STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday December 9

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday December 9, 2009

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 1
Name(s): David Safavian

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 8, 2009

Dow... 10,285.97 -104.14 (-1.00%)
Nasdaq... 2,172.99 -16.62 (-0.76%)
S&P 500... 1,091.94 -11.31 (-1.03%)
Gold future... 1,143 -20.60 (-1.77%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.38 -0.05 (-1.31%)
30-Year Bond 4.37 -0.02 (-0.36%)

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

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie, Silver and US$

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market Observation

A New Wrinkle for the "January Effect" in Stocks
BY ROBERT MCHUGH

Stocks are approaching a typically Bearish seasonal time, from the last few days of December through the end of January. This new wrinkle for the "January Effect" is reason for caution. Measureable declines, several of which were significant, have started the last week of December, or in January, in 8 of the past 10 years, with a ninth top occurring in early February in 2007. If you include 2007, that is 9 out of the past 10 years.
.....

One of the most alarming developments in all the indicators we follow, is the curling over from extreme overbought levels, from levels that have represented major tops in the past, in the weekly Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) indicator. This often occurs a few months before a sharp decline in stocks occurs. This is a dangerous situation. Our view is that short-term, over the next month or so, the direction for markets is uncertain, however, there is a high risk of a significant decline coming early next year. Major tops seem to tarry, but this provides time for folks to get ready, which is a good thing. Stocks have gone nowhere for several weeks, the Industrials about where they were back on November 16th, the S&P where it was back on October 19th, and the NDX where it was on October 21st. This could be topping action.

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

10:00 Wholesale Inventories Oct
Briefing.com -0.8%
Consensus -0.5%
Prior -0.9%

10:30 Crude Inventories 12/04
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior 2.09M

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

[UpInArms]

36. Wholesale Inventory @ +0.3% - Sept rev'd to -0.8%

Wholesale inventory data for October has just hit news wires. Inventories increased 0.3% for the month; they were expected to slip 0.5%. Meanwhile, inventories for September were revised upward to reflect a 0.8% decline.

[ozymandius]

3. Oil rises above $73 after US crude supply drop

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose above $73 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as an unexpected drop in U.S. crude supplies suggested demand may be recovering.
.....

U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly fell last week, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Crude stocks fell 5.8 million barrels while analysts had expected an increase of 600,000 barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration plans to announce its inventory report later Wednesday.
.....

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 0.76 cent to $2.00 while gasoline gained 1.93 cents to $1.94. Natural gas fell 1.6 cents to $5.10 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Roland99]

7. It had dropped that far already? I'm sure gas won't drop any now that it's working back higher

[ozymandius]

11. I've noticed gas price "stickiness" too.

Gasoline prices increase when the cost of crude moves as much as a dollar. When crude drops by four dollars - the price of gas stays the same. I know these commodities are traded independently. However a correlation in crude and refined product still exists.

[Roland99]

12. It always takes a longer time to drop than it does to rise.

Anything to hedge against a price rise, eh?

And I have no choice as my public transportation options are pretty much nil here. It's either drive north 3 miles and ride a bus to downtown, which drops off over a mile from where I work and the last return bus leaves at 5:36pm...I have to work until 5:30pm at the earliest every day...I can't do a 6 min. mile. Or transfer twice and 2 1/2 hours later, make it to work.


ugh.


And one of these days I'll update my avatar to Florida. :)

[Roland99]

8. RBOB at $1.9246

[Roland99]

55. Crude falls 2.7% to end at $70.67 a barrel

[ozymandius]

4. McDonald's sales take hit from US joblessness

CHICAGO – The supersized recession that was a boon for business last year caught up further with McDonald's Corp. in November, as high unemployment ate into sales.

While the world's largest burger chain is still faring better than its competitors, who've increasingly been pushing value menus and discounts of their own, the restaurant's fortunes likely won't improve unless the U.S. economy does.
.....

On Tuesday, McDonald's said sales at restaurants open at least a year fell 0.6 percent in the U.S. It was the second consecutive monthly decline for the measure, an important indicator of a restaurant chain's health, and a steeper fall than October's 0.1 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091208/ap_on_bi_ge/us_mcdonald_s_sales

---

A few years ago McDonald's gave up market share because people then seemed to develop an interest in actual food. This is a new wrinkle in their game when customers go away because they cannot afford to buy McDonald's heart-stopping fare.

[CatholicEdHead]

41. Their food is not cheap

You can eat out at higher end places for the cost of a McDonalds meal. I rarely eat it, but when I had to grab a meal on my Thanksgiving drive, the prices for meals was pretty high, about $5/person/meal.

[Garam_Masala]

50. Fast food is quite high here in WA state

because my 16 year old makes the minimum wage of $8.55/hour
on the part time job!

[ozymandius]

5. Obama using grab-bag approach to fight recession

.....
President Barack Obama, battling the worst downturn since FDR's time, has put together a grab-bag program that borrows a little from Roosevelt but much more closely resembles the approach taken by recent presidents of both parties, who have leaned heavily on tax cuts to spur job creation.

Obama's New Deal-lite approach represents a compromise between putting more resources into getting the country out of a recession and the limitations he faces with budget deficits that have already soared past the $1 trillion mark, raising concerns among the foreign investors who buy America's debt.
.....

Taking a page from past Republican and Democratic administrations, Obama also is proposing tax credits targeted to small businesses to help them hire new workers and give them a tax break for buying new equipment to expand and modernize their operations.

He also is proposing extending a number of programs already included in his February stimulus measure, including extra support to state and local governments to keep them from having to lay off workers.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091209/ap_on_bi_ge/us_presidents_and_jobs

---

The method Obama is employing now is really quite similar to FDR's response to the Great Depression. FDR just threw stuff at a wall to see what stuck. As for tax breaks to hire workers: that did not work in the last administration and it will not work in this one. A business will weigh the expense of hiring new personnel against the tax break. The tax break will never cover the cost of a new employee. There's more to consider in arguing against this plan that can be found in a basic microeconomics textbook. But later...

[ozymandius]

6. European, Asian Stocks Decline; National Bank of Greece Slides

.....


National Bank of Greece SA and Alpha Bank SA slid more than 4 percent as Fitch followed yesterday’s downgrade of Greece’s sovereign debt rating by cutting the lenders. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest publicly traded bank, sank 5.2 percent in Tokyo. Man Group Plc, the biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, retreated 2.1 percent after the value of its flagship fund dropped.

Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.7 percent to 242.22 at 9:46 a.m. in London, a third day of declines. The regional gauge has climbed 54 percent since March 9, lifted by record-low interest rates and about $12 trillion in spending by governments worldwide.
.....

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6 percent today after Japan’s economy expanded an annualized 1.3 percent in the third quarter, slower than the 4.8 percent reported last month.

Mitsubishi UFJ led declines in Asia, dropping 5.2 percent to 477 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-biggest bank by value, slipped 2.7 percent to 2,740 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the nation’s third-largest lender by market value, sank 3 percent to 161 yen.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6UXnHH_HKk0&pos=4

[Ghost Dog]

23. Stocks, Gold, Oil Drop on Dubai World’s Loss, Greece Downgrade

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Stocks, gold and oil fell while the dollar rallied after Dubai World’s Nakheel PJSC lost $3.65 billion, Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece’s credit and German industrial production unexpectedly dropped.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index declined 1.1 percent at 4:31 p.m. in New York, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slumped 1 percent. Gold dropped for a third day in New York. Crude posted a fifth consecutive retreat. The yield on Greece’s two-year notes rose the most since 1998. The dollar appreciated against 14 of the 16 most-active currencies.

Concern that Dubai World would default on $59 billion in debt roiled markets last month, spurring speculation that the recovery in the global financial system would stall. Moody’s Investors Service said deteriorating public finances in the U.S. and U.K. may test their Aaa ratings. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told the Washington Economic Club yesterday that the economy faces “formidable headwinds.”

“Greece is a whole lot more important than Dubai,” said Uri Landesman, New York-based fund manager at ING Investment Management. “There are a lot of banks, in Europe especially, that have exposure to Greece, so if there’s a major problem in Greece, that would be more important than a problem in Dubai.”

Equities and commodities dropped from their highs of the day, while the yen and dollar gained against the euro, after German industrial output fell 1.8 percent in October, led by a drop in production of energy and investment goods such as machinery, the Economy Ministry in Berlin said today. Economists forecast a 1 percent gain, according to the median of 38 estimates in a Bloomberg survey.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axKXttu4En1w&pos=1

[Ghost Dog]

24. Euro recovers vs dlr; move on Greece seen overdone

Wed Dec 9, 2009 7:33am EST LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The euro rose against the dollar on Wednesday, recovering from its lowest in more than a month after Greece's credit rating was downgraded the previous day, as investors decided selling had been overdone.

The dollar had earlier advanced broadly after Fitch downgraded Greece on Tuesday to below the single-A bracket for the first time in a decade, and prompted short covering in the U.S. currency and the yen.

In Asia traders had shed higher-risk and higher-yielding currencies and assets, including the euro, after ratings agency Fitch cut Greece's sovereign debt to BBB+ from A-.

The euro EUR= fell as low as $1.4665, its weakest since early November, but later reversed those losses on the view that the weak state of Greece's public finances was well known and that the move had overshot.

But European equity markets and U.S. stock futures turned higher, helping to reverse the safety flow into the U.S. dollar.

"The initial reaction to the Greece downgrade was overdone, given that Greece remains protected with the European Central Bank's shield, so we see scope for a short-lived euro gain to $1.50 area," said Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in London.

"But our 12-month view is that the euro will slip to $1.35 because longer-term Greece is still left with a large deficit and a need to reduce it. It's like a slow-motion car crash," Hardman said.

ECB Governing Council member Axel Weber said on Tuesday there was no need for external financial handouts for Greece.

Sterling slid to a near two-month low against the dollar, meanwhile, in the run-up to the UK government's pre-budget report due at 1230 GMT, which was expected to highlight Britain's dire fiscal position.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNGEE5B814R20091209?rpc=44

[Ghost Dog]

26. UK pre-budget report to parliament

Wed Dec 9, 2009 12:43pm GMT LONDON (Reuters) -

...

"I am confident that the UK economy will start growing by the turn of the year."

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKGEE5B22D320091209

(Breaking. Earlier:

Pre-Budget report: Alistair Darling expected to cut growth forecast and target the rich

Alistair Darling is expected to admit that Britain has suffered its worst recession since the 1930s in a pre-Budget report that will target the country's richest households before next year's general election.

Published: 7:10AM GMT 09 Dec 2009
Alistair Darling; Pre-Budget report: Labour puts off vital cuts until after the election
Alistair Darling will say that budgets for schools, hospitals and the police will be protected

In the widely-awaited pre-Budget report, the Chancellor is predicted to say that the economy will contract 4.75pc this year, inflicting greater pain than the 3.5pc he forecast in April's Budget. However, Mr Darling is also likely to stick with his Budget prediction that the economy will grow in 2010 and accelerate to a 3.75pc pace in 2011.

The Chancellor's message on the economy is expected to be accompanied by a series of measures targeting the rich, including a possible windfall tax on bankers' bonuses. Emboldened by recent polls showing the Conservatives' lead is narrowing, Gordon Brown is keen to paint the opposition as the party of the rich at a time when many in Britain still face the threat of losing their jobs.

Mr Brown's strategy comes as many banks, including state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, prepare to pay staff multi-million pound bonuses just over 12 months after the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

In what is expected to be one of the most political pre-Budgets in years, Mr Darling will also insist that he has a credible plan for cutting Britain's budget deficit without jeopardising an economic recovery. With tax receipts tumbling, most economists expect the Chancellor to raise his forecast for borrowing in the current financial year to beyond the £175bn outlined in the Budget.

However, financial markets will be focused on whether the Chancellor delivers a credible plan for meeting a pledged outlined in the Queen's speech to cut the country's deficit to 5.5pc of gross domestic product by 2013-14 from a projected 12.4pc this year.

The ratings agencies that determine Britain's creditworthiness as a borrower in international bond markets have already warned that a failure to spell out concrete measures will leave the country at risk of losing its prized 'AAA' rating.

/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/budget/6766745/Pre-Budget-report-Alistair-Darling-expected-to-cut-growth-forecast-and-target-the-rich.html )

[Ghost Dog]

28. Darling Pledges to Maintain Support Until Recovery Secured

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said the government will continue stimulus to the economy.

“To promote growth we need as well to maintain support until the recovery is secured and to halve the deficit over four years, in an orderly way, which does not threaten the investment vital for our future,” he said in Parliament today. “The choices are between going for growth or putting the recovery at risk. To reduce the deficit while protecting front-line services or cuts which put these services in danger.”

/.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a8BEEcd46Qho

Nonsense doublespeak, then. Said stimulus is for bankers and bankers only.

[Robbien]

47. Move along, nothing to see here. Wall streeters believe the EU CB will bail out Greece?

Let the party continue, initial panic is overdone.

Sounds as if this will be wall streeters standard line when any bad news attempts to break into their gambling casino. Dubai default? No problem the UAE will bail it out. Greece bankrupt? No problem the EU CB will bail it out.

Reality has no seat at their table.

[ozymandius]

9. Geithner Said to Be Seeking TARP Extension Until Next October

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to tell Congress that the Obama administration will extend the $700 billion financial-rescue program until next October, according to people familiar with the matter.

While the Troubled Asset Relief Program expires on Dec. 31, Geithner can extend it by notifying Congress. A letter notifying Congress of the extension could come as soon as today, said the people, who declined to be identified. Andrew Williams, a Treasury Department spokesman, declined to comment.

The TARP, passed in October 2008 to prevent a collapse of the financial system, has drawn criticism from Congressional opponents of taxpayer-funded bailouts of banks including Citigroup Inc. The Obama administration, preparing the ground for an extension, has emphasized that the program may also be used to aid homeowners and small companies.
.....

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said yesterday lawmakers may seek to finance between $75 billion and $150 billion in highway construction and other job-creating measures with unused TARP funds.

Congressional Republicans are opposed to any plan that would tap the financial bailout fund. (of course)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUfaX28kfJCE&pos=2

[tclambert]

19. If Congressional Republicans are against it . . .

it must be good for the little people. Sigh. Why do they hate America?

[Roland99]

10. Sooo...what's your PC doing when you're not around? How about having it do this!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7183650


:)

[ozymandius]

13. very cool

I will play around with this when I have some free time this weekend. Thanks.

[Roland99]

15. Sweet! Thanks, ozy!

:toast:

[Festivito]

14. Debt: 12/07/2009 12,086,172,114,368.23 (DOWN 1,272,007,180.82) (Mon)

(Debt seems to jump up then drop slowly maybe up a little and down for days--repeat. Good day all.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 7,709,786,826,316.90 + 4,376,385,288,051.33
DOWN 125,073,651.86 + DOWN 1,146,933,528.96

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 308-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.25 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.74, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 10 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 308,141,598 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 11/07/2009 08:19 -> 307,879,272
Currently, each of these Americans owe $39,222.79.
A family of three owes $117,668.36. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 4,864,665,633.85.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,243,110,422.57.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,138,493,957.33.
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$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 46 reports in 68 days of FY2010 averaging 3.83B$ per report, 2.59B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 1,140 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 13.6 and 18.0T$.
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)
12/07/2009 12,086,172,114,368.23 BHO (UP 1,459,295,065,455.15 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +0,176,343,110,856.50 ------------* * * * BHO
Endof10 +0,946,547,580,332.68 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/16/2009 +038,287,630,031.50 ------------********** Mon
11/17/2009 +000,263,245,360.02 ------------********
11/18/2009 -000,023,369,864.09 ----
11/19/2009 -021,100,228,230.36 -
11/20/2009 -000,090,793,748.95 ----
11/23/2009 -000,049,087,609.27 ---- Mon
11/24/2009 +000,322,336,139.24 ------------********
11/25/2009 +000,525,986,426.45 ------------********
11/27/2009 +003,712,180,392.83 ------------*********
11/30/2009 +096,793,151,824.92 ------------********** Mon
12/01/2009 -005,135,833,471.71 --
12/02/2009 -000,337,841,945.81 ---
12/03/2009 +002,787,837,042.67 ------------*********
12/04/2009 +000,210,551,232.36 ------------********
12/07/2009 -000,125,073,651.86 --- Mon

116,040,689,927.94 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

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

(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=4175530&mesg_id=4175552

[Festivito]

68. Debt: 12/08/2009 12,091,292,877,094.86 (UP 5,120,762,726.63) (Tue)

(Debt seems to jump up then drop slowly maybe up a little and down for days--repeat. Good day all.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 7,709,847,794,394.50 + 4,381,445,082,700.36
UP 60,968,077.60 + UP 5,059,794,649.03

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 308-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.25 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.74, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 10 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 308,150,238 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 11/07/2009 08:19 -> 307,879,272
Currently, each of these Americans owe $39,238.3.
A family of three owes $117,714.91. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 4,876,860,733.51.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,413,802,513.46.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,200,439,856.37.
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$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 47 reports in 69 days of FY2010 averaging 3.86B$ per report, 2.63B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 1,139 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 13.7 and 18.0T$.
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)
12/08/2009 12,091,292,877,094.86 BHO (UP 1,464,415,828,181.78 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +0,181,463,873,583.10 ------------* * * * BHO
Endof10 +0,959,917,592,142.49 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/17/2009 +000,263,245,360.02 ------------********
11/18/2009 -000,023,369,864.09 ----
11/19/2009 -021,100,228,230.36 -
11/20/2009 -000,090,793,748.95 ----
11/23/2009 -000,049,087,609.27 ---- Mon
11/24/2009 +000,322,336,139.24 ------------********
11/25/2009 +000,525,986,426.45 ------------********
11/27/2009 +003,712,180,392.83 ------------*********
11/30/2009 +096,793,151,824.92 ------------********** Mon
12/01/2009 -005,135,833,471.71 --
12/02/2009 -000,337,841,945.81 ---
12/03/2009 +002,787,837,042.67 ------------*********
12/04/2009 +000,210,551,232.36 ------------********
12/07/2009 -000,125,073,651.86 --- Mon
12/08/2009 +000,060,968,077.60 ------------*******

77,814,027,974.04 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

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

(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=4177101&mesg_id=4177140

[ozymandius]

16. Insider Loans Distrusted by Bair as Georgia Failures Lead U.S.

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- James H. Blanchard and A.W. “Bill” Jones III played golf and hunted turkey, quail and deer together. They were passionate about servant leadership, the idea that corporate executives should emulate Jesus Christ as stewards for their workers, customers and communities.

Together they were on the boards of Blanchard’s Synovus Financial Corp. and Jones’s Sea Island Co., a closely held resort on Georgia’s Atlantic coast. Starting in 2001, Synovus loaned Sea Island what eventually totaled $220 million to turn the resort into the “Pebble Beach of the East.”

The loan, which has since been restructured and stopped paying interest, provides a window into the role that insider lending and board oversight plays in regional bank stocks’ decline this year and the greatest number of U.S. bank failures since 1992, led by Georgia. At least one larger bank without insider ties rejected the Sea Island deal.
.....

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. cited failures of board oversight in 83 percent of its post-mortems of failed banks nationwide this year, based on reports by the agency. Directors failed to “ensure that bank management identified, measured, monitored, and controlled the risk of the institution’s activities,” FDIC investigators wrote in several of the reports, called Material Loss Reviews.
.....

Shares of Synovus, the Columbus, Georgia-based 34th-largest U.S. commercial bank holding company by assets, have lost 70 percent of their value this year and reached a 17-year low Nov. 24 of $1.45. That was less than half the price of a 2.5-pound (1.1-kilogram) bag of raw peanuts from the Georgia Peanut Commission.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aukpiXHglqP4

---

As the WEE thread presents almost every Friday - Georgia banks lead the idiot parade in FDIC closures. Rednecks wearing neckties Cronies stack oversight boards with their friends. The end result is that banks are akin to shell games, Enron style, looted by their managers in the manner of the Savings & Loan scam from twenty years ago.

[ozymandius]

17. Whoops! Japan Overstated GDP by 300%

I admit to enjoying how Ritholtz frames Japan's massive statistical blunder.

Wow, quite the cock up: The initial estimate of Japanese economic growth of 4.8% original was revised to 1.3%. That is a revision that would do the US statisticians and record-keepers proud!

Bloomberg:

“Japan’s economy expanded less than a third of the pace initially reported in the three months to September as companies slashed spending.

Gross domestic product rose an annualized 1.3 percent, slower than the 4.8 percent reported last month, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. The revision, which was deeper than the predictions of all but one of the 17 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, also showed that price declines accelerated.”

Ahhh, Deflation, the gift that keeps on giving.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/12/whoops-japan-overstated-gdp-by-300/

[ozymandius]

18. Speaking of framing:

From The Onion:

Labor Dept: Available Labor Rate Increases To 10.2%

WASHINGTON—In what is being touted by the Labor Department as extremely positive news, the nation's available labor rate has reached double digits for the first time in 26 years, bringing the total number of potentially employable Americans to an impressive 15.7 million.

This is such an exciting time to be an employer in America," said Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, adding that every single day 6,500 more citizens join America's growing possible workforce. "There's such a massive and diverse pool of job-ready Americans to choose from. And each month the number only gets higher."

"While our current available labor rate of 10.2 percent isn't quite as robust as it was in 1982 or 1933, we're happy to say that reaching that benchmark is no longer out of the realm of possibility," Solis continued.

According to the Department of Labor's report, nearly 200,000 more Americans suddenly became fully hirable in October alone.

More at link...

[Ghost Dog]

27. Well, this is surely a hugely valuable resource

for whoever knows how to take advantage of it... probably, not exactly in a very positive way.

[ozymandius]

20. Volcker: Little Evidence Financial Innovation Has Helped Economy

I post this to say Hear! Hear! toward Yves Smith's comments:

Tall Paul is my hero. I would go further than he did in a speech in Sussex. The case can made that financial innovation of the OTC derivatives variety, which has mushroomed from 1992 onward, has been at best a wealth transfer device from the real economy to the financial economy, and has probably exacted a net cost on society as a whole.

As much as that notion might seem intuitively obvious to many readers of this blog, it would take a fair bit of certain to be impossible data gathering to demonstrate it. The beauty of OTC markets is that the information one would need resides with the dealers. They have no reason to give it up, and the regulators haven’t been and continue not to be too keen to go after it. And we are talking such a long period of time that many of the records are long gone.

But the remarkable bit isn’t that Volcker said what he said; he’s made it clear that he takes a dim view of the nonsense that the industry has chosen to wrap in the mantle of innovation. It’s that the listeners were stunned. This is yet another proof of industry narcissism: the complete and utter inability to recognize and take responsibility for the damage it has wrought.

More to read from The Telegraph

[Tansy_Gold]

25. May I?

It’s that the listeners were stunned. This is yet another proof of industry Obama administration narcissism: the complete and utter inability to recognize and take responsibility for the damage it has wrought.



TG

[DemReadingDU]

38. ‘Wake up, gentlemen’, world’s top bankers warned by former Fed chairman Volcker

12/9/09 ‘Wake up, gentlemen’, world’s top bankers warned by former Fed chairman Volcker

One of the most senior figures in the financial world surprised a conference of high-level bankers yesterday when he criticised them for failing to grasp the magnitude of the financial crisis and belittled their suggested reforms.

Paul Volcker, a former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, berated the bankers for their failure to acknowledge a problem with personal rewards and questioned their claims for financial innovation.

On the subject of pay, he said: “Has there been one financial leader to say this is really excessive? Wake up, gentlemen. Your response, I can only say, has been inadequate.”

As bankers demanded that new regulation should not stifle innovation, a clearly irritated Mr Volcker said that the biggest innovation in the industry over the past 20 years had been the cash machine. He went on to attack the rise of complex products such as credit default swaps (CDS).

“I wish someone would give me one shred of neutral evidence that financial innovation has led to economic growth — one shred of evidence,” said Mr Volcker, who ran the Fed from 1979 to 1987 and is now chairman of President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

He said that financial services in the United States had increased its share of value added from 2 per cent to 6.5 per cent, but he asked: “Is that a reflection of your financial innovation, or just a reflection of what you’re paid?”

more...
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article6949387.ece

[Joe Chi Minh]

66. He must have cribbed it from me! I wondered on here yesterday, how

ever did businesses manage before they could insure against credit defaults.

That does it. I'm applying for one of those top bankster jobs. Timmy's or Ben's. As Dudley Moore finally said to Peter Cook, (who was acting as his agent) when Cook was speaking to Cubby Broccoli about the James Bond role in a certain film, "Tell him I'll do it for nothing!" Well, make that $20 an hour.

[tclambert]

21. Year-End Audit Finds TARP Program Effective

By JACKIE CALMES
Published: December 9, 2009

WASHINGTON — The independent panel that oversees the government’s financial bailout program concluded in a year-end review that, despite flaws and lingering problems, the program “can be credited with stopping an economic panic.”

The Congressional Oversight Panel, which issued the report, was created in October 2008 by the same law that established the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. The panel has often been critical of the Treasury Department’s management of the bailout operation, especially at its start in the Bush administration but also under the Obama administration.

In the latest monthly report released on Wednesday, the panel again criticized the Treasury Department under Secretary Timothy F. Geithner for “failure to articulate clear goals or to provide specific measures of success for the program” as it has morphed over time from rescuing financial institutions to propping up securitization markets, auto manufacturers and home mortgages in danger of default. The panel also described the program’s foreclosure mitigation efforts as inadequate.

Its assessment coincides with the Obama administration’s expansion of TARP yet again, to extend credit to small businesses that cannot get loans from still-skittish banks. President Obama highlighted the new mandate in his economic speech on Tuesday, saying that the bailout program should now work for Main Street as well as Wall Street.

The Treasury’s lack of clarity about the program’s goals, the oversight panel said, made it hard to assess its overall effectiveness. Mr. Geithner is scheduled to testify on Thursday in his quarterly appearance before the five-member panel.

Also making it difficult to gauge the program’s impact, the panel said, is that other forces have helped rescue the financial system and the overall economy, including actions of the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the $787 billion stimulus program of spending and tax cuts that Mr. Obama and Congress enacted, and similar stimulus efforts by foreign governments.

“Even so,” the panel concluded, “there is broad consensus that the TARP was an important part of a broader government strategy that stabilized the U.S. financial system by renewing the flow of credit and averting a more acute crisis.”

It added, “Although the government’s response to the crisis was at first haphazard and uncertain, it eventually proved decisive enough to stop the panic and restore market confidence.”

more at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/business/economy/10audit.html?_r=1
_______________________________

I saw this posted elsewhere on DU and thought you all might want to take a swing at it, er, I mean comment on it.

[Demeter]

59. It's True--Wall Street Shows No Signs of Panic

and Neither does DC. That's all that matters, anyway! Put out all the bonfires following Lehmans and everything is a-okay!

[Tansy_Gold]

64. Stopped the panic but didn't fix the causes

They're still there, lurking, like a stalking freeper only stinkier.

[tclambert]

22. Ooh, I've got a question for you: On Jan. 14, 2000, the Dow was at 11,723. Do you think it will

reach that level again before Jan. 14, 2010?

My prediction is no, not that soon. Maybe later in 2010, but not in the next month. Ten years later, we're still playing catch up. What happened in that "lost decade?" Oh, yeah, we had an "administration of CEOs" for eight of those years. We might want to make a note for the future that CEOs hate stockholders.

[MattSh]

45. I think of it this way...

For a guessing game, this might be good fun. But when the DJIA reaches that *nominal* level is meaningless.

Figuring 3% inflation for 8 of those 10 years, and 5% inflation for the other two years (which likely understates inflation in the last decade by a WIDE margin), the Dow will have to reach 16,400 in real dollars to be at the same level as 10 years ago.

Then you figure in the constant tinkering (strong companies added, weak companies dropped), just what are we comparing anyway?

[Po_d Mainiac]

46. Hmmm..Let's take a closer look

If the Dow 30 still had Eastman Kodak, IP, Altria, Honeywell, AIG, and Shiticorp....There would be a better chance of speed skating being held on the River Styx, than 11,700 }(

[UpInArms]

29. dollar watch

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

Last trade 75.970 Change -0.360 (-0.47%)

U.K. Darling Pledges Government Support Will Continue, Sees Inflation To 3.0% in 2010

http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/daily_briefing/daily_pieces/top_fx_headlines/2009-12-09-1307-U_K__Darling_Pledges_Government_Support.html

Fundamental Headlines

• Obama Pushes New Stimulus – Wall Street Journal
• Senate Leaders Reach 'Broad' Health Pact – Wall Street Journal
• Japan unveils $80.6bn stimulus plan- Financial Times
• Dubai Corporate Bond Rout Shows Mounting Concern That Defaults Will Spread-Bloomberg
• Geithner Said to Be Seeking $700 Billion TARP Extension Until Next October -Bloomberg

USD/CHF – Swiss unemployment remained at a five year high of 4.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis with the base rate rising to 4.2% from 4.0%. The Swiss economy returned to growth in the third quarter with GDP advancing 0.3% as exports grew by 2.6%. However, concerns over the potential for demand to falter as a strong Franc has made Swiss goods more expensive, have discouraged companies from adding to their payrolls. The Swiss National Bank will hold their policy meeting tomorrow and is expected to keep their target libor rate at 0.25%. Policy makers may also hint at possible intervention in an effort to weaken the local currency in order to stimulate demand for exports.

GBP/USD – The U.K. visible trade balance deficit widened to 7.1 billion pounds from 6.9 billion pounds as imports outpaced exports. The increase in demand from Britons could be a sign that the economy is recovering reinforcing expectations that growth will return in the fourth quarter. Indeed, Chancellor Darling in today’s pre-budget report stated that growth will return by the turn of the year with expectations of a 1.0%-1.5% advance in 2010. The Chancellor would also pledge that the government will maintain support until the economy recovers with promotion of long -term growth as their goal. However, he also cautioned that inflation could rise to 3.0% early next year which will make the BoE’s decision more difficult in determining future monetary policy. The central bank is expected to keep rates and their asset purchase program on hold at tomorrow’s policy meeting.



...more...

Dollar Recovery Tested in Wednesday Trade

http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/technical/article/morning_slices/2009-12-09-1121-Dollar_Recovery_Tested_in_Wednesday.html

The USD rally of the past few days has been impressive and we are starting to see some fresh sell interest from accounts still looking to take advantage of the overriding trend which has been net USD bearish. On the day, sentiment has picked back up, with all major currencies tracking higher against the buck, led by the higher yielding antipodeans. Although concerns over the recent deterioration in Dubai and Greece still resonate with investors, it seems as though these developments have not been enough to full shake the confidence of traders looking for higher yielding assets.

Relative Performance Versus USD on Wednesday (As of 11:00GMT) –

1)    KIWI             +0.81% 
2)    AUSSIE        +0.72%
3)    YEN               +0.55% 
4)    EURO            +0.42%        
5)    SWISSIE      +0.38%
6)    CAD               +0.36%    
7)    STERLING    +0.25%

On the data front, German CPI managed to come in slightly higher, while the UK trade balance widened more than expected and Swedish industrial production was a let down. In Australia, it was somewhat strange to see all three secondary releases come in softer, with trade, home loans, and consumer confidence all disappointing.

Looking ahead, US mortgage applications are due at 12:00GMT, followed by the UK pre-Budget report at 12:30GMT. US wholesale inventories (-0.5% expected) are then due at 15:00GMT, with DOE data capping things off later in the day. US equities point to a firmer open, while commodities are also bid, led by oil prices.



...more...

[UpInArms]

UK's Darling slaps banks with one-off bonus tax

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSGEE5B717620091209

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Banks operating in Britain will be charged a 50 percent tax rate on employees' bonuses above 25,000 pounds ($41,000), finance minister Alistair Darling said on Wednesday.

The levy -- which will come into effect immediately and last until April 5 -- is designed to address public anger at large bonus payments made by banks who have been bailed out with taxpayers' money.

The bonus tax will apply to all banks, building societies and branches of foreign banks operating in Britain and includes all discretionary payments such as shares, options and temporary salary increases.

"This one-off levy is expected to yield 550 million pounds," Darling told parliament, adding that anti-avoidance measures would be introduced with immediate effect. "This additional money will be used to pay for the extra measures, already announced, like help for the young and older unemployed to get back into work," he said.

The government hopes the move will encourage banks to use additional cash to shore up their capital bases, rather than pay high salaries. But banking groups have warned that penalising high earners in the financial sector will lead to an exodus of talent overseas.

...more...

[UpInArms]

31. Banker tax effect on BlackRock U.K. staff unclear

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banker-tax-effect-on-blackrock-uk-staff-unclear-2009-12-09

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Larry Fink said Wednesday that the effect of a proposed U.K. tax targeted at bankers is uncertain at t he moment. Fink, speaking at the annual Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference in New York, said that London represents the single largest office in any one city in the world. BlackRock has 1,804 staff in London, followed by San Francisco, with 1,674 employees and New York, with 1,278. "It's interesting to note," Fink said, "we have more employees in London than any other place in the world now. Now if that tax happens, I don't know what happens in terms of compensation, but we will see."

[Ghost Dog]

32. If I give you an idea that will save you $$millions, will you pay me 20% of it?

Pay your London bonuses on April 6th.

[UpInArms]

30. self-delete -- dreaded double post

:blush:

[DemReadingDU]

33. How well can Americans deal with a financial emergency?

11/4/09 Up the Creek When That Rainy Day Comes

How well can Americans deal with a financial emergency?

Almost half (46%) of 2,148 consumers surveyed recently said they weren't confident they could come up with $2,000 within a month in a crisis—from savings, family, friends, credit cards, or other sources.

Even among those earning $100,000 to $149,000 a year, almost 25% doubted they could raise it, according to The Personal Risk Assessment and Risk Literacy Survey, conducted by research firm TNS with academics from Harvard Business School and Dartmouth College.

"We wanted to know if people could fix a broken car or furnace," says Harvard finance professor Peter Tufano, who adds that most studies he has seen measure "how much people have ... not how much they can access."

The survey results surprised him. " ability to cope with emergencies is much less strong than we might have thought."

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_46/c4155btw117989_page_2.htm


Charles Hugh Smith expands on the above article
12/8/09 What Must Be Addressed: Rising Abject Poverty

This survey offers a staggering set of implications. Let's grant that we have no idea if the survey was scientific, but we can assume that the academics from Harvard Business School and Dartmouth College would not besmirch their reputations with wildly inaccurate or fatally unrigorous data collection.

Let's follow the idea that 25% of households earning $100,000+ can't lay their hands on a meager $2,000. First off, only about 20% of households earn above $100K. Most households make do on a sum closer to the national median of $46,000.

What does it mean when households not only don't have $2,000 in cash (savings), but they also lack the ability to put their hands on $2,000 from family, friends, or even credit cards?

We can surmise:

1. Their social/family networks are either threadbare or populated by others without savings or credit;

2. Their creditworthiness is near-zero. Either they've maxed out the credit they once had, or their previous credit lines have been cut off in the general reduction of risk/credit, or they are in arrears/default and thus have zero credit.

It's also possible, and perhaps even probable (though we have no data to support this projection) that both are true: most of those in Americans' social networks are in dire straits/hanging by a financial thread and their access to credit either private or institutional is near-zero.

more...
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogdec09/poverty12-09.html

[AnneD]

53. I feel downright flush...

with cash. We have that much in our emergency fund. Can't wait to tell Hubby.
We have a pissy FICO number, but when you really have cash-the FICO doesn't mean crap.

[DemReadingDU]

57. We are doing ok, at least no debts

We have somehow been able to pay everything off, and a small bit of cash in 'Sealy'. It's a good feeling.

[AnneD]

61. We are still knocking out our debts.....

but if the worst happened, we could finish paying off everything else and liquidating assets. We can take and early retirement if need be and get by. We are at the early get by in retirement planning. It is making work more tolerable. We are in the Sealy phase too. We are putting less and less in those risky things and until we see real bank reform and more transparency on WS.

[Dr.Phool]

34. ! ! ! !

SMW goes to the dawgs.



The Tasmanian Devil grows.



Sara, and Maggie the Poodle, with Clark the Clydesdale. Sara thinks Maggie is a chew toy, and Clark is much bigger than he looks in the picture.



Odie the Comedian mugs for the camera.

[Tansy_Gold]

35. Yay!

I needed some cutesies after venturing over into those other (depressing) fora this morning.

:hi: puppies!

TG

[UpInArms]

43. great pics, Doc!

thanks for the update and the smile

:hi:

[AnneD]

54. Thanks Doc!!!!

Nothing like a dog to cheer you up. Sara is getting HUGH!!!! You're going to need good dividends to keep her in food and chew toys:evilgrin:

[Roland99]

56. This calls for some Christmas music!!

http://www.links2love.com/christmas-dogs-cats-jingle-bells-songs.htm


:)

[Hugin]

37. Does anyone else see a Red "X" where normally there is a hilarious cartoon?

Or is it only me?

:shrug:

:frown:

[DemReadingDU]

39. Not today. Sometimes I switch browsers, and the picture displays.

:shrug:

[Dr.Phool]

40. I see the toon.

Maybe close and re-open your browser.

[SpiralHawk]

44. I see dead banks

[Demeter]

60. ...All the Time!

And now that the Mountain of Mending is nearly halfway gone, I can see them much more clearly.

Done all the easy stuff, now it's zippers, and serious darning, and then.....ironing.

[DemReadingDU]

67. Ironing!

If it has to be ironed, it has got to go

[AnneD]

62. HAHAHAHAHAHA..........

I see debt people.

You owe me a screen SpiralHawk.

I tried to post way earlier but got called away.

[UpInArms]

42. need a nice nimble browser?

try opera.com

:hi:

[Demeter]

48. Hi Everybody! My Sister Has FINALLY Arrived!

She's only been thinking of coming to visit (help me clean up the mess in the house) for the past 14 MONTHS!

So I will be scarce, but Friday will see another Weekend open. Any requests for a theme?

How about......Handel's Messiah? In keeping with the Christian holiday, my own love of music, and the fact that Saturday is the Messiah sing-along from 2:30 to 5pm or so....but WEE will be ongoing, I promise!

Meanwhile, it's back to the shovel. The carpet cleans tomorrow...and Sis wields a strong whip.

[UpInArms]

49. hurrah!

hugs for sisters :grouphug:

:hi:

have a great time, Demeter!

[Dr.Phool]

52. Here's some x-mas music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vHRwmFc-1o

This clip was actually shot Sunday, in Tampa. And I was there!!! Awesome show. Plus Joe Walsh.

[DemReadingDU]

58. Have fun!

I miss hanging out with my sisters. We try to get together for a sibling camping trip every summer or autumn.

[Tansy_Gold]

65. SOME of you have fun with sisters

Some of us do not.

My sister and brother are sending my mother to me for a few days after the holidays. Their gift to her. At least they aren't bringing her. . . . .



Tansy Gold, who likes friends a whole lot better than family.

[AnneD]

63. I saw Marlon Brando in Julius Ceaser...

but that might be too heavy.

We have been blue lately....How about It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, or A Christmas Carol theme.

[Garam_Masala]

51. Market has long way to fall because

corporate earnings have not recovered yet and
it will be a slow recovery at best.