STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, December 5, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday December 5, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 2, 2011

Dow 12,019.42 -0.61 (-0.01%)
Nasdaq 2,626.93 +0.73 (+0.03%)
S&P 500 1,244.28 -0.30 (-0.02%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.09 +0.05 (+2.65%)
30-Year Bond 3.09 +0.06 (+2.05%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Government Issues:
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Handy Links - Videos:
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    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

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

Dec 05 10:00 Factory Orders Oct -0.6% -0.4% 0.3%
Dec 05 10:00 ISM Services Nov 53.0 53.4 52.9

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/12/05-09/#ixzz1fezByuN6

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil rises to near $102 as Iran tensions rise

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose to near $102 a barrel Monday in Asia amid growing tensions between Iran and Western powers and signs the U.S. economy is improving.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 64 cents to $101.60 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 76 cents to settle at $100.96 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude was up 45 cents at $110.39 on the ICE futures exchange.

Tensions have been building for weeks over Iran's nuclear program. The country is the world's third-biggest oil exporter, shipping 2.2 million barrels of crude per day, and escalating sanctions or an armed conflict could threaten exports leaving the Persian Gulf.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. futures gain on Europe progress hopes

MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Wall Street on Monday, driven by optimism over Europe’s debt crisis after Italy announced additional fiscal measures and as investors awaited U.S. economic data.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJ1Z +0.95% rose 115 points, or 1%, to 12,115. Futures for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index SP1Z +0.97% gained 13.70 points, or 1.1%, to 1,257.20.

Nasdaq 100 futures ND1Z +0.98% rose 22 points, or 1%, to 2,325.25.

The Dow DJIA -0.0051% closed up 7% last week, the biggest weekly point gain in three years. The gains followed November data that showed a drop in the U.S. unemployment rate.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-futures-gain-on-europe-progress-hopes-2011-12-05?link=MW_latest_news

[Demeter]

4. Debt Slavery – Why It Destroyed Rome, Why It Will Destroy Us Unless It’s Stopped

http://www.counterpunch.org/2011/12/02/debt-slavery-%E2%80%93-why-it-destroyed-rome-why-it-will-destroy-us-unless-it%E2%80%99s-stopped/

today's history and economics lecture

[Juneboarder]

61. Thank you for today's history/economics lesson!

Quite a concept that history repeats itself. This was a good read; thank you for sharing :)

[Demeter]

5. White House pushes for confirmation of consumer watchdog nominee

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-pushes-for-confirmation-of-consumer-watchdog-nominee/2011/12/04/gIQABLxoTO_story.html

White House officials Sunday issued a new report aimed at ramping up pressure on Senate Republicans to support President Obama’s choice to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as key GOP lawmakers renewed their vow to block any nominee unless broad changes are made to the watchdog agency.

The new push by the Obama administration comes as the full Senate is expected to vote Thursday on the nomination of former Ohio attorney general Richard Cordray to head the CFPB, which opened in July but is blocked from exercising its full authority until a director is confirmed.

Members of the Senate banking committee approved Cordray’s nomination in October in a party-line vote, but 45 of the chamber’s 47 Republicans have penned a letter to Obama pledging to oppose any nominee unless the bureau’s powers are curtailed, a move that all but ensures Cordray will fall short of the 60 votes necessary for confirmation later this week.

In a report released Sunday night, the National Economic Council said the watchdog agency is “hamstrung” because it can’t exercise its full authority in supervising non-bank financial institutions such as payday lenders, credit-reporting agencies and debt collectors...If Cordray’s nomination fails to secure 60 votes in the Senate, Obama could move to appoint him to the position during winter recess. Such a move would be likely to draw the ire of congressional Republicans, who could seek to block Obama by holding brief “pro forma” sessions during the weeks when most lawmakers are away.

[Hotler]

46. Mr. President, if the repugs are going to use pro forma....

to block your nomination force them to stay in Washington during christmas and new years. Make them work till friday the 23rd and report back on the 26th. Same at new years. Show some spine Mr. President.

[Demeter]

6. Economy Avoiding ‘Death Spiral’ Boosts Bullish Fund Wagers in Commodities

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-04/economy-avoiding-death-spiral-boosts-bullish-fund-wagers-commodities.html

Hedge funds boosted wagers on higher commodity prices for the first time in three weeks as the outlook for the U.S. economy improved.

Money managers increased combined bullish positions across 18 U.S. futures and options by 0.7 percent to 566,494 contracts in the week ended Nov. 29, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Investors trimmed their bearish holdings in copper for the first time in four weeks, and pared bets on lower wheat and soybean prices.

The value of world equities rose more than $2.2 trillion last week as the MSCI All-Country World Index climbed for five consecutive days, the longest rally since October. The Federal Reserve and five other central banks made it easier and cheaper for banks to obtain dollars in emergencies and China, the biggest consumer of everything from energy to copper to soybeans, lowered banks’ reserve requirements for the first time since 2008. The U.S. jobless rate fell to a two-year low in November.

“We’re more on a moderate growth path, not the death spiral people feared two months ago,” said Michael Strauss, who helps oversee about $27 billion of assets as the chief investment strategist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut. “That puts a little bit more support into commodities.”

UH-HUH, SURE, WHATEVER

[Demeter]

7. Italy’s Leader Unveils Radical Austerity Measures

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/world/europe/mario-monti-of-italy-calls-cabinet-to-consider-austerity-measures.html

Telling Italians that the fate of their country and the euro was at stake, Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a radical and ambitious package of spending cuts and tax increases on Sunday, including deeply unpopular moves like raising the country’s retirement age...Mr. Monti’s proposals include reintroducing an unpopular property tax that Mr. Berlusconi abolished in 2008 to fulfill a campaign promise. The new measures would also prohibit cash transactions above 1,000 euros ($1,340), in the hope of making tax evasion harder; raise the country’s value-added tax by two points to 23 percent starting in September; and give incentives to businesses to hire new workers.

The country’s new welfare minister, Elsa Fornero, a pension expert, choked with emotion at the news conference as she explained how Italians would be asked to sacrifice today in order to make the pension system less “arbitrary” and “more equitable” for future generations.

The standard retirement age, now 60 for many women and 65 for most men, would quickly rise to 62 and 66, with incentives to keep working until age 70; the standard age for women would eventually rise to match that for men. Pensions would be based on the number of years of contributions, not on the worker’s salary at the time of retirement, as is common now...

The measures are meant to slash the cost of government, combat tax evasion and step up economic growth, so the country can eliminate its budget deficit by 2013. Mr. Monti took the steps in an emergency decree, which means they will take effect before he presents them to Parliament for formal approval...The hope is that they will take some of the market pressure off Italy, whose borrowing costs have been pushed up in recent weeks to levels that have led other European countries to seek bailouts; once Italy has shown it is committed to austerity, the European Union can move ahead with broader plans to shore up the euro.

[Po_d Mainiac]

38. Will (Three Card) Monti be the first

Goldmanite to get a rope burn around his neck?

Story at Eleven :popcorn:

[Demeter]

40. Works for me!

But those Italians put up with Berlusconi for 20+ years...why should they lift a finger?

[AnneD]

59. But at least Berlusconi...

had entertainment value. Admit it, we all take secret delight in watching our politicians make jack asses out of themselves. And wasn't it Belusconi that stabbed by a lady with statue of some sort.

Now we are being screwed over by technocrates. If I were the Italians, I would be keeping an eye on my gold.

[Hotler]

47. +1 n/t

[Demeter]

8. Germany ready to shift on ESM bondholder losses

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/04/uk-eurozone-esm-germany-idUKTRE7B30Q320111204

Germany is prepared to soften language in the euro zone's permanent bailout mechanism compelling bondholders to accept losses, in exchange for much stricter budget rules, four sources have told Reuters.

The shift would not completely remove the possibility of private bondholders having to accept losses in the future, but it would align the statutes of the European Stability Mechanism more closely with IMF rules, creating a level playing field for private buyers of euro zone sovereign debt.

While acknowledging movement in Germany's position, a senior euro zone source emphasised that it depended on securing agreement among the 17 euro zone countries on stricter budget oversight, sanctions for those that miss macroeconomic targets and the possibility of taking transgressors to court.

The source said private sector involvement (PSI) -- the ability to have banks and insurance companies share losses when a sovereign defaults or restructures its debt -- would not disappear from the ESM, "but the wording could be eased."

[Demeter]

9. Fed may give loans to IMF to help euro zone

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/04/us-eurozone-imf-fed-idUSTRE7B30X320111204

The Federal Reserve, along with the 17 euro zone national central banks, may help provide the International Monetary Fund with funds that could be used to aid debt-ridden states, a German newspaper said.

Die Welt cited sources close to the negotiations as saying the euro zone central banks could pay at least 100 billion euros ($134.2 billion) into a special fund that could be used for programs for nations struggling to control their debts.

"Also other central banks, for example the U.S. Federal Reserve, are apparently prepared to finance a part of the costs," the paper said in an advance copy of an article to appear on Monday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner may discuss the idea in the coming weeks when he visits Europe, the paper said.

[Demeter]

10. Euro Governments Consider Special IMF Fund

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-04/euro-governments-consider-creation-of-imf-fund-welt-reports.html

The governments of the 17-nation euro zone are considering giving hundreds of billions of euros to the International Monetary Fund in order to end the sovereign-debt crisis, Die Welt reported, citing sources close to the negotiations.

“Triple-digit billions” will be paid into the fund which would then finance rescue programs for some countries, according to Welt. Other central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve are also said to be willing to contribute and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner will fly to Europe this week to meet with politicians and bankers, Welt said.

[Demeter]

11. Geithner headed to Europe to meet with Sarkozy and key officials

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/12/timothy-geithner-nicolas-sarkozy.html

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner will head to Europe next week to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, new Italian leader Mario Monti, and other key government officials to discuss their efforts to resolve the debt crisis

Geithner, who has been urging European leaders to take more forceful action, will travel there for three days beginning Tuesday "for discussions with his counterparts on their efforts to reinforce the institutions in the Euro area," the Treasury Department said Friday.

In addition to meetings with Monti and Sarkozy, a key player along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in trying to address the European debt crisis, Geithner will meet with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Jens Weidmann, president of Germany's central bank.

Geithner also has meetings scheduled with the finance ministers of Germany and France, as well as with Mariano Rajoy Brey, the prime minister-elect of Spain...

EXTEND AND PRETEND IS NOT "RESOLVING THE DEBT CRISIS"

[Hotler]

48. Fuck the IMF. Let the collapse happen.

The sooner it happens the sooner we can start to rebuild and move on.

[AnneD]

62. I have finally wrapped my head around this fact....

no amount of austerity and now amount of wealth we could ever create would bring the world back into solvency.

I think I am a person of average intelligence, and affinity for science and the technical. I have listened to Kieser and Matheson for over a year and the ramifications finally truly sunk in this weekend. This debt is leveraged way too much. Paying this off will only cause more leveraging. Because of the way these risks were packaged in the investments, no one, and I do mean no one will know how much exposure they have until it blows up.

Here is an example that I hope will make it clear. CAUTION: do not read this if you have just had lunch or breakfast. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Someone once explained that derivatives sold as investment vehicles was akin to sausage. You name it and it was sliced, diced, chopped and ground up was stuffed into this derivative sausage. This mortgage for a half a million dollar house sold to a hair dresser in Las Vegas, an $250k house to a chemical engineer in Texas, a Yacht note from a billionaire in the Florida Keys, a city Municipal bond to pay for construction of a new water treatment plant. All of these were used to make this derivative sausage. Now some of this was what in the old days would be called a safe bet. A chemical engineer in Texas would have no problem paying on a loan and a city bond is a fairly safe bet. A billionaire could probably pay for a yacht. But the hair dresser in Vegas, not so good.

Now suppose this sausage went on sale. Everyone said it was the best sausage they every had and folks started buying it. There was such a clamor to get it. People had to take numbers and stand in line. Folks that got their sausage found that there were folks willing to buy what they had at a price + a premium. Everyone was happy until.......

someone found a dead rat body parts in the sausage (maybe our hair dresser in Vegas or our billionaire that went bust when he invested heavily in MF Global-good luck there). So, to quote Dirty Harry-"Do you feel lucky punk."

You are holding this sausage. Is is clean or will you find an ear, a tail, or God forbid, an entire rat in your sausage. You will not know until you examine the contents of you sausage. And if there is a rat in your sausage what can you do. The butcher said it was good sausage, Kosher even (a food item can be 10% impure and still be labeled Kosher-and there are many that are not aware of that-but I digress). The company that made it will not give a refund, the butcher that sold it will not take it back and no one wants to buy it from you. You have no way of knowing what is in your sausage until you open it up. Now you have to eat soon because you are hungry. What will you do?

And that my friends is where we stand. We are about to cut into the sausage. Maybe just a small portion of your sausage is bad, maybe the whole thing is contaminated, but either way, you will never see sausage in the same light again.

[Hotler]

72. Too bad we don't have a real leader, a real world leader...

One that had enough guts and backbone to point fingers. Alan Grayson is the only one I know that might have a chance at taking on the banksters, but we don't have time to wait for him. This is President Obama's job. He should have been pissed off and fighting mad two years ago. Putting the crooks in jail would have been the right thing to do Mr. President.

[xchrom]

12. morning...morning...morning...

monday morning:donut:

[Tansy_Gold]

15. yeah. whatever

:donut:

[xchrom]

19. ...

:spray: exactly!

[Roland99]

20. How about a happy pic for Monday???

[xchrom]

22. wow -- is that your wedding?

and that is a very, very happy picture!

[Roland99]

25. that was right after we sat at our table at the reception

started a very very very short food fight with another table :)

[xchrom]

26. well your happiness is catching -- that's a wonderful picture

:applause: congratulations!

[AnneD]

63. I was hoping you would post pics today.....

what a happy pic. Thought about you guys this weekend. Congrats again.

edited to add: Hubby and I got married on the December Solstice. It has worked out very well.

[Tansy_Gold]

27. Very, very nice.

May you both always be as happy as in that moment.

[DemReadingDU]

31. Congratulations!

Nice photo!
And may you always live happily everafter.

[Po_d Mainiac]

39. Very nice!

Cept for that thing around u'r neck. Don'tchaknow those things cause hernia's!

[Demeter]

42. omg! What a beautiful couple!

Today is the start of a very good thing!

[Fuddnik]

50. Congratulations!

May you live happily ever after.

[Roland99]

21. Just thought I'd post that...y'all have fun with the bulls and bears today

see y'all tomorrow!

[Ghost Dog]

52. Cool.

:thumbsup:

[Demeter]

41. I had to go back to bed in order to understand today's cartoon

I don't know which is worse, the week or the weekend.

At least it isn't snowing. It is STILL raining, though. Impossible to get Christmas spirit in a time of flood...no matter how much Xmas music we rehearsed yesterday.

[xchrom]

43. STILL raining?!?! FEH!

i'm fed up with it for you.

[xchrom]

13. europe: Iceland Bank to Sell Eurobonds for First Time Since Crash

http://sfgate.ldc.bloomberg.wallst.com/SFChronicle/Story?docId=1376-LVJ6TN0UQVI901-2134T368D9JM2GJNIIDNELB3TK

(Updates with Kaupthing creditors’ report in 10th paragraph.)

Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Arion Bank hf, the state-created successor of failed Kaupthing Bank hf, is planning its first international bond sale just three years after the island’s biggest lenders defaulted on $85 billion.

The bank, based in Reykjavik, wants to fund itself via debt markets outside Iceland’s borders within the next 12 months, said Hoskuldur H. Olafsson, Arion’s chief executive officer.

“The outlook for tapping into the international debt markets is positive,” Olafsson said in an interview. “We’ve focused on maintaining the relationship we have with investors and on organizing the bank as a credible institution. We’ve made good progress and we believe that we might take steps in that direction sooner rather than later.”

Kaupthing, which was Iceland’s biggest bank before it failed in October 2008, is still trying to repay about $25 billion in creditor claims. The government’s decision three years ago to take control of Iceland’s domestic banking system and leave international creditors in the lurch protected the state from obligations that dwarfed the $12 billion economy.

[xchrom]

23. Economic crisis tests Italy's luxury market

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-italy-luxury-20111205,0,4589800.story


Sara Cassetta is a painter at Ubaldo Grazia, a 500-year-old ceramics maker in Italy that has seen business plummet. (Don Lee, Los Angeles Times / November 14, 2011)

Reporting from Deruta, Italy—
"It's been a disaster, a disaster," bellows Ubaldo Grazia.

The owner of his family's 500-year-old ceramics business isn't talking about the financial meltdown in his country or the Eurozone debt crisis, but the weak U.S. economy that he said had cost him one customer after another. Saks, Tiffany, Nieman Marcus, Williams-Sonoma — his list goes on.

Grazia's company, now in its 25th generation, is one of dozens of ceramics makers struggling in this picturesque medieval town known for its handcrafted pottery. Business has fallen so low — down to just five painters from 75 a few years ago — that he's worried about whether it will make it to the 26th generation.

A half-hour's drive away in central Italy's Umbria, in the hilltop village of Solomeo, Brunello Cucinelli seems a picture of contentment inside his 14th century castle, headquarters for his thriving cashmere clothing company named after himself.

[xchrom]

24. Spain losing the roof over its head

http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/1242441-spain-losing-roof-over-its-head

They are not beggars, or junkies, or “undocumented” immigrants. They are the “homeless”, and they are spreading like wildfire throughout the Spanish landscape. They have lost their jobs, their house, their furniture, their illusions, their hope. Instead, they live with a debt clinging to their ankles, one that will drag along after them for the rest of their lives.

Paradoxical as it may seem, the worst is not to be without a home, but what comes after the foreclosure. “I’m condemned for life to have no property in my name. I cannot collect a salary, or have a telephone contract, or buy a car, or pay rent if I don’t want them to come after me for the debt”, laments Elena Parrondo, sitting next to her husband in their flat in the Madrid suburb of Meco that they’re about to lose.

The only crime this middle-class couple have committed is to become unemployed. Her husband had a good salary in a construction job, but was dismissed in November 2010. Then came the day when this 42-year-old woman, unable to feed her four children, took a difficult decision: to stop paying the mortgage.

“On February 11, I didn’t even have the money to buy bread. With the €1,000 in unemployment benefits, we couldn’t afford the mortgage on the flat, which was €680. We weighed it up very carefully, and stopped paying the bill,” she explains, not with aplomb. Her attempts to renegotiate with the bank failed. Since then, she’s been living with an eviction order hanging over her head.

[Ghost Dog]

49. Yah don't say.

... Problems in getting bad tenants or tenants who have cash flow problems out means that many people are loath to let out their properties and thousands stand empty. Added to those people who find it impossible to pay the monthly rent are the professional debtors who work the system and know that they can spend over a year in a property without paying before they are evicted. The new Ley de Medidas de Agilización Procesal (law to speed up cases measures) is supposed to force a more reasonable and shorter time as to when the debtor has to leave the property.

The 2009 express eviction law made sweeping changes to the way these cases were handled. Apart from halving the time required between notification and the request for a court case, it also gave landlords the right to post a debtor’s notice on the court notice board if the tenant did not receive (or deliberately dodged receiving) the court order. If the debtor didn’t appear in court on the day set, another date had to be set. The 2009 law changed all that and if the debtor didn’t show up a date for eviction would be set and the debtor was served with the eviction notice within six days. The notice fixed the day and the hour when the property had to be left.

The law meant an improvement, but it wasn’t as successful as it was expected to be and it can till take six months or more from the demand for payment to eviction. The main reason has been the crisis and the increase in cases which have meant that thousands of families have been unable to meet their rental obligations. More cases, but the same number of judges means that delays remain similar to two years ago.

The new process does not require a judge to be involved. The demand is presented and the tenant is given 10 days to pay up, leave the property or present a counter claim to explain why they haven’t paid. The notification is the only requirement before the eviction notice is processed it also contains the day and the time the eviction will take place. If the tenants claim a reason for non-payment and it is not considered reasonable, the original time and date of eviction is maintained and the process for reclaiming the debt owed can continue even if the property is abandoned...

/... http://www.islandconnections.eu/1000003/1000008/0/34853/business-article.html

Edit: Unemployment, and it is long-term unemployment, is around 30% in the Canary Islands.

[xchrom]

55. unempolyment in spain is huge period.

honestly -- i don't know what they are going to do.

and we're talking about an other wise very vibrant place.

[xchrom]

14. asia: China's thin margin for error in property policies

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/04/financial/f215319S47.DTL&type=business

China's attempts to deflate its property bubble come at a perilous time.

Fears that the euro might collapse, unleashing a tsunami of financial and economic disruptions around the globe, have added urgency to concerns that China's campaign to cool overheated housing prices may go too far.

As economic growth wanes, Beijing has begun easing tight credit policies meant to cool inflation but China's leaders are also insisting there is no leeway for loosening curbs on the housing sector.

"The decision has been made that there will be no more property bubble," said Andy Xie, an independent economist based in Shanghai.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/12/04/financial/f215319S47.DTL#ixzz1ffCcXpqj

[xchrom]

16. Capital spending plummets 9.8% {japan}

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20111203a2.html

Capital spending by firms fell 9.8 percent in the three months through September for the second straight quarterly fall amid uncertain prospects for the economy, the government said Friday.

Third-quarter business investment by all industries, excluding the financial and insurance sectors, for such purposes as building new facilities and introducing equipment, stood at ¥8.62 trillion, the Finance Ministry said. On a quarterly basis, the spending slowed a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent from the April-June period.

The result is a key component for the government to revise gross domestic product figures in the third quarter, with analysts mixed, pointing to possible upward and downward revisions. Revised data will be released Dec. 9.

Capital spending among manufactures fell 1.6 percent, led by food processors and carmakers among other industries. Steelmakers noted uncertainty surrounding the outlook for demand for their products.

[xchrom]

28. Nikkei builds on last week's gains, Italy eyed

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/05/markets-japan-stocks-idUSL3E7N518V20111205

TOKYO, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The Nikkei stock average
edged higher on Monday to build on last week's hefty gains,
helped by improved sentiment towards the European debt crisis
although uncertainty about how markets will assess Italy's new
austerity plan capped the upside.
In Europe, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti is set to
present his 30 billion euro austerity package to parliament on
Monday, as French and German leaders meet in Paris to hammer out
a proposal for further fiscal integration across the currency
bloc.
"On the face of it, the Italy news doesn't seem bad for
markets, but Japanese investors need to see the reaction of
European and U.S. markets to the plan before they can confirm
that it's good news," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at
Jujiya Securities.
"The 30 billion euro amount, is it too much, too little, or
just right? We need to see what the market thinks of it," he
added.

[Demeter]

17. China Signals Reluctance to Rescue E.U. MUST READ

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/05/business/global/china-signals-reluctance-to-rescue-eu.html?_r=1

The Chinese government over the weekend sought to tamp down international expectations that Beijing might use its large financial reserves to help ease the European debt crisis.

The two government agencies that control the reserves face heavy restrictions on their use, Chinese government officials and economists said.

“The argument that China should rescue Europe does not stand, as reserves are not managed that way,” China’s vice minister for foreign affairs, Fu Ying, said in comments prominently reported by the state news media over the weekend.

Ms. Fu’s statements were significant because Chinese diplomats and political leaders had been less publicly hostile to the idea of helping Europe than Chinese economic policy makers, who had been strongly opposed...

[xchrom]

29. +1

[Demeter]

18. Mort Zuckerman: How to tackle America’s lost decade

News that the US unemployment rate has fallen 0.4 percentage points and that we have created 120,000 jobs is better tidings than of late, but we need to do much better: just to match population growth we need to create at least 150,000 jobs a month.

For hiring to occur at a pace that would support recovery, we would need at least 500,000 more hires per month. Instead, payrolls today are more than 7m shy of where they were when the Great Recession began.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/4RNQTT/PFG2G2/JQU4J/C4K1CV/B5QLQ9/AZ/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=5

[xchrom]

30. PRECIOUS-Gold dips, investors cautious before euro zone summit

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/05/markets-precious-idUSL5E7N51GJ20111205

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Gold prices dipped on Monday, after posting their sharpest weekly rise in more than a month, in cautious trading ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders to come up with a firm plan to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.

The two-year-old debt crisis has not only pushed a few euro zone nations to the brink of bankruptcy, but also threatened to split the single currency bloc and shake the global economy.

French President Nicholas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will meet to align their positions on closer fiscal integration of the region, before a European Central Bank meeting and a European Union summit later in the week.

"I think politicians across the board recognise there is a huge issue here that needs sorting out. Whether Europe can deliver is still an open question," said Natixis analyst Nic Brown. "There is likely to be a fair amount of volatility on the political front this week."

[xchrom]

32. The Absurd Zombie Lie About the Economy Right-Wingers Desperately Cling To --

http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/153217/the_absurd_zombie_lie_about_the_economy_right-wingers_desperately_cling_to_--_and_why_it%27s_totally_wrong/

The Absurd Zombie Lie About the Economy Right-Wingers Desperately Cling To -- And Why It's Totally Wrong

Wall Street turned a few million home-loans into what Warren Buffet called "economic weapons of mass destruction," cratered the global economy and then, when the bubble burst, turned around and insisted on a massive bailout courtesy of the American tax-payer.

That rightly infuriated most Americans, but it has nonetheless become something of an article of faith among conservatives that Wall Street bears little blame for the Great Recession. The dominant narrative on the right today is that "big government" is ultimately responsible for the crash. In the words of one of Andrew Breitbart's bloggers, Democratic lawmakers like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd “brought down the banking industry by forcing banks to give loans to people who couldn’t afford them.”

That such a ludicrous claim could gain such wide traction is a testament to the intellectual debasement of modern conservative discourse. No bank was ever “forced” – or coerced or incentivized by the government in any way – to make a bad loan.

But the claim falls apart even before one digs into the particulars, for the simple reason that people's mortgages didn't bring down the banking system in the first place.

[Hotler]

53. +1 n/t

[xchrom]

33. south asia: India in bind, may delay coming of foreign retail

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_INDIA_RETAIL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-05-06-45-19

MUMBAI, India (AP) -- Stock prices of Indian retailers plunged Monday after a key coalition ally and opposition politicians said the government had put on hold its decision to throw open the country's huge retail sector to foreign investors, in a potentially damaging setback for India's beleaguered ruling party.

The government has not officially announced a change in its policy on foreign direct investment, but a reversal would be an embarrassment for the ruling Congress party, which has been scrambling to reassert its leadership and kick-start investment in the deteriorating economy.

The government's failure to clarify its position wreaked havoc with shares of Indian retailers, which earlier had risen on hopes they would enter joint ventures with foreign retailers. Jittery investors drove shares in Pantaloon Retail down 12.9 percent and Treat closed down 3.3 percent.

The furor over whether to allow chains such as Wal-Mart to open supermarkets in major cities has deadlocked Parliament, with many politicians slamming the decision as a job killer for India's small retail shops. Proponents say it would bring needed investment into India's infrastructure that would result in higher incomes for farmers through less waste of their produce and cutting out the middleman. Greater competition and efficiency would benefit consumers by keeping retail prices down.

[xchrom]

35. India may face its worst financial crisis in decades as rupee retreats

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/India-may-face-its-worst-financial-crisis-in-decades-as-rupee-retreats/articleshow/10993042.cms

MUMBAI: India may face its worst financial crisis in decades if it fails to stem a slide in the rupee, leaving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with a difficult choice over how to make best use of its limited reserves to maintain the confidence of foreign investors.

If the RBI is too timid, it risks adding fuel to the ire of portfolio investors, which India relies on heavily to cover its imports tab.

Aggressive intervention would leave the central bank open to criticism that it is wasting precious money on problems that are beyond India's control anyhow, noteably Europe's debt crisis.

Unlike most of its Asian peers, India has recently been running large current account and fiscal deficits. That means it must attract sufficient foreign money -- namely US dollars -- to close the gap, and a weaker home currency makes that costlier.

[xchrom]

36. Sensex down 41pts on profit-booking despite firm global trend

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-down-41pts-on-profit-booking-despite-firm-global-trend/articleshow/10993234.cms

MUMBAI: Snapping 3-day gaining streak, the BSE sensex fell over 41 points today to 16,805.33 in volatile trading as investors booked profits, after strong gains made last week, despite a positive trend in global markets.

Metals, consumer durables, FMCG, realty and pharma stocks fell, while power and capital goods counters attracted buyeres that restricted the fall.

ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, RIL and Tata Steel fell on profit booking, while while NTPC, Jaiprakash Associates, BHEL, SBI and Hindalco made gains.

Brokers attributed profit-selling mood partly to market holiday tomorrow on account of "Moharum".

[xchrom]

37. Gold ends steady in thin trade, silver up on industrial demand

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Gold-ends-steady-in-thin-trade-silver-up-on-industrial-demand/articleshow/10992366.cms

NEW DELHI: Gold prices held steady at Rs 29,440 per 10 gram on Monday, while silver edged up by Rs 60 to Rs 56,460 per kg on industrial demand.

The market remained steady in the absence of any worthwhile moving factors, as stockists and jewellers refrained from enlarging their positions.

Despite the ongoing marriage season, jewellers and retail customers adopted 'wait-and-watch' policy on hopes of a correction in the gold prices that are trading at record levels.

Gold of 99.9 and 99.5% purity held steady at Rs 29,440 and Rs 29,300 per 10 grams, respectively. Sovereigns also traded at last level of Rs 23,3500 per piece of eight grams.

[xchrom]

34. Biden: US 'stands in solidarity' with Greece

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_BIDEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-05-06-55-00

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Greek political leaders Monday his government is "standing with you in solidarity," at the start of a crucial week for the future of the debt-saddled eurozone.

Biden, who traveled from Turkey, met with President Karolos Papoulias before starting talks with new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and leaders of the main parties backing the country's new coalition government.

"It is overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States that Greece work its way through this financial crisis and that it remain a strong and vital part of the European Union," Biden said before beginning talks with Papademos.

Last week, the United States joined a coordinated effort by global central banks to provide relief to banks in the eurozone.


*** great. just great.:eyes: what about the people?

[xchrom]

44. World on brink of one more recession, says UN

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/World-on-brink-of-one-more-recession-says-UN/articleshow/10964788.cms

United Nations: The United Nations has warned that the world is on the brink of another recession, projecting that global economic growth will slow down further in 2012 and even emerging powerhouses like India and China, which led the recovery last time, will get bogged down.

The UN 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012' report has cut the global growth forecast for next year to 2.6% from 4% in 2010. It has called 2012 a "make-or-break " year for the global economy, which will face a "muddlethrough" scenario and continue to grow at a slow pace.

"Following two years of anaemic and uneven recovery from the global financial crisis, the world economy is teetering on the brink of another major downturn," the UN report said, warning that "the risks for a double-dip recession have heightened" .

The report said the failure of policymakers, especially those in Europe and the United States, to address the jobs crisis , prevent sovereign debt distress and escalation of financial sector fragility poses the most acute risk for the global economy in 2012-2013 .
Growth in developing countries like India and China, which had stoked the engine of the world economy so far, will also slow down to 5.6% in 2012 from 7.5% in 2010.

[xchrom]

45. Euro zone and China signal sharp global slowdown

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/euro-zone-and-china-signal-sharp-global-slowdown/articleshow/10993596.cms

LONDON: Europe's debt crisis might have pushed its economy into a far steeper contraction than anyone thought and growth in China is sputtering, according to surveys that point to a sharp global slowdown taking place.

Even though there are fresh signs the US economy is perking up, business surveys on Monday were mainly downbeat and confirmed the economic toll of the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

They come at the start of a week that could prove crucial in resolving a debt crisis which threatens to tear apart Europe's common currency area, something that would have catastrophic implications for the global economy.

The euro zone's composite purchasing managers index (PMI), while improving slightly month-on-month in November, still tallied with a 0.6 percent quarterly rate of decline for the last three months of this year.

[Fuddnik]

51. Chuckle for the day.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x825821

[Hotler]

54. I have no hope. I see no future. eom.

[AnneD]

57. Fudd!!!!!

How many times have I told you to keep your hands out of the crazy.

I'm sorry, but that is just plain crazy talk. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

Those folks espousing that nonsense are like turkeys that drown during a rainfall. When the mata really hits the fan, they will be clueless and not have the sense to shut their mouth when it come flying in their direction.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/turkey.asp

[Fuddnik]

60. You're confusing turkeys with Pennsylvanians.

That was the rule at the railroad.

"How do you tell if a boss is from Pennsylvania?"

You say "Look at all the seagulls".

They open their mouth and stare up at the sky.

[Po_d Mainiac]

64. Thems wasn't seagulls

Them be 'dump ducks'....Unless there's a fast food joint around....then they be chickens.

And if the dump duck did what dump ducks do.... and the one looking up yells for toilet paper...you calmly explain that it won't be of any use. The bird is at least a half mile away by now.

[AnneD]

67. You guys have me in stitches...

Dump Ducks, Sea Gulls. :spray: We have Pigeons and Grackles,_Sea Gulls when a sea storm blows in. Trash cans are box lunches for Possums, Skunks, and assorted strays.

[AnneD]

56. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: and lurkers. The move was a success. We managed to move the RV to a storage space ($45 vs $600+). We have an apartment at $250 a month. We have already felt the savings and will be paying off Hubby's credit card charges to India this month. Other remaining debts will be paid off in short order (our van and some personal loans). I may even pay my retirement buy back early-one can only hope. I have owed for so long I can't imagine what it will be like to have a paycheck free and clear. We are very excited.

Hubby apologized for hauling in all the boxes into the living room and bed room. It looks like we live in box canyon, or at least an episode of The Hoarders. I told him that every time I look at those boxes, I see over $600). But I went through 3 boxes yesterday on top of doing the weekly laundry, cooking etc. I have a goal of at least one box a week day and 3 per weekend. We should reclaim our home by the end of December.

There is so much going on in the financial world. They have kicked the can so far down the road for so long that we are now in the dark alley and can kick the can no more. This just isn't a Depression, it is a total paradigm shift we are facing. While it seems I have no say in the way our government chooses to handle this, I can be responsible for my individual actions and hope that others adopt a more just and sharing attitude. The US is still rich in resources, but we need to use them more wisely. We need to stop the wholesale theft of these resources and our treasury if we are to have any kind of decent future for ourselves and our grandchildren.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Hotler]

58. kicking. n/t

[Demeter]

65. NOW it's snowing

Little flakes. I have no hope, I see no future.

[Hotler]

73. We had snow thurs-Sun. It's only about 5 degrees out now...

-1 tonight. Brrrrrrrrrr! So cold the neighbors cat came in to sleep on my couch. Sometimes I let him think he owns the place. All he does is use me. That's what cat do isn't it?

[DemReadingDU]

66. @BloombergNews - S&P said to place all 17 euro nations on rating downgrade watch

edit to add ZeroHedge link

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/rumor-meet-news-sp-put-all-17-euro-nations-downgrade-watch

[DemReadingDU]

68. S&P Statement

12/5/11 Here Comes The S&P Downgrade Barrage - Full Statement, In Which S&P Says France May Get Two Notch Downgrade

From S&P: "Standard & Poor's Ratings Services today placed its long-term sovereign ratings on 15 members of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU or eurozone) on CreditWatch with negative implications. .. We expect to conclude our review of eurozone sovereign ratings as soon as possible following the EU summit scheduled for Dec. 8 and 9, 2011. Depending on the score changes, if any, that our rating committees agree are appropriate for each sovereign, we believe that ratings could be lowered by up to one notch for Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and by up to two notches for the other governments. "

more...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/here-comes-sp-downgrade-barrage

[Fuddnik]

69. Good thing Geithner is on his way over there.

He knows how to fix this stuff!

[AnneD]

70. What is it girl...

little Timmy has fallen down the well you say.

1950's: Someone gets a rope and pulls him out.
2011's: Bernanke dumps trillions of dollars into the well hoping to fill the well so little Timmy can climb out. :eyes:

[plumbob]

71. While someone else has tunneled into the well and is removing the cash

while ignoring Timmy.

[AnneD]

75. That is next weeks episode....

thanks for the laugh. :rofl:

[Hotler]

74. Stand back! This festering sore is about to pop. eom.