STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, June 16, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, June 16, 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 = 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

Jun 16 08:30 Initial Claims 06/11 425K 421K 427K
Jun 16 08:30 Continuing Claims 06/04 3700K 3690K 3676K
Jun 16 08:30 Housing Starts May 540K 540K 523K
Jun 16 08:30 Building Permits May 560K 548K 551K
Jun 16 08:30 Current Account Balance Q1 -$130.0B -$130.0B -$113.3B
Jun 16 10:00 Philadelphia Fed Jun 5.0 7.0 3.9

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/06/13-17/#ixzz1PR5Vq8Br

6/16/11
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's business activity index for June came in weaker than the forecast at -7.7, pointing to contraction in the manufacturing sector.

The report reinforced the gloomy view of the economy portrayed by the Empire State manufacturing index for the neighboring state of New York, released on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/16/markets-bonds-idUSN1636090020110616


edit to add...
6/16/11
The Philadelphia Fed's manufacturing index fell from +3.9 in May to -7.7 in June, which is the worst level in 31 months.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a reading of +5.5. The survey's indicators for activity and new orders turned negative this month, while indicators for shipments and employment fell but remained slightly positive, the Philly Fed said. The figures come after a negative reading on Wednesday from a similar New York-area gauge.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/june-philly-fed-index-drops-into-negative-level-2011-06-16?link=MW_latest_news

:eyes:


6/16/11 Data offers hope for pick up in recovery

The number of Americans signing up for jobless benefits fell last week, while housing starts and building permits rose in May, offering some hope the economy could be starting to pull out of its soft patch.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance slipped 16,000 to 414,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday, suggesting the jobs market was regaining some momentum after stumbling badly in May.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed groundbreaking for homes rose 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 560,000 units, retracing almost half of April's steep decline. New building permits unexpectedly rebounded 8.7 percent to the highest level since December.

The reports offered at least a hint the economic slowdown that started as the year began could be easing. U.S. financial markets, however, were little moved by the data, which was eclipsed by concerns Greece could default on its debt.

"The broader theme we have to look at is that the pace of job destruction is slowing but the pace of job creation is also a bit tepid," said Ian Pollick an economic strategist at TD Securities in Toronto. A report earlier this month showed U.S. employers added a scant 54,000 workers to their payrolls in May, with the jobless rate rising to 9.1 percent.

more...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Data-points-to-some-rb-3169151641.html



Apparently, they didn't base the 'recovery' on the lower Philadelphia and New York Empire Manufacturing numbers.

SIGNAPORE – Oil prices rose to above $95 a barrel Thursday in Asia, reversing slightly after big losses sparked by Europe's deepening debt crisis and a stronger U.S. dollar.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was up 59 cents to $95.40 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $4.56 to settle at $94.81 on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude for August delivery was up 87 cents to $113.88 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Violent protests in Greece on Wednesday over proposed austerity measures spooked traders and helped strengthen the dollar against the euro, making dollar-based commodities such as oil more expensive for investors with other currencies.

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

Speculators will say anything at anytime then deny it 5 seconds later and the entire world markets are traded by these type of specs.

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, indicating benchmark gauges will remain near three- month lows, as investors awaited reports on employment and housing to help gauge the strength of the economy.

Terex Corp. (TEX) climbed 1.3 percent in German trading after agreeing to buy Demag Cranes AG. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) may be active after winning U.S. approval for a new drug that has been delayed for more than year.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September slipped 0.1 percent to 1,258.2 at 10:30 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 11,804.

U.S. stocks dropped yesterday as European officials failed to agree on a rescue plan for Greece and reports showed manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly shrank while confidence among homebuilders slumped. The S&P 500 is on course for a seventh straight week of losses, the longest losing streak in a decade, as jobs and manufacturing data spurred concern that the U.S. economic recovery is faltering.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/u-s-stock-futures-are-little-changed-s-p-may-stay-near-three-month-low.html

How is freedom?

It's a habit.

I don't know what initial claims are going to look like today, but I do know that there will be a huge rise in the numbers over the next couple of weeks. The end of the school year means vacation for me (actually, I'll be teaching summer school), but for hundreds of thousands of teachers across the country the end of the school year means the end of their jobs and their paychecks. In addition, thousands of graduating college students, teaching degrees in hand, will find that there are no jobs - anywhere.

It's hard not to think that we are finally in the end game.

In my neck of the woods, there's a lot of talk about letting a lot of teachers/TA's go. When that happens, expect all the analysts to be "surprised" at the "unexpected" news.

:(

Some have called this exercise 'kickin the can' I recently heard it described as 'rolling the turd'....The game will end, and likely end badly. It's the 'when' that remains in question.

I recall back in the old days, before the 'Information Age' (so-called) going through an almanac. It was mid-80's trickle-on era. Two numbers jumped out. One was the increase in GDP. The other the increase in US debt. Those numbers were basically identical.

You don't need an elevator to the brightest candle in the shed to figure out what's been happening.
YMMV

indignantly ... in the heart of the old town of Girona. (Nice peacefully-arousing music, guitar too).



More here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4885791

Will young people of America also assemble, discuss, and arise?

the wheels of natural Justice grind slowly, but they grind very fine...

is complaining that she keeps hearing about special ed teacher shortages, but that no one in the country seems to be hiring.

It is the end game for states and the more people the Republicans throw out of work, the less revenue there will be to hire essential people like teachers, police and firefighters.

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. It seems people are going to have to get desperate before they realize they bought a bunch of hooey for a lot of years and change their minds enough to throw the Republicans out of office forever.

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
Richter's for dessert.
(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)
= 9,747,653,568,358.75 + 4,596,936,907,833.59
DOWN 2,477,556,635.49 + UP 2,441,800,698.87

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 $3,202.85 makes 1T$.
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 312,221,792 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 $45,943.59.
A family of three owes $137,830.77. (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 1,724,061,644.87.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,206,843,151.41.
The average for the last 31 days would be 1,167,912,727.17.
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$/day.
There were 174 reports in 256 days of FY2011 averaging 4.50B$ per report, 3.06B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 587 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.0 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)
06/13/2011 14,344,590,476,192.34 BHO (UP 3,717,713,427,279.26 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 +0,782,967,445,300.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,116,340,302,870.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*********
06/06/2011 -002,705,846,785.55 -- Mon
06/07/2011 -004,526,140,661.35 --
06/08/2011 +009,230,133,015.51 ------------*********
06/09/2011 +006,779,036,856.95 ------------*********
06/10/2011 +000,090,705,816.97 ------------*******
06/13/2011 -002,477,556,635.49 -- Mon

30,368,263,190.26 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=4883822&mesg_id=4883845

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
After a long day.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,741,977,263,044.44 + 4,602,601,293,687.51
DOWN 5,676,305,314.31 + UP 5,664,385,853.92

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 $3,202.78 makes 1T$.
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 312,228,992 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 $45,942.49.
A family of three owes $137,827.48. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 1,645,153,412.81.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,206,445,836.06.
The average for the last 32 days would be 1,131,042,971.31.
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$/day.
There were 175 reports in 257 days of FY2011 averaging 4.47B$ per report, 3.05B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 586 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.0 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)
06/14/2011 14,344,578,556,731.95 BHO (UP 3,717,701,507,818.87 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 +0,782,955,525,840.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,111,979,637,866.43 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*********
06/06/2011 -002,705,846,785.55 -- Mon
06/07/2011 -004,526,140,661.35 --
06/08/2011 +009,230,133,015.51 ------------*********
06/09/2011 +006,779,036,856.95 ------------*********
06/10/2011 +000,090,705,816.97 ------------*******
06/13/2011 -002,477,556,635.49 -- Mon
06/14/2011 -005,676,305,314.31 --

25,752,758,090.93 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=4886400&mesg_id=4886421

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
Late, late, late.
(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)
= 9,747,701,949,829.86 + 4,596,864,686,996.40
UP 5,724,686,785.42 + DOWN 5,736,606,691.11

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 $3,202.70 makes 1T$.
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 312,236,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,941.4.
A family of three owes $137,824.19. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 1,644,611,598.91.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,206,048,505.87.
The average for the last 33 days would be 1,096,407,732.61.
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$/day.
There were 175 reports in 258 days of FY2011 averaging 4.47B$ per report, 3.03B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 585 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.0 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)
06/15/2011 14,344,566,636,826.26 BHO (UP 3,717,689,587,913.18 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 +0,782,943,605,934.50 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,107,652,775,837.57 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*********
06/06/2011 -002,705,846,785.55 -- Mon
06/07/2011 -004,526,140,661.35 --
06/08/2011 +009,230,133,015.51 ------------*********
06/09/2011 +006,779,036,856.95 ------------*********
06/10/2011 +000,090,705,816.97 ------------*******
06/13/2011 -002,477,556,635.49 -- Mon
06/15/2011 +005,724,686,785.42 ------------*********

37,153,750,190.66 Total of 15 above reports.

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

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

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4886400&mesg_id=4886422

When the news dries up like that, there are two possible reasons:

1) a massive conspiracy/secret/catastrophe is about to break open
2) everyone went on summer vacation.

6/15/11 Hacker Group Goes After CIA Site
A hacker group claimed Wednesday to have successfully knocked the Central Intelligence Agency's website offline, the latest in a string of attacks on U.S. government websites.
"Tango down - cia.gov - for the lulz," the group, known as Lulz Security, said on its Twitter account. Lulz is Internet slang for laughs.
CIA spokesman Preston Golson said the agency was aware its website was malfunctioning, but couldn't provide additional details. "We're looking into the matter," he said.
The purported attack on the CIA's public information website is the latest in a spree of high-profile attacks by the hacker group, which also calls itself LulzSec. The group has also attacked Japanese technology giant Sony Corp., as well as a few videogame companies.
Earlier this week, the group posted information stolen from the U.S. Senate's public website, along with a taunting comment, "Is this an act of war, gentlemen?"
LulzSec also attacked a Federal Bureau of Investigation affiliate, Infragard. It used information stolen from Infragard to break into a small research company, Unveillance.
The group also claimed to defile the website of broadcaster PBS.
LulzSec isn't alone in hacking into companies and government organizations, but it has attracted online attention because it publishes much of the pilfered information on its website.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304319804576388390219750376.html

As opposed to being “uber hackers working for a foreign agency,” LulzSec basically publishes its findings for entertainment, he said. One sign it might be working, he said, is that the group has more than 158,000 followers on Twitter.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/cia-web-site-hacked/2011/06/15/AGGNphWH_story.html

Updated 4:07 p.m.: About an hour after LulzSec sent its tweet claiming to have suspended the CIA's website, the agency's site seems to be back up and running -- mostly. Cia.gov was slow to load and some images failed to load at all on the site -- as seen in the screenshot below.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/06/lulzsec-claims-hack-on-cias-website-sets-up-hack-request-line.html

and, with everybody off to the Hamptons for the month, it should wreak a lot of havoc on the people who deserve it most.

And of course, the election cycle is really engaged already. That tends to distract the single-minded crooks.

The Libyan affair is not going as planned, and the public is really pissed off. There's real public resistance to a third endless war.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article28333.htm

The House of Representatives is upping the ante with regard to President Barack Obama’s ongoing, illegal war in Libya. On Monday that body passed an amendment that prohibits the use of certain funds for the Libyan excursion. The amendment, introduced by California Democrat Brad Sherman, states simply: “None of the funds made available by this act may be used in contravention of the War Powers Act.” It was added to a bill appropriating money for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Two hundred forty-eight Representatives voted in favor of the amendment, while 163 voted against it. On both sides of the issue the vote was fairly evenly split between the parties: Of those in favor, 138 were Republicans and 110 were Democrats; of those opposed, 93 were Republicans and 70 were Democrats.

The Sherman amendment was narrowly defeated on a previous vote, when Sherman attempted to attach it to the Homeland Security appropriations bill. This time it wasn’t even close. What explains this sea change in Congressmen’s opinions with regard to the war?

For one thing, the Obama administration has been obstinate from the start, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telling Sherman shortly after the war commenced that the administration would simply ignore any congressional attempts to rein in the President’s military adventures. Even now Obama still maintains that his war is perfectly legal, consistent with both the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution.

We also are flying drones in Pakistan, Yemen, Syria(?) and killing many more innocents.

having stolen both of my New Guinea impatiens hanging baskets last night. Thieving posies! I hope the baskets beautify their miserable lives.

Festes to Marshall Dillon: Mighty quiet round here marshall.

Marshall nods: Yep, mighty quiet.

The bank blows up. There's a riot at Miss kitty's. The livery barn catches fire and Doc gets shot.

Conspiracy? I don't think so.

Then again..

WASHINGTON—U.S. regulators, behind schedule in finalizing key rules mandated by last year's financial-regulatory overhaul, agreed to delay a host of new requirements scheduled to hit the $600 trillion derivatives market next month.

The move offers temporary relief to banks, companies and investors who have worried their use of derivatives—sometimes-complex financial products used to hedge risk or speculate for profit—could run afoul of regulation. Certain parts of the Dodd-Frank financial law automatically take effect July 16, though regulators have yet to issue final rules in affected areas.

/... http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303848104576385372663523158.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs

... Meanwhile ...

UK gets ball rolling on new financial regulation laws

(Reuters) - Britain's overhaul of financial regulation began to work its way into law on Thursday, with ministers keen to put in place a framework robust enough to avoid a repeat of the credit crisis.

At the top of the agenda is the abolition of the city watchdog Financial Services Authority and the establishment of a Bank of England Financial Policy Committee, which meets for the first time on Thursday.

The BoE will still be in charge of monetary policy, but also take over regulation of banks in the biggest shake-up of Britain's financial services framework since the previous Labour government came to power in 1997.

The draft financial regulation bill, published on Thursday, will be open to pre-legislative scrutiny with a cross-party committee from both houses of parliament combing through the details. The changes should be written into law in 2012.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/16/britain-regulation-idUSLDE75F17V20110616?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews&rpc=401

http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/death-debt/58941?utm_source=newsletter_2011-06-11&utm_medium=email_newsletter&utm_content=node_teaser_58941&utm_campaign=weekly_newsletter_22

One of the conclusions that I try to coax, lead, and/or nudge people towards is acceptance of the fact that the economy can't be fixed. By this I mean that the old regime of general economic stability and rising standards of living fueled by excessive credit are a thing of the past. At least they are for the debt-encrusted developed nations over the short haul -- and, over the long haul, across the entire soon-to-be energy-starved globe.

The sooner we can accept that idea and make other plans the better. To paraphrase a famous saying, Anything that can't be fixed, won't.

The basis for this view stems from understanding that debt-based money systems operate best when they can grow exponentially forever. Of course, nothing can, which means that even without natural limits, such systems are prone to increasingly chaotic behavior, until the money that undergirds them collapses into utter worthlessness, allowing the cycle to begin anew.

All economic depressions share the same root cause. Too much credit that does not lead to enhanced future cash flows is extended. In other words, this means lending without regard for the ability of the loan to repay both the principal and interest from enhanced production; money is loaned for consumption, and poor investment decisions are made. Eventually gravity takes over, debts are defaulted upon, no more borrowers can be found, and the system is rather painfully scrubbed clean. It's a very normal and usual process. When we bring in natural limits, however, (such as is the case for petroleum right now), what emerges is a forcing function that pushes a debt-based, exponential money system over the brink all that much faster and harder...

Have I heard it somewhere before?

"When you're up to your A*&S in alligators, it's difficult to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp."

http://www.redstate.com/barrypopik/2010/07/29/origin-and-history-of-drain-the-swamp-mother-jones-reagan-rumsfeld-pelosi/

(Sorry)

1/2 is ruled by a failed belief in militaristic capitalism that doesn't seem so bad to them if it's wrapped in political rhetoric. In fact, the "economy" already collapsed in 2008 and is only propped up now in the belief that there is no alternative to criminal banks. The American economy is now a criminal organization, it's already collapsed.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is out of ammunition. The embattled leader has been gradually losing control of his socialist party for some time, but the trend has sharply accelerated this week, as larger and angrier crowds take to the streets.

He now plans to form a new government, but hopes that he can win passage in coming weeks for a new fiscal plan — needed to ensure the next European Union / International Monetary Fund loan tranche, and any future bailout package — are all but dashed. European leaders need to think about what to do next, and quickly.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/L9EOE0/MJTKN/HD5JQG/JIKM3Z/E4/t?a1=2011&a2=6&a3=16

6/16/11 Europe Faces ‘Lehman Moment’ as Greece Unravels

The European Union’s failure to contain the Greek debt crisis is sending fresh shockwaves through currencies, money markets, equities and derivatives.

The euro lost more than 2 percent against the dollar in the past two days and the cost of protecting corporate bonds soared to the highest level since January, with credit-default swaps anticipating about a 78 percent chance that Greece won’t pay its debts. Equities declined around the world, while a measure of fear in fixed-income markets jumped the most since November.

Market moves suggest heightened concern that authorities won’t be able to keep Greece’s debt troubles from spreading after Moody’s Investors Service said it may downgrade BNP Paribas SA and two other big French banks because of their investments in the southern European nation. The collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008 caused credit markets worldwide to freeze as investors fled all but the safest government debt.

“The probability of a eurozone Lehman moment is increasing,” said Neil Mackinnon, an economist at VTB Capital in London and a former U.K. Treasury official. “The markets have moved from simply pricing in a high probability of a Greek debt default to looking at a scenario of it becoming disorderly and of contagion spreading to other economies like Portugal, like Ireland, and maybe Spain, Italy and Belgium.”

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/europe-s-lehman-moment-looms-as-greek-debt-unravels-markets-euro-credit.html

Victims of the alleged $7bn Stanford Ponzi scheme should receive compensation from a federal fund, the Securities and Exchange Commission has recommended

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/R5WAEE/KQIGOF/JQU4J/FX7QC9/V13ECU/RF/t?a1=2011&a2=6&a3=16

NO, I DON'T THINK SO...

WASHINGTON—Sen. David Vitter (R., La.) will block two nominees to the Securities and Exchange Commission until the agency announces whether victims of R. Allen Stanford's alleged Ponzi scheme are owed compensation from the Securities Investor Protection Corp.

The Senate Banking Panel heard testimony Tuesday from Daniel Gallagher Jr., a partner at the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP who was nominated to join the SEC, and agency commissioner Luis Aguilar, who was nominated for a second term.
:puke:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303848104576385742205738426.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Can't remember exactly the context. There was a pickering nominated by boooosh to a federal judgeship, didn't get confirmed or maybe did get confirmed. real piece of work. another one, son of the above maybe, elected puke somewhere.

i know, I'm rambling. It's the day job. Has turned my brain to pig shit.



TG

Copy past below link into address bar
http://www.google.com/search?q=SEC+backs+compensation+for+Stanford+victims&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7GGLG#q=SEC+backs+compensation+for+Stanford+victims&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&rlz=1I7GGLG&prmd=ivnsu&source=univ&tbm=nws&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=svb5TZOSL4GdgQexyfyLBQ&ved=0CCsQqAI&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=4d61f928a8c44208&biw=1260&bih=564

Then go to the FT article..It should appear without having to register.

A snip rom the article.....
Victims of the alleged $7bn Stanford Ponzi scheme should receive compensation from a federal fund, the Securities and Exchange Commission has recommended.

Wednesday’s decision came a day after David Vitter, a Republican senator from Louisiana, threatened to block the confirmation of SEC commissioners until it decided whether his constituents should be compensated.

this will work for all FT articles

The US homeland security department has joined with federal law enforcement to advise financial institutions on how to protect themselves from online attacks

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/R5WAEE/KQIGOF/JQU4J/FX7QC9/QFSXGF/RF/t?a1=2011&a2=6&a3=16

THIS COULD BE A FACTOR IN THE FREEZING UP OF INFORMATION FLOW, ACTUALLY

http://blogs.forbes.com/robertlenzner/2011/06/15/sell-on-the-rallies-dont-buy-on-the-dips/

We are in midst of 7th straight week down. QE2 will end in 15 days– and it played a strong support system for equities– up 25%, oil, up 25% and gold, up 25% ever since September, 2010 when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled he wanted to increase the wealth on paper of investors.

If equities are on the way down– and the rout today overwhelmed the gains yesterday– then you will experience the double whammy of stocks and homes losing value at the same time– to what extent nobody knows. Money center banks like Bank of America certainly face write-downs from their huge portfolio of home mortgages. Wells Fargo, a Berkshire holding, is one of the widest held stocks by the mutual fund industry.

Yes, The Greek economy is in deep trouble, but the larger problem is the holdings of European banks in the loans of Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy. Already, Moodys is talking about downgrading 3 major French banks. It’s the turn of the British and German banks to face huge write-offs on their loans to troubled nations– and secondarily the need to raidse more capital themselves.

I was informed this morning that some large money market funds in the US may hold large amounts of European bank paper, which could be difficult to liquidate in the current market environment. We’ll try to check out which ones, but you may recall that PIMCO lost most of the $3.4 billion in Lehman Brothers fixed income securities it owned...

WHEN FORBES SAYS: "HEAD FOR THE HILLS!" IT'S TIME TO GO...

http://www.businessinsider.com/sec-refuses-to-disclose-sac-referrals-to-grassley-2011-6?utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Clusterstock%20Select&utm_campaign=Clusterstock_Select_061311#ixzz1PRPcCDmE

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley had asked "for details of all referrals related to SAC Capital sent to the since January 2000."...Originally it was thought that Grassley's requests for details on certain trades was because he was investigating Steve Cohen's mammoth hedge fund, but in fact, he was investigating the SEC...SAC was being used a case study by the Senator's office, as he is concerned with how the SEC handles insider trading probes and referrals.

But the SEC has rejected Grassley's request "to disclose how they have handled referrals they received of suspicious trading at hedge fund SAC Capital," according to the WSJ. The regulator "cited confidentiality in rejecting the request."...According to the WSJ, SEC director of enforcement Robert Khuzami sent a letter to Grassley saying it won't reveal "what it had done with the SAC referrals" -- referrals that came from the FINRA. "In order to protect confidential and nonpublic investigative information, we generally do not comment on the status of investigations or related referrals and, in turn, are not providing information concerning the specific Finra referrals you identified," Khuzami wrote.

Grassley then responded:

This isn’t what I asked for, and it’s not an acceptable response. I’m looking for the SEC to explain how it handled specific referrals. Did the agency review them and find no credible evidence of wrongdoing? Or are they sitting in a drawer because the agency ignored them?

If the SEC didn’t pursue the older cases, the question is why not. And if the SEC didn’t pursue them, the agency can’t legitimately withhold the resolution under the blanket excuse of ongoing investigations.

Maybe there are legitimate reasons for not pursuing certain cases, but it’s impossible to make a determination like that without more information.

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/06/wall-street-latest-manufactured-outrage

The Fed and other regulators have proposed a set of rules that would put new limits on home mortgages: Borrowers would have to put 20 percent down and would have to show that their mortgage payments would amount to no more than 28 percent of their gross monthly income. The Washington Post makes this sound like doomsday:



You have to admit, these rules do sound pretty tough. In fact, they'd pretty much shut down the entire mortgage industry. So what's going on? Answer: Lots of financial industry whining. As it turns out, regulators aren't saying that mortgage originators can't make any kind of loan they want. 20 percent down, 10 percent down, 5 percent down, whatever. Go to town. What they are saying is that if mortgage loans are bundled up into securities and resold, they want the issuer of the security to retain 5 percent of the total offering. That's part of Dodd-Frank, and it's designed to give issuers an incentive to make sure their mortgage securities aren't full of toxic waste. If they have to keep a piece of the action on their own books, they'll want to make sure their securities are safe and sound....However, there's an exception: If your mortgages all conform to the new rules, you don't have to retain that 5 percent chunk. That's all that's happening. You can make any kind of loan you want, but if it's anything other than super safe, you have to keep a piece of it on your books.

The financial industry is in an uproar over this, claiming that it would shut millions of people out of the housing market. That's nonsense. Neither Todd Pearson nor anyone else is being denied a loan on whatever terms they can get one. All that's happening is that when their mortgages get bundled up and resold, the ABS issuer has to keep a 5 percent stake. The mortgage industry is on a rampage over this, claiming that it will dramatically raise the cost of mortgages, but that's nonsense too. Being forced to keep a 5 percent stake probably will have an impact on ABS issuers—that's the whole intent, after all—but the financial impact is almost certainly pretty minuscule. Tom Lawler at Calculated Risk roughly estimates it at perhaps 20 basis points at most on a nonconforming loan. In other words, the rate on nonconforming mortgages might go up 0.2 percentage points. At most. Something on the order of 0.1 percentage points or less is probably closer to reality.

This is yet another case of the financial industry biting the hand that's trying to help it out. The truth is that it would probably be a good idea to require ABS issuers to retain a 5 percent stake in every mortgage bundle they sell. But Dodd-Frank threw them a bone in the form of an exemption for loans that were transparently high quality and virtually certain not to default. And the result? Endless whining, a massive lobbying effort, and glossy four-color demagoguery about hardworking middle-class families being shut out of the mortgage market. Welcome to Wall Street.

NOBODY COULD HAVE PREDICTED...

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2011/06/15/private-insurers-fail-at-keep-prices-down-in-massachusetts/

Igor Volsky at Think Progress brought this recent report (PDF) from the Massachusetts Division of Health Care Finance and Policy to my attention. It adds even more proof to the mountain of evidence that private health insurance companies in America are a total failure at cost control. The study found that private insurance health care cost grow in the state grew much faster than public health insurance cost.

"Spending by private payers grew faster than spending by public payers. The rate of growth for spending on privately insured people from 2007 to 2008 also outpaced the growth in spending for Massachusetts residents in Medicare (4.8 percent) or MassHealth (2.8 percent) during the same time period (Figure A). The rates of growth for both private and public payers in Massachusetts continued to outpace increases in per capita state gross domestic product and wages."

Even more important than the fact that private insurance cost grew faster that public insurance is the reason private insurance cost went up. It was not a result of the people covered by private insurance using more health care services but mainly a result of providers charge significantly higher prices for the services they did use.

See you anon!

From London Banker Website

Anomie
I came across a new word today playing Scrabble:

Anomie: a collapse of the social structures governing a given society.


Now that is one very useful word! It could usefully describe the slow motion collapse of the financial markets as investors and consumers realise that their interests are no longer protected by fiduciary, exchange, monetary and regulatory structures that once engendered confidence. Or maybe it captures the loss of patriotism and social cohesion in a globalised economy dominated by stateless corporations, their executive elites and their political puppets who are all determined to loot the public treasury while paying no taxes.

One word. So much potential. I will be finding all kinds of appropriate contexts to use it, I expect.

http://londonbanker.blogspot.com/2011/06/anomie.html


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

With all the regulatory supports willfully removed, collapse is the inevitable consequence.

I liked to use that word in my high school poetry.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MF17Df04.html

KARACHI - The Pakistan economy, which will miss several of its most important targets set for the fiscal year ending on June 30, has achieved two bright spots in setting records for exports and remittances.

Exports are expected to reach a new high of around US$25 billion in the 12 months to June 30, after increasing 28.2% during the 11 months to May compared with the year earlier period. The 11-month export figure of $22.7 billion passed the full-year target of $21.2 billion.

Annual remittances from Pakistani workers overseas are estimated to have crossed $10 billion for the first time for the past


12 months, up from $8.9 billion in year ending June 2010, with the flow boosted by charity money sent in the wake of last summer's severe floods and a crackdown on illegal transfers.

The increase in exports has not been enough to reduce the trade deficit, which increased slightly to $14.10 billion in the 11 months to the end of May from $13.97 billion in the same period last year, even after May's exports gained 33% from a year earlier.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MF17Df02.html

JOHANNESBURG - Some Indians and Africans believe Africa is on the verge of becoming a world economic power, but changes are needed to ensure that the continent takes up its rightful place in the global economy. From India's perspective, South Africa is vital to its engagement with the continent.

Raman Dhawan, managing director of car manufacturer Tata Africa holdings, says economic policy should focus on job creation. "But the workers must be productive to compete with the rest of the world as well. The money is in manufacturing and services and Africa is not competitive."

Dhawan was speaking at the "India, South Africa and Africa in a Changing Global Landscape" conference in Johannesburg. The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) hosted the


conference last week. SAIIA is a think tank attached to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Dhawan says confidence also plays a big part in filling big shoes on the global stage. "So when you host a successful soccer World Cup, why do you allow the world to forget about it one year later? Keep on celebrating and marketing the country's capabilities," the Tata executive said. "Being good is one thing; being seen is quite another."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/india-hikes-interest-rates-by-quarter-point-2011-06-16-55180

MUMBAI (MarketWatch) — The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday hiked interest rates for the tenth time in 15 months, lifting its key repo rate by a quarter point to 7.50% as it noted inflation pressures persisted even amid recent signs of cooling in the economy.

The move was in line with the consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

However, some believed the central bank might pause given evidence of slowing growth in manufacturing and investments.

India’s gross domestic product rose 7.8% in the January-to-March quarter from the year-earlier, slower than the 8.3% in the previous quarter and below expectations.

“The monetary policy stance remains firmly anti-inflationary, recognizing that, in the current circumstances, some short-run deceleration in growth may be unavoidable in bringing inflation under control,” the RBI said in its statement.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/housing-starts-in-u-s-grew-in-may.html

Housing starts in the U.S. increased more than forecast in May, led by a jump in the West as other parts of the country languished.

Work began on 560,000 houses at an annual pace, up 3.5 percent from the prior month and exceeding the 545,000 median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Building permits, a sign of future construction, also increased.

Falling real estate values and the threat that foreclosures will push prices even lower mean the construction industry will continue to lag behind other parts of the economy. Joblessness exceeding 9 percent indicates that a rebound in housing will take years to develop.

“Builders just aren’t making profits and so they aren’t putting out homes,” said Patrick Newport, an economist at IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts. “There’s just general uncertainty about the economy and housing prices, and that’s what’s keeping housing from improving.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/wells-fargo-lures-neglected-rich-in-new-york-private-bank-push.html

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), the U.S. lender with the largest branch network, is aiming to build its private bank in New York by attracting affluent customers neglected by some other competitors.

Wells Fargo may increase the number of private bankers to 77 from 67 in the New York area to manage money for clients with at least $5 million in investable assets, according to Jennifer Lee, a regional managing director. More established rivals like Citigroup Inc. (C), based in New York, target private-banking services to most clients with more than $25 million in assets, according to Robert Testa, senior analyst at Boston-based Cerulli Associates.

“Since the credit crisis, high-net-worth clients have come to value the services of a private bank more,” Testa said. “Wells Fargo will definitely compete with the JPMorgans and Citigroups, but since those guys have such higher minimums, they will be serving this other population.”

Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf, 57, who called the wealth, brokerage and retirement business “sub-optimized” in December, is seeking assets in a region where Wells Fargo had little or no presence before its 2008 purchase of Wachovia Corp. and recent rebranding of those offices. High-net-worth individuals have $6.2 trillion in investable assets, the San Francisco-based lender estimated in a May 2010 presentation.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2011/06/bank-reform-and-britains-economy

N BRITISH politics, independent commissions are often a diversion that allows governments to be seen to be doing something about a difficult issue. Sometimes their findings are respectfully ignored. So it was a mild surprise when on June 15th, three months before the Independent Commission on Banks (ICB) is due to release its final report, George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, told the City’s annual Mansion House dinner that he would endorse the commission’s main findings.

The ICB’s most radical idea, set out in its interim report in April, is to force British banks to ring-fence their retail-banking arms into separately capitalised subsidiaries, which can then be salvaged if the rest of the bank goes bust. The banks’ trading and investment-banking divisions would, it is hoped, be allowed to live or die without any help from the government.

The commissioners are busily working out where to draw the line dividing retail banking from the riskier kind. For instance, retail banks often help small companies hedge their currency exposures, a service also provided by their investment-banking arms. The changes would increase the borrowing costs of banks by ending cross-subsidies between their different parts, but no one, including the commission, is quite sure by how much.

The ICB’s other headline proposal is that large British banks would have to hold bigger buffers against losses than currently proposed under Basel 3, a new international agreement on minimum capital requirements. Mr Osborne said the European Union should adopt these new Basel standards in full, a call echoed by Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s governor, who was speaking at the same event. But both speakers said the EU should allow countries to set higher capital standards if national circumstances required them. Varying such rules is a key part of “macroprudential” regulation to be run by the Bank’s new financial-policy committee, which has its inaugural meeting on June 16th.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/losses-intensify-for-europe-stocks-on-greek-fears-2011-06-16

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- European stock markets added to earlier losses amid market fears that Greece could be headed for a debt default owing to political and economic problems intensifying in the nation. The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/zigman/2380150 XX:SXXP -0.72% fell 1.1% to 264.97, while Greece's benchmark index GR:GD -2.53% fell 2.7% to 1,210.03. Other peripheral benchmark indexes such as Portugal, Spain and Italy, were all down more than 1%, with the PSI 20 index /quotes/zigman/3171650 PT:PSI20 -0.92% was down 1.5% in Lisbon. The France CAC 40 index /quotes/zigman/3173214 FR:PX1 -0.77% fell 1.4% to 3,753.96, with major banks down. Societe Generale SA /quotes/zigman/167380 FR:GLE -2.67% down 3.3%. Retailer Carrefour SA /quotes/zigman/163594 FR:CA -3.91% slumped 3.7% after a broker downgrade. In Germany, the DAX 30 index /quotes/zigman/2380246 DX:DAX -0.45% dropped 1.1% to 7,039.60, with shares of retailer Metro AG /quotes/zigman/164096 DE:MEO -3.31% down 3.1%. The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -1.04% fell 1.3% to 5,666.44 as miners sank across the board and energy stocks such as BP PLC /quotes/zigman/210014 UK:BP -1.01% /quotes/zigman/247026/quotes/nls/bp BP -0.43% dropped 1.4%.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/anglo-american-bp-drive-losses-in-london-2011-06-16

MADRID (MarketWatch) — London stock markets traded lower on Thursday with resource stocks driving the bulk of losses as the dollar strengthened amid worries about a Greek default and the state of the U.S. economy.

The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -1.08% slid 0.8% to 5,700.34, after a 1% slide in the prior session. Worries over Greece are weighing across Europe and global markets, with London stocks equally affected.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou reportedly said he will form a new government on Thursday and ask for a vote of confidence from parliament in order to push through austerity measures. Markets are worried a political failure to get reforms approved will ultimately end in default for the country.

Commodity-related stocks in London fell while the dollar rose as investors shied away from perceived riskier assets such as stocks and commodities. The dollar and dollar-priced commodities tend to move inversely. Early in the U.S. session on Wednesday, crude saw its biggest one-day drop since May 11, dropping 5% on Greek worries and a fresh crop of weak U.S. data.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/16/retail-sales-consumer-slump

Retail sales dived by twice the expected rate in May as consumers cut their spending on clothes and other non-food items to pay for higher petrol prices.

Retailers said the difficult economic outlook had depressed consumer confidence and encouraged shoppers to stay away from the high street.

Sales volumes dropped 1.4%, more than reversing the 1.1% increase in April that was mainly attributed to the royal wedding and unseasonally warm weather.

Vicky Redwood, senior UK economist at Capital Economics said the figures showed that April was a temporary blip to a long-term downward trend.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/ireland-business-blog-with-lisa-ocarroll/2011/jun/15/ireland

Has Ireland's finance minister Michael Noonan been stung into action by criticism that he is too weak in Europe?

He has just announced in Washington that he is now looking to impose losses on senior bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank and the Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS).

"We don't think the Irish taxpayer should have to redeem what has become speculative investment. I don't think it should be redeemed at par," Noonan told Irish state broadcaster RTE from Washington, where he met officials from the IMF.

He said he had the support of the IMF to bring the plan to Europe.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2011-06/16/c_13932015.htm

PARIS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated a 2-percent growth rate in France in both 2011 and 2012 and the next year will see a strong consumption and buoyant investment, according to an annual report posted on French Economy Ministry's website Wednesday.

In the report the IMF outlined "a progressing economy" whose " growth is likely to exceed earlier expectations", but it also called for more fiscal reforms to bolster the economic performance.

"France is expected to achieve robust growth at around 2 percent in both 2011 and 2012. The stronger growth in early 2011 was led by dynamic private consumption and stock-building, and supported by a recovery in investment," the fund said.

"But risks remain, however, amid lingering problems on European sovereign debt markets, and uncertainty about energy and commodity prices", it added.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110616a1.html

Economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano suggested Wednesday the government will downgrade its estimate of economic growth in fiscal 2011 to around zero percent from an earlier forecast of 1.5 percent due to the negative impact of the March 11 disaster.

"Usually there is no big difference between the government projection and the average of private sector forecasts," Yosano told reporters, referring to the recent average for predictions by 22 think tanks and financial institutions of 0.2 percent growth in real gross domestic product for the year through next March.

The Cabinet Office is due to release a revised outlook report next month.

Yosano was speaking after a meeting of Cabinet ministers to assess the economic conditions three months after the disaster struck.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-slides-on-greek-debt-us-economy-worries-2011-06-15

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Asian shares fell sharply on Thursday, as investors reacted to fresh developments on Greece’s sovereign-debt crisis and some disappointing U.S. economic data, with exporters, banks and energy companies among top decliners.

The Hang Seng Index /quotes/zigman/2622475 HK:HSI -1.75% fell 1.8% to 21,953.11, while the Shanghai Composite Index /quotes/zigman/1859015 CN:000001 -1.52% lost 1.5%. Both Chinese markets, as well as Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index /quotes/zigman/1653884 AU:XJO -1.92% , — which ended the day down 1.9% — fell to 2011 lows during the session.

The Nikkei Stock Average /quotes/zigman/715506 JP:NIK -1.70% ended down 1.7% at 9,411.28, while South Korea’s Kospi KR:0100 -1.91% dropped 1.9%.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-06/16/c_13932018.htm

BEIJING, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese citizens around the country have been debating a proposal to raise the threshold for individual income tax exemption to 3,000 yuan per month.

The NPC Standing Committee, China's top legislature, on Wednesday publicized suggestions and opinions on amending the Law on Individual Income Tax that were submitted online from April 25 to May 31.

Currently, individuals earning under 2,000 yuan (307.7 U.S. dollars) per month do not have to pay income tax. However, a draft amendment to the law proposes to raise the threshold to 3,000 yuan per month.

Among all 82,707 citizens who commented on the proposal, 15 percent of them favored raising the exemption to 3,000 yuan.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/06/15/indonesia-eu-seek-ambitious-free-trade-agreement.html

ndonesia and the European Union (EU) have agreed to commence talks on an “ambitious” free trade agreement (FTA), as both parties seek to boost two-way trade and the EU's investments in Indonesia.

The European Union is currently negotiating similar trade agreements with a number of other Asian countries including Singapore, South Korea and Japan; and Indonesia doesn't want to be left behind, Djisman Simanjuntak, co-chair of the Indonesia-EU Vision Group, said Wednesday in Jakarta.

The group, established in late 2009 based on an initiative from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and European Commission President Jose Manuel Baroso, handed over on Wednesday its recommendations to the Indonesian government, including for the commencement of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

Djisman said an FTA was a part of the "triangle" recommended by CEPA, with the other two sides being capacity-building and facilitation.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110616n3.html

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s plan to take a stake in Morgan Stanley of as much as 24.9 percent won Federal Reserve approval, paving the way for a planned conversion of its preferred shares.

MUFG is raising its stake in the firm to 22 percent by converting $7.8 billion in preferred stock into 385 million common shares, and may make additional purchases from "time to time," the Fed said in an order Tuesday. The Fed also approved the Japanese bank getting a second seat on Morgan Stanley's board after MUFG agreed in 2008 that it would have no more than one representative.

"MUFG has stated that it does not propose to control or exercise a controlling influence over Morgan Stanley and that its investment in Morgan Stanley will continue to be a passive investment," the Fed said in its order.

Morgan Stanley agreed in April to increase the number of common shares MUFG will receive by 75 million to speed up the conversion and eliminate $784 million in annual dividend payments.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-16/too-big-to-fail-ends-with-wave-of-a-magic-wand-jonathan-weil.html

n the words of Sheila Bair, the departing chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the era of too-big-to-fail banks isn’t just ending -- it’s already over. Consider her statement two weeks ago, in a news release heralding the creation of a committee to advise the agency on how to deal with large, dying financial firms:

“Congress has given the FDIC a tremendous amount of responsibility to ensure that financial organizations formerly deemed too big to fail will no longer receive taxpayer funded bailouts.”

Formerly deemed, huh?

Maybe Bair didn’t express herself clearly or was giving voice to her inner hopes. Either way, it’s hard to believe she convinced anyone that the government wouldn’t rescue Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. (C), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS) -- to name just a few -- amid a crisis that threatened to take down the global financial system.

The capital markets sure don’t seem to buy it. Otherwise, the bonds of these banks would be trading for a lot less, as would their stocks. Bank of America and Citigroup, whose shares fetch much less than the net assets on their balance sheets, might be dead already.

The bailouts are ongoing and uninterrupted since BEFORE Lehman's went down...pull the other one!

:spray:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CURRENT_ACCOUNT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-16-09-21-23

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans bought more expensive foreign oil in the first three months of the year, increasing the deficit in the broadest measure of foreign trade.

The deficit in the current account increased 6.3 percent to $119.3 billion in the January-to-March period, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. The increase reflected a big spike in global oil prices that sent petroleum imports surging. The increase in imports offset strong sales by American companies of autos, computers and heavy machinery in foreign markets.

The current account is the broadest measure of foreign trade because it includes not only trade in goods and services but also investment flows between countries. It represents the bottom line in how much the United States must borrow from the rest of the world to finance its deficit.

For the first three months of the year, the current account deficit equaled 3.2 percent of the total economy, up from 3 percent in the fourth quarter. For all of last year, the current account deficit totaled $470.9 billion, up 25 percent from a decade-low of $376.6 billion in 2009. The current account deficit hit an all-time high of $800.6 billion in 2006.