Stock Market Update - Monday, September 27, 2010 Outlook Cautious Trending Up

Stock Market Update
Monday, September 27, 2010


Latest US News Headlines:

Dow Jones	10,812.04	-48.22	(-0.44%)
S&P 500	1,142.16	-06.51	(-0.57%)
Nasdaq	2,369.77	-11.45	(-0.48%)

US Dollar Edges Up - Stocks Edge Down

 US stocks fell on Monday because the US Dollar made slight gains against other currencies. We expect the dollar to decline further Tuesday to raise the equity markets in the US and abroad. All the other unrelated news is a cover story for the systematic and organized devaluation of the US currency decline to the $77 index area.

All that news about global worries, regarding really small countries, that have been coerced in to joining the EU, or the un-official North American Union and their respective sovereign debt, is the official dialog from the world banking organizations. They spend millions each week issuing "official" statements to the media to create public opinion. So, until I hear a better cover story, I may only report on the markets and US currencies impact on the markets direction at the close of day report.

At the close today, the DXY is 79.40, up from a low of 79.19. Up + 0.09 (+0.12%)


US Dollar Edges Up - Stocks Tread Cautiously

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Monday, as fresh concerns about the European banking system cooled investors' exuberance after four straight weeks of gains.

U.S. stock futures open slightly lower on fresh concerns about the European banking system. Investors consider corporate deal-making in the consumer products, retailing, and airline industries in the absence of any major economic data.

Starting the final week of the strongest September in 71 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 13 points, or 0.1%, to 10847, in early trading. On Friday, the Dow index rallied 1.9%, posting its highest close since May 12 and gained 2.4% in the last week. The Dow is currently on pace to post its best September performance since 1939.

The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.2% to 2376. The Standard & Poor's 500-share index edged down 0.2% to 1147, weighed by its health-care and consumer discretionary sectors.

Gold and Silver, and Oil Edge up. Crude-oil prices climbed above $77 a barrel. The euro was trading recently at $1.3480, down from $1.3493 late Friday in New York.

The U.S. Dollar strengthened against both the euro and the yen. Demand for Treasurys increased, with the 10-year note up, pushing its yield down to 2.56%.

US TO TAP BANKS FOR MORE MONEY-TRANSFER DATA
US Treasury Department is expected to propose an expansion of the money transfer data U.S. financial institutions are required to disclose in a move targeted at finding funding for terrorism plots, the Washington Post reports.


OIL FUTURES: Crude Turned Lower, But Closed Up at $76.52 per barrel.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery recently traded 60 cents, or 0.8%, lower at $75.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded 84 cents lower at $78.06 a barrel.   Oil prices finished last week at the highest level since Sept. 13. Crude futures remain stuck in a tight trading range between roughly $70 to $80 a barrel.

Natural Gas Futures closed 2.1% Lower At $3.800/MMBtu.



US GOLD PRICES
Gold is trading at $1,295.90, Silver $21.40

Engelhard Corp's base price for industrial gold bullion was $1299.85 per troy ounce, unchanged from previous. It's selling price for gold in fabricated form was $1397.34, unchanged. Handy & Harman's base price for gold was $1297.00 per troy ounce, unchanged. The fabricated form price was $1400.76, unchanged.

Silver Hits 30-Year High – Silver hit US$21.48 per ounce in September, its highest level since October 1980, building on a 26% rise thus far in 2010. The increase was attributed to the weak US dollar, which fell to its lowest level since February against a basket of major currencies on speculation that the Fed will instigate a further round of quantitative easing. – New York University Professor Roubini Global Economics

FORD SEES SOLID PROFIT THIS YEAR
Car manufacturer Ford Motor still expects to make a "solid profit" this year and plans to invest GBP1.5 billion in the U.K. over the next five years, Ford President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally says.


US SMALL BUSINESS LEGISLATION SIGNED INTO LAW
Monday, President Obama signed the small business legislation into law. The legislation was aimed at encouraging job growth in the U.S. from the small businesses private sector.

The legislation includes billions of dollars of tax breaks, credits and other incentives to help small businesses, many of which have had trouble getting credit as a result of the economic downturn.


SOUTHWEST TO BUY AIRTRAN IN $1.4B DEAL
Southwest Airlines says it plans to buy discount rival AirTran Holdings for $1.4 billion in a move that would revive its growth strategy and intensify pressure on network carriers on the U.S. East Coast. AirTran shares are up 60%.


FED SEES MORE UNEMPLOYED AHEAD

In a paper published Monday, economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco warn business cycle analysis generated within the central bank system is pointing to growth that will be "at or below potential" growth levels.

The strong likelihood of tepid economic growth through next year suggests unemployment may rise, rather than fall, as many forecasters currently predict. This modest rate of advancement will not be enough to generate the needed level of job growth, which suggests "the unemployment rate could rise by as much a 0.5 percentage point during this period," moving from the current level of 9.6% to 10.1%. The paper's authors, economists David Lang and Kevin Lansing, observe "such a scenario would take the unemployment rate back to the peak recorded in October 2009."

The San Francisco Fed's worrying prediction is based on work on the business cycle done by the Chicago and Philadelphia regional Fed banks.


DALLAS AND CHICAGO FED INDEX FALLS IN AUGUST
Chicago Federal Reserve highlights the lack of vigor in the U.S. economy as its National Activity Index decreases in August, weighed by weakening production and employment indicators.

Chicago Federal Reserve highlights the lack of vigor in the U.S. economy as its National Activity Index decreases in August, weighed by weakening production and employment indicators.

The Dallas Fed reported he sees the September business activity index falling. Manufacturing activity in district overseen by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas grew weaker in September.

The bank reported Monday that its index of general business activity moved to a contractionary reading of -17.7, from -13.5 in August. However, the production index moved to 4.0, from -0.1, suggesting some underlying strength in the sector's performance. Readings under zero indicate contraction.

In the report's other findings, the new orders index for the current month stood at -3.0, from -9.3. Inflation picked up, with the September prices paid index hitting 24.4, after 24.3 in August, while the prices received index was 0.5, from -5.7.


FDIC Approves Final Securitization Safe Harbor Rule
FDIC Rules Harm Efforts To Restart Private Mortgage Market - ASF
U.S. banking regulators Monday continued to press forward with new rules governing asset-backed securities, approving a rule that seeks to make banks more accountable given the role securitization has played in a number of bank failures.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. approved a final proposal that would require sellers of securitized assets to retain 5% of the risk, as well as set new standards for certain types of assets. The new safe harbor standards apply to transactions that occur after Dec. 31 of this year.

At issue is how the FDIC treats securitized assets when a bank fails. The agency traditionally provided a safe harbor for such assets, preventing the government from going after the assets backing the securities in the event of a failure.

Recent accounting-rule changes, as well as the role securitization has played in the growing number of bank failures, has forced regulators to reconsider the issue.

The FDIC board had extended the safe harbor protections twice, with the last set to expire Thursday.
Sheila C. Bair, chairman of the FDIC, said; "the rule is fully consistent with the clear mandate of the Dodd-Frank Act to apply a 5% risk retention requirement unless sufficiently strong underwriting standards are in place to counter incentives for lax lending created by the originate to distribute model," Bair said.

The FDIC safe harbor regulation fully conforms to the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and addresses issues of particular interest to the FDIC in its responsibilities as deposit insurer and receiver for failed insured institutions, the regulator said in its release.

"In order to ensure that the safe harbor regulation fully conforms with the risk retention regulations required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC's new safe harbor rule provides that, upon adoption of those interagency regulations, those final regulations shall exclusively govern the risk retention requirement in the safe harbor regulation."

Industry participants have expressed concern that stringent rules would damp the issuance of consumer loan-backed bonds. The issuance and sale of these securities helps lower the cost of borrowing for consumer, central to the flow of credit in the economy.

Over $11 billion of new issue ABS have priced in the last two weeks through Thursday, according to Citigroup data. Auto ABS dominated with about $8 billion, including prime and subprime bonds. Credit card-backed deals comprise only about $2 billion, as demand for credit remains low.

In an effort to support the $700 billion consumer loan-backed market, the Federal Reserve had launched the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, in March last year. Through the program, it offered investors loans at attractive rates. The loans were nonrecourse, meaning that if anything went awry, the investor could walk away from the loan with minimal losses.

The move was designed so investors could purchase newly minted bonds backed by consumer debt at a time when investors were wary of debt whose underlying collateral they were unsure about. TALF was deemed successful in energizing the market for these bonds, as about $140 billion in asset-backed securities were sold last year.

So far this year, about $80 billion in asset-backed bonds have sold. Market participants expect that total sales could be as low as $100 billion this year.


DOLLAR THRIFTY BACK HERTZ BUYOUT OFFER
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group continues to back a proposed $1.53 billion buyout offer from Hertz Global Holdings, which includes a $44.6 million break-up fee, over rival $1.6 billion bid by Avis Budget.


CHINA AIRLINES PLEADS GUILTY - FINED $40 MILLION

China Airlines Plead Guilty to US Price Fixing

China Airlines (2610.TW) has agreed to plead guilty for its role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of air cargo shipments and pay a $40 million criminal fine, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday. China Airlines, which is based in Taiwan, will plead guilty to a single felony count in connection with its role, which ran from 2001 to 2006, the department said.

The charge was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which must approve the plea deal. Eighteen airlines have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so in the department's long-running probe into price-fixing in air cargo, the Justice Department said. The airlines have paid more than $1.6 billion in criminal fines, and four executives have been sentenced to prison. Antitrust enforcers in Australia and the European Union, among others, have also prosecuted air cargo price fixing cases.

Major airlines caught up in the probe include British Airways (BAY.L), Korean Air Lines (003490.KS), Qantas Airways (QAN.AX), Japan Airlines (JALFQ.PK), Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), Air France (AIRF.PA) and EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd (ELAL.TA) and Nippon Cargo Airlines Co Ltd.



NEW YORK PENSION FRAUD

NYC Comptroller John C. Liu joined by NYC Department of Investigation (DOI) Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn announced today that the Comptroller's Office has uncovered nearly a half-million dollars in suspected pension fraud.


This summer, DOI made an arrest for just this kind of fraud - theft of pension funds by someone who had continued access to a decedent's pension payments - and as a result we cast a wider net both to find other frauds and identify vulnerabilities in the system.

As part of Comptroller Liu's efforts to root out waste and fraud, the Comptroller's Office applied cutting-edge use of data analysis earlier this year to match pension payments against death records from 2007 to 2009.  Upon examination, the Comptroller's Office found 14 specific cases where either a person or persons continued to cash the dead pensioner's checks, or pension checks continued to be deposited into the dead pensioners' bank accounts. Comptroller Liu's Office will work with DOI to further investigate the 14 cases of potential pension fraud.

Along with the 14 cases, the Comptroller's Office uncovered 171 additional cases totaling nearly two million dollars where pension payments were issued to deceased pensioners from 2007 to 2009.  The Comptroller's Office will continue its examination to determine why the checks were still issued to the deceased pensioners.

Comptroller Liu credited Deputy Comptroller for Audit H. Tina Kim and her team in the Bureau of Audit for presenting the findings of their investigation. Comptroller Liu also expressed appreciation to the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General for their assistance in identifying potential criminal cases.

Chief among the findings:
One person or persons cashed 38 pension checks totaling $139,818 after the pensioner died in 2007, using the dead pensioner's NYS driver's license. When the license expired in 2010, it was renewed and the person or persons continued to cash the dead pensioner's checks. Another person or persons cashed or deposited 25 pension checks totaling $9,696 after the pensioner died in 2008. The remaining 12 cases involved pension payments to dead pensioners totaling $310,456.

On Tuesday, September 28, 2010, the Comptroller's Office and the Department of Investigation will hold the first joint fraud-prevention conference for approximately 350 auditors and investigators from 42 City agencies.


WALL MART BUY INTO SOUTH AFRICAN MARKET
Wal-Mart Stores announced a plan Monday to buy a portfolio of low-cost consumer good stores in sub-Saharan Africa.

Wal-Mart Stock edged down 0.7% after making a preliminary, nonbinding proposal to buy Johannesburg-based Massmart Holdings for $4.6 billion.



BEFORE THE BELL

US Dollar Falls US Stocks Seen Continuing  Move Up
US Dollar Futures Index DXY, Day's Range: 79.20 - 79.55, Now 79.22The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) are both headed toward flat starts to the regular session of trading, as futures trade in a tight range heading into the open. A flood of merger and acquisition activity is dominating Wall Street this morning.

Economic reports on U.S. durable goods orders and home sales were mixed on Friday, but traders focused on a rise in business spending in August as the latest sign of a firmer recovery. Wall Street rose almost 2 percent, putting U.S. stocks on course for four weeks of gains.

CFTC To Vote On Proposed Derivative Rules

Regulators will propose a series of new rules for derivatives clearinghouses next week and set a deadline for firms to report some of their swap trades. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission will vote in public for the first time next Friday on proposals to implement the over-the-counter derivatives provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial-regulation law enacted in July.

US House May Vote On Currency Bill

Legislation that targets imports from China and other countries with currencies similarly perceived to be undervalued sailed through the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee Friday, preparing the way for a vote in the full chamber perhaps as soon as next week. The bill authorizes punitive tariffs on goods from countries deemed to be manipulating their currency. Although it's unclear if the Senate will take up similar legislation before the next Group of 20 nations summit in November, House passage would give the Obama administration negotiating leverage to push China for a faster pace of yuan appreciation. Both the House and Senate are expected to adjourn at the end of next week to return to campaigning.



Canadian Market:
Canada Report: 2009/10 Budget Deficit C$53.8B

Canadian stocks were slightly higher at midday Monday, led mainly by gains in information technology and energy.

At 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT), the S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 16.77 points, or 0.14%, at 12221.63. Advancers led decliners 764 to 611. Trading volume was 187.6 million shares. The S&P/TSX 60 Index was up 0.76 points, or 0.1%, to 707.69 points.


Toronto Indexes, Volume; Noon EDT Composite Up 14.33

 S&P/TSX Composite   12219.19  up   14.33  or 0.1%
 S&P/TSX 60 Index      707.49  up    0.64  or 0.1%
 Financials            176.02  up    0.16  or 0.1%
 Materials             388.83  off   0.42  or 0.1%
 Energy                274.95  up    0.86  or 0.3%
 Industrials           104.13  up    0.23  or 0.2%
 IT                     27.58  up    0.18  or 0.7%

   Volume              Monday   Friday
   11-12              54.6M    63.4M
   9:30-12           195.1M   243.7M


Toronto Most Actives At 10:15 AM EDT
Horizons NYMEX Natural Gas Bull  4,803,434  3.78  off  0.22
Baja Mining                      3,048,157  1.06  up   0.12
iShares Cdn S&P/TSX 60 Index     2,791,221 17.73  up   0.02
RS Technologies                  1,881,000  0.02  off  0.01
Eastern Platinum                 1,940,041  1.35  off  0.03
Pacific North West Capital       1,483,000  0.12  up   0.02
Andean Resources                 1,289,743  6.29  off  0.04
Baffinland Iron Mines            1,241,364  1.02  off  0.01
Western Coal                     1,218,271  5.50  up   0.07
Torex Gold Resources             1,029,200  1.50  unchanged


CANADA GOVERNMENT TO TAKE ACTION "As Necessary" To Protect Recovery
The Canadian government will take action "as necessary" to protect the country's economic recovery, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Monday.

Flaherty made the remarks in Montreal where he released the government's sixth progress report on its two-year stimulus spending. The report said over C$33 billion of stimulus was delivered in the first year of the plan, comprising C$26.1 billion of federal funding and C$7.1 billion from the provinces. It said the federal government is on track to deliver another C$22 billion of stimulus in 2010/11.

The report said 98% of stimulus spending for 2010/11 has been committed. Total federal stimulus over the two-year period is worth C$48.1 billion. The report said the government is committed to winding down stimuuls as the economy recovers.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Flaherty have insisted that stimulus will wind down as planned in March 2011. Flaherty said the government will be "fair and reasonable" about projects that are "virtually completed." He said the budget will return to balance over the "medium term."

Government stimulus is expected have created or maintained 220,000 jobs by the end of 2010, the report said. The Government report forecast a budget deficit of C$49.2 billion in 2010/11, narrowing to C$27.6 billion in 2011/12. The shortfall is seen at just C$1.8 billion by 2014/15. The deficit was a record C$53.8 billion in 2009/10.





South American Markets:

MEXICO:

Mexico Stocks Open Slightly Down
Mexican stocks slipped lower at the open Monday after a sluggish start in U.S. markets, while the peso made early gains versus the dollar as investors tested the possibility for the last week's rally to continue.

Around 10:45 a.m. EDT, the local stock market's benchmark IPC index was down 0.1% at 33,242.76 points. Volume was 23.7 million shares traded at a total value of 688.4 million pesos ($55 million).

The peso was quoted in Mexico City trading at MXN12.52 to the dollar, compared with 12.5510 at the close Friday. The peso strengthened 1.9% last week versus the dollar.

Mexican blue-chips were mixed. Wireless operator and IPC heavyweight America Movil (AMX) L shares were down 0.3% at MXN33.15, and banking group Banorte (GBOOY) O shares were off 0.9% at MXN46.67. Cement maker Cemex (CX) CPO shares were up 0.5% at MXN11.01, and retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico (WMMVY) V shares were 0.6% higher at MXN31.29.


Mexico's July Economic Activity Index Up 5.1%
Mexico's economic activity rose sharply in July from a year ago, although the pace of growth showed some signs of slowing from the first half of the year. The year-on-year increase was slightly above expectations.

 The National Statistics Institute, or Inegi, said Monday that its global indicator of economic activity rose 5.1% from July 2009, with industrial output up 5.4%, services up 4.2% and agricultural production up 9.2%.

BRAZIL:


Brazil Stocks Open Steady With Stable Forecast

Brazilian stocks opened roughly flat Monday amid analysts' forecasts for domestic market stability and as new shares sold last week by oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR. PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, started to be traded on the BM&FBovespa exchange.

Petrobras shares had subdued trading in early trading, shedding 0.11% to BRL26.15 ($15.29). The benchmark Ibovespa stock index opened at 68197 points, up from Friday's close of 68196 points.  

The index opened higher after analysts in the Brazilian Central Bank's latest Focus weekly survey published early Monday maintained their previous forecast that the country's interest rates would remain stable at year-end at the current level of 10.75%, while the Brazilian real was seen finishing the year at its previously forecast level of BRL1.75 to the U.S. dollar.  2010 GDP was forecast to rise to 7.53% from the previously forecast 7.47%, according to the Central Bank's survey. 

World Faces Trade, Exchange-Rate Wars

The world is involved in "a trade war and an exchange rate war" as countries seek trade advantages by manipulating their currencies, and Brazil must take steps to defend itself, including the possibility of new taxes, Brazil Finance Minister Guido Mantega said in Sao Paulo Monday.

Governments in several countries, including the U.S. and Japan, allowing their currencies to devalue to gain market share in economies that are faring well, such as Brazil, the minister said, adding that Brazil needs to tighten up its anti-dumping laws to ward off this unfair competition.

The Brazilian real has strengthened against the dollar in recent years and become a major concern of the government. There are plenty of domestic reasons for the currency to have gained, including a booming economy, high interest rates and a recent spate of Brazilian company bond and share issues, not least last week's massive share sale by oil producer Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR), which raised $67 billion for the company's expansion.

There are also external reasons, including the rock-bottom interest rates available in much of the developed world. Mantega said the government may look to new taxes on financial investments that could look similar to the existing financial-operations tax that was introduced during the global economic crisis in 2008. However, Mantega ruled out a direct tax on foreign investment.

In addition, Brazil's authorities will buy more dollars through the spot market to help stem the currency's gains, Mantega said. The government has already stepped up its dollar purchases, and its international reserves have grown to about $270 billion, not counting reserves also held by the treasury, which has also been buying dollars, he said.

Concerns over exchange rates and international trade will be aired at the coming Group of 20 meeting, where Brazil will propose more harmonious cooperation between trading nations, Mantega said. He stressed that floating exchange rates are ideal, but only if adopted universally.

Petrobras Raises $67B In Share Offer

Brazilian government-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR, PETR4.BR), or Petrobras, finalized the terms for the world's largest share offer, setting its sights on turning the Latin American country into one of the world's top oil producers.

Petrobras said in a regulatory filing that it priced the issue of about 4.08 billion voting and preferred shares, raising approximately $67 billion. That tops the previous record share offer set in 1987, when Japanese telecommunications company Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. (9432.TO) raised $36.8 billion.


CHILE:
Chile Stocks Gain 1.1% Fueled By Retail Sales
Chile's blue-chip IPSA index was gaining 1.1% recently, fueled by surging retailers recovering from last week's sharp losses.

The IPSA was recently at 4784 points, while volume reached 51.9 billion Chilean pesos ($107 million), compared to volume of CLP142.9 billion in the prior session. Retailers, which have buttressed the IPSA's record run this year, finished last week with steep losses as investors took profits.

In recent trading, retail holding company Cencosud gained 2.8% to CLP3,214, department store SACI Falabella jumped 3.9% to CLP4,595, retailer Ripley grew 3.5% to CLP676, and department store La Polar increased 2.3% to CLP3,630. Also gaining, bank Corpbanca rose 5.2% to CLP7.35 on speculation that the financial institution could be a potential takeover target.

Latin America's biggest bank by assets, Brazilian government-owned Banco do Brasil, recently said it's considering acquisitions of banks in Chile, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.


Government To Start Pilot Uranium Plant

Chilean state copper miner Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile, or Codelco, and the government's Nuclear Energy Commission plan to start a pilot plant for processing uranium in October, representatives from both said Monday, confirming a newspaper report.

Codelco, which has known about the presence of uranium at some of its mines for years, recently estimated that future uranium sales could reach $20 million to $100 million a year.

The pilot plant, which will start up by early October, will be designed to process only "a few kilos" of uranium at a time, daily newspaper Diario Financiero reported.



European Markets:
European Shares Edge Lower at Close.

LONDON:

FTSE 100                 5573.42   -25.06   -0.45%
FTSE AIM All-Share        777.89    +0.50   +0.06%
DJ UK Smaller Companies   893.23    +3.78   +0.42%

FTSE 100 closes -0.45% at 5573.42. Having started off on a firmer footing amid news of Unilever's approach to Alberto Culver, which the market took well, downbeat UK home track data and Moody's downgrade of Allied Irish Banks' debt sent stocks slipping. Markets fell further after US stocks opened lower.

Late in Europe in the currency markets, the euro was little changed at 1.3483, near its highest level since April. The dollar was at 84.13 yen, down from 84.28 yen.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index lost 0.4% to 262.92, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index slid 0.4% to 5573.42. France's CAC-40 index declined 0.4% to 3766.16, and Germany's DAX eased 0.3% to 6278.89.  Meanwhile on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28% at 10,829.45 late in Europe.

In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent after spiking up 1.2 percent on Friday. Food and beverage shares were up on news Unilever (ULVR.L) is to acquire a U.S. company for $3.7 billion in cash.

Sweet crude for November delivery was down 77 cents at $75.74 per barrel on the New York Mercantile exchange. At around 1530 GMT, gold for December delivery added 50 cents to $1,298.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In economic data, market participants will set their sights on Tuesday's U.K. second quarter gross domestic product reading, the U.S. S&P/CaseShiller home price index and U.S. consumer confidence readings.


Anglo Irish Bank's senior debt was downgraded three notches by Moody's Investors Service Inc. Monday as the troubled bank is expected to require further government support.

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS) Monday said it has agreed to sell its Chilean business to The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) as it continues to dispose of assets.

Buyout firm 3i Group PLC (III.LN) Monday said it would acquire Mizuho Financial Group Inc.'s (8411.TO) debt management business in the U.K. for GBP18.3 million, a further sign of the London-listed private equity firm's attempts to reduce its reliability on traditional buyouts.

Nestle shares added 0.2% after it said it will invest hundreds of millions of Swiss francs in a new venture that will harness its food and pharmaceutical expertise to produce more products with health benefits, a high-margin segment that has also proved controversial with regulators and consumers


UNILEVER TO BUY ALBERTO CULVER FOR $3.7B
Unilever strikes a deal to buy Alberto-Culver, maker of Alberto VO5 hair-care products, for $3.7 billion. Unilever's offer of $37.50 a share is a 33% premium to Alberto-Culver's 12-month volume weighted average share price. Alberto shares rise 20%.

London Stock Exchange Group PLC (LSE.LN) expects to make an announcement regarding the development of its proposed pan-European derivatives exchange in the coming weeks, a plan that will pit it against derivatives trading heavyweights--Liffe, operated by NYSE Euronext; and Eurex, run by Deutsche Boerse (DB1.XE).



IRELAND:
Generating fresh concerns about the health of the European banking system, the euro weakened after Moody's Investor Service downgraded the debt of Anglo Irish Bank by three notches because the bank is expected to require further government support.

GREECE:

Greek Private Sector Credit Growth Slows To 1.5%

Greek credit growth  to the domestic private sector in August slowed further to 1.5% year-on-year, from 2.3% in July and 4.1% in December 2009, the central bank said Monday. The Bank of Greece (TELL.AT) said "there was a slowdown of credit expansion to all the sub-sectors, enterprises, sole proprietors, individuals and private non-profit institutions."

Greek banks are frozen out of interbank borrowing markets and are facing a run-down on deposits, making them completely dependent on the European Central Bank for liquidity. The worsening recession, due in part to austerity measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union for the EUR110 bailout, has also made banks more cautious in lending.

IRELAND:
Dublin Stocks: ISEQ Ends -0.6% at 2,682; AIB -1.1%



Asian Pacific Markets:

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average was up 1.4% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was 1.0% higher and shares in Taiwan added 0.3%.

Asian stocks climbed on Monday to their highest in more than two years in response to encouraging U.S. economic data while the dollar recovered some ground after plumbing five-month lows against the euro.
European shares edged higher, after they rose sharply in lock-step with Wall Street in response to a rise in U.S. business spending.

Investors saw the numbers as a sign that the world's biggest economy continued to recover, though analysts said high unemployment and sluggish housing market suggested the Federal Reserve might further resort to quantitative easing to give the economy a leg up. Such expectations weighed on the dollar. It lost ground to several currencies, but edged up against the yen on speculation that Tokyo may sell the Japanese currency again to curb its gains.

The index of Asian stocks ex-Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS climbed 1.25 percent, hitting its highest point since June 2008. In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei N.225 rose 1.39 percent, its biggest one-day gain in a week, buoyed by exporters after the Wall Street jump. But traders said further gains would be contained by the yen's enduring strength against the dollar.

Seoul stocks .KS11 closed 0.8 percent higher with Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top carmaker steady after announcing a recall of 139,500 Sonata sedans sold in the United States.

JAPAN:

Japan Could Weaken Yen Again

Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara said that Japan's government is determined to prevent further appreciation of the country's currency and raised the possibility of further government intervention to curb the yen's rise.
Mr. Maehara told The Wall Street Journal that the Japanese yen has "strengthened more than indicated by the actual strength of the Japanese economy." He said "speculative moves" had contributed to the currency's rise against the dollar.
"Any further appreciation of the yen should be stopped," Maehara said in an interview on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.


CHINA:

CHINA, RUSSIA SIGN ENERGY, ECONOMIC COOPERATION PACTS

China and Russia signed a string of economic and political cooperation agreements Monday, many of them aimed at reinforcing energy ties, although finalization of a long-awaited gas-supply pact remained out of reach.

The agreements were signed in China's Great Hall of the People in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, on the second day of Medvedev's visit to China, as Russia looks to divert its energy exports from Europe towards Asia and as China aims to secure new energy sources and supply routes.

The agreements covered Russian crude-oil and gas supplies to China as well as enhanced cooperation in coal, electric power, energy saving, renewable energy and nuclear power.

"The large scale of the delegation I have brought this time shows the high level of cooperation between the countries, and also shows the prospective future for our relations," Medvedev said at the signing ceremony.

The two leaders also attended a ceremony marking the completion of the first oil pipeline between their two countries, which is designed to carry 300,000 barrels per day to China over the next 20 years under a $25 billion loan-for-oil agreement struck last year.

The pipeline is the centerpiece of a new era of energy cooperation between Russia and China, now the world's biggest producer of energy and its biggest consumer, respectively.

China Huadian Corp., one of China's five major power utilities, signed an agreement with Russia's TGK-2, a territorial generating company controlled by the Sintez group, on a joint power unit project in Yaroslavl.

 The generation capacity of the project is 480 megawatts, with Huadian holding 51% and the Russian company the remainder, said an official who declined to be named.

Russia Atomic Energy Corp. signed a technological design contract with CNNC Jiangsu Nuclear Power Corp. for the 3rd and 4th nuclear reactors at Tianwan Nuclear Station.

China's Xinhua News Agency on Monday cited a CNNC spokesman as saying the two companies' cooperation includes the fourth stage of a uranium enrichment plant due to be operational in 2012, the extension of Tianwan nuclear plant and an experimental fast-neutron reactor near Beijing.


Read the Entire Article at the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100927-704407.html



China Airlines Plead Guilty to US Cargo Price Fixing - Pays $40 million Dollar Fine
Eighteen airlines so far agree to plead guilty in probe

China Airlines (2610.TW) has agreed to plead guilty for its role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of air cargo shipments and pay a $40 million criminal fine, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday.

China Airlines, which is based in Taiwan, will plead guilty to a single felony count in connection with its role, which ran from 2001 to 2006, the department said. The charge was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which must approve the plea deal.

Eighteen airlines have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so in the department's long-running probe into price-fixing in air cargo, the Justice Department said.

The airlines have paid more than $1.6 billion in criminal fines, and four executives have been sentenced to prison. Antitrust enforcers in Australia and the European Union, among others, have also prosecuted air cargo price fixing cases.

Major airlines caught up in the probe include British Airways (BAY.L), Korean Air Lines (003490.KS), Qantas Airways (QAN.AX), Japan Airlines (JALFQ.PK), Cathay Pacific Airways (0293.HK), Air France (AIRF.PA) and EL AL Israel Airlines Ltd (ELAL.TA) and Nippon Cargo Airlines Co Ltd.



Chinese Premier To Visit Turkey
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will pay an official visit to Turkey next month to discuss closer links between the two emerging economies. Turkey has sought to boost economic ties with China, and Turkey's President Abdullah Gul visited China in June last year, accompanied by a large business delegation.

China's Dagong Won't Be US Bond Rater

The Securities and Exchange Commission has denied a bid by China's largest credit-rating firm to become an officially recognized bond rater in the U.S.
The SEC denied Dagong Global Credit Rating Co.'s application to become a "nationally recognized statistical rating organization," or NRSRO, a designation that allows a firm's ratings to be used as benchmarks in U.S. laws and regulations. Dagong officials were not immediately reached for comment.


KOREA:

SOUTH KOREA'S MIRAE LAUNCHES ITS FIRST US FUNDS
Seoul-based Mirae Asset Global Investments, one of the world's largest emerging-market equity investment managers, plans to launch its first mutual funds for U.S. investors Monday

Commodities
Crude Oil	75.95	- 0.71%
Natural Gas	3.75	- 3.38%
Gasoline	1.93	- 0.98%
Heating Oil	2.10	- 1.30%
Gold	1298.72	+ 0.19%
Silver	21.40	- 0.28%
Copper	3.59	- 0.50%
Quotes delayed 15 min.		» Add to your site

World Markets Snapshot:

Shanghai	2,627.97	+36.42 (1.41%)
Nikkei 225	9,603.14	+131.47 (1.39%)
Hang Seng Index	22,340.84	+221.41 (1.00%)
TSEC	8,191.54	+24.92 (0.31%)
FTSE 100	5,599.88	+1.40 (0.03%)
DJ EURO STOXX 50	2,794.86	+2.11 (0.08%)
CAC 40	3,788.51	+6.03 (0.16%)
S&P TSX	12,204.86	0.00 (0.00%)
S&P/ASX 200	4,675.40	+73.50 (1.60%)
BSE Sensex	20,117.38	+72.20 (0.36%)

Forex World Currencies Snapshot:

EUR/USD	1.3477	+0.0008 (0.06%)
USD/JPY	84.2400	-0.1300 (-0.15%)
GBP/USD	1.5846	+0.0032 (0.20%)
CAD/USD	0.9768	+0.0029 (0.29%)
USD/HKD	7.7576	+0.0008 (0.01%)
USD/CNY	6.6911	-0.0124 (-0.18%)
AUD/USD	0.9609	+0.0026 (0.27%)

Monday's US Economic Calendar:

8:30 a.m.
Aug Chicago Fed National Activity Index (previous 0), 3 Month Moving Average (previous -0.17)

10:30 a.m.
Sep Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey Business Activity Index (previous -13.5), Manufacturing Production Index (previous -0.1)

12:00 p.m.
August Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index Manufacturing Index (MoM) (previous +2.2%), (YoY) (previous +13.1%), Auto Output Index (MoM) (previous +7.2%), (YoY) (previous +27%), Machinery Output Index (MoM) (previous +0.9%), (YoY) (previous +9.6%), Resource Output Index (MoM) (previous -0.1%), Resource Output Index (YoY) (previous +5.6%), Steel Output Index (MoM) (previous +2.2%), Steel Output Index (YoY) (previous +24.7%)

Market Summary, Friday, Sept. 24, 2010

Stocks:

U.S. stocks rallied Friday, ending their fourth-straight positive week with a bang as investors were encouraged by signs of stabilization in durable goods and housing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its biggest one-day rise since Sept. 1. All 30 of the measure's components rose, led by a 4% jump in Caterpillar, a 3.7% climb in Alcoa and a 2.5% increase in Boeing. The increase in Caterpillar alone accounted for 26 points, or 14%, of the Dow's gain. The Dow is up more than 2% for the week, extending its winning streak to a fourth week. The measure hasn't had such a long weekly positive run since an eight-week streak that ended in April.


Treasurys:

Treasurys lost ground Friday as positive signs from U.S. and German data sapped demand for safe assets. Long-dated Treasurys snapped their five-session streak of gains. Government bonds in Germany and the U.K. also weakened as riskier assets, including U.S. stocks and many commodities, surged.


Forex:

The euro shot to its highest level against the dollar since April as another round of disappointing U.S. data added weight to speculation the Federal Reserve could soon act to kick-start a slowing economy, sending the greenback broadly lower. The flagging U.S. figures contrasted with the release of data that painted a brighter picture of the euro-zone economy. Concern the Fed could initiate another round of asset purchases, known as quantitative easing, continues to drive investors into higher-yielding currencies, analysts said, with the Australian and Canadian dollars each gaining around 1% against the greenback.


US Regulators Closed Two US Banks and Three Credit Unions
Late Friday, Federal bank regulators closed three insolvent credit unions, and two US community banks.

To view the complete list of failed banks and credit unions visit:

Online Consultancy Network™ Bank Failure List
http://ocnww.blogspot.com/2010/09/bank-failure-list-update-september-1.html

On Friday, US regulators seized the three largest wholesale credit unions, and two US banks.

North County Bank, Arlington, WA., September 24, 2010Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union, Warrenville, IL., Sept.24, 2010
Southwest Corporate Federal Credit Union, Plano, TX, Sept. 24, 2010
Constitution Corporate Federal Credit Union, Wallingford, CT.,Sept.24, 2010
Haven Trust Bank Florida, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL., September 24, 2010

Conferences:

Among the significant conferences next week are the JMP Securities LLC Healthcare Focus Conference from Monday through Wednesday in New York, Telsey Advisory Group Consumer Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in Las Vegas, Dow Jones Newswires Private Equity Analyst Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday in New York, Oppenheimer & Co. Industrials Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in New York, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. Energy Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in Boston, and Wells Fargo Securities Consumer Conference on Wednesday and Thursday in New York.