STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 25 February 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 25 February 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 24 February 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 24 February 2016
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Dow Jones 16,484.99 +53.21 (0.32%)
S&P 500 1,929.80 +8.53 (0.44%)
Nasdaq 4,542.61 +39.02 (0.87%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.75% +0.06 (3.55%)
30 Year 2.60% +0.05 (1.96%) [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
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.
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]

[Fuddnik]

1. Everybody still in bed this morning?

Sucks to be Jeb. Criminal finally got his comeuppance, and hopefully him and his entire family are relegated to the dustbin of history. But, at least his mommy likes him. And his asshole brothers are probably laughing behind his back, snickering "And he always thought he was the smart one".

I've met goats with better personality and more charisma.

Now, how about those MacBet......er Clintons?

[Punx]

3. After watching his Presidential Campaign

I only have one question.

"How the hell did he get elected Governor of Florida?"

The Crazy must run deep down there.

[Fuddnik]

4. Well, I can't blame it on the mushrooms.

Must be something toxic in the aquifer. It got worse. We elected Rick Scott twice.

[Punx]

6. Yes

Rick Scott is certainly a step down and that's saying a lot. I'll never understand why people vote for criminals.

My father's grandparents when alive lived in Venice, and his brother nearby, so I used to spend a lot of time in Florida in the 70's and very early 80's. Haven't been back since 1994, and even then I was stunned by the amount of development on the west coast. My uncle was always to the right, but now is a teabagger, so there's some crazy there.

I have an aunt and cousins on my mother's side that live in the Ft. Lauderdale area, doing something to support unions and making a pretty good living at it, all Democrats.

Good luck with the medical marijuana initiative.

[Warpy]

8. I just wonder if he's smart enough

to be kicking himself for obstructing the state wide recount that would have taken the presidency away from his big dumb brother. As bad as Stupid was, I think the country might have dodged a bullet by not getting the marginally smarter and therefore much worse Jeb.

Hey, Jeb! You did it to yourself. You had to know the Oaf of Office would trash the BFEE Family Brand.

[tclambert]

10. 10" of snow here, so I've been shoveling, shoveling, shoveling.

Think I'll go spark up a fire in the fireplace and maybe make a mug of hot chocolate with a dash of red pepper, marshmallows, and a candy cane stuck in it. I like my hot chocolate thick enough the candy cane will stand up straight in the middle. Maybe it's warm pudding at that point.

[Fuddnik]

11. Throw in a shot of that Pinnacle Whipped Cream vodka.

A few of those, and you won't have chill.

[Fuddnik]

2. Disney employee from Florida displaced by foreign worker to testify Thursday before U.S. Senate comm

Thursday, February 25, 2016 1:28am


WASHINGTON - A Disney employee who was terminated in favor of cheaper, foreign labor will testify Thursday afternoon before a Senate committee, bringing a new focus to an issue that has come up on the presidential campaign trail.

Leo Perrero, a former Disney IT engineer from Longwood, will appear before the Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest, chaired by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. Perrero has sued Disney after he was displaced by a foreign worker who was working under a H-1B visa.

He was one of about 250 employees who were laid off in late 2014 and replaced by workers by an outsourcing company in India. The U.S. workers had to train their replacements in order to get severance.

Outraged, Sen. Bill Nelson has teamed up with Sessions on legislation that would slash the number of H-1B visas by 15,000 and calls on the Department of Homeland Security to allocate the remaining 70,000 visas in a way that minimizes the potential for companies to seek cheap foreign labor.

Sen. Marco Rubio has drawn some scrutiny for co-sponsoring a bill, I-Squared, that would triple H-1B visas, an objective of the tech industry and Disney. Rubio has expressed concern about the Disney situation but declined to join Nelson in calls for a federal investigation.

(snip)

http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/disney-employee-from-florida-displaced-by-foreign-worker-to-testify-before/2266783

[DemReadingDU]

5. Different company, but similar in 2002

Our programming jobs went to cheaper workers in both India and Mexico. Some of co-workers had to train replacements by traveling to those countries.

[Fuddnik]

7. We had a woman in our DEC who was a die-hard Hillary supporter in 2008.

She was an executive at Nielson, the ratings company. Tata, the Indian outsourcing company, and a major Clinton donor, bought the company that year, along with huge local tax incentives to create jobs.
they laid off every single local, and brought their own workforce in from India on H1-whatevers.

[Tansy_Gold]

9. I shall remember this the next time

An acquaintance of mine who worked in software development and sales for 30+ years keeps insisting that top Silicon Valley and similar outfits hired Asian-trained engineers and developers because they had better training (and of course would work for less) than US-trained. I gave up arguing with this person ages ago because I never really had any kind of a comeback.

Now, however, I do. Thank you, all!

It is, after all, one thing to say that recent college graduates from an Asian school may have more hands-on experience than recent graduates from a US school where the education has been more theoretical and less hands-on. However, it is an entirely different thing to say you are going to hire cheaper imported workers and claim that they are better trained AND THEN HAVE YOUR EXISTING WORKERS TRAIN THEM.