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Wednesday October 29, 2014

// October 29th, 2014 // Comments Off on Wednesday October 29, 2014 // Daily News

Studies find fast traders get data from SEC seconds early: WSJ

Hedge funds and other rapid-fire investors get access to market-moving documents before other users of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s system for distributing company filings, giving them a possible edge on the rest of the market, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two independent studies.
The two sets of researchers have been examining when paying subscribers receive SEC filings compared with when they become available on the agency’s website, the newspaper reported.
They found a wide variation in the lag time, from no delay to one lasting more than a minute. The ability to get the information before it is on the SEC website can give traders extra seconds to act on the news, WSJ said.
The studies focus on the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system, or Edgar, which is used to disseminate earnings reports and other documents filed to the regulator.
However, an SEC spokeswoman told the Journal that the agency has reviewed the working paper and was conducting a thorough assessment of the dissemination process to make necessary systems modifications.
A book by best-selling author Michael Lewis that asserted equities markets are rigged by high-frequency traders—who can dip in and out of markets in fractions of a second—triggered renewed regulatory scrutiny earlier this year.
The SEC for the past few years has been investigating high-speed traders and others for potential concerns about manipulation or other practices that may give some market players an unfair advantage.

Today’s Inspiration

Overcoming Passivity

by Joyce Meyer – posted October 29, 2014

Jesus said] When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest (release, refreshment, ease); and finding none it says, I will go back to my house from which I came. And when it arrives, it finds [the place] swept and put in order and furnished and decorated. And it goes and brings other spirits, seven [of them], more evil than itself, and they enter in, settle down, and dwell there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.
—Luke 11:24-26

This word from Jesus can be frightening. His purpose for the warning is not to cause us to cringe and worry about unclean spirits coming back. It’s a warning to tell us that it’s not enough to get rid of wrong thoughts-we must keep the door locked so our enemy can’t return. Not only does evil come back, but it comes back worse than before.

I once read an article about diets, and the author said that most people who diet actually lose weight-until they stop dieting. Then they regain the weight they lost and about 5 percent more. When they stop working at the problem, they not only stop losing, but they’re worse than before they started. The author went on to say that the only way to win the battle of being overweight is to make a lifestyle change by becoming aware of the danger areas and guarding ourselves against making wrong choices.

It works that way spiritually; as well. One way to keep wrong thoughts out of your mind is to keep the mind active and alert and full of right things. You can cast out the devil, but then you must remain alert, always aware of his tricks.

As I point out in my book Battlefield of the Mind, there are aggressive sins (or sins of commission) and there are passive sins (sins of omission). That is, there are things we do that hurt a relationship, such as speaking careless words. But it is just as true that we hurt relationships by the omission of kind words, those thoughtful words that express appreciation, affection, or awareness of kind deeds others have done.

When confronted, passive individuals yell, “But I didn’t do anything!” That’s exactly the point. It’s what they don’t do. Their lack of action actually invites the devil back into their lives.

That’s a strong statement, so I will say it a different way. You can win any time you take action and push away the thoughts and desires that don’t come from God. You may do this on your own through prayer, reading the Bible, or even by resisting the passivity that may be natural for you. But once you’ve been set free, that’s only the beginning. It’s not just one victory that lasts forever. It’s an ongoing battle-it’s constantly rebuking the devil.

The best, easiest, and most effective way to rebuke the devil is to fill your mind and your heart with praises to God. When you worship and praise God, you’ve slammed the door in the enemy’s face and put up a “No Trespassing” sign.

I don’t want to make it sound as if you have to fight demons every second of your life. That’s a trick of the devil himself to make you think like that. But when you fill your life with praise and positive, healthy thoughts, you can live in victory.

Please read this verse again-aloud-and hear the message of the Holy Spirit: “Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 CEV).

Victory over passivity is just that simple: Focus your mind on the good and you will have no space left for the passive or the bad.

God, thank You for showing me the way to win over passivity and live in victory every day. In the name of Jesus, I ask You to remind me each day so that I can fill my mind and heart with only worthy thoughts. Amen.

Tuesday October 28, 2014

// October 28th, 2014 // Comments Off on Tuesday October 28, 2014 // Daily News

Oil and earnings the main attractions as markets await Fed

The Federal Open Market Committee begins its two-day meeting Tuesday morning, and it’s expected to declare the end of its quantitative easing program when it releases its statement Wednesday afternoon.
In the meantime, there are durable goods and S&P/Case-Shiller home price data Tuesday, and a deluge of earnings. BP starts the parade of major oil earnings releases this week when it reports before the bell, and early reports are also expected from DuPont, Pfizer, Whirlpool, Starwood Hotels and Coach. After the bell reports include Facebook, Gilead Sciences, Electronic Arts and Panera.
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 15, 2014.
Stocks traded calmly on the surface Monday, with relatively low volatility. The Dow was slightly higher, up 12 points at 16,817, and the S&P 500 was slightly lower, off 2 points at 1,961. But beneath the surface there was turbulence. Some momentum stocks were sharply lower, like Tesla, off more than 5.5 percent, GoPro, down nearly 10 percent, and Pandora down 3.5 percent. After the closing bell, Twitter joined the momentum losers, falling more than 10 percent on a disappointing forecast.
“Energy and things related to energy just got killed again today. Just obliterated,” said Steve Massocca of Wedbush Securities. The S&P energy sector fell 2 percent, the second-worst performer after the materials sector. The energy equipment sub-sector suffered an even worse 4.2 percent decline, as traders speculated weakening oil prices would result in less drilling.
Massocca said high dividend payers were also under fire, and selling hit MLPs. For instance, Holly Energy Partners was off more than 2 percent, and Teekay LNG Partners was off more than 2 percent.
West Texas Intermediate fell below $80 to a more than two-year low, after Goldman Sachs said WTI could hit $75 in the first quarter of 2015. Even though WTI moved back to $81 a barrel in a short covering rally, the oil-related stocks remained under pressure.

Today’s Inspiration

A Kind Reward

by Joyce Meyer – posted October 28, 2014

But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant).
—Luke 6:35

Has God ever asked you to do something really special for somebody who hurt you? When He does that, you think it will turn you inside out. Perhaps you have spent a lot of time in your life blessing someone who never blesses you in return—but God will still find ways to reward you.

Some of us are a little more naturally disposed toward kindness than others. Many of us find we can be kind to those who are kind to us, but we run into trouble with those we don’t think deserve kindness. The truth is you should extend kindness to people because they don’t deserve it—otherwise, it’s not kindness.