STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday October 3

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday October 3, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 109
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2810 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2535 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2826
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

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

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.
$1 USD = EUR 1.06678
$1 USD = JPY 116.6200

In recognition of those prescient of the Dow's precipitous return of Bush values (9/29/08): JuneBourder and AnneD

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 2, 2008

Dow... 10,482.85 -348.22 (-3.22%)
Nasdaq... 1,976.72 -92.68 (-4.48%)
S&P 500... 1,114.28 -46.78 (-4.03%)
Gold future... 844.30 -43.00 (-5.09%)
30-Year Bond 4.15% -0.09 (-2.21%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.65% -0.12 (-3.24%)






GOLD,EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [email protected]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[lostnotforgotten]

1. Chuckles - My The Emperor Has No Clothes!

eom

[radfringe]

6. neither does the "empress" in waiting

[ozymandius]

2. Market WrapUp

Quietly Hiding Behind Economic Slowdown is Inflation
BY MARTIN GOLDBERG, CMT

There is nowhere to hide in this market. At some point the expression, “there’s always a bull market somewhere” had to prove itself to be wrong. And now is the time. Save for bear funds, there is not a bull market anywhere. While waiting in cash, it is relevant for investors to observe the long term action of pure money as a function of more economically sensitive commodities. The picture painted by the long term charts is quite clear – hiding behind the economic slowdown in all its wealth-stealing ugliness is inflation.

.....

Things You’ll Never Read…

AP. “Addendum to House Bill on the $700 billion Bail Out

Added to the house bill was a clause that amends IRS regulations to retroactively tax officers of the 700 financial companies as follows. Any income derived from salary and sale of company shares at inflated market prices that were based on falsely booked profits from dubious loan activity from 2003 onward, shall be retroactively taxed by the government at a rate of 90%. Those individuals unable to come up with the tax money due to the retroactive nature of the tax shall be given the opportunity of a government loan to cover the tax which shall be paid back at variable rates over 10 a year period.”

This would be just and appropriate to the community. But as I said, this is a “thing you’ll never read.”

All market indices were down substantially today and many are closely approaching their lows from Monday. The relationship of the bail out bill to the market action appears to be inverse serendipity. As the market sells off, the logical action of the public is to support that “something” be done to keep their “investments” from evaporating. This is in spite of their instincts which tell them that the bail out is wrong.

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

[dipsydoodle]

5. AP. “Addendum to House Bill.......

Is that something which Monkeyboy could just delete when it reached him ? Just asking. We don't have a situation in the UK which even loosely resembles laws being edited in that way.

[pokercat999]

17. No, the prez must veto the entire bill. That is how congress can

pass laws and regulations that the prez and his administration hate. Congress just attaches it to a bill they (the exec) feel they have to have or want very badly. Evryone hates it (the tactic) but everyone uses it. There is a huge (rethug) push for a line item veto which would allow the prez to veto part of a bill and pass the rest. Way too much power in the executive IMHO.

[Dr.Phool]

18. At least the signing statements will expire in about 120 days.

[CGrantt57]

23. Correct me if I'm wrong...

but, didn't they try that line-item veto thing during the Clinton administration? It seems to me that I remember the SCOTUS shooting it down as unconstitutional.


Regards,

[DemReadingDU]

33. Oh, so in this last ditch effort to 'save' the economy

Everyone is throwing whatever they want into this bill, both Senators and Representatives, hoping that Bush vetoes this bill?

Then when the economy implodes (which it is going to, probably sooner than later), we can all blame Bush for vetoing this bailout bill?

But maybe Bush signs it with a signing statement that says he's not to blame if the economy implodes.

[Demeter]

91. Oh, He Signed It

I doubt the ink was even dry from the printer.

The speed was obscene--greed-driven, no doubt.

[radfringe]

7. market to nowhere? lol...

there's a toon in there somewhere.. :rofl:

[Ghost Dog]

10. Rate cut talk, money markets tense before House vote

TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Global money markets remained tight on Friday as banks waited to see if the U.S. Congress would pass a bill aimed at helping unfreeze credit markets, and speculation grew about interest rate cuts, perhaps coordinated, by major central banks.

...

"If things don't improve after Congress passes the bailout package, then that increases the chance of a coordinated rate cut," said a senior currency trader at a U.S. investment bank in Hong Kong ahead of a vote that could come on Friday.

"Banks are still not lending to each other. It's pure counterparty risk fear."

Massive central bank cash injections have helped keep trading going on an overnight basis since the start of the October-December quarter, but interbank lending conditions in three-month funds have kept deteriorating.

...

The two-year U.S. interest rate swap spread <US2YTS=CNTR> -- a gauge of financial system stress -- was quoted at a record high 166.5 basis points in Asia, suggesting that fears about defaults among banking counterparties were worsening.

But overnight dollar funds <USDOND=> in Asia were quoted at 1-3 percent in Thailand and 2-2.5 percent in Singapore, falling for the second day, traders said. That was down from 3.0-4.5 percent on Thursday and around 6 percent on Wednesday.

The cost of dollar funding hit 10 percent last month when Lehman failed.

In Tokyo, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) injected 800 billion yen ($7.6 billion) in an over-the-weekend operation on Friday to provide funds to foreign banks struggling to secure cash from Japanese lenders.

The rate of 0.60 percent was down from 0.75 percent for similar injections earlier in the week and the BOJ skipped its afternoon operation, suggesting a reduced need for funds.

Australia's central bank added A$1.57 billion ($1.2 billion) in repurchase agreements, way above an estimated daily need of A$1.195 billion, which should keep banks' cash cushion with the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) near an historically high A$9 billion.

...

The European Central Bank left its benchmark rate on hold at 4.25 percent on Thursday but it highlighted the risk to the European economy from the credit crunch, suggesting to some that the first euro zone rate cut in five years was on the cards.

...

The Fed slashed rates by 3.25 percentage points to 2 percent between September 2007 and April this year in an attempt to limit the damage to the U.S. economy from the housing crisis. Financial futures markets have priced in another half-point cut this month.

...

In the United States, there was no relief for the commercial paper market. Outstanding paper slumped by $94.9 billion to $1.607 trillion, Federal Reserve data showed, bringing the cumulative shrinkage to $208 billion in the past three weeks. ($1=105.39 Yen)

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINBKK36750220081003?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

12. French PM says world "on edge of abyss"

Friday October 3, 7:15 am ET PARIS/LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Friday the world stood on the "edge of the abyss", gripped by a global financial crisis now threatening industry, trade and jobs worldwide.

Fillon's words echoed a growing sense of alarm sweeping EU capitals ahead of an expected U.S. Congressional vote on Friday on a $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry. Approval is far from certain.

...

Prime Minister Fillon, whose country is hosting an emergency summit of Italian, British and German leaders on Saturday, said only collective action could solve the financial crisis. He said he would not rule out any solution to stop any bank failing.

"The world is on the edge of the abyss because of an irresponsible system," Fillon said, alluding to widespread anger over past lax regulation of financial markets and excessive lending.

Fillon said President Nicolas Sarkozy would propose at the emergency meeting measures to unfreeze credit and coordinate economic and monetary strategies.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet sounded an alarm on Friday's expected vote in the U.S. Congress.

"(U.S. Treasury) Secretary (Henry) Paulson's plan obviously must be passed," he told Europe 1 Radio.

"It must be. It is necessary."

Bad news mounted in the European financial sector.

In Switzerland, UBS AG, hardest hit among European banks by its exposure to subprime-related holdings, said it would cut 2,000 investment banking jobs -- on top of the 4,100 positions cut in the past year.

Worries grew that even if Washington agrees on the package, it will not be enough to resolve deeper-rooted weakness. New data showed that a U.S. recession is nearing and Europe's economy is worsening.

...

Divisions have emerged within Europe over the past week, with Ireland offering guarantees on bank deposits, prompting a flight of capital from British lenders to Irish banks, and Greece promising to safeguard savers' cash.

EU partners said Ireland's move could break competition rules and threatened the unity necessary to ensure an ordered approach to turmoil ahead.

...

World stocks fell to a fresh three-year low on concerns the bailout would not be enough to prevent the U.S. economy and that of the rest of the world slowing further.

"Paralysis is spreading across the asset markets despite the various attempts by authorities across the globe to shore up confidence," the Calyon brokerage said in a not to clients.

/... http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081003/business_us_financial.html?.v=14

[Dr.Phool]

14. "Thank God, George W. Bush is President".

Just sayin'
:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[Dr.Phool]

24. You just gave me an idea.

I'm going to start making some calls.

Attatch H.R. 676 to the bailout plan. Universal Health Care!!

I'm calling Kucinich right now. He's got the balls to do it!

[DemReadingDU]

36. Oh, I basically said the same thing above

Everyone throw whatever they want into this bill!

Either Bush will have to veto this bailout bill, and we can blame the economic implosion on Bush, or Bush signs the bill with a signing statement that he can't be blamed when the economy implodes.


edit: Maybe Kucinich could throw in his Impeachment articles too!

[radfringe]

48. YIPEEE.. ponies for everyone

good idea... (couldn't resist the ponies)... just finished sending off an e-mail to my rep, and pelosi

[ozymandius]

3. Today's Report

08:30 Average Workweek Sep
Briefing.com 33.7
Consensus 33.7
Prior 33.7

08:30 Hourly Earnings Sep
Briefing.com 0.3%
Consensus 0.3%
Prior 0.4%

08:30 Nonfarm Payrolls Sep
Briefing.com -90K
Consensus -105K
Prior -84K

08:30 Unemployment Rate Sep
Briefing.com 6.1%
Consensus 6.1%
Prior 6.1%

10:00 ISM Services Sep
Briefing.com 50.4
Consensus 50.0
Prior 50.6

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

[UpInArms]

29. NPFs down 159,000! - Average workweek falls to record-low 33.6 hours

01. U.S. Sept. involuntary part-time workers rise 337,000
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

02. U.S. Sept. average workwee falls to record-low 33.6 hours
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

03. U.S. Sept. job losses largest since March 2003
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

04. U.S. Sept. aggregate hours worked drop 0.5%
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

05. U.S. Sept. manufacturing jobs fall 51,000
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

06. U.S. Sept. average hourly earnings up 0.2% vs. 0.3% expected
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

07. U.S. Sept. unemployment rate steady at 6.1% as expected
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

08. U.S. Sept. nonfarm payrolls off 159,000 v. -110,000 expected
8:30 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

[UpInArms]

30. Job losses worst in 5 years; unemployment rate is steady at 6.1%

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/economic-report-payrolls-fall-159000/story.aspx?guid=%7B413F55F5%2DBFCA%2D4E68%2D9F94%2D9B695466A681%7D&dist=hplatest

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. employment fell by 159,000 in September, the worst job losses since March 2003, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The unemployment rate was steady at 6.1% as expected, the government said. An alternative measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers rose from 10.7% to 11%, the highest since April 1994.

The economy has now lost 760,000 jobs this year, further evidence that the economy was in a recession even before the financial market crisis of the past few weeks.

Job losses in September were worse than expected and double the average monthly loss this year. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch were forecasting payrolls to fall 110,000. See Economic Calendar.

Payrolls fell by 73,000 in August and by 67,000 in July, revised up by 4,000 from previous estimates.

Total hours worked in the economy fell by 0.5% in September and are now down 1.4% in the past year. The average workweek fell to a record-low 33.6 hours.

The number of people working part-time because no full-time job was available rose by 337,000 to 6.1 million.

...more...

[UpInArms]

47. U.S. Sept. ISM nonmanufacturing index 50.2 vs 49.9 expected

01. U.S. Sept. ISM nonmanufacturing index 50.2 vs 49.9 expected
10:01 AM ET, Oct 03, 2008

[ozymandius]

4. Oil steady at $93 as market awaits US bailout vote

SINGAPORE - Oil prices were steady above $93 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors waited to see if a reworked $700 billion bailout package will pass the U.S. Congress and help stabilize the economy of the world's biggest crude consumer.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down 35 cents to $93.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. Prices fell overnight $4.56 to settle at $93.97, the lowest level since Sept. 16.

...

Significant gains over the past days by the dollar against the euro have also helped push down prices. Investors tend to buy commodities like oil to defend against dollar weakness and a hedge against inflation, but return to the U.S. currency as it strengthens.

...

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 0.4 cents to $2.71 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped 2.5 cents to $2.23 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery fell 8.0 cents to $7.40 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Festivito]

8. 10/01/2008 10,124,225,067,127.69 (UP 99,500,170,215.20) (FY2009)

(New Fiscal Year, FY2009.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
5,850,791,254,967.39 + 4,273,433,812,160.30
(Public, I think now includes China and Brazil et. al.)

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

HISTORICAL:
President's term ends/begins: Jan 20
01/20/1993 4,188,092,107,183.60 BC Inaugural
01/22/2001 5,728,195,796,181.57 BC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
10/01/2008 10,124,225,067,127.69 ** (UP 4,396,029,270,946.12 so far)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years.)
Borrowed in FY1993: (OLDER DATA IS MISSING)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: _99,500,170,215.20 so far Only one day.

TOP 10 MONTHS FROM DEBT TO THE PENNY:
2008-09 Total 378,999,341,272.38
1993-01 Total 127,528,036,792.84
2008-02 Total 120,043,134,805.53
2003-06 Total 111,977,997,691.71
2002-06 Total 107,136,448,152.93
2008-06 Total 103,339,243,421.01
1996-03 Total 101,745,662,759.54
2006-03 Total 101,270,777,990.29
2003-05 Total 97,762,411,546.27
2004-11 Total 95,532,060,434.41
2005-10 Total 94,413,742,490.86

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3522481&mesg_id=3522543

[DemReadingDU]

31. 99,500,170,215.20 so far Only one day.

Wow!

That is more than the month of May 2003, or November 2004, or October 2005.

Am I reading these numbers correctly?

[tama]

35. Yup

It hasn't been quite normal for the last couple weeks. Tens of billions of new debt daily, soon I guess hundreds of billions. If I understand correctly that this is no more helicopter Ben but B52 Ben at work, I don't see how he can stop what he's started but must increase the rate at which debt is increasing exponentially just trying to avoid falling down. Then at some point from B52 Ben to Nuclear Holocaust Ben and then it's done.

Grazy huh? Funny how the media is not screaming about this, candidates are not talking about this...

[DemReadingDU]

37. OMG! How can us little people see this, and not the experts!

I am stunned and shocked beyond belief.

I think Paulson already gave himself power to be King and dictating to Bernanke to do whatever it takes to keep the economy afloat for a few more months.

[UpInArms]

42. silly rabbit - tricks with distractions and mirrors are for the "adults"!

:nuke:

(not nuking you DemReadingDU, I am appalled that the rate in which the debt is escalating is about to destroy us all)

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/



The estimated population of the United States is 304,840,236
so each citizen's share of this debt is $33,227.94.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.03 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

Yesterday the rate was $2.76 billion per day - the day before that it was $2.53, the day before that it was $2.42 - I am about to puke and run shrieking in horror

:scared:

[Festivito]

45. Brillig clock is way behind all of a sudden. Up faster and faster.

It's been in the tens of billions every day, not merely 3-4 billion, all this week, and the reports are two days behind.

And, the bailout has not been passed yet.

[DemReadingDU]

50. I think Paulson provided himself an option

that whether or not this bill is passed, Paulson has the power to do whatever he wants. I think that's why the debt has exploded so much in the past few weeks.

[antigop]

46. My thoughts...they know Obama will win--they want to crash things for 2012

They want to try to keep things going as long as they can this year.
The problems will be so horrendous that they cannot be fixed in 4 years.

They are gearing for the 2012 election.

OK, maybe that doesn't make sense...I haven't slept in weeks.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

41. If bailout passes it will, alone, equal the first 8 of the top 10 months.

Truly Chimptacular.

[tama]

100. Hey, only 24 billion more

10/02/2008 5,869,084,491,601.97 4,279,664,792,482.18 10,148,749,284,084.15

Slow day at the printing press, just hanging around and waiting to get off for the weekend?

Lazy bastards, that's no way to go up to 20 trillion by Christmas!

[Festivito]

108. 10/02/2008 10,148,749,284,084.15 (UP 24,524,216,956.46) (less, but a lot)

(Second day of FY2009. Less than yesterday, but still more than the new 260-day average given by last year: 3,911,813,556.34 per work day. Maybe I should use a 225-day year(Holidays, you know)(~4.5B$/d). Naw, I'll leave that to you and you and you.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
5,869,084,491,601.97 + 4,279,664,792,482.18
(Public, I think now includes China and Brazil et. al.)

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

HISTORICAL:
President's term ends/begins: Jan 20
01/20/1993 4,188,092,107,183.60 BC Inaugural
01/22/2001 5,728,195,796,181.57 BC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
10/02/2008 10,148,749,284,084.15 ** (UP 4,420,553,487,902.58 so far)

Fiscal Year ends: Sep 30
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years.)
Borrowed in FY1993: (OLDER DATA IS MISSING)
Borrowed in FY1994: 281,261,026,873.94
Borrowed in FY1995: 281,232,990,696.07
Borrowed in FY1996: 250,828,038,426.34
Borrowed in FY1997: 188,335,072,261.61
Borrowed in FY1998: 113,046,997,500.28
Borrowed in FY1999: 130,077,892,735.81
Borrowed in FY2000: _17,907,308,253.43 Bill alone
Borrowed in FY2001: 133,285,202,313.20 Bill and George
Borrowed in FY2002: 420,772,553,397.10 All George
Borrowed in FY2003: 554,995,097,146.46
Borrowed in FY2004: 595,821,633,586.70
Borrowed in FY2005: 553,656,965,393.18
Borrowed in FY2006: 574,264,237,491.73
Borrowed in FY2007: 500,679,473,047.25
Borrowed in FY2008: 1,017,071,524,650.01
Borrowed in FY2009: 124,024,387,171.66 so far, two days.

UpInArms, the brillig clock fails to work this evening!
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock

Calculate the change in debt for yourself using MS Calculator. Highlight the number(including the commas), copy and paste into the calculator. Hit -(minus). Highlight, Copy and paste the second number and hit =(equal). You've done it! Check my math--please. Oh, yes, you can then copy the number from the calculator and paste it wherever you want. (Have to position your own commas after paste.) That's how I do it.

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.)

[Festivito]

111. Kick so I'll find my own post on Monday. /nt

[DemReadingDU]

9. Columbus, Oh - Testimony begins in Poulsen's fraud & money-laundering trial

10/2/08 Questions about money upset then-CEO of National Century, a former executive testifies By Jodi Andes

One National Century employee said he learned quickly that Chief Executive Lance K. Poulsen did not like to have his company's business practices questioned.

It was in January 1997, William Parizek said, when Poulsen called him. Poulsen, who had named Parizek director of corporate finance for National Century Financial Enterprises two months earlier, wanted to know why Parizek was asking colleagues how much money clients had been loaned.

National Century had become a financing giant by buying accounts receivable from health-care providers such as small hospitals and nursing homes, and collecting the money for a fee. In return, the providers didn't have to wait months for insurance and government medical payments.

Parizek said he was preparing presentations for potential investors in National Century when he noticed that some providers had been given loans "two and three times" what their accounts receivable would cover.

So he began asking more questions. That's when he got a call from Poulsen, Parizek testified today, the second day of Poulsen's trial in U.S. District Court in Columbus.

He is accused of securities and wire fraud and money laundering. He was convicted in March of witness tampering and obstruction of justice for trying to bribe the government's key witness in the fraud case.

Poulsen told his underling he had no business asking those questions and to keep quiet with his "holier-than-thou morality," Parizek said.

Parizek said his attorney negotiated a $50,000 severance package after he resigned, on condition that Parizek not talk about the company's practices.

He hadn't mentioned anything to anybody, he said, until the FBI called.

In all, federal officials have charged 11 National Century executives with fraud, tied to the company's November 2002 collapse that cost investors more than $1.9 billion.

Prosecutors contend that the company used investors' money to offer risky loans to health-care companies in which National Century executives were stakeholders. It was "an outright misuse of investor money," a scheme that Poulsen masterminded from "Day One," Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Squires said.

The defense questioned how such a fraud could have been carried out when some of the nation's most elite banks, rating agencies and auditing firms were constantly watching National Century.

"Things did fall apart, and everyone is just looking for someone to blame," defense attorney William Terpening posed to jurors in his opening statement.

Even investors should have known the risks, Terpening said.

"The bond-holders made mistakes," he said. "If the bond-holders didn't carefully look at NCFE documents and ask questions, then shame on them."

Five other National Century executives have been convicted of fraud in the company's demise and sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years.

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/10/02/national_century_03_web.html?sid=101


link backwards to previous articles
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3522481&mesg_id=3522583

[Ghost Dog]

11. GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks drop, focus on US bailout vote

Fri Oct 3, 2008 3:06am EDT HONG KONG, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell and gold prices rose on Friday on fears a $700 billion financial rescue bill still needing final U.S. congressional approval may not be enough to keep the global economy from falling into recession.

...

The flow of credit remained practically frozen in money markets, leading to a scramble for U.S. dollar funding that has the currency on track for its biggest weekly gain in 16 years against a basket of major currencies.

Raw materials prices tumbled on expectations that demand from big consumers such as the United States and China will fall, while a preference for stability pushed up gold by more than 1 percent. Copper prices MCU3 were on track for a record decline this week, down around 14 percent, and oil was down 12.7 percent for the week, its biggest 5-day drop since December 2004.

"Japan's economy isn't good, America isn't good, Europe isn't good. The next to be hit may be emerging economies -- and this will just increase worries for an export-dependent economy like Japan's," said Hiroaki Osakabe, a fund manager at Chibagin Asset Management in Tokyo.

Japan's Nikkei share average finished down 1.9 percent -- its worst close in three years -- with shares of car makers Honda Motor Co (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) among the heaviest drags following a big drop in U.S. sales for September.

The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan slipped 0.8 percent .MIAPJ0000PUS and lost 6.9 percent on the week. Regional equity markets have outperformed the All-Country World Index, which sank 8.8 percent this week to the lowest in three years .MIWD00000PUS.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index .HSI dropped 2.6 percent, dragged lower by bank stocks as tight lending conditions spread fears that one of Asia's main financial hubs would be hit hard.

STRESS AND DISARRAY

Credit markets in the Asia-Pacific region reflected stress and disarray as longer-term interbank rates continued to climb and squeeze the financial sector.

The bid on the iTRAXX Asia ex-Japan 5-year credit default index <ITAHY5Y=IE>, essentially protection against default, rose about 20 basis points to 655 bps. However, the offer was 700, signalling thin trading and a struggle for price discovery.

"Asia and emerging markets are seeing collateral damage to interbank markets as dollar liquidity evaporates. While equities are inexpensive against bonds, investors should prepare for a hard landing for earnings," said Sean Darby, chief Asia strategist with Nomura in Hong Kong in a note.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINSP37968720081003?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

13. European shares fall; eyes on U.S. bailout, jobs

Fri Oct 3, 2008 5:33am EDT FRANKFURT, Oct 3 (Reuters) - European stocks fell on Friday as an advance for banks, notably Swiss firm UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), was offset by energy stocks which were hit by a fall in crude oil prices.

At 0912 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.6 percent at 1,051.13 points. It fell 1.4 percent on Thursday.

...

"In the short term the U.S. rescue package is the dominant factor for stock markets worldwide and financials will remain in focus," said LBBW analyst Michael Koehler. Economic growth was slowing down, partly as a result of the financial market turbulence, he said, echoing a theme addressed by several analysts in the run-up to the release at 1230 GMT of September U.S. jobs data, which are among the most closely watched monthly indicators on the health of the world's largest economy.

Morgan Stanley slashed its euro zone gross domestic product growth forecast for 2009 to 0.2 percent from 1 percent. "The demand component hardest hit will be investment spending," Morgan Stanley said in a note. "Investment in machinery and equipment, as well as construction investment, will likely suffer from a combination of tighter financing conditions, greater uncertainty about the cyclical outlook, and cooling housing markets," the U.S. bank said.

Shares in Swiss engineering group ABB (ABBN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 3.6 percent.

Germany's Commerzbank said the financial crisis and the faltering economy in Europe would have "a more visible impact in the forthcoming reporting season and all sectors are likely to be affected."

...

Oil and gas was the biggest drag on the FTSEurofirst 300 index, with Italy's ENI (ENI.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 2.4 percent, France's Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) falling 1.8 percent and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 1.5 percent lower.

The price of copper fell to a 20-month low. Shares in Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 1.7 percent.

Credit Suisse cut mining to "market weight" from "overweight", saying commodity prices tend to fall when global industrial production growth drops below 2 percent.

"We now believe global industrial production will decelerate to zero from 3.6 percent year-on-year currently," Credit Suisse said in a global equity strategy note.

Among banks, the day's top weighted gainers, French BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) traded 3.5 percent higher after Goldman Sachs raised its target price for the stock.

Britain's Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was up 3.3 percent, France-based Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 2.9 percent and UBS added 1.7 percent. UBS said it would cut 2,000 jobs and close most of its commodities business.

The U.S. financial industry bailout plan is due to go before the House of Representatives later on Friday. "Swift approval could boost sentiment in the short term and trigger a technical (stock market) recovery," LandesBank Berlin (LBB) said in a note. "But we do not expect that to build a sustained floor or turn the trend," LBB said.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL322950420081003?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

58. European stocks further rise in late trading

Fri Oct 3, 2008 10:27am EDT PARIS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - European stocks further rose in late trade on Friday, tracking sharp gains on Wall Street as hopes over the vote of the U.S. House of Representatives on the bailout and a bank takeover eclipsed bleak U.S. jobs data.

Data showing that growth in the U.S. services sector held up in September also helped lift sentiment.

At 1424 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.7 percent at 1,075.11 points.

Recently-hammered banking stocks were on the upside, with BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 6.3 percent, UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 8.3 percent and Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) up 7.7 percent.

/. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL344828320081003?rpc=44

[DemReadingDU]

15. TED SPREAD, 3.78

I wonder if passage of this bailout bill will ease this fear?


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=.TEDSP:IND

[Demeter]

21. Easing Fears Is Not the Solution

Unless it is the reasonable fears of small households of being wiped out. Those fears CAN and SHOULD be addressed with the appropriate jobs, health care and bankruptcy laws.

[DemReadingDU]

32. Yes, long term we need jobs, health care and regulations

But I was surmising that if the bailout bill passed, it might temporarily boost confidence, to get another good rally before the elections?
Or maybe not, things might be too far gone at this point?

[KoKo]

65. Delete

[Roland99]

68. What's that ticking sound?

[Roland99]

89. 3.86

[DemReadingDU]

16. Wachovia: Wells in, Citi out

10/3/08 Wells Fargo to merge with entire Wachovia operation. All-stock deal worth $15.1 billion.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/03/news/companies/wells_fargo_wachovia/index.htm?postversion=2008100307

[Dr.Phool]

19. Interesting.

The whole Citi deal looked like highway robbery. At least the Wachovia shareholders will get something in this deal.

[Roland99]

62. Citi hits out at Wachovia-Wells deal

Citi hits out at Wachovia-Wells deal
Bank says it had exclusivity agreement with Wachovia, had provided liquidity this week
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/citi-slams-wachovia-wells-deal-says/story.aspx?guid=%7B146F5522%2D745D%2D4B02%2D8A37%2D15A02B992C28%7D

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- In a strongly-worded response to the news that Wells Fargo is buying Wachovia Corp., Citigroup Inc. claimed that it had exclusive rights and claimed that Wachovia was not permitted to talk to anyone else.

[KoKo]

66. CNBC just reporting Citi to file lawsuit against Wells-Fargo

to break the deal claiming that Wachovia had legal agreement with Citi. More fun and games....

[Dr.Phool]

20. OUCH!!!!!

Too many "Mavericks" last night.

[Roland99]

34. Cost me 2 glassses of wine

:-)

[UpInArms]

22. dollar watch

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

Last trade 80.313 Change -0.248 (-0.32%)

US Dollar - How Should You Trade Non-Farm Payrolls?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar___How_Should_1222976577409.html

The US dollar has surged across the majors over the past week on hopes that the Treasury’s bailout bill will finally pass the House vote, and on signs of a deepening economic slowdown in regions like the UK and Euro-zone. However, on Friday morning, US non-farm payrolls are anticipated to fall by more than 100,000 for the first time since 2003. How will this impact the US dollar?



Looking at the stats of what the 76 economists polled by Bloomberg News had to say, the range is very wide with the most pessimistic forecast at -175k and the most optimistic forecast at -13k. However, this is the first time in quite a while that non-farm payrolls (NFPs) have the potential to fall by more than 100k. In fact, the last time we had such a result was in March 2003 when the figure fell by a whopping 212k. What are the realistic odds that NFPs will fall in line with, if not more than, expectations?

Arguments for Stronger Non-Farm Payrolls
1. ADP Employment Change Falls Less Than Expected
2. Consumer Confidence Unexpectedly Improves for 3rd Consecutive Month
3. Work Stoppages Fell to Zero as Strikes Ended
4. Monster.com Employment Index Climbs 1 Point

Arguments for Weaker Non-Farm Payrolls
1. Jobless Claims 4-Week Moving Average Hits Highest Level Since At Least 2002
2. Continuing Claims Rise to the Most Since August 2003
3. ISM Manufacturing Employment Component Falls To Match the April 2003 Low
4. Challenger Job Cuts Rise For 7th Consecutive Month
5. Help-Wanted Online Index Drops 216,000, Continuing a Downward Trend Started in May 2007

Will September Non-Farm Payrolls be Better or Worse than August?

The majority of the leading indicators for non-farm payrolls indicate that September was a month of heavy job losses, and even the figures that could technically argue in favor of a stronger reading aren’t incredibly convincing. Indeed, looking at the “positive” data, the ADP employment change fell less than expected by 8k, but still showed job losses for the second month in a row. Likewise, the Monster.com employment index rose by 1 point but annual growth remained flat for the third consecutive month, signaling stagnant conditions.

Meanwhile, the surprisingly strong consumer confidence numbers for September may not be completely representative of sentiment for the month, as the survey’s cutoff date was on September 23rd, so it may not accurately reflect consumers’ responses to the credit crisis and the turmoil surrounding the Treasury’s bailout bill. Combining these “positive” factors with the truly negative factors, there is a very real possibility that NFPs will fall by more than 100k on Friday morning.

...more...

Euro Finds Support Ahead Of Non-Farm Payrolls and Congress Vote on Bailout

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/Euro_Finds_Support_Ahead_Of_1223028416191.html

The Euro has begun to find a bid tone after a failed test of 1.3800 during Asian trading as major event risk looms for the dollar. The EURUSD was above 1.3880 as Eurozone retail sales printed a gain of 3% which was higher than the 1% expected by economists. Also, July’s initially reported decline of 0.4% was revised to a gain of 1% giving hope that the region’s economy may not be declining as fast as expected.

The European Central Bank’s keep rates on hold at yesterday’s policy meeting, but President Trichet was as dovish as he has ever been when he stated "With the weakening of demand, upside risks to price stability have diminished somewhat, but they have not disappeared,". The ECB leader stated that the committee debated cutting rates as the downside risk to the economy have increased amidst the current credit crisis. The door has been opened for a rate cut as the MPC likes to telegraph its future policy actions. Therefore, a rate reduction may come at anytime and following this weekend’s European G8 meeting, we may see a cry for easing from European leaders. The declining interest rate expectations will continue to weigh on the unified currency as markets are pricing in over a 100 bps worth of cuts over the next twelve months.

The Pound has also found some support as the looming event risk has weigh on the dollar despite further evidence that the country may already be in a recession. The Service PMI reading contracted the most in at least 12 years as the 46.0 reading was the lowest since the series began and significantly lower than the August reading of 49.2. The sector which accounts for %70 of the economy’s growth remained in contraction for the fifth consecutive month. The sector may continue to deteriorate as the new business component lead the overall index lower as it fell from 47.1 to 45.2. The impact of the credit crunch show its ugly head in the BoE equity withdrawal reading as it declined fro the first time in 10 years. Home owners who have seen home values continue to decline and that availability if credit dry up stop pulling cash from their main asset. The drop signals that domestic demand will remain weak as the indicator is a measure of future consumption of big ticket items like cars. The BoE is now expected to cut rates by 25 bps at their policy meeting next week. Indeed, credit Suisse overnight index swaps are pricing in a 138 bps worth of cuts over the next 12 months, which is the most since the product was created. Therefore, we may see the pound look to test 1.7500 before the MPC meeting.

The U.S. will have a day of major event risk with the bill for the rescue plan headed to the House of Representatives where it was initially defeated. The revised version is expected to pass as enough measures were added to garner the needed votes. Additionally, the Non-farm payroll report is expected to show the economy lost another 105,000 jobs and declined for a ninth straight month. The dour report is expected to push voters who are on the fence toward passing the bill that will deliver over $700 bln to the cash starved markets. The labor report could be worse than expected giving how much the leading indicators have deteriorated. Indeed, the employment component of the ISM manufacturing report fell to its lowest level since April 2003, jobless claims were over 400,000 for the eleventh straight week and the challenger job indicator rose for the seventh consecutive month. We may see the dollar weaken on the release as the prospects of the US entering a recession increases. However, the approval of the bailout plan would enhance the outlook as it could potentially lubricate credit markets and ultimately bring an end to the decline of the housing slump.

...more...

[UpInArms]

25. UBS to cut 2,000 jobs at its investment bank

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_switzerland_ubs_job_cuts

ZURICH, Switzerland - Swiss bank UBS AG will cut 2,000 jobs at its troubled investment banking unit, most of which will be lost in the U.S. and Britain, an official said.

Some cuts will also be made at offices in Switzerland and the Asia-Pacific region, UBS AG spokeswoman Sabine Woessner said.

The layoffs will bring staffing levels at the investment unit to about 17,000 by the end of the year, 6,000 fewer than at its peak in third quarter 2007, UBS said.

The investment banking unit has been blamed for engaging in risky ventures that forced UBS to record massive losses and writedowns totaling some 45 billion Swiss francs ($40 billion) over the past year.

[UpInArms]

26. Toyota announces zero-percent financing

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081003/ap_on_bi_ge/toyota_incentives

DETROIT - Toyota Motor Corp. has announced zero-percent financing on 11 models as it tries to woo would-be buyers sidelined by the consumer credit crunch.

The top Japanese automaker's U.S. division said Thursday in a news release that the incentives range from 36 to 60 months and are being offered on the Matrix, Corolla, Camry, RAV4, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra.

Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter says the automaker had the inventory of fuel-efficient models and the capacity to finance or lease them.

...more...

[Demeter]

27. Taking on Big 3 Sales Tactics!

Never thought I'd see the day...

[UpInArms]

28. Who's profiting from the crisis? Goldman Sachs, of course

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/whos-profiting-crisis-goldman-sachs/story.aspx?guid=C177EA75-3EB8-4631-B1EC-6EBAE68CDCB7&dist=SecMostRead

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Not often do you regard a company whose stock is about 50% off its 52-week high as a success story.

But a success is exactly what Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS: 131.54, -2.96, -2.2%) is shaping up to be at this stage of the credit crisis. If we were to begin the long journey back to stability today, Goldman would undoubtedly emerge even more powerful than before.

Did anyone expect another outcome?

<snip>

You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist to recognize that a series of decisions and events have transpired to put Goldman at the top of the heap. Well before the credit crisis, people worried about Goldman's influence in the markets. Several former executives of the investment bank have senior roles in government and at the New York Stock Exchange, and its analysts are among the most powerful in the space.

Let's limit the discussion to the start of the credit crisis in the summer of 2007. Just before the market turned, Goldman traders got a hunch and began shorting and hedging the mortgage securities that were eating away at rivals' revenue. Trading revenue soared 70% that quarter to $8.23 billion.

It was Goldman's last quarter in a series in which each new profit report exceeded expectations and prior results. Goldman's share price was in shouting distance of $300. It was also when grumblings about the investment bank's transparency became louder. That's important because Goldman continues to give few details about its "proprietary trading" business. What is it exactly? No one knows for sure.

...more...

[PATRICK]

55. Shortly before the tumble began

my NY-29 Congressional candidate Eric Massa was making the rounds as a very prospective future freshman on the coming situations he would face. Not taking a thin dime from corporate sources he takes a more independent and much more progressive footing. He met with the Goldman Sachs execs about coming troubles and was met with only the "we don't know, we are moving into uncharted waters". Maybe they DID know and were using the exact language of the official meme "uncharted waters". In any event, like the election itself, it would be nice if more people had the perspective of the actual war going on behind the system drama with that very few entities trying to play all games only to their own ultimate aggrandizement.

[UpInArms]

38. The Bailout Bill's Foreign Aid Program

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bailout-bills-foreign-aid-program/story.aspx?guid=%7BA6967E51%2DFC1A%2D4BFC%2DBB93%2DE57327D873F6%7D

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The $700-billion bailout plan that passed the U.S. Senate Wednesday night has many, many bad ideas.

But one of the very worst is allowing foreign banks that operate in the U.S. to participate in the government's program to buy up toxic debt.

That provision, which was not in the original plan but was reportedly inserted in response to lobbying by bankers around the world, gives French, British, Japanese, Chinese, or Swiss banks with subsidiaries in the U.S. the same access to taxpayer dollars to buy their bad loans as, say, Citigroup Inc. (C: 22.50, -0.50, -2.2%) or Commerce Bancshares Inc. (CBSH: 49.24, -4.73, -8.8%) or community banks in Topeka, Kansas, and Norman, Oklahoma.

Some of you who may not know this must be shaking your heads in disbelief. I hope others took their blood-pressure medication this morning.

But it's true.

"If a financial institution has business operations in the United States, hires people in the United States, if they are clogged with illiquid assets, they have the same impact on the American people as any other institution," Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson told George Stephanopoulos on ABC News's This Week on Sunday.

"This is about protecting the American people and protecting the taxpayers, and the American people don't care who owns the financial institution," he said.

I'm not so sure about that, Mr. Secretary.

In fact, allowing overseas-based banks to participate in the U.S. taxpayer-funded bailout was a real sticking point for opponents to the bill, which was defeated in the House of Representatives Monday and will probably go for another vote by week's end.

...more...

[Pale Blue Dot]

39. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Rise on Bailout, Rate-Cut Speculation

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock futures rose after a bigger-than-forecast decrease in jobs bolstered expectations Congress will pass a bank-bailout plan and the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to boost the economy.

General Motors Corp., United Technologies Corp. and Alcoa Inc. led gains in Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks as futures traders bet the Fed will cut its benchmark rate by as much as 0.75 percent at its October meeting. Wachovia Corp. rallied 74 percent after Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest West Coast bank, agreed to buy the lender for about $15.1 billion.

``This economic report is putting a gun to Congress's head that they've got to do something,'' said Peter Jankovskis, the Lisle, Illinois-based co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments LLC, which manages $1.4 billion. ``There's no wiggle room for Congress, and that makes it very likely the bailout package will be passed soon.''

Futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index expiring in December gained 8.9, or 0.8 percent, to 1,133.3 at 9:15 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 37, or 0.4 percent, to 10,594. Nasdaq-100 Index futures rose 11.5, or 0.8 percent, to 1,522.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602003&sid=ayxM69KcpSH8&refer=world_indices

A rate cut? A RATE CUT??? Are they out of their freakin' minds?

[Demeter]

94. I'm Assuming That Was a Rhetorical Question

[UpInArms]

40. SEC's '04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt, and Risk

hattip to itsjustme and this DU thread for some very worthy reading:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3524400

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/business/03sec.html?_r=1&em=&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1223038389-x9SLi%20tDyfHOzJ60ZVwOLg&pagewanted=all

“We have a good deal of comfort about the capital cushions at these firms at the moment.” — Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, March 11, 2008.

As rumors swirled that Bear Stearns faced imminent collapse in early March, Christopher Cox was told by his staff that Bear Stearns had $17 billion in cash and other assets — more than enough to weather the storm.

Drained of most of its cash three days later, Bear Stearns was forced into a hastily arranged marriage with JPMorgan Chase — backed by a $29 billion taxpayer dowry.

Within six months, other lions of Wall Street would also either disappear or transform themselves to survive the financial maelstrom — Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley converted to commercial banks.

How could Mr. Cox have been so wrong?

Many events in Washington, on Wall Street and elsewhere around the country have led to what has been called the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s. But decisions made at a brief meeting on April 28, 2004, explain why the problems could spin out of control. The agency’s failure to follow through on those decisions also explains why Washington regulators did not see what was coming.

On that bright spring afternoon, the five members of the Securities and Exchange Commission met in a basement hearing room to consider an urgent plea by the big investment banks.

They wanted an exemption for their brokerage units from an old regulation that limited the amount of debt they could take on. The exemption would unshackle billions of dollars held in reserve as a cushion against losses on their investments. Those funds could then flow up to the parent company, enabling it to invest in the fast-growing but opaque world of mortgage-backed securities; credit derivatives, a form of insurance for bond holders; and other exotic instruments.

The five investment banks led the charge, including Goldman Sachs, which was headed by Henry M. Paulson Jr. Two years later, he left to become Treasury secretary.

A lone dissenter — a software consultant and expert on risk management — weighed in from Indiana with a two-page letter to warn the commission that the move was a grave mistake. He never heard back from Washington.

...very well worth an entire reading...

[UpInArms]

44. "essentially outsourcing the job of monitoring risk to the banks themselves."

In loosening the capital rules, which are supposed to provide a buffer in turbulent times, the agency also decided to rely on the firms’ own computer models for determining the riskiness of investments, essentially outsourcing the job of monitoring risk to the banks themselves.

Over the following months and years, each of the firms would take advantage of the looser rules. At Bear Stearns, the leverage ratio — a measurement of how much the firm was borrowing compared to its total assets — rose sharply, to 33 to 1. In other words, for every dollar in equity, it had $33 of debt. The ratios at the other firms also rose significantly.

[Roland99]

53. Just like the Senate bill puts these idiots (Bernanke/Paulson) in charge of oversight!

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

43. Up 112 and rising fast...

[antigop]

49. Sirota: The Obama bailout bill

http://www.credoaction.com/sirota/

Sadly, the bailout bill is no longer George Bush's. It's Barack Obama's:

Black lawmakers said personal calls from Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama helped switch them from "no" to "yes."

I'd say a pretty sad - though predictable - moment in Democratic Party history. The Democratic nominee helps ram a Wall Street giveaway through a Democratic Congress. At least with NAFTA, Bill Clinton relied on mostly Republican votes.

I have to say, this kind of thing just really bums me out - it takes my "hope" away, if you will. We are watching the first African American presidential nominee use his enormous power to pressure African American lawmakers - many from poor and working class communities - to vote for a bill that most experts say will either hurt the economy or not help it much, and will give away 5 percent of the entire economy largely to Manhattan and Greenwich billionaires.*

I think we all would have liked to see Obama state his principles and really fight for them on this, rather than taking a pass by simply lamenting the polarized process and then supporting a travesty. Because of Obama's behavior, I think we have learned an important lesson: We learned that this is precisely the kind of dynamic that will likely govern an Obama administration. The formula is clear: Make rhetorical gestures to progressives, while paying off Big Money with trillions. I'm not lamenting - this is the formula for a lot of Democratic politicians. But we should all make sure to have our eyes wide open - Obama himself has warned us.

* Note to bailout/Obama apologists: You are going to have to get a different substantive argument other than saying "well, Paul Krugman supports it so I guess it's good." You would do well to actually read what Krugman has said, which is that: "To this day have never been able to explain clearly why buying up bad mortgage assets at market prices will solve the credit crunch...The Wise Men, as far as I can tell, have never had a clear idea of what they're doing."

We are soooo screwed.

[Demeter]

95. On the Other Hand, Obama Now OWNS Wall Street

and he can put the screws on them mercilessly. I just hope he knows how to play with the knives.

[MattSh]

51. The Financial 'F-Word' That Needs To Be Said

People everywhere in the financial community know what that word is, but they refuse to say it. Instead, they are dragging America through a silly-circus.

Unpleasant as it may be, let’s start truth-telling by removing the fig leaf cynically used to cover up this mortgage mess: stated income. It is a canard. The idea that some working-class Bozos from Bakersfield walked in to the local bank; said: “tell me what numbers I need to put on them there loan papers so’s I can git me a house” and thereby hoodwinked the last 20 graduating classes of the London School of Economics does not pass the laugh test. In America’s no-doc and low-doc world, borrowers represented nothing more than a warm body, a Social Security number and a pen.

Serious financiers trust two things they admit to: due diligence and statistics. Since they stopped doing any due diligence, they were clearly relying on numbers they held to be statistically predictive – well, at least to sell the stuff. But to value it? Everyone from mortgage brokers to synthetic derivatives traders to Bob Steel of Wachovia (WB) knew – because it was their business to know – that the American mortgage market has an extremely high incidence of…woops, almost said it…less-than-transparent numbers - from the most esoteric, down to the most basic.

But financiers trust another thing they don’t admit to: the naivete and gullibility of customers.

.....

You, I and everybody can see what the difference is: Fraud. There, I said it. The United States mortgage and mortgage-securities market is shot through with fraud. The mass confusion in the media stems from our inability to use that “f-word”. But we all know it’s out there and the level of denial is getting crazy. If you try to analyze the situation without looking at the fraud, nothing makes sense. If you add a significant, risk-value-changing level of fraud to the system, all the numbers make sense. If we keep pretending it’s not there, we’ll never understand how to fix this.

.....

Yet the bottom line is that every time a mortgage broker, a commercial banker, an investment banker, a ratings agency or an insurer signed off on one of these phony loans or phony deals THEY gave their word. They put their reputations on the line. They accepted moral and ethical responsibility. They failed – at best. Nobody forced them to commit fraud or malpractice by passing off toxic junk as sound investment to make themselves a big, crooked profit.

As for the LSE graduates and “big swinging d---s” who would still try and foist the blame on working-class dupes, dopes and ne’er-do-wells who can’t pay, stop embarrassing yourselves. You knew what you were doing. You can keep selling that story to the press as long as there’s a bid for it, but it won’t work with me. More importantly, it will do nothing to recapitalize the system you’ve destroyed with your dishonesty and arrogance.

Neither the (alleged) Paulson Plan nor the new Paulson-Bush-McCain-McConnell-Gregg-Franks-Reid-Mr. Magoo-Dr. Doolittle Plan will work either. Unless we do something to get some honesty into this system nobody will buy and nobody will lend.
The game is over. Time to tell the truth.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/98244-the-financial-f-word-that-needs-to-be-said

[TalkingDog]

54. Banker's Bingo.

http://futurejacked.blogspot.com/

The following is offered as a public service for those of you following along with the Credit Crisis at home. Pull out your pennies (what else you gonna use them for these days?) and play along with the pundits at CNBC, CNN, Bloomberg, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Congress.

edit:
Sorry can't insert the "bingo" card.

[Roland99]

52. 10:29am - Worst monthly job loss in 5 years? Who cares! I *heart* a bailout!!

Dow 10,632.90 +150.05
Nasdaq 2,022.25 +45.53
S&P 500 1,137.41 +23.13
10-year 3.70% +0.06
Oil $93.20 -$0.77
Gold$ 832.00 -$12.30

[antigop]

56. Krugman: A grim morning

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/a-grim-morning/
Short blog entry...

Double plus ungood news on multiple fronts this morning. The credit crunch is getting worse: LIBOR jumped again, the TED spread is at a new record. Bad news on employment: payrolls down 159,000, average work week down, official unemployment rate flat at 6.1 percent but broad measure (U6) up from 10.7 to 11.

We are going over the edge.

[antigop]

57. Sirota: Has America become a "crazy-ocracy"?

http://action.credomobile.com/sirota/2008/10/bailout_as_proof_of_americas_c.html

Over the last few days, I've explored a number of explanations as to why Congress seems determined to pass a wildly unpopular Wall Street giveaway at a time of exploding budget deficits, and at a time when so many credible experts say the giveaway doesn't address our fundamental economic problems. Yesterday I took to CNN to analyze some of these explanations (video clip above).

Look, we know that forces of corruption are looking to profit off such a bailout, we know that fearmongering about a second Great Depression is supercharging the situation. We know that both parties have helped create this crisis - whether it was John McCain championing regressive economic policies, or Bill Clinton bragging in 1994 that "we have deregulated banking." We also know that the elite punditocracy - as it did in pushing the Iraq War - is reliably repeating, and refusing to question, what its ruling class sources are telling it.

As I will show in my newspaper column tomorrow, if the bill passes, it will represent the triumph of capitalism over our basic democratic ideals. But, for a moment, let's ponder one other possible explanation for why Congress is even considering this bill.

Is it possible America has become a Crazy-ocracy? That is, is it possible we aren't ruled by merely the stupid (an Idiocracy) or the corrupt (a Kleptocracy) - we are ruled by genuinely insane people?

I don't mean this as a flippant joke - I'm dead serious about this, as is former Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill today.As Bloomberg News reports, O'Neill said the $700 billion Paulson plan is "crazy" with potentially "awful" consequences for the economy. "Doesn't this seem like lunacy to you?" he asked.

Ex-Treasury secretary O'Neill says bailout plan 'crazy,' 'lunacy'
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/02/ex-treasury-secretary-oneill-says-bailout-plan/

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said the $700 billion bank-rescue proposal under negotiation in Washington is "crazy," with potentially "awful" consequences for the world's largest economy.

"Doesn't this seem like lunacy to you?" said O'Neill, who was President George W. Bush's first Treasury chief, from 2001 to 2002, in a telephone interview Wednesday. "The consequences of it are unbelievably bad in terms of public intrusion into the private sector."

O'Neill's objections mirror those of Republicans in the House of Representatives who rejected the plan in a Sept. 29 vote. The former Treasury chief said he lobbied for an alternative solution that would offer guarantees for troubled assets, stopping short of purchasing the debt.

"Is anybody thinking there?" asked O'Neill, who also served as deputy budget director in the Ford administration. "It's too late, it's not going to make any difference and it's aggravating as hell when there's a better idea and you can't even get it in play," he said.

[jdog]

59. Interesting post from Kitco site (reposted with permission)

The most important 11 and a half minutes you can spend this morning.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the hour before the V.P. debate last night, Representative Brad Sherman was at the podium on the House floor, delivering a serious dose of truth and pulling back the curtain on the scam that is being played upon us with the Bailout Bill.

Rep. Sherman has a distinguished background in Law and Accounting….he sits on the House Financial Services Committee….he knows what he is talking about, folks!

Here is a link to the CSPAN video of his speech. It is only 11:30 minutes long. I urge you to listen to it carefully. http://www.c-spanarchives.org/flash/...20:21:57&net=1

If you really cannot take 11 and a half minutes out of your busy morning to listen, at least read the important parts that I have taken the time to transcribe here:


Quote:


The only way they can pass this bill, is by creating and sustaining a panic atmosphere. That atmosphere is not justified.

Many of us were told in private conversations that if we voted against this bill on Monday, that the sky would fall, the market would drop 2000-3000 points the first day, and couple thousand the 2nd day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no………..

……We’ve got a week…we’ve got 2 weeks to write a good bill……..

……….What has the Senate done to this bill? First, they added pork to it in the hope that that would buy off some votes. Second, they created a double-hostage situation. We already know that the first bill was a hostage situation. When Paulson announced the crisis and basically sent a ransom note. And that ransom note read “We’ve got your 401k, and you’ll never see it alive again unless you send us $700 billion in unmarked bills.".

Now there is the AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) patch. A necessary tax provision that Congress passes every year. Without this patch, the AMT tax, which is designed to fall only on the wealthy, will hit another 20 million American households. Everyone knows we have to pass this. We sent it to the Senate for them to pass. Instead of passing it, they created a hostage situation. The refused to pass it—they put it on this bill, and so now we are being told if you don’t send $700B to Wall St, we’re gonna tax 20 million American families in a way that no one in Congress wants to do. That is totally phony. If we vote down this bill, the Senate will pass the AMT patch bill that we sent them, just like they do, every year.

Now there was some attempt to tell the American people that this bill is not going to cost them anything permanently, because in 2013 we’re gonna get the money back from the Financial Services industry. Nothing could be further from the truth………..



Now as I said, hundreds of billions of dollars are going to be used to bail out foreign investors. That is why my amendment, which easily fixes that problem, has been rejected. Because the White House demands that we bail out these foreign investors. That’s what they want to do. That’s what they promised the Saudi Royal Family. That’s what they promised the Bank of China. Those promises will be honored with this tax money, squeezed out of the American people.



Now we are told that there is gonna be oversight in this bill. There is a good, Democratic-dominated, board that is created. It is a CRITIQUE board. It is NOT a control board. It is a board that will issue press releases and reports, but it cannot halt, it cannot reverse, it cannot delay, any decision made by the Sec of the Treasury.





We are going to see a very large percentage of this money going to buy securities, bad paper, toxic assets, currently in safes in Beijing, Shanghai, London and Riyadh. And we are going to see all the power in the hands of the Bush Admin and a part-time, temporary administrator, namely the Sec of the Treasury. Under this bill, if it passes, we don’t really know what is going to happen to the economy. No one knows. The only thing that is certain, are 2 things:
à Wall St Executives are gonna get huge amounts of money, and
à Our children and grandchildren are going to get stuck with hundreds of billions of dollars of additional Federal debt.

And, we as a country, having just done a bad $700 billion program, will not be able to do anything to help homeowners, because we won’t have the money. We won’t be able to bail out local governments, because we won’t have the money. We won’t be able to deal effectively with the REAL commercial banking lending crisis, because we will have shot our entire wad (did he really say that???) on a bill that is guaranteed to only do one thing, and that is to help the truly wealthy on Wall Street.

It boggles my mind that anyone could still support this Bailout Bill after hearing this. I suppose there are people out there who will trust that Bush and Paulson truly have our best interests at heart. Or maybe they just believe it when they are told by serial liars that the sky is falling. Or maybe they accept whatever the MSM tells them as gospel. (Let's remember that General Electric, the parent company of CNBC, has a vested interest in seeing this Bailout Bill passed. Take a look at their share price. That cratering is because GE Financial is loaded to the gills with crappy CDS paper that they want to dump on you! That is why they have been spinning the situation like mad on CNBC....)

This bailout money is NOT going to be used to help Americans with the liquidity crisis here on Main St---this should be obvious to all but the most naïve by now. This money will immediately go overseas, and whatever does remain here will be funneled to Paulson’s cronies while other important domestic financial needs will go unmet. America will not just be screwed—we’ll be screwed AND flat broke!

The problem is not a lack of supply of dollars. The problem is that the banks are hoarding dollars. They are not lending amongst themselves, in fact they are holding the dollars back to shore up their own lousy balance sheets, which is creating the illusion of a dollar shortage. The way to fix this problem is to start pricing the real cost of risk back into lending. If the yield is right, and we put some transparency back into the system, the banks will lend again. The answer is NOT dumping $700 billion dollars we don't have into coffers in foreign countries!

There is still time to review the alternative plans that have been put forth that protect the taxpayer. The economic world will not end tomorrow if this does not pass in its current form. Will the market plunge if it is defeated? Maybe. Who really knows? And it might bounce back up again the next day—remember? There’s no need for a panicked, rushed, half-baked decision here. We need to just stop, take a deep breath, and take a calm and rational approach to this situation by looking at all of our alternatives.

There is still time to craft a piece of legislation that will ensure that our tax dollars will be used for American needs first ahead of foreigners, has real teeth for oversight, and no gaping loopholes for excessive executive pay, unlike this current pathetic joke they are calling legislation.

And there is still time for you to step away from your computer, and make a call to your representative this morning and make your voice heard.

There will be no "mulligans" or "do-overs" if this gets passed in its current form today. And no amount of hellraising after the fact will undo this travesty. The time to act is now. You probably only have about 6 more hours to "go on record" with your House Representative....



For more from Rep. Sherman and Senator DeMint: click here.

[RedEarth]

60. Roubini: Financial & Corporate System is in Cardiac Arrest: The Risk of the Mother of All Bank Runs

Financial and Corporate System is in Cardiac Arrest: The Risk of the Mother of All Bank Runs

It is now clear that the US financial system - and now even the system of financing of the corporate sector - is now in cardiac arrest and at a risk of a systemic financial meltdown. I don’t use these words lightly but at this point we have reached the final 12th step of my February paper on “The Risk of a Systemic Financial Meltdown: 12 Steps to a Financial Disaster” (Step 9 or the collapse of the major broker dealers has already widely occurred).

Yesterday Thursday a senior market practitioner in a major financial institution wrote to me the following:

Situation Report: So far as I can tell by working the telephones this morning:

LIBOR bid only, no offer.
Commercial paper market shut down, little trading and no issuance.
Corporations have no access to long or short term credit markets -- hence they face massive rollover problems.
Brokers are increasingly not dealing with each other.
Even the inter-bank market is ceasing up.
This cannot continue for more than a few days. This is the economic equivalent to cardiac arrest. Then we debated what is necessary to restart the system.


I believe that the government will do another Hail Mary pass, with massive guarantees to the short-term commercial credit system and wide open short-term lending by the Fed (2 or 3 times expansion of the Fed balance sheet). If done on a sufficient scale this action will probably work for a while. But none of these financial measures affects the accelerating recession -- which will in turn place more pressure on the financial sector.


Another senior professional in a major global financial institution wrote to me:

Today, in our trading room, I could see the manifestations of a lending freeze, and the funding hiatus for banks and companies, with libor bid only, the commercial paper market closed in effect, and a scramble for cash - really really scary.


Do you think this is treatable without a) a massive coordinated liquidity boost and easing of monetary policy and b) widespread nationalisation of some banks, gtess to others AND a good bank/bad bank policy where some get wiped along with their investors? The Treasury Tarp plan is an irrelevance if we are at a major funding crisis.


And to confirm the near systemic collapse of the system of financing of both financial firms and corporate firms Warren Buffet declared yesterday, as reported by Bloomberg:

the U.S. economy is ``flat on the floor'' after a cardiac arrest as companies struggle to secure funding and unemployment increases.

``In my adult lifetime I don't think I've ever seen people as fearful, economically, as they are now,'' Buffett said today in an interview with Charlie Rose to be broadcast tonight on PBS. ``The economy is going to be getting worse for a while.' …The credit freeze is ``sucking blood'' from the U.S. economy, Buffett said.

We are indeed at the cardiac arrest stage and at risk of the mother of all bank and non-ban runs as:

- The run on the shadow banking system is accelerating as: even the surviving major broker dealers (Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs) are under severe pressure (Morgan losing over a third of its hedge funds clients); the run on hedge funds is accelerating via massive redemptions and a roll-off of their overnight repo lines; the money market funds are experiencing further withdrawals in spite of government blanket guarantee.

- A silent run on the commercial banks is underway. In Q2 of 2008 the FDIC reported $4462bn insured domestic deposits out of $7036bn total domestic deposits; thus, only 63% of domestic deposits are insured. Thus $ 2574bn of deposits were not insured. Given the risk that many banks – small, regional and national – may go bust (as even large ones such as WaMu and Wachovia went recently bust) there is now a silent run on parts of the banking system. Deposit insurance formally covers only deposits up to $100000. Thus any individual, small or large business and/or foreign investor or financial institution with more than $100000 in a FDIC insured bank is now legitimately concerned about the safety of its deposits. Even if as likely the deposit insurance limit will be temporarily raised to $250000 by Congress there will still be a whopping $1.9 trillion of uninsured deposits (or 73% of total deposits); thus, a huge mass of uninsured deposits will remain at risk as even small businesses have usually more than $250K of cash while medium sized and large firms as well as any domestic and foreign financial institution or investor with exposure to US banks has average exposure in the millions of dollars. Particularly at risk are the cross border mostly short term interbank lines of US banks with their foreign counterparties that are estimated to be close to $800 billion.

- A run on the short term liabilities of the corporate sector is also underway

......more.......

http://www.rgemonitor.com/blog/roubini/253853/financial_and_corporate_system_is_in_cardiac_arrest_the_risk_of_the_mother_of_all_bank_runs

[Dr.Phool]

61. Wachovia at the center of big banking brawl

Wachovia at the center of big banking brawl
Wells Fargo swoops in with offer, but FDIC backs first Citigroup bid


NEW YORK - Citigroup demanded that Wachovia call off a proposed deal with Wells Fargo Friday, saying it has an exclusive deal to buy Wachovia’s banking operations, as the three financial institutions became embroiled in a banking brawl.

Earlier Friday, in an abrupt change of direction, Wachovia said it has agreed to be acquired by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo in a $15.1 billion all-stock deal. That deal trumps Citigroup’s plan, announced Monday, to acquire Wachovia’s banking operations.

The Citigroup deal would have been done with the help of the FDIC, but the Wells Fargo deal for Wachovia will be done without it. The head of the FDIC said Friday she is standing behind the agreement it made with Citigroup for buying Wachovia, despite Wells Fargo’s new offer.

(snip)

While the proposal would have prevented most banks from profiting on the sale of troubled assets to the government, an exception would have been made for assets acquired in a merger or buyout.

That would have allowed Citigroup to sell Wachovia’s distressed mortgage-related assets to the government for a profit.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27005897/


Motherfuckers are cutting each others throats for that bailout money.:grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Roland99]

63. 11:37am - Even better now!

Dow 10,703.79 +220.94
Nasdaq 2,039.01 +62.29
S&P 500 1,145.57 +31.29
10-year 3.72% +0.07
Oil $95.50 $1.53
Gold $845.00 $0.70

[Roland99]

64. Be Skeptical of Senate Bailout Bill (Rep. Brad Sherman)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4159936&mesg_id=4159936

[DemReadingDU]

69. video - Brad Sherman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnbNm6hoBXc

[xyouth]

67. Gold is dropping again today?

Is someone dumping, I don't get it.

[Roland99]

70. 1:07pm - Money going from gold (and elsewhere) back into stocks? (at a rapid pace)

Dow 10,753.97 +271.12
Nasdaq 2,036.41 +59.69
S&P 500 1,149.27 +34.99
Oil $95.50 $1.53
10-year 3.74% +0.10
Gold $838.00 -$6.30

[leftyladyfrommo]

71. Bailout bill just passed - are we going to see a huge increase?

I'm so confused. On the days I think the market will go up - it goes down. Days I think it will go down - it goes up.

[leftyladyfrommo]

72. Guess not - it just took a dive. n/t

[Roland99]

74. 1:46pm - BIG dive! Down 210 points after announcement! WTF?

Dow 10,503.16 +20.31
Nasdaq 1,983.2 +26.50
S&P 500 1,121.64 +7.36
Oil $95.50 $1.53
10-year 3.68% +0.04
Gold $832.00 -$12.30

[Roland99]

75. Wait! Now it's +109!!

[radfringe]

76. didn't include a tax cut for milk and cookies? n/t

[goforit]

78. Every reason to abolish Wallstreet and start over.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

73. Here's a commodity price that just frosts my butt.

COFFEE 'C' FUTURE (USd/lb.) 123.800 -1.650 -1.32

What does a can of coffee cost in your area? Geez, Louise.

[WallStreetNobody]

77. send a complain to CNBC about Gasparino's right-wing propaganda

Please send a complain to CNBC about what just aired through the link below:

Charlie Gasparino on CNBC just went off on a rant blaming the housing crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) - this is a widely debunked racist right-wing talking point that was started by Ann Coulter of all people. While the others on the panel, who were actually financial experts, tried to argue against him he just shouted louder and louder and wouldn't let anyone speak and the piece ended. Please write to them through this link and complain about CNBC taking racist right-wing propaganda and pushing it as financial market analysis:

https://register.cnbc.com/email/EmailSupport.jsp

[antigop]

79. WHOOPIE! Bailout bill addresses bikers -- free ponies for everybody

http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/1878.html

Employers of people who bicycle to work stand to gain a $20 per month tax credit per cycling employee, according to the Senate’s version of the Wall Street bailout bill, H.R. 1424.

The bill passed Wednesday by a vote of 74 for and 25 against the bill and now goes to the House for a vote. The bicycle tax provision was part of an additional $110 billion in line items added to the already $700 billion bailout package.

What does bicycle commuting have to do with credit issues or covering the debt racked up on Wall Street? Bicycle commuting advocate Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic Representative from Oregon, was one of the 228 United States House Representatives who voted against the House version of the bailout package. House members looking to pass a bailout bill need to convince as least 12 of the dissenters to switch their position and vote for a bailout bill.

According to a Blumenauer spokeswoman, the bicycle commuting tax credit has the Representative’s attention, according to a report by www.govexec.com. However, Blumenauer said he was opposed to the bill because it failed to include bankruptcy equity for homeowners, not because employers of bicycle commuters suffered unfair tax burdens. He is also against incentives for coal-based liquids, tar sands and oil shale also included in the Senate’s bill.

The employer tax break is laid out in Sec. 211, “Transportation fringe benefit to bicycle commuters," which is under the Transportation and Domestic Fuel Security Provision section in H.R. 1424. The $20 a month tax relief per bicycle commuting employee is to cover the cost of any employer reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee “for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.”

[Gregorian]

82. Wow, a twenty dollar incentive!

Thanks for posting that. I didn't even know about that website.

Hey, it's not often the word bicycle is uttered anywhere. I consider this a little spark of good news. Haha.

I won't live long enough to see a sane world. What's past is prologue. Bikes are the future. But no one likes the idea.

[antigop]

80. Holy moly! Does the bailout bill include provisions to buy troubled assets from pension plans?

http://www.retirementplanblog.com/-401k-plans-bailout-bill-is-like-a-christmas-tree-something-for-everyone-including-retirement-plans.html

The bailout bill working its way through Congress now has something for everyone - including retirement plans. The legislation is being called TARP, ("Troubled Asset Relief Program"), and it's an acronym that some retirement plans will get to know better. In addition to bailing out financial institutions, TARP also permits the Treasury to protect "the retirement security of Americans by purchasing troubled assets held by or on behalf of an eligible retirement plan." Presumably that means both defined benefit and defined contribution plans. If passed, there will obviously be direct involvement by the Labor Department regarding the ERISA aspects, e.g., fiduciary and disclosure obligations.

[antigop]

81. Sirota:Saying "NO DEAL" to this new deal (read it and weep)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/02/EDUI13AC33.DTL

American democracy is defined by vesting government power in systems and rules, not in individuals and whims. We have been, as John Adams wrote, "an empire of laws, and not of men" - until now.

Instead of responding to this meltdown by updating regulatory institutions or investing in job-creating infrastructure, the bailout proposes giving one unelected appointee - the Treasury secretary - complete authority to dole out $700 billion to bank executives, with little oversight. And here's the scary part: That lurch toward dictatorship was motivated not just by crony corruption, but also by a deeper ideological shift.

We now face market forces uninhibited by democratic governance - Chinese dictators and Saudi princes can move trillions of dollars without so much as a press release. This bailout, marketed as a speed enhancer, is an attempt to discard democracy's checks and balances and pantomime that kind of autocracy.

While our political culture still required a public sales job (thus, the fearmongering), the bill's czarism aims to permanently euthanize democracy in the name of improving our capitalism's global agility. In that sense, this week's spousal killing wasn't random. It was the beginning of a systematic assault on our Constitution and a radical departure from Franklin Roosevelt's original covenant - a dangerous "new deal" we must say "no deal" to.

[Dr.Phool]

83. Where's all the happiness? Dow is up less than 50pts.

[Roland99]

84. 3:26pm - "Where is the Love?"

Dow 10,438.80 -44.05
Nasdaq 1,971.40 -5.32
S&P 500 1,109.91 -4.37
10-year 3.64% 0.00
Oil $93.88 -$0.09
Gold $833.20-$11.10

[Dr.Phool]

85. Somebody bought a pig in a poke.

Hope it had lipstick.

[Dr.Phool]

86. WTF? Just dropped 140 pts in 5 minutes?

Now -125.

[specimenfred1984]

87. Just another 400 pt selloff in "No shorting allowed" free markets, LOL.

America is so full of shit, so self-deluded, so purposely and willingly dumbed-down and propagandized that reeducating the idiot masses barely seems worth it. If we are so stupid that we are paying for: $12 billion a month in Iraq, $600 billion FED bank credit, $700 billion military budget and a $800 billion "bailout" for corrupt corporations, maybe we deserve to fail as a country.

I think we've already failed and just don't collectively know it yet. Argentina comes to mind, as does the "failed" USSR.

[Dr.Phool]

92. Krugman nailed it the other day.

We've become a banana republic with nukes.

[natrat]

104. our failure is someone else's gain, unfortunatly

[Roland99]

88. Closing bell: just need to wait for the settle (but I won't be here)

Dow 10,323.39 -159.46
Nasdaq 1,947.39 -29.33
S&P 500 1,099.52 -14.76
10-year 3.64% 0.00
Oil $93.88 -$0.09
Gold $833.20 -$11.10

Y'all (one word) have a good weekend!

:hi:

[ozymandius]

101. Here's the settled closing numbers with blather.

Dow 10,325.38 Down 157.47 (1.50%)
Nasdaq 1,947.39 Down 29.33 (1.48%)
S&P 500 1,099.23 Down 15.05 (1.35%)
10-Yr Bond 3.644% Down 0.002
NYSE Volume 6,730,932,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,547,274,000

4:10 pm : Friday marked the end of an incredible week on Wall Street. On Monday the S&P 500 fell more than 9% after Congress rejected a plan to purchase distressed assets from financial firms. By week's end, Congress approved an amended version of the plan, but traders sold the news in a concerted effort.

Investors were upbeat since the sounding of Friday's opening bell, mostly confident the House of Representatives would pass the latest version of the $700 billion asset purchase plan. Participants were also encouraged by the prospect that the Fed will slash its target interest rate at its next meeting, or even convene between scheduled meetings to more quickly add liquidity to markets.

The major indices were at their best levels of the session midday. At that point the Dow was up 3.0%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were each up 3.6%.

The positive sentiment was enough to overshadow another dose of dour economic data. Specifically, the Department of Labor announced nonfarm payrolls were down for the ninth consecutive month. They fell 159,000 in September, exceeding the drop of 105,000 that was widely anticipated. The unemployment rate remains at an elevated 6.1%.

Generally overlooked, the ISM nonmanufacturing index for September came in at a relatively neutral reading of 50.2. Though it is down a bit from the prior reading of 50.6 and slightly above the consensus reading of 50.0, it indicates steady activity.

Dealings in the banking industry also helped early sentiment. Wells Fargo (WFC 34.82, -0.34) and Wachovia Bank (WB 6.21, +2.30) announced they would merger their operations in a stock-for-stock transaction valued that valued shares of WB around $7.00 each, a premium of almost 80% to the prior session's closing price. The overall transaction is valued at $15.1 billion.

Though the announcement was pleasing to market participants, Citigroup (C 18.42, -4.08) contends that it violates an exclusivity agreement made when Citi agreed to acquire Wachovia's banking operations. That deal was struck earlier this week and backed by the FDIC.

Separately, AIG (AIG 3.86, -0.14) announced plans to divest certain assets to refocus on core insurance businesses. The moves will help raise capital to protect against losses and pay down the credit line extended by the Federal Reserve.

The news pushed shares of AIG higher early on, helping multiline insurers recover from heavy losses this week. The group was hit hard this week as investors grew concerned over their financial health. That concern grew increasingly apparent as their credit spreads widened.

Multiline insurers were up almost 15% at their session high, but finished with a gain near 1.1%. The overall financial sector had climbed to a gain of 4.9%, but closed with a loss of 4.0%.

The turnabout came after Congress approved an amended version of a $700 billion plan to purchase distressed assets from financial companies. A knee-jerk reaction by traders sent stocks down sharply as they sold the news of the plan's approval.

The major indices remained in a funk for the remainder afternoon and finished near session lows. The retreat turned the large gains seen earlier in the session into losses near 1.5%.

Friday's sell off extended this week's already massive losses. For the week, the Dow shed 7.4%, the Nasdaq dropped 10.8%, and the S&P 500 fell 9.4%. DJ30 -157.15 NASDAQ -29.33 NQ100 -1.4% R2K -2.9% SP400 -2.5% SP500 -15.04 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 730/2.51 bln/2055 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1097/1.42 bln/2043

[antigop]

90. U.S. Treasury to hire up to 10 asset management firms

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGGMo21aihyg&refer=home

The U.S. plans to hire five to 10 asset-management firms as Secretary Henry Paulson establishes the government's new office for handling the financial bailout, a Treasury official said.

The department will also add about two dozen new employees, a mix of bankers, lawyers, accountants and others, the official said today on condition of anonymity. The Treasury's first attempt to hold an auction to buy troubled assets from financial firms will take at least four weeks to set up, said the official.

``We've been doing a lot of work getting ready for this,'' Paulson told reporters after Congress passed the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue package for financial institutions. ``Once the legislation is signed, we're going to be going out and lining up advisers from the private sector.''

Some of the Treasury's new employees will be on the government payroll, while others will be contractors, the official said. In selecting the asset-management firms, the Treasury plans to look at the cost and scope of services offered by the competing companies.

The Treasury is still considering guidelines on compensation and conflict-of-interest policy, the official said.

Hmmmm...now let me guess...which firms will be chosen...hmmm....

[Dr.Phool]

93. Hmmmmmm.

I give up. I can't think of one.

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Demeter]

96. Seeing as How Wall Street Didn't Like the Bailout, Do We Get the 3 Day Recission Option?

It would be contract law....

[fedsron2us]

97. Financial Eugenics

No alternatives will be considered.

No constraints on the unilateral executive authority of Hank Paulson will be considered.

No assurances that funds will be used to unlock credit markets or promote lending to the real economy (as opposed to the financial robber barons) will be considered.

Instead, the bill will get laden with an additional 300 pages of pork to sway the dissenters, adding to the tab imposed on the American taxpayer.

Having listened to all 42 minutes of the late night Treasury briefing of investment banks on Sunday, there is no doubt in my mind that this legislation represents the sort of federal largesse for Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citibank and JPMorgan Chase that the Iraq war provided for Halliburton and Blackwater.

http://londonbanker.blogspot.com/2008/10/financial-eugenics-paulson-plan-for.html

Bile a plenty from this observer and he nails one of the crucial points which is that the bail out is about rescuing the Federal Reserve as much as anyone else.

It is also about using the coming deflation to enrich a select few Bush cronies.

[antigop]

98. Krugman: Has the bailout already failed?

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/03/has-the-bailout-already-failed/

OK, I know that’s premature. And I place no weight at all on the fact that the Dow plunged after the vote.

But it is interesting that short-term Treasury yields are down — only 0.13% on one-month — suggesting that the flight to safety continues unabated. Against this, John Jansen reports some signs that money markets are unfreezing, slightly.

We’ll learn more next week. But I have a prediction: well before January 20, Congress will be asked to vote on bailout 2.0.

[ozymandius]

99. WTF just happened? Have we collectively gone insane?!?

I called my Congressman, John Lewis, at lunchtime. He also received an e-mail with detailed information as to why this bailout/forfeiture is a bad idea. On the phone, I told the very polite staffer what I found objectionable without too much jargon we are accustomed to using around here, like Libor and TED spread, to illustrate why this will create punitive devaluation of the dollar. My, your, our everybody's cost of living is going up. Also expressed were the concerns of throwing so much money that will be gleaned from our grandchildren's paychecks to cover for this boondoggle spending.

Also listed among the grievances are: no oversight of the expenses; lack of concern that beneficiaries of this bill are under an FBI investigation for FRAUD; it is criminal that the Senate has sugar-coated this poison pill bill with 'goodies' that, in effect, bribes people with their own money and on and on...

So we have gone nuts.

How bitterly disappointed in my Congressional representation that we have opted for expeditious madness; madness out of fear; fear out of misinformation.

Fuck them.

[Dr.Phool]

102. Yes we have gone insane.

Now we know why they've installed a military unit to the Northern Command, just for riot and crowd control.

We saw it coming. They saw it coming. Game is just about over.

[antigop]

103. We are now living in "crazy-ocracy"

From post #57:
>>
Is it possible America has become a Crazy-ocracy? That is, is it possible we aren't ruled by merely the stupid (an Idiocracy) or the corrupt (a Kleptocracy) - we are ruled by genuinely insane people?>>

[Dr.Phool]

105. I've always been a staunch supporter of the first amendment.

Without qualifications.

However, I would gleefully support it's suspension just long enough to shut down Fox News and jail Rupert Murdoch for treason. In Gitmo. Waterboard tour and all.

I know. That's what the first amendment is all about. It allows me to post this treasonous stuff here. But, goddamn! The man has done more to stupify the public than Goebbels. And he's not even an American.

[alterfurz]

106. kakistocracy

n., pl. -cies.
Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

[Dr.Phool]

107. ca-castocracy

Government by shit for brains.

[ozone_man]

110. Deflation may offset that.

I think what we've been witnessing is a tug of war between inflationary and deflationary forces. The FED has been doing a balancing act to prevent either, but I think they're about to give up the ghost as deflation wins. I expect they will drop interest rates to 0% or close to it soon. And then they're out of bullets.

I doubt our creditors will continue to hold our debt if we devalue the dollar any more than it already has been.

Rather than spending time to address the problem at it's source, which is personal and national debt, as well as predatory mortgage and credit card interest rates, Congress was railroaded into passing this POS. And they're spineless.

Also, we're in a global market, so as bad as things seem here, it may soon be as bad everywhere else.

[Doctor_J]

109. Smirk is going to have the DJIA back where his dad left it for Clinton

what a disaster