All Hell Might Break Loose this Week

The week ahead includes the first Friday of July, but not a monthly employment report to boot. More importantly, it marks a critical vote for a long-term austerity plan for Greece. Given that the Greeks will be rallying for a 48 hour long protest up to the vote, all hell could break loose in Athens, across Europe and global markets this week.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

(Tickers: NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ)

All Hell Might Break Loose this Week

If Greece fails to ratify its five-year austerity plan, the EU and IMF cannot send the next tranche of lifesaving capital to the financially embattled nation of my forefathers. Based on the frustrated state of the Greek populous, nothing is guaranteed and everything is possible this week in Athens.

Monday

The week kicked off with an uncharacteristic economic report. Usually falling on a Friday, the Personal Income and Outlays data for the month of May came due at 8:30 AM this Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were looking for a month-over-month increase of 0.4% for Personal Income. However, income came in up only 0.3% against a revised lower rate of growth for April (+0.3%). This simply reinforces the fact that laborers have very little muscle to flex nowadays. Consumer Spending was expected to be unchanged in May against April, and the result was as expected. However, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, the Core PCE Price Index, was hot at +0.3%, against a warm 0.2% increase in April. Economists were looking for only a 0.2% rise in May.

President Obama called a meeting with Senate leaders today, after the GOP walked out of debt ceiling discussions last week. Minneapolis Fed President Kocherlakota offered his thoughts on leverage and taxes, as the Minneapolis Fed also published its Midyear Outlook.

Nissan (Nasdaq: NSANY) produced its mid-year business plan, through which it broadcast its target for 10% U.S. auto market share. Nortel Networks (OTC: NRTLQ.PK) auctions off patents, while Tribune Co. looks to exit bankruptcy. Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) split 2-for-1.

The day’s EPS schedule highlights news from Nike (NYSE: NKE), Standard Microsystems (Nasdaq: SMSC), American Learning (Nasdaq: ALRN), Ninetowns Internet Technology Group (Nasdaq: NINE) and Park Electrochemical (NYSE: PKE).

Tuesday

A general strike is set for Greece, and is scheduled to run through two days and right up to the Greek Parliamentary vote for austerity. Thus, things could get uglier than ever in Athens starting Tuesday and certainly Wednesday.

Last week, the FHFA House Price Index actually showed price increase for the period measured. The Case Shiller Price Index is due for release Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM. This report, produced with Standard & Poor’s, covers data from the month of April, so it is hardly relevant today. The monthly Existing Home Sales Report offers more relevant data.

We will receive the regular ICSC Weekly Chain Store Sales data in the premarket hours. Last week’s report, produced in conjunction with Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), showed sales fell against the prior week by 0.7% in the period ending June 18. Year-to-year comparison showed soft growth of 2.2%. Redbook’s weekly data showed sales increased 4.2%.

Two confidence data points reach the wire at 10:00 AM. The Conference Board reports on Consumer Confidence for June, with economists’ expectations set for a reading of 62.0. That would compare with the May reading of 60.8, which was down 5.2 points from April.

Also at 10 AM, look for the State Street (NYSE: STT) Investor Confidence Index for June. The index for May showed investor confidence improved, with the index rising to 104.1, from 97.3. Only North American investor confidence actually illustrated a leaning toward risk.

The Senate Banking Committee will be discussing housing finance reform. Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher is scheduled to give an address on the economy.

The corporate wire includes Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) introduction of a cloud-based version of Office. Nike (NYSE: NKE), Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) are meeting with analysts or shareholders Tuesday. Tokyo Electric Power (OTC: TKECF.PK) has its annual meeting. The corporate earnings schedule highlights news from Arcadia Resources (AMEX: KAD), OMNOVA Solutions (NYSE: OMN), Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS), RF Monolithics (Nasdaq: RFMI), Sealy (NYSE: ZZ), Shaw Group (Nasdaq: SHAW) and SYNNEX (NYSE: SNX).

Wednesday

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) produces its weekly Mortgage Activity Report Wednesday in the premarket. Last week’s data showed a slight rise in mortgage rates caused a decrease in mortgage activity. The Market Composite Index fell 5.9% for the period ending June 17.

The Pending Home Sales Index is due for the month of May at 10:00 AM. April’s report produced an index fall to 81.9 from 92.6 in April. Much of this year’s early housing market data was skewed by April weather and spiked gasoline pricing, while year-to-year comparisons matched up against tax-incentive driven activity in 2010.

The EIA Petroleum Status Report is up for release at 10:30 AM. Last week’s report covering the period ending June 17 showed crude oil inventory fell by 1.7 million barrels to a level above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Gasoline inventory decreased by 0.5 million barrels to a level near the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.

Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin is giving a speech on rebuilding the American economy in Washington D.C. at 12 PM ET. Farm Prices, which covers all agricultural products, will be reported at 3:00 PM.

Meeting with analysts or shareholders, Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), CSX (NYSE: CSX), Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC), and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL). The earnings schedule highlights data from General Mills (NYSE: GIS), Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI), Advanced Photonix (AMEX: API), American Greetings (NYSE: AM), Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO), Franklin Covey (NYSE: FC), K.B. Home (NYSE: KBH), Lindsay (NYSE: LNN), Monsanto (NYSE: MON), Rand Logistics (Nasdaq: RLOG) and UniFirst (NYSE: UNF).

Thursday

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims are reported each Thursday morning at 8:30 AM ET. Last week’s data, covering the period ending June 25, showed claims rose 9K to 429K. This week, economists are looking for 420K, which is still really bad.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is due for reporting at 9:45 AM ET. This report for the month of June is expected to show the index value fell to 53.0, from 56.6 in the prior period, based on Bloomberg’s survey of economists.

Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index is a weekly measure of the consumer mood, due for release at 10:00 AM ET Thursday. Last week showed deterioration in the index, with its value dropping to -44.9, down from -44.0 the week before.

The EIA Natural Gas Report is up for release at 10:30 Thursday. Last week’s data covering the period ending June 17 showed an increase of 98 Bcf, taking it to a level 64 Bcf below the five-year average for this time of year.

At 9:00 AM ET, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will brief reporters after a conference on quantitative easing. Thomas Hoenig will also be speaking. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will address the Clinton Global Initiative meeting Thursday. The day marks the deadline for the IMF to replace DSK. The likely new head is expected widely to be Christine Lagarde.

The corporate wire will highlight Mazda Motor’s (OTC: MZDAY.PK) launch of a remodeled Demio subcompact. Companies meeting with analysts or investors include Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), NetApp (Nasdaq: NTAP), CACI International (Nasdaq: CACI), EADS (OTC: EADSY.PK) and Nippon Steel (OTC: NISTY.PK). The day’s EPS schedule includes Apollo Group (Nasdaq: APOL), AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ), CalAmp (Nasdaq: CAMP), Christopher & Banks (NYSE: CBK), Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ), Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI), DemandTec (Nasdaq: DMAN), McCormick (NYSE: MKC), Methode Electronics (NYSE: MEI), Mitel Networks (Nasdaq: MITL), MSC Industrial Direct (NYSE: MSM), Schnitzer Steel (Nasdaq: SCHN), Smith & Wesson (Nasdaq: SWHC), Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR) and Xyratex (Nasdaq: XRTX).

Friday

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) issues its tankan survey of business conditions, something that will get notably more attention than usual globally. Markets are closed in Canada and Hong Kong, and the U.S. preps for the three-day Independence Day weekend.

Motor Vehicle Sales will be reported Friday for the month of June. The economists’ consensus expectation is for an increase in the annual pace of sales to 9.6 million, from 9.1 million in May.

Reuters and the University of Michigan will report on Consumer Sentiment at 9:55 AM ET. Economists are looking for this last reading for June to show sentiment stuck at an index value of 71.8.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports on its manufacturing index at 10:00 AM ET. Economists are looking for the index value to fall to 52.0, down from 53.5 previously. That’s dangerously close to the 50.0 break-point between economic expansion and contraction.

Also at 10:00 AM, Construction Spending data for the month of May – economists are looking for a 0.3% decline in construction spending, versus the 0.4% increase in April.

The corporate wire includes Torchmark’s (NYSE: TMK) 3-for-2 stock split. The EPS schedule potentially offers data from 1 800 Connect (Nasdaq: CNCT), American Learning (Nasdaq: ALRN), Anchor Bancorp Wisconsin (Nasdaq: ABCW), Authentec (Nasdaq: AUTH), BMB Munai (AMEX: KAZ), Bridgford Foods (Nasdaq: BRID), Brooklyn Federal Bancorp (Nasdaq: BFSB), Carver Bancorp (Nasdaq: CARV), CDC Corp. (Nasdaq: CHINA), China Automotive Systems (Nasdaq: CAAS), China Integrated Energy (Nasdaq: CBEH), China Jo Jo Drugstores (Nasdaq: CJJD), China Natural Resources (Nasdaq: CHNR), China Technology Development (Nasdaq: CTDC), CyberDefender (Nasdaq: CYDE), Euro Tech Holdings (Nasdaq: CLWT), Friedman Industries (AMEX: FRD), Funtalk China (Nasdaq: FTLK), Gramercy Capital (NYSE: GKK), Gravity (Nasdaq: GRVY), Highway Holdings (Nasdaq: HIHO), HQ Sustainable Maritime (AMEX: HQS), Leading Brands (Nasdaq: LBIX), Life Partners Holdings (Nasdaq: LPHI), Longtop Financial (NYSE: LFT), Mexco Energy (AMEX: MXC), MSCI (Nasdaq: MSCI), National American University (Nasdaq: NAUH), Omega Navigation (Nasdaq: ONAV), Providence & Worcester Railroad (Nasdaq: PWX), Puda Coal (Nasdaq: PUDA), SearchMedia Holdings (AMEX: IDI), ShengaTech (Nasdaq: SDTH), Simulations Plus (Nasdaq: SLP), Syms (Nasdaq: SYMS), Tel-Instrument Electronics (AMEX: TIK), United Bancshares (Nasdaq: UBOH), Universal Security (AMEX: UUU), VCG Holding (Nasdaq: VCGH) and Waccamaw Bankshares (Nasdaq: WBNK) and Wilber (AMEX: GIW).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

House Votes Down Libya War, then Slips Obama a Twenty to Buy a Gun

I woke up Friday morning to the sound of the television playing lightly. I had fallen asleep watching Hillary Clinton testify about the highly disputed withdrawal from Afghanistan, just announced this week by President Obama. Thus, C-SPAN was probably the cause of my rough night’s sleep, full of nonsensical complaints from Democrats, Republicans and anarchists on the Independent line at 3 AM.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Relative Tickers: NYSE: XOM, NYSE: BP, NYSE: PTR, NYSE: PZE, OTC: RYDAF.PK, NYSE: TOT, NYSE: CVX, OTC: REPYY.PK, NYSE: COP, NYSE: E, NYSE: SSL, NYSE: ECA, NYSE: SU, AMEX: IMO, NYSE: STO, NYSE: CVE, NYSE: RIG, NYSE: PWE, NYSE: CLR, NYSE: NE, NYSE: CXO, NYSE: DO, NYSE: ESV, NYSE: WLL, NYSE: NBR, NYSE: PDE, NYSE: HP, NYSE: QEP, NYSE: ERF, NYSE: RDC, NYSE: CIE, Nasdaq: PTEN, NYSE: SD, NYSE: SLB, NYSE: HAL, NYSE: NOV, NYSE: BHI, NYSE: WFT, NYSE: CAM, NYSE: FTI, NYSE: OIS, NYSE: SPN, NYSE: CRR, NYSE: HLX, NYSE: PXD, NYSE: CEO, NYSE: SNP, NYSE: EC, NYSE: CNQ, NYSE: APA, NYSE: APC, NYSE: DVN, NYSE: EOG, NYSE: CHK, NYSE: NOC, NYSE: RTN, NYSE: ATK, NYSE: LMT, NYSE: BA, NYSE: HON, NYSE: GD, NYSE: COL, NYSE: GR, NYSE: LLL, NYSE: SAI, Nasdaq: FLIR, NYSE: ERJ, NYSE: SPR, Nasdaq: BEAV, NYSE: TDG, NYSE: CAE, NYSE: HXL, NYSE: ESL, NYSE: TDY, NYSE: CW, NYSE: HEI, NYSE: TGI, NYSE: ORB, NYSE: AIR, Nasdaq: KAMN, Nasdaq: AVAV, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, Nasdaq: QQQQ, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: NYX, NYSE: ICE, Nasdaq: NDAQ

House Votes Down Libya War, then Slips Obama a Twenty to Buy a Gun

I woke up to a preacher opening the House of Representatives with a prayer. That strange sight was followed by a clearly novice Congressmen reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in what seemed like a rite of passage. The politicians littering the sparsely populated hall faced the flag behind the Speaker of the House, who turned his back to me to do the same. I think it was the first time I’ve heard the pledge recited since elementary school. Thus, I had to pinch myself, because it was like some strange nightmare reminiscent of past fantastic scares caused by watching Craig Ferguson and drinking Jamaican Rum.

I woke up from the dream before I died, I suppose ahead of murder by an angry Representative. Dennis Kucinich lambasted his Democratic brother, the president, for his unconstitutional war on Libya. The Ohio little-man’s advocate surely risked a heart-attack, raising his blood pressure to its maximum so early in the morn. I remembered how he once flew in Air Force One to the Midwest, when the president needed him to back off his righteous rant for an important vote. I thought, well at least I can be sure he wasn’t brainwashed or microchipped or replaced by an alien on that day, because he was adamantly in opposition to President Obama on this day. Why he was mad was not so clear. It could have been because he couldn’t keep up his streak of running for president this coming election year, with the incumbent Obama blocking the way. Or, it could have been the same reason Congressman Pall mentioned, which was the president’s oversight of the constitution when determining to rain down rockets on Muammar Gaddafi.

You can’t blame Obama for not coming to Congress for approval, despite the fact that the declaration of war is still within the realm of the people’s house. I mean, if I were President, I would also follow the lead of Ronald Reagan and every president since when determining I needed to knock some sense into a despot. They would have to pull that whip from me kicking and screaming.

On this day, the House was voting to authorize conflict with Libya about 100 days after the start of the latest fabulously named war game - Operation Odyssey Dawn. Cool right? It’s like the Desert Storm nonsense the Pentagon designed to drum up recruits. I suppose they have PR people devising them, and like a trailer for a film it draws your support. The name of these operations also tricks twittering teens without college admission tickets into enlisting into the marines. Odyssey Dawn has a different ring to it than “I’m going to risk my life for a bunch of ragtag Libyan tribesmen.”

I wonder if the Libyan issue is not at the core of this week’s torrential trading, yet while still hidden behind the popular press’ vision. You see, Libya produces high-quality oil, the kind refined into the all important gasoline at the heart of the latest consumer concern and manufacturing mayhem. It’s no coincidence that oil spiked and fired gasoline to $4 once conflict erupted in Libya, not to mention the mess in Bahrain.

As time has passed, it’s become clear that no Libyan, not Gaddafi nor angry toothless peasant fighter-man, has interest in disrupting the nation’s sacred cash cow. And with the lip service of the Saudi’s following OPEC’s greedy grimace, we now have the IEA releasing 2 million barrels a day (over 30 days) from its emergency reserves. The U.S. is also contributing to this supply from its strategic oil reserve. You see, while it took a while, the highly touted economic Brainrust hired by the Obama Administration, finally figured out that gasoline matters to the economy and that Libya matters to gasoline. It’s sort of like a 2+2 math equation, so the Ivy Leaguers up there missed it. They were understandably spending their time with algorithms designed to determine how far the downfall would be if the debt ceiling were allowed to collapse. All in good time, or rather, all in short time… I suppose that catastrophe will cue the third horn blowing angel. I fell asleep before intermission, so forgive me if we are up to the fourth siren already.

Anyway, the House of Representatives took up two important bills Friday involving the hostilities in Libya, though the Obama Administration says they are more like a slap-fight than “hostilities,” which would have required them to cease unauthorized operations already by law. The first legislation, taken up while Kucinich was still boiling, was the authorization for the President to wage a watchamacallit - but not a war - against Libya. The House, with a ragtag group of Democrats and Republicans, voted that down. Yet, with the President’s argument that what he’s having in Libya is just a little harmless argument between friends, only employing missile firing Predator aircraft like sharp biting words, he could continue.

The second bill could have stopped him though, as it covered the appropriation of funding toward the conflict. However, those same so-called righteous representatives voted that bill down, thereby slapping the President’s hand and enjoying the solid short-takes they’ll use in their campaigning next year. Jolly good service my dear proxies.

In any event, Libya matters. Since we started on this path, we must now get the semi-catatonic Gaddafi out of office in order to secure safe passage of Libya’s special oil. We’ll design a top of the line constitution for the toothless tribesmen who take over to corruptly run their government, and everything will get back to normal. It seems the Europeans also understand the importance of winning the war in Libya, and are in it with conviction. Thus, it should be a short time now before we hear the song sung in Tripoli, the King Slug is dead, long live the new CIA implant!

Article interests investors in Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), Raytheon (NYSE: RTN), Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), Boeing (NYSE: BA), NYSE: IWM, NYSE: TWM, NYSE: IWD, Honeywell (NYSE: HON), General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Rockwell Collins (NYSE: COL), Goodrich (NYSE: GR), L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL), SAIC (NYSE: SAI), FLIR Systems (Nasdaq: FLIR), EMBRAER (NYSE: ERJ), Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE: SPR), BE Aerospace (Nasdaq: BEAV), TransDigm Group (NYSE: TDG), CAE (NYSE: CAE), Hexcel (NYSE: HXL), Esterline Technologies (NYSE: ESL), Teledyne Technologies (NYSE: TDY), Curtiss-Wright (NYSE: CW), HEICO (NYSE: HEI), Triumph Group (NYSE: TGI), Orbital Sciences (NYSE: ORB), AAR Corp. (NYSE: AIR), Kaman Corp. (Nasdaq: KAMN), AeroVironment (Nasdaq: AVAV), Smith & Wesson (Nasdaq: SWHC), DigitalGlobe (NYSE: DGI), GenCorp (NYSE: GY), Hawk (AMEX: HWK), LMI Aerospace (Nasdaq: LMIA), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), BP (NYSE: BP), PetroChina (NYSE: PTR), Petrobras (NYSE: PZE), Royal Dutch Shell (OTC: RYDAF.PK), Total (NYSE: TOT), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), Repsol (OTC: REPYY.PK), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Eni SpA (NYSE: E), Sasol (NYSE: SSL), Encana (NYSE: ECA), Suncor (NYSE: SU), Imperial Oil (AMEX: IMO), Statoil (NYSE: STO), Cenovus (NYSE: CVE), Transocean (NYSE: RIG), Penn West Petroleum (NYSE: PWE), Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR), Noble (NYSE: NE), Concho (NYSE: CXO), Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO), Ensco (NYSE: ESV), Whiting Petroleum (NYSE: WLL), Nabors (NYSE: NBR), Pride International (NYSE: PDE), Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP), QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP), Enerplus (NYSE: ERF), Rowan (NYSE: RDC), Cobalt (NYSE: CIE), Patterson UTI (Nasdaq: PTEN), SandRidge (NYSE: SD), Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV), Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI), Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT), Cameron (NYSE: CAM), FMC Tech (NYSE: FTI), Oil States International (NYSE: OIS), Superior Energy (NYSE: SPN), Carbo Ceramics (NYSE: CRR), Helix Energy (NYSE: HLX), Pioneer (NYSE: PXD), CNOOC (NYSE: CEO), China Petroleum and Chemical (NYSE: SNP), Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC), Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE: CNQ), Apache (NYSE: APA), Anadarko (NYSE: APC), Devon (NYSE: DVN), EOG (NYSE: EOG), Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

What Do You Think About California Slashing Monitoring Of Gang Parolees?

The State of California is making budget cuts that could impact all of our lives. In Sacramento, The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation going to stop GPS monitoring 550 gang parolees, out of the 950 they are monitoring right now. Also there are 1.700 parolees who are on home detention. Sacramento’s Department of Corrections is going to cut this number to 500 to save the state $6 million. Thank God their keeping the GPS monitoring on the 7,550 sex offenders. This is going to happen on July 1, 2011. With the budget cuts in law enforcement, all over The State of California, will we be safe? I don’t think so! Back in 2002 my son was sitting at the bus stop on McLaughlin road in San Jose minding his own business coming home from school. When a car with five gang members of the Northenos gang jump out and tried to jump him for no reason. My son knocked down two of them and took off running up the middle of McLaughlin.

This Lady in a Black Ford SUV saw the whole thing. She rode up on the side of my son, open the door and told him to jump in. My son hesitated, but he got in, they went looking for a police officer. My son filled a report, but nothing came of it, the police said with out a positive ID they could not do anything. Over 100 police officer were laid off in San Jose in June and 1050 gang parolees aren’t going to be monitored. What’s wrong with this picture? I say everything.These gang parolees most of them will fall back to their old ways. This means more crime and I hate to say more killings. We as a community are going to have to look out for each other.

Get to know your neighbors, if you see or hear anything suspicions call the authorities.

LM

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/23/3721220/california-budget-cuts-slash-monitoring.html

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/06/20/gang-activity-linked-to-san-joses-soaring-homicide-rate/

http://www.siliconvalleydebug.com/story/062205/stories/notgangs.html