Case-Shiller Index: Home prices lowest in nine years

U.S. home prices fell for the fifth month in a row in January to the
lowest level since early 2003, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller
20-city composite index.

The closely followed index dropped 0.8% in the first month of 2012.
The three-month rolling index includes transactions that took place
from November to January.

Over the past 12 months, prices have fallen 3.8% even though the U.S.
economy has shown increasing signs of recovery. Sixteen of the 20
metropolitan areas posted declines, while only Miami, Phoenix and
Washington, D.C., saw increases.

The federal government's index for home prices was unchanged in
January, but more recent data suggest prices might be stabilizing.

The large number of foreclosed homes, combined with a high
unemployment rate, has depressed the home market since a real-estate
bubble burst in 2007. Many Americans, especially younger people, lack
the financial means to buy a home despite ultra-low mortgage rates.

S&P 500 broke 1,400 since June 2008

The S&P 500 index is up 8 points, or 0.5%, at 1402, its first push
above 1400 since June 5, 2008. The S&P 500 is now up 11% this year.

Pushing through the milestone comes after the Dow surpassed 13000 and
the Nasdaq Comp advanced above 3000 for the first time in more than 11
years.

Firmer readings on the labor market and manufacturing activity have
set the stage for today's gains.

Not surprisingly, financials are leading the charge higher. Financials
are the S&P 500′s best-performing sector this year, up more than 20%.
Tech is a close second, up about 20%, while consumer discretionary
stocks are up 14% and industrials have advanced 12%.

Nasdaq at 11-year high

Nasdaq closes above 3,000 for first time since 2000.

U.S. economy is picking up steam and the stocks blasted higher
Tuesday, March 13, pushing the Nasdaq Composite to close above 3,000
for the first time in 11 years, after J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. hiked
its dividend, retail sales climbed and the Federal Reserve held rates
at record lows.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 217.97 points, or 1.7%, to 13,177.68.

The S&P 500 Index climbed 24.87 points, or 1.8%, to 1,395.96.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 56.22 points to 3,039.88, its highest level
since Nov. 15, 2000

Fear gauge index fells to near 5-year low

The CBOE Market Volatility Index VIX fell sharply on Tuesday to near a
5-year low on intraday basis as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and
the S&P 500 both successfully breached key levels.

The so-called fear gauge at one point slipped to a low of 13.99. The
last time the index moved below 14 during trading was in June 2007
when the Dow was trading above 13,400 and the S&P 500 was above 1500.

The Dow then peaked a few months later to hit a record high close of
14,164.53 on Oct. 9, 2007 before beginning its multi-year decline. The
blue chip index is currently trading above 13,000 while the S&P 500 is
around 1380.0.

Greece's 'credit event' triggers $3.2 billion payouts

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) said Friday
that the Greek government's use of collective-action clauses, or CACs,
to amend to terms of Greece-issued bonds qualifies as a "credit event"
for Greece. A credit event requires a payout to those who held credit
default swaps (CDS) as insurance to protect themselves in the event of
a Greek default.

The ISDA decision could trigger payouts on $3.2 billion of those
insurance-like contracts, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The news
comes after the Greek government announced that 83.5% of its
private-sector bondholders agreed to a bond-swap deal. That rate fell
short of the 90% needed to prevent legal force to get the rest of the
private bondholders to participate, so Greece's finance ministry said
it got approval for CACs, which would bring the total participation
rate to 96% by forcing some bondholders on board.

Stanford guilty of masterminding Ponzi scheme

A federal jury on Tuesday found Allen Stanford guilty of masterminding a $7.1 billion Ponzi scheme, according to smartinmoney.com.

Mr. Stanford has been jailed since June 2009 because he was judged to be a flight risk. He complained of memory loss from the head trauma caused by inmates’ beatings, and a court found that he was so addicted to his prescribed painkillers that he wasn't competent to stand trial. In December 2011, a judge found him competent and the trial commenced in January.

The jury convicted Mr. Stanford on 13 of the 14 charges brought by prosecutors, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, fraud and obstructing investigators. He faces a maximum of 230 years in prison. Mr. Stanford's attorneys told reporters they would appeal but didn't specify on what grounds. Prosecutors declined to comment.

At the peak of his career, he owned banks and residences around the world, had high-placed contacts with the leaders of Libya and other nations, and was a particularly outsize presence in the Caribbean isle of Antigua, where he was knighted in 2006. Mr. Stanford valued other kinds of possessions, too, including a 120-foot yacht and a fleet of aircraft valued at more than $100 million.

In 2008, Mr. Stanford was the 205th richest American with a net worth of $2.2 billion, according to Forbes magazine. His holdings in Antigua, where he held a dual citizenship, included banks, airlines and the country's biggest newspaper. A cricket enthusiast, he rose to international prominence as a benefactor of the sport.

In 2009, the U.S. government accused Mr. Stanford of swindling nearly 30,000 of investors in 113 countries for more than two decades by selling them certificates of deposit issued by the Stanford International Bank he controlled in the Caribbean island of Antigua, representing to clients that the money would be invested conservatively in stocks and bonds. Instead, he funneled the proceeds into risky real-estate assets and his own businesses, a luxurious lifestyle, a secret Swiss bank account and business deals that consistently lost money.

For the prosecution, the Stanford case was a Ponzi scheme in which he and five conspirators had given investors false financial statements indicating that the certificates of deposit were invested in conservative assets when $2 billion was actually lent to Mr. Stanford. (Read full article “Stanford Convicted in $7.1 Billion Ponzi Scheme” on smartinmoney.com)

ISDA: No 'credit event' occurred on Greece's CDS

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) on Thursday
said its EMEA Determinations Committee unanimously ruled that no
"credit event" has yet occurred amid Greece's efforts to restructure
its debt holdings.

A declaration of a "credit event" would require a payout on credit
default swaps (CDS) held as insurance against nonpayment.

The panel ruled unanimously that a move effectively insulating the
European Central Bank and national central banks from being forced to
participate in the restructuring in the event that collective-action
clauses are triggered didn't constitute a credit event. They also
determined they hadn't received evidence that the restructuring itself
met the definition of a credit event.

The panel said, however that the situation is still eveloving and that
market participants could submit further questions to the body "as
further facts come to light.