STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 24 February 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 24 February 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 23 February 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 23 February 2016
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Dow Jones 16,431.78 -188.88 (-1.14%)
S&P 500 1,921.27 -24.23 (-1.25%)
Nasdaq 4,503.58 -67.02 (-1.47%)


[font color=green]10 Year 1.73% -0.07 (-3.89%)
30 Year 2.58% -0.08 (-3.01%) [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
Google Finance
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
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
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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
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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
08/03/15 Former City (London) trader Tom Hayes found guilty of rigging global Libor interest rates. Each fo eight counts carries up to 10 yr. sentence.
08/21/15 Charles Antonucci Sr, former pres. Park Ave. Bank sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and attempt to steal $11MM in TARP bailout funds, as well as $37.5MM fraud on OK insurance company. To pay $54MM in restitution and give up additional $11MM.
09/21/15 Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn apologizes for VW cheating on air quality standards with emission testing avoidance device. Stock drops 20%, fines may total $18B.
09/22/15 Stewart Parnell, CEO Peanut Corp. of America, sentenced to 28 years in prison for selling salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed nine.
12/17/15 Martin Shkreli, former CEO Turing Pharmaceuticals and notorious price gouger, arrested on securities fraud charges. Posted $5M bail, resigned as CEO.




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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. It is worse than anyone thought on Wall Street

http://www.businessinsider.com/pinto-jpmorgan-revenues-down-in-1q-2016-2

A few snippets:

Daniel Pinto, CEO of JPMorgan's corporate and investment bank, just made a gloomy prediction for Wall Street.

He said that the firm's investment-banking revenues are forecast to be down 25% in the first quarter.

JPMorgan topped league tables in 2015 in terms of global revenue. Elsewhere in the same presentation, the firm said that its market business had outperformed those of its rivals over the past few years.

So when JPMorgan has a tough start to the year, the rest of Wall Street likely will, too.

In a recent note, Goldman Sachs analyst Richard Ramsden said that the first quarter could be the weakest in recent history for capital-markets revenues across the Street.

Somehow or other I just can't find it in my heart to feel sorry for 'em.

Of course, how that affects the rest of us may be a very different story.

[Hotler]

2. Oil Extends Decline as Iran Calls Freeze Proposal ‘Ridiculous’

Oil extended declines after Iran said a proposal by Saudi Arabia and Russia for producers to freeze output was “ridiculous” as the Persian Gulf nation seeks to boost exports after years of sanctions.
Futures slid as much as 2.4 percent in New York. The proposal to cap output at January levels puts “unrealistic demands” on Iran, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Tuesday, according to the ministry’s news agency Shana. Ali Al- Naimi, his counterpart from Saudi Arabia, said at a conference in Houston high-cost producers should bear the burden of reducing the current surplus and reaffirmed the kingdom’s commitment to last week’s accord.
“There won’t be a pact on output, there’s no possibility of that occurring because there are insufficient levels of trust,” Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “The market is still in surplus and will remain that way for some time.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/oil-extends-decline-as-iran-calls-freeze-proposal-%e2%80%98ridiculous%e2%80%99/ar-BBpUjD0?ocid=iehp

Lack of trust among the oil producers. Gee go figure. I'm waiting for Iran to start sell oil in Euros instead of the dollar if they haven't started already.

[Hotler]

3. Well there it is....

Iran Says No Thanks To Dollars; Demands Euro Payment For Oil Sales

As regular readers are no doubt aware, Iran is now set to ramp up crude production by some 500,000 b/d in H1 and by 1 million b/d by the end of the year now that international sanctions have been lifted. In the latest humiliation for Washington, Tehran now says it wants to be paid for its oil in euros, not dollars.

“Iran wants to recover tens of billions of dollars it is owed by India and other buyers of its oil in euros and is billing new crude sales in euros, too, looking to reduce its dependence on the U.S. dollar following last month's sanctions relief,” Reuters reports. "In our invoices we mention a clause that buyers of our oil will have to pay in euros, considering the exchange rate versus the dollar around the time of delivery," an National Iranian Oil Co. said.
(snip)
Put simply, this has very little to do with economics and a whole lot to do with sending a message. "Iran shifted to the euro and canceled trade in dollars because of political reasons," the same NOIC source told Reuters.

Right. So basically, Iran is looking to punish the US for instituting years of economic tyranny by de-dollarizing the oil trade.

This comes at a time when the petrodollar is under tremendous pressure. Russia and China are already settling oil sales in yuan and "lower for longer" crude has broken the virtuous circle whereby producing countries were net exporters of capital, recycling their USD proceeds into USD assets thus underwriting decades of dollar dominance.

The question, we suppose, is whether other producers move away from the dollar just as Russia and Iran have. If there's a wholesale shift away from settling oil sales in greenbacks, another instrument of US hegemony will be dismantled and Washington's leverage over "unfriendly" producers will have been broken.

The irony is this: if Iran follows through on its promises to flood an already oversupplied market, crude might not fetch any "worthless pieces of paper" at all - dollars or euros.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-07/iran-says-no-thanks-dollars-demands-euro-payment-oil-sales

Don't piss off the money people in the USA, cause we will bomb your ass.

[Punx]

11. "Don't piss off the money people in the USA, cause we will bomb your ass."

That's along the lines of what I was thinking. "That this will not be tolerated" by the elites here. So one wonders, what will be the excuse to start a war with Iran at this point? A war that we can't afford of course. Imagine what Herr Trump, or that slimeball Rubio would do. Messing with Iran will be a whole different level of hell than Iraq was, and that's saying a lot!

As to the oil trade, we've made our bed and pissed off too many. Time to suffer the consequences. If all the time and $ spent keeping oil from the ME flowing had been spent on alternative energy, imagine where we might be today. Crude might not be fetching much in that scenario either.

[DemReadingDU]

4. J&J must pay $72 million for cancer death linked to talcum powder

OMG

2/24/16 J&J must pay $72 million for cancer death linked to talcum powder

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) was ordered by a Missouri state jury to pay $72 million of damages to the family of a woman whose death from ovarian cancer was linked to her use of the company's talc-based Baby Powder and Shower to Shower for several decades.

In a verdict announced late Monday night, jurors in the circuit court of St. Louis awarded the family of Jacqueline Fox $10 million of actual damages and $62 million of punitive damages, according to the family's lawyers and court records.

The verdict is the first by a U.S. jury to award damages over the claims, the lawyers said.

Johnson & Johnson faces claims that it, in an effort to boost sales, failed for decades to warn consumers that its talc-based products could cause cancer. About 1,000 cases have been filed in Missouri state court, and another 200 in New Jersey.

more...
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-johnson-johnson-verdict-idUSKCN0VW20A

[Roland99]

10. yikes!

[Hotler]

5. The Age Of Authoritarianism: Government Of The Politicians, By The Military, For The Corporations

Posted below is the end of the article. Sometimes it is sad to read the truth, but it is what we here already know. More at the link.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-23/age-authoritarianism-government-politicians-military-corporations

It is easy to be diverted, distracted and amused by the antics of the presidential candidates, the pomp and circumstance of awards shows, athletic events, and entertainment news, and the feel-good evangelism that passes for religion today. What is far more difficult to face up to is the reality of life in America, where unemployment, poverty, inequality, injustice and violence by government agents are increasingly norms.

The powers-that-be want us to remain divided, alienated from each other based on our politics, our bank accounts, our religion, our race and our value systems. Yet as George Orwell observed, “The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.”

The only distinction that matters anymore is where you stand in the American police state. In other words, you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.

[Hotler]

6. Canadian Oil Companies Have Stopped Paying The Rent

Where possible, we try not to beat dead horses but when it comes to the death of the so called “Alberta dream,” it’s rather difficult to ignore the pace at which conditions continue to deteriorate in Canada’s beleaguered oil patch.

We’ve covered Alberta’s demise extensively over the past twelve months, documenting everything from soaring food bank usage to the alarming spike in property crime in Calgary where vacant office space sits collecting dust and condos go unsold even as housing prices soar in British Columbia and Ontario.

Now, in the latest sign that the seemingly inexorable decline in crude will continue to weigh on Alberta's flagging economy, we learn that O&G companies have simply stopped paying rent for surface access to private property.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-23/canadian-oil-companies-have-stopped-paying-rent

Destroy the land. Pollute the water and now failure to show responsibility for their debts. Bunch of deadbeats, pretty soon they will want a government handout.

[Hotler]

7. More deadbeat oil companies.

Unfair Share: How Oil and Gas Drillers Avoid Paying Royalties

Don Feusner ran dairy cattle on his 370-acre slice of northern Pennsylvania until he could no longer turn a profit by farming. Then, at age 60, he sold all but a few Angus and aimed for a comfortable retirement on money from drilling his land for natural gas instead.
It seemed promising. Two wells drilled on his lease hit as sweet a spot as the Marcellus shale could offer – tens of millions of cubic feet of natural gas gushed forth. Last December, he received a check for $8,506 for a month’s share of the gas.
Then one day in April, Feusner ripped open his royalty envelope to find that while his wells were still producing the same amount of gas, the gusher of cash had slowed. His eyes cascaded down the page to his monthly balance at the bottom: $1,690.

Chesapeake Energy, the company that drilled his wells, was withholding almost 90 percent of Feusner’s share of the income to cover unspecified “gathering” expenses and it wasn’t explaining why.

“They said you’re going to be a millionaire in a couple of years, but none of that has happened,” Feusner said. “I guess we’re expected to just take whatever they want to give us.”

https://www.propublica.org/article/unfair-share-how-oil-and-gas-drillers-avoid-paying-royalties

[Hotler]

8. Stay safe my friends. I need to run. n/t

[Roland99]

9. 5 min in and it's back to the usual slide

[font color="red"]
Dow 16,247 -184 -1.12%
Nasdaq 4,446 -58 -1.28%
S&P 500 1,900 -21 -1.11%
GlobalDow 2,119 -35 1.63%
Oil 30.67 -1.21[/font]
Gold 1,245 +22 1.83%
U.S. 10yr 1.68 -0.04 2.57