STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday December 27

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday December 27, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 23, 2010

Dow 11,573.49 +14.00 (+0.12%)
Nasdaq 2,665.60 UNCH (UNCH)
S&P 500 1,256.77 -2.07 (-0.16%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.42 +0.02 (+0.59%)
30-Year Bond 4.49 +0.02 (+0.36%)

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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
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. no goobermental reports today n/t

[ozymandius]

2. Oil stays above $91 as OPEC signals no output hike

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered above $91 a barrel Monday in Asia as some OPEC ministers signaled the group doesn't plan to boost output to cool the recent jump in crude.

On Thursday, the contract rose $1.03 to settle at $91.51, the highest level since October 2008. Global oil markets were closed Friday for the Christmas holiday.

Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said at a meeting in Cairo over the weekend that the full group would likely not meet until June to discuss production quota policy. OPEC, which accounts for about 40 percent of global crude output, left quotas unchanged at a meeting earlier this month.

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil was steady at $2.54 a gallon, gasoline futures fell 0.77 cent to $2.43 a gallon and natural gas dropped 5.3 cents to $4.03 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[ozymandius]

10. Warning Issued for Gas Prices

This dovetails with a couple of items I've researched lately. You can read them here and here.

The Energy Information Administration usually soft sells bad economic trends relative to petroleum prices. The Dec 22 This Week in Petroleum (TWIP) report was an exception:

Historically, retail gasoline prices in the United States have followed a seasonal pattern. Prices typically rise during the summer driving season and drop after Labor Day. Over the 2004 through 2007 period and in 2009 (2008 is excluded due to the rapid run-up and subsequent crash in crude oil prices over the course of that year), the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell an average of 22 cents between Labor Day and the middle of December. However, 2010 has seen a reversal in this pattern; the national average price has risen by 30 cents per gallon since Labor Day, the largest increase over that period since EIA began publishing weekly retail gasoline price data in 1990. The $2.98 per gallon national average price of regular gasoline is the second highest on record for the third week of December, surpassed only by 2007 when the average price reached $3.00 per gallon.

American families lost about $2,000 per year of disposable income between 2002 and 2006 as gas priced increased from $1.45 to $2.92. Foreclosures increased as more and more families were forced to choose between paying for their commute or their mortgage. Foreclosures exposed policy errors, collapsed the banking system and home values.

Investments that depend on consumer disposable income will likely suffer. Meredith Whitney's warning that 50 to 100 US cities will default on their municipal bonds in 2011 seems more likely as gas prices reduce disposable income. Less disposable income, less economic activity, lower tax revenues. The article Second Leg of Home Price Declines is Afoot notes the affects on home values.

more

The article diverts its attention away from the effect of rising oil prices on the macroeconomy to the issue of Peak Oil. I suggest that you keep your eye on the former and less on the latter since that is where the information carries a much more reasoned cause and effect analysis.

[Demeter]

18. The Short Term Is Predictable, In the Long Term, We Are Dead Anyway

Krugman ticked me off this morning with his "finite earth" schtick.

Making the most of today would make both today and the days to come a lot better for everyone--and that doesn't mean piling up a hoard of dough.

It means using appropriate technologies appropriately, to insure the well-being of every person on the planet, and every species (except the bugs--there are many I expect we could comfortably live without).

It means dropping everything down to first principles, and establishing a real foundation upon which to build communities, societies, nations, the world.

That's the kind of "globalism" that we need--not bands of marauding Corporate pirates.

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[Festivito]

4. Debt: 12/22/2010 13,858,529,371,601.09 (DOWN 8,947,711,372.62) (Wed)

(Up little. Good day.)
Christmas passed is Christmas past.
(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)
= 9,324,459,559,239.73 + 4,534,069,812,361.36
UP 569,620,034.56 + DOWN 9,517,331,407.18

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 $3,215.68 makes 1T$.
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 310,976,192 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 $44,564.6.
A family of three owes $133,693.8. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 2,903,801,273.02.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,129,454,266.88.

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$/day.
There were 57 reports in 83 days of FY2011 averaging 5.21B$ per report, 3.58B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 760 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)
12/22/2010 13,858,529,371,601.09 BHO (UP 3,231,652,322,688.01 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 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,296,906,340,709.30 ------------* * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,305,672,462,155.36 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------**********
12/09/2010 +000,426,018,289.04 ------------********
12/10/2010 +000,085,971,333.21 ------------*******
12/13/2010 -000,140,409,571.73 --- Mon
12/14/2010 +000,270,507,131.41 ------------********
12/15/2010 +035,075,952,728.32 ------------**********
12/16/2010 -002,942,603,716.29 --
12/17/2010 +002,071,215,295.43 ------------*********
12/20/2010 -000,083,147,973.47 ---- Mon
12/21/2010 +000,210,432,562.88 ------------********
12/22/2010 +000,569,620,034.56 ------------********

55,115,248,628.83 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=4670986&mesg_id=4671322

[Festivito]

80. Debt: 12/23/2010 13,865,176,563,186.31 (UP 6,647,191,585.22) (Thu)

(Up some. My computer did not notice the 23rd this morning. Might be that it was memorized on my computer and did not go out and and find the update. Oh, well. Here it is. Good day.)
Slept in and worked late.
(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)
= 9,326,422,269,083.83 + 4,538,754,294,102.48
UP 1,962,709,844.10 + UP 4,684,481,741.12

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 $3,215.61 makes 1T$.
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 310,983,392 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 $44,584.94.
A family of three owes $133,754.83. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 3,098,732,375.40.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,272,403,741.96.

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$/day.
There were 58 reports in 84 days of FY2011 averaging 5.23B$ per report, 3.61B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 759 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)
12/23/2010 13,865,176,563,186.31 BHO (UP 3,238,299,514,273.23 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 +0,303,553,532,294.60 ------------* * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,319,012,372,470.59 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------**********
12/09/2010 +000,426,018,289.04 ------------********
12/10/2010 +000,085,971,333.21 ------------*******
12/13/2010 -000,140,409,571.73 --- Mon
12/14/2010 +000,270,507,131.41 ------------********
12/15/2010 +035,075,952,728.32 ------------**********
12/16/2010 -002,942,603,716.29 --
12/17/2010 +002,071,215,295.43 ------------*********
12/20/2010 -000,083,147,973.47 ---- Mon
12/21/2010 +000,210,432,562.88 ------------********
12/22/2010 +000,569,620,034.56 ------------********
12/23/2010 +001,962,709,844.10 ------------*********

56,250,954,954.29 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=4674132&mesg_id=4674141

[Festivito]

81. Debt: 12/24/2010 13,866,145,290,604.69 (UP 968,727,418.38) (Fri)

(Up some. My computer did not notice the 23rd this morning. Regardless of how that happened, both updates are now made on this thread. Good day.)
Off to beddie-bye.
(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)
= 9,326,420,947,617.17 + 4,539,724,342,987.52
DOWN 1,321,466.66 + UP 970,048,885.04

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 $3,215.53 makes 1T$.
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 310,990,592 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 $44,587.02.
A family of three owes $133,761.07. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 3,538,909,796.58.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,595,200,517.49.

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$/day.
There were 59 reports in 85 days of FY2011 averaging 5.16B$ per report, 3.58B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 758 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)
12/24/2010 13,866,145,290,604.69 BHO (UP 3,239,268,241,691.61 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 +0,304,522,259,712.90 ------------* * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,307,654,409,355.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------**********
12/09/2010 +000,426,018,289.04 ------------********
12/10/2010 +000,085,971,333.21 ------------*******
12/13/2010 -000,140,409,571.73 --- Mon
12/14/2010 +000,270,507,131.41 ------------********
12/15/2010 +035,075,952,728.32 ------------**********
12/16/2010 -002,942,603,716.29 --
12/17/2010 +002,071,215,295.43 ------------*********
12/20/2010 -000,083,147,973.47 ---- Mon
12/21/2010 +000,210,432,562.88 ------------********
12/22/2010 +000,569,620,034.56 ------------********
12/23/2010 +001,962,709,844.10 ------------*********
12/24/2010 -000,001,321,466.66 -----

56,301,202,313.11 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=4674132&mesg_id=4674141

[ozymandius]

5. Basel Committee seeks detailed rules on bank pay

This seems to be a trend.

ZURICH (Reuters) – Global banking supervisors tackling issues like bonuses, which drew ire during the economic crisis, said banks should disclose how an individual's pay is linked to the firm's performance, including longer-term profitability.

Under new proposals, banks would disclose qualitative and quantitative information about their remuneration practices, the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision said on Monday in a consultative document.

Banks would also need to disclose the number and total amount of guaranteed bonuses paid during the financial year and the total amount of outstanding deferred compensation.

more

Goldman Sachs has proposed this policy for future compensation packages.

Goldman Sachs sets new long-term compensation plan

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc has established a new long-term bonus plan that lets the board award cash and stock on top of existing compensation, but lets the firm take back money if the employee takes too much risk.

The plan, aimed at what the firm called "key employees," is intended to reward executives if the bank performs well long-term, and ensure the firm does not take imprudent risk.

Goldman's new program comes as bankers around the world prepare for their annual bonuses to drop. A Reuters/IFR global poll shows bankers expect their bonuses to decline 7 percent this year, on average, from 2009.

more

It looks to be a scenario in which the banks are hoping for the best, preparing for the worst in a climate that has more hurdles to realize profits as easily as in the past.

[ozymandius]

6. I hope you had a nice, peaceful holiday weekend.

It snowed here on December 25th for the first time since 1882. In the north Georgia areas, the ground was blanketed with the stuff.

[Tansy_Gold]

8. No snow here, Ozy, but plenty of peace and quiet

It makes returning to the daily grind even less attractive!

:hi:

Stay safe down there.




TG

[ozymandius]

9. Staying safe is an issue.

The streets looked to be caked in donut glaze yesterday morning. It seems dry today - at least that was how it appeared when I took the dog outside at 6:30. We expect plenty of cold air to hang around, though. It's 26º outside right now and tonight's temperatures should get into the teens.

[Mojorabbit]

11. on the news last night

they said there were flurries in Jacksonville Fl. Just cold here in Orlando.

[Pale Blue Dot]

13. I'm in Connecticut and we got about 8 inches.

What's the point of a snow storm when school's out anyway?

[ozymandius]

16. I know. What gives?

Did Alan Greenspan plan this weather?

[JNelson6563]

71. Sounds about right

Snow in Georgia but not northern MI, sure looks like Greenman's handywork.


I sure will miss you doing this thread Ozy.

Julie

[Demeter]

19. It didn't snow here, and we could have used it to cover the dirt

There's this corroded, clunky snow-ice mixed with mud.

I'm looking forward to my Christmas--after sales! We had a nice little family dinner finally last night. The Younger Kid worked most of the weekend. But we are going shopping on her days off this week.

And the Older Kid is going to start the gym, whether she likes it or not.

[Po_d Mainiac]

28. Prince Charming is finishing off what the dwarfs started. n/t

[Demeter]

34. How Sweet! Naming Your Nor'easters now?

a little sentimental for New England, don't you think?

[Po_d Mainiac]

36. Reference to the last SMW

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4670986&mesg_id=4671040

[Roland99]

37. No snow here but feels cold enough to!

Saw where it was snowing in Myrtle Beach, SC and near Savannah, GA! Yikes!

Glad we flew my daughter up on Sat and not yesterday (she connected in Charlotte)

[AnneD]

58. We have had a nice cold snap......

we really need the precipitation either in the form of rain or snow. The cold snap will take care of the flea eggs and larva, but we can't replace the water. We are expected to have a drought this year and are already behind in our rain levels.

[ozymandius]

7. BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Lower After China Rate Hike

China produced another present for westerners to unwrap.

U.S. stock futures were pointing to losses for Wall Street when investors return on Monday after the long Christmas weekend, with rate hikes from China the first item of business with which to contend.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39 points, or 0.3%, to 11483 and those for the S&P 500 index fell 4.9 points, or 0.4%, to 1248.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2223.50.

In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite Index finished nearly 2% lower, led by financials such as China Construction Bank (0939.HK, 601939.SH, CICHY). One analyst said the hikes in China Saturday, plus other tightening moves in recent weeks, have triggered worries about the lending capability of Chinese banks.

more from the WSJ

The Chinese government is not stupid. They are doing all the right maneuvering to keep speculative bubbles from wrecking ten years' progress. It is noteworthy that China has learned from the mistakes the U.S. made better than we have learned ourselves.

[Pale Blue Dot]

15. Goldman Takes Spin To New Highs: China Rate Hike Should Be "Welcomed By The Market"

When all else fails, just make stuff up. That appears to be the Plan B for Goldman analyst Helen Zhu, whose take on the faster than expected Chinese rate hike over the weekend is beyond incredulous: "even though our economics team believes that rate hikes are more of a signaling tool rather than the most effective way to curb inflation, we believe this move will be welcomed by the market." So now we know that according to Goldman, rising mortgage rates are good for the economy (that dropping mortgage rates were good is beyond obvious), and the removal of excess liquidity (we have yet to check on where the 1 week Chinese repo rate is) is just as good if not better than the endless pumping thereof. H.M.M.M.M. Fair enough: does Goldman also provide free lobotomies to those clients who followed its FX trading advice in 2010 and are now wanted by the Feds for involuntary manslaughter by way of insanity? Incidentally, we attribute the current drop in ES by 0.5% only to the fact that Brian Sack has been precluded from reaching his Bberg terminal due to snow, and hit the "any key", which on his keyboard just happens to be Buy. And since there is no POMO today, the momo crew may be about to hit a Panic button of their own.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/behold-goldmans-explanation-why-surge-mortgage-rates-will-be-fairly-small-threat-housing

[Demeter]

20. We never learn anything here

It's like Alzheimers Nation.

The people who know better take the bribes, the people who don't know better watch FOX and tell each other fairy tales and horror stories.

We should pay people who actually do productive work, and let the rest beg on the streets--banksters, lobbyists, GOP operatives and think tanks, etc.

[Po_d Mainiac]

30. Beijing City To Raise Minimum Wage By 20.8% In 2011

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101227-701457.html

[Demeter]

35. That's a Lot

Still, I'm sure they are worth it. Forced profit sharing...can't all be inflation.

[Po_d Mainiac]

38. I woodn't want to try to live on that income.....

Beijing will lift the floor for wages by 200 yuan to 1,160 yuan ($175) a month from Jan. 1, following a 20 percent increase just six months earlier, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

http://www.xe.com/news/2010/12/27/1606753.htm?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=TL&utm_content=NOGEO&utm_campaign=News_RSS_Art2

[Art_from_Ark]

82. People here in Japan who have been to China have told me

that prices in China are about 1/10 of what they are in Japan, in terms of Japanese yen. So 1160 yuan/mo would have the buying power in China of about 150,000 yen/mo in Japan (a respectable income for college students or part-timers).

[Po_d Mainiac]

83. Woodn't want to live in Bejiing (or any other city) either....n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

84. Yep-- too crowded, too polluted, and too impersonal

Some of them are nice places to visit, but...

[Pale Blue Dot]

12. Europe Opens With A Mini Flash Crash

No volume, deranged computers, and a rate hike: Europe's mini flash crash refutes the market's "welcoming"
of liquidity withdrawal to Goldman's now traditional embarrassment.

From Serenity Markets:

An extremely nervous market drops hard and I fear that this morning we saw another mini flash-crash. The low volume of Christmas, compounded by the closed London market, and negligible volume, is making program trading far more obvious. Here is the true essence of the market: machines everywhere. As can be seen on the chart above, the Dax futures minimum of 6915 was hit on almost no volume. For the machines it is very easy to create a genuine flash crash. It is very important to keep this in mind as a demonstration of how easily a machine can sweep a stop.

Goldman is partially right: the Chinese rate hike is welcome by at least one market participant, as Euronext and a few European HFTs just took out all the limit stops to the downside and made a killing on the round trip.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/europe-opens-mini-flash-crash?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29&utm_content=Netvibes

[Demeter]

21. Europe is HFT?

I thought they were smarter than that.

edited for alphabet soup dyslexia...

[Ghost Dog]

48. "Institutional" trading, especially, tends to be very international

these days, I reckon.

[Ghost Dog]

49. "Flash"? "Round Trip"?

I'm not seeing much of an upside around here to make a killing on quite yet...

[ozymandius]

14. On the Utter Stupidity of the Greenspan Fed: Small Banks Set Ablaze

Despite all the danger signs glowing red during the peak of the residential real estate market, the Federal Reserve Board under Chairman Alan Greenspan abstained from asserting regulatory authority that would have mitigated the demise of hundreds of local and regional banks.

Trust-preferred securities are instrument issued from the Fed to small banking institutions. The Greenspan Fed allowed these banks to regard the securities as capital, rather than debt, and issue loans against assets at a ratio of ten-to-one.

The debt issued from these banks were applied to risky real estate development.

From the McClatchy story:

Adding to the problems, investment banks aggressively pooled these community-bank securities into complex bonds - much like the complex mortgage bonds that nearly brought down the financial system in 2008.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating how securities businesses hawked some of the complex bonds in a poorly understood, $55 billion offshore market for debt issued by banks, insurers and real estate trusts - a market that's only now becoming clear.

more

The failure rate for small banks is expected to increase dramatically in 2011 due to the lack of foresight and oversight of our Federal regulatory system during the Greenspan years.

[DemReadingDU]

17. Kodachrome: The Legendary Film's Last Days

12/26/10 Kodachrome: The Legendary Film's Last Days
The World's First Consumer Color Film was Used in 100s of Iconic Shots;
After Dec. 30, It Won't Be Sold or Processed Anywhere

They are fast becoming a memory of Christmas past - photographs taken the old way, with film. And the most famous film of all -- Kodachrome -- is itself about to become a memory, as CBS News correspondent Jim Axelrod reports.

Professional photographer Kent Miller is up before sunrise making sure everything's perfect for his photo shoot. He wants to capture a triathlete named Carlos Lema at the foot of the George Washington Bridge just across the river from Manhattan in just the right light at dawn.

His film of choice, as it has been for millions of others, is Kodachrome.

"Kodachrome is probably the first professional film I ever really shot," Miller said.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/26/sunday/main7185884.shtml



Kodachrome - Paul Simon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SExsuRIGAlg&feature=player_embedded

[nc4bo]

32. I always thought that Kodachrome took the most beautiful photos....

Just stunning and lifelike colors.

Not a qualified photographer, just a bystander.

[DemReadingDU]

39. NPR: Exposed: The Last Roll Of Kodachrome

7/24/10 NPR: Exposed: The Last Roll Of Kodachrome
In 1984, photojournalist Steve McCurry was in an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan. He followed the sound of voices to a tent where he found a group of girls. "I noticed this one little girl off to the side that had his incredible set of eyes that seemed almost haunted — or very piercing," he tells NPR's Audie Cornish.

McCurry snapped a picture that ended up on the cover of National Geographic's June 1985 issue. "The Afghan Girl" became one of the magazine's most widely recognized photographs — and one of the century's most iconic. To get that shot, McCurry used a type of film that has become iconic in its own right: Kodachrome.

The film, known for its rich saturation and archival durability of its slides, was discontinued last year to the dismay of photographers worldwide. But Kodak gave the last roll ever produced to McCurry. He has just processed that coveted roll at Dwayne's Photo Service in Parsons, Kan. — the last remaining location that processes the once-popular slide film.

There is an audio at this link,
and Steve McCurry's "Afghan Girl," photographed in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 1984 on Kodachrome film,
and a slideshow of 11 more photos.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2010/07/23/128728114/kodachrome

[Ghost Dog]

50. True. You can still get Fujichrome, though:

http://www.fujifilm.com/products/professional_films/color_reversalfilms/provia_400x/

Fuji colors are or were not at all bad, either.

[JNelson6563]

72. haha I was going to post link to Simon's song too

I mean, can you read or hear the word Kodachrome and not think of that song?

Julie

[DemReadingDU]

75. That's a great song!

[Demeter]

22. stopservicerscams.com

http://www.stopservicerscams.com/

We've all heard of the fraud and incompetence of the big bank servicers. Join us and sign this petition asking regulators to impose rules of the road on big bank servicers. Your name and comments will be delivered to all the bank regulators. Enough is enough.

To Secretary Geithner, Chairman Bernanke, Chairman Bair, and Comptroller Walsh:

Foreclosure fraud, illegal fees, and just plain incompetence have gone on long enough. We believe that it is time that regulators put some rules on big banks and mortgages. As part of the new Wall Street reform bill, you have the authority to impose rules on new mortgages going forward.

Please stop these big banks from cheating their customers.

CLICK THE LINK AND SIGN UP!

[Demeter]

23. Dilbert Speaks for me and to me

[ozymandius]

24. Bank of America Hit with Yet Another Class-Action Suit

I cannot shake a feeling that, in a year, we will be talking about Bank of America in the past tense.

ST. LOUIS (CN) - The seemingly endless string of class actions against Bank of America's foreclosure policies continued here in Federal Court. The class claims that BofA and BAC Home Loans Servicing refuse to participate in foreclosure prevention programs despite taking $25 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program money.

Bank of America signed a contract with the U.S. Treasury on April 17, 2009 agreeing to comply with the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) to perform loan modifications and other foreclosure prevention services, the St. Louis complaint states.

"Though Bank of America accepted $25 billion in TARP funds and entered into a contract obligating itself to comply with the HAMP directives and to extend loan modifications for the benefit of distressed homeowners, Bank of America has systematically failed to comply with the terms of the HAMP directives and has regularly and repeatedly violated several of its prohibitions," the complaint states.

more from Court House News

This comes right on the heels of another class action suit filed by Arizona and Nevada just last week. Here is a reposted excerpt:

Pro Publica:

On Friday, Arizona and Nevada both filed suit against Bank of America, saying it deceived homeowners trying to avoid foreclosures. The suits allege that Bank of America knowingly misled homeowners in the loan modification process, regularly promising quick help when the process instead dragged out over months if not years, foreclosing on homeowners during the modification process despite promises that homeowners would be safe and making “false” promises to homeowners that their trial modifications would become permanent, among other complaints.

Interviews with former bank employees provide a window into the bank’s call centers. One employee told the Nevada Attorney General’s office, “I felt like I was always lying to borrowers,” saying they were told to mislead homeowners about the status of their applications. The employee complained to a supervisor, and says of what happened next: “Her instructions in response were just to give the borrowers their status and to tell them that they are ‘in the process,’ in spite of the fact that the computer showed that nothing was happening.”

State laws in Arizona and Nevada apply specific processes to mortgage modifications. BoA is obliged to follow these rules, respective of each state. The suits filed in these respective states now add that the bank operated in bad faith with its borrowers. Bad faith implies intent. The attorneys general in these states will no doubt use this to describe standard business practices at Bank of America in trial.

[Demeter]

26. From your lips to God's ears

We have to put the fear back into banking, so that the banksters decide to retire and let some ethical people run our economy's financial machiery.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

51. You took the words right out of my fingers.

[AnneD]

62. And if JP Morgan....

gets caught in naked silver shorts (or was that naked except for silver shorts), the 'Too Big to Fail' myth will be finally laid to death. I think it is high time the large banks be broken up, one way or the other. And I do believe they will be, as more people get their fill.

AnneD, happily banking at credit unions most of her life.

[Demeter]

25. NYT Editorial Banks and WikiLeaks

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/opinion/26sun3.html?_r=2

...Like other companies, banks can choose whom they do business with. Refusing to open an account for some undesirable entity is seen as reasonable risk management. The government even requires banks to keep an eye out for some shady businesses — like drug dealing and money laundering — and refuse to do business with those who engage in them.

But a bank’s ability to block payments to a legal entity raises a troubling prospect. A handful of big banks could potentially bar any organization they disliked from the payments system, essentially cutting them off from the world economy.

The fact of the matter is that banks are not like any other business. They run the payments system. That is one of the main reasons that governments protect them from failure with explicit and implicit guarantees. This makes them look not too unlike other public utilities. A telecommunications company, for example, may not refuse phone or broadband service to an organization it dislikes, arguing that it amounts to risky business... This isn’t the first time a bank shunned a business on similar risk-management grounds. Banks in Colorado, for instance, have refused to open bank accounts for legal dispensaries of medical marijuana.

Still, there are troubling questions. The decisions to bar the organization came after its founder, Julian Assange, said that next year it will release data revealing corruption in the financial industry. In 2009, Mr. Assange said that WikiLeaks had the hard drive of a Bank of America executive...What would happen if a clutch of big banks decided that a particularly irksome blogger or other organization was “too risky”? What if they decided — one by one — to shut down financial access to a newspaper that was about to reveal irksome truths about their operations? This decision should not be left solely up to business-as-usual among the banks.

[Demeter]

27. Are Banks Afraid to Foreclose on the Rich?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/are-banks-afraid-to-foreclose-on-the-rich.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

I got this report from an attorney who is doing work in one of the top five foreclosure states. I’m relying this account in a somewhat sanitized form; he provided far more in the way of specifics.

One of his colleagues has a monthly mortgage payment considerably above $20,000 a month. He has not made a single payment in over 18 months. He has also not received a foreclosure notice or even as much as a call from his servicer.

He knows of 20 people personally in his community who have mortgages of over $20,000 a month who have not made a payment in over a year. As with his case, there has not been a peep from the bank about the failure to pay. Some are nevertheless freaked out, concerned that the sheriff will show up any day, and have moved out.

The only theory my contact could come up with is that the high end appliances in these homes would make them particularly attractive targets for stripping, and the banks figure it’s cheaper to keep the nominal homeowner in place rather than pay for security. Another possibility is that the market for $5 million and over homes in this area is so thin (as in non-existant) that they are afraid to take over and put any homes on the market out of concern for revealing where prices are now.

Needless to say, this anecdote illustrates the two tier system we have in the US, of one set of practices for the very well off and another for the great unwashed.

Two questions for readers:

1. Do you see evidence of bank reluctance to foreclose in neighborhoods with very high end homes? Is this example isolated, or part of a broader phenomenon?

2. If so, what do you think is driving this behavior?

INTERESTING REPLIES FROM READERS FOLLOW

[mrdmk]

69. This may have to do with which loans banks retained for themselves

and which they put into Mortgage Backed Securities. Another words, the big supposedly secure ones they kept for their greedy little selves.

In short, the many major banks and some corporations in the financial sector really did not and still do not know shit about finances.

Looks like Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan got the jump one everyone...

[Demeter]

29. Extreme Inequality Helped Cause Both the Great Depression and the Current Economic Crisis: Washingto

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/guest-post-extreme-inequality-helped-cause-both-the-great-depression-and-the-current-economic-crisis.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

It is clear that when banks become too big, it harms the economy. Economist Steve Keen says that “a sustainable level of bank profits appears to be about 1% of GDP”, and higher bank profits lead to a Ponzi economy and a depression.

But most mainstream economists dismiss the idea that wealth inequality among individuals causes economic crises.

Of course, some ideologues will argue that even discussing inequality is waging class warfare, and smacks of an attack on capitalism...

[Demeter]

31. Wall Street Whitewash By PAUL KRUGMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/opinion/17krugman.html?hp=&pagewanted=print


...The bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission was established by law to “examine the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States.” The hope was that it would be a modern version of the Pecora investigation of the 1930s, which documented Wall Street abuses and helped pave the way for financial reform.

Instead, however, the commission has broken down along partisan lines, unable to agree on even the most basic points...Last week, reports Shahien Nasiripour of The Huffington Post, all four Republicans on the commission voted to exclude the following terms from the report: “deregulation,” “shadow banking,” “interconnection,” and, yes, “Wall Street.”...When Democratic members refused to go along with this insistence that the story of Hamlet be told without the prince, the Republicans went ahead and issued their own report, which did, indeed, avoid using any of the banned terms.

That report is all of nine pages long, with few facts and hardly any numbers. Beyond that, it tells a story that has been widely and repeatedly debunked — without responding at all to the debunkers.

In the world according to the G.O.P. commissioners, it’s all the fault of government do-gooders, who used various levers — especially Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored loan-guarantee agencies — to promote loans to low-income borrowers. Wall Street — I mean, the private sector — erred only to the extent that it got suckered into going along with this government-created bubble...

[Demeter]

33. A Terrible Way To Fix The Economy: Households Deleveraging Through Defaulting on Debt.

http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2010/12/13/a-terrible-way-to-fix-the-economy-households-deleveraging-through-defaulting-on-debt/

LONG AND GRAPHIC

[Demeter]

40. How to resign from the club: Breaking up the euro area

http://www.economist.com/node/17629757

SOMEBODY'S PLANNING...

[Ghost Dog]

64. Precise, tightly-written description of the unthinkable!

... As the final paragraph nicely puts it:

The cost of breaking up the single currency would be enormous. In the ensuing chaos and recrimination, the survival of the EU and its single market would be in jeopardy. But by believing that a break-up cannot happen, the euro zone’s authorities will always tend to stop short of the radical measures needed to hold the project together. Given the likely and devastating chaos, it would be a mistake for a country to choose to leave. But mistakes occur in times of stress. That is why some are beginning to contemplate the unthinkable.

[Demeter]

41. Site Scrapers Find Free Money on the Web

http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2010/12/site-scrapers-game-google-search.html

EXPLAINS WHAT ALL THE SCREAMING IS ABOUT...

[Demeter]

42. Evil Site Scraper Update and Reader Notice NAKED CAPITALISM

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/evil-site-scraper-update-and-reader-notice.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

MORE ABOUT THE MECHANICS OF INFORMATION

[Demeter]

43. Complaint in Equity on Non-Attorneys Filing and Prosecuting Foreclosures

http://www.scribd.com/doc/44635349/Patrick-J-Loughren-Complaint-in-Equity-on-Non-Attorneys-Filing-and-Prosecuting-Foreclosures

YET ANOTHER WRINKLE IN THE FORECLOSURE FRAUD.

[Demeter]

44. Will Thousands of Foreclosures Be Voided Because Non-Lawyers Prosecuted Them?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/will-thousands-of-foreclosures-be-voided-because-non-lawyers-prosecuted-them.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[Demeter]

45. Empire of schmucks (UNCLE SCHMUCK?)

http://rothkopf.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/12/03/empire_of_schmucks

US TAXPAYER SUPPORTING EUROPEAN BANKSTERS---NOTHING TO SEE HERE...

[Demeter]

46. CEA Assessment of the the Impact of Letting UI Extensions Expire

http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2010/12/cea_assessment_1.html

...CEA estimates that in December 2011, without a year-long extension:

* Employment would be 593,000 lower than if there were an extension; and
* GDP would be 0.6 percent lower than if there were an extension.

These conclusions are depicted in Figure 5 from the report...SEE LINK FOR GRAPHIC PORN

[Demeter]

47. And We're Off to the Races!

The race to the bottom....

[Demeter]

52. pulling off the tarp--more details

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/guest-post-fed-data-shows-b-of-a-and-wells-fargo-biggest-borrowers-under-feds-emergency-lending-program-foreign-banks-also-borrowed-huge-amounts.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[Roland99]

54. Money For Nothing: Wall Street Borrowed From Fed At 0.0077 Percent Interest Rate

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/01/wall-street-borrowed-from_n_790709.html)


nice


So, I can refi my mortgage w/the Fed, eh?

[Demeter]

55. How do you know they don't hold it already?

It's 11 o'clock. Do you know where your mortgage is?

[Demeter]

53. Foreclosure Fraud, more detail

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/12/american-securitization-forum-tells-monstrous-whoppers-in-senate-testimony-on-mortgage-mess.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[Demeter]

56. On the plus side, inbox down to 190

On the other side, can't take anymore today. For you all, maybe that's a plus, though.

Going off to celebrate Xmas in my own way...bargain hunting, buying catfood, other stuff of life, keep warm (windchill of 8F today). Eat ham, pierogi and potato salad...and do still more laundry.

[TalkingDog]

57. An interesting factoid on oil price increases

http://investmentwatchblog.com/every-1-cent-increase-in-gasoline-decreases-u-s-consumer-disposable-income-by-about-600-million-per-year-the-move-in-oil-in-the-past-week-alone-has-almost-entirely-wiped-out-the-most-recent-stimulu/

Every 1 cent increase in gasoline decreases U.S. consumer disposable income by about $600 million per year. The move in oil in the past week alone has almost entirely wiped out the most recent stimulus.


I found it and posted it yesterday in GD, and since some SMW folk don't venture out into the fray, thought I'd post it here.

[Roland99]

59. 5 Reasons China Will Crash in 2011

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10955366/5-reasons-china-will-crash-in-2011.html?obref=obinsite

[TalkingDog]

60. Another juicy weekend tidbit:: Americans horribly misinformed about who has money.

http://www.good.is/post/americans-are-horribly-misinformed-about-who-has-money




See? Propaganda Works.

[bread_and_roses]

63. even the writer cops out in last sentence

He writes: "We're becoming a plutocracy." Er...becoming? How much greater does the inequality have to get before we "are" a plutocracy?

[Demeter]

65. Why, there's still some middle class doctors and dentists and lawyers

Gotta wipe out the gene pool, and then it will be a REAL plutocracy without any possibility of a random good guy f***ing it up....

[xchrom]

61. kick

[ozymandius]

66. HEADS UP! on the end of this week:

Friday is my last day as your host of the Stock Market Watch. I will "clean out the basement" of lots of material. I have charts. There are snarky graphics. Most of it is original content. Shortly after posting this material for your review, I will delete it from my image account.

I'll even offer up the thread code sheet if you wish to see what's behind the curtain. Some of the code is nine years old and written by my predecessor, radfringe.

Please join me on Friday to ring out my tenure here and 2010.

Thank you!

[Roland99]

67. Salut!

[Tansy_Gold]

68. It'll be the best party of the year!!!

Be there or be square!



TG

[DemReadingDU]

70. Ring out the old, ring in the new!

:party:

[DoBotherMe]

74. Here's a song about that from my boyfriend

I wish! Happy New Year! Dana ; )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VggAH1dk3Qk

[JNelson6563]

73. I'll be here

That will about be my last regular day checking on this thread too seeing as it's not what it once was. Sad but hey, it was quite a run!

See you Friday!

Julie

[ozymandius]

78. Rest assured, this thread is not going away.

The responsibilities of the thread will be assumed by Pale Blue Dot.

[Capn Sunshine]

76. I just dropped by to say Farewell , Ozy!

Your yeomans work here was appreciated by all of us going back to the beginnings of LBN. I didn't post much because I was trading in real time during the lifetime of this thread, but I always apprceiated the forum you provided. I wish you well, amigo. :hi:

[ozymandius]

77. Your words really mean a lot Capn Sunshine.

And let me say in return that I've always valued your input here. Your voice is tempered with the experience of someone who has worked in the trenches. So valuable is your participation that it lends gravity and form to discussions that can often dwell in the abstract.

[Demeter]

79. Not Sure How Life Will Continue

PBD is wonderful, but the snark...you don't get snark like that just anywhere.