The Federal Reserve used up almost all of its remaining conventional ammo today as it desperately tries to prevent the second Great Depression. The statement is below, along with the previous statement, and with my commentary interspersed."The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to establish a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 1/4 percent."  "The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 50 basis points to 1 percent." Hard to believe that just six weeks ago the fed funds rate was at 1.50%. Now we are near zero. The use of a range is unusual and perhaps unprecedented. Then again, the fed funds rate has never been this low before, and at the low end of the range I can safely say that it is a record that will never be ...

18 banks have gone under so far this year. But how do you know if yours will be next? Keith Fitz-Gerald says the IRA Bank Industry Stress Index can be used like a financial X-ray to see what’s really going on in the banking sector.

This from Money Morning:

When federal banking regulators last week seized the Houston-based Franklin Bank SSB (FBTX), it became the 18th bank failure this year amid the ongoing credit crisis. With total assets of $5.1 billion and total deposits of $3.7 billion, Franklin wasn’t the largest bank failure this year – that honor belongs to IndyMac Bancorp Inc. (OTC: IDMCQ), which had more than $30 billion in estimated assets when it was seized by U.S. banking regulators in July. At the time, IndyMac was also the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history, reaching all the way back to 1934, U.S.

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18 banks have gone under so far this year. But how do you know if yours will be next? Keith Fitz-Gerald says the IRA Bank Industry Stress Index can be used like a financial X-ray to see what’s really going on in the banking sector.

This from Money Morning:

When federal banking regulators last week seized the Houston-based Franklin Bank SSB (FBTX), it became the 18th bank failure this year amid the ongoing credit crisis. With total assets of $5.1 billion and total deposits of $3.7 billion, Franklin wasn’t the largest bank failure this year – that honor belongs to IndyMac Bancorp Inc. (OTC: IDMCQ), which had more than $30 billion in estimated assets when it was seized by U.S. banking regulators in July. At the time, IndyMac was also the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history, reaching all the way back to 1934, U.S.

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Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a week after the struggling electronics retailer announced it would close 155 of its 566 U.S. stores by Dec. 31 and slash its workforce by 17%.

“The decision to restructure the business through a Chapter 11 filing should provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our balance sheet, create a more efficient expense structure and ultimately position the company to compete more effectively,” James A. Marcum, vice chairman and acting president and chief executive officer, said yesterday (Monday) in a statement.

In the past year and a half, Circuit City has created nothing but a collection of ugly headlines. The Richmond, VA-based Circuit City has $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in liabilities, including a $119 million debt to Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and a $116 million debt to Samsung Electronics Co.,

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HIDDEN VALUE

Dear Friend,

A new month brings a new batch of depressing headlines from the real economy.

U.S. factory activity fell to its lowest level for 26 years in October. Circuit City says it plans to close 155 stores and slash its workforce by 17%, all before the end of the year. And Fitch says credit card losses will likely surpass historical peaks in 2009.

Meanwhile, Jeffrey Lacker, president of Richmond’s Federal Bank, says the government’s response to problems in financial firms may have added to market turmoil.

Still, that won’t stop it from trying to ‘fix’ things.

There are rumors of a $500 billion guarantee for distressed mortgages. There could even be another economic stimulus package in the pipeline in time for Christmas shopping. The markets are in a hesitant mood today. The leading U.S. indexes have all tiptoed around

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Massey's (MEE) fundamentals signal growth, and the company is growing through coal mine acquisitions. Massey recently announced the acquisition of a metallurgical coal mine in West Virginia. The company noted that it can add significant metallurgical coal production almost immediately with relatively low start-up costs.

Company Description

Massey Energy Company, which is the fourth largest coal company in the United States based on produced coal revenue, is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

Growth Through Mine Acquisition

The company recently announced the acquisition of a metallurgical coal mine in West Virginia. MEE noted that this acquisition can add significant metallurgical coal production almost immediately with relatively low start-up costs.

An Update on the Company's Guidance

In early September, Massey Energy backed its 2008 forecast, noting that it still expects full-year 2008 results, excluding a litigation charge recorded in the second quarter, to be within the ranges

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Massey Energy Co. (MEE) has seen analysts lift full-year 2008 earnings estimates from last month’s projection of $3.21 per share to $3.58. The most accurate forecast is a more bullish $3.70.

Company Description

Massey Energy Company, which is the fourth largest coal company in the United States based on produced coal revenue, is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia.

An Update on the Company’s Guidance

Massey Energy recently backed its 2008 forecast, noting that it still expects full-year 2008 results, excluding a litigation charge recorded in the second quarter, to be within the ranges of full-year guidance provided previously but with produced tons sold and average price per ton trending toward the lower end of the respective ranges.

Management added that Global demand for coal remains very strong and prices have remained at very high levels. Massey's Chairman and CEO Don Blankenship said, "with continuing progress

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Altria (MO) has this way of giving you what you want and then panting for even more.

On Aug. 25th I posted “The litigation environment surrounding tobacco has not been this good in almost 20 years. Altria (MO) will take advantage of this to announce the PMI spin at the upcoming board meeting Aug. 29th.”

Altria obliged and gave me the spin I wanted to stopped short of announcing the huge dividend increases and share buybacks I also wanted. They did announce an almost 9% dividend increase to 75 cents a share and made no mention of share repurchases.