Details are in the works for the launch of the first aluminum-backed exchange-traded fund, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Though Glencore International, the world's biggest commodity trader, and Credit Suisse Group are still looking for both an ETF provider and regulatory approval, the new ETF is said to reflect growing interest in physically backed commodity products in the face of looming stricter U.S. regulation in the futures markets.

Abundant supplies of aluminum following a drop in demand associated with the economic downturn is also encouraging the creation of the ETF as a way to help soak up some of that supply and keep prices firm.

Recently, the price of aluminum on the London Metal Exchange has soared, trading some 50 percent higher than the seven-year lows it hit earlier this year, and though some analysts see further growth ahead, the massive inventory overhang could pose a threat to those gains. In fact, LME

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Companies featured in this edition of the newsletter: CUR, CVM, ENZ, IMUC, MBCI, ONEZ, PHC, SVUL

Markets finished in positive territory yet again during this holiday shortened week despite the lack of any significant developments on either the corporate or economic fronts. All told, the Dow gained 164 points to close at 9605, up 1.7% on the week and 9.4% on the year. The Nasdaq gained 3.1% on the week, closing at 2080, up 32% on the year, while the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 gained 2.6% and 4.0% respectively on the week, up 15.4% and 18.8% on the year.

It was a slow week on the corporate side, but there were some healthy signals from the technology sector, as Texas Instruments raised its Q3 outlook, guiding for EPS of between $0.37 and $0.41, up from previous forecasts of $0.29-$0.39. Fed Ex also guided higher, citing cost management and better

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Gap, Inc. (...

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) plans to sell bonds worth $2 billion backed by auto loans that are eligible for the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) program to boost lending and maintain credit flow to the broader economy.

Investors can procure cheap loans for buying newly created consumer loan-backed, new and existing commercial mortgage-backed bonds. The deadline for investors to request loans for buying asset- backed debt for the seventh round of the TALF is Sept. 3.

The deal, called BAAT 2009-2, will be jointly led by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital (BARC), Citigroup Inc. (C), Credit Suisse Group (CS) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). Last month, Bank of America sold the first deal eligible under TALF of $4 billion auto-loan backed deal at 135 basis points over a benchmark.

TALF was set up in March to reinvigorate

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Morgan Stanley (MS) plans to hire as many as 400 traders and salespeople. The hiring spree aims at ramping up profit in the company’s emerging markets, foreign exchange, equity derivatives and prime brokerage businesses and thereby taking the company out of three straight quarters of losses.   This move comes after Morgan Stanley reported a second-quarter loss, while its major competitors Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) reported strong earnings. After last year's meltdown of the banking sector, Morgan Stanley steered away from risky investments that led to the demise of some of its competitors. When trading opportunities picked up in the second quarter of 2009, its competitors took advantage while Morgan Stanley lagged behind as a result of maintaining a more conservative stance to survive the financial crisis.   Morgan Stanley reported a loss of $1.26 billion, or $1.10 per ...

In general, we believe it is still a bit early to get involved with non-US bank stocks as the fundamental outlook remains weak -- asset quality will continue to deteriorate as individuals and companies default on loans, and revenues should continue to fall as loan growth falters and investment banking faces a dearth of new business in the face of economic slowing.

Consumer job losses and sluggish business conditions are increasing worldwide, which will tend to dampen demand for credit, even assuming banks are capable of lending more. Moreover, these factors will also hurt asset quality and increase losses on the existing "good" loan portfolios, even apart from considerations of toxic assets. Combined with top-line pressure due to weakening economic conditions, non-US banks face a daunting outlook.

That said, we believe that banks in stable emerging economies, such as Chile, Brazil or India, may be more attractive investments -- similar to what

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In general, we believe it is still a bit early to get involved with non-US bank stocks as the fundamental outlook remains weak -- asset quality will continue to deteriorate as individuals and companies default on loans, and revenues should continue to fall as loan growth falters and investment banking faces a dearth of new business in the face of economic slowing.

Consumer job losses and sluggish business conditions are increasing worldwide, which will tend to dampen demand for credit, even assuming banks are capable of lending more. Moreover, these factors will also hurt asset quality and increase losses on the existing "good" loan portfolios, even apart from considerations of toxic assets. Combined with top-line pressure due to weakening economic conditions, non-US banks face a daunting outlook.

That said, we believe that banks in stable emerging economies, such as Chile, Brazil or India, may be more attractive investments -- similar to what

...

In general, we believe it is still a bit early to get involved with non-US bank stocks as the fundamental outlook remains weak -- asset quality will continue to deteriorate as individuals and companies default on loans, and revenues should continue to fall as loan growth falters and investment banking faces a dearth of new business in the face of economic slowing. Consumer job losses and sluggish business conditions are increasing worldwide, which will tend to dampen demand for credit, even assuming banks are capable of lending more. Moreover, these factors will also hurt asset quality and increase losses on the existing "good" loan portfolios, even apart from considerations of toxic assets. Combined with top-line pressure due to weakening economic conditions, non-US banks face a daunting outlook. That said, we believe that banks in stable emerging economies, such as Chile, Brazil or India, may be more attractive ...

After an off day on Monday, with the LME closed for holiday, the base metals were mixed on Tuesday. Copper pushed as high as $2.15 early in the pre-dawn hours, but that was it as it sank pretty much straight through the day from there, just coming off its intraday lows to finish at $2.0468/lb., down nearly 4 cents from Friday.

Nickel peaked above $5.50 before it too declined, but it managed to eke out a gain late, closing at $5.3206/lb., up just over a penny. Zinc traded mostly sideways, ending at $0.6744/lb., up less than a half-cent. Aluminum also wound up at $0.6744/lb., down less than a quarter-cent, while lead posted a modest gain to $0.6362/lb., up just under a penny.

Copper backed off its gains, falling from a 2-week high as declining equities and a strengthening dollar were the main drivers of the day, along with perhaps

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On February 11, 2009, Credit Suisse Group (CS) posted a net loss from continuing operations of CHF5.5 billion, which was worse than our estimate, largely reflecting higher-than-expected trading losses and CHF833 million in costs related to accelerated implementation of CS's strategic plan to restructure the investment bank. Results benefited from CHF2.1 billion accounting gain from the widening of credit spreads on CS's own debt.The investment bank will reduce risk-weighted assets by 43%, headcount will be cut by 5,300 (of which 2,600 was reflected in 2008, with the balance in first half 2009), and total costs will fall by CHF2 billion. In other news, Credit Suisse raised CHF11.2 billion in Tier 1 capital, resulting in a 13.3% Tier 1capital ratio at 2008 year-end, and cut the dividend to CHF0.10 from CHF2.50 in 2007. We are reducing our 2009 EPADS estimate to $1.15 from $1.30 due ...