STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, January 28, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday December 20, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 17, 2010

Dow 11,989.83 +4.39 (+0.04%)
Nasdaq 2,755.28 +15.78 (+0.57%)
S&P 500 1,299.54 +2.91 (+0.22%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.41 +0.02
30-Year Bond 4.59 +0.02

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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    
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Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
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Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
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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
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports - lead by Q4 GDP

Jan 28 08:30 GDP-Adv. Q4 3.8% 3.7% 2.6%
Jan 28 08:30 Chain Deflator-Adv. Q4 2.0% 1.5% 2.1%
Jan 28 08:30 Employment Cost Index Q4 0.4% 0.4% 0.4%
Jan 28 09:55 Michigan Sentiment - Final Jan 73.5 73.2 72.7

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

44. GDP at 3.2%

Slightly higher than Q3, but well below expectations.

Chain deflator at .3%

[Roland99]

51. Inventories are a drag. Futures up but barely

S&P 500 1,298 +1.70 +0.13%
DOW 11,954 +10.00 +0.08%
NASDAQ 2,330 +6.75 +0.29%


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/q4-gdp-accelerates-to-32-pace-from-26-in-q3-2011-01-28?dist=beforebell

The U.S. economy accelerated in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Real gross domestic product rose at a 3.2% annualized rate in the fourth quarter, up from a 2.6% rate in the third quarter. The gain was slightly below expectations. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected Q4 GDP to rise at a 3.5% rate. The big story for the fourth quarter was the pickup in consumer spending. Spending rose at a 4.4% annual rate in the final three months of the year, the fastest pace since the first quarter of 2006. Inventories were a big drag on growth in the fourth quarter but this was largely offset by a positive contribution from net exports. For the year, GDP advanced 2.9%, compared with a 2.6% drop in 2009. This is the strongest growth rate in five years

[Robbien]

47. Bank investments make up a huge percentage of the GDP

from here
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-johnson/bill-daley-obama-chief-of-staff_b_806341.html

In 1995 the big six banks total assets equaled 17% of GDP. Now they command assets worth 64% of US GDP.



Which explains why there is any increase in GDP at all.

[Demeter]

64. Paper (Worthless Paper) Is Our Most Important Product

and has been for decades now.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil below $86 amid weak indicators, earnings

BANGKOK – Oil prices hovered below $86 a barrel Friday in Asia, dragged lower by weak economic and earnings news.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 7 cents at $85.57 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract lost $1.69 to settle at $85.64 a barrel on Thursday and is down from nearly $93 a barrel last week as evidence accumulated that demand isn't strong enough to sustain crude prices at those levels.

That the U.S. economy, the world's biggest, continues to crawl was underlined by weak growth in durable goods orders for December and a rise in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week.

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

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[Festivito]

4. Debt: 01/26/2011 14,060,011,229,556.38 (DOWN 7,460,905,562.27) (Wed, DOWN a little.)

(These posts are the actual debt and actual deficit numbers, not "budget" deficit numbers. Good day.)
Back from A-squared land.
(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)
= 9,414,993,965,006.02 + 4,645,017,264,550.36
DOWN 112,154,254.52 + DOWN 7,348,751,307.75

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 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,213.08 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 311,228,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,175.89.
A family of three owes $135,527.68. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 8,428,953,867.47.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,462,197,965.06.
The average for the last 33 days would be 5,874,725,422.78.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 81 reports in 118 days of FY2011 averaging 6.15B$ per report, 4.22B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 725 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 18.3T$.
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)
01/26/2011 14,060,011,229,556.38 BHO (UP 3,433,134,180,643.30 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 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,498,388,198,664.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,541,624,512,818.47 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/05/2011 -000,029,576,179.10 ----
01/06/2011 -001,749,774,139.62 --
01/07/2011 +000,022,074,863.06 ------------*******
01/10/2011 -000,254,217,892.29 --- Mon
01/11/2011 +000,490,152,520.38 ------------********
01/12/2011 -000,273,054,954.79 ---
01/13/2011 -005,996,045,152.69 --
01/14/2011 +000,146,255,477.48 ------------********
01/18/2011 +038,613,327,669.01 ------------********** Tue
01/19/2011 +000,009,950,983.18 ------------******
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----
01/24/2011 -000,181,687,031.14 --- Mon
01/25/2011 +000,059,189,192.13 ------------*******
01/26/2011 -000,112,154,254.52 ---

29,999,287,507.29 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=4712350&mesg_id=4712479

[Festivito]

92. Debt: 01/27/2011 14,059,409,159,678.42 (DOWN 602,069,877.96) (Thu, DOWN some.)

(Good day.)
Already changing back to a normal life. Oh, I never had one of those, did I.
(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)
= 9,410,276,848,548.23 + 4,649,132,311,130.19
DOWN 4,717,116,457.79 + UP 4,115,046,579.83

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 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,213.00 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 311,235,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,172.91.
A family of three owes $135,518.74. (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 8,061,256,105.77.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,180,296,347.76.
The average for the last 31 days would be 5,980,931,949.45.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 82 reports in 119 days of FY2011 averaging 6.07B$ per report, 4.18B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 724 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 18.4T$.
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)
01/27/2011 14,059,409,159,678.42 BHO (UP 3,432,532,110,765.34 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 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,497,786,128,786.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,526,823,000,060.05 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/06/2011 -001,749,774,139.62 --
01/07/2011 +000,022,074,863.06 ------------*******
01/10/2011 -000,254,217,892.29 --- Mon
01/11/2011 +000,490,152,520.38 ------------********
01/12/2011 -000,273,054,954.79 ---
01/13/2011 -005,996,045,152.69 --
01/14/2011 +000,146,255,477.48 ------------********
01/18/2011 +038,613,327,669.01 ------------********** Tue
01/19/2011 +000,009,950,983.18 ------------******
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----
01/24/2011 -000,181,687,031.14 --- Mon
01/25/2011 +000,059,189,192.13 ------------*******
01/26/2011 -000,112,154,254.52 ---
01/27/2011 -004,717,116,457.79 --

25,311,747,228.60 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=4713595&mesg_id=4713603

[Po_d Mainiac]

5. Put the Maine State Shield on the door in the toon. n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

9. Or Kansas, or Arizona n/t

[alterfurz]

41. or Wisconsin.

Dark, dark days here in Dairyland.

[Loge23]

53. Hey, don't forget Florida!

Our legislature and new felon-Governor doesn't care about children either! (unless they are wealthy)

("pssst: want a voucher?? They fell off the Education fund truck")

[AnneD]

72. Or Texas...

One of the proposed bills was to add guns and ammo on the list of back to school tax holiday items. NO, I COULD NOT MAKE THIS SHIT UP.

They also proposed a voter picture ID at the polls. They also included a concealed gun permit to be acceptable ID. I say we skip the formality and just go to the polls with our guns. :spray:

Are politicians thinking here? No wait, what am I thinking here. Instead of the FRSP we have the Smith-Wesson Plan.

Honest to goodness these guys are out of their ever loving minds.

[Po_d Mainiac]

6. Coin melt values

Mercury Silver Dime Value
$1.9488

Silver 46-64 Roosevelt Dime Value
$1.9488

Liberty Silver Quarter Value
$4.8720

32-64 Silver Washington Quarter Value
$4.8720

Silver Walking Liberty Half Dollar Value
$9.7440

Lincoln Copper Cent 1909-1982 Cent (95% copper) *
$0.0285202

Jefferson Nickel 1946-2011 Nickel

$0.0689942

Silver Franklin Half Dollar
$9.7440

JFK silver half dollar 1964
$9.7440

40% JFK silver half dollar 1965-1970 Half Dollar (40% silver)

$3.9842

Morgan Silver Dollar 1878-1921 Morgan Dollar

$20.8367

Peace Silver Dollar 1921-1935 Peace Dollar

$20.8367

Silver Ike dollar 1971-1976 Eisenhower Dollar (40% silver)

$8.5193

[AnneD]

57. Thanks....

Need to go back and re-evaluate my coins. Thanks again for sharing.

[Po_d Mainiac]

87. BTFD n/t

[Demeter]

7. Their Own Private Europe By PAUL KRUGMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/opinion/28krugman.html

...But then, American conservatives have long had their own private Europe of the imagination — a place of economic stagnation and terrible health care, a collapsing society groaning under the weight of Big Government. The fact that Europe isn’t actually like that — did you know that adults in their prime working years are more likely to be employed in Europe than they are in the United States? — hasn’t deterred them. So we shouldn’t be surprised by similar tall tales about European debt problems.

Let’s talk about what really happened in Ireland and Britain...

So what went wrong? The answer is: out-of-control banks; Irish banks ran wild during the good years, creating a huge property bubble. When the bubble burst, revenue collapsed, causing the deficit to surge, while public debt exploded because the government ended up taking over bank debts. And harsh spending cuts, while they have led to huge job losses, have failed to restore confidence.

The lesson of the Irish debacle, then, is very nearly the opposite of what Mr. Ryan would have us believe. It doesn’t say “cut spending now, or bad things will happen”; it says that balanced budgets won’t protect you from crisis if you don’t effectively regulate your banks — a point made in the newly released report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which concludes that “30 years of deregulation and reliance on self-regulation” helped create our own catastrophe. Have I mentioned that Republicans are doing everything they can to undermine financial reform?

What about Britain? Well, contrary to what Mr. Ryan seemed to imply, Britain has not, in fact, suffered a debt crisis. True, David Cameron, who became prime minister last May, has made a sharp turn toward fiscal austerity. But that was a choice, not a response to market pressure...


NEVER CONFUSE AN IDEOLOGUE WITH THE FACTS--HE WON'T THANK YOU FOR IT!


....But Mr. Ryan is widely portrayed as an intellectual leader within the G.O.P., with special expertise on matters of debt and deficits. So the revelation that he literally doesn’t know the first thing about the debt crises currently in progress is, as I said, interesting — and not in a good way.

[Demeter]

10. GOP's State of the Union Responder Would Set Higher Taxes on Middle-Class Than Millionaires

http://www.truth-out.org/gops-state-union-responder-would-set-higher-taxes-middle-class-than-millionaires67070

...Ryan has gained a (largely unearned) reputation as a fiscal hawk due to his radical Roadmap for America’s Future, under which the U.S. budget will eventually be balanced (after federal debt surpasses 100 percent of GDP), mostly via privatizing Social Security and Medicare.

According to an analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice, the Roadmap would raise taxes on 90 percent of Americans, while dramatically lowering them for millionaires. In fact, a new analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found that Ryan’s plan would ultimately translate into middle-class tax rates being higher than those for millionaires...

[Tansy_Gold]

11. the rich are. . . . . . different. n/t

[Demeter]

13. And the GOP is Collectively Insane

good morning TG

[Fuddnik]

78. Washington is collectively insane.

And about every Statehouse in the country.

If congress spent more time learning about these issues, instead of spending all of their time calling people for campaign contributions, we might actually get some sane legislation passed.

[fasttense]

37. This must be repeated:

Balanced budgets won’t protect you from crisis if you don’t effectively regulate your banks.

[DemReadingDU]

38. +++

[Demeter]

42. That's the True Lesson of Our Times

and this may be the first report to point it out so succinctly.

[Demeter]

8. MERS Exposed: YVES SMITH ON FORCLOSURE FRAUD

A TWO PART EXPOSE OF SOME OF THE MORE EGREGIOUS PARTS OF THIS SCANDAL:

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/mers-exposed-i-process-expert-catalogues-fundamental-flaws.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/mers-exposed-ii-general-counsel-tells-whoppers-in-testimony-before-virginia-house.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[Demeter]

12. COMPETITIVENESS- A DANGEROUS OBSESSION

http://www.pkarchive.org/global/pop.html

SYNOPSIS: One of the original papers on trade that put Krugman in the Economic spotlight. Talks about unintelligent concern with International Competition.

THE HYPOTHESIS IS WRONG

In June 1993, Jacques Delors made a special presentation to the leaders of the nations of the European Community, meeting in Copenhagen, on the growing problem of European unemployment. Economists who study the European situation were curious to see what Delors, president of the EC Commission, would say. Most of them share more or less the same diagnosis of the European problem: the taxes and regulations imposed by Europe's elaborate welfare states have made employers reluctant to create new jobs, while the relatively generous level of unemployment benefits has made workers unwilling to accept the kinds of low-wage jobs that help keep unemployment comparatively low in the United States. The monetary difficulties associated with preserving the European Monetary System in the face of the costs of German reunification have reinforced this structural problem.

It is a persuasive diagnosis, but a politically explosive one, and everyone wanted to see how Delors would handle it. Would he dare tell European leaders that their efforts to pursue economic justice have produced unemployment as an unintended by-product? Would he admit that the ems could be sustained only at the cost of a recession and face the implications of that admission for European monetary union?

Guess what? Delors didn't confront the problems of either the welfare state or the ems. He explained that the root cause of European unemployment was a lack of competitiveness with the United States and Japan and that the solution was a program of investment in infrastructure and high technology.

It was a disappointing evasion, but not a surprising one. After all, the rhetoric of competitiveness -- the view that, in the words of President Clinton, each nation is "like a big corporation competing in the global marketplace" -- has become pervasive among opinion leaders throughout the world. People who believe themselves to be sophisticated about the subject take it for granted that the economic problem facing any modern nation is essentially one of competing on world markets -- that the United States and Japan are competitors in the same sense that Coca-Cola competes with Pepsi -- and are unaware that anyone might seriously question that proposition. Every few months a new best-seller warns the American public of the dire consequences of losing the "race" for the 21st century. A whole industry of councils on competitiveness, "geo-economists" and managed trade theorists has sprung up in Washington. Many of these people, having diagnosed America's economic problems in much the same terms as Delors did Europe's, are now in the highest reaches of the Clinton administration formulating economic and trade policy for the United States. So Delors was using a language that was not only convenient but comfortable for him and a wide audience on both sides of the Atlantic...

[Tansy_Gold]

86. competition = winners & losers; cooperation = winners & more winners. n/t

[Demeter]

88. But, But, But

Capitalism DEMANDS losers---what, it doesn't? What kind of blasphemy is this?

[bread_and_roses]

90. + 1000s (n/t)

[Demeter]

14. UK: Bank break-up 'will hit taxpayer'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/27/northern-rock-mutualise-campaign-labour-mp

Executives in charge of government's stake in bailed-out banks say taxpayers will suffer if John Vickers recommends that financial institutions should be split up...George Osborne was warned today that if he sanctions a radical break-up of the banks he will reduce the value of the taxpayer's stakes in the bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland....


NOW, REALLY! DON'T THEY ACTUALLY MEAN THAT THE CAT WILL BE LET OUT OF THE BAG, AND REVEALED AS A MANGY, FERAL CAT, AS OPPOSED TO THE HEALTHY PIGLET PEOPLE THOUGHT THEY WERE BUYING?

[Demeter]

15. UK: UK consumer poll finds 'astonishing collapse' in confidence

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jan/28/uk-consumer-confidence-index-plummets

GfK NOP consumer confidence index slumps by a degree only seen six times in 35 years – most recently during 1992 recession...A poll of UK consumers has revealed an "astonishing collapse" in confidence that fuels fears that Britain is heading for a double-dip recession.

The GfK NOP consumer confidence index dropped eight points this month to -29, with a spectacular drop in the number of people saying they planned to make a major purchase.

The research echoes household finance figures this week from the economic consultancy Markit, which also showed consumers were reluctant to spend while the economic outlook was uncertain. In another sign that confidence is scarce, a poll by Ipsos Mori for yesterday's Evening Standard newspaper found more than half of people surveyed believe the economy will get worse over the next 12 months, compared with 24% who think it will improve...

I'D SAY THAT THE CAT WAS ALREADY OUT OF THE BAG, MYSELF...

[Pale Blue Dot]

16. U.S. Futures Are Little Changed Before GDP; Amazon.com Tumbles

an. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little changed after the longest winning streak in more than a month for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as investors awaited a report on gross domestic product.

Amazon.com Inc. sank 8.7 percent in German trading after predicting quarterly results below estimates. Verizon Communications Inc. retreated 1 percent after agreeing to buy Terremark Worldwide Inc. for about $1.4 billion. Coherent Inc. jumped as its projected sales beat analysts’ forecasts.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March lost 0.1 percent to 1,294 at 10:31 a.m. in London. The benchmark gauge is headed for a rally this week, its eighth advance in nine weeks, after the Federal Reserve said it will continue its current program of asset purchases, a strategy known as quantitative easing, even as growth picks up. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid less than 0.1 percent to 11,939 today, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures fell 0.2 percent to 2,318.25.

“With growth rates like these, it is hard to see any justification for extending QE beyond the end of June, when the current program is slated to end,” Robert Carnell, chief international economist at ING Financial Markets, said in a note. “Indeed, the justification for the present program looked somewhat dubious even as it was instigated, and the economy has definitely improved since then.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aRVNpKluJ4nU

[Demeter]

89. IF we go to hot war in the Middle East

to protect our Saudi Oil (drug dealers), it could be a legitimate recovery with lots of stimulus applied to the home industries, just like WWII....even if we just supply the armaments...

[Tansy_Gold]

93. I wish I had three hours to refute that claim, Demeter, but I don't

It wasn't the war that brought prosperity in the 40s; it was the post-war conversion of all that industrial capacity to consumer goods. Unless and until the American oligarchs are willing to pay American workers to produce, there will be no recovery. And we don't have the national pockets to fund another war.

TG

[Demeter]

96. I know that, and you know that--but you also know what the line will be

and it's that we need a war to pull us out of the hole dug by our coddling of zombie banks...so they can remain undead.

[Pale Blue Dot]

17. Today I have a full day of teaching - I hardly remember what to do!

I probably won't be around much today, although I will sneak a peak at the GDP number when I can. Enjoy the day and the weekend, everyone!

[Pale Blue Dot]

18. Moody's Says Time Running Out for U.S. as S&P Cuts Japan

Moody’s Investors Service said it may need to place a “negative” outlook on the Aaa rating of U.S. debt sooner than anticipated as the country’s budget deficit widens.

The extension of tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, the chance that Congress won’t reduce spending and the outcome of the November elections have increased Moody’s uncertainty over the willingness and ability of the U.S. to reduce its debt, the credit-ratings company said yesterday.

“Although no rating action is contemplated at this time, the time frame for possible future actions appears to be shortening, and the probability of assigning a negative outlook in the coming two years is rising,” wrote Steven Hess, a senior credit officer in New York and the author of the report. The rating remains “stable,” according to the report.

The warning from Moody’s came on the same day that Standard & Poor’s lowered Japan to AA- from AA, signaling that the ratings firms are stepping up pressure on the governments of the world’s biggest economies to curb their spending. The threat of a lower rating may cause international investors to avoid U.S. assets. About 50 percent of the almost $9 trillion of U.S. marketable debt is owned by investors outside the nation, according to the Treasury Department in Washington.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-28/moody-s-says-time-shortens-for-u-s-rating-outlook-as-s-p-downgrades-japan.html

Is that a threat?

[Demeter]

19. Bankers back on the offensive at Davos

http://www.economist.com/blogs/newsbook/2011/01/davos_diary_3

A YEAR ago, the bankers gathered in Davos were publicly under attack and privately spitting about America's government. The Swiss gathering took place only a few days after Barack Obama, smarting from the loss of a Senate seat in Massachusetts, made some fiery anti-banker comments and (out of the blue) announced his desire to introduce the "Volcker Rule", which would prevent banks from proprietary trading. Regulators in Davos were baffled (they had no idea the proposal was coming). Bankers were furious—and terrified. Their public comments were muted (this was, after all, at the height of the global anti-banker backlash). But in private they did not mince words: American policymakers had gone mad in a populist overreaction to the Massachusetts election.

Fast-forward a year and the tone in Davos is stunningly different. The bankers are on the public offensive. Gary Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs, complained that the drive to new financial regulation could cause the next crisis. Jamie Dimon, boss of JPMorgan, lashed out at those who blamed banks for the financial crisis. Privately, however, the bankers seem much less agitated than they were last year. Most recognise that the international Basel 3 reforms, designed to boost capital and liquidity, make sense. They seem to have made their peace with America's financial-reform law, even though it includes a version of the Volcker Rule. Many of those who were spitting about the Obama administration now sound quite positive. "Last year Obama was bashing bankers; now he's returned to the centre," is a sentiment you hear again and again. Amongst the Davos financial crowd, at least, Mr Obama's rhetorical wooing of business is working. As one cynical observer put it "a little kissy-face gets you a long way"

If the bankers are keener on (or at least less worried about) Obama and American regulatory rules, they have become more worried about Britain. Much of the behind-the-scenes moaning this year is about the tone and direction of British financial reform. Alone among big financial centres, the direction of Britain's financial reform is not yet set. The debate has been a lot more radical (with Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, arguing for radical change). The Vickers commission has yet to report—and although the early signs do not point to great radicalism, bankers fret about what may come.

Add in the row about bankers' pay (which rages louder in Britain than elsewhere) as well as the higher tax rates they are paying, and the financiers' mood about London is pretty grim. Publicly, the bankers speak in generalities about the costs of regulation and the fact that all their expansion is in Asia. Privately some are willing to speculate on which parts of their businesses could move if conditions in Britain get worse. Other financiers are more forthright. Paul Singer, head of Elliot Management Corporation, a big hedge fund, talked of a "jealous spirit" permeating Britain's policy towards finance, that was "almost suicidal" for London's future as a financial centre. Boris Johnson, mayor of London, acknowledges the problem. "I'm worried that people are starting to think there is a hostile political climate", he admits. "My job is, by sheer infuriating bonhomie, to dispel that". Maybe Mr Obama can offer some lessons.

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

21. Bank CEOs Convene in Davos to Review Debt Risk, Rules

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/bank-ceos-meet-in-davos-to-discuss-regulation-eurozone-risk.html

The chief executive officers of banks including Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, Credit Suisse Group AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and UBS AG met behind closed doors in Davos, Switzerland, today to discuss regulation, the sovereign crisis and political intervention in the markets.

Barclays CEO Robert Diamond and Tidjane Thiam of insurer Prudential Plc co-chaired the gathering, an annual event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner arrived to speak to the group after Diamond presented an “industry issue matrix” for discussion among the participants, who also included top executives from Standard Chartered Plc and Perella Weinberg Partners LP. The list of issues was visible through a window into the meeting room.

The matrix contained five items for discussion: Interplay and unintended consequences of proposals to regulate institutions; threats of sovereign debt default, fiscal weaknesses and contagion in the euro zone; reactions to policymakers’ increasing propensity to intervene in markets; financial innovation and appropriate institutional structures; and successful business in a low-yield environment...

[Demeter]

22. Dimon’s Davos Cry: Don’t Blame All Banks

http://blogs.barrons.com/stockstowatchtoday/2011/01/27/dimons-davos-cry-dont-blame-all-banks/

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said Thursday that the ongoing easy money and low interest rate environment could pose a new financial risk, but “it’s lower now.” Many companies have plenty of cash on their balance sheet and banks and companies are generally less leveraged.

The banker, who was speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, added that the threat of higher interest rates wasn’t worrying either. “The Federal Reserve isn’t going to withdraw overnight.” Overcapacity remains and there are no signs of wage pressures, he said, which are the kind of inflationary factors that the Fed considers when raising interest rates.

The Davos panel, called “The Next Shock, Are We Better Prepared?” proceeded at a typically low emotional decibel level until Dimon was asked about what he thought of Americans who had directed their anger against the banks for the bailout.

Dimon visibly turned more animated, replying that “it’s not fair to lump all banks together.” The TARP program was forced on some banks, and not all of them needed it, he said. A number of banks helped stabilize things, noting that his bank bought the failed Bear Stearns. The idea that all banks would have failed without government intervention isn’t right, he said defensively...

[Demeter]

24. EXCUSE ME, JAMIE: Report Details Wall Street Crisis

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703399204576108461096848824.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Twelve of the 13 largest U.S. financial institutions "were at risk of failure" at the depth of the 2008 financial crisis, while at least 50 hedge funds tried to capitalize on it, according to a report released Thursday by a U.S. panel investigating how the financial system unraveled.

The report quantifies a huge run on the bank at Morgan Stanley, describes the alleged trading practices of a secretive hedge fund and tallies the number of such funds betting against U.S. homeowners.

The 545-page document paints a picture of a financial system let loose by lax regulation and careening out of control. Regulators now are hammering out a financial-regulatory overhaul, though some analysts say not enough has been done since to prevent a recurrence....

Of the 13 most important U.S. financial institutions, "12 were at risk of failure within a period of a week or two," the report quoted Mr. Bernanke as saying...The list of potential failures included Goldman Sachs Group Inc., people familiar with the report said. The only major financial institution not at risk at the time was J.P. Morgan Chase....

AND WE WOULD BE MUCH BETTER OFF NOW IF THEY HAD BEEN ALLOWED TO FAIL THEN...

[Demeter]

36. Hedge funds rebuke Goldman Sachs regulation call

Leading managers – including clients of the investment bank – have hit back at calls for tougher regulation of their industry made by Gary Cohn, Goldman Sachs president, in Davos

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/S3D95E/FDFZE/KEZRDQ/ZBE2RJ/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=1&a3=28

[Demeter]

39. Small Explosion at Davos Hotel Shatters Glass and Calm

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/01/27/small-blast-at-davos-hotel-shatters-glass-and-calm/?ref=business


DAVOS, Switzerland — A small explosion caused some broken glass but no injuries on Thursday morning at a four-star hotel in Davos, not far from the main meeting center of the World Economic Forum...Thomas Hobi, a spokesman for the police in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, where Davos is located, said there had been a “little detonation” in an underground storage area of the Posthotel Morosani around 9 a.m. local time. Some windows were broken but no one was hurt, he said...

Shortly beforehand, someone with the online tag of “Revolutionary Perspective” claimed responsibility on an Italian activist Web site. A post with a local time stamp of 7:28 a.m. read: “We have attacked the Hotels Morosani with pyrotechnics and sugar.”...The post claimed that two explosive devices were placed in the hotel, and that the oil tank of the hotel’s heating system was contaminated with sugar...The entrance to the hotel, which opened in the 19th century, is guarded; arriving guests must go through a metal detector and have their bags scanned, as is done at most of the finer hotels in Davos during the forum.

The explosion came hours before a luncheon titled “Criminals Without Borders,” which was held at the hotel as part of the forum. Among those attending were Juan Manuel Santos, president of Colombia, and Yury Fedotov, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime...

As in past years, security has been extremely tight at Davos. Snipers clothed in black visibly patrol the roofs, and people arriving by train or car are carefully monitored. The Swiss army has deployed 4,000 soldiers to guard the gathering, as well as installing more than 10 miles’ worth of barbed wire and fencing and 1,000 sandbags.

[Pale Blue Dot]

20. Facebook Overvalued at $50 Billion in Global Poll of Investors

Facebook Inc. isn’t worth $50 billion, according to a poll of global investors that shows skepticism about Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s recent estimate of the largest social-networking site’s value and concern that a bubble may be forming in the technology sector.

Sixty-nine percent of investors say Facebook is overvalued after Goldman Sachs invested $450 million in a deal that put the company’s worth at $50 billion, according to the quarterly poll of 1,000 Bloomberg customers who are investors, traders or analysts. Only 10 percent of respondents say Facebook’s valuation is appropriate; 4 percent say it’s worth more.

The Bloomberg Global Poll conducted Jan. 21-24 shows that investors disagree with Goldman Sachs’ assessment that Facebook is worth more than Web pioneers such as Yahoo! Inc., the biggest web portal, and eBay Inc., owner of the biggest online retail marketplace. Palo Alto, California-based Facebook surpassed Yahoo! in October as the third most visited website in the world.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/facebook-overvalued-at-50-billion-in-global-poll-of-investors.html

One word: Duh.

[Hugin]

76. Looks like AOL is now spelled... FB.

:eyes:

[Pale Blue Dot]

23. The FCIC, in Lockstep with the Officialdom, Refuses to Use the “C” Word

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report increasingly looks like a whitewash. Even though the commission has made referrals for criminal prosecution, you’d never know that reading its end product. The references to “fraud” and “crime” are sparing, and ex mention of the SEC’s fraud investigation of Goldman, consist almost entirely of mortgage fraud, which is the FBI’s notion of “fraud for profit” or “fraud for housing”, meaning borrower fraud. The book also acknowledges the fraudulent lending by firms that were prosecuted like Ameriquest. In other words, the notion that the TBTF firms might have engaged in less than savory activity is remarkably absent from the report.

The FCIC has also been unduly close-lipped about their criminal referrals, refusing to say how many they made or giving a high-level description of the type of activities they encouraged prosecutors to investigate. By contrast, the Valukas report on the Lehman bankruptcy discussed in some detail whether it thought civil or criminal charges could be brought against Lehman CEO Richard Fuld and chief financial officers chiefs Chris O’Meara, Erin Callan and Ian I Lowitt, and accounting firm Ernst & Young. If a report prepared in a private sector action can discuss liability and name names, why is the public not entitled to at least some general disclosure on possible criminal actions coming out of a taxpayer funded effort? Or is it that the referrals were merely to burnish the image of the report, and are expected to die a speedy death?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/the-fcic-in-lockstep-with-the-officialdom-refuses-to-use-the-c-word.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

25. FCIC Insider: “I Can’t Believe They Suborned Brooksley Born”

I participated in a blogger conference call with FCIC commissioners Phil Angelides and Brooksley Born. I’m clearly not cut out for public life. It was disconcerting to hear them thumping their talking points. For instance, Angelides began by saying that the purpose of the report was to explain why we faced the choice in 2008 of spending billions of dollars to bail out the financial system or let it fail.

That’s a false dichotomy that serves to justify the unprecedented rescues. It implies that the only way the crisis could have been addressed was the course of action taken. We pointed out as the crisis was unfolding that some of the early interventions made matters worse. Even at the peak of the crisis, a range of other actions were possible but were not taken. The bias throughout the crisis was to throw money at the problem with virtually no strings attached, and even in the cold light of day, to take far too little in the way of corrective and punitive measures.

But the stunning part were Angelides’ and Born’s answers to my questions. I’ve been in communication with several disaffected insiders. And contrary to the efforts of Born and Angelides to depict critics as the dissenters (meaning the Republicans), these observers feel the investigation was inadequate and the report excluded critical drivers of the crisis. They have told me in some detail about how the staff performed its work in a vacuum. They reported that the commissioners spent virtually no time with the team leaders, did not provide input into the thinking process or interviews. They also complained of poor resource allocation decisions: that nearly 2/3 of the staff time was taken up with arranging and preparing for the public hearings, which were not terribly productive. And to add insult to injury, the staff prepared questions for the hearings only to find the commissioners ignoring them.

Another problem area was the difficulty in getting subpoenas issued. The process was made difficult by design; it took sign off by commissioners of both parties. As a result, nearly all the document production was voluntary. In litigation, it is common practice in discovery for the target of a document request to stonewall and argue with the judge that the demand is overly intrusive, costly, etc. so as to wear down the other side and get the request trimmed back to as great a degree as possible. Here, with the commission having a very tight schedule to begin with, stonewalling would be a rational strategy, and my sources tell me that happened on a widespread basis, particularly after the firms under the spotlight began to see that subpoenas were unlikely to be issued.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/fcic-insider-i-cant-believe-they-suborned-brooksley-born.html

[Demeter]

32. YUP, THAT'S A WHITEWASH

DISGUSTING!

[Fuddnik]

83. "Griftopia" should be required reading.

Taibbi talks with people who were in the room at the fed during the meltdown.

The book would make a better report than the report.

To sum it all up, Lloyd Blankfein.

[Demeter]

70. U.S. Chamber Attacks FCIC as "Job-Killing" WikiLeakers

MUST BE READ TO BE BELIEVED

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-bottari/us-chamber-attacks-fcic-a_b_815022.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+HP/Business+%28Business+on+The+Huffington+Post%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

[DemReadingDU]

26. Monday December 20, 2010 ???

:eyes:

[Pale Blue Dot]

28. Sorry. Forgot to change the date in the template. nt

[Fuddnik]

82. No soup for you!

[Demeter]

27. U.S., Japan warned by IMF, rating agencies on debt

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/27/idINIndia-54466220110127

The United States and Japan received sharp warnings from the IMF and ratings agencies on Thursday that they must tackle their huge budget deficits to avoid investors dumping their bonds, which would create a sovereign debt crisis and push up their borrowing costs.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's on Thursday cut Japan's long-term debt rating for the first time since 2002, and a day after a U.S. agency raised its 2011 budget deficit forecast by 40 percent.

In the United States, Moody's Investors Service warned said while the risk to the United States' coveted top triple-A rating was small, it was rising.

The International Monetary Fund had harsh words for both the United States and Japan, saying they urgently need to act to cut their deficits...

SO, LET'S DE-FUND THE IMF!

[Demeter]

29. Sarkozy insists Paris and Berlin will never abandon the euro

EVERYBODY ABANDON SHIP!

THINGS MUST BE MUCH WORSE THAN HAS BEEN PUBLICLY ADMITTED...OR THERE ARE FORCES STILL TRYING TO TAKE THE EURO DOWN...

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14800334,00.html

French President Nicolas Sarkozy defends the euro in Davos, saying it would be 'unthinkable' for the eurozone to break up. But economists and managers at the World Economic Forum remain split over the bloc’s future.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy rejected speculation over the future of the euro on Thursday, adding that France and Germany were committed to the common European currency.

"To those who would bet against the euro, watch out for your money because we are fully determined to defend the euro," Sarkozy told delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos. "Mrs. Merkel and I will never - do you hear me, never - let the euro fail."

[xchrom]

45. if that's true mr sarkozy -- THEN WHY EVEN SAY SO!?!? nt

[Demeter]

30. Spain announces deal with unions on raising the retirement age

AS IF THAT WILL BUY SPAIN THE MERCY IT HOPES THE BANKSTERS WILL YIELD..

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,14800351,00.html

Spaniards could work two years longer, thanks to a preliminary agreement between the government and the country's unions. The change is part of Spain's efforts to avoid the need for a financial bailout...

The Spanish Labor Ministry said there was agreement in principle on the change, while union leaders said details remained to be ironed out.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has sought to raise the retirement age as part of efforts to persuade investors that Spain will not need a financial bailout like Ireland and Greece.

Retirement payments are a major drain on the Spanish economy. The Finance Ministry said pensions could account for up to 14 percent of Spain's public spending by 2050...

[bread_and_roses]

58. I am aghast that the unions would agree to this - from 65 to 67

This is obscene. Let's just all have to work till we die - that being the sooner the better for our Oligarch Overlords. I'd like to see those pampered Bankster Vampires and Masters of the Corporate Universe have to get off their treadmills at the gym and stand behind a counter for eight or nine hours a day at 65. And what about Roofers? The laborer operating the pavement-buster doing street repair?

ARE THEY INSANE?

Really, we have lost our collective minds .... here, there, everywhere.

[Demeter]

60. Spain already experienced fascism not so long ago

so some are weary, and willing to do anything to avoid IMF's tender mercies.

Others are probably panting for it.

[Demeter]

31. Experts predict eurozone debt reforms

The financial markets may have offered a recent respite to highly indebted eurozone members but they will still be forced into early sovereign restructuring, say leading economists

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/NS5KIW/204L2/A7BXAT/WLD0WD/ZH/t?a1=2011&a2=1&a3=28

[Demeter]

34. EU bail-outs to count towards national debt

Debts raised by the eurozone's new bail-out fund will have to be recorded in the national government accounts of participating countries

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/NS5KIW/204L2/A7BXAT/V1KO4E/ZH/t?a1=2011&a2=1&a3=28

[Demeter]

33. Chinese cities to pilot property tax

Beijing is to introduce a property tax in Shanghai and Chongqing, in the latest measure aimed at preventing a housing market bubble


Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/NS5KIW/204L2/A7BXAT/6VNWJF/ZH/t?a1=2011&a2=1&a3=28

I DON'T THINK IT WORKS THAT WAY, GUYS...

[Demeter]

35. BP faces legal challenge to Russian deal

Billionaire partners in TNK-BP file for an injunction in London’s High court to halt the UK oil group’s $16bn share swap and Arctic co-operation agreement with Rosneft

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/S3D95E/FDFZE/KEZRDQ/GK8JV0/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=1&a3=28

[Demeter]

40. SCHAUDENFREUDE FOR BREAKFAST: Dubai's artificial islands "sinking"

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/01/26/dubais-artificial-is.html

Dubai's "The World," a collection of artificial islands designed to resemble a map of planet Earth, is reportedly sinking back into the water. From the Telegraph:

The islands were intended to be developed with tailor-made hotel complexes and luxury villas, and sold to millionaires. They are off the coast of Dubai and accessible by yacht or motor boat.

Now their sands are eroding and the navigational channels between them are silting up, the British lawyer for a company bringing a case against the state-run developer, Nakheel, has told judges.

"The islands are gradually falling back into the sea," Richard Wilmot-Smith QC, for Penguin Marine, said. The evidence showed "erosion and deterioration of The World islands", he added.-

[Tansy_Gold]

48. Someday someone will put a baby grand piano on their remains n/t

[DemReadingDU]

56. Something like this?

1/28/11 Teen Grand Schemers: Piano Mystery Was a Work of Art
Two Miami teens had a grand ol' time laughing as the media and law enforcement were puzzled about how a grand piano found its way to a sand bar in the middle of Biscayne Bay.

Was it aliens? A disgruntled musician?

Not quite. Consider Nicholas Harrington and Julian Kolevris-Roots the local phantoms of the opera.
more...
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Grand-Scheme-of-Things-Miami-Piano-Mystery-Solved-114710894.html


edit: can't seem to post pic, read article!

http://tinyurl.com/6daduqe

[bread_and_roses]

50. Oh ROFL - too sweet

Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805): "Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens." ("Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain.")

(stolen from Wiki - for some reason (that generalist mind again) the story made me think of Asimov's "The Gods Themselves," so I looked it up on WIKI and found the quotation, which seems apt enough :) )

And here is a photo of Asimov himself, looking as if he's just a giant head, which itself is rather apt:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/jan/06/hugos-the-gods-themselves-isaac-asimov

I have been so busy I just got around to scanning most of WEDNESDAY's thread - then scanned Thursday's - can't read it all, alas - however, great to see some new posters Wednesday.

[Fuddnik]

81. There goes Erik Prince' waterfront estate!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I hope he had flood insurance.

[Robbien]

43. Egypt took down the internet, seems as if for everyone in Egypt, even the banksters

from
http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/01/egypt-leaves-the-internet.shtml





Confirming what a few have reported this evening: in an action unprecedented in Internet history, the Egyptian government appears to have ordered service providers to shut down all international connections to the Internet. Critical European-Asian fiber-optic routes through Egypt appear to be unaffected for now. But every Egyptian provider, every business, bank, Internet cafe, website, school, embassy, and government office that relied on the big four Egyptian ISPs for their Internet connectivity is now cut off from the rest of the world. Link Egypt, Vodafone/Raya, Telecom Egypt, Etisalat Misr, and all their customers and partners are, for the moment, off the air.

At 22:34 UTC (00:34am local time), Renesys observed the virtually simultaneous withdrawal of all routes to Egyptian networks in the Internet's global routing table. Approximately 3,500 individual BGP routes were withdrawn, leaving no valid paths by which the rest of the world could continue to exchange Internet traffic with Egypt's service providers. Virtually all of Egypt's Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide.

[Demeter]

54. Big Mistake

All those screen-hypnotized will get out of their chairs and into the street and take over...

[Robbien]

62. Very good point.

Out of curiosity alone the crowd probably doubled.


Also

so much for Egypt's security's super secret plan of burning cars in the streets and blaming the damage on the rioters. Al Jazeera just had a full report on the shenanigans.

[Demeter]

66. Even if Egypt Took Down the Cell Phone Network, They Couldn't Stop This

Even if they closed or burnt down every mosque in the country, it's too late.


Thirty years of repression and no hope have come to an end.

[Demeter]

68. "Those who try to lead the people can only do so by following the mob" - Oscar Wilde

[Hotler]

46. k&r n/t

[DemReadingDU]

49. Wikileaks - Mubarak advises Lieberman U.S. needs to "shock" its financial system back to health

by NaomiAKlein
@NaomiAKlein Gamal Mubarak advises Lieberman U.S. needs to "shock" its financial system back to health: http://bit.ly/dY0LlJ


from February 2009

Viewing cable 09CAIRO326, SENATOR LIEBERMAN'S FEBRUARY 17 MEETING WITH GAMAL

¶1. (C) During an hour-long meeting on February 17, Gamal
Mubarak discussed with Senator Joseph Lieberman the problems
with Gaza and Palestinian reconciliation, as well as the
broader political split within the Arab world. Senator
Lieberman sought Gamal's advice on ways for the U.S. to
engage Iran; Gamal offered that the best way to defeat
Iranian ambitions in the region is to make progress on the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Unfortunately, Qatar is
playing "spoiler" in order to get "a seat at the table."
Gamal, a former international banker, opined that the U.S.
needed to "shock" its financial system back to health, and
said that Egypt -- which had so far escaped much of the pain
of the global economic crisis -- was preparing to face tough
economic times ahead. The Ambassador, Senator Lieberman's
foreign policy adviser, and the ECPO MinCouns as note taker
were also present. End summary.


http://wikileaks.ch/cable/2009/02/09CAIRO326.html

[Demeter]

55. Since Both Are Heading for the Exits, Who Cares?

Lieberman and Mubarak, both victims of the Internet (beware the Internet!)

So, Mubarak's son was an international banker....makes one go hmmmmm...

Way to go, Sloppy Joe.

[Demeter]

52. States May Require Redocumenting Loans in Foreclosure MUST READ

http://www.appraisalnewscast.com/2011/01/27/states-may-require-redocumenting-loans-in-foreclosure/

Certain states — including California and Virginia — are contemplating changing their laws to require any company pursuing a foreclosure to recreate all the transfers and assignments of a loan, say real estate lawyers.

Such a change would negate Mers assignments and pave the way for states and local jurisdictions to collect millions of dollars in recording fees, according to Larry Platt, a partner at K&L Gates in Washington. "They are arguing you must have recorded assignments showing intermediate assignments, that Mers doesn’t show, as a condition to foreclose," Platt said at a recent Mortgage Bankers Association servicing conference.

"Many state legislatures are trying to jump on the foreclosure reform bandwagon. All kinds of ideas are being floated," said Donald Lampe, a lawyer at Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice in Charlotte, N.C. It is unclear whose ideas will be acted on, he said.

"It is difficult to redo the entire chain of title," Lampe said, noting that some previous assignees have gone out of business. "It is the type of proposal that could severally impair people’s ability to foreclose."

[Demeter]

59. HUMOR, UNINTENTIONAL: Companies Starting to Hire Back after Mass Layoffs

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Issues/The-Economy/2011/01/27/Companies-Starting-to-Hire-Back-after-Mass-Layoffs.aspx

The mass layoffs of 2009 hit all sectors of the workforce hard and the troubling images of plant closings and chained doors of local warehouses and shops became deeply symbolic of a wretched U.S. economy. There were 11,827 mass layoffs at companies across the United States in 2009 that left about 2.1 million American workers jobless – the most such “events” registered in one year since annual data became available in 1996.

But new data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for The Fiscal Times shows more promising times ahead, with many of those same employers expecting to recall workers. BLS keeps tabs on companies’ recall expectations, and the data shows that 47 percent of companies that had mass layoffs – lasting at least 31 days and involving the filing of initial unemployment insurance claims by 50 or more people – expected to recall some workers during the third quarter of 2010, the highest expectation of recall reported over the third quarter in the last eight years....Though workers involved in a mass layoff are a small portion of the nation’s overall unemployed, these events invariably draw considerable media attention and have helped to shape much of the American public’s perception of just how badly depressed the economy had become. And while most American workers will never be fired as part of a mass layoff, they likely work in an industry that is threatened by them: from the palpable downsizing by the Big Three automakers to specialty trade contractors and construction workers, to general merchandise store employees and merchant wholesalers, to telecommunication specialists, journalists, doctors and pilots. All of these industries, and more, reported mass layoffs in 2009....According to the BLS data, every private nonfarm industry, other than the real estate, reported higher recall expectations than in the third quarter of 2009. Manufacturing companies reported one of the largest rehiring expectation increases – from 25.7 percent to 40.6 percent. That is promising news for states like Michigan and Texas, which have larger manufacturing bases. Downsizing activity also fell to its lowest level since 1997, as employers announced plans to eliminate 529,973 jobs in 2010, 59 percent fewer job cuts than in 2009, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

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

The list of companies that reported double-digit rehiring expectations in the third quarter of 2010 include those in: professional and technical services, management of companies and enterprises, administrative and waste services, and educational services. Whether this rehiring will materialize cannot be predicted with any certainty, and remains a topic of debate among economists. However, many economists agree that the encouraging data on mass layoff recall expectations is emblematic of a nation in economic recovery, and thus will materialize.

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


BLS and The Fiscal Times specifically used numbers from the third quarter over the last eight years to help account evenly for any changes in seasonality...In its survey, BLS asks companies to what degree there will be a recall of workers and if so what percentage will return to work. Though companies are free to hire new employees it’s more cost effective to hire workers who have already been trained.


WARNING: THIS IS A CAPTIVE "NEWS SOURCE" AND HAS BEEN CALLED OUT AS A PROPAGANDA TOOL

[Demeter]

61. New York Sets Hearing To Review Fraud Claims By Bond Insurers

http://www.automatedtrader.net/real-time-dow-jones/43386/new-york-sets-hearing-to-review-fraud-claims-by-bond-insurers

New York State lawmakers have scheduled a public hearing next month to gather information on whether certain banks intentionally defrauded bond insurers about the creditworthiness of subprime-mortgage-backed securities...

So far, the insurance committee is calling on bankers, insurance executives and other expert witnesses to testify voluntarily at the Feb. 16 hearing in New York City. It does have the power to subpoena firms, however--something it has used infrequently in the past. The list of invitees has not yet been finalized...

The hearing puts a new spin on the dispute between banks and monoline insurers. Up to now, banks have agreed to repurchase certain securities where they were not represented properly in documentation, and in some cases have compensated investors.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) in particular has been faulted for the way it represented certain securities. Earlier this month, the firm wrote a $3 billion check to settle claims from government-sponsored entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in connection with mortgages originated by Countrywide Financial Corp, which BofA purchased in 2008...

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

The Insurance Department is already considering a formal investigation into whether banks committed insurance fraud by misrepresenting material facts on structured-finance deals, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal last month. It is acting on a series of referrals from different monolines.

"If someone did something akin to calling in insurance when their house was already on fire, and didn't acknowledge their house was already on fire, that's a problem," said Morelle.

A key part of the monolines' case is proving that the banks had intent to defraud them. Prosecutors would need to show that bankers who created the residential mortgage-backed securities knew they were violating their own underwriting guidelines, and then purposefully disguised the risks when passing the securities on to be insured.

Insurance fraud is a criminal offense punishable by significant fines and/or imprisonment.

[Demeter]

63. Koch conference under scrutiny

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=2EDE2F1B-BE40-42F0-AF83-BAB96054F413

This weekend, for the eighth straight year, the billionaire Koch brothers will convene a meeting of roughly 200 wealthy businessmen, Republican politicians and conservative activists for a semi-annual conference to raise millions of dollars for the institutions that form the intellectual foundation – and, increasingly, the leading political edge – of the conservative movement.

In the past, the meetings have drawn an A-list of participants – politicians like Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, leading free-market thinkers including American Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks, talkers Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and even Supreme Court justices - to mingle with the wealthy donors who comprise the bulk of the invitees. The meetings adjourned after soliciting pledges of support from the donors – sometimes totaling as much as $50 million – to non-profit groups favored by the Kochs.

[xchrom]

65. kick

[Demeter]

67. The Bill Daley Problem

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simon-johnson/bill-daley-obama-chief-of-staff_b_806341.html


The Bill Daley Problem is completely bipartisan -- it shows us the White House fails to understand that, at the heart of our economy, we have a huge time bomb....Until this week, Bill Daley was on the top operating committee at JP Morgan Chase. His bank -- along with the other largest U.S. banks -- have far too little equity and far too much debt relative to that thin level of equity; this makes them highly dangerous from a social point of view. These banks have captured the hearts and minds of top regulators and most of the political class (across the spectrum), most recently with completely specious arguments about why banks cannot be compelled to operate more safely. Top bankers, like Mr. Daley's former colleagues, are intent of becoming more global -- despite the fact that (or perhaps because) we cannot handle the failure of massive global banks.

The system that led to the crisis of 2008, and the recession that has so severely damaged so many Americans, encouraged excessive risk-taking by major private sector financial institutions and, yes, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other Government Sponsored Enterprises (although these were most definitely not the major drivers of the crisis -- see 13 Bankers).

http://www.scribd.com/doc/30443734/13-Bankers

Today's most dangerous government sponsored enterprises are the largest six bank holding companies: JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. They are undoubtedly too big to fail -- if they were on the brink of failure, they would be rescued by the government, in the sense that their creditors would be protected 100 percent. The market knows this and, as a result, these large institutions can borrow more cheaply than their smaller competitors. This lets them stay big and -- amazingly -- get bigger.

Do the people running the country -- including both the executive branch and the legislature -- understand economics and finance or not?...If the country's most distinguished nuclear scientists told you, clearly and very publicly, that they now realize a leading reactor design is very dangerous, would you and your politicians stop to listen? Yet our political leadership brush aside concerns about the way big banks operate. Why? Top bankers, including Bill Daley, have pulled off a complete snow job -- including since the crisis broke in fall 2008. They have put forward their special interests while claiming to represent the general interest. Business and other groups, of course, do this all the time. But the difference here is the scale of the too big to subsize -- measured in terms of its likely future impact on our citizenship and our fiscal solvency, this will be devastating.

Most smart people in the nonfinancial world understand that the big banks have become profoundly damaging to the rest of the private sector. The idea that the president needed to bring a top banker into his inner circle in order to build bridges with business is beyond ludicrous. Bill Daley now controls how information is presented to and decisions are made by the president. Daley's former boss, Jamie Dimon, is the most dangerous banker in America -- presumably he now gets even greater access to the Oval Office. Daley is on the record as opposing strong consumer protection for financial products; Elizabeth Warren faces an even steeper uphill battle. Important regulatory appointments, such as the succession to Sheila Bair at the FDIC, are less likely to go to sensible people. And in all our interactions with other countries, for example around the G20 but also on a bilateral basis, we will pursue the resolutely pro-big finance views of the second Clinton administration....Let's be honest. With the appointment of Bill Daley, the big banks have won completely this round of boom-bust-bailout. The risk inherent to our financial system is now higher than it was in the early/mid-2000s. We are set up for another illusory financial expansion and another debilitating crisis.

[Demeter]

69. Daniel Pennell: Mortgage Shenanigans in Virginia

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/daniel-pennell-mortgage-shenanigans-in-virginia-the-wall-street-%E2%80%93-washington-%E2%80%93-richmond-axes.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

By Daniel Pennell, a systems expert who has testified before the Virginia House of Representatives on MERS:

This week demonstrated how financial special interests have created an obscene and incestuous relationship with the leadership in the state legislature and the Governor’s office in Virginia. This cabal managed to kill off a bill (HB-1506) proposed by Delegate Bob Marshall, a bill designed to protect the integrity of the county property records and preserve the integrity of home owner’s title to their property. Simultaneously they attempted to alter the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) with HB-1718, such that any “record” (the previous version said document) signed or unsigned by a person they claim owed a debt would be good enough for the banks to win a legal judgment against a person. In other words a spreadsheet from a bank would be good enough to take someone’s home or report someone to a credit bureau. This was in direct response to a Supreme Judicial Court decision in Massachusetts, Ibanez, where the court said that a bank had to have proof it owned a mortgage before it could foreclose....

Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) gutted the public property records and left millions of homes with questionable titles. This was done without any government approval and against the recommendations of the title industry and the county recorders. MERS has been found by 10 state supreme courts to be acting illegally and is currently being sued by CA, NV, TN and 14 other states. The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), regulator of the national banks and the FDIC are investigating MERS for questionable business practices and for the systemic risk it poses to the nation’s financial system. The CEO resigned last week. Speculation in Washington has the OCC taking over MERS and nationalizing our land records, a clear violation of states’ rights....

The banks wanted HB-1506 killed and HB-1718 passed to protect MERS and, I believe, to avoid providing proof to mortgage investors that they were defrauded. The requirement to record would have provided evidence to investors in mortgage backed securities (MBS) that what they bought was empty; the mortgages were never legally transferred to the MBS. In my humble opinion if you sell someone a security that you claim is backed by collateral when it is not then that would be securities fraud. Among these investors are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac whose losses are being paid for with tax dollars to the tune of billion of dollars. Other investors include state and private pension funds. The total exposure to the banks exceeds $1.5 trillion. You can see why they would fight so to avoid a $21 fee and the right to use their own “records”.

[Demeter]

71. TPTB Are Not Too Happy--Down 45 pts already and still

[Ghost Dog]

75. Oil, Dollar Surge as Stocks Drop Worldwide Amid Egypt Protests

Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil jumped, stocks fell around the world and the dollar gained against the euro amid concern protests in Egypt are intensifying as President Hosni Mubarak imposes a curfew in Cairo, Suez and Alexandria. The Middle East nation’s dollar bonds sank, pushing yields to a record high.

...

“The unrest in Egypt has people concerned,” said Mark Bronzo, who helps manage over $25 billion at Irvington, New York-based Security Global Investors. “When it comes to the Middle East, there’s worries the unrest is going to spread. It has negative implications for the world.”

...

The biggest challenge to Mubarak’s 30-year rule overshadowed evidence the U.S. economy, the world’s biggest, is improving. GDP expanded at a 3.2 percent annual pace in the fourth quarter, up from 2.6 percent during the prior three months, as consumer spending climbed by the most in more than four years.

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akI4kS0QdegU&pos=1

[DemReadingDU]

77. If these protests move to Saudi Arabia

wouldn't the price of gasoline skyrocket?

[Fuddnik]

79. But, some royal heads would roll.

I'd buy tickets for that.

[Demeter]

85. Reality Overcomes Spin

The long-delayed fuse is set alight--who knows what will be standing in a year?

[xchrom]

73. kick

[bread_and_roses]

74. I just had a conversation with a Financial Planner

I have this old 401K (just barely more than pennies)- started when I worked at one of my previous jobs - floating around out there. He told me that "the Market is doing so well right now" that I don't want to "miss opportunities."

I gave him my take on "The Market." He didn't much like it (even though I used the polite language version, LOL)

[tclambert]

94. Well, the Dow is a little above where it was when George W. Bush took office.

The S&P 500 is not quite back up to that level.

Only ten years down the drain.

I think stockbrokers and financial planners are required to tell prospective customers, "You don't want to miss opportunities." That translates from financial-ese to "Give us your cash, sucker."

[Roland99]

80. 12:40 - DJIA down triple digits. Oil/Gold speculators rejoice over violence in Egypt

Dow 11,855 -135 -1.12%
Nasdaq 2,694 -61 -2.21%
S&P 500 1,282 -18 -1.37%
GlobalDow 2,142 -26 -1.21%
Gold 1,341 +21 +1.60%
Oil 89.33 +3.69 +4.31%

[maddogesq]

84. Please send out the bargain-hunters, quick.

This sucks today, but I am not panicking just yet. There are little good witches from the north that love a stock bargain or two.

[bread_and_roses]

91. I don't speak for anyone but myself, but it could fall to 0

and I couldn't care less.

[Tansy_Gold]

95. Ditto.

Although I might give a :thumbsup:.

:evilgrin:


TG, TT