Japan’s Economy Grows; Home Builder Confidence Up; New York Manufacturing Rises; Credit Card Defaults Stabilize in July; MSNBC Buys “Hyperlocal” News Aggregator; Reader’s Digest Files for Bankruptcy; Lowe’s Profit Falls 19%

651K jobs lost in Feb…  Dec. and Jan Job losses revised up…  Talking Norway, Canada, Australia… Brazil stealthlike for 3 months… And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

I believe that when the dust settles on the fact that the Fed isn’t going to raise rates, things will have gotten so bad here that the Fed will be entertaining thoughts of cutting rates again!

You could say the Canadian financial services sector has weathered the sub-prime crisis better than most…at least compared to the U.S. and Europe.

The base metals were mostly in the red on Wednesday. Copper was erratic, bouncing all over during the day, but ended up sliding somewhat, finishing at $3.8102/lb., down 3 cents.

The base metals were mostly higher on Tuesday. Copper pushed higher in the pre-dawn hours, but then dropped in New York, rallying slightly at the end to finish at $3.7897/lb., down a bit less than a penny.

The base metals were nearly all in the black on Monday. Copper was up from the open through to the noon hour, after which it traded sideways and finished at $3.7982/lb., up less than 2 cents.

In the currency market, the dollar was slightly lower against the euro. Late Monday, the euro was trading at $1.5642 vs. $1.5625 on Friday. Traders breathlessly await the Federal Reserve’s critical decision, with sentiment still running strongly in favor of another cut.

The base metals were all mired in the red on Monday. Copper retreated some more from the $4 level, falling from the pre-dawn hours straight through to late morning, then coming just off its intraday lows to finish at $3.918/lb., down 3 1/3 cents from Friday.

Copper pushed past $3.97 in the pre-dawn hours, but couldn’t hold there once New York trading began, as it declined through most of the day, just coming off its intraday low to finish at $3.9133/lb., down more than 3½ cents.