STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 30 March 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, 30 March 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 27 March 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 27 March 2015
[center][font color=green]
Dow Jones 17,712.66 +34.43 (0.19%)
S&P 500 2,061.02 +4.87 (0.24%)
Nasdaq 4,891.22 +27.86 (0.57%)


[font color=green]10 Year 1.97% -0.01 (-0.51%)
30 Year 2.54% -0.03 (-1.17%) [font color=black]


[center][/font]

[HR width=85%]

[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
[center]
(click on link for latest updates)
Market Updates
[/center]

[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

[/center]

[center]

[/center]

[HR width=95%]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
[center]
Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
[center]
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
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
[center]
Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
[center]
LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
[center]
Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
[/center]

[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







[HR width=95%]


[center]

[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. Chilling cartoon...but that was 20+ years ago that Govt stepped out of the cockpit

When Clinton let Rubin have the levers of power....

Even Reagan wasn't stupid enough to let Wall St. get away with highway robbery...he had the S&L scandals prosecuted! Reagan just let the spooks run wild, not the banksters.

[Demeter]

2. Janet Yellen Needs a Lesson in Culture

http://www.wallstreetinsightsandindictments.com/2015/03/janet-yellen-needs-lesson-culture

The interesting news coming out of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s Q&A yesterday was her response to a question about bad bank “culture.” Apparently, it’s not the Fed’s concern.

Yellen said, “While changing the culture of organizations is not something that we can achieve through supervision, we will make sure that the banks that we supervise have appropriate compliance regimes in place.”

So far, the Fed’s “appropriate compliance regimes” let big banks get away with manipulating Libor, foreign exchange markets, metals markets and energy prices. And that’s just a few of the big cheating regimes banks have lorded over. Today I’ll reveal a few more of those cheats – Those “regimes” also created space for big banks to hide liabilities off their balance sheets. And they allowed banks to use derivatives and swaps to aid and abet Greece lying and cheating its way into the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union (EMU) to exploit the eurozone to leverage itself up to the point of insolvency. The Fed’s supervision should demand that banks identify, specifically, who broke or breaks what laws or regulations. And there should be a minimum mandatory sentencing regime in place to guarantee that violators are jailed.

The criminal culture that pervades banks – and this isn’t an indictment of all bankers or the majority of bank employees – is mostly concentrated in the upper echelons of big banks where compensation is directly tied to revenue generation that sometimes spawns illegal profiteering schemes. Most of the charges levied are against the banks themselves, not the responsible individuals – and they’re usually civil charges, not criminal charges. That’s a good place to start when setting up a new supervision regime. The Fed and other regulatory agencies should have the power to levy criminal charges in conjunction with U.S. Justice Department prosecutors.

In The Wall Street Journal’s Risk & Compliance Journal yesterday Gregory J. Millman wrote that “the talk about culture is too vague and lacks specific, practical calls to action that might lead to a different and better way of doing business.” Millman’s article cites a speech last October by William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, who said, “How will a firm know if it is making real progress? Not having to plead guilty to felony charges or being assessed large fines is a good start. Firms should also pay closer attention to how they and the industry are broadly viewed by the public.” According to Millman’s piece, “Another regulator who has spoken and written on the need for culture change, Comptroller of the Currency Thomas J. Curry, remarked, ‘I’ve had some bank executives and directors say “I’m not a damn sociologist,” and I say we don’t expect you to be. We are really looking at this from a risk management standpoint. We’re really talking about accountability and how the CEO and management drive that home.’”

The good news for bank executives is they don’t need to be sociologists or culture club do-gooders if they don’t want to be. All these bankers have to do is be willing to go to jail – of, if they have no direct responsibility or knowledge of lawbreaking, conning or scheming going on under them, they should give up suspected perps and be willing to have their own compensation clawed back if they benefited from their underlings’ crimes.

[Demeter]

3. LOOKS LIKE GREECE IS REACHING A TURNING POINT

Greeks add €3bn-a-year sweetener to debt talks

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/economics/article4395213.ece

Greece has submitted plans to its eurozone creditors to raise an extra €3  billion a year to help to pay its debts.

The pledge formed part of a list of reforms required to release desperately needed bailout funds before the country faces bankruptcy.

It also came as Fitch, the international ratings agency, slashed Greece’s credit rating by two notches, from B to CCC citing the pressure on government funding.

The European Union and the International Monetary Fund will review Greece’s proposals this weekend. Their ­approval is needed for Athens to unlock the cash before it runs out of money...

No Grexit, No Grexident. The IOUs are coming…!?

http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2015/03/28/no-grexit-no-grexident-the-ious-are-coming/

Forget the Grexit, the Grexident and the Drachma scenarios. They are out! The 20-April-bankruptcy script writers have invented a new solution: something like a parallel currency. No, not the older scenario option of using Drachma nationally and the Euro internationally. Something new: the IOUS! A form of alternative mean of payment so that the Greek state will be able to pay salaries, pensions and suppliers.

What are IOUS?

An IOU (abbreviated from the phrase “I owe you”). It is usually an informal document acknowledging debt. IOUs usually specify the debtor, the amount owed, and sometimes the creditor. IOUs may be signed or carry distinguishing marks or designs to ensure authenticity. In some cases, IOUs may be redeemable for a specific product or service rather than a quantity of currency constituting a form of scrip.

According to Reuters, several euro zone officials unfolded this option on Friday, assuming that there would be no agreement between Greece and its creditors and that the country will run out of cash on April 20th. Here we should reckon, that during the Eurogroup meetings in February, the claims were that “Greece would run out of cash by end of March.” Anyway, one senior euro zone official told Reuters:

“At some point, when the government has no more euros to pay salaries or bills, it might start issuing IOUs — a paper saying that its holder would receive an x number of euros at a point in time in the future.”

“Such IOUs would then quickly start trading in secondary circulation at a deep discount to the real euros and they would become a ‘currency’, whatever its name would be, that would exist in parallel to the euro.”

The IOUs might not be widely accepted in shops and could be used as a way to settle only some government-related payments such as energy bills, at least initially, the IOUS scenario claims adding that .

At the same time the government would keep euros from tax revenues to cover debt repayments to avoid default.

“The arrangement could be temporary to keep the government going as it hopes to negotiate a deal with creditors that would unlock more euros in loans,” a second euro zone official said. (full story @ Reuters)

The anonymous euro zone officials refrained from elaborating about how exactly the IOUS-scenario would go into effect in real and practical life. If, for example, civil servants will receive their full wages in IOUS, if a pensioner will go home with a package of IOUS-papers ‘worth’ 600 euro, wrapped nicely in blue and white bands and bows.

A similar model of so-called Registered Warrants was implemented in 2009 by the state of California when it went bankrupt.

I have no idea how state employees in California managed to survive and cover their monthly needs with papers that would be redeemed in cash sometime in the future.

It looks as if the IOUS-option is not even informally discussed among the euro zone officials. Most likely, they just create scenarios to increase the pressure on Greece. Of course, the euro zone officials did not forget to mention to Reuters the possibility of capital controls, as well. Some German finances websites went even so far to upload articles for the sake of articles and scaremongering with the creative titles: Facts check – Capital controls in Greece already as of this weekend? After two paragraphs and 300 words, the author comes down to the real world away from social media, realizing “that there is nothing about it, excepts some tweets claiming this.”

Both Greece and its creditors must compromise to prevent the risk of a Grexit

http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/greeceatlse/2015/03/27/both-greece-and-its-creditors-must-compromise-to-prevent-the-risk-of-a-grexit/

Greece and its creditors have been engaged in a two-month standoff over the release of further financial assistance to the country. Lorenzo Codogno and Paul De Grauwe write that with no agreement yet reached, the possibility of Greece leaving the euro has now become real. They argue that the only solution to the crisis is for both sides to compromise, with the Greek government accepting deep supply-side reforms, and Eurozone policymakers offering Greece a fair deal on the demand-side.

The Greek crisis has reached a new climax. The probability of a Greek exit from the Eurozone has now become real. Yet, after the Greek elections it appeared that people with common sense could come to an agreement. There was a new Greek government that wanted to get rid of corruption. In particular, in contrast with the previous Greek governments, it was eager to reform the tax system so that the rich Greeks would pay taxes. There was also a growing recognition within international institutions, such as the IMF and the European Commission, that the intensity of the austerity programmes imposed on Greece had gone too far and had pushed the Greek economy into a deep economic depression with unacceptable levels of unemployment rates...A deal between the new Greek government with the creditor countries seemed possible. Such a deal could have been based on two pillars. Measures taken by the new Greek government to reform the tax system and a relaxation of the intense austerity programme. But such a deal proved particularly difficult because both sides around the negotiating table showed a disturbing lack of common sense and an unwillingness to arrive at a compromise.

Yet a compromise is necessary and possible. It should be based on the long-term benefits for the overall Eurozone and not just short-term fixings or kicking-the-can-down-the-road. Moreover, benefits should be weighted carefully against potential risks. In particular, the risks implied by the Grexit option appear significantly underestimated these days. Outright Monetary Transactions and Quantitative Easing by the European Central Bank provide a much welcome backstop, but may also introduce complacency and a false sense of security over any possible contagion.

• First of all, Grexit would be a political defeat for the idea of a peaceful Europe that aims at furthering integration and prosperity for all. It would also be an admission of defeat: after eight years into the crisis European policymakers would exhibit their inability to deal with the problems of a country that accounts for well below 2 per cent of Eurozone GDP.
  
  
• Secondly, Grexit would represent a permanent blow to financial and economic integration. If investors not only perceive the risk but also have the proof that leaving monetary union is possible, then they would start pricing it on a permanent basis. Historical experience of countries de-pegging or leaving a currency area suggests that a 50 per cent devaluation is not inconceivable. Even if you place a small probability on such an event, it would justify sizeable spreads on member-countries’ debt.
  
  
• Third the redenomination risk that would become a permanent feature of the new Eurozone would lead to widespread financial retrenchment and would make a mockery of the Capital Markets Union launched recently by the European Commission. It would also undermine the banking union. The reason is that banks and corporations would view across border exposures as risky despite the fact that they are denominated in the same euros.

Would the CFO of a French, Italian or Spanish company dare to issue a bond in euros when a redenomination could cause the company to go under? Would a company invest outside its own country when there is a high uncertainty about the future denomination of its investment? There would certainly be a fundamental rethink of taking these borrowing and investment decisions within the Eurozone. If that happens financial and monetary integration would be set back, and could even lead to the end of the single currency. Crises would become a chronic feature of the Eurozone, very much as was the case in fixed exchange rate regimes.

How to get out of this problem? It all comes down to supply and demand. The Greek government should explain to the Greek population that structural reforms, even the most difficult ones, are in the best interests of citizens. While it is probably true that Greece’s legislated reform effort is the strongest among OECD countries, it is also equally fair to say that the starting position was relatively weak and that implementation is still lagging. The Greek government must accept deep supply-side reforms and show commitment. Recent openings by the Greek government on a major pension reform would go in the right direction.

On the demand side, Eurozone policymakers should offer Greece a fair deal....
AND THERE WE SEE THE DIFFICULTY!

The good, the bad and the ugly: when SYRIZA meets Europe

https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/othon-anastasakis/good-bad-and-ugly-when-syriza-meets-europe


...Since the election of the new government, it has become evident, in the various levels of bilateral and multilateral interaction, that Greece fights a lonely war against the three institutions - a solitary struggle vis a vis the rest of the Eurozone members, and it would appear vis a vis the members of the EU. So much so that even Greece’s ‘comrades’ in the hard-hit Eurozone periphery, have become, for their own domestic purposes, the most vociferous opponents of SYRIZA’s new claims. Moreover, the revised and more promising forecasts for Europe’s economies are alienating Greece further from the wider European mainstream. They magnify the symbolism of ‘Greek exceptionalism’ and resurrect the rhetoric used in 2009 and 2012, when Greece was seen as a unique case of economic malaise threatening to spread its infection across Europe. Now, the creditors point to Spain’s export-led recovery, Portugal’s exit from the bailout, Ireland’s promising economic growth and Cyprus’ disciplined stance. This leaves Greece as the odd one out, the pariah country, the lonely ‘resistance fighter’ and the whole debate of a “Grexit” or “Graccident” returns with a vengeance. Greece has ‘partners’ in the EU, but not ‘allies’.
Looming Graccident

Yet, how united is the European bloc against Greece in this critical moment of looming Graccident? One of the unintended consequences of the unilateral abolition of the Troika, and its replacement by the institutions, is that in some ways it threatens to expose potential differences between the institutions. And while there is a generic unity among them on the grounds that Greece has to respect previous agreements and that it cannot get free funding, at the same time there are some subtle differences as to how to address the Greek problem. During the first difficult months of negotiations between Greece and the EU, the latter has shown three simultaneous faces to Greece: ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’, to use a cinematic metaphor, all of them with the same message but with a different delivery package. The ‘good face of Europe’ is that of the European Commission - a traditional ally of the weaker and smaller states, but which during recent, more difficult years has placed itself in the back seat of the German car. The new President of the European Commission is trying to change this image of a weak Commission and aims at clawing power back to Brussels with a louder and more independent message in European and world politics. The fact that the President was elected by the European Parliament gives further legitimacy to his goals and his authority...On the Greek crisis, President Juncker showed from the beginning his philhellenic face, receiving Prime Minister Tsipras in Brussels as a friend, and regularly expressing his determination that Greece stays in the Eurozone. He would certainly not like to go down in history as the leader of the Commission who presided over the disintegration of the Eurozone. Moreover, Juncker wants to show that he appreciates the severity of the humanitarian crisis, and has earmarked 2 billion in EU cash to address this grave social matter.

The ‘bad face of Europe’ is presented by those who decide how to disburse the funds - the European Central Bank and the Eurogroup - both of whom are adopting a hard stance vis a vis Greece. The leader of the ECB, Mario Draghi, refused to extend more credit to Greece without a programme, while the head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, has hinted that Greece might have to impose controls on the movement of capital, which is what happened with Cyprus in 2013 and what induced them to sign their bailout agreement. The image of the ‘bad’ comes from those who take decisions on Greece’s liquidity and cash flow aimed at squeezing and blackmailing Greeks to stick to their programme. It also reflects a growing anger with Greeks for being unruly and wanting to get cash without strings attached.

The ‘ugly face of Europe’ is projected by those who do not fear a “Grexit” and are even considering this as a possibility. They are represented by Germany’s Economy Minister Schauble, a politician who speaks bluntly, who makes inflammatory and intrusive political statements and who has adopted a moralising discourse vis a vis Greece’s spendthrift past. Schauble represents those who are fed up with Greece’s shenanigans. Not moved by the social and humanitarian implications of Greece’s economic depression, he is convinced that austerity and reform is the ideal strategy for Greek recovery and is not moved by the outcomes of democratic elections, especially when these result in proposed amendments to the agreements. While no one doubts that he is a man of principle and European credentials, many criticise his obstinacy and ideological rigidity. The ugly face of Europe believes that the European economy is perfectly prepared to survive a “Grexit” and if it happens it will be Greece that will come off the worst from it.

These three narratives send three mixed messages of contained compassion, blackmail and outright negativity and come from a European Union which is itself struggling to find a common position on Greece, a struggle which only results in further cacophony and ambiguity...For there are three outcomes in this fight between Greece and the EU, three scenarios that can happen: one good, one bad and one ugly. The good scenario is that somehow Greece, through its reform list, will reassure the world that it has honourable and credible intentions and this will lead to a compromise that could be acceptable to both sides, allowing the Greek government to get the funding that it so desperately needs, and the creditors to claim that the Greek government has shown its will to cooperate. The bad scenario is the one that brings Greece to the brink of economic asphyxia, a capital control a la Cyprus and a humiliating defeat for the Greek government, which could have longer term repercussions on the government’s external credibility and internal legitimacy. This is a bad scenario because it alienates Greece from its partners and the partners from Greece and paves the way for many bitter feelings in the future. The ugly scenario is the one of “Grexit”, where Greece will have to manage a forced exit from the Eurozone leaving the Greek economy years behind and leading to political instability; this could also have wider repercussions for the coherence of Europe and the Eurozone. And this is neither the right moment, nor the right place for such an ugly turn of events. Let us hope in the often ugly real world of populism and antagonisms that the good scenario prevails, and that the ‘good guys’ from either side win the day. Let us hope that the bad guys are turned around and the ugly voices marginalised and disappeared. This would indeed bring back the symbolism of hope and dignity based on credible narratives for a country, its economy and its society, that deserves to be back on track.

[Demeter]

4. AND THEN, THERE'S THE PERSONALITY CONFLICTS INSIDE AND OUT

Opposition tells Tsipras to get control of his party

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_28/03/2015_548623

Opposition parties called on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over the weekend to get a firmer control on his party, claiming that some sections of SYRIZA are seeking a confrontation with lenders.

With talks between technical teams from Greece and the institutions under way in Brussels, Tsipras was due to hold a cabinet meeting on Sunday night to brief his ministers about the content of the government’s proposals and the course of discussions in the Belgian capital.

However, opposition parties had earlier expressed concern about Tsipras’s apparent inability to get his party to support a compromise with creditors.

“He does not want to cause a rift because he does not have a mandate from voters for such a move and he knows the consequences would be catastrophic,” PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos said in an interview with Agora newspaper. “On the other hand, he does not have the parliamentary majority needed to support a clean and honest turn toward responsibility.”

To Potami also voiced its concern about the comments from some government members after Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis claimed in an interview with Kefalaio weekly that the only way for Greece to exit the crisis is through “a tough confrontation, if not a clash with German Europe.”

“Mr Tsipras has to advise his ministers not to play with fire just so they are liked by the minority within his party and the drachma lobby,” said the centrist party in a statement.

Greek PM Tsipras says he seeks no rift with Europe

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/28/eurozone-greece-tsipras-idUSL6N0WU0HL20150328

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday that he sought no rift with Europe after his cash-strapped country submitted a list of reforms to its lenders in a bid to secure much-needed funds. Tsipras's leftist government agreed an extension to its 240-million euro bailout funding in February, albeit with aid frozen, and now must agree on a set of reforms which it sent to its EU-IMF creditors on Friday in order to stave off bankruptcy. The austerity-weary nation will run out of money by April 20, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, if it does not unlock much-needed funding.

"The liquidity problem is naturally hampering the situation but I believe that will be tackled immediately once we reach an agreement over reforms," Tsipras said in an interview with Sunday's Real News newspaper.

After answering a question regarding government attempts to deal with corruption, Tsipras was asked whether he wanted a rift or a solution with Greece's European partners.

"My view has always been the same: a break from corruption, a solution with Europe," he replied.

Earlier Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, one of Tsipras's most left-wing ministers, hit out at a "Germanised European Union ... for tightening week-by-week the noose around the Greek economy."

Athens says its reforms will boost state revenues by 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in 2015, partly by tackling tax evasion, but that it will oppose any new "recessionary measures" such as further wage or pension cuts. Discussions with EU and IMF lenders, known as the Brussels Group, will continue throughout the weekend with "much work to be done," sources told the semi-official Athens News Agency. As talks unfold, Finance Minister Varoufakis told Vima newspaper on Sunday that the reforms would not include a rise in VAT, which had been a concern on Greece's islands where rates are lower, but changes to tax collection would be made....As Greece races to agree to raise funds, Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis told China's official Xinhua news agency that Athens will sell its majority stake in the port of Piraeus within weeks, a flip-flop from its previous position. Speaking during a visit by Greek officials to China, Dragasakis hinted that Chinese firm Costco Group - short-listed in a process launched by the previous centre-right government - was a front runner for the state's 67 percent stake.

And as Greece seeks to fill its state coffers, the Russian ambassador to Athens told Kathimerini newspaper that Moscow would examine any loan request from Greece, were it to be made. Tsipras is due to visit Moscow on April 8 for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin but the Greek government has stressed it is not seeking funding from the Kremlin. On Saturday, Greece's energy ministry said Lafazanis will meet Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller on Monday in the capital, a week before Tsipras is due to arrive. The previous centre-right government had planned to accelerate the sale of a 65 percent stake in gas utility DEPA, after an initial attempt to sell to Gazprom in 2013 failed. Within days of Syriza taking power in January, Lafazanis said he would scrap the sale. DEPA has previously negotiated with Gazprom in a bid to get cheaper gas supplies and was one of the first European companies to obtain a rebate in 2011. The two countries, which are both Orthodox Christian, have traditionally had good relations and Athens has never strongly supported sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Varoufakis denies resignation rumours as Bundesbank accuses Greeks of "gambling" away trust

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11499082/Greece-denies-Varoufakis-resignation-rumours.html

Greece's finance minister has denied reports in a German newspaper that he will be forced to resign from the Leftist government.

Responding to a story in Bild on Friday morning, who quoted a Greek government source saying that it was only a matter of time until Mr Varoufakis resigned, the "rock-star" former academic tweeted he found the reports of his apparent demise, "amusing"...

[Demeter]

32. Greece’s Tsipras to Address Lawmakers on Creditor Talks

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-29/greece-s-tsipras-to-address-lawmakers-on-talks-with-creditors

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will update lawmakers Monday on talks held over the weekend in Brussels between Greek government officials and representatives of the country’s creditors to secure more funds from the euro area and stave off fiscal collapse.

Tsipras requested parliament speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou schedule a session in the legislature for Monday to discuss talks with Greece’s creditors on the reforms required for further aid, a Greek government official said Sunday in an e-mailed statement. The discussion will begin at 8 p.m. Athens time.

Tsipras’s Syriza party was elected Jan. 25 on a platform of easing austerity measures and restructuring debts related to the nation’s bailout. While the government retreated on those positions to win a Feb. 20 agreement with euro-area partners to extend a loan accord until the end of June, Tsipras’s diplomatic maneuvering and the delays in supplying details of the economic plan are frustrating the rest of the currency bloc.

“The Greek government’s strategy of isolating Germany and getting a majority of other euro zone members to support another package against vague promises and no coherent reform plan has failed spectacularly,” Erik Nielsen, global chief economist at UniCredit Bank AG, said in a client note on Sunday. “If the Greek government does not make the necessary U-turn, they’ll run out of money.”

THE REST OF THE ARTICLE IS EVEN WORSE...

[Demeter]

33. Eurogroup unlikely to be held soon to discuss Greek reforms

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_29/03/2015_548625

Officials representing Greece and its lenders on Saturday began discussing the reform proposals put forward by Athens in order to secure further bailout funding but the prospect of a Eurogroup meeting being called in the next few days to approve such a disbursal appear slim.

Technical teams from the various sides assessed the list of reforms, which include measures aimed at raising 3 billion euros in revenue this year, mainly from improvements in tax collection and efforts to stamp out tax evasion.

The government is also aiming to boost state coffers by selling online gambling licenses and launching tenders for broadcasting permits. Other measures being considered are raising the top income tax rate to 45 from 42 percent and only increasing the tax-free threshold from 5,000 euros to 12,000 euros gradually, rather than in one go as SYRIZA had promised before the elections.

There is also a plan to increase the luxury tax and the special consumption tax for alcohol but changes to value-added tax will only be considered by Athens if the lenders deem the measures already proposed insufficient.

Sources told Kathimerini that even if there is a broad agreement between Greece and its creditors it is unlikely that eurozone finance ministers will meet next week or even the week after to approve the release of even part of the 7.2 billion euros remaining in bailout money...

[Demeter]

10. Couldn't resist

[Demeter]

5. Bankruptcy Lawyer on Right-To-Work "good for his business"

[Demeter]

6. Chart: Top 10 Bankruptcy States Per Capita

State 2010 Bankruptcy Filings per 1,000 Residents

1. Nevada 11.1
2. Georgia 7.92
3. Tennessee 7.86
4. Alabama 7.16
5. Indiana 7.11
6. California 6.9
7. Michigan 6.69
8. Colorado 6.47
9. Utah 6.45
10. Arizona 6.31

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/15939734/top-10-bankruptcy-states-per-capita

[Demeter]

7. Bankruptcy Filings Are Low, But Not Everywhere by Bob Lawless

http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2014/10/bankruptcy-filings-are-low-but-not-everywhere.html


Filings by Judicial District.Sept 2014


Bankruptcy filings have dipped to their lowest rate since 1990, as previously blogged (ignoring anomalous statistical gyrations around the 2005 changes to the bankruptcy law). Over the past twelve months the bankruptcy filing rate per 1,000 persons has been 2.95, which is the first time it has been below 3.0 in almost 25 years. But, the filing rate is not that low everywhere.

Before discussing how the filing rates are different across the country, the usual question I get is why the bankruptcy filing rate has declined so much. The answer to that question is not this post. Rather, see many previous posts like here and here. The short version is that U.S. households are carrying less debt -- nothing more complicated than that. Along those lines see the post at Calculated Risk about the Fed's household debt service ratio being near record lows.

Filings by District Table http://www.creditslips.org/.a/6a00d8341cf9b753ef01b8d07b1e00970c-400wi

Although bankruptcy filing rates may be at historically low levels nationally, there are considerable differences in different parts of the country. The map above right breaks down by judicial district the filing rate per 1,000 persons over the last twelve months (Oct. 2013 - Sept. 2014). The map groups the districts into five "natural" groups or, in more technical speak, the filings rates by judicial district are grouped according to a k-means clustering where k = 5. The table to the right gives the individual numbers by district. If you are having trouble reading the map or table, your best options are (a) to have younger eyes than me, (b) to squint really hard, or (c) click on them to open a larger version in a pop-up box.

[Demeter]

8. Reality Check: The Next Boom Is Not Upon Us

http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=690959

Following last week's jubilation about the U.S. Federal Reserve reducing economic forecasts and not immediately raising rates, the reality of economic activity not booming began to set in. In the reverse of last week's activity, almost every equity market was down, ranging from a 2.7% fall in the United States to a tamer 0.7% decline in Europe, with emerging markets splitting the difference. The big news this week was that there was now more data to sharpen those first-quarter economic forecasts, including a disappointing durable goods report. The recent data in terms of weather and energy-related investments have not been positive, causing a number of major economists to slash their first-quarter GDP forecasts from a high of 3% to a new range of 0.0%-1.5%. Like 2014, we suspect the weather-related issues will cause at least some snapback in spring and summer. However, the slow start may make it difficult for the economy to hit the 3% or higher growth rates for the full year that were prevalent just a month or two ago. For some time we have believed those estimates were too high because of knock-on effects of a slowing energy industry and a slowing manufacturing sector. Terrible February weather further compounded that problem.

Besides the disappointing durable goods orders report, inflation picked up again, as did energy prices. Existing-home sales were also soft, raising even more doubts about the housing industry, although a more nuanced analysis of the data showed year-over-year trends continuing to improve. In contrast, new home sales data was surprisingly strong no matter how one looked at it. To top off that report, even the data for January was revised upward. A lot of the interest was in homes still on the drawing board or already completely finished, explaining why some of the other reports did not pick up on the strength. Most of those more negative reports focus on when the shovels literally hit the ground. On the international front it appears that the European manufacturing sector is already picking up while China continues its modest slump. Also weighing on stocks this week was more warlike activity in the Middle East that helped boost energy prices but scared other equity fund managers...

Like a lot of economic indicators, inflation is highly volatile and the month-to-month numbers are often hard to put in context. Very volatile food and gasoline prices as well as weather issues can complicate even the analysis of normally more reliable year-over-year data. Despite the jumpiness of the data, it seems relatively clear to us that inflation is likely to hit bottom in the first half of 2015 as energy prices stabilize and nonfood prices show continued strength. The report for February showed that the inflation rate between January and February was 0.2% (2.4% annualized), following three consecutive months of deflation. The year-over-year inflation rate moved back to the zero mark after falling briefly into deflation territory in January. Although I am not a huge fan of excluding food and energy, those prices were up a surprisingly robust 1.7%. Energy, which constitutes 7% of the index, was down 18.8%, and food, which constitutes 14% of the index, was up 3%, all in a single-month year-over-year basis. Though the Fed prefers to use a different inflation index, that 1.7% Consumer Price Index rate is not all that far off of the Fed target. Inflation in the United States, despite all the popular posts, has not gone away. Those who had hoped that falling energy prices would bleed through to other prices (lower energy costs would theoretically cause vendors to decrease prices because their own energy costs were down) seem to be just a little too optimistic. Those who thought prices would go through the roof as consumers would spend all their gas savings in a willy-nilly fashion, driving up prices, appear to be equally wrong. Inflation less food and energy has been stuck at a 1.6%-2.0% rate for the past 13 months. If consumers complain that prices don't really seem down outside of gasoline, they wouldn't be far from wrong. Below is the year-over-year category data.



Four categories--none of them small--are up more than 3% year over year, and the prognosis for the year ahead is for continued price increases in these select categories. Continued demand for apartments combined with limited new housing starts is likely to keep the shelter category moving ahead at 3% or more in 2015. As shelter constitutes almost a third of the CPI calculation, it will be very difficult for the CPI to fall below its current 1.7% growth rate. Even if energy prices recapture just a small portion of their losses over the next 12 months, the total inflation rate could easily move to 2.0%-2.5%, even in a slow-growth economy. We would like to say that food prices have the potential to drop back, but meat prices are still sky-high and are still moving up. The California drought could also cause fruit, vegetable, and nut prices to move up again, after a two-month hiatus in price increases in this category.

Key Inflation Drivers Could Move Into Danger Territory Over the Next Couple of Years

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

9. Warren Buffett: 3 Ways to Protect Your Savings From a Crisis

FIRST QUESTION: WHAT IS HE SELLING (BESIDES INSURANCE)

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/03/29/warren-buffett-3-ways-to-protect-your-savings-from.aspx


If anyone knows how to weather a financial crisis, it's Warren Buffett. Between October 2008 and March of 2009, in the depths of the Great Recession, shares in Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A)(NYSE:BRK-B) dropped 32% -- and yet, thanks to the excellent performance of the many companies Berkshire owns, the conglomerate's book value only decreased 9.6% during 2008. Take a look for yourself:



Warren Buffett knows how to spot companies that will survive just about any crisis the economy can throw at them. In his recent letter to shareholders, Buffett highlighted the three factors that have helped him achieve such reliable returns:

Financial staying power requires a company to maintain three strengths under all circumstances: (1) a large and reliable stream of earnings; (2) massive liquid assets and (3) no significant near-term cash requirements.

What this means for your investments

With the stock market trading higher than anyone would have thought five years ago, many are starting to worry that their portfolios are vulnerable to a crisis. Using Buffett's three tenets, we can see what kind of companies you should have in your portfolio if your main goal is to weather the next financial storm relatively unscathed. Companies that provide the absolute necessities are most likely to provide a "large and reliable stream of earnings," often helped by a strong brand. We're talking about stocks like American Express (NYSE:AXP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL). None of these three are heady growth stocks, but during a pinch, people will still use their credit cards, buy soda and bottled water, and search for information online.

Things start to get interesting when we talk about "massive liquid assets." Buffett expanded on his reasoning by saying, "Cash ... is to a business as oxygen is to an individual: never thought about when it is present, the only thing in mind when it is absent." When it comes to Berkshire, he sets the bar at a minimum of $20 billion in cash on hand.

Looking at our three example companies, they are mostly following suit:


Cash on Hand

Berkshire $61 billion


American Express $23 billion


Coke $21.7 billion


Google $62.6 billion

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

Finally, Buffett calls for companies that "have no significant near-term cash requirements." Buffett was specifically referring to derivative contracts and other investments that incur massive losses resulting from panic triggered by major unforeseen events (Buffett uses Pearl Harbor and September 11 as examples). Although none of the three companies above have that type of exposure, the argument could be made that Google is currently spending too much money on a yearly basis to pass this final hurdle: the company's operating expenses have increased by 60% to $23.8 billion in the past two years alone. Perhaps that explains why American Express and Coke are massive holdings for Buffett and Google isn't. The list of stocks that could pass these three tests doesn't stop here, but these serve as examples of how to vet them.

What this means for you

But you shouldn't apply these principles to your investment choices alone; they should be applied to your personal finances as well. Consider taking these steps to adhere to Buffett's approach, and you'll find yourself far more recession-proof:

• A reliable stream of earnings: Staying in one job for the long haul is a great way to earn the confidence of your employer. But even then, nothing is certain. Make sure you have disability and life insurance to provide a reliable stream of earnings if something should happen to you.
  
  
• Massive liquid assets: Here's a point that many Americans fail to heed. At a bare minimum, you should have enough money set aside to provide for you and your family for six months if you lose all sources of income. Keeping a little cash on hand to take advantage of stock market dips can pay off as well; then, while other investors panic-sell, you can buy shares of your favorite companies at a discount.
  
  
• No significant near-term cash requirements: This can be a little tricky if you're just about to buy a house or send a child off to school. But in the end, what Buffett is really talking about here is being smart with your money -- i.e., not going to Vegas and making bets that you can't afford to lose.

In the end, applying Buffett's wisdom to both your investing and your personal life will help ensure that you're ready to handle whatever our economy throws at you.

[Demeter]

11. The Homely Hand Basket

[Demeter]

12. How Junk Economists Help The Rich Impoverish The Working Class By Paul Craig Roberts

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37500.htm

...Business Week published an article, “Factory Jobs Are Gone. Get Over It,” by Charles Kenny.Kenny expresses the view of establishment economists, such as Brookings Institute economist Justin Wolfers who wants to know “What’s with the political fetish for manufacturing? Are factories really so awesome?”

“Not really,” Kenny says. Citing Eric Fisher of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, Kenny reports that wages rise most rapidly in those states that most quickly abandon manufacturing. Kenny cites Gary Hufbauer, once an academic colleague of mine now at the Peterson Institute, who claims that the 2009 tariffs applied to Chinese tire imports cost US consumers $1 billion in higher prices and 3,731 lost retail jobs. Note the precision of the jobs loss, right down to the last 31.

In support of the argument that Americans are better off without manufacturing jobs, Kenny cites MIT and Harvard academic economists to the effect that there is no evidence that manufacturing tends to cluster, thus disputing the view that there are economies from manufacturers tending to congregate in the same areas where they benefit from an experienced work force and established supply chains.

Perhaps the MIT and Harvard economists did their study after US manufacturing centers became shells of their former selves and Detroit lost 25% of its population, Gary Indiana lost 22% of its population, Flint Michigan lost 18% of its population, Cleveland lost 17% of its population, and St Louis lost 20% of its population. If the economists’ studies were done after manufacturing had departed, they would not find manufacturing concentrated in locations where it formerly flourished. MIT and Harvard economists might find this an idea too large to comprehend....

MORE

[Demeter]

13. Now We Know. JPMorgan Chase is Worse Than Enron By Richard Eskow

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37445.htm

It’s beginning to look as if JPMorgan Chase has had a hand in every major banking scandal of the last decade. In fact, it’s the Zelig of Wall Street crime. Take a snapshot of any major bank fraud and chances are you’ll see JPMorgan Chase staring out at you from the frame.

Foreclosure fraud, investor fraud, cheating customers, market manipulation, LIBOR … and now, the coup de grâce to JPM’s tattered reputation: a $2 billion fine for closing its eyes and covering up as Bernie Madoff literally bilked widows and orphans, along with a lot of other families and charities. (Here’s a list of investors.)

Does Jamie Dimon, the bank’s CEO, still think people don’t say enough nice things about him? Do his friends?

More importantly, how does the largest bank in the country (measured in assets) get away with being worse than Enron? That one’s easy: By being the largest bank in the country.

INDICTMENT FOLLOWS AT LINK

[Demeter]

18. The Mobsters of Wall Street By Jim Hightower

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37633.htm

Assume that you ran a business that was found guilty of bribery, forgery, perjury, defrauding homeowners, fleecing investors, swindling consumers, cheating credit card holders, violating U.S. trade laws and bilking American soldiers. Can you even imagine the kind of punishment you'd get?

How about zero? Nada. Nothing. Zilch. No jail time. Not even a fine. Plus, you still get to stay on as boss, you get to keep all the loot you gained from the crime spree, and you even get an $8.5 million pay raise!

Of course, you and I would never get such outrageous, absurd, kid-glove pampering by legal authorities. But, then, we're not the capo of JPMorgan Chase, America's biggest bank and a crime syndicate that apparently is too big to jail.

Jamie Dimon is the slick, vainglorious, silver-haired boss of the JPMorgan house of banksters. This CEO has fostered a culture of thievery during his years as a top executive at JPMorgan, leading to a shameful litany of crime. Yet, federal prosecutors have bowed to the politically connected Wall Streeter, refusing to ruffle his feathers with even a single criminal charge.

Meanwhile, one of the scams that Dimon directly supervised produced a $6 billion loss for shareholders in 2012. And his reign of mismanagement and illegalities cost the bank's shareholders another $20 billion in federal fines last year, resulting in a 16 percent drop in profits. You might think the bank's board of directors would at least slap Jamie's wrist for the loss of those billions of dollars, but no — in January, they rewarded him, raising his pay by some 70 percent to a sweet $20 million!

MORE

[Demeter]

14. Russia may accept Chinese control of oil and gas fields

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/155859/russia-may-accept-chinese-control-of-oil-and-gas-fields

Russia may consider allowing Chinese investors more than 50 percent stakes in its strategic oil and gas fields, an official said on Friday, an about-face by Moscow that underlines its need for foreign help to develop energy reserves.

While closely guarding control of the oil and gas fields that supply the lifeblood of its economy, Russia has forged alliances with some Western companies to obtain the know-how it needs to tap hard-to-reach deposits.

But now that Western sanctions over Moscow's role in Ukraine have all but halted that cooperation, Russia has overcome a "psychological barrier" and is ready to deepen its economic ties with China, Deputy Prime MinisterArkady Dvorkovich said.

"We have a strategic partnership with China and now decisions are made much faster than before. In particular, we have a gas contract, a second one will be signed soon. Now we know China better: their motives and intentions are understood," he told a conference in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk...

MORE

[Demeter]

15. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Says Internment Camps Could Happen Again

http://www.salon.com/2014/02/04/antonin_scalia_says_japanese_internment_could_happen_again/

In the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as war loomed and hysteria spread, the U.S. government committed one of the greatest crimes of the New Deal era by sending more than 100,000 people of Japanese heritage into internment camps. This episode has long been considered shameful, and the Supreme Court decision that allowed it, Korematsu v. United States, is one of the worst the high court has ever handed down. Yet despite the widespread agreement that Japanese internment was egregious, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, while speaking to a group of law students at the University of Hawaii, warned that a decision like Korematsu could very well happen again.

“Well of course Korematsu was wrong,” Scalia said. “And I think we have repudiated in a later case. But you are kidding yourself if you think the same thing will not happen again.”

Scalia blamed the Korematsu decision on “panic about the war and the invasion of the Pacific and whatnot,” and argued that these influences are hardly exclusive to the America of the recent past.

“That’s what happens,” said Scalia. “It was wrong, but I would not be surprised to see it happen again, in time of war. It’s no justification, but it is the reality.”

In 2008, the Supreme Court released one of the landmark decisions of the war on terror era, Boumediene v. Bush, which established that prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay had a right to habeas corpus and that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 abridged that right and was thus unconstitutional. It was a 5-4 decision, and Scalia was one of the four justices who chose to dissent.

[Ghost Dog]

16. Australia in AIIB

... Fortescue is now banking on China's new investment initiatives in the region to help bolster steel demand. The Silk Road Fund and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which has ambitions to fund infrastructure projects in the region, particularly in Central and South Asia, has gathered swift momentum after a strong push from the Chinese leadership. Australia formally announced on Sunday morning it would sign a memorandum of understanding to join the AIIB.

"We see this as a very important initiative that will help fund the major infrastructure all throughout Asia to ensure that everyone in Asia has the opportunity to have a higher standard of living," Mr Power told reporters on Saturday on the sidelines of the Bo'ao Forum, on Hainan Island in China's south.

The regional infrastructure ambitions are also a strategic play by China to help soak up over-capacity in its steel industry and to take advantage of its construction know-how and still relatively cheap labour force...

/...http://m.smh.com.au/business/markets-live/markets-live-resources-in-retreat-20150330-1maow4.touch.html

[Demeter]

17. Hate the Super Rich? By Joel S. Hirschhorn

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37502.htm

There are times when hatred is a needed, logical and moral stance to take. Evil, injustice and corruption are fine examples of what to appropriately hate. For the overwhelming majority of people it is now rational to hate the super rich, notably the thousands of billionaires holding most of the world’s wealth and wielding power over political and economic systems. They have been successfully raping the global economy and while doing that have kept increasing their wealth as well as economic inequality afflicting ordinary people. One dollar, one vote describes the new reality. Before discussing some basic reasons to hate the super rich consider some facts about them:

How many billionaires are there? According to the inaugural Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2013, the global billionaire population reached a record 2,170 individuals in 2013, with a combined net worth of $6.5 trillion. What happened after the most recent global economic meltdown? Some 810 individuals became billionaires since the 2009 global financial crisis. In other words, plain millionaires moved up to billionaire status. But the super rich include many more than the billionaires, because the top one percent on the economic scale have monster size wealth, according to a new report Working for the Few. The one percent of the richest people in the world have $110 trillion. That equates to some 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s population. But among the millions of the top one percent, the richest 85 people, true billionaires, have wealth equal to the bottom half of the world’s population. As to the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer. That leaves 9 percent, about 30 million Americans, in the upper class that did very well as they strive to make it into the top one percent.

When people talk about economic, wealth or income inequality they are really talking about the incredibly small fraction of the richest people relative to the larger population that still are not sharing in the global jackpot, no matter how hard they work. Inequality means that money is not being fairly distributed. There have been times in history when prosperity was shared, as in the several decades after World War II. No surprise that only 7 percent of Americans, according to a Gallup report, currently feel “very satisfied” with our nation’s distribution of income and wealth. Similarly, a new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that 81 percent of Americans believe the economy is working very or fairly well for the wealthy, compared to 22 percent for the middle class.

Why hate the super rich and the rising economic inequality that benefits them?

This distorted economic system means that democracy is more delusional than real. Consider this: Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “We must make our choice. We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.” Truly wise words. The near total lack of public confidence in Congress, both major political parties and the whole political system by Americans goes hand-in-hand with the perverted economic system. You have every right to hate the super rich because for a long time in many visible and invisible ways they have intentionally manipulated the political system to create and maintain the unjust economic system. Their economic power gives them political power. Rather than one person one vote, think in terms of one dollar one vote.

Hate the super rich because their degree of wealth and power is obscene.

Hate the super rich because they persecute the vast majority of people worldwide. Some of the super rich play up their charitable activities, but that does not negate all the evil consequences of economic inequality on the daily lives of billions of people.

Hate the super rich because their greed is ungodly. If true democracy is to be restored, then Americans need to be much more than dissatisfied. They need to get more emotional. They need to hate. Then they must convert that hatred into political demands and actions.

Contact Joel S. Hirschhorn through http://articlev.wix.com/statusquobuster

[Demeter]

19. 5 Ways Rich People's "Entitlements" Cheat You and Me By Paul Buchheit

http://www.alternet.org/economy/5-ways-rich-peoples-entitlements-cheat-you-and-me

The word 'entitlement' is ambiguous. For working people it means "earned benefits." For the rich, the concept of entitlement is compatible with the Merriam-Webster definition: "The feeling or belief that you deserve to be given something (such as special privileges)." Recent studies agree, concluding that higher social class is associated with increased entitlement and narcissism.

The sense of entitlement among the very rich is understandable, for it helps them to justify the massive redistribution of wealth that has occurred over the past 65 years, especially in the past 30 years. National investment in infrastructure, technology, and security has made America a rich country. The financial industry has used our publicly-developed communications technology to generate trillions of dollars in new earnings, while national security protects their interests. The major beneficiaries have convinced themselves they did it on their own. They believe they're entitled to it all. Their entitlements can be summarized into four categories, each of which reveals clear advantages that the very rich take for granted.

1. Income: Mocking Our 'Progressive' Tax System: Americans who earn millions of dollars a year feel entitled to the same maximum tax rate as those making about $400,000 a year. Progressive taxation stops at that point. In fact, it reverses itself, with the highest earners paying lower tax rates. The richest 10% pay about 20 percent in federal taxes, and it goes down from there, with the richest 400 paying less than 20 percent. When all taxes are included (payroll, sales, state and local), the super-rich pay about the same percentage as America's middle and upper-middle classes. Corporations feel entitled to lower taxes, too, having cut their income tax rate in half in just ten years. The companies that have benefited the most from public research have become skilled tax avoiders. Some corporate CEOs feel entitled to total freedom from taxes, employing a noble-sounding strategy of a $1 per year salary to avoid federal income taxes. It allows them to defer all capital gains taxes on their stock holdings, which can be used, if cash is needed, as collateral for low-interest loans.

2. Wealth: Trillions in Financial Gains, Zero Tax: America has gained $16 trillion in financial wealth over the past five years, with 80-90 percent of that gain going to the richest 10%, for many of whom productive labor may have been limited to checking their online portfolios. America is gaining in wealth because of technological infrastructure and a deregulated financial industry that uses the technology to capture most of those gains There is no tax on all that wealth. Capital gains can be deferred indefinitely, and then another entitlement comes into play: the lower capital gains rate, purportedly meant to stimulate new business investment, but in large part failing to do that. The nation's wealth needs to be distributed more equitably among productive citizens, ideally by allowing everyone to share in the capital of companies that use our nationally developed technologies.

3. Financial Transactions: Trillions in Speculative Purchases, Zero Tax: As Forbes notes, the hundreds of trillions of dollars of speculative financial transactions constitute "a massive financial accident waiting to happen, yet again." We pay a sales tax of up to 10 percent on boots and mittens for the kids, But not a penny of sales tax is paid on U.S. financial transactions, which may be valued as high as three quadrillion dollars annually, or over three thousand times the deficit. No sales tax is paid despite the high-risk nature of "flash trading" that can lose entire pension funds in a few seconds. The trading industry feels entitled to tax-free purchases, claiming that even a tiny sales tax will decrease liquidity, or slow the economy, or constitute a sin tax. Yet it's an easily administered tax that has been imposed in some of the freest economies in the world.

4. Subsidies: Alms for the Rich: About two-thirds of nearly $1 trillion in individual "tax expenditures" (deductions, exemptions, exclusions, credits, capital gains, and loopholes) goes to the top quintile of taxpayers. At the corporate level, tens of billions of dollars go in subsidies to the fossil fuel, fishing, and agricultural industries. Fossil fuel subsidies may be much, much more. The IMF reports U.S. fossil fuel subsidies of $502 billion, and according to Grist, even this is an underestimate.

Cheated

There's more. A regressive payroll tax, an almost nonexistent estate tax, the lower capital gains rate on carried interest for investment managers, trillions socked away in tax havens -- all involve tax avoidance by wealthy Americans who feel entitled to their privileged positions. Entitlements for the rich mean cuts in safety net programs for children, women, retirees, and low-income families. They threaten Social Security. They redirect money from infrastructure repair, education, and job creation. And the more the super-rich take from us, the greater their belief that they're entitled to the wealth we all helped to create.

Paul Buchheit is a college teacher, a writer for progressive publications, and the founder and developer of social justice and educational websites (UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org, RappingHistory.org)

[mother earth]

36. Great article. How are you feeling? Cuz you seem to be on fire again today.

[Demeter]

37. Well, I feel awful, so I just sit and read and sort email and post

I went back to work this afternoon, until the uncontrollable sneezing started up again.

[mother earth]

38. Hoping you feel better soon.

[Demeter]

39. Thank you, me too!

I put in 5 hours today, and it was like a death march. Unfortunately, no paid sick time, and no forbearance, either....

[Demeter]

20. Clinton Foundation Received Up To $81m From Clients of Controversial HSBC Bank

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/10/hillary-clinton-foundation-donors-hsbc-swiss-bank

Leaked files reveal identities of wealthy donors with accounts in Geneva
Donors gave as much as $81m to Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation

Hillary Clinton has expressed concern over growing economic inequality in the US and is expected to make the issue a cornerstone of her widely anticipated presidential campaign in 2016. However, political observers are increasingly asking whether the former secretary of state’s focus on wealth inequality sits uncomfortably with the close relationships she and her husband have nurtured with some of the world’s richest individuals.

The charitable foundation run by Hillary Clinton and her family has received as much as $81m from wealthy international donors who were clients of HSBC’s controversial Swiss bank. Leaked files from HSBC’s Swiss banking division reveal the identities of seven donors to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation with accounts in Geneva. They include Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining magnate and one of the foundation’s biggest financial backers, and Richard Caring, the British retail magnate who, the bank’s internal records show, used his tax-free Geneva account to transfer $1m into the New York-based foundation. Giustra’s Swiss HSBC account, created in 2002, contained up to $10m in the 2006-2007 period. Lawyers for the mining magnate said that he held the account for investment purposes, and that it was in compliance with Canadian laws that required disclosure of foreign assets. Caring was legitimately permitted to keep his assets offshore by a hereditary quirk of UK tax law, under which he is registered as “non-domiciled”, courtesy of his Italian-American father. The HSBC records suggest Caring’s $1m donation was paid in return for former president Bill Clinton’s attendance at a lavish costume charity ball organised by Caring in St Petersburg, Russia.

Another Clinton foundation donor who had a HSBC account in the tax haven is Jeffrey Epstein, the hedge fund manager and convicted sex offender who once flew the former president on his private jet for charity events in Africa.

The identities of Clinton supporters who banked with HSBC in Geneva are contained in internal bank data leaked by a HSBC computer expert turned whistleblower, Hervé Falciani. The leaked files have now been obtained through an international collaboration of news outlets, including the Guardian, the French daily Le Monde, CBS’s 60 Minutes and the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. It is not unlawful for US or other non-Swiss citizens to hold accounts in Geneva and there is no evidence any of the Clinton donors with Geneva accounts evaded tax. However, Switzerland’s secretive banking laws have for years made it a destination for the super-rich.


$1m transfer

Under US charity law, the non-profit, which was founded by the former president in 2001 as the the William J Clinton Foundation, is not required to disclose the identity of its donors. However, in late 2008, amid concern over potential conflicts of interest for Hillary Clinton, who was on course to become President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, the foundation launched a public database of its donors along with a rough estimate of the sums they have given. It reveals seven foundation benefactors linked to HSBC bank accounts in Geneva, who have donated, in total, as much as $81m. In a statement, the nonprofit, which was renamed the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation in 2013, said its commitment to donor transparency goes significantly beyond what is required by US law.

“We are a philanthropy through and through, and we take pride in our programs, our efficiency, and our transparency, and we rely on donors to help fund our work, including support of enterprise partnerships in South America that are creating jobs; efforts to improve access to early childhood education in the US; and development programs for small-holder farmers in Africa,” said Craig Minassian, chief communications officer for the Clinton Foundation.

“The Clinton Foundation has strong donor integrity and transparency practices that go well beyond what is required of US charities, including the full disclosure of all of our donors. The contributions of these donors are helping improve the lives of millions of people across the world.”

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! HILLARY HAS TO BE OUT OF HER MIND!

[MattSh]

21. All of the countries joining China’s alternative to the World Bank

Russia, the Netherlands, and Australia announced over the weekend that they will be joining the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), whose membership has become something of a test of diplomatic clout between China and the United States. The development bank is seen as a challenger to existing institutions like the World Bank or the Asian Development Bank.

Unable to increase its voice in the current institutions—China commands just 6.47% of the vote in the Asian Development Bank, 5.17% in the World Bank, and 3.81% in the International Monetary Fund—China is building its own alternative. The bank is intended to make up for the gap in funding the region needs—about $800 billion a year in infrastructure investment, according to the Asian Development Bank. It is expected to launch later this year.

So far, just over 40 countries have joined AIIB, with one day left before the deadline to join as a founding member expires. The United States and only one of its main allies, Japan, remain absent from that list. The US and other critics question whether the Beijing-led institution will uphold international standards of transparency, debt sustainability, and environmental and social protections, or just turn into an arm of Chinese foreign policy. Last week, Japan’s finance minister said, “Unless [China] clarifies these matters, which are not clear at all, Japan remains cautious.”

But as more countries join the bank, the more likely AIIB will have to follow international standards, observers have noted, and the less likely China will be able to use a multilateral institution to wield influence in the region. Here are all the countries that have joined or applied to join the AIIB:

Complete story at - http://qz.com/372326/all-the-countries-that-are-joining-chinas-alternative-to-the-world-bank/



The USA keeps talking about how Russia is so isolated. I couldn't tell it by looking at this map. So, what am I missing?

[Demeter]

22. You aren't missing a thing. Can you imagine the consternation

if the US had asked to join?

Would the bank turn them down? Would the 1%?

That would have been calling the bluff, for sure.

[DemReadingDU]

34. So AIIB is a bank for all countries

Well, everyone except the U.S.?


edit - as in the worm song
"Nobody likes me, everybody hates me"

[Demeter]

35. We'll never know, will we?

I'm sure the US 1% would rather eat worms than apply for admission....

and if they had, and were rejected, they'd rather die than let it be known.

[Demeter]

23. Efficiency!

[Demeter]

24. Fed’s Fischer Says More Work Needed to Protect Financial System

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-27/fed-s-fischer-says-more-work-needed-to-protect-financial-system

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said while the non-bank financial industry appears less vulnerable since the financial crisis, more work must be done to reduce risks in short-term wholesale funding markets.

“While progress has been substantial, areas for continued work remain,” Fischer said in the text of remarks prepared for delivery Friday in Frankfurt. “To say that the non-bank sector today appears less vulnerable than it did during the global financial crisis is not to say that authorities in the United States have tamed the non-bank sector.”

Despite improvements in how money markets function, many non-banks such as hedge funds and broker-dealers still need secured short-term funding to operate, and much of that funding involves longer-term and illiquid assets, Fischer said. “This maturity transformation remains a key vulnerability,” he said...Fischer, who was governor of the Bank of Israel before joining the Fed in May, leads a committee to monitor financial stability and avoid the emergence of asset-price bubbles. Policy makers want to ensure that six years of near-zero interest rates don’t lead to a repeat of the U.S. housing boom and subsequent financial crisis. Joining Fischer on the Committee on Financial Stability are Daniel Tarullo, the Fed governor in charge of bank supervision, and Governor Lael Brainard, who was a top Treasury Department official before joining the Fed last year...

YES, THE SHADOW (BANKING) KNOWS WHAT EVIL LURKS IN THE HEART OF THE ECONOMY!

AND THE ECONOMIC TRAFFIC COPS ARE GETTING WORRIED...IT'S QUIET, TOO QUIET

[Demeter]

25. SEC's Stein calls for ending debate over dueling accounting rules

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/26/us-sec-accounting-stein-idUSKBN0MM2HE20150326

A federal securities regulator on Thursday called for an end to the long-running debate over whether the United States should switch to global accounting standards, saying alternatives should be explored that incorporate the best of the U.S. rules.

In a speech at the Brooklyn Law School, Securities and Exchange Commission Democratic member Kara Stein laid out her position on accounting rules for the first time since joining the agency in 2013.

Her remarks took aim at a longtime debate over whether the SEC should phase out U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, in favor of international financial reporting standards or IFRS, which are used by more than 100 countries.

One option being explored at the SEC is whether to permit companies to report their financial statements using both sets of standards.

"I am not convinced of a need to abandon U.S. GAAP in favor of IFRS," Stein said in prepared remarks, noting that neither rule set is "perfect" and letting companies provide statements using two rule sets may confuse investors.

"To be frank, this debate between dueling standards needs to move on. Neither regime worked ideally in the financial crisis, and neither may serve investors well in today’s post-financial crisis, technologically disrupted, and data-driven world," she said.

IN OTHER WORDS, NO MATTER HOW YOU COUNT IT, IT DON'T ADD UP!

[Demeter]

26. Asset managers need closer supervision, Volcker and Bair say

Asset managers involved in shadow banking should face closer U.S. oversight, said Sheila Bair, former head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve. Asset managers increase systemic risk through securities lending, which is a form of shadow banking, they said.

http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/gCbrBYvBbTCNzHhfCicOlvCicNXQRm?format=standard


I SMELL FEAR: RAW, BLOODY FEAR

[Demeter]

27. IT'S DEFLATION, NOT SPRINGTIME

Japan’s Industrial Output Drops, Adding to Signs of Weakness

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-29/japan-s-output-slump-s-in-february-adding-to-signs-of-weakness

Japan’s industrial production fell more than forecast in February, adding to pressure from a drop in consumer spending and faltering inflation.

Output declined 3.4 percent from January, when it rose 3.7 percent, the trade ministry said in Tokyo on Monday. The median estimate of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a decline of 1.9 percent.

The data are the weakest since June last year and underscore the fragility of Japan’s recovery from a recession last year. Holidays in many parts of Asia that took place in February this year also curbed export demand during the month, further reducing production, according to economists at Mizuho Securities Co.

“A recovery in consumer spending has been slow after last April’s sales-tax hike and exports aren’t that strong yet,” said Taro Saito, director of economic research at NLI Research Institute in Tokyo. “Today’s figure is a reminder that it may be too early to be very optimistic about the economy.” ...MORE

INDIA: Tax shortfall: Finance Ministry asks banks to deposit March TDS by month end

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/tax-shortfall-finance-ministry-asks-banks-to-deposit-march-tds-by-month-end/articleshow/46736184.cms

NEW DELHI: Worried over the shortfall in the overall direct tax collection kitty, the government has asked banks, both public and private, to not delay remitting of TDS funds of the current month into state coffers and do the same within the current financial year ending in March.

The Income Tax department and its apex policy making body, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), are wary that the growth registered this time under the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) category is less than half as compared to the corresponding period last fiscal.

According to official data updated till March first week, TDS collections stood at 7.49 per cent as against 16.69 per cent in the same period last year...

China’s Zhou Says PBOC Has Room to Act on Growth Slowdown

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-29/china-s-zhou-warns-on-growth-slowdown-says-pboc-has-room-to-act

China’s central bank chief said that the nation’s growth rate has tumbled “a bit” too much and that policy makers have scope to respond, underscoring forecasts for further monetary easing in the world’s second-largest economy.

“China’s inflation is also declining, so we need to be vigilant to see if the disinflation trend will continue, and if deflation will happen or not,” People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, 67, said Sunday in remarks at the Boao Forum for Asia, an annual conference on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. “China can have room to act,” both with interest rates and “quantitative” measures, he said.

Zhou’s remarks follow signs that China slowed further in the first quarter, after recording its weakest expansion since 1990 last year. Underscoring the commitment to support growth, the central bank on Monday lowered the downpayment requirement for some second-home buyers.

“It’s part of China’s broad effort to arrest a slowdown,” said Zhao Xijun, a finance professor with Renmin University in Beijing. “It will help boost sentiment as the government is again encouraging people to buy property. At the same time, there’s a fundamental difference from the stimulus we saw in 2009 -- the government is trying to ease curbs to get the property market back to normal, not to instill another round of frenzied speculation.” MORE

[Demeter]

28. MEANWHILE, THE EXPORTERS OF DEFLATION BEAT THE DEAD HORSE OF INTEREST RATES

Carney says BoE rates likely to rise, contrasts with Haldane

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/27/britain-boe-carney-idUSL6N0WT1QJ20150327

The Bank of England expects its next move in interest rates to be an increase not a cut despite record low inflation, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday, underscoring his difference of view with the Bank's chief economist.

"We're still in a position where our message is... that the next move in interest rates is going to be up," Carney said during a panel discussion at a Bundesbank conference in Frankfurt.

BoE chief economist Andy Haldane surprised investors last week when he said a recent sharp slowdown in inflation meant the bank was as likely as not to cut rates - a view that had been previously rejected by Carney.

Several other top policymakers at the BoE have left Haldane looking isolated in recent days.

On Friday, one of the Bank's deputy governors, Ben Broadbent, also played down the sharp fall in inflation which touched zero in February. He said Britain was unlikely to suffer from a long bout of deflation....

This controversial theory has got Janet Yellen worried

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102541212

In a speech on Friday, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen stayed her dovish course, maintaining that an increase in the federal funds rate "may well be warranted later this year." She also emphasized the Fed's data dependence, as well as her general tone of "cautious optimism" in the economy.

Yet it was in her discussion of what she termed "special risks and other considerations" where things got interesting. The first of her three special concerns around hiking rates run along the following lines:

"Some recent studies have raised the prospect that the economies of the United States and other countries will grow more slowly in the future as a result of both demographic factors and a slower pace of productivity gains from technological advances," the Fed chief stated. "At an extreme, such developments could even amount to a type of 'secular stagnation,' in which monetary policy would need to keep real interest rates persistently quite low relative to historical norms to promote full employment and price stability, absent a highly expansive fiscal policy," she added.

To take a step back, "secular stagnation" refers to the rather controversial theory that an economy may become stuck in a long-term period of slow growth and low interest rates, due to certain external factors.

LIKE AUSTERITY, SQUEEZING THE LIFE OUT OF LIFE? STARVING THE WORKING CLASS TO DEATH? ROBBING THE 99% OF EVERYTHING? THOSE EXTERNAL FACTORS?

YES FOLKS, THE ELITE ARE CLUELESS...BUT THEY ARE GETTING WORRIED!

[Demeter]

31. Worst Revenue & Earnings Declines Since Crisis Year 2009

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/03/29/worst-revenue-earnings-declines-since-crisis-year-2009/

Stocks have soared. But despite maxed-out financial engineering and ceaseless Wall-Street hype, the first half is shaping up to be tough.

Week after week, corporations and analysts have been whittling down their estimates. By now, revenues of the S&P 500 companies are expected to decline 2.8% in Q1 from a year ago – the worst year-over-year decline since Q3 of crisis year 2009.

But the unstoppable healthcare sector is expected to see revenue growth of 9.1%, according to FactSet, with three sub-sectors seeing double-digit sales growth: Healthcare Technology (38%), Biotechnology (23%), and Health Care Providers & Services (11%).

That’s why no one in Congress, or anywhere else, wants to get healthcare expenditures under control. It may eat up Medicare, Medicaid, state healthcare programs, and retiree healthcare programs. It may be economically cannibalistic for the country. It may bankrupt municipalities and states. It may blow up federal programs. But in its manner, healthcare is the most vibrant growth sector in the US economy. Even if it lives on borrowed money and is bankrupting the nation, it’s growth!

YIPPEE! A NATION THAT CANNOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN GROWTH AND LOOTING...

[Demeter]

29. The Fed Has Not Learnt From The Crisis

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevekeen/2015/03/28/the-fed-has-not-learnt-from-the-crisis/

The Financial Crisis of 2007 was the nearest thing to a “Near Death Experience” that the Federal Reserve could have had. One ordinarily expects someone who has such an experience—exuberance behind the wheel that causes an almost fatal crash, a binge drinking escapade that ends up in the intensive care ward—to learn from it, and change their behaviour in some profound way that makes a repeat event impossible.

Not so the Federal Reserve. Though the event itself gets some mention in Yellen’s speech yesterday (“Normalizing Monetary Policy: Prospects and Perspectives”, San Francisco March 27, 2015), the analysis in that speech shows that the Fed has learnt nothing of substance from the crisis. If anything, the thinking has gone backwards. The Fed is the speed driver who will floor the accelerator before the next bend, just as he did before the crash; it is the binge drinker who will empty the bottle of whiskey at next year’s New Year’s Eve, just as she did before she woke up in intensive care on New Year’s Day.

So why hasn’t The Fed learnt? Largely because of a lack of intellectual courage. As it prepares to manage the post-crisis economy, The Fed has made no acknowledgement of the fact that it didn’t see the crisis itself coming. Of course, the cause of a financial crisis is far less obvious than the cause of a crash or a hangover: there are no skidmarks, no empty bottle to link effect to cause. But the fact that The Fed was caught completely unawares by the crisis should have led to some recognition that maybe, just maybe, its model of the economy was at fault...

INTERESTING ARTICLE...UNUSUAL PLACEMENT!

[Demeter]

30. Foreclosure to Home Free, as 5-Year Clock Expires

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/30/business/foreclosure-to-home-free-as-5-year-clock-expires.html?_r=0

In September, Susan Rodolfi celebrated an unusual anniversary: five years of missed mortgage payments. She is like a ghost of the housing market’s painful past, one of thousands of Americans who have skipped years of mortgage payments and are still living in their homes. Now a legal quirk could bring a surreal ending to her foreclosure case and many others around the country: They may get to keep their homes without ever having to pay another dime.

The reason, lawyers for homeowners argue, is that the cases have dragged on too long. There are tens of thousands of homeowners who have missed more than five years of mortgage payments, many of them clustered in states like Florida, New Jersey and New York, where lenders must get judges to sign off on foreclosures.

However, in a growing number of foreclosure cases filed when home prices collapsed during the financial crisis, lenders may never be able to seize the homes because the state statutes of limitations have been exceeded, according to interviews with housing lawyers and a review of state and federal court decisions...

A STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS ON FORECLOSURES! WHO KNEW?

“No one gets a free house,” Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the United States Bankruptcy Court in Trenton wrote in an opinion late last year, reflecting what he characterized as a longstanding “admonition” he and others made during the foreclosure crisis. But after effectively ending a New Jersey homeowner’s foreclosure case in November because the state’s six-year statute of limitations had expired, he wrote in his opinion, “With a proper measure of disquiet and chagrin, the court now must retreat from this position.”

EAT CROW, YOU BASTARDS!