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

To: regli who wrote (48556)	3/23/2006 1:47:20 PM
From: ild	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

<<<"call/application to close" ratio which dropped>>> Could be that people are used to lower interest rates and today's higher rates turn them off. EDIT: Oil is back over $63. Last week there was such a big fuss when it dropped below $60. EDIT2: Last year Roach said that if oil stays over $50 for six months we'll have a recession. Now he is silent about oil.

To: regli who wrote (48556)	3/23/2006 2:05:27 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Brazil Unemployment Rate Hits 9-Month High biz.yahoo.com Thursday March 23, 12:15 pm ET Brazil Unemployment Rate Climbs to Nine-Month High of 10.1 Percent SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Unemployment in Brazil rose to a nine-month high of 10.1 percent in February, up from 9.2 percent the previous month, the government said Thursday. The jobless rate, at its highest level since last May, increased because employers let go temporary workers hired for the busy year-end sales season and more people entered the job market, according to the Brazilian Census Bureau. The rate came in above the expectations of analysts, who were predicting unemployment of 9.4 percent to 9.8 percent, according to a survey conducted by Brazil's Agencia Estado news agency. If joblessness continues to rise, it could hurt Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's anticipated campaign for re-election in October. Consumed by an ongoing corruption scandal, Lula's administration has tried to use the mostly positive news on Brazil's growing economy to shore up political support.

To: regli who wrote (48556)	3/23/2006 3:16:17 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Fannie Mae portfolio slides 7.2 pct in February Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:59 AM ET NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. home funding company, on Thursday said that its mortgage portfolio shrank by annualized 7.2 percent in February after declining 3.1 percent in January. The retained mortgage holdings ended last month at $720.8 billion, as the portfolio extended the shrinking pattern seen each month but one dating back through all of last year. Fannie Mae's mortgage holdings slid by an annualized 19.6 percent last year. The company has been downsizing its portfolio because mortgage assets have been costly and there has been increased competition from other investors. Also, the company had been raising capital to meet regulatory requirements due to accounting problems that will spur an estimated $11 billion earnings restatement. The company also said its average duration gap averaged zero months in February, unchanged from January. That measure of interest rate risk suggests the duration of the company's assets and liabilities are evenly matched. yahoo.reuters.com

To: regli who wrote (48556)	3/23/2006 4:35:07 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116555

Chilly reception for Icelandic bonds By Ivar Simensen Published: March 22 2006 18:39 \| Last updated: March 22 2006 18:39 Iceland did not sell any government bonds in its latest monthly auction on Wednesday, reflecting the uncertainty surrounding the country’s overheated economy. The Icelandic debt management agency did not accept any bids for the bonds, saying the yield investors demanded was too high to make a sale worthwhile. Iceland offered to sell up to IKr5bn of bonds with a four-year maturity, but only received bids worth a total of IKr3.7bn from 13 investors. The investors demanded a yield of 8.52 per cent on average to buy the bonds, which the debt management office declined. This was the second successive month that Iceland failed to sell any bonds at auction. The last time it auctioned the bonds, in January, the average yield was 8.11 per cent, which was up from a range of 7.2-7.8 per cent in last year’s auctions. Icelandic government bonds have dropped this year, sending yields sharply higher, amid investor concern about the state of its economy. The Icelandic stock market nearly quadrupled from the summer of 2003 and property prices in Reykjavik have roughly doubled in the same period. A negligible unemployment rate has driven inflation and consumer spending higher. On Tuesday, analysts at Danske Bank forecast a financial crisis and a severe recession in the Icelandic economy. They said the economy would contract by 5-10 per cent over the next two years, as investments and consumer spending dropped as much as 40 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. However, some economists disagree with the gloomy forecasts. Ingolfur Bender, head of research at Glitnir, formerly Islandsbanki, said a falling currency and rising exports, particularly from the aluminium sector, would balance falling consumption and investments. He forecast the Icelandic economy would grow 4.3 per cent this year and contract 0.1 per cent next year. The main Icelandic banks have in recent weeks all issued statements to reassure the market about their liquidity. They also argue that the expansion of the private sector has been mainly abroad, which has reduced their dependence on the domestic economy. The krona, which has dropped about 17 per cent since mid-January, recovered losses to end little changed at IKr71.40 against the dollar on Wednesday. The Icelandic benchmark stocks index rose 1.4 per cent to 6,232.6. news.ft.com