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August 2002 (some links will be dated)
Friday August 30 “We have not seen any improvement in the current IT spending environment. In fact, some would say it may actually be worsening.” Sun CFO Steve McGowan CNNfn Cost-cutting is bad for the economy The Philippine Star In the short term, there will be a lot of anguish and gnashing of teeth. And government, the natural spending machine for times such as these, can only watch helplessly. Public Participation 10 Comstock Pension funds may act over inflated returns Financial Times A 2002 study of 50 of the largest pension plans shows the average rate of return on assets for 2001 was 9.3 per cent, producing an expected return of $54bn. The actual returns, however, were a negative $36bn, a loss of more than $90bn. Cumulative A/D Volume HD Brous Looking At Bear Bottoms Forbes Back-to-School Season Gets an "F" Business Week Realizing '90s are really gone - along with the surplus Philly Inquirer Here Comes The Bribe NY Post This blockbuster revelation could open up a whole new avenue for criminal investigators to explore with regards to Grubman's undisclosed relationships with WorldCom officers As Wall Street Slashes Jobs, Credit Derivatives Bankers Thrive Bloomberg Joblessness low, but lasts longer CS Monitor 'For sale' signs not adding up Rocky Mountain News Area sellers face longer waits, lower prices D-Camera Sellers hold the line on home prices Denver Post Index Suggests Home Loan Demand Has Peaked Realtor.org US housing executives offload stock FT Largest net sale of stock in the industry in quarterly records going back to 1996 Big funds could fail: APRA The Australian The great bull market is over, so we can no longer rely on excess returns to bail out mediocre investment choices EU Granted Right for $4 Billion Sanctions on U.S. Bloomberg China Expected to Sell Stakes to Foreign Companies NY Times (R)} Legislators asked Argentine banks for bribes Financial Times Growth Up in Japan in Quarter, but Pace Already Seems to Fade NY Times (R) Analysts drop Japan to 'Latvia status' BBC "After more than a decade of economic stagnation and minimal structural change, Japan stands on the brink of outright financial crisis"
Thursday August 29 Dollar Falls... Bloomberg 2Q02 GDP Unrevised BEA Jobless Claims Up 8K (403K) DOL Help Wanted Index Double-Dipped In July Conference Board The Dow deserves to be toast CBS MarketWatch (Calandra) Bush May Request Congress's Backing on Iraq, Aides Say NYT Rate cuts said inflating real estate bubble Financial Post A mortgage debt bubble is being created to take the place of the equity market bubble that preceded it. US housing executives offload stock Financial Times Largest net sale of stock in the industry in quarterly records going back to 1996 Economy may sink if strike shuts ports SF Gate Boeing Baseball Insult to injury? E-brokers boost fees USA Today Insurance Plans of Top Executives Are Threatened NY Times (R) It's a waste of assets. The shareholders are entrusting to the C.E.O. and the board a body of capital to be invested in an advantageous way. So it ends up as a no-interest loan, when the money could have been used to invest in a plant or new equipment... News you best not use CBS MarketWatch Commentary: How business media is failing its audience Neil Cavuto Takes Lead in TV Business AP Softbank America dumps 30 million shares of Yahoo CBS MarketWatch Merrill upgrades Yahoo solely on ‘valuation’ CBS MarketWatch GE Cut on Weakening Pension Income, Stock Options Lehman Dot-com accounting faces growing scrutiny LA Times Europe's recovery runs out of steam TimesOnline Marconi admits investors could end up with just 0.5% Independent Bush grants trade benefits to Argentina, seeks to avoid bailout Reuters Brazil: When an IMF Bailout Is Not Enough Business Week Related: “In not even one of the past eight years has Brazil's net public debt ratio declined.” Financial Times
Ex-WorldCom finance boss indicted BBC Accused Broker Pleads Guilty AP Beetween 1987 and 2001 Gruttadauria sent out false statements to at least 28 customers about the status of their investment accounts and shifted money among accounts to cover up losses. Merrill Lynch Appeals $7.7M Award Newsday Salomon deals prod Congress to consider expanding probes WSJ NYSE Announces Disciplinary Actions NYSE Historical
Wednesday August 28 Merrill ordered to pay $7.7 million Dow Jones Setting Up For A Fall Comstock The Hard Consequences of Easy Loans Business Week In the '90s, banks lent freely to corporations and syndicated the risk. Now, as debtors default, small investors could be hurt CBO predicts deficits through 2006 AP ~ CBO Release This bear still has some bite MSN Money Nortel Cutting Jobs, Lowers Rev Target Reuters How safe is your pension? MSNBC The Kondratieff Winter Financial Sense The Volatility Index Continues to Mystify Investors TheStreet Why Does Everyone Want O'Neill Fired? Bloomberg Every time he sets out to behave he somehow screws it up. Pick Up the Proxy, Fill It Out and Exert Some Control NY Times (R) Even this year, when corporate misdeeds have been in the spotlight, only 65.5 percent of ballots were returned Cooked books earned CEOs big dough SF Gate The dividend finds favour again Financial Times German Business Confidence At 6-month Low Bloomberg
Tuesday August 27 Consumer Confidence Drops In August Conference Board Lowest level in 2002 Durable Goods Orders up 8.7% in July Census A rally to fear, not to cheer MSN Money (Fleck) Master market timer Desmond sees more woes Reuters Economic Recovery Continues To Falter Comstock Don’t Fall For The Summer Rally NY Post US housing--bubble, bubble UPI Will Tech Companies Join the Options Parade? CFO Tech firms must expense options CBS MarketWatch Federal government's bookkeeping needs fixing, too Star Tribune The effects of unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and federal pension funds are ever closer to becoming a real financial disaster... Gloomy CBO Forecast Expected Reuters CBO Sachs Blows Away Competitors In Campaign Dollar Donations WallStreetLetter Legal Tender Small Bank Notes Gold-Eagle The Case for Gold 321Gold Graphic: Stike! Wall St Sleaze Send FTSE Forecasts Tumbling Times Online Salomon Gave a Big Helping of New Stocks to WorldCom NY Times (R) Intel CEO Says Holiday Season May Not Lift PC Demand Bloomberg Personal computer sales plunge 32.2% Japan Times Banks Vow To Maintain Brazil Credit Washington Post
NYSE chief falls foul of disclosure rules Financial Times July 21, 02 - Grasso: Bad CEOs need punishment CBS (R) NYSE's Grasso Files Late Stock Reports; Advice Blamed “Grasso's membership on the CA board has prompted criticism from some investor advocates who say it's a conflict for him to serve on boards of companies that trade on the exchange.” Bloomberg
Monday August 26 Public pension plans come up short Maimi Herald (WSJ) Pension funds wrestle with a gilt complex Financial Times Corporate cost cuts imperil U.S. recovery IHT (NYT) 'Automotive bubble' puts carmakers at risk Financial Post Americans could buy somewhere between 30% and as much as 50% fewer vehicles per year for four or five years and still very adequately meet their transportation needs. Wal-Mart Stores sales ‘around the low end’ (Aug 3-23) Wal-Mart Job seekers in the US can expect little improvement in hiring activity Manpower Oil prices threaten U.S. recovery WSJ Fiber Optics: Beware of Buffett's Bet Business Week Active management advocate has lost more than a mere bet Bloomberg Record $50bn is pulled out of US equity funds FT Wall Street's Broken Spirit Business Week Analysts on list of top scammers CNN Money Transparency means little if the message is cloudy Boston Globe 5-1 odds? The reeling is mutual Miami.com Hotel Industry's Recovery Is Pushed Back Dow Jones Low rates on mortgages turn many into 'refi' addicts Baltimore Sun Fitch downgrades Disney debt rating CBS MarketWatch Brazil's Fraga, Malan to Ask Banks to Maintain Credit Bloomberg
Thursday August 22 Can the US Economy avoid a Japanese-style Stagnation? Smithers Pension Blow-Up Is Next NY Post Most pension plans in the red (Can) Financial Post Jobless Claims Higher Than Expected Bloomberg DOL IMF Cuts Outlook for Most Major Economies Reuters Social Decay and the Federal Reserve LewRockwell Americans are literally living on borrowed money and borrowed time Is Bush Herbert Hoover? The parallels are growing... UPI Save us from the bogeymen Times Don't blame hedge funds for bear market Financial Post Bear market will change way investors think Star-Ledger Fed Officials See Bumpy Recovery Reuters The current low level of borrowing costs should foster continued economic expansion Williams paying 30% interest to Buffett Bloomberg Nasdaq Seeks Return On Political Investment WP 16 of 691 Firms Missed Deadline WP Enron's Fastow is next TheStar Witch-hunt turns up the heat on Martha Times Any day now, I expect to see crowds of angry New Yorkers in Puritan dress marching down Wall Street carrying flaming effigies of Martha Stewart. Group wants options treated as expenses Boston Globe Zim inflation running at 124% Business Day
Wednesday August 21 The Dow is up 65 points since July 30 FallStreet Saudi investors 'pull out of US' BBC Crude Oil Climbs Above $30 a Barrel Washington Post A-Standards board to investigate stock options (Japan) Asahi Former Enron Executive Kopper to Plead Guilty Reuters Weaker Dollar Has Yet to Spur a Boom in Exports NYT (R) Census Area Recovery Shows New Signs of Stalling Washington Post J.P. Morgan Chase ratings may be cut by Moody's Reuters `Beware the earnings report, my son! TheStar Porsche Drops NYSE Plan To Avoid ‘Truth’ Law NY Post
Corporate debt saps nation Denver Post Credit stress hits Depression level
Tuesday August 20 Whatever happened to letting the markets work? Money (Fleck) The 14-Year Bear Itch Forbes Banks toughen loan standards FDRB Corporate bonds still signalling trouble ahead FT Bondtrac Chip-Equipment Recovery Keeps Retreating TheStreet Analysts are starting to talk about the second half of next year... SEMI: “North American makers of semiconductor equipment posted $1.15 billion in new orders in July, down from $1.16 billion in June...book-to-bill ratio 1.16, down from 1.28 in June.” Chain Store Sales Off for August Reuters Retail sales are drying up, and companies are blaming the weather. Is that the only problem? CNNfn Debt Raters Now Criticized as Too Ready to Downgrade NY Times US Airways Hikes Liabilities Total AP Even 15-Year-Old Kid is Mad at Wall St. Fat Cats NY Post Of Bubble Triumvirate, Only Meeker Remains TheStreet "She became rich by making average people like me poor," said one investor. Saudi threat to withdraw billions in US investments Telegraph Saudi investors have $750 billion in the US SEC Policy Scrutinizes Telecom 'Swaps' Washington Post An uprising against stock arguments Financial Times Brazil Depositors Keep Faith in Banks Exposed to Default Risk Bloomberg
House Panel: Martha Stewart to Turn over Documents Reuters Enforcement Proceedings SEC
Monday August 19 The Bear's Lair: Tsunami of bankruptcy UPI US investment banks take more risks Financial Times Forget The Fed Model--Use P/E Comstock Bull, bear show up together in ads for trading USA Today Fool's Gold (revisited) GoldenBar The Economic Blame Game Newsweek The American Economy: what went up had to come down NA Numbers To Chew On NY Post It's fine to blame crooked CEOs and their accountants when a company's financial reports are stuffed with lies. But folks lose a lot of their griping rights when they don't even bother to read the financials in the first place Credit-Card Scrutiny Hits Lenders And Threatens to Damp Spending Dow Jones Yen Falls as S&P Says Japan Reform Delay May Hurt Credit Rating Bloomberg Should Japan be rated below Botswana? Japan Times Bankers to Meet in U.S. on Brazilian Loan Deals Washington Post Yes, we should cry for Argentina Toronto Sun
Weekend (Aug 17-18) Mind the Gap NY Times (Krugman) The Run-Up in Home Prices: Real or Another Bubble? CEPR Investors Not Biting on Bullish Bait Reuters Junk Bonds Market Grows 'Distressed' Reuters End of the affair for celebrity CEOs National Post Accounting guru looks at recent scandals Kalamazoo Gazette Dithering is an art form for central bankers Guardian Workers Fret Over Unstable Ground Washington Post Greenspan's judgement is questioned Irish Examiner The next few months are likely to prove the stiffest test of Greenspan's so far illustrious career. Cities Hurt by Economic Downturn, Forecast Bleak Budget Picture NLC Two-thirds of the surveyed city officials think the problem will only worsen... SEC red-flags 11 oath filing results Reuters SEC Crooked executives around the world getting off scot free MSNBC U.S. Bans a Scheme to Avoid Estate Tax NY Times (R) Several lawyers said it was significant that the Treasury notice did not describe the device as a tax shelter. If it were held to be a tax shelter then Mr. Blattmachr and others would be required to turn over lists of clients who used the techniques
Friday August 16 Wall Street bank ratings may be cut Reuters UK banks' credit grades under threat S&P Investment banks face derivatives nightmare CBS MarketWatch The Collapse of the Inverse Pyramids Prudent Bear Nasdaq pulls out of Japan BBC Nikkei investors in guessing game before reshuffle Reuters Suspicious behavior on Wall Street CBS (Erdman) Tyco, Others Face $60 Bln in Payments on Convertibles Bloomberg Public pension plans underfunded CNNfn (WSJ) Pension deficit fear at Rolls Times Online Credit Suisse execs fined over IPO abuses USA Today Salomon star quits over WorldCom Times Online FBI arrests star Canadian trader Globe & Mail Morgan Stanley Fires 150 in Broker Unit, People Say Bloomberg After the Bubble: Are Low Rates Enough? NY Times (R) UK fund managers reduce their stakes in equities Independent Brazil Fails to Get U.S., IMF Help in Keeping Bankers Lending Bloomberg Argentina in fresh plea to IMF BBC
CEOs Told To Swear... Again “Each listed company CEO must certify to the NYSE each year that he or she is not aware of any violation by the company of NYSE corporate governance listing standards.” NYSE
August 16, 2002: Corporate Governance Rule Filing PDF Link“Shareholders must be given the opportunity to vote on all equity-compensation plans, except…” (See Subsection 8 of Section 303A and ‘312.03 Shareholder Approval’)
I have an 800 number now which I call if I ever get an urge to buy an airline stock. I say, ‘My name is Warren, I’m an air-holic’ and they talk me down’. Warren Buffett, The Warren Buffett Way
Post 9/11 airline staff cuts 'a dangerous panic move' ITF Airlines Continue To Struggle Forbes Airlines in America Economist ($)
Thursday August 15 Philly Fed Survey Fed FOMC Minutes (June 25-June 26) FDRB Some members were concerned that markets might not fully appreciate the inevitability of eventual policy tightening. Corporate America's sums amount to very little Guardian Market Grasping At Straws Comstock The new certification requirements are nothing more than a publicity gimmick Soros calls for regulation of global financial markets AFP A Deflationary Mosaic MS (Roach) Dynegy May File For Bankruptcy if Pipeline Sales Fail Bloomberg Does Alan Greenspan watch CNBC? Globe & Mail Corporate clean-up chief accused Reuters Looking at the Books, the Government Way NY Times (R) Tyco says SEC reviewing statements Reuters Bristol-Myers May Restate Earnings, Face Formal Probe Bloomberg Conseco Teeters Near Bankruptcy AP 3 Medical Supply Companies Receive U.S. Agency Subpoenas NY Times (R) Vivendi to unload assets Globe & Mail What are stock analysts good for? It's a puzzle National Post Corporate bankruptcies climbed 15.8% in July Japan Times Brazil's troubles Financial Times
Wednesday August 14 Is a CEO's oath going to fix things? No Globe & Mail BT 'faces $5.5bn pensions shortfall' Times Asset bubbles as harmful as inflation Business Times BIS Paper Treasury Yields Spiral to Fresh Lows Reuters Fund managers lose faith in global recovery FT (Merrill) Average cash levels slipped to 4.7 per cent in August from 4.8 per cent in July... well blow the 7.8 per cent figure that fuelled the rally in the last quarter of 2001. Goodbye to the little guy Economist 2002 is likely to be the first year since 1988 of net redemptions Bankruptcies by Public Firms Set a Record Reuters Bankruptcydata.com Moody's expects the junk bond default rate to begin climbing again next year. United Airlines warns of bankruptcy BBC Dot-com era ends with CMGI name off stadium Mecury News Possible misconduct in power trades Reuters Mortgage activity dips Reuters IMF critic hits out BBC Bailing out Brazil Or Robert Rubin? WorldNetDaily
Tuesday August 13 FOMC Statement FDRB IBM Is Cutting More Than 15,600 Jobs Reuters July Retail Sales Up 0.2% Excluding Autos Census Aug 8: “The July price declines for passenger cars and light motor trucks reflect an increase in incentives” PPI U.S. chain store sales fall 1st week Aug Reuters Give Greenspan's Fed Its Share of the Blame WP American Air to cut 7,000 jobs, shrink airline Reuters More airlines on path to bankruptcy? MSNBC Schwab Announces More Layoff Plans Newsday NYSE Suspends Trading in Conseco, Inc. NYSE You Bought. They Sold. Fortune Meet the 25 companies with the greediest executives. Banks on the Hot Seat Fortune Survey: 17% of CFOs Have Been Pressured CFO Money down a rat-hole? UPI The $30 billion bailout of Brazil last week bears strong similarities to the final $8 billion bailout of Argentina at the same time last year. Brazilian Bonds Fall After Moody's Lowers Credit Rating Further Bloomberg Bush Team Panics, Bails Out Brazil's Creditors EIR
The Fed is boxed in: damned if it does, damned if it doesn't NY Post CEOs are waiting on the advice of teams of securities lawyers... Business Week
Monday August 12 Stocks Still Aren't Selling for Peanuts TheStreet Bull run hit 20 years ago USA Today James Stack of InvesTech Research notes that every bear market between 1960 and 1982 took back 50% of the bull market's gains. The World Is Tilting MS (Roach) The endgame is now beginning in this post-bubble world. US Airways Files for Bankruptcy Protection Washington Post US pension funds to target offshore business Financial Times Productivity Number Needs a Little Probing TheStreet We take these numbers as important. It's ludicrous. Investors took $55 billion out of stock funds in July Dallas Morning News US Jan-June machine tool demand down 24.2 pct Reuters World markets to remain in grip of bears SMH Businesses’ caution about the future still a concern AP Alarm bells ringing over US life insurers Financial Times Are Profits Surging or Flat? It Depends NY Times (R) WorldCom's Abuse of Reserves Is Largest `Cookie Jar' Accounting Bloomberg Creditors seek more WorldCom data WSJ Spectacular slip up of Swiss guru Financial Times Combination of bad stock picking and an unhealthy amount of leverage South America's fiscal storm has echoes of Asia crisis AP
Does it really make sense for the stock market to be jumping for joy when the rate cut the Street desires would merely signal that things are much worse than previously thought and the dreaded double dip may be right smack in the middle of the Fed's radar screen? Financial Post
Weekend (Aug 10,11) The ministry of funny numbers UPI Law could decimate tech giants Financial Post If Fed doesn't trim rate, market may be disappointed Reuters Big Risk if Bear Market Ends with Bang Reuters A bone-jarring finale to the current blood-letting would probably be a disaster. US Faces $157 Billion 2002 Deficit Reuters CBO Release Pension Woes Bring Business Wealth Effect NT Times (R) Accounting rules do not force companies to immediately face up to bad news from their pension plans. G.M.'s retiree benefit plans have unfinanced liabilities of a staggering $61 billion. Some of that shows up in liabilities on the balance sheet, but about $11.5 billion does not... VIX Bounces S&P 500 ZeaL Merrill Says SEC Voicing Concerns on Brokerage's Role at Enron Bloomberg $30 Billion Loan to Brazil is "Spin City Smoke & Mirrors" FS (Tan Range) Brazilian Borrowers Forced to Repay as Overseas Banks Balk Bloomberg
Friday August 9 Analysis:O'Neill's magic bullet for Brazil UPI Fed Unlikely to Cut Washington Post A Global Double Dip? Morgan Stanley (Roach) The Prudent Bear Smells More Honey (Q&A) Business Week More Soma! Mises Arise, Sir Alan! LewRockWell Picture When Will The Fraud Of The Century End? Gold-Eagle Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of high tech companies is a fraud on the public. Banks face US$6b claims Business Times (Bloomberg) I.M.F. Loan to Brazil Also Shields U.S. Interests NY Times (R) Retailers post sluggish sales WSJ Real estate could be the next bubble Philly Inquirer Firms expensing options now aren't feeling much pain. Others will USA Today
Thursday August 8 GOP Rep Asks SEC To Probe Rubin's Role In Enron Reuters A Rubin spokesman has said he "had prefaced the call (to Fisher) by saying, ` This may not be the best idea' Producer Prices down 0.2% in July (-0.3% Core) BLS NBER: Not Yet Ready to Say Recession Over Reuters NBER Could Be 2010 Before Glory Days Return TheStreet PDF File How the Fed burst the bubble Financial Post “I will give a little coup de whiskey to the stock market.” The case against Alan Greenspan CNNfn Consumers not afraid to buy on credit Reuters Consumer Credit 30-year mortgages at 32-year lows Reuters CNBC Cuts Biz Boss NY Daily News Viewership falls 25% in latest quarter Schwab Launches Hedged Stock Fund (20% Short) AP 2 Big Banks to Insist on Debt Disclosure Washington Post Tyco CEO spent $6,000 for shower curtain AP Intel Won't Count Share Options as Expense Reuters GM To Expense - Cisco won’t budge an inch CFO Citigroup to expense options Reuters Does the Government Have a Role in Stabilizing the Economy? NYT (R) Japan pays record price for protecting the yen Financial Times Japan Recession Deepening Reuters IMF Release (PDF File)
Wednesday August 7 Brazil to Get $30 Billion to Stem Market Drop Bloomberg IMF Financial Armaggedon Is Unfolding in South America ER The decision was made on July 23-24 by the U.S. Federal Reserve, reliable European sources report, that any and all measures would be taken to keep the U.S. stock markets from melting down before the November 2002 mid-term elections... Bout of exuberance propels stocks Mecury News Rearranging the Deck Chairs Morgan Stanley (Raoch) there must be a legitimate increase in the preference for national saving. Until that happens, I fear America will find it exceedingly difficult to extricate itself from this post-bubble quagmire. Goldman exec: M&A rebound on hold CBS MarketWatch Kaplan also warned that M&A may get worse before it gets better Nervous Eyes on Greenspan's Big Shoes WP Corporate credentials weigh down Bush's team USA Today Dancing to the Street's Limbo Beat Business Week A Veteran Goes Long on Gloom Business Week Lou Dobbs Hosts Moneyline From Window Ledge The Onion Few firms ready for SEC deadline WSJ U.S. widens investigation of Enron WSJ German July Unemployment Climbs to Three-Year High Bloomberg Argentina’s high-risk bank lobbies WSJ Argentina begs for financial help BBC
Tuesday August 6 Fed Chief Greenspan to Be Knighted WP Short-squeeze seen in dollar strength CBS MarketWatch INO Tough Talk Aside, the Aid Flows Washington Post When it comes to bailing out countries in financial distress, the Bush administration's rhetoric says "No, no, no." But its actions usually say "Yes, yes, yes." Dancing to the Street's Limbo Beat Business Week Even though investors are pessimistic now, the fact remains that they could become even more pessimistic. Big Boom, Weak Profits Business Week With each successive revision, corporate profits have dropped. Don't count on the Fed CNNfn Why Bullish Advice is a Lot of Bull NY Post IMF warns US economy could slow BBC IMF Me Incorporated: I quit! U.S. News Energy firms accounting disputed WSJ Companies use own valuation techniques to book earnings Merrill Buys Ad Spread to Woo Investors Reuters Energy firms go offshore to cut taxes WSJ Aide Was Reportedly Ordered to Warn Stewart on Stock Sales NY Times (R) Merrill settles pensions row Times Online Economy in trouble as output plummets TheScotsman The UK manufacturing recovery has disappeared with a bang. Donald L. Kohn and Ben S. Bernanke on Monday took the oath FDRB Brazil at fiscal crossroads Financial Post Within weeks Brazil has gone from being well-funded by foreigners to a social outcast, pariah and the next problem child on the block.
Monday August 5 The Post-Bubble Business Cycle Morgan Stanley (Roach) Stocks and the Economy -- Is There a Relationshop? TNA Signs suggest stocks could drop more USA Today Former SEC Chief: The Numbers Game Rolls On NewsMax Foreign Investors Turning Cautious on Spending in U.S. NYT(R) The Stock Market, Profits, and Credit Expansion Ludwig Von Mises Stocks to pay price for 'snap-backs' CBS MarketWatch (Calandra) U.S. double-dip recession very unlikely-Fed's Poole Reuters In the case of the GSEs, the massive scale of their liabilities could create a massive problem in the credit markets. If the market value of GSE debt were to fall sharply ... what would happen? I do not know, and neither does anyone else. Bullish John Buckingham debates bearish David Tice CBS MarketWatch JP Morgan Fails to Report $45 Billion in Gold Derivatives to the SEC GATA Lehman advises caution on JPM, Citigroup stocks CBS MarketWatch SEC conducting inquiry of Mirant accounting AP Ex-controller says Dynegy cooked books CFO.com Guess how grisly the bear is Australian U.S. to loan $1.5B to crisis-stricken Uruguay AP Brazil Teeters. Will It Be Contagious? NY Times
Weekend (Aug 3-4) South America's dominoes Economist Resource: Latin America Nouriel Roubini Handwriting is on the Street’s Wall MSNBC (Byron) Rational Saturninity AEI Recession stalks Wall Street Guardian Overtime and temporary jobs fell in the labour department's July report - both of which are bad news for future job creation. Wing Collar: Put not your trust in numbers UPI The Debate Is Dead. Long Live the Debate! MS (Berner) Morgan Stanley cuts chip industry forecast Reuters SEC to fine Wall St. brokerages $10 million for not retaining e-mail Reuters 1929 lessons and parallels - I Part II UPI
Friday August 2 Factory Orders Tumbled 2.4% In June Census Unemployment rate at 5.9% - 6,000 jobs added in July BLS Consumer Credit: Is a Crunch Coming? Business Week Consumer Spending Up on Big Income Gain Reuters BEA Warning: Credit Crunch Forbes (R) Accounting regulators want $1 trillion or more of hidden corporate debt moved into plain view. The reform could pull the rug from under the credit-driven economy. Junk bonds yielding worst year on record IHT Wobbling Economist Bank Derivatives Back on Radar TheStreet Investors pull $47bn out of equity mutual funds Financial Times Markets could sink further if heavy-weighted banks falter Globe & Mail Bear tracks: Financial uncertainty may have investors seeing red LA Times The Poor Standard of Standard & Poor's Slate How the S&P 500's bad bubble-stock picks have cost investors billions. Double dip fears send markets plunging Independent Businesses "slammed on the brakes" in July, Lloyds warns of tough outlook BBC London Bank Firings Hurt Demand for Shoe Shiners, Champagne Bloomberg Enron loans raise new questions WSJ S&P analysts give dire energy outlook CBS MarketWatch Morgan Stanley To Ax Big Bankers NY Post One in Six CFOs Tells of Pressure to 'Cook' Books LA Times Partying On A Sinking Ship NY Post Bankrupt service provider WorldCom is planning an all-expenses-paid booze cruise for its New York employees. U.S. Says It Backs Bailouts for Brazil and Uruguay Only NY Times (R) U.S. reforms hit Bay St. Financial Post New US rules could sink Asian tech stocks Reuters
Thursday August 1 Bush, Greenspan Review Economy over Lunch Reuters Is The U.S. Economy In A Recession Right Now? FallStreet ISM index fell to 50.5 percent in July ISM Earnings overhaul still needed CBS MarketWatch It's common practice for CFOs to provide cash flow details to the big investment banks upon request... Mom and pop investors, however, often must wait four or more weeks after a company reports results to get a cash flow statement - and this only after digging through regulatory filings. Double-Dip Alert Morgan Stanley Dow 36,000 or Dow 3,600? Prudent Bear Pimco’s Bill Gross sours on C-bonds Reuters Corporate Tilt Pimco It's just fair warning that with a tilting corporate bond market, the economy itself may not be far behind. A Market that Rides on Bubbles Newsday New filings show larger-than-expected increase CNNfn Jobless Claims DOL S&P 500 index sweats through 8% loss in July USA Today Steepest July drop in more than 50-years Treasury increases note sale to $40b Bloomberg The increase to a record sale of 10-year notes suggests the government may run deficits longer than the Bush administration's forecast of 2005 US to take out Debt Consolidation Loan TheOnion Accounting board may tweak expensing rules Dow Jones Given that companies have been disclosing the value of stock options in their footnotes for a number of years, FASB may consider applying the standard to all outstanding options...FASB plans to discuss at an Aug. 7 board meeting... Breaking ranks on stock-option reform Boston Globe Silicon Valley's unified front against stock-option reform is beginning to show some cracks. Spitzer looks into executives' stock options Financial Times Related Senate Moves Against Tax-Haven Companies NYT (R) “If a U.S. company wants to bid for a contract for U.S. defense work, it should not renounce its corporate citizenship for a tax break” Questions on Halliburton Deal Under Cheney NTY (R) Sixteen down. Now, 929 to go Washington Post A Keynesian Beauty Contest Bloomberg Economic Crisis Swells in S. America Washington Post Citigroup's Weill, Rubin Working to Limit Brazil Risk Bloomberg EU hit by accounting allegations BBC Europe bad debt provisioning rises CBS MarketWatch
Former WorldCom executives arrested CBS MarketWatch Lieberman willing to subpoena Rubin Washington Times U.S. Initiates Investigation of Accounting at AOL Unit NYT (R) SEC Sues 2 Executives In Nicklaus-Owned Golf Company DJ NYSE Montly Disciplinary Report NYSE
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