STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, January 24, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday January 24, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON January 21, 2011

Dow 11,871.84 +49.04 (+0.41%)
Nasdaq 2,689.54 -14.75 (-0.55%)
S&P 500 1,283.35 +3.09 (+0.24%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.42 +0.02
30-Year Bond 4.57 +0.01

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    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

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. No reports today. nt

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil hovers above $89 a barrel in Asia

BANGKOK – Oil prices hovered above $89 a barrel Monday in Asia with gains tempered by mixed regional stock markets and expectations China will take more measures to cool its economy.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 17 cents at $89.25 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 48 cents to settle at $89.11 on Friday.

Oil has fallen from above $93 a barrel after economic indicators from China last week showed its economic growth accelerated in the fourth quarter and inflation remained elevated.

That has investors worried Beijing will take more steps to slow growth, reducing demand for crude from the world's biggest energy consumer.

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

[xchrom]

3. recommend

[Demeter]

4. Good Morning, PBD and All

Evidently it didn't get as cold as forecast: it's only +2F windchill--12F base temperature. Sigh. Of course, the morning is still young. The windchill advisory has been canceled, though, and it's snowing...it has to warm up to snow.

Another thing I just learned--someone at Weather Underground puts links to local news on the page...from both the university paper and what passes for MSM in the city.

[tclambert]

6. If the car starts, it'll be a good day. Fingers crossed.

Ironically, it's too cold to be very slippery. The ice will be hard and rough. Days nearer to the melting point give you slush on top of ice.

To start or not to start, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler of the engine to sputter and cough, or to tick feebly because the battery froze solid.

[Po_d Mainiac]

15. Windchills are just false accounting numbers to let people

who live where it's not very cold, think that it is.

[Demeter]

18. What Can One Expect From a Maineac?

Po, it's cold, and colder with the wind. Ask any car.

[Po_d Mainiac]

23. The wind makes no difference with your car

It will cool it down faster, but the battery, engine, lubricants and fuel will only cool to the ambient temperature.

[Pale Blue Dot]

26. Good morning everyone!

It looks like I actually may have a full week of teaching for the first time in 2011! This means that I may not be posting as much this week, but I'm sure you'll all make due without me.

Have a great day!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

63. Yay!

Yay! that you got work, not that you'll be absent :)

[Demeter]

5. Are capital controls effective?

http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/6031

The global crisis has reignited debate on the desirability of capital controls. This column examines evidence from Argentina and Chile and argues that capital controls can be effective, but that their effectiveness and efficiency varies. It adds that controls need to be considered as part of a macro-prudential toolkit to prevent asset inflation and overvaluation that is costly to revert in the down cycle...SEE LINK

[tclambert]

9. i tHInk yOu jUSt HaVe to uSe tHE sHiFt kEy rIgHt.

oH, tHE oTHeR kInD oF cApItAl.

[Demeter]

10. You Are far too awake, TC, for this time and weather

and stop pointing at my lack of CapITaL conTrol

[Demeter]

7. Did the Poor Cause the Crisis?

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/johnson16/English

The United States continues to be riven by heated debate about the causes of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Is government to blame for what went wrong, and, if so, in what sense?

In December, the Republican minority on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), weighed in with a preemptive dissenting narrative. According to this group, misguided government policies, aimed at increasing homeownership among relatively poor people, pushed too many into taking out subprime mortgages that they could not afford.

This narrative has the potential to gain a great deal of support, particularly in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and in the run-up to the 2012 presidential election. But, while the FCIC Republicans write eloquently, do they have any evidence to back up their assertions? Are poor people in the US responsible for causing the most severe global crisis in more than a generation?

Not according to Daron Acemoglu of MIT (and a co-author of mine on other topics), who presented his findings at the American Finance Association’s annual meeting in early January. (The slides are on his MIT Web site.)

NEXT TIME YOU NEED TALKING POINTS, SEE THIS

[tclambert]

12. Those darn, scheming poor people, plotting the downfall of Lehman Brothers,

and almost the fall of Goldman Sachs, which through the courageous efforts of senior executives, survived the crisis and bought the government. Obviously, the poor people knew what they were doing all along and manipulated the financial system for their own nefarious ends. But have no fear! The new Republican Congress will find a way to punish them. They're all about accountability, ya know.

[Demeter]

8. Why do fools fall in love?

Got my Valentine's day weekend theme all picked out...

[Demeter]

11. Banks Want Pieces of Fannie-Freddie Pie

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/business/21banks.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=business&adxnnlx=1295720914-TchRWj1IeGgPsm8FQe2zYQ

As the Obama administration prepares a report on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, some of the nation’s largest banks are offering a few suggestions.

Wells Fargo and some other large banks would like private companies, perhaps even themselves, to become the new housing finance giants helping to bundle individual mortgages into securities — that would be stamped with a government guarantee....I JUST BET THEY DO!




The banks have presented their ideas publicly through trade groups. Housing industry consultants and people familiar with recent meetings at the Treasury Department say these banks view the government’s overhaul of the mortgage market as a potential profit opportunity. Treasury officials have met with executives from several institutions, including Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, according to a public listing of the meetings.

The administration’s report, to be released later this month, is expected to be sweeping and could address basic questions like whether a government guarantee is needed at all for middle-class homeowners. While other arms of the government are dedicated to making loans available to lower-income borrowers, Fannie and Freddie have helped lower rates for the bulk of homeowners. Some Republicans are trying to narrow this broad role, and on Thursday, several conservative researchers released a proposal on how to do so. But banks, for their part, have told the administration that removing the guarantee would wipe out the widespread availability of the 30-year mortgage, fundamentally reshaping the American housing market. Though some other countries do not promote long mortgages, some analysts warn that such a change would be devastating to the market here. At firms like Goldman, analysts are predicting that a government guarantee on a broad swath of mortgage securities will survive in some form...

BEND OVER AMERICA, THIS WILL HURT YOU MORE THAN IT WILL A CORPORATION

[Demeter]

13. Wells Fargo Won’t ‘Pay Up’ to Settle Mortgage Buybacks

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-19/wells-fargo-refuses-to-settle-fannie-freddie-buyback-demands-atkins-says.html


....“The quality of our securitizations was of a much higher caliber than all of the other large bank peers,” Atkins said today in an interview. “It doesn’t make sense for us to pay up to get rid of the remaining small amount of problems we have.”...Wells Fargo set aside $464 million of provisions in the fourth quarter to cover repurchases and spent $506 million for buybacks. The San Francisco-based company’s repurchase reserve stood at $1.29 billion at the end of December, down from $1.33 billion on Sept. 30. Atkins cited the reserve during a conference call with analysts today as one reason the bank didn’t need to settle.

Rivals including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. reached settlements with the two government-owned mortgage companies to put a cap on potential losses. Analysts predicted that Bank of America’s settlement might be a template for other home lenders. Before the settlement, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank was handling disputes on thousands of loans one at a time.

Settlement Template

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. home lender, paid about $2.8 billion to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to settle claims on at least $4.1 billion of loans from Countrywide Financial Corp., according to a Jan. 3 statement. Before the settlement, the lender had $12.9 billion in unresolved “putback” demands, with about half related to the government- sponsored enterprises or GSEs, according to an Oct. 19 presentation...


Buyback Demands

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which invest in home mortgages, can force banks to buy back loans if lenders used incomplete information about borrowers’ incomes, home values or other data.

At the end of December, the companies had demanded Wells Fargo repurchase 6,501 loans, down from 9,887 at the end of the third quarter and 12,536 loans at the end of June, according to the statement. Total repurchase demands, including from private investors and mortgage insurers, numbered more than 12,600 loans representing almost $3 billion in original balance.

[InkAddict]

43. Note to self: Should remember that one when dealing w/Sallie and her friends:

....“The quality of our securitizations was of a much higher caliber than all of the other (large bank) peers,” Atkins said today in an interview. “It doesn’t make sense for us to pay up to get rid of the remaining small amount of problems we have.” (Countrywide mortgage)

[Demeter]

14. JPMorgan’s EMC Mortgage Sued Over Home Loan Documents

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-18/jpmorgan-s-emc-mortgage-sued-over-mortgage-loan-documents.html

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s EMC Mortgage, facing homeowner lawsuits over foreclosures, was sued by the trustee of a mortgage portfolio for refusing to turn over documents detailing the quality of loans bought by the trust.

Wells Fargo & Co., the trustee, is seeking access to files for more than 2,000 underlying mortgages in the Bear Stearns Mortgage Funding Trust 2007-AR2, according to the complaint filed today in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington.

“The trustee has repeatedly requested that EMC provide access to the subject documents,” Wells Fargo said in the complaint. “EMC has played proverbial ‘rope a dope’ and otherwise continued to drag its feet, and has produced nothing.”...Wells Fargo said it needs access to the documents to answer “serious” questions raised by investors in the trust about whether EMC breached representations and warranties regarding the quality of option-adjustable rate mortgage loans the trust bought.

Investor Questions

An investor in the trust, who owns 42 percent of the outstanding face amount of the portfolio’s certificates, questioned the condition of underlying loans, Wells Fargo said in the complaint, citing an August letter it received from David Grais, the investor’s attorney.

MORE AT LINK

[MattSh]

16. Ouch!

That toon's gotta hurt.

Maybe not those in DC, or TPTB though...

[Demeter]

19. If the US Torch has been passed anywhere, it's been to South America

Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, etc. have picked up Liberty's torch. Not China.

[Demeter]

17. JP Morgan Makes Big $ from Food Stamps, Hires Workers in India with Our Tax $

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/446636/jp_morgan_makes_big_bucks_from_food_stamp_growth%2C_then_hires_workers_in_india_with_our_tax_dollars/#paragraph2

JP Morgan is the largest processor of food stamp benefits in the United States. JP Morgan has contracted to provide food stamp debit cards in 26 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. JP Morgan is paid for each case that it handles, so that means that the more Americans that go on food stamps, the more profits JP Morgan makes...It turns out that JP Morgan also provides child support debit cards in 15 U.S. states and they also provide unemployment insurance benefit debit cards in seven states. Apparently states have found that they can save millions of dollars by "outsourcing" the provision of these benefits to big financial firms like JP Morgan...

ALSO- it turns out that JP Morgan is saving money by "outsourcing" food stamp customer service calls to India.

When ABC News asked JP Morgan about this, the company would not tell ABC News which states have customer service calls sent to India and which states have them handled inside the United States....

JP Morgan is the only one today still operating public-assistance call centers overseas. The company refused to say which states had calls routed to India and which ones had calls stay domestically. That decision, the company said, was often left up to the individual states.

JP Morgan has been moving some of these call center jobs back inside the United States due to political pressure, but this whole situation is a really good example of what the "global economy" is doing to middle class Americans...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

64. I was gonna comment on the irony..

but it's just too sad to be funny.
:sigh:

[Demeter]

20. Microcredit -- Remedy for Poverty or Opportunity for Abuse?

http://www.alternet.org/story/149642/vision%3A_microcredit_--_remedy_for_poverty_or_opportunity_for_abuse?page=entire

One type of microcredit program is designed to serve the poor; another to maximize financial returns to program managers and Wall Street investors...For more than twenty years, microcredit has been widely heralded as the remedy for world poverty. Recent news stories, however, have sullied microcredit’s glowing reputation with reports on scandals, exorbitant compensation to managers, skyrocketing interest rates, and aggressive marketing schemes. Once praised as a universal panacea, microlenders are now being widely attacked as predatory loan sharks. In December 2010, Sheik Hasina Wazed, the prime minister of Bangladesh and former microcredit advocate, accused microcredit programs of “sucking blood from the poor in the name of poverty alleviation.”

What happened?

It turns out there are two very different models of microcredit. As Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Prize, pointed out in his January 15, 2011 New York Times op-ed, one type of microcredit program is designed to serve the poor; another to maximize financial returns to program managers and Wall Street investors...

Grameen as a Model Community Bank

In 1983 Yunus founded the Grameen Bank, universally cited as the inspiration and model for the global microcredit movement. His purpose was to improve the lives of millions of poor Bangladeshis by making small loans to poor women to fund income-generating microbusinesses.

The basis for the Grameen Bank’s worldwide renown lies in a number of key characteristics that are not widely understood.

Most local branches are self-funded by deposits of their local members in taka, the Bangladesh national currency.

By serving as a depository for its members, Grameen Bank allows the poor to build their own financial asset base.

The bank extends loans to its members at a maximum interest rate of 20 percent, a fraction of what many other microlenders charge.

Operating on a cooperative model, profits are redistributed to the Grameen Bank’s owner-members or are invested in community projects.

These features root the Grameen Bank in the community it serves and keep money, including interest payments, continuously circulating locally to facilitate productive local exchange and build real community wealth.

Microcredit programs seeking to replicate the Grameen model have spread rapidly across the globe. Most, however, replicate only the loan feature. Few provide their members with depository services or replicate the Grameen Bank’s other defining features, though these features are central to its commitment to community wealth building.

The Turn to Wall Street

As microlending programs became increasingly focused on repayment rates and growing the size of their loan portfolios, they looked for new sources of capital to expand their reach. With encouragement from foreign philanthropists, many turned to foreign commercial equity investors. Since private equity conflicts with the nonprofit model, sometime around 2005 many nonprofit microcredit programs changed their status to for-profit enterprises and converted their philanthropic nonprofit assets into private for-profit assets...

[Demeter]

21. Why Doesn't Always-Pro-Business Fox "News" Like Obama's Latest Pro-Business Appointment?

RUPERT IS MIFFED; FEELS SLIGHTED...

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/446102/why_doesn%27t_always-pro-business_fox_%22news%22_like_obama%27s_latest_pro-business_appointment/#paragraph5

...this fair, balanced FoxNews.com story:

When Democrats said President Obama was "pro-business," we didn't know they meant one business in particular.

There are a few companies on the Obama corporate A List -- Democratic patrons Google and Goldman Sachs both turn up again and again at White House functions and for special recognition -- but no company seems to get the VIP treatment that General Electric receives.

... Whether it is pushing the president's plan for global warming fees in order to create demand for his "Ecomagination" line of windmills, solar panels, etc., boosting the president's national health-care law as part of an effort to sell more medical equipment, or enthusing over the Obama strategy of making loans available for industrial exporters, Immelt has been an Obama stalwart all along. Immelt has also consistently argued to shareholders that there is big money to be made in advancing the Democratic agenda.

... Though intended to show Obama's coolness with corporate America, the Immelt pick will likely reinforce the perception in American boardrooms that Obama likes to play favorites when it comes to the economy....

I SAY, A PLAGUE ON BOTH THEIR HOUSES--OR MORE COMPREHENSIVELY, ALL THREE: MURDOCK/FOX, GE/IMMELT, OBAMA/WHITE

[Demeter]

33. Jeff Immelt’s GE: The Too Biggest To Fail

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2011/01/21/jeff-immelts-ge-the-too-biggest-to-fail/

In my first post on how stupid it was for Obama to pick Jeff Immelt for his election season commission to appear focused on jobs, I looked mostly at how much GE has been outsourcing manufacturing and technology. Though I mentioned GE’s status as another TBTF finance company, I didn’t explain that in depth.

Mike Konczal has a post in which he corrects Joe Klein’s misperception that GE is not another big finance company, and in the process shows how GE was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the government’s bailout of shadow banking in 2008-09.

In it, he shows how GE received the second biggest FDIC debt guarantees of any of the big finance firms, after only Citi. He borrows the graphic at the left from a Raj Date paper that also explains how GE leveraged (heh!) its teeny FDIC insured deposits to get a big debt guarantee....


more

[Demeter]

22. Why Do People Who Work in Finance Earn So Much More Than the Rest of Us?

I'D GO FURTHER==WHY DO MOST OF THEM STILL HAVE THEIR JOBS?

http://www.alternet.org/story/149634/why_do_people_who_work_in_finance_earn_so_much_more_than_the_rest_of_us_?page=entire

Most Americans rightly sense that our middle-class dominated economy has devolved into a system of financial socialism by and for elites...

[xchrom]

25. +1

[Demeter]

24. The Case for Controlling Capital Outflows

http://www.truth-out.org/the-case-controlling-capital-outflows67076

Emerging countries, and even some low-income ones, are being flooded by short-term capital flows which they do not need; much of this money originates via the carry trade from the second wave of US quantitative easing (QE2). The intent of the US Federal Reserve is to expand the supply of credit in the US, so as to support the recovery and to lower long-term interest rates in the US.

So the impact of the carry trade is negative both for the US (as it undermines the aims of QE2) and for developing countries, which see their exchange rates become overvalued and their asset prices increase excessively.

The response of developing countries has been varied, but increasingly many of them are beginning to impose capital controls, both of the traditional kind, but also more innovative ones, that is those which deal with the new ways in which capital enters developing countries, in particular via derivatives. Indeed, many of these derivatives were initially invented to avoid precisely regulations on capital inflows or other types of financial activity.

Therefore it is positive that developing countries´ economic authorities are beginning to smarten up and have started to regulate these derivatives linked to the carry trade. Examples are the new regulations in Brazil and South Korea, precisely aimed to curb such financial activities, which have no positive development effect (except on profits of some financial institutions) and create a lot of macroeconomic problems. This can lead eventually to increased risk of crises, which as we have learned again in Europe and in the US have terrible economic and social costs....MORE

[Pale Blue Dot]

27. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fluctuate; Sara Lee Advances, RockTenn Retreats

U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended its longest run of weekly gains since 2007, ahead of earnings reports that may provide more evidence about the strength of the economy.

Sara Lee Corp. jumped 3.7 percent after three people with knowledge of the matter said the company received a takeover bid higher than its current share price. RockTenn Co. dropped 1.5 percent in Germany after agreeing to pay $3.5 billion to buy Smurfit Stone Container Corp. Salesforce.com Inc. fell 1.6 percent as Barron’s said shares of the seller of online customer-relationship management programs may fall.

March contracts on the S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent to 1,279.1 as of 11:34 a.m. in London. The index dropped for the first time since November last week as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc. failed to beat analysts’ earnings estimates and housing starts slid more than forecast. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell less than 0.1 percent to 11,820 today and Nasdaq-100 Index futures were little changed at 2,268.50.

“Nobody is talking about a double-dip in the U.S. anymore,” said Jacques Porta, a Paris-based fund manager at Ofi Patrimoine, who helps oversee about $425 million in stocks. “We’re not getting any bad earnings surprises from companies but investors’ expectations are very high and companies have to deliver a very positive message.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/u-s-stocks-advance-as-corporate-earnings-beat-analyst-estimates-ge-rises.html

[Demeter]

31. Nobody is talking about a double-dip in the U.S. anymore

I gotta bad feeling about this...

[Pale Blue Dot]

34. That was exactly my thought as I read that... nt

[DemReadingDU]

37. Ditto

[Tansy_Gold]

82. Tritto. n/t

[Loge23]

42. Not much talk about inflation either...

..except when whenever I buy something.
Perhaps heading into uncharted waters here - significant inflationary pressure without a concurrent rise in interest rates and home equity.
Now that gives me a bad feeling also.

[Fuddnik]

51. Not to mention an increase in wages or SS.

Nothing to cover all of that non-inflation.

I was doing our taxes over the week-end. We lost about all of our write-offs last year, and had to take the standard deduction, and wound up paying through the nose last April. So, the wife and I both increased our withholding substantially. I thought we would get a hefty return this year. And we will. And it's ALMOST enough to cover our homeowners insurance that got a)Got canceled by State Farm, and b)got jacked up another 40% with decreased coverage by switching companies.

Not to worry though. Our new, super-smart, bizness genius, new governor that was installed by the tea-baggers said that if we just let rates increase some more, insurance companies will be lining up to rape,er, I mean compete for our bizness.

[Demeter]

66. I Heard You Got Two New Dependents, Though

That ought to count for something.

[Fuddnik]

84. The two who just discovered the joys of the swimming pool this week?

Soaking wet #&%^@!) floors!

Being able to keep your doors open this time of year has it's drawbacks.

[tclambert]

89. Fuddnik? Why does that handle sound familiar?

Should I welcome you to DU and SMW? Or welcome you back?

Hey! Does this mean we get to see more doggy pictures?

[Fuddnik]

93. New visitor. Long time lurker.

Fuddnik- I'm the beatnik version of Elmer Fudd.

[tclambert]

88. Um . . . what about jobs? And people?

Corporations are doing okay. That must make the Supreme Court very happy. People? Not so much.

[xchrom]

28. Life after Capitalism

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/skidelsky37/English

LONDON – In 1995, I published a book called The World After Communism. Today, I wonder whether there will be a world after capitalism.

That question is not prompted by the worst economic slump since the 1930’s. Capitalism has always had crises, and will go on having them. Rather, it comes from the feeling that Western civilization is increasingly unsatisfying, saddled with a system of incentives that are essential for accumulating wealth, but that undermine our capacity to enjoy it. Capitalism may be close to exhausting its potential to create a better life – at least in the world’s rich countries.

thanks to demeter for turning me on to that site.

[Demeter]

29. Former Spy With Agenda Operates a Private C.I.A.

JUST WHAT WE NEED...A LONE RANGER FOR THE LOAN ARRANGERS

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/world/23clarridge.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2

Duane R. Clarridge parted company with the Central Intelligence Agency more than two decades ago, but from poolside at his home near San Diego, he still runs a network of spies.

Over the past two years, he has fielded operatives in the mountains of Pakistan and the desert badlands of Afghanistan. Since the United States military cut off his funding in May, he has relied on like-minded private donors to pay his agents to continue gathering information about militant fighters, Taliban leaders and the secrets of Kabul’s ruling class.

Hatching schemes that are something of a cross between a Graham Greene novel and Mad Magazine’s “Spy vs. Spy,” Mr. Clarridge has sought to discredit Ahmed Wali Karzai, the Kandahar power broker who has long been on the C.I.A. payroll, and planned to set spies on his half brother, the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, in hopes of collecting beard trimmings or other DNA samples that might prove Mr. Clarridge’s suspicions that the Afghan leader was a heroin addict, associates say.

Mr. Clarridge, 78, who was indicted on charges of lying to Congress in the Iran-contra scandal and later pardoned, is described by those who have worked with him as driven by the conviction that Washington is bloated with bureaucrats and lawyers who impede American troops in fighting adversaries and that leaders are overly reliant on mercurial allies.

[Festivito]

30. Debt: 01/20/2011 14,056,313,474,932.58 (UP 2,801,324,484.13) (Thu, DOWN a little.)

(Good day.)
Sleepy and, um, can't remember.
(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)
= 9,415,286,484,402.29 + 4,641,026,990,530.29
DOWN 687,286,291.06 + UP 3,488,610,775.19

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 $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,213.52 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,184,992 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 $45,170.28.
A family of three owes $135,510.84. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 8,167,486,351.60.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,261,739,536.22.
The average for the last 31 days would be 6,059,747,938.28.
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$/day.
There were 77 reports in 112 days of FY2011 averaging 6.42B$ per report, 4.42B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 731 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 18.5T$.
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)
01/20/2011 14,056,313,474,932.58 BHO (UP 3,429,436,426,019.50 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 +0,494,690,444,040.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,612,160,822,097.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
12/30/2010 +000,091,969,590.77 ------------*******
12/31/2010 +062,732,309,679.32 ------------**********
01/03/2011 -005,396,108,430.64 -- Mon
01/04/2011 -000,085,302,113.98 ----
01/05/2011 -000,029,576,179.10 ----
01/06/2011 -001,749,774,139.62 --
01/07/2011 +000,022,074,863.06 ------------*******
01/10/2011 -000,254,217,892.29 --- Mon
01/11/2011 +000,490,152,520.38 ------------********
01/12/2011 -000,273,054,954.79 ---
01/13/2011 -005,996,045,152.69 --
01/14/2011 +000,146,255,477.48 ------------********
01/18/2011 +038,613,327,669.01 ------------********** Tue
01/19/2011 +000,009,950,983.18 ------------******
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---

87,634,675,629.03 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=4704903&mesg_id=4704982

[Festivito]

85. Debt: 01/21/2011 14,060,136,959,466.51 (UP 3,823,484,533.93) (Fri, DOWN a little.)

(Good day.)
Let it snow, but gotta go.
(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)
= 9,415,228,617,099.55 + 4,644,908,342,366.96
DOWN 57,867,302.74 + UP 3,881,351,836.67

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 $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,213.45 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,192,192 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 $45,181.52.
A family of three owes $135,544.57. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 8,376,516,369.25.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,421,995,883.09.
The average for the last 31 days would be 6,214,834,725.57.
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$/day.
There were 78 reports in 113 days of FY2011 averaging 6.39B$ per report, 4.41B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 730 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 18.6T$.
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)
01/21/2011 14,060,136,959,466.51 BHO (UP 3,433,259,910,553.43 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 +0,498,513,928,574.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,610,244,105,573.47 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
12/31/2010 +062,732,309,679.32 ------------**********
01/03/2011 -005,396,108,430.64 -- Mon
01/04/2011 -000,085,302,113.98 ----
01/05/2011 -000,029,576,179.10 ----
01/06/2011 -001,749,774,139.62 --
01/07/2011 +000,022,074,863.06 ------------*******
01/10/2011 -000,254,217,892.29 --- Mon
01/11/2011 +000,490,152,520.38 ------------********
01/12/2011 -000,273,054,954.79 ---
01/13/2011 -005,996,045,152.69 --
01/14/2011 +000,146,255,477.48 ------------********
01/18/2011 +038,613,327,669.01 ------------********** Tue
01/19/2011 +000,009,950,983.18 ------------******
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----

87,484,838,735.52 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=4707912&mesg_id=4707970

[Demeter]

32. New Delhi eyes bank reshape

India’s central bank is planning to encourage foreign banks to set up as locally incorporated, wholly owned subsidiaries instead of merely as branches of overseas groups

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/M2ZOXX/JIATXI/52KB7/HDCA53/HD80OX/82/t?a1=2011&a2=1&a3=24

[Hotler]

35. k&r

God I hate those fuckers on Wall Street.

[Demeter]

36. State of the Union: What the President Should Say Robert Reich

http://robertreich.org/post/2892661602

READ IT AND WEEP

[xchrom]

48. boo-hoo -- their servers are overloaded and i can't read it. nt

[Loge23]

62. Competitiveness

Now we have to be "more competitive"!
We're only #1 in productivity already!
I guess the beatings will continue until morale improves.

[Demeter]

67. When they say "More Competitive!" I think they mean this:

[Loge23]

87. Yes! along with the middle class! (eom)

[Demeter]

38. Myopic Metrics and Blind Alleys for High Finance – and Big Oil, too

INTERESTING REVELATIONS ABOUT BIG OIL

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/ian-fraser-myopic-metrics-and-blind-alleys-for-high-finance-and-big-oil-too.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[DemReadingDU]

39. Cocoa Export Ban Sends Cocoa Prices Surging, Ivory Coast Violence Expected

1/24/11 Cocoa Export Ban Sends Cocoa Prices Surging, Ivory Coast Violence Expected

As we highlighted yesterday, and predicted a week ago, following the Ivory Coast's halt of cocoa exports, futures in the substance have moved to one-year highs on Monday as "ongoing political tensions in the world's top producer escalated." The WSJ reports that "New York ICE second-month cocoa futures soared more than 4% to a one-year high of $3,340 a metric ton. In London, front-month March futures jumped 7% at the open to a five-month high of GBP2,307/ton ($3,692/ton)." We hope that our prediction that JP Morgan is the mastermind behind this most recent key commodity market implosion, made surely in jest, remains that way and that no cocoa ETF is currently being prepared by JPM without anyone's knowledge, until it is of course, too late.

more...
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/cocoa-export-ban-sends-cocoa-prices-surging-ivory-coast-violence-expected


Uh oh, I better stock up on my favorite chocolate while I can still afford it

[Fuddnik]

52. Uh-oh.

Gotta go to Costco today anyway. While I'm there, I'll buy all of their Peppermint Patties.

[DemReadingDU]

54. I found a great bargain on Nestle semi-sweet mini morsels

Last week, Krogers had a entire shopping cart filled with 12-oz bags of Nestle semi-sweet mini morsels, each $1.29, with expiration date of November 2012! I only bought 6 bags, now I wish I had bought them all, lol!

[AnneD]

57. Does chocolate morsels....

really expire? I call BS.

[DemReadingDU]

58. Well, no. But that's the date on the Nestle package

The thing is, there are times when we eat the morsels before we've made the cookies. Those goodies don't have time to expire!
:)



edit: The clerk said they ordered too much and decided to sell them at the discounted price. I need to stop back today and see if there are any packages left.

[Demeter]

69. They have to date everything

90% of it is made-up, used to cycle the store shelves.

The elderly immigrants I work with get very concerned about the expiration dates. As long as the package is unopened and it isn't under refrigeration or fresh-baked goods, most stuff lasts a minimum of two years.

Robin Williams once remarked that the cardboard box would deteriorate long before the cereal inside it....

[InkAddict]

53. There better be a Chocolate Underground n/t

[DemReadingDU]

55. Who would want to part with their chocolate?

Maybe those TSA nudie scanners and gropers will be used to find smugglers of chocolate
:evilgrin:

[tclambert]

91. NO! . . . Must . . . resist . . . temptation . . . to make . . . chocolate smuggling . . . jokes.

How . . . Where . . .

Oh, fudge.

[tclambert]

90. No, not cocoa! How can I make it through the winter without hot chocolate?

Well, I can always heat up the Vernors.

[Fuddnik]

94. Chai spiced tea. Or vodka.

[Demeter]

40. Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Hold $24 Billion in Foreclosed Properties

http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-hold-24-billion-foreclosed-properties

THE MIND BOGGLES

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s combined inventory of foreclosed residential property has quadrupled in just three years and now stands at a record $24 billion. The number of properties on their rolls -- now at nearly 242,000 -- has increased fivefold.

That’s roughly a third of the total U.S. portfolio of repossessed homes...

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

41. MERS’ R.K. Abandons Sinking Ship

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/01/23/mers-r-k-abandons-sinking-ship/

...Let me just correct that last paragraph. MERS was created by the mortgage industry to avoid recording fees at county offices. This notion that the county offices couldn’t handle it is just not true. The banks didn’t like that they were charged for the transfer.

As this mentions, Arnold wasn’t just a figurehead CEO, he basically was MERS. They only have a handful of employees, and he’s been there since 1996. As much as this is a personnel decision, it’s also the end of MERS, in a sense. Throughout the foreclosure fraud crisis, MERS has been exposed, not only as a tax avoidance scheme, but as a registry which introduced tremendous complexity into the securitization process, and led to a breakdown in the mortgage assignment process. The “electronic handshake” pulled off by entering mortgage transfers into the database simply does not have the same force of law as reality, and MERS has no internal standards or tracking of the transfers put into the database, making them only slightly more credible than fiction. And MERS trying to both stand in as the mortgagee and also claim no financial responsibility in the mortgage makes absolutely no sense, as several judges have pointed out. You cannot justify MERS without offering up a series of lies and misstatements.

Numerous states have MERS lawsuits floating through the system. I don’t see how the company survives, or at least how it becomes more trouble for the banks who own it than it’s worth. Arnold must have thought so too.

[Demeter]

45. Rather Like Bernie Made-Off, No?

[Demeter]

44. Mass Hysteria – The Iabanez Decision

http://mandelman.ml-implode.com/2011/01/mass-hysteria-%E2%80%93-the-iabanez-decision-by-the-massachusetts-supreme-court/

Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled against two banks, Wells Fargo and US Bancorp, who had each foreclosed on homes and were now asking a judge to declare that they held clear title to the properties in fee simple.

The decision surprised quite a few, and represented a major landmark for those on the foreclosure defense side of the fight. Bank stocks got pretty much creamed after the decision was announced. Foreclosure defense blogs went into sheer elation mode, and it’s easy to understand why… finally, a decision by a top court had gone their way, establishing that the rules of foreclosure weren’t some trivial set of technicalities...

And then the investors would be something just shy of pleased that they were sold empty securities… to be specific, mortgage-backed securities without the mortgage-backed part. And if notes weren’t assigned to the tax-exempt REMIC trusts… well, then someone would owe quite a bit in back taxes, now wouldn’t someone? Maybe even some penalties and interest too? I would think so.

Now, that might be a reason not to want to show up with the actual note, wouldn’t you think?

.............................................................................

...Let’s run it down and then I’ll tell you what I thought was particularly noteworthy… no… fascinating, even.

1. Basically, the court found that neither bank as trustee was able to establish that the notes had been properly assigned to the respective securitized trusts at the time that each had foreclosed on the two properties.

2. The two banks tried to say that the mortgages simply followed the notes and therefore were transferred with the transfers of the notes, but the courts said no, that was not the case in Massachusetts, at least.

3. The two banks also tried to say that the mortgages transferred via what’s termed “assignments in blank,” which is the equivalent of writing: Pay to the order of _______, and leaving it blank as to whom is to be paid, but that didn’t fly with the Massachusetts high court either.

4. The court was unanimous in its decision, making it quite clear that when the foreclosure notice names the wrong plaintiff, it does not constitute proper notice of the foreclosure to the previous owner of the property.

5. The banks also tried to say that the mortgages had been transferred via the Pooling & Servicing Agreement(s) and on this point the court said that an “executed” PSA could possibly be an acceptable way to prove valid assignment of the mortgages, but only if the PSA also contained a schedule that specifically identified the mortgage in question as being part of the respective trust, and assuming there was proof that the assignor in the PSA actually held the mortgage it was assigning. And neither bank was able to produce such a schedule.

[Demeter]

46. Judges to weigh mortgage document destruction

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70M1YJ20110123

Federal bankruptcy judges in Delaware are due to hold separate hearings Monday on requests by two defunct subprime mortgage lenders to destroy thousands of boxes or original loan documents.

The requests, by trustees liquidating Mortgage Lenders Network USA and American Home Mortgage, come despite intense concerns that paperwork critical to foreclosures and securitized investments may be lost.

A series of recent court rulings have increased the importance of original loan documents, holding that they are essential for investors to prove ownership of mortgages and to have the right to foreclose.

In the Mortgage Lenders case, the U.S. Attorney in Delaware has formally objected to the requested destruction because loss of the records "threatens to impair federal law enforcement efforts."

MORE--HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT--MUST READ!

[xchrom]

49. one has to wonder what evidence there might be in those boxes. nt

[Demeter]

72. And what WAS in the ones already destroyed?

Bet a bunch of bankster bosses are kicking their bean counters right about now.

[Demeter]

47. GET A MIGRAINE--FAST!

"Major Swap Participants" — Taking Apart the CFTC's Proposed Rule

http://economicsofcontempt.blogspot.com/2011/01/major-swap-participants-taking-apart.html

[xchrom]

50. you'd have to splain some of that to me.

i don't really understand swaps -- and the comments following made me more confused.

[Demeter]

70. Hence the Migraine

I doubt that any of them have any idea what they are saying.

[Roland99]

56. 10:45 - DJIA nearing 12K. Oil dropping below $88

Dow 11,927 +55 +0.47%
Nasdaq 2,700 +10 +0.39%
S&P 500 1,287 +3 +0.26%
GlobalDow 2,158 +15 +0.69%
Gold 1,346 +5 +0.34%
Oil 87.94 -1.17 -1.31%

[Pale Blue Dot]

59. Most U.S. Stocks Gain as M&A Deals Overshadow Europe Concern

U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes to near two-year highs, as acquisitions and share- buyback plans overshadowed concern about Europe’s debt crisis.

Intel Corp. helped spur a rally in technology shares after the world’s largest chipmaker added $10 billion to its stock- buyback plan. Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. jumped 27 percent after Rock-Tenn Co. agreed to buy the maker of material for cardboard boxes for $3.5 billion.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.3 percent to 1,286.87 as of 10:45 a.m. in New York, a second straight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54.91 points, or 0.5 percent, to 11,926.75, extending an eighth-week rally.

“It’s animal spirits coming back to the corporate side,” said James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Minneapolis- based Wells Capital Management, which oversees about $340 billion. “Earnings have been great and companies are flush with cash. That allows them to engage in buybacks and M&A activity, which in turn boosts optimism on stocks.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/u-s-stocks-advance-as-corporate-earnings-beat-analyst-estimates-ge-rises.html

[Roland99]

61. "Earnings have been great and companies are flush with cash. "

ain't that just jim-dandy for them, eh?

[maddogesq]

60. And hopefully the demons are out of my NASDAQ/TECH stuff for a few days.

I am counting on O to say nice things about, you know, investing in technology, green energy, and stuff made the U.S. of A. And life is beatutul all the time, and I'll be happy to see those men in their nice white suits, and they're coming to take me away, heehee, haahaa.

[Fuddnik]

65. Here they come!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzHtm1jhL4

[Papa Boule]

68. It's going to be pretty surreal

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Music-Industry-Braces-for-the-nytimes-310084089.html;_ylt=A9G_R01zsj1NOLwADAe7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE2ZDQ1cHIzBHBvcwMxMQRzZWMDdG9wU3RvcmllcwRzbGsDbXVzaWNpbmR1c3Ry?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=">if the music industry turns out to be the cause that ends digital device privacy and freedom and anonymity on the Internet.

It'll be ironic if the same industry that led the way in the peace and love generation leads the way back to an oppress, monitor, and control generation.

[Demeter]

71. Funny Quote:

“The television is a great opportunity,” said Thomas Hesse, head of the digital business at Sony Music Entertainment. “We haven’t innovated in the living room for many years.”


You and me both, Sony.

These guys really don't know what their business is, and their plan is a failure. But they will keep losing money until they get a clue: culture is not for sale.

[Tansy_Gold]

83. I haven't seen The Train in almost 40 years

A friend lent me his DVD a few weeks ago but I haven't had time to watch it yet.

:thumbsup:


Tansy Gold, who loves trivia

[Papa Boule]

86. Tansy Gold, trivia master

First one to mention it, and I've been using the nick a couple of years a few places 'round the 'net. :)

[tclambert]

92. Excellent catch, Tansy Gold.

[Demeter]

95. Demeter--Who Has NO Idea What You Are Talking About

gotta find another obscure Dilbert cartoon...

[Tansy_Gold]

96. here you go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Train




As I mentioned, I haven't seen The Train in ~40 years, and then only once, on TV. I'm not sure what it was that impressed me so much; it's not my favorite genre. But it's one of those films that once seen, I wanted to see again and again. I watched for another broadcast, and never saw it listed. And for some reason or other never looked for it in either VHS or DVD. One of those things that slips the mind too often.

I have a friend who picks up movie DVDs at yard sales and estate sales and online, and not too long ago I asked him if he had The Train. As it turned out, he did, but he had lent it to another friend and had to wait until that friend sent it back, which he did a few weeks ago.

I've watched snippets online, and frankly much of what I know ABOUT the film I've picked up from online references rather than due to memory of that one and only viewing.

I'm setting aside time this week-end to FINALLY watch the film again.



TG, who also just the other day ran across the source of Pale Blue Dot's moniker again. Damn, but I still miss Carl Sagan. :cry:

[Demeter]

73. Roger Ehrenberg’s Prescription for Robbing a Bank (the TBTF Variety)

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/roger-ehrenbergs-prescription-for-robbing-a-bank-the-tbtf-variety.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

One of the continued frustrations of the post-crisis period is the lack of discussion of looting, which as described in a seminal paper by George Akerlof and Paul Romer, is when executives find it more profitable to gamble on bankruptcy, as in lever up their companies, pull out too much in cash (usually with the help of overly flattering accounting) and leave failed businesses in their wake. Akerlof and Romer noted that businesses with explicit or implicit guarantees were particularly well suited to this sort of extractive behavior, and they argued the savings and loan crisis was a prototypical example. In ECONNED, we argued that the producers and management of major capital markets players were engaged in a looting 2.0 in the runup to the crisis.

Roger Ehrenberg, who had a long career in derivatives and now runs an early stage venture firm. He describes how easy it is to, as he puts it, “rob a bank” or loot. His formula:

SEE LINK--OR BETTER YET, SHOW IT TO YOUR COLLEGE STUDENT

[Demeter]

74. Tough 2010 Puts BofA at Rear of Bank Pack

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704115404576096370483698608.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

Bank of America Corp. cemented its status as a laggard among big U.S. banks Friday with a fourth-quarter loss of $1.2 billion, capping a rough first year on the job for Chief Executive Brian Moynihan.

The deficit of 16 cents a share was largely the result of an impairment charge related to the lender's mortgage business. Excluding that item, Bank of America earned $756 million, or four cents a share, but missed Wall Street estimates by a wide margin. Analysts had expected a profit of 14 cents. Revenue also disappointed, falling 11% to $22.7 billion...It was widely expected that Bank of America's results would pale next to the $4.83 billion in fourth-quarter profit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., which emerged from the 2008 crisis as the healthiest of the big U.S. banks.

The surprise: Citigroup Inc., the weakest of the banking giants, which became a ward of the state after the government had to lavish it with bailout funds, posted a profitable year while Bank of America lost $2.2 billion in 2010..."There is a sense that Citigroup is ahead of Bank of America in getting its arms around the issues," said John McDonald, banking analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "There are more questions around Bank of America's ability to pull itself out of this than Citi."

While the government sold off the last of its Citigroup shares—and even turned a handsome profit—Bank of America is in some ways a victim of its own success. By virtue of its size, it has more requests to buy back bad mortgages than any other bank. New regulations, such as rules limiting fees on debit cards, take a huge bite out of the bank's revenue because of its vast retail network.

[Demeter]

75. Bank of America's Kitchen-Sink Writedown Means Moynihan `Better Do Better'

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/bofa-s-writedown-means-moynihan-better-do-better-.html

Investors barely blinked yesterday when Brian T. Moynihan wrapped up his first year leading Bank of America Corp. by announcing more writedowns and a second straight quarterly loss. They may not be so forgiving for 2011.

“It was a bad quarter for the industry but particularly for Bank of America,” said Thomas Brown, chief executive officer of Second Curve Capital LLC, a New York hedge fund focusing on financial firms. “It should be tough for everybody again in the first quarter, and Bank of America better do better on a relative basis.”

Moynihan, Bank of America’s 51-year-old CEO, booked a $4.1 billion provision for loan buybacks, which was $1.1 billion more than he disclosed three weeks earlier, and wrote down mortgage operations by $2 billion. That brought 2010 impairments to $12.4 billion tied to credit-card and mortgage units purchased by predecessor Kenneth D. Lewis. Investors may regard new writedowns as Moynihan’s problem.

“The clock is clearly ticking at Bank of America,” said Tony Plath, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “How long will institutional investors be happy with a 14- or 15-dollar stock price? They need to make $16 billion or $17 billion a year, that’s what it will take.” MORE

[Demeter]

76. John Hempton: What to do with Fannie and Freddie

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/01/john-hempton-what-to-do-with-fannie-and-freddie.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

There are a bunch of ideologues out there with solutions to the Fannie and Freddie situation. They argue that government intervention has to end and then propose a system with a permanent role for government. It is not just nonsensical – it is usually in the interest of some large financial institution. All they want is Frannie out of their part of the business. They like government subsidies in the rest of their business.

Anyway I have the free market solution to the Fannie and Freddie situation – and – I hate to say it – it is dead obvious.

Answer: raise Frannie’s pricing.

At the moment there is nobody doing conforming mortgages except Fannie and Freddie. Indeed there is almost nobody doing mortgages of any kind except Fannie and Freddie. If the free market wants the business they can have it. (They just don’t want it at this sort of interest rate spread – and I don’t blame them.)

All the government need to do is tell Frannie to raise their price a little each quarter. Currently they charge 20-25bps for guaranteeing mortgages. (The free market won’t take credit risk at that price.) So it is entirely open to the FHFA (and hence the Treasury) to tell Fannie and Freddie to raise their prices by 5bps. The government will get paid better for the risk they are taking (and what free market ideologue will disagree with that) and the private sector can compete if they want to.

I doubt the free market will. But then in a quarter or two Frannie can raise their pricing by another 5 bps. And a quarter or two later Frannie can raise by another 5bps...At some stage you will get to a level where the private sector chooses to compete. Frannie should not set its price competitively though. In another quarter they should raise the price another 5bps. And in another quarter they should raise again.

Over time Frannie will become non-competitive. It will shrink simply because bankers and mortgage brokers do not bring it business. And so Frannie is put into market chosen run-off and the business is effectively privatized. MORE

[xchrom]

77. is that a good idea? -- i honestly don't know. nt

[Demeter]

78. Nor Do I

But it's floating out there, and bringing in the ideas for discussion is my self-appointed task.

[xchrom]

79. lol! and you do it very, very well. nt

[Demeter]

80. Why, thank you!

got to go to work work now. Have a safe warm day!

[xchrom]

81. ...

:hi: have fun at work.