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STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Friday, 22 November 2013
[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, 22 November 2013[font color=black][/font]
SMW for 21 November 2013
AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 21 November 2013
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Dow Jones 16,009.99 +109.17 (0.69%)
S&P 500 1,795.85 +14.48 (0.81%)
Nasdaq 3,969.15 +47.88 (1.22%)
[font color=green]10 Year 2.78% -0.04 (-1.42%)
30 Year 3.89% -0.03 (-0.77%) [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
[/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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[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]
32 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/11/no-public-spending-on-higher-education-isnt-regressive/281683/
To a certain kind of liberal, it's self-evident that the government should spend more money on universities. Cheap higher education for all has been a standard item on the left's wish list for decades. Since a degree is the only sure ticket to the middle class, the thinking goes, the government should do its best to make education accessible to all.
But is it possible that the left has gotten things upside down? Could it be that by more heavily subsidizing public colleges, we would inadvertently be taking state tax money from the poor and giving it to the rich? A few writers say that's the case. Our own Conor Friedersdorf called the idea of universal free college a "regressive scandal." Atlantic contributor Matt Bruenig has essentially argued the same.
This line of argument rests largely (though not entirely) on the idea that students who attend four-year state colleges skew wealthy. This sounds like a common sense point. Affluent children fare better in high school, are more likely to graduate, and usually have parents who themselves pursued higher education. And if we look at the population we typically think of as traditional college students (as Bruenig does in his analysis), it seems true enough. Just under a third of dependent college students—dependent meaning that their parents are technically expected to help pay for school—come from families earning more than $104,096 a year, putting them in the richest 20 percent of U.S. households. Barely more than a third come from the bottom half of all households.
So is that case closed? Is State U. overfull of upper-income kids? Well, not quite.
The trouble is that a huge chunk of college goers aren't actually 18-year-olds living off an allowance from mom and dad. At four-year public institutions, about 36 percent of students are considered financially "independent," which is a catch-all category for people who break the typical undergraduate mold. How so? You can qualify as independent a few ways, including if you're married, over the age of 24, an orphan, are a military veteran, or have your own children. But the key part is this: Everyone assumes you'll be paying your own way through school (and as a result, you might receive more financial aid).
To a certain kind of liberal, it's self-evident that the government should spend more money on universities. Cheap higher education for all has been a standard item on the left's wish list for decades. Since a degree is the only sure ticket to the middle class, the thinking goes, the government should do its best to make education accessible to all.
But is it possible that the left has gotten things upside down? Could it be that by more heavily subsidizing public colleges, we would inadvertently be taking state tax money from the poor and giving it to the rich? A few writers say that's the case. Our own Conor Friedersdorf called the idea of universal free college a "regressive scandal." Atlantic contributor Matt Bruenig has essentially argued the same.
This line of argument rests largely (though not entirely) on the idea that students who attend four-year state colleges skew wealthy. This sounds like a common sense point. Affluent children fare better in high school, are more likely to graduate, and usually have parents who themselves pursued higher education. And if we look at the population we typically think of as traditional college students (as Bruenig does in his analysis), it seems true enough. Just under a third of dependent college students—dependent meaning that their parents are technically expected to help pay for school—come from families earning more than $104,096 a year, putting them in the richest 20 percent of U.S. households. Barely more than a third come from the bottom half of all households.
So is that case closed? Is State U. overfull of upper-income kids? Well, not quite.
The trouble is that a huge chunk of college goers aren't actually 18-year-olds living off an allowance from mom and dad. At four-year public institutions, about 36 percent of students are considered financially "independent," which is a catch-all category for people who break the typical undergraduate mold. How so? You can qualify as independent a few ways, including if you're married, over the age of 24, an orphan, are a military veteran, or have your own children. But the key part is this: Everyone assumes you'll be paying your own way through school (and as a result, you might receive more financial aid).
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/your-job-their-data-the-most-important-untold-story-about-the-future/281733/
All the drones, synthetic biologists, and self-driving cars notwithstanding, the story of how companies quantify, analyze, and try to predict your job performance may be the most important story in technology.
That is to say, when we look back in 20 years about what has changed in our lives, we will be able to find this thread of data-driven personnel decision making as the thing that's changed people's lives the most.
My colleague Don Peck has an unnerving feature in this month's magazine on precisely this issue: "They're Watching You At Work." I highly encourage you to absorb this tale's anecdotes and data.
After reading it, your gut may feel optimistic, like his, or queasy, like mine. Because the "Moneyballing" of human resources and corporate management has already begun, and who is going to stop it?
All the drones, synthetic biologists, and self-driving cars notwithstanding, the story of how companies quantify, analyze, and try to predict your job performance may be the most important story in technology.
That is to say, when we look back in 20 years about what has changed in our lives, we will be able to find this thread of data-driven personnel decision making as the thing that's changed people's lives the most.
My colleague Don Peck has an unnerving feature in this month's magazine on precisely this issue: "They're Watching You At Work." I highly encourage you to absorb this tale's anecdotes and data.
After reading it, your gut may feel optimistic, like his, or queasy, like mine. Because the "Moneyballing" of human resources and corporate management has already begun, and who is going to stop it?
http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-comparing-now-to-great-depression-crash-2013-11
Dan Greenhaus of BTIG (@danBTIG) includes this chart in his latest nightly email. It shows the current market aligned with the market in the days before the Depression.
What does the chart mean?
Dan has the best take:
Indeed, we recently devoted an entire conference speech to pushing back on the idea of an equity bubble. How do we know the story remains? The chart below, overlaying the S&P 500 today against equities in the 20s/30s is now starting to make the rounds. Without getting too personal, “chart overlaying” is lazy and this is no less so. But it does remind us that as much as everyone thinks everyone else is “all bulled up,” these views still persist and have shown no indication they are going away any time soon.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-comparing-now-to-great-depression-crash-2013-11#ixzz2lNjsAPY5
Dan Greenhaus of BTIG (@danBTIG) includes this chart in his latest nightly email. It shows the current market aligned with the market in the days before the Depression.
What does the chart mean?
Dan has the best take:
Indeed, we recently devoted an entire conference speech to pushing back on the idea of an equity bubble. How do we know the story remains? The chart below, overlaying the S&P 500 today against equities in the 20s/30s is now starting to make the rounds. Without getting too personal, “chart overlaying” is lazy and this is no less so. But it does remind us that as much as everyone thinks everyone else is “all bulled up,” these views still persist and have shown no indication they are going away any time soon.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-comparing-now-to-great-depression-crash-2013-11#ixzz2lNjsAPY5
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-india-food-inflation-is-high-2013-11
Nowhere in the world have we seen prices surge more violently than in India.
"The recently released WPI for October 2013 shows India’s food inflation jumped by 18.2% yoy, the fifth straight month of double-digit inflation," noted Societe Generale's Kunal Kundu.
Food price fluctuations are usually a function of supply, which is often linked to natural forces, and demand, which is often linked to changing tastes.
Societe Generale
It's only going up.
In India, however, food price inflation is tied to dysfunctional government policy. Kundu explains:
An important contributor to this is high and rising MSPs (Minimum Support Price). The MSP is used as a tool to incentivise farmers to produce food grain and help them during periods of crop failure. However, like all other social sector spending, it has become a tool to appease farmers as their votes influence the final election outcome. While MSPs are supposed to be used as a tool to compensate farmers in particular during periods of stress like dough and/or flood (which means that during normal periods, MSPs ought to be lowered or even suspended), in reality MSPs in India have always moved in one direction, up!
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-india-food-inflation-is-high-2013-11#ixzz2lNkOHMLB
Nowhere in the world have we seen prices surge more violently than in India.
"The recently released WPI for October 2013 shows India’s food inflation jumped by 18.2% yoy, the fifth straight month of double-digit inflation," noted Societe Generale's Kunal Kundu.
Food price fluctuations are usually a function of supply, which is often linked to natural forces, and demand, which is often linked to changing tastes.
Societe Generale
It's only going up.
In India, however, food price inflation is tied to dysfunctional government policy. Kundu explains:
An important contributor to this is high and rising MSPs (Minimum Support Price). The MSP is used as a tool to incentivise farmers to produce food grain and help them during periods of crop failure. However, like all other social sector spending, it has become a tool to appease farmers as their votes influence the final election outcome. While MSPs are supposed to be used as a tool to compensate farmers in particular during periods of stress like dough and/or flood (which means that during normal periods, MSPs ought to be lowered or even suspended), in reality MSPs in India have always moved in one direction, up!
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-india-food-inflation-is-high-2013-11#ixzz2lNkOHMLB
http://www.businessinsider.com/taper-talk-and-corporate-refinancing-2013-11
The capital market for new issues and refinancing of corporate debt has been on a tear the past few months – I think that ended yesterday. That’s because the dreaded Taper Talk has resurfaced. The Fed minutes yesterday rekindled Fear of Taper.
The Taper On/Taper Off story has been with us for six months now. It started in May with the release of the Fed minutes and the first “whisper’ of the Taper. The talk of the Taper reached a zenith in late September as the debt markets were convinced that Bernanke would start the Taper in October. It was a big surprise to players when Good Ole Ben chose to delay the October start and push it to sometime in the future; and now it’s back.
An interesting consequence of Taper Talk is how it affects the Corporate new issue bond calendar. The following chart shows how talk of taper killed the ReFi market in June/July/October, and it also shows how the window for new issues opened right after Big Ben delayed the taper for a few months. Up until yesterday the corporate finance types and bond dealers on Wall Street were having a daily party. As of today, they will be back to struggling to push deals out the door.
Read more: http://brucekrasting.com/taper-talk-back-going-away-time/#ixzz2lNnAovsG
The capital market for new issues and refinancing of corporate debt has been on a tear the past few months – I think that ended yesterday. That’s because the dreaded Taper Talk has resurfaced. The Fed minutes yesterday rekindled Fear of Taper.
The Taper On/Taper Off story has been with us for six months now. It started in May with the release of the Fed minutes and the first “whisper’ of the Taper. The talk of the Taper reached a zenith in late September as the debt markets were convinced that Bernanke would start the Taper in October. It was a big surprise to players when Good Ole Ben chose to delay the October start and push it to sometime in the future; and now it’s back.
An interesting consequence of Taper Talk is how it affects the Corporate new issue bond calendar. The following chart shows how talk of taper killed the ReFi market in June/July/October, and it also shows how the window for new issues opened right after Big Ben delayed the taper for a few months. Up until yesterday the corporate finance types and bond dealers on Wall Street were having a daily party. As of today, they will be back to struggling to push deals out the door.
Read more: http://brucekrasting.com/taper-talk-back-going-away-time/#ixzz2lNnAovsG
http://www.businessinsider.com/scandal-rocks-kocherlakota-fed-2013-11
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota
Two top economists are out at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis after the pair "differed philosophically" from bank President Narayana Kocherlakota, the Star Tribune's Adam Belz reports.
Patrick Kehoe, a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, was the bank's top-ranked research economist. Ellen McGrattan, who joined the Minneapolis Fed in 1992 and was the bank's third-ranked economist, will go on unpaid leave and take a position at "the U" as well.
The departure of the two star economists has "raised eyebrows" in the academic community, according to the report.
The Minneapolis Fed has long been seen as a stalwart of research, joining with the nearby university to foster an academic brain trust. From the Star Tribune:
McGrattan said she does not know why Kocherlakota would fire Kehoe or let her leave — “It’s absolutely mysterious to us,” she said — but the circle of advisers to the president has shrunk since he arrived and she has been frozen out.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scandal-rocks-kocherlakota-fed-2013-11#ixzz2lNs5xkJ4
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota
Two top economists are out at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis after the pair "differed philosophically" from bank President Narayana Kocherlakota, the Star Tribune's Adam Belz reports.
Patrick Kehoe, a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, was the bank's top-ranked research economist. Ellen McGrattan, who joined the Minneapolis Fed in 1992 and was the bank's third-ranked economist, will go on unpaid leave and take a position at "the U" as well.
The departure of the two star economists has "raised eyebrows" in the academic community, according to the report.
The Minneapolis Fed has long been seen as a stalwart of research, joining with the nearby university to foster an academic brain trust. From the Star Tribune:
McGrattan said she does not know why Kocherlakota would fire Kehoe or let her leave — “It’s absolutely mysterious to us,” she said — but the circle of advisers to the president has shrunk since he arrived and she has been frozen out.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/scandal-rocks-kocherlakota-fed-2013-11#ixzz2lNs5xkJ4
