STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, September 29, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, September 29, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 28, 2011

Dow 11,010.90 -179.79 (-1.63%)
Nasdaq 2,491.58 -55.25 (-2.22%)
S&P 500 1,151.06 -24.32 (-2.11%)
10-Yr Bond... 1.99 +0.01 (+0.61%)
30-Year Bond 3.06 -0.0070 (-0.23%)

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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. Today's Reports

Sep 29 08:30 Initial Claims 09/24 415K 419K 423K
Sep 29 08:30 Continuing Claims 09/17 3700K 3715K 3727K
Sep 29 08:30 GDP - Third Estimate Q2 1.2% 1.2% 1.0%
Sep 29 08:30 GDP Deflator - Third Estimate Q2 2.4% 2.4% 2.4%
Sep 29 10:00 Pending Home Sales Jul -1.5% -1.5% -1.3%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/09/26-30/#ixzz1ZL0g1yla

[Roland99]

29. U.S. jobless claims fall 37,000 to 391,000

[xchrom]

39. preemptively preparing us for 'SURPRISE': Jobless Claims in U.S. Drop More Than Forecast

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/jobless-claims-in-u-s-drop-on-seasonal-adjustment-difficulties.html

Claims for U.S. unemployment benefits fell more than forecast last week as an atypical calendar alignment made it more difficult for the government to adjust the data for seasonal changes.

Applications for jobless benefits dropped by 37,000 in the week ended Sept. 24 to 391,000, the fewest since April, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 420,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. An agency official said the data probably reflected a “slight mistiming” in the seasonal factors used to modify the figures.

The pace of firings has remained little changed this year while companies are reluctant to hire at a time when the economy is slowing and concerns of a European default rise. Federal Reserve policy makers last week announced more unconventional measures to boost jobs and the economy.

“Apart from what might be an anomaly, the underlying trend in the labor force is still disappointing,” said Sean Incremona, a senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York. “There is a lot of economic uncertainty weighing on the broader economy.”

[Roland99]

30. Q2 GDP growth revised higher to show 1.3% growth

[Fuddnik]

49. You know the BLS numbers are pure BS, when even the BLS says they're pure bullshit!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5010185

[fasttense]

52. But but but it's only a slight mistiming.

"An agency official said the data probably reflected a “slight mistiming” in the seasonal factors used to modify the figures."

In other words the numbers, as you said, are pure BS.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil above $82 ahead of Europe debt fund vote

BANGKOK – Oil prices rose above $82 a barrel Thursday in Asia as traders looked to Germany to approve a measure to strengthen a fund intended to help Europe overcome its debt crisis.

Benchmark oil was up 85 cents to $82.05 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $3.24, nearly 4 percent, to $81.21 per barrel on the Nymex on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude for November delivery was up $1.33 at $105.14 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil rose sharply earlier this week as Europe appeared to get a better handle on its debt crisis. But signs of disagreement resurfaced among European leaders on how best to help Greece, which only has enough money to pay its bills through mid-October.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Alcoa, JPMorgan Gain in European Trading

U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will advance for the fourth time in five days, as Germany approved an expansion of the euro-area rescue fund’s firepower and investors awaited reports on economic growth and jobless claims.

Alcoa Inc. (AA), the biggest U.S. aluminum producer, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), the nation’s second-largest bank, climbed more than 1.5 percent in Europe. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) slid 7.2 percent in pre-market New York trading after cutting its forecasts.

S&P 500 futures expiring in December climbed 1 percent to 1,160.3 at 11:27 a.m. in London, having earlier lost as much as 0.7 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 103 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,079.

“The market is starting to breathe a bit,” said Jacques Porta, a fund manager at Ofi Patrimoine in Paris, who helps oversee about $400 million in stocks. “We’re emerging from the debt problem to focus on the economy. We’ll be following the employment numbers.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/u-s-stock-futures-rise-reversing-losses-before-german-vote.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. Euro Rises as German Lawmakers Vote to Approve Expansion of Bailout Fund

The euro rose toward a one-week high versus the dollar as Germany’s lower house of parliament approved the expansion of a bailout fund for debt-stricken euro- area nations to help contain the sovereign-debt crisis.

The 17-nation currency strengthened against 13 of 16 major counterparts as German Chancellor Angela Merkel won the backing of her coalition to expand the powers of the European Financial Stability Facility. The yen weakened as Asian and European stocks reversed losses, spurring demand for higher-yielding assets. South Korea’s won declined after the nation’s current- account surplus shrank.

“The German talk about the euro zone is becoming a bit more positive, which reduces the risk of a disorderly breakup,” said Adrian Schmidt, a currency strategist at Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in London.

The euro gained 0.7 percent to $1.3642 at 11:26 a.m. in London after rising to $1.3690 yesterday, the strongest since Sept. 21. The currency appreciated 0.8 percent to 104.59 yen. The yen was little changed at 76.69 per dollar.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/yen-dollar-rise-as-europe-debt-concern-boosts-safety-demand-aussie-falls.html

[DemReadingDU]

5. love the toon today!

[Demeter]

6. A Cartoon Like that Could Put Me Off Opera for Life

and I just got tickets to "Phantom"...

but if opera is what they are aiming for, I hope it's Hamlet:

"...Not everything about the performance or the play was considered convincing. The supporting players were conceded to be weak. The large number of corpses on the stage in the final scene was found by many to be laughable..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_%28opera%29

In the ghoulish mood I'm in, a large number of political corpses would solve several of the nation's problems in one grand gesture.

[Demeter]

72. Musing Upon this Cartoon, Whilst Walking the Grandpuppy, Gave Me a Theme for WEE

And no, it's not opera. (Massive sighs of relief) Not even the Phantom--we could save him for Halloween.

No, I'd like to explore THE CARTOON. Where did the word come from, when was the first recognizable one drawn, which are great, which are dreadful, which are illustrative of our socio-economic-political milieu, etc. Start thinking of your favorites...this is a mass-participation subject!

[Demeter]

7. Looks Like there's still a lot of liquidating going on

in all forms of paper. The only trouble is, what can one do but buy some other kind of paper? And it's all ultimately worthless, too. And hence, all the water sloshing in the bathtub...

When the Final Unraveling occurs, it will be an awesome, humbling time.

"Don't panic, and don't forget your towel!"

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

I've just found a new weekend theme for May 25th!

The original quotation that referenced the importance of towels is found in Chapter 3 of Adams's work The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have. Partly it has great practical value. You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapors; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand-combat; wrap it round your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.

More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitch hiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc. Furthermore, the strag will then happily lend the hitch hiker any of these or a dozen other items that the hitch hiker might accidentally have "lost". What the strag will think is that any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.

Hence a phrase that has passed into hitchhiking slang, as in "Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is." (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)

— Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[xchrom]

8. it's going to be a very nice morning here -- i hope it's the same

for every one else:donut:

[Demeter]

15. Thanks and Good Morning!

I have worked through the visceral rage engendered by Tuesday's board meeting and developed an outline of a plan. It's unusual that it took me so long to process, but the Kid's current medical semi-crisis has been an added strain. Also, I had hoped not to have to go through that kind of political situation again. Psychopaths are everywhere...but mostly wherever abuse of power is possible.

We in Michigan and surroundings are still in the circle of that jet-stream loop, according to http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/US/2xJetStream.html
but the clouds are dissipating, and it looks like the inland "hurricane" that's been circling overhead is starting to break up (in rain showers and cold grayness, of course).

Saturday is supposed to be quite cold for the season, which is logical because I am going to my first U of M football game. It's a three layer occasion. At least the rain is forecast to end before then...so it will probably pour.

[xchrom]

17. is your board giving you fits again?

the football game sounds wonderful -- i hope it's rip roaring.

our persistent gloom ended -- finally -- here yesterday.

[Demeter]

27. A couple of members

I'm trying to create a pro-active atmosphere, where the board takes its responsibility and responds to need the first time it is expressed, instead of responding only under crisis situations.

Part of the problem is size of project. If you want something to happen, and it's only $100 or so, there's grumbling, but no great hangup. But if it's more, there's infinite delay, even if the money is there and designated for the purpose. Because consensus governing is time-eating, the Board needs to get over its fear and start pushing through the processes. The constipation is killing us!

A good board would practice Crisis Prevention. There's one member's committee, presiding without doing anything, except saying it can't be done. Old fart thinking. My personal philosophy is: Lead, or get out of the way.

The other is simple abuse of power. Been there, done that, this is son of Genghis. I didn't want to do this again, ever, but at least I've got some experience.

[xchrom]

32. i hate crises mode operations.

especially when you're talking about housing.

the more that's done to the benefit of the whole place the more benefit to peoples equity.

oy -- it gave me the nervous jitters.

[Tansy_Gold]

48. Invest in beauty

There are lots of images of lenticular cloud formations on the intertubes. I don't know the location of this one, but it's from a blog with a whole bunch of gorgeous photos of all kinds of cool stuff from all kinds of places. Invest the time, if you have nothing else to invest.


I am having nervous jitters today, too, xchrom, as I contemplate a -- possible -- major change in my life. Change, however, is essential and constant in the world, as the ephemeral nature of cloud formations tells us.

[xchrom]

50. my hope for you is -- Good Change, Miss Tansy.

and like a tennessee williams character i have always invested in beauty.

[AnneD]

63. I echo xchrom's wish...

hope it is a good change for you Tansy.

[Demeter]

67. Ditto

Let it be the change you want AND the change you need!

[DemReadingDU]

77. Ditto

[xchrom]

9. asia: China needs clarity before helping Europe - CIC chair

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/uk-china-europe-idUKTRE78S1JG20110929

(Reuters) - China cannot help heavily indebted euro zone countries by buying their assets without seeing a clear picture of solutions to sovereign debt problems, the chairman of the country's sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday.

Jin Liqun, chairman of the board of supervisors at China Investment Corporation, also said there were risks to his country's domestic financial sector from real estate and local government debt, although banks were well capitalised.

As the euro zone sovereign debt crisis escalates, there have been some expectations that surplus-rich countries such as China -- with its sovereign wealth fund managing assets of over $230 billion (146 billion pounds) -- may invest in the region.

However, Jin offered a note of caution.

[xchrom]

14. Special Report - "Rats" and "black mouths" gnaw at China stocks

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/uk-china-stocks-fraud-idUKTRE78S0YT20110929

(Reuters) - Even before China's great stock market bull run of 2006-2007, Wang Jianzhong had become known as China's "god of stocks" for his prescient picks.

Such was his influence at the market's peak that reports by his company, Beijing Shoufang Investment Consulting, republished in dozens of influential newspapers and websites, were themselves often cited as a reason for a particular share price rising.

By late 2006, it was generally expected that whichever companies Wang recommended in his columns would be among the biggest gainers the next trading day in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets.

Wang knew it as well, and put that knowledge to use.

[xchrom]

24. Japan retail sales in surprise August slide

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15102741

Retail sales in Japan registered a surprisingly sharp fall in August as a post-earthquake rebound petered out.

Sales fell 2.7% versus a year ago, a much sharper decline than the 0.6% rate expected by markets.

It ends two months of rising sales during which the Japanese economy appeared to be returning to normality after the natural disaster in March.

The disappointing result mirrors a similar downturn in consumer spending and sentiment in the US and Europe.

[xchrom]

26. Typhoon Nesat shuts down Hong Kong

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15103005

Hong Kong schools, financial markets, and businesses have shut as Typhoon Nesat brought howling winds, squalls of rain and rough seas to the territory.

The city issued a number eight storm signal before 05:00 on Thursday (21:00GMT on Wednesday).

All ferry services and some bus services have been cancelled and trains are operating at a reduced frequency.

Few people were on the streets, with 100km/h (60mph) winds shredding umbrellas and making it hard to walk.

[xchrom]

35. China ready for next space leap

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15078569

China is due to launch its first space laboratory, Tiangong-1.

The 10.5m-long, cylindrical module will be unmanned for the time being, but the country's astronauts, or yuhangyuans, are expected to visit it next year.

Tiangong-1 will demonstrate the critical technologies needed by China to build a fully fledged space station - something it has promised to do at the end of the decade.

The space lab is set to ride to orbit atop a Long March 2F rocket.

[xchrom]

51. China Growth Seen Less Than 5% by 2016: Poll

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/china-economy-slowing-to-5-annual-growth-by-2016-in-global-investors-poll.html

Most global investors predict Chinese growth will slow to less than half the pace sustained since the government began dismantling Mao Zedong’s communist economy three decades ago, a Bloomberg poll indicated.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents said China’s gross domestic product, which rose 9.5 percent last quarter, will gain less than 5 percent annually by 2016. Twelve percent see such a slowdown within a year, and 47 percent said it will occur in two to five years, the quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll of investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers showed.

China, which saw its exports tumble the most since at least 1979 amid the 2008-09 global crisis, may not be able to rely on trade in any prolonged demand slump in Europe and the U.S., now battling to avoid returning to a recession. Managing the economic downshift would fall to the Communist Party’s next leaders, as President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao begin their transition from power late next year.

[xchrom]

10. europe: August mortgage approvals highest since December '09

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/uk-mortgage-approvals-idUKTRE78S16A20110929

(Reuters) - Mortgage approvals rose more strongly than expected last month to hit their highest level since December 2009, and new lending to consumers also picked up, Bank of England figures showed on Thursday.

However, the data showed that credit growth still remains far weaker than before the financial crisis, and are unlikely to be a major factor in the ongoing debate about whether to loosen British monetary policy, which hinges on a darkening international outlook.

The Bank of England said mortgage approvals numbered 52,410 in August, rising from an upwardly revised 49,644 in July. Analysts had forecast a reading of 49,500 for August.

This was the highest reading since December 2009, when housing market activity was rebounding from a sharp slump during the depths of the financial crisis. But these approvals levels are still only around half those seen before the crisis, and house price data from mortgage lender Nationwide released earlier on Thursday showed prices are stagnating.

[xchrom]

13. Global weakness persistent, more QE possible - Bank's Dale

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/uk-britain-boe-dale-idUKLNE78S00K20110929

(Reuters) - The global economy faces the risk of a downward spiral and the Bank of England may have to consider further monetary stimulus if the situation worsens further, the BoE's chief economist said in a newspaper interview.

Growth was slowing in Britain's main trading partners and the confidence of the country's exporters has taken a knock, Spencer Dale told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Thursday.

"During the summer, we thought much of that was just a temporary soft patch, but that slowing now looks more persistent," Dale said.

The world faced a "rather nasty downward spiral", though the loss of confidence among consumers and businesses could exaggerate how bad things really are, he said.

[xchrom]

16. Santander says return to normal profit to take 3 years

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/uk-santander-forecasts-idUKTRE78S16L20110929

(Reuters) - Spanish bank Santander (SAN.MC) expects it will take three years for profits to return to normal as higher regulatory and funding costs bite while the credit cycle gradually improves.

The euro zone's biggest bank expects its return on equity to improve by between 3 and 6 percentage points over the next three years and sees profits in emerging markets growing by at least 10 percent in the short to medium term, compared to "single-digit growth" in profit in mature markets.

"With our solid business model and a great effort from all our units, it is within our reach to return to levels of RoE of 12-14 percent," said Alfredo Saenz, chief executive. The bank's RoE dropped to 9.4 percent in the first half of this year.

Rivals including HSBC (HSBA.L), Barclays (BARC.L) and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) are also trying to lift profitability that has slumped due to the need to hold more capital. Banks are selling assets to shrink balance sheets and cutting costs.

[xchrom]

19. Sorry, but this trader's banking confession was no prank

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/29/alessio-rastani-no-prank

This week, an insignificant market trader and self-proclaimed financial self-help guru, Alessio Rastani, rocketed to stardom after speaking frankly on the BBC about the collapsing market and his plans to make money from it. We Yes Men heard about it right away, because soon after the broadcast, people started emailing from all over the world to congratulate us on another prank well done. They couldn't imagine that a real trader could possibly speak so candidly about the market, so they assumed Rastani was one of our posturings.

He wasn't. Rastani is small potatoes, but he's a real trader. And he said nothing that would suggest otherwise; he simply described what he does, more honestly than a true insider would, but quite accurately. "Every night I dream of another recession," Rastani said, and explained that it's possible to make huge money from a big crisis even when millions of others lose their life savings, and worse.

Well, duh. Don't we all know that Goldman Sachs bet against the same housing market they were such a big player in, and made $1bn in profit when the sub-prime crisis rendered millions of Americans homeless? John Paulson, the manager whose hedge fund was betting for Goldman, could have honestly said exactly what Rastani said, but of course he knew better – possibly because unlike Rastani, Paulson's firm had a major, immediate and provable impact, and there's no telling how his millions of victims might have reacted. Unlike Rastani, true industry insiders like Paulson, Geithner et al remain silent about the way their system works, couching it all in technical jargon and full-on deceit. They've been doing it for decades, and, since Ronald Reagan's day, with increasing consistency.

[xchrom]

23. Wave of massive budget cuts batters cash-strapped regions

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Wave/of/massive/budget/cuts/batters/cash-strapped/regions/elpepueng/20110928elpeng_9/Ten

he Balearic Islands, Navarre and Valencia are the latest regions that have moved to swing the budget ax anew as governments embark on a series of painful cutbacks, mostly in the areas of health and education, in order to bring down their skyrocketing deficits.

The big scissor slashes come almost a month before the general election campaign officially gets underway, but the two major parties, the Socialists and Popular Party (PP), are already engaging in pre-election accusations over the dire financial health of the country's regions.

In the bigger scheme of things, King Juan Carlos admitted on Wednesday that Spaniards are going to have to make "a lot of sacrifices" to help the country get back on its feet.

The IMF and World Bank both agree that one of Spain's biggest problems is trying to put a cap on runaway spending in the regions.

[xchrom]

36. Is the New Euro Backstop Fund Just the Beginning?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,788899,00.html

Markets are convinced that Europe is preparing to massively increase the reach of the euro backstop fund known as the EFSF. But politicians have been just as quick to deny it. What is going on? Even before the EFSF is approved, it would appear that additional steps are under consideration.
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Who is one to believe these days? On the one hand, there are the global stock markets which have been surprisingly buoyant this week. Analysts are insisting that the positive mood is the result of renewed efforts in Europe to solve its ongoing debt crisis, with some reports indicating that European leaders are considering expanding the euro backstop fund and others saying that the fund could be leveraged to the tune of €2 trillion ($2.72 trillion).

On Tuesday alone, share prices for French banks BNP Paribas and Societe Generale, both of which are highly exposed to Greek and Italian debt, rose by 16.8 percent and 14.2 percent respectively. Risk premiums on Italian bonds, which have been steadily rising this year, have fallen back.

On the other hand, though, Europe's politicians are denying that any grand plan -- beyond the ongoing ratification of the €440 billion European Financial Stability Facility -- is afoot. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said on Tuesday that an expansion of the EFSF beyond €440 billion isn't planned, adding that "a lot of nonsense" comes from Brussels. In separate comments, he called the idea "stupid" due to the pressure it could put on Germany's AAA debt rating.

[Demeter]

68. Well, it certainly doesn't look to END anything

[xchrom]

11. Samsung sees low growth rate for chip industry in 2012

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/us-samsung-idUKTRE78S0LN20110929

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics expects the semiconductor industry to grow at a low rate next year as the global economic slowdown cuts into demand, a top executive said on Thursday.

"Under an economic slowdown, the visibility of the semiconductor industry is low; the growth rate in 2012 will not be high and technology will be an important factor," Samsung's device solutions head, Oh-hyun Kwon, told reporters at an event in Taipei.

The South Korean firm, along with other tech makers, is struggling with depressed consumer demand amid mounting uncertainty over global economic prospects.

On Wednesday, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc cut its third-quarter revenue and gross margin forecasts.

[xchrom]

31. Samsung to pay Microsoft royalties over Android

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15106889

Samsung is to start paying Microsoft royalties for every sale of its smartphone and tablet computers that run the rival Google Android platform.

Microsoft has long accused Android of violating its patents.

Google said its US rival Microsoft was "resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others' achievements and hinder the pace of innovation".

Meanwhile, Samsung has received support from T-Mobile in its continuing legal fight with Apple.

[xchrom]

12. PRECIOUS-Gold recovers as lower prices fuel buying

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/09/29/markets-precious-idUKL5E7KT1WW20110929

LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Gold recovered on Thursday from the previous session's sell-off as lower prices attracted buyers, with concern over the ability of euro zone authorities to resolve the bloc's debt crisis still underpinning the metal's appeal as a store of value.

But investors remained wary that fresh financial market ructions linked to the euro zone debt crisis could spark more losses in the precious metal, which this week has fallen as much as 20 percent from September's record highs.

Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,616.60 an ounce at 0938 GMT, having hit a low of $1,597.84 late on Wednesday as stocks, the euro and other assets seen as higher risk tumbled, sparking gold selling to cover losses on other markets.

"There was a range of reasons for the sell-off, but there is also potential for us to come back again," said Danske Bank analyst Christin Tuxen.

[xchrom]

18. Big Business: Undo the Damage of 'Citizens United'

http://www.thenation.com/blog/163685/big-business-undo-damage-citizens-united

Massive amounts of money will be spent to influence upcoming federal elections, and if recent history is any guide, at least half of it will be totally secret. We won’t know who donated the money, nor for what exact purpose. In 2010, political committees and organizations spent $298 million—four times what was spent in the 2006 midterms—and about 50 percent was undisclosed.

A report released Monday says this raging river of secret cash has the potential to create massive scandal and distort the democratic process, and it calls for complete transparency of political donations and public financing options for federal campaigns. That’s not a particularly remarkable conclusion, but what’s notable is who issued the report.

“Hidden Money: The Need for Transparency in Political Finance” was signed by thirty-two business leaders and university professors—including representatives from Citigroup, Prudential Financial and others. Executives from the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Merck helped promote the findings at a public event this week.

The report enumerates some of the problems that post–Citizens United political money creates for large corporations:






*****of course they are saying this with the crew in charge -- and likely to be in charge -- who are the least likely to change citizens united.
whew -- dodged that bullet:eyes:

[Demeter]

28. It Looks Like a War Between the Corporate GOP and the Corporate Teabaggers

Citi, Big Insurance, Big Pharma knows there's no love coming to them from the Tea Party.

The Baggers may be dumb and crazy, but they're not totally stupid...and they are vicious. They want to undo Obama's Grand Compromises: Health (Insurance Company) Care and TBTF Bailouts.

More power to them, until the dreadful deed is done. The enemy of my enemy can be a useful tool...

If the Corporate GOP can take down the Dancing Supremes, while the Teabagging Corporate takes down Obamacare and TARP and QEInfinity, even better!


Word of advice: when the elephants are dancing, the ants better get out of the way.

[xchrom]

20. video: Boeing 787 Dreamliner touches down in Japan - video

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/video/2011/sep/28/boeing-787-dreamliner-japan-video

Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways' first Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down in Tokyo on Wednesday, with hundreds of aviation fans welcoming the carbon-composite plane. US aircraft giant Boeing hopes the Dreamliner – delivered three years late - will compete with European rival Airbus

[xchrom]

21. Bernanke calls unemployment a ‘national crisis’

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bernanke-calls-unemployment-a-national-crisis-2011-09-28-1911220?dist=beforebell

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The nation’s weak labor market was “a national crisis” that required attention from the White House and Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday.

“We’ve had close to 10% unemployment now for a number of years, and of the people who are unemployed, about 45% have been unemployed for six months or more. This is unheard of,” Bernanke said in a question-and-answer session following a speech in Cleveland.

He called for policies “that could help them find work, train for work and retain their skills.”




***:eyes:

[Demeter]

34. Somebody sent him a Horse's Head last night?

During his daughter Connie's (Talia Shire) wedding reception, crime family patriarch Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) hears requests for favors, one of which comes from singer Johnny Fontane (Al Martino) asking for help in landing a movie role that will revitalize his flagging career. The Don's adopted son and family consigliere, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), is dispatched to Hollywood to meet with wealthy studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) to fulfill Fontane's request. Woltz angrily refuses to cast Fontane, but when he later finds the severed head of his prized racehorse in his bed, he changes his mind...

One of the movie's most shocking moments involved the real severed head of a horse. Animal rights groups protested the inclusion of the scene. Coppola later stated that the horse's head was delivered to him from a dog food company; a horse had not been killed specifically for the movie. This scene was shot in Port Washington, New York.

Wikipedia

[xchrom]

37. i love that movie -- and that scene is spectacular.

be nice if somebody DID leave a head in bernanke's bed.

[Demeter]

40. I'm sure it's Obama, the CREEP and Little Timmy

They see their meal tickets shredding in the maelstrom.

Meanwhile, Wall Street has moved on....to Romney. The only force opposing them is the Tea Party.

Liberals, Progressives, and Democrats of any stripe might as well not exist.

I see hope in the Tea Party and the Corporate Party duking it out:

Kilkenny Cats

There once were two cats of Kilkenny,
Each thought there was one cat too many;
So they fought and they fit,
And they scratched and they bit,
Till, excepting their nails
And the tips of their tails,
Instead of two cats there weren't any.

[xchrom]

42. +1

[Fuddnik]

46. We'll show them we exist next week!

I made the mistake of showing the wife video's of the NYC cop, Tony Balony, pepper spraying everyone, and now she's trying to talk me out of going.

I ain't missing this for anything! It's our best chance for a fresh start in 40 years.

on edit:
By the way, they've gotten some money for buses. Check your area to see if you can make it!

[xchrom]

58. good for you!

:yourock: :applause:

[Demeter]

43. I'd do Godfather as a theme if I were more conversant in it

but it really creeps me out, the portions I've seen. Can't stand to sit through a whole movie of that, nor even read the whole book. It's like watching Marathon Man, the only movie I walked out of, when they were "waterboarding" Dustin Hoffman. I had managed to read the book through, but seeing it... And that was only minutes into it. Never did pay for a ticket for a Godfather movie, thank goodness.

[xchrom]

47. yeah -- the book is amazing -- but if you can't take stuff like that --

then it wouldn't be for you.

it's not usually my schtick -- but puzo manages to rise above.

[Kolesar]

60. Do you think you could run "The Fed" any better?

Someone's gotta do it.
What are your qualifications?

[Demeter]

70. I bet any one of us could HIRE a Better Fed Chief

because corruption amongst the posters on this thread, economic or intellectual, is not tolerated by the regulars.

[Warpy]

74. I'm smart enough to know it should have been nationalized years ago

Not having a central bank subject to government oversight is insane.

Other than that, not much, although working in the auditing department did give me a little insight here and there about how the whole thing works.

[Kolesar]

79. So you hate Bernaike because there *is* a Federal Reserve

...and not any of his policy decisions.

[Tansy_Gold]

76. My qualifications?

I've gotten, and then kept, myself out of debt.

[AnneD]

65. Perhaps .....

Little Timmy head????? No wait, Timmy is in bed with Bernanke anyway. Maybe Larry Summer's head would do. One can only dream.

Edited to add... I loved the Godfather Trilogy. It was violent but the family dynamics was worth watching. It was a great tale of power,greed, and corruption. I own the set and I can't tell you how many times I have watched it. It is very quotable and well done.

[Demeter]

22. Governing by Crisis

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/opinion/governing-by-crisis-on-capitol-hill.html?_r=2

Thanks to some good luck and expert government accountants, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will limp, exhausted and nearly broke, to the end of the fiscal year on Friday. That removes its budget as the latest excuse for House Republicans to slash domestic programs they don’t like and momentarily defuses their threat to shut down the entire government to get their way...But, make no mistake, the threat has hardly disappeared. In fact, the country will probably be wrung through several more near-shutdowns as the 2012 budget process stumbles along, all prompted by conservatives in the House who will use any choke point to achieve their obsessive goal of shrinking government.

The next one will be on Nov. 18, when the temporary spending bill approved by the Senate on Monday night (and expected to be approved by the House) runs out. It was the House that originally proposed this seven-week bill earlier this month, even though its leaders could easily have passed a full year’s spending resolution and saved the country continuing — and costly — uncertainty. After all, both sides agreed to the 2012 discretionary spending level of $1.043 trillion in the Budget Control Act of 2011, the ugly ransom paid to Republicans in the debt-ceiling crisis last month. As Stan Collender, a prominent budget expert, recently noted in the newspaper Roll Call, Congress could have passed a full year’s bill and still allowed the various appropriations committees to argue over individual agency spending levels without the threat of a shutdown.

But that’s not operating procedure for the current House, dominated by Tea Party members and furious spending hawks. They want that threat to recur, as often as possible, so that they can extort their political goals out of the Democrats in the Senate and the White House. There is no other reason for the current short-term bill, which is exactly the wrong way to manage the government’s annual budget...For that matter, there was no good reason for this week’s near-shutdown. When it seemed likely that the summer’s bad weather might push FEMA’s disaster spending above its budgeted level, Republicans saw an opportunity for another phony fight designed to make them look frugal and Democrats careless with money. They used the occasion to try to cut an equal amount from a green-jobs program that the Obama administration has championed. Democrats stood up to this opportunism, refusing to let Republicans exploit the weather to cut spending, and the showdown was averted only when the extra money became unnecessary.

The next fight is likely to be over bigger issues. House Republicans have already made it clear that they want to slash the budget for the Environmental Protection Agency and curtail its regulation of air pollution through the appropriations process. They also want to cut back severely on a nutrition program for low-income women and children. And guess what is likely to happen if they don’t get their way? Another shutdown fight, and yet another, over more stopgap spending bills. Each one of these confrontations has a high cost. They eat up valuable legislative bandwidth; they add uncertainty to the lives of federal workers, those who depend on federal programs, and the financial system; and they contribute to a cynicism and lack of confidence in the political system that damages everyone. They are a principal reason for the nation’s low esteem of Congress.

Republicans should think of the broad American public, rather than catering to the extreme elements of their base, the next time they push the government to the brink.


IT'S ABUSE OF POWER, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

[kickysnana]

54. +1

[DemReadingDU]

25. How executives stole pensions to boost their compensation

9/29/11 NPR: 'Retirement Heist': How Firms Trimmed Pensions

As companies have been moving away from traditional pension plans, they have been shifting employees to new retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, that transfer the cost — and the risk — to workers. Companies have claimed for years that old-style pensions were unsustainable. Author Ellen Schultz tells Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep that there's another explanation.

"The main narrative is that are struggling to pay both their pensions and these unexpectedly high health care costs for the retirees," Schultz says. "What isn't known is that companies were well-prepared for this phenomenon. The plans were in fact significantly overfunded. They had more than enough to pay every dime for every person currently employed and already retired." Schultz investigated the changes in pension plans as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and has written a book called Retirement Heist.

In the early 1990s, Schultz says, companies were looking for new ways to push out workers, especially older, more expensive ones. She says the expensive way would have been to pay severance, "but the cost-effective way was to instead promise them a bit more pension money in lieu of severance." In the end, "you've just laid off somebody who's expensive and it has cost you nothing."

Schultz cites this example of one well-known company whose pension fund has dropped significantly since the early 1990s. General Electric announced it was closing its pension plan to be more competitive. She says the company's financial filings show that GE has not put a cent into its pension plans since the mid-1980s. Over the years, GE, like most large companies, used assets in the plans to pay for other things.

more...
http://www.npr.org/2011/09/29/140344871/retirement-heist-how-firms-trimmed-pensions appx 8 min

book excerpt (edit to correct link)
http://www.npr.org/books/titles/140334949/retirement-heist-how-companies-plunder-and-profit-from-the-nest-eggs-of-american?tab=excerpt#excerpt



Demeter had a Digby link in the 9/24/11 weekend thread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=628285&mesg_id=628451



Read another interview with Ellen Schultz...

9/17/11 The theft of the American pension
In the last decade, the country's biggest companies have raided worker benefits for profit. An expert explains how

A striking example was Lucent, which inherited about 100,000 retirees when it was spun off from AT&T. From the beginning, Lucent kept saying, "We are crippled by these retirees," but the truth is, they also received more than enough actual money from AT&T to pay every dime of benefits for all the current and future retirees. Bit by bit, they cannibalized these benefits. They eliminated a death benefit, which is a very simple thing that says, if you work for us for 25 or 30 years, and you die, your widow will get $50,000 dollars or whatever per year. Lucent said they couldn't afford that. So they took it away and saved $400 million that had been set aside physically in the pension plan for these folks. At the same time, they awarded more than $400 million in bonuses to executives.

http://www.salon.com/news/economics/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2011/09/17/retirement_heist_interview

[cal04]

33. U.S. stock futures extend gains on economic data: Jobless claims drop, GDP

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-extend-gains-on-economic-data-2011-09-29-841310?link=MW_home_latest_news

U.S. stock futures extended their gains Thursday after the government reported a steep drop in jobless claims and a better round of revised GDP data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/zigman/2976950 DJ1Z +1.07% rose 142 points to 11,118. Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index SP1Z +1.10% climbed 14.8 points to 1,163.50, while futures for the Nasdaq 100 ND1Z +1.04% gained 29.25 points to 1,216.74.


GDP, jobless claims, German vote in focus
THURSDAY MORNING’S TOP STORIES
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gdp-jobless-claims-german-vote-in-focus-2011-09-29?link=MW_home_latest_news

[DemReadingDU]

38. Karl Denninger: Now this is a major move - is it real?

9/29/11 Karl Denninger: Now this is a major move - is it real?

I don't know. This report was good for a big spike in the futures with them trading at +14 as I write this. The real question is whether this is some sort of one-week distortion given the magnitude of the move or whether some sort of tectonic shift happened in the last week.

I don't buy the latter. Sure, it's possible, but is it likely? Not really.

Nonetheless this report will go into the monthly jobs data due out next week, so we will not have to wait long to find out if this change is actually reflected in the household survey numbers or not. As with all employment reports I ignore the establishment survey as I consider it untrustworthy; the household numbers have been moderately poor to terrible for several months, and if there is a change occurring it will show up there.

In short, I'll believe this move is real if it shows up next week in the "actual count" data from households.

Until then I'm a skeptic.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=195054


UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm

[Demeter]

41. Me too, Karl

Government statistics aren't worth the paper they are printed on.

[Demeter]

44. The Confidence Fairy Flies Again! 223 Pts to Open

See if she gets shot down.

[Demeter]

45. Obama Jobs Plan Prevents 2012 Recession in Survey of Economists

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/obama-jobs-plan-prevents-2012-recession-in-survey-of-economists.html

President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs plan would help avoid a return to recession by maintaining growth and pushing down the unemployment rate next year, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The legislation, submitted to Congress this month, would increase gross domestic product by 0.6 percent next year and add or keep 275,000 workers on payrolls, the median estimates in the survey of 34 economists showed. The program would also lower the jobless rate by 0.2 percentage point in 2012, economists said.

Economists in the survey are less optimistic than Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, who has cited estimates for a 1.5 percent boost to gross domestic product. Even so, the program may bolster Obama’s re-election prospects by lowering a jobless rate that has stayed near 9 percent or more since April 2009.

The plan “prevents a contraction of the economy in the first quarter” of next year, said John Herrmann, a senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC in Boston, who participated in the survey. “It leads to more retention of workers than net new hires.” Some 13,000 jobs would be created in 2013, bringing the total to 288,000 over two years, according to the survey. Employers in the U.S. added 1.26 million workers in the past 12 months, Labor Department data show...Obama’s plan, announced on Sept. 8, calls for cutting the payroll taxes paid by workers and small businesses while extending unemployment insurance. It also includes an increase in infrastructure spending and more aid for cash-strapped state governments...

[xchrom]

53. south asia: Food inflation at 9.13%; Finance Minister calls situation grave

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/food-inflation-at-9-13-finance-minister-calls-situation-grave/articleshow/10171757.cms

NEW DELHI: Rising prices of essential kitchen items like potato and pulses pushed food inflation closer to the double-digit mark at 9.13 per cent for the week ended September 17, a development which Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee termed as "grave".

"(Food inflation)... is perilously close to double digits. These fluctuations are taking place and it is one of the areas of grave concern," Mukherjee told reporters here.

Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was 8.84 per cent in the previous reporting week.

As per the Commerce Ministry data, prices of onions eased marginally, while gram, masoor, arhar, urad and poultry rates firmed up, on an annual basis.

[xchrom]

55. Sensex ends up 1.5 pc on short covering, German vote

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/sensex-ends-up-1-5-pc-on-short-covering-german-vote/articleshow/10171400.cms

MUMBAI: Indian shares pared early losses to end up 1.5 percent as investors covered short positions and on optimism ahead of a crucial vote in the German parliament that approved new powers for the euro zone's rescue fund.

Autos and banking sector stocks led the rise. Private sector bank ICICI Bank ended 2.5 percent higher and top mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp closed 2.4 percent higher on bargain hunting. The shares have lost 22 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively, so far this year, hurt by a series of interest rate increases by the central bank.

"Even though the central bank has maintained its hawkish stance, people are hopeful that the cycle of rate hikes may end. With commodity prices falling, inflation may also come down," said Kishor Ostwal, chairman at CNI Research.

The 30-share BSE index closed up 1.53 percent at 16698.07 points, with 23 components advancing, ahead of the German vote. The index had closed 0.5 percent lower on Wednesday after a heady rebound in the previous session.

[xchrom]

56. India, Pak to double trade to $6 b in 3 yrs, liberalise terms for business visas

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/india-pak-to-double-trade-to-6-b-in-3-yrs-liberalise-terms-for-business-visas/articleshow/10163801.cms

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan have agreed to double trade to $6 billion in three years by normalising bilateral business relations, but Pakistan did not commit to a time-line for ending its non-discriminatory trade regime with India.

Commerce ministers from both countries met in New Delhi on Wednesday and decided to liberalise terms for issuing business visas soon by allowing multiple entry to more than one city. The two also decided to work on allowing investments from each other's countries and encouraging joint ventures. "We engaged in a frank, open and constructive manner and our discussions will define the future roadmap of our engagement," commerce minister Anand Sharma told reporters after the bilateral meeting, adding that the visit of a commerce minister from Pakistan after 35 years reaffirmed growing understanding between the two countries.

India also agreed to drop its objections to a flood relief package that the EU wanted to extend to Pakistan in the form of sops for textile items. "In the next meeting of the WTO, we will express our support for the package," Sharma said. India had objected to the package on the ground that it would benefit only textile exporters from Pakistan and was not aimed at giving relief to flood victims.

Pakistani commerce minister Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim invited Sharma to visit his country during the Safta (South Asia Free Trade Agreement) ministerial later this year. The joint communique stated that the two sides agreed that all mutual obligations contracted under Safta would be implemented with full sincerity. What was lacking, however, was a timeline for Pakistan to meet its obligation of extending the most favoured nation status to India mandatory under Safta.

[xchrom]

57. Exporters to get Diwali gift; interest subsidy on cards

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/exporters-to-get-diwali-gift-interest-subsidy-on-cards/articleshow/10169664.cms

NEW DELHI: Government is working to announce a Diwali gift for exporters in the form of sops,including interest subsidy to cushion them from slowdown in the western markets.

"After sectoral reviews, we will be announcing the incentives...you can expect definitely by the end of October or first week of November," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said after presiding over a meeting of an industry-government task force on ways to revive the business confidence.

He said the Finance Ministry has agreed for an interest subvention for the export credit and the Reserve Bank has been asked to notifiy it soon.It may be 2-3 per cent, sources said.

Concerned over slowdown, lack of investment and rising cost of credit, Sharma agreed with the industry leaders that there should be a roll-back of the interest rates.

[xchrom]

59. Gold price down by Rs 500, silver sheds Rs 1700

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Gold-price-down-by-Rs-500-silver-sheds-Rs-1700/articleshow/10170230.cms

NEW DELHI: Both gold and silver tumbled in the bullion market on Thursday due to reduced offtake by stockists and jewellery makers at existing higher levels amid a weak global trend.

While gold plunged by Rs 500 to Rs 26,440 per 10 grams, silver lost Rs 1,700 to Rs 53,500 per kg on sluggish demand.

Trading sentiment turned bearish after gold declined in New York as three consecutive weeks of decline encouraged investors to refrain from making fresh purchases.

Gold in global markets, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, recorded a sharp fall of USD 40 to USD 1,609.70 an ounce and silver by 6.12 per cent to USD 29.93 an ounce in New York last night.

[AnneD]

73. And the poor farmers....

have been committing suicide because they can't pay back their loans. Now just add Monsanto and their genetically modified seeds to the mix and you have a disaster in the making. Can revolution be far behind.

[DemReadingDU]

61. BofA to Add Monthly Fee to Some Debit Customers

9/29/11 BofA to Add Monthly Fee to Some Debit Customers

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the biggest U.S. lender by assets, plans to announce a $5 monthly charge for some debit-card users to recoup revenue lost after new federal rules capped so-called swipe fees.

Some bank customers with basic checking accounts who use debit-cards for purchases may start getting assessed the fee in January, said Anne Pace, a spokeswoman for Bank of America. Users won’t be charged for cash-machine withdrawals, and clients with premium accounts, including those linked to the Merrill Lynch brokerage, won’t be affected, she said.

Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is joining rivals including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and SunTrust Banks Inc. (STI) in rolling out new fees for debit-card users. The Federal Reserve’s rules limiting swipe fees, or interchange, take effect next month.

“The economics of offering a debit card have changed with recent regulations, and we’ve decided to introduce a monthly fee for customers who use their debit cards for purchases,” Pace said.

a bit more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-29/bofa-to-charge-5-monthly-fee-to-customers-using-debit-cards-for-purchases.html



maybe I will go back to writing checks, or just use cash

[DemReadingDU]

62. more from WSJ

9/29/11 BofA to Charge $5 Monthly Fee for Debit-Card Usage

Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank by assets, plans to charge customers a $5 monthly fee for making debit-card purchases starting early next year, according to an internal memo sent to bank executives Thursday. The fee will apply to customers with various checking accounts during any month they use their debit card to make a purchase. The fee will not apply to customers who do not use their debit card to make a purchase or who only use it to make ATM transactions.

Bank of America is trying to cushion revenue losses it expects to incur from new caps on the fees merchants pay when a customer uses a debit card at their stores. In June, the Federal Reserve Board finalized rules capping such fees at 24 cents per transaction, compared with a current average of 44 cents.

Bank of America has said it expects the caps, which take effect Oct. 1, to erase $2 billion in revenue annually. Industrywide, the caps, which apply to banks with $10 billion and more in assets, could wipe out $6.6 billion in annual revenue for banks, according to an August report from Javelin Strategy and Research.

"The economics of offering a debit card have changed with recent regulations," a spokeswoman for Bank of America said in a statement Thursday. The fee will apply to various consumer checking accounts but will not apply to customers in certain premium accounts, the bank's memo said. "This new fee allows us to continue to offer the convenience of a debit card with the full range of added features customers have come to expect," including fraud protection and monitoring, special savings programs and other services, the bank's memo said.

a bit more...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204138204576600800330404330.html

[AnneD]

71. Why anyone keeps and account with BoA.....

is beyond me. I LOVE my credit union.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

64. Yessiree, Bob!

:woohoo:

[Demeter]

66. African Debt: Funny Money and Stolen Lives TODAY'S MUST READ

http://www.truth-out.org/african-debt-funny-money-and-stolen-lives/1317222967

The history of finance is littered with examples of the hazards of lending other people’s money and borrowing in other people’s names. Each new meltdown brings fresh reminders that financial intermediation – the vital economic function of transferring money from savers to investors – creates scope for self-dealing, fraud, and outright theft that can be curtailed only by public vigilance. In most financial crises, the victims lose their money. In Africa, some lose their lives.

Africa as a net creditor

Sub-Saharan Africa is widely perceived as being heavily indebted to international creditors including banks, western governments, and international financial institutions. Its foreign debt of roughly $175 billion amounts to more than $200 per person, a large burden in a region where the average annual incomes are under one thousand dollars. In some countries, including Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, the foreign debt exceeds the nation’s total income.

What is less well known is the fact that sub-Saharan Africa experienced an exodus of more than $700 billion in capital flight since 1970. Some of this money wound up in accounts at the same banks that made loans to African governments. Africa is a net creditor to the rest of the world in the sense that its foreign assets exceed its foreign liabilities. But there is a key difference between the two: the assets are in the hands of private Africans, while the liabilities are public, owed by the African people at large through their governments.

Ins and Outs of Funny Money

Africa’s debt inflows and capital flight outflows are closely connected. As we document in our new book, Africa’s Odious Debts, there is a powerful statistical correlation between the two. For every dollar of foreign borrowing, on average more than 50 cents leaves the borrower country in the same year. This tight relationship suggests that a substantial portion of Africa’s capital flight has been debt-fuelled. Growing public external debts and private external assets are connected by a financial revolving door.

How does it work? Common mechanisms include inflated procurement contracts for goods and services, kickbacks to government officials, and diversion of public funds into the bank accounts of politically influential individuals. Some of Africa’s flight capital comes from other sources, too, such as earnings from oil and mineral exports. But foreign loans make an exceptionally easy mark in that there is no need to go through the messy business of extracting natural resources to convert them into cash.

AFRICA IS GLOBAL FRAUD WRIT LARGE FOR ANYONE TO READ--IT GOES ON ALL OVER, INCLUDING THE US...THIS IS A 1 CREDIT COURSE FOR TODAY

[Festivito]

69. Debt: 09/27/2011 14,707,406,820,591.87 (UP 3,400,748,130.04) (Tue, UP a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 413.407-billion dollars. Ew, that toon. I don't like Obama standing too close to Republicans. Good day.)
The Cider is on tap. Now, that is nice.
(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)
= 10,074,870,647,552.40 + 4,632,536,173,039.46
UP 549,667,986.00 + UP 2,851,080,144.04

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 $3,195.04 makes 1T$.
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 312,984,992 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 $46,990.77.
A family of three owes $140,972.32. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 2,435,392,167.02.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,785,954,255.82.
The average for the last 32 days would be 1,674,332,114.83.
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$/day.
There were 246 reports in 362 days of FY2011 averaging 4.66B$ per report, 3.17B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 481 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 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)
09/27/2011 14,707,406,820,591.87 BHO (UP 4,080,529,771,678.78 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 +1,145,783,789,700.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,155,279,235,471.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/07/2011 +015,583,261,687.60 ------------**********
09/08/2011 -006,211,008,386.30 --
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon
09/27/2011 +000,549,667,986.00 ------------********

16,593,866,494.20 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=5008890&mesg_id=5009380

[Festivito]

78. Debt: 09/28/2011 14,701,883,169,793.25 (DOWN 5,523,650,798.65) (Wed, UP a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 407.883-billion dollars. Good day.)
Finally, a room with internet.
(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)
= 10,075,624,342,810.50 + 4,626,258,826,982.71
UP 753,695,258.10 + DOWN 6,277,346,056.75

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 $3.19 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,194.97 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.58, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,992,192 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 $46,972.04.
A family of three owes $140,916.13. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 2,089,346,820.69.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,601,832,562.53.
The average for the last 33 days would be 1,456,211,420.48.
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$/day.
There were 247 reports in 363 days of FY2011 averaging 4.62B$ per report, 3.14B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 480 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 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)
09/28/2011 14,701,883,169,793.25 BHO (UP 4,075,006,120,880.13 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 +1,140,260,138,901.50 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,146,542,563,909.22 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/08/2011 -006,211,008,386.30 --
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon
09/27/2011 +000,549,667,986.00 ------------********
09/28/2011 +000,753,695,258.10 ------------********

1,764,300,064.70 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=5010052&mesg_id=5010516

[Festivito]

80. Debt: 09/29/2011 14,695,102,108,238.02 (DOWN 6,781,061,555.27) (Thu, DOWN a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 401.102-billion dollars. Good day.)
Back to the Kaffee Haus with the little cutie.
(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)
= 10,074,983,373,804.20 + 4,620,118,734,433.74
DOWN 640,969,006.30 + DOWN 6,140,092,548.97

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 $3.19 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,194.89 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.58, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,999,392 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 $46,949.3.
A family of three owes $140,847.9. (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 3,056,931,236.70.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,343,647,281.47.
The average for the last 31 days would be 2,268,045,756.26.
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$/day.
There were 248 reports in 364 days of FY2011 averaging 4.57B$ per report, 3.11B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 479 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 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)
09/29/2011 14,695,102,108,238.02 BHO (UP 4,068,225,059,324.86 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 +1,133,479,077,346.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,136,593,030,855.49 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon
09/27/2011 +000,549,667,986.00 ------------********
09/28/2011 +000,753,695,258.10 ------------********
09/29/2011 -000,640,969,006.30 ---

7,334,339,444.70 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=5010052&mesg_id=5011292

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

75. Holding tough!