Simpl076

понедельник, 12 марта 2012 г.

Summary Box: Dow jumps on Italy budget deal

EUROPE AGAIN: Italy's benchmark stock index leapt 3.7 percent and its borrowing costs plunged after the country's Senate passed a crucial austerity budget demanded by the European Union. Other European stock markets and the euro also pushed higher as investors became more confident that Italy would avoid a fiscal disaster.

UP WEEK: Friday's rally sent the Dow up 1.4 percent for the week. The S&P 500 rose 0.8 percent.

THE DOW: The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 259.89 points, or 2.2 percent, to 12,153.68. It closed below 12,000 the previous two days.

Sales sink as stores are submerged

The flooded anchor stores of State Street - Marshall Field & Co.and Carson Pirie, Scott & Co. - will remain closed today with noimmediate forecast on reopening.

Other retailers on the city's oldest shopping thoroughfare mayreopen today, depending on whether electrical power and water arerestored.

In any case, losses will continue to mount with the largeststores closed and few shoppers expected on the street.

A vault in Filene's Basement, in the old Wieboldt Building,reportedly collapsed under the water pressure. Officials of thestore couldn't be reached.

Field's put its loss estimate on merchandise at "hundreds ofthousands of dollars," though it says it's insured. Carson's had nocomment on losses.

The flooding and electrical shutdown that closed all StateStreet stores comes at a terrible time for retailers.

The week preceding Easter normally brings increased sales ofspring clothes and goodies to fill Easter baskets.

By late afternoon Monday, the water continued to rise in thesub-basements of Field's and Carson's. Crews there were movingmerchandise from storage to any space they could find on higherfloors.

They also were removing merchandise from display cases on thefirst basement levels in both stores - Down Under at Fields and theCorporate Level at Carson's.

Pumps were operating in Field's basement, where its wearypresident, Dan Skoda, explained the system with some frustration:"We're pumping water out into the street where it goes into thesewer, which then goes into the river and the tunnels and then backinto the store."

Actually, sewer water doesn't go into the Chicago River. Butthere were reports of sewer overflows, and the flooded Loop tunnelshave continued to pour into Field's and Carson's basements.

Skoda said that at the rate water continued to rise late Mondayafternoon, Field's expected water to approach the Down Under level -the lowest shopping level in the store - by 9 p.m. Monday.

Field's has two sub-basements, and water rose through thoselower levels first.

The most expensive merchandise in Down Under - fancy Mont Blancpens and premium wines - was being moved upstairs, and less-expensiveitems, such as Easter baskets, were being set on higher stands andcounters.

Frozen food was moved to a locker set up on the courtyardloading dock.

Skoda and Carson's officials said late Monday that they didn'tknow when the stores would reopen.

It depends on when the water can be pumped out or recedes on itsown, and when fresh water can be brought into the buildings. Thefresh-water pumps were submerged in the third, or lowest, basementsin both stores.

Arlington International on the right course

I was questioned about my Sunday column describing ArlingtonInternational Racecourse's opening June 28. The bettors atSportsman's Park wanted to know if the track really will be as goodas I wrote. I told them even better. Arlington International will have it all, and if it doesn't, comeand see me and I'll give you $1 bill and a Broken Down Horseplayerbutton.

You must be honest about it. No, Arlington won't guarantee anywinners.

The racing strip will be second to none. Everytime I hearthere'll be a new strip somewhere, it's usually only a new cushion.Arlington's strip will be new from top to bottom. There won't be aharness surface beneath the cushion. I saw Arlington's whole neweverything Friday.

New York's track superintendant Joe King and The Meadowland'sBob Miles were consultants to Arlington's Les Brown. King does agreat job for Belmont, Saratoga and Aqueduct. Miles has TheMeadowlands' strip in great shape. Five years ago, leading horsemenscreamed that The Meadowlands strip was good for nothing. Now theyrun their best horses there.

I doubt there will be any great bias at Arlington with variouspaths. Anything I hate is a numbers game. I don't want to bebetting No. 12 because of a certain bias nor No. 1 because the railis like cement. I want to select the fastest horses and then letthem prove it. I don't want a strip where any horse can win or lose.I want the fastest horse to win.

I'm sure Arlington will have a perfect drainage system. Ofall the tracks I've seen, I believe the New York tracks dry fasterthan any other. Why should Arlington have the best strip in theUnited States? It's simple arithmetic. Dick Duchossois, owner ofArlington, put his money where his mouth is and told his staff that'swhat he wanted.

Arlington is doing away with the inner and outer turf courses.It'll be one course with sweeping turns and width so the horses don'tget squeezed. I suggested to Arlington's president (I forgot whichone) several years ago that one turf course would permit truer races.He laughed it off.

I assume they'll move the inside rail out a bit so the coursedoesn't get cut up too much, but if you ever go racing elsewhere andthey have an inner and outer turf course or even put that inside railfar removed from the inside, you'll see horses stacked up on thestretch turn and sometimes through the stretch.

A field of 12 is too many for a narrow course or one with asharp stretch turn. They don't have inner and outer turf courses inEurope where they have the greatest turf horses and races. TheEuropeans would laugh off such an idea. I believe the jockeys here,Earlie Fires, Pat Day and others, will enjoy riding over a wider turfcourse.

I know I would if somebody would tie me to the saddle.

Arlington will be complete. Take my word for it. EduardoFortino, backstretch and television feature manager, told me thetrees placed around the paddock cost $4,000 each. I guess they wantto shade the horses.

I hate to write about restaurants and food. It makes me hungry.The Million Room, open to the public on weekdays, offers a panoramicview of Arlington's paddock. The International Room is also open tothe public on weekdays for groups.

Mr. D's in the grandstand is another restaurant. There's also aMarquee On The Green and the Million Room that will take the place ofthe Classic Club.

I didn't want to mention the Turf Club. That's the real privatedeal. This club is by invitation only. There will be a limitednumber of members, perhaps 50, with a cost of $4,000 for the season.That eliminated me.

Autoliv announces plans for massive expansion to Columbia City facility

With Gov. Joe Kernan on hand, representatives from automotive safety-device manufacturer Autoliv unveiled designs to triple the work force and double the size of the company's Columbia City plant over the next five years.

With a present work force of about 320 workers in a 120,000-square-foot plant along U.S. 30, a proposed $37-million investment over the next half decade is expected to bring with it nearly 700 new jobs. Kernan helped Autoliv officials to break ground on the 120,000-square-foot expansion to the existing structure to accommodate the growing work force and production capabilities the investment will bring.

"Over the past seven years, Autoliv has grown into one of the state's strongest manufacturing operations, and we are pleased to help them with this expansion project," Kernan said.

When it first came to Columbia City in 1997, Autoliv employed less than 50 people. The company, headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, is a leading manufacturer of automotive safety products, like seat belts and airbags. It employs an estimated 37,000 people worldwide.

More than $12 million in state incentives, through a mix of tax credits and training grants, helped the Whitley County location beat out heavy competition from sites in Utah, Kentucky, Texas and Mexico.

Commander Warns of al-Qaida Threat to US

Al-Qaida terrorists may be plotting more urgently to attack the United States to maintain their credibility and ability to recruit followers, the U.S. military commander in charge of domestic defense said.

Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, chief of the U.S. Northern Command, also told reporters Thursday he has not seen any direct threats tied to the U.S. presidential elections. But he said it would be rash to think that such threats are not there.

"We need only to look at Spain and see that they're certainly willing to try to do something that is significant that could affect an election process," Renuart said. "I think it would be imprudent of us to let down our guard believing that if there's no credible threat that you know of today, there won't be something tomorrow."

While he said that U.S. authorities have thwarted attacks on a number of occasions, he said terrorist cells may be working harder than ever to plot high-impact events. He did not point to any specific intelligence that authorities have received but said the "chatter" they are hearing "gives me no reason to believe they're going to slow down" in their efforts to target the U.S.

"If an organization like that is to maintain credibility and continue to grow more of its extremists, it has to show tangible results," Renuart said. "So I think there may be a certain sense of urgency among that organization to have an effect. So it would tell me that they're trying harder."

Asked about the terror threat, Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said, "There continues to be no credible information telling us about an imminent threat to homeland at this time."

In July, U.S. intelligence analysts, in a threat assessment, concluded that al-Qaida had rebuilt its operating capability to a level not seen since just before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The report said the terror network had regrouped along the Afghan-Pakistan border, but it also noted that officials knew of no specific credible threat of an attack on U.S. soil.

About the same time, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff raised eyebrows when he said he had a "gut feeling" that the United States faced a heightened risk of attack.

On Thursday, however, Chertoff said the U.S. has successfully lowered the risk of a large-scale domestic terrorist attack for the near future.

"We have significantly reduced the risk of a major attack in the short term," Chertoff told a group of editors at The Washington Post in a report posted online Thursday.

Chertoff said the U.S. effort was one of the reasons there has been an increase in attacks by Islamic extremists in Europe. Improvements in U.S. traveler screening and border security have shifted the focus of al-Qaida operatives and sympathizers to Europe, he said.

Renuart said that of the more than a dozen daily events that Northern Command responds to _ ranging from natural disasters to threats _ two or three may have the potential to be terrorist incidents.

The chatter, which included public audio and video tapes released on the Internet by al-Qaida leaders, suggests that they are looking for a way to have a big impact again, he said. Pressed for details, he said the chatter was more common but "whether that's louder or more ominous, I'm not sure I'm ready to draw that conclusion."

He did, however, repeat his assertion _ which he first made in July _ that he believes there are al-Qaida cells or sympathizers within the United States.

President Bush, in a speech Thursday, also said the United States remained under threat from terrorists. Marking the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Homeland Security Department, Bush said that in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks "it was hard to imagine that we would reach this milestone without another attack on our homeland."

Yet he said, "On this anniversary, we must also remember that the danger to our country has not passed. Since the attacks of 9/11, the terrorists have tried to strike our homeland again and again. We've disrupted numerous planned attacks _ including a plot to fly an airplane into the tallest building on the West Coast and another to blow up passenger jets headed for America across the Atlantic Ocean."

Bush said the lesson is clear: "The enemy remains active, deadly in its intent _ and in the face of this danger, the United States must never let down its guard."

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AP White House Correspondent Terence Hunt and AP writer Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

U.S. Northern Command: http://www.northcom.mil/

среда, 7 марта 2012 г.

Gold Fund Investors Ride Roller Coaster

Want a roller-coaster ride without ever leaving the ground?Take a look at the United Services Gold Shares Fund.

United Services Gold Shares slumped 16 percent in 1991 and 51percent in 1992, then soared 124 percent in 1993. This year, thefund fell 24.6 percent after losing 3 percent in 1994, according tothe New York-based research group Lipper Analytical Services Inc.

Any gold fund, of course, is likely to suffer the slings andarrows of a commodity over which the fund managers have no controlwhatsoever. But then, how much control does any fund manager haveover the underlying securities of any fund?

Still, an investor in a gold fund has to have a pretty strongstomach.

Looking at the ups and especially the downs on a chart of UnitedServices Gold Shares, it would appear there's a better than 50-50chance 1996 will be a good year to own the United Services fund. Tobe sure, it also could be another horrible year.

"There's a good chance we're at the bottom," said Victor Flores,who manages the $250 million fund for United Services Advisors Inc.in San Antonio, Texas. "The same thing happened in 1992. Everyonethrew in the towel and the next year South Africa gold mining stockswere up 150 to 300 percent."

United Services Gold Shares Fund invests about 85 percent of itsassets in South African gold mining companies.

That has been the fund's mandate since its creation in 1974,Flores said.

It's a mandate that has spelled disaster this year. The fund isthe worst performing of 38 gold stock funds tracked by LipperAnalytical.

The average gold fund was up 3.5 percent, led by the Midas Fund,up 39.5 percent, and IDS Precious Metals, up 25.7 percent.

United Services' other gold fund, the United Services World GoldFund, a $200 million fund that Flores also manages, is up 15.9percent this year, Lipper Analytical said.

The difference between United Services' Gold Shares and WorldGold funds is that Gold Shares invests mainly in South Africa and theWorld fund invests everywhere, Flores said.

United Services Gold Shares Fund's top three holdings are FreeState Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd., Driefontein Consolidated Ltd. andSouthvaal Holdings Ltd., which account for about 20 percent of itsassets, Flores said. Free State Consolidated Gold Mines shares aredown about 52 percent this year; Driefontein Consolidated shares aredown about 32 percent, and Southvaal Holdings shares are down about20 percent.

South Africa's gold production is down 5 percent to 7 percentthis year, Flores said.

"That's pretty dramatic when you consider the inflation rate isup 9 to 10 percent and gold prices have been flat," he said. "Theresult is earnings have just been destroyed."

The main reason for the decline in gold mining production istied to the inability of leaders of the country's miners union toenforce an agreement that workers made with the union, Flores said.

The union has been in disarray since the elections of April,1994, when top union leaders took new jobs in President NelsonMandela's administration, he said.

Still, Flores said he's optimistic about the outlook for SouthAfrican gold mining stocks.

"The market has already factored into it that the problem won'tgo away," Flores said. "It will eventually. It always does."

Tom Petruno is off.