| Australian stock market closes down on global credit concerns
DESPITE a strong lead from Wall Street and higher commodity prices, the share market closed in negative territory, reversing earlier intraday gains, on cautiousness about global investments markets. At the 4.15pm AEDT close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 20 points, or 0.33 per cent, to 5960, and the All Ordinaries had shed 21.1 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 6019.8. On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index was down 15 points to 5951 on a volume of 27,555 contracts. ABN Amro Morgans Ipswich manager Tony Russell said nervousness ruled the local market today. "The market is very jittery, we've been swinging from positive to negative.'' Mr Russell said Australian investors were cautious about the earnings results coming from the United States. "We'll see some of the major financial institutions reporting in the US tonight, so the market might be waiting to see what happens there.'' Mr Russell said trading conditions were thin, with many investors still on holiday.
Overview: Uncertainty persists despite positive US data
Uncertainty remained the key theme in financial markets as reassuring comments from the banking sector and some broadly positive US economic data failed to quell lingering credit worries on Wednesday. Bear Stearns, the US investment bank, said it expected to write down $1.2bn of mortgage-linked assets in the fourth quarter – less than many in the markets feared. .
Stocks take rocking ride on bourses
Volatility is in these days. ‘Playing safe' and ‘going long-term' play no longer play a role in the modus operandi of the new-age investor in India. The new breed of investors likes to play the market and thrives on taking risks.
While volatility is generally perceived as an indicator of high risk, it can also be used to one's advantage by utilising it to earn returns in a very short span of time. To provide a reckoner on volatility ET Investor's Guide analysed intra-day volatility of BSE 100 stocks over a three-month period from September to November '07. We calculated the daily volatility for 64 trading sessions to arrive at the average volatility.
While there are complicated mathematical ways of calculating volatility, a simple method is by looking at the highest and lowest value of the stock.
Stocks Stage Late Rally
Gold also hit highs and the U.S. dollar continued to fall against the Euro. Even as the housing sector continues to show weakness, "This market is focusing on various sectors of the economy that continue to do well," says Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. Action in the broader market was modestly positive, with 17 stocks rising in price for every 15 that posted gains on the NYSE. Nasdaq breadth was 15-14 positive. Stocks briefly moved into negative territory at midday on rumors of another impending large Wall Street write-down. Action Economics reports that fresh talk of $11 billion in losses at Goldman Sachs (GS) was making the rounds again on Tuesday. Goldman denied write-off rumors for the second day in a row, according to a Reuters report.
Panel II: Iran and the Gulf
At first glance a free trade agreement seems an odd format. Neither the GCC states nor Iran can offer each other much economically. All are energy exporters and importers of manufactured goods. There are few opportunities for synergies. For Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, the GCC states that have large Shi'ite populations and so are terrified of Iran's rise, the deal could serve as a sort of political tribute, a kind of pledge of cooperation with the region's superpower. Such a deal might be hard to swallow for these states but open defiance could invite Iran to make more direct efforts to influence its neighbors.
Elsewhere in the GCC, Qatar, the UAE and Oman are more likely to view the FTA offer with legitimate interest. None of these states has appreciable Shi'ite interests and so all feel less threatened by Iran than the states that do.
Gas Industry 1991-2000
In late May, Gazprom demonstrated its power as a lobbyist. After the audit was finished, Vladimir Lopukhin was sacked, and was replaced with Viktor Chernomyrdin, who was also given a rank of vice-premier responsible for oil and energy complex.
On 30 May, Viktor Chernomyrdin appointed Rem Vyakhirev, his first deputy and an old chum from their days in Orenburg, to head Gazprom. The very next day president Boris Yeltsin signed two decrees: #538 "On the united system of gas supplies" and #539 "On the exploitation of the new gas reserves on the Yamal peninsula, in the Barents sea and on the shelf of the Sakhalin island." According to these decrees, the whole gas market was to be fully controlled by Gazprom, which was also to supervise all property of the national gas industry. According to decree #539, Gazprom was to receive, without any tender, licenses to exploit the nation's most promising gas deposits.
Jindal era begins with high hopes
Yet even as he praised Jindal for a lack of timidity, he cautioned the administration to embrace the virtues of pragmatism, a word that Mann, Cross and Alario used in some form when discussing Jindal, as well. Cross said he expects Jindal to follow such a path, if for no other reason than to build his own resume. "I expect him to speak ideologically but act practically," Cross said, noting the widely held presumption that the young governor-elect has ambitions for national office. "He needs a record of accomplishment in Louisiana. I think he will be more likely to take any accomplishments that he can later frame as more significant than perhaps they really are, rather than be a purist and face the potential for failure." Alario, who is sometimes fingered by Republicans as a potential foe of the administration, said such a strategy would suit the new governor well.
Financed by the Bank of Ma and Pa
It is almost impossible for anyone under 40 today to get get enough money for a down payment on a house unless they make a six-figure salary - and how many do? Remember, these are the people who are going to be looking after baby boomers in their old age. If they can't afford to make a decent living, have a place of their own and manageable debt, they might not support the elderly. Posted 12/02/08 at 10:18 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
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But no matter how far we evolve, there will always be something in the far reaches of our educated minds which will bring us back to a time when we feared the moon itself. We cannot escape it, for deep down we are still animals. We will always be haunted. We will always know fear. That is why Halloween "spooks" us. This particular night frightened our ancestors, and it will continue to frighten their descendants. As soon as the sun sets and All Hallow's Eve is upon us, witches, ghosts, and goblins awaken from their long sleep. On this night there is no escaping it. We are afraid. Jack Sheedy - Reference Services, Dennis Public Library .
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