MORNING BRIEFS

Markets in Asia end mixed, but Chinese stocks rally
Asian-Pacific markets were mixed Tuesday, while auto and energy shares pulled up markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong. China's Shanghai Composite increased 1.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.6%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 improved 1%, South Korea's Kospi Composite fell 0.7% and New Zealand's NZX 50 Index lost 0.3%. Taiwan's Taiex and Philippines' PSE Composite closed little changed. The Wall Street Journal (13 Oct.)

*they might get a positive vote out of committee, but don't expect Congress to vote yes. And frankliy they shouldn't. Without a public option this proposal stinks to high heaven. Put me in the federal plan as an employee that I already pay for these ijiots to get and I will go to the high heavens to support it for you. The stock market will have to crash before anything substantive comes to the presidents desk.
White House, insurers battle over health-insurance costs
As a crucial vote on health care approaches for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the White House and insurance companies fought over the cost of health insurance. Democrats responded angrily to an insurance group's study warning that health-insurance premiums would soar. "Health-insurance companies have been laughing all the way to the bank for generations while people suffer," said Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va. "The industry stands today as the greatest impediment to real health care reform." The Washington Post (13 Oct.)

*yes it matters a great deal. IJIOTS will demand that their mutual fund managers get intot his market after it hits that benchmark only to wake up and find that you were all snookered. Just read Meredith Whitney on GS. She cut it to neutral from STRONG BUY nad she and FBR Capital are the only ones who know what the hell is going on in terms of the banking system. All glory is fleeting. 7000 to 10000 will be the new range for some time.
Dow edges toward symbolic 10,000, but does it matter?There is no guarantee that it will happen, but analysts expect the Dow Jones Industrial Average to hit 10,000 in the near future. If that happens, it will get big headlines but mean little to portfolio managers and traders who make their living by investing in equities. Professional investors look to broader indexes that more accurately reflect the U.S. economy. BusinessWeek (12 Oct.)

*don't worry, the Obama administration will just become a central bank and start making loans directly.
Credit still tight for small businesses, Fed survey finds
Bank lending is continuing to tighten for small and midsize businesses in the U.S., and most banks do not anticipate relief for commercial borrowers before the middle of 2010, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve. Fearful of losses on commercial real estate and credit card loans, banks are hanging onto their cash rather than lending it to businesses. "The banks are just deathly afraid," said Sam Thacker, a partner in Business Finance Solutions. "I don't see commercial banks coming back to the market anytime soon." The New York Times (12 Oct.)

*who cares as long as GS has CDS?
Bondholders show little interest in CIT debt exchange, sources say
CIT Group, which is striving to reduce its borrowing through a large debt exchange, is not getting much interest from bondholders, sources said. The company likely will try a prepackaged bankruptcy as a result. However, some said CIT might not find enough support for such bankruptcy. Instead, a pre-negotiated bankruptcy, which does not require as much support, might be required. Reuters (12 Oct.)

*thank goodness for credit default swap insurance. Too bad it will bankrupt them all in the end.
Capmark Financial plans bankruptcy filing, sources say
Capmark Financial Group is expected to file for bankruptcy shortly, sources said. Capmark is a commercial real estate company formed around a 2006 leveraged buyout of assets from GMAC Financial Services, then General Motors' finance arm. The company is in negotiations with lenders and is working out a debt-for-equity swap that would hopefully bring it out of bankruptcy more quickly, should debt holders accept it. Reuters (13 Oct.)