STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday November 9

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday November 9, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON November 8, 2010

Dow 11,406.84 -37.24 (-0.33%)
Nasdaq 2,580.05 +1.07 (+0.04%)
S&P 500 1,223.25 -2.60 (-0.21%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.53 -0.02 (-0.90%)
30-Year Bond 4.09 -0.04 (-0.85%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
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Handy Links - Government Issues:
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Handy Links - Videos:
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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 Report

10:00 Wholesale Inventories Sep
Briefing.com 1.5%
Consensus 0.6%
Prior 0.8%

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

[ozymandius]

7. Ahead of the Bell: Wholesale Inventories

Analysts with IFR Markets were forecasting that business inventories held by wholesalers rose 0.6 percent in September and sales increased by a similar 0.6 percent. The Commerce Department will release the new report at 10 a.m. EST Tuesday.

In August, wholesale inventories rose 0.8 percent following a much larger 1.5 percent rise in July.

Inventory rebuilding has provided critical support as the economy as struggled to emerge from a deep recession. Increased orders to fill empty store shelves have translated into higher production at the nation's factories. Manufacturing has been one of the standout performers so far as U.S. factories have benefited from businesses restocking and from stronger export sales.

more

Should the inventory numbers increase - this would be a 180º reversal of the dynamic we saw in 2009 after the waves of financial crises hit.

[ozymandius]

2. Oil below $87 in Asia, retreating from year high

BANGKOK – Oil prices hovered under $87 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, retreating from a high for the year as regional stock markets fell.

In Asia on Tuesday, crude traders took their cues from stock markets which were mostly lower as euphoria over the Federal Reserve's massive stimulus faded, halting a rally that drove some of the region's benchmarks to record highs.

In other Nymex trading in December contracts, heating oil was little changed at $2.40 a gallon and gasoline was steady at $2.18 a gallon. Natural gas added 8 cents to $4.17 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Ghost Dog]

3. Global Update

Yen Rises Versus Euro as Asia Stocks Fall; Bond Risk Increases

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The yen rose to a one-week high against the euro after China said it will curb the flow of “hot money” into its economy and as speculation increased that European nations will struggle to raise funds. Asian stocks retreated from a two-year high and bond risk increased.

The yen climbed to 111.92 per euro as of 5 p.m. in Tokyo from 113.01 in New York, and the 16-nation currency weakened versus 12 of its 16 major counterparts. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2 percent, snapping a six-day, 4.6 percent rally. The Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.1 percent while futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 0.3 percent. The cost of insuring Asian bonds against non-payment rose by the most in almost a month, according to credit-default swaps traders.

China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange said it will strengthen the auditing of overseas fundraising and force banks to hold more foreign exchange, joining countries from Brazil to Thailand that have taken steps to curb currency fluctuations. The growing gaps between yields on Portuguese and Irish bonds and those on German bunds underscores concern that the most indebted nations will struggle to pay, limiting the euro’s gains after it fell to a three-year low in June.

“Capital inflows are slowing, markets are starting to plateau,” Todd Martin, a Hong Kong-based equity strategist in Asia for Societe Generale, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “You’re already seeing the credit default swaps blowing out a bit and that will once again create volatility.”

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&sid=a9_FOvSJUXdk


China to Tighten Control on Inflows of Overseas Funds

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- China will force banks to hold more foreign exchange and strengthen auditing of overseas fund raising as part of efforts to crack down on hot-money inflows.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange will tighten management of banks’ foreign-debt quotas and introduce new rules on their currency provisioning, the regulator said in a statement on its website. The government will also regulate Chinese special-purpose vehicles overseas and tighten controls on equity investments by foreign companies in China, it said.

The measures underscore concern around the world that the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to buy its own debt to keep borrowing costs near zero will cause investors to seek higher yields in emerging markets. Chinese and European leaders have said they plan to discuss the impact of quantitative easing at the Group of 20 summit this week in Seoul as well as the dangers of competitive currency devaluations.

“Some international funds will flee from dollar assets because of the Fed’s easing, and China’s SAFE is trying all means to plug loopholes in possible channels for hot-money inflows,” said Zhao Qingming, a senior financial-market analyst at China Construction Bank Corp. in Beijing, the country’s second-largest lender.

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCLbS07YYUMc&pos=4


European Stocks Climb to a Two-Year High; Vodafone, Hermes Gain

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks climbed, sending the Stoxx Europe 600 Index to a two-year high, after companies from Vodafone Group Plc to Adecco SA announced earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. U.S. futures and Asian shares declined.

Vodafone rallied 1.3 percent after the world’s largest mobile-phone company by sales raised its profit forecast. Adecco climbed 3.2 percent after the staffing company posted a jump in third-quarter profit. Hermes International SCA jumped 3.6 percent after the luxury-goods maker lifted its full-year sales forecast. Carlsberg A/S led declining shares after the Danish brewer reported earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.

The Stoxx 600 gained 0.4 percent to 273.01 at 9:40 a.m. in London, taking the benchmark index to its highest level since Sept. 22, 2008.

“The market is still being pressured by concerns about Europe and sovereign debt issues, specifically that of Ireland,” London-based Ioan Smith, a director at Knight Capital Europe Ltd., said. “But generally, better-than-expected corporate earnings have provided some respite. How long that will last will depend on the bond market.”

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aus31sdulUpI&pos=2


U.S. Bond Upgrades Beat Europe’s at Record Pace: Credit Markets

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. credit quality is improving relative to Europe at a record pace, underscoring greater economic growth in North America and ratings downgrades of nations from Ireland to Greece.

Standard & Poor’s ratio of U.S. upgrades to downgrades is 1.07 this year, compared with 0.46 in Europe, the widest gap ever, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. S&P lifted the ratings of 455 U.S. issuers including Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and lowered 427. In Europe there were 102 upgrades, including France’s second-largest automaker Renault SA, versus 224 cuts.

The U.S. is benefiting as the Federal Reserve pumps money into the economy and investors snap up riskier assets, allowing the neediest borrowers to access capital and refinance debt. Europe, where interest rates are also at record lows, is lagging behind, mired in a sovereign-debt crisis and a slow-growing economy fettered by the strong euro.

“The potential for additional downgrades is the highest in Europe,” said Diane Vazza, head of global fixed-income research at S&P in New York. The region “is plagued by sovereign-debt uncertainties and expectations for a slow economic recovery,” she said.

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7Z0_0SbrNKU&pos=6


The S&P GSCI index of 24 commodities climbed to the highest since Oct. 2, 2008. Cotton led gains, rising 3.2 percent to a record before a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that economists in a Bloomberg News survey expect to show a decline in global inventories. Arabica coffee futures advanced to a 13- year high, raw sugar rose to the highest price since 1981, gold climbed to a record $1,414.85 an ounce and copper jumped as much as 1.6 percent.

/... http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601010&sid=a9_FOvSJUXdk

[ozymandius]

5. Nice.

That is a well-crafted synopsis.

About China: The central bank is hyper-vigilant over the hot money. So much is flying to productive areas of the world through the carry trade. For China, this is a very smart move to increase the bank reserves.

[Ghost Dog]

15. Ah, high praise coming from you, Ozy.

The hot money must go quickly into something hot and bubbly, an in-and-out quick situation, notice; no room, no time for direction or planning, much less an industrial or development policy of any sort.

[Ghost Dog]

19. From RT on hot money (Hudson):

... The American plan to devalue the dollar would flood the global economy with money that would be used to buy out everything that values at local markets, he believes.

“Essentially, you’ll have America’s financial system and the banks acting as an army to raid foreign currencies.”

The US will traditionally break any of its promises to other countries because ‘if there are no penalties – there is no agreement’, which has been the way of American diplomacy for the last 50 years, says the economist.

“Deals are for other people to follow, not the U.S. It puts itself over and above the agreements.” ... Naturally, America sees China as a potential enemy and that is why it is on top of the Pentagon’s list of strategic enemies. So China is not apt to finance the American war machine anymore.

/... http://rt.com/Politics/2010-11-09/us-declared-financial-war.html

[mrdmk]

71. "Hot Money", was a new term to me! Here is what I found...

The literature on “flight capital” is rich and varied but far from thorough or complete. The
term flight capital is most commonly applied in reference to money that shifts out of
developing countries, usually into western economies. Motivations for such shifts are
usually regarded as portfolio diversification or fears of political or economic instability or
fears of taxation or inflation or confiscation. All of these are valid explanations for the
phenomenon, yet the most common motivation appears to be, instead, a desire for the
hidden accumulation of wealth.

Flight capital takes two forms—legal and illegal. Legal flight capital is calculated in the
Hot Money Method of analysis as portfolio investment and other short-term investments,
but not including longer-term foreign direct investment. Legal flight capital is recorded on
the books of the entity or individual making the transfer, and earnings from interest,
dividends, and realized capital gains normally return to the country of origin.

Illegal flight capital is intended to disappear from any record in the country of origin, and
earnings on the stock of illegal flight capital outside of a country do not normally return to
the country of origin. Illegal flight capital can be generated through a number of means that
are not revealed in national accounts or balance of payments figures, including trade
mispricing, bulk cash movements, hawala transactions, smuggling, and more.

While there is a clear conceptual difference between legal and illegal flight capital, the
statistical distinction between the two can be difficult. Furthermore, available data are often
incomplete or erroneously entered in developing country accounts. This report relies on
available data without making a judgment as to its accuracy.

link: http://www.gfip.org/storage/gfip/executive%20-%20final%20version%201-5-09.pdf


One has to wonder if China believes in 'Free-Market?' If not, why do so many companies doing business there spout that crap?

[Demeter]

79. "Hot Money"

is funds that are quickly moved across the globe, searching for the highest yield. Like water sloshing in a bathtub, or a tsunami, hot money can drown a nation or enterprise, or leave it high and dry and thirsty.

[ozymandius]

4. Volcker says no quick way to cut US unemployment

BEIJNG – Paul Volcker, a top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, said Tuesday he sees no short-term way to reduce high U.S. unemployment and expects slow growth for the next year or more.

Volcker's comments come after the U.S. Federal Reserve said last week it would purchase $600 billion in Treasurys in an effort to boost growth and create jobs, cutting unemployment that stands at 9.6 percent.

"I suspect that it will gradually decline. But the basic fact of the matter is that the economic outlook is for continuing but limited increases in economic activity for the next year or more," he said.

more

It looks like a 5% UE rate is just a pipe dream.

[tclambert]

16. I'm tellin' ya, we should build pyramids!

This country needs a project. We need something big to devote energy and imagination to, something that will provide tons of jobs directly and far more indirectly, through support jobs, spinoff jobs, tourism, catering services for the other workers, etc.

Okay, it doesn't have to be as pointless as pyramids, though pyramid building is better than any economic plan I've heard from Republicans.

There was a time when our national pride drove us to make America the best . . . at everything. We had to do it first. We had to do it biggest. Where did that attitude go? We no longer have the tallest building, longest bridge, longest tunnel, biggest particle collider. We no longer try to put men on the Moon. When did we last build any monumental, um, monuments? When did we come to settle for 10th place?

[DemReadingDU]

18. In Ohio, 1st thing new governor Kasich did was get rid of high speed rail

Nice huge project being developed from Cincinnati to Dayton to Columbus to Cleveland. Lots of jobs. But no, Kasich said the money would be better spent on roads. Well, that is needed too, but gas is $3 gallon, and if gas goes to $4 or higher, who is going to be driving on those roads?

[xchrom]

6. recommend

[ozymandius]

8. Thank you for dropping by every morning.

I really appreciate your kind attention. :hi:

[xchrom]

17. you're welcome -- i don't understand a lot of what you all

talk about -- but i do manage to get some education from it so i really appreciate it.

[DemReadingDU]

20. Hey! That is why I am here too

I don't post much, but there are plenty of interesting topics to read and learn.
:hi:

[xchrom]

21. glad it's not just me

:hi:

[Tansy_Gold]

24. Definitely not just you!

This is the first place I come to every morning to find out what's been going on important in the world. I always learn something, even if it's to learn there's ANOTHER thing I don't know squat about. . . ..

:hi:



TG, NTY

[xchrom]

28. i learn a lot from your posts.

you and ozy two very quick people.

:hi:

[Tansy_Gold]

36. Thank you, xchrom!

:blush:

Seriously, I consider myself one of the remedial learners in this bunch. I don't even know where to FIND some of the info others post here, and I fall far short of understanding it all. I just hope I ask smart enough questions!

:grouphug:



TG, NTY

[Demeter]

26. We are essentially a self-study group

the biggest bunch of autodidacts I've ever found.

[Tansy_Gold]

35. I resent that! Speak for yourself!

:mumble mumble:

:autodidact, autodidact:

:did she just call me a dirty name?:



:rofl:


Another spelling bee word in use!


:hi:



TG,

[Demeter]

47. Thanks for My Laugh for the Day

I know I'm one, but what are you?

[Tansy_Gold]

49. When I went back to college. . . . .

shortly before I turned 50, many many many people told me I'd have a difficult time because I'd been away from an academic environment for so long.

HA! It was all a piece of cake. In the 25 years since I'd left "school," I had read and read and read, and so I had a whole head full of reference material. Other students would struggle to right a five-page "research" paper and come up with five "sources," when I'd bang out 10, 15, 20 pages and have have 30 cites.

"How do you KNOW all this stuff?" one "kid" asked me in the middle of a class discussion.

"I read, and I've been reading since I can remember. Do you read? Or do you watch TV?"




Tansy Gold, autodidact and PROUD, damn it!

[AnneD]

67. I left college the day I figured out......

that they could not teach me more than I could teach myself.

And I was right. I wrote a preliminary Master's thesis in Economics for cash for this guy (I was paid well at the time). He was graded a B+ and passed his Economics course. The professor was sure it was not the student's but could not find it online. Well, it was original and my work. It helped me get through Nursing School.

The rest of the story...He worked at Enron and God only knows where he is today or even if he is working. I, on the other hand, have been a Nurse for many years. I have to admit-sometimes I feel a bit smug knowing I COULD get a Master's, until I remember that it would be in Economics :evilgrin:.

AnneD, also an autodidact and proud-but not too proud to learn something new every day or ask questions when I don't understand.

[Demeter]

74. "I feel a bit smug knowing I COULD get a Master's, until I remember that it would be in Economics"

:rofl: Take that, Bernanke!

[tclambert]

77. You were the one who helped W through school?

I knew somebody must have.

PS. I taught myself how to change out the rotors and brake pads on my car. So I'm an autodidact, too.

[Demeter]

80. Better Yet, You Are an Auto-Autodidact!

[tclambert]

82. If I had only two fingers . . .

I'd be an auto-autodidact didactyl.

In my defense, I've been having a bad brain day.

[AnneD]

85. I rebuilt the carb...

on my 68 Beetle. When I got the kit and saw that the gaskets were nothing more than heavy stock construction paper, I felt cheated. Damn, I could have made those myself. I did have a friend help me set the timing cause I didn't have the equipment. Now that you mention it-I too am an auto-autodidact. Being a poor sutudent does that to you.

[AnneD]

86. He never writes...

he never call. He didn't even offer me an advisor post. I feel so used :blush:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

68. I currently prefer the term "buccaneer-scholar"

since I recently read the book by James Bach
http://www.buccaneerscholar.com/

[ozymandius]

9. Barclays Profit Falls 76%, Capital Remains ‘Strong’

From Bloomberg:

Pretax profit in the three months to Sept. 30 dropped to 327 million pounds ($527 million) from 1.36 billion pounds in the year-earlier period, the London-based company said today in a statement. Barclays Capital, the investment banking unit led by Chief Executive Officer-designate Robert Diamond, posted a pretax loss of 182 million pounds from a profit of 369 million pounds. The bank’s “capital, leverage and liquidity ratios remain strong,” Barclays said.

Barclays’s bad loan provisions declined 27 percent to 1.2 billion pounds, the company said.

Revenue at Barclays Capital declined 24 percent to 2.8 billion pounds as fixed income, currency and commodities fell by 28 percent, while equities and prime services fell by 34 percent in the third quarter, the bank said. Operating expenses at the division were little changed at 1.8 billion pounds.

I still wonder why the banks' management has sounded the trumpets and popped the champagne corks over this news. Just another reason for more cowbell?

[ozymandius]

10. Another reason why Robert Zoellick in just plain dumb.

The World Bank president wants this pricing/trading structure to be used as an international currency base? Under these conditions?

From Bloomberg:

Gold Advances to Record on European Government Funding Concerns

Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Gold advanced to a record in London as concern that some European governments may struggle to raise funds boosted demand for a protection of wealth. Silver reached a 30-year high of more than $28 an ounce.

The euro weakened against the dollar on concern debt- stricken nations will struggle to repay bondholders and spending cuts will stifle growth in the region. The greenback fell to a nine-month low last week as the Federal Reserve said it will purchase more debt. Gold usually moves inversely to the dollar.

European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn is in Ireland today to examine the country’s budget after the government in Dublin laid out a plan last week to cut spending and raise taxes by as much as 6 billion euros ($8.3 billion) in 2011. Concern that Greece may go bankrupt earlier this year helped gold advance to a then-record.

“Money is heading toward gold because the euro is falling and the dollar is poised to fall,” said Chris Yoo, head of global derivatives at Samsung Futures Inc. in Seoul.

Gold is a hedge against devalued currency. A shelter from a global currency war. That is why the price continues to increase. It is not, as Zoellick so clumsily called for a system that "is likely to need to involve the dollar, the euro, the yen, the pound and (yuan) that moves toward internationalization and then an open capital account."

[54anickel]

40. OH he's just trying to put that Genie back in the bottle, that flare back in the gun, that obvious

evidence of out of control inflation back under the rug...He's simply looking for some way to manipulate it's value. Far as I'm concerned it is the Brenton Woods institutions of the World Bank and IMF that are the barbaric relics.
Currency wars, here we come! Especially with the not-so-world-savy tea partiers threatening to take over the helm.

[ozymandius]

11. Fed: Small banks crack down on mortgage lending

From CNN/Money

Smaller banks -- those with annual sales of less than $50 million -- mostly tightened their standards for traditional mortgages in the last three months, and large banks -- those with assets of more $20 billion -- widely left their standards unchanged, the Fed said.

Banks' willingness to lend money has become a focal point in the economic recovery. Economists warn that sluggish consumer and business spending are both holding the recovery back, and some say, tighter credit conditions are part of the problem.

That drop in demand is "disturbing," said Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist with Capital Economics, especially after the Fed announced at least $600 billion in monetary stimulus last week. The policy, known as quantitative easing, is meant to boost consumer and business spending by making it cheaper to borrow money.

I posted some analysis from the latest Chicago Fed report that asks the question, "Why aren't banks lending?" You can download the PDF report here. You can also read a synopsis of the report here. The main reason behind tightening lending standards appears to rest with commercial real estate being the anchor and chain of mortgage defaults. Small banks do not have the Fed safety net that larger banks enjoy.

[boomerbust]

12. Government-backed small business lending in Wisconsin surges in October

Nov. 09Government-backed business lending in Wisconsin surged last month as stimulus measures again took effect.

The $96.7 million in loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in October was more than double the September figure and represented the state's highest monthly total in at least five years.

The jump came after the government reinstated higher guarantee levels for SBA loans  an incentive to banks to lend  and again began paying loan origination fees that otherwise would fall to borrowers.

Those steps originally were enacted as part of the stimulus package in 2009. They spurred sharp increases in SBA lending, but expired last spring, causing loan activity to plunge. The Small Business Jobs Act, signed in late September, renewed the measures through Dec. 31.

The act also permanently raised the amount that can be borrowed under the SBA's flagship program from $2 million to $5 million. That change brought five loans of more than $2 million in Wisconsin last month, including $4.4 million from First Bank Financial Centre to Pewaukee-based Culver's franchisee Beres Foods LLC; and $2.3 million, also from First Bank Financial Centre, to TTMT Inc., operator of the Genesis Restaurant on S.108th St. in Greenfield.

Among other loans in the area were $2 million to BDA Sales LLC, Milwaukee; $2 million to The Skin Institute & Day Spa Inc., Milwaukee; and $1.9 million to Salima Petrol Inc., West Allis.

To see more of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jsonline.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [e-mail], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call [phone])
.

[ozymandius]

13. G'bye folks.

:donut: :donut: :donut: Time to head out the door.

[Festivito]

14. Debt: 11/05/2010 13,723,330,060,510.52 (DOWN 109,607,929.66) (Fri)

(Down a little. Good day.)
Loud people telling us who knows.
(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)
= 9,135,469,398,688.94 + 4,587,860,661,821.58
DOWN 209,791,147.70 + UP 100,183,218.04

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,219.18 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.66, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,637,792 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,177.92.
A family of three owes $132,533.75. (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 4,303,364,623.38.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,299,246,211.26.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,192,818,914.12.
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$/day.
There were 276 reports in 401 days of FY2011 averaging 6.57B$ per report, 4.52B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 807 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.8 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)
11/05/2010 13,723,330,060,510.52 BHO (UP 3,096,453,011,597.44 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,161,707,029,618.80 ------------* * * * BHO
Endof11 +16,747,356,110,936.10 ------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | per 1B Too much to predict at this time.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
10/18/2010 +000,841,690,317.23 ------------******** Mon
10/19/2010 +000,443,038,294.93 ------------********
10/20/2010 +001,330,613,152.94 ------------*********
10/21/2010 -003,241,964,507.19 --
10/22/2010 -000,039,023,333.21 ----
10/25/2010 +000,057,456,608.35 ------------******* Mon
10/26/2010 +000,564,111,327.93 ------------********
10/27/2010 +000,111,394,550.30 ------------********
10/28/2010 -000,237,760,056.32 ---
10/29/2010 +010,778,095,157.00 ------------**********
11/01/2010 +063,143,305,537.83 ------------********** Mon
11/02/2010 +000,562,237,098.37 ------------********
11/03/2010 -000,042,244,820.71 ----
11/04/2010 +002,136,844,217.63 ------------*********
11/05/2010 -000,209,791,147.70 ---

76,198,002,397.38 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=4605902&mesg_id=4605908

[Festivito]

83. Debt: 11/08/2010 13,725,166,759,183.46 (UP 1,836,698,672.94) (Mon)

(Down a little. Good day.)
Need gas. Glad the lead is out.
(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)
= 9,135,409,429,433.01 + 4,589,757,329,750.45
DOWN 59,969,255.93 + UP 1,896,667,928.87

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 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,218.96 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.66, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,659,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,180.76.
A family of three owes $132,542.27. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,291,155,641.37.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,703,808,948.96.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,584,331,240.93.
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$/day.
There were 277 reports in 404 days of FY2011 averaging 6.55B$ per report, 4.49B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 804 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.8 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)
11/08/2010 13,725,166,759,183.46 BHO (UP 3,098,289,710,270.38 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,163,543,728,291.70 ------------* * * * BHO
Endof11 +15,459,097,948,556.40 ------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | per 1B Too much to predict at this time.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
10/19/2010 +000,443,038,294.93 ------------********
10/20/2010 +001,330,613,152.94 ------------*********
10/21/2010 -003,241,964,507.19 --
10/22/2010 -000,039,023,333.21 ----
10/25/2010 +000,057,456,608.35 ------------******* Mon
10/26/2010 +000,564,111,327.93 ------------********
10/27/2010 +000,111,394,550.30 ------------********
10/28/2010 -000,237,760,056.32 ---
10/29/2010 +010,778,095,157.00 ------------**********
11/01/2010 +063,143,305,537.83 ------------********** Mon
11/02/2010 +000,562,237,098.37 ------------********
11/03/2010 -000,042,244,820.71 ----
11/04/2010 +002,136,844,217.63 ------------*********
11/05/2010 -000,209,791,147.70 ---
11/08/2010 -000,059,969,255.93 ---- Mon

75,296,342,824.22 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=4607495&mesg_id=4607535

[Demeter]

22. At Legal Fringe, Empty Houses Go to the Needy MUST READ

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/us/09foreclosure.html

Save Florida Homes Inc. and its owner, Mark Guerette, have found foreclosed homes for several needy families here in Broward County, and his tenants could not be more pleased. Fabian Ferguson, his wife and two children now live a two-bedroom home they have transformed from damaged and abandoned to full and cozy.

There is just one problem: Mr. Guerette is not the owner. Yet.

In a sign of the odd ingenuity that has grown from the real estate collapse, he is banking on an 1869 Florida statute that says the bundle of properties he has seized will be his if the owners do not claim them within seven years.

A version of the same law was used in the 1850s to claim possession of runaway slaves, though Mr. Guerette, 47, a clean-cut mortgage broker, sees his efforts as heroic. “There are all these properties out there that could be used for good,” he said.

The North Lauderdale authorities, though, see him as a crook. He is scheduled to go on trial in December on fraud charges in a case that, along with a handful of others in Florida and in other states, could determine whether maintaining a property and paying taxes on it is enough to lead to ownership...

TITLE IS FLAWED, BUT TOPIC IS TIMELY AND UNDER THE RADAR

[Demeter]

23. BP cleared of cutting corners

BP did not put cost before safety in drilling the Macondo well that ruptured in April, according to the presidential commission investigating the spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/FG6LAA/LQCFIK/HI3M9/HD8U4N/5CYI1A/PJ/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=9

[Dr.Phool]

61. More change we can make believe in.

[mbperrin]

63. The well just MIRACLED itself into a blowout!

Well, nothing to see here, move along, citizen.

[Demeter]

25. ICBC accelerates overseas push

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e9c247dc-eb30-11df-811d-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss&ftcamp=crm/email/2010119/nbe/GlobalBusiness/product#axzz14mrENIUo

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s most valuable and profitable bank, is accelerating its overseas expansion with plans to open more branches in the Middle East and in major cities across Europe.

ICBC formally opened its Abu Dhabi branch on Sunday in the United Arab Emirates and is considering opening branches in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It also has a subsidiary company in the region based in Doha, Qatar.

in Europe, the bank plans to open five branches – in Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid Milan and Paris – over the coming months as it seeks follow the growing number of Chinese companies doing business overseas....

LOOK OUT GOLDMAN SACHS! THIS IS WHAT WILL BRING OUR ZOMBIES DOWN, YOU BETCHA

[Demeter]

27. Merkel warns on protectionism

The German chancellor suggested that China must be persuaded with ‘facts and benchmarks’ to set a ‘fair exchange rate’ for the renminbi, rather than be attacked for its currency policy

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/R5WAEE/C5LDE8/7ZY85/18QX8D/XT7MQA/82/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=9

CAN THE IRON LADY OF GERMANY HOLD HER OWN AGAINST 1.35 BILLION HUNGRY CHINESE?

[Demeter]

29. China offers help to debt-hit Lisbon

China has promised “concrete measures” to help Portugal, which is struggling to avert a sovereign debt crisis, with support that is expected to include purchases of Portuguese government debt

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/NA70KK/UUWLJ2/K91WR/18Q7PQ/M9BT3V/ID/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=8

I THINK THAT IS THE OPENING SALVO OF WWIII

[Demeter]

30. Nomura eyes US acquisition

Nomura, Japan’s largest investment bank, was keeping its eye “on the radar screen” for a US deal, says Takumi Shibata,
chief operating officer

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/GKGYEF/YGZ3O/0GEZF4/C5RSIR/UP/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=8

AND LOOK! THE VULTURES ARE ALREADY CIRCLING!

[Ghost Dog]

65. Flying the black flag of himself.

When God, disgusted with man,
Turned towards heaven,
And man, disgusted with God,
Turned towards Eve,
Things looked like falling apart.

But Crow Crow
Crow nailed them together,
Nailing heaven and earth together-

So man cried, but with God's voice.
And God bled, but with man's blood.

Then heaven and earth creaked at the joint
Which became gangrenous and stank-
A horror beyond redemption.

The agony did not diminish.

Man could not be man nor God God.

The agony

Grew.

Crow

Grinned

Crying: "This is my Creation,"

Flying the black flag of himself.


- "Crow Blacker Than Ever" - Ted Hughes, ca. 1969

[Hawkowl]

69. More like midwar salvo

This is just another bit of evidence of China exchanging all the dollars it earns from the US into other currencies and real goods and commodities. China is sucking up so many dollars they simply must dump them abroad and buy virtually anything and everything to keep their domestic inflation from causing riots at home. They buy copper mines in Australia, oil fields in Africa, joint manufacturing plants in Brazil, and now sovereign debts of Europe. Pay for it in soon to be worth less dollars and get nice shiny stuff in return while avoiding the nasty peasants' next cultural revolution.

China, unlike the US, has a very deliberate longterm economic/industrial plan--and it appears to be brilliant. When I was in Economics grad school 25 years ago, 80% of the class was from mainland China!! Looks like they are doing a kick ass job to me.

[Demeter]

34. The Chances of a War with China are Rising By Mike Whitney

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26655.htm

The United States conducts monetary policy the same way it conducts foreign policy; unilaterally. When Fed chairman Ben Bernanke signaled last week that he was planning to restart his bond purchasing program (Quantitative Easing) he didn't consult with allies at the IMF, the G-20 or the WTO. He simply issued his edict, and that was that. The fact that the Fed's policy will flood emerging markets with cheap capital, pushing up the value of their currencies and igniting inflation, is of no concern to Bernanke. He operates on the same theory as former Treasury Secretary John Connally who breezily quipped to a group of euro finance ministers, “The dollar is our currency, but your problem.”

Bernanke's 15 report could have been reduced to nine words: Inflation is too low and unemployment is too high. That said, Bernanke is not going to sit back hemming and hawing until congress figures out that the economy needs more support. He's going to put downward pressure on the dollar until inflation rises to the target 2%, increasing the prospects for lower unemployment, a narrowing of the current account deficit, and a faster rebound. Economist Edward Hugh sums it up like this:

“Unemployment in the United States (which is currently at 9.6%, and may reach 10% by the end of the year) is causing enormous problems for the Obama administration. The US labor market and welfare system are simply not designed to run with these levels of unemployment for any length of time. In Japan the unemployment rate is 5.1%, and in Germany it is under 8%. So people in Washington, not unreasonably ask themselves why the US should shoulder so much extra unemployment and run a current account deficit just to maintain the Bretton Woods system and the reserve currency status of the US Dollar.

My feeling is that the US administration has decided to reduce the unemployment rate, and close the current account deficit, and that the only way to achieve this is to force the value of the dollar down. That way it will be US factories rather than German or Japanese ones that are humming to the sound of the new orders which come in from all that flourishing emerging market demand.”

Bernanke has drawn the same conclusions as Hugh, but that doesn't mean his strategy won't inflict considerable damage on US allies. It will. His beggar-thy-neighbor QE program will force trading partners to implement capital controls and other protectionist measures to maintain price stability. QE will also lead to more competitive devaluation as the world's largest economies fight for a bigger share of the export market. The impending clash could bring about the dissolution of the present trade regime and a sharp reversal of 30-years of globalization.

Bernanke's biggest problem is China. China was America's darling when it was loading up on Treasuries and fueling a historic consumption binge that filled Wall Street's coffers. But now that the purchase of US debt is preventing the Fed from implementing its monetary policy, Bernanke wants a change. Unfortunately, China is not cooperating. It's piling up foreign exchange reserves at record pace to maintain the dollar peg which is widening the current account deficit to precrisis levels. The yawning trade imbalance is pushing the world towards another crisis, which is why Bernanke and Co. are determined to persuade China to let its currency to appreciate to narrow the gap. (China's foreign exchange reserves surged to $2.65tr in the 3rd quarter)

Bottom line: The Fed cannot jump-start the domestic economy if the trade deficit continues to grow. It's impossible. The stimulus just gets flushed down the plughole. China is soaking up the lion's share of global demand by underbidding the US on everything under the sun. That's the real effect of the dollar peg, it gives China an unfair advantage over its competitors. A free-floating currency helps to level the playing field (even if US labor is competing with some of the world's worst paid workers) Bernanke's announcement last Friday, is just the first shot fired over Beijing's bow. There will be more to come. This weekend's meeting of the G-20 provides Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner with the perfect opportunity to put the spotlight on China and to rail against currency manipulation. Many expect him to make a strong statement demanding changes to the policy....

Neither the Obama administration nor the Fed want a full-blown trade war with China. They'd rather see China “assume its position in the global system”. (as US diplomats aver) But that means that China will have to compromise on, what it considers to be, a matter of national sovereignty. And, there's the rub. China is a proud nation and doesn't want to be told what to do. But that's not how the system works. Behind the facade of free markets and international institutions, lies an imperial system ruled from Washington. That leaves Beijing with two options; they can either bow to US pressure and fall in line or shrug off Washington's demands and continue on the same path. If they choose to resist, relations with the US will grow more acrimonious and the probability of conflict will rise.

ASSUME ITS POSITION? CHINA? WHAT NONSENSE

[Ghost Dog]

66. Behind the façade...

Behind the facade of free markets and international institutions, lies an imperial system ruled from Washington. That leaves Beijing with two options; they can either bow to US pressure and fall in line or shrug off Washington's demands and continue on the same path. If they choose to resist, relations with the US will grow more acrimonious and the probability of conflict will rise.


Verbum sapienti satis est. ¡Ojo!

[Demeter]

31. 11 State Pensions Funds That Will Run Out Of Money

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-state-pension-funds-in-the-most-trouble-2010-10

The most immediate state pension crises aren't in New York or California. They're in Middle America.

Illinois is just 8 years away from exhausting its pension fund and creating a yearly $14 billion hole, according to data from Kellogg professor Joshua Rauh .

That's a projected 32 percent of the state's revenue going to fill a pension hole. Every year.

Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Colorado are among the next pension funds to fall. The rest of the union is just around the corner.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-state-pension-funds-in-the-most-trouble-2010-10#ixzz14mzQPiLE

[Demeter]

32. Bank of America Loses $7.3 Billion in Third Quarter

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/bank-of-america-loses-73-billion-in-third-quarter-2010-10-19

...The company attributed the deficit to new financial reform regulations that place a limit on fee amounts credit card issuers can charge merchants for accepting debit card payments. The new rule resulted in a $10.4 billion “goodwill impairment” charge and according to BofA, will continue to diminish its credit card revenues moving forward.

Had it not been for the big hit to its card business, the North Carolina-based financial institution says it would have seen a profit of $3.1 billion, or 27 cents per share, for the third quarter. ..

:nopity:

[Demeter]

33. Too Pig to Jail? Ban Foreclosures Now By Ted Rall

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26660.htm



It is time to stop foreclosures.

Not for a few weeks. Not temporarily.

Forever.

Foreclosure has always been terrible for America. It's bad enough to fall on hard times, whether it's due to a medical catastrophe or a job loss. Getting kicked out of your house forces you to couch-surf or camp outside, struggling to survive day to day. This makes it even harder to get back on your feet.

Foreclosures penalize spouses and innocent children. And, as studies have shown, shuttered houses reduce property values in the surrounding neighborhood.

At this writing millions of American families are in default on their mortgages. It's only going to get worse. The real unemployment rate is over 20 percent and rising. The global economy is still tanking. And the Obama Administration hasn't even bothered to propose a single jobs program. If this keeps up, we'll all be living outside while our empty former homes fall apart.

Flint, Michigan: America's glorious future?

It's not as though banks don't have other ways to induce people to meet their monthly nut. If you default, they can trash your credit rating. Good luck getting another mortgage later.

Even if you don't care about common decency or social stability, consider the cause of justice: The banks are criminal enterprises. Their executives are gangsters who think nothing of charging 40 percent interest on credit cards and lines of credit.

The banks don't deserve to get "their" houses back through foreclosure. (We don't even know if they're "their" houses.)...

[Tansy_Gold]

41. A neighborhood tale

Early last summer, the couple in the house next door moved out. She had lost her job a year before, and his hours were reduced down to fewer than 20 a week. They said they had tried to work with the bank -- Chase -- but simply couldn't make payments. How far behind they were, I don't know. Sometime in June they packed up and moved out. Some lights stayed on for a while, a couple weeks maybe, and then the electricity was cut off.

They had bought the place in 2000 or 2001, at a price well below the peak in 2006, so they probably had considerable equity in it. I don't know if they tried to sell it or not.

The place wasn't well maintained, but it wasn't a health hazard or anything. There was little to no landscaping (we're in a semi-rural horse-keeping area) and yeah, it sometimes looked a little trashy. They had a little miniature horse in the back of the 1.25 acre parcel and two black labs.

Then the place sat empty for a couple of months, until suddenly there were lights on again. Her adult son and his girlfriend and toddler were hangin' around, said they'd got permission to stay there. No furniture moved in, there was never any sign of the usual housekeeping activities. But hey, it made sense to have someone living there rather than having the place empty.

About two weeks ago they moved out, too. Just suddenly there weren't any lights on, no car parked there.

The BF took a walk over there Sunday afternoon. There are bags and bags and bags of trash everywhere. A couple old mattresses dragged out in the yard. Several old tires, one in shreds, litter the front driveway.

The property is not in foreclosure, it's not listed as bank owned. If I had the cash, I'd make an offer on it, fix it up, and rent it. I don't have the cash.

I'll have to call the county and let them know it's vacant and littered. I have no idea what, if anything, they can do.

The BF cleaned up some of it and put it out for regular trash collection but said last night there's just too much.




TG, NTY

[Dr.Phool]

59. It's a good thing they got all that goodwill from that Countryside thingy.

[Demeter]

37. Big Lies, Little Lies By Paul Craig Roberts

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26770.htm

If we cannot trust what the government tells us about weapons of mass destruction, terrorist events, and the reasons for its wars and bailouts, can we trust the government’s statement last Friday that the US economy gained 151,000 payroll jobs during October?

Apparently not. After examining the government’s report, statistician John Williams (shadowstats.com) reported that the jobs were “phantom jobs” created by “concurrent seasonal factor adjustments.” In other words, the 151,000 jobs cannot be found in the unadjusted underlying data. The jobs were the product of seasonal adjustments concocted by the BLS.

As usual, the financial press did no investigation and simply reported the number handed to the media by the government.

The relevant information, the information that you need to know, is that the level of payroll employment today is below the level of 10 years ago. A smaller number of Americans are employed right now than were employed a decade ago.

Think about what that means. We have had a decade of work force growth from youngsters reaching working age and from immigration, legal and illegal, but there are fewer jobs available to accommodate a decade of work force entrants than before the decade began....


The BLS household survey measures the number of people with jobs. The same October that reported 151,000 new payroll jobs reported, according to the household survey, a loss of 330,000 jobs.

The American working class has been destroyed. The American middle class is in its final stages of destruction. Soon the bottom rungs of the rich themselves will be destroyed.

[Roland99]

38. The bulls are back. The bulls are back

with apologies to Thin Lizzy

S&P 500 1,223 +3.20 +0.26%
DOW 11,390 +28.00 +0.25%
NASDAQ 2,194 +10.00 +0.46%

[Dr.Phool]

42. Bullshit!

Just sayin'.

[Demeter]

48. Well, that's some part of a bull....

[Roland99]

53. Courtesty of an email forward from my mom yesterday >>>

A LITTLE GIRL ON A PLANE

A congressman found himself seated next to a darling little girl on an airplane. She seemed absorbed in a book, but after the plane had taken off he was soon bored. So he turned to her and said, "Excuse me, Little Girl, but would you like to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger, you know."

The little girl politely closed the book and placed it in her lap. Respectfully, she replied to the total stranger, "Sure, Sir. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers, but the nice lady on the plane told me that you’re a United States congressman and that it would be okay. What is it that you would like to talk about?"

"Oh, I don't know," said the congressman, obviously pleased that she knew just what he was. "How about global warming, universal health care, or economic stimulus packages?" He smiled smugly, loosening a button on his snug vest.

“Do you know anything about those things?”

"OK," she said. "I suppose those could be interesting topics, but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff – grass, right? Yet a deer poops little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?"

The legislator, clearly impressed and visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it for a minute and says, "Hmmm, I really have no idea."

To which the little girl replies, "Then do you really feel qualified to discuss global warming, universal health care, or the economy, when you don't know shit?"

And then she went back to reading her book.

[hamerfan]

84. LOL! Love it!

Thank you for this laugh, Roland99. I really needed it today.
hamerfan

[Demeter]

39. Bernanke's Dollar Policy: "Save those Greenbacks for Fishwrap!" By Mike Whitney

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26772.htm

...The quantity of money does not matter; what matters is spending. That's what creates economic activity and growth. There's plenty of liquidity in the system right now, in fact, the banks still have nearly $1 trillion in reserves from the last round of quantitative easing. But businesses have nothing to invest it in because consumers and households are deeply in debt and are unwilling to borrow regardless of the low rates. So loan demand has dried up, less money is feeding through the system, and the slump continues....


Here's what Keynes had to say on the topic in a letter titled "An Open Letter to President Roosevelt":


"The object of recovery is to increase the national output and put more men to work. In the economic system of the modern world, output is primarily produced for sale; and the volume of output depends on the amount of purchasing power... Broadly speaking, therefore, an increase of output cannot occur unless by the operation of one or other of three factors. Individuals must be induced to spend more out of their existing incomes; or the business world must be induced, either by increased confidence in the prospects or by a lower rate of interest, to create additional current incomes in the hands of their employees, which is what happens when either the working or the fixed capital of the country is being increased; or public authority must be called in aid to create additional current incomes through the expenditure of borrowed or printed money. In bad times the first factor cannot be expected to work on a sufficient scale. The second factor will come in as the second wave of attack on the slump after the tide has been turned by the expenditures of public authority. It is, therefore, only from the third factor that we can expect the initial major impulse. ...

Thus as the prime mover in the first stage of the technique of recovery I lay overwhelming emphasis on the increase of national purchasing power resulting from governmental expenditure which is financed by Loans and not by taxing present incomes. Nothing else counts in comparison with this."

So, when consumers cannot spend (because they are underwater on their mortgages, credit cards etc), and businesses won't spend because there are no profitable outlets for investment, then the government must spend and increase its deficits or the economy will contract very fast leading to a deeper recession.

But rather than follow the tried-and-true method of Keynes, Bernanke has pinned his hopes on QE, which merely adds to bank reserves, lowers long-term interest rates and angers trading partners who've seen capital flee US markets for better returns in emerging markets. This is backasswards way of addressing a rather straightforward problem---lack of aggregate demand. And--oddly enough--Bernanke knows that his policy won't work because he did extensive research on Japan's Lost Decade and recommended coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities to end deflation. QE was tried repeatedly in Japan and failed...

In Saturday's New York Times, President Barack Obama made the case for a weaker dollar in predictable Orwellian doublespeak. Here's an excerpt from the op-ed eerily titled "Exporting Our Way to Stability":


"As the United States recovers from this recession, the biggest mistake we could make would be to rebuild our economy on the same pile of debt or the paper profits of financial speculation. We need to rebuild on a new, stronger foundation for economic growth. And part of that foundation involves doing what Americans have always done best: discovering, creating and building products that are sold all over the world.

We want to be known not just for what we consume, but for what we produce. And the more we export abroad, the more jobs we create in America. In fact, every $1 billion we export supports more than 5,000 jobs at home.

It is for this reason that I set a goal of doubling America’s exports in the next five years. To do that, we need to find new customers in new markets for American-made goods. And some of the fastest-growing markets in the world are in Asia, where I’m traveling this week." (Barack Obama, NY Times)

The only way the US can double exports in 5 years is by reducing the dollar to fishwrap---which appears to be the policy.

[54anickel]

51. Soon we will be producing products for export that we will not be able to afford to purchase

for ourselves....sound familiar? A sweatshop on every corner! USA! USA! USA!

[Demeter]

55. Don't Worry. The Quality will be so inferior

NOBODY will buy it--and how much munitions can the world buy, anyway? We are the only idiots in shooting wars now.

[Demeter]

43. 'Foreclosure Mill' Employees Got Gifts For Altering Documents, Witness Says

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/18/foreclosure-mill-employee_n_767174.html

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/oct/18/181445/witness-owner-of-foreclosure-law-firm-gave-houses-/news-metro/

"As a perk of Samons' (sic.) job, Stern's office would routinely pay her personal mortgage, a car payment, her electric bills and her cell phone bill, according to Scott, who told investigators Stern also bought Samons a new BMW sport utility vehicle every year and gave her and other employees jewelry. Additionally, Stern purchased employee David Vargas a house, a car and a cell phone, Scott claims in her statement."

According to Kelly Scott's statement, Cheryl Ramos's marathon document signing sessions took place in an office conference room and would leave her wearied. From Scott's deposition:

They would be stacked amongst each other, side by side, and Cheryl would come twice a day, in the morning and mid-afternoon, around two or three o'clock and she would sign all of them, every single one of them...
Cheryl would give certain paralegals rights to sign her name, because most of the time she was very tired exhausted from signing her name numerous times per day. You had to understand it was more than five hundred files that she's signing morning and afternoon.

...

[Demeter]

44. Witness: signatures were faked at foreclosure firm

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Witness-signatures-were-faked-apf-2624193204.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode=


...Matt Weidner, a St. Petersburg attorney who has been defending homeowners whose paperwork was signed by lawyers in Stern's office, said the latest depositions reveal that lawyers aren't abiding by the rules and judges aren't doing their jobs by scrutinizing foreclosure cases.

"I am literally getting to the point of speechlessness," Weidner said. "The federal government has to come in and take control of the Florida foreclosure court system. If this stuff is occurring, it's a crisis of confidence in our courts. It really calls into question the legitimacy of a court system."

[zogofzorkon]

58. The writers cramp must be unbearable,

its as if she was asked to write a 500 word essay or do 100 math problems a day. Thank God she didn't have to put 1000 dishes through a dishwasher, or write lunch tickets for a 100 customers, or cut 10 lawns, or paint 1000 sq ft of walls, or pickup 100 fares in a taxi, or, collect fares on a railroad, or prep 100 lbs of shrimp, or bag potatoes, or unload container trucks, or any of the other jobs that are actually labor intensive and whose only perk might be a free lunch every couple of months. I hope the conference room was heated and air conditioned and the chair was comfortable.

[Demeter]

75. You are such a humanitarian, Zog

we meet the nicest people on this thread.

[Demeter]

45. IMF chief warns recovery 'in peril' (OF BEING REVEALED AS A FRAUD)

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.89d1d60eb1551930f89c73be0aae72cc.411&show_article=1



"Today, there is a risk that the single chorus that tamed the financial crisis will dissolve into a cacophony of discordant voices as countries increasingly go it alone. This will surely make everybody worse off."

[Demeter]

46. Why I Got Fired From Teaching American History By Thaddeus Russell

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26634.htm

...I gave my students a history that was structured around the oldest issue in political philosophy but which professional historians often neglect - the conflict between the individual and community, or what Freud called the eternal struggle between civilization and its discontents. College students are normally taught a history that is the story of struggles between capitalists and workers, whites and blacks, men and women. But history is also driven by clashes between those interested in preserving social order and those more interested in pursuing their own desires -- the "respectable" versus the "degenerate," the moral versus the immoral, "good citizens" versus the "bad." I wanted to show that the more that "bad" people existed, resisted, and won, the greater was what I called "the margin of freedom" for all of us.

My students were most troubled by the evidence that the "good" enemies of "bad" freedoms were not just traditional icons like presidents and business leaders, but that many of the most revered abolitionists, progressives, and leaders of the feminist, labor, civil rights, and gay rights movements worked to suppress the cultures of working-class women, immigrants, African Americans, and the flamboyant gays who brought homosexuality out of the closet.

I had developed these ideas largely on my own, in my study and in classrooms, knowing all the while that I was engaged in an Oedipal struggle to overthrow the generation of historians who came of age during the 1960s and 1970s, controlled academic history, and had trained me. They were so eager to make the masses into heroes that they did not see that it was precisely the non-heroic and unseemly characteristics of ordinary folks that changed American culture for the better...

[Demeter]

50. ...Only Sane Response to Shocking Wall Street Mortgage Scams

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26637.htm

As we all know there is a major philosophical divide in U.S. politics. One the one hand there are those who think it is the role of government to help ensure that the vast majority of the population can enjoy a decent standard of living. On the other side are those who believe the role of government is to transfer as much money as possible to the rich and powerful. The latter group seems to be calling the shots these days....

...necessary documents weren' t signed, title transfers weren' t properly registered, the notes tying loans to specific properties may not have been properly filed and other paper work errors went uncorrected.

If the law were being followed, these issues would create serious problems for servicers trying to foreclose on homes where the owner has defaulted. Banks would have to spend the necessary time, paying high cost lawyers for their work, to reconstruct the paper trail needed to establish clear title to the house and the documentation that would allow them to foreclose on a delinquent borrower.

In some cases this may not even be possible. Many of the issuers that dominated the non-prime mortgage market at the peak of the bubble are no longer in business. They probably did not make sure that all the documentation went to the right place before they closed their doors.

If the Wall Street banks were like the rest of us, the policy response would be simple: follow the frigging law. If banks want to foreclose then they should have to present the court with the proper documents, end of story. Anyone who has ever bought a house or refinanced a mortgage knows the headaches involved. Everything must be in order, a process that can cost thousands of dollars in fees, as a long sheaf of documents is signed in the presence of a lawyer. This process can easily take two hours.

The banks don' t think that they should have to endure the same expensive tedium as the rest of us. For them, these processes are simply formalities that can be circumvented. Hence, the " robo-signers" who are paid to put their names to documents that they know nothing about....So there you have it: the question of whether the Wall Street banks should have to follow the same rules as the rest of us. It is one of the most central philosophical questions underlying politics today.

[Demeter]

52. Foreclosuregate's Price Tag: $70 Billion? By Andy Kroll

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26636.htm

...This entire mess, you'll remember, began when GMAC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, admitted in a leaked message that there were "defects" that were "technical" in its foreclosure filings. That was the first domino to fall. From there, it emerged that GMAC's "technical" problem was in fact not technical at all: It stemmed from the admission by a "document execution" employee that he and his co-workers signed tens of thousands of foreclosure legal filings without reading them or knowing what they said, a violation of federal rules of civil procedure. And when it came out that plenty of mortgage companies used "robo signers" like GMAC's, the full extent of the foreclosure debacle became clear...

[Demeter]

54. Wall Street, White House Blame Homeowners in Foreclosure Crisis

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26635.htm


..Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, whose bank is implicated in the scandal, said this week in a conference call that there have been no accidental evictions. “We’re not evicting people who deserve to stay in their house,” the multimillionaire banker declared.

“If you didn’t pay your mortgage, you shouldn’t be in your house. Period,” Walter Todd of the investment advisory firm Greenwood Capital Associates, told Reuters.

“Everyone’s responsible for following the law. If we all don’t have to pay our mortgage, should we just stop paying taxes, too?” said Anton Schutz, president of Mendon Capital Advisers. Everyone has to follow the law except the banks, that is. Schutz added, “Your mortgage didn’t get to a robo-signer by accident, it’s because you’re not paying.”

As Paul Krugman of the New York Times notes, “In effect, they’re saying that if a bank says it owns your house, we should just take its word. To me, this evokes the days when noblemen felt free to take whatever they wanted, knowing that peasants had no standing in the courts. But then, I suspect that some people regard those as the good old days.”

...Indy Mac Bank was actually controlled by a federal agency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), while it engaged in the illegal processing of foreclosure documents.!!!

[Demeter]

56. Will Bankers go to Jail for Foreclosure-gate?

http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/10/19/will-bankers-go-to-jail-for-foreclosure-gate/

The Bear Stearns hedgies beat their case. The mastermind of AIG's demise Joe Cassano looks to have made a clean getaway. Lehman's Dick Fuld is still in the clear. Goldman and just last week Countrywide's executives had to pay out large fines. But none of them are headed to jail. John Paulson and other hedge funds that help construct CDO debt bombs and bet against them, haven't even been forced to give some of their winnings back. I can't think of anyone of any real consequence who is facing hard time.

Thanks to foreclosure-gate that may soon change.

BUT I WOULDN'T HOLD MY BREATH

[Demeter]

57. Fraud Task Force Pursues Criminal Investigation of Mortgage Servicers

http://www.dsnews.com/articles/task-force-pursues-criminal-investigation-of-foreclosure-paperwork-errors-2010-10-19

[Dr.Phool]

60. And Dimon's name was being floated as a replacement for Timmeh.

Same shit. Different flies.

[DemReadingDU]

62. FDIC Approves Temporary Unlimited Deposit Insurance Coverage for Noninterest-Bearing Transaction Acc

11/9/10 FDIC Approves Temporary Unlimited Deposit Insurance Coverage for Noninterest-Bearing Transaction Accounts

The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today approved a final rule to implement section 343 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). Section 343 provides temporary unlimited coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts. This separate coverage will become effective on December 31, 2010, and will end on December 31, 2012.

The final rule revises the FDIC's deposit insurance regulations to include noninterest-bearing transaction accounts as a new temporary deposit insurance account category. All funds held in such accounts are fully insured, without limit, and this coverage is separate from, and in addition to, the coverage provided to depositors for other accounts at an insured depository institution.

Noninterest-bearing accounts, as defined in the Dodd-Frank Act, include only traditional, noninterest-bearing demand deposit (or checking) accounts that allow for an unlimited number of transfers and withdrawals at any time, whether held by a business, individual or other type of depositor.

The new temporary provision for unlimited coverage of deposit insurance for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts is similar to the FDIC's Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAGP) but differs significantly in the definition of "noninterest-bearing transaction account." The TAGP, which expires December 31, 2010, includes low-interest NOW (negotiable order of withdrawal) accounts and Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTAs). The final rule expressly states that NOW and IOLTA accounts are not covered under the Dodd-Frank Act definition of noninterest-bearing transaction accounts and do not qualify for temporary unlimited coverage.

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2010/pr10247.html

[Demeter]

76. This is a 2 year extension of an existing program

otherwise known as the white flag of surrender.

[DoBotherMe]

64. K&R

:hi: Dana ; )

[Dr.Phool]

70. Dad tries to reverse foreclosure on his former Dunedin home

Dad tries to reverse foreclosure on his former Dunedin home

By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Tuesday, November 9, 2010


Michael D. Carlson recently filed a motion in Pinellas Circuit Court seeking to undo a foreclosure judgment against him from 2008, saying he never knew about the legal proceeding until it was over.

As part of the motion, the 42-year-old divorced father of three also wants his home in Dunedin back. The problem is, Carlson's lender, Bank of America, sold it more than a year ago to another couple, who thought they had bought the foreclosed property free and clear.

Legal experts say that in trying to reverse a foreclosure after the home has been sold to a third party, Carlson's case may be the first of its kind — but it's unlikely to be the last.

Whether it's robo-signed documents, falsified affidavits or failure to properly notify defendants, as claimed in the Carlson case, shortcuts by lenders' law firms could prove to be land mines in the legal system. When triggered by homeowners who feel their cases were improperly handled, such issues could raise ownership questions for years to come.

"One or two cases like this could create a lot of waves," Alan White, a law professor and foreclosure expert at Valparaiso University in Indiana, said of the Carlson motion.

"The hardest case of all is when the property has already been sold and innocent parties are involved. But if the process was fundamentally deficient and the homeowner was deprived of constitutional due process, it's conceivable the court could set aside the foreclosure.

(snip)
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article1133148.ece

----------------------------------------------------

This will be one to watch.

:nuke: :nuke:

[AnneD]

72. This is why...

we are focusing on tax sale properties. At the moment that gives you the best shot at a clear title. That and the philosophy of not becoming attatched to one property.

[TheWatcher]

73. That Cartoon pretty much Crystallizes our country right now.

America has devolved to the point where it seems to have a creepy, erotic fetish with it's own Destruction.

Jefferson and Adams would be SO Proud.

Adams is probably repenting DAILY from the beyond that he ever wasted his time with us.

:(

[Demeter]

78. If It Weren't True, It Would Be Very Funny

http://whatinthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/?q=14

[Demeter]

81. 50 point OOPS at 4 O'clock!

Is that jargony enough for ya?