HEADLINE NEWS

Asian markets mostly up; Shanghai slips after volatile session
Most Asian-Pacific markets gained Wednesday. Toyota Motor announced an improved sales projection, boosting export stocks. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%, South Korea's Kospi Composite increased 0.9% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng improved 0.8%. Taiwan's Taiex added 1.4%, New Zealand's NZX 50 inched up 0.1% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed. Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.9%. The Wall Street Journal (06 Jan.)

*one jackass down, now if we could only get that Barney Frank to do the right thing...
Sen. Dodd won't run for re-election, source saysA congressional aide said U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate banking committee, is announcing Wednesday that he will not run for re-election in November. As head of the banking panel, Dodd has had an influential role in developing the overhaul of financial regulation. The Politico (Washington) (06 Jan.)

*I love to say I told you so. Of course they are. If your banking sector is insolvent with a voluminous calvalcade of bad mortgages and Fannie and Freddie and GNMA are backstopped by Congress (which they are, they just increased the amounts to the sky is the limit people) then the fed will help their bank cronies at tremendous cost to US taxpayers while smiling at us the whole time.
Fed reportedly considering additional MBS purchases
The Federal Reserve's $1.25 trillion program for purchasing agency mortgage-backed securities ends at the end of the first quarter, but officials are considering re-entering the market, sources said. If the U.S. central bank's purchasing power is needed to keep interest rates low, official will consider changing the plan. Reuters (05 Jan.)

*and this is one reason why.
Delinquency rate for CMBS reaches 6.07%
For the first time, the percentage of loans delinquent 30 days or more behind commercial mortgage-backed securities surpassed 6%, according to Trepp, a provider of real-estate data. The delinquency rate started 2009 at 1.21%. Increased delinquency was seen for all types of commercial property, including hotels, offices and multifamily structures. Reuters (1/5)

*and this is why nothing will ever change
Financial lobbying is tied to risky lending, IMF saysIntensive political lobbying by financial-services companies in the U.S. is linked to risky lending practices, according to a study from the International Monetary Fund. The study shows that companies that spend a lot on Capitol Hill tend to have risky securitization of their loan books, faster-growing mortgage-loan portfolios and more loan defaults. They also show poorer share performance. The Guardian (London) (04 Jan.)

*I realize that no one may be surprised by this, but few remember that China was the world power not too many centuries ago. And they played just as nice as the US!
Report: China overtakes Germany as world's largest exporter
China edged ahead of Germany to become the world's largest exporter in 2009, according to Global Trade Information Services. China has seen annual export growth exceeding 20% during the past decade. "China has been growing much more rapidly than Germany on all sorts of dimensions and has a population of 1.3 billion, while Germany has 83 million," said Douglas Irwin, a professor at Dartmouth College. The Wall Street Journal (06 Jan.)

*Economics are amazing isn't it? No one has any job so no cashola to purchase anything, yet the prices (on very very weak demand) just keep going up. IJIOTS!
Unemployment, consumer prices rise in Spain
The number of jobless workers and consumer prices increased in Spain last month, according to the Labor Ministry and the National Statistics Institute. Consumer prices rose 0.9% from December 2008, more than economists had predicted. Unemployment climbed to 3.9 million people, up 54,657 from November. EurActiv.com (05 Jan.)

*Icelands president yesterday said no to handing over more than $2B to Britain (cause they ain't got the money and don't want to be like the US dummies) and now Britain, instead of sucking up their error in financial judgment like the rest of us, are going to punish them into oblivion. Nice.
Britain threatens to exclude Iceland from EU
U.K. officials warned that the government will attempt to keep Iceland from joining the EU if the country does not repay funds lost by British and Dutch customers because of Icesave bank's failure. The Icelandic parliament had passed a measure to repay the funds, but President Olafur Grimsson refused to sign the bill. Iceland might lose its loans from the International Monetary Fund if it does not come up with a plan to repay the losses. The Times (London) (06 Jan.)