FDIC release - 11:30AM

FDIC-Insured Institutions Earned $7.6 Billion in the First Quarter of 2009 Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported net income of $7.6 billion in the first quarter of 2009, a decline of $11.7 billion (60.8 percent) from the $19.3 billion that the industry earned in the first quarter of 2008. Higher loan-loss provisions, increased goodwill write-downs, and reduced income from securitization activities all contributed to the year-over-year earnings decline. Three out of five insured institutions reported lower net income in the first quarter and one in five was unprofitable. "The first quarter results are telling us that the banking industry still faces tremendous challenges, and that going forward, asset quality remains a major concern," said FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair. "Banks are making good efforts to deal with the challenges they're facing, but today's report says that we're not out of the woods yet." She added, "As I see it, we're now in the cleanup phase for the banking industry. It will take some more time. But in the end, we'll have a stronger banking industry that's better able to meet the demand for credit as the economy recovers." Entire report here.

Home Sales - March - Update 10:01

Existing-Home Sales Rise in April WASHINGTON, May 27, 2009 Existing-home sales rose in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.68 million units in April from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March, but were 3.5 percent below the 4.85 million-unit level in April 2008. Full report here.

Pre-market - Wednesday, May 27, 2009 - 7:30AM

Futures up slightly this morning: DJIA INDEX 8,484.00 23.00 S&P 500 910.90 2.20 NASDAQ 100 1,411.00 0.25 Wednesday Economic indicators: MBA Purchase Applications - 7:00 AM ET ICSC-Goldman Store Sales - 7:45 AM ET Redbook - 8:55 AM ET Existing Home Sales - 10:00 AM ET EIA Petroleum Status Report - 10:30 AM ET 4-Week Bill Auction - 1:00 PM ET 5-Yr Note Auction - 1:00 PM ET Earnings reports before open: Today after close:

Rio Tinto cuts prices - 7:10PM

Rio Tinto agrees 33% iron-ore price cut with Nippon Steel - Market Watch HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Rio Tinto Ltd. has agreed to a 33% cut in iron-ore prices with Nippon Steel Corp., establishing a possible benchmark for pricing the commodity this year amid a tumble in prices for finished steel. Rio Tinto(RTP) $176.79 +2.95 (1.70%) said in a statement Tuesday that it had reached a pricing agreement with Nippon Steel for fiscal year which began in April, setting its fine iron ore at 97 U.S. cents per dry metric ton, compared to $1.45 a ton last year. A higher-grade ore, known as the Pilbara Blend Lump, will fall 44% in price to $1.12 a metric ton, Rio said. Attempts to strike a similar deal with Chinese steel giants, such as Baoshan Iron & Steel, may meet resistance, however. Various news reports Tuesday said the Chinese mills want a total reversal of last year's almost doubling of ore prices by Rio and fellow Australian miner BHP Billiton Ltd.(BHP). However, Rio Chief Executive Sam Walsh promoted the Nippon deal Tuesday, saying: "We believe this is a realistic outcome for both parties, one that reflects the global market for iron ore and the current challenging market conditions facing our customers." Sydney-listed shares of Rio were up 1.4% in late Tuesday trade. In Tokyo, Nippon Steel shares fell 0.6%.

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Granted, this is only one customer, but last I looked, you lower margin, you lose profit. Stock rose. Must have been "not as bad as expected."

Fast Money - Where's Macke? Update - 5:10PM

I haven't noticed Jeff Macke on CNBC lately. I wonder if this had anything to do with it? That was from last Tuesday, the 16th, best I can tell, and I haven't seen him since. What's up with that? I was a fan of Fast Money, didn't buy into all of their trades, but an entertaining show for someone who likes to hear traders. Macke was kind of a loudmouth but for the most part, I thought he told it like it was. Dylan Ratigan was the same way. Both could be loud, rude, and self righteous, but they seemed to ask better questions than the other poodles on the show. I don't know what the rant Macke was about, but talking to Dennis Kneale might do that. Either he had a really bad day, or he wanted to, well, get canned? It seems to this blogger CNBC would like more poodles than pit bulls. They don't want people asking the tough questions, nor telling it like it is. It's all about cheering the market higher and kissing the bankster's ass. From time to time I post a video of someone telling it like it is. Santelli, Macke, Ratigan, and I used to say Mark Haines, gave us the straight information we wanted in a business channel. Mark seems to be getting a bit "poodlish" but he's been doing this a long time, so I'll give him a pass. Those are the people who carry the water, borrowing a phrase from Santelli. The rest are actors, even though Ratigan could qualify as one. I wonder if Macke finally had too much, and left the building. Could the anchor's be pressured to cheerlead, NOT ask the tough questions, slapped when they are too critical about government, or are down right told to lie to people? Not telling us is the same as lying in my book. Granted, there is a line where politics and financial news crosses the border, but to go looking for it when it fits some agenda, then to censor it at another, is pathetic. I don't read Macke or Ratigan as toe the company line of BS sort of people. I know, they say "there is no shame on Wall Street" but you would sure hope there is a little bit. Just guessing and hoping.

Market Wrap - 4:15PM

Another strange day in the Wall Street casino. Markets flew today, then backed off a little at the end of the day. Dow 8,473.73 +196.41 (2.37%) S&P 500 910.30 +23.30 (2.63%) Nasdaq 1,750.43 +58.42 (3.45%) Gold - $953.00 -6.00 -0.58% Oil - $62.29 +0.78 1.27% Notables: Home builders index (XHB)12.34 +.38 (3.18%) on poor Case-Shiller report this morning. Real estate Res & CRE (IYR) 33.35 +1.64 (5.17%)on reports this morning housing is not any better. Today by sector: (any guess who leads the pack?) The banks! Who would have guessed it! Today's heatmap:

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CNBC cheerleading grade for the day - "A" They did anything and everything they could today to convince us everything is fine, get your money in the market. Consumer confidence is great, look at that, everything is fixed. Larry Kudlow even found a way to spin the Korean missile test as a positive sign for the market. After listening to Dennis Kneale and Michelle Caruso-Cabrera on Power Lunch carry on about the auto companies, combined with some talk show host posing as an expert on bankruptcy law, I had to turn the channel. They can't wait to bash the government, Obama, Geithner, and especially the auto company unions (to the point of almost cheering when the news broke the retirees will get hosed) while slobbering over the banks and their oh so powerful banking people - I could just puke. I don't agree with all this bailout, intervention by the government stuff, but jeez Louise CNBC, these are real people you were so giddy about. So the retiree's are going to get hosed, your glad about it. But you rant and rave when the "poor" bankers and Wall Street criminals have to take a cut. Poor things! CNBC, your as criminal as the damn banksters. Shut the hell up. In my house you have, it's called the channel changer. I hope GE needs bailed out and your the first plug that gets pulled. Your channel has become nothing more than a Jerry Springer show. You suck!

GM news - 2:00PM

UAW Discloses Terms of GM Deal - WSJ The United Auto Workers told union officials Tuesday that it has agreed to a deal with General Motors Corp. that will lead to the union owning 17.5% of the company once it restructures as part of GM's obligation to fund future retiree health-care obligations, a person familiar with the matter said. Under the deal, which was agreed to last week and is set for a UAW vote in coming days, GM place $10 billion of assets into a Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association, of VEBA, on Jan. 1, 2010. The UAW will also receive a new note, payable in cash, for $2.5 billion. That note will be paid out in three installments taking place in 2013, 2015, and 2017. The details of the arrangement were outlined in an informational brochure detailing the agreement, which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal Tuesday. The UAW's VEBA had been owed $20 billion, but the UAW – responding to Treasury Department demands – has agreed to cut the cash obligation and receive a significant amount of what it is owed in stock or notes. In addition, the UAW will be given $6.5 billion in preferred stock in a reorganized GM. That stock includes a 9% cash dividend, under which the union's VEBA will receive $585 million annually for as long as the UAW holds the stock. That preferred stock is in addition to 17.5% of the company's common stock that is being promised by GM to the VEBA. The UAW also will receive a warrant for an additional 2.5% of the common stock in the new company. The UAW said that "with a greatly improved balance sheet, as well as with the significant restructuring of business operations, there is a realistic prospect that the stock in the new company will represent significant value in the future."

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This information is coming out in bits and pieces. Watch the news for further details. GM stock now up after being up down all day.

Consumer Confidence - May- 10:15AM

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index™, which had improved considerably in April, posted another large gain in May. The Index now stands at 54.9 (1985=100), up from 40.8 in April. The Present Situation Index increased to 28.9 from 25.5 last month. The Expectations Index rose to 72.3 from 51.0 in April. The Consumer Confidence Survey™ is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. TNS is the world's largest custom research company. The cutoff date for May's preliminary results was May 19th. (Full report here) The market has gone up for almost two months. The cheeleaders have done their best to tell us things are getting better. No surprise this is higher, market reacts accordingly.

Case-Shiller Home Price Index - Update 9:05AM

New York, May 26, 2009 – Data through March 2009, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index continues to set record declines, a trend that began in late 2007 and prevailed throughout 2008. (full report here) The chart above depicts the annual returns of the U.S. National, the 10-City Composite and the 20-City Composite Home Price Indices. The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index – which covers all nine U.S. census divisions – recorded a 19.1% decline in the 1st quarter of 2009 versus the 1st quarter of 2008, the largest decline in the serie’s 21-year history. The 10-City and 20-City Composites recorded annual declines of 18.6% and 18.7%, respectively. These are slight improvements from their returns reported for February.

News & articles of interest - Update 8:30AM

North Korea's Move Rattles Futures - WSJ Stocks to watch - Market Watch 5 Stocks Poised to Shine This Summer - WSJ As time runs out, GM stakeholders brace for bankruptcy - MarketWatch Oil falls below $61 ahead of OPEC meeting - Reuters Porsche on the financial brink - Telegraph UK Mass layoffs hit some areas worse than others in 2009 - Yahoo World Bank warns of social unrest - BBC World economy 'to shrink in 2009' - BBC JPMorgan $29 Billion WaMu Windfall Turned Bad Loans Into Income - Bloomberg Lowest Libor Hides ‘Exceptionally Wide’ Bank Spreads (Update2) - Bloomberg

Economic calendar for the week - 7:30AM

Economic calendar today: Consumer Confidence - 10:00 AM ET State Street Investor Confidence Index - 10:00 AM ET 4-Week Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 3-Month Bill Auction - 11:30 AM ET 6-Month Bill Auction - 11:30 AM ET 2-Yr Note Auction - 1:00 PM ET Wednesday: MBA Purchase Applications - 7:00 AM ET ICSC-Goldman Store Sales - 7:45 AM ET Redbook - 8:55 AM ET Existing Home Sales - 10:00 AM ET EIA Petroleum Status Report - 10:30 AM ET 4-Week Bill Auction - 1:00 PM ET 5-Yr Note Auction - 1:00 PM ET Thursday: Durable Goods Orders - 8:30 AM ET Jobless Claims - 8:30 AM ET New Home Sales - 10:00 AM ET EIA Natural Gas Report - 10:30 AM ET 3-Month Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 6-Month Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 52-Week Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 7-Yr Note Auction - 1:00 PM ET Money Supply - 4:30 PM ET Friday: GDP - 8:30 AM ET Corporate Profits - 8:30 AM ET Chicago PMI - 9:45 AM ET Consumer Sentiment - 9:55 AM ET Farm Prices - 3:00 PM ET

Tuesday - Pre market - Futures - 7:20AM

Futures pointing a bit lower to start the week: DJIA INDEX 8,212.00 -48.00 S&P 500 878.80 -6.10 NASDAQ 100 1,344.50 -16.25 Economic calendar today: Consumer Confidence - 10:00 AM ET State Street Investor Confidence Index - 10:00 AM ET 4-Week Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 3-Month Bill Auction - 11:30 AM ET 6-Month Bill Auction - 11:30 AM ET 2-Yr Note Auction - 1:00 PM ET Earnings reports today: Company's in bold are before market opens.

Peter Shiff & CNBC - Who's the joke on CNBC - 12:20PM

Just a little bit ago (I had to wait on the video to be posted) CNBC had Peter Shiff on talking about the dollar. Bob Pisoni, always the head cheerleader, was laughing at him while he was talking, while Trish Regan did her best to keep him from speaking. After seeing this, along with the incessant cheerleading from the clowns on CNBC over the last month or so, I only have one thing to say - you guys suck!

Pre-market Friday, May 22, 2009 - 7:55AM

Futures up a little this morning before a short session today: DJIA INDEX 8,342.00 47.00 S&P 500 893.80 5.10 NASDAQ 100 1,377.25 9.75 Economic events for today: NONE Earnings reports before market opens:

Jobless claims for the week - 8:40AM

Jobless claims for this week - full report here UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending May 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 631,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 643,000. The 4-week moving average was 628,500, a decrease of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 632,000. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 5.0 percent for the week ending May 9, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate of 4.9 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 9 was 6,662,000, an increase of 75,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 6,587,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,480,500, an increase of 131,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 6,349,500. The fiscal year-to-date average for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment for all programs is 5.071 million. UNADJUSTED DATA

Futures down a little this morning: DJIA INDEX 8,345.00 -50.00 S&P 500 894.00 -5.90 NASDAQ 100 1,384.00 -8.50 Event calendar today: Jobless Claims - 8:30 AM ET Leading Indicators - 10:00 AM ET Philadelphia Fed Survey - 10:00 AM ET EIA Natural Gas Report - 10:30 AM ET 3-Month Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 6-Month Bill Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 2-Yr Note Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 5-Yr Note Announcement - 11:00 AM ET 7-Yr Note Announcement - 11:00 AM ET Money Supply - 4:30 PM ET Earnings reports today: Today after close:

Pre-market - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 8:00AM

Futures up slightly: DJIA INDEX 8,472.00 23.00 S&P 500 909.40 2.90 NASDAQ 100 1,396.75 2.75 Economic calendar for today: MBA Purchase Applications - 7:00 AM ET EIA Petroleum Status Report - 10:30 AM ET FOMC Minutes - 2:00 PM ET Earnings reports before open:

Pre-market - Tuesday, May 19,2009 - 8:05AM

Futures up moderately today: DJIA INDEX 8,523.00 53.00 S&P 500 912.90 5.80 NASDAQ 100 1,393.00 4.50 Today's economic calendar: Housing Starts 8:30 AM ET Redbook 8:55 AM ET State Street Investor Confidence Index 10:00 AM ET 4-Week Bill Auction 1:00 PM ET Gary Stern Speaks 1:15 PM ET Earnings reports before open:

Market wrap - Another rocket upward - 4:10PM

The market opened up nicely, and continued climbing thoughout the day. Now for the quiz. Which sector do you think led this rally today???? By the way, it is a "new BULL market" because the shrills on CNBC said so. Dow 8,504.08 +235.44 (2.85%) S&P 500 909.71 +26.83 (3.04%) Nasdaq 1,732.36 +52.22 (3.11%) Gold 922 -10 -1.03% Oil 59.25 +2.69 4.75% (oil up because of pipelines blown up in Nigeria & refinery fire in PA) Or maybe because the Memorial Day holiday is coming up - peak driving season. Leaders by sector: Quiz answer above - The financials. Are you surpised? Not me. The bank index (BKX) was up $2.85 or 7.78 percent The volatility index almost broke the 30 barrier and closed at 30.05 -9.21 percent. Just for kicks: General Motors(GM) (the one going bankrupt) closed at $1.18 up +0.09 or 8.26% Ford(F) who DOESN'T need any money closed at $5.50 up +0.01 cents or 0.18 percent. Today's heatmap:

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CNBC cheerleading grade for the day - A+ Simply, they all creamed their jeans today. From 7am to when I created this post they slobbered, shrilled, cheerlead, you name it, this market today. Many times calling it the new "BULL" market even as the home builders number came in at 16 or 18 or whatever sad number that was. That's 16 or 18 on a scale of 100, with 50 as the breakeven line for growth vs. non-growth. So we ticked up 2 points - big deal. Larry Kudlow the crazy, screaming, overtalking shrill is now officially on mute. Can't stand the lunatic hour of him acting like the complete crazy man he is. What a complete waste of an hour on TV. Of course the entire channel is getting worse by the day. CNBC - you are a disservice to your listeners and are borderline criminal with your reporting of nothing but good news and the buy, buy, buy attitude. You suck!

Pre-market open - Monday, May 18, 2009 - 8:00AM

Futures up slightly this morning at 8:00AM DJIA INDEX 8,303.00 +36.00 S&P 500 888.10 +5.10 NASDAQ 100 1,362.75 +8.50 Several banks have been upgraded by GS but I missed which ones. Why? Have they found a money tree or something? Yea, probably the government. Economic calendar for the day: Monday: 11:00AM - 4-Week Bill Announcement 1:00PM - Housing Market Index 1:00PM - 3-Month Bill Auction 1:00PM - 6-Month Bill Auction Earnings reports before open: Earnings reports after close: