STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 22 April 2014

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 22 April 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 21 April 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 21 April 2014
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Dow Jones 16,449.25 +40.71 (0.25%)
S&P 500 1,871.89 +7.04 (0.38%)
Nasdaq 4,121.55 +26.03 (0.64%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.71% +0.01 (0.37%)
30 Year 3.52% +0.03 (0.86%) [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.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.








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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. It's taking a little longer than anticipated, Tom

but we aren't giving up the struggle...not yet, anyway.

[Demeter]

2. For Fuddnik: Taxis: time to embrace, not resist, the technological revolution

PERSONALLY, I PREFER TO EMBRACE ONLY WIN-WIN TECHNOLOGIES.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/20/taxi-regulation-uber-observer-editorial?CMP=ema_565


Internet taxi service Uber is a global success. Rather than opposing it, the industry should unite with it...If one were looking for a case study in "creative destruction" – the economist Joseph Schumpeter's term for the messy way in which capitalism renews itself – then the current row over Uber, the internet-powered taxi-hailing service, would be hard to beat. Launched in 2010 in San Francisco, it initially specialised in enabling subscribers to order, via a mobile phone app, a "black car" (usually an upmarket saloon) to pick them up from their location. Payment is by credit card, with the driver keeping around 80% of the fare and Uber the remainder.

Like all venture capital-funded enterprises (it's had more than $400m, or £240m, in VC funding and is currently valued at $3.5bn), Uber needed to grow and so it has diversified, mainly by offering access to a variety of vehicles and by expanding overseas. At each stage in its evolution, it has faced opposition from the entrenched commercial interests – taxi cartels and municipal licensing authorities – that it threatens to disrupt. But until recently the opposition has been relatively restrained. Last week, however, a Brussels court raised the stakes by banning Uber on the grounds that its fleet does not have the necessary licences to operate in the city. Uber drivers will be fined €10,000 if they are caught carrying private passengers. The judgment provoked predictable howls of outrage from technology enthusiasts such as Neelie Kroes, the EU commissioner for digital matters. "This decision," she told the Financial Times, "is not about protecting or helping passengers – it's about protecting a taxi cartel." This may well be true, but it's not the whole story. The taxi business has been tightly regulated for a long time.

In London, for example, regulation goes back to 1654, when parliament first approved a measure to impose some order on "the late increase and great irregularity of Hackney Coaches and Hackney Coachmen in London, Westminster and the places thereabouts". In succeeding centuries and in cities throughout the globe, municipalities followed suit and – as often happens – cosy relationships between regulators and their clients calcified into powerful vested interests. The result is an industry that is sometimes run for the convenience of providers as much as for consumers. In many locations, licences are expensive to acquire (it costs $1m to get a licence to run a yellow cab in New York), so anything that threatens to undermine the value of that medallion is bound to face serious opposition. Consumers see the effects of this in high charges, erratic availability, indifferent service and regional discrepancies. Why should taxi fares in Liverpool, for example, be half what they are in the south-east?

Uber is disruptive in various ways. It could vastly increase the availability of taxis by enabling people who have acceptable vehicles and a desire to augment their incomes to provide a service. (Much as Airbnb enables householders to earn money from their spare bedroom or, indeed, their entire flat.) It can also introduce dynamic pricing as a way of evening out demand – charging more at peak periods and less in the off-peak hours. And it provides real-time information on the location of cars. On the other hand, taxi services are regulated for good reasons, chief among them passenger safety. A world in which just anyone with a car in an urban area could pick up passengers from the street or their homes is not one that most of us would countenance. The best strategy for taxi firms and regulators, therefore, would be to learn from the mistakes of other industries (think record companies and print newspapers) that could have harnessed the internet for their own purposes, but chose not to do so until it was too late. Uber – or similar services – is here to stay. It offers some ways of improving an important public service. Given that the taxi industry can't beat it, the smart thing to do would be to join forces with it – and keep some of the additional revenues.

[Fuddnik]

16. I'm trying to hook up with Uber and Lyft right now. They're just starting in Tampa Bay.

I've sent them all the documentation, and waiting (they said it takes about 2 weeks) for the background checks.

Right now, I'm running around a few personal clients on airport runs. But I like Ubers model. Unlike calling a cab, and hoping you get one, once a driver accepts a fare, their smartphone show them exactly where you are and ETA for arrival to pick them up. And vice-versa.

I can drive my 2013 Ford Hybrid, which gets triple the gas mileage of the Crown Vic I was driving, but it's a newer and better car. And, it's a cash-free business, other than tips. Peaople have an account, paid on their credit card, or I can swipe their card on my smartphone with the little PayPal contraption.

[DemReadingDU]

17. around here, Zipcar is getting news

Instead of calling for a taxi, a person cheaply rents a car.

What’s zipcar?

Drive cars by the hour or day. Gas & insurance included.
In neighborhoods, cities and airports across the globe.
Save hundreds over car ownership.
Choose from sedans, hybrids, vans and more.
Membership starts as low as $6/month.

http://www.zipcar.com/


It's making news at one of the colleges
http://www.zipcar.com/wrightstate

[Demeter]

21. It's on my list of things to get in the condo community

along with newspaper vending boxes...

but the U of M has a station just two blocks away, not sure they would buy the idea of two close together...

[DemReadingDU]

22. maybe one station could be backup for the other?

or one station have different cars than the other, give people more choice

[Demeter]

33. They would serve entirely different populations

I would think.

[IronLionZion]

38. Check out Car2Go

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car2Go

It charges by the minute for those very short urban trips.

[Warpy]

40. The best thing they can do is make them smaller

so they're more maneuverable and able to get through city traffic. An example would be the tuk-tuk taxis used in much of southern Asia and in India. They're big enough for one to two people or one person with luggage. They can sit two abreast in one lane and would decrease traffic congestion considerably. Of course, they're more dangerous if the driver gets into a fight with a cement truck but the risk/benefit equation applies. Even conventional taxis don't fare well in fights with cement trucks.

[Demeter]

3. Why advertisers are getting millennial men all wrong

http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2014/apr/20/millennial-urban-young-marketing-profile-graduate?CMP=ema_565



Marketers have created a profile for young urban millennial males with money to burn, but it's hard to believe this creature exists...Ah, millennials. In some circles, we’re known as the generation that wants a trophy just for showing up. The youngsters who expect work without reward. The narcissists who want to move back in with mom and dad because we’re just too lazy and expectant to actually find a job. The brats who are so hopelessly dependent on gadgets that we eschew real human interaction. But look beyond the stereotypes, with the eyes of a marketing genius, and you’ll see a generation that wants so much more: specifically, a $5,000 traveling martini satchel from Tumi and a nice camouflage Prada backpack. Or at least, that’s what banks and trendwatchers expect will become the hot new consumer phenomenon, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. HSBC is forecasting that the new lucrative target demographic for consumer products will be Young Urban Males – or Yummies as HSBC calls them. Not surprisingly, given their awkward label, Yummies seem a bit insecure. Young dandies want to flash blue-chip brands as soon as they can afford them, while older consumers closer to the top of the socioeconomic pyramid don’t have as much to prove. The silver-backed master of the universe is secure in his Speedo swimsuit and skin-tight driving gloves; he doesn’t need a camouflage backpack from Prada ($980) to make his mark on the world.

This future luxury spending spree by millennial men would come as quite the surprise, given existing stereotypes. Where are millennials – any millennials – getting all this money? We’re the generation that moved back home after college rather than making our way in the world. It may appear silly to talk about an economic “menaissance” right now, especially among the young. The economic prospects of millennials are basically a shambles as it is, and the Great Recession hit male-dominated industries the hardest.

How are we supposed to afford Prada when we can’t even afford our own bachelor pads? Indeed, far from having a surfeit of disposable income even on a par with previous generations, recent research from the Urban Institute indicates that Americans between 29-37 have substantially less accumulated wealth than people in that age group did a generation ago. Meanwhile, those in older age groups have done very well in wealth accumulation compared to their peers from previous generations. That means more speedos and skin-tight driving gloves for the silverbacks, but not nearly as many camouflage Prada backpacks for the with-it and hip. But surely, one might say, it’s not the average millennial man who would be in the market for a traveling martini satchel that costs five large, or a dashing new Michael Kors suit. Instead, it would be the young elites from the wealthier sectors of the economy, like tech and finance. But even in these lucrative sectors that are a traditional source of wealth for the stereotypical Yummy, it’s like the song says: things just ain’t the way they used to be. On Wall Street, as in just about every other sector of the American economy, the number of jobs available is in significant decline. According to Business Insider, in 2012 the heart of the American financial sector had 25,600 fewer jobs available than it did before the Great Recession began; just as bad, the jobs that still exist aren’t paying quite as well as they used to.

Average pay on Wall Street has declined, both in response to lower profits and the new regulatory frameworks imposed by Dodd-Frank. And given the fact that the payscale for top-level executives is growing (once again, this round goes to the silverbacks), it’s clear that the salary givebacks are occurring at the entry-level spots on the wage scale that would traditionally be occupied by the aspirational Yummies HSBC has sought to describe. The high-tech sector isn’t in any better shape: according to the Ewing Marion Kauffman foundation, business dynamism in tech is declining, and job creation has been especially hard hit since the Great Recession. The bottom line is, the tech and finance sectors are urban and male-dominated, with starting salaries that far exceed the average. These are the types of jobs that would allow a Yummy trend to take off and flourish. And yet, these key industries aren’t expanding in a way that would set the cornerstone of a new consumer demographic. Instead, they’re actively shrinking: there are fewer jobs available, and what jobs are available for an aspirational Yummy pay less than they used to...But what about all the money that millennials are saving by not starting families? ...It’s not just that the millennial generation’s income prospects aren’t as stable as that of our predecessors – it’s also that getting started on life as an adult has become so much more expensive. Recent college graduates have an unemployment rate that nearly doubles the national average; but even worse, most are starting in a hole. According to the Project on Student Debt, two-thirds of all 2011 college graduates have student loan debt that averages $27,500 when adjusted for inflation. For people with postgraduate degrees, this already harsh figure can be even more stark.

......................................

HSBC suggests that any man with a few hundred a month to spare can afford to lease a Lexus. Given the economic conditions of millennials, however, those men may be few and far between. But even if we had that sort of disposable income, is that how we would really spend it? As a generation, millennials are eschewing car culture in favor of walking, biking, and collaborative consumption services like ZipCar – and when we do choose to invest in cars, we invest in environmentally sustainable models. We forgo having our own physical DVD collections and watch what we care to on Hulu and Netflix. And as a generation, we are forgoing the white picket fence in the surburbs that has always been the hallmark of the American dream, and choosing a new urbanism that seeks to connect us more deeply to our built environment. There are many possible reasons behind this new ethic: a lack of economic confidence might make us less focused on owning property, and certainly the rise of technology in the social sharing movement plays a role. But ultimately, we value integration more than accumulation, and make our investments in lifestyle rather than proving a point with flashy luxury brands. Most millennials will never be able to afford a Coach tote. But even if we could, we also know it’s not the key to happiness, and it’s not what we tend to aspire to....

SIC SEMPER 1% HOARDING

[Demeter]

5. New Study: Young People Are Increasingly Glum About the Future in Western Countries

http://www.alternet.org/economy/new-study-young-people-are-increasingly-glum-about-future-western-countries?akid=11717.227380.8G3vH8&rd=1&src=newsletter981993&t=12

An Ipsos Mori survey released today has found that young adults in rich, western countries are less optimistic about the future than their counterparts in developing countries. While people in Europe, Australia, North America and Japan largely felt that the younger generation were unlikely to be better off than their baby boomer predecessors, those polled in Brazil, Russia, India, Turkey and China said they believe their children's lives will be better than their own. In Britain, only 20% of the population thinks that young people are likely to have better lives than their parents.

Is this the end of western optimism? There is no denying that things are looking terminally glum for young people in light of how the recession has affected western economies. The results of the research are perhaps unsurprising, yet they go to show that the nosedive in young people's living conditions has not gone unnoticed.

Sky-high tuition fees and private rents, a shortage of affordable housing, low wages and benefit cuts have combined to make adult life in Britain a daunting prospect. Economic collapse and austerity measures have had a similar impact throughout Europe, not least in France which is bottom of the league table with only 7% of those polled feeling optimistic about young people's prospects for a better life.

Of course, it's worth considering what exactly a "better" life means. In this case it appears to be financial security and comfort. Owning a home is the goal which preoccupies my generation but which many have given up on entirely, choosing to spend their money, if they have any, on consumer goods or nights out. Then there are almost a quarter of 16- to 24-year-olds who are unemployed and will be denied housing benefit in the expectation that their parents, if they have any, will provide. Indeed, in modern Britain only the wealthy with their trust funds and house deposits courtesy of their parents have any right to feel good about the future...

[Demeter]

6. Unlike the US, Here Are 6 Countries That Are Experimenting How to Make Workers' Lives Better

http://www.alternet.org/world/unlike-us-heres-6-countries-are-experimenting-how-make-workers-lives-better?akid=11716.227380.FCt7My&rd=1&src=newsletter981596&t=6

Workers in the United States are typically pushed to the edge and stressed out. Millions lack paid vacations or even sick days, and both of those seemingly minimal and fundamental benefits are not required by law in the majority of the country. The right to organize in workplaces is continually under attack. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Many European countries, which have strong labor unions, have learned that lesson. Study after study has demonstrated that the U.S. lags far behind most European countries when it comes to paid vacation, sick days, work-life balance, labor conditions for women and much more. Recent initiatives in France and Sweden have brought these stark differences into the spotlight.

Here are six countries that have pursued innovative approaches to improving workers’ lives. The U.S. ought to take a close, hard look at them:

1. France: Limiting emails after work.

2. Germany: No post-work email.

3. Sweden: Six-hour work days.

4. Venezuela: Paying mothers.

5. Brazil: 41 vacation days

6. Finland: Subsidized childcare and 40 days off.

DETAILS AT LINK

[Demeter]

4. The former labor secretary explains why the rich pay less, and how we can change it.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/robert-reich-happy-tax-day-video-why-1-pay-much-lower-rate-you?akid=11717.227380.8G3vH8&rd=1&src=newsletter981993&t=3

&feature=youtu.be

[Demeter]

8. Why Corporate Criminals Don't Pay

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/all-in-/54954569

[tclambert]

32. That was pretty good.

I especially liked his look back to the Savings and Loan Scandal, where about 800 people went to jail; then the Enron, Tyco, Worldcom, etc. scandals where top executives did face trial; to today where "collateral consequences" means a big bank can launder money for drug cartels and NO ONE faces criminal charges.

[Demeter]

7. Is Putin Being Lured Into a Trap? By Mike Whitney

ACTUALLY, I DON'T THINK IT'S A BEAR TRAP...BUT A TRAP SET BY A BEAR

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/15/is-putin-being-lured-into-a-trap/

“Russia … is now recognized as the center of the global ‘mutiny’ against global dictatorship of the US and EU. Its generally peaceful .. approach is in direct contrast to brutal and destabilizing methods used by the US and EU…. The world is waking up to reality that there actually is, suddenly, some strong and determined resistance to Western imperialism. After decades of darkness, hope is emerging.” – Andre Vltchek, Ukraine: Lies and Realities, CounterPunch

Russia is not responsible for the crisis in Ukraine. The US State Department engineered the fascist-backed coup that toppled Ukraine’s democratically-elected president Viktor Yanukovych and replaced him with the American puppet Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a former banker. Hacked phone calls reveal the critical role that Washington played in orchestrating the putsch and selecting the coup’s leaders. Moscow was not involved in any of these activities. Vladimir Putin, whatever one may think of him, has not done anything to fuel the violence and chaos that has spread across the country.

Putin’s main interest in Ukraine is commercial. 66 percent of the natural gas that Russia exports to the EU transits Ukraine. The money that Russia makes from gas sales helps to strengthen the Russian economy and raise standards of living. It also helps to make Russian oligarchs richer, the same as it does in the West. The people in Europe like the arrangement because they are able to heat their homes and businesses market-based prices. In other words, it is a good deal for both parties, buyer and seller. This is how the free market is supposed to work. The reason it doesn’t work that way presently is because the United States threw a spanner in the gears when it deposed Yanukovych. Now no one knows when things will return to normal.

Check out this chart at Business Insider and you’ll see why Ukraine matters to Russia:



http://www.policymic.com/articles/84677/to-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-ukraine-follow-the-gas-lines-on-this-map

The overriding goal of US policy in Ukraine is to stop the further economic integration of Asia and Europe. That’s what the fracas is really all about. The United States wants to control the flow of energy from East to West, it wants to establish a de facto tollbooth between the continents, it wants to ensure that those deals are transacted in US dollars and recycled into US Treasuries, and it wants to situate itself between the two most prosperous markets of the next century. Anyone who has even the sketchiest knowledge of US foreign policy– particularly as it relates to Washington’s “pivot to Asia”– knows this is so. The US is determined to play a dominant role in Eurasia in the years ahead. Wreaking havoc in Ukraine is a central part of that plan.

Retired German Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jochen Scholz summed up US policy in an open letter which appeared on the Neue Rheinilche Zeitung news-site last week. Scholz said the Washington’s objective was “to deny Ukraine a role as a bridge between Eurasian Union and European Union….They want to bring Ukraine under the NATO control” and sabotage the prospects for “a common economic zone from Lisbon to Vladivostok.” Bingo. That’s US policy in a nutshell. It has nothing to do with democracy, sovereignty, or human rights. It’s about money and power. Who are the big players going to be in the world’s biggest growth center, that’s all that matters. Unfortunately for Obama and Co., the US has fallen behind Russia in acquiring the essential resources and pipeline infrastructure to succeed in such a competition. They’ve been beaten by Putin and Gazprom at every turn. While Putin has strengthened diplomatic and economic relations, expanded vital pipeline corridors and transit lines, and hurtled the many obstacles laid out for him by American-stooges in the EC; the US has dragged itself from one quagmire to the next laying entire countries to waste while achieving none of its economic objectives. So now the US has jettisoned its business strategy altogether and moved on to Plan B, regime change. Washington couldn’t beat Putin in a fair fight, so now they’ve taken off the gloves. Isn’t that what’s really going on? Isn’t that why the US NGOs, and the Intel agencies, and the State Dept were deployed to launch their sloppily-engineered Nazi-coup that’s left the country in chaos?

Once again, Putin played no part in any of this. All he did was honor the will of the people in Crimea who voted overwhelmingly (97%) to reunite with the Russian Federation. From a purely pragmatic point of view, what other choice did they have? After all, who in their right mind would want to align themselves with the most economically mismanaged confederation of all time (The EU) while facing the real possibility that their nation could be reduced to Iraq-type rubble and destitution in a matter of years? Who wouldn’t opt-out of such an arrangement?

MORE

[Demeter]

9. Obama's job-training unicorn: it's time for some new ideas already

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/16/obamas-job-training-unemployment-new-ideas-already?CMP=ema_565

"I promise you there's not a job out there that will pay you a lot without some kind of training," President Obama said to a group of students and workers at a Pittsburgh community college Wednesday afternoon.

Yet many American companies are not training new workers or re-training existing ones, and Congress isn't even close to passing any major jobs-related legislation – and hasn't since 2011.

The biggest problem facing the country – 10.5m people out of work – remains, but Congress is still fighting over paying unemployment benefits to those who have been out of work for over six months. Meanwhile many corporate executives, at companies including ChevronPhillips, say they need thousands more skilled workers – but they're certainly not actually hiring and are just hoarding more cash than ever.

It would seem beneficial, then, for both corporate executives and lawmakers to reduce the unemployment crisis by training US workers.

Enlightened self-interest, however, seems to be a lost concept in US business these days; its unwelcome replacement seems to be thick-headed short-sightedness. Our companies just can't figure out what's good for them, and they have good company in the US Congress...

MORE BLATHER

[Demeter]

10. Health care site flagged in Heartbleed review

CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS!

http://www.sfgate.com/business/technology/article/Health-care-site-flagged-in-Heartbleed-review-5414431.php

People who have accounts on the enrollment website for President Barack Obama's signature health care law are being told to change their passwords following an administration-wide review of the government's vulnerability to the confounding Heartbleed Internet security flaw.

Senior administration officials said there is no indication that the HealthCare.gov site has been compromised and the action is being taken out of an abundance of caution. The government's Heartbleed review is ongoing, the officials said, and users of other websites may also be told to change their passwords in the coming days, including those with accounts on the popular WhiteHouse.gov petitions page.

The Heartbleed programming flaw has caused major security concerns across the Internet and affected a widely used encryption technology that was designed to protect online accounts. Major Internet services have been working to insulate themselves against the problem and are also recommending that users change their website passwords.

Officials said the administration was prioritizing its analysis of websites with heavy traffic and the most sensitive user information. A message that will be posted on the health care website starting Saturday reads: "While there's no indication that any personal information has ever been at risk, we have taken steps to address Heartbleed issues and reset consumers' passwords out of an abundance of caution."

YEAH, SURE! MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

11. How Obamacare Leaves Some People Without Doctors

STILL FUBAR, AFTER ALL THOSE MILLIONS...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/obamacare-patients-without-doctors_n_5044270.html

In January, a doctor told Noam Friedlander, who was suffering from excruciating lower back pain, that she needed surgery to remove part of a severely herniated disc. Friedlander had Blue Shield insurance through Covered California, California's version of Obamacare, and planned to use it to cover the costs of the operation.

But when she started to call surgeons covered by Blue Shield, she ran into a roadblock. Surgeons who were covered by her insurance operated out of hospitals no longer covered by her insurance -- or vice versa. Friedlander spent days on the phone, hours on hold, making dozens of calls across Southern California, trying to match a surgeon with a hospital that would both be covered. In total, she reached out to 20 surgeons and five hospitals.

"No one could help me. Some expressed sympathy," Friedlander, 40, told The Huffington Post in an email. "They told me, 'I'm so sorry -- it's all just so new. You're a victim of the changes. No one knows what they're doing.'"

Unable to match a hospital and a surgeon that were both covered, Friedlander started haggling between doctors for a cash price for the surgery. She chose a surgeon who wasn't covered by her insurance but who operated in a hospital that was covered. She expects her insurance to pay the hospital bill, but she had to pay for her surgeon's bill herself. In the end, she had to take out two credit cards so she could pay $16,000 out of pocket....

MORE GOOD NEWS AT LINK

[Demeter]

12. O's 1st Amend. Defense, Political Liars: Solicitor Gen. to defend deceptive campaigning to Supremes

http://www.alternet.org/obamas-first-amendment-defense-political-liars?akid=11732.227380.LYYcaq&rd=1&src=newsletter983277&t=5




President Obama, through his U.S. Solicitor General, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court, has now stated that lying in political campaigns isn't merely protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, but that it is an especially protected form of speech, which must not be hindered by any state government, such as by the state of Ohio. Ohio has outlawed such intentional deception of voters, and has established heavy criminal penalties against it, when it can be proven. The idea behind this law is that any democracy in which lying in political campaigns isn't penalized by severe penalties, won't remain a democracy much longer, but will instead descend into a kleptocracy: theft of elections themselves (via lies), so that they become just nominal "elections," which are controlled by whatever aristocrats can put up the most money, to lie the most effectively, to the biggest number of voters: lying-contests.

It's an important Supreme Court case. As Constitutional lawyer Lyle Denniston has noted, in his "Argument preview: Attack ads and the First Amendment": "In all of the history of the First Amendment, the Court has never ruled that false statements are totally without protection under the Constitution." However, this Supreme Court will have an opportunity to do that here, in the case SBA List v. Dreihaus; or else, to do the exact opposite -- to open wide (even wider than they now are) the floodgates to political lies....

[Demeter]

13. Don't Leave Bitcoin to the Libertarians! Why the Progressive Movement Needs Open Source Money

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/dont-leave-bitcoin-libertarians?akid=11725.227380._a2m8F&rd=1&src=newsletter982832&t=5





Among activists one often finds an aversion to even thinking about money. Associating it with the opponent — who has lots of it — they try to do without money themselves. Often, for as long as they can, they try to organize and resist without it, until burning out, quitting and getting into a different line of work just to keep up on rent. But, as the 19th-century U.S. populist movement recognized, money is also a battleground. Today, as a new wave of sophisticated digital currencies are beginning to arise, this is perhaps more true than ever before.

Bitcoin (the open-source software and peer-to-peer network) and bitcoin (the currency) first appeared in early 2009 — just after the housing bubble burst. It was heavily promoted by a tech-savvy, anti-establishment, libertarian community concerned with the power of big banks and government regulation. Critics have dismissed Bitcoin as being “ by the privileged, for the privileged,” while defenders have claimed with an equal lack of subtlety that it is somehow “ post-privilege” altogether. Regardless of the label, however, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency platforms like it aren’t going away, and they are poised to become increasingly disruptive.

To understand why, I turned to Devin Balkind, founder and director of Sarapis, which promotes the use of free/libre/open-source software among non-profits and popular movements. He has recently written (and is continuing to write) a public working paper on cryptocurrency, “ Finance Without Force.” Last year, we spoke about the role of open-source tools in the Occupy Sandy relief effort, in which he played a leading role. Before that, he had the distinction of being the first person to tell me about cryptocurrency in the first place, insisting that this was something I should be paying attention to. It has taken a while, but I am finally coming back to him for more.

What do social justice activists need to know about crypocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is open-source money. It lowers the cost of producing a means of exchange — a money system — down to almost zero. That means it’s easier than ever to organize alternative monetary systems. Some activists know about time-banking and mutual credit systems. Cryptocurrency makes it possible for people to turn the hours or credits from systems like that into money that can easily be sent around the world or spent at a local store. It completely changes what’s possible from the perspective of solidarity economics...

MORE

[Demeter]

14. The New Economic Events Giving Lie to the Fiction That We Are All Selfish, Rational Materialists

http://www.alternet.org/economy/were-about-enter-whole-new-era-economics-and-its-going-make-everyone-feel-lot-more-wealthy?akid=11716.227380.FCt7My&rd=1&src=newsletter981596&t=8





Jeremy Rifkin's new book, “The Zero Marginal Cost Society,” brings welcome new attention to the commons just as it begins to explode in countless new directions. His book focuses on one of the most significant vectors of commons-based innovation — the Internet and digital technologies — and documents how the incremental costs of nearly everything is rapidly diminishing, often to zero. Rifkin explored the sweeping implications of this trend in an excerpt from his book and points to the "eclipse of capitalism" in the decades ahead.

But it's worth noting that the commons is not just an Internet phenomenon or a matter of economics. The commons lies at the heart of a major cultural and social shift now underway. People's attitudes about corporate property rights and neoliberal capitalism are changing as cooperative endeavors — on digital networks and elsewhere — become more feasible and attractive. This can be seen in the proliferation of hackerspaces and Fablabs, in the growth of alternative currencies, in many land trusts and cooperatives and in seed-sharing collectives and countless natural resource commons.

Beneath the radar screen of mainstream politics, which remains largely clueless about such cultural trends on the edge, a new breed of commoners is building the vision of a very different kind of society, project by project. This new universe of social activity is being built on the foundation of a very different ethics and social logic than that of homo economicus — the economist's fiction that we are all selfish, utility-maximizing, rational materialists.

Durable projects based on social cooperation are producing enormous amounts of wealth; it's just that this wealth is not generally not monetized or traded. It's socially or ecologically embedded wealth that is managed by self-styled commoners themselves. Typically, such commoners act more as stewards of their common wealth than as owners who treat it as private capital. Commoners realize that a life defined by impersonal transactions is not as rich or satisfying as one defined by abiding relationships. The larger trends toward zero-marginal-cost production make it perfectly logical for people to seek out commons-based alternatives. ...MORE

[Demeter]

15. Filing Shows Lehman Still Had Billions in Assets at End of 2013

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304441304579479814095060506?mod=dist_smartbrief

Reorganized Company Had $2.2 Billion in Private Equity Assets, $3 Billion in Commercial Real Estate...

[xchrom]

18. WORLD STOCKS MIXED ON CHINA WORRIES, US EARNINGS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-22-05-22-46

HONG KONG (AP) -- World stocks fluctuated Tuesday as a Wall Street rally powered by positive earnings reports offset investor cautiousness before a report on Chinese manufacturing and possible sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

Japan's Nikkei changed course during the day to lead Asian markets lower after the yen strengthened.

In early European trading, Germany's DAX rose 1 percent to 9,503.27 while France's CAC 40 added 0.6 percent to 4,457.66. The FTSE 100 index of leading British companies rose 0.8 percent to 6,680.26.

U.S. stocks were poised to edge lower. Dow futures dipped less than 0.1 percent to 16,364.00 while broader S&P futures declined less than 0.1 percent to 1,863.70.

[xchrom]

19. THAWING OUT: WARMER TEMPERATURES LIFT US ECONOMY

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-21-17-56-58

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Spring's thaw is reviving the economy, too.

A recent batch of government and business reports show a U.S. economy emerging from winter's deep freeze.

Economists had expected growth to accelerate in 2014 after two years of slow and steady improvement. But an unusually bitter winter sent factories, hiring and consumer spending into hibernation.

Now, as temperatures rise, the economy is regaining momentum. Factories are busier. Consumers are spending more. Banks are making more loans to businesses. Companies have bigger plans to invest in plants and equipment. And the improvement appears to be widespread across the country.

"The weather really played havoc. There were ice storms in Georgia. That is not something you see every day," said Michael Dolega, senior economist at TD Economics. "Now, as Americans have dug themselves out and everything has melted, you're going to get a bounce back."

[xchrom]

20. JAPAN, US STRUGGLE TO BRIDGE GAP ON FREER TRADE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_US_TRADE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-22-07-08-08

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese and U.S. negotiators are struggling to reach a preliminary agreement on a free trade pact that might have served as a centerpiece for President Barack Obama's visit to Tokyo this week.

Japan's economy minister Akira Amari told reporters Tuesday that the two sides remained "at a considerable distance" over trade in farm products and vehicles a day before Obama arrives.

"Depending on the rate of progress we may naturally close the gap," Amari said. The two sides would continue talks ahead of Obama's summit on Thursday with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he said.

A Japan-U.S. agreement is seen as crucial for progress on a wider deal for the 12 nations involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Each country must strike a deal with other prospective members to conclude the pact.

[xchrom]

23. HALLIBURTON POSTS $622M IN 1ST-QTR NET INCOME

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EARNS_HALLIBURTON?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-21-16-53-41

DALLAS (AP) -- Halliburton made money in the first quarter on rising revenue in the Middle East and Asia, and the CEO said Monday that he sensed an upturn in the North American market.

Earnings and revenue topped expectations and Halliburton reversed course after a loss a year ago, when results were hurt by charges related to the huge 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Halliburton Co. shares rose $2.02, or 3.3 percent, to close at $62.92 after hitting an all-time high of $63.88 earlier in the day. They have gained 24 percent so far in 2014.

The Houston company provides drilling services to oil and gas operators around the world, although it is more dependent on U.S. operations than rival Schlumberger Ltd. That has been a handicap lately, as a surplus of equipment used in hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" - pumping chemicals and water underground to break open shale rock formations - has driven down prices.

[Demeter]

34. Not like the good old days

before they had to sell off their war materiel...

[xchrom]

24. UKRAINE CRISIS PROMPTS SWEDEN TO BOOST ARMS BUDGET

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_SWEDEN_MILITARY_BUDGET?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-04-22-07-16-39

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Following the crisis in Ukraine, Sweden's government has proposed increasing the Nordic country's military spending by 5.5 billion Swedish kronor ($830 million) a year.

The four-party center-right coalition said Tuesday it is deeply concerned by the recent events in Ukraine and wants to raise the military outlays gradually in coming years to reach the proposed figure by 2024.

Among other things, it wants to buy 10 more fighter jets and two more submarines to improve the defense of the Baltic Sea and the island Gotland.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Sweden's defense budget was slashed and its military emphasis shifted toward international peacekeeping operations. Now, however, both the left-leaning opposition and the government agree that the country's military readiness is inadequate.

[AnneD]

41. Really????

The last time Sweden increased the military budget was when they made more long boats and and supplied Hagrath's men with more swords, shields, and helmets.

[xchrom]

25. Man Who Helped Expose One Of The Biggest Controversies In Silicon Valley Was Shot Dead In December

http://www.businessinsider.com/brandon-marshall-tech-companies-case-2014-4

The world's biggest tech companies are currently dealing with a class-action lawsuit that accuses them of colluding to keep employees' wages down.
The companies — Apple, Google, Adobe, etc. — were accused of having no-poaching agreements so they wouldn't hire each others' employees. The case could be settled for anywhere between $3 billion and $9 billion this week.

When the case is finalized, employees of companies could be rewarded with thousands of dollars in compensation.

However, one person is going to miss out on his chance to collect the money. Brandon Marshall, "who helped set in motion a class-action lawsuit against the companies," according to The New York Times, died last December when he was shot by a sheriff's deputy.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/brandon-marshall-tech-companies-case-2014-4#ixzz2zcGUmT8j

[xchrom]

26. Russian Prime Minister: We're Ready For More Western Sanctions

http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-prime-minister-were-ready-for-more-western-sanctions-2014-4

Russia is ready to face a new round of Western sanctions over Ukraine, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday.
"I am sure we will be able to minimize their consequences," he said in a televised speech to parliament.

"The government is ready to act in conditions when the priority of our work becomes protecting the economy and citizens from such unfriendly acts that could follow due to the escalating foreign policy situation."

However, he acknowledged Russia's economy was facing an "unprecedented challenge".



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-prime-minister-were-ready-for-more-western-sanctions-2014-4#ixzz2zcH1dBxz

[xchrom]

27. How Costco Can Afford To Pay The Best Wages In The Industry

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-costco-pays-more-than-other-chains-2014-4

Costco is often praised by politicians and labor activists for paying its employees more than the minimum wage.
The company, which pays new employees $11.50—$4.25 more than the minimum wage—has become a standard bearer in the fight for higher wages at Wal-Mart and other major retail chains.

But Costco's high wages are only made possible because of its annual customer membership fees, which cost as much as $110, argues Michael Saltsman in The Wall Street Journal. Saltsman is the research director of the Washington, D.C.-based Employment Policies Institute.

"The warehouse retailer rakes in what amounts to a more than $10,000 profit per employee, according to data from business research company Hoovers," Saltsman writes. "A casual dining restaurant, on the other hand, earns a roughly $2,000 profit per employee."

***better product, full shelves, and great service means i'm ok with the membership fees.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-costco-pays-more-than-other-chains-2014-4#ixzz2zcJXj8oC

[Fuddnik]

37. My membership fee is about $35.

On the other hand, Sams Club (Walmart) is about $50, and they still pay their employees shit.

[xchrom]

28. Former Deutsche Bank Salesman Admits Bribery in Tokyo

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-21/ex-deutsche-bank-salesman-to-enter-plea-in-wining-dining-probe.html

Former Deutsche Bank AG (DBK) salesman Shigeru Echigo admitted to bribery charges in Tokyo and said he acted on instructions from his managers, as authorities push brokerages to be more judicious in entertaining clients.

At the start of his trial in the Tokyo District Court today, Echigo accepted prosecutors’ argument that he bribed a pension fund executive to buy investment products. Echigo, 37, spent about 900,000 yen ($8,800) entertaining the client on 15 occasions from April to September 2012, the prosecutors said.

The defendant said he didn’t act alone and the conduct at the German bank’s Japan brokerage unit was institutional. Former Mitsui & Co. (8031) employee Yutaka Tsurisawa was convicted in the same court last month for accepting benefits from Echigo, and Deutsche Securities Inc. cut the pay of several top Japan officials after the firm was censured by regulators in December.

The charges relate to meals and golf outings with Tsurisawa that constituted a breach of Japanese law because the money his pension oversaw included public funds, effectively making him a civil servant. The investigations into Echigo and Tsurisawa may signal that Japanese banks’ and brokers’ practice of entertaining clients to build relationships will only be tolerated in relation to private money.

[xchrom]

29. Poland’s Tusk Proposes Energy Union to Break Russian Hold on Gas

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-22/poland-s-tusk-proposes-energy-union-to-break-russian-hold-on-gas.html

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk proposed a Europe-wide energy union, including a single body charged with purchasing gas supplies, as a means of breaking Russia’s “stranglehold” over the region’s energy market.

In an op-ed column published in today’s Financial Times, Tusk called for the creation of a European Union institution to negotiate energy contracts with Russia. Member states should also work more closely together on energy infrastructure to guarantee the security of supplies and look to better exploit fossil-fuel resources, he said.

“Excessive dependence on Russian energy makes Europe weak,” Tusk said. He cited the dependence of at least 10 of the EU’s 28 members on Russian state-controlled gas exporter OAO Gazprom for more than half their consumption.

Poland is leading calls for intensified sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government amid the standoff with the U.S. and its allies following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and building tension in eastern Ukraine.

[Demeter]

36. It's beginning to look like a bad horror movie

Revenge of the EU zombies...if they can get out of their own way, they can punish the big bad Soviet Empire...decades after it's fallen.

[xchrom]

30. Draghi Gauges Ukraine Effect as ECB Tackles Low Inflation

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-21/draghi-gauges-ukraine-effect-as-ecb-tackles-low-inflation.html

Mario Draghi can look for clues from euro-area companies this week on whether the region needs more stimulus to counter economic risks from low inflation to geopolitical tension.

Purchasing managers’ indexes tomorrow are forecast to show growth in manufacturing activity holding at the weakest pace this year. Figures the following day may show declining business confidence in Germany, the region’s biggest economy, in a survey published shortly before the European Central Bank president speaks in Amsterdam.

A territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine, which supply much of Europe’s energy, is undermining confidence in a recovery already threatened by a strengthening currency and subdued pricing power. That raises the prospect of ECB officials being called on their promise to ease monetary policy if needed, including with unconventional tools such as quantitative easing.

Tension in eastern Europe “could easily spark turbulences big enough to temporarily halt the euro-zone recovery,” said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “It is the biggest risk to our optimistic growth forecasts for the euro zone at the moment.”

[xchrom]

31. Ex-Barclays Executive Sees ‘Golden Decade’ for Banking

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-21/ex-barclays-executive-sees-golden-decade-for-banking.html


The world’s securities firms are poised for 10 years of growth, according to Hans-Joerg Rudloff, the former chairman of that business at Barclays Plc. (BARC)

“Investment banking has a brilliant future,” Rudloff, 73, said in an interview in Milan on April 16, making his first public comments on the business since retiring from Barclays in February. “The industry is looking at a golden decade.”

The growing need for capital will propel profits, once securities firms finish adapting to tighter rules designed to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis and shield depositors from trading losses, said Rudloff, who during his five-decade career helped foster the expansion of the Eurobond market in the 1980s.

“It isn’t about trading with the firm’s money, but about allocating capital and playing the intermediary” by originating, packaging and distributing all types of securities, including derivatives, he said.

[tclambert]

39. Why does that make me think the decade will have a different color for the rest of us?

If the banks get the gold, we get the . . . shaft?

[Demeter]

35. GM. pick up the white courtesy phone...

OR EVEN KEEPING THEM ALIVE FOR REPEAT SALES...