STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, July 25, 2011

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday July 25, 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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http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/EaUidPHBhGJGXfCNdi03Tg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9Zml0O3E9ODU7dz05NTA-/

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to near $99 a barrel Monday in Asia amid investor concern that the lack of an agreement among U.S. lawmakers to raise the country's debt limit could trigger a default and damage the global economy.

Benchmark oil for September delivery was down 81 cents to $99.06 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose 74 cents to settle at $99.87 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude slid 60 cents to $118.07 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Talks stalled during the weekend as an Aug. 2 deadline looms for Congress to raise the government's $14.3 trillion debt limit. Without action by that date, the Treasury will be unable to pay all its bills, which could lead to a debt default and undermine the global economy.

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

Hell will break loose in 10, 9, 8...

It's a Global Game of Chicken, played by the greatest roster of turkeys the world has ever known since July of 1914, 97 years ago....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14278447

India's largest listed company - Reliance Industries - has reported record quarterly profits.

Net profits for the April-to-June quarter were up 16.7% from a year ago to 56.61bn rupees ($1.28bn, £0.8bn).

However, the figures were lower than some analysts had expected because of reduced oil and gas production.

On Friday, India's cabinet approved a plan from Reliance to sell a 30% stake in 20 of its oil and gas blocks to BP in a $7.2bn deal.

U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will drop after rallying within 1.4 percent of a three-year high, as President Barack Obama and Congress failed to reach an agreement on raising the federal debt limit, intensifying concern the nation will default.

S&P 500 futures expiring in September declined 0.6 percent to 1,331.3 at 10:04 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 90 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,531.

House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans that there’s no agreement on a plan for raising the ceiling before a default threatened for Aug. 2. A Republican congressional official said Boehner, speaking by telephone to lawmakers, is reporting that discussions are continuing. The impasse has boosted the chance S&P will cut the U.S. credit rating from AAA within three months to 50 percent, the company said July 21.

“It’s a major disappointment that they can’t come to a compromise of some sort,” James Dunigan, chief investment officer in Philadelphia for PNC Wealth Management, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees $109 billion. “We came down to the 11th hour. There’s an increasing likelihood that without a significant deal the chances of a debt downgrade will rise. If you re-rate the safest security in the world, everything else gets re-rated against that.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-25/u-s-stock-futures-decline-after-lawmakers-fail-to-reach-debt-ceiling-deal.html

I'm not sure that stocks are falling enough to scare anyone into action or compromise.

They are still doing the stupid dance in DC

:donut: PBD -- august is almost here -- do you have plans before school starts up again?

It is my drug of choice for stress and I have emailed and called everyone three times and just lit a fire under my kids reminding them if I lose my income they get to take care of me. They love me but they really do not want me to live with them, at least now.

I have really been preparing for this since 2000. It just bums me out that a Democrat is putting the final touches on the overthrow of America as we knew it. The one that worked and cared about it's citizens.

Thanks for sticking this out and you are educating a whole lot more folks with us crossposting elsewhere. I hope we mitigate the damage if we cannot get a win for America.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-25/republicans-push-dueling-plans-with-democrats-for-raising-u-s-debt-limit.html

Republicans and Democrats prepared dueling plans for raising the U.S. debt ceiling, unable to break a partisan stalemate over how to tackle the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt and quell market concerns about a potential default Aug. 2.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio told fellow Republicans he was determined to force action on a two-step debt-limit extension that would provide a roughly $1 trillion, shorter-term increase than President Barack Obama has requested, defying a veto threat and the administration’s warnings of dire economic consequences. He aimed to unveil his plan as early as today, when he was to update Republicans in a closed-door meeting in the Capitol.

The Senate’s top Democrat Harry Reid, meanwhile, readied his own proposal, which would hand Obama the full $2.4 trillion in additional borrowing authority he has requested -- enough to last through the 2012 elections --tied to a $2.7 trillion package of spending cuts that would leave Medicare and Medicaid untouched, according to a Senate Democratic aide.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-24/nikkei-futures-retreat-as-u-s-lawmakers-fail-to-reach-debt-ceiling-deal.html

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell for the first time in four days as U.S. lawmakers failed to reach agreement on raising the federal debt limit, increasing the risk of a default that could threaten the global economy.

Honda Motor Co., a carmaker that gets about 85 percent of its sales outside of Japan, declined 1.6 percent. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s No. 1 publicly traded lender, lost 2 percent. Komatsu Ltd., a maker of construction machinery, retreated 3.1 percent after its bigger rival Caterpillar Inc. posted earnings that missed analyst estimates.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 10,050.01 at the 3 p.m. close in Tokyo. The broader Topix index slipped 0.8 percent to 861.91, the most since July 12, after talks between U.S. lawmakers on a plan to raise the federal government’s borrowing authority appeared to unravel days ahead of an Aug. 2 deadline.

“Without an agreement on a deal, investors are going to start to worry about the outlook for the U.S. economy,” said Naoteru Teraoka, general manager at Tokyo-based Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Co., which oversees about $28 billion. “If it takes a long time to settle the debt issue, it’s going to weigh on stocks.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14271495

Toyota's output and sales in Japan dipped in the first half of the year in wake of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Production dropped 38%, while sales slumped 41% in the six months to June, from a year ago, the company said, the first such dip in two years.

The carmaker was hit by a shortage of parts due to the damage caused to Japan's supply chain by the twin natural disasters.

Toyota is the world's biggest carmaker.

7/24/11 Peacock Syndrome - America's Fatal Disease Jim Quinn

Researchers at the University of Texas recently published a study about why men buy or lease flashy, extravagant, expensive cars like a gold plated Porsche Carrera GT. There conclusion was:

“Although showy spending is often perceived as wasteful, frivolous and even narcissistic, an evolutionary perspective suggests that blatant displays of resources may serve an important function, namely as a communication strategy designed to gain reproductive rewards.”

To put that in laymen’s terms, guys drive flashy expensive cars so they can get laid. Researcher Dr Vladas Griskevicius said: “The studies show that some men are like peacocks. They’re the ones driving the bright colored sports car.”
.
.
It seems a vast swath of America refuse to shed their peacock feathers. This explains why you see BMWs, Mercedes, Escalades, and Porsches parked in the driveways of $100,000 houses. Automobiles are the truest representation of American peacock syndrome. Very few people look at a car purchase in a rational long term financial sense. It’s about impressing the neighbors, your peers and your family. Driving a brand new luxury car gives you the appearance of success. The neighbors don’t know you are in debt up to your eyeballs. This explains why 30% to 40% of all luxury cars are leased. A man could buy a $20,000 Honda hybrid with 10% down and finance the rest at 0.9% for three years. His monthly payment would be $500. After three years he would own the car outright, with the added benefit of getting 45 mpg. He could then invest the $500 per month for the next seven years in gold and silver or something else that benefits from Federal Reserve created inflation. In today’s society this would be the act of a doo doo bird.

Why drive a putt putt car when you can drive the ultimate peacock machine – a BMW 528i with 24-valve inline 240-horsepower 6-cylinder engine with composite magnesium/aluminum engine block, Valvetronic, and Double-VANOS steplessly variable valve timing, 10-way power-adjustable driver’s and front passenger’s seat with 4-way lumbar support, and memory system for driver’s seat, steering wheel and outside mirrors, along with high-fidelity 12-speaker sound system, including 2 subwoofers under the front seats, and digital 7-channel amplifier with 205 watts of power. Plus it looks really cool. This materialism machine can be leased for the same $500 per month that the doo doo bird pays for his Honda hybrid. Of course, after three years of renting luxury wheels the peacock has to turn in the 528i and lease an equally luxurious auto because driving an economy car would now harm his reputation. Colorful plumage is everything to a peacock.
.
.
Meanwhile, millions of Americans cling to their borrowed peacock feathers as the butcher of reality bears down upon them. The end won’t be pretty. The brave conquerors of strip malls across the land can enjoy their toys, gadgets, and treasures for awhile longer, but they need to remember one thing – Glory is fleeting and death can come suddenly.

more...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-peacock-syndrome-americas-fatal-disease
or
http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=18895


“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.”
Last scene from the movie Patton
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066206/quotes
http://www.quotes.net/mquote/72006

I have seen.

Our neighbors really do look at us oddly as are content to drive a minivan and an S-10 pickup, one 5 years old,the other 11.

We bought a small apartment complex and a duplex for rent with the money we saved.

Peacock syndrome. Great great image.

they tend to look pretty mangy when they molt.

No reason to be flashy and arrogant then
:)

The story:

The Damocles of the anecdote was an obsequious courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, a fourth century BC tyrant of Syracuse, Italy. Pandering to his king, Damocles exclaimed that, as a great man of power and authority surrounded by magnificence, Dionysius was truly extremely fortunate. Dionysius then offered to switch places with Damocles, so that Damocles could taste that very fortune first hand. Damocles quickly and eagerly accepted the King's proposal. Damocles sat down in the king's throne surrounded by every luxury, but Dionysius arranged that a huge sword should hang above the throne, held at the pommel only by a single hair of a horse's tail. Damocles finally begged the tyrant that he be allowed to depart, because he no longer wanted to be so fortunate.

Dionysius had successfully conveyed a sense of the constant fear in which the great man lives. Cicero uses this story as the last in a series of contrasting examples for reaching the conclusion he had been moving towards in this fifth Disputation, in which the theme is that virtue is sufficient for living a happy life. Cicero asks:

Does not Dionysius seem to have made it sufficiently clear that there can be nothing happy for the person over whom some fear always looms?

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oddly enough, I was recently thinking of this story.

"reproductive rewards"

I drive a 12-yo S10 Blazer and I still attract attention, too.

And I'm not even a guy! :rofl:




TG

Moody’s cuts Greek rating, warns on precedent
Debt swap almost certain to result in default, ratings firm says
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/moodys-cuts-greek-rating-warns-on-precedent-2011-07-25?dist=beforebell

your credit rating goes down.

If you do, it goes down.

Sensible.


No, wait.

And I decided I didn't like it.

Never worked for or used a bank or other lending institution since.

Don't miss it a minute.

of the bank bailout crisis? Both required bad law to be enacted which will accelerate the demise of the middle class or the world as we know it would come to an end. There are so many lies from government these days that I can't decide what to believe.

Didn't Obama know the debt was a crisis when he allowed the continuation of the Bush tax cuts?

Its also the same tactic going on in the states, the repug governors give tax cuts to big business, then say their broke and its all those damn unions fault.

Naomi Klein calls it "shock doctrine", manufacture an emergency and use it to push their agenda.

Welcome to the Stock Market thread!
:hi:

http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/18/happy-69-year-old-lady-has-not-used-money-for-15-years/

(By odditycentral.com) Heidemarie Schwermer, a 69-year-old woman from Germany, gave up using money 15 years ago and says she’s been much happier ever since. Heidemarie’s incredible story began 22 years ago, when she, a middle-aged secondary school teacher emerging from a difficult marriage, took her two children and moved to the city of Dortmund, in Germany’s Ruhr area. One of the first things she noticed was the large number of homeless people, and this shocked her so much that she decided to actually do something about it. She had always believed the homeless didn’t need actual money to be accepted back into society, only a chance to empower themselves by making themselves useful, so she opened a Tauschring (swap shop), called “Gib und Nimm” (Give and Take).

Her small venture was a place where anyone could trade stuff and skills for other things and skills they needed, without a single coin or banknote changing hands. Old clothes could be traded in return for kitchen appliances, and car service rendered in return for plumbing services, and so on. The idea didn’t really attract many of Dortmund’s homeless, because, as some of them told her to her face, they didn’t feel an educated middle-class woman could relate to their situation. Instead, her small shop was assaulted by many of the city’s unemployed and retired folk eager to trade their skills and old stuff for something they needed. Heidemarie Schwermer’s Tauschring eventually became somewhat of a phenomenon in Dortmund and even prompted its creator to ask herself some questions about the life she was living. She started to realize she was living with a lot of stuff she didn’t really need and initially decided not to buy anything else without giving something away. Then she realized how unhappy she was with her work and made the connection between this feeling and the physical symptoms (backache and constant illness) she was feeling, so she decided to take up other jobs. She began washing dishes for 10 Deutchmarks an hour, and despite many were telling her things like “You went to university, you studied to do this?”, she felt good about herself, and didn’t feel like she should be valued more because of her studies than someone working in a kitchen. By 1995, the Tauschring had changed her life so much that she was spending virtually nothing, as everything she needed seemed to find its way into her life.

So in 1996. she took the biggest decision of her life: to live without money. Her children had moved out so she sold the apartment in Dortmund and decided to live nomadically, trading things and services for everything she needed. It was supposed to be a 12-month experiment, but found herself loving it so much that she just couldn’t give it up. 15 years later, she still lives according to the principles of Gib und Nimm, doing various chores for accommodation in the houses of various members of the Tauschring, and loving every minute of it. Schwermer has written two books about her experience of living without money and asked her publisher to give the money to charity so it can make many people happy instead of just one. She’s just happy being healthier and better off than ever before.

All of her belongings fit into a single-back suitcase and a rucksack, she has emergency savings of €200 and any other money she comes across, she gives away. Heidemarie doesn’t even have health insurance as she didn’t want to be accused of stealing from the state, and says she relies on the power of self-healing whenever she gets a little sick.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/mirabile-dictu-sec-prods-banks-over-mortgage-litigation-reserves.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

When the SEC wakes up and starts acting like a regulator, you know something serious is afoot...
The Wall Street Journal reports that the securities agency, spooked by Bank of America setting aside over $20 billion for mortgage-related liability, has sent letters to “a number of banks” asking them to do a better job of disclosing what their legal liability is (the elephant in the room is of course the mortgage mess) and making adequate reserves. Per their story:



One can have a teeny bit of sympathy for the banks. Structured credit and chain of title litigation are cutting edge areas of the law. We are in a better position than the banks to be candid about what is afoot, and even so, we’ve gotten a few calls wrong. But it’s also true that many of the key elements of the law are being sorted out in court, and certain issues are too early to call.

But I wouldn’t go beyond being a teeny bit sympathetic. The industry has gone into a defensive posture, trying to rely on PR and aggressive salvos by stanch allies, like the American Securitization Forum, or fellow members of the mortgage industrial complex who have as much to lose as they do (like the securitization law firms that have liability on past opinion letters). The problem is in this arena, mastering the spin is going to have limited effect on outcomes. There are enough judges that are not beholden to banks and were appalled by the massive fraud on the court perpetrated in the robosigning scandal that the banks can’t expect to get a break simply by being presumed to be credible....The banks simply can’t admit how bad things are. Between eventually needing to take large writedowns on their second lien portfolios (roughly $400 billion among the four biggest banks plus Ally Financial) and their mortgage-related liability, the largest banks have severely impaired if not negative equity. And investors have not yet roused themselves. This is where the potential meteor wiping out the dinosaurs events lie. Bondholders seem to be badly behind the curve on the implications of the mortgage train wreck in the nation’s courtrooms. The latest data I have seen suggests that loss severities on foreclosures (usually expressed as losses as a % of the original mortgage amount) are roughy 50% on prime mortgages and 75% on subprime. But these losses are certain to escalate. This is by e-mail from Tom Adams; I’d be curious to get informed reader input:



As investors face losses, they will increasingly want banks to do principal mods for viable borrowers rather than foreclose (as we’ve said repeatedly, a 40% principal mod beats a 75+% loss on foreclosure all day). Their best tool to bring banks to heel is to threaten litigation on chain of title issues (that the banks failed to fulfill the duties they specified in the pooling and servicing agreements). Whether any lawsuits will see the light of day is an open question, but forces are in motion that will make it far more difficult for banks to engage in extend and pretend as far as their mortgage exposures are concerned.

As Congress and the White House drive the country’s budget and debt rating closer to the edge of a cliff, global financial markets have greeted the impending calamity with a collective yawn.

Something doesn’t quite add up here. Either fears of an economic Armageddon are vastly overblown, or investors are setting themselves up for a nasty surprise.

For now, Wall Street seems convinced that Washington won’t drive the country into a financial abyss.

“We're having a massive circus,” said Robert Doll, chief investment officer at BlackRock Advisors. “It's not going to be fun. In the 12th, maybe 13th hour, we'll get something done. And we move on."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43881033/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/

Democrats and Republicans will present their own version of budget cuts later in the day on Monday, but is the estimated $2.7 trillion in cuts being proposed enough to avoid a credit rating downgrade?

Credit watchdogs at Standard & Poor’s have warned that unless $4 trillion in cuts are made, with long term sustainable fiscal policies to balance the budget, the US will lose its coveted AAA status within 90 days. Moody’s said the same thing this month, only gave the US 12 to 18 months to get its financial house in order before getting dropped from the triple-A list.

US government debt is considered the safest in the world. A lose to triple A status would cause every money market and Treasury bond fund to change its covenants that, until now, require holding AAA rated debt only.

“You’ll want to buy stock in a printing press company because if the US loses its triple A status, funds will be printing millions of notices to shareholders explaining the sudden and extraordinary change in its investment profile away from triple A debt and allowing for double A in their portfolios,” says Ron Weiner, president and CEO of RDM Financial Group in Westport, Conn, a $600 million asset manager.

/... http://blogs.forbes.com/kenrapoza/2011/07/25/is-us-debt-downgrade-inevitable/

In line with RIM’s planned “cost optimization program,” the company is moving a number of executives into positions of greater power and will lay off 2,000 of its estimated 19,000 person workforce.

In an effort to consolidate product efforts, the company is also moving former COO of Product Engineering, Thorsten Heins, into a position that makes him also COO of Product and Sales. Current COO, Dan Morrison, is retiring after a period of medical leave.

http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/25/breaking-rim-streamlining-operations-lays-off-2000/

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 49-billion dollars. Good day.)
Thanks for the ride big guy.
(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)
= 9,747,385,038,148.48 + 4,595,499,906,847.80
DOWN 6,272,699,061.03 + UP 6,270,279,695.49

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 $3,200.05 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.60, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,495,392 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 $45,897.91.
A family of three owes $137,693.73. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is -81,373,252.40.
The average for the last 30 days would be -54,248,834.93.

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$/day.
There were 199 reports in 294 days of FY2011 averaging 3.93B$ per report, 2.66B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 549 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 and 17.2T$.
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)
07/21/2011 14,342,884,944,996.28 BHO (UP 3,716,007,896,083.20 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 +0,781,261,914,104.50 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +0,969,934,009,007.29 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
06/28/2011 -005,425,153,798.63 --
06/29/2011 +007,017,747,779.06 ------------*********
06/30/2011 +003,977,538,029.63 ------------*********
07/06/2011 +006,618,560,773.63 ------------********* Wed
07/07/2011 +001,077,509,146.64 ------------*********
07/08/2011 -000,834,469,945.40 ---
07/11/2011 -004,122,303,723.36 -- Mon
07/12/2011 -003,634,448,925.47 --
07/13/2011 +010,692,053,599.69 ------------**********
07/14/2011 -001,516,331,672.50 --
07/15/2011 +003,100,504,281.51 ------------*********
07/18/2011 +000,238,790,593.83 ------------******** Mon
07/19/2011 +000,061,099,321.97 ------------*******
07/20/2011 -000,246,591,087.61 ---
07/21/2011 -006,272,699,061.03 --

10,731,805,311.96 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=4930633&mesg_id=4930676

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 49-billion dollars. Good day.)
Tired, but, closer to the finish.
(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)
= 9,748,189,073,389.64 + 4,594,684,906,653.27
UP 804,035,241.16 + DOWN 815,000,194.53

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,199.97 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.60, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,502,592 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,896.82.
A family of three owes $137,690.45. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is -81,332,676.66.
The average for the last 30 days would be -54,221,784.44.

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$/day.
There were 200 reports in 295 days of FY2011 averaging 3.91B$ per report, 2.65B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 548 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 and 17.2T$.
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)
07/22/2011 14,342,873,980,042.91 BHO (UP 3,715,996,931,129.83 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 +0,781,250,949,151.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +0,966,632,530,305.72 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
06/29/2011 +007,017,747,779.06 ------------*********
06/30/2011 +003,977,538,029.63 ------------*********
07/06/2011 +006,618,560,773.63 ------------********* Wed
07/07/2011 +001,077,509,146.64 ------------*********
07/08/2011 -000,834,469,945.40 ---
07/11/2011 -004,122,303,723.36 -- Mon
07/12/2011 -003,634,448,925.47 --
07/13/2011 +010,692,053,599.69 ------------**********
07/14/2011 -001,516,331,672.50 --
07/15/2011 +003,100,504,281.51 ------------*********
07/18/2011 +000,238,790,593.83 ------------******** Mon
07/19/2011 +000,061,099,321.97 ------------*******
07/20/2011 -000,246,591,087.61 ---
07/21/2011 -006,272,699,061.03 --
07/22/2011 +000,804,035,241.16 ------------********

16,960,994,351.75 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=4934630&mesg_id=4934939

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-recovery-under-threat-from-lack-of-investment-by-businesses-report-warns-2320049.html

British business is caught in an investment freeze that threatens to slow the already fragile economy, a survey shows today.

Fewer than a fifth of businesses plan to boost investment for growth in the next six months, according to the Lloyds TSB Commercial Business in Britain report.

Weak domestic demand and rising costs have put pressure on profits and confidence among the 1,800 businesses surveyed, leading to a slight fall in investment appetite from January's already weak figure, the twice-yearly survey reveals.

John Maltby, managing director of Lloyds TSB Commercial, said: "With domestic demand in the doldrums, and confidence still muted, it is understandable that firms are worried about investing for the future.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bank-shares-slide-over-us-fears-2325810.html

Banking shares suffered more heavy losses today as traders continued the countdown to potential financial meltdown in the United States.

The FTSE 100 Index was only slightly lower late in the session as the weighty mining sector and safe-bet utility firms helped offset greater losses.

But the ongoing deadlock between politicians over lifting the debt limit in the United States to avoid a default coupled with another damning debt downgrade for Greece to rock traders' confidence.

Ratings agency Moody's cut Greece's debt to two notches above default status, sparking further concerns over the eurozone debt crisis.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/investors-buy-shares-to-boost-bank-of-ireland-2320110.html

Bank of Ireland has escaped majority state ownership after a group of investors agreed to buy more than one billion euro (£880 million) in shares.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the Government negotiated the deal, which he described as a major step in its plans to radically restructure the banking system.

Subject to appropriate regulatory clearances, the investors have committed to buy up to 1.123 billion euro (£988.4 million) of the State's shares in Bank of Ireland, cutting the amount the Government has to fork out to capitalise the troubled-institution.

Mr Noonan said: "The commitment by a number of significant private sector investors to invest side by side with the State's retained holding without any form of additional risk sharing by the State reaffirms the credibility of our stress tests and the health of our banks after the PCAR exercise.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/number-of--companies-on-critical-list-rises-rapidly-2320047.html

The dire situation facing many UK companies has been laid bare, with a survey finding that 12 per cent more businesses are on the verge of insolvency than just three months ago.

The survey, by Begbies Traynor, the restructuring specialist, found that a total of 5,179 companies faced "critical" financial problems in the second quarter of the year.

The company's Red Flag Alert Report revealed that number had risen from 4,620 in the first quarter and now represented liabilities of almost £60bn, as factors including dwindling consumer spending took their toll.

Companies described as having "critical" problems face wind-up petitions or county court judgements of £5,000 or more. Those with "significant" problems face either court action or poor, insolvent or out-of-date accounts.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/pm-dampens-economic-stimulus-hopes-2325807.html

Prime Minister David Cameron today poured cold water on hopes that tax cuts or a fresh round of money-printing may be deployed to stimulate the economy, on the eve of what are expected to be weak growth figures tomorrow.

Pressure on the Government to announce a "plan B" for the economy will increase if tomorrow's GDP figures show the UK undershooting earlier predictions of 0.5% growth over the three months to June.

Most City economists have trimmed their own forecasts back to 0.1% or 0.2%, with some even predicting negative growth.

Business Secretary Vince Cable yesterday suggested that the Bank of England could stimulate a sluggish economy with a further injection of money through so-called "quantitative easing", while Chancellor George Osborne has hinted that he would like to cut taxes on business.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14280806

The price of gold has hit a new record high of $1,615 an ounce as concerns grow about the delay in US Congress agreeing a new debt ceiling.

Investors had hoped US policymakers would agree a new ceiling, thereby allowing the government to continue paying its bills, over the weekend.

The debt crisis in the eurozone has also helped to drive up the gold price in recent weeks.

Gold is seen as a safe investment and often rises in times of uncertainty.

VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European stocks pared last week's solid gains on Monday, as strength in German was offset by weak performances in other major markets.

Traders expressed concerns that U.S. lawmakers will set of a double-dip recession by failing to reach a compromise on the nations debt ceiling. Jitters were also expressed about last week's plan to rescue Greece from its crushing debt load.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday lowered Greece's local and foreign-currency bond ratings to 'Ca' from 'Caa1', citing likelihood of substantial losses to private creditors on their government debt holdings.

The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks unofficially lost 0.96 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, fell 0.34 percent.

Unofficially, the German DAX added 0.25 percent, and the French CAC shed 0.77 percent. UK's FTSE 100 was sliding 0.16 percent and Switzerland's SMI was down 0.24 percent.

/... http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2011-07/20883865-european-stocks-decline-on-persistent-debt-woes-020.htm

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/BlackBerry-cuts-2000-jobs/articleshow/9361926.cms

Click Here
Toronto. In a massive layoff, BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) on Monday announced it was axing 2,000 employees.

The unprecedented decision comes a month after the top Canadian technology company issued pink slips to 200 `manufacturing' employees at its headquarters at Waterloo near Toronto.

Monday's lay-offs account for over 10 percent of RIM's total workforce around the world. It is the biggest lay-off in the history of the company which invented the smart phone.

With Monday's job cuts, RIM's global employees will now number about 17,000.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/gold-hits-all-time-high-of-rs-23620-on-firm-global-cues/articleshow/9358469.cms

NEW DELHI: Surpassing all previous records, gold roared to an all-time high of Rs 23,620 per 10 grams by adding Rs 200 in the national capital today on increased buying by stockists and investors, driven by a record rally in global markets.

Silver also moved up by Rs 500 to Rs 59,500 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Silver coins followed suit and jumped by Rs 1,500 to fresh high of Rs 65,500 for buying and Rs 66,500 for selling of 100 pieces.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/rupee-will-start-appreciating-in-first-quarter-of-next-year-bnp-paribas/articleshow/9357616.cms

n an interview with ET Now,Manoj Rane,MD & Head Fixed Income & Treasury-India,BNP Paribas, talks aboutRBI policy, rupee and oil. Excerpts:

ET Now: There is a growing view in the markets that the RBI will hit a pause button on the rate hikes after the repo rate gets to 8%, would you go with that view and your own expectations of the policy?

Manoj Rane: Before that, this will be the last of the rate hike cycle. Whether we say there is going to be another 25 basis point hike or not, I am quite clear in my mind that you have possibly seen the highs on the interest rates side, particularly let's say with reference to the 10 year. I do not see that you will see 840 plus again.

ET Now: The liquidity deficit presently is at slightly above 1% NDTL which is pretty much the target that the RBI wants. Now should we expect that this will improve somewhat as the government spending picks up and subsidy payments have stepped up?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Rising-wages-contributing-to-price-rise-says-RBI/articleshow/9364283.cms

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has said that increase in salaries is pushing up prices and that the wage-price spiral needs to be broken to control inflation. This observation by the central bank is seen as one more pointer to higher interest rates since this is its main weapon against rising prices.

In its report, 'Macroeconomic and Monetary Development', for the first quarter of FY12, RBI has said that there a likelihood of growth being lower than expected because inflation would continue to be the top priority. The report said that the government's schemes, such as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has contributed to an increase in wages. "However, the faster increase in wages vis-a-vis inflation poses the risk of wage-price spiral, particularly for food inflation, as the revision in MSPs take into account wage cost escalation," RBI said.

The lower optimism with respect to growth is reflected both in the projections made by forecasters and in the business confidence index as reported by various industry associations. The business confidence index as reported by NCAER for the first quarter of FY12 was down the least with -0.1% decline. The drop was highest according to the survey conducted by Dun & Bradstreet at 21.7%.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-up-149-points-ahead-of-RBI-meet-gains-led-by-RIL-telcos/articleshow/9359376.cms

MUMBAI: The BSE benchmark Sensex rose by 149 points ahead of the RBI meeting on Tuesday as investors bought telecom blue-chips like Bharti telecom and RComm besides energy major and largest private firm RIL, which will release its first quarter results on Monday.

The Reserve Bank of India policy meet tomorrow to decide on further interest rate hikes to check a towering inflation, however, restrained an otherwise upbeat mood.

Extending gains from last week,the Bombay Stock Exchange key index Sensex surged to 18,871.29 as Sensex-heaviest scrip RIL rose about one per cent after the government approved the stake sale in 21 of its fields to British Petroleum, and the market expectations of better earnings from the company.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/world-watches-and-hopes-us-will-avoid-debt-suicide/articleshow/9360179.cms

SINGAPORE: Policymakers worldwide oscillated between hope and confidence on Monday that U.S. lawmakers will break a debt impasse that threatens to trigger a default and up-end global financial markets.

Asia, which holds close to $3 trillion in U.S. government debt, has a powerful vested interest in Washington finding a workable compromise. Policymakers and economists expected lawmakers would strike a last-minute deal to avert a crisis.

The political brinkmanship hit world stocks on Monday and pushed money into safe-haven gold and Swiss francs, ending a brief relief rally over Greece's second bailout package, although there was no sign of panic.

But with just eight days left before August 2, when the Treasury Department has estimated it will run short of money to pay all of its bills, the worry level was rising.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AUTOS_CONTRACT_TALKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-07-25-12-43-34

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- To help American carmakers stay in business, autoworkers grudgingly gave up pay raises and some benefits four years ago.

Now that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are making money again, workers want compensation for their sacrifice. Just how much they get is the central question hanging over contract talks that start this week between Detroit and one of the nation's largest and most powerful unions.

The negotiations, the first since Chrysler and GM took government aid and emerged from bankruptcy, will set wages and benefits for 111,000 members of the United Auto Workers, including those at Ford, which avoided bankruptcy by taking out massive private loans. The UAW's four-year contracts with the Detroit Three expire on Sept. 14.

There's more at stake than pay. After the industry's brush with financial ruin in 2008 and 2009, both sides know how quickly Detroit's sales and profitability could vanish. Sales are on pace to reach nearly 13 million cars and trucks this year, better than the 10 million in 2009, but still below the 17 million peak in 2005. Americans are worried about buying cars when wages and the job market are weak. The workers and Detroit companies can't leave themselves vulnerable to rivals.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AP_GFK_POLL_STRESSING_OVER_DEBT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-07-25-15-08-29

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Just last fall, Americans were feeling better about their personal finances. Now they're starting to worry more about how they'll pay off debts as they feel the nation's economic recovery wobbling.

With Congress deadlocked over how to deal with the national debt, household debt is causing stress for nearly half the country, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. One in five adults worries about debt most or all of the time. If they bought something on a credit card in the past month, more than a third say they won't pay it off when the bill comes.

The increased stress represents a reversal from last fall's AP-GfK poll, which found increasing confidence about personal finances. Debt-related stress is up 17 percent from that November survey, bumping such worries back up to levels seen in 2009 and in the spring of last year.

"It's not that our debt is huge. It's just hard to make it, month to month," said Theresa Telford, 45, a teacher's aide raising four kids with her husband, a sheriff's deputy. "It seems like everything is going up, but wages aren't going up."

(Reuters) - The dollar skidded to an all-time low against the Swiss franc and a four-month trough versus the yen on Monday as U.S. lawmaker standoff over dueling debt plans caused investors to seek alternate safe-haven currencies.

...

Overall, the Swiss franc was the biggest beneficiary of the demand for safe havens, pushing the dollar to an all-time low of 0.80210 francs on trading platform EBS. The dollar has fallen in three of the last four sessions against the Swiss currency. It last traded at 0.8058, down 1.5 percent on the day.

...

The euro also fell versus the franc, dropping as much as 1.7 percent, as did sterling. Traders reported heavy selling of the pound ahead of Tuesday's UK gross domestic product data for the second quarter. The U.S. debt ceiling stalemate, however, helped the euro gain against the dollar. It last traded at $1.4376, up 0.2 percent on the day, according to Reuters data.

...

Some portfolio managers have readied back-up plans in the event of a U.S. default. Paul Dietrich, who runs Foxhall Capital with assets under management of $1 billion, said he's looking at gold and the sovereign debt of countries with more robust economic fundamentals such as Australia and Canada.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/25/us-markets-forex-idUSTRE74U02L20110725


Aussie Hits New Multi-month High Versus Greenback

CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar extended its early morning session's upward trading against the US dollar during New York afternoon deals on Monday. As of now, the Aussie is trading near a fresh multi-month high of 1.0879 versus the greenback, compared to last Friday's close of 1.0856.

/.. http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2011-07/20884222-aussie-hits-new-multi-month-high-versus-greenback-020.htm


Canadian Dollar Advances Against Major Rivals

CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Canadian dollar traded higher against major currencies during New York morning trading on Monday.

Extending previous session's uptrend, the loonie advanced further against its US and Japanese counterparts in today's morning deals and climbed to 0.9447 and 83.02, respectively, at about 11:25 am ET. Currently, the loonie is worth 0.9455 against the greenback and 82.88 versus the yen, compared to last week's close of 0.9489 and 82.76, respectively.

/... http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2011-07/20883743-canadian-dollar-advances-against-major-rivals-020.htm


US Dollar Declines Against Mexican Peso

WELLINGTON (dpa-AFX) - During New York afternoon trading on Monday, the US currency declined against its US counterpart. The greenback dropped to 11.6393 versus the greenback by about 1:25 pm ET, which may be compared to yesterday's close of 11.6365. Presently, the pair is worth 11.64.

/.. http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2011-07/20884647-us-dollar-declines-against-mexican-peso-020.htm

...

On April 15, 2011, leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China met in Brasilia to continue talks on what these countries want to see happen, which is a multi-polar world with a multi-currency international monetary system. This multi-polarity is aimed at interdependence among countries, without the hegemony of any country as the most powerful one. The five-country group of BRICS, with South Africa as the new member that came aboard this year, proposes to function as a network of equals rather than a pyramid with a hierarchical order. The movement for a united Europe is almost as old as the serious divisive propensities and nationalistic animosities betwixt European nations. Nevertheless, the current financial crisis and rebalancing of global power seems to be applying the much-needed glue for forging a possible united front.

Simultaneously, efforts are on for a future Euro-BRICS summit, which would bring together at least the core of the European Union, namely Euroland countries on the one hand and Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on the other. Such a formidable combination of three and a half billion people will, directly or indirectly, bring together four continents. In general, the current global financial crisis is being observed to mark the end of the systems and power relationships that have dominated the world since the end of the Second World War. Also as a fallout of the crisis, international relations in areas as diverse as finance, trade and strategic diplomacy have been subjected to unprecedented rebalancing too. Of course, an overhaul of international financial structure is advocated as part of a wider institutional reform in governance at the global level.

It is now acknowledged without exception that one important reason for the global financial crisis is that the international monetary system has been dollar-centric for too long. As a result, the domestic financial crisis of the US turned into a global crisis. The huge current account deficit of the US and the various fluctuations in the US economy following the onset of the crisis, in fact, make the change in the international monetary system imperative. In November 2010, the World Bank President Robert Zoellick suggested an international monetary system that better reflects the emerging economic conditions of today. Along with the dollar, euro, yen, pound and renminbi should all be used as international reference points of market expectations about future currency values. This will set in motion the process of recognition of these currencies as future reserve currencies.

/More... http://www.financialexpress.com/news/column-bric-up-a-new-monetary-system/811556/0

The author is Reserve Bank of India Chair Professor, ICRIER, New Delhi

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daniel-gross/ten-more-banks-exit-tarp-borrowing-treasury-133306544.html

Last week we reported that many banks that participated in the Capital Purchase Program (CPP), the central component of TARP in which Treasury bought five-percent-yielding preferred shares from banks, are exiting TARP with the assistance of another Treasury-backed program, the Small Business Lending Fund. The SBLF, created as part of the bi-partisan Small Business Jobs Act, passed last fall, makes cash available to banks with assets of $10 billion or less, and then gives them incentives or rewards for making small-business loans. Unlike TARP, SBLS sets up carrots and sticks that encourage banks to lend and discourage them from hoarding capital. SBLF preferred shares can bear interest rates as low as 1 percent (if banks increase their lending to small business) or as high as 9 percent if banks simply sit on the funds for several years.

On July 14, eight banks exited TARP by paying back a total of $103.3 million. In each instance, the report reflected that the banks did so all or in part by using funds raised from SBLF. Of course, the program was designed to enable such activities. And as a reader notes, plenty of banks that did not participate in TARP have received funds from SBLF. Still, it's clear that several banks are paying back Treasury loans and shucking the stigma of one bank-support program by borrowing from another Treasury bank-support program.

Last week, SBLF-enabled bailout exits continued. On July 21, 10 more banks paid back $128.5 million in CPP funds. Each entry carried a reference to footnotes 49 and 50, which indicate the buybacks were enabled in whole or in part by participation in the SBLF. If you're counting at home, that's about $232 million in SBLF-assisted TARP repayments so far.


(snip) See the list of exitors at the link.