STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 15 October 2013

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 15 October 2013[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 14 October 2013

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 14 October 2013
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Dow Jones 15,301.26 +64.15 (0.42%)
S&P 500 1,710.14 +6.94 (0.41%)
Nasdaq 3,815.27 +23.40 (0.62%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.69% +0.03 (1.13%)
30 Year 3.74% +0.04 (1.08%) [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.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.








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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]

[jtuck004]

1. stooge

sto͞oj/
noun
noun: stooge; plural noun: stooges

1. derogatory
a person who serves merely to support or assist others, particularly in doing unpleasant work.

__________________________________

~310 million people doing the work of a couple million others, giving up opportunities for jobs, education, a fulfilling life, sometimes everything, just to prop those few up.

Congress isn't the only place full of stooges...

[Tansy_Gold]

2. +1,000

[Demeter]

3. So What's The Real Deadline For Obamacare Sign-Up?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/10/14/231462087/so-whats-the-real-deadline-for-obamacare-sign-up?ft=1&f=1001



The health exchanges are now open, though some have a lot of glitches. You still have lots of questions about how the Affordable Care Act affects you and your family. And we have answers. In our ongoing series, we're addressing questions you've asked about the sign-up process. With people having so much trouble logging onto the websites to get coverage, some are wondering how soon they have to sign up for coverage to avoid the potential penalties. Don't worry, there's still plenty of time. There are really just two important dates to keep in mind. The first is December 15th. That's the date by which you need to be signed up if you want your coverage to begin January 1, 2014 — the earliest any of these plans will take effect. The other date is February 15, 2014. That's the last day you can get coverage and avoid being liable for a penalty for not having insurance. The maximum penalty if you don't have coverage for the entire year is $95 or one percent of your taxable income, whichever is bigger. It will go up in future years. The open enrollment period actually will run until the end of March 2014, but if you wait until the very end you might still have to pay a month's worth of the penalty for not having coverage. That penalty would be assessed when you pay your 2014 taxes in April 2015. So people have time to sign up. But the next question is how much insurance will cost and whether subsidies will help pay for it.

Once you get on the website for your state, whether through https://www.healthcare.gov or one of the states running their own sites, that's one of the first things you'll be able to find out. You can plug in your estimated annual income for next year and it will give you an idea of how much of a subsidy you may be eligible for. People with incomes between the poverty level http://www.familiesusa.org/resources/tools-for-advocates/guides/federal-poverty-guidelines.html and four times that amount will be eligible for help paying their premiums...There are also various online calculators you can use, including a subsidy calculator on the NPR website. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/30/226456791/how-much-will-obamacare-cost-me-try-our-calculator

Those calculators should also tell you if you might be eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid coverage for those with very low incomes, and is usually free, or nearly free.

Another topic of concern is whether people can sign up for insurance after the current open enrollment period ends. Many listeners have told us that they have coverage from a former employer through COBRA that ends after next March. What happens in that situation?

This is one way that the Affordable Care Act is a lot like the insurance plans most people have at work. Every year there's an open season, and for the most part you can only buy or change plans during that open season. So if next May you haven't bought insurance and you get sick or you just decide you should have gotten insurance and you didn't — then too bad. You'll have to wait until the next open season to sign up. But there is an exception — and that's if you have one of several life-changing events. Moving to another state, getting married or divorced, losing your job-based insurance or having your COBRA coverage end are all things that would allow you to buy insurance on the exchange outside the regular open season. Those events would be handled just as they are in an employment-based health plan.

Finally, there appears to be some confusion as to whether people with health coverage through Medicare need to do anything at all.

The short answer is no, but it's a little confusing. The health insurance exchanges are for people under the age of 65. They're not for seniors who have Medicare, and the exchanges don't sell Medicare prescription drug coverage or supplemental coverage. Here's where the confusion comes in: Oct. 15 is the start of Medicare's open season. The Medicare open season runs until December 7. During this time, Medicare patients can join or change drug or other health plans. But that's not Obamacare. So if you're a Medicare patient go to Medicare's website: http://www.medicare.gov/ If it warns that it's not completely up to date due to the government shutdown, check back later.

[Demeter]

4. Chicken Plant Spreading Salmonella, Agriculture Department Powerless to Stop Them

http://www.alternet.org/agriculture-department-powerless-shut-down-chicken-plant-spreading-salmonella?akid=11039.227380.KAhhaP&rd=1&src=newsletter909754&t=4

A 2001 court decision crippled the federal government's ability to shut down food plants that are sickening people...Salmonella has made hundreds of people sick across the country in recent weeks. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is doing little to stop its spread, as Think Progress’ Aviva Shen reports.

The recent salmonella outbreak has sickened at least 300 people, with 42 percent of the victims being hospitalized--an alarming rate. But the Agriculture Department has not shut down the place where the salmonella came from: the California-based Foster Farms. Instead, the department, which did threaten to close the plant down, is keeping it open because the company promised to make “ immediate substantive changes to their slaughter and processing to allow for continued operations.” The USDA is not closing the plant down because a 2001 court decision crippled their ability to do so, as Shen notes. A conservative federal court had ruled that the USDA could not shutdown Supreme Beef--which had failed salmonella tests--because the meat would be safe if it was cooked the right way. The court decision means the USDA can only ask companies to voluntarily recall products.

So the USDA has been forced to embark on public campaigns to educate consumers on how to avoid salmonella, instead of taking action to shut down bad food plants. This is what’s happening with Foster Farms. Their products will continue to be made, and the company has released a statement stating that “the alert that regulators issued based on illnesses over the past seven months emphasizes the need to fully cook and properly handle raw poultry.”

The salmonella outbreak is occurring in the midst of a government shutdown that has furloughed federal workers, including those who work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When the salmonella outbreak made headlines, the CDC ordered some furloughed employees back to work to investigate it. But “ fewer than half of the 80 employees in the division that monitors food-borne illnesses will be coming back, and there are an estimated 30 outbreaks to be investigated,” the Los Angeles Times reported.


Alex Kane is AlterNet's New York-based World editor, and an assistant editor for Mondoweiss. Follow him on Twitter @alexbkane.

I FIGURED IT WAS CALIFORNIA....I GOT SALMONELLA THERE FROM EGGS IN 1990...

[DemReadingDU]

9. and we're not supposed to wash raw chicken

washing spreads salmonella

[Demeter]

11. I was taught to scrub poultry with lots of salt, inside and out

Is that not a good thing to do, anymore?

Since I've never contaminated the family (aside from those eggs in California...4 weeks at both ends...and the bacteria was most likely inside the shells), I will continue as I was taught by cooks from the Old Country..

No wonder the Californians think veganism is the way to go...they are being poisoned by their food suppliers.

[xchrom]

13. that's how to do a chicken at home that i know of.

it's the next best thing to a kosher chicken.

[bread_and_roses]

18. I have never washed raw chicken

As it always seemed to me logical that thorough cooking would kill any salmonella or other bacteria. I do salt it well - under the skin and on all sides if it is cut up. This is particularly important if one is forced to buy regular supermarket chicken - it tastes vile, probably due to the antibiotics, hormones, whatever the hell else the give those poor battery chickens.

I can't afford organic chicken, but my supermarket does have a more expensive than regular but not prohibitive brand that says the chickens are not given this-and-that and are vegetarian-fed. They don't have the vile, stinking undertaste that regular chicken - especially the dark meat - has, nor the huge gobs of fat under the skin. I know chicken didn't taste like this when I was growing up - and my mother bought the cheapest chicken she could find, and often only legs, or backs and necks for soup (they don't even sell bags of backs and necks anymore where I live).

[Warpy]

30. You can wash the exterior

and if it's a whole bird, the interior. Just be careful where you put that dripping wet chicken and wash anything raw chicken comes into contact with.

With any meat, proper cooking is the best guarantee of not getting sick from it. That means checking it with a meat thermometer.

[Demeter]

5. Red States Discover The Pain of Paying Their Own Way

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/12/1246695/-Red-States-Discover-The-Pain-of-Paying-Their-Own-Way?detail=email

Yes, yes the Federal government is a horrible intrusion into all our lives and if only it could keep its nose out of the states' business! Right? Everyone knows that national monuments are just there - right? The Federal government doesn't actually 'do' anything to operate them, right? Well many of these states that depend on tourism dollars from national monuments discovered in no time flat how much they count on the Federal government to subsidize them. And were forced to admit it.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Obama administration’s willingness to reopen national parks shuttered by the government shutdown came with a big caveat: States must foot the bill with money they likely won’t see again.

So far, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Arizona and New York have jumped at the deal. Governors in other states were trying to gauge Friday what would be the bigger economic hit — paying to keep the parks operating or losing the tourist money that flows when the scenic attractions are open.

South Dakota and several corporate donors worked out a deal with the National Park Service to reopen Mount Rushmore beginning Monday. Gov. Dennis Daugaard said it will cost $15,200 a day to pay the federal government to run the landmark in the Black Hills.

Well isn't that exactly what conservatives want - private donations to keep unessential things like 'monuments' functioning? Just like we're supposed to rely on charity for our healthcare?

Arizona officials said a deal reached Friday will mean visitors should be able to return to Grand Canyon National Park on Saturday.

In Utah, federal workers rushed to reopen five national parks for 10 days after the state sent $1.67 million to the U.S. government with the hope of saving its lucrative tourist season.

Just over 400 national parks, recreation areas and monuments — including such icons as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite — have been closed since Oct. 1 because of the partial government shutdown.

Officials in some states were not happy about paying to have the parks reopened.

Well of course not! It's the Federal Government's job to pick up the tab for running these places, we are just supposed to reap the benefits of the money that pours in from the tourism!
Of course Arizona's Jan Brewer is at the head of the line to feed at the trough:

In Arizona, Republican Gov. Jan Brewer balked at spending about $112,000 a day for a full reopening of the Grand Canyon. She said a partial reopening would be much cheaper while allowing tourists to visit and businesses to benefit.

“The daily cost difference is enormous, especially without assurances that Arizona will be reimbursed,” said Andrew Wilder, a spokesman for Brewer.

In the end, Arizona agreed to pay the Park Service $651,000 to keep the Grand Canyon open for seven days. The $93,000 a day is less than the $112,000 the federal government had said was needed to fund park operations each day.

Missouri's governor is working on a proposal to reopen its national monuments including the Gateway Arch. Nevada and Washington will not. Wyoming has said it can't afford to 'bail out' the federal government.

“Wyoming cannot bail out the federal government and we cannot use state money to do the work of the federal government,” Mead spokesman Renny MacKay said.

Good one. Nice to know that the parasitic federal government is actually expected to do something. While blue states are also ponying up to keep their monuments and attractions open, it is well known that red states take more money from the federal government than they put in while the reverse is true of blue states. So it's a bit of an irony that they scream the loudest about intrusion from the nanny state and another bit of schadenfreude when they learn just how much they count on it.

[Demeter]

6. Cockroach farms multiplying in China

HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM HERE....


http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-c1-china-cockroach-20131015-m,0,172412.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fworld+%28L.A.+Times+-+World+News%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo


Farmers are pinning their future on the often-dreaded insect, which when dried goes for as much as $20 a pound — for use in Asian medicine and in cosmetics...The 43-year-old businessman Wang Fuming is the largest cockroach producer in China (and thus probably in the world), with six farms populated by an estimated 10 million cockroaches. He sells them to producers of Asian medicine and to cosmetic companies that value the insects as a cheap source of protein as well as for the cellulose-like substance on their wings.

The favored breed for this purpose is the Periplaneta americana, or American cockroach, a reddish-brown insect that grows to about 1.6 inches long and, when mature, can fly, as opposed to the smaller, darker, wingless German cockroach.

Since Wang got into the business in 2010, the price of dried cockroaches has increased tenfold, from about $2 a pound to as much as $20, as manufacturers of traditional medicine stockpile pulverized cockroach powder.

"I thought about raising pigs, but with traditional farming, the profit margins are very low," Wang said. "With cockroaches, you can invest 20 yuan and get back 150 yuan," or $3.25 for a return of $11.

...China has about 100 cockroach farms, and new ones are opening almost as fast as the prolific critters breed. But even among Chinese, the industry was little known until August, when a million cockroaches got out of a farm in neighboring Jiangsu province. The Great Escape made headlines around China and beyond, evoking biblical images of swarming locusts...The start-up costs are minimal — Wang bought only eggs, a run-down abandoned chicken coop and the roofing tile. Notoriously hearty, roaches aren't susceptible to the same diseases as farm animals. As for feeding them, cockroaches are omnivores, though they favor rotten vegetables. Wang feeds his brood with potato and pumpkin peelings discarded from nearby restaurants. Killing them is easy too: Just scoop or vacuum them out of their nests and dunk them in a big vat of boiling water. Then they're dried in the sun like chile peppers. Perhaps understandably, the cockroach business ("special farming," as it is euphemistically called) is a fairly secretive industry. Wang's farm, for instance, operates in an agribusiness industrial park under an elevated highway. The sign at the front gate simply reads Jinan Hualu Feed Co. Some companies that use cockroaches don't like to advertise their "secret ingredient." And the farmers themselves are wary of neighbors who might not like a cockroach farm in their backyard...

YA THINK?

[AnneD]

20. Houston, We have a profit......

roaches could be another resource. God knows we have plenty of them here in Houston (I think their population rivals the human one).

I can just see me running a cockroach ranch (How many head have you got). Branding time might be problematic though.

[Demeter]

7. Senate deal on debt and shutdown would put the heat on Boehner

http://news.yahoo.com/senate-deal-debt-shutdown-put-heat-boehner-194605080--business.html

If the Democrat-led U.S. Senate manages to strike a deal to reopen the American government and avert a catastrophic default on its debt by Thursday's deadline, the agreement - and the U.S. economy - is likely to hinge on one man: John Boehner...He could allow the House to pass a Senate deal that likely would get more support from Democrats than Republicans - a move that almost certainly would lead some conservatives to push for Boehner's removal as speaker - or he could side with rebellious Tea Party Republicans by preventing a vote and allowing America to default.

"John Boehner is caught between a rock and a hard place," said Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist.

It's a familiar place for Boehner, who often has struggled to manage several dozen conservative Tea Party Republicans who have shown little interest in compromising with the Senate or Democratic President Barack Obama. Boehner's current plight is largely a result of his desire to placate the vocal Tea Party caucus and adhere to the "Hastert Rule," a tactic named after Republican Dennis Hastert, who was House speaker from 1999 to 2007. It is not a formal rule in the House, but stems from Hastert's general policy of not allowing a bill to be voted on by the full House unless most members of the House's majority supported it. Hastert wanted to avoid a repeat of complaints about his predecessor, Republican Newt Gingrich, whose management style was seen by some Republicans as too dictatorial.

Hastert, now an adviser to a Washington law firm, told The Washington Post this month that the term "Hastert Rule" is a "misnomer," but said the important thing in pushing legislation as a Republican speaker is "to move your party's philosophy," rather than advance Democrats' agenda. Hastert's successor as speaker, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, made a point of rejecting the Hastert Rule and allowed some bills to pass with more support from Republicans than Democrats, including one that funded the Iraq war.

Boehner, however, has seemed to embrace the Hastert Rule. His following of it is a big reason why he has refused to allow Senate bills that would reopen the U.S. government and raise the government's $16.7 trillion borrowing limit to be considered by the House. If he had allowed votes on such measures they likely would have passed with most support coming from Democrats, members in both parties say, and the current crisis could have been averted. But that would have required Boehner to essentially nullify conservative House Republicans' strategy of holding up funding for government operations and delaying an increase in the government's legal debt ceiling to try to force Obama and the Democrats to dismantle or delay the president's signature healthcare overhaul.

MORE MACHINATIONS AT LINK

[Demeter]

8. Inequality Is a Choice By JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ (NOT MADE BY THE AVERAGE)

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/inequality-is-a-choice/



It’s well known by now that income and wealth inequality in most rich countries, especially the United States, have soared in recent decades and, tragically, worsened even more since the Great Recession. But what about the rest of the world? Is the gap between countries narrowing, as rising economic powers like China and India have lifted hundreds of millions of people from poverty? And within poor and middle-income countries, is inequality getting worse or better? Are we moving toward a more fair world, or a more unjust one? These are complex questions, and new research by a World Bank economist named Branko Milanovic, along with other scholars, points the way to some answers.

Starting in the 18th century, the industrial revolution produced giant wealth for Europe and North America. Of course, inequality within these countries was appalling — think of the textile mills of Liverpool and Manchester, England, in the 1820s, and the tenements of the Lower East Side of Manhattan and the South Side of Chicago in the 1890s — but the gap between the rich and the rest, as a global phenomenon, widened even more, right up through about World War II. To this day, inequality between countries is far greater than inequality within countries.

But starting around the fall of Communism in the late 1980s, economic globalization accelerated and the gap between nations began to shrink. The period from 1988 to 2008 “might have witnessed the first decline in global inequality between world citizens since the Industrial Revolution,” Mr. Milanovic, who was born in the former Yugoslavia and is the author of “The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality,” wrote in a paper published last November. While the gap between some regions has markedly narrowed — namely, between Asia and the advanced economies of the West — huge gaps remain. Average global incomes, by country, have moved closer together over the last several decades, particularly on the strength of the growth of China and India. But overall equality across humanity, considered as individuals, has improved very little. (The Gini coefficient, a measurement of inequality, improved by just 1.4 points from 2002 to 2008.)

So while nations in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, as a whole, might be catching up with the West, the poor everywhere are left behind, even in places like China where they’ve benefited somewhat from rising living standards.

From 1988 to 2008, Mr. Milanovic found, people in the world’s top 1 percent saw their incomes increase by 60 percent, while those in the bottom 5 percent had no change in their income. And while median incomes have greatly improved in recent decades, there are still enormous imbalances: 8 percent of humanity takes home 50 percent of global income; the top 1 percent alone takes home 15 percent. Income gains have been greatest among the global elite — financial and corporate executives in rich countries — and the great “emerging middle classes” of China, India, Indonesia and Brazil. Who lost out? Africans, some Latin Americans, and people in post-Communist Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, Mr. Milanovic found.

The United States provides a particularly grim example for the world. And because, in so many ways, America often “leads the world,” if others follow America’s example, it does not portend well for the future...For these reasons, I see us entering a world divided not just between the haves and have-nots, but also between those countries that do nothing about it, and those that do. Some countries will be successful in creating shared prosperity — the only kind of prosperity that I believe is truly sustainable. Others will let inequality run amok. In these divided societies, the rich will hunker in gated communities, almost completely separated from the poor, whose lives will be almost unfathomable to them, and vice versa. I’ve visited societies that seem to have chosen this path. They are not places in which most of us would want to live, whether in their cloistered enclaves or their desperate shantytowns.

[Demeter]

10. so many tales of idiocy, so little time...

Sorry, I must be going. Tonight is board meeting, so I may not make it back before Weds. Have a good one, enjoy the last few hours of relative financial stability.....

Nail-biter scenarios are only good in films. The political hacks ought to get a clue.

[DemReadingDU]

12. brother update

Last edited Tue Oct 15, 2013, 05:24 PM - Edit history (1)

Many thanks for everyone's prayers and well wishes for my brother. The surgery to fix the ribs was successful. He had left ribs 4 - 10 repaired, from the back. There are multiple screws in those 7 ribs. The surgeons are hoping he is stabilized now, and will not need surgery to fix the ribs on the right side. He has been on powerful meds to control the pain, and likely will be sore for quite a long time, but he was awake last night, joking with the nurses. Good spirits!

[xchrom]

14. that sounds like good news!

pass on our best wishes for his continued recovery.

[bread_and_roses]

19. Glad to hear it! (n/t)

[Fuddnik]

24. Good for him.

Are they going to have to remove the screws eventually?

When my wife slipped on the ice up in Cleveland, and broke her leg, They had to put a plate in. It healed fine, but about a year later we could see little Phillips Heads, starting to poke up under the skin. They removed them, and she healed fine. The removal was no big deal.

[xchrom]

15. Central Banks Gaming Out U.S. Default as Deadline Nears

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-14/central-banks-begin-gaming-out-u-s-default-as-deadline-nears.html

Central banks have begun making contingency plans on how they would keep financial markets working if the U.S. defaults on the world’s benchmark debt.

Policy makers discussed possible responses when they met at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Washington over the weekend, said officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential. The discussions continued as policy makers headed home.

“Because in the past it’s always been sorted out is absolutely not a reason to fail to do the contingency planning,” Jon Cunliffe, who joins the Bank of England as deputy governor for financial stability next month, told U.K. lawmakers yesterday. “I would expect the Bank of England to be planning for it. I’d expect private-sector actors to be doing that, and in other countries as well.”

The initial response from the world’s central banks would likely echo their actions after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008. Back then, policy makers pledged they would provide ample liquidity, eased the collateral they lent against and boosted dollar swap lines with each other to ensure supply of the currency.

[xchrom]

16. German Investor Sentiment Rises as Economy Weathers Woes

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-15/german-investor-sentiment-rises-as-economy-weathers-woes.html

German investor confidence increased for a third month in October, signaling that the recovery in Europe’s largest economy is withstanding financial-market turbulence stoked by a U.S. fiscal standoff.

The ZEW Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim said its index of investor and analyst expectations, which aims to predict economic developments six months in advance, rose to 52.8 from 49.6 in September. That’s the highest since April 2010. Economists predicted no change, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

German business confidence as measured by the Ifo institute climbed to the highest level in 1 1/2 years in September as unemployment remained near a two-decade low and data signaled the euro-area recovery is continuing. At the same time, the U.S. government shutdown and the danger of a default of the world’s largest economy are rattling financial markets and risk derailing growth in Europe.

“Today’s ZEW index gives the impression that analysts believe in the invulnerability of the German economy,” Carsten Brzeski, senior economist at ING Groep NV in Brussels.“The new dark clouds coming from the other side of the Atlantic have not yet blacked out analysts’ optimism.”

[xchrom]

17. Norway Heats Up as Wealth Fund Nears $1 Trillion: Nordic Credit

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-15/norway-heats-up-as-wealth-fund-nears-1-trillion-nordic-credit.html

Norway’s incoming Prime Minister Erna Solberg will have no shortage of cash for her campaign promises. The question is: how much does she dare use?

The Labor government, which resigned yesterday, presented what it called a “cautious” budget, saying it would use 135 billion kroner ($22 billion) of Norway’s oil wealth to plug deficits next year, equal to 5.5 percent of mainland gross domestic product. That leaves Solberg’s administration with 54 billion kroner to spend before it breaches the nation’s fiscal policy rule.

“It actually leaves some room for extra spending, especially given the recent weakness in the Norwegian economy,” saidBernt Christian Brun, a chief strategist at Danske Bank A/S in Oslo. “You could even argue that a counter cyclical budget would be somewhat more expansionary.”

Solberg and her coalition partner, the Progress Party, have until early November to adjust the spending plan put forward by the outgoing administration. While she has promised to stick to the fiscal rule, which caps expenditure of Norway’s oil income at 4 percent of its wealth fund, the two parties have signaled they want to spend more on infrastructure, education and health care. Those measures will come on top of planned tax cuts.

[xchrom]

21. Republicans Are Delusional About US Spending and Deficits

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/10/15

It is understandable that the public is disgusted with Washington; they have every right to be. At a time when the country continues to suffer from the worst patch of unemployment since the Great Depression, the government is shut down over concerns about the budget deficit.

There is no doubt that the Republicans deserve the blame for the shutdown and the risk of debt default. They decided that it was worth shutting down the government and risking default in order stop Obamacare. That is what they said as loudly and as clearly as possible in the days and weeks leading up to the shutdown. In fact, this is what Senator Ted Cruz said for 21 straight hours on the floor of the US Senate.

Going to the wall for something that is incredibly important is a reasonable tactic. However, the public apparently did not agree with the Republicans. Polls show that they overwhelmingly oppose their tactic of shutting down the government and risking default over Obamacare. As a result, the Republicans are now claiming that the dispute is actually over spending.

Anywhere outside of Washington DC and totalitarian states, you don't get to rewrite history. However, given the national media's concept of impartiality, they now feel an obligation to accept that the Republicans' claim that this is a dispute over spending levels.

[xchrom]

22. Citigroup profits fall as trading slows

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24535478

Citigroup, the third-largest US bank, has reported profits of £3.2bn (£2bn) for the third quarter of 2013.

This is a fall from the previous quarter, but up on the same period last year.

Chief executive Michael Corbat said the bank had performed "relatively well" in a "challenging" environment.

Uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve will unwind its economic stimulus has slowed some trading.

[xchrom]

23. NY FACTORY ACTIVITY GROWS MORE SLOWLY IN OCTOBER

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NEW_YORK_MANUFACTURING_SURVEY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-15-09-25-40

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Factory activity in the New York region expanded more slowly in October, a sign that the partial government shutdown may be weighing on the economy.

The Empire State manufacturing index fell to 1.5 in October from 6.3 in September, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Tuesday. Any reading above zero indicates expansion. Despite the decline, manufacturing in the region has grown for five straight months.

A measure of new orders rose, pointing to healthier future growth. And factories continued to add jobs, albeit at a slower pace.

The New York Fed's regional manufacturing report will receive more attention than usual because it's one of the few available measures of the economy during the shutdown, which is now in its third week. Government data, including the monthly employment report and retail sales figures, have been delayed.

[xchrom]

25. STOCK MARKET OPENS LOWER AS DEBT TALKS CONTINUE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WALL_STREET_OPEN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-15-09-53-47

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are heading lower as lawmakers continue to work on a deal to avoid a U.S. default and reopen the government.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 60 points, or 0.4 percent, at 15,241 after the first few minutes of trading Tuesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down six points, or 0.4 percent, at 1,704. The Nasdaq composite fell four points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,812.

The U.S. is expected to reach its borrowing limit on Thursday, jeopardizing its ability to pay its bills. Meanwhile a partial shutdown of the government is in its 15th day.

[DemReadingDU]

31. Still thinking the delay is intentional

Something else is going on behind the scenes. Perhaps the global banks need this additional time to coordinate their financials.

It's as if the Republicans and Democrats are fulfilling their roles, a diversion, while the real reason for this delay hasn't been discussed.

[xchrom]

26. IRISH UNVEIL AUSTERITY BUDGET, SEEK BAILOUT EXIT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_IRELAND_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-15-09-42-24

DUBLIN (AP) -- Ireland is unveiling its seventh straight austerity budget, a plan to slash 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion) from next year's deficit and pave the way for the nation to escape from its international bailout.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan told lawmakers Tuesday that the government is hopeful of resuming normal borrowing on bond markets by December. The move would come three years after Ireland was forced by the crippling cost of bank rescues to seek emergency loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Ireland has been raising taxes and slashing expenditure since 2008, when a Celtic Tiger boom fueled by cheap eurozone credit ended, bringing six domestic banks to the brink of failure. Ireland was forced in 2010 to abandon the bond markets when its own borrowing costs soared.

[xchrom]

27. BARCLAYS COMPLIANCE CHIEF ON LEAVE AMID EXHAUSTION

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_BARCLAYS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-10-15-09-10-18

LONDON (AP) -- British bank Barclays says Hector Sants, the man who was brought in to help it overcome a costly scandal, is stepping down temporarily due to stress and exhaustion.

The bank said in a statement Tuesday that "rather than carry on working, and risk more serious consequences to his health, he is following medical advice and will be taking a leave of absence until the end of the year."

Sants started work at the bank 10 months ago, after five years heading Britain's Financial Services authority through the global banking crisis.

His appointment was part of reforms by Barclays' new chief executive, Antony Jenkins.

[Fuddnik]

28. What the hell happened to the price of gas?

I went to the gym about 1:00pm and the price was $3.08, where it's been for the last week or so. On my way home at about 4:00pm, it had jumped to $3.25.

Any clues?

[Demeter]

29. Same thing here, Fuddnik

I think they are anticipating panic and chaos.

I have a gas can in the garage...maybe ought to go fill it?