Economy
Related: About this forumSTOCK MARKET WATCH -- Tuesday, 10 April 2012
[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday, 10 April 2012[font color=black][/font]
SMW for 9 April 2012
AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 9 April 2012
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Dow Jones 12,929.59 -130.55 (-1.00%)
S&P 500 1,382.20 -15.88 (-1.14%)
Nasdaq 3,047.08 -33.42 (-1.08%)
[font color=red]10 Year 2.04% +0.01 (0.49%)
[font color=black]30 Year 3.19% 0.00 (0.00%) [font color=black]
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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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[font size=2]Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold[center]
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Market Data and News:[/font][/font]
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Economic Calendar
Marketwatch Data
Bloomberg Economic News
Yahoo Finance
Google Finance
Bank Tracker
Credit Union Tracker
Daily Job Cuts
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Economic Blogs:[/font][/font]
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The Big Picture
Financial Sense
Calculated Risk
Naked Capitalism
Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong
Bonddad
Atrios
goldmansachs666
The Stand-Up Economist
The Automatic Earth
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Government Issues:[/font][/font]
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LegitGov
Open Government
Earmark Database
USA spending.gov
[/center][font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Videos:[/font][/font]
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Charlie Rose talks with Roubini
Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
William Black: This Economic Disaster
Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn
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Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = [/font][font color=red]12[/font]
2/2/12 David Higgs and Salmaan Siddiqui, Credit Suisse, plead guilty to conspiracy involving valuation of MBS
3/6/12 Allen Stanford, former Caribbean billionaire and general schmuck, convicted on 13 of 14 counts in $2.2B Ponzi scheme, faces 20+ years in prison
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[font size=3][font color=red]This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.[/font][/font][/font color=red][font color=black]
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Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)yea me!
Thanks Tansy!
Demeter
(85,373 posts)And yeah, Tansy gets a big shout-out. You can't argue with a woman like that. (I've tried).
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Tasmanian Gold
Po_d Mainiac
(4,183 posts)
AnneD
(15,774 posts)How dare you besmirch my running mate. She got her name because she is now the designated keeper of the ring.
Po_d Mainiac
(4,183 posts)Resides in a desert. Seems to hate water, and reports have been made that she's been seen driving around on a long handled household item nomally used to clean a floor
dixiegrrrrl
(60,161 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936. It is characterised by its stocky and muscular build, black fur, pungent odour, extremely loud and disturbing screech, keen sense of smell, and ferocity when feeding. The Tasmanian devil's large head and neck allow it to generate the strongest bite per unit body mass of any living mammal,[citation needed] and it hunts prey and scavenges carrion as well as eating household products if humans are living nearby. Although it is usually solitary, it sometimes eats with other devils and defecates in a communal location. Unlike most other dasyurids, the devil thermoregulates effectively and is active during the middle of the day without overheating. Despite its rotund appearance, the devil is capable of surprising speed and endurance, and can climb trees and swim across rivers.
It is believed that ancient marsupials migrated from what is now South America to Australia tens of millions of years ago during the time of Gondwana, and that they evolved as Australia became more arid. Fossils of species similar to modern devils have been found, but it is not known whether they were ancestors of the contemporary species, or whether the current devils co-existed with these species. The date that the Tasmanian devil disappeared from the Australian mainland is unclear; most evidence suggests they had contracted to three relict populations around 3000 years ago. A tooth found in Augusta, Western Australia has been dated to 430 years ago, but archaeologist Oliver Brown disputes this and considers the devil's mainland extinction to have occurred around 3000 years ago.[2] This disappearance is usually blamed on dingoes, which are absent from Tasmania. Because they were seen as a threat to livestock and animals that humans hunted for fur in Tasmania, devils were hunted and became endangered. In 1941, the devils, which were originally seen as implacably vicious, became officially protected. Since then, scientists have contended that earlier concerns that the devils were the most significant threat to livestock were overestimated and misplaced.
Devils are not monogamous, and their reproductive process is very robust and competitive. Males fight one another for the females, and then guard their partners to prevent female infidelity. Females can ovulate three times in as many weeks during the mating season, and 80% of two-year-old females are seen to be pregnant during the annual mating season. Females average four breeding seasons in their life and give birth to 20–30 live young after three weeks' gestation. The newborn are pink, lack fur, have indistinct facial features and weigh around 0.20 g (0.0071 oz) at birth. As there are only four nipples in the pouch, competition is fierce and few newborns survive. The young grow rapidly and are ejected from the pouch after around 100 days, weighing roughly 200 g (7.1 oz). The young become independent after around nine months, so the female spends most of her year in activities related to childbirth and rearing.
Since the late 1990s, devil facial tumour disease has drastically reduced the devil population and now threatens the survival of the species, which in 2008 was declared to be endangered. Programs are currently being undertaken by the Government of Tasmania to reduce the impact of the disease, including an initiative to build up a group of healthy devils in captivity, isolated from the disease. While the thylacine was extant it preyed on the devil, which targeted young and unattended thylacine cubs in their dens. Nowadays, the devil is also preyed upon by the illegally introduced red fox, and localised populations of devils have also been severely reduced by collisions with motor vehicles, particularly when they are eating roadkill themselves....
Demeter
(85,373 posts)
Makes pit bulls look cute and cuddly
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)
Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)"spirited discussions." Not arguments.
Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)and also I probably won't be around much this week.. I rarely have time to even read the whole threads lately. 
I pass the honor on to the the most deserving and closest slow-mover...
thanks for the honor tho 
Demeter
(85,373 posts)I didn't think it was a burden, rather an honor, like getting to pick the color of the car, or the living room rug...
Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)like picking the rug for the Oval office.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/04/judge-rules-wells-fargo-engages-in-reprehensible-systemic-accounting-abuses-on-mortgages-hit-with-3-1-million-punitive-damages-for-one-loan.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29
One of our ongoing frustrations about media coverage of the mortgage mess is its failure to pay much attention to ample evidence of substantial servicer overcharges to borrowers. It’s bad enough that that happens, but far worse is that when servicers are told that they’ve been caught out, they refuse to make corrections and stonewall court-ordered remedies.
The facts that have surfaced in before one bankruptcy judge, Elizabeth Magner of the Eastern District of Louisiana, and one servicer, Wells Fargo, should give industry defenders pause. Wells, as we have pointed out repeatedly, has an annoying habit of piously claiming it is better than other servicers when it engages in the same indefensible conduct as its peers. So if you were to take Wells at its word, the conduct of other servicers is at least as bad as what has taken place in this jurisdiction, if not worse. Remember, servicers are highly routinized operations, so if something, it is almost certain to be standard practice. And Wells has admitted that in this case.
Here is a snippet of background from another case in Magner’s courtas recounted by the Center for Public Integrity:
Almost every disallowed fee was imposed while the Stewarts were making regular monthly payments on their home…
Magner determined that Wells Fargo had been “duplicitous and misleading” and ordered the bank to pay $27,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees. She also took the unusual step of requiring the servicer to audit about 400 home loan files in cases in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Wells fought successfully to keep the results of the audit under seal, and last summer a federal appeals court overturned the part of Magner’s ruling that required the audit. But two people familiar with the results told iWatch News that Wells Fargo’s audit had turned up accounting errors in nearly every loan file it reviewed.
...To make a long story short, Wells repeatedly engaged in scorched earth tactics...The word “predatory” is not adequate to describe Wells’ conduct. The bank is not simply willing to steal from consumers, via blatant, institutionalized violations of its own agreements on mortgages and later on bankruptcy plans. It has absolutely no respect for the law, whether it be contracts or court procedures. It’s a band of marauders that our society treats as legitimate because the perpetrators wear suits and can afford to hire lobbyists. And the Federal government and state attorneys general are certain to have emboldened Wells and its brethren by rewarding them rather than treating them like the criminals they are.
MUST BE READ IN FULL TO BE BELIEVED...
Demeter
(85,373 posts)A federal judge in DC swiftly approved the foreclosure fraud settlement Thursday. Actually four of the consent orders with the five largest mortgage servicers were approved Wednesday, but we only learned publicly of the approval of all five settlements the next day.
Some investor groups had talked about challenging the terms of the settlement, but this approval happened so quickly, and without even so much as a hearing, that they had no time to react. This is the very definition of a rubber stamp. But the real news on this approval, dug out by Nick Timiraos, is this sentence: “Nothing from the consent judgment entered into court in the $25B foreclosure settlement may constitute ‘evidence against Defendant.’” Now this was expected, and it was part of the document. The five servicers don’t have to “admit nor deny” wrongdoing as part of the settlement, an example of the total lack of accountability on display here. But it’s really stunning to see it in print that way. And here’s just an example of why this is so wrong.
Via Abigail Field, here’s a just-decided case against Wells Fargo on behalf of a private individual in a bankruptcy proceeding. The judge, particularly angry about the charges, awarded $317,000 to the borrower, and then ten times that, $3.17 million, in punitive damages. Here were just some of the findings in the case:
1. Wells Fargo applied payments first to fees and costs assessed on mortgage loans, then to outstanding principal, accrued interest, and escrowed costs. This application method was directly contrary to the terms of Jones’ note and mortgage, as well as, Wells Fargo’s standard form mortgages and notes. Those forms required the application of payments first to outstanding principal, accrued interest, and escrowed charges, then fees and costs. The improper application method resulted in an incorrect amortization of loans when fees or costs were assessed. The improper amortization resulted in the assessment of additional interest, default fees and costs against the loan. The evidence established the utilization of this application method for every mortgage loan in Wells Fargo’s portfolio.
2. Misapplication of payments received postpetition resulted in incorrect amortization of
Wells Fargo loans and threatened a debtor’s fresh start, as well as, discharge.
3. Application of postpetition payments to new, undisclosed postpetition fees or costs also
threatened a debtor’s fresh start and discharge.
OK, so cutting through the legalese, the judge finds systemic accounting violations of the terms of the mortgage contract, not just on this loan but every mortgage loan in Wells Fargo’s portfolio. In other words, absolutely every loan Wells Fargo services breaks the law, to the detriment of the borrower. If you apply payments to fees first, you can keep claiming late payments to principal or interest, and lard on more fees. This is textbook servicer abuse.
Moreover, the judge found that “There is nothing in the record supporting Wells Fargo’s assertion that it has corrected its past errors. There is nothing in the record to assure future compliance with the terms of notes, mortgages, confirmed plans or confirmation orders.” So they haven’t fixed these violations of the terms of the mortgage. That’s why the judge hit Wells with $3.2 million damages, despite overcharges of just $24,000. The judge called the conduct “willful and egregious,” practiced in thousands of cases, particularly criticizing the bank for dragging this out with five years of litigation. And the judge noted that Wells “steadfastly refused to audit its pleadings or proofs of claim for errors and has refused to voluntarily correct any errors that come to light except through threat of litigation.” This is the Pinto defense, the failure to fix problems in the hopes that they can limit the damage to those with the persistence and means to sue. This is precisely the type of conduct that is being waived in the settlement. Servicer abuse is part of the settlement terms. From a judge, this borrower got $3.2 million. From the settlement? If she’s out of the home, $2,000. If she’s in the home, perhaps nothing if she’s not underwater.
More important, these systemic crimes are ongoing, as the judge in the Wells case expressed. The settlement did not stop the train rolling downhill of a broken and corrupt servicing sector. They did nothing but waive the ability to sue over it. And a federal judge just went ahead and rubber-stamped it.
Po_d Mainiac
(4,183 posts)that were indictable offenses
Demeter
(85,373 posts)
Demeter
(85,373 posts)
These are as funny as that xtranormal cartoon that caused the huge kerfluffle over at that Other Site. Or was the kerfluffle here and DUers fled to that Other Site?
Anyway, these are hysterical.
Unfortunately, they're also true.
Which is why they're hysterical.
Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)you
know
where?
Demeter
(85,373 posts)I wouldn't dream of hurting so many pointy little heads with hypoallergenic skins regarding truths...that's why SMW is so important...the freedom of speech is protected here.
DemReadingDU
(16,002 posts)270 comics now, I have some catching up to do
bread_and_roses
(6,335 posts)What a great find! thanks!
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)or other. . . . .
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Like a mule's kick in the gut
AnneD
(15,774 posts)for a good,sad laugh later.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)hardly ever do that, any more.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Rapid growth of Islamic finance is increasing pressure for the industry to enter the accounting mainstream, by seeking guidance from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), the global body which sets the tone for book-keeping in conventional finance.
It would be a controversial move - by basing itself on religious principles, Islamic finance seeks to set itself apart from conventional finance. But some experts think the industry is becoming so big that it can no longer sit comfortably outside a trend towards harmonizing accounting rules across the world.
"The whole thing about financial reporting around the world today is the global move towards a single comparable set of high-quality financial reporting standards..." said Samer Hijazi, financial services audit director at accounting giant KPMG, who monitors the development of Islamic finance.
Islamic financial assets hit $1.3 trillion globally in 2011, a 150 percent increase over the past five years as the industry expanded into new countries beyond core markets in the Middle East and Malaysia, financial lobby group TheCityUK estimated last week. At present the industry remains governed by a patchwork of national regulators, Islamic standard-setting bodies and scholars interpreting Islamic law - a recipe for different rules and practices. This is creating confusion among investors, especially as major Western banks begin to enter the market. Most of the countries in which Islamic banks operate already use the IASB's International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). But these standards have been developed for conventional finance, not Islamic transactions, in which interest and pure monetary speculation are banned and trades must be underpinned by physical assets.
So there is the potential for conflict between Islamic finance and conventional accounting rules. For example, in order to earn returns but not contravene the ban on interest, Islamic banks buy an asset such as a house on behalf of a customer and lease it out until the customer is able to acquire ownership. Under current IFRS standards, accountants say, this would probably be treated as a financial lease, requiring the bank to record the lease as an interest-earning loan - in apparent contravention of sharia law. "IFRS is all about substance over form whereas sharia law is very much about compliance with legal form," said Andrew Hawkins, director at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
READ ON TO SEE HOW THEY SQUARE THE CIRCLE
Po_d Mainiac
(4,183 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)so it goes...
Po_d Mainiac
(4,183 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)I am seriously disturbed by recent events concerning freedom to travel over the border at all....
Demeter
(85,373 posts)I can't wait for the opening bell...futures at a tepid +23....bet that lasts all of 15 minutes.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)and the reflexive kick up as another psychological barrier nears....I think maybe we break 12,900 today.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)It's dead, Jim!
xchrom
(108,903 posts)
xchrom
(108,903 posts)If Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, wants to calm the markets and avoid an EU intervention in Spain, something he is reportedly obsessed about, the one way not to do it is issue a 10 billion € press release on a Bank Holiday Monday.
It was a Bank Holiday in many countries of the EU, and in some regions of Spain, and such an announcement coming just a few days after the so-called ‘State Budget for 2012’ which made no mention of it only shows the knee-jerk reaction of this administration.
There is no strategy here. Rajoy could not even find a Minister to hand out the press release announcing the additional 7 million € cuts in health and 3 million € cuts in education.
Next time perhaps the announcement can come directly from the European Commission.
There is also the question of what is Parliament for. The PP are using their overall majority as a ‘carte blanche’ and not properly informing the opposition, let alone giving them a chance to comment or suggest an amendment or two.
What happened to governing together for the nation?
Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_34315.shtml#ixzz1rdM6mJvm
xchrom
(108,903 posts)April 10 (Bloomberg) --Prime Minister Mario Monti’s efforts to overhaul the economy and protect Italy from the region’s debt crisis may be overwhelmed by Spain’s deepening fiscal woes and the fading effect of European Central Bank three-year lending.
Monti sent parliament last week a plan to revamp the labor markets, which represents the most ambitious of his four major legislative efforts to make the Italian economy more competitive. The draft law was greeted on April 4 by a 9 basis point increase in the country’s 10-year bond yield to 5.43 percent as Spain’s debt slumped on renewed concern the country would need a bailout.
“Spain and Italy are two different countries, but the problem is the two bonds are highly correlated because they share similarities,” said Marc Chandler, head of global currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York. “Both countries’ economies are going to contract this year.”
Italian borrowing costs fell more than 2 percentage points between Monti’s appointment in November and the start of March as ECB lending and his efforts to spur an economy where growth trailed the euro-region average for a decade shored up demand for the nation’s debt. Now, Spain has revived contagion concerns after the government abandoned its deficit target, contributing to four weeks of declines for Italian bonds.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Henry Higgins, updated.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)
AnneD
(15,774 posts)great minds roll through the same gutter.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)U.S. corporate profit growth stalled in the U.S. last quarter as companies from McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) to 3M Co. (MMM) saw gains in the world’s largest economy eroded by a slump in Europe.
Earnings at Standard & Poor’s 500 Index companies, excluding financials, are seen gaining 0.6 percent in the first and the second quarter from a year earlier, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg, the slowest growth rate since 2009.
The European debt crisis and a slowdown in China are hurting S&P 500 companies, which derive about 40 percent of profits from abroad. At home, where the S&P 500 Index had its biggest first-quarter rally since 1998, consumer confidence is improving along with the job market -- boosting demand for construction companies and retailers.
“While the U.S. economy is the cleanest shirt in the hamper at the moment, we’re only talking about an economy that’s motoring along at a subpar pace,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist for Philadelphia-based Janney Montgomery Scott LLC, which manages about $54 billion. “The only way you’re going to see higher profitability is through faster growth.”
xchrom
(108,903 posts)China reported an unexpected trade surplus last month as import growth trailed forecasts, underscoring risks of a deeper slowdown in the world’s second- largest economy.
Inbound shipments rose 5.3 percent, the customs bureau said today, below the 9 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Exports increased 8.9 percent from a year earlier, more than forecast, leaving a trade surplus of $5.35 billion, compared with a median projection for a $3.15 billion trade deficit.
Asian stocks fell amid renewed concern about growth in China, fiscal woes in Europe and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s comment that the U.S. economy was far from a full recovery. Premier Wen Jiabao may need to balance gains in external demand with a slowdown in domestic consumption in deciding whether to add monetary or fiscal stimulus.
“The sluggish import growth shows weakening domestic demand and investment growth while exports are stabilizing,” said Chang Jian, economist at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong who formerly worked for the World Bank. “Policy makers need to strike a delicate balance between preserving growth and containing inflation at this stage, yet they may tilt more toward sustaining growth in the second quarter.”
Demeter
(85,373 posts)China’s trade balance shifted back into positive territory in March as exports from the world’s biggest trader of goods accelerated and imports slowed, according to government data released Tuesday.
Exports in March increased 8.9 per cent from the same month last year while imports rose 5.3 per cent, leaving the country with a $5.4bn trade surplus for the month and a $670m surplus for the year so far.
Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/S4XZQQ/8ZP2IN/VTVRG/ORBD4J/7A3LLQ/1G/t?a1=2012&a2=4&a3=10
xchrom
(108,903 posts)
George Osborne said he had seen tax returns submitted by multimillionaires using aggressive avoidance schemes. Photograph: David Jones/PA
George Osborne has said he was "shocked" to discover that some of the wealthiest people in the country pay "virtually no" income tax.
The chancellor said he had seen "anonymised" tax returns submitted by multimillionaires using aggressive avoidance schemes to dramatically reduce their tax bills.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) found that the income tax rate among some of the highest earners was, on average, only 10%.
Osborne said the HMRC study convinced him of the need to "take action" to ensure high earners pay more income tax.
***
he is as stupid as i always thought he was.bread_and_roses
(6,335 posts)oh, right. who do these people think they're fooling? Your kind heart is too generous, X. It isn't "teh stupid," it's the corruption.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)it's a global epidemic.
Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)xchrom
(108,903 posts)
Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)a couple weeks ago, 60th anniversary special or something. Sat through about an hour of the usual bullshit before the movie started, and virtually all the advertising and trivia was about Whitney Houston, because she had just died. The same couple of clips from The Bodyguard were looped about 40 times during that hour, and there were big ads because the theater wa going to have a "tribute" screening that following week-end. Most of the people in the seats at the time were NOT particularly interested in The Bodyguard.
So imagine our "shock" when the house lights dim, the screen lights up, and what starts playing but "The Bodyguard"! There were the expected boos and hisses that someone had screwed up, and the BF says to me, "I'm shock, shocked, that they can't even run a movie right."
They did fix it, and we thoroughly enjoyed the feature film, even though I still think Ilsa was a twit and Yvonne was the one with backbone and the little girl from Bulgaria was more of a fighter than Laszlo.
Of course, the really interesting thing about the film is that it was made and released in early 1942, long before the outcome of the war was known.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)for my money casa blanca is 1 of the to 5 movies ever made.
i can't say just how much i love that movie.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)Is the sack of stupid filled with stupid stones. I want a sack full of stupid because I have a long list of people on both sides of the Atlantic I want to hurl a stupid rock at. But to quote from another movie (Forest Gump), "Sometimes there just aren't enough rocks".
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)I sent it to every Republican I know.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)the pepper in the gumbo!
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)bread_and_roses
(6,335 posts)Then the JOBS Act happened.
Too damn depressing to quote any more of it ... almost the worst thing about it is the Orwellian name - the depth of corruption revealed in the name alone is enough to make your head spin - we reel from blow after blow, clutching our "hope" as we're pounded to our knees ...
and my good Sisters and Brothers in Labor leadership give POTUS a ringing endorsement at the same time they are excoriating this abomination and telling us to write our Senators or whatever we were supposed to do that particular time.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)The US Supreme Court is set to rule on a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in which that court ruled that the doctrine of exhaustion did not cover second-generation genetically altered crops. To make sense of this, a little background may be in order.
In 1994, Monsanto obtained a patent covering a line of "Roundup Ready" crops genetically altered to resist Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. The modification is hereditary, which is to say that 2nd-generation (and subsequent generation) seeds inherit this resistance. To avoid buying new seeds from Monsanto next year, farmers had merely to save some of this year's crop and plant it next year. Monsanto defended against this possibility by forcing purchasers to sign an agreement promising not to replant n-generation seeds: no signature, no beans. However, farmers remained free to sell their crops on the open commodity market; almost all such crops feed either people or livestock. So far, so good (at least for Monsanto, if not the farmers). However, upon occasion success can bite you in the ass. Monsanto's superbeans quickly dominated the market (94% of all acres in Indiana, for example). And therein lies the rub. Monsanto seeds were so dominant that all a farmer had to do was buy a bunch of commodity soybeans, and most or all of them would be Roundup Ready, not to mention significantly cheaper than the official beans sold by Monsanto. An Indiana farmer named Vernon Bowman did just that; when Monsanto found out what he was doing, it sued him for patent infringement.
In American law there is a principle known as "patent exhaustion", which holds that a patent holder's rights to a product are "exhausted" when that product is sold to an end user. In a similar case, the Supreme Court strengthened the Patent Exhaustion doctrine in 2008, ruling on a case in which the electronics giant LG was prevented from "double-dipping", for attempting to extract royalties from chipmaker Intel and OEM Quanta, which was using Intel's chips. One might argue that as far as it goes, Monsanto has a point: Bowman and others could buy seeds from Monsanto or for that matter from the commodity market, then grow a crop for seed, and sell the next generation(s) royalty-free. The problem is that this argument does not go back far enough. All this could have been and indeed was predicted when it was originally ruled that life-forms, genetically altered or otherwise, could be patented. But I'm a realist: the barn is burning and tough luck for the horses therein. It is almost unimaginable that the original patents could now be overturned. Fortunately, this point applies strictly to the United States; the civilized world has taken a longer and deeper view. In 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that the doctrine of exhaustion did not apply to second-generation crops. Monsanto appealed, and thus the case finds itself in the Supreme Court.
If there's an up-side to all this, it is that even a ruling by the Supreme Court covers only the United States. As mentioned, the rest of the world remains unaffected. As Martha Stewart would say, this is a Good Thing. Farmers in the rest of the world remain free to buy commodity soybeans, transport them to other nations, and reproduce them at will, royalty-free. However, corporations like Monsanto are nothing if not resilient (not to mention rapacious). Since my predictions regarding this and related situations have proved accurate, my digital crystal ball suggests that the next release of Monsanto soybeans, 3.0, will yield sterile beans; hence, no second-gen, hence no problem. But turnabout is fair play, so let us imagine that within the current crop of beans there lurks some unforeseen side effect -- say, that the animals and people who consume them suffer loss of eyesight or worse. Now that Monsanto wants to claim patent rights on all generations of the accused beans, the corporation implicitly admits causation not only of those affected by first-gen beans, but also in the cases of those affected by n-gen beans.
Much as I despise the ruling that (at least within the USA) genes (both altered and unaltered, c.f. the patents claimed on the DNA of tribes-people from Brazil and elsewhere) can be patented, then the disseminators of said products are ipso facto liable for any side effects attributed to said products. I see no wiggle-room here: you're in or out. In for a soybean, in for a class-action lawsuit? Or out on both? What shall it be, Monsanto?
DemReadingDU
(16,002 posts)
4/10/12 Charles Hugh Smith: Calling All Crash Test Dummies: Big Crash Ahead
I know, I know: the stock market will never go down because Ben Bernanke and the other central bankers won't let it. It's funny how the "Bernanke/European Central Bank Put" is ranked alongside gravity as a rule of Nature until markets roll over; then talk shifts from purring adulation of central bankers' godlike powers to panicky calls for another flood of liquidity/free money to "save" the market from the harsh reality of global recession.
The crash test dummies know better: they've been called up for a humongous crash.
.
.
Those who argue that "this time it's different," i.e. that markets can inflate essentially forever on the "juice" of liquidity, are conveniently overlooking Liquidity Resistance. The crash test dummies have been ordered up, and not because "this time it's different:" they've been ordered up because central bank manipulation is not a law of Nature, it is an artifice of increasingly marginal effectiveness.
full essay...
http://www.oftwominds.com/blogapril12/crash-dummies4-12.html
Roland99
(53,345 posts)Europe down about 1%.
Roland99
(53,345 posts)
Here is Bank of America's narrative:
Demeter
(85,373 posts)
?w=448&h=269
With energy consumption rising as rapidly as shown in Figure 1, it is hard to see what is happening when viewed at the level of the individual. To get a different view, Figure 2 shows average consumption per person, using world population estimates by Angus Maddison.
?w=448&h=270
Let’s look first at Figure 2. Prior to 1900, energy per capita did not rise very much with the addition of coal energy, suggesting that the early use of coal mostly offset other fuel uses, or permitted larger families. There was a small increase in energy consumption per capita during World War I, but a dip during the depression prior to World War II.
Between World War II and 1970, there was a huge ramp-up in energy consumption per capita. There are several reasons why this might happen:
- During this period, European countries and Japan were rebuilding after World War II.
- There was a need to find jobs for returning US soldiers, so that the country would not fall back into the recession it was in prior to World War II.
- The US had a large oil industry that it wanted to develop, in order to provide jobs and tax revenue.
- Major infrastructure development projects were put into place during this period, including the Eisenhower Interstate System and substantial improvements to the electrical transmission system.
- To facilitate purchases both by companies and by consumers, the government encouraged the use of debt to pay for the new good. Figure 3, below, from my post, The United States’ 65-Year Debt Bubble, shows that non-governmental debt did indeed rise during this period.
?w=448&h=270
World population also expanded greatly during the period from 1820 to 2010:
?w=448&h=270
Figure 4 shows that there is a distinct “bend” in the graph about 1950, when population started rising faster, at the same time that energy consumption started rising more quickly.
If we look at 10-year percentage changes in world population and energy use, this is the pattern we see:
Demeter
(85,373 posts)increased warfare around the globe...most of it US led or instigated....
My brother sent me this website..it's got lots of good solid data...
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Past decade has been miserable for France’s industry, with 355,000 factory jobs disappearing during Nicolas Sarkozy’s five years at the Elysée palace
Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/KQCQH6/HI3M9/DWR45Q/QNMXQO/GX/t?a1=2012&a2=4&a3=10
THINK THE FRENCH WILL RE-ELECT THIS LOSER? HE STOLE HIS FIRST TERM...JUST LIKE W.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)is hotter than Laura ever thought of being.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)I rest my case.
are the reason I do not allow liquids in my office.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)
AnneD
(15,774 posts)The GOP thing or the librarian thing-but I can't argue with you. The bar was set pretty low there. Sarkozy wife hung out with rock stars and has her own singing career.
Compared to the skanks W bagged in Midland/Odessa-Laura was an improvement.
However, I think both women married down.
Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)Cindy McCain.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)the uniform. Love those dress blues.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)The Brazilian president, who has accused big western powers of loose monetary policy, has taken her call for action to the White House
Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/KC2844/KQCQH6/HI3M9/DWR45Q/HY6V5H/GX/t?a1=2012&a2=4&a3=10
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, MADAME PRESIDENT.
WHY ANYONE EVEN TRIES TO TALK TO THAT DYSFUNCTIONAL PUPPET OF THE MULTINATIONALS IS A MYSTERY TO ME....
xchrom
(108,903 posts)
Belgian Raf Simons is to present his first show for Dior in July
Christian Dior has appointed the Belgian designer Raf Simons as its new artistic director.
The 44-year-old replaces John Galliano, who left in disgrace last year after an anti-Semitic outburst.
The Paris-based fashion house said in a statement that Mr Simons will "inspire and push into the 21st Century" the Dior style.
Raf Simons, who previously designed for the Jil Sander label, will present his first show for Dior in July.
i adore raf simons! he's going to be great!
Demeter
(85,373 posts)See you all later...
xchrom
(108,903 posts) xchrom
(108,903 posts)Adam Ozimek lists a few things today that economists agree about almost unanimously, and I don't have a problem with most of them. But I do find this one a bit blinkered:
The benefits of free trade and NAFTA far outweigh the costs
Economists have emphasized the benefits of free trade for a long time, reflecting the field's belief in the importance of specialization, comparative advantage, and gains from trade. Indeed, these results are similar to other surveys that show economists strongly supporting free trade.
So why do pundits and voters lag economists in supporting free trade? In his excellent book The Myth of the Rational Voter, Bryan Caplan provides evidence that people suffer from a handful of systematic biases that influence their beliefs, and three of these can help explain why voters are skeptical of trade: anti-market bias, anti-foreign bias, and pessimism bias.
....As is reflected in the comments by some of the panelists trade will create winners and losers, which may also explain some opposition to trade. But economists on the left and the right still struggle the understand the level of opposition to trade....
OK, hold it right there. How much more do you need to know? Free trade may be good on an aggregate basis, but it does indeed create winners and losers. And I think economists pretty universally agree that workers without college degrees are always net losers from expanded trade. Given that two-thirds of Americans don't have college degrees, and that promises to help workers displaced by trade agreements are generally worthless, why is it any surprise that most Americans aren't very keen on trade agreements?
*** we've all become First Nations people in our agreements with the government.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Just announced by the company:
Brian Dunn, the CEO of big box giant Best Buy, is resigning.
It was just on March 29 that the CEO announced a massive restructuring and layoff plan.
The company has been getting creamed on all fronts, especially in the world of media, where the rise of digital media has totally gutted a key part of the compan's business.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-buy-ceo-resigns-2012-4#ixzz1reV9fq5F
DemReadingDU
(16,002 posts)
In just one minute, more than 204 million emails are sent. Amazon rings up about $83,000 in sales. Around 20 million photos are viewed and 3,000 uploaded on Flickr. At least 6 million Facebook pages are viewed around the world. And more than 61,000 hours of music are played on Pandora while more than 1.3 million video clips are watched on YouTube.
All in all, that’s 625 terabytes of information sloshing about the tubes each minute.
click for sharper image
http://npr.tumblr.com/post/20844035151/what-happens-in-an-internet-minute
more text...
http://scoop.intel.com/what-happens-in-an-internet-minute/
Roland99
(53,345 posts)[font color="red"]FTSE 100 5,596 -128 -2.24%
CAC 40 3,218 -102 -3.08%
DAX 6,606 -169 -2.49%
FTSE MIB 14,459 -757 -4.98%
IBEX 35 IDX 7,434 -227 -2.96% [/font]
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Roland99
(53,345 posts)Nasdaq 3,000 -47 -1.53%
S&P 500 1,363 -19 -1.37%
GlobalDow 1,905 -32 -1.63%
Gold 1,639 -5 -0.28%
Oil 101.05 -1.41 -1.38% [/font]
DemReadingDU
(16,002 posts)dropping like a rock
AnneD
(15,774 posts)rocks!
girl gone mad
(20,634 posts)Are investors rotating from the 'safety' of Apple to the new 'safety' of Gold and Silver? Because the next time there is a wholesale margin call, which courtesy of soaring margin debt will likely be today, speculators will have to sell the one asset that is outperforming everything. You guessed it...
Perhaps of note is the jump in USD Libor - GOFO (Gold Lease rates) to its highest since July 2011.
We wonder if this is the reason... Unwind of post Bank Stress Test excess relative to Gold in S&P 500...
read more: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/gold-and-silver-go-vertical
AnneD
(15,774 posts)The five stages of collapse
<snip>
Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in "business as usual" is lost. The future is no longer assumed resemble the past in any way that allows risk to be assessed and financial assets to be guaranteed. Financial institutions become insolvent; savings are wiped out, and access to capital is lost.
Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that "the market shall provide" is lost. Money is devalued and/or becomes scarce, commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread shortages of survival necessities become the norm.
Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that "the government will take care of you" is lost. As official attempts to mitigate widespread loss of access to commercial sources of survival necessities fail to make a difference, the political establishment loses legitimacy and relevance.
Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that "your people will take care of you" is lost, as local social institutions, be they charities or other groups that rush in to fill the power vacuum run out of resources or fail through internal conflict.
Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in the goodness of humanity is lost. People lose their capacity for "kindness, generosity, consideration, affection, honesty, hospitality, compassion, charity" (Turnbull, The Mountain People). Families disband and compete as individuals for scarce resources. The new motto becomes "May you die today so that I die tomorrow" (Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago). There may even be some cannibalism.
<snip>
much more.....
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2008/02/five-stages-of-collapse.html
Or as one commentator put it....
1) denial
2) denial
3) denial
4) OH SHIT
5) too late.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)girl gone mad
(20,634 posts)I'm sure that on mainstream DU, there is much healthy discussion of Europe's now obvious implosion and our awful employment report. I bet they are lobbying for big fiscal solutions and an end to mass financial fraud. Those people are definitely not in denial.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)That is in fact partly why I divorced...didn't want the burden of Stupid Denial added onto the autism.
Demeter
(85,373 posts)Whatever will tomorrow bring? Circuit breakers, anyone?
Tansy_Gold
(18,167 posts)
(The DU smiley somehow didn't seem adequate.)
AnneD
(15,774 posts)fairy dust when you can have popcorn salt 
Roland99
(53,345 posts)Demeter
(85,373 posts)The stock market extended its longest and deepest slump of the year Tuesday, caught between a recurring nightmare of European debt and the beginning of uncertain corporate earnings reports at home.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 213.66 points, its biggest decline of the year and third triple-digit loss in four days. It closed at 12,715.93, its lowest since Feb. 2. The S&P 500 index fell 1.7 percent to 1,358.59.
A five-day losing streak has shaved about 550 points off the Dow, about half what it gained from January through March.
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