STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, July 18, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday July 18, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON July 15, 2011

Dow 12,479.73 +42.61 (+0.34%)
Nasdaq 2,789.80 +27.13 (+0.97%)
S&P 500 1,316.14 +7.27 (+0.55%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.91 0.00 (0.00%)
30-Year Bond 4.25 0.00 (0.00%)

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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/pKFptNoJHsV.IuyRncNxUQ--/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 18 09:00 Net Long-Term TIC Flows May NA NA $30.6B
Jul 18 10:00 NAHB Housing Market Index Jul 14 14 13

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/07/18-22/#ixzz1SRpn8QLY

[Ghost Dog]

51. A good one from ZH: TIC Data Summary: Russian Treasury Holdings Tumble; China, Japan Add

The Treasury released its May Treasury International Capital data today, which confirms recent trends: while China, both domestically and through the UK, and Japan both added to their gross exposure of US debt in May, Russia's holdings continued to tumble in line with warnings out of Moscow discussed previously. And while Putin has obviously had enough with shenanigans in the US, the same can not be said for his posturing colleagues in China (and Japan) who at least two months ago, brought their holdings of US to 2011 (and record) highs of $1159.8MM and $912.4MM respectively. So much for China dumping bonds. Another source of Treasury demand: petrodollars, which saw their UST holdings in May hit an all time high of $229.8 billion...

/... http://www.zerohedge.com/article/tic-data-summary-russian-treasury-holdings-tumble-china-japan-add

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil below $97 amid debt crisis, US economy jitters

SINGAPORE – Oil prices slipped below $97 a barrel Monday in Asia as weakening U.S. consumer confidence and more signs of financial stress in Europe kept a lid on buying appetite.

Benchmark oil for August delivery was down 35 cents to $96.89 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose $1.55 to settle at $97.24 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude fell 91 cents to $116.35 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

On Friday, 8 of 90 European banks flunked stress tests designed to gauge how they would fare in another recession, and 16 more barely passed. Investors in Europe have been rattled by concern Greece's debt crisis could spread to other EU countries and further undermine already weak economic growth.

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

[xchrom]

22. Oil-tax rise stifles investment in North Sea, Lloyds Bank reports

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/17/oil-industry-tax-north-sea

Britain has become a riskier place for oil and gas companies to invest than developing countries such as Egypt, according to a leading City banker.

Andrew Moorfield, global head of oil and gas at Lloyds Banking Group, says repeated government tampering with the UK tax system is severely restricting the amount of money that can be attracted from the energy sector.

"The unexpected increase in the tax rate for North Sea oil and gas production, and its impact on the measurement of UK tax stability, has enabled developing markets like Ghana and Egypt to compete more strongly for oil and gas investment," he added.

"When assessing credit risks, the industry considers both the political security of a country and the predictability of its tax regime. As an AAA-rated country, the UK has traditionally scored well on both counts, but is now performing poorly on the second."





:eyes: stability.

[xchrom]

41. How logical is the link between oil and dollar?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/how-logical-is-the-link-between-oil-and-dollar/articleshow/9270708.cms

LONDON: At the end of this week, the International Energy Agency is expected to announce the results of its 30-day review of an emergency reserves release, which shocked oil markets and sent ripples across foreign exchange.

Some countries are said to be opposed or at least reluctant to agree to further action for now, but there could still be another release at some point this year.

In addition, the United States , which accounted for half of the 60 million-barrel oil injection announced on June 23, could add more oil to international markets from its strategic reserves regardless of what the IEA as a whole decides.

The release from emergency stockpiles was only the third in the 37-year history of the IEA, and the announcement last month initially prompted a 6 percent sell-off on the oil market.

[xchrom]

58. US crude extends losses as Wall Street opens lower

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/markets-energy-crude-idUKN1E76H0E820110718

NEW YORK, July 18 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil futures
extended losses on Monday, taking a cue from Wall Street, which
opened lower on worries about the issue of raising the U.S.
debt ceiling and the euro zone debt crisis.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for August
delivery CLc1 was down $1.16, or 1.2 percent, at $96.08 a
barrel.

It earlier hit a session low of $95.81, down $1.43, or 1.5
percent, and before that, a session high of $97.69.
(Reporting by Gene Ramos; Editing by Dale Hudson)

[xchrom]

59. Libya rebels claim victory in Brega oil town

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/uk-libya-idUKTRE76C1H420110718

(Reuters) - Rebel forces have routed most of Muammar Gaddafi's troops in the Libyan oil town of Brega in the biggest boost for the insurgents' military campaign in eastern Libya in weeks, a rebel spokesman said on Monday.

The rebel fighters have encircled Brega, an oil export terminal with a refinery and chemical plant which for months marked the eastern limit of Gaddafi's control, rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said.

But its streets are littered with landmines, making it hard to secure full control of the area.

"The main body (of Gaddafi's forces) retreated to Ras Lanuf" to the west, Abdulmolah said by telephone. "I am told they have some four-wheel-drive trucks with machineguns spread out between Ras Lanuf and Bishr."

[xchrom]

64. UPDATE 4-Halliburton profit jumps on strong U.S. demand

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/halliburton-idUKN1E76D23F20110718

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO, July 18 (Reuters) - Halliburton Co (HAL.N), the world's second-largest oilfield services company, reported a forecast-topping 54 percent jump in profit on Monday as a U.S. onshore drilling boom showed no sign of cooling off.

High oil prices have led oil and gas producers to plunge billions of dollars into developing fields such as the Eagle Ford shale in Texas, creating a tighter market for equipment that allowed Halliburton to push through price rises.

The second-quarter results show Halliburton benefited from its leadership in the North American market in the pressure pumping technology that enables producers tap shale fields.

[Demeter]

3. So nice to know I'm not the only insomniac around here

There are at least two others....good morning!

[Tansy_Gold]

21. And another

The dogs woke me up at 3:00 and I discovered just about every other dog in the neighborhood is barking. Must be a bobcat or something prowling the area.

Love the toon, though I think the needle should be MUCH closer to E. . . .



TG, TT

[DemReadingDU]

25. Clever toon

and also think the needle should be closer to the E

[Ghost Dog]

30. Oh, what a beauty. Almost like our Lynx.

Shame about the tail, though.



BTW, I read in Jonathan Franzen's latest that American native and migratory birds don't understand the danger of (imported) small (domestic) cats, which are not native over there, and so are being decimated.

But, with cats like this around, how come?

[Po_d Mainiac]

57. Exotic invasives

are crashing indigenous populations on land and water.

Purple loosestrife, kudzu, pike, musky, Lg/Sm mouth bass, earthworms, milfoil, etc. are serious problems locally.

[Demeter]

67. Lampreys, Zebra Mussels, Japanese Beetles

and the infamous gypsy moth. My sister's house is in an oak stand, and one year it sounded like constant rain, the droppings of gypsy moths as they chewed their way through the leaf cover...brought over to breed with silkworms by an

ambitious, if totally ignorant Victorian...

In either 1868 or 1869, the gypsy moth was accidentally introduced near Boston, MA by E. Leopold Trouvelot. About 10 years after this introduction, the first outbreaks began in Trouvelot's neighborhood and in 1890 the State and Federal Government began their attempts to eradicate the gypsy moth. These attempts ultimately failed and since that time, the range of gypsy moth has continued to spread. Every year, isolated populations are discovered beyond the contiguous range of the gypsy moth but these populations are eradicated or they disappear without intervention. It is inevitable that gypsy moth will continue to expand its range in the future....http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/morgantown/4557/gmoth/

The gypsy moth was introduced into the United States in 1868 by a French scientist, Leopold Trouvelot, living in Medford, Massachusetts. The native silk spinning caterpillars were proving to be susceptible to disease so Trouvelot brought over gypsy moth eggs to try to make a caterpillar hybrid, that could resist diseases. When some of the moths escaped from his lab, they found suitable habitat and started to multiply. Gypsy moth is now one of the most notorious pests of hardwood trees in the eastern United States.---http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gypsy_moth

see following link for history of the spread of the moth

http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/eek/earth/invade.htm

[Po_d Mainiac]

84. Didymo aka 'rock snot', ash beetles...the list is endless n/t

[happyslug]

99. It has happened in Reverse, the introduction of American Grapes almost killed off European Wine

In the 1800s some Frenchman decided to import some American Grapes to cross breed with European Grapes to see if a better grape could be produced. Thomas Jefferson had tried to do this in the 1790s, but the European Grapes all died off on his Plantation. The reason was simple American grapes had evolved along with a aphid thus American Grapes could thrive in areas where the Aphid existed, but European Grapes had NOT evolved with the Aphid and would be killed by the Aphid within months of any infection.

The introduction around 1850 of the Aphid to France almost wiped out French Wine Production. Followed in close order the Wine of Spain, Italy and most of Europe.

Once the cause of the Blight was discovered, the solution was NOT in eliminating the Aphid but learning to live with it. In this case the solution was to graft European grape stalk onto American Grape Roots. The aphid attacked the roots, American Grapes could handle the aphid attack without dying, thus the European Grapes would survive as could the European Wine Industry.

For more on the French Wine Blight:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_French_Wine_Blight

A less known problem was the introduction of the American Beaver into Europe and South America. For Centuries it was believed the North American Beaver and the European Beavers were one and the same Species, it is now known they are NOT. They can NOT even interbreed. Both will build dams, but the North America Beavers tend to build More and bigger dams and start these dams at much younger ages then European Beavers., North American Beavers tend to live in Lodges made of Wood, European Beavers tend to live in Burrows and less and smaller dams. This is probably do to the fact North American Beavers operated in a total forested area, with very little open country, while European Beavers lived in a more mixed forest area. This is causing problems in Russia as North American Beavers appear to be pushing out European Beavers in the one area where both exist at the present time:

http://www.geostrategis.com/p_beaver-karelia.htm
http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs155050.pdf

In Tierra Del Fuego, on the Southern Tip of South American American Beavers were introduced in the 1946, but the trees in the area do not Coppice like many trees do in North America, thus once the tree was cut down, it would NOT regrow (Coppice trees, will regrow if it is cut down to a stump, characteristic of trees native to areas where Beavers are native). The Beavers have cause millions of Dollars of losses do to damage to the Native Trees.

More on Coppicing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coppicing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver_eradication_in_Tierra_del_Fuego

Now, the Locust Tree was also introduced into Europe, it is now viewed as an invasive tree, but it is one of the best trees for use as a Fence Post ever found and for that reason was imported into Europe:

Black Locust:
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/black_locust.htm
http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_rops.pdf

Honey Locust:
http://outwalkingthedog.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/mastodons-in-manhattan-how-the-honeylocust-tree-got-its-spikes/

http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pg_gltr.pdf

[Po_d Mainiac]

102. Interesting! N/T

[Ghost Dog]

85. Earthworms?

Hell, we're importing American red earthworms for organic farming around here (as well as for fish-bait).

But, there are earthworms everywhere, right? Please explain the differences?

[happyslug]

95. No Earthworms under area of Glaciers,

Earthworms take a long time to move into an area, The North American Ice Sheet collapsed over 10,000 years ago, that area of North American, the extreme North of the US and all of Southern Canadian had not earthworms till introduced starting about 1607. Earthworms will move, but rarely more then the length of an yard in a person's lifetime, thus all the earthworms in the area that had been under the old Glaciers were introduced by man. This had had affect on forests, some trees need to pull nutrients from leaves left on the ground years before. With Earthworms, these leaves are decomposed before such trees can use the nutrients so the trees lost access to those nutrients and tend to die out. Thus earthworms have negative aspects in such forests, but the only way earthworms enter such forests in by introduction by man.

A detail study on the Subject:
http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/research/publications/Callaham%20et%20al%202006.pdf

[Ghost Dog]

96. That is very thought-provoking new info to me

(in spite of all my geo- eco- bio- studies to date).

Northern Europe, including most but not all British Isles were also under ice last time around. But I didn't know that. Most of my studies date from the '70s.

Thanks very much, happyslug.

Also the cat info below.

Now I can go to try to go to sleep meditating on that, happily.

Many thanks! :hug:

[happyslug]

100. Southern England and Southern Ireland, appears to be Ice Free doing the Ice Age

Thus Earthworms would have survived in Tundra that was Southern England during the Ice Age.

http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/nercEUROPE.html
http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/nerc.html

One of the problems with people's understanding of the Ice Age is that the Advancing Glaciers were NOT uniform. For example most of North American came under a Glacier almost to the modern City of Pittsburgh but elsewhere not much south of what is now the Great Lakes. Furthermore Alaska seems to have been ice free tundra even in the area of the North Slope (The Center of the North American Ice Sheet, was present day Newfoundland).


http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/nercNORTHAMERICA.html


http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/climatechange2/01_1.shtml

[happyslug]

94. Canadian Lynx is about the same size as the European Lynx, the Bobcat is smaller

Bobcat (Females 13-21 pounds, males 20-30 pounds):

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

Canadian Lynx(18-24 pounds Females tend to 18, males tend to 24, as a rule Lynxes are heavier then Bobcats, but Bobcats can vary so much in weight that the heavest Bobcat can outweigh a Canadian Lynx):

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

Eurasia Lynx tend to be heaver, 40 - 65 pounds:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Lynx

The main reason Canadian Lynxes and Bobcats are smaller is that the American Puma is their main competitor for food. The Puma is slightly larger then the Eurasian Lynx averaging 93 pounds for Females and Males at 137 pounds but the range is 64 to 220 pounds. Thus to compete with the Cougar Lynxes and Bobcats had to be smaller. Eurasian Lynxs could move into areas that could support a larger Cat for the only larger cars they had to deal with was the Leopards, Tigers and Lions, all known to be poor climbers compared to the Lynxes and Cougars.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cougar

Please note the Bobcat is replaced by the Jugarundi south of Central Mexico, the Jugarundi is a relative of the Cougar:

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

[Ghost Dog]

97. Mmmm. Let me get close, then, to Cougars. Pumas and Jaguars,

as well as Bobcats and Lynxes. Agile, climbing cats (and large enough to merit even greater respect), unlike, as you say, Leopards, Tigers and Lions.

And, so highly intelligent.

[happyslug]

101. Leopards are known to climb, but nothing comes close to the Cougar

I did err in including Leopards with Tigers and Lions, all three are close relatives, but the Leopard retains an excellent ability to climb while the larger Tiger and Lion do not,
OF the Four Panthera species, the cats that can ROAR:

Leopards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard#Leopards_and_humans

Tigers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger#Range_and_habitat

Lions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion

The Jaguar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar

Only the Jaguar and Tiger are known to Swim, the Leopard and Lion tend to avoid water. The Tiger (Deep Forests), Lion (Savanna and Grasslands) and Jaguar (Rain Forests and Deep Forests) tend to be to large to climb, thus gave up most of their Climbing ability to be the biggest predator in their area.

Also, these are all instinctive hunters, unlike the Puma and is cousin the Cheetah who must be taught by their Mothers (Or learn on their own) on how and what to hunt.

[Hotler]

32. We are on fumes and about to start sputtering.

The end is near. I no longer care.

[hamerfan]

87. I am seriously

beginning to think that this is the only rational response to things these days.

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. Stocks Drop, Euro Weakens, Gold Has Longest Run of Gains Since ’80 on Debt

Stocks fell around the world, led by banks, while the euro weakened to a record against the Swiss franc as stress tests failed to allay concern the debt crisis will deepen. Gold had its longest winning streak since 1980.

The MSCI All-Country World Index slid 0.5 percent at 10:10 a.m. in London and the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Index dropped to a two-year low. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slid 0.5 percent. The euro depreciated as much as 1.4 percent to 1.13737 per franc. The cost of insuring European sovereign debt rose to a record. Italy’s 10-year bond yield jumped 12 basis points, while the German bund yield lost five basis points. Gold topped $1,600 an ounce for the first time, and silver rose 1.8 percent.

European leaders are holding a special summit this week as they seek to contain the debt crisis, after eight of the region’s banks failed stress tests. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated the ECB won’t accept bonds from a defaulting nation as collateral. In the U.S., President Barack Obama is trying to get lawmakers in both parties to agree to a deficit-cutting deal as the Aug. 2 deadline for raising the debt ceiling looms.

“Markets are likely to be dominated by views on the sustainability of sovereign debt,” Carlo Mareels, a credit analyst at RBC Capital Markets in London, wrote in a report. “As long as there is no definitive answer to this, we think there is not much space for a stable recovery in the bank space.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-18/euro-weakens-asia-stocks-decline-on-debt-crisis-concerns-as-silver-rises.html

[Demeter]

5. California AG Considering Joining New York, Delaware in Broad Probe of Mortgage Abuses

YES, IT'S THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING, THE JOB THAT WILL NEVER BE FINISHED BECAUSE IT WILL NEVER BE STARTED, AT LEAST, NOT UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/california-ag-considering-joining-new-york-delaware-in-broad-probe-of-mortgage-abuses.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

California AG, Kamala Harris...met with New York AG Eric Schneiderman to discuss joining the probe that he and Delaware AG Beau Biden have launched, which is the most extensive investigation undertaken to date.(IS THIS BIDEN'S SON?)

It isn’t hard to see why the settlement talks are fracturing. Many AGs are unhappy with Tom Miller’s failure to keep them in the loop, the lack of meaningful investigations, and the high odds that the banks will get a broad waiver, which is tantamount to a big “get out of liability free card”. If you have any doubts whose interests are served by these negotiations, Jamie Dimon, in an investor conference call Wednesday, said he “would do anything to get it done today.” And no wonder why. He also said, per Bloomberg:

There have been so many flaws in mortgages that it’s been an unmitigated disaster…We just really need to clean it up for the sake of everybody. And everybody is going to sue everybody else, and it’s going to go on for a long time.

Given that California was one of the states worst hit by the mortgage meltdown, its abstention from a settlement deal would have a disproportionate impact. Politically, the fact that the states that have exited and appear likely to exit have Democratic AGs is also more of a blow to the Administration, which has been involved in the negotiations, than Republican defections would be...

PRESIDENT PETTIGREW, YOUR SHIP OF STATE IS SINKING...

[Demeter]

6. Shades of 2007: Funding Stresses Hit European Banks

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/shades-of-2007-funding-stresses-hit-european-banks.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

Can you smell the napalm?

The tone of the market is beginning to feel like 2007: serious signs of danger, like interbank funding stresses, combined complacency and denial. Gillian Tett describes the disconnect between the rising panic in Washington over the debt ceiling impasse, as the formerly-disciplined Republican party is unable to rein its Tea Partiers, who are happy to throw Molotov cocktails and don’t care if a firestorm results, versus calm on Wall Street. Intrade pegs the odds of default at 60%, Tett puts them at 40%, while analysts see the probability at 10% at most, and Mr. Treasury Market views it as pretty much zero.

In 2007, investors had, in Minksy fashion, been conditioned by the Great Moderation, abundant liquidity, and the Greenspan put to believe nothing that bad could happen, and if it did, investors would be able to exit with their hides intact. Now, these reflexes have been reinforced by the Bernanke put and Geithner’s attentiveness to the needs and wishes of banks. The assumption is that even if the Congressional gridlock continues, Timmie will find a way to keep paying Treasuries, even if everyone else suffers.

The troubling bit is that the Administration has said it’s unwilling to consider any of the creative ways out of this mess suggested in op ed pages and in the blogosphere: use of the 14th Amendment, canceling Treasuries held by the Fed, or using other loopholes to have the Fed monetize the debt. But Geithner dissed those ideas...Normally, one might view this rigidity as a negotiating posture. But this Administration doesn’t do negotiations, it does concessions, so it lacks dealmaking skills and expertise by virtue of being good only at giving tons of ground because it never wanted to hold those positions anyhow. Now that it has finally decided to become resolute when the stakes are exceptionally high, and neither side (at this juncture) appears able to give the other needed ground, or if push comes to shove, undercut their position completely.

Even if US investors don’t seem terribly troubled, US debt gridlock can easily add tinder to the fire starting in the Eurozone. And in another repeat of the crisis, we are starting to see credit market reporting disparities. The US outlets (even Bloomberg) were way behind the Financial Times on this beat until the crisis was underway and the Journal and Bloomberg had staffed up. We see it today in the contrast between two stories on the bank funding markets in Europe... At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, Libor was one of the most-watched indicators, as nervous investors looked at its sharp rise as a sign of waning confidence in the stability of the global financial system. These days, however, two key Libor gauges are being suppressed because of sharply shrinking demand: Banks, flush with cash, are borrowing diminishing amounts from one another. Outstanding “interbank” borrowings have plunged 63% in the past three years, totaling $168.4 billion at the end of June, compared with $450 billion in April 2008, according to the Federal Reserve. On Thursday, three-month dollar Libor stood at 0.24975%; the rate fell below 0.25% in June, and has failed to reflect turmoil in the bank markets amid the European debt crisis. In the 2008 financial crisis, by contrast, the rate rose to about 4.82% from 2.81% in a six-week period... The upshot: Libor these days is less representative of banks’ health and could mask deeper problems in the credit markets, analysts say....One broker said: “Lending is now very name specific. Banks will only lend to high-quality banks or names. Italian banks, in particular, have had difficulties this week. They can only access the markets if they pay big premiums. Other banks will not lend to them unless they pay up.”…

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

Heretofore, the US has looked rather smugly across the pond as European leaders have had serious difficulties crafting sensible responses to escalating financial and fiscal stresses. Now we are learning the hard way that there is no such thing as politics as usual when the economic pie is shrinking.

[Demeter]

7. Bank Delays May Push 1 Million U.S. Foreclosure Filings to 2012

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-14/bank-delays-push-1-million-u-s-foreclosures-into-2012-in-ominous-shadow-.html

Lender delays in processing home- loan defaults will push as many as 1 million U.S. foreclosure filings from this year to 2012 or beyond, casting an “ominous shadow” on the housing market, according to RealtyTrac Inc...The number of properties receiving a notice of default, auction or repossession plunged 29 percent in the first half of 2011 from the same period last year, the Irvine, California- based data seller said today in a report. About 1.17 million homes got a filing, or one out of every 111 households.

Procedural delays caused by a probe into bank documentation errors, combined with weak consumer sentiment and a jobless rate above 9 percent, are weighing on a property recovery by adding to a backlog of distressed homes, RealtyTrac said. A clogged foreclosure pipeline may prevent real estate prices from finding a bottom as the housing slump enters its sixth year.

“If you accept the premise that foreclosures are the black cloud hanging over the market, we’re not going to get price stability and people won’t leave the sidelines until that cloud is cleared away,” Nicolas Retsinas, professor of real estate at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in a telephone interview.

U.S. home prices fell 33 percent from a July 2006 peak through April, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index of 20 cities....RealtyTrac in January forecast as many as 3.2 million foreclosure filings for 2011. Delays have persisted as state attorneys general investigate “robo-signing,” the practice of pushing through documents without verifying their accuracy. Total filings for the year are likely to be about 2 million at the current pace, compared with 2.9 million in all of 2010, Rick Sharga, senior vice president, said in a phone interview.

[Demeter]

8. ECB and Merkel clash over Greece

Trichet says bank will not back default bonds, putting him in conflict with the German leader’s stance on bondholders

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/ZGGI1W/ULCJB/OJEZ14/EXWYOU/PJ/t?a1=2011&a2=7&a3=18

IF THE EUROPEANS EVER COME TO GRIPS WITH THEIR BANKS, WHICH WOULD MEAN LIQUIDATING THEM AND REPLACING THEM WITH TIGHTLY REGULATED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ON SHORT LEASHES, THEN IT WOULD BE ALL OVER FOR THE US ZOMBIES...PERHAPS THAT'S WHAT OBAMA AND CONGRESS ARE WAITING FOR, SOMEONE ELSE BELLING THE CAT FIRST...

[Demeter]

34. EU Stress Tests Fail to Convince Analysts

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-17/stress-tests-missing-sovereign-default-fail-to-convince-analysts.html

European banks may have to raise as much as 80 billion euros ($113 billion) of additional capital as the stress tests failed to allay investor concern about a Greek default and governments’ ability to bail out their lenders.

The eight banks that failed out of the 90 tested on July 15 had only a combined capital shortfall of 2.5 billion euros, the European Banking Authority said July 15. As many as 20 banks need to bolster capital, JPMorgan Cazenove analysts led by Kian Abouhossein wrote in a report after the results were published.

Regulators didn’t include a Greek default in the tests even though credit default swaps indicate investors see an almost 90 percent chance of one. The EBA included a 25 percent writedown on 10-year Greek government bonds held in banks’ trading books even as the securities trade at about 51 cents on the euro. The exams won’t succeed in reassuring investors until governments put in place a mechanism to stop failing banks weighing on public funds, said Gary Greenwood, an analyst at Shore Capital.

“The EBA are stress-testing the wrong thing,” said Hank Calenti, a bank strategist at Societe Generale (GLE) SA in London in a telephone interview. “They need to be testing the ability of the euro zone to support its banks. It’s firstly a question of the ability of the sovereign to bail out the banks, and then who is going to bail out the sovereign.”

[Demeter]

36. Pressure rises for Greek debt buy-back, swap

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/us-eurozone-debt-idUSTRE76G2GK20110718

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Sunday for private investors to make a major contribution to bailing out Greece, as pressure rose for radical action to cut the country's debt burden.

Officials proposed a range of schemes for Europe's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, to finance a buy-back or a swap in which private owners of Greek government bonds -- banks, insurers and other investors -- would accept cuts in the face value of their holdings. European Central Bank Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi suggested the EFSF be allowed to provide funds for a buy-back of bonds from the market, where prices have in some cases fallen 50 percent from levels at which the debt was issued. "This would allow the private sector to sell bonds at market prices, which are currently below nominal value. At the same time, the public sector could benefit monetarily," Bini Smaghi told Sunday's To Vima newspaper in an interview.

Wolfgang Franz, head of Germany's "wise men" economic advisers to the government, said the huge size of Greece's 340 billion euro ($480 billion) debt pile meant it was "inevitable and justified" for the private sector to accept losses. "One possibility would be that the current EFSF euro rescue mechanism swaps -- at a significant discount -- Greek bonds into bonds it issues and guarantees," Franz was quoted as telling Focus magazine at the weekend....

AND THE FRANTIC FLAILING CONTINUES WITH MORE EXTEND AND PRETEND

[Po_d Mainiac]

40. Can u spell 'bloodbath'? n/t

[Demeter]

48. Rummy is Frosted Can Give You an Illustration

[Po_d Mainiac]

60. ROFL

But, I was envisioning the 'soft patches' left on the sidewalks in Lower Manhattan from the frequent flier sect.

[Demeter]

68. We should live so long

First, the banksters use OPM, so their own wealth isn't at risk.
Second, they are a bloodless, conscienceless bunch who don't care how much pain they inflict.
Third, they think they have enough protection so that the angry mob can't touch them.
Fourth, they bought enough of the government to be spared any legal prosecutions.

BUT!

Most importantly, history shows that what goes up, will come down to a stable point. There's nothing stable about the current inequity.

[Demeter]

9. Drought cripples southern US farms

A once in a generation US drought stretches from Arizona to Florida. The US’s southern underbelly is scorched like meat on a grill

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/ZGGI1W/ULCJB/OJEZ14/JEISAZ/PJ/t?a1=2011&a2=7&a3=18

IT HASN'T RAINED IN MICHIGAN (MAYBE ONE DAY) IN A MONTH. THIS IS NO WAY TO RUN A GROWING SEASON. AND THE LAST TWO NIGHTS HAVE BEEN MORE THAN OPPRESSIVE.

[AnneD]

53. Morning Marleteers...

:donut: and lurkers. I was up in Michigan last weekend. It rained briefly but I noticed every thing looked dry.

I was up there for my neice's baby shower and puja (Hindu blessing). They set up Skype so that her mother and the family in Hydrabad India could participate. The shower involved wives and female friends placing bangles on her hands. She is suppose to wear them for the rest of the pregnancy. I think they are a form of community blessing for the mom. She said that the noise from the bangles helps the baby know it's mother when it arrives. It was amusing to observe a group of men standing in the corner....all holding infants in there arms while their wives were enjoying the party. You really don't see that at American showers.

For the puja, a Hindu priest came to the house. It involved lots of offerings of coconuts, fruits,and spices and chantings in Sanskrit. One part that I did find amusing was that two young girls grind up some spices and do some chant asking for the child to be a boy. I had to smile because at this point, the sex has already been chosen.

It was an interesting in site into the culture.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Ghost Dog]

70. Hiya AnneD. Could you explain that bit about sex-choosing

for us, viz-a-vis Indian community in USA, please?

(Edit: Nice to hear from you, and your real life, btw).

[Demeter]

80. I think AnneD is Pointing Out that Sex is Determined at Conception

or shortly thereafter...and not by any human means other than genetics, chance, and the ways of nature.

[Ghost Dog]

83. And, possible selective terminations of pregnancy

(if it's of an unwanted sex, for example), where that's anywhere legal and medically doable, right, Demeter?

[Demeter]

89. Well, it sure wouldn't go on in Redneck Michigan

Unless there's an underground community that I'm not aware of...which IS possible, but incredibly unlikely. Government is so intrusive these days....unless you are in the self-styled Elite or a big bankster.

[Ghost Dog]

93. Glad to receive your assurance, there, Demeter.

Thanks. :hug:

[xchrom]

10. good morning!

:donut:

[Festivito]

11. 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.)
Too much working.
(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

[xchrom]

12. europe: Berlin Working on Plans for Greek Debt Cut

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,775014,00.html

The appeal was a dramatic one, but the situation warranted it. "The current mood is not helping us pull ourselves out of the crisis," Greek Prime Minister Giorgios Papandreou said in an interview with the Financial Times Deutschland published last Thursday "This insecurity frightens off investors."

Papandreou is undoubtedly right. As his country stands dangerously close to national bankruptcy, finance ministers from the 17 euro-zone countries remain divided on how to organize a second bailout package for Greece.

Still, last Monday, they at least agreed on one thing: that, so far, all rescue efforts aimed at buying Greece some time to gain some control over its debt problems had failed. Indeed, Greece's economy is on the verge of collapse, and its skyrocketing debt level has now reached 150 percent of GDP.

As a result, politicians are starting to arrive at the same conclusion that economists made long ago: Greece can only be helped with a debt "haircut." But that's where the problems start. How should a buyback of Greek sovereign bonds be organized? And what role should private creditors, such as banks and insurance companies, play in it?





haircut, indeed.

[xchrom]

13. Wooing Professionals from Debt-Stricken Parts of the EU

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,775018,00.html

The German economy has grown so well in the last few months that a lack of trained professionals has become a political problem . But now the federal labor agency has an idea. Berlin, it argues, should focus on attracting qualified workers from debt-stricken eurozone countries like Spain, Greece and Portugal.

"There is huge potential in Spain, thousands of engineers are unemployed, including IT specialists," said Monika Varnhagen, director of the labor agency's Central Bureau for Foreign Jobs and Professions (ZAV), to Die Welt.

With 20 percent unemployment, there are around 130,000 people in Spain in need of work, according to an Europepan Union employment network called EURES, which helps with cross-border employment in Europe. No less than 17,000 Spaniards are reportedly open to working in Germany.

But Spain alone can't fill Germany's skilled-labor shortfall. Lars Funk, who leads a division of the Association of German Engineers, says the country needs a total of 73,000 engineers across all fields. "The shortfall is enormous," he says.

[Ghost Dog]

31. Many Spaniards have quite recent experience as "guest workers"

in the likes of Germany and Switzerland.

But, the "huge potential" in Spain would be better employed, imho, by for example importing to Spain some (more) good (and incorruptible) German managers.

[xchrom]

14. Stock markets fall on fears over Europe's debt crisis

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14183041

Stock markets fell on Monday as a healthcheck on banks failed to stem worries about Europe's debt crisis.

Financial shares were heavy fallers, with Royal Bank of Scotland down 3.8% and BNP Paribas 3.1% lower.

In early trading the FTSE 100 index fell 0.9%, France's Cac 40 shed 1.4%, and Germany's Dax was 1.3% down.

On Friday, eight European banks failed a stress test on their finances, while another 16 were said to be near the danger zone.

The European Banking Authority published the results of the stress tests after European stock markets had closed on Friday.

[xchrom]

15. David Cameron on trip to bolster UK trade with Africa

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14180863

David Cameron has arrived in Johannesburg for the start of a trip to bolster Britain's business links with Africa's fastest growing economies.

On his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, he said trade not aid would lift millions out of poverty.

The prime minister is also set to highlight trade's importance for securing deals to help the UK economy.

It is understood that the trip has been cut back so he could return to the UK to deal with the on-going hacking row.

[xchrom]

17. Scottish jobs market improves again, bank report shows

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-14179584

The Scottish jobs market continued to improve in June, but at a slower pace, according to a Bank of Scotland report.

The figures also showed that the Scottish labour market had now outperformed the UK as a whole for the third month in a row this year.

More people were also getting work and recruitment agencies reported a continued rise in demand for new staff.

Dundee saw the biggest rise in workers securing a job while Edinburgh recorded the sharpest hikes in wages.

[Ghost Dog]

33. Troika’s claim that Ireland is doing fine is a load of junk

... cut, but worth reading the cut out ...

If we follow the troika’s austerity programme and bring the government deficit down from14 per cent of GDP to 3 per cent in (say) three years, where will that missing 11 per cent of GDP come from? If government spending isn’t replaced, the economy will shrink by the same amount.

We are talking about 11 per cent of total income. If the economy shrinks by the same amount, so does the tax base.

If the tax base shrinks, what happens? Well, if we are to achieve the austerity targets and the tax take falls, the cuts will have to be much bigger.

But this won’t make the economy grow - it will have the opposite effect. The cuts will make the economy shrink.

Unless, of course, the trade surplus can increase dramatically, which would mean that our savings and the government savings were offset by demand from foreigners.

But the simple back-of-the-envelope calculations would mean that, for the economy to stay stable, the trade surplus would have to increase by at least 11 per cent of GDP from here.

/... read more ... http://www.thepost.ie/commentandanalysis/troikas-claim-that-ireland-is-doing-fine-is-a-load-of-junk-57510.html

[xchrom]

19. Gold price hits record amid eurozone and US debt ceiling jitters

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/18/gold-price-record-eurozone-us-debt-ceiling-jitters

Jitters over the eurozone debt crisis and the US debt ceiling drove the gold price through the $1,600 (£995) an ounce mark for the first time on Monday.

The price of other precious metals also jumped as investors plumped for safe havens. Silver gained 2% to $40.11 an ounce, its highest since early May, as stock markets fell across Europe.

At $1600.40 an ounce, gold has risen by nearly 8% since the start of July. Economists believe it will keep climbing and could spike sharply if the eurozone breaks up or America fails to raise its debt ceiling this week.

"If people seriously thought that there was a good chance that the euro itself would not survive, the associated flight to the safety of gold could easily see prices surge well above $2,000," said analysts at Capital Economics, who predict that gold will pass though the $2,000 mark in 2012.

[xchrom]

20. Barclays faces large loss in Russian exit

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/jul/18/barclays-faces-large-loss-russian-exit

Barclays is expected to record a multimillion-pound loss as it prepares to draw up a shortlist of potential bidders for the Expobank business it bought in Russia just before the 2008 banking crisis.

Bob Diamond, the Barclays boss, was quick to identify Expobank as a business that needed to be disposed of after he took the helm late last year and announced the decision to pull out of retail and commercial banking in Russia in February.

A sales process is now under way and sources believe that Barclays will have to sell the operation for as little as a tenth of the £373m that it paid for the 32-branch operation in March 2008.

Among those thought to be potential bidders are the local banks Vostochny Express and the largest Kazakh bank, Kazkommertsbank.

[xchrom]

23. toon

[Ghost Dog]

29. Yes. Angela has made sure there will be "private investor" haircuts.

Said "private investors" (mostly hedge funds, now, it seems), will most likely make sure their pension fund clients pay the brunt of it (natch).

And... some kind of something approaching the status of a new "Eurobond" will emerge.

All this very soon, now (because the August vacations are of course sacred).

There is no alternative. (ha ha).

[xchrom]

55. Financials drag FTSE lower as sovereign debt woes persist

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/markets-britain-stocks-idUKL6E7II1YY20110718

LONDON, July 18(Reuters) - Britain's top share index fell on Monday as sovereign debt concerns both in Europe and the United States continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

Banks topped the list of fallers on London's blue chip index after Friday's European banking stress test results did little to quell lingering worries over the stability of the euro zone.

Royal Bank of Scotland , Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays fell up to 3.7 percent as Deutsche Bank said the risks to the sector of macro slowdown or policy mistake are huge.

Man Group shed 3.0 percent, tracking sharp falls by financial issues which generally have most exposure to European sovereign debt, as the hedge fund group said it will take on exposure to the estates of defunct U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers from funds managed by its subsidiary GLG Partners.

[xchrom]

16. asia: Japan plans to ban Fukushima beef

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14181046

Japan's government is set to suspend all cattle shipments from Fukushima as concerns over radiation-tainted beef escalate.

Senior Vice Health Minister Kohei Otsuka said beef from surrounding areas may also be affected.

It comes after 136 cows were found to have consumed feed affected by radioactive caesium.

This is the latest health scare linked to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by the March earthquake.

[xchrom]

18. Chinese government intervenes to curb pork price rises

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14181125

China has announced plans to release supplies of pork onto the market to help cut the price of the country's most widely consumed meat product.

It also said it was planning to build up its reserves of the meat.

The move comes as the price of pork has jumped by almost 60% pushing the rate of inflation to a three-year high.

Pork prices have been rising after an outbreak of disease two years ago led to a cull of livestock and delays in boosting production.

[xchrom]

26. Asia stocks start week on downbeat note

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-stocks-post-mild-losses-2011-07-17

TAIPEI (MarketWatch) — Most Asian markets ended lower on Monday to begin the week on a subdued note as concerns over U.S. and European sovereign debt issues kept investors wary.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index /quotes/zigman/2622475 HK:HSI -0.32% ended the day 0.3% lower at 21,804.75, China’s Shanghai Composite Index /quotes/zigman/1859015 CN:000001 -0.12% slipped 0.1% to 2,816.69 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index /quotes/zigman/1653884 AU:XJO -0.03% ended little changed at 4,472.0.

South Korea’s Kospi KR:0100 -0.69% fell 0.7% to 2,130.48 and Taiwan’s main index gave up 0.4% to 8,538.57. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.

“The debt crisis in the U.S. and European Union will remain the main driving force for global markets this week and beyond,” said Prakash Sakpal, an economist at ING Financial Markets Research.

[xchrom]

27. China faces slowing foreign investment

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-faces-slowing-foreign-investment-2011-07-17?dist=beforebell

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Fears were eased last week that China’s economy was stalling after GDP growth came in at a brisk 9.5% for the second quarter. Yet, reports at the weekend that foreign direct investment is slumping are a reminder that China is not immune to the developed-world debt overhang on global growth.

FDI rose just 2.8% in the year to June, a sharp slowdown next to annual growth running at 13.4% in May and 15.2% in April.

Looking past the economy, investors are now turning to the interim financial reporting season with a focus on avoiding companies that might present some surprise earnings disappointments in the half-year report.

We are seeing this in a variety of ways, with a common theme of getting defensive.

[Ghost Dog]

35. So, there is going to be a black market in irradiated foodstuffs.

Buyer beware.

[xchrom]

24. As the US nears the brink, the budget row is exposing Republican madness

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/17/us-default-debt-ceiling-obama-congress

Back in 2004 I met a pleasant Republican called Burton Kephart, who had lost his son in Iraq and wanted to save my soul. Opening his Bible at Matthew and Romans, he told me I was born a sinner but that, if I accepted Jesus into my heart, I could be saved.

I asked what would happen if I didn't. "Eternal judgment," he said. "Hell."

You're never that far away from the apocalypse in US culture or politics. The most popular books of the past decade, the Left Behind series, are based on a fictionalised account of the Judgment Day. The 12 books sold more than John Grisham. "I fear for this country if Kerry wins," said Kephart. "God has a plan for the ages. Bush will hold back the evil a little bit." The facebook page "If Sarah Palin wins in 2012 – it will be the end of the world!!!" suggests a similar reflex among liberals, even if it's generally not religiously inspired.

So when President Barack Obama talks about "averting Armageddon", there is good reason to be sceptical. In a nation given to hyperbole, where 59% believe the events in Revelation are going to come true, there's always a swarm of locusts on the horizon.






*****i hope everyone remembers their insanity if the budget does get passed & the ceiling is raised.
these will still be the same crazy fuckers they were before.

[Ghost Dog]

38. 59% insanity

at least?

God save the Enlightenment, Insha'Allah. :(

[xchrom]

28. south asia: Nifty ends lower; Cipla, RCom, M&M, NTPC, TCS down

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/nifty-ends-lower-cipla-rcom-mm-ntpc-tcs-down/articleshow/9271361.cms

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended a lackluster session in the negative terrain as concerns of economic crisis in Europe and the US hurt sentiments. Gains in realty, metals and power stocks were offset by losses in auto, technology and healthcare space. On the domestic front, the market is likely to take cues from quarterly earnings and policy reforms.

"The short term concerns like inflation, interest rates and high crude prices have largely been discounted by the market. The markets are trading at a very reasonable valuation of 14times FY12 earnings. We expect Q1FY12(Y-o-Y) earnings growth to be in the range of 15%-20%. The corporate advance tax numbers have shown a growth of 22% over last year.

We expect the earnings to be led by the banking space. The earnings growth for leading private sector banks is expected to be between 20%-25% and hence we continue to be bullish on private banks. We also expect IT and pharma to post good numbers. The monsoon session of Parliament, also starting in August, could see some reform measures in sectors like Insurance and retail being announced.

We expect the earnings growth and reform action to drive equity market returns in the medium to long term," said Karvy Private Wealth report.

[xchrom]

42. Now, capital flight

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/now-capital-flight/articleshow/9242869.cms

Policymakers fretting over why foreigners no longer seem too keen to invest in India can take a break. And start worrying about the flight of capital abroad. Two-wheeler maker TVS reportedly plans to shift two-thirds of its export production to China.

Carmaker Hyundai has relocated the production of i20 to Turkey. There are many other instances as well. The flight of capital is unfortunate and should be reversed. The government must move swiftly to restore India's image as an attractive investment destination, for Indians and foreigners.

Land, power, water, logistics, labour, environmental clearance, loans, interest rates, transaction costs, taxes - in short, all the determinants of post-tax returns - India has to be competitive on all these fronts, to attract investment when capital is globally mobile.

TVS has reported cited labour troubles as a prime reason for shifting to China. Given the emerging shortage of workers in China and the likely upward pressure on wages there for the foreseeable future, it is unclear that this is a persuasive argument for relocating to that country.

[Ghost Dog]

49. "Environmental clearance"?

Oh, more shit.

[Fuddnik]

66. In other words,

Give us slave labor, don't tax us, or regulate us in any way, and we'll stick around til we can find us a better sucker, who'll pay us to do all of the above. Some place like Alabama or Florida.

[xchrom]

43. Silver 'notes' a hit with urban Indian gift lovers

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/silver-notes-a-hit-with-urban-indian-gift-lovers/articleshow/9230643.cms

KOLKATA: The gift market is taking note of a new product that has caught the fancy of the urban Indians-Silver notes.

With silver price easing a bit, jewellers are minting notes of various denominations such as Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 to cater to an ever-increasing demand of a rising number of aspirational middle-class Indians looking for unique gifting options for marriages and birthdays.

Harmesh Arora, director, National India Bullion Refinery , said: "The silver notes are looked upon as a good investment and gift option vis-avis coins and bars. The denomination of the note is equivalent to silver weight. For example, a Rs 50 note is equivalent to 50 grams of silver."

Silver notes, which were started by local jewellers in Mumbai, are now being used in other states as well, added Arora. Lalit Jagawat, proprietor of Nakoda Bullion and director of Bombay Bullion Association , said steps are being taken to make such gifts more popular.

[Ghost Dog]

50. Innovative. The "local jewellers in Mumbai" will have to do with,

naturally, the local Mumbai Mafia.

[xchrom]

52. ...

:spray: true...but funny!

[Ghost Dog]

54. Sorry. It's 'after lunch' here already.

(I've been insomniacally reading several Don Winslow novels). Time for a siesta. :crazy:

(Edit: And I devour any accurate contemporary Indian/Pakistani/Kashmiri/Afghani novels I can lay my hands on. Moshin Hamid's "Moth Smoke" lately, for example).

[xchrom]

56. have a slice of jamon for me.

have a good siesta --:hi:

[xchrom]

47. Self-imposed fiscal prudence may lead to global slowdown: Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/self-imposed-fiscal-prudence-may-lead-to-global-slowdown-tata-group-chairman-ratan-tata/articleshow/9271671.cms

NEW DELHI: Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has cautioned that "self-imposed fiscal prudence" to tackle inflation, mainly in India and China, could cause another global slowdown.

Addressing shareholders of group firm Tata Motors in the Annual Report for 2010-11, Tata said: "Inflation is indeed a lurking enemy of healthy growth and needs to be controlled."

Yet, there was a need to strike a balance between controlling inflation and driving economic growth failing which there could be another global slowdown, he said.

"What should be of concern to all is the creation of a situation where the pendulum swings too far in the opposite direction, causing another global slowdown - this time, not based on over-valued assets but on self-imposed fiscal prudence," he said

[Demeter]

37. Italy money supply plunge flashes red warning signals

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8636155/Italy-money-supply-plunge-flashes-red-warning-signals.html

Monetary experts are increasingly disturbed by the pace of money supply contraction in Italy and most recently France, fearing that it could prove a leading edge of a sharp economic slowdown over the winter...

"Real M1 deposits in Italy have fallen at an annual rate of 7pc over the last six months, faster than during the build-up to the great recession in 2008," said Simon Ward from Henderson Global Investors.

Such a dramatic contraction of M1 cash and overnight deposits typically heralds a slump six to 12 months later. Italy's economy is already vulnerable – industrial output fell 0.6pc in May, and the forward looking PMI surveys have dropped below the recession line.

"What is disturbing is that the numbers in the core eurozone have started to deteriorate sharply as well. Central banks normally back-pedal or reverse policy when M1 starts to fall, so it is amazing that the European Central Bank went ahead with a rate rise this month," Mr Ward said.

[Hawkowl]

78. First tangible signs of the Greek debt crisis?

When defaults or potential defaults are on the horizon, what it really means is that money is vanishing. Poof! Right into thin air whence it came. Monetary contractions lead to tight credit which lead to depressions. I guess with banks in France and Italy being overexposed to Greek debt, that that is the cause of the decline in monetary supply.

The world still has a great deal of worthless bubble induced debt to dispose of. Assets of all types will decline in value. The Fed will not be able to keep the stock and commodity markets inflated forever. Especially holding $1.6 trillion in U.S. Treasuries. I think we may avert a default (I'd chances of averting at about 40%) but even if we do, now that the unthinkable has become thinkable, I'm looking for another Lehman .type crash in September/October. Better for the politicians for this to happen in 2011 instead of 2012.

[Demeter]

39. Gaddafi regime's foreign assets exceed $100bn, say rebels

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/gaddafi-regime-s-foreign-assets-exceed-100bn-say-rebels-410673.html

Muammar Gaddafi has at least $100bn of assets abroad and Libya’s Transitional National Council expects a portion of the frozen funds to be released or to obtain borrowing against them.

“To be safe we’re saying there’s over $100bn,” spokesman Mahmoud Shammam said today by telephone from Istanbul, where the US and its allies recognised the council as the sole legitimate governing authority in Libya at a meeting on Friday. “We need some necessity expenses and to get loans against a percentage.”

The council requires $3bn over six months to cover the budget and expects to get a $100m loan from Turkey in the next three days, Shammam said.

Kuwait has pledged $180m, while Italy and other governments said on Friday that Libyan assets held by their countries “will be released or we’ll get loans against them,” he said....

[Demeter]

44. Nearly $2 Trillion Purloined from U.S. Workers in 2009

http://dollarsandsense.org/archives/2011/0711cypher.html

In 2009, stock owners, bankers, brokers, hedge-fund wizards, highly paid corporate executives, corporations, and mid-ranking managers pocketed—as either income, benefits, or perks such as corporate jets—an estimated $1.91 trillion that 40 years ago would have collectively gone to non-supervisory and production workers in the form of higher wages and benefits. These are the 88 million workers in the private sector who are closely tied to production processes and/or are not responsible for the supervision, planning, or direction of other workers.

From the end of World War II until the early 1970s, the benefits of economic growth were broadly shared by those in all income categories: workers received increases in compensation (wages plus benefits) that essentially matched the rise in their productivity. Neoclassical economist John Bates Clark (1847-1938) first formulated what he termed the “natural law” of income distribution which “assigns to everyone what he has specifically created.” That is, if markets are not “obstructed,” pay levels should be “equal that part of the product of industry which is traceable to labor itself.” As productivity increased, Clark argued, wages would rise at an equal rate.

The idea that compensation increases should equal increases in average labor productivity per worker as a matter of national wage policy, or a wage norm, is traceable to the President’s Council of Economic Advisors under the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations. This macroeconomic approach was anchored in the fact that if compensation rises in step with productivity growth, then both unit labor costs and capital’s versus labor’s share of national income will remain constant. This “Keynesian Consensus” never questioned the fairness of the initial capital/labor split, but it at least offered workers a share of the fruits of future economic growth.

As the figure below shows, both Clark’s idea of a “natural law” of distribution and Keynesian national wage policy have ceased to function since the onset of the neoliberal/supply-side era beginning in the early 1970s. From 1972 through 2009, “usable” productivity—that part of productivity growth that is available for raising wages and living standards—increased by 55.5%. Meanwhile, real average hourly pay fell by almost 10% (excluding benefits). As a group, workers responded by increasing their labor-force participation rate. To make the calculation consistent over time, employment is adjusted to a constant participation rate set at the 1972 level. Had compensation matched “usable” productivity growth, the (adjusted) 84 million non-supervisory and production workers in 2009 would have received roughly $1.91 trillion more in wages and benefits. That is, 13.5% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in 2009 was transferred from non-supervisory workers to capitalists (and managers) via the gap of 44.4% that had opened up between compensation and “usable” productivity since 1972...

[Demeter]

45. Anonymous attacks agri-giant Monsanto, leaking information on 2,500 employees

http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/07/13/anonymous-attacks-agri-giant-monsanto-leaking-information-on-2500-employees/

Anonymous has launched what they portray as an opening salvo against international agricultural giant Monsanto. Calling their mission #OpMonsanto, they released the names, addresses, emails and phone numbers of over 2,500 Monsanto employees and affiliates.

Anonymous didn't release details on types of systems, flaws or anything else that might explain how they acquired the stolen information. They claim to have taken down Monsanto web assets and mail servers.

Anonymous mentioned port 6666 being open on a Monsanto server, implying that they might set up an IRC channel on the compromised host. Anonymous also stated they intend to create a wiki for sharing and organizing their stolen information.

Project Tarmeggedon logoIn a separate statement Anonymous also declared their intent to attack Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., Imperial Oil, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and many others in an operation they call "Project Tarmeggedon." These companies have been involved in developing the Alberta, Canada oil sands. The oil sands have been controversial among environmentalists for years, as the methods used to extract the oil from the sand are detrimental to the environment.

[Demeter]

46. Whoa Doggie! Down 77 at Open

Gonna be one of THOSE days!

[hamerfan]

61. DOW -148 at 10:17AM

NASDAQ -34
S&P500 -15
Apple (AAPL) at an all-time high of 369.

[Fuddnik]

65. NewsCorpse stock getting bludgeoned.

Down 3.5% already in heavy trading.

Maybe ole Rupert will jump off the building. Hopefully, he pushes Roger Ailes out first.

[Po_d Mainiac]

62. I do like that 4 handle on the Ag chart tho

Registered bullion at the CRIMEX, is shrinking fast.

[Po_d Mainiac]

63. Attention fly tyers

The new fashion craze of "hair extensions" has blown the roof off hackle prices. Plucked (used) extra long Whiting Farms capes/saddles are fetching $500 and more on the bay (category: feather hair extensions)

At current prices, 4-5 individual feathers are going for what I paid for half a skun chicken a couple years ago.

Unfrigginbelievable!

[Demeter]

69. Sounds like you need a cheaper hobby

[Ghost Dog]

71. I'm scaling back. Looking at classic dinghies rather than yachts now. eg:

[Demeter]

72. Nice!

But I wouldn't go on a Great Lake in that, let alone the Atlantic. Well, maybe Eire.

[Ghost Dog]

75. Ah! Don't get me going about Atlantic Ocean sailing...

like, here in the Canary Islands...

No. I'd need to organise for myself a little place on the East Coast of England (North Sea), or in Holland, to be able to really enjoy something like that, single-handed, alone. Prices are becoming more reasonable, around there, little by little...


Now, as regards the (Canarian) Atlantic, you need the right shape boat (as always) and (deep) keel, and probably vela latina, and plenty of crew:



Just, dinghie-wise, you undestand. Coastal stuff. For deep water:



Whole different ball-game, you understand.

Would require an entire life-change (not lifestyle, life) on my part.

Unreasonable, at my age and with my commitments.

(Edit: Dillinger è morto).

[Po_d Mainiac]

74. Hell no. , but I'm joining the crowds of tyers that are dumping

their saddles. Since this is a fashion thing (fad), we are certain we'll be able to restock in the fall and still have serious cash left over. If the trend turns into a long term thing, breeders are well equiped to multiply their stocks, thus whacking the prices back down also. Supply wil outstrip demand here, since it only takes a few months to raise a bird.

Breeders are holding their breath that the chicken in the hair thing will last another 3 months when this years crop of birds will be ready for skinning. Raising birds for tyers is a seasonal thing. Summers are not the time fisherman tie, that is a winter thing, so breeders plan accordingly. Hit the link below, and note the inventory listed as 'out'

http://www.foxyfeathers.com/shop/

[Demeter]

73. Theme Song for the Forseeable Future

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8akvxDJQVc

This is the remake...or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iaxhj5GPGzM&feature=related

Liza Minnelli and Barishnikov!

[Ghost Dog]

81. There, I still stick with this (Cohen, Villanelle For Our Time):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w-shDRXuqU

From bitter searching of the heart,
Quickened with passion and with pain
We rise to play a greater part.
This is the faith from which we start:
Men shall know commonwealth again
From bitter searching of the heart.
We loved the easy and the smart,
But now, with keener hand and brain,
We rise to play a greater part.
The lesser loyalties depart,
And neither race nor creed remain
From bitter searching of the heart.
Not steering by the venal chart
That tricked the mass for private gain,
We rise to play a greater part.
Reshaping narrow law and art
Whose symbols are the millions slain,
From bitter searching of the heart
We rise to play a greater part.


(Author: Frank Scott).

[Demeter]

76. Guest Post on the Debt Ceiling by Laurence Tribe

http://www.dorfonlaw.org/2011/07/guest-post-on-debt-ceiling-by-laurence.html


I. The Constitutionality of the Debt Ceiling

Professor Buchanan argues in a recent post that the Constitution “fortunately . . . does require that the debt-limit law be declared invalid,” writing:

Everyone agrees that, without the debt-limit law, current law would allow the government to borrow the money necessary to cover its obligations. If that were not so, then we would not be in danger of exceeding the debt limit. That is, if the spending laws had not been written to include the authority to increase borrowing, then those laws would currently not be enforceable even in the absence of an overall debt limit. The very premise of the debt-limit standoff, therefore, is that the otherwise-valid spending laws would lead to an increase in debt above $14.3 trillion. The debt-limit statute purports to prevent the government from paying those other obligations, which violates Section 4.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times, I argued that the debt limit law is perfectly constitutional. Professor Buchanan’s comment does not prompt me to change that conclusion but does encourage me to elaborate on it:

To begin, Professor Buchanan asserts that the “spending laws written to include the authority to increase borrowing.” I am at a loss to see why Professor Buchanan assumes this to be so. Some spending laws might conceivably be written in a way that includes such authority – that is, written expressly or impliedly to authorize whatever borrowing might be needed to fund the obligations they create, notwithstanding any other limit set by law. But I haven’t personally seen any spending laws written in a way that includes such authority and certainly can’t accept the premise that each spending law necessarily contains its own built-in borrowing authorization. Spending laws empower the government to spend money. Other laws empower the government to raise the revenues to be spent. For example, one set of laws (31 U.S.C. §§ 3101–3113) authorizes the government to raise revenue by borrowing money. Another set of laws (the Internal Revenue Code) authorizes it to raise revenue by taxation. Still other laws authorize raising revenue by coining money, by selling federal property, and so on.

Professor Buchanan complains that the “debt limit statute purports to prevent the government from paying” for spending commitments it has already authorized. Not so. The debt limit statute merely limits one source of revenue that the government might use to pay its bills. Similarly, the tax code limits a different source of revenue—taxation—that the government might also use to cover its expenditures. The provisions setting tax rates or providing for tax deductions all limit the number of tax dollars that can flow into the Treasury, just as the debt ceiling limits the number of borrowing dollars that can flow into the Treasury. Professor Buchanan simply does not explain why the one is constitutional, and the other unconstitutional – or why one, but not the other, becomes unconstitutional under sufficiently dire fiscal circumstances.

II. Prioritization and Section 4

All of this brings me to my second point: what is the government to do if, come August 3, it does not have enough money to make all of the expenditures that Congress has required by law? The answer, I think, is that it must prioritize expenditures: some payments simply have to be postponed until the Treasury has enough money to make them....

MUCH MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

77. Default 'off the table,' debt deal will be struck: Geithner

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/worldnews/defaultoffthetabledebtdealwillbestruckgeithner_566517.html

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told CNBC Monday that he is certain that congressional leaders will strike a deal to raise the federal debt ceiling prior to the August 2 deadline to avoid default.

"Each side has said definitively that default is not an option," he said, "They're not going to play around with this."

"If the United States of America were to default it would be catastrophic for the American economy, for the American financial system, for the average American people, it would be a substantial unfair tax on all Americans and it would bring the world economy … to the edge of recession again," he said. "There's no alternative for Congress raising the debt limit and that’s why you’re seeing Republicans as well recognize that reality and take default off the table."

He added that while it's encouraging that congressional leaders are moving toward a debt agreement before the deadline, "of course it's not enough."


WHAT'S THAT, Lassie? Timmy's IN THE WELL AGAIN? SHOW ME WHERE, THAT'S A GOOD GIRL...

[Po_d Mainiac]

82. Ignore the dog...n/t

[Demeter]

90. LOL!

I swear, he opened his yap just to drive the market up today. And it only worked halfway.

[Demeter]

79. 29 Companies Had More Cash Than The U.S. Treasury As Of July 13

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/18/271513/29-companies-more-cash-than-treasury/

[girl gone mad]

86. Bank of America Tumbles To Paulson’s Cost Basis Following Report Bank Will Need $50 Billion More..

Bankruptcy soon, or will we keep feeding the zombie?

Bank of America Tumbles To Paulson’s Cost Basis Following Report Bank Will Need $50 Billion More In Capital Cushion
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bank-america-tumbles-paulsons-cost-basis-following-report-bank-will-need-50-billion-more-cap

A few days ago when we demonstrated the most recent bond issuance by Bank of America in which the firm issued $2.5 billion in new bonds, we said "BAC is largely underreserved for a settlement of this size which means its Tier 1 capital ratio will likely be impacted due to a major outflow of cash." Obviously the implication was that a capital raise is imminent. And while we were not exactly expecting the bank to access the equity capital markets (immediately), we knew cash would have to come from somewhere. Sure enough, Bank of America just issued $2.5 billion in 5 year bonds. So just when does the equity raise come? Two questions: is this funding simply to replenish the cash to have a decent Tier 1 ratio, or is the bank merely preparing for a waterfall of litigation now that the seal has been broken?" Well, the reason why the bank's stock just tumbled to fresh multi-year lows, and just on top of John Paulson's cost basis is a report from Bloomberg's Hugh Son which confirms our worst fears about the bank: "Bank of America Corp. (BAC) may have to build its capital cushion by $50 billion and renege again on Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan’s pledge to raise the firm’s dividend as mortgage losses drain funds." Next up, after investors balk to buy bonds from the firm at preferential rates, is Bank of America coming to market with another equity raise in full confirmation that the emperor is indeed naked... and Moynihan is about to be sacked.

[Demeter]

91. AVADA KEDAVRA!

Demeter shows her true colors and forthright opinion on BoA...and all its minions.

[Ghost Dog]

88. ZH: Bloomberg Headline Of The Day: "Sentiment Partially Rebounds On Lack Of News Flow"

Attention, (Knee)jerkers. And Psycho-social-economists

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/bloomberg-headline-day-sentiment-partially-rebounds-lack-news-flow

[Demeter]

92. I was going to go out tonight

and join the Summer Sings for Faure's Requiem (or whoever it was) But frankly, I'd rather die than go anywhere, except maybe the pool. It's horrible, and I've been out most of the day. We had two sprinkles, which raised the humidity and didn't appreciably lower the temperature.


It's 80 and 80, giving heat index of 83...definitely the pool.

[ozone_man]

98. We got your rain in VT.

Sorry, about that. Probably 2" in 2 hours. It was wonderful! A downpour, with a bit of lightening, and some scattered vertical showers. Nothing nicer than some summer rain to cool things off.