STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, February 24, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, February 24, 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 zoomed to nearly $102 a barrel Thursday in Asia as chaos in Libya disrupted crude supplies from the OPEC nation, and traders worried instability could spread to oil-rich countries in the Middle East.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was up $3.55 at $101.65 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract, which has soared about 20 percent since last week, jumped $2.68 to settle at $98.10 on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude for April delivery vaulted $5.74 to $116.99 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's grip on power slipped further as rebels took control of much of the eastern part of the country and advanced around Tripoli, the capital. Two air force pilots parachuted out of their warplane and let it crash into the eastern Libyan desert rather than follow orders to bomb an opposition-held city.

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

Stocks closely followed the path of oil yesterday, and based on the futures, the same may happen today. However, there's a lot of other things going on...

So you can keep track.

Libya’s oil output has plunged by at least a fifth as foreign companies have shut down production, and Ali Naimi, Saudi oil minister, said the Opec oil cartel stood ready to boost production to offset any loss

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/8P1R88/YHRSS0/Q38E1/NS45YQ/HD0ZB0/PJ/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

Stakes in three gas fields with pipelines and terminal used to bring the gas to shore to go, alongside onshore oil field in Dorset

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/PRKW94/52KB7/RNDKYF/18JPI1/XL/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

Feb 24 08:30 Initial Claims 02/19 410K 410K 410K
Feb 24 08:30 Continuing Claims 02/12 3900K 3900K 3911K
Feb 24 08:30 Durable Orders Jan 3.6% 2.7% -2.3% -2.5%
Feb 24 08:30 Durable Orders ex Transporation Jan -0.2% 0.6% 0.8% 0.5%
Feb 24 10:00 FHFA Housing Price Index Dec NA NA 0.0%
Feb 24 10:00 New Home Sales Jan 335K 310K 329K
Feb 24 11:00 Crude Inventories 02/19 NA NA 0.86M

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

Today will be a fascinating day, but I'll be so busy with school that I'll miss most of it.

We have a pathetic governor to impeach.

will be "shocked" at the "unexpected" dismalness of the reports. :rofl:

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The number of Americans filing unemployment claims fell more than expected last week, the Labor Department said early Thursday.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims decreased by 22,000 to 391,000 in the week ended Feb.19 from an upwardly revised 413,000 in the previous week. Economists were expecting initial claims to stay stable at 410,000, according to consensus estimates from Briefing.com.

The number of Americans filing continuing claims -- those who have been receiving unemployment insurance for at least a week -- was significantly lower as well at 3.79 million for the week ended Feb.12, a decrease of 145,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 3.93 million. Economists expected continuing claims to come in at 3.91 million.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11020860/1/initial-jobless-claims-drop-to-391000.html

Orders for U.S. durable goods climbed in January as demand for aircraft rebounded after plunging the prior month.

Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years rose 2.7 percent after a 0.4 percent drop in December that was smaller than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Orders excluding transportation equipment unexpectedly dropped, reflecting a recurring pattern of declines in capital goods in the first month of a quarter.
...

Bookings for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, items like computers and communications gear, fell 6.9 percent, the most since January 2009, after a 4.3 percent gain in December that was more than double the previous estimate.

Over the past three years, these orders have dropped in the first month of a quarter every time except once.

“It’s entirely seasonal factors,” Jim O’Sullivan, global chief economist at MF Global Inc. in New York, said before the report. “There’s been a pretty consistent pattern. If anything, manufacturing growth has accelerated recently.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/orders-for-u-s-durable-goods-increase-on-surge-in-aircraft.html

Today will apparently be a good day to continue the delusion that the economy is improving.

(Reuters) - New U.S. single-family home sales fell more than expected in January, a government report showed on Thursday, pulled down by a plunge in activity in the country's West as a homebuyer state tax credit in California ended.

The Commerce Department said sales tumbled 12.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted 284,000 unit annual rate after a downwardly revised 325,000-unit pace in December.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales sliding to a 310,000-unit pace last month from a previously reported 329,000 unit rate.

Compared to January last year sales were down 18.6 percent. Sales surged in December as buyers in California rushed to take advantage of the tax credit for new homes. Sales in the West plunged 36.5 percent after spiking 62.5 percent the prior month.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-home-sales-idUSTRE71N3ZA20110224

and half of that were sales of vacant lots

scary stuff

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/report-distressed-sales-accounted-for-nearly-half-of-january-home-2011-02-22

The distressed property index tracked by the two companies’ HousingPulse survey indicates that the share of sales transactions involving distressed homes – generally REOs and short sales – climbed from 47.2 percent in December to 49.6 percent in January. In November, the distressed sales share registered 44.5 percent.

According to the report, at the current rate of increase, distressed property transactions could account for the majority of home sales within just a few months.

Already, in the key state of California, the survey found distressed property transactions account for 66 percent of the market. In Florida, distressed property sales are making up 63 percent of the market, while in the combined area of Arizona and Nevada, distressed property transactions are a staggering 72 percent of home sales, according to the industry report....“I have noticed that less than 40 percent of what is on the market is property that is just ‘For Sale’ and not a short sale or REO,” commented one agent in California.

“We are primarily an REO/short sale market with about 20 percent conventional sale at this juncture,” added an agent in Nevada.

“Short sales occupy 65 percent of market share, REOs occupy 30 percent of market share, non-distressed are 5 percent or less,” reported another agent in Nevada.

and half of used home sales are distressed sales


and total home sales are half of what they were five years ago


that's a lot of halfs

And it's valued at about half of what he paid for it.

There's another half for you.

U.S. home prices fell 4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as record foreclosures sapped the confidence of homebuyers, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The drop was the 13th consecutive year-over-year retreat and the largest since 2009’s third quarter, the Washington-based agency said today in a report. Prices fell 0.8 percent from the prior three months. On that basis, economists projected a 0.6 percent decline, the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Foreclosures discourage potential buyers who want to avoid price retreats because they sell at a discount, devaluing other homes. The share of people who intend to buy property dropped to 4.4 percent in February from 5.2 percent in January, according to the Conference Board, a New York-based research firm. Sales of foreclosed homes accounted for 37 percent of transactions last month, up from 36 percent in December, the National Association of Realtors said in a report yesterday.

“Foreclosures drive down prices because lenders don’t want to hold onto houses -- they want to get rid of them as fast as they can,” Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said before the FHFA report. “That means they’ll keep cutting prices till they make a sale.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/home-prices-in-u-s-slid-4-in-fourth-quarter-on-foreclosures-fhfa-says.html

(Good day.)
Petulant inch of snow.
(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)
= 9,491,474,775,494.95 + 4,637,081,872,167.73
UP 575,498,293.73 + UP 3,149,269,577.63

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 $3,211.07 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.63, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,422,592 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 $45,367.8.
A family of three owes $136,103.39. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 3,109,985,827.10.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,280,656,273.20.
The average for the last 32 days would be 2,138,115,256.13.
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$/day.
There were 99 reports in 145 days of FY2011 averaging 5.73B$ per report, 3.91B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 698 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.7T$.
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)
02/22/2011 14,128,556,647,662.68 BHO (UP 3,501,679,598,749.60 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 +0,566,933,616,770.90 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,427,108,759,457.78 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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
02/08/2011 +000,098,708,298.02 ------------*******
02/09/2011 +000,070,875,766.12 ------------*******
02/10/2011 -016,083,331,993.98 -
02/11/2011 -000,131,455,172.80 ---
02/14/2011 -001,050,366,540.96 -- Mon
02/15/2011 +048,146,191,309.44 ------------**********
02/16/2011 +000,114,208,468.26 ------------********
02/17/2011 -011,510,944,063.77 -
02/18/2011 +000,193,465,100.84 ------------********
02/22/2011 +000,575,498,293.73 ------------******** Tue

6,057,915,330.66 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=4744452&mesg_id=4745683

I haven't given you any love in a while for doing your section of the thread... thanks :hug:

(Good day.)
Now, what causes high incidence of cancer in a building?
(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)
= 9,492,079,418,519.44 + 4,633,383,257,788.07
UP 604,643,024.49 + DOWN 3,698,614,379.66

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 $3,211.00 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.63, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,429,792 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 $45,356.81.
A family of three owes $136,070.44. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 2,840,248,558.30.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,177,523,894.70.
The average for the last 33 days would be 1,979,567,177.00.
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$/day.
There were 100 reports in 146 days of FY2011 averaging 5.64B$ per report, 3.86B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 697 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.7T$.
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)
02/23/2011 14,125,462,676,307.51 BHO (UP 3,498,585,627,394.43 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 +0,563,839,645,415.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,409,599,113,539.50 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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
02/08/2011 +000,098,708,298.02 ------------*******
02/09/2011 +000,070,875,766.12 ------------*******
02/10/2011 -016,083,331,993.98 -
02/11/2011 -000,131,455,172.80 ---
02/14/2011 -001,050,366,540.96 -- Mon
02/15/2011 +048,146,191,309.44 ------------**********
02/16/2011 +000,114,208,468.26 ------------********
02/17/2011 -011,510,944,063.77 -
02/18/2011 +000,193,465,100.84 ------------********
02/22/2011 +000,575,498,293.73 ------------******** Tue
02/23/2011 +000,604,643,024.49 ------------********

9,504,246,139.99 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=4746372&mesg_id=4746416

U.S. stock-index futures fell as oil rose to the highest price in 30 months, while the opposition to Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi gained control of cities in the east of the country.

Bank of America Corp. lost 1.1 percent as investors in mortgage-backed bonds sued the lender. Pfizer Inc. fell 0.3 percent as the Food and Drug Administration stopped one of the company’s partners from providing supplies from a facility.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in March declined 0.5 percent to 1,299.3 at 11:06 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures dropped 0.3 percent to 12,052 today, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures lost 0.6 percent to 2,290.25.

“Fears of geopolitical risk are at center stage as the Libya situation is unresolved and we hear reports of protests scheduled in Saudi Arabia,” said Radu Margoses, senior trader at Newedge Group in Zurich. “Figures on jobless claims, durable goods and oil inventories will also impact markets today.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/u-s-stock-index-futures-drop-as-oil-price-surges-bank-of-america-slides.html

in unison since...the crash.

skull and crossbones
death to my people
etc.

Saudi Arabia is in “active talks” with European oil companies to meet the shortfall left by Libya, the most clear indication yet that the leader of the Opec oil cartel is about to boost supplies in an effort to stop oil prices rising

Riyadh is asking “what quantity and what quality of oil they want,” a senior Saudi oil official said on condition of anonymity.



Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/NA70KK/XTJPGZ/Q38E1/RNDE9V/XTQB9D/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=24

At least half of Libya’s oil production has been shut down in the wake of the violence wracking the country, industry executives estimate.

The continuing disruption in the country, the world’s 12th largest exporter of crude, drove oil prices to a fresh 2½-year peak on Wednesday. Brent oil futures jumped 3.7 per cent to hit $110 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/5F39HH/XTJRR2/06MUC/UUEQO6/XTEU57/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

Muammer Gaddafi’s family has built up vast business interests in sectors ranging from oil to hotels during his 41-year rule, giving it a hold over large swathes of Libya’s economy, according to US diplomatic cables and governance groups

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/IYZ2H6/1O51V/6VL1ST/KE2M5V/6C/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=22

The loss of Misurata to his opponents means that Muammer Gaddafi has lost control of the vast majority of his country’s Mediterranean coast

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/3OUTUJ/YGZ3O/KE74SY/QF4JVZ/AZ/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=24

Each of the last five major downturns in global economic activity has been immediately preceded by a major spike in oil prices. Sometimes (e.g. in the 1970s and in 1990), the surge in oil prices has been due to supply restrictions, triggered by Opec or by war in the Middle East. Other times (e.g. in 2008), it has been due to rapid growth in the demand for oil.

But in both cases the contractionary effects of higher energy prices have eventually proven too much for the world economy to shrug off. With the global average price of oil having moved above $100 per barrel in recent days – about 33 per cent higher than the price last summer – it is natural to fear that this latest oil shock may be enough to kill the global economic recovery. But oil prices would have to rise much further, and persist for much longer, for these fears to be justified.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/NA70KK/HDA5M2/3CWTA/TPI9GE/9ZTMSE/AZ/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=24

King Abdullah has unveiled a raft of economic benefits, but critics say the measures fail to address the political aspirations of a growing number of Saudis

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/3OUTUJ/YGZ3O/KE74SY/26RGYJ/AZ/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=24

You're next. Better book a flight to Texas to hold hands with your buddy, King George.

Tens of millions of Americans are choosing to pay overdraft fees in spite of new rules allowing them to opt out of such arrangements, putting banks on track to collect record revenues from the charges, analysts and consumer groups say.

Federal Reserve regulations that came into effect last July require banks to obtain customer permission before charging overdraft fees on ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases. Overdraft fees can range from $25 to $35 per transaction and are incurred when withdrawals or purchases exceed account balances.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/26P1D1/204L2/C5606J/A7T2LQ/GX/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people."

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."

P.T. Barnum stated "Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the American public."

Sooner or later, all dynasties, even Chinese ones, come to an end. The Qin dynasty, which marked the start of imperial China in 221BC, lasted but 15 years. The Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties were far more enduring. But even they came and went. The same will happen to the latest dynastic incarnation – the People’s Republic of China, which has held for 62 years.

No one knows when, or how, the Communist party will lose power. China’s burgeoning wealth and growing international clout contain little obvious portent of imminent crisis. By the standards of its tumultuous and tragic
history, China is having its best run in hundreds of years. But the Communist party itself – forever jumping at shadows – remains ultra-vigilant to the slightest hint of opposition.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/LVA6WW/9ZG8NC/YGZ3O/BM886Q/QF4SHC/N9/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

Lehman Brothers’s trustee is potentially in line for billions in additional cash as part of Barclays’ deal to acquire the defunct investment bank’s US broker-dealer business

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/UUQJZ8/B49CK/263UB5/LQAI6A/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=24

A US bankruptcy court judge has ruled that Barclays’ purchase of Lehman Brothers’ US broker-dealer was fair and should not be revisited

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/PRKW94/52KB7/RNDKYF/XTERXF/XL/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

The expected decline comes as higher interest rates put a damper on last year’s refinancing boom that created a windfall in fees, say industry executives and analysts

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/UUQJZ8/B49CK/263UB5/C5B7PT/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=24

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer by sales, said that comparable sales at its US stores fell for the seventh consecutive quarter, despite predicting a turnround in sales declines at its largest and most profitable business

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/PRKW94/52KB7/RNDKYF/40NL9B/XL/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=23

Msnbc had a crawler saying a sharp sell-off was expected at the opening bell. While this was crawling at the bottom of the screen, the gal on the screen was saying stocks were expected to rise at the opening bell. WTF? They actually don't know squat, and we all know that, it's just funny that they had two opposite opinions on the screen at the same time!

I hope they take it easy on me today, given the last two days of drops.

Good luck and welcome!

The last two days have been brutal.

It's just about freezing, and there's a winter storm watch tonight.

Driving is awful, an inch of fresh slush on the roads, and heaps of snowplowed snow on the sides.

Yours truly is suffering from stomach flu--which is better than the real thing, but explains why I am so cranky...

and we're getting an electric fireplace/entertainment unit (half price) tonight. Not sure if I'll ever run it, given the analysis of my electric bill...but if I can get some solar PV going around here...

our site manager has admitted defeat and gone to buy another snow blower, a double-action, super duper, since the 18 year old ones we have can't hack the abundance with which we have been showered, this year.

We don't usually get such large amounts of snow...once in a decade, or so.

Did you get the heat, Po?

But, um, sorry....it's going to be a picture-perfect 79F today and the shuttle should launch on schedule about 4:50pm.

My Mom just left (her flight's about noon) and flies into the rain back north...about 3-5" of heavy rain tonight. Tried talking her into staying another week... :)

glad you're getting good snow blowers.

from
http://www.marchandmeffre.com/index.html



some sample pictures here
http://www.businessinsider.com/yves-marchand-romain-meffre-ruins-detroit-2011-2?op=1


It reminds me of the pictures of Gary Indiana someone put together a couple of years ago.

Same devastation

Maybe on a website set up by the author/photographers. (No, it was a Time Mag article about the book, preview kinda. I lost the url.)

There were other photos, some poignant, some disturbing. A police station with folders and photos strewn on the floor. A library with books rotting on the shelves. A dentist's office.

And there is another, 100abandonedhouses.com


But the banksters are fine, no worries. . . .



TG

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Procter & Gamble Co. says it will raise prices to cope with a run-up in commodity costs and turmoil in the Middle East.

The maker of Tide, Pampers and other consumer products would not disclose the size of the increases but said it will release more details in coming months.

Procter & Gamble's Chief Financial Officer, Jon Moeller, reaffirmed the company's full-year guidance but warned these pressures could make it tough to hit the high-end of its ranges.

A number of food and consumer products companies are raising prices to cope with higher costs for aluminum, cotton and other key materials for their products.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41758987/ns/business-consumer_news/

Feds are unsure if this is a serious threat.

http://www.businessinsider.com/khalid-ali-m-aldawsari-2011-2

Since when is anthrax combustible?


------


another idiotic story

Brits have to borrow a plane from BP to evacuate Brits from Libya
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90036186?Britain%20uses%20borrowed%20jet%20from%20British%20Petroleum%20to%20fly%20Britons%20out%20of%20Libya

And the plane breaks down having to sit at Heathrow for a half a day

The article said plane operators refused to fly there. I guess now that the operators are paid so little (PBS said they are paid about $22,000 to start) calling them pilots seems wrong somehow.

:donut: and lurkers. I have been cogitating, ruminating over the national and worldwide events of late. The one thing that has been most striking to me is this administration's slow and often tepid response to unfolding events. Isn't America a beacon of Democracy. Shouldn't we rush to support the Birth of Democracy in any country. When a government slaughters their own people just to remain in power-is that a call for intervention. Why the long wait to come out in defense and why the mealy mouthed response? And what about the dissent in our own country? Don't we have the right to dissent too. I thought that Democracy was all about giving people a voice. Where is the strong eloquent President I remember voting for? These are not difficult decisions to make? This is clear cut right or wrong.

And then :idea:. My daughter once went though a time when she seemed confused about right and wrong. She was 11-12, in middle school, and facing moral dilemmas (a friend asking her for test answers, etc). After one such incident I told her she made a bad choice. She then bombarded me with hypothetical questions because she wanted to know "the rules". I told her that there were no concrete rules for every dilemma she would encounter in life. I told her to give me some time to think on it and see if I could come up with some guidelines. Well, after a day or so...I came up with what I though was an intelligent answer.

All of us have a moral compass. It might be that twinge you feel when you do something you know you shouldn't. It might be that still small voice you hear. The point is that, the more you use this compass, the stronger it grows. It can eventually reach the point that your alarm goes off loud and clear when something is wrong. If you still not sure, ask yourself-can I face myself in the mirror after I make this choice. Would I be proud to tell my Mom or my best friend what I had done.

Our Government and our leaders have lost or subverted their moral compass. As much as I like LBJ, I think we started going astray when we started going in to places like Viet Nam, but GWB, Rove and the like just took it out and smashed it all to hell. Actually I blame Cheney and Rove, Bush was just a figurehead simpleton. Our reputation has been so damaged and remains in tatters because we keep landing on the wrong side of these moral issues. We will pay a cruel price in the future for what we are doing now.

If you have to lie, if you have to deceive, then what you are doing is not the right thing to do. It actually hurt my ears to listen to Obama talk about our "diplomat" in Pakistan. He disgraced himself and the nation by not being forthcoming. How can we ever be trusted by the world community ever again?


Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

you tube at work. Will see it tonight.

That was cute. I forgot about Pinocchio. Gee, I could have shown my daughter the movie instead of fretting for several days:rofl:

I was rewarded several days later when she came home and told me she did what I told her and it really helped her make a good choice. That was one of those conversations you always remember for all your life. I also remember explaining life and death to her in a vineyard we were visiting once. She said that she still remembers that one and she thought about it when her GrandPa died.

When you parent, it is like being up at bat: sometimes you strike out, most of the times you hit a run......but when you hit one out of the park, it is unforgettable.

It duped.

May your readings of those things written on your heart be strong, true and fill you with love, peace and joy.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has begun notifying employees who will lose their jobs at Savannah River Site as part of a plan to eliminate as many as 1,400 positions by September.

"As of today, we've begun the process," company spokesman Will Callicott said Wednesday. "We won't be providing any numbers until after we're complete -- that will take a couple of days."

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the site's primary contractor, was authorized by the U.S. Energy Department last November to decrease its work force by up to 1,400 people by the beginning of the 2012 fiscal year.

Although 328 workers agreed to voluntary separations last December, the remaining cuts are being accomplished by "involuntary separations." The first phase began Wednesday, with a second and final phase scheduled for August. The company also plans to open a transition center in Aiken to assist affected workers in finding new jobs.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/business/local-business/2011-02-23/srs-layoffs-under-way-today?v=1298477297

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The Texas Department of Criminal Justice will lay off some 550 positions due to budget cuts mandated by Gov. Rick Perry because of the state's budget shortfall.

TDCJ announced Wednesday it will seek to cut $40 million from their fiscal year 2011 operating budget including the layoffs of 400 administrative and support positions.

“Among the actions we will take is the reduction of our administrative work force by 400 positions,” said public information director Michelle Lyons with TDCJ. “Please note that these are administrative positions, no correctional officers or parole officers will be affected.”

Project RIO has been shown to diminish a former inmate’s likelihood of returning to prison and increase their chances of holding down sustainable employment. “This move by the agency will have a big impact on public safety in Texas,” said Mike Gross, vice president of the Texas State Employees Union . “Fewer support staff in parole mean that more parole officers will be having to do more and more with already growing case loads. The elimination of Project RIO just means we’ll be seeing more offenders end back up in prison.”

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/tdcj-to-cut-550-jobs

Montgomery, AL (WVTM) --- If the nearly four billion dollar education budget is fully funded or not, school districts across the state will lose jobs. Some will be lost through retirement, others through layoffs but, the bottom lin, there could be up to 2-thousand fewer education jobs this August.

State Superintendent, Dr. Joseph Morton said, "What's going to happen is going to happen anyway, we're going to lose jobs, I think that's a given."

It's the hard truth from the state's top educator, Dr. Joseph Morton. He's estimating, if state lawmakers fully fund his budget of 3-point 78 million dollars, jobs will *still* be lost. But if budget funding is less, the job loss and layoff list could be larger.

Dr. Morton said, "I don't think there's any question, Alabama schools will start school in august with fewer employees than they have today."

http://www2.alabamas13.com/news/2011/feb/23/layoffs-predicited-alabama-education-ar-1498851/

WATSONVILLE - For the third year in a row, dozens of Pajaro Valley teachers and classified workers will receive pink slip warnings in coming weeks.

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District board of trustees approved lists of at-risk positions Wednesday to meet state deadlines for notifying employees in advance of anticipated budget cuts. The layoffs won't become final until a budget is adopted in the spring, and district spending will depend on whether voters statewide pass tax extensions that will prop up California's funding for education.

Pajaro Valley stands to lose as much as $7 million next year if the taxes aren't renewed.

At least 150 teachers will receive pink slip warnings by March 15, and more than 50 classified employees, including clerical staff, teachers aides, library media techs and administrators, will get the notices by May 15.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17466015?nclick_check=1

As many as 250 employees at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., could be laid off by the end of March due to the uncertain funding situation for the remainder of 2011, the Pasadena Star-News reports.

NASA, like the rest of the federal government, is operating this year at 2010 funding levels under a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution. The current continuing resolution expires March 4, and Republican lawmakers are pushing a new one that would fund the government for the remainder of fiscal 2011 while trimming domestic spending by some $60 billon compared to 2010. NASA's share of that cut would be about $600 million.

"If we can make a small reduction in work force now we will have enough money to keep going for the remainder of the year,' Richard O'Toole, executive manager of JPL's office of legislative affairs, said Wednesday."

Unlike other major NASA centers, JPL is a federally funded research and development center operated by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) under contract to the space agency. JPL's work force consists of Caltech, rather than NASA, employees.

http://www.spacenews.com/commentaries/110224-fromwires-layoffs-loom-jpl.html

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Unemployment may be improving, but several banks continue to layoff employees as the result of mergers, dumping underperforming businesses and cutting expenses.

"There have been layoffs in the past three or fourth months as banks reevaluate employees to trim underperformers and recruit other, higher performing individuals," said Capstone Partnership partner Maurice Toueg.

In some cases layoffs have been overshadowed by recruitment in other areas of the bank. Toueg says that smaller banks are more likely to recruit, especially for customer facing positions.

In fact, over 57 percent of hiring managers and recruiters anticipate employee poaching to become more aggressive this year, according to a study conducted by eFinancial Careers. In addition, the environment has become even more competitive as several top banks are recruiting talent from outside Wall Street and turning to industry specialists in technology, accounting, consulting, legal and energy.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11016756/1/10-banks-with-looming-layoffs.html

Blue Heron Paper Co. in Oregon City will cease operations on Friday, leaving approximately 175 workers without a job.

The company announced the closure in a statement released Wednesday.

Employee-owned Blue Heron had been trying to reorganize in Chapter 11. The producer of newsprint and specialty paper products filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 31, 2009, citing a sharp drop in product demand and rising utility rates. Two weeks later, it laid off 50 of its 216 workers.

"The initial plan was successful in restoring profitability and the company received meaningful support from its suppliers and other creditors," said Blue Heron President Mike Siebers in the statement, "but lately those profits began to erode due to escalating waste paper prices and limited availability of that raw material."

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2011/02/23/blue-heron-paper-to-close.html

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27552.htm

Mouammar Khadafi strode onto the world stage when he and other young officers kicked out a King named Idris, who had charged foreign corporations the lowest prices in the world to suck out the nation’s oil wealth. That was back in 1969. By the time I had my encounter with Khadafi, 40 years later, in late October of 2009, he was still calling himself a socialist and sworn enemy of capitalism, and pushing his Green Book as a universal guide to social justice. But Khadafi had clearly reached an accommodation with the United States and the rich men of Europe. White and Asian corporate guys were everywhere in Tripoli, the capital, which was bursting at the seams with construction projects built by foreigners for foreign corporations. Libya and its six million inhabitants had become a full-fledged corporate “destination,” and Khadafi’s armed forces were in constant collaboration with the crack forces of the U.S. imperial war machine. Khadafi might tell visitors to his huge, personal tent at a military compound in the city, that he remained dedicated to destroying “capitalism,” but Washington, London and Paris didn’t seem to be worried.

Since 9/11, Khadafi has appeared more concerned with Islamic fundamentalists like those in neighboring Algeria whose suppression cost 200,000 lives than with American and European machinations. He has coordinated military maneuvers with the Americans in the Sahel region of North Africa, and worked closely with the CIA to ferret out Al Qaida-like elements. By 2008, Condoleezza Rice was in Tripoli. “I look forward to listening to the leader's world view,"
she said. Khadafi had already declared his love for the woman he called “Leeza,” his “darling African American woman” who, he said, “leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders.”

“The worst possible consequence of the Libyan crisis would be for the United States to find some way to intervene."

In 2009, the year I visited Libya with a delegation headed by former Georgia congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney, Khadafi had just signed an “historic” agreement on military and diplomatic cooperation. The United States African Command, Africom, and Libya pledged to work together on matters of peacekeeping, maritime security, counterterrorism and African security and stability.

Yet, there was Khadafi on television on Tuesday, looking nothing like the rather serene older man I’d encountered in the big tent 16 months ago, raging that he was under assault by some combination of the United States and Islamic militants. In that sense, his claims sounded very much like the last public words of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, before he was hustled off the stage. Khadafi belittled his opponents as ignorant ingrates who knew nothing of their country's glories, or were just people high on hallucinogens. His son, Seif el Islam Khadafi, had previously threatened the Libyan people with civil war. Both father and son seemed out of touch, out of control, and on the way out. Which means the Libyan people are in danger....

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/economy/news/article.cfm?c_id=34&objectid=10706907

Decision to let banks go under looks smarter by the day, in contrast to Ireland's costly bailout, reports Yalman Onaran.

On his second day as head of Iceland's third-largest bank, Arni Tomasson faced a crisis: the firm that regulators had asked him to run was out of cash.

It was October 8, 2008, at the height of the global financial meltdown and Iceland's bank assets in Britain had been frozen. Customers flocked to branches of Tomasson's Glitnir Banki to withdraw money, even though the Government had guaranteed their deposits. By the end of the day, the vaults were empty, says Tomasson, recalling the drama.

The only way Glitnir and other lenders could avoid a panic the next morning was to get more cash, which they were having trouble doing. A container of crisp kronur sat on the tarmac at Reykjavik's airport awaiting payment.

The British company that printed the bills, De La Rue, was demanding sterling, and the central bank couldn't access its British account.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

Eleven charts that explain everything that's wrong with America....SEE LINK

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/arizona-bill-would-void-home-foreclosures-without-complete-title-history.html

Arizona may become the first state to require lenders to prove they have the right to foreclose by providing a complete list of any previous owners of the mortgage, under a bill passed yesterday by its Senate.

The legislation, which is headed to the House after being approved 28-2 in the Republican-dominated Senate, would allow foreclosure sales to be voided if lenders that didn’t originate the loan can’t produce the full chain of title. Arizona permits nonjudicial foreclosures, meaning property can be seized from the homeowner without a court order.

Lawmakers in states including New York, Oregon and Virginia also have proposed legislation to address concerns among consumer advocates that lenders or mortgage servicers are using incomplete or false paperwork to repossess properties in default. The attorneys general of all 50 states are jointly investigating how the mortgage-servicing industry operates.

“If you foreclose on somebody you should have to tell them who owns the property,” Michele Reagan, who sponsored Senate Bill 1259, said in a telephone interview. “People have the right in this country to face their accusers.” The Republican lawmaker is in litigation with her mortgage servicer, which she said won’t identify the owner of the loan.

The bill is opposed by the Arizona Bankers Association; the Arizona Trustees Association, which represents the trustees that conduct foreclosure auctions on behalf of lenders; and Merscorp Inc., an industry-owned company that operates a database with more than half of all U.S. mortgages. Matthew Benson, a spokesman for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, said she doesn’t comment on legislation until it reaches her desk.