feedjune03




		Monday June 30 Funds and games CNN/Money When funds engage in marking up, they are trying to boost returns. Fed's truly scary idea: tax you into spending MSN (Fleck) Unusual Steps... It's positively diabolical. Some Dallas Fed economists suggest perking up the economy by taking a piece of every dollar you have the gall to save. The Fed Funds Overcapacity TheStreet The Fed has not avoided danger FT BIS: Deflation Possibility Should be Taken Seriously Dow Jones BIS Release Those Sexy Bonds Losing Their Appeal NY Post Is Prechter's bearishness permanent? CBS MarketWatch The Levitating Economy NewsWeek Signs of growth suggest Bush’s policies may be paying off. But is it all an illusion? If the US property bubble bursts, dive for cover Sunday Times Junk bonds are back in style FT Record Quarter for Converts Some $64bn of US junk debt has been sold this year, surpassing the $59bn sold in all of 2002. Calif. Near Financial Disaster Washington Post Hours Remain to Solve $38 Billion Shortfall Workers' comp hike of 20 percent likely lies ahead for 2004 Business Journal Protests grow as tech jobs move offshore AJC 'Hotspots,' cold feet BG Free Wi-Fi on way to becoming standard of service ST Some analysts wonder whether WiFi craze is a bubble waiting to burst World chip sales up in May TheRegister The SIA hasn't managed to forecast actual growth for the last six years. Banks feel pinch on auto loans Dallas Morning News Freddie Mac Attack Business Week Critics are calling for greater oversight -- or even a breakup SEC May Order Holder Stock-Pay Plan Votes Reuters PickPockets’ Pride NY Post Wall Street is one of the few places on earth where the people who guard the bank are also the ones best positioned to rob it. Insane IPO Jumps Were Secretly Orchestrated E-Commerce Just Who Will Pay The Debt? Etherzone Is the U.S. Dollar a WMD? Investors Seek Bigger Gains in Europe Bloomberg Europe inflation rises South Korea's June Consumer Prices Fall 0.3% From May Bloomberg Will China Revalue the Yuan? Business Week Painful sell-off looms for telecoms Sydney Morning Herald More woe for fund managers Scotsman "Some firms in Scotland could disappear" India Joins IMF's Pool of Lenders WP (AP) Heading South? Time Asia The Lion In Winter In much of Southeast Asia, economic growth has stalled, freedoms are being rolled back and terrorism is a constant threat. Governor faces busy last day before retiring Times Online Weekend Edition (June 28-29) The Bubble That Broke The World Financial Sense The date May 21, 2003, should be remembered as a historic landmark. On this day Aladdin Greenspan let the genie out of the bottle. Economy is set on idle JSOnline Nation's use of capacity is nearing a modern low Stock Rally Knocks Out Short Sellers NY Post Some Numbers Only Add to the Fog (GE) NYT (R) (Morgenson) SEC and NYSE Propose Rethinking Decimalization NewsDay “How can we take them seriously as regulators when their knee-jerk response is to view every issue from the point of view of the industry they're supposed to regulate?” Central bankers see sluggish recovery Reuters U.S. corporate insiders unloading stock as small investors renew buying TF's sell-buy ratio, which compares the value of total insider shares sold and bought, now stands at $34 to $1, the highest level since May 2001. More small investors re-enter the market and reject traditional holding N-Observer Some horrid numbers raise doubts CBS MarketWatch Coming Next Year to Madison Square Garden... Prudent Bear (Noland) The Investment Matrix Revelations Mauldin Market Comments Russell Trading the NYSE BPI Zeal Shorting the Dow G-E Hedge Funds Gaining Acceptance Among Pension Funds Dow Jones Treasury Official Criticizes Debt Ceiling WP Forced Down or Out in Grand Rapids WP Flood of Fees Draining Enron Funds WP Deltagen Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Reuters Playmate economics: Boom or bust? CNN/Money Study proposes a connection between centerfolds and the state of the economy. CEOs on the firing line CNet Expensing Options: Better Now Than Later CFO How New Zealand plans to turn sheep into diesel fuel BBC “The biggest problem with the rosy scenario, however, is that businesses have yet to get on board the hope train” Kitchen Sink Economics Breaking the deflationary spell Economist This week's American rate cut will not provide a magic cure that revives the ailing world economy. Friday June 27 Delphi postpones $300m debt issue FT “The recent debt offering from GM, with its sheer size, has reduced the capacity for the market to absorb anything else” Nike Falls After U.S. Orders Drop More Than Expected Bloomberg U.S. June UMich sentiment fades to 89.7 CBS U.S. May Personal Spending Rises 0.1%; Incomes Rise 0.3% BEA Bloom Prime-Rate Dominoes Falling TheStreet For a time, it looked as though the banking industry would successfully send a message to the Federal Reserve expressing unease with the Fed's latest interest rate cut on Wednesday. 550 Basis Points and Counting Morgan Stanley (Roach) Greenspan's dangerous cuts UPI Fed In Danger of Overstimulating The Economy PRNews Conference Board FOMC Minutes For May 6 FED Berry Record cuts, higher taxes as states struggle to survive tough times ~ PDF Why Nothing is Working Comstock The Myth of "Exporting Jobs" Mises Appraisers Pushed to Inflate Home Values NewHouse Real estate appraisers say they are pressured more and more to exaggerate values in order to smooth the way for a refinancing or sale. U.S. Sees Looming Gas-Heat Crisis WP Although record amounts of natural gas have been put into storage in recent weeks, supplies are still 29% below where they were a year ago and 19% below the five-year average. EIA Credit card delinquencies stay at record high Reuters Investors to get $1B in hot IPO settlement AP Dot-com fallout continues Times Online US authorities have not finished with their attack on investment banks. Offices struggling to lure tenants Denver Post Rents near bottom RYMN Top 100 forest-products firms saw profits plummet in 2002 Seattle Times General Motors Ups Bond Sale to $17 Bln Reuters At Least 17 Shareholder Lawsuits Filed Against Freddie Dow Jones Time to Hang Up on SBC Business Week Layoffs at Microsoft amid hiring Seattle Times CEO Puts Nasdaq in Reverse NY Post NYSE Monthly Disciplinary Report NYSE Chinese Yuan Forward Contracts Gain After Snow Backs Wider Band Bloom Japan's Average Overnight Rate Falls to Record Minus 0.004% Bloom U.K. 1st-Quarter Growth Slows to Weakest in a Decade Bloomberg Futures trading shows investors are betting on another U.K. rate cut. Global Bond Sell-Off Moves to Asia Reuters Hitman claims 'ridiculous' Times Online Lee Amaitis, chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, yesterday dismissed as ‘totally ridiculous’ allegations that he had discussed using a hitman to take out his arch-rival, Michael Spencer. Elan could collapse at the end of July Independent OSC's power warrants close scrutiny Financial Post Mexicans mourn VW bug AP Help Wanted Index Flat Conference Board Thursday June 26 Rich get richer, but faster CNN/Money Workers 65 and up put retirement plans on hold AJC Jobless Claims drop to 404K DOL GDP Revised Lower BEA - Reuters Why did the Fed do what it did? Globe & Mail Berry - 100 Basis Points Left "The Fed has again tried to be all things to everyone and ended up being nothing to nobody” The Fed wimps out (Erdman) - Bulls feel betrayed - Task When Rate Cuts Run Out, Fed May Rev Up The Printer NYP (Crudele) Rate cut might not have significant impact on borrowing USAT NFIB Just 3% of small businesses say they have trouble borrowing -- and only 2% say credit is their top problem Deflation to Depression? CFO Survey shows finance chiefs will cut spending in the face of deflation; Great Depression thinking? 8 million could lose overtime pay MSNBC EPI (PDF File) “The administrations proposal would create, in effect, a massive subsidy to employers paid for by their employees. As more employers take advantage of the new rules, it will create a rush-to-the-bottom pressure that will eventually force even reluctant employers to participate in order to keep their labor costs competitive.” Savings rates likely to sink even lower USA Today Paradox of Thrift - A Keynesian Fallacy BrookesNews Even bond bubbles can burst - the cause might be quite unexpected Independent Some bears still growling CBS MarketWatch Strategist's book a lively romp down Wall Street Toronto Star Shills for American technology stocks were shocked when naysayers likened the astounding runup in prices to the Dutch mania over tulip bulbs in the 1630s....The comparison was an insult -- to the Dutch Mortgage refinancing index falls Reuters MBAA Baker Says Loose Lips Could Sink Mortgages Financial Wire Looming Mortgage Crisis! Safe Haven (Chapman) Clearly Freddie and Fannie along with Easy Al have gone a long way in generating the biggest housing bubble in history. GASB Issues Guidance on Derivatives for State, Local Govts Smart Pros GASB Errors may mean $4.5B Freddie Fix AP Manipulation kept profit steady USAT Feds suing Enron over pension losses AP Enron Gets “Death Penalty” USAT Ex-Coke manager claims metal-tainted drinks sold AP Whitley said he notified Coke about the problem in February. A week later, he said, Coke gave him the worst performance review of his 11-year career and fired him seven weeks later. When a Coke cost a nickel NY Daily State Street laying off 150 - Kennecott layoffs 220 - Swift slashes 300 - 95? Viacom Lays Off 20 Pct of Staff at Comedy Central Reuters May Fires 1,500 Intel foreshadows "redeployments" Inquirer InternalMemos - GE-140 Riding this bloody bull Russell 2 Nasdaq short interest rises in June Reuters BOE Sees Risk From Push for Higher Yield Bloomberg BOE (PDF) The rate cut could hobble Europe and Japan MSN (Jubak) A key Japan rate falls below zero IHT (Bloom) Growth Rate Forecasts Tumble Again Korea Times The government’s recent stimulus measures failed to inject new vigor into the slowing economy... Auditors find more China bank woes CNN (Reuters) China's largest property lender faked its profit and loss figures, ran secret accounts and made illegal loans French Manufacturers' Confidence Unexpectedly Drops Bloomberg Fiat to Sell Shares Worth EU1.8 Bln, Cut 12,300 Jobs Bloomberg Venezuela's Currency Idea Won't Work Bloomberg Bank of Canada warns on pensions Toronto Star Canada Is Losing Ability to Fill U.S. Natural Gas Needs NY Times (R) Cocaine found on nearly all euro notes Telegraph Asia's Currency Free-Riders Must Pay Their Way AEI The most egregious example of currency manipulation is that of China Go ahead, China, break a peg CBS MarketWatch (Calandra) Argentina to Limit Investment, Discourage Speculators Bloomberg Deflation hits Greenspan Reuters Fed chief's biography, published at $14, on sale 'like new' for 98 cents, 75 cents in large type. The Unintended Consequences of John Meriwether Bloomberg (Lewis) Wednesday June 25 Fed Cuts Interest Rates By 1/4 Point FED Bloomberg Voting against the action was Robert T. Parry. President Parry preferred a 50 basis point reduction in the target for the federal funds rate. Durable Goods Orders in U.S. Drop to Lowest Since June 2002 Census Bloom U.S. home sales surge in May CBS Census (PDF) -- Historically low rates mean it's likely time to refi again CBS Fed vs. Deflation. Who will win? CBS (Weiss) No panacea for equities FT We are now witnessing one of the greatest economic battles of all time. Escaping the trap of deflation Taipei Times What can you do when interest rates are as low as they can get but prices are still falling? Greenspan Is In A Bind--Deflation Will Be Final Result Comstock U.S. rate cut seen inflating bonds Globe & Mail Bond bubble FT Bond market bulls bank on Federal view of deflation threat Independent Bubbleology CNN/Money Wall Street goofed on the last bubble. Now it sees new ones forming everywhere. Still overpaying CNN/Money Tech is the market's most expensive sector. Given the past, it's hard to see why. Blizzard of Debt Forecast For Consumers Reuters “We keep encouraging this addict, this debt addict, to take another fix.” Averting a global calamity Bangkok Post Author of ‘The Dollar Crisis’ has a radical proposal to tackle the swelling US trade deficit Freddie To Predict Gains From Revision Washington Post Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac will announce today that its restatement of earnings will add as much $4 billion to its reported profits over the past 3-years Global M&A slumps 13 percent in first half CBS MarketWatch Pension Problems Threaten Earnings Quality TheStreet Outlook uncertain for autos Boston Globe Pension Needs Fueling GM's Sales Push WP Beer sales go flat amid wet weather CNBC Tight gas markets to last years FP Natural Gas Crisis From the Wilderness Fighting Wall St.? Don’t Do It Here NY Post China internet stocks fuel a return to dotcom mania FT American investors have shaken off their funk over the dotcom bust to chase a small group of Chinese internet-portal stocks to dizzying levels in recent weeks. Bank steps in to cool Chinese economy FT Moody's cuts Sony rating over profit concerns FT Telefonica to cut 15,000 jobs BBC KLM May Cut as Many as 4,500 Jobs as Air Travel Falls Bloomberg Brazil sets sights on recovery by increasing inflation target FT Recession pulls children out of Argentina's classrooms CS Monitor Falling dollar makes India Inc switch to euro Rediff Tuesday June 24 Anticipated rate cut by Fed only adding to `weird' climate The Fed's historic binge of rate-cutting has produced the strange world of 0% automobile loan financing, 30-year fixed mortgage rates dropping toward 5%, and rates on savings deposits settling down to 1% and less.... Declining Dollar, Declining Fortunes Ron Paul If our economic woes continue the nation someday may regret not taking a closer look at the Federal Reserve and its manipulation of our financial fortunes. Fed Watchers: Rate Cut Hurts Consumers NY Post 2 Alan Greenspan could be wasting his remaining bullets. Thanks Alan, have a boiled potato, a napkin, & a glass of water on me Russell -- Cartoon “Kudlow and Company want the Fed to act as America's Politburo, targeting interest rates, price inflation, commodity prices, and the stock market. Instead of allowing the free market to set prices, interest rates, and stock values, they believe the Fed can inflate us to prosperity--a policy that got us into this mess in the first place...” Destroy The Dollar ~ Create Prosperity ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Advanced Micro Cuts 2nd-Qtr Sales Forecast by 14% Bloomberg Price Wars Send Kroger's Earnings Down Reuters Consumer Confidence Turns Flat in June Conference Board The Bear's Lair: Bearish on bonds WT (UPI) All good things must come to an end, even the 20 year boom in the bond market. An Historic Moment? Morgan Stanley (Roach) Like it or not, we’re in uncharted waters, both in diagnosing the world’s problems as well as in prescribing the remedies. Don't blindly believe the bull Business Times A mania that is no more Philly Inquirer (IPOs) Longtime bear not changing his negative attitude UPS Bulls and bears CNN/Money Stock market optimism doesn't look so high if you look at what some are doing with their money. Freddie, Fannie face closer scrutiny USA Today Tiny Agency Has Big Job WP A key congressman is expected to try Tuesday to significantly boost government regulation of mortgage giants Freddie and Fannie. Recovery? Don't Bet on It Business Week Tech manufacturer margins seen threat to shares Reuters Firming demand is "not fully offsetting the margin degradation resulting from the aggressive pricing environment.” Workers' raises seen rising at slowest pace in a decade Bloomberg California vehicle license fee to triple SF Gate Allegheny Energy Faces Bankruptcy Reuters S&P cuts Mirant’s ratings Tenet Shares Drop On Profit Warning WP Operating costs pinch Walgreen AP Northern Trust Cuts Jobs, Takes Charge Reuters Merck's Medco unit faces fraud claims FT Second Acts CFO After bankruptcy, companies often teeter between encore and final curtain call. “Thanks to our friends for the past 46 years, but we are now closed” Pasadena C CopperCom files Chapter 11 Palm Beach Furniture chain files for bankruptcy protection Star Ledger Copperweld to close, put 276 out of work Dayton Daily News ABB's US unit files for bankruptcy Swiss Info Shakeout hits local printing industry IndyStar NYSE sets new stock option policy Reuters NYSE tells listed companies that shareholders can reject stock option plans. Trying to Sort Through The B.S. on Dick Grasso NY Post Everyone's watching the markets again - and CNBC NYP Paris and Tokyo worst for 'price manipulation' FT Italian Consumer Confidence Drops to 6 1/2-Year Low Bloomberg Germany: A Raft of Problems Beset the Economy Northern Trust Economy in post-SARS China taking off 'like a rocket' USAT How the fund managers sold dreams and delivered nightmares Independent IMF pays call on Argentine leader BBC Swiss wields heavy axe Swiss Info A Risky Gambit for Global Gas Supremacy Moscow Times Monday June 23 Bedeviled By A Bubble NY Post (Byron) Aren't we sick of this financial equivalent of Groundhog Day by now? Applause, please, for Alan the acrobat Guardian Stop Greenspan From Plunging America into a Depression G-E The bubble of speculative long positions in bonds is so huge that it can no longer be safely deflated. What is Behind The Sharp Fall In Long Term Rates? BrookesNews An artificial lowering of interest rates cannot grow the economy if real savings are not there to fund real economic expansion. Its ammo running low, Fed readies cut JSO Rate cuts losing their punch? PI To many, Greenspan remains a comforting figure. Some liken the owlish 77-year-old economist, who has served as Fed chairman under four presidents, to an oracle. But... Economists expect cut; many don't advise it USA Today Greenspan, Duisenberg Won't Find a Solution to Avoiding Deflation in Japan BL ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Small Investors, Once Burned, Lead New Bull NY Times (R) (Morgenson) Many can't believe latest market run-up is real AJC Possibly the biggest worry cited by market bears is the still rising level of household, business and government debt. It has reached a staggering $32 trillion, or almost 300 percent of U.S. gross domestic product... Top 10 Reasons To Be Bullish Again NY Post Earnings Shortage Forbes Euphoric profit forecasts have driven the market up far too high--especially for Nasdaq 100 stocks. A closer look at them is sobering Wi-fi will be 'next dot.com crash' BBC Wireless, Wireless, Everywhere BG The first victims of all the hype are likely to be investors - yet again. Vacuum sales in the dumps NewHouse Until this year, Americans were buying vacuum cleaners like there was no such thing as recession. And then, boom! Prices fall but consumers wary Det News State of crisis (Colorado) U.S. economy is growing slowly, but to many in Metro Detroit it still feels like a recession Economy not to blame for states' budget woes USA Today Valley's tech bust more severe than other regions' falls Mecury News 30 percent struggle with housing WT No-down-payment necessary AP U.S. firms' pension deficit at record high Reuters Freddie and Fannie could get us all in a pickle Telegraph Analysts question Fannie Mae's balance sheet IHT (NYT) Freddie’s Foible WT U-Haul Parent Amerco Files for Chapter 11 Dow Jones Girl's lemonade stand back in business Naples “I've been a customer of hers more than once. That means I've aided and abetted. You know what, I'm not one bit sorry. It's good lemonade.” Mayor MacKenzie Is China Scrapping Dollar Peg? Not So Fast Bloomberg China To Be World's Largest Aluminum Consumer By 07 Reuters Global View: U.S. recovers--like Japan WT (UPI) Quelling a wave of deflation Times Online More hit by mortgage shortfall Guardian No housing crash, Bank chief says BBC Expat Banks Close Down N.Y. Offices NY Post Foreign banks are closing offices in New York at a rate of two a month, an acceleration over prior years Russian Sees First Net Capital Inflow Reuters Iraq Starts Limited Export of Crude Oil Reuters Sabotage, Looting Slow Iraq Oil Exports AP Fallout from Iraq war loosening dollar's global stranglehold J-Times Weekend Edition (June 21-22) Prince Alwaleed warns of new high-tech meltdown risk T-Online “People are becoming euphoric again, they have short memories” Hot dot-coms must let off steam - Another Tech Bubble? Prediction: The future of the USA stock market UCLA (Sornette) Bull Market or Bear Market Rally? Frontline Peer pressure keeps the pros gambling MSN (Fleck) Worried about missing the rally? Worry instead about the money managers who risk your savings to keep up with the pack. Following in Dr. Fisher's Footsteps Prudent Bear (Noland) Trading The Gold-Stock Bull Zeal Dead Men Talking Gold-Eagle (Bonner) Foreclosures Hit Quarterly Record WP Goldman Sputters in Quest to Improve Stock Research Division NYT (R) Early retirees feel burned by brokers IBJ Merrill says claims by 85 workers lack merit Rite Aid case illustrates high costs of scandals AP Attorney General opinion helps bear market losses AP Specter of China faulted for manufacturing slump JS Online Greenspan's impact mapped AP PDF Link When Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan speaks, markets listen -- unless he's talking about the stock market. Friday June 20 Is Greenspan reinflating the bubble? Globe & Mail “What Japan has shown us is that the way to fight deflation is to get rid of overcapacity as fast as you can. The Fed is doing the exact opposite now. What the Fed is doing is keeping the oversupply situation intact by lowering the cost of capital.” More than half of the primary dealers now expect 50 point cut Bl Endless Bubbles Morgan Stanley (Roach) Still Blowing Bubbles NY Times (R) (Krugman) It's hard to find any real news to justify the market's leap U.S. Rally May Falter, History Shows Bloomberg Buckle Up: Market Plunge Ahead New American Depreciation of Dollar Likely To Prevail In the Near Term Northern Trust Economists Wearing Rose-Colored Glasses Comstock A Beltway Bubble About To Burst? WP Money market funds feel heat USA Today iMoneyNet Interest Rates Hurt Pension Plans AP First, the stock market slump hit corporate America's pension funds. Next, it could be falling interest rates. Fed Gives Techies a 20% Budget Boost NY Post Government deficit about twice as high as year-ago period AP FMS Budget Cuts Paint Dreary Picture For State Arts Funding Stateline Delaware: Bills that raise cigarette tax, slots share, business fees NJ Kansas wages up; jobs down AP Houston: More jobless, fewer jobs add to grim local outlook - 16 H-Chronicle Indianapolis: Rolls-Royce eliminating 520 jobs IndyStar Signs abound that Freddie, Fannie could lose advantages AP Freddie's Derivatives Get A Closer Look Quicken (WSJ) Fired Freddie Executive's Stock Frozen WP GE's Plastics Orders Plummet, Analysts Worried Fox GE May Warn GE released May short-cycle order trends which suggest that our second half 2003 growth assumptions may be difficult to achieve. GM to Offer $10 Billion in Debt to Fund Pension Plans Bloomberg Xerox Plans to Pay Debt with $3.46 Billion Financing Reuters U-Haul teeters on edge of bankruptcy FT Touch America seeks bankruptcy protection AP Former CMGI unit Engage files for Chap. 11 bankruptcy protection Boston Globe Coke may face more scrutiny in Europe USA Today Countrywide Denies Rumor of Accounting Problems TheStreet NYSE Monthly Short Interest Report NYSE Excel A boost for Buffett Rocky Mountain New Level 3 Communications' sugar daddies became major stockholders Thursday Mid-American urges realistic utility outlook Reuters Martha’s Trial Set AP Stewart’s Flat Attire WP SEC charges former Gemstar executives with fraud AP Frankel accountant gets prison time AP “I'm sorry for my poor judgment and the decisions I made.” District Sues Credit Debt Solutions Inc. WP Firm Accused of False Promises, Leaving Some Customers With Worse Debt Bears prowl amid gold market muddle MW Russell 321 US$ Overvalued? G-E Security a major concern following 10 Casino robberies AP Foreign money won't help Japan's economy Yomiuri Why does the Japanese government spend scarce taxpayer money on trying to attract more foreign investors, when the government is reeling from a record budget deficit and its debt is mounting? Rate cut calls grow. . . Guardian Consumer boom hits wage reality Britain's recession-hit manufacturers are slashing prices in response to weak order books and falling output. China has to allow the yuan to rise Taipei Times Ronald McKinnon of Stanford University warns that if China allows the yuan to appreciate, it could well follow in Japan's footsteps... China has become the largest supplier of high-tech goods to the U.S. Dow Jones HSBC Drawn into Probe on Mexican Bank Bailout MenaFN Some of the loans may not have eligible for the bailout or were possibly fictitious. Bay Street search warrants 'not another Bre-X', insiders say of probe CP Venezuelan move to replace US$ with the Euro upsetting Washington more than Saddam's Euro conversion last November VHeadline Switch to euro may lead to global insecurity Malaysia kini Thursday June 19 Fitch cuts GM debt over auto concerns CBS MarketWatch Martha Philly Fed +4 P-Fed Jobless Claims @ 421KCurrent Account Gap at Record Leading Indicators up 1% in May Conference Board Rate Cut Looking Like a Sure Thing WP (Berry) U.S. Treasuries Rise; Washington Post Predicts Half-Point Cut Bloom Greenspan survives to lead the charge FT Alan Greenspan is the Mary Meeker of the bond market - he is leading the sheep to be shorn...He is going to do more damage than any analyst at Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch did at the height of the internet bubble. Is the bond bubble close to bursting? FT Workers putting off or reducing vacations: survey Chicago Sun Times False Hopes, False Fears, and Real Concerns Ludwig von Mises Bears on board CNN/Money Mutual fund managers who don't believe in this rally still have to play. The yuan heard round the world CBS MarketWatch Is a dollar crisis inevitable? Rumors about the yuan roil the waters. Finding currency in gold price CBS MarketWatch (Calandra) Is gold a hedge or a trap? SF Gate Commentary: It'll Come Crashing Down Indiana Gazette Pension Accounting Rules Create False Profits Bloomberg Excellent Year for Executives WP Bush's tax cuts add up to zero Washington Times Ron Paul Estate Tax Big chipmakers are still awaiting recovery SF Chronicle U.S. Automakers Improve Efficiency, But... NYT (R) Harbour Report Generous deals have not stemmed the steady loss of market share. Soured on sugar prices, candy makers leave U.S. Town Record American companies chase lower sugar prices around the globe Falling prices compound woes for US manufacturers Reuters Class of 2000: Dot-com IPOs learn tough lesson in survival USA Today Freddie Mac Restatement May Be Big DJ (WSJ) $3 Billion Still no Answers... A ‘Short’ Story About Why Wall St. Needs Reform NYP (Crudele) Micron, Hurt by Falling Prices, Reports Big Loss TheStreet EDS to cut 2,700 jobs, sell holdings AP Touch America workers laid off by e-mail Great Falls Tribune Boeing may cut more local jobs Seattle PI Airbiquity cutting staff despite cash infusion Seattle PI Verizon Spies Labor Storms on the Horizon TheStreet Gephardt Says He'll Aid High-Tech Executives' Option Fight Smart Pros Cops shut down little girl’s lemonade stand NBC Japanese Bonds Plunge; U.S. Recovery Signs Prompt Search for Higher Return B Capital rules 'will hit more Japanese banks' FT How will new ECB chief avoid perils of competitive devaluation? Independent The new German stereotype: holiday-addicted and out to lunch Hoovers (Guard) Brazil Cuts Overnight Lending Rate 1st Time in Year Bloomberg First the pain, then maybe the gain Globe & Mail Chamber passes immunity bill that suspends corruption trial of Berlusconi AP The Asian Conspiracy Against America Pravda American financiers believe that Asian countries are trying to gai