Paul Fiondella,I have been forced to re evaluate my INTC investment in view of Asian meltdown.Sold all my poition this am; I sold 90%of all my stock positions at noon today.Main reason was the Nikkei index
graph in the Wall Street Jour today in the International Section: it is heading straight down at a 30 degree angle within touchdown from it's 1987 crash lows ~ 14500 ( high of 32000 !! ).
I see no hope because according to WSJ :
_ US Congress ( Democrats/D.Gephardt, will not antre up money to bail out the UAW's competitoprs).
_ Korean debt, > 200 Bill: IMF loan o n l y 57 bill !!.
_Japanese Government, " p a r a l y z e d ".
_J apan Banks will start selling treasuries to pay debt as their stock holdings' values dwindle;this will drive our interest rates up.
I am poating the latest news tonight starting from this :
World Markets: South Korea Falls 2.6%; Tokyo, Hong Kong Also Weak
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- South Korean share prices narrowed their losses, but
were still almost 3% lower at midday Wednesday, with the key stock index
recovering on a rise in the Korean currency, the won, against the U.S.
dollar, analysts said.
Elsewhere, Tokyo stocks were lower at midday following the failure of
midsize Japanese brokerage house Maruso Securities Co. Tuesday.
The dollar was higher in Asian trading.
Hong Kong stocks opened lower, dragged down by steep looses in regional
markets and on Wall Street.
Seoul's Korea Composite Stock Price index was down 9.39 points, or 2.6%, to
close the morning session at 356.97. Tuesday, the index plunged 29.70 points,
or 8%. Trading was active with 53.1 million shares changing hands. However,
losers still overwhelmed winners 7 to 1.
The market was also being weighed down by continued fallout from downgrades
of the country's debt ratings and the exit of institutional investors out of
stocks into bonds as the interest rate on three-year corporate bonds
continued to rise.
In Seoul, the South Korean won strengthened to 1,835 won against the
dollar, compared with 1,962 won at Tuesday's close. The won plunged 14%
Tuesday, closing at an all-time low.
In Japan, the blue-chip Nikkei 225 stock index was down 8.99 points, or
0.06%, at 14790.41. Japanese financial markets were closed for a holiday
Tuesday; the Nikkei fell 515.49 points Monday.
Maruso Securities filed a petition Tuesday with the Tokyo District Court
for permission to start voluntary bankruptcy proceedings after it failed to
improve its loss-ridden financial situation. The Tokyo-based brokerage said
it collapsed under the weight of 44.5 billion yen in liabilities.
Japan's securities industry has been rocked by a string of collapses since
the beginning of November, including Yamaichi Securities Co. and Sanyo
Securities Co. Maruso is the fifth brokerage house to collapse this year.
Investors also fear Japan, reeling from its own financial difficulties,
could be pulled down even further by South Korea's troubles.
In Asian midday trading, the dollar was at 129.91 yen, up from 129.29 yen
late Tuesday in New York. The U.S. currency also was trading at 1.7750 marks,
up from 1.7745 marks late Tuesday in New York.
After 10 minutes in Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng index was down 79.38
points at 10288.72 after Tuesday's 195.63-point gain.
Hong Kong financial markets are closed Thursday and Friday for Christmas.
Tuesday on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Jones Industrial Average closed down
127.54 points, or 1.6%, at 7691.77. The bulk of the downturn in stocks came
in the final fifteen minutes of trading amid a bout of profit-taking.
Tuesday, shares in Brazil closed modestly higher, with the Sao Paulo Stock
Exchange's Bovespa index rising 60 points, or 0.6%, to close at 9554 points.
"Things were very calm, which was exactly what we had expected," said one Sao
Paulo trader, noting that there has been a complete lack of domestic
market-moving news over the past week.
Mexico City's IPC index closed down 0.1%, or 5.68 points, at 4925.89. A
last-hour plunge in New York stocks counteracted a positive reaction to
Mexican inflation figures and pulled Mexican stocks below break-even at the
close.
In Europe, London's FT-SE 100 index rose 31.6 points, or 0.6%, to close at
5049.8 after slipping 2.0 points on Monday. Provisional volume for the market
was 517.7 million shares. Dealers noted the London market suffered from quiet
trading as investors wrap up business ahead of the Christmas and New Year
holidays.
In Paris, the CAC-40 index slipped 11.60 points, or 0.4%, to close at
2858.13, after rising 1.7% Monday. French stocks couldn't shrug off the 7.5%
plunge in South Korea's bellwether index, traders said. The dollar's
two-and-half centime drop against the franc thwarted any attempt at a rally.
In Frankfurt, the blue-chip DAX index ended floor trading up 78.77 points,
or 1.9%, at 4121.79 after Monday's 1% decline. German shares were boosted by
a steady dollar and Monday's gains on Wall Street. Trading volumes were thin
ahead of the long Christmas holiday, as most market participants have already
closed their books for the year.
TA
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