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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (402488)	7/28/2008 12:40:59 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1574786

Putin has 70% approval in Russia. HIS people think he's great. I know. That's why I am worried.

To: bentway who wrote (402488)	7/28/2008 12:44:38 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574786

Substantial Losses at Midday Last Update: 28-Jul-08 12:05 ET Dow -128.07 at 11243.90, Nasdaq -20.60 at 2289.90, S&P -8.29 at 1249.82 [BRIEFING.COM] At midday, stocks are trading with substantial losses near session lows as financials come under selling pressure and oil prices (+0.8% to $124.12) regain some lost ground. Overall it was a slow news day with only handful of earnings reports and no economic data. The weakness is mostly broad-based, with eight of the ten sectors posting a loss. The financial sector got off to a good start, rising 1.6%, even though news this morning was not great. Over the weekend, the FDIC shut down two under capitalized regional banks -- First Nation Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank -- marking the sixth and seventh failure this year. The banks' deposits were taken over by Mutual of Omaha. The closures do not come as a complete shock, as it is widely expected that more regional banks will fail, although the news certainly does not help bring buyers to the table. The financial sector is down 1.5% at midday, as a sharp drop in shares of Merrill Lynch (MER 25.07, -2.47) sent the sector tumbling. There is no specific news item to account for the drop in MER, although there are heightened concerns due to some increased options buying. The consumer discretionary sector is posting a substantial loss of 1.7%, as the 0.8% rise crude oil prices weighs on the oil-sensitive names. Conversely, the energy sector is leading the way with a 0.8% gain. In earnings news, telecom (-1.1%) is a laggard as investors sour to Verizon Communication's (VZ 33.78, -0.67) earnings. The company reported slightly higher-than-expected earnings due to solid wireless growth, although Wall Street is concerned with the company's flagging land-line business and DSL service. Kraft Foods (KFT 30.78, +1.40) is sporting a solid gain after the company topped Wall Street's estimate with a 16% increase in second quarter earnings per share. The company was able to offset soaring commodity costs by passing increased prices on to consumers. Conversely, Tyson Foods (TSN 15.35, -0.88) was not able to pass along price increases. Tyson reported a 90% drop in earnings per share, which fell short of expectations. Amgen (AMGN 60.32, +6.40) is the best performing stock this session. Wall Street is pleased with the biotech firm's positive osteoporosis drug trial results. In deal news, private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is going public through a takeover of its struggling European affiliate KKR Private Equity. The Wall Street Journal reports the company, which will trade on the NYSE as KKR, may be valued between $12 billion and $15 billion. As stocks falter, Treasuries rally. The 10-year note is up 22 ticks, sending its yield to around 4.0%. news.briefing.com