STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday September 16

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday September 16, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 15, 2010

Dow 10,572.73 +46.24 (+0.44%)
Nasdaq 2,301.32 +11.55 (+0.50%)
S&P 500 1,125.07 +3.97 (+0.35%)
Gold future... 1,269 -0.10 (-0.01%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.73 +0.00 (+0.15%)
30-Year Bond 3.88 +0.00 (+0.10%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

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 Reports

08:30 Initial Claims 09/11
Briefing.com 440K
Consensus 460K
Prior 451K

08:30 Continuing Claims 09/4
Briefing.com 4450K
Consensus 4450K
Prior 4478K

08:30 PPI Aug
Briefing.com 0.3%
Consensus 0.3%
Prior 0.2%

08:30 Core PPI Aug
Briefing.com 0.1%
Consensus 0.1%
Prior 0.3%

08:30 Current Account Q2
Briefing.com -$125.0
Consensus -$125.0
Prior -$109.0B

09:00 Net Long-Term TIC Flows Jun
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior $44.4B

10:00 Philadelphia Fed Sep
Briefing.com 0.0
Consensus 2.0
Prior -7.7

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

[Roland99]

32. Jobless claims drop 3,000 to 450,000

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/weekly-jobless-claims-fall-3000-to-450000-2010-09-16-842560?dist=beforebell

The number of people who filed new claims for unemployment benefits dipped 3,000 to 450,000 in the latest week, reflecting little change in a weak jobs market.

...

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected initial claims to rise to 460,000 in the week ended Sept. 11. Claims for last week were revised up by 2,000 to 453,000.

A more accurate gauge of employment trends is the four-week average of initial claims, which is less volatile than the weekly number. The four-week average sank 13,500 to 464,750.

The latest claims report relies on estimates for two states, Nebraska and Virginia. Both reported technical problems. Last week the Labor Department had to use estimates for nine states, including California, because of disruptions caused by the Labor Day holiday.

[ozymandius]

33. Reports are in.

Initial claims revised upwards. New claims lower than consensus but almost equal with the prior week's data. Remember that last week's data was missing reports from nine states because of the Labor Day holiday.

Initial Claims 09/11
Actual 450K
Briefing.com 440K
Consensus 460K
Prior 453K
Revised from 451K

Continuing Claims 09/4 - Claims are lower. People probably rotating off the rolls plus some improvement in hiring and teenagers are back in school.
Actual 4485K
Briefing.com 4450K
Consensus 4450K
Prior 4569K
Revised from 4478K

PPI Aug
Actual 0.4%
Briefing.com 0.3%
Consensus 0.3%
Prior 0.2%

Core PPI Aug - Showing that we are, once again, dangerously close to 0.0% and tipping into deflation.
Actual 0.1%
Briefing.com 0.1%
Consensus 0.1%
Prior 0.3%

08:30 Current Account Q2
Actual -$123.3B
Briefing.com -$125.0
Consensus -$125.0
Prior -$109.2B
Revised from -$109.0B

09:00 Net Long-Term TIC Flows Jun
Actual $61.2B
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior $44.4B

[Roland99]

35. aren't you supposed to be at work?

:P

[ozymandius]

37. Fall Break

We've had this entire week off. The new schedule is six weeks on, one week off. I get back to work on Monday. Otherwise - I'm getting necessities done and having a little fun this week.

[Roland99]

53. I miss breaks

at least I have 2 weeks of paid vacation coming at the end of the month!

[Roland99]

34. Producer prices rise 0.4% in August; core up 0.1%

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/producer-prices-rise-04-in-august-core-up-01-2010-09-16?dist=beforebell

Higher energy costs pushed U.S. wholesale prices up a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in August, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Yet core producer prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, edged up a scant 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a 0.7% gain in overall produce prices and a 0.1% increase in the core rate. The core number tends to draw the most attention of economists. In the past 12 months, overall producer prices have risen 3.1%, while the core rate is up a much smaller 1.3%

[Roland99]

61. Philly Fed report still in negative territory (-0.7 vs. last month's -7.7)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/philly-fed-gauge-negative-for-second-month-2010-09-16?link=MW_related_stories

[ozymandius]

2. Oil falls to near $75 amid high US crude supplies

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to near $75 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid stubbornly high U.S. crude inventory surpluses even after a drawdown of the stockpile last week.

U.S. crude stocks fell by 2.5 million barrels last week, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. But despite the decline, crude supplies are still 7.4 percent above year earlier levels, suggesting oil demand remains sluggish.

In other Nymex trading in October contracts, heating oil was down 0.83 cent at $2.124 a gallon and gasoline fell 1.30 cents to $1.953 a gallon. Natural gas rose 1.6 cents to $4.011 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[ozymandius]

3. Senate could pass small-business bill Thursday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate on Thursday could pass a long-stalled measure that would boost lending to small businesses, giving President Barack Obama's Democrats one of their last chances to show voters they are working to revive the sluggish economy.

The Senate is expected to hold a series of votes in the morning on the package of lending incentives and tax breaks and could possibly give it final approval.

The House of Representatives has passed a similar bill and is expected to quickly approve the Senate's version.

The bill, which is backed by industry groups, would create a $30 billion fund that the government would invest in independent community banks to encourage lending to small firms.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100916/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_congress

[ozymandius]

4. More (Stupid) House Democrats call for tax cuts for all

WASHINGTON – More Democrats joined Republicans on Wednesday in calling for the preservation of tax breaks for Americans of every income level, bolting this election season from President Barack Obama's plan to preserve cuts for families who earn less than $250,000 and let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans. But Obama placed the blame for the stalled proposal squarely on Republicans.

"We should not be raising taxes in the middle of a recession," Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who's facing tough odds in his bid for a fourth term, wrote in a terse letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"It is essential that we keep things as they are in the short term," said Rep. Travis W. Childers, D-Miss., another conservative incumbent in a tight race, whose district, like Marshall's, voted for Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential race.

For this pair, one press release announcing their opposition to Obama's plan was not enough. They were two of 31 jittery Democrats who signed a letter urging Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to abandon the Obama plan and extend to everyone the Bush-era tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year, according to one of its authors, Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_bi_ge/us_tax_cuts

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I wish these brainless, spineless bluedogs would do the damn math and see how much kick we get from giving millionaires tax breaks. Krugman has done the math:

Now, consider first what would happen if we extend the tax cuts for the next 10 years. This would add $700 billion to the debt (pdf). If the rich spread their windfall evenly across the decade, that’s $70 billion a year in additional consumer spending — or $140 billion during the period when we need it. So, $700 billion in deficits for $140 billion in stimulus; not a good bargain!

Alternatively, suppose we extend the tax cuts for only 2 years. That’s only $140 billion on the deficit. But the rich, knowing that it’s temporary, won’t spend much of it — if they really operate on a 10-year horizon, they’ll spend only $14 billion a year more, so $28 billion of stimulus when we need it, in return for $140 billion of debt; still a lousy bargain!

They do not spend the money they would otherwise pay into the treasury according to this article from Moody's.

[tclambert]

20. Al Franken had a graph a while back that showed we get $0.49 benefit for every dollar "spent" on tax

cuts for the rich. I couldn't read the small print on the youtube clip. I think the graph showed economic activity generated by various forms of government spending. Food stamps returned $1.73 for each dollar spent. Unemployment benefits, the subject he was actually speaking about, returned $1.63 per dollar. So in terms of investing our public dollars, food stamps and unemployment benefits were more than 3 times better than tax cuts for the rich.

Sorry, I haven't been able to find the source of Franken's data. I think the chart said "Moody's" but I saw it on fuzzy YouTube clip and couldn't read it. If anyone knows a good source for such data, I'd love to add that resource to my bag of tricks.

[ozymandius]

27. Here?

Mark Zandi of Moody's appeared in a search. Open Left's Paul Rosenberg has Zandi's document and another from Dean Baker on one page. Rosenberg expands Zandi's work, displayed on a chart on this page.

Two PDF docs follow:

"The Economic Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Mark Zandi - January 21, 2009"

Baker: "Spending Versus Tax Cuts: Who Pays the Cost of Political Compromise?"

[Roland99]

38. That is some awesome info!

[tclambert]

85. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We need to hammer Republicans with this information. Return on investment for government actions! Extend Bush tax cuts: $0.38 of fiscal stimulus per dollar invested. Food stamps: $1.73 per dollar.

[Dr.Phool]

43. If they fold on this one, I quit.

This will prove once and for all that the system is broken beyond repair. These clowns are more interested in preserving their jobs than doing the right thing. They don't deserve a job.

I remember from 2001, when they first passed the tax cuts, many of the Democrats who voted for it lost their re-election bids the following year anyway.

[florida08]

48. absolutely

What we shouldn't be doing is giving tax cuts in a recession. How does that help the deficit or the debt? First they're for cutting spending..deficit hawks unite..now all of a sudden spending is great...deficits don't matter?

I like what Maddow said last night. If you're tired of the deficit spending then you probably shouldn't vote these guys in..they want to make it even bigger!

[Name removed]

93. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Festivito]

5. Debt: 09/14/2010 13,440,225,498,627.42 (DOWN 3,217,490,265.98) (Tue)

(Up a little. Good day.)
It was very pretty at Oakland University today. Yowza! Yowza!
(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)
= 8,942,704,712,188.55 + 4,497,520,786,438.87
UP 150,853,245.21 + DOWN 3,368,343,511.19

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 $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,224.92 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.67, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 310,085,162 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 $43,343.66.
A family of three owes $130,030.98. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 5,673,070,306.93.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,160,251,558.41.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,900,235,836.01.
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$/day.
There were 239 reports in 349 days of FY2010 averaging 6.40B$ per report, 4.39B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 859 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)
09/14/2010 13,440,225,498,627.42 BHO (UP 2,813,348,449,714.34 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 +1,530,396,495,115.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,600,557,939,017.85 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*********
09/10/2010 -000,055,297,184.77 ----
09/13/2010 +000,091,299,524.00 ------------******* Mon
09/14/2010 +000,150,853,245.21 ------------********

109,470,061,474.22 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=4541058&mesg_id=4541067

[Festivito]

103. Debt: 09/15/2010 13,498,026,949,136.56 (UP 57,801,450,509.14) (Wed)

(Up a lot. Good day.)
Dropped an update.
(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)
= 9,007,121,861,472.49 + 4,490,905,087,664.07
UP 64,417,149,283.94 + DOWN 6,615,698,774.80

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 $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,224.85 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.67, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 310,091,808 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 $43,529.13.
A family of three owes $130,587.39. (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 7,939,521,620.07.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,086,966,575.38.
The average for the last 33 days would be 5,533,605,977.62.
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$/day.
There were 240 reports in 350 days of FY2010 averaging 6.62B$ per report, 4.54B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 858 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.7 and 18.2T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/15/2010 13,498,026,949,136.56 BHO (UP 2,871,149,900,223.48 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 +1,588,197,945,624.80 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,656,263,571,865.86 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
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 ------------*********
09/10/2010 -000,055,297,184.77 ----
09/13/2010 +000,091,299,524.00 ------------******* Mon
09/14/2010 +000,150,853,245.21 ------------********
09/15/2010 +064,417,149,283.94 ------------**********

173,394,180,874.98 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=4542302&mesg_id=4542308

[ozymandius]

6. Industrial output growth slows

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. industrial output slowed last month and a regional measure of factory activity touched a 14-month low in September, pointing to a cooling in manufacturing as the boost from an inventory build-up fades.

Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in August, Federal Reserve data showed, matching economists' forecasts for a sharp slowdown from July when unusually strong auto manufacturing lifted output. July's gain was revised down to 0.6 percent from 1 percent.

Excluding motor vehicles and parts, total industry output increased 0.4 percent in August, compared with July's 0.3 percent advance.

Separately, the New York Fed's "Empire State" general business conditions index slipped to 4.14 in September from 7.10 in August. September's reading marked the lowest since July 2009 and was below market expectations for 8.0.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100915/bs_nm/us_usa_economy

---

Anything above zero in the Empire State Index indicates expansion.

[ozymandius]

7. US homes lost to foreclosure up 25 pct on year

LOS ANGELES – Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis.

The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August 2009, RealtyTrac said.

August makes the ninth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis. The previous high was in May.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_bi_ge/us_foreclosure_rates

---

Banks want to thin their inventory of foreclosed homes but cannot afford either to take possession of foreclosed homes or to place them on the market. Doing the latter would cause prices to crash.

[ozymandius]

10. U.S. Home Prices Face Three-Year Drop as Supply Gains (Update1)

Dreaded Deflation has arrived at the housing market. - ozymandius

Sept. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The slide in U.S. home prices may have another three years to go as sellers add as many as 12 million more properties to the market.

Shadow inventory -- the supply of homes in default or foreclosure that may be offered for sale -- is preventing prices from bottoming after a 28 percent plunge from 2006, according to analysts from Moody’s Analytics Inc., Fannie Mae, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc. Those properties are in addition to houses that are vacant or that may soon be put on the market by owners.

There were 4 million homes listed with brokers for sale as of July. It would take a record 12.5 months for those properties to be sold at that month’s sales pace, according to the Chicago- based Realtors group.

About 2 million houses will be seized by lenders by the end of next year, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He estimates prices will drop 5 percent by 2013.

http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aPjDFWbLAdd8&pos=10

[florida08]

49. the house pumping isn't working

too much gluttony out there. People who are upside down aren't going to keep paying for ARM's. Either the banks are going to have to renegotiate the loan and take their hit or the market is going to fall. Some are already calling for it. Florida is very bad. Flipping houses became very popular.

[Demeter]

95. Like the Monkey's Hand in the Cookie Jar

can't get it out if try to take too much...

[ozymandius]

8. Asia markets down as China falls on bank jitters

BANGKOK – Asian and European markets were mostly lower Thursday as China shares tumbled on concerns that banks will need to raise more capital.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index fell 7.06 points, or 0.1 percent, to 9,509.50. The index jumped more than 2 percent Wednesday as investors cheered Japan's action to knock the yen off a 15-year high against the dollar.

China's Shanghai Composite Index slid 1.9 percent to a three-week low of 2,602.46 as investors fretted the banking regulator will order banks to raise the amount of capital they hold in reserve following a surge in lending over the previous year. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange dropped 2.2 percent to 1,156.51.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.2 percent to 4,605.30 and South Korea's Kospi declined 0.7 percent to 1,811.85. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.2 percent to 21,691.45.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100916/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

[ozymandius]

9. Goldman Hit by Discrimination Suit

NEW YORK (TheStreet)--Goldman Sachs (GS) is being sued by three former female employees who accused the firm of widespread sexual discrimination.

"The violations of female employees are systemic, are based upon company-wide policies and practices, and are the result of unchecked gender bias that pervades Goldman Sachs' corporate culture," the complaint says.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of H. Cristina Chen-Oster, a former vice president in convertible bonds and former managing director of asset management Lisa Parisi. Also listed at a platiff is Shanna Orlich, a former associate in trading at Goldman.

Among the litigants allegations is that Chen-Oster, now an executive at Deutsche Bank(DB) faced continued discrimination and was passed over for promotions despite having more experience than her male collegues.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10862048/1/goldman-hit-by-discrimination-suit.html

:popcorn:

[ozymandius]

11. Why the Cat Food Commission deserves the Medieval Treatment

From the blog Rortybomb

The Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco has a new paper out: Labor Force Participation and the Future Path of Unemployment. This paper touches on two of my favorite issues in this recession: the changing composition of the “out of the labor force” population and size as well as the work experiences of older workers approaching retirement at a point where the elite consensus is focused on cutting their Social Security by raising the retirement age, which I talked about here.

There’s a problem in figuring out how many jobs our economy needs to create because the “Out of Labor Force” participation rate is behaving unpredictably:

The labor force participation rate is highly uncertain because the aggregate trend is determined by heterogeneous patterns among separate demographic groups. The behavior of teenagers age 16 to 19, men age 25 to 54 in their working prime, and workers age 55 and over are particularly difficult to predict. Figure 2 plots the historical labor force participation rates of these groups.

In the case of the labor force participation rate of older workers, secular trends generally overwhelm cyclical patterns. Labor force participation of workers 55 and over consistently fell from the 1950s through the 1990s, when Social Security, pension, and retiree health benefits increased substantially and conditions were generally favorable for early retirement. However, in the 1990s, as the value of those retirement programs eroded, older workers reversed the downward trend. Since then, their labor force participation rate has risen steadily, even through cyclical downturns. Even though their unemployment rate more than doubled over the past three years, older workers have generally stayed in or entered the labor force….The upward trend may continue in the near future. The trends in retirement and health benefits will probably remain in place and the recession’s severe shock to wealth will likely compel even greater numbers of retirement-age workers to stay in the labor force (Daly, Hobijn, Kwok 2009).

And heh. Yes, “trends in retirement and health benefits”, if you read earlier, means Social Security, pension and retiree benefits have eroded in value and older workers are desperate to find work even if it means futile and incredibly long-duration unemployment searches. And the next “trends in retirement benefits” may be the move to cut Social Security benefits and raise the retirement age unless people let their voices be heard.

---

Making cuts to SS benefits and raising the retirement age will increase the unemployment rate and decrease the availability of jobs for entry-level wage earners. So the Cat Food Commission's leaked sentiment on the future of Social Security is a non-starter for both short- and long-term economic benefit.

Also - be sure to view the chart from the FRBSF. It presents aggregate data to support getting Medieval on the Cat Food Commission.

[tclambert]

21. Nobody expects . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSe38dzJYkY&feature=related

[ozymandius]

12. Yves Smith: Elizabeth Warren on Way to Being Sidelined as Head of Consumer Protection Agency

Elizabeth Warren on Way to Being Sidelined as Head of Consumer Protection Agency, Relegated to “Advisor” Role

The poignant excerpt:

The reality is that the Administration was never going to appoint her; the only question is whether she can be kept in their orbit and not be a net negative as far as their dubious priorities are concerned. Timothy Geithner has become a central actor on all Adminstration economic policy matters, giving him more reach, and thus more face time with the White House than is normal for a Treasury secretary. Given how Warren has successfully, and correctly, roughed Geithner up before Congress in her role as head of the Congressional Oversight Panel for various TARP administrative shortcomings, he was guaranteed to be at best a non-supporter.

But on a much more basic level, the Warren marginalization isn’t about personalities, although the powers that be love to pigeonhole thorns in their side that way. The clashes reflect fundamental differences in philosophy. Geithner, the Administration that stands behind him, and Dodd all are staunch defenders of our rapacious financial services industry, even though they make occasional moves to disguise that fact. Warren, by contrast, is clearly a skeptic, and a dangerous one to boot, because she understands the abuses well and is able to communicate effectively with the public.

I have read too much apologetic and, frankly, cover-thine-ass statements on behalf of the White House about Professor Warren's "ascension" to this role. It's not the same as being head of the agency. So we should stop pretending that it is.

[Dr.Phool]

14. She ought to tell them to "Fuck off".

They weren't going to give her any power or authority to regulate Wall Street. This is a charade.

[ozymandius]

16. That's probably what she intends to do.

Even if the position is only "advisory" - meaning that she makes recommendations others can (and probably) will ignore - she still has a position inside the administration. She is too vocal and prominent to remain quiet.

Hasn't she told Geithner, Summers et al. to "fuck off" already without using those exact words? I seem to recall that.

Welcome back, Dr. Phool. You've been missing for a couple of days around here.

[Dr.Phool]

17. I've got a lot of work to do around the house.

I'm just peeking in while I have a chance. It's still cool outside, so maybe I can do some work on this fence this morning. Digging post holes in 92 degree weather wasn't much fun the other day.

[ozymandius]

19. Please be careful.

That's dangerous heat.

[Dr.Phool]

39. There! Got the last 4 posts in, and it's only 81 degrees so far.

Now, I'll cut and fit 4 sections around a corner and a gate, and I'll be done before it hits 85.

Then I can go to the gym for a workout. It was so much more fun, when I'd go for lunch and some beers instead.

[DemReadingDU]

79. I'd call digging post holes a workout

and skip the workout at the gym!

:evilgrin:

[ozymandius]

18. Calculated Risk is relentlessly upbeat.

While I consider this econ blog the gold standard of econ blogs - the view is surprisingly cheerful. Bill McBride, the person behind CR, looks hard to find the upside to events to the extent that a downside view from Mr. McBride is newsworthy. This time, however, I think he has not honestly assessed the realpolitik of the Obama administration.

link to CR

[mbperrin]

23. And a real shame, because this will miss the best opportunity in two

generations to actually get a handle on the criminal overclass running the financial institutions of the US right now.

It hasn't been a "Wonderful Life" for a long time now.

[florida08]

51. well shit ozy

gdmit..,I was really stoked over this..thinking it was a breaking in period for her. Was actually excited about voting in Nov. Hells bells ..I'm done..thanks for posting :-(

[DemReadingDU]

13. Geithner's "cook book" recipes

:rofl:

[ozymandius]

15. Glad you liked that.

Thanks. I'm surprised that has not been used elsewhere.

[Po_d Mainiac]

22. The Smoking Ruin Solution

<snip>
I have to warn you, however, that the solution I am about to propose involves no quick fix or linking hands around the fire, accompanied by happy singing. Rather, it is more akin to treating a dread disease with a very strong medicine – so strong, in fact, that should the patient survive, they would (at least for some period of time) suffer a steep degradation in the quality of life.


I say that because the only real solutions available to the country are certain to result in financial carnage and social upheaval of a most extraordinary sort. For starters…
http://www.caseyresearch.com/editorial/3668?ppref=ZHB192ED0910B

this gents' theme goes well with today's toon

[Papa Boule]

24. Think I'll visit you guys here more often

First of all because the US economy will be the most important story of the next few years. The country is about to change culturally and socially in big (and not all good) ways because of what's happening (and about to happen) with the economy. This little daily thread could very well be the most important one on the site.

Secondly you guys don't seem to be as swept off your feet by the tribal stuff. This is one thread where I consistently see principle promoted over party.

Third, I read a lot of funny stuff here. Good senses of humor. :)

[ozymandius]

25. Thank you and welcome to the SMW.

:toast: I appreciate the compliments. Most here try to laugh when anything else would be inappropriate in a public place, possibly monitored by hostile people with guns.

[Ghost Dog]

57. Possibly?

[Po_d Mainiac]

26. Few seem to realize

That if/when the economy :nuke: all the other 'important' :sarcasm: shit, will just not seem as worthy of attention.

Third, I read a lot of funny stuff here
Funny as in "Ha-Ha", or Funny as in "the stuff growing in the back of the refrigerator smells funny":shrug:

[Roland99]

31. Or maybe funny like this??

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/15/uk.nun.advertising/index.html?hpt=C2

[Papa Boule]

44. Definitely funny "ha ha," just like that reply. :)

[DemReadingDU]

28. Welcome to our daily SMW threads

Please stop by any time!
:hi:

[Tansy_Gold]

29. Welcome to our little sanctuary of sanity!

Or maybe it's an asylum and the inmates are in charge here, too? :evilgrin:



TG, NTY

[Dr.Phool]

36. Sanity?

I knew I made a wrong turn somewhere.

[Tansy_Gold]

41. Oh, go back to your fence and quit pickin' on me ;-)

Just be glad you aren't digging post holes in Arizona caliche. And it should only be about 101 here today.

:hi:



Tansy Gold, who is quite certain Dr. Phool will have a beautiful fence when he's finished

[Dr.Phool]

45. I never claimed to know what I'm doing.

[tclambert]

90. Roy Rogers and Trigger "The Wonder Horse"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLoYFvbR0XY

Warning! Contains juicy horse kisses.

[DemReadingDU]

98. And some might fine dancing by Trigger!

They just don't movies like they used to

[jtuck004]

82. Tansy - yesterday

you asked a question about how the markets could be going up when small investors are leaving -
something I have been looking at - I just think the fundamentals are lousy, yet the numbers are
staying more or less green (interesting - the total is just lower than it was in January))

Anyway, I caught just a blurb on CNBC "Squawk on the Street" this AM, probably between about 6:30 and 7 am, PST, and a guy talking to Erin Burnett, was answering your question, I think, at least as far as the DJIA. He said that if you lumped many of the stocks together they only account for about 3% of the value - take them all away would be a big drop but you would still have themajority of the value. A smaller number, usually larger, and mostly with international exposure (sales) are the ones responsible for most of the rise we are seeing. And institutional money would likely be still in those. Sales in developing nations are relatively stronger than they are here, so that would provide at least part of the explanation.

I just got home, and I am going to look for a replay, but I thought I would throw this up here for others in case someone had a better link to the show, maybe they could display it quicker than I will find it.

-- Well that was quick - 10 Dow Stocks That Matter Most: Strategist here... --

HTH

On another tack I can't remember whether I heard or read this, but much of the trading that is happening now is computerized, and unless someone thinks they can beat program trades, they will be better off on the sidelines for some time...

Anyway, gonna go look for that guys segment, if Nurse Ratched will let me use the computers. Hope that helps.

[Roland99]

30. Welcome aboard!

:)

[tclambert]

86. Flattery will get you nowhere.

Try dinner and a movie. Anne D is married, but I think Tansy and Demeter are available. Talk about how much you hate Tim Geithner and Tansy might let you get to second base. (Not a guarantee.)

[Tansy_Gold]

89. :rofl: Sorry, Tansy has an ISO*

*Insignificant Other.


(It's a long story; you don't wanna hear it).




TG, NTY

[AnneD]

92. AnneD's husband...

forgot her birthday and slept through their romantic get away so he is in deep doo-doo now and trying to worm his way back into her good graces. So if he doesn't shape up, AnneD may be considering her options, and besides, she's an earth girl and we all know that earth girls are easy :evilgrin: Tansy has a boy friend, and Demeter is busier than any 2 people that I know put together.

[Demeter]

97. I Have VERY High Standards

Think Atalanta, or Portia, or



Demeter

[Demeter]

96. Feel Free to Drop In on Weekend Economists Fri. Nights-Sunday

in the Editorials forum.

Which reminds me--it's time to pick a theme for the weekend. Or an artist. Or both.

The floor is open for nominations....

[ozymandius]

40. Off topic: But here is a reminder from Ironic Times

REMINDER
If you're ever mistaken for someone else, kidnapped, flown to another country and tortured for six months, don't bother to sue.

http://ironictimes.com/

[TheWatcher]

42. Last Weeks fake number revised higher as usual. And as usual Recovery Police saturating DU with

Usual proclamations of five fingers instead of four in celebration of this week's fake number.

Watch for this week's fake number to be revised upward as well, next week.

Stock Futures tumbling, as well as Dollar, but all will be well by 10 AM when the Computers take complete control of the Financial System so Mall Shopping, Oprah, Fantasy Football Updating, and hundreds of fart videos on YouTube can be perused without fear of negative vibe ruining the day.

CNBC will clean-up the stragglers by Power Lunch to get the Meadow Back In order and into a deep slumber by 12:30.

Meanwhile, DU Doubters, Downers, Double-Dippers, Fascists, and other nasty types of Realism Terrorists should be fully neutralized by evening Rush Hour by diligent Recovery Police.

Recovery Bots will ignore, get back to Rachel Zoe, Randy Moss' Contract Drama, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and counting down the Shopping Days until the first Miami Heat Game and the debut of "LCD" (LeBron, Chris Bosh, and D-Wade)

The USA.

Where Numb Happens.

:crazy:

[Dr.Phool]

47. Who in the hell are the Kardashians, anyway?

And you misspelled "Dumb".

[TalkingDog]

50. Some "ladies" at the 14 and a half minute mark,

who are being supplanted by something called a Justin Beeber.

[Hugin]

54. Since you know that, maybe you can answer my question...

When exactly did The Learning Channel go to hell?

I can remember not so long ago TLC was lauded as the "Private Sector's" answer to and eventual replacement for
Public Television. (Free Market educational television... A model of Pay-for-performance lifting us all to a higher plane of elightenment... Ah, the euphemisms abounded as to the greatness of the concept of TeeVee without Taxation.)

However, after viewing some of the upcoming programming... Well, it's a wasteland. Really. A show about a guy and his three sister/wives? C'mon. The only thing missing is how to somehow turn the plot into some sort of ridiculous competition.

:eyes:

[TalkingDog]

55. Alas, I cannot answer the specifics, but since I do watch some tv

Free... I won't pay to have braincells die, unless it's some sort of Brown Ale in Adult Beverage form.

But, in trying to pick out the few things I can stand on FreeTV, it became obvious that the "reality" venue was where the money was... literally.

It costs the Networks NOTHING to produce these shows. And because people seem to watch, whether it's good, bad or indifferent, then why not?

As for the Learning Channel...that's too bad. Sounded promising.


I was at my nephew's house a couple of weeks ago and the History Channel had a documentary on the making of Jaws. As someone who likes the craft involved in special effects, it was interesting on that count. But the HISTORY CHANNEL?


My pop culture aplomb is due to a roving eye in the grocery store line. Scanning the tabs is a way to know which current "celebs" are current.
Other than that passing name recognition (which is all they deserve really)I am blissfully clueless.

[Tansy_Gold]

58. Hey, where you been Hugin?

I been missin' ya.

[Hugin]

83. Hiyas Tansy...

:hi:

Recent events have had a really big toll on my general POV and I've been out wandering with the Diogenes Club.

Looking for a new philosophy... I guess. :|

I realized I needed to check in here when I neglected to do a recce on the SMW earlier this week for the first time in around six years and I didn't get a recce in for last week's WEE before the 24hrs were up for the first time... EVER!

:hug:

[Tansy_Gold]

84. There are a few honest souls here, so rest your wearies

from your wandering and set with us a spell.

I love your sig line, by the way.



TG, NTY

[AnneD]

102. Welcome...

to the unhappy club. I have been leaving early and getting home late myself. Seems I am fighting stress more than anything else.

[snot]

67. "History Channel" also a misnomer, imho.

[TheWatcher]

56. Believe me Doc, it's better for your sanity if you don't know. You must trust me on this.

Well, maybe it doesn't really matter since most of us lost our sanity back in march of '09 when Pandit the Bandit's "Secret Memo" started all this nonsense.

They are a Reality TV Show family, consisting of three daughters- Dumb Spice, Whiny Spice, and Gold Digger Spice

A Right Wing, Control Freak Mother- Opportunist Spice

A confused, semi-psychotic son- Stalker Spice

And the head of the Grand Family himself, Right Wing Super-Dad, Former Olympian Extraordinaire- Bruce Jenner (A.K.A. Brady Spice)

DO NOT EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, watch their show.

You will lose all hope for humanity and the future, and you might just go over the edge in a fit of psychotic rage and homicidal frenzy, and transform into something very dangerous-

Postal Spice.

And we cannot afford to lose someone as valuable as you, Doc. :)

[Demeter]

68. Start Trek Deep Space 9?

[TalkingDog]

46. For them that don't care to meander outside the SMW: Forget Going Green

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/forget-going-green-earth-doesnt-care-2010-09-07?pagenumber=1

The Earth Doesn't Care If You Drive a Hybrid!" Or recycle. Or eat organic food. Or live in a green house powered by solar energy. Or squander commodities. The Earth just doesn't care how much you waste.

Was that a cover story in Mother Earth News? Or The Onion? No folks, it was the cover story in the elite American Scholar Journal by Nobel physicist Robert B. Laughlin of Stanford University. I bring it to your attention because in today's resurgence of Know-Nothing party politics few care what scholars say about anything.

But you better care. Laughlin pinpoints the key reason a global crisis is coming soon: What he says has everything to do with America's global warming policies, our deficits, hot commodities, investment strategies and how to live in an age of increasing warfare.

The Scholar's editor hammers home Laughlin's warning that "humans have already triggered the sixth great period of species extinction in Earth's history." The what? Yes, we are in an age of species extinction. And it's happening fast. The last extinction was 65 million years ago, at the end of the 250 million year Mesozoic era. But this one is very different. Ask yourself: Will the human species be the new dinosaurs, which vanished long before we arrived?

[TalkingDog]

52. 2 Articles ...you may choose to find some narrative between them.... your choice

How the Rich Conduct Class Warfare
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/cenk-uygur/31320/how-the-rich-conduct-class-warfare

Some of the wealthiest people in this country have been systematically trying to reduce their own taxes and make sure their companies are not regulated by the government. This makes sense. They want to make more money. But in the process, they have bought our politicians, corrupted our system and ultimately given us enormous income inequality.

This income inequality doesn't seem just, but that isn't my main issue. The real problem is the results of that inequality. It leads to speculative bubbles, crashes, recessions and depressions. It leads to the middle class losing their pensions, having stagnant wages for the last thirty years and lacking opportunity to move up the chain. It kills our economy and ultimately it kills the American Dream.



I'm not sure he goes into the HOW as thoroughly as one might like. Corporatism and such are staining both parties equally (IMHO)


Coming Weather and the Best Days For Castration
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2010/09/old_farmers_almanac_predicts_weather_and_best_days_for_castration.php

According to the current edition of the Almanac, the best days in November, 2010 (the first month it starts making predictions), to castrate your animals are the sixth and the seventh.

"On those days, the animals don't bleed as much," says Stillman. "The moon phases affect the amount of moisture in the air."

[DemReadingDU]

59. Video: Max Keiser interviews Stoneleigh

9/16/10
Max goes to Detroit to talk global deflationary collapse with Nicole Foss (Stoneleigh) of Automatic Earth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJtbxrk_v7c&feature=player_embedded


Ilargi: Max Keiser interviews Stoneleigh, and she's in great shape again here.
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-16-2010-max-keiser-interviews.html


P.S. Shortly after this video, Stoneleigh had to return to Canada as her younger sister is gravely ill and in intensive care at the hospital. Those who had planned to see Stoneleigh's presentation in Michigan, the tour is still 'on'. A video of her presentation is being played, followed by a call-in directly to Stoneleigh to answer any questions.
more...
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2010/09/september-13-2010-basel-iii-we-lost.html?showComment=1284549207498#c6036510829050264207

[florida08]

60. Huff Po

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-kuttner/warren-a-huge-win_b_719244.html

The early Administration leaks about Elizabeth Warren serving as an "interim" appointee to set up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were equivocal. In one version of the story, she would be a counselor to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. In others, this appointment would be an alternative to her even being considered for the job on a permanent basis -- a wink and a nod to the financial industry.

But that scenario turned out to be wrong, and underestimated Warren's own tenacity. It is now clear that the indefatigable Warren will be both a senior presidential adviser with direct access to Obama when she needs it, as well as a Treasury employee. In an administration dominated by Rubinistas, Warren will literally be the first financial progressive with both a personal connection to the president as well as an independent power base.

This appointment was delayed for several weeks because extensive discussions were necessary to produce terms that worked for both the White House and for Warren personally.

[Demeter]

69. I'll believe It When I SEE It

and Timmy's head on a pike, next to Rahm's.

[florida08]

73. as much as I'd like to see that too

I'd rather see Ms Warren blow his lid off...the old boys club is in charge but she doesn't have an agenda and is now at least an insider.

[AnneD]

87. I suppose....

Mom might be too truthful a title. In our family, Mom was the CFO (and CEO if you really thought about it). Putting her in a position of authority would be like admitting a girl in to the "He Man Club".

[Ghost Dog]

62. LEAP/E2020: Towards a very serious breakdown of the world economic and financial system

... The coming quarters will be particularly dangerous for the world economic and financial system. The Chairman of the Fed Ben Bernanke passed on the message as diplomatically as possible at the recent meeting of world central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming: even though the policy to revive the US economy has failed, either the rest of the world continues to fund US deficits at a loss and hopes that at some point the bet will pay off, avoiding a collapse of the global system, or the United States will monetize its debt and turn all the Dollars and US Treasury Bonds held by the rest of the planet into funny money. Like any power at bay, the United States and is now forced to introduce the threat of pressure to get what it wants. Barely a year ago the rest of the World’s leaders and financial officials had volunteered to « refloat the USA ship ». However, today things have drastically changed since the noble assurance from Washington (the Fed’s, like that of the Obama administration’s) proved to be only pure arrogance based on the pretense of having understood the nature of the crisis and on the illusion of possessing the means of controlling it. However, US growth evaporates quarter after quarter (8) and turns negative again from the end of 2010. Unemployment hasn’t stopped growing and between the stability shown in official figures and the exit, in six months, of more than two million Americans from the workplace (LEAP/E2020 believes that the real unemployment figure is now at least 20% (9)); the U.S. housing market remains depressed at historically low levels and will resume its fall from the fourth quarter 2010; last but not least, as one can easily imagine in these circumstances, the US consumer is and will be absent on a permanent basis since his insolvency continues and even gets worse (10) for the one American in five without work. Behind these statistical factors hide three realities that will radically change the US and global political, economic and social landscape in future quarters as and when they dawn on the public consciousness.

Broad-based anger will cripple Washington from November 2010

First of all, there is a very depressing widespread reality, a real trip « to the heart of darkness », which is that tens of millions of Americans (nearly sixty million now depend on food stamps) who no longer have a job, no longer have a house, no longer have any savings, are wondering how they will survive in the years to come (11). The young (12), retirees, African-Americans, workers, service employees (13),… they constitute this mass of angry citizens who will speak violently next November and plunge Washington into a tragic political impasse. Supporters of the « Tea Party (14) » and « new secessionist (15) » movements... want to « break the Washington Machine » (and by extension that of Wall Street) without having feasible proposals to solve the country’s myriad problems (16). The November 2010 elections will be the first opportunity for this « suffering America » to express itself on the crisis and its consequences. And, won back by the Republicans or even the extremists, these voters will help to further cripple the Obama administration and Congress (which will probably swing to the Republicans), only pushing the country into a tragic gridlock just when all the signals turn red again. This expression of widespread anger will in addition, from December onwards, collide with the release of the Deficit Commission report set up by President Obama, which will automatically place the issue of deficits at the heart of public debate at the beginning of 2011 (17).

For example, we are already seeing a very specific expression of this widespread anger against Wall Street in that Americans have deserted the stock market (18). Each month, an increasing number of « small investors » leave Wall Street and the financial markets (19), today leaving more than 70% of transactions in the hands of major institutions and other « high frequency traders ». If one keeps in mind the traditional image that the stock exchange is today’s temple of modern capitalism, then we are witnessing a phenomenon of loss of faith comparable to people’s disaffection with official demonstrations experienced by the communist system before its fall.

The Federal Reserve now knows that it is powerless

/Full summary: http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-47-is-available-The-Global-systemic-crisis-Spring-2011-Welcome-to-the-United-States-of-Austerity-Towards-a-very_a5168.html

[Demeter]

70. Took Ben Long Enough

they forgot to add clueless....

[SarahB]

88. This should be getting more attention.

Scary stuff.

[mrdmk]

63. Bush Tax Cuts Not Important for US Economy: Summers

Maintaining tax cuts for top wage-earners should take a back seat to other more pressing measures, White House economic advisor Larry Summers said, in a signal the administration could be digging in its heels on the issue.

In an interview with CNBC, Summers stopped short of saying the Obama administration would oppose continuing the across-the-board cuts approved by former President George W. Bush.

But he dismissed the importance of continuing the cuts for those earning over $250,000, a key part of the political battle raging in Washington. The cuts expire at the end of 2010.

"With deficits looming as seriously as they are, why is now the right moment to lock in several hundred billion dollars of tax cuts for 2 percent of the population when we could be using those revenues to strengthen incentives for investment in the country's future?" Summers said.

"I think the case is pretty clear, if you look at what the vast majority of economists are saying, (that) what will stimulate economy more are measures that are targeted at investments, it's measures that are targeted at research and development," he continued. "So I think those are the right steps forward."

link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bush-Tax-Cuts-Not-Important-cnbc-1152867279.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=

There is some actual sanity in this CNBC article. Believe it or not coming from Summers.

[Po_d Mainiac]

64. He may say the right thing, but I'll be convinced when he DOES the right thing

In the mean time, feed him pretzels in mass quantity.

[Dr.Phool]

65. 31 Blue Dog traitors who wan to extend tax cuts for the rich.

Rep. Jim Matheson (UT)
Rep. Gary Peters (MI)
Rep. Melissa Bean (IL)
Rep. Glenn Nye (VA)
Rep. Michael McMahon (NY)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (TN)
Rep. John Salazar (CO)
Rep. Brad Ellsworth (IN)
Rep. Dan Boren (IN)
Rep. Jim Himes (CT)
Rep. John Barrow (GA)
Rep. Ron Klein (FL)
Rep. Zack Space (OH)
Rep. Jason Altmire (PA)
Rep. Allen Boyd (FL)
Rep. Joe Donnelly (IN)
Rep. Jim Cooper (TN)
Rep. Frank Kratovil (MD)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (NC)
Rep. Earl Pomeroy (ND)
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ)
Rep. Jim Marshall (GA)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (SD)
Rep. Sanford Bishop (GA)
Rep. Mike Ross (AR)
Rep. Rick Boucher (VA)
Rep. Harry Teague (NM)
Rep. Travis Childers (MS)
Rep. Walt Minnick (ID)
Rep. Harry Mitchell (AZ)
Rep. Jim Costa (CA)

[florida08]

71. copied and pasted..thank you

[StarburstClock]

66. I quit trading yesterday.

Trading/speculating is just like "investing", a pure gamble/guess as to what a few big firms will do with their HFT algorithms, either in response to self-generated propaganda or government propaganda. I recently referred to myself as a "computer crime trader" as that is all that occurs in our completely propped up and rigged markets. As numerous financial writers have said in vain, the markets in the United States have become preposterous fakes, a shell of a free market that used to be regulated. It is true that at some point propagandists start believing their own lies and that point is now as there is nothing in the mainstream press except for the discussions of false paradigms built on faked premises.

Before I stopped trading I looked over the last 20 years of market behavior: two bubbles that popped, the NASDAQ bubble and the Real Estate bubble and 20 years of deregulation lies, corruption, cronyism, and increasing propaganda to the point of absurdity and a complete dumbing-down of the American populace as a whole. There are only little pockets of sane people remaining, those who refuse to believe the onslaught of false information they are fed 24/7. We have truly become jingoistic war mongers, preying on each other like diseased animals trying to survive, incapable of seeing the big picture. It is perfectly OK to lie as long as you don't get caught in the get-ahead-at-all-costs nation, just set up a legal defense fund to pay off anyone dumb enough to fight it. Most corporations are nothing but front organizations now, there's nothing to invest in or even speculate on, they sell what their propaganda can invent as they incessantly search for new fees, late fees, financial gimmicks, cost cutting tricks and price rigging techniques.

Laws mean nothing either, they're formed by corporations for corporations. The virtues of torture is debated by people who sell themselves to them, along with the Darwinist views of whomever survives must be the fittest. Winning means more than life itself, money is god and image is everything. It's a complete fraud that exists only for those willing to buy it. I am no longer willing to play with those who've rigged the game against me and all like me.

What will I do with my time (as if anyone would care)? I'll keep working as a legal assistant and help others promote their small local businesses, along with creating music and working daily towards a greater good in whatever measly small ways that I can.

[TheWatcher]

72. INCREDIBLE Post, StarburstClock.

And if anyone has not done so, let me be the first one to welcome you to DU. :)

PLEASE post more.

Insight like yours is what we need more of around here.

You definitely get it.

[florida08]

74. +100

[Tansy_Gold]

75. I'll drink to that!

And yes, a hearty welcome to you. Glad you found our little enclave, and I hope you stay for a while.
:toast:


Tansy Gold, pouring another iced tea laced only with sugar

[Roland99]

76. Kudos and welcome!

[DemReadingDU]

77. Indeed, the market is a rigged casino

Welcome to SMW!
:hi:

[Tansy_Gold]

78. The SMW Chant: We're not rigged! We're not rigged! We're not rigged!

:hi:

sorry, DRDU, it's been a weird day, and strange things enter my head.

:shrug:

TG, NTY

[DemReadingDU]

80. LOL

:rofl:


On re-reading, it does seem unexpectedly weirdly rigged.
:hi:

[truthisfreedom]

81. Excellent post. I agree completely. I have never invested a penny into the stock market, and never

intend to. My investment has been in myself and my company.

[tclambert]

91. Welcome! However, . . .

I saw the movie "21" and thought, "If those stupid MIT kids could beat Las Vegas casinos playing blackjack, then I can beat Wall Street." Warren Buffett and George Soros have done pretty well. And I'm smarter than all those guys. Well, at leat I've got them beat in egomania. I don't take investment advice from the financial media, though. I get ideas from Scientific American and Popular Science. Except for flying cars. Flying cars are just crazy.

[AnneD]

94. That could sum up ....

the attitude of most of us on this thread these days. I get my info from, the SWT, Scientific American, National Geographic, Popular Mechanic, and what ever else I am reading (I am a big SF fan too).Welcome to the SWT-this is were the small investors have fled... :toast:

[ozymandius]

99. Welcome!

And thanks for this. I cannot respond at length at the moment. Kinda busy. Please drop by more often. :hi:

[truedelphi]

101. yes welcome to DU.

And enjoy making music.

Our current scenario reminds me of when friends would approach Herman Hesse, and be amazed that he was still producing such wonderful tales amidst the Nazi Third Recih. how do you do it they'd ask?

And the great man wou d nod to his garden and say to them, "Come and have a small smoke with me."

[TonyMontana]

100. RIM higher. Yay! (nm)