STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday December 9

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday December 9, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 8, 2010

Dow 11,372.48 +13.32 (+0.12%)
Nasdaq 2,609.16 +10.67 (+0.41%)
S&P 500 1,228.28 +4.53 (+0.37%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.24 -0.03 (-1.01%)
30-Year Bond 4.44 -0.02 (-0.43%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

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 Initial Claims 12/04
Briefing.com 420K
Consensus 429K
Prior 436K

08:30 Continuing Claims 11/27
Briefing.com 4250K
Consensus 4240K
Prior 4270K

10:00 Wholesale Inventories Oct
Briefing.com 0.5%
Consensus 0.7%
Prior 1.5%

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

[Festivito]

2. Debt: 12/07/2010 13,838,490,314,497.64 (UP 3,665,577,437.04) (Tue)

(Up a little. Good day.)
Surveyed the day away at a glacial speed.
(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)
= 9,270,374,861,308.27 + 4,568,115,453,189.37
UP 178,077,201.68 + UP 3,487,500,235.36

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 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,216.80 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.65, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,868,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,515.62.
A family of three owes $133,546.86. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,483,821,618.43.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,838,675,132.90.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,598,757,937.10.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 46 reports in 68 days of FY2011 averaging 6.02B$ per report, 4.07B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 775 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.9 and 17.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
12/07/2010 13,838,490,314,497.64 BHO (UP 3,211,613,265,584.56 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 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,276,867,283,605.90 ------------* * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,486,125,860,531.67 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/16/2010 +000,750,562,513.87 ------------********
11/17/2010 +000,670,859,874.97 ------------********
11/18/2010 -002,271,166,541.35 --
11/19/2010 +002,392,756,046.31 ------------*********
11/22/2010 +000,068,056,529.55 ------------******* Mon
11/23/2010 -000,022,584,331.05 ----
11/24/2010 +000,282,063,227.86 ------------********
11/26/2010 +003,743,380,701.15 ------------*********
11/29/2010 +000,134,381,143.81 ------------******** Mon
11/30/2010 +065,487,463,946.10 ------------**********
12/01/2010 -005,680,380,232.98 --
12/02/2010 +000,827,003,518.64 ------------********
12/03/2010 -000,051,568,825.48 ----
12/06/2010 +000,077,038,802.53 ------------******* Mon
12/07/2010 +000,178,077,201.68 ------------********

66,585,943,575.61 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=4648408&mesg_id=4648412

[Festivito]

43. Debt: 12/08/2010 13,847,884,133,109.61 (UP 9,393,818,611.97) (Wed)

(Up some. Good day.)
Surveyed at a slower than glacial speed.
(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)
= 9,288,916,003,126.37 + 4,558,968,129,983.24
UP 18,541,141,818.10 + DOWN 9,147,323,206.13

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 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,216.72 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.65, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,875,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,544.81.
A family of three owes $133,634.42. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,843,684,472.68.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,090,579,130.87.

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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 47 reports in 69 days of FY2011 averaging 6.09B$ per report, 4.15B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 774 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.9 and 17.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
12/08/2010 13,847,884,133,109.61 BHO (UP 3,221,007,084,196.53 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 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,286,261,102,217.90 ------------* * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,514,279,743,616.43 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/17/2010 +000,670,859,874.97 ------------********
11/18/2010 -002,271,166,541.35 --
11/19/2010 +002,392,756,046.31 ------------*********
11/22/2010 +000,068,056,529.55 ------------******* Mon
11/23/2010 -000,022,584,331.05 ----
11/24/2010 +000,282,063,227.86 ------------********
11/26/2010 +003,743,380,701.15 ------------*********
11/29/2010 +000,134,381,143.81 ------------******** Mon
11/30/2010 +065,487,463,946.10 ------------**********
12/01/2010 -005,680,380,232.98 --
12/02/2010 +000,827,003,518.64 ------------********
12/03/2010 -000,051,568,825.48 ----
12/06/2010 +000,077,038,802.53 ------------******* Mon
12/07/2010 +000,178,077,201.68 ------------********
12/08/2010 +018,541,141,818.10 ------------**********

84,376,522,879.84 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=4650406&mesg_id=4650420

[ozymandius]

3. Oil rises to above $89 as US dollar weakens

Oil has hovered in the upper-$80s this week — touching a two-year high of $90.76 on Tuesday — as traders mull how much global crude demand may grow in 2011. In the absence of any strong catalyst from oil market or economic data, crude prices often follow currency and stock markets.

The euro rose to $1.3310 on Thursday from $1.3261 late Wednesday while the dollar dropped to 83.80 yen from 84.00 yen.

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 1.9 cents to $2.48 a gallon, gasoline futures gained 2.7 cents to $2.33 a gallon and natural gas jumped 2.9 cents to $4.64 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[ozymandius]

4. Slouching Toward Acceptance on The Tax Deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A plan by President Barack Obama to broadly extend tax cuts moved forward on Wednesday despite opposition from his own Democrats and fear in bond markets of long-term damage to the economy.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said the chamber could begin to debate the proposal to extend all Bush-era income tax cuts within a day or two, in a sign Democrats may be conceding on the deal.

U.S. Treasury prices plunged again on Wednesday, with benchmark yields hovering at their highest in six months, as debt markets worry the tax plan will stoke inflation and deepen the budget deficit.

more

This "deal" means that taxes would be set to rise in two years. That's an election year. Who is so desperately naïve that taxes will be allowed to go up in an election year? This has a whiff of permanency to me.

[ozymandius]

6. Larry Summers' Fingerprints on Tax Deal

Summers has forcefully argued for this maintaining the Bush tax policy. He is another Third Way, DLC acolyte. This story leads me to believe that Obama's abandoning of common sense has been Summer's farewell project as his tenure on the council of economic advisors is coming to an end.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Failure by the Congress to pass a tax cut deal soon would "materially increase" the risk of the economy stalling and a double dip recession, White House economic adviser Larry Summers said on Wednesday.

Summers, who is leaving his post as Obama's top economic adviser this month, said Obama's deal with Republicans to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class and the wealthiest Americans would provide more fiscal support for the economy than most observers expected only weeks ago.

more

Such that it may be Summers who promoted this idea removes any wonder why it is so daft. The payroll tax cut will defund Social Security. When the drop in payments to SS is reflected in the overall balance of payments in two years, just when the Baby Boomers begin to draw heavily on the program, this will feed the arguments that Social Security cannot be sustained.

How can someone who claims to support a success entitlement program like Social Security look at this issue and claim it to be good and reasonable?

[Dr.Phool]

10. I said when it passed 10 years ago, we'd never get rid of it.

And, sure enough, here we are.

I'm not crazy about paying taxes. Nobody is. But, I like most of the services they provide.

The fact that ordinary citizens can walk around all day parroting disproved talking points, and flat out failed ideology, is a tribute to the right wing propaganda machine.

2+2 = 5. Sometimes even 6. Even if it doesn't look like it. You just have to believe hard enough.

[xchrom]

24. +1 -- no we're never going to get rid of those cuts.

they're cushioning the mill stone so we get used to it.

[tclambert]

13. Any minute now, the rich will start creating jobs!

$2 trillion cash sitting on the sidelines just wasn't quite enough. But now, now surely the rich will feel the urgency to use up their excess wealth to create unnecessary and unprofitable jobs. It doesn't matter that their customers don't have money to buy anything, and consequently the opportunity to effectively expand business operations doesn't exist, but, you know, rich people will have a little bit more to put in their vaults, so, somehow that will trickle down and lead to massive job creation--just like it did under Reagan and George W. Bush. Remember how the job market reacted to tax cuts for bazillionaires back then? Yeah, that's what we have to look forward to. And since tax cuts for the rich is such a proven job creation program, we won't need any other kind of jobs program. So don't expect any money to be wasted in the next few years on silly government make-work programs. After all, even though the government is the largest employer in the country, government can't really create "real" jobs. Just ignore all those teachers, postal workers, police, army, navy air force, marines, etc. The only really "real" jobs created by government are lobbyists.

[Hugin]

31. Goooo TEAM!

Yay! :cheerleader:

[ozymandius]

5. Fed said to unveil debit-card fee limits next week

The new rule says that banks can only charge what is "reasonable and proportional" to their processing costs for each card swiped. Banks argue that "reasonable and proportional" should mean they get to make a profit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve is expected to unveil a proposed rule next week that would limit the transaction fees that banks can charge retailers when a customer uses a debit card, according to two industry sources familiar with the matter.

The rule, mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law enacted in July, is expected to be on the agenda for a December 16 board meeting, according to the sources. Federal Reserve officials have only said publicly that a rule is expected soon.

Banks are eager to learn the details of the proposed rules, which will give them a better idea of how much it will cut into their profits.

more

This is going to cost the banks billions in transaction fees collectively. The fees have been artificially high since they began.

[ozymandius]

7. Where Are the Financial Crisis Prosecutions?

Jesse Eisinger at Pro Publica asks very good questions through this sifting examination of Bankster misconduct and the weak investigations.

The stock options backdating prosecutions have largely been a bust, not because it wasn’t a true scandal. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department investigated more than 100 companies. Over a hundred took accounting restatements. Yet only a handful of executives went to prison, with some high-profile cases fizzling out.

The most spectacular prosecutorial flameout was the case against the Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. The consequences of that disaster are still reverberating. The United States attorney’s office in Brooklyn rushed to haul low-level executives in front of a jury based on a few seemingly incriminating emails. The defense was easily able to convince jurors that these represented only out-of-context glimpses of fear as markets swooned, not a conspiracy to mislead.

Nobody from Lehman, Merrill Lynch or Citigroup has been charged criminally with anything. No top executives at Bear Stearns have been indicted. All former American International Group executives are running free. No big mortgage company executive has had to face the law.

The author asks a really good question: "The world was almost brought low by the American banking system and we are supposed to think that no one did anything wrong?"

This series of investigations looks like a pantomime.

[Po_d Mainiac]

9. After the S & L Crisis there was this guy named Black

Today we gut......Hmmmm... Wait, wait....don't tell me, I know this..Oh yea we gut nuttin.

:grr:

[ozymandius]

12. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Our ability to police the people and causes of calamity has become a parody of itself.

[Po_d Mainiac]

14. and the reason we'll wallow in this

putrid state until the perp walks start.

The system has lost all credibility.

[Dr.Phool]

15. Now you got Timmeh. And Holder.

More like Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Seigel.

[StarburstClock]

42. There's all the wonderful rhetoric too like "liberals are fucking retarded" and

"it's off the table". I was wondering yesterday why "let's just put this behind us and move on" isn't used regarding Julian Assange when it's been used for every war crime and treasonous act committed by the entire chimp administration. But as I've posted a few times, the world is going to "move on" without the U.S., case in point the cyber attacks yesterday; people will take things into their own hands whether it's "legal" or not. The term "legal" has been so completely abused and now ruined that it's an inevitable outcome that lawlessness on a widespread scale will ensue.

[ozymandius]

8. Tax Appeals Swamp U.S. Towns as Property Prices Dive

From Bloomberg:

The backlog of cases from taxpayers seeking to lower property-tax bills of more than $100,000 shot up to 14,236 this year from an annual average of about 6,000 during the past decade. The backlog of smaller claims was at 28,558 at the end of September, eight times higher than a decade ago, according to records at the tribunal, a Lansing-based administrative court.

From Los Angeles to Atlantic City, the New Jersey gambling resort whose credit rating Moody’s Investors Service cut by three levels last month, property owners are demanding lower taxes after real-estate values plunged. The disputes over billions in dollars come as municipalities are already slashing services such as police and fire protection and may depress revenue further as communities try to recover from the longest recession since the 1930s. In Michigan, Governor-elect Rick Snyder has warned that hundreds of towns face financial crises.

U.S. home prices are 30 percent below their peak of April 2006, according to the seasonally adjusted S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities. They may drop 10 percent more, Greg Lippmann, a founder of New York-based LibreMax Capital LLC, said Dec. 2 at the Hedge Funds New York Conference hosted by Bloomberg Link.

more

Lower state and municipality revenue will have an immediate impact on pension, healthcare and education funding. We are in such a horrible economic mess.

[Dr.Phool]

19. Cut taxes on the rich! It will double revenue.

Yeah, they're starting to close libraries around here, and charging to get into parks. But, they did find millions to lure T Rowe Price across the county line.

They say it will add jobs. My ass. We have no income tax. And, they're not moving far enough away from their previous location to encourage people to move. So what is the benefit, other than to give T Rowe Price a big, fat X-mas present.

[rfranklin]

28. It's going to get worse...Obama and crew let the Repubs quash something else...

BAB Program's Extension Not a Sure Thing for Tax Compromise Bill
Tuesday, December 7, 2010

By Lynn Hume

While federal lawmakers are nearing a compromise on tax legislation that would extend many expired and expiring tax provisions as well as the Bush-era tax cuts, it is not certain the measure will continue the popular Build America Bond program, sources said.

That's because the Senate's lead Republican negotiator, Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., has been a harsh critic of the program, which is set to expire on Dec. 31. In May, Kyl complained to colleagues that BABs reward states and localities with lower credit ratings because they sell BABs at higher interest rates and receive higher subsidy payments from the U.S. Treasury.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate Finance Committee's ranking minority member, also has been a harsh critic of BABs but last month predicted the extension would go forward. However, sources said while Grassley might have been willing to go along with a BAB extension in return for continued ethanol subsidies, Kyl opposes both programs.

http://www.bondbuyer.com/issues/119_482/bab-program-tax-bill-1020775-1.html

Another way for the Repubs to attack "big government."

[DemReadingDU]

29. I'm concerned about libraries

Not only are some being closed, but some are being privatized, which could indicate some RW nut could decide various books normally found in library, could be eliminated.


edit: there was a county levy that failed, so our parks were closed.

:(

[Po_d Mainiac]

11. And the South Florida Property saga ended yesterday

WF failed to be able to document they were anything but the "assigned" trustee for the first note.

I wouldn't fork out $200K for a "quit claim" title...Now it looks likes we're going to go to war over the interest they now owe. There is no such thing as a contract with these clowns any more.

[ozymandius]

17. Simply bizarre.

Banks like Wells Fargo will go to court and argue that a contract is sacred when they stand to benefit. Catch them in a spot where they are sure to lose and the contract becomes "null and void."

[Po_d Mainiac]

16. Monetary Policy Subcommittee Chair will be.....

The word is Ron Paul will get chairmanship of the Monetary Policy Subcommittee

So the Bernank thunked ’60 Minutes’ was tough. The House MPS hearings, in which the reality challenged FED chair is the featured roast of the day, may easily put C-Span at the top of the rating charts. Hmm what are chances that time of questioning will open ended, and the chair will yield himself MONTHS! :rofl:

[Dr.Phool]

21. Oooh, better stock up on popcorn!

[Po_d Mainiac]

25. Ayuh. Shame on me...I'm now looking forward

to hearing (pun intended) that whinny 14th CD Texan

[Ghost Dog]

36. Ron Paul, Author of ‘End the Fed,’ to Lead Panel Overseeing Bank

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Ron Paul, Texas Republican and author of “End the Fed,” will take control of the House subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve.

House Financial Services chairman-elect Spencer Bachus, an Alabama Republican, has chosen Paul to lead the panel’s domestic monetary policy subcommittee when Republicans take the House majority next month, the committee chairman said today.

“This is the leadership team that crafted the first comprehensive financial reform bill to put an end to the bailouts, wind down the taxpayer funding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and enforce a strong audit of the Federal Reserve,” Bachus said in a statement.

Paul, in an interview last week, said he plans a slate of hearings on U.S. monetary policy and will restart his push for a full audit of the Fed’s functions.

“We are ready to hit the ground running, and I look forward to continuing our work in the next Congress,” Bachus said.

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a1ZdyBA4CAwU

[hamerfan]

37. We are...

So Frikkin DOOMED!

[Po_d Mainiac]

38. Not if Paul causes the bernank to suffer more hair loss. n/t

[tclambert]

18. I have a new sure-fire get-rich-quick scheme! Play poker with Barack Obama.

His strategy: Go all in and fold. Really confuses the opposition. All they can do is shake their heads and laugh.

[Po_d Mainiac]

20. .....

:spray:

[Dr.Phool]

23. We used to have some fairly high stakes games on the railroad,

And, there were a couple of guys like that. You made sure they always got in the game. If they were broke, loan them money. You'd have that and more back in a couple of hours.

[Tansy_Gold]

27. Somebody had a cartoon about that yesterday I think

TG, TT

[DemReadingDU]

30. edit, Tansy found it first!

more toons...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9722097

[Po_d Mainiac]

22. PM note: Holding long? Then best to hold hard

Jim Rickards of Omnis has an interesting anecdote about global gold mania.

He tells King World News of a client of a major Swiss bank who was refused access to his one ton of physical gold ($40M) and was forced to make threats to convince the bank otherwise:
“Correct, and through all of that eventually the individual did get his gold...it took lawyers, it took threats of publicity, it took a lot of pressure to do that, which my inference is that that gold was not there. The bank had to scramble, go out and find it somewhere before they could make good delivery.”

http://www.businessinsider.com/jim-rickards-take-gold-out-of-the-bank-2010-12

and now it's the other white meat

Let me just cite one example that is ongoing. This individual has been storing with a Swiss bank twenty bars (1,000 ounce bars) of silver which has a market value today of just over $550,000. So, it’s not only large transactions that are affected, but small ones too.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/james-turk-silver-banks-2010-12#ixzz17aUutrzC

so now it looks, at first blush, as if the banksters are 'leasing' PM's in their vaults that's actually owned by depositors. This could make for a jumpy market if enough 'depositors' take their toys home. Could be some stained 'short' getting swallowed.

[xchrom]

26. recommend

[Dr.Phool]

32. Time to venture to Costco.

I hate shopping. Especially at this time of year.

But, gotta get wifey-poo a present. She does put up with me, after all.

[ret5hd]

40. A fifty-pack of toilet paper and two cases of cheerios ain't gonna cut it, buddy.

just sayin'.

[Dr.Phool]

41. Yeah, but I'm throwing in a 16 pack of paper towels, and some Honey-nut Cheerios!

[Demeter]

33. Having Sucky Day and it's only 9 am and 12F

At least no wind. Maybe see y'all tonight, maybe tomorrow...

[Tansy_Gold]

35. 8:30 a.m. 50 degrees high should be a sunny 75

On the other hand, Arizona has Jon Kyl. . . ..

[Dr.Phool]

39. That's enough to give you chills right there.

[kickysnana]

44. Warm day coming you are 24 hours behind us but there is a wind. n/t

[xchrom]

34. marmar posted this first --

http://247wallst.com/2010/12/09/us-home-values-to-drop-1-7-trillion-in-2010/#ixzz17ci0sXHo

US Home Values To Drop $1.7 Trillion In 2010

Read more: US Home Values To Drop $1.7 Trillion In 2010 -

The aggregate value of homes in the United States will drop $1.7 trillion this year after a drop of $1 trillion in 2009. That data comes from a report from real estate research firm Zillow.

Zillow also says that “Since the peak of home values in June 2006, more than $9 trillion in values has come out of the housing market.”