| 'MAD' JIM CRAMER LOSES GOLDEN $50K BET
The host of CNBC's "Mad Money" now owes $50,000 after losing one of the worst wagers of his entire career to rival trading wiz Eric Bolling. Cramer, who favors the phrase "Boo Ya," made an on-air bet with Bolling about a year ago that financial services would be the hottest sector of 2007. Bolling, a former trader at the New York Mercantile Exchange, placed his money on oil and gold. Investors who took Cramer's advice would have taken a 30 percent hit to their portfolios as the stocks of financial titans such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch got hammered by the mortgage crisis. On the other hand, investors savvy enough to follow Bolling's bet on gold and oil would have hit the jackpot, as the hot commodities jumped over 60 percent in the same period. Cramer, through a spokesman, blamed his loss on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's failure to cut interest rates more aggressively.
CHILE: Copper Boom - Cui Bono?
Chile is the worlds largest producer and exporter of copper, with a 35 percent market share, and the biggest global reserves.
According to the state Chilean Copper Commission (COCHILCO), the country produced 5,361 tons of copper concentrate in 2006, nearly five times as much as its closest competitor, the United States, which produced 1,226 tons. Peru followed, with 1,049 tons.
The Chilean state controls just 30 percent of the total output, through the National Copper Corporation (CODELCO). The remaining 70 percent is in private hands.
In 1966, the government of Christian Democrat President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1964-1970) "Chileanised" copper by purchasing 51 percent of the shares in mines worked by foreign companies.
Then in 1971, Socialist President Salvador Allende (1970-1973) expropriated the private mining companies and nationalised the copper industry before he was overthrown by a military coup.
Pressure mounts for new controls on oil futures speculators
Sean Cota runs a family-owned fuel oil business in Bellows Falls, Vt., and has been active in the futures markets for 20 years, locking in prices to protect both himself and his customers. But over the past five years, he has watched in amazement -- and growing anger -- as speculators flooded into the market. It has created tremendous volatility and, he believes, driven up prices for crude oil, heating oil and a host of other commodities. As prices hover near record levels this year, his customers are bearing the brunt -- turning down their thermostats, taking longer to pay their bills and even using credit cards to pay for home heating. "All of these things are having a huge impact on people for something that is just not justified by supply and demand," Cota said.
Lackluster Reports Leave Stocks Mixed
Not all economic findings that arrived Friday portended further weakness but, over all, investors seemed unimpressed. The nation's central bank said that industrial output showed a modest increase last month, as expected, largely because of strength from utilities. But investors remain worried that consumers who are uneasy will be reluctant to open their wallets _ an alarming prospect as consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity. Comments from Bernanke on Thursday outlined the concerns. The Fed chief issued a sobering but not entirely unexpected prediction that economic growth in much of 2008 is likely to be "sluggish" before gathering strength later in the year. He told the Senate Banking Committee that further losses were likely at banks from soured mortgages.
Heard on the street: Parsvnath Developers, IFSL, F&O segment
Are you a Sai Baba devotee who also happens to be stock market investor? If yes, you may have possibly taken a fancy for Parsvnath Developers which has just bagged a contract for constructing Sai Ashram at Shirdi in Maharashtra. The counter has been in the thick of action ahead of the company's announcement on Monday.
Though the price has moved sharply, analysts feel one can not really link the rally with the latest development. They, in fact, say the market has probably been discounting the progress that the company has achieved in some of its projects — besides the Shirdi contract — an IT park in Gurgaon and pharma SEZ in Nanded.
Parsvnath Developers was the one of the top gainers, ending 8.5% up at Rs 574.2 on Monday after touching a new peak of Rs 598 intra-day.
Tricom's future on the line
THE future of Tricom is in the hands of Melbourne-based investment bank Bell Financial Group, which yesterday confirmed it was in talks with the beleaguered Sydney broking house. Bell only wants the Tricom client base, including its futures and broking business, but is not interested in the back office, corporate advisory or margin lending business, The Weekend Australian understands. Based on other recent deals, including the sale of Andrew West to CMC Markets last month, any deal could be worth less than $50 million to Tricom boss and major shareholder Lance Rosenberg. It is understood that Bell has been in talks with Tricom for over a week. If Bell buys Tricom it is unclear how many of Tricom's 300 staff will be kept. In a statement yesterday, Bell, which is listed on the ASX, said "no agreement" had been reached and that there was "no certainty" the discussions would lead to a transaction.
US STOCKS-Futures point to flat open, Yahoo eyed
NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday as concerns about the health of the global economy nagged, while technology shares could be in focus with Yahoo Inc expected to reject a takeover bid from Microsoft Corp. Yahoo (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) was set to reject Microsoft's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) unsolicited bid, now worth $42 billion, as too low, a source familiar with the situation said on Saturday in the first clear signal that the board might be prepared to negotiate and sell the company. In European trading, shares of Yahoo (YHOO.F: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 3.2 percent. Finance leaders from the Group of Seven major economies said at the weekend that the crumbling U.S. housing market had hurt the world economy and that conditions may worsen as debt-laden banks clamp down on credit.
2nd UPDATE: Fed Cut Puts Focus On Early 2008 ECB Rate Cut
FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Federal Reserve dramatic 75-basis point cut in interest rates Tuesday intensified speculation that other central banks could soon follow in slashing the cost of credit. The European Central Bank's hawkish rhetoric has been drowned out by plunging stock markets and a string of gloomy economic indicators. But the lingering credit crisis and fear of further asset write-downs have erased remaining doubts that the next move in euro zone interest rates will be down rather than up. The euro area's interest rate futures contract reflect a 20% chance of a 25-basis point rate cut by February. That would bring the ECB's key policy rate down to 3.75%, from 4.0% currently. Further along, the market now fully discounts a 25-basis point cut by May, and a 50-basis point rate reduction is factored in by August.
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