STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 16 March 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 16 March 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 15 March 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 15 March 2016
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Dow Jones 17,251.53 +22.40 (0.13%)
[font color=red]S&P 500 2,015.93 -3.71 (-0.18%)
Nasdaq 4,728.67 -21.61 (-0.45%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.97% +0.04 (2.07%)
30 Year 2.73% +0.04 (1.49%) [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]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. Bonus 'toon

Front page 'toon is because Molly Ivins was so very correct so much fo the time. Bonus is because like Ivins, the long-departed Murrow called 'em like he saw 'em. As Harry Truman famously said, “I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.”

[Hotler]

2. "Data Dependent" Fed Chickens Out Again - Blames Global Uncertainty For Holding Rates Unchanged, Low

With gold up 15% since The Fed hiked in December (and stocks lower) and the market pricing a hike today at just 4% (June 53%), it is not surprising that Janet panicced and folded again in the face of "unequivocally good" data based on what The Fed has said it monitors. Of course there were plenty of excuses:

FED MEDIAN FORECAST IMPLIES TWO 2016 RATE HIKES VS FOUR IN DEC
FED SAYS GLOBAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS CONTINUE TO POSE RISKS
FED LEAVES RATES UNCHANGED AT 0.25%-0.5% AS EXPECTED
FED: GEORGE DISSENTED IN FAVOR OF A RATE RISE TO 0.5%-0.75%

Not too dovish (upgrade uncertainty), not too hawkish (lowered rate hikes), a goldilocks statement - just a little more inflation and just a little less unemployment and just another month or two of near-ZIRP rates is what it takes for the world to get it all together. We are breathless in anticipation.

Before The Fed statement, June was at 53% probability of a rate-hike...It collapsed after
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-16/data-dependent-fed-chickens-out-again-blames-global-uncertainty-us-rate-hold

Chart:

[Hotler]

3. Juicy story

How an Affair Between a Valley VC and Exotic Dancer Turned Toxic

Amber Baptiste says she was sexually abused for a decade
Michael Goguen says their relationship was consensual.

Venture capitalist Michael Goguen and exotic dancer Amber Baptiste met at a Dallas strip club in the early 2000s and started spending time together.
That’s about all they agree on.
Baptiste says Goguen sexually abused her for more than a decade and then reneged on an agreement to pay her $40 million to halt a personal injury lawsuit, according to her March 8 breach-of-contract lawsuit. Six days later, Goguen countersued saying the relationship was consensual and alleging that Baptiste tried to extort him because he declined to make a greater commitment to her.
The legal battle -- punctuated with revealing photos, salacious text messages and explicit descriptions of sexual acts -- has rocked the venture-capital industry, already stung by criticism that it treats women poorly. Sequoia Capital, where Goguen worked for almost 20 years, parted ways with him once Baptiste’s suit became public. While the firm tweeted that the allegations against Goguen were “unproven and unrelated” to the firm, it said, “Nevertheless, we came to the decision that Mike’s departure was the appropriate course of action.”
(snip)

Baptiste says Goguen forced himself on her from the beginning, performed lewd acts and turned her into a sex slave. Her lawsuit includes graphic details of alleged coercion, including an incident in 2012, when she says she was sodomized and left bleeding in a London hotel. Goguen confirms the London rendezvous but claims the acts were consensual and cites as evidence e-mails from Baptiste, including one that says: “I promise promise it is not your fault . . . I was a willing participant in this accident.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-16/how-an-affair-between-a-valley-vc-and-exotic-dancer-turned-toxic