STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, February 11, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, February 11, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON February 10, 2011

Dow 12,229.29 -10.60 (-0.09%)
Nasdaq 2,790.45 +1.38 (+0.05%)
S&P 500 1,321.87 +0.99 (+0.07%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.66 -0.04 (-1.11%)
30-Year Bond 4.73 -0.03 (-0.67%)

---

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

---

Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

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

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

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

---

---

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

Read more: du

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Today's Reports

Feb 11 08:30 Trade Balance Dec -$42.0B -$40.4B -$38.3B
Feb 11 09:55 Mich Sentiment Feb 75.5 75.5 74.2

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. Oil climbs to near $88 as Egypt unrest escalates

SINGAPORE – Oil prices climbed to near $88 a barrel Friday in Asia as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clung to power amid growing protests calling for his resignation.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 96 cents at $87.69 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents to settle at $86.73 on Thursday.

In London, Brent crude gained 86 cents to $102.30 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Mubarak, in power for 30 years, said late Thursday that he would pass some authority to his vice president but would not immediately leave office. Protesters seeking to oust Mubarak were massing in Cairo's central square on Friday, posing a major test for the military as the demonstrators stepped up calls for the army to intervene against the president.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. U.S. stock futures point south; Nokia in focus

MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures were pointing to a softer start for Wall Street on Friday, as investor jitters over instability in Egypt returned, while shares of Nokia Corp. fell sharply in premarket trade in the wake of a partnership with Microsoft Corp.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57 points to 12,137, while those for the S&P 500 index fell 7.9 points to 1,310.90.

Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index fell 11.25 points to 2,350.50.

Japanese economic data, China's monthly inflation figures and BHP Billiton's interim results will likely take center stage in Asia next week.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-point-south-nokia-in-focus-2011-02-11

Will it be another miraculous QE2 save for the markets today?

[Pale Blue Dot]

5. Guest Post: Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham, Phase II

The U.S. economy is now addicted via the ratchet effect to unprecedented levels of Federal borrowing and Federal Reserve credit creation and manipulation. Let's set aside the fact that America's Central State has by some calculations guaranteed some $13 trillion in private financial assets via TARP, AIG's backstop, the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, etc.--roughly the size of the entire GDP of the nation.

Let's focus instead on the fact that the Federal government must borrow and spend 11% of GDP ($1.5+ trillion) every year, and the Fed must buy $1 trillion in impaired private assets or new Treasury debt annually (another 7% of GDP) just to create an illusory GDP growth of 2.5% a year. So we're spending/injecting 18% of the GDP to conjure a "growth" of 2.5%.

That means we're spending/injecting $7 to create $1 of "growth" in GDP. And thanks to the ratchet effect, there's no going back now without systemic disruption. Does anyone seriously believe spending $7 to birth $1 of "growth" is sustainable? If so, then let's eliminate that $1.5 trillion deficit spending and the Fed's $1 trillion-a-year purchases of impaired debt and Treasury bonds, and see if GDP "grows" via organic demand and production.

Everybody knows what would happen: the wheels would fall off the illusory "recovery." The "recovery" is precisely analogous to an alcoholic who claims to be sobering up but who is actually drinking seven beers a day to get a buzz when a few years ago he only quaffed two or three a day.

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/guest-post-travesty-mockery-sham-phase-ii

This is an accessible restating of things most of us here already know. Worth the read.

[Pale Blue Dot]

6. School board to consider proposal to cut 535 teachers (1135 jobs total)

The San Diego Unified School District Board of Education today (Feb. 10) will consider a plan to reduce the budget deficit for the next school year by cutting 1,300 employees, including 535 teachers.

The staff reductions are part of a plan put together by Superintendent Bill Kowba.

The Board of Education has resisted layoffs of teachers in recent years, but school officials have said it is no longer avoidable because personnel costs make up most of the district’s budget.

Depending on whether voters pass Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax proposals this summer, the district will face budget shortfalls of either $120.6 million or $63.6 million for the school year that begins in September, according to the plan released Wednesday.

http://www.lajollalight.com/2011/02/10/school-board-to-consider-proposal-to-cut-535-teachers/

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. C.R. Bard to cut about 200 jobs in Queensbury plant

QUEENSBURY -- C.R. Bard plans to cut about 200 positions at the Bay Road plant as it shifts some production work to other facilities, the company confirmed Thursday.

The global medical device maker announced the cuts to workers on Wednesday.

Corporate spokesman Scott Lowry said the reduction represents about 20 percent of the plant’s 960 employees. About 60 of those jobs are temporary positions, which will be targeted first.

The layoffs will impact mostly hourly workers, and they will begin in stages in the coming weeks. No layoffs had occurred as of Thursday morning, according to Lowry.

http://poststar.com/news/local/article_832b9a0c-352a-11e0-a1fc-001cc4c03286.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

8. Motorola Solutions lays off 175 from WiMax unit

Motorola Solutions has laid off 175 employees in its networks business, which is slated to be sold to Nokia Siemens Networks in a $1.2 billion deal.

Motorola Solutions spokeswoman Tama McWhinney said the cuts took place in January and affected workers in Arlington Heights, as well as Fort Worth, Texas, and Tempe, Ariz. The company maintains a presence in all three cities.

The layoffs represent the first job cuts since Motorola Inc. split into two companies at the beginning of the year. Motorola Solutions focuses on communications equipment and software for public safety and industrial customers, while Motorola Mobility makes consumer mobile devices and TV set-top boxes.

McWhinney said the cuts were exclusive to Motorola’s WiMax business, which has not seen as much activity as the company anticipated. WiMAX is a fourth-generation wireless network technology that competes with another technology called Long-Term Evolution, or LTE. In the U.S., Verizon Wireless and AT&T use LTE, while Sprint uses a WiMAX network built by Clearwire.

http://chicagobreakingbusiness.com/2011/02/motorola-solutions-lays-off-175-from-wimax-unit.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

9. Cub Foods Cuts 200 Part-Timers in Twin Cities

The grocery chain’s parent company, Supervalu, Inc., wouldn’t provide details, but the company has been struggling and cutting expenses recently in an attempt to remain competitive.

Cub Foods laid off about 200 part-time workers in the Twin Cities—or about 3.6 percent of the grocery chain’s work force.

The move comes at a time when Cub Foods’ parent company, Eden Prairie-based Supervalu, Inc., is struggling and cutting expenses.

Supervalu spokesman Mike Siemienas, reached by phone Wednesday morning, would only confirm that “staffing adjustments” affecting a “small percentage” of local Cub workers were made within the past two weeks.

http://tcbmag.blogs.com/daily_developments/2011/02/cub-foods-cuts-200-part-timers-in-twin-cities.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

11. MannKind Plans Big Layoffs (160)

Mannkind Inc. late Thursday reported a smaller-than-expected fourth quarter loss, but said it would lay off 41 percent of its employees as it focuses on obtaining regulatory approval for its inhaled diabetes drug Afrezza.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last month told the Valencia biotech that it wouldn’t approve Afrezza until the company conducted additional human studies. Those studies could delay the drug hitting the market by two years.

The company most recently said it had about 400 employees in Valencia and other sites, so about 160 people may be affected by the layoffs.

“We are restructuring our organization to be focused on securing the approval of Afrezza,” said founder and Chief Executive Alfred Mann in a statement.

http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2011/feb/10/mannkind-plans-big-layoffs/

[Pale Blue Dot]

43. RR Donnelley plant in Greeley to close putting 177 workers out of a job

RR Donnelley Norwest, Inc. will close its Greeley printing plant within 60 days, putting 177 workers out of a job, according to a company statement and current and former employees.

The employees were notified of the shutdown during a mandatory meeting Wednesday morning at the plant, 259 30th St. in southeast Greeley.

“The corporate people came in and the HR people were there, and they handed out the severance packages,” said a man who has a relative who works at the plant. Because of the sensitivity of the subject, he asked not to be identified. “They’re going to have a meeting next week explaining it in more detail. April 11, as I understand it, 60 days from yesterday, will be when they close. What happens after that, I have no idea, but it destroys a lot of lives.”

Officials at RR Donnelley, based in Chicago, have not responded to repeated requests for comment.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20110210/NEWS/702109984/1002

[Pale Blue Dot]

44. SAISD (San Antonio School District) cutting 125 positions

San Antonio Independent School District trustees decided Thursday night to eliminate 125 positions in the curriculum and instructional department, the first of a series of budget cuts as the district looks for at least $50 million in savings.

The cuts — which figure to be the first of many for area districts — will eliminate 120 campus instructional coordinator positions. Commonly known as CICs, they provide support to teachers and principals.

A total of 45 other positions were cut, including dozens of curriculum specialists and some clerical staffers.

The departmental reorganization also includes the creation of 40 instructional coaches to take on some of the duties of the CICs, for a net loss of 125 positions.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/SAISD-cutting-125-positions-1008522.php#ixzz1DfIiv0WW

[Pale Blue Dot]

45. * Home * News Lodi Unified School District considers cutting 177 positions in 2011

Lodi Unified School District trustees will be asked Tuesday to approve eliminating more than 177 certificated positions next school year, far less than in past years. Still, among those are 99 elementary teachers.

District officials are expecting another large turnout at the public meeting. It will be held in McNair High School's theater which accommodates 720.
*

Although not an actual budget proposal, action taken Tuesday is based on a strict timeline the district must meet.

It is legally required to notify employees of potential layoffs on March 15, with final notices issued May 15. After that, the board can rescind any layoff notices.

http://www.lodinews.com/news/article_cafbca76-9e00-5636-8a89-1193d7f001cb.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

49. Trenton Mayor Tony Mack announces 600 city workers must take 13 unpaid days off

TRENTON -- Trenton Mayor Tony Mack announced today that 600 city workers must take 13 unpaid days off between April and June as part of an effort to close an $18.5 million budget gap.

Police, firefighters and workers in the city clerk's office are exempt from the "temporary layoff" or furlough days, which must be taken on Fridays between April 1 and June 30, according to Mack's spokeswoman Lauren Ira.

Furloughs will occur every Friday during April, May, and June, except for one Thursday in late April that falls before the paid Good Friday holiday. City hall and the municipal court will be closed, and trash collection will not occur on those days, Ira said.

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2011/02/trenton_mayor_tony_mack_announ.html

[Roland99]

10. To the greatest

haven't been able to do that in a while.

[Demeter]

12. As Far As the Cartoon Goes

When the public institutes a school lunch program--it's done by the parents to feed their children for the parents' convenience. If children are considered community property to a certain extent, which they are, then there's no contradiction. The parents ARE feeding their children. Same thing with public education, public health, public water and sewer, public fire departments, etc.



But this line of reasoning, consensual collective action for collective good, is too nuanced for those who are looking to rape the commons to privatize the profits. Those who cannot accept the will of the majority are always looking for a way to divide and conquer.

...This is exactly the opposite case with the Zombie Banks--demand to NOT keep them alive was very strong, still is strong, and is completely ignored by the bought-off politicians. The banks are not the people's children, and the people want them off the welfare rolls and living under a bridge or dying a natural, capitalistic death.

From the article posted by PBD from ZeroHedge (see Post #5 above):

Here is the Keynesian Project in a nutshell: Unfettered Capitalism works in straightforward cycles: the organic business cycle of expansion, overcapacity and overleverege inevitably leads to a credit bust in which those whose borrowing exceeds their ability to service their debt go broke, and the dominoes of overcapacity and credit expansion topple as losses mount and consumption based on increasing debt falls.

Bad debt gets wiped out, along with "pyramid-scheme" type assets (mortgaged assets are leveraged to buy more mortgaged assets) and excess capacity. As production declines, workers are laid off and consumption declines, further pressuring impaired financial assets.

As Marx had foreseen, these cycles increase in depth and severity. Though Marx invoked dialectical theory and history rather than the ratchet effect, the basic idea is the same: Capitalism becomes increasingly dependent on financial capital, and the resultant crises eventually become severe enough to take down Capitalism as a sustainable productive system.

Keynes proposed to counter these worsening business cycle implosions with massive injections of Central State borrowing and spending. The atmosphere of fear as assets, credit and consumption all contracted would be replaced by a revival of "animal spirits" (the magical elixir of Capitalism), consumption would be stimulated by direct government spending on capital projects and welfare (fiscal stimulus), and banking credit would be restored via stimulative Central Bank credit expansion (monetary stimulus). But Keynes failed to grasp what Marx had intuited: the ratchet effect. Once the Central State ramped up deficit spending and expansive credit, then the organic economy became dependent on that new level of Central State spending and credit expansion.

Basically, the politicians are not listening to the people who pay their salaries and vote for them. The Politicians are listening to the Corporations who pay their election campaigns and offer them cushy retirement jobs when they leave or are driven out of office.

[Demeter]

13. Apparent Gas Blast Adds to Pipeline Questions Spurred by Earlier Fatal Incidents

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704132204576136011490120274.html?mod=WSJ_myyahoo_module

ALLENTOWN, Pa.—Five people died in an apparent natural-gas explosion and fire that enveloped a neighborhood here, officials said Thursday, marking the third major blast in the U.S. since fall and heightening worries about aging pipelines that crisscross the nation.

The blast Wednesday night followed recent natural-gas explosions in Philadelphia and a suburb of San Francisco that killed a total of nine people.

The National Transportation Safety Board is set to hold hearings next month on the recent blasts and consider improvements in pipeline safety. The review comes amid a growing consensus that the U.S. has a problem with aging infrastructure, particularly underground pipelines that are hard to inspect. The pipe that blew in Allentown had been in service since 1928...

[Fuddnik]

41. Another one in Ohio this morning.

No injuries.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/02/gas_pipeline_explodes_in_hanov.html

[Demeter]

14. How Buying a Home Is Likely to Change

http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/flowchart/2011/02/09/how-buying-a-home-is-likely-to-change.html

Last year's sweeping financial-reform law revamped much of the banking system. But there's one industry it didn't touch: housing finance. For good reason. Unlike the convalescing banking sector, the housing market is still a wreck, with any false move likely to destabilize things even further and cause fresh damage.

But the system can't continue the way it is either, so policymakers in Washington are gingerly starting to propose ways to fix the way we finance the purchase of homes and assure that there's never another housing bust like the one that began in 2006—and still isn't over.

The biggest and thorniest question is what role the government should play in the housing market. The government has had a hand in housing since the 1930s, when it began to subsidize home purchases for some buyers. But today the government dominates housing finance, with our system effectively nationalized. The government backs nearly every new mortgage, bearing much of the risk that lenders would ordinarily take on. That has kept mortgage money flowing during a severe credit crunch, preventing a much bigger disaster in housing, and a deeper recession. But it has also cost taxpayers billions of dollars, created a perverse system ripe for political abuse, and crowded out private financing that might be deployed more efficiently.

So with the economic recovery gaining strength, it's finally time to address the problem-to-be-named later. The Obama administration has come up with a set of options for winding down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the insolvent housing agencies that back many middle-class mortgages but suffered catastrophic losses in 2008 and were taken over by the government. Some Republicans would like to see Washington end its role in housing altogether, while many economists favor some kind of hybrid system that transfers much but not all of the government's role to the private sector. A few small changes could happen this year, with the biggest reforms probably not likely until at least 2013, after the next presidential election. Even then, changes will probably be phased in slowly, to minimize disruption—and panic...

RIGHT, AND THERE'S A LOVELY BRIDGE FOR SALE IN BROOKLYN...

[Demeter]

15. Obama to outline options for future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fannie-freddie-20110210,0,5161206.story

I CAN'T WAIT! ANOTHER LUDICROUS PROPOSAL FROM AN INCREASINGLY LUDICROUS MAN...

The president will give Congress three proposals for scaling back the companies' role in the mortgage market or shutting them down. The U.S. bailout of the firms has cost $150 billion...The proposals, expected to be released Friday, would shrink the role of mortgage-financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, onetime government-sponsored enterprises designed to foster the market for affordable housing...

Many Republicans want to shut down Fannie and Freddie and have private companies replace them without the backstop of a government guarantee. The administration will propose that as one of three options. But the other options would retain a scaled-back government role in housing finance...The administration's report will offer options that don't require legislation. Instead, the report is designed to present a path for luring private capital back into the housing finance market and reducing government's role in insuring mortgage-backed bonds.


..............................



Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee more than half of all U.S. mortgages and have become crucial to keeping capital flowing to lenders and borrowers. A broad restructuring of the $11-trillion mortgage system is expected to take years.

[Demeter]

29. Freddie Mac’s chief operating officer quits

Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage finance company that was rescued by the US government, said Bruce Witherell was resigning immediately for ‘personal reasons’

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/XYEWFF/5C1813/87I64/18NG9B/HDO0Q6/JY/t?a1=2011&a2=2&a3=11

[Demeter]

16. WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices

AND YET, PRICES HAVE FALLEN...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/feb/08/saudi-oil-reserves-overstated-wikileaks

US diplomat convinced by Saudi expert that reserves of world's biggest oil exporter have been overstated by nearly 40%...The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

THERE'S MUCH MORE TO THIS AT THE LINK...

[Demeter]

17. Obama Expected to Maintain U.S. Aid to Egyptian Regime

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/9/headlines#3

Despite its public criticism, the Obama administration has yet to publicly leverage billions in annual U.S. aid to Egypt to increase pressure on President Hosni Mubarak’s regime. President Obama is expected to continue seeking full aid to Egypt when he submits his 2012 budget to Congress next week. According to the Los Angeles Times, Egypt is due to receive a wide variety of U.S. military hardware over the next year, including F-16 fighter jets, naval vessels, air defense missiles and surveillance radar. As the budget request nears, many top lawmakers, including Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), have eased off their calls for cutting aid to the Egyptian government. Here in New York, dozens of people took part in a solidarity action with the Egyptian protesters outside the Egyptian consulate.

Protester: "Egypt was supposed to be a democratic country, but now it’s not because of Hosni Mubarak, who’s been there for 30 years, and he’s not helping anybody at all. He has more money than anybody has right now, and that’s not right. The country is not even worth as much as he is! That’s so bad! Like, are you kidding me? He has to go!"

[Demeter]

18. The Guardian censored Wikileaks cables that did not support liberal imperialist agenda against Iran

http://maxkeiser.com/2011/02/09/the-guardian-censored-wikileaks-cables-that-did-not-support-liberal-imperialist-agenda-against-iran/

[Demeter]

19. BANK OF AMERICA: BUSTED: Anonymous Uncovers Corporate Proposal to Take Down Wikileaks

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/2/9/942364/-BUSTED:-Anonymous-Uncovers-Corporate-Proposal-to-Take-Down-Wikileaks

Anonymous counter-intelligence operations have uncovered evidence of an effort by Bank Of America (BoA) to disrupt both Wikileaks and Anonymous. Details of BoA's involvement began emerging on February 8th, 2011, during Anonymous' Operation #HBGary.

Operation #HBGary was retribution against (in)security firm HBGary, and its associate company HBGary Federal, for threatening to release innacurate and fallacious information about Anonymous. During the operation, Anonymous double-penetrated HBGary's corporate network, compromised the personal email and social networking accounts of several HBGary employees (evidence of which is still online at the time of this document's creation), retrieved some 50,000 corporate emails, discovered HBGary "product" source code, and wiped Aaron Barr's personal iPad (for shits 'n' giggles).

Among the emails retrieved from HBGary, Anonymous uncovered communications between Bank of America's legal representation, HBGary, Palantir, and BericoTechnologies detailing efforts to weaken Wikileaks through misinformation and targeted cyber attacks....

[Demeter]

20. DYLAN RATIGAN PODCAST: ALAN GRAYSON INTERVIEW

http://www.dylanratigan.com/2011/02/09/rep-alan-grayson-on-radio-free-dylan/

[Demeter]

21. Lawmakers oppose federal bailout for states

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j2et-6UzD0IgMOqIH3vtFmowOf_w

The new Republican-led House is showing no appetite for making federal taxpayers help state and local governments cope with widespread budget problems. Even some Democrats are wary, underscoring the impact of Washington's crushing budget deficits.

"The era of the bailout is over," Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., told a House hearing on the debt problems facing scores of states and municipalities around the country.

At the same hearing, Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said states need to erase their deficits and face up to their long-term obligations such as pensions for government workers on their own. He also criticized a proposal some conservatives have made that Congress pass a law allowing states to reorganize their debts by declaring bankruptcy, an idea that opponents say would send state borrowing costs soaring.

"I don't think either one of those options can work or are optimal," Quigley said...

[Demeter]

22. Wall Street Justice Means Nobody Gets Pinched: Jonathan Weil

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-10/wall-street-justice-means-nobody-gets-pinched-commentary-by-jonathan-weil.html

Here’s another discouraging lesson for anyone hoping the people who caused the financial crisis will be brought to justice someday. Just because the Securities and Exchange Commission has accused a too-big-to-fail company of committing an outrageous fraud, that doesn’t mean the agency will hold anyone accountable for it.

Imagine that: A fraud without fraudsters. To believe the SEC, this is exactly what happened at General Electric Co.

It’s been 18 months since GE paid a $50 million fine to settle the SEC’s claims that it had resorted to accounting fraud to avoid missing Wall Street analysts’ earnings predictions back in 2002 and 2003. At the time the deal was disclosed, the SEC said it had concluded its investigation with respect to GE, which neither admitted nor denied the commission’s allegations.

However, the SEC left open the possibility it would sue one or more of the individuals responsible for the alleged fraud at some later date. There’s been no word from the SEC about the case since it filed its settled complaint in August 2009.

Now we can say how the story ends. An SEC spokesman, John Nester, told me the SEC’s investigation is over, and has been since spring 2010. The SEC won’t be suing any individuals as a result of its probe. Nester declined to comment further...

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! SEE LINK-- REMEMBER, GE BROUGHT RONALD REAGAN TO LIFE! AND NOW, GE HAS AN ENFORCER ON OBAMA (JEFF IMMELT)

[xchrom]

25. +1

[Demeter]

23. New Obama strategy: Beat up poor people

http://www.salon.com/technology/how_the_world_works/2011/02/09/white_house_picks_on_cold_poor_people/index.html

...Mark Thoma has the smart take on this: If the White House wants to convince Americans that it is serious about budget discipline, it should do so by "going after powerful vested interests rather than those least able to defend themselves within the political arena." The White House could redouble its efforts to cut oil company subsidies or repeal tax cuts for the rich, for example. But it won't, because that's too hard.

At first glance, this looks to be yet another instance of completely hamhanded messaging on the White House's part. It's one thing to propose a broad-based set of spending cuts that hits everyone -- it's quite another to selectively leak a targeted hit that slams the sector of society whose interests your party purports to represent, to try and gain street cred with pundits and independent voters. It comes off as simultaneously calculating and dumb, which is not a position any good politician wants to occupy.

But then again, maybe my knee is jerking with the exact twitch of spasmodic anger that the White House was hoping for. If so, congratulations sirs, well played! But I can't imagine that Republicans are doing anything else but laughing. Heartless incompetence is not going to win a budget fight.

[Demeter]

26. Obama Is Hurting Poor People in Ways ACORN Blocked Bush from Achieving

http://warisacrime.org/content/obama-hurting-poor-people-ways-acorn-blocked-bush-achieving

[fasttense]

32. We now have a trickle down recovery that has yet to trickle down.

You poor and unemployed need to just hang in there until our corporate masters piss out a minimum wage, no benefits job for you.

Heck of a job Obama.

[Fuddnik]

42. Now we know why there is never a peep from this administration.

Whenever a progressive or progressive organization gets thrown to the wolves, instead of defending them, this admin offers them dessert.

[Hotler]

24. k&r n/t

[Demeter]

27. Speculation is the main driver behind higher world food prices - the evidence is there in the data

http://cloudedoutlook.blogspot.com/2011/02/speculation-is-main-driver-behind.html

EDUCATIONAL ANALYSIS--MUST READ--IT'S SHORT AND CLEAR

[Demeter]

28. Silver class-action suits against Morgan, HSBC consolidated in New York

http://www.gata.org/node/9577

[DemReadingDU]

30. Preview of the Stoneleigh vs. Lira Debate: Deflation vs. Hyperinflation

2/10/11 A Preview of the Stoneleigh vs. Lira Debate: Deflation vs. Hyperinflation

For the first time ever, well-known deflationist Nicole “Stoneleigh” Foss and hyperinflationist Gonzalo Lira are appearing together in a joint interview.

They’re preparing to debate one another live online tonight, Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 9:00PM EST. Stoneleigh vs. Lira – Deflation vs. Hyperinflation will be held before a live web audience and is expected to run approxmiately two hours.

Tonight’s, Thursday, event will be moderated by Financial Survival Radio host Jay Carter. Jay plans to make sure to ask both of them how they would invest and otherwise prepare for the deflationary or hyperinflationary depression that they see coming.

http://financialsurvivalradio.com/023-the-stoneleigh-vs-lira-debate-deflation-vs-hyperinflation/


Direct link to the preview audio, appx 36 mintues
http://traffic.libsyn.com/financialsurvivalshow/FSR023FossLira1.mp3


When the link is created for the 2-hour debate, I will post that later.

[Demeter]

33. There's NO Reason We Can't Have Both At the Same Time

Hyperinflation in prices, deflation in dollar and wages....

Ben Bernanke’s Hot Money By Bill Bonner

...Ben Bernanke’s hot money. He juices up the world’s hot money. Commodity prices go up. Commodities – especially oil, which appears to be headed over $110 a barrel — are a major cost for most producers. Higher costs with little pricing power (remember, we’re still in a Great Correction) mean lower profits.

That’s a big weakness in Bernanke’s program. He prints money ($600 billion in the first half of this year). But the money never gets into the consumer economy. Wages don’t rise. But commodity prices do. This raises prices for consumers…and business. Net result: less discretionary spending. The opposite of what Bernanke wanted, in other words...

Read more: Ben Bernanke's Hot Money http://dailyreckoning.com/ben-bernankes-hot-money/#ixzz1DewCNZQx

BECAUSE GIVING MONEY TO CONSUMERS INSTEAD OF TO CORPORATE THIEVES IS VIOLATING THAT SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENT....

THE ONLY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP IS SUPPOSED TO BE BETWEEN PEOPLE AND THEIR GOVERNMENT!

BUT NOW THAT CORPORATIONS ARE PEOPLE TOO, I GUESS THAT OBJECTION NO LONGER IS VALID...

[DemReadingDU]

37. Well yes, but there are differing causes

Ozy could explain this better than me, but this is my interpretation...

With inflation, there is lots of credit. People can buy just about anything using a credit card. Also, with inflation, there is an increase in wages.

With deflation, there is a decrease in the availability of credit. Limits on credit cards are decreased, and people try to pay off credit cards or perhaps default on them. Also with deflation, wages decrease.

Prices can go up and down in both inflation and deflation. Higher prices don't necessarily indicate inflation!

Currently speculators are gambling in commodities forcing higher prices in corn, wheat, rice, sugar, etc. As a result, food made with these staple ingredients will be higher in price. The higher price is not from inflation, but from the speculators gambling!

There is also supply and demand that can raise or lower prices. If families have little money, they will most likely not buy another TV, which could be very cheap in price because of a surplus supply.

Yet, these same families will do what they can to feed their kids, either applying for food stamps, going to food pantries (which are becoming barer), maybe bartering via the underground market (trading DVDs for food).


edit: I was responding as you were editing your posting.
:)

[Festivito]

31. Debt: 02/09/2011 14,098,789,113,781.32 (DOWN 11,631,696,280.96) (Wed, UP a little.)

(Good day.)
So sleepy, oops, awake.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,471,221,510,094.19 + 4,627,567,603,687.13
UP 70,875,766.12 + DOWN 11,702,572,047.08

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,212.04 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 311,328,992 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,285.82.
A family of three owes $135,857.46. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 3,885,510,836.32.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,978,891,641.18.
The average for the last 33 days would be 2,708,083,310.16.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 91 reports in 132 days of FY2011 averaging 5.90B$ per report, 4.07B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 711 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
02/09/2011 14,098,789,113,781.32 BHO (UP 3,471,912,064,868.24 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,537,166,082,889.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,485,345,607,990.19 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/20/2011 -000,687,286,291.06 ---
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----
01/24/2011 -000,181,687,031.14 --- Mon
01/25/2011 +000,059,189,192.13 ------------*******
01/26/2011 -000,112,154,254.52 ---
01/27/2011 -004,717,116,457.79 --
01/28/2011 +002,605,585,609.92 ------------*********
01/31/2011 +072,534,426,006.14 ------------********** Mon
02/01/2011 -002,841,687,784.84 --
02/02/2011 +000,160,101,452.72 ------------********
02/03/2011 -011,756,222,449.85 -
02/04/2011 +000,096,985,369.31 ------------*******
02/07/2011 -000,024,110,721.58 ---- Mon
02/08/2011 +000,098,708,298.02 ------------*******
02/09/2011 +000,070,875,766.12 ------------*******

55,247,739,400.84 Total of 15 above reports.

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

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4727928&mesg_id=4728275

[Festivito]

52. Debt: 02/10/2011 14,083,345,766,082.15 (DOWN 15,443,347,699.17) (Thu, DOWN a lot.)

(Good day.)
Short day.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,455,138,178,100.21 + 4,628,207,587,981.94
DOWN 16,083,331,993.98 + UP 639,984,294.81

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

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.21 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,211.96 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.64, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 311,336,192 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $45,235.17.
A family of three owes $135,705.51. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 3,000,032,915.80.
The average for the last 30 days would be 2,300,025,235.45.
The average for the last 31 days would be 2,225,830,873.02.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 92 reports in 133 days of FY2011 averaging 5.67B$ per report, 3.92B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 710 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.1 and 17.8T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
02/10/2011 14,083,345,766,082.15 BHO (UP 3,456,468,717,169.07 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,521,722,735,190.40 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,431,795,476,274.41 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
01/21/2011 -000,057,867,302.74 ----
01/24/2011 -000,181,687,031.14 --- Mon
01/25/2011 +000,059,189,192.13 ------------*******
01/26/2011 -000,112,154,254.52 ---
01/27/2011 -004,717,116,457.79 --
01/28/2011 +002,605,585,609.92 ------------*********
01/31/2011 +072,534,426,006.14 ------------********** Mon
02/01/2011 -002,841,687,784.84 --
02/02/2011 +000,160,101,452.72 ------------********
02/03/2011 -011,756,222,449.85 -
02/04/2011 +000,096,985,369.31 ------------*******
02/07/2011 -000,024,110,721.58 ---- Mon
02/08/2011 +000,098,708,298.02 ------------*******
02/09/2011 +000,070,875,766.12 ------------*******
02/10/2011 -016,083,331,993.98 -

39,851,693,697.92 Total of 15 above reports.

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

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4729239&mesg_id=4729307

[Demeter]

34. What the BLS is Actually Pulling its Numbers Out Of By Rocky Vega

http://dailyreckoning.com/what-the-bls-is-actually-pulling-its-numbers-out-of/

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicated that the official government-reported unemployment rate had dropped sharply from 9.4 percent to 9.0 percent. While that would be a good thing, it’s simply not what happened. Here’s the real deal, according to statistician John Williams of ShadowStats.com:

“…the January 2011 seasonally-adjusted headline (U.3) unemployment rate declined to 9.0% from 9.4% in December, while, unadjusted, it rose to 9.8% in January from 9.1% in December. In like manner the broader January U.6 unemployment rate (including short-term discouraged workers and those forced to work part-time for economic reasons) dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 16.1% from 16.7% in December. Not seasonally-adjusted, though, U.6 rose to 17.3% in January from 16.6% in December.”

Basically, the BLS uses its seasonal adjustments to adjust the unemployment figures to suit its needs. As Williams puts it, the factors the BLS are adjusting for, “are artifacts of the severe and extraordinarily protracted downturn in U.S. economic activity, not from changing seasonal patterns.”

Read more: What the BLS is Actually Pulling its Numbers Out Of http://dailyreckoning.com/what-the-bls-is-actually-pulling-its-numbers-out-of/#ixzz1Devn1x2V

[Demeter]

35. The Government-Gold Screw Job of 1933 By The Mogambo Guru

Art Arbutine of Belleaircoins.com has a nice pamphlet titled “Everything you wanted to know about buying and selling precious metals, and then some!!!!!”

...Firstly, he writes of Roosevelt in 1933 infamously ordering that everyone turn in their gold at the nearest bank and receive fiat currency in exchange.
Even then, it was a government Big Screw Job (BSJ) because “At the time,” he writes, “a $20 gold coin contained over $20.80 worth of gold, but the citizens got only a $20 bill.”

Re-read the previous paragraph, and see if you detect a Big Screw Job (BSJ) in getting a $20 bill in exchange for $20.80 in gold, too...there is no question that the BSJ continued, as next, Mr. Arbutine writes, “Many of the big banking institutions shipped those $20 gold coins to Switzerland and other European banks where they received the full amount,” giving the banks an instant 3.9% gain!

Next, as part of the next Big Screw Job (BSJ), “By another executive order seven months later (after all the gold was confiscated) the dollar was revalued in terms of gold, making a $20 gold coin worth $35 in paper dollars,” in effect handing Swiss and “other European” banks a nice, instant 68% gain! (($35 – $20.80) / $20.80)! Instantly!

So, I figure something like that is “in the works” since there is nothing that can be done to save the economy, even by robbing the people with taxes, and/or killing enough old people and poor people so that Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and all the welfare programs cost less, and/or constantly trying to print enough money to spend our way out of debt by adding to the debt.

Most likely, it will be a little of all three, and more. And under any scenario you can name, including these three, gold, silver and oil will go up mightily in price, not only to match the roaring inflation caused by the Federal Reserve (and the other central banks around the world) creating so staggeringly much new money, but almost certainly with a huge premium because the future is so bleak!

Read more: The Government-Gold Screw Job of 1933 http://dailyreckoning.com/the-government-gold-screw-job-of-1933/#ixzz1DexDsvqn

[Demeter]

36. In China, Tentative Steps Toward Global Currency

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/business/global/11yuan.html?_r=1&ref=global

Now that it has passed Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy after the United States, China is considering the next step as a world power: making its money a global currency.

No one expects that to happen immediately. And even the Chinese government is wary of making some of the free-market moves that would enable the renminbi to take its place alongside the dollar, euro and Japanese yen as a fully convertible reserve currency.

Still, over the last year Beijing has begun to gradually loosen its tight currency controls. For the first time, for example, American companies like McDonald’s and Caterpillar have been allowed to finance their China projects by selling renminbi-denominated bonds in Hong Kong.

Richard Lavin, a group president at Caterpillar, said his company’s $150 million Hong Kong offering last November was less expensive than taking out a loan in China or raising the money in dollars and then converting those dollars into renminbi. The bonds were issued to help finance Caterpillar’s equipment leasing business in China...

[Fuddnik]

38. Todays 'toon.

"The Authoritarians" and Orwell's double-think all wrapped up in one.

Compartmentalized authoritarian follower thinking and the ability to hold two opposing views in one little pea-brain, and believe them both to be true.

[Fuddnik]

39. Ohio's new tea-bagger Governor wants to privatize the turnpike.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/02/gov_john_kasich_wants_3_billio.html

[xchrom]

40. kick -- good reading today. nt

[mrdmk]

46. K & R for the masses

[Roland99]

47. 12:25 - Markets recover to flatline. Oil dropping to near $85/bbl

Dow 12,229 -0 -.00%
Nasdaq 2,797 +6 +0.23%
S&P 500 1,324 +2 +0.14%
GlobalDow 2,193 +0 +0.02%
Gold 1,357 -5 -0.40%
Oil 85.49 -1.24 -1.43%

[maddogesq]

48. Good news for Egypt. But if you have precious metals....

just lookie how they are tanking.

http://www.kitco.com/market/

Oh well, I will take stability in Egypt over gains in solver any day.

[ret5hd]

50. yeah, those markets are tanking!

[MattSh]

53. Really...

If I had to put my faith in US monetary policy or gold and silver, I'd take the latter.

[Roland99]

51. Why U.S. farm policy caused Egypt crisis

Why U.S. farm policy caused Egypt crisis
Commentary: Subsidies wreak havoc on world food prices

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-us-farm-policy-caused-egypt-crisis-2011-02-11

...
Strategic policy, I am not speaking of. Political policy, I am not speaking of. Nor am I talking about defense policy or other such foreign relations. The uprising in Cairo is about U.S. tax dollars supporting farm programs that wreak havoc on food prices worldwide.

Egypt is among the world’s largest importers of wheat. When such commodity prices rise due to U.S. subsidy and tariff intervention, as well as speculation in the capital markets, the price of bread skyrockets. Bread is made from wheat.

In 2008, food riots broke out in Egypt, Mexico, Bangladesh and many developing countries when farmers, attracted to ethanol subsidies, abandoned food production in favor of fuel. This, along with rising oil prices, droughts, and other factors, decreased food supplies. Prices spiked.

Adding to the crisis was U.S. trade policy: Because we subsidize wheat, corn and a handful of other crops so much, we can offer them cheaper on the world market and “dump” supplies on other countries. This puts farmers in those countries out of business, as they are forced to compete with artificially low prices at the market.