STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, December 7, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, December 7, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON December 6, 2011

Dow 12,150.13 +52.30 (+0.43%)
Nasdaq 2,649.56 -6.20 (-0.23%)
S&P 500 1,258.47 +1.39 (+0.11%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.11 +0.01 (+0.67%)
30-Year Bond 3.13 +0.02 (+0.77%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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

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

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

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

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

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

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 12

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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

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports

Dec 07 07:00 MBA Mortgage Index 12/03 NA NA -11.7%
Dec 07 10:30 Crude Inventories 12/03 NA NA 3.932M
Dec 07 15:00 Consumer Credit Oct $7.0B $7.0B $7.4B

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/12/05-09/#ixzz1fqgTZWOo

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil rises to near $102 amid mixed US demand signs

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose to near $102 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a crude supply report showed mixed signs about U.S. demand strength.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 49 cents to $101.77 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 29 cents to settle at $101.28 on Tuesday.

In London, Brent crude was up 28 cents at $111.09 on the ICE futures exchange.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 5.0 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted a drop of 1.3 million barrels.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Climb on Optimism Euro Summit Will Solve Crisis

U.S. stock-index futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will climb for a third day, amid speculation European leaders will agree on steps to ease the region’s debt crisis at a summit this week.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the second-biggest U.S. lender by assets, climbed 0.9 percent in early New York trading, leading financial shares higher.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring this month rose 0.4 percent to 1,260.1 at 6:26 a.m. in New York after earlier climbing as much as 1 percent. The S&P 500 has struggled to make any headway this year, rising less than 0.1 percent (SPX), as the euro area’s debt crisis spread to the 17-nation currency’s larger economies. Still, the gauge is the only major developed equity market of 24 tracked by Bloomberg that hasn’t fallen this year. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also expiring in December added 50 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,162 today.

“All is not lost for investors, especially as U.S. growth rates appear to be accelerating,” said Dan Greenhaus, the chief global strategist at BTIG LLC in New York. “The only question at this point is how deep the European recession will be and what effect it has on other regions.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-07/u-s-stock-index-futures-climb-on-optimism-euro-summit-will-solve-crisis.html

:rofl:

[Demeter]

4. US payday lenders target UK working poor

FT investigation: US lenders pushing short-term loans that charge up to 5,000 per cent interest per year are targeting low-income UK borrowers abandoned by high street banks

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/ZE9K33/IIPCGY/IEP5S/NJNOVO/PFB4ME/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=6

[Demeter]

5. EU talks on doubling financial firewall

Eleventh-hour negotiations have begun to create a much bigger financial “bazooka” to present at this week’s European Union summit that could include running two separate rescue funds and winning increased support for the International Monetary Fund

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/IOCBMM/97ELFA/WH2F8/TUTYMF/ZGZSQ8/1G/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=6

[Demeter]

6. Obama signals tougher penalties for bank fraud

President attacks Republican ‘amnesia’ on economic policies in a speech in Kansas that summoned the spirit of another president, Theodore Roosevelt

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/3JFELL/4CXPD1/NRHD3/GDEVNQ/304361/HK/t?a1=2011&a2=12&a3=7

[xchrom]

26. It's Accountability Time for Banks and Wall Street

http://www.thenation.com/blog/164994/its-accountability-time-banks-and-wall-street

There’s a scene in the HBO adaptation of Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book “Too Big to Fail” where Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s adviser suggests he call Warren Buffett to ask for help with Lehman Brothers. “As what?” responds Paulson. “Warren’s friend? His former banker? The treasury secretary? No!” In the movie, Paulson understands the difference, that there are bright lines that he should not cross. In real life, it turns out, these were not the kind of distinctions Paulson was particularly concerned about making.

Missing from that movie—and other first drafts of recent financial history—was a bombshell recently uncovered by Bloomberg’s Richard Teitelbaum: Paulson gave his hedge fund friends inside information about government plans to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, seven weeks before it happened. Common stock and some preferred stock would be wiped out in the process, he told them, meaning a bet against the giants was a bet that could make them millions. Those without connections to Paulson didn’t get a tip-off; worse, they got the opposite. On the same day that Paulson met with the hedge funds, he told the New York Times that markets would soon have reason for renewed confidence in both enterprises.

Such shameful conduct, which law professors told Bloomberg is not illegal, is becoming increasingly typical. We know, for example, that Paulson held a secret meeting with the Goldman Sachs board in a Moscow hotel in June 2008 that, again, didn’t match his public statements. These are just the meetings we know about.

“You just never ever do that as a government regulator—transmit nonpublic market information to market participants,” William Black, a former general counsel at the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, told Bloomberg Markets Magazine. But Americans have learned by now: Never say “never ever.”

[Ghost Dog]

7. EU bailout funds skepticism (so what's new?)

FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - A strong EUR/GBP, attempting to breach the 0.8600 level, switched to a bearish pair that is plunging down across the board with no stopping to it, at the moment. From a daily high of 0.8613, the cross broke down on news of a senior German official’s skepticism on the possibility of two different rescue funds (EFSF and ESM) running together in the EU.

Previously, the (UK) National Statistics published its Manufacturing and Industrial Production data, indicating below expected results in every chapter. Industrial Production (YoY) fell 1.7%, a worse scenario than expected -0.7%.

German Industrial Production (YoY) was also released during the European morning, stating a growth by 4.7%, above the expected 3.5% rise.

/... http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?storyid=b1c62955-4c21-4b2f-9b80-71d2d1e62532


More from senior German official: There are many countries, institutions that will have to change positions for euro crisis deal to be achieved at summit

The official has been speaking on condition of anonymity. Asked on readiness to compromise on financial transaction tax, says Berlin not looking to make "bad deals" Euro bonds would intensify crisis, not resolve it

/... http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?storyid=ccc406f0-9dd8-418a-80c1-88684631aeee

(so what's new?) :shrug:

[Demeter]

8. Live Hearing On Whether Insider Trading By Congress Should Be Illegal

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/live-hearing-whether-insider-trading-congress-should-be-illegal

Only in a banana republic would Congress be "forced" to hold hearings on whether to ban itself from illegal (for everyone else) insider trading. Which explains why below readers can watch precisely that, live from the house Committee on Financial Services.The legislation in question relates to bill H.R. 1148, the "Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act." We wonder how long until Congress manages to scuttle this latest effort to keep the playing field between the muppets and everyone else. After all, someone has to leak critical rating agency information (such as the FT's break of a key S&P leak yesterday, or Nancy Pelosi knowing weeks in advance that Moody's would not downgrade the US) to the media and/or trading entities.

VIDEO AT LINK: http://www.c-span.org/Events/Insider-Trading-and-Congress/10737426032-1/

[Demeter]

9. Social Security 2011 – Another Bad Year

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/social-security-2011-%E2%80%93-another-bad-year

MUST READ--AND IT'S REALLY BAD

[Demeter]

10. Your Choice, Europe: Rebel Against the Banks or Accept Debt-Serfdom

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogdec11/euro-debt-serfdom12-11.html


...The euro enabled a short-lived but extremely attractive fantasy: the more productive northern EU economies could mint profits in two ways: A) sell their goods and services to their less productive southern neighbors in quantity because these neighbors were now able to borrow vast sums of money at low (i.e. near-"German") rates of interest, and B) loan these consumer nations these vast sums of money with stupendous leverage, i.e. 1 euro in capital supports 26 euros of lending/debt...The less productive nations also had a very attractive fantasy: that their present level of productivity (that is, the output of goods and services created by their economies) could be leveraged up via low-interest debt to support a much higher level of consumption and malinvestment in things like villas and luxury autos.

According to Europe's Currency Road to Nowhere (WSJ.com):

Northern Europe has fueled its growth through exports. It has run huge trade imbalances, the most extreme of which with these same Southern European countries now in peril. Productivity rose dramatically compared to the South, but the currency did not.

This explains at least part of the German export and manufacturing miracle of the last 12 years. In 1999, exports were 29% of German gross domestic product. By 2008, they were 47%—an increase vastly larger than in Italy, Spain and Greece, where the ratios increased modestly or even fell. Germany's net export contribution to GDP (exports minus imports as a share of the economy) rose by nearly a factor of eight. Unlike almost every other high-income country, where manufacturing's share of the economy fell significantly, in Germany it actually rose as the price of German goods grew more and more attractive compared to those of other countries. In a key sense, Germany's currency has been to Southern Europe what China's has been to the U.S.

Flush with profits from exports and loans, Germany and its mercantilist (exporting nations) also ramped up their own borrowing--why not, when growth was so strong? But the whole set-up was a doomed financial fantasy. The euro seemed to be magic: it enabled importing nations to buy more and borrow more, while also enabling exporting nations to reap immense profits from rising exports and lending. Put another way: risk and debt were both massively mispriced by the illusion that the endless growth of debt-based consumption could continue forever. The euro was in a sense a scam that served the interests of everyone involved: with risk considered near-zero, interest rates were near-zero, too, and more debt could be leveraged from a small base of productivity and capital. But now reality has repriced risk and debt, and the clueless leadership of the EU is attempting to put the genie back in the bottle. Alas, the debt loads are too crushing, and the productivity too weak, to support the fantasy of zero risk and low rates of return.

The Credit Bubble Bulletin's Doug Nolan summarized the reality succinctly: "The European debt Bubble has burst." Nolan explains the basic mechanisms thusly: The Mythical "Great Moderation":

For years, European debt was being mispriced in the (over-liquefied, over-leveraged and over-speculated global) marketplace. Countries such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Italy benefitted immeasurably from the market perception that European monetary integration ensured debt, economic and policymaking stability.

Similar to the U.S. mortgage/Wall Street finance Bubble, the marketplace was for years content to ignore Credit excesses and festering system fragilities, choosing instead to price debt obligations based on the expectation for zero defaults, abundant liquidity, readily available hedging instruments, and a policymaking regime that would ensure market stability.

Importantly, this backdrop created the perfect market environment for financial leveraging and rampant speculation in a global financial backdrop unsurpassed for its capacity for excess. The arbitrage of European bond yields was likely one of history’s most lucrative speculative endeavors. (link via U. Doran)

In simple terms, this is the stark reality: now that debt and risk have been repriced, Europe's debts are completely, totally unpayable. There is no way to keep adding to the Matterhorn of debt at the old cheap rate of interest, and there is no way to roll over the trillions of euros in debt that are coming due at the old near-zero rates. Never mind actually paying down debt, sovereign, corporate and private--the repricing of risk and debt mean even the interest payments are unpayable. Consider this chart of one tiny slice of total EU debt:



There is no way to push the repricing genie back in the bottle, and so there is no way to roll over this debt and add to it--and to support the high-cost structure of Euroland's welfare-state governments and their astounding debt, debt must be added, and in staggering quantities. Austerity won't put the repricing/bubble burst genie back in the bottle. A funny thing happens when more of the national income is diverted to debt service (making interest payments and rolling over existing debt into new higher-interest debt): there is less surplus available for investment and consumption, which means that both productivity based on investment and consumption based on debt will plummet. This leaves the nation with lower productivity and lower GDP, which means there is also less tax revenue being collected and more bankruptcies as companies and individuals accept the reality that their debts cannot be paid...The repricing genie responds to this decline in national income, surplus and taxes by repricing risk of default even higher, and so the interest rate is also repriced higher. This makes servicing the mountain of existing debt even more costly, and so even less national income is available for consumption, investment and taxes. This is called a positive feedback loop: each action reinforces the other, i.e. a self-reinforcing feedback loop. Debt and risk are repriced higher, the burden of debt service reduces national income available for investment, consumption and taxes, which further reprices risk higher, and so on.

So you see, Europe, there is only one choice: either accept the endless debt serfdom of ever-rising interest payments and lower income and productivity, or rebel against your pathetic lackey leadership and renounce the entire mountain of unpayable debt. Grasp the nettle and renounce the euro as the fundamental cause of your fantasy and collapse, and revert to national currencies which enable the market to discover the price of your underlying productivity and ability to borrow money. Renouncing the euro does not mean renouncing the freedoms of the European Union: the two are only bound at the hip in the minds of your enfeebled leadership, who are in thrall to the leveraged-26-to-1 banks that are poised on the edge of insolvency. Let the banks implode in bankruptcy, clear the worthless "assets" of debt from the books, and let the market price currencies and everything else. The only other choice is debt-serfdom. All the other schemes and proposals are simply variations of one single fantasy: that the feckless leadership can fool the repricing genie with parlor tricks. They can't. Everybody with any understanding of the situation knows that the debt bubble has already burst, and risk and debt cannot be repriced back to fantasy levels. That repricing has already occurred, and cannot be revoked or shoved back in the bottle. The Great European Debt Bubble has already burst, and so now it boils down to a simple choice: debt serfom or open rebellion against the banks that profited so handsomely from the euro-fantasy. There is no middle ground, as the debt cannot be repaid, not now and not in the future. It cannot be reshuffled, masked, or hidden; it can only be renounced.

It's your choice, Europe; choose wisely. If you want a model for sanity and growth, look to Iceland. They renounced their unpayable debts and debt-serfdom, and let the market reprice their currency, debt and risk. The nightmare is past for them; they chose wisely. Now it's your turn to choose...The debt-serfdom will fall to you, not the banks or your Elites.

[Demeter]

11. Deficit spending: National absurdity, international gamesmanship, and manipulation by transnational

Deficit spending: National absurdity, international gamesmanship, and manipulation by transnational corporations

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogdec11/Zeus-unleashing-future5-12-11.html

Analysis: About all that can be said for the major global economies of the U.S., China, the European Union, et. al. is that they are collectively insolvent and engaging in massive interactive fraud, misrepresentation of national financial health, and mutual exploitation.

The U.S. as the overseer of reserve currency is trying to print its way back into solvency and its banks, like Goldman Sachs, have provided the poison pills for EU implosion with their fraudulent derivatives. Europe will not face the facts that it has unsustainable welfare state commitments and that its banks extended credit and covered debt for Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland (often through private banks in those countries) that were not warranted and could not be paid back...China (the current growth darling) is devaluing its currency, destroying its environment, poisoning its population, experiencing growing unrest, separation of wealth, collapse real estate values, and corruption in governance in the government’s effort to maintain unsustainable growth, trade imbalances, and grip on autocratic power...The real threat, however, to the global economies is not nation against nation but transnational corporations allied with so-called “ruling elites” against 99% of us. This alliance is intentionally playing nations against each other in an effort to control, maximize, and concentrate parasitic wealth in the hands of a global few at the expense of productive middle class citizens.

There has been no better evidence of this than the eerie world-wide cover-up and bailing out of derivatives and bank fraud, the non-prosecution of hundreds of thousands of confirmed cases of forgery over private property conveyance (United States), the hollowing out of national revenue and well-being through austerity (Ireland), and the stripping of national assets and sovereignty (Greece with more to come). Bought and sold has acquired a whole new level of meaning.

MORE AT LINK

[xchrom]

12. good morning all...

:donut:

[Demeter]

13. W cancels visit to Swiss charity gala over fears he could be arrested on torture charges

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354211/George-W-Bush-cancels-Switzerland-visit-fears-arrest-torture-charges.html#ixzz1fZIWoj6a

...Mr Bush was due to be the keynote speaker at a Jewish charity gala in Geneva on February 12. But pressure has been building on the Swiss government to arrest him and open a criminal investigation if he enters the country. Criminal complaints against Mr Bush alleging torture have been lodged in Geneva, court officials said.

Human rights groups said they had intended to submit a 2,500-page case against him in the Swiss city tomorrow for alleged mistreatment of suspected militants at Guantanamo Bay. Left-wing groups have also called for a protest on the day of his visit, leading organisers at Keren Hayesod's annual dinner to cancel Mr Bush's participation on security grounds...

[Demeter]

24. Obama Road Tests Hopey-Changey Big Lie 2.0: He’ll Reincarnate as Teddy Roosevelt if You Are Dumb Eno

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/12/obama-road-tests-hopey-changey-big-lie-2-0-hell-reincarnate-as-teddy-roosevelt-if-you-are-dumb-enough-to-be-fooled-twice.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

And we have a twofer in Obama’s launch of his new branding as True Son of Teddy Roosevelt. Never mind that Teddy, unlike Obama, was accomplished in many walks of life and had meaningful political accomplishments (such as reforming the corrupt New York City police department) before becoming President at the tender age of 42. The second element of this finesse is that Obama is using the Rooseveltian imagery to claim he will pass legislation to get tough on Big Finance miscreants. That posture, is of course meant to underscore the idea that you just can’t get the perps with the present, weak set of laws. Team Obama may have planned to wheel this new, improved image out later, with the timing accelerated by Judge Jed Rakoff’s decision against a proposed $285 million settlement between the SEC and Citigroup over a bum CDO in which Citi allegedly wielded considerable influence over its contents so it could bet against it.

The SEC has gone on a full bore media offensive against Rakoff, with enforcement chief Robert Khuzami’s becoming uncharacteristically accessible to the media and also using scheduled speaking engagements to take issue with Rakoff’s ruling. And on top of Khuzami’s own efforts, the media has taken up some other dubious plants by the SEC. The biggest howler is a story in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week. Titled “Financial Crimes Bedevil Prosecutors,” not one of the sources for the story is a prosecutor! The centerpiece of the piece is one David Cardona, who just joined the SEC. Gee, you think he is going to do anything other than sell the party line? And what was his last job? At the FBI, investigating financial crimes, which by the way, resulted in pretty much no criminal cases, except, curiously, Taylor Bean. But doesn’t count, since the wronged parties were even bigger fish. Now why is Cardona’s opinion on these matters worthless? He was a cop, not an attorney. He is not a legal expert, and any opinion he has on the legal issues would come from the lawyers he worked with. And since neither the last nor the current DOJ has the slightest interest in getting tough on bank execs, you can be sure all he heard were persuasive rationalizations as to why all sorts of dirt he turned up just was not sufficient. It’s plenty easy to justify failure and timidity. And who were the other sources for this dictation masquerading as reporting? Well, there was a lone dissenting comment by Phil Angelides of the FCIC, noting that the FBI investigations of mortgage fraud were inadequate. That’s one paragraph out of 24. Khuzami is quoted, as well as a Department of Justice in-house flack.

While we have the Feds insisting that it’s just too hard to go after miscreants in finance, this week we have Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto continuing with her step-by-step, classic prosecution strategy of going after low level organization members to roll the higher ups. As we’ve indicated, she has targeted Lender Processing Services and is going after more mid level employees. Her effort has the potential to bust open bad conduct across all major servicers. LPS has among other things, allegedly engaged in escrow abuses and charging other impermissible fees, as well as foreclosure related abuses. LPS maintains that everything it did was with the full knowledge and approval of its clients, meaning the big servicers. And the reach of Masto’s effort, and the potential damage to the Administration’s credibility has just grown considerably. Yesterday, California attorney general Kamala Harris joined the Masto effort. This strongly suggests that Harris will also be seeking indictments. And remember, California, unlike Nevada, has a major bank headquartered in state (Wells) as well as other substantial banking operations (the legacy Countrywide units). For Harris, who is reputed to be, shall we say it politely, sensitive to the political winds, to make a shift like this, suggests a real change in the political climate is underway.

So let’s return to the rebranding of Obama. From the Financial Times:

Barack Obama outlined a plan to toughen penalties against banks that commit fraud in a speech on Tuesday that hardened his attacks on Republicans for “collective amnesia” in backing policies that caused the financial crisis and economic downturn.

Speaking in Osawatomie, Kansas, Mr Obama summoned the spirit of another president, Teddy Roosevelt, who spoke in the same city a century ago about his “new nationalism” and the need for a fairer system that supported the middle class..

Mr Obama was scathing about the banks’ opposition to new financial regulations, saying they were only feared by “financial institutions whose business model is built on breaking the law, cheating consumers or making risky bets that could damage the entire economy”.

“I’ll be calling for legislation that makes penalties count – so that firms don’t see punishment for breaking the law as just the price of doing business.”

The misdirection is blindingly obvious. The claim is that the Administration needs new tools to get tough on banks. No, it has plenty of tools, starting with Sarbanes Oxley. As we’ve discussed at length in earlier posts, Sarbox was designed to eliminate the CEO and top brass “know nothing” excuse. And the language for civil and criminal charges is parallel, so a prosecutor could file civil charges, and if successful, could then open up a related criminal case. Sarbox required that top executives (which means at least the CEO and CFO) certify the adequacy of internal controls, and for a big financial firm, that has to include risk controls and position valuation. The fact that the Administration didn’t attempt to go after, for instance, AIG on Sarbox is inexcusable. The “investigation” done by Andrew Ross Sorkin in his Too Big To Fail (Willumstad not having a good handle on the cash bleed, the sudden discovery of a $20 billion hole in the securities lending portfolio, the mysterious “unofficial vault” with billions of dollars of securities in file cabinets) all are proof of an organization with seriously deficient controls. But more broadly, it’s blindingly obvious this Administration has never had the slightest interest in doing anything more serious than posture. As we wrote in early 2010:

Recall how we got here. Early in 2009, the banking industry was on the ropes. Both the stock and the credit default swaps markets said that many of the big players were at serious risk of failure. Commentators debated whether to nationalize Citibank, Bank of America, and other large, floundering institutions..

This juncture was a crucial window of opportunity. The financial services industry had become systematically predatory. Its victims now extended well beyond precarious, clueless, and sometimes undisciplined consumers who took on too much debt via credit cards with gotcha features that successfully enticed into a treadmill of chronic debt, or now infamous subprime and option-ARM mortgages..

The widespread, vocal opposition to the TARP was evidence that a once complacent populace had been roused. Reform, if proposed with energy and confidence, wasn’t a risk; not only was it badly needed, it was just what voters wanted.

But incoming president Obama failed to act. Whether he failed to see the opportunity, didn’t understand it, or was simply not interested is moot. Rather than bring vested banking interests to heel, the Obama administration instead chose to reconstitute, as much as possible, the very same industry whose reckless pursuit of profit had thrown the world economy off the cliff. There would be no Nixon goes to China moment from the architects of the policies that created the crisis, namely Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Summers..

Obama’s repudiation of his campaign promise of change, by turning his back on meaningful reform of the financial services industry, in turn locked his Administration into a course of action. The new administration would have no choice other that working fist in glove with the banksters, supporting and amplifying their own, well established, propaganda efforts.

Thus Obama’s incentives are to come up with “solutions” that paper over problems, avoid meaningful conflict with the industry, minimize complaints, and restore the old practice of using leverage and investment gains to cover up stagnation in worker incomes. Potemkin reforms dovetail with the financial service industry’s goal of forestalling any measures that would interfere with its looting. So the only problem with this picture was how to fool the now-impoverished public into thinking a program of Mussolini-style corporatism represented progress.

The list of evidence supporting this view is so lengthy that I am certain to miss quite a few items: the lack of serious investigation, the phony stress tests, the perpetually missing in action DOJ, allowing the banks to exit the TARP pronto, the mortgage fraud whitewash investigation, the clever sidelining of Elizabeth Warren, the way too weak Dodd Frank legislation, which is being watered down further with the blessing of Timothy Geithner. And speaking of legislation, gee, if it was really that hard to prosecute bank miscreants, why wasn’t that incorporated in Dodd Frank? Awfully convenient to notice that supposed oversight now, with no hope of getting a tough bill passed at this juncture and statutes of limitations running out.

Frankly, the fact that the Administration has joined Khuzami in the “oh, it’s SO hard to prosecute” messaging leads me to believe the SEC really will throw the case. It’s plenty clear this Administration has let the people who really count know it has no intention of ever carrying a stick.

[kickysnana]

28. We are not going to go quietly into DU3 are we?

:hi: :toast:

[Demeter]

30. Is it that bad?

I haven't gone to look...since I have only one gripe with DU (ignorant and presumptuous moderation) I can't think that more is better.

PBD is getting out while the getting is good, I think.

[kickysnana]

37. I probably shouldn't post my opinions before 9am the day after a death in the family. LOL.

It will be different and I am not sure if they will tolerate this groups candor under under the new system. It appears to be an attempt to make it difficult for opinions other those of the Party faithful to be aired.

We will see, won't we.

I lost another Aunt yesterday, only 3 left of the original 10 in the family.

[Hotler]

51. Let me offer my condolence on the loss of your aunt. eom.

[Demeter]

56. Condolences to your family

The passing of the generations...it's so very hard on the survivors, having to pick up the mantle of Ultimate adulthood. Aside from one remaining aunt, I am now the oldest female in my family, at 56. and my family lives into the 90's, if they didn't smoke.

[Fuddnik]

45. I wonder how many of us will last.

Even though we stick pretty much to our reality-based forum, I see a red dot on some of our chests. At least a dose of pepper spray, anyway.

[AnneD]

55. Have been on DU for years, no problem....

then BAM, two posts deleted in as many days. I will be wearing the red badge of courage soon-I am about as bad as you Fudd:hard to hold my tongue sometimes. Guess I may have to head back to the old elm tree.

Speaking of hosts...

How our distinguished alums doing and more importantly, where are they doing it at?

[Fuddnik]

57. I haven't heard from Oz or anyone for a while.

Probably because I changed internet servers and my main e-mail changed.

I think maybe today, I'll send him a "Help Wanted" ad for an administrator for a good economics thread on DU. Either that or we're gonna have to pull a "stop-loss" shenanigan on PBD.

[Po_d Mainiac]

32. Ayuh

Barack Obama outlined a plan to toughen penalties against banks that commit fraud in a speech on Tuesday that hardened his attacks on Republicans for “collective amnesia” in backing policies that caused the financial crisis and economic downturn.

force the banksters to double their campaign contributions..that'll learn them
:sarcasm:

[AnneD]

58. Isn't that kinda like....

wearing condoms after you are pregnant. Banksters have already raped us. At this point, prosecution seems a mote point.

[Demeter]

60. Justice (and survival) Demands Prosecution

To stop the rapes, pay for the products of rapes, and prevent populist uprisings against the rapists.

Rule of Law, Obama. It cuts both ways. If you don't follow it, don't expect others to give you the slip from the consequences of negligence, failure of duty, violation of oath of office, war crimes, and all that. You aren't W. You don't have that kind of family, money and friends backing you up.

[xchrom]

33. indeed. nt

[AnneD]

44. It didn't make the papers here....

But Rumsfield was literally minutes away from being nabbed in France last year. The only thing that prevented him from being arrested is that he switched airports. I think he was scheduled to depart from Orly and switched to De Gaulle at the last minute to avoid arrest. Of course that was not the official reason given but the net was abuzz just before and just after the incident.

Too bad they can't nail Roves's little candy pink ass. If the Interpol ever come here, I'll be the first to rat those folks out. I have run across that evil little bastard more than a few times in my day (when I go to Austin). I have run into Perry to. Don't like that man either but he is just a clod-I can deal with stupid, after all I am a liberal in Texas. But I can't abide evil. Rove reminds me of a really evil Golum, down to the laugh even. All of those GOP rubber chicken dinners would have finally paid off.

I'm sorry. I sometimes have trouble expressing my true feeling. I repress things to much. Everything changes after menopause.:eyes:

[Hotler]

49. Good! n/t

[Demeter]

14. America's army of jobless

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-grusky-workers-20111130,0,7907043.story

When President Obama announced that 40,000 troops now in Iraq would come home by the end of the year, the initial excitement quickly turned to concern that our already struggling economy couldn't easily handle the shock of an additional 40,000 job seekers.

Although we should, of course, care deeply about returning Iraq war veterans, we ought not to think for a moment that adding 40,000 workers to the job-seeking pool will break the back of the economy. It's already broken. The nation is laboring under the weight of a reserve army of nearly 27 million women and men who don't have a full-time job, but most surely want one.

The term "reserve army of labor" is vintage Karl Marx. But let's not hold that against it if it's on the mark. These workers are on reserve; they are standing ready to work. And their sheer numbers make them an army.

Who is in this reserve army? It has four quite distinct divisions. The first and best-known division, the unemployed, now includes about 13.9 million people, according to figures released in early November. About two-fifths of this group count as long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or longer). As unemployment increasingly becomes a long-term status, many former workers will no longer view themselves as workers but rather as permanently outside the economy. This is an important and crucial step in the formation of a so-called underclass...

[xchrom]

15. your moment of levity: America, Meet the Mouth of John Burton

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/america_meet_the_mouth_of_john_burton_20111206/

California Democratic Chairman John Burton has a certain way of talking that is familiar and even entertaining to those who know him, but the Daily Show seemed genuinely shocked to discover a politician who doesn’t give a shit about our Victorian sensibilities.

The issue at hand in the video below is Amazon’s battle with California to escape paying sales tax to the cash-strapped state. Or, as Burton puts it: “because they don’t want to have a goddamn sales tax like everybody else.” —PZS

[Demeter]

16. Lehman Enters Final Bankruptcy Phase as Judge Approves Plan

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-05/lehman-judge-to-assess-65-billion-payout-plan-backed-by-creditors.html

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) was given permission by a federal judge to begin the final phase of the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history, as the defunct securities firm said it would begin to distribute some of its $23 billion in available cash.

The bankruptcy may have reached its halfway point, as Lehman’s plan calls for liquidation of its remaining assets over the next three years to raise a total of $65 billion. Lehman, once the fourth-largest investment bank, collapsed in September 2008 with assets of $639 billion.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck approved the plan after the objection of one final creditor was overcome. The plan is backed by creditors holding about $450 billion in claims, which is a “huge achievement,” Peck said today. The case was the “most impossibly challenging” bankruptcy ever, he said.

Lehman, which was run by Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld when its collapse helped bring on the worst economic slump since the Great Depression, settled a fight with creditors in a June payment plan that allotted more money to derivatives claimants including Goldman Sachs (GS) and less to bondholders such as Paulson & Co. Both groups had proposed rival plans to pay Lehman’s debts...

[xchrom]

17. Fiction, Fantasy and the Euro

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/fiction_fantasy_and_the_euro_20111206/

The American rating firm Standard & Poor’s warned 15 European nations on Monday, including Germany and France, that unless they solve their currency problems this week, to the satisfaction of S&P, a business corporation, this company will “downgrade” them, with the effect of increasing the interest they must pay on their sovereign debt and on foreign funds placed on loan to their economies.

S&P, like the other rating firms at work today, is a company operating to make profits for its managers and stockholders. It has no public mandate, and indeed, if it acted under an assumed public-interest mandate, it could find itself sued by its stockholders, whose interest is to profit themselves, not the public.

These “ratings” of companies and nations lack any objective authority or validated qualification. The company sells opinion (like journalists; but nations and central banks very sensibly do not base their decisions on what journalists write). The potential link of unqualified or biased ratings to market speculation is obvious, but nonetheless accepted on the international markets, despite proven instances of past rating agency malfeasance, including the AAA-rated securitized junk mortgages responsible for creating this world financial crisis.

The extent to which the economic policy of nations is made on the basis of misinformation or wishful thinking is not generally recognized. Even when error becomes established as part of the conventional wisdom, it rarely is challenged because of the price usually inflicted upon public dissenters.

[xchrom]

18. europe: Rajoy and Zapatero back EU Treaty change to save euro

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/english/Rajoy/and/Zapatero/back/EU/Treaty/change/to/save/euro/elpepueng/20111206elpeng_7/Ten

Spanish Prime José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his successor Mariano Rajoy said Tuesday they support a French-German initiative to change the European Union Treaty aimed at rescuing the euro.

he package of measures agreed Monday by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which include automatic sanctions for countries breaching rules on public debt and deficits, will be put to an EU summit due on December 9 in Brussels.

"We are in favor of the reform of the treaties that will in all likelihood be proposed in the meeting next Friday," Rajoy told reporters on the occasion of the celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Spanish Constitution that marked the country's return to democracy.

Rodríguez Zapatero said the reforms proposed by Merkel and Sarkozy were an "important move," adding he hoped they would help calm the markets. "I hope this serves to make the markets react positively and we can move on to a period of greater calm that is decisive for the economic recovery," the outgoing premier said.

[xchrom]

25. Summit Seen Backing 'Merkozy' Plan - But Then What?

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,802221,00.html

Last-minute discussions are underway ahead of the EU summit on Thursday and Friday that could decide the fate of the single currency. A French-German plan for European treaty changes to enshrine automatic sanctions is likely to be approved by leaders, but their three-month timetable for the amendments to come into force looks highly ambitious, and could be upset by post-summit horsetrading and ratification votes.

Officials from the EU member states are also discussing the option of doubling the firepower of the euro bailout fund at the summit, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. The report, citing senior European officials, said the the temporary European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bailout fund could be strengthened by keeping it going even after the permanent fund that had been due to replace it comes into force in 2012.

The EFSF has available assets totalling €440 billion, and the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the replacement long-term fund, will have €500 billion at its disposal.

The leaders of Germany and France, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy, agreed on Monday that the launch of the ESM should be brought forward to 2012 from 2013 to help calm markets.

[xchrom]

35. December 9 European Union Summit: Solution to the eurozone crisis or a fudge?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/columnists/swaminathan-s-a-aiyar/december-9-european-union-summit-solution-to-the-eurozone-crisis-or-a-fudge/articleshow/11014857.cms

The 27 countries of the EU will hold a summit on December 9 in what has been called the last chance to solve the eurozone financial crisis. However, in politics, 'last chances' are rarely final. The eurozone has already gone through at least four rescue packages, initially hailed as final solutions but later exposed as unsustainable fudges.

History may repeat itself at the December 9 summit. It could produce another package that enthuses optimists temporarily. Yet, this optimism could soon be eroded by continuing doubts on the ability of European politicians to deliver some sort of plausible fiscal union.

Angela Merkel of Germany visualises institutionalised austerity as the foundation of the new fiscal agreement, with strict fiscal rules enforced by an independent institution such as the European Court of Justice.

Any such institution charged with implementing sanctions would need a formal mandate to override national finance ministers. But this would imply a politically impossible surrender of sovereignty by other members. The contradiction may be papered over by noble expressions of intent at the summit, but will not go away.

Institutionalised austerity looks certain to sink Europe into serious recession in 2012, and it may well drag down the world economy along with it. This is a pity: economic news from the US is increasingly positive, and that country seems on the verge of finally coming out of its four-year stagnation.

[xchrom]

41. Economists see France losing AAA in 3 months - Reuters poll

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/07/uk-france-rating-poll-idUKTRE7B610T20111207

(Reuters) - France will lose its AAA credit rating early next year regardless of last-ditch efforts by President Nicolas Sarkozy to resolve the euro zone crisis at an EU summit this week, a Reuters poll of economists showed on Wednesday.

The snap survey of 13 economists found that 11 of them think France will be downgraded by one of the major ratings agencies within the next three months.

The only question, following this week's blanket euro zone credit warning by Standard & Poor's, is whether France will be cut by one notch to AA+ or by two to a straight AA.

"If you apply Standard and Poor's methodology based on quantitative factors, France should already have a AA rating, as should the U.S. and Britain," said Jean-Christophe Caffet, economist at investment bank Natixis.

[AnneD]

46. One of the last...

few mutual funds I have is in AXA (a French Insurance company). I am going to roll it over during the Christmas Break. It has done well, but I am cashing the last of my casino chips in. I am arranging a meeting with my broker and if he can find stock in the type of companies I want, great. Otherwise come Jan 1 I am taking the liquidating the last of it and putting it into something tangible, even if is just in my mattress.

I will be sitting on the sidelines until the smoke clears a bit. doing nothing or passing can be a position too. Our TRS is funded 85% but we know it will come under attack so we are gearing up to do battle this next legislative session. We blocked Perry and his buds last time but some big monied WS banksters and hedge fund managers are interested. They are licking their chops about wanting to get their hands on our pile of money. Just try to take retirement away from teachers. They'll kick your ass over it.

I guess I woke up in a feisty mood this morning.:spank: Sorry guys.

[xchrom]

48. hi miss AnneD

:hi: i'm sure you will do well w/ your broker, & i hope things are well in your neck of the woods.

[AnneD]

50. We have finally been getting some rain....

sadily the damage has been done and we have lost many of our trees, esp the pines. The city mulch and chippers are going 24/7.

My broker takes notes when we meet. He tell me he suggests, but never presumes to tell me anything. We are always swapping reading lists. I know his wife and kids by name and have been over to his home, that is the nature of our relatonship. :rofl:

[xchrom]

53. good to hear about the rain -- i've been watching what la nina is supposed to

have in store,

hate to see the trees gone.

and your broker? i think that's great.:toast:

[xchrom]

19. south asia: Indian despair at parliamentary circus

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/ML08Df02.html

BANGALORE - In the world's largest democracy, parliament doesn't work.

Almost half of the winter session of parliament has gone by with not a single day's work being transacted.

Since the start of the winter session a fortnight ago, parliamentary proceedings have been repeatedly adjourned with the opposition protesting rising prices and the decision to allow foreign equity in the retail sector.

The winter session is due to end on December 22 and parliament has 12 sittings left in which to debate and pass 31 bills, including the Lokpal Bill to create an anti-corruption ombudsman. There are few signs that any work will get done in the coming weeks.

Even if a log jam over issue related to foreign investment in the retail sector is cleared and parliament begins work in the next few


days, it is feared that disruptions will continue. Like the 2010 winter session - deadlocked over a probe into a scandal over 2-G mobile phone spectrum licenses - this too could be a washout.

"In the last winter session <2010>, zero bills were passed, in the budget session five bills were cleared, and in the monsoon session, a total of 10 bills sailed through," said M R Madhavan, head of research at PRS Legislative Research, an independent research initiative in Delhi that aims at strengthening the legislative process.

[xchrom]

36. Sensex closes 72 points higher; tech and reality scrips gain

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Sensex-closes-72-points-higher-tech-and-reality-scrips-gain/articleshow/11020833.cms

MUMBAI: A benchmark index for equities on Wednesday closed 72 points higher, led by good buying support in technology and realty stocks.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,830.04 points, ended the day at 16,877.06 points, up 0.43 percent or 71.73 points up from its previous close at 16,805.33 points.

The sensex had touched a high of 17,003.71 points and a low of 16,781.62 points intra-day.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange closed 0.47 per cent higher at 5,062.60 points.

[xchrom]

38. FDI in retail: Retailers call for opening of FDI in non-food multi-brand

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/FDI-in-retail-Retailers-call-for-opening-of-FDI-in-non-food-multi-brand/articleshow/11020896.cms

NEW DELHI: Terming the decision to hold back FDI in multi-brand retail as "unfortunate", retailers have expressed disappointment and asked the government to consider partial opening up FDI particularly in the non-food segment.

"It is unfortunate that such an important and much needed economic reform has been suspended. I would like to reiterate that allowing FDI in multi-brand retail will benefit India immensely...," Bharti Enterprises Vice Chairman and MD Rajan Bharti Mittal said.

"...We hope that various stakeholders across the spectrum will take these facts into account, build consensus and allow this major reform to see the light of the day," he said.

Retailers Association of India (RAI) on behalf of all its members has written a letter to the Commerce and the Finance ministries to open the non-food retail to FDI.

[xchrom]

42. Parliamentary panel finalises Lokpal draft, 3 Congress MPs dissent

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Parliamentary-panel-finalises-Lokpal-draft-3-Congress-MPs-dissent/articleshow/11020551.cms

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary standing committee examining the Lokpal bill has finalised its draft amidst growing dissent from members, including three Congress MPs. The report is likely to be tabled in parliament on Friday, sources said.

The three congress members who dissented, asking for inclusion of group C employees under the Lokpal are Deepa Dasmunshi, PT Thomas and Meenakshi Natarajan.

Rejecting the parliamentary panel draft, Anna Hazare said the government was not serious about fighting corruption.

Panel chairman Abhishek Singhvi said the issue of bringing the prime minister under the Lokpal has been left to Parliament. He also said the many dissenting notes given by members on various issues would be reflected in the report.

[Demeter]

20. Keiser Report: Dollar-Trapped!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrSWpmtm0kY&feature=player_embedded

[Demeter]

21. Trillion$$$ Underground Economy Keeping Many Americans (Barely) Afloat in Desperate Times

http://www.alternet.org/story/152446/inside_the_trillion-dollar_underground_economy_keeping_many_americans_%28barely%29_afloat_in_desperate_times?page=entire

...Also called the shadow or informal economy, it's not just illegal activity like selling drugs or doing sex work. It's all sorts of work that doesn't get regulated by the government or reported to the IRS, and it's a far bigger part of the economy than most of us are aware—in 2009, economics professor Friedrich Schneider estimated that it was nearly 8 percent of the US GDP, somewhere around $1 trillion. (That makes the shadow GDP bigger than the entire GDP of Turkey or Austria.) Schneider doesn’t include illegal activities in his count-- he studies legal production of goods and services that are outside of tax and labor laws. And that shadow economy is growing as regular jobs continue to be hard to come by—Schneider estimated 5 percent in '09 alone.

The Young Women's Empowerment Project describes the “street economy” as “... any way that girls make cash money without paying taxes or having to show identification. Sometimes this means the sex trade. But other times it means braiding hair, babysitting, selling CDs/DVDs, drugs or other skills like sewing and laundry.”..

[Demeter]

22. Geithner Backs French-German Plan for Tighter EU

AS YVES SMITH SAYS: "What is he supposed to do, say “this plan sucks” and tank the markets? "

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-06/french-german-plan-gets-geithner-backing.html

[xchrom]

23. California and Nevada join forces in mortgage probe

http://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-mortgage-probe-20111207,0,7895467.story

An alliance by California and Nevada to jointly investigate misconduct and fraud in the mortgage business further divides efforts by the nation's attorneys general to bring the home-lending industry to account for improper foreclosure practices.

The two states, which are at ground zero of the nation's housing bust, will join forces to probe allegations of foreclosure fraud and other wrongdoing in the mortgage markets, including the packaging and selling of mortgage-backed securities by Wall Street players and scams by smaller players offering to help troubled borrowers.

The agreement to work together, announced in Los Angeles on Tuesday by California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris and Nevada Atty Gen. Catherine Cortez Masto, comes a week after Massachusetts said it was suing the nation's five largest mortgage servicers over alleged foreclosure illegalities. The moves escalate pressure on the nation's biggest financial institutions already in high-level negotiations with a coalition of state attorneys general over their alleged abuses.

"This potential partnership with the Nevada AG may cover a fairly broad array of issues," said Paul Leonard, California director for the Center for Responsible Lending. "Having the prospect of investigations and litigation could very well raise the stakes for — and put added pressure on — the financial institutions to come up with a settlement."

[kickysnana]

27. K&R for the cartoon alone and while I still can n/t

[DemReadingDU]

43. me too!

[alterfurz]

54. Calvin & Hobbes on today's cartoon

[Demeter]

29. How Freedom Group Became the Big Shot

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/business/how-freedom-group-became-the-gun-industrys-giant.html?_r=2&src=me&ref=business

...The variety of rifles and shotguns on sale here at Cabela’s, the national sporting goods chain, is a testament to America’s enduring gun culture. But, to a surprising degree, it is also a testament to something else: Wall Street deal-making. In recent years, many top-selling brands — including the 195-year-old Remington Arms, as well as Bushmaster Firearms and DPMS, leading makers of military-style semiautomatics — have quietly passed into the hands of a single private company. It is called the Freedom Group — and it is the most powerful and mysterious force in the American commercial gun industry today.

Never heard of it?

You’re not alone. Even within gun circles, the Freedom Group is something of an enigma. Its rise has been so swift that it has become the subject of wild speculation and grassy-knoll conspiracy theories. In the realm of consumer rifles and shotguns — long guns, in the trade — it is unrivaled in its size and reach. By its own count, the Freedom Group sold 1.2 million long guns and 2.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the 12 months ended March 2010, the most recent year for which figures are publicly available. Behind this giant is Cerberus Capital Management, the private investment company that first came to widespread attention when it acquired Chrysler in 2007. (Chrysler later had to be rescued by taxpayers). With far less fanfare, Cerberus, through the Freedom Group, has been buying big names in guns and ammo. From its headquarters on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, Cerberus has assembled a remarkable arsenal. It began with Bushmaster, which until recently was based here in Maine. Unlike military counterparts like automatic M-16’s, rifles like those from Bushmaster don’t spray bullets with one trigger pull. But, with gas-powered mechanisms, semiautomatics can fire rapid follow-up shots as fast as the trigger can be squeezed. They are often called “black guns” because of their color. The police tied a Bushmaster XM15 rifle to shootings in the Washington sniper case in 2002...After Bushmaster, the Freedom Group moved in on Remington, which traces its history to the days of flintlocks and today is supplying M24 sniper rifles to the government of Afghanistan and making handguns for the first time in decades. The group has also acquired Marlin Firearms, which turned out a special model for Annie Oakley, as well as Dakota Arms, a maker of high-end big-game rifles. It has bought DPMS Firearms, another maker of semiautomatic, military-style rifles, as well as manufacturers of ammunition and tactical clothing. “We believe our scale and product breadth are unmatched within the industry,” the Freedom Group said in a filing last year with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Here at Cabela’s, Mark Eliason, the vice president for sales and marketing at Windham Weaponry, a new competitor of Bushmaster that was established by Bushmaster’s founder, surveys the racks. He estimates that roughly 20 percent of the long guns for sale here are made by Freedom Group companies. In the aisles, he examines shelf upon shelf of ammunition. About a third of it comes from the Freedom Group, he says. “That’s a very large presence,” Mr. Eliason says. So large, in fact, that rumors about the Freedom Group — what it is, and who is behind it — have been circulating in the blogosphere. Some gun enthusiasts have claimed that the power behind the company is actually George Soros, the hedge-fund billionaire and liberal activist. Mr. Soros, these people have warned, is buying American gun companies so he can dismantle the industry, Second Amendment be damned. The chatter grew so loud that the National Rifle Association issued a statement in October denying the rumors. “N.R.A. has had contact with officials from Cerberus and Freedom Group for some time,” the N.R.A. assured its members. “The owners and investors involved are strong supporters of the Second Amendment and are avid hunters and shooters.” Mr. Soros isn’t behind the Freedom Group, but, ultimately, another financier is: Stephen A. Feinberg, the chief executive of Cerberus.

...Mr. Feinberg, a Princeton graduate who began his Wall Street career at Drexel Burnham Lambert, the junk bond powerhouse of Michael R. Milken fame, got into private equity in 1992. That year, he and William L. Richter founded Cerberus, which takes its name from the three-headed dog in Greek mythology that guards the gates of Hades. Today, Mr. Feinberg presides over a private empire that rivals some of the mightiest public companies in the land. Cerberus manages more than $20 billion in capital. Together, the companies it owns generate annual revenue of about $40 billion — more than either Amazon or Coca-Cola last year. Why Cerberus went after gun companies isn’t clear. Many private investment firms shy away from such industries to avoid scaring off big investors like pension funds. Yet, in many ways, the move is classic Cerberus. Mr. Feinberg has a history of investing in companies that other people may not want, but that Cerberus believes it can turn around. When Cerberus embarked on its acquisition spree in guns, it essentially had the field to itself...So, to keep growing, the Freedom Group has expanded its sales staff in the United States and increased its business internationally. It has sold weapons to the governments of Afghanistan, Thailand, Mexico and Malaysia, among others, and obtained new business from the United States Army, including a contract worth up to $28.2 million, to upgrade the M24 sniper weapon system...The Freedom Group had planned to go public, but backed away earlier this year when the financial markets turned turbulent. As of the end of September, the company had nearly half a billion dollars in debt, according to a third-quarter earnings report available on the Freedom Group’s Web site. That includes about $225 million in debt that the company raised last year to pay itself a special dividend used to buy back preferred stock from Cerberus, according to a company prospectus filed with the S.E.C.

MORE

[Demeter]

31. DOW Futures Down Slightly -32

Another day of nail-biting for TPTB?

[xchrom]

34. asia: Hong Kong stocks climb 1.58%

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/hong-kong-stocks-climb-1-58/articleshow/11018656.cms

HONG KONG: Hong Kong shares closed 1.58 percent higher on Wednesday with dealers cautiously optimistic European leaders will be able to agree a solution to the eurozone debt crisis.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 298.35 points to 19,240.58 on turnover of HK$51.66 billion ($6.65 billion).

Eyes are on a two-day summit that begins on Thursday with expectations growing that a plan for fiscal integration set out by the leaders of France and Germany will be largely agreed on.

Confidence was lifted by reports that European officials were discussing plans to possibly implement two separate bailout funds to tackle the region's debt crisis.

[xchrom]

39. Nikkei at 4-wk high on Europe hopes, shippers shine

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/07/markets-japan-stocks-idUKL3E7N71Z720111207

TOKYO, Dec 7 (Reuters) - The Nikkei average hit a
four-week high on Wednesday as investors warmed to the view that
European policy-makers will come up with convincing steps this
week to help resolve the region's debt crisis.

Cyclical shares such as shippers and steelmakers were also
helped in making huge gains after recent credit easing by big
emerging economies such as China and Brazil eased worries about
a sharp slowdown in the global economy.

"Optimism is growing on the euro zone. Policy-makers have
been making progress recently and the market thinks the European
Central Bank and euro-zone countries will work together on the
crisis," said Hideyuki Ishiguro, assistant manager of investment
strategy at Okasan Securities.

The benchmark Nikkei added 1.7 percent to 8,722.17,
its highest close in four weeks and ending above its 75-day
moving average for the first time since late October. Last time
it topped the average it managed to maintain that position for
less than two days.

[xchrom]

40. PRECIOUS-Gold steady as investors eye EU summit, ECB meeting

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/07/markets-precious-idUKL5E7N729420111207

LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Gold steadied on Wednesday, with investors marking time ahead of an EU summit this week which they hope will deliver a lasting solution to the region's debt crisis, while a weak euro weighed on the precious metal's price.

Spot gold edged down 0.1 percent to $1,726.65 an ounce by 1058 GMT, having hit a near one-week low hit in the previous session.

Caution about the euro zone debt crisis is expected to dominate sentiment this week, ahead of a European Union summit on Friday and a European Central Bank meeting on Thursday.

The EU summit comes against the backdrop of mounting expectations that leaders will take steps to forge greater fiscal integration in the bloc, while the ECB is seen cutting its main interest rate for the second month running.

[xchrom]

47. Occupy Big Business: The Sharing Economy's Quiet Revolution

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/12/occupy-big-business-the-sharing-economys-quiet-revolution/249582/

Big business is stumbling. Unemployment is still too damn high. And the middle class is increasingly just a memory. With all this bad news, where can we look for hope?

Kickstarter. Zipcar. Shareable. Etsy. Kiva. Prosper. Airbnb.

These and other "collective consumption" companies are part of the new economy arising out of necessity, as traditional businesses and government are increasingly unable to meet Americans' needs and provide basic supports.

This sharing economy is based on people coming together to create their own markets (Airbnb), their own products, (Etsy), and their own currency (TimeBanks). It relies on shared needs, trust, and the belief that the group is stronger than the individual.

[Hotler]

52. k&r for the best thread on DU. eom.

[Fuddnik]

59. Class warfare toon.

http://www.miamiherald.com/video/index.html?media_id=120553421