2008 U.S. Economy Problems

Daily Market Commentary for April 10, 2008 from Millennium-Traders.Com

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sees 'Downside' Risks to U.S. Economy: "The U.S. economy has turned down sharply and the risks to it are on the downside," U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson said in a speech Thursday to the Council of Institutional Investors. (read more)

At the closing bell on the Stock Exchange, here is how the major world indices and major U.S. indices ended the session on the U.S. Markets:

DOW (Dow Jones Industrial Average) gain of 54.80 points on the day to end the session at 12,582.06

NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) gain of 22.04 points to end the session at 9,096.86

NASDAQ gain of 29.58 points for a close at 2,351.70

S&P 500 gain of 6.06 points for a close at 1,360.55

FTSE All-World ex-U.S. loss of 0.20 points to close at 244.91

FTSE RAFI 1000 gain of 15.85 points to close at 5,483.07

BEL 20 gain of 8.71 points on the day to end the session at 3,847.20

CAC 40 loss of 15.55 points on the day to end the session at 4,859.42

FTSE100 loss of 18.8 points on the day to end the session at 5,965.10

NIKKEI 225 loss of 166.56 points on the day to end the session at 12,945.30

News on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) today: advanced stocks 1,920; declined stocks 1,200; unchanged stocks 105; stocks hitting new highs 35; stocks hitting new lows 44. Daily Trading Range and end of day trading results for volatile NYSE stocks traded by active Day Traders today: Mosaic Corporation (NYSE: MOS) gained 2.65 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $123.50, low on the trading day $117.50, closing price $122.65; Uniao de Bancos Brasileiros S.A. (Unibanco) (NYSE: UBB) shed 1.80 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $129.62, low on the trading day $124.05, closing price $127.80; Tween Brands, Incorporated (NYSE: TWB) shed 5.27 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $19.89, low on the trading day $17.81, closing price $17.91; Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) shed 2.82 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $111.53, low on the trading day $108.36, closing price $108.68; Monsanto Corporation (NYSE: MON) gained 0.38 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $121.48, low on the trading day $118.12, closing price $120.24;

CME Group, Incorporated (NYSE: CME) gained 0.50 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $506.19, low on the trading day $491.64, closing price $499.61; Flowserve Corporation (NYSE: FLS) gained 1.21 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $110.16, low on the trading day $106.18, for a closing price at $109.38; Petroleo Brasileiro (NYSE: PBR) gained 0.53 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $116.10, low on the trading day $113.14, for a closing price at $115.17; UltraShort Financials ProShares (NYSE: SKF) gained 0.53 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $111.73, low on the trading day $106.53, for a closing price at $109.49; Mechel Open Joint Stock Company (NYSE: MTL) gained 8.62 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $152.00, low on the trading day $138.58, for a closing price at $151.50; Transocean, Incorporated (NYSE: RIG) shed 0.78 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $148.85, low on the trading day $145.85, for a closing price at $147.41; Weatherford International Limited (NYSE: WFT) shed 0.63 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $76.08, low on the trading day $74.04, closing price $75.99.

News on the NASDAQ today: advanced stocks 1,729; declined stocks 1,198; unchanged stocks 156; stocks hitting new highs 12; stocks hitting new lows 93. Trading range and end of day trading results for volatile NASDAQ stocks traded by active Day Traders today: FCStone Group, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FCSX) gained 6.31 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $37.30, low on the trading day $34.10, closing price $36.90; Apogee Enterprises Incorporated (NasdaqGS: APOG) gained 3.00 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $21.22, low on the trading day $18.70, closing price $19.84; Intuitive Surgical, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: ISRG) gained 17.81 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $357.98, low on the trading day $339.76, closing price $353.88; Focus Media Holding Limited (NasdaqGS: FMCN) shed 3.11 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $33.42, low on the trading day $31.01, closing price $31.53; First Solar, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: FSLR) gained 1.33 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $274.42, low on the trading day $264.54, closing price $271.20; Baidu.com, Incorporated (NasdaqGS: BIDU) gained 3.19 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $293.73, low on the trading day $280.13, closing price $292.00; Google Incorporated (NasdaqGS: GOOG) gained 4.89 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $473.86, low on the trading day $462.45, closing price $469.08; Pantry Incorporated (NasdaqGS: PTRY) shed 4.85 points on the trading day, high on the trading day $15.76, low on the trading day $11.20, closing price $11.35.

News on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) today: advanced stocks 665; declined stocks 519; unchanged stocks 110; stocks hitting new highs 13; stocks hitting new lows 27.

U.S. Jobless Claims for week of April 5 fell 53K to 357K compared to survey of a drop by 19K; U.S. Continuing Claims for week of March 29 rose 3,000K to 2,940,000; U.S. Jobless Claims revised for week of Mar 29 to 410K from 407K.

U.S. February Trade Deficit came in at $62.32 Billion compared to consensus Deficit of $57.10B; January Trade Balance revised to Deficit of $58.96 Billion from Deficit of $58.20 Billion; February Exports came in at $151.36 Billion with an increase by 2.0%; February Imports came in at $213.68 Billion for an increase by 3.1%.

US Senate Passes Aid Package For Homeowners, Builders: The U.S. Senate made its most aggressive effort yet to address the sinking housing market by passing a combination of tax breaks and available funding intended to assist home builders and struggling home owners. By an 84-12 vote the Senate passed legislation allowing a new property-tax deduction which consists of: $25.5 billion in tax relief for financial institutions and homebuilders, plus a $7,000 tax credit for the purchase of a foreclosed home. Despite the vote, the prospects of the legislation becoming law are slim since the White House and even some Senate Republicans have criticized various aspects of the bill and Democrats in the House of Representatives favor different solutions to help the record numbers of foreclosures and the resulting economic dislocation. The White House warned that lawmakers could further depress home values with some legislative proposals in a letter sent Wednesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "We must not prolong necessary corrections in the housing market, bail out lenders or subsidize irresponsible borrowing and lending," the letter said. The legislation marked a rare bipartisan effort in the Senate where major policy legislation can easily be bottled up particularly during a presidential election year. Lawmakers condone it is urgent they act since 5.82% of the nation's mortgage loans are delinquent during the fourth quarter. Details of the legislation include: homeowners who do not itemize their tax returns would receive a $500 or $1,000 property tax reduction, while states would be authorized to issue $100 billion in tax-free bonds to help refinance troubled borrowers plus, $180 million for counseling and legal services for at-risk borrowers as well as a $7,000 tax credit for purchasing homes near or in foreclosure. The most controversial provision would allow businesses to offset losses this year and next with profits from previous years. This would especially help homebuilders and financial firms hurt by the downturn in housing, who earned billions during the housing bubble but now face mounting losses and writedowns. Housing groups and some fiscal conservatives who say the firms do not deserve a bailout are angered over the provision. "If you made money for three or four years, a lot of money, you shouldn't have a bonus given to you in the years when you're not making money," Senator Judd Gregg, R - N.H., said during debate on the measure earlier this week. Also included in the housing package are long-sought after changes to the Federal Housing Administration, which lawmakers and the Bush administration hope will play a major role in helping homeowners facing the loss of their homes. The bill would increase the size of loans FHA can insure to $550,000, while also increasing the down payment borrowers must provide to 3.5%. The legislation also includes $4 billion in grants for local entities to purchase and maintain foreclosed properties. The House is pushing forward with its own housing-stimulus proposals including a package of tax credits for first-time home buyers, increased assistance for low-income rental housing, and a more-modest property tax deduction. Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass. is also pushing a plan to use the Federal Housing Administration to guarantee up to $300 billion in loans to help refinance at-risk loans. House Democratic leaders hope to pass their broad housing aid package by the end of the month.

Commodities Markets
Energy Sector: Light Crude (NYM) shed $1.17 on the day to close at $109.70 a barrel ($US per bbl.); Heating Oil (NYM) gained $0.02 on the day to close at $3.26 a gallon ($US per gal.); Natural Gas (NYM) gained $0.04 on the day to close at $10.10 per million BTU ($US per mmbtu.); Unleaded Gas (NYM) shed $0.03 on the day to close at $2.74 a gallon ($US per gal.).

Metals Markets: Gold (CMX) shed $5.70 to close at $931.80 ($US per Troy oz.); Silver (CMX) shed $0.17 to close at $18.03 ($US per Troy oz.); Platinum (NYM) gained $2.40 to close at $2,047.00 ($US per Troy oz.) and Copper (CMX) shed $0.08 to close at $3.92 ($US per lb.).

Livestock and Meat Markets (cents per lb.): Lean Hogs (CME) shed 0.40 to close at 70.15; Pork Bellies (CME) shed 1.23 to close at 71.38; Live Cattle (CME) gained 2.05 to close at 89.80; Feeder Cattle (CME) gained 1.53 to close at 102.35.

Other Commodities (cents per bu.): Corn (CBT) shed 8.00 to close the session at 612.00 and Soybeans (CBT) gained 44.00 to close the session at 1,374.00.

Bonds were mixed across the board today: 2 year bond shed 3/32 at 99 27/32 with a Yield of 1.82, Yield Change +0.05; 5 year bond shed 8/32 to close at 99 8/32 with a Yield of 2.65, Yield Change +0.05; 10 year bond shed 12/32 to close at 99 24/32 with a Yield of 3.53, Yield Change +0.05; the 30 year bond shed 12/32 to close at 100 14/32 on the day with a Yield of 4.34, Yield Change +0.02.

The e-mini Dow $5 ended the commodity session today at 12,561 with a loss of 11 points on the trading session. The total Dow Exchange Volume for the day came in at 154,682 which is comprised of Electronic, Open Auction and Cash Exchange. Futures Traders should review workshops available at the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade). Educational in-person seminars schedules available on the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) website.

The end of day results for the CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) which is comprised of the total Exchange Volume for Futures and Options (EVFO) including Electronic, Open Auction, Cash Exchange, Wholesale and Cleared Only ended the day at 3,708,517; Open Interest for Futures gained 24,884 points to close at 9,375,533; the Open Interest for Options gained 73,728 points to close at 8,935,365 and the Cleared Only gained 314 points to close at 29,125 for a total Open Interest on the day of 18,340,023 for a total Change on the day with a gain of 98,926 points.

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