STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, December 8, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, December 8, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 7, 2011

Dow 12,196.37 +46.24 (+0.38%)
Nasdaq 2,649.21 -0.35 (-0.01%)
S&P 500 1,261.01 +2.54 (+0.20%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.05 +0.01 (+0.59%)
30-Year Bond 3.07 +0.00 (+0.13%)

---

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

---

Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

---

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 08 08:30 Initial Claims 12/03 400K 395K 402K
Dec 08 08:30 Continuing Claims 11/26 3700K 3700K 3740K
Dec 08 10:00 Wholesale Inventories Oct 0.2% 0.2% -0.1%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/12/05-09/#ixzz1fwbDC8Be

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil inches to near $102 ahead of EU debt summit

SINGAPORE – Oil prices inched higher to near $102 a barrel Thursday in Asia ahead of an interest rate decision in Europe and a crucial summit on the continent's debt crisis.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 38 cents to $100.87 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 79 cents to settle at $100.49 on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude was up 30 cents at $109.84 on the ICE futures exchange.

European leaders will meet later Thursday to discuss possible spending targets and ways to enforce them in a bid to lower the debt levels of countries such as Greece and Italy and restore investor confidence. Some analysts expect the European Central Bank to lower interest rates to help spur lending and economic growth.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Decline as Investors Await ECB Interest-Rate Decision

U.S. stock futures retreated as investors awaited announcements from European leaders and the region’s central bank on measures to avert a recession and to lay the foundations for fiscal union in the euro area.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring this month declined 0.1 percent to 1,262.2 at 6:58 a.m. in New York. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 3 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 12,211. The Dow rose to its highest level since October yesterday amid optimism that the leaders of the European Union will announce further efforts to halt the sovereign-debt crisis at a summit in Brussels that starts today.

“We need a political big bang,” said Jacques Porta, a fund manager at Ofi Patrimoine in Paris, who helps oversee about $400 million. “The expectations are very high and if we don’t get a strong decision, we’re facing chaos. Investors want the ECB to intervene.”

European Central Bank policy makers meeting in Frankfurt will cut the benchmark interest rate to 1 percent from 1.25 percent, according to 53 of 58 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. They may also loosen collateral criteria to give banks greater access to cheap cash and offer longer-term loans, said three euro-area officials with knowledge of the bank’s deliberations.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/u-s-stock-futures-are-little-changed-as-investors-await-ecb-announcement.html

[Demeter]

8. Oh, Yeah! A Quarter % Will Fix EVERYTHING!

and I won't even have to think about the Weekend....because there will be nothing to post...

I was looking for a topic, and thought Dante's Hell might be a good one...in keeping with the times, if not the season.

If you've got an alternate, I would dearly like to know. Also, It's Euchre Friday...so be prepared!

[Ghost Dog]

4. EU "Summit Optimism" (Reuters)

Optimism that policymakers would successfully address the euro zone debt crisis, and last week's announcement that coordinated central banks action would provide cheaper dollar funding for European banks, has helped boost investor confidence...

... The European Central Bank is expected to cut rates to 1 percent and unveil a new package of bank aid on Thursday, with markets also watching for any hint it will intensify its bond buying support. The ECB decision is expected at 1245 GMT.

France and Germany are to sound out European leaders about their plan to defuse the euro zone's debt crisis, eager to rally support before a high-stakes EU summit. The plans include tougher budget discipline. "There's anticipation of something solid, good news. You don't want to be short in case France and Germany put something significant together," said Yusuf Heusen, sales trader at IG Index...

... Strategists said the market was also pricing in the ECB starting quantitative easing... Jeremy Batstone-Carr, strategist at Charles Stanley, said the market could fall 6 percent if the ECB did not indicate it would print money and only "vague platitudes" emerged from the summit.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/markets-europe-stocks-idUKL5E7N813W20111208

Reuters Factbox - German-French and EU proposals for Euro zone


G'Morning! ;(

[DemReadingDU]

11. ECB cuts rates to record low on recession fears

12/8/11 ECB cuts rates to record low on recession fears

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a point on Thursday to counter the twin threats of recession and deflation in the euro zone, and is expected to unveil fresh measures to help banks hurt by the bloc's debt crisis.

The widely expected rate cut, back to a record low of 1 percent, came hours before a high-stakes EU summit which will aim to agree on a plan to defuse the crisis, with France and Germany pushing for rule changes to stricter budget discipline in the bloc.

The ECB, which euro zone officials say has been closely involved in drafting plans for tighter fiscal integration in the bloc, has pressed governments to toughen their budget rules and signaled it could do more to tackle the crisis if they deliver.

ECB President Mario Draghi hinted last week the bank could take stronger action - maybe by buying euro zone government bonds more aggressively - if European leaders agree on tighter budget controls.

The rate cut was aimed at buoying the euro zone economy, which economists expect to slide into recession by early 2012. The euro edged higher after the decision and the benchmark index of European stocks pared gains.

more...
http://news.yahoo.com/ecb-cut-rates-focus-bond-buys-intensifies-000947862.html

[Demeter]

22. What Can Save the Euro? Joseph E. Stiglitz

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/stiglitz146/English

Just when it seemed that things couldn’t get worse, it appears that they have. Even some of the ostensibly “responsible” members of the eurozone are facing higher interest rates. Economists on both sides of the Atlantic are now discussing not just whether the euro will survive, but how to ensure that its demise causes the least turmoil possible. It is increasingly evident that Europe’s political leaders, for all their commitment to the euro’s survival, do not have a good grasp of what is required to make the single currency work. The prevailing view when the euro was established was that all that was required was fiscal discipline – no country’s fiscal deficit or public debt, relative to GDP, should be too large. But Ireland and Spain had budget surpluses and low debt before the crisis, which quickly turned into large deficits and high debt. So now European leaders say that it is the current-account deficits of the eurozone’s member countries that must be kept in check. In that case, it seems curious that, as the crisis continues, the safe haven for global investors is the United States, which has had an enormous current-account deficit for years. So, how will the European Union distinguish between “good” current-account deficits – a government creates a favorable business climate, generating inflows of foreign direct investment – and “bad” current-account deficits? Preventing bad current-account deficits would require far greater intervention in the private sector than the neoliberal and single-market doctrines that were fashionable at the euro’s founding would imply.

In Spain, for example, money flowed into the private sector from private banks. Should such irrational exuberance force the government, willy-nilly, to curtail public investment? Does this mean that government must decide which capital flows – say into real-estate investment, for example – are bad, and so must be taxed or otherwise curbed? To me, this makes sense, but such policies should be anathema to the EU’s free-market advocates. The quest for a clear, simple answer recalls the discussions that have followed financial crises around the world. After each crisis, an explanation emerges, which the next crisis shows to be wrong, or at least inadequate. The 1980’s Latin American crisis was caused by excessive borrowing; but that could not explain Mexico’s 1994 crisis, so it was attributed to under-saving. Then came East Asia, which had high savings rates, so the new explanation was “governance.” But this, too, made little sense, given that the Scandinavian countries – which have the most transparent governance in the world – had suffered a crisis a few years earlier.

There is, interestingly, a common thread running through all of these cases, as well as the 2008 crisis: financial sectors behaved badly and failed to assess creditworthiness and manage risk as they were supposed to do. These problems will occur with or without the euro. But the euro has made it more difficult for governments to respond. And the problem is not just that the euro took away two key tools for adjustment – the interest rate and the exchange rate – and put nothing in their place, or that the European Central Bank’s mandate is to focus on inflation, whereas today’s challenges are unemployment, growth, and financial stability. Without a common fiscal authority, the single market opened the way to tax competition – a race to the bottom to attract investment and boost output that could be freely sold throughout the EU. Moreover, free labor mobility means that individuals can choose whether to pay their parents’ debts: young Irish can simply escape repaying the foolish bank-bailout obligations assumed by their government by leaving the country. Of course, migration is supposed to be good, as it reallocates labor to where its return is highest. But this kind of migration actually undermines productivity.

Migration is, of course, part of the adjustment mechanism that makes America work as a single market with a single currency. Even more important is the federal government’s role in helping states that face, say, high unemployment, by allocating additional tax revenue to them – the so-called “transfer union” so loathed by many Germans...But the US is also willing to accept the depopulation of entire states that cannot compete. (Some point out that this means that America’s corporations can buy senators from such states at a lower price.) But are European countries with lagging productivity willing to accept depopulation? Alternatively, are they willing to face the pain of “internal” devaluation, a process that failed under the gold standard and is failing under the euro?



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

Joseph E. Stiglitz is University Professor at Columbia University, a Nobel laureate in economics, and the author of Freefall: Free Markets and the Sinking of the Global Economy.

[DemReadingDU]

52. What can save the Euro? Nothing.

Just my IMO

[Demeter]

61. Nor Should It Be Saved, IMO

[xchrom]

5. here we are -- it's morning again

:donut:

[Demeter]

10. Morning, X

It was cold last night, and windy, as I trundled the paper around the neighborhood. Finished around midnight, that's why I'm just getting started here...

[xchrom]

17. i knew this was one of your paper days -- and that your weather is

starting it's wintery spell.

how's your weekend shaping up?

[Demeter]

35. Two concerts Sunday

Messiah sing-along , dinner, then choir.

I'm not doing anything I don't have to. Christmas doesn't come but once a year, and my celebration is music. It isn't Christmas without singing the Messiah for 4 hours....

[xchrom]

40. i love it! my partner and i used to go to

the sing along messiah in sf.

those were sweet days.

[xchrom]

6. europe: Chancellor Merkel's Difficult Battle in Brussels

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802444,00.html

It is a tone that one rarely hears from Berlin on the eve of a major European Union summit. "We have the impression that some actors still haven't recognized the seriousness of the situation," a senior German government official told journalists in Berlin on Wednesday.

There are many, the official added, "who are very generous and very quick when it comes to finding new sources of financing, but have difficulties when it comes to addressing the deficiencies with the euro's design." In order to stabilize the euro, no "baby steps" will be sufficient. And there can be none of the "typical Brussels trickery" that could result in a compromise deal short of what the public and the markets expect.

Corrections to the EU's treaties are essential, the official said. "We aren't going to make any lazy compromises." Not exactly the kind of diplomacy one might expect from Berlin as Chancellor Angela Merkel heads to Brussels.

But if Merkel's goal was to dramatically increase the pressure on the other 26 EU leaders who will attend the meeting, she certainly succeeded. Merkel is intent on establishing a strict new culture of stability, with rigid regulations regarding state debt and budget deficits in addition to severe and automatically imposed penalties for countries that violate those rules. She and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed to the framework of such a deal on Monday. In order to make that happen, EU treaties will have to be modified.

[xchrom]

7. Iceland's Toxic Legacy Mountains of Debt Temper Hopes despite Recovery

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802285,00.html

The man supposedly to blame for the whole mess is wearing a checkered jacket and keeping his head low. Geir Haarde was Iceland's prime minister when it suffered a near-death experience almost three years ago. In the space of a few days, the country's three largest banks collapsed, the value of the krona nosedived and the country was on the verge of national bankruptcy.

The former premier is now the first politician in all of Europe who will stand trial for the financial disaster. Iceland's 1905 constitution makes it possible to convict political figures of a crime if they did not act -- or did not act quickly enough -- in a situation posing a danger to the state. Haarde could face up to two years in prison.

"Of course, from today's perspective," Haarde says, "I would have done a few things differently back then." He is not even able to maintain his own office anymore. Instead, friends have set him up with an office in a law firm and are bankrolling his legal expenses.

"I'm everyone's scapegoat, and yet I committed no crimes," Haarde says. "On the contrary, we rescued Iceland back then -- and we did so without the taxpayers having to pick up the banks' tab.

[xchrom]

9. ECB Cuts Key Rate to 1%, May Dig Into Toolbox

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/ecb-cuts-key-rate-to-1-may-dig-into-toolbox.html

The European Central Bank cut interest rates for a second straight month and may delve even deeper into its toolbox today to stimulate bank lending and fight off a recession.

ECB policy makers meeting in Frankfurt lowered the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1 percent to match a record low, as expected by 55 of 58 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. They may also loosen collateral criteria to give banks greater access to cheap cash and offer longer-term loans, said three euro-area officials with knowledge of the deliberations. ECB President Mario Draghi holds a press conference at 2:30 p.m.

“They will have listened to the banks and will start some measures to alleviate some of the strains in markets,” said Christoph Rieger, head of fixed income strategy at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “They will also keep open the option to go below 1 percent on rates, that’s no longer the magic floor.”

The ECB is focusing on getting banks lending again rather than increasing its government bond purchases to fight the debt crisis. Later today, Europe’s leaders will convene in Brussels for talks to frame the fifth “comprehensive” solution in 19 months to the turmoil, which has left Germany and France facing the threat of losing their AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s.

[Ghost Dog]

13. "...said three euro-area officials with knowledge of the deliberations"

Will the "cheap cash" amount to printing money?

[xchrom]

15. i always think that's what 'tool box' refers to. nt

[Demeter]

16. And handing it out cost-free to the banksters, too!

[DemReadingDU]

20. The FED will probably do the same thing, to cut the rate

[Demeter]

23. SPEAKING OF THE FED: 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.

Officials had said on Saturday that talks on the size of loans from euro zone central banks were starting at a technical level after finance ministers from the currency union gave the go-ahead to explore the idea...

[DemReadingDU]

27. Kiss that money goodbye

The 'loans' will never be repaid

[AnneD]

87. Can rates...

be cut from 0%? I am not a math genius but I do grasp negative numbers. That is all fine and dandy when you are talking physics and philosophy, but economics is about the real and tangible. This is like the IRS trying to tax fantasy gaming money on the internet.

It seems that the line between virtual and reality are starting to blur. Unless you are on a specific Native American vision quest, I tend to think you might be crazy if you espouse negative rates or anything even close.

This would tend to explain Bernanke's monetary policy though.:eyes:

[Fuddnik]

90. Sure they can.

I could give you -5% right now.

You give me $100 and I'll give you back $95, a year from now. Unless I can work the magic of compound negative interest, and maybe give you back just $93.

But, on the bright side, dealing with Honest Fudd, you'll lose a lot less than if you invested in, oh say...Bank of America?

I used to know a guy who was a financial advisor. He used to push these Templeton Funds, really hard around the time of the dot-com bust. He brought some prospectuses (prospecti?) to the bar for some of us to look at. I looked them over and said, these have all lost money the last couple of years. His answer? "Yeah, but they lost less than everyone else!" I kidd you not.

I said, No thanks. I'll put it in the credit union at positive interest.

I don't think he's in that business any more.
























4

[Ghost Dog]

64. ECB: Speculators Given Pacifier and Now a Bit Less Sated

It’s all good again and for the upteempth time in the past week and a half we are ready to gap up. This time of course over that very annoying S&P 1265 which has provided resistance the past 3 sessions...

...

Update 8:52 AM – Draghi just said he was surprised that his comments re: fiscal compact (see previous post) had the market assuming there would be more bond buying post fiscal compacts… the market is not happy with that.

Also the rate cut was not unanimous. Futures selling back down on those comments… yes every word changes the whole complexion of things…. remember it’s the nonsense market, completely reliant on interventions.

/... http://wallstreetpit.com/87327-draghi-announced-4-non-standard-measures-at-presser-speculators-given-pacifier-and-now-sated

"I was surprised by the implicit meaning that was given (to my comments last week," Draghi told a news conference after the ECB cut interest rates to 1.0 percent.

Some reports last week said Draghi had hinted that the bank could take stronger action - maybe by buying euro zone government bonds more aggressively - if European leaders agree on tighter budget controls at a summit starting later.

Earlier this week ratings agency S&P warned that its threat of a mass downgrade of euro zone members would be tough to avoid if larger ECB bond buying was not part of Friday's summit deal.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/uk-ecb-rates-bonds-idUKTRE7B713C20111208


Mario Draghi cuts ECB interest rates: speech in full

... In its continued efforts to support the liquidity situation of euro area banks, and following the coordinated central bank action on 30 November 2011 to provide liquidity to the global financial system, the Governing Council today also decided to adopt further non-standard measures. These measures should ensure enhanced access of the banking sector to liquidity and facilitate the functioning of the euro area money market. They are expected to support the provision of credit to households and non-financial corporations. In this context, the Governing Council decided:

First, to conduct two longer-term refinancing operations (LTROs) with a maturity of 36 months and the option of early repayment after one year. The operations will be conducted as fixed rate tender procedures with full allotment. The rate in these operations will be fixed at the average rate of the main refinancing operations over the life of the respective operation. Interest will be paid when the respective operation matures. The first operation will be allotted on 21 December 2011 and will replace the 12-month LTRO announced on 6 October 2011.


Second, to increase collateral availability by reducing the rating threshold for certain asset-backed securities (ABS). In addition to the ABS that are already eligible for Eurosystem operations, ABS having a second best rating of at least “single A” in the Eurosystem harmonised credit scale at issuance, and at all times subsequently, and the underlying assets of which comprise residential mortgages and loans to small and medium-sized enterprises, will be eligible for use as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Moreover, national central banks will be allowed, as a temporary solution, to accept as collateral additional performing credit claims (namely bank loans) that satisfy specific eligibility criteria. The responsibility entailed in the acceptance of such credit claims will be borne by the national central bank authorising their use. These measures will take effect as soon as the relevant legal acts have been published.

Third, to reduce the reserve ratio, which is currently 2%, to 1%. This will free up collateral and support money market activity. As a consequence of the full allotment policy applied in the ECB’s main refinancing operations and the way banks are using this option, the system of reserve requirements is not needed to the same extent as under normal circumstances to steer money market conditions. This measure will take effect as of the maintenance period starting on 18 January 2012.

/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8943327/Mario-Draghi-cuts-ECB-interest-rates-speech-in-full.html

[Ghost Dog]

24. Hilliary Clinton has said she's hopeful

1.01pm: Hilliary Clinton has said she's hopeful for eurozone decision that the world can rally behind.

12.52pm: Some instant reaction from Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING.

"The ECB just decided to cut interest rates by 25bp, lowering the refi rate to 1.0%. Within a month time, the Mario Draghi has eradicated the hotly contested rate hikes of his predecessor. Ironic enough, the rate cut itself will not be the most sensational decision of today's meeting. It had been expected and was almost the bare minimum the ECB could deliver in the current situation. During the press conference at 2.30 pm CET, all eyes will be on possible additional unconventional measures."

Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight:

" While an important step, the interest rate cut is almost a sideshow to the main event, which is what future action will the ECB take regarding its bond purchases?
Substantially greater ECB action is widely seen as vital to easing Eurozone sovereign debt tensions."

/... http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2011/dec/08/eurozone-crisis-crunch-summit

[xchrom]

29. So the 'meat' must be the treaties? Nt

[Ghost Dog]

91. ECB doused hopes

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank doused hopes on Thursday it will ramp up its bond-buying program to fight the bloc's debt crisis, unnerving markets hours before a high-stakes EU summit they had hoped would produce a 'grand bargain' to end the turmoil...

... "One step forward, two steps back," said Alan Clarke, economist at Scotia Capital. "The ECB thought it was helping out by cutting interest rates and providing longer term liquidity measures. So far so good.

"But then to dash any hopes that the ECB might fire its bazooka (and engage in QE) has meant that the ECB's actions have backfired ... The euro zone leaders might as well not bother. Pack their bags, go home, enjoy the weekend and do their Christmas shopping."...

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/us-ecb-rates-idUSTRE7B701520111208

[xchrom]

12. Deutsche Bank, BNP Among Lenders That May Be Cut by S&P Amid Europe Review

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/deutsche-bank-bnp-may-be-cut-by-s-p-on-european-nations-review.html

Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) and BNP Paribas SA (BNP) are among European lenders that were placed on CreditWatch negative by Standard & Poor’s amid a similar review of 15 countries in the region.

“We intend to resolve the CreditWatch placement on these banks soon after the resolution of the CreditWatch placement on the related sovereign,” S&P said yesterday in a statement.

S&P said earlier this week that Germany and France may be stripped of their top credit ratings, and yesterday put the European Union’s AAA rating on CreditWatch negative. The euro area’s six AAA-rated countries were among the nations placed on a negative outlook, and their credit ratings may be cut depending on the result of a summit of EU leaders this week, S&P said on Dec. 5.

[xchrom]

19. Gazprom Stalls on RWE Talks as Germany Falters

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/gazprom-said-to-stall-on-rwe-talks-as-german-power-falters.html

OAO Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural-gas exporter, is stalling on talks to create a European power-plant venture with RWE AG because of deteriorating profits in Germany, two people familiar with the matter said.

Gazprom and RWE agreed last week to keep talks going for several more months in a second extension since July, another person said. The companies haven’t yet agreed on the assets and need more time to monitor demand and margins in Germany, the other people said, declining to be identified because the matter is confidential.

“It’s difficult to see the strategic logic for Gazprom to get involved in the German power business,” Derek Weaving, a London-based utilities analyst at Renaissance Capital, said by e-mail. “The European power sector is highly competitive, with even established national champions like EON AG reporting mediocre profitability.”

Gazprom supplies about a quarter of Europe’s gas and the company announced plans to negotiate its first generation venture in western Europe with RWE in July, including coal- and gas-fired plants in Germany, the U.K., Belgium and the Netherlands. RWE is looking at ways to mitigate the costs of Germany’s decision to close all its nuclear reactors by 2022 and has pledged to sell 11 billion euros ($15 billion) of assets. The Essen-based utility raised 2.1 billion euros in a share sale earlier this week.

[Demeter]

14. Jim Willie: “The Public Will Not Wake Up Until At Least One Million Private Accounts Are Stolen”

http://bullmarketthinking.com/exclusive-interview-jim-willie-the-public-will-not-wake-up-until-at-least-1-million-private-accounts-are-stolen/

This young man's opinions are alarming, his state of mind is near-hysteria, and I'm inclined to think he's closer to the truth than anyone we've seen lately...PODCAST AT LINK

[Hotler]

48. It's so fucked up. eom.

[DemReadingDU]

50. Yeh really.

:(

[DemReadingDU]

49. When they wake up, it will be too late to save their money

It will be Gone. As in MF Global Gone.

as in my related posted 33.

[DemReadingDU]

18. Interesting thread posted by madfloridian

12/7/11 A 9 yr DU journey...going from too moderate to too liberal to fit in.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2444336

[Fuddnik]

63. She see's the next stop for this bus.

Sad. I've always like her posts. But I think she sees where we're headed and is saddened by it.I'll probably be moving on in a few weeks myself.

I don't think SMW and WEE can survive the new format. Too much independent opinion and reality here. I still remember the night they locked the WEE thread. I can imagine that on steroids, when the Jonestown mob starts swarming us.

[Demeter]

67. Think of all the time that will free up, though

and if the global banking system collapses before then, there won't be any need for SMW or WEE, anyway. We will be foraging in the snow for edibles.

[Tansy_Gold]

82. I was thinking about that just last night, Fudd.

I saved those posts, too. In my own archives, not DU's.

I haven't looked at the new format that much, but if the forum's change nature as well as name, that could be the death knell.

We'll see. We'll see.

[AnneD]

89. I recommend we have a contact point.....

Over the years I have gotten and recieved contact info from folks in confidence. We have talked about other sites and if I have to I will consider relearning. I have enjoyed this group so much and really would like to find a hosting site. I fear that our frank assaements would not be welcomed here.

[Demeter]

92. I'm registerd under an elm tree

I always liked elms....and now they're all gone.

[DemReadingDU]

96. me too

but my name is bluebird, like my avatar
:)

[AnneD]

97. I am registered there too....

Haven't used it in a while but it is there, along with so old time DUers

[xchrom]

21. Wheat Prices Shredded With Near-Record Crop Boosting Reserves: Commodities

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-08/wheat-prices-shredded-with-near-record-crop-boosting-reserves-commodities.html

The biggest slump in wheat prices in three years may have further to go as expanding harvests from Russia to Canada bolster inventories to the most in a decade.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will predict tomorrow a 3.4 percent gain in stockpiles to 202.89 million metric tons by June, according to the average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Prices that fell 35 percent from a 29-month high of $9.1675 a bushel in February will drop 11 percent more to $5.30 in the next 12 months, Credit Suisse Group AG forecasts.

Global food costs tracked by the United Nations have declined 9.1 percent from a record in February, helping to contain inflation as economic growth slows. Corn and soybeans are also tumbling after farmers responded to record-high prices by planting more crops. Combined output of wheat, corn and soy will jump 3.4 percent to a record 1.8 billion tons this season, 32 percent more than a decade ago, the USDA said last month.

“Every country that can plant more corn and wheat has done so,” said Alex Bos, the manager of agricultural commodities at Macquarie Group Ltd. in New York. “It’s an incredible shift, and there’s still spare farmland capacity that can be put into production.”

[xchrom]

25. asia: Poll: Investors Predict China Bank Crisis

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/poll-investors-predict-china-bank-crisis.html

Most global investors predict China will face a banking crisis within the next five years, paring their appetite for the nation’s shares and eroding confidence in its leadership, a Bloomberg Global Poll indicated.

Sixty-one percent of respondents said they anticipate a crash in the financial industry by late 2016, and only 10 percent were confident China’s banks will escape trouble, according to the quarterly poll of 1,097 investors, analysts and traders who are Bloomberg subscribers conducted Dec. 5-6.

Evidence of slowing growth in China -- including the weakest manufacturing performance in more than two years, falling home sales and ebbing export growth -- has stoked concern that non-performing loans will climb in the world’s second-largest economy. The risk is a legacy of a record 17.6 trillion-yuan ($2.8 trillion) lending boom unleashed by Premier Wen Jiabao in 2009-2010 amid the global recession.

“The deep-seated misallocation of resources, particularly in the real estate and banking sectors, will lead to a combination of political and economic instability,” says Lance Depew, managing director of UPI Management LLC in Santa Barbara, California, and a participant in the poll. “I expect further macroeconomic weakness and sub-par returns in the stock market for the foreseeable future.”

[xchrom]

26. Sino-Forest May Go Private, Seek Merger as Martin Tries to Exit ‘Morass’

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/sino-forest-may-go-private-seek-merger-as-martin-tries-to-exit-morass-.html

Sino-Forest Corp. (TRE), the Chinese timber company that plunged 74 percent this year after fraud allegations, said going private is among the options under consideration as it attempts to restore its finances and reputation.

The company may also raise additional funds, bring in a strategic investor or seek a merger, Chief Executive Officer Judson Martin said in an interview.

“It is going to be real tough to get back to where we were,” he said in Hong Kong. “We are up for the challenge, but we are also up for looking for all options for our stakeholders.”

Sino-Forest tumbled in June after Carson Block, a short seller, said the company exaggerated its timber holdings. The shares were suspended from the Toronto Stock Exchange in August as Canada’s main securities regulator began an investigation. Canadian police also started a probe.

[xchrom]

43. Nikkei slips from 4-wk high on pre-settlement profit-taking

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/markets-japan-stocks-idUKL3E7N82QZ20111208

TOKYO, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average slipped
from a four-week high on Thursday on profit-taking ahead of the
settlement of a futures contract and as market players turned
cautious ahead of key events in Europe.

Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Co tumbled after a
report that the government will inject at least 1 trillion yen
($13 billion) in a de facto temporary nationalisation of the
operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Weaker-than-expected machinery orders data also weighed on
the market, driving down shares of machine makers such as
Komatsu.

In Europe, a senior German official gave a downbeat
assessment of prospects for agreement at an EU summit on Friday,
causing investors to roll back expectations for progress in
Europe's efforts to contain its debt crisis.

[xchrom]

45. China refutes 'land grab' charges in Africa

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-refutes-land-grab-charges-in-Africa/articleshow/11033829.cms

BEIJING: Refuting charges that it has been buying up land in Africa, China has called for "concrete" efforts to enable the continent's agricultural sector develop in a sustainable way.

"China always seeks food self-sufficiency through its own domestic output," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by Xinhua as saying during a regular press briefing Thursday.

China, instead of grabbing land in Africa, has been providing as much technical assistance as it can to help develop agriculture there and enhance the continent's capability of using its natural resources and addressing issues such as climate change and food security, he said.

"Those efforts are welcomed by the African nations," he added. Replying to a question on neo-colonialism, Hong said that "there is indeed neo-colonialism in Africa, but absolutely not from China".

[Demeter]

28. PetroChina finds shale gas reserves

PetroChina has discovered shale gas in China’s Sichuan province, confirming that the energy-hungry country is sitting on vast reserves of this unconventional fuel source

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/WT2SA8/204L2/B5XNUO/KQU4QQ/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=7

[xchrom]

32. Let the fracking begin! Nt

[DemReadingDU]

30. Jon Corzine To Tesify Today Over MF Global Collapse

Examination of MF Global bankruptcy

December 8, 2011 | 09:30 AM

Location
1300 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.

Full Committee on Agriculture -- Public Hearing


Witness Testimonies

Panel 1
* The Honorable Jill Sommers, Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Washington, D.C.
* Mr. James Kobak, Lead Counsel for the Trustee for the Liquidation of MF Global Inc., New York, New York

Panel 2
* The Honorable Jon Corzine, Former CEO, MF Global Inc., New York, New York

Panel 3
* Mr. John Fletcher, General Manager, Central Missouri AGRIService LLC, on behalf of the National Grain and Feed Association, Marshall, Missouri
* Mr. Terrence Duffy, Executive Chairman, CME Group, Inc., Chicago, Illinois
* Mr. William J. Brodsky, Chairman and CEO, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Chicago, Illinois
* Mr. Dan Roth, President and CEO, National Futures Association, Chicago, Illinois
* Mr. Stephen Luparello, Vice Chairman, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Washington, D.C.
* Mr. Gerry Corcoran, Chairman and CEO, R.J. O’Brien & Associates, on behalf of the Commodity Markets Council, Chicago, Illinois

http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetails.aspx?NewsID=1485


It is rumored that Corzine most likely will plead the 5th

[Demeter]

36. Is there an insanity defense?

[Fuddnik]

47. He's crazy about money?

[Hugin]

57. "I like money." - Idiocracy (the movie)

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy

Edit: Damn, I'm already getting used to DU3. :yow:

[Demeter]

65. You've been there?

I am afraid to go look. My blood pressure can only take so much. The objections I've heard seem to be rather substantial.

[Hugin]

69. My thumbnail impression of DU3.

First of all...

- My general view of DU3 is positive.
- It works better with my "smart phone" than the current incarnation of DU. (Loads pages much faster, too.)
- It's LIGHT YEARS ahead of most other "Social Media" and "Forum" software I've seen. (Yes, including Facebook)

- I haven't had the Jury experience yet. So, I really can't comment on it.
- Looks like the Admins are taking the "Transparency Oath" seriously. In the long run, I think this is damaging
to personal expression. Especially, for those who would be shy or inhibited without some anonymity. It will be hell
on the disruptors though.

One of the major arguments I've heard is that the "Judicial System" built into DU3 will inhibit or promote "cliques". I must be missing something because I don't see how this is true. Compared to the current high maintenance "Alert/Recce" system.

What else do you want to know? :shrug:

[Hugin]

79. As far as being on a Jury...

One of my ancestors has some experience. :evilgrin:

[Fuddnik]

66. Yeppers.

:crazy: :thumbsup:

[DemReadingDU]

62. With all the sinister news about MF Global today, I wonder

I wonder if Corzine will show up to testify?

[Demeter]

93. He's entered a statement into the record

http://agriculture.house.gov/pdf/hearings/Corzine111208.pdf

Can't tell if he delivered it in person...

[Demeter]

94. Corzine Deflects Blame For MF Global's Fall

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/08/143380694/corzine-deflects-blame-for-mf-globals-fall?ft=1&f=1001


...The former U.S. senator was subpoenaed to explain how MF Global, which he led for about 20 months, collapsed into the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and why an estimated $1.2 billion in client funds remains unaccounted for...Corzine defended his tenure at the firm. He said MF Global toppled, in part, because of a large quarterly loss caused by his predecessors' accounting moves. Rating agencies responded to the loss by downgrading the firm's credit rating, which panicked investors and trading partners...Janet Tavakoli, an expert on the transactions MF Global specialized in, said Corzine's remarks divert attention from the firm's fundamental flaw: It lacked the cash to cover its bets after investors started to fear that a major European nation would default...


Corzine, 64, said many people in his position would invoke their Fifth Amendment right to avoid answering questions at Thursday's hearing. But he said that as a former senator he recognizes the importance of congressional oversight and will try his best to answer the panel's questions. Corzine, however, left open the possibility that he will decline to answer some questions. He said that since his resignation from MF Global, he hasn't had access to certain information he might need to "reconstruct the events that occurred during the chaotic days and the last hours leading up to the bankruptcy filing...Without adequate time and materials to prepare, I may be unable to respond to various questions members might pose," he said. Attempting to answer questions poses a risk for Corzine. Anything he might say could be used against him in a courtroom, should Corzine ever be charged in the case. The FBI and several federal regulators are investigating MF Global...

In his remarks, Corzine disputed media reports that he personally pushed the company to make big, doomed bets on risky European debt using too much borrowed money. Corzine says the company's revenue was "drying up" when he arrived because of competition from online and high-tech brokerages. He also notes that the company worked with outside consultants on its strategic plan and internal compliance systems. And he says that much of his compensation was in stock options. The amount of borrowed money used — known as leverage — decreased when he ran the company, he says, and he favored the trades that doomed it only after discussions with MF Global's senior traders. Corzine notes that the European debt securities are all "at least A rated." Typically, that means the borrower is unlikely to default. He makes no mention that Standard & Poor's this week said it might downgrade credit ratings for all of the nations whose bonds MF Global owned.

Legal experts say Corzine could be held personally liable for misrepresenting to investors the risks the firm had taken. Other top MF Global executives also could face legal jeopardy, they say. Corzine will say Thursday that the company's board signed off on the investments and was aware of the risks involved...Several class-action lawsuits on behalf of shareholders have been filed against Corzine and three other top executives. A bankruptcy court is consolidating the suits. They accuse the firm and its leaders of making false statements about MF Global's strength and cash balances.

[Tansy_Gold]

86. MAJOR inaccuracy in that

Jon Corzine is not honorable.

[Demeter]

31. Buffett utility makes solar power move

MidAmerica Energy Holdings, the utility owned by Berkshire Hathaway is to make its first investment in solar power

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/165PV3/06MUC/FKI1HM/8ZY8NW/4O/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=8

[DemReadingDU]

33. ZeroHedge - really, really sinsiter stuff going on with MF Global

12/8/11 Why The UK Trail Of The MF Global Collapse May Have "Apocalyptic" Consequences For The Eurozone, Canadian Banks, Jefferies And Everyone Else


In an oddly prescient turn of events, yesterday we penned a post titled "Has The Imploding European Shadow Banking System Forced The Bundesbank To Prepare For Plan B?" in which we explained how it was not only the repo market, but the far broader and massively unregulated shadow banking system in Europe that was becoming thoroughly unhinged, and was manifesting itself in a complete "lock up in interbank liquidity" and which, we speculated, is pressuring the Bundesbank, which is well aware of what is going on behind the scenes, to slowly back away from what will soon be an "apocalyptic" event (not our words... read on).

Why was this prescient? Because today, Reuters' Christopher Elias has written the logical follow up analysis to our post, in which he explains in layman's terms not only how but why the lock up has occurred and will get far more acute, but also why the MF Global bankruptcy, much more than merely a one-off instance of "repo-to-maturity" of sovereign bonds gone horribly wrong is a symptom of two things:

i) the lax London-based unregulated and unsupervised system which has allowed such unprecedented, leveraged monsters as AIG, Lehman and now as it turns out MF Global, to flourish until they end up imploding and threatening the world's entire financial system, and

ii) an implicit construct embedded within the shadow banking model which permitted the heaping of leverage upon leverage upon leverage, probably more so than any structured finance product in the past (up to and including synthetic CDO cubeds), and certainly on par with the AIG cataclysm which saw $2.7 trillion of CDS notional sold with virtually zero margin.

Simply said: when one truly digs in, MF Global exposes the 2011 equivalent of the 2008 AIG: virtually unlimited leverage via the shadow banking system, in which there are practically no hard assets backing the infinite layers of debt created above, and which when finally unwound, will create a cataclysmic collapse of all financial institutions, where every bank is daisy-chained to each other courtesy of multiple layers of "hypothecation, and re-hypothecation."

In fact, it is a link so sinister it touches every corner of modern finance up to and including such supposedly "stable" institutions as Jefferies, which as it turns out has spent weeks defending itself, however against all the wrong things, and Canadian banks, which as it also turns out, defended themselves against Zero Hedge allegations they may well be the next shoes to drop, as being strong and vibrant (and in fact just announced soaring profits and bonuses), yet which have all the same if not far greater risk factors as MF Global. Yet nobody has called them out on it. Until now.


much, much more
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/why-uk-trail-mf-global-collapse-may-have-apocalyptic-consequences-eurozone-canadian-banks-jeffe


edit for better readability, and

Hypothecation is the practice where a borrower pledges collateral to secure a debt. The borrower retains ownership of the collateral, but it is "hypothetically" controlled by the creditor in that he has the right to seize possession if the borrower defaults. A common example occurs when a consumer enters into a mortgage agreement, in which the consumer's house becomes collateral until the mortgage loan is paid off.

Rehypothecation is a practice that occurs principally in the financial markets, where a bank or other broker-dealer reuses the collateral pledged by its clients as collateral for its own borrowing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothecation


Uh oh

[Demeter]

37. That ties in with my post #14

So, fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

[Demeter]

51. MF Global and the great Wall St re-hypothecation scandal

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Securities/Insight/2011/12_-_December/MF_Global_and_the_great_Wall_St_re-hypothecation_scandal/

A legal loophole in international brokerage regulations means that few, if any, clients of MF Global are likely to get their money back. Although details of the drama are still unfolding, it appears that MF Global and some of its Wall Street counterparts have been actively and aggressively circumventing U.S. securities rules at the expense (quite literally) of their clients. MF Global's bankruptcy revelations concerning missing client money suggest that funds were not inadvertently misplaced or gobbled up in MF’s dying hours, but were instead appropriated as part of a mass Wall St manipulation of brokerage rules that allowed for the wholesale acquisition and sale of client funds through re-hypothecation. A loophole appears to have allowed MF Global, and many others, to use its own clients’ funds to finance an enormous $6.2 billion Eurozone repo bet.

If anyone thought that you couldn’t have your cake and eat it too in the world of finance, MF Global shows how you can have your cake, eat it, eat someone else’s cake and then let your clients pick up the bill. Hard cheese for many as their dough goes missing...Up until now the assumption has been that the funds missing had been misappropriated by MF Global as it desperately sought to avoid bankruptcy. Sadly, the truth is likely to be that MF Global took advantage of an asymmetry in brokerage borrowing rules that allow firms to legally use client money to buy assets in their own name - a legal loophole that may mean that MF Global clients never get their money back.

REPO RECAP

First a quick recap. By now the story of MF Global’s demise is strikingly familiar. MF plowed money into an off-balance-sheet maneuver known as a repo, or sale and repurchase agreement. (A repo involves a firm borrowing money and putting up assets as collateral, assets it promises to repurchase later. Repos are a common way for firms to generate money but are not normally off-balance sheet and are instead treated as “financing” under accountancy rules.) MF Global used a version of an off-balance-sheet repo called a "repo-to-maturity." The repo-to-maturity involved borrowing billions of dollars backed by huge sums of sovereign debt, all of which was due to expire at the same time as the loan itself. With the collateral and the loans becoming due simultaneously, MF Global was entitled to treat the transaction as a “sale” under U.S. GAAP. This allowed the firm to move $16.5 billion off its balance sheet, most of it debt from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Ireland.

Backed by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), it was a clever bet (at least in theory) that certain Eurozone bonds would remain default free whilst yields would continue to grow. Ultimately, however, it proved to be MF Global’s downfall as margin calls and its high level of leverage sucked out capital from the firm. Puzzling many, though, were the huge sums involved. How was MF Global able to “lose” $1.2 billion of its clients’ money and acquire a sovereign debt position of $6.3 billion – a position more than five times the firm’s book value, or net worth? The answer it seems lies in its exploitation of a loophole between UK and U.S. brokerage rules on the use of clients funds known as “re-hypothecation”...hypothecation is when a borrower pledges collateral to secure a debt. The borrower retains ownership of the collateral but is “hypothetically” controlled by the creditor, who has a right to seize possession if the borrower defaults. In the U.S., this legal right takes the form of a lien and in the UK generally in the form of a legal charge. A simple example of a hypothecation is a mortgage, in which a borrower legally owns the home, but the bank holds a right to take possession of the property if the borrower should default...In investment banking, assets deposited with a broker will be hypothecated such that a broker may sell securities if an investor fails to keep up credit payments or if the securities drop in value and the investor fails to respond to a margin call (a request for more capital).

Re-hypothecation occurs when a bank or broker re-uses collateral posted by clients, such as hedge funds, to back the broker’s own trades and borrowings. The practice of re-hypothecation runs into the trillions of dollars and is perfectly legal. It is justified by brokers on the basis that it is a capital efficient way of financing their operations much to the chagrin of hedge funds.

MUCH MORE AT LINK....A VERY TECHNICAL AND FRIGHTENING EXPLANATION OF EVENTS--BOTH TODAY'S, AND PAST (LEHMANS)

ANYONE PUTTING THEIR FAITH AND MONEY IN A BROKER IS ASKING FOR IT

[DemReadingDU]

56. Karl Denninger: MF Global: The SERIOUS Issues Reach Mainstream Media

12/8/11 MF Global: The SERIOUS Issues Reach Mainstream Media

As I opined rather quickly when MF Global collapsed, the real risk is not that a futures merchant went under. Brokerages go under all the time -- I went through two "consolidations" after 2000 and in both cases my assets and trading accounts were simply moved over to a new entity. How "forced" those were is open to some question, but from my perspective I went to bed one day with an account at "X" and woke up with one at "Y". Nothing disappeared.

The problem occurs when you wake up and assets have disappeared. This has become a disturbingly-common pattern of late, from Bernie Madoff to Stanford and now MF.

What most people don't understand is that when you open a brokerage account you allow your assets to be used to "borrow, pledge, repledge, transfer, hypothecate, rehypothecate,loan, or invest any of the Collateral"

Absolutely standard boilerplate language.

But here's the problem -- this is "in accordance with Applicable law."

This use, incidentally, is why brokers scream that trades are "just $5!"

Well, yes. But your money is being used by the brokerage, more or less, as collateral.

But there's a difference between earning on your funds and securities (which brokerages do all the time) and stealing your assets. The latter occurs when the law is circumvented -- whether legal or not.

more...
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=198790


as Demeter said above: ANYONE PUTTING THEIR FAITH AND MONEY IN A BROKER IS ASKING FOR IT

[Demeter]

58. ZEROHEDGE MONEY QUOTE

"MF Global's bankruptcy has already set off a chain of events which not even all the world's central banks can halt."

[Demeter]

60. As The Shadow Banking System Imploded In Q2, Bernanke's Choice Has Been Made For Him

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/shadow-banking-system-imploded-q2-bernankes-choice-tomorrow-has-been-made-him

FROM SEPT. 30:

data confirming that the shadow banking system declined by $278 billion in Q2, the most since Q2 2010, it is pretty clear that Bernanke's choice has already been made for him. Because with D.C. in total fiscal stimulus hiatus, in order to offset the continuing collapse in credit at the financial level, the Fed will have no choice but to proceed with not only curve flattening (to the detriment of America's TBTF banks whose stock prices certainly reflect what a complete Twist-induced flattening of the 2s10s implies) but offsetting the ongoing implosion in the all too critical, yet increasingly smaller, shadow banking system. And without credit growth, at either the commercial bank, the shadow bank or the sovereign level, one can kiss GDP growth, and hence employment, and Obama's second term goodbye.

As the two charts below demonstrate, the economy's ongoing inability to create any growth in the shadow banking system, primarily as a result of the complete shut down of the securitization machine, has been and continues to be, the biggest threat to the Fed. Specifically, after hitting an all time high of $20.9 trillion in March of 2008, this all too critical source of "credit money" has collapsed by a whopping 25%: since the peak $5.5 trillion of credit, and not just any credit, but shadow, and thus non-regulated credit, has evaporated! And as Q2 demonstrated, after almost bottoming in Q1 following a decline of just $57 billion, or the smallest Q/Q decline since Q2 2008, the drop has picked up again, with a one year high $278 billion plunge in Q2...

AND THIS EVAPORATION OF THE SHADOW BANKING SYSTEM AND ITS PHANTOM ASSETS IS WHY BERNANKE IS SPINNING THE PRESSES 24/7, AND WHY THEY WANT ANGELA TO GET ON WITH IT, TOO.

[Demeter]

34. Occupy sets its sights beyond Wall Street

Occupy movement joins forces with established activist organisations to target foreclosures, student debt and political fundraisers

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/2SRI11/EXRVME/IEP5S/HYQARV/EXJ2LI/OS/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=8

[Demeter]

42. Hundreds 'occupy' Washington offices demanding stronger social security

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/687632/Hundreds-occupy-Washington-offices-demanding-stronger-social-security.aspx

Hundreds of people from across the US demonstrated in Washington Tuesday for jobs and stronger social security by converging on the offices of US lawmakers in Congress. The action, by activists from unions and other organizations, was dubbed "Take Back the Capitol" and passed off peacefully. Small groups of protesters, who came from as far away as Florida, Kansas and Wisconsin, entered office buildings around the domed Capitol building, saying they wanted to see their elected representatives.

"You were elected to represent us, do your job!" they yelled.

John Reat, a 62-year-old unemployed information technology manager, said he came from Ohio to put his demands directly to John Boehner, Republican speaker of the House of Representatives. Reat said he wanted to see Congress "pass the jobs bill, to increase the taxes on the 1 percent corporations or individuals, no cuts on social security or Medicare. That's what we all are requesting." Reat said that once someone lost his job and health insurance it took only a "health incident (to)... wipe out their savings and boom, they lose their home. It's just not right that to lose a job is so punitive."

However, protesters only got as far as the entrances to the offices and corridors outside, where they were informed by aides that the politicians were absent or unavailable.

At the office of Republican Paul Ryan, for example, protesters were informed they should have filled out a request form for a meeting.

[Demeter]

38. Phil Rockstroh Quotation

"This is the reality the 1% endeavor to obscure: Capitalism is a pyramid scheme; by its very structure, only a few will ever receive its bounty…that is wrung out of the exhausted hides of the vast majority. Fact is, capitalism, the neoliberal variety or otherwise, has never worked as promised; its innate structure ensures exploitation and inequity. Therefore, time and time again, adding aspects of socialism (e.g., New Deal era programs and reforms) have saved capitalism from itself. But, after a time, the plutocrats regroup and begin anew to launch a big money-financed, slow motion coup d’état of government (e.g., the Reagan Revolution)."

Source: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29915.htm

[kickysnana]

39. Thought maybe the liquidity lockup was starting yesterday

I was at the grocery store that has my bank branch inside but the ATM was not functioning and it was taking twice as long as usual for checkers to get the approvals about 3:50pm. I did some more errands and came back and the ATM then worked but I heard someone telling someone who came in from the cold car looking for them that the WIC card system was not working. This was about 4:50pm here in St Paul MN.

When the ATM didn't work I opted for a credit card rather than my debit card and that went through fine all during that time. I had hoped to pay cash with the money from the ATM but at least I didn't go home empty handed.

[Demeter]

46. INGDirect Screwed me on Monday

They didn't release funds...held onto it for an extra day. In these days of faster-than-light banking, unconscionable! Yes, I think it almost went down this weekend; one more ooops! and it's all over.

Shadow banking will take itself and the regular banking system down. All suspicion pointing at JPMorgan. It may be that buying silver is crashing it, at last.....

[DemReadingDU]

54. Oops

I used to have money at INGDirect. But a couple years ago, I ACH'd the money to credit union, where I can go in-person to withdraw/deposit funds.

[Demeter]

68. And now that I have a credit union

I'm thinking of shutting down ING entirely, too. I'm just in the process...

[Fuddnik]

70. It is getting strange.

We have 3 accounts at the credit union. Mine, my wife's, and joint. I wrote a check from the joint account to my account, where all the bills are paid from, and it took 3 days for the funds to become available.

That's never happened before.

[Demeter]

72. Sounds Like it's Time to put the Money in Serta

shit. not that I have much...

[DemReadingDU]

80. That also is a good idea.

I really like my credit union, though I wish there was a branch closer to my house. We used to have a local bank but it was merged into Wesbanco.

[DemReadingDU]

77. That is very odd

I've seen holds at my credit union when depositing other checks, but I have never written checks from one account to another. What I have done, is setup the accounts so that I can electronically transfer the money from one account to another from the computer. Maybe you could do this, or maybe go into the credit union, and in person, direct them to move the monies from one account to the other?

[Fuddnik]

84. I can transfer between some accounts, just not that particular account.

[Hugin]

55. Very interesting.

I noticed some recent oddities... Although, around here they may be attributed to the weather.

Worth keeping an eye on, however.

[Demeter]

41. Tony Blair's new 'bank' for super-rich

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/tony-blairs-new-bank-for-super-rich/story-e6frg6so-1225908461998

TONY Blair has formed his own finance boutique in London to offer investment services to global funds and the super-rich.

His Mayfair-based company has recruited senior financiers and has been authorised by the Financial Services Authority. It will effectively be a fledgling investment bank.

News of the former British prime minister's diversification into finance will help to explain how he can afford to give away the estimated 5 million pounds proceeds of his memoirs, A Journey, to the Royal British Legion. His predecessors in Downing Street have relied on their books to provide for their retirement.

Since leaving office in 2007, Blair has amassed a fortune estimated to be in excess of 20 million pounds. He has combined his role as a roving statesman with charitable work and paid advisory roles...

[Demeter]

44. RBS - Inside The Bank That Ran Out Of Money VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st40Gps08KI

[Hotler]

53. k&r n/t

[xchrom]

59. south asia: Sensex slumps 389 points on growth, euro zone debt concerns

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-slumps-389-points-on-growth-euro-zone-debt-concerns/articleshow/11033471.cms

MUMBAI: The BSE Sensex slumped 389 points to 16,488.24 on investor concerns about slowing growth and the government putting on hold its plan to open FDI in multi-brand retail, amid weak cues from Asian markets.

Doubts that a EU meeting to be held later in the day would be able to resolve the euro-zone debt crisis, and weak economic data from Japan and Australia signalling that the global economy is slowing, made investors jittery.

Domestically, reports that industrial output growth during October could have been negative for the first time since June 2009 hit investor sentiment hard.

The selling pressure was so strong that all the 13 sectoral indices ended in the red, losing up to 4.40 per cent.

[Demeter]

71. ECB unveils new support for banks

The ECB announced a host of new non-standard measures aimed at supporting the region’s ailing banks.

The central bank will offer two new long-term refinancing operations, or LTROs, that will last for 36 months. The first of these will be offered on December 21, and replace a previous 13-month LTRO announced back in October.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/YIQXNN/97EOG2/1O51V/8Z5BD4/MSLYFW/MQ/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=8

THE FUSE HAS BEEN LIT...NO WONDER THE EUROPEAN MARKET DROPPED 40 PTS SUDDENLY

[Demeter]

73. Central Banks Plan for Possible Euro Breakup as Merkel Focuses on Wrong Issues

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/12/central-banks-plan-for-possible-euro-breakup-as-merkel-focuses-on-wrong-issues.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

the Wall Street Journal tonight reports that even central banks are starting to contemplate what had heretofore been unthinkable:

The first signs are surfacing that central banks are thinking about how to resuscitate currencies based on bank notes that haven’t been printed since the first euros went into circulation in January 2002….



The central banks’ planning is preliminary,…

But the fact central bankers are even studying the possibility, which until this fall was considered unthinkable, underscores how swiftly conditions have deteriorated…

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. put out a report Wednesday that advised investors and companies to hedge against a collapse of the euro zone—though the bank said the likelihood of that happening was just 20%. It said many corporate clients were buying currency derivatives to place bets against the euro.

It has been surprising to watch the disconnect between market action and the news coming out of the negotiations. The thing that needs to happen short term as a stopgap is for the ECB to monetize periphery country debt in a serious way. That would buy Europe the time to sort its house out, and in particular, determine how to address the large internal imbalance. Yet the Eurocrats seem to believe the answer lies in even harsher austerity, which is guaranteed to fail to lower debt to GDP ratios. And the news stories of the day show Merkel to be out of touch with priorities, talking about the need for treaty amendments to create a fiscal union, when that is not on the critical path. It has hit the point where the normally voluble Ambrose Evans-Pritchard has been reduced to terse, disgusted-sounding posts, apparently unable to suppress his distaste for what he is witnessing.

I don’t believe in making market calls, but given the big contraction in Italian bond yields on a thin gruel of news, professional investors seem keen to seize on any shred of good news to goose markets, especially since the year end is nigh. Even if the hoped for Yet Another Big Eurozone Rescue Plan of Friday turns out to be underwhelming, market participants are certain to try to seize on any cause for cheer. And with trading volumes thinning as the year closes, they may be able to keep the levitation game going for a while longer.

[Demeter]

74. Michael Olenick: Bank of America All In – Calling Moynihan’s Bluff to Bankrupt Countrywide

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/12/michael-olenick-bank-of-america-all-in-%E2%80%93-calling-moynihans-bluff-to-bankrupt-countrywide.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

...the idea that Bank of America can shield itself by putting Countrywide into bankruptcy. Note that, some litigants, particularly AIG in its petition in opposition of the proposed $8.5 billion settlement of putback liability on 530 Countrywide trusts, made a persuasive case that Bank of America has operated Countrywide in such a way post acquisition so that it is no longer bankruptcy remote from BofA (that is, you can’t BK Countrywide and deny Countrywide creditors access to BofA assets).

Nevertheless, as attorney and former monoline executive Tom Adams noted by e-mail, the reason Bank of America might want the servicing at BofA rather than Countrywide if Countrywide is put into bankruptcy is probably to avoid a servicing termination event. If the servicer is bankrupt, the trustee or investors could, in theory, terminate them as servicer. This is really only theory, because almost no one (other than BofA) would want to be servicer for these loans, so it would be hard to see it as a driver of the changes Olenick describes.

An interesting related issue is that BofA, like other servicers in this new world of costly and lengthy foreclosures, is at risk of over advancing on mortgages. Servicers advance principal and interest even after a borrower has defaulted and reimburse themselves when the foreclosed property is sold. In theory, they can stop when a loan is clearly irrecoverable. In practice, historically many servicers have kept advancing up to the full principal balance of the loan. With loss severities rising and more borrowers fighting foreclosures, they can incur more costs than the house is worth, but on average, they still recover their advances. But with foreclosure timelines attenuating, legal costs escalating, and foreclosures grinding to a halt in states like Nevada, New York, and New Jersey, where they are now real sanctions for filing questionable foreclosure documentation, servicers face increasing doubts about their ability to recover advances from the proceeds of home sales. I hope the FDIC is watchful enough not to allow deposits to be used to fund servicer advances.

WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT COUNTRYWIDE COULD BE USED AS A HOSTAGE/DIVERSION?

INTERESTING LINK PROVIDED: FIND THE FRAUD WEBSITE

http://www.findthefraud.com/app/index.jsp

Bank of America’s subsidiary BAC Home Loans has filed foreclosures in FL under 286 slightly different names. For example, in the 28 Florida counties that I track, “BAC Home Loans Servicing” has 6,089 filings, “BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, FKA Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP” has 5,657 filings, “BAC Home Loans” has 3,050 filings, and “BAC Home” has 2008 filings. Altogether there are 21,913 filings.

Bank of America has filed under 283 different names. Most are variations one would expect but some pop out: “Bank of America NA, SBM Countrywide Bank FSB” has 85 filings. Altogether there are 44,504 filings with some derivation of the name Bank of America.

Robo-signing slowed down BAC filings, like it did all filings, though as the leaves fell from the trees in the northern states, so did the filings in the name of BAC Home Loans. I track 359 filings in June, 2011; 321 filings in July, 28 filings in August, nine filings in September, and twelve filings total in the fourth quarter.

But Bank of America didn’t stop filing; they actually increased their volume. In June, 2011 Bank of America filed 178 foreclosures; 169 in July, 362 in August, 471 in September, 579 in October, 452 in November, and 76 in this first week of December...

SO, IF JPMORGAN AND BofA ARE BOTH WRITHING ON THE SPIT...WHAT'S IT LIKE AT GOLDMAN?

[Demeter]

75. HEADLINES AT FINANCIAL TIMES

Corzine ‘stunned’ by MF Global collapse
Former chief to tell Congress ‘I simply do not know where the money is’

John Corzine’s testimony
Regulators diverge over MF Global collapse
Former staff sue Corzine over MF collapse
US futures watchdog tightens client funds rules
Markets Insight Protecting customer cash after MF Global

[Demeter]

76. Corzine Rebuffed Internal Warnings on Risks

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204083204577080723935363452.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

MF Global Holdings Ltd.'s executive in charge of controlling risks raised serious concerns several times last year to directors at the securities firm about the growing bet on European bonds by his boss, Jon S. Corzine, people familiar with the matter said.

The board allowed the company's exposure to troubled European sovereign debt to swell from about $1.5 billion in late 2010 to $6.3 billion shortly before MF Global tumbled into bankruptcy Oct. 31, these people said. The executive who challenged Mr. Corzine resigned in March.

The disagreement shows that concerns about the big bet grew inside the company months ...

[Demeter]

78. Rutgers University Working Paper : Categorizing the Unemployed by the Impact of the Recession

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2011/12/categorizing-those-unemployed-by.html

By Dr. Cliff Zukin, Dr. Carl E. Van Horn, and Charley Stone

In August 2009, the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey began following a nationally representative sample of American workers who lost a job during the height of the Great Recession.

The research began with a cross-sectional sample of 1,202 who had said they had lost a job at some point in the preceding 12 months (between August 2008 and 2009). They were resurveyed in March 2010, again in November 2010, and then in August 2011.

A total of 3,972 individual surveys were completed over the two years. Well over half of the original respondents participated in all four waves of the project, meaning they spent, on average, 50 minutes of their time responding to roughly 200 questionnaire items.

This resulting measure combines an assessment of the respondent/family’s current economic status with the magnitude of change in the quality of daily life, with an assessment of whether this change represents a new normal or is a temporary stay in limbo. Combining answers to these three questions result in a typology with five groups, defined as follows:

• Workers who have MADE IT BACK consider themselves in excellent, good, or fair financial shape and have experienced no change in their standard of living due to the recession.
  
  
• People ON THEIR WAY BACK have largely experienced a minor change to their
  standard of living, but say the change is temporary. They also consider themselves in excellent, good, or fair financial shape.
  
  
• Workers who have been DOWNSIZED meet one of three conditions; they have
  experienced: a minor change that is permanent; a minor change that is temporary, but they are in poor financial shape; or a major change in their standard of living that is temporary and they are in at least fair financial shape.
  
  
• Workers classified as DEVASTATED have experienced a major change to their
  lifestyle due to the recession. They can be either in poor financial shape and think the change is temporary, or in fair financial shape but think this change is permanent.
  
  
• Workers that have been TOTALLY WRECKED by this recession have experienced a major change to their lifestyle that is permanent and are in poor financial shape.

Read the rest of this working paper: http://www.heldrich.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/content/Categorizing_Impact_Recession_Revised_0.pdf

[InkAddict]

95. This survey acts like the impact is "over,"

at whatever percentile one has landed, but many individuals and families in percentiles above the 15% are still at risk. A single error in judgment or a major/minor illness for themselves or a loved one could still find them falling without a net. Nevermind the average wavy turbulence of American life, the 99% are hearing the the chorus of Jack & Diane resonate in our heads. Lotta broken dreams out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feeHTm-dYGg

[Demeter]

81. PPT NOT EVEN TRYING!

It's been nice knowing you all...I have to go back to Reality. Sigh. Not that it's any better than the Markets...

[Demeter]

83. Is Modern Capitalism Sustainable? Kenneth Rogoff

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/rogoff87/English

I AM ASTOUNDED THAT ANYONE STILL THINKS SO--OR THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA.--DEMETER

I am often asked if the recent global financial crisis marks the beginning of the end of modern capitalism. It is a curious question, because it seems to presume that there is a viable replacement waiting in the wings. The truth of the matter is that, for now at least, the only serious alternatives to today’s dominant Anglo-American paradigm are other forms of capitalism.

Continental European capitalism, which combines generous health and social benefits with reasonable working hours, long vacation periods, early retirement, and relatively equal income distributions, would seem to have everything to recommend it – except sustainability. China’s Darwinian capitalism, with its fierce competition among export firms, a weak social-safety net, and widespread government intervention, is widely touted as the inevitable heir to Western capitalism, if only because of China’s huge size and consistent outsize growth rate. Yet China’s economic system is continually evolving. Indeed, it is far from clear how far China’s political, economic, and financial structures will continue to transform themselves, and whether China will eventually morph into capitalism’s new exemplar. In any case, China is still encumbered by the usual social, economic, and financial vulnerabilities of a rapidly growing lower-income country.

Perhaps the real point is that, in the broad sweep of history, all current forms of capitalism are ultimately transitional. Modern-day capitalism has had an extraordinary run since the start of the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago, lifting billions of ordinary people out of abject poverty. Marxism and heavy-handed socialism have disastrous records by comparison. But, as industrialization and technological progress spread to Asia (and now to Africa), someday the struggle for subsistence will no longer be a primary imperative, and contemporary capitalism’s numerous flaws may loom larger.

First, even the leading capitalist economies have failed to price public goods such as clean air and water effectively. The failure of efforts to conclude a new global climate-change agreement is symptomatic of the paralysis...

IT'S CALLED REGULATION, TAXATION, AND SOCIALISM, KEN

[Fuddnik]

85. Halliburton stock up almost 2% this morning on heavy volume.

You'd almost think we're getting ready to start another war or something.

[Ghost Dog]

88. Ojo.