New benchmark to track companies getting aid from TARP and President-elect Obama's proposed multibillion-dollar aid package.

 

Less than two weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, a new index is coming out that will track stocks tied to companies participating in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The NASDAQ OMX Group said on Thursday that its Government Relief Index will follow not only those getting financial backing through TARP but also any firm receiving direct government investments from other programs. Presumably, that could include President-elect Obama's proposed $775 billion in additional bailout support to boost jobs and the economy.

Potential benefactors in business from such moves could include industries focused on infrastructure improvements and alternative energy sources, among others. 

"We believe the NASDAQ OMX Government Relief Index will be useful in helping investors evaluate the government's investments and the impact of the relief plan on the economy during this period of

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he economic news continues to bring bad tidings…consumer bankruptcies were up 33% in 2008…The financial crash is causing an economic crash, which will cause a worse financial crash…and around and around we go…Who will spend their savings in ‘09?…the CBO puts the budget deficit at $1.2 trillion for this year - and that’s not counting stimulus programs…and more!

“Psst…we’re breaking out of this joint…Saturday night…pass it on….”

Yes, dear reader…we’re breaking out… We’re not going to let these prison bars stop us. A whole generation of American investors is being fattened for slaughter…we’re not going to be among them.

Let’s look at yesterday’s headlines just to see what is going on.

The Dow rose 62 points yesterday. Oil held steady at $48. Gold went up $8. Yields are rising…but you still get paid nothing when you lend money to the U.S. government.

The economic news tells us that things are getting worse. Alcoa said

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Look at the economic goings-on that take place on this, the third rock from the Sun…The Dow is up again - could this be the beginning of a major rally?…pinning hopes on a stimulus package…much talk of cutting taxes, but not of cutting spending…Find a premise that is wrong, and bet against it…for gold bugs, it’s now or never…and more!

Captain’s Log: Year of our Lord 2009, 6th day…

We have landed on a strange and wonderful watery planet - the third planet in orbit around the sun, a minor star in the Milky Way galaxy. Well, they say it is watery planet. Where we are, it is icy. But the locals say it warms up and the ice melts. We’re suspicious; maybe it’s just hype to attract tourists.

But what is strange about this planet is that its inhabitants all seem to play a game of make-believe, in which they all agree

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Gold was lower overseas, dropping below $840 at the London open and again just before New York opened on Tuesday, but it edged higher to the noon hour, then really took off, peaking at $870 in early Globex trading before easing to finish at $864.60/oz., up $6.30. Overnight, gold has been flat.

Platinum also pushed higher through the Comex and Globex trading, ending just off its intraday high at $961/oz., up $18. Overnight, platinum is sharply higher.

Silver was stuck around $10.90 until New York opened, then a rally ignited that drove it to $11.50 before it back off slightly to close at $11.44/oz., up 22 cents. Overnight, silver is trending lower. (Click here for charts)

The precious metals all had reasonably strong days, especially considering the mixed support from the usual suspects, as equities moved higher, but crude slipped and the dollar moved higher against the euro despite

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Last year, the illusion of permanent wealth and prosperity was shattered. Just as The Great Depression followed the ‘roaring’ 20s, so we now face a huge correction to years of unrestricted gains. But take the historical parallels further, and Andrew Gordon says this year could be your best chance in decades to secure your financial future.

This from Investor’s Daily Edge:

We thought we were in a “New Era.” We thought the party would never end.

Saving was out. Why save when stock prices were going up so fast. For almost eight straight years the stock market knew only one trajectory and that was up. “Buy now and pay later” defined not just a financial strategy but a lifestyle. And not only for the rich and well-off. Everybody was convinced that they could get rich.

Of course Wall Street was getting all the credit. And a big part of Wall Street’s success was enticing

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The focus on green energy found a rather large boost in 2008 as petroleum prices surged and a “green” president was elected. The overall reality of the green investment, however, is that it is still an infant trying to solve issues and meet production and cost requirements. Solar is quickly catching up to electrical plant production on cost/watt, as is wind. Bio-fuels are also making huge leaps against petroleum depending on the day. But until cost and quantity can match fossil fuels now and in the future, they will always remain in the development stage. Those green companies that can meet production and cost demands, however, will become the investments to be involved with. They may not be there yet, but they are the ones to watch if an investor can find them.

OriginOil Inc., a development stage biofuel conversion equipment company, works to develop equipment for the conversion of algae

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Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit and Chairman Winfried Bischoff will forgo 2008 bonuses after the bank lost three-quarters of its market value and got a $45 billion U.S. bailout, Pandit said in a memo to employees.

Robert E. Rubin, the former U.S. Treasury secretary who serves as an adviser to the New York-based company, declined a bonus for a second straight year, said the memo sent to Bloomberg News by Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta. According to Bloomberg, senior leadership committee members will get smaller awards than last year.

“The harsh realities of 2008, primarily our earnings results, mean that our bonus pool is dramatically lower,” Pandit said in the memo.

Year-end bonuses, which typically account for about two-thirds of Wall Street compensation, are being cut this year after the U.S. government rolled out a

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We remain extremely cautious on the machinery sector.

As foreign economies deal with weaker exports to the U.S and Europe, industrial customers are cutting back on capital spending. Equipment orders are decelerating in almost every end-market -- from machines used in construction, infrastructure, agriculture to base metal projects.

There are several data points that help to paint the picture of a global slowdown. Japan's core machine orders fell 4.4% in October, and fell in 6 of the first 10 months of the year. What's more, according to the cabinet office in Japan, overseas orders fell a whopping 37.2% in the same month. In November, Japanese industrial production fell 8.1% sequentially, and 16.2% y-o-y.

Also, according to the VDMA machine makers association, German plant and machinery orders fell in October, with a decline in export orders.

When looking at the macro backdrop for industrial production and machinery orders, we expect to see a continued slowdown

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The currency markets reaction to the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate cuts has ignited a rally in gold, as investors weigh the benefits of owning the yellow metal versus U.S. Treasuries and the dollar. As a result, gold has started to shine again as a stable source of value at a time when the dollar and other commodities – like oil and copper – have fallen hard. The spot price of gold has climbed above $870 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up about 20% from its October lows. Gold has been on roller coaster ride in 2008, moving from its all time high of $1035 in March, to as low as $681 an ounce. Some of that decline occurred during the recent stock market plunge. Many investors were forced to liquidate profitable gold positions in order to raise money to cover ...

Tuesday December 30, 2008 Navivest

GMAC Financial Services, the division of General Motors (GM) that finances some GM auto loans as well as provide GM dealer financing, announced today that it is receiving financial aid to the tune of $5 billion from the US Treasury.

To qualify for the aid, GMAC would have had to be a bank holding company and the company on Wednesday December 24, announced that it had been approved by the U.S. government to become a one.

The treasury will buy a $5 billion equity stake in GMAC in the form of senior preferred equity that will pay an 8 percent dividend. The government will also increase a previously announced loan by a billion dollars, to GMAC parent company General Motors (GM) so that GM can participate in a rights offering at GMAC in support of GMAC’s reorganization as a bank holding company.

According to the Treasury

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