STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 18 July 2012

[Tansy_Gold]

Last edited Tue Jul 17, 2012, 09:52 PM - Edit history (2)

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 18 July 2012[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 17 July 2012

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 17 July 2012
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Dow Jones 12,805.54 +78.33 (0.62%)
S&P 500 1,363.67 +10.03 (0.74%)
Nasdaq 2,910.04 +13.10 (0.45%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.51% +0.02 (1.34%)
30 Year 2.60% +0.03 (1.17%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."



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[font size=3][font color=red]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.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Fuddnik]

1. It's about time you people got out of bed!

I haven't been around much the last week or so. Had a couple of minor carcinomas (very minor) removed from my arm and hand. And I had a ton of yard and house work to catch up on. And had to put up a bigger fence to restrain Rosco Houdini.

I'm headed to the airport in about an hour to pick up Dear Ole Pappy. He'll be here for a week, so I won't be around much this week either.

Play nice, and don't be destroying the markets while I'm gone.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. The thread is not viewing right on my computer.

I don't know if I have somehow acquired a bug or what, but if it doesn't look right to you guys, let me know and I'll try to see what's going on.

[Fuddnik]

3. I think youmight have a bug.

It looks normal on my end.

[Demeter]

4. It Looks Same as Ever, Tansy

Are you still logged in? Sometimes my computer browser logs me out of everything, and DU is very different to visitors than to members....

[Demeter]

7. Correction: the formatting is all funky

as if html stopped working, or something got lost in translation...maybe they played with the site?

[tclambert]

8. It doesn't look right to me, either. The lines ran together on the criminals and the exchanges.

Looks like the "new line" didn't take or something.

[Tansy_Gold]

10. Well, it's not my computer then. Whew!

And it's weird on both of my computers, too, so it must be something in the site.

I'll try one more time and see what happens.

[Tansy_Gold]

12. Okay, it is better now? n/t

[Demeter]

14. By George, I Think You've Got It!

all fixed!

[DemReadingDU]

15. I missed it, glad all is fixed!

[Hugin]

23. Doan tutch the whitespace!ii!11!

:lol:

Looks better now.

[Demeter]

5. California bankruptcies are only the beginning

http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/12/news/economy/california-bankruptcies/index.htm

San Bernardino became the third California city to file for bankruptcy in the past few weeks ... but it won't be the last...Both Stockton's and San Bernardino's fiscal troubles are due in large part to the massive housing downturn and recession that swept across California. Both towns were hit particularly hard by the foreclosure crisis, which left lots of abandoned homes and reduced property values in its wake. That translated into lower property tax revenues, which are critical to supporting public services.

Also, municipalities have also struggled from budget changes made on the state level...While some areas of the Golden State are starting to recover, the regions containing those two towns are not, said Chris McKenna, executive director of the League of California Cities. By filing for bankruptcy, cities will be able to keep police and firefighters on the street and possibly keep some parks and libraries open while they work out their finances, he said. More municipal bankruptcies are likely in California and throughout the nation, as cities continue to battle rising costs and a weak economy, said Eric Hoffman, an analyst at Moody's. Still, "we don't expect it to be widespread," he said.

There are 19,000 city governments in the U.S. and the number of bankruptcies will likely number in the 10s, said Chris Hoene, research director at the National League of Cities. Though that's more than the nation has seen in previous downturns, he doesn't think it's the start of a major crisis. That's not to say that the residents and workers in the bankrupt towns won't feel the pain. They will likely suffer from reduced services and their employees will likely find they have to pay more into their pension and health funds, if they are lucky enough to keep their jobs.

As for the impact on municipal bond investors, the experts are divided. Navarro, the professor, said a wave of bankruptcies will likely spook the market and make it harder and more costly for cities to issue bonds. But Hoene noted that in bondholders and creditors have been protected in many bankruptcies over the past 30 years. However, most cities are either passing through or over the worst of the economic downturn and should start recovering in the near future, Hoene said. Sales taxes, for instance, are recovering in some locales.

The bankruptcies are "a sign of short-term strife," he said. "But it's also a sign they've hit bottom."

[tclambert]

6. You young whippersnappers! I can remember when PEOPLE used to rob BANKS.

Not t'other way 'round.

Bonnie and Clyde. John Dillinger. Pink Floyd Nelson. No, Floyd "Babyface" Nelson, that's it. No, consarn it. Pretty Boy Floyd and George "Babyface" Nelson. Gettin' my gangsters confused. Anyway, GET OFF MY LAWN!

[Demeter]

9. Could one word take down Obamacare?

IT COULDN'T BE THAT EASY...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/07/16/could-a-missing-word-take-down-obamacare/

...That’s at first glance, at least. Two experts who recently scoured Section 1401 think they found something huge: a missing word that could undercut the Affordable Care Act’s promise of affordable health insurance.

Case Western Reserve University’s Jonathan Adler and Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon argue in a new paper that any federally-established health insurance exchange does not have the authority to dole out health insurance subsidies. Those subsidies are important: They are the $800 billion in tax credits meant to subsidize coverage for low- and middle-income Americans...

[Demeter]

17. The Affordable Care Act’s Mixed Reviews

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2012/07/16/the-affordable-care-acts-mixed-reviews/

A new poll from Gallup asking people who they think will be helped and hurt by the new law demonstrates why it is unlikely to become popular in the near future. Most Americans think the law will benefit some groups of people. Given that one of the main stated purposes of the law was to expand coverage to the uninsured, it is to be expected that a majority of people think it will help those currently without insurance. From Gallup:

The problem for the law, then, is that its perceived benefits are countered by the fact that a plurality think the law will hurt a large number of other groups. Most importantly the poll found a majority think the law will hurt taxpayers, and a plurality think it will hurt people with insurance. Since most voters are taxpayers who currently have insurance, it is not surprising that the poll also found that a plurality of people think the law will hurt them personally.

A law that a plurality of Americans think will make them personally worse off is simply never going to very popular as long as they believe that.

Back when Democrats were promising that health care reform would offer benefits to a huge swath of the country, as Obama did in his 2008 campaign when he promised to save a family $2,500 on their premiums, reform was popular. When the “reform” quickly stopped being about delivering clear benefits to most Americans, support eroded quickly.

AND WHEN THE TRUTH IS REVEALED, THAT ONLY THE INSURANCE COMPANIES BENEFIT FROM THIS "ENTITLEMENT", THE FAT WILL REALLY BE IN THE FIRE.

[Demeter]

18. Anti-AIDS Pill Out of Sex-Worker Reach in Push for Cure

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-15/anti-aids-pill-out-of-sex-worker-reach-in-push-for-cure.html

...Truvada, a staple of treatment for patients with HIV, was approved today in the U.S. to lessen the risk of infection in healthy people by as much as 94 percent when taken regularly. As researchers struggle to develop an AIDS vaccine, having a daily pill to block the virus could be a crucial interim step to rein in the disease. Yet rather than celebrating Truvada’s effectiveness, global health planners are now facing a difficult moment of soul searching over how to allocate limited resources.

“On the surface it’s something amazing, you can prevent HIV with a pill,” said Kevin Robert Frost, chief executive officer of amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. “But then you start to dig deeper and it gets really complicated. When I get to the question of who pays for this I am completely dumbfounded. In developing countries, most of them can’t afford to give pills to those who are HIV positive.”


I'D BET MONEY THAT OBAMACARE WOULDN'T COVER IT, EITHER...

[Demeter]

19. Reports from Health Care Practitioners

http://healthafteroil.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/reports-from-health-care-practitioners/

Health after Oil will occasionally offer reports from practitioners who are aware they are working in health systems that are unsustainable and in need of transformation. We begin this series with two practitioner accounts of reactions to the implementation of President Obama’s recently Supreme Court upheld health legislation. The first is by Dr. S., a psychotherapist in a rural setting. She discusses the possible implications of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The second post is by Michael Bennett, a nurse, commenting on how the ACA has overlooked the issue of ecological sustainability. Dan Bednarz, Ed.

Obama’s Affordable Care Act as Prelude

By Dr. S.

As a solo mental health practitioner in a remote rural California community, I’d like to share my experience with what is happening along the way to the collapse of our health care system. I opened my private psychotherapy practice in this rugged and remote area of California in 2006 because it was a community where there were no locally based full-time practitioners. Residents who needed mental health care were either foregoing treatment or driving an hour each way for their 50-minute hour of talk therapy or their 10-minute “med check” with a psychiatrist.

I reasoned if I established mental health services here in this rural community when the health system/economy was still running, then as the collapse unfolded I would be able -in this localized setting- to offer my services in whatever alternative socioeconomic system of exchange emerges. While there is still no local psychiatrist here, over these past six years I have been able to establish a successful private practice. This has been made possible by 1) advertising in the local community newspaper, 2) working hard to get into as many insurance networks as possible so that people with insurance can see me and 3) offering a sliding fee scale for clients without insurance.

While I have always favored shifting health care to a single-payer system, I did not oppose President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA). As this “reform” is beginning to take shape in California, however, I am seeing that it will most likely put me out of business and thus leave our rural community once again without access to local mental health services. This is not only an economic concern to me but personally and professionally frustrating because the localization of health services will be critical in the net available energy descending society we are now entering.

Today I want only to discuss why the ACA is working against my efforts to build a localized practice.

From what my clients and I are experiencing the actual implementation of ACA appears designed to channel or “incentivize” existing and newly insured clients into large bureaucratic urban-based profit-making HMO’s centered around primary care providers. This type of care occurs in clinic settings where fee-for-service payments to free-lance providers such as myself are eliminated. Instead the HMO gets a per-enrollee allotment and then covers provider salaries or fees to nearby providers in closed or limited networks. This would not necessarily eliminate private practitioners like myself from participating since, theoretically at least, we could negotiate agreements with the HMOs to accept whatever payment the clinics would offer. Even if this is possible, however, this is not the direction the HMO’s appear to be taking.

Instead, they seem to be moving toward hiring or contracting with select providers in highly populated areas, often using interns or newly graduated professionals –to whom they can offer low fees compared to more experienced and higher credentialed therapists. These interns and recent graduates are expected to use cookie-cutter, evidence-based, treatment protocols for as brief periods as possible. In other words, the profit of the HMO, not therapeutic efficacy, gives every appearance as being the primary goal....

AS A PREVIOUS PRESIDENT WOULD CROW: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

[Demeter]

11. U.S. dollar turns down after Bernanke gives no hints or details regarding QE3

BUT IT MANAGED TO EKE OUT 80 POINTS ANYWAY...

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-dollar-slips-before-fed-chairman-testimony-2012-07-17?siteid=YAHOOB

The U.S. dollar turned slightly lower late Tuesday, erasing gains after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the central bank remains ready to take further action.

Traders had been bracing for hints of another round of monetary stimulus to support the economy and though Bernanke played his cards close to the vest, some investors stuck with convictions that something will be coming soon.....

HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL

[DemReadingDU]

38. Is it Time for Bernanke to Level With the American Public?

7/18/12 Is it Time for Bernanke to Level With the American Public?
Bernanke Must Fess Up and Level With the American Public: Schiff
By Jeff Macke

According to Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital, those of you looking to learn what's happening in the U.S. are better off paying attention to almost anything other than Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's Congressional testimony. "You might be able to to trade off what he has to say but it doesn't have any bearing on what's actually happening," he states.

The author of The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy says Bernanke is caught in a logic trap. On the one hand he can't pretend things are good. They aren't. On the other hand Bernanke can't signal too much weakness because he doesn't want markets assuming QE3 is inevitable. Schiff says more quantitative easing is a foregone conclusion but it's best for Bernanke to hold such measures in reserve.

It would be ideal for Bernanke to start pulling the plug on the monetary stimulus we have to allow the economy to detoxify. We have serious structural problems exacerbated, if not directly caused by fiscal and monetary intrusions already. Comparing our economy to Keith Richards, cancer patients and other terminal cases, Schiff thinks it's long past time to "'fess up, level with the American public and tell them what needs to be done."

Comparing the economy to a heroin addict avoiding withdrawal, Schiff says the only remedy is going cold turkey. The pain of such a move would be brutal for many Americans, but for working taxpayers picking up the tab the relief would be immediate and welcomed. Sounding like a more Draconian version of Ronald Reagan or even Bill Clinton, Schiff thinks reducing benefits will get more people off the dole, drive prices lower and eventually result in a more healthy economy.

None of which you'll hear from Bernanke. The testimony of today and yesterday bring out the worst instincts in everyone involved. Bernanke will evade and the politicians will pander while groping for that one soundbite that will be perfect for an campaign ad. Speaking into microphones and in front of cameras on the Hill is the best way on earth to ensure nothing useful gets done. "Everybody is resisting the needed reform because it's bad politics," shouts Schiff. Whatever you think of his solutions it's hard to disagree with that assessment.


video at link, appx 5.5. minutes
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/breakout/bernanke-must-fess-level-american-public-schiff-120411403.html

[Demeter]

44. Bernanke's not suicidal

Nor would he willingly set up his own murder, so that's a NO.

[Demeter]

13. Goldman's golden egg turns leaden; bank plans cuts

http://news.yahoo.com/goldman-earnings-fall-four-percent-114454646--sector.html

Goldman Sachs Group Inc's quarterly profit fell 12 percent as investment income plunged, reflecting the pressure the bank faces as demand for its services remains tepid and regulators clamp down on bank risk-taking.

In an environment the investment bank characterized as "tough," Goldman said it was embarking on a new round of cost-cutting, which will include laying off some senior employees.

Goldman has long been known for making savvy bets on markets, and last decade it earned billions of dollars from those trades. But in the second quarter it lost $194 million on its investment in Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) and $112 million on its investment in other stocks, the bank reported on Tuesday. Overall revenue in the group that invests the bank's money plunged 81 percent.

In the current environment, with the European debt crisis still not fully resolved, and China's growth slowing, Goldman has scaled back its risk-taking, even before new U.S. regulations take effect limiting its investments....

[Demeter]

16. HSBC Executive Resigns During Money Laundering Hearing

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/07/17/156937040/hsbc-executive-resigns-during-money-laundering-hearing?ft=1&f=1001



David Bagley, HSBC's head of group compliance, resigned in the middle of a Senate hearing today that was looking into charges that the bank had been lax in meeting government requirements, allowing Mexican cartels to launder money and giving terrorists access to the American banking system.

Bloomberg reports:

"Bagley was among at least six HSBC executives who testified before the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations today after the panel released a 335-page report describing a decade of compliance failures by Europe's biggest bank. London- based HSBC enabled drug lords to launder money in Mexico, did business with firms linked to terrorism and concealed transactions that bypassed U.S. sanctions against Iran, Senate investigators said in the report.

"'As I have thought about the structural transformation of the bank's compliance function, I recommended to the group that now is the appropriate time for me and for the bank for someone new to serve as the head of group compliance,' Bagley said. 'I have agreed to work with the bank's senior management towards an orderly transition of this important role.'"

The Wall Street Journal reports that the investigation focused a lot of attention on the Mexican side. It noted that HSBC's Mexican arm sent up to $4 billion in bank notes

"by car or aircraft to the HSBC bank in the U.S."

"U.S. authorities have flagged such volume of bulk cash shipments for scrutiny, in part because drug cartels are believed to use such flows of money to hide illicit proceeds," the Journal reports.

According to The Telegraph, Stuart Gulliver, chief executive of HSBC, issued an apology.

"We have sometimes failed to meet the standards regulators and customer expect... we take responsibility for fixing what went wrong," he said.

The Telegraph adds that HSBC will likely face a hefty fine of up to $1 billion.

[Demeter]

20. Merchants Considering Credit Card Surcharges

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/business/merchants-consider-credit-card-surcharges-or-cash-discounts.html?_r=1&ref=business



Starting this week, prices are 2 percent lower on ScanMyPhotos.com. At the grocer Kroger, executives are contemplating charging two prices for groceries — a lower price when shoppers pay with cash, and a higher one when they use a credit card. And at restaurants across the country, owners are weighing the wisdom — or lack of it — of a surcharge on bills paid with credit cards.

Businesses on Monday sorted through the repercussions of a multibillion-dollar settlement late last week with Visa and MasterCard, and there was little consensus about how things would settle out. The tentative deal allows merchants to offer discounts to customers paying with cash or checks, and to impose fees when they pay with credit cards. Businesses can also negotiate directly with Visa and MasterCard over the rates they pay for credit card transactions.

In a symbolic move, ScanMyPhotos.com, one of the plaintiffs in the class action that led to the settlement, dropped its prices to demonstrate “that cardholders benefit” from the deal, not just people who pay with cash, said Mitch Goldstone, the chief executive. Mr. Goldstone reckoned that merchants and Web sites like his, which accepts only credit card payments, will now be able to negotiate with the credit card companies for lower transaction fees.

Others were less optimistic about the benefit for consumers and businesses. In a statement, Scott DeFife, the executive vice president for policy and government affairs at the National Restaurant Association, said the terms of the settlement were far more complicated than the banks and the credit card companies had portrayed...

[Demeter]

21. I have no hope, I see no future

On the other hand, Tansy can soon come live in Michigan and have the same weather as Arizona and all the amenities of the Great Lake state besides...except maybe the lakes, if it doesn't rain soon.

[kickysnana]

22. WGN said Chgo tonite: expecting a good rain after 47 days of almost nothing. Rain is far N of here.

Hope some of that hits you.

[DemReadingDU]

24. Brief shower last evening, another brief shower this morning

Just enough so that I won't need to water the garden, but grass is still brown and dormant

[Demeter]

45. So far today--completely overcast, which means an automatic 10 Degrees less

and about a penny's worth of raindrops. But with the temp and humidity just south of unbearable, I was able to get the outdoors chores done, at least, finally.

[bread_and_roses]

25. "The rich are different, and so are their bankruptcies"

Honest to goddess, I can't read beyond the first page - I start banging my head on the table - it's all so predictably awful:

http://www.alternet.org/story/156328/how_banks_and_politicians_let_one_company_come_back_from_the_dead_to_keep_abusing_workers/

How Banks and Politicians Let One Company Come Back from the Dead to Keep Abusing Workers
By Josh Eidelson, AlterNet
Posted on July 15, 2012, Printed on July 18, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/story/156328/how_banks_and_politicians_let_one_company_come_back_from_the_dead_to_keep_abusing_workers

The rich are different, and so are their bankruptcies. For most Americans, politicians and banks have made bankruptcy an onerous, embarrassing process with lifelong consequences. But bankruptcy means something very different if you’re a giant corporation like American Airlines, which is wringing millions in concessions out of unions after filing for bankruptcy with $4 billion cash on hand – or if you’re a regional sweatshop like Pennsylvania’s W & K steel. . The family that ran W & K has repeatedly gotten caught burning their creditors and endangering their employees. Their business even drew a boycott from its hometown County Council. But now they’re doing just fine, because politicians and banks keep giving them money. A bank they stiffed allegedly took months to make them give up equipment serving as collateral on an unpaid loan – while moving to foreclose on four hundred-plus area homes.

Rather than driving them out of the industry, a bankruptcy last year let the family wipe out debts, shed the label “sweatshop,” and get back to work doing taxpayer-funded construction.

Wilhelm’s Steel Sweatshop

Along with OSHA citations and various lawsuits, Edward Wilhelm has been involved in at least six bankruptcies since 2001. Most recent: W & K Steel, his steel fabrication company, and W & K Erection, his steel erecting company operating from the same Pittsburgh-area address in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County. In February of 2011, Allegheny County’s Council passed a resolution declaring it would do no business with W & K. The Council cited evidence from workers that exposed conditions contrary to its “anti-sweatshop” policy, including “testimony suggesting that at least some refugee employees are paid roughly half the amount paid to US-born employees, leaving those refugees to depend on public assistance for the basic necessities of life.”

[xchrom]

26. howdy all

[kickysnana]

36. Drat, I was looking for the portrait of distant cousin Admiral DeRuyter and his greyhounds

but I cannot locate it on my hard drive or google. Note to self do not allow numbered names for photos. I have a photo of my great-grandparents, also deRuyter and their greyhounds cir 1904.

While I was doing genealogy I realized that the editor of our neighborhood newspaper was a deRuyter so I went to visit him to see if there was any connection. He looked just like that portrait it was spooky. There was no close connection, but his parents and my farming Aunts and Uncles used to winter together in Arizona so he already knew about us.

Thanks, I really enjoy the art you find to post.

[xchrom]

37. Those pics sound fascinating!

Please post if you find them.

[Tansy_Gold]

46. Thomas Gerrie, 1915

My great-grandfather's youngest brother. Dogs run in the family

[xchrom]

47. Fabulous! Is that dog on the right

Sticking his tongue out?

[xchrom]

27. Bank of America swings to a profit in Q2

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EARNS_BANK_OF_AMERICA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-18-07-21-10

Bank of America says it swung to a profit in the second quarter and beat Wall Street expectations. The bank lost money in the same quarter last year, mostly because of a mortgage settlement.

The bank said it made $2.1 billion from April through June. That amounted to 19 cents per share, more than the 16 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet, a financial data provider.

In the second quarter of last year, the bank lost $9.1 billion. It paid $8.5 billion to settle claims from investors who had bought its mortgages or mortgage-backed bonds. The investors said they had been misled about the mortgages' quality.

The stock is up 18 cents to $8.10 in premarket trading.


*** i hope people are checking their wallets.

[xchrom]

41. BofA Profit Rebound Marred By $22.7 Billion In Mortgage Claims

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-18/bofa-posts-quarterly-profit-as-moynihan-takes-aim-at-expenses.html

Bank of America Corp.’s second- quarter profit report was marred by record demands for refunds on faulty mortgages, casting doubt on whether improvements in the company’s real estate operations will last.

Net income was $2.46 billion, or 19 cents a share, compared with the year-earlier record loss of $8.83 billion, or 90 cents, with the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company saying today it set aside less money for bad loans. At the same time, demands from bond investors and insurers that the firm take back defective mortgages jumped by more than $6 billion from the previous quarter to $22.7 billion.

“We don’t think this is done,” said Paul Miller, an analyst who follows Bank of America for FBR Capital Markets with a hold rating. “Can they defend themselves and pay only a fraction of that” or will claims “continue to come in and just overwhelm the company?” he asked.

Analysts repeatedly questioned top managers including Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan during a conference call today about the flawed mortgages, including the extent of future losses and why claims continue to pile up on loans made during the housing bubble. He’s already committed more than $40 billion to resolve disputes on faulty loans and foreclosures, most of them stemming from the 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp.

[xchrom]

28. Chinese companies say profits plunging as impact of abrupt economic slowdown spreads

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/chinese-companies-say-profits-plunging-as-impact-of-abrupt-economic-slowdown-spreads/2012/07/18/gJQAPVFxsW_story.html

BEIJING — Some of China’s biggest companies, from tech giants to airlines and retailers, are warning of unexpectedly sharp drops in profit of up to 80 percent, adding to pressure on Beijing to reverse a painful economic slump.

On Wednesday, Air China Ltd., one of three main government-owned airlines, warned first-half profit will fall by at least half from a year earlier. State-owned ZTE Corp., one of the world’s biggest producers of telecommunications equipment, is projecting a decline of up to 80 percent.


The woes facing even politically favored companies that benefit from monopolies, low-cost bank loans and other government aid highlight the challenges for the authoritarian country’s leaders who are trying to pull China out of its deepest slowdown since the 2008 crisis.

Forecasters say the slowdown might have bottomed out after growth fell to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the second quarter but the timing and strength of a rebound are uncertain. Premier Wen Jiabao warned last weekend a recovery was not yet stable. On Tuesday, he said the employment outlook “will become more complex and severe.”



*** there's that word...'unexpectedly'.

[xchrom]

29. Swedish banking group Nordea posts profit rise in Q2 thanks higher lending activity

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/swedish-banking-group-nordea-posts-profit-rise-in-q2-thanks-to-lending-and-deposit-volumes/2012/07/18/gJQALUFxsW_story.html

STOCKHOLM — Nordea AB, the largest bank in the Nordic region in terms of market capitalization, on Wednesday said profits soared 17 percent in the second quarter as customers continued to flock to the banking group for loans and deposits despite the market volatility caused by the euro crisis.

The report that net profit rose to €820 million ($1 billion) from €698 million in the same three months a year ago sent the bank’s share up almost 3 percent to 62.35 kronor ($8.89).


Net interest income, the bank’s main source of income, shot up to €1.46 billion from €1.33 billion. As volumes for both loans and deposits rose in the quarter, margins related to lending increased, while those related to deposits shrank on the back of lower interest rates and stiff competition when it comes to savings deposits customers.

CEO Christian Clausen said the positive development is largely due to the company’s “early action” in response to the financial market turmoil that has affected large parts of Europe. Those actions included the launch of a cost savings plan that led to staff reductions and other measures.

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30. South Korea banks in rate-rigging investigation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18882294


A South Korea financial regulator has started an investigation into alleged interest rate rigging by some of the country's banks.

The Fair Trade Commission is looking at possible collusion over setting certificates of deposit (CD), used as a benchmark to set lending rates.

Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, and Hana are the banks being investigated.

It follows the Libor-rigging scandal involving Barclays and possibly several other banks.

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31. Sicily in danger of default, says Italian PM

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18874759


Italian PM Mario Monti says the region of Sicily is close to defaulting on its debts, and he is seeking confirmation that the governor will resign.

In a statement, Mr Monti said there were "grave concerns" that the island would default following a growing financial crisis.

He said he had written to Raffaele Lombardo asking him to confirm his stated intention to quit this month.

Mr Monti's government is struggling to cope with a huge national debt crisis.

[Roland99]

32. 1st, GREAT toon!

[Roland99]

33. 2nd, US futures adrift

[font color="red"]S&P 500 -0.3%
DOW -0.2%
NASDAQ -0.2% [/font]

[Roland99]

34. 3rdly, Today's Reports

[Roland99]

35. June US Housing Starts >>>>

* U.S. housing starts climb 6.9% in June
* Housing starts 23.6% higher vs. one year ago
* Building permits drop 3.7% to to 755,000 rate
* U.S. housing starts climb 6.9% in June
* Housing starts rise to annual pace of 760,000

[Hotler]

39. I tore my mind on a jagged sky....

I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in. have a god day everyone.

[bread_and_roses]

40. good to see you, Hotler (n/t)

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42. Capital One To Pay $210 Million In First CFPB Enforcement Case

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-18/capital-one-to-pay-210-million-in-first-cfpb-enforcement-case.html

Capital One Financial Corp. (COF) will pay a total of $210 million to settle charges of deceptive marketing of credit card “add-on” products such as payment protection and credit monitoring.

It was the first public enforcement case brought the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, established by the Dodd- Frank Act to increase oversight of consumer financial products. The bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the bank’s primary regulator, said Capitol One agreed to provide between $140 million and $150 million in restitution to 2 million customers and pay an additional $60 million in penalties -- $25 million to the CFPB and $35 million to the OCC.

The McLean, Virginia-based company didn't admit or deny wrongdoing.

“Today’s action puts $140 million back in the pockets of two million Capital One customers who were pressured or misled into buying credit card products they didn’t understand, didn’t want, or in some cases, couldn’t even use,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray, referring to the refund amount in the consumer bureau’s settlement. “We are putting companies on notice that these deceptive practices are against the law and will not be tolerated.”

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43. Scary Fabulous for your viewing pleasure...