Celanese Corporation (CE), a leading global chemical company, reported net earnings of 58 cents per share in the third quarter of 2009, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 42 cents. Results, however, were lower than last year’s 78 cents. Weak pricing and lower volumes, especially for Acetyl Intermediates and Industrial Specialties products on weak global demand led to net sales of $1.3 billion in the quarter, down 28% from the same period last year. The Acetyl Intermediates segment primarily serves customers in the chemical, paint and adhesives industries. Consumer Specialties: Net sales slid 8% to $271 million in the quarter, driven by lower sales volumes primarily in North America and Europe and negative currency impacts. However, higher pricing, lower raw material and energy costs and benefits from the company’s fixed cost reduction efforts drove a 24% rise in operating profit to $52 million. Consumer Specialties continued ...

div style="text-align: justify;"Meredith Whitney Advisory Group is upgradingspan style="font-weight: bold;" Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) /spanto Buy with a 12 month price target of $186.br /br /Firm notes their more bullish outlook on GS shares is deeply rooted in their sustained bearish stance on the US economy and state of US financials at large. Specifically, they expect a tsunami of debt issuance from federal/sovereign, state, and local governments ramping up debt issuance to fund woefully underfunded budget gaps. In addition, they expect corporate debt issuance to be at least 60% as strong as peak cycle levels reflecting sizable debt maturity rolls. What’s more, given fewer market players, not only is GS benefiting from market share gains on these products but more widely in derivatives products.br /br /To be clear, the firm notes reasons for liking GS stock today are drastically different than any they have had recommending the stock on and off ...

PKey Newsbr•nbsp;SP 500's Worst-Ever Year Leaves 64 Industries, 483 Companies With Losses (Bloomberg)br•nbsp;Putin Sparks Parlor Game on Whether He'll Oust Medvedev, Retake Presidency (Bloomberg)br•nbsp;Volcker Tells Baseball Owners He Foresees Extended Economic Slump in U.S. (Bloomberg)/P PQuotable brThe natural reaction to market breakdown is to add layers of protection and regulation. But trying to regulate a market entangled by complexity can lead to unintended consequences, compounding crisis rather than extinguishing them because safeguards add even more complexity, which in turn feeds more failure. Trying harder means sinking deeper into the quicksand.”/P P nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Richard Bookstaber/P PFX Trading – Dollars Bulls Now Owe It to Tight Coupling/P PI received an email from a reader that contained an interesting fact:/P PSeven separate assets currently maintain an 85% correlation (or better) with the Samp;P 500 over the last six months./P PIncluded in that group is Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, emerging-market bond spreads, and not surprisingly, the euro. I’ve been consistently discussing the ...

I find it amazing that they are now offering an ETF with 3X LEVERAGE These funds are not trading yet but will be soon. So now the trader with at least 25K in his account can get 12:1 intraday leverage on the markets (4:1 daytrade buying power times 3x funds) It seems like a dangerous recipe for the average trader. How do these products get approved? Didn't the leverage problems of all the failed financial institutions raise any red flags during the review process? Greed continues to spur "innovation" with more and more derivative products. It will be interesting to see if these products find the same type of liquidity as the very successful 2x Funds such as; QLD, QID, SDS, SSO, etc.

I find it amazing that they are now offering an ETF with 3X LEVERAGE These funds are not trading yet but will be soon. So now the trader with at least 25K in his account can get 12:1 intraday leverage on the markets (4:1 daytrade buying power times 3x funds) It seems like a dangerous recipe for the average trader. How do these products get approved? Didn't the leverage problems of all the failed financial institutions raise any red flags during the review process? Greed continues to spur "innovation" with more and more derivative products. It will be interesting to see if these products find the same type of liquidity as the very successful 2x Funds such as; QLD, QID, SDS, SSO, etc.

Federal Reserve policymakers yesterday (Wednesday) reduced the benchmark Federal Funds rate to 1.0%, an aggressive half-percentage-point cut that central bank Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s latest attempt to keep the widening financial crisis from tipping the world into a global recession. “The pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly, owing importantly to a decline in consumer expenditures,” the Fed said in a statement. “Business equipment spending and industrial production have weakened in recent months, and slowing economic activity in many foreign economies is damping the prospects for U.S. exports. “Moreover,” the statement added, “the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit.” The Fed also lowered its discount rate – the rate at which it lends directly to banks and Wall Street firms – ...

SIBORAP includes these ten specific sections: (1) Product Transparency, (2) Regulation and Education, (3) Protection from Speculators (4) Control of Hedge Funds, (5) Brokerage Account Statements, (6) Retirement Account Investments, (7) Executive Compensation, (8) Corporate Financial Statements, (9) Taxation of Investment and Retirement Income, and (10) Transactional Greed and Fear Controls.

Section Two: Regulation and Education (continued from Part One of the SIBORAP report).

Security industry regulators will be charged with many responsibilities: (1) educating investors with respect to product content; (2) developing a “hierarchy-of-risk” tool that identifies the risks in all things sold to investors; and (3) preventing the spread of unregulated Internet based investment advice offered by persons of unknown qualifications.

Additionally, they will be responsible for:

(4) Preventing the development of multi-level, multi-leveraged, WMFDs; (5) requiring that all financial blogs include appropriate caveats that speak to the qualifications of …

We the securities investors of the United States, in order to form more transparent financial markets, establish effective regulations, defend against destructive speculation and manipulation, promote financial well-being, preserve working capital, and protect retirement income, do establish this Securities Investors Bill of Rights and Protections (SIBORAP).

These rights are intended to replace, amend and/or abolish all laws and regulations currently in conflict with SIBORAP, and are to be implemented by all parties to financial transactions.

Any institutional efforts to create and/or market securities and/or derivative products that do not comply with the spirit of SIBORAP will result in fines to corporate officers and directors, congressional oversight committee members, regulatory agency directors, and their financial or legal counsel.

All derivative investment products of any kind, any investment programs or specific recommendations promoted in any medium by non-professionals and professionals alike, SEC …

China’s red-hot economy is officially slowing. Latest data put annual GDP growth at 9.0% in Q3, down from 10.1% in the previous quarter. Most analysts expect further economic easing and accelerated capital flight in Q4. But Jason Simpkins says a correction will actually benefit the Chinese economy, which has been running the risk of overheating. And ’slower’ growth of around 8% next year will still be the envy of the developed world.

This from Money Morning:

On the surface, it appears as though the Chinese economy is suffering along with the rest of the world. The economic crisis that has ensnared Western economies is expected to dampen Chinese exports and there is already evidence of capital flight.

But the real story is that China’s foreign exchange reserves – at $1.9 trillion – remain at an all-time high, and the

...

Every new controversy demands a look at similar situations of the past. Just what is a bailout anyway? In the early 80’s, Lee Iacocca arranged a government loan and tax concessions to bring Chrysler Corporation back from the brink of bankruptcy— during the Carter Administration, to save you a Google.

The economic domino effect of a major corporate death was clear, and Congress acted wisely when it saved this American icon from extinction— the loans were repaid. But was it poor management or shortsighted government that caused the problem. Politicians massaged and empowered the labor unions, implemented minimum wage legislation, and protected the steel industry from foreign competition.

Similar financial problems existed throughout the automotive industry and lower cost, better product was just starting to come ashore. Bailout or fix-up? Voteless corporations were perfect patsies then, and remain so today. But …