King of the Birds, Lord of the Skies

King of the Birds, Lord of the Skies
Gather ye rose buds while ye may, old time is still a flying;
and this same rose that you see today, tomorrow will be dying.
CarpeDiem: Seize the Day!
- Dead Poets Society

Saturday, August 18, 2007

The 11th Husband

A young man married a beautiful woman who had previously divorced 10 husbands. On their wedding night, she told her new husband to "Please be gentle; I'm still a virgin".

"What?" said the puzzled groom. "How can that be if you've been married ten times.?"

"Well, husband#1 was a Sales Representative; he kept telling me how great it was going to be.

"Husband # 2 was in Software Services; he was never really sure how it was suppose to function; but he said he'd look into it and get back with me.

Husband # 3 was from Field Services; he said that everything checked out diagnostically but he just couldn't get the system up.

Husband # 4 was in Telemarketing; even though he knew he had the order, he didn't know when he would be able to deliver.

Husband # 5 was an Engineer, he understood the basic process but he wanted three years to research, implement, and design a new state of the-art method.

Husband #6 was from Administration; he thought he knew how but he wasn't sure whether it was his job or not.

Husband # 7 was in Marketing; although he had a product, he was never sure how to position it.

Husband # 8 was a Psychiatrist; all he did was talk about it.

Husband # 9 was a Gynecologist; all he did was look at it.

Husband # 10 was a Stamp Collector; all he ever did was........ God I miss him.

But now that I've married you, I'm so excited".

"Wonderful", said the husband, "but why?"

"Your're with the "GOVERNMENT".. This time I KNOW I'M gonna get SCREWED."

Markets Rally on Fed Rate Cut

After a volatile morning yesterday, European markets received a lunchtime boost from the surprise decision by the US Federal Reserve to cut the discount rate by 50 basis points to 5.75%.

In London, the FTSE 100 rebounded over 3% following the announcement and was 205 points higher at 6,064 by Friday's close. Elsewhere in Europe, the Frankfurt DAX-30 climbed 108 points to end the day at 7,378 and the Paris CAC-40 closed 98 points higher at 5,363.

On Wall Street, stocks staged their biggest rally in four years. The Dow Jones opened nearly 300 points higher, at 13,127, and there were steep gains on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq!

Dangers to economic growth
The Fed cited the dangers posed to economic growth from deteriorating financial market conditions and tighter credit.

The discount rate – which applies to loans to commercial banks from regional Federal Reserve lending facilities – is separate from the federal funds rate, which remains at 5.25%. The move provides a short-term solution to the liquidity crisis currently facing financial institutions and will remain effective, said the bank, until the situation improves.

Oil and gold up, dollar down
In the commodities markets, the oil price jumped as investor concerns over slowing economic growth subsided. Crude futures were almost 2% higher at $72.33 in New York and Brent spot had risen to $69.54 in London.

Copper also ended its three-day losing streak. Copper for delivery in three months jumped over 4% to $7,020 a tonne on the London metals exchange. Fellow metals gold and silver were also firmer today as the dollar fell.

Sterling had risen as high as 1.9935 against the dollar and was also up against both the euro and the yen.

Over the next few entries, I will attempt to explain what exactly the Fed is doing and its implication to the financial market at large. It should be interesting. Stay tuned!

Atlas...Not All Are Called to Teach.

The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.

William Arthur Ward