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 : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TobagoJack who wrote (60668)	2/4/2010 10:22:13 AM
From: No Mo Mo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217852

Good to hear. I have way too much cash and a flurry of buys sitting 3%-5% lower than here.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (60668)	2/4/2010 11:18:21 AM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Respond to of 217852

Watching for closer to 1K to back up the truck :O) but mid 10s reasonable... I have no crystal ball either :O)

To: TobagoJack who wrote (60668)	2/4/2010 12:36:46 PM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217852

the 1047 appears here but if that does not hold.. the 1K looks reasonable ? Select the 8 month view.. goldprice.org

To: TobagoJack who wrote (60668)	2/4/2010 1:20:15 PM
From: benwood	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217852

I don't mind 1047 being a floor for gold as long as I'm not stuck in the basement.

To: TobagoJack who wrote (60668)	2/4/2010 2:17:55 PM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217852

While the US has a focus point under pressure: Obama, Europe does not. This is a crucial difference. Obama under pressure (after naked senator won the Kennedy seat) decided to govern and establish his leadership. Europe does not have that focus point to exert pressure on it. Thus periphery a.k.a PIIGS sinking drags down Euroland. European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet is struggling to convince investors that the euro region shouldn’t be punished for Greece’s budget problems. businessweek.com As the Greek government tries to control its record deficit and the country’s bonds slide, Trichet today said the economy of the 16-nation euro area is solid and its budget shortfall will probably be smaller than those of the U.S. and Japan this year. The euro nevertheless fell more than half a cent against the dollar and Spanish and Portuguese stocks dropped on concern they are in a similar predicament to Greece. Trichet “did not convince me,” said Stuart Thomson, who helps manage $100 billion at Ignis Asset Management in Glasgow, Scotland. “Where does he think the Greek, Spanish and Portuguese economies will be three years from now? Their austerity measures will weigh on the euro area as a whole.” Trichet has been forced to fend off questions about the survival of the euro as investors doubt Greece’s ability to cut its deficit from 12.7 percent of gross domestic product to below the European Union’s 3 percent limit. As concern spreads to Spain and Portugal’s rising debt burdens, Trichet faces the difficult task of trying to stress the need for fiscal prudence without inflaming skepticism that it can be achieved. “Something has to happen to turn credibility around,” said Paul Mortimer-Lee, head of Market Economics at BNP Paribas in London. “The market’s just saying it’s not believable. It might have to get worse before it gets better.” Markets Shudder Spanish stocks dropped the most in 15 months today and Portugal led declines in government bonds. The euro fell to $1.3728, its lowest level against the dollar since last May. It has dropped more than 9 percent since Nov. 25. Greek bonds have tumbled in the past two months, pushing the yield on the country’s 10-year debt above 7 percent, the highest since 1999, the year the euro was introduced. The premium investors charge to hold Greek 10-year bonds over the benchmark German bund has widened to 356 basis points, about 10 times what it was two years ago. The ECB today left its benchmark rate at a record low of 1 percent and Trichet signaled the bank is in no rush to raise borrowing costs as the economy recovers gradually from its worst recession since World War II. Still, Trichet said the “solidity” of the euro area “is not necessarily very well known” and its situation compares “very flatteringly with a number of other industrialized countries.” Gradual Recovery The euro-area economy will grow 0.8 percent this year and 1.2 percent in 2011, according to the ECB’s December forecasts. It contracted 4 percent last year, the European Commission estimates. “Trichet is still trying to persuade markets that they should be looking at the euro area as a whole, which does not look that bad, rather than at individual countries, some of which look extremely fragile,” said Marco Annunziata, chief economist at UniCredit SpA in London. Spain’s public debt will rise to 74 percent of GDP by 2011 from 54 percent last year, according to European Commission forecasts. Greece’s debt will increase to 135 percent of GDP from 113 percent, and Portugal’s will increase to 91 percent from 77 percent, the EU estimates. Greece’s consolidation plans, which call for about 10 billion euros ($13.7 billion) of spending cuts and revenue increases this year, are more ambitious than any budget reduction achieved by euro-region countries since the 1970s, according to ING Group. Greece’s biggest union today approved a second mass strike this month to protest the spending cuts and tax collectors began a 48-hour walkout, illustrating the difficulty Prime Minister George Papandreou faces in implementing his plan. “We expect and we are confident that the Greek government will take all the decisions that will permit them to reach that goal,” Trichet said. Additional proposals announced by Greece this week to freeze public-sector wages and revamp the pension system “are steps in the right direction,” he said. --Editors: Matthew Brockett, Fergal O’Brien To contact the reporter on this story: Gabi Thesing in London at +44-207-6732153 or gthesing@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Fraher at +44-20-7673-2058 or jfraher@bloomberg

To: TobagoJack who wrote (60668)	2/4/2010 3:24:42 PM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 217852

Been Facebooking because my mom wanted it so ;o) Old tube of my 'Uncle' another Maurice :O) youtube.com