STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, October 14, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Friday, October 14, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 13, 2011

Dow 11,478.13 -40.72 (-0.35%)
Nasdaq 2,620.24 +15.51 (+0.59%)
S&P 500 1,203.66 -3.59 (-0.30%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.21 +0.03 (+1.24%)
30-Year Bond 3.18 +0.03 (+0.89%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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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

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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. Lots of reports today

Oct 14 08:30 Retail Sales Sep 1.2% 0.6% 0.0%
Oct 14 08:30 Retail Sales ex-auto Sep 0.4% 0.3% 0.1%
Oct 14 08:30 Export Prices ex-ag. Sep NA NA 0.3%
Oct 14 08:30 Import Prices ex-oil Sep NA NA 0.2%
Oct 14 09:55 Mich Sentiment Oct 60.0 60.0 59.4
Oct 14 10:00 Business Inventories Aug 0.4% 0.4% 0.4%
Oct 14 14:00 Treasury Budget Sep -$64.0B -$67.0B -$34.6B

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/10/10-14/#ixzz1akr6OvIp

[Demeter]

25. I think the Fairy is Taking Friday Off

God knows I would, given a choice.

[Roland99]

33. October consumer sentiment declines. 57.5, compared with 59.4 (expected 60.2) ... oops!

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/october-consumer-sentiment-declines-2011-10-14?link=MW_home_latest_news


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/us-consumers-hit-peak-schizophrenia-chart
overall Michigan confidence sliding from 59.4 to 57.5, on expectations of 60.2, but that they have less to look forward to than ever in the past 31 years, with the consumer expectations number dropping from 49.4 to 47.0, the lowest since May 1980. Yet expectations for a Dow 36,000 are easily the highest since October 2007. Although the chart that will blow everyone's mind is this comparison of the YoY change in retail sales and consumer sentiment. Two words: Peak Schizophrenia.

[xchrom]

2. good morning!

:donut:

[Tansy_Gold]

29. .

:hi:

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. Oil rises above $85 ahead of US economic data

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose above $85 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors looked to a slew of U.S. economic indicators due later in the day for signs about the strength of the world's largest economy.

Benchmark crude for November delivery was 97 cents at $85.14 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.34 to settle at $84.23 in New York on Thursday.

Brent crude was down 59 cents at $111.70 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

Crude has wandered most of this week in the mid-$80s after jumping from $75 last week amid investor optimism Europe will soon unveil a plan to contain its debt crisis. Traders will be closely watching the latest data about U.S. retail sales, consumer sentiment and business inventories scheduled to be released later Friday for clues about crude demand.

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

[Pale Blue Dot]

4. U.S. Stock Futures Gain Before Economic Data; Google Climbs

U.S. stock futures rose, indicating the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index will extend its longest streak of weekly gains in three months, as investors awaited reports that may show retail sales and consumer sentiment rose.

Google Inc. (GOOG), owner of the world’s most popular search engine, rallied 6.6 percent in early New York trading, after reporting third-quarter sales that topped forecasts. Apple Inc. (AAPL), the maker of the iPod music player and the iPhone, gained 1.6 percent.

Futures on the S&P 500 expiring in December advanced 0.9 percent to 1,208.4 at 11:07 a.m. in London. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average expiring the same month climbed 97 points, or 0.9 percent, to 11,489.

“Macro data are recovering globally and investors want to take part in the relief rally,” said Urs Beck, equity portfolio manager at Zuercher Kantonalbank in Zurich. “For the first time after many months, they are taking positions in cyclical sectors again. This relief rally could remain a little while longer and could lead to less volatility.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/u-s-stock-futures-gain-before-economic-data-google-climbs.html

[Hissyspit]

5. Happy Occupy Wall Street Cleaning Victory Day!

[rfranklin]

9. If only Mayor Blomberg was as concerned about cleaning up the rest of Wall Street...

Banksters should be rounded up under the Patriot Act and held indefinitely at Guantanamo.

[Hissyspit]

17. We live in strange ironic times.

[Loge23]

32. "for their own security"

As HLS/TSA constantly reminds us.
Regardless, I think the Genie is out of the bottle this time.

[tclambert]

50. I wouldn't mind if someone sent the cops in to clean up Goldman Sachs

That place has been begging for a broom for 4 years now.

Maybe not a broom. What's that other thing I was thinking of that's like a broom? Oh, I remember--a guillotine!

[xchrom]

6. asia: Asian stocks retreat on Europe debt crisis fears

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-14-05-03-37

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stocks were mostly lower Friday as investors worried about uncertainty over corporate earnings and Europe's debt crisis while China said inflation eased but stayed high.

European stocks rose amid hopes a meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in Paris would make headway on Europe's sovereign debt crisis

Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8 percent to close at 8,747.96 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slid 1.4 percent to 18,501.79. The Shanghai Composite Index in mainland China slipped 0.3 percent to finish at 2,431.37 after authorities said China's inflation rate eased to 6.1 percent in September but still well above the official target

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.9 percent to end at 4,269.00. Benchmarks in Taiwan and New Zealand also fell while Singapore stocks dipped after government officials lowered the country's 2011 economic growth forecast and warned growth may slow further next year. South Korea's Kospi index, however, rose 0.7 percent to end at 1,835.40.

[xchrom]

21. HK, China shrs dip on profit taking, up on week

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/markets-hongkong-china-stocks-idUKL3E7LE0IA20111014

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Hong Kong and Shanghai shares fell on Friday as investors took money off the table cashing in earlier gains in banks and property firms after China data showed annual inflation eased only a shade, reinforcing concerns about the global economy.

Data released after Shanghai markets closed showed China's bank lending and money growth slowed more than expected in September, weighing on Hong Kong's market but local benchmarks managed to hold on to weekly gains.

Chinese shares rallied this week, partly on short-covering, as optimism grew over steps taken to restore confidence in the financial system, including China's sovereign wealth fund buying bank shares and new loan quotas for some small and medium-sized enterprises.

China's annual consumer inflation eased to 6.1 percent in September, falling for a second successive month, although stubborn food price rises showed Beijing's fight against inflation is not over.

[xchrom]

7. Hedge fund exec gets 11 yrs, his crimes 'a virus'

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEDGE_FUND_INSIDER_TRADING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-14-04-28-48

NEW YORK (AP) -- The 11-year prison sentence for a wealthy hedge fund founder convicted of insider trading charges set a record for its length, but still left the government well short of the two-decade-long prison sentence it had sought to send a stern message to Wall Street.

Raj Rajaratnam, 54, left federal court in Manhattan on Thursday after U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell announced a sentence that was four years below a Probation Department recommendation and well short of the government's request that the Galleon Group founder serve as much as 24 1/2 years.

Holwell credited Rajaratnam for acts of charity and cited his diabetes and need for a kidney transplant as reasons for leniency.

"Given the role Mr. Rajaratnam played in this scheme, many people could criticize the sentence as being too lenient," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor who heads the white collar defense group at the firm McCarter & English.

[rfranklin]

11. His "statements reflect...no appreciatiion that he cheated the system"

In court papers, prosecutors noted that Rajaratnam had now shown remorse, noting that he told probation officers: "I am not aware of anyone who lost money as a result of my actions."

Prosecutors wrote: "Rajaratnam's statements reflect absolutely no appreciation that he cheated the system, and every law-abiding participant."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_HEDGE_FUND_INSIDER_TRADING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-14-04-28-48

[AnneD]

35. They never show remorse until....

they are sentenced, that IS the problem.

"I am not aware of anyone who lost money as a result of my actions." That sums up the problem in a nutshell. What about all those pension funds that did not have the same info he had. They lost money.

The Texas TRS system lost so much in Enron that they had to redo the retirement qualification guidelines. It now take teachers more time to qualify, thus they have to work longer to get full retirement. And given the anti public education sentiment these day, most young teachers will not make it to retirement. The stats are already 1 in 4 new hires making it to retirement.

[Demeter]

37. That's not a "Bug", that's an Undocumented Feature

If Dilbert didn't say it, he should have.

[xchrom]

8. europe: S&P lowers Spain's credit rating

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32317.shtml

&P say they expect the financial profile of the Spanish banking system will weaken further
Bank of Spain - EFEBank of Spain - EFE
enlarge photo


S&P has lowered its credit rating for Spain, taking it from AA to AA- with a negative outlook.

The agency considers that the labour reform introduced by the Government as ‘incomplete’, and says the ranking is also due to weak growth, the narrow margin in financial conditions and the high rate of unemployment.

The overview of their statement begins,
‘• Despite signs of resilience in economic performance during 2011, we see heightened risks to Spain's growth prospects due to high unemployment, tighter financial conditions, the still high level of private sector debt, and the likely economic slowdown in Spain's main trading partners.
• The financial profile of the Spanish banking system will, in our opinion, weaken further, with the stock of problematic assets rising further, as highlighted by the recent revision in our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment on Spain to Group 4 from Group 3.’

Read more: http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_32317.shtml#ixzz1aktV00ig

[xchrom]

10. Taxpayer nursing huge losses on RBS and Lloyds

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/blog/2011/oct/13/taxpayer-losses-rbs-lloyds-shares

When taxpayers bailed out Lloyds Banking Group – which was two separate banks Lloyds TSB and HBOS at the time – and Royal Bank of Scotland the expectation was that the government stake would have begun to be sold off by now. And at a profit.

Instead, three years later, the taxpayer is nursing a loss of close to £32bn on stakes originally worth more than £60bn. The meltdown in the financial markets and the impact of the report by the independent commission on banking to "ringfence" high street banks is being blamed for the fall in the share prices.

The terms of the bailout were announced on 13 October 2008 although the taxpayer eventually ended up buying its stake in RBS in three tranches – and spending more than first envisaged. The first tranche, of 22.8bn shares was bought in December 2008 at a price of 65.5p; the second was a preference share conversion in April 2009 when 16.7bn shares were bought at 31.75p and then a further slice in December 2009 of 51bn shares at a price of 50p when the asset protection scheme (APS), designed to insure its most toxic assets, was eventually set up. UK Financial Investments, set up in November 2008 to act as an "arms length" investor in the stakes in the bailed out banks, reckons this gives an average price of 50.2p share – plotted on the graph – for 90.6bn shares that were worth £45.5m at that price.

[xchrom]

12. Protesters plan to 'occupy' London Stock Exchange

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/14/protesters-london-stock-exchange

After four weeks of focus on Wall Street, the fast-moving campaign against the global banking industry is coming to the UK this weekend, with the biggest event aiming to "occupy" the London Stock Exchange.

Organised by Facebook and Twitter pages which between them have picked up more than 15,000 followers, campaigners are to gather outside St Paul's Cathedral at midday on Saturday before marching the short distance to Paternoster Square, the business development housing the London Stock Exchange, as well as the UK HQ of investment bank Goldman Sachs.

It is one of a series of planned events around the UK, which are in turn part of a wider global day of action spanning a thus far promised 800-plus protests.

It remains to be seen how many of the online supporters will turn up in London, with estimates ranging from a few hundred to a couple of thousand. It is also unclear whether City police, the small force which operates in London's financial district, will permit activists to mimic the Wall Street protests by pitching their tents.

[xchrom]

14. European Rescue Plan Takes Shape as G-20 Ministers Meet

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/euro-rescue-plan-takes-shape-as-g-20-finance-chiefs-start-talks.html

European officials are outlining a rescue plan that may include deeper investor losses on Greek bonds, higher bank capital levels and increased firepower for bailouts and the International Monetary Fund.

The plan’s elements emerged as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 began talks in Paris, seeking ways to end Europe’s two-year sovereign debt crisis. Underscoring the need for action, Standard & Poor’s yesterday cut Spain’s credit rating for the third time in three years and new data showed the eight largest U.S. money-market funds almost halved their lending to French banks last month.

“The sense of urgency is here,” Eric Chaney, chief economist for AXA SA (CS), Europe’s second-largest insurer, said in a Bloomberg Television interview with Maryam Nemazee in Paris today. “There will be a lot of pressure on Europeans to find a solution.”

[xchrom]

22. European shares resumes rally; resistance looms

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/uk-markets-britain-stocks-idUKTRE79D1BP20111014

(Reuters) - European stocks resumed their recovery rally on Friday after the previous session's bout of profit-taking as growing hopes of swift measures to battle the euro zone debt crisis eclipsed Spain's credit rating downgrade by Standard & Poor's.

Gains were limited, however, as benchmark indexes were back at major resistance levels.

Tech shares paced the rally, led by STMicroelectronics (STM.PA), up 6.2 percent, Ericsson (ERICb.ST), up 3.9 percent, and Infineon (IFXGn.DE), up 2.8 percent, buoyed by Google's (GOOG.O) quarterly results that beat analyst expectations.

At 12:26 pm., the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top European shares was up 0.7 percent at 972.81 points, reversing most of the previous session's losses and heading towards 983.38 points, a major resistance level that represents the 50 percent retracement of the index's slump between late-July and late-September.

[xchrom]

13. US investigates Google tax strategies

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/oct/14/us-investigates-google-tax-strategies

US tax authorities are investigating the strategies used by Google to cut its tax bill by about $1bn (£635m) a year by funnelling profits from the US and Europe to subsidiaries with low tax rates.

The Internal Revenue Service has requested information from Google about its offshore deals following three acquisitions including its purchase of YouTube in 2006, according to Bloomberg.

Sources said it was "bringing more than typical scrutiny" to techniques known as the "Double Irish" and "Dutch Sandwich", which move revenues through units in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Bermuda.

The complex revenue shuffle is legal and is used by countless US multi-nationals. However, the tactic cost the US treasury an estimated $90bn in tax revenues in 2008, according to Kimberly Clausing, an economics professor at Reed College.

[xchrom]

15. south asia: India Frees Government Companies to Compete With China for Mines Abroad

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-13/india-frees-state-firms-to-compete-with-china-for-mines-abroad.html

India granted state-run companies greater powers to acquire coal, oil and other mineral assets overseas without consulting the government as it bids to compete with China for resources to power its economy.

The policy approved by the cabinet yesterday gives companies enhanced powers to examine proposals and obtain the approval of directors, and applies to units that have been profitable for three consecutive years, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said in New Delhi. The government will “in due course” consider forming a sovereign wealth fund to help companies compete, she said.

“Availability of raw material is a prerequisite not only for the growth of the manufacturing sector, but for the economy as a whole,” Soni said yesterday. “The acquisition of raw material abroad will also help in improving energy security.”

Companies including Oil & Natural Gas Corp., India’s biggest energy explorer, and Coal India Ltd. (COAL), the world’s largest producer of the fuel, are scouring the world for energy and mining assets to meet demand in Asia’s second-fastest growing major economy. They have often lost out to China, which has promised billions of dollars in aid, investment and loans to nations in exchange for oil and ores.

[xchrom]

16. India’s Inflation Exceeds 9% for 10th Month, Increasing Pressure on Rates

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/india-s-inflation-exceeds-9-for-10th-month-increasing-pressure-on-rates.html

India’s inflation exceeded 9 percent for a 10th straight month in September, maintaining pressure on the central bank to extend its record interest-rate increases.

The benchmark wholesale-price index rose 9.72 percent from a year earlier after a 9.78 percent jump in August, the commerce ministry said in New Delhi today. The median of 21 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 9.75 percent increase.

Elevated inflation in India and China are crimping room for policy makers to ease monetary policy and support global growth amid Europe’s debt crisis and a faltering U.S. recovery. India’s central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said yesterday that a more than 9 percent inflation is above “comfort level.”

“The inflation trajectory is not decidedly shifting downwards,” Samiran Chakraborty, a Mumbai based economist at Standard Chartered Plc, said before the report. He expects the Reserve Bank of India to raise its repurchase rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 8.5 percent at its Oct. 25 meeting.

[xchrom]

18. Wall Street Protests Planned in London, Tokyo

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/wall-street-protests-planned-in-asia-pacific.html

Protests against widening income disparity are planned across the Asia-Pacific region tomorrow as demonstrators organizing via social media from Tokyo to Sydney join London in the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The rallies that began in New York on Sept. 17, where more than 700 were arrested, have already migrated across the U.S. to cities including Denver, Boston and San Francisco. The largest gatherings tomorrow are planned in London and Australia, according to organizers, who are hoping to harness networking sites such as Facebook Inc. to attract thousands.

“Many people are very inspired by what’s happening around the world and I know there are 1,300 people on Facebook saying they’re coming,” a spokesman for planned demonstrations in Sydney, Josh Lees, said today by telephone.

The Occupy Wall Street rallies started last month in New York’s financial district, where people have been staying in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park to protest inequality and demand higher taxes for the wealthy. About 4,000 people have signaled their intent to attend a peaceful demonstration that will start at noon tomorrow outside the London Stock Exchange, according to organizer Kai Wargalla.

[xchrom]

19. Gold Traders Most Bullish Since July After Plunge: Commodities

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-13/gold-traders-turn-most-bullish-in-three-months-after-20-rout-commodities.html

Gold’s biggest slump in three years means traders and analysts are now the most bullish in three months, speculating that Europe’s debt crisis, slowing growth and a bear market in equities will drive demand for bullion.

Twenty-two of 25 people surveyed by Bloomberg expect the metal to rise next week, the highest proportion since mid-July. Prices rebounded 9.2 percent since reaching a two-month low at the end of September and investors are adding to their holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products for the first time in a month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Traders also expect gains in copper, sugar, corn and soybeans, surveys show.

Gold slumped as much as 20 percent since reaching a record $1,923.70 an ounce on Sept. 6 as investors sold the metal to cover losses in other markets. As much as $4.2 trillion was erased from the value of global equities in the past month on mounting concern that economies will tip back into recession and European lawmakers will fail to prevent sovereign defaults. The last time traders and analysts were this bullish, bullion surged 21 percent to an all-time high within eight weeks.

[xchrom]

20. Emerging Stocks Drop, Ending Seven-Day Rally, on Spain Rating

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-14/emerging-stocks-snap-seven-day-rally-on-china-inflation-spain-downgrade.html

Emerging-market stocks fell, ending the biggest seven-day rally in two years, after a cut in Spain’s credit rating fueled concern Europe’s debt crisis is spreading and as China’s inflation exceeded 6 percent for a fourth month.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.2 percent to 928.26 at 2:23 p.m. Jakarta time, with about three stocks falling for every two that rose. The measure climbed 12 percent in the seven days through yesterday, the biggest rally since the period ended May 7, 2009. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of Chinese shares traded in Hong Kong fell 2.2 percent. Taiwan’s Taiex Index lost 1 percent.

Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Spain’s credit rating highlights concern that rising defaults will threaten efforts to stem Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis, even after Slovakia approved the region’s enhanced bailout fund, completing the ratification process. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (3988), the nation’s biggest lender by value, dropped 5.2 percent in Hong Kong.

“The downgrades raise concern of further potential losses at some banks in Europe because of the debt crisis,” said Fadlul Imansyah, who helps manage about $180 million at PT CIMB Principal Asset Management in Jakarta. “This could affect liquidity as people pull cash and avoid risks.”

[xchrom]

23. New Numbers Back Buffett and Krugman in Millionaires Tax Debate

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/business/2011/10/new-numbers-back-buffett-and-krugman-millionaires-tax-debate/43633/

Last month, we reported on a high-profile fact-checking dispute between New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and the Associated Press over how many millionaires are actually taxed less than middle-income tax payers. But a new report by the Congressional Research Service shows that about 25 percent of millionaires pay federal taxes at a lower rate than some middle-income taxpayers, bolstering the point made by Krugman and Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett.

Bloomberg highlights the report's findings on millionaire tax rates:

Preferential treatment of investment income and the reduced impact of payroll taxes on high earners lets about 94,500 millionaires pay taxes at a lower rate than 10.4 million “moderate-income taxpayers.”

The dispute began with a column Buffett wrote in The New York Times in August. The following month, while pushing for his deficit plan that would raise taxes on millionaires, President Obama repeated Buffet's argument that millionaires should never be taxed less than their secretaries. The AP subsequently ran a fact-checking story saying the president was over-stating his case.

[xchrom]

24. Discontent Simmers in a Market as Uganda’s Economy Staggers

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/world/africa/as-ugandas-economy-sags-discontent-simmers-in-a-market.html?_r=1&ref=global-home

KAMPALA, Uganda — Sam Katende wipes his brow as a burst of steam from his frying pan blows into his face.

This business used to be a lot easier, dishing out rolled eggs — or “Rolexes,” as the ubiquitous and beloved snack is known here — for about 33 cents a pop. But, as Mr. Katende says, “life has changed.”

Customers are not coming around anymore. Uganda’s economy has been in turmoil, with prices for everything from bananas to petrol to the charcoal Mr. Katende uses to fire up his stove at least doubling in recent months. The Ugandan shilling is one of the world’s worst-performing currencies against the dollar this year, and the overall economic malaise is fueling an urban protest movement that has become the longest in sub-Saharan Africa, with many Ugandans saying they are drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring.

The complaints are similar: Many Ugandans say that their government is corrupt and that their president, Yoweri Museveni, who after 25 years has ruled Uganda for longer than more than half the country’s population has been alive, is dismissive of the people’s plight.

[Demeter]

41. We Are Invading Uganda Now, Too

SHAMELSSLY STOLEN FROM Freddie Stubbs:

Obama Sends 100 US Troops to Uganda to Combat Lord’s Resistance Army

Source: ABC News

Two days ago President Obama authorized the deployment to Uganda of approximately 100 combat-equipped U.S. forces to help regional forces “remove from the battlefield” – meaning capture or kill – Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and senior leaders of the LRA.

The forces will ultimately go to Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the permission of those countries.

The president made this announcement in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Friday afternoon, saying that “deploying these U.S. Armed Forces furthers U.S. national security interests and foreign policy and will be a significant contribution toward counter-LRA efforts in central Africa.”

He said that “although the U.S. forces are combat-equipped, they will only be providing information, advice, and assistance to partner nation forces, and they will not themselves engage LRA forces unless necessary for self-defense.”

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/obama-send... /

[Demeter]

26. Talk About a Thankless Task

[xchrom]

28. love it!

:hi:

[DemReadingDU]

27. NPR: Playing Chicken To Cut The Deficit

10/15/11 Playing Chicken To Cut The Deficit

If you've ever thought that most of politics is game-playing, you're right. Political scientists often use mathematical game theory to describe how Congress works. And when they look at the current battle over how to handle the deficit, the game that comes to mind is chicken.

Steven Smith is a professor of political science at Washington University, and he says yes, Republicans and Democrats sometimes remind him of two cars driving as fast as they can toward each other.

"So in politics, we often times see two sides...showing the same thing, with one party trying to persuade the other party, that it is willing to walk away from the table even if that risks disaster," says Smith.

In this summer's debate over raising the debt ceiling, the game of chicken fell apart. Both cars swerved, both sides claimed victory, and nothing happened. No one wants a repeat of this, so Congress has changed the stakes of the game by creating a supercommittee.


They've put the supercommittee behind the wheel and filled each car with both political parties' children — budgetary items each party holds dear. If neither side swerves, automatic cuts will be made.

"The Republicans do not presumably want the defense budget cut, and Democrats do not want the domestic discretionary programs cut," says Smith.

The hope is that in the face of a treacherous crash, "they will work their way through to an agreement."

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/10/14/141331034/playing-chicken-to-cut-the-deficit

[Tansy_Gold]

30. "The hope is. . . . . . "

Don't bet on it, sonny. That sort of thing works when you're dealing with rational minds. When you're dealing with Republicans, on the other hand. . . .




TG

[AnneD]

39. I heard that story this morning....

had the exact same thoughts. But to be fair, I say cut 50% 0f the military budget and then just try and cut 50% of social services. We will not miss the military cuts but the social services cuts will send this country into revolution.

[DemReadingDU]

31. "The Student Loan Racket" - The Complete Infographic

10/14/11 "The Student Loan Racket" - The Complete Infographic
When we looked at the latest release of consumer debt a few days ago, we spread the data into its constituent government and non-government loans. Needless to say, taking away the "government" means consumer credit has imploded.

So where does all this government debt go? Two places: car financing (see previous post about retail sales surging on a spike in car sales especially subprime loans to Government Motors clients), and student loans. Below we look at the letter.

As the following infographic from HealthcareAdministration.com shows, student loan debt, now at $830 billion, has surpassed credit card debt—a statement not likely to have been heard 20 years ago. Student loans, unlike any other form of debt, cannot be forgiven via bankruptcy—these loans must be repaid. Is this the next bubble to burst? Look for clues in this comprehensive infographic.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/student-loan-racket-complete-infographic

[Tansy_Gold]

34. +bazillions

My student loans are being paid back through deductions from my social security that will go on until I am in my late 70s or early 80s.

[AnneD]

36. Love the toon btw....

FRSP.

I think this is the spot we place TG's stamp.

[Demeter]

38. FRSP!

It's not a cry on Wall Street (thank goodness, they'd be nuking the OWS people with drones), but how I wish it were...one wants to see one's children succeed in the larger world....

[alterfurz]

49. Let's Get This Party Started!

[Tansy_Gold]

44. As you wish, Buttercup

[AnneD]

46. And the execs on WS say...

"Inconceivable"

[Tansy_Gold]

47. "You keep saying that word. . . . .

I do not think it means what you think it means."


:rofl:

[AnneD]

48. It is a seldom know biblical quote....

they were Joseph's first words to Mary....but I digress.:evilgrin:

edited to add: I am going straight to my room, no supper:spank:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. "October isn't an horrible month for the SM!"

Directions:

Click heels three times.

[Demeter]

42. Not yet, anyway

[Roland99]

43. Mortgage Credit in 'Quiet Crash': DoubleLine's Gundlach

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44892166



TimberX (PrimeX crashing)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/timberx

[hamerfan]

45. K&R! n/t

Great TOON!

[hamerfan]

51. "One More Thing"

Anyone here who has been a long-time AAPL shareholder has my respects. I would've sold when it broke $100 the first time. It closed today at $422.