STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 24 September 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 24 September 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 23 September 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 23 September 2015
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Dow Jones 16,279.89 -50.58 (-0.31%)
S&P 500 1,938.76 -3.98 (-0.20%)
Nasdaq 4,752.74 -3.98 (-0.08%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.15% +0.01 (0.47%)
[font color=black]30 Year 2.95% 0.00 (0.00%) [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
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
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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
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
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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.
08/21/15 Charles Antonucci Sr, former pres. Park Ave. Bank sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and attempt to steal $11MM in TARP bailout funds, as well as $37.5MM fraud on OK insurance company. To pay $54MM in restitution and give up additional $11MM.
09/21/15 Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn apologizes for VW cheating on air quality standards with emission testing avoidance device. Stock drops 20%, fines may total $18B.
09/22/15 Stewart Parnell, CEO Peanut Corp. of America, sentenced to 28 years in prison for selling salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed nine.





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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. Wisconsinites Alarmed That Walker Has More Time to Be Governor By Andy Borowitz

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/wisconsinites-alarmed-that-walker-has-more-time-to-be-governor


MADISON, WISCONSIN (The Borowitz Report)—In the aftermath of his sudden withdrawal from the Presidential race, on Monday, residents of Wisconsin are alarmed at the prospect of Scott Walker having more time to do his job as governor, Wisconsinites report.

In interviews across the state, Wisconsinites expressed emotions ranging from dread to panic as they grappled with the realization that Walker would soon be back behind his desk performing his duties.

“Earlier this spring, when he was riding high in the polls, a lot of my friends and I were thinking, ‘This is the break we’ve been looking for,’ ” said Carol Foyler of Green Bay. “We definitely had our hopes up.”

Tracy Klugian of Milwaukee agreed. “I don’t know a person in Wisconsin who wasn’t pumped about the idea of Scott Walker going to Washington,” he said. “And then we watched that first debate.” He shuddered at the memory.

In the hours after the governor’s stunning announcement, on Monday, Wisconsinites formed support groups to help each other navigate the reality of Walker turning his full attention to their state. At a meeting of one of the groups on Tuesday evening, Kenosha resident Harland Dorrinson expressed confidence that his fellow Wisconsinites would be able to contend with their new situation. “People in Wisconsin are stronger than you can imagine,” he said. “We’ve been through blizzards. We’ve been through tornadoes. We’ll get though this somehow.”

“Still, it’s tough,” he said, his voice breaking.

[Demeter]

2. Any excuse will do

[Demeter]

3. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn resigns

http://www.dw.com/en/volkswagen-ceo-martin-winterkorn-resigns/a-18735341

Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn has stepped down as a result of revelations last week that the German carmaker had manipulated diesel car emission tests in the US. No successor has yet been named. Martin Winterkorn's resignation came after a protracted meeting of VW's presidium of major shareholders ahead of a regular supervisory board meeting on Friday.

The 68-year-old executive said he was stepping down "in the interests of the company" as it grappled with the aftermath of the falsified emissions tests scandal that had rocked the German carmaker.

He said in a statement that "Volkswagen needs a fresh start, also in terms of personnel," adding that he would clear the way for this fresh start with his resignation...

[Demeter]

9. Volkswagen CEO Likely to Get $32 Million Pension After Leaving

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/volkswagen-ceo-likely-to-get-32-million-pension-after-leaving

Martin Winterkorn, engulfed by a diesel-emissions scandal at Volkswagen AG, amassed a $32 million pension before stepping down Wednesday, and may reap millions more in severance depending on how the supervisory board classifies his exit.

After Winterkorn disclosed Wednesday that he had asked the board to terminate his role, company spokesman Claus-Peter Tiemann declined to comment on how much money the departing CEO stands to get. Volkswagen’s most recent annual report outlines how Winterkorn, its leader since 2007, could theoretically collect two significant payouts.

Winterkorn’s pension had a value of 28.6 million euros ($32 million) at the end of last year, according to the report, which doesn’t describe any conditions that would lead the company to withhold it. And under certain circumstances, he also can collect severance equal to two years of “remuneration.” He was Germany’s second-highest paid CEO last year, receiving a total of 16.6 million euros in compensation from the company and majority shareholder Porsche SE.

While the severance package kicks in if the supervisory board terminates his contract early, there’s a caveat. If the board ends his employment for a reason for which he is responsible, then severance is forfeited, according to company filings...

[Demeter]

10. Volkswagen's Other Diesel Ruse: Premium Pricing

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/volkswagen-s-other-diesel-ruse-premium-pricing

The markups on VW diesels were some of the biggest in the industry.

In June, after a lengthy research process, Derek Sylvan paid about $13,500 for a 2010 Volkwagen Jetta Sportwagon TDI. Parking on Brooklyn streets, a plug-in model wasn't an option and Sylvan figured German diesel was the next-best environmentally sound choice. Plus Sylvan had some office optics to consider; he’s a strategy director for New York University’s Institute for Policy Integrity, a nonpartisan think-tank focused on energy policy.

“Essentially, the fuel economy was a major draw,” he said. “I don’t think I had considered the idea that one of the world’s largest carmakers was in a secret, sinister corporate plot.”

The kicker for Sylvan: Had he bought the same car with a standard gas engine, it could have arguably been cleaner, and would have cost about $3,000 less. It’s bad enough that Volkswagen pitched its “clean diesel” engines as game-changing technology. Pricing them as such exacerbated the ruse....


MAJOR BIGTIME GLOBAL FRAUD...SCHADENFREUDE FOR BREAKFAST!

[Demeter]

11. How Smog Cops Busted Volkswagen and Brought Down Its CEO

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/how-smog-cops-busted-volkswagen-and-brought-down-its-ceo

The revelation that ended Martin Winterkorn’s career at Volkswagen AG came on Sept. 3 in a meeting at an office park east of Los Angeles.

After months of obfuscation, company engineers finally divulged a secret to engineers at the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Resources Board: Volkswagen had installed a “defeat device” to cheat on vehicle emissions tests -- and then lied about it to the board and the U.S. EPA for more than a year.

On Sept. 23, Europe’s largest automaker announced that Winterkorn, its 68-year-old chief executive officer, had resigned. While the company exonerated him of involvement in the manipulations, it said it will conduct an internal investigation and has asked local German prosecutors to assist and open a criminal probe.

The unraveling began in 2013. European regulators, concerned about diesel pollution there, wanted to test emissions on vehicles sold in the U.S. under actual driving conditions. The results were expected to show real-world emissions were closer to lab performance in America than in Europe. But they weren’t. That prompted investigations in California that ultimately involved 25 technicians working almost full time. They discovered the software Volkswagen used to circumvent air-pollution regulations in at least 11 million cars...

[Demeter]

16. VW Probably Won’t Die—But if It Does, Europe Is in Trouble

http://www.wired.com/2015/09/vw-probably-wont-die-europe-trouble/

A multibillion dollar corporation tricks the public into thinking its smog-burping cars are actually good for the environment. A group of Mother Earth-loving researchers exposes the corporation as a fraud. The bad guys are defeated. The good guys win. The credits roll. It sounds like a plot only Disney would dream up. If only real life were so simple. In reality, Volkswagen’s attempt to deceive the Environmental Protection Agency with its emission-masking technology is about to get a lot more complicated.

It all started last week when the EPA accused Volkswagen of violating the Clean Air Act by equipping half-a-million “clean diesel” vehicles with software that would lower the cars’ emissions only when they were undergoing emissions testing. Today, the situation took another downward turn when news broke that the problem is actually much more widespread, involving some 11 million vehicles worldwide.

It’s no surprise the scandal has attracted attention from everyone from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the European Commission. This is not a manufacturing mistake, but a clear case of trickery. Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has offered plenty of apologies, but so far, VW hasn’t done much to appease investors or the public. Already its stock price has dropped to a three-year low, and European stocks fell 3 percent overall.

All of this is a natural immediate reaction. It’s tough for investors to have confidence when Volkswagen’s reputation is taking such a blow. But the important question to be asking now is: Will this reaction last? And if it does, what does that mean for Volkswagen, the German economy, and the European Union itself? It’s distinctly possible Volkswagen won’t implode; other big car companies have weathered serious troubles recently and survived. But if Volkswagen does fall apart, the ripple effect could be felt across a continent.

"AT LEAST NOBODY DIED...."

[Demeter]

4. Wal-Mart presses suppliers to share benefits of cheaper yuan

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/23/us-wal-mart-stores-china-idUSKCN0RN2IQ20150923

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) is seeking price cuts from suppliers that produce goods in China, saying the retailer should share in the savings generated by China's devaluation of the yuan, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Wal-Mart managers in recent weeks have contacted more than 10,000 suppliers in various countries, all of which have manufacturing facilities in China, seeking cost cuts of 2 percent to 6 percent on mainly general merchandise including home furnishings, apparel, health and beauty products, appliances, electronics and toys, according to a consultant who advised Wal-Mart on the move and spoke on condition of anonymity to protect his relationship with the retailer.

The company is telling suppliers that they should pass on the savings arising from the yuan devaluation so Wal-Mart can achieve EDLC, or "everyday low cost," its term for the tight cost controls needed to keep prices low for consumers, according to executives at two vendors of durable goods, who also requested anonymity. Both were asked for cuts in the lower half of the 2 percent to 6 percent range. Both said they planned to negotiate a reduction in the proposed cuts.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Deisha Barnett declined to comment on whether the company was seeking price cuts in China-made goods. With almost $500 billion in annual sales and a globally diversified supply chain, Wal-Mart holds tremendous sway over its vendors, which could risk their business with the retailer by pushing back too hard on its requests to lower costs...

WALMART HAS GOT TO BE INSANE. IMPERIALISM OVER CHINA? WANT TO HAVE EMPTY SHELVES FOR XMAS, WALTONS? THAT WOULD PUT A BIG DENT IN YOUR NET WORTH--BRING IT DOWN TO ABOUT 3 CENTS, WHERE IT SHOULD BE.

[Demeter]

5. Brazil Congress Upholds Majority of Rousseff's Budget Vetoes

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/brazilian-congress-upholds-majority-of-rousseff-s-budget-vetoes

Brazil’s Congress upheld the majority of presidential vetoes aimed at blocking spending increases, including a key measure that prevents people from receiving higher pension payouts at a younger age.

Legislators sustained all but six of the 32 vetoes under consideration before voting was suspended, leaving for the next session some of the most controversial decisions, including one that blocks pay hikes for judiciary workers. Congressional President Renan Calheiros stopped the session at 2:21 a.m. local time on Wednesday after more than five hours of deliberations, saying there weren’t enough lower house members on the floor to continue.

Administration officials have been meeting with lawmakers for months to ensure they uphold vetoes that are designed to prevent government spending from surging. A defeat would undo many of President Dilma Rousseff’s efforts to shrink the budget deficit and throw into further doubt her ability to govern amid an economic and political crisis.

"Markets will see Brazil in a different light," Delcidio Amaral, the government’s leader in the Senate, said after the voting early Wednesday...

[Demeter]

6. Brazil Real Tumbles Most in Four Years as Investors Rush to Sell

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/brazil-s-currency-advances-as-congress-avoids-spending-increases

Brazil’s real fell for a fifth consecutive day and reached a new record low, with the rout in the currency gaining momentum as investors sell amid concern the country’s finances are deteriorating.

Even as the central bank intervened through two different auctions to support the real, the currency tumbled 3.1 percent to 4.1783 per dollar, a level unseen since the creation of the real in 1994 and the worst performance for a day since Sept. 21, 2011. The country’s bond risk rose, yields on local government securities jumped and investors boosted wagers on higher interest rates over the coming years.

Brazilian assets have been beaten up this year on concern that President Dilma Rousseff lacks the political and popular support to push through spending cuts and tax increases that would shore up the country’s finances. The selloff has been exacerbated by concern about slowing global economic growth and speculation that a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase will spur an outflow of investment from emerging markets.

“A lot of investors are selling the currency at any price as we enter into free fall,” said Bernd Berg, a strategist at Societe Generale in London. “In this environment of forced selling, panic and sky-high volatility, the moves accelerate.”

MORE

[Demeter]

7. China Is Sitting on an Ocean of Diesel Fuel

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/china-commodity-deluge-extends-to-diesel-as-glut-shrinks-profits

Add diesel to the commodities flooding global markets from China.

The nation exported a record volume of the fuel last month after already shipping unprecedented amounts of steel and aluminum overseas. The weakest economic growth since 1990 is sapping domestic demand for commodities, while refineries, mills and smelters grapple with excess capacity after years of expansion.

“A lot of it has to do with slowing demand at a time when companies had plans for much a better demand environment, so capacities had been increased,” said Ivan Szpakowski, a commodities strategist at Citigroup Inc. in Hong Kong. “As demand slows, that’s led to an overcapacity in the domestic market and producers have sought to export the surplus.”

Exports of Chinese raw materials are exacerbating a global glut that drove prices to the lowest since the 2008 financial crisis and prompted steel and aluminum producers around the world to protest against the deluge. While diesel exports are principally a risk to Asian refiners, the additional shipments threaten to worsen a glut that already extends from Singapore to Europe and the U.S.

Refining profits, or cracks, from making diesel in the Asian oil trading hub of Singapore have shrunk about 30 percent from a year ago as exports from China, India and the Middle East create an oversupply, according to Ehsan Ul-Haq, an analyst at KBC Advanced Technologies in London....

[Demeter]

20. VW Scandal Bad News For Diesel

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/09/vw-scandal-bad-news-for-diesel.html

As John Gapper describes in today’s Financial Times, diesel engine manufacturers routinely gamed emissions tests, but Volkswagen was apparently the most extreme. From his article:

It has become so common to game European fuel efficiency tests with tricks such as taping up doors and overinflating tyres to curb drag that most diesel cars are less fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly than claimed. In the US, Ford was found to have fitted an illegal “defeat device” — the charge facing VW — to vans in 1997, and Hyundai and Kia were fined $100m last year for fixing their tests.

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/VW-Scandal-Bad-News-For-Diesel.html

...Damage Report – Diesel Vehicles Could Result in Lower Demand for Diesel

The Volkswagen scandal is not just likely to cause damage upon the company itself, it might also cause damage to the rest of the industry, including parts manufacturers, and other car makers.

There is also the possibility that other car builders may have also manipulated tests.

Maybe even more important is the damage done to the image of diesel as a ‘cleaner’ fuel.

This image was shaped back in the 1990’s as Volkswagen, along with other European car makers, started to pursue diesel innovations as the EU pressed to reduce CO2 emissions. It appears that regulators have opened their eyes to the fact that diesel is still not as clean as unleaded gasoline.

It is too early to predict exactly what the fallout will be for the automotive industry, but with the clean air debate intensifying globally, U.S and E.U regulators will now seek to impose stricter emission test guidelines.

Now that diesel is not as clean as it appeared and stricter emissions tests and perhaps even stricter regulation can be expected, one has to ask; does this mean the end of diesel for light vehicles?

“Yes, it probably does,” Max Warburton, senior automotive industry analyst at Bernstein Research, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal....

FROM THE COMMENTARY:

the emission regulations are getting to the point where it’s almost physics-defying. As in the amount of energy required to move the vehicle from an internal combustion source, which has a theoretical limit to its efficiency, requires a certain amount of fuel (diesel or gasoline). That amount of fuel will release a given amount of CO2. We’re not there yet, but the real low hanging fruit is now all gone, and it’s becoming exponentially harder to optimize, to the point of it being uneconomical. It’s questionable how much of total-life-CO2 can now be saved with todays technologies (hybrids tend to generate CO2 at different parts of their lifecycle – it still tends to be lower, but if say our electricity usage for transport went up, it’s questionable how much CO2 would be really saved). The only real, known solution right now is to use transport less or to use more of mass transport vs. individual transport. One person in a car is not going to be an efficient means of transportation ever.

Secondly, talking about non-CO2 emissions, especially in the diesel area, there has been a huge effort put into making the car (especially small car) engines efficient and cleaner. On the other hand, there has been little to no effort spent on other major diesel engine areas, especially shipping engines.

For comparison, one – yes ONE – super sized container ship can emit during one year same amount of SO2 emissions that about 50 MILLION cars.

The world shipping fleet pollutes about six times more than all the cars combined. For comparison, there’s about 760 million cars in the world, but only about 90,000 cargo ships.

Note that these are the non CO2 emissions, in CO2 emissions large ships are more efficient than smaller cars (size matters.. ) – the world shipping industry uses about 8 million barrels a day vs. abut 13 million barrels a day by the US transportation system (US has about a third of all world’s cars).

[Demeter]

8. Gross Tells Fed to `Get Off Zero Now!' as Economies Run on Empty

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-23/gross-tells-fed-to-get-off-zero-now-as-economies-run-on-empty

Bill Gross said the Federal Reserve needs to raise interest rates as soon as possible, trading some near-term market losses for longer-term stability and a healthier financial system.

If zero interest rates become the long-term norm, economic participants will soon run on empty because their investments aren’t producing the gains or cash flow needed to finance past promises in an aging society, he wrote in an investment outlook on Wednesday for Denver-based Janus Capital Group Inc. That’s already beginning to happen as Detroit, Puerto Rico, and, he predicts, soon Chicago, struggle to meet their liabilities.

“My advice to them is this: get off zero and get off quick,” Gross urged the central bankers. He said it’s time for a “new thesis” that allows people in developed economies to save, enabling liability-based business models to survive and spurring more private investment, “which is the essence of a healthy economy. Near term pain? Yes. Long term gain? Almost certainly. Get off zero now!”

IS HE NUTS? VERY PROBABLY

[StoneCarver]

30. Bill Gross is a genius!

Anybody who knows about investing always listens to Bill. Two or three months ago he advised to "pull some money off the table". The DOW was at 18k now it's at 16k. Ignore Bill at your own peril.
I'm just sad he's (and Mohammed) not at PIMCO anymore. He's at Janus, which is a dog with flees - IMO.
Stonecarver

[Demeter]

12. GREEK Labor minister sees pension cuts

I GUESS IT'S COLD COMFORT TO SEE THE REST OF THE WORLD'S PENSIONS SHRINKING...WHEN THE PENSIONS HAS PRACTICALLY DISAPPEARED IN AMERICA ALREADY...EXCEPT FOR THE 1%.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/201855/article/ekathimerini/business/labor-minister-sees-pension-cuts

New cuts to main and auxiliary pensions are inevitable, Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos implied on Wednesday upon returning to his post after 27 days of absence.

The cash-strapped social security funds and the country’s commitments stemming from the new bailout agreement leave hardly any scope for initiatives by the ministry. However, Katrougalos said yesterday that he will try to find offsetting measures to counterbalance the recessionary policies imposed.

Earlier in the morning Katrougalos had left open the possibility of a reduction to certain pensions. Speaking on ANT1 TV, the minister said: “We may not be able to avert cuts to some pensions as long as there is this underfinancing of the funds. We will still protect medium-sized and small pensions. There is no chance of them being tampered with.”

The bailout program dictates a 3.5-billion-euro reduction in pension expenditure up to 2018, which will lead to the reduction of even the smallest of pensions. Katrougalos said yesterday that he will ask for the conclusions of the experts committee on social security to be delivered in the first week of October, so that the ministry can swiftly start working on alternatives.

[Demeter]

13. Time for the Nuclear Option: Raining Money on Main Street By Ellen Brown

http://ellenbrown.com/2015/09/22/time-for-the-nuclear-option-raining-money-on-main-street/

Predictions are that we will soon be seeing the “nuclear option” — central bank-created money injected directly into the real economy. All other options having failed, governments will be reduced to issuing money outright to cover budget deficits. So warns a September 18 article on ZeroHedge titled “It Begins: Australia’s Largest Investment Bank Just Said ‘Helicopter Money’ Is 12-18 Months Away.”

Money reformers will say it’s about time. Virtually all money today is created as bank debt, but people can no longer take on more debt. The money supply has shrunk along with people’s ability to borrow new money into existence. Quantitative easing (QE) attempts to re-inflate the money supply by giving money to banks to create more debt, but that policy has failed. It’s time to try dropping some debt-free money on Main Street.

The Zerohedge prediction is based on a release from Macqurie, Australia’s largest investment bank. It notes that GDP is contracting, deflationary pressures are accelerating, public and private sectors are not driving the velocity of money higher, and central bank injections of liquidity are losing their effectiveness. Current policies are not working. As a result:

There are several policies that could be and probably would be considered over the next 12-18 months. If private sector lacks confidence and visibility to raise velocity of money, then (arguably) public sector could. In other words, instead of acting via bond markets and banking sector, why shouldn’t public sector bypass markets altogether and inject stimulus directly into the ‘blood stream’? Whilst it might or might not be called QE, it would have a much stronger impact and unlike the last seven years, the recovery could actually mimic a conventional business cycle and investors would soon start discussing multiplier effects and positioning in areas of greatest investment.

Willem Buiter, chief global economist at Citigroup, is also recommending “helicopter money drops” to avoid an imminent global recession, stating:

A global recession starting in 2016 led by China is now our Global Economics team’s main scenario. Uncertainty remains, but the likelihood of a timely and effective policy response seems to be diminishing. . . .

Helicopter money drops in China, the euro area, the UK, and the U.S. and debt restructuring . . . can mitigate and, if implemented immediately, prevent a recession during the next two years without raising the risk of a deeper and longer recession later.

MORE

[Demeter]

14. Why Republicans just might be okay with another government shutdown

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/09/22/why-republicans-probably-arent-afraid-of-another-government-shutdown/

...During and after the 2013 shutdown, there were regular reports that the damage to the GOP would hurt their chances the following November. It didn't. Republicans gained a dozen seats in the House (earning their biggest majority since the Great Depression) and retook the Senate.

People often also point to the shutdown during Bill Clinton's first term as an object lesson in the danger of shutdowns. The Clinton-era shutdown overlapped with New Year 1996, and the Republicans got the blame for that one, too. In a Post-ABC poll in January 1996, 50 percent of respondents blamed the GOP.

That November, Republicans lost just three House seats, easily holding on to the majority they won in an electoral wave in 1994, and added two seats to their Senate majority. The Republican candidate for president lost, yes -- but by a huge 8.5-point spread.

None of which is to say that another government shutdown in 2016 wouldn't negatively affect the Republican Party. The year 2016, unlike 2014, should be a high-turnout year for Democrats, which is a critical factor in those congressional races. And part of the turnaround in the GOP's fortunes after the 2013 shutdown was the failure of the Obamacare Web site to work as intended -- also in late 2013. There are a lot of ancillary things that come into play.

But the lesson of that Gallup graph is this: A year is an awfully long time in politics. If there is a repeat of the government shutdown, how it affects 2016 -- if at all -- is probably impossible to predict.

THEN THERE IS THE FABLE ABOUT GOING TO THE WELL ONCE TOO OFTEN...

[Demeter]

15. FBI Said to Recover Personal E-Mails From Hillary Clinton Server

http://www.newsmax.com/newswidget/hillary-clinton-fbi-recovers/2015/09/22/id/692816/

The FBI has recovered personal and work- related e-mails from the private computer server used by Hillary Clinton during her time as secretary of state, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s success at salvaging personal e-mails that Clinton said had been deleted raises the possibility that the Democratic presidential candidate’s correspondence eventually could become public. The disclosure of such e-mails would likely fan the controversy over Clinton’s use of a private e-mail system for official business.

The FBI is investigating how and why classified information ended up on Clinton’s server. The probe probably will take at least several more months, according to the person, who described the matter on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing and deals with sensitive information.

A review by Clinton and her aides determined that about half of the 60,000 e-mails she exchanged during her four-year tenure as secretary of state were of a personal nature, the presidential candidate has said...

[Demeter]

17. Stocks slip for fifth straight day, euro holds steady

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/24/us-markets-global-idUSKCN0RO02520150924?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

World shares fell for the fifth day running on Thursday, sliding back towards two-year lows on growing unease about global growth, while emerging markets continued to gnaw at investor confidence.

A 2.2 percent tumble for Tokyo's Nikkei as Japan returned from an extended break set the tone in Asia, while some encouraging German and French data and a 6 percent bounce in Volkswagen shares helped Europe's FTSEurofirst claw back into positive territory after a shaky start.

Confidence in France's industrial sector hit its highest since July 2011 while business confidence in Germany rose despite the recent signs of weakness in China, one of its big export partners.

The euro was also still on the rise after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi on Wednesday appeared to suggest the bank wasn't as close to expanding its money printing program as had been thought.

U.S. Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen is due to speak later....

[Demeter]

18. Japan stocks fall, led by car makers

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-shares-fall-led-by-car-makers-2015-09-24?siteid=YAHOOB

[Demeter]

19. Wall Street stocks wait for Yellen

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-wait-for-yellen-2015-09-24?siteid=YAHOOB

Losses for stock futures accelerated Thursday ahead a highly anticipated speech from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen.

Fresh economic data, including reports on orders for durable goods and weekly jobless claims, also should grab investors’ attention.

“Market liquidity constraints, mixed messages from the Fed, the fallout in the [emerging-markets] space coupled with the lack of clarity on China and now the increasing risk of US government shutdown all playing havoc with investor sentiment,” Brenda Kelly, head analyst at London Capital Group, said in a note to clients...

[Demeter]

21. Greece: No Lessons Learned

http://bruegel.org/2015/09/no-lessons-learned/

In November 2003, former German Finance Minister Hans Eichel explained why the “deal” between Greece and its creditors is virtually certain to fail. Fending off the pressure then on Germany for more fiscal austerity in an economic recession, Eichel wrote in a Financial Times op-ed: “A policy geared solely to attaining quantitative consolidation targets in the short term runs the risk not only of curbing growth but also of increasing debt.”

Eichel’s theorem has proven stunningly durable through the Great Recession: persistent austerity is counterproductive, the more so the weaker the economy is. Everywhere, austerity has dragged down growth. Greece, which has undertaken the most severe austerity, has experienced the deepest economic contraction. Even the glimmer of Greek economic growth in 2014 came during a pause in austerity. By most estimates, Greece is running a small primary fiscal deficit: government expenditures (not counting interest payments) exceed receipts. Achieving the creditors’ primary surplus target of 3.5% of GDP in three years will cause the economy to contract. But the projections claim that Greece will resume growth.

The projections have a deeper disdain for economic relationships. In 1933, economist Irving Fisher explained that when debt levels are high, the repayment of debt increases the debt burden. In the effort to repay debt, consumption and investment are reduced, which causes prices and wages to fall. But because the debt obligations do not decrease, the burden of repayment increases. Greece has been in a debt-deflation cycle for the past two years. Greek prices and wages are declining—and while that may help in the long-run—for now, the debt-to-income ratios are being pushed up. The additional austerity will reinforce that tendency. Yet, the projections assume that prices will increase and help reduce the private and public debt burdens.

It gets worse. When, in 2003, Germany was freed of the shackles of fiscal austerity, world trade also zoomed up. For the four years, 2004-7, world trade growth averaged 9% a year. The claim to a German “miracle” is based on two years of 3.5% annual growth in 2006-7 amidst that buoyant world economy. Today, Greece is embarking on another round of austerity with world trade growth under 3% a year. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in its decision to not raise interest rates last week, emphasized how fragile the global economy is. The IMF has lowered its forecasts of world GDP growth and trade three times since the start of the year.

***********************

The euro area has lived off one economic myth after another, first the virtues of a single currency for disparate European nations, then the redeeming powers of fiscal austerity, and now structural reforms as the solution of all economic ills. These myths are sustained by a deep groupthink among European “elites,” who validate each other’s strongly held beliefs.

When, in 2003, Germany strong-armed other euro area members into suspending the fiscal rules that would have gratuitously shamed a struggling Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder cynically, but correctly, called that a “wise” decision. But such is pressure to conform to group norms that Schroeder has since apologized for breaking the unreasonable rules. Another convert is the IMF’s former chief economist, Olivier Blanchard. Having won the intellectual battle on the costs of austerity, he walked away from his research findings and called, instead, for more structural reforms in Greece.

The “deal” only postponed the hard questions. For Germany and other creditors, debt relief creates intolerable risks. But for Greece, driblets of debt relief cannot be merely a prize for more counterproductive austerity. Debt relief is required up front to lower the primary surplus goal to 0.5% of GDP.

If Greece is ultimately forced to leave the eurozone, the creditors will bear larger losses than if they provide relief now. And Grexit will irretrievably crack the fractured union. Lessons not learned must be relived. The Greeks will bear more pain, the creditors will see less of their money. That ultimately is the Greek tragedy.

[Demeter]

22. VW con produced as much extra air pollution as all UK power generation, industry, ag & vehicles

http://boingboing.net/2015/09/23/vw-con-produced-as-much-extra.html

Volkswagen’s intentional fraud resulted in an extra 1,000,000 metric tons of air pollution being spewed into the skies over America; if they’d extended the con to Europe (where there are far more diesels), it would have been orders of magnitude worse” [Boing Boing]. ” It’s an almost unimaginably depraved act, and it’s hard to believe that VW is the only company that tried this tactic — after all, it produced some pretty sweet profits...

There’s only one remedy: after the C-suite has been led away in handcuffs, after the fines have been paid, kill the company. Don’t let “too big to fail” be a license to destroy the planet. Break up its assets, have a receiver or special master apportion them to firms that are obligated to keep the maintenance and parts stream going, and wipe out the shareholders.

Do that and the next day, every institutional shareholder in every car company in the world will order fine-toothed audits of all manufacturing and firmware practices, with disclosure and remediation, along with termination for any exec complicit in similar cons...


FORGET IT, IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN

[Demeter]

23. Fed Spares Credit Card Firms from Cheaper Bank Competition

https://mninews.marketnews.com/content/fed-spares-credit-card-firms-cheaper-bank-competition

The Federal Reserve Wednesday cleared the way for all banks to offer same-day transaction settlement a year from now but decided against forcing banks to provide less expensive immediacy which will remain the domain of credit card firms.

Retailers anxious to escape what they consider to be exorbitant exchange fees imposed by credit card firms will get no regulatory relief. The Fed's Board of Governors "does not believe that same-day automated clearing house capabilities should be abandoned to pursue real-time ACH payments" as suggested by merchant associations "but rather believes that both services would be complementary," the Fed announcement said. Instead each same-day settlement will cost banks about a nickel. Many smaller banks complained even that was too much but the Fed said the cost could go down once every bank is forced to speed up settlements.

For bank customers who may consider their bank debit card transactions to be immediate, the actual mechanism behind the scenes allows a delay of several days before the debits are actually posted to accounts and interim listings of pending debits may not be accurate. Some bankers have urged the adoption of immediate bank settlements as a competitive advantage in an era of evolving payment mechanisms that at one extreme offer Bitcoin-like distributed ledger transactions that are not only instant but can cost almost nothing to complete.

The Fed's action to align its own payment-system arrangements with that of industry standards will mean in practice that all banks will be required to add the capability to settle transactions by the end of each business day and perhaps twice in the same day. Although the industry's electronic payments association, NACHA, which maintains a payments clearing system and the Fed's FedACH SameDay Service began offering same day settlement capabilities as an option five years ago, less than 1% of banks followed through to offer the Fed's version to customers. It became evident the banking industry never would widely adopt faster payments among themselves through the Fed system and to customers until it became mandatory for every institution, which will be the case for credits in a year, for debits in two years and finally, with what the Fed says will be "ubiquitous" faster funds availability by March 2018.

[Demeter]

24. Alas, time to face reality--I have no Weekend Theme! Help! Help!

Got anything worthy of a spin around the WEE?

[MattSh]

27. You just did something about baseball...

so doing something about Yogi is a bit repititive. Unless you got a lot of unused stuff from last week.

Otherwise, I'd suggest "The Boss", who just turned 66 (ouch)! yesterday.

A lot of "musical interlude" stuff at least...

[MattSh]

29. Then maybe you can tie that into the Pope's visit...

since they both speak to and about the downtrodden.

[Demeter]

31. I don't know anything about any Boss

I do know about the Chairman of the Board....

[magical thyme]

28. I'm going to the Common Ground Fair this weekend in Unity, Maine

There will be 2 workshops on money; one of them is on creating community currencies. Also, being the MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardening Association) fair, much on growing food.

I'll be going to workshops on spinning, felting, vegetable dying, edible landscaping, edible/medicinal plant walks, wet & dry seed saving, cooking with sea vegetables, lactofermenting foods, harvesting angora rabbit wool (when they shed out...no kill, continuous production) and some other livestock workshops.

Also watching the sheepdog and sleddog demos.

Maybe organic growers state fairs, if there are any others around the country?

[Demeter]

32. We expect a full report!

Thanks for volunteering!

[magical thyme]

34. happy to post a report. I'm going on Sunday, so report w/some

pix and maybe video will be after.

But since it is fair season, I thought fairs could make a topic...

[DemReadingDU]

25. BMW Drops on Report That X3 Diesel's Emission Exceeded EU Limit

9/24/15 BMW Drops on Report That X3 Diesel's Emission Exceeded EU Limit

BMW AG said it doesn’t cheat on emissions tests, responding to a report in German magazine Autobild that the X3 sport utility vehicle exceeded the European limit for air pollution.

The stock fell as much as 9.7 percent, the most in more than four years, on concerns that the luxury-car maker would be enmeshed in the diesel-emissions scandal that led to the resignation of Volkswagen AG’s chief executive officer on Wednesday.

A four-wheel-drive variant of the BMW SUV had emissions more than 11 times the European limit when road-tested by the International Council on Clean Transportation, the same group whose tipoff led U.S. regulators to investigate a gap between the emissions VW and Audi diesel-powered cars in the testing lab and on the road, Autobild said.

“The BMW Group does not manipulate or rig any emissions tests,” the Munich-based company said in a statement in response to the report. “We observe the legal requirements in each country.”

BMW said it’s not familiar with that road test and that there’s no system in its cars that responds differently to tests than it would operate on the road. Volkswagen has admitted to installing software designed to circumvent regulations by turning on full emissions controls only when the car detects it’s being tested.

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-24/bmw-drops-on-report-that-x3-diesel-s-emission-exceeded-eu-limit

[RussBLib]

26. really getting sick of this shit

at this rate, we won't be able to retire - ever.

[Demeter]

33. Find something you like to do that someone will pay you for

Yeah, I know....preferably legal and more than minimum wage.