STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday May 26

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday May 26, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 25, 2010

Dow... 10,043.75 -22.82 (-0.23%)
Nasdaq... 2,210.95 UNCH (UNCH)
S&P 500... 1,074.03 +0.38 (+0.04%)
Gold future... 1,211 +12.60 (+1.05%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.22 +0.06 (+1.99%)
30-Year Bond 4.12 +0.06 (+1.58%)

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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 Durable Orders Apr
Briefing.com 2.0%
Consensus 1.5%
Prior -0.3%

08:30 Durable Orders ex Transportation Apr
Briefing.com 0.5%
Consensus 0.7%
Prior 3.5%

10:00 New Home Sales Apr
Briefing.com 430
Consensus 425
Prior 411

10:30 Crude Inventories 05/22
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior 0.162M

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

[ozymandius]

2. Oil rises to near $70 on stocks, US gasoline drop

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose to near $70 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as a drop in U.S. gasoline supplies and rebounding Asian stock markets bolstered confidence that demand for fuel is rising.

Gasoline supplies unexpectedly fell last week, dropping by 3.2 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Analysts had expected an increase of 150,000 barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Crude supplies at the key Cushing, Oklahoma storage terminal fell 772,000 barrels while overall inventories of crude and distillates rose, the API said.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil rose 0.95 cent to $1.8812 a gallon, and gasoline gained 1.97 cents to $1.9505 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 2.1 cents to $4.072 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[ozymandius]

3. Falling home prices stir fears of new bottom

...Tax credits and historically low mortgage rates have failed to lift home prices so far this year. Prices fell 0.5 percent in March from February, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index released Tuesday.

That marks six straight months of declines — a sign that the housing market is going in reverse.

The co-creator of the Case-Shiller index, who predicted in 2005 that the housing bubble would burst, says he worries that home prices rose last year only because of the federal tax credits. That fear is shared by other economists. They note that weak job growth, tight credit and millions more foreclosures ahead will weigh on the home market.

All that is discouraging for homeowners who have seen the value of their largest asset deteriorate sharply over the past three years. Falling home prices tend to curtail consumer spending. And they make it harder for struggling borrowers to refinance into an affordable home loan.

The numbers are especially disturbing because they show that improved sales due to the tax credits didn't translate into higher prices, said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the S&P index committee.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100525/ap_on_bi_ge/us_home_prices

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Attempts to re-inflate the bubble have failed. Those at the economic helm must realize that. Then we can move on to more substantive economic stimulus efforts.

[Demeter]

4. This Is a Pretty Good Summary of the "Financial Non-Reform"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSbrslUI63s

Good morning, Ozy and crew.

I don't think anyone is ready to give up on the bubble-blowing yet. Not in this country, for sure. the only places that gave up on the bubble never started one.

[ozymandius]

15. History Suggests New Wall Street Rules Won't Avert Next Crisis

...
Few historians, market participants or former regulators say they expect the current bill to put an end to financial crises any more than the post-Depression rules did. In one major area the new legislation is weaker because it departs from a central goal of 1930s lawmakers -- to control the size and scope of the largest financial institutions.

The Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking in 1933, “was the most effective antitrust law we’ve ever had,” said Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College in New York, who has written about Wall Street’s history.

Glass-Steagall was as much about breaking up companies as ensuring customer deposits wouldn’t be used for risky practices, Geisst said. Today’s Congress may live to regret that they’ve done almost nothing to shrink firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc., he said.

http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-26/history-suggests-new-wall-street-regulations-won-t-prevent-the-next-crisis.html

[fasttense]

28. This seems to contradict itself.

"Few historians, market participants or former regulators say they expect the current bill to put an end to financial crises any more than the post-Depression rules did."

And yet they go on and on about how good the Glass-Steagall Act was and that act was a post-Depression rule.

I'm confused.

[ozymandius]

5. Fed's Bernanke warns of risk to bank independence

TOKYO (AFP) – US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke mounted a staunch defence of central bank independence Wednesday, in a message tailored as much to Washington lawmakers as his Japanese hosts.

Addressing a Bank of Japan conference in Tokyo, Bernanke warned that any curbs on central bankers' ability to execute monetary policy would lead to economic instability and "undesirable boom-bust cycles".

Against the backdrop of a biting recession, the Fed -- like other central banks -- has come under fierce pressure to help reduce ballooning unemployment.

But Bernanke warned banks must be allowed to make policy "based on what is good for the economy in the longer run, independent of short-term political considerations."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100526/pl_afp/usjapaneconomybankbernanke

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Alright, now. Bernanke seems to confuse transparency in the Fed's dealings with private industry with Congress controlling the Fed. I do not see the correlation. But then for Bernanke, like Cheney who originally nominated him to the post, opacity is the status quo.

[Demeter]

6. I love to see Uncle Ben Running Scared

I really really hope he stays in Japan. He knows better than to spout that nonsense at home.

[Grinchie]

9. "undesirable boom-bust cycles"

Yep, they sure are B-52 Ben.

I love how they pretend that it's just too complicated for anyone to see coming.

The ones that do, are demonized, and marginalized, and when the situation comes true, the fed steamrolls on by never acknowledging it.. This is the same MO as just about all the sycophants in Government these days.

[ozymandius]

7. U.S. recovering but may not be self-sustaining: OECD

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. economic recovery is building thanks to the government's helping hand, but it is not yet clear how well growth will hold up once those supports are removed, the OECD said in a report released on Wednesday.

In its economic outlook, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said U.S. economic growth would likely average 3.2 percent this year and next after a 2.4 percent decline in 2009.

Unemployment will probably remain stubbornly elevated, and there is a risk that high long-term joblessness will lead to a permanently higher level of unemployment.

Echoing the view of the U.S. Federal Reserve, the OECD said inflation will probably remain low because of high unemployment and idle factory space.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100526/bs_nm/us_oecd_us

[Demeter]

14. In other news, water is wet

Well, at least somebody is willing to not spin it.

[Po_d Mainiac]

32. If water is wet

How come I can walk on the water 1/3 of the time?
:hi:

[Tansy_Gold]

33. Speaking of water. . . and oil. . . .has anyone seen or heard any updates

regarding Kevin Costner's oil/water separating process? BP was supposed to be testing it about a week ago and I haven't heard anything since then. Google shows nothing later than about 5/20.



Tansy Gold, curious

[Po_d Mainiac]

41. Captured oil/water will do most of the separating

all by themselves...pretty basic physics....

It's the "capturing" part of the equation that creates all the heartburn.

[Demeter]

42. I've Been Seeing All Kinds of Rumor

about the ocean floor collapsing and the oil gushing much more than admitted, and the fines are calculated on a per gallon or per barrel basis, so they want to keep the number low, etc....

I Obama is the King of Fools. Too bad it ISN'T Mardi Gras.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5F64wuXOco&feature=related

Sorry, Tansy--you can skip this one (mouse alert)

[tclambert]

49. I thought you were joking, or meant some other Kevin Costner at first.

What does the Waterworld guy know about oil spills? But it is indeed true. His brother built a device to fight oil spills.

Here's the best news story I found from the 19th: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1279335/Gulf-Mexico-BP-oil-spill-Kevin-Costner-comes-rescue.html

Wouldn't you know the story is from a foreign source? American media doesn't have the same level of detail. Movie star Kevin's brother Dan, a real-life scientist, designed a centrifugal separator. It works a little like a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Spin the oil/water mixture really fast and the heavier water goes to the outside, the oil to the center. The brothers demonstrated the machine for BP in the Gulf, and Kevin has pledged $26 million to aid the cleanup effort.

You'd have to suck up an awful lot of water and oil, though. This spill is too big already. Not enough of those machines exist to make a significant dent in it.

The article has a good map, too, that shows the Loop Current leading past Florida and into the Gulf Stream and on into the North Atlantic circulation, which could take some of the oil to Europe. In several months to a year, tar balls from the Deep Horizon spill may begin washing up in Ireland and Iceland.


Diagram of machine at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-graphic-costner-oil-spill-gx,0,843302.graphic

[tclambert]

37. Jesus useta be able to walk on water . . . but that was before He got those holes in His feet.

[Po_d Mainiac]

44. .....

:spray:

Remember this day ..... as you are gazing at the Gates...from the outside :rofl:

[ozymandius]

8. World stocks up, but traders wary on Europe, Korea

SINGAPORE – World stock markets rebounded Wednesday following steep losses, but investors in Asia traded with caution on growing fears that Europe's debt crisis could hamper global economic growth.

Global stocks tumbled Tuesday amid jitters that austerity measures by European nations, including Spain and Italy, will not be enough to fix the region's fiscal problems, and such cost-cutting steps could stifle global economic growth.

In Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.7 percent to 9,522.66 after tumbling 3.1 percent to a six-month low Tuesday.

South Korea's Kospi index gained 1.4 percent to 1,582.12 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index was up 1 percent at 4,307.20.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.1 percent to 19,196.45. Benchmarks in mainland China, Singapore, India, Indonesia and Taiwan also gained.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100526/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

[Demeter]

10. White House Jester Beheaded For Making Fun Of Soaring National Debt

http://www.theonion.com/articles/white-house-jester-beheaded-for-making-fun-of-soar,17495/



After serving 12 years in the position, Motley, the official White House Jester, was beheaded Tuesday after delivering a poorly received jape about the spiraling national debt before President and Mrs. Obama.

"For crimes of great arrogance and cheek, His Idiocy the White House Jester has been sentenced to a swift demise," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said following the death sentence. "Let it be heard over every city and suburb of this land that the National Debt is no topic for frivolity, and the mailed hand of Obama shall smite all offenders."

Motley, who used his last words to beg in vain for Obama's mercy, was executed on the North Lawn at the strike of noon....(more at link--warning for the sensitive, distressing photo)

The Joke's On Us

....Witnesses said Obama's mood immediately darkened and, pounding on the arm of the Presidential Throne, he demanded new jesting. After nervously clearing his throat, Motley was heard to ask, "Wherefore is the National Debt like a sprouting leaf of spinach?" When a glowering Obama demanded the answer, Motley stated, "For it shall rapidly grow into something our children cannot bear."...

THIS IS, OF COURSE,

SPEAKING OF EXECUTIONS, TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT WE TRY TO REMOVE THE PRESIDENT OF THE CONDO ASSOCIATION...I'D LIKE TO THINK IT'S A DONE DEAL, BUT I'M HOLDING MY BREATH. I'VE BEEN BURNED BEFORE.

[ozymandius]

12. Hilarious!

I love the look on that guy's face as he attempts to sneak away after emitting some foul stench.

still laughing... jester's head displayed on the White House fence - Tower of London style

[Demeter]

13. Ozy, I Don't Think the Jester Emitted That Foul Stench....

I think he just got blamed for it.

[tclambert]

39. That's not how FRSP is s'posed to work, is it?

The rich and powerful chopping off the heads of working people? That's business as usual. FRSP is when you reverse the conveyor belt feeding the chopper.

[Tansy_Gold]

52. Yeah. It's supposed to be the jestee that gets it, not the jester. n/t

[Demeter]

56. In America We Run All Our Old Jokes For Office

and some of the new ones, but they usually flop a few times until the timing and style tighten up....

Palin could be in a girdle and full body stocking, and she will never be tightened up enough, thank the goddess.

[Dr.Phool]

58. Stephen Colbert would have been the first Jesters head on the pike.

If Bush would have thought of it.

[Demeter]

69. You said it.

[Festivito]

11. Debt: 05/24/2010 12,989,095,409,531.09 (UP 1,298,568,194.58) (Mon)

(Up a little. 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)
= 8,477,477,676,539.93 + 4,511,617,732,991.16
UP 371,674,396.55 + UP 926,893,798.03

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 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 309,334,147 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 $41,990.5.
A family of three owes $125,971.5. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,328,547,007.43.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,729,982,905.20.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,609,660,876.00.
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$/day.
There were 161 reports in 236 days of FY2010 averaging 6.70B$ per report, 4.57B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 972 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)
05/24/2010 12,989,095,409,531.09 BHO (UP 2,362,218,360,618.01 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 +1,079,266,406,019.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,669,204,399,140.02 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*****
05/10/2010 +000,804,647,162.22 ------------******** Mon
05/11/2010 -000,148,047,510.67 ---
05/12/2010 +000,782,970,242.92 ------------********
05/13/2010 +003,301,759,550.17 ------------*********
05/14/2010 -000,440,383,687.55 ---
05/18/2010 +000,360,533,772.20 ------------******** Tue
05/19/2010 +000,208,812,715.15 ------------********
05/20/2010 +010,103,129,083.31 ------------**********
05/21/2010 +000,263,393,058.28 ------------********
05/24/2010 +000,371,674,396.55 ------------******** Mon

-3,026,366,067.40 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=4396952&mesg_id=4396978

[Festivito]

88. Debt: 05/25/2010 12,995,779,490,444.52 (UP 6,684,080,913.43) (Tue)

(Up a little. 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)
= 8,478,414,892,595.20 + 4,517,364,597,849.32
UP 937,216,055.27 + UP 5,746,864,858.16

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 309,340,793 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 $42,011.21.
A family of three owes $126,033.62. (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 5,390,162,184.98.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,952,785,602.32.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,705,736,502.17.
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$/day.
There were 162 reports in 237 days of FY2010 averaging 6.70B$ per report, 4.58B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 971 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)
05/25/2010 12,995,779,490,444.52 BHO (UP 2,368,902,441,531.44 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 +1,085,950,486,932.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,672,455,391,267.82 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*****
05/10/2010 +000,804,647,162.22 ------------******** Mon
05/11/2010 -000,148,047,510.67 ---
05/12/2010 +000,782,970,242.92 ------------********
05/13/2010 +003,301,759,550.17 ------------*********
05/14/2010 -000,440,383,687.55 ---
05/18/2010 +000,360,533,772.20 ------------******** Tue
05/19/2010 +000,208,812,715.15 ------------********
05/20/2010 +010,103,129,083.31 ------------**********
05/21/2010 +000,263,393,058.28 ------------********
05/24/2010 +000,371,674,396.55 ------------******** Mon
05/25/2010 +000,937,216,055.27 ------------********

2,240,231,251.80 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=4398505&mesg_id=4398523

[Demeter]

16. EURO TRASHING POSTS

Anything to do with the Common Market Conundrum

[Demeter]

17. EU regulators urge speedy action on derivatives

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64O59J20100525

The European Union's securities market regulators said on Tuesday changes are needed to make credit default swap markets more transparent but stopped short of copying a ban introduced by Germany...

Last week Germany rattled markets and surprised its EU partners by unilaterally banning so-called naked selling of CDS contracts on euro zone sovereign debt in a bid to stabilise jittery markets.

Naked short selling involves selling securities without owning or borrowing the underlying assets.

Germany may also widen its ban on speculative trades in financial stocks to cover all shares, a draft finance ministry document obtained by Reuters on Tuesday showed.

Several EU states including France, Britain, Sweden, Finland have signalled they would not be following suit, leaving CESR member BaFin of Germany at odds with the Financial Services Authority in Britain and France's AMF.

Julio Segura, head of Spain's markets regulator CNMV, said on Tuesday that Germany's crackdown was ill-judged.

CESR said that if necessary, co-ordination of any further action will take place within the committee.

[Ghost Dog]

57. Short letter published in the Guardian International on paper yesterday:

· You explain that "Naked" shorting (Naked ban exposed, 21 May) is when a trader does not own or borrow the financial instrument they are selling. Surely "fraudulent" would be a better adjective. Well done Angela Merkel for stopping it in Berlin; time for Cameron to stop it in London and Obama in New York.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsdown:

[Demeter]

19. Regulators Seek Global Capital Rule

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/business/global/26basel.html?ref=business

...Now one of the most consequential decisions about new restraints on the banking industry — how much more capital banks should hold in their rainy day reserves — is being decided not on Capitol Hill but far from Washington, by a committee based in Basel, Switzerland.

The Obama administration is pursuing an international agreement to make banks hold significantly larger reserves, which it regards as essential to increase the stability of the global financial system. It wants to complete the negotiations, which are being coordinated by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, by the end of the year.

The world’s largest banks have responded with consternation, arguing that the proposed standards would tie up too much money that otherwise could be used for lending, a loss that would curtail economic growth.

The debate between regulators and banks is about the proper balance between growth and safety, but the implications are much broader. In fixing reserve requirements, governments are deciding how much horsepower belongs under the hood of the global economy....

[Demeter]

21. U.S. Treasury's Geithner to meet Bank's King on Wed

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE64O62T20100525

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will meet with Bank of England Governor Mervyn King in London on Wednesday as part of a visit to discuss Europe's economic situation and measures to restore market confidence, the Treasury said on Tuesday.

Geithner is en route to London from bilateral talks with China in Beijing for a series of meetings with European officials, including new Chancellor George Osborne, with whom he will hold a joint press availability in the afternoon.

Geithner will "discuss the economic situation in the region and the measures being taken to restore global confidence and financial stability and to promote continued recovery," the Treasury said in a statement.

The Treasury has declined to comment on a CNBC report suggesting that he will urge European officials to conduct bank stress tests.

Geithner also will meet with British Secretary for Business and Trade Vince Cable and will participate in an informal meeting with European colleagues to discuss the next stage of the global financial reform agenda.

The Treasury said Geithner will hold a working dinner with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Wednesday evening.

THAT TIMMY! ALWAYS LOOKING FOR ANOTHER WELL TO FALL INTO.

[Ghost Dog]

60. In this area, the Obama administration's act appears to be improving

(at least in "Alliance of Civilisations" PR terms) - ie., they're talking about the need for concerted coordinated action.

Don't forget that, over a year ago at G20 meetings, it was mainly Europe that was insisting on the need for coordinated international financial regulations (otherwise, the bastards would just move head offices somewhere else, while still operating and dominating here, there and most everywhere). But Washington and London squashed that, then.

Drive the pirates out into offshore 'coves', as needs be. And then sink them there and anywhere they dare to set sail.

[Demeter]

67. Yeah, but only if it's done OUR way (or rather, Goldman's)

it is enough to make you :puke:

[Demeter]

22. U.S., Europe fall out of step on global financial reform

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/25/AR2010052505316.html?hpid=topnews

The global campaign to harmonize rules for financial firms is swerving off course, threatening efforts to curb the risky bets that rocked the world economy two years ago.

As U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner lands in Europe on Wednesday, differences are growing among world leaders over how to keep the promise they made at the height of the financial crisis: that they would work together to reshape how finance is governed. Their aim was to avoid another upheaval by making financial rules consistent across borders and closing loopholes.

But the United States and Europe are increasingly pursuing their own -- sometimes clashing -- paths to reform, potentially undermining the regulatory overhauls taking shape on both sides of the Atlantic.

If this continues, a resulting patchwork of reforms could allow companies to continue exploiting national differences by moving operations to countries where conditions are most favorable and thwart the efforts of regulators to spot financial threats early on. The outcome, for instance, could be very different ways of banking in New York and the financial capitals of Europe, prompting leading American firms to shift their riskiest activities overseas beyond the purview of U.S. regulators....

...As Geithner arrives for talks with his counterparts in Britain and Germany, for instance, Europeans are expressing dismay about parts of the regulatory overhaul bill approved by the U.S. Senate last week.

European diplomats are alarmed by a measure, introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), that they say could force European financial companies to shift significant amounts of capital to their U.S. subsidiaries to cover potential losses.

Dispute on derivatives

The Europeans are also worried about a provision that could force U.S. banks to spin off their lucrative trade in financial instruments known as derivatives. The Europeans, who have a one-stop-shopping banking culture that allows firms to conduct a vast array of businesses under one roof, are ready to resist any effort at setting a global precedent excluding banks from the derivatives business. Even in the United States, the derivatives provision sponsored by Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) has powerful adversaries in government and industry, and it may be eliminated from the final bill.

The derivatives rule, along with a separate provision that would restrict financial firms from trading with their own money, could encourage U.S. firms to shift some trading overseas. Although the Europeans could win jobs and market share in financial services, "the U.S. would be exporting its risk to Europe or Asia," said a European diplomat involved in the reform effort...

[Demeter]

23. Italy Adopts $30 Billion of Cuts in EU Deficit Push (Update3)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ayj4e0iTg17g&pos=2

...The measures include a three-year wage freeze for civil servants and a crackdown on tax evasion, the government said in an e-mailed statement after a 90-minute Cabinet meeting last night in Rome...

[Demeter]

26. Doubts on European Central Bank Amid Crisis

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/business/global/26ecb.html?ref=business

...Amid signs that some fretful deposit holders on Europe’s troubled periphery are moving their money to presumably safer German banks, fears are spreading on trading floors from Hong Kong to Frankfurt to New York that Europe’s central bank and its 16 backer nations might not be able to stem a classic bank panic.

The euro slipped further on Tuesday on continued worries about the debt problems that plague Europe, in part because of news that four troubled savings banks in Spain were forced to merge because of mounting real estate losses. That development gave further credence to a view that Spanish banks have not reserved sufficient capital to counter their bad loans.

There is no conclusive evidence that money is fleeing Europe in significant amounts. And the European Central Bank retains several crucial tools to backstop vulnerable banks, including the ability to buy more of their bonds and even, if pressed, to raise interest rates to attract capital from elsewhere.

But the continued erosion of the euro against other currencies and the dark mood in the financial markets highlight perhaps the most crucial question for Europe today: Who stands behind the banks if the loans they and the central bank have extended to Greece, Portugal, Spain and a few other sovereign debtors need to be written down?

“If it was one country and one central bank, this would work,” said Timothy Congdon, an economist and professed euro skeptic in London, whose biting dissections of the European Central Bank are becoming more widely read. “But here you have one currency and 16 governments — which one is going to guarantee Spanish and Greek debt?”

Mr. Congdon argues that the fear that one of the weaker nations may be forced to abandon the euro has already sparked a shift in deposits from peripheral economies to the stronger nations. He points to an increase of 46 billion euros ($57 billion) in credit afforded to “euro area credit institutions” on a central bank balance sheet released on May 18. (On Tuesday, the bank released data showing a further 5 billion-euro increase in this form of credit.)...

[Demeter]

27. Tighter Credit in Europe Tied to Turmoil in Stock Markets

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/business/26markets.html?hpw



Once more, Wall Street is running scared.

As fears grow that Europe could face a full-blown financial crisis, potentially damaging the economy in the United States, investors are abandoning risky bets in the financial markets and rushing for safety instead.

After gaining momentum in recent weeks, this shift is buffeting not only the world’s stock markets but also the credit markets, where the strains seem to be rising almost by the day.

The worry is that the credit markets — which are where the American financial crisis began and which are now the locus of Europe’s problems — are entering a dangerous new period. The cost of credit is already rising in the interbank markets, where banks borrow money to finance themselves from day to day.

The global charge for safety was apparent in the financial markets on Tuesday, when the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled below 10,000 before staging an afternoon rally. While share prices recovered by the close, leaving major indexes about where they started the day, traders pointed to the potential danger signals flashing in the markets for bonds and currencies.

The credit markets have not frozen as they did in 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. But the flight to safety is nonetheless creating sharp divisions among companies — and entire countries — that are perceived as risky and those that are considered relatively safe.

“Rates are creeping higher, but the system is still working,” said Jim Caron, an interest rate strategist at Morgan Stanley. “That’s what’s different to the crisis in 2008, for now.”

On Tuesday, investors again flocked to United States Treasury securities, the financial equivalent of stuffing money under the mattress. That is good news for many borrowers in the United States — including the federal government — since the hunger for Treasuries is holding down interest rates here.

Investors also rushed to buy dollars and yen, traditional havens in financial storms, and sell the beleaguered euro. And they drove up prices of German government bonds, sending the yields on those investments, which move in the opposite direction of their prices, to their lowest levels since 1990. The tensions on the Korean Peninsula only added to sense of unease in the markets.

The focus of Europe’s problems is rapidly shifting from Greece to Spain, one of the world’s largest economies. The decision by Spanish authorities to seize a savings bank over the weekend and then encourage the merger of four other troubled banks raised questions about the health of Spain’s broader banking system.

While banks in the United States have relatively little exposure to their Greek counterparts, Spanish banks owe American financial institutions about $197.7 billion, according to the Bank for International Settlements. According to Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, Spanish borrowers in both the government and private sectors owe foreign investors about $1.1 trillion. In comparison, Greece’s external debt is closer to $236 billion, he estimates.

“Spain is the focus now,” he said in a note...

As the markets tumbled, the top United States economic policy makers, Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, and Ben S. Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, were concluding a meeting in Beijing with their Chinese counterparts. Mr. Bernanke is scheduled to speak Wednesday in Tokyo at a conference sponsored by the Bank of Japan...

[ozymandius]

18. Alas, I must run.

An early start is required today because of unfinished bidness from yesterday. So I wish you a very good morning :donut: :donut: :donut: and a wonderful day. :hi:

[Demeter]

20. Keep Cool! and Good Luck

[Demeter]

24. UPDATE 1-Freddie Mac portfolio grows, delinquencies mixed

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2512324620100525

Freddie Mac (FRE.N), the No. 2 U.S. home finance agency, said on Tuesday its portfolio grew in April for the first time in 2010 after the Federal Reserve concluded its buying of mortgage securities in March.

The levels of home loans with late payments were mixed in April but remained above year-ago levels, suggesting persistent strain on home-owners due to high unemployment and a slow recovery of the real estate market, the company's latest monthly portfolio data showed.

High loan delinquencies stress Freddie Mac's capital and earnings. Earlier this month, the company said it had a net loss of $6.7 billion in the first quarter and asked for an additional $10.6 billion in government aid.

Freddie Mac's total portfolio grew at a 3.0 percent annualized rate in April, compared with an annualized fall of 9.1 percent in March.

It was the first monthly increase since the 5.7 percent rise in December.

The Fed completed its $1.25 trillion program to buy mortgage-backed securities at the end of March. The U.S. central bank bought MBS and $175 billion in housing agency bonds to try to hold down home borrowing costs and stimulate the housing market.

Freddie Mac's business activities in April, which include purchases and guarantee of mortgages, raised its portfolio to $2.231 trillion.

The company and its larger sibling Fannie Mae (FNM.N) have been buying back tens of billions of dollars in seriously delinquent loans from the pools of mortgages they guarantee.

Signs of weakness in the housing market came on Tuesday in the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller home price indexes, which showed single-family home prices were unchanged in March from February but fell in the first quarter before federal aid for buyers expired at the end of April...

[Demeter]

25. S&P May Take Months to Assess Bank Ratings After Financial Bill

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aE1gi8bAYfx0

Standard & Poor’s said it may take until early 2011 to decide whether legislation that bans the U.S. government from rescuing failing banks will lead to credit downgrades at lenders such as Citigroup Inc.

The rating firm, a New York-based unit of McGraw-Hill Cos., said in February the removal of implicit government support by Congress would probably lower the creditworthiness of some banks. The Senate’s financial regulation bill, passed on May 20, gives the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. the power to unwind failing firms and explicitly bars the use of taxpayer funds to rescue them...

[DemReadingDU]

29. The Greek Bailout's Two Secret Exit Clauses

5/25/10 The Greek Bailout's Two Secret Exit Clauses: Why Europe Is Now Cheering For Its Own Demise

When all of Europe rushed into its rescue package two weeks ago (first half a trillion, market red, then a full trillion, market green), the one thing that struck us as odd was the conflicting data on the conditionality of the package, with various sources both confirming and denying that the "package" was revocable. It did seem somewhat shortsighted of the Germans, whose political leadership would soon be on the verge of a series of electoral routs, to tie its fate without even one exit hatch, to a country that is a financial toxic spiral. Sure enough, the Telegraph's Evans-Pritchard has uncovered what may be the two loopholes in the European bailout agreement. While the first one is not surprising, the second one explains why the biggest sellers of European government debt (and/or buyers of Euro sovereign CDS), are likely the governments of the distressed, and core, countries themselves.

The bottom line is that all of Europe is now incentivized to blow itself up, and it doesn't even have to put too much effort into it. All the borderline European countries have to do is raise their funding costs to above 5%: this is mere basis points away from where most are trading already. After all the US has no option but to bail them out: Bernanke has made it clear that his Wall Street bosses will not allow their European colleagues to be dragged down by something as trivial as total insolvency, which in turn would uncover just how bankrupt our own financial system is. These are the perverse incentives in what is now officially known as farcist capitalism.

more...
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/greek-bailouts-two-secret-exit-clauses-why-europe-now-cheering-its-own-demise

[DemReadingDU]

30. Evans-Pritchard: Double-dip fears over worldwide credit stress

5/25/10 Double-dip fears over worldwide credit stress by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
The global credit system is flashing the most serious warning signals in almost a year on triple fears of a Spanish banking crisis, escalating political risk in Asia, and a second leg to the US housing slump.

Markets have been rattled by reports in the German media that the Greek rescue deal contains two secret clauses. The package will be "immediately and irrevocably cancelled" if it is found to breach the EU Treaty's "no bail-out" clause, either in a ruling by the European court or the constitutional courts of any eurozone state. While such an event is unlikely, it is not impossible. There are two cases already pending at Germany's top court in Karlsruhe, perhaps Europe's most "eurosceptic" tribunal.

The second clause said that if any country finds it cannot raise funding for the rescue at interest rates below the 5pc charge agreed for Greece, it may opt out of the bail-out. BNP Paribas said this would escalate quickly into a systemic crisis if Spain were in such a position, because the other countries cannot carry an ever-rising burden. The bank warned the euro project itself may start to disintegrate rapidly if these rescue provisions are ever seriously put to the test.

more...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/7765383/Double-dip-fears-over-worldwide-credit-stress.html

[Ghost Dog]

62. Well, The US Supreme Court and/or its Senate

(spit) could also at any time "immediately and irrevocably cancel" anything the US Government Administration and/or Central Bank have decided, is that not so?

[Demeter]

68. No, I don't Think So

In any event, it's never been done (properly).

Treaty-breaking isn't in the Constitution:

Treaty Termination

The Constitution is silent about how treaties might be terminated. The breaking off of two treaties during the Jimmy Carter administration stirred controversy. In 1978, the president terminated the U.S. defense treaty with Taiwan, in order to facilitate the establishment of diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. Also in 1978, the new Panama Canal treaties replaced three previous treaties with Panama. In one case, the president acted unilaterally; in the second, he terminated treaties in accordance with actions taken by Congress. But clearly it seems that the right to terminate belongs to the executive, the sole branch of government that communicates with foreign governments. Only once has Congress terminated a treaty by a joint resolution; that was a mutual defense treaty with France, from which, in 1798, Congress declared the United States "freed and exonerated." In that case, breaking the treaty almost amounted to an act of war; indeed, two days later Congress authorized hostilities against France, which were only narrowly averted...

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Treaties.htm

[Ghost Dog]

70. But we're not talking about International Treaties here

(at least, not yet).

The discussion is about internal EU arrangements, on the one hand, as compared with, I suggested, US national laws, commander-in-chief's commands, or whatever, on the other.

Of course, in real genuine war-time, it's different. And in International Treaty-civilised peace-time, at the international level, also.

I'm saying that TARP, for example, could have and could still be overruled (and, say, the Fed could be abolished), in the US domestically, at any time, due to the Republican Constitutional Arrangements you have in place.

(That Evans-Pritchard has his own personal agenda; right-wing, little-english-nationalist, viscerally anti-Europe, amongst other things, obviously intelligent and well-informed though he undoubtedly is. I'm sure the Barclay Brothers are very happy with him).

[Demeter]

84. TARP is over and the money Long Gone

We are, to coin a phrase, screwed.

[Demeter]

31. Dancing Just As Fast As They Can

With Uncle Ben as the Lead Tap Dancer.

Anything to avoid actually dealing with the TBTF--any kind of contortion, theft, fraud, lying, pleading, and happy talk. Obama is a fool. WAnd he deserves everything that's coming to him.

I get all this anti-Obama nonsense from my fundie Aunt. If the Teabaggers had any clue as to reality vs. the Tea Party's paranoid fantasy, we would have the basis for a true revolution in government and overthrow of the Corporations. But the Teas are all for corporate untouchability.....

[Dr.Phool]

34. The whole place is going to the dogs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaAVZ2yXDBo

[DemReadingDU]

35. That's a great video!

Our first dog was named Ginger
:)

[Juneboarder]

40. That was great!

My dog is named ginger... her picture is my avatar. Thank you for sharing :)

[Demeter]

43. I sent it on to family and friends

also Mishka the husky, very talented.

[Dr.Phool]

51. You rang?

?t=1274885686

[Tansy_Gold]

53. You/we need some new pics, Doc! n/t

[skoalyman]

36. circus must have pulled into wall-street

10,126.28 up 82.53

[Hugin]

54. More likely it's "Banksters in Love".

Set to the tune of: "Lawyers in Love" -- Jackson Browne.

"Banksters in Love" -- Adapted from the original by Hugin.

"I can't keep up with what's been going on
I think my heart must just be slowing down
Among the human beings in their designer jeans
Am I the only one who hears the screams
And the strangled cries of banksters in love
God sends his spaceships to America, the beautiful
They land at six o'clock and there we are, the dutiful
Eating from TV trays, tuned into to American Idol
Waiting for World War III while Jesus slaves
To the mating calls of banksters in love

Last night I watched the news from Washington, the capitol
The Oil escaped while we weren't watching it, like Oil will
Now we've got all this room, we've even got the moon
And I hear the Gulf Beaches will be open soon
As vacation land for banksters in love"

[Demeter]

38. NEWS FLASH! BREAKING!!! THE PRESIDENT (OF THE CONDO) HAS QUIT!!

So, anybody for champagne?

[Roland99]

46. woo hoo!!

:toast:

[Dr.Phool]

48. Cheers!

:toast:

[Tansy_Gold]

59. HOT DAMN!!!

:yourock:

[Demeter]

66. Oh It Was Nothing

Merely 6 years of working against impossible odds, night and day burning the oil...fortunately, the opponent did not follow the Evil Overlord advice:

http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH3JF_5cCok

[Po_d Mainiac]

65. ...

:toast:

Now put down the rope and step away from the scaffolding

[Demeter]

85. Muss Ich Verkligt?

Must I?

[bread_and_roses]

89. hurrah! celebrate well!

great to have a success - VICTORY even! cheers!

[ozymandius]

90. How lovely!

Now what is her address so I can send the dead flowers and half-eaten bonbons?




I know. Crass.

Glad to know that your resident scab has taken a leap.

[TalkingDog]

45. Per yesterday's discussion of Katla

http://www.clareherald.com/national-a-world/irish-a-world/1783-katla-volcano-in-iceland-shows-signs-of-increased-activity.html

Wise Bones

[Dr.Phool]

50. At least, we can pronounce this one.

[TalkingDog]

55. I just call it Jo, I have the updates listed under Kat and Jo

I know Jo's name probably means something like: Belching mound of fear....or some such. Which would be a pretty cool name for a volcano.......

[Ghost Dog]

63. Bones. Here's a lateral-thinking-type thought-piece:

(Think: better-connected, better-informed humans-with-internet)...

Swarming 'swells' locusts' brains - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10158856.stm

(Having observed an 8-million-strong (ie. small) swarm briefly visit my Canary Island a couple of years ago, I can confirm: it is an amazing, and spookily collective-insect-intelligent phenomenom).

[TalkingDog]

64. Confirmed

Well, not the swelling brain, but the human hive mind.... (in other words Jung was right: collective unconscious)


http://greengoddesslove.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/pondering-the-nature-of-consciouness/

[Ghost Dog]

91. Yes. My time, down but not out in London, reading Jung's collected works in Chelsea Public Library

to save my sanity, I should write about one day soon.

Meanwhile, let me warn you/us: we may think, we collective humans, that we're quick to react. But even the higher-levels of insect-life, not to mention the so-called "lower orders", can move so fast they can wipe us out before we've even begun to see what's coming.

And, I'm only talking about what we know about life on this planet.

[TalkingDog]

95. That fore-brain has allowed for a lot of nice toys,

but it is a millstone around our necks as the tsunami charges.

[Roland99]

47. TED is back (as in spread)

http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/red-flag-market-gauges-recall-08-crisis-levels-2010-05-25/5364C01D-091C-46CA-9318-B7BE5A3A1F0E

[muriel_volestrangler]

61. Europe seeks new levy on banks to create crisis funds

A network of national funds should be introduced so the cost of bank failures are not met by the taxpayer, the EU internal market commissioner has said.

Michel Barnier said such funds would provide part of a broader system aimed at preventing future financial crises.

Banks would be required to pay a levy into the funds which would not be used to bail out failing banks, but manage failures in "an orderly way".

Mr Barnier said: "I believe in the 'polluter pays' principle."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/10159631.stm

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

71. Step on a crack, break 10K's back.

Numerology.

[Zenlitened]

72. Forbes buying online news startup True/Slant (Matt Taibbi blogs there)

http://www.technologyreview.com/wire/25391/?nlid=3032&a=f

NEW YORK (AP) -- Forbes Media is buying the online news startup True/Slant, marrying two companies with vastly different approaches to journalism and publishing.

Lewis Dvorkin, who founded True/Slant and was once an editor at Forbes magazine, announced the deal in a blog post Tuesday. He didn't say how much Forbes is paying.

The deal signals a new approach to the Web for Forbes, which will get an online makeover with help from the True/Slant team.

True/Slant, which started about a year ago, seeks to offer a launch pad for individual writers to build followings around their work. It began with about 100 freelance writers posting bits of news and opinion. A few of the contributors came from established news brands including CNN, Rolling Stone and Newsweek.

Dvorkin said the site now has at least 300 people writing for it. Traffic to the site has grown from 90,000 unique visitors in the U.S. last June to 335,000 last month, according to comScore.

Or rather, Taibbi used to blog there. His announcement the other day that he's moving his blog suddenly seems easy to explain, no? :D

So it is with some sadness that I have to announce that I’m going to be leaving True/Slant. Starting in a few days I will be back blogging exclusively at www.rollingstone.com.

I say with sadness because I thought and still think that True/Slant is a great organization, one that is innovative and well-run and and whose founders have been a genuine pleasure to work with. Folks like Coates Bateman, Michael Roston and Lewis Dvorkin have taught me a lot about how the internet business works and have convinced me that there may actually be a future universe in which writers will be able to carve out some sort of dignified employment amid the wreckage of the print journalism business, and will not have to hook or boost cars for food. I think they have a great idea with this site and I’m sure they will continue their success.

http://trueslant.com/matttaibbi/

[Ghost Dog]

75. Ah, that explains it. Roll on. n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

81. And you have to wonder how many of those "unique" visitors

were going there for Taibbi and nothing else.


I know at least one was.





Tansy Gold (editing for typos, sheesh)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

73. Testing 10K...Testing 10K...

[Dr.Phool]

74. It's getting more predictable.

Futures in the basement, market finishes up.

Futures up, market heads down.

What kind of surprises will the last 15 minutes hold for today?

[TalkingDog]

77. Fashionably late for the close

[DemReadingDU]

79. under 10,000

I think that hasn't happened, since 2/8/10 when Dow was 9908

[Ghost Dog]

76. Broop, Broop, Broop. Where's one of those clockwork torpedoes

when you need one?

[TalkingDog]

78. Rebound? Looks like it's about as likely as this:

[Dr.Phool]

80. Clown on CNBS just said we're in a strong bull market!

All I can say is BULL!

[CatholicEdHead]

93. I don't think so

Just look at the past year.

http://chart.finance.yahoo.com/c/1y/_/_dji?lang=en-US®ion=US

Short term bear for sure.

[Po_d Mainiac]

82. Hey Demeter

U got rid of the AP and got the 4 digit Dow closing all in the same day....:wow:

[Demeter]

86. That's It. My Life Is Now Finished

never get another break again.

[Dr.Phool]

87. Better play Powerball tonight!

[Roland99]

83. At the close - 10K? No way! Not this time.

Dow 9,974 -69 -0.69%
Nasdaq 2,196 -15 -0.68%
S&P 500 1,068 -6 -0.57%
GlobalDow 1,734 +8 +0.45%
Gold 1,211 +13 +1.09%
Oil 70.72 +1.97 +2.87
10-yr T-bond 3.19 +0.03
Euro /$1US 1.2180 -0.0192
$1US / Yen 89.9100 -0.4100
Pound / $1US 1.4386 -0.0053

[Ghost Dog]

92. Would you mind adding Swiss Franc to that daily summary, please, Roland?

Since, it appears, that Central Bank is a strong player, whichever way they feel they need to buy/sell in whatever major international currency, according to deep-sea weather circumstances.

[Roland99]

94. Sure...I just grab what MarketWatch offers off its main page but...

I'm not thrilled with how they lay it out and how I have to edit it.

I'll look for something else. :)