STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 14 November 2013

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, 14 November 2013[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 13 November 2013

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 13 November 2013
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Dow Jones 15,821.63 +70.96 (0.45%)
S&P 500 1,782.00 +14.31 (0.81%)
Nasdaq 3,965.58 +45.66 (1.16%)


[font color=green]10 Year 2.68% -0.05 (-1.83%)
30 Year 3.81% -0.02 (-0.52%)[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
Wall Street on Parade
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[font color=black][font size=2]Handy Links - Essential Reading:[/font][/font]
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Matt Taibi: Secret and Lies of the Bailout


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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
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[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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[font color=red]Partial List of Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 [/font][font color=red]
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
6/4/12 Matthew Kluger, lawyer, sentenced to 12 years in prison, along with co-conspirator stock trader Garrett Bauer (9 years) and co-conspirator Kenneth Robinson (not yet sentenced) for 17 year insider trading scheme.
6/14/12 Allen Stanford sentenced to 110 years without parole.
6/15/12 Rajat Gupta, former Goldman Sachs director, found guilty of insider trading. Could face a decade in prison when sentenced later this year.
6/22/12 Timothy S. Durham, 49, former CEO of Fair Financial Company, convicted of one count conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, and one count of securities fraud.
6/22/12 James F. Cochran, 56, former chairman of the board of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and six counts of wire fraud.
6/22/12 Rick D. Snow, 48, former CFO of Fair, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit wire and securities fraud, one count of securities fraud, and three counts of wire fraud.
7/13/12 Russell Wassendorf Sr., CEO of collapsed brokerage firm Peregrine Financial Group Inc. arrested and charged with lying to regulators after admitting to authorities he embezzled "millions of dollars" and forged bank statements for "nearly twenty years."
8/22/12 Doug Whitman, Whitman Capital LLC hedge fund founder, convicted of insider trading following a trial in which he spent more than two days on the stand telling jurors he was innocent
10/26/12 UPDATE: Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta sentenced to two years in federal prison. He will, of course, appeal. . .
11/20/12 Hedge fund manager Matthew Martoma charged with insider trading at SAC Capital Advisors, and prosecutors are looking at Martoma's boss, Steven Cohen, for possible involvement.
02/14/13 Gilbert Lopez, former chief accounting officer of Stanford Financial Group, and former controller Mark Kuhrt sentenced to 20 yrs in prison for their roles in Allen Sanford's $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme.
03/29/13 Michael Sternberg, portfolio mgr at SAC Capital, arrested in NYC, charged with conspiracy and securities fraud. Pled not guilty and freed on $3m bail.
04/04/13 Matthew Marshall Taylor,fmr Goldman Sachs trader arrested, charged by CFTC w/defrauding his employer on $8BN futures bet "by intentionally concealing the true huge size, as well as the risk and potential profits or losses associated."
04/04/13 Matthew Taylor admits guilt, makes plea bargain. Sentencing set for 26 June; faces up to 20 years in prison but will likely only see 3-4 years. Says, "I am truly sorry."
04/11/13 Ex-KPMG LLP partner Scott London charged by federal prosecutors w/passing inside tips to a friend in exchange for cash, jewelry, and concert tickets; expected to plead guilty in May.
08/01/13 Fabrice Tourré convicted on six counts of security fraud, including "aiding and abetting" his former employer, Goldman Sachs
08/14/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout charged with wire fraud, falsifying records, and conspiracy in connection with JP Morgan's "London Whale" trade.
08/19/13 Phillip A. Falcone, manager of hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners, agrees to admit to "wrongdoing" in market manipulation. Will banned from securities industry for 5 years and pay $18MM in disgorgement and fines.
09/16/13 Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout officially indicted on charges associated with "London Whale" trade.








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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]

[Tansy_Gold]

1. Happy Birthday, Chuck! n/t

[DemReadingDU]

9. Who is Chuck - nevermind

Oh...Prince Charles!

[Demeter]

2. I love it, love it LOVE IT!

Many are cold, but few are frozen....all good turkeys should be, though. Including TPP, I devoutly hope and pray.

The snow that fell on Tuesday still sits in the shadows.

My pop super-cooled overnight, so when I opened it in the morning, I got a slushy. That usually doesn't happen until January!

[Tansy_Gold]

6. I knew you'd like it.

chosen 'specially for you!

[Demeter]

7. I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK!

This phrase was used as a joke by Curly of the Three Stooges, and has since been used in countless other comedies. (malapropism: resemble for resent)

[Ghost Dog]

10. ¡!

[Demeter]

3. Web of Debt blog / By Ellen Brown: Ireland Has Been Attacked and Dominated by...Banks

http://admin.alternet.org/world/ireland-has-been-attacked-and-dominated-outside-powers-centuries-now-its-banks?akid=11114.227380.L2eFDC&rd=1&src=newsletter919989&t=24

...Ireland was the first European country to watch its entire banking system fail. Unlike the Icelanders, who refused to bail out their bankrupt banks, in September 2008 the Irish government gave a blanket guarantee to all Irish banks, covering all their loans, deposits, bonds and other liabilities. At the time, no one was aware of the huge scale of the banks’ liabilities, or just how far the Irish property market would fall...Within two years, the state bank guarantee had bankrupted Ireland. The international money markets would no longer lend to the Irish government.

Before the bailout, the Irish budget was in surplus. By 2011, its deficit was 32% of the country’s GDP, the highest by far in the Eurozone. At that rate, bank losses would take every penny of Irish taxes for at least the next three years.

“This debt would probably be manageable,” wrote Morgan Kelly, Professor of Economics at University College Dublin, “had the Irish government not casually committed itself to absorb all the gambling losses of its banking system.”

To avoid collapse, the government had to sign up for an €85 billion bailout from the EU-IMF and enter a four year program of economic austerity, monitored every three months by an EU/IMF team sent to Dublin. Public assets have also been put on the auction block. Assets currently under consideration include parts of Ireland’s power and gas companies and its 25% stake in the airline Aer Lingus...


TALK ABOUT YOUR FROZEN TURKEYS! MUCH MORE AT LINK

[Demeter]

4. Spain faces staggering losses as it accepts the reality of the housing bust

http://qz.com/144773/spain-faces-staggering-losses-as-it-accepts-the-reality-of-the-housing-bust/

Spain is biting the bullet and starting to recognize the staggering level of losses associated with its housing bust.
+

Fitch Ratings analysts who watch the market for Spanish mortgage bonds—packages of home loans that are sold off to investors—say financial institutions are starting to unload repossessed properties at a faster pace. During the first half of the year, 44% of repossessed properties had been sold, compared 31% at the end of last year.
+

Now bear in mind there are very few people in Spain who even want to think about buying a house. (Spain’s economy is in horrific shape. Unemployment is perched at more than 26%, and about 4.8 million people are jobless.) So in order to sell these properties, prices have to come way down.
+

This is a painful process of recognizing an ugly real estate reality: There are far more houses than buyers. The result? Sales of repossessed properties were on average done at prices 71.5% lower than where the houses were originally valued. That means the average price for a house that was originally sold for €100,000 in say, 2006, repossessed and then sold during the first half of 2013, would have brought a price of €28,500.

MORE

[Demeter]

5. Want to Have a Happy Planet? Just Ask Costa Ricans About Their Banks

http://admin.alternet.org/economy/want-have-happy-planet-just-ask-costa-ricans-about-their-banks?akid=11133.227380.utVaU1&rd=1&src=newsletter922618&t=22

In Costa Rica, publicly-owned banks have been available for so long and work so well that people take for granted that any country that knows how to run an economy has a public banking option. Costa Ricans are amazed to hear there is only one public depository bank in the United States (the Bank of North Dakota), and few people have private access to it.

So says political activist Scott Bidstrup, who writes:

For the last decade, I have resided in Costa Rica, where we have had a “Public Option” for the last 64 years.

There are 29 licensed banks, mutual associations and credit unions in Costa Rica, of which four were established as national, publicly-owned banks in 1949. They have remained open and in public hands ever since—in spite of enormous pressure by the I.M.F. [International Monetary Fund] and the U.S. to privatize them along with other public assets. The Costa Ricans have resisted that pressure—because the value of a public banking option has become abundantly clear to everyone in this country.

During the last three decades, countless private banks, mutual associations (a kind of Savings and Loan) and credit unions have come and gone, and depositors in them have inevitably lost most of the value of their accounts.

But the four state banks, which compete fiercely with each other, just go on and on. Because they are stable and none have failed in 31 years, most Costa Ricans have moved the bulk of their money into them. Those four banks now account for fully 80% of all retail deposits in Costa Rica, and the 25 private institutions share among themselves the rest.

MORE DETAIL AT LINK

[DemReadingDU]

8. on Twitter: AskJPM

JPMorgan was to have a AskJPM via Twitter this afternoon, Thursday. But after seeing the latest questions, it has been cancelled. LOL!

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AskJPM&src=hash

more info at ZeroHedge
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-13/how-jpmorgans-latest-pr-stunt-blew-its-face

[bread_and_roses]

24. Fantastic! That's ROFL - sweet! (n/t)

[Demeter]

11. Have Bitcoin To Burn? Next Stop Could Be The Farm

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/11/12/243970494/have-bitcoin-to-burn-next-stop-could-be-the-farm?ft=1&f=1001

For food producers who sell directly to consumers, credit cards are both a blessing and a curse.

They're a way to do business with cashless customers, but 3 percent of every credit card sale is usually charged to the farmer as a transaction fee. That adds up in a high-volume, low-profit business like agriculture.

The extra fee has farmers looking for a solution to save money. A few are finding one in bitcoin....


GODDESS HELP THEM! THERE NEEDS TO BE A WAY TO BREAK THE STRANGLEHOLD PRIVATE BANKS AND FED RESERVE HAVE ON THE ECONOMY....BUT I DON'T THINK THEY WILL LET BITCOIN BE THAT MEANS.

[xchrom]

12. STOCKS BOOSTED AS INCOMING FED HEAD BACKS STIMULUS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-14-06-37-37

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- World stocks rose Thursday after comments by the incoming Federal Reserve chief suggested the U.S. central bank won't reduce its economic stimulus until March or later. Gains in Europe, however, were capped by evidence the recovery there nearly ground to a halt.

Janet Yellen, who is slated to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman at the end of January, will testify before the Senate banking committee later Thursday. Analysts said her published introductory remarks were a boost for stock markets that have been propelled higher since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis by the Fed's super-low interest rate and bond buying policies.

While there was progress in the U.S. recovery, Yellen said the labor market and economy are "performing far short of their potential." She said unemployment was still too high and inflation still below target. She reiterated the world's No. 1 economy must show continued signs of improvement before the Fed starts tapering off its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases.

"That statement alone has changed the landscape of trade today," said Evan Lucas, market strategist with IG in Melbourne, Australia. It suggests the bond buying effort, which has kept commercial interest rates low to encourage borrowing and investment, will be kept in place at current levels until the end of the first quarter of next year, he said.

[xchrom]

13. BOEING WORKERS REJECT PLAN LINKED TO 777X IN WASH.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOEING_MACHINISTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-14-06-28-06

SEATTLE (AP) -- Despite warnings that production of Boeing's next generation 777 plane could go to another state, machinists in the Northwest voted late Wednesday to reject a contract proposal that would have exchanged concessions for decades of secure jobs.

In response, the Boeing Co. said it would begin a bid process to find a home for its 777X production line.

Members of The International Association of Machinists District 751 rejected the proposal with 67 percent of the votes. Union members who called for a no vote did so in protest of Boeing's push to end a traditional pension plan and increase their health care costs. Workers would have received a $10,000 signing bonus if they approved the deal.

"We preserved something sacred by rejecting the Boeing proposal. We've held on to our pensions and that's big. At a time when financial planners are talking about a `retirement crisis' in America, we have preserved a tool that will help our members retire with more comfort and dignity," said Tom Wroblewski, District 751 president in a statement.

[xchrom]

14. EUROPEAN OFFICIALS HAGGLE OVER HOW TO RESCUE BANKS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-14-07-47-09

BRUSSELS (AP) -- European finance officials face a thorny debate over how to clean up busted banks as time gets shorter to reach a deal.

European Union officials have said they want an agreement by the end of the year on the next big step in their new system of tougher, centralized bank oversight.

Finance ministers at meetings Thursday and Friday in Brussels will discuss how to create a new agency that could restructure bad banks so that taxpayers don't have to pay to bail them out. But an agreement has remained elusive. No deal would mean leaving the issue for a last-minute summit in December.

EU officials say a deal is needed quickly so the agency can be established before the current EU parliament's term ends next year.

[Demeter]

23. Who Will Bell the Cat? AKA The Mice in Council a Fable by Aesop

http://shortstoriesshort.com/story/who-will-bell-the-cat/


There was a certain cat that was troubling the mice and had killed many of them. All the mice met to talk about this big problem. The mice wanted to get rid of the cat and decided to make a plan. The mice sat and talked for a very long time but could not come to any conclusion.

An old mouse stood up and said, “I know what we should do! We should tie a bell around the cat’s neck. When the bell tinkles, we will know where the cat is!” All the other mice liked the idea. But one young mouse stood up and asked, “That is a good idea, but may I ask who will bell the cat?” None of the mice wanted to do that. The young mouse then said, “It is easy to sit and have big ideas. But it is never easy to carry them out.”


The Mice in Council by Aesop


THE MICE summoned a council to decide how they might best devise means for obtaining notice of the approach of their great enemy the Cat. Among the many plans devised, the one that found most favor was the proposal to tie a bell to the neck of the Cat, that the Mice, being warned by the sound of the tinkling, might run away and hide themselves in their holes at his approach. But when the Mice further debated who among them should thus "bell the Cat," there was no one found to do it.

Moral:
Let those who propose be willing to perform.

Aesop's Fables
Copyright 1881
Translator: unknown
WM. L. Allison, New York

http://www.litscape.com/author/Aesop/The_Mice_in_Council.html


I WOULD ARGUE THAT ONE MUST SAVE EUROPE FROM ITS DEFECTIVE, CRIMINAL BANKS

[xchrom]

15. IRELAND TO EXIT BAILOUT PROGRAM WITHOUT BACKSTOP

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_IRELAND_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-14-08-00-17

DUBLIN (AP) -- Ireland will exit its international bailout agreement next month without the safety net of a precautionary credit line, Prime Minister Enda Kenny announced Thursday in a sign that the Irish are confident they won't suffer a beating in the bond markets.

Thursday's decision means Ireland will be the first of the eurozone's four bailout recipients - alongside Greece, Portugal and Cyprus - to wean itself off of emergency aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The move comes three years after Ireland was forced into a humiliating rescue worth 67.5 billion euros ($91 billion) in loans to keep the country funded until December 2013.

"We will exit the bailout in a strong position," Kenny told lawmakers in Dublin ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance chiefs in Brussels later Thursday focused, in part, on whether Ireland would require any strings-attached insurance should its cost of borrowing soar again.

Ireland's own credit rating had been destroyed by its 2008 decision to insure the nation's banks against losses incurred in a collapsing property market, a commitment expected to cost taxpayers more than 65 billion euros. But Ireland's reputation has steadily recovered as, under EU-IMF scrutiny, the government has slashed spending, hiked taxes and exceeded a series of deficit-reduction targets.

[xchrom]

16. GREECE: RECESSION EASES, JOBLESS RATE STEADY

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_GREECE_FINANCIAL_CRISIS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-14-07-41-33

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greece's recession eased in the third quarter while the unemployment rate stood at 27.3 percent in August, unchanged from the previous month, official data showed Thursday. The government described the stabilization in the job market as the "first sign of recovery."

The Greek Statistical Authority on Thursday said 88,242 more people were out of work over the year to August, bringing the total number of unemployed to 1.36 million. Youth unemployment has continued to rise, with the jobless rate for those under 25 reaching 60.6 percent, up from 58.2 percent a year earlier.

The economy contracted by 3 percent in the third quarter of the year, easing from 3.7 percent in April-June.

"This is the first sign of recovery," government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou told the AP, commenting on the national unemployment figures.

[xchrom]

17. EUROZONE RECOVERY GRINDS TO A NEAR HALT

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_EUROPE_ECONOMY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-14-06-11-15

LONDON (AP) -- The recovery from recession in the 17-country eurozone nearly came to a grinding halt in the third-quarter, raising concerns that the region faces a long slog back from its five-year economic crisis.

Barely three months after emerging from its longest-ever recession, the eurozone barely grew at all in the July to September period.

Eurostat, the EU's statistics agency, said the economy expanded 0.1 percent compared with the previous three-month period. That was in line with market expectations but below the previous quarter's 0.3 percent rate.

The figures confirm that the eurozone's recovery will be a long process that is prone to setbacks, despite signs of life in the rest of the global economy, notably in the United States. European debt levels, despite years of government cutbacks and tax increases, remain high, unemployment is at a record, and consumers are hesitant to reach for their wallets or purses.

[xchrom]

18. US WORKER PRODUCTIVITY GREW 1.9 PERCENT RATE OVER THE SUMMER AS OUTPUT ROSE; LABOR COSTS FELL

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-worker-productivity-grew-19-percent-rate-over-summer-output-rose-labor-costs-fell

WASHINGTON (AP) — US worker productivity grew 1.9 percent rate over the summer as output rose; labor costs fell.

***that 1 sentence is the whole column.

[xchrom]

19. US TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS 8 PERCENT IN SEPTEMBER

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-trade-deficit-widens-8-percent-september

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit widened in September as imports increased to the highest level in 10 months while exports slipped.

The Commerce Department says the deficit increased to $41.8 billion, up 8 percent from August. It was the largest trade gap since May and marked the third straight month that the deficit has risen since hitting a four-year low in June.

Exports, which hit a record high in June, slipped for the third straight month, dipping 0.2 percent to $188.9 billion, with sales of commercial aircraft and autos both down. Imports rose 1.2 percent to $230.7 billion, the highest level since November.

The deficit with China hit an all-time high of $30.5 billion.

So far this year, the deficit is running 11.7 percent below the pace of 2012.

[Demeter]

20. We should ask that question of our leaders more often. Alcohol, or cash?

[xchrom]

21. More Americans Than Forecast File Unemployment Claims

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/more-americans-than-forecast-file-claims-for-jobless-benefits.html

More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the labor market is making progress in fits and starts.

Jobless claims in the week ended Nov. 9 declined 2,000 to 339,000 from a revised 341,000 the week before that was higher than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a drop to 330,000. Applications for five states were estimated because of the Veterans Day holiday-shortened week, the Labor Department said.

Companies, already running lean after the recession, are trying to determine the optimum level for their workforces as political gridlock in Washington prevents lawmakers from reaching a compromise for this fiscal year’s budget. A pick-up in consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, is needed to help drive growth and boost hiring in the fourth quarter.

“Until we get beyond these political and fiscal uncertainties, we’re likely to see this stop-and-start that we’ve had in the labor market,” said Millan Mulraine, director of U.S. rates research at TD Securities USA LLC in New York, who predicted jobless claims would rise to 340,000. “Once we get beyond these issues, the labor market is likely to reflect a more buoyant economy.”

[xchrom]

22. Europe Recovery Wanes as Germany Slows, France Contracts

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/euro-area-recovery-fizzles-as-germany-slows-france-contracts.html

The euro area’s recovery came close to a halt in the third quarter as German growth slowed, France’s economy unexpectedly shrank and Italy extended its record-long recession.

Gross domestic product in the 17-nation euro area rose 0.1 percent in the three months through September, cooling from a 0.3 percent expansion in the second quarter, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That’s in line with the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 41 economists. Growth in Germany, the region’s largest economy, eased to 0.3 percent from 0.7 percent.

The slowdown comes as the currency bloc struggles with the legacy of a debt crisis now in its fifth year and just after it emerged from its longest-ever recession in the second quarter. Unemployment (UMRTEMU) stands at a record 12.2 percent and inflation slowed to the lowest level in four years in October, leading the European Central Bank to cut its benchmark rate to a record low last week.

“The bleak GDP estimate shows just how fragile and hesitant the eurozone’s recovery is -- so much so that it’s questionable whether current economic conditions even qualify as a recovery,” said Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy in London. “While the slowdown extends to Germany, it’s the dire state of the French and Italian economies that looms large.”

[bread_and_roses]

25. "Socialist Candidate Kshama Sawant Heading Towards Historic Seattle Victory"

well well well - so, it's Seattle ... still

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/11/13-10

Published on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 by Common Dreams
Socialist Candidate Kshama Sawant Heading Towards Historic Seattle Victory
- Jacob Chamberlain, staff writer

It has been several decades since a socialist candidate has won a citywide office race in the United States but that could all change soon as polls are showing Seattle City Council candidate Kshama Sawant with a 402 vote lead on Wednesday evening and no signs of the margin shrinking.

... As AP reports:

Sawant, 41, drew attention as part of local Occupy Wall Street protests that included taking over a downtown park and a junior college campus in late 2011. She then ran for legislative office in 2012, challenging the powerful speaker of the state House, a Democrat. She was easily defeated.

This year, she ran against Conlin, pushing a platform that appeared to resonate with the city. She backed efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15; called for rent control in the city where rental prices keep climbing; and supports a tax on millionaires to help fund a public transit system and other services.

[jakeXT]

26. Cisco shares set to open 13 percent lower after revenue warning

The company's revenue warning comes after a former U.S. spy agency contractor exposed widespread surveillance by the National Security Agency through internet data, much of which is transmitted via Cisco's network equipment

Cisco Chief Financial Officer Frank Calderoni said the company was affected by a political backlash in China, but it was difficult to quantify how much of its revenue shortfall was due to the issue.

In a note titled "An outlook to make even mom look twice", RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue said the China issue might linger for a while for Cisco.

...

Cisco looks increasingly vulnerable to technological innovations and competitive pressures, Credit Suisse analyst Kulbinder Garcha said in a note

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/14/us-cisco-results-idUSBRE9AC16F20131114

[Demeter]

27. Oh, my goodness, the Weekend is upon us! And I have nothing to wear!

And not a whimsical thought in my mind for the theme.

Current events are much too depressing. So are historical events in November.

Haven't seen any good movies lately, either. Haven't seen ANY movies lately.

A thought burgeons...you'll be sorry you didn't come up with a suggestion, or volunteer to do the weekend, and head this one off!