STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 25 October 2013

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, 25 October 2013[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 24 October 2013

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 24 October 2013
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Dow Jones 15,509.21 +95.88 (0.62%)
S&P 500 1,752.07 +5.69 (0.33%)
Nasdaq 3,928.96 +21.89 (0.56%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.52% +0.03 (1.20%)
30 Year 3.61% +0.04 (1.12%) [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
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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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
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.








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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]

[westerebus]

1. Perfect.

[Demeter]

2. Is it the Onion, or is it real?

Stupid Tea Party only now realizing they could have made a lot more progress with Obamacare if they picked it to pieces, instead of trying to take it down wholesale...

[Demeter]

4. How bad is it? Read this and weep: Scott Adams couldn't even do it justice

Assessing the Exchanges By Yuval Levin

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/361577/assessing-exchanges-yuval-levin

Why a four year old child could understand this.
Run out and get me a four year old child,
I can't make head or tail out of it.

Groucho in Duck Soup (movie)

....The tone of the CMS officials who spoke with me was a kind of restrained panic. Among the insurance company officials (who, I should stress again, work in the Washington offices of some large insurers, and so are basically policy people and lobbyists), there was much less restraint. The insurers are very, very worried about the viability of the exchange system—especially but not exclusively at the federal level....

THE OPINION IS THAT IT IS THE ECONOMIC/HEALTH/INSURANCE-COMPANY-ALL-YOU-CAN-STEAL EQUIVALENT TO KATRINA IN N'AWLINS.....

...For me, and for other critics of Obamacare, the problem with the law was never about these technical matters. I didn’t think the system wouldn’t work because the government couldn’t build a website, but because the basic health economics involved is deeply misguided and would take the (badly inadequate) American health-financing system in the wrong direction. So these problems only seem like a prelude to other, larger problems. But Obamacare was also always going to be a test of the sheer capacity of the administrative state to actually do what it claims the authority and ability to do. At this point, it looks as though we may be witnessing a failure of the administrative state on a level unimagined even by its staunchest critics. We may be. But we’ll have to see.

[Demeter]

5. The Truth About the Obamacare Rollout The feds botched the website, the states are doing much better

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115230/obamacare-implementation-what-feds-got-wrong-states-got-right?utm_campaign=tnr-daily-newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=10621398

...people are still getting hung up at the initial stages, which means they never get the chance to apply for financial assistance and shop for plans. A study following web traffic showed a sharp drop-off in users at each successive stage of the online application process, which suggests the system was stopping a lot of people from moving forward. And that’s just the part of the system visible to consumers. Insurers say that the system is producing some incorrect information about the few people who make it through the process—a fixable problem, for sure, but a warning that other flaws may yet lurk undetected....

[westerebus]

29. Onions are real.

The version of the Tea Party that sits in Congress is delusional, therefore, unreal. What would happen if the DNC incorporated a Progressive Party into a voting block? Just look at jonestown and the speculation runs a course from the pathologically obsessive to the too stoned to answer the phone. Thank gawd for my fellow kooks in this forum and I say that with much affection.

The extremists that compose the TP allow the R's to give full on venting to views not shared by that silent majority which swings election cycle to election cycle, all the while the "establishment conservatives" are made to look moderate in comparison. That aren't moderates by any means, but, the deception is convincing enough. We get a moderate republican for president under the guise of populism and no one is the wiser. Until after the election.

I know that's a bit of reverse engineering, the results speak for themselves, at this point there are no third party viable candidates which is what the Two-Some-Party is in complete agreement on.

If the lack of education coupled with the zeal of the Inquisition, is the genetic marker of the TP, compared to strident fairness model that Darwin is not an abstraction, any more than human rights means all humans having the same rights sets the marker on the left; how better to prove third party's are nonsensical to both spectrum's of the political field?

POTUS is 100% correct. It is all Al Gore's fault.

as usual..grammar..spell..apologies

[Demeter]

3. Life is what happens while you are making plans

and that's my apology for radio silence Thursday...

Since simplicity is the hardest thing to do (not to be confused with "primitive" or "poverty&quot , we will take a look at the next layer...and I think music from Bach's unaccompanied cello and other instruments will be the musical note.

Be there, or be square (also not to be confused with simplicity).

[AnneD]

27. I have a little plackard on my desk with this written on it.....

Life is all about how you handle Plan B

Plan A is always my first choice....the one where everything works out.
But more often than not, I find myself dealing with the upside down, inside out version where nothing goes as it should.

This is where the real test of my character comes in. Do I sink or do I swim? Do I wallow in self pity or simply shift gears and make the best of the situation? The choice is mine. After all...life is all about how you handle Plan B....Suzy Toronto

It is right next to the coaster that says...

The secret to happiness?
Raise your skirt and lower your expectations.

[Tansy_Gold]

28. My simple philosophy --

Life's a bitch. . . .


And so am I.

[AnneD]

30. And you ....

have the ITYS stamp to back it up.

[Fuddnik]

31. Well fuck it.

Thats Plan A

Plan B, which I'll implement in about 15 minutes is go play golf.

It's a nice pleasant 80 degrees, sunny, and I can play for free.

[AnneD]

35. Well played...

Remember to raise your skirt prior to Tee time and lower your expectation or at least lie about your score.

[Demeter]

32. Gee, I never even get Plan B

Right now, I on either U or V, but don't have time to figure it out.

[AnneD]

36. You my friend....

are a shift gears kinda person. God Bless you!

[Demeter]

6. Winter In America Gets Colder – Why We Choose Poverty By Raúl Ilargi Meijer

READ THIS AND YOU NEED READ NOTHING ELSE UNTIL THE PRIMARIES...WHEN THE SPIN HITS THE FAN

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/10/ilargi-winter-in-america-gets-colder-why-we-choose-poverty.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

[Demeter]

7. In many ways, there are parallels between the Obamacare snafu and the NSA snafu

both are perversions of the political process, manifesting 1% self-appointed elitists' corporate corruption at every turn.

both abuse technology to destroy democracy and, eventually, people.

both were done by people who really don't understand what they are doing, and those people are at the mercy of the geeks they hired to implement their nefarious schemes.

Geeks have no mercy for Teh Stoopid. Not even the Wallys of Geekdom have mercy on the stupidly mercenary nor on the evildoers.

The advantage to having a mastery of a subject (definition of geekdom) is that one knows what mastery feels like...its limitations, its potentials. One has a good internal model of the externality of the project. One can make things happen, as an extension of one's intellect (if inspired) or by brute force (try every option until you find one that works) if one hasn't enough experience to be inspired. And mastery is empowering...often, one mastery leads to another, and another, and...as many as one has time and interest.

But for the unsavvy customer, Arthur C. Clarke's 3rd law applies:

Clarke's Three Laws are three "laws" of prediction formulated by the British writer Arthur C. Clarke. They are:

1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
   
   
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
   
   
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

widipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke%27s_three_laws

It is impossible, on its face, to reconcile NSA's universal snooping with anything like democracy, peace, rule of law, etc. It is a violation of everything one is taught about ethics, respect for others, etc.

Similarly, it is impossible to reconcile Obamacare with democracy. People are treated unequally from the start, and it gets worse the farther it goes. The little "equality" that was the lipstick on this pig is wearing off.

Neither grand scheme (or conspiracy) is compatible with our national identity, goals, ideals....or well-being. Or even safety.

[bread_and_roses]

16. Your last three paragraphs sum it up

so I'll repeat them:

It is impossible, on its face, to reconcile NSA's universal snooping with anything like democracy, peace, rule of law, etc. It is a violation of everything one is taught about ethics, respect for others, etc.

Similarly, it is impossible to reconcile Obamacare with democracy. People are treated unequally from the start, and it gets worse the farther it goes. The little "equality" that was the lipstick on this pig is wearing off.

Neither grand scheme (or conspiracy) is compatible with our national identity, goals, ideals....or well-being. Or even safety.

And it continues to dismay me that our pusillanimous "progressive" sphere - including organizations that I currently work for (AFL-CIO), organizations I have supported with volunteer time and money (USA Action), writers I had formerly thought principled (too numerous to mention) supported this ACA farce. Obama should have had to implement it over our screaming protests at the massive give-a-way to the Insurance Vampires. It would still have happened - nothing was going to stop that rube-goldbergian juggernaut - but we would be on stronger ground to now to point out that all its flaws are the result of the complexity arising from a "market based" system designed to protect private profit.

As for the NSA ... at least none of them that I'm aware of are defending THAT.

[xchrom]

8. Investors Stage Largest-Ever Move Into European Stocks

http://www.businessinsider.com/largest-ever-inflow-into-european-stocks-2013-10



In the week ended October 23, investors poured $5 billion into European equity funds, marking the biggest weekly inflow ever into the asset class.

These funds have seen nothing but inflows for the past 17 weeks — since the beginning of the second quarter, when PMI surveys suggested the eurozone was finally emerging from recession.

In recent weeks, some shops have been building the case for European equities vis-a-vis their U.S. counterparts.

Société Générale's asset allocation team, for example, released a report arguing that the S&P 500 would drop 15% when the Federal Reserve winds down its quantitative easing program in 2014, then go nowhere for years.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/largest-ever-inflow-into-european-stocks-2013-10#ixzz2ijTsZ1Xv

[xchrom]

9. Now Germany Wants Its Own Internet In NSA Spying Wake

http://www.businessinsider.com/now-germany-wants-its-own-internet-in-nsa-spying-wake-2013-10

PARIS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - As a diplomatic row rages between the United States and Europe over spying accusations, state-backed Deutsche Telekom wants German communications companies to cooperate to shield local Internet traffic from foreign intelligence services.
Yet the nascent effort, which took on new urgency after Germany said on Wednesday that it had evidence that Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone had been monitored, faces an uphill battle if it is to be more than a marketing gimmick.

It would not work when Germans surf on websites hosted on servers abroad, such as social network Facebook or search engine Google, according to interviews with six telecom and internet experts. Deutsche Telekom could also have trouble getting rival broadband groups on board because they are wary of sharing network information.

More fundamentally, the initiative runs counter to how the Internet works today - global traffic is passed from network to network under free or paid-for agreements with no thought for national borders.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/now-germany-wants-its-own-internet-in-nsa-spying-wake-2013-10#ixzz2ijUQLRBV

[Demeter]

33. I don't blame them

I'm proposing the condo community institute a network, which will be faster, cheaper, and more private than letting ATT or Comcast handle each individual as a separate account...the secret is hiding in the crowd and stripping out all the IPS numbers....

[xchrom]

10. Rail Traffic Just Keeps Getting Stronger

http://www.businessinsider.com/rail-traffic-just-keeps-getting-stronger-2013-10

Here's an important indicator of the economy that appears to be getting stronger and stronger.

Rail traffic growth is at a 6-month high per this chart from Cullen Roche.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rail-traffic-just-keeps-getting-stronger-2013-10#ixzz2ijUxFOpQ

[AnneD]

37. What's not to like about train travel......

No HS giving you a cavity search, no xray, no undies search, relaxed baggage rules. If you have some time...it is a great way to travel. I did not feel like I was pack like sardines in a can. I will never go by plane again if I have a choice. Fuck 'em.

[Demeter]

11. no comment needed

[Demeter]

12. Sauce for the goose

[Demeter]

13. Congress Spends Several Hours Pretending to Understand Internet by Andy Borowitz

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/10/congress-spends-several-hours-pretending-to-understand-internet.html?utm_source=tny&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=borowitz&mbid=nl_Borowitz%20%28188%29

In an impressive white-knuckle performance on live television today, members of Congress spent several hours in a hearing room pretending to understand the Internet. Beginning this morning, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee devoted four hours to grilling Web-site contractors about site architecture, Web traffic, software, and other I.T. concepts about which their ignorance is nearly complete.

“As members of this committee, we are supposed to have a deep understanding of the technology involved in the health-care Web site,” said Chairman Fred Upton (R-Michigan). “So it was absolutely imperative for us to fake that we do.”

For the duration of the hearings, the Web contractors offered detailed testimony about “end-to-end testing,” “enterprise identity management,” and other technical concepts to a group of elected officials who can barely use e-mail.

“I would say that, to a man, we did not understand ninety-nine per cent of that computer nonsense they were going on about,” Chairman Upton said. “To me it was a whole lot of blahbitty-blahbitty-blah. I hope it wasn’t too obvious.”

Rep. Upton said that “looking serious and nodding our heads a lot” contributed to the illusion that committee members had even scant comprehension of what was being discussed.

“At the end of the day, a lot of it came down to not asking the questions you really wanted to ask,” he said. “Like, ‘What exactly is a Web site?’”

BET THEY WOULD GET THE SAME RESULTS FROM THE SCM

[xchrom]

14. Lawsuit Alleges Steve Jobs, Eric Schmidt, Other Execs Conspired To Keep Engineer Wages Low

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-google-anti-trust-2013-10


(Reuters) - A U.S. judge accorded class action status to a lawsuit that alleges broad conspiracy among major Silicon Valley companies to suppress employee compensation by not poaching each other's employees, a court filing showed.
By winning the class certification, the plaintiffs would have more leverage to extract larger financial settlements than if they were to sue individually.

In 2011, five software engineers sued Adobe Systems Inc, Intel Corp, Apple Inc and Google Inc among others over their hiring practices, alleging that the Silicon Valley companies entered into an "overarching conspiracy" to suppress employee compensation to artificially low levels.

The defendants were accused of violating the Sherman Act and Clayton Act antitrust laws by conspiring to eliminate competition for labor, depriving workers of job mobility and hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-google-anti-trust-2013-10#ixzz2ijdU0jhI

[Demeter]

22. Yup. Karma is a bitch

This was why salaries for engineers flatlined after 5 years...not the vaunted "obsolete-ness" of their technical skills.

[xchrom]

23. +1

[xchrom]

15. AP SOURCES: FOREIGN HELP TO US COULD BE EXPOSED

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NSA_FOREIGN_COUNTRIES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-25-08-11-23

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two Western diplomats say U.S. officials have briefed them on documents obtained by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that might expose the intelligence operations of their respective countries and their level of cooperation with the U.S.

Word of the briefings by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence comes amid questions swirling around overseas surveillance by the National Security Agency, which has angered allies on two continents and caused concern domestically over the scope of the intelligence-gathering.

The two Western diplomats said officials from ODNI have continued to brief them regularly on what documents the director of national intelligence believes Snowden obtained.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the intelligence briefings publicly.

[Demeter]

24. Oh, now they know what Snowden knows?

Last edited Fri Oct 25, 2013, 01:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Sounds like pre-emptive revelation BEFORE the SHTF via Snowden/Greenwald, except wait! Hasn't Greenwald resigned to hare off after editorial freedom with the founder of E-Bay, who talks a good game, but I have my doubts about the timing...

Nice try, guys.

[Demeter]

17. CFTC asks Citigroup, Deutsche Bank to inspect records

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/21/ctfc-banks-idUSL3N0IB4W920131021

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has asked major currency dealing banks, including Deutsche Bank AG and Citigroup Inc to search their records as part of a global probe into possible currency market manipulation and hand over any evidence of wrongdoing, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.

Germany's Deutsche Bank is spending millions of dollars going through traders' emails and chat sessions looking for specific dates, phrases and keywords, the paper reported.

Neither Deutsche Bank nor Citigroup, the no. 3 U.S. bank, have so far handed over materials to the CFTC, according to the Journal...


YES, THAT IS SO GOING TO WORK!

[Demeter]

18. How High-Speed Traders Will Dodge a Pay Cap

http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/10/21/how-high-speed-traders-will-dodge-a-pay-cap/

The bulk of London’s high-frequency trading firms look set to escape rules that clamp down on them taking bonuses bigger than their salaries.

The firms, which deal on their own account using computer-driven techniques, had feared being caught within the scope of CRD IV – a major package of prudential reform aimed at making EU banks and other investment firms less likely to fail.

The rules include restricting variable pay to the same level as fixed salary, or at twice that level with shareholder approval. Pay at HFT firms is heavily performance-weighted, with variable elements typically accounting for a large proportion of total compensation.

As a result, the firms feared being caught by CRD IV as it was expected to apply to all firms authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority that deal on their account, as well as those that carry out placing and underwriting activities or hold client assets.

However, the FCA said in a consultation document this month that firms within these categories and with total assets of less than £15 billion ($24.15 billion), or were “limited in scope”, would not be subject to bonus caps, provided they could justify this to the regulator. The FCA referred to this as the “proportionality” concept....

[bread_and_roses]

19. "Fukushima's ... 'Apocalyptic' Scenario" and other good cheer

Just scan down the headlines over at http://www.commondreams.org/

Words fail me in the face of such an onslaught.

I have been unavoidably away - and out of touch - for some days .... just scanning down the front page makes me want to go back to bed and pull the covers over my head.

Too much to quote or even list.

[xchrom]

20. FRENCH BUSINESS LOBBY PROMISES 1M JOBS IN 5 YEARS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_FRANCE_JOBS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-25-07-27-06

PARIS (AP) -- France's business lobby is promising to create 1 million jobs over the next five years as it tries to convince the French that companies are not the enemy in the fight to drive down unemployment.

In an open letter released Friday, the Medef, however, said companies cannot be expected to lower 11-percent unemployment by themselves. It is calling on the government to lower taxes and spending to give companies the room to act.

The new head of the Medef, Pierre Gattaz, said the promise is part of an effort to change the conversation in France, where companies and executives are often dismissed as ruthless firing machines. Gattaz said he wants to remind people that there are no jobs without companies, but first those businesses need to grow.

[xchrom]

21. ETHIOPIA BANS OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT OF CITIZENS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AF_ETHIOPIA_MIGRANTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-25-06-57-13

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- The Ethiopian government has banned its citizens from travelling overseas for employment.

According to the state owned Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency, the order took effect from Thursday and the government is also clamping down on foreign employment agencies

The Ministry of Foreign Affair says countless Ethiopians have lost their lives and undergone untold physical and psychological traumas due to illegal human trafficking. The latest move came after hundreds of African migrants lost their lives off the Italian island of Lampedusa at the beginning of the month.

According to the Association of Ethiopian Overseas Recruitment Agencies, more than half a million Ethiopians have flown out of the country illegally the last five years and most of the migrants are underage females who are smuggled to the Middle East.

[xchrom]

25. LONG-LASTING US FACTORY GOODS ORDERS RISE 3.7 PCT.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DURABLE_GOODS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-25-08-34-53

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A jump in demand for commercial airplanes boosted orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods last month. But orders for most other goods fell as businesses cut spending, a possible sign of concern about the partial government shutdown that began Oct. 1.

The Commerce Department says orders for durable goods rose 3.7 percent in September, above the 0.2 percent gain in August. But a 57.5 percent jump in aircraft orders accounted for nearly all the gain. Durable goods are meant to last at least three years.

Orders for core capital goods, which include industrial machinery and electrical equipment, fell 1.1 percent. August's 1.5 percent gain was revised sharply lower to 0.4 percent. Economists pay particular attention to core capital goods, which exclude aircraft, because they are a sign of business confidence.

[xchrom]

26. MARKETS STEADY DESPITE BIG SLIDE IN NIKKEI

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-25-07-06-58

LONDON (AP) -- Financial markets outside of Japan were lackluster Friday at the end of a week that's seen the S&P 500 index post a series of record highs and the dollar fall to near two-year lows against the euro.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei index slid 2.8 percent to 14,088.19 as the dollar fell below its 200-day average of 97.30 yen. A higher yen makes Japanese exports potentially more expensive in international markets and that could hurt growth as well as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's strategy to reverse two decades of economic stagnation and falling prices.

"We certainly get the sense that the market enthusiasm over `Abenomics' is waning," said Derek Halpenny, an analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

Elsewhere, investors were largely consolidating recent gains.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

34. ETA News Release: Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (10/24/2013)

Source: Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration

Read More: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/eta20132038.htm

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending October 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 350,000, a decrease of 12,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 362,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,250, an increase of 10,750 from the previous week's revised average of 337,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent for the week ending October 12, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 12 was 2,874,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,882,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,894,750, an increase of 13,250 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,881,500.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 310,814 in the week ending October 19, a decrease of 49,905 from the previous week. There were 345,226 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
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The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending October 5 was 3,856,740, a decrease of 71,957 from the previous week. There were 4,923,220 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

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Good afternoon, Freepers and DUers alike. I ask you to put aside your differences long enough to read this post. Following that, you can engage in your usual donnybrook.

I have been posting the number every week for at least a year. I seriously do not care if the week's data make Obama look good. They are just numbers, and I post them without regard to the consequences. I welcome people from Free Republic to examine the numbers as well. They paid for the work just as much as members of DU did, so I invite them to come on over and have a look. "The more the merrier" is the way I look at it.

I do not work at the ETA, and I do not know anyone working in that agency. I'm sure I can safely assume that the numbers are gathered and analyzed by career civil servant economists who do their work on a nonpartisan basis. Numbers are numbers, and let the chips fall where they may. If you feel that these economists are falling down on the job, drop them a line or give them a call. They work for you, not for any politician or political party.

The word "initial" is important. The report does not count all claims, just the new ones filed this week.

Note: The seasonal adjustment factors used for the UI Weekly Claims data from 2007 forward, along with the resulting seasonally adjusted values for initial claims and continuing claims, have been revised. These revised historical values, as well as the seasonal adjustment factors that will be used through calendar year 2012, can be accessed at the bottom of the following link: http://www.oui.doleta.gov/press/2012/032912.asp