STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, June 6, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday June 6, 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
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Handy Links - Government Issues:
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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 = 12

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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 fell below $100 a barrel Monday in Asia after new indications of slowing U.S. economic growth ahead of an OPEC meeting this week.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was down $1 to $99.22 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 18 cents to settle at $100.22 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude for July delivery was down 93 cents to $114.91 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Investors will be closely watching Wednesday's meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna. The 12-member cartel, which produces about 40 percent of global crude supplies, will be debating whether to boost production to help lower prices.

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

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/us-iea-idUSTRE7551AD20110606

(Reuters) - Vast unconventional gas resources across the globe will push world gas demand past coal between 2025 and 2030 and to come close to oil by 2035, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday.

"The IEA expects global gas demand to overtake coal before 2030, and come close to oil around 2035," the IEA's chief economist Fatih Birol said during the presentation of its new gas outlook in London on Monday.

The IEA said that it expects global gas demand to grow by an average of two percent a year, compared with a 1.2 percent growth in annual total energy demand.

Birol said that this increase will end the current gas glut by 2015, by when demand would begin to outstrip supply.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/oil-price-should-remain-under-80-petronas-ceo/articleshow/8747128.cms

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia . state energy firm Petronas said on Monday that the crude oil market's current fundamentals call for lower oil prices.

"Given the current state of market fundamentals and cost environment, I believe prices should remain within the range of $75 to $80 a barrel," Shamsul Azhar Abbas, the oil company's chief executive officer said at an industry gathering.

Meanwhile, Ahmed Ghalehbani, Iran's deputy petroleum minister said his country was "okay" with current oil output levels. Iran is the second-largest producer in the 12-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Ghalehbani said Iran's position at the upcoming OPEC meeting Wednesday will be to hold production quotas at current levels. "The current price is justified. But the price is not determined by OPEC, only production levels are," he told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of an oil and gas conference in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed after the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index dropped to its lowest level in more than two months.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS), the world’s biggest theme park operator, slipped 0.9 percent in German trading after a U.S. federal judge dismissed the company’s motion to stop Dish Network Corp. giving its TV subscribers free access to the studio’s movies. Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 0.1 percent in Germany before Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs unveils the company’s cloud computing service.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in June dropped 0.1 percent to 1,295 at 11:20 a.m. in London. The index on June 3 fell to its lowest level since March as the U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly climbed to 9.1 percent in May, its highest this year, and payrolls grew by less than economists had forecast. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 12,111 today.

“We need to be cautious interpreting weak data from a single month,” wrote Claus Paaske Larsen and Lars Mogeltoft, chief equity advisers at Nordea Private Banking in Copenhagen, in a note. “The weak job creation and business confidence may stem from the Japanese earthquake and tornadoes and flooding in the southern U.S.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/u-s-stock-index-futures-are-little-changed-walt-disney-slides-in-germany.html

While we ignore all the weak data from other months. As for massaged #'s...."we like them" :sarcasm:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/us-markets-stocks-idUSTRE75512M20110606

Reuters) - The S&P 500 slid further toward a technical danger zone near its April low on Monday after signs of a slowing economy pushed the index to five weeks of losses and investors saw more coming.

The broad-based index has fallen 4.5 percent since a recent high at the start of May and is trading at six-week lows after falling through key technical support levels. Investors are eyeing the index's low for April.

"The next two support levels, the important ones, are April 18 1,294.70, and then thereafter the March 16 1,249.05," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at John Thomas Financial in New York. "Whether the support levels hold or not, there is still no demand for stocks."

At times of uncertainty investors and traders often use widely followed levels as a "line in the sand" to manage risk. Analysts said breaching those levels could lead to more selling.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/u-s-stock-index-futures-are-little-changed-walt-disney-slides-in-germany.html

U.S. stocks retreated for a fourth straight day as banks led losses amid concern that economic growth is slowing and the Federal Reserve will increase capital requirements for the nation’s largest lenders.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), the largest U.S. home lender, slumped 2.6 percent after Rochdale Securities LLC’s Richard Bove cut his recommendation on the stock. Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 0.9 percent before Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs may announce a new way to access digital songs and information on smartphones and computers. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) added 1.7 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) reiterated its “buy” recommendation for the largest publicly traded copper producer.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent to 1,292.64 at 10:52 a.m. today. The benchmark gauge for American equities is trading at about 12.4 times its companies’ estimated operating earnings, the cheapest valuation since September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 38.98 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,112.28today.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/MF07Dj04.html

Friday's payroll data were dismal. The unemployment rate jumped back above 9% (to 9.1%), while the 54,000 gain in Non-farm Payrolls was the weakest increase since last September. Most alarming, the manufacturing sector lost 5,000 jobs during May. This was the first decrease since November 2010, providing added confirmation that the recovery is not on solid footing.

Between November 2007 and December 2009, manufacturing jobs dropped 2.3 million (1.15 million during the worst six month period). So far, the recovery has engendered a return of only 238,000. It is worth noting that the current 11.694 million employed in manufacturing compares to 17.637 million back in March of 1998. Not surprisingly, recent incredible fiscal and monetary stimulus has demonstrated minimal support for our


country's much needed industrial renaissance. Worse yet, the massive expansion of government debt is backed by little in the way of added wealth-producing capacity. This is a dangerous ("bubble") dynamic both from an economic and financial stability perspective.

Sentiment is shifting. Optimism in the sustainability of the recovery is dimming, as analysts come to better appreciate that key sectors remain unhealthy and immune to government stimulus. While the export sector remains robust, its relatively diminished stature limits the overall economic impact. During the past decade, much of our atrophied productive capacity was directed to supplying the housing and related consumption boom. It is now becoming clear that the (post-mortgage finance bubble and housing mania) recovery will be a protracted and arduous process. Boom-time malinvestment ensures that the value of too much of our productive capacity is impaired in the current economic landscape. Meanwhile, the state and local government sector faces heightened austerity headwinds.

yeah, right!

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/MF07Dj02.html

Countries everywhere are facing debt crises today, precipitated by the credit collapse of 2008. Public services are being slashed and public assets are being sold off, in a futile attempt to balance budgets that can't be balanced because the money supply itself has shrunk. Governments usually get the blame for excessive spending, but governments did not initiate the crisis. The collapse was in the banking system, and in the credit that it is responsible for creating and sustaining.

Contrary to popular belief, most of our money today is not created by governments. It is created by private banks as loans. The private system of money creation has grown so powerful over the centuries that it has come to dominate governments globally. The system, however, contains the seeds of its own destruction. The


source of its power is also a fatal design flaw.

The flaw is that banks advance "bank credit" that must be paid back with interest, continually requiring more money to be repaid than was created as loans; the only way to get additional money from the private banking system is to take out yet more loans, at interest. The system is, in effect, a pyramid scheme. When the banks run out of borrowers to support the pyramid, it must collapse; and we are nearing that point today.

There are more sustainable ways to run a banking and credit system, as will be shown.

and tightly regulate the banks that are too small to buy politicians.

:thumbsup:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY_STATE_LOCAL_CUTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-06-07-23-06

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a healthy recovery, states and localities produce jobs, expand social services and help fuel the nation's economic growth.

Then there's the 2011 recovery.

The U.S. economy is moving ahead, however fitfully. Yet state and local governments are still stuck in recession. Short of cash, they cut 30,000 jobs in May, the seventh straight month they've shed workers. Rather than add to U.S. economic growth, they're subtracting from it.

And ordinary Americans are feeling it - from reduced services to fewer teachers, police officers and firefighters.

Few see the pain subsiding soon. Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, expects state and local governments to slash 20,000 to 30,000 jobs a month through the middle of 2012.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/markets-forex-idUKLDE75517I20110606

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - The euro dipped versus the dollar on Monday as a German official cast doubt over fresh aid for Greece, but it stayed near a one-month high as focus switched to rate differentials ahead of this week's ECB policy decision.

The euro EUR= has risen almost 4 percent in the past three weeks against the dollar, hitting a one-month high of $1.4658 on EBS trading platform in Asian trade, as Greece has inched closer to securing fresh aid to stave off the threat of a default.

But the euro dropped to a session low just below $1.4600 after a spokesman for the German finance ministry said it was not certain there would be a second Greek bailout programme. It was last down 0.15 percent at $1.4612.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_DAIMLER_MERCEDES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-06-06-39-31

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Automaker Daimler AG says May was the best month ever for unit sales of its Mercedes-Benz brand.

The company said Monday it delivered 108,766 Mercedes vehicles during the month, helped by strong sales increases in emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.

That was 7.3 percent more than in May of last year.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/euro-trades-strongly-against-dollar/445304

TOKYO. The euro traded strongly against the dollar in Asian trade Monday after rising sharply amid growing relief over Europe's continued bailout for heavily indebted Greece, dealers said.

After rising to $1.4657 in early Tokyo trade, the euro stood at $1.4637 in the afternoon, almost unchanged from $1.4638 in New York late Friday. The European single currency rose to 117.58 yen from 117.40 yen.

The dollar firmed to 80.31 yen from 80.25 yen.

The euro was slightly off its peak in thin trading, as markets in New Zealand, South Korea, China and Taiwan were closed Monday for public holidays, dealers said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/european-stock-index-futures-retreat-on-concern-global-growth-is-weakening.html

European stocks retreated for a fourth day, the longest losing streak in almost three weeks, amid growing concern the economy is weakening. Asian shares declined while U.S. index futures were little changed.

Air France-KLM (AF) Group and Deutsche Lufthansa AG (LHA), Europe’s biggest airlines, fell more than 1 percent after a trade group cut the industry’s profit forecast. ASML Holding NV (ASML) led technology shares lower as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended reducing holdings in the industry. Unione di Banche Italiane ScpA (UBI) and Societe Generale SA slid more than 2 percent.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.3 percent to 272.88 at 10:13 a.m. in London, on course for the lowest close since March 22. The gauge has fallen for five consecutive weeks, the longest stretch of losses since July 2008, as U.S. manufacturing and jobs reports fueled concern the economic recovery may falter and as speculation grew that Greece will default on its debt.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-05/german-banks-top-french-with-23-billion-in-greek-debt-bis-says.html

German lenders were the biggest foreign owners of Greek government bonds with $22.7 billion in holdings last year, making them a likely negotiation partner in burden-sharing deals for the country, data from the Bank for International Settlements showed.

French banks, which led the group of Greek creditors with overall claims amounting to $56.7 billion, trailed their German peers on sovereign debt with $15 billion, according to the June report from the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS. The overall figure for French banks was inflated by $39.6 billion in lending to companies and households, mainly because of Credit Agricole SA (ACA)’s Greek unit, Emporiki Bank SA. (TEMP) German lenders have no major units in the country.

At the end of 2010, Greek government bonds held by banks in countries reporting to the BIS totaled $54.2 billion, of which 96 percent was owned by European lenders. Germany and France, which accounted for 69 percent, may be asked to weigh in when the European Union goes ahead with plans to win Greece creditors to roll over their debt in a “Vienna-style” program.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/06/imf-uk-economy-george-osborne

The International Monetary Fund has come out in support of George Osborne's austerity measures, saying the stability of the UK financial system is a "global public good" that requires close supervision. At the same time, John Lipsky, the acting managing director of the IMF, proposed "temporary tax cuts" aimed at low income households if weak economic growth and high unemployment persist.

In the IMF's latest report on the UK, Lipsky told the chancellor that the post-crisis repair of the British economy is underway. He noted that weak economic growth and the pick-up in inflation over the last few months had been "unexpected".

"This raises the question whether it is time to adjust macroeconomic policies. The answer is no as the deviations are largely temporary," said Lipsky. "The stability and efficiency of the UK financial system is a global public good due to potential spillovers and thus requires the highest quality of supervision and regulation."

He added that there are "significant" risks to inflation, growth and unemployment. "If they materialise, the policy response will depend on the nature of the shock."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/06/currencies-useconomy

The prospect of a fully exchangeable Chinese currency will move a step closer this month when Travelex offers business customers the opportunity to trade directly with authorised Chinese companies.

The move comes at a time when the dollar's long-standing role as a reserve currency is under threat. China's economy is powering ahead and overtook Japan as the world's second-largest economy last year, a title Japan had held for more than 40 years. It is only a matter of time before it will leapfrog the US and claim the number-one spot.

The international payments firm says the service will save time and money as demand for the yuan grows. David Sear, global managing director at Travelex Global Business Payments, believes this will happen within the next three years. He said: "The renminbi is going to be a currency people want to hold. The time is going to come when the dollar is not the world's reserve currency any more."

Some experts see the yuan becoming a reserve currency within five years. According to the People's Bank of China, cross-border trade settled in yuan under new scheme regulations is growing rapidly, reaching $78bn (£47bn) in 2010 and 2011 volumes had exceeded last year's total by April.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,766910,00.html

Rudolf Behr says that it's easy enough to prove the cleanliness of his vegetables. Just take a look at his staff: Every day, they take home some of his produce. "If there were anything to this, we'd be up to our ears in diarrhea here."

His workers from Poland and Romania are doing great, says Behr -- except for the fact that he has hardly any more work for them. For almost two weeks now, he hasn't been able to move any of his produce. At the distribution center, palettes of wilting, brown lettuce are stacked in the sun. Due to the E. coli crisis, the vegetable grower is now losing €250,000 ($365,000) -- each day.

Behr is standing in one of his fields near Seevetal, south of Hamburg. The farmer is accompanied by a camera crew. He pulls a leaf off a head of iceberg lettuce in the field and bites into it. "How is E. coli supposed to get in there?" he asks. The lettuce has never been treated with manure, he says. Even on his organic fields in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, he only spreads manure before planting, he adds. Under a film that absorbs UV light, he admits, this kind of bacteria could pose a certain danger. But Behr cultivates only open fields. "Under these conditions, the light of the sun would kill a pathogen within two hours."

Behr has a stack of paper in his car: Dozens of new laboratory samples have been taken of his produce in the search for the E. coli pathogens. They all came back negative. This evidence has no impact, though. The grower will lose 40 hectares (99 acres) of iceberg lettuce -- 2.4 million heads. Now, he is not even bothering to harvest many of his fields, so he can later plow under the wilted lettuce.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-06/prada-said-to-seek-as-much-as-2-6-billion-in-hong-kong-initial-offering.html

Prada SpA is seeking to raise as much as $2.6 billion in a Hong Kong initial public offering this month that would give the maker of Miu Miu handbags a higher valuation than most of its European rivals.

The Milan-based company set a price range of HK$36.50 ($4.69) to HK$48 a share, two people with knowledge of the matter said today, declining to be identified as the process is confidential. The IPO would raise $2 billion to $2.6 billion based on the range, the people said. Including an overallotment option, the offering would raise as much as $3 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Prada may command a higher price in Hong Kong than it would have at home because of Asian demand for luxury goods. China is forecast to be the world’s third-biggest market for luxury goods in five years, according to Bain & Co. The IPO values Prada at as much as 28 times 2011 profit as estimated by banks arranging the sale, one of the people said. Six comparable luxury-goods companies worldwide, including Burberry Group Plc (BRBY), trade at an average 21.1 times forecast full-year earnings, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)








sorry! -- you have to put up w/ the gucci/prada loving gay boy in me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110606/bs_nm/us_greece

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou started a campaign on Monday to secure a new international bailout by imposing years of austerity on a nation already seething over corruption and economic mismanagement.

Unease is growing within Papandreou's ranks about the consequences of waves of budget cuts demanded under successive deals with the European Union and IMF -- and this could turn into alarm after at least 80,000 Greeks crammed a central Athens square to vent their anger over the nation's dire state.

As the government struggles to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt, the Socialist cabinet began discussing the medium-term economic plan which will impose 6.4 billion euros of extra savings this year alone.

This is the first stage of a drive to turn the plan, agreed on Friday with the EU and IMF as the price of a new financial rescue, into law despite signs of dissent in the ruling party.

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE75506Z20110606

LONDON (Reuters) - Africa's economic growth is likely to slow to 3.7 percent in 2011 from 4.9 percent in 2010, disrupted by political unrest and regime changes in North Africa, the African Development Bank said on Monday.

"Serious headwinds weigh on the momentum for expansion in 2011, notably the political events in North Africa and the high fuel and food prices," the bank said on Monday in its annual economic outlook.

"The first quarter of 2011 has been among the most turbulent in Africa's history."

Egypt and Tunisia ousted their presidents this year, political protests took place in several other North African countries and western governments have become involved in a conflict in Libya.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110606/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks;_ylt=Ahte6RMfh7dzF3bFLVXd6tayBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJpOXU0dGI4BGFzc2V0A25tLzIwMTEwNjA2L3VzX21hcmtldHNfc3RvY2tzBGNwb3MDMQRwb3MDMgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNzcDUwMHNlZW50ZXM-

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The S&P 500 looked set to retest its April lows on Monday after signs the economy was slowing pushed the index to its fifth week of losses, with many investors expecting the downtrend to continue.

The broad-based index has fallen 4.5 percent since a recent high in May and is trading at around six-week lows after falling through technical support levels. Investors are eyeing the index's low for April.

"We are precariously close to testing the April low of 1,294.70, which if broken adds a danger factor of the market testing the March low of 1,249.05," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York.

A much weaker-than-expected jobs report on Friday was the latest disappointing economic news to hit sentiment.

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
Cool nights, hot days, and I'm a little off.
(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)
= 9,735,616,790,661.91 + 4,609,089,646,379.59
DOWN 912,177,803.85 + UP 962,648,531.00

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 $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,203.66 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.61, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,142,592 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 $45,955.62.
A family of three owes $137,866.86. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 1,045,946,997.78.
The average for the last 30 days would be 801,892,698.30.
The average for the last 31 days would be 776,025,191.90.
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$/day.
There were 167 reports in 245 days of FY2011 averaging 4.69B$ per report, 3.20B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 598 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.8 and 17.4T$.
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)
06/02/2011 14,344,706,437,041.50 BHO (UP 3,717,829,388,128.42 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 +0,783,083,406,149.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,166,634,462,223.17 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
05/12/2011 -015,508,101,950.43 -
05/13/2011 +000,162,115,757.85 ------------********
05/16/2011 +051,422,548,961.68 ------------********** Mon
05/17/2011 -009,024,423,933.79 --
05/18/2011 +009,842,715,417.27 ------------*********
05/19/2011 -002,359,793,261.41 --
05/20/2011 +001,132,579,417.77 ------------*********
05/23/2011 -001,060,800,214.98 -- Mon
05/24/2011 -004,058,498,841.79 --
05/25/2011 +010,640,781,539.65 ------------**********
05/26/2011 -005,228,052,393.61 --
05/27/2011 +000,285,108,497.37 ------------********
05/31/2011 +005,592,179,988.61 ------------********* Tue
06/01/2011 +013,072,944,722.02 ------------**********
06/02/2011 -000,912,177,803.85 ---

53,999,125,902.36 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=4871529&mesg_id=4872037

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
Wiener took me by surprise I guess. Have not been able to hear his exact words.
(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)
= 9,741,263,236,751.71 + 4,603,431,155,465.53
UP 5,646,446,089.80 + DOWN 5,658,490,914.06

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 $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,203.59 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.61, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,149,792 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 $45,954.52.
A family of three owes $137,863.57. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 560,954,405.20.
The average for the last 30 days would be 430,065,043.98.
The average for the last 31 days would be 416,191,978.05.
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$/day.
There were 168 reports in 246 days of FY2011 averaging 4.66B$ per report, 3.18B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 597 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.6 and 17.4T$.
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)
06/03/2011 14,344,694,392,217.24 BHO (UP 3,717,817,343,304.16 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 +0,783,071,361,325.50 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,161,874,174,324.42 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
05/13/2011 +000,162,115,757.85 ------------********
05/16/2011 +051,422,548,961.68 ------------********** Mon
05/17/2011 -009,024,423,933.79 --
05/18/2011 +009,842,715,417.27 ------------*********
05/19/2011 -002,359,793,261.41 --
05/20/2011 +001,132,579,417.77 ------------*********
05/23/2011 -001,060,800,214.98 -- Mon
05/24/2011 -004,058,498,841.79 --
05/25/2011 +010,640,781,539.65 ------------**********
05/26/2011 -005,228,052,393.61 --
05/27/2011 +000,285,108,497.37 ------------********
05/31/2011 +005,592,179,988.61 ------------********* Tue
06/01/2011 +013,072,944,722.02 ------------**********
06/02/2011 -000,912,177,803.85 ---
06/03/2011 +005,646,446,089.80 ------------*********

75,153,673,942.59 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=4874179&mesg_id=4874224

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110604n1.html

The slump following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis may be too short-lived to be called a recession, economists advising the government say.

"The plunge was rapid and steep, but the economy was fortunately able to bottom out very quickly," Yuji Shimanaka, chief economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., said in an interview. "What will follow now is a V-shaped recovery."

Shimanaka and Koichi Haji, part of a seven-member panel that advises the Cabinet Office on business cycles, say the contraction is likely to be shorter than the five-month minimum for an official recession.

The economy may be emerging from the worst of the disaster that devastated northeastern coastal regions, killed thousands and crippled Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant. Industrial output grew in April and faster than expected repairs to supply chains will aid a recovery, Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said this week.




:shrug:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinas-factories-face-big-labor-driven-changes-2011-06-05?link=MW_story_popular

BEIJING ( Caixin Online ) — As labor costs rise, China’s manufacturers are facing unprecedented challenges. Some are being forced to move to less-expensive regions in the nation’s interior, others are shifting production to Southeast Asia, and some are shutting down.

Manufacturers may have been especially spooked by a report released May 5 by the U.S.-based Boston Consulting Group, which predicted a narrowing wage gap between the United States and China over the next five years. The report said the change will increase the number of “Made in USA” products appearing on U.S. store shelves at the expense of “Made in China” products.

Some wonder whether China’s labor-related challenges may threaten the country’s status as the world’s factory. Increasing numbers of manufacturers may relocate plants from China to India, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia, countries that have been stepping up efforts to attract business and investment.

How much should China worry? Actually, the worrying is already over for some enterprises: They’ve closed shop.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-tons-of-old-coins-found-in-china-2011-06-05?Link=obinsite

NANJING, China, Jun 5, 2011 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A cache of about 200,000 ancient coins has been discovered in a well at a construction site in Suzhou in eastern China, archaeologists say.

The king's ransom of coins, weighing in at about 4 tons, are likely from the Northern Son Dynasty, which ran from A.D. 960 to A.D. 1126, the state news agency Xinhua reported Saturday.

The city's archaeological institute said archaeologists went to the site after construction workers came upon the coins Wednesday. Archaeologists' conjecture is the coins may have been hidden by an unidentified wealthy family during war in the relatively prosperous region.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/us-markets-japan-stocks-idUSTRE7550OW20110606

(Reuters) - The Nikkei average closed at an 11-week low on Monday as speculation that Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) could enter court-led restructuring pummelled its shares and fanned bearish sentiment that set in after soft U.S. data.

The Nikkei's break below key support highlighted the risk of further falls in the near term, with investors also fretting about slower global growth.

The Nikkei .N225 fell 1.2 percent to 9,380.35, breaking below its 9,400-10,000 range of the past two months, while the broader Topix .TOPX declined 1.1 percent to 807.99, its lowest finish since mid-March.

With the Nikkei's well-worn range broken it may now move into a new 600-point range with 9,400 as resistance, said Eiji Kinouchi, chief technical analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets.

6/2/11 You Better Man the Life Boats

Mike Maloney, renowned author of Rich Dad’s Advisors: Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver, riled up an audience of investors with his alarming speech at the Casey Research Spring Summit. “This is an emergency. There’s something going wrong here. And now they’re talking about will they continue quantitative easing? Will they end quantitative easing? If they end it, there’s a huge deflation. If they continue it, the dollar continues losing value and we go into a crisis of confidence, which I do believe any way this turns out the dollar is going to go into a crisis of confidence. There’s just no escaping that. You can’t do what they’ve done and not have it come back to haunt you someday.” Watch more of Maloney’s must-see musings in the video below.

video at this link, appx 3.5 minutes
http://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/you-better-man-life-boats

That will lead to a shitload of prams full of dying passangers stuck in the horse latitutudes.

You need to be on a set coarse, with a real destination in mind. CYA with the nessesities, and know how to refresh the inventory. Be prepared for interuptions from grid supplied services.

That's just Socialism...that's Crazy Talk!

You'll have us planning resource use: water, air, soil, energy....and recycling and cutting waste and packaging and "advertizing"...you'll have us canning the crap on TV and running educational programs and culture...You'll put professional sports out of business! Especially the stock car and Indy 500. That's unAmerican, right there!

You'll have us going back to reputable public education and manufacturing within the borders....emptying out the landfills to scrounge for resources....

I feel faint.

I just ordered a MicroSD chip for one of my devices. They're about the size of your thumbnail. And weigh about the same. CompUSA shipped the thing 8"x8"x8" box with some bubble wrap.

Some real wizards working there.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/five-down-weeks-stir-crash-whispers-2011-06-06?dist=beforebell

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Double dip? Five down weeks has Wall Street whispering about another Crash.

First, a (moderately cheerful) proprietary word. The average recommended stock market exposure among the timers tracked by the Hulbert Financial Digest, as represented by the Hulbert Stock Newsletter Sentiment Index , stood at 24.8% on Friday night. That contrasts with 46.0% last Tuesday, which Mark Hulbert worried, citing contrary opinion, said was “only moderately lower than the 67.2% that prevailed at the beginning of May.”

Mark concluded: “Perhaps the most bullish thing that could happen in coming sessions, according to contrarians, would be for the market to undergo further declines, and that those declines prove to be so discouraging that a majority of the currently bullish market timers decide to throw in the towel.” ( See June 1 column. )

Well, at least it looks like this process is underway.

http://www.allgov.com/Top_Stories/ViewNews/Is_the_Justice_System_Finally_Closing_in_on_Goldman_Sachs_over_Financial_Fraud_110606

Goldman Sachs reportedly has been subpoenaed by the Manhattan district attorney, who is investigating the investment bank’s role in the financial crisis.

Wall Street critics have accused Goldman of knowingly selling bundles of bad mortgages to its clients while at the same time betting against the mortgage market before the crisis unfolded in 2008.

In April, a bipartisan report from the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Investigations harshly criticized the work of Goldman Sachs, accusing the powerful firm of “engaging in massive conflicts of interest, contaminating the U.S. financial system with toxic mortgages and undermining public trust in U.S. markets in the months leading up to the financial crisis.” The report concluded that “The investment banks that engineered, sold, traded, and profited from mortgage related structured finance products were a major cause of the financial crisis.”

Several government agencies may be investigating Goldman, which is hoping to avoid indictment. In the world of high-powered investment, the mere act of indicting an institution like Goldman could destroy it. Both E. F. Hutton and Drexel Burnham Lambert collapsed after they were indicted in the 1980s, before the cases even went to trial.








or are they looking for a fall guy for PR purposes?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/06/airline-industry-profit-slump-oil

Airlines have slashed their global profit forecast in half after warning that high oil prices, the Japanese tsunami and the Arab spring will remove $4bn (£2.43bn) from the industry's bottom line this year.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways and Iberia parent International Airlines Group, warned that European carriers will bear the brunt of the impact from high fuel costs, with some operators going out of business.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said carriers will make a worldwide profit of $4bn this year, down from a previous estimate of $8.6bn. After recording a net profit of $18bn last year, the industry is slipping perilously close to its loss-making years of 2008 and 2009, with a profit margin of just 0.7% expected in 2011.

Asked if some carriers will go under, as happened to dozens of airlines in the wake of the 2008 oil spike when prices hit $147 a barrel, Walsh said: "I fully expect that to happen." Referring to the current price for Brent crude of $115 a barrel, he added: "I think the high oil price is something that poses a real challenge to the industry. There are lots of airlines that will struggle in a high oil price environment." Fuel will account for nearly a third of industry costs this year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/06/us-economy-decline-recovery-challenges

America clocked up a record last week. The latest drop in house prices meant that the cost of real estate has fallen by 33% since the peak – even bigger than the 31% slide seen when John Steinbeck was writing The Grapes of Wrath.

Unemployment has not returned to Great Depression levels but at 9.1% of the workforce it is still at levels that will have nerves jangling in the White House. The last president to be re-elected with unemployment above 7.2% was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The US is a country with serious problems. Getting on for one in six depend on government food stamps to ensure they have enough to eat. The budget, which was in surplus little more than a decade ago, now has a deficit of Greek-style proportions. There is policy paralysis in Washington.

The assumption is that the problems can be easily solved because the US is the biggest economy on the planet, the only country with global military reach, the lucky possessor of the world's reserve currency, and a nation with a proud record of re-inventing itself once in every generation or so.






and who should know better -- than a former empire?

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0606/1224298468841.html

US RETAIL giant Walmart has been given the go-ahead by South Africa’s competition tribunal to buy a controlling stake in local retailer Massmart, despite strenuous objections from unions, small businesses and government departments.

The tribunal’s decision to approve Walmart’s €1.7 billion bid for Massmart, which owns 288 stories in South Africa in addition to retail outlets in up to a dozen other African countries, gives the world’s largest retailer its first foothold on the continent.

“Walmart does not compete with Massmart in South Africa and its only presence in the country is a small procurement arm that sources local products for its stores globally. The merging parties contend that the merger will indeed be good for competition by bringing lower prices and additional choice to South African consumers,” the tribunal said.

The deal sees Walmart take a 51 per cent stake in Massmart’s stable of discount stores at 148 rand (€15.08) per share. Massmart’s branch network sells a wide range of household items.

http://www.offthechartsblog.org/evidence-overwhelmingly-against-another-tax-amnesty-for-overseas-corporate-profits/

Today’s Washington Post story on the doings of the Washington “influence industry” (as the headline puts it) spotlights the massive lobbying campaign underway to convince Congress to grant large multinational corporations a temporary tax holiday for overseas profits they bring back to this country. This sets up a classic Washington battle of influence versus evidence. Here’s some evidence (more here):

* A similar tax holiday enacted in 2004 proved to be a complete policy failure. Its backers claimed that firms would use the repatriated earnings to invest in U.S. jobs and economic growth. Instead, they mostly used the money for purposes that the tax-holiday legislation had sought to prohibit, such as repurchasing their own stock and paying bigger dividends to their shareholders. Moreover, many firms actually laid off large numbers of U.S. workers even as they reaped multi-billion-dollar benefits from the tax holiday and passed them on to shareholders. To cite just two examples, Pfizer — which repatriated around $37 billion in foreign profits, the most of any firm — eliminated around 10,000 American jobs in 2005, while Merck repatriated $15.9 billion and announced layoffs of 7,000 workers in 2005. (These layoffs cannot be attributed to general economic weakness: they came at a time when the U.S. economy was growing significantly and adding jobs.)
* Repeating the tax holiday would increase incentives to shift income overseas. Many companies responded to the 2004 holiday by shifting even more profits overseas. If Congress enacts a second tax holiday, rational corporate executives will conclude that more tax holidays are likely in the future. That will make them even more inclined to invest abroad and less likely to invest in the United States. That’s why Congress, in enacting the 2004 tax holiday, explicitly warned that it should be a one-time-only event. It’s hard to see how the 14 million Americans who are out of work would benefit from having their government provide another enticement for companies to invest overseas.
* There’s no free lunch — corporate tax amnesty would add to deficits. One lobbyist in the Post story advances the line that the holiday would “cost taxpayers next to nothing.” In reality, the Joint Tax Committee estimated in 2009 that a similar proposal would cost $29 billion over ten years (see chart) — an expensive lunch even by Washington standards.

Lawmakers should keep all of this evidence in mind as they prepare for the lobbying barrage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01kristof.html?ref=opinion

Here’s a fact about China that you may not know: people in Shanghai today have a longer life expectancy than Americans...A child in Shanghai is expected to live 82 years. In the United States, the figure is not quite 79 years. (For all of China, including rural areas, life expectancy is lower, 73 years — but rising steadily.)...For those who remember Shanghai a quarter-century ago as a dilapidated city where farmers would collect night soil from families without sanitation, it’s extraordinary that among permanent residents of Shanghai, infant mortality is 2.9 deaths per 1,000 births. That is well below the rate of 5.3 in New York City. (Include migrant laborers living in Shanghai, perhaps a fairer comparison, and the rate climbs to a bit higher than in New York.) That Shanghai child enjoys a world-class education in a public school — the best school system of any in a recent 65-nation survey, although it’s also true that Chinese schools have their own problems such as widespread cheating and stifling of creativity.

Since 1990, the country has reduced infant mortality rates by 54 percent, according to Unicef statistics. On a Chinese scale, that represents more than 360,000 children’s lives saved each year... Other countries, from Egypt to North Korea (TO, DARE I SAY IT, THE USA--DEMETER), oppress and impoverish their people. But the Chinese Communist Party in the reform era has been oppressive politically — even worse lately, with the harshest clampdown in two decades — while hugely enriching its people...President Hu Jintao and other top Communist Party officials are autocrats, yes, but unusually competent autocrats. Polls show Chinese citizens pretty happy with their lot by international standards, although there’s some doubt about how meaningful these polls are. My hunch is that if the Communist Party did hold free elections, it would win by a landslide — especially in rural areas.


The United States tends to perceive China through a Manichaean lens — either the economic juggernaut overcoming poverty and investing brilliantly in alternative energy, or the Darth Vader that tortures dissidents. In fact, both are equally real. Likewise, China abuses trade pacts, but it has also been appreciating its currency (mostly through inflation) much more than Americans give it credit for.

6/6/11 Greek Household Bank Deposits Drop By $3.5 Billion In April

While Greece may or may not receive Bailout #2 "any minute now", Greek depositors refuse to wait for the resolution. In April, bank deposits declined for the 4th consecutive month according to the central bank, a 1.2% decline M/M. From Reuters: "Bank of Greece data showed deposits fell to 196.8 billion euros ($288.2 billion) from 199.2 billion in March. A shrinking deposit base has added to the strains of Greek banks, which have become reliant on ECB funding for their liquidity needs as access to wholesale funding remains mostly shut on sovereign debt concerns.

Deposits have shrunk by about 13 billion euros since the beginning of the year. In 2010, they contracted by 29.1 billion euros or 12.2 percent." In addition to the Reuters breakdown, a look at the source data indicates that overall deposits held by "Domestic Residents" dropped by €5.4 billion: the culprit was the Central Government which withdrew €3.1 billion in April, bringing the total from €14.3 billion to €11.3 billion. As usual, the best real-time proxy, if not completely accurate, to gauge the flow of capital in/out of Greek banks is to keep an eye out on the EURCHF. Today, it is a little higher. Over the past year, it is, well, not...


http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greek-household-bank-deposits-drop-35-billion-april-central-government-withdraws-another-43-

http://www.firstpost.com/world/did-china-nuke-the-dollar-21028.html

Last week, an over-the-top sensational report with an arresting headline set off incessant chatter on the Internet. The report, headlined ‘China Has Divested 97 Percent of Its Holdings in U.S. Treasury Bills’, seemed to confirm long-held fears that China would “dump” the US dollar, with catastrophic consequences for the world’s leading reserve currency.

Citing the latest US Treasury report, the report, on CNSNews.com, claimed that China had sold off an astonishing 97% of short-term US government securities – from $210 billion in May 2009 to just over $5.6 billion in March 2011.

To some, that seemed to be validation of the fear that China, among the world’s top buyers of US sovereign debt, had “dropped the nuclear bomb” on the US dollar.

The notion that China is the US’ “banker” — because it buys so much of US sovereign debt — and can therefore do incalculable harm to the US dollar and the economy is widely held. A WikiLeaks cable from March 2009 reveals that no less than Hillary Clinton, in a conversation with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, wondered aloud about the difficulty of dealing “toughly with your banker”.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/fiis-in-india-20720.html

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) now own Indian equities to the tune of $101 billion, the highest in history, according to data made available by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

As of 31 May 2011, FII ownership of Indian equities accounted for 16.9% of the BSE 500 market capitalisation. This is substantially higher than their $77 billion holdings a year ago, which accounted for 13.5% of the market cap. In other words, FIIs invested aggressively in India over the past year, at a time when Indian markets were considered one of the most expensive in terms of its price-earnings multiple.

Yet, over the past year, the BSE 500 index gained only 4.8% ; and the value of the Indian rupee has not changed significantly over this period.

So, where did all the money from the FII moneybags go?

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/indian-asian-refiners-plan-to-expand-as-fuel-demand-grows_555055.html

Refineries from Malaysia, China to India are investing billions of dollars in a fresh wave of capacity expansion to feed rising regional demand, while counterparts in the US and Europe restructure or shut plants as fuel sales slow.

Fast-growing Asian economies are driving global fuel demand growth, taking an increasing share of the oil market from developed economies.

Bharat Petroleum Corp plans to invest USD 4 billion to add 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) of refining capacity at its Kochi and Bina plants over the next three to four years, the company's chief executive said ahead of the first day of an industry event in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia's state-run Petronas said last month it planned to build a USD 20 billion integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex that will raise the country's total refining capacity by half to 935,300 barrels per day (bpd).

gotta eat too ya' know.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/silver-rises-to-rs-55100-on-global-cues-gold-gains-rs-30/articleshow/8746926.cms

NEW DELHI: Both the precious metals, silver and gold, rose today on stockists buying for the ongoing marriage season amid a firming global trend. While silver rose by Rs 650 to Rs 55,100 per kg, gold gained Rs 30 to Rs 22,810 per 10 grams.

Silver coins followed suit and jumped by Rs 2,000 to Rs 61,000 for buying and Rs 62,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Trading sentiments turned better as gold advanced by 0.4 per cent to USD 1,548.13 an ounce overseas after the US economic data signalled that the recovery might be faltering, which boosted the appeal of precious metals as a safe haven. Silver also gained 1.2 per cent to USD 36.68 an ounce.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-up-44-pts-on-rally-in-IT-healthcare-stocks/articleshow/8747463.cms

MUMBAI: The BSE index Sensex on Monday inched 44 points up to 18,420.11 as easing crude prices reduced concerns over inflation and investors bought IT and healthcare blue chips available at existing lower levels.

The Sensex, which had lost 232 points in the previous two trading sessions, gained 43.63 points after moving in a range of 18,258.42 and 18,458.63 during intra-day trading.

Broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose by 15.30 points to 5,532.05. It had touched the day's low of 5,479.85.

Brokers said buying activity picked up in the second half of the trading as stocks dipped to attractive low levels amid reports that a fall in crude prices would lower the risk of a higher inflation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/World-Bank-approves-one-billion-to-clean-Ganga/articleshow/8679259.cms

WASHINGTON: The World Bank has approved a $1 billion credit and loan for cleaning the river Ganga that accounts for one-fourth of India's water resources.

A significant part of the Bank's support will go towards financing demonstrative investments for reducing pollution in a sustainable manner, in four key sectors: wastewater collection and treatment, industrial pollution control, solid waste management, and riverfront management, a statement said.

The World Bank's National Ganga River Basin Project will help build the capacity of the NGRBA's new operational institutions to manage the Ganga clean-up and conservation programme.

Talk about a party!

all of you know way more then I do...so I come here to learn and be informed.

I look forward to the 'regulars' posting their views.

That said...Where the heck is Tansy?

Haven't seen her for quite a while...hope all is OK.

Any info would be appreciated. No info would be understood.

Keep up the good work all, IMHO the only realistic info on the economy is right here.

but -- we do all miss her.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-travel-briefcase-20110606,0,7606820.story

With summer nearly here, you might expect to see a jump in leisure travel — a chance for families to take vacations while the children are out of school.

But with the economy showing signs of rebounding and companies loosening the purse strings on travel budgets, a new survey suggests that business travel will surge during the summer while leisure travel will remain about the same as a year earlier.

So the lines at airports may be crowded this summer not with families packing sunscreen and snorkels but with business travelers wearing suits and lugging briefcases.

The number of business travelers who have committed to rent rooms this summer is about 8% higher than last summer, according to new data collected by Travelclick, a New York company that provides e-commerce products and services to the hotel industry. But the same report indicates leisure travel will remain about the same as last summer.

in a slow down -- wouldn't you rely more on the internet?

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/markets-global-idUKN0626063220110606

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Major stock markets slipped
for a fourth day early Monday on concerns about slowing global
economic global growth, while the euro slipped after a German
official suggested a second Greek bailout was not yet certain.

Crude oil prices fell ahead of an OPEC meeting later this
week, weighed by growing signs that high prices are destroying
energy demand in the west.

Friday's weak U.S. labor and manufacturing data pushed the
benchmark S&P500 stock index to it's fifth weak of losses, but
the index is still up nearly 3.0 percent for the year.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was off 7.68
points, or 0.06 percent, to 12,143.58 early Monday. The
Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 1.88 points, or 0.14
percent, to 1,298.28 and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC
gained 1.71 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,734.49.

http://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFLDE7551FF20110606

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - An imminent fresh bailout for Greece failed to rouse emerging markets on Monday, but Israel's shekel shot to its highest against the dollar in almost three years on expectations of a further interest rate hike.

The cost of insuring Peruvian debt against default spiked as the country's left-wing presidential candidate claimed victory, while the Turkish central bank's forecast of easing inflation this month weighed on the lira and nudged bonds and stocks up.

Concern over the health of the global economy has been rekindled in recent days after a slew of less than stellar data including poorer-than-forecast U.S. jobs growth and Chinese manufacturing.

I won't be around for a few days. Headed up to SC for a couple of days, and likely no computer access, so I'm not even taking my laptop.

Probably be back for the week-end, unless I re-start the Civil War.

I don't know why I have a "home", to tell the truth.

If you reignite the Civil War, maybe we can finally finish it.:hide: