Tag Archives: sidelines

Game Lineage: Homer’s Clash Of The Titans Of The Gods Of War

Check out the screengrab above. I’d like to trace its lineage back to

Today in Commodities: Closing the Curtain on Q1

Matthew Bradbard submits: Yes folks, believe it or not Q1 is over this week. Crude is convincingly higher, closing above the 9 and 20 day MA for the first time in 8 days. We are abandoning all short strategies, as we said we would on a close above $82 in May. That is not to say we are getting long; we have advised clients to move to the sidelines. Buying was rejected in natural gas today with prices, as of this post, off their lows but 10 cents off their highs. We are almost at our threshold for pain on longs, so we most likely are close to turning around. New entries are advised to look at 50 cent call spreads in June; i.e.$4.00/4.50 or $4.25/4.75. Indices were all higher on the day but have yet to get above last Thursday’s highs. Whether we move higher or lower from here will likely be up to Friday’s NFP number. Complete Story

The Regulatory Revolving Door

Ira Stoll submits: In the post about Paulson & Co.’s $32 billion in assets under management we mentioned that one benefit of being that big is that you get invited to meetings like the one the FDIC held last week . Representing Paulson & Co. at the meeting, according to a participants list , was a senior vice president, Allen Puwalski, whose “Linked In” resume reports that he was chief of bank analysis at the FDIC from 2003 to 2005. Other participants included John L. Douglas, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell. Mr. Douglas, who was general counsel of the FDIC from 1987 to 1989, lately has been “counseling Citigroup with respect to FDIC matters,” according to his law firm’s Web site . Complete Story

Rising Consumer Spending Is Boosting ETFs

Tom Lydon submits: The money isn’t exactly flying around yet, but consumers opened their wallets a little wider last month. The news, which is what economists had anticipated, is sending exchange traded funds higher this morning. With consumer spending being two-thirds of the economy, you’d better believe that any improvement on that front will be greeted with a measure of jubilation. Consumer spending rose for the fifth straight month in February. The 0.3% growth matched economists’ expectations. Later this week, the Labor Department will deliver its monthly employment report. The consensus is that it will show jobs growth. Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ( XLY ) is up slightly this morning. [ Retail ETFs Have Their Work Cut Out. ] Complete Story

Toyota recall fix satisfies US, Toyota president apologizes

U.S.

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Toyota recall fix satisfies US, Toyota president apologizes

Dolphin Fever For J-Lo and Fergie

Well if Fergie is ever going to become part-owner of the Miami Dolphins – she’s hanging with the right crowd. The Black Eyed Pea’s star and singer/actor Jennifer Lopez were all smiles at the Dolphins game over the weekend

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Dolphin Fever For J-Lo and Fergie

Chavez threatens to nationalize Venezuelan banks

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he could nationalize private banks unless they comply with the law, adding he had “no problem with that because the banks don't want to extend credit to the poor.” In a broadcast from nationalized farmland in central Venezuela, he said: “To all the country's private bankers … (I'm saying) he who slips up loses; I'll take over the bank, whatever its size.” “You want me to nationalize the banks?” he said during the broadcast of his weekly TV show “Alo Presidente.” “I have no problem with that because the banks don't want to extend credit to the poor, they don't comply, they don't want to comply with the bank's purpose for existence, and that is the law.” Chavez said the purpose of banks was not to enrich a small group of people but “should be to collect funds and savings to help aid the country's development by making loans, extending credits for housing.” In power for a decade, Chavez has nationalized broad swathes of the economy.

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Chavez threatens to nationalize Venezuelan banks

Erin Andrews Gets Down and Dirty in GQ

Sports fans love Erin Andrews. They know and adore everything about her – how she was on the dance squad at the University of Florida, how she started out covering the NHL for a local TV channel in Tampa, how drunk college kids propose to her as she roams the sidelines. One “fan” who went too far: the freaking perv who shot that peephole video of Erin Andrews nude in a hotel.

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Erin Andrews Gets Down and Dirty in GQ