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

To: russwinter who wrote (56715)	3/24/2006 10:01:55 AM
From: CalculatedRisk	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 110194

New Home Sales CRASH. Sales of new one-family houses in February 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,080,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 10.5 percent (±12.4%)* below the revised January rate of 1,207,000 and is 13.4 percent (±12.5%) below the February 2005 estimate of 1,247,000.

To: russwinter who wrote (56715)	3/24/2006 9:29:43 PM
From: basho	Respond to of 110194

As far as I know, the Z-1 figures take account of all flows that together produce "corporate equities outstanding". I'd expect insider selling of newly issued shares and certainly all IPOs to be included. The figures are seriously lagged unfortunately so we won't see the March quarter figures til June 8th. Buybacks are actually very unfriendly from the point of view of bondholders who are also often severely disadvantaged when firms bought out in private equity deals are loaded with fresh debt, much of which often goes to pay back the PE partners. It seems to me the ongoing, indeed accelerating net retirement of corporate equities is another of those pink elephants that most analysts ignore. The numbers are very serious indeed: in the 4th quarter of 2005, buybacks accounted for 61% of total earnings, compared for example to dividends at 32%. As far as I can see, the overall effect is one of corporate cannibalisation with office holders loaded with stock options the only real beneficiaries.