STOCK MARKET WATCH -- 24 February 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 24 February 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 23 February 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 23 February 2015
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Dow Jones 18,116.84 -23.60 (-0.13%)
S&P 500 2,109.66 -0.64 (-0.03%)
[font color=green]Nasdaq 4,960.97 +5.01 (0.10%)


[font color=green]10 Year 2.05% -0.04 (-1.91%)
30 Year 2.65% -0.04 (-1.49%)[font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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Market Updates
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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
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Yahoo Finance
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
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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
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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.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts







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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]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. head desk

and double face palm.

The epic fail of this non-logic is positively astounding.

Unfortunately, it's also positively not funny.

[Demeter]

2. If you are referring to the cartoon, I find it screamingly funny

emphasis on the "scream". It's a good thing I don't have cable, for I'd have kicked the TV to pieces sometime before the previous election.

[kickysnana]

3. TV Snooze had MOA piece. Suits "TERROR..BE AFRAID " Shoppers: "Oh for pete sakes."

Shoppers were literally chuckling at being asked the question.

Evidently they have now cried wolf one too many times for folks who shop at the MOA. But the Churches should be echoing the Suits this Sunday across the country.

Loved the Hennepin County Deputy Sheriff being interviewed about the terror alert and the threatened shut down. Normally he would be 100% for whatever the suits said but this will afect funding for his department and will mean a lot of stupid phone calls (and interviews).

So we went how many years before we got to the point where one party shuts down the government cause they cannot win even in an unfair vote? Really, really disappointed in my fellow Amerikins.

[Demeter]

4. HSBC CEO used offshore accounts to hide bonus payments from colleagues

http://fortune.com/2015/02/23/hsbc-ceo-used-offshore-accounts-to-hide-bonus-payments-from-colleagues/?xid=yahoo_fortune

What do you do when the CEO is part of the problem rather than part of the solution?

That’s the question for HSBC Holdings Plc HBC after weekend disclosures that its current boss, Stuart Gulliver, stashed away millions in an anonymous account in Panama in the past, while he was running the company’s operations in Asia.

Although they relate to issues over a decade old, the new revelations have piled on the embarrassment for the bank, which has been at the center of a storm of negative publicity since leaks published two weeks ago showed how much its Swiss-based private bank had helped customers to evade taxes in the past.

Gulliver, who took over as CEO in 2011, has spent the last two weeks trying to convince the world that HSBC has mended its ways, and personally signed a “sincere apology” that was printed in three U.K. newspapers last Sunday, saying that “the standards to which we operate today were not universally in place in our Swiss operations eight years ago.”

He told reporters Monday that those practices were “a source of shame” to the bank.

According to The Guardian, Gulliver was listed as the beneficial owner of an account in the name of Worcester Equities Inc, an anonymous company registered in Panama, containing a balance in 2007 of $7.6m. HSBC paid his bonuses into this account until 2003. Gulliver also held a second account in the name of Worcester Foundation, which was closed before 2007, the paper said. Representatives for Gulliver said the account existed mainly to hide the size of bonus payments from colleagues in the bank. Such payments are often the cause of intense jealousy and rivalry.

HSBC Chairman Douglas Flint told reporters Monday that “there is absolutely no story here,” given that Gulliver’s actions were entirely compliant with tax regulation in place at the time.

WHATEVER--MORE

[Demeter]

5. Greece Misses Deadline In Bailout Talks

ECONOMIC POLICY AS THEATER....IS IT MELODRAMA? FARCE? A COMEDY OF MANNERS? TRAGEDY?

OR THEATRE OF THE ABSURD?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/23/greece-deadline-reforms_n_6738920.html?utm_hp_ref=business&ir=Business

Greece will present its economic reform plans to the euro zone on Tuesday, a government official said, missing a Monday deadline for the list which is a condition for extending the country's financial lifeline. The official gave no reason for the delay but said euro zone finance ministers would consider Greece's plans, which include a crackdown on tax evasion and corruption, as scheduled on Tuesday afternoon. In Brussels a euro zone official said the "content of the letter will not be a surprise" to the euro zone and therefore the Tuesday submission was not a major issue. Greece has said it was working closely with its euro zone partners in drawing up the list.

Germany, the biggest contributor to Greece's two bailouts totalling 240 billion euros, insisted earlier that any extra spending on Athens's list of reforms had to be offset by savings or higher taxes. The government of radical leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras staged a climbdown on Friday to win the four-month extension of Greece's bailout, which had been due to expire on Feb. 28. Tsipras had promised to scrap the program when he won election last month.

Earlier in the day, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis had said the list of reforms would go to the Eurogroup by the end of Monday, meeting the deadline set under Friday's deal in Brussels. Athens has stressed the reforms would at least be decided by Greeks, in contrast to the austerity policies dictated by foreign creditors since they bailed out the country in 2010.

The official later said: "The list of reforms will be sent to the finance ministers of the Eurogroup on Tuesday morning, while a teleconference will take place in the afternoon."

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

The measures will include tackling what Tsipras calls Greece's "humanitarian crisis" - hardship created during years of economic depression - while dealing with tax arrears and bad loans, and ending the foreclosure of primary homes, the official said. They will also crack down on tax evasion, smuggling and corruption, restructure the public sector and cut red tape. The list will also include parts of the government's "Thessaloniki program" which in total envisages spending of 1.8 billion euros over a full year on relief measures such as free electricity and meals for the poor, while raising 3 billion from steps such as collecting tax arrears.

Tsipras has declared victory in Friday's deal. But veteran leftist Manolis Glezos, a Syriza member of the European Parliament, accused him of failing to fulfill Syriza's campaign promises and said simply avoiding inflammatory wording would not soothe the public. (The deal renamed the "troika" - despised inspectors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund who monitored Greek compliance with bailout commitments - as "the three institutions.&quot "Renaming the troika as 'institutions', the bailout as an 'agreement' and creditors as 'partners' ... does not change the previous situation," Glezos wrote in a weekend blog. "I apologize to the Greek people because I took part in this illusion," he said. "Let's react before it is too late."

A PAUSE FOR BREATH

Athens negotiated in Brussels under intense pressure. A senior banker told Reuters that one billion euros flooded out of Greek bank accounts last Friday alone. JP Morgan estimated last week's outflow at 3 billion, taking the total so far this year to 25 billion, and meaning the banks were on track to run out of collateral for new ECB loans in eight weeks. Following a series of testy Eurogroup meetings, the international creditors will scrutinize the reforms to ensure they comply with another of Greece's concessions - that nothing it does during the four months will burden the state budget.

MORE

[Demeter]

6. The Theatre of the Absurd

(French: Théâtre de l'Absurde) is a designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s, as well as one for the style of theatre which has evolved from their work. Their work expressed what happens when human existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore all communication breaks down, in fact alerting their audiences to pursue the opposite. Logical construction and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech and to its ultimate conclusion, silence.

Critic Martin Esslin coined the term in his 1960 essay "Theatre of the Absurd." He related these plays based on a broad theme of the Absurd, similar to the way Albert Camus uses the term in his 1942 essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus".

The Absurd in these plays takes the form of man’s reaction to a world apparently without meaning, and/or man as a puppet controlled or menaced by invisible outside forces. Though the term is applied to a wide range of plays, some characteristics coincide in many of the plays: broad comedy, often similar to Vaudeville, mixed with horrific or tragic images; characters caught in hopeless situations forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions; dialogue full of clichés, wordplay, and nonsense; plots that are cyclical or absurdly expansive; either a parody or dismissal of realism and the concept of the "well-made play".

Playwrights commonly associated with the Theatre of the Absurd include Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Fernando Arrabal, Václav Havel and Edward Albee.

[Demeter]

7. Fannie Mae's derivatives losses to curb U.S. Treasury payment

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/20/usa-housing-idUKL1N0VU0PR20150220

Fannie Mae will make its smallest payment to taxpayers in more than four years after large derivatives losses crimped its fourth-quarter profit, the government-controlled mortgage financier said on Friday. Fannie Mae said a drop in long-term interest rates sharply reduced the value of the derivatives contracts it uses as hedges in financial markets, adding that low capital buffers are raising the risk it could need taxpayer money in the future. The derivatives losses helped reduce quarterly profit to $1.3 billion, about 80 percent less than a year earlier, and the $1.9 billion check that Fannie Mae will cut for the Treasury in March will be the smallest since the second quarter of 2010.

"Because we will have an ever smaller cushion to absorb losses, the possibility of our need to take a draw from Treasury increases over time," Tim Mayopoulos, Fannie Mae's chief executive, said in a call with journalists.

Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of mortgage fund, and its sister firm Freddie Mac were bailed out by the government at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. Under the terms of their rescue, they are required to sweep their profits into the Treasury, a provision being challenged in court by several groups of investors.

The sensitivity of the firms' profits to financial market swings underscores the risk that they could have to draw taxpayer aid again, as the bailout rules limit how much capital they can hold in reserve. Even so, rising interest rates can help the firm's profits by boosting the value of its derivatives, a scenario many analysts see as likely given expectations the Federal Reserve will begin a cycle of interest rate hikes this year. Mayopoulos said Fannie Mae expects to remain profitable on an annual basis for the foreseeable future, but changes in rates could lead to "significant" swings in quarterly results. The possibility of another taxpayer draw raises pressure on the U.S. Congress to overhaul housing finance laws, although a real push on legislation is not expected anytime soon. Taxpayers pumped $116.1 billion into Fannie Mae following the U.S. housing market collapse, while Freddie Mac was propped up with $71.3 billion. Like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac was also hit by derivatives losses in the fourth quarter, which led to its smallest quarterly dividend payment since 2009.

Both firms have already paid in dividends more than they received in aid. Once payments related to their fourth-quarter earnings are made, they will have forked over about $228 billion between them.

[Demeter]

8. TPP accord no longer expected before April

ARIGATO, NIPPON!

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/22/business/tpp-accord-no-longer-expected-before-april/#.VOqwe9q2PfY

Ongoing negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement are no longer expected to conclude before April. Japan and the United States had hoped the 12-member TPP talks would conclude as early as March, assuming the two countries could clinch an accord at a bilateral meeting in late February or early March. The delay reflects slow progress in U.S. congressional procedures to grant President Barack Obama trade promotion authority, which would give him significant power to negotiate trade deals and is considered crucial for early ratification of an eventual TPP accord. The U.S. Congress has yet to take up legislation on such powers.

At a news conference Friday, TPP minister Akira Amari admitted that a final accord may come later than early spring, as previously scheduled. According sources close to the TPP talks, a ministerial meeting of the 12 countries toward a possible accord could come in mid-April at the earliest. In light of the dimming prospect of an early conclusion, some negotiators are now worried that the solidarity to strive for an accord among the 12 nations may weaken. Indeed, the United States and emerging economies in the talks remain wide apart over issues such as intellectual property rights, while some members have tried to revive discussions over issues that have been almost agreed upon, according to the sources.

Chief TPP negotiators are set to meet in Hawaii from March 9 to 15. The United States and Japan, the two countries seen holding the key to the success of the talks, are hoping to hold a bilateral working-level meeting ahead of that. With the United States showing few signs of concessions over some tricky issues, however, it is “hard to imagine significant progress,” one source said.

[Demeter]

9. It's Trash Day

I used to look upon Trash Day as a day of liberation, a clean, fresh start, a day of hope.

But in these times of the season of never-ending OMG (4F, windchill -6F) it's just one more imposition, one more Impossible Dream...and you have to go outside!

Sigh.

[DemReadingDU]

17. We should not be this cold

-12 in Ohio, feels like -20

[MattSh]

10. Musical Interlude: In honor of the Ukrainian Hryvnia

Yep, Free Falling by Tom Petty

A couple of days ago, the hryvnia was 27:1 to the dollar. I saw a commenter stating this morning that it was down to 32:1. I checked the going rate online. It said 28:1. I said to the commenter "no way". He said "WAY".

My wife was out this morning. I ask her if she saw the rate. She said 32:1. It seems the 28:1 rate was at yesterday's close. So the hryvnia lost 15% overnight. Plus, you can't buy dollars at that rate, which means that 32:1 is going to go down some more, like soon.

Seven weeks into the year, it has lost 50% of it's value.

And since the last year's glorious revolution? The hryvnia has lost 75% of it's value.

[MattSh]

11. Seems DDG is behind the times...

The 28:1 rate is what DuckDuckGo (a search engine) was showing this morning. Just tried it on Google and it shows 32.5:1. So DDG is off this morning.

Why am I not using Google? DDG doesn't track, certainly a plus in the current environment in Ukraine, plus Google insists on defaulting me to Google Ukraine, not Google.com. Well at least it keeps my language preferences. In the past, Google insisted on displaying the page in Ukrainian, though you could still search in English.

[xchrom]

12. a 'Grexit' is not on the table

http://www.businessinsider.com/eurogroup-head-a-grexit-is-not-on-the-table-2015-2

"You've said a number of member states did prepare (for a Greek exit)," Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a European Parliament member during a debate. "I only heard about one country where the cabinet had a meeting to talk about grexit and that was the British government."

"The Brits are as yet not a member of the Eurogroup. So no, it's not discussed, and it shows we have a very strong political commitment to keep the euro zone intact ... and to work together very strongly. I think that is key ...," he said.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/eurogroup-head-a-grexit-is-not-on-the-table-2015-2#ixzz3SfMFTosb

[xchrom]

13. The 10 Most Important Things In The World Right Now

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-important-things-in-the-world-right-now-feb-24-2015-2

Good morning! Here's what you need to know for Tuesday.

1. Greece reportedly submitted its list of economic reforms, required to a secure a four-month loan extension, to the International Monetary Fund and European institutions around midnight Tuesday.

2. The eastern Ukraine ceasefire is crumbling as pro-Russian forces continue to fire on Ukrainian positions.

3. The US and Iran appear to be getting closer to reaching a compromise on Tehran's nuclear program.

4. OPEC's president has proposed international cooperation in setting oil prices to ensure stabilisation.

5. The US Justice Department is reportedly investigating at least 10 major banks for a possible rigging of precious metals prices.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-10-most-important-things-in-the-world-right-now-feb-24-2015-2#ixzz3SfMfKjN5

[xchrom]

14. The US Justice Department is investigating some big banks for possible rigging of precious metals pr

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-investigating-big-banks-on-possible-precious-metal-price-rigging-wsj-2015-2

Justice Department prosecutors are scrutinizing the price-setting process for gold, silver, platinum and palladium in London, while the CFTC has opened a civil investigation, the newspaper said.

The banks under scrutiny are HSBC, Bank of Nova Scotia, Barclays PLC, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Societe Generale, Standard Bank Group Ltd and UBS AG, the newspaper said.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-investigating-big-banks-on-possible-precious-metal-price-rigging-wsj-2015-2#ixzz3SfNq7EQW

[Demeter]

19. I have to wonder what the impetus is

Somebody didn't get their payoff?

[xchrom]

15. GERMAN INDUSTRIAL WORKERS TO 3.4 % PAY RAISE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GERMANY_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-02-24-03-43-44

Tuesday's agreement will see the raise take effect in April. Workers will each get a one-time payment of 150 euros ($170) for January-March.

The raise falls short of the 5.5 percent IG Metall, Germany's biggest industrial union, originally demanded for some 3.7 million workers but contrasts with the country's annual inflation rate of minus 0.4 percent. The union has pointed to high corporate earnings and growth forecasts, arguing that domestic demand must be strengthened.

[xchrom]

16. WORLD STOCKS AS INVESTORS AWAIT YELLEN AND GREECE

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FINANCIAL_MARKETS_?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-02-24-04-00-35

KEEPING SCORE: European markets rose in early trading, with France's CAC-40 up 0.2 percent to 4,866.98 and Germany's DAX practically unchanged at 11,129.30. Britain's FTSE 100 was flat at 6,913.95. U.S. stocks were poised to open higher, with Dow futures up 0.1 percent to 18,098.00, while broader S&P 500 futures crept up 0.1 percent to 2,107.70.

CENTRAL BANKS: Investors will be listening for any hints from Yellen on the timing of interest rate hikes from the Fed when she delivers her semiannual report to the U.S. Congress, scheduled for Wednesday. Many economists have predicted the central bank will raise interest rates in June. European Central Bank head Mario Draghi also has a speaking engagement after last month announcing a 1.1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) stimulus effort.

THE QUOTE: "Effectively the Fed is moving closer and closer towards the point where they have to either do something or send a signal that their previous optimism no longer holds water and they're not going to do anything," said Michael Every, Rabobank's head of Asia-Pacific financial market research. Investors will be closely examining the remarks by Yellen, who has a blunter speaking style than predecessors Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke. "Today will be another test where we get to see just how plainspoken she can be when the markets are anxiously looking at, `Will they or won't they raise rates within a few months?'"

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. FTSE 100 finally reaches new record high (last was end of 1999)

The FTSE 100 share index has hit a new high, passing through the previous record set on 30 December 1999.

It closed at a new peak of 6,949.63. The previous record close was 6,930.2, set at the height of the dotcom boom.

Earlier, the index also set a new intra-day high of 6,958.89, surpassing the previous figure of 6,950.6, also set on 30 December 1999.

Shares rose after eurozone finance ministers approved reform proposals submitted by Greece.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-31611261