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http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices

http://money.cnn.com/markets/morning_call/










http://www.kitco.com

Energy futures

Currencies/Au/Ag

Dodging around a bit today with small gains in most sectors. All Ords currently +0.1%, IT is stepping out, +1.4% followed by Utilities +0.9% and at the other end Consumer Staples is flat.

Miners not doing much: BHP flat, RIO -0.4% and in the golds, Newcrest -1.5%, Newmont flat and Lihir +1.6%.

Oils also stalled: Woodside +0.3%, Santos +0.5% and Caltex -1.3%.

BOJ Keeps Interest Rate at 0.5% in Unanimous Decision

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- The Bank of Japan refrained from raising interest rates in the first unanimous decision since June, after a drop in business confidence signaled companies are bracing for slower economic growth.

Governor Toshihiko Fukui and his colleagues voted to leave the benchmark overnight lending rate at 0.5 percent, the lowest among major economies, the bank said in a statement today in Tokyo. Atsushi Mizuno rejoined the majority after proposing an increase at each meeting since July.

``The Bank of Japan will be in gridlock for all of 2008,'' said Takehiro Sato, chief Japan economist at Morgan Stanley in Tokyo. ``We can't completely rule out a rate cut if the central bank's scenario of a positive expansion cycle falters, though it's not our main projection now.''

N.Z. Consumer Confidence Drops, Trade Deficit Widens

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand consumer confidence fell to an 18-month low and the current account deficit widened as exports fell, the latest signs that economic growth is slowing.

The consumer sentiment index slipped 3.5 points to 110 in the fourth quarter, a corporate survey showed today.

``The domestic economy is definitely in the throes of slowing,'' said Robin Clements, chief economist at UBS AG in Christchurch, New Zealand. ``I'm more pessimistic than most'' about economic growth next year.

Santa's Elves Work Overtime as Worried Moms Seek Homegrown Toys

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- British toymaker Colin Carlson endured 12-hour days to produce a record number of handmade toys at his Creations in Wood workshop. He has his greatest competitor to thank for the jump in sales: China.

Orders for his wooden rocking horses, snails and motorbikes are up 25 percent over last Christmas, since a wave of recalls hit Chinese-made toys on concerns they either contained excessive amounts of lead or magnets that may be swallowed.

``Everybody but everybody is working weekends,'' said Carlson, a bearded craftsman and chairman of the British Toymakers Guild who bears more than a passing resemblance to St. Nick. ``With the Chinese problem we've seen a huge growth of people thinking, `Let's move back to British toys.'''

Santa's elves across Europe and the U.S. are benefiting as parents seek out locally-made gifts for their children, naughty and nice alike. American Plastic Toys Inc. in Walled Lake, Michigan, hired about 30 additional workers and kept production of its play kitchens and children's desks running a sixth day a week. K'NEX Brands LP in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, added a third production shift and extended plant hours to 24 a day, from 16.

All Ords gave it up today, sliding -0.6%. There was only two green sectors left standing, IT +1.7% and Utilities +0.5%. Metals and Mining was down the most, -1.2% followed by Materials, -1.1%.

The two big miners both came down: BHP -1.4% and RIO -1.8%. Golds were mixed, Newcrest -5.1%, Newmont +0.2% and Lihir +1.6%. Juniors were flat to up.

Oils couldn't get it together: Woodside and Santos both -0.9% and Caltex -1.1%.

The only Asian market making any headway is China, +1.7% and of the rest, Honkers flat, Nikkers +0.1% and Taiwan -2%.


Over to UK/Europe:








http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=europe

This looks bullish...just waiting for the indicators to turn...

[attachmentid=93939]

Would love to see a slightly lower low on the indecies first though...

China Raises Rates to Nine-Year High on Inflation

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- China raised interest rates for the sixth time this year to cool the world's fastest-growing major economy after inflation accelerated at the quickest pace in 11 years.

The benchmark one-year lending rate will increase by 0.18 percentage point to a nine-year high of 7.47 percent, starting tomorrow, the People's Bank of China said today on its Web site. The one-year deposit rate will rise by 0.27 percentage point to 4.14 percent.

Consumer prices rose 6.9 percent in November, property prices climbed at the fastest pace in two years and the main stock index has more than doubled in 2007. Higher borrowing costs and 10 increases in banks' reserve requirements have failed to stem the gains, underscoring government concern the economy may overheat.

---------------

Taiwan Central Bank Raises Key Rate to 3.375 Percent

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan's central bank increased its benchmark interest rate for the 14th straight quarter after inflation accelerated on food and energy costs.

Governor Perng Fai-nan and his policy makers increased the discount rate on 10-day loans to banks by 12.5 basis points to 3.375 percent in Taipei today, the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said in a statement.

Consumer-price gains have accelerated in the fourth quarter to more than three times the pace of the past three years after crude oil climbed and typhoon damage to crops exacerbated a surge in food costs. Taiwan's key rate is the third lowest in Asia, behind Japan and Thailand, even after three years of increases.

Doc explain this.............thanks


DJ Fed Accepts $10 Bln In 14-Day RPs

Type of transaction: 14-Day RPs
Total accepted: $10 Bln
Total submitted: $57.75 Bln

Agency Collateral Operation
Total accepted: $1.619 Bln
Total submitted: $13.85 Bln
Stop-Out Rate: 4.22%
Weighted Average: 4.29%
High-rate submitted: 4.35%
Low-rate submitted: 3.8%

Treasury Collateral Operation
Total accepted: $1 Bln
Total submitted: $14.5 Bln
Stop-Out Rate: 3.05%
Weighted Average: 3.05%
High-rate submitted: 3.05%
Low-rate submitted: 1%

Mortgage-Backed Collateral Operations
Total accepted: $7.381 Bln
Total submitted: $29.4 Bln
Stop-Out Rate: 4.45%
Weighted Average: 4.55%
High-rate submitted: 4.56%
Low-rate submitted: 4.1%

(Data was provided by the New York Federal Reserve Bank).

look at peix today!!!!! wow up 5% pre markit

If this dosn't git you in the Christmas Spirit, nothing will!

Chairs Thrown During Parents' Fight at School Christmas Program

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) -- An apparent ongoing dispute between three parents erupted into a physical fight at an elementary school's Christmas program Tuesday night.

Children in the first through third grades at Oak Hill Elementary School had just completed about three-quarters of the program when three parents began fighting.

Witnesses said the fight lasted about 10 minutes, and, according to an account by principal Sara Roberts, started when a father approached a student about pushing his daughter while on stage:


According to witnesses, the argument started by a father who approached another student about pushing his daughter while on stage. The one parent (not of the student who pushed) told the father to not talk to a child about that but to take it up with the principal. At that point, two other parents (twin sisters) began yelling and shouting. I had to stop the program and remind everyone to be respectful to the children on stage. However, the yelling escalated further and thus the fight began.

The police were called to help by multiple members of the audience as well as a staff member who was directed to call by me. Once the police arrived, only a few people who were actually involved were questioned. However the twin sisters had left the school property by then.
http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/...TY&pageId=3.2.1

link

As spock would say, "Interesting" (sub prime history primer)

Looks like the obligatory ramp before the President's non-speech, but then what?

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suspect it will be thin holiday trading. Best to stay out of the chop.

I will be producing a podcast this morning. 3 and 5 day cycles remain in up phases, obviously. Dow has hit 8 day cycle MA for 3rd time at 13272.87. That's the number to beat to turn a sideways up phase into an up up phase. On spx its 1459.67. qqqq broke out in premarket, now trading above 3 day at 50.21, 5 day at 50.09 and 8 day at 50.03. 3 day cycle projection of 50.60 has been hit.

TED 209 bps

Sudsy! Great Pic! Thats what being married to Jane Fonda will do to you!

WOW! Fed drains $23 billion via today's OMO!

Short heavily at will!

From Alexander Elder of 'Come into my trading room' fame

'We are into the final stretch of 2007 - and what an exciting year it has been.

I am writing this on a train as it chugs through the snow towards the Ural Mountains. I have been teaching classes for traders in Russia, and amazingly enough, the locals keep asking me whether the US is going to enter a recession or even a depression because of the subprime mortgage crisis. I keep telling them that by the time the news has reached faraway foreign provinces it is no longer news. The markets are cyclical, they swing up and down. To illustrate this point, I showed them a chart of Citibank, one of the prime participants in the crisis we just had.

You can see how, as the crisis accelerated, Citibank’s stock slid from its high of $57 in September to a low of $31 (marked A) in early November. MACD-Histogram reached a new low at that time but then rallied above its centerline. When prices slid to the latest record low of $29.50, MACD managed to decline only to a very superficial low, creating a bullish divergence A-B. This bullish divergence tells me that we are witnessing the tail end of the subprime crisis, and a new rise is in the cards.'

Doubt if Wall street examiner would agree.

I met Elder once in Holland. The most obnoxious little man I have ever met.

ted and fonda have been divorced for at least 10 years I think

MBIA down 24%. Is that a lot ??

MBIA Bond Risk Soars on $8.1 Billion Subprime CDO Disclosure

Fonda being stocks, I presume

With that kind of drain, we could see a $20 down day in gold...and a 78+ handle on Uncle Buck...

Credit-default swaps tied to Armonk, New York-based MBIA's
bonds soared 115 basis points to 595 basis points, the widest on
record, according to CMA Datavision in London.

I know! The lingering effects are still showing!

GS trying to turn the corner after the opening pop....huge air pocket below if it rolls over here....

Bear Stearns makes new multiyear low

Trannies pickin up where they left off...nudder new low fur da move

Ya think they rely on MBIA's bond insurance services?



Burn baby, burn.

IF we crack YM 13,300 again, bear locomotive may start pickin up steam....

GS leaking some more

Stocks are smoking crack. That's my conclusion.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

What a moron. The guy has no clue.

Shorted RIO

MACD on a 12/25 time frame are absolutely meaningless in a bear market. If you don't believe me, go look at a chart of the dow with MACD at that time setting from 1930-1932.

The pattern this week seems to have been sell offs in the morning followed by afternoon mini-bonars. Typical thin hoilday trading.

As soon as the pattern is recognizable, it is scheduled to change.

Why'd the dollar just fall off hard against the yen?

Not that I'm complaining.

My buy signal just triggered this morning....200% long NDX here...

[attachmentid=93942]

Copper rallied up to backtest $3 from underneath last night, where I happily accepted the gift...if she breaks 2.90 again...LOB

wow..not seeing that at all here...although if we dont break right here, it could happen....good luck...

Trannies nudder LOD....

After the addition of the TAffies, and the Fed redemptions, the net drain on the day is $19 billion.

Short with impunity.

IT Dover Sole indicators are useless if we are at a major turning point. Look at the Summation Index dureing the 99/00 turn:

He tried to sell me a forex indicator for $7,000 and suggested that I fly his assistant to Dublin (from NY at my expense) to set the indicator up on my PC and show me on to use it (only his expert could do this of course).

When I pointed out to him that this indicator was available on the web for free, his response was that he was too busy trading for his own v.large account (his comment) to waste time talking to me.

I drew my own conclusions about the trading prowess of someone who tries to swindle people out of money for freely available indicators.

I would not even THINK of going long into a $19 billion net drain. No way in hell. That's after the addition of the TAF, which is a low power injection insofar as the market is concerned.

If the market goes up in the face of this, then I guess I'll have to eat my shorts.

Of course, to assume we are at a major turning point is a big assumption. But I have never seen odds like this for it to happen.

Uh, and one more little question. Which way?

your a lot more bullish than me right now!
doc is saying the market will be heading lower with passion behind his post.


hmmm. tap fingers here.