STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, June 17, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, June 17, 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 17 09:55 Mich Sentiment Jun 72.0 73.5 74.3
Jun 17 10:00 Leading Indicators May 0.2% 0.4% -0.3%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/06/13-17/#ixzz1PWrLdWra

SINGAPORE – Oil prices tumbled to below $93 a barrel Friday in Asia amid a stronger dollar and mixed signs about the U.S. economy.

Benchmark oil for July delivery was down $1.61 to $93.34 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 14 cents to settle at $94.95 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude for August delivery was down $1.22 to $112.80 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

On Thursday, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that manufacturing slowed in that region, one day after a similar report found that manufacturing was weakening in the New York area.

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

U.S. stock-index futures climbed as as investors awaited a report that may show a gauge of leading indicators rebounded.

Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM), the maker of the BlackBerry smartphone, slumped 16 percent in German trading after the company said quarterly revenue may drop for the first time in nine years. Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) may be active after agreeing to buy ING Groep NV’s U.S. online bank for about $9 billion in cash and stock.

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in September climbed 0.4 percent to 1,267.9 at 11:09 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 36 points, or 0.3 percent, to 11,935.

“It’s too early to draw parallels between 2008 and the current situation,” Adam Myers, director of market strategy at Credit Agricole SA in London, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. “However, there does seem to be a liquidity problem on the horizon. There are a lot of very nervous investors wondering if a political solution will be made this weekend” for Greece.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-17/u-s-stock-index-futures-advance-rim-slumps-on-lower-forecast.html

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/17/markets-stocks-open-idUKWEN445820110617

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday after French President Nicolas Sarkozy hinted at a deal to resolve the Greek debt crisis that has hampered equities and worried investors over a possible credit dry-up.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 98.39 points, or 0.82 percent, at 12,059.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 11.39 points, or 0.90 percent, at 1,279.03. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 24.61 points, or 0.94 percent, at 2,648.31.

Only, they should be aiming completely away from the hole..and Boehner should be aiming a Obama.

Squeak up, if you have an idea...

just because i'm up, the day job sucks worse than ever, and, you know, just because. . .


1. The Solstice

2. Errol Flynn born 20 June 1909.

3. Wildfires

4. Castles


Feel free to use any or none


Tansy Gold, who is currently researching European castles -- did you know "Mad" Ludwig's Neuschwanstein, which served as the model for Disney's Fantasyland castle, only has 15 rooms?

How could I deny such a heartfelt and compelling request?

to happen on 20 June of other years, but they are not suitable for public inter-, er, discussion.




TG, who didn't lose it; she mislaid it

if this has to do with cigars and interns, don't remind me....

a duck pond and a car blanket.


TG, saying no more

Everyone is dead anyway. No more flogging possible.

Guess we're survivors.

:hug:


TG

Last week, my daughter and I traveled to Kentucky for our annual bonding weekend with my sisters. We attended the band festival in Danville and also visited Shaker Village.
http://www.shakervillageky.org/


But driving there, we saw this huge castle, seemingly in the middle of nowhere
http://www.dupontcastle.com/castles/martin.htm


edit to add picture
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pyFj865NHDc/TUsUkskh1tI/AAAAAAAADUg/De_UET9jIxc/s1600/Lexington+Martin+Castle+CastlePost+7b.jpg

'course, I've been gone from KY for a couple of years now....

You gotta get to Keeneland while racing is going on once. Beautiful track.


Shaker Village is definitely worth the trip. :)

is it an old one shipped over or a new one?

I am not from Kentucky, but there is some history about it, and the fire, at this link

http://www.dupontcastle.com/castles/martin.htm


8/7/03 Rex Martin dies at 72
Rex Martin, an infamous Kentucky developer, died August 5 2003, according to a report in the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Martin will be remembered popularly in the folk legends surrounding the enormous gothic castle he built in Woodford County, Kentucky, just west of Lexington and the Bluegrass Airport.
It sits high on a hill above US-60 (Versailles Road) and has dominated the landscape since construction began at the 60-acre site in 1969. Martin and his wife had just returned from a vacation in Europe when he was inspired to start the project. Work on the massive residence occupied his spare time (on and off) from business construction projects throughout the 1970's. He was primarily in the business of building apartment complexes.
Contained within its 12-foot-tall perimeter wall is a 6-bedroom, 10,400-square-foot house with central air, three dining rooms and a dozen baths, a smaller guest house, a 20x50-foot swimming pool, three-car garage, and space for tennis courts and greenery. The castle was never fully completed and has never been occupied.
http://www.newsnshit.com/2003/08/rex-martin-dies-at-72.html

Sunday

Keeping a track of all the fluid, hourly changing developments in Greece can be unbearably complex, and as a result one may be left with the impression that things are better than they really are. They aren't. As the SocGen report below summarizes, Greece may have about 72 hours before it gives itself a Pass/Fail grade on Sunday, which in turn will have massive repercussions on the Troica bailout, on the eurozone, on the EUR, and on all those "Lehman-like" consequences you have been reading about. Once again, just like 2000 years ago, the fate of the western world (we would say democracy but that has not been the case for centuries), is about to be decided by a few popularly elected parliamentarians in Athens.

From SocGen:

Greece: One step closer to the precipice

Greece’s sovereign crisis has reached a critical phase, and the likelihood of a disorderly outcome has risen dramatically in the last 48 hours.

Two-year Greek bond yields breached the 30% mark, while Irish and Portuguese yield spreads reached one-year highs.

In the meantime, Greek economic and fiscal data continue to disappoint, and public discontent is rising in the face of the human costs of an ever deeper economic downturn.

Against this backdrop, the backlash from yet more austerity has triggered a severe blow to the ruling Government. The catch is that the Government needs to approve the Medium Term Fiscal Plan for EU/IMF funding to be disbursed. This is looking challenging as the survival of Papandreou’s government hangs on a formal confidence vote on Sunday, and two more defections from the ruling PASOK party on Thursday depleted its majority even further.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greece-verge-precipice-lehman-avalanche-could-be-set-motion-soon-sunday

We may not even have to pop it--it should spontaneously explode from the heat generated.

11,919,905.69) (Wed, UP some.)
(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
Was on the TV for a while tonight.
(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

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 51-billion dollars. Good day.)
Transfer made and recorded.
(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)
= 9,742,786,662,565.22 + 4,601,784,623,584.65
DOWN 4,915,287,264.64 + UP 4,919,936,588.25

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 $3,202.63 makes 1T$.
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 312,243,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,940.35.
A family of three owes $137,821.06. (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 -46,010,459.65.
The average for the last 30 days would be -32,207,321.75.
The average for the last 31 days would be -31,168,375.89.
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$/day.
There were 175 reports in 259 days of FY2011 averaging 4.47B$ per report, 3.02B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 584 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 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)
06/16/2011 14,344,571,286,149.87 BHO (UP 3,717,694,237,236.79 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 +0,782,948,255,258.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,103,382,676,328.98 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 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
06/16/2011 -004,915,287,264.64 --

26,513,776,140.60 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=4887715&mesg_id=4887724

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MF18Ad02.html

As the price of copper approaches a new historic high, focus is swinging back to Africa ... and China.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took a swipe at China in a June 11 press conference in Zambia, urging African nations to resist "new colonialism" and for foreign investors to practice "good governance".

"We saw that during colonial times, it is easy to come in, take out natural resources, pay off leaders and leave," Clinton said in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, before flying off to Tanzania. "And when you leave, you don't leave much behind for the people


who are there. We don't want to see a new colonialism in Africa."

Although she didn't mention China by name, officials traveling with Clinton said she wanted to stress that African countries should hold Chinese investors to the same standards that they apply to Americans and Europeans. Clinton said the United States didn't want any foreign governments or investors to fail in Africa, but wanted to make sure that they give back to local communities. "We want them to do well, but also we want them to do good," she said. <1>

This declaration appeared at the same time that America's most conspicuous post-colonial initiative in Africa - the bombing of Libya - was entering its third month with a cost approaching US$1 billion and no end in sight.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110617n3.html

As Japan's record earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m on March 11, Hidenori Tsukatani crawled under his desk and thought to himself: Now we will find out.

Tsukatani, a 60-year-old structural designer at Mitsubishi Jisho Sekkei Inc., has spent 35 years studying ways to make buildings that can withstand earthquakes so powerful they occur only once in every 500 to 1,000 years.

"People experienced such a big earthquake for the first time and felt scared, but the intensity of the quake in Tokyo was less than half of what we had simulated for our buildings," said Tsukatani, a general manager at the unit of Mitsubishi Estate Co., the nation's second-biggest developer. "I remember staying under my desk and watching the walls and the ceiling."

After the March 11 disaster in Japan and two devastating earthquakes in New Zealand in four months, designers of shock-resistant structures like Mitsubishi Estate, Shimizu Corp. and New York-based Taylor Devices Inc. are increasing production or looking to expand in markets such as China as countries on fault lines improve building safety

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-central-bank-finds-officials-stole-billions-2011-06-17

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Corrupt Chinese officials and employees of state-owned companies have absconded with about 800 billion yuan ($123.7 billion) of public money over 15 years through 2008, much of it making its way to the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, according to Chinese news reports citing a central bank study.

The 67-page report, completed in 2008, was posted on the People’s Bank of China’s website this week, purportedly by mistake, and has since been taken down, although PDFs of the document are circulating in cyberspace.

n the report, which appears never to have been intended for public release, the PBOC estimated about 16,000 to 18,000 individuals have fled the country with ill-gotten funds over a 15-year period leading up to the report’s release, according to news-media accounts.

The PBOC focused upon where people went and how they got the embezzled funds out of the country.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/17/china-vital-interests-greek-crisis

China's "vital" interests are at stake if Europe cannot resolve its debt crisis, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday as it voiced concern about the economic problems of its biggest trading partner.

At a media briefing ahead of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Europe next week, vice foreign minister Fu Ying made plain that China had tried to help Europe overcome its troubles by buying more European debt and encouraging bilateral trade.

"Whether the European economy can recover and whether some European economies can overcome their hardships and escape crisis, is vitally important for us," she said.

"China has consistently been quite concerned with the state of the European economy."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MF18Ag01.html

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) marked its 10th anniversary at the summit meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday. Anniversaries divisible by five or 10 are almost sacrosanct occasions in international politics - especially for Central Asian countries and the adjacent capitals of Moscow and Beijing that have been weaned on the formalism of Marxism-Leninism. Much expectation was placed on the occasion at Astana.

In the event, it turned out to be a sober, introspective occasion for charting out a course rather than an excuse for grandstanding. No tall claims were made. There was sombre stocktaking that security threats remained and economic cooperation could be a lot better.

There is quiet satisfaction that the organization - comprising


China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - is becoming increasingly influential and its multi-tiered consultative mechanisms have become operational, especially the Tashkent-based regional anti-terrorism center, which has succeeded in foiling over 500 terrorist plots.

Several new trends stand out as the SCO steps out of its infancy and adolescence. From a regional organization limited to Central Asia and its environs, SCO may well become the leading integration process over the entire Eurasian landmass, of which 40% still stands outside the ambit of the organization. Prior to his arrival in Astana to attend the summit, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited Ukraine. Equally, Belarus has been admitted as a "dialogue partner".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/17/greece-bailout-germany-private-banks

Angela Merkel has admitted defeat over Germany's plan to force private banks to contribute funds to a new bailout package designed to rescue the Greek economy.

After a meeting with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, in Berlin on Thursday, the German chancellor said they had agreed that any contribution from private creditors to the package would have to be voluntary.

"We want the participation of private creditors on a voluntary basis," said Merkel, stressing that there was no legal way in which banks could be forced to play along.

Sarkozy welcomed Germany's change of position, describing it as "a breakthrough".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/17/prada-cuts-share-flotation-price

Prada was forced to cut the final price of its stock exchange listing in Hong Kong by almost a fifth on Friday, after nervous investors balked at the lofty price tag placed on the Italian fashion house.

Despite the glamour surrounding the initial public offering (IPO), which included a 15-minute fashion show for top fund managers in Hong Kong, the maker of Miu Miu dresses and luxury handbags priced its shares at HK$39.50 (£3.13), at the bottom end of the range set by the company earlier this week.

As a result the IPO raised £1.3bn, rather than the £1.6bn originally mooted, with the listing valuing the company at £8bn.

It was fifth time lucky for Prada, whose previous attempts to float have been derailed by a series of market downturns, including the slump that followed the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US. Friday's listing follows the rocky debut of luggage brand Samsonite International in Hong Kong this week – its shares slumped 8% on their first day of trading. Around the world, volatile financial markets have been unsettled by renewed fears of a Greek sovereign debt default.







PRADA: be still my beating Gay Boi heart!:loveya:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UPS_SECURITY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-06-17-09-20-54

LONDON (AP) -- Shipping company UPS has been barred from moving air cargo through some U.K. facilities because of security deficiencies, the British government said Friday.

The Department for Transport disclosed the action but gave no information on the security issues and didn't identify the locations involved.

"Following careful consideration, the department has restricted the number of sites in the U.K. at which UPS Ltd. are permitted to screen air cargo until it has satisfied current security requirements," it said in a statement.

The department said it could not give any details of the sites for security reasons.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/17/markets-europe-stocks-idUKLDE75G16320110617

FRANKFURT, June 17 (Reuters) - European stocks rose on Friday and were set to snap a sixth straight week of losses on hopes a solution for Greece's debt crisis was looming.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said they were united behind a new aid package for Greece that would include voluntary private sector participation on the basis of the so-call Vienna Initiatives.

European banks, which have significant exposure to Greece and any potential contagion within the euro zone, advanced, with the STOXX 600 European Banks index up 1.2 percent after hitting a near two-year low the previous session.

Banca Popolare di Milano , up 8.9 percent, was the biggest gainer in the index after a report that French group BNP Paribas made an offer for the Italian lender.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/airbus-wins-orders-from-asian-budget-carriers-2011-06-16

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Europe’s Airbus has received big orders from two budget airlines in Asia for its A320 single-aisle aircraft, it was announced Thursday, as the aerospace industry gears up for next week’s Paris Air Show.

Cebu Pacific of the Philippines said Thursday it has ordered 30 A321 Neo aircraft and also exercised existing options for seven more standard A320s. The order at list price is valued at approximately $3.8 billion.

Also Thursday, Indian low-cost airline Go Air said it has ordered 72 A320 Neo planes worth $7.2 billion.

Rahul Deans, head of marketing at Go Air, said the orders are firm and deliveries will start in 2015. The airline may take up to 15 planes each year.

6/17/11 Hardline IMF forced Germany to guarantee Greek bailout
Acting IMF chief threatened to trigger sovereign default if Berlin failed to come to rescue of Greece

Germany was forced to agree to bail out Greece for the second time in a year under strong pressure from the International Monetary Fund following the resignation last month of its head, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Guardian has learned.

Under its acting chief, the American John Lipsky, the IMF has taken a more hardline stance. The fund warned the Germans in recent weeks that it would withhold urgently needed funds and trigger a Greek sovereign default unless Berlin stopped delaying and pledged firmly that it would come to Greece's rescue.

Senior officials and diplomats in Brussels confirmed that the IMF threat to pull the plug on its funding, in stark contrast to the more emollient line of Strauss-Kahn, had been defused because of a German climbdown.

more...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/16/imf-forced-germany-to-guarantee-greek-bailout

Not good form. Angela eats bankers for breakfast.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jun/16/research-in-motion-job-cuts

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has said it is looking to slash jobs and streamline its operations as it struggles to regain ground in the smartphone market. The company's first quarter revenue fell short of expectations and it cut its outlook for future earnings for the second time this year.

After the stock markets closed the Canadian firm reported earnings of $695m, or $1.33 a share, on revenue of $4.9bn, 12% below the previous quarter. Wall Street had been expecting earnings of $1.32 a share on revenue of $5.15bn.

Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive, said the fiscal year had "gotten off to a challenging start" and the slowdown the company experienced in the first quarter was continuing into the second quarter. He said new products would be delayed until the "very late part of August." The company is expecting revenues to decline further in the second quarter to between $4.2bn and $4.8bn. As a result of the dismal results, RIM will cut costs including a headcount reduction.

Sales of RIM's PlayBook tablet, a rival to Apple's best-selling iPad tablet computer, provided a surprise bright spot for the company. The PlayBook debuted earlier this year to dismal reviews and complaints that it was rushed out before it was ready. But RIM sold 500,000 tablets in the first quarter, well ahead of Wall Street estimates.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-to-fix-crumbling-us-roads-rails-and-airways-2011-06-17

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — If America’s prosperity depends on its roadways, the future looks pretty rough.

After more than a decade of declining tax revenue in the United States, highways are crumbling, rail lines are overburdened and airline corridors are congested. Factor in the economic weakness, the public’s tax-cutting mindset and geopolitical instability, and an already shaky situation looks ready to worsen for commerce, jobs and several industries that are crucial for transportation infrastructure.

Analysts are pessimistic about the U.S. transportation system making progress. There isn’t enough money to maintain what the country has right now, much less to get to quality levels that are giving other nations a competitive advantage.

“Substantial under-investment won’t affect the economy in the short run, but productivity will be affected in the long run,” said Gus Faucher, an economist with Moody’s Analytics. “People will be stuck in traffic more often, stuck at airports longer, and that lost time adds up over 10, 20 years.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-17/goldman-sachs-earnings-per-share-estimate-slashed-40-by-atlantic-equities.html

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)’s second- quarter profit estimate was reduced 40 percent by an analyst at Atlantic Equities LLP, who said the firm’s trading and investing revenue is declining, making job cuts more likely.

Goldman Sachs will likely earn $2.17 per share, down from a previous estimate of $3.49, Richard Staite wrote today in a note to investors. Staite expects trading revenue to tumble to $4.9 billion, a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter, and investing and lending gains to narrow to $200 million from $2.7 billion, he wrote.

“About half the cut is due to weaker trading revenues while the other half is driven by lower investment gains,” wrote Staite, who has a “neutral” recommendation on Goldman Sachs stock. “Given the weak environment we expect jobs to be cut across the industry.”

Goldman Sachs, the fifth-biggest U.S. bank by assets, has dropped 19 percent in New York Stock Exchange composite trading so far this year on concern about weaker revenue and increased regulation. Staite’s estimate for Goldman Sachs’s second-quarter earnings per share puts the London-based analyst below the $3.56 average forecast of 21 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

http://www.economist.com/node/18836014

SUMMER is at hand in the world’s big financial centres, but the mood is hardly bright. Stock prices have been sliding for weeks in response to gloomy economic news. Factory output has slowed across the globe. Consumers have become more cautious. In America virtually every statistic, from house prices to job growth, has weakened. There was some respite earlier this week, but only because a few figures—on American retail sales and Chinese factory production—were not as dire as feared.

Globally, growth is at its weakest since the recovery began almost two years ago. Is today’s softness just a sticky patch, or is the global recovery beginning to melt away?

The great softening


The reasons for the lull suggest it should be temporary. First, the tsunami in Japan sent its GDP tumbling and disrupted supply chains, and thus industrial output, around the world, particularly in April. But just as that slump shows up in the economic statistics, more forward-looking evidence points to a rebound. The summer production schedules of American car firms, for instance, indicate that the pace of annualised GDP growth there will accelerate by at least a percentage point.

Second, demand was dented by a sudden surge in oil prices earlier this year. More income is being shifted from cash-strapped consumers in oil-importing countries to producers who tend to sit on their treasures. Costlier fuel has knocked consumer confidence, particularly in gas-guzzling America. And there is still an uncomfortable possibility that further instability in the Arab world will send prices soaring again. Nonetheless, at least for now, the pressure is waning. America’s average petrol price, though still 21% higher than at the beginning of the year, has started to fall. That should boost shoppers’ morale (and their spending).

There has been no recovery. There will be no "recovery." The earth cannot sustain endless "growth." There is already over-capacity in production - as someone pointed out on Alternative Radio the other day, our historical response to over-capacity is to destroy a good bit of it with war so we can re-build. Not sure that's going to work this time around, as we seem to be waging war on mostly non-industrial states. China is poisoning its own people already with pollution and food adulteration. Japan with radiation. We just keep washing our own topsoil away and poisoning our own pen with industrial farming and manufacturing waste. There are no jobs. The Rs, with the willing complicity of the Ds, are willing to take food out of the mouths of babes and let people die for lack of health care - not to mention gutting what little protections our elders have under SS and MA. How many seniors would retire at - say 62 - if they could get health care? As it is we'll cling to our jobs till we drop, while the young hang out on street corners for lack of jobs. The destruction of working class wealth in this country since '07 is maybe unprecedented in modern history? Our infrastructure is crumbling, our schools are being gutted, our public services destroyed - some "recovery."

and you can borrow my rubber stamp any time.

:hi:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Losing-streak-continues-in-mkts-Sensex-down-115-pts/articleshow/8889753.cms

MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark sensex closed 115 points down as investors sold IT stocks on worries that an interest rate hike by the RBI amid deepening Euro debt crisis might derail the global economic recovery.

A weak trend in Asia and lower opening in Europe further influenced the market sentiment.

The Bombay Stock Exchange index sensex, which had lost 323 points in the last two sessions, rolled down by 115.35 points to 17,870.53. It was trading in the range of 18,064.76 and 17,844.09 points during the day.

Broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 30.35 points to 5,366.40 as software exporting and refinery stocks suffered heavy losses.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/RBI-says-it-has-no-magic-wand-to-bring-down-inflation/articleshow/8890553.cms

NEW DELHI: After having raised its key policy rates 10 times in a year-and-a-half to check inflation, which remains stubborn, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday said it has no magic wand to bring down the rate of price rise.

"You all want that inflation should come down. Neither the ministry of finance nor the RBI has any magic wand to bring down inflation," RBI deputy governor K C Chakrabarty said at an Assocham meet here.

Inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was over 9 per cent in May.

Despite RBI's monetary policy tightening regime and steps of the government, inflation continues to remain high.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-17/wall-street-divergence-from-main-street-widening-with-jobless-exceeding-9-.html

Main Street is out of step with Wall Street.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index has stalled near its recession average as the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen 83 percent from a 12-year low in March 2009. A tight correlation between the index and Dow that lasted more than two decades has broken down as joblessness above 9 percent, stagnant wages and near $4-a-gallon gasoline outweigh the benefits of higher share prices, even after a 6.6 percent retreat in the Dow since the end of April.

“Consumers are fairly depressed, yet the stock market continues to improve,” Guy LeBas, chief fixed-income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia, said in an interview. “It’s foreign demand that is really pushing corporate profitability. Consumer confidence is pretty constrained by the labor market.”

U.S. manufacturers in particular have profited from faster growth in emerging economies, including Colombia and Indonesia, where expanding middle classes are demanding more roads and utilities, as well as higher-protein foods and more consumer goods. Deere & Co. (DE), the world’s largest farm-equipment maker, raised its fiscal 2011 earnings forecast on May 18 to $2.65 billion from $2.5 billion, citing increased demand for farm and construction machinery outside the U.S, along with growth in America.

China Wants To Construct A 50 Square Mile Self-Sustaining City South Of Boise, Idaho

16 June 2011 by Sara Haimowitz.

Thanks to the trillions of dollars that the Chinese have made flooding our shores with cheap products, China is now in a position of tremendous economic power. So what is China going to do with all of that money? One thing that they have decided to do is to buy up pieces of the United States and set up “special economic zones” inside our country from which they can continue to extend their economic domination. One of these “special economic zones” would be just south of Boise, Idaho and the Idaho government is eager to give it to them.

China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach for short) plans to construct a “technology zone” south of Boise Airport which would ultimately be up to 50 square miles in size. The Chinese Communist Party is the majority owner of Sinomach, so the 10,000 to 30,000 acre “self-sustaining city” that is being planned would essentially belong to the Chinese government. The planned “self-sustaining city” in Idaho would include manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail centers and large numbers of homes for Chinese workers. Basically it would be a slice of communist China dropped right into the middle of the United States.

According to the Idaho Statesman, the idea would be to build a self-contained city with all services included. It would be modeled after the “special economic zones” that currently exist in China.
Perhaps the most famous of these “special economic zones” is Shenzhen. Back in the 1970s, Shenzhen was just a very small fishing village. Today it is a sprawling metropolis of over 14 million people.
If the Chinese have their way, we will soon be seeing these “special economic zones” pop up all over the United States.


Link and discussion here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1312976

I don't know which would be worse--utter failure or complete success by China in Idaho.

Idaho? Land of the Aryan Nation?

The world has gone mad. Or I have.

Since it had nothing to do with Weiner's wiener (although I did mention it) the thread was moved from LBN by the moderators. Heaven forbid actual Republican corruption be given any attention.

Ryan's Shrewd Budget Payday

Source: Dailybeast


Exclusive: The congressman stands to make money from his stakes in four businesses that lease land to energy companies which would benefit from $45 billion in tax breaks and subsidies in his proposed budget. Daniel Stone reports.
June 17, 2011 12:09 AM EDT

When House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled the GOP blueprint for cutting government spending, he asked Americans to make sacrifices on everything from Medicare to education, while preserving lucrative tax subsidies for the booming oil, mining and energy industries.

It turns out a constituency within his own personal investments stood to benefit from those tax breaks, Newsweek and The Daily Beast have learned.

The financial disclosure report Ryan filed with Congress last month and made public this week shows he and his wife, Janna, own stakes in four family companies that lease land in Texas and Oklahoma to the very energy companies that benefit from the tax subsidies in Ryan's budget plan.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/17/paul-ryan-s-shrewd-budget-payday-congressman-could-benefit-from-tax-breaks-he-proposes.html


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1315650

Welcome to the SMW, and join the Weekend Economists anytime!