STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, November 4, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, November 4, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON May 15, 2011

Dow 12,044.47 +208.43 (+1.73%)
Nasdaq 2,697.97 +57.99 (+2.15%)
S&P 500 1,261.15 +23.25 (+1.84%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.09 +0.01 (+0.34%)
30-Year Bond 3.12 -.00 (-0.10%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
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

Nov 04 08:30 Nonfarm Payrolls Oct 100K 85K 103K
Nov 04 08:30 Nonfarm Private Payrolls Oct 130K 117K 137K
Nov 04 08:30 Unemployment Rate Oct 9.2% 9.1% 9.1%
Nov 04 08:30 Hourly Earnings Oct 0.2% 0.2% 0.2%
Nov 04 08:30 Average Workweek Oct 34.3 34.3 34.3

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/10/31-04/#ixzz1cjYWV58C

[Roland99]

18. U.S. economy adds 80,000 jobs in October (stocks will probably rise 1-2% on that lackluster news)

[Roland99]

42. US Needs To Generate 262,500 Jobs/mo.To Return To Pre-Depression Employment By End Of Obama 2nd Term

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/us-needs-generate-262500-jobs-monthly-return-pre-depression-employment-end-obama-second-term

[xchrom]

59. Wall Street extends losses; indexes down 1 per cent

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/wall-street-extends-losses-indexes-down-1-per-cent/articleshow/10608867.cms

NEW YORK: US stocks slid in early trading Friday ahead of a confidence vote for Greece's embattled prime minister. A report on the US job market was mixed.

The government said 80,000 jobs were created in the US last month. That was a drop from the 158,000 jobs added in September. On the positive side, the unemployment rate fell to 9 per cent from 9.1 per cent, the first decline since July.

Traders were waiting for the results of a confidence vote in Prime Minister George Papandreou's government by the Greek parliament. Markets were stunned earlier this week after Papandreou called for a public vote on an unpopular package of austerity measures.

The measures are needed to prevent Greece from defaulting on its debt, which would throw the European financial system into turmoil. The vote was scrapped Thursday, but markets are still unnerved by the political drama there, which threatens to hobble Europe's efforts to control its debt crisis. Investors are worried that if Greece defaults it could cripple European banks and cause fiscal strain on much larger European countries like Italy, which are too big to bail out.

[Demeter]

60. Doesn't look like it at 12 Noon EDT

Nobody buys that shinola any more.

[Roland99]

19. September job gains revised up to 158,000; August job increase revised up to 104,000

[InkAddict]

2. Proud to be #1 today in anticipation of a great thread!

Hiya! Have some coffee? :donut:

[Roland99]

5. And to the Greatest

but I'll take tea, please :)

[Demeter]

8. Congrats! Care to pick the Weekend Theme?

I've been dragged backwards through a keyhole this week...any assistance would be appreciated.

[rfranklin]

25. Greek mythology...in honor of the current Greek tragedy

The pathos!

[Demeter]

27. Ooh! Excellent Choice!

Nothing could be more appropriate! Thank you, rfranklin!

[tama]

44. matheemata patheemata nt

[Hugin]

52. !

:thumbsup:

[xchrom]

9. morning -- i would love some coffee -- thanky --

:donut:

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. Oil above $94 amid signs of US economy improving

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered above $94 a barrel Friday in Asia amid signs the U.S. economy may be improving.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 22 cents at $94.29 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.56 to settle at $94.07 in New York on Thursday.

Brent crude was up 10 cents at $110.93 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Crude has jumped about 25 percent from $75 on Oct. 4 amid growing investor optimism that the U.S. economy will avoid a recession.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. U.S. Stock Futures Fluctuate Before October Payroll Report; LinkedIn Sinks

U.S. stock-index futures fluctuated between gains and losses as investors awaited a government employment report to help gauge the strength of the world’s largest economy.

LinkedIn Corp. sank 11 percent in Europe after the biggest professional-networking website reported a third-quarter loss. Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) rallied 5.4 percent in early New York trading after the oil and natural-gas driller said profit rose.

Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December declined less than 0.1 percent to 1,255.2 at 10:10 a.m. in London. The gauge has dropped 1.9 percent this week, snapping four weeks of gains. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 2 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,978.

“We are waiting for the employment report,” Nick Skiming, a manager of U.S. funds at Ashburton Ltd., which oversees about $2 billion in Jersey, the Channel Islands, said in an interview yesterday. “We are hopeful there is some glimmer of improvement in the jobs market. Some of the economic statistics have shown a smattering of better news.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-04/u-s-stock-futures-fluctuate-before-october-payroll-report-linkedin-sinks.html

[boomerbust]

6. Ken Langone on CNBC right now

"OWS people are babies in adult bodies". :evilgrin:

[Demeter]

7. As for Toles Cartoon, I See a Rebirth of Europe

and Greece leading the way, or rather, following Iceland to fiscal sanity and sovereignty.

Where do these idiots see an improving US economy? Somebody tell me, please!

It's just trash talk to get foolish people to part with their money for Xmas season. There's no basis in Reality for such talk. Their models didn't suddenly become predictive after failing for years. Business isn't investing because their customers aren't buying. The governments are all running around like chickens with their heads cut off, when not fighting off their own people or invaders.

So they got Papandreou to back down, big deal. How are they going to get the entire populace of Greece to back down? Greece has been simmering in revolt for decades. They aren't going to suddenly turn into sheep.

The 1% think they pulled it off. I can see them congratulating each other, over spirits and Cuban cigars and whatever. Probably cocaine. It would take heavy drugs to be that complacent and wrong.

[xchrom]

10. from your lips to god's ears. nt

[Demeter]

22. That which cannot continue, will not continue

and this cannot continue.

[Po_d Mainiac]

13. If Greece doesn't wave a big fat middle digit at

the North, they are doomed.

Had they done it 3 years ago, they'd likely not be caught on the never ending down slope.

[Demeter]

15. That's Why Goldman Was Corrupting Their Politicians

so that Greece didn't escape the slaughter.

[Hugin]

56. I hardly find it surprising that the Banksters presume that all "Presidents" are dictators.

Fascists.

[Demeter]

11. France, Germany give Greece ultimatum on euro

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/02/us-greece-referendum-idUSTRE79U5PQ20111102

The leaders of Germany and France told Greece on Wednesday it would not receive another cent in European aid until it decides whether it wants to stay in the euro zone. They also made clear that saving the euro was ultimately more important to them than rescuing Greece. After emergency talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "We would rather achieve a stabilization of the euro with Greece than without Greece, but this goal of stabilizing the euro is more important." Sarkozy hammered home the same message, telling a joint news conference with Merkel: "Our Greek friends must decide whether they want to continue the journey with us."

Papandreou outraged European partners and caused panic on financial markets by announcing on Monday that Greece would hold a referendum on a second bailout plan negotiated with euro zone leaders last week. The Greek leader, looking chastened after a torrid dinner with European Union decision-makers that Merkel called "tough and hard" on the eve of a summit of G20 major world economies, said the plebiscite would take place around December 4. "It's not the moment to give you the exact wording, but the essence is that this is not a question only of a program, this is a question of whether we want to remain in the eurozone," Papandreou said.

Despite opinion polls showing a majority of Greeks, weary of two years of deepening austerity, think the bailout package was a bad deal for Greece, he said he expected more support from the wider population than he could muster in parliament."I believe the Greek people are wise and capable of making the right decision for the benefit of our country," he said. I'D BET MONEY ON THAT, BUT IT WON'T WORK OUT THE WAY THE 1% THINK.

MUCH MORE AT LINK--SOME OF IT PROBABLY OUTDATED NOW, BUT INDICATIVE OF THE INSANITY NONETHELESS

[tama]

45. Many seem to be forgetting

that according to EU treaties a member can leave Eurozone only by leaving EU. Sarkozy and Merkel don't have any legal bases for their threats to expel Greece from EU.

[xchrom]

12. The burning fuse

http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2011/11/g20-and-euros-crisis

FOR MOST of the first day of the G20 summit in Cannes, the world’s most important leaders have been mere spectators to the political drama in Athens that could determine the fate of the euro zone, and of the world economy.

Forget the financial-transaction tax. Forget the regulation of commodity prices. Forget the call to ensure that the world’s poorest do not suffer twice, once because of their wretchedness and twice because rich-world aid budgets are cut. These things and more will be mentioned in the final communiqué. The most burning issue is the fate of the euro.

Just days after European leaders unveiled their latest "comprehensive solution" to the euro's woes, the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, threw everything back into chaos by announcing this week that he would hold a referendum to approve the deal. As one senior source put it: "You don't call a referendum on austerity and expect people to vote for cuts."

Depending on the bewildering politics of Greece, the plebiscite may or may not take place. Mr Papandreou faces a vote of confidence tonight (November 4th) that he may well lose.

[Ghost Dog]

86. "bewildering politics of Greece" should read "bewildering politics of Greece's politicians".

This politicking is all going on inside the poltical parties and with the inner circles of power.

Meanwhile, in the real world out in the streets, in workplaces and in people's hearts and minds, a different kind of politics, a terrible beauty, perhaps, is being born.

[Demeter]

14. Dilbert Says It All

[xchrom]

16. Corzine Resigns From MF Global

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/corzine-resigns-from-mf-global/

Jon S. Corzine has resigned from his posts at the embattled brokerage MF Global, the company announced on Friday.

Mr. Corzine, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, will not seek severance payments from MF Global, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday, according to the company’s statement. Under his employment contract, he was entitled to $12 million in payouts.

“I feel great sadness for what has transpired at MF Global and the impact it has had on the firm’s clients, employees and many others,” Mr. Corzine, 64, said in a statement. “I intend to continue to assist the company and its board in their efforts to respond to regulatory inquiries and issues related to the disposition of the firm’s assets.”

Mr. Corzine’s resignation marks the end of a troubled chapter in his career. The former head of Goldman Sachs, Mr. Corzine joined MF Global in March 2010 following a failed re-election bid for New Jersey governor.

[xchrom]

17. Corzine Is Said to Hire Criminal Lawyer

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/corzine-hires-criminal-attorney/

Jon S. Corzine has hired Andrew J. Levander, a leading white-collar criminal defense lawyer, according to three people briefed on the matter, as the former New Jersey governor deals with fallout from the collapse of MF Global, the brokerage firm he has run since last year.

Mr. Corzine resigned from MF Global on Friday morning and will not seek $12 million severance payments.

Federal authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission, are investigating the $630 million in missing customer money at MF Global.

Mr. Levander could not be reached as he is out of the country, according to his assistant. He did not return an e-mail seeking comment. Daniel O’Donnell, the chief executive of Mr. Levander’s law firm, Dechert, declined to comment.

In Mr. Levander, the chairman of Dechert, Mr. Corzine has retained a New York lawyer who is no stranger to defending prominent Wall Street executives. He represented John Thain, the former chief executive at Merrill Lynch, in a government inquiry related his role in Merrill’s sale to Bank of America. Ezra Merkin, a hedge fund manager who invested with Bernard L. Madoff, hired Mr. Levander to defend him against a New York attorney general’s lawsuit connected to the Madoff case.

[Demeter]

23. Any bets as to whether GS will rescue their Alumnus?

Seeing as how he nearly destroyed it...

[Roland99]

49. MF Global clients face day of reckoning as margins call

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/03/us-mfglobal-margin-idUSTRE7A27Y020111103

[Demeter]

61. It's a Friday Night Massacre!

So, instead of a Black Tuesday, we are going to have a Black November, followed by....?

[Demeter]

71. MF Global Masked Debt Risks

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204621904577015950376439984.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

MF Global Holdings Ltd may have disguised its debt levels to investors by temporarily slashing the debt it was carrying before publicly reporting its finances each quarter, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal.

The activity is referred to in the financial industry as 'window dressing.'

'Over the last two years, MF Global's ending balance on short-term borrowings were 6 percent less than the quarterly average,' MF Global spokeswoman Diana DeSocio told Reuters.

A company spokeswoman separately told the Journal that the firm did not lower its reported borrowings deliberately. In MF Global's view the firm's quarter-end numbers conveyed an accurate picture to investors of its level of risk and leverage, she told the newspaper.

[Demeter]

72. SEC Said to Review Possible Inside Trades in MF Global Bonds

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-11-04/sec-said-to-review-possible-inside-trades-in-mf-global-bonds.html

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing trades in MF Global Holdings Ltd. convertible bonds to determine whether some investors sold the debt based on confidential information before the firm’s demise, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Investigators are in part focusing on trades that were made ahead of announcements that the firm’s credit rating had been downgraded, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter isn’t public....Regulators are reviewing whether some investors learned in advance and traded on news that pushed the company closer to bankruptcy, the people said.

In one instance, MF Global’s $287.5 million of 1.875 percent convertible notes due in 2016 fell as much as 1.1 cent to 68.7 cents on the dollar on Oct. 24, one hour before Moody’s Investors Service announced that it cut the company’s credit ratings to the lowest investment-grade rating and was considering cutting it to junk, according to Trace, the bond- price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Last Two Hours

About 32 percent, or $6.5 million, of the total $20 million of bonds traded on Oct. 24 were executed in the two hours preceding the downgrade, Trace data showed. Convertibles allow investors to exchange bonds for stock when shares of the issuers reach preset levels.

Trading in MF Global’s common shares didn’t follow the same pattern. The stock rose as much as 2.2 percent in the hours leading up to Moody’s announcement. After the downgrade, the stock fell as much as 5.4 percent to $3.49.

[Ghost Dog]

87. "embattled brokerage" should read "bankrupt and suspected criminal brokerage".

Jeez. Are there no genuinely professional editors left in these media anymore?

[Demeter]

91. Nope. but SMW Has a Good Crew!

[xchrom]

20. europe: Anglo American to Pay $5.1 Billion to Increase Stake in De Beers

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/anglo-american-pays-5-1-billion-to-increase-stake-in-de-beers/

LONDON — The mining giant Anglo American said on Friday that it had agreed to pay $5.1 billion in cash to the Oppenheimer family to increase its stake in the De Beers Group, the diamond company, to as much as 85 percent.

Under the terms of the deal, Anglo American, based in London, said it had entered into agreement with CHL and Centhold International Limited — companies that represent the interests of the Oppenheimer family — to acquire a further 40 percent share in the diamond company.

Anglo American already owns a 45 percent stake in De Beers.

The announcement also includes pre-emption rights for the government of Botswana, another De Beers shareholder, to increase its stake in the company to 25 percent.

[xchrom]

32. Mariano Rajoy the clear winner according to latest CIS poll {spain elections}

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32574.shtml

The Centre for Sociological Investigation CIS poll on voters intentions shows a massive majority for the Partido Popular at the November 20 General Election.

It gives Mariano Rajoy’s party 190-195 seats while the Socialists are taken to an all-time low of 116-121. It’s a clear overall majority for the PP.

The data was published on Friday and awards the PP 46.6% of the votes while the PSOE gets 29.9%. The difference of 16.7% has not been seen before.

The poll also shows that Catalan group CiU will get 13 seats, while IU the greens will get eight. UPyD gets 3 as does Amaiur and the ERC, and six go to other parties.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32574.shtml#ixzz1ck3BvfCL

[xchrom]

33. G20 leaders consider action plan to boost growth

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15587259

G20 leaders in Cannes are considering an action plan to boost growth and rebalance the global economy.

The plan, a draft of which has been seen by the Reuters news agency, includes China moving "more rapidly" towards flexible exchange rates.

The US will agree to start reducing its debt as a proportion of GDP by 2015.

Also at the summit, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said that Italy had asked the IMF to monitor the implementation of its economic reforms.

[xchrom]

34. Commerzbank reports loss after Greek debt writedown

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15590163

Commerzbank has reported a loss for the July-to-September quarter after taking further writedowns on Greek debt.

Germany's second largest bank reported a third-quarter net loss of 687m euros ($949m, £593m), compared with a 113m-euro profit a year ago.

The bank - which is 25%-owned by the German government - took a 798m-euro hit on its Greek assets.

Commerzbank also said that it would cut back its lending in the eurozone as it tries to hit new capital requirements.

[xchrom]

38. Greece PM Papandreou faces knife-edge confidence vote

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15586673

Greece's PM George Papandreou is set to face a crucial no-confidence vote, with the outcome on a knife-edge.

Mr Papandreou shocked EU partners and sent markets into turmoil after calling for a referendum on a hard-fought EU deal to bail out debt-ridden Greece.

The finance minister said on Friday the referendum had now been scrapped, but even if the PM wins he faces an unclear future, amid new calls to resign.

The developments have overshadowed a key G20 meeting in Cannes.

[xchrom]

39. FTSE pares gains on EFSF uncertainty

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/uk-markets-britain-stocks-idUKTRE7A30X120111104

(Reuters) - The FTSE 100 pared gains by midday on Friday as doubts resurfaced about Europe's bailout package, while the prospect of an imminent Greek meltdown appeared to have been averted.

The FTSE remained up 13.20 points or 0.22 percent at 5,558.89 by 1206 GMT, but off an intraday high of 5,599.39 after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G20 had failed to agree on IMF resources, crucial to the European rescue package agreed last week.

The announcement offset relief that Prime Minister George Papandreou has offered to call off a referendum on the EU-IMF bailout if the conservative opposition backed the package in parliament.

Papandreou faces a cliff-hanger confidence vote tonight but government sources say he has agreed to step down regardless of the outcome after negotiating a coalition with his conservative rivals.

[Roland99]

47. Moody's Will Downgrade Austria's Erste Over Attempt To Hide Billions In Sovereign CDS

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/back-european-sov-exposure-moodys-will-downgrade-austrias-erste-over-attempt-hide-billions-sove

Before MF Global went bankrupt due to European sovereign exposure, the smart money was that Austria's Erste would be "it." After all, recall from our October 10 post "that Erste disclosed some major losses on its €5.2 billion CDS portfolio, consisting of "EUR 2.4 billion related to financial institution exposures, and EUR 2.8 billion related sovereign exposures". Why is this a surprise? UK-based financial advisory Autonomous explains: "The fact that Erste had a sovereign CDS portfolio which was not marked-to-market has left many investors scratching their heads. As a reminder the EBA stress test data showed Erste to have zero sovereign CDS exposure within its sovereign mix compared to the €2.8bn it now appears to have ‘fessed up’ to (taking a cumulative €460m hit). They also have €2.4bn exposure to banks via writing of CDS. The bulk is non-PIIGS but banks spreads have moved in the same manner as sovereigns (albeit wider and more volatile)." And there you have it: the bogeyman that everyone has been warning about, yet nobody has seen, CDS written (as in sold) in bulk against other sovereigns and other banks which up until now were only mythical, as they, to quote the EBA (which had Dexia as its safest bank) simply did not exist. Oh, they exist all right, and what they do is create a toxic spiral of accentuating losses whenever the risk situation deteriorates, creating positive feedback loops of ever increasing losses until the next Dexia appears... and then the next... and the next. Expect the market to latch on to this dramatic revelation like a rabid pitbull once the hopium high from today's EURUSD short covering squeeze wears off." Of course, the market ignored this loud warning bell, and next hting you know MF was under. This time it won't be so easy, especially since Moody's just announced it is about to downgrade Erste precisely for this reason. This move also explains why the market is suddenly rife with rumors of a broad Austria downgrade.

From Moody's

Frankfurt am Main, November 04, 2011 -- Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for downgrade Erste Group Bank AG's (Erste) standalone bank financial strength rating (BFSR) of C- (mapping to Baa1 on the long-term scale) and the A1 long-term debt and deposit ratings. Consequently, several subordinated and junior subordinated debt ratings were placed on review for downgrade. The P-1 short-term rating was affirmed. A full list of affected ratings is listed at the end of this press release.

The review for downgrade on the BFSR follows the bank's report of a major loss that partly stems from previously undisclosed credit default swap (CDS) exposures. Accordingly, the review will focus on Erste's risk management, internal controls and financial transparency as well as the risk-adjusted profit generating capacity of its business model. The review for downgrade of the A1 long-term ratings follows the review on the BFSR.

As part of the re-assessment of the C- BFSR, a lower mapping of the standalone credit strength to Baa2 from Baa1 is likely, while a move of the BFSR below the C- range cannot be ruled out entirely. Consequently, the rating agency notes that a one-notch downgrade of the long-term debt and deposit ratings is the most likely outcome of the rating review.

[xchrom]

50. so it's officially a list? MF. Jefferies & erste? nt

[Demeter]

62. A Honey-Do List

take out trash, rake up leaves, put up storm windows, throw crooks into the cold....

[xchrom]

64. ...

:rofl: i'll make martinis for every body -- while they get tossed!

[Demeter]

21. Italy accepts IMF monitoring, EU looks for support

http://news.yahoo.com/greek-pm-ready-dump-referendum-euro-deal-012956067.html

Italy, under fierce pressure from financial markets and European peers, agreed to have the IMF monitor its progress with long delayed reforms of pensions, labor markets and privatization, senior EU sources said on Friday. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, his government close to collapse, agreed to the step in late-night talks with euro zone leaders and U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Cannes...
An Italian official denied that Italy was being singled out for special surveillance and said the whole euro zone would be under closer monitoring. (I'LL BET THEY ARE--DEMETER) However, he confirmed that Rome was willing to request IMF advice on implementing the commitments it gave EU leaders on specific reforms on October 27.

The move came after a European ultimatum made Greece step back from a referendum that could have triggered its exit from the euro area and agreed to seek national consensus in support of a new 130 billion euro ($178 billion) bailout program. By contrast, discussions with Italy were smooth, European diplomats said. Berlusconi appreciated the gravity of the situation and was thoroughly engaged in the talks

"We need to make sure there is credibility with Italy's targets -- that it is going to meet them. We decided to have the IMF involved on the monitoring, using their own methodology, and the Italians say they can live with that," one EU source said. "Italy has no problem with surveillance at all, even with the IMF being involved," he said, adding that the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund would each report separately on how Italy was meeting its targets. SOMEBODY CHECK AND SEE IF GUIDO IS HOLDING THEIR LOVED ONES HOSTAGE...

The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the European Central Bank, the IMF and European Union institutions also discussed with Obama ways of ramping up the IMF's warchest to help prevent contagion from the euro zone's debt crisis plunging the world economy back into recession. A G20 source said no figures were agreed but the boost to IMF resources, mostly from large emerging countries such as China, could be in the range of $300-350 billion. EU officials said three options were under consideration, including pooling the euro zone countries' rights to borrow from the IMF to build a fighting fund to support vulnerable sovereigns such as Italy and Spain. This could make available another $280-300 billion, the G20 source said.

MUCH MORE AT LINK, NONE OF IT FIT FOR READING BY THOSE EATING OR ILL.

[xchrom]

53. Italy Becomes Next Euro Battleground

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,795900,00.html

It was a telling tidbit of news. This week, the French bank BNP Paribas announced that it had slashed its holdings of euro-zone government bonds, including €2.62 billion worth of Greek debt.

But it wasn't just bonds from Athens that the bank dumped. BNP Paribas also indicated that it had drastically reduced its holdings of Italian debt. In the three months prior to the end of October, the bank sold off €8.3 billion worth of bonds issued by Rome, reducing its exposure by 40 percent.

Not surprisingly, stock markets were elated by the news and the bank's stock price shot upwards. After all, Italy promises to be the next battleground in the fight to save the euro zone from collapse. And world leaders, gathered in Cannes, France for the G-20 summit this week, have taken notice. On Thursday night, they pressured Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to agree to have his halting steps toward austerity monitored by both the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

"He himself knows that the question is not so much the content of the package but the implementation," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy. "That is what we need to work on."

[xchrom]

54. 'The Common Currency Endgame Has Begun'

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,795907,00.html

It took less than a week for confidence in the euro zone to evaporate. Again. Last Wednesday, European Union leaders agreed to sweeping measures aimed at saving the common currency. But the shocking announcement on Monday by Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou that his country intended to hold a referendum on the conditions of the bailout measures, with its rigid and unpopular austerity measures, was all it took to shake markets again and raise doubts about the strength of the bailout.

As if that weren't bad enough, interest rates are rising on Italian government bonds again -- this week increasing to 6.4 percent and ever closer to the psychologically important 7 percent figure at which analysts believe the country will begin to have significant difficulties refinancing its debt.

On Thursday, even as Papandreou abandoned his referendum plans, he reinforced the image of a bumbling euro zone unable to get a grip on its currency crisis. His about face came within 24 hours of an emergency meeting with euro-zone leaders in Cannes -- and under tremendous pressure from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

For the first time, the pair broke a longstanding taboo by raising the prospect that Greece might be forced to exit the euro. "We are prepared," Merkel said. And high-ranking representatives of the euro states said they were already reviewing scenarios of a Greek insolvency. On Thursday, Merkel reiterated her message, saying "our main concern is the stability of the euro."

[Roland99]

24. No IMF, EFSF Participation In Bailout: Merkel Says G20 Fails To Reach Agreement On IMF Resources

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/no-imf-participation-european-bailout-merkel-says-g20-fails-reach-agreement-imf-resources

Yesterday we reported that the latest deus ex machina in the endless European bailout was to proceed with IMF monetization and failing that, just a narrower US-funded bailout of Europe. That ain't happening.

German Chancellor Merkel says the G20 failed to agree on IMF resources
German Chancellor Merkel says will make sure that the IMF has sufficient resources, but also new instruments

And it gets worse:

German Chancellor Merkel says hardly any countries in G20 have said they will participate in the EFSF

Which means we are back to the old and now expired fallback deus exes: China and the magical, wonderful and totally unfunded EFSF. No wonder the EURUSD is dropping on the news, as for the BTP-Bunds spread, well, following the Merkel announcement that Italy has to come under IMF monitoring,

[Demeter]

28. They called off the extinction and suicide pact, then?

I'll bet it's just as dodge, while they round up a few more hostages. And I mean that literally. Economic Hitmen, to your positions!

[Demeter]

26. The First Rule of Holes

When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging!

How many fools are in a hole, furiously digging the foundations out from under their businesses, countries, economies? And Obama, seeking to get along by going along, is jumping in and trying to drag us all there, too. There are holes all over the place. What ever happened to the concept of sustainability? It got thrown out by Greed, the greatest god of madness...

It must be like the mass insanity that lemmings were falsely accused of, instinctually leaping to their deaths.

[DemReadingDU]

40. They are all liars

and they will lie until the bitter nasty revolting end

[Demeter]

29. First Time Unemployment Claims Increase But Less Than Usual

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/first-time-unemployment-claims-increase-less-usual


Courtesy of Lee Adler of the Wall Street Examiner

"Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, a hopeful sign that the job market might be picking up," trumpeted the AP, in a news item picked up by news organizations across the US and the world. There's just one minor problem. First time claims actually increased by 9,361. The AP, and everybody else, reports a fictitious number, the seasonally smoothed fantasy. They do that because they figure that readers are too stupid to compare this week's performance with the same week in previous years to see if the economy is doing better or worse. I hold no such preconceived notion. If you are smart enough to be reading this report, then you are smart enough to be able to compare actual numbers, as opposed to the fake pablum spoon fed to you by the economics punditocracy.

Claims did indeed increase in the week ended October 29. The last week in October virtually always has an increase. But there is real, positive news in this. This week's increase was the smallest for the last week of October since the raging bubble year of 2005, when claims actually fell by nearly 8,800. But in the recovery years of 2003 and 2004, claims rose by 17,000 and 25,700. So this year looks good by that standard. Furthermore, this year's number is much better than last year's increase of 30,170, and way better than the recession years of 2008 and 2009, when 50,200 and 21,970 filed claims.



By any standard, last week's increase in claims was a good number for bulls. Of course, it's only a fraction of the story. It does not tell us how many people got jobs. It only tells us how many eligible workers lost their jobs. Some analysts look at continued claims to get an idea of whether people got jobs. Continued claims fell by 16,000 in the week ended October 22. The problem with that number is that we don't know how much of that was due to folks leaving the rolls because they found jobs, and how much was due to exhaustion of benefits.



Wage withholding data, which is available daily, virtually in real time from the Treasury Department, suggests that the number of jobs overall is holding steady with little change year to year or month to month. That's not good, considering that population and the real labor force are growing. The government will massage the unemployment rate it reports tomorrow. It will reduce the size of the labor force arbitrarily by dropping those who have temporarily given up on looking for a job. Total nonfarm payrolls are another story. They'll massage those numbers too, both through the seasonal adjustment, and the business birth-death adjustment. We will look at the actual, not seasonally adjusted numbers and compare them year to year to get an idea of the real trend...The real wage withholding data, which I track in the weekly Professional Edition Treasury Report, and of which I will post an update later today, suggests that as of mid month when the BLS conducted its survey, there was a bump in real wage withholding to a gain of about 1% versus last year and last month. That's pretty typical for October, so after the gummit gets done with its seasonal hocus pocus, the reported fictitious jobs number could be somewhere near flat. Depending on whose survey you look at, the consensus calls for an increase in payrolls of 90-95,000. Given the real wage withholding data, I suspect that the seasonally adjusted number might come in light of that. The actual number should show a gain of 100-150,000.

However, the gains evaporated in the second half of the month. Regardless of what the reported number for October is, the reality is that the withholding data deteriorated in the last two weeks. If this trend isn't reversed, the November jobs number will come as a negative shock to the market.

[xchrom]

30. 37 Giant Corporations Paid 0 in Taxes Last Year -- Who Are the Cheats?

http://www.alternet.org/occupywallst/152958/37_giant_corporations_paid_0_in_taxes_last_year_--_who_are_the_cheats/

November 3, 2011 |

In 2010, Verizon reported an annual profit of nearly $12 billion. The statutory federal corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, so theoretically, Verizon should have owed the IRS around $4.2 billlion. Instead, according to figures compiled by the Center for Tax Justice, the company actually boasted a negative tax liability of $703 million. Verizon ended up making even more money after it calculated its taxes.

Verizon is hardly alone, and isn’t even close to being the worst offender. Perhaps most famously, General Electric raked in $10.5 billion in profit in 2010, yet ended up reporting $4.7 billion worth of negative taxes. The worst offender in 2010, as measured by its overall negative tax rate, was Pepco, the electricity utility that serves Washington, D.C. Pepco reported profits of $882 million in 2010, and negative taxes of $508 million — a negative tax rate of 57.6 percent.

Altogether, according to “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers 2008-10,” a blockbuster new report put together by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that will have you reaching for your hypertension medicine before you finish reading the third page, 37 of the United States’ biggest corporations paid zero taxes in 2010. The list is a blue-chip roll-call.

[Demeter]

31. Turn the Question Around---Who are the Suckers?

then look in the mirror.

[DemReadingDU]

43. So why are we still paying taxes?

It's so bizarre.
If we don't pay, we go to jail. But corporations don't pay taxes, and then award CEO multi-million salary.

Something is wrong.

[Hotler]

83. FUCKERS! n/t

[Ghost Dog]

84. Heh. Maybe add this image too:

[Hotler]

95. Thank you. nt/

[xchrom]

35. Cuba passes law allowing private home sales

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15575632

Cuba has approved a law allowing individuals to buy and sell homes for the first time since the early days of the revolution, official media say.

The law, which takes effect on 10 November, applies to citizens and permanent residents only.

Correspondents say this is the most important reform so far in a series of free-market changes introduced by President Raul Castro.

A housing shortage has meant that many Cubans live in overcrowded apartments.

[xchrom]

36. asia: China mines in Zambia 'unsafe' says Human Rights Watch

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15569310

Chinese-run copper mines in Zambia are dangerously unsafe and owners routinely flout the rights of workers, says a report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The pressure group says miners are threatened with dismissal if they became involved in union activities.

It urged Zambia's new President, Michael Sata, to fulfil election promises and take decisive action against the owners.

The Chinese state company running the mines denied most of HRW's allegations.


***please try to contain your Gasps of Surprise.

[xchrom]

37. China envoy Zhang Yan in India map outburst

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15588247

China's ambassador to India has become involved in a heated exchange over a map that showed parts of India within China's border, media reports say.

Zhang Yan was at a business function in Delhi as a Chinese firm signed a deal investing in India's Gujarat state.

A map drawn up by the firm showed the state of Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh in China and a disputed part of Kashmir as Pakistani territory.

Mr Zhang told an Indian journalist to "shut up" after persistent questioning.

[xchrom]

41. Nikkei up nearly 2 pct as Greece referendum fears abate

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/markets-japan-stocks-idUKL4E7M40SV20111104

TOKYO, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The Nikkei share average rose
nearly 2 percent on Friday, as Greece appeared ready to abandon
a proposed referendum that threatened a plan to contain Europe's
debt crisis, but the benchmark still logged a weekly loss in a
week plagued by concerns about Europe.

Sony Corp missed out on the rally and skidded
nearly 8 percent after it warned it would post a fourth straight
annual net loss instead of a profit on yen strength, price
slides for TVs and PCs, and the Thai floods.

Investors awaited a U.S. nonfarm payrolls report later in
the day which is expected to show the economy created 95,000
jobs last month.

"European fears have faded again, but the payrolls report is
a reminder that the strength of the U.S. economy is still a
significant factor for markets," said Yutaka Miura, senior
technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.

[Demeter]

92. Afraid of a Little Democracy? What a Bunch of Losers

[xchrom]

58. Hong Kong's stocks end up, share rally helps pare weekly loss

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/hong-kongs-stocks-end-up-share-rally-helps-pare-weekly-loss/articleshow/10606022.cms

HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares rebounded on Friday, recovering almost all of this week's decline on sustained strength in locally listed mainland Chinese companies and led by a 7.3 per cent jump in top insurer China Life Insurance Co Ltd.

The Hang Seng Index ended the day up 3.12 per cent at 19,842.79, bringing its loss for the week to 0.88 per cent. At its lowest point on Wednesday the index was down nearly 5 per cent.

The Hong Kong market was helped by strength in locally listed mainland companies. The China Enteprises index rose 3.99 per cent on the day, finishing the week up 0.8 per cent.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.81 per cent at 2,528.29, a two-month high.

[CreekDog]

46. K&UR

because of the Dilbert cartoon.

[Demeter]

63. UR?

[Roland99]

48. 10:37am - Let the bloodletting commence

Dow 11,863 -181 -1.50%
Nasdaq 2,657 -41 -1.54%
S&P 500 1,240 -21 -1.69%
GlobalDow 1,847 -18 -0.98%
Gold 1,756 -9 -0.52%
Oil 93.24 -0.83 -0.88%

European badness (Italy bond spread and Austrian downgrade) weighing heavily.

[xchrom]

51. Gold edges up after U.S. jobs data

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/markets-precious-gold-idUKL6E7M425W20111104

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Gold cut losses on Friday, moving counter to the dollar, which fell after U.S. jobs data showed employment rose less than expected in October.

The non-farm payrolls figure was 80,000 jobs last month, lower than a consensus forecast of 95,000.

Spot gold was at $1,754.60 an ounce at 1241 GMT, down 0.4 percent on the day, but up about $2 from levels seen before the report was released.

[xchrom]

55. US markets set to rally into year-end: JP Morgan

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/analysis/us-markets-set-to-rally-into-year-end-jp-morgan/articleshow/10608652.cms

US equity markets are poised to rally into the year-end as the economy is still expanding, and growth in the fourth quarter is likely to be similar to or potentially better than in the third, said JP Morgan's chief US equity strategist.

"We realize that Greece/sovereign Europe remains the "tail" that never goes away - and while predicting an outcome is basically impossible, we believe the risk of a systemic crisis has diminished," J P Morgan Securities' Thomas Lee said.

Third-quarter results reported by companies that constitute the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 Index have been "impressive," said strategist Lee, who lifted his 2011 earnings-per-share forecast for the S&P 500 companies.

S&P 500 companies' third-quarter earnings per share is already tracking closer to $25.50, well above JP Morgan's estimate of $24.75, after just 349 companies having reported, said Lee, a former managing director of Salomon Smith Barney.

[Demeter]

65. Year End Rally?

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

That presumes the Crash will have bottomed out by then. Not likely.

Or maybe it's some year other than 2011 he's talking about....yeah, that must be it.

[xchrom]

66. best of all -- that most trust worthy of mouth pieces says it: jpmorgan

so it MUST be true:eyes:

[Ghost Dog]

88. Biggest market-manipulators of them all? n/t

[xchrom]

57. south asia: Sensex ends at 17562; metals, capital goods up

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/sensex-ends-at-17562-metals-capital-goods-up/articleshow/10607296.cms

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended last day of the week in positive territory after giving away most of intraday gains. Wary investors chose to book some profits off the table ahead of developments in Greece's parliament and extended weekend back home.

After pressure from the European Union, Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou shelved his plans to hold referendum on bail-out plan but now his government faces a confidence vote in parliament today.

According to analysts, the market upside looks capped and the next few months may turn out to be volatile.

"We have moved fairly rapidly from the near term bottom so any significant upside from these levels looks unlikely. My sense is next two or three months will be extremely choppy or depending on which way the data flows in. Nobody has any confidence on what is happening both in terms of global economy and what is happening in the local economy so you are going to see bouts of volatility.

[Demeter]

67. Kenneth Rogoff: The eurozone does not need IMF help

With leaders of the Group of 20 leading nations now focusing on the International Monetary Fund as their preferred conduit for any bail-out in the eurozone, it is imperative they ask what concrete purpose the fund’s capital will serve.

Unless the IMF is granted considerable power to enforce conditionality at the eurozone level, it is hard to see much benefit in its involvement, aside from providing a fig leaf for large-scale European Central Bank purchases of euro sovereign junk bonds.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/LVA6WW/NJLTSM/K91WR/SPU53I/2O7KNC/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=4

AND IF THE IMF GETS TO MAKE THE RULES---KATY, BAR THE DOOR!

FACE IT, ANGELA, THE EURO ISN'T WORTH IT.

[Demeter]

68. Howard Davies: Rescuing Cannes from failure

After George Papandreou’s surprise decision to ask the Greek people if they would prefer five years of austerity or five years of austerity with a side order of chaos, Nicolas Sarkozy’s best-laid plans for Cannes have had to be, well, canned.

He launched his presidency of the Group of 20 leading nations with calls for a new Bretton Woods – a wholesale reconstruction of the international monetary system – and a global plan for renewed growth.

These grand aims, some of which were unrealistic anyway, will now inevitably take second place to the eurozone’s worsening agonies, and the visiting Americans and Chinese will inevitably spend time calling on the Old Continent to get its act together.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/8ZDWGJ/FDFZE/8Z73AW/ZG2Z21/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=3

[DemReadingDU]

69. 11/4/11 Ian Welsh: What passes for smart on the Greek Debt Crisis

11/4/11 What passes for smart on the Greek Debt Crisis is profoundly stupid and misleading. Over at Americablog I stumbled across a post written by Kevin Drum on the Greek debt crisis, a post which was also linked to approvingly by Digby. It is what passes for smart on the left, these days: superficially correct, but riddled with massive assumptions. Back when blogging was my job, I took out garbage like this regularly, these days I do it rarely, but I’m going to tackle this one because the embedded assumption aren’t just sewage, they are toxic to dealing with the current depression we’re in.

A return to the drachma is unlikely to offer a quick cure for Greece’s ills. Default on the nation’s $500 billion in public debt would become a certainty, depositors would take their money out of local banks and, with a sharp devaluation of as much as 50 percent, inflation would loom. A return to the international credit markets would take years.

It didn’t take years for Argentina when they defaulted. When Iceland told Europeans to go take a long flying leap of a short pier, it didn’t take them years. In fact, my best guess is it would take a year, maybe less. There is too much money chasing far too few returns. Contrary to the idea that there isn’t enough money in the world, the problem is that there is too much, and it is chasing diminishing returns. Remember a default isn’t a bankruptcy, in a default Greece says “we aren’t paying this back as scheduled, we’ll pay you back… eventually”. My suggestion would be to transfer it into 100 year bonds with 1% interest. If creditors don’t like that they don’t have to take it, they can then try and collect on their credit default swaps, but if they make that claim, the Greek government considers that debt cancelled (you don’t get paid twice.)

Moreover, once Greek returns to the Drachma, it can print money. At that point it can’t default on any new bond issues as long as they are issued in Drachma.

lots more...
http://www.ianwelsh.net/what-passes-for-smart-on-the-greek-debt-crisis/


interesting comments follow the link

[Demeter]

70. Exactly READ THE WHOLE THING--IT GETS BETTER

They are making free far too much with the "terror, terror, terror", calling "wolf", as Aesop would say, just as was done here about airport safety.

The 1% don't WANT a solution, they want to go back in time to some point before the jig was up. But since Time only flows in one direction, and since they have nothing but worthless paper in their possession, and a lot of angry mobs surrounding them, it's time to stop being arrogant and dismissive and start dealing with the disaster they made.

ANOTHER EXCERPT FROM PREVIOUS POST:

There are economic tools for dealing with these issues. Capital and currency controls are one of them, the distinction between default (we’ll pay you eventually, as opposed to we’ll never pay you) is another. The question of who is being bailed out (private investors, in large part) is another. And bailing out those investors is a political act, their money is their political power. The current political class, who is complicit with the current monied class, of course wants to bail them out. All of this is before we even get to the horribly anti-democratic nature of all of this: the repeated refusal of the political class to allow referendums, the complicity of all major political parties in the process (notice there is no party to vote for if you want to default), and so on.

There is no actual democracy in any part of the world which is attached to the Wall Street centered financial system. Calls can run up to 1000:1 against TARP and it will pass. Strong majorities can be for or against particular policies and if the elite disagrees, that’s all that matters. There are no parties to vote for if you are against the current system.

In a sense, this is fair. Westerners thought that they could have consumer democracy: they didn’t have to participate in it except at election time, when they would vote for parties and platforms paid for and produced by someone other than them. Coke(tm)/Pepsi(tm) politics – you have a choice, you can choose either Coke or Pepsi! Politicians aren’t paid by you (their salaries are the least part of their real income) why would you think they care about your concerns? You don’t pay for politicians or politics. This is the Facebook rule: if you don’t pay the freight, you aren’t the customer, you are the product. Politicians compete for the money and favors of the rich, and what they sell is the ability to wrangle you: to pass the austerity bills, to cut the benefits, to privatize the jewels of the public system, to force through the multi-trillion dollar bailouts. They control government for the benefit of the rich.

And the rich pay all the way down the line. They control the media, right down to the bottom, to make sure that what is discusses is what they want discussed, in the terms they want it discussed. That default isn’t that bad: forbidden. That currency controls mitigate damage in these circumstances: forbidden. That lenders will lend to defaulting countries almost immediately: forbidden.

[Ghost Dog]

89. Thankyou Mr. Welsh. That should read "flying leap OFF a short pier", though

Perhaps I should set up a rapid-service editing business online.

"If Greece has been irresponsible, so were the German banks that happily loaned out the money."

The above, written by Drum, is very true. Some lenders were surely stretching the 'irresponsible' into the delusional or even fraudulent realms, though, via various derivatives and other so-called hedges and their leverage.

Definitely worth a read.

"The only reason “all the debts” must be paid off is because the rich demand it. They don’t want to take their losses. This is what should have been done in the US. It is what should be done in Europe. It is what our lords and masters refuse to do at all costs, because the people who own them, or they themselves, or their friends, or their lovers, are the ones who will take the bath."

No question.

[Demeter]

73. U.S., Again, Says It Won’t Join EU on Financial Transactions Tax

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/11/03/u-s-again-says-it-wont-join-eu-on-financial-transactions-tax/

The leaders of Germany and France raised the idea of a financial transactions tax in their meetings with President Barack Obama Thursday at the G-20 summit. And both got the same disappointing answer.

European Union leaders are using the G-20 forum to push for a tax on trades of stocks, bonds and derivatives to raise money for taxpayers who have bailed out their financial systems. The U.S. is against the proposal, and even some European nations — such as the U.K. and Sweden — say it won’t work unless it’s adopted globally because activity would move to regions that don’t assess the tax.

“The president made clear that he shares the objectives that Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy have in ensuring that the financial sector contributes an appropriate share to the resolution of crises,” Mike Froman, the White House’s deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, told reporters Thursday. The Obama administration has backed a different kind of tax, a financial crisis responsibility fee, on the largest financial institutions.

How did they resolve the disagreement? “I think there is broad consensus between the Europeans that the president met with this morning and ourselves about the ability of each to pursue this in their own way, whatever way they see to be most effective,” Froman said.

Translation: Go for it, but the U.S. won’t join you.

THANK YOU, MR. PRESIDENT. MAY YOUR HOME BE FORECLOSED.

[Demeter]

80. Lawmakers to Propose Transaction Tax for Financial Firms Modeled on Europe

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-01/lawmakers-to-propose-transaction-tax-for-financial-firms-modeled-on-europe.html

Two U.S. lawmakers will introduce measures to impose a transaction tax on financial firms that resembles a proposal released by the European Union.

Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, and Representative Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat, will introduce the bills tomorrow in their respective chambers. The bills will give the United States an increased role in the international debate over a transaction tax, which is likely to be discussed at the Group of 20 summit this week in Cannes, France.

“It’s a significant way to raise some needed revenue,” Harkin said in an interview today in Washington. “Quite frankly, I bet nobody would even feel it.”

[Demeter]

74. Keiser Report: Make Love, Not Debt (E205) ICELAND UPDATE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlzgtbEY-Vc&feature=player_embedded

[Demeter]

75. A Different Portrait of Poverty

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/11/04/us/different-portrait-of-poverty.html


To address shortcomings in the way poverty is measured in the United States, the Census Bureau has developed more comprehensive alternate measures. The example below calculates poverty rates by taking into account cost of living, taxes, medical expenses and benefits like food stamps and housing subsidies.

SEE COMPARISON GRAPHS AT LINK

[Demeter]

76. Bleak Portrait of Poverty Is Off the Mark, Experts Say

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/us/experts-say-bleak-account-of-poverty-missed-the-mark.html?_r=1

When the Census Bureau said in September that the number of poor Americans had soared by 10 million to rates rarely seen in four decades, commentators called the report “shocking” and “bleak.” Most poverty experts would add another description: “flawed.” Concocted on the fly a half-century ago, the official poverty measure ignores ever more of what is happening to the poor person’s wallet — good and bad. It overlooks hundreds of billions of dollars the needy receive in food stamps and other benefits and the similarly formidable amounts they lose to taxes and medical care. It even fails to note that rents are higher in places like Manhattan than they are in Mississippi.

On Monday, that may start to change when the Census Bureau releases a long-promised alternate measure meant to do a better job of counting the resources the needy have and the bills they have to pay. Similar measures, quietly published in the past, suggest among other things that safety-net programs have played a large and mostly overlooked role in restraining hardship: as much as half of the reported rise in poverty since 2006 disappears...The fuller measures have also shown less poverty among children but more among older Americans, who are plagued by high medical costs. They have shown less poverty among blacks but more among Asians; less poverty in rural areas and more in cities and suburbs, where the cost of living is high. And they have found fewer people in abject destitution, but a great many more crowding the hard-luck ranks of the near poor, who do not qualify for many benefit programs and lose income to taxes, child care and medical costs. “The official measure no longer corresponds to reality,” said Jane Waldfogel, a professor of social work at Columbia University. “It doesn’t get either side of the equation right — how much the poor have or how much they need. No one really trusts the data.”...Experts expect the new report to be consistent with a decade of research about the ways in which the official poverty rate distorts the realities of American poverty. The numbers in this article are based on that research — by the census, the National Academy of Sciences and others — and include not just cash income but also government benefits, work expenses, taxes and cost of living. Many experts expect Monday’s census report, based on similar methods, to add a bit to the official poverty count of 46.2 million, while most experts also expect the recent growth will ap-pear less steep. One alternate census data set quietly published last week said the number of poor people has grown by 4.6 million since 2006, not by 9.7 million as the bureau reported in September. At least 39 states showed no statistically significant poverty growth despite surging unemployment, according to an analysis by The New York Times, including Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.

In North Carolina, poverty has risen by more than 250,000 people by official count, but stayed flat under the alternate measure despite soaring unemployment. One explanation can be found in programs the official count ignores: food stamps and tax credits. Combined the two programs delivered $221 billion across the country last year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, more than doubling since 2006....In Charlotte, Angelique Melton was among the beneficiaries. A divorced mother of two, Ms. Melton, 42, had worked her way up to a $39,000 a year position at a construction management firm. But as building halted in 2009, Ms. Melton lost her job. Struggling to pay the rent and keep the family adequately fed, she took the only job she could find: a part-time position at Wal-Mart that paid less than half her former salary. With an annual income of about $7,500 — well below the poverty line of $17,400 for a family of three — Ms. Melton was officially poor.

Unofficially she was not.

After trying to stretch her shrunken income, Ms. Melton signed up for $3,600 a year in food stamps and received $1,800 in nutritional supplements from the Women, Infants and Children program. And her small salary qualified her for large tax credits, which arrive in the form of an annual check — in her case for about $4,000. Along with housing aid, those subsidies gave her an annual income of nearly $18,800 — no one’s idea of rich, but by the new count not poor. “They help you, my God,” Ms. Melton said. “I would not have made it otherwise.”

[Demeter]

77. Poorest poor in US hits new record: 1 in 15 people

http://www.freep.com/article/20111103/NEWS07/111103022/Poorest-poor-US-hits-new-record-1-15-people-

The ranks of America's poorest poor have climbed to a record high — 1 in 15 people — spread widely across metropolitan areas as the housing bust pushed many inner-city poor into suburbs and other outlying places and shriveled jobs and income. New census data paint a stark portrait of the nation's haves and have-nots at a time when unemployment remains persistently high. It comes a week before the government releases first-ever economic data that will show more Hispanics, elderly and working-age poor have fallen into poverty. The numbers underscore the breadth and scope by which the downturn has reached further into mainstream America.

"There now really is no unaffected group, except maybe the very top income earners," said Robert Moffitt, a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University. "Recessions are supposed to be temporary, and when it's over, everything returns to where it was before. But the worry now is that the downturn — which will end eventually — will have long-lasting effects on families who lose jobs, become worse off and can't recover."

...Neighborhoods with poverty rates of at least 40% are stretching over broader areas, increasing in suburbs at twice the rate of cities.

Once-booming Sun Belt metro areas are now seeing some of the biggest jumps in concentrated poverty...

[Demeter]

78. Wheat Plunging as Stockpiles Climb to 10-Year High

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/wheat-plunging-as-decade-high-stockpiles-ease-world-shortages-commodities.html

Wheat is heading for the biggest slump in three years as the second-largest harvest on record swells stockpiles, easing shortages that drove global food costs to an all-time high.

Prices that plunged 21 percent to $6.24 a bushel this year in Chicago will probably drop as low as $5.90 before the end of December, according to the median estimate of nine analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg. Supply in the 12 months ending June 30 will expand 5 percent to 684 million metric tons, boosting inventories to the highest in a decade, the London- based International Grains Council estimates.

Production is expanding after last year’s 47 percent price rise led farmers to plant more grain, while Russia and Ukraine recovered from drought that ruined crops. Cheaper wheat will reduce strains caused by rising corn and rice prices and add to pressure on United Nations-monitored food costs that have declined 9 percent from a record in February...

[Ghost Dog]

90. --> "RELIEF on United Nations-monitored food costs that have declined" n/t

[Demeter]

79. Unpaid wages in China: Can’t pay, won’t pay

http://www.economist.com/node/21534838

EFFORTS to curb inflation in China are having some painful side-effects. A squeeze on bank lending has prompted some businesses short of cash to stop paying wages to blue-collar workers. Even the much-vaunted state sector is feeling the pinch. Work has all but ground to a halt on thousands of kilometres of railway track, and many of the network’s 6m construction workers have been complaining about not being paid for weeks or sometimes months.

Migrant workers from China’s vast countryside are usually the first to suffer when employers find themselves strapped for cash. In February a revision to the criminal law made it illegal for a company to withhold salary if it had the means to pay. This has done little to protect the more than 150m rural migrants who perform most of the country’s manual labour. A household-registration system that discriminates against migrants in employment, housing, health care and education reinforces a widespread tendency to treat them as second-class citizens...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

81. Is 12,000 magical, or not?

Geesh!

[Roland99]

82. Looks like someone gave the HFTs several martinis at lunch.

[Demeter]

93. It's Outright Fraud, Is What It Is

Somebody's rigging the market for all he's worth.

[tclambert]

85. Where's Festivito's debt numbers? I haven't seen them in awhile.

Surely, the national debt is still growing.

[Demeter]

94. You'll have to fill in for Festivo

I'm going to start the Weekend. Now, what do I have around here that's alcoholic and potable?