STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday September 30

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday September 30, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 112
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2807 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2532 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2823
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

U.S. FUTURES &
MARKETS INDICATORS>
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.
$1 USD = EUR 1.06678
$1 USD = JPY 116.6200

In recognition of those prescient of the Dow's precipitous return of Bush values (9/29/08): JuneBourder and AnneD

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 29, 2008

Dow... 10,365.45 -777.68 (-6.98%)
Nasdaq... 1,983.73 -199.61 (-9.14%)
S&P 500... 1,106.42 -106.85 (-8.81%)
Gold future... 894.40 +5.90 (+0.66%)
30-Year Bond 4.16% -0.20 (-4.50%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.63% -0.20 (-5.10%)






GOLD,EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [e-mail]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp

Common Sense and Courage
Lost American Virtues
BY TONY ALLISON

“Removing governmental power to manipulate money removes the temptation for government to spend, print and cheat. Sound money ensures that our government’s spending priorities would be brought into sharp focus and reduced to only what we can afford.

The Federal Reserve has lately been auctioning off large amounts of treasury bills as a way to finance the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and our crushing entitlement burden. The resulting devaluation of the dollar is quickly eroding our image as a good trading partner in the world. As a consequence, there is more talk of economic isolation and war.

The vicious cycle of spending, fighting and inflating is not what Americans want. Sound money curbs the government’s ability to engage in these shenanigans and reduces the wars we fight to only truly defensive ones, for which Americans are more than willing to stand and fight.” Congressman Ron Paul, August 30, 2008

Why does only one man out of 435 members of Congress and 100 Senators speak this way? Why is he a pariah and a “nut case” among his fellow political “leaders” and most of the public as well? Perhaps the severity of the upcoming financial crisis will force the public to re-examine the underlying common sense of Dr. Paul’s words.

As we have thoughtlessly mortgaged our future over the last 30 years, our leadership has consistently ignored the lessons of history. Our country has enjoyed a wonderful success story, but like so many other empires that rise and fall, it is not immune to hubris and over-confidence. Our founding fathers had common sense and the courage to make unpopular decisions, two elements missing in our leaders today. Unfortunately, common sense seems to be a dwindling virtue among the populace as well.

“No generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence” Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789

While an amusingly ironic quote, Mr. Greenspan doesn’t give deserved credit to the Federal Reserve for starting the inflation wheels turning in 1913. Throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century, the inflation rate in the United States was essentially zero. Admittedly, there were nasty bouts of inflation (particularly during the Civil War when the U.S. went off the gold standard), as well as periods of deflation. But in the aggregate, a dollar in 1929 could buy approximately the same amount of goods or services as in 1800. Money in those days was “as good as gold” since one could redeem the paper note for gold at a fixed rate at the local bank.

....

With a gold-backed dollar, the Federal Reserve would have been constrained from flooding the globe with excessive liquidity. Politicians will always seek self-preservation by the spending and channeling of money. The only way to control the money supply is to take that power out of politics with a self-correcting system. With a gold-backed dollar, GDP growth may have been slower since 1971 (when the US left the international gold standard), but it would have been sustainable. Debt would likely be much lower, as would inflation. People could have planned their lives with much more certainty than today. The growing mountain of overhanging debt is our “Sword of Damocles.” And unfortunately, the sword finally seems to be falling.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[Roland99]

8. Morning, ozy! Anyone notice this on the GOP platform site?

http://www.gop.com/2008Platform/Economy.htm

Homeownership remains key to creating an opportunity society. We support timely and carefully targeted aid to those hurt by the housing crisis so that affected individuals can have a chance to trade a burdensome mortgage for a manageable loan that reflects their home’s market value. At the same time, government action must not implicitly encourage anyone to borrow more than they can afford to repay. We support energetic federal investigation and, where appropriate, prosecution of criminal wrongdoing in the mortgage industry and investment sector. We do not support government bailouts of private institutions. Government interference in the markets exacerbates problems in the marketplace and causes the free market to take longer to correct itself. We believe in the free market as the best tool to sustained prosperity and opportunity for all. We encourage potential buyers to work in concert with the lending community to educate themselves about the responsibilities of purchasing a home, condo, or land.

[ozymandius]

11. I had not read that until you posted it.

So it seems those mavericky Republicans who voted against the bailout bill have a creed to back them up.

[Roland99]

29. Doesn't say much for ol' McCain, though, eh?

[ozymandius]

139. He's the only politician I've ever seen who so willingly spews detritus out both ends.

He's so full of shit.

:hi:

[snot]

15. actually, yup.

http://c-cyte.blogspot.com/2008/09/we-do-not-support-govt-bailouts-of.html

[Tansy_Gold]

31. It was on DU's front page, too, a few days ago.

I noticed it but didn't bookmark it or anything.

Besides, they're the party of pathological liars anyway. Is anyone surprised?


Not


Tansy Gold

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

09:45 Chicago PMI Sep
Briefing.com 53.0
Consensus 54.0
Prior 57.9

10:00 Consumer Confidence Sep
Briefing.com 55.0
Consensus 55.0
Prior 56.9

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[UpInArms]

40. Consumer confidence expected to take a hit

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_bi_ge/economy

NEW YORK - Americans' already battered confidence in the economy is expected to show a further erosion in a preliminary report by The Conference Board today.

Consumer spending in August turned in the weakest performance in six months, underscoring the threat the economy faces as the government's stimulus program fades into the past.

The Commerce Department reported Monday that consumer spending was unchanged in August, even worse than the small 0.2 percent gain economists had expected. It was the weakest showing since spending was also flat in February.

Personal incomes were up a better-than-expected 0.5 percent, a rebound after a 0.6 percent drop in July. After-tax incomes, which felt the impact of the stimulus program to a greater extent, dropped by 0.9 percent, however.

"Consumers are still earning some money but they have no interest in spending it," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa.

The new report showing weakness in consumer spending came as the House prepared to vote on a $700 billion bailout of the financial system. The compromise packaged, hashed out in marathon meetings by lawmakers over the weekend, would be the largest financial system rescue since the Great Depression. It is aimed at buying up soured mortgage-related assets from banks in the hope that would pry open credit markets, get lending flowing again and jump-start the economy.

The government pumped out the bulk of $92 billion in stimulus payments from late April through mid-July. Another $1 billion in payments were made in August but this was far below the monthly peak of $48.1 billion in payments made in May.

...more...

[UpInArms]

63. U.S. Sept. Chicago PMI 56.7% vs 57.9% in Aug.

05. U.S. Sept. Chicago PMI above 53.0% consensus
9:45 AM ET, Sep 30, 2008

06. U.S. Sept. Chicago PMI 56.7% vs 57.9% in Aug.
9:45 AM ET, Sep 30, 2008

[UpInArms]

64. U.S. Sept. consumer confidence 59.8 vs 58.5 in August

04. U.S. Sept. consumer confidence 59.8 vs 58.5 in August
10:00 AM ET, Sep 30, 2008

[54anickel]

73. What are we smokin? n/t

[Demeter]

98. Relief That the World Did Not End on Monday?

Not that I thought it would, anyway. The whole damn thing is over-blown, over-sold, and the solution is a fraud.

[54anickel]

107. I wouldn't think Monday would have come into play for the numbers yet. Maybe it was McCain's

"sound fundamentals" that lulled us into an, albeit, temporary stupor.

[54anickel]

111. Oh my, check out the video that surfaced on DU today - the fundamentals of our economy....Bwahaha

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x202545

[Roland99]

114. Oh, it needs to end with some quote of his that we're in a crisis.

That would be the ultimate in catching him in a flip-flop

[ozymandius]

3. Oil falls as traders weigh US bailout rejection

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell to $95 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after plummeting overnight as investors weighed the fallout from U.S. lawmakers' rejection of a proposed $700 billion bank bailout aimed at stabilizing the teetering U.S. economy.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down 81 cents to $95.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore.

Oil prices plunged $10.52 to settle at $96.36 Monday amid worries that the financial crisis would drag on global growth and demand for oil. That was the second-largest drop in dollar terms and the biggest percentage-wise since 2001.

In the last seven drays, crude has now fallen almost $25, or 20 percent.

...
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 0.54 cent to $2.755 a gallon, while gasoline prices rose 1.63 cents to $2.4133 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery fell 0.6 cents to $7.215 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[radfringe]

19. worries that the financial crisis would drag on global growth ...

heh...drag on global growth was made worse by oil prices

Money pumped into the housing market, when that bubble burst the money pumped into oil markets - now that the oil bubble has burst - what's the next bubble, where are they putting the money now? mattresses? coffee cans buried in the back yard?

[ozymandius]

22. Too bad Greenscam isn't around to create the coffee can bubble.

The mattress store near me has a special offer: no interest an no payments until 2010. If only Greenscam were here then those mattresses would be zooming out the door.

[radfringe]

27. If I had the money

I'd be looking at "green stocks" - US companies that are focused on alternative energy, energy conservation - especially if we have a President Obama. I think this area is ready to take off - how fast it does take off will depend on who's in the white house next year.

[girl gone mad]

28. The credit crunch may mean the end of bubbles, for now, but this may be the next..

big bubble to pop:

that brings us to another rather frightening scenario for the global financial system. So far all we've seen is the fallout from the collapse of the US property market. We are yet to witness the meltdown from the debt-fuelled US consumer boom and the huge credit-card debts that are attached to that.

But the private-equity boom from 2006 and 2007 is the real time bomb silently ticking away in the mind of every executive of a major bank. In those two years, inexperienced thirtysomethings with inflated egos and overblown salaries scoured the globe buying businesses about which they knew nothing, with borrowed money, at grossly inflated prices.

It was an unprecedented debt binge that drove global stockmarkets in those years, and the fallout has yet to impact on the banking system.

Figures compiled by Thomson Financial show that in the year to June 30 last year, private equity firms spent $US1.06 trillion snapping up businesses.

The idea was to gut them, load them up with debt and sell them into a booming stockmarket in 2009 and 2010 and repay the loans. That's never going to happen now.

http://business.smh.com.au/business/the-next-big-bang-is-private-equity-20080915-4h1g.html?page=2

[ozymandius]

4. Fannie, Freddie disclose subpoenas, investigations

WASHINGTON - Adding to their woes, mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing a federal grand jury investigation into their accounting practices.

The mortgage finance companies said Monday that a federal grand jury in New York is investigating accounting, disclosure and corporate governance issues at Washington-based Fannie and McLean, Va.-based Freddie.

Fannie and Freddie said they received subpoenas Friday from the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan as well as requests from the Securities and Exchange Commission that they preserve documents. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the government earlier this month as their mounting defaults and foreclosures threatened the entire mortgage market.

The government investigation focuses on activities starting in 2007, Freddie Mac said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_bi_ge/mortgage_giants_investigations

[Roland99]

5. Why *any* Bailout will be an EPIC FAIL!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4128501&mesg_id=4128501

[ozymandius]

10. I wholly agree with the spirit and substance of your screed.

The bailout will do nothing beyond offering a panacea that will quickly wear off. What about including rules that prohibit the irresponsible behavior at the root of this mess? Has anyone seen that provision in a rescue bill?

What happens when banks continue to fail into next year after the passage of this bill? Any thoughts from the sage bailout proponents in Congress?

Thank you for this Roland. I was happy to recommend it.

[Roland99]

12. Ah, thank you for the kind words.

And, yeah, when will the stuffing of dollars into the gaping wound eventually come to a stop?

[Warpy]

34. I've been trying to tell folks about that stuff

for over a year. Maybe we could form a tag team.

The infusion of cash will temporarily stabilize the balance sheets but it won't do much for the credit situation because lenders are gunshy. Talk about overreaction too late! In any case, there will be a credit bottleneck long after the banks are shored up even if they hock the Pentagon to give them every dime they lost on funny paper.

The enormous paper wealth that people have accumulated over the past 40 years is total fiction. As it evaporates into the thin air it always was, it's going to take corporations as well as individuals with it.

Nothing that ignores building a solid economy on a solid foundation will succeed, and that means from the bottom up. Trying to run an economy from the top down has never worked unless you think a social order of kings and serfs and nobody else is a dandy way to live.

And that, kids, is also why anything this Congress produces is doomed to failure. We'll have to hope for a Democratic Congress that's afraid of us for anything to succeed.

[Roland99]

44. How much work/time would it take to "unwind" the MBSs and separate the wheat from the chaff?

Wouldn't that, like, solve the bulk of the problem?

Seriously.

Isolate the bad stuff and toss it and then the bright, shiny mortgages are leftover.

Instant solvency and re-capitalization!

[Tansy_Gold]

62. GMTA

I've been saying the same thing!

:hi:

[DemReadingDU]

104. That's the underlying issue, the bad stuff

The bad stuff, along with the good stuff, has been sliced and diced and packaged and re-packaged. No one can separate the bad stuff anymore, because it is everywhere.

[Dr.Phool]

38. I read that when you posted yesterday. Didn't have time to comment.

But, you hit the nail precisely on the head.

Not only will this fuel inflation like we've never seen before, but just the interest on the national debt increase, will siphon off any money that could be used for any increased social spending to benefit the public.

And you can also kiss goodbye any money for education and infrastructure improvements. Increased inflation will force many SS recipients into bankruptcy, not to mention households just barely managing to keep their heads above water now.

Today's toon almost got it right. Instead of being skeptical of anything chimpolini says, Nancy and Harry are ruching out the door with their pop guns and pea shooters.

It's stoopid (election) season, and nothing should be done on this until after the recess, and hearings are held and sane legislation is passed.

I was also reading yesterday that our rabid Blue Dogs are holding up legislation that would actually help by changing the AMT, and funding alternative energy research, and green energy tax credits. Stinky Hoyer and Company want it all offset with spending cuts first. The same clowns who want to bankrupt the country with this bill.

As Krugman said recently. We've become a banana republic with nukes.

[Roland99]

45. Thanks, Dr. My fear is that they'll rush something just as horrid due to "election season"

(shamless plug alert)


But feel free to kick that one so more see it during the day. ;)

[Dr.Phool]

56. Will do.

Do you mind if I plaster it all over Capitol Hill in faxes over the next couple of days?

[Roland99]

58. Oh, have at it!!!

[54anickel]

76. Great post there Roland! I also agree with your sentiment further down about the

possibility/probability of this only being addressed thru the political/election lens....lots of pundits but few economists were getting a hearing on that first go around.

[Roland99]

103. Yeah...perish the thought of interviewing people who might, oh, I dunno...have a clue?!

[Birthmark]

96. I agree, too.

Thanks for writing down my similar ideas in a coherent fashion. I have bookmarked that thread and shall refer some folks to it.

Oh, and of course I've recommended it.

[Roland99]

102. :)

:hi:

[Roland99]

6. Stock futures WAY to the upside. Hello, Sucker Rally.

DJIA INDEX 10,689.00 +215.00 05:17
S&P 500 1,150.90 +32.10 05:17
NASDAQ 100 1,544.50 +32.50 05:16

[ozymandius]

18. Wall Street to Rally on Renewed Hope

Wall Street looked set to rally on Tuesday after having plunged the previous day, with investors still hoping Congress will find a way to approve a $700 billion bailout plan for banks which it rejected on Monday.

The Dow posted its biggest one-day fall ever the previous day, and Asian markets opened sharply lower, but stocks later pared back some of the losses. In Europe, stocks turned positive on bargain-hunting and on hopes of interest rate cuts.

Violent market reaction increased pressure on Washington to approve compromise bailout legislation and fuelled expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates on or before its next meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 29.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26953104

---

With all this faith in interest rate cuts based on hope, who needs legislation? I swear - the mind-numbing idiocy of some...

[ozymandius]

7. White House, lawmakers plan new bailout deal

WASHINGTON - Top congressional and White House officials, stunned when the House rejected a massive rescue plan for the nation's economy, scrambled to structure a new bailout proposal that would attract reluctant lawmakers and still soothe the unnerved financial markets.

....

With the House not scheduled to meet again until Thursday, congressional leaders and Bush administration officials promptly sought to assess what types of changes could win over enough votes to guarantee success. President Bush planned to make a statement on the rescue plan at 8:45 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

....

The bill's failure came despite furious personal lobbying by Bush and support from House leaders of both parties. But the legislation was highly unpopular with the public, ideological groups on the left and the right organized against it, and Bush no longer wielded the influence to leverage tough votes. Even pressure in favor of the bill from some of the biggest special interests in Washington, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Realtors, could not sway enough votes.

The legislation the administration promoted would have allowed the government to buy bad mortgages and other deficient assets held by troubled financial institutions. If successful, advocates of the plan believed it would help lift a major weight off the already sputtering national economy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown

[ozymandius]

16. In Bailout Vote, a Leadership Breakdown

WASHINGTON — The collapse of the proposed rescue plan for the teetering financial system was the product of a larger failure — of political leadership in Washington — at a moment when the world was looking to the United States to contain the cascading economic crisis.

From the White House to Congress to the presidential campaign trail, the principal players did not rally the votes they needed in the House. They appeared not to comprehend or address in a convincing way an intense strain of opposition to the deal among voters. They allowed partisan politics to flare at sensitive moments.

If there was any doubt that President Bush had been left politically impotent by his travails over the last few years and his lame-duck status, it was erased on Monday when, despite his personal pleas, more than two-thirds of the Republicans in the House abandoned the plan.

....

The leaders of both parties failed, many analysts agreed, in bringing the measure to the House floor without knowing whether it had the votes to pass — a bad move at any time, but especially so in this case given the risk of the markets and the badly weakened financial system reacting badly.

....

The episode underscored that Mr. Bush’s credibility and political clout, long gone among Democrats, is lacking among Republicans as well. “There is a fair number of people who believe we’re not staring into the abyss as has been represented,” Mr. Putnam said. “And some people do believe we are facing a market collapse and something needs to be done, but they would rather not be the ones who have to vote for it.”

Mr. Putnam, who lobbied colleagues opposed to the plan, said they were reporting that calls against the bailout were pouring in at the rate of several hundred to every one supporting it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/business/30assess.html?ref=politics

[Dr.Phool]

41. Keep up the pressure.

Call and fax not only your congressman, but everyone elses!

[54anickel]

99. Follow the money

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/follow_the_mone.html

snip>

But could there be a simpler explanation for the 228-205 defeat -- the power of money?

A nonpartisan watchdog group calculated that US House members who voted yes received 51 percent more in campaign contributions from the finance, insurance, and real estate sector in their congressional careers than those who opposed the emergency legislation.

The Center for Responsive Politics found that the gap was particularly noticeable among House Democrats. In this election cycle, Democrats backing the bailout proposal collected 78 percent more from the financial sector than those who opposed it, and 88 percent more over their careers.

The center says: "In dollar figures, the 140 Democrats who supported the bailout proposal have received $792,744 over their careers from the financial sector and $188,572 in this cycle, on average. The 95 Democrats who voted against the bill have received $420,686 over their careers and $105,878 in the 2007-08 election.

more...

[ozymandius]

140. Which is why I am a proponent of publicly funded elections.

[Demeter]

142. Add More Lipstick!

[Hissyspit]

9. Well, here's Michael Moore's reaction to yesterday, in case you missed it:

Via Email, by the way...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4129942&mesg_id=4129942ichael Moore:

Congratulations, Corporate Crime Fighters! Coup Averted For Three Days!

Friends,

Everyone said the bill would pass. The masters of the universe were already making celebratory dinner reservations at Manhattan's finest restaurants. Personal shoppers in Dallas and Atlanta were dispatched to do the early Christmas gifting. Mad Men of Chicago and Miami were popping corks and toasting each other long before the morning latte run.

But what they didn't know was that hundreds of thousands of Americans woke up yesterday morning and decided it was time for revolt. The politicians never saw it coming. Millions of phone calls and emails hit Congress so hard it was as if Marshall Dillon, Elliot Ness and Dog the Bounty Hunter had descended on D.C. to stop the looting and arrest the thieves.

The Corporate Crime of the Century was halted by a vote of 228 to 205. It was rare and historic; no one could remember a time when a bill supported by the president and the leadership of both parties went down in defeat. That just never happens.

- snip -

So the ball is in the Democrats' hands. The gun from Wall Street remains at their head. Before they make their next move, let me tell you what the media kept silent about while this bill was being debated:

1. The bailout bill had NO enforcement provisions for the so-called oversight group that was going to monitor Wall Street's spending of the $700 billion;

2. It had NO penalties, fines or imprisonment for any executive who might steal any of the people's money;

3. It did NOTHING to force banks and lenders to rewrite people's mortgages to avoid foreclosures -- this bill would not have stopped ONE foreclosure!;

4. It had NO teeth anywhere in the entire piece of legislation, using words like "suggested" when referring to the government being paid back for the bailout;

5. Over 200 economists wrote to Congress and said this bill might actually WORSEN the "financial crisis" and cause even MORE of a meltdown.

MORE AT LINK

[ozymandius]

13. Common sense reluctantly won this round.

It's good to see voices from a wide variety of astute critical thinkers speak up on this one. As in every piece of legislation: equal importance must be given to what is not said as that which is.

[Robbien]

32. The press focus is on the GOPer No vote

A hefty number of Dems voted against it for very different reasons than GOPers. However the Dem vote wasn't corporate friendly. Thus no press. So common sense might have won, but few will know.

[Roland99]

14. And from Ross Perot, fwiw

http://perotcharts.com/2008/09/emergency-financial-rescue-plan/

[DemReadingDU]

36. exactly, other alternatives

But do they really want to discuss them? I think they know the financial credit bubble is going to burst, no matter what they do, or don't do. I think they want to take our tax dollars to fill up the pockets of their wealthy cronies, before the bubble bursts..

[radfringe]

17. lol... that toon

sinks my version... had one on the same theme in my head, was going to sketch it up today...

GMTA? or am I being a bit bold in putting myself in that league?

ohhhh well, back to the drawing board

[ozymandius]

20. Keep on drawing, rad.

We need as many satirical voices as can be mustered. A local and known cartoonist trumps a syndicated one every time.

[radfringe]

21. thanks!

I have another one in my head, just need to flesh it out and get it down on paper.

[Gregorian]

94. Message is far more potent than technique.

I hang out on an art forum. The best cartoons are the ones that are funny, not the best drawn.

However, I've watched members go from stick figures, to developing their own style. But again, even stick figures can get across the greatest message.

Now if only I could draw at all. And I'm unwilling to even try. Shame on me. :)

[ozymandius]

23. How Your Tax Dollars Are Spent

See the slideshow.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/26941466

EDIT: to include this basic data

Military

The biggest chunk of your money -- 42.2 cents of every income-tax dollar -- goes to fund the military. Over half of it, or 28.7 cents, goes to pay for the current war and military, 10 cents goes to interest payments on past and present military debt and 3.5 cents is allocated for Veterans' benefits.

Health

The second largest amount is spent on health care initiatives, including Medicare.

...

and the smallest slice goes to:

International Affairs

The smallest amount of your tax dollars goes to foreign affairs, including foreign humanitarian assistance, conduct of foreign affairs and international financial programs.

[Festivito]

24. Debt: 09/26/2008 9,889,199,531,449.08 (UP 39,949,565,065.16) (&no bailout yet)

(Only 111B$ to go till we hit 10T$)(Going up fast and NOT EVEN INCLUDING THE BAILOUT YET!)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
5,714,473,881,064.87 + 4,174,725,650,384.21
(Public, I think now includes China and Brazil et. al.)

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

HISTORICAL:
01/19/1993 4,187,806,610,369.16
01/20/1993 4,188,092,107,183.60 BC Inaugural
01/21/1993 4,174,218,594,232.91
01/22/1993 4,175,229,095,992.95

01/19/2001 5,727,776,738,304.64
01/22/2001 5,728,195,796,181.57 GB Inaugural

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
Borrowed in 2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in 2008: 881,546,159,186.60 so far.

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3517275&mesg_id=3517304

[Festivito]

135. Debt: 09/29/2008 9,945,578,231,981.59 (UP 56,378,700,532.51) (not including the Fed)

(The Federal Reserve printed nearly 700B$ just as the vote on the 700B$ bill happened. Hmmmm. But that does not affect any of these numbers.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
5,774,962,168,083.97 + 4,170,616,063,897.62
(Public, I think now includes China and Brazil et. al.)

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

HISTORICAL:
President's term ends/begins: Jan 20
01/20/1993 4,188,092,107,183.60 BC Inaugural
01/22/2001 5,728,195,796,181.57 BC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
09/29/2008 9,945,578,231,981.59 ** (UP 4,217,382,435,800.02 so far)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years.)
Borrowed in 1993: (OLDER DATA IS MISSING)
Borrowed in 1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in 1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in 1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in 1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in 1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in 1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in 2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in 2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in 2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in 2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in 2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in 2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in 2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in 2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in 2008: 937,924,859,719.11 so far.

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.)

[tama]

145. Isn't

big part of this big money flowing from stocks to bonds?

Held by the public 5,714,473,881,064.87 -> 5,774,962,168,083.97 (up 60)

Intragovernemental 4,174,725,650,384.21 -> 4,170,616,063,897.62 (down 4)

[Festivito]

146. The debts are loan papers. neither stocks nor bonds.

More like a bond than a stock. A set interest is given for a set period of time.

Day to day things can fluctuate without much meaning. However, this recent rise in the Public Debt is unmistakably large.

Perhaps at the beginning of the month the Intragovernmental did go down because the SS checks are ready to go out. Perhaps some old issues were cashed and fewer new ones were purchased in order to cover the SS checking account.

Hope that was helpful.

[ozymandius]

25. Have a nice day everyone.

I'll get back after the bell.

:hi:

[Roland99]

30. We'll (try to) leave the light on for ya.

But with cutbacks and all...well...you know the drill. Bring a candle just in case.

[Maeve]

33. And yourself, as well

A little perspective about the markets...in 1929, the market lost 13% on Black Monday and 12% the following day. At the bottom, it had lost 89% from the peak. Likewise, in 1987, it dropped 22.6% in one day. This is closer to the drop after 9/11 (7.1% in a day, 14.3% in a week). Okay, I expect more losses for a while and a wave of regulation in the Obama administration that will help right the ship of finance. Patience. As I've said many times, if you're in the stock market, buy Tums.

We've been expecting a bubble burst and those things are messy.

[ozymandius]

138. Sage, as always.

Veteran SMW participants have anticipated this messy result after years of Greenscamnomics. Your advice to buy Tums is the only advice I would ever endorse here.

[radfringe]

26. Fed Pumps Further $630 Billion Into Financial System (update 3)

Fed Pumps Further $630 Billion Into Financial System (update 3)
Source: Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahwz_k5JvuB8&refer=home

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve will pump an additional $630 billion into the global financial system, flooding banks with cash to alleviate the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression.

The Fed increased its existing currency swaps with foreign central banks by $330 billion to $620 billion to make more dollars available worldwide. The Term Auction Facility, the Fed's emergency loan program, will expand by $300 billion to $450 billion. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are among the participating authorities.

The Fed's expansion of liquidity, the biggest since credit markets seized up last year, came hours before the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry. The crisis is reverberating through the global economy, causing stocks to plunge and forcing European governments to rescue four banks over the past two days alone.

[mrdmk]

35. Right now we need a picture of Bernanke cranking out dollars from

a wheel of old boots.

[apnu]

46. Does this mean the 700 Billion bailout is now dead?

That Congress can go home now?

[54anickel]

105. And what was the result of that huge infusion of $$$? I mean, it's close to the $700 Billion they

wanted to take out of our hides the other day. So what if it had passed and that $630 Billion came out of our pockets instead of the privately owned Federal Reserve Bank? The credit markets are still pretty well frozen...so what would be different, other than whose pocket it came from?

If it's not the money that will alleviate us from the credit crisis, as proven with this latest injection, then what else is there? Only thing I can think of was the free rein given to the Treasury and I don't see THAT being slipped by the economist watchdogs anymore. For now, the coup failed. Don't think for one minute they'll just give up - and I'm sure they've got a couple alternate plans.

I remember posting about high level meetings between Treasury, Fed and Wall Street, especially the bond markets, shortly after Paulson took the reins. In the weeks that followed I tried to track that article down to no avail. I do remember the meetings were about "selling" a new paradigm to those with no comprehension of how the markets really work. My guess is the carte-blanche given to Treasury was part of that sale.

[UpInArms]

37. dollar chart

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 78.188 Change +0.468 (+0.60%)

Dow Jones Falls More Than 700 Points Intraday After U.S. House Rejects Bailout Plan, Japanese Yen Rises

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/US_Treasury_Bailout_Fails_to_1222709268678.html

Equity markets around the world dropped the most since 1987 on speculation the U.S. Treasury will fail to restore investor’s confidence in the global banking system. Gains in the Japanese yen and losses in the stock market accelerated after the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a $700 billion plan to rescue the financial system. The lack of liquidity has also affected the currency market in the form of adverse interest rate rolls. Indeed, banks’ unwillingness to lend to each other has led to a spike in overnight borrowing rates which in turn has led to tight or even negative interest rate rolls for many currency pairs at the interbank level.
What's Next for the Forex Trader?

Increased financial market indecision makes it difficult to predict what may happen next, and sharp gains in volatility expectations reflect that uncertainty. After falling sharply through the past week of trade, implied volatilities on EURUSD 1-week forex options have once again jumped through recent developments—surging to all-time highs.



Such a jump likewise coincides with a similar return to risk aversion and a rally in the low-yielding Japanese Yen. If we see similar deterioration through near-term trading, we could easily see Japanese Yen continue to rally through the near term.



Clear money market difficulties have led the US Federal Reserve to increase liquidity provided to open markets, extending up to a staggering $225 billion in 84-day credit to ease end-of-quarter funding constraints. Such actions reflects the Fed’s belief that money market conditions continue strained despite its great efforts to relieve them, and it seems that central bankers are almost willing to take matters into their own hands if the US Treasury’s bailout does not come to fruition. This likewise comes on the heels of an announcement that the US Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia will provide liquidity “as needed” to facilitate Citigroup’s acquisition of the bulk of Wachovia’s assets.

...more...

Bailout Vote Fails To Pass, Equities, Dollar, Rates Plummet

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/market_alerts/fundamental_alert/Bailout_Vote_Fails_To_Pass__1222710573842.html

Preliminary talking points on the bailout plan (not to mention the confidence of the US president and senate party leaders) proved to be optimistic. Put up to a vote at the House of Representatives, the bill was soundly defeated. In response, the S&P 500 dropped 7.2 percent (though it rebonded a few percentage points within a matter of seconds on short covering) for the worst one-day decline since 1987. The MSCI World Market Index saw its biggest drop on record - 5.6 percent. Elsewhere, the dollar saw a near instantaenous 115 point drop against the euro, 100 points against the Japanese yen, 100 points against the franc, 150 points against the Canadian dollar. Commodities felt the shockwave as well. Gold is up $25, crude found the floor drop out underneath it by collapsing $10 and gas went limit down.

These massive moves are starting to be retraced, but after the short covering, the market will still be left with a very disappointing outlook for financial conditions and growth forecasts.



...more...

[UpInArms]

39. Money markets stay locked; o/n rate soars

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/bs_nm/us_markets_interbank

LONDON (Reuters) - The cost of borrowing overnight dollars on global money markets soared on Tuesday despite central banks pumping billions into the banking system to prevent it seizing up further after U.S. lawmakers' rejection of a financial rescue bill panicked markets.

The European Central Bank lent $30 billion dollars to banks overnight at a huge rate of 11 percent, reflecting banks' scramble for dollars to get them over the quarter end and after U.S. lawmakers rejected a $700 billion financial rescue package.

That's more than five times the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target rate and more than double the cost of borrowing dollars for three months as indicated by Monday's London interbank offered rate (Libor) fixing.

After the U.S. House of Representatives late on Monday rejected the $700 billion rescue package and sent Wall Street shares plunging, fears of further meltdown in Europe grew.

But in part buoyed by the Irish government's decision to guarantee all bank deposits and speculation central banks could cut interest rates in concert soon, the collapse of European equities failed to materialize.

Stocks erased initial losses to trade largely flat on the day.

"Money markets are more of a problem than stock markets. Perceived counterparty credit risk ... probably won't go away for a while," said Everett Brown, strategist at IDEAGlobal.

...more...

[UpInArms]

42. And Now A Note from the Crazies: The Fed Needs To Cut Interest Rates To Zero

http://www.247wallst.com/2008/09/the-fed-needs-t.html

Up until recently, the Fed had a good reason not to cut interest rates. Inflation might catch hold of the economy and undercut the purchasing power of individuals and corporations alike.

Inflation does not look like much of a leviathan any more. Oil has dropped from $147 to $94 in a very brief time. Agricultural commodity prices are dropping almost as fast. The money that the Fed has pushed through its emergency lending window, now well into the hundreds of billion of dollars, has done nothing beyond strengthen bank reserves. Not a trace of it has shown up in the lending markets.

The prevailing wisdom is that Congress will eventually come up with a bailout package for financial institutions and mortgage-holders. That was the prevailing wisdom yesterday and it turned out badly. Counting on a legislature where every representative is up for re-election is worse than betting on a game of Three-card Monte on a New York City street corner. It is all risk and no reward.

The largest single advantage that the Fed has in a financial crisis is that it can act alone. It operates without permission and only the most modest regulation.

Cutting rates to zero will certainly not cost the government and taxpayers $700 billion. It might well free up some of the credit which is currently frozen in place. It would certainly tranquilize some of the market's hysteria. It would leave the impression that there is some will to power left in the institutions put in place to keep the financial world orderly.

Purists would argue that it is not the Fed's job to exercise broad powers. It should have as its sole focus issues of inflation and deflation. It should never be an activist agency. That is the province of the portion of government run by elected officials.Precedent would argue in that direction.

...more...

[AnneD]

43. Morning Marketeers.....

:donut: and lurkers.

I was poolside yesterday evening, enjoying a well deserved Mango Mojito. I was drifting into that peaceful state between consciousness and dream state. It was my favorite dream-the one where I am surfing and hanging 12. The sun was warmly shining, the air was crisp and salty and the spray was stinging my skin. The wave was starting to curl when suddenly Jimmy the Greek was standing beside me. What in the hell are you doing here I asked. I don't like how you talked about me he said, perturbed. What, that thing about me calling you a whore? Yeah, that. I gave ya the best info I could...How waz I to know that some of des Congressman would finally listen to the people, he said as he took a couple of puffs off his cigar stump. Besides, he opined, I know some whores and they are all hard working career girls, he said indignantly. OK, I said, I'll grant you that, and I did say you were entertaining, I just thought you were toying with me. Jimmy smiled and said No hard feeling kid, but I would watch what I call folks-at least I don't surf naked, he said, laughing. I got another tip for ya. The fix is in for the election. I started to lose my balance on the board-I started fighting for control. You mean the Presidential election?. Yah, he hollered as the wave got louder. It will be the luck of the Irish, Oh shit, I screamed, John McCain, my body wobbled....He yelled as he began to fade Don't forget Barack O'Bama-and like the Cheshire Cat-he faded away. Thanks for nothing I screamed as I plunged into the water.

And then I woke up.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Doctor_J]

47. Pre-opening pie-hole noise

I wonder how much caffeine it took to get * in front of the cameras at 8:30 AM. Luckily Big Media are the only ones who listen to him any more

[not fooled]

90. Caffeine??

You are too kind. Methinks something stronger ;-)

[Hugin]

48. ~09:45 EDT: Up 200+ on the Dow.

Dow 10,593.88 +228.43 (2.20%)
Nasdaq 2,032.11 +48.38 (2.44%)
S&P 500 1,136.14 +29.75 (2.69%)

10y bond 3.64% +0.01 (0.28%)

:eyes:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

49. Just kidding about the threat yesterday.

+250

[Hugin]

51. Emergency? Did we say there was an emergency?

I just said it was sort of importantish. Maybe of interest.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

53. Indeed.

I swear it wasn't loaded, officer.

[DemReadingDU]

50. Stocks up 222

so where's that urgency to pass the bailout bill?

:sarcasm:

[Hugin]

52. It's a crisis, lemme tell ya!

:tearingouthair:

:stomping:

[blueclown]

57. The DOW is not the be-all-end-all indicator of the health of the markets.

We can't be lulled into a false sense of complacency based on some good opening numbers from the Dow.

[DemReadingDU]

61. The Ted Spread measures FEAR, currently 3.43

Ted Spread
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=.TEDSP:IND


background info
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3491922&mesg_id=3492004


edit: Yeh, we know the DOW is not the be-all indicator. The DOW is not any kind of true economic indicator. That's why we usually put the 'sarcastic' indicator in our postings.

and Welcome! :hi:

[blueclown]

65. Thank you!

The TED spread right now is very scary.

And I agree with you, the media has given the DOW far too much important in this crisis.

[nolabels]

67. Bargain shoppers always bump it up after a big sell off

It only straight-lines when every everybody else has flat-lined

[Demeter]

100. Perhaps Not, But It Sure Puts the Urgency To a Lie

[mbperrin]

141. How about even better closing numbers? Up nearly 500.

I mean, if a drop is a reason to panic, why isn't a rise a reason to relax?

None of their assertions of a crisis make sense. The dollar strengthened, the market rallied, interest rates rose, indicating credit activity is taking place.

They're just mad cause their $700 billion pickpocket scheme didn't go over. Congress can go home now.

[Renew Deal]

60. We're Screwn

:rofl:

[muleboy303]

54. Presidential Daily Briefing 6 August 2008

titled:

CREDIT DERIVATIVES DETERMINED TO STRIKE IN U.S.

[Theres-a]

55. Heh. Good one. nt

[muleboy303]

59. thankya ... i wish i could PhotoShop

and i'd be ever so grateful if someone would photoshop it
or cartoon it.

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

79. Here you go

I don't know if this was exactly what you were looking for, but here it is any way.

[muleboy303]

89. EXCELLENT

tyvm !!!

[not fooled]

91. Sound

"Well, now you've covered your ass, so you can go home"

(what the chimptard is rumored to have said to a CIA agent who tried to impress upon him the urgency of the warnings pre-9/11)

[MadinMo]

66. Pool winner.....?

We had a (2?) pool winner yesterday didn't we? Or wlll today negate that?

[Hugin]

68. Nope. They won and it's permanent...

due to the Markets closing at or below the Great Reset value.

Now, we're feverishly working on another pool. Any suggestions?

[DemReadingDU]

80. We could have a pool for the lowest point in Bush's terms

just one suggestion
7286.27 on 10/9/02

[Hugin]

83. Yes, you had mentioned that earlier.

or I have heard a 'how low will it go' idea floated, too.

The how low idea might work because it's open ended.

So, to enter one would give a number... Say, 9000 or maybe a date for when they think the low from
this current round will happen. Like, 11/5/08.

There's a couple of ways we could do it.

[AnneD]

108. You could do that....

Set it to a number like below 10000 (or 9500) before chimp leaves office (at the end of the bell). Set a lockout number say 10200 (or 9700). But if it is anything like this last pool the see saw will seem endless. You can keep playing it to new goals as they emerge. Or just have folks have a how low can it go by the time he leaves office and set the cut off a 3 days before he leaves office. Closest wins. That pool wouldn't get going until 2 weeks before the end of term.

[MadinMo]

86. How about -- How Low Will it Go?

I've seen some alarmists say it could drop 3000 points in the near future.....

Ooops sorry I see now that you already mentioned How Low Will it Go.....

[Hugin]

88. Either one would be good.

Except we need a target value to work the pool as a whole around.

Like "When will the market hit, 10,000".

[Roland99]

92. Hey, that was my idea from yesterday!

:)

[Demeter]

101. We Could Go For The NEXT Time It Crosses the Start Line Wrong-Way

or the date at which it never returns above the starting point.

[Hugin]

110. It's already passed the Great Reset point.

Maybe, when it gets back to the 11,000 PISL?

[antigop]

69. Krugman: People I agree with, part 1

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/people-i-agree-with-part-one/

Hussman then explains why the Paulson plan as originally sold didn’t provide any real answer to the problem:

The Treasury plan seeks to buy up those questionable assets and thereby protect the institution against failure. Problem is, suppose the Treasury buys those questionable assets at their going value of $2. Here’s the result:

Good Assets: $95
Cash Proceeds from Sale of Questionable Assets to Treasury: $2
TOTAL ASSETS: $97

Liabilities to Customers: $80
Debt to Bondholders: $17
Shareholder Equity: $0
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDER EQUITY: $97

Does this transaction protect the institution against failure? No! If you buy the bad assets off the balance sheet at their market value, nothing changes on the liability side!

[antigop]

72. Krugman: People I agree with, part two

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/people-i-agree-with-part-two/

Jamie Galbraith, pre-House-debacle, offers a jaundiced pro-Dodd-Frank argument essentially the same as mine:

In short, as I said at the beginning, the bill is a vast improvement over the original Treasury proposal. Given the choice between approving or defeating the bill as it stands, I would urge supporting the bill. I do so without illusions. There need be no pretense that it will solve our underlying financial and economic problems. It will not. The purpose, in my view, is to get the financial system and the economy through the year, and into the hands of the next administration. That is a limited purpose, but a legitimate purpose. And it may be the most that can be accomplished for the time being.

He also talks about what should be in a rescue package, emphasizing recapitalization through purchase of preferred shares. Again, I agree.

[antigop]

78. Link to Galbraith article that Krugman references

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=how_much_will_it_cost_and_will_it_come_soon_enough

There is no question that the current bailout bill represents an enormous improvement over the original Treasury proposal. Unlike the original proposal, this bill protects the public interest with requirements for disclosure and audit, for reporting to Congress both on procedures and results, and with protections against arbitrage, conflict of interest, and fraud, with provisions requiring the secretary of the treasury to try to minimize foreclosures, to acquire warrants, and with limitations on executive compensation, especially golden parachutes.

In several respects, the language could still be improved. For instance, the "unjust enrichment" provision limiting the price Treasury pays for any troubled asset to the price at which it was acquired has two potential problems. First, it might be construed as permitting Treasury to pay up to the original purchase price of a security, in which case an investor who stocked up on bad securities would pay no price for foolish or mistaken investment choices. Second and more important, it could be construed as permitting an eligible entity to buy up mortgage-backed securities from other entities and to pass them along to the Treasury with neither profit nor loss.

The problem here is, in turn, two-fold: it would appear to permit the Treasury to buy assets indirectly, in effect, from any entity in the world, so long as an eligible entity acted as a middleman. To put it mildly, it may not be the intent of Congress to extend the provisions of this bill to foreign investors, hedge funds and banks, but there appears to be no obstacle to that in the language. And, it would appear to allow other eligible entities to circumvent other provisions, such as the golden parachute restrictions, simply by lining up behind a middleman rather than participating directly in the program. There is an easy fix. Requiring the maximum price paid by the Treasury to be below the documented purchase price by a suitable discount would tend to resolve both of these major issues.

[Roland99]

77. Why are none of these economists talking about separating out the packaged securities?

Isolate the bad loans and toss them aside and leave the good ones behind.

[UpInArms]

136. there are no "good" loans - this is about CDOs and derivatives

www.suburbanhousehunters.com/about/mortgage-crisis/

[antigop]

70. Krugman: Where will the money come from?

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/where-will-the-money-come-from/

In the end, the US government will rescue the financial system — not today or tomorrow, maybe not Thursday, but soon, and for the rest of our lives, or anyway until the next crisis.

But, people ask me, where will we get the money? Won’t we have to borrow it from the Chinese?

Actually, no.

Ten years days ago, I explained that the Paulson plan would actually move money in a circle. No outside financing would be needed.

What if we turn to a different and better plan, one that recapitalizes the financial system. Won’t that need outside funds? No.

[antigop]

71. Krugman: Overfed? (Fed's balance sheet)

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/overfed/

Until this past year, the Fed’s balance sheet was simple and clean: basically, it held Treasury bills, and its only liabilities worth mentioning were the money supply (strictly speaking, the monetary base.) And there was next to no risk. Now the Fed holds a vast array of “liquidity tools” — loans under the various emergency programs, the TAF, the TSLF, and all that; and it’s taken on quite a lot of risk.

All this is independent of the Paulson plan and all that.

[Hugin]

74. ~10:45 EDT: Up... It's feeling better. May even go for a walk.

Dow 10,638.00 +272.55 (2.63%)
Nasdaq 2,039.69 +55.96 (2.82%)
S&P 500 1,144.34 +37.95 (3.43%)

10y bond 3.70% +0.07 (1.93%)

"The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead.
-a man puts a body on the cart-
Large Man with Dead Body: Here's one.
The Dead Collector: That'll be ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead.
The Dead Collector: What?
Large Man with Dead Body: Nothing. There's your ninepence.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead.
The Dead Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead.
Large Man with Dead Body: Yes he is.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not.
The Dead Collector: He isn't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm getting better.
Large Man with Dead Body: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment.
The Dead Collector: Well, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I don't want to go on the cart.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, don't be such a baby.
The Dead Collector: I can't take him.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel fine.
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, do me a favor.
The Dead Collector: I can't.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long.
The Dead Collector: I promised I'd be at the Robinsons'. They've lost nine today.
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, when's your next round?
The Dead Collector: Thursday.
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I think I'll go for a walk.
Large Man with Dead Body: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do?
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel happy. I feel happy.
-the Dead Collector glances up and down the street furtively, then silences the Body with his a whack of his club-
Large Man with Dead Body: Ah, thank you very much.
The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday.
Large Man with Dead Body: Right.
"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/quotes

[Roland99]

75. 10:48am - We're Gonna Fly Now!

Dow 10,665.64 +300.19
Nasdaq 2,049.08 +65.35
S&P 500 1,145.14 +38.72
10-year 3.71% +0.08
Oil $96.37 -$10.52
Gold $890.00 -$4.40

[apnu]

81. Help me out, why the sudden confidence?

Is this related to the 630 Billion the Fed (by way of Bush) is pumping in?

[Roland99]

84. Seriously doubt it. More like the whiners are waking up and realizing they were....whiners.

Plus some bargain buyers. Consumer confidence up. And hope a bailout bill will emerge Thursday.

[Hugin]

85. I suspect you're correct.

That $630 Billion is probably the core of this current rally.

But, these are so-called 'Bear Market Rallies' we've been seeing lately and the rise doesn't typically last.

The Market Indexes seem to be trying to find a new support level.

[Renew Deal]

82. Gold down $23 so far today.

There was some guy on CNBC last night around 10:45 EDT saying that Gold is a good buy and it always goes up. It's safe. I feel sorry for those that listened.

[Dr.Phool]

87. It's still up over $40 the last two weeks.

And about 90 the last 3.

[antigop]

93. 10 years ago, Molly Ivins said.... (Molly was right)

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/bookman/entries/2008/09/23/ive_been_watching_henry_paulso.html

Watch the House pass a bad bill. Watch the Senate make it worse. Watch the banking industry dig its own grave. Watch supposedly smart people set up a financial disaster. Can we see President Clinton veto this mess? Veto, Clinton, veto.

Not since Congress passed the Garn-St. Germain bill in 1981 - the one that deregulated the S&Ls and unleashed a half-a-trillion-dollar disaster, which the taxpayers of this country wound up paying for - has there been a move to match this for pure folly.

In May, the House passed (by one vote) a bill to eliminate barriers between banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies. This sets up financial holding companies that can offer all three types of services simultaneously. The most obvious risk is that a blunder in the insurance or brokerage end of the business could bring down a bank, putting insured deposits at risk. The taxpayers, of course, then wind up with the tab, as we did with the savings-and-loan mess.

The bill contains some requirements to mitigate this risk; each branch of a financial holding company will have to maintain a separate cushion against losses, which cannot be used to shore up the other branches. Although this provision somewhat lessens the risk, it does not eliminate it.

The purpose of this bill, long sought by the financial industry, is to legalize such mergers as the proposed Citicorp-Travelers Insurance mega-merger. Many experts believe the effect will be the emergence of nine or ten enormous institutions after the consolidation of hundreds of insurance companies, banks and brokerage firms.

Clinton didn't veto.

[antigop]

95. Molly and Dingell had it right

http://www.texasobserver.org/blog/index.php/2008/09/29/molly-and-dingell-had-it-right/

Almost a year after that column, as the bill went to a vote in the House, U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-Michigan, and now chairman of the Commerce Committee) stood before the House to warn that the act would create “a group of institutions which are too big to fail.

“Not only are they going to be big banks, they are going to be big everything, because the are going to be in securities and insurance, in issuance of stocks and bonds and underwriting, and they are also going to be in banks . . . Taxpayers are going to be called upon to cure the failures we are creating tonight, and it is going to cost a lot of money, and it is coming. Just be prepared for those events.”

Nine days later, on November 12, 1999, President Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act into law. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), co-sponsor of the act, was there to claim credit.

“The world changes,” he said, “and Congress and the laws have to change with it. We have learned that government in not the answer. We have learned that we promote economic growth and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.”

He added, “I believe that this is the wave of the future, and I am awfully proud to have been part of making it a reality.”

[Doctor_J]

112. What a great Obama campaign quote from Gramm

"We have learned that government in not the answer. We have learned that we promote economic growth and we promote stability by having competition and freedom.”

He added, “I believe that this is the wave of the future, and I am awfully proud to have been part of making it a reality.”

Send it to Obama campaign!

[Hugin]

113. That's exactly what I thought when I read that passage.

GMTA!

:highfive:

:)

[amandabeech]

131. And neither will Obama.

Obama has so many economic advisers who worked in the Clinton Treasury and other economic posts, or who are proteges thereof, that you can be sure that Obama will pretty much act like Clinton.

Clinton and his team did a lot of long-lasting economic damage to this country that was then covered by the dot.com bubble that broke on the Shrub's watch not Clinton's.

Like Clinton, Obama seems to have little economic experience or any overriding economic philosophy.

Like Clinton, Obama will probably defer to extremely articulate, experienced individuals who can only think in terms of Wall Street and laissez-faire economics and trade regulation.

Economics was the main reason that I supported Edwards, who seemed to think at least occasionally about the little guy as a philosophical and personal commitment.

Right now, Edwards looks good to me despite his marital issues. He might actually consult someone besides Bob Rubin for advice on this mess.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

97. These People are Friggin' Insane.

Energy is where the real gamblin' junkies hang.

PETROLEUM ($/bbl)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Crude Future 98.21 1.84 1.91 11:54
Dated Brent Spot 94.53 3.36 3.69 12:23
WTI Cushing Spot 98.88 2.51 2.60 12:15


PETROLEUM (¢/gal)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future 282.10 6.06 2.20 11:47
Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future 242.70 3.00 1.25 11:53


NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future 7.36 .14 1.90 11:54
Henry Hub Spot 7.10 -.29 -3.92 09/29
New York City Gate Spot 7.41 -.14 -1.85 09/29


ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)
PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot 61.17 -.43 -.70 09/29
Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot 57.31 2.90 5.33 09/29
Bloomberg, firm on-peak, day ahead spot/West Coast 64.28 1.02 1.61 09/29

[antigop]

106. Remember this? Mar. 29: Treasury Secretary to call for sweeping regulation overhaul

March 29,2008

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/treasury-secretary-call-sweeping-regulation/story.aspx?guid={380D1A01-0239-4E0B-9613-77E3EF86AB37}

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is calling for extensive, wide-ranging reforms to the way the government regulates financial markets, including proposals to give the Federal Reserve more power and create new bodies to monitor mortgages and other transactions.
..
One agency, the Fed, would oversee market stability. The second would be a prudential regulator of banks, and the third would oversee business conducted by financial firms.
The plan also calls for beefing up the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, an interagency body founded in the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash. The plan's summary said the group's "focus should be broadened to include the entire financial sector, rather than solely financial markets."

[54anickel]

115. And the related article - Treasury regulatory blueprint hobbled from the start

March 29, 2008

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/treasury-regulatory-blueprint-hobbled-start/story.aspx?guid=%7B7E336DEC%2D4902%2D446E%2D9C03%2D802AAB332528%7D

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Treasury Department's regulatory blueprint to overhaul how Washington oversees financial markets might look powerful and impressive on the surface, but experts said Saturday the plan is hamstrung by a lack of focus on the underlying problems of the current crisis

"These proposals address regulatory problems that may be generally necessary, but none of the suggestions provide ways of dealing with the crisis and economic roots of the crisis," said Joseph Mason, a finance professor at Drexel University.

Debate on the plan is likely to be protracted.

"I think it will take more than five years," said Burt Ely, a banking law expert.

One weakness in the blueprint is the bifurcated nature of its focus. The overhaul plan was started in March 2007 as a response to wailing and gnashing of teeth on Wall Street that foreign financial markets were gaining a competitive advantage over the U.S. as foreign markets were unimpeded by Washington-style "Nervous Nelly" regulators.
These firms wanted less regulation, not more. But this purpose was hijacked by the events of late last summer, when it was discovered that the books of banks and investment firms were chock-full of almost worthless securities.

But the anti-regulation origin of the plan lingers. As a result, the department is calling for a streamlining of federal agencies and other ideas that were shot full of holes by powerful interest groups when they first were proposed.

"The status quo has very powerful supportive constituencies. They have been sitting quietly on the sidelines, but once the crisis fades they will start to assert themselves," said Ely.

snip>

What's missing

Experts said that what's not in the report may be more important than what's in it.

Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said the blueprint did not seem to have much teeth to force change. It was also unclear how much investment firms were going to have to disclose.

Mason and Ely agreed that the plan should have addressed head-on the issue of mortgage-backed securities.

"The underlying cause was securitization and firms operating in highly-leveraged fashion," Ely said. "Nowhere is the underlying cause of the crisis touched on. ... You are not going to prevent crisis by moving boxes around."

[Hugin]

109. ~13:45 EDT: Wolf? (Up more than 300)

Dow 10,700.05 +334.60 (3.23%)
Nasdaq 2,059.59 +75.86 (3.82%)
S&P 500 1,151.05 +44.66 (4.04%)

10y bond 3.78% +0.15 (4.13%)

Yup, it's all the media's fault. (Those millions of letters from taxpayers didn't mean a thing. :eyes: )

[Hugin]

116. ~15:00 EDT: Up still more... (approx 380 on the Dow)

Dow 10,737.32 +371.87 (3.59%)
Nasdaq 2,070.79 +87.06 (4.39%)
S&P 500 1,156.25 +49.86 (4.51%)

10y bond 3.81% +0.19 (5.25%)

[Roland99]

119. +410....+392....last half hour.

[54anickel]

117. With bailout plan, a first glimpse at candidates' management styles

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/29/america/candidates.php?pass=true

It was classic John McCain and classic Barack Obama who grappled with the $700 billion bailout plan over the past week: McCain was by turns action-oriented and impulsive as he dive-bombed targets, while Obama was measured and cerebral and inclined to work the phones behind the scenes.

McCain, who came of age in a chain-of-command culture, showed once again that he believes that individual leaders can play a catalytic role and should use the bully pulpit to push politicians. Obama, who came of age as a community organizer, showed once again that he believes several minds are better than one, and that, for all his oratorical skill, he is wary of too much showmanship.

snip>

Aides and political allies to both candidates agreed Sunday that perhaps no episode thus far in the campaign better demonstrated how they would approach managing problems as president. Their instincts, temperaments, and leadership traits were in the spotlight in Washington - as were their limitations and foibles - characteristics that also showed through stylistically in the debate Friday night.

snip>

"By halting his campaign, he magnified just how important this bailout was to the nation, and showed that he would approach a crisis by locking everyone in a room and keeping them there until they had a solution," said Anthony Carbonetti, a Republican political adviser to former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York.

"With Obama, you saw a kind of laissez-faire attitude - 'you guys know it's important, deal with it,"' Carbonetti added.

Many Democrats, even some who have been critical of Obama in the past, said they were impressed with his performance over the past week, while describing McCain as having substituted theatrics for leadership.

Obama consulted with Bush administration officials and congressional Democrats, emphasized his priorities for the bailout, and told both sides that he was willing to do whatever would be most helpful to reach a bipartisan bailout agreement.

"Obama's approach to this has been very Obama - measured, cool, and thoughtful, which I hope is what the country wants more than theatrical anger," said Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who had supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's bid for the presidential candidacy.

more...

[Roland99]

118. (Hedge Fund) Year-end redemption requests loom over industry

Year-end redemption requests loom over industry
Fourth-quarter disruptions seen as managers sell positions to raise cash
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/year-end-redemption-requests-loom-over/story.aspx?guid=%7BC1F1DF32%2D7B00%2D4C8B%2DBA30%2D82A37D243614%7D

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The $2 trillion hedge fund industry is bracing for a wave of investor redemptions after recent losses, investors and analysts said Monday.

Many hedge fund investors can withdraw money on Dec. 31. Some funds require that redemption requests be submitted 90 days ahead of time. That means requests have to be in by Tuesday. Other funds require 45 days notice, so there may be another round of withdrawal requests toward the middle of November.

Some managers have already been selling positions to raise cash to return money to investors. However, if redemption requests come in higher than expected, there could be another wave of selling and market disruption during the fourth quarter.

...

The industry is on course for its worst year of performance in at least a decade. If hedge fund returns recover, investors may become more patient and cancel some of their redemption requests before Dec. 31. But if losses continue, redemptions may be higher than expected.

[54anickel]

121. Oh my, it appears there are ticking time-bombs throughout the system. This crisis has been sitting

on Dimson's desk since when? At least March of this year....

Inside The Paulson Plan

http://www.forbes.com/2008/03/29/paulson-finance-reform-biz-wallst-cx_lm_0329paulson.html

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's proposed sweep of financial regulation would emphasize more control at the federal level, at the expense of state oversight, and consolidate an alphabet soup of existing agencies.

It is an idea that has been kicking around for a while, and one that is bound to provoke heated debate on Capitol Hill and among the various banking and market oversight agencies, which are already tripping over each others' turf. It is also bound to please some circles of Wall Street because the plan, while strengthening the Federal Reserve's role over certain aspects of the markets, like risk taking, would also emphasize greater self-regulation over other aspects, including business conduct.

Paulson's plan is a recognition that Wall Street has pushed beyond regulators' abilities to keep up with innovation. Asset securitization and other structured finance activities, where the credit crisis was created, didn't exist at the time the federal banking agencies were established decades ago. And since the repeal of Depression-era laws separating risky brokerage activities from consumer deposit safeguarding, Wall Street and major commercial banks have increasingly been competing in trading, stock and bond underwriting, and other risk-taking activities.

snip>

The plan is the result of a study Paulson commissioned last June, just before the markets started to implode. In transferring more authority over the markets to the Federal Reserve, the plan tries to close gaps in regulation that helped create the current credit crisis, including the fact that many of the subprime mortgage lenders that contributed to the housing bubble operated outside the grasp of banking regulators.

snip>

Critics of the current system have argued that there are too many ways for ill-intentioned market participants to operate around existing rules. Democrat Charles Schumer, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement late Friday, "In broad outlines, we agree with large parts of Secretary Paulson's plan. He is on the money when he calls for a more unified regulatory structure." But the New York senator added the plan should address the issues of complex structured finance activities, which in large part contributed to the credit crisis.

[Roland99]

122. The run on hedge funds was Roubini's next concern.

[Roland99]

123. You know, I wonder where'd we be if Paul O'Neill remained Treasury Sec'y and...

was actually listened to by the Bush administration instead of ostracized and kicked out for speaking the truth.

[DemReadingDU]

124. My gut feels that Paulson is going to be the dictator king

This is not going to regulated at all. We are giving our permission for Paulson to exchange those toxic investments for our tax money, then into the pockets of the wealthy. Largest transfer of wealth in history.

This bailout plan is not going to prevent the financial credit bubble from bursting. Why don't our Congress see this?

If you haven't already done so, please watch the excellent Dr. Chris Martenson Crash Course videos
http://www.chrismartenson.com/crashcourse

[Dr.Phool]

134. They remind me of the "Jewish Suicide Team" in "The Life of Brian".

By Monty Python.

You'd have to have seen it to understand it.

[54anickel]

143. Love his explanation of exponential growth and compounding. The Money is Debt series touched on it

but this guy really brings it home. Thanks for sharing, hope I get time to view them all.

[54anickel]

144. ARRRRRGH!!! I skipped to chapter 19 Future Shock. It's really nasty to get someone

all freaked out like that and then, to top it off, have a Chapter 20 called "What Should I Do" simply state Coming Soon....

[DemReadingDU]

147. Martenson has been reliable all summer, every couple weeks

Every couple weeks, he has completed a chapter. I read somewhere on his blog, it takes him many days (dozens of hours) to complete 1 chapter. He is very thorough. I think we are going to need Chapter 20 soon.

[54anickel]

148. Thanks, he's done a great job, caught most of them last night since I couldn't sleep anyway. Like

THAT was going to help me catch some Zs! HA!!
I'd have a rough time coming up with Chapter 20 myself. Of course rather than "Coming Soon" I'd have used the label "F*ck If I Know"

[DemReadingDU]

149. martenson does a great job in these videos

The videos are a great summary how we got to where we are now. I've sent the link to my family and friends too.

Every now and then Martenson comments about the status of that last video...that he's working on it, but everything is moving so quickly.
Probably is "F*ck If I Know". Should be interesting.

[Roland99]

120. Just before the close...markets call mulligan

Dow 10,823.42 +457.97
Nasdaq 2,088.94 +105.21
S&P 500 1,164.29 +57.87
Oil $100.64 $4.27
10-year 3.83% +0.20
Gold $880.80 -$13.60


Volume looks rather light and I bet tomorrow is even lighter with not much movement up or down.

[TalkingDog]

125. So, if it was the non-passage of the bill that caused the "problem" yesterday

What happened today? We didn't pass it today either....

[DemReadingDU]

126. So what's the urgency to pass this bill?

The DOW is up almost 500 points, doesn't look like any problem to the average joe/jane.


But I think it's really credit market that's freezing up. Banks don't want to lend to each other.

[Karenina]

128. They've looked into each others' eyes and seen

LIAR

in BOLD NEON LETTERS!!! :rofl:

[CatholicEdHead]

127. There is talk of bringing it up later in the week

Like Thursday or Friday and try to get a similar version through. So I see the markets have rebounded to the pre-vote level and will probably hold for now (more or less). If nothing is imminent from Congress for a "bailout" by later in the week things could get interesting for early next week.

[Mojorabbit]

130. I think the credit market is in a bad way though

In GD someone posted an article re the state of Mass. not being able to access enough credit for their quarterly needs.

[Roland99]

129. Bargain hunting? Computer program buying? Hope that Thur. brings passage of a new bill.

A combo of all three?

or maybe the opening of the dollar swap line limits helped? (I kinda doubt that one).

[fedsron2us]

133. Like gamblers markets thrive on action

They will keep playing even when on the tilt.

Also goes to prove that Paulson was lying and scaremongering, but then we knew that already.

[Ghost Dog]

132. Bank rates soar on cash dash, cenbanks supply funds

Tue Sep 30, 2008 3:19pm EDT LONDON/NEW YORK, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The cost of borrowing overnight dollars skyrocketed on Tuesday, prompting central banks worldwide to unleash billions into money markets to prevent them from a lockup, a day after U.S. lawmakers' rejection of a $700 billion financial industry bailout.

A flood of money from central banks seemed successful in meeting banks' quarter-end scramble for cash. It helped to drive the overnight lending rate between U.S. banks close to zero percent from its multi-year high.

"Money markets are more of a problem than stock markets. Perceived counterparty credit risk ... probably won't go away for a while," said Everett Brown, strategist at IDEAGlobal.

...

The London interbank offered rate (Libor) for overnight dollars <USDONFSR=> jumped by a record 430 basis points to 6.87 percent, the highest in at least 7-1/2 years.

QUARTER-END HUMP

Reflecting the scarcity of funds in the interbank market, banks also borrowed 15.481 billion euros overnight from the ECB, the largest amount in almost six years.

In response to this intense quarter-end demand for dollar funds, the European Central Bank lent $60 billion overnight in two separate operations. It initially loaned $30 billion dollars at a whopping rate of 11 percent -- more than five times the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target rates, followed by another $30 billion in a subsequent auction.

In addition to its dollar efforts, the ECB was pouring in 190 billion of euros via its regular weekly auction but tensions were high there too. Banks bid up to 5.5 percent, and the weighted average rate of 4.96 percent was the highest on record for a main refinancing auction.

Across the Atlantic, the Federal Reserve conducted a $20 billion in 28-day repurchase agreements.

For their part, the central banks of Japan, Australia and Britain injected liquidity into their respective banking systems on Tuesday to help banks meet funding obligations over the coming days, weeks and months.

The surge in overnight and term funds due to efforts from central banks pulled some money rates from their early highs. For example, the benchmark U.S. federal funds rate steadily fell to 0.50 percent by midday in New York after opening at 7 percent four hours earlier.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINLU28783420080930?rpc=44&sp=true

[ozymandius]

137. At the close: how thick can some get?

(Except those who have a vain interest in pumping the index numbers up a tiny bit for Dear Leader's ego.)

Dow 10,850.66 Up 485.21 (4.68%)
Nasdaq 2,082.33 Up 98.60 (4.97%)
S&P 500 1,166.36 Up 59.97 (5.42%)
10-Yr Bond 3.827% Up 0.195
NYSE Volume 6,150,980,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,426,431,000

4:20 pm : Tuesday's session marked the S&P 500's best day in six years after having its worst day in 21 years on Monday. Buying interest was fueled by short-covering, bargain hunting and increased optimism that the government will reach an agreement on a financial relief plan before the end of the week.

The stock market settled near session highs will all ten sectors posting a gain. Financials led the way with an 13.1% gain, followed by a 5.8% rise in energy stocks. The utilities sector underperformed on a relative basis with a gain of 1.3%.

The S&P's advance of 58.34 points, or 5.3%, is more than half of Monday's plummet of 106.85 points, or 8.8%. The catalyst for the selling on Monday was a rejection of the financial relief bill by the House of Representatives, which sparked concerns that the increased turmoil in the credit markets would weaken the broader economy.

To that point, credit markets did in fact tighten further. Overnight dollar Libor -- which measures the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans -- spiked 431 basis points to 6.88%. Libor increased across all terms, which range from overnight to 12 months, indicating that banks were very reluctant to lend to each other.

The Fed's aggressive measures to increase liquidity, including a $20 billion 28-day repo operation earlier this session, did have some benefits as the session progressed. Prior to the stock market open, the fed funds rate -- which is the interest rate that depository institutions lend their Federal Reserve balances to other depository institutions -- rose as high as 7.00%, according to Reuters. The rate then retreated to 1.50%, which is below the Fed's target rate of 2.00%.

As stocks rose, Treasuries gave up much of the previous session's gains as investors showed a greater willingness to take on risk. The benchmark 10-year note dropped more than two points, sending its yield up to 3.83%.

In other developments, the SEC and the Financial Accounting Standards Board will issue guidance on how assets are valued for "inactive" markets, according to Dow Jones. Presumably, if the FASB allowed financial firms to value "inactive" assets at their modeled value instead of market value, the amount of write-downs will decrease.

There was not much in terms of corporate news, although there were several economic items.

Consumer confidence in September unexpectedly rose 1.3 to 59.8, which was better than the expected reading of 53.0. While this headline is good news, it does not give a full picture of current sentiment as it does not capture the latest market turmoil.

Manufacturing in the Chicago region continued to expand in September. Regional manufacturing survey Chicago PMI fell 1.2 to 56.7, which was better than the median economist estimate of 53.0. A reading above 50 is intended to represent growth.

Home prices retreated in major metro areas in the month of July, marking the 25th consecutive month of price declines. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite, July prices are down 16.3% compared to last year and fell 0.9% from June.

The dollar rallied 2.6% against a basket of world currencies, getting a boost on news that another European financial firm needed to be bailed out by European governments. The strength in the dollar helped limit the gain in commodities to only 0.7%, although crude oil managed to rally 5.0% to $101.24 per barrel after dropping 10% in the previous session.

The extreme moves in the stock market over the previous two sessions was a fitting end to a tumultuous third quarter. For the quarter, the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 fell 4.4%, 9.2% and 9.0% respectively.DJ30 +485.21 NASDAQ +98.60 NQ100 +5.9% R2K +3.3% SP400 +4.2% SP500 +58.35 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1763/2.36 bln/1002 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2560/1.62 bln/610