STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday May 6

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday May 6, 2010

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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    
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Handy Links - Government Issues:
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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

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

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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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

08:30 Continuing Claims 05/01
Briefing.com 4600K
Consensus 4600K
Prior 4645K

08:30 Initial Claims 05/01
Briefing.com 435K
Consensus 440K
Prior 448K

08:30 Productivity-Prel Q1
Briefing.com 2.4%
Consensus 2.4%
Prior 6.9%

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

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell to near $79 a barrel Thursday in Asia, extending a three-day sell-off as traders mull a surging dollar and rising U.S. crude inventories.

Crude has dropped 10 percent from an 18-month high of $87.15 a barrel earlier this week as an escalating debt crisis in Europe undermined confidence in the euro. Commodities priced in dollars, such as oil, become more expensive for investors holding euros as the U.S. currency strengthens.

Signs of tepid U.S. crude demand also weighed on oil prices. The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude inventories rose by 2.8 million barrels last week while analysts had expected an increase of only 1.5 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil fell 1 cent to $2.1745 a gallon, and gasoline slid 0.89 cent to $2.2115 a gallon. Natural gas fell 1.3 cents to $3.978 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

So why is gasoline up 20 cents?

translation: we know you are driving more so we think we can soak you for this.

With any luck, they all leapt to their deaths today.

WASHINGTON – A partisan fight over consumer protections and a dispute over how intrusive Congress can be in overseeing the Federal Reserve loom as obstacles to the Senate's efforts to rein in Wall Street.

Republicans offered a weaker alternative to consumer protection measures that are central to President Barack Obama's Wall Street regulation plan. And a bipartisan group of senators, led by Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, was next in line with an amendment that would require the Federal Reserve to undergo a thorough audit by Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office.

After the Senate disposes of the Republican consumer protection amendment, it is scheduled to debate and vote on Sanders' proposal to audit the Federal Reserve. The measure has populist support from across the political spectrum, from tea party activists to liberals and labor organizations. The Federal Reserve and the Treasury oppose the measure, arguing it could interfere with the Fed's independence, a crucial element if the Fed is to carry out unpopular but economically essential policies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_bi_ge/us_financial_overhaul

Audit the Fed

Imagine that.

I expect Goldman/JPM is throwing money all around DC today to stop the bill or change it to make it toothless.

They are Primary Dealers--which means they get to sell Treasuries:

Primary dealers

A primary dealer is a bank or securities broker-dealer that may trade directly with the Federal Reserve System of the United States.<92> They are required to make bids or offers when the Fed conducts open market operations, provide information to the Fed's open market trading desk, and to participate actively in U.S. Treasury securities auctions.<93> They consult with both the U.S. Treasury and the Fed about funding the budget deficit and implementing monetary policy. Many former employees of primary dealers work at the Treasury, because of their expertise in the government debt markets, though the Fed avoids a similar revolving door policy.<94><95>

Between them, these dealers purchase the vast majority of the U.S. Treasury securities (T-bills, T-notes, and T-bonds) sold at auction, and resell them to the public. Their activities extend well beyond the Treasury market, for example, according to the Wall Street Journal Europe (2/9/06 p. 20), all of the top ten dealers in the foreign exchange market are also primary dealers, and between them account for almost 73% of forex trading volume. Arguably, this group's members are the most influential and powerful non-governmental institutions in world financial markets.

The primary dealers form a worldwide network that distributes new U.S. government debt. For example, Daiwa Securities and Mizuho Securities distribute the debt to Japanese buyers. BNP Paribas, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and RBS Greenwich Capital (a division of the Royal Bank of Scotland) distribute the debt to European buyers. Goldman Sachs, and Citigroup account for many American buyers. Nevertheless, most of these firms compete internationally and in all major financial centers.
Current list of primary dealers

As of July 27, 2009 according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York the list includes:<96>

* BNP Paribas Securities Corp.
* Banc of America Securities LLC
* Barclays Capital Inc.
* Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.
* Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
* Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC
* Daiwa Securities America Inc.
* Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.
* Dresdner Kleinwort Securities LLC.
* Goldman, Sachs & Co.
* HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.
* Jefferies & Company, Inc.
* J. P. Morgan Securities Inc.
* Mizuho Securities USA Inc.
* Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated
* Nomura Securities International, Inc.
* RBC Capital Markets Corporation
* RBS Securities Inc.
* UBS Securities LLC.

The Primary Dealers List is available at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York website. Changes are available at Changes to Primary Dealers List.

Five notable changes to the list have occurred in 2008. Countrywide Securities Corporation was removed on July 15 due to its acquisition by Bank of America. Lehman Brothers Inc. was removed on September 22 due to bankruptcy. Bear Stearns & Co. Inc. was removed from the list on October 1 due to its acquisition by J.P. Morgan Chase. On February 11, 2009, Merrill Lynch Government Securities Inc. was removed from the list due to its acquisition by Bank of America...THEY SHOULDN'T CARE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER IF THE FED IS AUDITED

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

Member Banks

Each member bank is a private bank (e.g., a privately owned corporation) that holds stock in one of the twelve regional Federal Reserve banks. All of the commercial banks in the United States can be divided into three types according to which governmental body charters them and whether or not they are members of the Federal Reserve System:<97>

Type
Definition

national banks

Those chartered by the federal government (through the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the Department of the Treasury); by law, they are members of the Federal Reserve System

state member banks

Those chartered by the states who are members of the Federal Reserve System.
state nonmember banks Those chartered by the states who are not members of the Federal Reserve System.

All nationally chartered banks hold stock in one of the Federal Reserve banks. State-chartered banks may choose to be members (and hold stock in a regional Federal Reserve bank), upon meeting certain standards.

Holding stock in a Federal Reserve bank is not, however, like owning publicly traded stock. The stock cannot be sold or traded. Member banks receive a fixed, 6 percent dividend annually on their stock, and they do not directly control the applicable Federal Reserve bank as a result of owning this stock. They do, however, elect six of the nine members of Reserve banks’ boards of directors.<44> Federal statute provides (in part):

Every national bank in any State shall, upon commencing business or within ninety days after admission into the Union of the State in which it is located, become a member bank of the Federal Reserve System by subscribing and paying for stock in the Federal Reserve bank of its district in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and shall thereupon be an insured bank under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act <. . . .>
—<98>

Other banks may elect to become member banks. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston:

Any state-chartered bank (mutual or stock-formed) may become a member of the Federal Reserve System. The twelve regional Reserve Banks supervise state member banks as part of the Federal Reserve System’s mandate to assure strength and stability in the nation’s domestic markets and banking system. Reserve Bank supervision is carried out in partnership with the state regulators, assuring a consistent and unified regulatory environment. Regional and community banking organizations constitute the largest number of banking organizations supervised by the Federal Reserve System.
—<99>

For example, as of October 2006 the member banks in New Hampshire included Community Guaranty Savings Bank; The Lancaster National Bank; The Pemigewasset National Bank of Plymouth; and other banks.<100> In California, member banks (as of September 2006) included Bank of America California, National Association; The Bank of New York Trust Company, National Association; Barclays Global Investors, National Association; and many other banks.<101>
List of member banks

The majority of US banks are not members of the Federal Reserve System.

A list of all member banks can be found at the website of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Most commercial banks in the United States are not members of the Federal Reserve System, but the total value of all the banking assets of member banks is substantially larger than the total value of the banking assets of nonmembers.<102>

http://www.fdic.gov/

Source: TPM

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) keeps hearing from Rahm Emanuel about his proposal to force a comprehensive audit of the Federal Reserve. But the White House isn't calling to tell him about new plans to kill his amendment.

The White House is hoping to cobble together a separate proposal, to be offered as an alternative to Sanders' backers. The so called "side-by-side" would give them cover to vote down the Fed audit amendment, by offering them them a weaker plan to support.

But Sanders had to read about this plan in the newspaper.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/senate-liberals-push-for-strict-financial-rules/?src=busln&scp=2&sq=Sanders&st=cse

"I read it in the New York Times," Sanders said this morning, after a floor vote on a separate amendment.

Quoth the Times: "The White House and the banking committee chairman, Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut scrounging for ideas for a so-called side-by-side amendment -- an alternate proposal on the Fed that would give senators something to support while offering them cover to vote down the Sanders measure."

"We're going to do everything that we can to win this," Sanders said. "Sixty votes is in fact a pretty high hurdle, but we hope to do it."

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/dis-sanders-learns-of-white-house-plans-to-kill-fed-audit-in-new-york-times.php
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Original poster t0dd adds: What a disgrace this Administration is.

Demeter seconds that notion.

WASHINGTON – A special panel investigating the financial crisis is preparing to hear from two key architects of the government's response: Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Geithner and Paulson will provide their perspectives on the so-called "shadow banking system" — a largely unregulated world of capital and credit markets outside of traditional banks. They will describe their roles in selling Bear Stearns to JPMorgan Chase & Co. after pressure from "shadow banking" companies made Bear the first major casualty of the crisis.

The pair will testify Thursday morning before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a bipartisan panel established by Congress to probe the roots of the financial crisis. It is the first time the panel has heard from either of the men who called the shots in late 2008 as the global financial system nearly collapsed.

In its first day of hearings on shadow banking Wednesday, the FCIC dissected Bear Stearns as a case study, and heard from former CEOs James Cayne and Alan Schwartz.

Wednesday's hearing marked Cayne's first public appearance in the aftermath of the crisis. Cayne was a flamboyant character who led Bear Stearns — a firm known for its go-against-the-grain scrappiness — for 15 years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_bi_ge/us_meltdown_investigation

as if.

Grill, Baby Grill!

Burn, Baby, Burn!

Doesn't this remind you of the Beatniks?

from these two? Yeah right! :mad:

:kick:

SINGAPORE – Asian stocks plunged Thursday as fears Greece's debt crisis will spread to other European countries and undermine the global recovery continued to rattle markets. Shares in Europe rebounded from early losses.

Investors are questioning whether a $142 billion aid package for Greece will be adequate to keep debt problems from engulfing other European nations with weak government finances. The death of three people Wednesday in an Athens bank during a 100,000-strong protest against government austerity measures has further shaken confidence in the markets.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.1 percent while France's CAC-40 was little changed and Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent. Stock futures pointed to modest losses Thursday on Wall Street.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average dived 3.3 percent to 10,695.69 for its biggest one-day fall in over a year while China's Shanghai benchmark sank 4.1 percent. Japanese markets were closed Monday through Wednesday for holidays.

South Korea's Kospi dropped 2 percent to 1,684.71, Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 1 percent to 20,133.41, Australia's benchmark lost 2.2 percent and Indonesia sank 2 percent in a regionwide rout. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, India, Malaysia and Thailand also slid.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100506/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

Thu May 6, 2010 11:54am BST PARIS, May 6 (Reuters) - European stocks moved higher around midday on Thursday, as BNP Paribas's (BNPP.PA) stellar results helped the market halt a sharp sell-off sparked by escalating fears that Greek debt woes spread to other euro zone countries.

Mining shares, recently hit by worries over Australia's new tax on mining, were among the top gainers, with Xstrata (XTA.L) up 3.6 percent and Anglo American (AAL.L) up 1.1 percent. At 1030 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,029.31 points in a roller-coaster session that saw the index falling by as much as 1.1 percent in early trade, before bouncing back.

France's BNP Paribas, the euro zone's second biggest bank after Spain's Santander (SAN.MC), rose 3.2 percent after posting forecast-beating results that overshadowed the bank's 5 billion euro ($6.7 billion) exposure to Greece that the lender revealed on Thursday.

Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) also gained ground, up 3.8 percent after posting better-than-expected first-quarter results thanks to strong trading and lower risk provisions.

Europe's banking index .SX7P was up 0.7 percent. But despite Thursday's tentative rebound, the sector is still down 8 percent in 2010, Europe's worst sector performance.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index has tumbled around 8 percent over the past three weeks and strongly underperformed U.S. stock indexes, beaten down by mounting worries sovereign debt in the euro zone.

"Stocks have lost around 10 percent, and we could drop another 10 percent in the short term. The market will remain hectic until the billions promised to Greece materialise. But the (debt crisis) doesn't change anything for companies, whose results have been excellent," said Romain Boscher, chief investment officer at Groupama Asset Management in Paris.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE6450ZI20100506

(Up a little. Good days.)

(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)
= 8,430,148,415,124.48 + 4,510,805,519,668.42
UP 43,170,775.25 + UP 13,890,217,690.52

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 309-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.23 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.7, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 309,201,224 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $41,852.85.
A family of three owes $125,558.56. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 7,748,118,925.05.
The average for the last 30 days would be 5,940,224,509.21.
The average for the last 32 days would be 5,568,960,477.38.
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$/day.
There were 148 reports in 216 days of FY2010 averaging 6.97B$ per report, 4.77B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 992 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 and 18.5T$.
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)
05/04/2010 12,940,953,934,792.90 BHO (UP 2,314,076,885,879.82 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 +1,031,124,931,281.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,742,410,184,803.88 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
04/14/2010 +000,857,281,039.39 ------------********
04/15/2010 +039,328,943,525.65 ------------**********
04/16/2010 -000,121,400,113.90 ---
04/19/2010 -017,215,897,730.16 - Mon
04/20/2010 +000,349,194,756.21 ------------********
04/21/2010 +000,180,306,016.37 ------------********
04/22/2010 -015,686,359,446.12 -
04/23/2010 -000,156,047,055.50 ---
04/26/2010 +000,019,005,411.26 ------------******* Mon
04/27/2010 +000,734,843,937.10 ------------********
04/28/2010 -000,020,446,125.69 ----
04/29/2010 -019,519,315,418.04 -
04/30/2010 +098,427,087,705.17 ------------**********
05/03/2010 -004,329,381,263.93 -- Mon
05/04/2010 +000,043,170,775.25 ------------*******

82,890,986,013.06 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=4368707&mesg_id=4368928

(Up a little. Good day.)

(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)
= 8,430,747,249,336.39 + 4,512,747,816,799.74
UP 598,834,211.91 + UP 1,942,297,131.32

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 309-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.23 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.7, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 13 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 309,207,870 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 04/09/2010 15:49 -> 309,034,742
Currently, each of these Americans owe $41,860.17.
A family of three owes $125,580.52. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 6,823,304,599.29.
The average for the last 30 days would be 5,231,200,192.79.

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$/day.
There were 149 reports in 217 days of FY2010 averaging 6.94B$ per report, 4.76B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 991 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.3 and 18.1T$.
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)
05/05/2010 12,943,495,066,136.13 BHO (UP 2,316,618,017,223.05 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 +1,033,666,062,624.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof10 +1,738,654,897,962.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
04/15/2010 +039,328,943,525.65 ------------**********
04/16/2010 -000,121,400,113.90 ---
04/19/2010 -017,215,897,730.16 - Mon
04/20/2010 +000,349,194,756.21 ------------********
04/21/2010 +000,180,306,016.37 ------------********
04/22/2010 -015,686,359,446.12 -
04/23/2010 -000,156,047,055.50 ---
04/26/2010 +000,019,005,411.26 ------------******* Mon
04/27/2010 +000,734,843,937.10 ------------********
04/28/2010 -000,020,446,125.69 ----
04/29/2010 -019,519,315,418.04 -
04/30/2010 +098,427,087,705.17 ------------**********
05/03/2010 -004,329,381,263.93 -- Mon
05/04/2010 +000,043,170,775.25 ------------*******
05/05/2010 +000,598,834,211.91 ------------********

82,632,539,185.58 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=4370127&mesg_id=4370139

If you want to call for a “rescheduling” of Greece’s debts – a position that is becoming increasingly popular among leading north European intellectuals – that is fine. But you also need to recognize that the policy elite (central banks and ministries of finance) are completely unprepared to handle the consequences, which would be immediate and devastating for other weaker eurozone countries.

You simply cannot do a low-cost or small unilateral restructuring of government debt in this kind of situation; the market will at once take that as a signal that Portugal, Spain, Italy and perhaps even Ireland will face difficulties (in fact, this is exactly what spreads in the 2-year European government bond market are saying today). The French may smile upon such outcomes with a feeling of superiority, but they might also consider not throwing bricks in glass houses.

But do not fall into the trap of thinking just because “megabanks are bad” (undoubtedly true) that you can whack them with losses and not face the consequences – these people are powerful for a reason; they hold a knife to our throats. For all his hubris, missteps, and over-reliance on Goldman group think, Hank Paulson had a point in September 2008: If the choice is chaotic global collapse or unsavory financial rescue, which are you going to choose?

What we need is a new approach, at the G20 level; this can definitely include debt restructuring, but it has to be done in a systematic fashion (and even then there will be a considerable degree of total mess). Such a change in framework for dealing with these issues will not get broad support until after further chaos in Europe, but it now needs to be put into place.

http://baselinescenario.com/2010/05/05/expect-nothing/

doing nothing will lead, eventually, to the exact kind of chaotic global collapse all the unsavory financial rescues were supposed to prevent. They only delay it, but in the delaying lie the factors of magnitude that will exacerbate the chaos.





Tansy Gold, dealing with a recalcitrant automobile . . . again

They're waiting/hoping/betting on another asset bubble to magically appear and restore "faith and confidence" in the scheme and they can avoid being held accountable for a little while longer.

Not sure what asset(s) could possibly bubble up now (other than another crude oil run which won't really help matters).


Bon chance with your auto.

Just askin'

cheers

sorry about your car troubles - been through quite a few of them myself lately - the travails of driving beaters. I console myself by reminding myself that the manufacture of new cars contributes more to our carbon burden than does gasoline - or so I read somewhere.

Anyway, I have a favor to ask - do you have the "Jump You Fuckers" image? I want it badly. Tried to steal it from your post the other day, but couldn't - no doubt due to my primitive computer skills If you can help, thanks, and if not, thanks anyway :).

but thanks anyway for reminding me of it!

That's all I used and I got brazilions of copies. Took more time to find one that would actually link.

:hi:

The car -- which was purchased under pressure five years ago -- is not the most fuel efficient, but it serves my needs, and I no longer drive very much at all any more, which is a rarity in my part of Arizona. One way or another it will get fixed.

I must say, though, that I'm thinking of including the "jump" image in my sig line. . . . .



Tansy Gold

My old Ranger was old enough to vote when I finally turned it in after replacing bits and pieces every single year for the last 5 years of its life. It would develop forward motion and stop when I wanted it to most of the time, but that's it. I never knew when the damned thing would decide it was just too much trouble and refuse to start.

It did fall short of my all time record for driving a third world car, one that my ex and I managed to get through its 23rd birthday. There was more Bondo than vehicle at the end and I doubt the scrap dealer found much on it worth salvaging. I knew it had ended its life when I found myself meeting a guy named Bumpy in a bar parking lot at 3 AM for brake parts.

Poverty sucks.

Since throwing the crooks in jail seems to be off the table.

I can lend you the Saturn, Tansy--It's okay as long as you don't need to go uphill.

Any approach other than turning over taxpayer dough to banksters is unthinkable with the congresscritters we have.

When a bankster has to dig in his own pocket to pay his own bill, you'd think it was harvest time in the slaughterhouse.

Listen to those pigs squeal.

From Nikolaj Gammeltoft and Peter Eichenbaum at Bloomberg: Whitney Says Banks Face ‘Tough’ Quarter, Housing Dip:

Banks continue to suffer from losses on non-performing loans, and U.S. home prices will fall again amid increasing supply and sluggish demand, according to (banking analyst Meredith Whitney).

“I’m steadfast in my belief there’s going to be a double- dip in housing,” she said. “You will see clearly that the banks are under-reserved when housing dips again.”

I also think the repeat national house price indexes (Case-Shiller, LoanPerformance) will show further price declines later this year. But, we have to recognize that a majority of the national price declines are behind us, and any 'double-dip' in prices will be much smaller than the previous declines.

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2010/05/whitney-banks-under-reserved-for-double.html

Dow -70+

So how many billions of our taxpayer money is being used to bailout Greece?

Wall Street Journal:
5/3/10 The tough cuts the government says are needed to brighten the grim fiscal picture already are meeting public resistance. The planned rescue is the largest ever attempted by the IMF and a first for the 16-member euro zone. It still requires final approval from national governments. Approval by the 16 euro-zone leaders is expected to come at a meeting on Friday.
more about the austerity measures...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704608104575219430378257618.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews


I receive e-newsletters from John Mauldin, a NYT Best Selling author and recognized financial expert. From his latest e-newsletter, Mauldin says "Let me start this week's Outside the Box by venting a little anger. It now looks like almost 30% of the Greek financing will come from the IMF, rather than just a small portion. And since 40% of the IMF is funded by US taxpayers, I can't tell you how outraged that makes me."

Let's multiply this out...
$146 billion is supposed to be the amount of the total bailout to Greece.
30% is from IMF (International Monetary Fund), so that is $43.8 billion
40% will be from the US taxpayers, so that will be $17.52 billion

Here are website articles by John Mauldin.
http://www.businessinsider.com/author/john-mauldin

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b065783131

- The debt crisis enveloping Greece could spread to hurt the banking systems in Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland and Britain, a leading credit ratings agency warned Thursday.

Moody's Investor Service said that although banks in some countries, such as Portugal and Italy, were not heavily affected by the past years' financial crisis, they could be impacted by the fiscal crisis if it spreads outside of Greece.



Leading to this:

http://www.finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=6E&p=d1

I don't wish penury on anyone, but the fact that the Market is starting to reflect reality is making me feel a whole lot more confident that some denial will fade and some burning issues will be addressed.

When the market is in the bubbles, so is my gut.

Hope you are all tidily tucked away from the desert storm!

http://www.hedgeanalyst.com/2010/05/goldman-sachs-gs-downgraded-by-ubs-full.html


They think: negative publicity surrounding these lawsuits, even if in
the end nothing happens, could adversely impact the company's client
relationships and hurt earnings. If charges are brought however, the
damage could be significant.


Hopefully that will help fade some of the denial.

Go figure.

And the gang at Wall Street listens intently to both of them and honors their presence.

:yourock:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/30/AR2010043001336.html

The Justice Department's criminal investigation into Goldman Sachs goes beyond the financial transactions targeted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the civil fraud suit brought against the firm last month, law enforcement sources said Friday.

The Justice Department probe began weeks ago and is essentially on a parallel track with the SEC investigation, the sources said. While prosecutors and investigators are focusing on some of the same mortgage-related transactions as the SEC, the sources said, the Justice Department has cast a wider net....But law enforcement sources said the probe by the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office -- which is known for aggressively investigating financial fraud cases -- was not based on an SEC referral and was underway before the SEC announced the civil case April 16.

High legal threshold

The Justice Department typically investigates high-profile cases of securities fraud, but the threshold for criminal prosecution is significantly higher than that of civil cases, and such investigations are highly complex.

The threat of criminal prosecution can doom a business. A criminal case ruined the Wall Street firm Drexel Burnham Lambert in the 1980s even though it settled.

The SEC says Goldman and employee Fabrice Tourre broke the law and committed fraud when they sold clients a complex investment linked to the value of home loans that was secretly designed to fail. Another firm, Paulson & Co., a hedge fund, helped Goldman create the investment and planned to bet against it. The SEC says the relationship was not disclosed to Goldman's clients, ACA Financial Guaranty and the German bank IKB....

The Justice Department suffered a setback last year with the failure of the first major criminal case to arise from the financial crisis: the prosecution of two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. A jury rejected securities fraud charges against the hedge fund managers, who ran funds linked to subprime mortgages, after presenting evidence that the men knew about risks but did not disclose these to investors.

The cases against Bear Stearns and Goldman Sachs have some overlap. One of the subprime-linked securities that contributed to the collapse of the Bear Stearns hedge funds was assembled by Goldman and sold under its Abacus program, which was the subject of the SEC suit and the Senate report this week.

Securities lawyers have said that the Bear Stearns case sent a chilling message to the Justice Department after jurors said the prosecution's evidence, drawn in large part from internal company e-mails, was not persuasive. Lawyers said the Justice Department would need a very strong case to defeat Goldman.

They also said the criminal probe could complicate the SEC case as it moves to trial. Facing criminal prosecution, Goldman employees might decline to testify and then invoke the Fifth Amendment if the SEC seeks new depositions for the trial, as is common.

However, in a civil case, unlike in a criminal case, invoking the Fifth Amendment can be held against you by a judge or jury.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article7116237.ece



Goldman Sachs was reported last night(May 4) to be considering settlement talks with the US regulators over the fraud charges brought against it last month.

The reports came as the firm’s equities division was fined $450,000 for violations of regulations on short selling in 2008 and 2009 in what has now become a daily war of attrition by regulators against the bank.

Neither Goldman nor the US Securities and Exchange Commission would comment on the likelihood of settlement talks over the fraud charges filed on April 16, which relate to a complex mortgage-related product that lost two investors $1 billion.

Goldman executives are understood to believe that the SEC’s case is without merit, but the firm is thought to be keen to avoid a battle with regulators and Charlie Gasparino, of Fox Business Network, reported that it may be prepared to agree to lesser charges and a fine. Goldman shares, which dropped by 9.4 per cent last Friday, rebounded and rose by 1.5 per cent to $151.77.

The bank has been downgraded by two analysts, who cited the difficulty of predicting the outcome of the bank’s legal problems, which include actions brought by shareholders furious about the $21 billion (£13.8 billion) wiped from Goldman’s value since the fraud charges were filed.

Mark Rifkin, a securities litigator in the New York law firm Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, said: “A settlement of the enforcement action gives Goldman Sachs a chance to put its regulatory problem behind it and assert real leadership in the investment banking profession. It also gives the SEC an opportunity to address the multiple conflicts of interest that led to the problem in the first place.”

Meanwhile, Goldman’s marketmaking unit was censured and fined $450,000 after the SEC and NYSE Regulation found hundreds of violations in its processing of short trades in December 2008 and January 2009.

Goldman agreed to pay each regulator $225,000 without admitting wrongdoing. The firm blamed a processing error and said it had had no financial effect on clients.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/04/news/companies/ceo_failure.fortune/

If you believe the betters at Intrade, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has a 75% chance of keeping his job through the end of the year. But unless you're on the Goldman board, how do you really know? By combing through recent corporate history, we found some warning signs that a CEO is being fitted for his parachute. Here are four that might signal change is in the air.

1. The start of a probe: federal, Congressional, or all of the above:

Nothing makes board members more nervous than outside meddling in a company's affairs. This is particularly true when it comes in the form of a subpoena or search warrant. Blankfein can take solace in the fact that his firm so far is only subject to a civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the other hand, the SEC complaint Goldman (GS, Fortune 500) received is known among securities traders as the "Kiss of Death Notice." That can't be reassuring. As history has proven, federal probes have often served as de facto eviction notices for corner office tenants.

At American International Group (AIG, Fortune 500), this has happened twice since 2005. The departure of CEO Martin Sullivan in June 2008 came after the giant insurer posted huge losses on mortgage investments and amid an investigation by the SEC into contracts tied to subprime mortgages. It had only been a few years earlier that Sullivan replaced his mentor, longtime AIG CEO Hank Greenberg, who stepped down in 2005 as the company came under investigation for its accounting practices.

Federal investigations also didn't help former Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) CEO Raymond Gilmartin, who resigned in May 2005 as a federal investigation reviewed the company's handling of the withdrawal of the painkiller, Vioxx, which studies showed were linked to heart attacks.

And in October 2006, UnitedHealth Group (UNH, Fortune 500) CEO William McGuire was told to leave the company amid federal investigations into problems with the way the Minnesota- based health insurer issued stock options and other compensation for executives.

Whether or not government investigations are the thread that causes Blankfein's job to unravel remains to be seen. Blankfein can thank his underling Fabrice "Fabulous Fab" Tourre and his spectacularly ill-conceived e-mail correspondence for distracting some of the populist outrage away from Goldman's executive suite. While the Feds are said to be looking into criminal charges, for now, the government and Goldman seem content to publicly flog Tourre with a civil complaint.

2. A "statement of confidence" from the board or a big investor

Reassuring on the surface, these bland endorsements serve as cover for hostile intent. The mere fact that a board member thinks it's necessary to reassure the public that their pricey leader is, in fact, competent could serve as notice to freshen up that resume.

Similar events played out in October 2009 when Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) Chief Executive Kenneth D. Lewis announced his resignation. Even as directors of the board had earlier indicated support for Lewis, it wasn't enough to keep him in his post amid criticisms following the takeover of Merrill Lynch. Lewis was potentially facing securities charges over Merrill's bonus payments and huge losses shortly before the takeover was completed. Meanwhile, the government continued pressuring him to improve the bank's risk management and succession planning. This reportedly took a toll on the executive, who grew fed up with the criticisms.

Blankfein's endorsement is interesting, because it came not from a board member but from billionaire investor Warren Buffett. This obviously carries a lot more weight. Buffett's got $5 billion invested in Goldman to back up his position. All the typical board member has to offer is Yankee tickets or a tee time at Liberty National. When asked who else should run Goldman if Blankfein stepped down, Buffett said he has "never given that a thought. There's really no reason." Okay then, nothing more to see here.

3. Denials of leaving, thinking of leaving, or knowing the definition of the word 'leave'

A harder-to-read but nonetheless telling sign that things may go awry for your CEO is when despair drives them (or their press office) to put up a defense over their jobs. The most successful corporations look to their CEOs for leadership. Freak-out episodes are a bad sign.

We saw this back in March 2009 when General Motors (GM) CEO Rick Wagoner stepped down at the behest of the government, which provided the automaker billions in emergency loans after the company nearly ran out of money. GM drew up a plan to restructure and survive, but a government task forced determined it wasn't enough. Wagoner continued defending his title, even with a tone of hesitation, telling reporters nobody had asked him to quit and he was determined to finish the restructuring: "I do it because it's important and I feel like I have a responsibility to do it," Wagoner told Bloomberg in mid-March. "I plan to stay here until we get things well in shape and on track and beyond that, we'll see."

And when speculations swirled that Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) CEO Charles Prince would get ousted amid billions of dollars in losses tied to bad debt, the bank's press office aggressively denied talk of an emergency board meeting, saying that the chief executive had the full support of the board. Prince resigned November 2007 during an emergency board meeting.

For the most part, Blankfein has maintained his composure in the public glare. Whatever talk there may be about the CEO's destiny, it has not convinced him to make a public campaign of defending his job. The topic, however, sprang up recently during a recent interview with Good Morning America in which a reporter asked if he had ever thought of resigning or stepping down, to which he replied, with a pause, a nod and then a grin: "No, it hasn't."

4. The full beard, and other signs of disregard for accepted social conventions

As with all other signs, this applies to both male and female execs. Looks matter, especially in the boardroom. Signs that something might be irking your CEO: bags under their eyes, a wrinkled suit, disheveled hair. You get the picture.

At Bank of America, it was Lewis's full beard that signaled to company insiders that something wasn't right. Lewis returned to the office from a Labor Day vacation unshaven - a sight no one at the bank had seen before, according to The Wall Street Journal. He shaved it off the next day.

Now back to Blankfein. Judging by the media snapshots, he appears slightly sleep deprived. But all in all, relatively pressed and clean shaven.

“No one’s attacking Citigroup over anything anymore, and everyone’s attacking Goldman Sachs over everything,” Dick Bove says, so "it logically tells you that Citigroup should have a lower spread to Treasury than Goldman Sachs.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKdIQqdeJeOA


And Politico is saying that insurance companies are looking to raise rates on Goldman.


Goldman losing its favored status.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703866704575224953590681996.html?mod=dist_smartbrief

The California Public Employees' Retirement System won a court decision letting it go forward with a lawsuit against the big three ratings agencies, which it claims caused it to suffer about $1 billion in investment losses because of inaccurate ratings.

A California state judge rejected a request by Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Inc. to dismiss Calpers' claim of negligent misrepresentation after arguments on April 30, Brad Pacheco, a Calpers spokesman, said in an email.

The credit-ratings agencies, however, were granted their request for dismissal of Calpers' claim of negligent interference with prospective economic advantage.

The development comes as ratings agencies continue to come under fire for their role in the financial crisis. The agencies, which are paid to rate bonds and securities by their issuers, have been blamed for insufficient analysis of the mortgage-backed bonds that many people see as being at the center of the credit crisis.

Attorneys general in Connecticut and Ohio already have sued ratings agencies over their ratings. Separately, California Attorney General Jerry Brown has asked a court to compel Moody's to comply with a subpoena with regards to its ratings practices.

Both sides claimed the court decision as a victory....

:mad:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/05/AR2010050504164.html

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the financial regulatory bill aimed at ensuring that taxpayers never again be on the hook for bailing out collapsed banks and investment firms.

The 93 to 5 vote brought together senators as diverse as ultra-liberal Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) and Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), the conservative who co-wrote the amendment with Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate banking committee.

The vote came as Democrats on Wednesday also sought to undercut key GOP objections to the bill, a strategy aimed at securing much-needed Republican support for the sweeping legislation in the days ahead.

Lawmakers began voting on proposed amendments to the 1,400-page bill a week after the Senate opened formal debate on the legislation. The first two amendments Democrats allowed to reach the Senate floor had an unambiguous purpose: To put an end to GOP attacks that the far-reaching bill would perpetuate taxpayer-funded bailouts.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) secured nearly unanimous support for her three-paragraph amendment clarifying that taxpayers would not bear any losses from the liquidation of bankrupt firms, a goal widely shared by both parties and reflected in a 96 to 1 vote.

Perhaps more significant was the Dodd-Shelby amendment that followed.

Their deal -- hammered out late Tuesday night and into Wednesday -- centered on a portion of the bill aimed at giving the government power to wind down large, troubled firms without putting taxpayer money at risk. The heart of the agreement was Dodd's willingness to drop a proposed $50 billion fund, which would be filled upfront by the financial industry, that would cover the cost of closing down failing firms.

Republicans had criticized the provision as a "bailout fund" that could encourage financial firms to act recklessly, knowing the fund was in place. Dodd said Wednesday that neither he nor the Obama administration had proposed the fund. It was a GOP suggestion, he said.

Under the Dodd-Shelby deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would liquidate faltering firms by borrowing money from Treasury to cover initial costs. The government would recover the costs by selling off the firm's assets, with creditors and shareholders incurring losses. Other large banks could be assessed to pay for additional costs as a last resort.

Also, creditors of a failing firm would be forced to pay back the government any money they received above what they would have gotten under a bankruptcy proceeding. Any seizure of a large, failing firm would require court approval to ensure that the government not shut down a company inappropriately. In addition, Congress would have to approve the use of federal debt guarantees, and regulators also would be able to ban management and directors of failed firms from working in the financial sector for a minimum of two years...

WELL, MAYBE. I HAVE MY DOUBTS, THOUGH.

Mothers are the first economists!

economist: definition; noun

1. a specialist in economics
2. Archaic: an economical or thrifty person


economics: definition; noun

1. the science that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth, and with the various related problems of labor, finance, taxation, etc.
2. economic factors

and we will be celebrating motherhood in all its forms on the Weekend Economist Thread, starting Friday evening in the Editorials forum. See you there!

:happycry:

congrats Grand Pa to be...

REYKJAVIK, Iceland - Icelandic authorities have arrested the former chief executive of collapsed bank Kaupthing — the first high profile arrest in the wake of the tiny Nordic country's financial collapse.

Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson was detained on Thursday by the special prosecutor tasked with investigating the Icelandic banking crash in October 2008.

The prosecutor's office says Sigurdsson is suspected of falsifying documents and breaking laws on stock trading for personal gain.

The former banker is being held in police custody until a hearing scheduled to take place Friday at the Reykjavik District Court to decide whether he will be granted bail.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/36990106

I just got back from the gym, and checked SMW. Then I proceeded to the kitchen and made and devoured a grilled cheese sandwich. In that time period, the Dow dropped 100 points!

Now, I'm afraid to get a glass of water!

Edit: another 30 point drop in the time it took to type that! :wtf: is going on?

;)

Dow 10,539 -329 -3.03%
Nasdaq 2,309 -93 -3.88%
S&P 500 1,125 -41 -3.53%
GlobalDow 1,864 -55 -2.86%
Gold 1,191 +16 +1.35%
Oil 77.28 -2.69 -3.36%

Dropping like a rock!!!!

Someone said it was a terrific buying opportunity!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

just noticed it down 578..:wow:

where's th bottom?

Actually, all of me is pretty intelligent.

And Demeter didn't think this would happen until October.

Is it time to start another pool????



TG

coming back up now

:crazy:

Dow 10,164 -704 -6.48%
Nasdaq 2,238 -164 -6.82%
S&P 500 1,093 -73 -6.29%
GlobalDow 1,816 -103 -5.36%
Gold 1,199 +24 +2.00%
Oil 76.94 -3.03 -3.79%


edit:ooops...copy buffer was old data

"The markets have an eerie feeling similar to the timeframe when Lehman went down," said Andrew Brenner, head of emerging markets at Guggenheim Securities.

"You can go back to Goldman Sachs Friday when the market sold off. Since then the market has been prone to headline risk and looking for a reason to sell off," said Jay Suskind, senior vice president at Duncan-Williams. "Is the market now seeing Greece and Europe as the canary in the coal mine for us? We all know we have budget and deficit issues," Suskind said.

/... http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-struggle-data-retailers-in-focus-2010-05-06

I think, maybe I had transposed the numbers

This is going to leave a mark.

:evilgrin:

U so bad..hahaha

i is baaaaaaaad, and i is proooooouuuuuud.


:evilgrin:

idea that this Market has been ready to collapse for quite awhile.

What is even more amazing to me is the utter brainwashing speak that a lot of the Sheep in GD and GD-P are spewing about how this is no big deal.

You know, I concede.

America is brainwashed beyond the point of no return, and for most of her citizenry, there is no hope of them ever returning.

We are a lost, Broken Country with even more Broken People.

It is truly a frightening, dangerous situation to be living in.

TPTB are the ONLY thing that has kept this nonsense going as long as it has.

What I am wondering now is what in the heck happened that could have made it fall this quick, this fast.

The Rescue job that is going on right now reminds me of when something like this occurred in early 2000, and it was one of the biggest miracle comebacks of all time.

Nothing to see here.

Of course, we know what happened a couple of months later.

Bubbles Burst.

This one will be NO different.

They may rescue it today, but the cat is out of the Bag.

This WHOLE thing has been one, bright and shining LIE.

Everyone would do well to heed that.

Yes, the pom poms wave enthusiastically in those other fora, just as I'm sure they did in Rome.

Oh, well.




Tansy Gold

I have kind of taken to being an amazed observer and a witness to history of late.

I don't think, sadly, there is any rescuing our country from the madmen, Oligarchs, and Megalomaniacs that run it. I will admit to sniping at the most clueless of the clueless herd on occasion, but for the most part, I have been trying to keep quiet and just observe the slow end that our country seems to be spiraling towards.

I've all but given up trying to reason with most people. They simply will not listen and would rather die for their lie. I'm beginning to think they would actually be willing to PHYSICALLY defend this fantasy world they live in if it came to it.

I think, amazingly, that most of the people have decided they WANT to go along with it. TPTB have pretty much brainwashed themselves an army of support, and it's scary to listen to them every day. The uninformed, to me at least, might be an even bigger danger than any Caribou Barbie led Tea Party, because they completely enable the criminals to do whatever they want, by engaging in never-ending, "Go Along" group think, and lock-step adherence to whatever they are told reality is..

One of the big lessons learned for me has been that there are a great, disturbingly large amount of us on the left that can be just as delusional and misled as those on the other "Football Team."

This isn't going to end well.

Unless they have an insane Propaganda Blitz lined up for tomorrow and some fake job numbers, or some miracle cure for the Oil Leak, we have only seen the beginning today, I am afraid.

We'll see.

it's kind of hard to believe TPTB aren't going to try and keep the insanity going until the Fall.

We shall see.

:hug:

Living in a state of suspense is painful and expensive.

This song is constantly played on the radio in Europe nowadays, I wonder if it's played in the USA ?

http://billysuede.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/im-obsessed-with-the-mess-thats-america/

I think I have a new Hero.

She's FANTASTIC! :loveya:

And also, sadly, deadly spot on.

And We The People are the one's who can't see how bad the mess is.

Also said, "maybe it's a software glitch".

Who even believes this sh*t now?

CNBS always trots out a clown at a time like this.

Cramer's the Prince of Clowns.


CNBC just had a 10 min segment in which every single reporters' mike was open. It was literally just screaming and noise. The producers must have just given up or something.

Tansy Gold really should be working, what with her mounting vet and car repair bills, but this is the mostest and bested entertainment she's had for months

See if I can put it on youtube later.

Screw Cramer.


That hack.

it is no wonder the NYSE came out so fast saying their computers are working just fine thank you.


The best explanation I've read so far is:

“Hedge funds look at the screen and are indiscriminately selling to lock in profits and raise cash,” said Steve Grasso, a trader on the NYSE floor for Stuart Frankel. If they survived the credit crisis and posted big gains in the last year, they and their clients are not going to take their chances navigating a foreign debt crisis, according to Grasso.

Dave Henderson on Bloomberg calls it irrational exuberance

the markets will sing a Kum-bay-ah so beautiful you will weep as we rocket up 1000 points.

If they don't...tomorrow will probably be a lot worse than today.

What better way to frighten them into agreeing than a nice little market crash

Good point!

If the German legislature bails out Greece, my guess is that we'll be watching a replay of those scenes in the streets of Berlin.

As maniacally controlled and manipulated as this Market is, it is almost impossible for me to beleive that TPTB could have let this get away from them so fast, without warning.

We may very well have been witness to an act of Financial Terrorism today.

However, if it is REAL, and all they did was delay the inevitable, then strap in.

At some point, they ARE going to lose control of their monster.

It happened for six months back in '08, and it will happen again and again until they completely blow the system out for good, or at least for the foreseeable future.

The Sheep will undoubtedly assume they will just be saved every single time.

Until they aren't

I weep for this country.

We are so completely brainwashed and compromised on a level that defies understanding.

Rome will look sane and orderly compared to our comeuppance.

-500 again

who keeps stalking me whenever the market is on an upswing, to condemn me for predicting this would happen? Yeah, I got the timing off (didn't think they could hold out this long), but the event itself was inevitable... don't look down now though, the floor is still a ways off!

in the fridge. ;)

This was long overdue...

when they realize this market has no support level. Today's drop might yet be pared to a few hundred points, but healthy markets don't have sudden 10% drops out of the blue... there's plenty more yet to be washed out before we're back to healthy.

I'm still waiting for the next bottom to fall out on the next adjustable mortgage reset.

today.

It's almost frightening to watch the level of brainwashing people are displaying today. They have so little understanding of the world around them and how it works, and in their mild defense, so little access to any real information, as our Media is about on Par with PRAVDA from the Old Soviet Union in the 70's.

They see this "miracle" recovery in the last hour as a cause for cheerleading and smugly preen about how they have been "Saved" again.

Yes, your Holy Master saved you from a 10% loss to a 3% Loss.

USA! USA!

The Stock Market has nothing to do with the Real Economy anyway, so I don't know why we even affixate on it the way we do. Perhaps we must because that's what most of the population has been led to believe IS The Economy, and it's the only barometer they have any understanding of.

As far as you being off about the timing, I wouldn't concern yourself with that. You didn't see it coming, and a lot of people didn't either.

When I looked back at the Charts when all this began, and saw the same pattern that was from the last Bubble in 03-08, I knew exactly what they were doing, and I also knew that almost no one would listen.

Enlightenment has a price.

And a fairly high one as you have observed.

But the only reason some could see it is because we have made a study of this stuff for many years.

You have to think like a criminal to understand these Markets, because they are CONTROLLED by Criminals.

It is amazing to me to see most of the country still cheerlead this nonsense on mindlessly day after day without ever catching the clue that TPTB are NOT DOING THIS FOR THEIR BENEFIT.

They are doing this to delay the inevitable, line their own pockets, and extract whatever wealth and treasure there is left from the REST OF US.

They do this at OUR EXPENSE.

We are like farm animals herded to be slaughtered for them.

And for the most part, we are PERFECTLY OK with it.

down about 300 million

and he's one of worst chumps around

CNN is reporting that the DOW was off as much as 997.21 points, yet last time I checked, today's loss was at 285.14 and shrinking. Bizarre, but what is it attributable to? A 1000 point sell-off is extraordinary, but a 1000 point sell-off immediately followed by a 700 point recovery is very odd to me.

for at LEAST 15 years.

I guess I have to check my emotional responses sometimes because it seems that only now are about 99% of the people beginning to question the reality of these Markets.

Some of us have been observing this for a LONG time.

The Markets are nothing more than Program Trading, HFT Casinos that have no basis in Economic Reality.

As John Mcclain once said to a blind-sided off duty cop....

"Welcome To The Party Pal."

Could this have been some kind of a High Frequency Trading test? It's almost like someone quickly changed the HFT algorithm to sell, got the profit that was wanted, then just as quickly changed the HFT algorithm to buy? The market did drop nearly a 1000 and recovered almost 700. A mere test today, but whoever it was, it will be done again.

A huge Drop followed by a "Miracle" Recovery.

This same scenario has been seen before, and I think it portends to something bigger down the road.

It COULD be as you suggest, and we must be open to all possibilities, but remember, this is just a Bubble like the one's before it, and it has been on the edge of collapse for the past three weeks.

What is going on in Europe is no joke.

The only question left is how long can TPTB delay the inevitable.

especially those riots in Greece.

It's all contagious, and the U.S. is not immune.

Posted by Ghost Dog in Latest Breaking News
Wed Apr 28th 2010, 10:58 PM
Source: Financial Times

Published: April 28 2010 15:45

The outperformance of risk assets over the past year suggests investors appear to believe that all credit problems have been solved – but nothing could be further from the truth, says Leigh Skene at Lombard Street Research.

“Rising stock markets and narrowing credit spreads depend on buyers being more anxious to buy than the sellers are to sell,” he says. “So who are the enthusiastic buyers of risk assets?”

Surprisingly, says Mr Skene, surveys show that the usual investors in major rallies – pension funds, hedge funds and retail investors – have not been net buyers of equities. And he says the most likely explanation for this anomaly in the biggest stock market rally since the 1930s is that major investment banks are the anxious buyers.

“Their buying would appear to be for one of two reasons. Firstly because they think the authorities will prevail in their (so far unsuccessful) efforts to inflate their way out of debt liquidation; or secondly because they are too big to fail and so can afford to take a huge gamble that enough buying will convince others to rush in and buy their inventory of risk assets at even higher prices.

Read more: http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Ghost%20Dog/269

you know someone got on the hotline to the Fed after the first few hundred points

How fast the market fell or how much the PPT can prop it back up. A thousand points in ten minutes. Then half that back up in less than an hour.

Riiiiight....

OK, how do YOU explain what happened?

And while you're at it, please explain the Bubbles of 1998-2001, 2003-2008, and then explain to us how the current Bubble isn't an artificially manipulated environment at all (Never mind that for a good many years, a large percentage of the Market activity during the day has been fueled by Program Trading and HFT), but the results of natural Market Forces.

No peeking at Cramer's Site for help, now.

I am SURE you are a veritable ENCYCLOPEDIA of Market knowledge for us lowly, uninformed rubes.

Have at it.

This should be FASCINATING.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36999239

Yes, it was artificial manipulation-- in the negative direction.

:rofl:

Oh, you kids are just TOO Much.

Yes, I've heard this blather already, and believe me, most of the savvy and informed traders have gotten a hearty laugh about this for the past hour or so.

Just another flavor of Kool-Aid they are feeding you.

Yes, it was a TRADING GLITCH.

It had NOTHING to do with what is going on in Europe, or the fact that this Bubble has been on the edge of collapse for the past three weeks.

Trust me kid, if you are getting your information from CNBC, you are about as far out of the loop as you can get.

Thanks For Playing.

And thanks for the Laugh.

Trading Glitch....

:rofl:

On EDIT:

Warning to those who might follow Mr. Buffet's link here-

My Anti-Virus Program just rang a three-alarm bell about a SCRIPT VIRUS, so buyer beware.

Why does it not surprise me that CNBC would have infected script code on their Site?

UNNERVING? (not to mention conspiratorial)

Think about CNBC's explanation and what it implies... Somewhere there is a terminal and ONE PERSON can just log in at any time and -poof- there goes the economy... Uh, the World's economy. :scared:

I bet that terminal is on Lloyd's desk over at GS! I betcha! :horrified:

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE6455ZG20100506

If you think the true value of P&G genuinely dropped briefly 37% today then you are in a different universe than I am.

some other big bank, perhaps someone at GS? GS betting the market going down so GS would profit?

No fat fingers here.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXVHFjB7Fsdk

"The battle of the algorithms -- not understood by nor even remotely transparent to the Securities and Exchange Commission -- simply must be carefully reviewed and placed within a meaningful regulatory framework soon."

Yes.

of the Markets, or perhaps just blind faith in what the PRAVDA Media tell you.

But if the Mainstream Propaganda Version is what you want to go with, instead of the past 15 years of Bubble/Bust Economics and the realities of the European Meltdown, then SHINE ON, You Crazy Diamond.

Also, if you really believe that the Greatest Financial Global Crisis of the past Century, and perhaps ever was averted in 6 months, we are in a recovery, The Banks' "Record Profits" are something other than the Miracle of "Mark-To-Make Believe" Accounting, and this insane 82% Rise in the Dow was the result of completely "natural Market forces", then you don't know what Universe you are in.

And LOOK, even CITIGROUP now says that PRAVDA is wrong:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXVHFjB7Fsdk

Again, Thanks for Playing, Kid.

It was, if only briefly, "entertaining." :rofl:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

IF it were only a wrong entry (which I seriously seriously doubt, since it makes no sense to me that numbers are entered as words), the plunge would have happened, and then it would have been corrected. It would have gone back to where it was. But instead there was a rise, then another dip, then a little rise, and another dip.

This is a warning. A show of force, yes, but also a warning. The chumps are about to be chumped, big time. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week.

Then again, maybe tomorrow, or maybe next week.


:rofl:



Tansy Gold

Always looking for the simplest explanation to neatly fit into the box that fits whatever paradigm they have been programmed to believe in AT ANY COST.

Even the NYSE contradicted that crap in the same article.

NO GLITCHES.

But that doesn't fit in the box, so therefore it doesn't exist.

Personally, I would be much more willing to believe the explanation upthread that this was an engineered event to make sure Germany plays along with the "Bailout Plan" tomorrow morning.

An act of Financial Terrorism of this nature I would not even be surprised by in the LEAST by these jackals.

Manipulation works BOTH ways for TPTB, sometimes, and that is the beauty of their "Art."

Most don't even have the slightest clue how controlled this whole Casino really is.

Kudos to CNBC for getting out the boilerplate explanation for The Sheep so they can all go back to sleep and voraciously await the new American Idol Results with breathless anticipation.

One thing to keep in mind for tomorrow.

If we get a faked Jobs report from The Ministry of The Recovery (Which I completely expect we will), and Germany plays "Hide The Crisis" so that this "Drama" in Europe can go on a little longer, expect a reversal in the other direction, and much pom-pom waving about how once again, our Holy Masters "Saved Us" with their benevolent machinations.

Or perhaps we'll get more Reality.

Stay Tuned Kids!

Same Bat Time, Same Fake Reality!

:rofl:

:rofl:

Do you have any IDEA how many times this excuse has been used?

"It was a Human Error Trade."

"It was a Glitch."

"Our Computers Malfunctioned."

"Europe Doesn't Exist."

Please, go sell this in General Discussion.

There are PLENTY of Lambs there, who will nod impressively.

By the way, Even CITIGROUP THEMSELVES seem to disagree with you.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXVHFjB7Fsdk

:rofl:

Because a great percentage, (60-80%) of the trading that happens in this ridiculous Casino is PROGRAM TRADING.

Are you sure you want Skynet deciding "erroneously" that The Market no longer Exists?

Even if there WAS a single "Fat-Fingered" trade, the rest was Computers running amok.

The whole thing is an artificial House Of Cards.

Everyone outside this thread can laugh all this off as much as they want, but whether it be Computers Run Amok, or Reality Rearing it's ugly head, it is now clear of one thing.

THIS ENTIRE SYSTEM IS FRAUDULENT.

And you'll see a prime example of that in my post at the end of the thread.

What a JOKE!

I've seen this before somewhere....

After all, it's all between friends.


So, GS wiped out an entire month, who are we to begrudge the Dow Jones people half an hour or so?

He laid down to take a nap (stoned) right before the plunge. And I woke him up about 30 minutes ago.

He can't believe it. And he can't understand why he hasn't gotten a margin call...yet.

He needs margaritas. I told him to come on over. I have a fresh pitcher in the fridge.

He'll be regretting that nap for a LONG time. ;)

"Have At You!!!!!!!11111"

:rofl:

:)


And on this trading error CNBC keeps going on about, how is that even believable? I understand usually only about 50 million e-mini future contracts are traded each day. But a person tried to buy fifteen billion of them in one transaction? And to take effect someone had to sell fifteen billion of them, right?

CNBC is selling that story with a straight face?

At this point, they probably think that the majority of us will believe the Sky is Purple and the Sun is Magenta, and the world is a flat Square Disc. (It's Wa-fer THIN!)


And sadly, they are probably right.

That being said, their explanation holds about as much weight as Zero Gravity Space.

Jeebus! I can understand uncertainty being the bane of the markets. But were there really 900 genuine points worth of uncertainty??? That's just freaky. Yet - 550 of those points lost on the Dow were recovered.

If I had placed my retirement future in the hands of a crazy person (otherwise known as the stock markets) then I would sell it all in a wink. Millions of 401(k) accounts were robbed today by a bunch of crazy people at computer terminals.

not to mention what happened to Procter and Gamble.

Whatever started the panic, the high frequency trade machines took over. An article I read said it "was just a bunch of computers making ugly, messy love with each other. And your money hung in the balance."

Sounds about right.

It was trading almost level at about $62.50 until 2:45, then dropped to $39.37 in a few minutes, then back up to $59 a few minutes after that. The trading volume for PG sharply peaked during these few minutes, also. Then there's a gap, where the volume appears to have gone to zero for 15 minutes. Then higher than normal volumes the rest of the trading day, finishing at $60.75.

What happened during those 15 minutes?

Let's see, Accenture (ACN) went from $42.30 to $0.04 back to $41 in what looks like 2 or 3 minutes. Centerpoint Energy (CNP) dropped from $14.39 to $0.01 and rose back above $10 in a few minutes. Exelon (EXC) went from the low 40s all the way to 0 and back up to the low 40s in a couple of minutes. For all three of these, there appears to be about a 15 minute gap in trading volume right after the spike down and back up. (The Yahoo finance graphs show volume underneath the price chart.)

Sure sounds like someone had a computer problem. All of that was way too quick and way too extreme for human fingers.

I smell a Congressional investigation coming. Smells like . . . sniff, sniff . . . EWWWW!

Did somebody suspend trading at 2:50 and not announce it?

to build our house (replacing the one that burned down in 2007)and not have a mortgage,
we've basically been out of the market. What happy timing that I converted to that
cash several months ago.

You just knew the market had to correct from being up, what, 60%?

Well, guess I'll just sit quietly over here and voice no opinions....

sorry everybody. I hate being right about stuff like this.

Makes me wonder what October will bring......

at the console :nuke:

"The Dow fell 998.50 points in its largest point drop ever, eclipsing the 780.87 it lost during the course of trading on Oct. 15, 2008..."

and just how such a precipitous drop was, er, precipitated.

Nasdaq, NYSE Arca to Cancel 60% Swing Trades in Selloff

The Nasdaq Stock Market will cancel trades of stocks that moved 60% above or below the last price at 2:40 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT Thursday.

A trading error is being blamed for a wild swing in the stock market on Thursday, during which the Dow at one point lost almost 1,000 points before closing down 348.

NYSE Arca also will cancel electronic trades in the same time frame, said Katrina Clay, an NYSE Euronext spokeswoman.

Nasdaq OMX Group issued the following statment after the market close Thursday: "NASDAQ reported that we had no technology or system issues associated with the trading that occurred between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. ET today. Our market close process ran successfully. We have coordinated a process among US Exchanges and therefore, pursuant to rule 11890(b), NASDAQ, on its own motion, will cancel all trades executed between 14:40:00 and 15:00:00 greater than or less than 60% away from the consolidated last print in that security at 14:40:00 or immediately prior.

"This decision cannot be appealed. NASDAQ has coordinated this decision with all other UTP Exchanges. NASDAQ will be canceling trades on the participant's behalf. The stocks affected and the break points will be disseminated shortly."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10749500/1/nasdaq-nyse-arca-to-cancel-60-swing-trades-in-selloff.html?kval=dontmiss

So, In Spite of the fact THERE IS NO EVIDENCE of a Glitch, Human Error, Or "ERRONEUS TRADE", they are simply going to pretend like none of it ever happened, take the money from those who made successful, legitimate trades, and return it to those who were on the wrong side

At least, that is the way I understand it.

Folks, I think we can pretty much assume, we DO NOT HAVE A FUNCTIONING ECONOMIC SYSTEM anymore.

Because if you can just make up the rules as you go, how in the Hell is there supposed to be ANY Legitimate trading Market Of ANY KIND?

"Now everytime there is a Market Crash we will just blame it on a glitch and Cancel all the trades as if they never happened, and everyone will get a "Do-Over"."

Now how long do you think things can legitimately function like this?

It is OFFICIAL.

OUR ENTIRE ECONOMIC SYSTEM IS BASED ON FRAUD.

I'm with Tansy.

Good Or Bad, Just LET THIS END.

JANE!!!!! JANE!!!!!! STOP THIS CRAZY THING!!!!! JANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Terrorist conspiracy theories? C'mon! Somebody should be handing out aluminum foil hats. Actually, if I were a terrorist, I would sure want to learn how to make this happen.

I will need to see your Papers, I am afraid.

Are you NOW, and have you EVER been Affiliated with Goldman Sachs?

:rofl:

We haven't lost all our senses if we still have our sense of humor.




Tansy Gold

you know that the market has just been teetering on the brink for a long time. This re-inflated bubble has to pop at some point. And it always happens so fast when it goes. But today even took my breath away.

As if they weren't already. (To the NSA analyst screening this thread: LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!) By some coincidence STARZ reran the old Will Smith/Gene Hackman movie "Enemy of the State" today. Jon Voight was the bad guy. I was amazed that a 1998 movie about covert surveillance didn't seem that outdated.

That was spouse's first thought. He had watched Richard Clarke on TV recently discussing his new book, Cyber War.

Cyber War is a powerful book about technology, government, and military strategy; about criminals, spies, soldiers, and hackers. This is the first book about the war of the future -- cyber war -- and a convincing argument that we may already be in peril of losing it.
http://www.richardaclarke.net/

Everything in Asia is tanking right now.

Nasdaq futures are waaaay down. Dow is way up.

When I posted my first observation that the Dow was off 320pts, I didn't think it was anything significant. We've seen plenty of that over the last 3 years, and it's not an unusual event. So, I posted a little snark in GD-P for all the cheerleaders and Kool-aid drinkers, titled "Who shit in the punchbowl? Dow down 321 points." Minutes later the shit hit the fan.

Something is up. The Dow finished lower than the -321 when I posted. I think that is the natural drop. I think the coming weeks will get a lot worse. Look for a rise tomorrow on a phoney-assed jobs report. I think after that, fasten your seat belts.

To quote Dickhead Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion. I could be wrong".

What's the bubble this time? I mean, we've had housing and dot.coms and so on, but they were all based in some kind of reality. Is the bubble we're looking at now much more akin to a black hole, a nothingness that just sucks itself and everything around it in?

I've never really been scared watching some of the past plunges, and it sure isn't because I'm in any way insulated against catastrophe.

But this bubble is so full of nothing that its implosion may trigger something really ugly.

Or is that just my exhaustion talking?



Tansy Gold, who is yawning but doesn't really want to go to bed because she might miss something. . . .

A black hole. Nothing underneath to support it. In fact, it's going to suck everything within it's sphere of influence in.

It's gonna get ugly. Almost everyone's chance to retire is invested in this monster. Jobs are STILL getting shipped overseas, or to Mexico. H1-B's are still taking jobs from people. Where does it stop? When does our Congress and Senate say finally, "Enough is a fucking nuff"! Hint: They don't. Porky Pig Landrieu is calling for more drilling, and low limits to oil company liability.

I've had it.