STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, November 14, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday November 14, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON November 11, 2011

Dow 12,153.68 +259.89 (+2.14%)
Nasdaq 2,678.75 +53.60 (+2.00%)
S&P 500 1,263.85 +24.16 (+1.91%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.08 +0.02 (+1.12%)
30-Year Bond 3.14 +0.03 (+0.87%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Government Issues:
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    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. No reports today. nt

[Roland99]

4. just this one little report

to the Greatest! :)

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil hovers near $99 amid Europe debt optimism

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered near $99 a barrel Monday in Asia amid optimism new leaders in Greece and Italy will help Europe at least temporarily contain its debt crisis.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 15 cents at $99.14 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.21 to settle at $98.99 in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was up 20 cents to $114.36 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Crude has jumped about 32 percent from $75 on Oct. 4 on hopes Greece will avoid a chaotic bond default and the financial crisis it would likely trigger. Last week, Greece and Italy replaced their leaders with economists in a bid to bolster confidence in their economic policies.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Decline as Yields Gain at Italian Debt Auction

U.S. stock-index futures dropped, indicating the benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will pare last week’s advance, as borrowing costs increased at an Italian debt auction.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December declined 0.4 percent to 1,256.9 at 11:11 a.m. in London, having earlier rallied 0.7 percent. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 21, or 0.2 percent, to 12,091.

Italy sold 3 billion euros ($4 billion) of five-year bonds today at the highest yield in more than 14 years. The Rome-based Treasury sold the bonds to yield 6.29 percent compared with 5.32 percent at the last auction on Oct. 13. Demand was 1.47 times the amount on offer, compared with 1.34 times last month.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-14/u-s-stock-index-futures-fluctuate-boeing-alcoa-gain-in-european-trading.html

[Tansy_Gold]

5. G'morning!

:donut:

[Demeter]

24. Good Morning, Y'all

I've been working on my sleeping. It seems to help.

[xchrom]

6. monday morning...

:donut:

[kickysnana]

12. Mamas and Papas

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

[xchrom]

15. yay!

:yourock:

[DemReadingDU]

21. +++

[xchrom]

7. asia: Carmakers back TPP talks decision

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20111113a3.html

The domestic auto industry has thrown its support behind the government's decision to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in the hope that a free-trade deal will help them counter the impact of the stubbornly strong yen.

"JAMA welcomes the announcement by the government," Toshiyuki Shiga, chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association and chief operating officer of Nissan Motor Co., said Friday.

"It is anticipated that a TPP agreement, once concluded, will be effective in enhancing the business environment and advancing free trade in (the Asia-Pacific) region," he said.

Automakers including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan have urged the government to join the TPP talks in hopes an agreement can be reached to cut or even scrap tariffs on exports of vehicles and auto parts.

[xchrom]

8. Quarter's GDP hits 6% annual rate {japan}

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111114x1.html

Japan's gross domestic product grew in the July-September period for the first time in three quarters, marking annualized growth of 6 percent, the Cabinet Office said Monday.

Economists remain skeptical, however, that the recovery will keep up in the next few quarters, citing uncertainties both at home and in the global economy, particularly over the European debt crisis and the yen's surging strength.

The GDP rise last quarter was led by the automobile industry, which recovered from the March 11 disasters and boosted exports by 6.2 percent.

Consumer spending also rebounded from March 11, growing by 1 percent from March-June.

[xchrom]

17. Enough is enough, behave like 'grown up' economy: Obama to China

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Enough-is-enough-behave-like-grown-up-economy-Obama-to-China/articleshow/10726139.cms

HONOLULU: President Barack Obama served notice on Sunday that the United States was fed up with China's trade and currency practices as he turned up the heat on America's biggest economic rival.

"Enough's enough," Obama said bluntly at a closing news conference of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit where he scored a significant breakthrough in his push to create a pan-Pacific free trade zone and promote green technologies.

Using some of his toughest language yet against China, Obama, a day after face-to-face talks with President Hu Jintao, demanded that China stop "gaming" the international system and create a level playing field for US and other foreign businesses.

"We're going to continue to be firm that China operate by the same rules as everyone else," Obama told reporters after hosting the 21-nation APEC summit in his native Honolulu. "We don't want them taking advantage of the United States."

[Demeter]

50. Why should China be the only one?

the only "grown-up" economies I can see are Iceland, maybe Argentina, and any other economy that puts local people first and banksters in their place: jail.

[Warpy]

57. They're the only ones who are pulling out of this mess, too

Everybody might be sadder, poorer and wiser, but they're also pretty much employed and surviving.

But, hey, we've got more billionaires!

[xchrom]

9. Fewer Treasury Bills Means 0% Rates to Persist

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-14/shrinking-treasury-bills-means-0-rates-persist-even-with-record-deficits.html

The market for U.S. Treasury bills is poised to shrink the most since early 2010, creating a shortage in the debt and helping keep government borrowing costs near record lows.

The Treasury Department will issue about $72 billion less debt due within 12 months than it retires in December and January, bond strategists at New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimate. The contraction partly reflects a surge in corporate tax receipts that the Treasury receives this time of year, lessening its need to borrow.

The shrinkage underscores a shift in the financing strategy of the government, which boosted bills outstanding to a record $2.07 trillion in August 2009 as it raised cash to bail out the nation’s banks amid the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. As those stresses abated, the amount has dropped to $1.48 trillion, or about 15 percent of all Treasuries, the smallest percentage in almost half a century, driving investors to securities maturing in more than a year.

“People have no choice,” said Eric Pellicciaro, the head of global rates investment at New York-based BlackRock Inc., which manages $1.14 trillion in fixed-income assets. Demand for short-term notes “is expected to remain extremely strong mostly as alternatives to place cash have diminished,” he said in a telephone interview on Nov. 10.

[xchrom]

10. Buybacks Surge With S&P Valuations Cut 15%

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-14/buybacks-surging-to-four-year-high-with-s-p-500-valued-15-below-2007-peak.html

U.S. companies are buying back the most stock in four years, taking advantage of record-high cash levels and low interest rates to purchase equities at valuations 15 percent cheaper than when the credit crisis began.

Corporations have authorized more than $453 billion in repurchases this year, putting 2011 on track for the third- highest annual total behind 2006 and 2007, data compiled by Birinyi Associates Inc. show. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) bought shares for the first time, and Amgen Inc. (AMGN) sold debt to fund its buyback. U.S. companies spent 70 percent more on their stock last quarter than a year ago, according to financial filings as of Nov. 11.

Market bulls say the rise shows executives are confident the U.S. economy will avoid a recession. While the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index peaked the last time buybacks were this high, companies in the gauge are generating three times as much cash, price-earnings ratios are lower and 10-year Treasury yields are around 2 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Bears say the increase means companies lack better uses for capital.

“If the corporate community really agreed on the idea we’re heading to a recession, they wouldn’t be buying back their stock,” James Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Minneapolis-based Wells Capital Management, which oversees about $333 billion, said in a Nov. 9 telephone interview. “That says something about their expectations. That’s a testament from CEOs, corporate managements saying they are way undervalued and they have a positive outlook on the future.”

[xchrom]

11. Obama’s Asia Trade Deal Gains Momentum

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-13/obama-pushes-trade-deal-in-bid-to-bolster-u-s-foothold-in-asia.html

President Barack Obama’s push to expand an Asia-Pacific trade accord gained momentum at a summit in Honolulu with agreements from Japan and Canada to join what would be the largest American trade deal.

Obama said nine Asia-Pacific nations aim to reach a Trans- Pacific Partnership accord within a year in what would be the biggest U.S. pact since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. Japanese leader Yoshihiko Noda and Canadian premier Stephen Harper told the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit they will join the talks, which may help the U.S. regain influence lost to China in a region that’s leading global growth.

Expanding the accord to add the world’s third and 10th- biggest economies may face political hurdles as leaders fight protectionism at home. Noda faces domestic opposition to the prospect of reducing a 778 percent tariff on rice, and delayed his announcement a day to placate members of his own party.

“Countries that want free trade are looking for a way forward, especially with Asia where the growth is,” said Tai Hui, head of Southeast Asian economic research at Standard Chartered Plc in Singapore. “This is a positive gesture against protectionism. The sticky issues will be agriculture and labor- intensive industries.”

[amandabeech]

79. Crazy Ross Perot referred to NAFTA as "a giant sucking sound."

This proposed treaty will drown out that previous sucking sound by far.

I spent most of the last year in Michigan after a close member of my family died.

In my area, a couple of big suppliers to Ford decamped to Mexico to be closer to Ford's Fusion and (I think) the F-150 truck lines.

An old foundry reopened under new management, a two or three specialty manufacturing operations are doing well with a good export business.

Nonetheless, the Ford suppliers' work forces were in the low 4 or 5 figures, and the new jobs may only amount to 500 jobs.

That to me is a net loss in a community that had very little of value to lose.

I can only imagine what this agreement will do.

The way the story is worded, though, referring to the need to counter China, almost makes it sound as though the proposed pact is as much about Great Power politics as it is about trade, at least about U.S. trade.

[xchrom]

13. How Greece Exposed Europe's Potemkin Democracy

http://www.thenation.com/article/164498/how-greece-exposed-europes-potemkin-democracy

In June 1964, in a conversation with the Greek ambassador to Washington, President Lyndon Johnson gave free rein to his views on Greek sovereignty. “Fuck your Parliament and your Constitution…. We pay a lot of good American dollars to the Greeks, Mr. Ambassador. If your prime minister gives me talk about democracy, Parliament and Constitution, he, his Parliament and his Constitution may not last very long.”

Johnson had a notorious potty mouth. The leaders of the European Union are less blunt (being translated into twenty-three languages is an incentive to mind your language). But their frosty response to Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, after he called for a national referendum to approve their austerity package, left little doubt about what they think of Greece’s right to self-determination. Responses ranged from the condescending to the baffled. “Totally irresponsible,” said French legislator Christian Estrosi. “I truly fail to understand what Greece intends to have a referendum about. Are there any real options?” asked Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt.

Johnson made good on his promise. Within three years Greece found itself under a brutal US-backed military junta from which it did not emerge until 1974. This time around, the EU pledged banishment and penury if Greece strayed from the script. The Greek political class fell back into line. Papandreou resigned so that technocrats could take over. At the time of this writing the issues were when and how Greece will implode, and the scale and pace at which Italy will follow. Europe the continent is in trouble; Europe the project faces an existential threat.

That’s bad news for everyone, including Americans. Just as property binges in Las Vegas and Florida have spurred childcare cuts in Denmark and rent hikes in Portugal, so the collapse of the eurozone could have severe implications for police overtime in St. Louis and road-building in North Carolina. And Europe’s problems are essentially the same as those blighting the rest of the world: a crisis of economics exposed and underpinned by a crisis in democracy, both precipitated by the corrupt collusion of financial and political elites. For Europe, as for the United States, the result has been paralysis where decisive action was needed.

[Demeter]

27. My god, that's depressing

That's news to me about Johnson and the junta in Greece. I'm not surprised, though. Johnson was a Cold Warrior. I think Obama is even colder, though.

[xchrom]

30. it was an eye opener to me as well.

greece -- i think -- is an 'occupied' country -- it didn't matter that they won independence from turkey -- other foreign interests just stepped in.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DemReadingDU]

45. Oh yeh

I see more people in the streets too. One of these days they will retaliate against the police for trashing their OccupySites in Portland and Oakland (or elsewhere), and also retaliate against the banksters and politicians. I have no idea when or where the next one will occur or even if that will be the tipping point. But it's coming.

[xchrom]

51. +1

[Demeter]

70. Greece, Home of Democracy, Deprived of a Vote By Dean Baker

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/nov/08/greece-european-central-bank

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou touched off a firestorm last week when he proposed putting the austerity package designed by the "troika" (the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Union) up for a popular vote. The idea that the Greek people might directly be able to decide their future terrified leaders across Europe and around the world. Financial markets panicked, sending stocks plummeting and bond yields soaring...However, by the end of the week, things were back under control. The leaders of France and Germany apparently laid down the law to Papandreou and he backed off plans for the referendum. While the government is in the process of collapsing in Greece, the world can now rest assured that the Greek people will not have an opportunity to vote on their future.

This is unfortunate, since it means that Greece's future will likely be decided by politicians who may not have the interests of the Greek people foremost in their minds. By their own projections, the austerity package designed by the troika promises a decade of austerity, with high unemployment, falling real wages and sharp reductions in public services and pensions. And their projections have consistently proven to be overly optimistic. If given the opportunity, would the Greek people endorse this sort of austerity package? The answer obviously depends on the alternative. The alternative route almost certainly means a disorderly debt default and a departure from the euro. That is not a pretty picture. If Greece follows the path of Argentina, the last country to make a similar break, then the economy is likely to undergo a free fall for a period of time. The duration of this free fall will depend on how long it takes the government to get a new currency in use and construct some provisional formula for converting euro-denominated contracts into the new currency. In Argentina, this period was three months, with another three months of stagnation before the economy began a sustained boom. The process could be more difficult in Greece, both because it is tied in more extensively to the eurozone countries, and because Argentina at least had its own currency.

However, even in the case of Greece, such a break would not be impossible. There would be a desire to hold the new currency. The government just has to impose a new property tax, which is only payable in the new currency. People will want to hold onto ocean-front property in the Greek islands or at the foot of the Acropolis, so there will be demand for the currency. Also, the prospect of a tourist boom, once prices in Greece fall by 50% relative to Italy, Spain and other popular destinations will go a long towards supporting the Greek economy. If the Greek people can convince themselves that this would be a plausible alternative, then they could make a few demands on the troika. First, they could say that ten years of continuous austerity is not acceptable.

Yes, the Greeks had been reckless borrowers, but the European banks had also been reckless lenders. It is true that the Greek government had lied about its budget situation. But the word among finance types is that everyone knew they were lying and went along with the joke. Goldman Sachs even designed a nifty swap that allowed it to profit from the lies. Instead of austerity, the Greek people might insist that the ECB focus on a growth agenda. This would mean that the ECB would have to ditch its obsession with a 2% inflation target and start acting like a real central bank. The ECB could start by guaranteeing the debt of Italy and Spain, both of which risk a rising interest rate/debt default death spiral, if there is not a credible guarantee behind their debt. It might also start pushing more expansionary policies. It's always hard to admit when you are wrong, but the ECB-IMF policy of growth through austerity is not working. Every month, we get more proof of this fact – with data showing that growth is lower than expected and unemployment is higher than expected. Is there any evidence that could get these people to change their minds before they destroy Europe's economies? Maybe, the Greek people could have forced the troika to actually look at the data....But the chance to bring the Greek people into the discussion was quickly nixed. We are back to a conversation among the bankers and the politicians. There is not much room for democracy in this story, but we can still dream.

[Demeter]

71. Lazy Ouzo-Swilling, Olive-Pit Spitting Greeks Or, How Goldman Sacked Greece By Greg Palast

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29655.htm

...Greece is a crime scene. The people are victims of a fraud, a scam, a hustle and a flim-flam. And––cover the children's ears when I say this––a bank named Goldman Sachs is holding the smoking gun...In 2002, Goldman Sachs secretly bought up €2.3 billion in Greek government debt, converted it all into yen and dollars, then immediately sold it back to Greece. Goldman took a huge loss on the trade. Is Goldman that stupid?

Goldman is stupid—like a fox. The deal was a con, with Goldman making up a phony-baloney exchange rate for the transaction. Why? Goldman had cut a secret deal with the Greek government in power then. Their game: to conceal a massive budget deficit. Goldman's fake loss was the Greek government's fake gain. Goldman would get repayment of its “loss” from the government at loan-shark rates. The point is, through this crazy and costly legerdemain, Greece's right-wing free-market government was able to pretend its deficits never exceeded 3 percent of GDP.

Cool. Fraudulent but cool.

But flim-flam isn’t cheap these days: On top of murderous interest payments, Goldman charged the Greeks over a quarter billion dollars in fees. When the new Socialist government of George Papandreou came into office, they opened up the books and Goldman's bats flew out. Investors' went berserk, demanding monster interest rates to lend more money to roll over this debt. Greece's panicked bondholders rushed to buy insurance against the nation going bankrupt. The price of the bond-bust insurance, called a credit default swap (or CDS), also shot through the roof. Who made a big pile selling the CDS insurance? Goldman. And those rotting bags of CDS's sold by Goldman and others? Didn't they know they were handing their customers gold-painted turds?

That's Goldman's specialty. In 2007, at the same time banks were selling suspect CDS's and CDOs (packaged sub-prime mortgage securities), Goldman held a “net short” position against these securities. That is, Goldman was betting their financial "products" would end up in the toilet. Goldman picked up another half a billion dollars on their "net short" scam. But, instead of cuffing Goldman's CEO Lloyd Blankfein and parading him in a cage through the streets of Athens, we have the victims of the frauds, the Greek people, blamed. Blamed and soaked for the cost of it. The "spread" on Greek bonds (the term used for the risk premium paid on Greece's corrupted debt) has now risen to — get ready for this––$14,000 per family per year.

[xchrom]

14. Capitalism vs. the Climate

http://www.thenation.com/article/164497/capitalism-vs-climate

There is a question from a gentleman in the fourth row.
 
He introduces himself as Richard Rothschild. He tells the crowd that he ran for county commissioner in Maryland’s Carroll County because he had come to the conclusion that policies to combat global warming were actually “an attack on middle-class American capitalism.” His question for the panelists, gathered in a Washington, DC, Marriott Hotel in late June, is this: “To what extent is this entire movement simply a green Trojan horse, whose belly is full with red Marxist socioeconomic doctrine?”

Here at the Heartland Institute’s Sixth International Conference on Climate Change, the premier gathering for those dedicated to denying the overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity is warming the planet, this qualifies as a rhetorical question. Like asking a meeting of German central bankers if Greeks are untrustworthy. Still, the panelists aren’t going to pass up an opportunity to tell the questioner just how right he is.

Chris Horner, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute who specializes in harassing climate scientists with nuisance lawsuits and Freedom of Information fishing expeditions, angles the table mic over to his mouth. “You can believe this is about the climate,” he says darkly, “and many people do, but it’s not a reasonable belief.” Horner, whose prematurely silver hair makes him look like a right-wing Anderson Cooper, likes to invoke Saul Alinsky: “The issue isn’t the issue.” The issue, apparently, is that “no free society would do to itself what this agenda requires…. The first step to that is to remove these nagging freedoms that keep getting in the way.”

Claiming that climate change is a plot to steal American freedom is rather tame by Heartland standards. Over the course of this two-day conference, I will learn that Obama’s campaign promise to support locally owned biofuels refineries was really about “green communitarianism,” akin to the “Maoist” scheme to put “a pig iron furnace in everybody’s backyard” (the Cato Institute’s Patrick Michaels). That climate change is “a stalking horse for National Socialism” (former Republican senator and retired astronaut Harrison Schmitt). And that environmentalists are like Aztec priests, sacrificing countless people to appease the gods and change the weather (Marc Morano, editor of the denialists’ go-to website, ClimateDepot.com).

[Ghost Dog]

72. What freedom is this? Freedom to destroy? Freedom in any case exists,

anytime, anywhere, only in the space allowed between social conventions. Unless you want to live, at best, as a social misfit and outcast the whole of your life.

Most people want to have the freedom not to have to live in freeper-land, for as long as that lasts.

[xchrom]

16. south asia: Trust us, times have changed, Pakistan tells India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Trust-us-times-have-changed-Pakistan-tells-India/articleshow/10728200.cms

NEW DELHI: Amidst high expectations by India on the MFN issue, Pakistan on Monday asked New Delhi to have "trust and faith" in it, as "times have changed" and Islamabad wants complete normalisation of the bilateral trade.

India said, there is a clear political desire to "walk the talk" with its neighbouring country.

The mutual assurances were handed out by commerce secretaries of the two countries, who began their two-day talks for ensuring normal bilateral trade.

Armed with a "political backing and mandate, Pakistan commerce secretary Zafar Mahmood said in his opening remarks , "I want to assure you that please have trust and faith in the process (normalisation of trade). Times have changed. World is coming closer".

[xchrom]

18. Gold hits new high at Rs 29,295 on marriage season demand

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Gold-hits-new-high-at-Rs-29295-on-marriage-season-demand/articleshow/10727646.cms

NEW DELHI: Gold touched a new all-time high level today by rising by Rs 30 to Rs 29,295 per 10 grams, driven by sustained buying by stockists and jewellers to meet the demand for the ongoing marriage season, amid a firming global trend.

Silver followed suit and gained Rs 150 to Rs 58,000 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and jewellery makers.

Trading sentiments bolstered on heavy purchases by stockists and retailers for the ongoing marriage season and investor shifting their funds from weakening stocks to rising bullion.

The uptrend further supported by firming global trend after gold advance as a decline in the dollar after the appointment of new governments in Greece and Italy boosted demand for the metal as an alternative asset.

[xchrom]

19. Inflation inches up further to 9.73% in October

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Inflation-inches-up-further-to-9-73-in-October/articleshow/10727708.cms

NEW DELHI: Showing no signs of moderation, the headline inflation rose, albeit marginally, to 9.73% in October due to expensive food items and fuel, adding to hardships of common man.

Inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), was 9.72% in the previous month. The rate of price rise had stood at 9.08% in October 2010.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, however, expressed the hope that prices will calm down as a result of good monsoon.

"I do hope the full impact of the good monsoon will be felt. And steps we have taken to improve the supply side will yield results," he said while attributing the high inflation to rising prices of certain food items.

[xchrom]

22. Sensex ends in red; SBI, Maruti, M&M, Tata Steel decline

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/sensex-ends-in-red-sbi-maruti-mm-tata-steel-decline/articleshow/10727068.cms

MUMBAI: The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex shed intra-day gains and ended in the red on the back of negative ces from European peers. Gains in technology and pharmaceuticals were offset by losses in realty, power and auto space.

The Sensex ended at 17099.10, down 93.72 points or 0.55 per cent. The 30-share index touched intraday low of 17094.43 and high of 17391.99.

The National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 5141.90, down 26.95 points or 0.52 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5228.90 and low of 5140.55 in trade today.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.69 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.91 per cent lower.

[xchrom]

26. Annual India International Trade Fair opens; 1.4 mn visitors to throng Pragati Maidan

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/annual-india-international-trade-fair-opens-1-4-mn-visitors-to-throng-pragati-maidan/articleshow/10726360.cms

NEW DELHI: The annual India International Trade Fair (IITF) opened here today, with products from all over the world on exhibition and sale to 1.4 million visitors expected to throng Pragati Maidan.

The IITF, inaugurated by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, will be thrown open to the general public from November 19 till its conclusion on November 27. The first five days are reserved for the business visitors, according to India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).

Though the organisers and the city policy are encouraging visitors to avoid personal vehicles and use the Delhi Metro, daily office-goers and other commuters would bear the brunt.

"Traffic congestion is expected on the days of the fair at Mathura Road, Bhairon Marg, Ring Road, Shershah Road and Purana Quilla Road," Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg said. He said various traffic restrictions have been put in place for the two-week event.

[xchrom]

20. All major economies headed for slowdowns: OECD

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/all-major-economies-headed-for-slowdowns-oecd/articleshow/10727835.cms

PARIS: None of the world's major economies will escape a slowdown, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday, highlighting increasing signs that growth momentum is dwindling across the board.

The Paris-based organization's composite leading indicator (CLI) for its members fell for the seventh straight month to 100.4 in September, down from 100.9 in August and hitting the lowest reading since December 2009.

Readings for individual countries and big developing world economies were broadly lower at levels indicating slowdowns, and were in many cases below their long-term averages.

"Compared to last month's assessment, the CLIs point more strongly to slowdowns in all major economies," the OECD said in a statement.

[Demeter]

23. Well!

Having just read through the above posts, I can only conclude that the Elite think they have put the genie back in the bottle, and the good times will continue to roll cash into their coffers, while the people of all nations sweat and die.

The desire to shut down the Occupations certainly blossomed, once the Move Your Money Day proved so successful.

And just because oil creeps up a dollar or two a day they think we don't notice?

The question I ask now: when do TPTB get their comeuppance? And by which means, what agent? China? Russia? Mother Nature? Or just maybe, the People?

Or do we 99% all disappear into the ashes of slavery and want, just in time for Christmas?

I'll believe the genie is back in the bottle when jobs for Americans (real jobs with real benefits) magically reappear.

[Tansy_Gold]

25. When?

TPTB will get theirs when we've had enough.

The tipping point has not been reached.

But you knew that.




TG

[Demeter]

28. I'm very impatient

It is my Aries nature.

[DemReadingDU]

29. Not restricted to Aries

I'm impatient too, and I'm a Capricorn

[bread_and_roses]

38. even I'm impatient and i'm a LIBRA! (n/t)

[Fuddnik]

41. And I'm a Taurus.

Hard headed and full of shit!

[Roland99]

42. So, you love this bull market, eh?

;)

(another Libra here)

[Tansy_Gold]

43. Librans rule!

:evilgrin:

[xchrom]

31. +1

[Fuddnik]

40. See my prediction above.

We're rapidly approaching the tipping point.

The only question is, which way do we go?

[Demeter]

47. The Fire Next Time

The Fire Next Time is a book by James Baldwin. It contains two essays: "My Dungeon Shook — Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of Emancipation," and "Down At The Cross — Letter from a Region of My Mind." The first essay, written in the form of a letter to Baldwin's 14-year-old nephew, discusses the central role of race in American history. The second essay deals with the relations between race and religion, focusing in particular on Baldwin's experiences with the Christian church as a youth, as well as the Islamic ideas of others in Harlem.

The book was first published by The New Yorker and owing to its great success, it was subsequently published in book form by Dial Press in 1963, and in Britain by Penguin Books in 1964; both essays in the book had previously been published in The Progressive and The New Yorker, respectively. Critics greeted the book enthusiastically; it is considered one of the most influential books about race relations in the 1960s.

The title comes from the old Negro spiritual "Mary Don't You Weep" and the line, "God gave Noah the rainbow sign, no more water the fire next time."

Important Quotations

1. “A vast amount of the Negro problem is the white man’s profound desire not to be judged by those who are not white, not to be seen as he is”.

2. We are controlled by our confusion, far more than we know, and the American dream has therefore become something much more closely resembling a nightmare, on the private, domestic, and international levels. Privately, we cannot stand our lives and dare not examine them; domestically, we take no responsibility for (and no pride in) what goes on in our country; and, internationally for many millions of people, we are an unmitigated disaster.

3. Perhaps, people being the conundrums that they are, and having so little desire to shoulder the burden of their lives, this is what will always happen. But at the bottom of my heart I do not believe this. I think that people can be better than that, and I know that people can be better than they are.

4. How can one respect, let alone adopt, the values of a people who do not, on any level whatever, live the way they say they do, or the way they say they should? I cannot accept the proposition that the four-hundred-year travail of the American Negro should result merely in his attainment of the present level of the American civilization.

5. At the center of this dreadful storm, this vast confusion, stand the black people of this nation, who must now share the fate of a nation that has never accepted them, to which they were brought in chains. Well, if this is so, one has no choice but to do all in one’s power to change that fate, and at no matter what risk—eviction, imprisonment, torture, death.

6. “The Negroes of this country may never be able to rise to power, but they are very well placed indeed to precipitate chaos and ring down the curtain on the American dream”.

7. I know that what I'm asking is impossible. But in our time, as in every time, the impossible is least that one can demand—and one is, after all, emboldened by the spectacle of human history in general, and American Negro history in particular, for it testifies to nothing less than the perpetual achievement of the impossible.


THE IRONY, IT BURNS.

[Demeter]

53. Your prediction got zapped

Are we enduring new moderators, again?

[bread_and_roses]

64. for Goddess sake, for what?

I read that post - deleted? WTF??????????????????????????

[DemReadingDU]

84. That was bizarro

The prediction was fine, but bizarro that it was deleted
:crazy:

edit: and thread #75 also deleted.
Hm,if DU wants us to be paying members for DU3, I think the mods could be a bit more careful in what they delete.

[xchrom]

32. europe: Italy pays record debt interest on new bonds

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15717596

Italy has had to pay more to borrow money, despite passing new austerity measures last week.

Italy sold 3bn euros ($4.2bn, £2.6bn) worth of 5-year bonds at a 6.29% yield on Monday, a new eurozone record.

The news came as figures from the Eurostat agency showed industrial production falling 2% during September in the 17 countries that use the euro.

European markets reacted with uncertainty to the news, with the FTSE falling by 0.5% at midday.

[xchrom]

33. Dubai Airshow: Emirates places 'record' Boeing order

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15711213

Dubai-based Emirates Airlines has ordered 50 long-range Boeing 777 passenger aircraft in an order worth about $18bn (£11.2bn) at list prices.

The carrier's chairman and chief executive, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said it was the single largest dollar-value order for Boeing aircraft.

"This order represents a milestone," he said after announcing the contract at the Dubai Airshow.

Emirates has also placed options for more jets, worth another $8bn.

[xchrom]

34. US stock futures sink; Retailers report earnings

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WALL_STREET?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-11-14-09-02-05

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures are edging lower to start the week.

Lowe's and other retailers are reporting quarterly earnings Monday morning.

Lowe's Cos. posted profits that were below Wall Street's estimates, pulled down by charges tied to store closings and unfinished projects. The home-improvement retailer's stock dropped 1.7 percent in premarket trading.

J.C. Penney Co.'s stock dropped 2.6 percent in premarket trading after it reported a quarterly loss early Monday. The department store operator said its results were weighed down by restructuring costs and it lowered its earnings outlook for the rest of the year.

[AnneD]

35. I spent an interesting weekend exploring silver....

Yes, I know Max Keiser tells you to crash JP Morgan, but I listened to others like Chris Martenson, and a commodities trader that explained the multiple uses of silver. No one was trying to sell me, I was just looking to get information.

I learned about the multiple lawsuits regarding silver price fixing. Now this is my own personal opinion based on my own analysis, but right now, I appreciate my silver holdings more than my gold. I feel that this is an excellent time to pick up some more silver for myself. It is more affordable even at today's prices. It is the poor mans gold as it were. I got the same feeling (the hairs on the back of my neck stood up) that I have had on other things that I acted on in the past. I heard the commercial uses and how little is mined compared to consumption. It's list of properties is endless-from antimicrobial to conductivity.

The down side. If I am wrong, I will be getting Tansy to custom make some jewelry and art for me. That seems like win win to me.

[Tansy_Gold]

37. Like this?

[DemReadingDU]

44. Very pretty!

Are you going to be adding more items to the link in your sigline?

[Tansy_Gold]

52. Yes, I am.

Check your PM. ;-)

[Demeter]

48. OOOOOH!

Agate envy. That's why I moved back to Michigan, in part...though I haven't been agate hunting yet.

[AnneD]

68. Yes...

that would look very nice in silver, thank you very much. I was also thinking about some silver bullets. That may be the only thing that will stop those crooksters on WS. And the price is still cheap enough for Joe Six Pack.

Edited to add: Darn...I must be channeling Max Keiser. He is talking about driving a silver stake in the Zombie Bankers heart. Freaky.

[Tansy_Gold]

83. it is silver

the indoor lighting was a combination of fluorescent and incandescent and it turned everything a bit yellowish. I'm trying for better pix tomorrow.

[Fuddnik]

39. Silver has always been the more valuable commodity.

It does have many commercial uses, unlike gold. Which is why the Hunt Brothers tried to corner the world market back in the 80's. Just beware of Bubbles. Bubbles was the barmaid in a place I used to drink. She'd kick your ass in a heartbeat.

In the meantime, I'm going to invest in vodka futures later. After my weight reduction plan is done today. I'm going to lose 170 pounds in one afternoon. The guys are on their way to install new floors in the house, and that will get my wife off my back. Hence, I lose 170 pounds.

And if she see's this post, I'm toast.

:wtf: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[AnneD]

67. Fudd-You make me laugh...

I am sure you make your wife laugh too. I have been buying silver since it was under $10 an ounce. Unless they find the spare change under Atahualpa's couch cushions- I think cost averaging puts me ahead.

I was amazed at the medical antimicrobial properties. I thought that was just hokum until I heard it. They are even putting threads of it in socks to keep down foot odor-much to Sara and Roscoe's dismay.

Why don't you learn to distill your own vodka. I remember reading stories of Russian soldiers making Vodka out of potatoes to fuel themselves and their tanks during WWII.

Your post is our secret, but I have a low thresh hold of pain. I'm just warning you:evilgrin:

Bubbles...wasn't she the one with the tattoo? Yes, there are bubbles, but I do agree that it has been suppressed for too long. It has not followed the historical free market ratios, before the manipulations. I am at work and cannot get YouTube, but the interview with Chris Martenson really impressed the heck out of me. I would post the link if I could.

[DoBotherMe]

46. k & r

Happy Monday! :hi: Dana ; )

[Demeter]

49. The 1% are the very best destroyers of wealth the world has ever seen

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/07/one-per-cent-wealth-destroyers

DOG IN THE MANGER SYNDROME PLUS THE "FAGIN" EFFECT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HazQlWgdzg


If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire. The claims that the ultra-rich 1% make for themselves – that they are possessed of unique intelligence or creativity or drive – are examples of the self-attribution fallacy. This means crediting yourself with outcomes for which you weren't responsible. Many of those who are rich today got there because they were able to capture certain jobs. This capture owes less to talent and intelligence than to a combination of the ruthless exploitation of others and accidents of birth, as such jobs are taken disproportionately by people born in certain places and into certain classes.

The findings of the psychologist Daniel Kahneman, winner of a Nobel economics prize, are devastating to the beliefs that financial high-fliers entertain about themselves. He discovered that their apparent success is a cognitive illusion. For example, he studied the results achieved by 25 wealth advisers across eight years. He found that the consistency of their performance was zero. "The results resembled what you would expect from a dice-rolling contest, not a game of skill." Those who received the biggest bonuses had simply got lucky.

Such results have been widely replicated. They show that traders and fund managers throughout Wall Street receive their massive remuneration for doing no better than would a chimpanzee flipping a coin. When Kahneman tried to point this out, they blanked him. "The illusion of skill … is deeply ingrained in their culture."

So much for the financial sector and its super-educated analysts. As for other kinds of business, you tell me. Is your boss possessed of judgment, vision and management skills superior to those of anyone else in the firm, or did he or she get there through bluff, bullshit and bullying?

[Demeter]

54. Brussels keeps tight grip on Greece and Italy

Despite the creation of technocratic governments with leaders close to the EU, European officials are insisting reforms are pursued

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/QNBQGC/52KB7/IIQ3R4/ORTSKP/T3/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

55. Bundesbank warns against intervention

Central bank president says huge ECB action in the bond markets would violate European law

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/QNBQGC/52KB7/IIQ3R4/7AKVHR/T3/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

56. Obama pushes Pacific trade agenda at Apec

The US leader says his country wants to sign a next-generation agreement with nine other Asia-Pacific nations by the end of 2012

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/WDI4RR/QNBQGC/52KB7/IIQ3R4/5VW0LU/T3/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[fasttense]

74. More "free trade" for the 99% and special trade for the 1%. n/t

[Demeter]

58. Do I Hear a Contango?

Rising LNG price prompts tanker scramble

High prices mean energy companies are vying for unused LNG tanker capacity, and are offering tanker owners higher rates

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/EXSZUN/NRHD3/5VAX56/ORTSXK/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

59. UK retail failures forecast to spike at Christmas

Restructuring advisers believe corporate insolvencies among UK retailers could rise near to levels at the end of 2008

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/G8OTZZ/EXSZUN/NRHD3/5VAX56/XHVLJ1/VU/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

60. UK-listed tech stocks dwindle

40% drop in the number of tech stocks on the London Stock Exchange as companies leave without being replaced

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/4RNQTT/R3G9IW/7ZY85/160MZG/AMIZOA/9A/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

61. David Miliband: Don’t split Europe; make it stronger

I don’t know whether to weep or laugh. Eurozone leaders have turned a €50bn Greek solvency problem into a €1,00bn existential crisis for the European Union.

Barack Obama cannot remember “whether it was Merkel, Sarkozy or Barroso” – no first names or titles – who told him, as grand hopes for the Cannes summit turned to dust, “welcome to European politics”.

And David Cameron calls on the European Commission – the embodiment of “Brussels” bureaucracy and elitism that his government loves to hate – to prevent the 17 countries of the eurozone running the EU show in their own interests.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/19JYUU/JE3KZB/OFBYP/4C2W5N/HYFI1K/GX/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

62. Sever the death spiral link of banks and governments

The financial fate of Europe’s banks and its governments are inextricably linked: because the banks are the primary source of funding for government deficits, government debt represents a large proportion of the asset base of most eurozone banks. Insolvency of one therefore threatens insolvency of the other.

The prevailing narrative is that this symbiosis makes the largest European banks too big to fail, driving eurozone governments to provide massive capital infusions and guarantees to banks during financial crises. The truth, however, is that, given the level of eurozone government indebtedness
and the relative size of Europe’s banks, Europe’s largest banks are now too big to save.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/VKY5JJ/C4QZL4/DXJ2Y/TULO84/4C4VKU/7V/t?a1=2011&a2=11&a3=14

[Demeter]

69. Key Lesson from Iceland Crisis is 'Let Banks Fail' By Haukur Holm

http://news.yahoo.com/key-lesson-iceland-crisis-let-banks-fail-003849604.html;_ylt=A2KJh.esXLdOtFMAMQptzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTRvYm9rOWpsBGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDTmV3cyBmb3IgeW91BHBrZwM2YjcwMmU1My04Y2RjLTNhMzEtOWJhMS0wNGU2ZTIwZWM4ZmQEcG9zAz

Three years after Iceland's banks collapsed and the country teetered on the brink, its economy is recovering, proof that governments should let failing lenders go bust and protect taxpayers, analysts say. The North Atlantic island saw its three biggest banks go belly-up in the October 2008 as its overstretched financial sector collapsed under the weight of the global crisis sparked by the crash of US investment giant Lehman Brothers. The banks became insolvent within a matter of weeks and Reykjavik was forced to let them fail and seek a $2.25 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund...After three years of harsh austerity measures, the country's economy is now showing signs of health despite the current global financial and economic crisis that has Greece verging on default and other eurozone states under pressure.

"The lesson that could be learned from Iceland's way of handling its crisis is that it is important to shield taxpayers and government finances from bearing the cost of a financial crisis to the extent possible," Islandsbanki analyst Jon Bjarki Bentsson told AFP. "Even if our way of dealing with the crisis was not by choice but due to the inability of the government to support the banks back in 2008 due to their size relative to the economy, this has turned out relatively well for us," Bentsson said. Iceland's banking sector had assets worth 11 times the country's total gross domestic product (GDP) at their peak....Nobel Prize-winning US economist Paul Krugman echoed Bentsson. "Where everyone else bailed out the bankers and made the public pay the price, Iceland let the banks go bust and actually expanded its social safety net," he wrote in a recent commentary in the New York Times. "Where everyone else was fixated on trying to placate international investors, Iceland imposed temporary controls on the movement of capital to give itself room to maneuver," he said. During a visit to Reykjavik last week, Krugman also said Iceland has the krona to thank for its recovery, warning against the notion that adopting the euro can protect against economic imbalances. "Iceland's economic rebound shows the advantages of being outside the euro. This notion that by joining the euro you would be safe would come as news to the Spaniards," he said, referring to one of the key eurozone states struggling to put its public finances in order...Iceland's example cannot be directly compared to the dramatic problems currently seen in Greece or Italy, however. "The big difference between Greece, Italy, etc at the moment and Iceland back in 2008 is that the latter was a banking crisis caused by the collapse of an oversized banking sector while the former is the result of a sovereign debt crisis that has spilled over into the European banking sector," Bentsson said. "In Iceland, the government was actually in a sound position debt-wise before the crisis."

Iceland's former prime minister Geir Haarde, in power during the 2008 meltdown and currently facing trial over his handling of the crisis, has insisted his government did the right thing early on by letting the banks fail and making creditors carry the losses. "We saved the country from going bankrupt," Haarde, 68, told AFP in an interview in July. "That is evident if you look at our situation now and you compare it to Ireland or not to mention Greece," he said, adding that the two debt-wracked EU countries "made mistakes that we did not make ... We did not guarantee the external debts of the banking system."

Like Ireland and Latvia, also rescued by international bailout packages and now in recovery, Iceland implemented strict austerity measures and is now reaping the fruits of its efforts. So much so that its central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by a quarter point to 4.75 percent, in sharp contrast to most other developed countries which have slashed their borrowing costs amid the current crises. It said economic growth in the first half of 2011 was 2.5 percent and was forecast to be just over 3.0 percent for the year as a whole. David Stefansson, a research analyst at Arion Bank, told AFP Iceland hiked its rates because it "is in a different place in the economic (cycle) than other countries. "The central bank thinks that other central banks in similar circumstances can afford to keep interest rates low, and even lower them, because expected inflation abroad is in general quite (a bit) lower," he said.

[Demeter]

63. Why a Dollar & Euro Collapse Is Guaranteed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TfHEz4plxtg

[Demeter]

65. Roubini: The Next MF Global Collapse Could Be Goldman Sachs By Henry Blodget

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29660.htm

Nouriel Roubini was was in fine form yesterday, scaring the bejeezus out of his followers on Twitter by saying that several huge financial institutions could collapse in the blink of an eye like MF Global. These houses of cards, Roubini tweeted, include:

• Goldman Sachs
  
• Morgan Stanley
  
• Jefferies
  
• Barclays

The problem, as Roubini has consistently warned, is the banks' dependence on short-term financing to maintain their long-term asset leverage and run their businesses. What killed MF Global, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, AIG, and other huge financial firms, after all, was the sudden refusal of short-term lenders to continue lending money to the firms.

Every day, the big Wall Street firms borrow tens of billions of dollars in low-cost short-term loans. They then use this money to make long-term bets on assets that yield more than the money costs to borrow. And then they happily keep the difference between the two. In good times, the banks come to take this funding for granted: They just keep rolling over their huge debts every day, repaying the old loans with the money from new ones. When the overnight lenders suddenly get suspicious and the money disappears, however, it's as if the oxygen is suddenly sucked out of the room.

In additional tweets, Roubini argued that JP Morgan and Citigroup were actually less at risk because more of their funding comes from insured deposits. MOVE YOUR MONEY!--DEMETER So that's some good news for you.

[Demeter]

66. Goldman Sachs 'escapes paying £10million bill in sweetheart deal with the taxman'

The (UK) country's top tax official signed off a deal which let banking giant Goldman Sachs off a £10million tax bill without consulting a single lawyer, it emerged yesterday. Dave Hartnett was accused of being 'cavalier' with taxpayers money after he admitted to MPs that he had not sought legal advice before agreeing to the controversial 'sweetheart' deal. Mr Hartnett has faced calls to resign after it leaked documents showed that that he had personally agreed to waive up to £10million of interest on a £30million bill from a failed tax avoidance scheme on bankers' bonuses....Mr Hartnett – previously described as Britain's most 'wined and dined' civil servant - was also grilled by MPs over his 107 breakfasts, lunches and dinners that he attended over three years with big companies and accountancy firms...While 21 other large investment banks settled with HMRC in 2005 over their use of offshore structures known as 'employee benefit trusts' to avoid National Insurance contributions on bankers' bonuses, Goldman continued to litigate the case for five years before also opting to settle...

MPs on the powerful Public Administration Committee expressed fury over the 'evasion' of senior tax officials during a tense and bad-tempered hearing in Parliament yesterday. The committee's chairman Margaret Hodge said: 'The whole saga it seems to me this is the biggest ad for Goldman Sachs because they toughed it out and got off interest. That's what it feels like to me...The perception is such there has been huge reputational damage to HMRC. If I was sitting at Goldman Sachs, I would be rubbing my hands because they'd think we beat 'em to it and got off the tax bill.' She later added: 'I am shocked by the cavalier approach to what is millions of pounds. This will stick in the gullet for ordinary taxpayers.'

Tory MP Stephen Barclay claimed that phone giant Vodafone was also potentially let off a tax bill worth as much as £8billion last year - £2billion more than has previously been estimated - following a behind-the-scenes deal with officials. Mr Barclay said: 'The Exchequer may have lost about £8billion in tax which makes Goldman look paltry in comparison. We are talking about potentially £8billion of tax lost. We're looking at a company that was given five years to pay even though it was sitting on a cash pile.'

The HMRC has admitted to errors over governance procedures and to failing to collect the £10million interest - in the mistaken belief there was a 'legal impediment' to doing so. Mr Hartnett revealed that an HM Revenue & Customs official lost their bonus following the £10million blunder. He risked angering MPs by saying: 'The error was taken into account on someone's annual appraisal.' The controversy has plunged HMRC into turmoil and has led to an overhaul of how the taxman deals with rows over tax avoidance by big business. In a humiliating move, Britain's most senior civil servant Sir Gus O'Donnell told the committee that new tax commissioners would oversee checks on negotations with large companies over their tax bills. In future, any deal would have to be endorsed by the commissioners rather than those who negotiate the deals.


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

It is very rare for select committees to exercise their power to take evidence under oath. BUT THEY COULDN'T GET AN ANSWER ANY OTHER WAY!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2058557/Goldman-Sachs-escapes-paying-10m-sweetheart-deal-taxman.html#ixzz1dhpCiXJm

[Demeter]

73. We are having a thunderstorm and the temp dropped to 47F from 63F

I recently read that when neither La Nin~a nor El Nin~o have established any weather patterns, we experience "Nada", when the jet stream flails across the continent like a fire hose run free, and massive storms roll across from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

This is currently happening--Nature's response to the roiling of the economic storms across the globe, most likely. Speaking to that, the news is so bad, I can't post any more right now. My mental state won't take it.

Instead, I'm going to put on the rain coat, and slog it. And tomorrow is yet another Board Meeting. I'm laying in a ton of chocolate for the occasion.

[Roland99]

82. low 80s and sun here!

looks like we're set for an "average" fall for once (well, this all of my 3rd one down here but the first two weren't very nice to a newcomer :) )

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

76. Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (11/10/2011)

I'm just a little late this week. From the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration:

Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report (11/10/2011)

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending November 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 390,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 400,000. The 4-week moving average was 400,000, a decrease of 5,250 from the previous week's revised average of 405,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.9 percent for the week ending October 29, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending October 29 was 3,615,000, a decrease of 92,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,707,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,690,250, a decrease of 19,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,709,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 398,753 in the week ending November 5, an increase of 29,106 from the previous week. There were 452,657 initial claims in the comparable week in 2010.

Gee, that's a big drop.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

77. Not so bad.

[Roland99]

81. Them That Do Nothing

Well once we were concerned
The we grew up to be bored
What once resembled rules
Sure enough turned into jokes
We tried to stand for nothing
Now there's nothing to stand for
What started as a game
Became a chore before too long

I don't mean to sound tight
But I see it's hard to fake
So rather this than talk
Get your keys and get to work
Cause them that do nothing make no mistakes

Where once we asked for lessons
Now it's all to be ignored
How do we trust the speaker
When his calling is to call?

I don't mean to sound tight
But I see it's hard to take
So rather this than talk
Get your keys and get to work
Cause them that do nothing make no mistakes

Well once we all were told
And we took it all as truth
If we worked hard and behaved
We'd be anything we'd choose
And we used to all be happy
While pretending that we weren't
Now the smiles upon our faces
Show how much it all must hurt

I don't mean to sound tight
But I see it's hard to fake
So rather this than talk
Get your keys and get to work
Cause them that do nothing

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

78. Is 12,000 magical, or not?

[Roland99]

80. just something to placate the masses at the 6:30 nightly news feed

like anyone watches that anymore