Market Quotes - Livermore + Patience

Jesse Livermore once said, "Throughout all my years of investing, I've found that the big money was never made in the buying or the selling. The big money was made in the waiting."

For reference, Jesse's Wikipedia bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Livermore

FCX: Copper + CHINA = $$$

One of the main reasons why I like U.S. based copper + gold producer Freeport McMoran (FCX) so much has to do with its still GROWING international business and 'leverage' to the Chinese economy. More specifically, FCX is minting money thanks to higher worldwide commodity prices and expanding international relationships with demand-STARVED countries like China, India, etc. FORGET the U.S for the time being...while the U.S. is in a housing recession it will be the GROWING/emerging countries that incrementally add to the bottom line/profits of copper producers like Freeport).

Per the below article, I'm proud to say that it looks like my China-copper thesis is still in tact as China is expected to buy/consume about 20% more copper in 2008 vs. last year...snipped from the below Bloomberg article:
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=alWlh3m3fv50&refer=home

"April 9 (Bloomberg) -- China, the world's biggest copper consumer, may increase imports of ore used to make the metal by 20 percent to a record this year, said Trafigura Beheer BV, the country's top supplier. Purchases of so-called concentrate, or processed ore containing copper, may rise to 5.4 million metric tons from 4.5 million tons in 2007 as China expands in smelting, said Simon Collins, director of Trafigura Trading Shanghai Co., a unit of Trafigura. China would become the world's top (copper) buyer, surpassing Japan which bought 5.05 million tons last year....China's 11.4 percent economic growth in 2007, the fastest in 13 years, fueled demand for copper and pushed prices to a record $8,820 a ton on the London Metal Exchange on March 6. Investment in cities and highways has spread to the center and west of the world's most populous country, increasing consumption of metals for power, homes, factories and cars. "If you travel outside of Shanghai and Beijing to provincial capitals and second-tier cities, you'll see an enormous amount of development going on,'' Collins said by telephone from Shanghai April 4. ``I'm very bullish on China.''...Trafigura, a closely held commodities trader based in Amsterdam, is the largest seller of copper concentrate to China, supplying about 1 million tons a year, said Collins, who is responsible for metals and minerals operations in the country. The company sells more than 600,000 tons of lead and zinc ore, and about 1 million tons of alumina a year, ranking in the top five suppliers of these materials to China...Sales from metals and minerals totaled $11.3 billion in 2007, of which Asia contributed $5.4 billion. The company's total revenue, including oil, was $51 billion. The nation's consumption of metals will grow for at least two more decades because of a population shift from rural areas to cities, Collins said. "You're going to see a movement of probably 200 million people over the next 20 years to urban areas,'' he said. "

Data Courtesy: Bloomberg.com, snagged on 4/09/08.
Full Disclosure: I own shares of FCX.

The IMF Sells $13B Gold @ $900/oz

The 3rd Largest Holder of Worldwide Gold Reserves, The International Monetary Fund, is about to sell $13 Billion of its GOLD Reserves (12.5% of its position)...Check out the snippet I grabbed from the linked blog entry below from Bloggingstocks.com (an AOL owned web site...AOL is a unit of parent company Time Warner, TWX):

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/04/08/imf-turns-into-gold-trader/

IMF Turns Into Gold Trader:

Posted April 8th, 208 at 5:29 PM by Aaron Katsman

"You know that the rally in Gold has reached bubble proportions when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announces that they are selling a huge chunk of their gold reserves. The sale of a 12.5% share of their gold position is a big supply that is going to be coming onto the market, and could potentially pressure gold prices.

According to the Marketwatch report: " In a statement on Monday, Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the IMF had made "difficult but necessary choices" to close an income shortfall and make the agency more efficient through a "new and sustainable income and expenditure framework."

The sale could generate over $13 Billion."

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My Brief Take - Despite the discouraging tone of the above blog My Long Term (3-5 year horizon) outlook on Gold REMAINS bullish. That being said...I am a lot more uncertain about the short term outlook for the precious metal given the IMF news. This piece of news HAS to be construed as being bearish for current gold holders/investors. Unless mankind is DOOMED to a hell of eternal stupidity (which it very well could be btw given the recent disturbing example of JR. Bush's 8 YEAR PRESIDENCY!), you need to have enough faith in the system to assume that the IMF knows what it's doing. This entity isn't just any seller...this is the International Monetary Fund! For reference's sake, Wikipedia describes the IMF as:

"An international organization that oversees the global financial system by observing exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering financial and technical assistance...The IMF describes itself as "an organization of 185 countries (Montenegro being the 185th, as of January 18, 2007), working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty". With the exception of North Korea, Cuba, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Tuvalu, and Nauru, all UN member states participate directly in the IMF..."

Bottom line, Given the IMF's VAST set of Resources (Money/capital, Information, 'Collective Intellect') and References (BANKING relationships with nearly 200 countries in the world), I've become incrementally bearish about the NEAR/SHORT term prospects + price direction/trend of Gold. FYI, as of 4/08/08, Gold is trading at $920 an ounce.

*REMEMBER - Gold's had a SOLID run over the past couple of years. The GLD is up 112% from3 years ago today- APRIL 8th 2005! Because of that recent run I would take my time getting fully invested in this volatile commodity. Personally, I like the long term risk/reward offered by Gold at a price of $800 an ounce.

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*Lastly, commodities commentator from TheStreet.com, Simon Constable, believes Gold becomes 'TECHNICALLY' attractive (attractive to 'chart traders'...those traders who closely follow + trade off of historical price patterns/Technical analysis) from a risk/reward standpoint around $750/ounce. Check out the interview for yourself (hopefully the link stays linked to the page with the video interview...I doubt it):

http://www.thestreet.com/_rmswtile/video/strategysession/10411213.html#1486953589

Data Courtesy: Bloggingstocks.com + TheStreet.com.

Canada's ENERGY Boom

Higher CRUDE OIL prices are great for CANADA and its booming ENERGY economy...this MSNBC.com article is a great example of why I think so highly of Canada's future economic prospects (pssst - they have oil...LOTS of it...and their really not all that 'foreign'):

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23958032/

Some Interesting Takeaways:
*Canada’s “oil sands” reserves have helped make it the Leading international crude oil supplier to the United States (not Saudia Arabia...not Venezuela...not Iraq...not Iran, etc.)

*According to the article, "There's more oil up here in the Canadian sub-Arctic than in all of Saudi Arabia. These tar sands stretch on for about 50,000 square miles." (Gotta say I'm a little skeptical about this...but I do know from one of my earlier REFerence posts that Canada is AT THE VERY LEAST #2 worldwide in Crude Oil Reserves.

*The article brings to light a potential downer about oil sands + oil shale exploration...extracting oil from oil sands and oil shale releases THREE times as much CARBON DIOXIDE as traditional oil drilling. "

Data Courtesy: MSNBC.com, snagged on 4/08/08.

China Closer to Investing in the U.S. ?

An interesting long-term development to keep track of...per the below Marketwatch.com article, China and the U.S. have reached a historic economic agreement that will "help lay the groundwork to enable Chinese investors to buy and sell U.S. stocks and mutual funds.

*According to data from the U.S. Treasury Department from last June -
China held $922 billion in U.S. securities -- but only $29 billion of that in U.S. stocks. Most of the rest is held in U.S. government bonds. "

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/china-agrees-let-banks-buy/story.aspx?guid=%7B6F5A6292%2D0E2C%2D4AB3%2D8501%2D52DABC307E99%7D

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*Check out the decent Pros vs. Cons breakdown offered by CNBC.com:

*The 'Pro' View:
1) Liberalization of capital markets is a positive.

2) Investments made by China's institutional investors (would be politically) more preferable than by China's sovereign wealth funds.

3) Good for China, too, as it helps prevent future stock market bubbles by giving investors alternatives.

*The 'Con' View:
1) The announcement Monday did not give a dollar figure on how much new investment would be allowed, nor did it give implementation data.

2) Not likely to see a lot of buying from the Chinese any time soon, as they are still counting their losses from investments in Blackstone Group (BX) and Bear Sterns (BSC).

3) Neither Chinese fund managers nor their clients know much about the U.S. market and they'd be hesitant to jump into it.

4) It's an uneven playing field right now as U.S. investors are still not allowed to invest in mainland China shares.


http://www.cnbc.com/id/23999452/site/14081545


Data Courtesy: Marketwatch.com + CNBC.com.

Goldman'$ LEVERAGE ?

Apparently GLOBAL investment banker Goldman Sachs (GS) has no qualms about its current 'LEVERAGE situation'. Check out the quoted material below that I grabbed from the linked Bloomberg article written today, April 7th:

"Goldman alone is holding course, refusing to trim its leverage, a measure of how reliant a firm is on debt. The adjusted leverage ratio of assets to equity jumped to 18.6 at the end of February, from 17.5 at the end of November. ``We have no need as we sit here right now to shrink our balance sheet,'' Viniar told analysts on the March 18 conference call...That bravado suggests Goldman, having outmaneuvered New York-based competitors last year by making money in the falling mortgage-backed securities market, is once again poised to take a different -- and potentially more profitable -- tack from the rest of the industry...At Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH), CFO Erin Callan told analysts the same day that the firm's ratio of net assets to tangible equity, the way it measures leverage, dropped to 15.4 at the end of February, from 16.1 at the end of November. ``Our goal is to continue to take that leverage down,'' Callan said...Goldman's leverage is also more sustainable because the firm's borrowing costs haven't jumped as much as that of rivals such as Lehman, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch & Co., the No. 3 U.S. securities firm. Goldman, unlike Lehman and Merrill, has maintained a AA rating from all three credit-rating firms. Goldman debt that matures in January 2018 is yielding 2.41 percentage points more than comparable government bonds, while Lehman notes that mature in September 2017 trade at 3.02 points more than Treasuries...When prices of real estate and related securities eventually hit rock bottom, Goldman may have more flexibility than its competitors to start buying assets and add to its leverage, Hendler said.

``That's where Goldman may be able to differentiate itself because it has the capital to go in and take a chance, whereas some of these other guys, especially with regulatory scrutiny, it may be a little more difficult,'' Hendler said.

Another source of comfort for Goldman may be the way it finances its balance sheet. Only 14.8 percent of its borrowing comes from short-term REPO markets, in which firms sell assets and then repurchase them, according to Bank of America's Hecht. ``Our overriding concern has always been liquidity,'' van Praag said. ``The guiding principal is to borrow more, for longer.'' Bear Stearns, the fifth-largest securities firm, had relied on repos for 26.7 percent of its borrowing at the end of fiscal 2007, Hecht wrote. When other market participants became skittish about Bear Stearns's finances, they became less willing to engage in repo transactions, depriving the New York-based company of a key source of funding. Lehman has the highest reliance on repo funding of the industry's five biggest firms, at 27.2 percent of liabilities, Hecht said. "

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aA1scZyHazOI&refer=home

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*Regarding GS and ALL of their LEVERAGE - Am I FOOLISH to doubt them? Or FOOLISH to trust them given what's happened to now defunct Bear Sterns (it was levered at 30 x) ? I think of that question and then I WAKE UP and realize that these guys are #1 at LEGALLY minting money..no joke..until that blows up I'm sticking with Goldman.


Data Courtesy: Bloomberg.com, snagged on 4/07/08.
Full Disclosure: I own shares of GS.

Nat Gas, CHK + A 'Newfound Renaissance' ?

In an earlier post dated 3/11/08, I noted the HUGE amount of INSIDER BUYING at NATURAL GAS producing company, Chesapeake Energy (CHK). To recap, Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon purchased $23 million of company stock in March.

Guess he wasn't done.

Aubrey's back and just disclosed another purchase of CHK company stock. On Wednesday, the CEO of CHK bought 500,000 MORE shares at an average price of $45.75/share. ..an additional $22.875 million worth of shares!

Since February 26th of THIS year, Aubrey's bought over $73 MILLION worth of company stock!

Bottom line, Aubrey's buying bolsters my own bullish feelings for the near term outlook of natural gas stocks (FYI, I'm participating in the current Nat gas bull run via being long shares of natural gas driller/producers Halliburton, HAL + Conoco Phillips, COP)

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*Lastly, it should be noted that CNBC market commentator, JIM CRAMER, is currently a huge natural gas bull..but Not just for the immediate short term.

Cramer recently stated that, "Nat gas could be in the early innings of a newfound RENAISSANCE after several years in the wilderness..."

He believes that natural gas, which is -

* DOMESTIC (plenty of Nat gas reserves available in the U.S...What is this 'foreign oil' you speak of?),

* ABUNDANT (relative to the reserves of other energy commodities like crude oil + ethanol)
And one of the

* CLEANEST burning fossil fuels, may be the BIGGEST energy resource commodity beneficiary of a Democratic White House.

Full Disclosure: I own shares of HAL and COP.

A Triple for COKING COAL Prices ?

Australian mining GIANT BHP Billiton (BHP) is reportedly telling customers that the Price of COKING COAL has TRIPLED from 2007's price of $98/metric ton to $300 a metric ton in 2008!

COKING COAL is a fuel used together with iron ore by blast furnaces to produce steel.

Other companies that could benefit from an increase in the cost of coking coal include Rio Tinto (RTP), Xstrata and Anglo Coal.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bhp-billiton-reportedly-wants-triple/story.aspx?guid=%7B535EBC32%2D535D%2D46A6%2DB2C4%2D85E4F30218F0%7D

Data Courtesy: Marketwatch.com, snagged on 4/06/08.

Export Heavy INTEL Sees No Slowdown

Intel (INTC), the world's largest semiconductor company ($130 Billion marketcap), is not seeing a material change in demand in today's enterprise spending environment amidst a possible U.S. recession. Intel CEO Paul Otellini was recently quoted saying the following in an interview with Germany's Spiegel magazine:

"Until now, we are not experiencing any dramatic changes worldwide for our products, not even at home in the United States...Even on Wall Street, which has been severely shaken, considerable investments are being made in this area right now."


Other Interesting Points:
*Exports now account for 80% of Intel's sales ! (NO WONDER they don't feel the effects of a U.S. slowdown!)

*Intel CEO Otellini also said companies normally invested more in information technology during hard times because it was a way of boosting productivity

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Can we EXTRAPOLATE Intel's positive comments and increasingly international sales trends to the other MEGA-Cap Enterprise Tech sector companies like IBM (IBM), Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ), EMC (EMC), Cisco (CSCO), etc. ????



http://www.cnbc.com/id/23970508



Data Courtesy: CNBC.com, snagged on 4/06/08.
Full Disclosure: I own shares of IBM and EMC.

GME - Supplier Power + USED Game Sales

A couple of Random sales facts on Gamestop (GME) I recently came across courtesy of the below link:

* Despite dealings with approx 40 different companies during 2007, only FOUR made up 65% of GameStop's 2007 sales (is GME's business model spread too thin + vulnerable to ceding margin to these BIG video game industry SUPPLIERS in the near future??!):

1. Nintendo - 21%
2. Sony - 17%
3. Microsoft - 16%
4. Electronic Arts - 11%

*USED video game sales accounted for approx 43% of Gamestop's 2007 gross profit !

P.S. - We are now only 23 days away from GTA 4 !

Data Courtesy: http://www.gamingtarget.com/article.php?artid=8548
Full Disclosure: I own shares of GME.

REF - World's Largest Foreign Currency Reserves

WORLD'S LARGEST FOREX RESERVES:
*In U.S. Dollars equivalence
*Country Data figures range from September 2007 to April 2008

*World -- $7.3 TRILLION
1. China -- $1.6 Trillion
2. Japan -- $1.0 Trillion
3. Russia -- $507 Billion
4. India -- $309 Billion
5. Taiwan -- $287 B
6. South Korea -- $264 B
7. Brazil -- $194 B
8. Singapore -- $172 B
9. Hong Kong -- $160 B
10. Germany -- $153 B
11. France -- $125 B
12. Malaysia -- $119 B
13. Algeria -- $110 B
14. Thailand -- $109 B
15. United Kingdom -- $105 B
16. Italy -- $103 B
17. Mexico -- $90 B
18. Libya -- $79 B
19. Turkey -- $77 B
20. Iran -- $76 B
21. Switzerland -- $75 B
22. United States -- $74 B
23. Poland -- $73 B
24. Nigeria -- $60 B
25. Indonesia -- $58 B
Other Notables:
26. Norway -- $58 B
27. Argentina -- $50 B
28. Canada -- $44 B
36. Australia -- $33 B
40. Saudi Arabia -- $31 B
41. United Arab Emirates -- $30 B
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FOREX Overview:
According to Wikipedia.com, "FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES (also called FOREX reserves) in a strict sense are only the foreign currency deposits held by central banks and monetary authorities. However, the term foreign exchange reserves in popular usage (such as this list) commonly includes foreign exchange and gold, SDRs and IMF reserve position as this total figure is more readily available, however it is accurately deemed as official reserves or international reserves...These are assets of the central banks which are held in different reserve currencies such as the dollar, euro, yen and pound, and which are used to back its liabilities, e.g. the local currency issued, and the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank, by the government or financial institutions. Before the end of the gold standard, gold was the preferred reserve. Some nations are converting foreign exchange reserves into SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS, which can rival foreign exchange reserves in size."

Data Courtesy: Wikipedia.com, snagged on 4/06/08.

Dennis Gartman Turns Bullish !

After 12 months of being firmly entrenched in the BEARISH camp, renowned commodities investor and author of The Gartman Letter, Dennis Gartman (aka 'The Commodities King'), turned BULLISH about the stock market this week! He voiced the following sentiments Friday night during an interview on CNBC's Fast Money:

"You have to be very impressed...You gotta own steel, you have to own the railroads, you have to own coal. For me, I turned very bullish on stocks for the first time in almost 12 months this week. I wrote what I call my 'watershed report'...its time to stop being bearish. I think the lows are in. I think the panic liquidation has occurred...The market doesn't go down now on bearish news...And now after a huge move on Tuesday, WE JUST DON'T GIVE BACK THOSE GAINS...I think that's very impressive...I own some high tech, we own copper, we own steel...The dollar still looks like its weak...I think what you've seen is a flooding of cash into the system from the Federal Reserve Bank...and that flooding of cash is going to continue to put an upward pressure on commodity prices and also an upward pressure on stock prices."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/23956690

Data Courtesy: CNBC.com.

REF - World's Largest Steel Producing Companies

World's Largest Steel Producing Companies according to reported 2005 data published by the International Iron & Steel Institute:

*2005 World production was 1,131.8 million metric tons
1. Arcelor Mittal (India, 117 million metric tons)
2. Nippon Steel (Japan, 32)
3. POSCO (South Korea, 31)
4. JFE (Japan, 30)
5. Tata Steel (India, 28)
6. Shanghai Baosteel Group Corporation (China, 24)
7. United States Steel Corporation (United States, 19)
8. Nucor Corporation (United States, 18)
9. Riva Group (Italy, 18)
10. Techint (Argentina, 17)
11. ThyssenKrupp (Germany, 17)
12. Tangshan (China, 16)
13. Shagang Group (China, 15)
14. Evraz Holding (Russia, 14)
15. Gerdau (Brazil, 14)
16. Severstal (Russia, 14)
17. Sumitomo Metal Industries (Japan, 14)
18. Steel Authority of India Limited (India, 13)
19. Wuhan Iron and Steel (China, 12)
20. Anshan (China, 12)
21. Magnitogorsk (Russia, 11)
22. Shougang (China, 11)
23. Jinan (China, 10)
24. Laiwu Steel (China, 10)
25. China Steel (Taiwan, 10)

http://www.worldsteel.org/pictures/newsfiles/WSIF06.pdf

Data Courtesy: International Iron and Steel Institute.

REF - World's Largest Steel Producers

World's Largest Steel Producers by Country according to 2007 data published by the International Iron and Steel Institute:

*2007 World production --> 1,343 million metric tons
1. China -- 489 million metric tons
2. Japan -- 120
3. United States -- 97
4. Russia -- 72
5. India -- 53
6. South Korea -- 51
7. Germany -- 49
8. Ukraine -- 43
9. Brazil -- 34
10. Italy -- 32
11. Turkey -- 26
12. Taiwan -- 21
13. France -- 19
14. Spain -- 19
15. Mexico -- 17
16. Canada -- 16
17. United Kingdom -- 14
18. Belgium -- 11
19. Poland -- 11
20. Iran -- 10
21. South Africa -- 9
22. Australia -- 8
23. Austria -- 8
24. Netherlands -- 7
25. Czech Republic -- 7

Data Courtesy: International Iron and Steel Institute.

REF - World's Largest by Geographical Area

The World's Largest Countries by Geographical Area (includes land + inland water bodies only):

*World: 149 million square kilometers
1. Russia: 17.1 million
2. Canada: 10.0 million
3. China: 9.6 million
4. United States: 9.6 million
5. Brazil: 8.5 million
6. Australia: 7.7 million
7. India: 3.3 million
8. Argentina: 2.8 million
9. Kazakhstan: 2.7 million
10. Sudan: 2.5 million
11. Algeria: 2.4 million
12. Congo: 2.3 million
13. Greenland: 2.2 million
14. Saudi Arabia: 2.1 million
15. Mexico: 2.0 million
16. Indonesia: 1.9 million
17. Libya: 1.8 million
18. Iran: 1.6 million
19. Mongolia: 1.6 million
20. Peru: 1.3 million
21. Chad : 1.3 million
22. Niger : 1.3 million
23. Angola: 1.2 million
24. Mali: 1.2 million
25. South Africa: 1.2 million
Other Notables:
36. Pakistan: 0.8 million
37. Turkey: 0.78 million
48. France: 0.55 million
58. Iraq: 0.44 million
62. Japan: 0.38 million
63. Germany: 0.36 million
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World Geography Stats:
*Land accounts for about 29% of the Earth's total surface
*Russia is the world's largest country (they also own the world's largest natural gas reserves)
*Is it me or is it prety interesting to see that China and the U.S. are virtually the same size!
*Canada is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere and also boasts the world's largest coastline (approx 200,000 kilometers)
*India is 1/3 the size of the U.S...and has 4 times as many people !
*India is the 3rd largest country in Asia behind Russia and China
*Sudan is the largest country in Africa
*Kazakhstan is the largest 'landlocked' country in the world (defined as a a country entirely or almost entirely enclosed by land...YEAH, i drop knowledge)

Data Courtesy: Wikipedia.com, snagged on 4/05/08.

REF - World's Largest Economies

WORLD'S LARGEST ECONOMIES according to 2006 data published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF):

*Largest by Nominal GDP:
1. United States -- $13.2 Trillion
2. Japan -- $4.4T
3. Germany -- $2.9T
4. China -- $2.6T
5. United Kingdom -- $2.4T
6. France -- $2.3T
7. Italy -- $1.9T
8. Canada -- $1.3T
9. Spain -- $1.2T
10. Brazil -- $1.1T
11. Russia -- $ 1.0T
12. South Korea -- $0.89T
13. India -- $0.87T
14. Mexico -- $0.84T
15. Australia -- $0.76T
16. Netherlands -- $0.67T
17. Turkey -- $0.4T
18. Belgium -- $0.39T
19. Switzerland -- $0.39T
20. Sweden -- $0.38T
21. Taiwan -- $0.36T
22. Indonesia -- $0.36T
23. Saudi Arabia -- $0.35T
24. Poland -- $0.34T
25. Norway -- $0.33T
Other Notables:
30. Iran -- $0.22T
37. Venezuela -- $0.18T
65. Luxembourg -- $41 Billion

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*Largest by GDP per Capita ("the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year, divided by the average population for the same year"):
1. Luxembourg -- $102K per person
2. Norway -- $79K
3. Qatar -- $71K
4. Iceland -- $63K
5. Ireland -- $59K
6. Denmark -- $57K
7. Switzerland -- $57K
8. Sweden -- $47K
9. United States -- $46K
10. Netherlands -- $45K
11. United Kingdom -- $45K
12. Finland -- $45K
13. Austria -- $44K
14. Canada -- $43K
15. Australia -- $43K
16. United Arab Emirates -- $42K
17. Belgium -- $42K
18. France -- $41K
19. Germany -- $40K
20. Italy -- $35K
21. Singapore -- $34K
22. Japan -- $34K
23. Brunei -- $33K
24. Kuwait -- $32K
25. Greece -- $32K
Other Notables:
36. Taiwan -- $16K
39. Saudi Arabia -- $15K
54. Russia -- $9K
61. Brazil -- $7K
83. Iran -- $4K
104. China -- $2K
132. India -- $1K

Data Courtesy: Wikipedia.com + the IMF, snagged on 4/05/08.

REF - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is a military alliance between 28 member nations. According to Wikipedia.com, NATO "has established a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party".

List of NATO member nations:
*Albania (TBA 2009)
*Beligium
*Bulgaria
*Canada
*Croatia (TBA 2009)
*Czech Republic
*Denmark
*Estonia
*France
*Greece
*Germany
*Hungary
*Iceland
*Italy
*Latvia
*Lithuania
*Luxembourg
*Netherlands
*Norway
*Poland
*Portugal
*Romania
*Slovakia
*Slovenia
*Spain
*Turkey
*United Kingdom
*United States
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Additional NATO facts:
*Established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949
*The treaty was created with an armed attack by the Soviet Union against Western Europe in mind, but the mutual self-defense clause was never invoked during the Cold War
*Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium
*Founding countries (members since 1949) - Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom and the United States

*Two general membership limits to non-member states:
1.) Only European states are eligible for membership and

2.) These states need the approval of all the existing member states

Data Courtesy: Wikipedia.com, snagged on 4/05/08.

IBN CEO + Economic Growth in INDIA

On Friday ICICI Bank (IBN) CEO, KV Kamath, spoke at an investor conference in Mumbai, India and updated the investor community with his unique short + long term views on the current GROWTH prospects of the INDIAN ECONOMY:

*In the immediate future (most likely referring to growth for 2008) India is expected to grow at 8%...a rate that is being somewhat handicapped by the 'temporary challenge' of inflation facing the country

*In the longer run, India should grow at about 10%...and this phase of growth could continue for 17-20 YEARS (!)

For some perspective, the U.S. is a much more mature economy vs. India and economic/GDP growth in an annual range of 4 to 5% is considered robust.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/ICICI-Bank-to-wait-for-cues-before-effecting-change-in-rates--Kamath/292594/

Data Courtesy: Financialexpress.com, snagged on 4/05/08.
Full Disclosure: I own shares of IBN.

JJC Knew Something (Aug 2007)

BEHOLD..Jim Cramer's now EPIC "THEY KNOW NOTHING" YOUTUBE video...watch it in its 5 minute entirety (or just fast forward 1 minute and 40 seconds in) and DECIDE FOR YOURSELF whether or not you think Jim Cramer was holding a crystal ball in his hands during his August 3rd, 2007 CNBC Stop Trading Interview.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOVXh4xM-Ww





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*Respected market investor/researcher/commentator and owner of 'The Big Picture' blog, Barry Ritholtz, opined on Cramer's 'THEY KNOW NOTHING' interview just 3 days later on August 6th, 2007:

"In a truly astonishing clip, Erin Burnett interviewed Jim Cramer on Friday. It is destined to become a classic Wall Street legend. I expect it will become required viewing for market historians and technicians alike. There's no other way to say this: Jim goes postal. When Cramer essentially begs the Fed Chair to rescue the big Investment banks, you know things have gone awry.

*Highlights include:
"Open the darn Fed discount window!"

"He (Ben Bernanke) has no idea what its like out there - None!"

"They [the Fed] know nothing! The Fed is asleep!"

"My people have been in this game for 25 years . . . They are losing their jobs -- these firms are going out business"

"[President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis] Bill Poole is shameful"

"Cut the rate. Relieve the pressure."

"In the fixed income markets we have Armageddon."

http://seekingalpha.com/article/43566-cramer-pleads-for-a-fed-rescue-as-bear-stearns-hit

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*LASTLY, check out the below link to a JIM CRAMER video interview explaining WHY he did it four days later on August 7th, 2007:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzoYQ41Yd0Q&feature=related

SOVEREIGN Wealth Funds - $3.3 TRILLION

According to the Financial Times, WW assets managed by SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS (SWF) grew 18% last year to $3.3 TRILLION!

According to Wikipedia.com, "sovereign wealth funds are entities that manage state savings for the purposes of investment...The accumulated funds may have their origin in, or may represent foreign currency deposits, gold, SDRs and IMF reserve position held by central banks and monetary authorities, along with other national assets such as pension investments, oil funds, or other industrial and financial holdings."

By 2015, assets under management of sovereign wealth funds are expected to increase to $10 TRILLION!

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fda12b16-fec4-11dc-9e04-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

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*NOTE the below link to see a List of the World's Largest Sovereign Wealth Funds:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_funds#Largest_sovereign_wealth_funds

Data Courtesy: Wikipedia + FT.com, snagged on 4/01/08.