STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 13 June 2013

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 13 June 2013[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 12 June 2013

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 12 June 2013
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Dow Jones 14,995.23 -126.79 (-0.84%)
S&P 500 1,612.52 -13.61 (-0.84%)
Nasdaq 3,400.43 -36.52 (-1.06%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.23% +0.02 (0.90%)
30 Year 3.37% +0.03 (0.90%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.










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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Demeter]

1. We are just going to have to actively defend our privacy

maybe even to the extent of encrypting our email, phones and printed communications.


Here's a sample: @!##$%#$^%&^#@#&^

[Fuddnik]

2. Same to you, buddy!

[Demeter]

3. Ah, you peeked!

How did you crack my code so quickly?

(You know me too well)

[Demeter]

15. ON THE OTHER HAND: "Ever get the feeling you're NOT being watched?"

http://assets.amuniversal.com/a7bb0df0b57c0130e01f001dd8b71c47?width=750.0

[AnneD]

31. I remember the Russian Comedian....

Yakov Smirnov use to tell this joke...

It is wonderful here in America, but I am having a problem. I went to buy a sofa and the salesman said "We stand behind our products".

I am thinking, this is why I left Russia.

And according to Juanita Jean, these are clues if you are being spied on by your guvment.

10. Your TIVO is recording you.

9. During dinner at a nice restaurant, your potato distinctly says, “Speak up, please.”

8. You have more vans parked in front of your house than a 1960s Janis Joplin concert.

7. When pest control comes to your house, they find real bugs.

6. Your cat keeps pooping tiny microphones.

5. The Onstar lady starts inquiring as to WHY you want to go to 764 Elm Street, who lives there and when you plan on coming home.

4. The black car following you has the license plate IRS LUV

3. The Secretary of State calls your name on national tv for your “relations” with Thai’s Message Parlor.

2. The President uses your toast at Bob’s wedding in the State of the Union address.

1. Your dropped cell phone calls make an actual crashing sound

As long as they can't record the voices in my head, I think I am relatively safe.

[kickysnana]

36. That's what I said when Sen Levin pulled the plug on sane military rape prosectution reform.

They ran a fricken' prostitution ring out of Counseling at Ft McClellen Alabama in 1971 and the WAC officer who tried to report it was quickly reassigned off that base.

Younger sisters' best friend reported similar shenanigans 15 years later and another 15 years later, my daughter-in-law was told that she could not be protected after she was a witness to a Gang rape but they did let her "get lost" outside the military when she left.

It is institutionalized. The fricken' guy in charge in one service was charged with an offense in the last couple months.

26,000 reported cases and since you have to report chain of command and it is often chain of command you are doubly screwed.

Excuse my French but this is beyond belief now.

[AnneD]

39. That is the dark side of the military....

I was so blessed. Before I went off to boot camp, two of the women in my Army reserve unit read me the riot act and cautioned me in no uncertain terms about the risk of being raped.

When when we went on maneuvers, if it was just us (my Reserve Unit), we had separate sleeping facilities, but if we were on an all forces maneuver we slept with our unit. And trust me, our unit members watched over us like hawks. Of course that meant that I slept with 14 guys in a tent, but it wasn't bad. It was like sleeping with 14 brothers.

[Fuddnik]

4. Deflation must be here.

Made a little trip to Costco today. They had tuna in 7 ounce cans, like they used to come in 30 years ago before they started shrinking the cans to 6 1/4 oz, and now the standard 5 oz. And it costs roughly $1 a can, the same as a grocery store. But, you have to buy a 12 pack (chunk light) or 8 pack (albacore). But, I always stock up on it for emergency rations for hurricane season.

I remember when I was in my 20's, I could get 3 decent sandwiches out of a can. Lately, about 1 1/2.

Love Costco!

[Hotler]

5. What if?????

Some of us regulars here in SMW went and started our own website and cut the string to DU???????? The place has gone so far to the right it makes my head jurt. GD has turned into a lap dog for the PTB.

[Fuddnik]

6. If assholes could fly.....

GD would be O'Hare Airport. It's turned into a Cargo Cult.

I can't believe some of the shit I'm seeing out there. The swooners are tearing Alan Grayson apart for daring not to worship Dear Leader enough.

I've thought about chucking DU several times today. This is the only spot that's sane around here. And we're all nuts.

[Tansy_Gold]

7. I just PMed Demeter about this yesterday.

Ah, all our great SMW minds think alike!

[Hugin]

9. I've been listening to this song a lot lately...

Could be a sign.

[snot]

10. Please don't leave me behind, but PM me if you go, since I don't come here every day . . .

[Demeter]

13. I did some investigation the LAST time such idiocy was afoot on DU

There simply isn't a comparable website. The technology, the features, the breadth and depth of the population served, and their wide-ranging interests, can't be found on any other site.

These idiots will hare off on some other fad in the very near future. They are juveniles, and should be Ignored as much as possible to encourage them to Go Away.

The Adults can work around them. Just Remember: DON'T FEED THE TROLLS!


(Did you know that people in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan are called trolls by the Yoopers (UP-ers, Upper Peninsula) because we live UNDER the bridge of Mackinac?)

[DemReadingDU]

19. Don't leave me behind, let me know if we move

My postings have been dwindling recently, but I still try to read every day.

[westerebus]

8. Could you imagine if META was still open.

It would be fukin' hilarious. Then again I have a sick sense of humor.

[jtuck004]

12. It's very sad. Without the other side one can never evaluate anything. They either go with the

flow or get demonized, marginalized. I was reading a book about how the labor leaders, business, and government took our the progressives that way back in the 20's and 30's, paved the way for business to rule and kept workers from having any real control. It's as if all the struggles of the post-civil war era have completely left the American mind, and they no longer even have a concept that they are owned.

Once in a while I hear someone suggest that we take to the streets and take it back. I hope they are watching what is going on in with democracy in Turkey.

[bread_and_roses]

26. Which book is that, jtuck? I have read similar ...

... "business unionism" - gack! I work in Labor and I love the labor movement - but it is increasingly hard .... look at UE (the union that took over the factory0 - now there's a union that still shows a glimmer of what a union could be - and among their rules? That the President cannot make more than the highest paid worker.

And among the worst and least positive for workers attributes of the current labor movement is our leaders refusal to divorce the Democrats, who give us scraps and bones while shoveling the real goods to the 1%

[Fuddnik]

29. A good starting point is Howard Zinn's, "A Peoples History of the United States, 1492-Present".

He filled in a lot of gaps, and answered a lot of questions.

Right now I'm reading Oliver Stone and Peter Kuzniak's, "The Untold History of the United States".

http://www.amazon.com/Untold-History-United-States/dp/1451613512/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1371130721&sr=1-1&keywords=oliver+stone

It goes into a lot of detail, with hundreds of pages of source notes. Particularly intriguing is the 1944 Democratic Convention coup that saddled us with Harry Truman instead ofHenry Wallace for Vice President. History changed that day.

[bread_and_roses]

33. Zinn is a treasure

I don't say "was" even though he is, alas, gone. The book remains. The "Untold History" sounds good too ... putting it on the list, thanks.

[jtuck004]

38. There's at least a couple

It became apparent to me over the years that that the people making out the best in this country are those who own parts of it, usually the means of production., and those they let hold power, whether in elected office or via some form of compensation. There are a few exceptions, but as a general rule...

So I started reading:
Taking Care of Business: Samuel Gompers, George Meany, Lane Kirkland, and the Tragedy of American Labor [Paperback]
Paul Buhle (Author)
Matles, James J. and Higgins, James, Them and Us: Struggles of a Rank-and-File Union, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1974, hardcover, ISBN 0-13-913079-9; paperback reprint ISBN 0-13-913053-5

among others...if you have a university library around, look in the stacks around these books, there are others. Red Scare is another one.

Matles was UE, btw. I think he and I would have gotten along famously <G>. It was in his book that I ran across that philosophy that the bosses didn't need to make more than the highest paid worker, that people need to be led by people who feel "like" them (in other words they walk in the same shoes), not "for" them. But geez, it's almost tilting against windmills when unions around you, the whole country, business and government combined, can buy people so cheaply, and support the aims of the business instead of the workers.

Turns out there were people throughout our history that encouraged worker control, but it really hit its heyday between the Civil War and the 1930's or so. People like Mother Jones, Bill Haywood, others, really fought hard and put their lives on the line. They created large unions of people willing to work and fight for, not just worker ownership, but worker control, but business and the government mounted a huge and brutal effort to destroy the workers and their leaders. A Commission in the 1920's or so found that business was spending upwards of $88 million a year, (which one calculator says is about $1,023,255,813.95 in today's dollars) on spies, finks, killers, etc., to beat them down. Even then business might not have been as successful, but the communist revolution got rid of their Bloody NIcholas about that time, and business was able to equate the labor folks with communists, essentially making them the terrorists of today, and pitted much of the American public against them. About that time those who would be Democrats also adopted that same model, and became much more like the Republicans, doling out favors for power instead of actually believing that the people could learn to make themselves better. What I see today is a natural progression of that.

One of the things that surprised me was that, alongside business and their lackeys was Gompers and the AF of L. His and their organizing methods marginalized and defeated several of the efforts people mounted, got people killed. His sucking up to the business interests was a major reason why some of the other movements failed. His union flourished, with the help of his business buddies, and over time more unions began to emulate it.

In my opinion had unions worked toward educating their members in cooperative ownership, begun to put together what assets they could, getting their members into ownership positions, instead of allowing them to be exploited by wealthy owners and thus emulating the very business model that was hurting them, we might not be in the position we are today. Essentially the union model we have teed workers up for business to swing on them, and they have been hit, harder and harder over the years. I doubt that we will ever recover from that - just my opinion, though.

The Steelworkers are exploring a different model today, that of the Basque Cooperatives, although it's kind of humorous - their working papers reflect their background. Seems like there is more focus on being able to argue with management (where they ARE the management) than working toward building their business. But at least it's a step in another direction.

I don't mean to come off high-handed, because people do what they have to do, and I don't fault them for it. I can't afford to live up to my ideal, and trying to costs me. But the whole concept of worker control doesn't even seem to exist in American minds any longer, and that makes them weak in the face of people like Mi$$ RobMe, and even their own political parties. The problem with that is that, in the long run, Mi$$, or even the political parties won't win. Nobody will. It will all crater, and we will all lose, I think.

[bread_and_roses]

44. Thank you - I pretty much agree with everything you said

And much of it is familiar to me from my voracious reading over the years - it is really depressing stuff. A sorry tale for Labor - and I can't forget that Labor cooperated with the CIA back in the day. It gets harder and harder to maintain the belief that even with all that, labor is our best hope - if for nothing else than that the rank and file have some glimmer of a notion that workers are both able and entitled to ACT in their own interests.

[Demeter]

14. We may be frustrated, frightened by events, angry at stupidity

but we are NOT nuts! It is those who create and sustain the madness who are crazy.

[DemReadingDU]

20. +++

[Tansy_Gold]

24. This, yes, exactly

And that's why we have to stay together.

[bread_and_roses]

27. Yes (n/t)

[AnneD]

32. Well said Tansy...

I have tried other sites but come back here...and specifically SMW and WEE.

I wonder out occasionally esp if someone I know is on another thread and needs someone to watch their back so to speak. But this is a haven in all the personality cult worshiping craziness. We can speak fairly openly and we fall just low enough under the radar that we don't attract to many trolls.

So I am popping in my Who CD and listening to Won't Get Fooled Again and smile.

[westerebus]

43. Just speaking for myself.

I'm comfortable with nuts. On occasion, the only rational response to irrational events is to go beyond the rational. ymmv

[rusty fender]

37. DU is my "go to" site

I like to read a variety of opinions, although some posters are too predictable. There are still a few noncultists who post in GD, and every-once-in-awhile I venture in and back them up.

One of the great things about DU is that if anything of note happens anywhere, a DUer will post it. It's one of the best websites for that. Sometimes a story is posted here before Yahoo even gets to it.

The regular posters in the Econ Forum are the smartest and the most well-informed; I learn so much here, but I appreciate all of DU.

[Demeter]

11. NIKKEI Down 6+%!

Gotta love that Abenomics....

Perhaps (can't tell yet) the massive inequality in Japan will level out? Or maybe the whole nation will just go bust.

[Demeter]

23. NPR says Japan's stocks down 20% from peak

all on fears that the US and Japan will stop QE.

What does that tell you about QE? Your markets on drugs.

[jtuck004]

16. Interesting short video about the value you provide others by using our communication networks...

http://vimeo.com/34750078


With a h/t to The BigPicture

[Demeter]

17. I'm having a really bad day, today

and I'm in puppy withdrawal, besides.

So, I'll ask for a weekend theme now, and be back sometime in the next 24 to see what you all are interested in.

[Fuddnik]

21. Here's a quick fix.

[kickysnana]

35. Derechos, fire whirls, or North American Rain Forest, puppies.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014506831

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_whirl

http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/cool1306.htm
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/Spring2013.htm

[Demeter]

18. EMAIL: It's OUR Economy

The economy becomes OUR economy when people have a say over economic issues and when the economy works for all of us rather than funneling wealth to the top 1%.

We are starting to see the early signs of a change in economic policy in Washington, DC.

The recent jobs report showed no change in the unemployment rate, with a barely acceptable 175,000 jobs created. The United States is still 10 million jobs away from normal. And a UCLA Anderson forecast paints a dismal picture of “Economic Recovery.” As one UCLA economist said, “It’s not a recovery. It’s not even normal growth. It’s bad.”

But, we may FINALLY be seeing some signs of sanity in the Washington, DC establishment. One pillar of the Democratic Party, the Center for American Progress, issued a report calling for a reset of the fiscal debate and they announced they were walking away from Grand Bargain negotiations. On the right, the director of economic policy at the American Enterprise Institute called on the government to directly hire people and take steps to get private businesses to create jobs. Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to Mitt Romney, is saying that direct hiring with Obama stimulus funds could have created 23 million jobs and saved the government a boatload of money.

And, the Washington, DC based International Monetary Fund now recognizes it made serious mistakes in handling the Greek economic collapse, by underestimating the impact austerity would have on the Greek economy. Greek media recently quoted IMF managing director Christine Lagarde describing 2011 as a “lost year” partly because of miscalculations by the EU and IMF. These mistakes by the Obama administration, Congress and the Troika in Europe were obvious to many as we have been reporting.

Now it is evident that economic austerity policies have hampered job growth and economic recovery. Indeed, rather than creating much-needed public jobs, the government is destroying them.The time is now for the government to become a hawk on creating jobs, especially to repair a rapidly eroding infrastructure that is desperately seeking attention. There is no question that public sector jobs do not crowd out private sector jobs. In fact, if more people have good paying jobs, the private sector will expand as well.

Economist Joseph Stiglitz points to Japan as a model – after an economic collapse in 1989 and more than two decades of failed policies much like those of the US and Europe today, the Japanese have finally gotten it right. They are combining monetary policy that makes money available with government spending to create jobs and policy to encourage entrepreneurship.

At the Public Banking Institute conference last week, Landon Carter, gave an excellent explanation of why money is scarce. Because we have given bankers the monopoly on money creation and they do so by loaning money, that puts everyone in debt. It creates an “impossible contract” that requires us to keep taking money out of circulation to pay interest, thereby creating money competition and money scarcity. But it doesn't have to be this way. We could manage money through public institutions such as public banks and a public Federal Reserve.

In addition to privatized debt-based finance, the tax laws also create unfairness and inequality. A report by the Congressional Budget Office finds that Washington spends more on tax breaks then on Medicare, the military or Social Security. And, the group that benefits most from tax breaks is the wealthiest. A study by the Economic Policy Institute finds US corporate tax rates are low by historic and worldwide standards, and that higher corporate taxes do not hinder growth.Corporations evade these low taxes in unethical ways, even the co-founder of Apple is criticizing his company for their tax avoidance. David Cay Johnston, shows how it is government policy that has created the wealth divide and traces it back to the 1986 Reagan-era bi-partisan tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations.

Financial fraud investigator, Bill Black, writes that this is all part of economic hucksters who join with the looting class and corrupt government to create widespread fraud epidemics. The deeply corrupt economy is seen at so many levels.

Retail workers are mistreated according to a new report on Wal-Mart’s low-wage policies. The study found that one Wal-Mart can cost tax payers $900,000 in public expenses.This includes costs like Medicaid, school breakfasts and lunches, subsidized housing and energy among many others. Wal-Mart employs 10 percent of retail workers so its bad business practices affect all of us.

A Wal-Mart competitor, Costco, the second largest retailer in the country, shows it does not have to be this way. Costco has seen its profits soar while paying good wages to employees, while its low wage competitors struggle. They pay their employees an average of $20.89 an hour and have seen their sales increase 39 percent and their stock value double since 2009. No doubt, the employees are also some of the best customers at Costco – Wal-Mart would find the same thing, but for some reason shuts its eyes to the obvious win-win of higher wages leading to higher profits.

Sadly, Wal-Mart drives the race to the bottom. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a productivity increase during the first quarter of 2013. Compared with the first quarter of 2012, productivity was up 0.9 percent but hourly compensation fell 3.8 percent in the first quarter. This is a 5.2 percent wage drop when inflation is factored in, the largest decline since records were kept in 1947. The major factor in this steady decline is the shrinking of unions. Added to that are increased technology and globalization which both lead to lower wages.

American households have regained less than half of the wealth lost during the recession while the wealthiest have actually gained since the crash, according to a report by the St. Louis Federal Reserve. Sixteen trillion in wealth was destroyed and only 45 percent has been recovered. Many families have not experienced any recovery at all, and some are still losing wealth especially in black, Hispanic and young households. Indeed, being African American and gifted, makes getting a job and building wealth almost impossible.

And, the long history of women being paid low wages is creating widespread problems in families as working moms are now the main bread winners in 40 percent of US households with children. Yet, 50 years after the Equal Pay Act, women still earn 77 percent of what a man earns for the same job.

In addition to the possibility that Washington, DC is waking up to the reality of their failed policies, the grass roots is showing the potential of a new economy based on economic democracy. There is more use of participatory budgeting and the Public Banking Institute saw its conference triple in size from a year ago as people are understanding the need to get their tax dollars out of Wall Street and into their communities.

At the conference, people linked public banks to the funding of the new economy as the need for cooperative economics to replace big finance capitalism is becoming more evident. More and more people are seeing an economic and political transformation program. Here is one plan that outlines a realistic, radical re-making of the economy.

While we push forward with new ideas and are re-making the economy into an economic democracy, we also need to prevent further concentration of power. Perhaps the greatest threat today is President Obama’s secretly negotiated trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Obama does not want you to notice this global corporate coup, but information is finally getting out as this excellent op-ed in the New York Times shows. We know the TPP can be stopped because as Obama’s former trade negotiator said, if people knew what was in the text, it would raise such opposition that it could make the deal impossible to sign. Sign up to join the campaign to stop the TPP here: http://www.popularresistance.org/

MORE AT LINK

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=17a49926b1625f313cb5f63dd&id=b20e1d1ad1&e=b196ac3113

[Tansy_Gold]

25. The problem is. . . .

. . .. and it's a problem intentionally created by TPTB, that too many people in "our" economy have no energy or time left for anything else after they've spent an entire day trying to keep body and soul together. There is no "movement" for the working/middle class, no charismatic leader, no culture. At the end of the day, there's nothing to counter another exhausted evening of DWTS or AI or whatever other mindless "reality" opiate has been made available.

And progressives (lower case) have no leaders.

Now, if you don't mind, I'll get back to my daily fight for financial survival. . . . . .

[Fuddnik]

22. Looks like US markets are in for a rude awakening today.

Dow futures are down about 85 pts right now.

S&P and Nasdaq not as bad.....yet.

[Demeter]

41. Never Fear, the Fairies Are Here!

Cranking their fairy dust for all it's worth. I wonder how much this little goose will cost us.

[xchrom]

28. Foreclosures Jump as Banks Bet on Rising U.S. Home Prices

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-13/foreclosures-jump-as-banks-bet-on-rising-u-s-home-prices.html

Home repossessions in the U.S. jumped 11 percent in May after declining for the previous five months as rising prices and limited inventory for sale across the country spurred banks to complete foreclosures.

Lenders took back 38,946 homes, up from 34,997 in April, according to Irvine, California-based data firm RealtyTrac, which tracks notices of default, auction and seizures. Thirty-three states had increases in the number of homes repossessed, RealtyTrac said in a report today.

Banks are more willing to move to the final stage of foreclosure because there is sufficient demand and prices are improving, said Eric Workman of Tinley Park, Illinois-based Mack Cos., which aggregates single-family rental homes and resells them to individuals and institutional investors. U.S. home prices advanced almost 11 percent in the year through March, the biggest 12-month gain since April 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of values in 20 cities.

“For a very long period of time, the market in general and specifically banks were unsure of what these assets were valued at,” Workman, vice president of sales and marketing at Mack, said in a telephone interview. “With increasing stability of the economy and housing prices throughout the U.S., these banks and sellers are getting much more comfortable with the value of their properties.”

[Tansy_Gold]

30. Interesting.

Two of the vacant homes in my immediate neighborhood were recently purchased out of foreclosure, and the new owners invested heavily in repair/remodeling.

The house across the street had been vacant about a year, but severely neglected before the previous occupants vacated under cover of night. The bank took it back rather quickly after that and it was for sale for about six months. I don't know how much interior work was done, but outside got new roof, new doors, paint, etc. Not much done on the yard, though.

The one next door was vacant -- except for two sets of squatters -- for at least three years, with massive interior and exterior damage. Bank didn't move on it until about six months ago -- sent in a crew to rip out garbage, rotted carpet, rusted appliances, etc. but did no repairs. New occupant/owner must have done considerable interior work because it was not livable.

So I guess that's some improvement, and maybe some people saw the bottom of the market????

[xchrom]

34. Here's What The Heck Is Happening In Japan

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-heck-is-happening-in-japan-2013-6

The Japan market crash has finally broken through to the mainstream.

Last night and this morning, several non-finance folks have been asking "What the heck is happening in Japan?"

First, from an obvious market standpoint, it's crashing.

Japan's main stock index, the Nikkei, fell 6.25% last night, to 12,445. Just a few weeks ago it was right around 16,000.

That's a crash.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-the-heck-is-happening-in-japan-2013-6#ixzz2W6iUHYYQ

[Demeter]

40. If it's contagious....It hasn't hit these shores, yet.

Globalism guarantees contagion, though. Holding your breath won't help. Taking cover might.

This is how the last Great Depression in the US started....overseas. And several before that, I believe. I'm too lazy to look it up.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

42. ETA News Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (06/13/2013)

ETA News Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (06/13/2013)

Source: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Read More: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20131157.htm

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending June 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 334,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 346,000. The 4-week moving average was 345,250, a decrease of 7,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 352,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending June 1, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending June 1 was 2,973,000, an increase of 2,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,971,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,967,250, a decrease of 12,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,980,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 330,933 in the week ending June 8, an increase of 37,141 from the previous week. There were 376,610 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
....

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending June 1 were in Tennessee (+1,280), New York (+1,001), Oregon (+851), Montana (+501), and North Carolina (+302), while the largest decreases were in California (-8,796), Florida (-3,250), Pennsylvania (-1,923), Texas (-1,876), and Missouri (-1,704).

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Good afternoon, Freepers and DUers alike. I ask you to put aside your differences long enough to read this post. Following that, you can engage in your usual donnybrook.

Posting this just plain slipped my mind today. The number is down by 12,000.

I have been posting the number every week for at least a year. I seriously do not care if the week's data make Obama look good. They are just numbers, and I post them without regard to the consequences. I welcome people from Free Republic to examine the numbers as well. They paid for the work just as much as members of DU did, so I invite them to come on over and have a look. "The more the merrier" is the way I look at it.

I do not work at the ETA, and I do not know anyone working in that agency. I'm sure I can safely assume that the numbers are gathered and analyzed by career civil servant economists who do their work on a nonpartisan basis. Numbers are numbers, and let the chips fall where they may. If you feel that these economists are falling down on the job, drop them a line or give them a call. They work for you, not for any politician or political party.

The word "initial" is important. The report does not count all claims, just the new ones filed this week.

Note: The seasonal adjustment factors used for the UI Weekly Claims data from 2007 forward, along with the resulting seasonally adjusted values for initial claims and continuing claims, have been revised. These revised historical values, as well as the seasonal adjustment factors that will be used through calendar year 2012, can be accessed at the bottom of the following link: http://www.oui.doleta.gov/press/2012/032912.asp