Saturday AM

Holiday Shopping Slump: U.S. shoppers plan to spend an average of $431 for gifts this holiday season, down from $859 last year

A GM Collapse Might Cost U.S. Taxpayers More Than a Rescue

Buffett’s Berkshire Boosts Stake in ConocoPhillips on Oil Bet (COP). "Buffett is thinking decades ahead."

The only asset classes yielding positive returns over the past 13 weeks were U.S. dollars and T-Bills.

A simple long-term system to keep you out of bear markets: Buy the S&P when it rises >5% above its 200MA and hold until it falls >5% below its 200MA.

The U.S. Treasury is about to approve capital injections into 20 more banks

Like Bubbles? Try "Total Borrowings of Depository Institutions from the Federal Reserve".

Boeing Delays Delivery of Newest 747 Models, Citing Strike, Design Changes (BA)

Saudi Arabia has reportedly bought $3.5B of gold in the last two weeks

China is reportedly considering building up its gold reserves "in a big way."

World's weakest currencies

Slutshole Lane, Norfolk, UK

Onward . . . what?

Go figure.

Ron Paul Answers Your Questions: Part One

Dividend-paying stocks outperform non-dividend-paying stocks.

JP Morgan sees more dividend cuts at mid-sized US banks

LED Motherboard Menorah for Hanukkah - $25

Celente Predicts Revolution, Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012

Friday PM

U.S. Retail Sales Drop in October by 2.8%, Most on Record

Obama is considering Sen. Hillary Rodham Cunton for secretary of state. This could be a real zoo.

US stocks fall Friday afternoon, oil down $2 at $56.23

Average Gas Price Below $2 in 19 States

GOP to Detroit: Drop Dead

Votes are Not There for Auto Industry Bailout (GM, F)

Top NYSE Short Squeeze Plays for November

Photo gallery of female Russian body builders

The FDIC unveiled a new plan Friday to prevent 1.5M home mortgage foreclosures by promising to share any losses with mortgage companies that agree to refinance home loans.

Test of Boucher Strategies: Using Treasury Yields to Trade the S&P 500 (Strategies don't work as well as they used to)

Viva el erección: Mexico City to distribute free Viagra to men 70 and older

Economists tend to be too optimistic. They miss the start of nearly every recession, and they see the end before it actually comes.

Ecuador Bond Yields Soar to 100% on Concern Correa Will Miss Bond Payment. Emerging market debt, anyone?

10%of the annual trade deficit between the U.S. and China is accounted for by one company: Wal-Mart (WMT).

Dow Chemical Insiders Buy More Stock (DOW)

Great redneck T-Shirt

Two Winning Bank Stocks: U.S. Bancorp (USB) and BB&T Corp. (BBT)

Dividends Stocks: The S&P Elite

Deviant parade

Fetus Cookie Cutter - No holiday baby shower would be complete without fetus cookies

Friday AM

At 0830 Bernanke will speak and the October Retail Sales report will be released. Hardly a bullish setup! S&P futures are down 11 at 0430.

Was Thursday the rally that broke the bear’s back? if a true bottom is in place, the market will ignore bad tidings and continue to climb.

Thursday was a Key Reversal Day

High cash, no debt, high yield stocks (link opens a spreadsheet from wallstreetnewsnetwork.com)

New iShares Target Date ETFs Pose Challenge to Existing Lifecycle Funds ( AOA / AOK / AOM / AOR / TGR / TZD / TZE / TZG / TZI / TZL / TZO / TZV)

Interesting discussion of "Free Virtual Computers" on alt.comp.freeware.

Test drive GoPC, one of the new "Free Virtual Computers".

76% think Obama can fix economy

Dems step up push for auto industry bailout

GM Asks Employees to Beg Congress for Money

Intel Starts its Warning Cycle (INTC) "Looking at the stock’s history, the warnings do come in bunches, so we would not be surprised to see further sales deterioration in early 2009 as well."

“I’m feeling lucky” button costs Google $110 million per year

Some Traders Bet on $30 Crude Oil as OPEC Plans Talks on Another Output Cut

Treasurys fall after 30-year bond auction meets tepid demand. "Supply continues weighing on 30s."

What Is It Like to Lose $100 Million a Day? Consider the case of Sheldon Adelson

Bolivia's Witches' Market: Llama Foetuses and Dried Armadillos. Grim!

Spoof of Biden-Palin Debate (warning: sick humor)

PM Links

Dow bounces back from 300 point loss in volatile session. Sure looks like today could be a key reversal day. Plus there is a positive divergence between the Dow and the other major indexes: they made new lows today and the Dow did not. This is a possible launch point for a big short-covering rally.

Jobless claims jump unexpectedly to 7-year high

U.S. Trade Deficit Fell in September on Decline in Cost of Fuel Imports

U.S. corporate bonds issued in October are rallying in a sign that credit markets may be recovering.

Regulators nix credit card debt forgiveness plan

Can you count on GE's dividend?

World Series of Poker Winner Finishes Second - After Taxes.

Dipping a Toe Into Aqua America (WTR)

Four Engines which have been Driving The Markets are all faltering in the downturn (share buybacks, mergers, dividends and earnings).

RSSFWD: Enter url of an RSS feed and they will send you the posts by email.

World spam volume drops by 2/3 after California company taken offline

Miroslav Tichý, Chech photographer who uses home-made cameras to take pictures of women.

AM Links

Hedge funds lose $100B of assets in October - $60B due to redemptions.

Margin Clerks Take Charge - "Brutal" forced selling suggests the market hasn't bottomed. "It's the worst I've ever seen."

Some seasoned technical analysts are looking for an intermediate-term rally, but not much more. (Larry Williams, Larry Connors, et. al.)

Market oversold - a bounce is likely.

Six Primary Areas for Change and Investment Opportunity (see "Topics to Watch" - good read)

China Industrial-Output Growth Is Slowest in 7 Years

German Economy Enters Worst Recession in 12 Years

Intel gives "dire warning" of sharp sales drop (INTC).

Wal-Mart tops earnings forecasts, but lowers estimates for the full year (WMT)

U.S. Consumers Return More Items Bought From Retailers. "Buyer's remorse" expected to hike merchandise returns 23%.

Foreclosures in October jump 25% from a year ago

Paulson: On Second Thought, We’re not Buying Toxic Bank Assets After All.

Bailout's Next Phase: Consumers (student loans, auto loans, credit cards, preventing foreclosures.)

Government to back GE Capital debt.

Obama Pushing for $50 Billion Automaker Rescue, Czar to Oversee Companies

Fighting the financial crisis has put the U.S. on the hook for some $5 trillion, a report says. (So far!)

Oil Falls Below $55 a Barrel, Lowest in 21 Months, as Fuel Demand Dwindles

Nourish – RSS to Email Service – Blog Powered Newsletters

There are 305,640,732 people in the U.S. How many have your name?

Wednesday P.M. Links

I've been saving links all day and posting them the following morning, but in the interest of more timely reporting during this time of fast-breaking bad news I'm going to try to post them more promptly.

Iran's Defense Minister Claims They Test-Fired a New Long Range High-Speed Solid Fuel Missile with a Range of 1200 Miles.

The U.S. downturn will be the longest in three decades, and the drought in consumer spending may be the worst ever, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Industrial and retail REITs plunge on economic slowdown.

One-third of U.S. homeowners who sold their property in the past year have lost money.

Two-year Treasury yields reach lowest level since 2003.

The USA May Lose Its 'AAA' Rating.

Best Buy Co. lowered its fiscal 2009 guidance Wednesday because of a fast-paced meltdown in consumer spending since the end of summer. (BBY) "Most difficult climate we've ever seen"

The Great Holiday Blowout Sale: This holiday season is shaping up to be the battle of the better deal.

Google shares dip below $300 for first time since 2005 (GOOG).

Google Chases Skype With New Gmail Video Chat. (GOOG).

Microsoft Denies Paying Nigerians $400K To Ditch Linux (MSFT).

IBM Corp. Plans to Use Power Lines to Deliver Internet Access in Rural Areas of the eastern U.S.

Banks Raising Customer Fees to Record Levels (JPM, BAC, WFC, CMA, PNC).

U.S. Pressures Banks to Lend, Warns on Dividends.

Nancy Pelosi and other Dems talk up an automaker rescue package.

Paulson: Rescue package not for automakers.

Chair of Senate Finance Committee Calls for Making Health Coverage Mandatory.

Obama to Act Quickly on Global Warming in 2009, Adviser Says.

Pound Plunges Below $1.50 for First Time Since 2002, Hits Record Low Against Euro.

Gold futures extend losses to $28 in two sessions, revisit two-week lows.

Oil Falls to 21-Month Low on Forecasts of Lower Global Demand.

Anyone notice that it took the CRB four and a half years to go from 252 to 478 but it took only four months to go from 478 to 252?

A Value Stock In Pictures: Alcoa (AA)

Password Strength Checker

"Knitting With Dog Hair: Better A Sweater From A Dog You Know and Love Than From A Sheep You'll Never Meet". $13.67 from Amazon.com.

Wednesday Links

The S&P 500 is threatening to violate major support at 900. A break below 900 on the S&P would likely induce an eventual retest of the 840 October low.

General Growth Properties (GGP), Second Largest Mall Owner in the U.S., Drops Below $1 a Share. GGP has a portfolio of approximately 200 regional shopping malls in 45 states. Some of them might be looking a tad empty after Christmas.

GM's Skid Quickens as Crunch Raises Bankruptcy Threat. The stock closed at 2.92.

GM = Small Cap Stock. The long term chart shows how long and hard GM has fallen.

House Speaker Pelosi seeking auto maker bailout.

But Pelosi's Auto-Rescue Plan will probably have to wait until Obama takes office. That may be too late.

The government and the mortgage industry are launching "the most sweeping effort yet" to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But critics say the plan doesn't go far
enough.

Global Credit Crisis Hits Brazil.

China's retail sales rose 22%, close to the fastest pace in nine years. This doesn't fit with the rest of the data coming out today. If true, why the mammoth domestic stimulus package?

Ruble Weakens Most in Two Months, Triggering 13% Plunge in Russian Stocks.

Crude Oil Fell to a 19-Month Low, and Gasoline Tumbled Tuesday, on Demand Outlook.

Gas Selling Below $1.70 in Texas.

Oil price fall checks enthusiasm for alternatives.

I-bond rate rises. The new composite rate of 5.64% is the highest in three years. With no downside risk, and taxation of interest deferred until the bonds are redeemed, this is not a bad deal at all.

Are Convertible Bonds a "Screaming Buy"? Technical rather than fundamental factors appear to be causing undervaluation. FCVSX works for me.

ETFs with the best alpha (aka, absolute gain potential).

ETNs Lose Favor With Investors. "After Lehman went under, we just said...we're out of here."

American Express (AXP) becomes a "bank" to stabilize funding.

American Express Requesting $3.5 Billion in TARP Aid.

Alcoa To Cut A Further 350,000 Tons/Year Aluminum Capacity (AA).

GlaxoSmithKline plans UK plant closure, job cuts (GSK).

Starbucks same-store sales down 8% in the U.S. (SBUX).

Did You Know? There Are More "Medical" Pot Shops in San Francisco Than There Are Starbucks.

U.S. Bancorp Can Withstand the Shakeout (USB).

Nuclear power plants smaller than a garden shed and able to power 20,000 homes will be on sale within five years, say scientists at Los Alamos. Great! Let's get one for the back yard, and on rainy days we can cook up some plu**nium.

Xubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, with a particular focus on low memory footprint. Xubuntu runs well on computers with 256 MB RAM but it can get by on a lot less. More about Xubuntu.

Tuesday Links

China's Export Growth Slows, Adding to Risk of Slump.

China's Bailout May Send U.S. Interest Rates Higher - by reducing demand for U.S. Treasury bonds at a time when supply is increasing (TBT).

Australia Faces First Recession in Two Decades as Export Outlook Darkens.

Business confidence hits 'record low' in Australia.

Japan's current account surplus dives 48.8%.

AirAsia removes fuel surcharge, offers free seats.

An Opportunity in USD/CAD?

Betting On Buffett. Mimicking Berkshire's buys has generated annual returns of 25%, double the return of the S&P.

Has the Microcap ETF Bottomed? I don't see any technical reason to think so. (IWC)

McDonald's (MCD) announced that global comparable sales were up 8.2% in October.

Deutsche Bank cuts GM to sell; shares seen becoming worthless. Maybe by December? I think it is unprecedented for two Dow components to bite the dust in one year.

Fed Refuses to Identify Recipients of $2 Trillion Emergency Loans to Banks and Refuses to Disclose Collateral Accepted for the Loans. If Bloomberg's suit under the Freedom of Information succeeds, I think the facts will be really appalling and the market will not like it at all.

A Quiet Windfall For U.S. Banks: Bailout participants will receive tax benefits worth as much as $140B.

Study shows that spam gets 1 response per 12,500,000 emails.

A senior European Union diplomat says the perfect time for Israel to strike Iranian nuclear installations "is between now and January 20".

Obama, candidate of "change", is filling his team with old hands from the Clinton administration.

Obama's chief of staff choice, Rahm Emanuel, favors "compulsory universal service" for all Americans ages 18 to 25.

Room With A View: An apartment hotel in the city center, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Monday Links

China announces $586 billion spending package to boost domestic demand in the face of a slumping export market.

Wall Street set to open higher on Monday. China's stimulus package is helping ease concerns about a global recession.

The worst retail sales figures since 1974 are expected in this coming Friday's report. The report will probably show that retail sales have declined for four consecutive months.

Down and Out in Beverly Hills: Rolexes, Picassos Hit Pawnshops.

The Yield Curve May Steepen to a Record During the Recession.

Bonds are likely to beat stocks going forward: The stock market is priced for a recession, but the bond market is priced for a depression.

Stocks vs. Bonds: When the yield on BBB corporates is more than 3.9% higher than the earnings yield on the S&P 500, as it is now, it has been a good time to sell stocks and buy corporate bonds.

Investors lick wounds from dividend cuts. Fewer companies are raising dividends, too. All this further enhances the relative attractiveness of corporate bonds.

The U.S. military has developed the technology to regrow human limbs and organs.

A new study could lead millions more Americans to take cholesterol-lowering drugs and generate billions in sales for AstraZeneca, which funded it. (AZN)

Anadarko, Dana May Be Targets for Exxon, BP on "Cheaper" Assets. (APC, DNX, XOM, BP)

Russia, Iran and Qatar to Create Cartel to Control 60 Percent of All Gas Supplies.

Ruble Devaluation Looms as Falling Oil Prices Deplete Russia's Surplus.

Stunned Icelanders Struggle After Economy’s Fall. “No country has ever crashed as quickly and as badly in peacetime.”

Sunday Links

The Paper Industry: Wood You Invest? Value investors try to buy companies cheaply during cyclical downturns, but this whole industry may be suffering from a secular downturn caused by declining paper demand from the print media. However, I think Kimberly Clark (KMB), which focuses on consumer products made of paper, is in a very different category from the likes of International Paper (IP) and MeadWestvaco (MWV).

OPEC says more cuts could be on the way. According to a spokesman, "reasonable prices" for oil should range between $70 and $90 a barrel. We'll see. So far, the more they talk, the faster it drops.

BP’s Wind Plans Blow Toward the U.S. Wish Exxon would get their heads out of the sand and step up to the alternative energy plate. It would defuse a lot of the hostility about their huge profits and could lead to even bigger profits down the road.

The Energy Messiah. A Chinese inventor says he has developed a process to make coal burn cleanly and superefficiently.

British Libertarians have sent a copy of George Orwell's book "1984" to each Member of Parliament. Good move!

Bloomberg has sued the Fed to force disclosure of securities the central bank is accepting on behalf of American taxpayers as collateral for $1.5 trillion of loans to banks.

Sarah Palin has been offered $2 million to appear in a porn film. Her husband Todd was offered $100,000 and a snowmobile to co-star! You can't make this stuff up. Personally, I think w've already seen more than enough of Sarah Palin to last a lifetime, but I wouldn't mind seeing more of Yulia Tymoshenko.