STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, March 28, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday March 28, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON March 25, 2011

Dow 12,220.59 +50.03 (+0.41%)
Nasdaq 2,743.06 +6.64 (+0.24%)
S&P 500 1,313.80 +4.14 (+0.32%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.47 +0.03 (+0.87%)
30-Year Bond 4.52 +0.02 (+0.42%)

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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. Today's Reports

Mar 28 08:30 Personal Income Feb 0.2% 0.3% 1.0%
Mar 28 08:30 Personal Spending Feb 0.3% 0.5% 0.2%
Mar 28 08:30 PCE Prices - Core Feb 0.2% 0.2% 0.1%
Mar 28 10:00 Pending Home Sales Jan 0.0% 0.3% -2.8%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm#ixzz1HtE64uV5

[rfranklin]

36. Disposable income falls in Feb. as prices jump

March 28, 2011, 8:31 a.m. EDT

Disposable income falls in Feb. as prices jump
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Real disposable income declined in February as consumer prices jumped by the largest amount since July 2008, the Commerce Department reported Monday. The personal consumption expenditure index rose 0.4% in February and the core PCE price index, which excludes food and energy prices, was up 0.2% for the second straight month. The government also reported that real personal incomes fell 0.1% in February for the first time since last September. Nominal consumer spending increased 0.7% in February and nominal personal income rose 0.3%. Income growth was in line with expectations and spending was slightly higher than forecast. The savings rate fell to 5.8% in February from 6.1% in January.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disposable-income-falls-in-feb-as-prices-jump-2011-03-28

The squeeze play continues.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil below $105 as Libyan rebels retake oil ports

SINGAPORE – Oil prices slipped below $105 a barrel Monday in Asia as Libyan rebels retook control of two key port towns and said they would restart crude exports within weeks.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was down 53 cents to $104.87 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 20 cents to settle at $105.40 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude was down 61 cents at $114.98 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.

Rebels recaptured oil complexes in the coastal cities of Ras Lanouf and Brega as strikes by coalition fighter jets and missiles pushed back forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Rebels have vowed to quickly restart Libya's 1.6 million barrels per day of crude output, but many important foreign oil workers have fled the country and continued fighting makes tanker shipments risky.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. It's Spring Break!

It's sorely needed. I'm hoping to be around and posting a bit more this week.

[Demeter]

28. Grrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrr rr

It's 19F, again. Still. I think of Spring the way I think of Obama.

[Tansy_Gold]

58. Looks good in pictures

but is really a lot of broken promises???

[Demeter]

68. Not even that Gracious, I'm Afraid

Not even printable. I'm going to have to tombstone myself for a while--even I am finding the whining tedious.

The Potemkin President

[Demeter]

72. You might like to see this (and now for something completely different)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4790222&mesg_id=4790311

and my response, below it.

[Tansy_Gold]

79. .

Seriously, Demeter, I laughed OUT LOUD.







Tansy Gold, who dared to point out the difference between "taters" and "tatters" the other day. . . .

[Demeter]

82. GOOD!

I've actually done SOMETHING worthwhile today.

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. Asian Stocks Fall on Japan Nuclear Situation, Earnings That Miss Estimates

Asian stocks fell, dragging down the benchmark regional index for the first time in three days, as radiation hampered efforts to cool crippled nuclear reactors in Japan, and as company earnings missed analyst estimates.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the nuclear plant, tumbled 18 percent to its lowest since 1977. Acer Inc., the world’s second-largest computer maker, fell 6.9 percent in Taipei after saying first-quarter sales may miss expectations. China Construction Bank Corp., the nation’s No. 2 lender by market value, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. slid at least than 2 percent after earnings fell short of analyst forecasts.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.5 percent to 133.59 as of 7:25 p.m. in Tokyo, with about five stocks declining for every four that advanced. The gauge had its biggest weekly gain since November last week as Japan moved to stabilize reactors damaged by a March 11 earthquake and as companies from Cnooc Ltd. to Bank of China Ltd.’s earnings surpassed estimates.

“Investors are concerned about production halts and electricity shortages in Japan, and it will probably take a few months to restore capacities,” said Hong Kong-based Yoji Takeda, who helps manage $1.1 billion at RBC Investment Management (Asia) Ltd. “The recent market decline has provided investors a good buying opportunity, but uncertainties will prevail in the short-term.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-28/asian-stocks-drop-on-japanese-nuclear-crisis-decline-in-commodity-prices.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

5. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fluctuate; AT&T, Kodak Gain, Boeing Shares Slide

U.S. stock futures fluctuated after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s biggest weekly gain since February as concern about Japan’s nuclear crisis offset speculation the economy may be strong enough to pare stimulus.

Boeing Co., the world’s second-biggest planemaker, declined in Europe. AT&T Inc. climbed after Barron’s said the stock may rise as much as 15 percent in the next year if the acquisition of T-Mobile USA gets approval. Eastman Kodak Co. soared 22 percent after winning the latest round in a patent dispute against Apple Inc. and Research in Motion Ltd.

S&P 500 futures expiring in June slipped less than 0.1 percent to 1,310.4 at 6:06 a.m. in New York before reports on consumer spending and home sales. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained less than 0.1 percent to 12,174 and Nasdaq-100 Index futures advanced 0.2 percent to 2,322.

“If the economic numbers are good, it will confirm the trend,” said Virginie Robert, Paris-based managing director at Raymond James Asset Management International, which oversees about $33 billion worldwide. “Every day, we need an element to lift stocks higher. We’re going to see a lot of volatility.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-28/u-s-stock-index-futures-advance-at-t-kodak-increase-in-european-trading.html

[rfranklin]

6. Caterpillar threatens Illinois governor over taxes

Caterpillar CEO warns of discomfort with Illinois
3:58am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chief executive of Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has warned the governor of Illinois that state spending and an unfavorable business climate could undermine the competitiveness of Illinois-based companies.

Doug Oberhelman sent the letter last week to Gov. Pat Quinn, noting that four states have invited the Peoria-based heavy equipment maker to relocate since Illinois raised personal and corporate income taxes in January....

...Oberhelman attached letters from the governors or other officials of Texas, Nebraska, Virginia and South Dakota, all of whom cited the recent Illinois tax hikes and offered to roll out the red carpet to Caterpillar.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/28/us-caterpillar-idUSTRE72R13120110328

[xchrom]

8. blackmail. nt

[Demeter]

30. Total BS, besides.

[Fuddnik]

24. Another reason states are obsolete.

They might have made sense 225 years ago.

Now instead of a "country", you have 51 different governments, 51 separate sets of laws, 51 different justice systems, 51 different economies.....

It just doesn't make sense any more.

[Po_d Mainiac]

46. Yup that's one too many

Keep the States, and send DC to the landfill. :bounce:

[Demeter]

69. I could live with that

It would be like Europe all over again....don't like the country, cross the street.

[fasttense]

25. Corporations are NOT people and should be required to justify their existence.

Allowing corporations to threaten our governments with this type of crap is financial terrorism.

[plumbob]

52. I'm sure Cat would enjoy hiring a workforce in Texas that is being taught

by 100,000 fewer teachers next year than this.

We already rank 44th in per capita spending on education, but we're shooting for 50th! Woo-hoo!


Only wish I was being sarcastic.

[xchrom]

7. recommend

[Pale Blue Dot]

9. Goldman Special Situation Profit Seen at Risk With Volcker Rule

For Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Special Situations Group, disasters can be a source of some of the biggest profits. Now the secretive investing operation faces its own potential calamity.

Goldman Sachs already has shut two units that made bets with the company’s money because such proprietary trading by banks will be prohibited under the Volcker rule approved by Congress last year. Still, the Special Situations Group, known as SSG, continues to make investments and named a new global head last month. Executives have argued that SSG shouldn’t be affected because it’s more of a lending than a trading business.

Created during the late 1990s, SSG invests the bank’s money in the debt and equity of troubled companies and makes loans to high-risk borrowers. The effort to defend it illustrates how important the business is to Goldman Sachs and may be a test of how flexible regulators will be in defining proprietary trading.

“It is proprietary trading, but the business can also be modified if you had to,” said Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York. The question, he said, is “Where will the regulators draw the line?”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-28/goldman-special-situation-profit-at-risk-with-volcker-correct-.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

10. CEOs Tap Record Cash for Dividends as M&A at Post-Lehman High

U.S. executives are starting to spend the record $940 billion in cash they built up after the credit crisis, just in time for annual shareholder meetings.

Takeovers topped $256 billion this quarter, the most since the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index companies authorized 38 percent more buybacks in 2011 than a year earlier and dividends may increase to a record $31.07 a share in 2013, data compiled by Birinyi Associates Inc. and Bloomberg show.

Chief executive officers are looking for ways to increase investor returns after posting the biggest gain in profits since 1988 by relying on near-zero Federal Reserve interest rates and cost cuts that have kept the unemployment rate near a 26-year high. More than 139 companies in the U.S. equity benchmark index are preparing for shareholder meetings in the next two months after the S&P 500 almost doubled in the past two years and as profits approach a record.

“Shareholders have raised the bar,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Capital Management in Richmond, Virginia, which oversees $45 billion. “Companies are going to have to find ways to generate more return,” he said. “The idea of sitting on idle cash in a zero interest rate environment is increasingly viewed as a nonviable option.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-27/ceos-tap-record-940-billion-cash-for-dividends-as-m-a-at-post-lehman-high.html

[xchrom]

11. U.S. stock futures edge up; oil prices slip

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-edge-up-oil-prices-slip-2011-03-28?dist=beforebell

MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures were pointing to a slightly higher start for Wall Street on Monday, with economic data on tap and crude prices in focus after Libyan rebels took control of key oil towns over the weekend.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/21b!f:dj\m11 (DJM11 12,177, +7.00, +0.06%) rose 12 points to 12,182, while futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index /quotes/comstock/21m!f:sp\m11 (SPM11 1,312, +1.80, +0.14%) gained 1.3 points to 1,311.30.

[Pale Blue Dot]

12. Companies Accelerate Spending as U.S. Productivity Bypasses Jobs

Cummins Inc. (CMI) and Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) are accelerating equipment purchases to boost productivity, reinforcing an unprecedented gap between capital spending and employment in the U.S. that’s restraining a labor-market rebound.

Corporate investment will rise 11 percent this year as sales pick up, following a 15 percent gain in 2010, according to “Man vs. Machine,” a Feb. 2 report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Employment will grow just 1.7 percent, after a 0.7 percent increase last year, the study projects.

Inventory rebuilding, low borrowing costs and government policies that include a new tax break on equipment purchases are powerful spurs for capital spending, says Neil Dutta, the Bank of America economist who wrote the report. The job market lacks such drivers and will form a “mediocre” underpinning for household spending, the biggest part of gross domestic product, he said.

“Machines have the upper hand,” Dutta said in a telephone interview from New York. “You see this huge pickup in capital spending, but there isn’t a meaningful increase in employment; it’s being grudgingly pulled along. The consumer is not going to perform the way people expect.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-27/companies-accelerating-equipment-spending-with-productivity-bypassing-jobs.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

13. The Sandbagging of Elizabeth Warren (and 49 State Attorneys General)

I don’t know who is pulling the strings, but any objective look at the so called mortgage settlement negotiations shows that a lot of people are being played for fools. Precisely because Elizabeth Warren is being attacked so forcefully by the Wall Street Journal and other banking industry loyalists, too many of her erstwhile defenders are giving a free pass to the fact that the Administration itself is undermining her, and with her, any attorneys general who sign up for the settlement, assuming it ever sees the light of day.

Recall the Team Obama modus operandi: getting something done, no matter how lame, compromised, or even counterproductive it is, is considered to progress because it presumably can be swaddled in enough propaganda to be made attractive to a presumed to be chump public. Never mind that Obama’s flagging poll ratings and the abysmal mid-term Congressional results, where the Blue Dogs, the Democrats philosophically most aligned with Obama, were mowed down, show that that strategy is becoming less and less effective. Recall in the runup to the mid-terms how many Democratic Congressional candidates were straining to distance themselves from Obama.

The Democratic state attorneys general have even less to gain by playing nice with this Administration. Some are from states that are solidly liberal and/or so hard hit by the mortgage meltdown that being seen to be soft on banks would be political suicide.

Obama himself is clearly enamored with the theatrics of governance. And why not? His assumption is that as long as he looks meaningfully less conservative than the Republicans (which now can be plenty conservative), big swathes of the country will vote for him by default. And now that the Supreme Court Citizens United decision has raised the likely cost of winning the presidency to $1 billion, currying favor with big corporate donors, which of course includes banks, is of paramount importance. So any roughing up is a staged affair.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/03/the-sandbagging-of-elizabeth-warren-and-49-state-attorneys-general.html

Good article. Depressing.

[Pale Blue Dot]

19. On financial regulation, it's Warren vs. Dimon

(Reuters) - Elizabeth Warren, the Obama administration's defender of financial consumers, will venture into the corporate lion's den this week, along with Jamie Dimon, CEO of banking giant JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The two will be speakers at an event set for Wednesday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country's largest business lobbying group, in its Corinthian-columned headquarters situated within view of the White House.

Warren, 61, is an earnest Harvard Law School professor brought up in Oklahoma, while Dimon, 55, is a consummate New York City insider and one of Wall Street's richest CEOs.

He was once a close adviser to President Barack Obama on financial regulation policy, but has become a vocal critic of the administration's efforts, especially since passage in 2010 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/27/us-financial-regulation-idUSTRE72Q25O20110327

[xchrom]

14. Signs pointing to decent payrolls growth

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/signs-pointing-to-decent-payrolls-growth-2011-03-27

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — There are some new worrying signs starting to emerge about the U.S. economy, but oddly after so much fretting about a jobless recovery, employment growth is not one of them.

Friday’s payrolls report from the Labor Department is expected to show 178,000 jobs created outside of the farming sector during March. Private-sector payrolls may have back-to-back plus-200,000 readings for the first time in five years.


my comment: -- we will see after the dreaded revisions come up.

[burf]

18. If job growth is so great,

then why is the SNAP (food stamp) participation rate up so much?

[xchrom]

20. that -- and other signs say we're still in deep doo-doo. nt

[xchrom]

15. If your bank is buying, sell

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/if-your-bank-is-buying-sell-2011-03-22

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — For the first time in years, investors are cheering the big banks. The latest round of stress tests are over, and dividends are back.



Forgive me if I don’t share the excitement.

Sure, it’s about time that BB&T Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!bbt/quotes/nls/bbt (BBT 27.07, +0.40, +1.50%) , J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!jpm/quotes/nls/jpm (JPM 45.86, +0.13, +0.28%) and U.S. Bancorp /quotes/comstock/13*!usb/quotes/nls/usb (USB 26.92, +0.24, +0.90%) are allowed to reward shareholders for their patience and support. Those banks are well run and can afford the cost. Read more about the return of bank dividends.

[xchrom]

16. Chinese Internet startups head to overseas market

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/MC29Cb01.html

HONG KONG - China's Internet industry, led by the likes of Tencent, normally maintains a domestic focus. Younger companies such as social gaming outfit Rekoo are now changing that by looking to overseas markets.

Tencent, the country's largest largest Internet company, has thrived by relying on Chinese customers for its instant messaging service and online games. It is bigger than eBay in terms of market capitalization, yet outside China its services and even its name are mostly unheard of.



DAMN IT: i replied to my self again!
sigh

[Pale Blue Dot]

17. Scott Fullwiler: Paul Krugman—The Conscience of a Neo-Liberal?

The old saying that bad press is better than no press is definitely true in this case. Without the advent of the blogosphere, our work would likely never even be noticed by the likes of Paul Krugman, so the fact that he’s writing about us (here and here) this weekend at least means we’re doing better than that, even if his assessment of us is far less than glowing. At the same time, and particularly given that Krugman is so widely read, it’s imperative to at the very least set the record straight on where MMT and Krugman differ. I should note before I start that others have done very good critiques already that overlap mine in several places (see here, here, here, and here).

Krugman makes three incorrect assumptions about what MMT policy proposals actually are while also demonstrating a lack of understanding of our modern monetary system (as is generally verified by volumes of empirical research on the monetary system by both MMT’ers and non-MMTer’s). These are the following:

Assumption A: The size of the monetary base directly (or indirectly, for that matter) affects inflation if we’re not in a “liquidity trap”

Assumption B: MMT’s preferred fiscal policy approach or strategy—Abba Lerner’s functional finance—is Non-Ricardian

Assumption C: Bond markets alone set interest rates on the national debt of a sovereign currency issuer operating under flexible exchange rates

Assumptions A and C are central to the Neo-Liberal macroeconomic model. Assumption B is a common misconception about MMT and a common perception of Neo-Liberals about the nature and macroeconomic effects of fiscal policy (i.e., Neo-Liberals often believe that activist fiscal policy is Non-Ricardian).

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/03/scott-fulwiler-paul-krugman%E2%80%94the-conscience-of-a-neo-liberal.html

Very good, if technical, article. Around these parts, Krugman seems to be the only economist worth listening to, as his articles are used by both sides in the Obama economic policy debate. It seems to me that his ideas are deeply, tragically flawed no matter how you feel about Obama.

[xchrom]

21. good read. i wish i understood it better. nt

[Demeter]

32. Krugman has his blind spots

Half the time he's so enamored by his "expertise" that the people disappear from the equations, to be ground up with the data.

[Tansy_Gold]

60. If the comment after the link is yours, PBD

then I agree wholeheartedly. And I'm no economist.

But to go back to the concept a lot of us here on SMW have been trying to convey/explain/promote --
without production of tangible goods and services, there can be no "economy." If it's all just shuffling the stacks of money, it's not production. At best it's gambling, and at worst it's ponziing.

Indeed, that Krugman can be used in a "debate" by two sides that are supposed to be essentially diametrically opposed to each other should indicate one of two things.

Either
A. Krugman's theories are so flawed/fluid/amorphous that they cannot be assigned to either side in the debate, then his theories really espouse neither side at all.

Or
B. The two sides are really on the same side and the debate is moot.



TG

[Demeter]

70. I think it's both

because the people have disappeared from the numbers and from the policies.

[Pale Blue Dot]

22. Why You Should be Freaked Out About the Stock Market

This is a chart of the US monetary base. In simple terms, it charts how much money the Fed has pumped into the system (at least that it admits). So it’s a kind of visual of the Fed hitting the PANIC button: when the monetary base explodes higher, the Fed is FREAKING out.

You'll note that during the Financial Crisis the Fed didn't do much until the autumn of 2008 when it pumped nearly $1 trillion into the system. Think about that, the Fed didn’t go nuts pumping money until the stuff REALLY hit the fan.

You'll also note that there's only one other time when the monetary base went absolutely vertical: TODAY.

Indeed, the Fed has pumped nearly $500 billion into the system since the start of 2011. Don't even try to tell me this is QE 2. If it was then the monetary base should have spiked in late 2010, NOT in 2011.

No, this is the Fed FREAKING OUT about the financial system again. And it's a freak out on par with 2008.

So if you think that all is well "behind the scenes" you're in for a rude surprise. Something BIG is going down and it's NOT good.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/why-you-should-be-freaked-out-about-stock-market

[Fuddnik]

23. Yikes!!!

[fasttense]

26. Into whose hands is all that pumped money going? n/t

[Pale Blue Dot]

27. The hypothesis is that it's going to the big financial firms

who are then, instead of lending it to consumers, dumping it into the stock and commodities markets - hence the run up in prices for both.

[jschurchin]

31. Not ours.

It's going to people named Chase, Citi, Wells, etc. Somebody needs to buy stocks and they are the only ones doing it.
Check out volume on NYSE, very low. But when stocks are so overvalued $500 Billion doesn't go very far.

[DemReadingDU]

34. not mine

:(

[Demeter]

35. That's Okay, I'm Already Funked Out

Let the S*** hit the F****

If it doesn't warm up soon, I'm going to sue Global Warming for false advertising.

I cannot perform any Spring functions when it's not Spring, and I'm waddling around in three layers! I can't even get the will to live.

This article just goes to prove that its ALL SMOKE AND MIRRORS---THE FREE MARKET IS DEAD, DEAD, DEAD.

[Hotler]

57. "I can't even get the will to live." Here! Here!

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about suck-starting my shotgun.

[Demeter]

84. That's why I won't own a firearm

The temptation to use it would be too great--on others.

[DoBotherMe]

62. I did some Spring cleaning anyway

even in my three layers. I pretended it was 60, though it was 30 ... cranked the thermostat to 67 and ran an electric heater (I know, wasteful, but, like you, I couldn't stand the cold another day). The crocus are blooming and the snow is falling (last week). My patio plants are taking over the living room, it was all I could do to restrain myself from putting them out anyway! Here's to warmer days and happy gardening. :hug: Dana ; )

[Hotler]

56. Ahhh shit! n/t

[Fuddnik]

29. Would you fill this thing up already?

[xchrom]

37. your swimming pool and patio go very nicely with your dogs!

those two are gorgeous!

[burf]

42. Be careful Fuddnik,

you could be reported for animal cruelty.

Have a good one!

[AnneD]

45. Hope you have a good filter....

Sara and Roscoe look like they are ready to shed their winter coats. Nice job Fudd. Some plants out there (Hibiscus, small palms, etc-) and you will have a perfect spot.

Boy Roscoe has gotten big!

[Po_d Mainiac]

50. The underware hanging out of the laundry basket

adds a nice touch!

[Fuddnik]

55. Rosco needs something to run around the yard with.

He prefers unwashed.

[AnneD]

67. Don't they usually....

just roll in that stuff.

New fragrance by Brittany Spaniel Spears...Eau de Poo

[Pale Blue Dot]

33. Investing Like It’s 1999

Banks pouring money into technology funds, wealthy clients and institutions clamoring to get pieces of start-ups, expectations of stock market debuts building — as Wall Street’s machinery kicks into second gear, some investors with memories of the Internet bust a decade earlier are wondering whether this sudden burst of activity spells danger for the industry once again.

With all this exuberance, valuations are soaring. Investments in Facebook and Zynga have more than quintupled the implied worth of each company in the last two years. The social shopping site Groupon is said to be considering an initial public offering that would value the company at $25 billion. Less than a year ago, the company was valued at $1.4 billion.

“I worry that investors think every social company will be as good as Facebook,” said Roger McNamee, a managing director of Elevation Partners and an investor in Facebook, who co-founded the private equity fund Silver Lake Partners in 1999 at the height of the boom. “You have an attractive set of companies right now, but it would be surprising if the next wave of social companies had as much impact as the first.”

Funds set up by Goldman and JPMorgan Chase have invested in Internet start-ups like Facebook and Twitter or in funds with stakes in those start-ups. Even the mutual fund giants Fidelity Investments and T. Rowe Price have stepped up their efforts, placing large bets on companies like Groupon and Zynga.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/is-it-a-new-tech-bubble-lets-see-if-it-pops/

[tclambert]

75. Are you suggesting a Facebook bubble?

Facebook Bubble. Facebook Bubble. It just sounds funny to me. Maybe funny because it's true?

Does Facebook make any money? Or is it like one of those celebrities who is famous for being famous?

[xchrom]

38. Facebook May Hire Robert Gibbs, Former Obama Aide

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/27/facebook-may-hire-robert-gibbs-former-obama-aide/?ref=business

Facebook is in talks to hire Robert Gibbs, President Obama’s former White House press secretary, for a senior role in helping to manage the company’s communications, people briefed on the negotiations said.

Facebook is seeking out Mr. Gibbs ahead of an initial public offering planned for early 2012, these people said.


The talks are still at an early stage and no formal offer has been made, these people said, adding it remained possible that the discussions could collapse.



:eyes:

[Demeter]

40. The First Question that Comes to Mind Is: WHY?

What could Obama's ex-press secretary offer those geeks?

Or is this the way to completely infiltrate Facebook for civil rights violations?

[xchrom]

41. that seems like the weirdest pick for facebook -- but what do i know? nt

[Fuddnik]

49. Well, with a face like that, you could write a book about it.

Those lyin' eyes.

[xchrom]

39. Walter Investment Buys Green Tree

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/walter-investment-buys-green-tree/

Walter Investment Management said on Monday that it had agreed to acquire Green Tree Credit Solutions, a loan servicer, in a deal valued at more than $1 billion.

Walter Investment, based in Tampa, Fla., is a mortgage servicer and mortgage portfolio owner. It said that as a result of the transaction, it would no longer be organized as a real estate investment trust.

[Po_d Mainiac]

43. Second line should read

As a result of the transaction, in a very short period of time, WIM will be re-organized under Chapter 11.

Two dogs with mange, sniffing each others butts.

[xchrom]

44. ...

:spray:

[Tansy_Gold]

47. And none of the above actually MAKES ANYTHING

None of the products we all need for normal everyday living -- clothes, shoes, food, cars, dishes, computers, watches, blankets, etc. It's all just bundles of money being pushed around.

Fuck that noise.




TG, K&R

[xchrom]

51. i know, right? nt

[Tansy_Gold]

53. I know you know. I know I know.

You know I know, and you know I know you know.


IT'S ALL THOSE OTHER IGNORANT ASSHOLES OUT THERE WE HAVE TO BE AFRAID OF!!!!!



:rofl: and :hi:


TG

[xchrom]

54. OMG!!!

:rofl:

[Fuddnik]

61. I know nothink! Nothink!

[Tansy_Gold]

63. We already know that. You don't need to brag.

:hi:

[AnneD]

65. TG....

"Who pissed in your Wheaties this morning," she jealously replied.

[Fuddnik]

66. Strategic ignorance.

[AnneD]

80. And a quick learner too....

be afraid, be very afraid.

[hamerfan]

48. K&R!

Great toon and a great thread today, folks!
If I might add my own little note here:

We're Frikkin' Doomed!

Now back to your regularly scheduled program....
hamerfan

[Pale Blue Dot]

59. 13% of all U.S. homes are vacant

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- High residential vacancies are killing many housing markets, as foreclosed homes sit on the market and depress sale prices and property values.

And it's only getting worse: The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13% according to last week's decennial census report. That's up from 12.1% in 2007.

"More vacant homes equal more downward pressure on home prices," said Brad Hunter, chief economist for Metrostudy, a real estate information provider.

Maine had the highest proportion of empty housing stock, at 22.8%. Other states with gluts of empty houses included Vermont (20.5%), Florida (17.5%), Arizona (16.3%) and Alaska (15.9%).

http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/28/real_estate/us_housing_vacancy_rates/index.htm

[Festivito]

64. Debt: 03/24/2011 14,210,071,848,853.10 (DOWN 14,926,247,358.61) (Thu, DOWN a lot.)

(Good day.)
McDonald's side salad today.
(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)
= 9,589,761,022,374.59 + 4,620,310,826,478.51
DOWN 15,763,143,549.40 + UP 836,896,190.79

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 $3,208.85 makes 1T$.
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 311,638,592 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 $45,597.92.
A family of three owes $136,793.76. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 4,298,286,992.08.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,008,800,894.46.
The average for the last 28 days would be 3,223,715,244.06.
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$/day.
There were 121 reports in 175 days of FY2011 averaging 5.36B$ per report, 3.71B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 668 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)
03/24/2011 14,210,071,848,853.10 BHO (UP 3,583,194,799,940.02 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 +0,648,448,817,961.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,352,478,963,176.64 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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
03/15/2011 +066,006,214,426.70 ------------**********
03/16/2011 +001,148,655,957.01 ------------*********
03/17/2011 -014,916,428,437.31 -
03/18/2011 +000,616,236,061.23 ------------********
03/21/2011 -000,100,873,734.64 --- Mon
03/22/2011 +000,366,066,174.28 ------------********
03/23/2011 -000,063,255,741.95 ----
03/24/2011 -015,763,143,549.40 -

18,751,394,786.27 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=4786812&mesg_id=4787152

[Festivito]

87. Debt: 03/25/2011 14,211,533,551,640.97 (UP 1,461,702,787.87) (Fri, DOWN a little.)

(Good day.)
Small good dinner.
(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)
= 9,589,726,447,637.34 + 4,621,807,104,003.63
DOWN 34,574,737.25 + UP 1,496,277,525.12

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 312-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,208.77 makes 1T$.
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 311,645,792 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 $45,601.56.
A family of three owes $136,804.67. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 3,523,450,131.82.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,466,415,092.27.
The average for the last 28 days would be 2,642,587,598.86.
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$/day.
There were 122 reports in 176 days of FY2011 averaging 5.33B$ per report, 3.69B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 667 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)
03/25/2011 14,211,533,551,640.97 BHO (UP 3,584,656,502,727.89 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 +0,649,910,520,749.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,347,825,795,871.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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
03/15/2011 +066,006,214,426.70 ------------**********
03/16/2011 +001,148,655,957.01 ------------*********
03/17/2011 -014,916,428,437.31 -
03/18/2011 +000,616,236,061.23 ------------********
03/21/2011 -000,100,873,734.64 --- Mon
03/22/2011 +000,366,066,174.28 ------------********
03/23/2011 -000,063,255,741.95 ----
03/24/2011 -015,763,143,549.40 -
03/25/2011 -000,034,574,737.25 ----

18,600,248,664.57 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=4790052&mesg_id=4790329

[Demeter]

71. LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

[tclambert]

73. Excellent cartoon.

It might save time if they connected a printer to each ATM.

[Pale Blue Dot]

74. Is Europe Slipping Towards Default?

These are the words Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics, uses in a market note to describe to plight of the euro zone following Friday’s disappointing European Union summit which saw a "euro plus pact" deferred until June due to technical factors.

Those technical factors where public opinion in Germany and Finland as witnessed by another election loss for Angela Merkel in regional elections over the weekend in yet another sign that neither those being bailed out nor those doing the bailing can sell the implications of the euro zone crisis to voters.

Following the failure to reach an agreement at the summit, news began to leak of a new facility from the European Central Bank aimed at boosting liquidity in a deal that has been described by an ECB source to Reuters as "tailor-made for Irish banks."

Weinberg said there is nothing on the table that can stop the euro zone falling into crisis.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/42300648

[Demeter]

76. No, TPTB Are Heading for a Cliff

and they are the ones who will be pushed off it.

You would think some of this "elite" would have a modicum of historical education as a forewarning of the perils of overreaching...

[Demeter]

77. Is Fukushima About To Blow? By Mike Whitney

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27778.htm

Conditions at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are deteriorating and the doomsday scenario is beginning to unfold. On Sunday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) officials reported that the levels of radiation leaking into seawater at the Unit 2 reactor were 100,000 times above normal, and the airborne radiation measured 4-times higher than government limits. As a result, emergency workers were evacuated from the plant and rushed to safe location. The prospect of a full-core meltdown or an environmental catastrophe of incalculable magnitude now looms larger than ever. The crisis is getting worse.

If spent fuel rods catch fire from lack of coolant, the intense heat will lift radiation plumes high into the atmosphere that will drift around the world. That's the nightmare scenario, clouds of radioactive material showering the planet with lethal toxins for months on end. And, according to the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics of Vienna, that deadly process has already begun.

IT'S BEEN NICE KNOWING YOU ALL...

The smoldering Fukushima hulk is a perpetual death machine poisoning everything around it--sea, sky and soil.

[Fuddnik]

78. We're getting radioactive rain in Florida today.

[AnneD]

81. We get...

Golden Showers here in Houston this time a year. Cars are just yellow with pollen dust.

[Demeter]

83. That Happens about Every 3rd Year in NH

when the white pines go into propagation mode.

[Capn Sunshine]

85. .....and at the close since no one else mentioned it

DOW 12197.88 -22.71 -0.19%
NASDAQ 2730.68 -12.38 -0.45%
S&P 500 1310.19 -3.61 -0.27%

Wow marketeers this could be a first; I'm available two sessions in a row to post about todays market action, which used to be the point of this thread every day.

No one has a clue . That's the basic take away from todays action, if you want to call it that. Lightest volume of the year to date I think. No commitment, no follow through. Malaise? Spring fever? Maybe so. Remember our short silver position? Well, we must have caught someones attention over on the long side where the big boys are because what greets us at market open today but an article about how silver is undervalued compared to gold. It IS, but technicals say otherwise dammit. So I was afraid to look, but the profit that we had last Friday might be gone with the wind. Oh look. Stopped out with a slight gain. Eh. beats a poke in the eye, but this sort of thing goes on all the time in commodities as the end users- the guys that can and do really take delivery of the stuff, can wash speculators out with a few well placed stories or even whispers, but uusually via burning some options as a cost of doing business, so they buy a shitload of calls and click go the computer traders and next thing you know, there's a market spike , then they can sell short without all the pesky traders. Speaking of the big guys, there was some realy high activity right at the close- SOCs of a major nature. As they positioned themselves to push the button and Sell On Close, the boys on the floor got wind of this sell wave setting up and piled on. THAT probably was enough on a light volume day to close on the negatives. So here we are. Frankly, I'm just as confused as the regulars on this thread regarding the nature of the beast- Bull or Bear, although I lean towards the technical and that aspect, especially for the swing traders, actually gave a buy signal last week which hasn't disappeared. Keep your powder dry.

[DemReadingDU]

86. Thanks for the update!

[AnneD]

88. The point of SWT...

Is to watch the stock market.....but to be honest, the market as late has been as honest as a game of three card monte. The PTB have determined that they want the DJIA set at about 12100-12400 with just enough volatility to shake down the suckers. at the current time it is as exciting as watching paint dry. Sheep shearing is more exciting. But maybe we need our own version of March Madness. Thanks for the final posting.