STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 3 March 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 3 March 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 2 March 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 2 March 2016
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Dow Jones 16,899.32 +34.24 (0.20%)
S&P 500 1,986.45 +8.10 (0.41%)
Nasdaq 4,703.42 +13.83 (0.29%)


[font color=black]10 Year 1.84% 0.00 (0.00%)
[font color=green]30 Year 2.68% -0.02 (-0.74%) [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.
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.
12/17/15 Martin Shkreli, former CEO Turing Pharmaceuticals and notorious price gouger, arrested on securities fraud charges. Posted $5M bail, resigned as CEO.
2/25/16 Jason Keryc sentenced to 9 years in prison, 3 years supervised release and to pay back $180MM to investors he bilked in a Ponzi scheme while an acct. mgr at Agape World.



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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. Indicted Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon Dead in Car Crash

Indicted Chesapeake Energy CEO Aubrey McClendon Dead in Car Crash

by Jon Schuppe

The founder and former CEO of Chesapeake Energy — a part owner in the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team — died in a car crash Wednesday, just a day after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for trying to rig oil prices.

Aubrey McClendon was behind the wheel of a speeding Chevrolet Tahoe that slammed into a highway embankment in Oklahoma City just after 9 a.m., police said. The car burst into flames.

The cause of the crash seems "pretty cut and dry," Oklahoma City Police Capt. Paco Balderrama said.

"He pretty much drove straight into the wall," Balderrama said, according to NBC affiliate KFOR. "The information out there at the scene is that he went left of center, went through a grassy area right before colliding into the embankment. There was plenty of opportunity for him to correct and get back on the roadway and that didn't occur."

(snip)

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/indicted-chesapeake-energy-ceo-aubrey-mcclendon-dead-car-crash-n530571

[Gungnir]

2. What Percent Are You?

Source: Zero Hedge

See link for interactive chart.

Are you the 1% or the 99%? How about among millennials? Or high-school dropouts? The Wall Street Journal shows how your income compares with your fellow Americans.

Earning $25,780 would put you below 50% of Americans reporting individual income in 2014. What percent are you?

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-02/what-percent-are-you

[Gungnir]

3. Striking Admission By Former Bank Of England Head: The European Depression Was A "Deliberate" Act

Source: Zero Hedge

Last night, it was Alan Greenspan who blasted the state of the economy, saying that "we’re in trouble basically because productivity is dead in the water" and when asked if he is optimistic going forward, Greenspan replied "no, I haven't been for quite a while."

Then on Sunday, the former head of the BOE, Mervyn King, warned that another aspect of the global economy, namely the financial system whose structural problems remain untouched since the financial crisis have been untouched, is "certain to have another crisis."
...
As the Telegraph reports today, according to the former head of the Bank of England Europe's economic depression "is the result of "deliberate" policy choices made by EU elites. Mervyn King continued his scathing assault on Europe's economic and monetary union, having predicted the beleaguered currency zone will need to be dismantled to free its weakest members from unremitting austerity and record levels of unemployment.

King also said he could never have envisaged an economic collapse of the depths of the 1930s returning to Europe's shores in the modern age. But, he added, the fate of Greece since 2009 - which has suffered a contraction eclipsing the US depression in the inter-war years - was an "appalling" example of economic policy failure, he told an audience at the London School of Economics.

more:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-02/striking-admission-former-bank-england-head-european-depression-was-deliberate-act

[Hotler]

4. Greece may have suffered, but.....

the chosen ones over at Goldman Sachs made a ton of money, doing Gods work of course.

[Hotler]

5. Oil and gas drillers in the U.S. ready to party like it’s 1859

The energy business in the U.S. is about to travel 150 years back in time.

Oil and gas companies have cut so much spending amid the biggest price crash in a generation that there are only 502 drilling rigs still active in the country, according to Baker Hughes Inc. In the next few weeks, that could fall below 488, the lowest level in records dating back to 1948, according to Paul Hornsell, head of commodities research for Standard Chartered Bank.

“While there is no consistent series for drilling activity before 1948, we think it likely that to find a lower level of activity would require going back to the 1860s, the early part of the Pennsylvania oil boom,” Hornsell said in a research note today.

Melanie Kania, a Baker Hughes spokeswoman, said she was unable to find information pertaining to rig counts prior to 1949.

The Pennsylvania oil rush began in 1859, when Colonel Edwin Drake struck rock oil near the town of Titusville in the western part of the state. Industrialist Andrew Carnegie visited the area in the early 1860s and was inspired by the frantic activity he found there.

“Everybody was in high glee; fortunes were supposedly within reach; everything was booming,” Carnegie wrote in his autobiography. “On the tops of the derricks floated flags on which strange mottoes were displayed. I remember looking down toward the river and seeing two men working their treadles boring for oil upon the banks of the stream, and inscribed upon their flag was ‘Hell or China.’”

The industry has obviously come a long way since then, and modern rigs are far more productive than rigs from even a generation ago. There is at least one similarity between derricks of yore and today that still holds true, though, Hornsell said.

“Each active rig is the result of a decision to employ capital in the industry, and the current lack of drilling indicates a strong drive to conserve cash,” he said.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/oil-and-gas-drillers-in-the-us-ready-to-party-like-it%e2%80%99s-1859/ar-BBqfpN3?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp

[Hotler]

6. Suddenly, the market sees growth — and rate hikes

The recent stock rally and mildly encouraging economic data have investors feeling a little braver.

My question, who are these investors they speak of?

In their views on the market, investors are looking for better conditions than what has persisted since mid-2015. As for the ensuing actions the Fed might take on monetary policy, the view is now tilting back toward additional rate action this year.

Owing to a number of factors, the S&P 500 (.SPX) tumbled more than 13 percent from its mid-July peak to what could be a durable bottom established Feb. 11. Since then, the index has jumped more than 9 percent, with Tuesday's monster rally fed by a modest increase in a key manufacturing index.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, has been cautious on the markets and economy. However, he said in an analysis released Tuesday that the economy appears to be stabilizing, and that in turn could fuel investor confidence.

"Eventually, stock investors may again become troubled by the speed and frequency of potential Fed interest rate hikes. Initially though, better economic reports should continue to calm recession fears and bolster Wall Street earnings forecasts," he said. "However, given that the missing 'catalyst' for the stock market has seemingly arrived — better economic growth — perhaps the stock market is headed for another challenge of the all-time highs."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/suddenly-the-market-sees-growth-%e2%80%94-and-rate-hikes/ar-BBqfIig?ocid=iehp

I want some of whatever they are smoking.