Don't forget about the MA(20) which is currently  24.27

20(MA)

DJIA = 7137

SPX = 744

NDX = 1136

TRAN = 2523

BKX = 51.83

TLT = 103.35

QQQQs currently filling the AM gap down.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahlzePGAFrdg&refer=home

By Bradley Keoun and Rebecca Christie

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government ratcheted up its effort to save Citigroup Inc., agreeing to a third rescue attempt that will cut existing shareholders’ stake in the company by 74 percent. The shares fell as much as 48 percent.

The Treasury Department agreed to convert as much as $25 billion of preferred shares into  common stock as long as private holders agree to the same terms, the government said in a statement today. The U.S. doesn’t immediately intend to inject additional money after channeling $45 billion to the New York- based company last year.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said  David Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams Inc. in New York, in a Bloomberg Television interview. “The government is making up the rules as they go. A continued breakup is probably in the cards.”

Citigroup also boosted its record 2008 loss 48 percent to $27.7 billion as it took an accounting charge for the value of acquired businesses whose value fell. The bigger loss and increased government involvement complicates Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit’s attempt to restore confidence in the company after the stock sank to the lowest price in  18 years. The government is supporting the company because of concern its failure might roil already weak global markets.

Government Stake

Assuming the maximum amount of preferred shares eligible for conversion, the government would own about 36 percent of Citigroup’s common stock and existing stockholders would be left with a 26 percent stake. Shares of the company fell to $1.28 in New York from $2.46 at the close on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. The stock plummeted 90 percent during the past 12 months. Only Cincinnati-based  Fifth Third Bancorp fell more of 24 companies on the  KBW Bank Index.

“This is another step toward creeping nationalization,”  Arthur Levitt, former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio. “This country is going through no less than an economic revolution,” said Levitt, a board member of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.

Federal Reserve Chairman  Ben S. Bernanke said Feb. 25 he wants to avoid nationalizing Citigroup and other large banks in a way that would wipe out shareholders and leave the U.S. in full control. Bernanke said the government might end up owning a “substantial minority” of the bank.

Selling Businesses

The Treasury Department is injecting a fresh round of bailout funds into the nation’s banks to help them weather the recession. Regulators on Feb. 25 announced details of “stress tests” to determine how much capital banks will need should unemployment climb to 10.3 percent in 2010.

Pandit, 52, has been selling units to free up capital. He said last month he planned to sell the bank’s CitiFinancial consumer-finance and Primerica life-insurance subsidiaries as soon as the market permits. He also struck a deal to sell majority control of the bank’s Smith Barney brokerage to  Morgan Stanley.

As part of today’s deal with the government, Citigroup also agreed to reconstitute its board so that a majority of the directors are new and independent, Treasury said today.

The CEO has said he wants to refashion the financial- services behemoth, built in the 1980s and 1990s through a chain of  acquisitions, into a global bank focused on retail branches, securities trading, investment banking and payment processing.

Dividend Cut

The government’s increasing control over the bank’s affairs grew apparent after the bank got $25 billion of bailout funds in October and another $20 billion in November. The bank also paid $7 billion of preferred stock for $301 billion of guarantees on mortgages, junk-grade loans and subprime-tainted securities.

Citigroup, which today suspended its dividend of a penny a share, has already accepted restrictions on executive pay and limited luxury perks such as office renovations and unnecessary private-jet travel. Citigroup said in a separate statement today it will eliminate dividends on preferred stock.

The bank also was pressed to participate in a foreclosure- prevention program favored by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman  Sheila Bair. The company consented to lawmakers’ demands that it support a bill, opposed by the banking industry, that gave bankruptcy judges the authority to write down mortgage principal.

Citigroup still faces scrutiny of whether it’s appropriately using the bailout funds. Some lawmakers have criticized its $20- million-a-year sponsorship of the New York Mets’ new baseball stadium in the New York City borough of Queens. Corporate- governance advocates say the bank is paying for millions of dollars of perks, including offices, secretaries and cars and drivers, for retired executives.

Citigroup said last week director  Roberto Hernandez Ramirez will keep getting reimbursed for his use of private aircraft and other perks after he steps down from the board in April because of his continuing role as non-executive chairman of Citigroup subsidiary  Banco Nacional de Mexico. The benefits, which also include an office, secretary and personal security, cost $2.61 million in 2007, according to a March  regulatory filing.

To contact the reporters on this story:  Bradley Keoun in New York at bkeoun@bloomberg.net;  Rebecca Christie in Washington at Rchristie4@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 27, 2009 08:12 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJsot7dyr5kQ&refer=home

By Timothy R. Homan

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy shrank in the fourth quarter at an even faster pace than previously estimated as consumer spending plunged, companies cut inventories and exports sank.

Gross domestic product contracted at a 6.2 percent annual pace from October through December, more than economists anticipated and the most since 1982, according to revised figures from the Commerce Department today in Washington. Consumer  spending, which comprises about 70 percent of the economy, declined at the fastest pace in almost three decades.

The  recession is forecast to persist at least through the first half of this year as job losses mount and purchases plummet. The Obama administration’s attempts to break the grip of the worst financial crisis in 70 years are unlikely to bring immediate relief as companies from General Motors Corp. to JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut payrolls.

“The economy really hit the brakes very hard in the fourth quarter,”  John Herrmann, president of Herrmann Forecasting LLC in Summit, New Jersey, said before the report. “We’re in a pretty severe, protracted recession. The economy could continue to struggle into 2010.”

Stock Futures Drop

Treasuries rose, driving down yields. The benchmark 10-year notes yielded 2.93 percent as of 8:40 a.m. in New York, down 6 basis points from yesterday. Stock-index futures extended earlier losses, with futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropping 2.3 percent.

GDP was projected to contract at a 5.4 percent annual pace last quarter, according to the median estimate of 74 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Forecasts ranged from declines of 3.8 percent to 6 percent.

The 2.4 percentage-point revision was almost five times as large as the average adjustment, Commerce said.

The world’s largest economy shrank at a 0.5 percent annual rate from July through September. The back-to-back contraction is the first since 1991.

For all of 2008, the economy expanded 1.1 percent as exports and government tax rebates in the first six months helped offset the deepening slump in consumer spending that followed.

Consumer Spending

Consumer spending dropped at a 4.3 percent annual rate last quarter, the most since 1980, after falling at a 3.8 percent pace the previous three months. That marks the first time purchases have dropped by more than 3 percent in consecutive quarters since record-keeping began in 1947.

Americans may further reduce spending as employers slash payrolls. Companies cut 598,000 workers in January, bringing total job cuts to almost 3.6 million since the recession started in December 2007.

More cutbacks are on the way. General Motors, which is seeking $16.6 billion in new federal loans, said this month it is cutting another 47,000 jobs globally. The company reported yesterday it lost $30.9 billion last year.

JPMorgan Chase, the second-biggest U.S. bank, may cut headcount in its investment bank by as much as 2,000,  Steven Black, co-head of the New York-based company’s investment bank said yesterday at an investor conference.

The New York-based lender also said it will eliminate 2,800 jobs at Washington Mutual through attrition, bringing to 12,000 the total number of positions lost since the bank purchased the failed thrift in September.

Saks Inc. and Macy’s Inc. are among retailers also cutting jobs.

‘Tough Start’

“It’s going to be a tough start to 2009,”  Scott Davis, chief executive officer of United Parcel Service Inc. said yesterday during a speech in Washington. “The best case we can see out there is maybe some growth in the second half.”

Companies trimmed inventories at a $19.9 billion annual rate last quarter rather than allowing them to swell at a $6.2 billion pace as previously reported. The updated reading accounted for half of the 2.4 percentage-point reduction in growth.

Purchases of new equipment also plunged last quarter. Business investment dropped at a 21 percent pace, the most since 1980. Spending on equipment and software dropped at a 29 percent pace, the most since 1958.

Cutbacks continue this quarter.  Orders for durable goods in January fell 5.2 percent, marking a record sixth consecutive drop, Commerce said yesterday.

Collapse in Trade

The collapse in global trade subtracted a half percentage point from growth last quarter, compared with the 0.1 point gain projected in the advance report. The International Monetary Fund said last month the global economy will grow 0.5 percent this year, the weakest postwar pace, indicating U.S. exports are likely to remain depressed.

The slump in home construction accelerated, contracting at a 22 percent pace last quarter after a 16 percent drop in the previous three months, today’s report showed. Housing is likely to remain a drag on growth as Commerce figures last week showed U.S. builders broke ground in January on the fewest houses on record.

Since taking office last month, President  Barack Obama has focused on three initiatives -- a $787 billion stimulus bill, a bank-rescue plan and an effort to limit home foreclosures -- while warning of economic “catastrophe” if the government doesn’t take aggressive action.

Federal Reserve Chairman  Ben S. Bernanke said this week the U.S. economy is in a “severe” contraction, and warned the recession may last into 2010 unless policy makers can stabilize the financial system.

The GDP report is the second for the quarter and will be revised in March as more information becomes available.

To contact the reporter on this story:  Timothy R. Homan in Washington at thoman1@bloomberg.net

I'd be watching this week for the opportunity but gold seems to be up quite a bit going into Tues. Check Kitco real time at http://www.kitco.com/

Currently up about $15 to 957

GDX has lots of resistance to work through in the near future but currently hasn't broken down at all. I'll be watching for a gap up into the 40-42 area for confirmation. Otherwise you have to break the (MA)200 and or (MA)20 for confirmation. Additionally keep an eye on that trend line.

GDX Daily Chart

Hoping that this chart is hyperlinked correctly. Still adjusting to posting in this forum.

This chart30 Min Stockcharts has been really helpful for my USO trades over the past couple weeks, not to mention Saturn6's diligent posts.

http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=USO&p=30&yr=0&mn=1&dy=0&id=p41976140940&a=158777228