STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 9 February 2012

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 9 February 2012[/font]

SMW for 8 February 2012

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 8 February 2012
[center][font color=green]
Dow Jones 12,883.95 +5.75 (0.04%)
S&P 500 1,349.96 +2.91 (0.22%)
Nasdaq 2,915.86 +11.78 (0.41%)


[font color=black]10 Year 1.98% 0.00 (0.00%)
30 Year 3.15% 0.00 (0.00%) [font color=black]




[center][/font]

[HR width=85%]

[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
[center]


[/center]

[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]

[/center]

[center]

[/center]

[HR width=95%]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
[center]
Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
[center]
The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
[center]
LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
[/center]

[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
[center]
Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
[/center]

[div]
Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = [/font][font color=red]12[/font]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS



[HR width=95%]

[center]

[HR width=95%]
[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red]

[Po_d Mainiac]

1. Several sites are now stating that Ca. and Ny. AG's

just did their impersonations of a perfect 10 second egg.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. Yes, I saw that.

Speculation that Schneiderman caved to pressure from Holder, O, etc.

is right.


FUCKERS!!!!

[Po_d Mainiac]

3. Or someoze awoke sharing sheets with a horse head

pressure from 'Holder'

wunner what wuz beein holded?....hmmm.

[Fuddnik]

4. Time to break out the pitchforks.

[DemReadingDU]

25. and ropes

[Demeter]

7. Now that just makes me grouchy again. It COULD Be Propaganda

to make everyone THINK the fix is in, so give up. The way Greece has been playing.

It depends on who the source is, and if there's any independent confirmation.

[Tansy_Gold]

13. I've been grouchy all week.

1. While I was in Tucson Monday, the day job called and informed us they're dumping extra work on us whether we want it or not. THEY contracted with a new client before making sure there weas staff in place to handle it. THEY make more money for doing no more work; we get all the extra work. THEY have the right to grant or deny our requests for time off; THEY don'y even have to ask us before dumping extra work on us. So far my workload has increased roughly 20%. Oh, I get paid for it, but I have to work for it. THEY don't have to work for their increase.

2. The board of my artists' group will remain unchanged for another year. Elections have become a rubber stamp, and not the kind I like to use. The organization needs new leadership desperately, but some of the people in charge think of it as their private little gallery and are not going to change. The rest are docile little sheep.

3. My beloved 12-year-old keyboard is giving up the ghost. I've worn out the spring on the E key. This keyboard has served three computers. Most of the letters are worn off the keys, and there are grooves in many keys from my fingernails.

4. And the fuckers are still in charge of the country.

[Demeter]

28. Do you want a free keyboard?

I have several...

[Demeter]

5. I Just LOVE This Dilbert!

[Demeter]

6. And Tomorrow is Euchre Night!

[Demeter]

8. The Federal Reserve and Other Crimes Against Capitalism By Eric Fry

New York Times writer, Steven M. Davidoff, recently dubbed the Federal Reserve, “the most successful hedge fund around.” After reading the article, we concluded that Mr. Davidoff is the most creative financial writer around. As such, Mr. Davidoff may be the perfect apologist for today’s dysfunctional monetary “system.” Certainly, he possesses the cerebral alacrity to dodge whatever cold, hard facts may be standing in the way of a good story. “I call the Fed a hedge fund,” Davidoff cheerily explains, “because it is operating like one, leveraging its balance sheet to earn huge profits.” We might have been able to embrace Davidoff’s analysis were it not for one nettlesome fact: the Fed is absolutely nothing like a hedge fund. The Fed is, instead, more like a crime syndicate — a racketeer that relies on coercion, deception and outright larceny. But before explaining The Daily Reckoning’s official metaphor for the Fed, let’s return to Davidoff’s metaphor and “analysis.” Says Davidoff:

Last year, the central bank turned over $76.9 billion in profit to the federal government, slightly down from $79.3 billion it provided in 2010.

The Fed made this money in interest on a nearly $3 trillion portfolio of securities. This enormous holding was built up largely in the wake of the financial crisis as the Fed bought these securities through two rounds of quantitative easing.

I call the Fed a hedge fund because it is operating like one, leveraging its balance sheet to earn huge profits. The main difference between a hedge fund and the Fed is that the Fed effectively creates its own money, so it doesn’t have any borrowing costs, meaning yet more profits.

Remarkably, the Fed’s profits are also an afterthought. The Fed is trying to stabilize and increase the United States economy in the wake of the financial crisis, and its profits are a nice byproduct.

Still, these earnings blow away any other hedge fund profits.

Hmmm… where to begin our autopsy of this fatally flawed analysis? Let’s begin at the end with those earnings that “blow away any other hedge fund profits.” If Davidoff is referring only to the Fed’s $79.3 billion “earnings,” without any regard for the denominator that produced those earnings, he is absolutely correct. No other hedge fund in the world came close to earning $79.3 billion in 2011, primarily because no other hedge fund in the world runs a $3 trillion portfolio. But obviously, the absolute number tells us nothing about the genius — or lack thereof — behind the Fed’s investment activities.

To get a feel for that, let’s now insert a denominator and calculate a return. Based on the $3 trillion portfolio that Davidoff cites in his column, the Fed produced a 2.6% return. That kind of number would not pop any year-end champagne corks in any hedge fund office in the land. (Editor’s note: In reality, the Fed’s balance sheet averaged about $2.75 trillion during 2011, not $3 trillion. But since $3 trillion is the number Davidoff uses, we’ll use it also). But maybe Davidoff had a different return calculation in mind when he dubbed the Fed “the most successful hedge fund around.” Maybe he was thinking the denominator ought to be zero instead of $3 trillion, since, as he observes, the Fed “effectively creates its own money.” In this scenario the Fed’s investment activities would have produced a mind-boggling return of “infinity percent.” Davidoff is absolutely right; no hedge fund can do that.

Or maybe Davidoff was thinking of a denominator somewhere between zero and $3 trillion. Maybe he had $676 million in mind, which is the actual amount of money the Fed spent last year printing new dollar bills. In this scenario, the Fed’s result would have been a spectacular 117.3%. That’s not quite infinity percent, but it’s not bad. Unfortunately, there’s another problem with Davidoff’s analysis; the numerator is as much a mystery as the denominator. In other words, the Fed’s theoretical $79.3 billion return is a bogus Beardstown Ladies kind of number since it does not account for marking all the Fed’s securities to market. Without marking its vast $3 trillion portfolio to market, the actual results of the Fed’s investment activities are unknowable. Perhaps the Fed’s hodgepodge of Treasury bonds, mortgage-backed securities, currency swaps and other financial jetsam increased in value during 2011, in which case the total return would have been higher than 2.6%. Or perhaps these holdings decreased in value, in which case the total return would have been lower than 2.6% — maybe even negative. No one knows. (Or if they know, they aren’t saying).


Read more: The Federal Reserve and Other Crimes Against Capitalism http://dailyreckoning.com/the-federal-reserve-and-other-crimes-against-capitalism/#ixzz1lsw9NIRJ

[Demeter]

9. Ireland offers tax relief in quest for skills

Ireland introducing tax incentives to attract foreign executives as part of a global battle for talent that has led to growing skills shortages in the country

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/H60H77/VLMWPA/YGZ3O/DWQABX/MS6H3Y/YT/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=9

SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD WAY TO GET THE WRONG SKILL SET...UNLESS YOU REALLY WANT VAMPIRE SQUIDLINGS AND PONZI PROPRIETORS!

[Demeter]

10. Deutsche Bank Asset Management auction falters

JPMorgan and State Street withdraw from bidding, making it more likely bank will have to break up business as part of a prolonged sale of assets

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/ZGXYV5/T10SH/IIF4OW/MS6HF1/1G/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=9

[Demeter]

11. Goldman executive talks up Volcker rule

Chief financial officer tells industry conference that a ban on speculative trading at commercial banks could end up improving profitability

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/ZGXYV5/T10SH/IIF4OW/30IX29/1G/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=9

[Demeter]

12. HCA raises debt after announcing dividend

US hospital operator sells $1.35bn of junk bonds after unveiling a special cash dividend to shareholders, including private equity groups

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/ZGXYV5/T10SH/IIF4OW/XH4Z88/1G/t?a1=2012&a2=2&a3=9

[xchrom]

14. when i die and go to heaven -- i'm going to sit down and have a long chat with god

about mornings.

[Demeter]

30. Maybe what you need to do is to modify the night before...

says the woman with no circadian rhythm to speak of...

[xchrom]

31. i had a circadian when i was little.

must've misplaced it.

[xchrom]

15. Credit Suisse Posts First Loss in Three Years

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-09/credit-suisse-posts-first-loss-in-three-years-on-investment-bank.html

Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), the second- biggest Swiss bank, said it had a loss in the fourth quarter for the first time since 2008, hurt by “adverse” markets and costs to reorganize the investment bank.

Credit Suisse fell the most in five weeks in Zurich trading after posting a net loss of 637 million Swiss francs ($698 million), compared with an 841 million-franc profit in the year- earlier period. That missed the 446 million-franc average profit estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Credit Suisse Chief Executive Officer Brady Dougan said measures taken to accelerate a revamp of the investment bank hurt earnings in the quarter. Dougan, who lowered the company’s profit target and announced two rounds of job cuts last year, is scaling down the securities division as the European sovereign debt crisis and stricter capital requirements crimp earnings. Pretax profit at the private bank slumped 43 percent with “subdued” client activity in the fourth quarter.

[xchrom]

16. PepsiCo to Cut 8,700 Jobs Even as It Spends $600 Million More on Marketing

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-09/pepsico-to-cut-8-700-jobs-even-as-it-spends-600-million-more-on-marketing.html

PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) plans to cut 8,700 jobs and boost marketing spending for its brands by as much as $600 million as Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi works to turn around the world’s largest snack-food maker.

The increased spending will have a “particular focus” on North America, the Purchase, New York-based company said today in a statement. The job cuts represent about 3 percent of PepsiCo’s global workforce.

Nooyi is looking to boost U.S. beverage sales and regain market share from Coca-Cola Co. (KO) The company brought investors together in New York today to reveal a multi-year plan to boost earnings and restore confidence after two years of lowered profit targets.

“They struggled on the beverage side both in North America and abroad, and there is a lot of pressure on that company to perform better this year,” Jack Russo, an analyst with Edward Jones & Co. in St. Louis, said in a telephone interview. “They need product innovation, cost savings and more marketing.”

[xchrom]

17. Greek Talks Stuck on Pensions as Euro Ministers Meet

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-08/greek-bailout-talks-stall-on-pension-dispute-talks-to-resume-imminently.html

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos headed to Brussels today as politicians in Athens narrowed their differences to the single issue of pension cuts needed to secure a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout.

Talks stumbled over pensions as European Union spokesman Amadeu Altafaj said he couldn’t confirm reports the EU gave Greece 15 more days to identify measures totaling 300 million euros. “No one seems to be aware of such an extension,” he told reporters today in Brussels before today’s emergency finance ministers’ meeting starting at 6 p.m.

“There are issues outstanding that must be resolved,” Venizelos told reporters in Athens today after a meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and EU and International Monetary Fund officials that ended just before 6 a.m. “As the prime minister said, there is agreement on all the issues bar one.”

The latest hitch came after six days of talks as the political parties battled to complete a package that’s been on the table since July. Greece faces a 14.5 billion-euro bond payment on March 20 and is struggling to secure financing to avert a collapse of the economy that could spark a new round of contagion in the euro area.

[xchrom]

18. Refinery Closing Threatens Virgin Islands’ Debt, Employment

http://sfgate.adc.bloomberg.wallst.com/SFChronicle/Story?docId=1376-LYU1IG07SXKX01-7UEUFNNGC4937EPOSUNB2JHNQQ

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Virgin Islands will confront the threat of a debt downgrade when one of the region’s largest oil refineries shuts down this month, doubling joblessness on St. Croix, the archipelago’s poorest island.

About 2,000 workers will lose their jobs when the 350,000- barrel-a-day Hovensa LLC refinery, a partnership of Hess Corp. and Petroleos de Venezuela SA, closes in mid-February to stem $1.3 billion in losses over the last three years. The decision leaves the Virgin Islands without its biggest private employer and facing a widening budget deficit and higher energy costs as some of its best-paid jobs disappear.

“People are already wondering how we’re going to pay utility bills,” Donna Christensen, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ delegate to Congress, said in a Feb. 1 phone interview from Washington. “But this isn’t only going to affect the Virgin Islands, it will have an impact across the nation.”

Faced with weaker demand for their fuels, Caribbean refineries are shutting down or scaling back production, a move that is straining island budgets while threatening higher energy costs along the East Coast. The closure means ratings on bonds sold by the Virgin Islands, a winter beach destination known for its Captain Morgan rum distillery, are under review, said Marcy Block, an analyst at Fitch Ratings.

[rfranklin]

19. Weaker demand...and we need more pipelines?

I don't get it.

[xchrom]

20. right? and neither do i. nt

[FarCenter]

34. Old, part Venezuelan, and no cheap natural gas to feed the process

Plus, it was probably the beneficiary of some tax break to encourage development in the Virgin Islands, and that benefit is probably gone.

[xchrom]

21. Jobless want you to quit already!

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/08/10351082-jobless-want-you-to-quit-already

Even though some employees are frustrated with their jobs because the tough economy has led to furloughs, wage freezes, and cuts in benefits, many of them aren’t upset enough to say, “I quit!”

More workers are reluctant to leave their employer and it’s shrinking job opportunities for the unemployed , underemployed and those looking to find new work horizons, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday. Turns out, some workers are just too scared to take a chance on a new gig in this job market.
advertisement

U.S. Labor Department statistics showed that less than 2 million workers quit their jobs last month. That’s way less than the three million, on average, that did so before the Great Recession.

With fewer workers heading out the door, there’s less churning in the work market. That churning is what’s keeping the number of job openings at low levels, said Steven Davis, a University of Chicago economist quoted in the Journal's story.

[Roland99]

22. Greek deal reached. No, really. And they promise % GDP in 2013! yay, Greece!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fresh-report-greek-political-deal-again

And so the EURUSD spikes on yet another supposed agreement out of the Greek politicians. The FT reports: "Greek politicians have reached a deal. Statement out shortly according to FT's Athens correspondent." Further from the FT's blog: "An official in the prime minister’s office says: “There’s an agreement, Mr Papademos has met with Mr Samaras and it’s done. There will be a statement shortly." Yes, we have heard this before, and we have seen the same reaction before. The deja vu'ness is now all blurring into one. In practice what this means, for those who can think beyond the most recent headline, is that Greece has formally agreed to pledge that its GDP will be positive in 2013... Sold to you.

[xchrom]

23. how do they promise that?

they all have crystal balls? -- take that how you want.

[Tansy_Gold]

26. Actually it's quite easy, X. Here let me show you.

I promise Rick Santorum will be the GOP nominee, he will win the election, and then he will be crowned King of America by the Pope.

I promise Barack Obama will win the election, will fire Tim Geithner, and will begin a program of progressive reforms that will rival anyting thought up by Bob La Follette.

I promise Detroit will recover without further bailouts to the auto industry and regain 400,000 in lost population by Christmas, 2014.

I promise Tom Cruise will never star in another movie.

I promise ponies and chocolate for everyone.

The rain may never fall 'til after sundown. . . . .


Promises are easy; delivering is something else entirely.

[xchrom]

27. ...

very true!

[Roland99]

39. Germany says Nope...not enough

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/germany-throws-ball-back-greeces-court-schauble-says-deal-insufficient

As we predicted, Germany is a no go. The AP reports:

German FinMin: Greek deal on spending cuts appears to not yet fulfill bailout conditions

And now ball is back in the Greek court where politicians are starting to drop like flies on the "merely insufficient" deal.

[AnneD]

40. How can Greece and Tansy make those promises??????

You are right about the crystals.

Tansy has the real crystals, the Greek politicians have m. crystals, and I don't mean the magic kind but the smoking kind.

Mystery solved!

[Roland99]

46. 15 tons of promise here >>>

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57373799/15-tons-of-pure-meth-seized-in-mexico/

[AnneD]

48. That's going to leave a mark....

on WS and DC Treasury.

[xchrom]

24. New York hotel workers' contract calls for panic buttons

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-hotel-button-20120208,0,6246718.story

New York hotel operators and their employees tentatively agreed to a new contract that will bring workers lucrative pay raises, full paid benefits, and sizable pension contributions.

All that -- and a personal panic button.

In the wake of a hotel sexual assault scandal surrounding French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Lisa Linden, a spokeswoman for the Hotel Assn. of New York City, said there was “joint recognition” that hotel workers need protection.

“It’s something that has certainly been talked about for some time,” Linden said, adding that the Strauss-Kahn situation in New York “heightened the awareness of the issue.”

John Turchiano, a spokesman for the New York Hotel Trades Council, said that over the years there have been problems with hotel guests acting inappropriately. Turchiano said that such incidents don’t happen often, but cited examples of mini-bar attendants being asked if they would like to “make a little money” and hotel guests lying naked in bed when a housekeeper enters the room.

[Demeter]

44. Does the Average Consumer Get One? The Average Voter?

If I had a panic button, I'd be punching the hell out of it on a regular basis.

[xchrom]

29. Ireland 'won't seek debt writedown'

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2012/0209/breaking5.html

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has reiterated that Ireland will not impose losses on holders of the country's sovereign debt, as Greece looks to strike a deal with private creditors.

"It's very clear that Ireland has not sought and will not seek any writedown," Mr Kenny said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday in New York. "We'll pay our dues in full and on time."

Ireland is looking for help in the wake of the bailout of the former Anglo Irish Bank, once the country's third-largest lender by assets. The State seeks to refinance about €30 billion of so-called promissory notes used to rescue the bank, now known as Irish Bank Resolution Corp, on better terms and over a longer period.

While holders of Greek bonds face losses of more than 70 per cent, Ireland has insisted it won't seek to impose any losses on sovereign bondholders.

[Roland99]

38. If and until Greek doesn't actually default.

After that...all bets are off.

[xchrom]

32. Recession to leave a quarter of workers idle, BBVA says {spain}

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/02/08/inenglish/1328723607_215221.html

The research department of BBVA believes that about a quarter of Spaniards will be out of a job this year and the next as the economy suffers another recession.

Unemployment in Spain at the end of last year stood at 22.8 percent, and in a presentation on Wednesday of its latest report on the Spanish economy, BBVA predicted the jobless rate would rise to 24.4 percent at the close of this year and 24.6 percent the following year. “Employment will shrink in 2012 and in the first half of 2013, giving rise to a pick-up in the jobless rate,” the report said.

Speaking in Congress, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday was also gloomy about the prospects for the labor market this year. Referring to the unemployment rate at the end of 2011, Rajoy said: “Unfortunately, these figures are not going to get any better in the short term. And what’s more, they will get worse in 2012.”

The Cabinet is due on Friday to approve measures to overhaul the labor market in order to address the tendency in Spain for unemployment to shoot up during times of economic crisis.

[xchrom]

33. Warren Buffett's Investment Advice: Buy Things That Make More Things

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2012/02/warren-buffetts-investment-advice-buy-things-make-more-things/48488/

"The Oracle" comes down from on high this month to deliver his annual wisdom to the shareholders of Berksrhire Hathaway, and naturally people want to know: Where does Warren Buffett put his money? Buffett gave a sneak peak of his annual shareholders letter to Fortune, and the advice — once you cut through the econo-speak — is pretty simple: Invest in things that make other things.

Buffett begins by explaining that the goal of his company isn't to make money. It's to make more money then you will have to pay out in taxes and inflation, so that you can buy more things later than you can with the same money right now. He argues that many of the "safest" investments actually contain the biggest "risk," because while some investments are very stable over time, when all is said and done, you're going to end up with less purchasing power than when you started.

He then goes on to break down investments into three broad categories:

Currency-based Assets: These are bonds, Treasury bills, money-market funds, mortages, savings. These are often held up as the most stable of investment strategies, because they don't fluctuate wildly the way stock markets can. And their returns (5.7 percent annually on U.S. Treasury bills) look impressive. But because the value of the dollar has fallen 86 percent since 1965 (cue Federal Reserve haters), even someone who doesn't pay any taxes would have lost purchasing power investing in them. Buffett still owns them, for liquidity's sake, but he doesn't expect to make much if any profit off them.

[Demeter]

45. White Slavery is STILL Illegal

Just about the only thing that is, nowadays....

[xchrom]

47. Damn! Good one, Demeter! Nt

[xchrom]

35. Turmoil deepens bleak Tehran winter

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NB10Ak04.html

It's miserable this time of year in Tehran. The short days are darkened further by the annual submersion of the city under a thick layer of exhaust and smoke. With the surrounding mountains and weak wind and winter sun, the pollution hovers for days, prompting the government to issue regular warnings to the elderly, pregnant and those with heart conditions not to go outside.

But their declining health is not what is on the minds of most Tehran residents today. Rather it's their deteriorating standard of living and the unshakable feeling that the world is conspiring against them which has Iranians most vexed.

With the double threat of a military attack by the United States or Israel or both, and the increasing instability of the Iranian



economy as witnessed last month in the currency crisis that continues to grip the capital, the feeling of hope that once pumped through the city in the days before the 2009 election, and arguably even in the weeks that followed, is nowhere to be found.

The reality is that the situation is not that bad, yet. Most signs point to a financial well-being at its lowest levels for average citizens than at any point since Iran's eight-year war with Iraq, when shortages were the norm.

While Iranians have complained about their lot for years, statistics simply have not matched up with the population's level of economic discontent. Heavily subsidized fuel and utilities, access to basic necessities and a decent education never seemed to register for a population who wanted to have their cake and eat it, too.

[Fuddnik]

36. Thanks to everyone who sent me hearts.

I love you all too!

[AnneD]

41. Hate to tell you Fudd...

I think they were sent to your children....

And I would like to thank whom ever for remembering me.

[Fuddnik]

42. Well, at least they deserve them.

And, they're a lot cuter than me.

[AnneD]

43. Love those...

big sloppy wet ones-kisses that is.

I know, I know

[Roland99]

49. Same here to the dear folks who sent me hearts!

[xchrom]

37. IMF faults Pakistan's optimism on economy

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NB10Df01.html

KARACHI - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has criticized Pakistan's economic projections, saying the country's economic vulnerabilities will further increase in the remainder of the fiscal year ending June.

The fund has projected the country's economic growth at 3.4%, against the government's projection of 4.2%, and the fiscal deficit to reach 7% of gross domestic product (GDP), against the government's revised target of 4.7% for the current fiscal year.

The IMF has criticized the State Bank of Pakistan for pursuing a more accommodative monetary policy and financing the fiscal deficit directly or indirectly through liquidity injections via open market operations. The international lender's comments came in



report following the conclusion last week of its Article IV consultation.

Local analysts believe that the strongly worded note is likely to put the falling rupee under further pressure.

The IMF warned that Pakistan's economy remains deeply at risk to both internal and external shocks. A ballooning fiscal deficit could create great difficulties for the government in arranging financing and force it to rely even more on domestic bank borrowing in the absence of any budgetary support from foreign countries or multilateral institutions.

[Demeter]

50. I Guess It's True

Resistance is Futile

[Hotler]

51. My email to colorado's AG

Sir,
I am very, very disapointed that this state's Attorney's General office would roll over so easy for the banksters. 26-billion in fines is a drop in the bucket compared to the profits they made from ripping us off and is a small slap on the wrist. The fact that no one is going to jail is a kick in the teeth to us citizens. If I was to steal a loaf of bread and a package of lunch meat to feed my family I would be draged before the courts and thrown in jail in a heart beat and heaven forbid if I was busted with some pot. More proof that there is a two tier justice system in this country, one for the rich and powerful and one for the little people. I no longer have any faith in the system. I was hoping that you folks would stand tough against the banksters. When the Savings & loan scandel of the 1980's went down many of the crooks went to jail. I'm so pissed I could spit nails. You folks go out tonight and have some drinks and celebrate and pat each other on the back, us little people will continue to shake our heads and wonder why.
Sincerely,
Steven Hoelter
Englewood, Colorado

[DemReadingDU]

52. +++

[Hotler]

53. Thank you for my hearts.

You guys are the best.

[Tansy_Gold]

54. Thank YOU, Hotler

For your heart, and your stubborn, undefeated hope.