STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 24 October 2012

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 24 October 2012[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 23 October 2012

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 23 October 2012
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Dow Jones 13,102.53 -243.36 (-1.82%)
S&P 500 1,413.11 -20.71 (-1.44%)
Nasdaq 2,990.46 -26.50 (-0.88%)


[font color=black]10 Year 1.76% 0.00 (0.00%)
[font color=green]30 Year 2.90% -0.01 (-0.34%) [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."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent




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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]

[Demeter]

1. Good Cartoon!

Well worth the wait.

[Demeter]

2. Consumers: What fiscal cliff?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/15/consumers-what-fiscal-cliff/

We’re creeping closer to “taxmaggedon,” but America’s consumers don’t seem terribly concerned.

The University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index hit a five-year high for October, the Wall Street Journal points out. That suggests that most ordinary Americans are either unaware of or unconcerned about the fiscal cliff, despite the direct hit that it could have on their pocketbooks.



There are other signs of renewed confidence: Retail sales rose 1.1 percent in September, buoyed by sales at electronic stores — which experienced the largest increase since October 2011, with 4.5 percent growth — and online retailers, points out JPMorgan’s chief ecomist Michael Feroli. Retail vehicle sales also saw a 1.3 percent increase in September, and building materials sales rose 1.1 percent.

But the rising confidence has also left some analysts scratching their heads. “Admittedly, gasoline prices fell marginally and the recovery in housing may have played a role,” says Amna Asaf, an economist with London-based research firm Capital Economics. “But equity prices have fallen back too, employment growth remains lackluster and, unless Congress acts to avert the fiscal cliff, households are only two months away from a big jump in marginal tax rates.”

BUT THAT'S ONLY IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORKING...

Consumers: What fiscal cliff? Ctd. ONE WEEK LATER...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/22/consumers-what-fiscal-cliff-ctd/

Politicians, economists and now CEOs are sounding the alarm over “taxmaggedon” and its potential impact on the near-term economy. But all indications seem to suggest that ordinary consumers aren’t terribly concerned, even if they are aware of the economic uncertainty on the horizon...A new forecast from the National Retail Federation is predicting that holiday sales will increase 4.1 percent, the group’s CEO Matthew Shay describes as “the most optimistic forecast that NRF has released since the recession.” On average, the group expects consumers to spend an average of $750 during the holiday season, up from $740 last year.

That’s not to say that consumers are completely unaware or unconcerned about what’s at stake in the next few months. About 64 percent of consumers say that the current state of political and economic uncertainty is affecting their overall spending plans. And a little more than half — 56.6 percent — say there are aware of the fiscal cliff, which the NRF broadly defines as “tax increases and budget cuts that will take place at the end of 2012 if Congress does not act.”

But for now, such concerns have largely taken a backseat to the emerging signs of strength in the economy, the group concludes. “The optimism comes from the fact we have seen positive trends with key indicators — the unemployment rate is decreasing, housing prices are a better place than they’ve been for a long time, consumer sentiment on the up, retail sales have actually been fairly solid,” says Kathy Graniss, a NRF spokeswoman.

To the extent that consumers become more concerned about the impact of the fiscal cliff, it will show up in consumer confidence, says Rachelle Bernstein, an NRF vice president. “Look back at what happened in 2010 — Congress went through a prolonged debate prior to extension [of the payroll tax holiday and Bush tax cuts]. Consumer confidence did not come back up until after the tax cuts were extended,” Bernstein explains...

[Demeter]

3. Frankenstein Economics is killing capitalism SHAMELESSLY STOLEN

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/frankenstein-economics-is-killing-capitalism-2012-10-23?link=home_carousel

...For over two centuries capitalists have been dissecting and replacing body parts on Adam Smith’s theories, patching together a monster Frankenstein Economics. Once it worked for the whole economy. But now the monster is on a rampage, destroying itself, failing the nation that gave it life...Yes American capitalists are now self-destructing, killing American capitalism, our democracy, and next, the world economy...

...Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” was on my mind when reviewing the new Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson book, “Why Nations Fail.” They see a pattern repeating through history. Nations grow. Wealth concentrates at the top. The elite take steps to protect their wealth. And by closing the very doors that helped them get to the top, nations fail.

This Halloween the same pattern is accelerating with America’s election drama. This time, however, the door may close on super-rich capitalists. They may lose their battle to control our nation. Lose control. Here are seven other signs of this pattern:

1. Capitalists losing control of the Invisible Hand

2. Frankenstein Economics has a conservative political bias

3. Frankenstein Economics relies on disasters, wars, famine, pandemics

4. Capitalists misleading us with the Perpetual Growth myth

5. Frankenstein capitalists have short-term-thinking brains

6. Frankenstein Economics reflects an extreme capitalist ideology

7. Frankenstein Capitalism losing to China’s new State Capitalism

DETAILS AT LINK

[Demeter]

4. Wealthy Advised to Sell for Gains Before Unfriendly 2013

MY SIS IS TELLING ME THAT OBAMACARE WILL ADD 3% TAX ON ALL REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS IN 2013. I DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE GOT THIS, AND I'M TOO LAZY TO LOOK IT UP...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-19/wealthy-advised-to-sell-for-gains-before-unfriendly-2013.html

Sell.

That’s the message from some financial advisers, who are telling wealthy clients that the remainder of 2012 amounts to a last-chance sale on federal tax rates. Taxes are set to rise in January in the U.S., pushing the top rate on dividends to 43.4 percent from 15 percent and the top rate on capital gains to 23.8 percent from 15 percent.

Even if Congress averts the so-called fiscal cliff of tax increases on investments, income and estates, pressure to reduce budget deficits will mean higher taxes eventually, said Ron Florance of Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) The answer is to take advantage of historically low rates and move taxable income and investment gains into this year, said Florance, managing director of investment strategy at the company’s private bank.

“It’s the opposite of what people normally do,” said Florance, whose clients usually have at least $1 million in investable assets. “You’re paying taxes today in anticipation of higher rates in the future.”

MORE SKY FALLING AT LINK

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. Nobody, rich or poor, ever gave me anything (I've always been careful about sex).

Employers take your work for granted and sell it to others dearly. When did we forget this basic equation?

[Demeter]

7. 1980=MORNING IN AMERICA

THE SUN GOT IN REAGAN'S EYES

[tclambert]

24. Somehow that reminded me of Craig T. Nelson's famous line:

[Egalitarian Thug]

40. Hard to tell without context, but I hate to think that I might agree with him about anything.

In any case, my point is about the social contract that so few seem to remember these days.

[Demeter]

6. Japan Exports Tumble 10% as Maehara Presses BOJ to Ease

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-22/japan-exports-fall-at-fastest-pace-since-post-earthquake-slump.html

Japan’s exports fell the most since the aftermath of last year’s earthquake as a global slowdown, the yen’s strength and a dispute with China increase the odds of a contraction in the world’s third-largest economy.

Shipments slid 10.3 percent in September from a year earlier, leaving a trade deficit of 558.6 billion yen ($7 billion), the Finance Ministry said in Tokyo today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of analysts was for a 9.9 percent export decline. Imports rose 4.1 percent.

Economy Minister Seiji Maehara pressed the Bank of Japan for more action yesterday, saying the nation is “falling behind” in monetary stimulus and is at risk of another credit- rating downgrade. The BOJ today cut its view of eight out of nine regional economies while Taiwanese unemployment rose to a one-year high, underscoring weakness across Asia after China’s third-quarter growth was the slowest since 2009.

“There’s a high chance that Japan’s economy will have two consecutive quarters of contraction through December,” said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. in Tokyo. “The slump in advanced nations is spreading to emerging economies.”

MORE

[Demeter]

8. California Leading U.S. Out of Housing Bust

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-11/california-leading-u-s-out-of-housing-bust-mortgages.html

California, the state that led the U.S. into the housing boom and bust with some of the most reckless subprime mortgage lending, is now leading the way out.

A plunge in new defaults in California helped push U.S. foreclosure filings to the lowest level in almost five years, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a seller of home-loan data. Across the country, 531,576 properties received notices of default, auction or repossession in the third quarter, down 13 percent from a year earlier and the lowest since 2007. One in every 248 households got a filing, RealyTrac said OCT. 11.

California, the birthplace of subprime mortgage lending, saw an explosion of foreclosures thanks to such industry innovations as “no-doc” loans that required no proof of income. The state’s recovery is mirrored by U.S. home values that rose 1.2 percent in July from a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case Shiller index of property prices in 20 major cities. It was the second straight 12-month advance and the biggest jump for the real estate gauge since August 2010.

“We’re starting to see improvement in some of the hardest hit areas, strong demand, competitive bidding on properties and rising prices,” Sean O’Toole, chief executive officer of ForeclosureRadar.com, which tracks sales of foreclosed properties, said in a telephone interview...

MORE

[Demeter]

9. Fed's Beige Book Notes Widespread Improvement in Housing Market

http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/10/10/fed-beige-book-notes-widespread-improvement-in-housing-market/

Noting strength in housing across all 12 Fed districts, the Fed's "beige book" report reinforced a slew of recent data suggesting the housing market's recovery is beginning to pick up steam. The report, which is based on anecdotes from business contacts and economists across the nation, noted that existing home sales had strengthened in all 12 districts, while selling prices rose or held steady. "Residential real estate showed widespread improvement since the last report," the beige book observed. That's in line with data showing a nascent firming in a sector once rocked by the collapse in housing prices and economic recession. Sales of previously occupied homes reached their highest level in more than two years in August, the National Association of Realtors said last month. The Fed noted that shrinking inventories of houses helped push up prices in some districts. And some regions saw particularly robust growth in the construction of multifamily units. The commercial real estate market was "mixed," with some softening in the office market. The economic snapshot was prepared by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York based on information gathered on or before Sept. 28 and will be used for discussions at the Fed's next policy meeting on Oct. 23 and 24.

Last month, the Fed took action designed to help boost the housing market. At its last policy meeting, the central bank launched a major bond-buying program, under which it will purchase an additional $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities each month until the labor market significantly improves. The Fed opted to buy mortgage-backed securities to help put downward pressure on mortgage interest rates.

The jobs market saw little change since the last report, released in late August, according to the beige book. Some districts noted that uncertainty over the November presidential election, the U.S. budget outlook and the European sovereign-debt crisis were restraining some employers from hiring new workers. That's less encouraging than the Labor Department's report last week showing the unemployment rate fell to 7.8% in September, the lowest level since January 2009, while U.S. payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 114,000 jobs last month.

In general, the Fed noted that economic activity "generally expanded modestly" since its last report, with consumer spending ticking up slightly or staying level. Some districts reported that retail sales were being held back by rising gasoline prices, political uncertainty and "concerns about the fiscal cliff." That's a reference to the slew of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to simultaneously go into effect at the start of 2013 unless Congress reaches a deal to avert them. Manufacturing conditions were mixed, but "somewhat improved," while tourism remained steady at "robust levels."

The Fed found price pressures were contained.

[Egalitarian Thug]

41. The Chinese, Indians, and Canadians seem to have concluded that the market is bottomed out here

in Las Vegas and are snatching up once in a generation deals all over our little valley. Meanwhile, if you're not able to pay cash the banks are still not lending.

I've missed two of the best deals I've ever seen in my life and it's driving me crazy that I can't touch them. I'm talking retirement deals here and some absent investor has or is going to get them.

[Demeter]

10. With Tapes, Authorities Build Criminal Cases Over JPMorgan Loss

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/at-jpmorgan-inquiry-built-on-taped-calls/?hp

Federal authorities are using taped phone conversations to build criminal cases related to the multibillion-dollar trading loss at JPMorgan Chase, focusing on calls in which employees openly discussed how to value the troubled bets in a favorable way.

Investigators are looking into the actions of four people who previously worked for the team based in London responsible for the $6 billion loss, according to officials briefed on the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation could make some arrests in the next several months, said one person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the inquiry was ongoing.

The phone recordings, which were turned over to authorities by JPMorgan, have helped focus the investigation, the officials said. Authorities are poring over thousands of conversations, in English and French. They are also relying on notes that employees took during staff meetings, instant messages circulated among traders and e-mails sent within the group.

Authorities are examining how some traders in the chief investment office influenced market prices as their bets began to sour. Investigators are also looking into whether records were falsified to hide the problems from executives in New York. Based on those records, JPMorgan submitted inaccurate financial statements to regulators, another area of focus for investigators. The scope of the inquiry suggests that the problems were isolated to a handful of executives and traders in an overseas division, and did not reflect a fundamental weakness with the bank’s culture and leadership. The investigation does not appear to touch the upper echelons of the executive suite, notably Ina Drew who oversaw the chief investment office. The findings could insulate JPMorgan and its chief executive, Jamie Dimon, from further fallout....

[Roland99]

11. China manufacturing index rises to 49.1 vs. 47.9

[Roland99]

12. Price of gas in central IN? Dropping what seems like hourly

Sunday evening...about $3.39. Yesterday, $3.31. This morning $3.27. This evening, $3.26.

Hope it's dropping equally lower back home in FL...I'll find out in about 24hrs

[Fuddnik]

13. I paid $3.41 this afternoon.

[Demeter]

14. We're down to 3.23 in Ann Arbor

My sis said Tuesday it was $3.90 in MA.

My mechanic said it was election-driven pricing. Since this state is dominated by GOP, that seems unlikely...

[DemReadingDU]

18. $3.25 in my Ohio neighborhood

I don't think these lower prices are election driven. Rather, the Big Oil want us to buy more gas and take more trips now.

Then, when the holidays get closer, the prices will be raised because then that's when people will have no choice but to pay more during the busy end-of-year season.

Catch-22. The Big Oil want our money, one way or another.

[Roland99]

39. $3.22 on the signs I saw on the way to the airport

next time I'm up here it'll probably be $2.50!

[Demeter]

42. $3.20 this afternoon

I kid you not

[Demeter]

15. GERMANY TO REPATRIATE & AUDIT 150 TONS OF GOLD RESERVES FROM NY FED!!!

http://www.silverdoctors.com/germany-announces-intentions-to-repatriate-its-gold-from-ny-fed/

In perhaps the biggest story in gold since Hugo Chavez sent shock-waves throughout the gold market in mid 2011 (and propelled gold up $300 to a record $1915), the German Federal Accountability Office has ruled that the Bundesbank must conduct an audit on German Central Bank gold holdings, and in anticipation, has begun the repatriation of German gold from the NY Fed. The Bundesbank will request the NY Fed ship 50 tones of German gold back to the motherland a year for the next 3 years!

It appears de Germans are about to receive a crash course in the lesson He who owns the gold makes the rules (aka possession is 999/1000ths of the law).

Assuming that the NY Fed does decide to comply with the Bundesbank’s request to keep up appearances for the other central banks, we wish the cartel luck in finding 150 tons of TUNGSTEN FREE PHYZZ over the next 3 years as the Bundesbank reportedly will PHYSICALLY VERIFY THE GOLD. So much for the cartel plans to fill repatriation requests with tungsten salted phyzz.

From Spiegel (h/t ZH):

Germany has the second largest gold reserves in the world, nearly 3400 tons. Supposedly, anyway. Because stocks have never been checked for authenticity and weight. Now, the Federal Court has asked the Bundesbank to examine the gold reserves abroad regularly.

The German central bank gold is safely stored in vaults in Frankfurt, New York, Paris and London. Checked really by apparently no one. The Federal Court has the Bundesbank now anyway required regular inspection and inventory of the vast gold reserves abroad. The auditors explain this in a report on Monday has become known to the budget committee of the Bundestag with the “high value of gold holdings.”

The samples stored at other German banks stocks were also never by the Bundesbank itself or by other independent auditors “added physically and for authenticity and weight” checked. Actually talk on the subject numerous theories – so should the U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox have long been looted.

The Bundesbank has in the USA’s second largest gold reserves in the world. End of 2011 there were 3396 tons, worth 133 billion euros. After the soaring price of gold is likely to reach about 142 billion euros currently even. Secures the gold bars by the Bundesbank in own vaults in Frankfurt as well as at three bearing points abroad: The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank in New York, Bank of France in Paris and the Bank of England in London.

Bundesbank gets tons of gold from New York

The Court had determined the order of the Bundestag that the Federal Bank reviews its overseas gold reserves stored exactly. It is disputed whether the Bundesbank experienced for years practice sufficient to rely only on a written confirmation to the gold bars by the foreign central banks.

The Court recommends that the Bundesbank to negotiate with the three foreign central banks the right to physical verification of stocks. With the implementation of this recommendation, the Bundesbank has begun according to the report. They also decided to bring in the next three years to 50 tons each of the past at the Fed in New York gold to Germany to get it here to undergo a thorough examination. In the report, several points are blackened. In effect, the paper is not clear exactly how much gold is in which foreign central bank.

The information held in the Federal Bank headquarters holdings consist of 82,857 according to the report bullion stored mostly in sealed containers with 50 bars, which are kept in four separate locked safe boxes. Part of it (6183 bar) stored on open shelves, therefore in a separate vault – the so-called gold chamber. To secure the gold it says in the report: “The vault closure is double, the inner seals and the gold chamber under a triple lock.”

For those unaware, Germany’s official gold holdings are 3,400 tons. Perhaps Germany announcing the repatriation of 150 tons out of its 4,000 (less than 4%!) in gold reserves indicates that only 150 tons of un-hypothecated, actual, tungsten-free phyzz remain in NY and London?

[Demeter]

16. Greece Will Probably Leave Euro Within Six Months, Borg Says

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-13/greece-will-probably-leave-euro-within-six-months-borg-says-1-.html

...Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said Greece may quit the common currency within the next six months.

“It’s most probable that they will leave,” Borg said today on a conference call from Tokyo, where global finance officials have gathered for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund. “We shouldn’t rule out this happening in the next half-year.”

Borg’s warning comes a day after the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize amid a financial crisis now in its third year and four days after German Chancellor Angela Merkel encountered rioters and anti-Nazi taunts on a trip to Athens. Merkel said she wants Greece to remain in the euro.

The so-called troika that oversees euro-area bailouts, comprised of officials from the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF, has resumed talks with Greek officials after a pause that provided Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’s three-party coalition with backing to continue efforts to carve out 13.5 billion euros ($17.5 billion) of new budget cuts needed to unlock aid payments. ...MORE

[Demeter]

17. Further down, Angela of course doesn't agree

Does she have any allies left in the Eurozone?

[Po_d Mainiac]

27. When the Germans see that

the shipment was routed through China, they may want want to do some drilling.

[xchrom]

19. wednesday -- i'm stepping out...

[xchrom]

20. EUROZONE DEBT HITS 90 PERCENT OF ITS ECONOMY

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-24-06-09-22
LONDON (AP) -- In spite of years of harsh spending cuts and tax rises, Europe's debt problems are getting worse.

For the first time since the euro was launched in 1999, official figures showed Wednesday that at the end of the second quarter the total debt of the 17 countries that use the single currency was worth 90 percent of the value of the eurozone's economy.

The rise from the previous quarter's 88.2 percent and the previous year's equivalent of 87.1 percent, as reported by Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, is a result of the eurozone's economic problems - which make it harder for countries to handle their debts.

Six of the countries that use the euro are in recession - Greece, Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and Cyprus. Many analysts expect the eurozone to officially slip back into recession in the third quarter of the year when official figures are published next month. A recession is technically defined as two quarters of negative growth in a row.

[Demeter]

21. DUTY CALLS

and it's paper route tonight....see you around supper, if I'm awake.

[xchrom]

22. see ya, miss demeter -- hope your board meeting went ok.

[xchrom]

23. INVESTORS WEIGH UPBEAT CHINA NEWS, EUROPEAN GLOOM

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-24-06-56-33

LONDON (AP) -- Financial markets steadied Wednesday as a report showing China's manufacturing slump may be bottoming out helped offset the impact of more dire European economic news.

In Europe, few signs emerged of any economic improvement.

Government debt in the 17-country eurozone rose to 90 percent of the bloc's economic output at the end of the second quarter, according to official data. That's the highest in the currency union's 13-year history and up from the previous quarter's 88.2 percent.

The increase was due to a drop in economic growth and bodes ill for governments trying hard to reduce debt by means of tough tax hikes and spending cuts.

[xchrom]

25. FORD CLOSES BELGIAN PLANT IN 2014; 9,500 JOBS HIT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BELGIUM_FORD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-24-06-09-11

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Ford Motor Co. will close a car plant in eastern Belgium - one of its main European factories - by the end of 2014, a move that will result in 4,500 direct job losses and 5,000 more among subcontractors.

Exactly half a century after construction on the Genk plant started, Ford told a management council there that production was winding down since slumping European sales has forced a restructuring of its plants.

`'This is taking us by surprise and is an extremely bitter pill," Christian Democrat union representative Johan Lamers told The Associated Press.

Ford has been under pressure in Europe due to the region's dwindling demand for its models and the overall slide of car sales on the continent due to the debt crisis

[xchrom]

26. Eurozone business activity hits fresh low

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20067506


Business activity in the eurozone contracted at its fastest pace in almost three-and-a-half years in October, a survey suggests.

The Markit Flash Eurozone Purchasing Managers' (PMI) Composite Output Index fell to 45.8, from 46.1 in September. A figure below 50 indicates contraction.

The reading is consistent with a quarterly rate of economic contraction in the bloc of 0.5%, Markit said.

Firms also continued to cut employment, but at a slightly slower rate.

[xchrom]

28. Peugeot Citroen asks for billions in financing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20054391

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen is looking for 11.5bn euros (£9.3bn, $14.9bn) in new financing after reporting another fall in car sales.

The company said it was near to a deal with its banks and the French government to extend financing for its lending arm, Banque PSA Finance.

It reported revenue in the third quarter down 3.9% on a year ago.

Peugeot's shares fell 6%, as the carmaker will not pay dividends while in receipt of government aid.

[xchrom]

29. REPORT: Greece Says It Has Secured A Bailout Extension

http://www.businessinsider.com/report-greece-gets-bailout-extension-2012-10

Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras has secured a 2-year extension to meet its bailout targets, according to ForexLive.
The troika –EU, IMF and ECB – reportedly gave in on two major issues.
The Greek government is expected to submit two separate bills on austerity cuts and labor reforms to parliament next week, according to Reuters.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/report-greece-gets-bailout-extension-2012-10#ixzz2ADWDd7Cw

[xchrom]

30. Gen X Has Been Absolutely Clobbered By The Recession

http://www.businessinsider.com/gen-x-was-clobbered-by-the-recession-2012-10

?maxX=300&maxY=425

Boomers and Gen X adults have officially swapped places on the retirement worry spectrum.
While boomers' worries about retirement have waned over the last few years, a new study by the Pew Research Center found more than half of Gen X say are “not too” or “not at all” confident about retirement, compared to just a one-third of boomers.
Just three years ago, Gen X workers were among the nation's most optimistic, with just 19 percent saying they weren't confident about retirement.
The reason is simple enough: Though most of the attention has been given to boomers whose nest eggs were pummeled by the recession, it was Gen X that saw their net worth fall the most.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/gen-x-was-clobbered-by-the-recession-2012-10#ixzz2ADY9eBuy

[Hugin]

36. This is mostly due to the fact the Boomers have been "Pulling up the ladder" on the way out.

Hey, don't blame me... I'm a 'tweener and the Boomers have been screwing me all along.

[Demeter]

37. The 1% Exported all the Ladders

The Boomers have been screwed since Vietnam, and it's never let up, just changed direction. I have a neighbor who survived serving....and he's totally mentally disabled.

[xchrom]

31. French snap up ‘sexy’ govt minister’s sailor shirt

http://www.france24.com/en/20121023-french-snap-sexy-stripy-sailor-t-shirt-government-minister-arnaud-montebourg-sales-increase


France’s classic sailor T-shirt saw a 65% jump in sales this week after it was modelled by French minister Arnaud Montebourg on the cover of a magazine. A top business chief described the Socialist as ‘very sexy’ in the shoot.

Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg helped boost the sales of France’s classic striped sailor top this week after modelling it on the front of a weekend magazine.

Montebourg sported the T-shirt – along with a Moulinex food blender and a Michel Herbelin watch – to plug his new ‘Made in France’ campaign, aimed at promoting French-made fare.

The striped Breton sailor top, as evocative of France as the beret and worn by the likes of Coco Chanel, Brigitte Bardot and Pablo Picasso, is considered a staple in French wardrobes.

The head of Armor-Lux, a company manufacturing the traditional blue-and-white "mariniere," said he is laughing all the way to the bank.

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32. Bernanke Seen Attacking Jobless Rate With QE Until His Term Ends

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/bernanke-seen-attacking-jobless-rate-with-qe-until-his-term-ends.html

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke says he’ll stoke the economy until the job market recovers “substantially.” That promise may force him to keep buying bonds until the final months of his term ending in January 2014, according economists in a Bloomberg survey.

Sixty-eight percent of 60 economists said the Fed chairman’s third round of quantitative easing will last until late next year or beyond. Just 51 percent of them said the strategy will help boost employment, with a median estimate of 116,000 jobs over the course of next year.

“The recovery in the labor market is probably going to be more sluggish than the Fed recognizes” said Michael Hanson, senior U.S. economist at Bank of America Corp. in New York and a former Fed economist. He said policy makers have “painted themselves in a bit of a corner, waiting to see a significant improvement in the labor market.”

Bernanke said in August that new bond buying, while spurring growth and generating jobs, may erode confidence the Fed will exit smoothly from record accommodation, including the first two rounds of bond purchases totaling $2.3 trillion. Most surveyed economists believe Bernanke has gone too far with quantitative easing, with 55 percent saying policy is too easy, compared with 48 percent who said so in a Sept. 7-10 survey.

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33. German Billionaire Schwarz Seen Having Tax-Exempt Fortune

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-23/german-billionaire-schwarz-seen-having-tax-exempt-fortune.html

On a recent Saturday afternoon at a Lidl supermarket in London, a 500-gram slab of minced beef was on sale for 2 pounds ($3.21), half the price of the same product at a Sainsbury Local store a few blocks away.

Offering such bargains has made Dieter Schwarz a very rich man. Through his Neckarsulm, Germany-based Schwarz Group, the 73-year-old billionaire controls more than 9,800 Lidl supermarkets and 1,070 Kaufland discount stores in 26 European countries. The operation generated 63.4 billion euros ($82.3 billion) in sales last year, making it the largest closely held food retailer in Europe. Schwarz, the 34th richest person in the world, is worth $19.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Schwarz controls his discount empire through the Dieter Schwarz Stiftung gGmbH, a tax-exempt entity designated as a gemeinnuetzige Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung, or limited liability company with a charitable purpose.

“There are about 19,000 foundations that hold more than 100 million euros in Germany,” said Stefan Stolte, a lawyer with DSZ-MAECENATA Management GmbH, a Munich-based stiftung advisory firm. “There are far fewer that are established as a gGmbH. Both concepts are legitimate, but the use of the Schwarz model -- where little is going into the public benefit -- is looked upon very critically.”

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34. Euro-Area Recession Deepens as Manufacturing Shrinks: Economy

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/euro-area-services-manufacturing-shrink-more-than-forecast-1-.html

Euro-area services and manufacturing output contracted more than economists forecast in October and German business confidence dropped to the lowest in more than 2 1/2 years as Europe’s recession deepened.

A composite index based on a survey of euro-area purchasing managers in services and manufacturing fell to 45.8, the lowest in more than three years, from 46.1 in September, London-based Markit Economics said today. Economists had forecast a reading of 46.5, according to a Bloomberg News survey. A separate factory index in China rose. In Germany, the Ifo institute’s business climate index unexpectedly dropped to 100.0 from 101.4 in September.

The European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund have both lowered their forecasts for the euro-area economy as governments cut spending to plug budget gaps, eroding consumer and export demand. Even so, the region’s debt burden rose to a record in the second quarter, reaching 90 percent of gross domestic product, another report showed today.

“The euro-zone recession is still getting worse,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “In a disappointing set of data, the fact that the Ifo expectations index did not decline further offers the only ray of hope. In this sense, the survey results today do not dispel the hope that the euro economy could turn the corner early next year.”

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35. Spain Bonds Fall on Economy in Longest Slump Since Draghi Pledge

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/german-bunds-decline-before-10-year-sale-industry-output-report.html

Spain’s government bonds fell for a fourth day, the longest losing streak in three months, after euro-area services and manufacturing shrank more than economists forecast and German business confidence declined.
Italian, Greek and Portuguese securities dropped as the reports added to evidence the region’s financial woes are slowing growth, damping demand for the debt of so-called peripheral nations. German bunds were little changed after the nation attracted bids for more than its maximum target at a 10- year debt sale. The head of Europe’s permanent rescue fund said it still had 28 billion euros ($36.3 billion) of the 32 billion euros paid in so far to invest by the end of November.
Bonds of the most-indebted nations fell “because the weak data today highlighted the risk that the crisis could deteriorate further,” said Matteo Regesta, a senior interest- rate strategist at BNP Paribas SA in London. “Germany, which is a locomotive of growth in the euro region, is slowing and that is not good news for peripheral bonds. It needs growth to get out of the problem.”
Spain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points, or 0.03 percentage point, to 5.65 percent at 1:54 p.m. London time after climbing to 5.69 percent, the highest since Oct. 17. The 5.85 percent bond due in January 2022 fell 0.185, or 1.85 euros per 1,000-euro face amount, to 101.38.

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38. GREECE: WE GOT AN EXTENSION; EU: NO YOU DIDN'T

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-24-12-17-21

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's Finance Minister said the country has been granted a long-sought extension to meet the terms of its bailout program - but the claim was swiftly shot down as "speculation" by the European Central Bank and lead lender Germany.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said the deal was struck as part of weeks-long negotiations with its international creditors over a (EURO)13.5 billion ($17.56 billion) package of new austerity measures for the next two years, required for continued emergency loan payments.

"What have we achieved today? We have achieved the extension," the minister told parliament. "If we had not been granted that extension, today we not only have needed to take measures worth (EURO)13.5 billion euros, but (EURO)18.5 billion ($24 billion)."

He added: "We have not gone bankrupt because we still have funds remaining from the previous installment."