STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday October 1

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday October 1, 2009

Bush Administration Officials Under Indictment = 2
Financial Sector Officials In Prison = 6

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON September 30, 2009

Dow... 9,712.28 -29.92 (-0.31%)
Nasdaq... 2,122.42 -1.62 (-0.08%)
S&P 500... 1,057.08 -3.53 (-0.33%)
Gold future... 1,009 +14.90 (+1.50%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.30 +0.01 (+0.30%)
30-Year Bond 4.05 +0.03 (+0.75%)

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U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES..............................................S&P FUTURES

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie, Silver and US$

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market Observation

Fool Me Once, Shame on You. Fool me Twice, Shame on Me
BY CHRIS PUPLAVA

As I step back and view the investment landscape I can’t help but be reminded of two things. The first being John Maynard Keynes famous quote, “The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent,” and the second being the dichotomy between the stock market and the consumer that eerily looks familiar with what I saw in 2007, and why I felt the market would peak and that we would enter a recession. If memory serves me correctly, the divergence between the consumer and the stock markets did not resolve in a polite fashion but rather led to one of the most dramatic bear market declines in the last 100 years with some questioning whether capitalism itself was under attack. Unless the consumer undertakes a dramatic sentimental shift that translates into higher retail sales I believe this market is standing on shaky ground. If the last two years have taught investors and money managers anything, it would be this; ignore divergences between economic reality and market exuberance to your own peril.

Fed Chairman Bernanke stopped hiking interest rates in 2006 and that sent the markets soaring into 2007, with a brief pause in February after the steep and quick correction precipitated by a selloff in the Chinese market. The markets recovered and were propelled higher as the financial talking heads ranted and raved about the private equity deals, mergers and acquisitions, and record share buybacks that were taking place at the time. The market was hitting new highs and everything seemed rosy, and I’m sure the folks at CNBC were ready to don Dow 15,000 party hats. Who at CNBC would have thought that in twelve short months they would be donning Dow 8,000 hats rather than Dow 15,000 by the fall of 2009, and nearly Dow 6,000 party hats by the time the market finally bottomed. There were clear warning signs that went unheeded and those warning signs are still present today.

.....

Remembering Keynes

As stated in the opening to this article, Keynes said that “the market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent.” This was certainly the case in 2007 and I fear is the case today. At some point the markets are going to have to grapple with a consumer that is retrenching and not as optimistic about the future as the stock market is. Another famous quote is “don’t fight the trend,” and there is no telling how long the markets will stay irrational and how high price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples will reach on the S&P 500.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[ozymandius]

2. Mountain of Goobermental Reports Today

08:30 Personal Income Aug
Briefing.com 0.0%
Consensus 0.1%
Prior 0.0%

08:30 Personal Spending Aug
Briefing.com 1.2%
Consensus 1.1%
Prior 0.2%

08:30 Initial Claims 09/26
Briefing.com 540K
Consensus 535K
Prior 530K

08:30 Continuing Claims 09/19
Briefing.com 6100K
Consensus 6170K
Prior 6138K

10:00 Construction Spending Aug
Briefing.com -0.4%
Consensus -0.1%
Prior -0.2%

10:00 ISM Index Sep
Briefing.com 55.7
Consensus 54.0
Prior 52.9

10:00 Pending Home Sales Aug
Briefing.com 1.0%
Consensus 1.0%
Prior 3.2%

14:00 Auto Sales Sep
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior NA

14:00 Truck Sales Sep
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior NA

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

[UpInArms]

30. Initial Claims @ 551,000 - last week rev'd up 4k

8:30a U.S. continuing claims down 70,000 to 6.09 mln

8:30a U.S. 4-week avg. claims down 6.250 to 548,000

8:30a U.S. jobless claims up 17,000 to 551,000

8:30a U.S. core prices rising at slowest pace in 8 years

8:30a U.S. Aug. income, spending stronger than expected

8:30a U.S. Aug. nominal consumer spending up 1.3%

8:30a U.S. Aug. real disposable incomes down 0.2%

8:30a U.S. Aug. core consumer prices up 0.1%

8:30a U.S. Aug. savings rate falls to 3%

8:30a U.S. Aug. real consumer spending up 0.9%

8:30a U.S. Aug. personal incomes up 0.2%

[Po_d Mainiac]

40. Spending up/incomes up not so much.. Hmmmm

Where have I seen figures like that before? :freak: Savings fall, is that a bad thing? :sarcasm: :nuke:

[Po_d Mainiac]

31. And the numbers are in

Personal income is up Read: Bank bonus's are up

Personal spending is up Read: cash for clunkers factor, and bank fees empty pockets of consumer

Initial claims are UP Read: :wtf:

Construction spending DOWN Read: Guess it's better to do the work in the winter :sarcasm:

Unemployement rate UP Read: Good thing we don't have a consumer driven economy more :sarcasm:

[DemReadingDU]

33. Oh, it's not that bad, could be worse, better than expected

Anything else to make it sound good?

:eyes:

Ya think the market goes up?

[Ghost Dog]

34. Well, all the unemployment is good news for markets:

Keep the peasants in their place. Improved planet-destroying productivity. It's all good.

Looks like I should hedge my X2 S&P Short bet placed at around 1025, ha ha ha. And that's a USD play.

Buy Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, certain Israeli stocks, etc...

(Only joking) :crazy:

Edit: Meanwhile, my carefully stealthily luckily accumulated Yen just sit there, fattening,

Affecting the bottom-line. Or should that read, effecting?

Go figure.

¿Why are there so many (sick) cretins in the USA?

[AnneD]

35. Why are there so many cretins in the USA ??????

War kills off the good ones-Darwin in reverse.

[Ghost Dog]

38. Hummm. Let me think about your comment,

I'll get back to you. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QuDEx3_Ygo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpJFtUXf67o

[AnneD]

41. People that love this country and what it really stands for....

do not sit in their arm chairs- they are willing to lay their lives on the line. Cogitate on that.

Many of those ungrateful are the first to wrap themselves in the flag and beat the drums to go to war are the last to join-if ever. As my hard core Army buddies use to say, they would shit their pants if they heard a car back fire. They stand on the shoulders of giants in the hope they will look bigger.

[Ghost Dog]

42. Yes. Here too.

Let's cogitate on that.

:serious smile:

I recall my father criticising, as an aside during his war stories, certain "foreign armies": only good for oppressing their own people. (I don't think he meant you: your army oppresses, for economic and deep psychological reasons, others, we see. However...).

[Po_d Mainiac]

39. I hope u borrowed USD

To purchase the yen. Funny that the USD replacing the yen as the "carry trade" currency is getting so little play. :shrug:

[Ghost Dog]

43. You tell me. I don't watch TV,

not even over here.

The dollar, it seems, is moving from being the de facto reserve currency of the world towards an additional role as a funding currency for risk-based trades. The dollar is effectively now competing with or even replacing the yen as the favoured funding currency for carry trades. The three-month interest rate differential between the US and a weighted average of its major trading partners has moved from plus 2 per cent a few years back to negative today, highlighting the interest rate advantages of borrowing in the dollar.

The classic yen carry trade involved investors borrowing yen at near-zero interest rates, selling the yen for dollars, and then buying government bonds yielding 4-5 per cent with these dollars. As long as exchange rates did not move against you, the investor could make a clean spread of 5 per cent. The trade would be leveraged at least 10 times to give a potential return of nearly 50 per cent, and on huge size.

The big risk in the above structure is the exchange rate: if the dollar weakened against the yen, then the investor could be sitting on a large loss. Given the highly leveraged nature of the transaction even a small variation in exchange rates could cause serious losses, unless the position is hedged in an appropriate manner. Any hedging of the currency risk will obviously cost money and reduce potential returns.

Given the current very easy liquidity conditions in the US and the desire of the Fed to keep interest rates very low for an extended period of time, one can see the parallels with Japan. There is also a strongly held view that this administration is willing to live with a weak dollar to boost the US domestic economy. You can see the obvious attraction to an investor, a chance to fund risk asset purchases via borrowing at very low rates in a currency which seems to be weak on a multi- year secular basis.

/... http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/akash-prakashdollar-carry-trade/371201/

But I went a bit crazy last night watching the excellent (purchased DVD) documentary "Dangerous Days" on how, magically, the film "Blade Runner", the last great analogue special effects (spiritual) movie, was made. Drinking Calvados.

[ozymandius]

3. Oil falls below $70 after surging overnight

SINGAPORE – Oil prices fell below $70 a barrel Thursday in Asia after surging overnight on signs U.S. gasoline demand may be improving.

Benchmark crude for November deliver was down 72 cents at $69.89 by late afternoon in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract jumped $3.90 to settle at $70.61 on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. gasoline stockpiles unexpectedly dropped 1.6 million barrels last week from the previous week.

.....

Other inventory data was less encouraging. Crude supplies grew more than expected last week, according to the government report, and they have now swelled to 11.4 percent above what they were last year.

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

[Ghost Dog]

17. Greenpeace blocks 2nd Canada oil sands operation

Wed Sep 30, 2009 10:42pm EDT CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Environmental activists said on Wednesday they canoed into Suncor Energy Inc's Alberta oil sands operation, blocking equipment in a second protest action in as many weeks aimed at disrupting crude production.

Greenpeace said 23 of its activists entered Canada's second-largest oil sands operation, stopping conveyor belts that carry bitumen from the mine to an upgrading plant that processes the tar-like crude into light oil. They ended the blockade after about 10 hours, the group said later in a press release.

The move, part of a long-running campaign against production from what Greenpeace refers to as "tar sands," is the second this month.

Two weeks ago, protesters chained themselves to equipment at Royal Dutch Shell's oil sands mine as they sought to highlight what they view as excessive greenhouse gas emissions from the region's oil production operations.

"We came here to send a message and we want to make sure that message is heard," said Jessica Wilson, a Greenpeace spokeswoman, who was among the protesters at the Suncor site.

"This is all a push toward (climate talks in) Copenhagen to encourage world leaders to come to a strong climate deal that includes shutting down the tar sands."

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/wtUSInvestingNews/idUSTRE58T4ZB20091001

[ozymandius]

4. Report: 1 in 3 loan applications denied

WASHINGTON – Nearly one in three borrowers who applied for a mortgage last year was denied as lenders kept their standards tight as the mortgage crisis accelerated, the government reported Wednesday.

In its annual look at mortgage practices among lending institutions, Federal Reserve said the denial rate for all home loans was about 32 percent last year — about the same as in 2007, but up from 29 percent in 2006. The denial rates for blacks and Hispanics were more than twice as high as the rate for white borrowers.

The report highlights massive changes in the lending industry after the housing market bust. Overall loan applications were down by a third from a year earlier, and were half the level in 2006.

.....

High-priced loans with rates at least 3 percentage points above the rate for prime loans, shrunk to nearly 12 percent of the market from a high of 29 percent in 2006. But that figure mainly reflects unusually low interest rates during the recession, the report said, and understates the disappearance from the market of high-priced subprime loans made to borrowers with poor credit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_bi_ge/us_lending_discrimination

[Demeter]

18. Big Headline Today: Houses Under $170K in High Demand

In Ann Arbor, $170K wouldn't buy a condo, until recently. But it still won't buy a detached house. Trailer, maybe....condo, perhaps.

Makes our condos look really competitive, and IMO we have the nicest around! This is good, because we have repossessed 7, and anticipate seizng and selling off another 30 in the next 10 months....

[ozymandius]

5. Economy sends numerous signals of rebound

WASHINGTON – Consumer spending, the bulwark of economic growth, is showing signs of life as the economy transitions from recession to recovery.

.....

Economists believe that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of total economic activity, surged in August, reflecting the success of the government's Cash for Clunkers car rebate program.

.....

The Commerce Department is scheduled to report on consumer spending for August on Thursday. In advance of that report, economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect that spending surged 1.1 percent, up from the 0.2 percent rise in July*.

.....

In a fourth report, an index from the National Association of Realtors that tracks pending home sales is expected to rise for an eighth straight month in August. If accurate, that would provide further evidence the battered housing sector is starting to rebound following three dismal years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091001/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

---

*Ooh. Somebody pinch me.

This activity weighs heavily on the government stimulus programs. A forecast based on an unusual and prompted demand does not compute with my sense of logic.

[Ghost Dog]

12. As the eye of the storm passes overhead,

A few brave souls sneak out to perform some essential tasks, make necessary purchases, preparing for the next wave (changing metaphors),

While fools party,

And some of them make yet another killing

At your expense.

[ozymandius]

6. Bank of America Chief to Depart at Year’s End

Less than a year ago, Bank of America’s chief executive, Kenneth D. Lewis, celebrated his daring takeover of Merrill Lynch as the crowning triumph of a long career. On Wednesday, that conquest proved to be his downfall, as he announced his resignation after months of legal and political scrutiny over the star-crossed merger.

.....

Mr. Lewis leaves as Congress, the attorney general of New York and investors turn up pressure on both him and the bank over not disclosing Merrill’s losses and bonuses to shareholders. A federal judge recently refused to accept a settlement that had been brokered between Bank of America and the Securities and Exchange Commission, saying the bank and the commission never fully explained how the decisions had been made.

The controversy is likely to occupy the bank even after the departure of Mr. Lewis, who has already had to testify to Congress on the matter.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/business/01bank.html

[AnneD]

44. This one's for you....

Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banker.

http://portal-a.com/banker2.html

[Demeter]

54. That Was Truly Weird

What planet am I on, please?

[AnneD]

58. Spanning the globe......

eom

[ozymandius]

7. Brief Mich. shutdown ends, interim budget OK'd

LANSING, Mich. – One of the nation's most economically battered states is heading into more fiscal fights after surviving a short-lived government shutdown that ended with an interim budget and lingering uncertainty about more permanent spending cuts.

The interim budget avoided state worker layoffs and office closures. It also delayed some tough financial decisions in a state facing a $3 billion shortfall while struggling with the nation's highest unemployment rate, a shrinking auto industry, a high home foreclosure rate and an economy that soured long before the national recession.

With the stopgap signed by Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, lawmakers have 30 days to put a permanent budget in place.

.....

Michigan has had a tough time finding money for everything from prisons to universities and in-school health clinics for adolescents. State revenues have grown just 1.3 percent annually during the past decade when federal funds are left out, according to the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency.

The interim budget originally was Senate Republicans' idea. But as House Democrats on Wednesday tried to restore programs such as scholarships and library money, GOP lawmakers realized the measure would give Democrats more time to build support for possible tax increases.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091001/ap_on_re_us/us_state_budget_michigan

[ozymandius]

8. US toxic asset program seals deal with 2 fund managers

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Treasury said Wednesday it had closed deals with two large fund managers that raised one billion dollars for a program to buy up "toxic assets" in the banking system.

The Public-Private Investment Funds program closed deals from the investment firms, each with at least 500 million dollars of equity capital from private investors.

The fund managers are Invesco Ltd. and TCW Group.

To date, the program has raised 1.13 billion dollars of private sector capital commitments, which have been matched 100 percent by Treasury.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090930/pl_afp/financeeconomyusgovernmentbanking

---

Geithner and Summers have found an entity that truly understands the hidden value of Big Shitpile©: dumb public money.

[Demeter]

19. Sounds Like Outright Theft

And they call this a government? How about a ponzi-based kleptocracy?

[Joe Chi Minh]

53. Great stuff! Only another 54 trillion 999,000 billion to go. Yippee!

It reminds me of the following story about St Augustine of Hippo (Love ye olde English language):

(snip)

"It was so that this glorious doctor made and compiled many volumes, as afore is said, among whom he made a book of the Trinity, in which he studied and mused sore in his mind, so far forth that on a time as he went by the sea-side in Africa, studying on the Trinity, he found by the sea-side a little child which had made a little pit in the sand, and in his hand a little spoon. And with the spoon he took out water of the large sea and poured it into the pit.

And when St. Augustin beheld him he marvelled, and demanded him what he did. And he answered and said: "I will lade out and bring all this water of the sea into this pit."

"What?" said he, "it is impossible, how may it be done, sith the sea is so great and large, and thy pit and spoon so little?"

"Yes, forsooth," said he, "I shall lightlier and sooner draw all the water of the sea and bring it into this pit than thou shalt bring the mystery of the Trinity and His Divinity into thy little understanding as to the regard thereof; for the Mystery of the Trinity is greater and larger to the comparison of thy wit and brain than is this great sea unto this little pit."

And therewith the child vanished away. Then here may every man take ensample that no man, and especially simple lettered men, nor unlearned, presume to intermit nor to muse on high things of the Godhead, farther than we be informed by our faith, for our only faith shall suffice us.

http://www.fisheaters.com/customseastertide9.html

[ozymandius]

9. Summary: Today and Tomorrow (posted 9/30/09)

from Calculated Risk

A quick summary and a look ahead ...

•The OCC and OTS Q2 Mortgage Metrics Report showed rising mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures. There is also a huge backlog of foreclosures in process. Also see: Modification Re-Default Rates

•The Chicago PMI report showed declining business activity in the Chicago region.

•ADP reported nonfarm private employment decreased 254,000. The BLS report for September will be released on Friday.

more at link...

[ozymandius]

10. Restaurants: 24th Consecutive Month of Contraction

Note: Any reading below 100 shows contraction for this index.

From the National Restaurant Association (NRA): Restaurant Performance Index Declined in August as Same-Store Sales and Customer Traffic Slipped

Restaurant industry performance softened in August, as the National Restaurant Association’s comprehensive index of restaurant activity posted a modest decline. The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 97.9 in August, down 0.2 percent from July and its third decline in the last four months.
...
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 96.0 in August – down 0.9 percent from July and its sharpest decline in nearly a year. In addition, August represented the 24th consecutive month below 100, which signifies contraction in the current situation indicators.

The sharp decline in Current Situation Index was the result of deteriorating sales and traffic levels in August.

more at Calculated Risk…

[Demeter]

20. I Wonder If These Idiot Bastards Are STILL Supporting Reaganesque GOP Candidates

Never in my life did I see such misdirected politicking as when I looked at these idiots.

[DemReadingDU]

29. Sure

probably blaming Obama when things go badly

[MARALE]

37. We have had 3 close around here

There has been 2 new restaurants and 3 more closed. The restaurants are not busy like they used to be. we used to eat out a lot more than we do now. My sis-in-law now says she has learned to cook from scratch to save money and they rarely go out to eat.

[ozymandius]

11. New Bill Will Force Modifications and Restrict Foreclosures

A team of Senators, who say they are fed up with the mortgage modification efforts of the nation’s largest servicers, believe it’s time to make the appropriate changes to make lenders modify certain loans and limit the foreclosure practices of those same firms.

Newly introduced legislation, titled the Preserving Homes and Communities Act of 2009, introduced by Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed (D) and cosponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), may require some lenders to meet face-to-face with certain distressed borrowers to discuss options to foreclosure.

If successful, lenders and servicers must offer modifications to homeowners if the net present value of modification is greater than that of foreclosure. Limits on foreclosure fees will also be limited and a national database tracking foreclosures will be created. Firms that do not comply may face strict penalties that are not yet disclosed, but according to a statement on the subject, will be “meaningful.”

.....

Other points of the proposed legislation will authorize state-sponsored mediation programs as well as a system for distributing grant money to borrowers who are struggling to make payments, regardless of the mortgage product they are participating in.

http://www.housingwire.com/2009/09/30/new-bill-will-force-modifications-and-restrict-foreclosure/

[Demeter]

21. Good Luck to the Mortgaged Homeowner Trying to Prove They Qualify

while the mortgage holders lie, lie, lie....

[Ghost Dog]

13. World stocks steady to firmer after stellar Q3

LONDON (Reuters) - World stocks kicked off October on a steady note on Thursday as caution over the state of U.S. recovery tempered anticipation that the global economy would gather momentum in the final three months of 2009.

European stocks (^FTEU3 - News) rose 0.5 percent after posting the best quarterly performance in nearly 10 years in the three months to September.

An upward revision to the euro zone's manufacturing activity index underpinned sentiment.

Investors however were reluctant to buy or sell aggressively ahead of a closely-watched U.S. jobs report on Friday. Data on Wednesday showed a surprising contraction in an index of U.S. Midwest business activity.

"I don't think anyone will sell too aggressively ahead of the (U.S.) September employment report tomorrow," said Bernard McAlinden, investment strategist at NCB Stockbrokers. "The economic data hasn't been bad. House prices have been firm ... I think we're in the early stages of a new cycle and indices can go higher over the next year or so though the pace at which this rally can continue is questionable."

MSCI world equity index fell 0.1 percent, having risen more than 17 percent in the third quarter. Emerging stocks (^MSCIEF - News) rose 0.3 percent.

"The performance of risky assets in Q3 has been extraordinary ... We expect further gains in risky assets, but such rates of return look unlikely to be maintained," Barclays Wealth said in a note to clients.

/... http://finance.yahoo.com/news/World-stocks-steady-to-firmer-rb-1806433065.html?x=0&.v=3

[Ghost Dog]

45. GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks fall after solid Q3, dollar up

GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks fall after solid Q3, dollar up
Thu Oct 1, 2009 1:26pm EDT
<-> Text <+>Featured Broker sponsored link

* Investors favor Treasuries on first day of new quarter

* Dollar up on safe-haven bid, EU's Almunia remarks

* MSCI off 1.9 pct over doubts of solid US recovery (Updates with U.S. markets and news on nation-wide manufacturing activity, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)

By Jennifer Ablan

NEW YORK, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Investors worldwide moved out of stocks and into the relative safety of assets such as Treasuries and the dollar on Thursday after fresh concerns emerged over the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.

World stocks saw heavy selling pressure following news that a survey of manufacturing activity across the United States dipped slightly in September while the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits increased more than most economists had predicted.

The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS slid 1.9 percent, kicking off October on a sour note after soaring 17 percent in the third quarter which ended Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI dropped 63.11 points, or 0.65 percent, to 9,649.17 while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX fell 8.26 points, or 0.78 percent, to 1,048.82.

The biggest loser, however, was the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC, which lost 19.81 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,102.61.

Money managers and hedge funds are bracing for more down days.

"At the risk of being the boy who cried wolf, I believe that market participants have a false sense of security in rising equity share prices," said Doug Kass, founder and president at hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management in Palm Beach, Florida.

Kass argues there continues to be "tentative signs" in housing, automobiles, manufacturing surveys such as Thursday's national reading and other economic indicators that the month of September was weaker than generally expected. For story, see

Energy stocks followed equity markets lower as U.S. light sweet crude oil CLc1 retreated 62 cents, or 0.88 percent, to $69.95 per barrel.

The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index .CRB was down 3.64 points, or 1.41 percent, at 255.75.

Investors' favorite haven, Treasuries and the greenback, benefited from the global move away from stocks.

The U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury note US10YT=RR was up 21/32 in price, with the yield at 3.2282 percent, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury note US2YT=RR was up 3/32, yielding 0.897 percent.

At the longer end of the yield curve, the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond US30YT=RR was up 1-5/32, with the yield at 3.9853 percent.

DOLLAR GAINS OVER DOUBTS ON RECOVERY

The dollar rose against a basket of major trading-partner currencies, with the U.S. Dollar Index .DXY up 0.59 percent at 77.102 from a previous session close of 76.653.

The greenback got a whiff of the flight-to-quality bid on doubts over the potency of the US economic recovery sparked by releases including the latest weaker job figures.

Comments by a top European official about the euro's recent gains hurt the single currency.

Traders focused on remarks made by Joaquin Almunia, the European Union's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, who said euro strength would be discussed when Group of Seven officials meet in Istanbul at the weekend.

The euro EUR= was down 0.63 percent at $1.4543 from a previous session close of $1.4635. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar JPY= was off 0.03 percent at 89.72 from a previous session close of 89.750.

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

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Photo
Bank of America's fallen hero

A little over a year ago, Kenneth Lewis was hailed by Wall Street for his rapidfire rescue of Merrill Lynch. But the deal he called "the strategic opportunity of a lifetime" cost him his job in the end. Full Article | Blog
Factbox: Possible new CEOs for BofA
CEO departures during financial crisis

/.. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCNN0114916120091001?rpc=44&sp=true

Edit: October Song (again): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCnJdQ9izto

[Ghost Dog]

14. Euro zone joblessness hits 10-year high of 9.6 pct

Thu Oct 1, 2009 5:02am EDT GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Euro zone unemployment rose to 9.6 percent in August, its highest in more than 10 years, adding to fears that a nascent economic recovery is likely to be anaemic.

The jobless rate in the 16-country area inched up to its highest since March 1999 as the number of people without work rose by 165,000 from July to 15.17 million, the Luxembourg-based European Union statistics office said on Thursday.

The unemployment level compared with July's 9.5 percent and was in line with analysts' expectations.

Eurostat said that since August 2008, when unemployment was at 7.6 percent, 3.2 million people had lost their jobs as companies closed factories and laid off workers during the worst economic crisis since World War Two.

Growing unemployment means private consumption is likely to be weak, so analysts expect any recovery to be fragile. The euro zone economy is forecast to start expanding in the third and fourth quarters of 2009.

Governments have been pouring billions of euros into the economy, hoping to prevent job destruction and long-term unemployment.

Euro zone finance ministers were discussing in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Thursday when to end the fiscal stimulus. Some of them, and the European Commission, suggested this should happen from 2011.

Eurostat said that since a year ago, Spain had seen the steepest increase in unemployment in the euro zone, to 18.9 percent from 11.8 percent. The global credit crunch has pummelled the country's construction sector.

Ireland's jobless rate has almost doubled to 12.5 percent since August 2008.

In Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, unemployment rose from 7.2 percent to 7.7 percent over the same period.

With consumer prices falling again in September and inflation expectations at record lows, the unemployment data is likely to add to arguments for the European Central Bank to keep interest rates at a record low of 1 percent.

In the whole 27-country European Union, unemployment rose to 9.1 percent in August from 9.0 percent the month before. (Reporting by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Dale Hudson)

/. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL148687720091001?rpc=44

Official unemployment is more than 30% now here in the Canary Islands, dependent as it is on the tourism/construction/services monoculture, and plagued as it is by profoundly corrupt politicians.

Even the black economy is suffering, deeply.

More extreme left-, and more extreme right-wing tensions are palpable.

I will report from Barcelona next week.

[Ghost Dog]

15. FACTBOX-Five risks to watch in Western Europe

Thu Oct 1, 2009 4:53am EDT By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - Ireland's Lisbon Treaty vote looks set to be the dominant political risk event of the coming month, but German, British, Greek and eastern European politics all have the potential to spin over into financial markets:

/Read on... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCNLU30821120091001?rpc=44&sp=true

[Demeter]

22. Hey GD! I'll Betcha Things Are STILL Better in Europe than the US

for ordinary people.

[Ghost Dog]

32. Oh, so I see,

for sure.

But, as you'll maybe be aware, "Spain is different": "A continent unto itself".

We expect (fear) the return of the extremely shameless fascists (deeply corrupt populists), or falangists (somewhat more honorable, historically. José Antonio) as soon as they can.

While so many of their "leaders", like Sr. Aznar, Sr. Matas, etc. go to welcoming ground in the USA.

Nobody expects...

The atmosphere here is like that just before the first bolt

Splits the sky in a thunderstorm.

:hi:

Edit: Repeat: Ballad of Thin Man (Dylan): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFYlhw3g4P8
(It's all right, Ma: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bjqYPH7rAo )
(War: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muQRIUVd6Aw )

[tclambert]

16. Collapse of deal for Saturn stuns GM

News a surprise after automaker worked to save brand

BY TIM HIGGINS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

On Tuesday, General Motors Co. thought it had a deal to sell its storied brand Saturn. But Wednesday afternoon, a day before the deal was to be announced, the Detroit automaker was blindsided by the news that businessman Roger Penske's deal to acquire Saturn had collapsed. . . .

While dealers still hope Saturn might be saved, GM expects all the dealerships to be closed by the end of next year, if not sooner. . . .

In June, as GM began its government-backed bankruptcy reorganization, it appeared a reprieve had been found for Saturn when Penske announced a tentative deal to acquire the brand, contingent on final negotiations. It was to close in the third quarter.

At the time, it was clear Penske needed to find another manufacturer to build vehicles for the brand. GM was willing to continue building Saturn vehicles -- the Saturn Aura sedan and the Vue and Outlook crossovers -- for only two to three years. . . .

According to Penske, the company had reached a deal with a third party, but the manufacturer's board of directors rejected it. That third party was the Renault-Nissan alliance.

"Without that agreement, the company has determined that the risks and uncertainties related to the availability of future products prohibit the company from moving forward with this transaction," Penske said.

from: http://www.freep.com/article/20091001/BUSINESS01/910010457/1318/Collapse-Saturn-deal-stuns-GM

_______________________

This saddens me. I really wanted to see what Roger Penske would make of Saturn. Penske is a car guy's car guy. Race car driver, racing team owner, truck rental company zillionaire, he knew cars and business. Unfortunately, Saturn doesn't own any factories. GM owns them and doesn't want to keep building Saturns in them indefinitely.

Local Detroit news reported that Penske said the failure of the deal had nothing to do with GM or Saturn. It was all because they couldn't reach a deal with the third party manufacturer, a Renault-Nissan alliance, to take over manufacture a few years down the road.

So apparently Saturn will now simply vanish.

[Demeter]

23. GM Is Stupid

Would it have killed them to throw in a factory or two? It's not like they are going to need that much capacity for a decade, if not more.

I love my Saturn. It's been the cheapest to repair and most reliable car I've ever owned. But under the circumstances, I'd be leery of buying another. Talk about limbo!

[tclambert]

51. Some say . . .

this is just a negotiating ploy on Penske's part. The some, however, are Saturn dealers hoping their businesses might yet be saved by a 13th hour deal.

Car dealers! Always about making the deal. Offer Penske a factory, with experienced autoworkers, and throw in rust-proofing for free.

[UpInArms]

24. dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?acs=NYBOT_DX&v=i

Last trade 77.158 Change +0.455 (+0.59%)

USD Rally Gaining Momentum

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/market_alerts/fundamental_alert/USD_Rally_Gaining_Momentum__Morning_1254396751177.html

Surprisingly, with the exception of Sterling, all major currencies are tracking lower against the buck heading into the US session of trade and on the first day of the Q4. The Pound has managed to recover nicely, finding strong demand on the crosses, despite the weaker PMI data. An upbeat BOE credit report, along with and upgrade on the growth outlook for the UK economy from the IMF have been sourced as the primary drivers that have easily offset the discouraging PMI. The Euro on the other hand has been under pressure for most of the session, with a break of stops below 1.4600 triggered on currency comments from Eurogroup Almunia who said that the Euro appreciation would be discussed at the upcoming G7. Also weighing on the Euro were the higher Eurozone unemployment rate, and weaker German retail sales. ECB President Trichet was out saying that a fiscal stimulus exit would be needed by 2011 at the latest. Looking ahead, the calendar is full with US Challenger job cuts at 11:30GMT, followed by personal income (0.1% expected), personal spending (1.1% expected) and personal consumption (-0.6% expected) at 12:30GMT. Also due up at 12:30GMT are initial jobless claims (535k expected) and continuing claims (6170k expected). Later at 14:00GMT, ISM manufacturing (54 expected), pending home sales, and construction spending (-0.1% expected) are due. On the official circuit, Fed Lockhart is slated to speak at 21:30GMT on the economy. US equity futures point to a lower open by some 0.50%, while commodities are also offered.

...more...

Dollar Revival Depends on its Link to Risk Appetite, Market Rates

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/Dollar_Revival_Depends_on_its_1254356932679.html



The Economy and the Credit Market



Does the US dollar make the best funding currency for a market that is recovering its sense of volatility and risk appetite? Perhaps in the short-term; but looking months ahead, the world’s most liquid currency will eventually climb up the yield scale and in turn diminish its usefulness as a source of investor lending. And, while there are many fundamental considerations and concerns driving the fate of the greenback; this particular interest seems to be holding market participants’ immediate attention. With the benchmark, three-month Libor rate consistently pushing record lows (lows that are at a discount to even Japan’s benchmark) and the demand for competitive returns on the rise; the negative correlation that the dollar has maintained to risk appetite has kept it under pressure. Recently however, we have seen some signs of life from these key yields. Complimenting the certain turn in risk appetite, we have seen policy makers indicate their intentions to roll back stimulus while data confirms a steady recovery from recession. Yet, how much of its reputation and lost ground can the currency recovery with deficits ballooning and reserves slowly but surely being diversified away from dollars?

...more...

[UpInArms]

25. U.S. pay czar Feinberg expecting heat for rulings

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE58T5Z720090930?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

CHICAGO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Obama administration's pay czar joked Wednesday that he might have to move to Pluto to escape the fallout from his first batch of compensation decisions, which are expected in October.

Kenneth Feinberg, a Washington lawyer appointed by President Barack Obama in June to decide on pay for the highest-paid employees of companies that received extraordinary government assistance, told a Chicago Bar Association event that he does not expect his rulings to be universally applauded.

<snip>

He said he is meeting nonstop with Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and American International Group Inc as he finalizes his first wave of compensation rulings. He has said he plans to report on his rulings in mid-October.

Feinberg said the discussions continue to be amicable, and he hopes he won't have to impose pay curbs over the objections of the companies involved.

<snip>

Feinberg has a great deal of latitude in making his determinations and can even claw back pay that employees have received if he finds that it was paid out unfairly.

<snip>

The final determinations are binding, the Treasury has said.

...more...

[Demeter]

27. Now There's a Thought

Exile to Pluto for the Zombies!

[UpInArms]

26. IMF raises U.S. GDP forecast, warns on debt

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSTRE5901DS20091001?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&sp=true

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is mending more quickly than anticipated, although high unemployment and growing commercial property defaults will put a drag on the recovery, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday.

In its World Economic Outlook, the IMF said it now expects the U.S. economy to grow 1.5 percent in 2010, up from its July forecast for 0.8 percent growth. It nudged down its 2009 forecast to a decline of 2.7 percent from its earlier estimate of a 2.6 percent slide.

The IMF credited "unprecedented" interventions by the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve with helping to stabilize consumer spending and the housing and financial markets, which likely restored economic growth in the second half of 2009.

<snip>

It warned that the financial crisis had contributed to a high and rising debt trajectory that could become unsustainable without significant medium-term measures.

The IMF estimated that U.S. debt would reach almost 110 percent of gross domestic product by 2014, "a worrisome deterioration given looming healthcare and pension pressures related to population aging."

...more at link...

[Festivito]

28. Debt: 09/29/2009 11,776,112,848,656.17 (UP 4,662,154,911.17) (Tue)

(Thursday, Nov 1st, about 3pm, will come the year end report for FY2009.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 7,460,136,852,988.81 + 4,315,975,995,667.36
UP 473,982,417.68 + UP 4,188,172,493.49

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 308-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.25 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.75, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 10 seconds we net gain a another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 307,579,101 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 09/27/2009 07:13 -> 307,558,299
Currently, each of these Americans owe $38,286.45.
A family of three owes $114,859.36. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 2,731,138,429.77.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,911,796,900.84.
The average for the last 32 days would be 1,792,309,594.54.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 173 reports in 252 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 6.60B$ per report, 4.56B$/day so far.
There were 248 reports in 364 days of FY2009 averaging 7.06B$ per report, 4.81B$/day.

PROJECTION:
There are 1,209 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 13.4 and 17.6T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/29/2009 11,776,112,848,656.17 BHO (UP 1,149,235,799,743.09 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B, breakout on next two lines:
01-WJC 0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB 0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 1,751,387,951,743.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O, breakout on next two lines:
09GWB 0,602,152,152,000.59 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 34% of FY-Debt
09-BHO 1,149,235,799,743.09 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 66% of FY-Debt
FY2010 0,000,000,000,000.00 ------------BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/09/2009 +000,137,837,081.44 ------------********
09/10/2009 +012,326,876,265.82 ------------**********
09/11/2009 +000,017,033,887.43 ------------*******
09/14/2009 -000,193,915,837.32 --- Mon
09/15/2009 +034,695,222,864.03 ------------**********
09/16/2009 +000,121,771,969.62 ------------********
09/17/2009 -017,941,949,432.55 -
09/18/2009 -000,312,998,363.37 ---
09/21/2009 -000,319,092,626.95 --- Mon
09/22/2009 -000,005,688,069.16 -----
09/23/2009 -000,186,100,874.04 ---
09/24/2009 -043,516,809,626.65 -
09/25/2009 -000,256,514,563.16 ---
09/28/2009 -000,773,265,151.59 --- Mon
09/29/2009 +000,473,982,417.68 ------------********

-15,733,610,058.77 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4083597&mesg_id=4083660

[Festivito]

47. Debt: 09/30/2009 11,909,829,003,511.75 (UP 133,716,154,855.58) (Wed)(91+42 B)

(Big jump for last day in fiscal year 2009. Last of Bush era budgets. Not the last of Bush era problems affecting our budgets. But, on we go.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 7,551,861,558,736.77 + 4,357,967,444,774.98
UP 91,724,705,747.96 + UP 41,991,449,107.62

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 308-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.25 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.75, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 10 seconds we net gain a another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 307,587,741 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 09/27/2009 07:13 -> 307,558,299
Currently, each of these Americans owe $38,720.1.
A family of three owes $116,160.31. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 8,685,002,812.76.
The average for the last 30 days would be 6,369,002,062.69.
The average for the last 33 days would be 5,790,001,875.18.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.

PROJECTION:
There are 1,208 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 13.6 and 18.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
09/30/2009 11,909,829,003,511.75 BHO (UP 1,282,951,954,598.67 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B, breakout on next two lines:
01-WJC 0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB 0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O, breakout on next two lines:
09GWB 0,602,152,152,000.59 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO 1,282,951,954,598.67 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 0,000,000,000,000.00 ------------BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
09/10/2009 +012,326,876,265.82 ------------**********
09/11/2009 +000,017,033,887.43 ------------*******
09/14/2009 -000,193,915,837.32 --- Mon
09/15/2009 +034,695,222,864.03 ------------**********
09/16/2009 +000,121,771,969.62 ------------********
09/17/2009 -017,941,949,432.55 -
09/18/2009 -000,312,998,363.37 ---
09/21/2009 -000,319,092,626.95 --- Mon
09/22/2009 -000,005,688,069.16 -----
09/23/2009 -000,186,100,874.04 ---
09/24/2009 -043,516,809,626.65 -
09/25/2009 -000,256,514,563.16 ---
09/28/2009 -000,773,265,151.59 --- Mon
09/29/2009 +000,473,982,417.68 ------------********
09/30/2009 +091,724,705,747.96 ------------**********

75,853,258,607.75 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4085427&mesg_id=4085528

[tclambert]

52. Did you just say debt went up $133 billion on Wednesday?

And I thought Mondays were tough.

[DemReadingDU]

55. wow

that's a lot of debt

[DemReadingDU]

36. MSNBC: Matt Taibbi discusses article - Wall Street's Naked Swindle

Did someone bet on Bear Stearns’ fall?

Sept. 30: Rolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi joins the Morning Joe gang to discuss the collapse of the venerable investment bank
Wall Street's Naked Swindle

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=msnbc&vid=e74ff202-7fd2-4b28-9814-294420ccedc5

[mullard12ax7]

46. We didn't need those 1/2 million jobs anyway, the end is looking more better up!

Less bad, more or less bad equals good, the worst is over, green shoots, demand is way up from 1 spot I picked out to confuse you!

Let's get health care fixed, the people who let torturers go free will surely fix it!

[skoalyman]

48. recovery may come in fits and starts for the rest of the year

that's one of the story's I read fits and starts, next it will be fits and spurts sounds like a real slasher fest out there :yoiks:

[Dr.Phool]

49. Farts and flushes.

Is it last year already?

Todays closing numbers look like something from last year.

[skoalyman]

50. doc thats a good one

:hi: :rofl:

[DemReadingDU]

56. or a preview for what's coming

[ozone_man]

57. The party is over?

I think the other shoe drops soon. Loosening the shoe laces today.