Dow @ 7100 - February 24th, 2009
Dow 7100: How the World Looked in 1997
START-UP BOOM DRAINS BRAINS. With so many companies popping up to take advantage of venture-capital dollars and strive for that magic IPO, companies were beginning to complain about the scarcity of talent on the labor market. Today, unemployment is at 7.6%.
BANKS AND CAR MAKERS MAKE LOTS OF MONEY. The earnings news from the first calendar quarter of 1997 was full of bright spots. GM posted better-than-expected net on its strongest North American performance in a decade, while over in the banking sector there were upbeat reports from such names as NationsBank (now Bank of America following its acquisition of that company) and First Chicago NBD (since folded into JPMorgan Chase). In the brokerage world, Merrill Lynch and PaineWebber both reported better-than-expected earnings, net income, while Salomon’s profit dropped amid disappointing bond trading.
U.S. ECONOMY GROWING LIKE GANGBUSTERS. First-quarter output grew at a 5.6% annual rate, prompting The Wall Street Journal to write this: “Just when it seemed the U.S. economy couldn’t possibly provide any more good news, it did.”
US Deficits
President Barack Obama : “If we confront this crisis without also confronting the deficits that helped cause it, we risk sinking into another crisis down the road,” the president warned, promising to cut the yearly deficit in half by the end of his four-year term. “We cannot simply spend as we please and defer the consequences.”
Tags: American Performance, Bank Of America, Banking Sector, Barack Obama, Bond Trading, Calendar Quarter, Capital Dollars, Car Makers, Deficit, Doom, Dow 1997, Down 2009, Drains, Earnings News, First Chicago Nbd, Gangbusters, IPO, Ipo Companies, Lots Of Money, Merrill Lynch, Obama, Painewebber, Quarter Output, Salomon, Scarcity, US, Wall Street Journal
Posted under Finance
With Oil falling below $34/b indicates we are going through Deflation. What next buzz is Hyperinflation; through the reading of Hyperinflation comes across a couple of good links -
Morgan Stanley Hires Supertanker to Store Oil in Gulf
Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley hired a supertanker to store crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico, joining Citigroup Inc. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc in trying to profit from higher prices later in the year, two shipbrokers said. The ship is the Argenta, capable of carrying more than 2 million barrels…
Ka-Poom
Ka: A random exogenous event (e.g., a stock market crash predicted in 1999 for year 2000 and recession predicted for 2001) intensifies disinflation created by Asian vendor financing, causing the Fed to shift from bubble fighting to anti-deflation polices.
Poom: A random or not so random exogenous event that has not yet happened (the stock market crash we predicted for 2000 did not have the impact we expected) exposes the true level of risk to lenders that is inherent in this unbalanced system, causing lenders to loose confidence in the future purchasing power of the dollar and seek alternative reserve assets.
Credit-Suisse
A kilogram of bacon cost 20 trillion dinars in Serbia in 1993. In 1946, Hungary released the Szazmilljo B.-pengö (100,000,000,000,000,000,000), the banknote with the most zeros in history, and in Germany, an egg cost up to 150 billion marks in 1923. These are just a few examples of the history of hyperinflation, a condition in which prices increase rapidly as a currency loses its value. There are many modern-day cases as well.
Tags: Crude, Deflation, Disinflation, Exogenous Event, Gulf Of Mexico, HyperInflation, Ka-Poom, Morgan Stanley, OIL, Oil In The Gulf Of Mexico, Power Of The Dollar, Reserve Assets, Royal Dutch Shell, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Stock Market Crash
Posted under Finance
Again start with my favorite topic £££
U.K. Pound Serves as Omen for Dollar
The U.S. and the U.K. face very similar predicaments, from a deepening recession to a damaged financial system. Both are orchestrating massive bank bailouts and attempting to assist struggling homeowners. Both are ramping up government spending even as they rely on financing from overseas investors. And both countries have central banks that have slashed interest rates and opened the door to unconventional ways of stimulating the economy.Yet their currencies have headed in opposite directions.
…
While the dollar continues to benefit from its unique position in financial markets for now, it is far from clear that the resilience will last. "Right now the market is beating up on the pound, but at some point it will look for something else to pick on," says Paul Mackel, a currency strategist at HSBC in London.
Gold breaks above $900/oz on currency volatility
Spot gold rose as high as $902.50 an ounce, which was the loftiest price since October 10. It was at $895.80 an ounce at 2:19 p.m. EST, up 4.7 percent from Thursday’s last trade of $855.50. It rose to an all-time high of 700.37 in euro terms, and a record 659.71 pounds when priced in sterling.
Tags: Central Banks, Currencies, Currency Strategist, Currency Volatility, Financial Markets, Government Spending, Hsbc, Interest Rates, London Gold, Mackel, Omen, Ounce, Overseas Investors, Oz, Predicaments, Recession, Resilience, Spot Gold, Sterling, Unconventional Ways
Posted under Finance
I was searching for where __linux__ is define and come across gcc command which details about it. To check all the compiler define symbols use the command
gcc -dM -E – < /dev/null
Sample output on my Ubuntu 8.10 x86_64 machine results
#define __DBL_MIN_EXP__ (-1021)
#define __FLT_MIN__ 1.17549435e-38F
#define __DEC64_DEN__ 0.000000000000001E-383DD
#define __CHAR_BIT__ 8
#define __WCHAR_MAX__ 2147483647
#define __GCC_HAVE_SYNC_COMPARE_AND_SWAP_1 1
#define __GCC_HAVE_SYNC_COMPARE_AND_SWAP_2 1
#define __GCC_HAVE_SYNC_COMPARE_AND_SWAP_4 1
#define __DBL_DENORM_MIN__ 4.9406564584124654e-324
#define __GCC_HAVE_SYNC_COMPARE_AND_SWAP_8 1
#define __FLT_EVAL_METHOD__ 0
#define __unix__ 1
#define __x86_64 1
#define __DBL_MIN_10_EXP__ (-307)
#define __FINITE_MATH_ONLY__ 0
#define __GNUC_PATCHLEVEL__ 2
#define __DEC64_MAX_EXP__ 384
#define __SHRT_MAX__ 32767
#define __LDBL_MAX__ 1.18973149535723176502e+4932L
#define __UINTMAX_TYPE__ long unsigned int
#define __linux 1
#define __DEC32_EPSILON__ 1E-6DF
#define __unix 1
#define __LDBL_MAX_EXP__ 16384
#define __linux__ 1
#define __SCHAR_MAX__ 127
#define __DBL_DIG__ 15
#define _FORTIFY_SOURCE 2
#define __SIZEOF_INT__ 4
#define __SIZEOF_POINTER__ 8
#define __USER_LABEL_PREFIX__
#define __STDC_HOSTED__ 1
#define __LDBL_HAS_INFINITY__ 1
#define __FLT_EPSILON__ 1.19209290e-7F
#define __LDBL_MIN__ 3.36210314311209350626e-4932L
#define __DEC32_MAX__ 9.999999E96DF
#define __SIZEOF_LONG__ 8
#define __DECIMAL_DIG__ 21
#define __gnu_linux__ 1
#define __LDBL_HAS_QUIET_NAN__ 1
#define __GNUC__ 4
#define __MMX__ 1
#define __FLT_HAS_DENORM__ 1
#define __SIZEOF_LONG_DOUBLE__ 16
#define __DBL_MAX__ 1.7976931348623157e+308
#define __DBL_HAS_INFINITY__ 1
#define __DEC32_MIN_EXP__ (-95)
#define __LDBL_HAS_DENORM__ 1
#define __DEC128_MAX__ 9.999999999999999999999999999999999E6144DL
#define __DEC32_MIN__ 1E-95DF
#define __DBL_MAX_EXP__ 1024
#define __DEC128_EPSILON__ 1E-33DL
#define __SSE2_MATH__ 1
#define __amd64 1
#define __LONG_LONG_MAX__ 9223372036854775807LL
#define __SIZEOF_SIZE_T__ 8
#define __SIZEOF_WINT_T__ 4
#define __GXX_ABI_VERSION 1002
#define __FLT_MIN_EXP__ (-125)
#define __DBL_MIN__ 2.2250738585072014e-308
#define __LP64__ 1
#define __DECIMAL_BID_FORMAT__ 1
#define __DEC128_MIN__ 1E-6143DL
#define __REGISTER_PREFIX__
#define __DBL_HAS_DENORM__ 1
#define __NO_INLINE__ 1
#define __FLT_MANT_DIG__ 24
#define __VERSION__ “4.3.2″
#define __DEC64_EPSILON__ 1E-15DD
#define __DEC128_MIN_EXP__ (-6143)
#define unix 1
#define __SIZE_TYPE__ long unsigned int
#define __DEC32_DEN__ 0.000001E-95DF
#define __ELF__ 1
#define __FLT_RADIX__ 2
#define __LDBL_EPSILON__ 1.08420217248550443401e-19L
#define __SSE_MATH__ 1
#define __k8 1
#define __SIZEOF_PTRDIFF_T__ 8
#define __x86_64__ 1
#define __FLT_HAS_QUIET_NAN__ 1
#define __FLT_MAX_10_EXP__ 38
#define __LONG_MAX__ 9223372036854775807L
#define __FLT_HAS_INFINITY__ 1
#define __DEC64_MAX__ 9.999999999999999E384DD
#define __DEC64_MANT_DIG__ 16
#define __DEC32_MAX_EXP__ 96
#define linux 1
#define __DEC128_DEN__ 0.000000000000000000000000000000001E-6143DL
#define __SSE2__ 1
#define __LDBL_MANT_DIG__ 64
#define __DBL_HAS_QUIET_NAN__ 1
#define __k8__ 1
#define __WCHAR_TYPE__ int
#define __SIZEOF_FLOAT__ 4
#define __DEC64_MIN_EXP__ (-383)
#define __FLT_DIG__ 6
#define __INT_MAX__ 2147483647
#define __amd64__ 1
#define __FLT_MAX_EXP__ 128
#define __DBL_MANT_DIG__ 53
#define __DEC64_MIN__ 1E-383DD
#define __WINT_TYPE__ unsigned int
#define __SIZEOF_SHORT__ 2
#define __SSE__ 1
#define __LDBL_MIN_EXP__ (-16381)
#define __LDBL_MAX_10_EXP__ 4932
#define __DBL_EPSILON__ 2.2204460492503131e-16
#define _LP64 1
#define __SIZEOF_WCHAR_T__ 4
#define __DEC_EVAL_METHOD__ 2
#define __INTMAX_MAX__ 9223372036854775807L
#define __FLT_DENORM_MIN__ 1.40129846e-45F
#define __FLT_MAX__ 3.40282347e+38F
#define __SIZEOF_DOUBLE__ 8
#define __FLT_MIN_10_EXP__ (-37)
#define __INTMAX_TYPE__ long int
#define __DEC128_MAX_EXP__ 6144
#define __GNUC_MINOR__ 3
#define __DEC32_MANT_DIG__ 7
#define __DBL_MAX_10_EXP__ 308
#define __LDBL_DENORM_MIN__ 3.64519953188247460253e-4951L
#define __STDC__ 1
#define __PTRDIFF_TYPE__ long int
#define __DEC128_MANT_DIG__ 34
#define __LDBL_MIN_10_EXP__ (-4931)
#define __SIZEOF_LONG_LONG__ 8
#define __LDBL_DIG__ 18
#define __GNUC_GNU_INLINE__ 1
Posted under Computing
Pound Set for Record Weekly Gain Versus Euro as BOE Cuts Rates
The British currency was also set for its biggest five-day advance versus the dollar since 1990 even as the Office for National Statistics said factories raised prices at the slowest annual pace in a year and manufacturing extended its worst slump in almost three decades. U.K. policy makers cut the benchmark rate yesterday by 50 basis points to 1.5 percent, the smallest reduction of the past three. “The pound will gain further traction against the euro and dollar as monetary and fiscal authorities seek to preserve international investor interest in sterling-denominated assets,” said Stephen Gallo
Dollar Up Sharply Against Euro
The dollar was up sharply against the euro after the U.S. payrolls report showed the number of job losses in December was smaller than feared. While the data showed a job loss of 524,000 and the unemployment rate hit the highest since 1993, some economists had expected a loss of more than 600,000 jobs before the release.
And Not the least Satyam
“It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.”
– Satyam chairman B. Ramalinga Raju
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyam#Accounting_scandal_of_2009
Tags: Bank of England, BoE, Decemeber, Dollar, Euro, Job Loss, Pound, Ramalinga Raju, Rate Cut, Satyam, US
Posted under Finance
I'm Gurinder nesting in UK working as a Software Engineer in Telecom. I started this blog to note down my activities; mainly regarding financial engineering and news. It's not to advise someone, just mear to record for myself; although comments are more than welcome. More interested in my life its