STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 5 August 2013

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday, 5 August 2013[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 2 August 2013

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 2 August 2013
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Dow Jones 15,658.36 +30.34 (0.19%)
S&P 500 1,709.67 +2.80 (0.16%)
Nasdaq 3,689.59 +13.85 (0.38%)


[font color=green]10 Year 2.49% -0.03 (-1.19%)
30 Year 3.58% -0.03 (-0.83%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.










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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[xchrom]

1. The Fed Is At Risk Of Losing Janet Yellen Altogether

http://www.businessinsider.com/janet-yellen-could-leave-if-larry-summers-becomes-fed-chair-2013-8

Ben Bernanke's term as Chairman of the Federal Reserve ends this year, and many expect him to retire.
Currently, Vice Chair Janet Yellen is the favorite to take the vacated seat. And the controversial former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is another frontrunner.

Yellen is highly respected, and she's also considered the most accurate forecaster at the Fed.

"See her musings …at those FOMC meetings when she took on her colleagues over the housing bubble (the one that Greenspan and Bernanke never saw) — plus she absolutely nailed the recession call in late 2007, a time when almost every economist on Wall Street was publishing about 'soft landings'," said David Rosenberg.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/janet-yellen-could-leave-if-larry-summers-becomes-fed-chair-2013-8#ixzz2b5w4htey

[xchrom]

2. The Eurozone Is Growing Again

http://www.businessinsider.com/eurozone-pmi-climbs-to-2-year-high-2013-8

New purchasing managers index (PMI) numbers out of the Eurozone confirm a recent string of data that show that the debt-laden economy is in a recovery.
The final Eurozone composite output index published by Markit climbed to 50.5 in July, up from 48.7.

Any reading above 50.0 signals expansion, and this is the first time the number has been above 50.0 since January 2012.

"The final Output Index reading of 50.5 confirms a welcome return to growth for the Eurozone economy at the start of the third quarter, raising hopes that the region can finally claw its way out of its longest-running recession," said Markit's Rob Dobson. "Granted, the euro area has experienced false dawns before, but the improvements in confidence and other forward-looking indicators warrant at least some optimism for the outlook this time around. Germany posted a return to expansion in July, while the downturns in the other big-four economies all eased.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/eurozone-pmi-climbs-to-2-year-high-2013-8#ixzz2b5xXfm1L

[xchrom]

3. Industrial Production Remains Well Below Pre-Recession Peak

http://www.businessinsider.com/industrial-production-output-gap-2013-8

For awhile now, we've (unfortunately) followed up every non-farm payroll report with the "scariest jobs chart ever."

Furnished by Calculated Risk's Bill McBride, it shows how far below current employment levels remain from their pre-recession peak.



As it happens, McBride also publishes a similar chart tracking how far industrial production has recovered.

Unfortunately, like employment, we remain a decent way off from pre-recession levels. McBride:

Industrial production was off 16.9% at the trough in June 2009, and was initially one of the stronger performing sectors during the recovery. However industrial production is still 1.7% below the pre-recession peak. This indicator might return to the pre-recession peak in in 2014.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/industrial-production-output-gap-2013-8#ixzz2b5yQf2aN

[xchrom]

4. Morningstar Is Disputing A Key Number In Detroit's Bankruptcy Filing

http://www.businessinsider.com/morningstar-on-detroit-bankruptcy-2013-8

Research firm Morningstar has highlighted a potential discrepancy in Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr's bankruptcy filing.
The firm's report was first spotted by Bond Buyer and reported by the Detroit Free Press' John Gallagher

Orr has pegged the size of the shortfall in the General Retirement System and Police and Fire Retirement System at $3.5 billion.

He arrived at that figure in part by estimating the funds' expected annual return on assets at 7%.

The city's actuary, meanwhile, says the size of the gap is actually $977 million, based in part on an expected annual return of 8%.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/morningstar-on-detroit-bankruptcy-2013-8#ixzz2b5zYb1xI

[xchrom]

5. Low-Paying Jobs Are On The Rise

http://www.businessinsider.com/high-wage-versus-low-wage-jobs-2013-8

The July jobs report was broadly disappointing, which offset some of the enthusiasm that came in the wake of the bullish June jobs report.
One trend that has emerged has been the rise of part-time (i.e. those working less than 35 hours per week), low-paying (i.e. those getting paid below the median wage) jobs.

"Through March, employment growth was about as fast in high-wage industries as in low-wage industries," noted UBS's Maury Harris. "But over the three months through July, low-wage industry employment has gone up at a 2.7% annual rate and high-wage industry employment only at a 1.3% annual rate—a relatively large 1.4 pct pt differential."

Some economists attribute some of this shift to Obamacare, which will eventually force companies to offer health care to full-time workers or face a penalty.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/high-wage-versus-low-wage-jobs-2013-8#ixzz2b609xQhm

[xchrom]

6. Michael Lewis Talks Goldman Sachs, Totalitarianism, High Frequency Trading In A Q&A With Vanity Fair

http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-lewis-vanity-fair-qa-2013-8



In this month's issue of Vanity Fair, Michael Lewis wrote a compelling piece on Serge Aleynikov, the former Goldman Sachs computer programmer convicted of stealing the bank's secret algorithms. Now there's a Q&A with Lewis about the article on VF's site.

If you haven't read the story, Lewis comes down decidedly on the side of Aleynikov, making the case that Goldman used all its institutional power to target a man who had done nothing wrong.

In his Q&A, the author remains as fiercely critical of the bank. To a question about the Goldman's "Stalinist" influence on the government, he replied:

...I think if you took lock, stock, and barrel, Goldman Sachs and moved it from New York to Moscow and forbade any employee from leaving so that they had to keep doing what they were doing but in a different context, I think they would flourish.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-lewis-vanity-fair-qa-2013-8#ixzz2b61Efs00

[xchrom]

7. LME, GOLDMAN SUED OVER ALUMINUM STORAGE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_HONG_KONG_LME_GOLDMAN_LAWSUIT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-05-08-35-15

HONG KONG (AP) -- The London Metal Exchange and Goldman Sachs are being sued in a U.S. court over alleged anti-competitive and monopolistic behavior in aluminum storage.

The metal exchange will fight the class-action lawsuit, which its management believes is without merit, the LME's owner, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., said in a statement late Sunday.

Wall Street banks are facing increased scrutiny of their involvement in businesses that store and transport commodities such as oil and aluminum.

The LME and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are named as co-defendants in the suit alleging "anti-competitive and monopolistic behavior in the warehousing market in connection with aluminum prices."

[xchrom]

8. WILL FAST-FOOD PROTESTS SPUR HIGHER MINIMUM WAGE?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FAST_FOOD_PROTESTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-05-08-43-00

Terrance Wise has two jobs in Kansas City (AP) -- one at a burger joint, a second at a pizza restaurant - but he says his paychecks aren't enough to buy shoes for his three daughters and insure his 15-year-old car. So he decided to draw attention to his plight: He walked off work in protest.

Wise was among a few thousand fast-food workers in seven cities, including New York, Chicago and Detroit, who took to the streets last week, carrying "Strike" and "Supersize Our Wages" signs in front of McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King and other restaurants. They demanded better pay, the right to unionize and a more than doubling of the federal minimum hourly wage from $7.25 to $15.

"We work hard for companies that are making millions," the 34-year-old Wise says, adding that he lost his home last year, unable to make mortgage payments despite working about 50-hour weeks at Pizza Hut and Burger King. "We're not asking for the world. We want to make enough to make a decent living. We deserve better. If they respect us and pay us and treat us right, it'll lift up the whole economy."

These one-day protests, which also took place in St. Louis, Milwaukee and Flint, Mich., come amid calls from the White House, some members of Congress and economists to raise the federal minimum wage, which was last increased in 2009. Most of the proposals, though, seek a more modest rise than those urged by fast-food workers. President Barack Obama wants to boost the hourly wage to $9. And in July, more than 100 economists signed a petition supporting a bill sponsored by a Florida congressman that would hike it to $10.50 an hour.

[xchrom]

9. CALIF. GOV. ORDERS INQUIRY, AVERTS SF RAIL STRIKE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BART_STRIKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-05-05-38-34

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hundreds of thousands of San Francisco Bay area commuters got at least a temporary reprieve from a massive transit strike when Gov. Jerry Brown ordered an inquiry into a labor contract dispute.

Sunday night's eleventh hour order averted the walkout and left the morning commute to proceed normally, without the widespread travel congestion that a strike involving Bay Area Rapid Transit, the nation's fifth largest rail line, would have created.

In the order, Brown named a board of investigators for a seven-day inquiry into the contract dispute that had labor unions poised to walk off the job at midnight Sunday.

The order Brown issued came under a law that allows the state's intervention if a strike will significantly disrupt public transportation services and endanger public health.

[Demeter]

10. On a Working "Vacation"

which I hope to survive...Demeter

[Tansy_Gold]

13. We'll save your place for you!

Of course, our little wrecking crew may make a few changes in your absence.

Have a safe visit and a safe journey home!

[xchrom]

11. Britain leads Europe's improving economy in July

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/uk-global-economy-idUKBRE9740E920130805

(Reuters) - Rocketing British business led the way in Europe's slowly improving economy in July, according to surveys that suggested the euro zone's lengthy recession may be nearing an end.

Monday's purchasing managers' indexes (PMIs), surveying thousands of companies worldwide, showed the UK services sector expanded at its fastest pace in more than six years last month, topping even the most optimistic forecasts.

In the euro zone, businesses achieved a first, albeit faint rise in activity for 18 months, inspired by a pick-up in manufacturing.

Although it will take another couple of months to work out if the region has really turned the corner, data company Markit, which compiles the PMIs, said there was cause for optimism.

[xchrom]

12. One million British workers on zero-hours contracts

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/05/uk-zero-hours-contracts-idUKLNE97400B20130805

(Reuters) - Around one million Britons are in jobs offering no guaranteed minimum work or pay, far more than the 250,000 estimated by the country's statistics agency, an industry survey showed on Monday.

Zero-hours contracts have come in for growing criticism from trade unions and the Labour Party because people who sign up to them are offered very little security while often being expected to work at short notice.

Britain's Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, the main professional body for human resources, said that based on a survey of more than 1,000 employers, it estimated that 3-4 percent of British workers were on zero-hours contracts, equivalent to roughly one million people.

Almost unheard of in the rest of Europe and the United States, the rapid growth of this type of work helps explain how Britain's barely growing economy has been able to provide jobs for a record number of people.