STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 27 August 2014

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 27 August 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 26 August 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 26 August 2014
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Dow Jones 17,106.70 +29.83 (0.17%)
S&P 500 2,000.02 +2.10 (0.11%)
Nasdaq 4,570.64 +13.29 (0.29%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.38% +0.02 (0.85%)
30 Year 3.16% +0.04 (1.28%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.








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[font size=3][font color=red]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.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Demeter]

1. We gotta go way back in time to find anything to laugh about today

Classic Doonesbury (1977) Bob Dylan got a phone call from the President (Carter)




Calvin's parents muse on a philosophical point

[Demeter]

2. New French cabinet expected tomorrow

INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO HIS ADVISORS, HOLLANDE DEMANDS NEW ADVISORS....SO HE CAN CONTINUE TO SERVE AS A "FRENCH POODLE" TO ANGELA'S BUNDESBANK....ALA LANTERNE, PARIS!

http://www.euractiv.com/sections/elections/new-french-cabinet-expected-tomorrow-307957

French President François Hollande asked his prime minister today (25 August) to form a new government, looking to impose his will on the cabinet after rebel leftist ministers called for an economic policy U-turn. A new cabinet is expected to be announced tomorrow.

The surprise move came the day after outspoken Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg had condemned what he called fiscal "austerity" and attacked euro zone powerhouse Germany's "obsession" with budgetary rigour.

In a terse statement, Hollande's office said Prime Minister Manuel Valls had handed in his government's resignation, opening the way for a reshuffle just four months after it took office....

[Demeter]

3. RE CARTOON: Can Treasury Make Inversions Rule Stand Up in Court?

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/08/25/can-treasury-make-inversions-rule-stand-up-in-court/



Treasury Department officials are hunkered down, sorting through heaps of tax law to try and remove some of the economic incentives that fuel certain cross-border acquisitions.

And the world is watching. Hedge funds around the globe have bets tied up in a number of pending and future transactions. Chief executives are deciding whether to proceed with deals. Bankers, lawyers and accountants all have a stake in what the White House decides to do.

These acquisitions, known as “inversions,” allow a multinational company to shed some or most of its U.S. tax obligations because the deals are structured to shift the bulk of the tax liability to a low or no-tax jurisdiction. An inversion attempts to minimize U.S. taxable income even though, in most cases, the firms retain robust U.S. presences. The White House says this is “unfair” and is trying to stop it, most likely through a new rule, guidelines, or regulatory opinion.

Virtually everyone who follows these deals has an opinion about what Treasury can or should do, but few opinions matter as much as those of Mark Mazur, Treasury’s top tax guru. A number of multibillion-dollar mergers this year could hinge on his recommendations...What Treasury is trying to do isn’t “stop” these inversion deals, according to people familiar with the process. It likely doesn’t have the power to unilaterally intervene in mergers and acquisitions. Instead, it wants to remove some of the perceived benefits of these deals.

HAS ANYBODY "STOPPED" DERIVATIVES? BUNDLING SUBPRIME DEBT INTO SLICE-AND-DICE SECURITIES? VULTURES? ANYTHING?

[Demeter]

4. Banks Want Lehman to Increase RMBS Reserves to $12.14 Billion

http://online.wsj.com/articles/banks-want-lehman-to-increase-rmbs-reserves-to-12-14-billion-1408996209?mod=dist_smartbrief



Some of the country's largest financial institutions say Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. needs to set aside $12.14 billion to settle claims over certain soured mortgage loans, more than double what the failed investment bank has currently set aside for the dispute...

LEHMAN BROS. LIQUIDATION, STILL GOING STRONG AFTER ALL THESE YEARS....

[Demeter]

5. Southeast Asia embracing Islamic finance

ONE MORE NAIL IN THE DOLLAR AND THE GLOBAL HEGEMONY'S COFFIN...STOPPING THE WORLD BANK AT THE ISLAMIC BORDER...AND ALL THE OTHER ECONOMIC HITMEN....

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/Economy/Southeast-Asia-embracing-Islamic-finance

Islamic finance has been growing rapidly across the world. The market for this type of funding is projected to more than double to $2 trillion in 2014 compared with five years ago, according to a British association specializing in Islamic financial activities.

The U.K. Islamic Finance Secretariat reported that Islamic financial instruments and services, such as sukuk bonds and takaful insurance products, have been gaining ground across the world, in addition to ordinary lending. Dollar-denominated sukuk and real estate investment trusts aligned with sharia Islamic law have been also introduced to tap into growing demand for Islamic money.

Driving the growth is Southeast Asia, home to about 20% of Muslims worldwide. The region's economic growth has expanded the use of Islamic money from financing large infrastructure projects to smaller businesses, which are looking to secure money for daily operations.

The issuance of sukuk is spreading among countries and businesses beyond the Islamic world. The British government in June issued about 34 billion yen ($326 million) worth of Islamic bonds, in a first for a non-Muslim country...

[Demeter]

6. SPEAKING OF VULTURES: Hayman’s Bass Says Argentina Bond Trustee Is Failing Investors

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-25/hayman-s-bass-says-argentina-bond-trustee-is-failing-investors.html

Kyle Bass, founder of hedge fund Hayman Capital Management LP, says Bank of New York Mellon Corp. is failing in its duties to holders of Argentine bonds by refusing to pass along debt payments. Bass and a group of investors including George Soros’s Quantum Partners LP are suing BNY Mellon in London for failure to distribute 226 million euros ($298 million) of interest on Argentine debt. The group, which also includes Knighthead Capital Management LLC and RGY Investments LLC, holds more than 1.3 billion euros of Argentina’s euro-denominated bonds, according to Aug. 21 court documents obtained by Bloomberg News.

The lawsuit names BNY Mellon’s London unit, which the group says is required to pass along funds despite a court ruling in the U.S. that bars the trustee from doing so until Argentina has also paid holders of defaulted bonds from 2001, including billionaire Paul Singer’s hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. The ruling shouldn’t apply to debt issued outside of U.S. jurisdiction, Bass said. “They failed to transfer the euro funds in accordance with their trust obligations,” Bass said in a telephone interview from New York. “Our interest payment is governed by U.K. law, which hasn’t ruled on this. Until there’s a similar injunction in the U.K., they owe us our interest payments.”

On June 26, Argentina deposited $539 million into an account at BNY Mellon for an interest payment due four days later, without also making a $1.5 billion payment on defaulted bonds from 2001. A judge in New York called the payment “illegal” and blocked BNY Mellon from passing the funds along. They remain at the bank’s account in Buenos Aires. A default was triggered July 30, after the government failed to reach a settlement with the holdouts by the end of a grace period for making the interest payments.

“The suit is without merit,” Ron Gruendl, a spokesman for New York-based BNY Mellon, said in an Aug. 22 statement. “BNY Mellon has consistently followed the binding court orders that govern its actions as trustee in this matter.”

Last week, the government sent a bill to Congress to attempt to remove BNY Mellon as trustee and continue making payments locally through state-run Banco de la Nacion Argentina. WHICH GOVERNMENT? I BELIEVE THEY MEAN ARGENTINA'S GOVT. AND ARGENTINA'S CONGRESS...

[Demeter]

7. Goldman Sachs, U.S. agency in mortgage settlement worth $1.2 billion ET TU, BLANKFEIN?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/22/us-goldman-fhfa-idUSKBN0GM1VN20140822

Goldman Sachs Group Inc has agreed to a settlement worth $1.2 billion to resolve a U.S. regulator's claims the bank sold Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac faulty mortgage bonds, the regulator announced Friday. Under the settlement with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the conservator for the two government-controlled mortgage finance companies, Goldman Sachs said it agreed to pay $3.15 billion to repurchase mortgage-backed securities from Fannie and Freddie. The FHFA, which valued the settlement at $1.2 billion, said the accord "effectively makes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac whole on their investments in the securities at issue." The $1.2 billion reflects the amount that Goldman will pay, minus the estimated current value of the securities being bought back from Fannie and Freddie.

The deal averts a Sept. 29 trial in a pair of lawsuits against Goldman that the FHFA filed in 2011 as it sought to recover damages from various financial institutions behind some $200 billion in mortgage bonds bought by Fannie and Freddie that later went sour. To date, the FHFA has resolved all but three of the 18 lawsuits it filed, recovering $17.3 billion through cases against banks including Bank of America Corp, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley...The FHFA continues to litigate against three other banks: HSBC Holdings Plc, Nomura Holdings Inc and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc...

The FHFA's primary case against Goldman Sachs accused the bank of misleading the two mortgage finance giants in the sale of over $11.1 billion in mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie and Freddie from 2005 to 2007.

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

8. Jackson Hole Theme: Labor Markets Can’t Take Higher Rates

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-24/jackson-hole-message-is-labor-markets-don-t-justify-higher-rates.html

Global central bankers led by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said labor markets still have further to heal before their economies can weather higher interest rates.

Even as they signaled international monetary policies are set to diverge as economic recoveries increasingly differ, officials meeting over the weekend in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, placed jobs at the center of their decision making by saying stronger hiring and wages are still needed to drive demand.

The focus on jobs suggests the Fed and Bank of England will tighten policy within a year as their economies show signs of strengthening. By contrast, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda acknowledged they may be forced to deploy fresh stimulus.

MUCH MORE

[Demeter]

11. Oregon lawmaker will not let Fed forget to tackle commodities GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, JEFF

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/17/commodities-usa-senate-idUKL2N0QC28K20140817

Just over a year ago, Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley was looking for a place to make a bold statement about his latest crusade: taking Wall Street's traders to task for gaming commodity markets. His office telephoned Bruce Kehe, marketing director at Portland's Hopworks Urban Brewery, to see if the microbrewer would host an event at which Merkley would blast banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc for driving up the price of aluminum and other commodities. Allegations that banks were hoarding aluminum in warehouses they own had captured regulatory, legal and political attention in July 2013, when Merkley participated in the first hearing on the issue.

In the past year, the Senate Banking Committee has held a second hearing on the issue; the Federal Reserve said it would consider ways to curb banks' commodities activities and solicited public comment on the matter; and banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley have sold portions of their business. But even as the Fed has gone quiet on the issue, Merkley is growing louder.

In June, two months after the Fed's comment period closed, he submitted a seven-page letter in which he urged the regulator to severely limit banks' commodities activities, citing several provisions of the Volcker Rule under which it could act.

MEET THE SENATOR FROM OREGON...

[Demeter]

9. Merkel: Ukraine can go to Eurasian Union

I THINK THIS MAY BE THE WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER....

http://euobserver.com/foreign/125331

Germany’s Angela Merkel has said Ukraine is free to “go to” Russia’s “Eurasian Union”, amid signs of a new willingness to make peace with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Speaking to German public broadcaster ARD on Sunday (24 August), the German chancellor said her visit to Kiev on Saturday was designed to prepare for peace talks between Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and Putin in Minsk on Tuesday, but warned the public not to expect a "breakthrough”.

She mentioned Ukrainian “decentralisation”, a deal on gas prices, and Ukraine’s “trade relations” with Russia as elements that could bring about an accord.

"And if Ukraine says we are going to the Eurasian Union now, the European Union would never make a big conflict out of it, but would insist on a voluntary decision," Merkel added.

"I want to find a way, as many others do, which does not damage Russia. We {Germany] want to have good trade relations with Russia as well. We want reasonable relations with Russia. We are depending on one another and there are so many other conflicts in the world where we should work together, so I hope we can make progress”.

The Minsk event is billed as a summit of the three states - Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia - in Putin’s “Customs Union”. Poroshenko and three senior EU officials - foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, trade commissioner Karel De Gucht, and energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger - will also attend. It is the first time EU commissioners will go to a Customs Union meeting, in what Merkel said signals the EU's engagement in solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Russia set up the Customs Union as an alternative to the Eastern Partnership, an EU project to create a free trade zone with former Soviet states. The Customs Union is to be changed into a political “Eurasian Union” on 1 January 2015.

For his part, Poroshenko, who was elected on the back of a pro-Western revolution in February, has already signed an EU free trade deal (DCFTA) and has promised to ratify it in September before general elections. The DCFTA legally obliges Ukraine to stay out of the Customs Union. But earlier on Saturday in Kiev, Merkel also indicated she is willing to make trade concessions to Moscow. “This [trade] is of greatest importance to Russia. I think, this has an importance beyond pure economics, it also has a psychological importance”, she said. Poroshenko himself noted: “The choice the Ukrainian people made is a European choice. We have a clear position on the EU … free trade agreement”. But he added the EU "would have nothing against" some form of Ukrainian association with Russia after the conflict in east Ukraine ends.

Some EU diplomats see Merkel’s ARD remarks on the Eurasian Union as a rhetorical statement meant to underline that Ukraine’s foreign policy is its sovereign choice. But others fear Berlin is making a deal with Moscow over the heads of Brussels and Kiev. Noting that German energy firm RWE this weekend sold an oil and gas extraction company, Dea, to Russian firm LetterOne in a deal worth €5.1 billion, one EU diplomat told this website: “There are signs Germany is seeking a return to peace and to business as usual at any price … even if this means putting off Ukraine’s ratification of the EU free trade pact...That would be the death of the Eastern Partnership … It would be a catastrophe for EU foreign policy”.

I THINK MERKEL JUST TRUMPED VICTORIA NULAND'S "FUCK THE EU" EXCLAMATION WITH ONE OF HER OWN...WAY TO GO, ANGELA!

MORE AT LINK

[DemReadingDU]

10. Major Time Warner outage this morning

Last edited Wed Aug 27, 2014, 09:24 AM - Edit history (1)

8/27/14 Time Warner Services Are Coming Back After Massive Outages Affect Entire US

Time Warner says cable and internet services are "largely restored," according to ABC's "Good Morning America," after nationwide outages were reported early Wednesday morning. A spike in outage issues first flooded in around 3 a.m. ET (labeled as 10:00 on the chart), according to this map from DownDetector.com. Reports streamed in from both the East and West Coasts with a majority of issues originating in large cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Tampa, according to DownDetector.com.


Strangely, the widespread U.S. outage immediately followed an incident overseas in which Virgin Media customers across the U.K. were unable to access the internet Tuesday morning due to a network issue.


click link for map of outage areas
http://www.businessinsider.com/timewarner-down-2014-8?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29

[Demeter]

12. A Glimpse of the Future as Silver Breaks 117-Year Tradition

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/08/15/a-glimpse-of-the-future-as-silver-breaks-117-year-tradition/

“Give it a few seconds,” said Ruth Crowell, chief executive of the London Bullion Market Association, at 11:59 am U.K. time Friday.

In a small boardroom at the LBMA’s London offices, a large plasma screen stared blankly. The clock struck 12pm. After a few moments of inertia, the platform ticked into life and, after a brief auction, the first-ever electronic silver fix was generated: $19.86 per troy ounce.

While the new pricing system, run by CME Group Inc. and Thomson Reuters Corp., worked without a hitch, there are still issues to be ironed out in the drive to improve transparency. The old silver fix came under scrutiny from regulators recently, as part of a wider probe into key financial benchmarks, including those for interest rates, gold and foreign exchange.

One of the key advantages of the new pricing system is that it will include many more market participants. The new operators, which won the mandate to collect and distribute the data last month, also wanted to involve other types of companies beyond banks, including trading houses, refiners and producers.

But as of Friday, just three players–two banks and a metals trading house–were accredited to participate in Friday’s auction....MORE

[Demeter]

13. STOP THE PRESSES! Better-paying jobs stage a comeback

SINCE NOBODY PICKED UP AND RAN WITH THIS...I HAVE MY DOUBTS. FROM AUG 17TH

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/better-paying-jobs-stage-a-comeback/2014/08/17/903d14ce-2305-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html



The recovery in America’s job market is finally spreading to industries with good pay after years of being concentrated in fields with low wages.

Hiring has picked up steam in areas such as construction, manufacturing and professional services in recent months — sectors with a median hourly wage of at least $20. Nearly 40 percent of the jobs created over the past six months have been in high-wage industries, compared with just a quarter during the last half of 2013, according to an analysis by the National Employment Law Project for The Washington Post. Meanwhile, growth in many low-paying jobs has leveled off or even declined.

“I often hear that the recovery is only in low-wage jobs. That is categorically inaccurate,” Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez said in an interview. “This recovery is creating a lot of good jobs.”

If those trends hold, economists say it could mean that the bumpy road back from recession is beginning to even out — particularly if it means that more jobs with better pay can help boost household income...

[DemReadingDU]

14. Nanex - Yesterday's Retail Trader Lockout, Worse Than The Flash Crash

Nanex:
Final impact at the end of the day: this event had more instances of crossed quotes than the Nasdaq blackout or Flash Crash!
lots more...
http://www.nanex.net/aqck2/4673.html

8/26/14 via ZeroHedge...
For 39 minutes today (actually yesterday), as we noted earlier, the US stock "market" broke. As Nanex details, a total of 1,384 symbols were affected as 100s of stocks trade with crossed NBBOs, practically eliminating any chance for retail traders to transact. Options market were frantic, volatility swung around like a Ukrainian border-patrol agent, and yet the US equity indices limped ever higher. For those who fear 'the big one', for those who understand market liquidity, for those who got a glimpse of what happens when large crowds meet small doors in the high-yield credit market, today's "broken" market was a cold hard lesson that few 'moms and pops' would have noticed... but from the perspective of 'ability to trade' - today's market was worse than the Nasdaq Blackout and the Flash Crash... Hedge accordingly.
more...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-26/retail-trader-lockout-todays-market-issues-were-worst-flash-crash



Definition of 'National Best Bid and Offer - NBBO'
The best (lowest) available ask price and the best (highest) available bid price to investors when they buy and sell securities. National Best Bid and Offer is the bid and ask price the average person will see. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation NMS requires that brokers must guarantee customers this price.
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/nbbo.asp

[Demeter]

15. I wonder if they use time-Warner cable lines...

[DemReadingDU]

16. Hmmm. Or something else

Tuesday, there was cable outage of Virgin Media in the U.K. Possible tests of cable outages in selective countries, coupled with frozen lockout in stock market, could halt services globally if there were a sudden panic in the financial markets.

[Demeter]

18. Or, beneficent hackers, pulling plug on crony capitalism?

Or not-so-beneficent hackers, pulling plug on US Empire...

or Criminal Capitalists, hiring hackers to F with markets for their personal gain...

Hell, anyone who knows how to take advantage of either the (computer) system or the (Market) System is suspect!

[Crewleader]

17. Housing market stuck in downward spiral: Shari Olefson

Home price growth continues to slow, according to today’s S&P/Case-Shiller index.

According to the index, home growth rates grew 6.2% nationwide for the 12-month period ending in June, much lower than the double-digit gains seen last year. The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 major cities through the U.S. increased 8.1% over the same period, down from a 9.4% in May and below economists' expectations of 8.4%.

Home prices appear to be moderating but that’s good news says Shari Olefson, CEO of The Carnegie Group. “Those big increases that we saw last year were not sustainable and in general we’re still seeing an upward trend when you look at the big picture,” she says.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/housing-market-is-stuck-in-downard-spiral--shari-olefson-155251001.html