October 14, 2011   29 notes

Slumping Eagles need win at Washington to turn season around


“Being loose is probably the best way to be right now,” Eagles starting quarterback Michael Vick told reporters on Friday. “When everyone is tense and uptight, it creates more pressure and we already have enough pressure on ourselves.”To avoid losing five straight games for the first time since 1998, the Eagles will need a road win on Sunday against a division-leading Redskins team enjoying a turnaround of their own after going 6-10 last year.Vick, who threw a career-high four interceptions during last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills, stressed a need for the Eagles to focus on playing mistake-free football.”We’re just focusing on the next best thing, and that’s winning. We understand that can change everything around,” said Vick. “Everybody has handled this whole situation with class and as professionals like we all are. We’re waiting to pull through.”During Philadelphia’s last game at Washington — a 59-28 rout last November — Vick became the first NFL player to register at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game.However, this season’s Eagles team is different. They have committed 15 turnovers, three more than any other team, and are sitting last in the NFC East.The Eagles enter their bye week after the Redskins game and then return for another key divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys (2-2) before matchups against the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals, who both have losing records.Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, who is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards with 443, said his team mates’ attitude has been positive all week and acknowledged the matchup against Washington is the biggest game yet this season.”Out of all the games we’ve had so far, I think this is the biggest game that we’ll play,” said McCoy.”Especially now, since we’re 1-4 and going against the division. This is one of the biggest games we’ll play.”

October 14, 2011

UPDATE 1- Steel Dynamics’ CEO Busse to be replaced


* Stock rises 1.6 percentOct 14 (Reuters) -Steel Dynamics said on Friday that its board chose President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Millett to replace Keith Busse as chief executive officer next year.Millett, a director and co-founder of the steelmaker 18 years ago, will take over the CEO’s position effective Jan 1, 2012.Busse, who also helped found the company, will continue to serve as chairman after the changeover and also provide consulting services to Steel Dynamics, it said.The company gave no reason for the change.Steel Dynamics’ stock rose 1.6 percent to $11.40 in early trading on Nasdaq.

October 13, 2011

GLOBAL MARKETS-Weak Chinese data hurts copper, stocks


* Copper, equities fall after soft Chinese data* Global stocks fall after six days of gainsBy Rodrigo CamposNEW YORK, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Rising Italian debt yields forced the European Central Bank back into buying bonds on Thursday, while global stocks and copper edged lower, pressured by weak data from China.The rise in Italian yields underscored investor uncertainty on whether current measures will be effective in preventing the spread of a debt crisis in the euro zone. Bund and U.S. Treasury prices rose as investors sought relative safety.”Even though the (Italian) auctions went relatively smoothly, investors still remain reluctant to put money into that country because of doubts about the commitment of fiscal policy and political risk,” said Nick Stamenkovic, strategist at RIA Capital Markets.Italy sold 6.2 billion euros of debt, split across four bonds, including the first sale of debt with maturities different than those which the ECB will buy.The Italian 10-year BTP yield was up to 5.815 percent from 5.738 percent late on Wednesday.U.S. and European shares fell after recent gains following data showing China’s trade surplus narrowed for a second straight month in September, with both imports and exports lower than expected.It reflected global economic weakness, which along with the euro zone debt crisis, has kept investors from taking aggressive risk taking over the past months.Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co’s , the first major U.S. bank to report earnings for the latest quarter, fell 5 percent to $31.47. An index of U.S. bank shares slid 3.4 percent.”This is a news driven market, probably overly sensitive to China data. JPMorgan is a good indicator of what is happening in the banking industry and a little bit of an insight into where consumer banking is headed,” said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.”That is kind of the news that would want you to make some money off the table.”In early trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 104.40 points, or 0.91 percent, at 11,414.45. The S&P 500 was down 12.63 points, or 1.05 percent, at 1,194.62. The Nasdaq Composite was down 8.38 points, or 0.32 percent, at 2,596.35.The S&P 500 has run up more than 10 percent from its intraday low hit last week on Tuesday and had its largest seven-day rally since March 2009 on growing optimism European leaders were making progress in tackling the region’s debt problems.World stocks as measured by MSCI were down 0.8 percent.The euro fell broadly, pulling back from a one-month high versus the dollar after the ECB warned about the impact on the currency and the region’s banks of involving bondholders in euro zone bailouts.The single currency hit a New York session low of $1.3686, according to Reuters data. It last traded at $1.3698, down 0.6 percent on the day. The euro on Wednesday touched its highest versus the greenback since Sept. 16.The soft data from China also pressured copper prices . The industrial metal, often taken as a proxy for growth expectations, fell 3.2 percent.

October 12, 2011   53 notes

New Mexico fund to stick with Paulson for now


* New Mexico expected to terminate other hedge fundBy Svea Herbst-BaylissBOSTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - New Mexico’s state pension fund is sticking with embattled hedge fund manager John Paulson for now even as his main portfolios suffer their worst-ever losses.”We don’t have any plans for action,” Joelle Mevi, chief investment officer at the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico, said on Wednesday.New Mexico is among a large number of high profile investors that have entrusted millions to Paulson & Co and now face the tough task of deciding whether to stay put or ask for money back as a critical deadline looms at the end of October.”Prior to these last months, we’ve had good performance with Paulson,” said Mevi, who has invested with Paulson since 2010.On Tuesday, John Paulson, who shot to fame on a bet against subprime bets, told investors on a call that he had been wrong on the timing of a recovery and had overconfidently bet that too many stock prices would rise, according to several people who listened in.His main Advantage Plus fund has tumbled 47 percent this year while his Advantage fund cousin is off 32 percent, investors have said.Paulson said that he might be forced to return as much as one-quarter of the firm’s roughly $30 billion, the investors who listened to the call said.At the moment the Advantage Funds, Paulson’s biggest, which have been hard-hit by their exposure to financial stocks, are believed to have about 30 percent in cash, several investors said. Paulson could use this money to meet redemptions and return money after the end of the year.A spokesman for Paulson said he had no comment.New Mexico, like many other large pension funds, has been advised by consulting firm Cliffwater LLC. It is unclear how Cliffwater will advise its other clients that are invested with Paulson, but Stephen Nesbitt, Cliffwater’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he planned to dial in to the Paulson call.At the same time that New Mexico is sticking with Paulson, its investment committee will advise its board to terminate Diamondback Capital Management, a firm which had been embroiled in the U.S. government’s insider trading case.The board will vote at the end of the month and likely ask for $40 million back from the Stamford, Connecticut-based fund, which has been under pressure since FBI agents raided it nearly one year ago.Pension fund boards traditionally agree with their investment committee’s recommendations.New Mexico was among a number of high profile clients that stuck with Diamondback as others pulled out over $1 billion in assets. But recently the fund, and Cliffwater, had a change of heart as performance sagged and concerns about the insider trading probe lingered.Diamondback has not been charged with any wrong doing and it recently settled an insider trading case by paying back roughly $1 million.A spokesman for Diamondback had no immediate comment.