Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 7:06:12 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

thanks

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 11:10:14 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Comptroller Dugan Expresses Concern About Negative Amortization Thursday December 1, 4:49 pm ET Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan expressed strong concern in a speech today about negative amortization in consumer loan products, particularly in the areas of credit cards and mortgages. biz.yahoo.com gee wasn't someone talking about that just today? ggg Mish

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 11:17:37 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Greenspan: Flat yield curve not always sign of weak economy Wednesday, December 7, 2005 5:44:48 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) -- Fed chief Alan Greenspan said a flattening in the yield curve is not a "foolproof indicator" of future economic weakness. The yield curve has been flattening as short-term yields have risen in step with the 12 Federal Reserve interest-rate increases since June 2004 while long-term rates have stayed low. Inverted curves came before each of the past four recessions. Greenspan noted that the yield curve also narrowed sharply in 1992-94 just as the economy was entering its longest expansion of the postwar period. His comments came in written answers to follow-up questions after his Nov. 3 testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress =============================================== Why are they harping about this again now? Mish

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 11:23:43 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

UK´s EU budget proposal accepted by only four of 25 member states - diplomat Wednesday, December 7, 2005 3:36:18 PM afxpress.com UK's EU budget proposal accepted by only four of 25 member states - diplomat BRUSSELS (AFX) - Only four of the EU's 25 member states back the budget proposal of the UK presidency, a diplomatic source said as foreign ministers seek to narrow differences over the bloc's future funding at emergency talks here "Four countries accept the presidency proposal," the source said, naming Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Malta and Slovenia He added that the rest of the EU is strongly opposed to the presidency's latest proposal for the 2007-13 budget The UK presidency is hoping for a deal at the EU summit next Thursday and Friday

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 11:25:28 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

RPT China could see slight deflation in 2006 - NDRC - Thursday, December 8, 2005 3:12:52 AM afxpress.com (Fixing headline typo) SHANGHAI (AFX) - China could see slight deflation in 2006, the official China Securities Journal reported, citing a report by the Academy of Macroeconomic Research at the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planning agency The report said China's monetary policy should focus on fighting deflation next year The government should prevent overcapacity from worsening by curbing investment growth while taking measures to boost consumption in its macroeconomic policies next year, the report suggested In the medium term, the report said slight deflation would be "inevitable" in mid-2006, citing indicators such as CPI, industry ex-factory prices and production material prices The slowdown in price growth has been accelerating since September, which implies mounting deflation pressure, the report said. China's CPI grew 1.2 pct on year in October, 3.1 percentage points down from a year earlier The CPI rose 0.9 pct on year in September, down 4.3 percentage points from a year earlier The academy also cited relatively weak money supply which is not lilkely to provide support to prices End-October M2 money supply rose 18 pct year on year while M1 money supply grew 12.1 pct for the same period The think tank also said financial institutions have been cautious in lending, which is another signal for potential deflation According to the report, the gap between savings and lending by financial institutions widened by 2.75 trln yuan as of the end of October from a year earlier to 9.03 trln yuan. The difference is expected to expand by 3 trln yuan this year, compared with 1.4 trln yuan in 2004 China's trade surplus could narrow, or at least remain flat, the report said, adding that the figure for 2005 could be close to 100 mln yuan, with a contraction likely next year The academy said it expects to see rapid growth in imports next year and a slower rate of growth in exports The report cited a possible correction in steel export growth, as well as in petrochemical and textile products, as further factors leading to deflation worries If that happens, it would worsen overcapacity in these industries and impact employment growth, the report said China should scrap export tax rebates for some high-energy consuming products and impose punitive measures to deter such types of production, it added

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 11:29:02 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

UK high street prices pick up in November - BRC UPDATE Wednesday, December 7, 2005 11:05:54 AM afxpress.com (Updating to add comments) LONDON (AFX) - Prices on the high street appear to be picking up, according to the British Retail Consortium In its monthly shop price index, the BRC said shop prices in November increased by 0.43 pct from October, driven by a rise of 1.22 pct in the price of non-food items. This was offset by food prices declining by 0.91 pct, the largest month-on-month decrease since December 2003. On a year-on-year basis, prices were 0.80 pct lower. That was the lowest rate since January. "The reliance on discounting to attract value-conscious customers and sustain the momentum in the pre-Christmas weeks kept overall shop prices in November at lower levels than a year ago," said Kevin Hawkins, the BRC's director general. However, he said the heavy promotions are likely to fade in the coming, as many retailers have taken a cautious view of sales and are operating on lower stock levels than last year

To: CalculatedRisk who wrote (42365)	12/7/2005 11:32:00 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Australia says political will exists to make WTO talks a success Wednesday, December 7, 2005 4:19:26 AM afxpress.com SYDNEY (AFX) - Australia's trade minister said he was optimistic after weekend talks with key economic powers that the political will exists to make World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks in Hong Kong this month a success Trade Minister Mark Vaile, an outspoken critic of the heavy farm subsidies that have stalled global trade negotiations, attended talks in Geneva last weekend involving the European Union, United States, Japan, Brazil and India "Having sat for nine or ten hours in a meeting in Geneva last Saturday with some key colleagues, my view is that the political commitment to get this deal done is there," he said, according to Agence France-Presse "We're in the concluding stages of preparation moving towards the ministerial meeting and so there are some tactical positions being taken." Vaile said he was adopting a "realistic" position towards what could be achieved at the WTO meeting from Dec 13-18, which was initially expected to result in a definitive agreement on removing agricultural trade barriers He said the meeting was now expected to lay the groundwork for reaching a final agreement on the Doha Round of trade talks some time in 2006 "We'll need to make a judgement in Hong Kong (whether) we have achieved enough in Hong Kong to achieve the Doha mandate by the end of the negotiations towards the end of 2006 -- that's the test that I'll apply," he said Vaile renewed his criticism of nations with high agricultural trade barriers "The discrimination against agriculture in world trade is a disgrace," he said. "It shames the rich countries of the developing world who continue to overly protect their agricultural industries." He said developed nations had succeeded in bringing down the average global tariff for manufactured goods to three percent while leaving the average agricultural tariff at 22 pct "While they want it on one hand, they're not prepared to concede access on the other hand (due to) their vested political circumstances," he said Vaile said some trade barriers were ridiculously high, citing a 771 pct tariff on rice imports in Japan and a 180 pct EU tariff on sugar imports