STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 6 August 2012

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, 6 August 2012[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 3 August 2012

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 3 August 2012
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Dow Jones 13,096.17 +217.29 (1.69%)
S&P 500 1,390.99 +25.99 (1.90%)
Nasdaq 2,967.90 +58.13 (2.00%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.56% +0.02 (1.30%)
30 Year 2.64% +0.01 (0.38%) [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
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
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]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. Okay, all you tech-savvy types, explain to me what's going on here.

If I post the daily thread without previewing it, all goes well.

If I cut and paste AND PREVIEW, it all goes wack-a-doodle.

All done on the same computer, nothing changed.

[Fuddnik]

2. I'm beginning to think it's a DU glitch.

When I've posted replies, or like WEE, some pictures make it, some don't. Hit reload and it comes out right.

Sometimes if I post a Youtube video it posts. Come back later, and it's a different video. Reload, and the right video pops up.

Confusing and beats the shit out of me. We're on different computers on opposite ends of the country, and have some of the same problems.

[Tansy_Gold]

14. Exactly.

I had that happen when I posted the wikipedia thing about Saint Roch yesterday -- Everything was fine until I went to add the picture, and then all the paragraphing was suddenly lost on the edit.

The same thing will happen if I try to "edit" the SMW front page, such as adding a name to the convicted list. No can do. Add it the next day and it's fine, but any changes will the page is live will fuck up the formating.

At least I'm not the only one. . . . .

[Ghost Dog]

18. Sounds like a cache-synchronisation problem.

Could be raised in the forum here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1095

[Ghost Dog]

3. ECB is preparing to act as a genuine lender-of-last-resort

... Much of North Europe’s political class clings to a warped narrative of what has gone wrong in EMU, attributing the crisis to fiscal debauchery and Latin failings. They misdirect their wrath. The enemy is the currency itself. It is a structural crisis, a misalignment of cycles and real interest rates, a sorry saga of unbridled capital flows.

Without rehearsing the tedious details of this debate, let us remember that Spain ran a budget surplus of 2pc of GDP during the Trichet bubble. Italy scores top of the IMF's fiscal sustainability index, far above Germany, France, Holland, Britain, the US, and Japan.

It is the euro that is suffocating Italy and Spain. They have the wrong intra-EMU exchange rate, and no sovereign control over anti-cyclical policy levers. The debt crisis -- a misnomer -- is a sympton. The sooner they break free, the better, for them.

Nor is the Monti-Rajoy axis as weak as it looks. The Latins can inflict a deflationary shock and banking crisis on Germany at any time by walking out of EMU and imposing capital controls -- as a chorus of leading economists now advocate -- if provoked. Who really holds the aces in this game of poker?...


... But do they understand this in the Bundestag or the Tweede Kamer, or even want to understand? Or will they demand Carthaginian terms to placate their own electors before agreeing to any EFSF loan package? Will they push the great imperial capitals of Rome and Madrid one step too far? The bargaining is fraught with execution risk, as they say in Canary Wharf.

/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/9453667/Venetian-cunning-of-Draghi-Monti-masterplan-may-save-euro-for-now.html

See Also for Details: Venetian cunning of Draghi-Monti masterplan (Evans-Pritchard) - http://www.democraticunderground.com/111619853

[AnneD]

4. Been having problems too...

Too many responses are MIA.

[DemReadingDU]

5. So far, so good

Everything looks ok to me

[xchrom]

6. for Miss Demeter

?m=1319488239

[Ghost Dog]

21. Demeter's at last grabbing 76 hours sleep,

right?

[xchrom]

23. what ever she is doing.. i hope it's good. yesterday sounded rough for her. nt

[Tansy_Gold]

24. Computer problems

Cursor gone cuckoo.

[Demeter]

31. That's about it

Sleeping, reading, doing chores....

I just can't do any blogging or board work. It's so retro. Computer is at the shop now...we shall see.

[Ghost Dog]

34. .

Pace and Timing are All.

[Demeter]

30. Aw, thanks X!

I've been keeping stuff alive around here by getting up and watering in the wee hours of the morning, so I don't pass out while doing it. But the flowering is uneven as a result.

[xchrom]

7. IT'S OFFICIAL: Knight Capital Gets 'Rescued', And Investors Getting Totally Hosed

http://www.businessinsider.com/knight-investors-get-hosed-2012-8

HOSED.
Knight Capital has announced a $400 million investment infusion to rescue it after a trading debacle cost t $440 million last month.
But the cash infusion is massively dilutive, equity investors are getting totally hosed.
The stock is down 40% this morning.


Here's the full announcement in an 8-K filing:

Knight Capital Group, Inc. (the “Company”) is filing this Current Report on Form 8-K to update certain items in the historical consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Historical information was updated following an August 1, 2012 technology issue related to the Company’s installation of trading software which resulted in the Company sending numerous erroneous orders in NYSE-listed securities into the market.

As a result of this issue, the Company has realized a pre-tax loss of approximately $440 million. In addition, the historical consolidated financial statements were revised to reorder the presentation of the Company’s Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income and Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity, as required by Financial Accounting Standard Board Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05. Exhibit 99.1 contains the updated and revised financial information.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/knight-investors-get-hosed-2012-8#ixzz22lVRI8YK

[westerebus]

16. Which will all be fixed when we shift to cloud computing.

No more nasty bits getting lost. No more cursors being cursed. Spikes averted. All smooth running. All algos in order.

A Company raised from the dead, or near dead. Not a single "fat finger" quote to be found in the biosphere.

The power goes out in the back office of the western world, comes back on, and no one can find Alt-Ctrl-Delete?

All your white space belong to us.

Until it doesn't.

[Demeter]

32. So, why did the Cronies Want to Save This One?

Because it makes markets, and they all piggyback on it, apparently. Unlike MFGlobal....theirs was an "honest" mistake, not an outright attempt to defraud....after all, front-running is legal, isn't it? De facto, at least.

[westerebus]

38. Honest mistake?

It is fair to say they have taken responsibility, cookie jar-red handed, oh did you mean me, kind of acceptance. Yet, the frequent flier or rouge operator can't be dismissed out of hand. Suspect everyone given they are market makers for the PTB.

Which is why I find hard to accept that a HFT simply decided to eat itself for lunch. The de facto may be much more than they are willing to admit to. Why? Mr. Diamond was not about to go down with the ship and came half way clean when the Whale trade was exposed for what it actually was.

So why not a sacrifice to the gods of lesser member of those who trade for a living? The pound of flesh to make amends. After all there are favors owed and debts to be collected.

So-Gen had its rogue trader, as JPM had its Whale, as have others who made their mark to have gone namelessly into the good night. Then again there is always the question who knew what and what recourse would JPM take to teach lesser mortals proper respect of their betters?

[Po_d Mainiac]

35. Good night Knight. n/t

[xchrom]

8. Italy's Unelected Prime Minister Infuriates Europe By Telling The Truth About Democracy

http://www.businessinsider.com/monti-blasts-democracy-2012-8

Italian PM Mario Monti is the only leader of a huge, developed "democracy" who didn't get into their position by winning an election.
Last year, when things were getting super-hairy in the Eurozone crisis, the ECB for all intents and purposes engineered an exit by Berlusconi, paving the way for the "technocrat" Mario Monti.

Monti's task: Come in, reform the Italian system, and get out.

Now he's apparently infuriated the rest of Europe by -- surprise surprise! -- criticizing a key tenet of a democratic system.
In a soon-to-be released interview with German newspaper Der Spiegel Monti says:

"If governments allow themselves to be entirely bound to the decisions of their parliament, without protecting their own freedom to act, a break up of Europe would be a more probable outcome than deeper integration."


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/monti-blasts-democracy-2012-8#ixzz22lWChR1u

[Demeter]

33. And this is a problem, how?

What cannot continue, will not continue.

I was listening to NPR, Army types bleating about PSTD, or Shell Shock, or whatever you called it all the way back to the Civil War, and how medicine hasn't yet come up with a solution.....

It's called PEACE. It's called MYOB and get the Corporate camel noses out of the tents. If there's no war, there's no vets, no injured, no casualties. Civilians would like it, too.

And think how the budget would shrink!

[xchrom]

9. German foreign minister warns that debate on eurozone crisis taking on ‘very dangerous’ tone

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/german-foreign-minister-warns-that-debate-on-eurozone-crisis-taking-on-very-dangerous-tone/2012/08/06/165048d0-dfa9-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_story.html

BERLIN — Germany’s foreign minister warned on Monday that arguments about European policy are taking on a “very dangerous” tone as worries mount about the future of the euro.

Guido Westerwelle didn’t specify who his comments were aimed at. But they came after Italian Premier Mario Monti warned over the weekend of tensions that “bear the traits of a psychological dissolution of Europe,” and a regional official in a German governing party said Greece must leave the euro this year.

“The tone is very dangerous. We must take care not to talk Europe down,” Westerwelle said in a statement.

He added that attempts to grab domestic political attention “cannot be the yardstick for our action in any European country, including Germany — the situation in Europe is too serious for that.”

[xchrom]

10. Summer slump: Small businesses continued shedding workers in July

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-small-business/summer-slump-small-businesses-continued-shedding-workers-in-july/2012/08/02/gJQAkDCiSX_story.html

On the heels of several discouraging economic reports, the latest small business employment figures further suggest the recovery is losing momentum.

The nation’s smallest firms trimmed their staffs ever so slightly over the past few months, losing an average of 0.04 workers per company, according to a report released Thursday by the National Federation of Independent Business. While that’s not quite as big of a hit as the 0.11 workers they reported losing in June, this marks the second consecutive month in the red after six straight of flat or increased employment.


Either way, small businesses are clearly struggling this summer to live up to their traditional billing as the country’s most powerful job engine.

“On balance, July looks like a repeat of June, few jobs and no change in the unemployment rate,” William C. Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist, said in a statement. “So far, it has turned out to be a cruel summer of dashed hopes for meaningful job creation.”

[xchrom]

11. APNewsBreak: US audits spending of Katrina recovery funding for sewer lines on Miss. coast

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/apnewsbreak-us-audits-spending-of-katrina-recovery-funding-for-sewer-lines-on-miss-coast/2012/08/06/bdbe626a-dfa3-11e1-8d48-2b1243f34c85_story.html?tid=pm_business_pop

BILOXI, Miss. — Federal housing authorities are auditing the use of more than $650 million in grants designated for an ambitious plan for sewage and water systems across south Mississippi in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, The Associated Press has learned.

The money was divided among five south Mississippi counties, with the most, more than $230 million, set aside for the largest, Harrison County. The entire plan is being audited by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said Robbie Wilbur, spokesman for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. Wilbur’s agency hired engineering firms to draft the Gulf Region Water and Wastewater Plan after Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.

HUD officials would not comment on whether an audit is being done.

In June, an AP investigation found that officials implementing the plan in one county spent millions of federal dollars on sewage plants and water tanks that may not be needed for decades.

The AP found the state-hired engineering firms based the plan on projections of huge growth in many areas. However, other studies estimated much more modest growth, and populations in many coastal areas actually declined, in part because Katrina displaced thousands of residents whose homes were destroyed.

[xchrom]

12. Wait, the U.S. economy actually lost 1.2 million jobs in July?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/05/wait-the-u-s-economy-actually-lost-1-2-million-jobs-in-july/

The U.S. economy lost 1.2 million jobs between June and July. But that’s not how it got reported. When the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its jobs figures for July, it said the economy gained 163,000 jobs. So what gives?

BLS isn’t hiding anything. The discrepancy just has to do with what’s known as “seasonal adjustments.” The U.S. economy follows certain predictable patterns in hiring and layoffs every year. School districts always let workers go for the summer and hire in the fall. Retailers always staff up for the Christmas holidays and lay people off afterwards. Students always flood the labor market in June.

So if we want to know how well the economy is doing, we want to know how many jobs were added after taking these predictable fluctuations into account. Some seasonal adjustments are necessary before the data can tell us anything useful.

And this is exactly what BLS does in its monthly jobs reports. As Jacob Goldstein of Planet Money points out, the U.S. economy had 1.2 million fewer jobs (pdf) in July than it did in June. But, according to the bureau, the economy still had 163,000 more jobs than one would’ve expected, given seasonal trends. That’s a sign of a steadily recovering labor market. So BLS reported it as a 163,000 gain in jobs.

[Ghost Dog]

19. Translation: It's Presidential Election Season, stupid.

/... http://www.zerohedge.com/news/chart-day-garbage-shall-set-you-free-gdp-manipulation



/... http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-08-06/bs-bls-leads-profitable-short-opportunities-hopium-smokers-get-high-depreciat



/... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/debt-crisis-live/9455101/Debt-crisis-live.html

[Roland99]

13. The news is good. Bully!

S&P 500 +0.2%
DOW +0.1%
NASDAQ +0.5%

[xchrom]

15. Swiss Banks Face Slow Death As Taxman Chases Assets

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-05/swiss-banks-face-slow-death-as-taxman-chases-undeclared-assets.html

Swiss banks must lure affluent clients from emerging markets or face a “slow death” as the pursuit of tax dodgers by U.S. and European authorities results in outflows of assets, industry officals and investors said.

Western Europeans may pull as much as 135 billion francs ($139 billion), or 15 percent of their holdings, from Swiss banks, said Herbert Hensle of Cap Gemini SA. Bank Sarasin & Cie. AG reported last week that private clients withdrew 3 billion francs from Swiss locations in the year through June.

Switzerland built the world’s biggest offshore wealth center during an era of “black money” that ended when the U.S. sued UBS AG (UBSN) three years ago. Many of the highest fee-generating European and American customers are withdrawing funds as the hunt for tax evaders widens. As many as 100 Swiss banks will vanish, according to Vontobel Holding AG Chief Executive Officer Zeno Staub.

“It will not be a big bang, but an erosion as amnesty programs are put together and as clients declare themselves and come clean,” said Francois Reyl, chief executive officer of Geneva-based Reyl Group, which manages 5.5 billion francs of assets. “Those banks which don’t adapt will die a slow death.”

Some banks are already under pressure. EFG International AG, the Swiss bank controlled by billionaire Spiro Latsis, last month reported outflows from continental Europe in the first half, while net new money from private clients at Vontobel fell 86 percent to 100 million francs from a year earlier.

[xchrom]

17. Eurozone companies 'weak in July'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19108592


Europe's manufacturing and service provider sectors both shrank in July, the 11th consecutive month of contraction, according to an influential survey.

The July Markit purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 46.5 in July from 46.4 in June.

Any figure below 50 indicates a contraction.

The services sector on its own managed to rise to 47.9 in July, from 47.1 in June.

[xchrom]

20. Signs mount of North Sea oil supply drop in September

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/10375990

LONDON (Reuters) - Output from the North Sea's second-largest crude oil stream is set to fall sharply in September, adding to signs of reduced supply from the home of the Brent benchmark used to price around two thirds of the world's oil.
The prospect of lower supply is leading to a rise in Brent prices that is felt by consumers and businesses around the world, as Brent is used for pricing crude produced in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia.
Norway's Troll crude oil stream is scheduled to load five cargoes in September, down from 14 in August, due to maintenance work, traders said on Monday, citing an export schedule sent to cargo owners. Daily supply will average 100,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 271,000 bpd in August.

[xchrom]

22. Squeezing pay yet further will only prolong the UK's economic pain

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/06/squeezing-pay-prolong-uk-economic-pain

Over the last two years real wages have fallen, on average, by 7%, a downward trend set to continue well into 2013. Of course, with an economy that is still shrinking, some fall in wages and living standards was inevitable. But what appears to be happening is a direct attempt by the government to engineer, under the cover of the crisis, a further fall in the share of the national cake going to earnings.

This comes on top of a three-decade long downward trend in the wage-share. The proportion of the workforce in low-paid work has almost doubled over the last two decades and now stands at more than a fifth. Some groups of workers – from forklift truck drivers to bakers – are now paid less in real terms than in the 1980s, while the UK now has the second highest share of employees in low pay (after the United States) among leading economies.

Five forces are exerting downward pressure on earnings. First, the near four-year long freeze (a real cut after inflation) on public sector pay. Second, voluntary sector organisations and charities responsible for a large share of public service provision are responding to disproportionate budget cuts by imposing sharp cuts in pay. Many care home staff and those working with the homeless are facing pay cuts of up to a fifth.

[Tansy_Gold]

25. speaking of pain. . . .

Anybody got a remedy for back spasms?

[xchrom]

26. Valium. Wish I had some. Nt

[Fuddnik]

27. If you have access to an inversion table or an eliptical machine.

The inversion table takes the stress off, and the elliptical (or about a 2.5-3.0 mph treadmill) tends to loosen me up.

In fact, I'm headed to the gym right now.

[AnneD]

28. Yoga...

esp. The position of the child (or infant). Basically it mimics the way infants sleep; on the stomach with legs curled under and butt in the air. Of course your butt will be high in the air when you first try it, allow your bottom to slowly drop. It becomes more relaxing the longer you remain in that position. It can slowly stretch out cramping back muscles. Working as an RN has always put me at risk for musculoskeletal injuries and I have always had a chiropractor on retainer. I fully credit that, weight training, and a knowledge of body mechanics for keeping me from having permanent career ending injuries. A number of my classmates were not so lucky.

Remember, if you are having spasms, you are injured so be gentle. Alternate cold with hot therapy. PM me if you have a specific question. Tylenol or Ibuprophen are good but slow stretching in the opposite direction can prevent and lessen injury. Relax relax relax.

[just1voice]

29. Ice, tons of it

If it's the crippling lower back spasms put ice under your entire lower back, 20 minutes at a time for a few hours. Hydrate and walk around afterward then be sure to stay hydrated. Muscle relaxing drugs work in conjunction with the ice but don't underestimate the icing, it's crucial.

[Po_d Mainiac]

36. Drop an anvil on your foot

You'll fergut all about u'r back.

[westerebus]

40. What if she ain't got no anvil?

Besides she can't pick up an anvil if she's got a bad back.

May be sit on one of them cactus, but ya have to be real careful, ya want to roll a cheek and avoid the valley...iffin ya know what I mean...and I think ya do.

Now if that's a little to far to go, the Yoga baby pose is a good way to go. It does require a loose fitting garment so your chakras can move around some. As was mentioned, your backside will be air borne, so it might not be a good time to have the cable guy stop by to check your connections...

I leave that up to you... just sayin

[Warpy]

37. Ice. 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off

It feels like hell at first but it can numb things out so you can function.

Functioning is what you need to do. Complete rest only prolongs the agony.

I have Flexeril, but rarely take it for back spasms. It's ice or a TENS box for me.

[Fuddnik]

39. I forgot about the TENS box.

Works like a charm.

They're available in medical supply stores. Maybe some drug stores. Priced from about $40-$250. I've got a cheapie that works as well as the professional unit at my physical therapist.

[DemReadingDU]

41. TENS - Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcutaneous_electrical_nerve_stimulation


I used that perhaps a decade ago when I had pain in carpal tunnel in my wrist, up my arm, neck and back. With chiropractic adjustments and the TENS, eventually I got functional again.

[Warpy]

42. You have to know what you're doing when you set them up

so they say "by prescription only."

However, yes, they're magic.

[Fuddnik]

43. You can buy a gizmo called a "Mini Masseuse", OTC

It works just like a TENS, is cheaper, and does the same thing.

I've got both.

[Warpy]

44. Ah, didn't know that. I bought a TENS

Last edited Tue Aug 7, 2012, 02:10 AM - Edit history (1)

for myself without a prescription because I had so much experience setting the things up when I worked at the VA years ago.

There are just some places civilians need to know not to place those electrode pads. They can be fatal if used improperly.

Edit: I are have gud grammar when I aint so tard.