Let's take a look back to start:
DUMP ONE:
"Stock prices tumbled on Wall Street and across much of the rest of the world yesterday. They were driven sharply lower by worries over slowing economic growth in the United States and worsening borrowing conditions that could make everything from huge corporate buyouts to buying a new home more difficult.
Major stock market gauges -- including the Dow Jones Industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index -- were down more than 2 percent.
It was the worse one-day decline on Wall Street since markets plunged worldwide in late February after an investing scare in Shanghai, and it occurred amid the biggest volume of trading on the New York Stock Exchange in five years. Losses were comparable throughout Europe, and larger in many developing countries.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Economy-.com: "The preconditions for a shock are in place. Until very recently investors were nonchalant about risks."
The plunge came a day after the private equity firm buying Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler said it would complete the transaction for the automaker despite an inability to borrow the money in credit markets, as had been planned. Banks will hold those loans.... Yesterday, the Dow industrials plunged 311.50 points to 13, 473.57.
In the last hour or so of trading, the major Wall Street indexes recovered about a third of the steepest losses for the day.
[Yeah, they BUY BACK their OWN SHIT! It's a SHELL GAME!]
Losses of more than 2 percent were records in Spain, France and Germany, while Britain, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil fell more than 3 percent. Asian markets fell yesterday, closing down before the worst selling began. The credit difficulties began in the United States with investors growing worried about losses on securities that helped to finance sub-prime mortages for borrowers with substandard credit, but now they have spread to highly leveraged companies as well.
Simon Ballard, a global credit strategist at ABN Amro Asset Management in London:
"The really good times are over."
In the past, a sudden slowdown in lending has sometimes led to sharp market falls.... Even as the stock market has gyrated in recent weeks -- with the Dow industrials alternating between rising and falling o9ver the last eight trading days -- financial stocks have been coming under pressure.
The falling stock markets yesterday helped turn oil markets lower... Exxon Mobil reported its first earnings decline in years, saying it made $10.26 billion in the second quarter, about $100 million less than the second quarter of 2006.
[Aw, poor baby OIL COMPANY ONLY CLEARED another 10 BILLION in PROFIT again!!!!!
Only $100 Million less, like the numbers might confuse you.
These greedy fucking shitstinks!]
Earnings per share were up because of an aggressive share-repurchase plan.
[Told ya! I'll bet its because of the refineries, right?]
Oil refineries across the country have been plagued by a record number of fires, power failures, leaks, spills, and breakdowns this year, causing dozens of them to to shut down temporarily or trim production. The disruptions are helping to drive gasoline prices to highs not seen since last summer's records.
American refiners are running roughly 5 percent below their normal levels at this time of the year.... After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita disrupted the nation's energy lifeline two years ago, oil companies delayed maintenanace on many of their plants to make up for lost supplies and take advantage of the high prices. But, analysts say, they are now paying a price for deferring repairs.
[They ain't payin'. WE ARE! Glug, glug, glug, goes the pump!
And it's been two years; what is with the fucking excuses?]
Many factors have led to the rise in gas prices, including disruptions in oil supplies from places like Nigeria and Norway. But analysts say the refining bottleneck in North America has been one of the main drivers of the higher energy prices this year.
Some critics of the industry have theorized on Internet blogs that squezze on gasoline and other refined products points to a deliberate effort among oil companies to bolster profits by keeping supplies tight.
[No! They'd NEVER DO THAT!]
But experts point out that the companies have little incentive right now to hold back fuel supplies.
[Huh? Why not?]
Meanwhile demand has been rising relentlessly, providing little respite to the nation's aging energy infrastructure. Even as consumers complain loudly about high prices, they show no signs of scaling back.
[Yeah, so it is YOUR FAULT, reader, that THEY HAVE YOU OVER ONE of their BARRELS!]
Part of the problem, analysts and refiners said, stems from the hurricanes two years ago. In Louisiana and Mississippi, many refineries were flooded, and about a quarter of the nation's refining capacity was shut for two weeks.
Refineries typically schedule yearly maintenance that sometimes requires them to halt production entirely. But even these long-scheduled shutdowns can now take longer to complete.
All this is happening as the industry goes through another golden age. After 20 years in the doldrums the refining business has never been so good for oil companies.
[Ooooooh, so this REFINING CRISIS is a GOLDEN AGE for the INDUSTRY!
Ooooooohhh!]
Refining margins -- the difference between the price of crude oil and the value of refined gasoline made from it -- have shot up as much as $25 a barrel for some types of crude oil, compared with about $5 a barrel just a few years ago.
[I guess that's why Chevron cleaned up:]
Chevron posted a better-than-expected 24 percent rise in quarterly earnings yesterday on higher profit from its refineries and a gain from the sale of its stake in the power company Dynegy.
Refining margins hit near-record rates during the quarter, propping up profits at integrated oil companies, which both produce and refine oil and gas, as commodity prices dipped.
[Yup,m the refinery "crisis" is MAKING THEM RICH!]
Still, the second quarter was a mixed bag for the sector as lower output and crude oil prices outweighed strong refining profit at some large oil companies.
Chevron's net income in the quarter increased to $5.38 billion, or $2.52 a share, from $4.35 billion, or $1.97 a share, a year earlier.
[Yup, those refinery problems are really hurting the oil companies, boy, as they BEND US OVER ONE OF THEIR BARRELS!!!]
American investors were also depressed by a report of slowing sales of new homes, and by reports of losses from homebuilders.
Not all stocks were lower... Apple reported strong profits Wednesday... 3M, which reported record profits, was the only one of the 30 Dow industrials to be up in late trading.
With the growing distress in credit markets, securities backed by risky mortgages have been a top concern. They are held by pension funds, hedge funds and many other investors around the world. Until recently, most policy makers and analysts argued that even if the market for those bonds collapsed, no major firm was likely to be injured.
[Well, when you are benefitting from the shell game, yeah, you don't see the crash!
And look at the terminology: "injured." As if they are ALIVE!]
But the big banks now find themselves taking on more loans because they had promised to do so if the loans could not be sold. And the market for some types of securities has all but vanished.
Robert J. Barbera, the chief economist of ITG:
"Everybody now recognizes that the elimination of creative finance in the housing leaves us with a problem for new homebuyers, because their income is not high enough to buy homes with interest rates and home prices at current levels. You can make the case that we are simply witnessing a reverse of the late 1990s."
[Oh, the CLINTON BUBBLE?! That FAKE ECONOMY!
Yup, REVERSING THAT, too, huh? Man, this thing is going to HURT!]
Bibliography: "Global Stock Markets Tumble Amid Deepening Credit Fears" by Floyd Norris and Vikas Bajaj/New York Times July 27, 2007; "Record Failures at Oil Refineries Raise Gas Prices" by Jad Mouawad/New York Times July 22, 2007; and "Chevron's Profit Rises 24% With Help From Its Refineries" by Reuters/July 28, 2007
DUMP TWO:
Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street yesterday, a day after the market tumbled because of worries about slowing domestic growth and tighter borrowing conditions.
It was the worst week for the American stock market in nearly five years... The Dow fell 208.10 points yesterday after dropping 311.50 points on Thursday.
Investors took little comfort from a government report yesterday that showed the economy grew at a strong pace in the second quarter, which the Bush administration officials cited in an effort to assuage the public after the rout in the market on Thursday.
The stock market has become increasingly volatile in the last several months as the slumping housing market and problems in the debt markets are taxing the American economy. At the same time, stronger growth in China, India, and Europe have kept the global economy humming.
Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at the brockerage firm Charles Schwab:
"The economy is still strong, job growth is still healthy, the unemployment rate is low, and the global economy is booming. But there are cracks here and those cracks seem to be gaining more of the market's attention than the stronger components. We'll have to see which one takes hold."
Early yesterday, President Bush and four of his top economic and financial officials went on the airwaves to try and dispel worries about the economy. They cited a Commerce Department report that showed that the economy rebounded in the three months that ended in June; it grew 3.4 percent, which was up from a pace of 0.6 percent in the first quarter.
Bush: "And so I want the American people to take a good look at this economy of ours. The world is strong -- the world economy is strong. I happen to believe one of the main reasons why is because we remain strong."
[Whatever, LIAR!!!!]
While markets did bounce up briefly early in the day, investors found little solace in the latest economic report or the soothing words from Washington.
[Even BUSINESS don't believe his bullshit lies anymore!]
With several swings, the stock market resembled a roller coaster ride -- though one that probably provided little amusement for many investors. The Dow, for instance, swung 254 points from its high to the nadir at which it ended the day. With a half-hour left in trading, it appeared that stocks would close only modestly down for the day before they plunged -- the Dow dropped about 135 points in 25 minutes.
The Commerce Department's report on the gross domestic product, the broadest guage of the econom's output, showed that stronger government spending and exports were the driving forces in the second quarter. It also showed, to the concern of some economists, that consumer spending had slowed significantly.
Still, the chief concern for investors appears to be what is happening with interest rates and the ability of consumers and businesses to borrow money.
Tobias M. Levkovich, chief United States equity strategist for Citigroup:
"Stock market investors have become rapt by the sudden and significant changes in the credit markets, almost to the exclusion of other factors that usually have a greater influence on share price, like corporate profits, which remain healthy. There is the potential for fear generating undue fear. Nonetheless, it becomes real because it's in the market."
[Yup, CORPORATE PROFITS are DOIN' JUST FINE, huh?]
In the stock market, the information technology, energy and health care sectors posted some of the biggest declines. In the energy sector, shares of major oil producers fell even as crude oil prices jumped and Chevron issued a strong profit report that was in line with anaysts' expectations.
Mr. Levkovich suggested that the sell-off could be driven by profit-taking, given that the energy sector is up nearly 19 percent for the year:
"Investors may be thinking, 'I've made money here and I want to protect my winnings.' You never lose money taking a profit."
[So SOMEBODY is getting RICH while the FORECLOSURES and the DOW COME DOWN!]
Bibliography: "A Second Day of Declines Caps Worst Wall Street Week in Years" by Vikas Bajaj/New York Times July 28, 2007
DUMP THREE:
Stocks tumbled yesterday on fears that the worsening ills in the mortgage and debt markets could soon take a significant toll on consumers, businesses and the overall economy.
The latest decline capped a volatile two weeks on Wall Street in which the stock market has swung wildly from day to day, reflecting rising uncertainty about the outlook for markets and the risks plaguing the economy. The biggest moves lately have often occurred shortly before trading closed.
Indeed, the market dropped particularly sharply yesterday afternoon after investors were rattled by remarks by executives at Bear Stearns, the investment bank that has been heavily involved in mortgage securities. The firm’s assurances about its own financial position were overshadowed by bleak comments by its chief financial officer about the credit markets.
Samuel L. Molinaro Jr., Bear Stearns’s chief financial officer: “I have been at this for 22 years, and this is about as bad as I have seen it in the fixed-income market.”
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 281.42 points... much of the decline coming after Bear’s conference call started around 2 p.m.
While consumers continue to express confidence in the outlook for the economy, the government’s monthly employment report, released yesterday morning, added to worries about the spreading impact of the housing slump. The economy added only 92,000 jobs last month, down from 126,000 in June and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.6 percent.
Mortgage companies have significantly tightened credit lately to borrowers with weak credit histories and are even cracking down on those with solid records who are taking on riskier loans.
Lenders say they are increasingly unable to persuade investors to buy packages of home loans made to borrowers with little or no down payment or those who cannot fully document their incomes. As a result, many companies are no longer offering such loans to potential buyers.
Steve Walsh, a mortgage broker in Scottsdale, Ariz.: “I have never seen it happen so quickly. Banks always do these little cutbacks here and there. What they are doing now is a liquidity crunch. It’s a credit freeze.”
Despite all the worries about credit markets, however, the economy continues to plow ahead... Wall Street analysts say they are increasingly concerned that consumer spending will weaken as more people in housing and related sectors lose their jobs. They also worry that many homeowners will cut back as they find it harder to refinance or borrow against the value of their homes.
[Yup, gonna FUCK the HOMEOWNER again!!
Every single fucking time this thing dumps, THAT IS WHO GETS HURT!
Them and the PENSIONERS!]
The Dow is... still up 5.8 percent for the year. And through it all, businesses have been reporting strong earnings. Profits are up 9.6 percent in total for 80 percent of companies.
[Yup, so it is ONLY YOU, the AVERAGE American who is HURTING OUT HERE!
Businesses are DOIN' JUST FINE!]
Bibliography: "Markets Fall as Lender Woes Keep Mounting" by Vikas Bajaj/New York Times August 4, 2007
And it took a FOURTH DUMP today as the corporate toilet is clogged and overflowing!
And how about this? Awwww, POOR LITTLE RICH GUY!!!!
STINK!
But, NOT TO WORRY!
WASHINGTON, Aug. 8 — President Bush, seeking to reassure Americans about the economy and combat Democratic criticism of his policies, said on Wednesday that recent financial market turbulence was not a cause for worry but a natural adjustment from the improvident lending of recent years.
[What's with terminology? He's in "combat" with democraPs?
Let him go "COMBAT" in his HIS FUCKING WARS, the fucking MASS-MURDERING BASTARD!!!]
Speaking at the Treasury Department, with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. sitting across the table and reporters seated in a circle around them, Mr. Bush said that his economic advisers would be “paying close attention as the market begins to readjust its assessment of risk” in housing and other sectors.
It was an unusual presentation for Mr. Bush, both politically and economically. Presidents are usually advised not to wade into discussions of markets at a time when they are so unpredictable and anxiety-inducing.
[Well, he don't give a shit what he fucking wrecks, this asshole!]
Mr. Bush’s suggestion that the recent housing declines should be seen as a normal market correction from past excesses and that the government should avoid interfering with the process carries political risks at a time when some people are losing their homes and lending institutions are shaky.
[Yup, DON'T HELP the PEOPLE just FUND WARS! Asshole!]
Immediately after the president’s comments, Democrats excoriated him for saying that the economy was in sound shape, and many called on the administration to encourage federal housing agencies to step in and make more money available, perhaps by buying up troubled mortgages to avoid foreclosures.
For his part, Mr. Bush, in a verbal tour of the current economic scene, was eager both to calm the markets and knock down the Democratic calls for the administration to intervene, predicting that the turmoil in the housing sector would end with a “soft landing” and would not damage the larger economy.
Bush: “I believe that markets ultimately look at the fundamentals of any economy, and the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Inflation is down. Real wages are increasing. The job market is a strong job market. People are working. Small businesses are flourishing.”
[Yup, they are just having their HOUSES TAKEN FROM THEM, and HE DOESN'T CARE, the shitter!!
This from the "Home Ownership" President!!!!
ANOTHER FUCKING LIE!!!
So sick of this SHITTER and his stink-fuck LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Mr. Bush, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard, confidently used phrases like liquidity, risk assessment and market adjustment to describe complex economic conditions.
[Another GIFT degree!]
Bush, asked about collapsing housing markets, and the risk of them declining further, contended:
“In a way it’s a necessary reaction to a flood of liquidity that came into the market in the past couple years as a result of the deep pools of money available, housing got really hot and that a decline is inevitable. If the market functions normally it will lead to a soft landing, and that’s kind of what it looks like so far.”
[Yeah, so all this pain and you LOSING YOUR HOME is just a NATURAL REACTION by the economy.
And as you are getting THROWN OUT ON YOUR ASS, reader, is the CONCRETE giving you a "soft landing?"
This fucking VACUOUS, INHUMAN, ANTI-CHRIST MONSTER!
This fucking MASS-MURDERING WAR CRIMINAL is just SHITTING ALL OVER YOU, Amurka, and YOU ARE EATING IT UP!!!!
WAKE the FUCK UP, Amurka!
THROW HIM OUT OF OUR HOUSE!!!!]
That was financial jargon referring to the past several years of easy money, some of it from overseas, at low interest rates.
Democrats are reacting to the current situation less philosophically. Several are calling for the two big government-sponsored buyers of mortgages from lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to provide more money for housing by buying more loans and holding them.
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York who is chairman of the housing subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee, said that if these agencies did not act, it would lead to a collapse of the market for sound mortgages, not just the deeply troubled subprime loans that were sold to new homebuyers and people with less-than-sterling credit.
[Yeah, how about HELPING the American people for a change?]
Bush appeared to resist that idea, saying that the agencies needed to overhaul their own practices after experiencing accounting scandals before jumping into the current crisis:
“Let’s get them reformed first.”
[Yeah. let's DO NOTHING, first, you fucking Nero!]
He said the housing crisis occurred in part because borrowers had not read the “fine print” on their mortgages: “There needs to be financial education measures in place.”
[Ooooh!! So it is OUR FAULT for not reading the "fine print."
WHY THE FUCK SHOULD WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FINE PRINT, fucker?!
What the hell kind of country is this? An honest country? A transparent country?
Or a RIP-OFF country?
Please look at this, reader!
BUSH is BLAMING YOU, the hurting homeowner, for YOUR PROBLEMS!
But HE WON'T HELP YOU!
You ready to CAN this fucker yet, reader? I AM!
I have FUCKING HAD IT WITH HIM!!!
IMPEACH and CONVICT!!!!!!]
The president’s session with economic writers was unscheduled until Wednesday morning.
[Everything POLITICAL with this ASSHOLE!]
After that meeting, Mr. Bush sounded several familiar themes, accusing Democrats of wanting to raise taxes and embark on wasteful spending. He said he would veto legislation to expand the children’s health insurance program, charging that it would raise taxes and “nationalize” the health sector, and reiterated his threat to veto other spending bills that went over his budget request.
[Yup, VETO the kid's healthcare, FUCK the bridges, but PAY FOR the DAMN WARS, right war-monger?!
America, haven't you HAD ENOUGH!??]
The statement appeared to signal the White House’s plan to go on the offensive in the fall to counter criticism and widespread economic anxiety by confronting Democrats on time-tested Republican themes like keeping taxes low and spending under control.
[Like I said, everything POLITICAL with this ASSHOLE!]
Bush: “I understand there’s disquiet out there. By the way, do you think they feel disquiet now? Go ahead and run up their taxes and see how they feel.”
[Oh, I agree!
Now how about YOU and your buddies KICKING IN a little more, rather than LOOTING the country!]
Mr. Bush also said he would oppose legislation aimed at punishing China for its economic practices, including its efforts to control the value of its currency to encourage cheaper exports.
[Yup, keep sending the poisoned fish and poisoned toys!!
All about $$$$$ to this guy!
I don't think there is a human bone in his body!!
This guy is fucking evil, hey! He is the Anti-Christ, dammit!]
Besides trade, Mr. Bush spoke at length about the failure of his immigration legislation this year, saying that he had predicted “there would be blowback” from growers who could not get immigrant workers to help pick produce. What was needed, he said, was a guest-worker program for these workers."
[It NEVER FUCKING ENDS, hey!
We already SHOT DOWN part of your North American Union, and yet they NEVER STOP COMING!
That's why WE MUST BE HERE to FIGHT the TYRANNY!!!]
The president said he also discussed with Mr. Paulson and other cabinet members the possibility of tax cuts and reduced regulations aimed at overcoming what some see as a weakening of the competitiveness of American capital markets compared with those overseas.
[Yeah, MORE TAX CUTS for RICH GUYS!
And DOWN WE GOOOOOOO!!!
Un-fucking-believable!]
Bibliography: "Bush Faults Easy Money for Volatility" by Steven R. Weisman/New York Times August 4, 2007
See you for DUMP FOUR tomorrow, readers!
