It looks like a stupor-inducingly dull day in the market. I survived Christmas, though my Aunt's dog, Sidney, did not. In fact, it died at my house yesterday afternoon. Sidney was a very old dog, a good dog, and very loved, and will be missed very much.brbrEarlier in the day, we had fun. Along with presents, tons of food, and good friends, we played games. It's something of a tradition at my house.brbrMy team won this one: A href=http://www.amazon.com/Cranium-101010000-100E/dp/B00000DMBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8s=toys-and-gamesamp;qid=1230299863amp;sr=1-1strongCranium/strong/A. I highly recommend it, especially for competitive families who like screaming at each other in a mix of outrage and glee.brbrLater, I lost this one: A href=http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Games-4098395-Carcassonne/dp/B00005UNAX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8amp;s=toys-and-gamesamp;qid=1230299958amp;sr=1-1strongCarcassone./strong/A Doesn't matter -- it's a great game, and I'll win it another time. I bought A href=http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Sports-Cards-Carcassone-Expansion/dp/B0009K6T2E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8amp;s=toys-and-gamesamp;qid=1230300041amp;sr=1-2strongCarcassone: Princessamp;Dragon Expansion /strong/Aas a gift for Cindy. She squealed with delight to find that under the tree.brbrHere's what I'm reading today (and so very little of it ...

US data may wake up the markets… Toyota reports a loss…  NZD falls, AUD gains… Will the Rupee shine in 2009?… And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… The currency markets remained in a tight range through the day yesterday with no movement from the majors currencies vs. the US$. Japan has a public holiday today, so trading this afternoon will be very quiet. Jennifer, who is doing all of our currency trading while Chuck is out, let me know that the trading desks were extremely quiet yesterday afternoon. But the markets may wake up a bit this morning, as we wait for data on 3rd quarter growth in the US.

GDP is expected to have fallen .5% in the 3rd quarter, and

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The IMF finally announced it's Latvia "bailout" plan on Friday. The plan involves lending about €1.7 billion ($2.4 billion) to Latvia to stabilise the currency and financial support while the government implements its economic adjustment plan. The loan, which will be in the form of a 27-month stand-by arrangement, is still subject to final approval by the IMF's Executive Board but is likely to be discussed before the end of this year under the Fund's fast-track emergency financing procedures, and it is not anticipated that there will be any last minute hitches (although I do imagine some eyebrow raising over the decision to support the continuation of the Lat peg). The Latvian government admits that some of the IMF economists involved in the negotiations advocated a devaluation of the lat as a way of ammeliorating the ...

A Santa Rally for the currencies?…  Waiting for the FOMC…  AUD and NZD rally…  China to try and keep growth above 8%… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day…It was actually a Great day for the currencies yesterday as the dollar index dropped another full point. The Euro moved past $1.35 and then blew through $1.36 to end the day over $1.37. And the Euro wasn’t even the best performer, as the New Zealand dollar rallied over 2.1% vs. the US$ to take the title of best performing currency against the greenback. The South African rand was the only currency turning in a negative performance yesterday with the other commodity driven currencies of Norway and Brazil just barely holding their ground vs. the US$.

The

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Currencies trade in a tight range…  China…  Commodity prices to blame…  “Safe” Treasuries? And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well… I went “shopping” yesterday evening… At least I can say I did my bit to keep the economy afloat! HA! Thanks to all who sent along notes to me yesterday with kind words. I truly appreciate the kind words, you are all too kind! The automakers made their pleas to Congress yesterday, and they claim they are in deep dookie! GM says they need $4 Billion right now! And… The original $25 Billion figure has grown to $35 to $40 Billion…

The currencies were lifeless yesterday, with only

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div align="justify"So the US recession is officially a year old, panicking span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"Chinese/span authorities are letting the Yuan depreciate to help plunging exports, the famed Tudor hedge fund is halting span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"redemptions/span, and economist Paul span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"Krugman/span has noticed the economy is in 'steep decline'. All of these factors fed a sharp reversal of the recent 20% rally, but given that span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"Krugman/span has become the personification of a contrary indicator, I'd be buying. emstrongMy tactical view as explained in previous posts remains intact; we will likely see new bear market lows in 2009 (and a bursting of the historic bond bubble), but not before a substantial rally through the next couple of months. /strong/emOne of the key secular trends that will span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"define/span our long-term economic future is Climate Change, but in which direction? Right now, the Green lobby are quietly cheering global recession; ...

Bailout fuels a rally… How long the rally last?  A slew of data today…  Thoughts from Jim Rogers… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Now that was quite the Investment Conference I just attended and gave two presentations to! Someone sent me a headline that appeared on the internet prior to the Conference that read: Three Kings of the Financial World on Tap to Speak for the Next WMI M2… And guess what? They considered me as one of those in the headline! WOW! OK, no… I’m not getting a big head, I’ve got my beautiful bride to keep me humble. She responded to hearing about this article with a heaping helping of, “OK King, take out the trash!” HAHAHAHAHAHA!

“The currencies continued their assault on the dollar today as investors felt more comfortable returning to the higher yielding currencies. Brazil was the biggest mover,

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Iceland today (Thursday) secured nearly $11 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other nations. The bailout will help the island nation stabilize its currency and recapitalize its banks, but it will also saddle its tiny population with a huge debt burden.

The IMF will lend Iceland $2.1 billion, and Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark will loan $2.5 billion to help the country re-float its currency and shore up its banking sector.

The Icelandic krona, or crown, has lost about 70% of its value since the nation’s financial crisis first began. The government put restrictions on currency trade as it wrestled with the crisis, however one of the stipulations of the IMF loan is that Reykjavik once again float its currency. Once it does, it’s likely that there will be a “massive currency outflow,” Iceland’s central bank said.

The krona, which traded at 176 against the euro

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Trading Theme returns…  Automakers’ bailout vote today…  Not using all your arrows…  Housing Starts go back to 1959! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

OK… Whew! What an awful day yesterday for the currencies… In the morning, they ere in rally mode with the euro gaining ground to well within the 1.27 handle. But then the Trading Theme set in, and those gains were wiped out. The Trading Theme was set off by the awful Housing data, which reminded everyone of the deep, dark , dangerous days ahead… I bought some euros, and watched them rise, and went off to do something else… When I returned, they had fallen… UGH! The Japanese yen, however, rallied, as is the case with the Trading Theme… Risk trades get unwound, which benefits dollars, and yen. I’ve explained all this before, so I won’t get into it again, but there’s someone that has gone into the problems

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Osteosarcoma is a childhood cancer, usually affecting the bones of children and young adults during adolescent growth spurts. Most of the tumors are found in large bones such as the femur, tibia and humerus, though the tumors can occur in any bone. Although fewer than 1,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, the survival rate of children with osteosarcoma has remained at 60-65 percent since the 1980s.

IDM Pharma Inc. (Nasdaq: IDMI) concentrates on developing innovative cancer products that destroy cancer cells by activating immunity or preventing tumor recurrence. The company focuses on reaching full therapeutic and commercial potential for each of its products, including its resectable osteosarcoma treatment.

The company today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) released a positive review of IDM’s L-MTP-PuE, or MEPACT, to treat resectable osteosarcoma. The committee also recommended that

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