STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday October 29

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday October 29, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 28, 2010

Dow 11,113.95 -12.33 (-0.11%)
Nasdaq 2,507.37 +4.11 (+0.16%)
S&P 500 1,183.78 +1.33 (+0.11%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.65 -0.02 (-0.75%)
30-Year Bond 4.03 -0.02 (-0.54%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Reports

08:30 GDP-Adv. Q3
Briefing.com 1.5%
Consensus 2.0%
Prior 1.7%

08:30 Chain Deflator-Adv. Q3
Briefing.com 1.9%
Consensus 1.9%
Prior 1.9%

08:30 Employment Cost Index Q3
Briefing.com 0.5%
Consensus 0.5%
Prior 0.5%

09:45 Chicago PMI Oct
Briefing.com 58.0
Consensus 58.0
Prior 60.40

09:55 Michigan Sentiment - Final Oct
Briefing.com 67.0
Consensus 68.0
Prior 67.9

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

[Demeter]

17. Number of German jobless hits 18-year low

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6158584,00.html

Unemployment in Germany stands at its lowest level since 1991. According to government figures, less than three million - or 7.5 percent - are out of work. Analysts expect the positive trend to continue...

[tclambert]

22. How? How has Germany done this? Why can't we do the same?

[OnlinePoker]

42. When I lived in Germany in the 90's, Germans bought German products.

Even with the European Union getting into high gear, they bought home made items. Americans (and we Canadians) only look for bargains, so if the cheapest product comes from China, oh well...sorry your job has been outsourced. Walmart forces manufacturers to go to where they can make a product cheapest by dictating what they will pay for something. It's a sad fact that most U.S. based manufacturers can't compete against the $2 a day wages being paid in the 3rd world and either have to outsource or close up shop. Germans take pride in their country and are willing to pay higher costs and keep their own population working.

[Demeter]

57. German Quality Sells Itself

American business first cheapened everything made at home around the 70's, then when sales started dropping ( I'm thinking cars, but it was true in many things) American Business decided to chase cheaper labor costs, instead of fixing the problem of poor design and no quality control..

[Demeter]

27. Does Germany need a 45-hour working week?

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,6148865,00.html

Earlier this year, scores of workers across Germany did their bit to pull the nation out of its financial quagmire by participating in state-subsidized schemes that saw them work shorter shift for less money in order to prevent layoffs. Now that the worst is over and the country's mighty export machine has kicked back into gear, employees are being warned they'll have to start working a whole lot more.

In a recent interview with the Bild newspaper, the President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Klaus Zimmerman said the country's skilled workers that the era of the 37.5 or 38-hour working week was "over."

"In the mid-term, there is no way around longer working hours," he said, adding that an extension was particularly likely to affect those working in export-reliant fields such as engineering, as well as health and aged care professions....

[Demeter]

29. German Companies Fear Wave of Hostile Takeovers

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,725145,00.html

Countries like France and Spain go to great lengths to stop foreign companies buying up their national champions. But Germany's takeover laws make it easy for firms in other countries to launch hostile takeovers of healthy German companies. And the government isn't planning to do anything to change that.

The situation at German construction company Hochtief looks so hopeless that it seems that only a sheik can help. Spanish company ACS wants to take over Hochtief, in which it already holds a 29 percent share. Intervention by a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund would allow Hochtief to stave off the Spanish advance.

Chancellor Angela Merkel herself established contact between the two parties, introducing Hochtief CEO Herbert Lütkestratkötter to the economics minister of Qatar at a reception hosted by German President Christian Wulff at his official residence, Bellevue Palace in Berlin.

So far, Qatar has yet to make up its mind. The same applies to the German government, which has been pursuing a strangely back-and-forth course on the Hochtief issue...

[lovuian]

60. Germany has worker representation on all company boards

in America ...CEOS can tear a company apart and walk away with billions leaving the workers destitute and company in shambles

Germany respects its workers a janitor is as important as a CEO

this is the way it should be
Labor represented

[Dr.Phool]

47. Consumer sentiment lowest since last November

updated 9 minutes ago 2010-10-29T14:41:10



NEW YORK — U.S. consumer sentiment worsened more than expected in October, hitting its weakest level since November 2009, with concern about the economy high leading into next week's election, a survey showed on Friday.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final October reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment came in at 67.7, down from 68.2 in September and below the 68.0 median forecast among economists polled by Reuters.

Tuesday's congressional elections are expected to result in losses for the Democratic Party, at least partly because of high unemployment and consumers' views on how Democratic President Barack Obama is handling the economy.

Earlier this month, the survey showed consumers' assessments of government economic policies fell to the lowest level since Obama took office.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39909910/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

[ozymandius]

2. Oil drops below $82 ahead of Fed moves, US vote

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell below $82 a barrel Friday in Asia as traders remain cautious ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting and U.S. midterm elections.

Crude has loitered near $82 this week, matching bobbing stock and currency markets, as traders wait to see how big the Fed's Treasury bond-buying program, known as quantitative easing, will be to help spur economic growth.

Commodities have gained in recent weeks in anticipation the Fed measures will undermine the dollar further and make dollar-based assets cheaper for investors with other currencies. But the Fed must temper its desire to boost the economy with concern that higher commodity prices would spark inflation and eat away at corporate profits.

In other Nymex trading in November contracts, heating oil fell 1.35 cents to $2.230 a gallon and gasoline dropped 1.64 cents to $2.098 a gallon. Natural gas slid 1.1 cents to $3.879 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Demeter]

53. So glad I bought gas Wednesday--up 14 cents today

[Demeter]

3. First Rec

Everybody must be sleeping in except thee and me, Ozy.

[ozymandius]

6. Good morning, Demeter.

and everyone...

:donut: :donut: :donut:
I woke up about five minutes before the alarm rang. My dog was happy to have an earlier potty outing than usual. The air is cool and crisp this morning at 49ºF.

[tclambert]

23. Wha? Hey, keep it down! People are tryna sleep.

[Tansy_Gold]

38. No kidding. Especially those of us who have a half-holiday and get to

sleep in all the way to 5:30!!

:hi:

[Festivito]

4. Debt: 10/27/2010 13,663,891,267,223.32 (DOWN 9,858,299,510.82) (Wed)

(Up little. Good day.)
Vacant house day.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,059,338,712,702.84 + 4,604,552,554,520.48
UP 111,394,550.30 + DOWN 9,969,694,061.12

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,219.85 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.66, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,572,992 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $43,995.75.
A family of three owes $131,987.25. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 8,896,245,108.79.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,523,913,079.78.

There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 269 reports in 392 days of FY2011 averaging 6.52B$ per report, 4.47B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 816 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.8 and 19.0T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
10/27/2010 13,663,891,267,223.32 BHO (UP 3,037,014,218,310.24 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,102,268,236,331.60 ------------* * BHO
Endof11 +22,329,808,147,914.80 ------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | per 1B Too much to predict at this time.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
10/06/2010 +000,102,633,566.23 ------------********
10/07/2010 -010,581,200,428.89 -
10/08/2010 -000,047,594,597.51 ----
10/12/2010 -002,308,905,840.19 -- Tue
10/13/2010 +004,079,531,881.58 ------------*********
10/14/2010 -003,450,466,367.69 --
10/15/2010 +053,297,374,376.50 ------------**********
10/18/2010 +000,841,690,317.23 ------------******** Mon
10/19/2010 +000,443,038,294.93 ------------********
10/20/2010 +001,330,613,152.94 ------------*********
10/21/2010 -003,241,964,507.19 --
10/22/2010 -000,039,023,333.21 ----
10/25/2010 +000,057,456,608.35 ------------******* Mon
10/26/2010 +000,564,111,327.93 ------------********
10/27/2010 +000,111,394,550.30 ------------********

41,158,689,001.31 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4591371&mesg_id=4591442

[Festivito]

59. Debt: 10/28/2010 13,658,812,457,389.51 (DOWN 5,078,809,833.81) (Thu)

(Down little. Good day.)
Two jobs at the same time.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,059,100,952,646.52 + 4,599,711,504,742.99
DOWN 237,760,056.32 + DOWN 4,841,049,777.49

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,219.78 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.66, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,580,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $43,978.38.
A family of three owes $131,935.13. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 8,456,880,619.62.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,201,712,454.39.

There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 270 reports in 393 days of FY2011 averaging 6.48B$ per report, 4.45B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 815 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.8 and 18.7T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
10/28/2010 13,658,812,457,389.51 BHO (UP 3,031,935,408,476.43 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,097,189,426,497.80 ------------* * BHO
Endof11 +21,532,314,999,775.00 ------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | per 1B Too much to predict at this time.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
10/07/2010 -010,581,200,428.89 -
10/08/2010 -000,047,594,597.51 ----
10/12/2010 -002,308,905,840.19 -- Tue
10/13/2010 +004,079,531,881.58 ------------*********
10/14/2010 -003,450,466,367.69 --
10/15/2010 +053,297,374,376.50 ------------**********
10/18/2010 +000,841,690,317.23 ------------******** Mon
10/19/2010 +000,443,038,294.93 ------------********
10/20/2010 +001,330,613,152.94 ------------*********
10/21/2010 -003,241,964,507.19 --
10/22/2010 -000,039,023,333.21 ----
10/25/2010 +000,057,456,608.35 ------------******* Mon
10/26/2010 +000,564,111,327.93 ------------********
10/27/2010 +000,111,394,550.30 ------------********
10/28/2010 -000,237,760,056.32 ---

40,818,295,378.76 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4592792&mesg_id=4592797

[ozymandius]

5. Mild increase in economic growth expected in Q3

WASHINGTON – The economy likely expanded at a greater rate last quarter as Americans loosened a tight grip on their wallets. But the expected pickup in growth wasn't strong enough to make a noticeable dent in high unemployment.

Leading economists polled in a new AP Economy Survey predict the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter. That would mark an improvement from the feeble 1.7 percent growth rate logged in April-June period. To knock down the unemployment rate, however, growth would need to be at least twice as fast as the 2 percent rate expected for the third quarter.

If that's that case, the economy will end 2010 on weaker footing than it started. In the first quarter, the economy expanded at a 3.7 percent pace.

more

Just like yesterday's unemployment reports - the massive public expense on all bailout plans has produced negligible benefit for the people who need relief the most. Banksters have a record smashing income and bonus year while unemployment barely budges by 1/10th of a percent.

[ozymandius]

7. Fed zombies hungry for quantitative easing

GMO’s Grantham scripts ‘Night of the Living Fed’

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The easy-money policies of Federal Reserve chairmen Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan have rarely impressed veteran fund manager Jeremy Grantham, but now the chief investment strategist at GMO, a Boston investment firm, is likening Fed actions to an economic horror show.

In a scathing indictment of the Fed, Grantham casts Bernanke as a desperate zombie whose manipulation of asset prices through lower interest rates — exacerbated by a widely expected second round of quantitative easing beginning next month — weakens not just the U.S. economy but also destabilizes currency and commodity markets.

Read Grantham's full commentary. (PDF)

Moreover, Grantham alleges, artificially stimulated asset prices encourages risk-taking investment behavior that can lead to asset bubbles that invariably end badly, as was the case with Internet stocks and housing.
more summary of Grantham's piece and related links here

Suffice to say: Grantham will get no argument from me.

[ozymandius]

8. I love the graphic used to accompany this piece.

[DemReadingDU]

30. That graphic needs scary Halloween music, n/t

[Roland99]

41. Not that scary but every town will be a ghost town by the time the Fed is done

http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/snatch/ghosttown.htm

[Loge23]

37. ...and the Repukes will control congress!!

...now THAT's scary!

[Demeter]

9. Obama to talk up jobs on India trip

Barack Obama, US president, will portray his state visit next week to India as a big net producer of jobs for the American economy, with several US companies expected to seal deals worth billions of dollars, say senior officials

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/LVA6WW/5CJQW3/K91WR/V1WED9/XTZY0B/JY/t?a1=2010&a2=10&a3=28

ONE OF US IS DELUSIONAL, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S ME

[ozymandius]

11. Bad timing.

What the hell is he thinking? India is associated with poaching and being the recipient of formerly American jobs at many income levels. So what variety and "net product" of jobs does he consider worthy of this trip? Why announce this before an election when so many people are angry about their economic circumstances?

[hamerfan]

15. This!

Unfortunately, I've come to expect nothing less from this administration. I don't know if he's getting bad advice, or is simply uncognizant of the perception of his actions, or maybe just doesn't give a flying damn what people think of his actions.
Whatever the reason, it is a gesture worthy of Boosh!

[zogofzorkon]

16. The "net products" of jobs in the case of a friend replaced by two H1B1

hires is a series of housecleaning jobs. She has had about 30 takers in the past 2 weeks so obviously there were 28 additional jobs created by the loss of one .

[bahrbearian]

20. I think he is being pragmatic

[Dr.Phool]

40. He's another clueless asshole.

I can't take it anymore.

His only redeeming quality is that Republicans are bigger clueless assholes.

He really needs to start memorizing Lyndon Johnson's 1968 speech. "I will not seek, nor will I accept......

[Ghost Dog]

48. One issue will be the likes of GE competing with the likes of Siemens

for contracts relating to large-scale electrification and other such infratructure projects in India.

... And I guess there will be the usual armaments sales deals...

[ozymandius]

10. World stocks fall ahead of US growth report, Fed

SINGAPORE – World stock markets were mostly lower Friday as investors trimmed bets ahead of a U.S. economic growth report and braced for disappointment over the Federal Reserve's expected stimulus measures.

As trading got underway in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index was off 0.1 percent at 5,672.64 and France's CAC-40 fell 0.3 percent to 3,823.47. Germany's DAX shed 0.1 percent to 6,587.03.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 stock average closed down 163.58 points, or 1.8 percent, at 9,202.45. Investor sentiment was undermined in Tokyo by a stronger yen, which hurts exporters as it cuts the value of their repatriated profits. The dollar slumped below 81 yen, nearing a post World War II record low of 79.75 yen set in 1995.

more

As yet, I've not encountered any opinion outside the Fed bubble that holds to the belief that QE2 is a good idea.

[Demeter]

12. Division hinders US corporate tax reform

Prospects for a sweeping overhaul of the US corporate tax structure are being clouded by significant divisions within the business community over how to pay for lower rates without adding to the budget deficit, according to interviews with industry officials, lobbyists and policy analysts

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/2SRI11/TP5VV7/9MEOW/S3MWL1/PR8AOW/PJ/t?a1=2010&a2=10&a3=27


AGAIN, THE DELUSIONAL COMMENT APPLIES HERE

[Demeter]

13. JPMorgan near $6bn Brazil hedge fund deal

JPMorgan Chase is close to acquiring a $6bn hedge fund run by Brazil’s former central bank chief, in a move that will deepen the US bank’s exposure to fast-growing developing markets.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/72FY7I/XBAN6/5CJSMN/A793IV/QR/t?a1=2010&a2=10&a3=26

BETTING THE HOUSE? THEY MUST BE DESPERATE FOR SOME KIND OF SUCCESS. BUT LULA IS NOT DELUSIONAL, AND I THINK THAT MORGAN WILL GET BURNT LOOKING FOR AN EASY BUCK.

[hamerfan]

14. October 29!

I knew this date rang a bell in my head. With all due respect to The Beatles, let's sing it.
It was 81 years ago today....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929

[Demeter]

18. Banks May Face $97 Billion Loss From Mortgage Mess

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39870708

...The specialists—representatives from law firms and mortgage backed securities traders—told a gathering of prominent hedge funds in New York Wednesday that a wave of so-called putbacks was coming from these problematic home loans.

Putbacks occur when investors in mortgage-backed securities return individual home loans whose nature or handling violated their original terms to the companies who issued them—forcing those issuers to repurchase the loans at par...

...Although many home lenders and securities packagers who trafficked in MBS during the mid-2000s are now defunct, some were absorbed by large banks like J.P. Morgan and Bank of America , potentially exposing those companies to investor payouts.

The liabilities have been hard to pin down, with one J.P. Morgan survey pegging the total industry losses at between $55 billion and $120 billion...

PICK A NUMBER, ANY NUMBER---AND I'LL BET YOU IT WILL BE EVEN HIGHER THAN THAT

[Demeter]

19. Treasury Links Foreclosure Ills to Lower Housing Prices

TREASURY IS FULL OF SHIT, AS USUAL. OH, IF ONLY WE HAD A REAL PERSON IN CHARGE...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/business/28housing.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

The uncertainty over the legal status of foreclosed homes in the nation could further depress home prices and delay the recovery of the housing market, the Obama administration said on Wednesday...Distressed properties make up one quarter of all home sales...

“If investors lose confidence in the ability of banks to document their ownership of mortgages, the financial industry could suffer staggering losses,” the panel’s chairman, Senator Edward E. Kaufman, Democrat of Delaware, told Ms. Caldwell. “The possibility is especially alarming, coming so soon after taxpayers spent billions of dollars to bail out these very same institutions.”

YEAH, CONGRESS BOUGHT A PIG IN A POKE, AND GOT POKED BY A BUNCH OF PIGS...

Another panel member, Richard H. Neiman, the New York State banking superintendent, asked, “How do we continue to look homeowners in the eye and ask them to continue to work with their servicers given the latest news pertaining to faulty documents and fraudulent affidavits?”

HOW INDEED....HMMM....

[ozymandius]

21. Poll Shows Americans Don’t Know Economy Expanded With Tax Cuts

Oct. 29 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration cut taxes for middle-class Americans, expects to make a profit on the hundreds of billions of dollars spent to rescue Wall Street banks and has overseen an economy that has grown for the past four quarters.

Most voters don’t believe it.

The Obama administration has cut taxes -- largely for the middle class -- by $240 billion since taking office Jan. 20, 2009. A program aimed at families earning less than $150,000 that was contained in the stimulus package lowered the burden for 95 percent of working Americans by $116 billion, or about $400 per year for individuals and $800 for married couples. Other measures include breaks for college education, moderate- income families and the unemployed and incentives to promote renewable energy.

Still, the poll shows the message hasn’t gotten through to Americans, especially middle-income voters. By 52 percent to 19 percent, likely voters say federal income taxes have gone up for the middle class in the past two years.

more here

This is another example of what happens when you put money into the hands of people who will spend it. It also shows that you cannot argue with someone armed with invincible ignorance.

[tclambert]

28. It is actively cultivated ignorance. The propagandists of the media are trying to deceive people.

"Propagandists of the media" may have been redundant.

[StarburstClock]

44. So why won't banks lend their almighty profits? This story ignores reality.

The American system is still full of corruption and is governed by corporate cronies. The supposedly profitable banks don't do anyone any good because they've made their profits illegally foreclosing on millions, lying about their accounting and manipulating every market they can. What good do small tax cuts do when gas, food and home prices are criminally manipulated, health care is unaffordable, jobs are non-existent and corporations are granted "human rights" by a corrupt Supreme Court?

This article is written by criminals and for criminals and attempts yet again to blame the "ignorant public". Too bad the "ignorant public" this BS article refers to is the already proud-to-be-stupid GOPers which only represent about 1/4 of the American population. Using the miracle of "polls" and the lies of "statistics" another business insider publication serves up a purposely misleading load of steaming crap.

Until America starts holding criminals accountable, no tax policy, banking policy or any other policy will ever work.

[Demeter]

24. Factbox: CFTC unveils more Dodd-Frank rules

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69P2J020101026

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Tuesday unveiled six more new rules as it works to take oversight of the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market mandated in the recently enacted Wall Street reform bill.

The agency is working on rules in 30 topic areas, and some analysts estimate it will eventually propose as many as 80 detailed regulations.

The CFTC proposed rules on Tuesday to prevent manipulation and disruptive trading practices.

Here are details of the other new rules: SEE LINK

[Demeter]

25. Silver Subject to Price Manipulation, Chilton Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-26/silver-market-faced-fraudulent-efforts-to-control-price-chilton-says.html

As an investigation of the silver market by the top U.S. commodity regulator entered a third year, a member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said today there have been “repeated attempts” to influence prices.

“There have been fraudulent efforts to persuade and deviously control that price,” said Commissioner Bart Chilton at a hearing today in Washington, alleging there have been violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. “Any such violation of the law in this regard should be prosecuted,” he said.

The five-member commission began investigating allegations of price manipulation in the silver futures market in September 2008. The CFTC said in a report that year that it had received “numerous letters, e-mails and phone calls” during the last 20 to 25 years alleging prices were being manipulated downward.

The CFTC proposed today new rules against manipulation and disruptive trading practices. Proving manipulation has challenged courts and lawmakers since the early attempts to regulate U.S. commodity markets in the 1920s...

[Demeter]

26. Tighter derivatives rules gain headway in U.S. and EU

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE69P47Z20101026

The first global crackdown on the $615-trillion (388.69 trillion pounds) derivatives market gained momentum on Tuesday when U.S. regulators unveiled a new tool to police would-be fraudsters and European officials urged tighter controls.

Moving to rein in vast markets that were only loosely policed going into the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission laid out plans for foiling traders seeking to manipulate prices or defraud investors.

From "quote stuffing" and "spoofing" to "banging the close," certain trading practices were being eyed closely by the CFTC, though the agency stopped short, for now, of proposing specific rules to curb high-frequency trading.

The CFTC's actions came as global regulators late on Monday urged national authorities to consider restricting derivatives trades that are not centrally cleared, or run through an open process that reduces risk and increases accountability...

[Demeter]

31. Global Currency Trading Will Grow to $10 Trillion a Day by 2020, UBS Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-27/global-currency-trading-will-grow-to-10-trillion-a-day-by-2020-ubs-says.html

Foreign-exchange trading will more than double to $10 trillion a day on average a decade from now, driven by portfolio diversification from central banks, pension funds, hedge funds and insurance companies, according to UBS AG.

Central banks will have a harder time influencing exchange rates because of the market’s size, wrote Mansoor Mohi-uddin, global head of currency strategy at UBS in Singapore. The Bank for International Settlements said in September that currency market volume rose to $4 trillion a day.

“The immense growth of currency markets is likely to draw in investors seeking liquidity to manage large-scale portfolios,” wrote Mohi-uddin in a research report today. “It also means central banks wishing to influence exchange rate levels through intervention will need to act more forcefully to have any sustained impact.”

UBS estimated that the daily turnover in currency markets related to hedge funds, pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies and central banks rose 42 percent to $1.9 trillion in 2010 from $1.3 trillion in 2007...

[Demeter]

32. U.S. slips to historic low in global corruption index

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69P0X620101026

The United States has dropped out of the "top 20" in a global league table of least corrupt nations, tarnished by financial scandals and the influence of money in politics, Transparency International said on Tuesday.

Somalia was judged the most corrupt country, followed by Myanmar and Afghanistan at joint second-worst and then by Iraq, in the Berlin-based watchdog TI's annual corruption perceptions index (CPI).

The United States fell to 22nd from 19th last year, with its CPI score dropping to 7.1 from 7.5 in the 178-nation index, which is based on independent surveys on corruption.

This was the lowest score awarded to the United States in the index's 15-year history and also the first time it had fallen out of the top 20.

In the Americas, this put the United States behind Canada in sixth place, Barbados at 17th and Chile in 21st place....

[Demeter]

33. Proprietary Trading Goes Under Cover: Michael Lewis

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-27/wall-street-proprietary-trading-under-cover-commentary-by-michael-lewis.html

A few weeks ago we asked a simple question: Why are the same Wall Street banks that lobbied so hard to dilute the passages in the Dodd-Frank financial overhaul bill banning proprietary trading now jettisoning their proprietary trading groups, without so much as a whimper?

The law directs regulators to study the prop trading ban for another 15 months before deciding how to enforce it: why is Wall Street caving now?

The many answers offered by Wall Street insiders in response boil down to a simple sentence: The banks have no intention of ceasing their prop trading. They are merely disguising the activity, by giving it some other name.

A former employee of JPMorgan, for instance, wrote to say that the unit he recently worked for, called the Chief Investment Office, advertised itself largely as a hedging operation but was in fact making massive bets with JPMorgan’s capital. And it would of course continue to do so. JPMorgan didn’t respond to a request for comment.,,

[Demeter]

34. 5 Pieces of Advice for the New Paupers By John Dolan

http://www.alternet.org/story/102992/5_pieces_of_advice_for_the_new_paupers?page=entire

I just went through the hell of going from grad school-level poverty to the real thing. Here are my lessons learned...

...My wife and I fell through many layers of poverty in a few months. First we revisited the genteel poverty known to grad students, the sort of poverty where you have scary dreams about the rent and eat a simple, wholesome diet toward the end of the month. But we fell right through that into the sort of Dickensian privation that spoiled first-worlders like me never expected to experience. That's the kind of poverty that people are going through for the first time in their lives -- not just other people: you. I'm here to tell you, it can happen here and it can happen to you. And it's remarkably unpleasant. You may be saying "Duh!" here, but you're probably not imagining the proper sort of unpleasantness. So I'll try to lay out what to watch for, how to hunker down when it's not just a matter of cutting back or selling your second car but having no car at all, having no money for heat or food.

All the things we learned are going to seem pretty obvious, but remember that it's very hard to think clearly when your life has collapsed. These are what they call the old verities, the truths of life before the middle class was (briefly) in session: (SEE LINK FOR EXPLANATIONS)

Warmth
Car
Shame
Food Banks
Antidepressants

[mbperrin]

39. Excellent article! The last piece of advice - take an out if you have it -

is the best!

After my dad lost everything we owned (really, including school clothes, mother's wedding ring, our car, his tools) when his business partner ran off with the money and left him with the debts (unlimited personal liability is not just a phrase), my grandfather, a carpenter, built us a 14x32 tarpaper house on two acres of land far away from town, and we had a place to live. That was in 1959. My parents could afford their first air conditioner in 1973, a couple of years after I left for college.

A water well, a huge garden, and chickens got us through, but it was not fun.

No doubt why I've obsessed about rental property ever since. Worst thing that can happen with a few dozen apartments and houses that are paid for? If the bottom falls out, our kids have places to live.

Terrific find, Demeter! Highly recommend reading!

[Demeter]

35. The Monster: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Bankers Fleeced America, Launched a Global Crisis

http://www.alternet.org/story/148577/the_monster%3A_how_a_gang_of_predatory_lenders_and_bankers_fleeced_america%2C_and_launched_a_global_crisis

The following is an excerpt from Michael Hudson's THE MONSTER: How a Gang of Predatory Lenders and Wall Street Bankers Fleeced America – And Spawned a Global Crisis (2010, Times Books)

A few weeks after he started working at Ameriquest Mortgage, Mark Glover looked up from his cubicle and saw a coworker do something odd. The guy stood at his desk on the twenty-third floor of downtown Los Angeles's Union Bank Building. He placed two sheets of paper against the window. Then he used the light streaming through the window to trace something from one piece of paper to another. Somebody's signature.

Glover was new to the mortgage business. He was twenty-nine and hadn't held a steady job in years. But he wasn't stupid. He knew about financial sleight of hand -- at that time, he had a check-fraud charge hanging over his head in the L.A. courthouse a few blocks away. Watching his coworker, Glover's first thought was: How can I get away with that? As a loan officer at Ameriquest, Glover worked on commission. He knew the only way to earn the six-figure income Ameriquest had promised him was to come up with tricks for pushing deals through the mortgage-financing pipeline that began with Ameriquest and extended through Wall Street's most respected investment houses.

Glover and the other twentysomethings who filled the sales force at the downtown L.A. branch worked the phones hour after hour, calling strangers and trying to talk them into refinancing their homes with high-priced "subprime" mortgages. It was 2003, subprime was on the rise, and Ameriquest was leading the way. The company's owner, Roland Arnall, had in many ways been the founding father of subprime, the business of lending money to home owners with modest incomes or blemished credit histories. He had pioneered this risky segment of the mortgage market amid the wreckage of the savings and loan disaster and helped transform his company's headquarters, Orange County, California, into the capital of the subprime industry. Now, with the housing market booming and Wall Street clamoring to invest in subprime, Ameriquest was growing with startling velocity....

THIS IS A MUST-READ!

[Demeter]

36. The Elephant In The Foreclosure Fraud Room: Second Liens

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/10/21/the-elephant-in-the-foreclosure-fraud-room-second-liens/

There’s been plenty of recent media attention to the prospect of investor lawsuits over fraudulent mortgages and mortgage securities. But investor lawsuits against mortgage servicers could be even more damaging than these other lines of legal inquiry. The four largest banks hold nearly half a trillion dollars worth of second-lien mortgages on their books—loans that could be decimated if investors successfully target improper mortgage servicing operations. The result would be major trouble for the financial system. The result would be major trouble for too-big-to-fail behemoths.

Mortgage servicers are the banking industry’s debt collectors. They accept payments and forward them along to investors who own mortgage securities– servicers themselves don’t actually own the mortgages they handle. This is a recipe for trouble for a variety of reasons, but one of the biggest problems is the fact that the nation’s four largest banks also operate the four largest mortgage servicers. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup service about half of all mortgages in the United States. They also have multi-trillion-dollar businesses whose interests often conflict with those of mortgage security investors.

The most glaring conflicts involve second-lien mortgages. Much of the foreclosuregate coverage has focused on first-liens—ordinary mortgages that people take out when they want to buy a home. But during the housing bubble, banks frequently sold second-lien mortgages in an effort to cash-in on inflated home prices. If you’ve had a mortgage for a few years, and paid down $30,000 of your home’s value, a bank might try to sell you a new $30,000 loan, backed by the equity you’ve accumulated in your house by paying your first mortgage.

In fact, banks were much more aggressive than this. Usually homeowners have to put up a certain amount of money up-front when they buy a house—this is the down-payment. But the profits available from mortgage securitization were tempting. Banks could issue a mortgage, sell it off to investors, and not have to worry about any potential losses. So banks got around down-payments by selling a second-lien mortgage at the same time they sold the ordinary first mortgage. The second-lien would be used to pay the down-payment on the first lien...

[xchrom]

43. recommend

[TalkingDog]

45. Didn't see this yesterday. I hope it's no repeat: Zero Hedge Tipping Point has Arrived

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-tipping-point-has-arrived


I believe we have finally breached the tipping point in the socio-political landscape of the United States of America. There will be no going back from here. Everyone on all levels of society including the elites must make a choice. Will you stand for real reform and an end of the feudalistic rule of the oligarchs and their paid-off puppets that line the streets of Washington D.C., or will you keep your mouth shut and play the old and dying game in the context of a completely different cultural environment?

While many will disagree with what I am about to say, I believe the oligarchs and the Federal Reserve have already lost.

snip

Ok, so what is Bill Gross up to you ask? I will give you my two cents. This guy is not as fabulously wealthy as he is for being a dope (although this cannot be said for a lot of people in this industry that are merely financial engineers that would become extinct overnight without 0% interest rates but that’s another story). Bill Gross sees the writing on the wall. He see the winds of change and is hedging his bets. He is throwing out a carrot to those that criticize the completely corrupt and ponzi scheme economy and financial system we have today which benefits only those that speculate on the taxpayers dime. We could end this fake and destructive economy by ending the Fed in its current form (at the very least everything they do must be transparent) and restoring the rule of law. He attacks the false left/right paradigm and rightly points out that both the Democrat and Republican establishment have sold out the people to line their own pockets. In the second quote he actually explores the notion that “our paper-based foundation of wealth deserves to be buried.” Then finally he points out what many others have but almost no one is the mainstream ever admits. The U.S. government is running a giant ponzi scheme with regard to its debt. Hmmm do you want to own gold or treasuries?

[Dr.Phool]

49. Just waiting for the shit to hit the fan.

They've pulled out all the stops to keep this thing running until the elections. And we get to choose between Dumb, Dumber, And The Dumbest. I think The Dumbest are going to win this time out.

What are people thinking when the likes of Rand Paul and Sharon Angle are even considered to be credible candidates? It's that bad. And it's about to unravel badly. Which reminds me of a piece in the forward to Paul Krugman's "The Great Unraveling" a few years ago. He was talking about Henry Kissinger's doctoral thesis, which was about the rise of fascism in the 30's. It was pretty much a blueprint of the Bush administration. And very scary.

The Rand Paul's, Sharon Angles, along with the Alan Simpsons, tell you right up front what they are going to do, and nobody believes that they are actually crazy enough to do it. But, they do. Recall when George W. Bush said that he would no longer take recommendations from the ABA for judicial nominations. He would instead rely on the Federalist Society. Nobody believed he was that stupid. Look where we are today.

These people are going to Washington, and when they start dismantling the safety net, the jig will indeed be up.

Which brand of cat food is the tastiest?

[DemReadingDU]

51. Cat food?

That's assuming there will remain cat food manufacturers and the transporters to get it from the manufacturer to the stores, assuming there will remain stores.

:scared:

[Demeter]

54. I Agree

First Citi and BoA will go down--mortgage fraud. Then Fannie, Freddie, and maybe FHA--same reason. Then Goldman, Morgan and other CDO assemblers will have to buy back their worthless toilet paper, and cease to exist.

Then the Fed Reserve will be defunct,and its member banks will flee this country.


Then we can rebuild. And do it right, this time. We've learned a lot in 300 years. We just have to make it stick, and return to first principles.

[TheWatcher]

56. And they have The Police State Ready To Kick Into High Gear When We Get Testy

If there's a New Way.....
I'll Be The First in Line

But It Better Work this Time....

Megadeth- Peace Sells.....But Who's Buying?

It's Going To Get Ugly, Kids.

Unemployment Offices To Add Armed Guards
36 Offices Beefing Up Security Before Benefits Set To End

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25539273/detail.html

[Demeter]

55. There will have to be a return to the rule of law

and a purge at the Supreme Court. An awful lot of very wealthy, very powerful people will lose it all, and be glad if they don't end up with life sentences. We can let them keep their Social Security--if they don't destroy that before we stop them.

[TalkingDog]

46. European activists calling for protest "bank runs"

http://alles-schallundrauch.blogspot.com/2010/10/stopbanque-aktion-auch-in-italien.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+SchallUndRauch+%28Schall+und+Rauch%29

Translated Text

Banque-Stop Action in Italy
Mittwoch, 27. Wednesday 27 Oktober 2010 , von Freeman um 14:04 October 2010, in order of Freeman 14:04


After my report on Stop Bank in France, where on 7 December, the accounts are to be cleared, has extended the action. December, the accounts are to be cleared, the project has expanded. An ASR-reader from Italy has proposed the idea there and it seems she has addressed many. An ASR-reader from Italy has proposed the idea there and it seems she has addressed many. Promt opened a Facebook page for the well to hold there. Promt opened a Facebook page for the well there to hold. Within just 24 hours have pledged 1,500 in 1843 are perhaps 48,000 on the waiting list! Within just 24 hours have pledged 48.000 1.500 in 1843 are perhaps on the waiting list!

Here is the link to the Italian stop Banque action.


Here is the link to the French Banque-stop action.


And here again the link to the German Banque-Stop Action

Maybe read the Süddeutsche Zeitung my blog, because they have now also reported. Maybe read the Süddeutsche Zeitung my blog, because they have now also reported.

[DemReadingDU]

52. I'd start taking out my money now

By Dec 7, there might not be enough money in the bank for everyone.

[Dr.Phool]

50. BOO!

Palin.

[Tansy_Gold]

58. "No, Mr President, Larry Summers Did Not Resolve The Financial Crisis..."

thanks to kentuck, who posted this in GD. I figured it really needed to be here for all of us who rarely venture to Jonestown. . . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9412558

(for DU comments)



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/no-mr-president-larry-sum_b_775307.html?utm_source=DailyBrief&utm_campaign=102810&utm_medium=email&utm_content=FeaturePhoto&utm_term=Daily+Brief

<snip>
I passed up the obvious title: "Heckuva Job Larry!" That was the moment of President Obama's appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that set all Americans cringing. Yes, he really said that Summers "did a heckuva job." The candidate that was gifted the opportunity to run against the legacy of one of the worst presidents in U.S. history has, as president, used Bush as his role model to continue many disastrous policies. It was strangely fitting that he would channel Bush's infamous praise ("Heckuva job Brownie") for the FEMA chief who failed New Orleans so badly in the hurricane

<snip>
Summers had financial red ink on his hands at the time he was appointed. He was Rubin's chief minion in the successful effort to defeat effective financial regulation and supervision. (Yes, the effort was bipartisan and the Republican leadership shares in the guilt.) Summers was not simply wrong, but also arrogant and brutal, in blocking effective regulation at the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Summers was made rich by Wall Street in one of those sordid consulting arrangements designed to buy influence and reward past and future favors.

President Obama's appointment of Summers as his chief economic advisor made the administration's overall response to the crisis predictable. (Robert Kuttner gives a detailed explanation of the policies that Rubin's protégés championed in his new book, A Presidency in Peril.) The response would follow the disastrous Japanese model that has harmed their economy and damaged their integrity. The dominant characteristics can be summarized quickly: (1) the government would act for the benefit of the largest financial firms and their CEOs, even when they directed massive frauds, by (2) engineering a cover up of the banks' losses and the CEO's misconduct; (3) the administration would use the fictional reports generated to conduct the cover up to declare victory (due to their brilliance); and (4) the same strategy would impair the recovery. (For more on the cover up, see here and here

<snip>
Creating fictional numbers and hiding losses at the Fed doesn't reduce losses. Unfortunately, it increases real losses. First, it leaves the looters in charge, lets them pay themselves enormous bonuses, and lets them cause greater losses. Recall George Akerlof's and Paul Romer's title -- Looting: the Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit. They showed that even without a bailout the fraudulent CEO could grow wealthy by destroying "his" bank. With a bailout -- and the Bush and Obama administration's de facto grant of impunity and an unlimited guarantee to the SDIs -- the CEOs can loot without it leading inevitably to bankruptcy. This has made banking an even more criminogenic environment for accounting control fraud and will cause recurrent, intensifying crises.

<snip>



And yes, your own Tansy Gold has a big ITYS over there in GD. . . . but sincerely wishes she didn't. :cry:


TG, NTY