STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, October 11, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday October 11, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 10, 2011

Dow 11,433.18 +330.06 (+2.89%)
Nasdaq 2,566.05 +86.70 (+3.38%)
S&P 500 1,194.89 +39.43 (+3.30%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.13 +0.06 (+2.85%)
30-Year Bond 3.05 +0.04 (+1.30%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 12

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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

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. No reports today. nt

[Roland99]

44. September employment-trends gauge ticks lower

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/september-employment-trends-gauge-ticks-lower-2011-10-11-100190?link=MW_home_latest_news

Weak job growth is likely through the end of the year, the Conference Board said Tuesday as it reported that its gauge of employment trends ticked lower in September. The private research group said its employment-trends index, which is designed to forecast turning points in employment, fell 0.41% in September to 100.95 from 101.37 in August, but is 4.4% higher than in the prior year. "Even as the economy remains slow going into the next year, we do not expect a major acceleration in layoffs, because employers have kept their workforce quite lean since the 2008/09 recession," said Gad Levanon, an economist at the Conference Board. The employment-trends index is made up of eight labor-market indicators, six of which made negative contributions in September, such as claims for unemployment-insurance benefits.

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil above $85 amid hope for EU debt crisis plan

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered above $85 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, pausing after gains of 13 percent over the past week that were fueled by hopes Europe will contain its debt crisis and avoid a global recession.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was down 17 cents at $85.24 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $2.43 to settle at $85.41 in New York on Monday.

Brent crude was down 20 cents at $108.75 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Investor optimism was bolstered after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Sunday they would finalize a "comprehensive response" to Europe's debt crisis by the end of the month.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. Stocks Drop in Europe on Renewed Debt Concern; Treasuries, Copper Decline

Stocks in Europe and copper dropped for the first time in five days after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the debt crisis threatens the financial system. Treasuries declined, while emerging-market stocks extended their longest advance since 2009.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.8 percent at 11:19 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures fell 0.5 percent, after the U.S. stocks gauge jumped the most since August yesterday. The cost of insuring debt against default tumbled in Japan. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose four basis points and the German 10-year bund yield declined three basis points. Copper declined 2.6 percent.

The crisis has reached a “systemic dimension,” Trichet told European lawmakers in Brussels today, as Slovakia, the only country in the region that hasn’t ratified the retooled bailout fund, prepared to vote on the package. Alcoa Inc. (AA) will be the first Dow Jones Industrial Average company to report results today in a quarter that’s forecast to show the slowest growth in profits since the end of 2009.

“The markets would find any excuse to see a little bit of a setback,” said Robert Buckland, head of global equity strategy at Citigroup Inc. in London. “The ECB wants the politicians to make the tough decisions and the stock market wants the tough decisions to made.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-11/asian-stocks-rise-for-fourth-day-won-climbs-on-europe-pledge-china-banks.html

[Roland99]

24. Bond prices have sure dropped the last few days, eh? Yields are up 40bps in less than a week!

[Demeter]

28. Asia is all green lights, Europe all red

sort of sums it all up, doesn't it?

[Ghost Dog]

54. The (unusual) lack of synchronisation indicates the degree of (deliberate) confusion,

yes.

Sort of along these lines: (I didn´t post this earlier, since I was holed up and offline except for brief, essential escape periods, in a detox clinic on the island of Mallorca following my final seperation from the far-too-wealthy-for-her-own-good and increasingly psychotically alcoholic woman who had been my 'partner' (and so one-sided, ha ha) these last nearly 28 years. She's now trying to get me sent to jail out of spite/vengeance. But I shouldn't bore you with my story: I'm free and on the road, but preparing for trial).

Anyway:

Global systemic crisis - Fourth quarter 2011: Implosive fusion of global financial assets
- Public announcement GEAB N°57 (September 16, 2011) -
http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-57-is-available-Global-systemic-crisis-Fourth-quarter-2011-Implosive-fusion-of-global-financial-assets_a7640.html

As anticipated by LEAP/E2020 since November 2010, and often repeated up to June 2011, the second half of 2011 has started with a sudden and major relapse of the crisis. Nearly USD 10 trillion of the USD 15 trillion in ghost assets announced in GEAB N°56 have already gone up in smoke. The rest (and probably much more) will vanish in the fourth quarter of 2011, which will be marked by what our team calls "the implosive fusion of global financial assets". It’s the two major global financial centers, Wall Street in New York and the City of London, which will be the "preferred reactors" of this fusion. And, as predicted by LEAP/E2020 for several months, it’s the solution to the public debt problems in some Euroland countries which will enable this reaction to reach critical mass, after which nothing is controllable; but the bulk of the fuel that will drive the reaction and turn it into a real global shock (1) is found in the United States. Since July 2011 we have only started on the process that led to this situation: the worst is ahead of us and very close!

...

Greek crisis and the Euro: Itemizing the huge manipulation in progress

But let’s come back to Greece and what is beginning to be a "very repetitive old story (3)" which, as we have already explained, returns to the front of the media stage every time Washington and London are in serious difficulties (4). Moreover, coincidentally, the summer has been disastrous for the United States which is now in recession (5), which has seen their credit rating cut (an event deemed unthinkable by all the "experts" only six months ago) and exposed their political system’s state of widespread paralysis (6) to an astonished world, all whilst being incapable of putting any serious measure in place to reduce their deficits (7). At the same time, the United Kingdom is sinking into depression (8) with riots of uncommon violence, an austerity policy that fails to control budget deficits (9) whilst plunging the country into an unprecedented social crisis (10), and a ruling coalition that doesn’t even know why it governs together against the backdrop of the scandal of collusion between political leaders and the Murdoch empire. No doubt, in such a context, everything was ripe for a media relaunch of the Greek crisis and its corollary, the end of the Euro!

If LEAP/E2020 had to summarize the "Hollywood style" or "Fox News" (11) scenario, we would have the following synopsis: "While the US iceberg is ramming the Titanic, the crew leads the passengers in search of dangerous Greek terrorists who may have planted bombs on board!" In propaganda terms, it’s a known recipe: it’s a diversion to allow, first of all, the rescue of the passengers one wants to save (the informed elite who know very well that there are no Greek terrorists on board) since everyone can’t be saved; and then, hide the problem’s true nature for as long as possible to avoid a revolt on board (including some of the crew who sincerely believe that there really are bombs on board).

Focusing on the background, we must emphasize that the "promoters" of a Greek crisis presented as a fatal crisis for the Euro have spent their time repeating it for almost two years without any of their forecasts coming to pass in any shape or form (12) (except to continue talking about it). Facts are stubborn: despite the media outcry that should have seen off many economies or currencies (13), the Euro is stable, Euroland has come on in leaps and bounds in terms of integration (14) and is about to break even more spectacular new ground (15), the emerging countries continue to diversify out of US Treasury Bonds and buy Euroland debt, and Greece’s exit from the Euro zone is still completely beyond consideration except in the Anglo-Saxon media articles whose writers generally have no idea of how the EU functions and even less of the strong trends that drive it.

...

In fact we recall that what terrifies Wall Street and the City are the lessons that Euroland’s leaders and its people have been in the process of learning from these three years of crisis and the ineffective solutions that have been applied. The nature of Euroland creates a unique forum for discussion among the elite and American and British public opinion. And this is what disturbs Wall Street and the City, which is systematically trying to kill this forum, either by trying to plunge it into a panic by announcing the end of the Euro for example; or by reducing it to a waste of time and evidencing Euroland’s ineffectiveness, an inability to resolve the crisis. Which is the limit given the complete paralysis prevailing in Washington!

However, it’s really this discussion forum that allows Eurolanders to move forward on the path to a lasting solution to the current crisis. This discussion forum is an integral part of European construction where opposing views of the methods and solutions confront each other before ultimately agreeing on a compromise (and it’s still the case as the very important decisions taken since May 2010 prove). Thus it broadens the debate to a whole raft of participants, coming from 17 different countries (21), several common institutions, and it roots itself in the discussions of seventeen public opinions. Yet it’s from the clash of ideas that light shines forth: of the brutal clash of ideas, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said 2500 years ago "Some it makes gods, some it makes men, some it makes slaves, some free". But Euroland’s citizens refuse to let this crisis turn them into slaves and that’s why the current debates within Europe are needed and useful. In three years, between 2008 and 2011, they have made two key things possible in the future:

· they relaunched European integration around Euroland and henceforth placed it on a path of accelerated integration. Our team now expects a strong revival of European politics from the end of 2012 (similar to the 1984-1985 period) including a Euroland political integration treaty which will be put to a Euroland-wide referendum by 2015 (22)

· they allowed the gradual emergence of two simple but very strong ideas: saving private banks is of no use to solve the crisis and it is necessary that the markets (that is to say essentially the big Wall Street and City financial operators) fully assume their risks without any further guarantee from the state. Today, these two ideas are at the heart of the Euroland debate, both in public opinion and amongst the elite ... and they gain ground every day. This is what causes fear on Wall Street, in the City, and amongst major private financial operators. This is the wick that has nearly burned down that will trigger the implosive fusion of global financial assets in the fourth quarter (in the prevailing context of the US recession and its inability to reduce its public deficits).

...

/more... http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-57-is-available-Global-systemic-crisis-Fourth-quarter-2011-Implosive-fusion-of-global-financial-assets_a7640.html

[Demeter]

63. I REALLY don't see Europe integrating, politically or otherwise

I see the EU disintegrating, and one or more nations pulling out of the Euro. They will be forced to, either by their populace or by the demands of unionization, to admit that the United States of Europe is only a dream, and a German-led empire isn't in the cards, either.

[Ghost Dog]

83. Your media is very biased.

Check it out.

Europeans will NOT be slaves.

[Tansy_Gold]

85. Por supuesto que sí

[Demeter]

86. Our media is silent

the only info we get on Europe comes from European media sources.

[Mnemosyne]

4. 1rst K&R! Thanks to you all! n/t

[Demeter]

17. Congratulations and Welcome to the Posting Club!

Would you like to pick the theme for this Weekend Economist Thread? We generally take something artistic, historical, or otherwise diverting to lighten the burden of tracking all the bad news. Humor, music, film, all topics are possible (but if it's out of my personal range, you'll have to help out!)

Just post below what you'd like to see!

Demeter

[Ghost Dog]

56. I propose Sun Tzu's Art of War

http://www.west-meet-east.com/edusuntsu1.htm#ch1

Topical, in every sense, I think.

[Demeter]

62. If Mnemosyne Doesn't Mind

it could be combined with some musical aspect...not having to be Oriental, even...

[Ghost Dog]

81. Just, go Oriental, generally?

:silly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqxDezKsL3M (Leonard Cohen - You Know Who I Am).

[Mnemosyne]

94. I love Ghost Dog's idea of The Art of War, because, imho, it is full out financial war

on US, We the People!

I mostly lurk. :blush::hi: because I am trying to learn from you guys with the smarts here!

[InkAddict]

5. Good morning, PBD et al

My schedule has really changed w/new job. I won't be able to follow the thread throughout the day and will probably only catch the earliest birds; however, rest assured, I'll be faithfully catching up with SMW after my own personal closing bell, so leave the tub clean! LOL.

[Tansy_Gold]

18. So they didn't scare you off the first day!

Or should that be you didn't scare them? :evilgrin:

I'm out here on the never-chaning Mountain Standard Time so I usually have a few late-afternoon quips. Wave when you drop in!



TG, makin' sure there's no ring

[Demeter]

19. I'm not sure we can restrain Rummy is Frosted

but the thread will certainly be there. Lots of us catch up in the evening and still comment.

[AnneD]

26. I don't think....

I'd want to restrain him. He posts great picks. And besides, you never put your hand in the crazy.

[Tansy_Gold]

27. Good advice

Indeed.

[DemReadingDU]

31. great news!

read and post when you can!

[xchrom]

6. rain and overcast -- but it's not monday -- therefore it's a good day!

:donut:

[xchrom]

7. asia: Chinese bank shares rise after Beijing ups stake

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15251828

Shares in China's big banks have moved higher, after the country's sovereign wealth fund announced it was increasing its stake in them.

Central Huijin, the domestic arm of China Investment Corporation, bought shares in four major banks on Monday, said the official Xinhua news agency.

The share purchase is the first since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Analysts said the move was aimed at boosting investor confidence shaken by foreign markets and domestic policy.

Shares in Agricultural Bank of China surged more than 12% on Hong Kong's main index, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China rose 7% in early trade.

[xchrom]

15. China bank-stock surge may be short lived

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-bank-stock-surge-may-be-short-lived-2011-10-11

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China’s four main state-controlled banks, the targets of share accumulation by the investment arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund , saw their collective market capitalization leap on Tuesday, spurring analyst skepticism about whether the gains would last.

The four banks’ Hong Kong-listed Class H shares rose in value by HK$139.63 billion ($17.94 billion), according to calculations by Dow Jones Newswires, based on price changes in the morning session.

Much of the rally appears driven by news that Central Huijin Investment increased its holdings of Shanghai-listed Class A shares in the four banks on Monday.

Collectively, the sovereign wealth fund invested 200 million yuan ($31.45 million) buying stakes in the four lenders’ Shanghai-listed A shares on Monday, according to filings by the banks to Hong Kong securities regulators late Monday.

[xchrom]

8. europe: Eurozone bailout fund faces key Slovakian vote

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15251441

Slovakia faces a key vote later on measures to bolster the powers of the eurozone bailout fund, seen as vital in combating the bloc's debt crisis.

With one coalition party vowing to abstain, the goverment looks set to lose the vote, but may keep trying.

After Malta approved the plans late on Monday, Slovakia is now the last of the eurozone's 17 member states to vote.

Slovakia's prime minister says she will tie the vote to a confidence vote - putting her government at risk.

[xchrom]

11. Economy barely grew in third quarter

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-britain-economy-idUKTRE7992ZI20111011

(Reuters) - The economy barely grew in the third quarter and the risks facing its fragile recovery are growing due to worries about the euro zone debt crisis and global demand, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), which represents companies employing one in six UK workers, said its quarterly poll showed a "disturbing" domestic decline and the worst conditions for exporters since the recession in 2009.

The business lobby group said Britain's coalition government must take urgent steps to stop the economy from tipping back into recession after 12 months of stagnation.

"The results point to increased risks facing the recovery," BCC Chief Economist David Kern told Reuters. "We think recession is avoidable, but it requires more aggressive policies to ensure that the risks are contained."

[xchrom]

12. Moody's downgrades Bank of Ireland UK

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-bankofireland-idUKTRE79A25U20111011

(Reuters) - Credit agency Moody's on Tuesday cut the deposit rating on Bank of Ireland's (BKIR.I) UK operations on falling expectations that the British government would provide support if it encountered trouble.

Bank of Ireland has a British mortgage book of 30 billion euros (41 billion pounds), compared with 28 billion euros in Ireland. Its large exposure to the UK, where property valuations have not fallen as steeply as in Ireland, has been seen as an advantage over domestic rivals.

Moody's cut to Ba1/Not-Prime with a negative outlook from Baa3/Prime-3 follows the agency's decision on Friday to cut its ratings on British banks and its assertion that the government might allow smaller institutions to fail.

[xchrom]

13. "Outraged" plan protests after arrests in Brussels

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Outraged/plan/protests/after/arrests/in/Brussels/elpepueng/20111009elpeng_3/Ten

The "Indignados" (outraged) movement, which converged in Brussels this weekend, went back to planning its next protest on Sunday after 48 of its members, arrested the day before, were released by police.

All of the protesters who were taken into custody, including 27 Spaniards, walked free without any charges or fines after a 12-hour arrest.

"Everyone is back without any penal, legal or economic consequences," said one of the movement's international coordination chiefs.

Protesters marching from Spain, Italy, France and the Netherlands arrived in the Belgian capital on Saturday ahead of a European Union summit on October 17 and 18, when leaders will discuss the continent's ongoing debt crisis.

The foreign demonstrators were joined by a group of Belgian sympathizers. The entire group of around 400 people then attempted to set up an informal camp in Elizabeth Park, mirroring camp-outs held earlier this year in Madrid and Athens in protest over the politicians' handling of the economic crisis.

[xchrom]

14. The human face of the cutbacks

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/The/human/face/of/the/cutbacks/elpepueng/20111010elpeng_2/Ten

Since Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero announced a drastic reduction in the annual budget last year, Spain's regional governments have been finding it increasingly hard to meet their spending commitments on health and education.

The regions face cuts of around 5 billion euros in total, and with an election due in November, tax hikes are, for the moment, not an option. Total debt in the regions is at 121.42 billion euros, more than 11 percent of GDP.

Catalonia is leading the cuts, and has announced a 2.86-billion-euro reduction in spending. Infrastructure spending has been trimmed, but emergency services have already been closed, and some health workers face the sack.

In Andalusia, the regional premier José Antonio Griñán has announced a cut of752 million euros. New investment has been postponed, and subsidies on prescriptions have been reduced.

[xchrom]

20. Debts, downturns and demonstrations

http://www.economist.com/node/21531513



HIS summer the euro zone’s endless sovereign-debt crisis took a more dangerous turn, as the markets turned their guns on the Spanish and Italian economies. Neither country is out of the woods—this week Moody’s, a ratings agency, downgraded Italy’s debt—but attention has returned to the country where it all began last year: Greece.

The Greeks won some breathing-space this week, thanks to a last-minute fudge over next year’s budget agreed with the European Union and IMF “troika”. Yet it could prove short-lived. If property-owners fail to come up with at least €1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) in extra tax revenues by the end of the year, the budget deficit will rise above the new limit of 8.5% of GDP—already worse than the target set in last year’s bail-out agreement (see chart)—and derail next year’s projections. Evangelos Venizelos, the finance minister, speaks admiringly of the sacrifices Greeks have made, but warns that more is to come. His officials whisper that default is looming.

After merging this year’s missed budget targets with those of 2012 “to correct slippage”, as he puts it, Mr Venizelos hopes to achieve a fiscal tightening of €7.1 billion next year, and to rack up a primary budget surplus (ie, before interest payments) of €3.2 billion. But debt-servicing costs would still leave an overall deficit of 6.8% of GDP. Total debt will rise to 172% of GDP.

[xchrom]

21. Merkozy'll fix the debt crisis? We'll believe it when we see it

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2011/oct/11/merkozy-germany-france-euro-crisis-strategy

Markets rallied on Monday amid hopes that "Merkozy", as some wags are calling the embattled German and French leaders, were assembling a "comprehensive strategy" for resolving the eurozone debt crisis. We'll believe it when we see it.

Over and over again for more than a year now, investors have been buoyed by the emergence of each new "plan"; but their exuberance rarely lasts when the details emerge, even if there are any.

It seems the latest scheme involves a comprehensive recapitalisation of Europe's banks – at last – to protect them from a Greek default; yet Germany and France are still not agreed about how that should be done, while the Dutch finance minister wants to make sure there are conditions attached.

It implies private sector creditors taking a much larger writedown on their holdings of Greek debts (Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's PM, asked whether there could be a 60% haircut, said: "We're thinking about more.") But a restructuring on that scale would be strongly resisted by the ECB. It would also be classified by the ratings agencies as a default, triggering billions of euros-worth of credit default swap contracts, potentially destabilising banks around the world.

[Ghost Dog]

58. Slovak EFSF approval likely "by end of week" (Reuters):

Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radicova put her government on the line by tying a vote on the size and powers of the European Financial Stability Facility to a confidence motion on her cabinet in a session that was underway in the afternoon.

Even if Radicova loses the vote, as looked likely, she and two of her ruling coalition partners say they will be able to produce a majority for ratification of the EFSF deal by obtaining the support of the largest opposition party.

"There is an assumption that the EFSF, one way or the other, will be approved by the end of the week," Finance Minister Ivan Miklos, who supports the measure, told parliament before the vote.

The leftist Smer party led by former Prime Minister Robert Fico has said it would be receptive -- in exchange for major concessions including a cabinet reshuffle or early elections.

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/uk-eurozone-slovakia-idUKTRE79A1M420111011

[xchrom]

9. middle east: Struggling Dubai Bank is taken over by larger rival

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15254615

Dubai's ruler has ordered the city state's biggest lender by assets to take control of a troubled rival.

Emirates NBD's takeover of Dubai Bank reflects "efforts to enhance the banking sector in the emirate", according to a government statement.

The move comes five months after the emirate stepped in to rescue Dubai Bank because of mounting loan losses.

At the time, officials promised to invest an undisclosed amount of money into the business to protect deposits.

[Demeter]

29. It's like watching 4 year olds play house

Dubai pretending to be a sovereign nation of real people, when it's just a billionaire's hobby horse.

[xchrom]

53. ...

:spray: damn, you're good.

[Demeter]

64. You Better Believe It, Honey!

That's Mae West, for the infants among us...I just have a higher register for the voice...

[xchrom]

73. the Queen Bee of Divas!

Blessed are those who know of Miss Mae!

[xchrom]

10. south asia: Pakistan rate cut defies flood bill fear

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MJ12Df01.html

KARACHI - Pakistan's central bank unexpectedly cut the discount rate by 150 basis points at the weekend, the largest reduction in eight years, as it announced its first monetary policy since the country ended its incomplete US$11.3 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program on September 30.
The cut to 12% from 13.5% was contrary to market expectations of a 50 basis point cut. The central bank's move is aimed at spurring investment as floods weaken the country's economic growth and comes amid falling inflation and a decline in government borrowing.

The consumer price index (CPI) rose 10.46% in September from a year earlier, down from 11.56% in August and 13.77% in July. The government borrowing from the central bank was 1,051 billion rupees (about $11.9 billion) on September 30, lower than the


agreed limit of 1,155 billion rupees for the current fiscal year 2011-12.

The local business community welcomed the rate cut, after high interest rates held back growth in production and led to the closure of many industrial units. Manufacturing grew only 3% in the 12 months to June.

[xchrom]

45. Sensex down 21 pts; fails to sustain early gains

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Sensex-closes-21-points-down/articleshow/10314441.cms

MUMBAI: Snapping two-day rally, the BSE sensex today ended 21 points down on profit selling by funds, especially in IT stock led by software exporter Infosys ahead of its quarterly earnings and a weak trend in Europe.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's sensex, which had gained 765 points in last two trading sessions, extended gains at the outset to climb 16,774.12, before ending 20.76 points lower at 16,536.47.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell 5.25 points to 4,974.35, after climbing to 5,045.10.

The markets opened higher on firm cues from Asia but lower openings in Europe amid uncertainty over euro-zone debt bailout plans pulled down the stocks.

[xchrom]

50. Gold rises by Rs 195, silver up by Rs 400 on festive demand

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Gold-rises-by-Rs-195-silver-up-by-Rs-400-on-festive-demand/articleshow/10313237.cms

NEW DELHI: Both the precious metals, gold and silver, extended gains for the second straight session today on sustained buying by stockists for the ongoing festive season amid rising global trend. While gold added Rs 195 to Rs 27,115 per 10 grams, silver gained Rs 400 to Rs 53,900 per kg.

Trading sentiments bolstered after gold climbed the most in a week in New York as falling dollar prompted investors to buy the precious metal as an alternative asset.

Gold in New York, which normally sets the price trend on the domestic front, rallied by $37.20 to $1,675.90 an ounce and silver by 2.46% to $32.04 an ounce.

Retailers buying for the ongoing festive season also supported the uptrend.

[xchrom]

16. Alberta jobs-increase figures are “stunning”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alberta-jobs-increase-figures-are-stunning-2011-10-11

VICTORIA, B.C. — Here’s a term you don’t hear too often these days — “blockbuster job growth.” But that’s what analysts are calling the latest employment figures in oil-rich Alberta, an exciting, upbeat place these days.

And you can thank the much-maligned (elsewhere, anyway) Alberta oil-extraction industry for the biggest chunk of those jobs created.

The western province’s unemployment rate dipped to 5.4 per cent in September — from 5.6 per cent in August — following the fifth straight month of job gains, Statistics Canada reports.

The federal agency says Alberta recorded a net 8,600 new jobs, bringing to almost 98,000 the number of new jobs created in fast-growing Alberta during the past year.




***somebody needs to educate this guy on the KINDS of jobs created.
unsustainable jobs don't really help in the long run. but what. ever.

[bread_and_roses]

22. Lots of good that will do when we're all boiling in our own sweat

I know how desperate people are for jobs - but I still have a hard time not getting angry at my sister and brother workers supporting this horror.

K&R

[Demeter]

23. 5 myths of Occupy Wall Street

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-myths-of-occupy-wall-street-2011-10-11

Occupy Wall Street, the month-long protest centered near the New York Stock Exchange, has the establishment scared. What once was seen as a traffic problem in Lower Manhattan has elevated into a debate about economic inequality in America, with bulls-eyes trained on the backs of bankers. How else can one explain the sudden explosion of media coverage at Zuccotti Park, the discussion of the protests by the Republican field of presidential hopefuls and a shout-out by President Barack Obama last week? Still, the media still doesn’t know what to make of this growing movement. Is it a liberal tea party? Is it Marxism run amok? Is it an Arab Spring on Wall Street? Is is a hippie gathering? Will Radiohead show up? Having covered the protests for nearly the month they’ve been camped out downtown, I want to clear the air on some of the myths surrounding this movement in American society and politics.

Myth: The protesters are pushing for anarchy, support violence and communism.

Myth-makers: Ann Coulter, The Washington Times, bloggers, New Hampshire Tea Party, Ron Paul.

Fact: Many of the protesters are seeking jobs, are students or are underemployed. Not one of dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters I spoke to want hand outs, or to overthrow democracy. Rather, they want a return to a democratic process free of corporate and special-interest money. The protests are a month old and have been mostly peaceful.

Myth: Most Occupy Wall Street protesters don’t know what they’re protesting.

Myth-makers: Author William Cohan, Donald Trump, Andrew Ross Sorkin of the New York Times.

Fact: It’s true Occupy Wall Street has become a melting pot of causes: environmentalism, anti-war peace protest and workers rights to name a few. But the protesters are uniformly opposed to a system that favors what they call the 1%: the super rich who have consolidated nearly 40% of the nation’s wealth. It’s no accident that they’ve picked Wall Street as their base. Big banks are responsible for creating the bubble that led to our recession and high unemployment. Moreover, bank executives who have failed nevertheless continue to get eye-popping rewards: for instance Sallie Krawcheck and Joe Price were ousted from Bank of America Corp. a few weeks ago. Their exit packages totaled $11 million. The bank lost $14 billion during the last year, announced it will charge debit-card holders $5 a month and is foreclosing on thousands of mortgages. The bottom line: you don’t have to be an expert on the machinations of global finance to know something is wrong here.

Myth: The protest is simply a liberal tea party.

Myth-makers: Me, Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Jon Stewart

Fact: Like the tea party, Occupy Wall Street is concerned about the deficit, the Federal Reserve and mounting U.S. debt. But they don’t lay the blame on a government (they don’t absolve it either). Consider that banking and corporate profits created a bubble during the last decade at the U.S. Treasury through tax revenue. When the bubble popped, it bankrupted the government and thrust us into unsustainable long-term debt and annual deficits that this generation of mostly young protesters will have to pay off. That sounds an awful lot like the tea party with one exception: they have a more sophisticated view of how the U.S. got into this debt quandary.

Myth: Occupy Wall Street is a paid group aimed at re-electing Obama.

Myth-makers: Herman Cain, The Daily Caller blog, Sean Hannity.

Fact: No one is getting paid to protest. In fact, many protesters have sacrificed income to march. Moreover, almost every protester I’ve spoken with has complained about Obama and how he’s pandered to Wall Street interests.

Myth: The protesters are hypocrites. They say they hate the banks, but they bank. They buy from big corporations. They’ve been spotted at McDonalds.

Myth-makers: Ginia Bellafante and Sorkin of the New York Times; Human Events, InfoWars blogs; Bernd Debusmann of Reuters.

Fact: It’s actually true. Occupy Wall Street protesters do buy products and services from corporate America. But does that make them hypocrites? Consider that most of these protesters are NOT against banks. They are against improper actions of banks: foreclosures, inequitable compensation. Nor are they against the bailouts. They just want the same opportunity for homeowners. Would they be less hypocrites if they grew their own zucchini at Zuccotti Park, made their own clothes and all banked at a credit union? The funny thing about credit unions: usually you need a job to join. And from this example you can see why Occupy Wall Street is confusing to many Americans and threatening to powerful financial interests. In more ways than most Americans know, they are like them. They’re at the mercy of banks and big corporations. With the 2012 election just a year away, Occupy Wall Street has some tough decisions to make. Will they allow themselves to be co-opted by union interests and political candidates who want to turn their numbers into votes? Or will they remain fiercely independent, challenging the status quo? Wherever the movement goes, one thing is certain. Wall Street and Washington are paying attention. And they recognize Occupy Wall Street is a dangerous threat to the system. You can bet that 1% knows that part isn’t a myth.

**********************************************

David Weidner covers Wall Street for MarketWatch.

[Tansy_Gold]

30. Please explain to me

How OWS is a "threat" to the system?

What are they threatening to do?

How are they going to carry out this threat?


I know perfectly well what they want, what their complaints are, who they're angry at and why they're angry. I want to know how their anger and frustration manifests itself in any kind of threat to anything other than the grass in the park.




TG

[DemReadingDU]

33. OWS isn't a threat to the system

The system is a threat to itself. It is more than that the system is corrupted...
Corruption is the system!

At some point, the system implodes from all the corruption, the toxic investments, the CDS 'insurance' that can't be paid because there is not enough money.

Only after the big Kaboom from the global Ponzi bubble imploding, then something else will take its place.
I don't know what it will be, I'll be dead by then.


Edit - the only thing OWS is doing, is bringing more attention to the fraud and corruption. But the protesters can't bring down the system, the system will eventually implode on its own.

[Demeter]

35. OWS Can Speed It Along

and guide the beginnings of what comes next.

And unless you are 80 and in poor health, I think you will be seeing the implosion. Unfortunately.

[DemReadingDU]

43. The system eventually implodes

Corruption is the system. Many people do get that.

However, nobody knows the tipping point or what exactly will speed it along. It could be a bunch of little incidents, or one major thing. Heck I thought the system would have imploded 2 years ago from all the corruption and fraud. I never imagined the extent the countries, governments and banks around the world go to keep the Ponzi inflated and growing and growing and growing.

The Kabooom will be huge. I have no doubt we will see the implosion. It's what happens after that which could take decades to figure out. I don't think I'll survive that process.

[Demeter]

34. Crimes need secrecy

OWS is going public with their stories of victimization. And people who thought it was their own personal failure are finding out otherwise.

People who thought the system worked, are finding out who it worked for.

People who thought they were safe are seeing that nobody is safe, except the 1%.

When the massive failure of the nation's government is recognized by the nation, the government will change. And that change is the threat. Any change is a threat. The System(tm) is so jury-rigged that it daily threatens to collapse. We see and document that right here on this thread.

Knowledge is a threat to the System(tm), probably the greatest threat. The System (tm) has been banking on general ignorance, cultivating it, buying and shutting down the free press and public education. Well, now there's a truly free (or at least, affordable) global press called the Internet, and although people have tried, they haven't been successful at shutting it down. After all, Business is dependent upon it.

Real Change, not that hopey-changey product, WILL happen. There will be a tipping point. and I hope it's sooner, rather than later, but in any event, the betrayal of Obama blew the cover for all the self-styled "Elite". And now they know it, they know we know it, and the playing field is far more favorable to the sheer numbers of people, instead of the sheer numbers of worthless fiat currency which will be repudiated when it all falls down.

[Demeter]

36. I posted this earlier on a different thread

OWS is recreating the community of the People: the People who created this unique experiment in democracy.

By emphasizing the stark differences between our 99% and the 1%, OWS will wean away the common base of the GOP, those too ignorant to stop voting against their own economic interests.

With the voters turning away, the GOP WILL whither. Some of the worst racists/sexist/religious bigots may never join with us, but they won't be voting for the 1% either. Reagan's unholy alliance will be broken at last.

Similarly, with the lines clearly defined on economic and political terms for the first time since FDR, Corporations WILL be regulated again, both the Banks and the Others. OWS will give candidates back the ability to run without huge corporate bribes, and take down the influence peddlers by regulating them out of existence.

I do not know if it will be possible to finally prosecute war criminals, ALL the war criminals, whether W or O, but that is the ultimate sign of a healthy electorate in charge of itself.

[AnneD]

39. I think this is why....

they have gone after Julian Assange with such ferocity. He made the dirty little secrets very public.

[Demeter]

41. Exactly

He showed the world what kinds of crooks we have in office.

Hence the whole Predator Drone syndrome. Obama is particularly enchanted with them...threatening the Jonas brothers, and all....

[DemReadingDU]

49. Aren't they all crooks

Some politicians do want to do things to better their districts. But then they are consumed in the system. We need a different system.

[AnneD]

57. In honor of the Predator Drones......

our song today is Brittney Spear's Opps, I did it again.

Wonder if it is on Obama's Ipod. :hide:

[Loge23]

51. Alan Grayson's three main points:

Former FL congressman (and ain't that a shame), Alan Grayson, has articulated the primary complaints of OWS as best as I have heard so far. His last two appearances have been on Bill Maher's Real Time and Rachel Maddow's program.
Grayson's three points;
Accountability for causing the financial disaster. There has been no indictments, no arrests, and no credible investigations on Wall Street for the alleged crimes leading to the financial collapse - and of course, no reform.
Inequity. The overwhelming crime here is the vast shift in wealth which has all but wiped out the middle/working class in the U.S. - an inequity only super-ceded by a handful of third-world countries.
Power and Influence. According to Grayson, one of our major political is a "wholly-owned subsidiary of Wall Street", while the other one caters to Wall Street.

These are many other grievances that also must be heard, but these three are excellent "shut-up" points for all of us in running into the opposition.

[bread_and_roses]

25. Interesting tid-bit about a Bankster in this article

Although I suppose that "Bankster" is not quite appropriate for someone who also lost his pension and hold a grievance against his corporate bosses - nonetheless, it's clear where he's cast his lot:

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/11

... As some kind of fortune would have it, I sat next to a talkative Wall Street veteran at a dinner Saturday night to break the fast of the Jewish Yom Kippur New Year.

...

...the more he talked, the more it was clear that his real anger is reserved for Wall Street’s bosses, the people who run the firms and are, in his view, totally corrupt.

He was one of those who lost his pensions and shares when Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns when down. He was wiped out and had nothing good to say about the people at the top.

Curiously, he was as angry with these men in the suits as are the folks in the streets. He was just as alienated although he’s not about to turn on capitalism and instead sniped at a retired schoolteacher at the dinner for having a good pension that he now lacks. His resentment, insensitivity and sense of class entitlement were insufferable.

Yet, even though he works for a leading financial firm, he saw himself as a victim too -- in effect, a 99 per-center.

What can one say? If his own experience has not taught him anything, nothing will. Blaming teachers. Right. Why not the kindergardeners? infants getting WIC? Self-delusion is an amazing thing.

[AnneD]

38. Morning Marketeers.....

:donut: and lurkers. I run into this attitude all the time. I made the choice to earn $30,000 or more every year of my working life to work in the public sector as a school nurse. I had to work two jobs to make ends meet (in the summer and on weekends when my daughter was at her dads). In fact I only gave up working 2 jobs just 4 years ago.

I came to this job after earning the number of quarters required for social security, and yet in the GOP's attempt to knock people off the roles, I was knocked off (I cannot even collect as a widow). So I got cheated by the government out of my Social Security and now I a scum because I worked in education all those years. I worked very hard for my meager little pension. I am not even polite about it any more and just light into those folks when they start spouting that shit.

But put bluntly, would you rather educate a child or give a billionaire a new tax cut. Frankly, I would not want to live in a world where the tax cut for those that already have is the only option. In the Depression, many historians feel that we came very close to becoming socialist and the FDR and his reforms prevented that. In fact some think he saved the wealthy from themselves.

Unfortunately we have no FDR on the horizon and I feel that if the OWS are not addressed in a meaningful way with real reform...what was prevented in the Depression may come to pass. Blood is being shed now, quietly, due to poverty, lack of health care, etc. Soon it will not be so quite. When you have nothing to lose, you have nothing to lose. The 1% is underestimating the increasing desperation of the 99%.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Demeter]

32. I had a lot of stuff lined up to post, and then Firefox crashed

Cest la vie chez Demeter.

Today I'm going to tilt at windmills in someone else's mind. Wish me luck. I know that "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still", but I can't let the Technophobic get away with denying the community the benefits of the 40 year old solar cell technology just because there are board members who are intimidated by large flashlights.

I try to patient, and understanding, and all that, the first time.

Then I go out and agitate amongst the community.

If facts can't sway these ignorant, frightened board members, then they really don't belong on the board. I'm tired of a board that only responds to threats of lawsuits. That's no way to run or build a community.

[xchrom]

37. hey there!

:hi: i'm having deja vu reading your post.

i have to remember to call some old friends and see how things are going at my old place.

[Demeter]

42. Deja Vu

I'd hate to have the current struggle repeat itself. I want to fix it, not fight the same battles when I'm older and tireder.

[DemReadingDU]

52. Same in our village

No response to anything, nothing, not even an apology. So we did file a lawsuit. Still no response, except the police chief cited spouse, again!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=5018823&mesg_id=5019166


It's like we have targets on our back.

[Demeter]

40. The Confidence Fairy Wore Out Her Wings Yesterday

or another game of Good Market-Bad Market, to shake out and shake down the bit players.

[Demeter]

46. Much as I'd like to stay and play

the Kid is gone for the day, so I'm gonna make hay while it's quiet and unoccupied...see you tonight, either before or after the committee meeting.

[AnneD]

77. The confidence fairy....

molted. The question is what will metamorphose in to.

[Demeter]

80. Is that what that was

Cornish pixies, perhaps?

[AnneD]

82. Note the...

similar features: eyes, antennae, smile.

[xchrom]

47. US seeks more investments from India, China

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/US-seeks-more-investments-from-India-China/articleshow/10277212.cms

WASHINGTON: America's top business and political leadership has sought more investments into the country from India, China and Brazil so that more jobs could be created in the US.

"Our direct investment from places like China, India, Brazil, the people that really have a hot hand today, are minuscule, almost non-existent, and there's no reason why those countries shouldn't be investing more broadly in the US than they are today," said Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of the General Electric Company.

"I totally believe that if we have more foreign direct investment from India and China and those places in the United States, we wouldn't have as many issues as we have," he added.

Immelt and others expressed their views on the issue at Friday's discussion at President's Jobs and Competitiveness Council with the secretary of state Hillary Clinton and the Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank.

[xchrom]

48. i have a question -- we know businesses are 'sitting' on a lot of cash -- but where

exactly is this cash?

is it earning interest?

[Tansy_Gold]

55. Some businesses are showing record profits

But does that necessarily mean they're sitting on cash?

There are also a lot of businesses -- the smaller ones -- going out of business.

And which businesses are they that are showing profits? Are the manufacturing businesses that have moved operations to cheap labor centers? or are they FIRE corporations that are funneling that cash to their execs?



As usual, I'm just asking questions.



TG

[AnneD]

59. Use to be....

shareholders got dividend checks worth money, most now just give you more toilet paper.

[DemReadingDU]

60. IMO, the 'record' profits are phoney

Somebody is cooking the books

[xchrom]

61. Yeah. Me too. I'm guessing PO-d-mainiac or Demeter or PBD will know. Nt

[Roland99]

65. Probably holding it in Europe, Asia, developing markets, etc.

Any place they can stash it without repatriating it and paying taxes.

[Demeter]

66. A lot of it is overseas, hiding from the IRS and the stockholders

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

67. Boo-Boo All Better!

[Demeter]

68. We can laugh or cry---or read Dilbert

[Demeter]

70. Or Scream in Rage wih Max Keiser--Guillotines are featured

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zpp3BNUgGM

[AnneD]

78. That episode was great.....

love the sign over the Versailles. I think I will check the author's book out.

I like the idea of pulling money out of these zombie banks, buying silver and other ways to aid the OWS folks. And I actually like that there is no leader because you can bet that the M$M, PTB, BFEE, and HS would be after them (mental note purchase V for Vendetta).

This whole movement is like a nice bit of bleach and sunshine to disenfect the mold currently in our system.

[Ghost Dog]

84. Heh he heh heh heh

:rofl:

[Hotler]

90. Best Max report ever. Now I'm really pissed. eom.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

72. What's the key phrase?

"Obscenely profitable"

"Like a monkey on an orange"

"Angriest rich guy"

"Aggressive jerks"

"Nerdling"

OR

"I don't know why."

[Demeter]

74. All symptoms of the same disease.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

75. Beautiful.

[Tansy_Gold]

76. None of the above. The key phrase is

"Step aside."

[Demeter]

69. Cargill profits fall 66% on global turmoil

Results could intensify investors’ focus on Bunge and Archer Daniels Midland, and worry investors in leading commodities trader Glencore

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/R5WAEE/AMDPHQ/6ADGM/HYYQM0/97XQH4/4O/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=11

[Demeter]

71. Roger Altman: America’s blueprint for saving Europe’s banks

The financial crisis struck the US harder and more quickly than it did Europe. The complete freezing of credit markets required an immediate and overwhelming intervention – and the American fiscal and monetary authorities delivered it.

Between the Federal Reserve, Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, approximately $13,000bn of credit support was arranged for financial institutions in late 2008 and 2009.

There was no alternative to this massive reaction, and it worked. US credit markets are now healthy, and the recapitalised banking system is stable. History will look favorably on the boldness of America’s response.

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/EB8122/R3HM2Y/SUO9T/SPPL9E/ZGCX4B/KI/t?a1=2011&a2=10&a3=11

[mahatmakanejeeves]

79. Alcoa Profit Misses Estimates in Q3

Alcoa Profit Misses Estimates in Q3

Alcoa Profit Misses Estimates in Q3
By Sonja Elmquist - Oct 11, 2011 4:22 PM ET

Alcoa Inc. (AA), the largest U.S. smelter of aluminum, reported third-quarter profit that trailed analysts’ estimates after production costs increased.

Net income more than doubled to $172 million, or 15 cents a share, from $61 million, or 6 cents, a year earlier, New York- based Alcoa said today in a statement. Excluding restructuring costs, earnings were about 14 cents. The average estimate of 15 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg was for 22 cents. Sales increased 21 percent to $6.4 billion from $5.29 billion. The average of nine analysts’ estimates was for $6.23 billion.

Disclaimer: I own shares of AA. I haven't checked to see what the stock is doing after hours, but I'm probably about even on it.

[oberliner]

87. Down about 4.5 percent after hours

Holding steady there so far.

[Hotler]

88. To my brothers and sisters in SMW.

Thanks for putting up me. A part of me has no fight left. A part of me just wants to to kick some fucking ass. Between a mean stepfather and joining the shop ironworker's when I was seventeen I got tough real quick. I've worked really hard to put my scrapping past behind me but if my gun loving teabagger neighbor opens his mouth one more time I my leave him laying in the gutter. I got to be careful cause I can't take a punch like I used to. Thanks for letting me vent. Now where is my bottle of tequila.
P.S. I like puppies.

[Demeter]

89. You can vent any time

If you don't feel fit for general consumption, PM me. I can take it from anyone (and have...that's why I'm on a condo board.)

[Hotler]

91. Thank you D. eom.

[DemReadingDU]

92. I understand ironworkers

I married one.
Hang in there, feel free to vent anytime here.

[Tansy_Gold]

93. What Demeter and DRDU said goes for me, too

We send a lot of venting back and forth over the PM tubes that doesn't see the public SMW screen. It keeps us sane. :rofl:

You're more than welcome to vent as the need arises :grouphug: