STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday September 21

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday September 21, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 20, 2010

Dow 10,753.62 +145.77 (+1.37%)
Nasdaq 2,355.83 +40.22 (+1.74%)
S&P 500 1,142.71 +17.12 (+1.52%)
Gold future... 1,280 -0.50 (-0.04%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.70 -.00 (-0.15%)
30-Year Bond 3.87 -.00 (-0.10%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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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.

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Reports

08:30 Housing Starts Aug
Briefing.com 540K
Consensus 550K
Prior 546K

08:30 Building Permits Aug
Briefing.com 550K
Consensus 560K
Prior 559K

14:15 FOMC Rate Decision 9/21

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

[OnlinePoker]

14. Housing starts 40k above consensus

Building permits about 9k above. Last weeks numbers were revised down by 5k.

[Po_d Mainiac]

21. And we sure do need more housing. :sarcasm:

The system is awash with empty (or soon to be empty) dwellings that may (or may not) have a clear path of possession/title and the industry keeps churning out more inventory.

BRILLIANT!

Must be fun being in the business of trying to clear foreclosures off balance sheets. Probably as exciting as the creative writing involved with drafting those same balance (or not so balanced) sheets.

[jtuck004]

31. Further analysis says it's mostly apartments and multi-family stuff.

Also that the percentage is measuring against the lowest ever, last August(?), so it is essentially flat.

[ozymandius]

2. I am having a tough time getting DU pages to load.

It is only Democratic Underground - no other site. Anyone else having issues with pages loading?

[Hutchewon]

5. Pages loading fine for me

Good Morning! I'm not seeing any slowdown. Just read the recent additions.

[Tunkamerica]

6. nope

[Festivito]

7. Loading fine here, When slow, it's my computer that mucks up.

Suddenly, Task Manager tells me I have a dozen programs vying for time, then they relent and let me play for a while.

Perhaps, the computer needs coffee and donuts.

Good morning.

[TalkingDog]

28. malware? nt

[ozymandius]

8. Thanks, all.

The issue seems to have fixed itself. The status bar would read, "contacting www.democraticunderground.com" and just hang there. This has happened a few times over the past year-or-so. Dreadfully annoying.

[ozymandius]

9. Or not.

Doing it again. I'm giving up because I just don't have time for this shit.

When this post finally registers - you will know that I wish you all a wonderful day.

[Po_d Mainiac]

10. If you haven't seen the recent BS Re: foreclosures..tags below

http://4closurefraud.org/2010/09/20/here-we-go-moratori... /

http://4closurefraud.org/2010/09/14/what-what-re-jeffre...

[DemReadingDU]

12. Sounds like a huge scandal

more info on these sites

ZeroHedge - http://www.zerohedge.com/

Karl Denninger - http://market-ticker.org/

Naked Capitalism - http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/



Also check out this PowerPoint deposition

9/20/10 GMAC Mortgage: "Proudly Executing Up To 10,000 Fake Documents Per Month"
Since we live in a day and age when nobody in their right mind has the attention span to read an actual deposition transcript, here is a powerpoint presentation prepared by Max Gardner's Bankruptcy Boot Camp excerpting the deposition of GMAC Mortgage employee Jeffrey Stephen in which he essentially confirms that the firm executes up to 10,000 fake documents per month. The punchline:

Q. So other than the due date and the balances due, is it correct that you do not know whether any other part of the affidavit that you sign is true?
A. That could be correct.

We could be wrong, but this is about to become a national level scandal.
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gmac-mortgage-proudly-executing-10000-fake-documents-month
or
http://www.scribd.com/doc/37820626/20100612-Stephan-Deposition

[Demeter]

32. This Is a Total Game-Changer

Maybe we don't need to take up knitting.....

[Po_d Mainiac]

35. Just in time for the new ALLY ad campaign

:rofl:

Me thinks the spelling needs a bit'o tweeking. Mayhaps 'Alley' instead? Yeah I like that.:bounce:

[Warpy]

15. There was another story posted yesterday

GMAC Halts All Foreclosures In 23 States On Heels Of Florida Judge Finding JPM Committed Court Fraud In Mortgage Misappropriation

As we pointed out last week, a certain judge in Florida set quite a precedent when he found that JPM, as servicer for a Fannie mortgage, had committed court fraud by foreclosing while not in possession of the actual mortgage. We then concluded that "The implications for the REO and foreclosures track for banks could be dire as a result of this ruling, as this could severely impact the ongoing attempt by banks to hide as much excess inventory in their books in the quietest way possible." Not a week has passed since, and we are already proven right. Today, Bloomberg discloses that GMAC Mortgage, a unit of the affectionately renamed Ally Bank, has halted all foreclosures in 23 states, including Florida, Connecticut and New York. Who would have thought that being caught with your pants down, doing something so blatantly illegal as collecting on something you do not own, would actually have adverse consequences. And GMAC is just the beginning - we expect many more mortgage servicers to scurry now that the light has been shone on their shell game. The silver lining - the permabull pundits will cheer this development now that foreclosures will plunge off a cliff as mortgage holders and servicers scramble to reconcile who owns what, and just on whose balance sheet the mortgage flows should show up.

More at http://www.zerohedge.com/article/gmac-halts-all-foreclosures-23-states-heels-florida-judge-finding-jpm-committed-court-fraud-

Add to that the news a few days ago that people who are buying foreclosure "bargains" from Wells Fargo (and probably others) are able to get only quit claim deeds and no title insurance, and you have a developing problem of colossal proportions.

The conversion of housing underwater with overpriced mortgages into rental housing, keeping families in place for a guaranteed period of time, might have to be done because with the mortgage paper snipped into so many little pieces and shopped around all over the world, nobody knows who really owns any houses out there, foreclosed or not, if the mortgage was written any time during the last 10 years.

This is the next part of the housing bomb, and it could explode at any minute.

[Dr.Phool]

20. Quit claim deeds, and no title insurance.

Who in their right minds would even consider a deal like that?

I read a while back, that some people who were buying Wells Fargo foreclosures, were only paying off the second mortgages on the homes, and getting screwed on the first.

[Warpy]

34. People who think they're getting a bargain

and think having a lawyer at closing will protect them are accepting these deals.

This mess is going to take years of court cases to unravel, the banks fighting it all the way.

[Juneboarder]

40. What lender...

is approving these deals without title insurance? Here in CA a lender will not close a loan without proof of title insurance.

[ozymandius]

3. Oil slips to near $74 ahead of key Fed meeting

SINGAPORE – Oil prices slipped to near $74 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders looked to a key U.S. central bank meeting later in the day for possible new polices to help boost economic growth.

The Federal Reserve Board meets Tuesday and investors are watching closely for clues about the central bank's interest rate policy. Some investors are speculating that the Fed's rate-setting committee could relaunch programs to buy Treasurys and mortgage bonds in an effort to stimulate the economy.

Oil prices have bobbed around the $75 a barrel level since the beginning of summer. Some analysts expect high crude inventories to weigh on prices even if the economy grows more than expected over the next year.

In other Nymex trading in October contracts, heating oil fell 0.16 cent to $2.138 a gallon and gasoline skidded 0.25 cent to $1.947 a gallon. Natural gas was steady at $3.818 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Festivito]

4. Debt: 09/17/2010 13,467,745,270,382.77 (UP 2,848,617,008.66) (Fri)

(Down a little. Good day.)
Three trips to Dundee and need a friend to cover for me.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 8,970,272,131,896.87 + 4,497,473,138,485.90
DOWN 203,034,896.34 + UP 3,051,651,905.00

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 310-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,224.71 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.67, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,105,100 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $43,429.62.
A family of three owes $130,288.85. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 4,478,496,045.31.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,433,513,634.74.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,322,755,130.39.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 242 reports in 352 days of FY2010 averaging 6.44B$ per report, 4.43B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 856 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.6 and 17.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/17/2010 13,467,745,270,382.77 BHO (UP 2,840,868,221,469.69 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,557,916,266,871.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,615,452,947,181.58 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/27/2010 +000,056,877,341.30 ------------*******
08/30/2010 -000,093,227,691.02 ---- Mon
08/31/2010 +077,584,457,403.73 ------------**********
09/01/2010 -002,618,329,750.58 --
09/02/2010 +008,773,043,668.95 ------------*********
09/03/2010 +000,065,447,919.59 ------------*******
09/07/2010 +000,022,960,425.76 ------------******* Tue
09/08/2010 +000,399,922,819.12 ------------********
09/09/2010 +008,813,573,460.79 ------------*********
09/10/2010 -000,055,297,184.77 ----
09/13/2010 +000,091,299,524.00 ------------******* Mon
09/14/2010 +000,150,853,245.21 ------------********
09/15/2010 +064,417,149,283.94 ------------**********
09/16/2010 -036,646,694,679.28 -
09/17/2010 -000,203,034,896.34 ---

120,759,000,890.40 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4546259&mesg_id=4546306

[Festivito]

46. Debt: 09/20/2010 13,469,342,458,134.17 (UP 1,597,187,751.40) (Mon)

(Up a little. Good day.)
A late night with Diesel and speaking in German.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 8,970,291,578,710.76 + 4,499,050,879,423.41
UP 19,446,813.89 + UP 1,577,740,937.51

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 310-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,224.51 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.67, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,125,039 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $43,431.97.
A family of three owes $130,295.92. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,123,930,797.50.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,586,751,558.25.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,471,049,895.08.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 243 reports in 355 days of FY2010 averaging 6.42B$ per report, 4.39B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 853 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.6 and 17.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/20/2010 13,469,342,458,134.17 BHO (UP 2,842,465,409,221.09 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,559,513,454,622.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,603,443,411,090.64 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/30/2010 -000,093,227,691.02 ---- Mon
08/31/2010 +077,584,457,403.73 ------------**********
09/01/2010 -002,618,329,750.58 --
09/02/2010 +008,773,043,668.95 ------------*********
09/03/2010 +000,065,447,919.59 ------------*******
09/07/2010 +000,022,960,425.76 ------------******* Tue
09/08/2010 +000,399,922,819.12 ------------********
09/09/2010 +008,813,573,460.79 ------------*********
09/10/2010 -000,055,297,184.77 ----
09/13/2010 +000,091,299,524.00 ------------******* Mon
09/14/2010 +000,150,853,245.21 ------------********
09/15/2010 +064,417,149,283.94 ------------**********
09/16/2010 -036,646,694,679.28 -
09/17/2010 -000,203,034,896.34 ---
09/20/2010 +000,019,446,813.89 ------------******* Mon

120,721,570,362.99 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4547392&mesg_id=4547399

[Po_d Mainiac]

11. Wondering what the term 'shadow banking refers too? good reference below

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/07/shadow-banking-what-it-is-how-it-broke-and-how-to-fix-it/21038/

"Thus a long term corporate bond could actually be sold to three separate persons. One would supply the money for the bond; one would bear the interest rate risk, and one would bear the risk of default. The last two would not have to put up any capital for the bond, though they might have to post some sort of collateral."
- Fischer Black, "Fundamentals of Liquidity" (1970)

It was when the same principles used for corporate finance invaded RE financing, that things really got slimy

[Roland99]

13. Not much to report re: futures. Pretty flat before the open.

[Dappleganger]

16. DIDN'T YOU HEAR THE NEWS?

We're out of the recession!!

So which one of the bubble blowers is gonna pay for our utility bill this month??

:sarcasm:

[Po_d Mainiac]

17. 42 pennies of every dollar being spent by Washington

Has to be printed...

That is not what a recovery looks like...:nuke:
YMMV

[Dr.Phool]

19. A little over 50 of those pennies goes to the Pentagon.

If we'd axe them, we'd be money ahead.

[Dr.Phool]

18. Utility bills?

I'm worried about my extortion, I mean insurance bill.

State Farm just informed me a couple of weeks ago, that my already unaffordable Homeowners extortion policy was being canceled in February. To put it into perspective, My home in Cleveland had roughly a 190,000 replacement cost. My home in Florida is about the same. The policy in Cleveland cost me less than $500 per year. This year, the same coverage cost me $3200. And that doesn't include another $1000 for flood. The Homeowners Extortion policies I have been pricing are about $5000 per year. Plus flood.

Add our "cheap" electric rates in, and my combined insurance and electric bills are more than my mortgage. Talk about a recipe for catastrophic foreclosures in Floriduh.

And, just for the record, our class action suit against Progress Energy got tossed two weeks ago. We are appealing.

[Dappleganger]

22. Damn.

You're near Tampa, right? The home insurance issues in FL are enough to make anyone want to flee this state.

Our combined electric/water/sewage bill is THREE TIMES what it was in 2002. The usage isn't up by much yet they are also raising rates next month (JEA).

And if they don't get you with insurance or utility bills, just hold on for the numerous FEES which have skyrocketed. People who trade their used cars in for another used car (like us) every few years are getting little mercy. Mayor Peyton is also raising property taxes across the city (thankfully we're not in Jacksonville, but just south of it). No doubt that our county will follow suit soon.

We're being nickled and dimed to death, the slow ones always hurt the most.

[Dr.Phool]

25. I can't complain too much about property taxes.

They're lower than they were in Cleveland.....but, we have fees that more than make up for the difference. Like street lights, and trash removal. Street paving assessments, etc.

But, real estate values have plummeted, but taxes are going up anyway! I forgot about the water bills. They pretty much doubled this year too.

I'm almost ready to have a little talk with my lender. Tell them that they have a performing mortgage that is underwater, and will stay performing, but I ain't paying extortion to an insurance company. Take it or leave it.

Not really, but it sounds like I'm tough.

[DemReadingDU]

24. Damn, Damn

Have you considered moving back to Ohio?
:evilgrin:

[Dr.Phool]

26. And get eaten by snow sharks?

Are you crazy? I'd rather try to beat off an alligator with an Everglades python.

And no, that's not a Christine O'Donnell joke.

[DemReadingDU]

30. We have runaway alligators in Ohio

9/21/10 Alligator named 'Fluffy' caught in Urbana pond
Local fish farm will house 2 1/2-foot reptile, which was most likely dumped by its owner.

Freshwater Farms in Urbana provides a home for rainbow trout, rare sturgeon, snapping turtles and numerous other breeds of fish and reptiles, but their new pet may make some of the current guests a little nervous.

The farm is the new home to Fluffy, a 30-inch alligator that was discovered Sunday evening in a pond near a home in the 1700 block of Ohio 29 West.

With the help of wildlife officers, Champaign sheriff’s deputies used a noose to capture the animal after local residents reported seeing it wandering in the area. “It was actually in the pond,” Sheriff Brent Emmons said. “Nobody knows how it got there.”

more, and pictures!
http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/alligator-named-fluffy-caught-in-urbana-pond-931673.html


P.S. We really don't get much snow in SW Ohio!
Well, not usually, except maybe a huge snowstorm every few years.

[Po_d Mainiac]

45. It was migrating South after mating in Hudson's Bay n/t

[Po_d Mainiac]

27. Yikes!

Guess I'll just throw another log in the stove and STFU.

[DemReadingDU]

23. Fed Responds To Allegations Of POMO-based Stock Market Manipulation

From ZeroHedge...
9/21/10 Fed Responds To Allegations Of POMO-based Stock Market Manipulation

It is no secret that the Federal Reserve, and its now semi-daily interventions in market liquidity via ever increasing Permanent Open Market Operations (aka POMOs, next on deck - Wednesday and Friday for a total of about $7-8 billion), is rather hell bent on creating the impression that the economy is alive and well courtesy of a ramping stock market (when the causal relationship is always the other way around, but who cares). A reader got so disgusted by the POMO ramp game, he sent in an angry letter to Brian Sack's henchmen. Here is the Fed's response.

Dear Mr. (removed to maintain privacy):

Thank you for your recent correspondence in which you expressed your concerns about the Federal Reserve's influence on the stock market.

The Federal Reserve monitors all sectors of the economy, so that we can be prepared when crises arise. It is within this context that the Chairman is often called by Congress to offer his views on many issues that may or may not be directly related to monetary policy. I want to assure you that the Federal Reserve's monetary policy actions are not aimed at correcting or influencing any particular market. As you know, the goal of monetary policy is to foster conditions conducive to sustaining sound, noninflationary economic growth over time and policymakers must make decisions that provide the greatest benefit overall.

Again, thank you for writing.

Sincerely,

JPD
Board Staff

So if "the Federal Reserve's monetary policy actions are not aimed at correcting or influencing any particular market" is it safe to assume that actions are aimed at "correcting and influencing" all markets in general? Well, the Fed is already rampaging in USTs, Agency securities and FX, would it be too naive to assume equities are for some reason excluded...

As for the whole premise of monetary policy boosting the economy, the picture below explains it best:



http://www.zerohedge.com/article/fed-responds-allegations-pomo-based-stock-market-manipulation

[DemReadingDU]

33. What happened to the picture?

[Ghost Dog]

37. Treasuries Pare Gain as Fed Refrains From Debt Purchases

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries pared gains after the Federal Reserve refrained from stepping up purchases of U.S. debt, prompting speculation policy makers are more convinced about the sustainability of the economic recovery.

Two-year note yields had dropped at a record slow before the conclusion of today’s Federal Open Market Committee gathering, where officials also keep the target rate for overnight loans between banks at a record low range of zero to 0.25 percent.

...

A survey of money managers overseeing $1.34 trillion by Jersey, City, New Jersey-based Ried Thunberg ICAP, a unit of the world’s largest interdealer broker, found that 57 percent didn’t expect the Fed to announce additional asset purchases, while 43 percent expected policy makers to say they’re resuming quantitative easing.

The Fed has bought $28.102 billion of Treasuries since Aug. 17 to keep holdings in the System Open Market Account at about $2 trillion by using the proceeds of principal payments from its agency mortgage-backed securities and agency debt.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-21/treasuries-pare-gain-as-fed-refrains-from-debt-purchases.html

[Ghost Dog]

39. Fed Signals Willingness to Ease Policy

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rising for a third day, after the Federal Reserve said it’s willing to ease monetary policy further if needed to boost the economy.

...

“It was a fairly strong statement from the Fed,” said Bruce McCain, who oversees $25 billion as chief investment strategist at the private-banking unit of KeyCorp in Cleveland. “The bullish aspect is that the Fed is ready to provide additional money. That’s positive especially for those who feared the waning effects of the fiscal stimulus.”

...

“The committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and is prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery and to return inflation, over time, to levels consistent with its mandate,” the Federal Open Market Committee said today in a statement in Washington. The Fed reiterated that it would keep the benchmark lending rate in a range of zero to 0.25 percent “for an extended period.”

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-21/stocks-climb-dollar-drops-as-gold-reaches-record-on-fed-policy-statement.html

[TalkingDog]

29. Uh-Oh......

http://detnews.com/article/20100921/METRO/9210320/Banker-s-disappearance-a-mystery


Mount Clemens -- A maintenance worker for Community Central Bank noticed the bank president's car in the parking lot early Monday morning, so he stopped by his office to say hello.

Instead, he got a shock.

David Allen Widlak's office was "in disarray," according to Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel, and the 62-year-old Grosse Pointe Farms man was nowhere to be found.

snip

Community Central Bank has been struggling this year. It received a "zero stars" safety rating -- the lowest available -- for the first and second quarters of 2010 from Bauer Financial, a service that uses federal bank data to gauge the soundness of banks.


Well, bless his heart. I hope he's okay and his family gets him home.

[Robbien]

36. So now watching Gasland makes you a terrorist ?

Or so says Homeland Security.

According to a confidential Homeland Security intelligence bulletin found and published by Pro Publica, the department has labeled the anti-drilling contingent "environmental extremists" who pose a threat to national security and the energy sector.

Included on the list of people the Pennsylvania State Police are to watch out for? People who show up at public Gasland screenings to watch the film.

http://www.propublica.org/article/do-environmental-extremists-pose-criminal-threat-to-gas-drilling




The government is no longer even trying to hide the fact it reports to BigBusiness and views the public as the enemy.

[Dr.Phool]

38. Uh Oh.

I Tivo'ed on HBO. And I showed it to my dad, who owns two gas wells in West Virginia. He was shocked.

[tclambert]

42. You showed it to your dad? Why don't you just rat him out to the FBI for the reward!

Go ahead, send your old man to Guantanamo. Maybe they'll give him lemon chicken.

As for you, well, you post regularly on DemocraticUnderground and on the Stock Market Watch thread. You've been on multiple watch lists for years.

[TheWatcher]

41. Once again, without High Frequency, Artifical Manipulation, the Market would Crash. Period.

it's Amazing to me how many Americans are completely duped into Dow Worshiping, thinking that somehow because the Monied Predator Class is doing artificially well, that they somehow benefit from it.

We are a nation of useful idiots.

[DemReadingDU]

43. Larry Summers likely to leave White House post soon

9/21/10 White House economic adviser Larry Summers is stepping down from his job at the end of the year, the administration said on Tuesday.

The White House said Summers planned to return to his position as professor at Harvard University.

The departure of Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, would mark a major shakeup in President Barack Obama's economic team. White House budget director Peter Orszag stepped down in July and White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairwoman Christina Romer left her job at the beginning of this month.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWEN014920100921

[Demeter]

44. Reality Grinds Slowly, but Very Finely

and always gets the last word.