STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 23 July 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 23 July 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 22 July 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 22 July 2015
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Dow Jones 17,851.04 -68.25 (-0.38%)
S&P 500 2,114.15 -5.06 (-0.24%)
Nasdaq 5,171.77 -36.35 (-0.70%)


[font color=black]10 Year 2.32% 0.00 (0.00%)
[font color=green]30 Year 3.04% -0.02 (-0.65%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
Market Updates
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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
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Bank Tracker
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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
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Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
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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
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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.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts







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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. Gold crashed

http://www.businessinsider.com/gold-just-got-destroyed-2015-7

The price of gold, courtesy of stop-loss selling and thin market conditions, endured a wild ride Monday. At 9:25 p.m. EDT, the spot price crashed 3.8%, or $43, to $1,087 an ounce in just a matter of seconds.

"We have seen gold undergo what can really only be described as its mini 'flash crash,'" Chris Weston, IG's chief market strategist, said.

"Talk from one local bank has been that 5 tonnes was dumped onto the Shanghai exchange, which is a huge order regardless of the time of day."

Having hit the lowest level seen since March 2010, the spot price has staged an impressive turnaround in Asian trade, rising back above the $1,100 level to $1,115.50 an ounce. The moves in gold are being replicated across the precious-metals space, with platinum and palladium, down 5% and 3% respectively earlier in the session, halving their losses in afternoon trade. Despite the late bounce, the ASX All Ordinaries gold index finished the session down 10%, its largest one-day percentage decline since December 1.

[kickysnana]

2. So is this all gold or just paper gold again and what does it mean?

Since nothing is real anymore I guess it doesn't matter but it would be nice to know what might be going on here.

My basement speculation: Greece defaulted, nothing bad happened (yet) so a bunch of people went crazy and then the lemmings followed.

[Fuddnik]

3. It means the usual.

Gas, oil, gold, silver. Whenever commodities prices start going down, recession is about 6 months away. Start watching the other commodities next. It might get funny, and you'll see rising AG prices because of weather and drought.

[Demeter]

4. Shell Expects Oil Price Recovery To Take 5 Years

http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Shell-Expects-Oil-Price-Recovery-To-Take-5-Years.html

Ben van Beurden, the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, and one of his senior executives envision low oil prices for some time unless energy producers cut production and the demand for fuel doesn’t rebound. In a wide-ranging interview with Oil & Gas Technology published July 14, van Beurden spoke of competing benefits of the low price of oil for fuel demand, and its liabilities for those who produce it.

“Low prices have big implications for exporting countries like Iran, Russia and Venezuela,” he said. “But also for shale-producers in the U.S., and even the domestic budgets of producers in the Gulf states. In consuming nations, low oil prices are an economic boon stimulating growth and demand.” For the near term, van Beurden pointed to one key forecast that this year will see more worldwide demand than in 2014. “Compared to last year, the International Monetary Fund expects the global economy to grow in 2015,” he said. “So global oil demand is expected to grow as well.”

But he stressed that many oil producers also are reluctant to explore and drill for oil because of smaller profit margins. Therefore, he said, “Supply … may even decline.” As for Shell itself, though, he said, “We’re determined to avoid a start-stop approach to investment.” As for the global market, Van Beurden said that at best, “a rapid recovery could occur if projects are postponed or even canceled. This would lead to less new supply – not so much now, but in two or three years. Combined with economic growth, the market could tighten quickly in this scenario.”

But he pointed to one major snag in that view: U.S. shale oil. A boom in North American production over the past few years helped to create the glut that led to the steep decline in oil prices that began a year ago. OPEC, under the leadership of Saudi Arabia, decided to fight shale producers with a price war, hoping that keeping prices low would make shale extraction, already costly, unprofitable. But if shale producers cut costs and take other steps to keep producing, van Beurden said, “With moderate economic growth, prices could stay low for longer.”

...The price of oil has fallen from more than $100 per barrel in June 2014 to under $60 today, and Brown said the company has believed for months that it will take until 2020 for the price to rise to a mere $90 per barrel....

[Demeter]

11. Oil Warning: Crash Could Be Worst in More Than 45 Years

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-23/oil-warning-crash-could-be-worst-in-more-than-45-years?cmpid=yhoo

Morgan Stanley has been pretty pessimistic about oil prices in 2015, drawing comparisons to the some of the worst oil slumps of the past three decades. The current downturn could even rival the iconic price crash of 1986, analysts had warned—but definitely no worse. This week, a revision: It could be much worse. Until recently, confidence in a strong recovery for oil prices—and oil companies—had been pretty high, wrote analysts including Martijn Rats and Haythem Rashed, in a report to investors yesterday. That confidence was based on four premises, they said, and only three have proven true.

1. Demand will rise: Check

In theory: The crash in prices that started a year ago should stimulate demand. Cheap oil means cheaper manufacturing, cheaper shipping, more summer road trips.

In practice: Despite a softening Chinese economy, global demand has indeed surged by about 1.6 million barrels a day over last year's average, according to the report.

2. Spending on new oil will fall: Check

In theory: Lower oil prices should force energy companies to cut spending on new oil supplies, and the cost of drilling and pumping should decline.

In practice: Sure enough, since October the number of rigs actively drilling for new oil around the world has declined by about 42 percent. More than 70,000 oil workers have lost their jobs globally, and in 2015 alone listed oil companies have cut about $129 billion in capital expenditures.

3. Stock prices remain low: Check

In theory: While oil markets rebalance themselves, stock prices of oil companies should remain cheap, setting the stage for a strong rebound.

In practice: Yep. The oil majors are trading near 35-year lows, using two different methods of valuation.

4. Oil supply will drop: Uh-oh

In theory: With strong demand for oil and less money for drilling and exploration, the global oil glut should diminish. Let the recovery commence.

In practice: The opposite has happened. While U.S. production has leveled off since June, OPEC has taken up the role of market spoiler.



For now, Morgan Stanley is sticking with its original thesis that prices will improve, largely because OPEC doesn't have much more spare capacity to fill and because oil stocks have already been hammered. But another possibility is that the supply of new oil coming from outside the U.S. may continue to increase as sanctions against Iran dissolve and if the situation in Libya improves, the Morgan Stanley analysts said. U.S. production could also rise again. A recovery is less certain than it once was, and the slump could last for three years or more—"far worse than in 1986...In that case," they wrote, "there would be little in analysable history that could be a guide" for what's to come.

[Demeter]

12. Do I hear 50?

[Demeter]

5. Dilbert on Management

[Demeter]

6. With Offshore Accounts, Fifth Amendment Protections Don't Apply

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2015/07/22/with-offshore-accounts-fifth-amendment-protections-dont-apply/

You might think your bank records–especially foreign banks–are personal and confidential. Yet the government can make you hand over your bank records, even if they incriminate you. It turns out not even the Fifth Amendment can protect you. With FATCA, the pace of foreign account disclosures is frantic, and the stakes have never been higher. The IRS still has two programs running—the OVDP and the Streamlined programs—but it is important to get to the IRS before it gets to you.

That lesson is underscored by another bank records case, United States v. Chabot. In this case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals added its voice to the many courts that have already said you cannot claim Fifth Amendment protection for bank records. When the IRS issued a summons to the Chabots for their bank records, they refused to comply, citing their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.

The Chabots argued that producing the records would incriminate them, and that sounds like a pretty good argument. Even so, they lost in district court. And they lost on appeal too. Imagine getting a summons or subpoena to produce your own offshore bank records. The Fifth Amendment says you cannot be forced to incriminate yourself. It turns out there’s an exception for “required records.” The cases are now quite consistent, and consistently in the favor of the IRS and prosecutors. Under the Required Records Doctrine, it doesn’t violate your rights if:

The government’s inquiry is essentially regulatory;
The information is a preserved record of a kind customarily retained; and
The records have taken on public aspects making them analogous to a public document.

The matters unfold something like this. Suppose the IRS and Department of Justice are investigating, trying to determine if you used offshore bank accounts to evade taxes. You get a summons or subpoena demanding records you are required to keep under the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970—that’s the law requiring FBARs. You refuse to comply based on your Constitutional privilege against self-incrimination, since handing over the records clearly would incriminate you.

But the courts have said that the Required Records Doctrine trumps your Fifth Amendment privilege. The government has to establish the three elements of the Required Records Doctrine. But once they do, you have to hand over the documents no matter how incriminating they are. The Fifth Amendment doesn’t allow you to refuse to produce them.

"DOCTRINE" TRUMPS THE CONSTITUTION?

CALL IN THE DANCING SUPREMES!

[Demeter]

7. SPIEGEL Interview with Julian Assange: 'We Are Drowning in Material' HE'S BAACK!

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/spiegel-interview-with-wikileaks-head-julian-assange-a-1044399.html

SPIEGEL: Mr. Assange, WikiLeaks is back -- releasing documents proving United States surveillance of the French government, publishing Saudi diplomatic cables and posting evidence of the massive surveillance of the German government by US secret services. What are the reasons for this comeback?

Assange: Yes, WikiLeaks has been publishing a lot of material in the last few months. We have been publishing right through, but sometimes it has been material which does not concern the West and the Western media -- documents about Syria, for example. But you have to consider that there was, and still is, a conflict with the United States government which started in earnest in 2010 after we began publishing a variety of classified US documents.

SPIEGEL: What did this mean for you and for WikiLeaks?

Assange: The result was a series of legal cases, blockades, PR attacks and so on. With a banking blockade, WikiLeaks had been cut off from more than 90 percent of its finances. The blockade happened in a completely extrajudicial manner. We took legal measures against the blockade and we have been victorious in the courts, so people can send us donations again.

SPIEGEL: What difficulties did you have to overcome?

Assange: There had been attacks on our technical infrastructure. And our staff had to take a 40 percent pay cut, but we have been able to keep things together without having to fire anybody, which I am quite proud of. We became a bit like Cuba, working out ways around this blockade. Various groups like Germany's Wau Holland Foundation collected donations for us during the blockade.

SPIEGEL: What did you do with the donations you got?

Assange: They enabled us to pay for new infrastructure, which was needed. I have been publishing about the NSA for almost 20 years now, so I was aware of the NSA and GCHQ mass surveillance. We required a next-generation submission system in order to protect our sources.

SPIEGEL: And is it in place now?

Assange: Yes, a few months back we launched a next-generation submission system and also integrated it with our publications.

SPIEGEL: So we can expect new publications?

Assange: We are drowning in material now. Economically, the challenge for WikiLeaks is whether we can scale up our income in proportion to the amount of material we have to process.

SPIEGEL: Nine years ago, when WikiLeaks was founded, you could read on its website: "The goal is justice. The method is transparency." This is the old idea of Enlightenment born in the 18th century. But if you look at brutal political regimes and ruthless big corporations, isn't that slogan too idealistic? Is transparency enough?

Assange: To be honest, I don't like the word transparency; cold dead glass is transparent. I prefer education or understanding, which are more human.

MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

8. I've got a great topic for the Weekend---LUCK!

What is it, how do you recognize and exploit it, etc. So tune in this weekend--it could be your lucky day!

[Demeter]

9. Detroit is saving money by paying off bankruptcy bills early

NOTE: EVEN THOUGH I'M LOCAL, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS TRUTH OR CONVENIENT FICTION

http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/detroit/detroit-is-saving-money-by-paying-off-bankruptcy-bills-early

All of the crazy bankruptcy bills we exposed last year led to millions in dollars in savings to Detroit and its taxpayers. City officials are putting it to good use, paying off debt - tens of millions in debt. Remember all the stories we did last winter? The bills for Detroit’s bankruptcy totaled 200 million dollars.

The line items we exposed: attorneys getting paid to walk to court, several attorneys working at the same time – some paid as much as a thousand bucks an hour and chauffeured from Cleveland for court hearings! Don’t forget the attorneys who billed for reading the news as the case was in trial!

By the numbers, Detroit took out loans of $275 million - what was called bankruptcy exit financing. Thirty million of that is being paid early to lender Barclays. That is about the same amount of reductions in bankruptcy bills Detroit got in closed mediation.

“It’s a positive thing,” says Detroit’s Chief Financial Officer John Hill. “We’ve always believed the city should not borrow more money than it needs. And we had to take a look at our cash flows going into the next several months.”

Detroit could make more news as early as tomorrow. The city’s bond rating could also be upgraded by Wall Street, making that cheaper for the city and the taxpayers.

[Demeter]

10. Pearson has decided to sell FT to global media owner

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/23/us-pearson-m-a-financialtimes-idUSKCN0PX0YM20150723?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

British publisher Pearson has decided to sell the Financial Times to a global, digital news company after owning the newspaper for nearly 60 years, a person familiar with the deal said on Thursday. Pearson later confirmed that it was in advanced discussions regarding a potential disposal of the title but declined to provide further details.

Pearson, which has become the world's leader in educational publishing, believes the time is right to focus fully on its education strategy and no longer on the media sector, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Previous reports from other news organizations have suggested the title could fetch around 1 billion pounds, however analysts believe that is optimistic. Reports have suggested potential buyers include Bloomberg, German newspaper publisher Axel Springer and Thomson Reuters.

A spokesman for Thomson Reuters declined to comment. The 171-year-old company also owns a large stake in the Penguin Random House publisher.
The group is due to report results on Friday.

Shares in Pearson were up 2.2 percent. A sale of the global business newspaper has long been the subject of speculation as Pearson moved increasingly into the provision of education services in North America and in emerging markets. The group had however said it maintained committed to the paper due to its strong brand.

[Demeter]

13. Tim Cook’s $181 Billion Headache: Apple’s Cash Held Overseas

BRING IT HOME AND PAY YOUR TAXES, TIGHTWAD!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-22/tim-cook-s-181-billion-headache-apple-s-cash-held-overseas

Apple Inc.’s cash topped $200 billion for the first time as the portion of money held abroad rose to almost 90 percent, putting more pressure on Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook to find a way to use the funds without incurring U.S. taxes.

Booming iPhone sales overseas are adding to Apple’s cash pile, pushing the company to embrace offshore affiliates to preserve and invest the money. Cook, who was called before U.S. Congress in 2013 to defend Apple against allegations of dodging taxes, is facing questions on what Apple will do with its cash pile and fielding calls from investors, such as billionaire activist Carl Icahn, to return shareholder capital.

“They don’t really have that much on-shore cash,” said Tim Arcuri, an analyst at Cowen & Co. “They’re still sort of hamstrung on what they can do, barring the ability to repatriate a bunch of off-shore cash.”

Cook has been vocal about his desire for U.S. lawmakers to amend the country’s tax laws so that companies can repatriate more cash. Apple’s overseas cash has climbed 70 percent since Cook spoke to Congress, and now makes up 89 percent of Apple’s $202.8 billion in cash and investments at the end of June, the company said Tuesday, up from 72 percent of $146.6 billion in cash two years ago....

SOMEBODY NEEDS A JAIL TERM

[Punx]

19. Wasn't it Cook

That said said something along the lines that it's not Apple's responsibility to help the United States with the trade imbalance or something equally repugnant.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/21/1210759/-Unmitigated-iGall-Apple-CEO-Demands-Corporate-Tax-Cuts-to-Repatriate-100B-in-Off-Shored-Wealth

[Demeter]

14. Bank of America replaces CFO in management shake-up

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-america-replaces-cfo-management-022747173.html

Bank of America Corp said on Wednesday it would replace its chief financial officer and its wealth management chief, a week after the bank reported its biggest quarterly profit in nearly four years...

NOT EXACTLY A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE....WHAT'S THE MATTER? FIND AN HONEST BANKER IN YOUR MIDST?

CFO Bruce Thompson, 51, will be replaced by Paul Donofrio from Aug 1. Donofrio is currently the CFO of the consumer bank and wealth management. Brian Moynihan tapped Thompson to be chief financial officer shortly after he started as CEO. "When I became CEO, I asked Bruce to step away from 15 years leading client businesses and help rebuild our company," Moynihan said in an internal memo. The shakeup comes a week after the No. 2 U.S. bank by assets reported its lowest expenses since 2008, suggesting it has finally put to rest problems stemming from the financial crisis. "The quarterly results we announced last week showed once again how far we have come on our journey over the past few years," Moynihan said in a statement. BofA has paid at least $70 billion in legal expenses since 2008.

The bank also said David Darnell, the head of wealth management, would retire and be succeeded by Terry Laughlin.

Laughlin will transfer responsibility for stress tests required by the U.S. Federal Reserve to newly appointed Chief Administrative Officer Andrea Smith, the bank said.

Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson is leaving Bank of America, and David Darnell, a vice chairman responsible for the wealth-management division, is retiring, the bank announced. Thompson's departure was a surprise as he was seen as a possible successor to CEO Brian Moynihan. ---CFA NEWSLETTER

[Demeter]

15. GREECE AGAIN, WITH A WHIMPER, NOT A BANG

I EXPECT THE BANG WILL COME, BUT LATER ON

Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Will Not Resign,New Deal to Include Debt Restructure

I'LL BET THAT IS NEWS TO ANGELA...SHE'S ADAMANT AGAINST IT

...the third lending agreement for the nation, expected to be concluded by August 20, is "a tough compromise" but will include a debt restructuring. Speaking to parliament in the early morning hours of Thursday, before lawmakers vote on the final prior actions bill set by the country's creditors as prerequisite before talks for the new loan begin, Tsipras admitted once again that he was forced to chose between a difficult compromise, Germany's plan for a smooth Grexit in exchange with a loan or a disorderly default that would have crashed the banking system.

"Conservative circles within the EU still push for a Grexit. We chose a tough compromise to avoid these extreme scenarios. The past six months, we made mistakes but i do not regret giving this fight," Tsipras said. "The new loan will provide coverage for Greece and liquidity for the next three years. For the first time it will include another debt restructuring which was only discussed but not decided in the past," he said in defense of of the agreement.

Tsipras admitted that the parliamentary procedures followed by the government the past two weeks "were extraordinary" as he was forced to implement certain prior actions before talks begin for the third rescue package.

"The conservative circles within Europe achieved a fiery victory. We lost. But they lost their dominance. I don't believe that our fight is wasted. I already see cracks and the dialogue for the future of Europe has begun," he said.

OR, THERE'S ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE...

Greek PM keeps lid on party rebellion to pass bailout vote

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/23/us-eurozone-greece-idUSKCN0PW0GI20150723

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras contained a rebellion in his left-wing Syriza party to win parliamentary approval on Thursday for a second package of reforms required to start talks on a financial rescue deal.

A first set of reforms that focused largely on tax hikes and budget discipline triggered a rebellion in Syriza last week and passed only thanks to votes from pro-EU opposition parties.

The bill that lawmakers voted on early Thursday covered rules for dealing with failed banks and speeding up the justice system - two more conditions set by the euro zone and IMF to open negotiations on an 86 billion euro rescue loan.

The legislation easily passed with the backing of 230 votes in the 300-seat chamber, once again due to opposition support.

But 36 Syriza deputies - or almost a quarter of the party's 149 lawmakers - voted against the overall bill or abstained, though significantly for Tsipras that was a smaller rebellion than the 39 deputies who defied him in last week's vote...Tsipras has publicly said he disagrees with measures demanded by Greece's euro zone peers and the IMF for talks to proceed on a third bailout to save the country from bankruptcy. But after he made a U-turn by accepting a deal at the 11th hour to keep his country in the euro, he told party hardliners to face reality and back the package. Even so, hardline Left Platform lawmakers from the Syriza party, who opposed last week's bill, rejected this week's law as well and complained about the length of the bill, which covered more than 900 pages.

The Ghost of Thatcherism Stalks the Greeks

http://www.alternet.org/economy/ghost-thatcherism-stalks-greeks?akid=13319.227380.krfa0g&rd=1&src=newsletter1039694&t=16

Greece's almost-prostrate government may no longer have the capacity, nor the will, to defend its rules...In its policies toward Greece, the "Troika" — a new shorthand for the combined will of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund — has actively and enthusiastically embraced Maggie Thatcher’s social and political philosophy, memorably captured in her chilling assertion, “There is no such thing as society.” That philosophy has found its fullest and most concrete exposition in a 2014 “competition assessment” of Greece made by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The OECD analyzed 555 Greek regulatory restrictions and made 329 specific recommendations the Troika expects Greece to enact with dispatch. Again and again the report views as virtually criminal regulations that favor small business, local ownership, and a reliance on local and domestic suppliers.

The OECD, for example, points an accusing finger at a Greek regulation requiring milk labeled “fresh” to have a maximum shelf life of 5 days. The regulation makes Greek “fresh” milk, on average, more expensive than in other EU countries. Why? “The high retail price of milk in Greece is a direct consequence of the high prices paid to Greek producers, since the five-day regulation makes imports next to impossible.” To the economists at the OECD and the Troika price is all. But the majority of Greeks, and I daresay many of the rest of us, might well support an agriculture policy that asks us to pay a few more cents for a bottle of milk to sustain and nurture an ecosystem of small, domestic dairy farmers.

The OECD demands Greece abolish any laws restricting the days or hours a business can operate (e.g., Sunday closing laws) — despite the fact that several European countries have enacted such policies to protect workers and small businesses. Germany has some of the most restrictive rules on opening hours of all.

The OECD insists, “The current retail price regulation of books should be abolished.” Why? “(N)ew retail channels such as the Internet will be developed.” The market demands that small publishers and bookstores make way for Amazon.

The OECD bids Greece abolish ownership provisions to “allow the development of retail pharmacy chains not owned or run by pharmacists.” The country's pharmacy care should be opened to giant drugstore chains...

AND THE BEAT(ING) GOES ON...

[Demeter]

16. Standard & Poor’s upgrades Greece

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/standard-poors-upgrades-greece-2015-07-21

Ratings firm Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday lifted Greece’s credit rating by two notches, citing the three-year loan program and EUR7.16 billion ($7.84 billion) in three-month bridge financing secured, in principle, last week.

S&P said the ratings increase for Greece is based on “our view that its default on its stock of commercial debt is no longer inevitable” in the next six months to a year.

S&P, which raised the beleaguered nation’s rating to triple-C plus from triple-C minus--still firmly in junk territory--after cutting it in June, said it now thinks the possibility of Greece leaving the eurozone has fallen to below 50%. The risk is still high, the company said, “if the Greek government doesn’t successfully implement what looks to be an ambitious program.”

SO THEY TOSS GREECE A COOKIE...A CRUMB, ACTUALLY

[Demeter]

17. This seems like a good place to stop

Duty calls...back tonight, if I'm still alive.

[antigop]

18. Private Equity Scrambles to Buy Primary Care Doctors, “Leverage” Their Patients

Lots of links to follow...be sure to read them all.

This really stinks.

Will the private equity funds will be bailed out when it all comes crashing down?

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/07/wolf-richter-private-equity-scrambles-to-buy-primary-care-doctors-leverage-their-patients.html

Wolf Richter provides an update on this trend. Private equity is now in the midst of a fad of buying primary care practices, particularly ones that focus on Medicare, even though Medicare practices don’t have great profit margins to begin with. As Wolf insinuates, this sounds like a prescription for disaster, and not just for the funds’ limited partners.