Monday, July 6, 2009

King of Pop financial backers.

The late Michael Jackson not only have music lovers but also financial firms seemed to "get a kick out of having a big celebrity as a client".
Wooed by his global fame and earning power, a bevy of financial firms ponied up tens of millions to finance the singer's luxe lifestyle and kick-start his troubled career.
Financial firms including Colony Capital LLC, Fortress Investment Group and Barclays Bank PLC poured tens of millions into the singer over the years. The cash allowed Jackson, a notorious binge spender, to maintain a lavish lifestyle befitting a global pop star.
Jackson's singular earning power and worldwide appeal seemed to make him a safe bet to lenders, who sometimes seemed starstruck.
In March 2008, the singer defaulted on a $23 million loan to Fortress and nearly had to give up Neverland, the 2,500-acre Santa Barbara property he used to secure the loan. Barrack's Colony Capital stepped in at the last minute and agreed to cover the owed amount. Jackson later signed Neverland over to a joint venture between Jackson and an affiliate of Colony Capital. Jackson got $35 million in the deal -- money Colony hoped to recover from the eventual refurbishing and sale of Neverland.
Colony was also reportedly involved in plotting Jackson's planned comeback, which included 50 sold-out dates in London to begin this month. The shows, which were being staged by promoter AEG Live, brought in some $85 million in ticket sales, according to Billboard magazine. AEG says it will offer full refunds on the tickets.
Tracking the Dow on Monday.06/07/09.

9:30am:--Opening gap-down of 40.0 points.
The relatively downbeat bias comes amid a lack of overall news flow, though there are reports that suggest the U.S. dollar will most likely maintain its status as a primary world currency for many years and won't be discussed in the G-8 meeting.
10:30am:--Opening gap being filled up by the bulls and thereafter pulled back to find an early double bottom.(a dragonfly doji)
Oil futures prices are down 4.5% to $63.75 per barrel in electronic trading; oil prices haven't been so low since the end of May.
11:30am:--The first hour session retracement to MAV resistance.(a dragonfly doji)
The June ISM Services Index came in at 47.0, which is better than the 46.0 that was widely expected. The latest reading also marked an improvement from the 44.0 that was registered in May.
12:30noon:--The dragonfly doji hanging slightly above the morning session MAV bullish zone.
The dollar continues to show strength this morning, keeping precious metals modestly lower. August gold is 0.9% lower at $922.30 per ounce, while September silver is 1.5% lower at $13.21 per ounce.
1:30pm:--The ascending soldiers have pierced through the morning high and is now holding on with a shooting star wit intermittent pullback.
2:30pm:--A dark cloud cover with a slight bullish spike holding near session high.
3:30pm:--Bearish spike down but were holding at the bullish pivot neckline.
4:00pm:--Last minute rebound but hangmen were noticeble.An attempt to light up the upper shadow is also seen.
July's candlestick in the early going depicts that it's going to be a volatile bearish month.
The MAV line is a negative 54.30 point and not a good sign of reprieve.
Investors have become more cautious in recent weeks following a strong rally that began in March. Some traders fear they might have been too optimistic about how soon the economy might recover from a recession that began in December 2007.