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Strategies & Market Trends : The Epic American Credit and Bond Bubble Laboratory -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (8530)	2/24/2004 10:39:22 AM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 110194

If you encounter a ladybug, make a wish and chant: "Ladybird, ladybird fly away home. Your house is on fire and your children all roam." If the ladybug flies away, your wish will come true. Just saw one fly away, and the portfolio turned GREEN by $50!!! Yes, I am momentarily UP $50 today! The tide has turned. Everyone sell wallstreet garbage, and buy PM stocks fast today. The DEBT deception is coming to light. Greenspastic's colon is, well, spastic, and he's beginning to stutter and stammer. His red hotline to the Whitehouse is too hot to pick up. He's got the printing presses running and overheating to offer 0%, $0 down, and 5 free virgins (with various colored cloths for their faces) for all Muslim new home buyers. For those who think they are borrowed out, there is the new "borrow 3 get one free" home loan. Take out a third mortgage, and they will throw in a 4th one for free -- no payments until the day AFTER the election or global meltdown, whichever comes first. This new mortgage comes with an 8x10 glossy of Greenspasm standing by a sign that says, "Dow 6300 -- irrational exuberance." This man is a danger because his policies are directed at the stock market instead of the economy. He did this when he built the first bubble, and he's doing it again. They should not let very old people make decisions, because they know they will not have to be around to deal with the problems they create. I remain, SOROS (an old man who makes irrational decisions -- it takes one to know one)

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (8530)	2/24/2004 11:09:40 AM
From: Mannie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110194

Feb. Consumer Confidence Slumps Tue February 24, 2004 10:33 AM ET (Page 1 of 2) By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly hard in February as Americans grew disenchanted with the economy, mainly because of a dearth of new jobs, a report published on Tuesday said. The Conference Board, a private research firm, said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 87.3 in February from a downwardly revised 96.4 in January. Economists had forecast a drop to 92.5. February's reading was the lowest since October. "People are not happy. The big problem is the jobs situation. The lack of jobs has people scared," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "When people are scared they don't spend money, and the consumer has been the mainstay of this economy. At the same time, peoples' spending tends to be more influenced by their income than by their confidence," he added. U.S. stock indexes and the dollar fell sharply while Treasuries rallied on the grim news because it bolsters the case for the Federal Reserve to leave benchmark U.S. interest rates steady at 1 percent, their lowest level since 1958. "Consumers began the year on a high note, but their optimism has quickly given way to caution," said Lynn Franco, director of research at the Conference Board, adding "Consumers remain disheartened with current economic conditions, and at the core of their disenchantment is the labor market." The number of consumers saying jobs were hard to get rose in February to 32.1 percent, up from January's 31.6 percent. Consumers' view of the future also deteriorated, taking the expectations index down to 96.8 from 107.8, while the present situation index declined to 73.1 from 79.4. "This is disappointing given the recent rally in the equity markets and resumption of job growth in the U.S. It is quite surprising to see such a sharp pullback in confidence. Respondents are still finding increased difficulty in getting jobs and it suggests some risk to the economic outlook for the United States," said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Financial Group in Toronto. "It is possible that recent terrorism threats might be weighing on confidence," Guatieri added. Earlier on Tuesday mixed reports on weekly consumer spending habits were released. Continued ...