STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, September 12, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday September 12, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 9, 2011

Dow 10,992.13 -303.68 (-2.76%)
Nasdaq 2,467.99 -61.15 (-2.48%)
S&P 500 1,154.23 -31.67 (-2.74%)
10-Yr Bond... 1.91 -0.01 (-0.52%)
30-Year Bond 3.24 -0.01 (-0.28%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 12

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. No reports today

... so just the end of Europe, then.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil below $86 amid growing Europe debt crisis

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to below $86 a barrel Monday in Asia as investor concern about Europe's debt crisis undermined confidence in equities and commodities.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was down $1.64 to $85.60 at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude fell $1.81 to finish at $87.24 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery was down 96 cents at $111.81 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Traders are eyeing closely a possible Greek debt default. Greece's cash-strapped government said Sunday it would impose a new property tax in a bid to meet fiscal targets essential to maintaining a vital international bailout program.

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

[burf]

13. So why is gas still $3.79 a gallon? n/t

[DemReadingDU]

15. from the hurricanes?

[Demeter]

22. Because they can

[DemReadingDU]

27. and many people still pay, it's like it's 'normal'

[Loge23]

41. We have a winner!

That is the correct answer, despite all the flim-flam we're fed about "rising global demand" and "investors mulling over data".
They can charge whatever they want - and do - to their great benefit.
The days of gasoline in the $2 range are over forever.
Fact is, once the pigs at the trough get a taste for the finer gruel, they don't go back to middling profits.
We will dutifully line up at the pump just as we line up at the TSA molestation station. U-S-A! U-S-A!

[Fuddnik]

65. Law of Supply and Demand.

You have a supply of cash, and the oil companies demand it!

[Andy823]

66. GREED! nt

[xchrom]

44. OPEC cuts oil demand forecast on growth concerns

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_OPEC_OIL_DEMAND?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-12-06-53-19

CAIRO (AP) -- OPEC sharply revised down its forecast for world oil demand for this year and expected consumption would remain weak in 2012, citing on Monday waning economic growth in key industrialized nations and a weak U.S. driving season.

The 12-nation group that supplies about a third of the world's crude oil slashed its global oil demand forecast by 150,000 barrels per day for 2011 and by 40,000 barrels per day for 2012, saying "turbulence in world economic recovery has resulted in considerable uncertainty for demand growth next year."

It also lowered its estimate for crude produced by OPEC nations by about 100,000 barrels per day in 2011.

"Uncertainties in the oil market are increasing at a time when the recovery of the global economy is losing momentum and is becoming less evident," OPEC said in its September monthly oil market report. "Over recent months, a deceleration of economic growth was observed in almost every major economy."

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall Amid Speculation Greece Approaching Default

U.S. stock futures fell, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend last week’s loss, as speculation Germany is preparing for a Greek default spurred turmoil in global financial markets.

Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), two companies most dependent on economic growth, fell more than 1.8 percent in European trading. Johnson & Johnson dropped 0.6 percent after it failed to win U.S. clearance for wider use of an arthritis drug. Bank of America Corp. dropped 2.9 percent as European banks tumbled, led by a 9.5 percent plunge in Paris by Societe Generale SA.

S&P 500 futures expiring in December lost 1.6 percent to 1,134 at 10:01 a.m. in London. The benchmark measure of U.S. equities slumped 1.7 percent last week, wiping out its rally since Sept. 2 on the final day amid concern the debt crisis is worsening. Dow Jones Industrial average futures expiring in December fell 165 points, or 1.5 percent, to 10,784.

Officials in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government are debating how to shore up German banks in the event that Greece fails to meet the budget-cutting terms of its aid package and is unable to get a bailout-loan payment, three coalition officials said Sept. 9. BNP Paribas SA, Societe Generale SA and Credit Agricole SA, France’s largest banks by market value, may have their credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service as soon as this week because of Greek holdings, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Sept. 10.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-11/u-s-stock-index-futures-decline-amid-concern-about-greece-s-debt-crisis.html

[Demeter]

4. Asia Dropped 3%, Europe isn't doing any better

I guess we are in for a Reality Day. Good morning, all!

[Demeter]

5. I'll see your cartoon...and raise you

[DemReadingDU]

18. I have noticed the declines are measured in %

It is rare to hear a market declines 800 points, but rather we are told the market declined 4%

[Po_d Mainiac]

35. down 800 pts might be 4% today, but 5% tomorrow..n/t

[DemReadingDU]

40. Maybe that's why we are hearing %

Somebody is hoping the average J6P doesn't realize the market is dropping thousands of points
:shrug:

[Po_d Mainiac]

57. But if you're more tuned to the e/s, Dow numbers are moot.

More retirement plans are locked to the S&P 500 or R2K than with the DJIA. (Although the algo's tend to keep all the indices mated)...You hear the market moved down 4%, you know your 401K/403B just got whacked.

Now if the e/s was down 800, that number wood get my attention!

[banned from Kos]

12. So Germany may need to "shore up their banks" due to bad Greeek paper

I suspect there will be no political resistance to such a plan.

[DemReadingDU]

20. Anything will be done to extend the financial games

It is amazing that the global Ponzi hasn't imploded yet

[Demeter]

24. The French Banks seem to have the most pain

Sarkozy deserves it.

[AnneD]

79. But...

I really like his wife.....

[Demeter]

6. JPMorgan chief says bank rules ‘anti-US’

Jamie Dimon says moves to impose an additional charge on the largest global banks went too far and that Washington should consider an exit from Basel

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62M9HC/MJTKN/U1P24K/EXY962/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

HE SAYS THAT ABOUT ALL THE RULES...

[Po_d Mainiac]

14. It takes a true psychopath to make a statement like that..n/t

[banned from Kos]

19. So Morgan is required to hold 9.5% and Euro banks only 7%

and noting the lack of balance in that is psychopathic?

You need a new dictionary.

[Po_d Mainiac]

42. According to Hare

grandiose sense of self worth

parasitic lifestyle

glibness/superficial charm

failure to accept responsibility for their own actions

callous/lack of empathy

The psychopath is one of the most fascinating and distressing problems of human experience. For the most part, a psychopath never remains attached to anyone or anything. They live a "predatory" lifestyle. They feel little or no regret, and little or no remorse - except when they are caught. They need relationships, but see people as obstacles to overcome and be eliminated. If not, they see people in terms of how they can be used. They use people for stimulation, to build their self-esteem and they invariably value people in terms of their material value (money, property, etc..).

JD fits the profile

[DemReadingDU]

45. That's the police chief in our village

an arrogant jerk

[DemReadingDU]

47. Here is a link that I read this weekend

9/9/11 Psychopaths Among Us, the Madness Rises Again, and the Necessity of Law


"A lot of white-collar criminals are psychopaths," says Bob Hare. "But they flourish because the characteristics that define the disorder are actually valued. When they get caught, what happens? A slap on the wrist, a six-month ban from trading, and don't give us the $100 million back. I've always looked at white-collar crime as being as bad or worse than some of the physically violent crimes that are committed."


I might have found the remarks about the Vancouver stock exchange a little more shocking and less credible than in my idealistic youth, except later in life I had the unfortunate experience of working more closely with a few of the resident sociopaths, psychopaths, and narcissists there. I am still processing some of the things that I learned in that experience, and some others I had afterwards in the higher echelons of the corporate world, and national politics.

It can take a little while to catch on, because they can seem so normal, so charming. Good people think most people are rational and basically honest, just like them.


much more...
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2011/09/psychopaths-among-us.html

[banned from Kos]

54. So who are you saying is a criminal? Certainly not Dimon

That is moonbat fiction. All bankers are not "criminals".

There are 4000 banks - are all the execs criminals? Even as sleazy as Mozilo is - they tried to prosecute and proved nothing.

[DemReadingDU]

63. Because corruption is the system

Oh sure, there are some really honest people. I'd like to think that everyone in my small village is honest, but we have uncovered evidence that even our mayor and police chief are corrupted. Yes, we have filed a lawsuit to bring justice.

But whose side is the judge on? The attorneys? One never can be sure nowadays. Judges and attorneys get 'paid off' all the time. When one has money and power, certain criminal acts can be overlooked and documents destroyed.


Read Matt Taibbi's latest article

8/17/11
Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes?
Matt Taibbi: A whistle blower says the agency has illegally destroyed thousands of documents, letting financial crooks off the hook.

much more...
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/is-the-sec-covering-up-wall-street-crimes-20110817

[Po_d Mainiac]

86. one can only hope it's sarcasm n/t

[InkAddict]

92. I have learned:

Your co-workers are NOT your friends (even if they professed to be or once were).

When the boss says, "It's nothing personal, just business," they REALLY mean it. You have lost your humanity as far as they are concerned.

When they look for the proper "fit," they mean to find out how far they can manipulate your behavior and/or how effective their brand of crazy-making is likely to be while you do what you do. When you develop all those non-personal coping mechanisms and apply them appropriately, you'll barely be recognized as a human - PERFECT - you're no longer a "fit." Bye-bye.

[Demeter]

85. Dimon Says US Banks Should Dictate to Regulators

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/09/dimon-says-us-banks-should-dictate-to-regulators.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

...Jamie Dimon seems determined to assume his role as the CEO with the most effective reality distortion sphere. You can infer that from the magnitude of the whoppers he is telling and the size of the audience he is trying to bamboozle...Dimon has long been a bully, a smart and capable bully, but a bully nevertheless (I have reports going back to his first year at Harvard Business School, and it takes some doing to be memorably obnoxious by dint of the competition in that category)...Now on the surface, Dimon’s latest brazen remark isn’t quite as gross as my headline suggests. He is merely saying that US banks should not be subject to the new incoming international bank rules, known as Basel III. That might seem to be a narrower statement, but as we show, when you parse his logic, it amounts to banking uber alles.

Here is the relevant section of an interview published today in the Financial Times:

New international bank capital rules are “anti-American” and the US should consider pulling out of the Basel group of global regulators, Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, has said….

The Basel III capital rules are designed to make the financial system safer by making banks build up risk-absorbent “core tier one” capital to at least 7 per cent of risk-weighted assets. The biggest, including JPMorgan, have to reach 9.5 per cent.

“I’m very close to thinking the United States shouldn’t be in Basel any more. I would not have agreed to rules that are blatantly anti-American,” he said. “Our regulators should go there and say: ‘If it’s not in the interests of the United States, we’re not doing it’.”

Mr Dimon also criticised global liquidity rules, arguing that regulations that viewed covered bonds – a European market feature – as highly liquid but discounted government-backed mortgage-backed securities in the US were unfair and that other details hit investment banking activity core to US banks hardest.

Regulators say all countries compromised on agreeing the rules, which put eight banks – five from outside the US – in the top level of capital. But Mr Dimon said there was a threat that Asian banks, in particular, could take US market share because of the combination of US domestic and global rules.

“I think any American president, secretary of Treasury, regulator or other leader would want strong, healthy global financial firms and not think that somehow we should give up that position in the world and that would be good for your country,” said Mr Dimon. “If they think that’s good for the country then we have a different view on how the economy operates, how the world operates.”

Let’s start with some background. Treasury secretary Geithner said repeatedly during the Dodd Frank process that the shortcomings in the legislation didn’t matter all that much, since having banks carry larger capital buffers would do the trick, and that was coming with Basel III. In other words, Geithner argued the higher capital requirements to be imposed by international rulemaking process was where the critical banking regulatory fix would happen. And this is what Dimon is now, loudly, out to undermine.

Let’s go to the Dimon argument, such as it is. What about “international” does he not understand? If you want to play outside America’s borders, you can expect to be subject to different rules. The Eurozone, much to the consternation of US and UK players, has basically told the Anglo private equity firms to go to hell. They are forbidden both from doing deals in EU countries and from raising funds there unless they register and obey local rules. The Eurozone has gotten sick of rapacious foreign players buying decent European companies, cutting jobs, saddling them with lots of debt, and shrugging their shoulders when they miscalculate (often) and the rent extraction kills the company. The EU rules, among other things, will restrict how much a PE firm could lever up a portfolio company.

There is also what I assume is a deliberate misrepresentation on the part of Dimon. The Basel III rules are not implemented verbatim by national regulators; there is a more than a bit of tweaking and adjustment going on. Given the loud support that Geithner has given to the Basel III process (and the damage it would do to the US reputation in international bodies when emerging economies are already questioning the Anglo-Saxon model and demanding a bigger role), it’s hard to imagine the US acting on Dimon’s demands and repudiating the Basel III process. But he may be using this temper tantrum to get the US implementation to cut some slack on some issues near and dear to his heart...Dimon interestingly assumes that the US can defy the will of other regulators. That’s probably true now, given that regulators in advanced economies all seem to adhere to neoliberal dogma. The interesting and glaring exception is the UK, which is forcing its banks to ring-fence their retail operations. The new standards (“Vickers,” for the commission’s chairman) require a capital cushion of up to 20%, with the largest ringfenced banks having at least 17% of equity and bonds and a further loss-absorbing buffer of up to 3% if “the supervisor has concerns about their ability to be resolved without cost to the taxpayer”. If Basel III’s 9.5% capital requirement is “anti American”, then how “anti British”, in Dimon’s world, is Vickers?...As we have stated before, both the ECB and the Fed could implement binding requirements on major international banks. Any real bank needs access to the central bank-run settlement systems in the dollar and euro; you need to be a full scale player in those currencies, and going through correspondents to get access to those clearing systems would be very cumbersome and costly (I had a client look at it for the US and conclude it was a non-starter). There is no way for the banks to innovate around these systems....Forcing everyone to adhere to new capital standards will work to the competitive advantage of US banks, since they are further along. But anyone with an operating brain cell knows that Dimon’s real beef is not on the effect on American bank’s competitive standing, but on his pay package, which is a function of its bottom line. Any effort to make banking safer will lower their profits. That is what Dimon objects to; the specifics of his argument are simply to serve as cover for his real beef. Dimon manages to play yet another jingoistic card, acting as if Basel III singles out US banks when a majority of the financial firms subject to the most stringent rules are outside the US. And he raises the truly bizarre specter of “Asian” hordes invading the US. Huh? Does he mean HSBC? I presume not, that’s a UK bank. The only Asian bank in the top 10 is Mitsubishi UFJ, and the Japanese are not likely to be in aggressive expansion mode (they’ve never gotten the knack institutionally of hiring and managing good top level foreigners; I know of a very few Japanese executives who have figured it out and did a good job when they were posted in the US, but as soon as they were rotated back to Japan, their successors made a hash of what they had put in place)...The Chinese are even less likely to move in near term (long term is a completely different matter). First, the Chinese were apparently interested in investing in US players in the crisis and were rebuffed...What’s striking about Dimon’s comments is how brazen they are. He’s not making clever, narrowly accurate but substantively misleading comments. Much of what he says and implies is unadulterated bunk. The fact that he peddles this tripe shows how confident he is that his message will go unchallenged. And that in turn reveals that he is secure in his belief that the banks have won the war; all he is caviling about is the speed of the mop-up operation.

[Demeter]

7. Verizon Wireless dividend hopes dashed

Lowell McAdam, chief executive of Verizon Communications, warns funds could be needed to buy-out rivals and acquire radio spectrum

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62M9HC/MJTKN/U1P24K/WTG0EQ/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

EVER HEARD OF DIMINISHING RETURNS, LOWELL?

[Demeter]

8. Dollar borrowing costs add to strain on European banks

Price of euro-dollar swaps has jumped fivefold since June, as French institutions brace for a potential downgrade

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62M9HC/MJTKN/U1P24K/ZGO2SL/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

[Demeter]

9. New drug targets only cancer tumours

University of Bradford scientists have created a 'smart' drug that is activated only when it reaches a tumour, reducing toxic side-effects elsewhere

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/M2ZOXX/L9F8VH/GYN7Q/JEYLFW/302MNC/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

[Demeter]

10. US Fed faces tough choices

The September meeting of the US Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee is likely to see it take action, but there is no simple choice about what to do

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/NA70KK/97WJ06/WH2F8/ORS82V/EXY96P/36/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

[Demeter]

11. George Magnus: Markets are reacting to a crisis of capitalism

Financial markets have had a torrid summer on ‘breaking news’ about slowing global growth, fears over a new western economic contraction, and the unresolved bond market and banking crisis in the eurozone. But these sources of angst have triggered turbulence before, and will continue to do so. Our current economic predicament is not a temporary or traditional condition.

Put simply, the economic model that drove the long boom from the 1980s to 2008, has broken down. Considering the scale of the bust, and the system malfunctions in advanced economies that have been exposed, I would argue
that the 2008/09 financial crisis has bequeathed a once-in-a-generation crisis of capitalism, the footprints of which can be found in widespread challenges to the political order, and not just in developed economies.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/0QSDPP/8Z4R1V/JQU4J/WT1707/C4K9YE/9A/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

NO, THE ECONOMIC MODEL HASN'T BROKEN DOWN, THE CON, THE SCAM, THE RUNNING JOKE HAS BROKEN DOWN...

[Demeter]

16. SocGen, ING lead Europe stocks sharply lower

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/socgen-ing-lead-europe-stocks-sharply-lower-2011-09-12?siteid=YAHOOB

European stock markets fell sharply on Monday on increased fears that Greece is headed for a default, as French banks led losses on speculation they could be downgraded over their exposure to that troubled euro-zone nation.

“This is an environment in which normal rules don’t hold anymore,” said Peter Dixon, strategist at Commerzbank. “This is fear, uncertainty and all the other nasty things associated with market panics. You can forget fundamentals, valuations.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -2.85% slid 2.3% to 219.36. The market closed down 2.6% on Friday, rattled by news that Juergen Stark, a member of the European Central Bank’s executive board and governing council, will step down by year’s end.

FINDING OUT WHO IS SWIMMING NAKED IS NOT FOR SISSIES...

[Demeter]

17. Fed doesn't like ING Merger?

...Also in banking news, shares of ING ING -8.67% NL:INGA -8.67% dropped 10% after the Federal Reserve reportedly scrutinized the proposed acquisition of ING’s U.S. online-banking business by Capital One Financial Group COF -3.06% .

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Fed sent a two-page letter on Aug. 29 to Capital One asking for details about the “nature and dollar volume” of financial activities in which both financial organizations are involved...

[Po_d Mainiac]

28. Now this is funny!

Societe Generale released a statement Monday, trying to reassure investors over its exposure to Greek debt. The firm also said it will free up 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) in capital by 2013 via business asset disposals.

By 2013?:rofl:

[Demeter]

30. Investors Brace as Europe Crisis Flares Up Again

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/business/global/german-dissent-magnifies-uncertainty.html

Fears about Europe’s deteriorating finances intensified on Sunday as new doubts about the health of French banks, as well as Germany’s willingness to help Greece avert default, left investors bracing for another global stock market downturn this week.

In Greece, the epicenter of the Continent’s financial disarray, government officials announced new austerity measures on Sunday, even as the country’s finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, warned that the Greek economy was expected to shrink much more sharply this year than previously anticipated. In a revision, a contraction of 5.3 percent in 2011 was predicted, rather than the 3.8 percent forecast in May. Slower growth could make it harder for Greece to pay its debts, even as it tries to reduce them by cutting government spending and raising taxes....While the Greek drama has been running for more than a year, only recently has it threatened French and German banks, unnerving investors around the world and sending stocks tumbling in Europe and the United States.

More than anything else, political and business leaders want to avoid the phenomenon of contagion, in which fears in one country spread to others, causing severe stress throughout the financial system, as happened in the fall of 2008. To be sure, Europe could still draw away from the precipice. That is especially true if policy makers come up with a plan to keep Greece afloat while also preventing anxiety from infecting other countries like Spain and Italy, whose huge debts and weak economies have fed worries that their borrowing has become unsustainable...On Sunday, French government officials braced for possible ratings downgrades by Moody’s Investors Service of France’s three largest banks, BNP Paribas, Société Générale and Crédit Agricole, whose shares were among the biggest losers last week. The biggest banks in Europe, especially in France, hold billions of euros’ worth of Greek bonds, and investors fear even a partial default by Greece would sharply diminish the value of those assets, eroding already weak capital positions.
American financial institutions, typically heavy lenders to their French counterparts, have begun to pull back on these loans, but United States banks’ exposure to France remains substantial...Still, if the French banks are indeed downgraded, it would underscore how European officials have been unable to contain the effect of the financial crisis in Greece, despite two bailout packages totaling more than 200 billion euros ($272 billion).

[Demeter]

21. Market Swings Are Becoming New Standard

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/business/economy/stock-markets-sharp-swings-grow-more-frequent.html

...It has become more likely for stock prices to make large swings — on the order of 3 percent or 4 percent — than it has been in any other time in recent stock market history, according to an analysis by The New York Times of price changes in the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock market index since 1962...Some experts see volatility as a problem because it can scare investors away from the markets, make companies reluctant to go public and undermine confidence in the economy, causing further drops in shares.

But another viewpoint is that stocks are rightly volatile now because there is so much uncertainty about where the economy is heading — and canny investors could profit from the big swings, or simply sit them out until the market eventually finds equilibrium. “It’s neither good nor bad,” said Michael Schmanske, head of United States index volatility trading at Barclays Capital. “It is a measure of high opportunity but also peril.”

So what’s causing the rise in the big bounces?

It’s hard to know for sure, but market analysts point to new types of souped-up computerized trading and extraordinary global economic turmoil — from protests over a second bailout for Greece to the downgrade of United States debt...It is also possible that stocks simply move faster today because of the quicker pace of news and trading, and so drops and surges in prices that might have been spread over days in past times are now condensed within hours.

Some economists say they fear the volatility may feed upon itself. The violent ups and downs, said Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale, may in turn undermine confidence in the economy, and the weakness in the economy can lead to more strident politics — all of which feeds the volatility loop. “It is not well understood why we have these bursts of volatility," Mr. Shiller said. “It seems that in these rare periods of bad economic performance and anxiety about the economy, we have volatility in the markets and high volatility in the political arena. Bad things can happen. This worries me.”

IT WORRIES ALL OF US, BOB

[Uben]

34. I believe these swings are manipulation

We all know brokers can't make commissions without somebody selling. What better way to get people selling than for them to sell off big blocks of stocks, try to get a panic started so people will sell, then buy their stocks back at the lower price and reap the profits. That is what I think is happening. I mean, who is selling? I haven't sold anything in months. I haven't bought anything but some silver mine stocks in Canada in the last few months. So where's all the activity coming from? Brokers and hedge fund managers trying to stimulate a sell-off so they can make money. It's what they do.

[AnneD]

78. The wobbling gyroscope theory of market collapse.....

you heard it here folks. Ever notice how a top or gyroscope spins smoothly when the string is first pulled. Then as it looses its momentum it begins to wobble to keep the spin going be for finally collapsing. It is feeding on it's own entropy and the orbit is decaying. The only question is which side will it land on....the Greek, the Italian, the Portugese, the French.....place your bets folks. All these central banks think the public will be a sucker and put more money into their Ponzi schemes.

[Demeter]

83. Also panic attacks, and

Itchy trigger fingers

[xchrom]

23. good morning every one! i hope the drama of the weekend

left every one alone and in peace.

:donut:

[Demeter]

25. Where's the "Credible Evidence" Attack?

What a crock. What exploitation.

[xchrom]

31. yes. they managed send fighter jets after a couple of suspicious flights

which i suspect uncovered new inductees to the mile high club and nothing more.

[xchrom]

26. Massive default is best way to fix the economy

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/massive-default-is-best-way-to-fix-the-economy-2011-09-12?Link=obinsite

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — You want to fix this economic crisis? You want to put people back to work? You want to light a fire under the economy?

There’s a way to do it. Fast. And relatively simple.

But you’re not going to like it. You’re not going to like it at all.

Default. A national Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The fastest way to fix this mess is to see tens of millions of homeowners default on their mortgages and other debts, and millions more file for bankruptcy.

[DemReadingDU]

37. It's coming, but it won't be voluntary

Because there's still money to be made in these financial games.

But someday, the entire global Ponzi is going to implode. Massive defaults everywhere, and it will affect all of us, not just stockholders in a company.
:(

[xchrom]

29. europe: Euro slides to 10-year yen low; dollar up

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-strengthens-against-major-rivals-2011-09-11

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — The euro declined to a 10-year low versus the safe-haven Japanese yen and lost ground versus other major rivals Monday on fears of a downgrade for French banks and signs that Germany is preparing for a default by Greece.

The euro /quotes/zigman/4868097/sampled EURJPY -0.25% traded at 104.14 yen in recent action, a decline of 1.3% from Friday. The euro dropped as low as ¥103.88, its lowest level since mid-2001.

The euro /quotes/zigman/4867933/sampled EURUSD +0.32% changed hands at $1.3588 versus the dollar, down from $1.3659. in late North American trading.

[xchrom]

38. Survey predicts comfortable election win for Popular Party {spain}

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Survey/predicts/comfortable/election/win/for/Popular/Party/elpepueng/20110912elpeng_1/Ten

A new Metroscopia survey for EL PAÍS has found that the Socialists' prospects in the upcoming general elections are indeed bleak and justifies the permanent state of euphoria of the Popular Party these days.

Just three months to go before the elections, the survey found that Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba has not managed to narrow the gap against his opponent and has lost ground since the constitutional reform, leaving expectations of a comfortable majority for PP leader Mariano Rajoy.

According to the survey, the PP's lead, at 14.1 points, has not weakened. The party looks set to win more than 185 seats, ten more than is needed for an absolute majority. The survey also showed that 81 percent of Socialist voters are expecting a resounding defeat.

The extreme pessimism of these voters has even worried some PP leaders, who prefer a weakened PSOE opposition to facing a full-on social confrontation like that put up by the 15-M movement without a left-wing party by their side.



***good luck, spain -- that's gonna be a pig in a poke -- not that the socialists have done right by you.

[xchrom]

43. ont top of everything else: Explosion at nuclear plant in southern France

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_NUCLEAR_PLANT_EXPLOSION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-12-08-21-46

PARIS (AP) -- An explosion rocked the Marcoule nuclear plant in southern France on Monday, the country's nuclear safety body and local authorities said.

It was not immediately clear how serious the accident was or whether there were any victims. The Marcoule site is located in Langedoc Roussillon, in southern France, near the Mediterranean Sea.

Evangelia Petit of the Agency for Nuclear Safety said Monday an explosion had taken place but declined to provide any further details. Officials in the Gard region confirmed Monday's explosion but also would not elaborate.

The local Midi Libre newspaper, on its web site, said an oven exploded at the plant, killing one person and seriously injuring another. No radiation leak was reported, the report said, adding that no quarantine or evacuation orders were issued for neighboring towns.

[DemReadingDU]

55. One killed in blast at French nuclear waste site

9/12/11 One killed in blast at French nuclear waste site

An oven exploded Monday at a nuclear site in France, killing one person and injuring four others, a spokeswoman for French energy company EDF said.

There was no radioactive leak or waste released, she said.

The explosion took place in Marcoule in southeastern France, the company said.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/12/oven-explodes-at-french-nuclear-waste-site-source-says/
:eyes:

[Demeter]

82. Another one?

Sarkozy ought to get his nose out of Libya and pay attention to what's going on at home.

[wordpix]

100. MANY incidents worldwide that most don't even know about & more coming

Read, "Nuclear Roulette: The Case Against a Nuclear Renaissance."

http://www.ifg.org/pdf/Nuclear_Roulette_book.pdf

The nuke industry is as bad as coal, oil and gas, if not worse.

[xchrom]

46. Banks face major reorganisation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14877865

UK banks should ring-fence their retail banking divisions to protect them from riskier investment banking arms, a government-backed commission has said.

The Independent Commission on Banking, led by Sir John Vickers, said it would "make it easier and less costly to resolve banks that get into trouble".

The ICB called for the changes to be implemented by the start of 2019.

Chancellor George Osborne welcomed the "good" report and said he planned to stick to the timetable it recommended.

[xchrom]

53. British Bank Panel Calls for More Gradual Reform

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/britains-i-c-b-recomends-gradual-banking-reform/

A government-appointed commission recommended on Monday that British banks be given more time to adapt to new rules intended to prevent another financial crisis, even as banks across Europe came under renewed pressure.

In its final report, the Independent Commission on Banking proposed a radical makeover that could cost the industry as much as £7 billion ($11 billion).

As expected, it proposed separating the banks’ deposit-taking operations from investment banking services, but stopped short of a complete break-up of the banks. The two subsidiaries would be separately capitalized, have different boards, different cultures and report results as if they were two different companies, the commission report said.

The commission said, however, that an “extended implementation period would be appropriate,” with a final deadline of 2019. That would be after the next general election, and later than some analysts had expected.

[xchrom]

49. IFS study: UK household budgets 'face 10-year squeeze'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14879003

Household budgets could be squeezed for the next 10 years as the impact of tax rises and cuts is felt, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned.

Its survey suggests families have seen the biggest fall in living standards in 30 years in the last financial year.

It warned those on lowest incomes were likely to suffer a further significant reduction in their spending power.

The Treasury said plans to cut the deficit had maintained low interest rates and helped struggling families.

[xchrom]

50. Stuart Rose 'would pay more tax'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14859254

Marks and Spencer ex-boss Sir Stuart Rose has told BBC Hardtalk that he would be prepared to pay more than the current top rate of tax, if necessary.

It comes after 20 economists wrote an open letter to the Financial Times calling for the chancellor to scrap the 50% top rate of tax.

But business leaders in other countries including France, Italy and the US have called for rates to be increased.

"I personally would be prepared to pay more tax," said Sir Stuart.

[xchrom]

51. Saab faces unions' bankruptcy action

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14883512

Two Swedish unions have applied for Saab to be declared bankrupt because the troubled carmaker has been unable to pay wages to its workers.

Last week, Saab's application for protection from its creditors to help it avoid bankruptcy was rejected by a Swedish court.

At the time, unions said they could demand that Saab be declared bankrupt.

Saab has been trying unsuccessfully to get new funding to ensure the business's survival.

[xchrom]

56. Germany’s euro question

http://www.economist.com/node/21528639

WHAT does Germany want? The question comes up in every discussion about the euro. What it does not want is clear enough: no “transfer union”, no pooling of national debts and no break-up of the single currency. But it is hard to know how it hopes to reconcile these aims, harder still to discern the ultimate goal of Germany’s European policy.

All of a sudden, though, Berlin is abuzz with talk of remaking the European Union: issuing joint Eurobonds, renegotiating the EU’s treaties, even creating a federal Europe. Nobody knows if any of this will come about. The obstacles to fundamental change are so forbidding that leaders will always be tempted to try to muddle through. Yet the terms of Germany’s debate are shifting. German politicians seem to have decided that the time has come to start redesigning European institutions. Again.

German Euro-federalists have woken up after a long slumber. It is no surprise that Joschka Fischer, the Greens’ elder statesman, should call for the “United States of Europe”. More striking is that Gerhard Schröder, a former Social Democratic chancellor, uttered the same words, as did Ursula von der Leyen, the labour minister and a leading Christian Democrat. This week Mr Schröder was in Brussels alongside other ex-leaders—Felipe Gonzáles of Spain, Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium and Matti Vanhanen of Finland—calling for Eurobonds, EU powers to raise taxes, “Europe-wide public goods” and a European “federation”.

This might sound like the ravings of a has-been. Certainly, it flies in the face of rising Euroscepticism across the continent. Yet the German government itself is talking of reshaping the EU’s institutions. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, says that reopening the treaties is no taboo. Her finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, talks of one day giving up some sovereignty over budgets.

[xchrom]

70. FTSE 100 executive pay rising faster than inflation

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/12/ftse-100-executive-pay-rising

The directors of Britain's largest companies have secured above-inflation pay rises and larger than normal bonuses this year in a rush to make up for the recession pay freeze.

Increases for main board directors in FTSE 100 companies in 2011 are typically between 2.5% and 7.5%, with a median of 4%, according to research by accountants Deloitte, while FTSE 250 rises average 3%. The numbers suggest that the pay gap between company directors and their staff has widened in the latest round of salary rises.

Directors' settlements were well above the average private sector pay awards of 2.5% reported by Incomes Data Services, the pay analysts, in August. Wages for workers are lagging inflation, which reached 4.4% in July, as measured by the consumer prices index.

Stephen Cahill, partner in the remuneration team at Deloitte, said: "It is not surprising that after a two-year period of widespread pay freezes there has been a return to pay increases for executive directors. What has surprised us is the number of salary increases above 5%, which is significantly above inflation and the increase in average employee earnings."



***very nice:eyes:

[xchrom]

72. Old coins: strike gold with pre-decimal silver

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/09/old-coins-currency-minted-before-1947

Do you have some old shillings and half crowns stashed away in boxes or bottles? They might be worth rather more than you thought.

The rocketing price of silver (it has doubled over the past year) means that coins minted before 1947 – which had real silver in them – are now worth 40 times their face value. Dealers will give you £1 for a sixpenny bit, popularly known as a "tanner" which, on decimalisation in 1971, turned from a 6d into 2½p coin. The old shilling coin, which became the 5p piece, is now worth £2 – actually beating the rate of inflation since 1971.

Unfortunately, "silver" coins minted after 1947 contain no silver and are worth no more than their face value. A reader recently contacted us after helping an elderly friend declutter her home and coming across a 2kg box of pre-decimal English coins, mostly small denomination coppers and silver coins from the 50s and 60s. In an age where we are encouraged to recycle, and where thousands of "more mature" people are likely to have old coins gathering dust, what, she asked, can be done with them?

"After doing a bit of online research, my friend has no expectation that any of her coins are rare," she said. "We just want to know if there is a service or bank which gives face value for pre-decimal coins or collects them for their metal content."

[Po_d Mainiac]

80. For US coinage

90% pre 1965 quarters, dimes, halves multiply the face value (times) .0715 (times) spot
or
FV (X) .715 (X) Ag spot = value of silver content

current spot = $40.59....$1 FV valued at 29.02 (X) FV (in fiat FRN/U$D's)

[xchrom]

81. cool. thanks for the info. i did not know that. nt

[xchrom]

73. Work longer: new pension bombshell for under-50s

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/sep/10/work-longer-pension-bombshell-50s

The government will bring forward an increase in the state pension age to 67 under radical plans designed to prolong the working life of millions of people aged 50 and under.

Ministers are already pushing controversial changes through parliament to raise the age at which men and women can claim a pension to 66 by 2020. Now, as the government moves to keep up with the "express train" of life expectancy, the retirement age could rise to 67 as early as 2026.

Steve Webb, the pensions minister, has told the Observer that further moves are necessary and the coalition government will rip up the former administration's timetable, under which the pension age was to be increased to 67 in 2036 and 68 by 2046. Webb, a Liberal Democrat, indicated that he was not seeking merely to tinker with the timescales. He said: "The timescales for 67 and 68 are too slow. If it is 67 in the mid-2030s we will be going backwards in terms of share of your life in retirement. I mean the problem would be worse than 20 years before."

The raising of the state pension age to 67 in 2026, the most likely option according to Whitehall sources, would affect 8.1 million people in their 40s who would otherwise have expected to retire at 66.

[xchrom]

74. 'Germans Will Have to Pay''

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,785704,00.html

In a SPIEGEL interview, former German finance minister Peer Steinbrück, 64, now a prominent member of the opposition Social Democratic Party, argues for a complete overhaul of Europe's currency union -- one that would include euro bonds, strict rules and harsh sanctions.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Steinbrück, all efforts to end the euro crisis have so far failed. So why aren't any politicians saying that the common currency just can't be saved, at least as the euro was once conceived and sold to the populace?

Steinbrück: What makes you think the euro can't be saved?

SPIEGEL: Because it has become clear that the national economies that were welded together into the currency union were too different and that the euro has increased rather than decreased these disparities.

Steinbrück: No one will argue with that. Indebtedness and competitiveness have drifted apart. But that's not going to make the euro disappear. We could argue for a long time over how many and which member states will still be in the euro zone at the end of the decade if we don't get this drifting under control. But I would bet that the euro continues to exist and that its importance as a global currency will likely increase.

[Demeter]

32. I want to stay longer, but the dragons are getting restless

Keep your cool, everyone. We all come out of this on the other side, okay?

[xchrom]

39. bye miss demeter -- i know the dragons won't stand a chance!

:hi: in between dragons -- i hope it's a good day.

[xchrom]

33. video report: Greece Shakes Asian Markets; Inflation in India

http://www.marketwatch.com/video/asset/greece-shake-asian-markets-inflation-in-india-2011-09-12/46D9F610-D239-49E1-804B-D93CECA3CAA9#!46D9F610-D239-49E1-804B-D93CECA3CAA9

Asia Today: Worries about a Greek debt default sent Asian Shares lower, and the euro to multi-year lows against the yen. Elsewhere, India is struggling to tame inflation, and Thailand is betting on higher rice prices that some economists say is reckless.

[xchrom]

36. asia: Taiwanese too smart by half

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/MI13Ad01.html

TAIPEI - Taiwan's political cast bickers a lot over agricultural treats such as bananas and papayas severely overproduced on the island. But there's yet another glut worth paying attention to.

The number of people studying for doctoral degrees is skyrocketing. Since the 2005-2006 academic year, the figure has risen almost three times higher, and as it is with the excessive output of fruit in the farming sector, the overproduction of PhDs threatens the final products massively with devaluation.

There were a total of 3,705 doctoral students at Taiwan's graduate schools in the 2009-2010 academic year, compared to 1,053 in the 2005-2006 period, according to local media. Official statistics say that between 1999 and 2009, the number of Taiwan's PhD


holders increased 2.5 times, from 13,000 to 33,000.

Observers agree that the phenomenon correlates neither with job openings at colleges and universities nor demand in the private sector. Full-time professor jobs are so hard to find these days so that even doctorate degree holders from Taiwan's most prestigious institutions as well as top schools of the United States, United Kingdom or Germany end up as teaching assistants, or even worse, as administrative or secretarial staff at local universities' admission offices.

[xchrom]

48. Chinese imports at record high as trade surplus narrows

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14877003

China's imports hit a record monthly high in August, indicating a strong domestic demand despite concerns of a global economic slowdown.

Imports surged by 30.2% from a year earlier to $155.6bn (£98bn), government data released over the weekend showed.

Exports rose by 24.5% resulting in a trade surplus of $17.8bn, down from $31.5bn in the previous month.

The data comes at a time when China has been trying to boost domestic demand in a bid to rebalance its economy.

[xchrom]

62. Gold futures fall on weak Asian trend, less demand

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Gold-futures-fall-on-weak-Asian-trend-less-demand/articleshow/9954894.cms

MUMBAI: Gold prices fell by Rs 187 to Rs 28,245 per 10 gram in futures trade on Monday as speculators offloaded their positions on the back of a weak trend in the Asian region.

Trading sentiment turned bearish after gold fell in the Asian markets as concern about a potential Greek default drove the dollar higher and some investors sold the metal to cover losses in other markets.

Fall in demand at existing higher levels in the spot market further fuelled the downtrend.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in December month fell by Rs 187, or 0.66 per cent to Rs 28,245 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 1,483 lots.

[xchrom]

69. Hong Kong shares' biggest single-day drop, heavy selling of banks and property blamed

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/hong-kong-shares-biggest-single-day-drop-heavy-selling-of-banks-and-property-blamed/articleshow/9955481.cms

HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares fell sharply on Monday with heavy selling of banks and property counters pushing the benchmark to its biggest single-day drop since a rout on Aug. 9.

The benchmark Hang Seng fell 4.2 per cent although turnover remained light ahead of a public holiday, as Hong Kong markets are shut on Tuesday for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Chinese markets on the mainland were shut on Monday.

"With the Hang Seng threatening to hit another low for the year and markets still volatile, people want to lighten up ahead of the holiday," said Norman Chan, chief investment officer at Banyan Asset Management in Hong Kong.

"You've got the Hang Seng trading at about 9 times earnings which is, of course, low but who wants to catch a falling knife?" said Chan.

[xchrom]

77. Japan companies shut out of Forbes list of Asia's top 50

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110912x2.html

SINGAPORE — The business magazine Forbes has released its 2011 roster of Asia's top 50 publicly listed firms, which for the first time includes no Japanese companies.

"Japan, which led the pack with 13 companies six years ago, had no companies this year for the first time, partly a result of the March 11 earthquake," Forbes said in its latest issue, now available at newsstands.

This year's "Fab 50" list is topped by China with 23 companies, up from 16 last year, followed by South Korea with eight companies and India with seven.

Japan had two companies on the list last year — Nintendo Co. and Rakuten Inc. — compared with 2005 when Japan topped the list with 13 companies such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co.

[xchrom]

52. McGraw-Hill to Break Into Two

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/mcgraw-hill-to-break-into-two/

McGraw-Hill announced plans on Monday to break into two companies, after calls for change from activist shareholders.

One company will be focused on the markets, with the Standard & Poor’s unit, while the other will center on education, including textbook publishing. McGraw-Hill expects to spin off the education group by the end of 2012. As part of the broad makeover, the company also said it would cut costs and repurchase $1 billion worth of shares this year.

“After thorough analysis, the board determined that the creation of these two independent companies is the best and most reliable way to generate superior shareholder value,” the chairman and chief executive, Harold McGraw III, said in a statement. “Because both companies will be sharply defined, they will create two pure-play investment opportunities and present a more transparent capital markets profile, enabling investors to better assess their value, performance and potential.”

Activist investors and analysts have been pushing for McGraw-Hill to split up the company, as its stock has stagnated. Shares, once more than $70, now trade for less than $40.

[xchrom]

58. south asia: Sensex plunges 365 pts on weak global cues,IIP nos Close

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/sensex-plunges-365-pts-on-weak-global-cuesiip-nos/articleshow/9956570.cms

MUMBAI: Indian markets reacted strongly to weak global cues and lower-than-expected domestic economic data to close near important support levels. All the sectoral indices ended in the red with metals, technology and realty space being the worst hit.

Benchmarks had opened with a gap-down, in line with Asian peers, on concerns that Greece would default on its debt repayments. The resignation of the top German official at the European Central Bank also weighed sentiments.

The market was further rattled by disappointing Index of Industrial Production data for the month of July. India's IIP grew at 3.3 per cent in the month of July against 8.8 per cent a month ago. Manufacturing growth was at 2.3 per cent vs 10.8 per cent. Capital goods showed contraction of 15.2 per cent against growth of 38.2 per cent last month.

According to analysts, hike in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India has been impacting growth adversely. The rate sensitive sectors are likely to remain volatile for the next few sessions as inflation data will be out Wednesday.

[xchrom]

59. RBI may not hike rates on Friday following weak IIP data: Piyush Garg, ICICI Securities

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/rbi-may-not-hike-rates-on-friday-following-weak-iip-data-piyush-garg-icici-securities/articleshow/9954637.cms

ET Now: If I could bring it to you 3.3%, how would you react to that number? Much below even the 4.5% that was being suggested few minutes by government source?

Piyush Garg: Correct. Obviously on the face of it, it is extremely bad, but one has to look at the composition of these numbers also as to how much is affected by capital goods and all. Because capital goods have been a chunk which tend to swing the numbers. I have not seen the internals of the numbers. So one has to wait for that. But on the face of it, yes it is negative. But a silver lining to all this thing is also that it is very much possible that the RBI may not hike the rates on Friday. Because the global scenario is also becoming extremely uncertain and also, there is a clear case for RBI not to hike also going forward and which can be positive also for the market. So one has to see from that angle also.

[xchrom]

61. India's July industrial output up 3.3%: Govt

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Indias-July-industrial-output-up-3-3-Govt/articleshow/9953607.cms

NEW DELHI: India's industrial output in July rose a much-lower-than expected 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Monday.

The median forecast in a Reuters poll was for an annual rise of 6.2 per cent.

Industrial output growth for June remained unchanged at 8.8 per cent, the federal statistics office said in a statement.

Manufacturing output , which constitutes about 76 per cent of the industrial production, rose an annual 2.3 per cent in July.

[xchrom]

68. Bullions to face very short term correction: Destimoney Commodities

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/interviews/bullions-to-face-very-short-term-correction-destimoney-commodities/articleshow/9955970.cms

In an interview with ET Now, Sumeet Bagadia, Head-Commodities & Currency Research, Destimoney Commodities, shares his views on the commodity market. Excerpts:

ET Now: Let's start with the bright spot first and gold prices holding in the green, are you still a buyer at these levels?

Sumeet Bagadia: For very short term, till the time gold prices does not break levels of around 28800 on higher side and as far as COMEX is concerned till the time prices does not break $19-20 in COMEX, gold would face some resistance at these levels and there would be some selling in very short term. To be very precise for intraday, I would expect gold prices to come down. I would prefer selling at 28,150 or 28,200 which is the current market price for the targets of 27,700.

ET Now: How about the silver prices because we have seen then kind of try to follow gold but silver declined 3.5% in the last week, is just about managing to stay even-steven, not getting into positive or negative, how would you want to trade silver?

Sumeet Bagadia: Same way like gold. I would prefer selling in silver somewhere at around 65,100 levels with a strict stop loss of 65,500 and on downside I am expecting silver prices to touch levels of around 63,500 in next 2 to 3 days. This is a very short term correction which I am expecting in bullions. Overall my stance in both the commodities for this year, that means for next 2 to 3 months is very bullish. If any such correction comes, I would be a buyer for next 2 to 3 months but for very short term for next 2 to 3 days, I would prefer selling in both the commodities.

[xchrom]

60. Gold equities underperform 25-30% to bullion

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/gold-equities-underperform-25-30-to-bullion/articleshow/9957137.cms

SINGAPORE: Gold equities have underperformed gold prices so far this year, providing an opportunity for investors hoping to ride the metal's bull run, a senior executive at BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, said on Monday.

Gold equities underperformed bullion prices by 25 percent to 30 percent this year, as gold prices rallied nearly 30 percent and equities market took a hit from mounting worries about the euro zone's debt crisis and slower global growth.

"That may well be the opportunity," said Malcolm Smith, Director and product specialist for BlackRock's Natural Resources Team. "If investors believe gold prices will remain at these levels or perhaps even go higher, there is an opportunity that gap may well narrow."

[Po_d Mainiac]

64. Mining stocks can (and do) fall to zero. Bullion doesn't. n/t

[Hotler]

67. k&r n/t

[xchrom]

71. Lehman Brothers: three years of denial

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/sep/12/lehmanbrothers-financial-crisis

As we prepare to celebrate the third anniversary of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy and the ensuing financial crisis, it's a good time to assess the situation and ask what has changed. The answer is not encouraging.

Very little has changed about either the realities on the ground or the intellectual debate on economic issues in the last three years. The "too-big-to-fail" banks are bigger than ever as a result of crisis induced mergers. Financial industry profits now exceed their pre-crisis share of corporate profits, and executive pay and bonuses are again at their bubble peaks.

None of the executives who pushed and packaged fraudulent mortgages has gone to jail. Even those who have faced civil actions, like Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo, have almost certainly still come out ahead after making large payments to settle suits.

And all the top policy people who guided us to this economic disaster are still doing just fine. When former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan isn't collecting his seven-figure salary from Pimco, the country's largest bond fund, he is sharing his wisdom with the world on the Sunday morning talk shows.

[xchrom]

75. S&P 500 May Plunge 21%, Bank of America Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-12/s-p-500-may-plunge-21-bank-of-america-says-technical-analysis.html

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may slump as much as 21 percent as volatility on the benchmark measure continues, according to Bank of America Corp. (BAC) technical analysts.

The U.S. benchmark index may slump to 910, Mary Ann Bartels and Stephen Suttmeier, Bank of America’s New York-based technical market analysts, wrote in a report today. That would be 21 percent lower than the index’s closing price of 1,154.23 on Sept. 9.

“We are more concerned now that the downside risk could be more than we originally forecast,” Bartels and Suttmeier wrote. “Measured moves suggest 985-910 on the S&P 500 is a potential range where a market bottom may finally be found.”

The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index is known, jumped 14 percent to 38.52 last week, as concern Greece’s finances are deteriorating overshadowed President Barack Obama’s $447 billion plan to stimulate growth. The gauge measures the cost of derivative prices on the S&P 500.

[xchrom]

76. ANC Mulls Law to Supersede Mining Contracts, Godongwana Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-11/anc-mulls-law-to-supersede-mining-contracts-as-party-pushes-national-needs.html

South Africa’s national needs should take precedence over mining companies’ desire to export and a law to overrule mine contracts may be considered, the head of the ruling party’s task team formed to study a proposal to nationalize mines said.

The country’s coal, iron ore and other mineral reserves should benefit the continent’s biggest economy, the African National Congress’s Enoch Godongwana said in an interview in Johannesburg on Sept. 8.

South Africa’s policies should be guided by “to what extent we can utilize our resources to achieve a number of goals, among them growth and redistribution,” Godongwana, 54, said. “Legislation that supersedes any contract you have” to ensure the assets meet the country’s needs is an option, he said. “In certain circumstances, national interest must prevail.”

Citigroup Inc. last year valued the country’s mineral resources at $2.5 trillion, the most of any nation. Leaders of companies including AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (ANG), Africa’s biggest gold producer, and Standard Bank Group, the continent’s largest lender, have said nationalizing mines will curb growth and hinder job creation in a country where one in four is unemployed.

[Demeter]

84. Jo Johnson: Regulate in haste, repent at leisure

House of Commons lore suggests that cross-party consensus forged in the heat of a crisis can often produce legislation that is regretted at leisure.

The popular clamour for ever more regulation of the banking sector, spurred by inter-party rivalry and fury at the sense that the taxpayer is still subsidising grotesque bank bonuses, encourages a quick-fire legislative response.

While welcoming the Vickers report, the government is therefore right to ensure that it can consult broadly and cool-headedly on the eventual implementation of its various recommendations.


Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/XYEWFF/NJ3CH1/RP6QL/16GXZS/974IR7/LE/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=12

BLAH, BLAH, BLAH

THAT'S HOW WE GOT THE "SECURITY STATE".

[Demeter]

87. The Fed and the SEC Disappoint Yet Again

http://firedoglake.com/2011/09/11/the-fed-and-the-sec-disappoint-yet-again/

This week we got two more examples of a government that can’t remember how to function. Fed Chair Ben Bernanke can’t understand why consumers aren’t spending. Enforcement Chief Robert Khuzami of the SEC can’t figure out how to hold people accountable for securities fraud.

...in Minnesota, Bernanke added a long paragraph chiding consumers:

One striking aspect of the recovery is the unusual weakness in household spending. … The temporary factors I mentioned earlier–the rise in commodity prices, which has hurt households’ purchasing power, … are partial explanations for this deceleration. But households are struggling with other important headwinds as well, including the persistently high level of unemployment, slow gains in wages for those who remain employed, falling house prices, and debt burdens that remain high for many, notwithstanding that households, in the aggregate, have been saving more and borrowing less. Even taking into account the many financial pressures they face, households seem exceptionally cautious. Indeed, readings on consumer confidence have fallen substantially in recent months as people have become more pessimistic about both economic conditions and their own financial prospects.

He sees some problems, but he can’t understand why people who don’t have those problems aren’t spending more. We know why: it’s because all of us but the rich are scared that things won’t get better. We know that Obama and Congress intend to cut Social Security and Medicare to avoid taxing the rich fairly. We know we need to get out of debt and build up whatever savings we can. We know our kids are facing a miserable future, and we need to accumulate money so we can help them all their lives.

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

Naughty Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Dealbook at the New York Times tells us about the latest SEC fail:

The proposed agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, under the terms being discussed, would include no monetary penalty or admission of fraud, according to several people briefed on the case.
…
The agency is specifically looking at the way reported their subprime mortgage portfolios and concentrations of loans extended to borrowers who offered little documentation.

Specific human beings at Fannie and Freddie lied, but no one goes to jail for securities fraud, no one pays any money, and no one is even sanctioned. This isn’t even a slap on the wrist; it’s a bald admission that the SEC is impotent. Mary Schapiro, Chair of the SEC, and Robert Kuhzami must think that corporations like Fannie and Freddie are persons, and that they, and not the humans who work there, are the only actors. They ignore black letter law that the corporate shield does not protect officers, directors and employees from criminal liability. That rule is basic to an understanding of personal accountability in a bureaucratic world. Peterr reminds us of the words of Justice Jackson in the Nuremberg Trials:

Of course, the idea that a state, any more than a corporation, commits crimes, is a fiction. Crimes always are committed only by persons. While it is quite proper to employ the fiction of responsibility of a state or corporation for the purpose of imposing a collective liability, it is quite intolerable to let such a legalism become the basis of personal immunity.

The Charter {Articles 7 and 8} recognizes that one who has committed criminal acts may not take refuge in superior orders nor in the doctrine that his crimes were acts of states. … Under the Charter, no defense based on either of these doctrines can be entertained. Modern civilization puts unlimited weapons of destruction in the hands of men. It cannot tolerate so vast an area of legal irresponsibility.

Indeed. The people who worked for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac wielded financial unlimited weapons of destruction. The SEC ignores Justice Jackson and allows them to act without legal responsibility. Mary Schapiro, Robert Khuzami and Ben Bernanke should look to the past for help understanding how to do their jobs.

[Demeter]

88. An Impeccable Disaster By PAUL KRUGMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/opinion/an-impeccable-disaster.html

On Thursday Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank or E.C.B. — Europe’s equivalent to Ben Bernanke — lost his sang-froid. In response to a question about whether the E.C.B. is becoming a “bad bank” thanks to its purchases of troubled nations’ debt, Mr. Trichet, his voice rising, insisted that his institution has performed “impeccably, impeccably!” as a guardian of price stability. Indeed it has. And that’s why the euro is now at risk of collapse.Financial turmoil in Europe is no longer a problem of small, peripheral economies like Greece. What’s under way right now is a full-scale market run on the much larger economies of Spain and Italy. At this point countries in crisis account for about a third of the euro area’s G.D.P., so the common European currency itself is under existential threat. And all indications are that European leaders are unwilling even to acknowledge the nature of that threat, let alone deal with it effectively.

I’ve complained a lot about the “fiscalization” of economic discourse here in America, the way in which a premature focus on budget deficits turned Washington’s attention away from the ongoing jobs disaster. But we’re not unique in that respect, and in fact the Europeans have been much, much worse. Listen to many European leaders — especially, but by no means only, the Germans — and you’d think that their continent’s troubles are a simple morality tale of debt and punishment: Governments borrowed too much, now they’re paying the price, and fiscal austerity is the only answer...Yet this story applies, if at all, to Greece and nobody else. Spain in particular had a budget surplus and low debt before the 2008 financial crisis; its fiscal record, one might say, was impeccable. And while it was hit hard by the collapse of its housing boom, it’s still a relatively low-debt country, and it’s hard to make the case that the underlying fiscal condition of Spain’s government is worse than that of, say, Britain’s government.

So why is Spain — along with Italy, which has higher debt but smaller deficits — in so much trouble? The answer is that these countries are facing something very much like a bank run, except that the run is on their governments rather than, or more accurately as well as, their financial institutions....What Mr. Trichet and his colleagues should be doing right now is buying up Spanish and Italian debt — that is, doing what these countries would be doing for themselves if they still had their own currencies. In fact, the E.C.B. started doing just that a few weeks ago, and produced a temporary respite for those nations. But the E.C.B. immediately found itself under severe pressure from the moralizers, who hate the idea of letting countries off the hook for their alleged fiscal sins. And the perception that the moralizers will block any further rescue actions has set off a renewed market panic...Adding to the problem is the E.C.B.’s obsession with maintaining its “impeccable” record on price stability: at a time when Europe desperately needs a strong recovery, and modest inflation would actually be helpful, the bank has instead been tightening money, trying to head off inflation risks that exist only in its imagination.

And now it’s all coming to a head. We’re not talking about a crisis that will unfold over a year or two; this thing could come apart in a matter of days. And if it does, the whole world will suffer. So, will the E.C.B. do what needs to be done — lend freely and cut rates? Or will European leaders remain too focused on punishing debtors to save themselves? The whole world is watching.

[Hawkowl]

101. An excellent article

Watching this Euro drama is like watching a slow motion bullet train crash! I just can't stop watching it. :popcorn:

[Demeter]

89. PLANET MONEY: The Return Of Toxie

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/09/12/140314566/the-return-of-toxie?ft=1&f=1001

Last year, as part of a reporting project, we bought a toxic asset — one of those complicated financial instruments that that nearly brought down the global economy. We spent $1000 of our own money and bought a tiny slice of a bond backed by mortgages. We paid just a fraction of what it originally cost. It was such a good deal, we thought maybe we'd make a few bucks, which we'd give to charity.

That didn't happen. The mortgages in our toxic asset — Toxie, to those who knew her well — went bad so fast that we wound up losing half our money. Last fall, we declared Toxie dead...Recently, though, a lawsuit was filed against the bank that put Toxie together. If this lawsuit is successful, we could conceivably receive the original face value of our slice of the toxic asset: $75,000.

In other words: Toxie lives!


Just a few days after the Toxie lawsuit was filed, the federal government got in on the action. The agency that oversees Fannie and Freddie filed 17 separate lawsuits against some of the world's biggest banks. The government lawsuits (which we explained at length in this post) make pretty much the same arguments as the lawsuit over our toxic asset: The mortgages in the assets were much shoddier than promised. The Toxie lawsuit describes a mortgage loan for $737,000, where the borrower claimed to earn $200,000 a year at a "communications company." That borrower actually earned zero dollars that year, according to documents cited in the lawsuit...A review of 786 mortgages backing our toxic asset showed that two thirds of them had been misrepresented in some way, according to the lawsuit...The loans were initially issued by Countrywide, which was acquired by Bank of America in 2008. The lawsuit says B of A should buy back the defective mortgages at full face value — over $2 billion...Bank of America sent us a statement saying it's not legally obligated to buy back all the mortgages.

The bank may argue that some of those people who took out those mortgages lied about their income, or their job, according to Jacob Frenkel, a lawyer we spoke with for this story. Frenkel says this and other cases are likely to settle out of court. Whatever the outcome, the lawsuits against the banks probably aren't going to satisfy the public's desire for justice, according to Frenkel. "The path to resolution most of the public wanted to see was bank executives in handcuffs," he says. "That did not happen." Prosecutors, Frenkel says, just didn't have the evidence for large-scale criminal cases. Now we're left with lawsuits that aim to divide up the money that's left.

[Demeter]

90. Lunch is over...back to the dragon pit.

[Fuddnik]

91. Awww, you've got it easy.

I'm wrestling gators here.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

93. Geronimo....!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

94. Save my tranche!

Dear God, please!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

95. The Stock Market exactly described:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NrrHTFp8z0

[tclambert]

97. MysTEEEEEEEEEEERious whisPER!

Haven't you heard of the Efficient Market Hypothesis? It says the market knows everything and is always perfect, and every individual stock is always perfectly priced, never wrong, not even for an instant. And quite a lot of Republican economic policy is based on this hypothesis. Oh, yeah, it also says Warren Buffett cannot exist.

[Roland99]

96. China announces it maybe might underwrite Italian bonds. Markets rally with glee.

[Demeter]

98. And at 3:30, a Miracle Occurs

The PPT shows up, right on schedule...

[DoBotherMe]

99. k & r

[Festivito]

102. Debt: 09/08/2011 14,685,550,385,913.19 (DOWN 32,206,629,132.58) (Thu, DOWN some.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 391.550-billion dollars. Good day.)
Kinda late on this from Hillsville.
(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)
= 10,067,649,034,359.50 + 4,617,901,351,553.68
DOWN 6,211,008,386.30 + DOWN 25,995,620,746.28

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,196.44 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.59, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,848,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $46,941.46.
A family of three owes $140,824.38. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 4,253,164,368.25.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,260,759,348.99.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,155,573,563.54.
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$/day.
There were 233 reports in 343 days of FY2011 averaging 4.82B$ per report, 3.28B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 500 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.3T$.
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)
09/08/2011 14,685,550,385,913.19 BHO (UP 4,058,673,337,000.10 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 +1,123,927,355,021.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,196,015,990,037.35 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/18/2011 +006,258,648,233.06 ------------*********
08/19/2011 +019,892,825,521.14 ------------**********
08/22/2011 -000,213,053,000.99 --- Mon
08/23/2011 +000,814,357,949.50 ------------********
08/24/2011 +000,495,517,849.57 ------------********
08/25/2011 +015,444,082,130.78 ------------**********
08/26/2011 +001,003,663,200.19 ------------*********
08/29/2011 -000,073,220,970.90 ---- Mon
08/30/2011 +000,152,580,275.78 ------------********
08/31/2011 +034,126,581,560.14 ------------**********
09/01/2011 +034,131,323,630.30 ------------**********
09/02/2011 +000,182,220,803.10 ------------********
09/06/2011 -000,290,117,782.20 --- Tue
09/07/2011 +015,583,261,687.60 ------------**********
09/08/2011 -006,211,008,386.30 --

121,297,662,700.77 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=4989277&mesg_id=4989487

[Festivito]

103. Debt: 09/09/2011 14,711,737,198,477.91 (UP 26,186,812,564.66) (Fri, UP a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 417.737-billion dollars. Good day.)
Hillsville BK Lounge chicken.
(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)
= 10,067,728,635,010.60 + 4,644,008,563,467.24
UP 79,600,651.10 + UP 26,107,211,913.56

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,196.36 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.59, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,855,392 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 $47,024.08.
A family of three owes $141,072.24. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 5,206,334,737.04.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,991,523,298.40.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,862,764,482.32.
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$/day.
There were 234 reports in 344 days of FY2011 averaging 4.92B$ per report, 3.34B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 499 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.3T$.
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)
09/09/2011 14,711,737,198,477.91 BHO (UP 4,084,860,149,564.76 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 +1,150,114,167,586.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,220,324,625,491.17 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/19/2011 +019,892,825,521.14 ------------**********
08/22/2011 -000,213,053,000.99 --- Mon
08/23/2011 +000,814,357,949.50 ------------********
08/24/2011 +000,495,517,849.57 ------------********
08/25/2011 +015,444,082,130.78 ------------**********
08/26/2011 +001,003,663,200.19 ------------*********
08/29/2011 -000,073,220,970.90 ---- Mon
08/30/2011 +000,152,580,275.78 ------------********
08/31/2011 +034,126,581,560.14 ------------**********
09/01/2011 +034,131,323,630.30 ------------**********
09/02/2011 +000,182,220,803.10 ------------********
09/06/2011 -000,290,117,782.20 --- Tue
09/07/2011 +015,583,261,687.60 ------------**********
09/08/2011 -006,211,008,386.30 --
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******

115,118,615,118.81 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=4991676&mesg_id=4992799