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Strategies & Market Trends : Technical analysis for shorts & longs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Johnny Canuck who wrote (44959)	8/16/2008 1:52:02 AM
From: Johnny Canuck	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 69913

3:05AM Merrill Lynch books $29 billion loss through U.K. unit by Chris Oliver HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Investment banking giant Merrill Lynch (ML) is unlikely to pay U.K corporate tax for many years after booking $29 billion in losses to its London-based subsidiary, according to a media report Friday. The investment bank may cut its U.K. tax bill by as much as $8 billion, as it offsets losses against future profits, the Financial Times reported Friday, using a calculation based on a 28% corporate tax rate. The report said regulatory filings show Merrill had a U.K. operating loss of about $29 billion booked though its U.K. subsidiary Merrill Lynch International. The losses arose from investments linked to collateralized debt obligations, complex debt securities backed often backed by U.S. subprime mortgages. 2:07AM New Zealand quarterly retail sales fall signals recession by Chris Oliver HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Retail sales in New Zealand fell at their fastest pace in more than a decade in the second quarter, as consumers tightened spending amid what's emerging as the sharpest consumption downturn since the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Retail sales volume fell a seasonally-adjusted 1.5% in the April-to-June period on quarter, after falling 1.2% in the first quarter, according to Statistics New Zealand Friday. The downturn, in line with analysts' expectations, was the steepest quarterly decline since the data series was first compiled in September 1995. The decline marked the first time retail sales have dropped for two straight quarters since the second quarter of 1998. 9:50PM Gold futures fall below $800 an ounce in early Asian trading by Chris Oliver HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures slid below $800 an ounce in Asian trading Friday, extending a 2% decline in U.S. trading Thursday. Gold for December delivery tumbled $14.80 to $799.70 an ounce in electronic trading in late Tokyo morning hours. It touched a low of $793.70 earlier in the session. The U.S. dollar strengthened against leading currencies Thursday, particularly against the euro, after data showed the euro zone economy contracted 0.2% in the second quarter. 4:53PM Rambus to cut 90 jobs, or about 20% of workforce (RMBS) by Wallace Witkowski SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Rambus Inc. (RMBS) said late Thursday it was cutting 90 jobs, or roughly 20% of its workforce, by the end of the year. The cuts will result in a workforce of about 340 employees, Rambus said. The company expects to take a restructuring charge of about $4 million over the next two quarters, and save about $17 million a year as a result of the cuts. 2:45PM Fed's Stern sees weak recovery, diminished inflation by Rex Nutting WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. economy is fighting headwinds from a severe credit crunch and will probably grow only modestly until easier credit is available, said Gary Stern, president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee. "Given the headwinds associated with the financial shock, the economy appears likely to be restrained until credit conditions improve, as they inevitably will," Stern said in a speech on Thursday in Three Forks, Montana. Stern said the economy looks a lot like it did in the early 1990s, which would "imply a continuation of only modest expansion in the economy, the likelihood of further increases in unemployment for a time, and a diminuation of inflation, absent a resurgence in energy and other commodity prices."