STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, October 27, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, October 27, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 26, 2011

Dow 11,869.04 +162.42 (+1.37%)
Nasdaq 2,650.67 +12.25 (+0.46%)
S&P 500 1,242.00 +12.95 (+1.04%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.27 +0.06 (+2.62%)
30-Year Bond 3.28 +0.05 (+1.67%)

---

Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

---

This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's Reports

Oct 27 08:30 Initial Claims 10/22 400K 402K 403K
Oct 27 08:30 Continuing Claims 10/15 3700K 3700K 3719K
Oct 27 08:30 GDP-Adv. Q3 2.1% 2.3% 1.3%
Oct 27 08:30 GDP Deflator Q3 2.2% 2.5% 2.5%
Oct 27 10:00 Pending Home Sales Sep 0.0% -0.9% -1.2%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/10/24-28/#ixzz1bykXJodz

[Roland99]

19. continuing claims down 96,000 to 3.65 mln; 4-week avg. claims up 1,750 to 405,500; claims down 2,000

[Roland99]

20. Third-quarter U.S. growth climbs by 2.5%

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/third-quarter-us-growth-climbs-by-25-2011-10-27?link=MW_home_latest_news

[Demeter]

22. Reports in (for what they are worth)

________________For__Actual__Forecast__Consensus_____Prior__Revised From

Initial Claims____10/22_402K_____400K______402K______404K________403K

Cont. Claims____10/15_3645K____3700K_____3700K_____3741________3719K

GDP-Adv.________Q3___2.5%_____2.1%______2.3%______1.3%

GDP Deflator______Q3___2.5%_____2.2%______2.5%______2.5%

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/10/24-28/#ixzz1bzAElHa2


I MAY HAVE FINALLY DEFEATED THE FORMATTING LIMITATION OF THIS SYSTEM!

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil jumps above $92 after Europe debt plan

SINGAPORE – Oil prices jumped above $92 a barrel Thursday in Asia after European leaders agreed on a plan to reduce Greece's debt burden.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up $1.89 at $92.09 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.97, or 3.2 percent, to settle at $90.20 in New York on Wednesday.

Brent crude was up $1.27 at $110.18 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy said early Thursday that policymakers struck a deal that will reduce Greece's debt to 120 percent of its GDP in 2020. The plan calls on banks to accept 50 percent losses on their Greek bonds.

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

[xchrom]

7. Shell, Statoil profits soar on higher oil

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/uk-shell-idUKTRE79Q12B20111027

Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Norway's Statoil reported big jumps in profits on Thursday, driven mainly by higher oil and gas prices with help from increased production.

Shell, Europe's largest oil company by market capitalisation, said its underlying current cost of supply (CCS) net income in the third quarter, excluding one-offs, soared 42 percent to $7.0 billion (4.3 billion pounds).

Statoil said its adjusted net income, which is calculated on the same basis, rose 50 percent in dollar terms to $2.07 billion in the third quarter.

Both companies' earnings were broadly in line with analysts' forecasts.

[xchrom]

18. Exxon profit rises 41 percent, shares rise

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/9916525

* Q3 EPS $2.13 v Street $2.12
* Shares up 1.6 percent premarket (Adds estimate, share price)
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp's profit rose 41 percent in the third quarter, slightly ahead of Wall Street estimates, as gains in crude oil prices and higher refining margins boosted results.
Exxon, the world's largest publicly traded oil company, reported a profit of $10.33 billion, or $2.13 per share, up from $7.35 billion, or $1.44 per share a year earlier.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of $2.12 per share, according to data from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

[maddogesq]

39. Interesting phenom with one of my stocks and the price of oil.

This isn't 100 percent, but my stock in A123 (symbol AONE--maker of batteries for EV's and grid storage) often moves with the price of oil. No science here, just a weird observation.

What AONE needs is good news re: grid storage, because that's the long range growth area IMHO.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock Futures Rise on Europe Debt Accord; Citigroup Rallies

U.S. stock futures rose, indicating that benchmark indexes may extend yesterday’s rally, after the euro area’s leaders agreed to expand their bailout fund to $1.4 trillion in a bid to contain the region’s debt crisis.

Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and Citigroup Inc. (C) advanced more than 3 percent in early New York trading. Alcoa Inc. (AA) and Freeport- McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. climbed with metal prices. Visa Inc. (V) may also be active after reporting earnings that topped analysts’ estimates.

Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in December jumped 1.8 percent to 1,260.1 at 5:43 a.m. in New York. The Commerce Department reports third-quarter gross domestic product growth at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures surged 178 points, or 1.5 percent, to 11,980.

“My first reaction is thumbs up; it looks like it is a big enough number to alleviate some of the fears in the market,” said Andreas Nigg, who helps oversee about $43 billion as head of North American equities at Vontobel Asset Management in Zurich. “For now it’s good, but is it ultimately going to solve all of the issues? I don’t think so.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-27/u-s-stock-futures-rise-on-europe-debt-accord-citigroup-rallies.html

Another successful game of "kick the can".

[Roland99]

5. The eventual crash is now going to be all that much harder

DJIA futures up over 200!

[Demeter]

14. Can this latest delay even last to Xmas?

How many years can the inevitable be bought off?

50% haircut on Greek debt, which should have been more like 80%, if not 100%. The Germans sitting on the Eurozone like vampire squid, Angela waving the banner of war.

I'm inclined to agree with whichever expert said that to save the Euro, convince Germany to leave and let the weaker nations support each other in competition with the world on their own level and cooperation within the Eurozone.

[xchrom]

4. tomorrow is friday!

:donut:

[Demeter]

15. For people with regular lives, this might be significant

For nutcases like me, the weekend is worse than the week. My best day is Tues, when (if) the Kid gets to go off on safari with someone else for a change....Weds. morning was productive: I got to disinfect all the bathrooms and catch up on dishes and laundry. Today I started the Kid's mending, and then there's a trifecta of medical appointments for the Kid....

The fun never ends around here.

[xchrom]

16. i hope a little fun can slip in for you this weekend

:toast: the high lite of this week will be the bouef bourgignon i fix for some friends.

[Demeter]

24. Well, there's the annual Halloween Party Sunday

I'm making lasagna for 20 (reg, wheat-free, and vegetarian, since this is Ann Arbor, and we're such effete, actual food avoiders), and the Kiddie hours are my favorite--crafts and games and they are so cute in costume.

But somehow or other, the paper route will screw it up.

[xchrom]

34. i can imagine the kids are a lot of fun.

halloween is just an all around good holiday.

[Roland99]

38. as long as hurricanes stay to the south, yeah!

:)

[xchrom]

40. speaking of that -- any body hear from fuddnik?

did he & his wife get on their cruise?

[Roland99]

42. were they headed to the western caribbean? My fiancee's mother is in Cancun right now

we got an email from the resort that everything there is fine.

Rina's been downgraded to a tropical storm and is just glancing the Yucatan at this time.

[xchrom]

43. i forget exactly where he said they were going -- but he expressed frustration w/

the hurricane just when he and his wife were getting ready to go this weekend? i think.

he really needs a little get away & some fun.

his 'trip' to OWS got way laid & he had to deal w/ his dad i think it was.

[Fuddnik]

45. We leave Sunday.

Anchor pulls up about 4:00pm.

First stop Cozumel, then Belize, Then Roatan, Honduras, then Grand Caymen.

Will be back the following Sunday.

I've been watching the 'cane, and it's acting all weird. They're forecasting a u-turn, and have it heading south again. Who knows?

[Roland99]

47. at least it's down to TS status.

the models at www.stormpulse.com are all over the place.

[xchrom]

54. Well I hope you have a wonderful & relaxing time.

I've taken a similar cruise & what I like is there is really nothing to do but relax, eat & drink.

[Doctor_J]

56. This is LBN?

:shrug:

[Fuddnik]

57. The thread is.

The post may not be. we have our own little community here.

And, you're here exactly why?

[Doctor_J]

58. To make a joke

Sorry for the intrusion into the little community. :rofl:

[xchrom]

6. europe: FTSE rises on EU leaders plan to contain debt crisis

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/uk-markets-britain-stocks-idUKTRE79Q1RT20111027

(Reuters) - Banks and commodity stocks powered the FTSE 100 higher by midday on Thursday as news of a deal to tackle Europe's debt crisis provided an adrenalin shot for investors.

BofA Merrill Lynch advised caution at least until more details emerge.

"More was achieved than looked to be the case earlier in the evening, but we would caution that some of the implementation, to be rolled out over the next six months or so, is short on detail and will have to be watched carefully."

Euro zone leaders struck a deal with private banks and insurers for them to accept a 50 percent loss on their Greek government bonds, lightening Greece's debt burden in an attempt to contain the debt crisis.

[xchrom]

9. Bank's Fisher sees strong chance of another recession

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/uk-boe-fisher-idUKTRE79Q1ET20111027

(Reuters) - Bank of England policymaker Paul Fisher said on Thursday Britain could quite easily suffer another recession and that more asset purchases might be needed after the current round is completed.

Although Britain's last recession ended in mid-2009, the economy has barely grown over the last 12 months. Unemployment has started to rise again and consumers are cutting spending as soaring prices, higher taxes and slow wage increases hit their pockets.

Fisher, the central bank's executive director for markets, said that a new recession could not be ruled out.

"I think it is a significant chance. Looking at Q4 for example, at best it seems likely to be flat, could easily have negative growth, so the technical outcome of two quarters of negative growth in a row could quite easily come about," he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

[xchrom]

11. After revolt, Cameron allies target EU powers

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/25/uk-britain-europe-idUKTRE79M16P20111025

(Reuters) - A British cabinet minister said on Tuesday London would try to claw back powers from Brussels after a parliamentary revolt by members of Prime Minister David Cameron's party who want a referendum on quitting the European Union.

"I think that we should take powers back over employment law. I think that we should take powers back that affect our capacity to grow," Education Secretary Michael Gove, a close Cameron ally, told the BBC when asked how leaders would respond to Monday's anti-government vote by about 80 Conservatives.

"There are some specific regulations that govern who can we hire and how we can hire and how long they work for, which actually hold us back," Gove said, describing pan-EU rules that he said Britain would like to opt out of enforcing on firms.

It is unclear how or when such a move could take place, notably given Cameron's dependence on a coalition with the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. But the scale of the revolt, recalling infighting over Europe that tormented the last Conservative government in the 1990s, prompted a response from party leaders.

[xchrom]

12. Spaniards working day generally ends at 7pm

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32445.shtml

Spaniards on average leave their work at 7pm, some two hours after workers elsewhere in Europe. The National Commission for the Rationalization of working hours in Spain has carried out a study in several EU countries and notes that while elsewhere between 30 minutes and an hour is taken for lunch, here the time is generally two hours.

The Commission is made up of 116 institutions and bodies, including Ministries, regional administrations, businesses, unions and intellectuals.

The ‘horario continuo’ or ‘Jornada intensiva’ did not apply in any other other EU countries, although this is the working structure used in Spain mostly in administration and the banking sector.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32445.shtml#ixzz1bz1uCt6m

[xchrom]

13. SSpanish banks say they can meet EU demands without any more public money

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32475.shtml

The claim has been supported by the Prime Minister and the Bank of Spain

Spanish banks, estimated to need 26 billion € to meet the latest EU demands, have said they do not need any more public funds to comply. The big five are in agreement with the Prime Minister and have said today that they do not need any more public help.

It’s estimated that Santander needs 14.981 billion to reach the 9% core capital level by June 2012, while the BBVA needs 7.087 billion. Santander has indicated that I will keep its current policy on dividends despite the new regulation.
La Caixa needs 602 million, the Popular 2.362 billion and Bankia, 1.14 billion.

The Bank of Spain has today confirmed that they also think that the new demands on the banks can be met without and more public aid. Governor, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordoñez, said the banks will meet the level by their own merits. He reminded the banks that they have to present their plans to comply before the end of the year.

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32475.shtml#ixzz1bz2WtgX5

[xchrom]

21. Does the EU bailout deal stand up to scrutiny?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/economics-blog/2011/oct/27/eu-bailout-deal-scrutiny-critics

It's a measure of how desperate the eurozone's plight has become that instead of cooing at his new baby, Nicolas Sarkozy will spend this afternoon on the phone to Beijing, trying to persuade China's president Hu Jintao to stump up some cash for the euro-bailout.

Any deal was better than no deal last night; but in the cold light of day, the question of why China would want to get involved in bankrolling the eurozone's unmanageable debts was just one of the questions emerging.

Another was the size of the bailout fund. Even assuming the participation of China and any other investors who can be persuaded to join in, and a whizzy new insurance scheme for sovereign debts, the über-EFSF will be worth €1tn (£875bn).

Angela Merkel and her colleagues are hoping that by offering insurance on new government debts from Italy, Spain and other troubled countries, they can make the fund's resources go much farther.

[Demeter]

26. Begging for mercy, Instead of Fixing the Banking System

It's Danegeld, Angela.

The Danegeld ( "Danish tax", literally "Dane's gold") was a tax raised to pay tribute to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was called the geld or gafol in eleventh-century sources; the term Danegeld did not appear until the early twelfth century. It was characteristic of royal policy in both England and Francia during the ninth through eleventh centuries, collected both as tributary, to buy off the attackers, and as stipendiary, to pay the defensive forces. ---Wikipedia

Rudyard Kipling
Dane-Geld
A.D. 980-1016

It is always a temptation to an armed and agile nation
To call upon a neighbour and to say: --
"We invaded you last night--we are quite prepared to fight,
Unless you pay us cash to go away."

And that is called asking for Dane-geld,
And the people who ask it explain
That you've only to pay 'em the Dane-geld
And then you'll get rid of the Dane!

It is always a temptation for a rich and lazy nation,
To puff and look important and to say: --
"Though we know we should defeat you, we have not the time to meet you.
We will therefore pay you cash to go away."

And that is called paying the Dane-geld;
But we've proved it again and again,
That if once you have paid him the Dane-geld
You never get rid of the Dane.

It is wrong to put temptation in the path of any nation,
For fear they should succumb and go astray;
So when you are requested to pay up or be molested,
You will find it better policy to say: --

"We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
No matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
And the nation that pays it is lost!"

[xchrom]

23. The euro: how to reform, not rescue, the system

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/27/euro-system-reform-not-rescue

The euro system is in crisis and with it the project of European integration. This week, European leaders have struggled to put together an emergency fund (the EFSF) that is large enough to impress investors and save financial markets from themselves. But there is preciously little debate about how to reform the euro system after it has been rescued.

The policy proposals circulated by the European commission are scary: the criteria of the so-called stability and growth pact are to be further tightened and, if budget deficits are too high, some tribunal of the European commission and wealthy European governments will get powers to dictate economic policy in the deficit countries. This would not only be a disaster for European democracy – it is also bad economics.

Such proposals are based on the premise that public debt is the root cause of this crisis. This is plainly not the case: while the crisis has now reached the stage of a sovereign debt crisis in some countries, its origins lie foremost with the massive increase in private debt and the property bubbles. Both were driven by deregulated financial markets and fuelled by international capital flows. While public debt (as a percentage of GDP) declined somewhat from 72% (1999, the introduction of the euro) to 67% (2008) prior to the crisis, the debt of households increased from 52% to 72%. The liabilities of financial institutions increased even more dramatically.

The euro system has no means of dealing with those forces. It was based on neoliberal (monetarist) principles: private capital flows ought to be encouraged (thus the project of European financial integration) and public deficits ought to be small. In practice that gave rise to two different, but complementary growth models: a debt-led growth model in the Mediterranean countries and an export-led growth model in Germany and its neighbouring cousins.

[Roland99]

30. EURUSD is soaring! Over 1.41 right now.

[Demeter]

25. 6 MONTHS!

They are insane. They don't even have 6 weeks before the next crisis.

[DemReadingDU]

28. or sooner

:crazy:

[Roland99]

29. CAC 40 up over 6% a bit ago.

[xchrom]

33. Azerbaijan, Turkey sign gas delivery deal

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MJ28Ag01.html

MONTREAL - Long negotiations between Azerbaijan and Turkey over natural gas deliveries have been successfully concluded, the Turkish government announced on October 26, a day after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened the first meeting of the Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council in Izmir. The negotiations had lasted almost two years.

The question of gas quantities was not settled and will be discussed later, the Turkish newspaper Sabah reported, quoting Erdogan. That is to be expected, given the intricate staging of the


process for implementing the project. Tamam Bayatli, head of BP-Azerbaijan's foreign relations department, told the Trend news agency in Baku that signing the agreement documents was necessary now to allow the process of pipeline selection to go further forward.

Erdogan significantly said that one of the positive results of the agreement will be decrease Turkish energy dependence on Russia. The announcement came as Aliev was in Turkey with Erdogan for the groundbreaking ceremony for construction of a major oil refinery in Izmir. Erdogan also announced at the ceremony that a project to construct a railway line between Baku and Kars had reached the final stages of the planning process.

[xchrom]

41. The euro deal No big bazooka

http://www.economist.com/node/21534851

T WAS four in the morning in the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels when word at last filtered out that, after nearly ten hours of arduous bargaining, the euro zone’s leaders had reached the long-promised “comprehensive” deal to save the euro. Diplomats called contacts in the sanctum to find out what, precisely, had been agreed. “We think we have an agreement, but we are not sure what it is,” came the reply from one weary negotiator.

By their own admission, the leaders themselves at times struggled to understand the complex financial engineering which they were being asked to approve to turn their inadequate financial slingshot into the “big bazooka” that the world had asked them to assemble. But by dawn on October 27th they could proudly announce a “comprehensive set of additional measures reflecting our strong determination to do whatever is required to overcome the present difficulties”.

The result was better than some had dared hope. Just a week earlier the summitry had seemed doomed, with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor (left above), rejecting a push by Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president (right above), to boost the euro zone’s bail-out fund by allowing it to borrow money from the European Central Bank (ECB). Unable to cancel a summit planned for October 23rd, the leaders decided instead to call a second one three days later. The ruse worked; the discussions, said one participant, had gone “from worse to bad to better”. Markets rejoiced.

[xchrom]

8. asia: Hong Kong, China shares extend their winning streaks

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/markets-hongkong-china-stocks-update-idUKL3E7LR14O20111027

HONG KONG, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares rose for the fifth-straight session on Thursday, gaining 3.3 percent on strength in mainland stocks after a euro zone deal on tackling the region's debt debacle removed a cloud hanging over global markets.

Turnover was the highest in more than a month, though the level was smaller than on days of steep losses in August, during the first of two selloffs that made last quarter the worst for the Hang Seng Index in a decade.

"The cyclical sectors have been way, way oversold. I'm still hearing a lot of doubts from clients, so a lot of people have not jumped back in this rally," said Hong Hao, a global equity strategist with CICC in Beijing.

Hong said the rally could continue in the short term, as more investors get back into the market with the euro zone debt deal a good catalyst. But he said the market remained in a bearish trend, with global growth expected to slow in the next few quarters.

[xchrom]

10. BOJ eases policy with eye on yen, Europe crisis

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/27/uk-japan-economy-idUKTRE79Q08120111027

(Reuters) - The Bank of Japan eased monetary policy on Thursday by boosting purchases of government bonds and warned of risks posed by a strong yen and Europe's debt crisis in a sign it would act again if recovery in the world's third-largest economy falters.

Spurred by the yen's renewed climb to record highs and heightened overseas risks, the central bank delivered its second monetary stimulus in three months by topping up its asset buying scheme by 5 trillion yen to 20 trillion yen (164 billion pounds) while keeping interest rates on hold near zero.

The BOJ also cut its growth and price forecasts, while Governor Masaaki Shirakawa stressed various risks clouded the outlook.

"Current yen rises are having a big negative impact on Japanese corporate sentiment and exports," Shirakawa told a news conference after the rate review.

[xchrom]

35. Asia gold price rally triggers selling; investors still keen

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/commodities/asia-gold-price-rally-triggers-selling-investors-still-keen/articleshow/10507205.cms

SINGAPORE: Rapidly rising bullion prices have triggered some selling on the physical market and wholesale business to India has slowed due to this week's festivals, but strong seasonal demand and investment buying are expected to underpin sentiment.

Spot gold advanced more than $100, or more than 6 per cent, from last Thursday, as concerns about the euro zone's debt crisis eased with progress in talks among European leaders on how to solve the problem.

Euro zone leaders struck a deal for private sector holders of Greek government bonds to accept a 50-per cent haircut after more than eight hours of hard-nosed negotiations on Wednesday.

"Investors are even more interested in buying physical gold these days as they don't trust the banking system," said Dick Poon, manager of precious metals at Heraeus in Hong Kong.

[DemReadingDU]

17. FBI Makes Corruption Arrests in LIRR Pension Scandal

10/27/11 FBI Makes Corruption Arrests in LIRR Pension Scandal
Investigators probe how and why a disability pension was awarded to nearly every LIRR employee who asked for one

Federal and state investigators made corruption-related arrests across Long Island Thursday in a pension scandal at the Long Island Rail Road that may have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

About a dozen doctors, consultants, LIRR retirees and pension administrators were expected to face federal criminal charges Thursday.

For nearly three years, the FBI, the New York Attorney General’s office and the MTA's Inspector General have been looking into how and why a disability pension was awarded to nearly every LIRR employee who requested one.

Investigators had been looking into whether the alleged corruption included a network of doctors and consultants who took part in the scheme.

more...
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/FBI-Arrest-Corruption-Long-Island-Rail-Road-Pension-Scandal-Taxpayer-132683463.html

[Demeter]

27. Parallel thread on Greek Bailout here

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x5039379

[Roland99]

31. And they're off!!!!

Dow 12,130 +261 +2.20%
Nasdaq 2,719 +69 +2.59%
S&P 500 1,274 +32 +2.56%
GlobalDow 1,945 +80 +4.31%
Oil 93.22 +3.02 +3.35%
Gold 1,722 -1 -0.06%
Euro /$1US 1.4141 0.0235
$1US / Yen 75.8500 -0.3133
Pound / $1US 1.6076 0.0101
Dollar Index 75.19 -1.01
10yr T-note 2.31 0.10
2yr T-note 0.31 0.01

[banned from Kos]

32. shorts at BAC and Morgan Stanley feeling the pain

the whisper campaign is ending for both.

Never bet against the Oracle of Omaha - he is smarter than you are.

[Demeter]

44. He's just better connected, and more liquid

and much less scrupulous.

[xchrom]

36. south asia: Food inflation rises further, at 11.43 percent

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Food-inflation-rises-further-at-11-43-percent/articleshow/10508388.cms

NEW DELHI: A week after it breached double digits, India's food inflation continued with its upward climb and was recorded at 11.43 percent for the week ended Oct 15, official data showed Thursday.

The rise was due to a jump in prices of pulses, milk and vegetables. Food inflation had crossed double digits in the previous week at 10.6 percent.

The soaring food inflation comes even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked key interest rates for the 13th straight time on Tuesday. The central bank has, however, said that it expects inflation to fall from December.

"Inflation rate will begin falling in December 2011 and then continue down a steady path to 7 percent by March 2012. It is expected to moderate further in the first half of 2012-13," RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao had said while reading out the second quarter monetary policy review.

[xchrom]

37. India's richest getting poorer, Savitri Jindal is richest woman: Forbes

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Indias-richest-getting-poorer-Savitri-Jindal-is-richest-woman-Forbes/articleshow/10507222.cms

MUMBAI: India's richest are getting poorer, according to Forbes, as falling stock prices, corruption scandals in Asia's third-largest economy and a global slowdown wiped 20 percent off the total value of the country's 100 wealthiest in the last year.

Mukesh Ambani, head of Reliance Industries , India's most valuable company, retained the top spot with a value of $22.6 billion, despite seeing his net worth drop by $4.4 billion.

In the same period, Ambani completed construction of a 27-storey house in Mumbai, costing an estimated $1 billion.

The biggest loser in the list was Ambani's younger brother, Anil, whose net worth stood at $5.9 billion, down from $13.3 billion. His Reliance Group companies have been some of the worst performers on the Mumbai bourse this year.

[Fuddnik]

46. Some words of wisdom, I'm sure some can relate to.

Marriage is like a deck of cards.


At the start, all you need is two hearts and a diamond.
At the end, you wish you had a club and a spade.

[Roland99]

48. with my wedding date just over 5 weeks away I find this hilarious

:)

[Fuddnik]

49. Congratulations!

May you have many happy years.

[Roland99]

50. Thanks!

I'll just be happy with the "many years" part of that. lol

[hamerfan]

51. DOW +348

:wtf:
hamerfan

[Roland99]

52. 3:10pm - To the moon!!

Dow 12,241 +372 +3.13%
Nasdaq 2,746 +96 +3.61%
S&P 500 1,288 +46 +3.70%
GlobalDow 1,960 +95 +5.11%
Gold 1,746 +23 +1.32%
Oil 93.90 +3.70 +4.10%
Euro /$1US 1.4209 0.0303
$1US / Yen 75.9100 -0.2533
Pound / $1US 1.6114 0.0138
Dollar Index 74.89 -1.32
10yr T-note 2.39 0.18 .... *sniff*...bye bye mortgage refi
2yr T-note 0.32 0.03

[Hotler]

53. Just a blip. n/t

[Demeter]

55. Proof of Mass Insanity

Everybody believes the problem will go away...at least long enough to wring out a few billion more.

The Cynicism is stifling.