STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 7 March 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, 7 March 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 4 March 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 4 March 2016
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Dow Jones 17,006.77 +62.87 (0.37%)
S&P 500 1,999.99 +6.59 (0.33%)
Nasdaq 4,717.02 +9.60 (0.20%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.87% +0.03 (1.63%)
30 Year 2.70% +0.02 (0.75%) [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]

[pscot]

1. When Trump takes Viagra

he's almost 8 feet tall. Source: reddit

[Gungnir]

2. Are Greek Banks About To Charge For The Privilege Of Banning €500 Bills?

Source: ZeroHedge

...
(on banning large bank notes)
As mentioned above, there’s always this amorphous notion of fighting crime built in there somehow as if the world's central banks recently adopted a Batman mandate to go along with price stability, but the real reason is, and always will be, simple: controlling citizens’ economic decisions. Or, put a little more harshly: stripping depositors of their economic autonomy.

Do away with cash and you can set rates as low as you want them. People not spending enough to get the economy moving? Well to hell with those people - set interest rates at -30%. You can bet they'll start spending then. Economy overheating? No problem, jack interest rates on savings up to +20% and watch the personal savings rate rise.
...
See charts at link

While we're not entirely sure what this means in the context of the elimination of the €500 note, we wonder if it's possible that the ECB is going to try and charge citizens for turning in their high denomination bills, thereby making a profit off the €500's "retirement"?

As a reminder, Greeks who stored €500 notes at home "rushed to deposit the money in their accounts" once the ECB made it clear it was considering doing away with the big bills.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-06/are-greek-banks-about-charge-privilege-banning-%E2%82%AC500-bills

So much for the mattress bank.

[Punx]

6. I would recommend PM's

If one can afford them. But they come with their own set of risks, and will probably be outlawed too at some point if they become too popular a way of keeping wealth out of the banking system.

And say cash is outlawed completely. Then there is no way to "Cash In" so to speak when the time comes without a record. And I'm thinking your local merchant isn't going to be set up to accept payment in silver ingots.

[Gungnir]

8. Be carfeful of "candybars" (Tungsten-Filled Gold Bars)

Get Your Fake Tungsten-Filled Gold Coins Here
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-09-24/get-your-fake-tungsten-filled-gold-coins-here

Tungsten-Filled 10 Oz Gold Bar Found In The Middle Of Manhattan's Jewelry District
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/tungsten-filled-10-oz-gold-bar-found-middle-manhattans-jewelry-district

The Drilled Gold Bars Filled With Tungsten
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2012/03/26/the-drilled-gold-bars-filled-with-tungsten/#7f1ea56927ac

[Gungnir]

3. "We're In The Eye Of The Storm" Rothschild Fears "Daunting Litany" Of Problems Ahead

Source: ZeroHedge

As central bank policy-makers' forecasts have become more pessimistic (i.e. more realistic), Lord Rothschild is unsurprised at the current malaise: "not surprisingly, market conditions have deteriorated further...So much so that the wind is certainly not behind us; indeed we may well be in the eye of a storm." On this basis, Rothschild highlights a "daunting litany of problems," warning those who are optimistically sanguine about the US economy that "2016 is likely to turn out to be more difficult than the second half of 2015."

In my half-yearly statement I sounded a note of caution, ending up by writing that “the climate is one where the wind may well not be behind us”; indeed we became increasingly concerned about global equity markets during the last quarter of 2015, reducing our exposure to equities as the economic outlook darkened and many companies reported disappointing earnings. Meanwhile central banks’ policy makers became more pessimistic in their economic forecasts for, despite unprecedented monetary stimulus, growth remained anaemic.

The litany of problems which confronts investors is daunting:

The QE tap is in the course of being turned off and in any event its impact in stimulating asset prices is coming to an end.
There’s the slowing down to an unknown extent in China.
The situation in the Middle East is likely to be unresolvable at least for some time ahead.
Progress of the US and European economies is disappointing.
The Greek situation remains fraught with the country now having to cope with the challenge of unprecedented immigration.
Over the last few years we have witnessed an explosion in debt, much of it repayable in revalued dollars by emerging market countries at the time of a collapse in commodity prices. Countries like Brazil, Russia, Nigeria, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are, as a result, deeply troubled.
In the UK we have an unsettled political situation as we attempt to deal with the possibility of Brexit in the coming months.

The risks that confront investors are clearly considerable at a time when stock market valuations remain relatively high.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-06/were-eye-storm-rothschild-fears-daunting-litany-problems-ahead

[Gungnir]

4. John Perkins: The Shadow World Of The Economic Hitman

If you're hoping to have a 'feel good' day today, we're about to owe you an apology.

John Perkins, author of The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, is someone we've been trying to get on the program for some time. He tells a dark story of an elite cabal working in the shadows to subjugate governments as it pursues ever-greater control of the planet's resources.

What's most frightening about this story is how credible it is. Anybody paying attention to world developments will have a hard time dismissing Perkins' claims out-of-hand; and a harder time not being sickened at how on the mark his claims may likely prove to be:
...
Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with John Perkins (41m:54s)

The original Confessions was a must read, I will have to get the updated one.

[Punx]

5. He was on Thom Hartmann's Show

Last Thursday? Or maybe it was Wednesday.

I agree his first book is a must read. I suspect the new one will be as well. There sure is a lot of circumstantial evidence that what he is saying is true. This is probably a tried and true method of keeping weaker, poorer countries in line and their resources exploited since at least the times of the British empire if not longer than that. And like it or not, the US is an empire.

Thom made the comment that only Gandhi appears to have managed to beat this system.

[Gungnir]

7. How stolen treasure kick-started the Bank of England

Source: The conversation

What to do with 34 tons of sliver and gold recovered from a Spanish shipwreck

Most people think that the Bank of England has always been there, a national institution set in stone. The truth is much stranger. It began with the fortunes of a treasure hunter and the scheming of a get-rich-quick entrepreneur – and goes to show how the financial system has always been built on bets and speculations.
...
Paterson’s project was radical. £1,200,000 (the equivalent of more than a billion in today’s money) was to be raised by subscription and paid to the king via the Treasury. The money was to be lent at 8% interest and the subscribers would be incorporated in order to manage “the perpetual fund of interest” which would be produced. The interest would be paid out of levies on ships’ tonnage and wine and beer.

The huge bounty from Phips’ voyage acted like a beacon to other projectors, including those from a society started by Paterson who met at the Sun Tavern, close to the Royal Exchange, to discuss the project of the bank. The adventure also flooded the market with bullion, the goldsmiths could not cope, and so it further emphasised the need for a bank.
...
But it is worth remembering that the vaunted institution that is the Bank of England, which now seems timeless and above reproach, began as a projection – a speculative attempt to make a quick buck. This is how the very idea of a “national debt” began – a speculation and promise that has now grown to £1.5 trillion for the UK.

https://theconversation.com/how-stolen-treasure-kick-started-the-bank-of-england-55607?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%207%202016%20-%204459&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20March%207%202016%20-%204459+CID_0566d5131f73a710e8d2839b6f434f4d&utm_source=campaign_monitor_uk&utm_term=How%20stolen%20treasure%20kick-started%20the%20Bank%20of%20England

[Gungnir]

9. Chinese Hackers Break Into NY Fed, Steal $100 Million From Bangladesh Central Bank

Reports indicate that some of the stolen funds were traced to the Philippines, but given what we know about the "Cyber Axis of Evil," we can only suspect it was Iranians, Chinese, or the criminal/military mastermind Kim Jong-Un who was behind the scam, but whatever the case, someone, somewhere, hacked into Bangladesh's central bank on February 5.
...
But just moments ago we learned from the AFP that the amount lost was around $100 million. "Some of the money was then illegally transferred online to the Philippines and Sri Lanka, a central bank official told AFP on condition of anonymity."

"The bank reported that the USD 100 million was leaked into the Philippine banking system, sold to a black market foreign exchange broker and then transferred to at least three local casinos," AFP continues, adding that "the amount was later sold back to the money broker and moved out to overseas accounts within days."

And here's the punchline: According to AFP, Chinese hackers have been blamed and the money was stolen from accounts held at the New York Fed...