19/10/11 - Marketwatch warns EU banks will crash Wall Street

October 19, 2011 – NEW YORK – History inevitably repeats itself: Arab Spring triggered Wall Street Fall. Next, the raging European monetary collapse will ripple through America’s banking system, completing the 2008 meltdown that never ended because Wall Street fought all reforms. But now, a bigger meltdown as history repeats a dangerous cycle like the 1929 Crash and Great Depression. History will also deal a fatal blow to Wall Street. Weiss adds a key warning: No bank bailouts. America’s banking system is bankrupt, structurally and morally. Washington is broken. And thanks to the Occupiers Revolution the masses will never accept new bank bailouts. Never. They’ll toss politicians and overthrow government first. No new bailouts will be the stake in the heart of Wall Street, ending the “greed is good” power of America’s “bloodsucking vampire squid,” handing the Occupiers new political power in Washington. Weiss’s worst-case scenario highlights everything we’ve both been warning investors about for a long time. The 2008 meltdown never ended, lessons never learned. But now the end game is accelerating. Listen closely: Weiss final warning to all investors: “Get all or most of your money out of danger immediately … above all, stay safe!” Prepare for the coming bank collapse. And discover how this historic scenario will empower the Occupiers message to get money out of elections: “One citizen. One dollar. One vote.” –Market Watch

Yes, coming soon says Martin Weiss in his “7 Major Advance Warnings,” which is “bound to have a life-changing impact on nearly all investors in the U.S. and around the globe.” His new Weiss Ratings warnings are the “most important” in a 40-year career. The stress on Wall Street banks will force them back to Congress for more bailouts…

1. Greece will default very soon
2. The contagion of fear will spread
3. European Mega Banks will collapse
4. EU governments suffer new credit rating downgrades
5. Spain and Italy next to face defaults on their massive debts
6. Global debt markets will suffer a critical meltdown
7. Vicious cycle: sovereign defaults, bank failures, global depression

contribution Luisport

23/9/11 - Something Ominous Is Happening On Wall Street

Why the insiders have quit buying stocks

Commentary: The ratio of insider sales to purchases has jumped

By Brett Arends, MarketWatch

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Something ominous is happening on Wall Street, but nobody has noticed.

The insiders have vanished.

Chief executives. Board members.

The head honchos. The people who know.

Just a few weeks ago, they were out in force, buying up shares in their own companies with both hands.

No longer. They’ve disappeared. Almost overnight.

“They’ve stopped buying,” says Charles Biderman, the chief executive of stock market research firm TrimTabs, which tracks the data. “Insiders aren’t buying this rally.”

Insider stock purchases, which surged above $100 million a day in the market slump last month, have now collapsed to just $13 million a day.

Meanwhile the ratio of insider sales to purchases has skyrocketed. Today insiders are dumping $7 in stock for each $1 that (other) insiders are buying. That’s a worrying ratio. Six weeks ago the amounts of purchases and sales were about equal.

It’s the kind of news that should give investors pause.

What insiders do with their own money is one of the stock market’s best barometers.

After all, who better than company executives know their own order books? Who knows the conditions in their industry better?

You find insiders typically buying heavily at the market lows — they did in 1987, in 1998, and they did during the financial crisis in 2008-9.

(You also typically find them cashing out big-time at the peak)

MORE HERE

19/8/11 - Markets plunge on growing recession fears

Global stocks slid again Friday as fears of a possible U.S. recession combined with ongoing worries over Europe's debt crisis, which is stoking acute fears over the continent's banking sector.

European banking shares hit a near 2½-year low on renewed worries of the health of the continent's banks, while safe-haven gold prices nudged up against the $2,000 US an ounce mark, and crude prices fell as investors feared a global slowdown will zap demand for crude.

"This week has seen a continuation of the trend of weaker than expected data and political reaction to the European problems which pretty much amounts to 'Let's have a get together a couple of times a year,' " said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities."

Britain's FTSE 100 lost 2.1 per cent to 4,987, while Germany's DAX fell 3.3 percent to 5,394. France's CAC-40 was down 2.8 per cent to 2,989.

Wall Street was headed for another slide afterNorth American markets closed sharply down Thursday, mired in worries about a possible U.S. recession and the health of European banks.

Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX composite index finished down 392.90 points, or 3.12 per cent, at 12,186.71. The Dow Jones industrial average in New York traded down 419.63 points, or 3.68 per cent, to 10,990.58. Earlier, it was down as much as 530 points. The Nasdaq composite fell 131.05 points, or 5.22 per cent, to 2,380.43 and the S&P 500 was lower by 53.24 points, or 4.46 per cent, to 1,140.65. (more) 

19/8/11 - FTSE 100 takes another battering after plunging 3% as fears for global growth spark panic on the markets

The FTSE 100 took another battering today dropping 3% in early morning trading and slipping below 5,000 points, after a disastrous day which saw £62bn wiped off the value of leading shares.The tumbling figures were mirrored by European markets, with Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan stock markets, also falling in early trading.
Trading in the U.S. fell, which was later mirrored by markets in the Far East.
The latest downturn for world markets followed a gloomy report from economists at investment bank Morgan Stanley, which slashed its forecasts for global growth.
But eurozone debt fears, poor economic data in the US, and fears over China raising interest rates and limiting its demand, all played their part in Thursday's rout.
Banking stocks were again the major casualties as the FTSE 100 Index slipped down again to below the 5,000 barrier, tumbling to 4,935 points.
The volatile FTSE opened at 5,083 and after fluctuating, sank to 4,935 points. Read More 

8/8/11 - U.S. stocks slips on open, following European slump

U.S. stocks plunged when markets opened Monday, following drops in the European markets, as investors reacted to Friday's unprecedented downgrade of the U.S. by ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both fell by more than 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell more than 3%. The drop follows steady falls in European markets through the day.

The move from Standard & Poor's to downgrade the U.S. from AAA to AA-plus triggered heavy criticism from President Barack Obama's administration amid fears it could contribute to another recession.

Standard & Poor's John Chambers told CNN the downgrade was based on the political polarization in the U.S., following debate over raising the borrowing ceiling, and the country's high levels of debt.

Moody's, another major ratings agency, affirmed its rating of the U.S. debt at Aaa on August 2. It has said a ratings downgrade is possible before 2013 if fiscal discipline is weakened or by a significant deterioration in economic outlook. (more) 

4/8/11 - Stock Market Bloodbath: Dow Plunges 513 Points on Fear

Fears about the global economy led to the biggest panic in financial markets since the 2008 financial crisis.

The Dow plunged nearly 513 points Thursday, its biggest point decline since Oct. 22, 2008. Only three of the 500 stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 index had gains. Oil fell by 6 percent. The yield on the two-year Treasury note hit a record low as investors sought out relatively stable investments.

All three major stock indexes are down 10 percent or more from their previous highs, a drop-off that is considered to be a market correction. A drop of 20 percent or more signifies the start of a bear market, an extended period of stock declines.

Investors are increasingly concerned about the possibility of another recession in the U.S. and a debt crisis in Europe.

"We are continuing to be bombarded by worries about the global economy," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Financial.

The Vix, a measure of investor fear, shot up 36 percent. It is up 92.6 percent for the quarter, which began July 1.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 512.76 points, or 4.3 percent, to close at 11,383.68, according to preliminary data. Thursday's losses turned the blue-chip stock index negative for the year.

The S&P 500 lost 60.27, or 4.8 percent, to 1,200.07. The S&P 500, the benchmark for most mutual funds, is now down 12 percent from its recent high of 1,363 reached on April 29. The Nasdaq composite shed 136.68, or 5.1 percent, to 2,556.39.

Oil dipped to $87 a barrel on worries demand will fall because of the slowing economy. It had traded over $100 as recently as June 9.

Nearly 20 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.

European stocks also fell broadly because of concerns that Italy or Spain may need help from the European Union. The benchmark stock indexes in Italy, Germany and England each fell 3 percent.

Stock trading has been volatile this week because of concerns that the U.S. economy is weakening. Manufacturing, consumer spending and hiring by private companies are below levels that are consistent with a healthy economy. Those reports have called into question estimates from economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, that the economy will grow more quickly in the second half of the year.

Money poured into investments that are seen as relatively safe when markets are turbulent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.42 percent, its lowest level of the year. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note hit a record low of 0.26 percent. Bond yields fall when demand for them increases.

Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Janney Montgomery Scott, an investment firm in Philadelphia, said some clients are moving to cash "as a parking lot to sort things out."

"With the scars of 2008 still fresh, some clients don't want to miss the chance to pre-empt further damage should it come," Luschini said.

Large investors have moved so much money into cash accounts at Bank of New York that on Thursday the bank said it would begin charging some clients a 0.13 percent fee to hold their cash.

"In the past month, we have seen a growing level of deposits on our balance sheet from clients seeking a safe-haven in light of the global interest rate and credit environment," the bank said in a statement to The Associated Press. Bank of New York clients include pension funds and large investment houses.

"Investors are deciding that now is the time to take risk off the table," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist for Cetera Financial Group. Gendreau said that some investors are now wondering whether stocks will have a prolonged slump similar to the aftermath of the Great Depression.

Technical trading, a term used to signify buying or selling based on the S&P 500's prior highs and lows, also helped push stocks downward. The S&P 500 fell below 1,222, a so-called support level, early in the day. That signified to some traders that the stock market would continue to slide.

"Traders are respecting the technical levels even if they're not technicians," said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial. "Even if you're what we call a conviction buyer, you have to respect those levels."

Companies that outperform when the global economy expands fell the most. Alcoa fell the most, with a 9 percent drop. Bank of America and Caterpillar were down 7 percent. Boeing ended down 6 percent.

Some traders are selling ahead of Friday's employment report, which is expected to show that unemployment remained at 9.2 percent last month. A rise in the unemployment number would likely push stocks lower again.

The U.S. government said before the market opened that the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits for the first time was only slightly lower last week to 400,000. That's still above the 375,000 level that economist say indicates a healthy job market. It was the latest indication of weakness in the U.S. economy.

All 10 industry groups in the S&P index fell. Energy, materials and industrial companies each lost 5 percent or more.

The sell-off comes at a time when corporate profits are growing. The forward price to earnings ratio of the S&P 500 has fallen to about 12, well below its long-term average of 16. That means that investors who buy now are paying less for each dollar in profits.

Based on what an investor now pays for corporate profits, stocks are now trading at their lowest levels in 20 years, said Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Burns Advisory Group in Oklahoma City.

Few companies were spared in the sell-off. Just 3 of the 500 stocks in the S&P 500 moved higher. General Motors Co. fell 4 percent despite beating analyst's earnings estimates.

The stock market as a whole had its biggest fall since the start of the current bull market in March 2009. The drop in the S&P was the largest since a 45-point decline on January 20, 2009. The Dow is down 1.7 percent for the year. The S&P 500 is down 4.6 percent. And the Nasdaq is down 3.6 percent. The Russell 2000, an index made up of small companies, has fared the worst. It was down 5.6 percent Thursday and is down 7.3 percent for the year.