STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 29 August 2014

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday 29 August 2014[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 28 August 2014

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 28 August 2014
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Dow Jones 17,079.57 -42.44 (-0.25%)
S&P 500 1,996.74 -3.38 (-0.17%)
Nasdaq 4,557.69 -11.93 (-0.26%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.34% +0.01 (0.43%)
30 Year 3.08% +0.01 (0.33%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
http://tools.investing.com/market_quotes.php?
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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.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.








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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]

[Crewleader]

1. Labor Day Memories

[Demeter]

2. Correction...they didn't want to die, or be maimed for no damn good reason

it wasn't Libertarian, it was survival.

[Demeter]

3. After last weekend's tour de force, I am nonplus for this weekend

So maybe a quiet retrospective....summer, et al? Beach Boy Summer?

[Tansy_Gold]

4. Bruce Brown

The Endless Summer.

Surfing.

Beach movies.

Beach music.

[xchrom]

7. or...The 23 Best Drunk Foods In America

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-best-drunk-foods-in-america-2014-8

1. Chili dog

http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/53f22c03eab8ea661658db78-1200-800/mmm..._chili_dogs_(5408711457).jpg

2. New York pizza



3. The humble hamburger



4. Tacos

[Demeter]

29. Didn't you have breakfast, X?

Neither did I and you are making me hungry...

So, I take it you'd like a food festival? Hmmm....

[xchrom]

38. i lays want food -- i should be big as a house. but i stay on restricted portions

serving sizes and only eating 2xs a day.

[xchrom]

5. 10 Things You Need To Know As Asian Markets Open

http://www.businessinsider.com/asian-markets-august-29-2014-8

1. FOUR POINT TWO PER CENT. The US economy had a roaring Q2, with GDP growth for the quarter being revised up to 4.2%, largely driven by a rapid rise in business investment. This has been one of the missing parts of the US recovery – after a long period of using cash for things like stock buybacks in amid an uncertain outlook, companies are finally shelling out for new plant and equipment in a spending boom. Fixed investment was up 8.4% for the quarter, much stronger than the initial 5.5% estimate.

2. Stocks fell, though, with headlines of escalations in the Ukraine (more below) seeing investors reduce some risk. The Dow and the S&P 500 were both off 0.2% while the Nasdaq was down 0.3%. It follows losses across the Asian markets yesterday, with Shanghai down 0.6% to 2,196 (a big technical break), the Nikkei off 0.5% and the Hang Seng down 0.7%. The ASX was down 0.5% yesterday and futures are pointing to a slightly lower start as well.

3. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO released satellite images overnight showing what it says are Russian military formations inside Ukraine – putting the lie to Russian claims that its soldiers in the area are there of their own free will. Here’s one of the images, which shows guns allegedly pointing North towards Ukrainian-controlled territory, with support vehicles. It certainly doesn’t look like a bunch of guys on holiday.

4. The Qantas conundrum. Some observers were bewildered early yesterday to see the airline’s share price climbing – up 8% at one point and closing up 7% for the session – after the company booked a record $2.8 billion statutory loss. Basically the market has bought the management’s message that the company is about to return to profit, “barring factors beyond our control”, and that its transformation program is underway. There are a few problems here, not least the currency risk – a fall in the Aussie would drive up the already soaring fuel bill. But really what needs to be understood about much of the commentary is how many people hate Alan Joyce’s guts. He has overseen a tumultuous period for the airline, including shutting the whole thing down on a Melbourne Cup weekend, and led a failed lobbying attempt for a dramatic government intervention to save the airline which has only resulted in some tinkering with the Qantas Sale Act. The last six months have seen record losses and the instigation of a mass redundancy scheme. He’s still there, though, and if he can restore profitability in the next six months it will be quite an achievement.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/10-things-you-need-to-know-this-morning-in-australia-v20-2014-8#ixzz3BlnkBbOx

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/10-things-you-need-to-know-this-morning-in-australia-v20-2014-8#ixzz3BlnbHxwc

[xchrom]

6. Bank Of America Wants To Throw Out A $1.27 Billion Verdict Over Its 'Hustle' Program

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-bank-of-america-seeks-to-void-verdict-in-127-billion-hustle-case-2014-8

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp on Thursday asked a federal judge to throw out a jury verdict finding it liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit that resulted in a $1.27 billion penalty.

The bank urged U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan to rule for it as a matter of law or order a new trial, arguing that the evidence at trial did not support the jury's October 2013 verdict.

Bank of America said prosecutors were required at trial to prove that loans originated by Countrywide Financial Corp in a process called "Hustle" that were then sold to government mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were not as good as the lender represented.

"The trial evidence, even viewed in the light most favorable to the government, did not prove fraud under this standard," the bank's lawyers wrote.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-bank-of-america-seeks-to-void-verdict-in-127-billion-hustle-case-2014-8#ixzz3BloJGx7i

[Demeter]

30. They want a correction? Okay...make it $12.7 B and we'll call it even

[xchrom]

8. Jon Stewart Makes Up To $30 Million For 'The Daily Show'

http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-daily-show-show-salary-2014-8

That number blows network hosts out of the water. The average salary for the late-night hosts hovers around $10 million. The only one who comes close to Stewart's reported pay check is David Letterman at $20 million per year.

Here are the numbers via TV Guide:

Late-night Personality Network Salary per year
1. Jon Stewart Comedy Central $25-$30 million
2. David Letterman CBS $20 million
3. Conan O'Brien TBS $12 million
4. Jimmy Fallon NBC $11 million
6. Chelsea Handler Netflix $10 million
6. Jimmy Kimmel ABC $10 million
7. John Oliver HBO $2 million
Stewart has been hosting "The Daily Show" since 1999. The show now averages more than 1.5 million viewers daily.

According to Fox News, “Jimmy Kimmel” and “The Late Show with David Letterman” averaged 2.7 million and 2.85 million viewers, respectively, as of April.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/jon-stewart-daily-show-show-salary-2014-8#ixzz3BlquSb8w

[Demeter]

31. And he's worth EVERY PENNY of it

[xchrom]

9. Keynes is dead; long live Marx

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/GECON-01-290814.html


Many liberal economists envisioned a new dawn of Keynesianism in the 2008 financial meltdown. Nearly six years later, it is clear that the much-hoped-for Keynesian prescriptions are completely ignored. Why? Keynesian economists' answer: "neoliberal ideology," which they trace back to President Reagan.

This study argues, by contrast, that the transition from Keynesian to neoliberal economics has much deeper roots than pure ideology; that the transition started long before Reagan was elected President; that the Keynesian reliance on the ability of the government to re-regulate and revive the economy through policies of demand management rests on a hopeful perception that the state can control capitalism; and that, contrary to such wishful



perceptions, public policies are more than simply administrative or technical matters of choice - more importantly, they are class policies.

The study further argues that the Marxian theory of unemployment, based on his theory of the reserve army of labor, provides a much robust explanation of the protracted high levels of unemployment than the Keynesian view, which attributes the plague of unemployment to the "misguided policies of neoliberalism." Likewise, the Marxian theory of subsistence or near-poverty wages provides a more cogent account of how or why such poverty levels of wages, as well as a generalized predominance of misery, can go hand-in-hand with high levels of profits and concentrated wealth than the Keynesian perceptions, which view high levels of employment and wages as necessary conditions for an expansionary economic cycle. [1]

Deeper than 'Neoliberal ideology'
The questioning and the gradual abandonment of the Keynesian demand management strategies took place not simply because of purely ideological proclivities of "right-wing" Republicans or the personal preferences of Ronald Reagan, as many liberal and radical economists argue, but because of actual structural changes in economic or market conditions, both nationally and internationally. New Deal- Social Democratic policies were pursued in the aftermath of the Great Depression as long as the politically-awakened workers and other grassroots, as well as the favorable economic conditions of the time, rendered such policies effective. Those favorable conditions included the need to invest in and rebuild the devastated post-war economies around the world, the nearly unlimited demand for US manufactures, both at home and abroad, and the lack of competition for both US capital and labor.

[xchrom]

10. Russia urges ASEAN to boost agriculture exports

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/russia-urges-asean-to-boost-agriculture-exports

NAYPYIDAW, Aug 28 — Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has called for increased agricultural product exports from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in view of Moscow’s ban on food imports from western countries.

The one-year embargo announced on August 7 bans imports of meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the US, European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway in retaliation for sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, Russia’s Itar-Tass news agency reports.

“I would like to draw your attention to the opportunities opening up for Asean countries to supply agricultural products to Russia particularly fresh vegetables and fruit,” Ulyukayev said at the Asean-Russia senior economic officials’ consultations in Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw today

“We are familiar with the high quality standards of agricultural produce in your countries and we will welcome products such as nuts, beef, pork and poultry,” he said. Russia-Asean trade turnover topped US$17.5 billion (RM55 billion) last year.

- See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/money/article/russia-urges-asean-to-boost-agriculture-exports#sthash.aEWWeDM2.dpuf

[xchrom]

11. GERMAN ECONOMIC FEARS GROWING BUT MERKEL STRONG

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_MERKEL_IN_CONTROL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-29-05-29-40

BERLIN (AP) -- Ordinary Germans are spooked about the future. Businesses are starting to see black clouds on the horizon. And an economy that has been the envy of Europe is showing cracks, shrinking unexpectedly last quarter amid the conflict in Ukraine.

It might seem like enough to put any leader into trouble. But Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity remains sky-high - with nobody in sight to touch her.

It shows the German public is prepared to endure some hardships - such as a rise in energy costs if the sanctions war with Russia escalates - as long as Merkel is seen as dealing strongly with the crisis.

"She holds her line, and this gives the German electorate the impression she is doing a good job in the interests of Germany," said Nils Diederich, a political scientist at Berlin's Free University. "I don't think that there are very many governments in Europe with such a stable position as the German government at this moment."

[xchrom]

12. AS STOCKS RISE, SO DOES ANXIETY: TIME TO GET OUT?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_STOCKS_SELL_OR_BUY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-29-03-02-27

The bull and bear cases in detail:

BULL CASE

A STRONGER ECONOMY

Four of the past five bull markets have ended with investors selling in a recession, or bailing out because they anticipated one. The odds of a downturn anytime soon? Not very high, at least based on the latest economic reports and forecasts.

The U.S. economy is expected to grow 1.5 percent this year, then 3.4 percent in 2015, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates released Wednesday. One reason is companies are hiring at the fastest pace in eight years.

More people working means more paychecks and money to spend. And the good news can feed on itself. People who never lost jobs but were worried about layoffs might start spending more, too. Consumer confidence has hit its highest point in nearly seven years.

All this makes it more likely that companies will keep posting higher earnings.

"This recovery will last several more years ... and earnings will grow," says Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management. "There is a lot of room on the upside."

Financial analysts expect earnings from companies in the S&P 500 to rise 8 percent this year, then 12 percent in 2015, according to S&P Capital IQ, a research firm. A double-digit gain would be the biggest in four years.

LOW INTEREST RATES

Interest rates are low, and that's been great for stocks. They help lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, which boosts profits. And they hold down interest payments on bonds, making stocks look more attractive to investors by comparison.

[xchrom]

13. US BANK EARNINGS UP 5.2 PERCENT IN 2Q

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BANK_EARNINGS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-28-18-15-53

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. banks' earnings rose 5.2 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier, as banks reduced their expenses and lending marked its fastest pace since 2007.

The data issued Thursday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed a robust picture as the banking industry continues to recover from the financial crisis that struck six years ago. The improving economy has brought greater demand for loans and stepped-up lending.

The FDIC reported that U.S. banks earned $40.2 billion in the second quarter of this year, up from $38.2 billion in the same period in 2013.

The number of banks on the FDIC's problem list fell to 354 in the second quarter, the lowest number in more than five years and down from 411 in the January-March period.

[xchrom]

14. FED CHAIR YELLEN'S ASSETS UP 8 PERCENT DURING 2013

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_YELLEN_FINANCIAL_DISCLOSURE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-28-16-25-36

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's assets rose in value by at least 8 percent during 2013, raising their total to between $5.3 million and $14.1 million, according to her latest financial disclosure released Thursday.

Yellen's biggest asset is a trust fund she set up in 1992 with her husband, George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize-winning economist. The value of the trust fund is estimated at between $1 million and $5 million.

Yellen's assets have likely been driven up in value by a rebounding economy and a rising stock market. In 2012, her disclosure form estimated her assets at between $4 million and $13 million.

Some of Yellen's listed assets belong to her alone; others are co-owned with Akerlof.

[xchrom]

15. US AVERAGE RATE ON 30-YEAR HOME LOAN 4.10 PERCENT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MORTGAGE_RATES_GLANCE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-28-16-32-22


The average 30-year U.S. mortgage rate remained this week at a 52-week low of 4.10 percent.
Here's a look at rates for fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages this week and over the past year:
Current avg. Last week 52-week high 52-week low

30-year fixed 4.10 4.10 4.57 4.10

15-year fixed 3.25 3.23 3.59 3.20

5-year adjustable 2.97 2.95 3.28 2.94

1-year adjustable 2.39 2.38 2.71 2.35

All values in percentage points
Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey

[xchrom]

16. WORRYING EUROZONE INFLATION SAGS AGAIN TO 0.3 PCT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-29-05-12-53

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Inflation has fallen to an annual 0.3 percent in August for the 18 countries that use the euro, underlining the shakiness of the continent's economic recovery.

Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, said Friday the figure is down from 0.4 percent in July, as expected by market analysts. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, sent a modestly brighter signal as it rose to 0.9 percent from 0.8 percent.

The eurozone economy showed no growth in the second quarter as fears about the Ukrainian crisis weighed on consumers and investment decisions.

The European Central Bank has warned that inflation expectations are worsening and says it will add more stimulus if needed. Many analysts are predicting the bank will launch large-scale purchases of financial assets to pump more money into the economy.

[xchrom]

17. JAPAN ECONOMY STALLS AS INCOMES, SPENDING LANGUISH

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-29-03-58-34

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's vital signs remained weak in July as wages fell further and household spending dropped, signaling continued weakness in the world's third-largest economy.

Data released Friday showed the inflation rate was unchanged from the previous month. The core price consumer index that excludes volatile fresh food prices rose 3.3 percent in July, the same as a month earlier. Much of the increase stems from a 2 percentage point increase in Japan's sales tax in April, which has since sapped much of the steam from the country's economic recovery.

Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the government and central bank have sought to spur inflation on the premise that it would goad businesses and consumers into spending more instead of saving money in anticipation the Japan's deflationary spiral will guarantee lower prices in the future.

That strategy, dubbed "Abenomics," has made some headway in ending the long spell of deflation that slowed growth for much of the past two decades. But headline inflation remains below the official target of 2 percent, excluding the boost from the tax hike, and so far there are only scant signs of the desired "virtuous cycle" of higher corporate spending to sustain growth in the long term.

[xchrom]

18. RUSSIAN FUND WITH US ADVISERS ELUDES SANCTIONS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_RUSSIA_FUND_SANCTIONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-29-03-22-24

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As President Barack Obama warns of stepped-up economic punishments against Russia for its military incursions inside Ukraine, U.S. sanctions have so far avoided one prominent financial institution: the $10 billion Russian Direct Investment Fund, which has partnered with brand-name American companies and whose advisers include top U.S. and European private equity executives.

Despite its ties to Russian state businesses and officials, the Russian Direct Investment Fund has managed to operate unaffected by the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and EU in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's military actions in Ukraine. The Ukrainian government said Russian troops invaded southeastern Ukraine on Thursday with two columns of tanks and military vehicles.

The fund has been working to help replace Western investors in Russia with money from Asia and the Middle East. In one recent deal, the fund and its partners paid $700 million to a Russian petrochemical company that is partially owned by a sanctioned Russian businessman. The fund's head, Kirill Dmitriev, told the Associated Press that the company with which it did the deal, Sibur, has not been targeted by sanctions but otherwise declined to discuss fund investments.

Along with its team of Russian managers, the fund's international advisory board includes private equity executives Stephen Schwarzman of The Blackstone Group LP, Leon Black of Apollo Global Management LLC and David Bonderman of TPG Capital LP.

[xchrom]

19. BEER GARDENS HELPING MILWAUKEE COUNTY BUDGETS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BEER_GARDENS_PUBLIC_PARKS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-08-29-01-42-16

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Oversized mugs of beer clink together as drinkers sitting under a canopy of trees in a Milwaukee public park listen to live accordion music and proclaim "Prost!" - the German equivalent of "cheers."

It's a scene that harkens back 150 years, when Germans brought breweries and beer gardens to the city, until Prohibition shut the gathering spots down in the early 20th century.

But traditional beer gardens are back in Milwaukee County, as some parks departments nationwide are starting to embrace once-banned alcohol to shore up their budgets. And regulars at the Estabrook Park Beer Garden in Milwaukee love that they can bring their picnic baskets of snacks to the lines of tables along the Milwaukee River and enjoy drinks in the short-lived warm summer air.

"This is our Regal Beagle if you will," said 36-year-old salesman Andrew Geisler, referring to the bar in the television show "Three's Company."

[xchrom]

20. Manhattan Condo Resale Prices Reach Record High

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/manhattan-condo-resale-prices-reach-record-high.html

Prices for previously owned Manhattan condominiums rose to a record last month even as an increase in the supply of units eased competition among buyers.

An index of resale prices climbed 1.1 percent from June to reach the highest level in data going back to 1995, StreetEasy.com, a New York real estate website, said in a report today. The inventory of condos on the market grew 5.4 percent from a year earlier, the biggest annual gain since October 2009.

The market is still tight, with the number of available condos about 16 percent below the five-year average for Manhattan. That will continue to drive up prices, according to StreetEasy, which projects a 0.4 percent increase for August.

Manhattan “has been starved for more supply, and the growth in prices is a direct result of stubbornly low inventory that simply cannot keep pace with demand,” Alan Lightfeldt, data scientist at StreetEasy, said in the report.

[xchrom]

21. Euro Inflation Slows as Draghi Hints at More ECB Stimulus

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/euro-area-inflation-slows-as-draghi-hints-at-more-ecb-stimulus.html


Euro-area inflation slowed in August and the region’s unemployment rate remained close to a record, increasing pressure on the European Central Bank to take action to kindle the bloc’s faltering recovery.

Consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in August from a year earlier after a 0.4 percent increase in July, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s the weakest rate since October 2009 and in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Unemployment (UMRTEMU) remained at 11.5 percent in July, Eurostat said in a separate report.

Today’s data add to the case for more stimulus when policy makers meet next week. ECB President Mario Draghi has pointed to sliding investor bets on prices, sparking a debate about whether quantitative easing is needed to steer inflation in the 18-nation region back toward the ECB’s goal of just under 2 percent and foster economic growth.

“This is yet another bad indicator of the health of the euro-zone economy,” said Luke Bartholomew, an investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. “As every month passes we get closer to the dread of deflation and Draghi looks more and more like Nero fiddling while Rome burns.”

[xchrom]

22. Morgan Stanley Extends Diesel-Buying Spree Amid Supply Surge

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/morgan-stanley-extends-diesel-buying-spree-amid-stockpile-surge.html


Morgan Stanley extended purchases of diesel in Europe to a 42nd day amid the region’s biggest stockpiles in more than two years.

The bank bought 78 percent of the 774,750 metric tons that traded on the diesel barge market in July and August in a pricing window operated by Platts, a unit of McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI), brokers’ data compiled by Bloomberg show. The bank purchased every day since July 1, including 41,300 tons yesterday.

While Germans will buy diesel and gasoil for heating this winter, the European country’s supplies will be replenished by a glut in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp where the fuels are traded, according to Olivier Jakob, the managing director of Petromatrix GmbH, a consulting firm in Zug, Switzerland. Prices are in a pattern called contango that mean later-month costs exceed immediate ones. That can create an incentive for traders to buy and store.

“The curve is attractive to storage, so if you have the flexibility and the empty tanks then it makes sense to be stockpiling now,” Robert Campbell, head of oil products research at Energy Aspects Ltd., said by phone from New York Aug. 27. “Despite the contango there is an unwillingness on the part of end-consumers to buy much, so end-user storage is not that high but ARA levels are.”

[xchrom]

23. Ukraine Invasion Claims Wipe Out Russia Bondholder Gains

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/ukraine-invasion-claims-wipe-out-august-returns-russia-credit.html

U.S. assertions that President Vladimir Putin’s troops have crossed into Ukraine are rekindling the threat of sanctions and fanning a selloff in Russian assets.

Benchmark government ruble bonds due in February 2027 tumbled the most since March yesterday, wiping out this month’s gains, while the Russian currency slumped to an 11-year low versus the dollar. The cost of insuring the sovereign’s dollar bonds against non-payment with credit-default swaps soared to a five-year high relative to the world’s largest emerging markets.

Sentiment turned after Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said Russian troops have “de facto” entered his country, two days after he met Putin for talks. Russia is showing a “pattern of escalating aggression,” according to U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jan Psaki. The moves boost the case for sanctions, said Edwin Gutierrez of Aberdeen Asset Management Plc.

“Investors are panicking,” Konstantin Nemnov, head of fixed income at TKB BNP Paribas Investment Partners in St. Petersburg, said by phone yesterday. “At the moment it’s impossible to say how this situation will develop as investors are pricing in the risks of new sanctions and are selling.”

[xchrom]

24. Asia Stocks Heading for First Monthly Decline Since April

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/asian-stocks-fall-set-for-first-monthly-drop-since-april.html

Asia’s benchmark stock gauge headed for its first monthly decline since April as investors weighed the conflict in Ukraine and company earnings. Material and consumer shares retreated.

Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. slumped 4.6 percent in Hong Kong after China’s biggest producer of the light metal reported a wider first-half loss amid lower prices. CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. tumbled 5.7 percent after a shareholder said it would sell an 11 percent stake in the Hong Kong-based company. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation’s largest lender by assets, gained 1.2 percent after saying it plans to sell its U.S. unit to free up capital and focus on its domestic business.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) lost 0.1 percent to 148.03 as of 4:03 p.m. in Hong Kong, poised for a 0.6 percent drop this month and a 0.3 percent weekly slide. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated below 2,000 yesterday as violence in Ukraine and disappointing retail earnings outweighed data showing the U.S. economy expanded more than previously estimated last quarter.

“Geopolitical risk reared its ugly head yet again,” said Stan Shamu, a Melbourne-based market strategist at IG Ltd. “News that Ukraine-Russia tension is flaring up again sharply spooked investors. The negative at play for Japanese equities at the moment is the fact safe-haven flows favoring the yen might put on pressure as geopolitical risk escalates.”

[xchrom]

25. How Draghi Seeking QE Trade-Off May Find Austerity Trap

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-28/how-draghi-seeking-qe-trade-off-may-find-austerity-trap.html

Mario Draghi has made European political leaders an offer: You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.

In turning up the rhetoric on his readiness to start quantitative easing, the European Central Bank president is also asking governments to open their own wallets. His message to European leaders preparing to gather in Brussels for a summit tomorrow is that it’s high time they boost domestic demand by using the “flexibility” built into their budget pact.

With the recovery in the 18-nation euro area stalling and deflation risks mounting, Draghi called last week for a three-pronged approach of monetary and fiscal easing with structural reforms. French President Francois Hollande’s purge of an anti-austerity coup attempt this week and comments by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble yesterday underscored how hard that will be, as Germany leads pressure to keep cutting deficits.

“This is always about packages and deals, and certainly the notion that you have to combine supply-side measures with demand side measures is the right one,” said Guntram Wolff, director of the Bruegel institute in Brussels. “The question of whether France and Italy are going to be able to deliver or not is a bit more complicated.”

[xchrom]

26. ‘Golden Sanction’ to Halt Putin in Ukraine Stays Elusive

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/-golden-sanction-to-halt-putin-in-ukraine-stays-elusive.html

As Russian-backed separatists advance in southeastern Ukraine, the U.S. and European Union are still searching for a sanction that can force Vladimir Putin to stop and think again.

More than 1,000 of the Russian president’s troops are operating inside Ukraine, manning sophisticated weaponry and advising local separatists, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said yesterday. The escalation, denied by Russia, prompted a warning of “consequences” from U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said EU leaders would discuss new sanctions this weekend.

The U.S. and EU have been trying since March to come up with measures that would impose sufficient costs to make Putin call off his effort to destabilize eastern Ukraine while causing only minimal harm to Russian citizens and European and U.S. economies and businesses.

“There have been many attempts over many years to find the silver bullet, or golden sanction, and I’m pretty convinced it doesn’t exist,” said Gary Hufbauer, a sanctions specialist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “What does exist are very, very heavy sanctions. That’s not what the U.S. and western Europe are doing.”

[xchrom]

27. Japan’s Defense Ministry Seeks Record Budget Amid China Dispute

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-29/japan-s-defense-ministry-seeks-record-budget-amid-china-dispute.html

Japan’s Defense Ministry is seeking a record budget of 5.5 trillion yen ($53 billion) for the year starting April as it seeks to bolster defense of remote islands amid a territorial dispute with China.

Japan will buy 20 P-1 aircraft to patrol seas around its coast, improving on the speed, tracking and attack capabilities of existing P-3C planes, according to documents released today. Funds will also go toward the purchase of land on the Amami islands between Okinawa and Kyushu for another military base. The request is inflated by the cost of replacing two official planes used by the emperor and prime minister.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe raised the defense budget for the first time in 11 years in 2013 as Chinese and Japanese ships and planes tailed one another around islands claimed by both nations. A strengthening of Japan’s military capabilities may draw criticism from neighboring nations, with Abe having lifted an effective ban on defense exports and reinterpreted the constitution to allow Japan to defend other countries.

“If Japan obtains the equipment it needs for the future stability of East Asia, this will send a message,” former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike said in an interview before the budget request was released. “I think it’s necessary.”

[xchrom]

28. The Quirks of Smallness

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/08/the-quirks-of-smallness/379261/

Herb Hyman, the owner of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a chain of coffee shops local to Los Angeles, was worried about the future of his business. It was the early 1990s, and Starbucks was beginning to colonize portions of the city. "They just flat-out said, 'If you don't sell out to us, we're going to surround your stores,'” Hyman later told Taylor Clark, author of 2008’s Starbucked. Hyman stayed put, braced himself, and then watched as … his sales shot up.

The presence of Starbucks—a brand with relatively higher brand awareness, more resources, and better economies of scale—actually gave Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a much smaller brand, a boost to its business. A company’s smallness, it turns out, is something that can play to its advantage in competing with massive brands. A host of research shows that if the circumstances are right, limiting size—of a brand, of a company’s board, of a project team—can have unexpected benefits across industries.

A study, published in May, from researchers at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business and Harvard Business School builds a theoretical framework to make sense of Herb Hyman’s luck. The prevailing wisdom is that, in the face of a multinational competitor, a small-scale retailer should differentiate itself by cutting prices, bolstering its customer service, or specializing into an ever-narrower niche. But, by looking at the circumstances under which consumers preferred mom-and-pop bookstores and handmade chocolates, the researchers determined that small brands benefit when they publicize their size relative to a larger competitor nearby.

In one experiment, the researchers gave subjects a $5-off coupon upon entering a local bookstore. Some of the coupons had short blurbs explaining that the store was in direct competition with a store on the scale of Barnes and Noble, and some explained that the store was competing with another mom-and-pop bookstore. (A control group was given coupons without any text like this.) Those who received the large-competitor coupon were far more likely to make a purchase than those who got small-competitor coupons—even though the coupons made no comments on the store’s superior quality.

[DemReadingDU]

32. Unable to see Tansy's toon of the day

First time that has happened. I tried 3 different browsers, still nothing.

[Demeter]

34. You are a jinx!

I saw it just fine until I read your post, and then it winked away. It could be the link was taken down, or some other software "feature" kicked in.

[Demeter]

33. And that doesn't even count the economic warfare

[Fuddnik]

35. We're more efficient at killing ourselves than they are.

Speaking of economic warfare, I celebrated the week-end by quitting Uber. I'd planned on a busy week-end, but Wed. night they sent out an e-mail to all the drivers in Tampa saying they were reducing rates another 20%. That's after they reduced them by 25% in June.

They're trying to create a monopoly by driving everyone else out of business, and paying for it on the backs of their drivers. They're now paying about half of what they were when I started.

So, you can either work longer, and handle more fares to make the same money, or make less.

I've read some drivers in cities like Seattle are going on strike, and jamming up their system.

Fuck 'em! Happy Labor Day, fellow proles!

[Tansy_Gold]

36. That's how I'm celebrating Labor Day

I'm going on an extended strike.

[Fuddnik]

37. Let's set up a picket line in a bar, at happy hour.

Drunken revolutionaries are the best.