STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, November 25, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, November 25, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON November 23, 2011

Dow 11,257.55 -236.17 (-2.10%)
Nasdaq 2,460.08 -61.20 (-2.49%)
S&P 500 1,161.79 -26.25 (-2.26%)
10-Yr Bond... 1.94 +0.06 (+3.08%)
30-Year Bond 2.89 +0.06 (+2.01%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
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. I hope everyone had a great holiday! No reports today. nt

[xchrom]

5. and the same to you -- ours was a wonderful feast. nt

[Demeter]

15. We talked turkey

It was good.

[Roland99]

87. Lions lost. Dolphins lost. But the new Muppet Movie had us all laughing!

And the turkey and ham and apple pie were great! :-)

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil hovers above $96 amid Europe debt worries

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered above $96 a barrel Friday in Asia as Europe's debt crisis undermined confidence the continent will avoid recession next year.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 11 cents at $96.28 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract last settled on Wednesday in New York at $96.17, down $1.84. Markets in the U.S. were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Brent crude for January delivery fell 40 cents at $107.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Markets close early in the U.S. later Friday for Thanksgiving.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Fall; S&P 500 Poised for Slump

U.S. stock futures declined, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will drop for a seventh day, as the euro area’s leaders grappled with how to contain their region’s debt crisis.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring next month slid 0.7 percent to 1,151.4 at 6:13 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures expiring the same month lost 67 points, or 0.6 percent, to 11,167. U.S. equity markets will reopen today after yesterday’s Thanksgiving break. Trading will end at 1 p.m. today. The S&P 500 (SPX) has declined 4.4 percent so far this week.

“Over the next weeks and months, we are likely to see the future of the euro zone taking shape,” said Thomas Beevers, a fund manager at Newton Investment Management Ltd. in London, which has about $73 billion in client assets. “There is a chance that some countries, such as Greece, may choose to either default on their debts or leave. The remaining countries are likely to be forced, by pressure stemming from Germany, to enact fiscal-austerity measures and implement economic reforms. A much stronger union will emerge from the current crisis.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday repeated her opposition to joint euro-area bonds, damping optimism that politicians will agree to use a potential remedy for the region’s woes. The S&P 500 has fallen 8.1 percent over the past six trading days for its longest slump since August. Yields on two-year Italian notes rose to a euro-era record of 7.82 percent today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-25/u-s-stock-futures-decline-as-s-p-500-index-is-poised-for-seven-day-slump.html

[Hissyspit]

4. "A wafer-theen Mitt"

LOL A Monty Python "Meaning of Life" reference.

[Demeter]

16. One of the Weirdest, Grossest Films I've Ever Seen

But I did like that part.

[TalkingDog]

88. I once saw it (again) at a midnight movie. It was more entertaining for me

to watch the college-aged couple that was there, evidently on their first date (based on body language and conversation).

She was a little cheerleader-y and I could tell by her reactions that the rather dark humor was not to her taste. SO I wondered what was going to happen when the restaurant scene came up.

As it happened, she got up and walked out.

I would imagine they didn't have a second date.

Some of Pythons humor is an acquired taste. Personally my all time favorite skit is "The Batley Townswomens' Guild presents the Battle of Pearl Harbor". Every time I see it I laugh til I cry. (not gross)

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

[xchrom]

6. weird dupe. nt

[xchrom]

7. europe: Italy forced to pay record interest rates at auction

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15888752

Italy has been forced to pay record interest rates in a 10bn euro ($13bn; £9bn) auction of treasury bills.

The rate of interest for the new debts due to be repaid in six months was 6.504%, compared with 3.535% in the last comparable sale on 26 October.

The rate for two-year borrowing was 7.814%, up from 4.628% last time.

The Bank of Italy stressed that demand for the bonds had been high, with demand for the debts outstripping supply by 50%.

[xchrom]

8. Hungary's debt downgraded by Moody's to junk status

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15886364

Moody's has cut its rating of Hungarian government debt to junk status.

The ratings agency blamed Hungary's high levels of debt and weak prospects for growth, as well as uncertainty about whether the government can achieve its goals for the economy.

The government said the move by Moody's was part of a series of financial attacks against the country.

Earlier, Standard & Poor's decided not to downgrade Hungary until talks with the EU and IMF had been completed.

[Demeter]

I'm sure it was a financial attack

However, running to the IMF is not a defensive measure, nor a solution.

We the People, the 99%, have to take down the banksters and their hot money.

[xchrom]

18. hungary is a pretty vibrant place.

i found this very strange on moody's part.

the financial attack angle -- not bad, makes sense.

[xchrom]

11. Clegg: £1bn scheme will 'provide hope' to young jobless

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15878796

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says a £1bn plan to provide subsidised work and training placements will "provide hope" to thousands of young people.

The youth contract scheme will give employers subsidies worth £2,275 to take on 160,000 18-to 24-year-olds, for six months, over three years.

Youth unemployment hit 1.02 million in the three months to September.

Labour questioned how it would be funded, following reports that working tax credits were to be squeezed.

[xchrom]

13. Why Not Pull the Trigger on Greek Default Swaps?

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/why-not-pull-the-trigger-on-greek-c-d-s/

The question about why credit-default swaps written on Greek debt will not be triggered by the “voluntary” exchange of private debt that is in the works has been the subject of much recent commentary but little deep analysis.

The basic question is, why not trigger the swaps? And why do some think that the swaps are not apt to be triggered if bondholders hold out and refuse to exchange?

In a corporate exchange offer, you would suspect that the exchange was being done with exit consents. These get the departing bondholders to agree to strip out all the possible default triggers (other than pure failure to pay), making it less likely that a swap would be triggered going forward.

But with sovereign debt, such bonds are not apt to have many of those covenants anyway.

[xchrom]

17. Eurozone debt crisis live: Italian bond yields spike

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2011/nov/25/eurozone-debt-crisis-live-markets-fall

12.36pm More on the music. There's the Ghost of Tom Joad of course by Springsteen which is an entire album about hard times, referencing back to the Grapes of Wrath. We could go on forever with this theme.

12.22pm: My colleague Hannah Waldram from the Communities team has very kindly pulled together some of the comments you've been posting about music that is about or refers to financial crises, inspired by Steely Dan's Black Friday.

It seems to me that there's yet to be penned a definitive anthem to our current troubled times. Does the Occupy movement have a song to call its own? I don't know. Anyway, here are some excellent suggestions on the comments thread.

Eachran suggests The Internationale

SELAVY suggests Elvis Costello's Tramp the Dirt Down, and writes:

Perhaps that great altruist Sir Richard Branson could be persuaded to produce a "Crisis" single ? Maybe a duet featuring fellow humanitarian giants Berlusconi and Lord Bono ?

It could be released for the Xmas 'MARKET', with all profits going to a charity........er no - a Swiss bank account of their choice

[Demeter]

61. Amid crisis, Italy confronts a culture of tax evasion

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/amid-crisis-italy-confronts-a-culture-of-tax-evasion/2011/11/22/gIQAef4JtN_story.html?hpid=z2

In this nation where tax evasion can be considered part of a solid business plan, even dentists and hairdressers demand payment in cash — payments that then frequently vanish from accounting books like so many Cheshire cats.

But as the world’s eighth-largest economy struggles to pull back from the brink of a debt crisis that has much of the financial world on edge, Italy may be on the verge of a national reckoning over one of its most vexing financial — and cultural — problems: tax cheats.

Crisis-weary Maura Corinaldesi, for instance, joined a fast-growing Facebook group this month called “Friends of the Receipts” with more than 4,000 members naming and shaming tax-dodging trattorias and invoice-allergic plumbers. Corinaldesi, a 30-year-old public servant, took it one step further, calling the cops on a recent afternoon when a fruit vendor refused her a receipt.

A poll released this week by the Italian polling firm Demopolis found that 73 percent of Italians surveyed are now demanding tougher action against evasion.
Italy’s financial police are even taking the fight to elementary schools, trying to nip in the bud a cultural exaltation of the smartest evaders with a comic strip starring Finzy, a cute feathery cop who busts jewelry-wearing tax cheats and sniffs out loot stashed in exotic tax havens...

[xchrom]

69. now that's interesting.

cash off the books is a time honored tradition in italia.

it'll be interesting to see if news follows this more.

[xchrom]

22. Only German pain can solve euro crisis

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2011/nov/24/only-germany-can-solve-euro-crisis

Portuguese strikers are giving a helping hand to Lisbon's negotiators in Brussels. It may appear that angry protests are the last thing president Aníbal Cavaco Silva needs before an austerity budget vote next week.

But Cavaco Silva knows, like the rest of Europe, that his country is bust if it slavishly follows the Brussels line of spending cuts. And industrial unrest allows him to demonstrate that the situation is already so volatile that further austerity measures might be a touch tricky to push through.

His government has made it clear to Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the head of the eurozone's finance ministers' group, Jean-Claude Juncker, that debt forgiveness is the only way to rescue his country.

In other words, Portugal needs the same level of bailout as the Greeks.

[xchrom]

70. U.K. stocks rise after nine sessions of losses

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/uk-stocks-drop-extending-losing-streak-2011-11-25

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Britain’s benchmark stock index turned higher in afternoon trade on Friday, as bargain hunters stepped in after nine consecutive sessions of losses.

The FTSE 100 index /quotes/zigman/3173262 UK:UKX +1.21% rose 1% to 5,175.67 after trading lower for most of the session. The index has ended lower for nine consecutive trading days, during which it has lost 7.5% of its value.

Other European stock markets also reversed course to trade higher. Earlier, sentiment had been dented by news that Italy sold 8 billion euros ($10.7 billion) of six-month bills, but the yield soared to a euro-era high.

Bank shares were among the top gainers in the FTSE, with Royal Bank of Scotland Group /quotes/zigman/530544/quotes/nls/rbs RBS +9.46% /quotes/zigman/155978 UK:RBS +4.17% up 4.3%, Lloyds Banking Group /quotes/zigman/126322 UK:LLOY +2.43% /quotes/zigman/255656/quotes/nls/lyg LYG +5.97% up 2.3% and Barclays PLC /quotes/zigman/152323/quotes/nls/bcs BCS +5.52% /quotes/zigman/301787 UK:BARC +1.57% up 2%.


***:shrug:

[xchrom]

9. asia: Japan's consumer prices fall on weak domestic demand

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15884340

apan's consumer prices have fallen for the first time in four months, as weak domestic demand and deflation continue to weigh on growth.

Core consumer prices, which exclude fresh food, slipped 0.1% in October, the statistics bureau said.

One of the reasons for the fall is last year's cigarette tax rise falling out of the calculations.

The strong yen as well as Europe's debt crisis are hurting the growth outlook for the world's third-largest economy.

[xchrom]

14. Hong Kong Jeweler Plans $3 Billion IPO

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/hong-kong-jeweler-plans-3-billion-ipo/

HONG KONG — A large jewelry company based in Hong Kong is set to stage one of the largest initial public offerings in the world this year, with a listing that could raise more than $3 billion dollars next month despite the nervousness that is gripping global markets.

Chow Tai Fook Jewellery is offering 1.05 billion shares at between 15 Hong Kong dollars and 21 Hong Kong dollars each, a person with direct knowledge of the transaction said on Friday.

At the upper end of that range, the proceeds would total 21.05 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $2.83 billion – an amount that could still rise by as much as 15 percent, to about $3.25 billion, if solid demand allows the company to sell more shares, according to the person, who was speaking on condition of anonymity because the details are not yet public.



*** xchrom wonders if chow tai is any relation to lee ho?

[Demeter]

24. Chow is probably the family name

since the custom is to put that first.

[xchrom]

26. I just thought it was funny.

I'll stick to my day job.

[Demeter]

31. I didn't get the joke

probably due to my lack of references, unfamiliarity with popular culture and daily events....

[xchrom]

42. it still won't be funny -- BUT it's warren zevon's were wolves of london.

lee ho fook's is a famous chinese restaurant -- where a were wolf of london was spotted eating a big bowl of beef chow mein.

like i said -- my day job -- i'll stick to it.

[Demeter]

43. Okay, xchrom

(backs slowly away from monitor)

[hamerfan]

89. I loves me

some Warren Zevon!

Lawyers, Guns and Money:

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

[xchrom]

10. south asia: India MPs in uproar over retail reform plans

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-15885004

There has been uproar in India's parliament over the cabinet's decision to open up the retail market to global supermarket chains.

One key government ally, the Trinamool Congress, joined opposition parties in shouting slogans and unfurling banners.

The lower house had to be adjourned, and Trade Minister Anand Sharma instead held a press conference to spell out details of the policy.

He said the "India-specific" scheme would create tens of millions of jobs.

[xchrom]

12. As Investors Flee Groupon, Outlook for I.P.O.’s Darkens

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/as-investors-flee-groupon-outlook-for-i-p-o-s-darkens/

Unable to break a three-day slide, shares of Groupon tumbled again on Wednesday, as more investors dumped shares.

For the first time since it went public earlier this month, Groupon broke below its offering price of $20 per share. Shares of Groupon fell 16 percent on Wednesday to close at $16.96.

The popular daily deals site had wrestled with intense scrutiny and volatile equity markets in the weeks leading up to its offering, but its debut was widely heralded as a strong performance. On its first day of trading, Groupon rose as much as 50 percent, before settling at $26.11 per share.

Wednesday’s drop is a disturbing signal for technology investors and other start-ups waiting to go public.

[Fuddnik]

19. Good morning, all you turkeys!

I hope everyone is recovered from their tryptophane-vodka-wine-induced trances. Getting ready to head down to the stadium for the USF-Louisville game. Who schedules a kick-off for 11:00am anyway? /but, you can't argue with free Club Level seats. I'd rather be in Ann Arbor tomorrow to watch Ohio State kick Meeshigins ass. But, then again, it's cold there.

Have a good day, and watch out for stray banksters. They can cause more damage to a car than a deer.

[boomerbust]

21. Cold?

It's going to be in the mid 50's up here. Dont care about those two Big Ten has beens. Badgers vs. Nittany Lions is the only meaningful game this weekend. On Wisconsin!

[Demeter]

91. I wore a genuine cardigan over my T-shirt

It was a lovely day. Wish I'd been in a lovely mood---the Kid wasn't, therefore...

[Roland99]

90. GO CARDS!

WOO HOO!!!

I can't believe we could actually be in the Orange Bowl! If Cincinnati and Pittsburgh both lose at least one of their last two games, UofL (at 7-5 and wholly unranked) would be in a BCS Bowl game!

I love my Cards but if this ain't a sure sign that playoff system is needed, I don't know what is.

[boomerbust]

20. Walmart Shoppers

Are arming themselves with pepper spray. Black Friday indeed.

[Fuddnik]

23. I've got Black Dog Friday going on here.

Try drinking a cup of coffee with a hangover and two Lab-nuts chasing a fly around the house.

I was watching the nooz at 6:00 am, and a local Tampa Walmart looked like it had a riot going on. People are nuts.

[DemReadingDU]

25. I'm staying home

Only once did I ever go out on 'black Friday', and that was over 20 years ago.

[Demeter]

32. I'm working

(no really, I am. even now, between posts)

[Roland99]

36. holy crap. glad I'm at work

[DemReadingDU]

27. Infographic: Media Consolidation – The Illusion of Choice

11/25/11 Infographic: Media Consolidation – The Illusion of Choice
How much choice does the mainstream US media really offer? Family financial blogger Frugal Dad has created this infographic that lays out the extent of media consolidation in the US, where just six media giants control 90% of all TV, news, radio and film.
http://owni.eu/2011/11/25/infographic-media-consolidation-the-illusion-of-choice/

[Demeter]

33. This needs to go viral! Or at least, to GD

No wonder everyone hates Comcast. GE owns it. GE shouldn't own a dog, or even a cat.

[snot]

78. THANK YOU: I've been looking for updated stats & a graphic.

[Demeter]

28. Bruce Bartlett - The 'do nothing' solution to US fiscal crisis

Congress has already passed laws sufficient to fix its budgetary problem permanently and put the nation’s finances on a stable path. All that is necessary is to do nothing and to let the laws on the books take effect.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/2O5EBW/Z87P0/MSR549/AMIBQH/YT/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

AND PLEASE, GOD, LET THEM KEEP THEIR MEDDLING HANDS OUT OF THIS

[Demeter]

29. Bond buyers threat to Santander

A number of large institutional investors have threatened to stop buying bonds issued by Santander after Spain’s biggest bank offered to exchange some of its existing debt into new instruments at what they consider punitive terms

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/8P1R88/16M3FX/4VXHZ/AM4AVP/5VWOQ5/D5/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=24

[Demeter]

30. Federal Reserve launches new round of stress tests

The Federal Reserve will force the biggest US banks to model a severe eurozone recession and a US unemployment rate of 13 per cent as part of stress tests launched on Tuesday, which will culminate in public disclosure of banks’ stressed capital levels.

The second annual “comprehensive capital analysis and review” is designed to ensure that US banks are adequately capitalised to weather a worsening economic storm at home and abroad, including a peak decline of 6.9 per cent in eurozone gross domestic product.

Banks that do poorly on the exercise – which also judges their capital
planning – will be prevented from paying out increased dividends or share buy-backs. The Fed said even for healthy banks proposed dividends of more than 30 per cent of net income would “receive particularly close scrutiny”.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/R5WAEE/B5Q1NJ/6ADGM/NJF4WO/SP8DRX/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

YAWN, WHATEVER

[Demeter]

34. Fed policymakers urge further easing

Some members of the Federal Open Market Committee said the US central bank should consider further easing measures to stimulate the economy, according to minutes from the November 1-2 meeting released on Tuesday.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/5VXR5A/CWSVD/ZG6RF4/JE3AX9/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

LIKE WHAT, PRAY TELL?

[Demeter]

35. US growth revised down to 2%

The US economy grew slower than originally thought in the third quarter as businesses drew down their inventories faster than expected.

Gross domestic product growth was revised down to an annual rate of 2 per cent in the third quarter from an earlier estimate of 2.5 per cent, according to the commerce department. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected growth to remain at the 2.5 per cent pace. But growth was still the strongest quarterly increase this year, following a 1.3 per cent expansion in the second quarter.

A fall in inventories – the first in nearly two years –
dragged on the economy during the July to September period, with a $8.5bn decrease shaving 1.55 percentage points from growth, more than the previous estimate of 1.1 percentage points.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/SP6MEJ/CWSVD/EXD0CS/5VWU3B/QR/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

37. US banks scale back mortgage collection

Once-lucrative businesses face heightened scrutiny as the new consumer finance regulator vows to step up its oversight of the industry

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/BLH300/U10SG3/B49CK/B5WZ26/VL0PJY/9A/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=25

NOT SURE WHAT THEY MEAN BY THIS--SERVICING MORTGAGE COLLECTIONS, OR FORECLOSURES?

[Demeter]

49. Lower loss provisions boost US banks

US banks earnings jumped 49 per cent last quarter to $35.3bn, their highest total since mid-2007, according to US regulators

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/H60H77/SP6W4Q/1O51V/WTBSV1/FKJCRL/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=23

[Demeter]

54. Stimulus hopes fade as deficit deal fails

Increased likelihood of a partial government shutdown as ‘supercommittee’ is unable to bridge the deep partisan divide in Washington over spending and taxes

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/7ADR4C/OFBYP/2OC33L/167S1X/RF/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

38. Interest soars in US peer-to-peer lending

In the wake of the financial crisis, bank lending remains depressed and people are turning to peer-to-peer lenders to start small businesses

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/BLH300/U10SG3/B49CK/B5WZ26/3058L9/9A/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=25

[Demeter]

39. Euro leaders push for fiscal crackdown

Leaders of France, Germany and Italy focus on tougher governance but offer no concessions to calls for intervention by the ECB

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/MSLXAM/A5Q0X/R3URSE/SP8F9M/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=25

IN OTHER WORDS, THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

[Demeter]

51. Brussels plans to bring eurozone to heel

Proposals would require members to submit budget plans to the European Union, which would be able to send inspectors even if unrequested

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/C49TN8/9MEOW/U1TSSC/XHVSVY/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=23

AND WHERE IS THE PUBLIC'S CONSENT TO THIS?

[Demeter]

52. Sweden calls for prudent nations to be on standby

Anders Borg, named European finance minister of the year by the FT, urges strong eurozone economies to be ready with funds if recession strikes

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/C49TN8/9MEOW/U1TSSC/SP8Y8W/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=23

[Demeter]

60. French banks still hostage to eurozone crisis

Third-quarter results fail to ease fears with lenders still reeling from their rough treatment by markets this summer

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/ORHCHA/EKRAI/PF3XXV/5VWNH0/ID/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

40. Unions strike as Fitch downgrades Portugal

Unions and disaffected youth cause widespread disruption in what labour leaders say is Portugal’s biggest strike in more than 30 years

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/MSLXAM/A5Q0X/R3URSE/7AKC8J/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=25

[Demeter]

41. France pushes for Iranian oil embargo

Markets alarmed by initial proposal, which will face strong resistance from other EU states, particularly Italy and Spain

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/CTBPCC/MSLXAM/A5Q0X/R3URSE/AMIA03/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=25

ET TU, SARKOZY?

[Demeter]

44. US bank credit default swaps jump

CDS prices for large US financial institutions have been steadily rising in the past few weeks and protection over European financials has increased

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/B5Q8K9/4VXHZ/9756OP/JE3WN5/50/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=24

[Demeter]

45. Europeans turn to US junk bonds to renew loans

Banks seek to offload European bridge loans before the end of the year, but may still be forced to swallow losses on several high-profile deals

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/B5Q8K9/4VXHZ/9756OP/XHV3O0/50/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=24

[Demeter]

46. SocGen sues over ‘disaster’ claims

French bank initiates proceedings against Associated Newspapers after article incorrectly claimed it was on ‘brink of disaster’

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/B5Q8K9/4VXHZ/9756OP/DW9AQN/50/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=24

[Demeter]

55. Austrian banks told to limit lending to east

Vienna’s moves show how even the eurozone’s strongest economies are feeling the pressure of the sovereign debt crisis

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/UXDMSS/7ADR4C/OFBYP/2OC33L/97Y166/RF/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

57. US bankers warn reforms will hit eurozone

New curbs for US banks that restrict their ability to trade with their own capital will hit eurozone government bond markets, the industry says

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/ORHCHA/EKRAI/PF3XXV/JE3C5Z/ID/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

47. Early online shoppers lift US retail numbers

American consumers getting in before the official start of holiday shopping have already lifted online spending in November by 14% above its level last year

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/6NPSBB/B5Q8K9/4VXHZ/9756OP/B5EVYA/50/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=24

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

48. Great toon!

[Demeter]

50. Corzine called to testify on MF Global collapse

A congressional committee has scheduled a hearing for December 15 to examine the events leading up to the firm’s bankruptcy filing

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/H60H77/SP6W4Q/1O51V/WTBSV1/IINA31/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=23

[Demeter]

56. MF Global shortfall doubles to $1.2bn

Estimated hole in customer accounts is equivalent to almost a quarter of the $5.45bn in client funds that the company was required to hold separately

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/ORHCHA/EKRAI/PF3XXV/AMILOU/ID/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

53. Pakistan’s envoy to US quits over ‘Memogate’

Husain Haqqani has quit amid a furore over allegations he wrote a memo asking Washington for help in reining in his country’s military

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/C49TN8/9MEOW/U1TSSC/QNBKBI/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=23

I'LL WAGER PAKISTAN BLOWS UP BEFORE THEY CAN GET THE IRAN WAR ON...

[Demeter]

58. Chevron faces possible ban over Brazil leak

Country’s oil and gas regulator said it could deny the US company access to lucrative fields as well as fined for the spill off the coast of Rio

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/ORHCHA/EKRAI/PF3XXV/167SUW/ID/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

[Demeter]

59. Greenberg sues for $25bn over AIG bail-out

Former chief alleges US Treasury illegally appropriated insurer in 2008 and used it ‘to covertly funnel billions of dollars to foreign entities’

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/ORHCHA/EKRAI/PF3XXV/QNB5I9/ID/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=22

SOMEHOW, I DON'T THINK THE COURT WOULD GIVE HIM ANY STANDING TO BRING SUCH A CASE...

[Turbineguy]

64. And rightfully so!

That poor man saw his $2.5 billion in AIG stock become worthless. He only had $100 million left over!

[westerebus]

80. He ought to know.

From my prospective I'm becoming more suspicious of the 440 billion Euro Stability Emergency Fund as to just where that chunk of change came from. As it was the FED's bail out of AIG in cooperation with Goldman's Hank Paulson and the 100 cents on the dollar by Mr. Geithner than assured all the major player's were to be made whole, one might ask is this all to coincidental?

We know Goldman came out ahead playing the AIG bailout to offset its counter party's investments in the larger scheme of things. The grand consolidation of the banking investment industry which underlies the sovereign debt crisis as those who made the deals bet against the very institutions they were making the deals for.

What better investment then to use the power of the FED to backstop the entire contingency? Or to put it another way, European banks would have failed sooner had not AIG under the FED-Treasury's take over of that institution not paid off the CDS exposure of the American banks. The FED- Treasury didn't want the names of the receivers of the funds exposed in 2008. The finger prints were all to obvious and the passing of the torch was at hand.

My conjecture is the swap lines and direct bailouts to the Euro center banks via AIG are where those funds are derived. They are already levered to 440 billion euros. Just how did they manage that? The same way the original bailout was done. They used the political class to improve their own self interests. They are after all the same people.

[Demeter]

62. Decline in Commodities Is 'Artificial'

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45411396

The recent decline in commodity prices has little to do with fundamentals and everything to do with the collapse of brokerage firm MF Global, says renowned investor Jim Rogers, who described the sell-off as artificial. "With MF Global going bankrupt – which was a gigantic commodities firm – there was a lot of artificial forced liquidation of commodities. People have to sell whether they like it or not. It's artificial selling right now," Rogers told CNBC on Wednesday.

The CRB Jefferies Index – which serves as a measure of the broad commodities complex – has fallen 4 percent since MF Global declared bankruptcy nearly 4 weeks ago. Agricultural commodities have been the hardest hit, with rice futures falling more than 14 percent and wheat futures down 9 percent in the period. Rogers says the drop isn’t surprising. "This happened before in 2008, when Lehman and AIG went bankrupt, they were both huge in commodities and everybody had to sell," he said, referring to the onset of the global financial crisis in late 2008, when the CRB Index fell by half in a matter of months. Prices have rebounded since, climbing nearly 60 percent from March 2009 to May this year, when the sector took a hit again on concerns over the headwinds facing the global economy.

Rogers remains bullish on the sector, saying investors will benefit whether the global economy improves or not. "I'm long commodities and currencies, because if the world gets better, the shortages in commodities will make sure I make money; if the world economy doesn't get better, I'd rather own commodities because they're going to print money," he said, referring to the easy monetary policy central banks have taken in the last few years to stimulate anemic growth...

SPECULATORS, ALL OF THEM

[Demeter]

63. Oil price could strangle economic recovery hopes

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/24/us-oil-iea-idUSTRE7AN12020111124

The high oil price could "strangle" efforts to get the global economy back on its feet and may also hamper Asia's ability to help the West exit its crisis, the International Energy Agency's chief economist said on Thursday.

The IEA's Fatih Birol said the world economy was in a more fragile state now than during the crisis of 2008-2009, when oil prices were lower.

"I believe oil prices are well-positioned today to strangle the economic recovery efforts," he told Reuters on the sidelines of a seminar with the U.N. nuclear agency in Vienna...

[Demeter]

65. More than one reason for resilient euro (OH REALLY?)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-than-one-reason-for-resilient-euro-2011-11-24?pagenumber=1

The euro can take a punch, and then some. The currency’s ability to withstand increasingly horrifying headlines has been the abiding mystery of the forex market since the middle of last year. It’s only intensified in recent weeks as the debt crisis swept in from the periphery, threatened to engulf Italy and Spain, and pushed up yields in AAA-rated France, Finland and the Netherlands. A failed German bund auction on Wednesday, however, threatens to change the game, leaving the debt crisis on the doorstep of the euro zone’s lone safe haven. But even after a sharp drop Wednesday that added to an ugly November for the euro, the shared currency still stands just below $1.3400 versus the dollar, virtually unchanged on the year.

Given mounting fears the euro project may not even survive in its current form, it seems a wonder the euro isn’t trading closer to parity with the dollar or at least testing the lows around $1.19 set in mid-2010 after the crisis pushed Greece into a bailout...A popular theory ties the euro’s ability to take a licking to repatriation. The story has it that euro-zone banks and other institutions, faced with higher capital requirements and a tougher funding environment, are shedding foreign holdings and repatriating assets. It has a certain logical appeal given recent events. But there are plenty of skeptics who contend repatriation is only part of the equation.

David Bloom, currency strategist at HSBC, argues that the euro’s buoyancy is due to two factors: a strong “external” position and a sense that a resolution of the crisis remains in the interest of all concerned. The strong external position refers to the euro zone’s current account, which is close to balance, and a stream of positive portfolio and mergers-and-acquisition inflows, he noted in a recent research note. The current account is the measure of a country’s or region’s entire transactions with the rest of the world. Bloom said that while it’s difficult to parse the data on portfolio flows, there’s no clear sign that inflows reflect only bank capital repatriation. And even if repatriation flows were buoying the euro, it’s difficult to argue it will end soon, he said.

Even in a worst-case scenario, with one or more members ejected from the shared-currency zone, the revised euro would have an even stronger internal and external position, he said. The turmoil surrounding the exit would likely spur a short-term run to the dollar, but would likely be followed by a strong euro bounce, Bloom noted...

[Demeter]

66. Students in Debt: "Can't Pay, Won't Pay, Don't Pay"

http://www.truth-out.org/students-debt-cant-pay-wont-pay-dont-pay/1321980593

It seems like the right moment to initiate a nationwide campaign against the student lending industry. In a short time, Occupy Wall Street had reinvigorated the left and called the media’s attention back to the financial crisis of 2008. Young people everywhere are underemployed and struggling to repay debt, and many of these same people are now becoming inspired by the radicalism of Occupy. It began with a teach-in. On Wednesday, October 16, New York University professor Andrew Ross led an open forum titled “Is Student Debt a Form of Indenture?” at the public atrium at 60 Wall Street, which had been transformed into an office of Occupy Wall Street. Each day, the atrium filled with activists who made their way from the park, dodging traders and tourists alike, for afternoon teach-ins and working group meetings. Around fifty people crowded around Ross as he read from a paper he had written outlining how the student lending industry was predatory by nature. Ross explained that student debt in the United States has topped $1 trillion—more than any other kind of consumer debt. After bankruptcy protection was removed from private student loans in 2005, default—and the ruined credit score it results in—is the only option left for struggling student loan debtors.

Ross also explained how the banking industry profits from student loans—especially defaults, which involve lucrative collectors’ fees, added interest and penalties. The most recent data shows that the default rate for student loans was close to 9 percent in 2010—up from 7 percent in 2009. The largest increase in default is found at for-profit private institutions, according to data from the Department of Education, where nearly half of the students are African-American or Latino. But Ross was not there only to lecture. He was there to spark a movement to challenge the predatory student lending industry. And now, a working group affiliated with Occupy Wall Street is seizing the opportunity for political activism created by the movement with a campaign called Occupy Student Debt. The group consists of current students, former students and professors from various universities in New York City who say they have seen the ways in which student debt creates anxiety and desperation, especially in the current economy. On November 21, the group will announce an online pledge that seeks one million signatures by people who will refuse to pay their loans until certain reforms are made to the student lending industry. Those reforms include federally funded, tuition-fee tertiary public education; interest-free private loans; a requirement that for-profit and private universities open their financial books, and the writing-off of all current student debt. The campaign’s punchy slogan is “Can’t Pay! Won’t Pay! Join Us! Don’t Pay!”

In seeking to gain one million signatures, the campaign is looking for strength in collective action, which will be important if it is to succeed. One thousand people refusing to pay their loans—and potentially suffering the consequences of default—will not make much of an impact. But the organizers hope that one million could make an effective statement while also launching a political movement. “Being indebted can make someone fearful about how he will survive. Our campaign is a national initiative of solidarity. Collectively, we are stronger,” said Suzanne Collado, a 36-year-old master’s student in American Studies at NYU who also works at the graduate school there. The campaign launch will take place alongside demonstrations at Baruch College, a formerly tuition-free university founded as a place where less affluent people could get a good education and pursue middle-class dreams. On the 21st, the CUNY Board of Trustees will hold a public forum to essentially announce a tuition hike of $300 per semester for five years.

Though the launch is occurring in solidarity with groups protesting against CUNY’s tuition hike, it is intended to be a nationwide movement. “This is a justice campaign, about the restructuring of higher education,” said Ross. Members of the group emphasize that they are not attempting to evade their personal debt burdens but rather to create awareness about a dangerous financial product and its impact on society during a recession. The “We Are The 99 Percent” tumblr blog holds story after story of individuals who are working three minimum-wage jobs or unable to find any work at all, and who are crushed by payments on loans they took out to attend college or pursue a postgraduate degree...




FROM COMMENTS:

The republicans in Congress changed student loans into a private, for profit business in 1996 and locked in those profits for their corporate bosses when they removed bankruptcy protection for student loans. The law has always provided that when a person falls ill, loses his job and is surrounded by debt, he or she can get a fresh start by declaring bankruptcy. There are long-term consequences, but at least the debt is removed. Now, only student loans are singled out and excluded from bankruptcy law. You can be on your deathbed and the courts will not discharge student loan debt. Never. Ever. They are linked to the cronies in Congress that changed the law. Now we have a generation of students who were told they must gain higher education. If they are poor, they are locked out unless they take on tremendous debt because colleges are increasing tuition at ridiculous rates. And once they get the degree, the once promised good job and future is unattainable. They cannot pay the loans. They default. Thenthe law allows debt collectors (also run by the same people who issued the loans) to add on exorbitant fees of up to 50 percent of the original loan amount, for NO REASON. The fee does not reflect effort or work or any human action. It just pads the debt collector's coffers so that they can garnish wages and seize bank accounts. The whole system is gamed and rotten. And it will have negative impacts on generations of students who cannot do public service because of huge student loan debt.

[snot]

79. Meanwhile, more higher edu has become owned or controlled by corporate interests.

[Tansy_Gold]

85. I believe this is incorrect on one point

I'm not positive and should probably research more before I post, but I believe that those who are permanently and totally disabled can have student loan debt discharged.

[Demeter]

67. Why Merkel Remains Opposed to Euro Bonds

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,799803,00.html

There were some who thought that Angela Merkel might soon soften her stance on euro bonds. But on Thursday, the German chancellor once again emphasized her opposition. Why, though, is Berlin so adamantly opposed to issuing joint euro-zone debt? SPIEGEL ONLINE offers an overview...Angela Merkel's response could hardly have been clearer. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday presented a study outlining the possible forms euro bonds could take -- whereupon the German chancellor found unusually unambiguous words in response. The proposal, she said, was "extraordinarily distressing." She also called it "inappropriate."

The reaction was unusually firm for Merkel. She has become notorious in Germany for shying away from positions that can't be wriggled out of later. But when it comes to pooling the debt of all euro-zone member states in the form of euro bonds, she has long been firm in her rejection. In December 2010, for example, she said "the euro zone needs more harmony and competitiveness rather than common euro-zone bonds." In September, she called euro bonds "absolutely wrong." Wednesday's outburst, in other words, should not come as a surprise.

There are those, of course, who think that, in the end, Germany will have no choice but to put its own AAA credit rating on the line to ensure that other members of the European currency union have access to cash at reasonable rates. Borrowing rates for several euro-zone countries have risen alarmingly in recent weeks -- including yields for countries like France and Austria that had long been considered financially solid. Both Spain and Italy have seen borrowing rates spike to near or above 7 percent, the amount analysts consider to be the limit for sustainable long-term borrowing...Indeed, on Thursday, media reports indicated that some within Merkel's governing coalition -- pairing her conservatives with the business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP) -- are no longer ruling out the introduction of euro bonds. "We never say never. We only say: No euro bonds under the existing conditions," Norbert Barthle, budgetary spokesperson for the conservatives in parliament, told the Financial Times Deutschland. Merkel, though, would seem to have put a stop to such speculation on Thursday. Following a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti in Strasbourg, she told reporters euro bonds "would weaken us all."

Germany has largely isolated itself in the ongoing European discussion over what steps should next be taken to confront the euro crisis. Governments across the Continent are clamoring for a solution. And analysts around the world have come to the conclusion that the spread of Europe's ongoing debt crisis can only be halted by implementing one -- or both -- of two methods: Either debt must be pooled in the form of euro bonds, or the European Central Bank must become the lender of last resort by buying up massive quantities of sovereign bonds from indebted euro-zone members...Virtually all euro-zone members have thrown their support behind one of those two antidotes. Germany, though, has firmly opposed both. Berlin fears that massive ECB bond purchases could significantly drive up inflation (indeed, it evokes fears of 1920s hyperinflation in the country) and sacrifice the independence of the Frankfurt institution, which was modelled after the German central bank, the Bundesbank, that for decades served as guardian of the highly stable deutsche mark. And it's opposition to euro bonds? SPIEGEL ONLINE provides an overview of the most important reasons...

[Demeter]

68. Sarkozy, Merkel agree to stop sniping on ECB crisis

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/24/us-eurozone-idUSTRE7AM0VR20111124

France and Germany agreed on Thursday to stop arguing in public over whether the European Central Bank should do more to rescue the euro zone from a deepening sovereign debt crisis.

President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti that they trusted the independent central bank and would not touch its inflation-fighting mandate when they propose changes of the European Union's treaty to achieve closer fiscal union.

They also demonstrated their backing for Monti, an unelected technocrat, to surmount Italy's daunting economic challenges, in contrast to the barely concealed disdain they showed for his predecessor, media billionaire Silvio Berlusconi.

"We all stated our confidence in the ECB and its leaders and stated that in respect of the independence of this essential institution we must refrain from making positive or negative demands of it," Sarkozy told a joint news conference in the eastern French city of Strasbourg...

[Demeter]

71. Why Not Pull the Trigger on Greek Default Swaps?

BECAUSE THEN WE WILL SEE WHO IS SWIMMING NAKED?

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/why-not-pull-the-trigger-on-greek-c-d-s/

The question about why credit-default swaps written on Greek debt will not be triggered by the “voluntary” exchange of private debt that is in the works has been the subject of much recent commentary but little deep analysis.

The basic question is, why not trigger the swaps? And why do some think that the swaps are not apt to be triggered if bondholders hold out and refuse to exchange?

In a corporate exchange offer, you would suspect that the exchange was being done with exit consents. These get the departing bondholders to agree to strip out all the possible default triggers (other than pure failure to pay), making it less likely that a swap would be triggered going forward. But with sovereign debt, such bonds are not apt to have many of those covenants anyway.

The really important issue here centers on why the European Union cares so much about not setting off credit-default swap triggers in this exchange offer. The absurd lengths European leaders are going to in order to make this “voluntary” does raise a few eyebrows. And I have no really compelling explanations. Still, would it be so hard to imagine that the Eurpean Union wants to avoid setting off the swaps because of aggregate exposure among European banks to Greek and other European sovereign debt? For example, what if European banks have all been hedging their sovereign credit-default swaps with each other. If that proves to be the case, a German bank with seemingly modest net exposure to sovereign debts, for example, could really be heavily exposed because the hedge is with a French bank?

************************************

Stephen J. Lubben is the Daniel J. Moore Professor of Law at Seton Hall Law School and an expert on bankruptcy.

[Demeter]

72. GE Filed 57,000-Page Tax Return, Paid No Taxes on $14 Billion in Profits

http://bo.lt/bbomq:74xd9yf5m8

General Electric, one of the largest corporations in America, filed a whopping 57,000-page federal tax return earlier this year but didn't pay taxes on $14 billion in profits. The return, which was filed electronically, would have been 19 feet high if printed out and stacked.

The fact that GE paid no taxes in 2010 was widely reported earlier this year, but the size of its tax return first came to light when House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan (R, Wisc.) made the case for corporate tax reform at a recent townhall meeting. "GE was able to utilize all of these various loopholes, all of these various deductions--it's legal," Ryan said. Nine billion dollars of GE's profits came overseas, outside the jurisdiction of U.S. tax law. GE wasn't taxed on $5 billion in U.S. profits because it utilized numerous deductions and tax credits, including tax breaks for investments in low-income housing, green energy, research and development, as well as depreciation of property.

"I asked the GE tax officer, 'How long was your tax form?'" Ryan said. "He said, 'Well, we file electronically, we don't measure in pages.'" Ryan asked for an estimate, which came back at a stunning 57,000 pages. When Ryan relayed the story at the townhall meeting in Janesville, there were audible gasps from the crowd.

Ken Kies, a tax lawyer who represents GE, confirmed to THE WEEKLY STANDARD the tax return would have been 57,000 pages had it been filed on paper. The size of GE's tax return has more than doubled in the last five years.

[Hotler]

82. FUCKERS! n/t

[mahatmakanejeeves]

73. The Worst Big Bank on Wall Street?

The Worst Big Bank on Wall Street?

By John Reeves

....
In his new book, Exile on Wall Street, {Mike Mayo, a bank analyst who has been covering Wall Street for more than 20 years,} argues that the big Wall Street banks are set up nowadays to take excessive risks, while providing outsized compensation for bankers. And despite numerous though lightly enforced regulations, the federal government is there to bail these institutions out when things go wrong.

Mayo believes that Citigroup, which he describes as the "poster child for the financial industry's problems," provides a perfect example of all that is wrong with our big banks right now. The two chapters that he devotes to Citi are very disturbing.

A dubious track record
Mayo shows us that over the past decade Citi has been "involved in virtually every major financial screw-up, from Enron to WorldCom, to the analyst scandals of the tech bubble, to the mortgage fiasco." And this has cost shareholders a lot of money. Mayo calculates that this dubious track record has resulted in "about $100 billion in pre-tax losses from fines, settlements, reserves, or writedowns from 2001 to 2010."

Perhaps more troubling is that Citi's entire history reveals a similar recklessness. Mayo notes that the company has "come close to failing six times in its history." And on many occasions it has required a federal bailout to remain in business. Sadly, a predictable pattern has emerged during the course of Citi's history. First, it takes excessive risks and then gets into trouble. At that point, the government has to "step in simply so it can survive." Ultimately, new regulations are created, which Citi "grumbles about and then doesn't follow anyway."

[Demeter]

75. As far as I can tell, they are ALL bad

Criminal enterprises, cheating ordinary people on a daily basis.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

81. The money quote:

Too late to edit:

In his testimony, {Mayo} compared financial creativity over the past decade to bad sangria. You had "a lot of cheap ingredients repackaged to sell at a premium. It might taste good for a while, but you get headaches later and you have no idea what's really inside."

[Hotler]

83. More fuckers. n/t

[Demeter]

74. U.S. developing anti-laundering rules for advisers

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/16/financial-laundering-idUSN1E7AF0HN20111116

The U.S. Treasury Department is developing long-awaited anti-money laundering rules for investment advisers and plans to involve the Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators in the process, a senior department official said. James Freis Jr., director of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said regulation of investment advisers in general under the Dodd-Frank Act has progressed sufficiently far that FinCEN can "revisit" the issue, which it put on the back burner in 2008 as it worked on rules for other industries. "FinCEN is currently revisiting the topic of investment advisers, building on the changes to that industry pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, the SEC rules implementing Dodd-Frank and other changes, and is working on a regulatory proposal that would require investment advisers to establish AML (anti-money laundering) programs and report suspicious activity," Freis told a Washington conference on money laundering on Tuesday. "We look forward to working with the SEC as well as the states as we move forward," he said.

FinCEN spokesman Bill Grassano later said he could not specify which entities or professionals -- such as hedge fund managers -- will be considered "investment advisers" for the purposes of the rule. He did say, however, that FinCEN expects to rely on SEC definitions to set a standard. A U.S. regulatory official told Thomson Reuters that the SEC has provided "technical advice" to FinCEN as part of its effort to develop AML rules for investment advisers.

There has long been speculation that FinCEN was waiting to see how Dodd-Frank requirements would be implemented for advisers before developing its own rules. It is expected that investment advisers will eventually have to enact AML programs and report suspicious activity to FinCEN, obligations broker-dealers have had for nearly a decade. In 2008, the Treasury agency withdrew rules that it had proposed in 2002 and 2003 for investment advisers, hedge fund managers and commodity trading advisers. Since then, many have wondered when new proposals would be issued. "This was one of FinCEN's goals in its yearly statement dated December 2010, so we were expecting them to put out something. It has just taken longer than expected," said Betty Santangelo, a partner with New York law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel.

[Hotler]

84. "The U.S. Treasury Department "

Poor thing. Its heart is just not that in to it.

[Demeter]

76. Have a good Friday, All!

I'm off for less-congenial tasks, but WEE will return to yesterday's thread after the screaming dies down...

Maybe start a new one for Saturday? We shall see. Especially if a good theme is suggested (hint, hint).

[Demeter]

77. Have a good Friday, All!

I'm off for less-congenial tasks, but WEE will return to yesterday's thread after the screaming dies down...

Maybe start a new one for Saturday? We shall see. Especially if a good theme is suggested (hint, hint).

[Roland99]

86. Markets close slightly down on the day (at daily lows, though)

everything was down except oil up a bit.

Everyone yanking money out for the black friday stuff? T-bill prices down, stocks down, gold down....