STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, September 28, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, September 28, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 27, 2011

Dow 11,190.69 +146.83 (+1.31%)
Nasdaq 2,546.83 +30.14 (+1.18%)
S&P 500 1,175.38 +12.43 (+1.06%)
10-Yr Bond... 1.98 +0.01 (+0.46%)
30-Year Bond 3.08 +0.01 (+0.36%)

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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 28 07:00 MBA Mortgage Index 09/24 NA NA 0.6%
Sep 28 08:30 Durable Orders Aug 0.5% 0.1% 4.1% 4.0%
Sep 28 08:30 Durable Ordes ex Transportation Aug -0.5% -0.2% 0.8% 0.7%
Sep 28 10:30 Crude Inventories 09/24 NA NA -7.336M

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/09/26-30/#ixzz1ZF9UFlKm

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil falls below $84 in Asia ahead of US data

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Oil prices fell below $84 a barrel Wednesday in Asia ahead of U.S. economic data this week that will provide clues about the future strength of demand for crude.

Benchmark oil was down 85 cents to $83.60 a barrel at late afternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract surged $4.21 to finish at $84.45 per barrel in New York on Tuesday.

In London, Brent crude for November delivery was down 79 cents at $106.35 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil's rally Tuesday mirrored gains in global stock markets, buoyed by hopes that Europe was preparing a plan to contain the region's debt crisis that would prevent another recession.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Climb, Indicating S&P 500 Will Extend Three-Day Rally

U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may extend the biggest three-day advance in a month.

S&P 500 futures expiring in December advanced 0.2 percent to 1,171.6 at 5:30 a.m. in New York after earlier falling as much as 0.6 percent. The gauge rallied 4.1 over the previous three days. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 11,144 today.

Stocks climbed yesterday after Greece made progress in meeting requirements for more international aid and Germany vowed continue to support for the country. Even so, the rally has failed to convince U.S. options traders to lower their guard against more losses.

Futures on the VIX show investors expect the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index to remain at least 50 percent above its historical average of 20.5 through May, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/u-s-stock-futures-climb-indicating-s-p-500-will-extend-three-day-rally.html

[Demeter]

4. Karlsruhe Demands Greater Parliamentary Role in Bailouts

FROM 9/9/11

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,784937,00.html

Germany's highest court has rejected three lawsuits against euro bailout measures, but its ruling also strengthens the role of the German parliament in determining aid for heavily indebted euro-zone countries. The new procedures are more democratic, but they could also lead to fresh turbulence on the finance markets...

Both the plaintiff and the defendant seemed in good spirits. Shortly before the start of proceedings, economics professor Wilhelm Nölling and German State Secretary of Finance Steffen Kampeter stood in the provisional courtroom in Karlsruhe talking shop. The were speaking about the appreciation of the franc , which Switzerland is now trying to stop by placing a ceiling on the exchange rate. Kampeter let his opponent know that he was well informed on the issue. "I want to take vacation in Switzerland," he said.

Shortly thereafter, the fun came to a halt. Germany's highest judicial authority, the Federal Constitutional Court, issued its anxiously awaited ruling on the euro rescue package on Wednesday morning. Although their cases were rejected, the decision still represented a partial victory for Nölling and the remaining plaintiffs. The justices declared that the billions in guarantees for Greece and other highly indebted euro-zone countries were fundamentally constitutional, but they also demanded a greater say and participation in future bailouts by Germany's parliament, the Bundestag.

In the past, the justices of the Constitutional Court have shown themselves to be cautious skeptics of deeper European integration. The court gave its blessing in 1993 to the Maastricht Treaty, the founding document of the European Union, but noted that "democratic legitimation necessarily comes about through the feedback of the actions of the European institutions into the parliaments of the member states." The court also initially rejected a law accompanying the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009 because the justices didn't feel it sufficiently protected this legitimation...

ALL I CAN SAY IS IT'S A GOOD THING FOR THE EURO THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO SUFFER THE TENDER CARE OF THE US LEGISLATURE...

...At the time of these initial rulings, most of the justices had no way of imagining just how much additional responsibility would soon fall on parliament. At the peak of the financial crisis, the German government was forced to approve guarantees and capital aid of over €500 billion within the course of a single weekend in order to save the banking system from collapse. After its approval by Chancellor Merkel's cabinet, it was pushed through both houses of German parliament within five days...The scenario repeated itself when the financial crisis turned into the sovereign debt crisis...

[Demeter]

5. Cabinet calls for EU commissioner to ensure eurozone rules are kept

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2011/09/cabinet_calls_for_eu_commissio.php

The Dutch cabinet supports a far tougher approach to ensuring eurozone countries do not break the rules on monetary union and believes they should leave the euro if they are not prepared to enforce stronger sanctions, prime minister Mark Rutte told MPs in a briefing on Wednesday. ‘This briefing sketches a structural approach which gets to the heart of the problem, strengthening budgetary discipline and ensuring strict adherence to the rules, under independent monitoring,’ Rutte said. These rules would be accompanied by ‘severe sanctions which countries will have to agree to if they want to remain part of the eurozone,’ the prime minister said in the nine-page document.

Until now, the cabinet has had the view that all 17 countries should remain in the eurozone and resisted calls, for example, that Greece be expelled.

Subsidies

Countries which fail to get their economies in order could lose their rights to EU subsidies and their vote in EU matters, the prime minister suggested. As a final resort, they could be put under the supervision of a special European commissioner. Those which do not agree, ‘can take the opportunity to leave the eurozone’, the prime minister said.

According to the Volkskrant, the rest of Europe is not ready for this form of ‘euro-federalism’. Both France and Germany believe European leaders should continue to dictate economic policy.

Ministers themselves accept there will be 'considerable resistance' to their plan but consider discussion to be vital 'given the importance of long-term stability in the eurozone.'

[Demeter]

6. We Are All Ponzi Schemers Now —By Kevin Drum

http://motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2011/09/we-are-all-ponzi-schemers-now

Here is Reason's Shikha Dalmia on why Social Security isn't a Ponzi scheme, it's worse than a Ponzi scheme:

A Ponzi scheme collects money from new investors and uses it to pay previous investors—minus a fee. But Social Security collects money from new investors, uses some of it to pay previous investors, and spends the surplus on programs for politically favored groups—minus the cost of supporting a massive bureaucracy. Over the years, trillions of dollars have been spent on these groups and bureaucrats.

Forget the business about the surplus. I happen to agree with Dalmia about that, but it doesn't matter much at this point. Social Security is only generating a small surplus these days, and within a few years it won't be generating a surplus at all. It's not worth worrying about anymore.

No, the real problem with Dalmia's description is the notion that Social Security collects money from new investors and uses it to pay off previous investors. It's easy enough to see why people believe this: it was, basically, the way the program was initially sold. And politicians ever since have found it convenient to continue this fiction. Seniors today are all convinced that the money they paid into the program during their working years was somehow saved up for them and now they're getting it back...But that's always been a lie. Social Security is actually a much simpler program than that. I'm going to put the rest of this paragraph in bold so you can't possibly miss it. Here's how Social Security works: every month we take in taxes from working people and every month we turn around and distribute those taxes to retirees. That's it. That's how it works, and everyone who actually knows anything about the program knows that's how it works. Taxes come in, benefits go out. And the key to solvency is simple: making sure that those taxes and benefits are in balance.

This is, of course, the way every government program works. Taxes come in, payments to soldiers go out. Taxes come in, payments to NASA rocket scientists go out. Easy!

Now, morally speaking, we certainly have an obligation to keep Social Security running. After all, today's seniors did their bit back in the day and provided benefits to yesterday's seniors. But again, that's true of every government program. For example: we have an obligation to today's seniors to fund the Pentagon and keep them safe from al-Qaeda. After all, they did their bit and funded the Pentagon back when we needed to kick Hitler's butt and stop the commies from taking over the world. We also have an obligation to fund highways for our seniors. After all, they did their bit and paid for the original interstate highway system back in the 50s. Etc. etc. That's just how government works. If Social Security is a "monstrous lie," as Rick Perry says, then the entire federal government is a monstrous lie.(1)

Social Security is nothing special. It's just another tax-funded program. Taxes come in, benefits go out. As the chart on the right shows — and this is really the only thing you need to know about Social Security — the program costs about 4.5% of GDP today and will eventually top out at about 6% of GDP in 2030 and beyond. You can bring that into balance forever with tiny tweaks phased in over the next two decades. Not only is it not a Ponzi scheme, it's not even a major problem.



(1) Of course, Rick Perry might very well think that the entire federal government is a monstrous lie. But that's a different discussion.

AND OF COURSE, THIS DOESN'T TAKE INTO ACCOUNT OBAMA'S INFAMOUS "TAX HOLIDAYS" DESIGNED TO MAKE A PROBLEM WHERE NONE EXISTED.

[fasttense]

57. What Social Security program is Shikha Dalmia in? It is NOT the same one I'm in.

The one I'm in doubled my Social Security taxes in 1983 (Raygun and Greenspan's idea). So, I ended paying for my parent's retirement and my own. I was in the 1st generation to ever take on such a burden. Raygun also gave a huge tax cut to the idle rich. If you made too much money, you didn't have to pay your full Social Security taxes. How great for the idle rich, not so good for the working class.

Half my Social Security taxes go to paying for may parent's retirement and half goes into a trust fund in US bonds (Like the ones W cashed out when he hit adulthood). That trust fund is well over 2 Trillion dollars now. That's the money going to me when I retire. So, what's happening with my kids Social Security taxes? They don't have to pay my retirement, it's in the trust fund. So, all the money they pay into Social Security should go to them.

That's the Social Security program I'm in. The one Shikha Dalmia is in is imaginary.

[Demeter]

62. You and Me and ALL the Boomers and Their Descendants

[Demeter]

7. Market Swings Are Becoming New Standard

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/business/economy/stock-markets-sharp-swings-grow-more-frequent.html


...So what’s causing the rise in the big bounces?

It’s hard to know for sure, but market analysts point to new types of souped-up computerized trading and extraordinary global economic turmoil — from protests over a second bailout for Greece to the downgrade of United States debt. It is also possible that stocks simply move faster today because of the quicker pace of news and trading, and so drops and surges in prices that might have been spread over days in past times are now condensed within hours....Some economists say they fear the volatility may feed upon itself. The violent ups and downs, said Robert Shiller, an economics professor at Yale, may in turn undermine confidence in the economy, and the weakness in the economy can lead to more strident politics — all of which feeds the volatility loop. “It is not well understood why we have these bursts of volatility," Mr. Shiller said. “It seems that in these rare periods of bad economic performance and anxiety about the economy, we have volatility in the markets and high volatility in the political arena. Bad things can happen. This worries me.”

The Times looked at two sorts of historical data — the closing prices of the S.& P. 500-stock index as well as the highest and lowest points the index reached during each trading day. Both measures, from 1962 through the end of this August, painted similar pictures of the market — it rises and falls more now in greater size. Since the start of this century, The Times found, price fluctuations of 4 percent or more during intraday sessions have occurred nearly six times more than they did on average in the four decades leading up to 2000. The price swings today may feel even more notable because the 1990s represented a relatively calm time for trading. In contrast, price fluctuations of 1 percent and more during intraday trading were more common in the 1970s and 1980s. As for closing prices, the more-frequent jumps could also be clearly spotted. Thirty percent of trading days since the start of 2010 were up or down more than 1 percent at the time of the closing bell. That’s far more than the 20 percent of such jumps in the 1990s. The trend toward greater volatility is more pronounced in larger price moves.

Regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission have been looking at changes in the markets and automated trading strategies in connection with volatility. The market is no longer based on one single exchange but is fractured across four big exchanges and several smaller forums. High-frequency traders, using powerful computers to trade at exceptionally high speeds, now account for up to 60 percent of daily turnover. And in the last decade, exchange-traded funds have become a large factor in trading, after hundreds of billions of dollars were poured into them. Those funds — like mutual funds, but traded daily — tie their values to indexes or bundles of stocks rather than individual companies.

But even as financial problems simmer in America and abroad, officials have yet to pinpoint exactly why stocks seem to move more quickly and to greater extremes. Some financial historians question whether the markets are in a “new normal” of permanently heightened volatility. “The last few years have been the most volatile for all of recorded history,” said Andrew Lo, professor of finance at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. For evidence, he says that 10 of the biggest 20 daily upswings and 11 of the largest 20 daily drops since the beginning of 1980 to the end of last month have occurred in just the last three years....

WELL, THE APPEARANCE OF WILD OSCILLATIONS IN AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT THAT WASN'T DESIGNED FOR THAT PURPOSE

(AND I POSIT THAT PEOPLE DID NOT INTEND TO HAVE WILDLY FLUCTUATING MARKETS)

IS A SIGN OF IMMINENT FAILURE OF THE CIRCUIT AND DEFINITE FAILURE OF THE DESIGN AND/OR THE COMPONENTS IN IT.

THE MARKET IS BROKEN...HFT IS THE MOST PROBABLE CAUSE, SINCE THE VOLATILITY STARTED WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF HFT...BUT THE PPT ISN'T HELPING, EITHER, BY MESSING UP MARKETS WITH ITS POLITICALLY DRIVEN MANIPULATIONS OF PRICING.

[Demeter]

8. High-Frequency Trades May Face Tougher Regulation in EU Market-Abuse Rules

AND IN EUROPE, GOVERNMENT IS DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT, NOT ENOUGH, BUT SOETHING...HELLO? DC?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-13/high-frequency-traders-may-face-tougher-eu-market-abuse-rules.html

The European Union is considering listing “specific examples of strategies using algorithmic trading and high-frequency trading” that should be banned and punished by regulators as market manipulation.

The measures to increase investor protection and reduce volatility are part of plans to clamp down on market abuse in the region, according to a draft of the proposals obtained by Bloomberg News.

“There are particular automated strategies that have been identified by regulators which, if carried out, are likely to constitute market abuse,” the European Commission document says. “Further identifying abusive strategies will ensure a consistent approach in monitoring and enforcement by competent authorities.”

High-frequency traders have come under increased regulatory scrutiny following the so-called flash crash in May of last year, during which the Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly lost almost 1,000 points...“Spoofing,” in which market participants try to trick other computers into making decisions that can be exploited for profit, would also be banned...Traders made about 13.3 billion euros ($18.2 billion) from market manipulation and insider dealing on EU equity markets in 2010, according to a commission study prepared in tandem with the proposals...

[Demeter]

9. Fed Ponders Jobs, Inflation Targets

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904491704576575130596765932.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

FROM 9/19

Federal Reserve officials, worried that a wobbly economy and their fractious debates are confusing the public, are examining whether to adopt more explicit economic targets to clarify their strategy for lowering unemployment without fueling inflation.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has asked Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, two intellectual adversaries, to work with Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen on how the Fed can better explain its economic goals to the public. One issue high on the agenda: Detail what changes in unemployment and inflation it would take to make the central bank veer from its low interest-rate policy, according to people familiar with the matter.

Fed officials are likely to consider other steps they might take to boost the ailing economy in the short-run when they meet Tuesday and Wednesday, including altering the composition of the Fed's portfolio of securities so that it holds more long-term debt. The idea would be to push down long-term interest rates to stimulate more investment and spending. They also could try to encourage lending by cutting the 0.25% interest rate currently paid to private banks when they park money at the central bank...Mr. Bernanke holds enough sway to win backing for those actions, if he wants. But the issue about clarifying goals is unlikely to be resolved at this week's meetings, if at all, because of the wide range of views at the Fed about how to proceed.

Today, several of the Fed's 12 regional bank presidents are against trying new steps to spur growth. Three dissented at their last policy meeting. Other Fed officials are just as convinced more aggressive action is needed right away...

[Demeter]

10. Meanwhile, In My Own Little Community

I have been publicly challenged to go toe to toe with my Nemesis on the Board, by the Board.

This was a very foolish decision on their part, as I am halfway there already, and I've already done it once.

Suffice it to say, when I complained to the board of a serious breach of my quiet enjoyment of my home, imposed by a committee that is out of control and misusing its power, and I presented a very cost-free, simple and immediate remedy, which was rejected on truly bogus grounds, the line was drawn.

This is the kind of thanks one can always expect. Until the Revolution.

If the Board wants its dirty laundry on public display, who am I to deny them?

[Demeter]

11. Split opens over Greek bail-out terms

As many as seven of the bloc’s 17 members push for private sector creditors to bear bigger burden, with the Germans and the Dutch leading the calls...

A split has opened in the eurozone over the terms of Greece’s second €109bn bail-out with as many as seven of the bloc’s 17 members arguing for private creditors to swallow a bigger write-down on their Greek bond holdings, according to senior European officials.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/HYSORL/GYN7Q/1684DO/DWY3QO/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=28

YVES SMITH NOTES IN HER NAKED CAPITALISM NEWSLETTER:

This is seriously not good. The impulse is correct, to make banks take more pain, but you don’t retrade a deal at this late stage. Of course, I’m not alone in expecting the complexity and time needed to get various rescue arrangements approved is just not gonna work, but to have a supposedly settled deal go pear-shaped is a very bad sign.

[Demeter]

14. OPINION: Ian Bremmer: Greece is not leaving the eurozone, not now, not ever

Despite the Greek parliament’s support last night for an unpopular new property tax, Europe’s divisions over the terms of any new bailout give credence to talk of a looming euro exit.

But such an exit would be terrible news for Greece, and equally terrible for the eurozone. The bottom line is this: Greece isn’t going anywhere.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/0QSDPP/ZGCQT9/52KB7/HYDPTJ/ZG0DL9/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=28


THAT'S ALL, SHE WROTE!

[Demeter]

17. Analysing the latest battle plan

http://macro-man.blogspot.com/2011/09/analysing-latest-battle-plan.html

IT'S RATHER TECHNICAL, BUT YOU CAN READ IT FOR THE SARCASM, TOO.

...The trouble is, that the Bundeathstar really don't want to do this, and the Panzer tanks are firmly blocking the ECB lending to such an SPV. But, as mentioned yesterday, TMM get the impression that the Germans have overplayed their hand (for example, they don't have any friends at the G20), and unless they really are about to leave Europe, they are going to be forced to accept some such plan. The key thing with the above is that it maintains the cloak of complexity for the public, while showing markets where the money comes from, thus avoiding the need to put the plan to electorates. Because action is needed *now*, and there just isn't time there just isn't time to vote on this. Europe is unlikely to change its history of doing what it likes, regardless of voters' wishes.

[Owlet]

32. No economic plan survives contact with reality

"and unless they really are about to leave Europe, they are going to be forced to accept some such plan."

Maybe yes, maybe no. Just maybe the Germans will leave Europe: at least that part of Europe that seems shaky financially.

"That is why we need a plan “C”: Austria, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands to leave the eurozone and create a new currency leaving the euro where it is. If planned and executed carefully, it could do the trick: a lower valued euro would improve the competitiveness of the remaining countries and stimulate their growth. In contrast, exports out of the “northern” countries would be affected but they would have lower inflation. Some non-euro countries would probably join this monetary union. Depending on performance, a flexible membership between the two unions should be possible."

Hans-Olaf Henkel, the former head of the Federation of German Industries

Full Op-ed here

[Demeter]

33. None of these people or plans are within Smelling Distance of Reality

and that's the problem

[Demeter]

34. And then, it would be a race between Finland and Austria

to trash the new manufactured currency.

While the idea was admirable, to have no borders for currency to facilitate trade, the lack of borders for capital, and no regulation to penalize financial trades masquerading as real trades of real goods has undone the advantages.

They would have been better off pegging to the dollar. Or the yuan. Or just trading in dollars--adopting the greenback as the official European currency, instead of adding an additional layer of contortion.

[Po_d Mainiac]

38. They could call it the Eurine! n/t

[Demeter]

41. Thanks for the Guffaw!

That was far too coarse for a mere laugh.

[Demeter]

18. Euro Crisis Makes Fed Lender of Only Resort

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/euro-crisis-makes-fed-lender-of-only-resort-as-banks-chase-dollar-funding.html

The Federal Reserve, chastised by Congress for lending money to foreign institutions such as the Central Bank of Libya, is once again the lender of last resort for banks around the world it knows little about.

Three years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., money-market borrowing rates for dollars are rising, leading the Fed and European Central Bank to make the currency available to Europe’s institutions for as many as three months. U.S. prime money-market funds cut their exposure to euro-zone bank deposits and commercial paper, or short-term IOUs, to $214 billion in August from $391 billion at the end of last year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data.

The failure of regulators worldwide to address European banks’ fragile dependence on short-term funding is “putting the Fed in a really awkward position,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics, a Washington regulatory research firm whose clients include the biggest U.S. banks. The swaps with Europe “are an extremely advantageous political football” for critics of the Fed, she said.

The extended funding comes as the U.S. central bank is already under fire for its unprecedented monetary stimulus. Republican leaders including Representative John Boehner of Ohio and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wrote Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and the Board of Governors on Sept. 19, asking them to “resist further extraordinary intervention in the U.S. economy.”

[Demeter]

20. Frau Merkel, it really is a euro crisis

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/ambroseevans-pritchard/100012223/frau-merkel-it-really-is-a-euro-crisis/

Angela Merkel told German industry today that we are not facing "a euro crisis, but a debt crisis."

She is wrong. Total levels of private and sovereign debt in the eurozone are lower than in the UK, the US, and far lower than in Japan. Greece’s debt levels are around 250pc of GDP, at the lower end of the developed world. Spain’s sovereign debt is admirably modest at around 65pc. Italy’s household debt level is the envy of the rich world. It has a primary budget surplus. Italy has many problems, but the budget deficit is not one of them.

So why is there such a destructive and long-festering crisis in the eurozone? Why have three countries required an EU-IMF bail-out? Why is the ECB having to shore the debt markets of five countries — soon to be six — with direct bond purchases, including Spain and Italy? Not because of debt, except in the most superficial sense.

The reason this crisis keeps grinding ever deeper is because the euro itself is a machine for perpetual destruction. The currency is fundamentally warped and misaligned...

RECOMMENDED READING --YVES SMITH APPROVES!

[Demeter]

52. Gavyn Davies: Leveraging the EFSF is attractive, but risky

When the idea of leveraging the European Financial Stability Facility to increase its firepower was touted as the solution to the European sovereign debt crisis at the International Monetary Fund meetings last weekend, markets rallied sharply. They saw this (rightly) as the first sign of a policy initiative which might actually be large enough to get ahead of the deteriorating crisis.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/QM42II/5VM3JY/MJTKN/KQEPC7/4CZSW4/JY/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=28

[Demeter]

53. A COMPENDIUM OF OPINION

Europe Nears Agreement on Bailout Fund That May Be Inadequate

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/world/europe/europe-nears-agreement-on-bailout-fund-that-may-be-inadequate.html

Germany’s Angela Merkel, key to Greek bailout, caught between opposing forces

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/germanys-angela-merkel-key-to-greek-bailout-caught-between-opposing-forces/2011/09/23/gIQAe9nT0K_story.html

As Greece heads toward a financial precipice, the woman who holds the purse strings for any bailout, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, is trapped between markets, which demand that she do more, and fractious politics at home, which pressure her to do less.

The physicist-turned-politician is engaged in an experiment whose outcome is unclear. Once hesitant about committing any money to troubled countries that use the euro, she now preaches that Germany profited from the currency and needs to give something back. Euro politics has consumed her life so thoroughly that she emerged from an audience with Pope Benedict XVI last week and announced that they had chatted about the financial crisis.

She may need all the help she can get...

Merkel tries to rally support for Greece and euro ahead of crucial EFSF vote

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/sep/27/merkel-efsf-greek-bailout-fund?newsfeed=true

Greece faces its inspectors, Merkel hints at bailout change

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/28/us-greece-idUSTRE78Q1G220110928

[Demeter]

12. Banks wary of financing big projects

Participants say capital rules and eurozone crisis to blame and say infrastructure schemes will increasingly be funded by investors

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/VL8KCL/6ADGM/U1UOXC/R3LVGA/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=28

[Demeter]

13. Anonymous accuses Chaoda of fraud

Activists allege one of China’s biggest vegetable producers had falsified financial statements and swindled investors

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/VL8KCL/6ADGM/U1UOXC/GDQ1RO/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=9&a3=28

[xchrom]

15. morning!!!

:donut:

[Demeter]

22. Back at Ya

:donut:

[xchrom]

23. how are you doing this week?

:hi:

[Demeter]

25. You don't want to know.

If things get better, I may be able to talk about it without screaming in rage and weeping in despair...

[xchrom]

28. ...

:hug:

[Tansy_Gold]

30. .

:hug:

[Tansy_Gold]

31. Invest in beauty

http://www.healing-arts.org/edric/gallery.htm

[Po_d Mainiac]

39. wow! n/t

[Tansy_Gold]

56. Someone needed some cool things to look at

so I decided each day I would find something beautiful on the web and share it with all of my friends. Not anything I have a hand in, just really nifty stuff to look at and remind us that all is not the ugliness that SOME OF US (you know who you are!) insist on.

[alterfurz]

60. "Ah, but in such an ugly time...

...the true protest is beauty." -- Phil Ochs

[Hotler]

73. .....

:evilgrin:

[DemReadingDU]

59. Beautiful!

[Demeter]

37. I did it! I got me an avatar!

Only been trying (off and on) for YEARS to figure out the directions...

[DemReadingDU]

58. Yay!

Sorry, I'm not sure who it is or what it represents.
:dunce:

Edit
Oops, I should have read further, she is the confidence fairy!
Perfect!

[Demeter]

61. Thank you, thank you very much

plain text is boring....

[xchrom]

16. Ford's success stirs UAW resentment in labor talks

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AUTOS_CONTRACT_TALKS_FORD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-28-07-16-29

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford's turnaround over the last five years has resulted in big profits and won its CEO a reputation for brilliant management.

But those same achievements are stirring resentment among many of its factory workers. And that is complicating contract talks between the company and its union employees.

At The Rouge, Ford's massive, 94-year-old factory complex in Dearborn, Mich., there's talk along the assembly lines of winning back raises and bonuses lost when the company was near financial collapse in 2007. Workers, who assemble F-150 pickup trucks at the site, are upset that Ford is trying to cut labor costs, especially after nine straight profitable quarters and a $26.5 million pay package for CEO Alan Mulally.

A few miles to the north, inside Ford's 13-story headquarters known as the Glass House, executives are worried because workers, on average, cost the company $58 an hour in pay and benefits, the highest in U.S. auto industry.

[Hotler]

48. Hey Ford....

how much an hour are your CEO's and upper management costing you? How much is the payola to Washington costing you???

[xchrom]

19. europe: Catalan premier calls on rich to help with deficit

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Catalan/premier/calls/on/rich/to/help/with/deficit/elpepueng/20110927elpeng_12/Ten

Catalan premier Artur Mas on Tuesday defended his cash-strapped administration's drastic cuts to social spending and argued for the need for a temporary tax on the rich as his government approved a regional draft budgetary stability law.

Mas said the 850 million euro overshoot in spending last year was "unsustainable" and needed to be corrected, without endangering the quality of services provided. The government posted a public deficit last year of 4.2 percent of GDP, well above the limit imposed by the central government.

The Catalan government has slashed staffing levels at hospitals and reduced services, and on Monday proposed that healthcare workers accepted a 50-percent cut in their Christmas bonus. The budgets for education and social services have also been shaved. The measures announced on Tuesday include a two-month freeze in transfers to private-public care centers for the retired and other groups with special needs.

The draft law approved by the government on Tuesday prohibits the regional government exceeding a budget deficit of 0.14 percent GDP from 2018. The central government plans to approve legislation that imposes that limitation from 2020 onwards.

[xchrom]

21. Stock markets rally on hopes of solution for euro-zone crisis

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Stock/markets/rally/on/hopes/of/solution/for/euro-zone/crisis/elpepueng/20110927elpeng_11/Ten

Spain and the rest of the European stock markets on Tuesday posted big gains as investors warmed to an apparent growing sense of urgency among the continent's leaders in coming up with a plan capable of tackling the euro-zone debt crisis.

That plan is likely to involve beefing up the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), set up to help out euro-zone countries weighed down by debt. The European Central Bank is also expected to reintroduce measures to boost liquidity and help out the banks, while investors are coming around to the idea that an ECB rate cut is almost inevitable.

The Spanish blue-chip Ibex 35 closed up 4.03 percent at 8,531.90 points.

"We are rallying based on the plan as it looks like politicians are beginning to take things seriously," Reuters quoted David Coombs, a fund manager at Rathbone Brothers, as saying. "But it is a plan that has not been agreed yet and I am not sure it is all deliverable."

[Demeter]

27. Urgency, but no consensus and no workable plan

We need an icon for the confidence fairy:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DYBRhqz5sbU/TZm0YqPhQlI/AAAAAAAAAwc/Fpq6TDWXJSI/s1600/confidence+fairy.jpg

Isn't Google a wonder?

[xchrom]

29. ...

:evilgrin: love her!

[xchrom]

26. Spanish vaccine against HIV showing 90 percent success

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32121.shtml

The CSIC has published the first results of tests of the vaccine on humans
Photo EFEPhoto EFE
enlarge photo


A Spanish vaccine against the HIV virus is showing 90% success. The CSIC, Superior Centre for Scientific Investigation, has today Wednesday presented the first results of tests on humans and they show promising results against the virus.

The CSIC has developed and patented the vaccine which has managed to trigger an immune response against the virus in 90% of the people who have been given it. The research also shows that the effects remain for at least a year in 85% of cases.

Researcher at the National Biotechnology Centre, Mariano Esteban, who took part in the research at both the Clinic Hospital in Barcelona and the Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid, noted that there were no serious side effects to the vaccine, which goes under the name ‘MVA-B’.

The doctor responsible for the investigating team in Barcelona, Felipe García, has said that the results should be taken with caution, because the phase one tests have been carried out on only 30 volunteers.

There is more on this story in the medical journals, 'Vaccine' and 'Journal of Virology'.

[xchrom]

36. European Commission financial tax opposed by UK

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15090761

The UK has said it will "resist" a financial transaction tax on EU members proposed by the European Commission.

The tax would raise about 57bn euros ($78bn; £50bn) a year and would come into effect at the start of 2014.

Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said banks must "make a contribution" as Europe faced its "greatest challenge".

The UK said it had no objection to a financial tax in principle, but it would have to be introduced globally.

[tama]

68. Tobin tax! n/t

[xchrom]

49. London mostly lower; Man Group tumbles

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-drop-man-group-tumbles-2011-09-28?dist=markets

MADRID (MarketWatch) — London stocks were mostly lower in up and down trading Wednesday, with losses led by Man Group PLC following a trading update, while Johnson Matthey PLC and BG Group PLC rose after broker upgrades.

The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX -0.74% fell 0.2% to 5,281.95, erasing earlier gains and threatening a winning streak that has stretched to three sessions so far.

The index rallied 4% on Tuesday, the biggest one-day percentage gain since May 20, 2010, as progress on Europe’s sovereign-debt worries appeared closer.

[Demeter]

24. Tallying the Toll of U.S.-China Trade

IS THE WSJ GOING SOCIALIST? UNIONIST? HUMANIST? REALIST?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204010604576595002230403020.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

For years, economists have told Americans worried that cheap Chinese imports will kill jobs that the benefits of trade with China far outweigh its costs. New research suggests the damage to the U.S. has been deeper than these economists have supposed. The study, conducted by a team of three economists, doesn't challenge the traditional view that trade is ultimately good for the economy. Workers who lose jobs do eventually find new work or retire, while the benefits from trade, such as lower prices, remain. The problem is the speed at which China has surged as an exporter, overwhelming the normal process of adaptation. The study rated every U.S. county for its manufacturers' exposure to competition from China, and found that regions most exposed to China tended not only to lose more manufacturing jobs, but also to see overall employment decline. Areas with higher exposure also had larger increases in workers receiving unemployment insurance, food stamps and disability payments. The authors calculate that the cost to the economy from the increased government payments amounts to one- to two-thirds of the gains from trade with China. In other words, a big portion of the ways trade with China has helped the U.S.—such as by providing inexpensive Chinese goods to consumers—has been wiped out. And that estimate doesn't include any economic losses experienced by people who lost their jobs.

"There are really huge adjustment costs to local communities that were far worse than people had appreciated," said David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who conducted the study with Gordon Hanson of the University of California, San Diego, and David Dorn of the Center for Monetary and Financial Studies in Madrid. While Mr. Autor, who specializes in labor markets, receives some funding from the National Science Foundation, this research was conducted independently of any interest group.

The theory of comparative advantage, framed two centuries ago by British economist David Ricardo, says nations prosper by focusing on what they do best and trading with other countries that have different strengths. But amid the surge in inexpensive imports over the past decade, some prominent economists have challenged that view.

In a 2004 article, the late Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson argued that while trade may benefit some Americans, it does so by "decimating" the wages of blue-collar factory workers. Princeton University economist and former Federal Reserve Board vice chairman Alan Blinder, once a champion of free trade, in recent years has argued that U.S. firms' increased outsourcing to low-wage countries puts millions of American jobs at risk...

AT LEAST THEY AREN'T GLOATING..."SPEED OF CHANGE TOO FAST"...TRYING TO PATCH UP GANGRENE.

[Demeter]

35. Freddie Mac Low-Balled BofA MBS Settlement

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/09/27/freddie-mac-low-balled-bofa-mbs-settlement/

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has often functioned with a single-minded purpose: it wants to limit taxpayer losses on risky housing loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from banks and other mortgage lenders. That’s it.

Sometimes that works to the benefit of taxpayers and homeowners, as when they pressure banks to repurchase mortgage-backed securities from Fannie/Freddie where the banks made bad representations and warranties. This reveals the essential fraud in the system and could go a long way to reforming it. But when FHFA refuses to promote principal modifications or refinancing on underwater homes, it acts against the interests of the homeowner (and the taxpayers, since principal modifications would help heal the housing market). It’s short-term thinking.

FHFA’s single-minded focus can also go awry even when FHFA appears to be playing a good role. For instance, earlier this year, Freddie Mac inked a $1.35 billion settlement with Bank of America over mortgage backed securities. But the FHFA’s inspector general found in a report that Freddie Mac used a faulty analysis in accepting a deal that lowballed potential losses the agency could incur if the loans it purchased from banks turned out to perform worse than expected:

The faulty methodology significantly increased the probable losses in Freddie Mac’s portfolio of loans, according to the report, prepared by the inspector general of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the company. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were taken over by the government in 2008 so additional losses would be shouldered by taxpayers.

The report also noted that the settlement with Bank of America in December was completed over the objections of a senior examiner at the agency. Freddie Mac officials did not want to jeopardize the company’s relationship with Bank of America, from which it continues to buy loans, the report concluded.

The agency official who questioned the loan review methodology contended that Freddie Mac’s analysis greatly underestimated the number of dubious loans bought from the Countrywide unit of Bank of America from 2005 to 2007. The deal between Freddie Mac and the bank resolved claims associated with 787,000 loans, some of which were repurchased by the bank, and cannot be rescinded.

“An effective mortgage repurchase process is critical in limiting the enterprises’, and ultimately, the taxpayers’ exposure to credit losses resulting from the financial crisis,” said Steve A. Linick, the inspector general who oversaw the report. “F.H.F.A. and Freddie Mac must do more to ensure that high-dollar settlements of repurchase claims are accurately estimated and in the best interests of taxpayers.”

This really does not bode well for the FHFA’s lawsuit against BofA and 16 other banks over similar claims. While there have been estimates, we haven’t really seen a definitive figure on how much FHFA seeks in those suits. The FHFA report gives me no confidence that they will adjudicate that fairly, or that FHFA would even want to. We’re talking about billions in losses on this settlement, and that was just Freddie Mac and BofA. Who knows how some of the other repurchase deals are going. It seems that FHFA wants a sweet spot in between limiting taxpayer losses and playing nice with the banks, with whom they still partner on mortgage trading.

Once again, we see how a lack of investigation works in the favor of the banks. Freddie Mac just didn’t analyze over 300,000 foreclosed loans they owned and that could have been part of this claim. Much like the state AG investigation, they did a token review and went right to settlement...

MUCH MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

40. David Brooks Is Upset at Liberals Who INSIST on Applying Arithmetic to Economics By: Dean Baker

http://my.firedoglake.com/deanbaker/2011/09/27/david-brooks-is-upset-at-liberals-who-insist-on-applying-arithmetic-to-economics/

David Brooks is really upset: We may have a lost decade because he is sitting there being right, standing in the middle, and the two extremes who control public debate won’t agree with him. How do we know Brooks is right? Well, he is in the middle between the two extremes he just told you about, so how could he not be right?...How do we know that the liberals/progressives are wrong? Brooks tells us:

“Many Democrats are predisposed to want more government spending. So they pick up on the one current they think can be cured with more government spending: low consumer demand. Increase government spending and that will pump up consumer spending.

When President Obama’s stimulus package produced insufficient results, they didn’t concede that maybe there are other factors at play, which mitigated the effects. They just called for more government spending. To a man in love with his hammer, every problem requires a nail.”

Yeah, don’t we just hate these Democrats? They are in love with their hammer (government spending) and therefore make everything look like a nail...Suppose Brooks ever took 10 minutes to read the Obama administration’s projections for the stimulus. (It’s on the web and can be downloaded for free, so a NYT columnist should have access to it.) The first item in the summary of Romer-Bernstein report would tell Brooks that:

“A package in the range that the President-Elect has discussed would create between 3-4 million jobs by the end of 2010.”

Let's look at that one again:

“A package in the range that the President-Elect has discussed would create between 3-4 million jobs by the end of 2010.”

Okay, 3-4 million jobs from a “package in the range that the President-Elect has discussed.” How many jobs did the economy need? By April of 2009, when the first stimulus payments were going out the door, the economy had already lost more than 6.5 million jobs. If we add in normal job growth that we would have seen in a healthy economy, we were already down by more than 8.0 million jobs...And the economy was still losing jobs at the rate of more than 400,000 jobs a month. By July, we were down by almost 10 million jobs from what would have been expected if the economy had sustained a normal pace of job growth from the start of the recession. This is what Brooks would know if he ever bothered to look at the numbers.

Now let’s look at that quote one more time:

“A package in the range that the President-Elect has discussed would create between 3-4 million jobs by the end of 2010.”

President Obama proposed a stimulus package of about $800 billion. He got a package of around $700 billion. (We have to pull out $80 billion for the Alternative Minimum Tax fix. No one, I mean no one, thinks that this fix, which is done every year, had anything to do with stimulus.) Furthermore, the package was more heavily tilted toward tax cuts than the package that President Obama proposed. Tax cuts have less impact per dollar than spending. David Brooks could find this fact in the Romer-Bernstein paper as well. The appendix tells us that a tax cut equal to 1 percent of GDP will eventually increase GDP by 0.99 percent. By contrast, government spending equal to 1 percent of GDP will increase GDP by 1.57 percent of GDP...If President Obama got a package that was smaller than what he requested and more tilted towards tax cuts than what he expected, then the impact on growth and jobs would be less than what he expected. He expected that the package he requested would create 3-4 million jobs, the package he got would be expected to create something less than 3-4 million jobs. And, we know that the economy needed somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 million jobs.

So how is anything about stimulus disproved because a stimulus that could have been expected to create maybe 3 million jobs was not adequate in a downturn where we needed 10 million jobs? There are no tricks here, this is all arithmetic and it is all right there in black and white. But Brooks does not want to be bothered by arithmetic. He wants his readers to support his plans for tax reform, for cutting Social Security and Medicare. In other words he wants his readers’ support for doing all the the things that David Brooks always wanted to do, but he now says that we absolutely have to do because of an economic crisis caused by the incompetence of the people who always wanted to do these things. And the people who insist on sticking to arithmetic — who point out now and said at the time that the stimulus was not large enough — well to a man in love with his hammer, every problem requires a nail. If arithmetic is nails, Brooks has no hammer.

IF YOU CAN STOMACH IT, HERE'S DAVID BROOKS' PIECE OF WHINING:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/opinion/brooks-the-lost-decade.html?hp

[Demeter]

55. Thing is, Did we get even 3 Million jobs out of it?

and aren't we losing those jobs even as we sit here wringing our hands?

[xchrom]

42. Cash-Strapped Cities Struggle to Maintain Mass Transit

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/09/cash-stapped-cities-mass-transit/205/

Budget conditions for America’s cities continue to be bleak, as reported in a new survey from the National League of Cities. Sales tax revenues remain well below the pre-recession trend, financial assistance from state governments has been slashed, and property tax revenues that normally exhibit little sensitivity to the business cycle have been hammered by the current housing-driven downturn. Mayors hoping for the federal government to step into the breach can find a lot to like in President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act, which would offer billions to help sustain public sector employment and activity. But the plan contains one unfortunate oversight—ongoing transportation costs where the labor market impact of cutbacks could be particularly severe.

It’s no surprise that mass transit agencies are cutting back service and raising fares. The same thing is happening to public services across the board. But the impact of cuts in this area on the employment situation can be quite dire. A recent University of Milwaukee analysis, for example, found that proposed cuts will cause loss of bus service to 997 employers in the Milwaukee area. A decent chunk of the approximately 8 percent of Milwaukee area workers who rely on mass transit for their commute may be literally unable to get to work. Many more will experience increased costs and inconvenience—longer waits, higher fares—and the same story is playing out across the country.

This a particularly bad time because economic growth in China, India, and elsewhere has left global oil producers out of excess capacity. Under the circumstances, any substantial reduction in American unemployment is overwhelmingly likely to lead to gas price increases, making it highly desirable to give people more options rather than fewer about how to get to work.

[xchrom]

43. Don’t count on Markozy to save you as Greece falls

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dont-count-on-markozy-to-save-you-as-greece-falls-2011-09-28?link=MW_Nav_FP

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The imminent Greek default is now the only issue that matters to the financial markets. The country is running out of money to pay its bills. It can no longer borrow on the markets. It has missed the deficit-reduction targets in the bailout package, and unless the euro area’s political leaders can come up with a fresh rescue package it will soon have no choice but to renege on it debts.

The real question is what happens next. Will Portugal, Spain and then Italy face a run on their banks as people rush to get their money out? Will a series of European banks fail, starting a fresh credit crunch? No one really knows, but the signs are hardly encouraging. The pressure on other high-indebted nations once Greece goes down will be intense. So will the pressure on the banking system.

The only force that can avert catastrophe is that strange double-headed beast known to bond traders as Markozy — the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Neither shows any signs of getting to grips with the scale of the challenge they face, nor have they done so at any point since this drama started 18 months ago. Anyone staying in the markets now is taking a massive gamble that they suddenly get their act together over the next few weeks. They are almost certainly going to be disappointed.

[Demeter]

44. Michael Hudson: Debt Deflation in America (OUR 3-CREDIT COURSE FOR THE DAY)

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/09/michael-hudson-debt-deflation-in-america.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29


“Without consumption, markets are going to shrink. Companies won’t invest, stores will close, “for rent” signs will spread on the main streets and local tax revenues will fall. Companies will lay off their employees and the economy will shrink more. Why aren’t economists talking about these effects of debt deflation, which are becoming the distinguishing phenomenon of our time? They advocate giving more money to the banks, hoping that somehow everything will be okay, as if the banks would lend out the money to fund new production and employment. Mainstream economics and political leaders in both parties are failing to ask why the banks are using these giveaways to speculate abroad, pay their managers bonuses and high salaries or to pay dividends rather than to lend to small businesses or do other things to actually get the economy moving again. This phenomenon cannot be explained without seeing that debt service is siphoning off revenue into the financial sector, which is not recycling it back into the production-and-consumption economy.”

Michael Hudson, let’s start by talking about Germany. Angela Merkel is to attend an important European Union meeting on September 7. What is going to be discussed?

The Bundestag is meeting to discuss how the German courts will rule on whether the European Central Bank (ECB) and the German government can bail out Greece and Portugal by buying the bonds of their governments directly, or whether the German Constitution prevents this. The European Union is having a similar discussion over what has become a constitutional crisis over whether the ECB should buy these government bonds.

The problem is that Germany and the EU are constitutionally blocked from doing this. Their banks have perpetuated the “road to serfdom” myth that a central bank runs the danger of fueling inflation if it creates money – in contrast to commercial banks, which supposedly run no such danger if they create money on their own computer keyboards. It is not considered inflationary for them to charge interest to the government, which then needs to pay by taxing the economy at large...

TRANSCRIPT OF PODCAST--FOR AUDIO: http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/73344

[Demeter]

45. AND THE CONFIDENCE FAIRY (OR THE PPT) FLIES AGAIN +70 AT OPEN

It's madness, madness, I tell you!

[xchrom]

46. Trick or treaters to defy economic gloom: NRF

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trick-or-treaters-to-defy-economic-gloom-nrf-2011-09-28

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Dismissing the shadow of economic uncertainty, consumers’ desires to spend for fun remains unabated, especially when it comes to dressing up for some trick-or-treating.

About 7 in 10 Americans said they plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up from 63.8% last year, according to trade group National Retail Federations’ 2011 Halloween Consumer Intensions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, adding that the percentage was the highest in the survey’s 10-year history.

The survey of 9,374 shoppers was conducted from Sept. 6 to Sept. 14.

Shoppers are expected to spend slightly more too, with the average person’s spending on decorations, costumes and candy expected to increase to $72.31 from $66.28 last year.

***good -- people need a little fun now & then & i love halloween.

[AnneD]

64. I love Halloween too.....

it was the one time poor kids like us got any treats. I remember when we got the homemade stuff. That is what went first. Carmel apples, popcorn balls, taffy, fudge and brownies were the first we ate.

I hate what Halloween has become...fundi christians scaring the bejebus out of kids and lecturing the rest of us. And parents that in their heart enjoyed it as kids but deny it to their kids.

It is the kid equalevent of New Years Eve. You stay up late, overindulge in sugar and have a tummy ache the next day. Of course if the next day is a school day, my clinic is full of zombies........

[xchrom]

65. i'm w/ you.

and yes -- i HATE what fundies do w/ halloween.

[Demeter]

66. I hate what they do to life in general and public discourse in particular

[Warpy]

69. I live in a very poor area

so the mobs of kids who come to my door are largely brown and mostly dressed in homemade costumes and I like it that way. Because of fearmongering fundies and helicopter mommies, I have to give out things like wrapped candy, but when I've got the money, it's good wrapped candy, mini bars of all sorts of chocolates. I'd love to be able to bake and wrap my kickass brownies for the kids, they'd love them.

And yes, it's probably the only candy they see all year except maybe a bar in the Xmas stocking.

[AnneD]

71. I still make the homemade treats.....

but I am very selective. I ask the moms if it is ok if I make the treats for the kids. I tell them what I am making and I make sure to have it ready for those kids. Most moms respond positively and don't mind at all and of course, the kids go crazy for them. I think the parents help them eat the treats because I make generous sizes.

I love the hand made costumes too. I am happy to say I never bought my daughter a costume. Of course, she will tell you I made the best wounds. She still raves about her dead cheerleader costume and her Egyptian costume (complete with the collar made from safety pins and seed beads-that took 5 hours).

My fav costume was when she was a toddler, not quite talking not quite walking. I dressed her up as a mermaid with a long flowing fin and a strategically placed leis with sea shells. She had a treasure chest for her treats. I was dressed as a fisherman complete with rod, and net. I carted her in my arms for the evening. We had several folks get cameras out to snap photos. She could barely say trick or treat (tweet). It was too cute. We lived in an are with lots of grandparents. The candy bars were always full size.

[Tansy_Gold]

72. Homemade costumes

My mother usually made my costumes, and they always had built-in warmth, because the end of October can be cold in the Chicago suburbs. One year it was a pink-and-blue clown costume voluminous enough to wear a snowsuit underneath.

But the very best was the year I went as Manners the Butler. I wore no mask, but no one recognized me.

For those too young to remember. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQg0BoXURBo


Edited to add --

And then there was the one I made for one grandson's first real Halloween (age 15 months) when he wanted to be a dog, just like his own.

[DemReadingDU]

77. So cute!

When my kids were that little, I can't remember taking them around, until I think they were 3 or 4, and were fully in the Halloween spirit. I had made them costumes, my sister had made some too, or they figured out their own.

When they were maybe 11 or 12, we all got into the spirit. Goulish stuff in the front yard, spooky music. Spouse would come outside and pretend to saw off my head, lol!

One year the whole family next door, dressed in characters from the Wizard of Oz.

Years ago, my sister decorated a box that represented milk, and her kids decorated boxes as Snap, Crackle, and Pop characters!

Another sister has her birthday on October 30th, and a nephew was born on Halloween.

Halloween is for having fun, and making clever costumes!

[Demeter]

74. Halloween is a cheap holiday

and not prone to consumer-driven escalation like Xmas and birthdays and anniversaries, and proms, and...

[DemReadingDU]

78. Unless your birthday is on Halloween!

not me, but nephew!
and a sister was born on October 30th.
Built-in party days!


But occasionally there will be the overly decorated house full of cobwebs, spiders, pumpkins, witches and ghosts. It must take weeks to put up all those scary decorations!

[Demeter]

47. Protestors Disrupting Foreclosure Auctions in California

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/09/protestors-disrupting-foreclosure-auctions-in-california.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

On Monday afternoon at 12:00 p.m., a group of protesters organized under the umbrella of the “Make Banks Pay California” campaign picketed a foreclosure sale at the Alameda County Courthouse located at 1225 Fallon Street, Oakland California...I had heard about the protest from a contact in the real estate industry, and so I resolved to go down and see what it was about. I went specifically as an observer and not as a protester. When I arrived around noon, I saw a group of roughly 10 to 15 people protesting. Some had yellow shirts marked “ACCE” picketing on the courthouse steps. Many of them had signs, like “Stop Foreclosures/End Bankster Fraud” and pictures of various Wall Street Executives tagged as “Wall Street Robber Banker.” One woman held up a sign that said “Chase and LPS Crime Scene.” After chatting with a few of the protesters I found out that some of them were part of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and others were part of the local teachers union, SEIU Local 21. This being Alameda County, both the bystanders, protesters, auctioneers and bidders were a broad spectrum of ages and ethnicities.

Over the next 2 weeks, the Make Banks Pay California group plans to have a variety of actions in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles to “make Wall Street banks pay for destroying jobs and neighborhoods with their greedy, irresponsible and predatory business practices.” Several of the protesters I spoke with on Monday indicated their belief that because banks “don’t pay” it impoverishes local governments and causes school, library and government service cutbacks...There were already a few auctioneers standing there with clipboards in hand, ready to start their auctions. The protestors started to chant, with at least one person blowing a whistle. Some of the chants were “they got bailed out, we get tossed out” and “vultures.” I spoke with a well dressed gentleman who said he was there with his client to place a bid. When asked for his thoughts, he said he thought it was a “joke” and that people should “go home” and “pay their bills.”

The bidders and auctioneers at first seemed somewhat confused or even amused by the situation. However once the protest started to get going, the protesters would circle up around an auctioneer and start chanting so loudly that it was difficult for the auctioneer to be heard. In response, the auctioneers distributed themselves around the steps so that the protesters couldn’t stop all of them. The protesters broke up into a couple of groups, with each group attempting (and succeeding in some cases) in surrounding an auctioneer with chanting people. Electronic media devices were everywhere– people were pulling out phones and digital cameras and taking pictures. I even saw one of the bidders do a self-video with what looked like an Android phone– he showed the crowd then turned the phone on himself and gave a quick narration of the scene. The protesters were able to disrupt the sales enough that one person I took to be an auctioneer (due to his clip board and demeanor– I have been to more than a few courthouse step auctions) got on the phone and said that it was “getting rough” and he “need everyone here.” Thankfully he didn’t pull a Gary Oldman and demand EVERYONE...

MUCH MORE AT LINK

...Our elite leadership is a lot like the man with the Gucci sunglasses– flaunting their wealth and positions while taunting a crowd of angry people. I can only hope that the recent upsurge of protests across America can succeed in convincing our elites to effectively respond to the concerns of ordinary Americans before we step over the precipice.

[Demeter]

50. Why Liberals Are Lame: McCarthyite Identity Politics as Cover for Bankrupt Policies

IT'S ALL POLITICS AND SCANDAL AND IT'S DELICIOUS!

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/09/why-liberals-are-lame-mccarthyite-identity-politics-as-cover-for-bankrupt-policies-2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[xchrom]

51. asia: China expands energy ties in Central Asia

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MI29Ag01.html

MONTREAL - China has been implementing deeper and deeper energy cooperation with Central Asia, for over a decade, beginning with Beijing's acquisition of energy infrastructure in western Kazakhstan not far from the Caspian Sea, which they operated for years at a loss in order to have and maintain a foothold there.

The strategy first bore fruit with the 1998 signature on the Kazakhstan-China oil pipeline. The pipeline is now operating despite the fact that four years were required before construction began on its first phase, due to Kazakhstani discomfort over the prospect that Chinese workers sent to build it might not go home after the job was done.

The pipeline has been extended gradually westward across Kazakhstan and will probably reach Chinese-owned infrastructure


in the west of the country during the present decade.

Since then, natural gas has taken the forefront as Chinese energy cooperation has expanded to Turkmenistan and, possibly to come in the future, also Uzbekistan. Earlier this month, the head of China's National Energy Administration Liu Tienan visited Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, the three main energy-producing countries in Central Asia.

[Demeter]

54. Well, can't spend all day waiting for the Apocalypse

got to go feed and/or slay those dragons...

[xchrom]

63. Copper Red bull

http://www.economist.com/node/21530107

THE locked doors of a public library in West Norwood, a drab part of south London, are an unlikely economic indicator. But a plaintive note explaining the closure—thieves have stripped the roof of its copper cladding, letting in rain on the books below—hints at profound changes to the global economy. And copper is the metal most intimately affected.

Police in London note a close correlation between thefts like the one in West Norwood and global commodities markets. Around the world, copper crimes have soared along with its price. Filched cables have reportedly caused train delays and stalled repairs to telecoms networks. Heating boilers, pipes and air-conditioners have been ransacked. Criminals are clearly sensitive to the gyrations of the global economy. Copper is reckoned to go one better: it earned its moniker of “Dr Copper” for its supposed ability as an economic forecaster. The metal’s price movements are widely believed to prefigure shifts in the world economy.

The theory looks compelling. Copper’s excellent conduction of electricity and heat means that it is used not only to cable and pipe the globe. An average car contains over 25kg of copper; electronic gadgets, from PCs to mobile phones, use copper for wiring and contacts. Its ubiquity means that rising demand should provide an early indication of an uptick in manufacturing and construction. Copper sagged in the early stages of the credit crisis, for example, and then started to pick up at the end of 2008, some months before the stockmarket began to rebound. Such prescience is now cause for concern. As fears of a double-dip recession mount copper has slumped to a ten-month low.

Copper is less sensitive to the ups and downs of rich-world economies than it was, however. For that, blame China. In 2003, before the full weight of China’s tearaway economy became apparent, copper traded at below $2,000 a tonne. It hit $10,000 a tonne earlier this year, before falling back to $8,400 a tonne now (see chart). Such is the scale of China’s urbanisation and industrialisation, both of which require plentiful supplies of the metal, that it consumes at least 40% (and by some reckonings 50%) of global output of around 16m tonnes in 2010. Global demand for copper is expected to rise by more than 40% to 27m tonnes by 2020.

[Festivito]

67. Debt: 09/26/2011 14,704,006,072,461.85 (UP 3,965,999,848.19) (Mon, DOWN a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 410.006-billion dollars. Good day.)
Noon time shower.
(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)
= 10,074,320,979,566.40 + 4,629,685,092,895.42
DOWN 182,235,462.20 + UP 4,148,235,310.39

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 $3,195.11 makes 1T$.
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 312,977,792 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 $46,980.99.
A family of three owes $140,942.97. (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 2,389,422,835.45.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,672,595,984.82.
The average for the last 31 days would be 1,618,641,275.63.
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$/day.
There were 245 reports in 361 days of FY2011 averaging 4.66B$ per report, 3.16B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 482 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.2T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/26/2011 14,704,006,072,461.85 BHO (UP 4,077,129,023,548.74 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 +1,142,383,041,570.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,155,041,025,410.21 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/06/2011 -000,290,117,782.20 --- Tue
09/07/2011 +015,583,261,687.60 ------------**********
09/08/2011 -006,211,008,386.30 --
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon

15,754,080,726.00 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=5007488&mesg_id=5007740

[Festivito]

79. Debt: 09/27/2011 14,707,406,820,591.87 (UP 3,400,748,130.04) (Tue, UP a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 413.407-billion dollars. Good day.)
The Cider is on tap. Now, that is nice.
(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)
= 10,074,870,647,552.40 + 4,632,536,173,039.46
UP 549,667,986.00 + UP 2,851,080,144.04

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,195.04 makes 1T$.
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 312,984,992 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 $46,990.77.
A family of three owes $140,972.32. (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 2,435,392,167.02.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,785,954,255.82.
The average for the last 32 days would be 1,674,332,114.83.
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$/day.
There were 246 reports in 362 days of FY2011 averaging 4.66B$ per report, 3.17B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 481 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.2T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/27/2011 14,707,406,820,591.87 BHO (UP 4,080,529,771,678.78 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 +1,145,783,789,700.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,155,279,235,471.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/07/2011 +015,583,261,687.60 ------------**********
09/08/2011 -006,211,008,386.30 --
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon
09/27/2011 +000,549,667,986.00 ------------********

16,593,866,494.20 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=5008890&mesg_id=5009380

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

70. It wasn't supposed to be this way! I heard reports!

[Demeter]

75. I got a bum fairy---sigh

[hamerfan]

76. Awww,

I likes the fairy! :hug: