Noront Resources has but to weather the storm! Today we may expect some "Forecd Selling/ Margin Call Selling" but that should be the full extent of the selling pressure! Though I never like predictions, the International Markets seem to indicate they are willing to see what the final outcome will be. We may NOT know today but the over all situation is looking good. As many people are sensible by nature they are willing to hope for the best. On any event, Noront's prospects have NOT changed! They are as good as ever. So, sit back and watch. If you think a good buying opportunity presents it's self it is your decision as to igniting your powder or waiting for a better target. While we await the open of the Market I have a few Bloomberg Articles for you to read on Asia and Europe as they stood at time of posting. Just remember: We are in a 'Sweet Spot' and the only ones selling today will likely those caught in a Squeeze (margin calls and bill paying etc.) Old Joe PS: The evening prior was but the best!!! Lots of Luck to all! To keep up the spirits just sing "The Mingulay Boat Song" and we are all sure to remain STRONG!!! Stocks in Europe, Asia, U.S. Futures Climb; Bank Shares Advance By Adria Cimino March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks in Europe and Asia rose for the first time in four days, led by financial shares, on speculation the Federal Reserve will make the deepest interest- rate cut in two decades. U.S. index futures advanced. Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, rebounded from its steepest retreat since January. Aioi Insurance Co. rallied the most in three weeks in Tokyo after Deutsche Bank raised its recommendation. Utilities climbed after their prices relative to earnings reached the cheapest in three years and Morgan Stanley boosted its share-price estimate for British Energy Group Plc, the U.K.'s biggest nuclear energy producer. The MSCI World Index added 0.6 percent to 1,386.84 as of 8:09 a.m. in London, while futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 0.8 percent. ``Tonight's Federal Open Market Committee verdict is going to be worth watching as a significant cull in rates is expected,'' Claire Collingwood, a trader at CMC Markets in London, wrote in a note. Traders predict the Fed will lower the overnight lending rate by a full percentage point or more, based on futures prices in Chicago. That would be the biggest reduction since 1984, when Paul Volcker led the central bank, and would bring the benchmark rate down to 2 percent. An emergency Fed meeting to cut the discount interest rate and the acquisition of Bear Stearns Cos. for $2 a share yesterday heightened concern that the worst of the turmoil in financial markets isn't over. Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index posted its biggest decline since January yesterday, extending its 2008 drop to 20 percent. Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank added 1.9 percent to 67.01 euros, after retreating 6 percent yesterday. UBS AG, Europe's biggest bank by assets, climbed 4.8 percent to 25.68 francs. The shares had tumbled 14 percent yesterday. The Fed took emergency steps over the weekend to stave off a financial panic, lowering its rate on direct loans to banks and becoming lender of last resort for Wall Street's biggest dealers in government bonds. Policy makers are scheduled to announce their decision on rates today at about 2:15 p.m. in Washington. ``We know the Fed will do all that it can to protect the financial system,'' said Pierre-Yves Gauthier, a partner at Alphavalue in Paris. ``That's excellent news.'' Aioi surged 10 percent to 561 yen, while Nipponkoa Insurance Co. climbed 6.5 percent to 773 yen. The two companies are Japan's fourth- and fifth-largest casualty insurers. British Energy advanced 1.2 percent to 643 pence. Morgan Stanley raised its price estimate by 16 percent to 535 pence, citing a higher power-price environment. ING lifted its recommendation on the stock to ``hold'' from ``sell.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: March 18, 2008 04:22 EDT Bernanke May Cut Benchmark Rate by Most Since Volcker (Update2) By Steve Matthews March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may be readying the deepest interest-rate cut in a generation as the central bank struggles to prevent a meltdown in financial markets and a recession. Traders predict the Federal Open Market Committee, meeting today in Washington, will lower the overnight lending rate by a full percentage point or more, based on futures prices in Chicago. That would be the biggest reduction since 1984, when Paul Volcker led the central bank, and would bring the benchmark rate down to 2 percent. The Fed took emergency steps over the weekend to stave off a financial panic, lowering its rate on direct loans to banks and becoming lender of last resort for Wall Street's biggest dealers in government bonds. ``The Fed has moved very aggressively to deal with liquidity problems that are major,'' said former Fed Governor Lyle Gramley, now a senior adviser at Stanford Group Co. in Washington, who said today's reduction may be as much as a full percentage point. ``They need to be aggressive on the monetary policy side. This is the worst crisis we have faced in more than 50 years.'' The severity of the crisis was underscored by the Fed's emergency action on the evening of March 16, the first weekend policy shift since 1979. A week ago, the debate among economists was whether the Fed would cut by 50 basis points or 75 basis points. Volcker's Fed Now, a reduction of 1 percentage point is seen as a sure bet among futures traders and some anticipate a move of as much as 1.25 percentage points. Either would be the deepest since Volcker's Fed lowered the federal funds rate to 10 percent from 11.75 percent in October 1984. The dollar traded at $1.5757 per euro at 7:42 a.m. in London from $1.5729 yesterday. Against the yen, the U.S. currency was 97.51 yen from 97.33. Treasuries declined, pushing the two-year yield up 3 basis points to 1.38 percent. Bernanke, whose views on monetary policy were shaped by his scholarly work on the Great Depression, has seen losses at the world's biggest banks and securities dealers balloon to $195 billion since the start of last year, culminating in the collapse last week of the fifth-largest securities firm, Bear Stearns Cos. Bernanke has failed to calm the turmoil, which his predecessor Alan Greenspan calls the ``most wrenching'' since the end of World War II, even after lowering the overnight rate five times since September and committing to pump an unprecedented $400 billion in cash and securities into the banking system. Avoiding a Crash Policy makers have scheduled an announcement at about 2:15 p.m. in Washington. Bernanke, 54, has already stepped up efforts to keep strains in markets from triggering a crash. The Fed agreed March 16 to help finance JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s purchase of the failing Bear Stearns and the central bank offered last week to lend $200 billion in Treasuries in exchange for debt that includes mortgage-backed securities. ``The Fed will be extremely hesitant to disappoint the markets,'' said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital Markets Inc. and a former member of the Richmond Fed staff, who predicts a full percentage-point cut. ``Things are still very fragile. We are in a situation where credit tightening has started to feed on itself, and it has real economic implications.'' Recession Signals Recent economic data suggests the first recession since 2001 may have begun in December or January. Harvard University economist Martin Feldstein, a member of the committee that officially declares when a recession has started, said last week that he believed a recession was under way and it could be the most severe since World War II. ``They are worried about the spillover effects of financial markets and what they can do to keep that from happening,'' said Robert Eisenbeis, former research director at the Atlanta Fed who is now chief monetary economist at Cumberland Advisors Inc. in Vineland, New Jersey. The economy expanded 0.6 percent at an annualized pace last quarter and economists surveyed by Bloomberg News this month predicted the pace will slow to 0.1 percent in January to March. ``Bernanke believes the economy is in a very serious situation right now,'' said Paul Kasriel, director of economic research at Northern Trust Co. in Chicago. ``The Fed is worried about a very severe credit contraction that can cause an even weaker economy.'' Fed's Forecast Fed officials lowered their projections for economic growth by half a percentage point this year, according to quarterly figures published last month. Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin said March 4 that the economy may face an ``adverse feedback loop,'' where tightening credit and a declining economy create a cycle that leads to further deteriorating conditions. The FOMC discussed that possibility during the January meeting, according to its minutes. ``The overriding concern is the condition of the financial markets.'' said William Ford, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and now chairman of the finance department at Middle Tennessee State University. ``They are fighting a financial panic and want to preserve orderly markets.'' To contact the reporter on this story: Steve Matthews in Atlanta at smatthews@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: March 18, 2008 03:49 EDT