STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 19 August 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 19 August 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 17 August 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 18 August 2015
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Dow Jones 17,511.34 -33.84 (-0.19%)
S&P 500 2,096.92 -5.52 (-0.26%)
Nasdaq 5,059.35 -32.35 (-0.64%)


[font color=red]2.19% +0.01 (0.46%)
30 Year 2.86% +0.01 (0.35%) [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)
Market Updates
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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.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts
08/03/15 Former City (London) trader Tom Hayes found guilty of rigging global Libor interest rates. Each fo eight counts carries up to 10 yr. sentence.







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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]

[Fuddnik]

1. It's about time you got out of bed.

Or sobered up.

You had me worried.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. I have no idea what happened

I posted the thread as usual yesterday. When I called up the template to make the changes for today, the template showed Tuesday's info, same as normal. When I went to get the post number for the link, I saw Demeter's and Hugin's posts. I have no clue.

When I finished today's template and went to post, it even gave me the pre-set (or whatever you want to call it) for the thread title. Yesterday's/today's was there, Tuesday, 18 August 2015. It shouldn't be there if the thread didn't post.

I always, always, always do a preview before I post. Then it gives me the warning about if the page doesn't load in X seconds, click there. I always, always, always wait until the page posts. It posted yesterday or I wouldn't have clicked past.

I have no clue what "DU3" is.

My life is too full of drama and backstabbers right now; I can't risk any more so I avoid DU, especially during this election. Not meaning to post and run, but it's the only way to keep what remains of my sanity.


Love to all, and apologies for whatever happened; whether it was my fault or not, I'll get blamed so I may as well accept it,

TG

[Demeter]

4. thank goddess you are back with us!

Can always get a post, but Tansy Gold is unique.

Computers, can't live with them, can't live without them. I'm sure it's not your fault.

And as for the rest of DU, consider it free entertainment.

[Hugin]

6. Oh thank, GAWD!

There you are, Tansy!

Looking at your profile and the fact the SMW was largely your only interaction with DU, I figured you'd finally had enough and went on a well deserved walk-about. (best case scenario) I don't even want to mention the worst cases that were floating around out there.

I guess this means I can call off my operatives there in AZ now. I guarantee they would have found you no matter what had happened. They are very good at what they do and very thorough.

Anyway, you'll get no blaming from me. I'm just delighted it was just some sort of mistake.

[Demeter]

8. "Operatives"?

Are you a 00 type?

[Hugin]

9. Sure.

Isn't everyone, nowadays?

[Tansy_Gold]

10. Online life. . . .

. . . . intruded in a big way to real life. It's been safer to avoid the temptation of arguing with the stooopids.

I do still read here, and this is still my go-to spot for trustworthy news. But the passions that led to TG's infamous November 2008 post have not cooled, and there are more stoooopids than ever.

[DemReadingDU]

3. I miss the toon for Tuesday

[Tansy_Gold]

7. The Tuesday 'toon, just for you.

[DemReadingDU]

16. Thanks, you always find the best toons! n/t

[Demeter]

5. 4th Atlantic storm officially named

I don't expect any relief until (unless) it hits land in the US....

The Kid and I went to see "Duck Soup" at the authentically restored Michigan Theater with live pipe organ concert prelude....it's the Freedonia one, which I've never seen from start to finish (TV commercials being so time-consuming). Still enchanting, even when you know what is coming up next.

Why don't they make comedies today? Does nobody think anything is funny any more?

Or is that what elections are for?

[Demeter]

11. Also, have a theme for the Weekend Already!

Want a hint? As the line goes in Charlie's Aunt: "It's where the nuts come from."

[Hugin]

13. Yes!

The Marx Bros. were so far ahead of their time.

[Demeter]

12. Goldman's $272 Million Mortgage Settlement May Signal Higher Legal Bills

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13258024/1/goldmans-272-million-mortgage-settlement-may-signal-higher-legal-bills.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

For one Illinois pension fund, a seven-year pursuit of legal claims related to the financial crisis paid off, and Goldman Sachs is covering the bill...Last week, the New York bank agreed to pay $272 million to settle class-action claims by labor union NECA-IBEW that it misled investors about the credit quality of mortgage-backed securities the pension fund purchased in 2007 and 2008. Goldman Sachs didn't respond to requests for comment but noted in the proposed agreement that it denies all of the claims as well as any wrongdoing or liability and is settling to avoid the expense of dragging the case out further.

Pursuing the case further would have carried additional risks as well. Already, an appeals court ruling during the case has set a precedent that will make it easier for financial-crisis plaintiffs to attain class-action status because they purchased similar securities. Such cases have often proved difficult to make since the applicable laws were largely drafted in the 1930s -- long before the availability of mortgage-backed securities in their current complex form.

By clarifying the law, the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, "assisted similarly situated investors, and some of the investors victimized here, in recovering billions of additional dollars in other cases unrelated to Goldman Sachs," said Darren Robbins, a partner with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP who represented NECA-IBEW. Goldman Sachs appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to review it.

The appeals court's decision allows investors in different tranches of the same security to band together. Previously, investors of one tranche could only bring a case to court with members of the same tranche, even though they were all effectively invested in the same security, with the same disclosures in its offering agreement...

HA! TAKE THAT, GOLDMAN!

[Demeter]

14. Financial experts may have gotten this wrong for years

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/financial-experts-may-have-gotten-this-wrong-for-years-2015-08-18?siteid=YAHOOB

People in debt have been getting less-than-stellar advice for years now, a new study suggests.

Many financial experts — the famed Suze Orman among them — have told Americans this piece of financial advice: If you’re in debt, focus on paying as much as you can on your highest interest debt and the minimum on all others — and do this until your debts are paid off.

On paper, this makes sense, as it means you’ll pay the least amount in interest, because you’re paying down the highest interest items the fastest. “The mathematically optimal debt repayment method is to first pay off the debts with the highest interest rates,” explains Peter Lazaroff, a certified financial analyst at Plancorp in St. Louis. “This means making minimum payments on all of your debt, while paying off whatever additional principal you can on the highest interest rate loan.” Or, as New York-based certified financial planner Stephanie Genkin puts it: “Tackling the most expensive debt makes sense: the goal is to save as much money as possible.

But in reality, this strategy might not work — at least according to a new study published this month in the “Journal of Marketing Research”. The study had participants do a tedious Excel assignment three different ways: By completing small parts of the assignment first and longer parts later; or by completing the assignment in equal parts throughout; or by completing harder/longer parts first. The result: The participants completed the assignment faster when the tasks were arranged from smallest/easiest to largest/hardest.

“Winning what are known as ‘small victories’ by paying off small debts first can give consumers a real boost in eventually paying off all their debts,” write the authors of the study. “The reason is that meeting a small goal provides the motivation to then meet a larger goal.” Their conclusion: “Paying off small debts first may get you in the black quicker.”

Financial experts say they’ve seen this method work in practice too. “You can’t always live in a spreadsheet,” Lazaroff explains. “Paying off the loan with the lowest balance, and not necessarily the highest interest rate, can provide an emotional benefit as a result of progress.”

I WOULD THINK THAT PAYING OFF THE SMALL ONES FAST WOULD IMPROVE ONE'S CREDIT SCORE, AS WELL...

[Warpy]

15. I know that's what I've said in the past, pay the little, piddling stuff off first

cut up the cards, and be done with them. By the time you get to the big stinker, you're used to paying things down and feeling successful at it so you're more likely to keep at it until it's all done.

[DemReadingDU]

17. Only The Date Is Unknown

8/11/15 Only The Date Is Unknown

The US and world economies are frauds that are coming unraveled. The Greek bailout is the most recent example of “kick the can down the road” solutions. The US housing bubble was an attempt to cover up/recover from the dot-com bust. Now the US is in a financial bubble engineered to recover from the housing bubble debacle. Soon this bubble will burst. Only the date is unknown.

Two predictions can be made with reasonable confidence:

The stock market is likely to be halved and that might be optimistic. Only the date is unknown.
The economy will eventually resemble the Great Depression. Only the date is unknown.

Nothing is ever certain. An experienced CFO told me at the beginning of my career that “even the impossible has a 20% probability.” In deference to him and years of empirical evidence, I put the the above two events as virtually certain, i.e., an 80% probability.

more...
http://www.economicnoise.com/2015/08/11/only-the-date-is-unknown/

[Demeter]

18. The Fraud of the New “Family-Friendly” Work ROBERT REICH

http://robertreich.org/post/126856424555



Netflix just announced it’s offering paid leave to new mothers and fathers for the first year after the birth of adoption of a child. Other high-tech firms are close behind. Some big law firms are also getting into the act. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe is offering 22 paid weeks off for both male and female attorneys. Even Wall Street is taking baby steps in the direction of family-friendly work. Goldman Sachs just doubled paid parental leave to four weeks.

All this should be welcome news. Millennials now constitute the largest segment of the American work force. Many are just forming families, so the new family-friendly policies seem ideally timed. But before we celebrate the dawn of a new era, keep two basic truths in mind:

First, these new policies apply only to a tiny group considered “talent” – highly educated and in high demand. They’re getting whatever perks firms can throw at them in order to recruit and keep them. “Netflix’s continued success hinges on us competing for and keeping the most talented individuals in their field,” writes Tawni Cranz, Netflix’s chief talent officer.

That Neflix has a “chief talent officer” tells you a lot. Netflix’s new policy doesn’t apply to all Netflix employees, by the way. Those in Netflix’s DVD division aren’t covered. They’re not “talent.” They’re like the vast majority of American workers – considered easily replaceable. Employers treat replaceable workers as costs to be cut, not as assets to be developed. Replaceable workers almost never get paid family leave, they get a few paid sick days, and barely any vacation time. If such replaceables are eligible for 12 weeks of family leave it’s only because the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (which I am proud to have implemented when labor secretary under Bill Clinton) requires it. But Family and Medical leave time doesn’t come with pay – which is why only 40 percent of eligible workers can afford to use it. And it doesn’t cover companies or franchisees with fewer than 50 employees. Almost all other advanced nations provide three or four months paid leave – to fathers as well as mothers. Plus paid sick leave, generous vacation time, and limits on how many work hours employers can demand.

The second thing to know about the new family-friendly work policies is that relatively few talented millennials are taking advantage of them. They can’t take the time. One of my former Berkeley students who’s now at a tech firm across the Bay told me he’s working fifteen-hour days. Another, who’s at a Washington law firm, said she’s on call 24-7. Emails often arrive past midnight, followed by text messages asking why the emails haven’t been answered. These young men won’t take paternity leave and these young women won’t even get pregnant – because it looks bad.

Forget work-life balance. It’s work-as-life...you’re either on the fast track or you’re on a dead-end road. “I’ve got to show total dedication,” one of my former students explained. “It’s all or nothing.” Which is why millennial men – who research shows have more egalitarian attitudes about family and gender roles than their predecessors – are nonetheless failing to live up to their values once they hit the treadmills. It’s also why women on such high-powered career tracks are delaying or ultimately giving up on being mothers. Or they’re giving up on the fast track...I’m delighted Netflix and other high-powered firms are offering family-friendly work. But I take most of it with a grain of silicon. So should you.

[Demeter]

19. Permaculture and the Myth of Overpopulation

http://permaculturenews.org/2015/08/14/permaculture-and-the-myth-of-overpopulation/

When teaching permaculture I often start out by doing a giant problems mind map. I ask students to brainstorm all of the major “problems” they see in the world to reflect on what brought them to study permaculture. Nine times out of ten the idea of overpopulation as a root “problem” in the world comes up.

Overpopulation describes a situation where there are too many people for the amount of resources available. It puts the blame of the environmental crisis on the sheer number of people on the planet.

Natural scientist and former senior manager of the BBC David Attenborough sums up this sentiment when he said, “We are a plague on the Earth. Either we limit our population growth or the natural world will do it for us[.]”

This cultural narrative, that human beings are the root cause of the environmental cri-sis is everywhere, especially among environmentalists. We also see this belief within permaculture design. The third ethic of permaculture reads:

Setting limits to population and consumption: By governing our own needs we can set resources aside to the above principles.

Not only is this idea of overpopulation oversimplified and inaccurate, it upholds a de-generative paradigm of scarcity, fear and competition that goes against the core teachings of permaculture. It also perpetuates problematic thinking that leads to ineffective and unjust public policies and global solutions. As permaculturalists, it is important that we contradict this notion that simply more people on the planet equals less resources and more pollution. We need to engage in dialog around the true roots of environmental, social and economic degradation. In this way, we can begin to shift mental models and design more effective and just solutions that take into account the real root causes of degradation and injustice.

In his book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability, David Holmgren reframed the third ethic as “fair share” or “redistribute the surplus.” He points out the paradox of permaculture’s core belief of abundance and this ethic. He states that, “Except in extreme famine and other natural disasters, scarcity is a culturally mediated reality; it is largely created by industrial economics and power, rather than actual physical limits to growth...

MORE

[Demeter]

20. Study: Job hunt seems to ease for college grads

A study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce paints a brighter picture of the job market for college graduates. About half of 6.6 million positions created since 2010 are "good jobs," which pay $53,000 or more annually and customarily offer retirement and health benefits, according to the study. College graduates got 97% of those jobs...

http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/gTutBYvBbTCPrRvjCicOlvCicNxjkR?format=standard

AND WHAT IS TO PREVENT "GOOD JOBS" FROM BECOMING "BAD JOBS" WITH NO LIVING WAGE, NO RETIREMENT, NO HEALTH BENEFITS?

AFTER ALL, BEFORE REAGAN, ALL UNION JOBS WERE "GOOD JOBS"!

[Demeter]

21. Duty calls

and it's still stinky out there.

[Demeter]

22. Ten minutes of rain dropped the temperature 8 degrees

and shot the humidity up, too. The insanity index tripled.