World economy talk

[tidus1203]

Say goodbye to those anticipation of a rollback...

Its all because of EGYPT!!!

[uls]

yep Egypt

oil cargo from the Middle East pass thru the Suez Canal

if the Suez Canal becomes unpassable for some reason, oil tankers will have to go around Cape of Good Hope

that sent tanker stocks soaring

[Monseratto]

The US is in a bind. It cannot rebuke Mubarak too much, knowing how very very important an allies he is. Egypt controls the very strategic Suez Canal, shortcut for oil from the middle east. It has been a stabilizing force among moderate arab nation in keeping the "peace" with Israel. It gets over a US$ 1 billion in annual military aid from Uncle Sam. It's military is one of the most current in the region. State of the art weapons include 1,005 M1 Abrahms, 47 AH-64D Apaches and 220 Block 52 F-16s. If Egypt were collapse to an Islamist regime, it'll be Iran all over again...and Jimmy Carter lost his re-election.

Egypt is too big to fail...

[uls]

the contagion spreads

Saudi Arabia stocks

Tadawul index


watch for protests in Saudi Arabia in the coming days

[Monseratto]

All stock indices are down. PSE down 99.8 pts.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Egypt-...&asset=&ccode=

Egypt turmoil rattles Middle East stock markets
Adam Schreck, AP Business Writer, On Sunday January 30, 2011, 5:07 pm EST
Markets across Middle East tumble as investors warily watch Egypt; Dubai drops 4.3 percent

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Investors nervous about instability gripping Egypt drove Middle Eastern stocks down sharply Sunday as markets reopened following a weekend of violent protests.

The losses, led by a drop of more than 4 percent in the regional business hub Dubai, reflect concerns the unrest that has roiled the Arab world's most populous country and nearby Tunisia could spread, jeopardizing an economic recovery across the region.

Flight to safety...

U.S $ INDEX (NYBOT: DX)

[uls]

yep flight to safety

EUR/CHF

[uls]

Saudi Arabia credit default swap

[uls]

US farmers are planting less rice coz they can earn more from corn and soybeans

that will reduce global rice supply (the US is the world's 3rd top rice exporter)

when the Philippines (world's top importer) begins buying rice in the coming months, the price of rice will rise even higher

[uls]

Brent crude passes $100

[tidus1203]

It does feel somewhat like 2008 doesn't it... Pero this is no longer pure speculation and anti-dollar trades like in 2008. This is REAL demand and supply with a mix of geopolitical issues...

[uls]

Term of the day: Death Star IPO

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/...?partner=TOD01

What Does Death Star IPO Mean?

A company's highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) that becomes a blockbuster with investors. The Death Star IPO is a reference to the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, also more popularly know as the "Death Star," from the movie "Star Wars." This planetary weapon had the ability to destroy entire planets with a single beam, resulting in a massive explosion. In the stock market, stocks that have the ability to explode out of the gate are usually highly anticipated tech stocks, although stocks from other sectors can also fit the bill.

Investopedia explains Death Star IPO

Broadly speaking, to be considered a Death Star IPO, the IPO would have to be a multi-billion dollar offering that is also in very high demand with investors. Some examples of Death Star IPOs include Google's IPO in 2004 and Yahoo! in 1996. Both IPOs were highly anticipated events and both stocks exploded on stock markets once the shares became publicly available.

when Facebook goes public, it's gonna be a Death Star IPO

[tidus1203]

The biggest Death Star IPO I have ever seen is China's Baidu.com in the Hong Kong Stock market in 2008.... I think we ordered 10000 shares ata yun, we only got 20 hehehe...

But just like the Death Star in the movies better get out quickly and just re-buy it months later as the market starts to sell it and gain profit on the hype...

[tidus1203]

Sa local stocks naman, what I experienced as the biggest DEATH STAR IPO was GMA7 in 2007 ata yun...

[uls]

traders have been bidding up rice 2 days in a row



---

Brent hit an intraday high of $102

[uls]

price of copper at record high $9,985/ton

[uls]

domino effect

last night, Jordan's King Abdullah dismissed his cabinet and appointed a new PM

now Yemen's President Saleh said he will not seek re-election or hand over power to his son when his term ends

[boybi]

domino effect

last night, Jordan's King Abdullah dismissed his cabinet and appointed a new PM

now Yemen's President Saleh said he will not seek re-election or hand over power to his son when his term ends

Ang nakakatakot dyan is baka maging extremist muslims ang mga government ng mga Arab countries.

[Monseratto]

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/...ex.html?hpt=C2

Comment: Egypt unrest exposes real U.S. policy on Arab world
By Rime Allaf, Special to CNN

London -- After decades of experience, there is hardly anyone left in the Arab world who is surprised by the double standards of U.S. foreign policy.

Everyone knows that the proverbial "moderate" regimes (even when they terrorize their citizens with F16s as they peacefully demonstrate) will always be supported at the expense of their people, while "rogue" regimes will be punished for failing to toe the line at the expense of their people too.

But it's still novel to observe the U.S. reneging on its declared principles under a president who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and who claimed to be seeking a new beginning based on mutual respect with the Muslim world less than two years ago, from the very heart of Cairo.

While many of President Obama's statements were not expected to become a religious mantra for U.S. officials, many Arabs wanted to believe that a new page had really been turned and that past American practices were to be subdued, especially after the disastrous Bush years and the horrors of the invasion of Iraq.


Egypt unrest: Regional contagion It was quickly obvious that the Obama administration differed very little from predecessors; if anything even remotely touched on Israel, the U.S. remained more royal than the king regardless of its own long-term interests. Thus, the Arab world watched as President Obama publicly backtracked on his own position regarding a freeze on illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, accepting Israel's intransigence and pretending to continue with the farcical peace process.

There were low expectations with regards to American preaching about democracy, given past U.S. reactions to democratic elections in Algeria or, more recently, in Palestine. The Arab world already knew that when people dared to freely choose a majority which Washington found unpalatable, the U.S. would either punish the people or punish the elected government --- or both.

Nevertheless, the U.S. had a recent history of backing popular movements in a wide range of countries, in a rainbow of colors, and in an eclectic mix of monikers and symbols. From Georgia to Iran, the will of the people was supported, marketed and managed by Washington as it berated authoritarian regimes and glorified the democratic aspirations of the secular masses.

This noble approach came to a screeching halt on January 25, when like the Tunisians before them, Egyptians took massively to the streets with no banners, no colored wristbands and no slogans other than "the people want the fall of the regime."

Taken yet again by surprise, Washington pretended to look the other way until the protesters swelled to millions in mere days, while Egypt was cut off from the Internet and mobile calls. Unenthusiastically, US officials mumbled generalities about basic rights to non-violent demonstrations and to communication. And when President Obama addressed his nation personally last night, all he could muster was a patronizing compliment to the Egyptian army and a vague call for an "orderly transition." Orderly for whom, however, was not specified.

Indeed, as Mubarak remains oblivious to the demands of the Egyptian people, the U.S. government is scrambling to save what it can of his regime. Like Israel which has openly called on the West to ignore public opinion and to safeguard its interests with Mubarak, the U.S. has backed a coup of sorts on its age-old ally, by imposing Omar Suleiman on Egypt to ensure the continuity of the regime under a different unelected strongman despised by most Egyptians. No emergency Security Council meetings, no withdrawal of ambassadors, and no condemnation of the unprecedented suppression of people's rights

In Jordan, Yemen and beyond, more people are crossing the fear barrier and daring to demand full rights, hoping to emulate the positive example which Tunisia has awarded the Arab world. They know now not to expect much support from the self-styled leader of the free world, increasingly anxious at the thought of losing more pliant allies in the region.

The lesson is clear: even when they embrace secular democracy, Arabs may be allowed liberation only if it comes on top of American tanks or when it suits Israel.

For this neo-Orientalist hypocrisy, and for continuing to sacrifice the self-determination of entire peoples just for the sake of Israel, Obama has just inspired a whole new generation of Arabs to resent the U.S.'s selective values.

[uls]

sugar

[uls]

ICE Brent is now $103

DME Oman $97.3

WTI $91.5

Egypt protests turn violent

calls for protests in Syria

protests start in Yemen