STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 14 January 2014

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 14 January 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 13 January 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 13 January 2014
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Dow Jones 16,257.94 -179.11 (-1.09%)
S&P 500 1,819.20 -23.17 (-1.26%)
Nasdaq 4,113.30 -61.36 (-1.47%)


[font color=green]10 Year 2.83% -0.03 (-1.05%)
30 Year 3.77% -0.03 (-0.79%) [font color=black]


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

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


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.








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

[Demeter]

1. If only that were true!

[jtuck004]

2. No Jobs For Americans

...
A job gain of 74,000, even if it is real, is about half of what is needed to keep the unemployment rate even with population growth. Yet the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the unemployment rate fell from 7.0% to 6.7%. Clearly, this decline in unemployment was not caused by the reported 74,000 jobs gain. The unemployment rate fell, because Americans unable to find jobs ceased looking for employment and, thereby, ceased to be counted as unemployed.
...
I noticed today that the financial media presstitutes were a bit hesitant to hype the drop in the rate of unemployment when there was no jobs growth to account for it. The Wall Street and bank economists did their best to disbelieve the jobs report as did some of the bought-and-paid-for university professors. Too many interests have a stake in the non-existent recovery declared 4.5 years ago to be able to admit that it is not really there.

I have been examining the monthly jobs reports for a decade or longer. I must say that I as struck by the December report. Normally, a mainstay of jobs gain is the category “education and health services,” with “ambulatory health care services” adding thousands of jobs. In December the net contribution of “education and health services” was zero, with “ambulatory health care services” losing 4,100 jobs and health care losing 6,000 jobs.
...
Aren’t Washington’s priorities wonderful? $1,000 billion per year in Quantitative Easing, essentially subsidies for 6 banks “too big to fail,” and nothing for school teachers. It should warm every Republican’s heart.
...

Here.


I really like that last sentence. And from an ex-associate editor of the WSJ, no less. Some people get it...

[xchrom]

3. EUROZONE INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT SURGES IN NOVEMBER

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-14-05-49-06

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Official figures show industrial output across the eurozone rose in November at the strongest monthly rate since May 2010, in the latest sign that growth across the region may be picking up.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, says Tuesday that industrial output in the then 17-country eurozone rose by 1.8 percent compared with the previous month, ahead of market expectations for a 1.3 percent increase.

The rise was fairly broad-based with the core economies of Germany and France posting healthy gains. The standout performance was Ireland, which saw output surge 11.7 percent.

A run of economic figures lately has suggested that the recovery from recession is gaining traction. Figures for the fourth quarter are due next month.

[xchrom]

4. WORLD STOCK MARKETS SINK AFTER US SELL-OFF

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-14-03-52-28

HONG KONG (AP) -- Most stock markets sank Tuesday as a big sell-off that began in the U.S extended around the globe.

Asian and European investor sentiment was dampened after U.S. stocks had their worst day so far this year, with major Wall Street benchmarks all dropping more than 1 percent. Confidence among investors was sapped by a weak U.S. employment report last week even as some analysts blamed severe cold weather and noted that one weak month doesn't make a trend.

After strong gains in stock markets last year, investors fear that prospects for more gains might be limited in the short-term.

Germany's DAX slumped 1.2 percent to 9,398.20 and the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies slipped 0.8 percent to 6,704.29. France's CAC 40 dropped 1 percent to 4,220.34.

[xchrom]

5. GOP CONSTITUENTS ALSO DEPEND ON JOBLESS AID

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_JOBLESS_BENEFITS_POLITICS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-01-14-04-28-30

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- When federal emergency unemployment benefits expired last month, the effects ran deep in a Colorado county marked by two exit ramps off Interstate 25 - one leading to the conservative religious group Focus on the Family, the other to the Fort Carson Army post.

Hardly a liberal bastion, El Paso County has the largest number of people in the state who lost unemployment benefits, and many aren't happy about it. Plenty of Republicans, too, depend on jobless aid that Republicans in Congress are hesitant to prolong. The ideological argument for standing against an extension of benefits - that the aid can ultimately make it harder to find work - meets a more complex reality where people live.

Democrats propose to extend the emergency benefits for people who have been or are about to be out of work for more than six months; Republicans are less inclined to take that step, particularly if it means the government borrows more money. The paralysis led to the expiration of benefits for 1.3 million long-term unemployed on Dec. 28. Lawmakers are still working on a compromise.

The standoff infuriates people such as Lita Ness, who lost her job as a civilian contractor at Peterson Air Force Base in August 2012 and just received her final check from the unemployment office.

[xchrom]

6. UK inflation falls to 2% target rate in December

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25726621

The UK's inflation rate, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, fell to 2% in December, down from 2.1% the month before.

It is the first time inflation has been at or below the government-set target of 2% since November 2009.

The Office for National Statistics said the fall was caused by slower increases in the prices of food.

Inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI) rose to 2.7% from 2.6% in November.

[xchrom]

7. US challenges China over hi-tech steel imports

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25723559

The US has accused China of failing to comply with a World Trade Organization directive requiring it to drop duties on hi-tech US steel imports.

The trade body had mediated in a dispute between the two nations in 2012 and found China to have been unfairly placing tariffs on US steel products.

Washington says the taxes cost US firms more than $250m (£152m) in exports.

China said it has since reduced the import duties, but the US maintains that this has been insufficient.

[xchrom]

8. Europe Is Falling After Japan Gets Slammed

http://www.businessinsider.com/morning-markets-january-14-2014-1


Yokuzuno Asashoryu

Good morning!
Japanese got slammed in Tuesday trading, with the Nikkei falling 3%.

This was the Nikkei's first trading day since Friday, meaning that the market was reacting to both the Friday jobs report in the US, and the US selloff on Monday, which saw the S&P have its worst day of trading since August, losing 1.4%.

The New Year has just begun, and attempts to read much into this action are almost certainly inadvisable. But so far things haven't started off as well as 2013 ended. The data has been spottier and the market action has certainly been less pleasant.

Meanwhile, European markets are also reacting to the weak US session, with the major indices down a bit less than 1%.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/morning-markets-january-14-2014-1#ixzz2qNDozbHK

[xchrom]

9. Just About Everyone Is Happy With The $1.1 Trillion US Budget Bill

http://www.businessinsider.com/11-trillion-us-budget-bill-2014-1



WASHINGTON (AP) — The sales job is on for a bipartisan $1.1 trillion spending bill that would pay for the operations of government through October and finally put to rest the bitter budget battles of last year.

The massive measure contains a dozens of trade-offs between Democrats and Republicans as it fleshes out the details of the budget deal that Congress passed last month. That pact gave relatively modest but much-sought relief to the Pentagon and domestic agencies after deep budget cuts last year.

The GOP-led House is slated to pass the 1,582-page bill Wednesday, though many tea party conservatives are sure to oppose it.

Democrats pleased with new money to educate preschoolers and build high-priority highway projects are likely to make up the difference even as Republican social conservatives fret about losing familiar battles over abortion policy.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/11-trillion-us-budget-bill-2014-1#ixzz2qNEXrLub

[xchrom]

10. FBI Suspects Wall Street Traders Of Rigging Rates On Large Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Orders

http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-suspects-wall-street-traders-are-rigging-rates-2014-1

(Reuters) - Wall Street traders may be manipulating a key derivatives market and front running Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, hurting the US-owned mortgage giants in the process, according to an FBI intelligence bulletin reviewed by Reuters.

Using what Federal Bureau of Investigation agents described as "unsophisticated tradecraft," such as hand signals and special telephone ring tones, some traders are conspiring to rig rates on large orders submitted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or front running them in the interest rate swaps market, the document says.

The FBI said in the bulletin that the information came from a former high-level employee at a U.S. bank and an employee at a Canadian Bank, plus interviews with other bank workers conducted in 2012 and 2013. The former high-level employee at the U.S. bank estimated the front running had resulted in profits of $50 million to $100 million for the bank, the FBI said.

The bulletin did not name any of the traders or banks suspected of the activity, or indicate whether it may extend beyond the two banks.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fbi-suspects-wall-street-traders-are-rigging-rates-2014-1#ixzz2qNFwAvIh

[Demeter]

14. Put them in Jail!

[Tansy_Gold]

21. standard response

[xchrom]

24. !

[xchrom]

11. Turkey Is Going Down Again

http://www.businessinsider.com/turkey-is-going-down-again-2014-1

Just beneath the surface of what everyone's paying attention to, the crumbling financial fortunes in Turkey continue to be a major story.

And that continues today. The Turkish stock market is down over 1%. And the dollar has risen to a new high against the Lira.

Here's a one week chart of USD/TRY via XE.com:



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/turkey-is-going-down-again-2014-1#ixzz2qNGQe6J1

[xchrom]

12. New Obamacare Numbers Show That One Quarter Of Enrollees Are Young Adults

http://www.businessinsider.com/new-obamacare-numbers-show-that-one-quarter-of-enrollees-are-young-adults-2014-1

The Department of Health and Human Services released new Obamacare numbers Monday for the federal exchange and the 14 state exchanges, including demographic information for the first time.
As of December 28, nearly 2.2 million people had selected a plan on the exchanges. Twenty four percent of them were between the ages of 18 and 35.

The White House had wanted 39% of enrollees to be within that age range to prevent insurers from receiving a significant number of high-risk beneficiaries. However, health analysts have noted in recent weeks that the age demographics are not what matters. It's the health mix that is most important.

A recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that if young people made up 25% of enrollees, it would reduce insurer profits by 2-3%, but would not cause a "death spiral" where insurers raise premiums, driving healthy people out of the market, forcing them to raise premiums again and onwards. The administration is confident that the share of young people who sign up will only increase in the coming months.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-obamacare-numbers-show-that-one-quarter-of-enrollees-are-young-adults-2014-1#ixzz2qNH2BBU8

[xchrom]

13. Phone Companies Don't Want To Hold On To America's Calls For The NSA

http://www.businessinsider.com/phone-companies-and-the-nsa-2014-1

WASHINGTON (AP) — Telephone companies are quietly balking at the idea of changing how they collect and store Americans' phone records to help the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. They're worried about their exposure to lawsuits and the price tag if the U.S. government asks them to hold information about customers for longer than they already do.

President Barack Obama is expected to announce Friday what changes he is willing to make to satisfy privacy, legal and civil liberties concerns over the NSA's surveillance practices. One of the most important questions is whether the government will continue to collect millions of Americans' phone records every day so that the government can identify anyone it believes might be communicating with known terrorists.

The president's hand-picked review committee has recommended ending the phone records program as it exists. It suggested shifting the storage of the phone records from the NSA to phone companies or an unspecified third party, and it recommended new legal requirements before the government could search anyone's phone records.

The phone companies don't want the job. Executives and their lawyers have complained about the plan in confidential meetings with administration officials and key congressional intelligence and other committees, according to interviews by The Associated Press. Two phone executives familiar with the discussions said the cellular industry told the government that it prefers the NSA keep control over the surveillance program and would only accept changes if they were legally required. The executives spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the private discussions. But there have been public complaints, too.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/phone-companies-and-the-nsa-2014-1#ixzz2qNHd8it2

[Demeter]

16. They got smarter, those phone companies

The phone companies may survive.

Ain't no reason on God's earth why ANYONE should hold onto those conversations. They aren't admissible as evidence. They are only good for targeting drone strikes and blackmail.

We don't need to encourage either activity.

[xchrom]

15. California's State Budget Continues To Look Very Healthy

http://www.businessinsider.com/california-budget-surplus-2014-1

The situation has improved since then. Here is the most recent update from California State Controller John Chiang: Controller Releases December Cash Update

State Controller John Chiang today released his monthly report covering California's cash balance, receipts and disbursements in December 2013. Revenues for the month totaled $10.6 billion, surpassing estimates in the state budget by $2.3 billion, or 27.7 percent.

Total revenues for the fiscal year-to-date were $2.5 billion ahead (6.4 percent) of budget estimates.

"Revenues for the first half of the fiscal year are well ahead of estimates and reflect a surging economy fueled by a boom in technology, rising exports, improving consumer confidence, and a new housing upswing," said Chiang.



Read more: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/01/update-california-budget-surplus.html#ixzz2qNNubjIB

[Demeter]

17. Tolles on Today's Job Market

http://assets.amuniversal.com/392bed505ebb0131674a001dd8b71c47

[tclambert]

28. But unemployment went down to 6.7%

even though the jobs added last month could not have kept up with population growth.

Clearly, somebody has waterboarded these statistics again.

[Demeter]

31. IT'S LEGERDEMAIN

Unemployment is a phony number. the REAL number to watch is % EMPLOYMENT of working age population (16-99).

[tclambert]

38. Working age goes up to 99? That's a bleak outlook.

I still want to think I can retire at 75 or 80.

(Oh, and you get bonus points for using the word legerdemain. I like the long words. Though you get more points in Scrabble for the short word quiz.)

[Demeter]

33. If you need a serious belly laugh--Dave Barry!

http://www.miamiherald.com/2008/02/10/396814/this-time-music-failed-to-soothe.html

[xchrom]

18. The Bullish Economic Story May Be On The Verge Of A Change

http://www.businessinsider.com/economic-story-may-be-about-to-change-2014-1


The 10-year Treasury yield closed Monday at 2.82%, below the 2.88% level where it closed on December 18, when the Federal Reserve announced it would begin tapering down its quantitative easing program.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note broke through to a new multi-year high of 3.03% on the final day of 2013, following the Federal Reserve's December 18 decision to begin tapering down its bond buying program known as quantitative easing and the attendant sell-off in the U.S. government bond market.

Friday's release of the December jobs report, however, sent yields tumbling 10 basis points in a single day, and they are now back below where they were when the tapering-induced sell-off began.

Last week, before the jobs report, we highlighted Citi's Economic Surprise Index, which stood at its highest level in nearly two years headed into the release. The surprise index measures how much better or worse economic data progress relative to the expectations of market economists, so a high number means the data are blowing expectations out of the water.

That has been the backdrop for the last few months. Economic data releases have been doing just that, especially given how low expectations for near-term economic improvement were following the government shutdown that spanned the first two weeks of October.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/economic-story-may-be-about-to-change-2014-1#ixzz2qNQOwg6b

[xchrom]

19. Seven Nobel Laureates Endorse Increase in U.S. Minimum Wage

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-14/seven-noble-laureates-urge-increase-in-u-s-worker-minimum-wage.html


Seven recipients of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences were among 75 economists endorsing an increase in the minimum wage for U.S. workers.

In a letter released today, the group called for the hourly minimum wage to reach $10.10 by 2016 from its current $7.25, and then be indexed for inflation thereafter. They said “the weight” of economic research shows higher pay doesn’t lead to fewer jobs.

Past increases in hourly pay have had “little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum wage workers, even during times of weakness in the labor market,” the economists wrote. “A minimum wage increase could have a small stimulative effect on the economy as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings.”

Nobel Prize winners Kenneth Arrow, Peter Diamond, Eric Maskin, Thomas Schelling, Robert Solow, Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz were among signatories of the letter.

[Demeter]

29. If I'm not mistaken, none of them are Friedmanites.

Kenneth Arrow is Larry Summers Uncle (you don't get to choose your family, esp. by marriage..)

Arrow is brother to the economist Anita Summers, uncle to economist Larry Summers, and brother-in-law of the late economists Robert Summers and Paul Samuelson.

Arrow and his wife Selma have two children, sons David and Andrew, both actors. Andrew is married to actress Donna Lynne Champlin...

Five of his former students have gone on to become Nobel Prize winners. These include Eric Maskin, John Harsanyi, Michael Spence and Roger Myerson.

His wiki is very interesting... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Arrow

an incestuous industry, no?

[xchrom]

20. Obamacare Packing Medical Offices Spurs Deal Surge

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-14/obamacare-packing-medical-offices-spurs-deal-surge.html

Obamacare and an aging U.S. population are spurring purchases of medical office buildings, with investors sending prices to a record on bets that Americans’ demand for health services will increase.

Sales of properties leased by doctors and other health-care providers reached $6.67 billion in 2013, the second-highest total in 13 years of data-keeping by Real Capital Analytics Inc. Buyers including real estate investment trusts paid an average of $270 a square foot, up from $262 in 2012 and the most on record. The increase partly reflects deals for newer buildings with the latest technology, according to the research firm.

“It’s a really competitive space,” said Steve Sikes, manager of real assets at the Alaska Retirement Management Board, which is considering buying $150 million to $200 million of medical offices in what would be its first direct purchases of the properties. “Hopefully there’s enough of these out there for everyone.”

The buildings generate steady income from multiyear leases and offer higher investment returns than other types of commercial real estate. Buyers expect occupancies to climb along with the need for medical services as baby boomers age and more people get insurance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. More than 975,000 Americans signed up in December to buy plans under the law, which guarantees health coverage to all residents and penalizes those who aren’t insured.

[xchrom]

22. Fed Said to Release Plan to Limit Banks’ Commodities Activities

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-13/fed-said-to-release-plan-to-limit-banks-commodities-activities.html


The Federal Reserve is poised to take a preliminary step toward limiting banks’ activities with commodities amid congressional scrutiny, according to three people briefed on the discussions.

The Federal Reserve is planning to release a notice seeking information on ways to curb banks’ ownership and trading of some commodities as it tries to cut risk for deposit-taking banks, said the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private. Regulators and lawmakers have said raw-materials assets could lead to catastrophic losses, collapses and public bailouts.

A Senate Banking subcommittee has set a hearing on the issue for tomorrow, the second such hearing on the topic. Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, has raised concerns that banks may have a conflict of interest when they own and trade both physical commodities and instruments tied to them.

Fed spokeswoman Barbara Hagenbaugh declined to comment. The Fed is weighing whether to extend some legal and regulatory exemptions that allow banks to participate in the commodities markets, a person briefed on the process said in October.

[xchrom]

23. Danish Banks Face Tougher Credit Rules to Tackle Record Debt

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-13/banks-in-denmark-face-tougher-credit-rules-to-tackle-record-debt.html


Denmark’s financial regulator is looking into the option of cracking down on banks’ lending policies to address the nation’s record household debt load.

“The subdued growth in consumption is related to the excessive debt-taking going on prior to the crisis,” Ulrik Noedgaard, director general of the Financial Supervisory Authority in Copenhagen, said in an interview. The FSA and the Danish Business Ministry are now considering “more directly regulating the credit policies” of mortgage banks, he said.

The new FSA regulations would come on top of soft limits on interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages, which the Copenhagen-based agency plans to begin discussing with the industry next month, Noedgaard said.

Denmark is reining in its $550 billion home loan industry, the world’s biggest per capita, after cheap credit fed a borrowing spree. Danes owe their creditors 321 percent of disposable incomes, a world record and a level that warrants a policy response, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in November.

[Demeter]

39. Sjutton, ocksa!

[xchrom]

25. China's Xi warns of grim fight against corruption

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/14/uk-china-corruption-idUKBREA0D0PF20140114

(Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday the fight against corruption was grim and complicated but nevertheless, it had to be solved quickly with "drastic medicine".

Xi, in lengthy remarks to the ruling Communist Party's anti-graft watchdog, echoed comments he has made before and stressed the importance he has placed on tackling official abuse, which is a major source of public discontent.

Xi has made fighting pervasive graft a central theme since becoming president last March and has warned, like others before him, that corruption threatens the party's survival.

"Xi Jinping stressed that while we affirm our achievements, we must also see that the fertile ground for corruption still exists," state broadcaster CCTV said.

[Demeter]

40. Block American banksters like JPMorgan

Ought to stop most of it, right there.

[xchrom]

26. Greece posts budget surplus in 2013 at central government level

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/01/14/uk-greece-budget-idUKBREA0D0RW20140114

(Reuters) - Greece's central government posted a primary budget surplus of 700 million euros last year and will also post a surplus at the more closely watched general government level, making it eligible for further debt relief, its deputy finance minister said on Tuesday.

Greece has been promised it can seek more debt relief from its euro zone partners and the International Monetary Fund that have bailed out the country, after it posts a primary surplus for a full year.

The lenders track the general government surplus - which includes local government budgets and pension funds - rather than the central government data released on Tuesday, but that data indicates Greece is on track to meet the wider target.

Greece is aiming at a 2013 primary budget surplus of about 812 million euros or 0.4 percent of gross domestic product at the general government level.

[DemReadingDU]

27. JP Morgan and Madoff: Nesting Dolls of Fraud,

1/13/14 JP Morgan and Madoff: Nesting Dolls of Fraud by Pam Martens

Last week JPMorgan Chase paid $2.6 billion in fines and restitution, signed a deferred prosecution agreement and walked away from their 22-year involvement with Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. But according to court documents filed in 2011 by the Trustee of the Madoff victims’ fund, Irving Picard, this was not a simple case of poor risk management at JPMorgan. This was an operation structured like those Russian nesting dolls, with the Ponzi scheme as the outside doll with many more frauds layered inside the big one.

After reading the documents released by the Justice Department in connection with the settlement, the Los Angeles Times asked in a photo caption of a smirking Madoff outside of Federal Court: “Bernie Madoff: Was he part of the JPMorgan ring, or was JPMorgan part of his ring?”

more...
http://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/01/jpmorgan-and-madoff-were-facilitating-nesting-dolls-style-frauds-within-frauds/

[Demeter]

30. Very interesting...hope this has legs

because the tendency will be to suppress, of course.

For starters, JPMorgan Chase used unaudited financial statements and skipped the required steps of bank due diligence to make $145 million in loans to Madoff’s business, according to Picard. Lawyers for the Trustee write that from November 2005 through January 18, 2006, JPMorgan Chase loaned $145 million to Madoff’s business at a time when the bank was on “notice of fraudulent activity” in Madoff’s business account and when, in fact, Madoff’s business was insolvent. The reason for the JPMorgan Chase loans was because Madoff’s business account, referred to as the 703 account, was “reaching dangerously low levels of liquidity, and the Ponzi scheme was at risk of collapsing.” JPMorgan, in fact, “provided liquidity to continue the Ponzi scheme,” according to Picard.

Clearly, this is fraud number two on the part of someone – loan fraud.

Fraud number three occurred when JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor banks extended tens of millions of dollars in loans to Norman F. Levy and his family so they could invest with the insolvent Madoff. (Levy died in 2005 at age 93 without being charged with any crimes. Levy’s accountant, Paul J. Konigsberg, was indicted in September of last year and charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission in a civil action. Konigsberg has pleaded not guilty in both cases.)

According to Picard, Levy had $188 million in outstanding loans in 1996, which he used to funnel money into Madoff investments. Picard’s lawyers told the court that JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) “referred to these investments as ‘special deals.’ Indeed, these deals were special for all involved: (a) Levy enjoyed Madoff’s inflated return rates of up to 40% on the money he invested with Madoff; (b) Madoff enjoyed the benefits of large amounts of cash to perpetuate his fraud without being subject to JPMC’s due diligence processes; and (c) JPMC earned fees on the loan amounts and watched the ‘special deals’ from afar, escaping responsibility for any due diligence on Madoff’s operation.”

A critical piece of evidence against JPMorgan was that despite funneling loans to both Madoff and Levy, the bank “advised the rest of its Private Bank customers not to invest with Madoff,” according to Picard.

On paper, according to Picard, Levy was worth $1.5 billion in 1998. He was such an important customer to JPMorgan and its predecessor firms that he was given his own office at the bank – a situation that perhaps fueled the Los Angeles Times’ question of just who was a part of whose gang.

NO WONDER THEY HUNG BERNIE HIGH, AND ALL HIS FAMILY, TOO!

[Demeter]

32. U.S. Posts Record December Surplus on Fannie Mae Payments

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-13/u-s-posts-record-december-budget-surplus-on-fannie-mae-payments.html

The U.S. posted a record December budget surplus as higher payroll taxes, payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and a declining unemployment rate helped improve the government’s finances.

Revenue exceeded spending by $53.2 billion last month, compared with a $1.19 billion deficit in December 2012, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 29 economists was for a $44 billion surplus, the same as the Congressional Budget Office’s prediction.

The 1.2 percentage-points drop in the nation’s jobless rate to 6.7 percent in 2013 was the steepest calendar-year decline since 1983. The strengthening economy and swelling tax revenue cut the country’s deficit as a share of gross domestic product by more than half to $680.3 billion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 from a record $1.42 trillion in 2009...


I SINCERELY DOUBT THAT "DECLINING UNEMPLOYMENT" HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH A BUDGET SURPLUS...CUTTING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS, HOWEVER, DEFINITELY DID.

[Demeter]

34. CHEATERS BEWARE: Belgian school uses aerial drone to monitor exams

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/360187/CHEATERS-BEWARE-Belgian-school-uses-aerial-drone-to-monitor-exams

Thomas More school, located about 30km north of Brussels, posted a video on YouTube showing the aerial drone soaring above students while they take a test.

The tiny DJI Phantom aircraft, armed with a GoPro video camera, is controlled by one invigilator while another watches a monitor for potential cheats.

Whether the method will catch on we don't know but it would take a very brave and determined individual to try and sneak a look at their phone or a hidden note with this aerial menace around....

DAVE BARRY HAD ONLY ONE QUESTION: WERE THESE DRONES ARMED WITH MISSILES?

[Demeter]

35. Are Big Banks Out of Control? THE NYT WONDERS

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/01/12/are-big-banks-out-of-control

THE OPINIONS NYT PUBLISHED RUN 3 TO 2 SAYING "YES"

[Demeter]

36. Pope's Harley Goes Up For Auction To Help Rome Soup Kitchen

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/14/262400471/popes-harley-goes-up-for-auction-to-help-rome-soup-kitchen?ft=1&f=1001

WHO WOULD GIVE A POPE TWO HARLEYS, AND WHAT DOES HE PLAN TO DO WITH THE OTHER ONE?

FUDDNIK, PICK UP THE INTERNATIONAL COURTESY PHONE...

[Fuddnik]

41. They can pry mine away from my cold, dead ass!

[Demeter]

42. No! you misunderstand!

I thought a connoisseur like you would jump at the chance to own a Papal Harley.

[DemReadingDU]

43. NPR: Funny segment about the Pope and his Harley

1/14/14 Pope Francis is the proud owner of a Harley Davidson Dyna Super Glide. It was given to him as a gift. His Holiness will auction the hog to help raise money for a soup kitchen and hostel for the homeless in Rome.

1 minute audio at link, and transcript

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/14/262357221/the-last-word-in-business

[Demeter]

37. Why the data is missing big price hikes: Costs are going up, BUT escaping the number-crunchers

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whats-up-with-prices-2014-01-14?siteid=YAHOOB


These days, prices for a number of goods and services have suddenly begun to rise. Some are obvious, others are not. But most of them appear to be escaping the government’s number-crunchers, when it comes to showing up in its various price indexes.

You see, there are several ways that a provider of goods or services can raise prices. Not all are obvious at first blush — but all will have an impact on your buying power before long.

First there is the outright change in price tags. This usually gets picked up by the government’s statisticians. Look for them in this week’s consumer and wholesale price indexes.

Then there are fees and surcharges. These are usually slipped into your monthly bill by your insurance company, your phone and cable provider, and your local utility. These masquerade under the term “government mandated,” but are they really required? You be the judge.

The third method is more subtle. Instead of raising prices, the seller reduces the size of the product. This is more ubiquitous than you might think. When was the last time you saw a can of ground coffee that actually weighed a pound? Nowadays it’s more like 10 ounces...

YUP...THE INFLATION NUMBER IS JUST AS MEANINGLESS AS THE UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBER.

THE REASON THE ECONOMISTS CANNOT SEE INFLATION (ASIDE FROM NOT WANTING TO SEE IT) IS BECAUSE IT'S NOT HAPPENING IN WAGES.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked