Suze Orman on Larry King

After Wall Street's plunge yesterday, last night on Larry King Live Suze Orman was talking
about what a good time to shop for stocks. Today Ben Bernanke calm Wall Streeters and the
market recovered 100 points.

Wall Street Journal Clip

The dollar is weaker against the yen and little changed versus the euro early Monday amid jitters over subprime-mortgage weakness and geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The euro stood at $1.3172 from $1.3166 at Friday's close, while the dollar changed hands at 120.51 yen versus 121.09 yen. The dollar was at 1.2305 Swiss francs versus 1.2330 francs; sterling was at $1.9623 versus $1.9635.
Also weighing on the greenback are renewed worries about central bank reserve diversification and concerns that a ...

International Herald Tribune reports Rise in Oil Prices

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 22 cents to US$61.17 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by afternoon in Europe. Brent crude for April was up by 42 cents to US$61.04 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Exchange.
Nymex prices jumped 88 cents Thursday to settle at US$60.95 a barrel, continuing a rally that analysts said has largely been driven by demand for petroleum products.
U.S. crude inventories climbed 3.7 million barrels to 327.6 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 16, the Energy Information Administration said Thursday. But what stoked the market's advance were gasoline inventories falling by 3.1 million barrels to 222.1 million barrels, and distillates, which include heating oil and diesel, dropping by 5 million barrels to 128.3 million barrels. }

Analysts were expecting, on average, a modest rise in crude oil and gasoline inventories and a smaller drop in distillates.
"Cold temperatures and refinery maintenance in the U.S. are seen to be responsible for the considerable stock draw," said Vienna's PVM Oil Associates. The high demand has been sparked by chilly weather and snowstorms in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States. Distillate fuel demand was nearly 10 percent higher over the past four weeks than it was over the same period last year, the EIA said.
Supplies remain relatively ample — U.S. crude, gasoline and heating oil stockpiles are at or above the average range for this time of year, the EIA said.
Natural gas futures fell nearly 12 cents to US$7.609 per 1,000 cubic feet on the Nymex and heating oil rose more than a penny to US$1.7395 a gallon (3.8 liters.)
Tetsu Emori, the chief commodities strategist with Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo, said it was likely oil prices would remain within a tight range of US$57 to US$62 a barrel in the coming days.
___
Associated Press writer Tanalee Smith in Singapore contributed to this report.

Is Howard K. Stern a who done it or a victim of circumstance? Is he a real dad or just a
Bahamian Dad? Where will the blonde bombshell be laid to rest? This may not do much to
make you money, but it's all the buzz.

Dow Jones Industrial Average hits 12791.21.

CNN Headlines

Companies
• Alltel wows Wall Street
• New River bought for $2.6B
• Jury: Wyeth's HRT caused cancer
• Weyerhaeuser wins in high court
• Bob Wright's next move
Jobs & Economy
• Fed national activity index slumps
• Housing starts plunge
• Manufacturing in big drop
• Mixed reviews for new dollar coin
• Import prices sink on oil

Technology
• Viacom in deal with YouTube rival
• Motorola exec quits to join Dell
• Get-a-Mac ads backfire in the U.K.
• YouTube anti-piracy move jeered
• Microsoft falls on CEO's warning
Small Biz
• Jingles for sale
• A retro clothing business profits
• Madison Ave.'s do-it-all startup
videoSleeping to a profit
• 7 top candies

Personal Finance
• Omnicom: Advertising pays
videoEnergy saving tax deductions
• Kicking the urge to lose money
• 10 don't-miss tax breaks
• Turning $500k over to a planner
Real Estate
• Latest home prices: 149 markets
• Mortgage rates edge up
• Housing boom hangover
• How the rich and famous live
• Defaults: Latest housing w

Peter Lynch speaks

Peter Lynch suggested in his book "Beating the Street" of buying stocks in the
investment companies instead of the investment companies' mutual funds.

Wall Street Closes with highes Dow Jones Averages

The market is nearing the 1300 mark. Is it priced too high

Ben Bernake speaks

Income gap is increasing danger to U.S. economyPublished February 14, 2007
When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke finishes his opening statement before the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, I wouldn't be surprised if Democrats now in control of the committee say, in the words of Peggy Lee, "Is that all there is?"Commentators in the financial markets do not expect much news from Bernanke's semiannual monetary policy report to Congress. He will bang the drum slowly on behalf of fighting inflation and portray a resilient U.S. economy.Beyond that, there's not much to say."There was remarkable complacency about most global economic issues," economic consultant David Hale told clients after attending the recent global economic conference in Davos, Switzerland."The conference was remarkably sanguine,," Hale said. "There was no tremendous concern about the global business cycle."Worries about the U.S. housing market and the looming U.S. trade and fiscal deficits are old news. Instead, the Davos elites talked about other issues: global warming and the prospect that President Bush will launch another war."Other issues" might well be on the minds of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Financial Services Committee, which he will speak to Thursday.Indeed, Bernanke has opened the door to questions beyond the usual ones about economic growth and inflation. Last week he devoted an entire speech to the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce to the problem of the growing income gap that divides Americans."No one should be allowed to slip too far down the economic ladder, especially for reasons beyond his or her control," he said. "Like equality of opportunity, this general principle is grounded in economic practicality as well as our sense of fairness."The speech received scant press coverage. The financial press ignored it, because he didn't give any hints about the next blip in interest rates. Political reporters don't cover the Federal Reserve.Between 1979 and 2006, those in the bottom 10 percent of wages saw their wages increase just 4 percent, while the wages of those in the top 10 percent rose 34 percent, Bernanke said. After-tax income of those in the top 1 percent of household income increased to 14 percent of total household income in 2004 from 8 percent in 1979.These statistics are not new. Neither is the subject of the income gap, which President Bush acknowledged recently.Bernanke's predecessor as Fed chief, Alan Greenspan, expressed concerns in congressional testimony in July 2004."This issue has regrettably been going on for 15 years or thereabouts," he said. "I think the effect of increasing concentration of incomes is not desirable in a democratic society."Last week Bernanke said, "If we [do] not place some limits on the downside risk of individuals affected by economic change, the public at large might be less willing to accept the dynamism that is so essential to economic progress."The statutory role of the Federal Reserve does not give it much power to address directly the issue that Bernanke raises.But in Washington, where leadership on economic matters is hard to find, the fact that Bernanke and, before him, Greenspan, felt the need to speak out on the divide between the super-rich and everyone else means the problem, like global warming, is real.----------bbarnhart@tribune.com
You can search for more columns in our archives.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

Falling Dollar ,Euros & Yen rise in value

By Wanfeng Zhou, MarketWatch. NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The dollar fell against other major currencies Tuesday after a government report showed the US trade gap widened more than expected in December.gap widened more than expected in December.

Wall Street fell last week on concerns about higher oil prices and the possibility inflation could lead to higher interest rates. This week, the markets will scrutinize a stream of economic data, and testimony Wednesday from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. (This come from
today's MSNBC News )
Also Nasdaq fails the takeover of the London Stock Exchange.

Wall Street fell last week on concerns about higher oil prices and the possibility inflation could lead to higher interest rates. This week, the markets will scrutinize a stream of economic data, and testimony Wednesday from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. (This come from
today's MSNBC News )
Also Nasdaq fails the takeover of the London Stock Exchange.

The February of 2007

Well just when gas and oil prices were getting good, the midwest and northeast are being plagued
with snow and 0 degree weather. Less money to invest unless you own an oil well, gas rights,
deal with futures or whatever.

Fidelity Money Market Funds

Fidelity Cash Reserves Funds 7-day yields as of 1/30/07 are 4.96%
Fidelity Money Market Fund 7-day yields as of 1/30/07 are 5.04%