Member Info for leedskier

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures gained, following rallies in European and Asian markets, after analysts recommended buying shares of financial companies and investors speculated the worst is over in a rout of global equity markets.

I confess to having turned off my computer before the fed cut the discount rate; I saw the 'denied' rumours of a Fed meeting on Thursday on Bloomberg and was sucked in by it. Plainly the FTSE was looking for good news to buy at what might be perceived as the bottom of the market with some remarkable gains by FTSE100 shares, but given that the Dow only added 1.80+% on Friday is this the start of a rally or merely reversed the previous day's fall? I do wonder whether, in the short-term the only direction is now up.

'push off early tomorrow is Saturday'...unless you are trading in the Yen

UK£ falls to 1.97US$.

SKY TV at 4.02 pm report rumour of US hedge fund about to collaspe

Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Oil, nickel and copper led declines in commodity prices as concern mounted that losses in global credit markets will erode economic growth and demand for raw materials. Crude oil in New York dropped as much as 2.9 percent as a storm moved away from rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Nickel tumbled 5.5 percent to its lowest in a year and copper slid 4.8 percent, the most since May 17, leading a third day of declines among metals in London. Gold fell for a fourth day.

Historical single day falls...FTSE 100: 19 October 1987 - 10.84%; 4 January 2000 - 3.81%; 11 Sept 2001 - 5.72%; 24 March 2003 - 3.05%; 10 August 2007 - 3.71% Dow Jones Industrial Average: 19 October 1987 - 22.6%; 4 January 2000 - 3.2%; 11 Sept 2001 - Market shut after terrorist attacks; 24 March 2003 - 3.6%;

US $ continues to be the currency of choice for far east currency dealers looking for a safe haven...assuming the US $ continues its rise against the UK £ (and incidentally the Russian Rouble), US $ priced commodities like oil will gain.

dasv, I fear we can wait a day or two yet to take full advantage at the bottom of all of this...the Dow has fallen (further than the FTSE) tonight on continuing concerns about the sub-prime sector.

"Buy when stock prices are low and hold on to your securities... People seem unable to grasp these simple principles. They do not buy when prices are low. They are fearful of bargains." J. Paul Getty

Dow falls below 1300: Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell on concern credit- market losses are accelerating after analysts cut ratings on mortgage companies and Basis Capital Fund Management Ltd. said the subprime rout may have wiped out 80 percent from a fund.

dasv, I think IEC has help up quite well today. This rout looks like it will run... US saying it is still up on the week...what is all the European panic about...

dasv brilliant and informative explanation as to why these 'get rich quick derivatives' are now pejoratively called 'junk bonds'. The Dow is still in free fall, but given the gains over the last week, it maybe considered as profit taking rather than a further major correction. I fear London (which has been talking down the market since the correction earlier this year) may view this as the self fulfilling prophesy. If so the market may start 'shorting' anything and everything. How that leaves IEC (which on any view is trading at a substantial discount -- some Russian analysts say at 40 to 50% of its true value) remains to be seen. If the Putin message is viewed as postively as it appears to be (and I guess there will be Russian analysts who will have read carefully the original Russian text and advised London Brokers as to its true meaning) it just maybe be ring-fenced in any rout on the FTSE.

Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank, in an unprecedented response to a sudden demand for cash from banks roiled by the subprime mortgage collapse in the U.S., loaned 94.8 billion euros ($130 billion) to assuage a credit crunch.

Dow appears (contrary to expectations in Europe) to be weathering the latest sub-prime fears. If it does not 'bomb' tonight the opening price on this one tomorrow may be quite high as 'homeless' cash hunts for quick gains.

Do we pile our pension funds in? I think the Putin message spotted by Ymox was more than a hint to Mitvol to stop his underhand activities in this direction. Well done to all those who watched their computers today. Profit taking en masse late this afternoon. The optimum target price in near term maybe be at best >£15 until the Oil reserves sorted out.

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied the most in four years, led by financial companies, on speculation the government will take steps to limit losses in mortgage lending.

Foreign oil and gas companies in Russia may have their licenses revoked On Thursday, the Russian Natural Resources Ministry said the national environmental watchdog, Rosprirodnadzor, had launched an unscheduled check of oil and gas companies developing local deposits whose shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Two U.K. companies, namely Oil & Gas PLC and Urals Energy, Sweden's Lundin Petroleum and Canada's Heritage Oil were blacklisted. Deputy Rosprirodnadzor director Oleg Mitvol said the companies did not provide accurate information on their respective projects and mineral deposits to Western investors. All of them operate in such remote areas as the Komi Republic, in northwestern Russia, the Timan-Pechora oil province in the Arkhangelsk Region, Sakhalin Island, the Republic of Udmurtia in the Volga Region and Eastern Siberia. They develop relatively small mineral deposits, and their shares have been traded on the LSE or the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) for less than two years. Moreover, Russian investors have bought into them either directly or indirectly. All problems will have to be resolved in Moscow, because a possible investigation of their operations by the LSE could trigger a major scandal.

The latest Kremlin project is to ensure that Resources companies are not merely Russian owned but under the direction of Kremlin approved nominees; it was this issue which caused a change of ownership of Russneft. The Urals Energy notice ( I posted earlier) is interesting because rather a lot of shares were sold the day before it was released. I wonder if the LSE and FSA will investigate that too.

Dead cat bounce? 2 days ago I switched a 25 year old pension fund (which I had transferred into cash a month ago) to track the FTSE100 and Dow Jones. The indiocations are that as pre-holiday fever takes hold, the market is moving back to the key drivers. The disappointments in the last 2 days have been the oil majors, notwithsatnding the rising price of oil. Good to know this particular share has been rated a strong buy by an experienced investor on this site.