STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday November 24

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday November 24, 2009

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 1
Name(s): David Safavian

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

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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON November 23, 2009

Dow... 10,450.95 +132.79 (+1.29%)
Nasdaq... 2,176.01 +29.97 (+1.40%)
S&P 500... 1,106.24 +14.86 (+1.36%)
Gold future... 1,165 +18.00 (+1.57%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.35 -0.02 (-0.56%)
30-Year Bond 4.27 -0.02 (-0.49%)

---

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

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie, Silver and US$

---

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

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

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

---

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

[ozymandius]

1. Market Observation

Blowing the Whistle on Cheap Oil
IEA credibility under fire
BY TONY ALLISON

Is the Peak Oil clock ticking closer to midnight than generally believed? The credibility and integrity of the International Energy Agency (IEA) took a hit this month after two whistle-blowers from the IEA claimed the agency has been deliberately underplaying a looming oil shortage under pressure from the US government. The striking allegations appeared in the British newspaper The Guardian, and not surprisingly, were largely ignored by the mainstream US media.

The allegations raise serious questions about the accuracy of the organization’s latest World Energy Outlook publication on global oil supply and demand. In the Guardian article, an unnamed senior IEA official claims the US played an influential role in encouraging the agency to underplay the rate of decline from existing oil fields while overplaying the chances of finding new reserves.

Future oil supply questioned

“The IEA in 2005 was predicting oil supplies could rise as high as 120 million barrels per day by 2030, although it was forced to reduce this gradually to 116 million and then 105 million last year,” said the IEA source in the Guardian article, who was unwilling to be identified for fear of reprisals inside the industry. “The 120 million bpd figure always was nonsense but even today’s number is much higher than can be justified and the IEA knows this. Many inside the organization believe that maintaining oil supplies at even 90 million to 95 million bpd would be impossible but there are fears that panic could spread on the financial markets if the figures were brought down further. And the Americans fear the end of oil supremacy because it would threaten their power over access to oil resources,” added the source.

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

[willing dwarf]

11. Key to the aughties

There it is, in my opinion, the key to the many questions and mysteries of the last decade. As demand goes up and production goes down, access to oil will be key to commerce. There's going be a lot of places like Iraq that will get trampled to get to the supply or to maintain the supply.

But hey, today's cartoon was fantastic. -- It's time that American's start thinking about what is the American way. Seems like the American Way gets twisted around to clobber us in all sorts of crazy ways, and the anti-health care reform attitude is one of them. Who but corporations benefits from absence of affordable health coverage in this country?

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

08:30 GDP - Second Estimate Q3
Briefing.com 2.8%
Consensus 2.8%
Prior 3.5%

08:30 GDP Deflator - Second Estimate Q3
Briefing.com 0.8%
Consensus 0.8%
Prior 0.8%

09:00 Case Shiller 20 City Index Sep
Briefing.com -9.25%
Consensus -9.10%
Prior -11.32%

09:00 Consumer Confidence Nov
Briefing.com 46.3
Consensus 47.5
Prior 47.7

10:00 FHFA Home Price Index Sep
Briefing.com -0.2%
Consensus 0.1%
Prior -0.3%

14:00 FOMC Minutes 11/04

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

[Roland99]

21. US 3Q GDP up 2.8% vs prior estimate 3.5%;

US 3Q consumer spending up 2.9%
US 3Q business investment falls 4.1%
US 3Q GDP up 2.8% vs prior estimate 3.5%


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-gdp-rises-28-in-third-quarter-2009-11-24

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- As consumer spending gained the economy expanded at a 2.8% annualized rate in the third quarter, compared with a contraction of 0.7% in the prior quarter, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The 2.8% growth rate is below the government's first estimate of 3.5% due to downward revisions in consumer spending and business investment in nonresidential structures, as well as changes to imports and exports. Compared with a year ago, real GDP is down 2.5%. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the third-quarter result to be revised to growth of 2.8%.

[Roland99]

26. Consumer confidence improves slightly in November (49.5 from Oct's 48.7 - revised)

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-confidence-improves-slightly-in-november-2009-11-24-100360

[ozymandius]

3. Oil slips to near $77 amid mixed demand signals

SINGAPORE – Oil slipped to near $77 a barrel Tuesday in Asia amid mixed signs about the global economy and crude demand.
.....

Investor optimism was buoyed by a report Monday from the National Association of Realtors that October home sales rose more than 10 percent, suggesting strength in the U.S. economy. But crude refiner Valero Energy said it shut down a plant last week because demand for oil products such as gasoline has been weak.
.....

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $1.9789 a gallon. Gasoline for December delivery dropped 0.19 cent to $1.9813 a gallon. Natural gas for December delivery slid 3.3 cents to $4.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[ozymandius]

4. AP-GfK Poll: Debt turning shoppers into Scrooges

WASHINGTON – A lot more Americans are feeling stressed out by debt this holiday season, raising the glum likelihood they'll behave like Scrooge rather than Santa.

In fact, fully 93 percent say they'll spend less or about the same as last year, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. Half of all those polled say they're suffering at least some debt-related stress, and 22 percent say they're feeling it greatly or quite a bit. That second figure is up from 17 percent just last spring, despite all the talk about economic recovery.

Most people — 80 percent — say they'll use mostly cash to pay for their holiday shopping, and that generally means buying less.
.....

In the survey, people who intend to spend less during the holidays reported suffering from higher debt stress than those who plan to spend the same or more, said Paul J. Lavrakas, a research psychologist and AP consultant who analyzed the results.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091124/ap_on_bi_ge/us_ap_poll_stressing_over_debt

[Po_d Mainiac]

17. Might be some of the effect from the

gentle pressure from those "prods" the credit card issuers are pushing in the direction of users wallets (do I need to add "sarcasm" here?)

[ozymandius]

5. Economic recovery likely not quite that energetic

A government report due out Tuesday morning is expected to show that the economy expanded at a pace of 2.9 percent from July through September, according to Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. If they are right, it would mark a slower expansion than the 3.5 percent pace reported a month ago. Most of that rebound reflected federal support for spending on homes and cars.

The main forces behind the expected third-quarter downgrade: commercial construction was weaker, the nation's trade gap was more of a drag, businesses trimmed more of their stockpiles and consumers didn't spend as much.

So, the good news is the economy finally started to grow again, after a record four straight losing quarters. The bad news: The rebound, now and in the months ahead, probably will be lethargic.
.....

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, however, says he doesn't think that will happen. But last week the Fed chief did warn the recovery faces "important headwinds," such as tight credit and a weak job market that will make consumers cautious in their spending.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091124/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

[fasttense]

16. Yeah, and the GDP went up in 1933. Yet we had another 6 years of Depression. n/t

[ozymandius]

6. Asian Stocks Fall to Two-Week Low on Bank Share-Sale Concerns

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks fell, dragging the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to a two-week low, amid speculation Japanese and Chinese banks will have to sell shares to replenish capital.
.....

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.9 percent to 116.68 as of 6:02 p.m. in Tokyo, set to close at the lowest level since Nov. 6. The gauge has climbed 65 percent from a more than five- year low on March 9 on signs government stimulus measures are helping revive the world economy. A global rally yesterday drove the MSCI World Index up by the most in two weeks.
.....

China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped 3.5 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 1.5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi Index dropped 0.8 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated 0.7 percent.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 1 percent in Japan, where markets resumed trading after a holiday. Japan’s Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said monetary policy is key to fighting deflation, signaling the central bank should do more to stem price declines.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=adYlwvajvpQs

[ozymandius]

7. U.S. Economy: Existing Home Sales Jump as Prices Fall (Update1)

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped 10 percent in October to the highest level since February 2007 as Americans rushed to take advantage of a tax credit, cheaper properties and lower mortgage rates.

Purchases rose more than forecast to a 6.1 million annual rate from a 5.54 million pace in September, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median sales price decreased 7.1 percent from October 2008.
.....

Existing home sales were forecast to rise to a 5.7 million annual rate, according to the median estimate of 66 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 5.2 million to 6 million, after an initially reported 5.57 million rate in September.

Sales of existing single-family homes rose 9.7 percent, the biggest gain since 1983, to an annual rate of 5.33 million. Sales of condos and co-ops increased 13.2 percent to a 770,000 rate.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=arr4Lh2eWW5s

[ozymandius]

8. Bear Stearns, Lehman Execs Kept Billions . . .

From Ritholtz:

Everyone knows that senior execs at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers were paid largely in stock, and that they lost most of their wealth when the companies collapsed, right?

Turns out, not so much:

“Three professors at Harvard are disputing that logic in a new study, saying it is an urban myth that executives at Bear and Lehman were wiped out along with their companies.

Though the chiefs at both investment banks lost more than $900 million in their stock holdings, the professors argue that it is important to also consider all the riches the bankers took off the table in the years preceding the crisis.

At Lehman, the top five executives received cash bonuses and proceeds from stock sales totaling $1 billion between 2000 and 2008, and at Bear, the top five received more than $1.4 billion, according to the study, which was released on Sunday night on the Web site of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School.

The payouts came in the form of cash bonuses as well as thousands of shares of stock that the executives sold as the share prices of their companies soared. Most of the executives sold far more shares during that period than the number they held when their companies hit bottom.”

Another myth of the Bailout era dies . . .

[ozymandius]

9. Fed Said to Ask Stress-Tested Banks to Submit Plans on TARP (repayment)

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve asked nine of the U.S. banks that were part of this year’s stress tests to submit plans for repaying the government’s capital injections, a person familiar with the situation said.

The central bank this month asked Bank of America Corp. and eight other banks to give plans including a timetable, said the person, speaking on condition of anonymity. The firms may have the option to repay Troubled Asset Relief Program funds soon if they’ve been able to raise common equity and would continue to exceed capital buffers set in the stress tests, the person said.

“It would send a terrific message to the market if there was a plan and a timetable for at least the top banks in TARP to pay the money back,” said Joel Conn, president of Lakeshore Capital Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama, which owns stock in PNC Financial Services Group Inc. “It would signify they are good enough to stand on their own.”

The Fed’s request may turn up the pressure for banks accustomed to more flexibility on the timing and process of TARP repayment. Together the nine banks have received about $142 billion in bailout funds, out of the $700 billion Congress authorized in 2008 for the financial rescue.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aD00dAKNxIfo&pos=3

---

Still trying to keep up appearances...

[ozymandius]

10. Investors are finally seeing the nonsense in the efficient market theory

This is something that should make DU Marketeers feel good about themselves. We have spoken about the irrationality of markets for years now.

The best response I've heard to the efficient markets theory that has dominated thinking about investment for 30 years or more is a joke. Two men walking down a street spot a £20 note on the pavement. One, an economics professor, says to the other: "don't bother to pick it up – if it were really a £20 note it wouldn't be there".

He means that because market prices always capture everything anyone knows about a share or index there can never be any hidden value for a shrewd investor to "pick up". It is nonsense, of course - like telling Warren Buffett that all the investment opportunities he's been exploiting over the years can't logically exist. But when has being nonsense ever stopped people believing something?

In this context, it was interesting to see a report this week that the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, which has been teaching efficient markets theory for decades, has admitted that most of its members have lost the faith. Two thirds say they no longer believe market prices reflect all available information and three quarters disagree that investors as a whole behave "rationally".
.....

Markets have always been prone to bouts of "irrational exuberance". The price of tulips in 17th century Amsterdam, that of South Sea Company stock in 18th century London and of Florida real estate in the 1920s are just highlights of the procession of booms and busts down the ages that has taught every subsequent generation that markets often get it wrong.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/tom-stevenson/5562355/Investors-are-finally-seeing-the-nonsense-in-the-efficient-market-theory.html

[ozymandius]

12. Fire Larry Summers Now (Heh! Indeedy!)

ECONOMISTS FOR FIRING LARRY SUMMERS
THIS BLOG IS DEVOTED TO SEEING TO IT THAT LARRY SUMMERS GETS TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH HIS FAMILY.

Summers Dead Wrong on Cause of Crisis

This from Vanity Fair:

Summers has plenty of other things figured out as well, including the origins of the current financial crisis, for which he has crafted a cogent explanation worthy of his reputation as a policy wonk and his days as a college debating champion at M.I.T. “I think crises like this get made by multiple cascading misjudgments,” he explains, and then catalogues them: too much government spending, not enough private-sector saving, too much dependence on foreign debt, too much demand for “riskless” financial instruments that weren’t, in fact, riskless …

The first three of these were, at best, only tangentially related. As much as I think the Bush tax cuts were a mistake, Republican inability to balance the budget really did not have anything to do with the crisis. Ditto for Private-sector saving (even though i think saving is good, generally...) Dependence on foreign debt had nothing to do with the crisis.

more at link...

---

As you might guess - I love the name of the blog. Shall it and others be a clarion to usher in a new age when Larry Summers can indeed "spend more time with his family."

[Tansy_Gold]

14. William K. Black may be a signatory -- wants ALL of 'em out

As discussed here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x497813



(Should I post my rubber stamp here, too? Nah, SMWers already know. . . . .)

:hi:


TG

[ozymandius]

13. G'bye all. Have a wonderful day.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

Today is the last day of school before the Thanksgiving break. I have after-school duties that will keep me away until the late evening. Cheers!

:hi:

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tansy_Gold]

19. Please see the red disclaimer on the opening page

No investment advice is given here.


TG

[Roland99]

20. Take a hike, spammer.

[Festivito]

18. Debt: 11/20/2009 12,010,561,742,215.21 (DOWN 1,225,640,051.40) (Fri)

(Debt down some more. Up large one day, then down some for several days. Good day all.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 7,611,082,619,937.08 + 4,399,479,122,278.13
DOWN 90,793,748.95 + DOWN 1,134,846,302.45

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 308-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.25 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.74, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 10 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 307,994,718 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 11/07/2009 08:19 -> 307,879,272
Currently, each of these Americans owe $38,996..
A family of three owes $116,988.. (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 2,346,825,808.99.
The average for the last 30 days would be 1,799,233,120.22.
The average for the last 31 days would be 1,741,193,342.15.
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$/day.
There were 36 reports in 51 days of FY2010 averaging 2.80B$ per report, 1.98B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 1,157 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 13.6 and 18.0T$.
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)
11/20/2009 12,010,561,742,215.21 BHO (UP 1,383,684,693,302.13 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 +0,100,732,738,703.50 ------------* * BHO
Endof10 +0,720,930,384,838.78 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
10/30/2009 +031,206,306,633.43 ------------**********
11/02/2009 +091,997,621,963.98 ------------********** Mon
11/03/2009 +000,189,596,548.58 ------------********
11/04/2009 -000,084,777,046.07 ----
11/05/2009 +008,148,647,528.82 ------------*********
11/06/2009 -000,072,128,565.19 ----
11/09/2009 +000,009,587,108.80 ------------****** Mon
11/10/2009 +000,298,454,946.90 ------------********
11/12/2009 +005,635,979,422.58 ------------*********
11/13/2009 -000,263,776,071.91 ---
11/16/2009 +038,287,630,031.50 ------------********** Mon
11/17/2009 +000,263,245,360.02 ------------********
11/18/2009 -000,023,369,864.09 ----
11/19/2009 -021,100,228,230.36 -
11/20/2009 -000,090,793,748.95 ----

154,401,996,018.04 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/

(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=4157312&mesg_id=4157357

[Festivito]

57. Debt: 11/23/2009 12,011,838,881,463.68 (UP 1,277,139,248.47) (Mon)

(Debt down some more. Up large one day, then down some for several days. Good day all.)

= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 7,611,033,532,327.81 + 4,400,805,349,135.87
DOWN 49,087,609.27 + UP 1,326,226,857.74

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 308-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.25 each THAT'S 1B$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.74, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ 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 10 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 308,020,638 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 11/07/2009 08:19 -> 307,879,272
Currently, each of these Americans owe $38,996.86.
A family of three owes $116,990.59. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 21 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 21 reports is 5,521,422,080.36.
The average for the last 30 days would be 3,864,995,456.25.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,740,318,183.47.
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$/day.
There were 37 reports in 54 days of FY2010 averaging 2.76B$ per report, 1.89B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 1,154 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 13.6 and 18.0T$.
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)
11/23/2009 12,011,838,881,463.68 BHO (UP 1,384,961,832,550.60 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 +0,102,009,877,951.90 ------------* * BHO
Endof10 +0,689,511,212,082.29 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Linear Projection

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/02/2009 +091,997,621,963.98 ------------********** Mon
11/03/2009 +000,189,596,548.58 ------------********
11/04/2009 -000,084,777,046.07 ----
11/05/2009 +008,148,647,528.82 ------------*********
11/06/2009 -000,072,128,565.19 ----
11/09/2009 +000,009,587,108.80 ------------****** Mon
11/10/2009 +000,298,454,946.90 ------------********
11/12/2009 +005,635,979,422.58 ------------*********
11/13/2009 -000,263,776,071.91 ---
11/16/2009 +038,287,630,031.50 ------------********** Mon
11/17/2009 +000,263,245,360.02 ------------********
11/18/2009 -000,023,369,864.09 ----
11/19/2009 -021,100,228,230.36 -
11/20/2009 -000,090,793,748.95 ----
11/23/2009 -000,049,087,609.27 ---- Mon

123,146,601,775.34 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/

(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=4158618&mesg_id=4158695

[UpInArms]

22. dollar watch

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

Last trade 75.080 Change -0.005 (-0.01%)

Oil Lower on US GDP Bets, Gold Eyes Fed Minutes

http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/forecast/daily/2009-11-24-1041-Oil_Lower_on_US_GDP.html

Crude oil has slipped lower on expectations of a downward revision to US third-quarter GDP figures while gold eyes the release of the minutes from November's Federal Reserve policymeeting as traders weigh upthe lifespan of the central bank's asset-buying programs.

Commodities – Energy
Oil Inches Lower as Expectations Call for Down Revision to US GDP

Crude Oil (WTI) $77.35 -$0.21 -0.27%
Oil prices have slipped lower below pivot support at $78.33 and now see significant support near the $75 level at the bottom the falling channel that has guided prices lower since late October. Fundamentally, the catalyst to watch is the second revision of US third-quarter GDP figures. The data is expected to show that the world’s top economy grew at an annual pace of 2.9% in the three months to September rather than the 3.5% initially reported, with at least some of the reduction accounted for by a lower personal consumption levels.



Commodities – Metals
Fed Meeting Minutes in Focus as Gold Tests Key Technical Resistance

Gold $1169.80 +$3.70 +0.32%
Gold continued to test resistance at the top of a rising channel that has guided prices higher since early November. Besides US GDP, minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve policy meeting will be in focus with traders looking to gauge the likely lifespan of the central bank’s asset purchase programs. Much of the gold rally has been driven by expectations of a sharp uptick in inflation as the Fed effectively prints money to offer easing beyond record-low policy interest rates. Ben Bernanke and company have already started scaling back some of these programs, and any hints that further tightening is ahead in the near- to medium-term will likely weigh on prices.

Silver $18.63 +$0.08 +0.45%
Silver has continued to consolidate below the psychologically significant $19.00 level, with the fundamental catalysts in line with those of gold. Significant support is seen at $18.02, with a move below that opening the door to challenge $17.22.



...more...

US Dollar Likely to Extend Gains as Stocks Retreat Ahead of US GDP Revision

http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/daily_briefing/session_briefing/euro_open/2009-11-24-0655-US_Dollar_Likely_to_Extend.html

The US Dollar pushed higher as stocks sold off in Asia on Japanese share sales and news of the imminent collapse of a German bank. The safety-linked currency may extend gains in European hours as expectations of a downward revision in US third-quarter GDP weigh on risk appetite.

Key Overnight Developments

• Japan’s Central Bank, Finance Ministry Quarrel Continues
• US Dollar Rises as Stocks Decline in Overnight Trading


Critical Levels



The Euro and the British Pound fell as much as 0.3% against the US Dollar as investors moved capital out of risky assets, boosting the safety-correlated greenback (see below). We remain short GBPUSD at 1.6648.

Asia Session Highlights



The Bank of Japan Monthly Report saw policymakers raise their economic outlook for the third consecutive month, saying the economy is “picking up” on global stimulus efforts but cautioning that “the momentum of self-sustaining recovery in domestic private demand remains weak.” The BOJ was relatively sanguine on the outlook for price growth, saying “the year-on-year pace of decline in consumer prices is expected to moderate toward the year-end” as downward pressure from the drop in the price of petroleum products relative to a year ago abates. Perhaps most importantly, the central bank said that credit supply and firms’ financial positions are “improving”.

On balance, the report suggests that the BOJ is refusing to be pressured by the Ministry of Finance’s attempts to cajole the central bank to keep its asset-buying programs in place beyond the end of the year with threats of returning deflation. For their part, government officials were back on the offensive: Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii once again stressed that monetary policy plays a “significant role” in combating shrinking prices while Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei accused the BOJ of “falling asleep at the wheel as usual.” As we have previously noted, asset purchases have been a source of increasing tensions between monetary and fiscal authorities, with the BOJ eager to unwind them while the MOF prefers to see them continue as a way for the government to keep long-term borrowing costs in check as it prints bonds to cover Japan’s soaring budget deficit. The Japanese Yen is highly sensitive to bond yields, with the currency likely to rise if the BOJ gets their way and the MOF is forced to issue debt without the central bank offsetting the effect of increased supply on long-term borrowing costs.

The US Dollar pushed higher, adding as much as 0.2% on average against the major currencies as stocks slipped in overnight trading, boosting demand for the safety-linked greenback. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index regional equities benchmark slipped 0.7% on expectations of new share issues from top Japanese firms. Financials traded particularly heavy after news that German regional bank WestLB AG may shut down by the end of this month if it does not get a public capital injection of 5 billion euro after its majority stakeholders said they were prepared to let it become insolvent.

...more...

[DemReadingDU]

23. Scammers: Priceline, Orbitz, FTD, 1-800-Flowers, Pizza Hut, and Continental Airlines

From John Xenakis blog:

11/24/09 How Priceline, Orbitz, FTD, 1-800-Flowers, Pizza Hut, and Continental Airlines are scamming you online

If you're seeing "mysterious" $10-20 credit card charges, here's why.

Here's how the scam works:

* You make a credit card purchase online from Priceline or one of the other online retailers listed above. You provide a credit card number for the charge.

* At the end of the transaction, you're at a screen that offers you a "reward" for making the purchase. The "reward" is a coupon of some kind, worth a few dollars. All you have to do is provide your e-mail address, and you'll get the coupon.

* You're told to read a long screen in fine print containing terms and conditions. You don't bother to read it.

* In particular, you don't read the part where it says that your credit card number will be kept on file, and you'll be charged $10-20 per month.

* From that time on, your credit card is charged $10-20 every month.

The Senate Commerce Committee has been investigating this scam since May. A recent Commerce Committee press release lists the companies under investigation:

1-800-FLOWERS.com, Inc. Hotwire, Inc. Priceline.com, Inc.
AirTran Holdings, Inc. Intelius, Inc. Redcats USA, Inc.
Classmates.com, Inc. Movietickets.com, Inc. Shutterfly, Inc.
Continental Airlines, Inc. Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. US Airways Group, Inc.
FTD, Inc. Pizza Hut, Inc. Vistaprint USA, Inc.
Fandango, Inc.

According to the Senate Commerce committee, there are three marketing firms under investigation: Affinion, Vertrue, and Webloyalty. These are the firms that charge your credit card every month.

This scam has netted more than $1.4 billion, by tricking millions of customers. According to the Senate reports, the managers at these firms are fully aware that they're tricking people -- in fact the whole online experience is specifically designed to trick people, and they're aware that customers are furious at being tricked, but they don't care because they're making so much money.

more...
http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi-bin/D.PL?xct=gd.e091124#e091124


Edit to add two more links...
11/6/09 Chairman Rockefeller Requests Information from Web Retailers in "Mystery Charges" Investigation
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=1c0794dc-94a7-4527-9ebe-6b2b2d5a8c59&Month=11&Year=2009

11/17/09 Feds: Top e-tailers profit from billion-dollar Web scam
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10399880-93.html

[fasttense]

24. So many scams, the "free" market at its best.

There is another similar scam, I almost fell for. If you fill out their survey, you are eligible for a prize. So, I fill out their survey and then I get a list of magazines I can get for free. So, I pick 4 magazines I like, then the terms and conditions come up. Low and behold they are going to charge my credit card for each of those free magazines. I caught it and closed the screen out. But, they got my e-mail address.

[Roland99]

25. I caught onto those confirmation page gimmicks *years* ago.

I look for the "No Thanks" link automatically now or just click the back button.

[Roland99]

27. FDIC: Number of troubled banks rises to 552

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fdic-number-of-troubled-banks-rises-to-552-2009-11-24

[FarCenter]

28. Commercial real estate problems will cause the number of troubled banks to continue to rise

All those loans by small bank presidents to their buddies in the local real estate and construction businesses have yet to be written off.

[Demeter]

29. U.S. Fund for Bank Deposit Insurance Falls Into the Red

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/business/economy/25fdic.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

The government-administered insurance fund (FDIC) that protects depositors fell $8.2 billion into the red for the first time since the fallout from the savings-and-loan crisis of the early 1990s as the pace of bank failures accelerated in the third quarter.

Bank customers, however, should remain confident that their deposits would be protected since the bulk of that negative balance reflects money the agency has set aside to cover future bank failures.

Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation officials warned in October that the deposit insurance fund had been depleted, but Tuesday’s third-quarter report card on the banking industry marked the first time that hard numbers had been released. Even amid early signs that the economy is recovering, the report suggested that the country’s 8,100 lenders remain in fragile condition.

In its state of the industry report, the F.D.I.C. reported that banks posted a $2.8 billion gain in the third quarter, after a $3.7 billion loss in the previous period. Meanwhile, the number of “problem banks” that run the biggest risk of collapse increased to 552, from 416 in the second quarter. Bad loans of virtually every stripe — credit cards, mortgages, small business and commercial real estate — continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace.

“The credit adversity we have been discussing for some time remains with us, and we expect it will be a couple of more quarters before we see a meaningful improvement in that trend,” Sheila C. Bair, the F.D.I.C. chairman, said. “I am optimistic that if we address these problems head on, we will see clear signs of improvement in bank earnings and lending in 2010.

Even so, the number of bank failures will likely keep climbing. So far, the F.D.I.C. has seized and sold 124 banks in 2009, and analysts expect hundreds more to collapse in the months ahead. That has put significant pressure on the F.D.I.C. fund, which posted a negative balance for the first time since 1992 when regulators cleaned up the carnage from hundreds of failed thrifts and other commercial lenders.

Federal officials have also taken action to replenish the fund. The agency recently approved plans calling for industry to lend money to the insurance fund by ordering banks to prepay annual assessments that would otherwise have been due through 2012.

That move is expected to add about $45 billion to the fund, which stood at $34.6 billion a year ago, but should avoid straining bank earnings thanks to favorable accounting treatment. It also averts the political risk of tapping an emergency credit line from the Treasury Department, though some banking experts believe such action may still be necessary. The industry report card also showed how the banks troubles have spread. Two years ago, the problems seemed to be contained to a handful of big banks, which took large markdowns on the value of complex mortgage assets and other securities.

But as the big banks have regained their swagger from big trading profits over the last three quarters, the problems afflicting the bulk of the industry’s lenders — soured loans made to consumers and property developers — have grown considerably worse. Over all, banks charged off $50.8 billion in the third quarter, or 2.71 percent of assets. That is the highest charge-off rate in any quarter since the government began collecting data in 1984.

More banks have also collapsed because of the bad debts. Federal regulators seized 50 banks in the third quarter, including regional players like Colonial Bank of Alabama, Guaranty Financial of Texas, and Corus Bancshares of Chicago. That was roughly the twice the total number of banks that failed in 2008.

The high cost of the failures has strained the deposit insurance fund, which thousand of banks support by paying quarterly premiums. As of the end of the third quarter, its balance stood at negative $8.2 billion. The bulk of the fund’s losses stem from money that regulators set aside to cover future failures, allowing it to operate in the red.

F.D.I.C. officials expect that bank failures will cost the insurance fund $100 billion over the next five years. More than half of that cost has already been accounted for, while the new prepayment plan is expected to cover the rest. If losses grew considerably worse, officials might have to impose additional special assessments on banks or draw on the Treasury’s backup credit lines.

In September, Ms. Bair said she did not anticipate having to immediately tap that line of credit, although she did not rule it out. “I never say never,” Ms. Bair said at the time.

I'M FRANKLY SURPRISED THAT IT DIDN'T REQUIRE AN FOIA REQUEST TO PULL OUT THIS DATA....MUST MEAN IT'S BEEN MASSAGED TO WITHIN AN INCH OF FALSEHOOD.

[Demeter]

30. U.S. Government Stages Fake Coup To Wipe Out National Debt

Video By The Onion

Congress says that with no way to actually pay back our debts, faking a coup to eliminate financial obligations is the best plan for the U.S. economy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgRz3nSG7o&feature=player_embedded

[Demeter]

52. No Comment? Didn't Anyone Like It? Did Anyone Even Watch It?

I think I'll go outside and eat worms....grumble grumble grumble

[Demeter]

31. Hoodwinked Economic Meltdown -- A Call for Systemic Change By John Perkins

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24027.htm

I know that if we "stay the course" it will be ugly. The current economic meltdown is a harbinger.

Panama's chief of government, Omar Torrijos, foresaw this meltdown and understood its implications back in 1978, when I was an economic hit man (EHM). He and I were standing on the deck of a sailing yacht docked at Contadora Island, a safe haven where U.S. politicians and corporate executives enjoyed sex and drugs away from the prying eyes of the international press. Omar told me that he was not about to be corrupted by me. He said that his goal was to set his people free from "Yankee shackles," to make sure his country controlled the canal, and to help Latin America liberate itself from the very thing I represented and he referred to as "predatory capitalism."

"You know," he added, "what I'm suggesting will ultimately benefit your children too." He explained that the system I was promoting where a few exploited the many was doomed. "The same as the old Spanish Empire -- it will implode." He took a drag off his Cuban cigar and exhaled the smoke slowly, like a man blowing a kiss. "Unless you and I and all our friends fight the predatory capitalists," he warned, "the global economy will go into shock." He glanced across the water and then back at me. "No permitas que te engañen," he said ("Don't allow yourself to be hoodwinked.")

Three decades later, Omar is dead, likely assassinated because he refused to succumb to our attempts to bring him around, but his words ring true. For that reason I chose one of them as the title of my latest book, Hoodwinked.

We have been hoodwinked into believing that a mutant form of capitalism espoused by Milton Friedman and promoted by President Reagan and every president since - one that has resulted in a world where less than 5% of us (in the United States) consume more than 25% of the resources and nearly half the rest live in poverty - is acceptable.

In fact, it is an abject failure. The only way China, India, Africa and Latin America can adopt this model is if they find five more planets just like ours, except without people.

Most of us understand what my grandson does not--that his life is threatened by the crises generated during our watch. The question is not about prevention. It is not about retuning to "normal." Nor is it about getting rid of capitalism.

The solution lies in replacing Milton Friedman's mantra that "the goal of business is to maximize profits, regardless of the social and environmental costs" with a more viable one: "Make profits only within the context of creating a sustainable, just, and peaceful world," and to create an economy based on producing things the world truly needs.

There is nothing radical or new about such a goal. For more than a century after the founding of this country, states granted charters only to companies that proved they were serving the public interest and shut down any that reneged. That changed after an1886 Supreme Court decision that bestowed on corporations the rights granted to individuals--without the responsibilities required of individuals.

As an EHM, I participated in many of the events that propelled us into this dangerous territory. As a writer and lecturer, I spent the past few years touring the United States and visiting China, Iceland, Bolivia, India, and many other countries, speaking to political and business leaders, students, teachers, laborers, and all manner of people. I read books about Obama's economic plans, current schemes for reforming Wall Street, and other policies. It struck me that most of the discussions dealt with triage and that while we need to stop the hemorrhaging, we must also ferret out the virus that caused these symptoms.

Hoodwinked presents a plan for a long-term cure. During the days following its November 10, 2009 publication, I spoke about this plan at the United Nations, on radio and TV programs, and at a conference attended by 2400 MBA students at Cornell University.

I come away feeling hopeful that we are finally ready to take Omar's warning to heart and to implement the transformation that will be the salvation for my grandson's generation.

John Perkins is former chief economist at a major international consulting firm. His Confessions of an Economic Hit Man spent 70 weeks the New York Times bestseller list. His website is www.johnperkins.org

I TRIED TO READ HIS BOOK, I REALLY TRIED--I'M JUST NOT HARD-BOILED ENOUGH TO TAKE IT.

[Demeter]

32. Economic Crisis Is Getting Bloody: Violent Deaths Following Evictions, Foreclosures and Job Losses

http://www.alternet.org/story/143990/

By Nick Turse


November 20, 2009 "AlterNet" -- In 2007, Jason Rodriguez was fired from his position at an Orlando, Florida engineering firm and ended up taking a job as a "sandwich artist" at a Subway restaurant. His salary was cut nearly in half and his debts mounted until, last May, he filed for bankruptcy, listing his assets at just over $4,600 and his liabilities at nearly $90,000. Although he lived only 30 minutes away, according to his former mother-in-law, America Holloway, Rodriguez barely saw his son. When the boy asked why his father didn't visit, Holloway said Rodriguez told him: "'Because I don't have any money. I don't have a job. I don't have anything to eat. When things get better, I'll come see you.'"

Things never got better. On November 6th, the 40-year-old Rodriguez went back to the downtown high-rise office building where he had worked and reportedly opened fire, killing one person and wounding five others at his old firm. Asked to comment following the shooting, a local lawyer who represented Rodriguez in his bankruptcy proceedings, said "That's how it is right now. He's a very typical client. Of people that are suffering through the economy right now, there's nothing extraordinary about him… except that."

In the wake of the massacre at Fort Hood -- which took place a day before the Florida incident -- there has, quite understandably, been a search for answers as to the cause of the shooting that left more than 50 dead or injured. Much less attention, however, has been devoted to uncovering the reasons for the much larger number of men and women -- including those allegedly shot by Jason Rodriguez -- who have fallen victim to violence stemming from the global economic crisis.

An analysis of national, regional, and local news reports from 2008-2009 indicates a largely silent, nationwide epidemic of drastic measures and extreme acts for which the economy seems to have been a catalyst. News of such deeds linked to economic woes -- from armed robberies to pay the rent to financially-motivated suicides to familicides (murder/suicides in which both parents and their children die) in the face of financial ruin -- has filtered out of cities and towns in most U.S. states. Since only a fraction of these acts ever receive media coverage, what is being reported -- most of it in local newspapers -- is startling. And while it's impossible to know the myriad factors, including deeply personal ones, that contribute to people resorting to drastic measures, violent or otherwise, many press reports suggest that the global economic crisis has played no small part in a wide range of extreme acts.

Going to Extremes

Earlier this year, for example, "Binghamton Shooter" Jiverly Wong garnered front-page headlines nationwide and set off a cable news frenzy when, "bitter over job loss," he massacred 13 people at an immigration center in upstate New York. Similarly, coverage was brisk after Pittsburgh resident Richard Poplawski, "upset about recently losing a job," shot four local police officers, killing three of them. Many others have directed violence inward, sometimes shooting themselves as sheriff's deputies stood at the door with eviction papers, other times engaging in armed standoffs designed to end in a suicide-by-cop killing.

One such case occurred recently when 64-year-old Kurt Aho of Phoenix, Arizona decided to take a stand. Aho had been struggling to find work and was preparing for his daughter and grandson -- who had lost their house to foreclosure -- to move in with him, but on September 29th, his own foreclosed home of 30 years was sold at auction. Vowing that he wouldn't just walk away, Aho cracked open a beer and had drink with neighbor Jeffrey Hobson who recalled, "He said, 'When the cops get here, either I'm gonna die by them or I'm gonna kill myself.'" When the two new owners arrived, Aho promptly shot out the tires of their trucks. He then retrieved a .357 Magnum from his house and chased the pair away. Next came the police who rolled up and ordered Aho to drop his weapon. Instead, the self-employed contractor ignored them and walked into his house to grab a few more beers. Neighbors warned the cops that Aho was suicidal and that he would fire on them if they advanced, but the SWAT team stepped up the confrontation by shooting Aho with rubber bullets. Aho responded by firing his pistol twice, striking the SWAT team's armored vehicle with one of the bullets. With that, a SWAT team member fired on Aho, killing him.

In the days that followed, as they have all year long, other economically-motivated extreme acts were carried out across the country. In an attempt to save their home from foreclosure, Daniel Weston and Mary Ann Parmelee, both 52, hired a pair of loan modification agents. Believing they had been ripped off, the Los Angeles couple later lured the men into an ambush, on October 20th, in which "Weston and another man, Gustavo Canez, 36, allegedly beat and robbed them" using a handgun and wooden knuckles.

On October 29th, in New Orleans, Louisiana, a man facing eviction armed himself with a rifle and barricaded himself inside his home. The act wasn't an isolated extreme for the area. "We've had a couple of suicides," Lambert Boissiere Jr., New Orleans's 1st City Court Constable remarked recently. "When the deputies get there, they find the person inside. Or sometimes you knock on the door and boom, they commit suicide."

One such incident took place on November 5th when Patrick Sanchez of Irvine, California answered his door to find a sheriff's deputy serving him an eviction notice. Sanchez asked the deputy to wait, walked back into his home and shot himself. It was, reportedly, at least the third eviction-related suicide in that area this year.

Elkhart Revisited

Right now, having suffered 13 deaths at the hands of a lone gunman, Fort Hood, Texas is the media's anguished community du jour. In February, however, it was the former "RV capital of the world," Elkhart, Indiana -- a financially-devastated community where President Barack Obama made an appearance to push his economic recovery package. In his speech at Elkhart's town hall, Obama caught the town's plight dramatically: " area has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in the United States of America, with an unemployment rate of over 15 percent when it was 4.7 percent just last year… We're talking about people who have lost their livelihood and don't know what will take its place… That's what those numbers and statistics mean. That is the true measure of this economic crisis."

In reality, however, the "true measure" has only become clear as the year has ground on. As of early November there had been 22 confirmed suicides in Elkhart and two other likely self-inflicted deaths, outpacing the county average of 16. According to coroner John White, in more than a quarter of the suicides financial distress or job loss was a deciding factor for the victims. "They left notes specifically stating that the reason they did this was because of the economy," he said recently. He continued, "Everyone needs to be more aware with the stresses of 17 percent to 18 percent unemployment."

People do need to be aware of the stresses -- and the dire costs associated with them, but the chances of that happening are slim. The massacre at Fort Hood is bound to produce volumes of analyses resulting from multiple government inquiries into the killings. But neither the FBI nor Congress nor any other government agency will ever convene an investigation into the slow motion bloodbath resulting from the global economic crisis. For this reason, there will never be anything approaching a full tally of all the victims who were killed or died or were wounded or psychologically devastated as a result of evictions, foreclosures, job losses, and other forms of financial distress over the last years. Nor will President Obama head back to Elkhart, or anywhere else for that matter, to attend a memorial service to the fallen from this less spectacular, but far deadlier bloodbath. As a result of the inattention, and despite ever rosier economic predictions and a surging stock market, the body count from the economic crisis is destined only to grow in the weeks and months ahead.

Nick Turse is the associate editor and research director of Tomdispatch.com. His first book, The Complex: How the Military Invades Our Everyday Lives, an exploration of the new military-corporate complex in America, was recently published by Metropolitan Books. His website is Nick Turse.com.

[Demeter]

33. The Pending Collapse Of The U.S.A. By Timothy V. Gatto

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24020.htm

November 20, 2009 "Information Clearing House" -- The truth that most people realize but can’t openly talk about is that America has seen better days and that the system of capitalism has long outlived its usefulness. The last part of that sentence, that capitalism has outlived its usefulness, is thoroughly the fault of the capitalists themselves.

For many years now, transnational corporations have sent much of America’s manufacturing overseas in order to take advantage of low cost workers. About the only manufacturing this country does on a large scale is earth moving equipment (Caterpillar) and military equipment. Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, Raytheon, General Electric and firms like that are the major remnants of a once thriving industrial base that made America. Detroit is still trying to hang in there, but shortfalls in sales have left it up to the workers in these plants to take it on the chin as their pay and benefits get cut.

The Dow is trying to make a comeback but the way I see it, much of the rise of “blue-chip” stocks is really more wishful thinking than serious thought. The stocks being sold on the backs of some of these companies are being bought on speculation that the market will go higher based on the rise of the GDP. The question that I would like to ask, is how far can the GDP go when 70% of the GDP is based on consumer spending? Where is consumer spending going to come from when realistically over 16% of the people in America aren’t working?

In an essay, written by Richard Heinberg entitled “Should We Prop-up a Dying Economy” (19 October 2009), he argues that the economists and the people who follow physical science disagree sharply about where this economy is going. Peak Oil, whether it is present now or just years away, will mean that the economy will contract. The economists state that growth can happen in any environment, yet it is apparent that when oil prices spiked in 2008, the auto industry and the airline industry almost went belly-up. Shrinkage of energy means shrinkage in the economy, we have all been under the notion that we can borrow against a growing economy. The facts are that if the economy does not grow, there will be very little in the growth of capital to repay debts that are leveraged at an average of an average of 350% of debt to GDP ratio. Where will new capital come from?

As the price of petroleum becomes higher, imported goods will become more expensive. When our government fails to repay our foreign creditors, or pays them back in hyper-inflated dollars, there will be no credit issued to this country. This can be a significant problem because we currently use 25% of the world’s oil supply and we buy that oil on credit. He says;

“We have entered a new economic era in which the former rules no longer
apply. Low interest rates and government spending no longer translate to
incentives for borrowing and job production. Cheap energy won't appear
just because there is demand for it. Substitutes for essential resources
will in most cases not be found. Over all, the economy will continue to
shrink in fits and starts until it can be maintained by the energy and
material resources that Earth can supply on ongoing basis.”

That is frightening to say the least. I believe that what our government should be doing is to listen to the scientists and stop listening to the economists. We have already borrowed almost 24 BILLION dollars, that is $80,000 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. We are robbing our future to pay for an economy that is unsustainable. Without economic growth, the banks, the investment houses and the insurance companies are bound to fail anyway. We might as well let them fail and get on with the business of restoring a sustainable economy.

In a talk called “The Five Stages of Collapse”, by Dmitry Orlov, a former Russian that watched the collapse of the Soviet Union, they are;

The Five Stages of Collapse


1. Stage one: Financial Collapse

2. Commercial Collapse

3. Political Collapse

4. Social Collapse

5. Cultural Collapse

This isn’t the warning of a horror show, but unless we start to prepare for a full or partial collapse, it could be worse than it has to be. He envisions a breakdown of society gradually replaced by stronger knit communities that must depend on each other for basic needs or it could be a complete breakdown of utter anarchy.

Meanwhile the Eagle sits on its perch, fighting wars in foreign lands while spending billions of American dollars doing it. The average American will see no benefit or harm whether we win or lose against the Taliban in Afghanistan. What we will have done however, is strap Americans with more debt and more use of precious resources. The American eagle is getting a little bit wobbly on its perch and it wouldn’t surprise me to see all American soldiers taken from all overseas assignments and brought back to this country just to deal with the economic collapse, and because we can no longer afford to keep them overseas.

We need to start thinking about where we live and how we will survive an economic collapse. When the federal government can no longer function, what will we do to replace it? How are individuals to survive when essential goods and services become extinct? This isn’t a future scenario that will happen twenty or thirty years from now, no! We are already experiencing it.

We can continue to live our daily lives watching TV and the advertisements that lull us into a false sense of security that everything is well, or we can start making provisions to deal with the calamity that lies ahead. We can provision staples, use alternative energy sources to heat our homes or assist us in heating them, and we can start talking with each other and get to know the neighbor that lives across the street that you have never talked to.

I’m really not an alarmist, but I see the merit of what so many scientists are predicting. Not only will Peak Oil stop economic growth, but climate change according to a UN report will bring desertification to 70% of the planet by 2025. Maybe petroleum peaking out is in reality what may save our planet. Maybe a return to simpler ways to live and work will stop the CO2 emissions, but I don’t think so. Third world countries are surpassing the industrialized countries in carbon emissions by burning coal. What I would like to know is who is really minding this nation’s business? What is the Federal government doing when scientific fact is thrown in their face? While Obama listens to Timothy Geitner and Ben Bernanke and other Goldman Sacks alumni, a company that produces nothing and makes money by buying low and selling high with government funds, where are the people that see what’s happening? If I can understand the ramifications of what is happening in front of my face, what about the President of the United States? Is he really ignorant or does he just not wish to deal with it? I’m curious; maybe someone in the executive branch can give us answers. It would be in everyone’s best interest to have people starting to deal with reality instead of putting their head in the sand. Maybe the American eagle should be replaced with the ostrich.

Tim Gatto's new book Complicity to Contempt is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Abe's and other fine bookstores now.

[Demeter]

34. The Great Stimulus Debate of '09 "Crybabies need not apply" By Mike Whitney

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article24025.htm

Barack Obama has decided to push the economy back into recession, and no one can figure out why. Perhaps the impressionable Obama has come under the spell of the deficit hawks and crystal gazers who see Armageddon around every corner. Or maybe he's thrown-in with the snappish Marc Faber whose dire predictions of hyperinflation are about as cheery as Hieronymus Bosch's vision of Hell. Whatever the reason, the President has done a hasty volte-face and decided that trimming the deficits in the middle of a severe economic downturn is the way to go. Here's what Obama said just days ago on his Asia tour:

"I think it is important to recognize if we keep on adding to the debt, even in the midst of this recovery, that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."

Obama is either getting some very bad advice or he's simply determined to drive a stake into the flickering economy. All plans for deficit-pruning should be postponed until the economy steadies itself and the jobs picture improves. Raising taxes or slashing spending while the economy is still contracting is crazy. It shows that Obama is being influenced by the half-baked theories of amateur economists on the Internet who think that mass liquidation and years of bitter retrenchment are the best medicine. They're wrong. Sensible people look for solutions that don't involve hair shirts, moving to underground bunkers or living off root-crops for the next millenia.

Obama's metamorphosis into Ludwig von Mises sends a disturbing message to working people as well as to foreign creditors. It suggests that the commander-in-chief is in the thrall of careworn Jeremiahs, ideologues, survivalists and other assorted screwballs who dominate blog-world and preach Resurrection Day from every soapbox available. If that's the case, things could get ugly fast. With the Democrats backing-down on a second round of stimulus, the Fed signaling an end to quantitative easing, and Obama moaning about rising deficits; there's a good chance that the ailing economy could take another dunk down the elevator chute.

Deficits are not the problem. Deflation is. Bank lending is shrinking, consumer spending is down, housing prices are falling, unemployment is soaring and the wholesale credit markets are in a shambles. Which one of these problems is deficit related? None. This isn't the time to slash government support in the name of "fiscal responsibility". Obama needs to ignore the alarmists and deficit-psychos and pay attention to the Nobel laureates like Stiglitz and Krugman. These are the guys you want at the tiller when the water gets rough.

Has Obama perused the jobless figures lately? Has he noticed the Fed shoving more than a $1 trillion under the collapsing housing market with no sign of improvement? Has anyone told our strapping sagamore that the entire financial system is resting on a crumbling foundation of garbage mortgages, toxic paper, and non-performing loans?

Cutting the deficits now--when we should be expanding them--will lead to a cycle of debt deflation that will push-down asset prices, increase defaults, force more layoffs, slow consumer spending, lower earnings and put the economy into a long-term funk. It's a suicidal policy that will end in catastrophe.

If Obama wants more proof that the economy is still tanking, he should read Fed chair Ben Bernanke's speech to the Economic Club of New York delivered earlier this week. The presentation is a sobering snapshot of lingering stagnation with precious few glimmers of light. Here's an excerpt:

"The flow of credit remains constrained, economic activity weak, and unemployment much too high. Future setbacks are possible....How the economy will evolve in 2010 and beyond is less certain....

Access to credit remains strained for borrowers who are particularly dependent on banks, such as households and small businesses. Bank lending has contracted sharply this year, and the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey shows that banks continue to tighten the terms on which they extend credit for most kinds of loans...

Household debt has declined in recent quarters for the first time since 1951. For their part, many small businesses have seen their bank credit lines reduced or eliminated, or they have been able to obtain credit only on significantly more restrictive terms. The fraction of small businesses reporting difficulty in obtaining credit is near a record high, and many of these businesses expect credit conditions to tighten further.

The demand for credit also has fallen significantly....Because of weakened balance sheets, fewer potential borrowers are creditworthy, even if they are willing to take on more debt. Also, write-downs of bad debt show up on bank balance sheets as reductions in credit outstanding. Nevertheless, it appears that, since the outbreak of the financial crisis, banks have tightened lending standards by more than would have been predicted by the decline in economic activity alone..... Unfortunately, reduced bank lending may well slow the recovery by damping consumer spending, especially on durable goods, and by restricting the ability of some firms to finance their operations.

The best thing we can say about the labor market right now is that it may be getting worse more slowly. (Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Speech Before Economic Club of New York)

Is this really Bernanke speaking, or is the Fed chief channeling Nouriel Roubini?

To summarize, credit is tight. Consumers aren't borrowing and the banks aren't lending. Unemployment is soaring and deflation is pushing down asset prices while the burden of personal debt is rising in real terms. It's a very bleak report. The only sign of improvement is that “things are getting worse more slowly”. Now that's encouraging.

But there is a remedy, and it doesn't involve decades of cave-dwelling and a steady diet of canned meat and lentils. Stimulus works. It speeds up recovery, minimizes unemployment and stops asset prices from overshooting on the downside. Here's an excerpt from "The effectiveness of fiscal and monetary stimulus in depressions" a scholarly analysis of stimulus by economist-authors Miguel Almunia, Agustin S. Benetrix, Barry eichengreen, Kevin O' Rourke, and Gisela Rua:

"Where tried, fiscal policy was effective in the 1930s....The details of the results differ, but the overall conclusions do not. They show that where fiscal policy was tried, it was effective.

Our estimates of its short-run effects are at the upper end of those estimated recently with modern data....This is, in fact, what one should expect if one believes that the effectiveness of fiscal policy is greatest when interest rates are at the zero bound, leading to little crowding out of private spending. It is what one should expect when households are credit constrained by a dysfunctional banking system. Given similar circumstances in 2008, this underscores the advantages of using 1930s data as a source of evidence on the effects of current policy." (The effectiveness of fiscal and monetary stimulus in depressions" by Miguel Almunia, Agustin S. Benetrix, Barry Eichengreen, Kevin O' Rourke, and Gisela Rua, 18 November 2009, VOX)

Stimulus works in multiple ways. It also helps increase inflation expectations which is necessary to get people spending again. In a deflationary environment, consumers stop spending and the economy grinds to a halt. The Fed tries to spur economic activity by convincing people that the dollars they hold today will be worth less tomorrow. That's why Bernanke keeps pointing out that the Fed will keep rates at zero indefinitely. It's a way of managing perceptions to spark spending. Regrettably, the goldbugs are the only folks who have taken the Fed chairman seriously, which is why gold prices have zoomed to the stratosphere. Personal savings rates are still rising. There's been a sharp drop-off in consumption. All the signs indicate that Bernanke's psychological experiment has flopped. The masses still believe we're in a recession, so they're clinging to their cash like grim death.

The economy is headed for another slowdown that could drag on for a decade or more. The choices are stark; either policymakers take emergency action to reverse the trend or the economy will slip into a Japan-type slump.

What's needed now, is a gargantuan blast of stimulus to jolt the economy out of its lethargy and put the mighty wheels of industry back in motion. That will require public mobilization and a massive commitment of resources. $1 trillion, $2 trillion, even $3 trillion--whatever it takes--should be pumped into the jet-stream so the dollars fall to earth like a spring rain from sea to shining sea. That will get people spending again. That will put people back to work. We'll worry about the red ink later.

No more excuses. No more crybaby blabber about deficits. Just do it.

[Demeter]

35. It's Official, I Guess: Herbert Hoover Obama

God, I hope he pulls the plug on Afghanistan and all the CIA drug machinery goes to the firing squad.

[Roland99]

39. So, Ben should fire up the choppers?

[Demeter]

45. Ben Should Go Into Exile

and take Uncle Larry and Rubin with him.

[Roland99]

36. Breaking: Ambac Chief Financial Officer Sean Leonard resigns

that is all I saw.

[Demeter]

38. What Is Ambac?

Ambac Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company whose affiliates provide financial guarantees and financial services to clients in both the public and private sectors around the world. Ambac's principal operating subsidiary, Ambac Assurance Corporation, a guarantor of public finance and structured finance obligations. The Ambac Assurance financial guarantee is an unconditional and irrevocable pledge that investors will receive principal and interest payments in full and on time should the issuer of an Ambac-insured security default. Our valuable financial guarantee reduces financing costs for issuers, facilitates the structuring and distribution of securities by investment bankers and improves liquidity for investors.--

http://www.ambac.com/aboutus.html

Another AIG, it seems.

[Roland99]

40. Brethren of MBIA

Either of them goes under and we'll start seeing entire cities and counties going under.

[Ghost Dog]

49. They'll be going under, it seems, unless

Goldman, JPM or similar get to take them over on the terms and with the rule-changes they demand.

[Demeter]

37. I Propose a Pool for SMW: Date of Economic Collapse, Part 2

Within the remains of Obama's term as President, name the day, week, month or year that the bottom officially falls out and even the Government admits that Recovery has failed, Moderation has failed, Bipartisanship has failed, and change, REAL change, change that little people can take to the bank, is needed. Geithner and Summers and the Zombie Banks are kicked to the curb, Elizabeth Warren is coronated, and the massive cleanup begins.

As for that Other Woman, of the Opposition, people don't even ask about her any more.

[Roland99]

41. Valentine's Day Massacre, 2013

[Demeter]

44. Okay, but I think you are too far out

I'm wondering if we will make it through Valentine's day, 2010.

[Roland99]

46. I think commercial real estate has a good (ha!) 12-18 mos. left

then stave things off another year with some massive stimulus and then we start to see darkness envelope all.

[Demeter]

50. But Retail Is Going to Positively Die This December

and after the January clearances, there may be nothing left of the malls and supermarkets.

[Roland99]

55. There's no big item this Christmas (other than flat-panel TVs)

Certain stores will do well (WalMart, Best Buy, Amazon) but I bet pretty much everyone else will be having a blue Christmas.

[Hugin]

42. But... But... But... "Consumers more optimistic about recovery" says CNNMoney

Conference Board's reading for consumer confidence rises in November, but outlook on present situation remains downbeat.

By Hibah Yousuf, CNNMoney.com staff reporter
Last Updated: November 24, 2009: 12:46 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A key measure of consumer confidence gained slightly in November, snapping a two-month declining streak, a research group said Tuesday.

The Conference Board, the New York-based research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 49.5 in November from an upwardly revised 48.7 in October.

Economists were expecting the index to dip to 47.5, according to a Briefing.com consensus survey. The figure, which is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households, is closely watched because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.

The overall index remains at historically low levels. A reading above 90 indicates the economy is solid, and 100 or above signals strong growth.

Despite the modestly upbeat figure, Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board, said "consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood."

More here... http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/24/news/economy/consumer_confidence/

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

If a 90 shows stability... Then the difference between a 47.5 and 49.5 is totally negligible... :eyes:

[mullard12ax7]

43. The government will never admit it and keep spewing propaganda

It's the very basis of government propaganda, it never changes. Most Americans don't even give a crap anyway, there are only 2 kinds of people left in this country: 1 -- the "I got mine, up yours people and 2 -- the people with functional minds who can see beyond the propaganda and know that the entire capitalism economy has failed already.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

53. Elizabeth Warren comforts me somehow.

I do wish the Obama team would give her some teeth and claws thou. She needs some arments to work more efficiently.

[Demeter]

54. Ms. Warren Is Not Part of the Obama Team

She is a Congressional staffer and I'd like to know who put her in her job and shake his/her hand and contribute to the next election.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

56. I'd like to shake that hand also.

I honestly thought she was appointed by the Obama administration.

Hence, why I don't usually post on the Wrap-up threads. Just a dumb housewife here.

[tclambert]

47. U.S. electric carmaker Tesla preparing IPO-sources

By Poornima Gupta

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. electric sports car maker Tesla Motors plans to go public soon, two sources familiar with the matter said, amid growing interest in green technology and battery-powered vehicles.

An IPO filing from the six-year-old start-up, best known for its $109,000 all-electric Roadster, is expected any day, said one of the sources. The person did not give a specific time frame, although IPOs typically take several months. . . .

Tesla would mark the first public offering from a U.S. automaker since Henry Ford's Ford Motor Co (F.N) debuted its shares in 1956.

more at: http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idAFN2023822020091120?rpc=44
____________________

I have mixed feelings on a Tesla IPO. On the one hand, it's really, really cool. On the other, as I have said many times, Tesla is a tiny, tiny part of the car market. They have yet to make 1,000 cars after 6 years in business. They have yet to make as many cars as, say, Ford does on a typical Tuesday morning.

[tclambert]

48. Saab future unclear as sale to Swedish firm fails

Koenigsegg backs out of plan to buy Saab from GM, casting doubt on future of Swedish brand

By Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writers

DETROIT (AP) -- A Swedish automaker has backed out of a deal to buy Saab from General Motors Co., casting serious doubt on the future of the troubled brand. . .

Koenigsegg said in August that it lacked about 3 billion kronor ($417 million) to conclude the deal. But in September, a consortium led by the company struck a preliminary agreement with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings to give the Chinese company a minority stake in an effort to raise more money. The consortium also included Norwegian investor Baard Eker and the deal was subject to a funding commitment from the European Investment Bank, to be guaranteed by the Swedish government.

The chairman of Koenigsegg Group, Augie K. Fabela II told The Associated Press that financing had been worked out, but the company was unable to get agreements from its investors on how to move Saab from a high-volume brand to a premium auto seller. . . .

It will be tough for Saab, which has about 4,500 employees, mostly in Sweden, to recover from Koenigsegg's decision. GM has been selling off existing inventory and preparing to end its role with the company, which would be difficult to reverse. . . .

Koenigsegg, a tiny company that makes only a dozen high-performance luxury cars a year, was founded in 1994 by Christian von Koenigsegg, a Swedish sports car fanatic and entrepreneur who remains chief executive. Its headquarters and factory -- which produces cars that cost more than a $1 million each -- are located at a former air force base in southern Sweden. . . .

GM's board decided earlier this month to back out of a deal to sell its European Opel unit to a group led by Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. Auto dealership chain owner and former race car driver Roger Penske in September ended plans to buy the Saturn brand after an agreement to get cars from France's Renault fell through.

The GM board has chosen to phase out Saturn, a possible fate for Saab.

A little more at: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Saab-future-unclear-as-sale-apf-893974322.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=
_______________________

Makes me a little sad that Saab might go away.

I liked the part where the article said Konigsegg makes 12 cars a year. That's less than Tesla. But Konigsegg's cost $1 million each. The Konigsegg CCX with a spoiler had the third fastest lap time on BBC's show Top Gear, after the Gumpert Apollo and the Ascari A10, ahead of all the Ferraris, Maserattis, Lamborghinis, Porsches, and Aston Martins. A Konigsegg without a spoiler, lacking enough downforce to hold traction in high speed curves, tied with the Corvette ZR1 (17th fastest). They've tested something like 120 supercars, so 17th is still pretty good. http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/powerlaps.shtml

[Demeter]

51. GM Gutted It Like a Carp, No Doubt

[DoBotherMe]

58. K&R n/t