Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Wall Street Asks Agencies to Slow Down on New Derivatives Rules. Eleven financial-industry trade associations representing Wall Street banks, hedge funds, swaps dealers are asking federal regulators writing new derivatives rules to slow down. In a letter sent to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the groups called for extending public comment periods on some regulatory proposals and said firms should be given more time to implement new directives. “We are concerned that market participants will be asked to do too much in too short a time,” the groups wrote in the letter sent yesterday. “This could have significant adverse consequences for the customers that rely on these products.”
• Democrats Urge Senate Leaders to Add Build-America Program to Tax Accord. Democratic senators are urging the chamber’s leaders to continue the Build America Bond program as part of legislation enacting the agreement that President Barack Obama struck to extend the 2001 and 2003 income-tax cuts. The federally subsidized initiative, which pays 35 percent of the interest on state and local government bonds sold for public-works projects, wasn’t included in the deal that the White House brokered with Republicans.
• Byron Wien Says S&P 500 May Advance to Record in 2011 on Profits, Economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may rise at least 28 percent through next year to a record as corporate profits and the economy improve, according to Byron Wien, the vice chairman of Blackstone Advisory Services.
• Physical Gold Sales Slowing as Prices Rally, Standard Bank Says. Gold investors and jewelers are becoming more accustomed to higher prices and physical sales of the metal slowed compared with when bullion last climbed above $1,400 an ounce, according to Standard Bank Plc. The Standard Bank Physical Gold Flow Index dropped to minus 21 yesterday as prices reached a record $1,431.25. That compares with a slide to as low as minus 85 on Nov. 11, two days after the metal climbed to a then-record $1,424.60. An index value below zero indicates net selling of physical gold and a value above zero shows net buying.
• U.S. States Face 'Cliff' as Federal Stimulus Ending Opens $38 Billion Hole. U.S. states are preparing for more budget cuts next year as tax revenue isn’t likely to rebound enough to replace almost $38 billion in aid that will be gone as federal economic stimulus ends, according to a report. At least 31 states and Puerto Rico are forecasting deficits of $82.1 billion in the next fiscal year even as tax receipts are picking up, the National Conference of State Legislatures said today. Under a temporary mandate since 2009, the U.S. has provided economic aid to states, helping to pay government workers and shoulder the cost of the Medicaid program to provide health care for the poor. That aid will be gone, the group said.
• Bank of America(BAC) Deal in Muni Case May be 'Tip of the Iceberg'.
• Banks in Europe Fail Stress Tests With No Authority. In the five months after the U.S. published results of its 2009 bank stress tests, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Financials Index rose 25 percent. Five months after the European Union released its version, the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index is down 4 percent. The failure of the EU tests to restore confidence in the region’s banks was underscored last month when Ireland directed its two biggest lenders, both of which passed the exams, to raise additional capital. Since the results were disclosed on July 23, the cost of insuring the senior debt of 110 European banks against default rose 113 basis points, or 1.13 percentage points, while credit-default swaps on 34 of the largest U.S. banks are unchanged, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
• Tax Appeals Swamp US Cities, Towns as Property Prices Plunge. A fiscal flood that threatens to swamp local government budgets across the U.S. overflows from file cabinets in the office of Patty Halm, chair of the Michigan Tax Tribunal. The backlog of cases from taxpayers seeking to lower property-tax bills of more than $100,000 shot up to 14,236 this year from an annual average of about 6,000 during the past decade. The backlog of smaller claims was at 28,558 at the end of September, eight times higher than a decade ago, according to records at the tribunal, a Lansing-based administrative court.
• IMF's Strauss-Kahn Says Europe Still in 'Troubling' Situation on Deficits. Europe, where a debt crisis prompted bailouts of Greece and Ireland this year, remains in a “troubling” situation, the head of the International Monetary Fund said. The effects of the global financial turmoil “are far from over,” IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said today in Geneva, according to a copy of his prepared remarks. “The situation in Europe remains troubling and the future is more uncertain than ever.”

Wall Street Journal:

• Two Large Banks Tied to Gerson, Big Network Firm. Two large Wall Street firms formed alliances with the nation's largest "expert-network" firm in recent years, giving them a vested interest in the outcome of a big insider-trading investigation. One of those Wall Street firms, Credit Suisse Group(CS), recently received a subpoena seeking information and documents related to its use of experts at Gerson Lehrman Group, a large expert-network firm, by the banks' researchers and clients, people familiar with the matter says. Credit Suisse declined to comment. Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley(MS), another large bank, have formal partnership agreements with Gerson Lehrman dating back to 2008. Those alliances boosted access by the banks and their clients to Gerson's network of doctors, technology-firm employees and thousands of other experts; and some of the banks' researchers and analysts in turn were made available to consult with Gerson clients.
• Overhaul of Oil Industry Urged. The oil and gas industry needs a "major transformation" in its approach to safety to avoid another big offshore-drilling disaster, a leader of the presidential panel investigating the BP PLC accident plans to tell a gathering of industry officials Wednesday.
• Wells Fargo(WFC), Visa(V) Test Mobile Payments. Wells Fargo & Co. said Tuesday it is testing mobile payments through a pilot program with Visa Inc., stepping up competition with telephone companies that also hope to dominate the business. The pilot program, which will take place in San Francisco, where the two companies are based, comes on the heels of a mobile payments joint venture announced last month between three major U.S. wireless carriers. The developments underscore tension among card lenders and wireless companies over who controls the mobile-payment network.
• States Face Budget Shortfalls of $26.7 Billion. States are reporting billions in midyear budget shortfalls, and the crunch is likely to continue for at least several more years, a new report says. Fifteen states are facing combined budget gaps midway through their 2011 fiscal year totaling $26.7 billion, according to a National Conference of State Legislatures report to be released Wednesday. Illinois had the largest midyear shortfall relative to the size of its budget among the 15 states with deficits: $13 billion, or 47% of its general-fund budget. While states have been able to rely partly on federal funding from the stimulus program to weather the recession and its aftermath, most of that funding will be exhausted next year, fiscal 2012. States will have $37.9 billion less in federal stimulus funding in fiscal 2012, compared with this year.
• EU Seeks Limits on Commodity Trading. The European Commission Wednesday said it wants to ensure that national regulators have the power to limit commodity traders' bets. The proposal is aimed at preventing traders from manipulating commodities markets, a common accusation in the summer of 2008 when food and energy prices soared to record highs. The commission, the European Union's executive arm, said it wants to ensure that EU national regulators have the authority to set limits when they determine that commodity markets aren't functioning properly, with EU institutions having a coordinating role.
• Investors Pile Into Commodities. Investors are holding their biggest positions on record in the commodities markets as prices surge and debate intensifies among U.S. regulators about whether to limit the amount that any one trader can bet in markets for energy, metals and agricultural products. Hedge funds, pension funds and mutual funds dramatically ramped up their holdings in everything from oil and natural gas to silver, corn and wheat this year. In many cases, the number of contracts held for individual commodities now far exceeds the amount outstanding in mid-2008, the last time commodity markets were soaring to records and debate raged about whether excessive speculation was driving up prices. Contracts held by investors have risen 12% this year through October and are 17% higher than June 2008, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the market regulator. In several commodities, including the $200 billion crude oil market, so-called speculative investors now make up a significantly larger proportion of the market than they did in 2008. Investors increased their bullish bets on crude oil by 24% since June 2008 and now represent 16% of the market, up from 13% just over two years ago. Bets in the copper market are up 58% and for silver they are up 52%, according to the CFTC data. "Speculative money from the likes of hedge funds, index funds and pension funds is coming into the commodity markets at a blistering pace," Mr. Chilton said in prepared remarks for a speech he plans to make on Wednesday at a conference in New York. "If prices are skewed in a manner that is not fair by speculators, consumers can pay more than they should," he said. According to Barclays Capital, investors have piled a total of $121.2 billion into commodities since the beginning of 2009. The emergence of exchange-traded funds that buy commodities futures contracts, such as the U.S. Oil Fund and U.S. Natural Gas Fund, have helped lead a march into commodities over the past few years. Gold has jumped 29% this year and reached a nominal record of $1,415.30 per troy ounce this week. Copper is up 22% and trading near its record high of $4.0775 per pound. Silver prices are at 30-year highs and oil on Tuesday surpassed $90 during the trading day for the first time since October 2008.
• BofA Merrill to Expand Its Online Brokerage Business.
• The Bush Tax Cuts Never Went Far Enough. A permanent reduction in capital taxes would increase productivity and wages. Postwar Britain shows how higher capital tax rates reduce investment and damage economic growth.

CNBC:

• In Shift, Mexico to Allow Oil Drilling Again. In a major shift for Mexico, the country will allow private companies—both domestic and foreign—to drill for oil there, the first time in 70 years. This move came as a result of a supreme court decision there on Tuesday. This step for Mexico is crucial for the oil-rich nation and it’s long-term prospects. Even though it has so much oil, if the country doesn’t make the right moves—and build infrastructure—the nation will end up importing oil. Mexico ranks number three as an oil supplier to the US.
• Online Retail Sales Up 12% and Best Yet to Come. The latest read on online holiday shopping from Comscore shows a 12 percent increase in spending in the first 35 days of the November through December shopping season compared with the same period a year ago.

Business Insider:

• David Einhorn Explains How QE2 Will Affect The Average American In One Sentence. In case you've been MIA the past month, the Federal Reserve decided to buy another $600 billion in Treasuries (and might buy more) on November 3rd. Technically, they did it "to lower borrowing costs and stimulate the economy," says Einhorn, but QE2 will instead probably result in rising prices of basic goods for consumers and businesses, which will curtail economic growth. Basically, the Fed just threw away $600 + billion because QE2 "will be counterproductive," he told Rose, according to Bloomberg. “The goal of quantitative easing right now is to raise the inflation rate. If you do raise the price of clothing, it effectively lowers everybody’s standard of living and gives them less money to buy other things.”

Zero Hedge:

• Maryland Democrat Chris Van Hollen Says "Unsure Whether Obama-Republican Deal Can Pass House In Current Form".
• TIPS Breakevens Indicate Inflation Expectations "Double" From Two Months Ago.
  

New York Times:

• What the Fed Is Still Owed by Wall Street. The Federal Reserve has a story and is sticking to it: We didn’t lose taxpayer money, and we won’t. But several emergency programs and credit lines still exist, and the path to profitability on them remains uncertain. Hedge funds, pension funds and other investors have some $25 billion in outstanding loans from the Fed, some backed by subprime consumer debt. The central bank’s books are stocked with $66 billion of securities related to Bear Stearns and the American International Group, and the troubled insurer also owes $20 billion on a Fed credit line.
• Three Years After Private Equity Boom, an Exit Strategy. Private equity firms may finally have an exit strategy for deals made at the height of the buyout boom. While the market for initial public offerings remains unpredictable, the industry increasingly is finding a steady stream of buyers among rival firms and corporate suitors flush with cash.
• Central Bank and Financiers Fight Over Fate of the Euro. On one side is the European Central Bank, which is spending billions to prop up Europe’s weak-kneed bond markets and safeguard the common currency. On the other side are hedge funds and big financial institutions that are betting against those same bonds and, by extension, against the central bank, that mighty symbol of Europe’s monetary union. The war keeps escalating as traders position themselves for what some believe is inevitable: a default by Greece, Ireland or perhaps even Portugal. The central bank owns about 17 percent of the combined debt of Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Goldman Sachs estimates.

Forbes:

• Russell Abrams' Hedge Fund Accused of Fraud Amid Losses of 70%. Russell Abrams, founder of New York hedge fund firm Titan Capital Group, which not so long ago reportedly managed $400 million, is having a terrible year. One of his main hedge funds has suffered losses of as much as 70% since the end of June, according to a document filed in Manhattan’s New York state court.

GoldSeek:

• Fed's QE Ponzi Scheme Begins to Backfire.

Reuters:

• ECB Consensus at Risk Unless Governments Act. A fragile consensus at the European Central Bank could break down soon, threatening its triage operation to buy bonds from the euro zone's weakest economies, unless governments do more to resolve the bloc's debt crisis.
• US Regulations Hurt Competitiveness - Business Group. A broad-based financial regulatory overhaul enacted this year overreaches and must be modified to avoid hurting U.S. companies' ability to compete and create jobs, a prominent business group said on Wednesday. The Business Roundtable, made up of chief executives of leading firms from banking to oil production, said the Dodd-Frank bill contains provisions that reach far beyond the financial sector and could be a drag on economic recovery.

Telegraph:

• Eurozone Debt Fears Infect German Bonds. Eurozone debt crisis worries spread to German bonds as nervous markets turned their attention from Ireland to the splits within the European Union over how to stem contagion.

DigiTimes:

• LED Lighting to Reach US$15.4 Billion in 2011 With Over 10% Market Share. Lighting will generate significant growth for the LED industry. Based on latest data from Digitimes Research, the high brightness LED market will grow to US$12.6 billion in 2011, up 53% from US$8.25 billion in 2010. The overall use of LEDs in lighting will increase to 12.4 billion units in 2011 from 4.8 billion units in 2010, as the effects of LED light bulbs replacing incandescent bulbs will start to show in 2011.

Macau Daily Times:

• Five Unused Plots to Be Taken Back. The Government has decided to push forward with the recall of five undeveloped plots, secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, revealed yesterday at the Legislative Assembly. The process to declare that the concession of these areas has lapsed has already begun, he explained. During the 2011 Policy Address, Lau said two more cases were sent to the Public Attorney’s Office to evaluate whether or not there are grounds for a civil suit. In total, he stated, “approximately 30 cases” of unused plots are being analysed.

Bear Radar

Style Underperformer:

• Mid-Cap Value (+.52%)

Sector Underperformers:

• 1) Coal -2.26% 2) Restaurants -1.66% 3) REITs -1.65%

Stocks Falling on Unusual Volume:

• LUV, TGA, GIII, HANS, DECK, DORM, NFLX, RP, CISG, ARII, CEPH, PAAS, VECO, JOSB, JRCC, GOLD, UNFI, ASIA, CTRP, GDOT, KFN, VLKPY, PUDA, SWC and POWL
  

Stocks With Unusual Put Option Activity:

• 1) XLK 2) CIEN 3) KSS 4) FO 5) LOW
  

Stocks With Most Negative News Mentions:

• 1) PSA 2) V 3) HAL 4) MA 5) ETR
  

Bull Radar

Style Outperformer:

• Small-Cap Growth (+.11%)

Sector Outperformers:

• 1) Education +1.90% 2) Hospitals +1.29% 3) Banks +1.09%

Stocks Rising on Unusual Volume:

• AVID, OREX, AVAV, GNTX and RDWR
  

Stocks With Unusual Call Option Activity:

• 1) OREX 2) VVUS 3) JBLU 4) ARNA 5) SLE
  

Stocks With Most Positive News Mentions:

• 1) OCII 2) COST 3) AVGO 4) CQB 5) HHS
  

Wednesday Watch

Evening Headlines
Bloomberg:

• Mortgage-Bond Yields That Guide Home Loan Rates Soar to Highest Since June. Yields on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage securities that guide home-loan rates jumped to their highest levels in almost six months, suggesting borrowing costs will continue to climb from record lows. Fannie Mae’s current-coupon 30-year fixed-rate mortgage bonds rose to 4.04 percent as of 5 p.m. in New York, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields, whose changes typically create similar movements in loan rates, have increased from 3.27 percent on Nov. 4.
• Greenlight's Einhorn Says Global Sovereign Debt Crisis Looms. David Einhorn, president of hedge- fund operator Greenlight Capital Inc., said the global economy will face a sovereign debt crisis after governments around the world increased spending to deal with the fallout from the financial crisis. “We managed to transfer a lot of the problems from the private sector to the public sector,” Einhorn said in an interview with the Charlie Rose television show. “It’s created a very, very large budget deficit. And it’s created a monetary policy that’s extremely easy. It is eventually going to come to a tough spot.” The U.S. reported on Oct. 15 its second-largest annual budget deficit, $1.29 trillion, for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. The Federal Reserve’s decision to buy an additional $600 billion in Treasuries to lower borrowing costs and stimulate the economy will probably result in rising prices of basic goods for consumers and businesses, curtailing economic growth, according to Einhorn. “It’ll be counterproductive,” Einhorn said. “The goal of quantitative easing right now is to raise the inflation rate. If you do raise the price of clothing, it effectively lowers everybody’s standard of living and gives them less money to buy other things.”
• Bank Swaps Led by Citigroup(C) Drop Below Europe. U.S. bank bonds are about the safest on record relative to debt from European financial institutions as a growing economy allows Citigroup Inc. to wean itself off government support and a fiscal crisis roils Europe. The average cost of protecting the notes of the six biggest U.S. banks including Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co. against default fell to 12.16 basis points below the Markit iTraxx Financial Index of 25 European banks and insurers. Credit- default swaps on U.S. banks were 341 basis points higher than their European counterparts at the height of the credit crisis in October 2008.
  
• OPEC to Maintain Production Quotas as Crude Exceeds $90: Energy Markets. Oil’s rally to a more-than-two-year high is unlikely to coax OPEC into raising production quotas at this week’s meeting in Ecuador, as member nations consider the global recovery strong enough to withstand price gains. Iran, Venezuela and Libya said this month they would accept prices as high as $100, while OPEC Secretary- General Abdalla El-Badri said the group won’t necessarily boost production unless there’s a need for more oil. Prices will return to $100 a barrel for the first time in two years during 2011, according to strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
• Bernanke's 21-Month U-Turn Takes 60 Minutes: Commentary by Caroline Baum. He probably wishes he hadn’t said it, the part about the Federal Reserve not printing money and his 100 percent confidence in his ability to raise interest rates at the appropriate time to prevent an acceleration of inflation. But he did. The Fed does (print money). And nothing is 100 percent certain in this world, except death and taxes. After Sunday’s interview, we no longer have to worry about the Fed’s commitment to doing whatever it takes to promote a self-sustaining recovery. The real concern is policy makers won’t know when they’ve done enough. If history is any guide, we can be almost 100 percent certain that they won’t.
• China Asks Flour Makers to Refrain From Price Hikes. China has asked some of the country’s biggest flour producers to refrain from raising prices until March, when the National People’s Congress holds annual meetings, the Beijing Times reported today, without citing anyone.
• MBIA Sues Morgan Stanley(MS) Over Mortgage-Backed Debt. MBIA Insurance Corp. sued Morgan Stanley over allegations the securities firm “fraudulently induced” the insurer to issue policies covering $223.2 million in mortgage-backed securities. The bond-insuring unit of MBIA Inc. claims Morgan Stanley and one of its units failed to disclose that most of the 5,000 underlying loans didn’t meet the underwriting guidelines of the firm or the originators, according to a complaint filed yesterday in New York state court in White Plains. “A vast number of the mortgage loans were made to borrowers who could not reasonably have been expected to repay their mortgage debt,” MBIA’s attorneys alleged in the complaint.
• Italy Budget Adds Political Risk to Debt Woes for Berlusconi: Euro Credit. Italy’s passage of a 2011 budget plan paves the way for a confidence vote that will decide Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s political fate and complicate passage of more deficit cuts called for by the European Union. “It’s a problem if Italy really does become ungovernerable, or if Berlusconi is clinging on for dear life,” said Marc Ostwald, a fixed-income strategist at Monument Securities Ltd. in London.
• Texas Leaders Demand Spending Cuts Topping $500 Million in Current Year. Texas Governor Rick Perry and two other state leaders directed agencies to curb spending by as much as $750 million over the next nine months, citing “insufficient revenue” to cover costs. The 2.5 percent reduction is aimed at producing savings of $500 million to $750 million, said Mike Walz, a spokesman for Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who signed a letter to state officials with Perry and House Speaker Joe Straus. State revenue receipts for the year ended Aug. 31 came in $2 billion below estimates, they noted in the letter, which was dated yesterday. “Reduced spending in the current fiscal year puts state government in a better position to prepare for the budget reductions that will be necessary to balance the budget,” Perry, Dewhurst and Straus, all Republicans, said in the letter.
• BlackRock(BLK) May Lose Massachusetts Pension Assets Because Firm Not 'Focused'. BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, is set to lose assets it oversees for the $42.9 billion Massachusetts state pension fund because of concern that the firm isn’t adequately focused on some fixed-income markets.
• Texas Instruments(TXN) Fourth-Quarter Profit, Sales Forecasts Match Estimates. Texas Instruments Inc., the second- largest U.S. chipmaker, narrowed its fourth-quarter profit and sales forecasts. The midpoints of the ranges are in line with analysts’ projections.
• Wind-Power Producer NextEra Replaces California Turbines to end Bird Suit. NextEra Energy Resources LLC, the largest U.S. producer of wind power, agreed to replace thousands of outdated turbines in California, ending a five-year legal battle with environmental groups that claimed the spinning blades are killing endangered birds.
• U.S. Treasury Sets Record for Debt Sales at $2.116 Trillion. The U.S. Treasury set a record for borrowing in a calendar year after selling $32 billion of three- year securities to push its total note and bond sales to $2.116 trillion amid all-time high demand for the debt.
• Japan's Machinery Orders Decline for Second Month. Japanese machinery orders fell for a second month in October because of declining demand from the service sector, adding to signs that the nation’s export-led recovery is stalling.
• Kerry Says Congress Is 'Impatient,' U.S. May Take Action on Yuan Next Year. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry said the U.S. Congress is “impatient” with the artificially low value of China’s yuan and may take action next year. The Massachusetts Democrat, speaking in Washington about U.S.-China relations, also said that if the Group of 20 nations isn’t able to address currency values, the U.S. should find another way to deal with the issue. “The United States Congress is getting increasingly impatient and in the next session may take matters into its own hands,” Kerry said, noting that the value of the yuan contributes to the U.S. trade deficit. “If the G-20 can’t deal with this problem, then we ought to look at other multilateral tools, ones with teeth, that can fix this.”
• Fortune Brands(FO) May Spin Off Golf, Home and Security Businesses, WSJ Says. Fortune Brands Inc., the maker of Jim Beam bourbon and Titleist golf balls, may split into as many as three separate businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The home and security unit could be spun off to shareholders and the same may be done for the golf division while Fortune Brands would continue as a publicly traded liquor company, the Journal reported yesterday, citing people briefed on the plan. An announcement may come as soon as today, it said.

Wall Street Journal:

• Fannie, Freddie Pressed on Mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in talks with Obama administration officials to join fledgling government programs aimed at reducing loan balances of mortgages where borrowers owe more than their homes are worth, according to people familiar with the situation. An agreement with the two government-owned mortgage giants to write down so-called underwater loans could reduce the threat to the U.S. housing market from the glut of homeowners believed at risk of default should their personal finances or home prices worsen. A deal would deepen losses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which already have cost taxpayers about $134 billion.
• Goldman Sachs Hires Lures Big New York Prosecutor In House. Goldman Sachs(GS) is hiring David Markowitz of New York Attorney General's office for its litigation and regulatory proceedings group. Markowitz joined the attorney general's office in 2008 from the SEC, where he worked eight years.
• Canadian Finance Minister Says European Response to Crisis Still Insufficient. European nations haven’t yet managed to get ahead of the financial crisis that’s rocking the region, said Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. “It’s important… to get ahead of the markets rather than play catch-up,” said Mr. Flaherty. “I think they have to demonstrate to the markets that they can fund adequately to restore confidence by the markets in the sovereigns and in the banks.” Mr. Flaherty’s comments come as global investors fret that other European nations — particularly Portugal and Spain — may also fall prey to fears that they could default on debt, spurring a full-fledged banking crisis. His sentiments echo concerns aired Tuesday by International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who said European nations need to come up with a comprehensive fix for their problems, rather than the slow, ad hoc response they’ve shown thus far.
• Sale of New Silver Coin Delayed. The U.S. Mint said it is delaying the sale of 2010 "America the Beautiful" five-ounce silver coins due to concerns about the high prices and premiums that were to be charged for the bullion coins by its network of authorized purchasers.
• New Players, Ties Surface in Trading Probe. Federal authorities have failed in two attempts to enlist the help of individuals to gather evidence against Steven Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors LP as part of a wide insider-trading investigation.
• For New MBA Grads, Jobs Still Tough to Find.
• Unions Want Limits on Firms' Use of Contractors. Unions are stepping up a campaign to get the Obama administration to crack down on companies that treat workers as independent contractors instead of employees—a practice that effectively puts tens of thousands of workers out of reach of labor organizers.

Business Insider:

• Netflix(NFLX) CFO Leaves Becuase He Can't Become CEO.

NY Times:

• Rigs in Gulf Ready to Drill, but There's Little Work. A slow permit process has idled oil rigs and threatened prospects for rig owners, despite the end of the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

Forbes:

• The Economic Incompetence of the Political Class. The sovereign debt crisis now threatening Europe, as well as major American states and cities, discloses the sheer incompetence of a political class that has over-promised, under-delivered and squandered vast amounts of their citizens' wealth.

mocoNews.net:

• CNBC Brings Its 'Real-Time' Data To The iPad - Paid Products Coming Soon. As its rivals look to buttress their existing “real-time” data businesses with separate digital products, CNBC has released its first iPad app that promises to bring up-to-the-second financial information to a more general audience. While most real-time services costs thousands of dollars in subscription fees, CNBC is keeping the iPad app free. However, in the coming weeks, the company is planning to rollout additional apps, with a focus on offering premium, paid content.

Politico:

• Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Cancer. Elizabeth Edwards, who remade the role of the political spouse for a new media age, died Tuesday at her home in Chapel Hill, N.C., after a six-year struggle with cancer. Edwards, a lawyer, best-selling author and the wife of former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, was 61.
• Harry Reid Tries to Add Online Poker to Tax Bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to use the tax cut package President Barack Obama brokered with Republicans to legalize online poker, POLITICO has learned — a move that could further complicate the deal Obama announced Monday.
• Anger of House Democrats Boils Over. House Democrats railed against President Barack Obama's tax cut deal with congressional Republicans in a closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday night, even as there were signs that the White House could pick up enough support for the package to win enactment. Speaker after speaker expressed frustration at the president's acquiescence to Republican demands for a multi-year freeze on the rates for top income in exchange for an extension of unemployment insurance and a basket of Democratic-favored tax breaks, according to several Democratic sources.

Telegraph:

• Ireland's Austerity Budget Puts the Squeeze on Public Sector Workers. Ireland's public sector workers are to bear the brunt of next year's austerity measures with cuts to their pensions, pay and staff numbers as the government tries to grapple with the scale of the nation's debts.

The Guardian:

• WikiLeaks Cables: Lockerbie Bomber Freed After Gaddafi's 'Thuggish' Threats. The British government's deep fears that Libya would take "harsh and immediate" action against UK interests if the convicted Lockerbie bomber died in a Scottish prison are revealed in secret US embassy cables which show London's full support for the early release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.

YTN:

• Artillery shells fell in North Korean waters today. The shells fell near South Korea's Baengyeong Island and may have been fired by North Korea.

Asahi:

• North Korean 'New Military' Led by Hard-Line General. The North Korean propaganda machine has repeatedly described Kim Jong Un as an artillery genius who can speak seven languages, took up a rifle when he was 3 and is capable of striking a target every time he fires. But a hard-line army general who represents a "New Military" with increasing influence over the North Korean regime appears to be the true architect of the Nov. 23 artillery attack on Daeyeonpyeongdo island, according to sources.

ABC Radio Australia:

• China Works to Avoid Its Own Subprime Loans Crisis. A senior Chinese economist has warned of the risks facing China in the coming year, including a potential sub prime loans crisis.

China Securities Journal:

• Shanghai will be among the first group of Chinese cities to undertake property tax trials, citing an official with the city's housing bureau.

Haaretz.com:

• Israel-U.S. Talks on Renewed Settlement Freeze Reach Dead End. Senior Israeli official says U.S., Israeli governments to announce that negotiations have failed, two sides to find new ways to advance Mideast peace process.

Evening Recommendations
Citigroup:

• Reiterated Buy on (GE), target $21.

Susquehanna:

• Rated (UNP) Positive, target $115.
• Rated (KSU) Positive, target $60.
• Rated (WERN) Positive, target $28.
• Rated (NSC) Positive, target $76.

Night Trading

• Asian equity indices are -.75% to +.50% on average.
• Asia Ex-Japan Investment Grade CDS Index 106.50 -1.0 basis point.
  
• Asia Pacific Sovereign CDS Index 104.25 -3.5 basis points.
  
• S&P 500 futures -.29%
  
• NASDAQ 100 futures -.21%.

Morning Preview Links

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate

• (COST)/.69
• (UNFI)/.39
• (GIII)/2.09
• (KFY)/.24
• (MATK)/.37

Economic Releases
10:30 am EST

• Bloomberg consensus estimates call for a weekly crude oil inventory decline of -1,400,000 barrels versus a +1,066,000 barrel increase the prior week. Gasoline supplies are estimated to fall by -300,000 barrels versus a +561,000 barrel gain the prior week. Distillate supplies are estimated to fall by -900,000 barrels versus a -194,000 barrel decline the prior week. Finally, Refinery Utilization is expected to rise by +1.0% versus a -2.9% decline the prior week.
  

Upcoming Splits

• None of note
  

Other Potential Market Movers

• The weekly MBA mortgage applications report, Barclays Tech Conference, Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference, CSFB Holiday Conference, Wells Fargo Real Estate Conference, UBS Media/Communications Conference, (ROK) analyst meeting and the (YUM) analyst conference could also impact trading today.
  

BOTTOM LINE: Asian indices are mostly lower, weighed down by financial and commodity shares in the region. I expect US stocks to open mixed and to weaken into the afternoon, finishing modestly lower. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the day.

Stocks Slightly Higher into Final Hour on Tax Policies, Less Economic Fear, Short-Covering

Broad Market Tone:

• Advance/Decline Line: Higher
  
• Sector Performance: Most Rising
  
• Volume: Slightly Below Average
  
• Market Leading Stocks: Underperforming
  

Equity Investor Angst:

• VIX 17.90 -.55%
  
• ISE Sentiment Index 182.0 +11.66%
  
• Total Put/Call .73 -1.35%
  
• NYSE Arms .53 -52.06%
  

Credit Investor Angst:

• North American Investment Grade CDS Index 88.01 bps -4.34%
  
• European Financial Sector CDS Index 127.79 bps +1.95%
  
• Western Europe Sovereign Debt CDS Index 180.50 bps -.55%
  
• Emerging Market CDS Index 210.73 bps -.02%
  
• 2-Year Swap Spread 21.0 -2 bps
  
• TED Spread 17.0 -1 bp
  

Economic Gauges:

• 3-Month T-Bill Yield .13% +1 bp
  
• Yield Curve 262.0 +10 bps
  
• China Import Iron Ore Spot $164.70/Metric Tonne -1.44%
  
• Citi US Economic Surprise Index -14.10 -2.0 points
  
• 10-Year TIPS Spread 2.25% +6 bps
  

Overseas Futures:

• Nikkei Futures: Indicating +64 open in Japan
• DAX Futures: Indicating +8 open in Germany

Portfolio:

• Higher: On gains in my Retail, Ag, Biotech and Technology long positions
  
• Disclosed Trades: Added (IWM)/(QQQQ) hedges, added to my (EEM) short
  
• Market Exposure: Moved to 75% Net Long

BOTTOM LINE: Today's overall market action is mildly bullish as the S&P 500 trades slightly higher despite soaring long-term rates, recent gains, China inflation worries and insider trading probe rumors. On the positive side, Restaurant, Hospital, Disk Drive, Software and Steel shares are especially strong, rising more than 1.0%. Cyclical and Small-Cap shares are outperforming again. Copper is rising +.76% and Lumber is gaining +.95% despite more euro weakness. Weekly retail sales rose +3.8% this week versus a +3.2% gain the prior week. This is the best showing since the first week of April. The Italy sovereign cds is falling -5.95% to 202.34 bps. Gold is falling -1.45%. On the negative side, Airline, Construction, Gold, Oil Service and Coal shares are under pressure, falling more than 1.0%. The Portugal sovereign cds is gaining +1.15% to 440.26 bps and the Belgium sovereign cds is climbing +4.0% to 195.30 bps. The US Muni CDS Index is rising +3.64% to 191.21 bps, as well. The 10-year yield is soaring +21 bps to 3.13%. Market leading stocks have mostly underperformed throughout the day. Some key investor sentiment gauges are getting a bit too bullish. The Fed's highly flawed QE2 program and more short-term US economic optimism, as a result of the tax policies, are fueling a huge surge in long-term interest rates, which could potentially derail the economy next year as oil and mortgage rates rise too much. I expect US stocks to trade mixed-to-lower into the close from current levels on soaring long-term rates, profit-taking, China inflation fears, insider trading probe rumors and technical selling.

Today's Headlines

Bloomberg:

• Tax Cuts May Fuel Economy, Limit Need to Extend Fed Purchases. President Barack Obama’s agreement to extend Bush-era income-tax cuts may give U.S. economic growth a boost while reducing pressure on the Federal Reserve to prolong its $600 billion bond-purchase program. Obama’s deal with congressional Republicans may raise gross domestic product next year by as much as half a percentage point to about 3.1 percent, said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. Allen Sinai, chief global economist at Decision Economics in New York, also raised his growth forecast for next year by half a point, to a range of 2.75 percent to 3 percent. Stocks rallied after the agreement was announced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the highest level since the financial crisis in September 2008 on expectations that the extension of Bush-era tax rates, as well as reduction in payroll taxes, would spur the consumer spending that accounts for 70 percent of the world’s largest economy. “It bumps up consumer spending in the first half of next year,” Feroli said. “You’re going to have a pretty nice increase in disposable income.” Much of the increase would come from a 2 percent cut in payroll taxes -- which fund Social Security and Medicare -- that “we weren’t expecting,” he said. The payroll-tax cut would apply to all wage earners, an administration official told reporters on a conference call yesterday. That would be an $800 savings for individuals with an income of $40,000. Those who earn salaries of more than $106,800 would save a maximum of $2,136.
• Credit-Default Swaps Tumble to One-Month Low on Obama Tax Cuts. The cost of protecting U.S. corporate bonds from default fell for a fifth day and to the lowest in a month after President Barack Obama agreed to extend tax cuts. “The market much prefers certainty to uncertainty,” Brian Yelvington, head of fixed-income research at Knight Libertas LLC in Greenwich, Connecticut wrote in an e-mailed note. The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, which investors use to hedge against losses on corporate debt or to speculate on creditworthiness, decreased 2.9 basis points to a mid-price of 87.7 basis points as of 8:22 a.m. in New York, according to index administrator Markit Group Ltd.
• ECB Said to Be Buying Irish, Portuguese, Greek Government Securities Today. The European Central Bank bought Irish and Portuguese government bonds today, according to at least two people with knowledge of the transactions. Central banks were also buying Greek debt, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the deals are confidential. Irish 10-year bonds rose, sending the yield down nine basis points to 8.28 percent as of 12:27 p.m. in London.
• Junk Bond Defaults Fell to 3.3% in November, to Drop Further, Moody's Says. The global speculative-grade default rate fell to a two-year low of 3.3 percent last month at Moody’s Investors Service, as junk-rated borrowers tapped the bond market at a record pace. The rate declined from 3.7 percent in October and 13.6 percent a year ago, Moody’s said in a report today. Defaults will fall to 2.9 percent by year-end and 1.8 percent by November 2011, according to the report. That compares with a forecast last month of 2.8 percent by year-end and 1.9 percent by October 2011.
• Middle East Supertanker Excess Expands, Curbing Potential Rates Advance. A surplus of supertankers competing to collect 2 million-barrel cargoes of Middle East oil expanded, curbing the potential for rates to rally as Northern Hemisphere refineries seek more crude to meet winter demand. There are 23 percent more very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, for hire over the next four weeks than there are cargoes, according to the median estimate of six shipowners and brokers surveyed by Bloomberg News. The surplus was 18 percent for the past two weeks.
• First Exchange-Traded Funds Backed by Industrial Metals Will Start Dec. 10. ETF Securities Ltd., whose managers started the world’s first gold-backed exchange-traded product, said it will list similar funds holding copper, nickel and tin on the London Stock Exchange on Dec. 10. Other ETPs backed by aluminum, lead and zinc will be introduced next year, the Jersey, Channel Islands-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. The first three funds will be denominated in dollars and carry a management expense ratio of 0.69 percent, it said. A seventh fund will track all six metals. “They give investors, for the first time, direct access to the physical metals market,” ETF Securities Chairman Graham Tuckwell said in the statement.
• China, India, Brazil Push U.S. for Deeper Greenhouse Gas Cuts. China, India, Brazil and South Africa said the U.S. must pledge deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to help make progress in United Nations climate talks, sharpening divisions between rich and poor countries on how to combat global warming. The four developing nations at the talks in Cancun, Mexico, also called on industrialized economies to provide more aid for countries seeking to clean up their energy industries, adding to demands that the U.S. and European Union said may wreck the meeting.
• Iran Agrees to More Nuclear Talks, Won't Suspend Enrichment. Iran agreed to more talks on its nuclear program while saying it would “absolutely not” suspend uranium enrichment, marking the first time in a more than a year that diplomatic options for the dispute are being kept alive.
• Onyx(ONXX) Drug Reduced Cancer in a Third of Patients With Myeloma in New Study. Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s experimental drug carfilzomib shrank the tumors of one-third of study patients with multiple myeloma, a deadly blood cancer. The company’s shares surged the most in four months in New York trading. The company rose $3.91, or 13 percent, to $33.25 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 9:44 a.m.
• Christie Says Goal Is To Erase New Jersey Budget Gap by End of First Term. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said his goal is to erase the state’s chronic budget deficits by the end of his first term. Christie, a Republican who took office in January, spoke to Bloomberg News after a speech to business leaders in Newark that was closed to the press.
• Tax-Cut Extension Will Fuel U.S. Growth, Pimco's El-Erian Says: Tom Keene. Pacific Investment Management Co.’s Mohamed El-Erian said that the U.S. tax agreement worked out by the Obama administration is good for growth as reflected in gains in stocks and commodities and declines in bonds. “It puts pressure on the fiscal situation so bonds are selling off,” El-Erian, chief executive and co-chief investment officer of the firm that runs the world’s biggest bond fund, said in an interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene. “It is very important that the market is interpreting it as good for growth, so risk assets are rallying across the board.”

Wall Street Journal:

• Hedge Funds Post $16 Billion Inflow in Oct., Heaviest Since Nov. 2009. Hedge funds hauled in $16 billion in October, marking the heaviest inflow the industry saw since November 2009, according to alternative investment data provider BarclayHedge.
• 18 Countries Join China in Nobel Boycott. China and 18 other countries have declined to attend this year's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony honoring imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, Nobel officials said Tuesday. China has unleashed a new barrage deriding the decision, with Chinese officials in Beijing called Liu's backers "clowns" in an anti-Chinese farce — comments that came only three days before the Dec. 10 Nobel peace prize ceremony in Oslo. Beijing considers Liu's recognition an attack on China's political and legal system, and says the country's policies will not be swayed by outside forces in what it calls "flagrant interference in China's sovereignty."
• Julian Assange Denied Bail After Arrest. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was denied bail at a court hearing following his arrest in the U.K. early Tuesday on an international warrant related to sexual-assault allegations in Sweden.
  

CNBC:

• Job Openings Rise Sharply to a Two Year High. Employers posted a sharp increase in job openings in October, raising hopes that hiring could pick up in the coming months. Businesses and government advertised nearly 3.4 million jobs at the end of October, up about 12 percent from the previous month, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
• Payroll Tax Cut Signals Big Obama Shift to Supply Side. Wall Street cheered President Obama’s fiscal compromise with Republicans, not just the extension of the existing Bush-era tax cuts, but the addition of a payroll tax cut in particular as that measure may signal an even bigger shift on the part of the White House toward supply-side economics.

Business Insider:

• Deutsche Bank Explains Why The Payroll Tax Holiday Is A Game Changer, And Could Push GDP to 4.1%. As we noted earlier, it's almost depressing that the payroll tax holiday didn't come sooner in the recovery. If this math from Deutsche Bank is to be believed -- and it seems pretty plausible -- then the cut could be a game changer and add meaningfully to GDP.
• Commercial Real Estate Prices Dive Sharply in October After Several Months of Gains.
• Ted Turner Urges World Leaders to Adopt China's One Child Policy on Global Scale.
• David Rosenberg is Positively Giddy at How Good The Economy Is.
  

Zero Hedge:

• Morgan Stanley's(MS) Top Rated Trades for 2011.
  
• Bank of America(BAC) Sued by SEC for Muni Securities Fraud, Settles for $137 Million.
  

New York Times:

• Banks May Face Rating Cuts, Analyst Says. One of Wall Street’s most influential securities analysts is telling investors to brace themselves: some of the nation’s biggest banks could be on the cusp of a credit rating downgrade. In a new report, Glenn Schorr, who covers brokerage firms and banks at Nomura, says that while “it’s not a done deal, at present, Bank of America(BAC), Citigroup(C) and Morgan Stanley(MS) appear most at risk of being downgraded to Tier 2 status.”

HedgeCo.Net:

• Hedge Fund Manager Mueller Gets 40 Years, Elway Lost $15 Million. Hedge fund manager Sean Mueller, who pleaded guilty last month to securities fraud and stealing $71 million from investors, was sentenced yesterday to 40 years behind bars.

Apple Insider:

• Apple(AAPL) Struggles to Meet iPhone 4, iPad, MacBook Air Demand in China. Apple's hottest products are facing significant demand in China, with the 11-inch MacBook Air, certain versions of the iPad, and the iPhone 4 all facing shortages. Analyst Brian White with Ticonderoga Securities is continuing his tour of the Far East, and on Monday provided investors an update on his second day in China. Though he noted the iPad and 11-inch MacBook Air, in particular he found the iPhone 4 to be Apple's most difficult product to purchase. He said wait times are around two months and carrier China Unicom is unable to fulfill about a third of preorders. "Most of the carriers agree that the high-end smartphone opportunity in China is approximately 100-125 million subscribers, which we view as the addressable market for the iPhone," White wrote.
  

Real Clear Politics:

• Will the Next President & Congress Rescue Us From ObamaCare? Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize winner in economics and an influential New York Times columnist, also has a blog, "The Conscience of a Liberal." On ABC's This Week (Nov. 14), during a discussion on balancing the federal budget against alarming deficits, he proclaimed the way to solve this problem is through deeply cost-effective health care rationing. "Some years down the pike," he said, "we're going to get the real solution, which is going to be a combination of death panels and sales taxes." That would mean the U.S. Debt Reduction Commission "should have endorsed the panel that was part of the [Obama] health care reform."

Politico:

• Democratic Leaders Rip Tax Deal. Democratic leaders in the House are openly rebelling against President Barack Obama’s deal with Republicans on the Bush-era tax cuts — further isolating the president from Democrats who carried his agenda for the first two years of his presidency. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Tuesday that Democrats didn’t reach a deal with the White House, adding that his party believes it is “not appropriate” to extend tax cuts for upper-income Americans “when the deficit is at unacceptable levels.” “There was, at that point in time, no consensus or agreement reached by the House leadership,” Hoyer said. “There was a discussion it took some time, but there was no agreement reached.”

AP:

• More Auto Loans Going to Subprime Buyers. Consumers with less than stellar credit are getting car loans again as lenders loosen their standards, and the trend is likely to continue as more lenders get into the business. The percentage of loans going to subprime buyers rose 8 percent in the third quarter, their first year-over-year increase since 2007, according to a report issued Tuesday by Experian, a credit reporting agency. For new cars, the percentage of loans going to subprime buyers rose 13 percent over the July-September period in 2009. The increase for used cars was 3 percent.

Arabian Business:

• Exclusive: "You'll see a lot of cancellations in 2011" - RERA boss Bin Ghalaita. Many construction projects in Dubai that look unlikely ever to be finished will be cancelled in 2011, CEO of RERA, Dubai’s real estate watchdog, Marwan bin Ghalaita has said.