STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, July 15, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, July 15, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON July 14, 2011

Dow 12,437.12 -54.49 (-0.44%)
Nasdaq 2,762.67 -34.25 (-1.22%)
S&P 500 1,308.87 -8.85 (-0.67%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.95 -.00 (-0.14%)
30-Year Bond 4.28 +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 = 12

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http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/cAfzC3HDlmdSp.56wNMFWg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9Zml0O3E9ODU7dz05NTA-/

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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

Jul 15 08:30 CPI Jun -0.1% -0.1% 0.2%
Jul 15 08:30 Core CPI Jun 0.2% 0.2% 0.3%
Jul 15 08:30 Empire Manufacturing Jul 0.0 1.0 -7.8
Jul 15 09:15 Industrial Production Jun 0.3% 0.2% 0.1%
Jul 15 09:15 Capacity Utilization Jun 77.0% 76.8% 76.7%
Jul 15 09:55 Mich Sentiment Jul 70.0 71.4 71.5

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/07/11-15/#ixzz1SAuWnjln

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil above $95 after Bernanke stimulus comments

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered above $95 a barrel Friday in Asia after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said another round of monetary stimulus was not imminent.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was down 22 cents to $95.47 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude fell $2.36 to settle at $95.69 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude fell 24 cents to $116.02 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Bernanke said Thursday that there would have to be signs of deflation before the Fed would consider a third round of Treasury bond purchases, known as quantitative easing, or other stimulus measures.

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

[xchrom]

5. ConocoPhillips to separate oil businesses

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14158734

US oil firm ConocoPhillips has announced plans to split into two separate publicly traded companies, sending its shares up more than 7%.

The firm will spin off its refining arm to shareholders, separating it from its exploration and production business.

It is the first major oil company to move away from the industry strategy of consolidating production and refining.

The firm said the split would leave each business better-positioned to pursue their individual strategies.

[plumbob]

16. The industry is aware that gasoline is on the way out. That's why no

new refineries have been built in 20 years, and why current refineries are operating at mid-80% capacity, the lowest in a decade.

Plastics, fertilizers and so on will continue, and so the exploration and production business will continue to be tres profitable; refining, not so much. But they can make some bucks spinning off these used refineries to folks who don't know, just like the majors selling off all the domestic fields in the Permian Basin. All these small independents operating in a field where production has dropped each year since 1972, but "own an oil company?" Heck yea!

Good to see that end is in sight from here for fossil fuels, but sad that so many will be caught on the junk side.

[xchrom]

morning! it's even a little coolish here today.

:donut:

[Demeter]

6. But things are heating up for the weekend

I'm going to see Harry Potter Sunday, if all proceeds according to plan, at the Henry Ford Imax, which is 70% of a globe and 3D.

Guess what the Weekend Theme will be?

[xchrom]

10. I'm jealous!

Have fun!

[Demeter]

18. I haven't got the tickets yet

Either they haven't gone on sale, or one has to buy them in person...don't even know when the showtimes are, yet. So much for the internet.

[xchrom]

40. lol! i feel ya.

seems like those kind of details haunt too much of my life.

then i can't things done in the timely fashion i'd like to.

[DemReadingDU]

15. Potter!

Harry Potter, not Henry Potter (It's a Wonderful Life)

[Tansy_Gold]

23. never mind n/t

[tclambert]

51. Does Harry Potter die at the end?

I always thought it would be a better story if Harry dies. In the sequel that Rowling insists she won't write, but inevitably will, Harry and Herminone's illegitimate love child must fight yet another resurrection attempt by Voldemort. (That's right, I named the one who must not be named.) Fortunately Dumbledore the White, whom "the Powers" send back after defeating a balrog in single combat, shows up the nick of time to give Harry, Jr. the Holy Hand Grenade. This makes John Boehner weep for the poor billionaires who may have to pay almost as high a rate of taxes as poor people. "Billionaires paying social security taxes? Oh, sob, I can't bear it." But then Thor smites him with his mighty hammer, Mjolnir, and Commander Adama flies all the survivors to a new planet Earth.

I may have scrambled my mythologies a bit there.

Anyway, I would not bet on this being the last Harry Potter movie.

[Demeter]

55. Well....

Sort of, for a while. It's a cheesy fictional near-death experience.

But Snape dies, and Alan Rickman is said to do a splendid job at it...compared to Die Hard, where he got to fall 50 storeys and didn't get to do much emoting. The theory is that Rowling was so upset by the amount of attention Snape, as the only more than one-dimensional character, was getting from readers of a certain age (in other words, anyone out of junior high), that he not only dies an ignominious death, but never even gets a funeral as his body disappears...

(However, Snape isn't really dead...and the Fen will see to it that he lives in perpetuity. Take the out as written...)

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Are Little Changed as Google, Petrohawk Energy Rally

U.S. stock-index futures were little changed, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index headed for its largest weekly drop in 11 months, as investors awaited the results of stress tests on European banks.

Petrohawk Energy Corp. (HK) rallied 64 percent as BHP Billiton Ltd. agreed to buy the company for $12.1 billion in cash. Google Inc. (GOOG) jumped 13 percent after reporting sales that beat predictions, a sign that it’s making progress expanding beyond search advertising. News Corp. slid 2.2 percent.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in September rose 0.2 percent to 1,309 at 7:40 a.m. in New York. The gauge has fallen 2.6 percent so far this week on concern the economic recovery is at risk and as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis grows. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,405.

Of the 10 S&P 500 companies that have posted results so far this earnings season, eight have beaten analysts’ average estimates for per-share profit.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-15/u-s-stock-futures-are-little-changed-as-google-petrohawk-energy-rally.html

[xchrom]

34. US STOCKS-Wall Street set to rise on deals, earnings

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/15/markets-stocks-idUKN1E76E0AM20110715

NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to rise on Friday after strong earnings from Google and Citigroup helped lift some of the angst about Europe's debt crisis and and stalled U.S. budget talks that have overhung the market.

Deal activity also helped. BHP Billiton's (BLT.L) $12 billion offer to purchase Petrohawk (HK.N) lifted shares in the energy sector, while billionaire investor Carl Icahn offered to buy Clorox Co (CLX.N) in a $10.2 billion deal.

But the second unexpected contraction in a gauge of manufacturing in New York State underlined the risks an economic slowdown posed to investors.

Google Inc's (GOOG.O) earnings beat forecasts, sending its shares up 13 percent. Citigroup Inc posted higher net income in the second quarter, helped by falling credit losses, which helped lift the stock more than 3 percent before the opening bell.

[Demeter]

4. 10 Things the GOP Doesn't Want You to Know About the Debt

http://www.perrspectives.com/blog/archives/002215.htm

1. Republican Leaders Agree U.S. Default Would Be a "Financial Disaster"
   
2. Ronald Reagan Tripled the National Debt
   
3. George W. Bush Doubled the National Debt
   
4. Republicans Voted Seven Times to Raise Debt Ceiling for President Bush
   
5. Federal Taxes Are Now at a 60 Year Low
   
6. Bush Tax Cuts Didn't Pay for Themselves or Spur "Job Creators"
   
7. Ryan Budget Delivers Another Tax Cut Windfall for Wealthy
   
8. Ryan Budget Will Require Raising Debt Ceiling - Repeatedly
   
9. Tax Cuts Drive the Next Decade of Debt
   
10. $3 Trillion Tab for Unfunded Wars Remains Unpaid

DETAILS AT LINK

[Demeter]

7. Killing the Zombie Lie That "We're All Living Longer"

You hear this one all the time when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. "We have to raise the retirement age because we're living longer." We've been arguing against that one for a year now...The fact is, men are living less than three years longer, women about five. Yes, there are more people living longer because they didn't die at age 3 of whooping cough or polio, but the life expectancy for an individual has not been extended very much at all once age 65 is reached. Disturbingly, pushing the retirement age out five years as is currently proposed actually means an individual male retiree today is at risk of being cheated of two years more retirement than our supposedly drastically shorter-lived forebears received more than half a century ago. The latest available information is demonstrating that the gains in life expectancy that led to this zombie lie in the first place are now being reversed. This weekend, Laura Clawson wrote about a University of Washington study showing a significant drop in life expectancy for both women and black men in the past decade: From 1987 to 1997, there were 227 counties where female life expectancy dropped. From 1997 to 2007, the number of counties where women’s life expectancy dropped exploded to 737.... Besides the precarious state of women, life expectancy for black men in two-thirds of the nation’s counties is no better than what it was in other rich countries in the 1950s.

Hang on, though, because it's an even bigger story than just that. Via Ezra Klein: In December, the Los Angeles Times reported — very briefly — that from 2007 to 2008, life expectancy in the United States declined by 0.1 year. It should have been the lead story of every newspaper in the country with the largest possible headlines (“LESS LIFE“). Did 9/11 reduce life expectancy this much? Of course not. Did World War II? Not in a visible way — American life expectancy rose during World War II. I can’t think any event in the last 100 years that made such a difference to Americans. The decline is even more newsworthy when you realize: 1. It is the continuation of trends. The yearly increase in life expectancy has been dropping for about the last 40 years. 2. Americans spend far more on health care than any other country. Meaning vast resources have been available to translate new discoveries into practice. 3. Americans spend far more on health research than any other country and should be the first to benefit from new discoveries.

The lessons? The "best health care system in the world" only actually applies to the people who can afford to use it. More importantly, the policy-makers who advocate for making us work longer and wait longer before receiving benefits from Social Security or Medicare are completely divorced from the reality of the part of America than can't afford to use the "best health care system in the world." Additionally, forcing more people to wait to receive these benefits will result in a sicker older population, even more money spent on health care when they do finally qualify for Medicare, and earlier deaths for many. And in the long run, shorter life expectancy. For the average working schlub, that is. Not for the people Alan Simpson knows.


http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/630574/killing_the_zombie_lie_that_%22we%27re_all_living_longer%22/#paragraph3

[westerebus]

8. Rec to the front of the class. n/t

[Fuddnik]

9. About time you got out of bed!

You act like you;re on vacation or sometin'.

I'm just hanging out, waiting for the phone and cable guys. Getting rid of Verizon this morning.

[xchrom]

11. europe: EU bank stress test results due

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14159217

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is set to publish the results of stress tests of 90 banks across Europe later.

The tests are designed as a financial healthcheck and aim to ensure banks have sufficient capital to withstand difficult economic scenarios.

Some say the tests are not strict enough, despite changes made after only seven out of 91 banks failed last year.

On Wednesday, German bank Helaba said it expected to pull out of the stress tests to avoid public failure.

[xchrom]

12. German bank Helaba 'to pull out of stress tests'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14148180

German bank Helaba says it expects to pull out of the EU's bank stress tests this week to avoid public failure.

Helaba said it would have passed the test if regulators counted a debt-equity hybrid, called "silent participation", as a capital reserve.

It said the European Banking Authority (EBA), which runs the tests, had said it would accept silent participation but then changed its mind.

Its withdrawal will raise concerns about the credibility of the tests.

[Demeter]

19. What credibility?

I don't see any credibility. Do you see any credibility?

I'd believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, first.

[xchrom]

14. Troika dishes out feel-good factor as it insists debt burden is sustainable

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0715/1224300763562.html

COMMENT: THE TROIKA’S third Dublin press conference since November’s EU-IMF bailout was the dullest yet despite the euro-wide crisis backdrop against which it was taking place.

“No target has not been met,” said the Hungarian technocrat from the European Commission who took centre stage. Istvan Szekely’s comments on Ireland’s adherence to the terms of its bailout were echoed by his colleagues from the European Central Bank and the IMF.

Half a year into a three-year bailout, they emphasised their view that the plan was on track. This was the conclusion they reached having spent the past week assessing the degree to which the Government has been restructuring the banks and implementing the reforms set out in the plan.

Among the few newsworthy points made by the trio yesterday was Szekely’s response to a question about how burning Greek sovereign bondholders might change the terms of a second Irish bailout if it were needed. Could a second bailout be given without some form of writedown of debt? He said that it would be “reasonable to draw that conclusion”.

[xchrom]

31. Ireland's falling household savings rate defies expectations

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0715/1224300757511.html

If savings figures prove correct, the only real hope of a short-term boost to the economy has been dashed

YOU CAN do two things with your money: spend it or save it. The collective decision of a people on which to do has a big influence on how much growth there is in an economy and, as importantly, what kind of growth.

If economies spend too much and save too little, they will not be able to invest enough (unless they borrow from foreigners, something that can have disastrous consequences if done to excess, as we and the rest of the world are finding out).

But economies can also save too much, resulting in over-investment (unless they export their capital, as, for instance, Germany has done in recent years, only to have foreigners lose large amounts of it).

[xchrom]

32. IMF urges tougher EU response to debt crisis

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0715/1224300761372.html

THE IMF is urging EU leaders to toughen their response to the debt debacle, pushing them to proceed quickly with the reforms to its bailout regime proposed on Monday night, which will potentially ease the burden on Ireland and other countries in receipt of support.

The pressure on Europe from the IMF follows the recent appointment of former French finance minister Christine Lagarde as managing director of the Washington-based organisation.

But German chancellor Angela Merkel appeared to be hanging tough yesterday in the face of the IMF pressure. She blocked plans for an emergency euro zone summit today, arguing that leaders could meet only if a deal was done on a second Greek bailout.

“The condition is that we are able to decide on a completed new programme for Greece,” she said. The new programme is expected to reflect the decision taken in principle on Monday to look at methods of reducing Greece’s debt burden.

[xchrom]

35. CORRECTED-Financials lead FTSE lower on sovereign debt worry

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/15/markets-britain-stocks-idUKL6E7IEXX20110715

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index weakened on Thursday as a sharp rise in Italian bond yields highlighted investor concerns over sovereign debt, following Moody's warning overnight on the U.S.'s triple-A rating.

The UK's FTSE 100 extended earlier losses, falling 47.58 points, or 0.8 percent to 5,858.85 by 1059 GMT, as worries that Europe's lingering debt crisis may spread across the euro zone continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

The Italian Treasury had to pay the highest premium on record to sell 15-year paper in an auction on Thursday.

[xchrom]

13. asia: Foreign investment in China slows on tightening policy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14165239

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in to China has slowed as the government steps up its efforts to rein in the country's economic growth rate.

In June, foreign investment grew just 2.8% to $12.86bn (£7.9bn) compared to a year earlier, down from May's 13.4%.

However, during the first six months of the year China attracted investments worth $60.9bn, up 18.4% on a year ago.

On Wednesday, China said its economy grew by 9.5% in the second quarter.

[Demeter]

17. How Dracula Hedge Funds Are Sucking Us Dry

http://www.alternet.org/story/151569/how_dracula_hedge_funds_are_sucking_us_dry_?page=entire

What notion of economics or ethics justifies the fact that it would take the average family more than 35,000 years to earn as much as the top hedge fund managers earn in one year? The official June unemployment rate is 9.2 percent. The real rate is 18.5 percent (which includes involuntary part-time workers and the unemployed who haven’t looked for jobs in the past 4 weeks.) Nearly 30 million Americans are unemployed and we need more than 21 million jobs to get back to full-employment (defined as 5 percent). Meanwhile, the top 10 hedge fund elites make on average nearly $1 million an HOUR. We’ll never find the resources to solve the unemployment crisis until we redistribute some of this obscene wealth. It starts by putting to rest the notion that hedge fund elites are just like any other. They are not. They make more money than everyone else, including our top movie stars and athletes...and they pay lower taxes.

While working on my next book on financial elites, we dredged up a variety of “Top Ten Income Lists” (from sources like Forbes and Equilar) for just about every kind of high-rolling celebrity and CEO imaginable. Here are previews:

1. Oprah led the pack by hauling in an incredible $290 million in 2010.
   
2. U2 at $190 million was the top pop musical group.
   
3. Leonardo DiCaprio ($77 million) is the leading Hollywood star.
   
4. Tiger Woods ($75 million) remains the highest paid athlete even though he doesn’t play much golf these days.
   
5. Half of the highest paid non-financial CEOs are in the entertainment business, led by Phillipe Dauman of Viacom ($84.5 million).
   
6. Only six out of the 100 highest income Americans on these lists are women.

You also might find it interesting that the top Wall Street bankers are keeping a low-income profile these days. Maybe it’s an attempt to avoid stricter regulatory curbs on their financial casinos. Jamie Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase led the bank/insurance top 10 list with an income of $20 million (which, by the way, is half as much as Glenn Beck’s 2010 income). Lloyd “Doing God’s Work” Blankfein of Goldman Sachs was 10th on the banker list with an income of $14.1 million. All in all, we’re talking about serious money --- except for the fact that hedge funds make 100 times more than bankers.

Here’s the summary table for the “Top Ten” lists for 2010 -- to put the numbers in perspective, median family income is included:

The Highest Income Celebrities, CEO and Hedge Fund Managers (2010) SEE LINK



**************************************************************************************

Les Leopold is the executive director of the Labor Institute and Public Health Institute in New York, and author of The Looting of America: How Wall Street's Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity—and What We Can Do About It (Chelsea Green, 2009).

[Demeter]

20. The Daily Show on Murdoch is Something to see

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/?akid=7241.227380.In0lkl&id=632566&rd=1&t=5

[tclambert]

54. Hurray for Hugh Grant!

News Corp. (NWSA) has gone from $18 to $16, only an 11% decline. I bet it goes down further. But it has a market cap of $40.8 billion, so I don't think we could take up a collection and buy enough shares to fire Murdoch.

[Demeter]

21. On Ron Paul's 'Screw the Fed' Plan for Dealing with Debt Ceiling Showdown

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/631452/on_ron_paul%27s_%27screw_the_fed%27_plan_for_dealing_with_debt_ceiling_showdown/#paragraph4

Writing at The New Republic, economist Dean Baker says that Ron Paul's solution to this debt ceiling standoff is "surprisingly lucid."

Representative Ron Paul has hit upon a remarkably creative way to deal with the impasse over the debt ceiling: have the Federal Reserve Board destroy the $1.6 trillion in government bonds it now holds. While at first blush this idea may seem crazy, on more careful thought it is actually a very reasonable way to deal with the crisis. Furthermore, it provides a way to have lasting savings to the budget.

The basic story is that the Fed has bought roughly $1.6 trillion in government bonds through its various quantitative easing programs over the last two and a half years. This money is part of the $14.3 trillion debt that is subject to the debt ceiling. However, the Fed is an agency of the government. Its assets are in fact assets of the government. Each year, the Fed refunds the interest earned on its assets in excess of the money needed to cover its operating expenses. Last year the Fed refunded almost $80 billion to the Treasury. In this sense, the bonds held by the Fed are literally money that the government owes to itself.

Read the rest at TNR: http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/91224/ron-paul-debt-ceiling-federal-reserve


By Dean Baker | Sourced from The New Republic

[some guy]

45. I said something like that

in one of these threads once.

I'm not sure if I should be :bounce: because Dean Baker likes the idea or :scared: because Ron Paul likes it.

[Hawkowl]

46. Mostly true

The Fed is consortium of private banks. So the government owes the money to these private banks. So, yeah, DESTROY THE BONDS! It's not like the banks were using them as reserves to loan money to Americans anyways.

The government is going to default. So look for more, and more creative ways to get around Congress. Like some crazy child uncle, Congress needs to be locked away where they can't hurt anyone until they start taking their meds.

[Demeter]

22. On Economic Projections, the Right's Uninterrupted Track Record of Failure

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/631792/on_economic_projections%2C_the_right%27s_uninterrupted_track_record_of_failure/#paragraph6

Soon after the awful new job numbers were released, Dave Weigel had a good line, at least in a sardonic sort of way:

"Me? I'm just glad we kept the Bush tax rates so the economy could start surging."

I had the same thought. Indeed, when thinking about who has credibility on economic projections and governmental policy, the right's uninterrupted track record of failure remains fascinating. In 1982, conservative Republicans said Reagan's tax increases would cause a disaster (they didn't). In 1993, conservative Republicans said Clinton's tax increases would invariably fail (they didn't). In 2009, conservative Republicans said Obama's stimulus would make the economy worse (it didn't).

And in 2001, conservative Republicans said Bush's tax cuts would cause a remarkable economic boom (they didn't). In 2003, these same conservative Republicans said more Bush tax cuts would do the trick (they didn't). In 2010, these same conservative Republicans said if we could just keep those Bush tax cuts around a little more, we'd be amazed at the economic turnaround in 2011.

Here we are. I don't think anyone's amazed.

The response from the right is that we should just stick with the tax cuts indefinitely, because they're bound to work eventually. Indeed, to hear some conservatives tell is, it's other factors that deserve the blame -- Democrats have let spending get out of control (they haven't) and allowed the debt to become a drag on the economy (it isn't).

Ezra Klein noted the other day that the Republican approach to tax policy "is no longer based on any recognizable economic theory." Of course not. Who needs economic models, egghead academics, and evidence when the GOP has a religious-like certainty in a policy based solely on ideology?

One wonders, though, when the political world might pause to question whether these folks have any credibility left at all.


By Steve Benen | Sourced from Washington Monthly
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2011_07/those_bush_tax_cuts_will_work030769.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+washingtonmonthly/rss+%28Political+Animal+at+Washington+Monthly%29

[Demeter]

24. State Budgets: Murder by Loophole

http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/07/tax-loophole-state-budget-crisis-recession-jobs-corporations-murder?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Motherjones%2Fmojoblog+%28MotherJones.com+|+MoJoBlog%29

As President Obama and the Republican leadership continue trying to hash out a deal on raising the debt ceiling in exchange for slashing spending and closing corporate tax loopholes, the House judiciary committee is wasting no time quietly creating new tax giveaways, which could potentially leave localities scrambling for ways to pay for education and health services.........Sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the Business Activity Tax Simplification Act, or BATSA, would prevent states from taxing a sizable chunk of the profits of corporations that do business within their borders, but are based out-of-state. BATSA, which the committee marked up on Thursday, would also allow corporations to "wall off" some of their profits in subsidiaries that are located in states that don't exact an income tax..........(Some context: local laws in the 44 states with a corporate income tax determine the types of activities that require a business to pay taxes. But federal law can trump state laws on tax matters, meaning that the federal government effectively enjoys veto power over state and local revenue-generating measures.) In essence, BATSA allows federal lawmakers to create corporate tax shelters that gut state and local finances. And since there's no federal revenue lost in the process, it's no skin off their backs.

In healthy economic times, such a law would be decidedly imprudent, as it could potentially force states and localities to choose between paying for health care services and keeping schools open. But during perilous economic times like these, it would be downright catastrophic, especially given the massive budget cuts many states are facing in 2012.

In a report written when the bill was first introduced in April, CBPP found that BATSA granted corporations overly broad exemptions on their tax bills, and created a number of "safe harbors" from taxation. In real terms, who would be affected, and how?

• A television network would not be taxable in a state even if it had affiliate stations and local cable systems there relaying its programming and regularly sent employees into the state to cover sporting events and to solicit advertising purchases from in-state corporations.
  
  
• A bank would not be taxable within a state even if it hired independent contractors there to process mortgage loan applications and the loans were secured for homes located within the state.
  
  
• A restaurant franchisor like Pizza Hut or Dunkin’ Donuts would not be taxable in a state no matter how many franchisees it had in the state and no matter how often its employees entered the state to solicit sales of supplies to the franchisees or to train the franchisees in company procedures.

Much to the delight of anti-tax, pro-loophole crusaders like Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), the bill is lurching forward. After the bill's markup on Thursday, ATR rejoiced, praising the bill for rescuing businesses from taking on their fair share of the tax burden....Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that an older, less restrictive version of BATSA would have cost states and local governments $3 billion in revenue annually within five years of its enactment. Which means that if this bill—which enjoys broad bipartisan support in the House—continues moving forward, states will be left to foot the bill at a time when they can least afford it.


******************************************************************

Siddhartha Mahanta is an editorial fellow at Mother Jones.

[xchrom]

25. GE chief backs Boeing in labor dispute

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20110714/NEWS/307140009/GE-chief-backs-Boeing-labor-dispute

The leader of General Electric Co. said in Greenville on Wednesday that he sides with The Boeing Co. in its dispute with the National Labor Relations Board involving a new aircraft plant in North Charleston.

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt, who also chairs a council that advises President Obama on job creation, said the NLRB sent a bad signal that rocked the business world with its legal complaint that Boeing built the plant in right-to-work South Carolina to retaliate against the machinists' union.

“You've got a world-class, high-tech, job-creating force that's coming into South Carolina. I just can't think of one reason why we'd want to slow that down, not one,” Immelt said while talking to reporters during a visit to GE's complex in Greenville.

“I'm way in support of the Boeing team on this one.

[Demeter]

26. I need glasses

I thought that said

"GE chief sacks Boeing in labor dispute"

Well, of COURSE GE thinks this is just dandy.

[xchrom]

27. obama's comfortable shoes are parked in immelt's closet. nt

[Demeter]

28. More likely the other way around

[xchrom]

30. indeed. nt

[Demeter]

29. When the grandpuppy shows up, I'm outta here

Catch you on the Weekend! Try not to crash the economy today, okay everybody? Let me see the last Potter movie, first.

[Demeter]

33. Up like a rocket, down like a rock: Take 2

Here' we go again....

[jschurchin]

36. How do you spell Google?

ENRON. something is wrong there. Quarter after Quarter of killer reports and the rest of the economy is shit. Ken Lay would be proud.

[Fuddnik]

38. Goggle?

[Po_d Mainiac]

41. No balance sheet problems with google

Until the day after Goldman Sucks pawns off the last of it's holdings, to its best customers.

[Hotler]

37. k&r for the toon. n/t

[Fuddnik]

39. Ain't that the truth

[TalkingDog]

42. What Fuddnick said

n/t

[Demeter]

43. Nine banks fail Europe stress tests

Only nine banks failed the long-running stress test carried out on 91 European banks, far fewer than analysts had predicted, in a result that potentially undermines claims that the exercise was tough enough to restore investors’ jaded faith in the eurozone financial system.

Spain, as expected, was the worst performing country with five of its banks while Greece had two failures.

The other failures were Austria’s Volksbanken and Germany’s Helaba, which withheld its result after a row with the European Banking Authority, which carried out the test, over the quality of its capital.

Britain’s banks all passed the exercise, but the impact of the stress test scenario on current capital levels was among the most severe, with a 25 per cent reduction in ratios, beaten only by Greek banks, for which the impact was 40 per cent.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/5F39HH/XHHKA1/HI3M9/XTPKIF/U1UHHX/N9/t?a1=2011&a2=7&a3=15

[xchrom]

44. who will be the first to express 'surprise'? nt

[Tansy_Gold]

47. Not I, unless with buckets of sarcasm n/t

[xchrom]

48. hey you!

:hi:

[Festivito]

49. Debt: 07/13/2011 14,342,954,633,916.41 (DOWN 11,216,211.79) (Wed, UP a lot.)

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 49-billion dollars. Good day.)
Will things slow down? And will somebody claim those cheezeburgers and fries!
(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)
= 9,752,020,265,772.31 + 4,590,934,368,144.10
UP 10,692,053,599.69 + DOWN 10,703,269,811.48

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 $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,200.64 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.60, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,437,792 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 $45,906.59.
A family of three owes $137,719.78. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is -81,792,113.80.
The average for the last 30 days would be -54,528,075.86.

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$/day.
There were 193 reports in 286 days of FY2011 averaging 4.05B$ per report, 2.73B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 557 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 and 17.2T$.
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)
07/13/2011 14,342,954,633,916.41 BHO (UP 3,716,077,585,003.33 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 +0,781,331,603,024.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +0,997,153,968,895.16 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
06/20/2011 -001,398,167,502.39 -- Mon
06/21/2011 -005,323,373,908.56 --
06/22/2011 +008,838,427,845.80 ------------*********
06/23/2011 -003,583,724,883.29 --
06/24/2011 +001,084,698,810.36 ------------*********
06/27/2011 -002,470,523,317.36 -- Mon
06/28/2011 -005,425,153,798.63 --
06/29/2011 +007,017,747,779.06 ------------*********
06/30/2011 +003,977,538,029.63 ------------*********
07/06/2011 +006,618,560,773.63 ------------********* Wed
07/07/2011 +001,077,509,146.64 ------------*********
07/08/2011 -000,834,469,945.40 ---
07/11/2011 -004,122,303,723.36 -- Mon
07/12/2011 -003,634,448,925.47 --
07/13/2011 +010,692,053,599.69 ------------**********

12,514,369,980.35 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=4919709&mesg_id=4920123

[tclambert]

52. Holy cow! The projection for FY2011 is under $1 trillion!

Of course, it will surge upward right at the end of the fiscal year. Still, it has dropped considerably from the past two years. And the Republicans and Teabaggers boasted that they would cut $100 billion from the deficit.

[Festivito]

57. Nice to see it happen. It'll rise fast when debt talks end. Now, it's just a skewed statistic.

Repubs would gladly lie to take credit for Obama having already reduced the deficit year by year.

[Ghost Dog]

58. 'Dat Ole' Man Reserve Currency Status just keeps right on rollin'

along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh9WayN7R-s

For now. :)

[Festivito]

56. Debt: 07/14/2011 14,342,953,885,641.98 (DOWN 748,274.43) (Thu, DOWN some.)

(OVER the old debt limit of 14.294-trillion dollars by 49-billion dollars. Good day.)
Oh, lots of sleep to make up for the week.
(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)
= 9,750,503,934,099.81 + 4,592,449,951,542.17
DOWN 1,516,331,672.50 + UP 1,515,583,398.07

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 $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,200.56 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.60, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,444,992 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 $45,905.53.
A family of three owes $137,716.6. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is -81,233,554.50.
The average for the last 30 days would be -54,155,703.00.

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$/day.
There were 194 reports in 287 days of FY2011 averaging 4.03B$ per report, 2.72B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 556 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 and 17.2T$.
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)
07/14/2011 14,342,953,885,641.98 BHO (UP 3,716,076,836,728.90 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 +0,781,330,854,750.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +0,993,678,613,184.05 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
06/21/2011 -005,323,373,908.56 --
06/22/2011 +008,838,427,845.80 ------------*********
06/23/2011 -003,583,724,883.29 --
06/24/2011 +001,084,698,810.36 ------------*********
06/27/2011 -002,470,523,317.36 -- Mon
06/28/2011 -005,425,153,798.63 --
06/29/2011 +007,017,747,779.06 ------------*********
06/30/2011 +003,977,538,029.63 ------------*********
07/06/2011 +006,618,560,773.63 ------------********* Wed
07/07/2011 +001,077,509,146.64 ------------*********
07/08/2011 -000,834,469,945.40 ---
07/11/2011 -004,122,303,723.36 -- Mon
07/12/2011 -003,634,448,925.47 --
07/13/2011 +010,692,053,599.69 ------------**********
07/14/2011 -001,516,331,672.50 --

12,396,205,810.24 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=4921247&mesg_id=4921716

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

50. Sittting on the sidelines...

...playing guitar...

[tclambert]

53. just like yesterday?

and praying we don't get fooled again?

What about those of us who aren't fooled, but helplessly watch the vast sea of idiot voters fool themselves because they're afraid of gays or gun control or abortion doctors?

[kickysnana]

59. Kitco has not changed their gold chart. What does THAT mean? n/t