Larry Levin's says...

On the heels of another MASSIVE European continent sovereign downgrade, plus the promise of UK & French downgrades, the market was saved again with a rumor. It wasn’t just any rumor though, but the same old nonsensical Greek bailout rumor that never seems to grow old. With only a few minutes left in the day, the usual rumor was released to the usual financial outlets, before the close, that resulted in the usual change from a down day to a positive close.

Isn’t it odd that the bad news like MASSIVE SOVEREIGN DOWNGRADES are always released when the market is closed; however, good news is always released during the trading day? If I wasn’t so jaded from so many obviously and bullishly rigged maneuvers by politicians and central banksters to achieve their preconceived outcomes, I’d say this was a freak occurrence. From experience, however, one must conclude that the timing of these things is completely controlled by the “powers that be” (read: Fed, Treasury, ECB, IMF, BOE, World Bank, BOJ, etc, etc). Any thoughts to the contrary show ones acute naiveté.

Of course there are others who share this frustration and not just in the USSA. Another voice of reason comes from Godfrey Bloom of the UK Independence Party who excoriates the EU with, among other things, “The day must surely come when politicians, bureaucrats, and central bankers must be called to account by a fiscal crimes tribunal and sent to prison for a VERY LONG TIME!”

Godfrey Bloom calls for a fiscal crimes tribunal for the politicians and bureaucrats responsible for the world's banking crisis.

Money-printing, central banking scammers should be locked in prison, says Bloom

China eyeing European investment

China eyeing European investment
The chase by Marty Cej:

The tyranny of Valentine's Day has passed for another year. A good thing.

European stocks are rising and U.S. stock index futures are pointing to early gains after the governor of the People's Bank of China said overnight that his country plans to streamline and expand investment in Europe. Zhou Xiaochuan also reiterated earlier comments by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that China will become more involved in efforts to solve the European debt crisis through the EFSF and ESM. The central bank governor's statements came during an exhibition on the euro in Beijing with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy (soon you'll have billions of these little coins, everyone! Trillions even!). While no details were provided, the statements of support are likely to shore up confidence in the near-term even as European leaders' patience with Greece appears to be running out. Euro-zone finance ministers cancelled today's face-to-face talks on the 130-billion-euro bailout deal for Greece, saying they had yet to receive written pledges from the key Greek political party leaders that they would stick with promised austerity measures even in the event of new elections. An unnamed source from within Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras' party tells Reuters that the lawmaker will send the needed letter of commitment within the day. Samaras is a strong critic of the austerity program and is likely to be elected the next prime minister.

In the meantime, while Greek politicians jockey for position in a future that may or may not involve Brussels, China's pledge to Europe has investors leaning towards riskier assets, driving down the U.S. dollar and helping to prop up gold, oil and other industrial commodities. Oil is getting the added boost from an announcement that Iran has stopped oil exports to six European nations in retaliation for European Union sanctions. To be specific, Iran's English-language Press TV said "Iran cuts its oil exports to six European countries." Well, there you have it. The decision by Iran to halt exports to Europe pre-empts Europe's planned halt to imports starting July 1. But it also comes after oil shippers said they would stop hauling Iranian crude anywhere. It's kind of an "I broke up with you first" sort of scenario, the end result of which is that no one is getting any.

And now Iran's Oil Ministry is denying those state media reports, saying that if any such decision is made, it will be announced by Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Another one of the reasons oil is a good story today is earnings from the likes of Cenovus and Talisman in Canada, and Devon Energy in the U.S.

Gold is in focus today, too, with earnings from Agnico-Eagle, Kinross and Goldcorp.

Lin-sanity is clearly linfectious because the market is now talking about the impact the New York Knick's breakout superstar Jeremy Lin will have on Madison Square Garden Co.'s stock. There is plenty to talk about here with regards to MSG: ad dollars, sponsorship bucks, rising viewership… all this and the guy has only played six games, none of them with the team's bona fide but injured stars.

Kellogg is carbing up. The company has agreed to buy Procter & Gamble's Pringles business for $2.7 billion in cash. The deal broadens Kellogg's international reach by giving it the world's "second largest player in savory snacks with $1.5 billion in sales across more than 140 countries." The snack business is one we need to take a closer look at. In fact, I think we ought to be taking a closer look at the intersection of two booming businesses: the fat-loss industry (whether through drugs, diet or the gym) and the fat-gain industry (snacks etc). Business Day AM will tackle this in a week-long special.

Greece avoids bankruptcy amid protests

Greece avoids bankruptcy amid protests
The chase by Noah Zivitz:

Politicians voted, civilians rioted, now we wait for eurozone finance ministers to vote on whether to unlock the next round of bailout funds for Greece. Major European indices are modestly higher in the wake of Lucas Papademos successfully winning enough support for his basket of cuts. The pictures from the streets of Athens are stunning, and prompt countless questions. We need to hear whether the eurozone will emerge stronger with an austerity-plagued Greece than it would be without it. Linda will assess the economic cost of the cuts for Greece.

The Obama administration tables its fiscal blueprint later this morning, but plenty of details are already known. A $1.3-trillion shortfall is expected this year, with the deficit seen moderating to a mere $901B next fiscal year. According to the early reports, it's a budget filled with short-term items to give the economy a boost, and tax increases to staunch the flow of red ink over the long term. Oh yes, and a $61B tab for banks to recoup costs from the financial crisis. To the surprise of no one, Republicans are already making their displeasure known. Linda will evaluate details that have already spilled out, and we'll need to hear whether Barack Obama's government is delivering a credible plan to get the U.S. on a sustainable fiscal track.

Fiscal management will be on the agenda in a trio of live events we're tracking today: Barack Obama comments on the budget at 11, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summersspeaks in Calgary around 2pm ET, and Ontario finance minister Dwight Duncan discusses his plan to eliminate the deficit at 12.

Amid all the bubble and balloon talk, today we get the country's largest mortgage insurer's perspective on the health of the housing market, when the CMHC delivers its outlook at 8:15am ET. Linda will break the headlines, and we'll hear from the CMHC's deputy chief economist on BDAM.

Barrick Gold has served notice its 20% stake in Russia's Highland Gold is non-core. Paul is looking into what the holding could fetch, and John Ing from Maison Placements will provide insight and preview gold sector earnings on Business Day at 10am.

The future of this country's telecom sector could become an even hotter topic, with speculation the government will soon announce rules for the next spectrum auction. This announcement could be paired with Ottawa's long-awaited review of foreign ownership restrictions. We need to be ready to explain what's at stake for the incumbents and newer wireless companies.

And there's some possible industry consolidation overseas that has grabbed investors' attention. Vodafone disclosed this morning it is in the early stages of evaluating a bid for Cable & Wireless Worldwide.

Let's not lose sight of opportunities to follow-up on SNC Lavalin's employee shuffle. After the closing bell Friday, the former exec VP of construction, Riadh Ben Aissa, fired back. In a statement, he said he wasn't fired – he resigned. He also asserts he spared no effort to protect the company's interests. He now plans appropriate legal recourse. Separately, the CBC says SNC is "in turmoil" over its relationship with Cynthia Vanier, who was contracted to do fact-finding in Libya, and was subsequently arrested in Mexico amid allegations she was involved in a plot to usher Saadi Gadhafi out of Libya. We need to keep peeling away the layers of this story, and hearing what it means for SNC's global operations.

Air Canada has reached yet another tentative agreement with one of its unions. This time, it's dispatchers who appear to be on board – pending ratification. But what about the pilots? Kristine is digging into it.

There's plenty more, including Japan's economy shrinking more than anticipated under the weight of the yen, and borrowing costs slipping in Italy. But that'll do for now.

Jim Rogers Predicts The Future

Jim Rogers

CNBC Jim Rogers states Inflationary Holocaust, dollar Collapse
Uploaded To YouTube Nov 17, 2009



Compare his expectations for the market back in Nov 2009.

To this report Jan 2012


Was he correct?



The Future Click Here...