Another Monday, another brutal day for DOW and TSX

I don’t know when I talked about a Monday that was great for the market.
I am sad about writing on Monday when everything looks gloomy and rainy like the weather here this morning. I am hoping that the middle of the week would be much better. I think we will see some light on OPC, AIG, CEMJQ and VSTN.

It was a busy weekend for me and my wife. We had a dinner party to attend and we worked out all 3 days which was great.

Here is what is buzzing:


- Oil prices were down by more than $2 to below $68 a barrel Monday as the World Bank said the global economy would shrink by 2.9 percent this year, much worse than its March prediction for a contraction of 1.7 percent. Concerns over a weak U.S. economy and the dollar's rise, which tends to pull investors away from commodities, also pushed the market lower. Benchmark crude for July delivery fell $2.25 to $67.30 a barrel by afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, it dropped $1.82 to settle at $69.55. The July contract expires later Monday. The August contract dropped $2.19 to $67.83.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Lowered expectations for the global economy are giving investors more to be wary about. Major stock indexes retreated by about 2 percent Monday after the World Bank added to the market's growing economic worries. The Washington-based global lender predicted the world economy will shrink 2.9 percent in 2009, worse than its previous forecast of a 1.7 percent decline. Deteriorating hopes for a quick economic recovery also weighed on the prices of oil, metals, and other commodities. Companies that produce these commodities saw their shares tumble in early trading.

- CAIRO – Amateur video of a young Iranian woman lying in the street — blood streaming from her nose and mouth — has quickly become an iconic image of the country's opposition movement and unleashed a flood of outrage at the regime's crackdown. The footage, less than a minute long, appears to capture the woman's death moments after she was shot at a protest — a powerful example of citizens' ability to document events inside Iran despite government restrictions on foreign media and Internet and phone lines.

- TEHRAN, Iran – Riot police attacked hundreds of demonstrators with tear gas and fired live bullets in the air to disperse a rally in central Tehran Monday, carrying out a threat by the country's most powerful security force to crush any further opposition protests over the disputed presidential election. Britain, accused by Iran of fomenting post-election unrest, said it was evacuating the families of diplomats and other officials based in Iran.

- SEOUL, South Korea – President Barack Obama assured Americans in an interview broadcast Monday that the U.S. is prepared for any move North Korea might make, amid reports that Pyongyang is planning a long-range missile test to follow up its provocative nuclear test last month. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered additional protection for Hawaii as a precaution, though experts say North Korea doesn't yet have a ballistic missile that can reach Hawaii and has not mastered mounting a nuclear bomb on a long-range missile.

- Following Pakistan's eight-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 final at Lord's, former national captains praised the side as thousands of fans took to the streets across the country. Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq paid tribute to the spirit of the side while Ramiz Raja said this win was even better than Pakistan's World Cup success in 1992.
"We are always slow starters, but once the team started playing as a unit, I knew it would go all the way and lift the World Cup," said Miandad, director-general of the Pakistan Cricket Board. "It's a great achievement."