STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 28 January 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 28 January 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 27 January 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 27 January 2015
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Dow Jones 17,387.21 -291.49 (-1.65%)
S&P 500 2,029.55 -27.54 (-1.34%)
Nasdaq 4,681.50 -90.27 (-1.89%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.82% +0.05 (2.82%)
30 Year 2.40% +0.04 (1.69%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - 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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[div]
[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts







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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. For DJIA Market Information, click this link

DJIA daily data

Put your feedback under this post if you like it. Or not.

[Hugin]

6. Very good.

There is even a graph image we could link near the bottom of the page, if only the daily closing.

I will be AFKB for a couple of days, but, I'll look for the 'pertnent URL soon.

[Demeter]

8. You will have to, Hugin. It's above my pay grade and experience

and lord knows, I've tried. I just hate computers too much to get to know them that well....

[Demeter]

2. How Much Success is Syriza Likely to Have in Ending Austerity?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/01/much-success-syriza-likely-ending-austerity.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

While the election results in Greece have sent shockwaves through European technocratic elites and have rattled investors, it is not clear how successful Syriza will be in getting big enough changes implemented in Eurozone policies and its own bailout terms to end the humanitarian crisis, rather than just create the sort of bounce off the bottom growth that analysts like to depict as progress. Indeed, once you walk though the likely bargaining positions of the various parties, there is little reason to be optimistic on Syriza’s behalf.

Bear in mind that Syriza has yet to make any official statement as to what its negotiating position with the Troika will be. Both presumed prime minister Alex Tsipras and one of his finance minister candidates, Yanis Varoufakis, articulated bolder positions a year ago, when they were further from power. In the runup to to the election, Syriza has tried to depict itself as an anti-austerity, yet pro Eurozone party. As Jamie Galbraith described it, via Mark Thoma:

The Syriza program is a pro-European program. It is, and I think Europe and Europeans, people are committed to the European project, can consider it a great stroke of luck that there has arisen in Greece, and consequently, partly consequently and subsequently, in Spain, as well as in the present government of Italy, a pro-European set of parties, whose objective is change, constructive change, to make the European project viable.

The nut of that problem, as we will see, is that while may be a very estimable-sounding position, it may not be as pragmatic as it appears. Greece likely has better odds of winning concessions if it is less reasonable, since the Germans and the even more implacable Finns are convinced that the periphery countries are immoral beggars who deserve to be ground into the dust if they cannot or will not pay their debts. Greece is unlikely to be able to shake the perception in the North that they have the upper hand and can force Greece to heel, giving at most only fairly minor concessions. Greece’s best hope is if it there is an upsurge in popularity of other anti-austerity and anti-Eurozone parties in the rest of Europe. And they are more likely to rally support in the rest of the Eurozone if they take bold positions rather than careful, studied ones. And even then, that may not be enough for them to resolve the deep-seated problems they face. It isn’t simply that they face a very difficult challenge politically vis-a-vis the Troika, but that even if they get most of what they want, their policies do not look likely to generate enough demand to pull Greece out of its ditch.

Negotiating Boundary Conditions

Once you look at the likely boundary conditions, things don’t look good at all for Syriza. The current Greek bailout expires at the end of February. Greece has €10 billion of debt repayments due over the summer and has €7 billion of aid that is on hold unless and until it negotiates a new bailout deal. And the Finns are being implacable. From the Financial Times earlier this month:

Finland has emerged as the biggest stumbling block to negotiating a new bailout deal with an incoming Greek government, telling its eurozone partners that it will not support debt forgiveness and is reluctant to back another extension of the €172bn rescue.

In an interview, Finland’s prime minister said he would give a “resounding no” to any move to forgive Greece’s debts and warned that a new government in Athens would have to stick to the terms of the existing bailout…

If the Greek bailout is allowed to expire at the end of next month, Athens would be left without a financial backstop from the EU at a time of mounting market jitters about the eurozone. Although Greece would still have access to an International Monetary Fund programme, tensions between Athens and the fund have also grown.

Asked whether he could back an extension of the EU bailout, which is due to expire next month, Mr Stubb said he could not “exclude the possibility”. But eurozone officials said Helsinki has taken an even harder line in closed-door talks, telling counterparts that a longer extension of the Greek programme could inflame anti-euro populists in Finland’s upcoming parliamentary elections…

According to officials involved in those discussions, most eurozone countries advocated a six-month extension of the programme to give the political drama in Athens time to play out, but Helsinki wanted only a one-month delay. A compromise of two months was ultimately agreed.

Withholding the bailout funds, if the Finns refuse to extend the bailouts, is likely to grind the Greeks down even further, which is the plan....


SPEAKING FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE (I DIVORCED A FINN) I AM NOT SURPRISED AND AGREE WITH THE CONCLUSION.

[Demeter]

4. Media Demonization of Syriza: Pretending that Neoliberalism is Popular and Mainstream

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/01/media-demonization-syriza-pretending-neoliberalism-popular-mainstream.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

The notion that a democratically elected government would put broad social interest over continued, self-destructive sacrifices to financiers and their allies in European governments is so threatening that a large swathe of media outlets seem almost to take visceral offense at the idea.

...It is also important to remember that the effort to depict neoliberalism as centrist and traditional social democratic positions as radical reflects the weight of money, and is at odds with the weight of popular opinion. As Richard Kline pointed out:

Let’s dispense with several basic misconceptions regarding why progressives are presently so unsuccessful.

“Progressive goals are not popular.” Even with the systematically distorted polling data of the present, this is demonstrably untrue. Inexpensive health care, progressive taxation, educational scholarship funding, curtailment of foreign wars, environmental protection among others never fail to command majority support. It is difficult to think of a major progressive policy which commands less than a plurality. This situation is one reason for the lazy reliance upon electioneering by progressives, they know that their issues are popular, in principle at least. Rather childishly, they just want a show of hands then, as if that is what goes on really in elections.

One of Kline’s big messages is that why American progressives are so ineffective is that they see their cause as moral and just, and want to win converts. They are, for the most part, deeply uncomfortable with power. Per Kline: ” Thus, they don’t frame what they engage in as a fight but rather as a debate.” His view is that the times progressives have been effective is when they are teamed up with radicals, which are groups with real economic or social grievances.

So one reason for the overwrought reaction to Syriza is that a group that on the surface is merely progressive, in terms of its goals, may (stress may) be prepared to behave like radicals (in terms of their actions) precisely due to the humanitarian crisis that the Troika has inflicted on Greece. It’s remarkable that European technocrats didn’t anticipate that grinding down a population would lead to a broad-based, democratic pushback, and they seem genuinely surprised that Syriza has gotten this far, even in the face of heavy-handed efforts to scare Greek voters.

By Bill Black, the author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One and an associate professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Originally published at New Economic Perspectives

Where to start?

• The horribly designed euro, a design Germany insisted on, austerity, which Germany insisted on, and a horribly designed ECB, which Germany insisted on, will be the “death knell of the eurozone” if Prime Minister Merkel continues those policies.
  
• Germany has repeatedly used the troika, the bond vigilantes, and the desperation of peoples in crisis to “blackmail” nations throughout the eurozone – and German politicians have then proceeded to mock and excoriate the Greeks when they succumbed to that blackmail.
  
• The economic policies Syriza supports are economically sensible – they will speed the eurozone’s recovery and eventually be highly beneficial to the German people
  
• The economic policies Merkel has blackmailed the eurozone leaders into inflicting on their own peoples constitute economic malpractice. They slow the recovery and cause immense human misery that serves no purpose.
  
• Troubled debt renegotiations occur thousands of times every day because we learned hundreds of years ago that once a debtor has been pushed to the point of default with no prospect for relief it makes sense to let the debtor make a fresh start
  
• The ECB can shoehorn the euro into becoming a quasi-sovereign currency for the eurozone if the concern is “German taxpayers.” The German courts might try to block it, but if the alternative is a new, even deeper crisis they may allow the ECB to do what needs to be done. The ECB has repeatedly had to evolve beyond its original German design in order to prevent the eurozone’s collapse.

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

3. "Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe"

[Demeter]

22. Invalidation at work

[Demeter]

5. Oil price 'too low': Saudi Aramco chief

I'LL BET YOU A NICKEL THE NEW SAUDI KING GETS THE PRICE OF OIL BACK UP THERE FAST....EVEN IF HE HAS TO CUT PRODUCTION

http://news.yahoo.com/oil-price-too-low-saudi-aramco-chief-080903455.html

World oil prices have fallen too far, the president of state-owned energy giant Saudi Aramco said on Tuesday, insisting that market forces, not deliberate production cuts, must take their course.

"It's too low for everybody," Khalid al-Falih told a conference.

"I think even consumers start to suffer in the long term."

MORE

[xchrom]

7. Greece's New Government Is Already Hiking The Minimum Wage And Reversing Privatisation

http://www.businessinsider.com/greeces-new-government-is-already-hiking-the-minimum-wage-and-reversing-privatisation-2015-1

The incoming government in Athens is already making waves: Greece's minimum wage will be hiked by 10%, from about €680 per month now to over €750.

That's according to Syriza's new labour minister, speaking to Greek TV station Skai.

It's not the only big change they're moving quickly on.

The government had previously been planning the sale of two thirds of the Port of Piraeus, Greece's biggest. But that was immediately halted yesterday, according to Reuters.

Greece's wide-ranging privatisation programme is a part of its bailout agreement, so it's yet to be seen how the country's major international creditors react.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/greeces-new-government-is-already-hiking-the-minimum-wage-and-reversing-privatisation-2015-1#ixzz3Q76GZyw9

[Demeter]

9. Good luck, Greece!

???ή ?ύ??

(Kalí̱ týchi̱ )

[xchrom]

10. The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

http://www.businessinsider.com/10-most-important-things-in-the-world-right-now-jan-28-2015-1

1. Apple crushed earnings expectations thanks to phenomenal iPhone sales, selling 74.5 million units versus the predicted 65 million.

2. Jewish groups in Argentina boycotted the government's holocaust ceremonies Tuesday over the death of a prosecutor who was investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish centre.

3. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia in May to celebrate the Soviet victory over Germany in WWII, marking Kim's first foreign visit since taking power in 2011.

4. Parts of the US East Coast were hammered by a blizzard Tuesday, while the storm brought less snow than predicted to New York City where officials were forced to defend their decision to shut down the city.

5. Greece's new government is already hiking the minimum wage by 10% and reversing privatisation.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/10-most-important-things-in-the-world-right-now-jan-28-2015-1#ixzz3Q7AGn3hP

[Demeter]

17. My sister said she had 3 ft of snow yesterday when I called, and more falling

She was exhausted by periodically digging out a place for the doggies (Scottish terriers).

One leapt out into the snow, and disappeared under it; the other tried to climb the shoveled mountain and disappeared when she fell through. They were having fun. Digging them out wasn't so much fun, though.

[xchrom]

11. Greek Bank Stocks Are Getting Smashed For The Third Day Running

http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-bank-shares-are-getting-smashed-2015-1

Greece's banks are getting absolutely hammered again in trading today. Just like yesterday, and the day before.

The Athens stock exchange is down by 3.4%, but the banks listed on the index are down much further, falling another 10%.

They have lost more than a third of their value since Syriza was elected this weekend. It appears that shareholders are not warming to the idea of a radical left-wing government.

Here's how that looks for Bank of Piraeus, one of Greece's biggest:



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/greek-bank-shares-are-getting-smashed-2015-1#ixzz3Q7AxcY5f

[Demeter]

18. The stockholders realize that nothing and no one is going to save the banksters

and about time, too!

[TooPragmatic]

26. Not just that

People are also starting to withdraw the last of their money out of the banks in case Greece exits the Euro and capital controls will come to place. If that happens people will need Euros for black market trading since the Drachma will be worthless.

[xchrom]

12. Shell Signed An $11 Billion Deal To Build A Petrochemicals Plant In Iraq

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-shell-signs-11-billion-deal-to-build-petrochemicals-plant-in-iraq-2015-1

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has signed a deal with Iraq worth $11 billion (7 billion pounds) to build a petrochemicals plant in the southern oil hub of Basra, Industry Minister Nasser al-Esawi said on Wednesday.

Esawi told a press conference in Baghdad the Nibras complex, which is expected to come on line within five to six years, would make Iraq the largest petrochemical producer in the Middle East.

"The Nibras complex will be one of the largest (foreign) investments (in Iraq) and the most important in the petrochemical sector in the Middle East," Esawi said.

A Shell spokesman told Reuters Iraq's cabinet had authorised the project on Jan 13.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-shell-signs-11-billion-deal-to-build-petrochemicals-plant-in-iraq-2015-1#ixzz3Q7BUlHPb

[xchrom]

13. The Fed Is On Track To Raise Interest Rates This Year

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-fed-seen-remaining-patient-with-rate-guidance-amid-global-turmoil-2015-1

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is expected to signal it remains on track to begin raising interest rates later this year, as the central bank shows confidence that low inflation and rising risks from abroad have yet to derail the U.S. economic recovery.

The Fed's first two-day policy meeting of the year concludes on Wednesday, and policymakers will likely restate their "patient" approach to raising rates, while also voicing faith that the economy will continue improving.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen faces growing skepticism that the central bank can tighten monetary policy by mid-year, with a strengthening dollar and falling oil prices adding to worries that inflation readings remain too low for the Fed to begin hiking.

But U.S. central bank officials have argued that the drop in oil prices is a transitory factor that benefits U.S. consumers in the short run. And with unemployment dropping and growth on track, Fed officials have indicated they will move forward with an initial rate hike in the middle or latter half of the year even if other closely watched measures such as wages remain weak.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-fed-seen-remaining-patient-with-rate-guidance-amid-global-turmoil-2015-1#ixzz3Q7C7J69L

[xchrom]

14. There's $51 Billion Set Aside For Wars In The Latest White House Budget

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-white-house-seeks-534-billion-base-defense-budget-51-billion-for-wars--2015-1

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will seek a base defense budget of $534 billion when it sends its 2016 spending request to Congress next week, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, a figure that exceeds federal caps by $35 billion and could trigger mandatory cuts.

The administration also will ask for nearly $51 billion in funding for the war in Afghanistan as well as the conflict against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the formal budget presentation next week.

The base budget proposal includes $107.7 billion for weapons procurement and $69.8 billion for research, Bloomberg reported.

A source familiar with the budget proposal said it had funding for 57 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters built by Lockheed Martin Corp <lmt.n>, two more than planned in last year's budget.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-white-house-seeks-534-billion-base-defense-budget-51-billion-for-wars--2015-1#ixzz3Q7CqIoM4

[Demeter]

19. oh dear god

[Hotler]

27. ........

[xchrom]

15. STOCKS DRIFT AS WEAK US EARNINGS ADD TO GROWTH CONCERNS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FINANCIAL_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-28-04-29-33

KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent to 4,627.12 and France's CAC 40 added 0.1 percent to 4,626.85. Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent to 6,820.75. Wall Street looked set for a mixed session following the previous day's declines. Dow futures were down 0.1 percent at 17,361 while S&P 500 futures gained 0.2 percent to 2,033.80.

US ECONOMY: Wall Street slumped Tuesday after companies including Microsoft, Caterpillar and Procter & Gamble reported disappointing earnings. Lower orders for durable goods fueled concern about the American economy's ability to drive earnings if global growth weakens. The Fed ends its first policy meeting of 2015 on Wednesday and is widely expected to repeat its pledge to be patient in raising interest rates from record lows. Inflation has fallen further below the Fed's target rate, thanks to plunging oil prices and a surging dollar that makes imports cheaper.

THE QUOTE: "The impact of global growth is slowly starting to be reflected in corporate earnings with an underwhelming reporting session in the US setting the tone for global markets," IG strategist Stan Shamu said in a commentary. The weak earnings "set off the alarm bells and resulted in investors exercising caution ahead of the results from the Fed meeting which concludes today," he said. "Not much change is expected from the Fed after the detailed commentary from the last meeting."

ASIA'S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 1.4 percent to 3,305.74. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 percent to 17,795.73 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.2 percent to 24,861.81. Seoul's Kospi gained 0.5 percent to 1,961.58 and Sydney, New Zealand and Bangkok also rose. Benchmarks in Taiwan, India and Singapore declined.

EUROPE: Greece's new left-wing prime minister picked a critic of European Union bailout terms as his finance minister, signaling his resolve to push for lenders to write off part of its debt. But concern about a confrontation between the European Union and the newly elected Syriza party, which vowed to end painful austerity measures, eased after both sides said they were open to negotiation.

[xchrom]

16. GREEK LEADER: NEGOTIATING DEBT SOLUTION A PRIORITY

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_NEW_GOVERNMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-28-05-37-56

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's new leftist prime minister says his government's top priorities are negotiating with creditors to resolve the country's debt problems and dealing with what he describes as a humanitarian crisis.

Speaking in the new government's first Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Tsipras said he was ready with a four-year fiscal plan that would balance the budget, when not counting for costs of servicing debt. But he said Greece would not meet a bailout requirement to produce surpluses.

The plan also aims to find "realistic proposals" on how to make Greece's huge rescue loans easier to manage.

Tsipras' radical left Syriza party won Sunday's election and teamed up with a small right-wing anti-bailout party to form a government. The move has raised concerns Greece will clash with international creditors.

[Demeter]

20. 7F outside at 7 AM

Might get up to 28F, and then just keeps going down for a week. Three layer day...stay warm, everyone!

[xchrom]

21. GERMAN CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AT 13-YEAR HIGH

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-28-03-21-42

BERLIN (AP) -- German consumer confidence is at a 13-year high, buoyed by a rise in disposable income due to collapsing fuel and heating oil costs.

The GfK research group said Wednesday its forward-looking consumer climate index rose to 9.3 points for February from 9 points the month before.

GfK says dropping energy prices have driven `considerable increases in both income expectations and willingness to buy." Consumers also regard the lower fuel prices as a key economic stimulus which, combined with a drop in the euro's value, "should boost not only exports but also companies' willingness to invest."

The survey of some 2,000 consumers showed economic expectations rose to 22.5 in January from 14.5 points in December, income expectations up to 47.8 from 41 and willingness to buy up to 57.4 from 49.1.

[xchrom]

23. CHINA'S YUAN JOINS TOP 5 MOST-USED GLOBAL CURRENCIES

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_RISING_YUAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-28-07-00-23

BEIJING (AP) -- China's yuan has become one of the five most widely used currencies in global payments, an international financial transactions agency announced Wednesday.

The yuan passed the Canadian and Australian dollars in popularity in December, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which provides communications between financial institutions and companies. It said the yuan now ranks behind the dollar, the euro, the British pound and Japanese yen.

The change is an "important milestone," and confirms the yuan's transition from an emerging to a "business as usual" currency, said Wim Raymaekers, Swift's head of banking markets, in a statement.

Beijing is gradually easing controls on the yuan and encouraging its use abroad in an effort to reduce costs for its traders and increase Chinese companies' role in the global economy.

[Demeter]

28. That didn't take long

Another year or so, the euro will be a shadow of itself, the yen will be toilet paper, and the US and Russia will be battling for 5th place....

[xchrom]

24. Obama Proposes Offshore Oil Drilling From Virginia to Georgia

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-27/obama-proposes-offshore-oil-drilling-from-virginia-to-georgia

(Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration proposed opening to offshore drilling an area from Virginia to Georgia in a policy shift sought by energy companies but opposed by environmentalists worried about resorts such as the Outer Banks or Myrtle Beach.

The offshore plan for 2017-2022 marks the second time President Barack Obama has recommended unlocking areas in the U.S. Atlantic for oil drilling, and it drew a swift retort from allies who say the payoff doesn’t justify the risk of a spill along the populated coast. The agency said Atlantic leases won’t be auctioned for at least six years and drilling wouldn’t start for several more years.

“This plan takes a balanced approach to oil and gas development,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told reporters Tuesday on a conference call. “It protects areas that are just too special to develop.”

Managing the U.S. oil and gas boom has become a fraught issue for Obama, who has trumpeted the benefits of the jump in production and falling prices, while also seeking to balance it with a desire to combat climate change and guard against pollution. Environmentalists say the administration hasn’t done enough to counter the risks of spills such as the BP Plc disaster in 2010 and rising greenhouse-gas emissions

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25. Kochs to Play Big in 2016—$1 Billion Big

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-01-26/kochs-to-play-big-in-2016-1-billion-big


The political network led by the Koch brothers aims to pump nearly $1 billion into the 2016 presidential race, an unambiguous signal that the powerful Republican donors aren't backing down.

The fundraising goal of $889 million was announced Monday at a summit of 450 wealthy donors and small-government activists in Palm Springs, Calif., an attendee said. It comes a day after the group hosted what was tantamount to the first debate in the Republican primary campaign, with Senators Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz regaling the private audience for 80 minutes Sunday night.

Taken together, the panel of presidential hopefuls and eye-popping fundraising goal show that billionaire energy executives Charles and David Koch have no interest in shying away from politics, even after being denounced on the Senate floor by then-Leader Harry Reid as "un-American" for secretly steering money into politics.

The attendee said the fundraising goal is meant in part as a statement that the Koch-funded groups and their donors aren't intimidated by Reid.