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Tansy_Gold

(17,815 posts)
Tue Aug 19, 2014, 09:11 PM Aug 2014

STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 20 August 2014

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 20 August 2014[font color=black][/font]


SMW for 19 August 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 19 August 2014
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Dow Jones 16,919.59 +80.85 (0.48%)
S&P 500 1,981.60 +9.86 (0.50%)
Nasdaq 4,527.51 +19.20 (0.43%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.38% +0.03 (1.28%)
30 Year 3.21% +0.04 (1.26%)[font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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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 - 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=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.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.








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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]


31 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 20 August 2014 (Original Post) Tansy_Gold Aug 2014 OP
They forgot to list : Gratutitous Violence Demeter Aug 2014 #1
I think that's the end result n/t Tansy_Gold Aug 2014 #2
The Pros And Cons Of Militarizing The Police Demeter Aug 2014 #21
Many Who Have Left US Labor Force Are 'Open To Anything' To Return xchrom Aug 2014 #3
The Most Unpopular President In Modern French History Is Speeding Up Reforms xchrom Aug 2014 #4
Boehner's Troubles With House Conservatives Are Only Just Beginning xchrom Aug 2014 #5
European Markets Are Down, Asian Markets Are Up, Futures Are Down xchrom Aug 2014 #6
Japan's Export Rebound Offers A Glimmer Of Hope For Its Economy xchrom Aug 2014 #7
Jamie Dimon’s $13 Billion Secret Demeter Aug 2014 #8
Benjamin Lawsky Shows Other Bank Regulators How to Do Their Jobs Demeter Aug 2014 #10
JPMorgan Chase’s $13 Billion Shadow Demeter Aug 2014 #15
Krugman on the Terrifying Reason Nations Keep Waging War xchrom Aug 2014 #9
This op-ed got jumped all over on in the Commentary Demeter Aug 2014 #12
so many seem to have been infected by the PNAC bug xchrom Aug 2014 #14
Italy's Renzi must bring back the lira to end depression By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard Demeter Aug 2014 #11
The price we are paying for serial policy errors Demeter Aug 2014 #19
Here's Why North Carolina Keeps Getting Poorer Demeter Aug 2014 #13
Argentina unveils debt plan to avoid US court ruling xchrom Aug 2014 #16
You go, Girl! Viva Cristina! Demeter Aug 2014 #30
Shares in South Africa's banks fall after Moody's downgrade xchrom Aug 2014 #17
Standard Chartered to pay fresh penalty to NY regulator xchrom Aug 2014 #18
SOME BANK OF ENGLAND BOARD MEMBERS SEEK RATE HIKE xchrom Aug 2014 #20
LATE-PAYMENT RATE ON US MORTGAGES DECLINES IN 2Q xchrom Aug 2014 #22
METROPOLITAN OPERA REACHES DEAL WITH STAGEHANDS xchrom Aug 2014 #23
German government sticks to 2014 growth forecast despite disappointing second quarter xchrom Aug 2014 #24
Analysis - Still awash with cash, world economies take turn for the worse xchrom Aug 2014 #25
Just dropped in to say hi. Hotler Aug 2014 #26
Hi, hotler Tansy_Gold Aug 2014 #27
Don't be a stranger Demeter Aug 2014 #31
Hillary Clinton and Trade Deals: That “Giant Sucking Sound” antigop Aug 2014 #28
South Florida housing recovery anemic for the poor, just fine for the rich Crewleader Aug 2014 #29
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
21. The Pros And Cons Of Militarizing The Police
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:20 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.theonion.com/articles/the-pros-and-cons-of-militarizing-the-police,36717/

The ongoing clashes between residents of Ferguson, MO and heavily armed police forces—which are equipped with M16 rifles and armored vehicles—have drawn attention to the increasing militarization of police in the United States. Here are the cases for and against outfitting local law enforcement with military-grade weapons:

PROS

Same tactics used successfully in Afghanistan, Iraq
Modern law enforcement simply cannot do their job properly by relying on handguns, tasers, and tear gas alone
A real shot in arm for nation’s ailing weapons industry
Look on driver’s face when tank pulls up beside Mini Cooper always fun
Local photojournalists now able to capture fog of war at home
Nice surprise treat for veterans to see weapons they used in war pop up on their hometown streets
Never a bad idea to put a more powerful gun in someone’s hand
Actually going to seem pretty quaint when compared with police armaments 20 years from now

CONS

Most police officers have proven fully capable of violently subduing protesters without any military-grade weapons
It actually very hard to recite Miranda rights while holding 40-pound grenade launcher
There no longer any middle ground between community watch and military
Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles only get 5 miles per gallon
Jesus, just look at this shit
Military-style helmets limit peripheral vision while firing indiscriminately into crowd
Could potentially be abused if put in lesser hands than America’s historically honest and virtuous police departments
Takes away that personal touch of beating a suspect to death with bare hands

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
3. Many Who Have Left US Labor Force Are 'Open To Anything' To Return
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:01 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-many-who-have-left-us-labor-force-say-they-would-like-to-return-2014-8

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mike Yack has left the workforce twice in the last eight years and calls himself retired, yet at age 62 the former General Motors employee does not consider his working life over.
"I'd be open to anything - learning a new trade or something. I don't expect top wages. But I am not going to work for ten dollars an hour," said Yack, who accepted a buyout from GM in 2006 and was then laid off earlier this year by a GM contractor.

Yack, who says he can get by on Social Security and his GM pension, is among millions of Americans who could re-enter the U.S. labor force if the economy improves. They don’t show up in the U.S. jobless rate, currently at 6.2 percent.

For U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, the willingness of people like Yack to return to the workforce contributes to the "slack" she sees in the labor force that could keep wages growth and inflation under control even as the economy picks up. Yellen and other Fed policymakers will be studying the labor market overhang carefully as they gather for their annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-many-who-have-left-us-labor-force-say-they-would-like-to-return-2014-8#ixzz3AveULawt

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
4. The Most Unpopular President In Modern French History Is Speeding Up Reforms
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:03 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-frances-hollande-says-to-accelerate-reforms-to-boost-growth-2014-8

French President Francois Hollande said on Wednesday he would accelerate reforms to boost growth, highlighting steps to increase homebuilding and give tax breaks to poorer households as he tries to win back voter confidence.
The most unpopular French president in modern history has come under growing fire from both the opposition and ruling Socialist party lawmakers over his economic policy. His government was forced to abandon growth and fiscal targets last week.

As he prepares for tough negotiations on the 2015 budget both at home and with France's EU partners, Hollande sought in an interview with Le Monde to explain that he would work on both fronts: reform France and help low-income households.

"We need to go faster and further," he said in the interview. "I want to accelerate reforms to boost growth as fast as possible," he said, starting with home construction.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-frances-hollande-says-to-accelerate-reforms-to-boost-growth-2014-8#ixzz3AvfWJCRb

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
5. Boehner's Troubles With House Conservatives Are Only Just Beginning
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:09 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/r-boehners-troubles-with-house-conservatives-may-only-get-worse-2014-8

FOND DU LAC Wis. (Reuters) - Glenn Grothman is a fiery conservative who wants to slash welfare programs and crack down on illegal immigrants who he says will "destroy" America.
And if U.S. House Speaker John Boehner wants to keep his job next year, he had better be sure Grothman and his fellow House of Representatives newcomers are happy.

Grothman, the expected winner in a tight Republican primary for the right to succeed 73-year-old Representative Thomas Petri in Wisconsin, is one of more than a dozen vocal conservatives gunning to replace more moderate or pragmatic retiring House Republicans in November's midterm elections.

Their arrival could mean even more headaches for Boehner, who has struggled in recent years to keep his fractious caucus together on critical battles over tax and spending bills, and most recently on legislation to secure border funding.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-boehners-troubles-with-house-conservatives-may-only-get-worse-2014-8#ixzz3AvgljXJk

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
6. European Markets Are Down, Asian Markets Are Up, Futures Are Down
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:11 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/market-update-august-20-2014-2014-8

European markets are in the red early Monday.
Here's the scorecard:

Britain's FTSE 100 is down 0.25%.

France's CAC 40 is down 0.38%.

Germany's DAX is down 0.36%.

Spain's IBEX is flat.

Italy's FTSE MIB is down 0.10%.

Asian markets closed in the green with Japan's Nikkei up 0.03% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.15%.

U.S. futures are are down with Dow futures down 15 points and Nasdaq futures down 2 points.

In the U.S., The minutes of the July 29-30 Federal Open Market Committee meeting will be released at 2 p.m. ET.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/market-update-august-20-2014-2014-8#ixzz3Avhduzew

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
7. Japan's Export Rebound Offers A Glimmer Of Hope For Its Economy
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:13 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-export-economy-growth-2014-8

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's exports rose in July for the first time in three months in a tentative sign that overseas demand is starting to recover, which could raise hopes that exports can offset a slump in consumer spending.

The export data will be a relief for the Bank of Japan, which has predicated its economic growth and inflation forecasts on a rapid rise in exports as part of the government's "Abenomics" plan to energize the Japanese economy.

"The BOJ can say with more confidence that it will keep its monetary policy on hold," said Hiroshi Miyazaki, senior economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

"The government has already announced some steps to support corporate activity. Now it is simply a matter of reflecting these policies in next fiscal year's budget."



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-export-economy-growth-2014-8#ixzz3Avi773tv
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
8. Jamie Dimon’s $13 Billion Secret
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:23 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.alternet.org/economy/jamie-dimons-13-billion-secret?akid=12140.227380.ZD7kMt&rd=1&src=newsletter1015967&t=16

...For much of 2013, Dimon, the chairman and chief executive of the formidable JPMorgan Chase & Company, was telling anyone who would listen that it was unfair and unjust for federal and state prosecutors to blame him and his bank for the manufacture and sale of mortgage-backed securities that occurred at Bear Stearns & Company and at Washington Mutual in the years leading up to the financial crisis. When JPMorgan Chase bought those two failing firms in 2008, Dimon argued, he was just doing what Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and Timothy Geithner had asked him to do. Why should his bank be held financially accountable for the bad behavior at Bear and WaMu?

It was a clever argument—and wrong. Dimon’s relentless effort to spin his patriotic story soon collided with the fact that Wagner, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of California, had uncovered evidence that JPMorgan itself was guilty of many of the same greedy and irresponsible behaviors. Piles of subpoenaed documents and e-mails revealed that JPMorgan bankers and traders had underwritten billions of dollars’ worth of questionable mortgage-backed securities that Dimon had been telling everyone had originated at Bear Stearns and WaMu. Worse, the bad behavior had occurred on Dimon’s watch.

The likelihood that the Justice Department would file Wagner’s civil complaint last fall—exposing publicly for the first time the litany of wrongdoing at JPMorgan and threatening to push it off the perch that Dimon had so artfully constructed for it over the years—ultimately brought Dimon to the table. On September 26, just weeks after the Justice Department shared a draft copy of Wagner’s complaint with Dimon, the two sides arranged for a summit meeting between Dimon and Attorney General Eric Holder. By mid-November, the bank had agreed to pay $13 billion in a comprehensive settlement of mortgage-related securities claims with various branches of the federal government and a group of states, led by the attorneys general of New York, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Delaware.

It was the largest financial settlement of all time, and it kept Wagner’s complaint away from the prying eyes of the public. One thing is clear: Dimon’s claim that his own bankers and traders had done nothing wrong in the years leading up to the financial crisis wasn’t true. “The investigators and the lawyers were uncovering very viable evidence,” explains Associate Attorney General Tony West, who headed up the settlement negotiations on behalf of the Justice Department. “I think there was recognition that we had enough evidence there that would support the complaint and would support a robust lawsuit.”

MORE
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
10. Benjamin Lawsky Shows Other Bank Regulators How to Do Their Jobs
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:40 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/08/benjamin-lawsky-shows-other-bank-regulators-how-to-do-their-jobs.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29


...Heretofore, New York state banking regulators have dutifully followed the lead of national regulators whenever they’ve been called in on investigations of major players. Lawsky broke with that tradition in a dramatic way in a money laundering probe of Standard Chartered two years ago, which included the Treasury, the Fed, and DoJ. Lawsky actually did ask the Fed if he could take his review further, and the central bank, not expecting much of a newbie state regulator, said yes.

Oops.

Lawsky created an international firestorm when he issued a tough order, threatening to yank the bank’s US license (something within his authority) unless they showed up and explained themselves in a public hearing. As we wrote then:

The New York Superintendent of Financial Services dropped a bombshell today, filing an order against Britain’s Standard Chartered Bank. It charges the bank with having engaged in at least $250 billion of illegal transactions with Iranian banks, including its central bank, from 2001 to 2010, and of engaging in similar schemes with Libya, Myanmar and Sudan (those investigations are in progress). It threatens SCB with the loss of its New York banking license and termination of access to dollar clearing services. The latter alone is as huge deal. You are not a real international bank unless you have dollar clearing….

SCB squealed like a stuck pig, claiming that only $14 million of transactions were out of compliance. But the bank has nowhere to go. The NY Superintendent, Benjamin Lawsky, has made his determination. The only thing open for discussion is what sort of punishment he is going to impose. The bank must

…submit to and pay for an independent, on-premises monitor of the Department’s selection to ensure compliance with rules governing the international transfer of funds.

SCB is also up for a license revocation hearing and needs to “demonstrate” why it should not be suspended from clearing dollar transactions in the interim. Having poised a sword of Damocles over the bank’s head, I would expect Lawsky to demand a lot to make this go away, ideally including some executives’ heads as proof the bank was turning over a new leaf (the filing notes that any money damages are to be determined). The flip side is Lawsky may come under pressure precisely because he has shown up the Treasury, Fed, and DoJ. This is a Spitzer-level move from an unexpected source.


Despite enormous pressure from the end-run Feds, Lawsky held his ground and got an admission from Standard Chartered that it had indeed engaged in over $250 billion of verboten transactions, $340 million in fines (a stunning number for a state regulator then) and the installation of an independent monitor to oversee changes to the bank’s procedures. Lawsky also fined Deloitte Touche, who aided and abetted Standard Chartered in its wire doctoring.

In the “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery” category, Federal regulators took a lesson from Lawsky’s playbook, using a power we’ve long pointed out that they could have used against miscreants, that of revoking licenses or restricting access to payment systems, the life blood of major financial firms. But the national authorities are willing to use those tools only to punish banks that refuse to act as enforcers of America’s geopolitical policies, at it did against BNP Paribas. But even here, Lawsky forced the Federal regulators to up their game by insisting that the bank force out officers directly involved in money laundering, including its chief operating officer.

Money laundering isn’t the only area where Lawsky’s involvement has led to far more serious sanctions against banks. The New York Superintendent also played an critical part in investigating criminal violations at Credit Suisse, when they helped US customers evade taxes through illegal offshore accounts. And Lawsky is taking a very serious interest in an area near and dear to our hearts, namely, mortgage servicing. As a result of various settlements, some banks have taken to moving their mortgage servicing over to stand-alone, non-bank mortgage servicers. The only problem with that notion is that higher-touch mortgage servicing (which could be a partial answer to the problem) is more expensive, when compensation for servicing is already fixed in pooling and servicing agreements with investors. But as we’ve pointed out, the problems with mortgage servicing are deep-seated, and reflect among other things, deep seated problems with the underlying systems. That means the only way these transfers to new hands could lead to better servicing would be if the sellers heavily subsidized the purchases and regulators kept their boots on the buyers’ necks to make sure they made major improvements. Instead, many of the buyers appear to be seeking to scale up, meaning that they’ll at best replicate all the bad practices of the old servicers. And there was every reason to expect things to get worse, since whistleblowers from Bank of America reported to us of major systems and records issues resulting from Bank of America acquiring servicing rights from other servicers and not being able to integrate the systems and records successfully. Lawsky opened up a probe into non-bank servicers Ocwen, Nationstar, and four others based on hundreds of complaints from New York consumers. Mind you, this comes after Ocwen agreed to a $2+ billion settlement with the CFPB for foreclosure and loan modification abuses and charging inflated fees. Lawsky escalated his probe of Ocwen in April to include possible self-dealing on property auctions and in August added forced-placed insurance to the list.

MORE SKULLDUGGERY AT LINK
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
15. JPMorgan Chase’s $13 Billion Shadow
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:08 AM
Aug 2014
http://ourfuture.org/20140814/jpmorgan-chases-13-billion-shadow

If nothing else, William D. Cohan’s recent Nation article about JPMorgan Chase’s $13 billion settlement should confirm the public’s darkest suspicions about that institution and its CEO.

It was only logical to assume that the bank wouldn’t have agreed to what was then the largest bank settlement in history unless it believed the alternative was much worse. In that sense there are no new revelations in Cohan’s reporting. But it’s extremely satisfying to see the events leading up to the settlement laid out in such a clear, logical, and sequential fashion.

Cohan guides readers to the conclusions that many of us reached some time ago: that JPMorgan Chase was as corrupt in its business practices as any other major bank (which is to say, quite corrupt); and that CEO Jamie Dimon convinced a lot of people otherwise, using only the power of his personality...

How can the general public possibly comprehend the depth and extent of Chase’s criminality without the names, emails, and specific deeds of its criminal bankers? And yet, that’s precisely the kind of detail that was suppressed in this deal. How valuable were those details? We know one thing: They were worth at least $13 billion to the management of JPMorgan Chase... If the public really understood how badly this bank’s employees acted, consumers and investors might stop doing business with them. Banks don’t commit fraud; bankers do. The fraud which led to this $13 billion settlement was committed by people – real people, people whose identities were often known to investigators.

.............................

There is one conclusion to be drawn from the settlement’s otherwise vague “statement”: bankers at JPMorgan Chase engaged in widespread fraud, and in all likelihood they will never pay for their crimes – not with jail sentences, not by giving back their ill-gotten gains, not even by facing the opprobrium of the public.

So why wouldn’t they commit the same crimes again, the very first chance they get? Wrongdoing thrives in the shadows, and $13 billion buys an awful lot of shade.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
9. Krugman on the Terrifying Reason Nations Keep Waging War
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:35 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.alternet.org/economy/krugman-terrifying-reason-nations-keep-waging-war


One of the more enduring myths about waging war is that it helps the economy. Not so, this cold inhumane calculation, Paul Krugman writes today.

Alarmed by the escalation of rhetoric and events in the Ukraine, Krugman casts his shrewd eye on warfare since the start of World War I a century ago, and concludes that we haven't learned much since. "The war to end all wars" just didn't. Why, given the overwhelming amount of evidence that war is ruinous in every way, including economically, would that be so?

First, the columnist takes a quick detour into history:

Once upon a time wars were fought for fun and profit; when Rome overran Asia Minor or Spain conquered Peru, it was all about the gold and silver. And that kind of thing still happens. In influential research sponsored by the World Bank, the Oxford economist Paul Collier has shown that the best predictor of civil war, which is all too common in poor countries, is the availability of lootable resources like diamonds. Whatever other reasons rebels cite for their actions seem to be mainly after-the-fact rationalizations. War in the preindustrial world was and still is more like a contest among crime families over who gets to control the rackets than a fight over principles.

But times have changed, Krugman points out. "If you’re a modern, wealthy nation, however, war — even easy, victorious war — doesn’t pay," he writes. "And this has been true for a long time."
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
12. This op-ed got jumped all over on in the Commentary
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:58 AM
Aug 2014

and rightly so.

Krugman must have had a whole pitcher of the Koolaid when he inserted his opinions about Putin and Russia in that article....

but this article by Janet Ellen is much much worse. She is off the rails in some PNAC fantasy land.

 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
11. Italy's Renzi must bring back the lira to end depression By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 07:49 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/11032571/Italys-Renzi-must-bring-back-the-lira-to-end-depression.html

Italy has been in depression for almost six years. The slump has been punctuated by false dawns, overwhelmed each time by the monetary amateurs in charge of EMU policy. The latest recovery fizzled after a single quarter. The economy is in technical recession again. Output has collapsed by 9.1pc from the peak, back to levels last seen 14 years ago. Industrial production is down to 1980 levels.

It takes spectacular policy errors to bring about such an outcome in a modern economy. Italy did not suffer anything like this during the Great Depression, clocking up growth of 16pc between 1929 and 1939. But not even Mussolini was maniacal enough to pursue his Gold Standard delusions until the bitter end...... "We can't keep going any longer," said the Taranto branch of Italy's business lobby, Confindustria, in an open letter to the country's president. The region is becoming an "industrial desert", it warned, with small companies on the brink of mass closures and lay-offs.

The lethal mix of economic contraction and zero inflation is causing Italy’s debt trajectory to spiral upwards, despite austerity and a primary surplus of 2pc of GDP. Public debt jumped to 135.6pc in the first quarter from 130.2pc a year earlier. This is a mechanical effect, the result of a compound interest burden on a static nominal base. Real interest rates on Italy's €2.1 trillion stock of debt - with an average maturity of 6.3 years - is actually rising as deflation draws closer. The debt ratio may test 140pc by the end of the year, uncharted waters for a country that effectively borrows in D-Marks. "Nobody knows when the markets will react,” said one Italian banker.

The recession is eroding tax revenues so badly that premier Matteo Renzi will have to come up with fresh cuts of €20bn to €25bn to meet EU deficit targets, perpetuating the vicious cycle.

The task is hopeless. A study by the Bruegel think-tank found that Italy must run a primary surplus of 5pc of GDP to stabilise the debt at 2pc inflation. This rises to 7.8pc at zero inflation. Any attempt to achieve this would lead to a self-defeating implosion of the Italian economy.

MORE HARD COLD ANALYSIS AT LINK....THE EURO IS DOOMED, OR EUROPE IS DOOMED. THE INSANE ARE RUNNING THE ASYLUM
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
19. The price we are paying for serial policy errors
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:16 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.eurointelligence.com/news-details/article/the-price-we-are-paying-for-serial-policy-errors.html#.U_F1isRSg3o.twitter

Our overriding focusing today is, of course, the eurozone economy, which continues to disappoint. We were just able yesterday to give you the news of the German 0.2% fall in GDP during Q2. Eurostat followed up on this with the flash estimate for eurozone-wide GDP, which came in at zero. It is not hard to imagine the sheer volume of outraged editorials in the media: something, surely, must be done.

Just as the ECB re-iterated for the millionth time that inflation expectations remain firmly anchored, German 10-year yields defiantly dropped below 1% for the first time ever. We are not generally overawed by “records” – but this is the clearest sign yet that the markets are betting against the ECB’s inflation target. The message from the largest and most liquid fixed-interest rate market in Europe is telling us that Inflation expectations have firmly de-anchored despite of what the ECB says. The ECB is still clinging on the 5y-5y inflation swaps in defence of its views that, in the long run, inflation expectations are anchored, but we are not sure that this derivative instrument is all that meaningful. For us the question is no longer whether inflation expectations have come unstuck. They have. The question is: can they be re-anchored?

It is interesting that Frankfurter Allgemeine and other German newspapers hardly mention any of this – they cover the overshooting French deficit obsessively. The paper’s Paris correspondent has an outraged editorial, which fails to mention that the French economy outperformed the German economy in Q2 (and for the period since the beginning of the eurozone as well).

The Italian papers focus on Matteo Renzi’s comment: See, it’s not just us. The whole of the eurozone is in crisis. La Repubblica reports on Renzi’s comment that these data will soften Angela Merkel’s views on the fiscal overshoot. We at Eurointelligence are not sure that they will – also in view of the FAZ’ comment on France. The German consensus view is that one should never allow a recession to get in the way of a good deficit reduction. ..
 

Demeter

(85,373 posts)
13. Here's Why North Carolina Keeps Getting Poorer
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:04 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-north-carolina-has-a-poverty-problem-2014-8#ixzz3ApZJdszd

...North Carolina has felt the impact of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement more than potentially any other state in the nation. NAFTA allows free trade between Mexico, Canada, and the U.S., and opponents of the agreement believed it would lead to the destruction of hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs as well as plummeting wages, according to Public Citizen. Those who supported the agreement believed it would increase the standard of living in America.

As a result of NAFTA, Nichol says, the state lost massive numbers of manufacturing, agricultural, and tobacco-related jobs, and North Carolinians were forced into structural unemployment.

"Many folks lost their jobs in that period," Nichol said. "They either didn't get successful replacements or frequently got other jobs but they had dramatically diminished salaries. That's had a big impact on poverty levels in North Carolina."

The second part of that double-whammy came in the form of the housing collapse and the great recession in 2008, which happened right as North Carolina was beginning to turn the corner after the NAFTA fallout.

"Since that time, we've embarked upon a number of decisions that radically wound poor people," Nichol said...


THE SAME HOLDS TRUE FOR MICHIGAN, AND ANY OTHER LOCAL ECONOMY THAT ACTUALLY PRODUCED CONSUMER GOODS AND IS RUN BY THE GOP

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
16. Argentina unveils debt plan to avoid US court ruling
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:08 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28863991

Argentina's president has announced plans for a debt swap to try to avoid a US court ruling that pushed Argentina into a second default.

An emotional Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner proposed legislation that would return control of its debt to the government.

"Excuse me if I get a little nervous, I usually have more poise," she said.

A New York court last month blocked an interest payment to bondholders as a result of a row with US investors.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
17. Shares in South Africa's banks fall after Moody's downgrade
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:10 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28864193

Shares in South Africa's largest banks fell on Wednesday, following downgrades from the ratings agency Moody's.

Standard Bank, FNB, Nedbank and ABSA, which is owned by Barclays, were all downgraded on Tuesday and Moody's warned of more possible ratings cuts.

The move comes a week after South Africa's central bank bailed out the smaller lender African Bank.

The South African Reserve Bank insisted the country's banking sector remained "healthy and robust."

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
18. Standard Chartered to pay fresh penalty to NY regulator
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:12 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28860566

Standard Chartered has agreed to pay $300m (£180m) to New York's top banking regulator for failing to improve its money laundering controls.

The British bank has also been banned from accepting new dollar clearing accounts without the state's approval.

The penalty comes after the bank failed to fix problems identified in 2012.

"If a bank fails to live up to its commitments, there should be consequences," the New York State Department's Benjamin M Lawsky said.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
20. SOME BANK OF ENGLAND BOARD MEMBERS SEEK RATE HIKE
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:16 AM
Aug 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-20-06-43-36

LONDON (AP) -- Consensus among policymakers at the Bank of England has been shattered, with two of nine members of the monetary policy committee voting to increase interest rates from a record low of 0.5 percent.

Minutes published Wednesday for the August meeting showed policymakers breaking ranks for the first time since 2011.

Economists had been speculating in recent weeks that the unanimity on the committee had been eroding as the economy grew stronger and despite tame inflation.

The minutes show that policymakers were divided about how much spare capacity remained in the economy amid weak wage growth. But two policymakers wanted an immediate increase in the rate by 0.25 percentage points, citing a fall in unemployment and signs of a tightening labor market.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
22. LATE-PAYMENT RATE ON US MORTGAGES DECLINES IN 2Q
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:23 AM
Aug 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MORTGAGES_LATE_PAYMENTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-20-00-02-27

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Fewer U.S. homeowners are falling behind on their mortgage payments, a trend that has reduced the late-payment rate on home loans to the lowest level in six years, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

The percentage of mortgage holders at least two months behind on their payments fell in the April-June period to 3.46 percent, down from 4.32 percent a year earlier, the firm said Wednesday.

The latest mortgage delinquency rate was down from the first quarter of this year, when it stood at 3.61 percent.

The last time the rate was lower was the first quarter of 2008, when it was 3.39 percent, according to TransUnion. The firm's records go back to the second quarter of 2007.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
23. METROPOLITAN OPERA REACHES DEAL WITH STAGEHANDS
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:26 AM
Aug 2014
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MET_LABOR_DISPUTE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-20-07-15-05

NEW YORK (AP) -- New York City's Metropolitan Opera reached a deal early Wednesday with its stagehands and said it expects to avert a lockout by reaching agreements with the remaining unions.

The opera company said rehearsals will continue and the season will open as scheduled Sept. 22 with a new production of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro."

Fifteen unions representing about 2,500 chorus singers, orchestra musicians, stagehands, carpenters and others had been negotiating on and off since February. Their contracts expired July 31.

Met General Manager Peter Gelb had demanded pay cuts of about 17 percent, saying production costs had skyrocketed and the operatic art was in trouble, with shrinking audiences. Union members said such a radical move was unwarranted, given the Met's $2.8 million deficit on a budget of $326 million. The Met management also wanted to slash pensions and health care benefits.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
24. German government sticks to 2014 growth forecast despite disappointing second quarter
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:30 AM
Aug 2014
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/20/uk-germany-growth-idUKKBN0GK0QM20140820


(Reuters) - The German government is sticking to its forecast that Europe's largest economy will grow by 1.8 percent this year even after it suffered a contraction in the second quarter, one of Germany's state secretaries for economics told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We don't see any need to correct our growth estimate," Rainer Sontowski said.

"Geopolitical risks are burdening the German economy but the basic economic trend remains positive," he added, referring to crises in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Sontowski said the economy's performance in the third quarter would be decisive for the government's updated growth forecast for the year, expected to be released in October.

xchrom

(108,903 posts)
25. Analysis - Still awash with cash, world economies take turn for the worse
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 08:32 AM
Aug 2014
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/20/uk-global-economy-analysis-idUKKBN0GK18Z20140820

(Reuters) - China's economy is slowing. The euro zone's is a flat line. Japan's sank in the second quarter. Britain has wage deflation. The U.S. economy is ticking over at best.

In a world preoccupied by geopolitical crises - from Ukraine, Iraq and Gaza to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa - the global economy has taken something of a back seat. But there are increasing signs it is in trouble despite being awash with cash from record low interest rates.

Many policymakers across the world would like to move away from this ultra-loose monetary policy, which they introduced to drag their countries out of the financial crisis. But the economies are not playing ball.

Essentially, the economic doldrums have pushed back the time when central banks can start the process of normalising monetary policy. Indeed, in many places it is more likely that central banks will loosen more than pull in.

antigop

(12,778 posts)
28. Hillary Clinton and Trade Deals: That “Giant Sucking Sound”
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 09:58 AM
Aug 2014
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2014/07/hillary-clinton-trade-deals-giant-sucking-sound.html

Understandably, Hillary Clinton backtracked on NAFTA in 2008 (backtracked as a Democrat, I should say, to avoid the “marital discord” trope), but of course by then the damage was done.

...

“A little time out.” Now, I’m not necessarily averse to politicians who backtrack from a policies that are against my values and interests (take that, Edmund Burke) but I would like to know that they don’t then unbacktrack their backtracking, because that confuses my simple mind. And surely, as Secretary of State during Obama’s first term, she would have been privy to the negotiation of future trade deals. So what does she think about them?
....


Here again it makes sense to look at Hillary has to say about trade deal in Hard Choices, the baseline she laid down if she should choose to run again. Here are the findings:

Rather thin, especially given Clinton’s focus on commerce at State. You’ll notice, first, that oddly, or not, Clinton has nothing to say about NAFTA, unless the oblique reference to “learned the hard way” counts. And she has nothing to say about TTIP, TISA, or GATS. Here’s what she has to say about TPP:

It makes sense to reserve judgment until we can evaluate the final proposed agreement.


Well, no, it doesn’t. First, if fast track passes — Hard Choices has nothing to say about “fast track,” either — TPP is a pig in a poke; pressure will be so immense to pass it that judgment will be hard to exercise; that’s what fast track is for![2]

Crewleader

(17,005 posts)
29. South Florida housing recovery anemic for the poor, just fine for the rich
Wed Aug 20, 2014, 06:16 PM
Aug 2014

In south Florida it is easy to see the widening gap forming between the haves and the have nots. Just look at the anemic housing recovery for the poor and middle class compared to the rich.

Miami’s housing recovery is heavily lopsided. Many former home owners have to rent these days. Others who are still managing to hang on to their house are still underwater from the housing crisis. But yet the housing comeback in south Florida is being touted as ‘remarkable’.

The reason has to do with the success of the very rich. In comparison to the modest improvement of the poorer neighborhoods, the affluent neighborhoods were hurt less by the housing collapse and have improved faster and more robustly.


http://www.globaldeflationnews.com/south-florida-housing-recovery-anemic-for-the-poor-just-fine-for-the-rich/

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