UK banks on "life support"; barter rising in popularity; and other news about the economy and markets

UK Pound Declines as Service Industry Growth Slowed in June (Bloomberg, 7/3/09) - Bank of England policy maker David Miles said yesterday that the UK banking industry “remains on life support.”


Tony Caldaro issued a holiday update at Elliott Wave Lives On today. One thing he said, that "Sweden's central bank dropped its savings rate to minus 0.25%, and is now charging savers to hold their money." As far as I can determine, this is not accurate - they dropped the savings rate TO .25%. Still .... - this concept of a negative interest rate on savings is something predicted by Kondratieff and other long-wave cycles analysts, although it's probably a little early yet for this to become more of a phenomenon as the "winter" cycle progresses. If you're not already familiar with the concept, it has something to do with people being so eager to save that they are willing to forego receiving interest rates, and even become willing to pay fees to keep their cash safe.


Speaking of Tony and his update, he is now marking the Dow Jones Industrial Average as in a downtrend. It didn't break under the "wave 1" level swing low, but definitely moved under the .786 retracement level that even the S&P 500 moved under and now cannot seem to surmount - so it's looking heavy, and the indicators seem to bear out Tony's statement.

Illinois bank failures mount (Chicago Tribune, 7/3/09) - "As I see it, we're now in the cleanup phase for the banking industry," FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said in a statement last week.

Bartering continues to be on the rise - Here's one of the articles about the bartering exchange services (usually on the internet) that help small businesses and individuals to "buy" or "sell" products or services without cash: money.cnn.com - Make purchases without cash (6/25/09).

But if you're still thinking in terms of a sector that can do well, and considering biotech - as I've been considering it (although I'll exit and step aside if it violates its own recent swing lows, and look for a better entry) - check this out: Is IBB the Best Biotech ETF? -- Seeking Alpha.

Folks, I'll return later during this holiday weekend with more!