STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, October 3, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday October 3, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 30, 2011

Dow 10,913.38 -240.60 (-2.20%)
Nasdaq 2,415.40 -65.36 (-2.71%)
S&P 500 1,131.42 -28.98 (-2.56%)
10-Yr Bond... 1.90 -0.02 (-0.83%)
30-Year Bond 2.88 -0.04 (-1.30%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 12

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports

Oct 03 10:00 ISM Index Sep 50.0 50.5 50.6
Oct 03 10:00 Construction Spending Aug -0.6% -0.5% -1.3%
Oct 03 15:00 Auto Sales Sep NA 4.1M 3.97M
Oct 03 15:00 Truck Sales Sep NA 5.5M 5.43M

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/#ixzz1ZiR9APdL

[Roland99]

42. September ISM manufacturing 51.6% above 50.6% expectations. Stocks rebound with glee!!

[Roland99]

48. Very volatile day. Up over 100pts after ISM report and now down 50pts from that.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil falls to near $78 amid weak demand picture

BANGKOK – Oil prices extended losses Monday as Europe's debt crisis continued to roil markets and falling personal incomes in the U.S. suggested slack demand for fuel.

Benchmark oil for November delivery was down $1.07 to $78.17 a barrel in late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, benchmark crude dropped $2.94, or 3.6 percent, to settle at $79.20 per barrel in New York. Prices haven't finished that low since Sept. 29, 2010.

Brent crude was down $1.16 to $101.60 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Analysts at the Schork Report said U.S. data showing a decline in personal incomes suggests that oil prices could continue to fall. Americans earning less money are likely to curb spending on consumer items and fuel.

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

[Demeter]

8. Yeah, well, Reality is a Bitch

And reality is, it's time to button up for winter. Time to put the plastic on the windows, put the shorts and skimpy clothing in storage, and put the garden, which I had no fun in this year, to bed...

Gas was $3.15 this weekend, right after I filled up at $3.23...it's dropping lie a stone. QE2 is dead.

[Roland99]

13. Still about $3.25 here in central FL.

getting close to being able to fill up for under $50.

[Demeter]

59. It appears that gas has gone back up a bit today

[Warpy]

67. Its about the same here in central NM

and the bus stops are generally full, so there's been one up side to expensive gas. I've also noticed a lot of people are parking the behemoth during the week and driving a cheap sedan, there are a lot of monstrosities in driveways and beaters on the road.

I don't see the prices falling any time soon, either, since the refined products bubble has yet to burst. It will, it's just a question of time.

[Demeter]

11. Mission Accomplished. The Iraq War Is a Smashing Success By Michael Parenti

Iraq

...There was a "mistake" in terms of operational expectations but Bush achieved what he intended and Obama is faithfully carrying on with the mission. The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld think tank, Project for a New American Century, had called for an invasion of Iraq over a year before 9/11. Iraq had to be taken out either with a quick easy war or a long tough one. In any case, the invasion and destruction of Iraq was not a "mistake."

The US destroyed a country that had the audacity to retain control of its own oil supply, kept its entire economy under state control (rather than private corporate ownership), and did not invite the IMF or the giant transnational corporations in. Iraq charted an independent course under a dictator who originally had served the CIA, and had destroyed the left progressive democracy that existed in Iraq since the 1958 revolution. But Saddam then retained control of the country's resources instead of throwing everything wide open to western investors.

Saddam also got out of line on oil quotas (wanting an equitable share of the international market). And he decided to drop the US dollar as the reserve currency and use the Euro instead. So he and his country have been correctly destroyed in keeping with the interests of the US-led global empire. Everything is now privatized, deregulated, devastated and poor--as with Yugoslavia and soon with Libya. Mission accomplished.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Drop, Paring Earlier Slide, Amid European Debt Concern

U.S. stock-index futures fell, paring earlier losses, amid concern that Europe’s debt crisis will spread and weigh on economic growth.

Alcoa Inc. slipped 1.4 percent in Europe. Intel Corp. (INTC) and Morgan Stanley declined in early New York trading. Yahoo! Inc. advanced 8.6 percent in New York after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s chairman said he is interested in buying the company.

Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in December dropped 0.2 percent to 1,124.1 at 6:58 a.m. in New York, having previously declined as much as 1.3 percent. The U.S. equity benchmark lost 14 percent in the third quarter, the biggest retreat since the final period of 2008. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 20 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,821 today.

“I don’t know anyone who is ultra-bullish in this market,” said Chicuong Dang, an analyst at KBL Richelieu in Paris. “Concerns about a hard landing in China are weighing on the market. We also can’t forget the problem of European sovereign debt.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/u-s-stock-index-futures-decline-extending-two-week-retreat.html

[Po_d Mainiac]

4. Other than a couple

breaks over, e/s has held within the 1100-1175 window.

Those are lofty numbers with the U$D in the high $70's..
YMMV

[Roland99]

64. S&P touching 1,118 right now.

[Roland99]

16. Futures have slid a bit more but nothing scary.

DJIA INDEX 10,781.00 -60.00
S&P 500 1,119.50 -6.50
NASDAQ 100 2,117.00 -17.50

[Roland99]

29. Oil under $77.50. Dollar index at 79.09. Euro down to 1.332. Gold up $36. 10-yr T-bill at 1.87%!

[Tansy_Gold]

5. Good morning, good morning, PBD and all!

So, we are now into October, under the sign of Libra, when all is supposed to come into balance. Has the harvest been sufficient to see us through the winter? Are the young, born in the promise of spring, hardy enough to survive a season of scarcity? Or have we squandered the good times and now will pay the price for our profligacy?

Aw, hell, it's only 4:30 here on the still-dark shadow of the mountain. Screw the gloomy philosophy. Let's have some :donut: and start the day right!


:hi:


Tansy Gold, Libran

[Owlet]

6. Yes, those are the good questions

"Has the harvest been sufficient to see us through the winter? Are the young, born in the promise of spring, hardy enough to survive a season of scarcity? Or have we squandered the good times and now will pay the price for our profligacy?"


"And the answers? The answers sometimes come in the mail." (Laurie Anderson).

For some reason I've always found that strangely comforting.

Owlet, Leo

[DemReadingDU]

7. Maybe the answers today come sometimes via email

:hi:

DemReadingDu, Capricorn

[Fuddnik]

52. The answers to these and other questions will be answered on.....

The next episode of Soap!

[Demeter]

9. The Political Harvest Has Just Begun

and the economic harvest is what will determine the political one. It's gonna be real ugly.

More like a devastation than a harvest, but when you sow the wind, you reap the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7, I never knew that was a Biblical turn of phrase until now).

If you haven't guessed by now, Aries, Aries rising, and sign of the Ram/Sheep in Chinese calendar, hence thrice cursed.


I wonder if it wasn't for that Astrological reason (things coming into balance) that the Federal budget starts in October, as well as at least half of the stock market crashes of note...those not orchestrated by government policy.

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

[AnneD]

10. As someone that reads the Bible...

as much for literature as for solice.....my ears always perk up I find a common phrase that has biblical origins. I think only Shakespeare is quoted as much, and he even has a few biblical bon mots.

The Bible is a nice map to live your life. It is not a GPS device.

AnneD, born under the sign of the virgin, to my everlasting embarrassment. It is not a good ice breaker!

[Demeter]

19. Both Shakespeare and King James come from the same time, No?

1611 for King James bible, William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616).

The glory of the English language writ VERY large.

[Roland99]

14. How about some tea and scrambled eggs?

My fiancee and I are doing something different after reading about diets and what-not. Starting off the day with a high-protein breakfast (like 50g of protein). Supposed to be more like what paleo meals were like. Supposed to keep one from being hungry for snacks during the day. We'll see how this pans out but I wonder how this will affect the grocery budget as meats and eggs are decidedly more expensive than a box of cereal.

[Demeter]

17. I highly recommend it

I haven't had boxed cereal since I was old enough to cook eggs.

Although, cooked cereal, oatmeal or farina, is also quite satisfying if made with milk and fruit added (applesauce with cinnamon for the oatmeal, raisins for the farina).

The Scandinavian breakfast consists of smorgas--bread and butter with sliced cooked egg, cheese, liver or fish pate, or the like, on top. Pancakes are for dessert, or blini for dinner with shad roe.

[DemReadingDU]

23. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper

Mostly I do seem to eat more in the morning, and less throughout the day.
And time for breakfast!

[DemReadingDU]

18. Depends on the size of the box of cereal

Spouse thinks the serving size is the size of the box of cereal, or the package of cheese, or the container of peanut butter. lol

[Roland99]

27. you mean they're not?!?

[AnneD]

50. I do best on high protein diet.....

I generally eat high protein low fat. I love bread and pasta so it is a bit hard at times. I like the sandwich rounds when I absolutly need a sandwich. For the carbs of a slice of bread, I can have a sandwich. I am looking for a good pasta substitute. I do reserve pasta for lunch so I have the day to burn off the calories.

So far I have lost 30 lbs since last year by nickle and diming it and it has stayed off. I guess my diet is more a diabetic diet which is very close to what you are eating. Just remember, you took a while to put it on so don't kill yourself to take it off in a few months.

And don't forget to walk at least 30 minutes a day.

[Demeter]

53. Try that Spaghettti Squash--Very Easy to Prepare

The look is right. It doesn't taste or fill the tummy like pasta, but it holds a sauce well.

[AnneD]

56. That is what.....

I use now, but it is not covnient. I use whole wheat pasta because it has a good glycemic index.

Spaghetti sguash does hold sauce well though. I have been checking out some chinese noodles but have not found a good combination. One day, one day.....

[TalkingDog]

84. If you can eat rice, Tinkyada has some awesome brown rice pasta.

It is as close to wheat pasta as anything I've ever had.

[AnneD]

88. Thanks for the tip...

I'll try it.

[Roland99]

58. Bread is a killer for sure...I try to use it sparingly & try not to use enriched white flour anymore

[Viva_La_Revolution]

33. I tried 30gm protein breakfasts... but I can't do it every day...

3 eggs, 1 slice cheese, slice of bread and small glass of milk. I can barely eat it all, then I'm so full I want a nap! I must say though, when I was able to keep it up for a week or so, my morning muscle pain was lowered quite a bit.

Now I alternate.. on the days I can eat that much, that's what I have, the other 3-4 days a week it's 10 grain porridge with cinnamon and raw honey. --> which only lasts a few hours before I'm hungry again, but yanno, it keeps things moving along.. the great fiber highway lol


edit: tenses were scrambled.. need more coffee

[Roland99]

35. might have been the bread. This one calls for nothing but protein in the morn.

we'll see how it goes...will let ya know in a couple months! :)

My fiancee is doing a full 2-months start on this and I'm just doing a few weeks (we're both wrapping up a different diet but she's extending this to do something called a Leptin Reset).

[DemReadingDU]

12. Prophets Of Doom: 12 Shocking Quotes From Insiders About The Horrific Economic Crisis That Is Almost

10/3/11
Prophets Of Doom: 12 Shocking Quotes From Insiders About The Horrific Economic Crisis That Is Almost Here

The following are 12 shocking quotes from insiders that are warning about the horrific economic crisis that is almost here....

#1 George Soros: "Financial markets are driving the world towards another Great Depression with incalculable political consequences. The authorities, particularly in Europe, have lost control of the situation."

#2 PIMCO CEO Mohammed El-Erian: "These are all signs of an institutional run on French banks. If it persists, the banks would have no choice but to delever their balance sheets in a very drastic and disorderly fashion. Retail depositors would get edgy and be tempted to follow trading and institutional clients through the exit doors. Europe would thus be thrown into a full-blown banking crisis that aggravates the sovereign debt trap, renders certain another economic recession, and significantly worsens the outlook for the global economy."

#3 Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, global head of securities services at UniCredit SpA (Italy's largest bank): "The only remaining question is how many days the hopeless rearguard action of European governments and the European Central Bank can keep up Greece’s spirits."

#4 Stefan Homburg, the head of Germany's Institute for Public Finance: "The euro is nearing its ugly end. A collapse of monetary union now appears unavoidable."

#5 EU Parliament Member Nigel Farage: "I think the worst in the financial system is yet to come, a possible cataclysm and if that happens the gold price could go (higher) to a number that we simply cannot, at this moment, even imagine."

#6 Carl Weinberg, the chief economist at High Frequency Economics: "At this point, our base case is that Greece will default within weeks."

#7 Goldman Sachs strategist Alan Brazil: "Solving a debt problem with more debt has not solved the underlying problem. In the US, Treasury debt growth financed the US consumer but has not had enough of an impact on job growth. Can the US continue to depreciate the world’s base currency?"

#8 International Labour Organization director general Juan Somavia recently stated that total unemployment could "increase by some 20m to a total of 40m in G20 countries" by the end of 2012.

#9 Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackerman: "It is an open secret that numerous European banks would not survive having to revalue sovereign debt held on the banking book at market levels."

#10 Alastair Newton, a strategist for Nomura Securities in London: "We believe that we are just about to enter a critical period for the eurozone and that the threat of some sort of break-up between now and year-end is greater than it has been at any time since the start of the crisis"

#11 Ann Barnhardt, head of Barnhardt Capital Management, Inc.: "It's over. There is no coming back from this. The only thing that can happen is a total and complete collapse of EVERYTHING we now know, and humanity starts from scratch. And if you think that this collapse is going to play out without one hell of a big hot war, you are sadly, sadly mistaken."

#12 Lakshman Achuthan of ECRI: "When I call a recession...that means that process is starting to feed on itself, which means that you can yell and scream and you can write a big check, but it's not going to stop."

more...
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/prophets-of-doom-12-shocking-quotes-from-insiders-that-are-warning-about-the-horrific-economic-crisis-that-is-almost-here
or
http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/prophets-doom-12-shocking-quotes-insiders-about-horrific-economic-crisis-almost-here



edit to fix title, but it is too long

[Pale Blue Dot]

22. The Ugly Side Of Exponents: Weekend Edition (Denninger)

Now let's add some other ugly -- very ugly -- facts.

-Despite the financial crisis of 2008 banks have not been forced to stop lying about asset values -- and not just here in the United States. Morgan Stanley has its stock price under attack as nobody believes their balance sheet. Worse, European banks have been doing the same thing with sovereign debt and we have no idea what the interdependency is between their institutions and ours. That is, the sovereign Ponzi finance game is being "covered up" by banks claiming values that do not represent reality on their balance sheets.

-There is no evidence that our lawmakers give one good damn about the above fact regarding how much our government -- and GDP -- must contract to restore balance. We continue to hear the lie about "growing out of it" but the fact of the matter is that even if we could generate 5% GDP growth -- and we obviously can't, as we've tried and failed -- it would not close the funding gap. The government expanded by 31% in four years. That's a seven percent compounded growth rate. You would have had to generate more than 7% in economic growth annually, four years sequentially, to keep up. That's not only isn't going to happen, it didn't happen.

-The market has figured this out, and it's larger than the government. By definition it has to be. Government can never be larger than the entire economy, obviously. Private actors in the economy have come to the conclusion that the government is literally clawing at the cliff-edge trying to avoid going over. They've come to this conclusion in Europe and here and will soon simply "sell everything" and throw up their hands. You only thought the 2008 crash was bad -- you've seen nothing to prepare you for what's coming if we do not act now.

-This is not a US-centric phenomena. We're currently benefiting, if you can believe that, from being the hooker with crabs instead of AIDS. It won't matter. China's stock market is collapsing as their ponzi was bigger than anyone else's, lending money for ridiculous projects that will never be profitable. Europe blew their ponzi up on social spending and that is now collapsing -- in Greece government workers desperate to demand a paycheck the government cannot fund through taxes blockaded the "Troika" meetings. The ugly part of this is that these people came to believe they could "earn" this amount of money, both in employment and retirement, because the government lied to them and they lapped it up like good little dogs. Now the dog is being led to the chopping block to be served as dinner! This is coming here with our Senior Citizens ladies and gentlemen, and you had damn well better wake the hell up today or you will suffer the consequences!

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=195213

The whole article is highly recommended. It's an epic rant.

[Demeter]

54. Europes's "Social Spending" Ponzi was BANK BAILOUTS

but we won't talk about that, because it upsets the banksters, who are still afraid of ICELAND.

[Pale Blue Dot]

25. Uh Oh: 90 Percent Of Americans Rate Economic Conditions In The U.S. As “Poor”

Uh oh - are we rapidly reaching another major economic tipping point? According to a new CNN/ORC International Poll, 90 percent of the American people believe that economic conditions in the United States are "poor". This represents a significant increase from when the same question was asked in June. Back then, 81 percent of the American people considered economic conditions to be "poor". To put this in perspective, only 11 percent of Americans rated economic conditions in the U.S. as "poor" back in January of 1999. The Federal Reserve and the Obama administration keep telling us that we are in the middle of an "economic recovery", but obviously what average Americans are experiencing on the street is a different story. Millions of families have been absolutely devastated by mass layoffs, heartless foreclosures or bad debts. All of the recent polls show that satisfaction with government is at an all-time low and anger at Wall Street and the financial community is rising to dangerous levels. In the United States today, the economy is the most important issue for most Americans. When you have 9 out of 10 Americans rating economic conditions as "poor", that is a very troubling sign.

Many wealthy Americans consider it to be very painful when their investment portfolios go down by a few percentage points, but that is not the kind of economic pain that we are talking about.

The truth is that the vast majority of Americans in the bottom half of society do not even have investment portfolios.

What we are talking about is real economic pain.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/uh-oh-90-percent-of-americans-rate-economic-conditions-in-the-u-s-as-poor

On edit: Here's a link to the poll. http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/09/29/rel16g.pdf?iid=EL

[DemReadingDU]

28. The Economic Collapse Blog

Several recent good articles at this blog, 3 which we linked today

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/


:hi:

[DemReadingDU]

30. Is The U.S. Government Stockpiling Food In Anticipation Of A Major Economic Crisis?

From 9/23/11
Is The U.S. Government Stockpiling Food In Anticipation Of A Major Economic Crisis?

Is the U.S. government stockpiling huge amounts of food and supplies in anticipation that something bad is about to happen? Is something about to cause a major economic crisis that will require large quantities of emergency food? For a while, I have been hearing things about the government storing food through the grapevine and I have not been sure what to think about those rumors. Well, today I received a phone call that blew me away. I debated for quite a while before I decided whether or not to share this information with you all. Normally I do not like to talk about anything unless I am able to prove it by pointing to an article in the mainstream media. But the source of the information that I am about to share with you is rock solid. I cannot reveal his name, so you will just have to trust me on that. Hopefully the following information will be one more "dot" as we all try to connect the dots about what is really going on out there.

This morning I received a call from a very prominent person in the storable food industry. He has asked me not to reveal his name. I have been dealing with him for an extended period of time and I consider him to be a rock-solid source. When I talked to him today, he had just received a huge order for storable food from a U.S. government source. He told me that the dollar amount of the order was in the "five figures".

When he asked about why so much food was being ordered, the government source told him essentially that "you know what is coming". When pushed further, the government official did not elaborate.

It was unclear whether this was part of a larger food stockpiling program by the government. Perhaps this order was just part of the normal preparations that government agencies make for potential emergencies. Nobody could blame the government for storing up some emergency food. That is something that we all should be doing.


Remember, this is not some rumor I just pulled off the Internet. This is not something that someone got from "an aunt" somewhere. I got this information over the telephone from the person who took the order.


more...
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/is-the-u-s-government-stockpiling-food-in-anticipation-of-a-major-economic-crisis

[Roland99]

41. Less than $100k of storable food? Doesn't sound a whole lot to me

that wouldn't last a sizable number of people very long.


or maybe it's not meant for a "sizable number"? :scared:

[DemReadingDU]

46. Possibly a daily order?

Then that would appear to be a lot.
But the article does not say if this is a routine daily, weekly, or monthly order.

[Roland99]

47. yeah...a bit more detail would be more helpful.

[Demeter]

15. “Best Places to be a Woman”

http://www.nationofchange.org/gender-divided-1317481398

The top and the bottom of the list of countries in Newsweek’s recent cover story, “The 2011 Global Women’s Progress Report,” evoke images of two different worlds.

At the top of the list – the “Best Places to be a Woman” – we see the usual suspects: Iceland and the Scandinavian countries, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Canada. On that planet, we see rankings in the upper 90’s for the survey’s five categories: justice, health, education, economics, and politics. Women are out-earning men in college degrees (United States), domestic abusers are being banned from their homes and tracked with electronic monitors (Turkey), and female prime ministers are being elected (Denmark and Australia).

Now look at the other planet, “The Worst Places in the World to be a Woman.” In Chad, the worst of the worst, woman have “almost no legal rights,” and girls as young as ten are legally married off, which is also true in Niger, the seventh worst place for a woman. Most women in Mali – the fifth worst – have been traumatized by female genital mutilation. In Democratic Republic of Congo, 1,100 women are raped every day. In Yemen, you are free to beat your wife whenever you like.

Though it is stunning to see these two worlds in such stark and detailed relief, their existence is not news: development specialists and human rights groups have been calling attention to these inequities for years. But the systemic oppression of women tends to be cast in terms of claims for empathy: we shouldn’t follow these policies because they are not nice, not enlightened. Some development researchers have started to make a compelling case, too, that oppression of women impedes countries’ efforts to escape poverty.

But the data in the Newsweek list show that we need to frame this issue in stronger, more sweeping terms: When poor countries choose to oppress their own women, they are to some extent choosing their own continued poverty. Female oppression is a moral issue; but it also must be seen as a choice that countries make for short-term “cultural” comfort, at the expense of long-term economic and social progress.

TEABAGGERS AND FUNDIES TAKE NOTE

[Fuddnik]

20. Good toon.

I hope we shut it down on Thursday!

[Demeter]

21. But not at all funny

See last weekend's thread about that...

[Roland99]

31. I'm kinda torn.

Would really let America see how petty and greedy and uncaring the Repukes are but, on a personal note, my mortgage refi would come to a screeching halt right when rates are record lows!

[Tansy_Gold]

49. And that's exactly how "they" suckered "us" in.

Think about it.

"I've got mine -- or at least it's within reach -- so the rest of you can go scratch." The puke mantra.





TG

[Fuddnik]

51. Fuck 'em. They can have mine.

Ain't all that much to begin with.

But, I'll make their lives miserable.

[Roland99]

24. PPD to be bought by Carlyle Group for $3.9 billion

no link yet

[Demeter]

26. The American Jobs Depression, And How to Get Out of It By Robert Reich

The Reverend Al Sharpton and various labor unions have announced a March for Jobs. But I’m afraid we’ll need more than marches to get jobs back.

Since the start of the Great Recession at the end of 2007, America’s potential labor force – that is, working-age people who want jobs - has grown by over 7 million. But since then, the number of Americans who actually have jobs has shrunk by more than 300,000...In other words, we’re in a deep hole and the hole is deepening. In August, the United States created no jobs at all. Zero. America’s ongoing jobs depression - which is what it deserves to be called - is the worst economic calamity to hit this nation since the Great Depression. It’s also terrible news for President Obama, whose chances for re-election now depend almost entirely on the Republican party putting up someone so vacuous and extremist that the nation rallies to Obama regardless.

The problem is on the demand side. Consumers (whose spending is 70% of the economy) can’t boost the American economy on their own. They’re still too burdened by debt, especially on homes that are worth less than their mortgages. In addition, their jobs are disappearing, their pay is dropping, their medical bills are soaring. Consumer spending slowed again in August as incomes dropped. Businesses, for their part, won’t hire without more sales. So we’re in a vicious cycle. The question is what to do about it.

When consumers and businesses can’t boost the economy on their own, the responsibility must fall to the purchaser of last resort. As John Maynard Keynes informed us 75 years ago, that purchaser is the government. Government can hire people directly to maintain the nation’s parks and playgrounds and to help in schools and hospitals. It can funnel money to help cash-starved states and local government so they don’t have to continue to slash payrolls and public services. And it can hire indirectly - contracting with companies to build schools, revamp public transportation and rebuild the nation’s crumbling highways, bridges and ports. Not only does this create jobs but also puts money in the hands of all the people who get the jobs, so they can turn around and buy the goods and services they need - generating more jobs. Not exactly rocket science...But it won’t be enough for government to become the buyer of last resort – in Keynes’s words, to prime the pump. If the economy is to continue to grow and create jobs after the government has stopped the priming, there must be enough water in the well. Yet, now and in the foreseeable future, America’s vast middle class doesn’t have the purchasing power to keep the mechanism going. For more than 30 years, the median wage in America has barely increased, adjusted for inflation – even though the economy is twice as large as it was three decades ago. Almost all the gains have gone to the top - especially the top 1%, who now receive over 20% of total income (it was just 10% in 1980)....Any long-term strategy for rescuing the American economy must therefore seek to reverse the widening gap in income and wealth. One place to start is tax reform. The earned income tax credit - a wage subsidy for lower-income workers - should be enlarged and expanded. Taxes on the middle class should be reduced - including social security payroll taxes (80% of Americans pay more in payroll taxes than they do in income taxes). Taxes on the wealthy, on the other hand, should be increased. The president has proposed closing some tax loopholes that allow the super-rich to reduce their tax liability, and to end the tax cut on the rich put in place by George W Bush in 2001 (thereby increasing the top marginal tax rate to what it was under Bill Clinton - 39%)....

It would be better for President Obama to assume that he will get no Republican support this year and next, and build his 2012 election campaign around a bold plan to revive jobs and the American middle class — and end the American Jobs Depression.

This article was published at NationofChange at: http://www.nationofchange.org/american-jobs-depression-and-how-get-out-it-1317482065.

[bread_and_roses]

32. AFL-CIO Next Up Young Worker Summit 2011 On Occupy Wall Street

http://blog.aflcio.org/2011/10/02/next-up-summit-supports-occupy-wall-street-protests/#more-61631

... for immediate release

... Today, more than 800 Next Up participants from around the country stand with those on Wall Street who are making their voices heard. The future of our country depends on young people demanding the future we believe in. And we believe that Wall Street should pay for the damage they’ve done to our economy, our jobs, and our communities – foreclosing on homes, making massive profits with no oversight, and not sharing in building a future for the next generation.

We stand together in calling for a country that doesn’t just work for the top 1 percent. We stand together to call for a sustainable future that doesn’t begin with massive tax breaks for the wealthy and end with austerity measures and a jobs crisis.

We are one.

[Roland99]

34. Falling U.S. Wages Threaten Consumer Spending

Falling U.S. Wages Threaten Consumer Spending
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/falling-wages-threaten-u-s-rebound-as-consumers-may-retrench-on-spending.html

Ninety-one percent of people in the U.S. labor force have a job. That may be the extent of the good news for these Americans, whose incomes tell a darker story.

Take-home pay, adjusted for prices, fell 0.3 percent in August, the third decrease in five months, and personal income dropped for the first time in two years, the Commerce Department reported last week. The declines followed news from the Census Bureau that median household income in 2010 fell to $49,445, the lowest in more than a decade, and the poverty rate jumped to 15.1 percent, a 17-year high.

...

While policy makers from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to President Barack Obama focus on cutting unemployment stuck near or above 9 percent since April 2009, the widespread stagnation in wages may offer a better explanation for the failure of economic growth to accelerate two years after the end of the recession. Workers’ ability to negotiate higher earnings won’t return until the job market strengthens, and flagging confidence has raised the risk that consumers may retrench.

Inflation-adjusted weekly earnings have fallen for six consecutive months, dropping 1.8 percent in August from a year earlier, a pace not seen since the 18-month economic slump ended in June 2009.

[DemReadingDU]

36. Dexia Tumbles After Moody's Puts It On Downgrade Review Citing "Deteriorating Liquidity And Worsenin

10/3/11 Dexia Tumbles After Moody's Puts It On Downgrade Review Citing "Deteriorating Liquidity And Worsening Funding Conditions"


If there is one thing Zero Hedge readers should be well aware of, it is that the biggest Belgian bank (whose assets are 180% of Belgian GDP) Dexia is in trouble. Potentially very big trouble.

Sure enough, even those embarrassingly late to the party "analysts" at Moody's have just figured it out: "Moody's Investors Service has today placed on review for downgrade the standalone bank financial strength ratings (BFSRs), the long-term deposit and senior debt ratings and the short-term ratings of Dexia Group's three main operating entities -- Dexia Bank Belgium (DBB), Dexia Credit Local (DCL) and Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg (DBIL).

The review for downgrade of Dexia's three main operating entities' BFSRs is driven by Moody's concerns about further deterioration in the liquidity position of the group in light of the worsening funding conditions in the wider market." Immediate result: stock plunges up to 15% overnight.

We are still confident the outcome will be a full or partial nationalization, with all the ensuing bells and whistles for the various trading securities.

more...
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/dexia-tumbles-after-moodys-puts-it-downgrade-review-citing-deteriorating-liquidity-and-worsenin

[Demeter]

61. Dexia emergency talks on strategic options

The board of Dexia, the Franco-Belgian banking group is holding emergency talks to consider strategic options including an effective break-up of the struggling bank, people familiar with the matter said

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/A1TNOO/C4Y7EX/K91WR/GDK0NJ/EXIARF/SN/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=3

[xchrom]

37. it's monday -- morning all!

:donut:

[xchrom]

38. Koch Brothers Flout Law With Secret Iran Sales

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html

In May 2008, a unit of Koch Industries Inc., one of the world’s largest privately held companies, sent Ludmila Egorova-Farines, its newly hired compliance officer and ethics manager, to investigate the management of a subsidiary in Arles in southern France. In less than a week, she discovered that the company had paid bribes to win contracts.

“I uncovered the practices within a few days,” Egorova- Farines says. “They were not hidden at all.”

She immediately notified her supervisors in the U.S. A week later, Wichita, Kansas-based Koch Industries dispatched an investigative team to look into her findings, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its November issue.

By September of that year, the researchers had found evidence of improper payments to secure contracts in six countries dating back to 2002, authorized by the business director of the company’s Koch-Glitsch affiliate in France.



***the koch's know the truth -- we are not a nation of laws it's just a popular saying we like to tell our selves.

[Demeter]

55. Laws are for the "Little People"

just like taxes. Ask Leona.

[xchrom]

39. U.S. Manufacturing Growth Probably Stagnated

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-03/u-s-manufacturing-probably-grew-at-slowest-pace-in-two-years.html

Manufacturing in the U.S. probably expanded in September at the slowest pace in more than two years as the economic recovery showed signs of stalling, economists said before a report today.

The Institute for Supply Management’s factory index was little changed at 50.3 last month from 50.6 in August, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. A level of 50 is the dividing line between growth and contraction. Construction spending fell in August, another report may show.

American producers faced with slower U.S. demand are banking on sustained sales to emerging economies like China that have also shown signs of cooling. In an effort to provide a boost for the recovery as concerns of a European sovereign debt default roil financial markets, the Federal Reserve last month announced another round of unconventional policy.

“Manufacturing is continuing to grow, though certainly at a much slower pace than earlier in the year,” said Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities Inc. in New York. “Capital investment continues to grow at a slower pace. Ultimately activity will be driven by how events unfold in Europe.”

[xchrom]

40. Recession Risk Overtaking 'New Normal': Gross

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-03/pimco-s-gross-says-global-recession-risk-is-overtaking-new-normal-forecast.html

Bill Gross, the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund, said the global economy risks lapsing into recession with the pace of growth falling below the “new normal” level the firm has predicted since 2009.

“Sovereign balance sheets resemble an overweight diabetic on the verge of a heart attack,” Gross wrote in a monthly investment outlook posted on Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co.’s website today. “If global policy makers could focus on structural as opposed to cyclical financial solutions, new normal growth as opposed to recession might be possible. Long-term profits cannot ultimately grow unless they are partnered with near equal benefits for labor.”

Pimco outlined the new normal scenario at its annual Secular Forum in May 2009 that set investment guidelines for the firm for the next three to five years. The forecast predicted that following the market collapse in 2008 the U.S. economy would grow at a below-average pace for the next several years as growth in the developed markets slows, unemployment stays elevated and the “heavy hand of government” would be evident in the markets.

“Until recently, economic recovery has been relatively robust if one were a deployer of capital as opposed to the laborer who made that deployment possible,” Gross said. “Near zero percent interest rates have allowed profit margins to widen even in the face of anemic end demand. There are no double-digit investment returns anywhere in sight for owners of financial assets.”

[Festivito]

43. Debt: 09/29/2011 14,695,102,108,238.02 (DOWN 6,781,061,555.27) (Thu, DOWN a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 401.102-billion dollars. Good day.)
Sleeping in.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 10,074,983,373,804.20 + 4,620,118,734,433.74
DOWN 640,969,006.30 + DOWN 6,140,092,548.97

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.19 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,194.89 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.58, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 312,999,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $46,949.3.
A family of three owes $140,847.9. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 3,056,931,236.70.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,343,647,281.47.
The average for the last 31 days would be 2,268,045,756.26.
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$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 248 reports in 364 days of FY2012 averaging 4.57B$ per report, 3.11B$/day.
NOTE: Fiscal year end reporting needs a manual update that has not happened yet.

PROJECTION:
There are 479 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.2T$.
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)
09/29/2011 14,695,102,108,238.02 BHO (UP 4,068,225,059,324.86 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +1,133,479,077,346.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,136,593,030,855.49 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/09/2011 +000,079,600,651.10 ------------*******
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon
09/27/2011 +000,549,667,986.00 ------------********
09/28/2011 +000,753,695,258.10 ------------********
09/29/2011 -000,640,969,006.30 ---

7,334,339,444.70 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(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=5010052&mesg_id=5011292

[Festivito]

87. Debt: 09/30/2011 14,790,340,328,557.15 (UP 95,238,220,319.21) (Fri, UP big. Q4 ends.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 496.340-billion dollars. Good day.)
Switch to afternoons after dinner with neighbor and front lawns mowed.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 10,127,031,384,654.10 + 4,663,308,943,903.05
UP 52,048,010,849.90 + UP 43,190,209,469.31

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 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.19 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,194.82 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.58, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 313,006,592 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $47,252.49.
A family of three owes $141,757.46. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 7,291,103,955.66.
The average for the last 30 days would be 5,589,846,366.01.
The average for the last 31 days would be 5,409,528,741.30.
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$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2012 averaging 4.93B$ per report, 3.37B$/day.
NOTE: Fiscal year end reporting needs a manual update that has not happened yet.

PROJECTION:
There are 478 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 17.4T$.
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)
09/30/2011 14,790,340,328,557.15 BHO (UP 4,163,463,279,644.07 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +1,228,717,297,665.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,228,717,297,665.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/12/2011 -000,033,661,156.40 ---- Mon
09/13/2011 -000,041,637,039.50 ----
09/14/2011 +000,269,185,032.20 ------------********
09/15/2011 +011,965,856,345.50 ------------**********
09/16/2011 +000,192,253,298.50 ------------********
09/19/2011 +000,239,468,823.00 ------------******** Mon
09/20/2011 +000,489,658,328.70 ------------********
09/21/2011 -000,003,830,602.70 -----
09/22/2011 -006,079,650,583.40 --
09/23/2011 -000,223,062,427.90 ---
09/26/2011 -000,182,235,462.20 --- Mon
09/27/2011 +000,549,667,986.00 ------------********
09/28/2011 +000,753,695,258.10 ------------********
09/29/2011 -000,640,969,006.30 ---
09/30/2011 +052,048,010,849.90 ------------**********

59,302,749,643.50 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(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=5013790&mesg_id=5013921

[kickysnana]

44. Saw the PBS POV on China's "migrant" workers

http://www.pbs.org/pov/lasttrainhome/index.php

In itself it was a great snapshot of 130 million people who get home for about the same 5-10 days a year and work until they drop with no health care, no retirement and real education for their children requiring money. It covered the time from about 2006-2009.

Grandma had been sent to the country under Mao and almost starved and she tried to raise her grandchildren with Chinese values but these kids have seen Shanghai and have lived with parents making decisions in their lives based on hurried telephone calls and letters.

Because they were in the country the couple had two kids but they lost their daughter to the city and her own money and at the end left Dad alone in the city while Mom went back to the farm to try something different with the boy. Grandpa had recently died.

About 1/3 of these folks lost jobs in 2008 and I don't imagine that things are much better yet and they have built all the empty cities than can for now. Mom, Dad and Grandma were too wore down to rise up but the kids sure aren't. During the 2007 shutdown of the transit system due to massive storms the million people waiting for trains would be marched back and forth about twice a day until they said enough and started yelling at the gatekeepers who were not being mean or even particularly strict. Letting people who were at the front move over the moveable gates to go in every so often and find out what was going on usually under the ruse of having children gone on ahead.

The world weariness is about the same as it is here.

[wordpix]

45. I saw that---so much for the myth of the "rich" Chinese we borrow from

I'm sure the rich Chinese are those with close business ties to the likes of Apple and others who benefit from the cheap labor in China. The rest of the Chinese can keep working, stay miserable and shut up about human and labor rights, is the message from the top.

Really reminded me alot of what is going on in the US today.

[DemReadingDU]

57. Could Morgan Stanley Go Belly Up?

10/1/11
Morgan Stanley owns a lot of French banks' assets and/or liabilities. Not least of all is in the shape of derivatives. Hence, Morgan Stanley was down over 10% on Friday. If French banks go down because of their exposure to Greece, Morgan Stanley will go down too. And if Morgan Stanley goes, so does everyone on Wall Street who deals with it. Which is all of Wall Street.
more...
http://theautomaticearth.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-1-2011-how-european-rot-entered.html

10/3/11
This gamesmanship is exactly how Bear Stearns and Lehman went down. It is starting again, and the market does not believe that these firms have any money. Morgan Stanley is trading at 0.45 times book - that is, one half of the claimed book value. That's ridiculous. Either the company is in fact worthless or the attacks on their stock and credit are bogus.
more...
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=195306

10/3/11 Could Morgan Stanley Go Belly Up?
The short answer—Yes. Unfortunately, the long answer is also ‘Yes,' but lets delve in a bit further. Despite disclosure regulations, no one really knows the extent of the exposure to Greek and other European (potential) defaults. You do not have to be a historian to remember what happen last time a major default happened that did not have quantifiable risk exposures.
more...
http://www.benzinga.com/markets/bonds/11/10/1960281/could-morgan-stanley-go-belly-up

[Demeter]

60. Morgan Stanley Has MY Permission

to take a long walk off a short pier(pont).

[Hotler]

79. French razor in the public square. eom.

[Tansy_Gold]

66. GMFX! n/t

[DemReadingDU]

68. GMFX?

I suppose I should know, but I'm having a senior moment

[Tansy_Gold]

81. It's one of my own that has never caught on elsewhere

GMFX = got my fingers crossed

KYFX = keep your fingers crossed


And the ever popular GMAFB. . . . . :evilgrin:



TG, not so popular

[Po_d Mainiac]

77. Maybe

One thing seems to be certain...Someone checked Barfett's drain water...It weren't pretty...

BAC now sporting a 5 handle

[Hotler]

78. Jim Cramer was going nuts this morning sticking up

for Morgan Stanley. The guy is a freak. And, I like these parts.

"If French banks go down because of their exposure to Greece, Morgan Stanley will go down too. And if Morgan Stanley goes, so does everyone on Wall Street who deals with it. Which is all of Wall Street."

"This gamesmanship is exactly how Bear Stearns and Lehman went down. It is starting again, and the market does not believe that these firms have any money."

"You do not have to be a historian to remember what happen last time a major default happened that did not have quantifiable risk exposures."

When this goes down it will be ugly. God have mercy on our souls.

[Demeter]

62. Goldman set to become biggest LME sale winner

Goldman Sachs has more than quadrupled its stake in the London Metal Exchange in the past two years, making the US investment bank the biggest potential winner from the proposed sale of the 130-year-old exchange

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/4RNQTT/L9NKUA/3CWTA/DW48S8/QN1DJG/W1/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=2

[Demeter]

63. Kenneth Rogoff: 2012 elections portend even greater volatility

The end of 2012 will mark a once in twenty year overlap of a presidential election in the United States with a leadership transition in China. France also chooses its president in the spring of next year, Germany its chancellor later in 2013.

Unfortunately, election year pressures threaten to complicate an already very difficult and unpredictable policy dynamic, particularly as the European crisis goes from bad to worse.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/0QSDPP/KQFDGF/JQU4J/YBH9Z8/SPTQF9/RF/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=3

[Roland99]

65. 12:53 - Indices hitting daily lows. S&P under 1,120. DJIA -101. 10-yr Treasuries yield 1.83%!

Dow 10,813 -101 -0.92%
Nasdaq 2,380 -35 -1.46%
S&P 500 1,118 -14 -1.21%
GlobalDow 1,690 -36 -2.07%
Oil 78.75 -0.43 -0.54%
Gold 1,656 +34 +2.08%
Euro /$1US 1.3267 -0.0077
$1US / Yen 76.7100 -0.3900
Pound / $1US 1.5476 -0.0076
Dollar Index 79.18 0.39
10yr T-note 1.83 -0.09
2yr T-note 0.25 0.00

[Pale Blue Dot]

69. So, does the market have any delusions left or will we see Dow below 10,000 by Friday?

Place your bets!

[Po_d Mainiac]

73. e/s @ 1010-1025 Thursday's close

Friday will depend on the NFPP print...whether in-line (aka fudged) or a clean miss.
YMMV

[Demeter]

86. I think Friday is too soon

They haven't had time to pull any tricks yet.

[Roland99]

70. DJIA -220. S&P nearing 1,100. 10-yr Treasuries at 1.80!

[Roland99]

71. 10-yr yield down to 1.78.

[DemReadingDU]

72. Morgan Stanley? Dexia? Greece?

All of the above?

[Demeter]

85. American Airlines Stopped trading 7 Times today

according to NPR, due to bankruptcy rumors.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

74. AMR Falls Most Since 2001 on Bankruptcy Concern

AMR Falls Most Since 2001 on Bankruptcy Concern

AMR Falls Most Since 2001 on Bankruptcy Concern
By Mary Schlangenstein - Oct 3, 2011 11:56 AM ET

American Airlines parent AMR Corp. (AMR) tumbled the most since April 2009 on growing concern the U.S. is nearing a return to recession and that the carrier may be forced to seek bankruptcy protection.

Today’s slide pointed toward a fifth straight drop for Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR, the longest streak in more than two months, and marked its biggest intraday plunge since April 27, 2009. The shares fell 53 cents, or 18 percent, to $2.42 at 11:47 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

AMR has led declines this year among the largest U.S. airlines. It is headed toward a fourth consecutive annual loss, spurring bankruptcy speculation, as a slowing economy fuels investors’ belief that air travel will slump, said Ray Neidl, a Maxim Group LLC analyst in New York.

“The odds are better than 50-50 that we’re going into a recession,” Neidl said today in an interview. “If that’s the case, you’re going to start seeing some softness in demand come October, in the fourth quarter and next year.”

Kodak, American Airlines - who's next?

[Roland99]

75. More physical gold to serve as collateral: CME

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/more-physical-gold-to-serve-as-collateral-cme-2011-10-03?link=MW_home_latest_news

CME Group CME +0.87% said its customers will be able to post more physical gold as performance bond collateral, raising the amount to $500 million from $200 million as of the close of business on Monday. Performance bonds, or margin requirements, are money investors must put up to be able to trade futures contracts. Bullion customers had asked the CME to raise the amount, according to Harriet Hunnable, managing director of metals products at CME Group. "A number of our clearing firms hold gold in London and want to utilize more of it for collateral," she said. "The interest rate for gold is currently negative so this means that it is very cost efficient for a holder of gold to place it as collateral."

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

76. "They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, 'No, no, no!'"

[InkAddict]

80. Note on recap/financing for MagnaBlend (on fire in TX)

https://www.fis.dowjones.com/article.aspx?aid=DJFLBO0020110603e766001jl&r=wsjblog&s=djflbo&ProductIDFromApplication=15

06 June 2011

Magnablend Inc., a chemical blending and manufacturing business, is getting private equity backing from TGF Management Corp., Austin Ventures and Cotton Creek Capital.

The recapitalization will provide liquidity for Magnablend's founding shareholders, David and Darlene Pendery, and provide capital for growth and geographic expansion.

A TGF executive did not return calls for comment. Austin Ventures declined to comment, deferring to TGF, and Cotton Creek and Magnablend did not return calls.

Magnablend, based in Waxahachie, Texas, formulates, blends and packages liquid and powder products, and primarily serves the oil and gas, agricultural, and water treatment industries. It has eight facilities in the U.S.

[Roland99]

82. At the close - Lowest levels in a year. S&P closed under 1,100.

Dow 10,655 -258 -2.36%
Nasdaq 2,336 -80 -3.29%
S&P 500 1,099 -32 -2.85%
GlobalDow 1,677 -49 -2.84%
Oil 77.03 -2.17 -2.74%
Gold 1,654 +31 +1.92%
Euro /$1US 1.3206 -0.0138
$1US / Yen 76.6250 -0.4750
Pound / $1US 1.5454 -0.0098
Dollar Index 79.42 0.62
10yr T-note 1.79 -0.13 *ZOINKS*
2yr T-note 0.25 0.00

[hamerfan]

83. Musical Interlude

NSFW!
Jump You F#*kers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yge311sFhC8