STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday May 12

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday May 12, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 11, 2010

Dow... 10,748.26 -36.88 (-0.34%)
Nasdaq... 2,375.31 +0.64 (+0.03%)
S&P 500... 1,155.79 -3.94 (-0.34%)
Gold future... 1,236 +16.10 (+1.32%)
10-Yr Bond... 1,236 +16.10 (+1.32%)
30-Year Bond 4.42 +0.01 (+0.27%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren

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

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

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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. Today's Reports

08:30 Trade Balance Mar
Briefing.com -$39.5B
Consensus -$40.5B
Prior -$39.7B

10:30 Crude Inventories 05/08
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior 2.75M

14:00 Treasury Budget Apr
Briefing.com -$85.0B
Consensus -$28.5B
Prior -$20.9B

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

[ozymandius]

2. Oil extends losses to near $76 on euro concerns

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to near $76 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as investors weighed growing global crude demand against a fragile euro.

Crude traders have been eyeing how the euro reacts after European policymakers unveiled a $1 trillion debt bailout package earlier this week. Commodities priced in dollars, such as oil, become more expensive for investors holding euros as the dollar strengthens.

Crude supplies rose less than expected last week, gaining by 362,000 barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Analysts had expected an increase of 1.7 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil was steady at $2.1397 a gallon, and gasoline slid 0.16 cent to $2.1936 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3.2 cents to $4.163 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[hamerfan]

7. So I can expect

to see lower pump prices when I head off to work this morning, right? :sarcasm:

[ozymandius]

10. And you get a free pony with every fill-up, too.

My local BP station has advertised $2.99 for regular for nearly two weeks. The price shot to that level when oil hit $87/bbl. Now that oil trades at $76 - the price has not budged. I know it's not that simple an equation - but jeebus - that's ridiculous when I can find gas about a mile away for thirty cents less per gallon.

[Dr.Phool]

15. Hell, in another week, I 'll be able to fill up at the beach for free.

Get a lube job, and oil change while I'm at it.

[AnneD]

46. No more soup for you!!!!!!

I still have indigestion from my fried shrimp. My tip...invest in TUMS

Cheapskate tip...avoid putting tar balls in your tank. I think they caouls be used as fuel though. If I find some on the beach, I'll see if they burn.

[fasttense]

21. It's called price gouging. n/t

[dixiegrrrrl]

40. They gotta pay for that oil gusher someway, ya know.

[Roland99]

13. Oil's down,what,$10/bbl in a week? Gas here is down 8 cents.

[Tansy_Gold]

19. I'm driving so much less that I can hardly remember from one

fill-up to the next. And that's no :sarcasm:

I love my car -- yes, even with its mechanical problems -- but it gets lousy mileage. As soon as my admittedly short (18 mi. r/t) daily commute disappeared, my gas usage dropped like a stone. And I'm working on getting it down even further.

Chevron just off the freeway (therfore expensive) was 2.89 Sunday night; I think in town the going rate was 2.85. I haven't checked Costco 'cause I'm never there when I need gas.

Phoenix area is weird because sometimes we're a lot higher than national average, sometimes a lot lower. And there seems to be no rhyme nor reason to the fluctuations.



Tansy Gold

[hamerfan]

44. Ha! It went up overnight

2 cents/gallon. Gotta pity them poor starving oil execs....

[Demeter]

31. As summer nears, expect gas prices to go ... down?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100512/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gas_prices_no_higher

..Experts who had been predicting a national average of more than $3 per gallon by Memorial Day now say prices have likely peaked just beneath that threshold. Rising supplies and concerns about the global economy have helped send wholesale gasoline prices plummeting by 25 cents a gallon since last week.

"Gasoline supplies are about as good as they've ever been going into the summer driving season," says oil analyst Phil Flynn of PFGBest in Chicago.

The decline in prices is starting to filter down to motorists, but it will take several weeks for the full effects to be reflected in pump prices, which average $2.91 nationwide.

By summer, the nationwide average could be below last summer's peak of around $2.70 a gallon, says Tom Kloza of Oil Price Information Service. In July 2008, the retail price of regular gasoline peaked at $4.11.

Economists say the coming drop in energy costs will not have a significant impact on overall consumer spending or economic growth. But motorists will feel better having a little more money to save or spend on clothes, dinner or a summer vacation.

...Since May 3, oil prices have declined by 12 percent to $76.20 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline prices have declined by 10 percent to $2.19 a gallon.

Analysts were forecasting a nationwide retail average well above $3 a gallon just a few months ago. So what changed?

• The European debt crisis escalated. This undermined confidence in the strength of the global economic recovery and prompted analysts to lower their energy demand forecasts. The crisis also sent institutional investors flocking to the dollar, a relative safe haven. And, these days, when the dollar goes up, the price of oil goes down.

• Supplies of gasoline have risen steadily. As of April 30, the U.S. had 225 million barrels of gasoline in storage — about 5 percent more than a year ago. Output from refineries has been growing at a faster pace than demand.

• Political unrest in oil-producing nations has been muted. This is a wild card that could change quickly. But lately, violence in Nigeria and tensions in the Middle East have been relatively minor, traders say.

The massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has had no impact on fuel prices because it's had only minimal impact on petroleum production, analysts say.

Predictions of $3-a-gallon gas have come true in 10 states, including California, Hawaii, Illinois, New York and Nevada. Distance from the nation's refining hub along the Gulf Coast or high taxes are contributing factors.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

The federal government's Energy Information Administration has been forecasting a nationwide average of $3 a gallon for at least a part of the driving season. It's not ready to concede that gasoline prices have reached their high point.

EIA's Tancred Lidderdale said a resolution to the debt crisis in Europe, a decline in the dollar and fresh signs of global economic growth could send oil prices back up.

"The market is volatile," he says.

[ozymandius]

3. Oil companies pass the buck for Gulf of Mexico spill

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Oil executives braced for a second day of grilling by angry US lawmakers Wednesday over their failure to prevent a giant slick threatening environmental and economic calamity.

British oil giant BP has accepted responsibility for the cleanup of what could become the worst oil spill in US history, and is leading frantic efforts to stop an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil from spewing into the sea each day.

In a preview of Wednesday's hearing before a House of Representatives subcommittee and others scheduled in the coming weeks, key executives from BP, Halliburton and Transocean traded blame Tuesday at two Senate hearings examining the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers.

Operator BP said rig owner Transocean, the world's largest offshore drilling contractor, was responsible for the failure of a giant valve system to stop the blast.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100512/ts_alt_afp/usblastoilenergypollution

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The strategy is obvious. Blame is dissipated after so many parties toss the hot potato of responsibility among themselves.

[ozymandius]

4. Who got Fed money during financial crisis? Senate votes to know.

A Senate vote Tuesday left no doubt: Congress wants to know more about what the Federal Reserve was up to when its asset portfolio grew by more than $1 trillion during the financial crisis.

What companies did the Fed help, and on what terms?

The Senate voted 96 to 0 for the Government Accountability Office to look into those questions by auditing the Fed's activities since the outbreak of financial turmoil in 2007.

Supporters argue that the public has a right to know more about bailouts that were conducted by the long-secretive Fed, which acted on its own during the crisis. Critics of the move say the nation's central bank should have broad independence from political interference, and that the audit erodes the sharp line that should exist.

In the Senate, transparency found 96 supporters, Fed independence found zero.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100511/ts_csm/300765

[ozymandius]

6. `Perfect Quarter' at Four U.S. Banks Shows Fed-Fueled Revival

Four of the largest U.S. banks, including Citigroup Inc., racked up perfect quarters in their trading businesses between January and March, underscoring how government support and less competition is fueling Wall Street’s revival.

Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the first, second and fifth-biggest U.S. banks by assets, all said in regulatory filings that they had zero days of trading losses in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc., the third-largest, doesn’t break out its daily trading revenue by quarter. It recorded a profit on each trading day, two people with knowledge of the results said.

“The trading profits of the Street is just another way of measuring the subsidy the Fed is giving to the banks,” said Christopher Whalen, managing director of Torrance, California- based Institutional Risk Analytics. “It’s a transfer from savers to banks.”

The trading results, which helped the banks report higher quarterly profit than analysts estimated even as unemployment stagnated at a 27-year high, came with a big assist from the Federal Reserve. The U.S. central bank helped lenders by holding short-term borrowing costs near zero, giving them a chance to profit by carrying even 10-year government notes that yielded an average of 3.70 percent last quarter.

http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-11/jpmorgan-traders-match-goldman-sachs-s-first-quarter-with-no-trading-loss.html

[dixiegrrrrl]

41. How do you have NO losses every single trading day?

[Po_d Mainiac]

52. Without front-running trades and insider info

It's impossible....but that only applies to the unwashed masses :grr:

[boomerbust]

14. Goldman Sachs

Got the lions share.

[ozymandius]

5. Bernanke saw threat to US banks from Europe: Shelby

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday described the Greek debt crisis to lawmakers as a European dilemma but one that could have hit U.S. banks if left unattended, senior senators said.

"Chairman Bernanke explained what was going on in Europe, it was basically a European problem but with ramifications probably on a lot of our banks and our banking system if there was no intervention," Senator Richard Shelby, the top Republican on the Senate Banking panel, told reporters after a closed-door briefing Bernanke provided lawmakers.

The Fed chairman met with senators to counter concerns the U.S. central bank's decision to provide dollars to foreign central banks amounts to helping to bail out debt-strapped nations. The action buttressed a European-led $1 trillion plan to stop Greece's debt crisis from spreading.

The Fed used similar currency swap lines to battle the 2007-2008 global financial crisis but closed them in February as markets settled. Some lawmakers criticized that effort to ensure dollar liquidity in overseas markets, saying it put U.S. taxpayer money at potential risk.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100511/bs_nm/us_usa_fed_bernanke_shelby

[Demeter]

24. Bah! Goldman Spoke, Bernanke Listened

bailout resulted

[ozymandius]

8. SEC Sends Subpoenas in Probe of Stock-Market Drop

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said the agency’s enforcement unit has issued subpoenas in an investigation of last week’s stock plunge.

The division is “fully integrated in our review of the events of May 6 and will recommend appropriate action” if violations are found, Schapiro told a House Financial Services subcommittee yesterday. “A number of subpoenas” were sent, she said, without identifying recipients.

SEC investigators began preparing for a variety of inquiries in the hours after the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly dropped as much as 9.2 percent, people familiar with the matter said last week. Regulators haven’t found evidence the incident was triggered by computer hackers, terrorists, malicious traders or a so-called fat finger entering an oversized order, Schapiro told lawmakers.

The SEC is also concerned that firms or exchanges may have lacked required controls to prevent the rout from snowballing, people familiar with the matter said. It will also look at whether traders tried to take advantage of the chaos by steps such as entering orders that drove down some stocks.

The SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission face pressure to show they have a grip on increasingly fragmented markets dominated by computerized trading of stocks and futures. Representative Paul Kanjorski, who leads the House panel, called the hearing to scrutinize whether technology and competition for NYSE and Nasdaq contributed to the free fall in stock prices.

http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-11/sec-issues-first-subpoenas-in-investigation-of-may-6-stock-market-plunge.html

[Festivito]

9. Debt: 05/07/2010 12,928,941,224,629.55 (DOWN 3,972,100,571.11) (Fri)

(Up a tiny tiny amount. Good morning.)

(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 8,415,799,770,763.18 + 4,513,141,453,866.37
UP 195,077.74 + DOWN 3,972,295,648.85

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 309-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.23 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.7, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 309,221,162 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $41,811.31.
A family of three owes $125,433.92. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 5,959,420,703.28.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,568,889,205.85.

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$/day.
There were 151 reports in 219 days of FY2010 averaging 6.75B$ per report, 4.65B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 989 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 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)
05/07/2010 12,928,941,224,629.55 BHO (UP 2,302,064,175,716.47 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 +1,019,112,221,117.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,698,520,368,529.67 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
04/19/2010 -017,215,897,730.16 - Mon
04/20/2010 +000,349,194,756.21 ------------********
04/21/2010 +000,180,306,016.37 ------------********
04/22/2010 -015,686,359,446.12 -
04/23/2010 -000,156,047,055.50 ---
04/26/2010 +000,019,005,411.26 ------------******* Mon
04/27/2010 +000,734,843,937.10 ------------********
04/28/2010 -000,020,446,125.69 ----
04/29/2010 -019,519,315,418.04 -
04/30/2010 +098,427,087,705.17 ------------**********
05/03/2010 -004,329,381,263.93 -- Mon
05/04/2010 +000,043,170,775.25 ------------*******
05/05/2010 +000,598,834,211.91 ------------********
05/06/2010 -014,947,673,650.95 -
05/07/2010 +000,000,195,077.74 ------------*****

28,477,517,200.62 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/
DUer primer on National debt

(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=4375016&mesg_id=4375048

[Festivito]

51. Debt: 05/11/2010 12,931,157,737,293.42 (UP 2,216,512,663.87) (Tue)

(Up a small amount. Good day.)

(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 8,416,456,370,414.73 + 4,514,701,366,878.69
UP 656,599,651.55 + UP 1,559,913,012.32

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 309-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.23 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.7, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 309,247,747 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $41,814.88.
A family of three owes $125,444.64. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 4,794,106,640.35.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,515,678,202.92.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,295,948,315.24.
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$/day.
There were 152 reports in 223 days of FY2010 averaging 6.72B$ per report, 4.58B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 985 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 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)
05/11/2010 12,931,157,737,293.42 BHO (UP 2,304,280,688,380.34 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 +1,021,328,733,781.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,671,681,559,777.22 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
04/20/2010 +000,349,194,756.21 ------------********
04/21/2010 +000,180,306,016.37 ------------********
04/22/2010 -015,686,359,446.12 -
04/23/2010 -000,156,047,055.50 ---
04/26/2010 +000,019,005,411.26 ------------******* Mon
04/27/2010 +000,734,843,937.10 ------------********
04/28/2010 -000,020,446,125.69 ----
04/29/2010 -019,519,315,418.04 -
04/30/2010 +098,427,087,705.17 ------------**********
05/03/2010 -004,329,381,263.93 -- Mon
05/04/2010 +000,043,170,775.25 ------------*******
05/05/2010 +000,598,834,211.91 ------------********
05/06/2010 -014,947,673,650.95 -
05/07/2010 +000,000,195,077.74 ------------*****
05/11/2010 +000,656,599,651.55 ------------******** Tue

46,350,014,582.33 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/
DUer primer on National debt

(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=4378010&mesg_id=4378021

[ozymandius]

11. Morgan Stanley Under Criminal Investigation for Using CDOs to Bet Against Clients

The Wall Street Journal reports that Morgan Stanley is under investigation for allegedly creating CDOs it used to wager against clients:

Among the deals that have been scrutinized are two named after U.S. Presidents James Buchanan and Andrew Jackson, a person familiar with the matter says. Morgan Stanley helped design the deals and bet against them, but didn’t market them to clients. Traders called them the “Dead Presidents” deals….

Among the Morgan Stanley deals that have been scrutinized are the Jackson and Buchanan CDOs, created in mid-2006. Those deals essentially were portfolios of derivatives that aped the performance of dozens of residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities. Morgan Stanley helped to create the deals, which each issued about $200 million in bonds and were underwritten and marketed to investors by Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG, respectively….

One feature of the Morgan Stanley deals was a structure that could increase the magnitude of the bullish investors’ exposures to the underlying mortgage bonds. This feature, which was disclosed in some offering documents, made it more likely that such investors could lose money if the underlying bonds performed poorly.

Morgan Stanley traders took the more profitable, bearish side of these transactions, according to traders. These positions weren’t disclosed in some deals. It couldn’t be determined how much money Morgan Stanley made with these wagers…

Yves here. To give an idea how difficult it is to investigate bad practices in the CDO market, we had been told about the dead President deals (and a similar program by Citigroup) but were not able to find the offering documents through our normal research avenues. It is likely going to take continued investigation by prosecutors and lawsuits from private parties to unearth a good bit of what happened in this market.

More analysis here from Yves Smith.

[Demeter]

26. wow

I wonder when my capacity for shock and awe will be exceeded by the chicanery of the TBTF.

[ozymandius]

12. Good morning.

:donut: :donut: :donut:
Alas - I must leave for awhile. Much work needs to get tidied up before I get out the door.

Have a wonderful day. :hi:

[nc4bo]

16. I think it best to roll up that red carpet...

I'll assume that's a red carpet in today's 'toon and it is made from only the finest Persian wool and 100% hand made.

:mad::nuke:

[Demeter]

27. I Thought It Was an Oil Spill Running Down the Steps

[nc4bo]

38. Gee Demeter - I must be dense as a forest

because I hadn't even though of that. :dunce: :rofl:

At first sight, the first thought was all that oil $$ buying these corps a pass.

I guess if it were a red carpet, the creator would have labeled it as such. Flowing oil makes sense.

[Demeter]

50. Forests Are Nice

It may be just that you aren't cynical enough yet. When you are over 5000 years old, like me, then the slightest innuendo cannot escape....

Demeter, who is feeling her age today.

[UpInArms]

17. dollar watch

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

84.550 +0.083 (+0.11%)

Technical Implications from Last Week’s Equity Plunge

http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/article/special_report/2010-05-11-1814-Technical_Implications_from_Last_Week_s.html

There have been just 2 instances in the history of the US stock market (as measured by the DJIA) when a 10% intraweek decline followed a top that was preceded by a 52 week rate of change of at least 50%. Those 2 occurrences were the weeks that ended October 25th 1929 (week before the 1929 crash) and last week.

There have been just 2 instances in the history of the US stock market (as measured by the DJIA) when a 10% intraweek decline followed a top that was preceded by a 52 week rate of change of at least 50%. Those 2 occurrences were the weeks that ended October 25th 1929 and last week. The former is the week prior to what is referred to as Black Monday (10/28/29) and the stock market crash of 1929.

*I understand that last week’s decline is being blamed on a number of factors, ranging from algorithmic trading to someone hitting a B instead of an M (billion as opposed to million). There is always a ‘reason’ that something might have happened. In 1929, margin accounts were blamed…in 1987, program trading was blamed. Bottom line; it happened. More importantly, it happened after a rally that reversed at the 61.8% retracement (see below).



In both instances, the actual highs occur 8 weeks after their 52 week rate of change extremes (67% in 1929 and 59% in 2010). The 1929 decline occurred following a new all-time high while the 2010 decline occurred following a retracement (of 61.8%) of the decline from the 2007 high. Either way, the implications are that last week’s wild ride is the beginning rather than the end of a larger decline….and perhaps even a crash.



...more...

Opening Comment 05.12

http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/daily_briefing/daily_pieces/opening_comment/2010-05-12-0502-Opening_Comment_05_12.html

With the exception of the Canadian Dollar, which basically trades flat on the day, all other major currencies continue to track lower against the buck, as market participants become increasingly fearful of yet another financial market crisis.
The latest efforts by the Eurozone to bolster sentiment and prop the local currency are failing, and it seems as though investors are become increasingly bearish on the Euro, the more the single currency fails to show any signs of life, following what appeared to be a substantial aid package. Sterling has been hit the hardest today, with many attributing the relative weakness to an article in the Telegraph that talks about Eurozone officials warning the UK that it should not ask for help if it runs into financial crisis. Weakness in the Australian Dollar is also notable, with the higher yielder weighed down by some disappointing home loan approvals data.

Technically, it now looks as though there is a lower top in Eur/Usd by 1.3100, which will be confirmed on the break below the current 1.2530, 2010 lows. Talk of hyperinflation, a round of currency devaluations, and another depression have all helped to fuel the elevated risk aversion. Market participants seem to lack the necessary trust and reassurances needed to comfortably exit their long USD positions, and we could continue to see currencies under pressure, much like we had seen in previous elevated risk aversion environments, until proven otherwise.

Interestingly, we have been seeing a breakdown in correlations between currencies and equities, with the currency markets continuing to warn of ongoing stresses and fears over the state of the global economy, as evidenced through the broad based USD bid tone. Meanwhile, global equities have been trading more optimistically over the past few sessions and seem to be interpreting things differently. In our experience, the currency markets are usually more on the ball and forward looking. Look for equities to come back under pressure on Wednesday, should we continue to see USD demand. It seems as though the marginally lower close in the DJIA, solid corporate earnings and surging metals prices, have all helped to prop equities, but we are not convinced this will last.

Looking ahead, German GDP (0.0% expected), is due at 6:00GMT, followed by Swiss producer and import prices (0.4% expected) at 7:15GMT. UK jobless claims (-20.0k expected), claimant count (4.8% expected), and ILO unemployment rate (8.0% expected) are due at 8:30GMT, with Eurozone GDP (0.1% expected) shortly after at 9:00GMT. The UK quarterly inflation report caps things off for European trade at 9:30GMT. US equity futures are tracking quite a bit lower, while oil prices are also weighed down. Gold however, continues to outperform and trades just under Tuesday’s record highs.

...more...

[florida08]

18. Europe rushes to save euro from ‘wolf pack’

Speculators have been pounding the stock and bond markets of highly indebted euro zone members Portugal, Greece and Ireland on fears they will be next to call for bailouts.

Economists estimate that the total cost of rescuing those three countries would amount to €500bn – a sum that could plunge the entire 16-nation euro zone into a debt crisis....

“We now see … wolf pack behaviours, and if we will not stop these packs, even if it is self-inflicted weakness, they will tear the weaker countries apart,” Anders Borg, the Swedish finance minister, said yesterday.

http://tinyurl.com/26nrw3j

[fasttense]

22. Sounds like financial war to me.

EU should bomb the wolf pack, you know use a little shock and awe on their mansions.

[Demeter]

28. Tax Them

That universal bank tax is looking like a good idea right now--provided it's confiscatory.

[florida08]

30. yep

economic terrorism. From efinancial news in Feb

http://www.efinancialnews.com/story/2010-02-26/hedge-funds-bet-against-euro

The big bets are emerging amid gatherings such as an exclusive "idea dinner" earlier this month that included hedge-fund titans SAC Capital Advisors and Soros Fund Management. During the dinner, hosted by a boutique investment bank at a private townhouse in Manhattan, a small group of all-star hedge-fund managers argued that the euro is likely to fall to "parity"—or equal on an exchange basis—with the dollar, people close to the situation say....

"This is an opportunity...to make a lot of money," says Hans Hufschmid, a former senior Salomon Brothers executive who now runs GlobeOp Financial Services, a hedge-fund administrator in London and New York....

By the week of the dinner, the size of the bearish bet against the euro had risen to record levels of 60,000 futures contracts—the most recently available data and the highest level since 1999, according to Morgan Stanley. The data represents the volume of futures contracts that will pay off if the euro sinks to specific levels in the future.

Three days after the dinner, another wave of selling hit the euro, pushing the currency below $1.36.

In a separate move last week, traders from Goldman, Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit, and Barclays Bank were helping investors place a particularly bearish bet on the euro, traders say.

The trade involved an inexpensive put option that will provide its holder a big payoff if the euro falls to the level of a single US dollar within a year. Known as a "tail-risk" trade because its probability is low, the euro-dollar parity put is a cheap way of ensuring that if the euro sinks dramatically within a year, an investor will generate big returns.

[Ghost Dog]

37. CDS Traders Beating The UK Death Drums

As we pointed out last week, nobody cares about either Greece or the PIIGs any more. The focus among the smartest money out there, in the face of CDS traders, for the third week running, is on the core of Europe, and specifically on the UK. Last week the net notional derisking in UK was a massive $1,063 million in 280 traded contracts, which according to our files is the single biggest one week derisking amount on record. all the Greek "speculators" are now focusing their attention squarely on the UK... and France, which came in second with $384 million in derisking. Incidentally, these two represented the greatest amount of of derisking in all top 1000 CDS reference names (third altogether was not surprisingly Goldman Sachs with $256 million). The bet is now squarely on that the PIIGS contagion will move to the UK, and that France will also not be spared. We wish Mr. Cameron all the best as he attempts to push the $50 billion austerity measure through. We have a feeling his popularity rating in under a year will be even lower than that of president Obama. And if it isn't it will be because the cable and the dollar will be at parity. After all, we are all money devaluing comrades now.

/... http://www.zerohedge.com/article/cds-traders-beating-uk-death-drums

[Ghost Dog]

43. "Kill off UK reforms before it spreads"

(Comment at the above): ... Vince Cable was appointed Business and Banking Minister. He's probably the most anti-bank politician in the UK. He's a Lib Dem and the Lib Dem official policy is to break up the banks retail from their investment banking arms. (The Lib Dems call it their "Casino Arms"). The Tories agreed to implement this policy as part of the Alliance Agreement.

Both he and the Tory Chancellor believe there needs to be a special bank tax and that the bonuses are immoral and only earned because the banks are a cartel.

Pretty strong stuff and if there is any truth to the ZH meme that the big banks jerk the markets around to apply political pressure then the UK would be the obvious target as if the UK gets these policies in place, its likely the EU will copy them and then the pressure will rise in the US to do the same.



If I was a vampire squid and was directing my shoal of lampreys, I'd direct all of them to kill off the reforms in the UK before it spreads...

[Ghost Dog]

20. European stocks advance as Spain makes bigger cuts

LONDON (AP) -- European stock markets and the euro advanced Wednesday after Spain unveiled new spending cuts which helped offset worries about the continent's debt crisis. Britain's financial markets meanwhile gave a lukewarm response to the establishment of the country's first coalition government since World War II.

Solid German economic growth figures - Europe's biggest economy expanded by a modestly higher than expected 0.2 percent in the first three months of the year - also helped fuel the rally, particularly in Frankfurt, where the DAX was up 102.85 points, or 1.7 percent, at 6,140.56.

The CAC-40 in France was 24.15 points, or 0.7 percent, higher at 3,717.35.

Better than expected growth in Germany also helped relieve pressure on the euro - by early afternoon London time, the euro was trading 0.3 percent higher at $1.2677.

However, the euro's medium-term fortunes are likely to depend on the debt crisis that has already seen Greece bailed out by its partners in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, and forced European policymakers to unveil a euro750 billion financial support package for the single currency zone.

The news that Spain aims to cut its budget deficit by a further 1.5 percentage point to 6 percent of the country's gross domestic product in 2012 has also helped calm jittery markets.

/... http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-05-12-08-08-33

[Ghost Dog]

36. Spain to slash wages to cut deficit, unions angry

MADRID, May 12 (Reuters) - Spain will cut wages of state employees and slash investment spending, sparking union anger at the government's toughest moves yet to rein in a budget deficit some feared could ignite a bigger version of the Greek crisis.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's fresh austerity measures came hours after U.S. President Barack Obama pressed him to be 'resolute' in efforts to implement economic reforms, and after conversations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

'We need to make a singular, exceptional and extraordinary effort to cut our public deficit and we must do so now that the economy is beginning to recover,' Zapatero told parliament on Wednesday as he detailed the cuts totalling 15 billion euros ($19.05 billion) in 2010 and 2011.

Civil service salaries will be cut by 5 percent in 2010 and frozen in 2011, and more than 6 billion euros will be cut from public investment, said Zapatero, who has been widely criticised for being slow to take decisive action against the crisis.

News of the austerity plan, which follows news of a $1 trillion fund to prop up weaker euro zone states, cut the yield on Spanish 10-year Treasury bonds to around 3.97 percent from around 4.02 percent and helped push U.S. stocks higher.

'These measures ... are what the market was waiting for, although not many people thought the prime minister would dare to take them,' said Nicolas Lopez, of Madrid brokerage M&G Valores.

The move was badly received by unions which, while so far maintaining good relations with the Socialist government, have already put the brakes on a government move to raise the retirement age to 67 from 65. The government had until now indicated it would not cut wages.

'The proposed cuts merit outright rejection,' said Ignacio Fernandez Toxo, leader of Spain's biggest union confederation, Comisiones Obreras, saying that unions would take some time to consider their response.

But the leader of the second-largest labour grouping, Candido Mendez of the Union General de Trabajadores, sounded a more conciliatory note, saying that he still thought it possible unions might agree to key labour market reforms.

Unions only represent about 16 percent of Spanish workers and marches earlier this year against earlier austerity measures were tiny in comparison with the mass fury unleashed by their Greek equivalents.

STRIKES TO COME?

But Zapatero's latest measures for the first time directly target the unions' main constituency -- public sector workers -- which could put labour leaders, criticised by some of their members for inaction, under pressure to take more aggressive action.

Civil service jobs in Spain are prized for their fixed hours and stable conditions, although many Spaniards see the public sector as having been protected so far from the vicious cuts of a labour market suffering the highest unemployment in the eurozone.

...

The cuts, which follow an earlier 50 billion euros in austerity measures which failed to convince markets, aim to reduce the budget deficit to 9.3 percent of gross domestic product this year, from 11.2 percent in 2009, 6 percent in 2011 and the 3 percent limit stipulated by European rules by 2013.

'These measures go in the right direction,' said European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Ollie Rehn.

But others warned that the cuts, however harsh, may not be enough for Spain, whose public sector is coming under strain from huge debts accumulated by companies and households during a property boom. Unemployment has hit 20 percent, and economists already doubt that Spain's relatively uncompetitive economy will be able to reach the levels of economic growth that underpin the government's deficit forecasts.

/... http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2010-05/16885640-update-4-spain-to-slash-wages-to-cut-deficit-unions-angry-020.htm


I see it is now said that Zapatero does not rule out raising taxes on the more wealthy ("No descarta subir los impuestos a las rentas más altas") - http://www.elpais.com/articulo/economia/FMI/Bruselas/respaldan/plan/recorte/deficit/Zapatero/elpepueco/20100512elpepueco_6/Tes

[Ghost Dog]

39. Spain today, Britain tomorrow?

... Today's emergency measures are likely to mark a radical change in Zapatero's relations with the trade unions, which have so far supported him through the crisis.

He is facing further problems over labour regulation, with employers, economists and Spain's central bank all demanding labour reform to cheapen the firing of those on cast-iron long-term contracts and to reduce the huge number of workers hired on temporary job contracts.

Some sort of labour reform now seems inevitable, but it is unclear whether Zapatero is prepared to force through measures that the unions might oppose.

"The pillars of the welfare state remain untouched," is how the government presented today's measures, but leftwing critics said Zapatero had started chipping away at those pillars.

"It is the weak who are paying," said Joan Herrera, a deputy for the Catalan Left Green party, who called for tax rises on the wealthy.

A €2,500 payment for newborn children will disappear next year and ambitious plans to help those looking after the elderly at home have also suffered a cutback.

The further €6bn in spending cuts over two years may involve, for example, a reduction in the pace of building high-speed rail lines. Fuller details of this, and of exactly how the civil service pay cut for this year will work, are due to come after a cabinet meeting on Friday.

...

Spain today, Britain tomorrow?

City analysts believe that Spain's decision to bow to investors may be a sign of what could soon happen in Britain, as rating agencies and pension, hedge and bond funds wait for David Cameron's new government to announce budget cuts.

"Governments are coming round to the fact that they need to turn the fiscal screw if they want to reassure bond and currency markets – those that don't may simply put back further the time when they need to take even bigger steps," said Neil Williams, chief economist at Hermes Asset Management.

"Our research shows that no countries have over the past decade loosened their overall economic policies more than the UK and US – so the sharpest fiscal and monetary tightening will need to come from those two countries," Williams added.

/... http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/may/12/spanish-pm-debt-crisis-emergency-cuts

[Dr.Phool]

45. Anybody who doesn't see the writing on the wall, needs glasses.

"Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's fresh austerity measures came hours after U.S. President Barack Obama pressed him to be 'resolute' in efforts to implement economic reforms,"

Obama has his deficit reduction team in place. We know who the players are, and we know their policies. We can count on them to try to cram the same crap down our throats right after the elections. They won't raise taxes on the rich, or corporations. They won't stop the wars or dismantle the empire.

They're going to come after us, and Social Security.

[hamerfan]

49. The good Dr. calls this one correctly!

As far as I see it, this will be the exact scenario that comes down. Thanks!
hamerfan

[DemReadingDU]

23. Joe Saluzzi - It's going to crumble, it's just a matter of when

5/11/10
Themis Trading's Joe Saluzzi
The take home message "It's gonna crumble, it's just a matter of when." Alas, with gold now at $1,241 even lifelong Keynes fanatics are finally throwing in the towel. The time when we could have done something to fix the system is now long gone, courtesy of the administration's waffling for the past two years as instead of getting to the root cause of the last and future crash, it was focused on bailing out bankrupt banks.

And in related news, Jim Rogers, joins the Euro death squads, and says that the $1 trillion bailout is the "Nail in the coffin for the euro." As Rogers said in discussing the now failed bailout: "I was stunned. This means that they’ve given up on the euro, they don’t particularly care if they have a sound currency, you have all these countries spending money they don’t have and it’s now going to continue. It’s a political currency and nobody is minding the economics behind the necessities to have a strong currency. I’m afraid it’s going to dissolve. They’re throwing more money at the problem and it’s going to make things worse down the road.”

click link for 2 videos
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/some-less-rosy-scenarios-joe-saluzzi-and-jim-rogers

[florida08]

32. good videos

words fail me

[DemReadingDU]

25. Visualization about Violent Market Drops 1928-2010

5/12/10 Visualization about Violent Market Drops 1928-2010

Last Thursday's market plunge drop was the largest pointwise drop in history. But how does it stand up percentage-wise and how many drops greater than 5% have we seen?

Cool chart. It can be filtered to see drops for a specific decade by clicking on that decade.

The chart takes a few seconds to load
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/05/visualization-about-violent-market.html

[Demeter]

29. Get This! GM wants to re-enter auto financing

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100511/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gm_auto_financing

General Motors Co. executives want their own auto-financing arm so they can offer more competitive lease and loan deals, according to a person briefed on their plans.

The executives want to buy back the auto financing business from the former GMAC Financial Services or start their own operations, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans have not been made public.

A top GM executive has told dealers about the plans, the person said.

GM sold a 51 percent stake in GMAC Financial Services in 2006 when it was starved for cash. The new owners, led by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, ran into trouble in 2008 with bad mortgage loans and had to be bailed out by the federal government, which now owns 56 percent of the company.

Earlier this month, GMAC changed its name to Ally Financial.

GM dealers say that since GMAC is responsible for making its bottom line look good, it is less likely to lose money by offering to finance sweet lease deals or zero-percent financing. A GM-owned auto financing business would be more likely to "take a bullet" for the company to sell more cars and trucks, the person said.

Competitors, such as Ford Motor Co. or Toyota Motor Corp., control their own financing arms.

GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson said Tuesday that the company would not comment on speculation.

He said GM currently has a variety of financing options with Ally Financial and through agreements with banks and credit unions.

GM, which is 61 percent owned by the taxpayers and has received about $50 billion in U.S. government aid, plans to report earnings next week. Executives including CEO Ed Whitacre have been upbeat about the results and have implied that the company will make a profit.

A profitable quarter coupled with a slowly rebounding U.S. auto market could mean that GM would have the cash to make an acquisition or start its own business.

GM executives have said the company is taking in more cash than expected from rising prices for its newly redesigned vehicles, including the Chevrolet Equinox crossover vehicle, Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan and Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan.

For the period from July 10, when GM emerged from bankruptcy protection after shedding billions in debt, through Dec. 31, the automaker lost $4.3 billion.

GMAC has received $16.3 billion in loans from the federal government, which views the lender as crucial to the success of GM and Chrysler Group LLC. GMAC is the preferred lender for both bailed-out automakers.

But a government watchdog earlier this year criticized the GMAC bailout, calling it "baffling" and saying the government stands to lose billions of dollars.

Earlier this month, GMAC Financial Services posted its first quarterly profit in more than a year.

The Detroit-based company reported first-quarter earnings of $162 million compared with a year-ago loss of $675 million.

[amandabeech]

35. I don't mind an auto company having an auto financing operation.

What I do mind is an auto company with a liar loan home financing company like Ditech.

Right now, though, I don't think that I trust GM management to go it alone with the auto loan business.

They're obviously looking for a quick buck, and that's what got them into trouble in the first place.

[DemReadingDU]

33. Charles Hugh Smith: Everywhere I Look, I See Cheap Oil

5/12/10 Everywhere I Look, I See Cheap Oil
Charles Hugh Smith

The foundation of the American lifestyle and economy is cheap oil. Remove that prop and every aspect of that lifestyle becomes questionable.

Not to sound too cinematic, but everywhere I look, I see cheap oil. The results, of cheap oil, actually; or more precisely, a complete and total dependence on cheap, abundant oil.

When I see expansive, well-manicured lawns, I see cheap oil.

When I see busy airports and taxiing aircraft, I see cheap oil.

When I see news about the latest "surge" in Afghanistan, I see cheap oil.

When I see goods from China on sale for less than a dollar, I see cheap oil.

When I see branded water in plastic bottles, I see cheap oil.

When I see inexpensive meat in supermarket coolers, I see cheap oil.

When I walk through aisles of frozen food, I see cheap oil.

When I see vast swaths of America dotted with rural mini-estates, I see cheap oil.

When I see the "free" Internet, I see cheap oil.

When I see retirees walking their dogs, I see cheap oil. (Ultimately, all pensions are based on cheap oil.)

When I see bakeries which sell only dog treats, I see cheap oil.

When I see jammed freeways, I see cheap oil.

When I feel air conditioning in desert cities, I see cheap oil.

When I see new fiberglas boats with large inboard engines, I see cheap oil.

When I see boxes of "free clothing" set on the curb, I see cheap oil.

When I read about vast bureaucracies dedicated to regulating complex industries, I see cheap oil.

When I see a new iPad, I see cheap oil.

When I meet an enthusaistic young person who is jetting to a distant land to work for an NGO (non-governmental organization), I see cheap oil.

When I see auto rentals, I see cheap oil.

When I see college graduates applying to graduate school, I see cheap oil.

When I see electric bicycles, I see cheap oil.

When I see a Prius, I see cheap oil. (Mining and processing all that lithium into complex batteries requires a lot of energy.)

When I see well-dressed people filing into a corporate meeting, I see cheap oil.

When I see imported furniture, I see cheap oil (and clear-cut native forests).

When I see adverts for cosmetic surgery, I see cheap oil.

When I see a stadium full of sports fans, I see cheap oil.

Virtually all of the things which characterize the "American way of life" are utterly and completely dependent on cheap oil, cheap coal, cheap natural gas and cheap uranium (as long as the waste products of which can be "cheaply" stored).

Once liquid petroleum is no longer abundant and cheap, the "American way of life" will change in ways that few seem to anticipate.

more...
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmay10/cheap-oil05-10.html


and gazillions of cheap oil is leaking in the Gulf
:(

[Loge23]

34. So there is plenty to made from "tumults".

In today's WSJ, Money & Investing front page, is the tale of two brokers.
One who jumped on the $0 valuation of his Rydex S&P Equal Weight x-fund, got in at $15 for 5K shares, and reaped a cool $131,250 - or so he thought.
The other, the quick-thinking co-manager of the former, jumped in a little later at $32 for another 5K shares. The latter's take was $46,400.
The NYSE cancelled the $15 buy-in because it was over the 60% "stop-loss" threshold. The $32 buy-in stands.
Granted these were two relatively small fund managers. But how can the average schmoe have any confidence in the markets when these shenanigans are going on?
Clearly, there is a pofit motive for market tumults - even ones as clumsy and crude as what we saw last week.
(apologies for the missing link - not available on the website)

[IScreamSundays]

42. I just saw this rumor at zerohedge

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-new-kitco-dem-page-lets-rumors-about-germany-abandoning-euro-fly

A web page of precious metals prices provider Kitco.com has sparked rumors that Germany will leave the Eurozone and reintroduce German Marks, sending gold to a new record of $1,244 and silver to a multi-year high of $19.64.
It is this half-ready page shown below that has created excitement as it lists precious metals in Deutschmark units.



Do you think it could be true??

[Dr.Phool]

47. A plague of locusts is going to descend on Tampa!

GOP picks Tampa for 2012 convention
Phoenix, Salt Lake City were also in the running

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37113966/ns/politics-more_politics/

[Tansy_Gold]

48. THERE IS A GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!