STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, March 15, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, March 15, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON March 14, 2011

Dow 11,993.16 -51.24 (-0.43%)
Nasdaq 2,700.97 -14.64 (-0.54%)
S&P 500 1,296.39 -7.89 (-0.61%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.25 -0.12 (-3.42%)
30-Year Bond 4.45 -0.09 (-1.92%)

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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

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports

Mar 15 08:30 Empire Manufacturing Mar 17.0 17.0 15.43
Mar 15 08:30 Export Prices ex-ag. Feb NA NA 0.9%
Mar 15 08:30 Import Prices ex-oil Feb NA NA 0.8%
Mar 15 09:00 Net Long-Term TIC Flows Jan NA NA $65.9B
Mar 15 10:00 NAHB Housing Market Index Mar 16 17 16
Mar 15 14:15 FOMC Rate Decision Mar 0.25% 0.25% 0.25%

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

[Demeter]

5. This is now all irrelevant, old news from way back when

We are now living in the post-post-nuclear age.

It's good to have lots of vacant housing stock...there will be homes for the dispossessed Japanese...

[Pale Blue Dot]

50. Empire State index shows faster growth in March

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Manufacturing activity grew in the New York region in March at a faster pace than in February, according to the Empire State manufacturing survey released Tuesday by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The Empire state index rose to 17.5 in March from 15.4 in February. This is the fourth straight increase and the highest level of the index since last June. The gain was a bit less than expected. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected the index to rise to 18.3 in March. The new orders index fell to 5.8 in March from 11.8 in February, while the shipments index fell to 1.6 from 11.3. The two employment indexes were stronger and unfilled orders rose above zero for the first time in a year. The prices paid index rose to 53.3, and has risen a cumulative 31 points over the past four months.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/empire-state-index-shows-faster-growth-in-march-2011-03-15

The reports today, in combination with the Benanke, may be enough to keep the markets from completely tanking.

[Pale Blue Dot]

52. Prices of U.S. imports jump 1.4% in February

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. import prices climbed 1.4% in February owing to 3.7% increase in petroleum costs, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Prices for nonfuel imports rose a lesser 0.6%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected import prices to rise 1.1% in February following a downwardly revised 1.3% increase in January. Import prices have risen at least 1.0% in each of the last five months, mostly because of a spike in oil prices. Food import costs have also risen sharply in recent months.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/prices-of-us-imports-jump-14-in-february-2011-03-15

Never mind.

[Fuddnik]

55. The price of Ipad 2's went up? I'll starve!

[AnneD]

62. I hope you have.....

To eat your words....Tabasco sauce with that?

[Po_d Mainiac]

79. There's an app for that!

[Demeter]

2. Morning, PBD. You Can't Sleep, Either?

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. Oh, I'm almost always up this early.

It's not just because I smell blood in the water.

[Demeter]

18. Blood? This Is More Like Revelations

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. Oil near $99 as Japan nuclear crisis worsens

SINGAPORE – Oil prices slid to near $99 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as traders fled risky investments after a third explosion in three days at an earthquake-damaged Japanese nuclear plant triggered a radiation leak.

Benchmark crude for April delivery was down $2.09 at $99.10 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 3 cents Monday to settle at $101.19 on Monday.

In London, Brent crude was down $1.96 at $111.77 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake Friday and ensuing tsunami has also hit demand for oil by shutting down five Japanese refineries — two due to fire. The affected refineries have combined daily capacity of 1.4 million barrels of oil, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. Dow futures are down 255 points at this hour.

Since the Japanese crisis began, U.S. stocks have been (bizarrely) basically flat. That doesn't look like it will be the case today.

[Demeter]

9. The PPT Was Pumping Away Yesterday, for sure

Reality is a bitch, though.

[Pale Blue Dot]

24. 6:30 - Dow futures now down 284 points. nt

[DemReadingDU]

40. Wow!

:wow:

[Roland99]

49. Ain't much better an hour from opening

DJIA INDEX 11,681.00 -245.00
S&P 500 1,259.40 -31.10
NASDAQ 100 2,228.75 -60.75

[hamerfan]

59. We are

Frikkin' Doomed! :yoiks:
hamerfan

[Demeter]

65. Just reaping what they sowed

[Pale Blue Dot]

53. Stock futures extend losses after economic data

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures extended their steep losses Tuesday after data showed a rise in February import prices and faster growth in the New York area's manufacturing activity in March. Down 243 points before the data, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 266 points to 11,660 at last check. S&P 500 futures dropped 34.70 points to 1,255.80 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 68.50 points to 2,221.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-futures-extend-losses-after-economic-data-2011-03-15

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. Stocks Slide as Japan Plummets on Nuclear Concern; Oil Falls

Stocks dropped, with the Topix index posting its worst two-day plunge since 1987, and Japan’s default risk jumped as Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the danger of further leaks from a nuclear power plant damaged by the nation’s biggest earthquake was increasing. Commodities fell.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumped 5.2 percent at 5 p.m. in Tokyo and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 1.7 percent. The Topix sank 9.5 percent and the cost of protecting Japan’s sovereign debt surged to a record. Treasuries gained, sending yields to their lowest level this year. The Australian dollar weakened to a three-month low against the yen. The S&P GSCI spot index of 24 commodities slid 1.5 percent. Oil lost 2 percent in New York. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 1.8 percent.

The Bank of Japan added 8 trillion yen ($98 billion) into money markets today, adding to yesterday’s record cash injection, to secure the nation’s financial stability following the March 11 temblor -- updated to a magnitude of 9, from 8.9, by the U.S. Geological Survey -- and subsequent tsunami. Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was today rocked by two more explosions and a fire.

“The whole notion of risk, not only in financial markets but risk in general, needs to be rethought,” Sandeep Malhotra, a managing director at Clariden Leu, which oversees about $100 billion of assets, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television from Hong Kong. “With respect to the Japanese market, we believe there may be further downside.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-15/nikkei-225-set-for-worst-two-day-slump-since-2008-yen-weakens-after-quake.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

14. Japan stock crash raises fear of wider global impact

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japanese equities crashed Tuesday on panic selling after Prime Minister Naoto Kan said a “substantial amount” of radiation was leaking from a nuclear power plant affected by Friday’s massive earthquake and tsunami.

The share plunge could now have wider impact on global markets, said some analysts, while others said the global markets were unlikely to follow suit and that the hefty losses this week in Japan presented a buying opportunity.

The Nikkei Stock Average (JP:NI225 8,605, -1,015.34, -10.55%) nosedived more than 14% at one point in afternoon trading on a fresh wave of what appeared to be indiscriminate selling across sectors, before recovering a little to close down 10.6% at 8,605.15 for its worst tumble since 2008.

The latest sell-off, which followed Monday’s 6.2% tumble, came after one more explosion was reported at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s (JP:9501 1,221, -400.00, -24.68%) (TKECY 0.00, 0.00, 0.00%) Fukushima Daiichi plant’s No. 2 reactor, on top of previous explosions at No. 1 and No. 3 reactors. Authorities said there was a fire at No. 4 reactor, though that was later reported extinguished.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japans-nikkei-plunges-again-over-radiation-fears-2011-03-14

[Ghost Dog]

34. Japan economic shocks look set to deepen

... The Bank of Japan stepped in to keep the banking system stable for a second day, offering $98 billion of cash if needed. It lined up a record $183 billion in same-day funds on Monday and doubled an asset-buying scheme to support prices.

Still, the economic shocks look set to deepen, raising doubts that the economy can bounce back quickly like it did following the 7.3 magnitude Kobe earthquake in 1995.

The triple disaster has left a gaping hole in power capacity, leading to rolling three-hour blackouts.

"It looks like Japan could be in a 'power down' state for a protracted period," said Stephen Roberts, Nomura's chief economist for Australia. "That's what makes it different from other major quakes."

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-japan-quake-economy-idUKTRE72E1EK20110315

[Demeter]

8. French intelligence on Libya

http://brontecapital.blogspot.com/2011/03/french-intelligence-on-libya.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BronteCapital+%28Bronte+Capital%29

The Libyan National Oil Company website - like the internet in Libya generally - is down.

Below I have copied a section (from the Google Cache) on relationships with Total - the Paris based oil major. It is clear that Total is thick with the Gadaffi regime. So it comes as a big surprise to see Total (ahem the French Government) recognizing the Libyan rebels as a legitimate nation and exchanging ambassadors. France does not sell arms to rebels or terrorists. Recognition of the rebels as a nation is a basis for supplying them weapons.

France has gone further and is the major proponent of a no-fly zone. It has also advocated bombing Libya. Given the very substantial French oil interests in Libya it is absurd to think that Sarkozy (first and foremost a French Nationalist) did this without either the tacit acceptance of Total or without Total's interests in mind. France is not keen to go to war (even with jets and no casualties) in support of American oil companies. They think differently about their own oil companies.

Anyway I think we can conclude that Total (ahem the French Government) has a very different view of the outcome in Libya to that which I am getting in American and Australian media. Moreover given the very strong presence of Total in North Africa I suspect their intelligence is better than the CIA and far better than (say) the New York Times.

Just noting.

Also noting that Britain is joining the French in calling for EU recognition. Maybe BP also has a few tricks up their sleeve.

[Pale Blue Dot]

10. As Treasury Cash Drops To Just $14.2 Billion, Is America About To Run Out Of Cash?

And so the US Treasury has hit the proverbial paycheck to paycheck sustenance level. After burning $12.8 billion (without a change in gross debt) in cash today alone, and $75 billion in the month of March so far, primarily driven by a back end-loaded tax refund calendar, according to the Daily Treasury Statement, today's cash balance dropped to the scary level of just $14.2 billion. Without the benefit of incremental funding, this is the same amount that the Treasury burns on a good day! In other words, we take back what we said about the US Treasury existing paycheck to paycheck - Geithner now has to scramble to find funding on a day to day basis. If tomorrow operating outflows surpass $14.2 billion (and, again, the amount was $12.8 billion today) the world's "greatest" country (i.e. banana republic) runs out of cash, period. And as the following schedule indicates, there are no Long-Term bond issuances until next week (and the Bill issues are merely funding of rolling issues), we have some trouble seeing how the US Treasury will fund itself for the balance of the week...



And the forward issuance calendar: remember, this is where the bulk of money for deficit funding comes from these days.



On the other side of the ledger, total debt was $14.164 trillion, with $50 billion left in the liquidating SFP account. That means there are just two more 56-Day CMB maturities left before the credit ceiling gimmick expires. Once that happens, and in the absence of any clarity on the debt ceiling debacle, America may soon grind to a halt as the incremental debt capacity is hit in just over a month.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/treasury-cash-drops-just-142-billion-and-no-bond-auctions-until-next-week-america-about-run-

[Demeter]

15. How About Them Tax Cuts, Guys?

What did they THINK would happen? A miracle?

[tclambert]

26. Why, yes. Yes, they did expect a miracle.

They've proven by repeated experimentation that tax cuts for the rich don't create jobs, don't stimulate the economy, and basically only work for one thing: making campaign donors happy.

The miracle to me is that so many people still think this is good policy.

[Fuddnik]

41. You guys just don't believe hard enough.

Your skepticism and lack of faith is killing the economy and Tinkerbelle.

[Demeter]

43. Good.

Tinkerbelle was as much an enabler as Wendy, but for indefensible reasons and for indefensible goals. Tinkerbelle is the Sarah Palin prototype.

[AnneD]

64. I thought that title .....

Went to Condi Rice?

[Demeter]

66. Condi was more a corporate whore

There's nothing corporate about Palin.

[Pale Blue Dot]

11. 10 Year Bond Yield Plunges

Finally, we have a true liquidation flight to safety. We expect the Fed will come to market with an announcement before market opens tomorrow.



http://www.zerohedge.com/article/10-year-bond-yield-plunges

[Demeter]

17. Good Old Uncle Sap

This may be a situation that even American exceptionalism cannot finesse.

[Demeter]

12. Hidden energy crisis in the Middle East

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MC12Ak02.html

...An ongoing reshuffle in natural gas supplies has left at least two countries - Israel and Jordan - without much of the gas they need...On February 5, at the height of the uprising against then-president Hosni Mubarak, a massive explosion rocked a gas terminal near the Egyptian town of El-Arish. The head of the Egyptian natural gas company, Magdy Toufik, blamed it on ''a small amount of gas leaking',' but it soon emerged that the most likely cause was an act of terror - in some accounts, two separate terrorist attacks. According to reports in the Associated Press, ''The terminal's guards testified that (four masked gunmen) stormed the terminal in two cars, briefly restrained the guards and then set off the explosives by remote control.''

The terminal lay on the Arab gas pipeline carrying Egyptian gas to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and even Turkey. The section that branches off of that pipeline into Israel was not affected, but Egypt shut off gas supplies to the Jewish state as well. Egyptian authorities claimed that the system needed ''to cool off',' and that they would resume supplies within a week or so...Over a month and US$150 million of losses later (for Israel and Jordan combined), the gas is still not flowing. Egyptian authorities are quickly changing their tune: having missed at least two self-imposed deadlines to resume the supplies, until a few days ago they continued to insist that the pipeline would be activated very shortly.

Now, however, they have started to ask for an increase in the price at which they are selling the gas. ''Egypt has officially informed Jordan that the gas supplies will resume only if Amman signs an agreement on new rates,'' an unnamed official told Agence France-Presse on Tuesday...There is some sound logic in this request, while less so in the manner it was made. For the past five years, Egypt has been selling gas to its northern neighbors at highly subsidized rates despite facing a shortage of gas at home. This led to an absurd situation last year when the Egyptian government was forced to consider buying back its own gas from Israel at a 600% premium to match the market rate...The Egyptian military regime, facing a dire financial situation, seems intent on righting this injustice.

In the case of Israel, it has some trumps to play, not least of which is the antipathy of the Egyptian street toward the Jewish state. In late 2008, a Cairo court ordered the government to stop the exports, because they were never approved by the Egyptian parliament. Mubarak ignored the order, which did not have a timeline attached to it, but it seems that the current government will use it as an excuse to renegotiate the treaty.

Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that Mubarak and his family are facing indictments for corruption, including possibly for taking bribes in order to ensure the gas deal.

Jordan is even more important than Israel, because it buys more gas and at an even lower price. Whereas Israel currently pays $4.5 per MBTU (million British thermal units - a unit of measurement used for natural gas), Jordan pays $3. Egypt's gas accounts for 40% of Israel's gas imports and 20% of the Jewish state's electricity, while Jordan relies on it for 80% of its electricity production. (Syria's and Lebanon's imports are meager by comparison - Syria, for example, relies on Egypt for only about 7% of its gas).

Thus, the Egyptian leadership is applying a familiar tactic: beating up on Israel to convey a message to the Arab world. Indeed, this is more or less exactly how a message to Amman is being framed. In the words of a Western diplomat in the Jordanian capital speaking to Agence France-Presse, ''It is difficult for Egypt to export gas to Jordan, and not Israel, without raising an international outcry.''

MUCH MORE AT LINK...OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE...

[Cali_Democrat]

13. German DAX down 5.35% right now

:wow:

[Pale Blue Dot]

23. FTSE 100 Stocks Tumble;, Antofagasta, Burberry, Vedanta Lead London Losses

U.K. stocks slumped for a fifth day, tracking declines in global equity markets, amid concern that a Japanese nuclear power plant will leak radiation.

Burberry Group Plc (BRBY) led European luxury stocks lower on concern that sales in Japan may suffer following the country’s strongest earthquake in a century. Antofagasta Plc (ANTO), Vedanta Resources Plc (VED) and Rio Tinto Group led raw-material shares lower.

The benchmark FTSE 100 Index (UKX) retreated 154.02, or 2.7 percent, to 5,621.22 at 9:32 a.m. in London. The gauge has tumbled 7.7 percent from this year’s high on Feb. 8 amid concern that higher oil prices prompted by Arab revolts will curb global economic growth and as Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the danger of further radiation leaks from the earthquake-damaged Fukushima plant is increasing. The FTSE All-Share Index (ASX) fell 2.8 percent today, while Ireland’s ISEQ Index dropped 3.5 percent.

“Sellers are pushing against an open door,” said Richard Hunter, the London-based head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Plc. “What’s happening in Japan is just the latest in a long list of concerns that investors are having to deal with. It’s a very uncertain situation.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-15/ftse-100-stocks-tumble-antofagasta-burberry-vedanta-lead-london-losses.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

16. GE shares slump 9% in premarket trading

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Shares in General Electric Co. (GE 19.92, -0.44, -2.16%) slumped 9% in premarket trading Tuesday as the situation at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant worsened. GE designed the reactors used at the plant, where there has been a "substantial" radiation leak, according to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that GE is ready to offer technical assistant to the Japanese government and has has kept engineers on standby in a Wilmington, N.C., command center. Shares in GE fell 2.2% on Monday.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-shares-slump-9-in-premarket-trading-2011-03-15

[Demeter]

19. Does SMW List This Site as a Resource?

Real-time world-wide market index information:

http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=asia

[Fuddnik]

45. I keep it bookmarked

Along with

http://money.cnn.com/data/premarket/

Good info on futures, and up to the minute during the day.

[Demeter]

20. To Go With Cartoon: Radiation Exposure Levels--What Does It Mean?

http://twitpic.com/49mm4l

[Demeter]

21. All Things Nuclear: Factoids

http://allthingsnuclear.org/tagged/Japan_nuclear

[Demeter]

28. Greg Palast Expose on Obama's Nuclear Plans

http://www.truth-out.org/tokyo-electric-build-us-nuclear-plants-the-no-bs-info-japans-disastrous-nuclear-operators68457

Don't read right after eating...

[Demeter]

32. Could Japan's Disaster Happen in the U.S.?

ANY HONEST PERSON WOULD SAY, IT ALREADY HAS...AT THREE MILE ISLAND. WE WERE LUCKIER THAN JAPAN, IN THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE TO BATTLE THE EARTH AND THE OCEAN AT THE SAME TIME AS THE RUNAWAY NUKE....

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/527586/could_japan%27s_disaster_happen_in_the_u.s./#paragraph3

...As for the multifaceted atomic crisis in Japan, it is very hard to say what is really going on. But this much is clear: if the containment vessel at the partially melted-down Fukushima reactor No. 1 holds, most of the radiation should be held within the site. That is the Three Mile Island scenario, which the International Atomic Energy Agency rates as a four on its Nuclear and Radiological Events Scale. The crisis in Japan is, so far, a five. Chernobyl was a seven.

If the containment vessel breaks--or is already broken, cracked and leaking due to the earthquake--and if the meltdown keeps going, officials would have to switch from trying to cool the reactor to burying it with tones of sand and cement; essentially bombing it with dirt in numerous and very dangerous air sorties by cargo planes and helicopters. That would be the Chernobyl scenario, and it would mean that massive amounts of radioactive iodine, cesium and other very poisonous stuff would escape into the atmosphere. This contamination would be deadly close to the site, but could reach the West Coast and even the East Coast of the United States--though in a very defuse form.

The fallout from Chernobyl left swaths of Belarus and Ukraine red-hot no-go areas of contamination, inhabited by mutant wild boar and other strange fauna. The radiation from one or two Japanese Chernobyls could sicken many thousands of people--and many of them could die. The fallout’s diffusions across the Northern Hemisphere would strike later and quietly as hard to track cancers seemingly unlinked to any one cause.

And what about our reactors? In the US we have twenty-three reactors of the same General Electric design as Fukushima No. 1. We also have atomic plants built on fault lines. For example, the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant's units 1 and 2 not far from Santa Barbra, and outside San Clemente there's the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, which has three reactors, two of which are still running. Environmentalists protested and bitterly opposed the opening of these plants along the California coast in a region of regular and often violent seismic activity. But, as in Japan, their concerns were brushed aside with assurances that all contingencies had been taken into account...The American fleet of 103 atomic reactors is old and rickety. But more dangerous than the old and brittle equipment, according to Bradford, may be overconfidence among regulators and managers. “The phrase it can’t happen here is an invitation to disaster,” said Bradford. Mix technological arrogance with the profit motive, and you get slipshod management, corner-cutting and repeated lying.

MORE

[amandabeech]

57. I think that the worst thing about nukes in the U.S. is that they are run by

money-grubbing, lightly regulated public stock company executives who are running them for short term profits.

I talked to someone who worked at Three Mile Island back in the late '90s. He said that under the previous, heavily-regulated utility company, there were almost no problems, but when the money grubbers came in, corners were cut and little problems kept coming up.

Deregulation of nuke plants is just a nightmare.

[Demeter]

68. You Got It

[Robbien]

80. New Jersey already has/had a leaking nuclear plant at Oyster Creek

Radioactive water that leaked from the nation’s oldest nuclear power plant has now reached a major underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to much of southern New Jersey, the state’s environmental chief said Friday.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to halt the spread of contaminated water underground, even as it said there was no imminent threat to drinking water supplies.

The department launched a new investigation Friday into the April 2009 spill and said the actions of plant owner Exelon Corp. have not been sufficient to contain water contaminated with tritium.

<...>

He ordered the Chicago-based company to install new monitoring wells to better measure the extent of the contamination, and to come up with a plan to keep it from ever reaching a well.

<...>

The radioactive water leaks were found just days after the plant got a new 20-year license in 2009 that environmentalists had bitterly fought for four years. Those problems followed corrosion that left the reactor’s crucial safety liner rusted and thinned.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jrD4xonSoPnaXaZTftwd4RXuoA2gD9FI7LJ80

Whether this was corrected depends on who one talks to.

And most of the plants in the US are as old and rusty as the one in NJ.

Spending money for safety maintenance does not increase bonus pools.

Much of NJ is under flood waters right now. I expect that isn't doing much good for the rusty pipes of this plant.

[tclambert]

29. The real questions is: Can they get the nuclear piles stabilized?

One of the problems with a meltdown is the damping mechanisms no longer stop the nuclear chain reaction that generates massive amounts of heat. A puddle of uranium on the bottom of the reactor vessel won't explode, but it will continue to generate heat, enough to melt through concrete.

Can they cool the pile enough before it deforms too much for them to stop a runaway reaction?

[Demeter]

33. That's a Negative, Good Buddy

The real question is: where are we going to evacuate what's left of the once proud 300 million or so Japanese, when reality can no longer be avoided?

[ret5hd]

46. i think it's more like 130 million.

Not that this negates your question.

[Demeter]

69. I stand corrected

Thanks--didn't have time to google this morning...

[Fuddnik]

48. I would suggest Texas.

But, the poor people of Japan have suffered enough already.

[ret5hd]

54. As a tx resident, i would welcome them. They might accidentally bring some civilization here.

[Fuddnik]

56. I know Anne D would make them some tea and cookies.

[Demeter]

70. Miso soup!

I need some breakfast before it's lunchtime...

[TalkingDog]

87. Good Choice!

Useful for combating radiation poisoning.

[AnneD]

71. The Cajuns brought food ....

And music with then. Since the BP disaster....there is not much sea food. Can you put soy sauce on a chicken fried steak? I guess we have enough room for the displaced Japanese but Godzilla has to go.

[tclambert]

98. Chili con sashimi

Ooh, chili with that little buzz from puffer fish poison! But it has to be really thick so's ya can eat it with chopsticks.

[Festivito]

22. Debt: 03/11/2011 14,164,360,361,278.85 (UP 927,290,143.58) (Fri, UP a little.)

(Good day.)
Lost sleep over the tarr sands call.
(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)
= 9,552,087,457,389.01 + 4,612,272,903,889.84
UP 832,058,508.78 + UP 95,231,634.80

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 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,209.81 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.63, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,544,992 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 $45,464.9.
A family of three owes $136,394.69. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 4,082,381,947.20.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,721,587,964.80.
The average for the last 28 days would be 2,915,987,105.14.
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$/day.
There were 112 reports in 162 days of FY2011 averaging 5.38B$ per report, 3.72B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 681 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.7T$.
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)
03/11/2011 14,164,360,361,278.85 BHO (UP 3,537,483,312,365.77 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 +0,602,737,330,387.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,358,019,293,773.41 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
02/18/2011 +000,193,465,100.84 ------------********
02/22/2011 +000,575,498,293.73 ------------******** Tue
02/23/2011 +000,604,643,024.49 ------------********
02/24/2011 -006,532,296,295.79 --
02/25/2011 +025,792,712,781.54 ------------**********
02/28/2011 +054,201,582,504.95 ------------********** Mon
03/01/2011 -002,977,641,960.04 --
03/02/2011 +000,044,996,229.28 ------------*******
03/03/2011 +008,400,855,808.94 ------------*********
03/04/2011 +000,116,571,384.45 ------------********
03/07/2011 +000,111,602,744.60 ------------******** Mon
03/08/2011 +000,276,984,022.19 ------------********
03/09/2011 +000,555,472,651.94 ------------********
03/10/2011 -020,814,859,511.27 -
03/11/2011 +000,832,058,508.78 ------------********

61,381,645,288.63 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=4769715&mesg_id=4769738

[Festivito]

100. Debt: 03/14/2011 14,166,030,787,779.80 (UP 1,670,426,500.95) (Mon, UP a little.)

(Good day.)
It's a crazy life for some more than others.
(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)
= 9,552,467,551,218.67 + 4,613,563,236,561.13
UP 380,093,829.66 + UP 1,290,332,671.29

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 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,209.59 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.63, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 311,566,592 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 $45,467.1.
A family of three owes $136,401.31. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 4,223,473,154.90.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,815,648,769.93.
The average for the last 28 days would be 3,016,766,539.21.
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$/day.
There were 113 reports in 165 days of FY2011 averaging 5.35B$ per report, 3.66B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 678 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.7T$.
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)
03/14/2011 14,166,030,787,779.80 BHO (UP 3,539,153,738,866.72 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 +0,604,407,756,888.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,337,023,219,782.77 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
02/22/2011 +000,575,498,293.73 ------------******** Tue
02/23/2011 +000,604,643,024.49 ------------********
02/24/2011 -006,532,296,295.79 --
02/25/2011 +025,792,712,781.54 ------------**********
02/28/2011 +054,201,582,504.95 ------------********** Mon
03/01/2011 -002,977,641,960.04 --
03/02/2011 +000,044,996,229.28 ------------*******
03/03/2011 +008,400,855,808.94 ------------*********
03/04/2011 +000,116,571,384.45 ------------********
03/07/2011 +000,111,602,744.60 ------------******** Mon
03/08/2011 +000,276,984,022.19 ------------********
03/09/2011 +000,555,472,651.94 ------------********
03/10/2011 -020,814,859,511.27 -
03/11/2011 +000,832,058,508.78 ------------********
03/14/2011 +000,380,093,829.66 ------------******** Mon

61,568,274,017.45 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=4771428&mesg_id=4771471

[Demeter]

25. The Key to Rebuilding Workers' Power: Unrig the Rules by: Dean Baker

http://www.truth-out.org/the-key-rebuilding-workers-power-unrig-rules68440

...However, if workers are to make real progress, they must move to alter the rules of the game. These rules have been deliberately rigged against them over the last three decades.

The most obvious of these rules are those governing the rights to unionize, such as those that Gov. Scott Walker directly attacked in Wisconsin... Unionization has become almost impossible in the private sector, since companies routinely fire workers engaged in an organizing drive. It is illegal to fire workers for trying to organize, but the penalties are trivial, even if a fired worker presses a case before the National Labor Relations Board long enough to win. Companies will gladly pay a few dollars to the organizers they fire in order to avoid having a union.

It would be a very different world if there were real penalties for violating labor law. A woman in Minnesota got fined more than $200,000 for allowing people to download copyrighted music from her computer. Suppose companies paid the same penalty for illegally firing workers trying to organize a union as this woman had to pay for violating copyright laws. That might encourage some respect for the law.

But this is just the beginning. Over the last three decades, the government has signed trade agreements like NAFTA, the major purpose of which is to put US manufacturing workers in direct competition with low-paid workers in countries like Mexico and China. According to economics and common sense, workers in the United States will lose jobs or see their pay cut when they have to compete with workers in other countries earning one-tenth as much.

This situation is made even worse when the dollar is overvalued. If the dollar is overvalued by 20 percent, we are effectively giving a subsidy of 20 percent to foreign producers competing with our workers. It is not easy to overcome a 20 percent subsidy. Therefore, a lower valued, or more competitive, dollar should be at the top of progressives' lists of demands. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board can bring down the value of the dollar in international currency markets...The practices of the Fed more generally should be front and center in every progressive's agenda. The Fed's actions are enormously important in determining the course of the economy. If Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke had done their job, and reined in the housing bubble, we would not be sitting here with 25 million people who are either unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work altogether. We need the Fed to be governed by people who take its commitment to full employment seriously, not by people who see its job as serving the big banks. MORE

[xchrom]

27. Recommend

[xchrom]

30. more on the coming 'slump': U.S. stock futures slump; Nikkei slides 11%

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-slump-nikkei-slides-14-2011-03-15?dist=beforebell

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures tumbled early Tuesday, joining a global market selloff that started in Tokyo as Japan’s nuclear crisis deepened and worries escalated over the human and economic toll of last week’s devastating earthquake.

In Japan, the Nikkei Stock Average closed down nearly 11% overnight, sparking broad declines in Asian and European markets. Germany’s DAX 30 index /quotes/comstock/30p!dax (DX:DAX 6,569, -297.83, -4.34%) was particularly hard hit, dropping 4.7% in intraday trading.

[xchrom]

31. this is going to be sold as important -- and maybe it is -- but i have doubts:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-you-need-to-watch-the-galleon-case-2011-03-08

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Psst: Here’s a tip. Wall Street is in big trouble.

On Tuesday, the biggest insider-trading case in a generation goes to trial. Raj Rajaratnam, founder of Galleon Group, is accused of building a network of insiders across a swath of corporations and using information they provided to earn millions in trading profits.

But to say the case is simply about the practices of a single hedge-fund manager is underselling the importance of the case to Wall Street. Information passing among the clubby elite of the financial world is as common as Hermès ties and vacation homes.


Reuters

Galleon hedge-fund founder Raj Rajaratnam

The Rajaratnam case is a “crucially important case for retail investors and the SEC’s crackdown on what has become a widespread problem in the U.S. — hedge funds trading on material, nonpublic information,” said Andrew Stoltmann, a securities attorney based in Chicago who is not involved in the case.

[MattSh]

89. You're right to have doubts...

This will turn into another Bernie Madoff. Look, we got a second bad apple. Ain't you proud of us now? The problem with both Bernie and Raj is that they probably aren't corrupt enough, so the elites feel free to sacrifice them to protect their own sorry asses.

[xchrom]

35. Investors panic after radiation warning

http://www.watoday.com.au/business/markets/investors-panic-after-radiation-warning-20110315-1bv33.html

Close Australian shares posted their worst one-day fall in nine months, taking the broader market back to levels last seen in September, as the Japanese nuclear meltdown sparked panic selling across the region.

Sharemarkets plunged this afternoon after Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned radiation levels around quake-stricken nuclear reactors in north-eastern Japan were rising. Panic selling drove Japan's Nikkei index down by as much as 14 per cent.

[Demeter]

36. Yes, Well, They ARE Downwind

[xchrom]

37. too true -- too true.

i think that now becomes a metaphor for the post earthquake world.

[Demeter]

44. I Hope Everyone Realizes

that we are ALL downwind...

And...

A nuclear power plant, or a nuclear disaster, is FOREVER...because the danger will still be there, even after the human race is gone, from whatever cause.

[Po_d Mainiac]

63. Not downwind until after the winds have circumvented the world

[xchrom]

38. The Secret Life of Economists

http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/7064/the_secret_life_of_economists

Would Americans be more concerned about the financial deregulations that helped trigger the Great Recession if they knew that some of the economists publicly advocating for them profited from their implementation?

It’s tough to know, because in op-eds and media appearances, academic economists often do not disclose their investments in or positions at private financial institutions that could bias their policy recommendations. But after two researchers exposed a rash of potential conflicts of interest among members of their profession, economists are now for the first time considering ethics rules that would require them to divulge any connection between personal finances and the public policies they advocate.

[Demeter]

39. Lest All Condemn Me As a Political Permabear Sourpuss, I DO Have Good News!

The 91 year old, recently elected state rep. in NH who wanted to send all the disabled to Siberia has resigned in the face of public outrage...

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2011/03/nh-state-legislator-resigns-after-remark-about-mental-illness-/1

I used to live in NH. My kids were born there. Including the disabled one. This is why I left NH for home. This wasn't one isolated crank.


And in local news:

the coop board, budget and finance, and infrastructure committees all met yesterday. and I attended all three meetings (insert editorial cartoon here)



and very productive meetings they were, too. Condo board meeting tonight...

weather has turned seasonal...cooler than I'd like, but not extreme.

[Fuddnik]

51. A close friend of mine founded public kindergarten in NH.

She was an Alderman in Nashua, and in the legislature for 6 years, before losing a State Senate race.

After her husband lost his job with Verizon, they moved to Florida.

[Demeter]

72. I lived in Nashua

1976-1996 with time off for good behavior...

[Demeter]

42. Naomi Klein: Why Climate Change Is So Threatening to Right-Wing Ideologues

http://www.alternet.org/story/150180/naomi_klein%3A_why_climate_change_is_so_threatening_to_right-wing_ideologues?page=entire


...But something very different is going on on the right, and I think we need to understand what that is. Why is climate change seen as such a threat? I don’t believe it’s an unreasonable fear. I think it’s unreasonable to believe that scientists are making up the science. They’re not. It’s not a hoax. But actually, climate change really is a profound threat to a great many things that right-wing ideologues believe in. So, in fact, if you really wrestle with the implications of the science and what real climate action would mean, here’s just a few examples what it would mean.

It would mean upending the whole free trade agenda, because it would mean that we would have to localize our economies, because we have the most energy-inefficient trade system that you could imagine. And this is the legacy of the free trade era. So, this has been a signature policy of the right, pushing globalization and free trade. That would have to be reversed.

You would have to deal with inequality. You would have to redistribute wealth, because this is a crisis that was created in the North, and the effects are being felt in the South. So, on the most basic, basic, "you broke it, you bought it," polluter pays, you would have to redistribute wealth, which is also against their ideology.

You would have to regulate corporations. You simply would have to. I mean, any serious climate action has to intervene in the economy. You would have to subsidize renewable energy, which also breaks their worldview.

You would have to have a really strong United Nations, because individual countries can’t do this alone. You absolutely have to have a strong international architecture.

So when you go through this, you see, it challenges everything that they believe in. So they’re choosing to disbelieve it, because it’s easier to deny the science than to say, "OK, I accept that my whole worldview is going to fall apart," that we have to have massive investments in public infrastructure, that we have to reverse free trade deals, that we have to have huge transfers of wealth from the North to the South. Imagine actually contending with that. It’s a lot easier to deny it....

READ IT ALL! THERE'S MORE THAN 3 SIDES TO THIS ISSUE!

[boomerbust]

47. Abdullah and his boys

Are taking the GWB stand on self defense. They must stop the evil doers in Bahrain so they dont have to fight them at home.

[amandabeech]

58. Down about 230 at 9:32.

Wild day today!

[Po_d Mainiac]

60. Jim Cramer re: Fukushima

"I think they are making plans to be able to open the plant back up again" :wtf:

Talk about someone less than worthless....unfukking believable!

[Demeter]

73. He's been drinking the heavy water

[MattSh]

90. Is that what they call vodka these days? n/t

[Demeter]

91. Only if It Glows In The Dark

[Fuddnik]

78. I was on the phone with a friend when that popped up.

He used to work on the floor with Kramer. Said he was known to have consumed a lot of coke. And not out of the bottle. However he didn't wear clown shoes on the exchange floor.

[tclambert]

99. I heard they gave up on that when they started pumping in sea water.

It may cool the uranium, but it will contaminate everything with whatever the sea water happens to contain. Someone on day one said it would leave the reactor unusable afterwards. "Seawater is highly corrosive, particularly when heated, and injecting it into the reactor means the company is, for all practical purposes, abandoning the reactor for all future uses." (From the LA Times: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/13/science/la-sci--japan-quake-reactor-20110313)

Then there were three explosions. I believe engineers call that "bad for the machinery."

The point is don't let Cramer try to fix anything mechanical.

[Po_d Mainiac]

101. They were using low-salt seawater

:sarcasm:
The point is not to believe most of the shit that asshat states. At least this latest faux-pas should take precedent over his Bear/Sterns call

[Pale Blue Dot]

61. New York Stock Exchange Invokes Rule To Speed Market's Open

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The New York Stock Exchange invoked a rule designed to streamline the stock market's open on Tuesday as traders braced for a bumpy trading session.

NYSE Euronext (NYX) invoked "Rule 48" for its New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex cash markets half an hour before the market's open on Tuesday as the specter of a nuclear power crisis in Japan and heightened radiation risks sent global markets plunging. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures recently were down 227 points at 11699 in premarket trading.

Invoking Rule 48 enables the stock exchange's designated market makers to forgo showing premarket prices before the opening bell in an effort to make the opening faster and easier. The exchange employed the rule several times during the winter's heavy snowstorms that disrupted transit in New York City and other major cities.

The exchange invoked the rule only twice in 2009. NYSE has no specific threshold for deploying the rule, but tends to use it when stock futures are moving sharply.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110315-708160.html

[xchrom]

67. U.S. stocks crater at open; gold off $34, bonds up

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-crater-at-open-gold-off-34-bonds-up-2011-03-15

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Tuesday, extending heavy losses in Asian and European trading, as investors reacted to news that a damaged nuclear reactor in Japan was leaking more radiation into the atmosphere. The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,725, -268.45, -2.24%) tumbled 264 points, or 2.2%, to 11,728, led by a 5% drop in General Electric Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!ge/quotes/nls/ge (GE 19.04, -0.88, -4.42%) shares. The S&P 500 /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,265, -31.25, -2.41%) was off 2.5% at 1,264, with a 3.1% drop in industrials leading a broad decline. The Nasdaq Composite /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,631, -69.73, -2.58%) was down 2.7% at 2,627. The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 76.65, +0.30, +0.39%) was up 0.6%, oil futures were off 3.6%, and gold was down $34 an ounce. Treasurys gained.

[Demeter]

74. Odd that gold would go down

Unless it's just unloading paper gold...

[xchrom]

76. i thought that was odd as well -- but it may be that

the catastrophe raises the value of say food in respect to gold.

[ret5hd]

81. I believe it is mostly "sell everything" for liquidity.

[xchrom]

83. very possible. nt

[ozone_man]

77. Most commodities are down.

Lumber is up though.

http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/commodities/futures/

And the dollar a bit.

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/index.html?s=nybot_dx&t=&a=&w=&v=i

When the markets finally tank, the dollar will be the beneficiary. This bear market rally is getting pretty long in the tooth, eh?

[Po_d Mainiac]

88. The FED orchestrated "bear" DX?

It ain't even closed it's eyes for the winter nap yet.

[AnneD]

102. Lumber would be up....

Cause they need paper to print the money.

[Po_d Mainiac]

82. It's part of the move to cover by raising cash

An expected event in the very short term. PM's (other than Platinum) will recover much faster than other asset classes. Both Au and Ag have regained 30% off the lows.

The short spike in the DX has already played out.

What we are seeing is the folly of financing the gala with the wallets of foreign investors (who are moving their money back into their home currencies) while the FED is flooding the system with U$D's created (as the bernank has stated) outa thin air. The green, ass wipe linen, is near/at/below 12 mos lows against the Yen, Swiss Franc, Euro, Aussie and Canadian dollars.

To counter such a crash, CB's would go on a buying splurge. But alas, the chairsatan is looking at an empty vault and the nuclear option of raising rates

[xchrom]

84. the earthquake is hitting the weak economic policies already in play.

wonder how far that will go?

[Po_d Mainiac]

86. houses built of bits of paper

intended for use by poker and bridge players, tend to collapse under the slightest of pressures.

[Hotler]

75. k&r n/t

[xchrom]

85. the dow now.

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/DJIA


Dow Jones Industrial Average

Dow Jones Global Indices: DJIA
Dow Jones Industrial Average Daily MarketWatch Alerts to Facebook.



Market open

DJIA
/quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed

11,775

Change

-218.57 -1.82%

Volume

Volume 91.04m

Mar 15, 2011 11:27 a.m.

/quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed

Previous close

11,993

11,775

Change

-218.57 -1.82%

Day low

Day high

11,696

11,989
Open: 11,989

52 week low

52 week high

9,614

12,391

[Pale Blue Dot]

92. There's a rumor circulating that the Nikkei may be closed for the rest of the week.

No confirmation yet. On www.zerohedge.com, which I can't access on work computers.

[Pale Blue Dot]

93. Miracle of miracles: Fed says economic recovery on firmer footing

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy on Tuesday, saying the economy was gaining traction while flagging potential inflation risks from costlier energy and food.

The widely expected decision comes on a day of steep selling on stock markets around the world as investors assessed the devastating toll of Japan's earthquake and tsunami, and fretted over the possibility of a broader nuclear crisis.

The heightened uncertainty reinforced the case for a steady-as-she-goes policy decision from the Fed, which markedly upgraded its view of the U.S. recovery and labor market.

In a unanimous decision, the Fed vowed to continue its $600 billion government bond-buying program as scheduled, and reiterated a pledge to keep interest rates at very low levels for an extended period.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42092615/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

And viola! U.S. stocks par their losses. Lemmings.

[Pale Blue Dot]

94. The story today? People still believe in Tinkerbelle

Markets all over the world have dropped between 3 and 10%. Here, however, Benanke says that everything's getting better, and we're down less than a percentage.

And the delusion continues.

[hamerfan]

95. Does this mean

I get a pony?
hamerfan

[TalkingDog]

96. It means they took away 2 of the ponys you already had and gave back one

So, yes and no

[kickysnana]

97. Is that an radiated pony? n/t

[AnneD]

103. It's the new model pony ....

Comes with headlamps with a lifetime warranty.

[maddogesq]

104. CGAEX.. Come on Americans, one of the one ways we can change things is this.

http://www.calvert.com/fundProfile.html?fund=971&fundOwner=C

Nuff said.