Thomson Reuters unveils Ultra Low Latency Direct Feed solution for NYSE Euronext UTP

But 'very large' volumes of Treasury issuance would be require for such a program, he cautioned. The government could also pursue legislative authority to guarantee GSE debt for the remainder of the conservatorship period.

Under that structure, one or two private-sector entities would purchase and securitize mortgages with a credit guarantee backed by the federal government. The entities wouldn't have investment portfolios. A rate-setting commission would establish a target rate of return and approve mortgage product and underwriting innovations, to continually improve mortgage finance, Paulson said.

The secretary said such a model eliminates private-sector evaluation of credit risk and removes incentives to innovate.

unding ratios at the typical U.S. corporate pension plan slid more than 11 percentage points in December, after falling more than 13 percentage points in November, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. The two double-digit declines resulted primarily from falling rates of longer-term high grade corporate bonds.

The S&P/TSX is down 2.66% led by Metals and Mining (down 26.58%). Energy and Utilities are down 4.63% and 2.2% respectively. Financials dropped 2.59% and Industrials are 1.68% lower. IT and Telecommunications also stand in the red (down 0.37% and 1.16% respectively) as the index now stands at 9221 points.

The finance minister of Canada, Jim Flaherty will host a pre-budget town hall meeting in Whitby tomorrow at 7:30pm at the Westminster United Church.

The CBO says that rapid rebounds typically follow sharp contractions, but the 2010 recovery will be slow for several reasons: * Financial institutions need to recover from loan defaults, so credit will stay tight for several years * Excess supply of vacant homes will suppress housing correction * Consumption will stay muted as households adjust to large wealth declines * Foreign nations won't offset falling domestic demand

Unleaded up 3.334mln vs. 808k build prior Distillates up 1.79mln vs. 694k build prior Refinery use up 2.11% vs. -2.22% prior

The EIA has returned to their original 10:30am release time after seven months of releasing the data at 10:35.

Crude expected up 800k vs. up 549k prior Unleaded expected up 1mln vs. up 808k prior Distillates expected up 1.1mln vs. up 694k prior Refinery Usage: flat vs. down 2.22% prior

Natural Gas sold off overnight and plunged through support at the $6 handle during premarket trading. Buyers tried to send it higher right before the open, but the $6 handle (now resistance) held, and Natural Gas continued to decline in the first half hour of floor trade. Currently, Natural Gas is down 0.3% at 5.903.

EUR/USD gains continue today behind President elect Obama's admission the U.S. would likely suffer under a $1trln deficit for a few years.  Yesterday's reversal higher is seeing some follow-thru buying on the heels of a significantly worse than expected ADP employment report and the spectre of Non-Farm Payrolls losse that could easily top 600k.  CABLE is also well bid over the 1.50 handle with a move back over 1.51 possible ahead of the London close.  Losses against the JPY continue as well with a retest of figure 90 likely on even a bad Initial Claims number tomorrow.

February Gold has repeatedly challenged the 200 day moving average over the past 8 days.  On 2 of those 8 days the entire day's range was above the 200d moving average but in both instances there was not a strong close above the average.  On 12/29 Gold sent a strong sell signal but the market did not follow thru and the FEB contract has kept withing striking distance of the 200 day moving average and is now in a position, with short and medium term moving averages below price, to move into a strong bullish rally. Volume is building and as the greenback takes a beating...gold should rally over and extend well beyond the 200 day moving average.  NB, FEB gold is also trading in and around the 50% retracement of the $1045 to $688 sell-off.

Crude rallied into the open, but could not break through resistance at 48.50. Crude is currently down 0.9% at 48.13 with support down at the intraday low of 47.61.

The Aluminum producer has decided to reduce 13% (13,500 jobs) of its global work force by the end of this year. Additional 1,700 contractor positions will also be cut.  It will freeze salaries and hiring. The company also plans on lowering total output by 18% annually and reducing 2009 capital expenditures by 50%.

The when-issued 3-year note is trading in the 1.18% area. That's up 6bps versus yesterday and off a low of 0.963% from Monday. The cheapening of the issue should help elicit some demand as dip buyers have been seen in recent action. The notes are also relatively cheap on the curve. The December 3-year note auction was well received with a 2.15 bid cover and a 35.3% indirect bid. It will be interesting to see how much more appetite investors, especially foreign investors, will have for Treasuries as the government will be cramming paper down our throats with some sort of coupon auction almost weekly for the rest of the year, and likely through 2010. Note the Treasury is also selling $35bln in 70-day cash management bills at 11:30 ahead of the 3yr auction at 1:00pm.

The figure is up 60% from 2007.

Yet another volatile and choppy N.Y. session saw the dollar move broadly higher, though the zigs and zags in between kept adrenalin pumping through most of the session. There was no economic data on tap, but the automaker bailout announcement buoyed stocks through the morning session. and appeared to have helped the greenback overall. EUR/USD shed the remainder of the post FOMC gains, while USD/JPY was supported on the back of the BoJ rate cut, intervention concerns, and an improved risk backdrop. Cable meanwhile, opened around 1.5000, though eased through the day, posting 1.4810 lows into the close. The dollar bloc took a softer tone, on the commodity backdrop, as USD/CAD moved higher through the session after dipping on the back of firmer Canadian CPI data.

Equities finished mixed with the Dow down 0.3% to 8579, the S&P gaining 0.3% to 888 and Nasdaq rising 0.8% to 1564. The S&P500 opened higher as the market digested the auto bailout news and it rallied above the 900 handle. However, it could not breach yesterday’s high of 911 and proceeded to give back most of its gains as the day wore on. For the week, the S&P gained 0.8%. Seven out of ten sectors in the S&P500 finished positive with Energy stocks gaining 2.5%. Ford rose 4% and GM jumped 23%. There are no economic releases or FED speakers on Monday.

The Federal Reserve reserves the right to review and make adjustments to these terms and conditions – including size of program, pricing, loan maturity, and asset and borrower eligibility requirements – consistent with the policy objectives of the TALF