STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Wednesday, 9 December 2015

[Tansy_Gold]

[font size=3]STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday, 9 December 2015[font color=black][/font]

SMW for 8 December 2015

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON 8 December 2015
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Dow Jones 17,568.00 -162.51 (-0.92%)
S&P 500 2,063.59 -13.48 (-0.65%)
Nasdaq 5,098.24 -3.57 (-0.07%)


[font color=red]10 Year 2.22% +0.02 (0.91%)
30 Year 2.96% +0.03 (1.02%) [font color=black]


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[font size=2]Market Conditions During Trading Hours[/font]
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(click on link for latest updates)
Market Updates
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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
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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.
02/06/14 Matthew Martoma convicted of insider trading while at hedge fund SAC (Stephen A. Cohen) Capital Advisors. Expected sentence 7-10 years.
03/24/14 Annette Bongiorno, Bernard Madoff's secretary; Daniel Bonventre, director of operations for investments; JoAnn Crupi, an account manager; and Jerome O'Hara and George Perez, both computer programmers convicted of conspiracy to defraud clients, securities fraud, and falsifying the books and records.
05/19/14 Credit Suisse, which has an investment bank branch in NYC, agrees to plead guilty and pay appx. $2.6 billion penalties for helping wealthy Americans hide wealth and avoid taxes.
09/08/14 Matthew Martoma, convicted SAC trader, sentenced to 9 years in prison plus forfeiture of $9.3 million, including home and bank accounts
08/03/15 Former City (London) trader Tom Hayes found guilty of rigging global Libor interest rates. Each fo eight counts carries up to 10 yr. sentence.
08/21/15 Charles Antonucci Sr, former pres. Park Ave. Bank sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for bribery, fraud, embezzlement, and attempt to steal $11MM in TARP bailout funds, as well as $37.5MM fraud on OK insurance company. To pay $54MM in restitution and give up additional $11MM.
09/21/15 Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn apologizes for VW cheating on air quality standards with emission testing avoidance device. Stock drops 20%, fines may total $18B.
09/22/15 Stewart Parnell, CEO Peanut Corp. of America, sentenced to 28 years in prison for selling salmonella-tainted peanut butter that killed nine.





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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. Tomorrow's thread. . . .

. . . . may be slightly late, but it will be here. NEVER FEAR!

[Fuddnik]

2. So, you're selling fear now, eh?

[Proserpina]

3. So, today I stayed home and watched them install a furnace, hw tank, ac

Totally boring. The cats were locked up, the dog barked every time the workmen moved...

[antigop]

4. What Hillary Clinton Didn’t Tell You in Her New York Times OpEd

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251885080

[DemReadingDU]

22. Politicians never tell you everything, n/t

[Proserpina]

5. Why It Would Have Been Perfectly Legal For The San Bernardino Shooter To Borrow $28,500 From Prosper

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2015/12/08/why-it-would-have-been-perfectly-legal-for-the-san-bernardino-shooter-to-borrow-28500-from-prosper/

The new wave of online-only alternative lenders like to tout their ease of use, speed of service and overall efficiency in access to funds. But unfortunately for one alternative lender, this accessibility seems to have led to nearly $30,000 falling into what are, inarguably, the wrong hands. What might be even worse is there seems to be little to nothing anyone could have done to choke the flow of money. Reuters reported Tuesday that Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two alleged shooters responsible for the December 2nd massacre at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California, borrowed $28,500 from online lending service Prosper Marketplace. The report cites a source “close to the matter” and goes on to note that the FBI has been examining the financial activities of Farook and his wife (and alleged co-conspirator).

For its part, Prosper — the third largest online lending outfit in the country — said that due to privacy laws, it cannot confirm any “personally identifiable information regarding any loan originated through our platform.” In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, the company did say that “all loans originated through the Prosper platform are subject to all identity verification and screening procedures required by law, including US anti-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws. As part of our standard procedures, we also confirm that all loan funds are disbursed into a verified US bank account in the borrower’s name. Like all Americans, Prosper is shocked and saddened by recent events in San Bernardino.”

But if Farook did borrow from Prosper, the lender is neither in the wrong nor especially unique. Just as he would have done with any other online lender — or even traditional lender, for that matter — Farook would have had to go through a rigorous application process to meet Prosper’s underwriting criteria and prove that he was capable of repaying the $28,500. And just as they would be if they were any other online lender or traditional lender, Prosper is subject to fair lending laws that prohibit discrimination in the lending process — which means the company can’t interrogate every borrower about how they intend to use their new funds. “There are limits in terms of how much a lender can ask in terms of the purposes of the loan proceeds,” said John Bowman, a partner at the Washington law firm Venable LLC. “If you’re a lender, the pieces of information that are going to be most relevant to you are: does the person have a job, do they have a good salary, and do they have a good credit score? Those questions are used by not only peer to peer lenders but banks, credit card issuers and other” financial entities, he said.

Farook had a steady job and income; he rented a townhouse and was a U.S. citizen. His credit profile was, apparently, good enough to qualify him for a $28,500 loan. In other words, unless he told his lender that he intended to use the $28,500 for terrorist activities — in which case the lender would have filed a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) or even called the local police — there was no reason that Prosper or any other lender would suspect he might be planning the deadliest shooting in the U.S. since the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook. Prosper’s pre-application drop-down menu does ask potential borrowers what they intend to do with the loan (“vacation,” “baby & adoption,” “large purchase”) — but that’s about as far as they could go in assessing Farook’s intent for the $28,500. And Bowman noted that it is also not the obligation of the lender to follow up with a borrower to determine if the funds were actually used for their intended purpose.

Ed Wilson, also a partner at Venable and an expert in anti-money-laundering rules, noted that the fact that the funds landed in a real bank account (and didn’t bounce) would have been even further assurance about Farook’s identity. “The fact that the loan goes to a bank account tells the lender that someone else had already done a customer identification program. There had been some due diligence,” Wilson said, noting that when you apply for a bank account, you’re usually asked to provide a license or passport, proof of address and proof of income. What’s more, Wilson said, most large financial institutions run their customer list against the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) list “if not every night, then several times a week.” This, by the way, means that not only did Farook potentially get past Prosper, he was also deemed legitimate in the eyes of his bank. And that’s an idea that scares even the mightiest brass on Wall Street. “We do move $6 trillion a day,” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently said. “And I am terrified if $100 goes to the wrong place.” Ultimately, Wilson and Bowman said, preventing Farook from legally borrowing money would have required Farook to be remarkably candid about what he wanted to do with the funds. “To cut to the chase: if this person who applied for this loan with this particular lender and in filling out that form actually said ‘I am going to use the loan for terrorist purposes,’” Bowman said, “they wouldn’t have gotten the loan.”

California shooters borrowed $28,000 before attack: source

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-shooting-account-idUSKBN0TR27P20151209?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

A married couple, who killed 14 people in a California shooting rampage the FBI is investigating as an act of terrorism, borrowed about $28,000 from an online lender, a sum deposited into their bank account about two weeks before the attack, a source said on Tuesday. Disclosure of the unsecured loan the husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, took out from San Francisco-based Prosper, a peer-to-peer lending service, offered a new glimpse into the money trail under scrutiny by investigators of last week's mass shooting...While investigations into assaults branded as acts of terrorism often focus on the money behind them, U.S. government officials said the FBI's examination of the couple's finances has not linked them with any foreign group.

DRAINING THEIR ACCOUNTS?

Still, one government source told Reuters that Farook and Malik apparently followed a pattern set by other militants who drained their bank accounts and exhausted credit lines before embarking on what they believed would be a suicide mission.

A separate source told Reuters that Prosper, a San Francisco-based online lender, made a $28,500 collateral-free loan to Farook in mid-November. Loans made by Prosper, which processes borrowers' applications and evaluates their credit-worthiness, are originated by the third-party bank WebBank, based in Salt Lake City. Prosper then sells its loans to investors. Fox News first reported on Monday that a deposit of $28,500 was made into Farook's bank account from WebBank.com on Nov. 18, and that Farook converted $10,000 in cash, which he withdrew from a Union Bank branch in San Bernardino around Nov. 20. Fox also reported at least three $5,000 transfers were made in the days before the shooting, apparently to Farook's mother...

[Proserpina]

6. Banks Escape Antitrust Charges as EU Shuts Down Swaps Probe

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-04/banks-escape-antitrust-charges-as-eu-shuts-down-swaps-probe

More than a dozen banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will escape fines after European Union regulators dropped a four-year investigation into suspicions they conspired to shut exchanges out of the credit-default swaps market.

The European Commission said evidence "was not sufficiently conclusive to confirm" its concerns, according to a statement on its website Friday. It will keep investigating data provider Markit Group Ltd. and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association...

"A case closure at this late stage is quite a surprise," said Al Mangan, a lawyer at Addleshaw Goddard LLP in London. "The industry has been braced for another round of high fines. The 1.7 billion euros ($1.85 billion) imposed in respect of Libor and Euribor two years ago is still fresh in its mind."

...The probe centered on allegations that banks abused their leverage over data provider Markit and the ISDA from 2006 to 2009 to block Deutsche Boerse AG’s Eurex and CMDX, a CDS electronic trading platform planned by the CME Group Inc. and Citadel Investment Group Inc., to maintain more lucrative over-the-counter trading.

European lenders Barclays Plc, BNP Paribas SA, Credit Suisse Group AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. and UBS Group AG were targeted by the EU in the case. The other U.S. banks are Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp. and Bear Stearns Cos., which JPMorgan acquired in 2008. The banks declined to comment on the decision.

"This is very unusual," said Marc Israel, a lawyer at Macfarlanes in London. The case against the banks may have been "more speculative because the charges against Markit and ISDA haven’t been dropped."

[Proserpina]

7. OPEC's Oil Market Disarray Looks Like 1990s Slump All Over Again

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-07/opec-s-oil-market-disarray-looks-like-1990s-slump-all-over-again

OPEC has dropped any attempt at trying to fulfill its founding mission and manage the oil market, sending global benchmark Brent crude to a six-year low. For Saudi Arabia’s Ali al-Naimi, the most powerful and longest-serving of the group’s oil ministers, it may have seemed like history was repeating itself.

There are several striking parallels between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ current situation and the period from 1997 to 1999, when the group lost control of the market and oil slipped to less than $10 a barrel. While investors may wonder whether markets will follow a similar trajectory this time, it’s important to remember that OPEC emerged from the crisis to see oil prices surge all the way to almost $150 a barrel. If the parallels hold, markets could be in for a wild ride.



Big OPEC Members Boost Production

Nearly two decades ago, Venezuela had a growth spurt that lifted its output from 2.2 million barrels a day in 1992 to 3.5 million barrels a day six years later. Saudi Arabia responded by increasing its own production, flooding the market. This time around, Saudi Arabia has embarked on a production spree -- pumping a record of 10.6 million barrels a day earlier this year -- while Iran plans to boost daily output by as much as 1 million barrels next year after sanctions are lifted.



and the dominoes continued to fall...

[Proserpina]

8. Iron Ore in the $30s Seen Near Tipping Point for Largest Miners

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-08/iron-ore-in-the-30s-seen-near-tipping-point-for-largest-miners

Iron ore’s tumble into the $30s threatens the world’s largest miners as prices approach break-even costs, according to Capital Economics Ltd. Shares of Vale SA, the biggest producer, sank to the lowest in 12 years.

The most expensive operations at the four largest suppliers are on the verge of making losses at rates below $40 a metric ton, said John Kovacs, senior commodities economist at Capital Economics in London, who estimates their break-even levels at $28 to $39, taking into account freight and other costs. While these producers will keep output strong, they’ll be constrained by low prices, he said by e-mail on Monday.

Iron ore’s plunge below $40 comes as producers including Vale in Brazil and Rio Tinto Group and BHP Billiton Ltd. in Australia press on with expansions to cut costs and defend market share just as demand from the largest consumer China slows. They’re the world’s biggest suppliers along with Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. Prices of the raw material have lost 46 percent this year and have plunged 80 percent from their peak in 2011.

“The big four will find it hard to maintain output at below $40,” Kovacs said in response to questions. “If prices remain weak, output from the highest-cost mines of the big four will be under pressure.”

more

[Hotler]

15. Allow me to add.....If It Owns a Well or a Mine, It's Probably in Trouble

The pain among energy and mining producers worsened again on Tuesday, as one of the industry’s largest players cut its work force by nearly two-thirds and Chinese trade data amplified concerns about the country’s appetite for commodities.

“The world of commodities has been turned upside down,” said Daniel Yergin, the energy historian and vice chairman of IHS, a consultant firm. “Instead of tight supply and strong demand, we have tepid demand and oversupply and overcapacity for commodity production. It’s the end of an era that is not going to come back soon.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/if-it-owns-a-well-or-a-mine-its-probably-in-trouble/ar-AAgawHx?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=iehp

[Proserpina]

18. If the USA would rebuild its crumbling infrastructure, it would help

at least the domestic extractive industries (if there are any left).

[Proserpina]

9. All Heck Breaks Loose after Draghi Fails to Outdo his Own Hype by Wolf Richter

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/12/03/draghi-fails-to-outdo-his-own-hype-and-all-heck-breaks-loose/

Something big is broken.

Hedge funds – already beaten up by lousy returns or massive losses this year and struggling with redemptions as frustrated investors are bailing out – are now watching their European bets get demolished by an evil surprise: Draghi failed to outdo his own hype... So when the French CAC 40 plunged 3.6% even as Draghi was speaking, it wasn’t the French he’d disappointed. It was his former colleagues and rivals at Goldman Sachs and other banks and hedge funds, and they were dumping European equities.

And neither the French nor the Germans suddenly went out of their way to load up on the euro, though it jumped 4% within hours, a breath-taking move for a major currency, from a seven-month low of $1.055 just before the meeting to $1.098 as I’m writing this...Shorting the euro had become the standard bet for hedge funds, based on all the hype the ECB had emitted about how it might ramp up, extend, fortify, and add to its monetary policy instruments, which would in theory whack the euro as part of the ECB’s relentless currency war. It was a crowded trade. Now they got caught in an epic short squeeze.

...The ECB has a special relationship with hedge funds and banks that includes closed-door meetings where it hands them privileged information, allowing them to trade in advance of ECB moves. When this popped on the front pages, Draghi, rather than pretending to be shocked and appalled, defended the practice: “Direct exchanges with … specialised audiences form an essential part of the ECB’s communication policy,” he wrote. They were “integral to its transparency policy.”

The ECB has enriched hedge funds and banks every way it could over the years since the euro debt crisis and bailouts. So what had Draghi done today to cause such uproar among his buddies?...

In short, it enhances one of the greatest wealth transfer schemes of all times. But it wasn’t enough. Hedge funds had expected a larger cut in interest rates, with the deposit rate getting pushed deeper into the negative, an acceleration of QE from €60 billion a month to something much higher, and perhaps some new goodies. In the past, the ECB would relentlessly hype future measures, such as QE, and whip markets into frenzy over them, then on the day of the announcement, it would outdo its own hype and offer even more than had been imagined. Stocks and bonds would soar all along throughout the hype period, get a big boost following the actual announcement, and then soar further until QE would kick off a couple of months later...Draghi’s buddies must have been complaining bitterly about this during the closed-door meetings. That’s when a new round of QE hype started. German stocks began to soar again, and by November 30, they’d jumped 20%. But this time, hedge funds didn’t wait until the new measures actually kicked in before they started dumping. Many of them hadn’t dumped quickly enough last time and got caught in the bear market. They learned their lesson: dump on announcement day!

And this, after seven years of muscular central-bank market interventions and manipulations around the globe, is what “investing” has come down to: betting on the words of a few god-like central bankers, running in a solid herd behind central-bank hype, using privileged information to front-run central-bank announcements, selling assets at a profit to central banks under the QE programs, and profiting from the run-up of even the crappiest stocks and bonds to ludicrous heights.

But it’s not working anymore. Something broke.

a bit more at link

[Proserpina]

10. ECB Had One Win. Revise That Down to Zero.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-03/ecb-s-draghi-had-one-win-and-now-revise-that-down-to-zero



a A

The only discernible success from this year's belated introduction of quantitative easing by the European Central Bank has been the relentless, export-boosting, growth-goosing deterioration in the euro's value against the dollar. Thursday's monetary policy decisions have undermined even that modest triumph.

For once, there wasn't a bazooka in Mario Draghi's pocket (to recycle former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's July 2008 quote about how to browbeat financial markets into submission). The ECB cut its deposit rate, but by less than traders had anticipated. The bond-buying timetable was extended by a few months, but the monthly amount was left unchanged at 60 billion euros ($65 billion). The range of securities was expanded to include municipal bonds, but not corporate debt. In short, Draghi overpromised and underdelivered.

In one sense, Draghi is a victim of his own previous success. He has repeatedly exceeded expectations, managing to surprise traders and investors with bolder moves at ECB gatherings than anticipated. By contrast, Thursday's modest tweaking suggests resistance to further use of so-called unconventional measures may be stiffening among some of the ECB's policy makers. Even the decision on the limited extension was "not unanimous but there was a very large majority in favor of this package," Draghi said at his news conference.

The euro's reaction was immediate and quite dramatic, as traders drove the currency up against the dollar to a peak of almost $1.09, up from just $1.055 prior to the decisions...

"If you have a squirt gun in your pocket you may have to take it out," Paulson told U.S. regulators more than five years ago, when he was seeking permission for unlimited funds to rescue the financial system. "If you have a bazooka in your pocket, and people know you have a bazooka, you may never have to take it out."

Now that investors and traders suspect Draghi is relying on a squirt gun, he'll struggle to repeat the trick he's pulled off several times of talking financial markets up and the currency down.

[Proserpina]

11. Wolf Richter: US Exports & Manufacturing Debacle Covered up by Oil

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/12/07/debacle-in-nonpetroleum-exports-manufacturing-covered-up-by-oil//

It got somewhat lost in the hoopla of the jobs report and the blistering rally in the stock market on Friday. But the US trade deficit worsened by 3.4% in October to $43.9 billion, according to the Commerce Department, once again disappointing soothsayers who’d hoped for an improvement in the trade deficit. But as bad as the overall trade deficit is, the trade deficit in goods (without services) is much worse, and even then, the oil trade covers up just how terrible the underlying trade of non-petroleum goods really is, how far and how fast non-petroleum exports have plunged, and how much US manufacturing is getting whacked. The worsening trade deficit was a nasty “surprise” – nasty because it dings US economic growth; and surprise because it appears inexplicably difficult for Wall Street economists to predict a downhill slope.

Exports add to GDP, and imports reduce GDP. So when imports exceed exports, the sacred US GDP figures get hit as they have been since the 1990s. But October was bad: exports of goods plunged 10.4% year-over-year to $123.8 billion, the worst level since June 2011.

The culprits: the strong dollar that makes US goods more expensive in other currencies, and tepid economic growth in the rest of the world, with some major markets in a recession, or a deep recession, such as Russia, or even worse, such as Brazil. The China slowdown isn’t helping. But in the case of exports to China, the dollar can’t be blamed since the yuan is pegged to the dollar, and the recent devaluation was tiny compared to the moves of other currencies...

[Proserpina]

12. Erdogan Blackmails NATO Allies By Mike Whitney

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/12/03/erdogan-blackmails-nato-allies/

check out this blurb from the Today’s Zaman:

“Erdogan’s advisor, Burhan Kuzu, summed it up even more succinctly saying: “The EU finally got Turkey’s message and opened its purse strings. What did we say? ‘We’ll open our borders and unleash all the Syrian refugees on you,’” Kuzu stated in his controversial tweet… ” (“EU bows to Turkey’s threat on refugees says Erdoğan advisor“, Today’s Zaman)

Blackmail? Is that what we’re talking about, blackmail? It sure sounds like it.

Let’s summarize: Erdogan intentionally releases tens of thousands of Syrian refugees into Europe to put pressure on EU politicians who quickly lose the support of their people and face the meteoric rise of right wing parties. And then, the next thing you know, Merkel, Hollande and every other EU leader is looking to cut a deal with Erdogan to keep the refugees in Turkey. Isn’t that how it all went down?

Except we’re missing one important factoid here, because according to the first op-ed “The increase in military cooperation within NATO… and the piling up of NATO forces near Turkey’s border”…took place in parallel with the deal between Ankara and the Brussels.” Get it? So there was a quid pro quo that no one wants to talk about. In other words, Germany, France and the UK agreed to support Erdogan’s loony plan to conduct military operations in Syria, risking a serious dust-up with Russia, in order to save their own miserable political careers.

Boy, if that doesn’t take the cake, than I don’t know what does.

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition. He can be reached at [e-mail].

[Hotler]

16. "Blackmail?"...... or a well played hand of poker.

All in and I call.

[Proserpina]

19. More like "Russian" Roulette

Erdogan is a mad man, and he thinks he can get away with it. He hasn't a friend in any camp...except Uncle Sucker, and if there's a God, Bernie will put an end to that, too.

[Proserpina]

13. Ukraine's Largest Bank Helps Integrate Bitcoin as a Payment

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/ukraines-largest-bank-helps-integrate-bitcoin-as-a-payment/

PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest bank by assets is now offering online retailers the ability to receive Bitcoin as a payment before directly converting it into fiat currency that is deposited into the merchant’s account, as reported by PSM7.

Upon the completion of its testing, PrivatBank is now offering online retailers the means to obtain a settlement in Bitcoin. The announcement was made by Christina Karmazin, head of E-Commerce at PrivatBank at a conference in Kiev, Ukraine today.

Ukrainian online publication Payspace Magazine, reported the news that was revealed at the “Cross-border E-Commerce: The Import to Ukraine,” conference.

Essentially, buyers can pay in Bitcoin while merchants will receive the payment in Hryvnias (Ukraine’s national currency) or Euros...

[DemReadingDU]

14. Dow Chemical and DuPont Are in Advanced Talks to Merge

12/9/15 Dow Chemical and DuPont Are in Advanced Talks to Merge

Dow Chemical Co. and DuPont Co. are in advanced talks to merge, in what would be a combination of two of America’s oldest companies that together are worth nearly $120 billion.

The chemical giants, which each have a market capitalization of about $60 billion, could announce a merger in coming days, people familiar with the matter said. It would be followed by a three-way breakup of the combined company, they said, a common approach to mergers and acquisitions of late. Dow’s Chief Executive Andrew Liveris is expected to be executive chairman of the new company, with DuPont CEO Edward Breen keeping that title.

Terms of the deal couldn’t be learned, but some of the people said it would be billed as a merger of equals, meaning there wouldn’t be a big premium for either set of shareholders. A deal hasn’t yet been inked and the talks could fall apart, the people cautioned.

Even if the two sides manage to agree, there is no guarantee antitrust regulators would bless the union or that the breakup plan would address any such concerns. The merger would combine two top suppliers of industrial and agricultural chemicals and crop seeds.

Should it come to fruition, a combination of the companies, each more than a century old, would be one of the biggest in a year marked by big deals. So far, companies have struck some $4.35 trillion of takeovers in 2015, eclipsing 2007 as the top year on record for deals, according to Dealogic.

Before any breakup, the deal would create a giant with more than $90 billion in combined sales and strong positions in everything from plastics to industrial chemicals and agriculture.

more...
http://www.wsj.com/articles/dow-chemical-and-dupont-are-in-advanced-talks-to-merge-1449621799

[bread_and_roses]

17. Now THERE'S an evil empire (n/t)

[Proserpina]

20. Good golly it's ugly on DU today!

I'm going to go study.

[DemReadingDU]

21. What are you studying?

Maybe you have said elsewhere, sorry been too busy to read much.

[Proserpina]

23. Business...statistics and accounting at the moment. Ugh!

[DemReadingDU]

24. Those are brain intensive, good luck to you. n/t

[Proserpina]

25. Thanks--I'm going to need a boatload of luck.

I'm more of a marketing type.