STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 13 February 2012

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, 13 February 2012[/font]

SMW for 10 February 2012

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 10 February 2012
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Dow Jones 12,801.23 -89.23 (-0.69%)
S&P 500 1,342.64 -9.31 (-0.69%)
Nasdaq 2,903.88 -23.35 (-0.80%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.98% +0.01 (0.51%)
30 Year 3.14% +0.01 (0.32%) [font color=black]




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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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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
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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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Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = [/font][font color=red]12[/font]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS



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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]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. Our own InkAddict is in the hospital

For those who may have missed it over the week-end

http://www.democraticunderground.com/11165900

with a link to the original post by Johnny Harpo.


All good thoughts winging their way to you, IA! Get well soon and come back here to rant and rave! We miss you!



TG

[xchrom]

6. oh no -- be well IA!

so the heart thingy is going in today?

[bread_and_roses]

36. Best wishes to him for a speedy recovery.

[AnneD]

40. Ink Addict.....

wishing you...good drugs, good Docs and Nurses, and a speedy recovery.

[girl gone mad]

47. Sending good vibes to InkAddict

(((( )))))

[Fuddnik]

2. Whadaya expect? It's Monday.

Oh, she's just so proud of herself.

[Demeter]

3. Nokia ends phone assembly in Europe, cuts 4,000 jobs

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/nokia_ends_phone_assembly_in_e.html

Nokia Corp. plans to stop assembling cell phones in Europe by year-end as it shifts production to Asia and will cut another 4,000 jobs, its latest attempts to cushion itself from stiff competition in the smartphone sector.

The Finnish company said Wednesday it will make the new job cuts at three plants in Finland, Mexico and Hungary this year as it reorganizes global manufacturing operations to compete better with the likes of Apple Inc.'s iPhone and handsets using Google Inc.'s Android operating software. The cuts come on top of nearly 10,000 layoffs announced last year.

Nokia said it had increasingly shifted cell phone assembly from Europe to Asia, where the majority of component suppliers are based, to help it reach markets faster. The company said it would not close the three factories, however. "There will be no assembling of mobile phones at our plants in Europe after this," Nokia spokesman James Etheridge said. "We plan to focus product assembly at our plants in Asia where the majority of our suppliers are based, while our facilities in Salo, Komarom and Reynosa will focus on the software-heavy aspects of the production process."

Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics said Nokia's move "made sense" and was in line with what other cell phone makers had been doing for years, such as Samsung Electronics Co., Motorola Inc., and Sony Ericsson, which had large assembly plants in Europe. "It's an unstoppable trend really. Essentially, labor costs, land costs and other associated costs are so much lower in Asia," Mawston said. "Also, Asia is so much closer to the biggest pool of users now so from a supply and demand side Asia looks a lot more attractive than Europe." Nokia said the shift to Asia would enable it to introduce innovations into the market more quickly and "ultimately be more competitive." MORE

[Demeter]

4. Self-Interest and the Pathology of Power: the Corruption of America Part 2

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogfeb12/pathology-of-power02-12.html

The self-interest of the alcoholic is to keep drinking. Is this truly in his best interests? The answer illuminates the pathology of power in America. If we ignore the lip-service showered on "reform," we find that there is really only one strategy in America: extend and pretend. Individuals, households, communities, cities, states, enterprises and the vast sprawling Empire of the Federal government and its many proxies--all are engaged in extend and pretend.

The closest analogy is a seriously ill alcoholic who tells himself he just has a hang-over when it's abundantly clear he is suffering from potentially terminal cancer. With a hang-over, extend and pretend is the only strategy that works: you can try various "magic potions" to relieve the symptoms, but the only real cure is to give the body enough time to cleanse itself of the toxins you've created and pretend to be functioning in the meantime....Why do we perpetrate the delusion of a hang-over when it's painfully clear we have cancer? We're afraid, of course; we fear the unknown and find comfort in the belief that nothing has to really change. We call this denial, but it arises from fear and risk aversion. In the moment, amidst all the swirling chaos of fear and uncertainty, we choose extend and pretend because it seems to be in our self-interest...This is the ontology of extend and pretend: a delusional view of our self-interest. The drunk is terrified of not being able to drink himself into a stupor; in that dysfunctional state of being, then he perceives his self-interest as denying he has cancer because he knows that treatment will require him to stop drinking. In effect, what he perceives as acting in his self-interest is actually an act of self-destruction.

Political and social revolutions occur when the productive classes realize the Status Quo no longer serves their self-interests. In other words, the revolution is first and foremost an internal process of recognition and enlightenment: all the propaganda issued by the Status Quo, i.e. that it serves the best interests of the productive classes, is finally recognized as false. As this awakening begins, a divergence between the definitions of self-interest by the Power Elites (financial and political) and the productive classes begins to open. This is extremely dangerous to the Power Elites, who are fundamentally parasitical and predatory: their wealth and power all flow from the labor, taxes, debt service and passivity/complicity of the productive classes.

The Power Elites' time-honored strategy to protect their own wealth and grip on power has three components: one is to pursue a strategy of pervasive, ceaseless propaganda to persuade the productive classes that the system is sound, fair and working for them; the second is to fund diversionary "bread and circuses" for the potentially troublesome lower classes, and the third is to harden the fiefdoms of power and wealth into an aristocracy that is impervious to the protests of debt-serfs and laborers below. In addition to "the system is working for you" social control myth, the wealth/power aristocracy also invokes various fear-based social control myths: external enemies (OR INTERNAL! DEMETER) are threatening us all, so ignore your debt-serfdom and powerlessness, etc. In the ideal Power Elite scenario, a theocracy combines faith and State: not only is it illegal to resist the Aristocracy, you will suffer eternal damnation for even thinking about it...the Power Elite has a single goal: to persuade and coerce the citizenry into accepting their powerlessness and debt-serfdom as a pathological form of self-interest....

MORE

[DemReadingDU]

5. Morning! Where is everyone?

[Demeter]

9. Well, I Threw a Party for the Condo Last Night

so I'm pretty much wasted.

One hour packing the car with pots and food (can't leave stuff in clubhouse, no locked storage), two hours cooking with helpers (one of whom was actually very helpful, the other so emotionally needy that I yelled at her that I wasn't going to put up with it), 2 hours of party and nearly an hour of cleanup.

There wasn't anything leftover, alas. I will have to cook again today...

[xchrom]

12. that sounds like fun! and a lot of work.

you are to be congratulated for being so thoughtful to your neighbors.

[Demeter]

27. I have motives

and it's a committee--trying to grow a social network, so the community is not just a place where people drop their junk, park their kids and go off to outside lives...

Also we offered help in filling out proxies, so that we won't have to schedule a 3rd annual meeting...

Once you point out it costs nearly 2 grand in printing for each attempt, people get surprisingly cooperative.

[xchrom]

30. i think that's a very good way to go about it.

it's easier to get to where you want to go in an environment like that.

you are to be commended.

[TalkingDog]

43. The most valuable lesson I learned when you want someone's cooperation:

Explain what's in it for them.

When I worked for the community arts org, I used to explain why people should give because it would help the org. That seemed reasonable to me.

The Spousal Unit sat me down told me the facts of life. I now try to figure out what the other person can gain if they cooperate. (it gets easier the more you do it)

But you seem to understand that intuitively. I envy you.

[DemReadingDU]

28. How nice of you!

I haven't done any parties in several years. Too much work to prepare and clean up.

But a few years ago, spouse wanted people to come over for some event, maybe it was the Indy 500. Anyway, I had to be gone and couldn't prepare anything. He said he would take care of the food and drinks.

So he bought individual frozen pizzas, and had everyone heat their own pizza in the microwave.
And had a variety of cans of softdrinks.

It was simple! But he hasn't wanted any more parties, lol!

[xchrom]

7. new day - new week

[Tansy_Gold]

35. C'mon, can't you be at least a LITTLE enthusiastic?

I spent all day yesterday denouncing copyright infringers on Amazon. Had to track down the originals they'd lifted and republished, had to write blog posts about it, had to alert the infringed authors. Whew! I was exhausted!

Here's one of 'em --

http://www.amazon.com/Wishful-Thinking-making-most-ebook/product-reviews/B006XLTMJK/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1


I hate traditional publishers, but I loathe infringers with a passion. Within hours of the discovery and subsequent action by some of the original authors, ALL of the infringing works had been removed from Amazon.

[xchrom]

37. and that, my dear, is why you are MISTRESS tansy --

you say -- we obey!

i get more enthusiastic around noon.

[Tansy_Gold]

38. ...

Not even the dogs obey me!

Actually, I had help from several of the infringed authors, but it was still very satisfying to see that all the works were removed from Amazon literally within a few hours.

[xchrom]

39. I'm on my dogs ignore list.

I think it's very cool that you do that - good job.

[hamerfan]

48. Good on you, TG!

And yes, I did mark your review as being helpful to me.
Thank you.
hamerfan

[xchrom]

8. Gold, silver rise after Greek vote

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-silver-rise-after-greek-vote-2012-02-13

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Gold futures gained in electronic trading Monday, with commodity and equity markets heading higher after the Greek parliament approved tough new austerity measures aimed at averting a default.

Gold for April delivery /quotes/zigman/660065 GC2J +0.50% added $8, or 0.5%, to $1,733.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange during European trading hours.

Commodity and equity markets started the trading week on an upbeat note after Greek lawmakers approved a package of austerity measures required to secure emergency funds and stave off an impending default.

International backers had demanded Greece implement the reforms before they would provide the debt-stricken nation with €130 billion ($171.2 billion) in fresh aid.

[Demeter]

10. Triumph of experience over "hope"

[Demeter]

11. The big banks win again

http://www.salon.com/2012/02/10/banks_get_off_easy_in_mortgage_settlement_deal/singleton/

Foreclosure victims get little help in a mortgage-settlement plan that only benefits the banks' bottom line

On Thursday, a group of well-connected and powerful men announced that the federal government and state attorneys general had agreed to a multibillion-dollar settlement of claims relating to falsified foreclosure documents. The image of former corporate lawyer-turned-Attorney General Eric Holder and Iowa official Tom Miller complimenting each other on their courage and bravery was a stark reminder of how little power foreclosure victims have in Washington. The terms of the settlement were still secret, but we saw hints of what is to come: The website set up to inform the public noted that homeowners may not know for up to three years whether they are eligible for help.

Rather than settling anything, this agreement is simply a continuation of the policy framework of both the Bush and the Obama administrations. So what, exactly, is that framework? It is, as Damon Silvers of the Congressional Oversight Panel, which monitored the bailouts, once put it, to preserve the capital structures of the largest banks. “We can either have a rational resolution to the foreclosure crisis or we can preserve the capital structure of the banks,” said Silvers in October, 2010. “We can’t do both.” Writing down debt that cannot be paid back — the approach Franklin Roosevelt took — is off the table, as it would jeopardize the equity keeping those banks afloat.

This policy framework isn’t obvious, because it isn’t admissible in polite company. Nonetheless, it occasionally gets out. Back in August 2010, at an “on background” briefing of financial bloggers, Treasury officials admitted that the point of its housing programs were to space out foreclosures so that banks could absorb smaller shocks to their balance sheets. This is consistent with the president’s own words a few months later.

In October 2010, Obama publicly revealed how he sees the mortgage debt crisis. “This is a multitrillion-dollar market and a multitrillion-dollar problem,” he said, “and we’ve only got so much gravel...We can’t magically sort of fix a decline in home values that’s so severe in some markets that people are $100,000 to $150,000 underwater,” he continued. “What we can do is to try to create sort of essentially bridge programs that help people stabilize, refinance where they can, and in some cases not just get pummeled if they decide that they want to move.”


TEH STUPID, IT BURNS!


...A more realistic solution to the problem was actually debated within the administration during the transition, in debates revealed by economist Laura Tyson at the Financial Times’ View from the Top Conference in 2011. She noted that top officials had to decide whether to engage in mass write-downs of debt similar to FDR’s programs in the 1930s by using tools such as judicial modification, or whether to allow millions of foreclosures to go forward. They chose the latter. The current foreclosure epidemic, in other words, is partially a policy choice...

AND IT GETS EVEN WORSE...A MUST READ (BUT BEFORE EATING)

[Demeter]

14. Barnes & Noble strikes back at Amazon

Book retailers have struck back at Amazon by refusing to sell books from its nascent publishing arm

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/73UJGG/8ZJBWB/Q38E1/QNBN8A/QNV55Z/CM/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Tansy_Gold]

33. They don't learn

EXACT same thing happened in 1988 when Waldenbooks partnered with Crown Publishers to publish a line of popular-fiction paperbacks. No other bookseller would touch 'em. They flopped. Big time.

One of my long-time writing buddies was one of the Amazon "launch" authors. I don't know how happy she is about it. But my experience with Walden's "Pageant" line was less than financially lucrative.

[xchrom]

13. Uncle Sam leads the pack in job cutting

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/13/10376217-uncle-sam-leads-the-pack-in-job-cutting

Staff reductions. Job cuts. Layoffs. Right-sizing. Restructuring.

Euphemisms for firing workers have become painfully commonplace in recent years, as all sorts of employers have eliminated jobs to deal with the recession and weak economic recovery.

Plenty of big companies have led the way with massive layoffs, but the organization that has announced the largest reductions over the past five years may surprise you. It’s Uncle Sam.

Msnbc.com asked outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas to compile a list of the employers that have publicly announced the most job cuts from the beginning of 2007 through the end of 2011. Challenger relies on public announcements and news reports to compile its data and checks those against government-mandated layoff notices when available.

[Demeter]

15. Access to junk bond market revives LBOs

Companies labelled ‘walking dead’ by some investors have gained renewed access to funds as buyers flock to the highest-yielding assets

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/73UJGG/8ZJBWB/Q38E1/QNBN8A/WT5YY9/CM/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Fuddnik]

42. Here we go again.

You'd think someone would notice, that every time junkbondaphoria strikes, a lot of people wind up losing big time.

They're not called "junk" for nothing.

[Demeter]

16. Fredriksen defies market glut with tankers strategy

John Fredriksen plans to invest in giant new ships in spite of market conditions that have forced rivals into or close to bankruptcy

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/73UJGG/8ZJBWB/Q38E1/QNBN8A/IIH00Z/CM/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Demeter]

17. THE GENERAL IMPRESSION IS "BUSINESS AS USUAL"

in the Financial Times Headlines newsletter. Guess the crisis is over.

[Demeter]

18. China tells banks to roll over loans

In some cases the maturities on local government debt will be extended by as much as four years...China has instructed its banks to embark on a mammoth rollover of loans to local governments, delaying the country’s reckoning with debts that have clouded its economic prospects

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/2SRI11/AMF8JT/VTVRG/L9U9LA/B5NT8E/SN/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Demeter]

19. Japan’s GDP shrinks 2.3% in fourth quarter

Japan’s economy shrank for the third time in four quarters between October and December, after floods in Thailand damaged production and a strong yen and subdued overseas demand hurt exports.

Government figures on Monday showed that real gross domestic product fell an annualised 2.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, much worse than consensus forecasts of a 1.3 per cent decline. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, output fell by 0.6 per cent, dragged down by exports – which fell 3.1 per cent – following a 1.7 per cent rise in the third quarter.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/2SRI11/AMF8JT/VTVRG/L9U9LA/XH4I9Q/SN/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Demeter]

20. Nigeria power rates to rise up to 88%

Electricity tariffs in Nigeria will increase by up to 88 per cent under reforms designed to revive the power sector and attract outside investors. But the move is likely to cause controversy, coming just a month after the removal of fuel subsidies, which caused petrol prices to more than double.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/2SRI11/AMF8JT/VTVRG/L9U9LA/16DSFM/SN/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[xchrom]

21. Oil Rises as Iran Supply Threat Grows, Greece Passes Austerity Measures

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-13/oil-rises-as-greece-passes-austerity-measures-iran-supply-threat-grows.html

Oil recovered from a three-day low in New York as concern grew that a ban on Iranian crude may cut supplies while the Greek parliament’s approval of austerity measures boosted hope for a solution to Europe’s debt crisis.

Futures climbed as much as 1.3 percent as the euro headed toward a two-month high after 199 lawmakers supported the bill in a roll-call vote shown live on state-run Vouli TV, against 74 who opposed it. The measures were needed for a 130 billion-euro ($172 billion) aid package, Greece’s second since May 2010. Oil may extend gains after companies controlling more than 100 supertankers said they would stop loading cargoes from Iran, tightening sanctions on OPEC’s second-biggest producer.

“Iran is what’s really pushing crude up,” said Christopher Bellew, a senior broker at Jefferies Bache Ltd. in London who predicts prices may rise further. “If Iranian exports are choked off because of the insurance issue we will see higher prices. The stronger euro is contributing to today’s price increase, but I don’t think a bailout will lead to a miraculous recovery in Greece.”

Crude for March delivery rose as much as $1.32 to $99.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $99.78 at 12:57 p.m. London time. Futures fell 1.2 percent to $98.67 on Feb. 10, the lowest settlement since Feb. 7, and are up 18 percent from a year ago.

[Demeter]

22. IMF deal critical for Egypt, say economists

Egypt’s reserves fell to $16.4bn at the end of January, a drop of 53 per cent over the same time last year, leaving the country with only months of import cover

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/2SRI11/AMF8JT/VTVRG/L9U9LA/GDL6V1/SN/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Demeter]

23. Greek parliament passes austerity bill

Greek parliamentarians approved a hugelycontoversial austerity bill in the early hours of Monday to secure a second bail-out from the European Union and IMF as rioters burned buildings in central Athens.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/R5WAEE/WT59MP/Q38E1/ORTRPW/IIH0PF/CM/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=12

[bread_and_roses]

34. "Greece in Flames After Austerity Measures Pass"

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/13

Published on Monday, February 13, 2012 by Common Dreams
Greece in Flames After Austerity Measures Pass
- Common Dreams staff

Fires raged in Athens overnight with reports that more than 40 buildings had been set ablaze in a violent response to the Greek parliament's passage of an unpopular austerity package negotiated with its European creditors - the EU, ECB, and IMF - in exchange for a tranche of new bailout funds.

... State television reported the violence spread to the tourist islands of Corfu and Crete, the northern city of Thessaloniki and towns in central Greece.

... Under a sea of banners denouncing further wage, pension and job cuts, tens of thousands of protesters chanted against "the occupation" of the country by foreign lenders keeping Greece afloat.

... Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips, who arrived in Athens as the violence was escalating, described the atmosphere as "surreal"

Maybe I'm not reading around enough - not been online much - but it strikes me as surreal that in general the reaction to the protests in Greece seems so flat - so un-amazed? I mean, after all, here is a "Developed" country - a "Western Democracy" - with its citizens erupting by the many thousands, in the streets burning buildings, throwing rocks - ! And not "minorities," not "students," not "immigrants" - !

[xchrom]

24. Norway Faces Severe Credit Shock

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-12/norway-faces-severe-credit-shock-as-household-debt-swells-fsa-chief-warns.html

Norway faces “severe” imbalances in its credit and property markets as households continue to amass debt at unsustainable levels, according to the head of the country’s financial regulator.

“Growth rates on household debt and house prices are not following a sustainable path,” Morten Baltzersen, Director General of the Financial Supervisory Authority in Oslo, said in an interview. “The longer these developments go on, the greater the risk is of a severe imbalance evolving.”

Norway’s credit and property markets continue to show signs of overheating five months after the regulator asked banks to tighten lending standards. Robert Shiller, the co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller (SPCS20) home-price index, said in January Norway is in the grip of a house price bubble, while the International Monetary Fund on Feb. 2 warned of real estate and credit market risks in Norway.

“Soaring household debt and home prices are a good reason for concern,” Baltzersen said. “Both the household debt-to- income ratio and the house price level have reached historic records and household debt is still growing faster than income.”

[Demeter]

25. Private contractors to build and run UK police station

With police forces seeking savings in the face of the government’s austerity-led budget cuts, G4S, the world’s largest security company, has won the first contract in Britain to staff and build a police station. The deal, expected to be signed within days, represents the most radical outsourcing of law enforcement to the private sector yet

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/30IPMI/OFBYP/2OMO47/6293WJ/FW/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=12

[xchrom]

26. Taiwan fails to lure mainland investors

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/NB14Cb03.html

TAIPEI - Taiwan has gradually opened up to investments from China since 2009. Relaxations have been hugely controversial over concerns that the former arch-enemy would use its money as a means to achieve backdoor unification. But as of today, a noteworthy flow of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI) toward Taiwan is conspicuous by absence. Aggregated they had only reached some US$150 million at the end of last year, a Lilliputian


amount compared to 2011's total foreign investments in Taiwan of $9.53 billion. The Taiwanese government's red tape is not the only reason for the disappointing figure.

Those who have $150 million to spare could afford a fancy office tower on top of a Taipei subway station; or a massive cement factory in some Taiwanese backwater town; or two dozen topnotch helicopters. Anyway, $150 million is petty cash for China, the world's largest foreign exchange reserve holder with reserves as high as $3.2016 trillion, especially when considering that it's assessed Beijing would do almost anything to pocket Taiwan.

A comparison with other countries' FDI on the island makes the insignificance of the sum even clearer: Taiwan's largest investor last year, with investments worth $2.15 billion, were the Americans, while the Singaporeans came in second at $1.02 billion, followed by the Japanese at $0.97 billion. And in China, about 80,000 Taiwanese enterprises have invested with value totaling some astronomic $80 billion.

To make China inject cash into their economy, the Taiwanese implemented two waves of opening. Both of which were largely spurned.

[Demeter]

29. Roger Altman - Key US budget moments will come after the election

President Obama releases the politically-weighty final budget of his first term on Monday. But the key budget date in 2012 is not now, but December 31. That’s when some major tax cuts expire, the mandatory budget cuts triggered last year commence and legislation raising the federal debt limit will again be needed.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/73UJGG/5VQHYN/HI3M9/SP8P0T/5VQT0E/N9/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=13

[Fuddnik]

44. Expire my ass.

I will guarantee that the Kabuki Theater will give a Grand Performance, and find some, any excuse to keep the Bush-Obama tax cuts for the 1%.

Then, the second act, Austerity will take the stage.

[Demeter]

31. Wolfgang Münchau: Why Greece and Portugal ought to go bankrupt

Some say it would be better to force Greece out of the eurozone right now, and use the funds to save Portugal. I disagree. I personally believe it would be best to recognise the desolate state of both countries, let both default inside the monetary union, and then use a sufficiently increased rescue fund to help them to rebuild themselves, and to ring-fence the rest at the same time

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/XH4S6O/6ADGM/KQPQ1N/VLMD6E/6C/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=12

[Demeter]

32. Reality Calls

see you later, everyone! Maybe Tuesday...

[xchrom]

45. have a good day, miss demeter!

[Demeter]

49. I think he meant "dissolute" not "desolate"

[xchrom]

41. Government plan to create 100,000 new jobs by 2016 {ireland}

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0213/breaking21.html

A Government plan designed to promote the creation of 100,000 jobs over the next four years has been published today.

The Action Plan for Jobs 2012 seeks to help companies expand their scope for exporting goods; provide credit to small and medium sized enterprises; improve competitiveness; and attract more international investment to Ireland.

The plan contains over 270 actions that the Government said would be implemented this year across 15 departments and 36 State agencies. A number of the initiatives are connected to measures introduced in Budget 2012, when the banking sector was restructured last March or announced at the Global Irish Economic Forum last year.

Small firms group Isme said the plan was a disappointment. "Once more this Government have flattered to deceive, with very little that is new or innovative and certainly will have minimal effect on immediate job creation, being long on aspiration and tragically short on real dynamic action," it said.

[xchrom]

46. Greece still to convince Europe over rescue deal

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/uk-greece-idUKTRE8120SU20120213

(Reuters) - Europe gave Greece until Wednesday to convince sceptical international creditors that it would stick to the punishing terms of a multi-billion-euro rescue package, endorsed by parliament as rioters torched downtown Athens.

Lawmakers backed drastic cuts in wages, pensions and jobs on Sunday as the price of a 130 billion euro ($170 billion) bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund to avert a messy default that would send shockwaves through the euro zone.

Scenes of running battles between police and rioters and flames engulfing cinemas, shops and banks underscored a sense of deepening turmoil in the country after more than four years of recession and two of punishing austerity.

The EU warned on Monday that the consequences of failure would be "devastating."