STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday March 25

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday March 25, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 302
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2620 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2346 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2637
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON March 24, 2008

Dow... 12,548.64 +187.32 (+1.52%)
Nasdaq... 2,326.75 +68.64 (+3.04%)
S&P 500... 1,349.88 +20.37 (+1.53%)
Gold future... 918.70 -1.30 (-0.14%)
30-Year Bond 4.31% +0.15 (+3.53%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.52% +0.19 (+5.83%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [e-mail]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp: Dubious Deliberations

BY ROB KIRBY

Imagine yourself taking one of your family’s most valuable heirlooms into a professional appraiser and having them offer you an expert opinion of, say, “X.”

Believing the professional evaluator, you contract with him to sell your asset and it sells to the evaluator’s relative for 100% of “X.”

Now imagine that the ‘same buyer’ of your asset turns around and gets a “new” professional opinion of value for your former asset, the very next week, for 5X.

Would such a bizarre scenario – if it were to actually occur – not raise some serious questions regarding motives along with cat-calls for a thorough investigation?

....

The Brutal Reality

What we are witnessing, through the now-failing obscene use of derivatives, is the entrails of the prolonging of failed fiat money system which began its decay when the world was forced onto a pure fiat money system with President Nixon’s revocation of the Gold Standard in 1971.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Report

10:00 AM Consumer Confidence Mar
Briefing Forecast 74.5
Market Expects 73.4
Prior 75.0

http://biz.yahoo.com/c/e.html

[UpInArms]

36. U.S. March consumer confidence 64.5 vs. 76.4 in Feb.

10. U.S. March consumer confidence below 73.3 expected
10:00 AM ET, Mar 25, 2008 - 5 minutes ago

11. U.S. March consumer confidence 64.5 vs. 76.4 in Feb.
10:00 AM ET, Mar 25, 2008 - 5 minutes ago

[Ghost Dog]

44. US Conference Bd March Consumer Confidence 64.5 Vs Feb 76.4

...The figure was well below economists' expectations for a reading of 73, and down from a revised 76.4 in February. The February reading was originally reported at 75. The index was 87.3 in January and has fallen from its most recent peak of 90.6 in December.

"Consumers' confidence in the state of the economy continues to fade and the index remains at a five-year low," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.

Data also showed the expectations index fell to 47.9 - a 35-year low - from a revised 58 in February. The February level was originally reported as 57.9.

"Consumers' outlook for business conditions, the job market and their income prospects is quite pessimistic and suggests further weakening may be on the horizon," Franco said. "The expectations index, in fact, is now at a 35-year low, levels not seen since the Oil Embargo and Watergate."

The present situation index, a gauge of consumers' assessment of current economic conditions, fell to 89.2 from a revised 104 in February. It was originally reported at 100.6 in February.

The survey is based on a sample of 5,000 U.S. households; the cutoff date for these preliminary results was March 18.

/.. http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=ada5e70d-9f8f-48e5-a9f4-2616f0299dc4

--> Doesn't appear immediately obvious: what justifiable reasons for revising this kind of sample-based survey (apart from altering the (interpretative) methodology applied)??? :eyes:

[formercia]

53. Time to revise the method of calculation

Just take out all the bad factors and insert 'good' factors and recalculate for next month.

[Hugin]

63. New and improved formula...

Guaranteed to always be Good NEWS!

Set GoodStuff = 1.0
Set BadStuff = 0.0

HappyGiddyConsumerPercentage = ((GoodStuff) - ((BadStuff * 0.0)))/1 * 100.

You will note... Just to make ding darn dammed sure no BadStuff gets through... I take the liberty
of multiplying it by the correction factor of 0.0.

[AnneD]

45. Holy Sphincter Muscles....

Batman, I think some folks just crapped their pants. :wow:

[ozymandius]

3. Oil drops near $100 on stronger dollar

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell to hover above $100 a barrel Tuesday as a stronger U.S. dollar made energy futures less attractive to investors.

The greenback's advance Monday made dollar-denominated oil lose some of its recent appeal to investors.

Many analysts believe the dollar's recent depreciation was the primary reason oil surged to a record near $112 a barrel last week, since oil and other commodities are seen as a hedge against inflation and a falling dollar. Now that the dollar is rising, the effect is reversing.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 57 cents to $100.29 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract fell 98 cents to settle at $100.86 a barrel on Monday.

The recent decline in oil prices has been far from decisive, and there are signs that some investors are willing to look beyond the dollar for future price direction. Some investors have sold contracts on concerns that a slowing U.S. economy would dampen crude oil demand. Last week, oil prices dipped in part on worry that Bear Stearns' near-collapse was a sign of significant economic problems.

.....

But there is an opposing school of thought that argues prices have risen far higher than can be justified by the oil market's underlying supply and demand fundamentals. These analysts believe prices will fall soon and sharply — regardless of what happens to the dollar.

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

Place your bets.

[54anickel]

16. Stronger dollar? Where? I found a quote for the day....

I love money. I love money more than the things it can buy. There's only one thing I love more than money. You know what that is? OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

--- Lawrence Garfield aka Larry the Liquidator

[wordpix]

89. Oil Firms 'In Liquidation,' Says 'Peak Oil' Advocate

http://www.cnbc.com/id/23794175

Topics:Japan | Saudi Arabia | India | China | Environment | Energy | Commodities
Sectors:Industrial Goods and Services | Oil and Gas

By Kenneth Stier, Features Writer | 25 Mar 2008 | 01:26 PM ET


The "peak oil" debate continued to rage with one of its principal proponents, energy sector investment banker Matthew Simmons, appearing on CNBC Tuesday to insist that major oil firms are "actually in liquidation."

Peak oil is the name given to the theory that the planet is in the midst of an ever-tightening supply — which in turn means oil prices will be locked into a permanent, rising arc.

Simmons' assessment of major oil companies' fate is the "grim reality," he says, of the firms even as they insist that vast potential remains from unconventional sources. Among those untapped reserves are the "tar sands" or "oil sands" of Canada — naturally occurring mixtures of earth, water and oil found largely in Alberta.

That was the contention of John Hofmeister, president of Royal Dutch Shell's US operations, who shared his views on CNBC’s "Squawk Box" last week.

“His assumptions are correct based on his hypotheses, but his hypotheses are too narrow,” Hofmeister said of Simmons. “In other words, he is looking at conventional oil only, and in the industry we look at unconventional oil as well.”

But Simmons said it's "convenient" for major oil firms like Shell to book reserves, such as its oil sands project in Alberta, but doing so amounts to an exercise in “turning gold into lead” because of the vast energy and potable water resources needed there to produce low-quality oil.

The water is converted to steam to blow oil from the sands and then to melt the tar, but this still leaves low-quality oil that is later mixed with higher quality oil to finally yield synthetic crude.

The cost of Shell’s Canada oil sands project has now ballooned to $14 billion but would yield only 100,000 barrels per day — about the same as a single major well in Saudi Arabia — making it an unsure business proposition, Simmons said.

His critique is not limited to Shell though. All major oil firms, he said, are "overlooking the fact that they are actually in liquidation, their production has been in decline for several years no matter how much money they intend to spend, they just can’t get ahead of their decline curves. And their proven reserves are shrinking very rapidly.”

Simmons, who is chairman of Simmons & Co. International, a specialized energy investment-banking firm based in Houston, is also the author of "Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy."

Surging demand, especially from developing countries, point to an arc of higher energy prices, he added.

"Unless we have a very severe meltdown in the global economy, I think we would be better off assuming that China and India are going to lead the way of the developing countries starting to behave more and more like Japan did in the '50s and '60s," he said. (See Simmons' interview in the CNBC video at left.)

"If that happens, then we need to be prepared for for one of two things: either bringing on supply to the tune of a new North Sea every two or three years — which is impossible — or watching demand outstrip supply. And finally we create shortages that literally create a run on the energy bank, just like we had a run on Bear Stearns."

One bright spot for the industry has been the performance of small exploration and production companies, said Simmons, who mentioned Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation, a company that has been able to post double-digit growth in natural gas production.

He said the firm accomplished this by deploying close to 20 percent of the drilling rigs in the US, working on "fairly incidental" wells.

"But you put them all together and you have the ability to have double-digit growth," he said. "If Chesapeake were basically the size of a major oil company, they couldn’t pull it off. So they have benefited because they are small and nimble."

On Monday Chesapeake announced it's expanding its existing multi-billion dollar drilling program, and branching out into oil drilling as well. Chesapeake also plans to expand its capital budget by $275 million in 2008 and by $675 million in 2009.

[ozymandius]

4. World markets rally on easing US worries

BANGKOK, Thailand - Asian and European markets surged Tuesday as investors returned from the Easter holiday in a mood to buy, encouraged by upbeat U.S. housing numbers and overnight gains on Wall Street.

Investors also were heartened by news that JP Morgan Chase & Co. raised its offer for Bear Stearns fivefold to $10 a share from $2 a share. The new offer signals that investors' losses might not be as sizable as feared.

Markets in Hong Kong and Australia, both of which were closed since Thursday, jumped on easing concerns about the global credit crisis that has battered stocks all year.

"I think this is the beginning of a rally," said Francis Lun, a general manager at Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong. "We have gone down low enough and the market is ready for a rebound. Banks will lead the rally."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080325/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

I wish I could share Ms Lun's enthusiasm.

[Lasher]

11. Surging banks propel European stocks up 3 pct

PARIS, March 25 (Reuters) - European equities surged 3 percent to a 10-day high early on Tuesday as investors scooped up battered banking shares after a raised buyout offer for Bear Stearns eased worries over financial sector valuations.

By 0910 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 2.7 percent at 1,259.59 points, after rising by more than 3 percent shortly after the open.

http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL2523266820080325?rpc=44

Good indication the US market might gain again today. The FTSE 100 (UK) is up 3.7% and the NIKKEI 225 (Japan) is up 2.12%.

[Ghost Dog]

76. European shares rise 3.1 pct led by banks, Nokia

FRANKFURT, March 25 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Tuesday, with banks lifted by JPMorgan's (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) increased takeover bid for Bear Stearns (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and mobile phone maker Nokia (NOK1V.HE: Quote, Profile, Research) up sharply after remarks by a top executive.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed unofficially 3.1 percent higher at 1,264.94 points. The rally, after a four-day Easter break, echoed Monday's gains on Wall Street after U.S. investment bank JPMorgan boosted its offer for rival Bear Stearns to $10 a share from $2.

"We are catching up with yesterday's gains in the United States, that's why Europe is strong today," a trader said. "(European) banks are up because of the Bear Stearns deal."

HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 14.2 percent, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was up 9.3 percent and UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) put on 8.2 percent.

"The upswing for the banks does not necessarily signal a return of confidence but the increased offer (for Bear Stearns) has reduced the perceived risk of collapse in the financial sector," the trader said.

Technology was the best performing sector in Europe, up 6.4 percent, with Nokia advancing 8.2 percent after Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson was quoted as having told Bloomberg Television that the company had not felt much of an impact from the U.S. downturn.

/. http://uk.reuters.com/article/eurMktRpt/idUKWEB957620080325

^ATX ATX 3,690.81 12:35PM ET Up 121.49 (3.40%)
^BFX BEL-20 3,704.07 1:06PM ET Up 81.05 (2.24%)
^FCHI CAC 40 4,692.00 12:55PM ET Up 158.28 (3.49%)
^GDAXI DAX 6,524.71 12:45PM ET Up 204.72 (3.24%)
^AEX AEX General 437.00 1:07PM ET Up 11.21 (2.63%)
^OSEAX OSE All Share 464.48 11:29AM ET Up 5.00 (1.09%)
^MIBTEL MIBTel 23,941.00 12:40PM ET Up 827.00 (3.58%)
^IXX ISE National-100 90.74 1:04PM ET Down 0.15 (0.17%)
^SMSI Madrid General 1,452.16 12:39PM ET Up 47.02 (3.35%)
^OMXSPI Stockholm General 306.52 12:44PM ET Up 11.28 (3.82%)
^SSMI Swiss Market 7,234.42 12:30PM ET Up 224.56 (3.20%)
^FTSE FTSE 100 5,689.10 12:35PM ET Up 193.90 (3.53%)

[ozymandius]

5. Merrill Lynch To Report 1Q Loss Amid Writedowns - Analyst

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER), which reported its first annual loss in 2007, is likely to have another loss in its first quarter, Fox- Pitt Kelton analyst David Trone told investors on Monday.

Merrill may write down as much as $8 billion of corporate loans, subprime and other mortgages, commercial real estate and exposure to troubled bond insurers, Trone said. In the previous two quarters, Merrill wrote down $25 billion of assets.

Trone reversed his earlier forecast, in which he had estimated Merrill would report a profit of $1.36 a share for its quarter ending this week. He now sees a loss of 93 cents a share, or about $848 million. He revised his estimate after digesting the first-quarter reports of Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH) and Morgan Stanley (MS), each of which last week signaled continued deterioration in the value of assets on their books. Those firms ended their fiscal first quarters in February.

Earlier Monday, Credit Suisse analyst Susan Roth Katzke forecast a net loss of $1.65 a share for Merrill, reversing her previous forecast of a profit of 43 cents a share. The average forecast of all analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is for a gain of about 48 cents a share. Merrill has not yet said when it will report its first-quarter results.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200803241858DOWJONESDJONLINE000372_FORTUNE5.htm

[ozymandius]

6. Thornburg Moves One-Third Of The Way Away From Bankruptcy

Thornburg Mortgage appears to have staved off bankruptcy, appeasing its creditors by raising almost a third of the cash it needed to preserve its standing.

Late on Monday, Thornburg Mortgage (nyse: TMA - news - people ) announced it had amended its bylaws to allow an investor to acquire up to $300 million worth of stock in the company's offering of $1 billion of convertible debt. The purchaser would have to provide assurances that the ownership would not jeopardize the company's REIT qualification. The amendment was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to a report from Dow Jones Newswires, citing a person familiar with the matter, the $1 billion offering of convertible bonds had not sold as of 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday. The pricing of the deal had already been delayed to Monday from last Thursday, as the company tried to generate interest among investors, it said. (See: "Thornburg Mortgage Delays Its Hail Mary") Although the company left everyone guessing throughout the day, the news is a sign that the company is likely able to raise the rest of the necessary cash.

.....

Despite the reassurance from the company, an industry analyst expressed concern over the delay. "The bottom line is they had a number of days--three to be precise--and the idea that they couldn't get it done by Friday was a bad thing," the analyst said on Sunday. "They had three days to do one step, and seven days to get the cash. The point is it's on hold until Monday, and we'll know then if everything is in fact moving forward."

http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/03/24/thornburg-mortgage-update-markets-equity-cx_cg_0324markets35.html

[Demeter]

14. Thornburg amends by-laws in fight for survival

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080325/bs_nm/thornburg_dc_1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





NEW YORK (Reuters) - Thornburg Mortgage Inc (TMA.N), which is scrambling to raise nearly $1 billion this week to avoid bankruptcy, said it has changed its by-laws to allow a single investor to buy up to $300 million of stock.

Previously, shareholders were generally limited to a 10 percent ownership stake, Thornburg said. Thornburg specializes in "jumbo" adjustable-rate mortgages, which come in amounts of more than $417,000 and typically go to buyers of more expensive homes. Though such buyers are often good credit risks, many investors stopped buying these mortgages as capital markets tightened. Thornburg earlier this month said it had failed to meet more than $600 million of margin calls.

In a filing late Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Thornburg said its board of directors last week approved a change to allow such an investment, so long as it would not jeopardize the company's tax-friendly real estate investment trust (REIT) status. A REIT may deduct dividends paid to shareholders from its corporate taxable income if it distributes at least 90 percent of the taxable income to shareholders as dividends.





Thornburg shares closed Monday up 14 cents at $1.27, according to New York Stock Exchange data.

[ozymandius]

7. U.S. stock futures edge lower after Monday's rally

LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock futures edged lower on Tuesday ahead of data that could show consumer confidence on the wane and house prices falling further.

S&P 500 futures fell 2.8 points to 1,348.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 4.25 points to 1,815.00. Dow industrial futures slipped 11 points.

U.S. stocks rallied on Monday after J.P. Morgan Chase increased its offer for Bear Stearns and after sales of existing homes rose for the first time in seven months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 187 points, the S&P 500 rose 20 points and the Nasdaq Composite gained 68 points.

Tuesday will feature the latest Conference Board reading on U.S. consumer confidence, as well as the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for January.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?column=Indications

[ozymandius]

8. 10 reasons your taxes are going up

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Reason No. 1: "Most Americans have yet to feel any of the costs of the Iraq war," write Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes in an excerpt of their new book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War," in Vanity Fair. "The price in blood has been paid by members of the volunteer military. The price in treasure has been financed entirely by borrowing. Taxes have not been raised to pay for the war."

Well, folks, the party's over. Campaign rhetoric won't hide America's excesses, denial, incompetence and arrogance much longer. No matter who's elected, taxes will increase to cover massive debts. Greed has driven America's great economic engine into a "debt contagion" ditch with a recession, bear market, price inflation, and weak job and housing markets ... you bet your taxes will increase.

Yes, our five-year war was totally financed by borrowing. But unfortunately, "deficit spending gives the illusion that the laws of economics can be repealed. They cannot. Americans will have to pay for the war at some point -- and when they do, they will be paying not the Bush markdown but the full price," the authors say.
We've been mislead by Washington's Enron-style accounting that hides many costs:

* Supplemental financing bills, outside the budget

* No veterans health-care estimates included

* No equipment replacement costs to restore our military

* Nothing about increases in state and homeland security

The real cost isn't $800 billion, it's already $3 trillion. And still, it doesn't include.....

.....

America's new Wall Street welfare program

This one's scary. For the first time in almost a century, the Fed's bailing out the investment bankers, those wild speculators who got us in this mess -- bailed out while two million homeowners face foreclosures and increasing interest rates.

The real sinners are free to sin again! Like J.P. Morgan Chase's $2 -- now $10 -- freebie of Bear Stern's equity, while the Fed stuck the taxpayers with billions of Bear's junk debt. Now Wall Street's greedy traders are free to start speculating again, playing in the same old $516 trillion high-risk derivatives casino. Bad move: The Fed's setting America up for an even bigger crash around 2012.

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?column=Paul+B.+Farrell

[Kolesar]

12. Now China, Japan &Saudis are holding "deflated US war bonds"

If you will give me the license of coining a new term.

[Ghost Dog]

46. What war? There was an illegal almost unopposed invasion, and there is now

a de facto occupation facing mainly quite legitimate resistance.

for the nth time... :grrr:

[mac2]

113. And our Commander-in-Chief allowed or even encouraged

it...made it happen. He is out to destroy us.

[mac2]

114. No taxes paid for by the rich and international corporations

(once American now "international" to become blameless and pay no taxes) destroy our country. They profit and benefit off the American middle class who are dying and less every year(job loss with bad trade deals).

Who is going to pay the taxes Georgie?

[ozymandius]

9. More lipstick on Bear Stearns' pig

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve has gone into business with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. by taking effective ownership of $30 billion of the most toxic waste on Bear Stearns' books.

In the latest groundbreaking move from the central bank, the New York Federal Reserve Bank will manage and dispose of the high-risk securities that helped push Bear Stearns Cos. over the brink and into the arms of J.P. Morgan.

If the securities, valued at $30 billion on March 14, sell for more than $30 billion, the Fed will take the profit. If they sell for less, J.P. Morgan will assume the first $1 billion in losses, with the Fed on the hook for the remaining $29 billion.

The details announced Monday are slightly more favorable to the Fed than the arrangement announced a week earlier, but, for many critics, the changes don't amount to much more than putting lipstick on a pig.

The changes to the Fed's role were announced shortly after J.P. Morgan raised its buyout offer for Bear to $10 a share from the previously announced $2 in an effort to appease irate shareholders and head off lawsuits.

J.P. Morgan will set up a limited liability company to hold the Bear Stearns assets, which will "ease administration of the portfolio and will remove constraints" on Blackrock Financial Management Inc., which has been hired to manage the portfolio "under guidelines established by the New York Fed to minimize disruption to financial markets and maximize recovery value."

Blackrock will work for the New York Fed, not for J.P. Morgan.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fed-puts-lipstick-bear-stearns/story.aspx?guid=%7BA44AC566%2D7108%2D4797%2DBE94%2D74489B3A3A4B%7D

[Hugin]

21. "Fed on the hook for the remaining $29 billion"

Let's be REALLY REALLY clear who's taking the lion's share of the risk... While
JPM&C gets the tongue bath from the press.

JPM&C is taking 1/30th of the risk. The rest... Well, that is what's for dinner.

[AnneD]

55. Morning Prag.....

loved the comparisons. Yeah, 3 guess as to who picks up the tab for this surf and turf dinner.

[AnneD]

42. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: and lurkers. Yesterday, an incident happened to my daughter that shook her faith. As some of you that are long time reader know, I went through a very bitter custody battle when my daughter was 13. I had won custody of her when she was 5 but between teenage willfulness and a remarriage, she decided to live with her Disneyland Dad rather than responsibility Mom. I have paid dearly for that choice both financially and emotionally, but I have accepted it for what it is.

As I mentioned, my daughter has a Senior Recital which is part of her school grade. Yesterday, she was needing to pay for her dress (she bought the fabric and was going to have her friend make it for $50-far cheaper than you could get a nice new semi-formal dress-it was going to double as her prom dress). When she asked for the money-he refused. She asked him about the other recital expenses and her refused (remember-this is a graded event). She called me and was crying so hard as to be unintelligible. It took a while to calm her down but once I did I told her that I would make sure that these events were cover. She was inconsolable that in a pinch-she was abandoned. I went over to my ex MIL house (where he lives)and had a very interesting come to Jesus talk with her. Let's just say that she was unhappy with her son before we were finished. As I was leaving, I took my daughter aside and hugging her said, "It was things like this that caused me to divorce you Dad-he's far to leaky of a vessel to pour your hope into." I will be having a talk today with my attorney and I hope a letter can make him do what he has a moral obligation to do.

So what does this have to do with the Stock Market, the election, our candidates, and folks on Main Street. I believe the populist message that John Edwards campaigned on. When he dropped out, I really had no preference between Obama or Clinton but I was leaning a bit toward Clinton based on experience. However, when she announced that she would put Greenspan on a housing committee, I realized that while she might have a bit more experience, she did not learn from it. So now I will hope for an Obama win but frankly, as a seasoned voter, I think these candidates are too leaky a vessel for the Middle Class to pour our hopes into.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Demeter]

77. I'd Call Obama Untried, Not Leaky

As for Hillary, nothing she's said in this campaign holds any water with me.

[AnneD]

97. As a rule of thumb ....

in my lifetime, with very few exceptions.....politicians are a leaky vessel to pour your hopes into. So basically, I have stopped hoping. I trust the honest civil servant before I trust a politician.

Perhaps Obama can rise to the occassion, but for the moment, I am not pouring any hope in. Sad how a lifetime of politics can jade one.

[mac2]

108. That's why they got rid of Civil Service to be replaced with

private cronies who lie and steal from us (Halliburton, Enron, etc.). Teddy Roosevelt pushed the Civil Service for that very reason. He was a reformer.

Where is Obama's reform? No candidate for public office that I know of has expressed outrage over the dismantle of our Civil Service system of government. That's what Bush did with his "moving the boxes around". He dismantled it for his own power and wealth. Also to destroy any over sight from experienced federal employees who spent their lives under many administrations. Even the "Whistle Blowers" silenced by court order.

Seems the heroes of our democracy are mostly missing or silenced by the media whores.

[mac2]

109. Neither of them have lived up to being candidates which

can "change" the corruption going on in the DC. McCain could win when you consider how upset people are about immigration, our economy with these bad trade deals, etc.

If you are a Republican what is the difference between parties except the fear war and immigration? At least at the surface it seems so.

[DemReadingDU]

10. 2nd Healthcare fraud trial in Columbus, Ohio - update

3/24/08 AM - Poulsen takes the stand in witness-tampering trial

The CEO of what was once the nation's largest health-care financing company told a 12-member jury Monday that a woman who testified against him had a history of abusing her employees.

Lance Poulsen, founder and chief executive of defunct National Century Financial Enterprises Inc., took the stand in his own defense Monday morning. Poulsen is accused by the government of attempting to bribe a former employee, Sherry Gibson, into changing her testimony in exchange for $500,000 to $1 million.

more...
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/03/24/daily5.html


3/24/08 PM - Jury expected to get bribery case Tuesday

Justice Department lawyers did their best to impeach the CEO of the failed National Century Financial Enterprises Inc. with his own words Monday afternoon, hours before a jury is expected to begin deliberations over what to believe in the trial.

Lance Poulsen, the co-founder and head of what was once the nation's largest health-care financing company, faced a stiff cross-examination from the government, at times coming close to contradicting his earlier statements.

Poulsen and an associate are accused of attempting to bribe former employee Sherry Gibson into changing her testimony in exchange for $500,000 to $1 million. Poulsen testified in his defense Monday and by the afternoon was sparring with Leo Wise, an attorney for the Justice Department.

In one exchange, Wise read from the transcripts of five separate phone conversations Poulsen had with his friend Karl Demmler about giving money to Gibson. After each transcript excerpt, Poulsen admitted he had said what the transcript stated.

Wise then asked Poulsen if he remembered testimony from his former attorney, Thomas Tyack, who advised Poulsen should not give any loans or money to Gibson.

"That's correct," Poulsen said.

Wise also asked about $25,000 Poulsen testified he wanted to get to Gibson so that she could hire a new attorney.

After Poulsen affirmed that was his plan all along, Wise then read from a transcript in which Poulsen told Demmler the court would be able to pay for Gibson's new attorney, presumably because she didn't have the money.

"That was one of the alternatives," Poulsen said.

Gibson, executive vice president at Dublin-based National Century, has testified she was at the center of a fraud that resulted in the company's 2002 bankruptcy, a collapse that left nearly $3 billion in investor funds missing. Gibson has said the fraud was directed by Poulsen.

Gibson testified earlier that Poulsen, 64, and Demmler, 57, attempted to persuade her to forget what happened at National Century when she is scheduled to testify against the CEO in a fraud trial scheduled for August on charges stemming from National Century's collapse.

Poulsen and Demmler were indicted last October on one count each of conspiracy to obstruct justice, witness tampering and witness tampering by influencing testimony. They have pleaded not guilty.

Defending 'Yep'
Poulsen and his attorneys have maintained he and Demmler believed Gibson received bad legal advice when she pleaded guilty to a charge stemming from the company's collapse. Gibson served almost three years in prison and forfeited her entire net worth - about $420,000 - to the government.

Conversations the government secretly taped between Demmler and Poulsen and Demmler and Gibson are evidence of a plan to get Gibson a new attorney, the defense has said.

Yet the government has argued that if that was the case, Poulsen and Demmler didn't need to talk in code; the two routinely referred to Gibson as "Mary."

Under cross-examination, Poulsen said that because Demmler is a critic of the government, he was the first to use the Mary moniker because he was worried his phone was being tapped. Poulsen said he agreed to the name to assuage his friend.

Poulsen also faced questions from Wise about why, in a taped phone call between Poulsen and Demmler, that Poulsen agreed Gibson should have "amnesia." Poulsen responded that although he had replied, "Yep" when Demmler said Gibson should develop forgetfulness for the day, it was a dismissal of the suggestion. He said he regularly uses the term as a verbal transition.

Earlier in the day, Poulsen testified he was "shocked" when he found out Gibson thought he was trying to bribe her.

"I never asked Sherry to lie and I never asked Sherry to do anything," Gibson said.

Poulsen also noted that even though he had mentored Gibson and she had shown promise at National Century, there came a time when her staff began to revolt. He said in the mid- to late-'90s, two employees secretly placed a letter in his briefcase stating they were planning to quit because of Gibson. Poulsen said the employees wrote in the letter that Gibson "was abusive, both sexually and physically." He didn't elaborate.

Poulsen also testified that he was "teed off" when he found out that Gibson had pleaded guilty to her role in the alleged fraud and had made a deal with the government to testify against other executives.

"I was really angry that this person I had helped ... would stab me in the back like that," Poulsen said. "It was just incredible to me."

After the defense rested, U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley told the jury to expect to get the case by the lunch hour.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/03/24/daily7.html?t=printable


link to previous articles...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3240102&mesg_id=3240149

[mac2]

110. Not the only case of fraud going on in this country regarding

"privitized" health care.

They buy off and bribe every institution in America. Who? The Cons who seem to have amnesia regarding every sector of our society when questioned by Congress and the people. They are a huge Mafia.

[UpInArms]

13. dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 72.370 Change -0.545 (-0.75%)

US Dollar in Recovery Mode

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar_in_Recovery_Mode_1206393864971.html

With existing home sales rebounding in the month of February and European markets still closed for Easter Monday, the US dollar recovered against the Euro and the Japanese Yen. In Friday’s Daily Fundamentals, we had indicated that as long as we do not have another Bear Stearns, the US dollar should rebound given the lack of any Tier 1 economic data. The stronger existing home sales report has certainly contributed to the dollar’s recovery with the sale of previously owned homes rising by 2.9 percent, ending a six month streak of negative home sales. The dollar could continue to rally, especially on tomorrow’s consumer confidence report. Even though consumer sentiment could be dented by a weakening labor market, the weekly ABC consumer confidence reports suggest that consumer sentiment may actually hold steady. Over the past 2 weeks, the Federal Reserve has taken a number of different measures to increase liquidity in the financial system and we should begin to see the effects this week through calmer market conditions. Banks have not been shy about tapping into the Fed’s new liquidity provisions and 400 point rally in the stock market since Thursday suggests that the central bank’s efforts have helped to temporarily ease the latest uncertainty in the financial markets. However, we still believe that the dollar could resume its slide next week, because incoming data suggests that non-farm payrolls should continue to drop. The existing home sales report was also not without its flaws. The average price of a single family home dropped 8.7 percent, which was the largest decline on record (since 1968). Consider this week's rebound a well needed vacation for dollar bears who will be back in force in April.

Euro Could Replace the Dollar as World’s Largest Reserve Currency Within 10 Years

The EUR/USD has been trading in a very tight range over the past 24 hours. The lack of any economic data today or tomorrow has given Euro traders little to trigger off of. The recent correction in the EUR/USD will also help to alleviate recent pressures on the European Central Bank to intervene in the Euro. There is an interesting article in the Financial Times today that talks about how the Euro could replace the US dollar as the world’s largest reserve currency within the next 10 to 15 years. According to Wolfgang Munchau who references a study conducted by professors at the University of Wisconsin and Harvard University, the persistent current account deficits combined with a long term decline in the US dollar and the emergence of a genuine alternative to the dollar (the euro) would suppress the international role of the US dollar. However Munchau takes it one step further by arguing that the euro could become the dominant reserve currency even sooner because of the reckless monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, the reluctance of developing countries to maintain a dollar peg in the face of skyrocketing inflation and the increasing relative strength of the European financial system. The US dollar has not always been the dominant reserve currency because up until the second world war, that title belonged to the British pound. Although we do not agree that the Euro will steal that title from the dollar within the next 10 years, we do believe that the amount of reserves held in Euros will come close to matching the amount of reserves held in US dollars.

...more...

Dollar Gives Up Gains As Risk Appetite Returns

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio2/Dollar_Gives_Up_Gains_As_1206437415016.html

After a quiet holiday week-end traders returned to the currency market emboldened to take on more risk by plowing into the high yielders as equity markets across the globe recorded triple digit gains in the wake of JPM’s announcement that it will quintuple its bid for Bear Stearns from $2 top $10 per share. In early Asia EURUSD exploded to 1.5550 on the back of reputed buying from Asian central banks which led to rapid short covering from many momentum players who were caught wrong footed after establishing fresh dollar longs just yesterday.

With no economic data on the European calendar for second day in a row and trading still relatively illiquid the moves overnight were highly volatile with some pairs such as USDCAD jumping 40 points in a matter of several minutes. Liquidity should return back to normal conditions by the open of the North American session as all the major money centers will finally be at full staff after the Easter holidays.

In US today, traders will get a glance a Consumer Confidence numbers and the Case Shiller housing index. The news on the housing front is expected to show steep declines in price, but the key report is likely to be the Consumer Confidence survey. Many analysts are now concerned that the recent spate of bad US economic news will create a negative impact on consumer behavior. With consumption comprising more that 70% of US GDP, a severe retrenchment in consumer spending could grind US economic activity to a halt. Latest data from the U of M survey suggests that attitudes may have stabilized in March but its far from certain that the CC numbers will confirm that trend.

The consensus call for today is a slight decline to 73.5 from 75.0 the month prior. However, should the data slip below the 70.0 level, the news could trigger a fresh wave of dollar selling taking EURUSD back to the 1.5600 level. ECB officials have expressed some concern with the recent strength of the euro with ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos noting in an interview with Russian newspaper today that moves have been “excessive”.

Nevertheless, his language fell far short of “brutal” which has been the code word used by ECB President Jean Claude Trichet in the past to communicate ECB displeasure with the movements in the pair. One gets the sense that as long as EURUSD remains below the 1.60 level, ECB officials will simply keep a wary eye on exchange rates but will continue to tolerate the single currency’s appreciation. In short the EURUSD continues to consolidate with sharp reversals likely to be the norm rather than exception for the being as traders lurch from one piece of news to another looking for a fresh theme.

...more...

[formercia]

15. The day isn't over yet.

Happy Days are not here yet.

[Ghost Dog]

19. Euro= USD 1.559, CHF 1.577 JPY 157.0 and GBP 0.782 at this time

Money-Market Rates Rise, Defy Central Bank Measures

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- The cost of borrowing in dollars, euros and pounds rose on money markets, a sign that attempts by policy makers to revive lending are failing to stop banks hoarding cash.

The London interbank offered rate, or Libor, for three- month dollars increased 5 basis points to 2.66 percent, the highest level since March 14 and its third straight gain, the British Bankers' Association said today. The euro rate climbed 2 basis points to 4.70 percent, the highest since Dec. 27.

``There's really only a handful of banks that are offering cash,'' said Ronald Tharun, a money-market trader at LRP Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz in Mainz, Germany. ``Everyone is just waiting for the next bank to go down. There is no trust in the market. They're very afraid.''

...

The euro rate rose even after the European Central Bank provided an extra 14 billion euros ($21.8 billion) of emergency cash to banks today.

The three-month rate for pounds also climbed, by 1 basis point to 6 percent, its 11th straight increase, according to the BBA. The Bank of England injected an extra 5 billion pounds ($10 billion) in loans last week.

...

Credit losses linked to the collapse of the U.S. subprime- mortgage market will probably swell to $460 billion, according to Andrew Tilton, senior economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

``Institutions still have written off less than half of the losses associated with the bursting of the credit bubble,'' Tilton wrote in a report from New York yesterday. ``There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it's still rather dim.''

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601015&sid=aqAnItapp3SY&refer=munibonds

[Ghost Dog]

20. Dupe

[Ghost Dog]

51. Banks in China find dollars are scarce

SHANGHAI: Banks in China are struggling with a curious result of the authorities' tight grip on the foreign exchange market: a severe shortage of U.S. dollars. And the shortage may get worse before it gets better.

The squeeze is dampening activity in the market and threatening to hinder some corporate customers' use of dollars for purposes such as trade and investment, dealers say.

For a country with $1.65 trillion in foreign reserves, much of it in dollars, the shortage may seem surprising.

But the vast bulk of those dollars is in the hands of the central bank, not commercial banks, which sell most of their U.S. currency on to the central bank as soon as they obtain it to avoid losses caused by appreciation of the yuan .

Contributing to the shortage are rules designed to restrict onshore supplies of dollars and thus limit inflows of speculative money betting on yuan appreciation.

For example, there is a ban on selling dollars short in the spot market to buy them back later at a lower price, and the central bank requires many banks to settle reserve ratio increases in dollars.

And last year, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, or SAFE, slashed banks' quotas for short-term foreign currency debt below one year. Foreign banks were told to cut holdings to 60 percent of 2006 levels, and domestic banks to 30 percent.

The result is a doubling of dollar funding costs within China over the past few months.

The foreign currency debt quotas are due to expire at the end of this month but the market fears they could be rolled over or even cut further, worsening the dollar squeeze.

/... http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/25/business/chimoney.php

[Ghost Dog]

59. Dollar Falls on Bets Fed Will Make Deeper Interest Rate Cuts

March 25 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar fell the most against the euro in almost two weeks on speculation the Federal Reserve will cut the target lending rate by as much as a half-percentage point next month to revive economic growth.

The U.S. currency reached its lows of the day as a private report showed consumer confidence fell more than forecast in March. The Australian and New Zealand dollars strengthened as a rally in European and Asian stocks encouraged investors to buy higher-yielding assets.

``We're waking back up to the economic reality, which is that the U.S. is in the midst of a slowdown,'' said Brian Dolan, chief currency strategist at FOREX.com, a unit of online currency trading firm Gain Capital in Bedminster, New Jersey, which has about $250 million under management. ``The worst is yet to come. The dollar is going to stay weak.''

The dollar fell 1 percent to $1.5582 per euro at 10:29 a.m. in New York, from $1.5423 yesterday. It declined 0.9 percent to 99.82 yen, from 100.74 yesterday. The euro traded at 155.59 yen, compared with 155.39 yesterday.

``The dollar resumed its decline,'' said Samarjit Shankar, director of global strategy for the foreign- exchange group in Boston at Bank of New York Mellon. ``The market is taking a reality check: No, nothing has changed. The economy in the U.S. will deteriorate further.''

Fed Rate Cuts

The Fed on March 18 cut the target rate for overnight lending between banks by 0.75 percentage point to 2.25 percent. Futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade show there's a 34 percent chance the Fed will trim the target by a half- percentage point at its April 30 meeting, compared with a 28 percent likelihood yesterday. The remaining odds are for a reduction of a quarter-percentage point.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601083&sid=aZSKj4zGe.JE&refer=currency

[DemocratInSoCal]

95. The Fed....Cut Rates?? You're KIDDING ME! nt

[Demeter]

17. Weapons of Financial Destruction DailyReckoning.com

“These instruments enhance the ability to differentiate risk and allocate it to those investors most able and willing to take it.”

Thus sayeth Alan Greenspan in March 1999.

He was talking about the sophisticated financial instruments that have been in the news lately – derivatives. Another view of derivatives was expressed by someone who actually knew something – Warren E. Buffett, the sage of Omaha. He called them “weapons of mass destruction.”

Who was right? Ask Bear Stearns’ shareholders!

Last week was “hell week,” for the poor people who owned the business. They went skiing or fishing on Friday evening. When they turned on the news Monday morning, they found that they had been wiped out. Bear’s bridge-champion chief, Jimmy Cayne, for example, had more than a billion dollars’ worth of Bear stock. But when the dust settled last week it was worth only $30 million.

What went wrong? The firm made a big bet – on derivatives, of course. Not that we feel sorry for Mr. Cayne. He should have known better than anyone what he had. And if he’d been smart, he would have gotten rid of it. Besides, the whole Bear team had it coming. When LongTerm Capital Management got into trouble 10 years ago, Bear refused to come to its aid.

And it’s not as if he’s going to be out on the street, begging for quarters. You can still live well with only $30 million.

Well, you can still live fairly well. The price of diesel fuel rose to $4.06 a gallon in the United States last week. So, maybe he should switch to gasoline. And if things get worse, maybe he could move in with his parents – the San Diego paper says that even middle-aged people are moving back in with Mom & Dad to cut expenses.

It’s not just Bear shareholders who might be feeling pinched. All up and down Wall Street, the masters of the universe are getting their bonuses reduced...their stocks cut in half...and their stock options are expiring worthless. Last week, S&P downgraded Lehman and Goldman to “negative.”

Of course, this is just the sort of thing that happens when the credit cycle turns negative: the imaginary wealth created in the boom and bubble phases disappears. And that’s why a credit contraction is so deflationary – people discover that they don’t have as much money as they thought they had. Then, they have to cut back...

And contrary to the predictions you hear from Wall Street and Washington, the credit cycle doesn’t turn around in a few months. The pundits who call for a “recovery in the second half” will probably be disappointed. If the peak of the credit cycle passed last year, the downturn could last for many years to come...

For proof, we turn our weary eyes across the vast Pacific, to the island nation of Japan, which has been in a slump ever since George Bush I threw up on its Prime Minister at a state dinner. And now comes word that, for the first time in five years, Japanese households have lost wealth. The Tokyo stock market seemed to be in recovery...then, whammo, it got hit hard again this year.

And now, all over the world, financial firms are checking to see what is on their balance sheets...and preparing Plan Bs.

[Demeter]

18. RISK MANAGEMENT ADDICTION by The Mogambo Guru

http://www.dailyreckoning.com/Writers/MogamboGuru.html

And Alan Greenspan himself wrote an essay for the Financial Times titled “We Will Never Have a Perfect Model of Risk”, which perfectly sums up the incredible stupidity of this traitorous bastard who used the Federal Reserve to destroy this country. In it, Mr. Greenspan starts out by saying, “The current financial crisis in the United States is likely to be judged in retrospect as the most wrenching since the end of the second world war.”

Wow! Pretty strong stuff from the guy who created all this mess and denied all along that anything could happen to the economy that lowering interest rates couldn’t handle!

Then, amazingly, later he puffs up his chest and says that today’s sophisticated computer modeling by him and his buddies requires “that saving equal investment, that the marginal propensity to consume be positive, and that inventories be non-negative.”

My Rebellious Mogambo Mind (RMM) naturally says, “Huh? What in the hell is THAT supposed to mean?” and my Slobbery Mogambo Lips (SML) say, “Huh? When in the hell was the last time that saving equaled investment? When in the hell was the last time that someone did not spend a part of every new dollar of income? And just what in the living hell is a negative inventory?”

He does not answer me, but bizarrely goes on to say that “these restraints, among others, eliminated most of the distressing inconsistencies of the unsophisticated forecasting world of half century ago.” Hahahaha! I can’t believe I am reading this! Hahahaha! We are going to have the worst financial crisis since for the last half-century, which has completely surprised him and his little forecasting buddies, even though he crows about how he “eliminated most of the distressing inconsistencies of the unsophisticated forecasting world of half century ago”. Hahaha!

“Wait! Wait! He said it right here in the essay! He implied that Black Swan events are real, and that ‘We will never be able to anticipate all discontinuities in financial markets. Discontinuities are, of necessity, a surprise.’ So surprise, kids! You would have lost in the end anyway!”

Anyway, the whole of the article is insulting in his “nothing is my fault” explanations and weird rationales, and especially in the fact that he does not mention, even in passing, the crucial role he played in it all; without the Federal Reserve creating so damned much, so impossibly much, so incomprehensibly freaking much money and credit for all those years, the collapsing booms could not have happened, and so there would be no busts to with which to deal.

From Junior Mogambo Ranger (JMR) John P. we get some advice for those who think that they can actually model and control an economy with equations in computers, like the morons at the Federal Reserve and in most of the universities in this country, I am sorry to say. He says that it will make sense to them if I remind them that, “The fact is that a partial differential of one of countless variables in a feedback equation that has not yet been written is meaningless once that equation has gone chaotic!!!”

As I am still intently trying to master the intricacies of simple addition and subtraction, the reference to partial differential equations leaves me cold, so I try and deduce what in the hell he is talking about from the clues that 1) the system has gone chaotic and 2) that there are three exclamation points at the end.

And then, like Sherlock Holmes, I note that the horrible, terrifying answer is contained in the clues; “there are three exclamation points at the end”. And there they are! It’s the end! Ugh.

The Mogambo Sez: Junior Mogambo Ranger (JMR) John says, “As far back as I can remember, Congress has been a proponent of the Charlie Brown philosophy: ‘There’s no problem so big that you can’t run away from it!’”

And in the Funny Times newspaper was a cartoon by somebody named Mueller, which showed two homeless bums sitting on the sidewalk, and one of them says, “We should spend our way out of this.” Hahahaha! Fabulous!

Putting them together, the government is going to pull out all of the stops, and that means that more money is going to be created than the world has ever seen, and thus inflation in prices is guaranteed, and that means that you should start buying gold today. Lots of it! And don’t stop!

[Hugin]

23. “Huh? What in the hell is THAT supposed to mean?”

I find that this exact phrase has become my mantra, of late.


Ooohuummm... “Huh? What in the hell is THAT supposed to mean?” Oooohummmm... :meditating:

[Demeter]

80. Sounds Like a Theme!

Where am I going?
And what will I find?
What's in this grab-bag that I call my mind?
What am I doing alone on the shelf?
Ain't it a shame,
No one's to blame, but myself...

Which way is clear?
When you've lost your way year after year?

Do I keep falling in love
For just the kick of it?
Staggering through the thin and thick of it,
Hating each old and tired trick of it.
Know what I am,
I'm good and sick of it!

Where am I going?
Why do I care?
Run to the Bronx, or Washington Square,
No matter where I run I meet myself there,

Looking inside me, what do I see?
Anger and hope and doubt,
What am I all about?
And where am I going?
You tell me!

Where am I going?
Why do I care?
Run to the Bronx, or Washington Square,
No matter where I run I meet myself there,
Looking inside me, what do I see?
Anger and hope and doubt
What am I all about?
And where am I going?
You tell me!


"Where Am I Going" from Sweet Charity

[donkeyotay]

90. If only the little people had their own Fed, we wouldn't be waiting for the trickle down.

And in the Funny Times newspaper was a cartoon by somebody named Mueller, which showed two homeless bums sitting on the sidewalk, and one of them says, “We should spend our way out of this.” Hahahaha! Fabulous!

[antigop]

22. $344,683 while pleading poverty (Wall Street 2007 average bonus)

http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/03/344683_while_pleading_poverty.html

Despite the massive write-downs, subprime mess and credit crunch seeping out of Wall Street the average bonus fell only 1.6% in 2007, according to a survey by WallStreetComps.com, a group of former investment bankers that polled 228 current professionals. The average 2007 bonus was $344,683, down from $350,349 in 2006.

[Hugin]

24. I could do that...

If my pesky conscience didn't keep getting in the way.

[burf]

35. But where is the outrage?

Why is this only covered by David Sirota? A person would believe the "liberal media" would be all over this. But I guess it could be worse. The adjustment for inflation probably meant the amount was closer to under $340K. Poor babies!

[antigop]

41. Where is the outrage? Don't know about you but my outrage meter was on overload a LOOONG time ago

n/t

[mac2]

115. Eight long years...

[wordpix]

78. HERE'S SOME OUTRAGE!

:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[burf]

93. Nice flames!

But my guess is Joe Sixpac won't hear a peep about this, at least from the talking heads networks.

[DemReadingDU]

25. Supreme Court allows retiree healthcare benefit cuts

3/25/08 Employers may coordinate with Medicare on healthcare provisions for seniors. An AARP legal challenge is turned away

The Supreme Court on Monday gave employers a green light to reduce health benefits for millions of retirees who turn 65 and become eligible for Medicare. The justices turned away a legal challenge from AARP, the nation's leading senior citizens lobby, which had contended these lower benefits for older retirees violated the federal law against age discrimination.

The court's action upholds, in effect, a rule adopted last year by federal regulators that says the "coordination of retiree health benefits with Medicare" is exempt from the anti-age-bias law.

Advocates for companies and labor unions openly disagreed with AARP and applauded the outcome. They said this compromise rule will encourage employers to maintain health coverage for their retirees. Otherwise, employers might drop all benefits for their former employees, they said.

They said it will prove especially helpful to those younger retirees who were offered continued healthcare when they left full-time work.

In 2004, a survey cited by AARP found 49% of retirees age 55 to 64 had health insurance coverage from a former employer. Benefits experts for private employers say the proportion is lower. A survey in 2005 found only 13% of those who retired from private companies were promised continued healthcare.

Employers in California, large and small, say benefits for retirees already have become a casualty of soaring medical costs.

"In some cases, it's become a millstone around their necks," said Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "Corporations aren't all heartless, but in many cases, you're competing with multinational corporations that don't have quite the obligations that domestic firms have."

more...
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-scotus25mar25,1,5568623.story

[antigop]

28. Ah, yes, the plan unfolds....

1) Eliminate employer coverage after Medicare eligibility

2) Eliminate Medicare because of the debt and our inability to pay off the Medicare trust fund bonds when they come due.

3) Leave everyone without healthcare in their old age.

<edit to add> except, of course, Congress critters who will make sure THEY have coverage.

[Hugin]

31. Looks like the plan, antigop.

It amazes me the Bushite Neocons are still pushing it...

I've never seen a group of people so eager to kick the old and indigent to the curb for a couple of bucks.

[Kolesar]

48. It does not say that ... eom

[antigop]

69. It's called looking at the situation and where it is leading. n/t

[Kolesar]

70. the article says the opposite of what you claim

[antigop]

85. it's called a precedent. Got it?

The Supreme Court on Monday gave employers a green light to reduce
health benefits for millions of retirees who turn 65 and become
eligible for Medicare. The justices turned away a legal challenge from
AARP, the nation's leading senior citizens lobby, which had contended
these lower benefits for older retirees violated the federal law
against age discrimination.

OK. So the "lower benefits for older retirees" do not violate age discrimination laws. So, companies can reduce (eliminate) benefits once they become eligible for Medicare. So companies can provide some health benefits for older retirees (before Medicare eligibility) but reduce (eliminate) those benefits once the employee becomes eligible for Medicare. Got it?

<edit to add> I am not an attorney. The above is solely my opinion.

[antigop]

91. No, you need to read the article again ...from the article

The court's action "clears the way for employers to discriminate by reducing or terminating benefits for older retirees simply because they've turned 65 years old," AARP said in a statement.

REDUCING OR TERMINATING BENEFITS....per AARP

[wordpix]

79. and don't forget, * will have great healthcare for life b/c he was a pResident

[kickysnana]

30. SCOTUS needs Medicare where reimbursement for office visit is now about $8.

It is huts! Health Care benefits were a part of compensation packages. How can they be rendered null by the courts?

[Hugin]

32. Yeah, wasn't it a 'contract'?

Just like the Fed is stumbling over itself to keep with the bankers?

Dang, I wish I had that quote from the other day where Bush was saying contracts must be observed.

[antigop]

34. No, it's not a "contract" unless you have a collective bargaining agreement

<edit to add> or an employment contract. Who has those except for CEOs?

This is the problem -- medical benefits are VOLUNTARY. That's the way it is right now. Employers do not have to provide benefits unless employees have a contract.

It doesn't matter that employees accepted lower pay throughout their careers,thinking they would have decent retiree medical benefits. The companies can still yank them.

[Hugin]

37. Oh, but, wait... Wasn't that specifically denied in the latest Medicare legislation?

[antigop]

39. well, that's what I'm wondering...does this new SCOTUS ruling apply if you have a contract?

I'm not sure about that.

That would override contract law, wouldn't it?

(Not an attorney, just giving my opinion.)

[antigop]

33. health care benefits are not protected by ERISA -- they are voluntarily provided by employers

Pensions are "vested" and have protections under ERISA -- medical benefits do not.

This is why everyone (until we get universal healthcare) needs protection through a collective bargaining agreement -- get your retiree medical benefits in the form of a contract.

jmo

[Hugin]

38. I agree, antigop.

Yep, needs to be in writting with this crowd... No more implied contracts.

[antigop]

40. Actually, I would like employees to bring a case forward that they had an "implied contract"

...especially if they have documents from their employer claiming that one of the benefits of working there is "retiree medical" plan.

However, with the pro-business tilt of the SCOTUS, I'm not sure that argument would fly.

[antigop]

43. FYI -- HR 1322 would provide ERISA protection for retiree health benefits

For more info,see
http://nrln.org/Questions%20and%20Answers.htm

However, there is NO Senate companion bill. This bill has been around for a while.

[Dr.Phool]

54. Even if you have a contract. If your pension gets dumped on the PBGC,

You're shit outta luck.

[AnneD]

58. I agree with them cutting health benefits for retirees....

The first cuts should be for government officials like SC Justices, Senators, and Congressmen. Everyone has to make sacrifices :sarcasm: (but do you really need that)

[Wednesdays]

47. Yeah, once you hit retirement age, you're expendable

:puke:

This story deserves its own thread. I re-posted it in a new thread at LBN, giving credit to DemReadingDU for the find.

[DemReadingDU]

50. Thank you, this is an important topic

[InkAddict]

61. La Vida Es Suena

Tengo la intención de vivir en otro país en la playa cuando trabajo no mas. Si estoy desechables, entonces, los Estasdos Unidos no me pierda. Como una paloma blanca...

[AnneD]

99. Voy...

norte:thumbsup:

[Hugin]

26. Breaking: U.S. home prices fell by a record in January (11.4%) - AP via MSNBC.com

BREAKING NEWS

updated 9 minutes ago
NEW YORK - A widely-watched index of U.S. home prices fell 11.4 percent in January, its steepest drop since data for the indicator was first collected in 1987.

The decline reported Tuesday in the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index means prices have been growing more slowly or dropping for 19 consecutive months.

The index tracks the prices of single-family homes in 10 major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23500987/

[Doctor_J]

27. Good thing the fundamentals are strong

according to the first MBA President :puke:.

More like the Mentalfundies are strong

[Hugin]

29. Yep, strong...

Not very specific on how strong and in which direction, are they? :eyes:

[Wednesdays]

49. Maybe they mean "strong"

in the sense that "everything stinks". :(

[Ghost Dog]

62. Jan S&P/Case-Shiller price index down 10.7 pct; OFHEO index down 3.0 pct UPDATE

WASHINGTON (Thomson Financial) - The collapse of US home prices was spread across the whole country according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes released today, while the price index compiled by federal housing regulators showed a much less dramatic decline.

The January S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city price index was down 10.7 pct from the year before, in line with expectations of a 10.5 pct decline. The January-to-December decline was 2.4 pct.

The 10-city composite index, which contains more of the large "bubble markets", was down a record 11.4 pct year-over-year and down 2.3 pct for the month.

By contrast, US home prices were down 3.0 pct on an annual basis in the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) index estimate for January and off 1.1 pct for the month.

There are several reasons for the different readings on just how bad the housing market may be.

First, the OFHEO statistics are seasonally adjusted and the Case-Shiller numbers are not. As Robert Brusca of FAO Economics points out, housing statistics in the winter can be as much weather reports as economic reports.

Second, OFHEO tracks only houses involved in Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac financing, which until recently was capped at 417,000 usd. "Since higher-end properties tend to experience greater price swings, the OFHEO index is seen as a conservative estimation of the true swings in the housing market," said Aneta Markowska of Societe Generale.

Finally, even the broader 20-city Case-Shiller index, by its concentration on metropolitan areas, has more of the effect of housing bubbles bursting and more very low and very high priced homes. "Housing markets are weakest for those price categories where subprime mortgages were used most," according to Roger Kubarych of UniCredit.

/... http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=7313910e-580a-4991-aa7c-932a4d69c3ef

[Zynx]

64. If you want to study the bubble effects, the Case-Shiller is a better measure.

OFHEO is good for measuring the total real estate market, but the problem we have is a huge concentration of defaults in those bubble markets.

[wordpix]

84. but, but yesterday there was a report of sales increases of 3%

That was certainly a short-lived happy report.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23777970/

Home sales rise, but prices keep tumbling
Increase of existing structures is biggest in a year, but cost drop is record

WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes increased unexpectedly in February after six months of decline, but private economists said it was too soon to say the prolonged slide in housing is coming to an end.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose by 2.9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million units. It marked the first sales increase since last July, but even with the gain sales were still 23.8 percent below where they were a year ago.

Prices continued to slide. The median sales price for single-family homes and condominiums dropped to $195,900, a fall of 8.2 percent from a year ago, the biggest slide in the current housing slump. The median price for just single-family homes was down 8.7 percent from a year ago, the biggest decline in four decades.

[Robbien]

52. Junk Bond Losses Top $35 Billion, JPMorgan Sees More

High-yield, high-risk bonds are off to their worst start ever, and the biggest investors say there's no recovery in sight.

Junk bonds have fallen an average 3.9 percent this year, losing about $35 billion, according to data from Merrill Lynch & Co. indexes. Some funds managed by John Hancock Advisers LLC, OppenheimerFunds Inc. and Fidelity Investments are down more than 7 percent, showing that even the largest investors were caught off guard by the collapse.

While the Federal Reserve has slashed benchmark interest rates by 3 percentage points since September, it has been unable to get investors to increase their purchases of the riskiest assets. The declines are choking off financing for speculative- grade companies, boosting defaults. The debt is likely to ``struggle'' for months as the economy enters a recession, according to JPMorgan Securities Inc., the top high-yield research firm in Institutional Investor magazine's annual poll.

``The moves have been absolutely vicious,'' said Arthur Calavritinos, whose $1.2 billion John Hancock High Yield Fund has lost about 9.8 percent since December. The Boston-based manager said it's the worst market since he started in finance in 1985.

Just 11 companies have issued $9 billion of junk bonds in the U.S. in 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This time last year, 83 had sold $39.5 billion.

. . .

Junk bonds have returned on average 8.5 percent from 2002 through 2007, according to Merrill Lynch index data.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBfCXIJG4t4o&refer=home

[Dr.Phool]

56. Didn't we learn to avoid junk bonds back in the '80s?

Did some youngster stumble across Mike Milken's playbook?

[radfringe]

57. junk bonds in the 80's

was republican reagan time

we learned our lesson and followed it in the 90's with Clinton

forgot it again when the repubs planted a shrub in the oval office

will we remember it again later this year? depends on who's left standing

[wordpix]

81. "depends on who's left standing"---if it's McCain, it's more Bushness-as-usual

[MadinMo]

87. McCain == More Bushness as Usual

Sounds like a great bumper sticker.

[AnneD]

71. You forgot....

Balloon payments. This is what tipped me off to those ARM mortgages. Once I figured out what they were-I got the feeling of deja vu and knew this housing bubble was going to be bad news. Once burned, twice shy.

[mac2]

112. Wasn't it Morgan who bailed out our markets in the 1929

depression? They are back again?

I think junk bonds and hedge funds should be illegal. Also margin puts and debt which can't be paid.

[Robbien]

60. Manhattan DA Fears Off-Shore Hedge Funds Puts Investments at Risk

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau says that he believes off-shore banking by hedge funds leaves investors and the public increasingly vulnerable.

Morgenthau says there is $1.9 trillion on deposit in the Cayman Islands beyond US legal jurisdiction compared to just $400 billion on deposit in New York. A Cayman Islands promotional web site contends it is home to 8,000 hedge funds.

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/95641

So for every hedge dollar they have in the US, they have five more in the Cayman Islands. Not only are they raiding all value out of US investments, they are hiding their income in low/no taxable offshore accounts.

[Zynx]

65. We should embargo those tax and banking havens and make them squeal.

They are not behaving like legitimate countries.

[Robbien]

66. Ha! The USA reign in tax havens?

Not believable. In fact this administration of ours probably has handouts promoting how to set your business up in offshore tax havens.

The EU however is going after their Lichtenstein tax haven.

[donkeyotay]

92. This just says it all. I can't understand why we want to invade Iran.

If we want to invade someone, we should invade the Cayman Islands. Send in special forces and a brigade of accountants to take over that building with the 1000s of corporations in it. But no. We'll talk about how people have lived beyond their means and now have to pay. We'll raise taxes, cut benefits, and hand out free cardboard to those living in Bushvilles. No one will dare to suggest that those who have benefited from all this legal crime should pay for it.

[Ghost Dog]

94. It's a British mini-dictatorship, basically:

...British possessions under Treaty of Madrid in 1670, the islands were for centuries, politically linked to Jamaica. When Jamaica attained independence in 1962, the Cayman Islands opted to remain a British Crown Colony, now classified as a British Dependent Territory.

In the 1960s the islands were still quiet, undeveloped and mosquito infested, and certainly not the major tourist destination that they are today. As we approach the 21st century, the situation is a very different one, with the Cayman Islands being considered one of the leading offshore financial jurisdictions in the world and home to 47 of the world's top 50 banks. The population of the Cayman Islands enjoys a high employment rate and a per capita income that ranks among the highest in the world.

In recent years, there have been a number of significant developments in the financial environment, including the formation of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority and the establishment of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange ("CSX") in 1997. The CSX is now one of the fastest growing stock markets in the world, offering listing facilities for offshore mutual funds. This growth and development in the financial services industry is actively encouraged with an emphasis on maintaining its excellent reputation and good regulation.

The islands benefit from an absence of taxes, a stable political and economic environment, excellent communications, international and highly rated professional finance facilities and modern legislation, all of which have contributed to the success of the Cayman Islands as a centre for offshore financial services. The islands are justifiably proud of their continuing success.

Constitution and Government

The Constitution gives executive and legislative power to a Governor, an Executive Council and a Legislative Assembly. The islands enjoy a large measure of self-government, with Britain retaining responsibility for defence and external affairs.

The Governor, appointed by the British Crown, is responsible as head of government for the administration of the islands. The Executive Council dictates government policy and consists of the Governor, three senior civil servants plus five of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly. Legislation is formulated by the Executive Council and passed by the Legislative Assembly which consists of the Speaker, who presides at meetings, the three senior civil servants who are members of the Executive Council and fifteen elected members. Elections to the Legislative Assembly take place every four years.

/... http://www.hsbc.ky/RELSITES.HTM

[Wednesdays]

101. Wow...the governor is appointed by the British Crown?

For life? And parliament has no say in the selection and/or oversight?

Sounds like a partial revival of absolute monarchy.

[formercia]

67. Musings from the hinterlands

I decided to expand my garden even more than I had planned last year, so I went down to the feed and seed store for supplies.
Guess what? No fertilizer available anywhere.

I noticed a lack of inventory in front of the store, so I asked if they were going out of business. The reply: Even if we can find what we need, just getting it here is problematic. Two of the trucking companies they were dealing with are in the process of suspending operations due to high fuel prices.

It's going to be an interesting year.

[librechik]

68. NOW I'm glad I got me a crank style composter

instead of toughing it out year after year with a rake and a hose.

[formercia]

72. I wish I could go 100% organic

but the glacial till that is the bulk of my garden needs a little boost. Luckily, I saw this coming and stashed a few bags of 10-10-10.

By the time it runs out, I will have weaned myself from that addiction.

[Nickster]

74. Have you checked out square foot gardening? I'm going to check it out this year myself, but you

don't need to worry about your soil quality since you're actually planting above your existing soil. Interesting concept.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

[formercia]

86. I have the book.

I've adapted some of the ideas to my situation.

[Jersey Ginny]

104. Me too. I love that book and the author. I was sad that he died.

He had a TV show. Right up there with the guy who painted landscapes with a regular paint brush. Remember those "happy little trees?"

[AnneD]

73. Since it is the campaign season....

at least you have all the tomato and bean stakes you need. What, you thought I was going to talk about something else? :evilgrin:

[formercia]

88. I have a pile of the U shaped steel wire supports.

One good thing about cleaning up after the election.

They make nice supports for plastic sheeting for the late fall garden.

[wordpix]

82. we built a Scandanavian style composter---it has levels of removable slats for turning compost

[Robbien]

75. I blame the Commodity Futures Trading Corp

You know, the government agency that regulates the grain trading markets who opened the commodity markets to unlimited trading by giant hedge funds last year.

All commodities are being hedged out of whack. There was an article this morning about the crisis in wheat. Not so much crop problems, but problems in getting it to market because the hedge speculation has messed with the system. Wheat futures are about $10-11, but farmers and grain elevators believe the true price is about $4-5. There is uncertainty in the trading process because everyone along the trade line is afraid to make a move without knowing what the end selling price will actually bring in. The system is being gummed by the speculators.

All fuel, grain and fertilizer trade must be effected in the same manner.

[wordpix]

83. "everyone along the trade line is afraid to make a move...

without knowing what the end selling price will actually bring in."

Sounds just like the housing market. Sellers keep prices high in hopes prices will come back up; buyers are waiting for lowered prices. Everything's in a big freeze due to early-mid 2000's speculation.

[specimenfred1984]

96. How dare you recognize reality and further suggest accountability, LOL

"Free markets" means "free" to commit crimes in todays repuke America. And hey, it's not even a crime if "laws" are written that say it isn't.

[mac2]

111. Huge unregulated markets and bankers.

[DemocratInSoCal]

98. GOLD!!: "Reports Of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated" nt

[distantearlywarning]

102. Indeed.

:-)

[mac2]

107. Didn't Mark Twain say that quote about his rumored death?

He also said, hang onto your house and property when Congress is in session. If he could only be alive today to see how true it is once again. History repeating itself with corrupt government.

[Robbien]

100. After Bear Stearns deal: Markets Bet On Sweetened Deal for Countrywide

A day after rumors of a $6.5 billion first-quarter write-down hit Bank of America, rumors about its acquisition of Countrywide Financial sent ripples through the options markets.

There is speculation that Countrywide might get a better takeover bid than the $4 billion Bank of America offered in January to buy up the part of Countrywide it didn't already own.

A Bank of America spokesman said the company doesn't comment on rumors or speculation, but added that the deal was on track.

This speculation, of course, comes a day after Bear Stearns got a sweetened $10 a share takeover offer from JPMorgan Chase.

Traders in the options market, who accurately predicted the demise of Bear Stearns (if not helped push it to a foregone conclusion earlier this month) and a higher bid by JPMorgan, piled into April call options on Countrywide Tuesday.

A call option is a bet that the underlying stock will rise. Investors snapped up 12,000 lots of April call options with a strike price of $7.50, which is above Countrywide's price of $6.13 as of morning trading.

http://www.forbes.com/wallstreet/2008/03/25/countrywide-boa-bear-biz-wall-cx_lm_0325countrywide.html

Now what was that definition of market manipulation again.

It appears to be not a problem for Wall Streeters since it is prominently being heralded in Forbes. Back slapping all around.

[Karenina]

103. PPT. n/t

[UpInArms]

105. closing up shop

Dow 12,532.60 16.04 (0.13%)
Nasdaq 2,341.05 14.30 (0.61%)
S&P 500 1,352.99 3.11 (0.23%)
10-Yr Bond 3.492% 0.03

NYSE Volume 4,185,002,250
Nasdaq Volume 2,122,692,000

The stock market took a blow Tuesday from a batch of weak economic news, yet it managed to lift itself up off the mat and finish the day in positive territory. Granted the S&P 500 tacked on just 3 points, or 0.2%, but that is still a noteworthy performance given the scope of recent gains that left it vulnerable to selling efforts following the weak economic reports.

Specifically, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for March hit a 5-year low at 64.5 and checked in well below the market's expectation for a reading of 73.5. Meanwhile, the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which measures prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas, declined 10.7% versus the year-ago period, the largest drop on record since the measurement began in 2001.

The major indices hit their lows for the session shortly after the confidence report at 10:00 ET, but even then, selling efforts lacked conviction. The S&P 500, which had gained 7.4% from its low last Monday entering today's session, dipped just 0.6% at its worst point.

A Merrill Lynch downgrade of several banking stocks, including Bank of America (BAC 40.97, -1.48), contributed to the early selling pressure. However, a positive earnings pre-announcement from agriculture products company Monsanto (MON 114.54, +10.28) and relative strength in the basic materials sector helped keep selling efforts in check.

The lack of follow-through selling fostered a rebound trade that was fairly broad-based. Strikingly, the consumer discretionary sector, an obvious target following the weak consumer confidence report, took a leadership role in the recovery effort. The sector ended the day with a loss of 0.3%, but it had been down as much as 1.2%. Similarly, the S&P Retailing Index managed to cut a 2.0% loss in half by the closing bell.

Overall, today's market activity could be characterized as mixed. Held back by Bank of America and IBM (IBM 117.97, -1.09), the Dow closed the session with a slight loss while the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 recorded modest gains.

Large-cap technology shares were the difference maker for the Nasdaq, which outdistanced the other major indices with a 0.6% gain. It was the S&P 400 Midcap Index, though, that led all comers with a gain of 1.0%. It is worth noting, too, that the Dow Jones Transportation Average, often viewed as a leading indicator, continued its outperformance, tacking on 0.8% to leave it up 7.2% for the year.

The weak data mentioned above appeared to weigh on the dollar index, which slipped 1.0%, and contributed to a day of gains for the Treasury market with the back end of the yield curve leading the way. The dollar's weakness put a bid back in the commodity market as evidenced by the 1.6% gain in the CRB Index.DJ30 -16.04 NASDAQ +14.30 SP500 +3.11 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1109/1852/2.08 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1101/2066/1.48 bln

3:35 pm : The stock market is trying to hold onto its modest gains heading into the final half-hour of trading. A positive finish would mark the third straight gain for the stock market.

Tomorrow, the market will be digesting the durable orders and new home sales economic reports. In addition, the Department of Energy will be reporting the weekly energy inventories numbers.
DJ30 +10.99 NASDAQ +19.57 SP500 +6.51 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1141/1764/1.74 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1070/2077/1.15 bln

3:00 pm : The major indices are climbing back toward their session highs. Only telecom (-0.6%) remains in the red, due to weakness in Verizon (VZ 36.66, -0.31) and Sprint-Nextel (S 6.33, -0.25).

The energy sector is outperforming, even as Exxon Mobil (XOM 85.36, -0.59)--which has the largest market cap--trades in the red. Most of the refineries (-3.8%) are trading lower on Valero's (VLO 48.26, -1.82) lowered earnings outlook. Their weakness is being offset by strength in the oil & gas exploration (+2.9%) and oil & gas equipment (+2.8%) groups.DJ30 +14.17 NASDAQ +18.10 SP500 +6.87 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1127/1764/1.56 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1072/2068/1.03 bln

2:30 pm : Stocks take a dip off their best levels. Market breadth remains positive. Advancers outpace decliners by 2-to-1 on the NYSE and by 3-to-2 on the Nasdaq.

The best performing S&P 500 stocks are Monsanto (MON 114.99, +10.73) and Apple (AAPL 142.04, +2.51). Monsanto is up 18.3% this week, and Apple is up 7.0%. Bank of America (BAC 41.16, -1.29) and Exxon Mobil (XOM 85.12, -0.83) are the worst performing stocks.DJ30 -7.57 NASDAQ +13.13 SP500 +4.54 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1142/1708/1.41 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1119/2007/934 mln

[mac2]

106. It's not "incompetency" it's robbery and genocide.