May 31, 2012

Quelle Surprise !!!: One out-of-touch rich man sticks up for another out-of-touch rich man

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Jamie Dimon, the embattled CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., received some moral support from New York's mayor this morning. Michael Bloomberg, speaking to reporters at the All Things D conference near Los Angeles, was commenting on the recently disclosed trading losses at the bank and the criticisms leveled at banking star Dimon. "Jamie Dimon is as good a banker as there is. J.P Morgan is as good a bank as there is. Did they screw up? Yeah, they screwed up." The bank has reportedly lost more than $3 billion to date on soured positions in derivatives markets. The losses have drawn criticism of Dimon and calls for more regulatory oversight, as well as for Dimon's removal from a role at the New York Fed. In supporting Dimon, Bloomberg said, "Dimon is a very smart, honest, great executive. The controls failed. He'll look at that and fix it."


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dimon-gets-kudos-from-nyc-mayor-bloomberg-2012-05-31?link=MW_home_latest_news

May 31, 2012

NOW Toronto: Quebec protesters have reminded us how much we’ve lowered our expectations

Follow Quebec’s leaders
Quebec protesters have reminded us how much we’ve lowered our expectations

By Alice Klein


Dear Quebec re-sisters and brothers: What an awesomely inventive laboratory of political resistance you have built. Thanks for taking the struggle against inequality and austerity to a new level and helping the rest of us see what’s really going on.

Of course, looking back, La Belle Province has pointed the way for a good long time, including its Orange Crush rebellion that vaulted the NDP into official opposition.

And now it has outdone itself.

The Casseroles have taken their demand for accessible education and against tyranny (aka Law 78) to the whole world. They have won a laurel wreath from the global “spring” of people’s movements and affirmed the continued ability of these uprisings to confound the powers that be. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=187032

May 31, 2012

Farmers markets are becoming the new town square

from the Detroit Free Press:



[font size="1"]Detroit's Eastern Market[/font]


Eat local, but first shop local and in season.

That's the message from folks who shop at or operate farmers markets.

And the season is already in full swing.

Many markets have been open a few weeks; others will open their stalls soon as more produce starts rolling in. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.freep.com/article/20120531/FEATURES02/205310388/Popular-for-fresh-local-produce-farmers-markets-are-becoming-the-new-town-square?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

May 31, 2012

Chicago Puchasing Managers Signals Recession Bias

from 24/7WallStreet:



Chicago Puchasing Managers Signals Recession Bias
Posted: May 31, 2012 at 10:32 am


For a Purchasing Managers report to be in recession and/or true contraction, the reading needs to be under 50.0. The May report from the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index came in at 52.7. Bloomberg had a consensus reading of 56.1 expected and the prior report in April was up at 56.2. Each of the prior 4 reports were above 60… Two components of the index are already signaling contraction rather than just a slo
wing of growth.

The index actually came in at the lowest reading since September 2009. New orders came in at 52.9, which is also the lowest growth rate since September 2009. Ditto for the Production component right at the 50.0 mark.

Another issue is the Backlog component, which came in under 50.0 at 46.3 and that is now the third contraction for more than two years. The prices paid component fell to 60.4 from 68.6.

What is sad about the readings here is that two components (Backlogs and Inventories) have gone under the 50.0 mark. All 7 components of the index fell in May versus April and that is not a good sign. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://247wallst.com/2012/05/31/chicago-puchasing-managers-signals-recession-bias/#ixzz1wSUhkRK3

May 31, 2012

Chicago Puchasing Managers Signals Recession Bias

from 24/7WallStreet:



Chicago Puchasing Managers Signals Recession Bias
Posted: May 31, 2012 at 10:32 am


For a Purchasing Managers report to be in recession and/or true contraction, the reading needs to be under 50.0. The May report from the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index came in at 52.7. Bloomberg had a consensus reading of 56.1 expected and the prior report in April was up at 56.2. Each of the prior 4 reports were above 60… Two components of the index are already signaling contraction rather than just a slo
wing of growth.

The index actually came in at the lowest reading since September 2009. New orders came in at 52.9, which is also the lowest growth rate since September 2009. Ditto for the Production component right at the 50.0 mark.

Another issue is the Backlog component, which came in under 50.0 at 46.3 and that is now the third contraction for more than two years. The prices paid component fell to 60.4 from 68.6.

What is sad about the readings here is that two components (Backlogs and Inventories) have gone under the 50.0 mark. All 7 components of the index fell in May versus April and that is not a good sign. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://247wallst.com/2012/05/31/chicago-puchasing-managers-signals-recession-bias/#ixzz1wSUhkRK3

May 31, 2012

Colleges' bank deals saddle students with big fees

WASHINGTON — As many as 900 colleges are pushing students into using payment cards that carry hefty costs, sometimes even to get to their financial aid money, according to a report released Wednesday by a public interest group.

Colleges and banks rake in millions from the fees, often through secretive deals and sometimes in apparent violation of federal law, according to the report, an early copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.

More than two out of five U.S. higher-education students — more than 9 million people — attend schools that have deals with financial companies, says the report, written by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Higher Education Fund.

"For decades, student aid was distributed without fees," said Rich Williams, the report's lead author. "Now bank middlemen are making out like bandits using campus cards to siphon off millions of student aid dollars." ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/finance/20120530/US.Student.Card.Fees/

May 31, 2012

TIME Magazine’s Last Chapter

from 24/7WallStreet:



TIME Magazine’s Last Chapter
Posted: May 31, 2012 at 6:25 am


TIME magazine, the last of the large weekly news and business publications, will not last in its current form for more than another year or so. A growing mountain of evidence shows TIME will have to cut its publication frequency, lower its subscription base or migrate almost entirely to the Internet.

TIME is the last of the weeklies that were among the most prominent magazines from World War II through the 1990s. T
IME, as a matter of fact, was probably the most influential magazine in America after Life magazine closed in 1972, until its position was taken by 24-hour news channels and the nearly universal availability of quality news on the Internet.

Other large weeklies have already surrendered. Newsweek was sold to billionaire Sidney Harman, who died months later. He agreed to combine the magazine and its web operations with the online news, gossip and opinion site The Daily Beast. Newsweek’s parent, the Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO), had been a champion of high-quality journalism for years. But it was not willing to underwrite millions of dollars in losses. Newsweek has not flourished in combination with The Daily Beast. It remains pamphlet thin and continues to be battered by the minute-by-minute news cycle. To attract subscribers, Newsweek offers deals, which cost new customers only 64 cents an issue.

Another of the most important weeklies of the last century, Businessweek, probably would have been shuttered by parent McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP), which owned it since it was founded in 1929. Trading terminal company Bloomberg bought the magazine, which it renamed Bloomberg Businessweek, and its web operations late in 2009 for what was rumored to be between $2 million and $5 million plus liabilities. Businessweek.com is little more than an offshoot of the Bloomberg news machine and its web operations. It is impossible to tell from the outside how the print business has done. But like other weeklies that used to be well over 100 pages thick — and more than that at year end — it has no more than a few dozen news pages per issue. Subscription offers give discounts of as much as 85% off the magazine’s newsstand price. .................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://247wallst.com/2012/05/31/time-magazines-last-chapter/#ixzz1wS7JfRKf

May 31, 2012

America's Spy State: How the Telecoms Sell Out Your Privacy

AlterNet / By David Rosen

America's Spy State: How the Telecoms Sell Out Your Privacy
Your seemingly private information is a public commodity, subject to the dictates of the security state and market opportunists.

May 29, 2012 |


You need to know one simple truth: you have no privacy with regard to your electronic communications.

Nothing you do online, via a wireline telephone or over a wireless device is outside the reach of government security agencies and private corporations. Your ostensible personal communication -- whether a phone call, an email, a search, visiting a website, a credit card purchase, a 140 character Tweet, a movie download or a Facebook friending -- is a public commodity, subject to the dictates of the security state and market opportunists.

Corporate surveillance has begun to raise consumer, Congressional and regulatory concerns – a major case, Amnesty v. Clapper, is now before the Supreme Court. One can only wonder why it is not an issue in this year’s election?

Corporate spying takes a variety of forms. GPS tracking over a wireless device is widespread. Google’s efforts to commercialize its users’ keystrokes resulted in a $25,000 fine from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Potentially more consequential, a growing chorus of criticism over its recently introduced data-harvesting program seems to have contributed to a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation of Google; the FTC retained Beth Wilkinson, a high-powered outside counsel, to oversee a possible anti-trust prosecution of the company. On March 1st, Google introduced a new program that collects user data from its 60 services. Google stores “cookies” (i.e., code that compiles a record of an individual’s web browsing history) on a growing number of communications devices, whether a home PC, tablet, smartphone and a growing number of TV sets. These cookies track every website a person visits or function s/he uses. As the New York Times wrote, “The case has the potential to be the biggest showdown between regulators and Silicon Valley since the government took on Microsoft 14 years ago. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/rights/155628/america%27s_spy_state%3A_how_the_telecoms_sell_out_your_privacy/

May 31, 2012

11 Ways Mitt Romney Shows His Rich-Guy, Ayn Randian Cluelessness

AlterNet / By Adele M. Stan

11 Ways Mitt Romney Shows His Rich-Guy, Ayn Randian Cluelessness
Mitt Romney demonstrates the hubris of a certain kind of millionaire: the kind who think it is the job of hard-working people to preserve the rich man's wealth.

May 29, 2012 |


Poor Mitt Romney. Just when he manages to go nearly a month without making a gaffe further compounding his rich-guy cluelessness about the way the other 99 percent live, here comes the New York Times, that bastion of of the elites, shining a light on his wife's enthusiasm for a sport, dressage, that most have never heard of. Dressage, the Times informs us, involves getting very expensive horses to execute dance moves on the non-verbal commands of the a rider dressed in top hat and tails. The front-page article, by Trip Gabriel, examines the relationship between the Romneys and Ann Romney's coach and horse-trainer, Jan Ebeling:



In fairness to Ann Romney, it should be said that she took up the sport at age 50, as a way to combat her newly-diagnosed case of multiple sclerosis, a devastating immunological disease, and persevered through pain to become a highly-ranked amateur competitor. In fairness to the many uninsured and underinsured with m.s., it should be said that Mitt Romney has pledged to repeal the health-care reform law that will cover the costly diagnostic and treatment of those with the disease, perhaps leaving them enough pocket money to buy a pair of sneakers for the exercise that is recommended for them.

Don't get me wrong: the problem with Romney and his money is not that he has it (his personal worth is estimated at $250 million); it's that he's never ventured far enough beyond his own rarified world to understand how regular people live, leading him to a "Let them eat cake" attitude that surfaces with regularity in his interactions on the campaign trail. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/election2012/155649/11_ways_mitt_romney_shows_his_rich-guy%2C_ayn_randian_cluelessness/

May 31, 2012

Are Germany’s `Minijobs’ a Poverty Trap?

(Bloomberg) Germany’s jobless rate has fallen to a two-decade low of 6,7 percent. Meanwhile, across the border in France, “President Francois Hollande ended his first two weeks in office with a thud,” Helene Fouquet and Mark Deen report, after jobless claims rose to the highest in 13 years.

Angela Merkel has been calling on other euro-zone countries to follow Germany’s example in reforming labor markets. One of the reasons for Germany’s success has been the so-called minijobs, Merkel says — they allow companies to take on workers at 400 euros a month for a maximum of 15 hours work per week.

Spanish newspapers haven’t been very sympathetic. El Pais entitled one of its reports “Wages of One-Euro-an-Hour in Germany’s Labor `Miracle.’” Criticism of the model has also been forthcoming in Germany. Sueddeutsche Zeitung pointed out that minijobs contribute so little to the social security system that a person working 45 years serving tables will entitle a worker to a monthly pension of just 139.95 euros. ................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://go.bloomberg.com/euro-crisis/2012-05-31/are-germanys-minijobs-a-poverty-trap/