Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
股票投资
股票投资
股市对态度正确的人是金矿，对态度错误的人是坟墓。那麽，什麽是股票投资的正道，又什麽是股票投资的“左道”？很简单“左道”就是在股市投机。“正道”就是从商业的角度，依据基本面进行投资。股票投资者如果一开始就对股市存着错误的观念，以为可以在股市快捷致富，那麽，他的下场，几乎肯定是悲惨的。如果你以为股市是个做无本生意的地方－－可以靠“对敲”致富，而且上了“对敲”的瘾，那麽，你已患上软骨症，永远站不起来。如果你存着一种想法：可以击败股市，那麽你是自讨苦吃，因为你已成为孙悟空，永远跳不出股市这个如来佛的手掌，最後必然是来也空空，去也空空。而导致“左道”投资者无法抬头的最主要原因，是因为股市的游戏，是“零数游戏”（ZERO SUM GAME），是因为不存在的价值，最终一定会消失无踪，是因为财富的创造，必须建立在价值的创造上。作为经济的一部份，作为商业的一环，股票价值不能无中生有。无中生有如果存在，也只能是昙花一现，－－晚上开花，太阳还没有升上来就枯萎了。股票市场，实在是个天才的发明，但是，演变到今天，已逐渐变质，成为最大的赌场－－大马百万的“股友”，美其名为“投资者”，实际上，绝大多数是“赌友”－－抱着“搏一搏”的心理进场，股票是筹码，跟它所代表的资产和业务脱节。“赌友”们的普遍态度是“管他是好股还是坏股，只要会起，就是好股”。大部份人不了解公司，也没有兴趣去研究，他们把重点放在股市，不投向公司，投向股价，不投向基本面。我目击数以万计的PN4/PN17公司的股东，亏掉了数百亿令吉的血汗钱，而其中绝大部份是散户。我发现散户们在股市一错再错－－屡战屡败。我为他们惋惜。
股市对态度正确的人是金矿，对态度错误的人是坟墓。那麽，什麽是股票投资的正道，又什麽是股票投资的“左道”？很简单“左道”就是在股市投机。“正道”就是从商业的角度，依据基本面进行投资。股票投资者如果一开始就对股市存着错误的观念，以为可以在股市快捷致富，那麽，他的下场，几乎肯定是悲惨的。如果你以为股市是个做无本生意的地方－－可以靠“对敲”致富，而且上了“对敲”的瘾，那麽，你已患上软骨症，永远站不起来。如果你存着一种想法：可以击败股市，那麽你是自讨苦吃，因为你已成为孙悟空，永远跳不出股市这个如来佛的手掌，最後必然是来也空空，去也空空。而导致“左道”投资者无法抬头的最主要原因，是因为股市的游戏，是“零数游戏”（ZERO SUM GAME），是因为不存在的价值，最终一定会消失无踪，是因为财富的创造，必须建立在价值的创造上。作为经济的一部份，作为商业的一环，股票价值不能无中生有。无中生有如果存在，也只能是昙花一现，－－晚上开花，太阳还没有升上来就枯萎了。股票市场，实在是个天才的发明，但是，演变到今天，已逐渐变质，成为最大的赌场－－大马百万的“股友”，美其名为“投资者”，实际上，绝大多数是“赌友”－－抱着“搏一搏”的心理进场，股票是筹码，跟它所代表的资产和业务脱节。“赌友”们的普遍态度是“管他是好股还是坏股，只要会起，就是好股”。大部份人不了解公司，也没有兴趣去研究，他们把重点放在股市，不投向公司，投向股价，不投向基本面。我目击数以万计的PN4/PN17公司的股东，亏掉了数百亿令吉的血汗钱，而其中绝大部份是散户。我发现散户们在股市一错再错－－屡战屡败。我为他们惋惜。
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Technical Trading Strategies candle
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Technical Trading Strategies
Technical analysts and traders believe that certain stock chart patterns and shapes are signals for profitable trading opportunities. Many professional and amateur traders claim that they consistently make trading profits by following those signals. In this chapter we introduce eight types of stock patterns and the corresponding trading strategies, that, according to our extensive historical tests, give the trader an advantage.
Candle Stick Trend Reversal
A candle stick chart is a good presentation of a stock’s momentum. On a candlestick chart, one can easily see the secession of up days, down days and sudden changes in the stock pattern. The following figure is an example of what is sometimes called "First Sunny Day", a typical buy pattern.
Figure 11. A Trend Reversal pattern. After a long, long decline, the stock suddenly goes up in significant magnitude. Furthermore, it closes much higher above its open. This "First Sunny Day" sends a short-term buy signal.
The trading strategy for a "First Sunny Day" pattern is to buy the stock and hold until it recovers the range lost by the recent secession of down days, or to cut losses if it drops back to the prior day's low. This pattern usually signals a very good profit-risk ratio.
Figure 12. This is a short-term Trend-Reversal pattern. After a long, long rise, the stock suddenly drops; its close is much lower than its open. This pattern hints that something has suddenly gone wrong with the stock. This so-called "Sudden Cloudy Day" pattern indicates one should sell the stock without delay.
In this example of the, "Sudden Cloudy Day"pattern, the trading strategy is to short the stock and hold it until it retraces the recent secession of up days or to cut losses if it breaks the previous day's high.
For longer-term trend-reversal patterns, we often look for the "Shooting Star"; as shown in the example above. We also look for the "T-Shape"which signals a bounce-back buy signal.
Figure 13. The stock price soared considerably in the past few days. At present, it shoots up, as if exhausting all its energy. This Shooting Star pattern hints that the market has lost confidence in the further potential of the stock, indicating a likely downturn.
Figure 14. The stock price dropped over several days. Presently, it drops precipitously, then bounces back to close near the open, forming a "T" shape. This may indicate that the market finally has finally decided the stock has dropped enough, with many bullish traders and investors coming to the rescue.
Technical analysts and traders believe that certain stock chart patterns and shapes are signals for profitable trading opportunities. Many professional and amateur traders claim that they consistently make trading profits by following those signals. In this chapter we introduce eight types of stock patterns and the corresponding trading strategies, that, according to our extensive historical tests, give the trader an advantage.
Candle Stick Trend Reversal
A candle stick chart is a good presentation of a stock’s momentum. On a candlestick chart, one can easily see the secession of up days, down days and sudden changes in the stock pattern. The following figure is an example of what is sometimes called "First Sunny Day", a typical buy pattern.
Figure 11. A Trend Reversal pattern. After a long, long decline, the stock suddenly goes up in significant magnitude. Furthermore, it closes much higher above its open. This "First Sunny Day" sends a short-term buy signal.
The trading strategy for a "First Sunny Day" pattern is to buy the stock and hold until it recovers the range lost by the recent secession of down days, or to cut losses if it drops back to the prior day's low. This pattern usually signals a very good profit-risk ratio.
Figure 12. This is a short-term Trend-Reversal pattern. After a long, long rise, the stock suddenly drops; its close is much lower than its open. This pattern hints that something has suddenly gone wrong with the stock. This so-called "Sudden Cloudy Day" pattern indicates one should sell the stock without delay.
In this example of the, "Sudden Cloudy Day"pattern, the trading strategy is to short the stock and hold it until it retraces the recent secession of up days or to cut losses if it breaks the previous day's high.
For longer-term trend-reversal patterns, we often look for the "Shooting Star"; as shown in the example above. We also look for the "T-Shape"which signals a bounce-back buy signal.
Figure 13. The stock price soared considerably in the past few days. At present, it shoots up, as if exhausting all its energy. This Shooting Star pattern hints that the market has lost confidence in the further potential of the stock, indicating a likely downturn.
Figure 14. The stock price dropped over several days. Presently, it drops precipitously, then bounces back to close near the open, forming a "T" shape. This may indicate that the market finally has finally decided the stock has dropped enough, with many bullish traders and investors coming to the rescue.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
trader
You often hear traders say that it is easier to trade professionally with a company's’s capital than to trade on their own time with their own money. Normally, they might have financial planners manage their money or put it into mutual funds. This shows how traders actually tend to be more disciplined when dealing professionally with a company's’s money than they are when dealing with the loss and gain of their own money in the market. To be a successful trader, you need that professional calm!
One successful investor who made millions defined stock trading as gambling. To some extent it is true: both depend on common strategies and discipline. You need to know when to bet small and when to bet big, when to check, and when to quit. Although the stock market is vastly more complex and far more grounded in information variables than gambling, they both require that you exercise strict discipline, clear judgment, that you do your homework, and that you set firm goals and limits. Sometimes in trading, the most important work you can do is exercising patience, confidence, and discipline. You need to stay calm, keeping your mind clear and focused. When you make a bet on a price going up or down, your intuition needs to be well informed. You need to understand what your risk is (Risk Assessment), what the probability of winning is, how much damage you can incur if events go badly South! Sound like gambling? It is true in trading or investing that people tend to dream about how much money they are going to make, tending to ignore the down side.
Is your bet good or bad? Agreed, as in gambling, intuition does a lot of work. But in investing, intuition does not come from nowhere. Good intuition starts with good education and good psychological habits. When you begin to win, you can't think of yourself as a winner yet because if you lose caution and become greedy, you can lose your gain in an instant. More importantly, if you should happen to lose, you can't let yourself conclude that a single loss makes you a loser: it won't, so long as you keep to your strategy, like a professional, and cut losses promptly. If you vainly cherish your hope that a stock will bounce back up after a setback, you may end up losing more than 50% of your money, when otherwise you could easily have closed off your position at -10% and kept costs to a minimum. Losing money can be very upsetting, but you need to be consistent and not quit the game easily. Learn to use a loss as a lesson, just as professional traders (or gamblers) do, and determine why you lost. In this way, you maximize your chance to become a better warrior. You should keep a close record of your trades, noting decision strategy, variables. Be systematic, just like a photography student who makes notes about each exposure to learn from inevitable mistakes. Talk with your friends and listen closely to trading tips, but in the end, you have to make your own judgments. Believe in yourself. If your next pick ends up being wrong, that may mean you haven't yet done sufficient homework on that stock to realize a win.
Homework is the most important thing to do before any trade. By doing your homework, you complete a definite set of steps that will guide you toward a successful outcome. First of all, set your market goals: Do you want to trade long-term (from one year to many years), mid-term (two months to a year), or short-term (every week, even every day)? Then, once you've set them, stay true to goal boundaries. For example, traders who set their sights long term may end up losing money by indulging in a tempting but ill-prepared short-term plunge.
After you've set your goal, you'll need to concentrate on specific industry sectors. By specializing in a couple of different sectors you avoid putting all your eggs into a single basket. Within each sector, choose stocks you want to invest in. Ask yourself questions such as, Why do I want to invest in this stock? Is it because its rating of strength relative to that of the industry is very high? Does it have leading-edge products or technologies that I believe are going to fly? Or does the stock follow the technical patterns very well? In other words, does the stock chart conform to a reliable and understandable model? Positive responses to these questions can help you feel comfortable in placing a stock on your short list of candidates.
One successful investor who made millions defined stock trading as gambling. To some extent it is true: both depend on common strategies and discipline. You need to know when to bet small and when to bet big, when to check, and when to quit. Although the stock market is vastly more complex and far more grounded in information variables than gambling, they both require that you exercise strict discipline, clear judgment, that you do your homework, and that you set firm goals and limits. Sometimes in trading, the most important work you can do is exercising patience, confidence, and discipline. You need to stay calm, keeping your mind clear and focused. When you make a bet on a price going up or down, your intuition needs to be well informed. You need to understand what your risk is (Risk Assessment), what the probability of winning is, how much damage you can incur if events go badly South! Sound like gambling? It is true in trading or investing that people tend to dream about how much money they are going to make, tending to ignore the down side.
Is your bet good or bad? Agreed, as in gambling, intuition does a lot of work. But in investing, intuition does not come from nowhere. Good intuition starts with good education and good psychological habits. When you begin to win, you can't think of yourself as a winner yet because if you lose caution and become greedy, you can lose your gain in an instant. More importantly, if you should happen to lose, you can't let yourself conclude that a single loss makes you a loser: it won't, so long as you keep to your strategy, like a professional, and cut losses promptly. If you vainly cherish your hope that a stock will bounce back up after a setback, you may end up losing more than 50% of your money, when otherwise you could easily have closed off your position at -10% and kept costs to a minimum. Losing money can be very upsetting, but you need to be consistent and not quit the game easily. Learn to use a loss as a lesson, just as professional traders (or gamblers) do, and determine why you lost. In this way, you maximize your chance to become a better warrior. You should keep a close record of your trades, noting decision strategy, variables. Be systematic, just like a photography student who makes notes about each exposure to learn from inevitable mistakes. Talk with your friends and listen closely to trading tips, but in the end, you have to make your own judgments. Believe in yourself. If your next pick ends up being wrong, that may mean you haven't yet done sufficient homework on that stock to realize a win.
Homework is the most important thing to do before any trade. By doing your homework, you complete a definite set of steps that will guide you toward a successful outcome. First of all, set your market goals: Do you want to trade long-term (from one year to many years), mid-term (two months to a year), or short-term (every week, even every day)? Then, once you've set them, stay true to goal boundaries. For example, traders who set their sights long term may end up losing money by indulging in a tempting but ill-prepared short-term plunge.
After you've set your goal, you'll need to concentrate on specific industry sectors. By specializing in a couple of different sectors you avoid putting all your eggs into a single basket. Within each sector, choose stocks you want to invest in. Ask yourself questions such as, Why do I want to invest in this stock? Is it because its rating of strength relative to that of the industry is very high? Does it have leading-edge products or technologies that I believe are going to fly? Or does the stock follow the technical patterns very well? In other words, does the stock chart conform to a reliable and understandable model? Positive responses to these questions can help you feel comfortable in placing a stock on your short list of candidates.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
fkli resistance 905 n 915
Dow May Fall to 6,000 Should Low Break, Acampora Says (Update1)
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By Elizabeth Stanton
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A decline in U.S. stock indexes below the 2008 lows from November may trigger a rout that pushes benchmark averages to levels not seen since the mid-1990s, according to two leading technical analysts.
“Hopefully we don’t make new lows, because if we do, all bets are off,” said Ralph Acampora, who retired from Knight Capital Group Inc. in October 2007 after four decades on Wall Street. Should the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall below the 7,552.29 it touched on Nov. 20, it might tumble to 6,000, Acampora said. That’s 27 percent below yesterday’s close of 8,212.49 and a level last reached in October 1996.
The lows reached by the Dow average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in November are “a very, very significant area” because they are roughly where the last bear market ended in 2003, said John Murphy, chief technical analyst at StockCharts.com and the author of three books on market analysis. “If that’s broken, it becomes very negative.”
Both analysts spoke as part of a panel discussion about technical analysis, which involves making predictions based on historical trading patterns, at Bloomberg LP’s New York office.
The S&P 500 is down 5.4 percent this month, including a 4.1 percent slide this week after profits from Alcoa Inc. trailed estimates and investors speculated banks need capital. After rallying 20 percent from its Nov. 20 low on speculation government spending would revive the economy, the Dow fell as much as 9.2 percent. It rose 1.1 percent to 8,305.75 as of 10:09 a.m. in New York today.
Biggest Drops
Both indexes posted their biggest annual declines since the Great Depression in 2008, with the S&P 500 reaching an 11-year low of 752.44 and the Dow sliding to its worst level since 2003 on Nov. 20. Stocks tumbled as more than $1 trillion in bank losses froze lending and spurred a global recession.
The S&P 500 slipped below 776.76, the worst level of the 2001-2002 bear market, in November.
Acampora, whose career also included decade-long stints at Prudential Equity Group LLC, Smith Barney and Kidder Peabody & Co., said that while the past two weeks are “very disturbing,” he’s still “willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.” He cited the time that has passed since the lows were hit and positive breadth, in which rising stocks outnumber falling ones.
Even if the 2008 lows are not revisited, the market is probably in a trading range comparable to the ones that followed the 1929 crash and the bull market of the 1960s, Acampora said. The Dow average is unlikely to exceed its October 2007 peak of 14,164.53 for at least four years, he said.
Trading Range
After the 1929 crash, the Dow fluctuated between about 100 and 200 until 1950 when it began a sustained move higher. From 1966 to 1982, the average traded between about 600 and 1,000.
U.S. stocks rose yesterday, erasing a drop of more than 3 percent for the S&P 500, led by retailers, technology and energy companies. The S&P 500 sank 38 percent last year and the Dow fell 34 percent amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the first simultaneous recessions in the U.S., Japan and Europe since World War II.
Among Acampora’s past calls was a 1997 prediction that the Dow would reach 10,000. It rose to that level in March 1999.
Murphy said the November lows are likely to be broken, in part because the dollar’s recent strength against the euro signals lower share prices globally, as foreign equity markets are correlated to local currencies.
“There’s another down leg coming,” Murphy said. “Normally the market comes down in five legs. We’ve come down in two. I think we’re going to test those lows at the very least, and eventually probably take them out.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 16, 2009 10:12 EST
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By Elizabeth Stanton
Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- A decline in U.S. stock indexes below the 2008 lows from November may trigger a rout that pushes benchmark averages to levels not seen since the mid-1990s, according to two leading technical analysts.
“Hopefully we don’t make new lows, because if we do, all bets are off,” said Ralph Acampora, who retired from Knight Capital Group Inc. in October 2007 after four decades on Wall Street. Should the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall below the 7,552.29 it touched on Nov. 20, it might tumble to 6,000, Acampora said. That’s 27 percent below yesterday’s close of 8,212.49 and a level last reached in October 1996.
The lows reached by the Dow average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in November are “a very, very significant area” because they are roughly where the last bear market ended in 2003, said John Murphy, chief technical analyst at StockCharts.com and the author of three books on market analysis. “If that’s broken, it becomes very negative.”
Both analysts spoke as part of a panel discussion about technical analysis, which involves making predictions based on historical trading patterns, at Bloomberg LP’s New York office.
The S&P 500 is down 5.4 percent this month, including a 4.1 percent slide this week after profits from Alcoa Inc. trailed estimates and investors speculated banks need capital. After rallying 20 percent from its Nov. 20 low on speculation government spending would revive the economy, the Dow fell as much as 9.2 percent. It rose 1.1 percent to 8,305.75 as of 10:09 a.m. in New York today.
Biggest Drops
Both indexes posted their biggest annual declines since the Great Depression in 2008, with the S&P 500 reaching an 11-year low of 752.44 and the Dow sliding to its worst level since 2003 on Nov. 20. Stocks tumbled as more than $1 trillion in bank losses froze lending and spurred a global recession.
The S&P 500 slipped below 776.76, the worst level of the 2001-2002 bear market, in November.
Acampora, whose career also included decade-long stints at Prudential Equity Group LLC, Smith Barney and Kidder Peabody & Co., said that while the past two weeks are “very disturbing,” he’s still “willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.” He cited the time that has passed since the lows were hit and positive breadth, in which rising stocks outnumber falling ones.
Even if the 2008 lows are not revisited, the market is probably in a trading range comparable to the ones that followed the 1929 crash and the bull market of the 1960s, Acampora said. The Dow average is unlikely to exceed its October 2007 peak of 14,164.53 for at least four years, he said.
Trading Range
After the 1929 crash, the Dow fluctuated between about 100 and 200 until 1950 when it began a sustained move higher. From 1966 to 1982, the average traded between about 600 and 1,000.
U.S. stocks rose yesterday, erasing a drop of more than 3 percent for the S&P 500, led by retailers, technology and energy companies. The S&P 500 sank 38 percent last year and the Dow fell 34 percent amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the first simultaneous recessions in the U.S., Japan and Europe since World War II.
Among Acampora’s past calls was a 1997 prediction that the Dow would reach 10,000. It rose to that level in March 1999.
Murphy said the November lows are likely to be broken, in part because the dollar’s recent strength against the euro signals lower share prices globally, as foreign equity markets are correlated to local currencies.
“There’s another down leg coming,” Murphy said. “Normally the market comes down in five legs. We’ve come down in two. I think we’re going to test those lows at the very least, and eventually probably take them out.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Elizabeth Stanton in New York at estanton@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 16, 2009 10:12 EST
Friday, January 16, 2009
heavy cross fire seller vs buyer
Buy Ringgit Options as Exports Dwindle, Barclays Says (Update1)
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By David Yong
Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s ringgit will weaken as falling commodity prices erode the trade surplus and the central bank cuts interest rates to revive economic growth, according to Barclays Capital Plc.
To profit from the decline, the U.K. investment bank recommended a one-month ringgit put option against the dollar with a so-called reverse knock-out price, according to a research report issued yesterday. This type of derivative is a cheaper alternative to a regular option because the knock-out barrier limits the maximum return.
“The drivers of Malaysia’s balance of payments dynamics are turning against the ringgit,” Goh Puay Yeong, a currency strategist at the bank, which is the third-biggest trader of foreign exchange, wrote in the report. “With oil prices falling, Malaysia’s export buffer from energy-related commodities is also rapidly thinning.”
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By David Yong
Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s ringgit will weaken as falling commodity prices erode the trade surplus and the central bank cuts interest rates to revive economic growth, according to Barclays Capital Plc.
To profit from the decline, the U.K. investment bank recommended a one-month ringgit put option against the dollar with a so-called reverse knock-out price, according to a research report issued yesterday. This type of derivative is a cheaper alternative to a regular option because the knock-out barrier limits the maximum return.
“The drivers of Malaysia’s balance of payments dynamics are turning against the ringgit,” Goh Puay Yeong, a currency strategist at the bank, which is the third-biggest trader of foreign exchange, wrote in the report. “With oil prices falling, Malaysia’s export buffer from energy-related commodities is also rapidly thinning.”
Thursday, January 15, 2009
heavy fire....selling pressure...
Buy Reverse Knock-Out as Slowdown Hurts Ringgit, Barclays Says
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By David Yong
Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Malaysia’s ringgit will weaken as falling commodity prices erode the trade surplus and the central bank cuts interest rates to revive economic growth, according to Barclays Capital Plc.
To profit from the decline, the U.K. investment bank recommended a one-month ringgit put option against the dollar with a so-called reverse knock-out price, according to a research report issued yesterday. This type of derivative is a cheaper alternative to a regular option because the knock-out barrier limits the maximum return.
“The drivers of Malaysia’s balance of payments dynamics are turning against the ringgit,” Goh Puay Yeong, a currency strategist at the bank, which is the third-biggest trader of foreign exchange, wrote in the report. “With oil prices falling, Malaysia’s export buffer from energy-related commodities is also rapidly thinning.”
Investors should buy so-called reverse knock-out ringgit put options due in a month, which grant the right to sell the currency against the dollar as long as its losses don’t exceed 3.66, Goh said in an interview in Singapore. The option ceases to exist, or gets “knocked out,” should the ringgit reach, or weaken beyond that level.
The investor can exercise the option by buying the dollar at the one-month forward rate of 3.5901 and selling the U.S. currency at the same time in the spot market at just below 3.66, Goh said.
Slumping Exports
The currency has dropped 3.9 percent this month, the second- biggest loss in Asia after the South Korean won, as Malaysian exports contracted and factory output slumped by the most since 2004. The ringgit fell to 3.5953 today, the lowest level since Dec. 11, and traded at 3.5910 as of 12:19 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia’s trade surplus sagged to 10.6 billion ringgit ($2.95 billion) in October and November, versus an average of 13.9 billion ringgit during the third quarter, Barclays said. Foreign-exchange reserves fell to $91.4 billion on Dec. 31 from $97.7 billion on Nov. 28, the lowest level since April 2007, the central said last week.
Crude oil traded at $36.81 a barrel compared with a record high of $147.27 reached on July 11. An average price of $60 a barrel in 2009 will trim Malaysia’s current-account surplus by half to 7.9 percent of gross domestic product, Barclays forecasts.
Prices of palm oil, Malaysia’s biggest commodity export, have dropped 58 percent since touching an all-time high of 4,298 ringgit per ton in March last year.
Bank Negara Malaysia will lower its overnight interest rate to 2 percent from 3.25 percent by year-end, Barclays predicts, which would be the lowest level since the benchmark was introduced in 2004. The first cut will likely be a quarter- percentage point on Jan. 21 when policy makers kick off meetings fro 2009, it said.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Yong in Singapore at dyong@bloomberg.net Last Updated: January 14, 2009 23:37 EST
seller ready to take profit.... into oversold level
.S. Economy: Retail Sales Decline for a Sixth Month (Update4)
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By Bob Willis
Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at U.S. retailers fell more than twice as much as forecast in December as job losses and the lack of credit led Americans to cut back on everything from car purchases to eating out.
The 2.7 percent slump marked the sixth straight month of declines, the longest string since comparable records began in 1992, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Labor Department data showed the global collapse in commodities caused prices of goods imported by the U.S. to fall for a fifth month.
Today’s sales figures indicate the hit to spending in the recession is even deeper than estimated, and spurred a sell-off in stocks. The loss of 2.6 million jobs and declining home and stock values are squeezing households, hurting retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Tiffany & Co., which today said its holiday sales fell 21 percent and cut its earnings forecast.
“There is a major retrenchment going on,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc., a New York forecasting firm. “All that policy can do at this stage is cushion this. You can’t short-circuit it.”
Commerce also reported that inventories at all businesses in November dropped 0.7 percent, more than economists estimated and the third straight decrease. A 1.7 percent decline in stockpiles at retailers, as furniture stores and auto dealers cut back, paced the overall slump.
Stocks Slump
Treasuries rallied, sending yields on benchmark 10-year notes down to 2.20 percent at 4:26 p.m. in New York, from 2.29 percent late yesterday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index slid 3.4 percent to close at 842.62.
Retail sales were projected to fall 1.2 percent after an originally reported 1.8 percent drop the prior month, according to the median estimate of 78 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Forecasts ranged from declines of 3.5 percent to 0.3 percent.
Purchases excluding automobiles slumped 3.1 percent, the most since records began. The decline also exceeded the median estimate of economists surveyed that projected a 1.4 percent drop.
The decline in purchases and lack of credit caused a further weakening in the economy across almost all areas of the country in the past month, the Federal Reserve said today in its regional business survey. Retailers engaged in “deep discounting” during the holidays, with “sizable” price cuts, while wage pressures were “largely contained,” the Fed report found.
Obama Plan
Today’s sales report will serve as a reminder to lawmakers of the urgency to enact President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus proposals to combat the recession.
Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, is proposing a two-year recovery plan that includes about $300 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses and infrastructure spending aimed at creating or saving 4 million jobs.
“It’s not too late to change course -- but only if we take immediate and dramatic action,” Obama said in his weekly radio address on Jan. 10.
Labor Department figures showed the import-price index decreased 4.2 percent, less than economists forecast, after a revised 7 percent drop in November. Prices from a year earlier were down 9.3 percent, the largest year-over-year decline since the index was first published in 1982. Prices excluding fuels dropped 1.1 percent last month.
“This is a reflection of the synchronicity of a slowdown in demand worldwide,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse Holdings USA Inc. in New York.
First Drop
Retail sales fell 0.1 percent for all of 2008 compared with the prior year, the first decrease in the Commerce Department’s records. Comparable data only go back to 1992 because government economists reformulated their retail-sales figures earlier this decade, and didn’t revise historical records beyond that year.
November’s decline was revised to 2.1 percent from a previously estimated fall of 1.8 percent.
Today’s report showed declines in 11 of the 13 major categories tracked by the government, led by a 16 percent plunge at gasoline service stations that partly reflected the slump in fuel costs. The drop at grocery stores was the biggest since April 2002 and the decrease at restaurants was the largest since the terrorist attacks in September 2001.
Only health and beauty stores and a miscellaneous category saw increases last month.
Auto Slump
Purchases of expensive goods are falling as banks restrict access to credit. Auto sales fell 36 percent in December from the same month last year, capping the industry’s worst year since 1992.
Same-store sales dropped 2.2 percent in the last two months of 2008, making it the worst holiday shopping season in almost four decades of record keeping, the International Council of Shopping Centers said last week.
The first half of this year will also be “extraordinarily challenging,” Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott told a retailers’ convention this week in New York City. “Some people are giving up eating out; some people are giving up movies; some people are giving up other things like shopping,” Scott said. “Those are fundamental changes that will continue.”
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Goody’s LLC, operator of a 282- store U.S. clothing chain, and Fresno, California-based Gottschalks Inc., owner of department stores in six western states, sought bankruptcy protection after sales slumped.
‘No Other Recourse’
“Persistent challenges in the economy and recent unexpected reductions to our borrowing capacity as a result of tightening credit markets have left us with no other recourse,” Jim Famalette, Gottschalks’ chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Americans are scrimping as unemployment last month rose to 7.2 percent, the highest level in almost 16 years. Job losses are likely to continue for most of this year, economists said.
The plunge at filling stations in part reflected a 43 cent- per-gallon drop in the average cost of gasoline last month. Excluding gas, retail sales fell 1.4 percent.
The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5 percent annual pace from July through September as Americans reduced purchases at a 3.8 percent annual rate, the first decline in consumer spending since 1991 and the biggest in 28 years, the government said last month.
The economic slump probably worsened in the fourth quarter as declines in business investment and construction intensified and consumers continued to pull back.
Excluding autos, gasoline and building materials, the retail group the government uses to calculate gross domestic product figures for consumer spending, sales dropped 1.4 percent, after a 0.1 percent increase in the prior month. The government uses data from other sources to calculate the contribution from the three categories excluded.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net Last Updated: January 14, 2009 16:28 EST
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By Bob Willis
Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Sales at U.S. retailers fell more than twice as much as forecast in December as job losses and the lack of credit led Americans to cut back on everything from car purchases to eating out.
The 2.7 percent slump marked the sixth straight month of declines, the longest string since comparable records began in 1992, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Labor Department data showed the global collapse in commodities caused prices of goods imported by the U.S. to fall for a fifth month.
Today’s sales figures indicate the hit to spending in the recession is even deeper than estimated, and spurred a sell-off in stocks. The loss of 2.6 million jobs and declining home and stock values are squeezing households, hurting retailers from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Tiffany & Co., which today said its holiday sales fell 21 percent and cut its earnings forecast.
“There is a major retrenchment going on,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc., a New York forecasting firm. “All that policy can do at this stage is cushion this. You can’t short-circuit it.”
Commerce also reported that inventories at all businesses in November dropped 0.7 percent, more than economists estimated and the third straight decrease. A 1.7 percent decline in stockpiles at retailers, as furniture stores and auto dealers cut back, paced the overall slump.
Stocks Slump
Treasuries rallied, sending yields on benchmark 10-year notes down to 2.20 percent at 4:26 p.m. in New York, from 2.29 percent late yesterday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index slid 3.4 percent to close at 842.62.
Retail sales were projected to fall 1.2 percent after an originally reported 1.8 percent drop the prior month, according to the median estimate of 78 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Forecasts ranged from declines of 3.5 percent to 0.3 percent.
Purchases excluding automobiles slumped 3.1 percent, the most since records began. The decline also exceeded the median estimate of economists surveyed that projected a 1.4 percent drop.
The decline in purchases and lack of credit caused a further weakening in the economy across almost all areas of the country in the past month, the Federal Reserve said today in its regional business survey. Retailers engaged in “deep discounting” during the holidays, with “sizable” price cuts, while wage pressures were “largely contained,” the Fed report found.
Obama Plan
Today’s sales report will serve as a reminder to lawmakers of the urgency to enact President-elect Barack Obama’s stimulus proposals to combat the recession.
Obama, who takes office Jan. 20, is proposing a two-year recovery plan that includes about $300 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses and infrastructure spending aimed at creating or saving 4 million jobs.
“It’s not too late to change course -- but only if we take immediate and dramatic action,” Obama said in his weekly radio address on Jan. 10.
Labor Department figures showed the import-price index decreased 4.2 percent, less than economists forecast, after a revised 7 percent drop in November. Prices from a year earlier were down 9.3 percent, the largest year-over-year decline since the index was first published in 1982. Prices excluding fuels dropped 1.1 percent last month.
“This is a reflection of the synchronicity of a slowdown in demand worldwide,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse Holdings USA Inc. in New York.
First Drop
Retail sales fell 0.1 percent for all of 2008 compared with the prior year, the first decrease in the Commerce Department’s records. Comparable data only go back to 1992 because government economists reformulated their retail-sales figures earlier this decade, and didn’t revise historical records beyond that year.
November’s decline was revised to 2.1 percent from a previously estimated fall of 1.8 percent.
Today’s report showed declines in 11 of the 13 major categories tracked by the government, led by a 16 percent plunge at gasoline service stations that partly reflected the slump in fuel costs. The drop at grocery stores was the biggest since April 2002 and the decrease at restaurants was the largest since the terrorist attacks in September 2001.
Only health and beauty stores and a miscellaneous category saw increases last month.
Auto Slump
Purchases of expensive goods are falling as banks restrict access to credit. Auto sales fell 36 percent in December from the same month last year, capping the industry’s worst year since 1992.
Same-store sales dropped 2.2 percent in the last two months of 2008, making it the worst holiday shopping season in almost four decades of record keeping, the International Council of Shopping Centers said last week.
The first half of this year will also be “extraordinarily challenging,” Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott told a retailers’ convention this week in New York City. “Some people are giving up eating out; some people are giving up movies; some people are giving up other things like shopping,” Scott said. “Those are fundamental changes that will continue.”
Knoxville, Tennessee-based Goody’s LLC, operator of a 282- store U.S. clothing chain, and Fresno, California-based Gottschalks Inc., owner of department stores in six western states, sought bankruptcy protection after sales slumped.
‘No Other Recourse’
“Persistent challenges in the economy and recent unexpected reductions to our borrowing capacity as a result of tightening credit markets have left us with no other recourse,” Jim Famalette, Gottschalks’ chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Americans are scrimping as unemployment last month rose to 7.2 percent, the highest level in almost 16 years. Job losses are likely to continue for most of this year, economists said.
The plunge at filling stations in part reflected a 43 cent- per-gallon drop in the average cost of gasoline last month. Excluding gas, retail sales fell 1.4 percent.
The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.5 percent annual pace from July through September as Americans reduced purchases at a 3.8 percent annual rate, the first decline in consumer spending since 1991 and the biggest in 28 years, the government said last month.
The economic slump probably worsened in the fourth quarter as declines in business investment and construction intensified and consumers continued to pull back.
Excluding autos, gasoline and building materials, the retail group the government uses to calculate gross domestic product figures for consumer spending, sales dropped 1.4 percent, after a 0.1 percent increase in the prior month. The government uses data from other sources to calculate the contribution from the three categories excluded.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net Last Updated: January 14, 2009 16:28 EST
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