STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday December 9

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday December 9, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 42
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2596 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2893
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

U.S. FUTURES &
MARKETS INDICATORS>
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.
$1 USD = EUR 1.06678
$1 USD = JPY 116.6200

In recognition of those prescient of the Dow's precipitous return of Bush values (9/29/08): JuneBourder and AnneD

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 8, 2008

Dow... 8,934.18 +298.76 (3.34%)
Nasdaq... 1,571.74 +62.43 (4.14%)
S&P 500... 909.70 +33.63 (3.84%)
Gold future... 769.30 +17.10 (2.22%)
30-Year Bond 3.15% +0.04 (1.35%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.73% +0.08 (2.90%)






GOLD,EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [e-mail]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp: The Demise of the Middle Class

Early 1970's an historic turning point
BY TONY ALLISON

As the credit crisis deepens and morphs into uncharted waters, a little perspective is necessary on what it is costing, in both dollars and human terms. You may have seen the mind-numbing comparisons with other massive government expenditures of the past. These statistics were inflation-adjusted, courtesy of Jim Bianco of Bianco Research. The credit crisis, with $4.6 trillion committed (and perhaps just getting started) already has cost roughly one trillion dollars more than World War II ($3.6 trillion). The Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war cost a mere $115 billion. The Louisiana Purchase was a ridiculous bargain at $217 billion ($15 billion originally). It appears that the piper has finally arrived to be paid for the unlimited debt creation since 1971 and the middle-class is already tapped out.

.....

The struggles of the American middle-class since 1970 become very clear when looking at the next two charts. Their buying power has plunged when you factor in the massive loss of buying power of the US dollar. Over this 35+ year period, both spouses were forced into the workplace to keep the family afloat. It also explains the massive growth in consumer debt and lack of personal savings. The middle-class was not necessarily acting irresponsibly. It was acting out of desperation and necessity.

Clearly many in the middle-class (and elsewhere) have added debt too recklessly. But prices have inexorably grown faster, year after year, than the growth of real middle-class income. In addition fixed costs for the American family (mortgage costs, insurance, child care, health care, etc.) are much higher as a percentage of income than they were 35 years ago.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[nc4bo]

15. Frightening realities hitting home...and if the Stock Market had a face to represent itself

right now, I'd swear it would be Enzyte's Smiling Bob.

Wow, the stock market's numbers are up, everything's hunky dorie and the middle class is proving itself to be a real nation of effing whiners.

I want to know where the punchline is and when are we supposed to "get" the joke?

[Warpy]

38. Well, Smilin' Bob is a big fat chump

and so, it seems, are investors right now. This is a classic sucker rally, caused by people who dumped stocks a few months ago getting back in at a cheaper rate.

What's working against it is not only the fact that the second shoe will drop next year as all the jumbo loans extended in the last days of the housing bubble reset, but that the consumer economy will continue to wither and die as unemployment increases and credit dries up.

The economy is fundamentally sick and until the fundamentals are addressed and treated, it will continue to suck, taking the Dow down with it.

[Demeter]

61. Well, Then, Somebody Other Than The Middle Class Is Going to Have To Pay for This One

Those people with money, in other words. The Undeserving Rich.

It's only fair.

I really don't know why I can't type or spell. Maybe because it's the library keyboard?

[UpInArms]

63. checked out some books from the library in small town nowhere today

was really surprised to find

James Hatfield's Fortunate Son - George W. Bush and the Making of an American President{/i] on the shelf - had to bring it home - just the prologue is beyond believable - but we know it is so

:sigh:

[truedelphi]

70. One reason that the middle class is so screwn

There has not been a real overhaul of the income tax situation. Instead, as inflation caused many families to send both parents off to work, their combined income put them into the "upper middle" class, in terms of the tax rate chart, although their buying power was minimal due to inflation.

My father made between 5 and 6K in the nineteen fifties. We paid cash for the cars we bought, had a glorious two week summer vacation, the doctor made house calls for five bucks, and we had health and life insurance. Lived in very nice places, with excellent schools. My mom considered our neighborhood a bit rough - about a year before I was born, a woman had been mugged and raped some seven city blocks from where we lived - my mom never forgot that. Dad was concerned for me when I first had jobs - he'd point out that I was paying more than 6% of my income just to Social Security. He had nly paid at the most, 3 %.


These days, To be a single person surviving life in a large American city would probably require at least 32 k a year. But that income gets taxed a great deal more than what the bread earner in the nineteen fifties paid out. Social Security, which I doubt most of us wille ver see, now takes over 7% of the salary.

And if two people work and make $ 64 K, and live in a lare city, they don't even get the benefit of a mortgage deduction.

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Report

10:00 Pending Home Sales Oct
Briefing.com NA
Consensus -3.0%
Prior -4.6%

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[UpInArms]

34. U.S. October pending home sales index down 0.7%

01. U.S. October pending home sales index down 0.7%
10:00 AM ET, Dec 09, 2008

[spinbaby]

42. That's good, right?

:shrug:

[Roland99]

52. It's not as bad as prior year>>>>

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Pending-home-sales-index-down/story.aspx?guid=%7BCA42B683%2D2389%2D44A5%2DAA99%2D6B1C10F1CD66%7D&dist=hplatest

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a sign that further weakening may be in store for the U.S. housing market, an index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes fell 0.7% in October from the prior month, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. The index, which is considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, was down 1% from the prior year. Pending home sales in October were mixed regionally, with declines of 8.7% in the West, and 4.3% in the Midwest. Meanwhile, there were gains of 7.8% in the South, and 0.6% in the Northeast. The September pending home sales index was revised to a decline of 4.3% from a prior estimate of a 4.6% drop.

But what's making up the pending sales? Foreclosed homes on the increase?

[Dr.Phool]

58. They had a foreclosure auction on the local news last night.

Homes going for 40 cents on the dollar.

[ozymandius]

3. Oil steady below $44 as investors eye OPEC cuts

SINGAPORE – Oil prices were steady below $44 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as investors anticipated that OPEC will announce a big production cut next week to stabilize crude prices that have fallen about 70 percent in five months.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery edged down 19 cents to $43.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late afternoon in Singapore. The contract fell overnight $2.90 to settle at $43.71.

Prices fell last week to an intraday low of $40.50, the lowest since December 2004.

....

In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures was little changed at 96.25 cents a gallon. Heating oil gained 1.03 cent to $1.5007 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery rose 8.6 cents to 5.65 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

10. Epic Flail.

All cuts are gonna do is creat:

1. More demand destruction

2. More non-compliance with cuts.

Iran, Libya and Venezuela are doing a lot of saber-rattling right now. How long before it falls upon deaf ears, in the name of cash flow?

[ozymandius]

13. Meanwhile the fall in prices exacerbates a global recession.

What's a world full of petrodollars to do?

From Brad Setser's blog: his calculations and observations:

The IIF puts Kuwait’s break-even price at around $50 counting a significant (one-off) transfer to the social security system. The National Bank of Kuwait puts Kuwait’s break-even price at $54 a barrel even if the one-off transfer payment is excluded. I like the IIF’s work on the Gulf, but in this I would bet the National Bank is closer to being right.

The UAE number seems to be for the federal budget — and thus excludes the budgets of individual sheikdoms. Moreover, Martin Wolf’s wonderful phrase “what looked like private lending turned out to be public spending” applies with unusual force in most of the Gulf, where a lot of the bigger local borrowers have close links to the state. And there was more private lending in the UAE than in most places.

Qatar’s formal budget almost certainly doesn’t capture a lot of spending through various “private” foundations — nor the funds needed to finance various quasi-private investment plans. $60 a barrel was the number that was floating around Doha this summer …

The IIF believes that the Gulf will run a small ($50 billion) current account surplus if oil is around $55 a barrel. I personally would expect the Gulf to perhaps run a current account deficit if sweet light oil is at $55 in the absence of a major fiscal contraction (and a major cut in various “private” and quasi-private investment plans). And there is no doubt that the Gulf would run a substantial (think $50-75b) current account deficit if oil is the low 40s.

So where does a sovereign wealth fund turn for help if it runs short of cash?

[tclambert]

17. So, now we're winning the "war on terra" by choking off the money

supply to the people who fund the terrorist movements? Or are we losing the war because we're no longer able to afford it?

Bush promised right after 9/11 to go after the money. Then when he found the money trails led to Saudi Arabia, he never mentioned it again. But now he's found a way to go after the financial foundations of Middle East terrorism. Impoverish everybody! And that's strategery at work.

[ozymandius]

18. It's also called a conflict of interest.

What do you do when your bidness partner/pusher wants to see you humiliated and broken?

[Tansy_Gold]

22. What do you call it when YOU want to see your company/(country)

humiliated and broken?

Republicanism? Neoconservatism? Rand's Objectivism?

Where is there any public debate on what the Detroit automakers really need to do to turn their companies and the whole economy around? Where is the public examination of what American families are going to have to do to bring their standard of living -- much of it debt-based -- more in line with the rest of the world and/or sustainability?

Where is there any reasoned, rational planning?


There isn't. It's become a barnyard full of decapitated chickens racing through their own blood.

I'm disgusted. I'm angry. I'm frustrated.

and i'm facing a day full of mind-numbingly boring work that puts food on the floor (in the dogs' dishes) and therefore I have to do it.

Later.


Tansy Gold

[Hugin]

30. "A barnyard full of decapitated chickens racing through their own blood."

There you have it... A description of the times in which we are living.

I have an announcement to make, I am -NOT- going to attribute anything happening in the markets or economy
to President-elect Obama or his team, -yet-. I will wait until he's Inaugurated before I place any expectations
or attributions.


This disaster is Booosh's BABY! Up 'er Down, he and the Republicans own this frickin thing! They're already trying
to dump it off on Obama... Well, I'm not going for it. Booosh has never been held accountable for his wreckage and
if Pelosi and Reid (also part of the problem) aren't going to make him/them own it... Well, I am! Damnit!

:rant:

[Tansy_Gold]

41. Well, sort of.

I think we have to reserve some potential accountability at least for Rubin, Summers, and Geithner. Their hands are not free of the blood just because they've been sweetened by all the perfumes of Obama.


TG

[Hugin]

43. True enough.

But, I'm limiting comment to their selection to be part of Obama's "Economic Team".

[happyslug]

31. 54/42 gallon in a barrel equals $1.28 per gallon, plus Gasoline taxes

Most states tax rate varies, but the Federal Gas Tax is uniform at 18.4 Cents per gallon. My home state tax is 31.1 Cents per gallon, total 49.5 cents per gallon. Price right now in Johnstown Pa is $1.799 per gallon. Less taxes that comes 1.304 per gallon, leaving less then 2 cents per gallon for distribution (including the cost to your local gas dealer).

The numbers sound like it has hit rock bottom. Now the old rule of business was if you can NOT maximize gains, you minimize losses. When it come to Kuwait that may mean to continue production, so some money is coming in to pay off old debts, thus to service that old debt production must continue even at a loss (A second factor is to lay off the workers will NOT end payments to them, thus it is better to keep them employed producing oil then to send them home producing nothing AND still get paid the same amount of money). Remember these countries have weak holds over their own people, and any massive layoffs WITHOUT payments during the layoff may lead to revolution, something these countries may want to avoid at all costs.

My point is simple, the fact Kuwait's cost exceed what they are getting for their oil may NOT lead to a reduction in price. The "cost" of cutting production may be to high. The same rule goes for Saudi Arabia, the cost of laying people off the production of oil line may be to high (The House of Saud has enough problem keeping control of their population, given the tendency of Sunni Arabia to edge to ben Laden, and Shiite Arabia, where the oil is, to Iran.

[Hugin]

32. Very interesting, I came up with that...

~$54.00 number myself using my own independent calculations and data sources. (actually $55.00 in my case)
Also, I was calling it 'the most reasonable price', not the break-even price.

Man, the Investment Banks really broke this one with their speculation... Whooowhee! By driving the price up
to ~$150.00/bbl for an extended period. They killed the Golden Goose by breaking the back of demand. (And draining
what little equity demand had left)

Gee, now even Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar can join me in saying... "All together now, Kids..."

"THANKS WALL STREET!" :eyes:

[Dr.Phool]

37. I think that one broke the economy as a whole.

It sent s tsunami through, and left nothing but wreckage in it's path. Business's closed. People quit driving. Airlines cut flights schedules way back. Detroit collapsed.

Nobody wants to go back to the way things were before, because they see just how vulnerable they are to any future shock.

They killed the golden goose. The American Consumer.

[Hugin]

39. Yep, agreed.

And as the song says... "The first cut is the deepest"

"Nobody wants to go back to the way things were before, because they see just how vulnerable they are to any future shock."

Exactomundo! ;)

[ozymandius]

4. HK stocks drop on profit-taking

HONG KONG – Hong Kong stocks dropped Tuesday as investors locked in profits after a scorching rally the day before.

The blue chip Hang Seng index shed 291.65 points, or 1.9 percent, to 14,753.22, after briefly entering positive territory in early trade. The benchmark index soared 8.7 percent to a seven-week high on Monday.

...

Chinese financial stocks took a beating on profit-taking, with China Construction Bank losing 4.7 percent to 4.62 Hong Kong dollars and China's largest bank, ICBC, sliding 3.7 percent to HK$4.21.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_bi_ge/as_hong_kong_markets_1

[ozymandius]

5. (Internal) Warnings saw loan problems at Freddie, Fannie: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Documents show that top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were warned years ago that the firms were offering mortgages that could pose a long-term danger to the companies, borrowers and the industry, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

In documents obtained by the newspaper, Fannie and Freddie pushed into new, risky markets despite debates within the companies about whether the moves were prudent.

In early September, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest U.S. sources of mortgage finance, were seized by regulators as mounting losses and investor anxiety pushed the companies to the verge of collapse.

Former Freddie chief enterprise risk officer David Andrukonis said in a memo to former Freddie chief executive Richard Syron and other executives the firm was buying mortgages that appear "to target borrowers who would have trouble qualifying for a mortgage if their financial position were adequately disclosed."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081209/bs_nm/us_usa_freddie

[ozymandius]

6. Former Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac execs to testify

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers are poised to trade barbs Tuesday about who deserves most of the blame for the collapse and government takeover of mortgage finance titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The two companies, which were seized by federal regulators in September, have become highly charged political targets in the debate over what caused the U.S. housing crisis and the resulting financial fallout.

Four former top executives are scheduled to be grilled at the hearing, which is being led by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. But there are doubts about whether the hearing will produce any solid conclusions or will just devolve into partisan bickering.

.....

Fannie and Freddie, which own or guarantee around half the $11.5 trillion in U.S. outstanding home loan debt, long used their lobbying muscle in Washington to thwart efforts to impose tighter regulation.

Washington-based Fannie and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie are the engines behind a complex process of buying, bundling and selling mortgages as investments.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown_13

---

But there are doubts about whether the hearing will produce any solid conclusions or will just devolve into partisan bickering. - Spoken like a scabby banking industry consultant.

[ozymandius]

7. Sony slashing 8,000 jobs amid global downturn

TOKYO – Sony is slashing 8,000 jobs, or 4 percent of its global work force, aiming to cut costs by $1.1 billion a year as a global downturn and stronger yen batters profits at the Japanese electronics maker.

Sony Corp. , which has 185,000 employees worldwide, said Tuesday it will complete the layoffs by the end of March, 2010. It did not give a country breakdown for the job cuts but said they will come from its electronics business, which has 160,000 workers.

.....

Sony will end production at some plants, including one in France that makes tape and other recording media and will continue moving electronics production to lower-cost countries. Manufacturing sites will be reduced by about 10 percent from 57 today.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_sony

[Roland99]

27. It's actually *16,000* jobs...8,000 are apparently part-time/contractors

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aZIqcnQCtHWQ&refer=asia

The cuts include 8,000 full-time employees, or 5 percent of the company’s electronics workforce, and another 8,000 part-time and seasonal workers, Sony said.

[ozymandius]

8. Tribune Bankruptcy ‘Stops Clocks’ for Zell, Eases Debt Burden

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Tribune Co.’s bankruptcy filing gives billionaire investor Sam Zell a potentially lighter debt load and time to sell assets including the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Zell defended the decision to seek protection from creditors, saying in an interview yesterday it would “save the business.” The newspaper publisher and broadcaster has enough cash to operate in bankruptcy, according to documents filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

.....

Tribune, which was on the brink of a possible debt covenant violation, is another example of turmoil in the newspaper industry as the economic crisis coincides with readers and advertisers defecting to the Web.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aNnMpmsUNMxQ&refer=home

[Hugin]

35. And people wonder why all modern elections are 'too close to call'...

It's the advertising $$$.

No contest, no $$$ for the M$M. Thus, they like horse races and that's what we get.

[ozymandius]

9. Ritholtz on Unemployment, Underemployment, Labor Pools and Funny Numbers

NFP: Even Worse Than Reported

Over the past few years, we have railed at the prettyfied numbers that come out of BLS regarding NFP job creation and the unemployment rate. From the Birth Death Adjustment to the understated unemployment rate, the official data (and corresponding headlines) painted a very misleading picture of what was going on. No conspiracy, mind you — just a creeping bias that has slowly distorted the data.

Hence, the past few years of aberrational, credit-driven economic growth was hidden from the public view. Many (tho not all) of Wall Street Economists were too hapless or cowardly to point this out. And some even cheerleaded the absurdity of the “Goldilocks” BLS data. Some simply declared the US a Nation of Whiners.

With the economy now in a full blown recession, and the Housing and Credit crisis getting worse, it hardly semed necessary to pile on BLS. Until Friday’s report. As bad as it was, looking beneath the headline data hows that it was worse — much worse — than reported. Consider the following:

Unemployment: U6 (Table A-12, Alternative measures of labor underutilization), the broadest measure of unemployment, jumped to 12.5%. This is the highest reading since the U6 measure was created 1994. Note that our A Modest Proposal regarding reporting both U3 and U6 was followed by the NYTimes last week.

Labor Pool: 637,000 left the labor force last month, typically because they could not find work. The shrinking labor pool has made the unemployment rate appear better than it really is. 7.5-8% is a slam dunk next quarter, and if things get even a little worse, we could see even 9.5-10% unemployment rate before the recession ends (Remember, Unemployment is a lagging indicator). The NYT reported:

“The number of people out of the labor force — meaning that they were neither working nor looking for work and that the government did not consider them unemployed — jumped by 637,000 last month, the Labor Department said. The number of part-time workers who said they wanted full-time work — all counted as fully employed — rose by an additional 621,000.

Already, the share of men older than 20 with jobs was at its lowest point last month since 1983, and very close to the low point of the last 60 years. The share of women with jobs is lower than it was eight years ago, which never happened in previous decades.”

.....

Underemployment: Lastly, Bill King points us to the this article in the Washington Post, Rising Underemployment Contributes to Pain of Jobs Slump:

“The government does not count some types of underemployed workers — those who are overqualified for their current work, for instance. But it does count people who are working part time when they would prefer full time. That count has jumped by 2.8 million in the past 12 months, to 7.3 million.

There are people in a worse position. In all, 10.3 million were reported unemployed in November, sending the nation’s unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, the highest level in 15 years.”

more...

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

11. Overqualification:

I see a lot of Desktop support jobs in IT that are looking for Computer Science degrees and MCSEs. Uhhh...what?

And then there are the ones advertising at $11.00/hr, 24/7 on-call and drive your own car.

Lots of glue sniffing out there these days.

[fasttense]

14. Ain't being overqualified great. I've dumb down my resume so

I could get a sales clerk job. It use to be a resume I was proud of. Now I hide my talent under a bushel.

It's just that there are no mid level manger jobs out there and I have to have some money coming it.

So, I pretend to be a bored housewife and voila, I get a job.

[ozymandius]

16. That's a story I never thought I would hear.

I know a guy who owns a pizza restaurant. He loves to hire teachers to work part-time for him because, he says, they are very reliable. You may have a god's resume if you walk through the door. But it matters not. Should he hire you, you're still working in the pizza business. A gifted resume just means that he'll take you more seriously as an applicant. The high-brow credentials also offer some insurance that the kitchen banter will be interesting and, potentially, enlightening.

Great man, this owner, because he pays his employees a living wage - even for part-time. Full-time cooks working for him can make around $40k/year.

Edit: Employers who look for less accomplished employees are shorting themselves. I offer you my sympathies for having to appear less polished than you truly are.

[Tansy_Gold]

19. Sadly, this is nothing new.

I've been doing this for years.

The jobs I wanted, I wasn't "qualified" for, meaning I didn't have a degree. But I was still overqualified for the jobs I could get. So, dumb down the resume.

After I went back to college and got the damn degree so I was "qualified" for the jobs I wanted, they either disappeared or were snapped up by younger, perkier little things with degrees but no experience.

So I continued to dumb down. Bored housewife. Then desperate widow.

None of it makes any difference in the end. You get a $10/hour job either way.


At least I have one now where I'm more or less my own boss. I work at home, don't have to get dressed up and wear shoes, can let the dogs out whenever they need/want. I don't make as much as I might elsewhere, but I'm much more content.


Tansy Gold

[Festivito]

12. Debt: 12/05/2008 10,653,271,333,099.90 (DOWN 611,691,052.90) (-15% of report-avg)

(Only here can hundreds of millions look like hardly anything at all. Well it is almost nothing. Magnitudinally speaking, it's below four magnitudes below the debt, below a percent of a percent of the debt, below a ten-thousandth of the debt. Yet, it's hundreds of millions. Besides, it's negative. a payback, a lowering of the debt. For that I wish it were bigger. But, instead, it's hardly anything at all. Good day all.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 6,411,463,069,240.95 + 4,241,808,263,858.96
DOWN 187,074,568.06 + DOWN 424,616,484.90
(NOTE: Excel 2007 cannot handle ten-trillion plus to the penny. It zeroes the penny.)

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 300-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.33 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: THEIR SHARE IS TEN BUCKS in 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 a 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)
(I hate those end to end dollars to the moon and back, or years to spend $100/second. Just say'n)
If you read this and have a suggestion or comment, good or bad, I'd love to see it.

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 4,114,318,849.36.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,880,023,194.55.

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$/day.
There were 45 reports in 66 days of FY2009 averaging 13.97B$ per report, 9.52B$/day.

PROJECTION:
GWB** must relinquish the presidency in 46 days.
By that time the debt could be between 10.7 and 11.1T$.
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)
12/05/2008 10,653,271,333,099.90 GWB (UP 4,925,075,536,918.33 so far since Bush took office.)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
Borrowed in FY1993: (Maybe later.)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 628,546,436,187.50 so far this fiscal year.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/14/2008 +039,714,906,312.49 ------------**********
11/17/2008 -001,168,758,314.18 -- Mon
11/18/2008 +035,027,406,490.17 ------------**********
11/19/2008 -000,433,628,717.22 ---
11/20/2008 -000,189,695,810.14 ---
11/21/2008 -000,151,096,322.01 ---
11/24/2008 -000,086,920,504.20 ---- Mon
11/25/2008 +001,468,316,558.23 ------------*********
11/26/2008 +000,650,427,812.76 ------------********
11/28/2008 +000,783,239,406.89 ------------********
12/01/2008 +038,288,359,563.07 ------------********** Mon
12/02/2008 +000,199,375,927.74 ------------********
12/03/2008 -000,525,799,120.43 ---
12/04/2008 -022,902,653,130.86 -
12/05/2008 -000,187,074,568.06 ---

90,486,405,584.25 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008.
US borrowed $988,639,529,840.83 in last 78 days.
That's 989B$ in 78 days.
More than any year ever, except last year, and it's 97% of that highest year ever only in 78 days.
And it is over 100% of ANY dismal Bush, for any dismal Bush-year, ONLY IN 78 DAYS NOT 365.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(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=3635765&mesg_id=3635775

[UpInArms]

20. dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 86.164 Change +0.508 (+0.65%)

US Recession Deepening, How Long Can Dollar Strength Hold Up?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/currency/eur_fundamentals/US_Recession_Deepening__How_Long_1228539727662.html

It’s difficult to assign the US dollar a bullish fundamental bias considering the acceleration of the economy’s recession and the fact that American markets are the epicenter to a global financial crisis; but regular economics do not apply in times like these. In normal market conditions, expected returns hang in a delicate balance with a general tolerance for risk. When yield income – valued through assets in a specific country – drops relative to its international equals, that currency depreciates against its counterparts. This sums up capital flows, carry interest and fundamental speculation in interest rates. However, the setting for the markets is clearly far from normal – just look at the advance in the US dollar last week immediately following the report of a 533,000-person drop in national payrolls. Normal market theory has been thrown out the window as investors are no longer concerned about the potential for return. With volatility holding at levels many times greater than what it was just a year or two ago and global economies sliding into a grim recession, large investors and fund managers are merely looking for a place that their accounts won’t shrink. With time we have seen that that place is US Treasuries. Surely, the market must be desperate for a safe haven with three-month T-bills yielding little more than one basis point and two-year T-notes are paying out 0.9 percent per year. In fact, the entire yield curve is at record lows.

How long can a market go against such a basic law of market theory? That depends on speculators. As long risk sentiment holds as the dominant trend across all asset classes and all markets, caution will keep capital flowing towards safe havens. However, that is not to say that the US will always be the currency that panicked traders will turn to. Massive bailout efforts, rate cuts and stimulus packages have offered a sense of stability for the world’s largest economy; but this combined endeavor cannot prevent a recession or even a natural bear market. And, when financial conditions worsen and the economy continues its slide, policy makers will find they have few options left to curb the pain on a national level. Since US officials have been the most aggressive in their efforts, they could reach their limit first; and then the sanctity of US government debt will come into question. There are other countries that are less liquid but are experiencing better stability. As the global recession and financial crisis deepen, these alternatives will grow more and more appealing.

Characteristic of a primary fundamental theme, a shift in this market driver will not change over night - but will happen gradually. The calendar for the week ahead will help steer the bigger trend. Dollar traders have no doubt already priced in a recession; but how severe and lengthy of a contraction have they accounted for? A few growth-related indicators will test this. Pending home sales will gauge the ongoing housing market recession while the trade balance will reveal how effective a cheaper dollar is at drawing less international demand. The consumer will be the more important focus with retail sales for November accounting for the build up in spending trends into the holiday season while consumer sentiment will guide speculation for it going forward. Also thematic is inflation. Though factory and import-level price gauges are usually second tier readings, an expected plunge in annual readings would spell deflation which the Fed has little to no chance at fighting. This will be important considering the FOMC will decide rates on the following Tuesday.



...more...

Japanese Yen Threatened by Year-End Capital Flows

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/currency/jpy_fundamentals/Japanese_Yen_Threatened_by_Year_End_1228536378335.html

The Japanese Yen could reverse recent gains next week as seasonal capital flows create the perception of a boost to risk appetite. Last week, we suggested that stock markets may rise in December as traders prepare for the end of calendar year.Investors often intentionally close some positions at a loss in December to offset the capital gains tax burden. This then pushes shares higher through January as positions are re-established (a phenomenon called the “January effect”). Considering the massive drop in share prices this year, the only traders with any meaningful gains to be taxed were positioned short. Closing out some of this exposure will mean buying back shorted stock and thereby pushing markets higher. Considering the Yen remains 96% inversely correlated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and 95% inversely correlated with the broader MSCI World Stock Index, the currency will suffer loses should this materialize. Initial signs that stocks are being buoyed by seasonal factors have slowly started to emerge: shares closed Friday’s New York session with a gain of 3% despite news that the economy lost 533k jobs in November, the worst reading in 34 years, sending the Yen lower against nearly every other major currency.

While the economic calendar features several prominent releases, these are unlikely to usurp the dominance of stock performance in setting the Yen’s trajectory. The Current Account surplus is expected to continue to narrow in October as an expensive currency and dwindling global demand punish exporters. The Eco Watchers survey is likely to see merchant sentiment continue to make new lows as acute deterioration in employment crushes consumers’ willingness to spend. October’s Leading Index and November’s Corporate Goods Prices metrics are also unlikely to cause much volatility as their decline is merely a reflection of a recession in the world’s second-largest economy that has long been priced into the markets. To that effect, the final revision of third-quarter GDP figures are likely to have less impact still.



...more...

[UpInArms]

21. Economy rescue: Adding up the dollars

The government is engaged in an unprecedented - and expensive - effort to rescue the economy. Here are all the elements of the bailouts.

http://money.cnn.com/news/specials/storysupplement/bailout_scorecard/index.html

Date	Bailout	Allocated	Spent
December 2007	Term Auction Facility	$1.6 trillion	$1.6 trillion
February 2008	Economic Stimulus Act of 2008	$168 billion	$168 billion
March 2008	Bear Stearns bailout	$29 billion	$29 billion
March 2008	Discount window	n/a	$148 billion1
May 2008	Student loan guarantees	$9 billion	unknown
September 2008	Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout	$200 billion	$13.8 billion
September 2008	Foreign exchange dollar swaps 	Unlimited2	n/a2
October 2008	FHA housing rescue	$320 billion	unknown
October 2008	Auto industry energy efficiency loans	$25 billion	$0 billion
October 2008	  
Troubled Asset Relief Program 	$700 billion	$201 billion

October 2008	Money market guarantees	$719 billion	unknown
October 2008	Commercial Paper Funding Facility	$1.4 trillion	$303.9 billion
November 2008	Unemployment benefit extensions	$8 billion	$8 billion
November 2008	AIG	$152.5 billion3	$117.2 billion3
November 2008	Citigroup loan-loss backstop	$300 billion	$0 billion
November 2008	Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility	$200 billion	$0 billion
November 2008	GSE mortgage-backed securities purchases	$500 billion	$0 billion
November 2008	GSE debt purchases	$100 billion	$0 billion
November 2008	FDIC Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program	Unlimited	$40 billion
2008	FDIC bank takeovers	$15.5 billion	$15.5 billion
	Total:	$7.2 trillion	$2.6 trillion

1Daily average
2Fed increased amount from $620 billion to an unlimited cap, spending unknown
3Includes $40 billion under TARP
Sources: Federal Reserve, Treasury, FDIC
Note: Figures as of December 4, 2008

[Roland99]

23. Nothing much on the futures front. Pretty flat trading at this point.

That is all.

[DemReadingDU]

24. Martin Weiss: Depression, Deflation and Your Survival

12/8/08 Depression, Deflation and Your Survival by Martin Weiss

If you’re still skeptical that we’re sinking into America’s Second Great Depression, you don’t have to believe Alan Greenspan, who says we’re already experiencing the worst financial crisis in a hundred years. Nor need you heed the news that the economy just lost a half-million more jobs or that retail sales have just suffered their worst plunge in 35 years. All you have to do is get up from your chair, open the door and take a walk outside.

Nearly everything you see and hear will clue you in to the true plight of our time — one out of 10 households delinquent or foreclosed on their mortgage, one out of 10 using food stamps, four out of 10 upside down on their home equity, eight out of 10 fearful of the future, and rightfully so.

What will a depression be like? From the manuscripts and reports Dad has left behind, here’s his answer:

Click to read words by Mr Weiss's dad, and words by Martin Weiss why the bailouts are reaching a level that’s beyond the threshold of the absurd...
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/depression-deflation-and-your-survival-2-28569

[fasttense]

25. Your post sounds interesting but I can't seem to connect to your link. n/t

[DemReadingDU]

26. Hm, works for me in Firefox, IE and AOL

Perhaps the server was busy when you clicked on the link?

Here is a link to the website for the money articles that might allow access
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/topic/issues/2008-issues/

home page
http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/

[Roland99]

29. Good article. And find me a politician (much less a majority) willing to do the *right* thing

at great cost to their own personal interests at staying in office.

[DemReadingDU]

28. Dow Chemical to Cut 5,000 Jobs and Close 20 Plants

12/8/08
NEW YORK (AP) -- Dow Chemical Co. said Monday it will slash 5,000 full-time jobs -- about 11 percent of its total work force -- close 20 plants and sell several businesses to rein in costs amid the economic recession.

The company, one of the largest chemical makers in the world, expects the plan to save about $700 million per year by 2010. Dow also will temporarily idle 180 plants and prune 6,000 contractors from its payroll.

Exactly which workers and plants will be affected is still being determined, a company spokesman said.

''We are accelerating the implementation of these measures as the current world economy has deteriorated sharply, and we must adjust ourselves to the severity of this downturn,'' Chief Executive and Chairman Andrew N. Liveris said in a statement.

Last month, Dow Chemical had said it would review all options to reduce costs and eliminate or defer capital spending. Dow's actions follow those of rival DuPont, who last week said it would cut 2,500 jobs and warned it won't turn a profit in the fourth quarter due to a slowdown in the automotive and construction markets.

Like Dow, Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont is releasing 4,000 contractors, halting discretionary spending, slowing or stopping noncritical projects, and temporarily idling more than 100 manufacturing units. The yearlong restructuring plan will affect about 4,200 employees, or roughly 7 percent of DuPont's work force.

Due to this latest move, Dow said it will take a fourth-quarter charge of $700 million, or 50 cents to 60 cents per share, to cover $350 million in severance payments and $350 million worth of plant shutdown costs.

more...
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Dow-Chemical-Job-Cuts.html?ref=business

[spinbaby]

33. Where's that housing data?

Wasn't it due at 10:00?

[Hugin]

36. UIA has it up at post #34.

:hi:

[Dr.Phool]

40. Senate market collapses on Blagojevich arrest!

I wish this headline was from the Onion.

Ill. governor arrested on corruption charges
Feds: Blagojevich sought to profit from choosing Obama's Senate seat.


BREAKING NEWS
NBC News and news services
updated 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on federal charges that accuse him of trying to benefit from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate.

A 76-page FBI affidavit says the 51-year-old Democrat was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.

The affidavit contends Blagojevich discussed getting a substantial salary for himself at a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions. It also says Blagojevich talked about getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get $150,000 a year in director's fees.
Story continues below ↓ (snip)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28139155/

How fucking stoopid can you be?

[Hugin]

44. Oy!

Stupid^2.

We really don't need this right now.

*tsk*

[Dr.Phool]

45. The wiretaps seem to show Obama untouched.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/247390.php

If you look down on page 8 of the Blagojevich indictment complaint, it seems he wasn't happy with Obama since he wasn't willing to play ball.

In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. them."

"Harris" is John Harris, Blagojevich's chief of staff, who was also arrested this morning.

We're trying to confirm the identity of "Senate Candidate 1". It appears to be Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett.
--------------------------------------------

I used to work for a guy this stupid back in the '80s. He was an obnoxious, arrogant asshole who fancied himself as a gangster.

Under the old wiretap rules, warrants were good for 90 days, and the target had to be notified after the removal of the tap. This moran would get a removal notice every 90 days, like clockwork. Anyone with a brain would assume that they were under constant surveillance. Not him. He just kept jabbering on the telephone, acting like the Godfather, and wondered why he wound up in prison. Several times. They'd let him out. They'd send him back.

[Hugin]

49. I suppose the plan was to put it up on teh eBay.

:eyes:

[Dr.Phool]

46. Sure is quiet around here lately.

You must all be out buying me presents. (Hint: I don't want to be a Senator)

I'm just sitting here with the Fudd, eating the delicious burgers AnneD brought us from Cali!

[Tansy_Gold]

47. I'm workin', Doc.

got me a mess o' work to do, all boring, but it puts food in the dog bowls and keeps the lights on.

:hi:

Tansy Gold, former Illini keepin' a eye on the doin's in the old place

[specimenfred1984]

48. I'll chime in: T-Bills are worthless toilet paper, auctioned off at 0% interest rate

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ad7wiLvcFEks

---At today’s auction, 82.27 percent of the bids were allotted at the high discount rate of 0 percent. The low rate submitted was 0 percent, the median rate was 0 percent, and the investment rate was 0 percent. The price was 100.000000.---

That means an investor gets LESS money back than they invest, but the investor at least knows how much they are losing. Let America wraps its head around that one which, sadly, they aren't even capable of doing, it's too much for pea-brains to handle. I'll translate for the propagandized fools we call citizens: The U.S. gov't is basically worthless now, just as I've been warning for several years.

[Roland99]

55. I'm thinking about going into the Treasury-issuing business.

:)

[Roland99]

50. 2:39pm - Off the lows

DJIA 8,693.88 -240.30 -2.69%
Nasdaq 1,544.62 -27.12 -1.73%
S&P 500 888.22 -21.48 -2.36%
Global Dow 1,468.67 -16.26 -1.10%
Dow Util 359.31 -5.55 -1.52%
NYSE 5,519.46 -120.22 -2.13%
AMEX 1,303.24 -15.89 -1.20%
Russell 2000 464.73 -16.65 -3.46%
Semcond 203.73 +7.58 +3.86%
Gold future 774.20 +4.90 +0.64%
30-Year Bond 3.05% -0.10 -3.11%
10-Year Bond 2.64% -0.09 -3.37%

[Pale Blue Dot]

51. 4 Week T-Bill = 0.000% (!!!!!)

The results from the just reported 4 week bill auction reveals a yield of 0.000% and that is not a misprint. The auction last week yielded .04%. Year end parking of money in a safe place is likely the main focus on the part of buyers rather than any return on that money.

~~~

Why would you buy this over cash?

Because you think its going higher — and the yield is going negative.

Its the greater fool trade . . . .

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2008/12/4-week-t-bill-0000/

[Dr.Phool]

53. Staggering.

Just plain fricking staggering.

[DemReadingDU]

59. amazing

Is the bottom getting ready to fall out of the market?

[Pale Blue Dot]

54. Treasury Bills Trade at Negative Rates as Haven Demand Surges

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries rose, pushing rates on the three-month bill to negative 0.01 percent, as investors gravitate toward the safety of U.S. government debt amid the worse financial crisis since the Great Depression.

The Treasury sold $27 billion of three-month bills yesterday at a discount rate of 0.005 percent, the lowest since it starting auctioning the securities in 1929. The U.S. also sold $30 billion of four-week bills today at zero percent for the first time since it began selling the securities in 2001.

“It’s the year-end factor,” said Chris Ahrens, an interest-rate strategist in Greenwich, Connecticut, at UBS Securities LLC, one of the 17 primary dealers that trade directly with the Federal Reserve. “Everyone wants to be in bills going into year-end. Buy now while the opportunity is still there.”

The benchmark 10-year note’s yield dropped nine basis points, or 0.09 percentage point, to 2.65 percent at 2:31 p.m. in New York, according to BGCantor Market Data. The 3.75 percent security due in November 2018 gained 27/32, or $8.44 per $1,000 face amount, to 109 19/32. The yield touched 2.505 percent on Dec. 5, the lowest level since at least 1962, when the Fed’s daily records began.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJP3g3Yhzat0&refer=home

[specimenfred1984]

56. Nobody cares about markets, "Men are inferior sex"!

Every SUV driving soccer mom has the distracto-story they need for the day! Gossip away Dumericans!

[Tansy_Gold]

57. But but but, that's not FAIR!

woof



woof




woof

edit to add



woof

because #4 came in from outside

[UpInArms]

60. end o' the day goo

Dow 8,691.33 242.85 (2.72%)
Nasdaq 1,547.34 24.40 (1.55%)
S&P 500 888.67 21.03 (2.31%)
10-Yr Bond 2.669% 0.065

NYSE Volume 6,493,690,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,328,210,250

4:25 pm : Stocks ended a choppy session with significant losses after a profit warning from an economic bellwether and signs of continued risk aversion prompted traders to take some profits following the strong gains seen since Nov. 21.

The S&P 500 briefly traded in positive territory around 10:00 AM ET following a better-than-expected housing report, but buying interest quickly faded and the index eventually settled with a loss of 2.3%, which was near session lows. All ten sectors ended the session with a loss, with financials (-4.9%) getting hit especially hard.

Shares of FedEx (FDX 63.77, -10.66) dropped 14% after the company reduced its fiscal year 2009 earnings guidance and capital spending forecast due to weaker-than-expected economic conditions. The Dow Jones Transportation Index fell 5.6%.

Treasuries across all maturities rallied, indicating that investors are still wary despite the 20% rally in the S&P 500 since Nov. 21. An auction of four week t-bills saw so much demand that the bill yields 0%. The three month t-bill traded at a -0.01% yield.

Wal-Mart (WMT 55.83, -1.73) helped prevent a late-session recovery effort in the stock market after a government filing released toward the end of the session said that the retailer is suspending its share repurchase program due to the current economic environment and the instability of the credit markets. Wal-Mart said it had about $5 billion remaining in its $15 billion program.

Some seemingly negative news garnered a positive response from investors. At least six semiconductor companies, including Texas Instruments (TXN 15.54, +0.72), gave downside earnings or revenue guidance. Traders looked past warnings, sending the Semiconductor Index to a 4.9% gain. The tech sector (-0.5%) outperformed on a relative basis.

Steelmaker Nucor (NUE 40.95, +0.24) warned that it expects its fourth quarter earnings per share to be only slightly above breakeven, which is well short of the consensus estimate of $1.46. Despite the warning, NUE rebounded into positive territory and aided in the material sector (-0.7%) outperforming on a relative basis.

Meanwhile, Automakers continue to garner attention as the White House and Congress works toward a financial aid agreement. According to reports, some lawmakers hope a deal will be reached tomorrow.

In economic news, pending home sales fell in October, but declined at a slower than expected pace and point to signs of stabilization in the housing market. Specifically, October pending home sales fell 0.7% month-over-month, which was better than the expected decline of 3.0%. DJ30 -242.85 NASDAQ -24.40 NQ100 -1.0% R2K -3.3% SP400 -2.6% SP500 -21.03 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 918/2.28 bln/1849 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 988/1.44 bln/2134

3:30 pm : Stocks trade with substantial losses going into the final half-hour of the trading session. Only the tech sector (+0.2%) is posting a gain as semiconductor stocks (+6.2%) manage to hold their advance.

A panel that oversees the Treasury's $700 billion financial relief fund is expected to release a report Wednesday that is critical of the government's handling of the program, according to The Wall Street Journal's sources.DJ30 -228.91 NASDAQ -17.31 SP500 -19.34 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1026/1.84 bln/1691 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1078/1.01 bln/2041

[tclambert]

69. Wait, did you forget your minus signs?

[UpInArms]

71. nope - I just do that [red font thing]

if you use the < brackets > you can make colors and do away with the plus or minus signs

and - in response to you last post - why would we have any real money riding on this casino based on lies?

hopefully, if nothing else, we here at the SMW made that funniest money of all not be able to reach out and ruin our day

:hi:

[tclambert]

73. Oh, I see. That's a cool trick.

OK, I think I see how to do it. Red. Blue. Chartreuse. (I can't believe chartreuse worked.)

[Demeter]

62. Dear Friends, Sorry for the Absence

I am not dead, but my computer is. It doesn't even remember it has a hard drive. I guess I'm getting a new computer for Christmas, or maybe sooner....

I will peek in from the library server (slow as molasses, but steady). Can somebody take on the Weekend Economists, in the event I can't get a system before then? If not, I will announce when I can return to regular service.

I knew it was slowly degrading, and it totally died Saturday night. I've watched 3 movies, cleaned several rooms in the house, and slept a lot....

Tomorrow we got back to Probate Court to petition for my daughter's official return home. She's been living there since Labor Day, when I yanked her out of the foster home for the unsanitary and unsafe conditions the state had put her in. Wish us luck!

Have a good week, and keep those fingers crossed!

Demeter

[UpInArms]

64. come back soon

and



:grouphug:

[Demeter]

66. Thank You!

That's a nifty photo!

[Dr.Phool]

65. Good luck!

Hope everything works out OK for you. See you soon.

[tclambert]

67. Closing numbers for 12/9/08

DJIA: 8,691.33 -242.85 / -2.72%
S&P 500: 888.67 -21.03 / -2.31%
Nasdaq: 1,547.34 -24.40 / -1.55%

No ponies and lollipops today?

[tclambert]

68. Sorry, didn't see Upinarms' post

I thought everybody was taking the day off, or more likely all at work. I've become accustomed to the running commentary and various complaints and insults aimed at investors and the market itself. All the watchers here seem to get along pretty well. We must not have any actual money invested in this roller coaster, or we'd be a whole lot crankier.

[Dr.Phool]

72. I think you're half-right.

We just don't have any money.:hi: