2011 March
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BATS Global Markets to Challenge NYSE, Nasdaq for Stock Listings
Just as a wave of mergers and acquisitions among the world's major bourses has raised regulatory concerns, a feisty challenger, BATS Global Markets, has announced plans to enter the stock listings business by year's end.
As an Electronic Communication Network (ECN), BATS currently can conduct trades of stocks listed on other exchanges but has no stock listings of its own. As another primary U.S. market, BATS would compete directly with NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) for listings of publicly traded U.S. companies.
Its timing couldn't be better. A merger proposed in February between the Deustche Börse AG and the NYSE Euronext would create an exchange nearly four times bigger than any rival. News of that deal drove Nasdaq to consider a counter-bid for NYSE Euronext, which if successful would leave just one U.S. listing market.
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How to Profit from Hottest M&A Activity Since 2007
With about $720 billion in merger and acquisition activity, 2011's first three months could become the biggest quarter for corporate deals since 2007. Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald joins a panel on FoxBusiness' "Bulls & Bears" program to share takeover targets in the energy, technology and retail sectors. Check out their picks for [...]
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Federal Reserve Report: Central Bank's Record $82 Billion "Profit" is a Red Flag Warning
If the record $81.7 billion in profit that the U.S. Federal Reserve reported for 2010 was turned over to taxpayers directly, there's no doubt it would have some "stimulus" benefit – after all, a $270 check for every man, women and child in the United States ain't chicken-feed.
But since that money actually just "disappears" into the coffers of the U.S. Treasury, it does very little good for anybody.
Still, since the pretax earnings of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) never got above the $12 billion mark, it's worth taking a closer look at the Fed's reported profits to see just what's going on – especially since we taxpayers will be called upon to bail out the central bank, once the inevitable losses arrive.
And once you take the time to investigate, you'll quickly realize two things – this "profit" isn't what it seems. And you should be worried – very worried – about what's to come.
To see why this "profit" report is a cause for concern, please read on…
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U.S. Consumers Get Creative to Handle High Food and Fuel Prices
There's no question the staggering rise in food and fuel prices will eat away at U.S. households' income in coming months.
But there is the question of how U.S. consumers will cope with those increased costs – especially when so many are already worried about their jobs, savings, investments and retirement.
With gas prices nearing $4.00 a gallon, and the consumer price index (CPI) in February for food-at-home up 2.8% from 2010, U.S. consumers are facing an economic double whammy. As food and fuel expenses make up a larger slice of household budgets, U.S. consumers have to evaluate just which goods are worth buying.
Montana resident Myriam Garcia some days has to choose between filling up her truck with gas or buying food.
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Long-Term Investing Strategies: The Final Four Ways to Invest in Global Demographic Trends
Stock-market icon Warren Buffett once said that "our favorite holding period is forever."
Clearly, if you want to be a stock-market winner, you need to find profit opportunities that offer a predictable, long-term payoff.
And one of the best ways to do that is to capitalize on global demographic trends.
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The Death of the "Dollar Carry Trade"
By maintaining a F ederal F unds rate below the 0.25% level – and injecting $600 billion into the banking system through a second round of quantitative easing – the U.S. Federal Reserve has orchestrated a bubble-like surge in commodity prices, an uptick in global inflation and a historic resurgence in U.S. stock prices.
The low-interest-rate strategy has enabled the U.S. central bank to achieve another important objective – a massive depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar.
There's only one problem with all these "successes" the Fed has achieved: If the dollar ever rebounds, this elaborate financial structure the central bank has engineered will be exposed for what it really is – a shaky arrangement that will collapse like the house of cards that it is.
The fallout from such a collapse could be widespread and painful – especially for investors who've been riding the so-called "dollar carry trade" to major profits.
There's one way to profit from Gilani's newest prediction. Read on to find out all about it.
