STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday March 11

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday March 11, 2009

Bush Administration Officials Under Indictment = 0
Financial Sector Officials Under Indictment = 0
Financial Sector Officials In Prison = 1

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON March 10, 2009

Dow... 6,926.49 +379.44 (+5.80%)
Nasdaq... 1,358.28 +89.64 (+7.07%)
S&P 500... 719.60 +43.07 (+6.37%)
Gold future... 895.90 -22.10 (-2.41%)
30-Year Bond 3.71% +0.11 (+3.17%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.98% +0.10 (+3.33%)

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U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES..............................................S&P FUTURES

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

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Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Reports

10:30 Crude Inventories 03/06
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior -757K

14:00 Treasury Budget Feb
Briefing.com NA
Consensus -$205B
Prior -$175.6B

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[DemReadingDU]

60. When will the market wrap-up come back? n/t

[ozymandius]

69. Looks like they've pieced themselves back together.

The Leaky Bathtub Economy Meets the
Clutching at Straws Committee
BY FRANK BARBERA, CMT

At the moment, only a fool would argue with the premise that the primary trend for the global economy at this time is ‘contractionary.’ ‘Down -- and down hard’ is the best phrase to describe the current global economic trend. Some would argue that in this context, Deflation is the dominant theme in what we have sometimes characterized as the ‘Leaky Bathtub Economy.” Picture the global economy as the bathtub, where on the one hand we have a huge credit deflation taking place where debt is being extinguished, defaulted upon, and wealth is being destroyed at a record rate. In the analog, loss of wealth and the reduction in credit is the money flowing out the bottom of the bathtub through a gigantic leak. At the same time, we see global damage control being implemented by the governments of the world and the collective central banks. In this case, massive money printing (IOU creation) is attempting to keep the water level from sinking while governments are, at the same time, trying to find a good plumber to stop up the leak.

-cheeky graphic-

Given this dynamic, all investors need to remain very hip to the point where “Joe the Plumber” finally arrives. For once the bathtub leak is finally plugged up, history speaks volumes to the idea that the water pouring in to the tub is rarely shut off promptly. In fact, going back through history, we find that most of the time, the water ends up overflowing onto the bathroom floor. For the global economy, a stabilization in the various components leading to a loss of wealth (the stock market, the housing market, the credit markets) implies that at some point, inflation will likely burst back on the scene making a dramatic entrance. For our account, we do not believe that “a turn” back to inflation is likely in 2009. In my view, this is far more likely a 2010 or 2011 event. I have no doubt in my mind that down the road a bit, inflation will return and return with a vengeance. So, given the fact that the trend in motion is to the downside, and like an ocean liner, the global economy is NOT given to fast “U-Turns,” a question becomes what would be some of the leading signals for a turn?

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[Demeter]

80. And What Mythical Plumber Is Going to Stop This Leak?

Talk about wishful thinking! Obama's stimulus program? Not a chance. Collapse of the zombies? Maybe.

Revolution? Maybe in the end, but certainly not during.

[UpInArms]

91. Petroleum Inventories Report:

17. U.S. gasoline inventories fall 3 million barrels last week
10:31 AM ET, Mar 11, 2009

18. Distillate stockpiles rise by 2.1 million barrels last week
10:31 AM ET, Mar 11, 2009

19. U.S. crude inventories rise 700,000 barrels last week: EIA
10:30 AM ET, Mar 11, 2009

looks like the refiners are slowing down on getting the product through the pipelines

[Ghost Dog]

104. Oil drops 7 percent on weak demand

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell more than 7 percent to $42 per barrel on Wednesday on further signs of weak global demand and rising inventories in top consumer the United States.

U.S. government data showed crude stocks in the world's largest energy consumer rose 700,000 barrels last week, while overall products demand over the past four weeks dropped 2.1 percent against last year's levels.

But gasoline demand rose further as lower pump prices encouraged more driving. Gasoline stocks tumbled 3 million barrels. Distillate demand fell 6.1 percent over the past four weeks from last year, with stocks off 2.1 million barrels last week.

"It looks like there's a genuine rebound in gasoline demand against a backdrop of extremely weak demand overall," said Antoine Halff, First Vice President of Research at Newedge Group in New York.

U.S. crude traded down $3.48 to $42.23 a barrel by 2:23 p.m. EDT, while London Brent crude fell $2.39 to $41.57 a barrel.

The U.S. inventory report came after No. 2 consumer China showed a surprise 15 percent drop in imports in February, as oil companies scaled back purchases due to high inventories and low demand. The fall came after an 8 percent drop in January.

"The Chinese crude data was really quite poor, and that's stalled any move toward $50 a barrel," Sucden Financial trader Robert Montefusco said.

"Prices are going to struggle to get a great deal higher given the extent of the economic problems we're seeing in the world."

German manufacturing orders fell 8 percent in January alone, data on Wednesday showed, indicating a deeper than previously expected recession in Europe's largest economy.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSTRE5210GO20090311

[UpInArms]

99. U.S. Feb. budget deficit widens 10% to $192.7 billion -YTD $756 Billion

01. U.S. Feb. budget deficit widens 10% to $192.7 billion
2:00 PM ET, Mar 11, 2009

02. U.S. budget deficit year-to-date record $765 billion
2:00 PM ET, Mar 11, 2009

03. U.S. Feb. tax receipts plunge to 14-year low
2:00 PM ET, Mar 11, 2009

04. U.S. Feb. individual income tax receipts at 24-year low
2:00 PM ET, Mar 11, 2009

05. U.S. Feb. budget deficit 2nd highest monthly gap ever
2:00 PM ET, Mar 11, 2009

[ozymandius]

2. Oil lurks near $46 after demand report slows rally

SINGAPORE – Oil prices crept toward $46 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after the U.S. Energy Department cut its 2009 crude demand forecast, stalling a two-week rally.

...

The department's Energy Information Administration said Tuesday it lowered its forecast for global oil demand for this year by 200,000 barrels a day from last month and now projects a decline of almost 1.4 million barrel a day in 2009. Its projection for global oil consumption this year is now 3 million barrels a day below its forecast from September.

...

The EIA is scheduled to released the latest inventory figures for the week ended March 6 on Wednesday. Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., expect that the government will report that inventories of both crude and gasoline declined last week.

...

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for April delivery fell 0.58 cent at $1.29 a gallon, while heating oil rose 0.79 cent to $1.21 a gallon. Natural gas for April delivery jumped 4.2 cents to $3.88 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[ozymandius]

3. Madoff to plead guilty, could face up to 150 years

NEW YORK – In a courtroom surprise, it was revealed Tuesday that Bernard Madoff will plead guilty Thursday to securities fraud, perjury and other crimes, knowing that he could face up to 150 years in prison for one of the largest frauds in history. The revelation came as prosecutors unveiled an 11-count charging document against the 70-year-old former Nasdaq chairman, and as his lawyer, Ira Sorkin, told a judge that Madoff planned to plead guilty this week without a plea deal.

Madoff has been under house arrest in his $7 million Manhattan penthouse since he was arrested in early December after authorities said he confessed to his family that he had carried out a $50 billion fraud. In court documents filed Tuesday, prosecutors raised the size of the fraud to $64.8 billion, an amount recounted in apparently false statements from November 2008.

....

He said Madoff faces 150 years in prison, mandatory restitution to victims, forfeiture of ill-gotten gains and criminal fines.

He also noted that the government has not entered into any agreement with Madoff about his plea or sentencing and that the filing of the charges do not end the matter.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090311/ap_on_bi_ge/madoff_scandal

[ozymandius]

28. Madoff Employees Helped Dupe Investors, U.S. Prosecutors Say

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. prosecutors shed new light yesterday on how they believe Bernard Madoff’s subordinates helped him operate a $64.8 billion Ponzi scheme, without saying whether those employees knew they were defrauding investors.

....

The money manager told his employees to create false account documents and trade confirmations reflecting phony returns so as to transfer funds while giving the appearance of legitimate trades, and to generate false financial statements for regulators, prosecutors said. Those actions gave the appearance of a “legitimate investment advisory business,” according to the government, which said the investigation of the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history is continuing. No employees have been charged with any wrongdoing.

“The issue will be whether the government can establish that they knew what in the paper was in fact phony,” Christopher Steskal, a former federal prosecutor, said in a telephone interview. “If the facts show it, they will likely pursue those people. It seems improbable that he would do it alone.”

....

Madoff’s brother Peter was chief compliance officer at the company, and his sons Mark and Andrew held senior positions in the market-making and proprietary trading businesses. None of Madoff’s family members have been accused of any wrongdoing.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aFyAnotdg7oo&refer=us

---

As always, the prosecution must find intent to defraud.

[tclambert]

46. So if Madoff pleas to a few billion in fraud, instead of $64.8 billion,

that means restitution, forfeiture, and fines would be based on that smaller amount, no? And he gets off on the rest. Or he could die before sentencing, a la Ken Lay, and the whole case goes away. Investors have to look to a civil suit for justice. Odds anyone?

[ozymandius]

62. Guilty plea for each count. No trial. No plea bargain.

Sentencing would be scheduled very soon. He will be granted time to "get his affairs in order" before entering the big house. The judge will probably sentence him to serve time for each count consecutively, rather than in a lump sum. Given his age, I'd say he will die in prison.

The civil case will not go away if he dies. The criminal case will in the event of his death before sentencing. Any civil complaints will be handled by the estate of the deceased after appointing an executor. There are a few conditional legal scenarios involving civil suits to decide who represents the estate. Nonetheless, those who have a stake in any civil litigation will receive a pittance of their investment with Madoff.

The chance that litigants must pursue a civil suit for justice/compensation is 100%.

[tclambert]

87. No plea bargain?

Bernie, ur doin it rong! He's like the poster child for the wrong way to wind up a Ponzi scheme.

Don't confess. Deposit money in foreign banks (maybe he got that one.) Dodge the feds. Flee the country. Live it up on the beach. If caught, have your lawyers stall and confuse the issues. Insist you're innocent. Assure your investors it's all just a misunderstanding, a snafu in the paperwork. Bury prosecutor in mountains of bewildering and mostly false paperwork. Pay a body double to do the time for you in return for making his family wealthy. Get a little plastic surgery. Go back to fleeing the country and living it up on the beach.

I'll bet Stanford does it better.

[Wednesdays]

94. I give it 50/50 (at best) he'll make it to his sentencing

...and he'll become the next Ken Lay. (nod, nod, wink, wink)

[radfringe]

4. Citi's Whoop-Dee-Doo on the markets yesterday

The stock markets did a WHOOP-Dee-DOO yesterday with Pandit's message of making a profit.

(http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us&hl=en&q=citi+pandit)

Forgive the skepticism - I think popping champagne corks and confetti throwing is a weee-bit premature. Somebody needs to inspection the kitchen, check out what set of books the cooks are using.

Wouldn't surprised me to find out it may be a copy of "Betty CROCK-o-Crap recipes" that Pandit is using.

[ozymandius]

9. I forget, exactly, how many years we have been doing this.

But I do recall with sharp clarity how the markets have rallied based on even a rumor, only to retreat in a stampede when the rumor turns false.

As you say:

[rfranklin]

37. I think it has a lot to do with options expiration....

Which happens next week. Gotta turn all those losing positions into winners.

[Dr.Phool]

Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard....Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard.

WOOO WOOOO WOOOO WOOOO.....

[readmoreoften]

10. whoops

[Hugin]

12. Okay, the market surged due to one person in one sector of a huge and complex...

global financial market writing a note.

Does anyone see the problem here?

What if I brought up getting Stock Advice from an Elevator Operator and why it means it's time to GET OUT?

Ring any bells now?

( :hi: radfringe... Cute smiley! )

[readmoreoften]

15. I completely agree.

Nothing says crisis like a 7% stock jump because 1 CEO writes a memo that their bank is still capable of cooking the books.

[ozymandius]

18. Did they verify Pandit's signature? He always signs in crayon, occasionally reverses letters.

I forget who said it. But do you mean the phrase, "When the shoeshine boy is talking about buying stocks, it's time to get out?"

The Pandit memo has been used before, in form, to bolster morale. What remains to be seen is how Citi treats its shareholders. Will the company produce a dividend after slashing it two years ago. Meredith Whitney warned the company would go belly-up in 2007 if they did not do so. So I sit and wait. Let's see if reality matches the rhetoric. (Though I seriously doubt that will happen.)

[Hugin]

19. Yes, that's the specific example...

But, I was unable to think of the exact quote or profession.

I'm delighted to see so many GET-THE-MEANING of the quote. :yourock:

[rfranklin]

31. That was attributed to Joe Kennedy but...

there are no contemporary citations. The anecdote appeared in a 1965 biography.

[Dr.Phool]

36. What's more, it was an INTERNAL memo.

He covered his ass nicely about misleading the public.

They'll probably fire the elevator operator for leaking the memo. Maybe he'll get a $5 million bonus.

[Roland99]

14. And they shot even higher after Barney Frank announced a return of the 'uptick rule'

which, honestly, I don't see how that will really keep shorts from adversely affecting a stock's price.

[radfringe]

24. an old Irish Drinking toast comes to mind

“An Irishman is never drunk as long as - He can hold onto one blade of grass and not - Fall off the face of the earth”.

in this case - the markets are grasping for any blade of grass and hopeing not to fall off the face of the earth

[AnneD]

100. Morning Marketeers....

:toast: and lurkers. Since I am so late in posting and we are close to St. Paddy's day, Indulge me while I tell you my fav St Paddy's day tale.

One day Seamus's wife had to leave to visit her sick sister for a week. Now Seamus she said-I don't want you going out drinking. Seamus swore a drink would not cross his lips.

He held off as long as he could. He finally decided to go out on Saturday knowing his wife wouldn't be in til Sunday afternoon. He pulled himself up to the bar and ordered one drink after another. Seamus finally had enough and decided to make his way home. As he stepped off the stool-he fell flat on his face.

I know I can make it to the door he thought-so slowly he crawled to the door. Grabbing the handle-he pulled himself up, opened the door and fell to the street.

I can make it to the street lamp the thought-crawling slowly. He hoisting himself up at the street lamp only to fall again.

I only have a few steps to go till I get to the apartment door. He crawled to the door, pulled himself up and you guessed it....he fell on the floor.

Well, he thought I am at home now-I can make it to bed and the wife will never know he said as he crawled into bed.

Night passed into morning and his wife came in . I know you been drinking Seamus, no point lying to me.

But dearie he said I been here at the apartment the whole time."

"Well, the bar just call and said you left your wheel chair there last night."

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Ghost Dog]

5. GLOBAL MARKETS-Citi hopes boost Asia stocks but China gloomy

HONG KONG, March 11 (Reuters) - Asia stocks rose on Wednesday after hopes Citigroup will deliver a first-quarter profit sparked an improvement in investor confidence, though grim Chinese export data sent dealers buying the U.S. dollar for safety.

While Beijing's efforts to prop up the economy were expected to really take hold in the third quarter, near-term prospects were in jeopardy as both exports and imports fell for a fourth consecutive month.

...

"With the U.S. government still examining ways to stabilise the bank if needed, we remain somewhat sceptical and are wary of the rally we have seen today in the equity markets which reminds us of the previous rounds of dead cat bounces we have witnessed," economists with United Overseas Bank in Singapore said in a note.

Japan's Nikkei share average .N225 rose 4.5 percent in moderate trading volume, rebounding from a 26-year closing low plumbed on Tuesday.

Shares of Toshiba Corp (6502.T) climbed 9.5 percent after the top Japanese business daily reported it would likely see an operating profit of $1 billion next business year, contrasting with analysts' expectations for a loss.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 1.9 percent, helped by miners BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX) and Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO.AX), which benefited from a rise in metals prices.

The MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS climbed 2.3 percent, led by the materials and financial sectors.

Tuesday's 5.1 percent rise on the MSCI all-country world stocks index .MIWD00000PUS was the biggest daily gain in three months.

A 4.4 percent rise in HSBC (0005.HK) led Hong Kong's Hang Seng index .HSI up by 2.2 percent and trimmed steep losses on the week ahead of its $18 billion rights issue.

...

While the Citi news brightened views on stability in the banking industry, the economic picture was darkening.

Japanese wholesale prices in February fell at the fastest annual rate in nearly six years, suggesting deflation is worsening and strangling the world's second-largest economy.

Chinese trade data for February reflected further pullback in global demand, with exports falling 26 percent compared with a 18 percent slide in January.

"China has finally and spectacularly succumbed to world financial crisis on the export side, and it's difficult to see why that would improve in the short term," said Paul Cavey, economist with Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idAFSP38538720090311?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

6. Nikkei marks best gain in 6 weeks on Citi, techs

TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average jumped 4.6 percent on Wednesday, posting its biggest rise in 6 weeks a day after hitting a 26-year closing low, as financial shares gained after Citigroup's (C.N) chief executive said the U.S. bank was making profits.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T) shot up more than 9 percent after a newspaper reported it may achieve an operating profit of about 100 billion yen ($1 billion) next business year, while other tech shares climbed in the wake of strong gains by their U.S. peers. U.S. stocks posted their best day in four months on Tuesday after Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said the company was profitable in the first two months of 2009 and voiced confidence about its capital strength, easing concerns about the bank's survival prospects.

"Tokyo shares were saved by the United States, and whether the rally continues or not depends largely on what Wall Street does tonight," said Masayoshi Okamoto, head of dealing at Jujiya Securities. "Given the probable buying by public pension funds anytime the Nikkei heads close to 7,000, I think we're unlikely to break below that this month. But going over 7,500 is equally unlikely due to profit-taking."

The market mostly shrugged off data showing Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell 3.2 percent in January from the previous month, slightly better than a median market forecast for a 4.5 percent fall.

"Economic indicators are still bad, but inventories are decreasing, and there's been some improvement in service sector sentiment," said Takashi Ushio, head of the investment strategy division at Marusan Securities.

...

The benchmark Nikkei .N225 gained 321.14 points to 7,376.12, marking its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 27 and coming right after it ended Tuesday at 7,054.98, its lowest close since October 1982.

The broader Topix rose 2.7 percent to 722.28.

BANKS BOLSTERED

Financials surged in the wake of the Citigroup news, though most trimmed their gains by the close.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T), Japan's top lender, rose 4.1 percent to 411 yen. Mizuho Financial Group (8411.T) climbed 5.4 percent to 176 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T) gained 4.8 percent to 2,820 yen.

...

Kyocera Corp (6971.T) and other tech shares climbed after U.S. bellwethers such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) jumped on Tuesday, halting a three-day sell-off in the sector and sending the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .SOXX up 8.1 percent.

Kyocera rose 6.6 percent to 5,950 yen and Canon Inc (7751.T) climbed 6.6 percent to 2,275 yen. TDK Corp (6762.T) rose 8.3 percent to 3,390 yen and Advantest Corp (6857.T) gained 5.9 percent to 1,287 yen.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAT397120090311?rpc=44&sp=true

[Wednesdays]

96. Ooh, stocks are rebounding

[Ghost Dog]

8. European shares fall early, led by UBS, HSBC

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - European shares fell in early trade on Wednesday after a surge in the previous session, as banking and energy stocks declined after UBS (UBSN.VX) said it saw earnings at risk for some time and crude oil fell.

By 0808 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was down 0.5 percent at 687.28 points after rising 5.1 percent to 690.89 points on Tuesday, the biggest one-day percentage gain in three months.

Wednesday's early losses put the index on track for its fourth loss in five sessions.

"This is no time for anyone to get carried away ... everyone is back to reality and realises the economic data is still poor. This is typical bear market behaviour -- big drops and huge rallies. Investors want to hold on to most of the gain and take profits," said Justin Urquhart Stewart, director at Seven Investment Management.

China's exports tumbled in February and Japan's wholesale prices fell by the most in six years, stark illustrations of a bleak world economy.

Banking stocks took the most points off the FTSEurofirst 300. UBS (UBSN.VX) (UBS.N) was 3 percent lower after it said its 2008 net loss had risen to 20.9 billion Swiss francs ($18.06 billion) from the previously reported 19.7 billion francs. .

HSBC (HSBA.L) slumped 8.5 percent as investors continued to short-sell the stock while others bailed out ahead of its $18 billion rights issue.

Energy stocks were in the doldrums as crude CLc1 fell 0.9 percent following a near 3 percent fall the previous day.

/.. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCALB36998120090311?rpc=44

[ozymandius]

13. China exports slump; IMF warns on toxic banks

BEIJING/ZURICH (Reuters) – A drop in Chinese exports and falling prices in Japan and Germany underscored the weakness of the world economy, while the IMF said governments are moving too slowly to rid banks of their toxic assets.

The warning from International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Wednesday came despite signs of recovery at U.S. banking group Citigroup Inc, which buoyed stock markets in the United States and Asia.

Switzerland's UBS AG, however, provided a reminder of the fragility of the global banking system. The world's biggest wealth manager said earnings would remain at risk for some time, as it revised up its full-year net loss to 20.9 billion Swiss francs ($18.1 billion).

.....

The effects of the economic downturn are being felt on global trade flows, with China reporting its trade surplus shriveled to $4.84 billion in February, much lower than analysts had expected.

Exports fell by a quarter from year-ago levels, the biggest drop since bankers started keeping records in 1993.

"China has finally and spectacularly succumbed to the world financial crisis on the export side, and it's difficult to see why that would improve in the short term," said Paul Cavey, an economist with Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090311/bs_nm/us_financial_18

[readmoreoften]

16. How do you rid something of its toxic assets?

That's like me keeping all my degrees and my stuff and giving my mortgage and student loans to my parents to pay.

[ozymandius]

20. Writedowns.

When a company cannot sell something to anyone stupid enough to buy, the company must then write it off. Trouble is: if these banks were to write off Big Shitpile - they would be hollowed out, worthless. That's the only reason I see why Geithner wants public money to prop up the banks. Also, this is why banks want mark-to-market rules suspended. They need time to find and hoodwink someone stupid enough to buy these worthless things.

[Hugin]

23. That's why the...

so-called 'Bad Bank' keeps bobbing up in it's current myriad of guises.

All the same thing, a huge program to socialize the toxics and privatize the profitable. Built on some half-remembered Resolution Trust which was from an entirely different situation and such a vastly different scale as to render the two plans non-comparable.

[Ghost Dog]

35. And the word appears to be: Mark-to-market rules will be suspended

(not that they appear to apply to many, already, anyway...) - I'm decoding what Bernanke had to say yesterday, and other (Europe also) balloons in the air.

[Danascot]

105. Here's a simple graphic

to illustrate your point:



http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/mysterious-plans/

see also: Zombie Banks

[Tansy_Gold]

107. "Someone stupid enough to buy these worthless things"

Isn't that the U.S. taxpayer?



Tansy Gold, getting angrier by the minute

[Demeter]

112. Captive, Not Stupid

Or sold-out to the highest briber, if you prefer.

[ozymandius]

118. We taxpayers are given so much credit for being stupid.

The decision making process gives me the impression that what we think does not matter.

[ozymandius]

33. Banks’ Bondholders May Be Next in Line to Share Bailout Pain (Citi = worthless)

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.’s bond prices are sliding on concern that owners of debt issued by U.S. financial firms will be forced to swallow losses if the industry needs another bailout.

U.S. bank debt has lost 7.8 percent and yields have jumped to record levels compared with benchmark rates in the past month, even after taxpayers committed more than $11.6 trillion to prop up financial firms. With shareholders almost wiped out at banks like Citigroup and lawmakers resisting more rescues, holders may be asked to swap bonds for new debt that offers reduced interest rates or lower face values, analysts said.

.....

The concern among debt holders is reflected in Citigroup’s $789 million outstanding in 7.25 percent subordinated notes due in October 2010, which have dropped 17.9 cents in the past three weeks to 77 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond- pricing service of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. That puts the spread over Treasuries of similar maturity at 25.2 percentage points. Bank of America’s 7.4 percent senior subordinated debt due in January 2011 traded yesterday at 80.1 cents, compared with 98.9 cents one month earlier.

Trust-preferred shares of Bank of America and Citigroup are trading at less than 30 cents on the dollar and yielding more than 25 percent because investors anticipate restructuring, said Tim Anderson, chief fixed-income officer at Riverfront Investment Group in Richmond, Virginia.

.....

“The current prices imply that the companies’ equity is worthless, the government’s investment is worthless and subordinated debt holders will lose some of their investment,” said David Darst, an analyst at FTN Equity Capital Markets in Nashville, Tennessee.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=us&sid=agAXIowc8q3c

[ozymandius]

7. Asian markets extend global rally on Citi news

HONG KONG – Asian stock markets surged Tuesday, with Japan's key index jumping nearly 5 percent, after Wall Street staged a massive rally as news that Citigroup is turning a profit buoyed hopes the stricken financial sector can recover.

....

But analysts said the relief was likely to be temporary as stocks, in the throes of the worst bear market in years, continue to grind toward a new bottom in the coming months amid the worsening outlook for the world economy. Another sharp drop in Chinese exports last month was just the latest grim reminder of how severe the global downturn is.

....

The catalyst for the rally on Wall Street was a letter from Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit to employees saying the bank had operated at a profit for the first two months of this year, logging its best performance since the third quarter of 2007, the last time it booked a quarterly profit.

....

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average shot up 321.14 points, or 4.6 percent, to 7,376.12, rebounding from a 26-year closing low hit this week. Hong Kong's Hang Seng leaped 332.56 points, or 2.8 percent, to 12,026.61.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi rose 35.31, or 3.2 percent, to 1,127.51. Benchmarks in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan were up 1.9 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090311/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

[readmoreoften]

11. Wall Street Hopeful Over Follow-Up Citi Memo

"And also! Yesterday, like, my maid, found in the wash, like 50 trillion dollars in the back pocket of these jeans I haven't worn in AGES. And so I'm going to donate half of 1% of the 50 tril to the banking crisis to, you know, help the other bankers out and like make things better for the world and all that. I SO think y'all should buy some Citi stock cuz we are SO coming back with a vengeance! All fixed! No TOTALLY! For real! I totally swear! Go Bulls!"

-V. "Pandi" Pandit
................

[ozymandius]

22. I am very discriminatory about making fun of someone's name.

I do not want to offend a friend here who might share the same name. The two who come to mind, who I have ridiculed, are Alan Greenscam and (former SEC Chairman) Christopher Cocks. When you see the name of Citi's CEO in print, do you sometimes read the name 'Bandit'?

[Hugin]

27. Brilliant!

Author! Bravo! Author!

:headbang:


:eyes: Now, why do I believe this could happen? (Almost verbatim?) Oy!

[Ghost Dog]

38. Hunting the Snark: SMW reprise:

[54anickel]

78. "It's a Snark!" was the sound that first came to their ears,

And seemed almost too good to be true.
Then followed a torrent of laughter and cheers:
Then the ominous words "It's a Boo-"

......

In the midst of the word he was trying to say
In the midst of his laughter and glee
He had softly and suddenly vanished away
For the Snark was a Boojum, you see.


Boots, is that you? :hi:

[Ghost Dog]

84. Uh huh:

[Demeter]

17. Good Morning, All

I think this should be renamed the SMW Insomniacs' Thread. You early birds have it BAD!

[ozymandius]

21. Good morning.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

Does anyone here get more than six hours of sleep per night?

[Hugin]

25. Why, just last night I got eight hours of sleep.

Having hit the sack very early...

[Demeter]

52. No, but Not for Lack of Trying

When the temperature plunges in the night, and the furnace goes at it full bore, the noise, heat and dryness wake me up....I did try to get this fixed, but the contractor proved incompetent, and the weather so severe, etc. that I am depending on spring to get me enough of everything so I can get ready for NEXT heating season.

Being a home owner isn't all it's cracked up to be.

[AnneD]

106. I sleep like a baby.....

I sleep a couple of hours, wake up crying, drink from a bottle and go back to sleep. Occasionally I wet my self......:evilgrin:

[Demeter]

113. I Resemble That Remark!

We could have a 3 Stooges Theme Weekend--Every Post would have to refer to some classic quote or slapstick or something......

I knew a young man who was a 3 stooges expert. I always wonder what happened to him....

[AnneD]

123. Ahhhh...

the high art of low brow. I'm an Abbot and Costello, Chaplin, and Frank Lloyd fan myself. And I am passionate about George Carlin but my humour style resembles Bill Cosby.

[Ghost Dog]

40. Clock changed over there.

EU Summer Time (including Brits, finally), clicks in the last Sunday of this month.

Six hours is around my nightly sleep-time, at my age (a mere 55, soon): but then there's another hour or so of dreamy siesta, una maravilla, many afternoons...

[ozymandius]

26. United Tech to cut 11,600 jobs

BOSTON (Reuters) – United Technologies Corp, whose products range from elevators to jet engines, plans to cut 11,600 jobs as it adapts to an economy that has grown worse than it expected just three months ago.

The diversified U.S. manufacturer also cut its 2009 profit forecast by roughly 13 percent and lowered its revenue target as it is no longer relying on an economic recovery later this year, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

United Tech shares rose about 6.7 percent amid a broad stock market rally as Wall Street had regarded the company's profit target set in December as optimistic.

....

The world's largest maker of elevators and air conditioners said it expected to earn $4 to $4.50 per share in 2009, lower than the $4.65 to $5.15 it previously forecast.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090310/bs_nm/us_unitedtech

---

Thee it is again. Optimism based on hope.

[TheWatcher]

45. If only their CEO had known how to write a Memo.

Then this surely would not have happened, because they would have remained profitable and these pesky layoffs would not have been necessary.

Pandit should teach a Creative Writing Class for CEO's.

Why, he could save the Economy single-handedly in a single semester.

:sarcasm:

[tclambert]

47. Sign up the auto company CEOs for that memo writing class.

That single memo of Pandit's generated billions in market value. Hell, J. K. Rowling can't write that profitably.

[TheWatcher]

49. Indeed that is true.

But that Rally had about as much to do with reality as the Magic that Harry wields in her Books. :)

[tclambert]

55. Harry's magic not real? Bah! Next you'll say Dumbledore is gay.

And whatever you have to say about the Great Pumpkin, I'm not listening!

And the Matrix is real. There is so a spoon!

[TheWatcher]

63. I can't pull over one on you, obviously. :)

I was going to try and convince you that Star Wars was fiction too, but everybody knows that happened in the late 60's in Hungary. :)

[Demeter]

54. Or as Well!

getting my snark in early to feed the grouchies.....

[radfringe]

29. Anatomy of a Shakedown: How State Street's CEO, Directors, and Lawyers Tried to Silence a Whistleblo

Anatomy of a Shakedown: How State Street's CEO, Directors, and Lawyers Tried to Silence a Whistleblower"
http://www.progressivesplayground.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=127

*************************************

Anatomy of a Shakedown: Logue's/Directors'/R&G's Panic-Driven Extortion (Part I)

March 13, 2006: STT's Directors caused to be filed management's proxy statement, containing FALSE and MISLEADING arguments in their opposition statement, opposing Patrick Jorstad's proposal to redeem the poison pill: http://idea.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-idea?action=getcompany&CIK=0000093751&type=def&dateb=&owner=exclude&count=40

March 13-17, 2006: Doing my due diligence as an investor, I parsed through the proxy statement, noting such matters as Truman Snell Casner's retirement (following years in which I pushed for his removal), the Board's false and misleading opposition statement, and other problems with the proxy. I made clear that I intended to raise my concerns as an investor at the 2006 meeting. By their own subsequent admissions, STT's Directors, Logue, and R&G were monitoring this message board, and were aware of my intent to raise these issues at the meeting.

March 17, 2006: I posted all-but-definitive proof that the George A. Logue that Nader F. Darehshori is in business with is the brother of Ronald E. Logue, Chairman and CEO of State Street. I made clear that I intended to raise my concerns as an investor at the 2006 meeting. By their own subsequent admissions, STT's Directors, Logue, and R&G were monitoring this message board, and were aware of my intent to raise these issues at the meeting. Indeed, in a subsequent shakedown meeting, they cited to the post in which I all but proved the relationship between George A. Logue and Ronald E. Logue (hereinafter, "the Logue Brothers").

April 19, 2006: At the 2006 AGM, Ronald E. Logue engaged in oppressive conduct to squelch dissent and truthful airing of relevant information, which was germane to the Items of Business. Knowing full well that I intended to raise the issue of the FALSE and MISLEADING information that the Directors included re: the poison pill proposal, Logue hastens to cut off all questions about this Rule 14a-8 prospoal. Having read Southgate & Glazer's language about oppressive conduct at a meeting, I refuse to yield on the principle that a shareholder has a right to ask a question about a Rule 14a-8 proposal, or on the principle that the Chair may not arbitrarily or capriciously interrupt the flow of truthful data about an Item of Business properly on the floor. When Logue refused to yield to the principle, I jumped straight to the outcome cited in Southgate & Glazer, making clear that I was calling his bluff: fine, arrest me (I honestly thought that Ropes would have counseled him that he could not lawfully take it to that extreme). Compounding his illegal move, Logue ejected Patrick, too. I was booked, fingerprinted, and jailed for a few hours, before appearing in Suffolk Superior Court in handcuffs and leg irons (no, really, in leg irons). The charge: criminal trespass, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum fine of $100.00 and/or imprisonment for not more than 30 days: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/266-120.htm

June 9, 2006: At the pre-trial conference on the criminal trespass charge (which I was more than willing to defend against in open court, in order to explain to a jury the whole story), the prosecutor jumped me with the surprise information that certain STT actors had subsequently filed additional criminal complaints against me for criminal harassment (carrying a maximum fine of $1000.00 and/or imprisonment for 2.5 years): http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/265-43a.htm

Expecting me to:

1. Cave in fear; and

2. Proceed pro se, as I had done up until that point ...

... STT's Directors and Key officers expected to be rid of the truth-telling whistleblower.

(Part II, coming soon: Ropes & Gray has attorney Chris Green send certain e-mails and shakedown documents, insisting that the shakedown be kept confidential, and seeking to extort not only my share, but Patrick's.)

- Dave

P.S. It should be noted that when Ropes & Gray files something in court, they're protecting their own: Truman Snell Casner, John D. Donovan, Jr., and (unfortunately) Chris Green. That conflict of interest means they're putting their interests ahead of owners'.

Part II continues: http://www.progressivesplayground.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=127. scroll down the post]

[ozymandius]

30. U.S. May Use Capital Injections to Help Banks Sell ‘Bad’ Assets

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- The Obama administration plans to use capital injections as an incentive to get U.S. banks to sell distressed securities to investors.

The private investors will also get federal loans to buy the assets, in a two-pronged strategy intended to revive trading in mortgage-backed debt. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose show yesterday “it requires making sure there’s capital available to the system, that these banks have the incentive to start to move this stuff, that there’s a mechanism available” to finance investors.

Geithner’s initiative reflects a bet that it will be cheaper to provide taxpayer financing than have the government buy the assets outright, as contemplated by the Bush administration.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=us&sid=aP9wvGoSkeAA

---

I cannot read anymore of this article. Geithner is stuck in a 'bailout' rut. This stupid motherfucker is as shallow as a saucer gauged by his insistence that worthless paper is actually worth something. Let's look at his investment portfolio. Whatcha wanna bet that he owns either none of this stuff or that he has his entire future banked on Big Shitpile?

Either way, any of the three ways, Geithner's only course of action is to dump loads of taxpayer money into the banks to backstop worthless paper.

Last thing: who is talking about a lack of incentive among the banks to get rid of this stuff? I'm sure the banks would just looooove to have none of this toxicity on their balance sheets. They have not yet found anyone stupid enough to buy something for which there is no measurable value. Incentive? He's shilling for the banks with this statement. Geithner is a fucking clown.

[Hugin]

34. omg.

"The private investors will also get federal loans to buy the assets"

Yet, American Students are cast out to the predatory privatized world of Payday/Student Loan Sharks to secure financing for a Higher Education? It's just sick.

*tsk*

[ozymandius]

39. Apt perspective.

I looked into applying to paralegal school at Emory University. They had a deal with one loan company that gouged students with usurious rates. I'm pretty sure Emory received a sizable kickback for funneling students through their gauntlet. This company, whose name I forget, was sanctioned in sixteen states for predatory lending practices by the individual states themselves, not the Feds (as you might guess given the Bush administration's record on these things).

The point is: Banks behaving badly is okay. They should be petted and forgiven, according to those who are in charge. Penalties? Those are for little people. Or so it would seem.

[AnneD]

109. I drilled it into my daughters head.....

about the loans she took out. I pulled her credit report last week for her and had her taxes done. She knows it has to be Salle Mae no credit card student loans and she has done well so far. She doesn't like it but she will be working as a Dorm Assistant and even work study if she can get it. She has been having great grades and a positive attitude and an amazing work ethic. She has been getting the max but that still doesn't cover enough. She may be living at home to pay it off.

At least she has me watching out for her interests. I feel for the kids whose parents haven't a clue. They will be facing a life of economic slavery.

[54anickel]

73. Huh? ..."cheaper to provide taxpayer financing than have the government buy the assets outright"

I read that as saying "cheaper to provide taxpayer financing than have the government taxpayers buy the assets outright"

I interpret it to mean it's cheaper to keep the scheme going. But what exactly does cheaper mean in this context and cheaper for whom?

Or is it taxpayer=working-class and government=everyone especially the upper of the upper-class?

I'm just not getting it......

[ozymandius]

75. "Of the people, by the people and for the people"

These words are lost on Geithner and his wrecking crew.

[tclambert]

88. Of the, by the, for the PEOPLE?

Sounds like something Marx would say, or some pinko socialist who wants people to throw off their chains and go free. You won't find any good Republicans saying that. Well, at least not meaning it. They know the natural order is for the CEO types to form an economic royalty, whose word is law, and for the working class to shut up and do as they're told. Some modern form of slavery, that's the ticket. Maybe trick them all into so much debt they'll never be free of it.

If only we had some sort of Lincolnesque figure to lead us out of this wilderness. No, wait. That's no good. That bastard started a Civil War. Worst President Ever.

[tclambert]

89. Sorry. I think the sarcasm got a little out of control on that one.

[Tansy_Gold]

108. I didn't think so.

:hi:

[Demeter]

81. I Think It Just Adds Another Level of Parasites

so more paper pushers get to feed off the corpse.

[Festivito]

32. Debt: 03/09/2009 10,952,663,030,603.41 (UP 1,084,721,744.39) (Small.)

(Mixed small amounts.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 6,662,204,653,404.08 + 4,290,458,377,199.33
DOWN 39,321,146.54 + UP 1,124,042,890.93

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 306-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.27 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.81, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 14 seconds we net gain a another American, so at the end of the workday of this report, there should be 305,943,172 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
Currently, each of these American's owe $35,799.66.
A family of three owes $107,398.99. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 11,746,841,487.77.
The average for the last 30 days would be 7,831,227,658.51.
The average for the last 28 days would be 8,390,601,062.69.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 33 reports in 48 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 0.56B$ per report, 0.42B$/day so far.
There were 108 reports in 160 days of FY2009 averaging 8.59B$ per report, 5.80B$/day.

PROJECTION:
There are 1,413 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 12.9 and 22.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
03/09/2009 10,952,663,030,603.41 BHO (UP 325,785,981,690.33 so far since Obama took office.)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
Borrowed in FY1993: (Maybe later.)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 927,938,133,691.00 so far this fiscal year.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
02/17/2009 +028,425,868,676.29 ------------********** Tue
02/18/2009 +000,178,127,394.43 ------------********
02/19/2009 +012,906,622,783.22 ------------**********
02/20/2009 +035,338,367,983.16 ------------**********
02/23/2009 -000,426,861,213.78 --- Mon
02/24/2009 +000,473,801,933.93 ------------********
02/25/2009 +000,413,635,509.27 ------------********
02/26/2009 +048,048,940,708.92 ------------**********
02/27/2009 +000,306,718,307.89 ------------********
03/02/2009 +074,163,317,993.12 ------------********** Mon
03/03/2009 +000,498,419,440.82 ------------********
03/04/2009 +000,625,214,862.41 ------------********
03/05/2009 +006,943,273,604.61 ------------*********
03/06/2009 +000,851,040,035.06 ------------********
03/09/2009 -000,039,321,146.54 ---- Mon

208,707,166,872.81 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008.
US borrowed $1,288,031,227,344.34 in last 172 days.
That's 1,288B$ in 172 days.
More than any year ever, including last year, and it's 127% of that highest year ever only in 172 days.
And it is over 100% of ANY dismal Bush, for any dismal Bush-year, ONLY IN 172 DAYS NOT 365.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3775553&mesg_id=3775631

[Festivito]

101. Debt: 03/10/2009 10,958,408,586,222.43 (UP 5,745,555,619.02) (Not much.)

(Mixed, mostly FICA side.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 6,662,656,840,626.19 + 4,295,751,745,596.24
UP 452,187,222.11 + UP 5,293,368,396.91

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 306-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.27 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.81, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 14 seconds we net gain a another American, so at the end of the workday of this report, there should be 305,949,343 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html
Currently, each of these American's owe $35,817.72.
A family of three owes $107,453.17. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 20 reports in the last 30 to 28 days.
The average for the last 20 reports is 11,852,139,682.81.
The average for the last 30 days would be 7,901,426,455.21.
The average for the last 28 days would be 8,465,814,059.15.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 34 reports in 49 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 0.54B$ per report, 0.42B$/day so far.
There were 109 reports in 161 days of FY2009 averaging 8.57B$ per report, 5.80B$/day.

PROJECTION:
There are 1,412 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 12.9 and 22.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
03/10/2009 10,958,408,586,222.43 BHO (UP 331,531,537,309.35 so far since Obama took office.)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
Borrowed in FY1993: (Maybe later.)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 933,683,689,310.00 so far this fiscal year.

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
02/18/2009 +000,178,127,394.43 ------------********
02/19/2009 +012,906,622,783.22 ------------**********
02/20/2009 +035,338,367,983.16 ------------**********
02/23/2009 -000,426,861,213.78 --- Mon
02/24/2009 +000,473,801,933.93 ------------********
02/25/2009 +000,413,635,509.27 ------------********
02/26/2009 +048,048,940,708.92 ------------**********
02/27/2009 +000,306,718,307.89 ------------********
03/02/2009 +074,163,317,993.12 ------------********** Mon
03/03/2009 +000,498,419,440.82 ------------********
03/04/2009 +000,625,214,862.41 ------------********
03/05/2009 +006,943,273,604.61 ------------*********
03/06/2009 +000,851,040,035.06 ------------********
03/09/2009 -000,039,321,146.54 ---- Mon
03/10/2009 +000,452,187,222.11 ------------********

180,733,485,418.63 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008.
US borrowed $1,293,776,782,963.36 in last 173 days.
That's 1,294B$ in 173 days.
More than any year ever, including last year, and it's 127% of that highest year ever only in 173 days.
And it is over 100% of ANY dismal Bush, for any dismal Bush-year, ONLY IN 173 DAYS NOT 365.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3777161&mesg_id=3777254

[ozymandius]

41. Luckovich's Preferred Stocks

[DemReadingDU]

53. That's a good one! n/t

[Demeter]

58. good One!

[tclambert]

90. Bonds = handcuffs?

[TheWatcher]

42. Morning Commentary: The American Economy: The Greatest Show On Earth

I suppose I should preface this by explaining the obvious tongue-in-cheekness of my headline.

We should call it the "Greatest Show On Earth" not because it's any Wonder Of The World, but because it has become the Greatest Circus Of Bullshit that mankind has ever seen, or is likely to be subjected to.

Anyone who can think reasonably and logically should be scared to death by what they saw yesterday.

A lot of sheep would scratch their heads at a statement like that, wondering to themselves what could possibly be so bad about a nearly 6% Gain in the Stock Market after a two month route that left it once again standing on the edge of a cliff, and the Whole Banking System of not only this country, but perhaps the entire world in question.

It's because the rally in question was all based on rumor, propaganda, and emotional, psychological, and perception management mechanisms. The was not one substantial bit of fact or documented proof of such that could be substantiated.

What we saw yesterday was a show of Brute Force by Wall Street, The Fed, and TPTB. And from the looks of the Ramp and Camp charts from across the World last night, it appears to have been a coordinated effort by the G20 Countries en masse. All Markets rallied on the same, carefully crafted Propaganda lines.

To break it down, the reason for all the fireworks and pageantry yesterday was news that Citi, one of the largest banks in the country, that has been teetering on the abyss of Nationalization for months now, and has become all but a penny Stock, was operating at a Profit for the first two months of the year.

This news was not based on any solid documentable evidence or any glimpse into the books or raw data that would indicate the truth of said news. It was all based on a leaked memo from the CEO of Citi Vik "Pandora's Box" Pandit, which contained almost no real discernible data at all, other than hopes and assurances.

This, coupled with Helo Ben's Comedy Act before Congress about "New and Tough Regulation" that we all know has zero chance of happening, was enough to make the Markets party like it was 1999.

We've seen scene's similar and just as ridiculous and bizarre as this one play out before, and upon close examination, it appears that this, like most of the others, was a planned event, probably carefully coordinated in advance, with the other G20 countries markets playing the same music for their respective herds.

At this point, a thinking person has to wonder if there is any hope of having a real, functioning, economic system in the next few generations, much less our lifetimes.

The problems and challenges that most of us face economically are a very real and present danger to the continued survival of the average working American, and it doesn't help that the people in charge of the system that determines our fates in this area are mostly childlike Psychopaths and Sociopaths, who care nothing for anything but maintaining the Status Quo of perhaps what is the greatest, fraudulent, and most corrupt Ponzi System ever assembled.

Ours is an economy that functions on Rumor, propaganda, perception management, and psychological manipulation, and an illusory Artificial Market Environment that is never allowed to trade naturally, and is constantly manipulated and rigged as a Price Setting/Price Adjustment Mechanism.

We don't even know how bad things really are statistically, since most of the data we are fed is so cooked, massaged, rigged, manipulated, propagandized and spun that we don't have any real, reliable data to make historical comparisons with anymore.

Corporate Earnings are mostly a sham now, with GAAP Accounting principles being abandoned for Pro-Forma methods of reporting, which basically means "We made it up."

There really is no representative leadership for We The People economically right now, and no one representing our interests. We are mostly fed Propaganda that is designed to manage our perception of the economic environment, so that instead of being treated like actual participants in the system with an actual stake that demands fair representation, we are treated like cattle that are meant to be herded, distracted, controlled and managed while the Psychotic Ranchers go about their business of maintaining their Status Quo, which has little or nothing to do with the rest of us.

For those who continue to blissfully sip away at their State Run Propaganda Kool-Aid Juice Boxes, and and scratch their heads and wonder why those who post in this thread are so damn angry about days like yesterday, you might try lifting your heads out of the Meadow and actually attempt to develop a real understanding for what is REALLY going on in our economy.

Right now we are in the midst of a Deep Recession that is fast becoming something more (Oh to Hell with it, let's just SAY it.....A DEPRESSION). Millions continue to lose their jobs, entire countries are going bankrupt, governments across the world are falling, the Global Economic Infrastructure is becoming rapidly unglued, Tent Cities and Shanty Towns are quietly popping up all over the country, and the economic reality that most of us who live OUTSIDE the Matrix of Wall Street continues to deteriorate at an alarming pace, and it WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE.

The reason a lot of us are so angry and cynical is because days like yesterday are a textbook example that those who are in charge, in control and are in the position to have the most impact and influence in guiding our economy are DOING NOTHING TO FIX THE PROBLEMS. Nothing.

Constantly Crafting propaganda, fabrication, and lies that have no basis in fact for the purpose of falsely and artificially influencing the Markets and economic psychology for a temporary euphoric effect that ultimately serves no sound fundamental purpose is not SOLVING ANYTHING.

Consistently Creating an Artificial Environment in the Markets does not SOLVE ANYTHING.

Constantly Propagandizing the Public with an endless stream of "Programs, Bills, and Plans" that do nothing but preserve the poisonous Status Quo that created this Crisis in the first place is NOT SOLVING ANYTHING.

NO ONE IS DOING ANYTHING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS.

If anything they are making them WORSE.

From the looks of the Futures this morning, it looks like another day of Official Sector Conditioning is on hand for the Public as they continue their wanton path of destruction.

And although many in our community would burn me at the Stake for "not cheering blindly for The Football Team", I have yet to see any signs of real leadership for We The People as this Crisis deepens.

The fact of the matter is simple. We will NEVER have a economic system that will have a chance to function soundly for ALL of us as long as The Current Status Quo remains, and the Psychopathic Circus Clowns who run it remain in power.

This Country Needs An Enema.


As for Citi, It may not be until April, May, or even June, but the Truth about yesterday is going to come out, as is it did with Bear Stearns, Lehman, and Fortis. Citi will be ultimately Nationalized, and the Economic Crisis will continue.

And The Asshats who run everything will continue to scheme, scam, Propagandize, and manipulate at the expense of the rest of us.

The Question is simple. And it was voiced very eloquently by one Sir Sean Connery in the 1987 Brian DePalma Production of "The Untouchables."

"What Are We Prepared To Do?"

[Ghost Dog]

43. "operating at a profit" for two months, after many losing months...

Before exceptional items, (ie what ought to be obligatory writedowns) like, err, all those toxic derivatives...

[TheWatcher]

44. And there were NO details or explanations what those exceptions were or how big the writedowns were

Or will be.

Basically what Pandit-monium said yesterday was:

"Well, we're operating at a Profit the first two moths of the quarter because, well, um......"

"Because I said so."

And this is what passes for leadership in Banking.

[Dr.Phool]

50. I wonder how many shares Citi directors sold yesterday afternoon.

[tama]

117. It's not that complicated

The daily trade is based on guessing how other daily traders are feeling and reacting to daily news&rumours, and everybody (remotely sensible) in the game knows that. And go along with the guessing game where the majority of gamers who guess (by deep insight) correctly the daily general mood make a buck or a few. (Except those days vhen the bottom falls out...)

So, obviously, the financial game of guess the mood of gamers has no relationship with "real" economy, no more than the economy at the Versailles reality bubble had real relationship with general mood and facts on the ground of France that on the day of Bastille finally decided not to accept and take kindly the offering of imaginary cake instead of non-existing bread...

Just leaches and vermins, all of Wall Street and Washington, and contrary to what all politicians and others at the top of the pyramid hoax keep tellng, we don't need them, they need us...

[Dr.Phool]

48. If Connery could talk to Paulson, it would be a line from "Family Business".

"And you, you bald-headed prick. If they ever catch you on the take, and you wind up in the same joint as me, I'll send you out, feet first".

[TheWatcher]

56. Or Maybe he would just familiarize him first hand with "The Chicago Way". :)

[Demeter]

64. Excellent Rant

But did you mention the continuing theft?

[TheWatcher]

68. I didn't but it's definitely worth noting.

Somebody really needs to find all those great Quotes from the Depression.

You know, the real "Baghdad Bob" stuff that Hoover and various shills quoted during the years of The Depression.

It would really help to go back and look at all those old quotes, and parallel them with what we are seeing now.

I can guarantee you that a few decades from now when they are chronicling this one, that Pandit's Memo is going to be in the Top 5.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

85. Great Depression Quotes 1929 vs 2008

A few select quotes during the depression years of 1929 to 1931.

Notice the “Expert” opinions which convey optimism, the bank bailouts, government assurances, the Hoover (Paulson) plan, and the deliberate attempt by the main stream media to manufacture consent for bailing out Wall St. Has anything changed?

“There is no cause to worry. The high tide of prosperity will continue”
- Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury. September 1929

Stock Prices Will Stay at High Level For Years to Come, Says Ohio Economist .
-Dr. Charles Amos Dice, professor of business organization at Ohio State October 13, 1929

“FISHER SEES STOCKS PERMANENTLY HIGH”
-Irving Fisher, Yale economist, October 16h, 1929


“BROKERS IN MEETING PREDICT RECOVERY; Partners in 35 Wire Houses at Conference Agree Selling Has Been Overdone.” October 25, 1929

NEW AID IS PLEDGED TO BANK COALITION; G.F. Baker Jr. Joins Parley at Morgan Offices and Many Other Offers Are Made. SUPPORT EASES ANXIETY
-October 26, 1929

Brokers Believe Worst Is Over and Recommend Buying of Real Bargains
– New York Herald Tribune, October 27, 1929

October 29, 1929 - Stock Market Crashes!

BROKERS BELIEVE BOTTOM IS REACHED; Others Say a Sharp. Recovery Is in Order.
-October 30, 1929 (Glad they covered both sides of the story!)

“FISHER SAYS PRICES OF STOCKS ARE LOW; Quotations Have Not Caught Up With Real Values as Yet, He Declares. SEES NO CAUSE FOR SLUMP”
-October 22, 1929

“Time to Buy Stocks” John J. Raskob, one of the country’s leading industrial and political leaders
-October 30, 1929

Headline “INSURANCE HEADS URGE TO BUY STOCKS”
-October 30, 1929

ROCKEFELLER BUYS, ALLAYING ANXIETY; Elder Financier Says Business Status Does Not Warrant the Destruction of Values. October 31, 1929 (Remember Warren Buffet in Sept 2008?)

Lots more..http://www.chartingstocks.net/2009/02/great-depression-quotes-1929-vs-2008-have-we-learned-anything/

Hoover -
"With impressive proof on all sides of magnificent progress, no one can rightly deny the fundamental correctness of our economic system."

[TheWatcher]

116. EXCELLENT LINK! Thanks!

:hi:

[tclambert]

66. I can remember when brokers talked about things like P/E ratios, dividends, and product orders.

Now it's all "Who wrote a memo?" and "What did the Fed chairman say?"

Oh! And "Who just got arrested?"

[ozymandius]

70. Great! Dress this in more polite language and send a letter to President Obama.

He reads ten per day.

Otherwise, bombard any public information outlet with this jarring, pointed message.

[tclambert]

51. Dow Futures currently at +49, was +75 an hour ago.

Fluctuating quite a bit.

[RantinRavin]

59. They were +40

when I looked at 6am EDT

[UpInArms]

57. dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 88.224 Change -0.405 (-0.52%)

US Dollar, Japanese Yen End Day Lower as Bernanke Optimism, Citigroup Report Boost Risk Appetite

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/US_Dollar__Japanese_Yen_End_1236718987443.html

Risk appetite was strong for much of the day, pushing the S&P 500 up 6.37 percent by the end of the day and weighing on the US dollar and Japanese yen on word that Citigroup was having its best quarter since posting a profit in 2007 and amidst reassuring comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. During a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Bernanke said that the US will ensure banks have sufficient capital, and urged the overhaul of rules for the biggest financial firms in order to “make the financial system as a whole better able to withstand future shocks, but also to mitigate moral hazard and the problem of too big to fail by reducing the range of circumstances in which systemic stability concerns might prompt government intervention.” Meanwhile, wholesale inventories fell for the fifth straight month in January at a rate of 0.7 percent, as businesses try to keep up with declining demand. Indeed, wholesale sales have been consistently falling negative since July 2008, which has led the inventory/sales ratio to climb from 1.06 in June 2008 to 1.30 in January 2009, suggesting that business are burdened with additional costs as they carry excess supplies.

Looking ahead to Wednesday, there will be no key US economic indicators released, leaving the forex markets to move with risk trends during the US trading session. Something that I’ve been focusing on in particular is the status of the DXY index, which has thus far managed to hold above support from the March 6 lows and a rising trendline. If we see a break below this level, the move will likely signal an important turn for the greenback across many of the majors. However, as long as the index holds above support, bullish potential remains for the US dollar.

...more...

US Dollar Rebounds Sharply as China's Trade Data Disappoints (Euro Open)

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/special_report/special_reports/US_Dollar_Rebounds_Sharply_as_1236744504166.html

The US Dollar rebounded violently having lost ground through much of the overnight session after China’s trade surplus narrowed much more than expected, sharpening fears of deepening global recession and sending capital back into safe-haven assets. German producer prices and UK trade data are on tap in European hours.

<snip>

The Euro and the British Pound rose with Asian stock markets through much of the overnight trading as risk appetite was encouraged as Citigroup promised a record profitable quarter. However, the greenback rebounded violently late into the session as China’s Trade Balance showed a surplus of just $4.8 billion versus $28.3 billion expected, sharpening fears of deepening global recession and sending capital back into safe-haven assets.

<snip>

Australian Consumer Confidence was nearly unchanged following large drops in January and February, falling -0.2% in March as survey respondents’ outlook on the economy in the coming five years improved by a whopping 15.2%. The uptick owes to the expected effects of steep interest cuts and two fiscal injections, which RBA Governor Glenn Stevens recently said would “provide significant support to domestic demand over the period ahead”. Importantly, the metric is very volatile and it is premature to say that a definitive rebound in consumer spending is upon us. Lower borrowing costs are apparently not helping spur businesses to seek funds and expand capacity: Investment Lending plunged -3.8% in January, sinking economists’ expectations for a positive 3.5% result.

Japan’s Machine Orders fell -3.2% through January to bring the annual pace of decline to a staggering -39.5%, the worst on record and the lowest in at least 29 years, on evaporating foreign demand. The current account showed the largest deficit since 1986 in the same period after shipments to key markets shrank by unprecedented margins, with exports to the US down -52.9% and those to Europe and China lower by -47.4% and -45.1%, respectively. On balance, some hope may lay ahead if the recent decline in the Japanese Yen is to be sustained, helping to encourage overseas sales by making Japanese goods cheaper for foreign buyers. The currency has slipped over 10% since January, lifting sentiment in the manufacturing sector.

The UK economy shrank at a pace of -1.8% in the three months through February according to the NIESR GDP Estimate, the lowest reading for the metric since January 2002. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the UK will see the deepest recession of all the G7 nations. In an effort to check the downturn, the Bank of England cut rates to a record-low 0.50% and signaled it would pursue quantitative easing. The policy could prove profoundly inflationary and drive down the British Pound if the central bank does not drain the excess liquidity with rate hikes fast enough when the recovery is in sight. The risks are to the downside considering policymakers’ recognition of a rebound tends to lag behind its actual beginning.

...more...

[UpInArms]

61. Today's Doddering Nutfluck Report: Greenspan says Fed didn't cause the housing bubble: report

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090311/ts_nm/us_housingbubble_greenspan

(Reuters) – Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said lower rates on long-term, fixed-rate mortgages and not the Federal Reserve's policies are to blame for the U.S. housing bubble.

"Between 2002 and 2005, home mortgage rates led U.S. home price change by 11 months. This correlation between home prices and mortgage rates was highly significant, and a far better indicator of rising home prices than the fed-funds rate," Greenspan wrote in the Wall Street Journal.

Calling his explanation of the causes far more credible than blaming 'easy money' policies, Greenspan wrote that "it was indeed lower interest rates that spawned the speculative euphoria. However, the interest rate that mattered was not the federal-funds rate," adding that U.S. mortgage rates' linkage to short-term rates had been close for decades.

The Federal Reserve became aware of the disconnect between monetary policy and mortgage rates when the latter failed to respond as expected to the Fed tightening in mid-2004, said Greenspan, who was the Federal Reserve Chairman from 1987 to 2006.

Given the decoupling of monetary policy from long-term mortgage rates, accelerating the path of monetary tightening that the Fed pursued in 2004-2005 could not have prevented the housing bubble, he said.

"The solutions for the financial-market failures revealed by the crisis are higher capital requirements and a wider prosecution of fraud -- not increased micromanagement by government entities," Greenspan wrote.

...more...

This criminal and his propaganda shill wife should be in prison.

[ozymandius]

74. The case of plausible deniability is definitely threadbare.

While the Fed does not set mortgage rates, the interest on a 30-year fixed mortgage rate follows the 10-year Treasury note. The 10-year T-note follows an equatable measure of the lending rates set by the Federal Reserve. In sum, the Fed sets the parameters.

Greenscam is so full of shit. His public speeches evidence either a lack of understanding of market fundamentals or he is a liar. I favor the latter. I even heard him on national tee-vee mark the birth of the Federal Reserve in FDR's first administration. What a hack. It's like he's incapable of telling the truth - like Nixon "mis-remembering" his wife's birthday.

[UpInArms]

65. Neiman Marcus posts loss

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090311/bs_nm/us_neimanmarcus

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Upscale retailer Neiman Marcus (NMRCUS.UL) posted a quarterly loss on Wednesday, as sales suffered through the holiday season at the hands of frugal U.S. consumers.

The company posted a net loss of $509.2 million in the fiscal second quarter that ended on January 31, compared with a profit of $44.3 million, a year earlier.

Adjusted for charges, such as a non-cash impairment costs and a pension curtailment gain, Neiman said its loss in the quarter was $32.6 million.

Neiman, which runs both its namesake and Bergdorf Goodman stores, faced a 21.4 percent drop in second quarter sales to $1.08 billion, while same-store sales fell 22.8 percent.

...more...

:nopity:

:cry: me a river

[Demeter]

67. Stolen from sabra in LBN: AIG's Small London Office May Have Lost $500B

Feds, Brits Probe AIG's London Office on $500B Losses

Ground zero for AIG's spectacular implosion, which has soaked up more federal bailout money than any other entity, appears to have been a small London branch office that may have lost nearly half a trillion dollars in bad deals.

The disastrous deals were built up in a decade and, when the crisis hit, the man who ran the unit for the last eight years retired after making $280 million for himself and leaving with a $1 million-a-month consulting contract.

...

The unit's small group of traders risked nearly half a trillion dollars to insure U.S. mortgages and other debt using complex financial products called credit default swaps, according to recent congressional testimony.

...

For about a decade it went OK," Koenig said. "And then, when the U.S. housing market fell out instead, they suddenly realized they had to come up with a half a trillion dollars and all they had was a couple of million in the bank."

The collapse became so severe that AIG warned the U.S. Treasury Department last month that if it wasn't given more federal aid, its failure "could potentially bankrupt or bring down the entire system."



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=7045889&page=1

[Tansy_Gold]

77. The system IS bankrupt.

The derivatives system is, to all intents and purposes, nothing but imaginary money. It's nothing but Vegas-style bets, with nothing to back them up.

AIG bet $500b that the SIVs they were insuring would never fail. They bet they stood a good chance of making money on the deal. They never thought they'd lose.

Ooops! They lost.

Okay, so AIG's bet came up a loser. So they welch on the deal. Whoever they insured has to go back and tell THEIR investors that the stock was worthless. And so on down the line.

THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. Not in such great quantities, but when a company goes bad -- think Enron -- it gets resolved/dissolved and we go on our merry way. The world does not come to an end.

AIG's investment arm needs to be cut off, and left to wither and die, like all diseased, gangrenous, cancerous appendages. Maybe then the rest of the body can heal.



Tansy Gold

[Demeter]

79. Morning, Tansy!

Cold and windy, but the rain has stopped. Massive cold air mass pushing down from our neighbor to the north.

[Tansy_Gold]

86. You almost make me feel guilty

Warm and sunny, high predicted 75-78 today.

Of course, I'm in here chained to the computer. . . . . .

:hi:

[Demeter]

111. 78F Is Too Hot For Me

Honestly. It's the 50 mph winds and the tiny papers that blow away in them that are seriously deteriorating the quality of my life.....I'm going to have to get a different hobby job. This one used to be good, but the new owners are cheese-paring it to bits.

[PassingFair]

82. Almost right...they didn't CARE if they lost. They were getting while the getting was good.

They knew it would implode someday, but
in the meantime.....

$$$$$$

[tclambert]

92. The man who ran the unit is named Joseph Cassano

Madame DeFarge, please take note.

[Demeter]

114. So Noted

[UpInArms]

71. Peddling Propaganda: How Good it is to Monetize the Debt!

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSBNG19876620090311

March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve officials were struck by the early apparent success the Bank of England's plans to buy government bonds and could further consider moving forward on a similar effort in the United States, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.

Britain will officially start quantitative easing -- effectively printing money to help pull the economy out of recession -- on Wednesday with the central bank offering to buy 2 billion pounds ($2.77 billion) of gilts.

Gilts prices have soared, bringing yields lower, since the Bank of England announced last week it would start buying bonds.

The U.S. central bank said in December it would consider buying long-dated Treasury bonds in an effort to lower borrowing costs. However, the subject has been rarely raised this year, leaving investors to bet that if the plan goes forward, it will happen later rather than sooner.

It is unclear whether the Fed will decide to take new steps at its next scheduled policy meeting on March 17 and 18, the paper said.

...more...

creating new printing presses out of air! yippee!

[Ghost Dog]

97. BoE buys gilts, pumps 2 billion stg into economy

Wed Mar 11, 2009 12:58pm EDT LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Britain launched quantitative easing on Wednesday, effectively printing money to pull the economy out of recession, and bought 2 billion pounds of government bonds in a move that may soon be copied globally.

The central bank's initial offer -- the first part of a 75 billion pound ($103.2 billion) asset-buying programme -- to institutions such as pension funds met with no takers but banks then scrambled to sell the BoE's quota of 2 billion pounds.

Banks -- who have been snapping up government bonds since the BoE announced it was to start buying assets with newly-created money last week -- had offered to sell the central bank 10.5 billion pounds of gilts.

"The odds are you will see the BoE begin to raise the amounts they want to buy because, now they've embarked on quantitative easing, they will want to effect the process aggressively," said Richard McGuire, an RBCCM strategist.

The BoE has the leeway to spend 150 billion pounds of new money on assets if it deems it necessary.

Other central banks will be eager to see how successful the BoE's efforts are in bringing down market interest rates, boosting demand and encouraging banks to lend as the global economy is facing its biggest downturn in a generation.

Analysts remain sceptical for now.

"Much fog surrounds the likely economic effects of quantitative easing," said Simon Hayes at Barclays Capital.

Quantitative easing, or boosting the money supply, had only really been practised in Japan before in the early part of this decade as part of the country's long battle against deflation, but it met with limited success.

FED IMPRESSED

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Reserve had been struck by the early apparent success of the BoE's quantitative easing plans -- 10-year gilt yields have fallen to record lows since it announced the purchases last week -- and the U.S. central bank could move towards a similar effort.

But as gilt yields have plummeted, corporate bond spreads have widened, leading some analysts to question whether the BoE should be paying more attention to bringing down the cost of corporate borrowing.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINLB94227320090311?rpc=44&sp=true

[Dr.Phool]

115. Oh goody!

They'll set policy while they're drunk on St. Paddy's Day, and spend the next day trying to figure out what they did.

Why not? I do it all the time!

[tama]

119. Gilts?

Is this for real and did I understand correctly, is BoE buying Scottish SheMale wonderwear (that leaves one wondering what the wearer of gilt with flued nasal intonation is wearing under if anything) for 2 billion pounds - for emperor's new cloths?

Ingerlanders have Scotsman to lead them and "save the world". And everybody is buying... so I guess this beats Trainspotting, by an inchection... but the winner is and allways will be, the (in)famous Worst Toilet in Scotland! :D

[radfringe]

72. do you realize the SMW thread is

the longest running, most continuous thread on the DU?

If you haven't already - give it a REC!

[tclambert]

93. Thanks for the reminder. I get so caught up in the pageantry, I forget.

And DJIA just moved into negative territory.

[ozymandius]

76. A look at futures before I disappear for awhile.

Have a nice day folks! :hi:

S&P 500 +8.50 724.50 3/11 9:05am

NASDAQ +15.50 1121.50 3/11 9:06am

Dow Jones +59.00 6946.00 3/11 9:03am

[Ghost Dog]

83. Britain denies G20 planning rift with United States

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Britain moved on Wednesday to prevent a diplomatic row with the United States over the April G20 summit after its top civil servant said the transition to a new team in Washington was hampering preparations.

Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell told a civil servants' meeting earlier this week that liaison with the U.S. Treasury Department was tricky because key appointments had yet to be made.

"There is nobody there. You cannot believe how difficult it is," O'Donnell said in remarks carried on a website specialising in news about the civil service.

...

"The Cabinet Secretary was talking at a public service conference," O'Donnell's office said in a statement.

"His comments -- a comparison of the appointments systems in the UK and US administrations -- were taken out of context. The government's relationship with the Obama administration is strong, and working relationships are good at every level."

Separately, Brown's office rejected criticism that a focus on "red herring" issues such as bankers' bonuses and tax havens risked turning the G20 summit into a "catastrophe".

The Financial Times newspaper quoted Martin Broughton, president of employers' group the Confederation of British Industry, as saying it would be "nothing short of a catastrophe, when you've got an opportunity to make a difference, that you get bogged down" in irrelevant issues.

"We don't accept that at all," Brown's spokesman said.

The summit will deal with world economic issues but it is also important to examine bankers' pay, he said.

He said there were "clearly different views" in the debate over protectionism versus free trade. Brown wants a strong commitment from the summit to keep markets open.

The spokesman dismissed another newspaper report that the summit could cost British taxpayers 50 million pounds ($69 million), saying the official estimate was 19 million pounds.

Geithner will attend a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in southern England on Friday and Saturday. His call for other countries to emulate Washington's huge fiscal stimulus drew a cool response from European nations.

/.. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINLB42403020090311?rpc=44

[tclambert]

95. Jim Cramer is going to go on The Daily Show

with the "comedian," Jon Stewart, the most honest financial prognosticator on the tee-vee. (He admitted he has no idea what the market will do.) Stewart recently said, "If I had listened to the advice of CNBC, I'd have a million dollars now. Provided I started with one hundred million dollars."

[Danascot]

110. Mother Jones on Cramer

What Cramer really needs to do is stop making ordinary people believe they can game the stock market on a day to day basis. A massive majority of the buying and selling done on Wall Street is done by banks and massive institutions with all the resources in the world at their disposal. Joe Sixpack and his 1,000 shares of Coca Cola are just grease for the gears.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/03/thoughts-jim-cramer-vs-jon-stewart

[Ghost Dog]

98. Stocks in Europe Climb (a little in volatile trade)

Stocks in Europe Climb; Rio Tinto, Deutsche Bank, BMW Advance

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks climbed, extending this year’s biggest one-day rally in the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index, as a jump in Chinese factory spending lifted commodities shares and automakers advanced on speculation they may increase cooperation.

Rio Tinto Group added 4.5 percent as China’s spending on factories and property surged 26.5 percent in the first two months of the year. Deutsche Bank AG and Barclays Plc gained more than 3 percent on speculation the U.S. government will use capital injections to spur banks to sell distressed securities. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Renault SA led automakers higher.

The Stoxx 600 increased 0.2 percent to 166.32 at 4:43 p.m. in London, trimming its 2009 decline to 16 percent. The measure jumped 5.1 percent yesterday as Citigroup Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said the bank is having its best quarter since 2007.

“There have been a number of people warning for several days that with the horrendous sell-off that we have seen we could see a market bounce,” said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh. “I’m not surprised we have had a rally from these levels and indeed they could go higher. But it would be an incredibly brave man to say we saw the low,” he said on Bloomberg Radio.

Investor Pessimism

Investors from New York to London this month grew more convinced stocks will extend their decline, with pessimism in the U.S. climbing to the highest since the S&P 500 entered a bear market in July. Participants in the Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Survey predict losses in the next six months for the S&P 500, Brazil’s Bovespa, Mexico’s Bolsa, the U.K.’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX, the Swiss Market Index and Spain’s IBEX 35.

National benchmark indexes climbed in 11 of the 18 western European markets. The DAX increased 0.7 percent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.4 percent. The FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent as International Power Plc said lower prices would dent profitability this year.

...

Rio Tinto, the world’s third-biggest mining company, increased 4.5 percent to 2,084 pence. BHP Billiton Ltd., the largest, gained 5.2 percent to 1,330 pence.

The gain in Chinese spending beat the 21.5 percent median estimate of 11 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Signs of a Chinese recovery, including a surge in lending and gains in power consumption, have powered a 17 percent gain in the Shanghai Composite Index in 2009.

Capital Injections

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest bank, rose 8 percent to 24.30 euros. Barclays, the U.K. bank that turned down state funding last year, gained 3.7 percent to 70 pence.

...

BMW, the biggest maker of luxury cars, rallied 6.5 percent to 22.94 euros as investors snapped up auto stocks amid speculation companies may increase cooperation or merge. Daimler AG added 2.2 percent to 21.38 euros. PSA Peugeot Citroen SA, France’s largest automaker, gained 6.8 percent to 14.80 euros and Renault, the second-biggest, jumped 8.5 percent to 13.15 euros.

“Renault and Peugeot rose on a rumor that the companies could merge,” said Marie-Caroline Messager, senior equities manager at Newedge Group in London. Renault spokeswoman Sophie Durand said the speculation was “nonsense,” while Peugeot’s Laurent Cicolella declined to comment.

Pirelli & C. SpA added 3.7 percent to 15.3 euro cents. Deutsche Bank raised Europe’s third-largest tiremaker to “buy” from “hold.”

JCDecaux tumbled 19 percent to 8 euros as the world’s second-largest seller of outdoor advertising scrapped its dividend. The company reported a 51 percent drop in 2008 profit and said the decision to omit last year’s dividend was made “to maintain financial flexibility.”

...

“Company outlook statements are dire and earnings visibility is extremely low across the market,” said Chirin Gill, a London-based fund manager at Daiwa SB Investments, which has $60 billion. “Earnings revisions may need to come down.”

Earnings for 271 companies in the Stoxx 600 that have reported earnings since Jan. 12 dropped 91 percent, according to Bloomberg data. That compares to a 58 percent contraction in profit for the 471 companies that have reported results in the S&P 500 during the same period.

/... http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=adF_vDaQGaQE&refer=europe

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

102. Is neutral so bad?

Another free drink in Vegas.

[antigop]

103. Here is the link to Greenspan's WSJ commentary

Post #61 mentioned Greenspan's commentary.

Here is the link to Greenspan's WSJ opinion piece:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123672965066989281.html

[ozymandius]

120. End of the day: Markets reprise Joementum(!)

It will be a nail-biter tomorrow as financial institutions will discern whether or not they can lie about the value of their assets.

Dow 6,930.40 Up 3.91 (0.06%)
Nasdaq 1,371.64 Up 13.36 (0.98%)
S&P 500 721.36 Up 1.76 (0.24%)
10-Yr Bond 2.916% Down 0.066
NYSE Volume 8,519,209,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,242,869,750

4:30 pm : Stocks showed solid gains in the early going, but the advance was rebuffed by a round of profit taking. Choppy trading ensued, leading stocks to close with a modest gain.

Financials were up more than 5% in the early going. Diversified banks (+3.2%) and other diversified financial services companies (+4.3%) were among the sector's strongest performers. Citigroup (C 1.54, +0.09) also traded higher, though it wasn't quite the leader that it was in the prior session.

Market watchers await details from tomorrow's congressional committee meeting, which will examine mark-to-market accounting rules. The rules have driven massive write-downs at banks and other financial companies; temporarily suspending the rules could remove an overhang from many financial companies, potentially allowing their shares to rip higher.

Removal of the uptick rule is another regulatory change that has been proposed. However, Washington has sent mixed signals regarding the rules, so basing trades on speculation the government may change existing rules could prove treacherous.

A mix of profit taking and uncertainty surrounding financial stocks turned the financial sector's early gain into a fractional loss. Financials were able to climb back, though. They finished 2.4% higher.

The broader market seemed to take its cues from the financial sector for the second straight session.

Each of the major indices climbed more than 1% in the early going. However, the S&P 500 was rebuffed after failing to push through 730, while the Dow failed to crack 7000.

The stock market's failure to extend its advance amid ongoing uncertainty in the financial system and broader economy opened the door for profit taking, which resulted in a choppy session. Stocks retreated into the red, but rebounded. Sellers redoubled their efforts in the final leg of trading, limiting the gains for the session.

Health care (-2.0%) was the session's worst performing sector. Pfizer (PFE 12.79, -0.30) was a primary laggard. Its credit rating was lowered by Moody's to Aa2 from Aa1.

Energy (-1.2%) was also a notable laggard. Its weakness followed a 7.4% drop in crude oil prices, which finished pit trading near $42.35 per barrel.

There were no earnings announcements or economic reports of consequence to influence the direction of trade, though a CNBC report indicated JPMorgan Chase (JPM 20.40, +0.90) was profitable in the first two months of the year.

Tomorrow's earnings calendar is also absent of market movers. However, advance retail sales for February are due tomorrow, along with January business inventories, and weekly jobless claims data.

Treasury Secretary Geithner will testify tomorrow before the Senate Budget Committee on the 2010 Budget.

The G-20 also meets this week. Agenda items include how to ensure economic recovery and restart growth, and how to reform and coordinate the international regulatory and supervisory system to ensure that no such crisis occurs again. DJ30 +3.91 NASDAQ +13.36 NQ100 +1.2% R2K -0.4% SP400 +0.4% SP500 +1.76 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1343/1342/2.15 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1263/1822/1.75 bln

[TheWatcher]

121. It looks like this "Rally" has been exposed for the Fraud it is

The Fairies had to come to the Rescue TWICE today, and the all too common afternoon party took place, but even that fell off a cliff for only a 3 Point gain in The Dow.

TPTB will need a Full Court Press Tomorrow if they expect to keep this Shell Game going, and ozy's post above of The Market Summary for today gives you the key things to look for tomorrow and in the coming days. Since there is no fundamental or technical reason for the Markets to Rally, and The Circus Clowns have no real plans, ability, or intention to do anything that would actually fix any of the problems and return real health and growth to the system, this Parade of Propaganda and Parlor Schemes is what we are left with to determine what our fates will be economically in the months and years ahead.

So let's take a look at the menu for the Dog shit we will be fed, and told is really Godiva Chocolate:

The Mark To Market Accounting Rules- If these are modified or suspended altogether, it could pave the way for a real fake rally that might have legs for a bit. This is something you would expect them to try, and you can bank on similar schemes as they do everything they can to craft life boats for themselves while the Titanic sinks and the rest of us drown.

The Proposed Removal of The Uptick Rule Yet another gimmick they could use to goose the Market short term.


Top Fox Hen house Guard Geithner's testimony before Congress tomorrow regarding the 2010 Budget- Uncertain what kind of effect this will have, but it will undoubtedly be a part of the plan to Propagandize the Markets upward.

The G20 Meeting this week There is sure to be some real Stand-Up Comedy in this one, and i am sure the Official Release will read like the last one, full of vaguearies and weasel language and basically 4000 words that says absolutely nothing, and gives no details how anything is going to be solved, or any problems will be confronted. if it goes like the previous meetings have, it will probably look something like this:




I also love these two comments:

There were no earnings announcements or economic reports of consequence to influence the direction of trade, though a CNBC report indicated JPMorgan Chase (JPM 20.40, +0.90) was profitable in the first two months of the year.

"Hey Citi's Doing it! Let's get everybody into the act and try it. Couldn't hurt!"

Tomorrow's earnings calendar is also absent of market movers. However, advance retail sales for February are due tomorrow, along with January business inventories, and weekly jobless claims data.

Yes, NOTHING that has anything to do with the proles is important or of interest. Doesn't make a difference. Nothing to see here. Of course, even if it did it wouldn't matter anyway. The numbers would be fake, and whenever it's concerning Unemployment, Bad News is Good News for Wall Street and it's Gang Of Thugs.

Sleep Well Marketeers. it's going to be a long few days.

[TheWatcher]

122. TPTB Had Better get it together tomorrow if they want this Illusory Nonsense to continue.

PM Futures have fallen off a cliff, and Asian Markets have resumed their slide.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^N225

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CBOT_YM.H09.E