I'm Mexico Bound

Its cold here in Toronto...time to fly south.
I will be taking some time to enjoy some Mexican Hospitality.
I will check in periodically, but will return Dec 18th.
Take care of PDP+BWR In my short absence

Pre-Fed expectations firm futures

RTGAM

Stock-index futures are upbeat Monday ahead of a likely interest rate cut tomorrow, even though Swiss bank UBS took whopping writedown on subprime mortgage holdings. But in a move reminiscent of Citigroup, UBS got back on track with a big capital injection from Singapore and an unidentified Middle Eastern investor.

"The amazing reaction to UBS' announcement today indicates investors switched to a more positive view," Oliver Hagen, a fund manager with LGT Capital Management, told Bloomberg, referring to UBS shares gaining in Europe. "The strength of financial stocks might support the market in general."

Indeed, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase all advanced overseas, sending European markets into positive territory. Separately, Barron's magazine says JP Morgan in a better position to withstand credit-market turmoil because it can count on revenue from non-banking sources.
Investors, though, are eagerly anticipating an interest rate decision in the U.S. on Tuesday, although the market is divided over whether the Federal Reserve will lower rates by a quarter of a percentage point or a half.

At 7:30 a.m. EST, Dow Jones industrial futures are up 28 points, with S&P 500 futures adding 1.4 points and Nasdaq 100 futures up 2.75 points.

In corporate news, the Toronto and Montreal stock exchanges could unveil a merger as early as Monday, reflecting ongoing consolidation globally.

Blackstone Group might be planning a bid to acquire Rio Tinto Ltd., leading a consortium that would include China's sovereign wealth fund, according to a published report in Britain.
And Japanese drug maker Eisai is buying MGI Pharma for $3.9-billion (U.S.) in a move aimed at boosting its cancer drug business and sustaining sales growth.
In the economic pipeline is a report on pending U.S. home sales in October at 10 a.m. EST.

Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

Stocks surge on home rescue plan+BWR Technicals

Stocks surge on home rescue plan

RTGAM

A plan to help some U.S. mortgage borrowers facing huge increases in interest rates helped send stock markets sharply higher for a second day Thursday.
The Toronto stock got extra lift from energy stocks amid sharply higher oil prices, which helped to overcome a drop in the financial sector following earnings reports from CIBC and Scotiabank.
The Toronto stock market's S&P/TSX composite index gained 115.26 points to 13,849.8. The TSX Venture Exchange drifted 24.15 points higher to 2,716.37.

The Canadian dollar had another volatile session, starting off negative after losing about 1.5 cents (U.S.) since the Bank of Canada cut interest rates by a quarter point Tuesday, then jumping 0.6 of a cent to close at 99.09 cents.
Part of the reason for the gain was Thursday's sharp spike in oil prices but analysts also noted that the dollar had fallen heavily, more than 10 per cent, since topping $1.10 on Nov. 7.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrials gained 174.93 points to 13,619.89 after President George W. Bush announced a plan allowing some homeowners facing foreclosure to freeze their interest rates for up to five years or refinance their mortgages.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 42.67 points to 2,709.03 points and the S&P 500 index was 22.33 points higher to 1,507.34.

In Toronto, the base metals sector jumped 4.55 per cent on merger and acquisition activity.
The energy sector was up 1.6 per cent as the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed $2.74 to $90.23. Canadian Press

Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail

BWR Technicals