Morning all,

As you can gather from this email I didn’t win the Lotto draw last night..if I had it would have been silence from me…maybe next week when it is $100m…maybe…

Once again with the US markets closed for another bailout, it was left to the ‘Zombie’s to push the equity markets better…banks and energy stocks in the land of the walking debt were better with BP and U(sed)to B(e) S(mart) leading the way..looks like the Australian operations have escaped the scimitar of cuts that the Swiss giant is wielding..for now anyway! But in London..Dozens of traders at UBS’s offices in London learned in the worst way that they had lost their jobs when they turned up to work to find out that their security passes no longer worked at the turnstile. So what  did they do…obvious if you are a fan of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ ..go to the Pub!!

Sandy could cut US GDP growth to 1% in the 4^th quarter but you would expect there to be a rebound going forward as things get fixed and the clear up starts…

Greece looks like it is edging closer to an agreement to mess the troika around for a while longer with promises they can’t keep and austerity cuts that will ensure the Government is eventually overthrown and the country plunged into chaos..that’s more chaos than normal!!

Our market barely made it to $3bn yesterday with TLS leading the way …Banks will be the focus today following on from NAB result this morning..problems in UK are well telegraphed from last week but the number feels a little underwhelming and expect to see some profit taking in the sector..banks have limited growth options at the moment but their yields are attractive and Aussie banks safe as houses…literally…

The SPI was up 23 last night as higher Copper prices helped BHP but expect a more muted day with 10 points I suspect..we will wait to see what the US makes of Sandy…

Idea of the Day

Good time to think about Option trading.

In a slightly rising market selling out of the money calls against your current holdings can give you a valuable income stream and give you some protection in downturns….opening an account is really easy here, as are most things I am happy to say and I am happy to talk you through the strategies involved..really simple stuff and can give you some extra bonus income..never a bad thing…give me a ring if you are interested and I can talk you through it.

Things to make me go all Luke Skywalker!!

1.National Australia Bank, the country’s top lender by assets, reported on Wednesday that full-year net profit had fallen 22 per cent to $4.08 billion due to millions of dollars in costs from its troubled operations in Britain.

2.BHP Billiton: dropped its plans to expand its iron ore production in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It had previously aspired to a target of 450 million tonnes a year. The miner said that its production target for the near term is 220 million tonnes.

3.Virgin Australia’: plan to buy two domestic airlines faces a “very complicated” review because of concerns the country’s aviation market will be reduced to a duopoly, the nation’s antitrust regulator said. CEO John Borghetti will be putting the argument to regulators for a stronger competitor to Qantas at the same time as Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is arguing for authorisation to co-ordinate his operations with Emirates for 10 years.

4.Weku Adoboli, the former UBS AG trader on trial over a $2.3 billion trading loss, said his girlfriend encouraged him to confess his losses to managers while another trader on his desk told him to flee the country.

5.In the city that never sleeps. From “zerohedge”!.. “New York is back, baby. Best way to check? Restaurant reservations. And the best cross referencing place for that these days is OpenTable. A cursory check shows that of the 616 restaurants indicating availability for tonight, many already have the much desired 7:00 pm slot already booked up. Among these are such bastions of haute gourmet as Asiate, Rouge, Cipriani Caravaggio, Ouest, Felidia, Triomphe, and of course Dorsia Per Se. Which means only thing: New York has picked itself up, brushed off the rain drops from its $10,000 fitted Zegna suits, and is back to eating”.

6.This man has all the food groups covered with his disaster recovery plan in NY.. Tommy Flynn, a 57-year-old photographer, said he was preparing to spend several days at home without electricity. ‘‘My girlfriend and I have stocks of water, instant food, batteries, candy and chocolate. And we have nowhere to go,’’

7.Channel Nine steals Australia’s Got Talent after Seven drops the show…new judges and new investment in the format..Simon will b e pleased..for a moment yesterday I thought there was some hope for commercial TV but nah!!

8.Disney buys Lucas Films and now Star wars VII set for cinema screens…They are now going to rename the EPCOT centre the Death Star…Darth Vader is gonna scare the little kiddies…get them with his light sabre…

9.Arsenal come from 4-0 down to beat Reading 7-5 in extra time..who said football was dull!!!It’s amazing that Reading were 4 nil up in the first place!!

10.Germany’s jobless claims jumped twice as much as expected in October as Zombie problems come home to roost..and Japan votes to expand its asset purchase program to $1.14 Trillion …Monetary easing still the way forward..good for Gold!

And finally…..

A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. ”But why?” they asked, as they moved off. ”because,” he said ”I can’t stand chess nuts boasting in an open foyer.”

Have a good day

 

Clarence

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Any financial product advice contained in this email is general financial product advice only and does not take into account any one person’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Therefore, before acting on any financial product advice in this email, you should consider, with or without the assistance of an independent adviser, the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.