM prices paid component surge, China PMI, real interest rates plummeting, commodities in CRB index rising which is 40% CPI.

Santelli: Next big move in gold will be a sell off, sees recent gold move as a technical break out, short covering, 3 day charts on dollar, gold and bonds tell a different story, dollar did nothing.

There are definitely input cost pressures globally which I'll touch on next but Rick Santelli makes an interesting point about intermarket relationships. I provided a performance comparison between Gold, the CRB Index (commodities), US Dollar and the 30 Year Treasury Bond from August 13th. Over that time period CRB lost 6.63%, US Dollar lost 0.31%, 30 Year Treasuries gained 1.82% and Gold gained 4.14%. Interesting.... *Updated chart, didn't include gold performance.

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George Soros Theory of Reflexivity MIT Speech 1994

The MIT Department of Economics World Economy
Laboratory Conference Washington, D.C.
Delivered April 26, 1994

"When Rudi Dornbusch invited me to speak at this conference, he gave me a totally free hand in deciding what I wanted to talk about. Well, I want to discuss a subject which fascinates me but doesn’t seem to interest others very much. That is my theory of reflexivity which has guided me both in making money and in giving money away, but has received very little sdeerious consideration from anybody else. It is really a very curious situation. I am taken very seriously; indeed, a bit too seriously. But the theory that I take seriously and, in fact, rely on in my decision-making process is pretty completely ignored...." (Read more)

George Soros Theory of Reflexivity MIT Speech

Intermarket Update On Gold, US Dollar, Aussie Dollar, S&P Charts (GLD, UUP, FXA, SPY)

First, here is an updated chart on the S&P ETF ($SPY). It is up trough to peak more than 56% from the March lows with a 9.5% correction along the way. It now has to prove there is still strength to keep this above trend. RSI is just above the important 50 level but has trended lower since late July. You can also see an interesting volume spike on that big sell off day and MACD sitting on its uptrend. Is there another head and shoulders forming, we'll see next week.

I presented below charts of the US Dollar and USD/S&P relationship. They've been moving inversely for some time now. The USD is trading just below the 7 month downtrend and needs a short covering jolt to violate the trend line. The S&P and USD are in this together, unless the trend suddenly flips over. Finally, gold broke out of that symmetrical triangle recently and is now testing the psychological $1,000 level. It could be hedging inflation, hedging a Dollar and/or market sell off, a terrorist attack or it was just technical in nature (Reuters).

I wanted to point out the relationship between Gold, the US Dollar, S&P and Australian Dollar ($XAD) in early 2008 and now. In early 2008 the S&P started selling off, gold hit 1,000, oil hit $147 and the US Dollar made new lows. Eventually the inflation trade overshot and the financial crisis flipped the commodity inflation trade upside down. You can see that commodity currencies, oil and gold sold off while the Dollar spiked during the Lehman bankruptcy, bank freeze and carry trade unwind. There were times when the USD and Gold rallied together which was interesting look at the yellow boxes below. Of course we all know what happened, Central Banks around the world injected trillions into the global economy which eventually found its way into commodities, commodity currencies, the stock market and now input costs (next post). So the attempt to reflate the economy worked, for the first receivers at least.

Fast forward to today, the S&P is in a steep uptrend, USD in a downtrend, gold is testing 1,000 resistance and AUDUSD broke out above resistance today. So what is gold telling us. Is inflation coming? Stagflation? Market sell off? Something bad about to happen? Or was it just a technical head-fake (Santelli). I wish I f'in knew. But follow the charts aka the money and stay hedged to protect from Elliot.

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GLD Breaks Out, December $100 Call Up 49% (Charts: GLD, Comex Gold Futures)

DV posted many times about the inflection point in GLD, the SPDR Gold Trust ETF (1, 2). It finally broke out of a symmetrical triangle. The October and December Comex Gold futures "pierced" through resistance. Not sure of the exact catalyst, could have been the FOMC Minutes, manufacturing growth in China with inflationary pressures or a safe haven bid. More on China's data.

"Improved demand conditions boosted companies’ pricing power in July, highlighted by the first rise in prices charged in just under a year. Anecdotal evidence suggested that firms had raised their output charges in response to higher input costs. According to the latest data, input price inflation was registered for the first time since September last year. Strong growth of input prices was in contrast to the considerable declines registered around the turn of the year. Survey responses suggested that more expensive raw materials had placed upward pressure on firms’ cost burdens. (CLSA China Manufacturing PMI, CLSA.com)

I provided the GLD chart plus the October and December Comex Gold future. Volume in GLD hit levels not seen since March and volume spiked in the December futures.

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Bill Gross September Outlook: On The "Course" To a New Normal

Here are key highlights from Bill Gross's September 2009 Investment Outlook titled On the “Course” to a New Normal . The full report can be viewed publicly at Pimco.com.

"The investment implications of this New Normal evolution cannot easily be modeled econometrically, quantitatively, or statistically. The applicable word in New Normal is, of course, “new.” The successful investor during this transition will be one with common sense and importantly the powers of intuition, observation, and the willingness to accept uncertain outcomes. As of now, PIMCO observes that the highest probabilities favor the following strategic conclusions:

1. Global policy rates will remain low for extended periods of time.
2. The extent and duration of quantitative easing, term financing and fiscal stimulation efforts are keys to future investment returns across a multitude of asset categories, both domestically and globally.
3. Investors should continue to anticipate and, if necessary, shake hands with government policies, utilizing leverage and/or guarantees to their benefit.
4. Asia and Asian-connected economies (Australia, Brazil) will dominate future global growth.
5. The dollar is vulnerable on a long-term basis."

Go $TLT GO!

FOMC Mintues Released From August 11-12, Fed Balance Sheet To Expand

Selected text from the FOMC Minutes release. GLD, SLV and TLT broke out today.

"Participants' Views on Current Conditions and the Economic Outlook

In their discussion of the economic situation and outlook, meeting participants agreed that the incoming data and anecdotal evidence had strengthened their confidence that the downturn in economic activity was ending and that growth was likely to resume in the second half of the year. Many noted that their baseline projections for the second half of 2009 and for subsequent years had not changed appreciably since the Committee met in June but that they now saw smaller downside risks. Consumer spending appeared to be in the process of leveling out, and activity in a number of local housing markets had stabilized or even increased somewhat. Reports from business contacts supported the view that firms were making progress in bringing inventories into better alignment with their reduced sales and that production was stabilizing in many sectors--albeit at low levels--and beginning to rise in some. Nonetheless, most participants saw the economy as likely to recover only slowly during the second half of this year, and all saw it as still vulnerable to adverse shocks. Conditions in the labor market remained poor, and business contacts generally indicated that firms would be quite cautious in hiring when demand for their products picks up. Moreover, declines in employment and weakness in growth of labor compensation meant that income growth was sluggish. Also, households likely would continue to face unusually tight credit conditions. These factors, along with past declines in wealth that had been only partly offset by recent increases in equity prices, would weigh on consumer spending. The data and business contacts indicated very substantial excess capacity in many sectors; this excess capacity, along with the tight credit conditions facing many firms, likely would mean further weakness in business fixed investment for a time. Even so, less-aggressive inventory cutting and continuing monetary and fiscal policy stimulus could be expected to support growth in production during the second half of 2009 and into 2010. In addition, the outlook for foreign economies had improved somewhat, auguring well for U.S. exports. Participants expected the pace of recovery to pick up in 2010, but they expressed a range of views, and considerable uncertainty, about the likely strength of the upturn--particularly about the pace of projected gains in consumer spending and the extent to which credit conditions would normalize.

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Traders Start September Dumping Risk (SPY, QQQQ, UUP, VIX, FXA, AUDJPY, JJC - GLD)

The markets sold off hard today. Traders started off September dumping risk and the reflation trade. Our markets could follow Shanghai lower if they are supposed to be the global growth story. Funds have been hedging risk for some time now. DV has been watching the Volatility Sonar report and saw that people were scooping up protection in the 30s, Hedging a Market Pullback Using The VIX (Aug 11)
October VIX Future Trading at Big Premium To Cash, VXX (Aug 26).

In the beginning of June the Baltic Dry Index slowed down, then the Shanghai Index, then slowly everything else it seems (Aug chart comparison). It is interesting that GLD caught a bid while UUP and other commodity currencies sold off today (FXA, AUD/USD, AUD/JPY). AUD/JPY sold off after hitting the 50% retracement level. The currencies and commodity ETFs I plotted are at big inflection points, either at trend support (FXA, JJC, UUP and AUD pairs) or at a symmetrical triangle point (GLD). FXI, the China ETF, broke below trend support and traders have been hedging with puts (1, 2).

AUD/USD is interesting. The 20wma on the AUD/USD has been moving higher and could support the pair (on dips) to cross the 100wma eventually. AUD/USD broke above both moving averages and the 20wma is currently at .80. Australia's GDP grew 0.6%, more than expected, and they left the overnight cash rate unchanged so traders are speculating a rate hike in October or November . The CS AUD Price Move For next 12M:CS1YRBA index using the Overnight Index Swap Curve is pricing in a 183 basis point hike over the next year.

CS1YRBA (Bloomberg.com)

SPY (S&P 500 ETF) 2 Year Chart

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Bearish Put Spread On IYR Real Estate ETF, SRS Call Activity (Charts n' Chains)

While looking through a bunch of chains I found interesting option activity in the real estate ETFs, IYR (Dow Jones Real Estate Index) and it's shady counterpart SRS (2x Inverse DJ Real Estate Index). First off the market sold off hard today and if we continue to see weakness I'm sure IYR will follow SPY, we will see though.

I saw that IYR had activity in October and November on the $38 and $33 Put strike. 31,000 contracts traded on both the October 38-33 puts and around 25,000 traded on the November 38-33 strike. It was a bearish put spread to protect from an underlying disaster (Andrew Wilkinson of I-brokers mentioned the October trade). Was November just a hedge on that spread or another trade.. Not scoping out ticks.

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LeFrak, Bair: Commercial Real Estate Loan Losses On Small Banks (2010)

Will community and regional banks continue to get hit by commercial real estate loan losses? Sheila Bair and LeFrak share their thoughts.

Bair:

• Commercial real estate is a looming problem
• Commercial real estate losses will be more of a driver of bank failures- end of '09, 2010
  
• We've known about this for some time, part of the process to clean banking system.
• She also has "beef" with a Super-Regulator (Case Against a Super-Regulator - NYT).
  

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Andy Xie: Shanghai Index Fairly Valued At 2,000, Could See Bounce (Video)

Andy Xie, writer at Caijing and former economist at the IMF and Morgan Stanley Asia, has been warning about the Shanghai Index since early August and it lost 22% since then. It broke below the 50 day moving average and could eventually test the 200 day moving average at 2,479. During the Bloomberg interview Xie said there could be a September bounce but said the Shanghai index was still expensive at 3x book and 30x earnings and was fairly valued at 2,000 or less. It sounds like the Chinese asset markets got over-reflated by Government stimulus. He sees a potential slowdown in the 4th quarter and explained that it will take time for China to change their economic model (from export driven). In this Reuters article in April 2007 Andy Xie predicted the global recession.

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Chart Comparison of Four Bear Markets

You have probably seen these charts around the web created by Dshort.com. These charts are updated daily at the site. Also check out the real (inflation adjusted) "mega-bear" extended chart, four bears rally off lows chart and the S&P 500 moving averages current update. The first chart below is linear and the second is logarithmic.


Source: Dshort.com

Moody's Downgrades Detroit $781M GO Debt Further Into Junk

Detroit, Michigan (The City of Boom)
This is DV's annual review of Detroit. Read Distressed Detroit on July 12, 2008 where I looked at the city's 2006 CAFR. On August 21, 2009 Moody's PFG (U.S Public Finance Group) downgraded $781 million General Obligation debt further into junk ($491 million GO unlimited Debt to Ba3 from Ba2 and $290 million GO limited debt to B1 from Ba3). Go here for the ratings scale. These June 30, 2007 numbers are prehistoric! On June 30, 2007 things were just getting started; the credit crisis, global recession, GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, 28.9% Detroit unemployment rate, -25% YoY housing prices (Detroit/Las Vegas were the only cities that saw housing price declines in July) and a corrupt local Government. It is all catching up now.

"Charles Beckham, Bing's chief administrative officer, said the city is operating with a $60-million to $80-million cash shortage -- one that could implode come October -- on top of the $275-million to $300-million overall deficit." (Freep, Aug 25)

Review of City of Detroit 2007 CAFR (PDF or ci.detroit.mi.us)

• General Fund Rev-Exp with transfers $15 million (slide 4)
  
• Total Government Funds Rev-Exp w/ transfers -$16 million (5)
  
• Total Government Fund Balance Down 65% ($456M to $157M) from 2003 (6)
  
• Using RANs and TANs for short term cash flow needs ($129.3 Million) (3)
  
• Net Cash & Investments $153M - Short Loan Payables $129M = Net Cash $23.7M (Moody's) (2,3)
  
• Net Cash: '01 = 38M, '02 = 59M, '03 = 121.6M, '04 = 101M, '05 = 59.4M, '06 = 30.3M
• Total General Fund Deficit -91M, improved 14% from -107M (still a deficit since '05) (1)
  
• From General Fund $70M transferred to Transportation, $67M to Debt Service Fund
  
• Swap agreement amended but termination would owe $400M to counterparties (p.22)
• Principal property tax payers in 2007: Chrysler, Detroit Edison, GM, MGM Grand, American Axle

(1) General Fund Reserved and Unreserved Balance Trend

(2) General Fund Assets FY 2007

(3) General Fund Liabilities FY 2007
(4) General Fund Rev-Ex FY 2007
(5) Total Governmental Fund Balance Trend (Rev-Ex)

(6) Total Gov Fund Balance: Transfers In/Out, Ending Balance Trend

Plus they have a population/infrastructure ratio that is under 1. Dave Bing talks about Detroit's shrinkage. (CrainsDetroit video)

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Get ATA Monthly Tonnage Report at Truckline.com (American Trucking Association)

The American Trucking Association is a place to find trucking data. On their site they have a newsroom that provides the ATA Tonnage Index on a monthly basis. They also have a chart at the bottom of the article. For example.

"ATA Truck Tonnage Index Rose 2.1 Percent in July (Link)
August 26, 2009 2:00 PM
Connie Heiss 703-838-8894

ARLINGTON, VA — The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.1 percent in July. In June, SA tonnage fell 2.4 percent. July’s gain, which raised the SA index to 101.9 (2000=100), wasn’t large enough to completely offset the reduction in the previous month."

There is also a speeches section. You have to subscribe to get the ATA Monthly Tonnage report.

Website: Truckline.com

Posted by newsbysector.blogspot.com.

StockTwits Rings Closing Bell at NASDAQ! (Video)

StockTwits 4 Life!

RenTec's James Simons Stony Brook Interview Video, Other Interview Links

Mathematician James Simons, head of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, made $2.5 billion last year making him the highest paid hedge fund manager of 2008. Below is a 60 minute Stony Brook video interview with James Simons and physicist C. N. Yang on March 28, 2008. Simons testified before congress along with hedge fund managers Paulson, Griffin, Falcone and Soros in late 2008 during the credit crisis.



More articles on James Simons:

Simon's Doesn't Say: Meet The Man Whose 1990s Returns Are Better Than George Soros (Financial World 1996 PDF)

The Secret World of Jim Simons (Institutional Investor, Nov 2000)

Interview with James Simons: The billionaire hedge fund manager discusses the impact of mathematics on his former life in academia and his new one in finance. (Seed Magazine 2006)

Btw, Zero Hedge has interesting posts about RenTec, Renaissance.

SPY Is Defying Gravity For Now (Aug S&P ETF 3 Year Chart)

From escaping a black hole to defying gravity pretty much sums up the past year in the SPY. Looking a few weeks back the 20 week moving average crossed above the 50 week moving average which was a bullish sign. Look how the 20 crossed below the 50 in the beginning of 2008. At some point the S&P will price in all of the stimulus steroids, positive (less negative) economic data and bottom line improvement and reach a new orbit (trading channel). Even in bull markets there are <10% corrections just like the June '09 correction (previous posts with charts: June 2, June 16). Unless of course there is a currency crisis (Jim Rogers: Dow could go to 20-30,000 during currency crisis).

Technicals: SPY broke above the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level and is right around the pre-Lehman break down in 2008. It might want to fill that gap. If SPY gets another steroid injection with year end fundamental support, the 50% retracement level 109 is not out of the question and eventually the 61.8% retracement / 3 year downtrend resistance level around 120. Looking at a previous post about the 1929-30 bear market rally the Dow rallied hard and retraced 50% of its losses before selling off (not saying that is a definite comparable). Get ready for September folks.


SPY (Courtesy of Stockcharts.com)

Distressed Volatility Clears 11,000 Page Views In August!

Distressed Volatility cleared 11,000 page views in August. Without transparent data, the Internet, Google and Twitter followers this blog would not exist.

GLD Call Options Active at Dec, March $100 Strike

I noticed 21,594 December GLD Calls traded at the $100 strike today with 12,363 open. According to this Reuters article there was also a large $100 - $120 call spread on GLD expiring in March 2010. GLD is at a critical inflection point on the chart and I'm sure option players are positioning for a move. It is taking a while for the actual breakout/breakdown to occur... Look at the 2 yr chart you can see the inflection point on the long term pennant or short term symmetrical triangle whatever you are looking at. If these players are betting on a breakout, Robert Prechter (video) is taking the other side of the trade. Whatever happens there will be big price movement on judgment day. Currency issues, inflation and geopolitical events could affect gold going forward.


GLD 2 Year Chart

Watch GLD stream




GLD DEC Option Chain (Courtesy of Yahoo Finance)
GLD MAR '010 Option Chain (Courtesy of Yahoo Finance)

Posts on SPDR GLD:

John Paulson Keeps GLD Investment, Watching Symmetrical Triangle (August 13)
GLD Trade Setting Up Here + UUP, AUDJPY Pre FOMC (August 12)
Paulson Buys GLD, GDX (May 20)