Obama plan helps lift global stock market gloom

Obama stimulus plan helps lift some global stock market gloom amid grim US retail news

LONDON (AP) -- World stock markets ended mixed on Thursday after President-elect Barack Obama made an urgent pitch to Congress to back his plan to resuscitate the U.S. economy.

While Asian and European markets ended in negative territory, broad U.S. stock indexes posted gains, as did most markets in Latin America.
Though Obama warned that the economic situation would likely get worse before it gets better, he said his plan to cut taxes and pump billions into the U.S. economy would help limit the depth and length of the recession. It was his highest-profile pitch for the plan, which is expected to total nearly $800 million.

"The message is just going down well (in the markets)," said Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Partners in London.
"There is a belief that there's something about this man and something about this plan," he added.
Those hopes helped European markets erase most of their earlier losses, which had been generated by mounting concerns about global economic growth as leading U.S. retailers revealed poor sales figures.
The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down only 2.14 points at 4,505.37 while Germany's DAX slipped 57.56 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,879.91, also off its session lows. The CAC-40 in France was 21.76, or 0.7 percent, down at 3,324.33.
U.S. stocks ended mostly higher, also boosted by an announced deal that would help prevent more mortgage foreclosures. Democratic lawmakers reached an agreement with Citigroup Inc. on a plan to let bankruptcy judges alter home loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.24 points, or 0.31 percent, to 8,742.46, but broader stock indicators advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.08, or 0.34 percent, to 909.73, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 17.95, or 1.12 percent, to 1,617.01.
Nevertheless, stocks remain on the defensive following a healthy rally in the run-up to the 2008 year-end and the early sessions of 2009, as investors grapple with grim economic news.

Bad news was the story of the day earlier Thursday following a raft of dismal retail sales reports in the U.S. Among the many retailers that reported steep sales declines were Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Kmart and Sears stores, luxury retailer Saks Inc., Gap Inc., and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. But the biggest surprise came from Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, which posted a smaller sales gain than had been expected by Wall Street and cut its fourth-quarter earnings outlook.
In Latin America, Brazil's Ibovespa index resumed its 2009 rally, ending up 2.9 percent at 41,991. On Wednesday the Sao Paulo market dropped 3.5 percent, snapping a six-session winning streak.
Elsewhere in the region, Argentina's Merval added 2.2 percent to end at 1,192 and Chile's IPSA finished up 0.3 percent at 2,486. In Mexico, where the economy is closely bound to the U.S., the IPC index lost 0.7 percent to 21,955.

Earlier, every major market in Asia fell, marking an end to a New Year's rally.
Stock market analysts said there's been a noticeable change in market sentiment over the last 24 hours or so as investors took heed of the warnings and the likelihood that Friday's closely watched U.S. non-farm payrolls data for December may be particularly grim.

Neil Mackinnon, chief economist at ECU Group, said the reaction to Friday's jobs data will be key to see if the markets can soldier on.
"If it's a bad report and equities finish on a positive tone, that will be a very encouraging sign for markets, but if it's really bad and equity markets slump, it will be challenging for markets for the rest of the quarter," he said.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 362.82, or 3.9 percent, to 8,876.42, snapping a seven-day winning streak as the yen traded higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 571.55 points, or 3.8 percent, to 14,415.91.

South Korea's Kospi shed 1.8 percent, while Australia's benchmark dropped 2.3 percent and Taiwan's key index lost 5.3 percent. India's market, which plunged Wednesday after the chairman of major outsourcing company Satyam Computer admitted doctoring the firm's accounts for several years, was closed for a holiday.
In the oil market, light, sweet crude for February delivery fell 93 cents to settle at $41.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a second day of declines after the U.S. government released more disheartening economic data and another inventory report suggested further erosion in energy demand. On Wednesday, prices tumbled more than 12 percent in the largest single-day percentage decline since September 2001.
The dollar, meanwhile, fell across the board after the Bank of England cut its key interest rate to a record low, but not as low as some traders expected. The British central bank cut its rate by half a percentage point to 1.5 percent, the lowest level in the bank's 315-year history. The British economy has been battered by a housing crisis and a string of failed retailers.
The euro rose to $1.3725 in late afternoon trading in New York from $1.3614 late Wednesday, while the British pound climbed to $1.5228 from $1.5132. The dollar also fell to 91.40 Japanese yen from 92.65 late Wednesday, and dropped to 1.0930 Swiss francs from 1.1026.


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Finding a new job becomes harder as layoffs mount

Finding a new job becomes harder as layoffs mount; unemployment expected to rise further

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of laid-off workers who are continuing to draw unemployment checks jumped more than expected to 4.6 million at the end of December and is likely to keep climbing this year -- fresh evidence that people are finding it increasingly difficult to get a new job amid a deepening recession.
The Labor Department's report Thursday also said first-time applications for jobless benefits dropped to 467,000 last week. But economists largely described that decline as a distortion, reflecting the government's difficulty in making seasonal adjustments over the holiday period. Even with the dip, the figure still signaled trouble in the labor market. A year ago, initial claims stood at 330,000.
Persistent economic woes -- housing, credit and financial crises -- along with a flurry of layoffs announcements in the opening days of 2009 all point to another terrible year for jobseekers, economists said.
Job hunter Barbara Slavin of Los Angeles knows that frustration.
"Many of the jobs I applied for I was qualified for and didn't get them," laments Slavin, 67, who was laid off last month as an executive assistant for a local Girl Scouts chapter. "I got a lot of energy. I like to work, and I don't know anybody who can live on Social Security alone."
She has worked a variety of places over the years, including a catering kitchen, a corporate newsletter and a software company.
The government's report showed that the number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by a sharp 101,000 to 4.6 million for the week ending Dec. 27, the most recent period for which that information is available. It was worse than the 4.5 million level of claims that economists had expected.
That increase left continued claims at the highest since November 1982, when the country was emerging from a deep recession, though the labor force has grown by about half since then. A year ago, this figure stood at nearly 2.7 million. The increase underscored the painful deterioration that has occurred in the jobs market.

"Workers getting laid off are not going to get hired any time soon," said John Silvia, chief economist at Wachovia.

Some economists believe the number of people drawing unemployment benefits could rise as high as 5.5 million this year -- even if a new government stimulus package is enacted.
President-elect Barack Obama called for a bold approach to revive the moribund economy.
"I don't believe it's too late to change course, but it will be if we don't take dramatic action as soon as possible," he said Thursday, the fourth straight day he talked about the economy, the No. 1 concern of most Americans.
"If nothing is done, this recession could linger," Obama warned. "The unemployment rate could reach double digits."
With employers throttling back hiring, the unemployment rate is expected to jump from 6.7 percent in November to 7 percent in December, which would be the highest in 15 1/2 years. The government releases that report Friday.
Obama, who takes over Jan. 20, is championing a massive package of tax cuts and government spending that could total $775 billion over two years. With add-ons by lawmakers, the package could swell to $850 billion, his advisers say.
With jobs disappearing, shoppers held tight to their wallets and pocketbooks at the end of 2008. The Federal Reserve said Thursday that consumers cut back on their borrowing on credit cards, and for such things as auto loans, at an annual rate of $7.94 billion in November, the biggest decline in 65 years of record keeping.

And retailers on Thursday reported dismal sales figures for December. Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. finally buckled under the pressure of the sinking economy, with its sales rising less than analysts had expected. Among the many retailers that reported steep sales declines were Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Kmart and Sears stores, luxury retailer Saks Inc. and Gap Inc.
Consumers and companies are folding under the forces of the collapsed housing market, a global credit crunch and the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. The recession, which started in December 2007, already is the longest in a quarter-century.

"Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy -- where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs, which leads to even less spending," Obama said.
This week alone, drugstore operator Walgreen Co., managed care provider Cigna Corp., aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., data-storage company EMC Corp. and computer products maker Logitech International all announced major layoffs to cope with a recession that has just entered its second year.
Pink slips are piling higher as companies scramble to cut costs even deeper. Electronic unemployment filing systems have crashed in at least three states in recent days due to the crush of Americans seeking jobless benefits.
For all of 2008, employers likely slashed payrolls by more than 2.4 million. That's based on economists' forecasts for a net loss of 550,000 additional jobs in December, as well as the job losses already reported every month last year by the government. Some, however, think the number of jobs cut last month will be higher -- around 600,000 or 700,000. That information also will be out Friday.
If the conservative 2.4 million estimate of net payroll reductions for 2008 proves correct, it would mark the first annual job loss since the previous recession in 2001. It also would be the worst year of job losses since 1945, when employers slashed nearly 2.8 million jobs, though the number of jobs in the U.S. has more than tripled since then.
On a more upbeat note Thursday, rates on 30-year mortgages this week fell to a new record low of 5.01 percent, a dose of good news for prospective home buyers -- if they can manage to get a home loan.

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Mich. expects deep budget cuts even with fed help

Gov. Granholm expects deep cuts to Mich. budget even with help from economic stimulus package

LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm was reassured Thursday when she heard President-elect Barack Obama unveil his economic stimulus plan, but warned the federal help won't save the state from deep budget cuts.

In his comments at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Obama made an urgent pitch for a mammoth spending proposal to prop up the failing national economy.
The situation is even more dire in Michigan, which has the nation's highest unemployment rate and a domestic auto industry struggling to survive. The state treasurer and directors of the Senate and House fiscal agencies meet Friday morning to estimate how much less tax revenue Michigan will bring in than expected because of the deepening recession.

Granholm expects the news to be grim. Her administration in February will put out a proposal for next's year's state budget, and economists estimate it will have to be hundreds of millions of dollars less than the current spending plan. Granholm said last month that does not plan to raise taxes during the final two years of her term.
"I believe that every aspect of the budget is going to see cuts. Every aspect," the governor warned in a Thursday phone call to The Associated Press from Virginia, where she had gone to hear Obama unveil his stimulus plan.
"Even with the excitement that this recovery and reinvestment plan generates, it's not going to totally fix the problem for state budgets across the country," she said. "It's not a budget-fixing plan. It's an investment plan for people."
Granholm, a member of the incoming administration's transition economic advisory board, has pinned her hopes for a state recovery on the development of new alternative technology and alternative energy jobs, such as the manufacturing of car batteries to power future plug-in hybrid cars and wind turbines that can replace existing power sources.

She said Thursday the help that Obama wants to provide in the way of tax cuts and investments in alternative energy will help her achieve that goal.

"I think he's going to make a significant commitment to creating jobs in that sector," she said. "The idea of putting people to work and reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and energy efficiency, that's sort of one sector of jobs that would be created."
Obama's plan to invest construction money in schools and university buildings and roads and bridges also will help Michigan, as will his plans to put more money into worker retraining and health care programs for the poor, Granholm said.
Michigan can't count on that help until a stimulus package gets through Congress and onto Obama's desk for his signature. But the governor was heartened by Obama's decision to offer incentives to create jobs, especially environmentally friendly ones.
"All of that job creation investment is going to be extremely beneficial to us as we try to diversify" away from the auto industry, she said. "I believe firmly that this will create jobs in Michigan this year if it's passed quickly."

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Venezuela inflation topped 30 percent in 2008

Central bank: Inflation in Venezuela reaches 30 percent in 2008

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's annual inflation climbed to 30.9 percent last year -- far above the government's target of 19.5 percent, the Central Bank reported Thursday.
Prices continued their upward surge in Venezuela last year even as economic growth slowed to 4.9 percent, down from 8.4 percent in 2007 and the slowest expansion since 2003.
Monthly nationwide inflation rose by 2.6 percent in December, rising from 2.3 percent in November as consumers increased spending during the holiday season, the Central Bank said.
The government hopes to cut inflation by half this year, but analysts say that lofty goal will be difficult to reach if public spending is not drastically reduced. President Hugo Chavez has vowed not to cut heavy spending on social programs that have made him popular among the poor.

"It's unlikely that the government is going to make important spending cuts," said Pavel Gomez, an economist at the IESA business school in Caracas.

Venezuela relies on oil sales to provide nearly half the government's budget and 94 percent of exports. But the drastic falls in oil prices are putting a pinch on Chavez's spending ability.

Some analysts expect Chavez may eventually be forced to devalue the currency, the bolivar, which is now fixed at 2.15 to the dollar. But Gomez believes the government will first try to introduce new taxes.
"If oil prices remain below $45 during all of 2009, the government is going to be thinking about a devaluation at the end of the year," he said.
A devaluation would allow officials to squeeze more bolivars out of each petrodollar, but the measure also would boost what already is the highest inflation rate in Latin America.

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Ventas Closes on Sale of Four Seniors Housing Assets to Benchmark

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ventas, Inc. (NYSE: VTR - News) (“Ventas” or the “Company”) said today that it has closed on the sale of four seniors housing assets to affiliates of Benchmark Assisted Living (collectively, “Benchmark”) for an aggregate sale price of $58.7 million. The assets are located in Massachusetts and contain 403 units.

The purchase price represents an 8.5 percent capitalization rate on cash rent. The sale was made pursuant to a purchase option that Benchmark held, which was in place prior to Ventas’s ownership of the assets. Prior to the sale, Benchmark was the tenant in these four seniors housing assets. Ventas expects to record a gain of approximately $11 million on the sale.

“Ventas continues to generate additional liquidity in this difficult capital market environment,” Ventas Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Debra A. Cafaro said. “We continue to enhance Ventas’s financial strength and flexibility to achieve the dual aims of managing successfully through a protracted downturn and positioning the Company to take advantage of opportunities when circumstances warrant.”

Net cash proceeds to Ventas of $20 million will be used to pay down debt or for general corporate purposes. Benchmark assumed $38.8 million of existing mortgage debt in the transaction.

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Forex trading rules for beginers III

Mistakes are unavoidable, but learn from mistakes and do not repeat it

Mistakes are unavoidable, please do not blame yourself, the important thing is to learn from mistakes, avoid making the similar mistake again, the faster you learn to accept loss and remembers the lesson, the days of profit making will be much more closer. Moreover, must learn to control emotion do not be proud after making profit, also do not feel depress after losing money. During Forex trading, the lesser the emotion, the more clearer you can see the market and make the right decision. Forex traders must face the reality calmly, Forex traders must understand that they will not learn from profit taking but they will only learn from loss. After understanding the reason behind every loss, this means that you are approaching the profit making path, because you had found the correct direction.

Oneself is the biggest enemy
The biggest enemy of a Forex trader is oneself - greedy, irritable, the out of control mood, and so on, is very easy to let you neglect the market trend which causes the wrong trading decision. Do not do trading because of bored or it has been a long time of none trading, there is no specific rule saying that a Forex trader must do how many tradings within a period of time.

Record the trading details
Record all the trading details, whether there is certain news or other reasons that influence you to trade, after the trade record and analyze the result of the profit and loss. If the result of the trading is profitable, this indicates that your analysis is correctly, when such similar situation appear again, your trading records will be helpful for you to rapidly makes the correct trading decision; wherelse the loss trading record will help you from making the same mistake again. Forex traders could not remember the history of every trading, therefore record is helpful in enhancing your Forex trading skill and also to look for mistakes.

Follow the trend, never against the trend
Remember the Forex market ancient general rule: Settle the position when it starts to loss, put as long as possible when it is profit making. Another important rules is do not let loss happen when it is making profit, when there is reverse trend in the market, it is better to make profit during the profit making situation then to settle position at the non-profitable situation.

Do not eagerly enter the Forex market after making loss

During the loss situation, do not eagerly open a new reverse market position in order to recoup from loss, this will only cause the situation to become worse. Only when you have agreed that your anticipation and decision in the past was completely wrong, then only you settle the old position and start a new reverse market position. Do not play with the Forex market through guessing, it is better to loss the opportunity then losing money.

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Forex trading rules for beginers II

Use stop loss to reduce risk

In Forex trading, Forex trader must be able to afford taking loss, using the stop loss will prevent any further loss, the affordable loss depends on the account available margin situation. If there is a stop loss, Forex traders should not feel upset because he or she has prevented the loss from getting worse.
Act according to own ability
It depends on the margin in the account to decide the trading volume. Generally, all combine trading position should not surpass 10% the account margin based on this rule. It is not wise to over trade, is very easy to have the loss out of control.

The account margin must be sufficient
The lesser the trading margin, the risk will become bigger, therefore must avoid letting the account margin left only suffice 50 undulations levels, such account amount does not allow any mistake to happen, but, even a well-experienced Forex trader could also make mistakes.

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