STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 17 February 2016

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 17 February 2016[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 16 February 2016

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 16 February 2016
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Dow Jones 16,196.41 +222.57 (1.39%)
S&P 500 1,895.58 +30.80 (1.65%)
Nasdaq 4,435.96 +98.44 (2.27%)


[font color=red]10 Year 1.78% +0.01 (0.56%)
30 Year 2.63% +0.02 (0.77%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
Market Updates
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts
08/03/15 Former City (London) trader Tom Hayes found guilty of rigging global Libor interest rates. Each fo eight counts carries up to 10 yr. sentence.
08/21/15 Charles Antonucci Sr, former pres. Park Ave. Bank sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and attempt to steal $11MM in TARP bailout funds, as well as $37.5MM fraud on OK insurance company. To pay $54MM in restitution and give up additional $11MM.
09/21/15 Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn apologizes for VW cheating on air quality standards with emission testing avoidance device. Stock drops 20%, fines may total $18B.
09/22/15 Stewart Parnell, CEO Peanut Corp. of America, sentenced to 28 years in prison for selling salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed nine.
12/17/15 Martin Shkreli, former CEO Turing Pharmaceuticals and notorious price gouger, arrested on securities fraud charges. Posted $5M bail, resigned as CEO.




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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. The China bomb keeps getting bigger

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-tsf-numbers-for-january-2016-2?utm_content=buffer9199a&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

China dropped a few bits of economic data over the weekend suggesting things will get much worse before they get better.

The most important piece of data is total social financing, or TSF.

It's a figure the Chinese government made up back in 2011 to track all the money in the system. That includes credit out to borrowers and even parts of the country's opaque shadow banking system.

So you can imagine why tracking this is important. As Business Insider's Julia La Roche reported, this is what hedge fund land considers "a ticking time bomb."

And the bomb is just getting bigger, according to last month's tally.

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Talk about interesting times. . . . .

[Tansy_Gold]

2. There is 'true carnage' on Wall Street

http://www.businessinsider.com/wall-streets-biggest-stories-february-16-2016-2


Activist investor and Third Point founder Dan Loeb thinks 2016 is shaping up to be a "'Wall Street' recession."

In a letter to investors, he said that stock market declines "actually fail to capture the true carnage revealed when you take a closer look at the breadth of S&P companies experiencing massive losses."

In Fed land, Neel Kashkari, the newly appointed president of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, has called for the break-up of the biggest banks in the US.

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

clickbait headline. not much substance.

[MattSh]

3. A Wall Street recession, meaning...

Wall Street finally gets to join everybody else?

[Ghost Dog]

7. Recession lights amber, brittle markets vulnerable to all shocks

... Given the violence of this year's slump in equities, where more than $8 trillion has been wiped off global stock market values, it is remarkable how few economists still see recession as the most likely outcome.

Yet more and more believe it will be a close-run thing; protracted market volatility itself could well tip the balance and investors are in no mood to hang about for a confirmation.

Anxiety is high, with few extraordinary policy measures now likely or even available, and more negative interest rates in Europe or Japan seen by many as part of the problem rather than the solution for a bruised banking system...

... While they wait, investors are scrutinizing the many geopolitical risks and systemic concerns that would typically be ignored in periods of more robust growth, but which may now be magnified as additional threats to businesses' and households' investment or spending plans...

... Some banks, such Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale, put the chances of a global recession this year at about one-in-five. Others, such as Citi, say the risk is rising all the time. Bank of America Merrill Lynch sees a 20 percent chance of a U.S. slump.

Whoever you believe, recession is no longer off the radar. The energy shock saw world industrial activity barely grow at all in 2015 and it tailed off alarmingly in the back end of the year...

/... http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets-recession-idUKKCN0VQ0HE

[Hotler]

8. Reading between the lines.

Neel Kashkari has popped his up from out of the blue to say "break up the big banks". Let's review shall we.
Was interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability from October 2008 to May 2009, he oversaw the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that was a major component of the U.S. government's response to the financial crisis of 2007–08.

When Henry Paulson, the former head of Goldman, was appointed Secretary of the Treasury in 2006, he brought Kashkari on as an aide. Kashkari was eventually named Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development. At Treasury, he played a number of roles in the response to the financial crisis and the subprime mortgage crisis that preceded it, most notably administering TARP.

Kashkari left government and began working for Pimco in 2009, leading that company's push into the equities market. In January 2013 he resigned from Pimco to explore a run for public office.

When guys like Neel talk about breaking up the big banks it is not because they have our best interest in mind it is because the see a way to make some money. Let me refer you to this that was posted by Lodestar yesterday here in the Economy Group.

It may be a good deal to buy some bank stock in case this comes to pass. Buy low, sell high.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/111676500

[Hotler]

4. Not true economics, yet interesting.

Apple challenges 'chilling' demand to decrypt San Bernadino shooter's iPhone

Apple has hit back after a US federal magistrate ordered the company to help the FBI unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernadino shooters, with chief executive Tim Cook describing the demand as “chilling”.

The court order focuses on Apple’s security feature that slows down anyone trying to use “brute force” to gain access to an iPhone by guessing its passcode. In a letter published on the company’s website, Cook responded saying Apple would oppose the order and calling for public debate.

“The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers. We oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand,” he wrote.

“Up to this point, we have done everything that is both within our power and within the law to help them. But now the US government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone,” he wrote.

“Specifically, the FBI wants us to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation.”

“While we believe the FBI’s intentions are good, it would be wrong for the government to force us to build a backdoor into our products. And ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/apple-challenges-chilling-demand-to-decrypt-san-bernadino-shooters-iphone/ar-BBpBYLC?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp

I'm thinking that there is really not much in the phone that could harm us as much as the FBI is pissed that their crack team o experts can't crack the code.

I say good for Apple.

[DemReadingDU]

12. the FBI is pissed, n/t

[Hotler]

5. Wanted by the U.S.: The Stolen Millions of Despots and Crooked Elites

It’s hard to imagine a public official with more toys than Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, who spent $300 million on Ferraris, a Gulfstream jet, a California mansion and even Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” jacket. The buying spree is all the more remarkable since this scion of the ruling family of Equatorial Guinea, one of Africa’s smallest countries, bought all this while on an official salary of $100,000 a year.

But legal action by the Justice Department has brought an end to Mr. Obiang’s spendthrift ways. His $30 million Malibu estate is on the market, as are his luxury cars and six life-size Jackson statues. Proceeds from these sales are earmarked for citizens of Equatorial Guinea, who prosecutors claim are victims of Mr. Obiang’s “relentless embezzlement and extortion.”

The turnabout in Mr. Obiang’s fortunes is part of an effort by the federal government to recover assets it says were stolen by foreign officials — dictators, politicians and ruling elites – and laundered in the United States. Since its start in 2010, the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative has grown to include a dozen government lawyers and teams from the F.B.I. and Homeland Security.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/wanted-by-the-us-the-stolen-millions-of-despots-and-crooked-elites/ar-BBpAEBe?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp

Granted as the article says it is hard to prosecute these people, but then again the DOJ seems to not have even tried to prosecute the rat fuckers on Wall St., or go after shell companies set up by the !% to hide money.

[Hotler]

6. These guys got mad when Vanguard lowered fees

(Bloomberg View) -- Near the end of last month, mutual-fund giant Vanguard announced that it had lowered the expense ratios on 35 of its mutual funds. That’s after a December announcement that it had lowered expense ratios on 53 funds. All in all, Vanguard estimated, the changes resulted in an $87.4 million reduction in the fees paid by its customers.

Isn’t that outrageous!?!?! I mean, seriously, how shameless can these guys get?
That, in short, is the argument Vanguard tax lawyer turned whistle-blower David Danon and his hired expert, University of Michigan law professor Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, are making.

Yes, there's a more complicated legal angle involving transfer pricing. More on that in a bit. But the underlying reasoning is simple: Vanguard is cheating state and federal tax authorities by charging its customers much less than other fund companies do. Which is exactly as bonkers as it sounds. (This seems like it might be a good spot to disclose that while I don’t own any Vanguard funds, my wife does.)

Vanguard has $3.2 trillion in U.S. fund assets under management, and its asset-weighted average expense ratio is 0.14 percent, compared with an industry average of 0.64 percent. That means Vanguard’s fees bring in about $4.5 billion a year, and if they were raised to the industry average they would bring in about $20.5 billion. Since Vanguard is run at break-even now, that difference would presumably be profit, and thus subject to corporate income taxes. Using similar calculations, Avi-Yonah contends that Vanguard owes the Internal Revenue Service $34.6 billion in back taxes for the years 2007 through 2014. And Newsweek estimates that Danon, as the whistle-blower, could pocket as much as $10 billion of that.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mutualfunds/these-guys-got-mad-when-vanguard-lowered-fees/ar-BBpmqYi?ocid=iehp

This is a good read with a little insight to mutual funds especially Vanguard.

[Punx]

9. Good Read

And God Forbid! That a company should put their customers' well being ahead of profits.

One thing these guys miss, is that the increased returns that investors get due to the lower fee structure, (ha ha, I know right now) will result in higher individual taxes when people withdraw their IRA/401ks, or sell their investments. Those taxes will get paid at some point. We can argue over which would bring in more revenue.

Unless of course you are managing the funds and using the carried interest loophole.

FYI - I have rolled a number of previous employer 401ks over into Vanguard specifically because of the low rate structure and because I think of Bogle as one of the more "honest" Wall Streeters.

[Fuddnik]

10. That's the bad thing about the philosophy of "shareholder value".

The only thing that matters is wringing every last cent out of your customers that you can get away with. Service and quality go out the window. Airlines are the perfect example.

The emphasis used to be on timeliness, safety, and comfort. Now it's pack as many as you can into a plane like cattle, and charge them to use the restroom if you can get away with it.

[Punx]

11. I agree

And I hate flying anymore. Between the "Security Theater" and the absolute lack of comfort in anything but first class. But also, the delays and cancelled flights, one of which stranded the entire local high school marching band (I was a chaperon) at SFO a few years ago as the airline just up and decided they wanted our plane elsewhere.

I started flying back in the mid seventies before deregulation started later in that decade and it was a totally different experience back then. Planes were often half full. Plenty of attendants and food and drink. It has gotten progressively worse since then. Packed like cattle indeed, and with about as much concern for you as a person as a cow stuck in a trailer would have.

If it doesn't involve crossing a large body of water I'd rather drive.