STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, February 8, 2011

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Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

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

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered below $88 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as fears ease that protests in Egypt could disrupt Middle East crude supplies.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 11 cents at $87.59 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.55 to settle at $87.48 on Monday.

In London, Brent crude rose 40 cents to 99.65 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil jumped above $92 to a 26-month high last week as violent clashes between supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak raised concern shipping through the Suez Canal — a major transit point for crude oil and cargo — could be affected. However, so far the political crisis has not affected crude supplies, and as the violence has waned this week, crude prices have slid back below $90.

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

(Good day. But, days ahead, I may have miss.)
Had to revive the laptop with linux.
(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)
= 9,471,076,036,751.63 + 4,628,747,634,553.43
UP 96,985,369.31 + DOWN 700,334,945.19

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 $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,212.41 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,292,992 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 $45,294.38.
A family of three owes $135,883.15. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 3,729,331,652.63.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,859,154,267.02.
The average for the last 31 days would be 2,766,923,484.21.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 88 reports in 127 days of FY2011 averaging 6.12B$ per report, 4.24B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 716 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.8T$.
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)
02/04/2011 14,099,823,671,305.06 BHO (UP 3,472,946,622,391.98 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 +0,538,200,640,413.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,546,797,116,148.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/14/2011 +000,146,255,477.48 ------------********
01/18/2011 +038,613,327,669.01 ------------********** Tue
01/19/2011 +000,009,950,983.18 ------------******
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----
01/24/2011 -000,181,687,031.14 --- Mon
01/25/2011 +000,059,189,192.13 ------------*******
01/26/2011 -000,112,154,254.52 ---
01/27/2011 -004,717,116,457.79 --
01/28/2011 +002,605,585,609.92 ------------*********
01/31/2011 +072,534,426,006.14 ------------********** Mon
02/01/2011 -002,841,687,784.84 --
02/02/2011 +000,160,101,452.72 ------------********
02/03/2011 -011,756,222,449.85 -
02/04/2011 +000,096,985,369.31 ------------*******

93,871,800,187.95 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=4724044&mesg_id=4724057

(Good day.)
Papers, and more papers.
(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)
= 9,471,051,926,030.05 + 4,632,969,811,221.48
DOWN 24,110,721.58 + UP 4,222,176,668.05

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 $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,212.18 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,314,592 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 $45,304.72.
A family of three owes $135,914.17. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 4,504,732,033.60.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,153,312,423.52.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,051,592,667.92.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 89 reports in 130 days of FY2011 averaging 6.09B$ per report, 4.17B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 713 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.8T$.
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)
02/07/2011 14,104,021,737,251.53 BHO (UP 3,477,144,688,338.45 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 +0,542,398,706,359.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,522,888,675,548.67 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/18/2011 +038,613,327,669.01 ------------********** Tue
01/19/2011 +000,009,950,983.18 ------------******
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----
01/24/2011 -000,181,687,031.14 --- Mon
01/25/2011 +000,059,189,192.13 ------------*******
01/26/2011 -000,112,154,254.52 ---
01/27/2011 -004,717,116,457.79 --
01/28/2011 +002,605,585,609.92 ------------*********
01/31/2011 +072,534,426,006.14 ------------********** Mon
02/01/2011 -002,841,687,784.84 --
02/02/2011 +000,160,101,452.72 ------------********
02/03/2011 -011,756,222,449.85 -
02/04/2011 +000,096,985,369.31 ------------*******
02/07/2011 -000,024,110,721.58 ---- Mon

93,701,433,988.89 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=4725252&mesg_id=4725262

performed by Piers Faccini + Camille:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRlmA1d1Rwo

:cry:

U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated as China increased its interest rates, offsetting speculation that economic growth will continue to spur share prices.

Exide Technologies rallied 15 percent in early New York trading as the producer of lead-acid batteries reported third- quarter sales that topped the average analyst estimate. Principal Financial Group Inc. slid 2 percent as the life insurer posted fourth-quarter operating earnings that missed analysts’ projections.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March dropped 0.1 percent to 1,314.5 as of 7:42 a.m. in New York. The benchmark S&P 500 has climbed for the last three days. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid less than 0.1 percent to 12,106 today, and Nasdaq-100 Index futures lost 0.1 percent to 2,342.25.

“The private sector is the fuel for the future,” said ABN Amro Private Banking’s Chief Investment Officer Didier Duret, who manages about $200 billion, in a phone interview. “We are seeing a re-acceleration of growth and a broadening of growth momentum. We maintain a rather positive view on equities, though in some areas there are valuation concerns.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-08/stocks-fluctuate-near-three-week-high-after-retail-sales-surge-arm-drops.html

When new vehicle sales fall off a cliff....Last months figures from Detroit, don't pass the straight face test.

The sales numbers Do Not reflect actual sales to consumers, but moving inventory onto dealers lots..:popcorn:

s House Republicans parry Democratic criticism that they’ve gone too far with proposed spending cuts, they still confront a battle within their own ranks over whether the cuts go far enough.

A faction of House Republicans plans to continue pushing for bigger budget savings than party leaders recommended last week, reductions Democrats argue would harm the U.S. economic recovery.

Republicans won control of the House in November on promises to slash government spending by $100 billion this year. Leaders backed off that pledge, offering a plan they will take up next week that trims 2011 spending by $35 billion, in part because the fiscal year already is almost half over. The cuts are $58 billion less than President Barack Obama requested for non-security discretionary spending.

The House Republicans pushing for the full $100 billion in cuts aren’t buying their leadership’s reasoning.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-08/-mini-revolt-confronts-republicans-as-u-s-lawmakers-ready-spending-cuts.html

:rofl:

(Crain’s)—Seven Illinois companies notified the state of plans to cut a total of more than 650 jobs by the end of March, an increase from layoffs announced a month earlier.

Gray Interplant Systems Inc. accounts for the most losses. The Peoria-based warehousing and storage company will cut 167 employees, according to a monthly Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act report released by the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The state law, known as WARN, requires firms with at least 75 employees to give 60 days’ notice of closings or large layoffs.

Only one of the seven companies, Gold Standard Baking Inc., is based in Chicago. A manufacturer of fresh and frozen baked goods that was acquired by Chicago’s Arbor Investments in 2008, Gold Standard will let 73 workers go when the company shuts down permanently in March. Calls to the bakery and to Arbor Investments were not immediately returned.

Two Kmart stores, in Franklin Park and Downstate Washington, are closing and will shed 163 jobs collectively; Kmart is a unit of Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp. Itasca-based C. D. Listening Bar Inc., a durable goods wholesaler that does business as DeepDiscount.com, will lay off 67 employees, and Doumak, a Bensenville chocolate confectionery, will cut 60 people temporarily as it installs new equipment.

Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20110207/NEWS07/110209901/ill-businesses-cutting-more-than-650-employees#ixzz1DN72vIWg

Continental Airlines will cut about 500 jobs at its downtown offices beginning April 1, the carrier told the Texas Workforce Commission.

On Oct. 1, Continental merged with Chicago-based United Airlines. At that time, Continental announced it would continue to employ its management and administrative workers in Houston through the end of March. Continental continues to operate as a subsidiary of United until the Federal Aviation Administration approves a joint operating certificate later this year.

The job cuts, starting in April, will continue through June 30 and will affect Continental’s offices at 1600 Smith Street and 600 Jefferson Avenue. Primarily employees working in management and clerical duties will lose their jobs.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7416705.html

The economy is in recovery, everything is coming up roses, no problemo.




:sarcasm: just in case.





TG, TT

Insider Selling To Buying Ratio: 434x

A modest pick up in insider buying this week as 16 insider purchases for $1.7 million worth of stock put recent non-existence insider purchasing to shame. The biggest buying was seen in GE and Caterpillar, which two cumulative purchases for $800k accounted for nearly half of the buying in the week ended February 4. On the other side, it is relentless selling as usual: 126 insider sales amounted to $749 million worth of holding dispositions, with the core of the selling as usual focused on the usual suspects: MSFT ($154 million), QCOM ($73 million), Google ($69 million), GameStop ($60 million) and FCX ($30 million). This is a major pick up in the rate of selling compared to January, and represents a double from the last tracked number of $373 million for the week of January 22.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/insider-selling-buying-ratio-434x

They must not have gotten the bernank's memo

La, la, la, la.... :rofl:

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano talked about hard choices ahead in 2011 as he gave his State of the City address to a packed Aldermanic chamber Monday night.

One of those hard choices: layoffs. "Before this month ends, I will implement workforce reductions across the city and Board of Education," DeStefano said. Part of those cuts appear they will be coming from school cleaning staffs. DeStefano said he would look to reduce the cost to clean city school from $15 million to $8 million. He gave no specifics on how many city employees would be laid off, or from what other departments those cuts may come.

The Mayor also set his sights on New Haven's pension plans. "The simple fact is that as currently structured, the city employees and police and fire pension plans are going to run out of money," he said. "This is not a matter of blame. It is not a matter of rhetoric. It is a matter of fact." His plan to reduce those costs on the city include reducing benefit multipliers and cost of living adjustments after city employees retire. He wants to limit early retirement eligibility and increase penalties on those who do retire early. Lastly, DeStefano said the city must calculate pensions on base pay, not on overtime and sick leave buybacks, which inflate city employees' salaries.

He asked workers to pay their part for health care coverage. "The city must offer health care plans that resemble those held by the people paying the bills, our taxpayers," DeStefano said. He pointed to a new health care plan implemented by the Board of Education last month, which requires teachers to pay a much higher deductible than they did previously.

http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local-beat/Layoffs-Ahead-in-New-Haven-115528064.html

Multimillionaire foreigners prepared to invest their money in Britain will find it easier to make a home in the UK under government plans to relax immigration rules for the ­super-rich


Move comes as government slashes foreign student numbers in attempt to reduce yearly net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/3OPEX6/MJTKN/0GRJHU/YHE8K7/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=7


Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/M9586H/204L2/A7BHBN/A7L58G/28/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=6

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME BRITAIN HAS HAD SUCH A PROGRAM...

Goldman Sachs’ attempt to spend some of its $170bn excess capital on loans, real estate and other distressed assets is being hampered by a prolonged rebound in risk appetite that has lifted prices on many would-be bargains

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/UUEZXS/IEP5S/72L1G0/QF53KS/UP/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=6

WHATEVER WILL GOLDMAN DO?

¿Politics? ¿What's that?

We're only in it for the money.

(While, meanwhile, a purely accidental side-effect, mere collateral damage, you understand, attempting to starve us all, to indeed unleash (unleashed already, I'd say) the famous four horses of the Apocalypse).

US regulators are set to follow their European counterparts in imposing tougher rules on bankers’ bonuses, staggering half of pay-outs for top executives and star traders over three years

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/6VLNW4/OFBYP/TPYEQQ/72PXQP/28/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=8

Nasdaq says it has been targeted by hackers, but although there was a breach, at no point were the US electronic exchange’s trading platforms compromised

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/3OPEX6/MJTKN/0GRJHU/TPXLMA/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=7


JUST HFT FOR ORDINARY GEEKS....

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704858404576127854072207040.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Exchanges and traders said they will continue normal business with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. at Monday's market open despite revelations that computer systems at the trans-Atlantic exchange operator had been hacked...

Some of the country's largest traders said Saturday that they would continue to send orders to Nasdaq, which runs the second-largest U.S. equities exchange and one of the biggest options platforms. It also runs exchanges in Europe.

Nasdaq OMX in a statement Saturday acknowledged that its computer network had been infiltrated by unidentified parties, who installed malicious programs on a Web-accessible system called Director's Desk, one of its technology offerings that facilitates communication and sharing of files among corporate officers.

The company said it was informing clients, with no indication that any files were accessed. The trade-matching engines used to execute stock trades were unaffected, according to the company...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/business/06nasdaq.html?_r=1&ref=business

...The exchange’s operating company, Nasdaq OMX, said in a statement that it had discovered suspicious files on its United States servers, and that it immediately began conducting an investigation in conjunction with outside firms and federal law enforcement agencies...

But Nasdaq and market experts said there was an important distinction between the parts of the system that are connected to the Web, and thus more vulnerable, and the architecture for the trading platform, which Nasdaq says operates independently.

The company said it had determined that a Web-based application on its servers called Directors Desk, on which corporations can store and share information, might have been affected. Nasdaq said the suspicious files “were immediately removed and at this point there is no evidence that any Directors Desk customer information was accessed or acquired by hackers.”

“At no point was any of Nasdaq OMX’s operated or serviced trading platforms compromised,” the company said.

The company’s Web site says Directors Desk has 5,000 users.

A spokesman for the company said it discovered the suspicious files late last year...

Demand for capital equipment in the US is starting to pick up strongly, manufacturers say, boosting confidence in the health of the economic recovery and raising hopes of a revival in American industry

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/3OPEX6/MJTKN/0GRJHU/M9AR0O/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=7

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/05/us-usa-tax-corporate-idUSTRE70Q18O20110205

You might think President Barack Obama's talk of cutting the U.S. corporate tax rate would have the entire business world cooing, but instead the idea could lead to a wrenching split in corporate America.

The reason: Obama wants to fund a rate cut by closing tax loopholes and slashing deductions enjoyed by America's biggest companies.

Opposition from corporate giants who could lose cherished tax breaks, along with the political risk of tackling tax issues in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election, will likely push off reform for several years.

"The whole idea of corporate tax reform is going to split the business community in half," said Neal Weber, a consultant for health, retail and other companies at RSM McGladrey. "You're talking about lowering the rate, but some are already paying a low rate."

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/02/07/which-parts-of-stimulus-worked-best/

Economists trying to figure out how stimulative the stimulus package that Congress approved in early 2009 was have got bogged down in the sort of problem economists are always getting bogged down in: There’s no way to know what the world would have looked like sans stimulus.

“Without a counterfactual, the best we can do is fall back on our models,” write Dartmouth College economists James Feyrer and Bruce Sacerdote in a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. “Unsurprisingly, the models tell the same story today that they did when arguments for and against the stimulus were being made.”

The two use what they think is the better approach of comparing states and counties that got a heavy dose of stimulus spending with those that didn’t. The difficulty with this is that one would naturally expect the places that got hardest hit by the recession to get the most money. Their solution: Historically, states with higher seniority in Congress tend to receive the most money per capita. That allowed the economists to employ a statistical technique to try and tease out the effect of spending. (Caveat: The method they used can be problematic. See here.)

What they find is that the stimulus package did boost the economy — though not by as much as the administration assumed it would when it put the plan in place. One reason why, they find, is that money spent to support education and law enforcement did little to improve employment. But programs to support low-income households were highly stimulative, as was spending on infrastructure projects.

“This all suggests that a stimulus package that did not include state level grants for local services would have been more effective per dollar than the actual stimulus package,” they write.

'But programs to support low-income households were highly stimulative, as was spending on infrastructure projects.'

2/8/11 AP analysis: Foreclosures raise US economic stress

The nation's economic stress inched up in December because higher foreclosures outweighed lower unemployment, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis.

Bankruptcy levels remained largely unchanged from November. But the depressed housing market took a toll. Foreclosure rates rose in 33 states, most sharply in Utah, New Jersey, Nevada and Arizona.

Most analysts expect the economy to gain momentum this year, in part because of a tax-cut package that lowers workers' Social Security taxes and puts more money in their paychecks. But two straight months of higher stress to end 2010 marked a setback after the nation's economic pain had eased since the start of last year, the AP Economic Stress Index showed.

The AP's index calculates a score from 1 to 100 based on unemployment, foreclosure and bankruptcy rates. A higher score signals more stress. Under a rough rule of thumb, a county is considered stressed when its score exceeds 11.

The average county's score in December was 10.4, up from 10.3 in November. Slightly more than 40 percent of the nation's 3,141 counties were deemed stressed, up slightly from November.

For all of 2010, economic stress eased in every state but five: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Utah. Stress fell most sharply in the Great Lakes states and the Southern states of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee. Those states have large manufacturing bases, and the AP analysis showed that stress dropped most in counties with large proportions of workers in manufacturing.

more...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/AP-analysis-Foreclosures-apf-1281996596.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

and raise stress levels back up to the "Cairo" level again....

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/02/07/wall-st-joins-s-e-c-in-plea-for-bigger-budget/?ref=business

The Securities and Exchange Commission is nearly broke.

Not just “broke” as in it failed to regulate Wall Street or that it missed catching Bernard L. Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. But “broke” as in it is out of money.

At least that’s what Mary L. Schapiro, the S.E.C.’s chairwoman, has been telling anyone who will listen about the agency’s financial problems. With President Obama planning to freeze the budget and Congress looking for cuts, the department could be deprived of a $160 million budget increase, keeping its annual funds flat at $1.1 billion.

“It is a strain that is already having an impact on our core mission — separate and apart from the new responsibilities that Congress gave us to regulate derivatives, hedge fund advisers and credit rating agencies,” she told a roomful of lawyers in Washington on Friday.

Amid the looming financial constraints, the S.E.C. is cutting back on investigations, halting hiring — Ms. Schapiro was supposed to hire 800 new people this year — and canceling much-needed technology upgrades to monitor the markets. (Think “flash crash.”)

GEE, MAYBE SOME COMPETITIVE BIDDING ON LEASING OFFICES WOULD HAVE SPARED THEM?

A.K.A. WORKING WITHOUT A NET...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/02/bls-reveals-more-americans-are-self-employed.html

New job figures released Friday might have been more meager than most economists had expected, but at least one set of numbers made some people happy. That's because the Bureau of Labor Statistics added a new category this month for incorporated self-employed workers.

The new numbers reveal that 14 million Americans are self-employed, up from the 9 million that the old data indicated worked for themselves. Many workers find themselves making their own jobs once they become frustrated with employers' reticence to hire.

Sara Horowitz, founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union, says she hopes the new numbers draw attention to the situation that many Americans are in today.

"People are not just waiting for companies to hire them, they are getting out on their own, starting their own work," she said. "But they’re not getting health insurance, retirement or access to unemployment benefits...People are working gigs now, but the BLS is tracking jobs. They’re two different things," she said. "We are really moving towards a gig economy."

working under the table, for cash. no paper trail, no taxes.

edit: but have money for food, money to pay electric bill, money for basic essentials.

Others it means contract after contract 1099 position when more workers want a full time W-2 position.

squeegeeing car windows at intersections

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/05/iraq-crash-idUSLDE71409520110205

The chief executive of private equity group MerchantBridge and two JPMorgan (JPM.N) executives were among seven people killed when a small plane crashed in northern Iraq, officials said on Saturday.



I hate to be cynical, but I wonder what they knew.

:donut: and lurkers. To paraphrase Dickens, it was the best of times it was the worst of times.

The Best: about 2 weeks ago, I felt a stirring in my spirit. I have these off and on and one of the last really strong stirring I felt involved a friend's young child that was missing. I had some powerful negative visions that later came true. I went into a sort of psychic shock and thought I had shut down that part of my brain (for my own mental safety).

As I said, they started up again, unbidden. I started remembering the distant past with my Grandpa and Grandma and all my deceased Aunties and Uncles. I would wake up in the middle of my dreams and vividly recall them. Despite the temperature outside, I felt like I was being bathed in a warm soothing, loving light. Despite all that is going on, I felt wonderful.

Then the mail arrived. At long last my tribal roll card and my daughter's had arrived. Although it is my father's side, the card was issued on 1/25, my Mom's birthday. The irony was very sweet indeed. I finally figured out why I had those wonderful stirring as all I have had in the past were for the most part very negative.

The Worst: our current situation. As you have heard, Continental is laying off. And try as we might, they are proposing drastic budget cuts in the state budget. Texas has never been plush when it comes to school funding but the cuts proposed will decimate our school system and set us back years. It will destroy rural schools and I need not tell you how the large urban schools would be affected. Our HFT has recommended that anyone that is planning to retire should and let the administration know now as it may save another members job. We are expecting to start seeing pink slips in April, right after Spring Break.

Those people that have quit will not be replaced. Nurses will be covering one or more schools. They have done away with all but 3 Nurse Consultants (Elem. Middle, and HS)down from 14. These Nurses made sure we were in Federal compliance for our Special Ed kids, and that they got the services they needed. My friend that was a Nurse Consultant had a case load of 60 kids. They are expecting the School Nurses to pick up the slack. You see where this is going here. They gutted the SpEd. department late last year and finished the job this year.

Everyone and their dog will be at the Capitol for lobby day during Spring Break. We have a rainy day emergency fund and we want them to take some of that money out now and readjust the taxes to preserve as much as we can. And while things are bad here, we are thankful that we still have it better than most states have it. I may be chosing a good time to do my Swan Song. Well, enough of my pity party.

The good news is that it may not be safe for GWB to leave the country-even to go to Paraguay. I can assure you there was a warrant out for GWB's arrest had he made it to Switzerland recently. I hope Rove is in the War Criminal indictments too-so maybe no more jaunts to Sweden for him. Word has it that is why Rumsfeld cut his Paris trip short and made a bee line to Orly after his speech. This also means his advisors like Yoo, Gonzales, etc had better be watching their backs too. No one should be above the law. I would hate the precedent that trying an American for war crimes would cause, but frankly-laws have been broken and if we can't enforce them here, then let the Hague try them. I will be the first to rat the bastards out. I would love to see that happen with some CEO's too. No more of this take the money and run. Maybe real true Democracy is finally taking hold.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears

May the sun shine on you every day.

I'm having telephone line issues, which makes my internet connection come and go. If I didn't hate Comcast, and know that they are just as bad, I'd switch.

Infrastructure. It does a body politic good.

Since W hates to travel anyway, now he has a good excuse to stay home. oo bad nobody in this country wants to pay him to gabble...but he's got his pension, that ought to suffice.

(Now THERE'S a good place to cut the deficit!)

as ex military working in a psyop unit and having known Holocaust survivors....I will not rest until Rumsfield, Rove, Bush, Yoo, Gonzales, etc are brought up on war crimes charges. Because if they can get away with that, they think they can get away with anything. It shows a complete lack of humanity.

We keep hitting a brick wall in this country but I know Spain, Germany for sure, and maybe France have enough spine to resist US diplomatic pressure. Let's just call it an intervention. Yes, this country needs an intervention. We are strung out and intoxicated by power and need an intervention by our friends.

I was hoping to see Bush and Cheney marched off in handcuffs. I think it would do America great good to see a former president thrown in jail. It would partly undo Gerald Ford's big mistake of pardoning Richard Nixon. Ford might just as well have hung a big sign on the White House saying, "Yeah, okay, in America some people ARE above the law."

On the subject of school budgets, my wife works for a school system. Every year we worry about whether they will disappear her job, or make it part-time, or try to privatize it. They privatized the custodians this year. Less pay, no benefits, few experienced custodians joined the private company = lotsa of problems. But I expect the real joy comes later, when the private company sticks it to the school system with rate increases, which will, of course, go to pay executive bonuses, not workers' salaries. The worse problem is they keep trying to talk themselves into privatizing the bus drivers, which would include selling the buses to the private bus driving firm. They might be able to fire the custodial company and hire real custodians if the situation gets too bad, but if they give up their buses, how could they ever afford to buy a new fleet when the contractor starts squeezing them?

Republicans regard school nurses as the beginnings of socialized medicine. They don't want poor kids to get the idea that they "deserve" medical treatment whenever they want it. Rich kids, of course, have concierge doctors on speed dial.

Our area is seeking proposals to use private buses too
:(

2/7/11 Dayton schools weigh using private buses
Dayton Public Schools is looking at possibly outsourcing the busing of charter and private school students as a way to trim the district’s $16 million transportation budget.

By law, Dayton Public is required to transport charter and private school students from kindergarten through eighth grade who live in the district.

Treasurer Stan Lucas said officials want to see if it might be financially feasible, and the Dayton Board of Education has approved seeking proposals from outside companies.

“We need to be more fiscally responsible because we don’t know what’s coming down the pike from the state,” board President Nancy Nerny said. “Rather than choosing classroom kinds of projects to tighten our belt, we’re choosing operations.”

The district buses 14,125 kids daily, with 4,935 being charter and private school students.

District officials recently visited Cincinnati Public Schools, which outsourced its busing more than a decade ago to save money. The district contracts with First Student Inc., to transport about 15,000 K-8 district, charter and private school students on yellow buses.

Centerville City Schools’ Assistant Superintendent Bob Yux said his district looked at outsourcing part of its bus transportation, but decided against it. “One of the things you sacrifice when you outsource, one of the things you lose, is some of the ownership,” he said.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/dayton-schools-weigh-using-private-buses-1075415.html

and everyone is eye the chairs.