| Credit Card Industry Booming, Despite Treacherous Stock Market This ...
No, that's not your spouse (or even your accountant) talking. Rather, it's an admonition that may be a useful guide to navigating a treacherous stock market this fall — the time that has historically been less than an auspicious season for stocks … and this one looks particularly dicey. At issue: whether the shutdown in vast swaths of the credit markets will ripple through the rest of the economy. So far, officials from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke have assured investors that the mortgage mess bears watching, but it's still pretty well contained. In other words, a few hundred thousand families, or perhaps a few million will lose their homes, but outside of that, the consumer economy will not suffer. That myth is increasingly showing cracks.
A loss worth hollering about
My first thoughts come from the last lines of Marks blog. That is, a "wait til next year-things will be better " approach". Maybe its me but we said that last year and are already penciled in to say it again next year. Not acceptable. I am sure many of the comments are going to be centered around the "tale of 2 halves" and how we bogged down in the 2nd which ultimately cost us the game. What many don't say is that it is not so much what we don't do, and more what our opponents don't ALLOW us to do. In this game, like the AZ loss, the motion offense was going very well. Then they made a very simple adjustments on D, which was to pressre the ball just enough to cause some stress and a few easy turnovers. Then and the most important piece, pick us up much higher on D. As all of you saw, this approach takes away the 3ptr., while pushing the offense so far out, that entry passes to the wings and post were near impossible.
Brent Barry Sprains Ankle
The Grizzlies' rotation changed Wednesday night, but the decision wasn't based on performance.Instead, Stromile Swift's neck/back pain placed him on the inactive list.Forward Brian Cardinal, who was inactive for the first two games, dressed for the Grizzlies as they took on the Seattle SuperSonics in KeyArena.Swift said he suffered a "pinched nerve" during practice Monday while the team did non-contact drills."I turned the wrong way. I got it a lot this summer," Swift said, "but I'm feeling better now."Swift's prognosis is considered day-to-day. The 6-foot-9 forward/center is expected to practice today in Portland and predicted he would be available for the weekend. .
Can you love an animatronic dinosaur?
We also played some music for it to listen to and, apparently, it likes Love in the First Degree by Bananarama. I thought I saw it dancing, or was it moving awkwardly to the beat.
During the "birthing" process when Pleo was awakened for the first time, a smart ass colleague asked a question--is it a he or a she?--and attempted to turn the beloved Pleo on its back to check, which I stopped promptly. According to the Ugobe Web site, Pleo is a he. But like all the toys on my desk which seem to have received a fair bit of flak from my colleagues, I prefer to call Pleo a she. I think toys should take on a feminine form, unless you are talking about Optimus Prime. Indeed, with Pleo, I feel like a doting parent already.
As much as I'd like to see Pleo as a real pet, it's hard to forget that she's ultimately an AI robot.
Financial Sector Credit
Three-month Treasury bill rates fell 18 bps this week to an amazing 2.87%. Two-year government yields jumped 20 bps to 3.30%. Five-year T-Note yields rose 13 bps to 3.63%, and ten-year yields jumped 13 bps to 4.23%. Long-bond yields increased 9 bps to 4.66%. The 2yr/10yr spread ended the week at 97 bps. The implied yield on 3-month December '08 Eurodollars jumped 15.5 bps to 3.78%. Benchmark Fannie MBS yields rose 7 bps to 5.755%, this week under-performing Treasuries. The spread on Fannie's 5% 2017 note narrowed 10 to 50, and the spread on Freddie's 5% 2017 note narrowed 10 to 50. The 10-year dollar swap declined 3.6 bps to 68.4. Corporate bond spreads generally narrowed somewhat, with the spread on an index of junk bonds ending the week 7 bps narrower. Investment grade debt issuers included Wachovia $1.95bn, Great Atlantic & Pacific $380 million, and CSX $380 million.
New concerns over BNP finances
He said he did not help them but claimed he witnessed some unusual activities, namely the shredding of a large number of documents and invoices. Mr Brayshaw said he was told to burn the shredded documents, but kept them because he felt something improper had taken place. A black bin bag containing the documents has been handed to File On 4. It contains fragments of cheques, train tickets, receipts and invoices. Some of the fragments carry the names of Nick Griffin, his parents and even the Trafalgar Club. .
Dan Celia Asks - Whose Money is it Anyway
MEDIA ADVISORY, Feb. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- During this first quarter of 2008, American citizens are more concerned about the economy than they have been in the past decade. A looming recession, a downward spiral in the stock market and discouraged investors bring Dan Celia, Executive Director of the Regency Foundation, to ask a startling question: Just whose money is it anyway?With a unique perspective on financial issues, Dan Celia answers that question. "Remember, it's all God's. Because of this fact, we must become the finest stewards of the gifts God has bestowed upon us. This is true in every aspect of life and it is especially true when it comes to the money the Lord has allowed us to manage. The Bible talks about money over one hundred times, which means it is critical that we exercise discipline and good stewardship while employing biblical principles with our money."The Regency Foundation, a 501C3 non-profit organization, exists to help individuals and organizations biblically plan, invest in stocks, bonds and real estate and give wisely to biblically-based organizations across the United States.
Winter Garden Distraction Thief Always Wears Medical Scrubs
WINTER GARDEN, Fla. -- Police in Winter Garden are looking for a thief wearing an unusual outfit. Each time the crook targets someone, she's been wearing medical scrubs. Police said the bandit has been stealing people's wallets and then using their credit cards. For police, the images are very clear, showing three females using a stolen credit card to buy thousands in electronics. But less than an hour earlier, they were posing as church-going customers with the best of intentions While employees at Trophies Unlimited helped their customers, Tammy Carson's wallet disappeared from her desk. At least twice in Winter Garden, and more times in Ocoee, groups have entered stores to distract employees while at the same time raiding purses. In both Winter Garden cases, the same woman was involved and caught on tape wearing scrubs as if she were a nurse or doctor.
Ferguson's tenure is over, MLSE's structure to change?
You have to ask the question though, do we love them because they give us something to complain about. How many blogs do you see with this much attention writing about how great Detroit is playing? Keep your stick on the ice Leaf fans, it doesn't look good. :0) .
The Mortage Bust and Online Ads
The subprime mortgage implosion is spreading its radioactive dust on everything from homeowners to ratings agencies. One industry that may be forgotten is online advertising. Yes, online ads, that hot growth business that has shot Google into the stock market stratosphere may be next to report the mortgage industry fallout. Oppenheimer Co. analyst Sandeep Aggarwall figures the financial industry accounted for $2.7 billion or 16% of all internet advertising last year. And while he still expects that number to climb in 2007 and 2008 he has lately trimmed his estimates of that growth. He estimates the mortgage sector in particular accounted for 3% of Google's revenues, 4% of Yahoo and 45% at Bankrate Inc. Bad news too for Barry Diller's InterActive Corp., which owns mortgage site Lendingtree.com.
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