STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday February 24

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday February 24, 2009

Bush Administration Officials Under Indictment = 0
Financial Sector Officials Under Indictment = 0
Financial Sector Officials In Prison = 1

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON February 23, 2009

Dow... 7,114.78 -250.89 (-3.53%)
Nasdaq... 1,387.72 -53.51 (-3.71%)
S&P 500... 743.33 -26.72 (-3.47%)
Gold future... 995.00 -7.20 (-0.72%)
30-Year Bond 3.53% -0.04 (-1.12%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.78% +0.01 (+0.18%)

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U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES..............................................S&P FUTURES

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

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Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp

Failure or Sabotage?
BY ROB KIRBY

As our beloved fiat financial system continues its ‘long predicted’ systemic melt-down, it has been most interesting to observe the jockeying of establishment Keynesian acolytes; positioning themselves and their revisionist rhetoric to obfuscate / obscure the nascent havoc that their ideology has cast upon humanity.

Just last week, the much celebrated and followed Noriel Roubini wrote and published this gem in Forbes;

Noriel Roubini: Laissez-Faire Capitalism Has Failed

Laissez-Faire Capitalism Has Failed
Nouriel Roubini 02.19.09, 12:01 AM ET

It is now clear that this is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and the worst economic crisis in the last 60 years. While we are already in a severe and protracted U-shaped recession (the deluded hope of a short and shallow V-shaped contraction has evaporated), there is now a rising risk that this crisis will turn into an uglier, multiyear, L-shaped, Japanese-style stag-deflation (a deadly combination of stagnation, recession and deflation)…

… It is clear that the Anglo-Saxon model of supervision and regulation of the financial system has failed. It relied on several factors: self-regulation that, in effect, meant no regulation; market discipline that does not exist when there is euphoria and irrational exuberance; and internal risk-management models that fail because, as a former chief executive of Citigroup put it, when the music is playing, you've got to stand up and dance…

Roubini’s assertions about the failure of supervision and regulation are well taken but to characterize Laissez-Faire Capitalism as a “failure” is at the very least Keynesian Revisionism and more accurately a false claim. The hallmark of a truly committed Keynesian, of course, being their undying faith in the State to ‘put things right’. Says Roubini;

“…Unfortunately, the euro zone is well behind the U.S. in its policy efforts for several reasons. The first is that the European Central Bank is behind the curve in cutting policy rates and creating nontraditional facilities to deal with the liquidity and credit crunch. The second is that the fiscal stimulus is too modest, because those who can afford it (Germany) are lukewarm about it, and those who need it the most (Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy) can least afford it, as they already have large budget deficits. The last reason is that there is a lack of cross-border burden sharing of the fiscal costs of bailing out financial institutions….”

Ladies and gentlemen, Free Market Capitalism has not failed, State Interventionism has.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[rfranklin]

13. If only we could return to the days of J.P. Morgan....

Those were the days!

[JackRiddler]

46. One's preferred naked assertions always trump mere facts.

[Loge23]

64. Kirby: Selling to the end

Gold-meister, entrepreneur, and salesman, Rob Kirby (see lead-off article for today) is splitting hairs and selling us a half of strand. "Free Market Capitalism has not failed...", Mr. Kirby pitches us, "...State Interventionism has."
In our democracy, state interventionism is (or should be) a bona-fide part of capitalism. Certainly, the interventionism was grossly lacking; but exactly how did the resulting free-market capitalism succeed?
Does Mr. Kirby, serial entrepreneur, actually expect me to take his word over that of widely-respected Professor of Economics (NYU-Stern) Noriel Roubini? I may not always agree with Mr. Roubini (at my own peril, I'm afraid), but to trash Roubini's opinion on the basis of a cheap sales pitch for gold is enough ot knock Financial Sense off the favorites list.
Mr. Kirby, go sell a gold bar or something and leave the analysis to grown-ups.

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

09:00 S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index Dec
Briefing.com NA
Consensus -18.25%
Prior -18.18%

10:00 Consumer Confidence Feb
Briefing.com 35.0
Consensus 36.0
Prior 37.7

10:00 Bernanke Monetary Policy Report

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[Dr.Phool]

45. Whew! Consumer confidence drops to record low

25?!

BREAKING NEWS
updated 8 minutes ago

Americans’ already battered confidence in the economy went into free fall in February, sinking to new lows as consumers grow more fearful over massive job cuts and shrinking retirement accounts.

The dismal news came just hours after major retailers including Target Corp., Home Depot and Macy’s Inc. reported depressed fourth-quarter results as shoppers focus on necessities like food. And another widely watched index showed home prices tumbled by the sharpest annual rate on record in the fourth quarter and in December.

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index, which was down slightly in January, plummeted more than 12 points in February to 25, from the revised 37.4 last month. That was well below the 35.5 level that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29366580/

[Dr.Phool]

47. U.S. home prices tumble at record pace

BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com news services
updated 25 minutes ago

NEW YORK - A widely watched home price index, released Tuesday, showed prices tumbled by the sharpest annual rate on record in the fourth quarter and in December.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index plunged 18.2 percent during the quarter from the same period a year ago, the largest drop in its 21-year history. Prices are now at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2003.

“There are very few, if any, pockets of turnaround that one can see in the data,” David Blitzer, chairman of S&P’s index committee, said in the statement. “Most of the nation appears to remain on a downward path.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29365600/

[UpInArms]

49. U.S. February consumer confidence 25 vs 37.4 in January - record low

21. U.S. February consumer confidence 25 vs 37.4 in January
10:00 AM ET, Feb 24, 2009

22. U.S. February consumer confidence below 35 expected
10:00 AM ET, Feb 24, 2009

23. U.S. February consumer confidence at record low
10:00 AM ET, Feb 24, 2009

24. U.S. February consumer expectations at record low
10:00 AM ET, Feb 24, 2009

[ozymandius]

3. Oil falls near $38, following stock markets down

SINGAPORE – Oil prices extended losses for a second day Tuesday in Asia, falling near $38 a barrel, as a loss of investor confidence that the global economy will recover soon swept across stock and crude markets.

Benchmark crude for April delivery dropped 32 cents to $38.12 a barrel by afternoon in Singapore on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract overnight fell $1.59 to $38.44.

....

Months of dismal economic news, highlighted by massive job cuts, have weighed on the psyche of investors and undermined faith that the economy will recover in the second half.

....

Even large output reductions by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have failed to boost prices. OPEC has announced 4.2 million barrels a day of production cuts since September, and the group's leaders have said it's likely the 13-member cartel will cut more supply at a meeting on March 15.

....

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures rose 0.36 cent to $1.05 a gallon. Heating oil dropped 1.14 cents to $1.16 a gallon, while natural gas for March delivery slid 5.6 cents to $4.04 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[ozymandius]

4. FedEx CEO: use of foreign oil threatens US economy

WASHINGTON – FedEx Corp. Chief Executive Fred Smith said Monday that U.S. reliance on foreign oil is the biggest threat to the nation's economy after terrorism.

....

Smith, co-chairman of the Energy Security Leadership Council, a group of business and military leaders, backed a plan introduced in September that would encourage the use of an electrical grid to power the nation's transportation system, rather than relying mostly on foreign oil.

That electricity — whether hydroelectric, wind or nuclear — would come largely from domestic sources disconnected from volatile world markets and capable of providing more stable prices.

....

While he did not name any specific geopolitical threats, Smith said the U.S. cannot continue to put the economy at risk every time a pipeline is attacked by insurgents or a hurricane threatens the Gulf of Mexico.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090223/ap_on_bi_ge/fedex_ceo_energy_security_2

[ozymandius]

5. World markets fall amid relentless financial fears

HONG KONG – Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday, with Hong Kong and South Korea down around 3 percent, after relentless fears about the financial system and world economy drove Wall Street to its worst finish in nearly 12 years. European shares opened lower.

Every major market shuddered from losses across a range of sectors, from banks to technology firms, exporters and commodities, wiping out solid gains from the previous day.

....

European stocks fell in early trade, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX lower 2.4 percent and France's CAC 40 off 1.8 percent. Stock futures suggested Wall Street would rise modestly Tuesday. Dow futures were up 33, or 0.5 percent, at 7,149 and S&P500 futures rose 3.6, or 0.5 percent, at 748.30.

Earlier in Japan, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 107.60 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,268.56, though selling eased somewhat as the government signaled it may prop up stock prices, possibly by buying shares with public funds. Nomura dived 9.3 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng sank 376.58, or 2.9 percent, to 12,798.52, while South Korea's Kospi fell 3.2 percent to 1,063.88.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

[Ghost Dog]

6. World stocks hit lowest in nearly 6 years

Also posted in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3753233

Tue Feb 24, 2009 3:55am EST

LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - World stocks, measured by the MSCI index .MIWD00000PUS, hit their lowest level since April 2003 on Tuesday as Europe joined a global equity sell-off triggered by renewed concerns about the financial system.

The MSCI world equity index fell as low as 187.60, bringing its losses this year to more than 17 percent.

/Read more... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINLO37457120090224?rpc=44


Asia markets: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idAFSP39711320090224?rpc=44&sp=true

...

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan dropped at one point to its lowest since Nov. 26, and was down 2.3 percent as of 0645 GMT, thus erasing its 1.7 percent gain on Monday.

The gauge is now down about 13 percent for the year, and about 10 percent above its post-financial crisis low of 194.03 hit in November 21, which had marked a five-year low.

Japan's Nikkei average slid 1.5 percent, threatening to breach levels that would put it at its lowest since 1982.

...

Key indexes in Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai dropped more than 3 percent each, while Singapore, Taiwan, and India fell around 1 percent each.

Europe markets: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCALO6214420090224?rpc=44

...

At 0808 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was down 1 percent at 722.06 points, adding to recent hefty losses.

"The banking sector is again at the centre of the negative newsflow. Full nationalisations are more and more conceivable," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis Capital Markets in Paris.

"If we don't get a rebound soon, stocks can fall to much lower levels."

...

Heh heh. You're faster than I this morning, Ozy. I have to head out in a hurry. Have a good one!

[ozymandius]

8. Have a nice day Ghost Dog!

:donut: :donut: :donut:

The reporters are working furiously this morning. It's quite difficult to keep up with the information being posted. Like shooting fish in a barrel, really.

[ozymandius]

7. Feds explore taking bigger stakes in shaky banks

WASHINGTON – The government on Monday moved toward dramatically expanding its ownership stakes in the nation's banks — with Citigroup, the struggling titan of the industry, apparently at the top of the list. Wall Street responded as it has with the rollout of almost every other plan to fix the financial crisis, taking a big drop and sending the Dow Jones industrials to its lowest level in a dozen years.

The Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators said they could convert the government's stock in the banks from preferred shares to common shares.

....

Citigroup Inc. — perhaps the biggest name in American banking — has approached the regulators about ways the government could help strengthen the bank, including the stock conversion plan, according to people familiar with the discussions. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak on behalf of the government or the company. A Citigroup spokesman declined comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_bi_ge/bank_rescue

---

BAD IDEA! This is such a ripoff for the taxpayers. This conversion plan is a mad attempt to keep the government's stake in the Citi below the 50% threshold - even though we have given Citi money wildly in excess of their market capitalization. We already own them should we apply fair market value to the subsidy Citi has already received. Now we're playing footsie with this game of Trick Bag qualifying what kind of shares the government should count? Screw that!

[ozymandius]

9. AIG May Restructure Rescue Package for Second Time (beggars be choosers)

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., the insurer bailed out by the U.S., may restructure its $150 billion rescue package for a second time in four months as the recession and slumping stock market cut the value of its assets.

AIG may convert the government’s preferred shares into common stock to reduce pressure on the company’s cash flow, a person familiar with the situation said yesterday. New York- based AIG pays a 10 percent dividend on preferred stock, and none on common shares. AIG declined in German trading.

....

Details of a new rescue package probably will be disclosed next week when AIG posts fourth-quarter results, said the person, who declined to be identified because talks with the government are private. The company may report a record fourth- quarter loss of $60 billion, the CNBC television network said yesterday, citing a source it didn’t identify. AIG also is exploring the possibility of filing for bankruptcy protection, which is an unlikely outcome, CNBC reported.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ahyAtkz4aA1U&refer=home

[ozymandius]

10. Rivals want curb on nationalised Citi

Citigroup’s rivals are lobbying the government to shackle its investment banking business and international operations if the authorities nationalise or take a large stake in the troubled financial group.

The increasing likelihood that the US Treasury will end up with a big holding in return for throwing Citi its third lifeline in under four months has prompted other Wall Street groups to go on the offensive in Washington.

....

Yet the prospect that one of the world’s largest banks could be taken over by the government revives questions about the shape of the financial sector and rules for banks that are nationalised.

....

By removing the barriers Glass-Steagall had erected between retail banking and the securities businesses, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act enabled commercial banks and investment groups to invade each other’s turf. Indeed, the creation of Citi – the product of the 1998 merger of Citicorp, a commercial and retail bank, with Travelers, a securities and insurance group – was predicated on, and a big factor in, the repeal of Glass-Steagall.

Analysts and rivals argued that Citi’s failure to manage its sprawling business and keep adequate controls over its investment bank’s risk-takers stem directly from that deregulatory spree.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d0ef894c-01d8-11de-8199-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html

[tclambert]

12. Are Citigroup's rivals recommending this for the good of the country, or for obtaining a competitive

advantage by rigging the game? Let's see, banks, lobbyists . . . probably the good of the country never entered their minds. Still, could they have accidentally suggested something good for the country? I wouldn't mind seeing Citgroup broken up into smaller entities, or seeing Glass-Steagall reinstated, or the repeal of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, or the repeal of anything with the name Gramm on it.

[ozymandius]

11. JPMorgan slashes dividend

NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the second-largest U.S. bank, slashed its common stock dividend 87 percent on Monday, a surprise move by a lender considered among the strongest in the U.S. financial sector.

The bank also said it has been "solidly profitable" this quarter, and that the outlook for the three-month period is "roughly in line" with analyst forecasts. Shares rose 5.5 percent in after-hours trading.

JPMorgan said its decision to lower its quarterly dividend to 5 cents per share from 38 cents will save $5 billion of common equity a year. It hopes the lowered payout will help it pay back the $25 billion of capital it got in October from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program faster.

....

JPMorgan expects in the first quarter to record about $2 billion of credit costs and writedowns at its investment bank, to boost reserves for credit cards and home lending, and to write down about $400 million in private banking.

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE51M7EP20090224

[UpInArms]

14. dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 87.104 Change -0.154 (-0.20%)

US Dollar; Corrective Decline Finally Underway?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_technicals/US_Dollar__Corrective_Decline_Finally_1235401348725.html

Euro / US Dollar


Finally, the EURUSD appears to have put in a solid bottom. After weeks of brutal choppy action in what was a triangle, the EURUSD broke lower. However, triangles lead to terminal thrusts. In other words, moves from triangles complete a larger move in that same direction. In this case, the break below 1.27 completed 5 waves down from 1.4723. A corrective advance over the next month (at least) is expected. Initial resistance is not until 1.33 (former chart resistance and 38.2% of decline from 1.4723). Support begins at 1.2740.

...more...

US Dollar, Japanese Yen Recoup Some Losses as US Stocks Fall to Lowest Levels Since 1997

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/US_Dollar__Japanese_Yen_Recoup_1235427525264.html

The US Treasury, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Federal Reserve issued a joint statement this morning clarifying some of the government’s plans, as first discussed by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner on February 10. Like Geithner’s speech, the announcement did little to boost investor sentiment as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average bother closed at their lowest levels since 1997. While the US dollar and Japanese yen did end the day lower across most of the majors compared to Friday’s close thanks to sharp declines on Sunday, they strengthened throughout most of the New York trading session. The joint statement tried to suggest that the government had no intentions to nationalize banks, as it said that “the strong presumption of the Capital Assistance Program is that banks should remain in private hands.” Nevertheless, the government is clearly stepping up their intervention efforts, noting that it would evaluate institutions to see if they are sufficiently capitalized, and if they are not the government will offer a “temporary capital buffer” in exchange for convertible preferred shares for banks that were are not able to build a buffer with capital from private sources. As mentioned in our Forex Weekly Trading Forecast, the outlook for the US dollar hinges upon where the DXY index goes next, as price could go higher for a bullish break above the 2008 highs, or a bearish drop below trendline support near today’s lows.

Looking ahead to Tuesday at 10:00 ET, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for the month of February is forecasted to reach a fresh record low of 36.0, down from 37.7. With record keeping having begun in 1967, the plunge in sentiment makes the extent of the recession even more clear. However, with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke due to testify before the Senate on the economic and Fed policy at the same time, the consumer confidence result may have little impact on the markets. Instead, traders will be listening closely for more detailed outlooks on growth, unemployment, inflation, and the financial markets. Bearish commentary could weigh heavily on risk appetite, and as a result it will be important to keep an eye on the link between the currency markets and stocks, as the Japanese yen hasn’t been responding as strongly to shifts in equities while the US dollar still tends to benefit from flight-to-quality.

...more...

[DemReadingDU]

15. Martin Weiss: Red Alert: Major Meltdown

2/23/09 Red Alert: Major Meltdown Imminent! Your Escape by Martin Weiss

The nation’s largest banks are so close to collapse and the world economy is coming unglued so rapidly, a major Wall Street meltdown is now imminent.

Specifically, it’s now increasingly likely that virtually all of our forecasts of recent months could come to pass in a very short period of time, including …

* Stock market crash: A swift plunge in stocks to about 5000 on the Dow, 500 on the S&P 500 and 900 on the Nasdaq … or lower. (For our reasons, see “Stocks to fall AT LEAST another 40%!“)

* Corporate bankruptcies: A chain reaction of Chapter 11 filings or federal takeovers, including not only General Motors and Chrysler, but also Ann Taylor, Best Buy, Jet Blue, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Toys “R” Us, U.S. Airways and even giants like Ford or General Electric.

* Megabank failures: Bankruptcies or nationalization not only of Citigroup and Bank of America, but also JPMorgan Chase and HSBC. (See my January issue, “Megabanks Could Fail Despite Federal Aid.”)

* Nationwide epidemic of small and medium-sized bank failures: Outright FDIC takeovers, with little prospect of nationalization. (I’ll give you a link to our free guide with a more extensive list in a moment.)

* Insurance failures: State takeovers of companies like Ambac Assurance, Bankers Life and Casualty, Conseco, FGIC, Medical Liability Mutual, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance, Nuclear Electric Insurance, PMI Mortgage, Standard Life of Indiana and many others. (Our free guide also contains a more extensive list of insurers.)

* Cities and states: An epidemic of defaults by thousands of cities, states and other issuers of tax-exempt municipal bonds.

* Stock market shutdowns: Trading halts on major, big-cap stocks … plus on-again, off-again exchange shutdowns, making it increasingly difficult for investors to liquidate their holdings at any price.

* Credit market deep freeze: A virtual shutdown in all debt markets except U.S. Treasuries. An avalanche of selling — and virtually no buyers — for corporate bonds, commercial paper, asset-backed securities, municipal bonds and all forms of bank loans.

* Government bond collapse: A steep decline in the price of medium-and long-term government securities, as the U.S. Treasury bids aggressively for scarce funds to finance a ballooning budget deficit.

Shocking? Perhaps. Avoidable? No.

Nor am I alone in anticipating this rapid unraveling of the economy and financial markets. This past Friday, at a Columbia University dinner reported by Reuters …

* George Soros said the financial system has effectively disintegrated, with the turbulence more severe than during the Great Depression and with the decline comparable to the fall of the Soviet Union, while …

* Paul Volcker said he could not remember any time, even in the Great Depression, when things went down so fast and quite so uniformly around the world.

Both recognize that we’re in a new era of chaos. What’s the landmark event that separates us from the past era of relative stability?

According to Soros, it’s precisely the same event we forecast in 2007 and the same event we have repeatedly highlighted here in Money and Markets: The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. (See “Dangerously Close to a Money Panic,” December 3, 2007 and “Closer to a Financial Meltdown,” March 17, 2008.)

That was the final straw that punctured the already imploding bubble. And it was the first major domino that set off the chain reaction of events now careening out of control: The collapse of consumer credit markets … surging unemployment … and now, a new set of even larger financial failures looming.

more...
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/red-alert-major-meltdown-imminent-your-escape-29835

[tclambert]

20. Martin Weiss must be a real hoot at cocktail parties.

Debbie Downer, meet Martin Weiss. The two of you have so much in common. Have fun . . . uh, I mean, try not to enter into a suicide pact.

I still say we're far better off than we were in the Great Depression. Here's why: George Bush is out of office. At this point in the GD, roughly 1930, Hoover still had three years in office, during which he vehemently refused to turn on the bilge pumps no matter how much water the country took on. We have our FDR in office 3 years early. At least people are trying to solve our problems. By State of the Union 2010, I predict President Obama will have more positives to boast about than Bush did in his two terms. I don't predict we'll be celebrating prosperity by then, but we'll see it coming in a few more years.

[DemReadingDU]

25. Hope so. But

The problem is that so many countries around the world are also economically unstable. It's possible that other countries' problems could bring more instability to the U.S.

As Chris Martenson says, the next 20 years are going to be much different than the past 20 years. See post #19.

[Demeter]

28. Different, and Not Better

But maybe there will be real opportunities to make things work for real people, so that after that different and better result.

[DemReadingDU]

31. Not necessarily bad, just different

Different than what we have lived for the past 20 years. But some opportunities for people to form a real community with common goals of living and sharing together. I don't think this is going to be easy for most people, so I see some unrest along the way. But hopefully something good for my little grandbabies in the future.

[Festivito]

16. Debt: 02/20/2009 10,838,758,414,164.46 (UP 36,736,432,039.72) (2 days up.)

(Have to start borrowing for that stimulus sometime. Not going to enjoy it, but, happen it must. Just voted. I think Obama talking about lowering deficit spending is brilliant.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 6,530,346,473,368.37 + 4,308,411,940,796.09
UP 35,338,367,983.16 + UP 1,398,064,056.56

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 306-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.27 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.81, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 14 seconds we net gain a another American, so at the end of the workday of this report, there should be 305,838,258 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
Currently, each of these American's owe $35,439.51.
A family of three owes $106,318.53. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 9,212,233,271.80.
The average for the last 30 days would be 7,062,712,175.05.
The average for the last 31 days would be 6,834,882,750.05.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 22 reports in 31 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 0.36B$ per report, 0.31B$/day so far.
There were 97 reports in 143 days of FY2009 averaging 8.39B$ per report, 5.69B$/day.

PROJECTION:
There are 1,430 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 12.8 and 20.6T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
02/20/2009 10,838,758,414,164.46 BHO (UP 211,881,365,251.38 so far since Obama took office.)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
Borrowed in FY1993: (Maybe later.)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 814,033,517,252.00 so far this fiscal year.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/30/2009 +007,363,512,286.86 ------------*********
02/02/2009 +046,334,807,167.90 ------------********** Mon
02/03/2009 -000,138,225,404.41 ---
02/04/2009 -000,068,491,025.50 ----
02/05/2009 +046,668,131,793.54 ------------**********
02/06/2009 +000,340,839,567.98 ------------********
02/09/2009 -000,572,980,736.98 --- Mon
02/10/2009 +000,388,825,726.33 ------------********
02/11/2009 -000,221,760,520.78 ---
02/12/2009 +043,810,585,841.25 ------------**********
02/13/2009 -000,268,428,512.00 ---
02/17/2009 +028,425,868,676.29 ------------********** Tue
02/18/2009 +000,178,127,394.43 ------------********
02/19/2009 +012,906,622,783.22 ------------**********
02/20/2009 +035,338,367,983.16 ------------**********

220,485,803,021.29 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008.
US borrowed $1,174,126,610,905.39 in last 155 days.
That's 1,174B$ in 155 days.
More than any year ever, including last year, and it's 115% of that highest year ever only in 155 days.
And it is over 100% of ANY dismal Bush, for any dismal Bush-year, ONLY IN 155 DAYS NOT 365.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3751873&mesg_id=3751900

[Festivito]

82. Debt: 02/23/2009 10,839,526,591,486.90 (UP 768,177,322.44) (Teensy tiny.)

(SMALL in capital letters.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 6,529,919,612,154.59 + 4,309,606,979,332.31
DOWN 426,861,213.78 + UP 1,195,038,536.22

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 306-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.27 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.81, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 14 seconds we net gain a another American, so at the end of the workday of this report, there should be 305,856,772 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
Currently, each of these American's owe $35,439.88.
A family of three owes $106,319.63. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 10,434,736,431.11.
The average for the last 30 days would be 7,304,315,501.78.
The average for the last 31 days would be 7,068,692,421.08.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 23 reports in 34 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 0.28B$ per report, 0.20B$/day so far.
There were 98 reports in 146 days of FY2009 averaging 8.31B$ per report, 5.58B$/day.

PROJECTION:
There are 1,427 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 12.8 and 20.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
02/23/2009 10,839,526,591,486.90 BHO (UP 212,649,542,573.82 so far since Obama took office.)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
Borrowed in FY1993: (Maybe later.)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 814,801,694,574.50 so far this fiscal year.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
02/02/2009 +046,334,807,167.90 ------------********** Mon
02/03/2009 -000,138,225,404.41 ---
02/04/2009 -000,068,491,025.50 ----
02/05/2009 +046,668,131,793.54 ------------**********
02/06/2009 +000,340,839,567.98 ------------********
02/09/2009 -000,572,980,736.98 --- Mon
02/10/2009 +000,388,825,726.33 ------------********
02/11/2009 -000,221,760,520.78 ---
02/12/2009 +043,810,585,841.25 ------------**********
02/13/2009 -000,268,428,512.00 ---
02/17/2009 +028,425,868,676.29 ------------********** Tue
02/18/2009 +000,178,127,394.43 ------------********
02/19/2009 +012,906,622,783.22 ------------**********
02/20/2009 +035,338,367,983.16 ------------**********
02/23/2009 -000,426,861,213.78 --- Mon

212,695,429,520.65 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008.
US borrowed $1,174,894,788,227.83 in last 158 days.
That's 1,175B$ in 158 days.
More than any year ever, including last year, and it's 116% of that highest year ever only in 158 days.
And it is over 100% of ANY dismal Bush, for any dismal Bush-year, ONLY IN 158 DAYS NOT 365.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3753260&mesg_id=3753369

[DemReadingDU]

17. Chris Martenson - Podcast available

Free Registration is required to hear this first podcast from 1/5/09.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/

In this inaugural podcast, Chris first discusses the implications of hitting a 37 year low in mortgage interest rates especially in light of an 18% plunge in the case Schiller house price index. GMAC was made a bank, does this make sense? Why was the most important news about this released early in the morning on December 31st?

The main body of the podcast deals with 4 financial myths. In it, he discusses the risks associated with relying on "buy and hold for the long term", and "stocks are cheap right now", and "there's cash on the sidelines waiting to rush in", and "our problems would be solved if we could just unlock the credit markets." If you allow these myths to creep into your decision-making you are at risk.

The podcast then answers subscriber questions and closes with a big picture view of where we are headed.

Click here for podcast...
http://www.chrismartenson.com/podcast/financial-myths-january-02-2009


Note: This is appx 1 hour in length.

Subscribers ($30 per month) are able to hear Martenson's 3 other podcasts (or wait a month and hear them free).
http://www.chrismartenson.com/podcasts

[DemReadingDU]

19. Chris Martenson Mini-Crash Course

On 2/10/09 Chris Martenson presented a mini-crash course to a live audience on PBS WGBY. It's appx 38 minutes. It's an intro about himself, why he quit his high-paying job, what he saw going on around him, and the reasons for devoting his life to creating the Crash Course.

The video is now imbedded on his website
http://www.chrismartenson.com/blog/pbs-streaming-video/13217

[Robbien]

18. Stanford's receiver wants political contributions returned to them

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - The court-appointed receiver for a disgraced Texas billionaire is asking national political committees to return campaign contributions.

R. Allen Stanford, accused in a Securities and Exchange Commission civil lawsuit of a "massive" fraud, was served with legal papers by FBI agents last week but has not been charged with any crime.

Letters sent by the receiver Monday also included a list of dozens of senators and representatives and the individual contributions, ranging from $250 to $45,900. The committee contributions ranged from $133,345 to $965,000.

A Houston attorney representing some of Stanford's customers says it's unclear whether there's any legal requirement to comply.

http://www.wxow.com/Global/story.asp?S=9893896

Politicians giving tainted contributions to charity is such a farce anyway. In this case the depositors should get their money returned.

[Robbien]

22. Stanford Clients’ Mutual Funds May Be Unfrozen, Receiver Says

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Some mutual-fund assets of Stanford Financial Group’s clients should be released from a court- ordered freeze for cases in which the firm only provided investment advice, said the receiver for the Stanford companies.

The mutual fund assets in question are held outside of Stanford’s custodial relationships with Pershing LLC and J.P. Morgan Clear Corp., the court-appointed receiver, Ralph Janvey, said yesterday in a statement on his Web site. They involve accounts in which Stanford only provided advice on investment strategy, according to the statement.

“These assets are typically held directly in the name of the client by a mutual fund,” the receiver said. “Stanford Group Company does not transact in these accounts, does not provide custody for these accounts, does not maintain books and records pertaining to the assets, and does not provide the client with individual transaction statements.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aYBYLmNdS2rA&refer=us


Of that $50 billion Stanford claimed he had, the estimate is that $34 billion are assets of this type; Assets under "advisement".

$8 billion are the phony CDs and I expect the other $8 billion are bank accounts in the various regular Stanford banks strewn across Latin America.

[tclambert]

23. He's accused of massive fraud, but not under arrest.

The law shore works funny when rich people 'r involved. That Madoff guy confessed, an' he's jus' under mansion arrest. Why, I heard of a poor fella went to jail fer writin' a few hunnert dollars worth o' bad checks. See, he din't have money in his account to cover them checks. Then I hear about these big bankers writin' checks fer loans, billions o' dollars worth, with no money a-tall to back up them checks, an' it was considered good bidness 'til jus' a few months ago. But they still ain't agoin' to jail. They's gettin' free money frum the gubbamint. And the gubbamint don't have no money in its account neither. They jus' print it up as they want it.

I dunno, but it'd shore make me feel a sight better if'n some rich guys went to jail now an' then.

[Robbien]

27. As Stanford told CNBC "It is fun being a billionaire"

I guess jail time is never to be considered a part of that fun.

[Karenina]

39. Let the punishment fit the crime!

Recognize the true threats to society. BEHOLD!!!

http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/265402

[tclambert]

52. 15 years for $100?

So, then $8 billion for Stanford would come to . . . let's see, carry the 4, how many zeroes, about 8? I get 1.2 billion years. And Madoff's $50 billion would get him 7.5 billion. He'd still be in jail when the sun burns out.

There's some sort of inverse logarithmic rule for sentencing, though, depending how rich you are.

Ivan "You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself" Boesky did two years and was fined $100 million. He made over $200 million in corporate takeovers, so dollar-wise he came out ahead by $100 million, $50 million for each year in prison. (I could do that.)

Michael Milken, worth about $2.1 billion, did less than 2 years for his crimes. He was indicted for 98, but pleaded guilty to only 6. Hey, looky at that, it was Rudy Giuliani who prosecuted him and obtained such a brutal slap on the wrist. Way to almost stand up for justice, Rudy!

[Hannah Bell]

78. like the state is partner to the crime:steal $200 million, give us half & get off with the rest.

[Robbien]

24. New judge to hear Stanford Fraud Suit

A new judge will be appointed to hear the securities-fraud suit filed by the Securities Exchange Commission against Texas financier R. Allen Stanford after the first one recused himself.

"The court learned that a person with the third degree of relationship to it has a substantial holdings managed by Stanford Group Company," said a court order issued by federal Judge Sam Lindsay, out of Dallas.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29347018/

[antigop]

43. Who was the "person with the third degree of relationship" to the court? n/t

[Robbien]

26. Stanford reportedly had links to fund run by Bidens

(Reuters) - A fund of hedge funds run by two members of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's family was marketed exclusively by firms controlled by Texas financier Allen Stanford.

The $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors and a Stanford Financial Group entity, and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund.

Stanford-related companies marketed the fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, the paper said, citing a lawyer for Paradigm.

Paradigm Global Advisors is owned through a holding company by the vice president's son, Hunter, and Joe Biden's brother, James.

Paradigm's attorney said he did not know which Stanford entity invested the roughly $2.7 million. He said the Bidens never met or communicated with Stanford. He said the fund offered to turn over the $2.7 million investment it received from Stanford's firm in 2007 to a court-appointed receiver in the SEC's civil fraud case involving Stanford.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUKTRE51N0VC20090224

Sounds tenuous to me. A holding company has an investment advisory firm in which Stanford deposited money and then marketed that fund to his clients. Biden's relatives are part owners of the holding company.

[tclambert]

54. I'm sure that won't stop Republicans from linking Joe Biden to Stanford at every opportunity.

And who asked the SEC to back off of Stanford in 2006? Maybe Vice President Biden? Who wasn't VP yet. But he was still a Senator. The Republicans will focus on Senator Biden's tenuous third or fourth hand linkage to Stanford, while ignoring all the Texas Republicans who were friendly with Stanford.

[pampango]

21. China trying to break the Euro? Does this sound plausible?

http://seekingalpha.com/article/122257-china-trying-to-break-the-euro?source=yahoo

"Now for my thoughts on what someone or some country could potentially do to break the Euro or put extreme pressure on the Euro zone if they had enough money. Assuming there was enough capital to pull it off, the play here is to go short the debt of the weakest of the Euro zone members. (I'd say Italy or Greece with Spain not far behind). By doing this you would drive interest rates up on sovereign debt within the countries you targeted. This would create huge problems for them individually, may potentially push them to the brink of default (not unlike California) and would effectively ruin the European Central Bank's day."

"After pushing borrowing costs upward in the weaker countries of the Union one would then begin shorting the Euro currency with as much cash as they possibly could. By doing this you would be adding additional downside pressure to the Euro, as the ECB in an effort to save the ailing countries you were shorting debt on, would have to be injecting more and more capital to keep them afloat. This would squeeze the entire Euro zone and, in my opinion, the strongest of the countries would begin to say "enough is enough." At which point nationalism would grow stronger, more thought would be given to the facts in Tables 1 and 2 above, and I would speculate some members would consider leaving or not assisting their ailing neighbors."

"China could benefit from this strategy significantly because it has the largest cash reserve of U.S. dollars in the world. Since China holds between $1 and $2 trillion dollars' worth of U.S. currency it has more than enough money to start picking off the weakest of the Euro zone countries and to begin the execution of my plan above. In doing this China would be able to profit from its shorts on the sovereign debt as the nations it targeted began to fall. Then it would also profit on its shorts against the Euro because the Chinese are impossibly long U.S. Dollars. Additionally, if China was able to succeed the strongest states of the Union would end up standing on their own and allowing the weaker countries to go it alone and most likely fail."

"If China could accomplish this it would ultimately gain the global financial political clout it is so desperately seeking, and wouldn't have to go to war to obtain it. Last week while trading the EURO / USD pair I noticed something strange. During the Asian market hours roughly between 23:15 and 7:15 GMT a very large player was dumping a tremendous amount of Euros onto the market and buying up dollars; so much so that the market was moving a few cents almost instantly which is HUGE in currency trading. I was not the only person to notice this, and it happened 4 out of 5 sessions (see graph below)."

[Demeter]

29. I've Never Enivsioned the Chinese as Being That Batshit Crazy

but maybe....we will see. I rather suspect the known crazies. You don't need a whole lot of leverage to upset apple carts these days.

[Nickster]

30. What a nice way to make your weak dollars worth something.

[Demeter]

32. Concerns grow over health of GE finance arm

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5073ebca-0208-11de-8199-000077b07658.html

Investors’ discomfort with General Electric’s exposure to a haemorrhaging financial services industry deepened on Monday after an analyst raised concerns that the conglomerate might need to inject more equity in its GE Capital division.

GE shares have dropped for three straight days and trade at a level unseen since 1995.

On Monday the cost of insuring against GE Capital’s debt against default neared a record high reached in October, when Wall Street was reeling from the Lehman collapse and the federal bailout of AIG.

Nigel Coe, an analyst with Deutsche Bank, cut his target price for GE to $12 from $17 while casting doubt on the group’s $5bn forecast for GE Capital’s 2009 earnings.

The shortfall might leave GE Capital in violation of a fixed charge covenant on its debt, forcing its parent to contribute more cash to the finance arm or pay down its debt, Mr Coe said.

GE has diverted all $15bn of the proceeds from last year’s stock sale to GE Capital to help reduce its leverage ratio ahead of schedule.

“In essence, this is the linchpin that binds GE and GE Capital together in the minds of debt investors,” he wrote to clients on Sunday.

GE’s shares in New York dropped 5.7 per cent to $8.85 on Monday. The cost to protect $10m in GE Capital debt against default for five years rose 100 basis points to 630 basis points, or $630,000 a year, according to Phoenix Partners Group. The default swaps had surged to 648 basis points in October.

Mr Coe, whose note came after a review of GE’s 10-K filing with US regulators, is not alone in questioning whether GE Capital can approach its profit target this year. Concerned with looming losses from real estate and other assets in GE Capital’s portfolio, many investors predict the downturn will cost GE both its credit ratings and its $1.24-a-share annual dividend.

The group responded to last year’s turbulence by cutting dependence on GE Capital for earnings, shrinking borrowing needs, slashing costs and participating in government programmes to stimulate liquidity.

It is raising more funds from deposits to help become less reliant on commercial paper, and while agreeing to leave its quarterly dividend unchanged, GE said its board would review the level of the pay-out for the second half of 2009.

[Demeter]

33. Tide turns against ‘mega buy-out’ funds

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d0a160f0-01d8-11de-8199-000077b07658.html

Small is beautiful again for private equity investors as they conclude that the “mega buy-out” funds that dominate the industry face prolonged agony, and switch to specialists in small buy-outs.

Investors and their advisers told the Financial Times that the tide had turned against the big buy-out groups, which rode the credit boom to become known as “the masters of the universe”.

The mega buy-out funds – such as Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, TPG, Permira, and Bain Capital – are blamed by investors for over-leveraging deals to buy blue-chip companies, many of which are expected to be hard hit by the financial and economic crisis.

Now, many cash-strapped investors are either stopping new investments in private equity, or looking for smaller, local buy-out funds that specialise in acquiring little-known companies and helping them grow.

[Demeter]

34. Current Financial Rescue Schemes are Following the Failed Model of the Hoover Administration

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22079.htm

By Ismael Hossein-zadeh



February 23, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- Faced with the financial meltdown of the Great Depression, the Hoover administration created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation that poured taxpayers’ money into the coffers of the influential Wall Street banks in an effort to save them from bankruptcy. Like today’s Bush/Obama administrations, the Hoover administration used the “too-big-to-fail” scare tactic in order to justify the costly looting of the national treasury. All it did, however, was to simply postpone the day of reckoning: almost all of the banks failed after nearly three years of extremely costly bailouts schemes.



In a similar fashion, when in the mid- to late-1990s major banks in Japan faced huge losses following the bursting of the real estate and loan-pushing bubble in that country, the Japanese government embarked on a costly rescue plan of the troubled banks in the hope of “creating liquidity” and “revitalizing credit markets.” The results of the bailout plan have likewise been disastrous, a disaster that has come to be known as “Japan’s lost decade.”



Despite these painful and costly experiences, the Bush/Obama administrations (along with the U.S. Congress) are following similarly ruinous solutions that are just as doomed to fail. This is not because these administrations’ economic policy makers are unaware of the failed policies of the past. It is rather because they too function under the influence of the same powerful special interests that doomed the bailout policies of the Hoover and Japanese governments: the potent banking interests.



Despite its complexity, the fraudulently obfuscated and evaded solution to the currently crippled financial markets is not due to a lack of expertise or specialized technical know-how, as often claimed by economic policy makers of the Bush/Obama administrations. It is rather due to a shameful lack of political will—the solution is primarily political.



Specifically, it is due to government’s unwillingness to do what needs to be done: to remove the smokescreen that is suffocating the financial markets, open the books of the insolvent mega banks, declare them bankrupt, as they actually are, auction off their assets, and bring them under public ownership—since taxpayers have already paid for their net assets many times over.



To put it even more bluntly, the deepening and protraction of the crisis is largely due to policy makers’ subservience to the interests of Wall Street gamblers—shirking their responsibility to protect people’s interests.



Saying that the solution to the current financial crisis is simpler than it appears is not meant to downplay or make light of the problem. It is, rather, to point out that Wall Street gamblers have made the solution relatively simple by digging their own grave, doomed themselves to bankruptcy, thereby leaving nationalization as the only logical or viable solution.



This is no longer simply a radical, leftist or socialist demand. It is now demanded by many economists and financial experts on purely pragmatic or expediency grounds. For example, Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 recipient of Nobel Prize in economics and former Chief Economist of the World Bank, points out:


MORE AT LINK

Ismael Hossein-zadeh, author of the recently published The Political Economy of U.S. Militarism, teaches economics at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa.

[Demeter]

35. Death To Zombies: Nationalize Banks Now

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/henry-blodget/death-to-zombies-national_b_169095.html



I suspect the whole "public fear of nationalization" is just something cooked up by Bank of America's PR department to save BOFA shareholders the pittance they have left. In case it isn't, however--in case there are still folks out there who think "nationalization" means state-owned banks in perpetuity--Paul Krugman explains today why this isn't the case.

Nationalization does not mean "government-run banks." It means temporary seizure and restructuring. Customers are protected. Depositors are protected. Jobs are protected. The government puts the valuable parts of the bank back in private hands as soon as it can.

The FDIC is already "nationalizing" two banks a week: It grabs them, chops them up, and sells off their parts, solving the problem once and for all. And it's what we should do to Citi, BOFA, et al, now instead of later, so we can get started on the road to recovery:

Here's Krugman:

The case for nationalization rests on three observations.

First, some major banks are dangerously close to the edge -- in fact, they would have failed already if investors didn't expect the government to rescue them if necessary.

Second, banks must be rescued. The collapse of Lehman Brothers almost destroyed the world financial system, and we can't risk letting much bigger institutions like Citigroup or Bank of America implode.

Third, while banks must be rescued, the U.S. government can't afford, fiscally or politically, to bestow huge gifts on bank shareholders.

Let's be concrete here. There's a reasonable chance -- not a certainty -- that Citi and BofA, together, will lose hundreds of billions over the next few years. And their capital, the excess of their assets over their liabilities, isn't remotely large enough to cover those potential losses.

And then Krugman sums up the Obama administration's approach, which, sadly, is the same as the Bush administration's approach--most likely because the same general, Timothy Geithner, is hatching the plans.

The real question is why the Obama administration keeps coming up with proposals that sound like possible alternatives to nationalization, but turn out to involve huge handouts to bank stockholders.

For example, the administration initially floated the idea of offering banks guarantees against losses on troubled assets. This would have been a great deal for bank stockholders, not so much for the rest of us: heads they win, tails taxpayers lose.

Now the administration is talking about a "public-private partnership" to buy troubled assets from the banks, with the government lending money to private investors for that purpose. This would offer investors a one-way bet: if the assets rise in price, investors win; if they fall substantially, investors walk away and leave the government holding the bag. Again, heads they win, tails we lose.

Why not just go ahead and nationalize? Remember, the longer we live with zombie banks, the harder it will be to end the economic crisis.

And how could this be done? By being honest about the results of the coming "stress test." Today's latest plan--the conversion of taxpayer preferred stock to common stock in Citigroup--would help Citigroup, but not the taxpayers. It's time to stop formulating half-measures and just bite the bullet and take Citigroup over.

[Demeter]

36. Time to Stop the Nationalization Rhetoric, and Let the System Work

...The takeover of insolvent banks by the FDIC is the way the process is supposed to work, and the way it has always been allowed to work--up until now. For all of the debates over the "Swedish Model" -- where banks were taken over, balance sheets reconfigured, and then spun back out to private ownership -- the way they did it in Sweden is not actually all that different from the way they do it at the FDIC, when the FDIC is allowed to do its job. Insolvent banks are seized. Assets are sold off and the depositors are paid or, if possible, the balance sheet is cleaned up and the bank is sold off to a new owner.

The problem today is that a small number of our insolvent banks, notably Citi, are very big and very visible. But the problems they face are the problems that the FDIC was created to fix. This is not nationalization, it is essentially a debtor-in-possession bankruptcy process whereby the FDIC serves as the receiver.

If left to do its job, the FDIC would do what the banks resolutely refuse to do: sell their bad assets, accept the price of their business decisions, and move on. The banks refuse to do it because it would force them to face up to what the markets, and increasingly outraged taxpayers, have known for a while: They are insolvent.

For years, America has told other countries how to deal with financial crises: Cut your losses. Clean up your balance sheets. Get on with it.

This week, the stock market said the same thing....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-paul/time-to-stop-the-national_b_168860.html

[Danascot]

51. Always enlightening tidbits from Krugman's Blog

“Highly unlikely”?

About those “stress tests”:

The stress tests will use computer-run “what if” situations to estimate what would happen to each bank under Depression-like conditions, with unemployment surging to 10 or 12 percent, for example, or home prices dropping 20 percent further, Treasury and Federal Reserve officials said.

Fed officials emphasized that these hypothetical events were “highly unlikely” to occur.

Um, quite a few private forecasters expect unemployment to top 9 percent, which makes 10-plus a reasonable possibility. Meanwhile, using today’s release of the Case-Shiller price index and the BLS measure of owners’ equivalent rent, I get this for housing:

<see chart>

The price-rent ratio is still 15 percent above its 2000 level, and why shouldn’t it overshoot given the excess supply right now? Oh, and rents are falling.

Bottom line: that “highly unlikely” case seems all too possible to me. Maybe not the most probably outcome, but hardly a black swan.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/highly-unlikely/


Entitlements on the back of an envelope

Today’s “fiscal responsibility” summit, which was originally much feared as a Trojan Horse for Social Security cuts, has apparently been downgraded into relative obscurity. But I thought it might nonetheless be worth talking briefly about the math of the entitlements issue.

Usually this is done with fairly elaborate projections, but I think the essence can be explained with a back-of-the-envelope calculation. So here goes.

Right now, the federal government spends about 9 percent of GDP on the three biggies, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, with the total roughly evenly divided between retirement and medical care.

(more)

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/23/entitlements-on-the-back-of-an-envelope/

[Demeter]

37. I'm Not That Madoff

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/b-jeffrey-madoff/im-not-that-madoff_b_169013.html


"Where should I send my money?"

"I've heard great things about you!"

"My friend says you are a magician with money."

"May I speak with Bernard?"

I used to get several of these calls a month; polite, inquiring, generously offering me their money. Not any more. Headlines make a huge difference in how you are treated. Now the calls are rude, accusatory and angry. That's because my name is Madoff.

My name is associated with the largest financial fraud in history. $50 billion dollars - gone. Other financial wizards and wise-guys are amateurs compared to the magician that made this money disappear. The sheer magnitude of the smoke that finally puffed and revealed nothing has shaken already convulsing financial markets, not to mention investor confidence. My name has gone from being trusted and honored to one that is reviled.

Some years ago, when I was visiting my pregnant wife in the hospital, the world got even smaller. I stopped at the nursery, as I always did, to look at all the new babies. To my surprise, there was a sign, "Madoff Baby".

The nurse came up to me, "Are you Mr. Madoff?"

"Yes."

"Congratulations."

"But my wife is expecting twins. This can't be my baby."

"You're not Bernard Madoff's son?"

"No, I'm not that Madoff."

Inspired by the coincidence and filled with good will, I thought I would call Bernard to congratulate him on his new grandson and have a laugh about our names being the same and the number of calls I receive looking for him. I assume he was neither amused by the coincidence nor filled with good will. He didn't pick up the phone. His secretary pronounced the name, "Made-off", like "He made off with a lot of money." My name is pronounced "Mad-off", simple, like it's spelled.

"I'm not that Madoff." I've said many times over the past several years when people would call my office in error, asking for Bernard. Since the scandal of Bernard Madoff hit the news, I have gotten many calls and emails from around the globe, not just at work, at home too, all days of the week, all hours of the day.

I spoke to some of the callers:

"Is this Bernard Madoff?"

"No, I'm not Bernard."

"You're B. Madoff- what's the B stand for?"

"Ben."

"Bernard?"

"Ben."

"Is this Bernie?"

"Ben."

"Are you related to Bernard?"

"No."

"Have you met him?"

"No, I've never met him."

"Do you know what's happening with the money?"

"I don't know about the money."

"Will anything be recovered?"

"I have no idea."

"I lost a lot of money."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

I feel for these people whose lives have been so harmed by this scheme, but my guess is Bernard doesn't have a listed phone number, wouldn't answer his own phone and would not be living in the same neighborhood I am.

Not just random callers, people I've known for years ask me if I am related to him. If you go way, way back, I might be. Maybe our ancestors were chased from the same shtetl, but I don't know that. All I know is Bernard L. — I'm Ben J. — has really screwed up the association for the name "Madoff". If you Google my company, an ad for "Victim of Madoff Ponzi Scheme?" comes up - not a great opener for potential business.

The calls got nastier:

"Where is my money?"

"You ruined my life."

"You think you can hide?"

"I want my money back you fucking thief."

"Are you Bernard you scum?"

Ironically, like my call to him years ago, I now had no interest in speaking to anyone who was looking for a Madoff.

A few weeks ago a package arrived at my office addressed to "Bernard Madoff". There was no return address. The label looked like a kidnap note. I assumed whatever was in there, it wasn't going to be good. Concern for my safety and the safety of my employees had me return it to the post office. Even though it was the holidays, I doubt if it was a nice gift.

Benard L. was quite philanthropic, giving many generous charitable gifts over the years. The Lenny Bruce maxim, "The only anonymous giver is the guy who knocks up your daughter", comes to mind. If you are out to bilk people, wrapping yourself in charitable and religious causes often creates a magical shield that protects you from criticism and scrutiny. If you couple that with an annual return of 10-12%, the glint of promised gold blinds common sense- until your true activities reveal both the hypocrisy and illegality. The magic is revealed as a con; the magician, a convict.

"Too good to be true" — a cautionary phrase that is true, but people need to believe in the magic. Adults know there's no Santa Claus, yet the fantasy is maintained for the kids. People like Bernard Madoff maintain the fantasy for adults, until reality crashes in.

[tclambert]

57. Be very careful, Ben Jeffrey Madoff.

He's probably still more likely to go to jail than Bernie.

[Demeter]

38. GM and Chrysler seek Canada aid

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3e0e6318-011b-11de-8f6e-000077b07658.html


General Motors and Chrysler have told authorities in Canada that they need as much as C$10bn (US$8bn) in aid to stay afloat, more than double their estimate three months ago.

The request follows a worldwide pattern of rising demands for cash as the deepening crisis in the motor industry steps up pressure on governments to preserve jobs at carmakers and their parts suppliers...

SO IT'S GLOBAL TRICK OR TREAT--GOING DOOR TO DOOR BEGGING FOR HANDOUTS. AND LOOK AT THOSE COSTUMES! ONE COULD ALMOST IMAGINE CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY,NOBLE, ETHICAL, WISE AND FAR-SEEING, IF ONE SQUINTS A BIT!

[Demeter]

40. Cerberus to close Hong Kong office

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9a6118d0-0112-11de-8f6e-000077b07658.html

Cerberus, the US private equity firm, is in advanced discussions to close its Hong Kong office in the latest sign of industry giants scrambling to reduce costs amid the global economic slowdown.

People familiar with the matter said Cerberus was planning to close its Hong Kong base less than two years after opening the office with the expectation of a steady rise in China-related business...

THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO BRING A 3-HEADED DOG TO HEEL...I DOUBT THAT THERE WILL BE MUCH LEFT OF HONG KONG AFTER THIS LITTLE BLIP IN THE MARKETS. HONG KONG ALWAYS SEEMED LIKE DUBAI.... ONLY OLDER, DIRTIER, AND LESS LIKELY TO BE A SHINING CITY ON THE HILL.

[tclambert]

58. Cerberus is the company that owns a major chunk of Chrysler

and refuses to help out its own subsidiary. Cerberus bought 80% of Chrysler in 2007 for $7.4 billion. Not looking like one of the best deals ever made at this point.

[Demeter]

41. Economic Freefall: A Blessing in Disguise By Jon Ronnquist

http://informationclearinghouse.info/article22075.htm


February 23, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- -- One thing we should not overlook when taking in the impact of the current economic situation is that it is both inevitable and invaluable in equal measure. That there was no escaping the consequences we are now facing has been a well known fact among those in the know for many years. If anything, it is amazing that we have staved it off for so long. For this we have the hard working men and women of the real world to thank, who toiled on in the name of pride, dignity and responsibility until the burden of debt simply became to great to bear. A cursory understanding of the “pre-collapse” financial system and the inescapable debt trap it lays in the path of the majority who seek to survive within it, points clearly to the end we have now met. And while it is indeed tragic on an individual level, for the world at large this may well be a blessing of unprecedented proportions.

As economies stagnate and the production level of superfluous commodities shrinks, so too does the havoc that this wreaks on the environment through unsustainable consumption of natural resources and heavy pollution. Whether we like to admit it to ourselves or not, prior to this forced deceleration there was no real hope of any timely or significant solution to the problem. Nothing short of a decrease in demand was going to interfere with the reckless consumer frenzy and the deadly impact it was having on the planet we call home. We were borrowing the earth into oblivion and neither conscience nor understanding looked likely to force an end to it. To say that a million unemployed Chinese is a tragedy when their entire activity consisted of flooding the world with cheap useless toys, is exactly the kind of short sighted and blinkered view that got us into this mess in the first place.

I suppose we could have waited for the oil to run out, and judging by the way we were prepared for the money to run out, it really would have been a case of oil one day and none the next. Luckily money, unlike oil, is relatively easy to replace or replenish. A savvy economist, of which there are sadly still none at the reigns, could reconstruct the monetary system in such a way as to make it more useful and user friendly than that which we are burdened with today.

The real tragedies which loom on the horizon are the artificial cost this economic situation will have on the lives of real people and the dangerous possibility that we will not take advantage of this opportunity to restructure not only the monetary system, but the entire economy, its infrastructure, energy needs and sustainability.

The plague has effectively run its course, run out of steam if you like. What we are faced with now is a genuine opportunity for convalescence. Even in this age of extensive corruption of government, this chance is surely not entirely lost. We can clearly see the old school fighting to hold on despite the impotency of their efforts to borrow the economy out of debt. This idea is so fundamentally flawed that it is hard to see how the effected populations stand by and watch as the new US administration sells their children and grandchildren to the Federal Reserve.

The idea of printing more money has merits if done prudently and for the right reasons, but printing it as debt will of course only exacerbate the already hopeless situation. The fact that such a small percentage of the vast sums of money being printed into the US economy are pledged to creation and improvement of infrastructure is worrying.

Taking the US as the example, the following course of action would seem prudent:

1. Pass legislation to safeguard all home owners against foreclosure and eviction on the grounds that human rights take precedence over all other concerns.

2. Introduce a “new” US dollar as a strictly national currency, not tied to any exchange rate mechanism other than to the “old” US dollar, with limitations.

3. Issue it from the Treasury, ignoring the Fed and existing banks, which can fend for themselves with the currency they have rendered worthless. Issue the new currency through state and local banks all under the direction of the US Treasury in the form of long-term interest free loans.

4. Issue loans to individuals and institutions producing essential goods and services (food, medicine, energy, etc) as a priority to stave of any humanitarian crisis. Where needed allow repayment in the forms of goods and services under federal and state programs for food, energy and medical aid.

5. Extend loans to individuals and institutions investing in green technology and to existing enterprises which are seeking to modernize and shift to the production of essential commodities.

6. Use the currency to invest directly into large scale infrastructure projects across the country on a scale sufficient to begin job creation on a level that will visibly turn around and then increase employment figures.

7. Make the new currency legal tender for the payment of debts and mortgages held in old currency at an exchange rate that realistically reflects fair value. This will force a transition and shift in property value without creating negative equity. Say for arguments sake one new to ten old. Private banks will clamour for new currency as it is the only one worth anything.

8. Legislate to ensure private banks in possession of new currency are barred from lending it under a fractional reserve system and cap interest rates on it’s lending to the public.

9. In proportion to an increase in domestic production, allow foreign holders of old dollar reserves to exchange them for new at the fixed rates of exchange and in limited quantities to guard against a resurrection of the US dollar becoming an instrument of international finance. Limit the amount of currency allowed to exist outside the US, ensuring the national economy can match the value existing with production capacity.

It may sound over simplistic and overoptimistic, but the basic idea is sound and I don’t see any other way of turning this crisis into a golden opportunity. There will be poverty and on a huge scale. That cannot now be avoided. But the question we must consider is whether or not we will allow that poverty to become a permanent fixture or a temporary inconvenience.

WELL, MAYBE IT WOULD WORK, IF THERE WERE A CHANCE IN HELL OF IT HAPPENING....

[antigop]

42. Elderly emerge as a new class of workers--and the jobless

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123535088586444925.html

Mary Appleby, 76 years old, lost her job in January as a cashier at a courthouse cafeteria here. She is now looking for minimum-wage work.

Mary Bennett, 80, began filling out applications for fast-food restaurants and convenience stores after she was laid off last March as a machinist. Fred Dase, 81, a bartender until last summer, also needs another job.

During past recessions, older workers simply would have retired rather than searching want ads and applying for jobs. But these days, with outstanding mortgages, bank loans and high medical bills, many of them can't afford to be out of work.

With jobs so scarce, people in their seventh and eighth decades are up against those half their age in a desperate scramble for work.

The number of unemployed workers 75 and older increased to more than 73,000 in January, up 46% from the prior January. Among workers 65 and older, the jobless rate stands at 5.7%. That's below the national average, but well above what it was in previous recessions, including the recession of 1981, when it reached at 4.3%.

[saigon68]

50. The Pauperization of Amerika

Its a Brave New World

[InkAddict]

90. And here I was entertaining what would happen if the Feds

would "retire" anyone now unemployed at fullest retirement age benefit and allow those so retired to apply for Medicare early...at which point, they could take on more of the PT jobs allowing for more FTE slots for those than have half a chance to recover???

That would pay out slower and keep those at risk of existing w/o healthcare to be healtier.

[Renew Deal]

44. The Worst is yet to come….The Alt-A / Credit Default Swap Crisis….

This is actually a DU link...

<snip>
So here we are. The bets were called Credit Default Swaps (CDS) and a large portion of them were made against so-called Alt-A mortgages. In case you haven’t been following the story, The “Alt-A Mortgage Crisis” is the upscale, time-release version of the Sub Prime mortgage crisis we just suffered through. I say “upscale, time-release” because the loan amounts were much larger and included teaser interest rates for the first several years of the loans that made them affordable until the rates reset. The biggest part of the resets are due latter this year:
<snip>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5121095

[RetailSlave]

48. DUers are the best!

I got hearts! What a kind way to welcome a newbie!

love all around, from the Slave

[TheWatcher]

53. Another Day Of Orwellian Madness.

I think people really need to pay attention to what is going on in this Circus today, because we are seeing textbook examples of how Propaganda works, and how the Media is used to spin it.

The whole Market seems to be affixed around what Helo Ben is saying, but if you have been following the coverage of it, it's AMAZING to watch how the operation has unfolded today, with the Media working in tandem to sell the fraud.

The coverage of his comments has been reorganized 3 TIMES in order to get the desired effect.

Earlier this morning the story was that Ben sees "no recovery in 2009 and none in sight until 2010, and called what was going on a "Severe Contraction".

Then later in the morning the story CHANGED.

NOW Ben said that "he hoped that the current recession will end this year, but said there were significant risks to that forecast. Any economic turnaround will hinge on the success of the Fed and the Obama administration in getting credit and financial markets to operate more normally again."

NOW, in an updated version, the story reads THIS way:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has steadied Wall Street by telling Congress the recession might end this year.

In his semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke predicted the economy is likely to keep contracting in the first six months of 2009. But he also said "there is a reasonable prospect" the recession will end this year. He warns that a recovery will require getting credit and financial markets to operate normally.

Bernanke's comments helped the market absorb a worrisome report on consumer spending. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for February came in at 25, well below expectations. The finding is the latest sign that consumers are deeply worried about the recession and the safety of their jobs.


Do you see what is going on here? If anyone had any doubts that there is absolutely NO LEADERSHIP, and that the people of this country are no longer being represented by their leaders, THEN YOU CAN REMOVE ALL DOUBT.

Information is managed and shaped to fit the perception of what they want the Public to think. And that means Good OR Bad. The Truth and the actual reality are consistently hidden.

My Dear Friends, Welcome To The Truman Show.

You're Soaking In It.

Next time one of your friends makes a half-joking statement about the Media or our Leaders like "What are we living in, Russia?", put your hand on their shoulder and gently break it to them.

"Yes, You Are."

[tclambert]

59. And looky, the Dow is up almost 200 points.

I was wondering what made the DJIA jump today. Thanks for explaining it, Watcher.

[TheWatcher]

63. No Problem. It looks like they have the headlines the way they want them now.

Check out this interesting piece of Fiction on the Yahoo Finance Front Page:

Stocks up as Bernanke offers assessment of economy

Stocks rise as Fed Chairman tells Congress he hopes the difficult recession will end this year.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has reassured Wall Street by telling Congress the recession might end this year.

In his semiannual report to the Senate Banking Committee, Bernanke predicted the economy is likely to keep contracting in the first six months of 2009. But he also said "there is a reasonable prospect" the recession will end this year. He warned that a recovery will require getting credit and financial markets to operate normally.

While Bernanke's assessment of the economy helped ease some pressure on the market, it also came after days of heavy selling that left the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index near 12-year lows, so a bounce in stocks wasn't a surprise. Stocks made cheaper by the selloff attracted bargain-hunting traders. Also, some, better-than-expected quarterly numbers from Home Depot Inc. helped cool some anxiety about the economy.

Stocks were also up ahead of a speech by President Barack Obama. Beaten-down financial shares gained as investors hoped for better insight into the government's plans to aid the industry which is struggling with bad debt.

The White House said Tuesday that Obama will provide more details about his plans to help stabilize the financial system. He is also expected to make the case that more has to be done to revive the economy. The speech is scheduled for 9 p.m. EST.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bernanke-Recession-may-end-in-apf-14453719.html

You have to hand it to them, the Propagandists are VERY slick, and good at what they do.

They hide some details further in the article that proves that once again, The Stock Market is rallying on nothing more than empty language from an even emptier head, but that's how it's done.

They know no one will read that far.

And if there are any plans of substance announced, it's all retracted quietly a few days later.

Like I said, no leadership.

NONE. AT. ALL.


On Edit: And The Home Depot Bullshit is PURE Propaganda. They Posted a loss and said Profits would be down this year, and that they would open fewer stores. The picture they painted was bleak.

And yet in this article it said they had 'better than expected number." No details. No explanations.

They just make things up now, and print it as pact.

It's ALL about PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT.

[DemReadingDU]

70. PERCEPTION MANAGEMENT

Yep, that's it!
:yoiks:


But I'm not buying.

[specimenfred1984]

72. I like it, it's easier than "a false premise wrapped in a propaganda construct"

It really opened my eyes a few years back when I read a few books about the history of propaganda, I highly recommend that reading to everyone who really wants to understand American culture.

[DemReadingDU]

75. I've gotten quite an eyefull just reading the Internets

Nothing that they say, is what they actually do. And now that I realize what all this propaganda is, I daresay I don't believe any of this crap anymore.

[Tansy_Gold]

87. I took a class in high school. It was called "sociology" but it was

really an interesting mishmash of all kinds of things.

One was "Advertising and Propaganda." The teacher showed us how little difference there was between the two.

Much of it stuck with me. I guess it seemed to have more practical application than most of what we learned in school.


Tansy Gold, who suspects that teacher was much more of a socialist than he ever dared let on

[antigop]

55. Miles of idled boxcars leave towns singing the freight-train blues (Tansy!)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123535033769344811.html

Folks here figured the mile-long stretch of a hundred-plus yellow rail cars, which divides this small town like a graffiti-covered wall, would leave soon after it arrived.

That was a year ago.

"They stayed and they stayed and they stayed," says Bruce Atkinson, a local resident. "Then more moved in."

Tens of thousands of boxcars are sitting idle all over the country, parked indefinitely by railroads whose freight volumes have plummeted along with the economy. And residents of the communities stuck with these newly immobile objects, like the people of New Castle, are hopping mad about it.

[TheWatcher]

56. And one more thing.

For those of us who are getting beyond frustrated with the glazed over "We'll have a recovery in Six Months" crowd that keeps repeating such platitudes ad museum, NOW we can see where it comes from.

They just repeat the lie that those in Power keep telling them over and over. Rinse And Repeat.

The Recession is NOT going to end this year, nor will it end next year.

WE ARE BEING LIED TO.

They are doing what they had to do today.

Things were falling apart and deteriorating too rapidly.

And if anyone was noticing by some of the posts the past couple of days on DU, and elsewhere across the Net, you could see the Meadow was starting to stir, and the Proletariat was starting to take notice.

EVERY time Public Perception reaches Critical Mass and starts to evolve into awareness that is at an uncomfortable level for TPTB, they immediately trot out this specific type of Propaganda.

It's all a Game. A Shell Game.

And the Suckers are The American People.

[tclambert]

62. OK, look here, TheWatcher, are you lumping me in with that "recovery in six months" crowd?

I've never gone so far as to predict full recovery in six months, or even the beginning of real recovery in six months. But I will predict that the signs will start improving in six months. And I strongly hope at the 2010 State of the Union in January, that President Obama gets a big standing ovation for the line "We are on our way to economic recovery." It may just be that GDP stops falling. I believe I am on record predicting we have at least one month of job growth between now and then. That's the key, and President Obama agrees with me on the importance of jobs, so that makes him right.

Predictions of endless recession are silly and unrealistic, as are predictions of flat out depression and revolution. And I'm willing to bet you the world doesn't come to an end.

[specimenfred1984]

66. Job growth in what areas? Be specific.

I'd like to see job growth in solar, farming, gov't regulation, education, construction and universal health care. However, as long as U.S. and international banks are lying, stealing, bribing, tax-evading frauds the only recoveries are going to be in a few local areas in the U.S. and D.C. where the gov't is.

The "watcher" is 100% correct when they say we are being lied to and propagandized on every level of media and gov't. The media are corporate whores and the gov't is equally in the business of propaganda for profit. Currently, the U.S. sells war and consumes about every other product on the planet, there is very little remaining in the U.S. that could create job growth in the millions per month required to actually turn around the U.S. economy when we are a nation of consumers.

Our economic system has failed, the gov't will never say that because it fears that people would run on the banks and stop spending what little they have. So, the gov't will continue to lie daily, produce rigged numbers and reports and spew happy-happy-joy-joy language. Further, to address your "world coming to and end" crap, all it would take in the U.S. is 1 significant event to change everything, you go ahead and run a few of those scenarios and you'll see how close the U.S. is to actually having a revolution.

[specimenfred1984]

69. Speaking of selling war...

--- Lawmakers with the most money invested in companies with Department of Defense contracts

Member of Congress Minimum Value of Investment Maximum Value of Investment
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) $28,872,067 $38,209,020
Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) $12,081,050 $49,140,000
Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC) $9,232,037 $37,105,000
Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis) $5,207,668 $7,612,653
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif) $2,684,050 $6,260,000
Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich) $2,469,029 $8,360,000
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WVa) $2,000,002 $2,000,002
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis) $1,365,004 $5,800,000
Rep. Kenny Ewell Marchant (R-Texas) $1,163,231 $1,163,231
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) $1,000,001 $5,000,000 ---

http://votersforpeace.us/press/index.php?itemid=151

[specimenfred1984]

71. 1 more point, where's this $900 million to "reconstruct" Gaza coming from?

We blow the shit up after selling Israel the tools to do it, then we/gov't contract out $900 million to contractors to rebuild what we just blew up.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_us

---JERUSALEM – United States aid for the Gaza Strip's reconstruction will likely top $900 million, an official said, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepared to make her first Mideast trip as America's top diplomat.---

[Demeter]

86. Global Public Make-Work Projects?

Digging holes to fill up again....

[Demeter]

85. Second That!

I had such hopes that the Obama administration would lay down the law. Well, they did, as in laying it down and not using it....just like Pelosi, as a matter of fact.

Ditto on the stimulus. I'm sure the plan is to do this big stimulus budget every F-ing year until things turn around, but do we have that much time and money, and what are people supposed to do in the meanwhile?

And still wooing the GOP! What is it with Obama? He's got ready-made fans, friends and colleagues and a big pile of mending, and still he wants to win over the batshit crazy, instead of isolating them from the public fora. Save the time, energy and money! This idiots are not salvageable!

[readmoreoften]

67. Why is it "silly"? Have you watched so many movies that any drastic social change seems

"unreal" to you? People like you crack me up. You're not really realistic, you're just caught up in what you think "sounds rational." In the past 2000 years, revolutions have come and gone, holocausts have happened, no economic or political structure has thoroughly survived--and yet your middle class American life is ETERNAL.

Talk about silly, ahistoric, and self-absorbed...

[TheWatcher]

68. No, I'm not lumping you in with that crowd if you have something of substance to base it on.

Please, by all means, lay out what you see that points to a recovery in 2010, or the beginnings of a recovery in 6 months. And I mean that sincerely.

And if you can point out to me in my Posts where I have predicted "Endless recession", and "Flat out revolution", I'd really appreciate it.

And look, I think we are all "Strongly Hopeful" about 2010, but that does not and will not translate into recovery. And that sentiment has no more substance in meaning than what Helo Ben said before Congress today. Well, depending on which version you believe. There are about FOUR of them now.

And I'm not taking your bet about the world coming to an end, because I have not said anything to that equivalent either. It isn't relevant.

The bottom line is that the scope of the problems are not confined to this country alone. The meltdown is Global. Entire countries are collapsing, (See Iceland, who up until recently had one of the highest standards of living in the World. Now, there is massive unrest and uprising, their government has fallen, and they are slipping into chaos), there is massive unrest and uprising in several countries including Greece and France (Although you'd never know it because here behind the Ignorant Curtain we are constantly fed a diet of The Menace that is Michael Phelps and who's leaving Grey's Anatomy).

Ireland reported last weekend it is in danger of Total Default on it's debts. Then there is the crisis in Eastern Europe. Japan continues to unravel and is slipping BACK into deep Recession.

The scope of what we are seeing has not been seen since The Great Depression, and we STILL don't know the full extent of how bad things are, because TPTB keep constantly lying to us about EVERYTHING. Most Government numbers are fake at worst, massaged at best. The Banking system is all but insolvent, and Citi and BAC may not last until Spring.

Don't even get me started on the Autos.

The Total Unfunded Liability of The United States alone is $66 Trillion Dollars. Try and wrap your head around that.

THE GDP FOR THE ENTIRE PLANET IS S65 Trillion.

I could go on and on, but as I said the other day, I am done trying to convince anyone to look past unrealistic notions about how serious things are. Please don't take that personally, because I don't mean that to be harsh.

And don't worry about hurting my feelings. Like many others who have posted warnings about what we are facing, I am used to being giggled and snickered at, mocked, ridiculed, and called all kinds of names. Most People would rather shout "Conspiracy Kook" than grasp Clarity to any kind of uncomfortable understanding of the rot that lies beneath the facade and lies that we are told every day.

Believe me, I'm used to it.

If clinging to false Paradigms and False Hope works for you, go for it.

I'm sorry, I just don't believe that there can be any possibility of a recovery within 6 Months, a year, what have you. To be honest, I do not know when one will be possible, and not only because of the direness of the situation, but because of the leadership or lack thereof of those who are in the position to actually DO something about it.

All we get is Empty Promises, Propaganda, And talks of schemes, programs, etc. that will have very little effect in solving any of the real problems.

TARP, Stimulus, and other Gun-To-The-Head Schemes and Bills are not going to solve all of this, no matter how much "Hope" and "Belief" we have.

Until we get the Foxes away from the Hen house, we cannot have a system that works for the people.

[Hugin]

79. Wasn't something supposed to happen to AIG today?

Like the announcement of the largest loss by any Corporation... Anywhere.... EVER?

I forget. :silly:

[Hannah Bell]

81. "Total Unfunded Liability of The United States alone is $66 Trillion Dollars"

Break this down for me.

What items are in this supposed "unfunded liability," & what's the time line on that?

[readmoreoften]

83. 66 billion dollars? Why that's a pittance.

[DemReadingDU]

74. Mike Shedlock: Bernanke's Hide and Seek Delaying Tactics

2/24/09
Translations by Mike Shedlock...

The ever changing model of nationalization took another leap towards a resolution of sorts today. Bernanke's new plan amounts to a game of hide and seek, hoping the mess resolves itself over time.

My Translation: "The banking system is going to flounder like a fish out of water for quite some time."

My Translation: "Regulators let banks hide everything for years. Regulators will continue to let banks hide everything for years to come. This is what we mean when we say 'appropriate models'. Of course, Citigroup will not be required to bring $800 billion or so in SIVs off the balance sheets back on its balance sheet. Furthermore, we intend to do nothing about ridiculous assumptions on the marked to fantasy prices of level 3 assets on the balance sheets of every bank. Hopefully these delaying tactics will buy banks the time they need. We realize this is unlikely to work, but what the hell? Right now, this game of hide and seek is our only prayer."

My Translation: "We’re going to do a complete whitewash and hope the market buys it".

The game Bernanke is playing will allow the Fed to slowly bleed taxpayers to death by 100 tiny cuts. Each cut will all the Fed to inject taxpayer blood (capital) in drips to the banks while pretending the cancerous patient is in good health. Meanwhile, Bernanke is hoping the taxpayer will not notice. This is essentially the same model that left Japan's economy stagnating for over a decade.

a bit more...
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2009/02/bernankes-hide-and-seek-delaying.html

[Demeter]

84. I Just Got Off the Phone With My Sister the MBA

Told her this market was good for a decade--she didn't want to hear it. Had nothing to counteract my conclusion, just didn't want to hear it.

[Demeter]

60. Another Tinfoil Hat Theory

Ever wonder late at night WHY Lehman's went down?

Well, would the fact that they sold a bunch of crap to the Florida pensions while Jeb was governor make you go hmmmm?

[specimenfred1984]

61. "Beware Circuit City closeout deals: No refunds on broken gear"

I know others have mentioned what ripoffs liquidations are but I posted this to point out what a completely corrupt culture the U.S. is on every level.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/124232

"Stories are pouring in from outraged shoppers who thought they could get a great deal on equipment from Circuit City as part of its fire sale liquidation. The problem: Circuit City won't let you open sealed boxes to inspect merchandise before you take it home -- and all sales are final. No returns. No exchanges. That's not so great if the gear is hopelessly broken."

"One Minnesota family spent $1,500 on a 50-inch plasma TV and found the glass shattered once they got it home. The store refused to take back the TV and instead referred the issue to Circuit City headquarters, where no one answered the phone."

[tclambert]

65. There's some Latin saying for this.

Caveat canem? Caveat diem? Carpe canem? Carpe lootem?

Oh, yeah, Caveat Emptor, let the empty cave beware.

(OK, for the non Latin literate, those bad jokes roughly translate as "Let the dog beware" (big mean cats in the neighborhood), "Let the day beware" (night's coming after you!), "Seize the dog" ('cause the mailman's coming), "Seize the loot" (a bank robber thing), and "Let the buyer beware." See, I was making plays on cave canem and carpe diem . . . oh, never mind. Sic transit gloria mundi. Knew a lovely dancer named Gloria Monday way back when, but she let herself go.)

[TalkingDog]

73. goof... n/t

[specimenfred1984]

76. My own worthless look at technical analysis

http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/spx1960.html

A clear double top with a current breakdown of support levels means a pullback to the last support level in the S&P 500 at 475. That's right, 475 on the S&P with equates to DOW 3500.

See how worthless tech analysis actually is, it may be right it may be wrong, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[DemReadingDU]

77. We've been in a huge bubble

Not sure where the bubble began.
Maybe back to Reagan when de-regulation began?
Maybe back to early 70's when we got off the gold standard?
Maybe way back, to the beginning of the stock market?

Whatever, we are nowhere near the bottom.

[Demeter]

88. I Date the Bubble to late 50's

There were several years of real price stability--not faked. Then Vietnam's guns and butter, the oil shocks after the gold standard broke, and OPEC went for their pound of revenge after the 7 Day War...and we were off to the races. Of course, nothing topped Reaganomics, until we got Bushwacked and Greenspinned simultaneously.....

But the unwinding of the bubbles is happening a lot faster than the inflating....probably because the American economy today could be blown over with a gust of March wind. With no manufacturing base left, commodities falling fast, no exports and the consumer out of the marketplace, what is left? Public service...infrastructure, welfare corporate and consumer....

[Danascot]

80. Fear Itself

I posted this piece as it's own thread on GD. I thought some of you SMWers here might be interested.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5123931

Here's the beginning of it:

“The economic malaise that plagued Japan from the 1990s until the early 2000s brought stunted wages and depressed stock prices, turning free-spending consumers into misers and making them dead weight on Japan’s economy.

“As recession-wary Americans adapt to a new frugality, Japan offers a peek at how thrift can take lasting hold of a consumer society, to disastrous effect.”

The above quotes are from a New York Times article:

“When Consumers Cut Back: An Object Lesson From Japan”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/business/worldbusiness/22japan.html?em

In the US, job losses and fear of future job loss are fueling fear and creating a vicious downward spiral resulting in a strong aversion to spend on the part of US consumers, the engine of the US economy.

My parents were children of the depression and they carried the lessons of their painful experiences throughout their lives. The fear that it might happen again made them extremely frugal and cautious with money lest they be unprepared when hard times returned. Those kinds of hard times didn’t return in their lifetimes. But now hard times are visiting subsequent generations who are ill prepared to deal with them.
While frugality, budgeting, saving, cautious investing and suspicion of the consumer culture are personal virtues on an individual level and would make for a sounder economy in normal times (and be better for the planet), the frugal approach is not what is called for for the US economy as a whole in our current situation.

The American consumer is tapped out and paralyzed with fear for their futures. The longer the recession/depression is allowed to go on, the more entrenched this fear will become and the more difficult it will be to convince people that times are getting better, and the more difficult it will be to restart the engine of consumerism. The Japanese have held personal spending in check for almost 20 years. The children of the US depression have been frugal for 50 years or more.

... more at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5123931

[UpInArms]

89. end of the day bubbles and troubles

Dow 7,350.94 236.16 (3.32%)
Nasdaq 1,441.83 54.11 (3.90%)
S&P 500 773.14 29.81 (4.01%)
10-Yr Bond 2.799% 0.022

NYSE Volume 8,361,437,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,412,718,750

4:25 pm : The stock market snapped a six-session losing streak by rallying 4.0% Tuesday. The rebound was helped by short covering after the stock market registered a multiyear closing low in the prior session.

Though Monday marked the S&P 500's lowest closing level since 1997, the stock market was still able to hold above its November intraday low of 741. Meanwhile, financials, which have underpinned the market's recent weakness, have refused to completely roll over after slipping to multiyear lows late last week. Heading into Tuesday, financials were trading 5% above those lows.

Given the crowded betting against the financial stocks, the inability to fall to new lows added pressure on short sellers to cover their bets, helping drive the financial sector 11.8% higher. This helped drive the broader market to its best single-session percentage gain in one month.

The advance in financials was undeterred by word JPMorgan Chase (JPM 21.02, +1.51) is cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.38 per share. The cut aims to help protect the bank's fortress balance sheet should macro conditions further deteriorate.

JPMorgan indicated during its conference call that its trading business has been strong this quarter. The statement encouraged buying in Goldman Sachs (GS 92.98, +12.91), which traded with leadership.

Today's rally comes ahead of President Obama's national address this evening, and follows Fed Chairman Bernanke's semiannual testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, which did not provide any further detail regarding government plans to shore up the banking system.

Bernanke noted that measures have helped restore a degree of stability to some financial markets, but significant stresses persist in many markets. Bernanke indicated the outlook for economic activity is uncertain and downside risks probably outweigh those to the upside. He also stated the recession may end in 2009 and the economy may recover in 2010.

Bernanke will testify before the House Committee on Financial Services (10:00 AM ET).

Word that Microsoft (MSFT 17.17, -0.04) may still be interested in a deal with Yahoo! (YHOO 12.75, +0.78) caught investors' attention this morning. Still, the idea of a stronger Internet search company did little to undercut shares of Google (GOOG 345.45, +15.39), which traded with leadership in the Nasdaq.

The latest batch of earnings announcements was generally better than expected, though, it didn't attract much attention by the broader market. HJ Heinz (HNZ 33.77, +1.80) posted an upside surprise, as did Macy's (M 8.25, +0.85), Nordstrom (JWN 13.69, +2.36), and Home Depot (HD 20.69, +1.96). Target (TGT 27.83, -0.60) posted disappointing results, but retailers still logged a 4.6% gain.

The gain by retailers came even though the Conference Board indicated consumer confidence fell to a record low in February.DJ30 +236.16 NASDAQ +54.11 NQ100 +3.8% R2K +4.5% SP400 +4.5% SP500 +29.81 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2028/2.15 bln/703 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2676/1.84 bln/438

3:30 pm : April crude oil futures opened lower amid continued demand concerns stemming from a disappointing Consumer Confidence report. The futures contracts traded as low as $37.65 per barrel. Figures showing stronger-than-expected OPEC compliance with their production cuts then sparked a rally in crude oil. The contracts rallied to finish at $39.90 per barrel, up 3.8%.

March natural gas also displayed intial weakness, then ticked higher midway through the session to finish at $4.22 per contract, up 3.0%.

April gold futures experienced selling pressure throughout the session. April gold contracts hit session lows of $960.20 per ounce and closed at $969.50 per ounce, down 2.6%.

March silver also finished the session lower, down 0.4% to $14.00 per ounce. March silver hit session lows of $13.68 per ounce before recovering somewhat to the $14.00 level. DJ30 +241.73 NASDAQ +52.65 SP500 +29.42 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2024/1.90 bln/692 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2651/1.28 bln/462

3:00 pm : Microsoft (MSFT 17.01, -0.20) is the only Dow component to trade with a loss. Its weakness follows word that the company may still be interested in striking a deal with Internet search company Yahoo! (YHOO 12.69, +0.72). Shares of YHOO are logging their best single-session advance by percent in nearly one month.

Meanwhile, the rest of the stock market continues to climb higher in a broad-based effort.

Despite the rally in the stock market, bonds are refusing to go on a collective retreat. The 10-year Note is down 12 ticks, which has pushed its yield up to 2.80%. Meanwhile, the 30-year Bond is trading 6 ticks higher, which has pushed its yield down to 3.50%.DJ30 +205.25 NASDAQ +46.77 SP500 +26.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1949/1.70 bln/746 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2550/1.15 bln/546

2:30 pm : The broad-based S&P 500 is leading the way as the major indices build on earlier gains.

The advance by the S&P 500 rebounds from the prior session's losses. Weakness in the prior session took the S&P 500 within just a couple of points of its November intraday low. The S&P 500 did manage to set a new multiyear closing low, though.

Still, with November intraday lows unviolated, many short-sellers are covering their positions, which is helping drive buying interest in the broader market.DJ30 +183.31 NASDAQ +42.30 SP500 +24.73 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1933/1.54 bln/742 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2506/1.05 bln/586

2:00 pm : The S&P 500 is now trading 2.9% higher as 90% of its components trade with gains. It was recently up slightly more than 3.0%.

Small-cap stocks and mid-cap stocks are outperforming the broad-market index, though. The Russell 2000 small-cap index and S&P 400 mid-cap index are both up 3.2%.

Financials continue to sport some of the most impressive gains of various market measures. Financials are now up nearly 8.8%.DJ30 +168.14 NASDAQ +34.79 SP500 +21.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1832/1.37 bln/811 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2360/929 mln/706

1:30 pm : Financial stocks have climbed to a gain of 7.0%. The sector's advance comes amid strength in investment banks and brokerages (+10.7%), diversified banks (+7.4%), and other diversified financial services companies (+6.7%).

AIG (AIG 0.41, -0.12) is a laggard in the financial sector. Reports warned in the prior session the company will likely need additional government funding in order to continue operations after it unveils what is expected to be a $60 billion loss next Monday. AIG was already bailed out by the government. DJ30 +144.48 NASDAQ +28.91 SP500 +18.89 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1762/1.22 bln/866 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2165/819 mln/875

1:00 pm : Action has been rather choppy this session, but the major indices have successfully remained in positive territory for the entire session. The gains follow broad losses in the prior session, during which the Dow and S&P 500 logged their lowest closing levels in more than one decade.

Losses in the prior session came amid ongoing concern in the financial sector. Financials are leading gains this session as the sector posts a 3.4% gain. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 19.62, +0.11) is trading with strength even though the company is cutting its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share from $0.38 per share. The cut will help protect the bank's balance sheet in the event macro conditions deteriorate further.

Ordinarily, such an announcement would fuel concern that even one of the country's strongest banks is in need of shoring up its capital position, but in extraordinary times many analysts are calling the move proactive.

JPMorgan indicated it is seeing a solid performance by its trading group, which has helped propel shares of Goldman Sachs (GS 86.92, +6.85).

Word that Microsoft (MSFT 16.65, -0.56) may still be interested in a deal with Yahoo! (YHOO 12.48, +0.51) caught investors' attention this morning. Still, the idea of a stronger Internet search company did little to undercut shares of Google (GOOG 336.18, +6.12), which is providing leadership to the Nasdaq.

The latest string of earnings announcements was generally better than expected, or more appropriately, better than feared.

Macy's (M 8.05, +0.65), Nordstrom (JWN 12.82, +1.49), and Home Depot (HD 20.25, +1.54) all gave investors positive earnings surprises. Retailers' results weren't entirely positive, though. Target (TGT 27.59, -0.84) announced earnings results that failed to meet analysts' expectations. Still, retailers, as a group, are outperforming the broader market as they trade with a 2.5% gain.

Fed Chairman Bernanke continues to entertain questions from the Senate Banking Committee after providing his semiannual testimony. The testimony continues to dominate financial news coverage.

Bernanke noted in his prepared remarks that measures taken by the Federal Reserve, other U.S. government entities, and foreign governments have helped restore a degree of stability to some financial markets. However, despite a range of lower borrowing costs, significant stresses persist in many markets.

Bernanke reminded the committee of Treasury's plans to help assist banks with a mix of public and private investments, while the size and scope of the TALF is expanded. Bernanke did not offer any additional detail on plans to help restore the banking system, but did reiterate the longer-term goals of market policymakers.DJ30 +86.74 NASDAQ +16.94 SP500 +10.91 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1649/1.06 bln/967 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1910/719 mln/1107

[skoalyman]

91. oppsy

[skoalyman]

92. gotta luv dem dry rallies

:fistbump: :puffpiece: