Year of the Rat...tling

Rat:mouse
shuǔ : 老鼠 lao shuǔ
The Chinese Lunar New Year which started on the 7th day of February 2008 being the Earth Rat (Wu Zi) Year.

The Chinese Zodiac Animals consists of 12 Horoscopes quite similar to their Western Counterparts namely:-

1.) THE RAT (Water): (1912, '24, '36, '48, '60, '72, '84, '96, 2008

2.) THE OX (Earth): (1913, '25, '37, '49, '61, '73, '85, '97, 2009)

3.) THE TIGER (Wood): (1914, '26, '38, '50, '62, '74, '86, '98, 2010)

4.) THE RABBIT (Wood): (1915, '27, '39, 51, '63, '75, '87, '99, 2011)

5.) THE DRAGON (Earth): (1904, '16, '28, '40, '52, '64, '76, '88, 2000)

6.) THE SNAKE (Fire): (1905, '17, '29, '41, '53, '65, '77, '89, 2001)

7.) THE HORSE (Fire): (1906, '18, '30, '42, '54, '66, '78, '90, 2002)

8.) THE SHEEP (Earth): (1907, '19, '31, '43, '55, '67, '79, '91, 2003)

9.) THE MONKEY (Metal): (1908, '20, '32, '44, '56, '68, '80, '92, 2004)

10.) THE ROOSTER (Metal): (1909, '21, '33, '45, '57, '69, '81, '93, 2005)

11.) THE DOG (Earth): (1910, '22, '34, '46, '58, '70, '82, '94, 2006)

12.) THE PIG (Water): (1911, '23, '35, '47, '59, '71, '83, '95, 2007)
MYTHOLOGY ABOUT RATS.

The Rat is charming, imaginative, very clever and opportunistic in money. His best role is as a confidential agent to you. He loves things off the beaten track.His favourite haunts are catacombs, caves and underground passages. He's skilled at sales, financial and legal matters, writing, political work, doctoring, pathology, detective work, spying and criminology.The Rat is a go-getter. He's active and highly strung and hard mental effort attracts him and also relieves him. When he does nothing, he has problems and can wander in circles becoming over critical and obnoxious. The way of struggle is vital for him and he finds he cannot endure life if it's full of rules and mundane obligations.He is also very detached, purposeful and adapts to all the changing circumstances around him. He is full of courage, industrious and hardworking and his brain is keen and alert. Rat people see the goal they want and go for it. He is unafraid of the unforeseen, so can move with whatever changes happen to him in a project or a profession.

Famous people born in the Year of the Rat:

scientists Werner von Braun and Galileo film maker Luis Bunuel :US president Jimmy Carter ;composers Hayden, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and Johann Strauss painters Monet and Toulouse Lautrec: sculptor Rodin writers Jack London, Emile Zola, Charlotte Bronte, Shakespeare, Shelley, and Leo Tolstoy adventurer Lawrence of Arabia .

Tracking the rats on wall street on Monday.11/02/2008.
The mighty rats have an early bad start when a king cobra start rattling. AIG, in an 8K filing this morning, the company indicated that its auditors have said its valuations on its CDOs are too high. The company said it has yet to determine the decline in value of its portfolio, and is still accumulating market data to update its valuation.

Weakness in the heavily-weighted financial sector is limiting the ability to advance but were soon cornered byMicrosoft and ExxonMobil that helped lift the market in the plus territory.
At the closing bell was a small-white body spinning doji at the bullish top but looks quite exhausted.It might need a small break before it goes on a rampage again.

A market in consolidation looking for further directions.

There will be changes to the components in the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the first time since 2004. Bank of America and Chevron will be replacing Altria and Honeywell effective Feb. 19. The decision to take action was spurred by Altria's restructuring, including the planned spin-off of Philip Morris, according to the managing editor of the Wall Street Journal.