STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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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

Mar 22 10:00 FHFA Housing Price Index Jan NA NA -0.3%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm#ixzz1HKOKKuMw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. housing prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in January, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Tuesday. Data for December was revised down to 1.0% drop from an orginally reported decline of 0.3%. Sales data is based on mortgages sold or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The FHFA said housing prices are down 3.9% in the past 12 months. The agency's home price index is 16.5% below its April 2007 peak.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fhfa-says-housing-prices-drop-03-in-january-2011-03-22

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered above $102 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders mulled how long Libyan oil exports will remain shut down amid a third night of allied attacks on forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down 14 cents to $102.19 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The April contract, which expires Tuesday, rose $1.26 to settle at $102.33 on Monday.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery was down 55 cents at $114.41 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.

Fierce fighting during the last month has halted most of Libya's 1.6 million barrels a day of crude production, and investors are concerned coalition military intervention on the side of rebels could prolong the shutdown of oil output from the OPEC nation.

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

:donut:

I lurk more than post, but this is a terrific thread!

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/recover-japan-must-ignore-fallacies





The ongoing tragedy in Japan has unsurprisingly generated a great deal of commentary covering how - and if - the country will recover economically from difficulties that at least from the television screen, seem insurmountable. The happy news is that if history is any kind of indicator, Japan will rebound with great speed. OH REALLY? LOTS OF PLACES GAILY REBOUNDED REBOUNDED FROM NUCLEAR DISASTERS--CHERNOBYL, 3 MI ISLAND, NAGASAKI, HIROSHIMA?

...the sad, discredited, and surely horrifying notion that the collapse of country infrastructure, and its subsequent rebuild, will be economically stimulative. This false belief system was long ago discredited by economists Bastiat and Hazlitt who helpfully noted that while broken windows might stimulate glaziers, the unseen would be the investment that wouldn't occur in order fix what wasn't previously broken. To buy into the silly reasoning popular among journalists and allegedly intelligent economists such as Larry Summers is to believe that each time the U.S. experiences an economic downturn, the path to recovery would consist of dynamiting various cities in order to put Americans to work. A more absurd bit of economic thinking would be hard to conceive, but sure enough, newspapers have been filled with just that kind of commentary since the tragedy in Japan struck.


As Adam Smith long ago observed, stationary economies are failed ones, so for a region or country to rely on disasters as a form of stimulus would be for both to see investment and the jobs it creates eventually depart. Destroying wealth in order to recreate it is the picture definition of a stationary economy, so only the truly dim would suggest that there's a silver lining tucked into Japan's monumental struggles.


Of course other supposed thinkers in the economic commentariat are making the point that due to the massive budget deficits run up by the profligate Japanese government over its two lost economic decades (stimulus spending advocates should take note: there is a correlation), the debt markets won't support the kind of government spending needed to rebuild what's been destroyed. But rather than worry about what may or may not be true, we should rejoice if Japan's politicians are in fact constrained. To see why, it's necessary to look back to both Germany and Japan in the aftermath of World War II. As Howard Kershner wrote in his essential book, Dividing the Wealth, Germany "had suffered the loss of many millions of her strongest young men and had seen a great part of her homes, factories and business buildings destroyed." In short, Germany suffered something exponentially greater than did Japan last week.


Told by American advisors to engage in deficit spending to get Germany's economy moving again, the great German Finance Minister Ludwig Erhard responded that "We are not going to do it. We intend to balance our budget, not to incur any indebtedness, to avoid inflation and keep the mark stable and sound." Thus began a major economic reawakening in Germany built on reduced taxes that rewarded those who sought profits in rebuilding the destroyed country, and underpinning this elevation of the productive was a mark that maintained its stability thanks to its link to a dollar defined in gold. As Kershner noted, "in a few short years Germany became the most prosperous country in Europe, if not in the world." Japan was similarly reduced to rubble after WWII, and with its new government lacking any credibility to deficit spend, it too had to rely on the productive. So with a yen defined in terms of a gold dollar, Japanese politicians proceeded to reduce taxes every year after the war on the way to Japan becoming an extraordinarily rich country within a short period of time. Fast forward to the present, capital is always scarce, and as such, the worst thing that could happen would be for Japan's government to go into debt even more in order to oversee what would almost certainly be a slower, more wasteful reconstruction. Better it would be for the country's politicians to reduce the cost of success on the way to a private sector revitalization that would only be hamstrung if the Japanese government were competing with it for scarce capital.



Regarding those who wonder if Japan can recover at all, the mere question is absurd. Awful as the recent tragedy was and is, it's exponentially smaller than what befell Japan over fifty years ago. Japan will surely rise again, but it only will if its leaders avoid the embrace of economic fallacies, and simply allow the country's "vital few" to rebuild with profit in mind.


I THINK THIS GUY IS DISTORTING MILL AND SMITH, FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH

That last sentence almost caused me to pick up my monitor and throw it through the window.

Oh yes,let's hand it all over to the oligarchs, those "vital few" who sucked all the wealth out of the workers to begin with, like those happy TEPCO execs who made money while cutting corners on the safety functions of their lovely resort, er, nuclear power plant by the sea.

What worthless fuckers.





TG

The concept that a stable economy is a dead one, that's another conclusion I have problems with.

Could be paraphrased as "Profit for the sake of profit. . .. "

TG

profits aren't "piling up" in some lucky bastard's portfolio because he's rigged the game, cheated the workers and co-opted the regulators...

and that isn't socialism or communism. It's how things work (or don't work).

you said it shorter and better!

First of all, you get the benefit of writing a rant and getting at least some of the vitriol out of your system.

Second, I get to read affirmation of my own righteous anger. ;-)

Third, some poor lurker learns that if two minds think alike, maybe we're right!


See, it's a good thing!

:hi:


TG

and what the hell is wrong with a "stable" economy? Since to be "stable" something has to be "sustainable" that strikes my primitive world-view as a good thing? Why is it this reads to me like the subtext is: "lets trash everything so we can further plunder the earth's ecosystem for the raw materials to rebuild and make a very few people very very rich"?

:hi:

in an unstable market. When you have high powered computers that can trade rapidly and make big money on fractions of stock...that means millions can be made on even slight shifts (think the movie Office Space and rounding up on pennies).

I think that is why the market is more or less fixed at 12000 DJIA- no matter what the reports are.

Just my $0.00025 worth.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/03/natural_disasters

...Provisional estimates released today by the World Bank put the economic damage resulting from the disaster at as much as $235 billion, around 4% of GDP. That figure would make this disaster the costliest since comparable records began in 1965. The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which caused some 250,000 deaths, does not feature on this chart. Economic losses there amounted to only $14 billion in today’s prices, partly because of low property and land values in the affected areas...

GRAPHIC PORN AND MORE AT LINK

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/barron%E2%80%99s-backs-me



Speaking of inflation – let’s consider this chart (from Doug Short) and what complete and utter bullshit the CPI is! Very simply, without looking at anything else – it’s housing. Housing is 42% of the CPI and declining housing costs have masked rising inflation for 5 years now.

Does a lower price of a new home lower your mortgage payment? Does it lower your monthly rent? Of course not. Not only that but, as many of us have noticed – property taxes are skyrocketing as local governments struggle to offset decreasing income and sales tax revenues and that is not a factor in the CPI either!

Between that and the asinine fact that the Fed excludes food and energy from their calculations of "core" CPI and this index becomes a joke of a joke – but that’s the perfect tool for determining our very ridiculous fiscal policies, isn’t it? That’s all I’m going to say about it though – I’m trying to see how far I can get in this post without getting all pissed about politics. Unfortunately – the more I read – the angrier I get. I’m kind of like The Hulk that way…

Keep in mind that inflation is pretty much our entire bullish premise as the Global Economy is not really in such good shape but prices do keep rising and that makes Corporate Revenues rise (even if they sell the same number of units) and that makes earnings rise as well – IF they manage to control their input costs. Since Real Estate is still in the dumps, that key cost component is well under control for those businesses still solvent enough to pay their rents. Labor costs, if anything, continue to plunge so – as long as we avoid businesses that are susceptible to commodity input costs – we should do fine. Here’s a great chart from ShadowStats giving us a pretty clear picture of just how much out Government is lying to us about inflation:



Again, I say this without anger – I am trying very hard to just point out some of the factors that cause us to think that perhaps it is already too late to be an inflation denier in this economy. We’re looking at 8% annual inflation and that is BEFORE all the stimulative policies that have dumped $5Tn of new money onto the US economy and $10Tn onto the Global Economy. The initial swelling of trickle down money goes to the banks to the investing class and then (I do hope this is obvious) into investments like TBills, stocks and commodities and that’s how we buy a market rally but stage 2 is much, much more dangerous as the market rally tops out and the top 10% begin to cash out their ill-gotten gains (see Brad DeLong’s lecture on inflation).

from the usually loquacious Tansy Gold who has slipped into lurk mode lately but not entirely of her own free will.

It's the surprise element. Hope it gets better.

I'm just. . . . . blunt.

And not blunt as in "blunt force trauma."



TG, tee hee

The Younger Kid's boyfriend was evidently traumatized when he met me 8 years ago when he and the YK were in high school....he thinks I'm scary, and wouldn't come over or anything for the longest time...(the fact that YK was being a royal pain in the ass might have had a little bit to do with that..) I have no recollection of him or the incident, by the way.

Women who know what's what ARE scary--and they act, which is even scarier.

The DOW looks like it's on the verge of a nervous breakdown...

work has been slam-bang busy

(but I'm on vacation allllll next week. No phones, no laptops...just sun, beach, pool, food and drink!)

Giving back some of the gains from yesterday.

Will open slightly lower, dip, recover a little, dip again.

The dance of the bears and bulls.

this was posted late yesterday, reposting again today

3/21/11 Final Count: Pittman Wins, Fed Loses, As Supreme Court Refuses To Grant Confidential Data Disclosure Appeal Sought By Banks

In a crushing blow against the Fed and the banks that own it, in this case represented by the Clearing House Association, the Supreme Court rejected an industry appeal set forth by the CHA, that sought to keep critical bailout data from going public. The lawsuit was originally started by the great and late Mark Pittman, who tragically passed away around Thanksgiving 2009: we are confident we would be delighted to learn that his unprecedented act of suing the Fed in order to generate more transparency has finally succeeded.
.
.
.
We can only hope that the "Pittman precedent" forces millions more to send in FOIA requests for any and every aspect of Fed operations, forcing the US politburo to eventually brings its decision making process in the open, as much as Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein detest that.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/final-count-pittman-1-fed-0-supreme-court-refuses-grant-confidential-data-disclosure-appeal-

or
http://tinyurl.com/4dtzpf4

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-22/fed-s-court-ordered-transparency-shows-americans-have-a-right-to-know-.html


...The high court’s order means the Fed will have to reveal an unprecedented level of detail about its discount window lending during the financial crisis -- including borrowers’ names and amounts. Officials are preparing to comply, said David Skidmore, a spokesman for the central bank. He declined to elaborate. Attorneys for the Fed have not yet decided how or precisely when they will provide the information, said Thomas Golden, a partner with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP who represents Bloomberg LP in the case. Based on discussions with the Fed’s lawyers, Golden said he expects the central bank to comply within the next two weeks, though it’s not yet clear whether officials would post the information publicly on the Fed’s Web site.

Under Dodd-Frank, the central bank will also publish details of discount window loans made after July 21, 2010, on a two-year lag. The new disclosure requirements may limit banks’ use of the window, said Dino Kos, managing director at Hamiltonian Associates Ltd., a New York-based economic research firm. “I have never been a fan of revealing discount window” borrowers, said Kos, a former head of open market operations at the New York Fed. “Does transparency at such a granular level really add to anybody’s wealth of knowledge?”...More openness and accountability would make it easier for the central bank to do its job of ensuring maximum employment and maintaining stable prices, said Joseph R. Mason, a finance professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

Paul, who has called for abolishing the central bank, signed up more than 300 co-sponsors for a 2009 bill requiring a Fed audit. The measure passed the House before being dropped by the Senate. It was quite a difference from similar proposals in the 1970s that attracted little attention, he said. “The Bloomberg lawsuit had a lot to do with the cultural change,” Paul said. “Bloomberg has credibility that politicians don’t have.”

During the financial crisis, Bernanke used Depression-era authority to buy securities from Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns Cos. and to prop up insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG) The Fed loaned to U.S. government bond dealers, bought the short-term debt of U.S. corporations, and helped finance the purchase of securities backed by loans to small businesses, college students and car buyers...Lending through the discount window soared to $111 billion as credit markets nearly froze in the wake of Lehman’s bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008. While the loans provided banks with backstop cash, the public has never known which banks borrowed or why.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke “now must finally understand that this money doesn’t belong to the Federal Reserve, it belongs to the American people and the American people have a right to know how their taxpayer dollars are being put at risk,” said Senator Bernard Sanders, a Vermont Independent who wrote Fed transparency provisions in Dodd-Frank.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-point-to-slightly-firmer-start-2011-03-22?dist=beforebell

MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures erased gains to indicate a flat start for Wall Street on Tuesday, reflecting some consolidation after the prior session’s sharp rise.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2 points to 11,965, while futures for the S&P 500 index fell 1.7 points to 1,291.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 0.5 point to 2,255.

The UK bank is among a group of investors weighing a rival bid for a portfolio of mortgage-backed securities that has already drawn a $15.7bn offer from AIG, people familiar with the matter said

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/IYM0SV/OFBYP/0G3BWH/QFKZGR/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=22

Either it's the biggest con game ever, or --no, it's the biggest con game ever. There is no alternative.

The US Treasury will sell a $142bn portfolio of mortgage-backed securities acquired during the financial crisis, in the latest withdrawal from government market intervention

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/YIQXNN/3OLRV5/204L2/IY7D86/ZBRYZR/JY/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=22

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iCto607E4JRcnpC0qDGm1OjG3xLw?docId=CNG.c1a375e7c725666e2ee5e250a84aa0a7.131

The US Treasury Department on Monday said it would start selling-off mortgage-backed securities worth an estimated $142 billion, in an effort to close another chapter of the financial crisis.

The department said each month it will offload up to $10 billion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS), assets which bundle together large numbers of mortgages.

"We will exit this investment at a gradual and orderly pace to maximize the recovery of taxpayer dollars and help protect the process of repair of the housing finance market," said Treasury official Mary Miller.

The products, secured by state-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were bought as part of the 2008-2009 financial sector bailout.

As the housing bubble began to burst the Treasury and Federal Reserve bought up swathes of so-called "toxic assets," when losses appeared to be endangering individual banks and the financial system at large.

But the Treasury said the market for asset-backed derivatives is now much more robust, three years after the depths of the crisis.

"The market for agency-guaranteed MBS has notably improved since the time Treasury purchased these securities in 2008 and 2009," it said in a statement.

SHUFFLE THAT PAPER, BEN. INFLATE THE HELL OUT OF THE VAPOR-PAPER

http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052970204582404576215632036478242.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

The Treasury announces sale of its MBS holdings while existing home sales plunge...

During the latter days of the war in Viet Nam, one suggestion to end the American involvement was for the U.S. to declare victory and pull out. That way it could withdraw without admitting defeat. Two seemingly disconnected news events brought that sardonic notion from decades ago to mind...The Treasury announced plans Monday to begin selling off its portfolio of mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after Uncle Sam rescued his wayward niece and nephew during the credit crisis of 2008...Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors also reported Monday existing-home sales plunged 9.6% in February, to a 4.88 million-unit annual rate, while the inventory of unsold homes rose to 8.6 months' supply from 7.6 months. The median sales price also was down 5.2% from a year earlier, a decline from the 4.2% year-on-year drop recorded in January.

History is repeating on a small scale. The Treasury is withdrawing its support before the mortgage market has recovered fully, which is apparent in the existing-home sales report. Fully one-third of previously occupied houses and condominiums purchased in February were for cash, a record. No mortgage at all, which is positively un-American. Bargains are there, if you've got the scratch. Distressed sales accounted for 39% of the total; for those sufficiently well-off to write a check for a deeply discounted abode, you're in luck. But the record number of cash buyers, who are eschewing the opportunity to take advantage of mortgage rates that still are close to the lowest in history, suggests something's still amiss in housing finance. One assumes these cash buyers aren't all drug dealers or involved in other businesses that are usually are conducted in stacks of Benjamins. For those cash buyers who came by their earnings honestly and reported them all to Uncle Sam, their ability to put down 100% of the purchase price speaks to their solid credit. And they are about as different as could be from the nothing-down ne'er-do-wells who snapped up houses during the bubble....


........

Even so, the bond market was roiled by the Treasury's announcement of MBS sales. Not so much for its size, but for its timing. The Treasury's sales could be seen as a precursor for the liquidation of the Federal Reserve's holdings of mortgage paper. Not only is the Fed's MBS portfolio substantially bigger -- $944 billion as of last Wednesday versus $142 billion for the Treasury -- but sales by the central bank would represent an actual tightening of monetary policy. An increase in the federal-funds rate target -- the Fed's traditional policy tool -- presumably would accompany a shrinkage of its balance sheet.

The financial-futures markets are pricing in a hike in the fed-funds target to 0.5% about a year from now, from the nearly rock-bottom 0-0.25% peg that the Fed has maintained for more than two years. The Treasury announcement of its plans to sell off its MBS holdings would clear the deck for the Fed to wind down its mortgage portfolio. That served as a reminder that 2012 isn't so far away.

IF YOU CAN'T LOG INTO THIS BY THE LINK, I'LL TRY TO GET MORE INFO...

Or perhaps a paper-thin wafer?

Mr Creosote (The Meaning of Life)

Not safe for the easily queasy.

The market for agency-guaranteed MBS

Talk about kickin the can to the next generation :grr: If the shit was 'toxic' in 08, it's toxic in 11. Turbo sells the waste for what looks like a profit, but as the defaults ramp up, the guarantees are going to cost us big. Will we ever see what that price tag is? Fat chance.

The US bank moves to build interest in its stock, which has languished below $5, revealing a reverse stock split and its first quarterly dividend in more than two years

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/IYM0SV/OFBYP/0G3BWH/GKVBR4/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=22

or some kind of multiple...

Igor Poteroba is sentenced to 22 months in prison and ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in disgorged profits and fines for passing inside information to a college friend

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/IYM0SV/OFBYP/0G3BWH/XTSKVD/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=22

Red Kite chief Michael Farmer calls on funds to end threats to quit during tough times for the UK and pay the higher rate as the price for a greater variety of culture

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/IYM0SV/OFBYP/0G3BWH/PRXAHI/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=22

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-extend-gains-metro-drops-2011-03-22?dist=beforebell

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets struggled for direction Tuesday, as gains for some banks and insurers were largely offset by losses for retailer Metro AG and automotive stocks.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-generals-profit-more-than-doubles-2011-03-22

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Dollar General Corp. said Tuesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit more than doubled, after the discount retailer cut advertising and compensation costs and saw more shoppers, who spent more on items ranging from apparel to consumable products.


'cheap' is gonna kill this country.

Obama isn't in the batter's box--he's up in the skybox, shmoozing.

The Finnish government, under Mari Kiviniemi, prime minister, above, is threatening to hold up one of the central elements of the package to tackle the debt crisis

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/YIQXNN/3OLRV5/204L2/IY7D86/40USXU/JY/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=22

Finns are like that

--Demeter, who married and divorced one

Amid optimism that the worst of the crisis in Japan may be over, Steven Chu, energy secretary, says regulators will take a closer look at the location of its own power plants

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/TWK799/C5CU88/4VXHZ/HDAW5Y/3OPYYH/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21

and have the utmost confidence and faith that our government will protect me from capitalism.

Who needs oxygen anyway?

Thank you for SMW. My little safe spot to get away from the insanity.

Iran has bought big amounts of gold in the international market, in a sign of how rising political pressure has driven Tehran to reduce its exposure to the US dollar

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/C5CUN0/ULCJB/A78261/FXCUTS/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21

US banks could be forced to disclose when they give clients below-market rates on loans as a part of their efforts to secure further business

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/C5CUN0/ULCJB/A78261/JIZH8Q/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21


WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DISHES AND TOASTERS GIVEAWAYS?

AT&T has agreed to buy competitor T-Mobile USA in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $39bn.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/C5CUN0/ULCJB/A78261/6VLQJ5/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21

Ray Lane, chairman, says the group reconstituted its board to add international expertise and recover from past infighting – not to cement the control of the new chief, Léo Apotheker

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/C5CUN0/ULCJB/A78261/V1Q74C/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21

Most big US manufacturers are considering relocating factories from low-cost Asian countries to the US or Latin America over rising logistics and transport costs


Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/C5CUN0/ULCJB/A78261/PRX02F/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLY7yI1xV-M


WELL, COMRADES, WHAT SAY YOU?

The just-in-time, keep no inventory, ship crap all over the world in search of a few pennies off labor, model has just collapsed. Built upon sand, and the sand just shifted.

producing for their own markets rather than solely for export. In order to sell to their own people they will have to follow the Henry Ford model of paying people enough for them to afford the products they're making.

In a nutshell???

Is it a good martha stewart thing yet?



TG, who believes she has finally found the information on the Sears kit home her mother grew up in. . . . (yes, she can spend more than enough time on inconsequential flights of curiosity)

The so-called euro crisis is generally seen exclusively as a currency crisis, but it is also a sovereign debt and, even more, a banking crisis. The situation is extremely complex. This complexity has bred confusion and the confusion has political consequences. So Europe faces not only an economic and financial but also a political crisis. The various member states have formed widely different views and their policies reflect their views rather than their true national interests. The clash of perceptions carries the seeds of serious political conflicts.

The solution that is about to be
put in place will be effectively dictated by Germany, without whose sovereign credit no solution is possible. France tries to influence the outcome but in the end must yield to Germany because its triple A rating is dependent on being closely allied with Germany.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/FG6LAA/8A8NCJ/ULCJB/S3IFKP/IYAG2W/ID/t?a1=2011&a2=3&a3=21

THIS IS CALLED "TRYING TO HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT, TOO"]

so the chart is divided into tenths of a point. It's ludicrous, but you had to see it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/18/business/main20044747.shtml

Unemployment rose in nearly all of the 372 largest U.S. cities in January compared to the previous month, mostly because of seasonal changes such as the layoff of temporary retail employees hired for the holidays. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate rose in 351 metro areas, fell in only 16, and was unchanged in 5. That's worse than December, when the rate fell in 207 areas and increased in 122. Other seasonal trends, such as the layoff of construction workers due to winter weather, also contributed to the widespread increase. Nationwide, the unemployment rate dropped to 9 percent in January from 9.4 percent the previous month. It ticked down to 8.9 percent in February. But the national data is seasonally adjusted, while the metro data isn't, which makes it more volatile. The metro data also lags the national report by one month.

The report shows that metro areas hit hard by the housing crisis are still struggling with high unemployment. At the same time, a strong recovery in the manufacturing sector, particularly among U.S. auto companies, has bolstered many smaller cities in the Midwest.

``The areas that have had very severe housing market corrections have shown the least improvement,'' said Sophia Koropeckyj, managing director at Moody's Analytics. That's particularly true for states such as California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada. Twelve of the 16 cities with unemployment rates above 15 percent in January were in California. A high foreclosure rate and falling home prices are contributing to sky-high unemployment in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. metro area. Its unemployment rate of 14.2 percent was highest in the nation among cities with populations of 1 million or more. The second-highest was Las Vegas, with 13.7 percent...

Meanwhile, several smaller cities that rely heavily on manufacturing have shown significant improvement since last January. The unemployment rate in Rockford, Ill., fell 5.3 percentage points in the past year, to 13.7 percent from 19 percent. That was the steepest drop in the nation. Year-to-year comparisons help filter out seasonal changes. Chrysler LLC is investing $600 million in an auto plant near Rockford, which will start building smaller Fiat models in 2012. That's giving a boost to construction jobs, though it isn't clear if the expanded plant will add permanent workers. And Kokomo, Ind., reported a 7.1 percent increase in jobs in January compared to a year earlier, one of the biggest gains in the country. It's also the site of a Chrysler plant that is expanding.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704139004576215510649366104.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Japanese officials on Tuesday cautioned currency markets that the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations could cooperate in further yen sales, aiming to prevent it from strengthening and so damaging the already-weakened economy.

Meanwhile the Bank of Japan reassured the banking system that ample money would be available as the country starts rebuilding from the devastating triple punch of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency. The BOJ flooded the banking system with a record amount of cash Tuesday to ensure financial institutions have the funds to meet a spike in demand.

The Bank of Japan's current-account balance—the funds that financial institutions in Japan keep at the central bank, to lend or for other needs—rose to a record ¥41.72 trillion ($515.37 billion) Tuesday as a result of its liquidity injections. The cash infusion calmed the domestic money market, helping bring the benchmark overnight call interest rate back down to within the Bank of Japan's target range near 0%.

The yen warning underlined the sense currency traders already had that if they push up the currency too sharply, Japanese authorities may try to knock it back down, possibly in concert with other G-7 countries. Friday the G-7 undertook its first joint currency-market intervention in a decade.

WHAT DO YOU BET THIS IS A WAY OF FINANCING THE EVACUATION OF THE OBSCENELY WEALTHY?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-22/boj-current-account-funds-to-reach-record-537-billion.html

Japan’s central bank pumped a record amount of funds into the financial system since March 11 to calm markets and soften the economic impact of the earthquake and tsunami.

Lenders’ deposits with the central bank will jump an estimated 146 percent to an all-time high of 43.6 trillion yen ($539 billion) today, from 17.7 trillion yen the day before the temblor struck, the Bank of Japan said in a release in Tokyo.

Policy makers have added emergency cash every business day as they battle Japan’s worst postwar disaster, backed by the Group of Seven nations’ coordinated intervention to weaken the yen. Liquidity exceeded the 36.4 trillion yen record set in March 2004, when the central bank was implementing so-called quantitative easing measures to counter deflation.

“The BOJ is firmly sticking to its promise of pumping a massive amount of cash into the banking system,” said Toshiaki Terada, a researcher at Totan Research Co., a money-market brokerage in Tokyo. “Even though Japan’s money market is already flooded with cash, there is still the risk that cash demand from lenders will suddenly surge.”


...“The central bank is trying to prevent any business failures that could be caused by a shortage of cash,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. He said cash hoarding by companies and individuals after the crisis could leave insufficient liquidity in the market, unless the BOJ pours in extra funds as it’s doing.

for me and the markets...no snow, ice or rain--yet.

:hi:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42151515

Buyers took a deep breath and dove headfirst into the market on Monday driving the S&P <.SPX 1296.37 -2.01 (-0.15%) > sharply higher and the Dow <.DJIA 12022.37 -14.16 (-0.12%) > above the psychologically important 12,000 level.

The bulls found traction early in the session, after a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said the nuclear crisis in Japan was "on the verge of stabilizing.” The commentary quelled investors’ worst nightmares for Japan.

(Good day.)
Sure could use some bread with this garlic paste.
(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)
= 9,605,322,229,226.30 + 4,619,540,191,693.03
UP 616,236,061.23 + UP 515,910,677.30

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 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,209.29 makes 1T$.
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 311,595,392 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 $45,651.71.
A family of three owes $136,955.13. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 5,001,527,056.40.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,334,351,370.93.
The average for the last 28 days would be 3,572,519,326.00.
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$/day.
There were 117 reports in 169 days of FY2011 averaging 5.67B$ per report, 3.92B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 674 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)
03/18/2011 14,224,862,420,919.33 BHO (UP 3,597,985,372,006.25 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 +0,663,239,390,027.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,432,440,102,722.33 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
02/28/2011 +054,201,582,504.95 ------------********** Mon
03/01/2011 -002,977,641,960.04 --
03/02/2011 +000,044,996,229.28 ------------*******
03/03/2011 +008,400,855,808.94 ------------*********
03/04/2011 +000,116,571,384.45 ------------********
03/07/2011 +000,111,602,744.60 ------------******** Mon
03/08/2011 +000,276,984,022.19 ------------********
03/09/2011 +000,555,472,651.94 ------------********
03/10/2011 -020,814,859,511.27 -
03/11/2011 +000,832,058,508.78 ------------********
03/14/2011 +000,380,093,829.66 ------------******** Mon
03/15/2011 +066,006,214,426.70 ------------**********
03/16/2011 +001,148,655,957.01 ------------*********
03/17/2011 -014,916,428,437.31 -
03/18/2011 +000,616,236,061.23 ------------********

93,982,394,221.11 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=4780594&mesg_id=4780932

(Good day.)
It's hospital time here with the German children.
(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)
= 9,605,221,355,491.66 + 4,622,971,770,647.06
DOWN 100,873,734.64 + UP 3,431,578,954.03

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 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,209.07 makes 1T$.
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 311,616,992 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 $45,659.23.
A family of three owes $136,977.7. (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 4,921,964,111.78.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,445,374,878.25.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,334,233,753.14.
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$/day.
There were 118 reports in 172 days of FY2011 averaging 5.65B$ per report, 3.88B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 671 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)
03/21/2011 14,228,193,126,138.72 BHO (UP 3,601,316,077,225.64 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 +0,666,570,095,247.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,414,523,748,634.62 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
03/01/2011 -002,977,641,960.04 --
03/02/2011 +000,044,996,229.28 ------------*******
03/03/2011 +008,400,855,808.94 ------------*********
03/04/2011 +000,116,571,384.45 ------------********
03/07/2011 +000,111,602,744.60 ------------******** Mon
03/08/2011 +000,276,984,022.19 ------------********
03/09/2011 +000,555,472,651.94 ------------********
03/10/2011 -020,814,859,511.27 -
03/11/2011 +000,832,058,508.78 ------------********
03/14/2011 +000,380,093,829.66 ------------******** Mon
03/15/2011 +066,006,214,426.70 ------------**********
03/16/2011 +001,148,655,957.01 ------------*********
03/17/2011 -014,916,428,437.31 -
03/18/2011 +000,616,236,061.23 ------------********
03/21/2011 -000,100,873,734.64 --- Mon

39,679,937,981.52 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=4782267&mesg_id=4782587

I would like to know....

whose team he is on

is he a ringer

when will he step up to the plate.

". . . . There's always next year. . .. "



TG, TT

hope thingy right? Only the cubbies can pull that off.

And I'm a Sox fan.

:evilgrin:



TG, TT

esp if we are to be on the same ticket.

:shrug::freak::shrug:

Or a Red Sox, Tigers, .....but especially Cubs.

Unfortunately, I think I know....

from: http://insidejapantours.com/japan-news/1801/millions-of-yen-missing-at-tsunami-hit-bank/

Millions of yen missing at tsunami-hit bank


An opportunistic thief appears to have got away with millions of yen after the March 11th tsunami broke open the safe at Shinkin Bank in Kesennuma.

The bank's security systems were crippled by the 9.0-mangitude earthquake and consequent tsunami, the Associated Press reports.

Police said that the power of the wave was so strong that it cracked the bank vault wide open, allowing someone to walk away with 40 million yen in cash.

_____________________________________

That's about $500,000 in real money.

Of course it was someone in the bank. Even a coke addled Shirlock Holmes would have guessed that. What a great crime though. Real balls.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=114x86609#86616



Tansy Gold, never quite sure of herself. . . . .

no sense in false modesty, that went out with the Puritan bed board (that board placed in the middle of the bed by an unmarried couple that was suppose to keep them honest and chasted until the knot could be tied).

Could have used a teensy bit more emphasis on lack of job formation (and how tax cuts never employed anyone, outside of the CPAs...)

u'd tossed in a sheen quote (Charlie that is)