STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday September 10

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday September 10, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 9, 2010

Dow 10,415.24 +28.23 (+0.27%)
Nasdaq 2,236.20 +7.33 (+0.33%)
S&P 500 1,104.18 +5.31 (+0.48%)
Gold future... 1,250 -1.20 (-0.10%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.74 -0.02 (-0.54%)
30-Year Bond 3.82 -0.02 (-0.39%)

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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

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

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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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

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Report

10:00 Wholesale Inventories Jul
Briefing.com 0.5%
Consensus 0.4%
Prior 0.1%

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

[ozymandius]

2. Oil climbs to near $76 on economic indicators

BANGKOK – Oil prices climbed to near $76 a barrel Friday in Asia as better economic indicators from Japan to the U.S. boosted confidence that demand for fuel will improve.

Asia stock markets were mostly higher after revised figures from Japan showed its economy's pulse in the second quarter was stronger than initially indicated. Gross domestic product expanded at an annualized rate of 1.5 percent in the April-June period, an improvement on the meager 0.4 percent in last month's preliminary report.

Trade figures from China also provided some optimism. Export growth slowed in August but imports rebounded, suggesting China's appetite for crude and other raw materials
remains robust.

The data from the two Asian economic giants came after the U.S. Labor Department said new claims for unemployment benefits dropped by 27,000 last week, more than economists expected. That helped push U.S. stock prices up Thursday. Energy traders have been watching the direction of stocks for signs of confidence in the economy, which could increase oil and gas demand.

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

[ozymandius]

3. AP source: Obama to name Goolsbee to head council

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has chosen one of his longtime economic advisers, Austan Goolsbee, to be the chairman of his Council of Economic Advisers, a White House official said.

Goolsbee, a University of Chicago professor of economics, is one of three economists on the council. He already has been confirmed to the council by the Senate.

He replaces Christina Romer, who left the administration last week to return to her teaching position at the University of California, Berkeley.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100910/ap_on_bi_ge/us_obama_economic_adviser

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He is considered to be a Republican-lite centrist economist.

[Demeter]

14. NOPE= No mOre rePublican Economists!

Especially not this clown.

and no more Chicago-based appointees.

[Dr.Phool]

21. The Four Horsemen of the Economic Apocalypse.

Geithner, Summers, Rubin, And Goolsbee. Throw in Bernanke, and you've got an invading army.


Goolsbee was my first tip-off to the kind of economic policy Obama would pursue, when he was an adviser back during the campaign.

[Warpy]

29. U. of Chicago? Oh, dear.

Unless that school of economics has changed radically in the last few years, it's still giddy on the dogma that produced Friedman et al.

While appointing an academic instead of some Wall Street hack is a step in the right direction, did it have to be that academic?

[ozymandius]

4. Obama to tout economic strategy in press conference

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama will Friday step up his mid-term election campaign and appeal to voters dismayed by the stuttering economy with his first White House press conference since May.

The president's appearance comes at the end of a week in which Obama has tried to reframe the political climate ahead of November's congressional polls in which his Democrats fear heavy losses.

He admitted in a television interview Wednesday that his party would not do well in the election if it became a judgment on the state of the economy in the wake of the worst financial meltdown in decades.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100910/ts_alt_afp/usvotepoliticseconomy

[hamerfan]

13. Unless he has

A massive jobs bill hidden up his sleeve or a magic wand to instantly create a manufacturing sector, this news conference won't be - or do - much for Americans.

[Tansy_Gold]

23. But it'll be a good speech and he'll look soooo presidential

And the masses will swoon.

[hamerfan]

45. So I didn't watch

or hear how this speech went. Anyone with the Cliff Notes to it? TIA,
hamerfan

[ozymandius]

5. Asia stocks gain but Europe down on bank fears

MUMBAI, India – Asian markets gained Friday on better economic news from the U.S. and Japan, despite fresh concerns over the health of European banks, which dragged down Europe's markets in early trading.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares slipped 0.3 percent to 5,477.06 — off Thursday's four-month high. Germany's DAX fell 0.4 percent to 6,195.36 while the CAC-40 in France shed 0.3 percent to 3,713.69.

Reports that Deutsche Bank, considered one of Europe's strongest banks, may have to raise up to euro 9 billion to meet tough new banking rules being finalized in Basel rekindled worries about European debt and banks' ability to handle defaults. Deutsche Bank shares slumped over 5 percent in early trading to 47.2 euro.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed up 1.6 percent at 9,239.17 after slipping back from the morning's 2 percent rise. Investors welcomed figures showing that improved capital spending helped Japan's economy grow 0.4 percent in the second quarter from the previous quarter, compared with an initial estimate of 0.1 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100910/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

[Ghost Dog]

37. Switzerland Dwarfs German Profit Growth Led by Nestle-Novartis

... Nestle SA now ranks as the world’s biggest food company, helping the Swiss economy grow at twice the rate of the European Union. On a per capita basis, Switzerland hosts about eight times more of the world’s 500 largest publicly traded companies than Germany, the region’s biggest economy, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Switzerland’s many listed companies are a major asset to the country,” said Claude Maurer, an economist at Zurich-based Credit Suisse Group AG. “They stabilize the economy by boosting exports, thus creating jobs and spurring consumption” in the Alpine nation of 7.8 million, he said.

The 30 largest Swiss companies reported earnings growth of 38 percent during the past four years, buoyed by exports from watchmaker Swatch Group AG, Nestle and drugmaker Novartis AG. Profits at Germany’s biggest companies fell 50 percent in the same period amid the worst global recession since World War II, Bloomberg data show.

About half of Switzerland’s gross domestic product will come from exports in 2010, compared with 38 percent in the EU, according to the bloc’s statistics office. Worldwide demand for drugs, Swatch watches and Nespresso coffee capsules limited the country’s economic contraction to 1.9 percent last year, while the European Union slumped 4.2 percent.

Swiss GDP will grow 2 percent this year, according to the country’s central bank. That’s double the European Commission’s estimated rate for the EU...

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-09/switzerland-dwarfs-germany-with-earnings-growth-paced-by-nestle-novartis.html

[Joe Chi Minh]

46. Blood money, Ghostie.

[Ghost Dog]

48. Yup.

What isn't?

btw, since when did this kind of media begin to refer to the EU and/or eurozone, and/or the wider european area (including, eg. the Helvetic Confederation) as a "bloc"?

Propaganda in action. Before your very eyes.

Hey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGqPzrNypzw&feature=fvw

[ozymandius]

6. SEC probing certain investment advisory firms: report

BANGALORE (Reuters) – The securities regulator is investigating investment advisory firms that channel investors' money into hedge funds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The probe will investigate whether the firms are properly supervising client money and dealing with potential conflicts of interest, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) inquiry has identified about a dozen firms for questioning but the list could eventually increase, the newspaper reported.

The SEC's initial inquiry has involved firms overseeing $100 million to $15 billion in assets, the newspaper said, citing one person with knowledge of the probe.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100910/bs_nm/us_usa_sec_probe

[ozymandius]

7. Wall Street's super traders come under fire

NEW YORK (AFP) – A handful of traders who master stock markets using ultra-fast computers may soon face a clampdown by US watchdogs as they try to prevent freak electronic glitches.

The HFT traders generally use well-known trading strategies, buying low and selling high, but their extreme speed puts them beyond reach of traditional traders, said James Angel, a professor at McDonough School of Business.

One of the most controversial methods is order cancellations, when computers buy or sell massive quantities of shares only to cancel most of the transactions within milliseconds.

This leads shares to rise by tiny increments of a fraction of a cent, allowing the trader to cash in thousands of dollars per transaction.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100909/bs_afp/usstocksinvestmenthft

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The part, seen here in bold, is part of the pump-and-dump nonsense that we have complained about for years. That is not investing. That is gaming the system to extract money in a kind of electronic head-fake.

[Ghost Dog]

33. "A handful of traders who master stock markets using ultra-fast computers". That's interesting,

coming from, ah, AFP. Bien sûr.

[ozymandius]

8. Ritholtz asks: Was Obama Too Cautious During Panic (?)

Begin with a quote from Martin Wolf:

On such chances the wheel of history turns. But this time was different: the crisis brought Barack Obama to power close to the beginning of the economic collapse. I (among others) then argued that policy needed to be hugely aggressive. Alas, it was not. I noted on February 4 2009, at the beginning of the new presidency: “Instead of an overwhelming fiscal stimulus, what is emerging is too small, too wasteful and too ill-focused.” A week later, I asked: “Has Barack Obama’s presidency already failed? In normal times, this would be a ludicrous question. But these are not normal times. They are times of great danger. Today, the new US administration can disown responsibility for its inheritance; tomorrow, it will own it. Today, it can offer solutions; tomorrow it will have become the problem. Today, it is in control of events; tomorrow, events will take control of it. Doing too little is now far riskier than doing too much.” This was right.

The direction of policy was not wrong: policymakers – though not all economists – had learnt a great deal from the 1930s. Sensible people knew that aggressive monetary and fiscal expansion was needed, together with reconstruction of the financial sector.”

Wolf is, of course, exactly correct.

Consider the economic might brought to bear on the credit crisis — it was overwhelming force, nearly everything the Fed, Treasury and Congress could throw at a banking problem created by the private sector. The net result was a rescue, but at a cost of immense moral hazard and further unjust enrichment of the folks who caused the crisis in the first place.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/09/wolf-obama-too-cautious-during-panic/

[Demeter]

15. Obama Is Too Ignorant, Detached, Unmindful, etc

in other words, doesn't give a shit about his party or the country or the People or the economy.

Timmy reads him a fairy tale every night. Nothing else explains it.

[ozymandius]

9. An amazing graphic is available at The Big Picture showing international banking system linkages

International Banking System Linkages

Fascinating chart in the BIS Quarterly Review that helps to explain how any banking crisis can go viral, infecting the entire globe...

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/09/international-banking-system-linkages/

[ozymandius]

10. It's A Depression

The Big Picture is on a roll. Mull over these stats from David Rosenberg:

Finally, you know it’s a depression when, 33 months after the onset of recession…

• Wages & Salaries are still down 3.7% from the prior peak
• Corporate profits are still down 20% from the peak
• Real GDP is still down 1.3% from the peak
• Industrial production is still down 7.2% from the peak
• Employment is still down 5.5% from the peak
• Retail sales are still down 4.5% from the peak
• Manufacturing orders are still down 22.1% from the peak
• Manufacturing shipments are still down 12.5% from the peak
• Exports are still down 9.2% from the peak
• Housing starts are still down 63.5% from the peak
• New home sales are still down 68.9% from the peak
• Existing home sales are still down 41.2% from the peak
• Non-residential construction is still down 35.7% from the peak

Folks, in a normal recession-recovery cycle, practically all these indicators are making new highs at this juncture of the business cycle.

link to item here

[Demeter]

16. Well, Some of those Show How Immense the Bubble Was

but the others are definitely showing the lack of healing.

[Ghost Dog]

35. Doesn't mention the propaganda/brainwashing machine, though,

does it?

[Roland99]

40. No need to twist my arm to convince me.

[ozymandius]

11. G'bye for the day.

:donut: :donut: :donut:
Work calls. Our Fall Break is next week. I do not expect the SMW posting time to change.

Have fun! :hi:

[tclambert]

12. I found the ears in that cartoon very distracting.

Obama's ears almost match the size of the elephant ears. Hmmm, with as little as Republicans listen to reason, maybe cartoonists should portray them as elephants without ears.

[DemReadingDU]

17. That could be its own toon

elephants without ears.

[Tansy_Gold]

24. They are Indian elephants, here on H1-B visas

African elephants have much larger ears.


Tansy Gold, who has no idea what that's supposed to mean.

[Demeter]

41. I think it means you've insulted African Elephants

maybe the Indian elephants, too. Should I sound an alert?

[Demeter]

18. The Rising Price of Being America’s Richest Man

WEALTH APPEARS TO HAVE PEAKED!

http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2010/09/09/the-rising-price-of-being-americas-richest-man/?mod=WSJ_myyahoo_module

[rfranklin]

22. Stupid headline...there is no price involved...

They are just saying that inflated stock prices have caused Bill Gates to have a bigger paper fortune.

[wordpix]

31. exactly - headline should be "Death Highlights Richest Americans' Stiffing of America"

:puke:

[Demeter]

19. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS WITH THE WAPO

Obama should call a truce with Wall Street

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090905239.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns

The headline doesn't even match the body of the story, which shows Obama's abject surrender and submission....

[Festivito]

20. Debt: 09/08/2010 13,435,355,520,330.43 (DOWN 3,415,358,700.31) (Wed)

(Up a little. Good day.)
Sturgis looked nice, everything else was a mess.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 8,933,704,283,143.32 + 4,501,651,237,187.11
UP 399,922,819.12 + DOWN 3,815,281,519.43

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 310-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.23 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,225.34 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.68, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,045,285 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $43,333.53.
A family of three owes $130,000.58. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 5,445,271,773.83.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,174,708,359.94.
The average for the last 33 days would be 3,795,189,418.12.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 235 reports in 343 days of FY2010 averaging 6.49B$ per report, 4.45B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 865 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.6 and 17.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/08/2010 13,435,355,520,330.43 BHO (UP 2,808,478,471,417.35 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,525,526,516,818.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,623,373,698,655.47 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/18/2010 +000,214,319,067.84 ------------********
08/19/2010 +008,231,027,173.23 ------------*********
08/20/2010 -000,497,978,282.78 ---
08/23/2010 -000,107,792,107.60 --- Mon
08/24/2010 +000,493,029,883.18 ------------********
08/25/2010 +000,455,932,262.67 ------------********
08/26/2010 +015,329,518,146.29 ------------**********
08/27/2010 +000,056,877,341.30 ------------*******
08/30/2010 -000,093,227,691.02 ---- Mon
08/31/2010 +077,584,457,403.73 ------------**********
09/01/2010 -002,618,329,750.58 --
09/02/2010 +008,773,043,668.95 ------------*********
09/03/2010 +000,065,447,919.59 ------------*******
09/07/2010 +000,022,960,425.76 ------------******* Tue
09/08/2010 +000,399,922,819.12 ------------********

108,309,208,279.68 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4533475&mesg_id=4533478

[Festivito]

49. Debt: 09/09/2010 13,444,496,046,138.49 (UP 9,140,525,808.06) (Thu)

(Up some. Good day.)
Goodbye Wanda. There was never a time or event that you did not make better.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 8,942,517,856,604.11 + 4,501,978,189,534.38
UP 8,813,573,460.79 + UP 326,952,347.27

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 310-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.23 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,225.27 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.68, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,051,931 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $43,362.08.
A family of three owes $130,086.23. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 5,793,296,464.16.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,441,527,289.19.
The average for the last 31 days would be 4,298,252,215.34.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 236 reports in 344 days of FY2010 averaging 6.50B$ per report, 4.46B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 864 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.6 and 17.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/09/2010 13,444,496,046,138.49 BHO (UP 2,817,618,997,225.41 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,534,667,042,626.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,628,353,112,089.38 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/19/2010 +008,231,027,173.23 ------------*********
08/20/2010 -000,497,978,282.78 ---
08/23/2010 -000,107,792,107.60 --- Mon
08/24/2010 +000,493,029,883.18 ------------********
08/25/2010 +000,455,932,262.67 ------------********
08/26/2010 +015,329,518,146.29 ------------**********
08/27/2010 +000,056,877,341.30 ------------*******
08/30/2010 -000,093,227,691.02 ---- Mon
08/31/2010 +077,584,457,403.73 ------------**********
09/01/2010 -002,618,329,750.58 --
09/02/2010 +008,773,043,668.95 ------------*********
09/03/2010 +000,065,447,919.59 ------------*******
09/07/2010 +000,022,960,425.76 ------------******* Tue
09/08/2010 +000,399,922,819.12 ------------********
09/09/2010 +008,813,573,460.79 ------------*********

116,908,462,672.63 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4535317&mesg_id=4535388

[Dr.Phool]

25. How we got so screwn.

I get this little thing in my mailbox each morning from Mother Jones. This makes a hell of a lot of sense.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2010/09/paul-pierson-jacob-s-hacker

Here's What's the Matter With Kansas

— By Kevin Drum
| Fri Sep. 10, 2010 2:00 AM PDT


Why has income inequality grown so explosively over the past 30 years? Why do so many working and middle class voters cast their ballots for a party that's so obviously a captive of corporations and the rich? Why is there no longer any real sustained effort to improve the lot of the middle class?

There's no shortage of answers. There's the "What's the Matter With Kansas" theory. There's the demise of labor unions. There's the well-worn story of the rise of conservative think tanks. There's the impact of globalization on unskilled and semi-skilled labor. There's the growing returns to education in a world that grows more complex every year.

But these are all limited and therefore unsatisfactory explanations, and no one has yet put them all together into a single organic whole that feels genuinely complete and compelling. Until now. The book that finally does it is called Winner-Take-All Politics, by Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, and it puts together all of these pieces with a clarity of explanation that's breathtaking. I hesitate to summarize their argument for fear of ruining it, but here's the nickel version:

1. In the 60s, at the same time that labor unions begin to decline, liberal money and energy starts to flow strongly toward "postmaterialist" issues: civil rights, feminism, environmentalism, gay rights, etc. These are the famous "interest groups" that take over the Democratic Party during the subsequent decades.
2. At about the same time, business interests take stock of the country's anti-corporate mood and begin to pool their resources to push for generic pro-business policies in a way they never had before. Conservative think tanks start to press a business-friendly agenda and organizations like the Chamber of Commerce start to fundraise on an unprecedented scale. This level of persistent, organizational energy is something new.
3. Unions, already in decline, are the particular focus of business animus. As they decline, they leave a vacuum. There's no other nationwide organization dedicated to persistently fighting for middle class economic issues and no other nationwide organization that's able to routinely mobilize working class voters to support or oppose specific federal policies. (In both items #2 and #3, note the focus on persistent organizational pressure. This is key.)
4. With unions in decline and political campaigns becoming ever more expensive, Democrats eventually decide they need to become more business friendly as well. This is a vicious circle: the more unions decline, the more that Democrats turn to corporate funding to survive. There is, in the end, simply no one left who's fighting for middle class economic issues in a sustained and organized way. Conversely, there are lots of extremely well-funded and determined organizations fighting for the interests of corporations and the rich.

The result is exactly what you'd expect. With liberal money and energy focused mostly on non-economic concerns, the country moves steadily leftward on social issues. With conservative money and energy focused mostly on the interests of corporations and the rich—and with no one really fighting back—the country moves steadily rightward on econonomic issues. Thomas Frank's famous working-class Kansans who vote against their own economic interests are easily explained. It's not just that conservatives appeal to them on social grounds, it's that there's no one left to really make the economic case to them in the first place. And even if anyone did, they have little reason to believe that Democrats would actually follow through in concrete ways. So why not vote on abortion and gay rights instead?

I'm not doing Pierson and Hacker justice here. In fact, I'm not really even trying to. What I am doing is telling you to buy a copy of their book and read it. Seriously. Just get a copy and read at least Parts I and II. No book is perfect, and I feel a little silly gushing too much, but this is the most complete and sustained explanation I've ever read of why, over the past 30 years, America has gone the direction it has even while most other countries haven't. And although Hacker and Pierson's sympathies are obvious, this isn't a polemic. It's an explanation. For me, it was a 300-page "Aha!" moment.

More later. In the meantime, though, buy the book. I can almost guarantee you won't be disappointed.

[wordpix]

34. sounds good, I'd like to read this book

and now with the Supremes ruling the corporations are people who can sway elections with unbridled legalized bribery & propaganda, things will get worse :scared: before they get better

[Roland99]

26. (Reich) Why Obama Is Proposing Whopping Corporate Tax Cuts, and Why He’s Wrong

Why Obama Is Proposing Whopping Corporate Tax Cuts, and Why He’s Wrong
http://www.roubini.com/us-monitor/259594/why_obama_is_proposing_whopping_corporate_tax_cuts__and_why_he___s_wrong

Republicans and corporate lobbyists have been demanding tax cuts on corporate investments for one reason: Big corporations are investing in automated equipment, robotics, numerically-controlled machine tools, and software. These investments are designed to boost profits by permanently replacing workers and cutting payrolls. The tax breaks Obama is proposing would make such investments all the more profitable.

In sum, Obama’s proposed corporate tax cuts (1) won’t generate more jobs because they don’t put any cash in worker’s pockets (as would, for example, exempting the first $20,000 of income from the payroll tax and making up the difference by applying the payroll tax to incomes over $250,000); (2) will subsidize companies to cut even more jobs; and (3) will cost $130 billion — money that could better be spent helping states and locales avoid laying off thousands of teachers, fire fighters, and police.

So why is Obama proposing them? To put Republicans in a bind. If they refuse to go along he can justifiably say they have no agenda other than obstruction. After all, the only thing they’ve been arguing for is lower taxes. On the other hand, if Republicans agree to support these corporate tax cuts, Obama can claim a legislative victory that will help Democrats neutralize their opponents in the upcoming elections.

The proposals also make it harder for Republicans to argue the Bush income tax cuts should be extended for the richest 3 percent of taxpayers because small businesses need it. Obama’s corporate tax cuts would appear to do the trick.

Don't hate the playa, hate the game?


Fuck that.

[wordpix]

27. this is a high stakes chess game & I wish Reich were on the O team

He knows how to play this game well.

[Roland99]

28. He knows much better what the stakes are and who the winners SHOULD be

[wordpix]

30. Reich and Eliz Warren should replace Geithner & Summers, Bernanke or ?

At the very least, get rid of two hunks of dead wood and plant some new vigorous vines

[Roland99]

32. Homey the Clown could do better than the clowns in there now.

[Tansy_Gold]

36. Moby and Biscuit would do better than Geithner and Summers

[Dr.Phool]

38. WHAPPPP!!!!!!

Homey don't play that shit!

[Dr.Phool]

39. Never happen.

He's not Czechago School. And he likes working people. There's a lot of great people that Obama could have appointed. Warren, Galbraith, Stiglitz, Krugman. They don't fit the corporatist mold.

[OnlinePoker]

42. I didn't see this mentioned here yesterday, but consumer credit was down again in July

There is now less credit card/short term debt outstanding than at any time since 2005. Revolving debt is at $827 bln, down from a high of $957 bln in 2008. Non-revolving debt (mortgages, car loans, etc) was up slightly by $.7 bln to $1591 bln, also lower than 2008, but only by $12.5 bln. Given that the savings rate also slipped in July, it sounds like people are finally getting the idea that it's better to save up for a purchase rather than buy on credit. When you aren't guaranteed that you'll have a paycheque next month, this is the most prudent strategy.

[Tansy_Gold]

43. So, how's PG&E doing today? n/t

[Roland99]

44. Mitch Daniels: Time for emergency economic reform (oh, this is rich!)

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/fundmastery/2010/09/08/mitch-daniels-time-for-emergency-economic-reform/#comment-4517

Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana has credibility to write about reform because of what he has accomplished in Indiana. Unlike states such as California, Illinois and New York, Indiana has solid finances. This has been accomplished without any new taxes. The state has money in the bank and a pristine AAA credit rating. This all happened on Daniel’s watch in the teeth of this recession. Indiana still has high unemployment, so there are challenges, but Daniels seems up to the task and he has performed very well so far. Here is what Governor Daniels thinks we should do :

Time for Emergency Economic Reform (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 8, 2010, Mitch Daniels)

…By any measure, growth is anemic—alarmingly so for this time in what is supposed to be a recovery period. The administration’s wild foray into trickle-down government spending has clearly failed. Funneling borrowed billions to government workers hasn’t stimulated anything where it counts, in the private sector.

Moreover, the administration’s big-government policies—most notably health-care reform—are holding back job creation. Drowning in new or pending regulations and taxes, businesses, banks and investors are understandably sitting on dollars that could be putting Americans to work.

Governor Daniels has this point right. The economy is not producing enough private sector jobs to keep up with population growth and to get unemployed millions back to work. We had a steep drop in payroll jobs, but now the recovery is gradual. Not a great combination.

My response in the comments:


*

“Drowning in new or pending regulations and taxes, businesses, banks and investors are understandably sitting on dollars that could be putting Americans to work.”

What a CROCK!!

Cisco is sitting on $30 billion in cash (stored overseas, no less) and Apple is sitting on $40 billion in cash (and corporations, overall, are sitting on nearly $2 trillion because of the alleged “Fear” of new regulations/taxes?)

What.

A.

CROCK!!

Businesses are sitting on cash (except for their incredibly overpaid execs) because they’re worried about the demand for their products, esp. in the domestic market where consumer spending is the bulk of our economy.

[Dr.Phool]

47. You think Ole' Mitch balanced his budget by selling his turnpike?