STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, September 8, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, September 8, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 7, 2011

Dow 11,414.86 +275.56 (+2.41%)
Nasdaq 2,548.94 +75.11 (+2.95%)
S&P 500 1,198.62 +33.38 (+2.78%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.01 -0.05 (-2.34%)
30-Year Bond 3.32 -0.06 (-1.72%)

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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    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

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

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 12

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports

Sep 08 08:30 Initial Claims 09/03 400K 400K 409K
Sep 08 08:30 Continuing Claims 08/27 3700K 3700K 3735K
Sep 08 08:30 Trade Balance Jul -$51.0B -$51.5B -$53.1B
Sep 08 11:00 Crude Inventories 09/03 NA NA 5.281M
Sep 08 15:00 Consumer Credit Jul $5.0B $5.0B $15.5B

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/09/05-09/#ixzz1XMGg3OWb

[DemReadingDU]

38. New U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week

9/8/11
New U.S. jobless claims rose unexpectedly last week, further evidence of a weak labor market just hours before President Barack Obama delivers a major address to Congress on the issue.

Applications for unemployment benefits rose to 414,000 in the week ending September 3 from an upwardly revised 412,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Wall Street analysts had been looking for a dip to 405,000.

more...
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/New-jobless-claims-rise-to-rb-3640825807.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=

[Demeter]

55. Unexpectedly? Surely They Jest

or they can't read the layoff notices.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil below $89 after mixed US energy supply report

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell below $89 a barrel Thursday in Asia after a U.S. energy report showed mixed signals about demand.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was down 53 cents to $88.81 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude jumped $3.32, or 3.9 percent, to settle at $89.34 on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery sank 21 cents to $115.59 on the ICE Futures exchange.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Wednesday that crude inventories fell 3.0 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted a drop of 1.7 million barrels.

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

[Demeter]

3. Ha! First Rec! Good morning, all!

Had to get up, for the grandpuppy came for the day. How is school this year, PBD?

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. U.S. Stock Futures Trade Little Changed Before President’s Speech on Jobs

U.S. stock futures erased gains, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will halt its biggest jump in two weeks, before President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speak on the economy.

VeriFone Systems Inc. (PAY) jumped 5.3 percent in German trading after S&P said the largest maker of credit-card terminals will replace Timberland Co. in the S&P MidCap 400 Index.

S&P 500 futures expiring this month fell 0.1 percent to 1,197.7 at 6:49 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 4 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,411.

“I’ve never known a market this difficult,” Tim Price, chief investment director at PFP Group LLP in London, said in a telephone interview. “We’re in de midst of multiple crises, and that’s going to take the wind out of the market’s sails. What people are calling out for, which is more stimulus, I think is exactly the wrong thing.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/u-s-stock-futures-drop-after-s-p-500-posts-biggest-increase-in-two-weeks.html

[Demeter]

22. All that means is: The Fix Is Not In, Yet

[xchrom]

31. Obama to play small ball, constrained by gridlock

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-to-play-small-ball-constrained-by-gridlock-2011-09-07?dist=beforebell

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Viewers hoping for Hail Mary passes and all-out blitzes to battle the renewed economic slowdown should be advised to stay tuned to the NFL game that follows President Barack Obama’s speech Thursday night.

“I don’t believe we are going to be slack-jawed by the speech,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center of Politics at the University of Virginia.

Experts think Obama, constrained by political gridlock in Washington, is likely to play small ball in his highly anticipated jobs speech before Congress. House Republicans are not going to support a more dramatic approach to reducing the 9% unemployment rate.

[Demeter]

34. “I don’t believe we are going to be slack-jawed by the speech,”

Unless one snores in ones sleep....

[xchrom]

37. yeah. i'm not going to watch.

the status quo isn't going to give us the changes we need.

[Demeter]

5. Profiles in competence: Jesse Jones & Leo Crowley

http://blogs.reuters.com/christopher-whalen/2011/09/06/profiles-in-competence-jesse-jones-leo-crowley/

Alan Boyce, Glenn Hubbard, and Chris Mayer (“BHM”) have published an important paper, “Streamlined Refinancings for up to 30 Million Borrowers,” which makes the case for refinancing all loans – trillions of dollars in face amount — now covered by the housing GSEs, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This proposal breaks-down the evil cartel of banks and GSEs currently blocking more than 30 million American families from refinancing their homes and thus stalling economic recovery.

But this proposal, while admirable, has a cost. Income now flowing to investors and banks who own GSE paper will instead be retained by consumers to the tune of $70 billion annually. If other proposals to compel refinancing of non-GSE mortgages are adopted, the reduction in income to investors, banks and the GSEs themselves as a result of mass prepayments is over $100 billion per year. The banking system made $28 billion in Q2 2011, thus the dilemma.

I use the term “dilemma” deliberately. The GSEs and large banks are still hiding losses on their books and subsidizing these losses by preventing consumers from refinancing their mortgages. It remains only to recognize these losses, restructure solvent institutions and get on with the business of recovery and growth by refinancing eligible home owners. Let’s ponder two figures from the 1930s who typify the sort of focus and purposefulness required by our government today — Jesse Jones and Leo T. Crowley.

Jones is the better known of the two men, having headed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation during the Great Depression. Jones was a businessman and public citizen first and foremost, a man who saved several banks in his home town of Houston, TX, before he traveled to Washington to serve on the board of the RFC under Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. He also wrote a great book describing his experiences, Fifty Billion Dollars: My thirteen years with the RFC (1932-1945). Under Jones, the RFC issued debt, purchased commodities, invested equity in solvent banks and closed insolvent institutions, and operated as the merchant bank and receiver of the US government in tandem with the FDIC. While the Fed played a relatively minor financial role during the Depression and WWII, the RFC was where the action was happening, financially and politically. Jones reported to two men: FDR and Senator Carter Glass of Virginia, who helped to create the Fed and served as Treasury Secretary under Woodrow Wilson. Jones understood that recapitalizing sound banks helped to stabilize communities, but that closing insolvent banks and selling the assets quickly was also a necessary condition for economic revival...

[xchrom]

11. +1

[Demeter]

6. FHFA lawsuit against banks over MBS documents Wall Street's informational advantage

http://tyillc.blogspot.com/2011/09/fhfa-lawsuit-against-banks-over.html

The FHFA lawsuit on behalf of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac memorializes the informational advantage that Wall Street had regarding mortgage-backed securities and how Wall Street used this advantage to the detriment of other market participants.

Regular readers know that Wall Street invested in and purchased sub-prime mortgage originators and servicers to gain an informational advantage over other market participants. Their investments and acquisitions put Wall Street's traders in the position of having tomorrow's news today while all other market participants had tomorrow's news several days or weeks later.

Your humble blogger has talked about this informational advantage since before the credit crisis. My focus has always been on the need to eliminate this informational advantage to restore confidence in and attract investors back to the private RMBS market.

It is the FHFA lawsuit that has shown how the informational advantage could be used for fraud. Courtney Comstock wrote a long post discussing the FHFA lawsuit, Goldman Sachs and Dan Sparks.

And there are two big reasons why the FHFA says Goldman's actions were fraudulent. In short, they are the money it paid to get a window into the mortgage origination process and Dan Sparks.

Here's the first. From a key sentence in the FHFA lawsuit:

Because the information that Goldman provided or caused to be provided to ratings agencies was false, the ratings were inflated... also that Goldman Sachs knew, or was reckless in not knowing, that it was falsely representing the underlying process and riskiness of the mortgage loans... because Goldman’s longstanding relationships with the problematic originators, and its numerous roles in the securitization chain, made it uniquely positioned to know the originators had abandoned their underwriting guidelines... as a result, the GSEs paid Defendants inflated prices for purported AAA (or its equivalent) Certificates, unaware that those Certificates actually carried a severe risk of loss and inadequate credit enhancement.

The big thing here is that Goldman funded mortgage originators, who encouraged property appraisers to inflate home values by firing them if they didn't and gave half million dollar loans to people like hairdressers and gardeners....

Goldman is also on the hook because it saw the poor quality of the loans it bought from the mortgage originators it funded (the lawsuit says Goldman received daily updates on how many loans were delinquent), retained third-party due diligence providers to analyze those loans that it considered securitizing regardless of the delinquencies (a smart move considering that it might have absolved Goldman of responsibility for any poor-quality loans in the Securitizations) but Goldman didn't listen to the companies' recommendations to exclude a significant number of loans. Goldman included the loans in its Securitizations anyway. Then it got the ratings agencies to rate them attractively. But it stated in offering documents that the loans had generally met the guidelines of the due diligence review.

[Demeter]

7. Probe Into Goldman Widens

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903648204576554931375155722.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Prosecutors in New York are pressing ahead with their inquiry into the way Goldman Sachs Group Inc. marketed certain mortgage-linked instruments before the financial crisis, issuing subpoenas to Morgan Stanley and other investors in the deals, people familiar with the matter said.

Some of the subpoenas were received in recent weeks, the people said. The Manhattan district attorney's office began its probe into Goldman following the release in April of a U.S. Senate subcommittee report into the causes of the crisis. Goldman was featured prominently in that report...Subpoenas aren't an indication of wrongdoing; they are formal requests for information and don't necessarily mean that charges are forthcoming or even likely...The stock has tumbled 37% this year amid concerns about a weak economy and that financial-regulatory overhauls would crimp banks' profits.

[Po_d Mainiac]

49. Mdme Gold needs to insert an image of the preferred probe..n/t

[Demeter]

56. Tansy doesn't do that kind of thing!

[Po_d Mainiac]

62. She's done it in the past...roflmao n/t

[Demeter]

63. Well, Once

But she was provoked beyond reason...

[AnneD]

61. Time for....

the anal stimulator.

Old School Nurses refer to it as the triple H emema....High, Hot, and a Hell of a lot. Our economy is so blocked up that Wall Street needs a triple H enema to clear things out.

[Demeter]

19. Suing Banks Is Next Best to Letting Them Fail: Jonathan Weil

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/suing-banks-is-next-best-to-letting-them-fail-commentary-by-jonathan-weil.html

The Vietnam War gave us the expression, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” The same kind of thinking might help explain the U.S. bank rescues of 2008: We had to save the banks in order to sue them.

Last week, the conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions to recover losses on faulty mortgage bonds sold to the two government- backed housing financiers. One of the defendants was Ally Financial Inc., the lender formerly known as GMAC that once was the finance arm of General Motors Co. If the Federal Housing Finance Agency recovers damages from Ally for Freddie Mac, it will be a win for taxpayers. Yet it also will be a loss. That’s because Ally is still majority-owned by the U.S. Treasury....It’s a ridiculous situation, for sure. Then again the FHFA is doing what it’s supposed to do: preserve and conserve the assets of Fannie and Freddie. It’s not the agency’s fault that Congress passed the Troubled Asset Relief Program and gave the Treasury Department new powers to keep Ally and its ilk alive. Congress could have let those companies die, as they deserved to. It didn’t, though. So now the inevitable claims are working their way through the courts. The government’s roles as both a referee and a player in the financial markets remain as conflated as ever.

Great Worries

American International Group Inc. (AIG), still majority-owned by the Treasury Department, last month accused Bank of America Corp. (BAC) of fraud in a suit over losses on mortgage bonds, many of them packaged by Countrywide Financial Corp. One of the markets’ great worries is that Bank of America might not have enough capital to cover all the mortgage-repurchase liabilities it assumed when it bought Countrywide in 2008. The lawsuit by AIG, which is seeking $10 billion, piles on to those concerns....That AIG filed a lawsuit isn’t the problem. What’s perverse is that the Treasury continues to hold a stake in AIG -- three years after it joined with the Fed to save the giant insurer from bankruptcy -- while AIG sues a company the Treasury Department oversees. Bank of America wouldn’t even be around for AIG to sue had it not been for the Treasury’s rescue money....The same kinds of weird conflicts are evident in the $8.5 billion settlement that Bank of America struck in June with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and other holders of defective Countrywide mortgage bonds. Among the parties that have filed objections to the deal are the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and AIG, giving new meaning to the term divided government.

Time to Wonder

It’s only natural to wonder from those anecdotes if U.S. regulators want to help the banking industry or push it back to the brink. This week, Paul Miller, a bank analyst at FBR Capital Markets, said the FHFA, Fannie and Freddie “need to stop punishing banks for their lending practices from several years ago” on the grounds that they are impeding an economic recovery, “even though they may have a legal right to do so.” What’s the FHFA supposed to do, though, if not exercise its legal rights? Had the agency chosen to forgo what it sees as legitimate claims against Ally, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), to name a few of the defendants it’s suing, this would mark another surreptitious subsidy for the companies’ shareholders. While the government may have saved the banks, it didn’t extinguish their liabilities from lawsuits.

Lawsuit Too Far

In contrast to the latest suits, the FHFA went even further last year when it allowed Freddie to sue the Internal Revenue Service over a $3 billion tax claim. A trial date in that suit is set for December in U.S. Tax Court. In essence, one arm of the Treasury is directly suing another arm. However the case turns out, it will be a wash for the Treasury, which has injected about $65 billion into Freddie to keep it afloat...That boneheaded lawsuit is distinguishable from the cases filed last week, where the FHFA says Freddie and Fannie got ripped off by private-sector actors that committed securities- law violations. The agency accused several firms of fraud, including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc....So why haven’t other federal agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission filed complaints against the same banks for allegedly defrauding Fannie and Freddie? And where’s the justice for the Fannie and Freddie executives who, with their regulator’s approval, kept saying their companies were healthy even while they were dying? The government has so many conflicting agendas, we may never get satisfactory answers to those questions. All of this is part of the legacy of the unprecedented federal interventions in 2008, as well as a reminder of what a colossal mistake it was in the first place to create Fannie and Freddie with all their privatized profits and socialized losses. The proper role of government in a free-enterprise system is to police market participants at arm’s length, not join their ranks and choose winners and losers. That’s a line we crossed a long time ago, though. The great outrage isn’t that a federal agency is suing some of these too-big-to-fail banks for damages. It’s that we ever bailed them out at all.

[Demeter]

20. Mortgage cases target people, not just banks

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/07/us-usa-fhfa-lawsuit-idUSTRE7866YA20110907

By suing 131 individuals in its effort to recover losses on $200 billion of mortgage debt that went sour, the federal agency overseeing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is doing one thing that the government has largely left alone. It is trying to hold actual people, not just companies, responsible for their roles in the global financial crisis.

The 18 lawsuits by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, including 17 filed last week and one in July, signal a change from prior federal efforts to punish banks and bankers for their roles in the financial crisis. That difference may stem in part from the FHFA's belief that it has enough evidence to pursue civil claims against banking executives...Its lawsuits draw on information generated by 64 subpoenas issued last year for details on pools of mortgage securities that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bought. They also draw on probes by a Senate investigation subcommittee and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, among other sources.

Most of the higher-profile financial crisis cases brought by the Department of Justice, such as its civil fraud against Deutsche Bank AG, or the Securities and Exchange Commission have named few or no individual defendants. So far, no top executives at major banks have been criminally charged.

"Each agency has its own statutory authority, and its own particular evidence," said Peter Swire, a law professor at Ohio State University and former special assistant to the president for economic policy in the Obama administration. "The FHFA is not part of the executive branch," Swire added. "It does not report to the president. If the FHFA finds the right evidence, it decides on its own to move forward."

THEREBY SIDESTEPPING ERIC HOLDER, WHO THINKS HIS NAME IS HIS JOB FUNCTION, AND NO-DRAMA, WHO THINKS THAT MEANS NO-ACTION.

[Demeter]

26. FHFA Lawsuits: Price Tag Could Reach as High as $60 Billion

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/09/07/fhfa-lawsuits-price-tag-could-reach-as-high-as-60-billion/

It’s been very hard to determine how much the FHFA is seeking in their lawsuit against leading banks in the mortgage bond scandal. We knew the total value of the mortgage backed securities in the suit – around $250 billion – but not precisely the amounts FHFA would ask for. Public radio’s Marketplace takes a look, and comes up with an eye-popping figure. They dug up a research note by the form Keefe Bruyette & Woods.

KBW’s “very preliminary analysis” suggests that the FHFA lawsuits – if they’re successful – could cost banks about $60 billion <...>

that’s not all. If the FHFA makes a winning case, those bad loans could end up changing hands again, with all the sales considered void. (Think of this like the times you try to untangle your computer cord but then you end up having to unplug everything and you end up with a big mess.) KBW notes, “If FHFA is successful in showing that securities laws were violated then the loss would not be restricted to defective loans. The sale could be rescinded and the securitizer would receive the loans back. In this case, the loss to the originator would be the difference between cost and market value for all loans in the securitization, not just the defective ones. In our analysis, we assume losses on all defective and delinquent loans.”

KBW dismisses the potential success of the lawsuit, but they basically buy the argument from the banks that Fannie and Freddie were “sophisticated investors” and they shouldn’t have been duped. This is contradicted by the fact that the banks made material misstatements of fact when they sold the bonds, and they knew they were doing it because they hired third-party due diligence companies to assess the underwriting standards, found them to be substandard in a high degree of mortgages, and then used that information to get discounts from the originators rather than throwing the bad mortgages out of the deals. There’s also the securitization time bomb, the argument made by FHFA that banks did not properly convey the mortgages to the trusts, creating “non-mortgage backed securities” and nullifying the sale. Contra KBW, these are strong lawsuits, and if they carry the price tag of $60 billion, it’s devastating to the banks.

Incidentally, as a federal agency FHFA has subpoena power and can uncover more evidence to this effect from the banks. All the more reason why bank stocks are tanking.

Brad Miller held a chaotic conference call (Zero Hedge tweeted out the phone number for it, bringing out the trolls) where he endorsed the FHFA actions. And while the NY Observer saw fit to make fun of this exchange, it’s the entire point:

REPORTER: As you said, Bank of America is over $50B of the $250B here. Are you concerned that this lawsuit could have a catastrophic effect on the bank or…

REP. MILLER: I think that the rule of law really does require that we peruse those claims, if legal rights are violated. To think that those claims should not be perused or obstructed in the case of private litigants is destructive. I think the public has a right to know that, um, these largest banks are not getting an backdoor subsidy or bailout. I understand that Bank of America has been under pressure because of mortgage litigation, but this is not news, and has been a long time coming. Regulators have had ample opportunity to take this into account. Bank of America is in a far better position to raise capital six months ago or a year ago than they are now.

Precisely.

[Demeter]

8. EXTRAORDINARY Customer Service From Wells Fargo (IMV)

http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/05/19/27400.htm

A Wells Fargo Bank customer claims the bank refused to fix an error in her account unless she complied with an employee's demand for "phone fun" - that she send him nude pictures of herself. She says she was stranded without money on a business trip due to the bank's mistake, and its worker "clearly implied that he wanted naked photographs in exchange for providing his customer service."

Plaintiff J.N. sued Wells Fargo and its Financial Leasing and Home Mortgage divisions in Hudson County Superior Court.

J.N. claims that while she was in Chicago, "she discovered that her personal checking account had been depleted of available funds" because "Wells Fargo improperly ... had withdrawn money from her checking account in order to satisfy her mortgage loan payment."

J.N. says that when she called the bank to report the problem, she gave her cell phone number to an employee who identified himself only as "Michael."
...Shortly after this, J.N. says, defendant "Michael Doe" contacted her by text message, "advising that he would not reverse the erroneous transaction unless she engaged in 'phone fun' with him and provide him with photographs of herself."

J.N. claims that Michael texted her the question, "Are you near a bathroom?" She claims this "clearly implied that he wanted naked photographs in exchange for providing his customer service." J.N. says the bank left her facing the prospect of being stranded without money in Chicago "unless she fulfilled the extreme and outrageous request" of its employee. J.N. says she "did not send pictures," but had to "spend the entire day attempting to convince him to reverse the transactions." J.N. says that Michael "repeatedly asked if she was going to help him."

She seeks damages for emotional distress, negligent hiring and gender discrimination. She is represented by Robert Rosenwasser with Golden, Rothschild, Spagnola, Lundell, Boylan and Garubo of Bridgewater, N.J.

[Fuddnik]

13. I've had lots of phone sex with Wells Fargo over my mortgage.

They no longer have my checking or savings. And if the mortgage wasn't underwater, I'd dump them there too.

[Demeter]

9. Arab spring gets only fraction of funds

Tunisia and Egypt have received only a fraction of the badly needed funds promised by the world community to support their transition to democracy.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/QM42II/VLG6F5/Z87P0/ORSSYQ/WTBU19/E4/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=7

DEMOCRACY, STRANGLED AT BIRTH

[AnneD]

70. The true world powers.....

the Central Banks and Corporations do not want democracy. They would have to give up some of their power and they are not about to share.

[Demeter]

77. They Only THINK They Have Power, Because We Tolerate Them

but that isn't going to last much longer.

[AnneD]

81. I would be willing...

to place some of my hard earned money on that bet. ITA

[xchrom]

10. good morning!

:donut:

[Demeter]

12. Inside Job Full Documentary Movie

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29057.htm

[Fuddnik]

14. Netflix has it too.

[DemReadingDU]

27. CNN: Netflix now enforcing streaming limit

9/7/11

Netflix has started to restrict its users from streaming more than one movie at a time as part of its price hike. The change could have a major effect on how families use Netflix. No longer can one person watch a movie from the iPad while the rest of the family watches another film on the Xbox, for example.

As website Stop the Cap points out, Netflix has always had a policy that limited streaming, with those on a single DVD or streaming-only plan limited to streaming one film at a time.

But it appears as if Netflix just started enforcing this rule on September 1. The changes seem to coincide with Netflix's price hike, which took effect on Sept. 1 as well. Now, if you attempt to launch two movie streams, Netflix will block it and tell you that your membership plan doesn't support multiple movie streams.

We received the error message in our tests, confirming other reports. However, we also learned that television shows seem to be exempt from the movie streaming rules. For example, we were able to stream a movie and a TV show simultaneously, but unable to stream two movies at the same time.

The move is sure to upset some customers as Netflix continues to deal with a number of setbacks. Its talks with Starz recently broke down and customers are not happy with the recent price hikes. Netflix's revenues are at record highs, but without Starz, it loses some of its best content. It's unclear how customers will react to this latest change.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/web/09/07/netflix.streaming.limit.mashable/

[xchrom]

15. China, India inflation drive gold, not Europe woes: Clyde Russell

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/china-india-inflation-drive-gold-not-europe-woes-clyde-russell/articleshow/9907337.cms

SINGAPORE: One of the oft-cited reasons for gold's strong rally this year has been investor concern over the European sovereign debt crisis and fears of renewed global recession, but this argument doesn't stack up.

Demand by what could be termed professional investors has been largely unchanged, as shown by holdings in exchange traded funds and futures contracts.

The real demand growth for gold has largely come from consumers in China and India and from central banks.

It's impossible to know exactly why consumers in Asia have been buying gold, but I suspect that it has very little to do with concerns that Greece may default on its national debt, sparking another banking crisis.

[xchrom]

16. south asia: Food inflation falls to 9.55% for week ended Aug 27

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Food-inflation-falls-to-9-55-for-week-ended-Aug-27/articleshow/9911235.cms

NEW DELHI: Food inflation fell to a single-digit at 9.55 per cent for the week ended August 27 after breaching the double-digit mark in the previous week, with prices of all items, barring pulses and wheat, going up on an annual basis.

Food inflation, as measured on the basis of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 10.05 per cent in the previous week. The rate of price rise of food items was 14.76 per cent in the corresponding week of 2010.

As per data released by the government today, prices of pulses fell by 1.56 per cent year-on-year, while wheat became cheaper by 1.04 per cent during the week ended August 27.

However, other food items became more expensive during the week under review.

[xchrom]

17. Sensex ends higher in volatile trade on lower inflation

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-ends-higher-in-volatile-trade-on-lower-inflation/articleshow/9911683.cms

MUMBAI: In a highly volatile trading today, the BSE benchmark sensex moved up for the third day in a row, gaining 100 points amid slight easing of the food inflation and a strong trend in global stock markets.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index, sensex, which had gained 352 points in the previous two sessions, advanced further by 100.54 points or 0.59 per cent to 17,165.54.

In a choppy trade, the gauge touched the day's high of 17,209.66 and a low of 16,987.37 but easing food inflation and a strong trend in global stocks pushed it upwards.

In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved between 5,169.25 and 5,098.25 before closing higher by 28.60 points at 5,153.25.

[xchrom]

18. Yahoo India R&D to escape turbulence

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Yahoo-India-RD-to-escape-turbulence/articleshow/9903396.cms

BANGALORE: India has been key to Yahoo in its R&D efforts, and it's unlikely that this status will change with the change in its global management. The Indian operation has about 2,000 people, most of them in development, out of Yahoo's global employee base of about 14,000. The centre accounts for over 20% of Yahoo's total patent filings.

"Yahoo's India operations remained stable even when globally it was going through turbulence. Yahoo India retained its top talent," said Pari Natarajan, CEO of IT consulting & research firm Zinnov. He does not think Yahoo India will be impacted by CEO Carol Bartz's exit. "In fact, it may have a key role going forward," he said. In November last year, Bartz told TOI that India is responsible for 20 of Yahoo's products. "Our lifestyle products, entertainment, fashion, cricket, all the user generated content platforms, all our listings like auto, real estate are done out of India," she said.

[xchrom]

21. Shree Ganesh Jewellery to triple retail business turnover in two years

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/-jewellery/shree-ganesh-jewellery-to-triple-retail-business-turnover-in-two-years/articleshow/9910407.cms

KOLKATA: Kolkata's leading jeweller, Shree Ganesh Jewellery plans to triple its turnover from the retail business from Rs 400 crore to Rs 1,200 crore in the next two years. As part of this, the Rs 5,900 crore company has also launched a new brand, Gaja Lites, to tap the growing fashionable, light-weight gold and diamond jewellery market.

The company has plans to roll out 250 outlets in tier II and tier III cities under its flagship brand Gaja. It is hopeful that with soaring gold prices, it plans to tap the low-budget spenders with the Gaja Lites brand. Shree Ganesh has also tied-up with Bharti's value retail format, Easy Day, to sell the brand.

The weight range for Gaja Lites will vary between one to 20 gms with 18 to 22 karat gold. In the premium segment, Shree Ganesh has two brands -- Gaja Heritage and Gaja by Sabyasachi, the latter developed exclusively with designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

[xchrom]

24. Investment-savvy Indians shift gold buying to bars from bangles

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/investment-savvy-indians-shift-gold-buying-to-bars-from-bangles/articleshow/9911734.cms

NEW DELHI: In a nation whose love for gold is legendary, financial adviser Biju Daniel is one of scores of Indians who are rethinking how they amass riches through the precious metal.

Daniel's wife owns at least a kilogram of jewellery and he sports a gold watch. But he is also shrewd enough to realise that the world's biggest gold consumers are falling out of love with wearing their wealth, preferring to stock up on coins, bars and bullion-based investment funds as they look for returns safe from the ravages of inflation and the dictates of fashion.

"The current generation is not serious about gold. They have bangles but they don't wear them," Daniel, of Shreyas Investment Services, told Reuters in his basement office, after wrapping up an offer to clients of the SBI Gold Fund as an investment.

"Look at college campuses, Indian girls there are not interested in gold jewellery. My wife has about one kilo of gold jewellery but my daughters are not interested."

[xchrom]

29. Monsoon rains 39 pc above normal in past week

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/monsoon-rains-39-pc-above-normal-in-past-week/articleshow/9910792.cms

NEW DELHI: Monsoon rains were 39 percent above normal in the week to Sept. 7, strengthening from 18 percent above average in the previous week, two sources at the Met Department said on Thursday.

The monsoon rains were three percent above average since the start of the June-September season, in line with the weather office's latest forecast of a normal monsoon in 2011.

India's monsoon rains are crucial to crop production in 60 percent of the country that does not have adequate irrigation.

[Demeter]

57. We got the same problem here, this week

We are getting all that rain that was on back order all summer...

[DemReadingDU]

23. Bank of America to split into two units

9/8/11 Bank of America to split into two units

Even more changes are coming for Charlotte's biggest bank.

NewsChannel 36 has learned Bank of America is splitting itself into two units -- consumer and commercial.

That means as many as 600 branches will be shut down.

Analysts say the move by Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan signals that broader and deeper layoffs than those previously announced could be around the corner.

This announcement comes just days after Bank of America shook up its management ranks on Tuesday, announcing that two key officers will leave and promoting two others to share the chief operating officer role.

more...
http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/New-changes-at-Bank-of-America-could-lead-to-more-job-cuts--129443373.html

[Demeter]

28. Good Bank / Bad Bank?

[Demeter]

33. Moynihan Tries to Keep BofA Intact as Mortgages Crumble

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/moynihan-tries-to-keep-bank-of-america-intact-as-mortgage-loans-fall-apart.html

...Announced on Aug. 25, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett’s purchase of $5 billion in BofA preferred stock -- on typical only-for-Warren terms, including a $300 million annual dividend --- allowed the bank to edge back from the abyss, much as Buffett’s $5 billion vote of confidence arrested a run on Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock in 2008.

On Sept. 6, only hours after he sat for an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, BofA Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan grabbed attention again by reshuffling his management ranks, elevating a pair of new co-chief operating officers and ousting Sallie Krawcheck, the high-profile head of wealth management. After all the excitement, the bank’s shares were up 19 percent from their nadir.

For now, Bank of America will not go the way of Lehman or Bear. It has $400 billion in cash and liquid investments and, more important, with $2.3 trillion in assets, it exemplifies the sorry concept of “too big to fail.” No matter what anyone says to the contrary, the U.S. government cannot afford to allow a financial institution of that size to go down and drag the rest of the country with it.

BofA’s difficulties are too complex, however, to be solved by Buffett swashbuckling, executive replacements, or the retention of a really sharp lawyer. America’s biggest bank is inextricably intertwined with a still-debilitated U.S. housing market and an unemployment rate stuck painfully above 9 percent.

GOOD SUMMARY OF BOA AND ITS PEOPLE AND PROBLEMS

[xchrom]

41. Executive-Level Exfoliation at Bank of America

http://www.publicradio.org/columns/marketplace/wallstreet/2011/09/executive-level_exfoliation_at.html

Bank of America shook up its executive ranks in what the firm euphemistically calls “de-layering.” This meaningless bit of corporate jargon - de-layering - is wonderfully ridiculous and has been woefully underused in press releases. So I’m coining a better, newer, just as meaningless but more easily grasped term in the headline: executive-level exfoliation.

Please make sure it catches on.

bank-of-america.jpgBut back to the news. The gist of today’s developments centers around not the newly exfoliated executives, but on Brian Moynihan - the CEO of Bank of America, who, if not yet officially “embattled,” certainly should be by now.

Moynihan has neatly rid himself of his two main rivals, brokerage chief Sallie Krawcheck and chief financial officer Joe Price. He is installing two chief-operating officers, David Darnell for the consumer businesses and Thomas Montag for the businesses that serve companies and big institutions.

[Demeter]

58. Sounds LIke a Musical Chair Game on the Deck of the Titanic

[xchrom]

25. asia: Asian shares mostly up after German court verdict

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/asian-shares-mostly-up-after-german-court-verdict/articleshow/9911271.cms

HONG KONG: Asian markets were mostly higher Thursday as news that a German court had dismissed an attempt to block the country's payments to eurozone bailouts was tempered by profit-taking.

Early gains were pared as dealers digested weak economic data, while they also had an eye on an upcoming speech by US President Barack Obama on job creation.

Tokyo closed up 0.34 per cent, or 29.71 points, to 8,793.12, Seoul added 0.72 per cent, or 13.18 points, to 1,846.64 while Sydney was 0.11 per cent, or 4.6 points, higher at 4,188.0.

However, Hong Kong slipped 0.67 per cent, or 135.18 points, to 19,912.82 and Shanghai fell 0.68 per cent, or 17.15 points, to 2,498.94.

[xchrom]

39. BOJ to maintain 'zero' rate, sees second-half recovery

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110908a1.html

The Bank of Japan's Policy Board unanimously agreed Wednesday to maintain the current virtually zero-interest rate policy while shunning additional monetary easing to cope with impacts from the recent sharp rise in the yen.

As a result, the BOJ will leave unchanged its credit and asset-purchasing programs totaling ¥50 trillion, additional monetary easing measures that it announced last month.

The agreement, reached in a unanimous vote by the nine board members, said the dwindling U.S. economy, still suffering from balance-sheet adjustments in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and the possible consequences of sovereign debt problems in Europe, remain economic risks for Japan that "warrant attention."

The board's statement also said that the "supply-side constraints" caused by the March 11 disaster have eased almost to prequake levels, with production and exports increasing. The quake disrupted supply chains in the manufacturing sector and pushed down exports.

[xchrom]

40. Toyota launches first leisure boat in six years

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20110908a2.html

Toyota Motor Corp. has announced the launch of its first leisure boat in six years, equipped with two 4.5-liter diesel engines based on its Land Cruiser sport utility vehicle to ensure high output and reduce emissions.

The craft is the first in the company's Ponam series and more vessels are in the works, the major automaker said. Last year, the company ranked third in the Japanese market for medium-size and large boats measuring at least 8 meters in length.

The company applied its automotive knowhow to allow computer control of the boat's two main propellers and an auxiliary prop in the bow thruster. The boat, called the Ponam-35, can be maneuvered easily because a single joystick is used to moor and cast off, Toyota said.

It can accommodate 12 people and is 11.95 meters long. The cabin interior is fitted with a five-seat sofa.

[xchrom]

30. europe: ECB, Bank of England hold rates as recession fears mount

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/ecb-bank-of-england-hold-rates-as-recession-fears-mount/articleshow/9911914.cms

FRANKFURT: The European Central Bank held interest rates at 1.5 percent on Thursday and is likely to indicate that a policy tightening cycle it began in April is on hold in the face of growing evidence the euro zone's economic recovery is losing momentum.

Britain's central bank left interest rates at 0.5 percent, leaving open the option of restarting its quantitative easing programme should the economy weaken further.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet will explain the Governing Council's decision at a 1230 GMT news conference. Markets are looking for hints of a long break before the next interest rate increase, and for any signs the ECB could even cut rates.

The bank's reactivation of its bond-buy programme will also be in the spotlight now the euro zone debt crisis has spread to Italy.

[xchrom]

45. Business leaders plead for more quantitative easing

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/08/business-leaders-plead-for-quantitative-easaing

Business leaders are urging the Bank of England to authorise another £50bn of quantitative easing when its monetary policy committee meets today in order to boost bank lending and prevent the economy slipping back into recession.

The Institute of Directors says that without an extension of the current £200bn programme of money creation, there could be "dire consequences" for the government's finances in lost taxes and higher social security spending.

The warning follows figures from the Office for National Statistics that showed industrial production had unexpectedly contracted in July. The sharper than usual drop in output comes in the wake of a slide since the beginning of the year and numerous recent surveys suggesting that other sectors of the economy are losing momentum.

Snapshots of the manufacturing and the services sector this week revealed the UK economy had slowed down to a point where many business leaders and economists fear the economy stands on the edge of a double-dip recession.

[xchrom]

46. UK economy set to remain weak, OECD warns

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/08/uk-economy-oecd

Britain's fragile economy will remain close to stalling speed for the rest of the year, as the world slips perilously close to double-dip recession, according to a new forecast by Paris-based thinktank the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development.

The OECD's latest assessment of its member countries, which include the majority of the industrialised world, shows that the recovery is likely to remain weak, with the UK recording annual growth of just 0.3% in the final quarter.

The chancellor, George Osborne, welcomed OECD secretary general Angel Gurría to the Treasury earlier this year to give his imprimatur to the coalition's controversial budget cuts; but its latest forecast shows the UK barely escaping recession.

Alan Clarke, UK economist at Scotia Capital, described the forecast as "grim", pointing out that it amounts to quarterly GDP growth — the way the health of the economy is usually measured by the government — of zero to 0.1% in both of the last two quarters of the year.

[xchrom]

47. {roubini & berggruen} Stop dithering. Only full integration can save Europe

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/07/only-full-integration-save-europe

After many months of muddling through – but not getting at the systemic roots of the economic, fiscal and financial crisis – Europe is at the tipping point. If it continues any longer with the status quo of dithering instead of decisiveness, the eurozone will break up and its national economies will weaken. Only by moving forward towards full integration – now – can Europe save itself.

So far, as the former Spanish prime minister Felipe González has put it, Europe's leaders have been "acting as fireman", putting out one fire after the next but not putting in place a system to prevent the next outbreak. Extend and pretend; pray and delay; kick the can down the street. These are not real and stable solutions but futile Band-Aids. Along with persistent partisan gridlock and the clear slippage of the recovery in the US, Europe's crisis of governance is dragging down the entire global economy. Stall speed is yielding to contraction and double-dip risk.

It is by now clear that short-term financial stability in Europe can only be purchased with a credible long-term strategy to complete a political and fiscal union. The incoming head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, has rightly argued that Europe urgently needs to "make a quantum step up in economic and political integration". How do we get from here to there?

[Demeter]

59. I really think that "full integration" against the will of the people is slavery

The case has not been made to Europeans why they should lose their national identities and independence.

Their rivalries and empires and lusts for empire are quenched. Their economies can coexist in harmony, if not bound to the Euro. All they really need to do is end the reign of terror by banksters.

[xchrom]

64. oy, demeter -- i'm really mixed on this.

the euro-zone -- was in some sense supposed to offer the world a look different than one divided between the u.s. and china.

but this is before neo-liberal economics had gained the foothold it had -- before migration from the middle east and africa had changed politics so much.

now it looks like we're back to a world dominated by 2 super powers -- neither of which are really acceptable -- so i don't knw any more -- i really don't.

[Demeter]

65. I don't thnk Europeans Aspire to Be an Also-Super Power

I think they are really tired of those games.

And having a bunch of Corporate Regional Plutocracies seems a horrid future for us all.

[xchrom]

66. i don't think the euro-zone ever aspired to that.

i think they meant to give their countries the best leg up in trade that they could.

independently they were at the mercy of bigger powers -- the euro zone helped w/ that.

but this is all pre-derivative/hedge fund, empty assets, iraq, etc -- i'm sad to see the euro zone reduced to what banksters & financialists have made of it.

[xchrom]

68. btw -- i wouldn't ever argue in favor of cultural sameness.

i like 'small' & unique -- and self determination of nations.

it suddenly occurred to me that one might think i would see wisdom in McCulture.

[Demeter]

76. As Gandhi Remarked About Western Civilization

"It would be a good idea."

[xchrom]

52. Greek Credit Swaps Signal 91% Chance of Default

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/greek-credit-swaps-surge-to-record-signal-91-chance-nation-will-default.html

Credit-default swaps on Greek government debt surged to a record, signaling there’s a 91 percent probability the nation won’t meet debt commitments, after its economy shrank more than previously reported.

Five-year contracts on the country’s sovereign bonds jumped 240 basis points to a record 3,045 basis points, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.

Gross domestic product shrank 7.3 percent from a year earlier after declining 8.1 percent on an annual basis in the first quarter, the Hellenic Statistical Authority said. Greece’s financial situation is “on a knife’s edge,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told lawmakers last night, the parliament’s HIB bulletin said.

[xchrom]

53. Trichet: Threats to Euro Region Have Worsened

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-08/trichet-says-growth-outlook-worsens-in-euro-region-as-inflation-risks-wane.html

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said threats to the euro region have worsened and inflation risks have eased, giving officials the option to take further action should the debt crisis worsen.

The economy faces “particularly high uncertainty and intensified downside risks,” Trichet said at a press conference in Frankfurt today after the ECB left its benchmark rate at 1.5 percent. While monetary policy is still “accommodative,” financing conditions have worsened in parts of the euro region and the ECB stands ready to pump more cash into markets should that be required, he said.

The yield on German 10-year bunds fell to a record as some investors speculate the ECB could cut interest rates or open up more emergency credit lines for banks. The spreading debt crisis is sapping confidence in Europe’s financial institutions, driving up market borrowing costs and forced the ECB to widen its bond purchase program to Italy and Spain.

The ECB also cut its growth forecasts for this year and next and abandoned its warning about looming inflation threats.

[xchrom]

32. ‘Modest’ pace to U.S. economic growth: Beige Book

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/modest-pace-to-us-economic-growth-beige-book-2011-09-07-148350

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy is expanding at a “modest pace,” according to a report Wednesday summarizing information from the contacts the Federal Reserve uses to help measure the strength of the economy.

The characterization, laid out in the “Beige Book” of anecdotal evidence the central bank collects before each interest-rate decision, won’t come as a huge shock after data showing zero nonfarm jobs created in August and faint activity in the manufacturing and service sectors.

The report also helps set the stage for key speeches on Thursday, one by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and another by President Barack Obama, that could lay out new ways the government could try to bolster the U.S. economy. Read Bernanke preview.




***modest. yes.:eyes:

[Demeter]

35. Reality Calls Yet Again

Try to keep it together, everyone.

[Uben]

36. Someone's trying really hard to make money on gold

I took a wild swing yesterday but it's back up this morning. I can't help but think someone is trying hard to get a "panic" sell trend started in gold. They can't make money unless they get people to sell their holdings, but it appears they failed again this time. Everytime it nears $1900/oz, there seems to be a lot of profit takers, but I think that's just an illusion created by hedge-funds and big brokers because it bounces right back the next day. Silver is back up, too.

I can't help but think the market is just a tool these big brokers and HFMs (hedge-fund mgrs) use to fleece uneducated investors.
They sell off big blocks to give the illusion of a "panic sell" and then come in at the end of the day and buy it back at a profit. I'm sure they make billions doing this because the only ones that lose are the ones that panic and sell.

[Po_d Mainiac]

48. Or someone/bankster stands to lose a lot

of money if the prices hold/climb, and the calls come in for delivery

There is lot less Au in existance than most people realize. The largest reserve is supposed to be Fort Knox. If it's there, and was distributed to every U$ resident....We'd all get less than one ounce

[ret5hd]

67. I have read that if all the gold ever mined were to be formed into one block...

it would be a cube the size of a tennis court.

[xchrom]

42. Undaunted by Past Setbacks, Hands Resumes EMI Fight

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/after-losing-emi-guy-hands-tries-new-legal-tack/

Months after Citigroup seized EMI Group from him, Mr. Hands, the charismatic British financier, went to court on Tuesday in an effort to win back control of the music company.

Mr. Hands has asked the High Court in London for access to documents that show the valuation methodology used by the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to justify Citigroup’s seizure of EMI in February.

If a judge granted Mr. Hands the right to see those documents, he could use them to challenge Citigroup’s taking control of the music company. Mr. Hands believes that EMI, which was making interest payments, was not insolvent when Citigroup took it over.

“We believe there is no basis for any claim against Citi,” said Danielle Romero-Apsilos, a bank spokeswoman.

[xchrom]

43. Some Hedge Funds, to Stay Nimble, Reject New Investors

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/09/07/some-hedge-funds-to-stay-nimble-reject-new-investors/

Since the financial crisis, big hedge funds like Paulson & Company, Millennium Management and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group have not turned away money, eagerly collecting billions of dollars from investors who have tended to stick with the industry’s marquee firms.

The situation makes Anthony Bozza all the more unusual. With assets swelling, the hedge fund manager is closing the door to new investors at his four-year-old firm, Lakewood Capital Management. In a little more than a year, his fund has grown from $200 million to $900 million, according to investors in the fund.

Small hedge funds were supposed to be the big losers in after the crisis, hampered by costly regulation and investors who flocked to the seeming safety of larger institutions.

But three years later, some small and midsize managers are flourishing, attracting assets at a rapid rate. Rather than risk their returns, they are just saying no to new investors

[Roland99]

44. Your PB and J sandwich will soon cost more

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/your-pb-and-j-sandwich-will-soon-cost-more-2011-09-08

Bad news peanut butter and jelly fans! The cost for making your sandwich is going up. Smucker is raising the price on Jif Peanut Butter as much as 30% this fall. Jelly prices are also expected to rise. And Phil Lempert at SupermarketGuru.com warns choosy Moms may no longer choose Jif. He talks to John Wordock.

Audio interview at link.

[Po_d Mainiac]

50. Alex, What is 'stagflation?' n/t

[Fuddnik]

51. I'd better head to Costco.

[Hotler]

54. k&r n/t

[Demeter]

60. Timmy Geithner: What the world must do to restore growth

The world economy is in the midst of the second slowdown of this recovery from the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. The question is not whether we have the economic or financial capacity to act to strengthen growth, but whether we have the political ability to do the right things.

The shocks behind the slowdown – oil prices, Japan’s disaster, the crisis in Europe – are severe enough to have been dangerous even if they had happened during a global boom. They are more dangerous now because they hit a world still healing from financial crisis and because of the general fear that political constraints will prevent governments and central banks from acting sensibly with the tools available.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/4RNQTT/FKER4D/Q38E1/R3FFWB/NJNF1H/ZH/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=8

BANGING THE OLD CUT SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE DRUM...NO TALK OF PROSECUTIONS AND NATIONALIZATIONS AND REGULATIONS....

[AnneD]

72. I was a small investor.....

I am in the last stage before retirement, you know, where most of your debts have been paid off and all your money goes toward retirement investments. We don't make a lot but we make enough to be getting many dinner invitations of late.

But guess what? Wall Street seems to have forgotten that investment is about trust and confidence. If I see these bankers get away with outright fraud and theft what do they think. Crimes that are punishable in the real world by jail time and garnishment of ill gotten gains nary get a second glace by those that are suppose to enforce the rules. All I see is a confidence man, not confidence. I would have to be an outright fool to give them my money-and we all know how that saying goes.

I know I don't have the economics pedigrees behind my name, but I have enough education from the school of hard knocks to know that until the environment improves, I will be investing in other 'safer' vehicles. Sometime a good investment doesn't give a high return.....you just don't lose your principle. I think that is my next rule of investment.

AnneD, who keeps a running list of investment tips she has learned over the years and posts them here on occasion for general enlightenment.

[DemReadingDU]

86. You posted some wise tips last week

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4985892&mesg_id=4986003



I'm not near as prepared as you, but I am doing what I can

[Festivito]

69. Debt: 09/06/2011 14,698,625,550,307.37 (UP 3,763,184,146.41) (Tue, DOWN a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 404.626-billion dollars. Good day.)
Rain rain go away, come again another day.
(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)
= 10,058,276,781,058.20 + 4,640,348,769,249.11
DOWN 290,117,782.20 + UP 4,053,301,928.61

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,196.59 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.59, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,833,792 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 $46,985.42.
A family of three owes $140,956.25. (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 5,187,486,862.80.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,804,157,032.72.
The average for the last 32 days would be 3,566,397,218.17.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 231 reports in 341 days of FY2011 averaging 4.92B$ per report, 3.33B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 502 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.3T$.
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)
09/06/2011 14,698,625,550,307.37 BHO (UP 4,071,748,501,394.23 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 +1,137,002,519,415.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,217,026,157,145.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/16/2011 -000,111,149,424.58 ---
08/17/2011 -000,155,359,363.72 ---
08/18/2011 +006,258,648,233.06 ------------*********
08/19/2011 +019,892,825,521.14 ------------**********
08/22/2011 -000,213,053,000.99 --- Mon
08/23/2011 +000,814,357,949.50 ------------********
08/24/2011 +000,495,517,849.57 ------------********
08/25/2011 +015,444,082,130.78 ------------**********
08/26/2011 +001,003,663,200.19 ------------*********
08/29/2011 -000,073,220,970.90 ---- Mon
08/30/2011 +000,152,580,275.78 ------------********
08/31/2011 +034,126,581,560.14 ------------**********
09/01/2011 +034,131,323,630.30 ------------**********
09/02/2011 +000,182,220,803.10 ------------********
09/06/2011 -000,290,117,782.20 --- Tue

111,658,900,611.17 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=4986989&mesg_id=4987000

[Festivito]

84. Debt: 09/07/2011 14,717,757,015,045.83 (UP 19,131,464,738.45) (Wed, UP a lot.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 423.757-billion dollars. Good day.)
A stop in A2 for soup and internuts.
(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)
= 10,073,860,042,745.80 + 4,643,896,972,299.96
UP 15,583,261,687.60 + UP 3,548,203,050.85

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,196.51 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.59, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 312,840,992 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 $47,045.49.
A family of three owes $141,136.46. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 5,793,746,770.43.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,441,872,524.00.
The average for the last 33 days would be 4,038,065,930.91.
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$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 232 reports in 342 days of FY2011 averaging 4.98B$ per report, 3.38B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 501 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.3T$.
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)
09/07/2011 14,717,757,015,045.83 BHO (UP 4,090,879,966,132.68 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 +1,156,133,984,154.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,233,885,684,842.83 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/17/2011 -000,155,359,363.72 ---
08/18/2011 +006,258,648,233.06 ------------*********
08/19/2011 +019,892,825,521.14 ------------**********
08/22/2011 -000,213,053,000.99 --- Mon
08/23/2011 +000,814,357,949.50 ------------********
08/24/2011 +000,495,517,849.57 ------------********
08/25/2011 +015,444,082,130.78 ------------**********
08/26/2011 +001,003,663,200.19 ------------*********
08/29/2011 -000,073,220,970.90 ---- Mon
08/30/2011 +000,152,580,275.78 ------------********
08/31/2011 +034,126,581,560.14 ------------**********
09/01/2011 +034,131,323,630.30 ------------**********
09/02/2011 +000,182,220,803.10 ------------********
09/06/2011 -000,290,117,782.20 --- Tue
09/07/2011 +015,583,261,687.60 ------------**********

127,353,311,723.35 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=4987969&mesg_id=4988294

[mahatmakanejeeves]

71. Paulson’s Fund Said to Lose 34% This Year

Paulson’s Fund Said to Lose 34% This Year

By Kelly Bit - Sep 7, 2011 3:46 PM ET

John Paulson, the billionaire who is betting on an economic recovery by the end of 2012, has lost 34 percent this year in his largest hedge fund, according to two people familiar with the firm.

Paulson’s Advantage Plus Fund, which seeks to profit from corporate events such as takeovers and bankruptcies, lost 15 percent last month, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the fund is private. That compares with a 5.7 percent decline last month in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. The fund’s gold-denominated share class has lost 17 percent this year, after declining 7 percent in August.

Paulson, 55, whose New York-based firm Paulson & Co. manages $35 billion, has scaled back bullish bets after losses this year. He reduced his stake in Bank of America Corp. (BAC) to 60.4 million shares as of June 30 from 124 million shares on March 31. The bank’s shares have tumbled 44 percent so far this year.

The hedge-fund industry has gained 3.4 percent in 2011 after falling 1.1 percent last month, according to the Bloomberg aggregate hedge-fund index. Paulson would have to return about 52 percent in the remainder of the year to break even in the Advantage Plus Fund.

[Po_d Mainiac]

73. He don't do so well when he has to play fair......n/t

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

74. The "Speech" is -80.

What a ridiculous system.

:freak:

[Fuddnik]

75. I feel like Hotler today.

Life sucks, and then you die.

And the sad part? I've got it better than a lot of people.

[Demeter]

78. Surely you're not feeling sorry for Paulson?

[Fuddnik]

80. Not hardly.

He rigged the biggest scam of all time with Goldmans help.

I feel sorry he's not getting poked in the rear with Satans pitchfork yet.

[AnneD]

82. I love that sig line....

one of the DUer's has...some times it's not worth chewing through the restraints.

Yes it is tough to realize life sucks and you have it better than most.

One straw or two?

[Fuddnik]

85. Yeah, Ohio Chick has the best sig line on DU.

Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.

[DemReadingDU]

87. +++

for OhioChick, and your sig too

[Fuddnik]

79. Stocks retreat after Bernanke disappoints.

Bernanke disappoints? Now that was unexpected!

[DoBotherMe]

83. K&R

Still lurking. Dana ; )

[Demeter]

88. Lurk away!

We take them all, the shy, the bold, the young, the old, etc.