STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, November 21, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday November 21, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON November 18, 2011

Dow 11,796.16 +25.43 (+0.22%)
Nasdaq 2,572.50 -15.49 (-0.60%)
S&P 500 1,215.65 -0.48 (-0.04%)
10-Yr Bond... 1.96 -0.05 (-2.68%)
30-Year Bond 2.94 -0.06 (-1.90%)

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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 Report

Nov 21 10:00 Existing Home Sales Oct 5.00M 4.85M 4.91M

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/11/21-25/#ixzz1eL9lFCt5

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil near $97 after China leader negative on growth

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to near $97 a barrel Monday in Asia after a Chinese leader predicted the world's current economic malaise will be long lasting.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 68 cents at $96.99 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude was down 16 cents at $107.40 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan, who oversees trade and finance, said this weekend that the global economic situation is "extremely serious" and his country would focus on domestic challenges, state media reported.

"In a time of uncertainty the only thing we can be certain of is that the world economic recession caused by the international crisis will last a long time," he was quoted as saying.

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

[Demeter]

21. Yup. they Ran the Old Oil Price Up the Flagpole

and saw their dreams of Christmas treasure destroyed...Thing is, there's not enough time between now and Dec. 25th for pocketbooks to recover.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Drop as Prospects Fade for Budget Agreement

U.S. stock-index futures retreated, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend its biggest weekly decline in two months, on signs lawmakers will fail to agree on cutting the budget deficit.

Transatlantic Holdings Inc. (TRH) may be active as Alleghany Corp. (Y) is said to be in talks to buy the reinsurer. Chevron Corp. (CVX) declined in Germany and Schlumberger Ltd. dropped in early New York trading as crude oil fell for a third day to its lowest price in more than a week. Alcoa Inc. (AA) slid 2.5 percent in early New York trading, pacing declines in metal prices.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December dropped 1.6 percent to 1,194.6 at 10:34 a.m. in London. The equity benchmark lost 3.8 percent last week, the biggest retreat since Sept. 23, as Spanish, French and Italian bond yields rose and Fitch Ratings said the euro-area’s debt crisis poses a threat to American banks. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 160, or 1.4 percent, to 11,607.

“The markets are extremely nervous everywhere,” said Jacques Porta, a fund manager at Ofi Patrimoine in Paris, who helps oversee about $400 million. “They are focusing on what the rating agencies will do if U.S. lawmakers can’t reach an agreement to cut the budget deficit. It’s a very difficult situation.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-20/u-s-stock-index-futures-decline-as-prospects-fade-for-agreement-on-budget.html#

[Turbineguy]

4. "Lawmakers"

Lets make that "lawnonmakers"

[Demeter]

22. Lawnmakers?

Not the kind of job for winter.

[DemReadingDU]

50. law-nonmakers, n/t

[Fuddnik]

62. Lawnmowers?

Got lots of them in Florida.

[Roland99]

18. Gonna be UG-LEE at the start

S&P 500 1,197.00 -17.00 -1.40%
DOW 11,625 -142.00 -1.21%
NASDAQ 2,229 -20.75 -0.92%

[xchrom]

5. gloomy monday

:donut:

[Demeter]

24. How are you feeling today? Cold better?

[xchrom]

6. europe: Spain election victor Rajoy warns 'no miracles'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15816071

Spain's Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy has told supporters their country's voice must be respected again, after a resounding election win.

At the end of a campaign dominated by the debt crisis, the centre right PP secured 186 seats in the 350-seat lower house of parliament.

However, Spain's borrowing costs continued to mount on Monday and the stock market fell by 2%.

Mr Rajoy said: "There won't be any miracles. We never promised any."

[xchrom]

7. Markets fall on eurozone fears after Spain election

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15817309

Spanish markets have fallen despite a resounding victory for the country's centre-right Popular Party in the election.

Stocks in Madrid fell 2% while the government's cost of borrowing rose.

Stock markets across Europe also saw sharp falls as fears over the eurozone debt crisis continued.

Meanwhile there were reports the European Commission will discuss so-called eurobonds, in which the eurozone issues debt for all its members.

[xchrom]

10. Hungary asks for IMF and EU assistance

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15820340

Hungary has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU) for financial assistance.

As the eurozone debt crisis has unfolded, official figures showed that the Hungarian governmment's total debt had risen to 82% of its output, as its currency, the forint, has weakened.

Hungary has said it wants "a new type of co-operation" with the IMF.

The IMF team in Budapest will now return to Washington to discuss the request.

[xchrom]

12. EU study: Eurobonds best way out of crisis

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-21-07-41-49

BRUSSELS (AP) -- The European Commission, the EU executive, believes that the joint issuing of eurobonds by the 17 euro nations would be the most effective way to tackle the financial crisis, according to a draft paper seen Monday.

The study by the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, will be presented Wednesday and could intensify a rift with Germany, which rejects eurobonds as a viable option at the moment because it would expose its taxpayers to weaker countries' bad debt. Germany already funds the bulk of the existing bailouts.

The draft, published by the Financial Times and confirmed by the Commission, said replacing national bonds with one jointly-backed bond would have to be matched by tight financial and budgetary coordination. It also says discipline would be needed to make it impossible for profligate nations to live on the back of budget-conscious member states.

Since Greece pushed the eurozone into its ever-worsening financial mess last year, many member states have seen their cost of government borrowing rise to record levels. Germany's borrowing rates, meanwhile, have dropped sharply as investors buy up its bonds as a safe haven. That has created a huge imbalance in debt markets within a zone ruled by one currency.

[Demeter]

23. Germany--Proof that Character is Fixed at Birth

as every parent learns, in great sorrow sometimes.

Germany, having won the winners' position in the Euro, isn't about to share with its fellow "provinces" of the United States of Europe.

And that, my friends, is why there will be no United States of Europe, and the Euro will either fail, or the rest of them will have to force Germany out. Otherwise, the rest of them are conquered provinces, not nations.

[Demeter]

33. Furthermore, Bernanke and Timmy Would be livid

Commission proposes ‘eurobonds’

Creation of ‘stability bonds’ would ensure all states could meet their financing needs and create a vast market to compete with US treasuries

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62KE3I/HI3M9/NJFML2/8ZDNV9/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[Demeter]

34. Le Pen calls for France to quit euro

The leader of the National Front is seeking to improve her already strong poll numbers with a call to abandon the single currency

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62KE3I/HI3M9/NJFML2/5VWJOA/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[Demeter]

47. The A-List: George Soros - ECB must step in to save eurozone

The current turmoil in the eurozone bonds markets is driving long-term rates up, so that for more and more countries a temporary liquidity problem is becoming a permanent solvency problem. This vicious circle needs to be broken as soon as possible.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/A1TNOO/NJT6NE/7ZY85/NJFML7/HYF64W/PJ/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[xchrom]

16. Moody's warns on French borrowing costs

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-21-07-43-41

PARIS (AP) -- Ratings agency Moody's has warned that France's creditworthiness remains under pressure after market jitters last week saw its borrowing costs rise to record levels.

In a weekly note, Moody's Investors Service analyst Alexander Kockerbeck says that if the high borrowing costs persist for an extended period it would have "negative credit implications" for the triple-A rated country's credit outlook.

The agency says France faces "significant downside risks," with a chance that higher taxes and lower spending will undermine the economic growth France needs to balance its budget by 2016, as pledged.

Moody's has a stable outlook on France's credit rating, but last month it said it might put France on notice for a possible downgrade because of weakening growth and the high cost of bailing out struggling neighbors and banks.

[westerebus]

17. Just like to say: Thank you.

For all your efforts in keeping the rest of us informed. I have a feeling this week will get much gloomier.

[xchrom]

19. i think it's going to be an interesting week as well.

but watch -- the markets will go up 50 gazillion points and everything will be rainbows -- until it isn't.

[Demeter]

25. I'd say you could make book on it

except for the adage: the market can stay irrational a lot longer than we can stay solvent.

[DemReadingDU]

53. are the markets opened on Friday?

I can't remember the usual custom for Thanksgiving.
Well, closed Thursday. But Friday also closed?
or maybe half-day?

[Pale Blue Dot]

60. Early close. 1 PM. nt

[Demeter]

85. We are approaching an early close today, I think.

Any bets on the circuit breakers kicking in?

[AnneD]

59. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: I want to extend a thank you to Demeter for the WEE. Unfortunately I had a full weekend and could not participate as I had planned.

I haven't gone back and fully read the thread but I had two nuggets of gold to introduce to you. In my research on the economic collapse in Argentina, I came across this blogger; ferfal. I put a high value on information from people on the ground. Who knows better than folks that have gone through it. He has lived in both the US and Argentina so I find him uniquely qualified.

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/


The second nugget I would like to call your attention to is on google. Granted it is in Spanish (English subtitles), it is long, but it very worth while. I have watched it at least 4 times. Each time I find a new echo of our future (it is scary). These people are no different than ourselves, so we can lay that US exceptionalism to rest.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4353655982817317115#

Edited to add: If I were Greek, I would be getting my money out of the bank while it is still in Euros and not wait for the new technocrat government to pull out and convert back to drachmas-but that is just me.

Have pleasant restful week.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Demeter]

78. You've got me hooked on Argentina now

It's been under my radar far too long.

[AnneD]

87. You will love the links......

I love the blogger. I have listened to him on you tube. He kept notes and has written a book of his experiences. Seems like a true person. He is the one that got me looking closer at the collapse of Argentina. The film, though long is well worth the time.

I see our future in their past.

I would like to submit another possible theme. Gone with the Wind-a post mortem of the Death of New Orleans. I have come across some interesting things as of late. Just another thought.

[xchrom]

20. The French way of work

http://www.economist.com/node/21538733

EVERY year, Sophie de Menthon, a French entrepreneur, holds an event called J’aime ma boîte (I love my firm) in Paris. The idea is to counter the notion that the French don’t like work. Employees are enticed to make lip dubs (a video of them lip-synching to music, if you need to ask), massage each other, vote for the nicest colleague, arrange for the accountant to swap jobs with the secretary and other stunts to celebrate their firm.

The much-mocked campaign has not had much luck. In 2007 a national strike interrupted the festivities, and in 2009 a series of suicides at France Télécom spoilt the atmosphere. This year employees showed less love for their boîte than ever before. Only 64% of those polled liked their company, down from 79% in 2005.

A truer reflection of work attitudes came this summer when French workers covered office windows with huge pictures made up of Post-it notes. Employees at GDF-Suez, a utility, stuck thousands of them to the windows of its HQ near Paris to represent Tintin, a comic-strip hero. Société Générale’s bankers responded with a picture of Asterix and Obelix across six storeys. A few employers cracked down on the time-wasting, but most did not dare.

Many outsiders conclude that French workers are simply lazy. “Absolument Dé-bor-dée!” (“Absolutely Snowed Under”), a book which came out last year, described how state employees compete to do nothing at work. Another title in this bestselling genre on avoiding toil, “Bonjour Paresse” (“Hello Laziness”) by Corinne Maier, an economist, explained how she got away with doing nothing at EDF, another utility.



***he doesn't know Merde! about workers -- but the comments on management are interesting -- and have a global application if you ask me.

[Demeter]

26. I'd guess it depends on what the workers are asked to do

and that IS a management problem, to be sure.

[xchrom]

29. true. also remember -- the french are extremely skeptical of authority.

they are good workers -- but they don't give authority a pedestal just because they are 'authority'.

very different from americans.

[AnneD]

90. Not really,

the French public give authority the respect they have EARNED. Thus the FRSP!!!!!

[Tansy_Gold]

109. This is why it is sooooooooooo important to understand

the cultural history of peoples.

The BF and I go around and around and around on this.

The French ARE different.
The English ARE different.
The Americans ARE different.

And it's because of their different cultural histories.

What we get in school is dates and events and the names of famous men. Culture? Not so much.


But all of you guys know that.



Tansy Gold, preachin' to the choir (and maybe some lurkers!) again.

[AnneD]

112. I always think of that scene in Casablanca, the other scene...

Capitan Renault, Lieutenant Heinrich, and Major Strassa are interrogating Rick in the cafe...
"Can't you imagine us in your beloved Paris?".
"It was never my belove Paris"
"Can you imagine us in London?"
"Ask me when you get there.".
"Can you imagine us in New York.".
"Well frankly Major, there are places in New York that even I wouldn't recommend you go into."

I am paraphrasing of course.

[Roland99]

51. 5/10yr Bond yields close to inversion in core European countries

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/european-cds-rerack-5s10s-close-inversion-all-core-countries

[xchrom]

8. asia: Japan's exports decline for first time in three months

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15814344

Japan's exports have fallen for the first time in three months, reinforcing worries that the strong yen and global debt crisis are affecting the economy.

Shipments dropped 3.7% in October from a year earlier, said the Ministry of Finance.

This pushed the balance of trade into a deficit, as imports jumped on high fuel costs.

The Bank of Japan warned last week that the debt crisis in Europe was stifling demand and hurting Japanese exporters.

[xchrom]

9. Thailand economy grows by disappointing 3.5%

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15814743

Thailand's economy grew by 3.5% in the summer months of 2011, less than the 4.5% rate economists were expecting.

For the full year, the economy is now expected to grow by just 1.5%, compared to 2010, said the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

Severe floods have swept through much of Thailand since July, killing at least 600 people and causing many businesses to close.

Prior to the flooding, the NESDB had forecast growth of up to 4% for 2011.

[xchrom]

13. Global economic woes hit Singapore, Japan exports

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_ASIA_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-21-07-42-41

SINGAPORE (AP) -- The effects of the European debt crisis and sluggish U.S. growth are radiating into Asia's export-driven economies, putting brakes on the rebound from the 2009 global recession.

Singapore, seen as a bellwether of Western demand because of its very high reliance on trade, said Monday its economy would likely suffer a sharp slowdown next year as export orders from developed countries wane.

Adding to the pessimism, Japan suffered its first drop in exports in three months and a top Chinese official predicted the current malaise in the world economy would be long lasting. The slew of dour news helped send Asian stock markets lower.

"Although resilient domestic demand in emerging Asia will provide some support to global demand, it will not fully mitigate the effects of an economic slowdown in the advanced economies," Singapore's Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

[xchrom]

11. The 5 Most Toxic Energy Companies and How They Control Our Politics

http://www.alternet.org/environment/153103/the_5_most_toxic_energy_companies_and_how_they_control_our_politics/

Four days after the April 5, 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, the 300 family members keeping vigil finally learned that the last of the missing miners had been found and there were no survivors among them. The explosion killed 29 men, and severely injured one. The mine was run by Performance Coal Company, a subsidiary of Massey Energy. Massey's Chairman Bobby R. Inman called it a "natural disaster," but it was anything but natural.

Like the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf that would steal the nation's attention (and 11 lives) just two weeks later, Upper Big Branch was the inevitable outcome of regulators turning a blind eye to a greedy corporate culture that puts profit above human lives. But this is nothing new. Coal, oil and gas companies in the U.S. have been getting away with murder for years. Sometimes it is just less obvious -- the slow poisoning of our air, water and food; the deterioration of human health, the loss of homes and jobs, the obliteration of whole communities and ecosystems.

[Po_d Mainiac]

14. NAR revision (downward) coming to market near u

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2011/11/few-comments-on-expected-nar-existing.html

The big deal here is that the glut of houses currenty on the market is about to look even worse...How many additional days/weeks/months supply this will morph into is up in the air. One certainty, is that this will not relieve dropping RRE values.

Not that the NAR has had any credibility in the last decade anyway.

[xchrom]

15. middle east: Egypt stock market drops on political unrest

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_EGYPT_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-21-07-53-39

CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's benchmark stock index extended its decline for a second consecutive day and airport officials reported a sharp drop Monday in international passenger arrivals as deadly clashes in the capital cast fresh doubts about the country's political stability days before pivotal parliamentary elections.

The Egyptian Exchange's EGX30 index closed 3.99 percent weaker, at 3,862 points, according to the exchange's Web site. The drop surpassed the previous day's 2.4 percent decline sparked by clashes between security forces and protesters in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, and pushed the index's year-to-date losses to almost 46 percent.

The protesters are demanding that the ruling military council announce a date for transition to a civilian government. At least 35 people have been killed in the clashes since Saturday across Egypt, the overwhelming majority in Cairo, according to a morgue official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian pound flirted near the 6 pounds to the U.S. dollar mark, reaching levels largely unseen since the height of the Jan. 25 uprising that ousted former President Hosni Mubarak. The pound, which had hit about 5.99 pounds to the dollar, pulled back to around 5.973 pounds to the dollar later in the day. Also, Egypt's 5-year credit default swaps, the cost of insuring the country's debt, stood at 525 basis points compared to 466 basis points on Nov. 18, according to data from financial information provider Markit.

[Demeter]

27. Now Is the Time for an Economic Bill of Rights by: Ellen Brown, Truthout

http://www.truth-out.org/time-economic-bill-rights/1320938466

Henry Ford said, "It is well enough that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

We are beginning to understand, and Occupy Wall Street looks like the beginning of the revolution.

We are beginning to understand that our money is created, not by the government, but by banks. Many authorities have confirmed this, including the Federal Reserve itself. The only money the government creates today are coins, which compose less than one ten-thousandth of the money supply. Federal Reserve Notes, or dollar bills, are issued by Federal Reserve banks, all 12 of which are owned by the private banks in their district. Most of our money comes into circulation as bank loans, and it comes with an interest charge attached.

According to Margrit Kennedy, a German researcher who has studied this issue extensively, interest now composes 40 percent of the cost of everything we buy. We don't see it on the sales slips, but interest is exacted at every stage of production. Suppliers need to take out loans to pay for labor and materials before they have a product to sell.

For government projects, Kennedy found that the average cost of interest is 50 percent. If the government owned the banks, it could keep the interest and get these projects at half price. That means governments - state and federal - could double the number of projects they could afford, without costing the taxpayers a single penny more than we are paying now.

This opens up exciting possibilities. Federal and state governments could fund all sorts of things we think we can't afford now, simply by owning their own banks. They could fund something Franklin D. Roosevelt and Martin Luther King dreamt of - an Economic Bill of Rights.

A Vision for Tomorrow

In his first inaugural address in 1933, Roosevelt criticized the sort of near-sighted Wall Street greed that precipitated the Great Depression. He said, "They only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and where there is no vision the people perish."

Roosevelt's own vision reached its sharpest focus in 1944, when he called for a Second Bill of Rights. He said:

This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights.... They were our rights to life and liberty.

As our nation has grown in size and stature, however - as our industrial economy expanded - these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

He then enumerated the economic rights he thought needed to be added to the Bill of Rights. They included:

The right to a job;

The right to earn enough to pay for food and clothing;

The right of businessmen to be free of unfair competition and domination by monopolies;

The right to a decent home;

The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to enjoy good health;

The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

The right to a good education.

Times have changed since the first Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution in 1791. When the country was founded, people could stake out some land, build a house on it, farm it and be self-sufficient. The Great Depression saw people turned out of their homes and living in the streets - a phenomenon we are seeing again today. Few people now own their own homes. Even if you have signed a mortgage, you will be in debt peonage to the bank for 30 years or so before you can claim the home as your own.

Health needs have changed, too. In 1791, foods were natural and nutrient rich, and outdoor exercise was built into the lifestyle. Degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease were rare. Today, health insurance for some people can cost as much as rent.

Then there are college loans, which collectively now exceed a trillion dollars, more even than credit card debt. Students are coming out of universities not just without jobs, but carrying a debt of $20,000 or so on their backs. For medical students and other post-graduate students, it can be $100,000 or more. Again, that's as much as a mortgage, with no house to show for it. The justification for incurring these debts was supposed to be that the students would get better jobs when they graduated, but now jobs are scarce.

After World War II, the GI Bill provided returning servicemen with free college tuition, as well as cheap home loans and business loans. It was called "the GI Bill of Rights." Studies have shown that the GI Bill paid for itself seven times over and is one of the most lucrative investments the government ever made.

The government could do that again - without increasing taxes or the federal debt. It could do it by recovering the power to create money from Wall Street and the financial services industry, which now claim a whopping 40 percent of everything we buy.

An Updated Constitution for a New Millennium

Banks acquired the power to create money by default when Congress declined to claim it at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The Constitution says only that "Congress shall have the power to coin money regulate the power thereof." The founders left out not just paper money, but checkbook money, credit card money, money market funds, and other forms of exchange that make up the money supply today. All of them are created by private financial institutions, and they all come into the economy as loans with interest attached.

Governments - state and federal - could bypass the interest tab by setting up their own publicly owned banks. Banking would become a public utility, a tool for promoting productivity and trade rather than for extracting wealth from the debtor class.

Congress could go further: it could reclaim the power to issue money from the banks and fund its budget directly. It could do this, in fact, without changing any laws. Congress is empowered to "coin money," and the Constitution sets no limit on the face amount of the coins. Congress could issue a few one-trillion dollar coins, deposit them in an account and start writing checks.

The Fed's own figures show that the money supply has shrunk by $3 trillion since 2008. That sum could be spent into the economy without inflating prices. Three trillion dollars could go a long way toward providing the jobs and social services necessary to fulfill an Economic Bill of Rights. Guaranteeing employment to anyone willing and able to work would increase gross domestic product, allowing the money supply to expand even further without inflating prices, since supply and demand would increase together.

Modernizing the Bill of Rights

As Bob Dylan said, "The times they are a-changin'." Revolutionary times call for revolutionary solutions and an updated social contract. Apple and Microsoft update their programs every year. We are trying to fit a highly complex, modern monetary scheme into a constitutional framework that is 200 years old.

After President Roosevelt died in 1945, his vision for an Economic Bill of Rights was kept alive by Martin Luther King. "True compassion," King declared, "is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring."

King, too, has now passed away, but his vision has been carried on by a variety of money reform groups. The government as "employer of last resort," guaranteeing a living wage to anyone who wants to work, is a basic platform of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). An MMT web site declares that by "nding the enormous unearned profits acquired by the means of the privatization of our sovereign currency ... t is possible to have truly full employment without causing inflation."

What was sufficient for a simple agrarian economy does not provide an adequate framework for freedom and democracy today. We need an Economic Bill of Rights, and we need to end the privatization of the national currency. Only when the privilege of creating the national money supply is returned to the people can we have a government that is truly of the people, by the people and for the people.
Creative Commons License

This work by Truthout is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

[Tansy_Gold]

28. Good morning, all!

I'm going to test a theory this coming week-end. Well, not so much a theory as a hunch.

My last big art show of the season is on Sunday, and this is the fourth annual such event. I don't have records of what "the market" was doing at this time in '08, '09, and '10, but I do have my own sales records to compare. It's my gut feeling that because this show is in a slightly upscale community of mostly retirees and "winter visitors," this year's show should see higher sales than in the past. But we'll see.

Of course, MY sales won't amount to anything if I don't beef up my inventory. . . . .

[xchrom]

30. wow -- miss tansy -- is that ever nice!

what is the stone?

and you should show us pictures of your stuff more often!

[Tansy_Gold]

52. the stone is an uncommon one

It's Cuprian Smithsonite, taken from a now-closed mine south of Superior, Arizona. The 79 Mine is world famous for its mineral specimens of aurichalcite and is one of the few sources for Cuprian Smithsonite. High quality specimens can hit four figures to the right collector.

I acquired some pieces from a friend of a friend, who managed to get into the mine a couple years ago. It's privately owned and is sometimes opened for mineral collecting, but not often. Anyway, I bought this little piece, ground down and polished the edges but left it basically the same shape, and then wire-wrapped it. The back is covered with the green crystals, too.

One of the reasons I enjoy doing art and craft shows is that I get to talk to the people, tell them where the stones came from, how I worked with them, etc. You don't get to do that nearly as much with a website or even eBay. That's why I'm a little more enthusiastic about the Etsy process, because there's more room to provide background on each piece, the source of the materials and the process of turning this




into this

[DemReadingDU]

54. That is very lovely!

I like how you add a bit of the history of each stone too on the etsy site

[PassingFair]

126. That rock looks like a newly unearthed RUMP ROAST!

And well-marbled at that!

[bread_and_roses]

32. THAT is so beautiful (n/t)

[Tansy_Gold]

56. Oh, thank you!

Seriously, folks, I'm so bashful about this. I literally get all goosebumpy!

:MWAH: big kisses to all of you!

[Po_d Mainiac]

66. geez...u need a chunk of wood for a backdrop

that dun't look like me hands...:hide:

[Tansy_Gold]

69. It's a small ironwood "board"

Maybe 2 1/2" x 6".

They're used to make boxes like this




(disclaimer -- not my work; my late husband made that one)

[Po_d Mainiac]

118. 2 1/2 X 6 is a board?

sheeeet woman, that's a splinter!

As for the box...I now know what to do with a berl me been drying!

[Tansy_Gold]

128. With desert ironwood

you're lucky if it's 2 1/2" wide. Rockler has 2"x2"x6" turning blanks for $20. Other sellers are higher, much higher.

What kinda burl?

[Po_d Mainiac]

130. So Rockler sells splinters for absurd amounts

Da burl...actually got a couple last month..A black cherry, and sugar/rock/hard maple.....

[Tansy_Gold]

133. Investment advice -- INVEST IN WOOD ;-) AND ROCKS ;-)

Sorta wanted to keep this somewhat on topic.


But, oh, oh, oh, a black cherry burl!!! How kewl is that!!??!! And that fetches about the same price as ironwood. :P

[Po_d Mainiac]

136. u fergut feathers!

Aaannnd quilled pizza and shiny metal

[Tansy_Gold]

137. Yeah! Them stuffs too!

Especially quilled pizza :rofl:

[justabob]

124. fwiw

I worked a gem and mineral show last weekend here in Dallas. It was the best show we have had all year, and better than the last three years I have worked it.

Your work is lovely. Good luck!!

[Tansy_Gold]

127. Thank you so much!

:blush:

[Demeter]

31. China fears lasting worldwide recession

Wang says Beijing must deepen financial reforms to cope with his expectation of a long-term downturn in the global economy

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62KE3I/HI3M9/NJFML2/YB2DLX/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[Demeter]

42. Housing prices fall in Chinese cities

Housing prices in a growing number of Chinese cities fell in October after a government campaign to deflate the bubbly market

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/4CW4BS/9MEOW/GDIHEB/FKJUJ0/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

[Demeter]

35. China keen to avoid domestic backlash (SAVING THE EURO)

China has to worry about a backlash in public opinion that could result from rescuing what they perceive to be coddled, lazy Europeans

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/62KE3I/HI3M9/NJFML2/7AKFCI/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

SAVING EURO BILLIONAIRES, IS MORE LIKE IT.

[AnneD]

115. Seeings how China....

sentences their crooked businessmen to death, I don't think they would be too keen to bail out crooked European Billionaires or crooked bankers.

[Demeter]

36. Delphi says acquisitions ‘on our radar’

Restructured US car parts maker that went public last week eyes purchases to boost its Asia-Pacific presence and expand its core businesses


Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/OZMCDD/EXJ3DT/87I64/MSR737/YB2YBR/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21


INTERNATIONAL ACQUISITIONS WAS NOT WHY THEY WERE SAVED...

[Demeter]

37. NEED A JOB? WANT TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?

Cayman directors sit on hundreds of boards

At least four individuals hold more than 100 non-executive directorships each as demand for independent directors booms in the tax haven

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/OZMCDD/EXJ3DT/87I64/MSR737/167QO0/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

WONDER WHAT THE REAL QUALIFICATIONS ARE...

[Demeter]

38. UBS explores cut in bonus pool

Executives are considering the move in an effort to recoup some of the $2.3bn it lost in the alleged trading scandal centred on Kweku Adoboli

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/OZMCDD/EXJ3DT/87I64/MSR737/2OM9OH/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[Demeter]

44. UBS to take axe to investment banking

Swiss bank outlines plans to refocus on its core wealth management operations but in a surprise move will pay a token dividend this year

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/8P1R88/L91U0O/52KB7/C4XUKR/7AK9W1/E4/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

[Demeter]

39. Free shipping erodes US retailers’ profits

Rush to offer service pioneered by Amazon amid fierce competition for the dollars of seasonal shoppers ahead of Black Friday

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/OZMCDD/EXJ3DT/87I64/MSR737/PFHZFI/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[Demeter]

40. Fall of ‘Mighty Quinn’ mirrors Irish collapse

Anglo pursues family for alleged €2.88bn debt related to loans advanced to cover a disastrous multibillion-euro gamble on its share price

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/OZMCDD/EXJ3DT/87I64/MSR737/8ZD3ZK/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=21

[Demeter]

41. TODAY'S HUMOR POST: Monti pledges fairness in Italian sacrifices

New PM says nation must play its part in saving Europe from its worst crisis since the second world war

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/4CW4BS/9MEOW/GDIHEB/JE3H3D/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

BANKSTERS HAVE PECULIAR NOTIONS OF "FAIRNESS"

[Demeter]

43. Morocco wins green light for solar complex

Ouarzazate complex will have a capacity of 500 megawatts, enough to power around 90,000 homes

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/4CW4BS/9MEOW/GDIHEB/TU6A6O/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

[Demeter]

45. UK banks cut periphery eurozone lending

Big four cut interbank loan volumes by 24% in the three months to the end of September, reflecting a sharp increase in the level of nervousness

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/8P1R88/L91U0O/52KB7/C4XUKR/QNBCTI/E4/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

[Demeter]

46. General Maritime files for Chapter 11

The tanker operator, flagship of shipping entrepreneur Peter Georgiopoulis, seeks bankruptcy protection amid collapse in rates

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/8P1R88/L91U0O/52KB7/C4XUKR/FKJU9C/E4/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

[Demeter]

48. Moisés Naím: The dangerous cocktail of global money and local politics

The elites didn’t revolt and the people didn’t take to the streets. What ended Silvio Berlusconi’s 17-year run as Italy’s most powerful man was the skyrocketing spread between Italian bonds and the German bunds. Had this stayed at under five per cent, Il Cavaliere would still be in power today.

Mr Berlusconi’s fall is another manifestation of the clash between global money and local politics. George Papandreou’s is another. Mixing the constrains of local politics with the demands of global money creates a witches brew whose effusions can topple governments and shape the global economy.

Managing this tension is one of the major challenge of our time.
Read more >>

http://link.ft.com/r/J0VG55/AMEQRN/6ADGM/FKYTI7/2OMQVU/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=18

[Demeter]

49. And they're Off! -90 at open

And I must be off, too. Duty calls. See you all later, I hope!

[DemReadingDU]

55. double down, -180

[DemReadingDU]

67. triple-down, -311, n/t.

[oberliner]

74. Heading to -400 and beyond?

Looking at -340 now.

[Hotler]

57. k&r n/t

[oberliner]

58. Market way down today

Rough waters for even the small time investors.

Will buy-and-holders be able to weather the storm?

Will things turn around in a year or two or three?

[Fuddnik]

63. These, and other questions answered

On the next episode of Soap!

[oberliner]

64. And yet they never are

Much like these!

[Demeter]

75. That's SOAK, Fudd, not Soap

Would you believe gas is down today to nearly its low for the fall again? Paid $3.18 with 3 cent discount.

Edited for unnecessary apostrophe...I shouldn't do drive-by posting...

[Fuddnik]

88. Nah, it's Soap.

I got the entire series on DVD at Costco for $10.

Funny how things that were hilarious in the '70s, just ain't so funny anymore.

[AnneD]

107. I was a Fernwood Tonight fan....

Martin Mull was classic. The corporal punishment in school as demonstrated on cheerleaders on the show and the scientist whose research stated that polyester leisure suit cause cancer in mice and the rebuttal by the Polyester Leisure suit industy had me laughing so hard, tears ran down my legs.

[Demeter]

135. Nixon is STILL Pretty Funny; and Laugh-In

not to mention, when Nixon appeared on Laugh-In...

[Hotler]

61. Let me ask these questions here in SMW.

Why were there no goon squads, pepper spray and beat downs at the Walker protest in Wisconsin where there was 25-30,000 protesters. If public worker jobs were not being attacked by Walker would there be thousnds of people protesting? Are Wisconsin workers protesting because it is "their" jobs that are at stake or are they really standing up for all workers in this country? Have there been 25-30,000 Wisconsin citizens at any OWS protest in that state?

[DemReadingDU]

68. At the time, it seemed to be state specific to Wisconsin

But then it spread to Ohio

I'm not sure if the Occupy movement was a jumping board from the Wisconsin and Ohio states to be more national and global. However, once the movement spread, then TPTB had to squash it. They are THE POWERS THAT BE, and nobody messes with them. But that ends up fueling the protesters more and more.

[xchrom]

70. +1

[Demeter]

77. Push came to Push BACK Came to PUSH Push Back

and so it goes, until either TPTB are overthrown and jailed and asset-stripped, or the populace is bombed by President Predator Drone. Don't think he wouldn't do it, either. He knows "where his loyalties lie" as a certain ex-Death Eater put it. Plus, he has 3 female hostages to fortune, and, evidently, no balls.

[Hotler]

91. Please let me rephrase my question..

Why did TPTB not send in the riot police to pepper spray and beat down the crowds in Wisconsin this past weekend like they have doing to the OWS protesters in other states?
Thank you.

[Demeter]

100. There's a line from Lord of the Rings I've Always Liked

"At least, we have taught them not to carry torches".

[AnneD]

108. While Scott Walker is a total prick.....

I credit him with a bit more smarts. Wisconsin and the unions would have had a nuclear meltdown if Walker did that.

[Demeter]

99. Unearned Arrogance, I Expect

The 99% were supposed to roll over and play couch potato.

[Roland99]

65. Indexes down nearly 2.5% across the board. DJIA nearing 11,500. S&P under 1,190.

Volume is up, too. This is a solid bear.

[Demeter]

84. With teeth!

[DemReadingDU]

71. Karl Denninger: More MF Global: How Much Is Missing Again?

11/21/11 Karl Denninger: More MF Global: How Much Is Missing Again?

I thought it was $600 million? What's this billions I hear about.....


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Three weeks after MF Global's collapsed, furious former customers are still fighting for access to billions of dollars as they question why as much as two-thirds of their money is still stuck. While authorities have touted the fact that they are returning 60 percent of the collateral and cash that had been frozen in the wake of the broker's October 31 bankruptcy, a closer look shows that in fact only about 40 percent of customers' total funds have been authorized for release so far. The remainder, more than $3 billion, ostensibly remains on hand to cover a shortfall originally estimated by MF Global to regulators at just $600 million.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/insight-anger-mounts-mf-global-clients-see-3bln-190836206.html


$3 billion? I thought there was a $600 million discrepancy?

What's going on here? More to the point, are we about to have another game of "musical creditors" like we did with GM and Chrysler, where certain "special people" got paid in front of others despite not actually having a legal preference?

This is bad juju folks. If confidence in the sanctity of customer deposits is lost across the financial system you will see a massive run on brokerages and banks -- after all, if this is going to happen to the futures markets with MF what happens to the farmer who uses these markets as a way to sell forward his production and thus bring certainty to his business operations?

How about the airline? The steamship operator who needs to know what he'll pay for fuel? The railroad? The chemical factory?

There are dozens of industries that use these markets folks, and most of them are very pedestrian companies that employ huge swaths of America.

You're going to cut all of this off if this doesn't stop as people will utterly flee from the markets if there is no clarity on what happened and people do not immediately go to prison if the law was violated -- and it appears that it was.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=197868

[Demeter]

79. JEE--

[AnneD]

111. I have said this all along......

all the markets have is their creditability. It is true of our fiat currency. Someone is going to have to go down for this one if the Investors and brokers are to maintain a shred of creditability. I have very little in the market that I personally control-my TRS is another matter. I have never really gotten back in after the crash in 07 and have not seen anything that convinces me to go in. In fact just the opposite. The HFT is just the latest way to fleece the small time investor.

[DemReadingDU]

72. Karl Denninger: Here You Go: It's Over

11/21/11 Karl Denninger: Here You Go: It's Over

We're done folks.

CNBC is reporting that there are now clients running out of the markets entirely because they do not believe their customer funds are safe.

That's the end of it. The belief that there are more MF Globals has now taken hold. The thieves have pushed it too far and now we've got the start of a global liquidity run, and with good reason.

The authorities both in the regulatory side and on the prosecutorial side have reufsed to put a stop to the thievery and now the risk factors have turned into realized risk.

The market is done folks. You can be right but if you make your bet in the markets, are right, and then get screwed anyway when someone steals the money and nobody goes to jail there comes a time when people begin to understand that it can happen to them and will unless they depart the market.

We're there folks.

Oh sure, there will be rallies and there will be selloffs. But there is no longer a market, there is no longer a thing to trade, and there is no longer a reason to believe that superior analysis will lead to profit or even safety.

This isn't just about speculators - it is also about farmers, shippers, airlines, manufacturing concerns, everyone in business who has a need to hedge.

more...
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=197878

[Demeter]

80. --SUS!

[Tansy_Gold]

110. ROFLMAO!!!! n/t

[InkAddict]

139. Hey, remember the Big Butter Guy got struck by lightening

followed shortly therafter by the calling of the shepard of the flock home for dinner. Can't wait to see if the new larger-than-life statue's any good on the skateboard or roller blades, LOL.

[Roland99]

73. MF Global trustee: $1.2 billion missing

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mf-global-trustee-12-billion-missing-2011-11-21-1136460?link=MW_home_latest_news


Time to call in Moose and Rocko.

[DemReadingDU]

76. Moose and Rocko?

I'm having a senior moment, who are Moose and Rocko?

[Demeter]

82. Friends of Guido

Thugs, as it were, Professional Hit Men. Not your elitist Economic Hit Men, either.

[Hugin]

83. Moose and Squrrel?

Bullwinkle and Rocky?

:shrug:

[Roland99]

94. Like they said. But, specifically, if you watch from the 1:49 part here >>>>

Caddyshack - ending explosion scene (where Judge Smells refuses to pay up on a bet :-) )


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0Hx5ka1FiA

[DemReadingDU]

114. LOL

[Demeter]

81. And here I thought nobody would do anything stupid until after plucking the Christmas Goose

Interesting talking point:

Do you think OWS scared them into precipitate theft? I doubt it was the Euro, per se.

[Fuddnik]

86. Goose?

I got a TurDuckHen!

Never had one before. It should be interesting. And tasty.

[Hugin]

92. Shove a couple more critters in there and it would begin to resemble the upper management at ...

Places I've worked.

[Roland99]

97. We're deep-frying a turkey this year. My first...neighbor's 15th.

sooo...obviously he's helping out :)

[Hotler]

103. Please be careful. Turkey fryers are dangerous.

Have fun, enjoy but, please be safe.

[Roland99]

104. of that you can be assured

[Tansy_Gold]

125. One of my favorites from my childhood

[Demeter]

131. Well, that explains a LOT, Tansy

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51GjvduoKwL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61juZmHL4uL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

Two of MY childhood favorites.

[Tansy_Gold]

134. But my very favorite, above all others

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51DaAhnMPgL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg

I loved this book.

[DemReadingDU]

93. The fallout from MFGlobal

I think some investors realize that what happened at MFGlobal, could also be happening at other brokerages. I think the lack of confidence is precipitating the decline today.

[Roland99]

102. yeah...volume gives that away.

Ran across an article either at MarketWatch or ZeroHedge about redemptions/outflows/etc.

Trust in the markets is low.


go figure.

[Roland99]

96. oh, no way...this was pure greed. Criminal greed.

I'm thinking Madoff-type stuff.

[Hotler]

98. I was begining to think that $600 million.......

was small potatoes. Wow! 1.2 billion.

[Hugin]

89. The Dow seems to have leveled off at around 11,500.00.

Was it pre-planned kabuki super duper committee failure bracing or the screaming from the passenger compartment? We will never know....

[Demeter]

101. Or a 3 Martini Lunch Break

[Fuddnik]

105. Best idea I've heard all day.

Later......:hi:

[Demeter]

95. Boring Cruel Romantics By PAUL KRUGMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/opinion/boring-cruel-euro-romantics.html

There’s a word I keep hearing lately: “technocrat.” Sometimes it’s used as a term of scorn — the creators of the euro, we’re told, were technocrats who failed to take human and cultural factors into account. Sometimes it’s a term of praise: the newly installed prime ministers of Greece and Italy are described as technocrats who will rise above politics and do what needs to be done. I call foul. I know from technocrats; sometimes I even play one myself. And these people — the people who bullied Europe into adopting a common currency, the people who are bullying both Europe and the United States into austerity — aren’t technocrats. They are, instead, deeply impractical romantics. They are, to be sure, a peculiarly boring breed of romantic, speaking in turgid prose rather than poetry. And the things they demand on behalf of their romantic visions are often cruel, involving huge sacrifices from ordinary workers and families. But the fact remains that those visions are driven by dreams about the way things should be rather than by a cool assessment of the way things really are.

And to save the world economy we must topple these dangerous romantics from their pedestals.

Let’s start with the creation of the euro. If you think that this was a project driven by careful calculation of costs and benefits, you have been misinformed. The truth is that Europe’s march toward a common currency was, from the beginning, a dubious project on any objective economic analysis. The continent’s economies were too disparate to function smoothly with one-size-fits-all monetary policy, too likely to experience “asymmetric shocks” in which some countries slumped while others boomed. And unlike U.S. states, European countries weren’t part of a single nation with a unified budget and a labor market tied together by a common language. So why did those “technocrats” push so hard for the euro, disregarding many warnings from economists? Partly it was the dream of European unification, which the Continent’s elite found so alluring that its members waved away practical objections. And partly it was a leap of economic faith, the hope — driven by the will to believe, despite vast evidence to the contrary — that everything would work out as long as nations practiced the Victorian virtues of price stability and fiscal prudence. Sad to say, things did not work out as promised. But rather than adjusting to reality, those supposed technocrats just doubled down — insisting, for example, that Greece could avoid default through savage austerity, when anyone who actually did the math knew better.

Let me single out in particular the European Central Bank (E.C.B.), which is supposed to be the ultimate technocratic institution, and which has been especially notable for taking refuge in fantasy as things go wrong. Last year, for example, the bank affirmed its belief in the confidence fairy — that is, the claim that budget cuts in a depressed economy will actually promote expansion, by raising business and consumer confidence. Strange to say, that hasn’t happened anywhere. And now, with Europe in crisis — a crisis that can’t be contained unless the E.C.B. steps in to stop the vicious circle of financial collapse — its leaders still cling to the notion that price stability cures all ills. Last week Mario Draghi, the E.C.B.’s new president, declared that “anchoring inflation expectations” is “the major contribution we can make in support of sustainable growth, employment creation and financial stability.” This is an utterly fantastic claim to make at a time when expected European inflation is, if anything, too low, and what’s roiling the markets is fear of more or less immediate financial collapse. And it’s more like a religious proclamation than a technocratic assessment....MORE AT LINK...


So am I against technocrats? Not at all. I like technocrats — technocrats are friends of mine. And we need technical expertise to deal with our economic woes. But our discourse is being badly distorted by ideologues and wishful thinkers — boring, cruel romantics — pretending to be technocrats. And it’s time to puncture their pretensions.

[ozone_man]

138. But everything in the U.S. if fine?

Krugman is a lacky mechanic for our failed Keynesian "spend our way out of it" system. At $15T debt, how is that working?

[Roland99]

106. Redemptions coming next month. Watch out, TBTF.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/525-billion-virtually-free-us-bank-debt-due-next-month

We were one of the earliest to raise concerns about the future impact of the maturing TLGP debt that was 'given' to the bank-holding-companies in the middle of the crisis three years ago. December is the first month with very significant maturities as more than $52bn comes due, with $14.9bn next week alone. The banks face at least two major problems from this debt maturing: 1) It is sizable and primary markets seem unlikely to be able or willing to soak up such large issuance without significant concessions, and 2) The extremely low cost of funds for this debt means that rolling into market rates will drastically impact earnings (as interest expenses jump - should fundamentals matter again). BAC faces $3.6bn maturing, MS $3.75bn, and JPM $7.55bn next week alone.

and in honor...


Bob Marley - Redemption Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yXRGdZdonM

:)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

113. Ouchie!

[AnneD]

116. WOW...

look at gold and silver. If I didn't know better, I'd say there might be a big swing up soon. Those are great prices to pick up some extra PM.

It makes no sense to me that it is going down with all the instability in the market. Money needs a safe haven now and I have a feeling a lower credit rating will be on the horizon, either here or Europe. The super committee is at an impasse now and I do not see that changing unless a miracle happens. When that happens, it will be Katie bar the door.....IMHO, YMMV.

[Po_d Mainiac]

120. CIOMEX option expirations tomorrow....n/t

[AnneD]

122. What is CIOMEX....

heard it once before but drawing a blank.....commodities exchange or the Mexican Stock exchange kissing it's butt good bye. :spray:

[AnneD]

123. Never Mind.....

figured out it was COMEX. So how is that affecting the price? This could be a good lesson. Is the future price soon to be fixed?

[Po_d Mainiac]

129. phriggin phuckup phrom phat phinger disease

udderwise it wood be the Chaomex :evilgrin:

[Roland99]

117. ooo, look! Faeries!!

[Roland99]

119. oh, how cute. S&P holds 1,192.

[AnneD]

121. Faeries on Steroids...

Gosh, remember that great pic someone posted of the bulked up fairy. Talk about roid rage!!! :spray:

[Demeter]

132. That was the Military Industrial Complex SPENDING Fairy