http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-27/miners-can-t-operate-with-gold-below-1-500-gold-fields-says.html
Bullion must rise to $1,500 an ounce for the gold mining industry to be
sustainable, according to Gold Fields Ltd. (GFI)'s Chief Executive
Officer Nick Holland. "The industry is not sustainable at $1,230 an
ounce, which is where the gold price is at the moment," Holland said
today in a telephone interview. "We're going to need at least $1,500 an
ounce to sustain this industry in any reasonable form."'' -- WHAT?! You
mean this price makes no economic sense and is probably manipulated to
please the Fed and the rest of the world's central banks? We don't
believe it -- such major markets are never manipulated!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
FDIC Hits Eight Banks with Enforcement Orders
http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/178_125/fdic-hits-eight-banks-with-enforcement-orders-1060290-1.html
The most severe order was a prompt corrective action against Trust Company Bank in Mason, Tenn., which was given 30 days to become adequately capitalized. The $34 million-asset bank had a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 2.12% and a total risk-based capital of 3.67% as of March 31, according to the FDIC.''
The most severe order was a prompt corrective action against Trust Company Bank in Mason, Tenn., which was given 30 days to become adequately capitalized. The $34 million-asset bank had a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 2.12% and a total risk-based capital of 3.67% as of March 31, according to the FDIC.''
Supreme Court: We Must ‘Expressly Invoke’ Our Rights to Have Them Upheld
http://truthstreammedia.com/supreme-court-we-must-expressly-invoke-our-rights-to-have-them-upheld/
If that is the case, let’s talk specifics. Exactly how does this Fifth Amendment declaration have to be made to be considered “official”? Does the person have to say the words, “I am now invoking my Fifth Amendment right and will remain silent”? Can the person just say “Fifth Amendment”? What if the person is mute, can he or she wear a shirt with the words “I invoke my Fifth Amendment” on it? Do we as American citizens all need to start walking around wearing shirts that read “I hereby invoke:” followed by a list of all of our rights underneath to have them be upheld?
Sure, that last paragraph was a bunch of sarcastic rhetorical nonsense, but nonsense is the idea of Americans being forced to call what The Atlantic Wire dubs an “on-the-fly legal equivalent of ‘safesies’” in order to have our rights recognized by our warped, tyrannical government’s legal system.
As with so-called Free Speech Zones and the Patriot Act, this latest decision just shows in sad detail one of the many ways our government continues to play semantic games with our Constitution to further limit our rights.
The Atlantic Wire reported:
If that is the case, let’s talk specifics. Exactly how does this Fifth Amendment declaration have to be made to be considered “official”? Does the person have to say the words, “I am now invoking my Fifth Amendment right and will remain silent”? Can the person just say “Fifth Amendment”? What if the person is mute, can he or she wear a shirt with the words “I invoke my Fifth Amendment” on it? Do we as American citizens all need to start walking around wearing shirts that read “I hereby invoke:” followed by a list of all of our rights underneath to have them be upheld?
Sure, that last paragraph was a bunch of sarcastic rhetorical nonsense, but nonsense is the idea of Americans being forced to call what The Atlantic Wire dubs an “on-the-fly legal equivalent of ‘safesies’” in order to have our rights recognized by our warped, tyrannical government’s legal system.
As with so-called Free Speech Zones and the Patriot Act, this latest decision just shows in sad detail one of the many ways our government continues to play semantic games with our Constitution to further limit our rights.
The Atlantic Wire reported:
Basically, if you’re ever in any trouble with police (no, we don’t condone breaking laws) and want to keep your mouth shut, you will need to announce that you’re invoking your Fifth Amendment right instead of, you know, just keeping your mouth shut. ‘Petitioner’s Fifth Amendment claim fails because he did not expressly invoke the privilege against self-incrimination in response to the officer’s question,’ reads the opinion from Justice Samuel Alito, which Justice Kennedy and Chief Justice John Roberts backed. Justices Thomas and Scalia had a concurring opinion while the remaining four Supremes dissented. [emphasis added](Notice Justice Alito referred to our Fifth Amendment right as a “privilege” — Isn’t it wonderful that these people are appointed to their positions for life?)
Who makes the most in Obama's White House?
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/28/us-usa-obama-salaries-idUSBRE95R15X20130628?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews
It's not Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. Not Obama's senior adviser and close friend Valerie Jarrett. Not Cecilia Munoz, who is overseeing White House efforts on immigration reform, nor Lisa Monaco, who advises Obama on homeland security and counterterrorism.
The best-paid person of the 460 people who work at the White House is Seth Wheeler, a senior adviser at the National Economic Council, who is crafting Obama's strategy on housing finance.
One of the newest appointees, Wheeler earns $225,000, according to the annual White House report on its $37.9 million payroll released on Friday.
Wheeler has been detailed to the role from the Federal Reserve where the pay scale is higher, a White House official explained.
It also means he earns more than his boss, Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council, who earns the White House limit of $172,200.
At the Fed, Wheeler was chief of staff for the Office of Financial Stability Policy and Research.
He is an ex-Morgan Stanley banker who worked for former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson during the Bush Administration, and was a key architect with the Obama administration's mortgage modification program, helping craft the signature housing aid program known as the Home Affordable Modification Program.
It's not Chief of Staff Denis McDonough. Not Obama's senior adviser and close friend Valerie Jarrett. Not Cecilia Munoz, who is overseeing White House efforts on immigration reform, nor Lisa Monaco, who advises Obama on homeland security and counterterrorism.
The best-paid person of the 460 people who work at the White House is Seth Wheeler, a senior adviser at the National Economic Council, who is crafting Obama's strategy on housing finance.
One of the newest appointees, Wheeler earns $225,000, according to the annual White House report on its $37.9 million payroll released on Friday.
Wheeler has been detailed to the role from the Federal Reserve where the pay scale is higher, a White House official explained.
It also means he earns more than his boss, Gene Sperling, the director of the National Economic Council, who earns the White House limit of $172,200.
At the Fed, Wheeler was chief of staff for the Office of Financial Stability Policy and Research.
He is an ex-Morgan Stanley banker who worked for former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson during the Bush Administration, and was a key architect with the Obama administration's mortgage modification program, helping craft the signature housing aid program known as the Home Affordable Modification Program.
Truck Drivers Not Revved Up About New Safety Rules
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100852239
The rules are part of a program by the Obama administration to make U.S. highways safer by reducing the number of truck accidents and fatalities. The program also includes a safety rating system that shippers can review when they chose a new carrier, with the goal of prodding the trucking industry to further improve the safety of its drivers and equipment.
"The updated hours of service rule makes three common sense, data-driven changes to increase safety on our roadways and reduce driver fatigue, a leading factor in large truck crashes," said Anne Ferro administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which issued the rules, in a statement.
Ferro was not available for an interview.
But the trucking industry—which has sued to have the rules reversed—is warning that they will mean more highway traffic and high shipping costs for consumers.
The industry also argues that it's already doing a good job of reducing accidents, and that the government's own data supports that position. The number of people killed each year in large truck crashes has fallen by almost 30 percent, from 5,282 in 2000, to nearly 4,000 in 2011, according to the FMCSA.
The rules are part of a program by the Obama administration to make U.S. highways safer by reducing the number of truck accidents and fatalities. The program also includes a safety rating system that shippers can review when they chose a new carrier, with the goal of prodding the trucking industry to further improve the safety of its drivers and equipment.
"The updated hours of service rule makes three common sense, data-driven changes to increase safety on our roadways and reduce driver fatigue, a leading factor in large truck crashes," said Anne Ferro administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which issued the rules, in a statement.
Ferro was not available for an interview.
But the trucking industry—which has sued to have the rules reversed—is warning that they will mean more highway traffic and high shipping costs for consumers.
The industry also argues that it's already doing a good job of reducing accidents, and that the government's own data supports that position. The number of people killed each year in large truck crashes has fallen by almost 30 percent, from 5,282 in 2000, to nearly 4,000 in 2011, according to the FMCSA.
China June Official PMI at 50.1, Versus 50.8 in May
China's official Purchasing Managers' Index
for June came in at 50.1, slightly better than a Reuters poll of 50,
but still a decline from May's reading of 50.8.
LA School System to Teach Kids to Deliver Obamacare Message to Parents
The public school system is becoming more and more nothing but an agency of the state to spread propaganda.
The Los Angeles school system reportedly plans to use a state grant to promote ObamaCare, in part by teaching students to become “messengers” for the law, reports FOX News.
Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, announced grants of $37 million on May 14 to promote Obamacare, reports the Heartland Institute.
LAUSD will receive $990,000. The district listed as a primary outcome for its project, “Teens trained to be messengers to family members.”
The Heartland Institute continues:
Its for the children, Hitler used children as well during his Propaganda campaigns. The far Left seem to be in Lock step with Hitlers vision of the new world. And we seen how that turned out.
The Los Angeles school system reportedly plans to use a state grant to promote ObamaCare, in part by teaching students to become “messengers” for the law, reports FOX News.
Covered California, the state's health insurance exchange, announced grants of $37 million on May 14 to promote Obamacare, reports the Heartland Institute.
LAUSD will receive $990,000. The district listed as a primary outcome for its project, “Teens trained to be messengers to family members.”
The Heartland Institute continues:
Covered California spokeswoman Sarah Soto-Taylor said staff have not questioned this goal.
“We have confidence that the model LA Unified brought to the table will be successful in reaching our target population, which includes family members of students,” she said.
LAUSD will also use tax-paid staff to promote ObamaCare through phone calls to students’ homes, in-class presentations, and meetings with employees eligible for ObamaCare’s taxpayer-covered healthcare, the grant award says.
One in three Los Angeles students never graduates high school.[...]
“Teens are part of a ‘pilot’ program to test whether young people can be trained as messengers to deliver outreach and limited education to family and friends in and around their homes,” said Gayle Pollard-Terry, a LAUSD spokesman, in an email
Its for the children, Hitler used children as well during his Propaganda campaigns. The far Left seem to be in Lock step with Hitlers vision of the new world. And we seen how that turned out.
Map Shows Highest Gas Taxes
New York and California have the highest taxes at #1 and #2, at 50.6
cents and 48.7 cents respectively. The lowest gas tax is in Alaska at 8
cents
Two of the most Liberal Progressive States in the union, with some of the Highest taxes on it citizens. Can someone please explain to me how these high taxes equate to the Liberal ( Progressive ) Democrat being the Party of the People?
Why Did China's ATMs Stop Working Last Sunday?
A lesson for all around the globe, keep some cash outside the system.
Bloomberg reports:
Bloomberg reports:
[Last] Sunday morning, while China was taking a weekend breather from the financial fireworks caused by the government’s weeklong self-inflicted cash and credit crunch, customers of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank, woke to an unpleasant surprise: Their deposits were not available for withdrawal by ATM or teller (online or in-person).
The social-media reaction was swift, filled with exclamation points and lacking in confidence for ICBC, or the Chinese banking system as a whole. “I was just at ICBC to make a withdrawal and was told the system was undergoing an upgrade and withdrawals are temporarily unavailable,” tweeted a user in Shenyang on Sina Weibo, China’s leading social-media platform. “I called the service hot line, finally someone answered and said they don’t know the answer!!!!!!! ICBC: When can we withdraw money? Who can give a clear answer??????????????”
Hell to pay:’ Residents angry as RCMP seize guns from High River homes (with video)
The
government evacuates a town. And then agents of the government "force
entry" into people's homes and seize their firearms. Got that?
I was on the road yesterday, and spent some time thinking about this incident as I drove.
Did a government arms registry list play any part in what houses were chosen?
There are zero reports of looting mentioned in the news account I linked
to. If the town is evacuated, and there's a police security presence,
how real was any looting risk?
Agents of the state, according to the article, had not re-secured these
homes after the government break-ins. There's only a future promise that
homes would be re-secured. If there was a looting risk, anything else
of value left behind by residents was put at much higher risk. Jewelry,
tools, coin collections, furnishings, appliances.
Why would government intentionally create looting targets by breaking
into homes and then leaving them open? Will government take
responsibility for other missing items? Any chance agents of the state
also pocketed a few goodies while protecting unknown entities from an
undocumented threat by firearms that had been in otherwise secured
dwellings?
What kind of proof will be required to reclaim ownership?
If a detailed inventory was kept, and the guns have been removed to safe
location, why doesn't government return this collection of private
property to its rightful owners?
No, the gun grab by the RCMP smells to high heaven, and appears to be a
knee jerk reaction by a government mindset that takes every opportunity
to target gun ownership or to label guns as unsafe.
From a purely public safety viewpoint, the police have done a grave
disservice here. Will residents of towns facing a similar flood threat
in the future be as willing to follow evacuation orders if they know the
police may soon follow behind to kick in the doors and rummage through
their stuff?
European officials lash out at new NSA spying report Protestors hold posters reading 'Stasi 2.0'
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57591678/european-officials-lash-out-at-new-nsa-spying-report/
Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger was responding to a report by German news weekly Der Spiegel, which claimed that the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels. The magazine cited classified U.S. documents taken by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that it said it had partly seen.
"If the media reports are accurate, then this recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War," Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies," she said, calling for an "immediate and comprehensive" response from the U.S. government to the claims.
Other European officials demanded an explanation from the U.S.
"I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations," European Parliament President Martin Schulz said in a statement, according to CNN. "If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations. On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the U.S. authorities with regard to these allegations.
Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger was responding to a report by German news weekly Der Spiegel, which claimed that the U.S. National Security Agency eavesdropped on EU offices in Washington, New York and Brussels. The magazine cited classified U.S. documents taken by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden that it said it had partly seen.
"If the media reports are accurate, then this recalls the methods used by enemies during the Cold War," Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"It is beyond comprehension that our friends in the United States see Europeans as enemies," she said, calling for an "immediate and comprehensive" response from the U.S. government to the claims.
Other European officials demanded an explanation from the U.S.
"I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations," European Parliament President Martin Schulz said in a statement, according to CNN. "If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations. On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the U.S. authorities with regard to these allegations.
Martyred priest
The Vatican confirms a Catholic priest has been beheaded by anti- Assad jihadists in Syria.
Would the White House care to again articulate what it hopes to accomplish by opening a weapons supply spigot to Syrian rebels increasingly dominated by the most intolerant Islamic factions?
Would the White House care to again articulate what it hopes to accomplish by opening a weapons supply spigot to Syrian rebels increasingly dominated by the most intolerant Islamic factions?
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Gold rush 2013 style has Dubai scrambling
http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/markets/gold-rush-2013-style-has-dubai-scrambling#ixzz2XTAh0M1K
The price drop led to a rush of buyers for Dubai gold from the Middle East, South East Asia, the Balkans, Turkey and parts of Europe according to Tarek El Mdaka, the managing director of Kaloti Gold in Dubai.
"I cannot find a place for transporting gold on Emirates, on BA on Swiss Airlines this weekend," Mr El Mdaka said. "I am shipping in one-and-a-half to two tonnes of gold every day and it is going straight out."
Mr El Mdaka added that gold is in such short supply in Dubai that he is able to charge a US$3 premium per ounce. "In the last week or so that has gone up from $1.25, $1.50 to $1.75. But now it is $3. We are really squeezed."
The price drop led to a rush of buyers for Dubai gold from the Middle East, South East Asia, the Balkans, Turkey and parts of Europe according to Tarek El Mdaka, the managing director of Kaloti Gold in Dubai.
"I cannot find a place for transporting gold on Emirates, on BA on Swiss Airlines this weekend," Mr El Mdaka said. "I am shipping in one-and-a-half to two tonnes of gold every day and it is going straight out."
Mr El Mdaka added that gold is in such short supply in Dubai that he is able to charge a US$3 premium per ounce. "In the last week or so that has gone up from $1.25, $1.50 to $1.75. But now it is $3. We are really squeezed."
LOOPHOLES: How to Avoid Paying for Obamacare Insurance AND Also Avoid the Penalty
Merrill Matthews at Forbes explains:
[T]he IRS has no authority to go after someone’s assets or wages in order to collect the penalty. It only has the authority to deduct the penalty from a person’s tax refund at year’s end. It won’t take long for people to figure out how to fix that problem by trying to ensure they have only enough withheld to meet their tax obligation. Those who are uninsured and successful at hitting the tax mark will face no effective penalty.Here's another loophole (via Matthews)
But just because millions of Americans refuse to get ObamaCare-qualified coverage doesn’t mean they will be uninsured. There are policies available now that would work very well for the ObamaCare avoiders.
Some of these policies are built on a life insurance platform rather than health insurance — which, incidentally, means they are outside ObamaCare’s long arm of regulatory control.
The customer buys a life insurance policy that pays up to $250,000 upon death, which I believe is the current maximum available for this kind of policy.
Along with life insurance coverage the policy includes what’s called a “critical illness” component. If the policyholder needs, say, surgery, the insurer writes the policyholder a check based on a schedule. Let’s say, for example, it’s $10,000.
The policyholder has $10,000 in hand to pay for the medical care — or, frankly, anything else since the money belongs to the insured — but the value of his life insurance benefit is reduced by the same amount, to $240,000. Thus the critical illness component simply accelerates the benefit payout.
One existing policy pays 100 percent for heart attack, stroke, life-threatening cancer, major organ transplant, kidney failure, Alzheimer’s and paralysis, among other medical conditions.
The policyholder could also be part of a provider network that provides a discounted rate for the care — one of the most important current benefits of having health insurance.
How much would such a policy cost? For one company, a 30-year-old male would pay $1,438 a year, and for a 50-year-old male it’s $3,234.
And remember, this isn’t just health coverage. In the event of a tragic accident or illness, whatever is left of the benefit goes to the estate upon death.
If ObamaCare proves to be the train wreck that Democratic Senator Max Baucus fears — who, incidentally, is largely responsible for its current structure — then millions of Americans from all income categories may decide to opt out. Many will still want something, at least until they get a major medical condition whereupon they can then go back into ObamaCare coverage. And they can still keep their life insurance policy along with its critical illness benefits.
Good times!
Verbal Signs to Spot a Liar at Work
Above is Carol Kinsey Goman in a recent workshop at the Stanford Graduate Business School.
This also might be useful when being interrogated by an agent of the state. This is how agents are trained.
IMPORTANT Ron Paul on Edward Snowden, Keynesianism, Gold Manipulation and the Fed Losing Control
LewRockwell in a very important interview with Ron Paul , here.
Dr. Paul makes some very important observations about gold and the Fed, in addition to comments on Edward Snowden. Also some great observations on the difference between a trader and a long-term investors.
Dr. Paul makes some very important observations about gold and the Fed, in addition to comments on Edward Snowden. Also some great observations on the difference between a trader and a long-term investors.
Foreign Central Banks Selling U.S. Treasuries
Bernanke better get ready to use that magic Bid button.
Via: Reuters:
Foreign central banks’ overall holdings of U.S. marketable securities at the Federal Reserve fell in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.
The Fed said its holdings of U.S. securities kept for overseas central banks fell $29 billion in the week ended June 26, to stand at $3.3 trillion.
The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks’ holdings of Treasury debt fell by $32.4 billion to stand at $3.0 trillion.
BTFD in metals, and as always a Buffet plate of everything is a must.
Via: Reuters:
Foreign central banks’ overall holdings of U.S. marketable securities at the Federal Reserve fell in the latest week, data from the U.S. central bank showed on Thursday.
The Fed said its holdings of U.S. securities kept for overseas central banks fell $29 billion in the week ended June 26, to stand at $3.3 trillion.
The breakdown of custody holdings showed overseas central banks’ holdings of Treasury debt fell by $32.4 billion to stand at $3.0 trillion.
BTFD in metals, and as always a Buffet plate of everything is a must.
Senators Accuse Government of Using ‘Secret Law’ to Collect Americans’ Data
Ya think?
I was surprised to see them mention the mobile phone location data. I mean, come on, that’s the stuff of lunatic conspiracy theorists! *chortle*
Via: Guardian:
I was surprised to see them mention the mobile phone location data. I mean, come on, that’s the stuff of lunatic conspiracy theorists! *chortle*
Via: Guardian:
The senators said they were seeking public answers to the following questions in order to give the American people the information they need to conduct an informed public debate. The specific questions include:
* How long has the NSA used Patriot Act authorities to engage in bulk collection of Americans’ records? Was this collection underway when the law was reauthorized in 2006?
* Has the NSA used USA Patriot Act authorities to conduct bulk collection of any other types of records pertaining to Americans, beyond phone records?
* Has the NSA collected or made any plans to collect Americans’ cell-site location data in bulk?
* Have there been any violations of the court orders permitting this bulk collection, or of the rules governing access to these records? If so, please describe these violations.
Foreign Boots on American Soil: Russia To Share Military “Security Experts” With U.S. During Emergencies
Emergency Command of Russia
Several documents signed during joint work of Russian Emergency Ministry and FEMA
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry and the USA Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are going to exchange experts during joint rescue operations in major disasters. This is provided by a protocol of the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission Working Group on Emergency Situations and seventeenth meeting of Joint U.S.-Russia Cooperation Committee on Emergency Situations, which took place in Washington on 25 June.
The document provides for expert cooperation in disaster response operations and to study the latest practices.
In addition, the parties approved of U.S.-Russian cooperation in this field in 2013-2014, which envisages exchange of experience including in monitoring and forecasting emergency situations, training of rescuers, development of mine-rescuing and provision of security at mass events.
At the end of the meeting the parties expressed their satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the Russian Federation and the United States in the area of emergency prevention and response and agreed to develop it in order to respond efficiently to all kinds of disasters.
US Park Police lost track of huge supply of weapons, report says
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/28/us-park-police-lost-track-huge-supply-weapons-report-says/
While surveying Park Police field office armories, investigators found more than 1,400 extra and unassigned weapons that were intended to be destroyed. They also found 198 handguns that were transferred from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and stored in an operations facility firearms room without being recorded in an inventory system.
Investigators also found that an officer who had been detailed to President Obama's inauguration in January retained a semi-automatic rifle without permission and stored it at his home. Another officer stored a shotgun at his home in San Francisco without permission, according to the report.
"We found credible evidence of conditions that would allow for theft and misuse of firearms, and the ability to conceal the fact if weapons were missing," Kendall wrote.
While surveying Park Police field office armories, investigators found more than 1,400 extra and unassigned weapons that were intended to be destroyed. They also found 198 handguns that were transferred from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and stored in an operations facility firearms room without being recorded in an inventory system.
Investigators also found that an officer who had been detailed to President Obama's inauguration in January retained a semi-automatic rifle without permission and stored it at his home. Another officer stored a shotgun at his home in San Francisco without permission, according to the report.
"We found credible evidence of conditions that would allow for theft and misuse of firearms, and the ability to conceal the fact if weapons were missing," Kendall wrote.
5-27 Hanson…Per Zillow…>44% of US Homeowners are Zombified; Over 60% when including income/credit restrictions
http://mhanson.com/archives/1269
Important research came out of Zillow last week on “effective” negative equity; a term I coined relating to a novel thesis I have been working with for 3 years, which few understand, respect, or model…I suppose until now. (Zillow report copied below & link here: http://zillow.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=159&item=354 )
Important research came out of Zillow last week on “effective” negative equity; a term I coined relating to a novel thesis I have been working with for 3 years, which few understand, respect, or model…I suppose until now. (Zillow report copied below & link here: http://zillow.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=159&item=354 )
In short, per Zillow 44%
of all mortgage’d homeowners — the core of US housing demand &
supply — are Zombies; 60% when including those lacking sufficient
income or credit needed for a loan. As a result, the nations’ “Maximum Potential Demand” profile has been gutted.
1) “Effective negative equity” is central to my “structurally broken housing market in need of years of de-leveraging before a “durable” bottom can occur”, theme. I have been pounding the table over “Effective” negative equity for years and finally it’s mainstream. Chances are this one report will be blown over. But like with ”shadow inventory” — when this thesis grabs hold — ultimately everybody will be talking about it, it will raise uncertainty, and economists will have no choice to respect the “math”. And the math requires housing sector estimates have to be ratcheted down. This literally changes everything with respect to housing ‘demand and ‘supply’ fundamentals.
Mining Companies Appear to be Engaging in Hedging Activities once Again
http://traderdannorcini.blogspot.com/2013/06/mining-companies-appear-to-be-engaging.html
Once upon a time in the West, We Dig It UP Mining, hedged or forward sold some of its expected gold production in order to mitigate price risk and to ensure that it captured reasonable profits on at least part of its production.
Then came the bull market in gold starting in 2001. We Dig It Up was nonplussed to say the least when it saw what its competitors' stock prices were doing while the price of gold was rising. Theirs' were exploding higher while its was languishing. As a matter of fact, New Kid on the Block Mining was bragging about its disdain for hedging while We Dig It Up Mining spend most of its stockholder meetings explaining why it was engaging in this obsolete strategy.
Eventually, threats from disgruntled shareholders and loss of market performance, were enough to convince the Board of We Dig It Up to abandon the practice of hedging altogether and join the crowd.
That is basically the way things have been since early in the last decade, until now!
What do I mean? Simple - Mining companies are now being faced with life and death decisions when it comes to the well being of their business. No one is quite sure how low the price of gold may or may not go but one thing they are certain of; gold down at current price levels means many miners are not going to be able to profitably (that word is key) dig the ore out of the ground for processing.
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Fed Is Now Taking Over The Entire Treasury Market 20 bps Per Week
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-28/fed-now-taking-over-entire-treasury-market-20-bps-week
Yesterday the Fed released its latest balance sheet data: at $3,478,672,000,000, the Fed's assets reached a new all time high of course, up $8 billion from the prior week and up $615 billion from last year - after all with 4 years almost in a row of debt monetization or maturity transformation, either the total holdings or the 10 Year equivalency of Bernanke's hedge fund rise to new record highs week after week.
But that's not the bad news: the bad news, at least for Bernanke, and why the Fed has no choice but to taper is monetizations (however briefly as following the next market crash Bernanke or his replacement Larry "Mr. Burns" Summers will be right back in) is that since the Treasury is about to print less paper (recall: lower budget deficit, if only briefly), and the Fed is monetizing the same relative amount of paper, the Treasurys in the private circulation book get less and less, as more high quality collateral is withdrawn by the Fed.
This is precisely what the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee warned against in May. This is also precisely why the Fed's "data-dependent" taper announcement is pure and total hogwash: the Fed knows it can't delay the delay (pardon the pun) of Treasury monetization as doing so only risks even further bond market volatility as less Treasury collateral remains in marketable circulation, and as liquidity evaporates with every incremental dollar purchased by the Fed instead of by the private sector.
So just how bad is the situation? Quite bad. As as of last night, courtesy of SMRA, we know that the amount of ten-year equivalents held by the Fed increased to $1.608 trillion from $1.606 trillion in the prior week, which reduces the amount available to the private sector to $3.603 trillion from $3.636 trillion in the prior week. There were $5.211 trillion ten-year equivalents outstanding, down from $5.242 trillion in the prior week.
After the Treasury issuance, maturing securities, rising interest rates, and Fed operations during the week, the Fed owned about 30.86% of the total outstanding ten year equivalents. This is above the 30.63% from the prior week, and the percentage of ten-year equivalents available to the private sector decreased to 69.14% from 69.37% in the prior week.
Gun Confiscation in Alberta Canada: PMO urges RCMP to ‘focus on more important tasks’ after High River gun seizures
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/06/28/more-important-tasks-pmo-says-it-expects-rcmp-to-return-guns-seized-from-evacuated-high-river-homes/
The Prime Minister’s Office says it expects any guns seized from homes in the evacuated town of High River will be returned to their owners as soon as possible.
“We believe the RCMP should focus on more important tasks such as protecting lives and private property,” press secretary Carl Vallée told the National Post in an email.
The RCMP revealed Thursday that officers had seized a “substantial” number of firearms from homes in flood-ravaged High River, about 37 kilometres south Calgary.
“We just want to make sure that all of those things are in a spot that we control, simply because of what they are,” said Sgt. Brian Topham. “People have a significant amount of money invested in firearms … so we put them in a place that we control and that they’re safe.”
The Prime Minister’s Office says it expects any guns seized from homes in the evacuated town of High River will be returned to their owners as soon as possible.
“We believe the RCMP should focus on more important tasks such as protecting lives and private property,” press secretary Carl Vallée told the National Post in an email.
The RCMP revealed Thursday that officers had seized a “substantial” number of firearms from homes in flood-ravaged High River, about 37 kilometres south Calgary.
“We just want to make sure that all of those things are in a spot that we control, simply because of what they are,” said Sgt. Brian Topham. “People have a significant amount of money invested in firearms … so we put them in a place that we control and that they’re safe.”
Former Stasi Lieutenant Colonel On NSA’s Mass Surveillance: ‘It Is The Height Of Naivete To Think That Once Collected This Information Won’t Be Used’
Via: McClatchy:
Wolfgang Schmidt was seated in Berlin’s 1,200-foot-high TV tower, one of the few remaining landmarks left from the former East Germany. Peering out over the city that lived in fear when the communist party ruled it, he pondered the magnitude of domestic spying in the United States under the Obama administration. A smile spread across his face.
“You know, for us, this would have been a dream come true,” he said, recalling the days when he was a lieutenant colonel in the defunct communist country’s secret police, the Stasi.
In those days, his department was limited to tapping 40 phones at a time, he recalled. Decide to spy on a new victim and an old one had to be dropped, because of a lack of equipment. He finds breathtaking the idea that the U.S. government receives daily reports on the cellphone usage of millions of Americans and can monitor the Internet traffic of millions more.
“So much information, on so many people,” he said.
East Germany’s Stasi has long been considered the standard of police state surveillance during the Cold War years, a monitoring regime so vile and so intrusive that agents even noted when their subjects were overheard engaging in sexual intercourse. Against that backdrop, Germans have greeted with disappointment, verging on anger, the news that somewhere in a U.S. government databank are the records of where millions of people were when they made phone calls or what video content they streamed on their computers in the privacy of their homes.
Even Schmidt, 73, who headed one of the more infamous departments in the infamous Stasi, called himself appalled. The dark side to gathering such a broad, seemingly untargeted, amount of information is obvious, he said.
“It is the height of naivete to think that once collected this information won’t be used,” he said. “This is the nature of secret government organizations. The only way to protect the people’s privacy is not to allow the government to collect their information in the first place.”
Voyager 1 At Edge Of Solar System: ‘We Essentially Have Absolutely No Reliable Roadmap Of What To Expect At This Point’
Via: Wired:
“The models that have been thought to predict what should happen are all incorrect,” said physicist Stamatios Krimigis of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, who is lead author of one of three new papers on Voyager appearing in Science on June 27. “We essentially have absolutely no reliable roadmap of what to expect at this point.”
The sun produces a plasma of charged particles called the solar wind, which get blown supersonically from its atmosphere at more than 1 million km/h. Some of these ions are thrown outward by as much as 10 percent the speed of light. These particles also carry the solar magnetic field.
Eventually, this wind is thought to hit the interstellar medium – a completely different flow of particles expelled from the deadly explosions of massive stars. The extremely energetic ions created in these bursts are known as galactic cosmic rays and they are mostly blocked from coming into the solar system by the solar wind. The galaxy also has its own magnetic field, which is thought to be at a significant angle to the sun’s field.
Researchers know that Voyager 1 entered the edge of the solar wind in 2003, when the spacecraft’s instruments indicated that particles around it were moving subsonically, having slowed down after traveling far from the sun. Then, about a year ago, everything got really quiet around the probe. Voyager 1’s instruments indicated at the solar wind suddenly dropped by a factor of 1,000, to the point where it was virtually undetectable. This transition happened extremely fast, taking roughly a few days.
At the same time, the measurements of galactic cosmic rays increased significantly, which would be “just as we expected if we were outside the solar wind,” said physicist Ed Stone of Caltech, Voyager’s project scientist and lead author of one of the Science papers. It looked almost as if Voyager 1 had left the sun’s influence.
So what’s the problem? Well, if the solar wind was completely gone, galactic cosmic rays should be streaming in from all directions. Instead, Voyager found them coming preferentially from one direction. Furthermore, even though the solar particles had dropped off, the probe hasn’t measured any real change in the magnetic fields around it. That’s hard to explain because the galaxy’s magnetic field is thought to be inclined 60 degrees from the sun’s field.
No one is entirely sure what’s going on.
Monsignor Scarano Says He Can ‘Explain Everything’
Monsignor Scarano Says He Can ‘Explain Everything’
Via: BBC:
A senior Italian cleric has been arrested in connection with an inquiry into the Vatican bank scandal over allegations of corruption and fraud.
Monsignor Nunzio Scarano works in the Vatican’s financial administration. A secret service agent and a financial broker have also been arrested.
They are suspected of trying to move 20m euros illegally into Italy.
Well-capitalized job creators: Barclays Plans to Move 4,000 Investment-Bank Jobs to Save Money - Bloomberg
Barclays Plans to Move 4,000 Investment-Bank Jobs to Save Money - Bloomberg
Chairman David Walker and CEO Antony Jenkins, 51, who took over after the lender was fined 290 million pounds in June 2012 for rigging the London interbank offered rate, are trying to cut costs by removing layers of management to improve returns. Britain’s third-largest bank by market value booked a 514 million-pound charge under its Transform program in April after closing branches in Europe and cutting investment banking positions in the region and in Asia.
Separately, Jenkins said they bank may have to cut lending if the Prudential Regulation Authority forces it to speed up its plans to meet a leverage ratio target of 3 percent by 2015.
UMich sentiment declines in June: reports
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/umich-sentiment-declines-in-june-reports-2013-06-28
The final June reading of the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment index declined to 84.1 from a final May reading of 84.5, according to Friday news reports. A preliminary June reading pegged the level at 82.7. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a final June reading of 83. May's reading was the highest since July 2007.
The final June reading of the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters consumer-sentiment index declined to 84.1 from a final May reading of 84.5, according to Friday news reports. A preliminary June reading pegged the level at 82.7. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a final June reading of 83. May's reading was the highest since July 2007.
Chicago PMI cools in June to below-forecast level
Chicago PMI cools in June to below-forecast level
Growth in Chicago-area manufacturing decelerated in June, as the Chicago business barometer fell to a 51.6 reading from 58.7 in May. That's the largest monthly drop in over four years, though economists had noted that May's reading was unusually strong. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 55.0 reading.
Growth in Chicago-area manufacturing decelerated in June, as the Chicago business barometer fell to a 51.6 reading from 58.7 in May. That's the largest monthly drop in over four years, though economists had noted that May's reading was unusually strong. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 55.0 reading.
Fed's Lacker: Market moves should not hurt growth
There is likely to be more market volatility about the outlook for
monetary policy in coming months, but these moves in asset prices should
not interfere with a modest economic recovery, said Jeffrey Lacker,
president of the Richmond Fed Bank, on Friday. In a speech in White
Sulphur Springs, W. Va., Lacker said the volatility in the wake of last
week's Fed meeting was not surprising as markets had to re-evaluate the
likely total amount of securities the central bank would buy under QE3
and also reconsider their estimate of when policymakers "would begin to
remove the punch bowl by raising rates." As investors gain more insight
from the words of Fed officials or by policy actions, "further asset
price volatility seems likely," Lacker said
U.S. muni bond funds report $4.53 bln outflows, largest on record | Reuters
U.S. muni bond funds report $4.53 bln outflows, largest on record
| Reuters
(Reuters) - U.S. municipal bond funds reported $4.53 billion of net outflows in the week ended June 26, the largest withdrawal on record going back to 1992 and more than twice the $2.22 billion of net outflows the week before, according to data released by Lipper on Thursday.
| Reuters
(Reuters) - U.S. municipal bond funds reported $4.53 billion of net outflows in the week ended June 26, the largest withdrawal on record going back to 1992 and more than twice the $2.22 billion of net outflows the week before, according to data released by Lipper on Thursday.
Fed's Stein suggests September tapering move
Fed's Stein suggests September tapering move
Federal Reserve Gov. Jeremy Stein on Friday suggested that the central bank's first tapering move could come in September. In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Stein used only September as the hypothetical start date for slowing the pace of purchases. He told markets not to focus on fresh payroll numbers that come out just before the meeting, saying any decision by the Fed to slow the pace of its asset-purchase program will be based on developments since the program started last fall in order to make the best judgment about the state of the economy and to reduce market volatility. "The best approach is for the [Fed] to be clear that in making a decision in, say, September, it will give primary weight to the large stock of news that has accumulated since the inception of the program and will not be unduly influenced by whatever data releases arrive in the few weeks before the meeting--as salient as these releases may appear to be to market participants," Stein said. "Even if a data release from early September does not exert a strong influence on the decision to make an adjustment at the September meeting, that release will remain relevant for future decisions," Stein said. "If the news is bad, and it is confirmed by further bad news in October and November, this would suggest that the 7% unemployment goal is likely to be further away, and the remainder of the program would be extended accordingly," he said.
Must confuse the Markets...scam artists..
Federal Reserve Gov. Jeremy Stein on Friday suggested that the central bank's first tapering move could come in September. In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Stein used only September as the hypothetical start date for slowing the pace of purchases. He told markets not to focus on fresh payroll numbers that come out just before the meeting, saying any decision by the Fed to slow the pace of its asset-purchase program will be based on developments since the program started last fall in order to make the best judgment about the state of the economy and to reduce market volatility. "The best approach is for the [Fed] to be clear that in making a decision in, say, September, it will give primary weight to the large stock of news that has accumulated since the inception of the program and will not be unduly influenced by whatever data releases arrive in the few weeks before the meeting--as salient as these releases may appear to be to market participants," Stein said. "Even if a data release from early September does not exert a strong influence on the decision to make an adjustment at the September meeting, that release will remain relevant for future decisions," Stein said. "If the news is bad, and it is confirmed by further bad news in October and November, this would suggest that the 7% unemployment goal is likely to be further away, and the remainder of the program would be extended accordingly," he said.
Must confuse the Markets...scam artists..
The gold and silver crash is artificial
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/cody/2013/06/27/the-gold-and-silver-crash-is-artificial-2/
We can’t control when or where opportunity arises. And as you know with gold having crashed some 30% from its highs, I started rebuilding my own physical gold and silver assets in April, looking to take about 1-2 years to build up those assets to about 10%-15% of my portfolio to own/hedge/protect my family with forever.
And since I started scaling back into physical gold and silver, their crashes have accelerated further. I’m using this latest round of gold and silver spot prices showing another fresh round of intraday crashing here today to head over to my local and/or other dealers to aggressively buy another tranche of gold and silver coins and bullion. I’ll probably have to pay about 7% or more over what those so-called spot prices are supposedly showing the value of gold in the real world markets today.
Depending on your personal net worth (the lower your net worth, the higher proportion of silver simply because it’s so much cheaper per oz than gold is), I’d look to have 30%-70% (big range is my whole point) in gold/silver ratio. Platinum is another precious metal I’m considering starting to rebuild my physical coins/bullion positions in. Read this about the possibility (or lack thereof, really) of another gold confiscation scheme like FDR did to bail out the banks back in his day. The short story is that they are already confiscating the people’s wealth in sneakier, stealthier and more
Funny my Gold and Silver ( in hand ) still looks the same as it did yesterday...in fact I added some just for good measure.
We can’t control when or where opportunity arises. And as you know with gold having crashed some 30% from its highs, I started rebuilding my own physical gold and silver assets in April, looking to take about 1-2 years to build up those assets to about 10%-15% of my portfolio to own/hedge/protect my family with forever.
And since I started scaling back into physical gold and silver, their crashes have accelerated further. I’m using this latest round of gold and silver spot prices showing another fresh round of intraday crashing here today to head over to my local and/or other dealers to aggressively buy another tranche of gold and silver coins and bullion. I’ll probably have to pay about 7% or more over what those so-called spot prices are supposedly showing the value of gold in the real world markets today.
Depending on your personal net worth (the lower your net worth, the higher proportion of silver simply because it’s so much cheaper per oz than gold is), I’d look to have 30%-70% (big range is my whole point) in gold/silver ratio. Platinum is another precious metal I’m considering starting to rebuild my physical coins/bullion positions in. Read this about the possibility (or lack thereof, really) of another gold confiscation scheme like FDR did to bail out the banks back in his day. The short story is that they are already confiscating the people’s wealth in sneakier, stealthier and more
Funny my Gold and Silver ( in hand ) still looks the same as it did yesterday...in fact I added some just for good measure.
Student loan rates set to double as lawmakers continue bickering
http://www.cbsnews.com/8618-250_162-57591412.html?assetTypeId=41&messageId=14046239
The Problem is with this Country over say the 30 years EVERYTHING IS POLITICIZED! hence the Government Parasite grows bigger and bigger.
THESE PEOPLE NO LONGER WORK FOR THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE THEREFORE THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED! These crony Capitalist work for their best interests only.
Immigration, Schooling, Housing, Finance, Healthcare, look around folks the Status Quo ( Progressive ) has all but destroyed this great Nation! AND WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN!anyone here get a chance to speak on behalf of this Pathetic Immigration law? Of course not, yet 1200 pages of filth was passed without even being read..1200 pages...Lord knows what is hidden within those pages, no doubt more repression for you Dear reader, as you are the true terrorist in these peoples eyes.
"I think we are nowhere between now and July 1," said Rep. George Miller of California, the top Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. "It sounds to me like the Senate is going to leave town without dealing with this."
But Democrats promised to turn back to them when they get back to Washington, first with a short-term fix and then a longer-range measure.
The law that governs college and universities expires this fall and lawmakers planned to rewrite it starting in September.
Democrats said they prefer to include a comprehensive student loan measure in it, rather than as a stand-alone bill.
"We need a one-year patch to keep interest rates from doubling on student loans," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. "That buys us the time."
The Problem is with this Country over say the 30 years EVERYTHING IS POLITICIZED! hence the Government Parasite grows bigger and bigger.
THESE PEOPLE NO LONGER WORK FOR THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE THEREFORE THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED! These crony Capitalist work for their best interests only.
Immigration, Schooling, Housing, Finance, Healthcare, look around folks the Status Quo ( Progressive ) has all but destroyed this great Nation! AND WE CONTINUE TO ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN!anyone here get a chance to speak on behalf of this Pathetic Immigration law? Of course not, yet 1200 pages of filth was passed without even being read..1200 pages...Lord knows what is hidden within those pages, no doubt more repression for you Dear reader, as you are the true terrorist in these peoples eyes.
Henry Paulson Sees Volatility, Pain as Fed Programs Phased Out - Bloomberg
Henry Paulson Sees Volatility, Pain as Fed Programs Phased Out - Bloomberg
“When you have a big, ugly problem, there’s never going to be a neat, elegant solution that is totally painless or without a cost,” Paulson said in an interview on CNBC today.
“When you have a big, ugly problem, there’s never going to be a neat, elegant solution that is totally painless or without a cost,” Paulson said in an interview on CNBC today.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The Public Be Suckered
Asset price histories that look like cocaine intoxication's:
Longtime overconsuming:
Recent debt jump is 2/3 of that for World War II:
http://www.showrealhist.com/RD_RJShomes_PSav.html
http://www.showrealhist.com/debtGDP_whys.html
Wondering where all the money has gone folks? think the top 1%, and Gold and Silver are pricing in a Deflationary crash. Banks got bailed out and the top got bailed out as well as they have all the cash. This is not gonna end well. Hence the Dept of Homeland security and Soldiers in the streets as well as the militarization of our Local Police forces TPTB know whats coming...Do you?
Longtime overconsuming:
Recent debt jump is 2/3 of that for World War II:
http://www.showrealhist.com/RD_RJShomes_PSav.html
http://www.showrealhist.com/debtGDP_whys.html
Wondering where all the money has gone folks? think the top 1%, and Gold and Silver are pricing in a Deflationary crash. Banks got bailed out and the top got bailed out as well as they have all the cash. This is not gonna end well. Hence the Dept of Homeland security and Soldiers in the streets as well as the militarization of our Local Police forces TPTB know whats coming...Do you?
Silver At Less Than 19 Dollars An Ounce? Are You Kidding Me???
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/silver-at-less-than-19-dollars-an-ounce-are-you-kidding-me
Right now, a lot of people that bought silver when it was 25 dollars an ounce or 30 dollars an ounce are probably feeling discouraged.
Don't be. You will be just fine. When the price of an ounce of silver hits 100 dollars an ounce you will be very thankful for the silver that you stored away at those prices.
We are moving into a time when we will see more volatility in precious metals prices than we have ever seen before. That means there will be some tremendous opportunities to make money. But in order to make money, you have to buy low and sell high.
The current decline in the price of paper silver does not have anything to do with the demand for actual physical silver. In fact, demand for physical silver is higher than it ever has been before.
For example, sales of silver coins by the U.S. Mint have set a brand new all-time record high during the first half of 2013.
Last year, the U.S. Mint sold 33 million ounces of silver for the entire year.
This year, the U.S. Mint is on pace to sell 50 million ounces of silver for the entire year.
So don't be alarmed that the price of silver is falling.
Instead, be very, very thankful.
Right now, a lot of people that bought silver when it was 25 dollars an ounce or 30 dollars an ounce are probably feeling discouraged.
Don't be. You will be just fine. When the price of an ounce of silver hits 100 dollars an ounce you will be very thankful for the silver that you stored away at those prices.
We are moving into a time when we will see more volatility in precious metals prices than we have ever seen before. That means there will be some tremendous opportunities to make money. But in order to make money, you have to buy low and sell high.
The current decline in the price of paper silver does not have anything to do with the demand for actual physical silver. In fact, demand for physical silver is higher than it ever has been before.
For example, sales of silver coins by the U.S. Mint have set a brand new all-time record high during the first half of 2013.
Last year, the U.S. Mint sold 33 million ounces of silver for the entire year.
This year, the U.S. Mint is on pace to sell 50 million ounces of silver for the entire year.
So don't be alarmed that the price of silver is falling.
Instead, be very, very thankful.
DARPA Manager Explains Multiple Ways Cars Can Be Hacked
With speculation increasing of foul play involving the tragic car
explosion that killed investigative reporter Michael Hastings, several
reports have emerged how it is indeed possible to hijack the controls of
modern vehicles through hacking.
Dr. Kathleen Fisher speaks in 2012 on DARPA's High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems (HACMS) program, particularly multiple ways all modern cars are vulnerable to hacking.
Dr. Kathleen Fisher speaks in 2012 on DARPA's High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems (HACMS) program, particularly multiple ways all modern cars are vulnerable to hacking.
Jeb Bush to give 2013 Liberty Medal to Hillary Clinton
Philly.com is reporting:
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth..
Hillary Rodham Clinton will receive the 2013 Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
Jeb Bush, the chairman of the Constitution Center, will present the award to Clinton at a ceremony scheduled for Sept. 10. Both Clinton and Bush are potential contenders in the 2016 presidential elections, for opposing parties. But in a statement, the GOP's Bush only accentuated the positive.
“Former Secretary Clinton has dedicated her life to serving and engaging people across the world in democracy,” said Bush, the Republican former Governor of Florida, son of a former president and brother of another. “These efforts as a citizen, an activist, and a leader have earned Secretary Clinton this year’s Liberty Medal.”What's more insulting to common intelligence, that Jeb Bush is the chairman of something called the "Constitution Center" or that Clinton is referred to as a liberty "activist" worthy of a distinguished prize?
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth..
The Senate's immigration bill passed today 68-32.
Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama is among the bill's most harsh critics. Not just for its contents, but for how it came to be:
You must know friends that, when the Gang of Eight said there was a delicate balance — a fragile agreement — they weren’t talking primarily about the agreement among themselves — that was secondary. They were referring to the special-interest forces that were in the room writing the bill. Those interests, those forces, had signed in blood. The Gang then signed in blood to fight off any serious ideas that would violate the secret pact.It's an ugly bill with ugly sponsors and ugly players behind the scenes.
Will the House of Representatives have the moral courage to stand up to what the bill's senate advocates want rushed through before America wakes up and fully understands what's at stake?
Why The Status Quo Is Doomed
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-27/guest-post-why-status-quo-doomed
This agenda makes three implicit assumptions:
1. Inflation is OK as long as the economy and household wealth expand at a rate that exceeds inflation
2. Increasing debt is OK as long as income and assets both grow faster than debt
3. Wealth/income inequality is OK as long as the wealth/income of the bottom 90% is expanding at the same rate as the top 10%
In other words, if most of the wealth generated by growth flows to the top 10% (who coincidentally fund 99% of political campaigns) that's OK, as long as enough "trickles down" to the lower 90% to boost their wealth/income by an equivalent percentage. (The top 10% actually own 83% of the wealth, and the top 1% own 43%)
This agenda makes three implicit assumptions:
1. Inflation is OK as long as the economy and household wealth expand at a rate that exceeds inflation
2. Increasing debt is OK as long as income and assets both grow faster than debt
3. Wealth/income inequality is OK as long as the wealth/income of the bottom 90% is expanding at the same rate as the top 10%
In other words, if most of the wealth generated by growth flows to the top 10% (who coincidentally fund 99% of political campaigns) that's OK, as long as enough "trickles down" to the lower 90% to boost their wealth/income by an equivalent percentage. (The top 10% actually own 83% of the wealth, and the top 1% own 43%)
24 Hour Gold
I like you dear reader have no clue what the deal is with Gold, there is a very specific reason for this take down and rest assured we are about to find out why real soon.
Genetically Engineered Sugar Beets Destroyed in Southern Oregon
Via: Oregon Live:
Federal investigators are asking the public to help solve middle-of-the-night crimes that left ruined fields of genetically engineered sugar beets in rural Jackson County.
The crop destruction took place over the course of two separate nights in early June, when an unknown individual or group destroyed about 6,500 sugar beet plants genetically engineered to stand up to the herbicide Roundup on a pair of privately-owned plots of land leased and managed by Syngenta.
The first act of what the FBI considers “economic sabotage and a violation of federal law involving damage to commercial agricultural enterprises,” took place during the night of June 8, when about 1,000 sugar beet plants on one property were destroyed. Three nights later, the destruction continued on another property, where another 5,500 plants were ruined.
“It doesn’t look like a vehicle was used. It looks like people entered the field and destroyed the plants by hand,” said Paul Minehart, head of corporate communications in North America for Syngenta, a global agriculture corporation based in Basel, Switzerland.
Foxconn to Speed Up ‘Robot Army’ Deployment
Via: IT World:
Manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group is on track with its goal to a create a “million robot army”, and already has 20,000 robotic machines in its factories, said the company’s CEO Terry Gou on Wednesday.
Workers’ wages in China are rising, and so the company’s research in robots and automation has to catch up, Gou said, while speaking at the company’s annual shareholder’s meeting in Taipei. “We have over 1 million workers. In the future we will add 1 million robotic workers,” he said. “Our [human] workers will then become technicians and engineers.” <--- LOL
Fed Officials Step Up Campaign to Stem Gain in Long-Term Rates - Bloomberg
Fed Officials Step Up Campaign to Stem Gain in Long-Term Rates - Bloomberg
Lockhart, using a smoking metaphor, said the investors had misinterpreted the Chairman’s remarks. “It seems to me the Chairman said we’ll use the patch, and use it flexibly, and some in the markets reacted as if he said ‘cold turkey,” Lockhart said in a speech to the Kiwanis Club of Marietta in Georgia.
Lockhart, using a smoking metaphor, said the investors had misinterpreted the Chairman’s remarks. “It seems to me the Chairman said we’ll use the patch, and use it flexibly, and some in the markets reacted as if he said ‘cold turkey,” Lockhart said in a speech to the Kiwanis Club of Marietta in Georgia.
From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Survey Fell Modestly
From the Kansas City Fed: Tenth District Manufacturing Survey Fell Modestly
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City released the June Manufacturing Survey today. According to Chad Wilkerson, vice president and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, the survey revealed that Tenth District manufacturing activity fell modestly, although producers’ expectations for future activity continued to increase.
“We were a bit discouraged to see factory activity decline in June after it expanded slightly in May,” said Wilkerson. “But quite a few contacts lost production or had shipments delayed due to regional storms and flooding, so the downturn appears like it may be temporary.”
The month-over-month composite index was -5 in June, down from 2 in May but equal to -5 in April and March ... Other month-over-month indexes showed mixed results. The production index dropped from 5 to -17, its lowest level since March 2009, and the shipments and new orders indexes also fell markedly. The order backlog and employment indexes increased somewhat but still remain slightly below zero.
CFTC charges Jon Corzine in MF Global collapse
CFTC charges Jon Corzine in MF Global collapse
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday filed an enforcement action against former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine related to the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd., the commodity trading firm he oversaw. The CFTC also filed civil charges against former MF Global assistant treasurer Edith O'Brien, who played a key role in the days leading up the bankruptcy of the firm. In addition, MF Global was fined $100 million and ordered to make payments to all customers. The charges are for improper movement of customer funds in the final days of the firm, which led to more than $1 billion in missing customer funds. This settlement is subject to court approval.
Its about F'en time assholes...
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Thursday filed an enforcement action against former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine related to the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd., the commodity trading firm he oversaw. The CFTC also filed civil charges against former MF Global assistant treasurer Edith O'Brien, who played a key role in the days leading up the bankruptcy of the firm. In addition, MF Global was fined $100 million and ordered to make payments to all customers. The charges are for improper movement of customer funds in the final days of the firm, which led to more than $1 billion in missing customer funds. This settlement is subject to court approval.
Its about F'en time assholes...
Stand and Deliver: How Germany Disrupted the World's Gold Market
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2013/06/stand-and-deliver-how-germany-disrupted.html
Someone asked, 'why would there be a desire to do a stealth confiscation of gold from the public holdings in ETFs and private stores through price manipulation?' Who could have been assigned the task of prying bullion out of the hands of the people, and for what conceivable reason? It appears to be happening, but why?
There are any number of possible reasons. Concerns that an innovative new round of QE and money creation might create a run on the gold price is one possibility. There should be little doubt in those who look into the evidence that central bankers are quite sensitive to gold and silver as alternative currencies and reflections of their own policy initiatives.
And that is quite possible. As I have pointed out, there is some precedent for it. In 1933 Franklin Roosevelt pulled back much of the publicly held gold in the US. And after this was done, the government revalued the gold from $20 to $35 overnight, and then used the gains to recapitalize the banking system.
Although this could happen again, it does not seem likely because it flies in the face of everything the central bank has achieved by putting the US on a purely fiat money regime, the last gold ties being severed by Nixon in the 1970s. They prefer to denigrate gold, even though they still hold it, and certainly speak about it quite a bit often through their intermediaries.
There is definitely a movement to revisit the Bretton Woods Agreement that established the dollar as the world's reserve currency. The BRICs, whose economic power is ascendant, are seeking to establish a new currency for global trade that is owned by no single central bank or entangled in the domestic policies of no single country. And they wish to add gold and possibly silver to that mix. And they are in the process of acquiring substantial reserves to accomplish it.
Someone asked, 'why would there be a desire to do a stealth confiscation of gold from the public holdings in ETFs and private stores through price manipulation?' Who could have been assigned the task of prying bullion out of the hands of the people, and for what conceivable reason? It appears to be happening, but why?
There are any number of possible reasons. Concerns that an innovative new round of QE and money creation might create a run on the gold price is one possibility. There should be little doubt in those who look into the evidence that central bankers are quite sensitive to gold and silver as alternative currencies and reflections of their own policy initiatives.
And that is quite possible. As I have pointed out, there is some precedent for it. In 1933 Franklin Roosevelt pulled back much of the publicly held gold in the US. And after this was done, the government revalued the gold from $20 to $35 overnight, and then used the gains to recapitalize the banking system.
Although this could happen again, it does not seem likely because it flies in the face of everything the central bank has achieved by putting the US on a purely fiat money regime, the last gold ties being severed by Nixon in the 1970s. They prefer to denigrate gold, even though they still hold it, and certainly speak about it quite a bit often through their intermediaries.
There is definitely a movement to revisit the Bretton Woods Agreement that established the dollar as the world's reserve currency. The BRICs, whose economic power is ascendant, are seeking to establish a new currency for global trade that is owned by no single central bank or entangled in the domestic policies of no single country. And they wish to add gold and possibly silver to that mix. And they are in the process of acquiring substantial reserves to accomplish it.
Indirect bidders buy 46.4% of 7-year note auction
Indirect bidders buy 46.4% of 7-year note auction
Bidders offer $2.61 for each $1 in 7-yr debt sold
Treasury sells $29 bln in 7-year debt at 1.932%
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasurys-rise-after-7-year-note-auction-2013-06-27?link=MW_home_latest_news
The Treasury Department sold $29 billion in 7-year notes 7_YEAR -3.16% Thursday at a yield of 1.932%, the highest yield since July 2011. Bidders offered to buy 2.61 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 2.66 times at the last 4 sales. Indirect bidders, a group that includes foreign central banks, bought 46.4%, versus 37.3% in recent sales. Direct bidders, which include domestic money managers, purchased another 15.7%, versus an average of 19.5%. The broader bond market rose after the auction. Yields on 10-year notes 10_YEAR -2.52% , which move inversely to prices, fell 6 basis points on the day to 2.475%
Bidders offer $2.61 for each $1 in 7-yr debt sold
Treasury sells $29 bln in 7-year debt at 1.932%
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/treasurys-rise-after-7-year-note-auction-2013-06-27?link=MW_home_latest_news
The Treasury Department sold $29 billion in 7-year notes 7_YEAR -3.16% Thursday at a yield of 1.932%, the highest yield since July 2011. Bidders offered to buy 2.61 times the amount of debt sold, compared to an average of 2.66 times at the last 4 sales. Indirect bidders, a group that includes foreign central banks, bought 46.4%, versus 37.3% in recent sales. Direct bidders, which include domestic money managers, purchased another 15.7%, versus an average of 19.5%. The broader bond market rose after the auction. Yields on 10-year notes 10_YEAR -2.52% , which move inversely to prices, fell 6 basis points on the day to 2.475%
Fed's Lockhart says markets misheard Bernanke
Fed's Lockhart says markets misheard Bernanke
Financial markets appear to have misunderstood Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's framework for slowing down asset purchases, said Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Atlanta Fed Bank on Thursday. "I don't want to be too cute about a serious matter, but to make an analogy, it seems to me [Bernanke] said we'll use the patch, and use it flexibly, and some in the markets reacted as if he said 'cold turkey'," Lockhart said in a speech to the Kiwanis Club in Marietta, Ga. Lockhart said he would be watching to see if there were any negative spillovers from the back up in long-term rates and the drop in equity prices into the real economy. Lockhart is not a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year but his views are seen as often close to the committee's consensus. Lockhart said he expects growth and inflation to pick up and unemployment to decline steadily, at a modest pace. If the economy evolves in this way, "I think the position that the economy does not need quite as much stimulus is fully supportable," he said.
Financial markets appear to have misunderstood Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's framework for slowing down asset purchases, said Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Atlanta Fed Bank on Thursday. "I don't want to be too cute about a serious matter, but to make an analogy, it seems to me [Bernanke] said we'll use the patch, and use it flexibly, and some in the markets reacted as if he said 'cold turkey'," Lockhart said in a speech to the Kiwanis Club in Marietta, Ga. Lockhart said he would be watching to see if there were any negative spillovers from the back up in long-term rates and the drop in equity prices into the real economy. Lockhart is not a voting member of the Fed's policy-setting committee this year but his views are seen as often close to the committee's consensus. Lockhart said he expects growth and inflation to pick up and unemployment to decline steadily, at a modest pace. If the economy evolves in this way, "I think the position that the economy does not need quite as much stimulus is fully supportable," he said.
License-Plate Readers Let Police Collect Millions of Records on Drivers
Via: Center for Investigative Reporting:
When the city of San Leandro, Calif., purchased a license-plate reader for its police department in 2008, computer security consultant Michael Katz-Lacabe asked the city for a record of every time the scanners had photographed his car.
The results shocked him.
The paperback-size device, installed on the outside of police cars, can log thousands of license plates in an eight-hour patrol shift. Katz-Lacabe said it had photographed his two cars on 112 occasions, including one image from 2009 that shows him and his daughters stepping out of his Toyota Prius in their driveway.
That photograph, Katz-Lacabe said, made him “frightened and concerned about the magnitude of police surveillance and data collection.” The single patrol car in San Leandro equipped with a plate reader had logged his car once a week on average, photographing his license plate and documenting the time and location.
At a rapid pace, and mostly hidden from the public, police agencies throughout California have been collecting millions of records on drivers and feeding them to intelligence fusion centers operated by local, state and federal law enforcement.
With heightened concern over secret intelligence operations at the National Security Agency, the localized effort to track drivers highlights the extent to which the government has committed to collecting large amounts of data on people who have done nothing wrong.
A year ago, the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center – one of dozens of law enforcement intelligence-sharing centers set up after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 – signed a $340,000 agreement with the Silicon Valley firm Palantir to construct a database of license-plate records flowing in from police using the devices across 14 counties, documents and interviews show.
The extent of the center’s data collection has never been revealed. Neither has the involvement of Palantir, a Silicon Valley firm with extensive ties to the Pentagon and intelligence agencies. The CIA’s venture capital fund, In-Q-Tel, has invested $2 million in the firm.
The jurisdictions supplying license-plate data to the intelligence center stretch from Monterey County to the Oregon border. According to contract documents, the database will be capable of handling at least 100 million records and be accessible to local and state law enforcement across the region.
Business Feels Pinch of Swift Rate Rise - WSJ.com
Business Feels Pinch of Swift Rate Rise - WSJ.com
TOP STORY: RATE RISE HITS BUSINESS — WSJ’s Jon Hilsenrath and Victoria McGrane on pg. A1: “Sharp increases in long-term interest rates, triggered by Federal Reserve statements last week, threaten sales of homes, cars and other big-ticket items that have helped drive the U.S. economic recovery. Rate increases on interest-sensitive sectors likely aren't severe enough to derail the recovery, say economists. But they arrived just as the economy's lagging growth had showed welcome signs of improvement. …
“Rates on conventional 30-year mortgages were 4.56 percent on Wednesday, up from 3.74 percent a month ago, according to HSH Associates; rates on investment-grade-rated corporate bonds went to 3.47 percent from 2.73 percent, according to Barclays BARC.LN +2.03 percent; and yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were 2.54 percent, up from 1.94 percent. Rates are supposed to go up as economic growth accelerates, and their rise could represent an undercurrent of good economic news. Higher rates have benefits, such as better returns to savers. Still, Fed officials were surprised that markets pushed rates up so far so fast.”
Let the whining begin...save us Fed, save us .GOV you're our only hope! think of the children! ( said in my best peasantry voice )
TOP STORY: RATE RISE HITS BUSINESS — WSJ’s Jon Hilsenrath and Victoria McGrane on pg. A1: “Sharp increases in long-term interest rates, triggered by Federal Reserve statements last week, threaten sales of homes, cars and other big-ticket items that have helped drive the U.S. economic recovery. Rate increases on interest-sensitive sectors likely aren't severe enough to derail the recovery, say economists. But they arrived just as the economy's lagging growth had showed welcome signs of improvement. …
“Rates on conventional 30-year mortgages were 4.56 percent on Wednesday, up from 3.74 percent a month ago, according to HSH Associates; rates on investment-grade-rated corporate bonds went to 3.47 percent from 2.73 percent, according to Barclays BARC.LN +2.03 percent; and yields on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were 2.54 percent, up from 1.94 percent. Rates are supposed to go up as economic growth accelerates, and their rise could represent an undercurrent of good economic news. Higher rates have benefits, such as better returns to savers. Still, Fed officials were surprised that markets pushed rates up so far so fast.”
Let the whining begin...save us Fed, save us .GOV you're our only hope! think of the children! ( said in my best peasantry voice )
Wall Street climbs after data, Dudley remarks | Reuters
Wall Street climbs after data, Dudley remarks
| Reuters
| Reuters
Investors were heartened also after William Dudley, head of the New York Federal Reserve, said the Fed's asset purchases would be more aggressive than the timeline Chairman Ben Bernanke outlined last week if economic growth and the labor market turn out weaker than expected.
The "Sham" Recovery And Uncharted Territory | Zero Hedge
The "Sham" Recovery And Uncharted Territory | Zero Hedge
The Consumer Metrics Institute is generally a pretty subdued bunch, as befits their job interpreting economic statistics for money managers and other economists. But lately they’ve been sounding, well, apocalyptic. Here are a few snippets from their analysis of the US GDP revision released this morning:
On the government’s questionable use of inflation to arrive at real GDP:
The Consumer Metrics Institute is generally a pretty subdued bunch, as befits their job interpreting economic statistics for money managers and other economists. But lately they’ve been sounding, well, apocalyptic. Here are a few snippets from their analysis of the US GDP revision released this morning:
On the government’s questionable use of inflation to arrive at real GDP:
For this set of revisions the BEA assumed annualized net aggregate inflation of 1.26%. In contrast, during the first quarter (i.e., from December to March) the seasonally adjusted CPI-U index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) rose by 2.10% (annualized), and the price index published by the Billion Prices Project (BPP) rose at an annualized rate of 5.35%. As a reminder: an understatement of assumed inflation increases the reported headline number — and in this case the BEA’s relatively low “deflater” boosted the published headline rate. If the CPI-U had been used to convert the “nominal” GDP numbers into “real” numbers, the reported headline growth rate would have been a much more modest 0.96%. And if the BPP index (which arguably best reflects the experiences of the American consumer) had be used as the “deflater,” the economy would have been reported to have been contracting at a -2.30% annualized rate.
Sequester shmester? The worst is yet to come. - Fortune Features
Sequester shmester? The worst is yet to come. - Fortune Features
BIG IDEA: SEQUESTER ABOUT TO BITE? — FORTUNE's Tory Newmyer on the budget sequester: “The first sequester cuts that could rattle the recovery are due to start hitting next week, as the Pentagon begins furloughing roughly 650,000 of its civilian employees across the country without pay for up to 11-day stretches, through September.
"Measuring any ripple effects from all those unpaid vacations could be tricky, since sequestration choked off funding for the Mass Layoff Statistics program. … But the bigger point is that it remains an exceedingly stupid approach to solving our deficit problem.”
BIG IDEA: SEQUESTER ABOUT TO BITE? — FORTUNE's Tory Newmyer on the budget sequester: “The first sequester cuts that could rattle the recovery are due to start hitting next week, as the Pentagon begins furloughing roughly 650,000 of its civilian employees across the country without pay for up to 11-day stretches, through September.
"Measuring any ripple effects from all those unpaid vacations could be tricky, since sequestration choked off funding for the Mass Layoff Statistics program. … But the bigger point is that it remains an exceedingly stupid approach to solving our deficit problem.”
CBO | Monthly Budget Review for May 2013
CBO | Monthly Budget Review for May 2013
"The federal government incurred a deficit of $139 billion in May 2013, CBO estimates—$15 billion more than the shortfall reported for that month in 2012. But that comparison is distorted by quirks of the calendar: Because June 1, 2013, fell on a Saturday, certain payments that ordinarily would have been made in June were instead made earlier, increasing outlays in May by about $34 billion.Without that shift in the timing of payments, the deficit for May 2013 would have been $19 billion less than the deficit for May 2012."
What may giveth ... june will taketh ...
"The federal government incurred a deficit of $139 billion in May 2013, CBO estimates—$15 billion more than the shortfall reported for that month in 2012. But that comparison is distorted by quirks of the calendar: Because June 1, 2013, fell on a Saturday, certain payments that ordinarily would have been made in June were instead made earlier, increasing outlays in May by about $34 billion.Without that shift in the timing of payments, the deficit for May 2013 would have been $19 billion less than the deficit for May 2012."
What may giveth ... june will taketh ...
Risk of 1937 relapse as Fed gives up fight against deflation - Evans-Pritchard
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10144451/Risk-of-1937-relapse-as-Fed-gives-up-fight-against-deflation.html
The US Federal Reserve has jumped the gun. It has mishandled its exit strategy from quantitative easing, triggering a global bond rout that it did not anticipate, and is struggling to control.
It has set off an emerging market shock and risks "blowback" from a fresh spasm of the eurozone debt crisis, and it is letting all this happen at the same time, before the US economy is safely out of the woods.
It has violated its own counter-deflation strategy, tightening monetary policy even though core PCE inflation has fallen to the lowest levels in living memory and below levels deemed dangerous enough in the past to warrant a blast of emergency stimulus. It is doing so even though the revival of bank lending has faded.
The entire pivot by the Federal Open Market Committee is mystifying, almost amateurish, and risks repeating the errors made by the Bank of Japan a decade ago, and perhaps repeating a mini-1937 when the Fed lost its nerve and tipped the US economy into a second leg of the Great Depression. "It's all about tighter policy," was the lonely lament by St Louis Fed chief James Bullard.
The US Federal Reserve has jumped the gun. It has mishandled its exit strategy from quantitative easing, triggering a global bond rout that it did not anticipate, and is struggling to control.
It has set off an emerging market shock and risks "blowback" from a fresh spasm of the eurozone debt crisis, and it is letting all this happen at the same time, before the US economy is safely out of the woods.
It has violated its own counter-deflation strategy, tightening monetary policy even though core PCE inflation has fallen to the lowest levels in living memory and below levels deemed dangerous enough in the past to warrant a blast of emergency stimulus. It is doing so even though the revival of bank lending has faded.
The entire pivot by the Federal Open Market Committee is mystifying, almost amateurish, and risks repeating the errors made by the Bank of Japan a decade ago, and perhaps repeating a mini-1937 when the Fed lost its nerve and tipped the US economy into a second leg of the Great Depression. "It's all about tighter policy," was the lonely lament by St Louis Fed chief James Bullard.
BP Thinks It Overpaid Damages for Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Disaster
Via: AP:
BP oil spill settlement payments are being aggressively contested by London-based BP. The company may seek to recover what BP calls ‘overpayments’ that businesses received from the court-supervised settlement program for the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
San Diego Man Facing 13 Years in Prison for Writing Anti Bank Slogans on Sidewalks Outside Banks
Via: CBS8:
A North Park man is looking at more than a decade behind bars for using washable chalk to protest the banking industry.
Jeff Olson is being charged with 13 counts of vandalism for writing anti-bank slogans on sidewalks outside three Bank of America branches.
A surveillance camera caught Olson in the act, writing on the sidewalk in front of a Bank of America in North Park. But here’s the thing — Olson admits it.
“I wrote ‘No thanks big banks,’ I wrote ‘Shame on Bank of America,’” he said.
Weekly jobless claims decline 9,000 to 346,000
Weekly jobless claims decline 9,000 to 346,000
The number of people who applied for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits declined by 9,000 to 346,000 in the week that ended June 22, pointing to a slightly slower pace of layoffs, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected these initial jobless claims to decrease to a seasonally adjusted 345,000 from an original estimate of 354,000 for the week that ended June 15. On Thursday the government tweaked its estimate of initial claims for the week that ended June 15 to 355,000. The average of new claims over the four weeks through June 22 declined by 2,750 to 345,750. Continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag and reflect the number of people already receiving benefits, ticked down 1,000 to 2.97 million in the week that ended June 15, reaching the lowest level in more than a month. The four-week average of these continuing claims fell 9,250 to 2.97 million.
The number of people who applied for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits declined by 9,000 to 346,000 in the week that ended June 22, pointing to a slightly slower pace of layoffs, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected these initial jobless claims to decrease to a seasonally adjusted 345,000 from an original estimate of 354,000 for the week that ended June 15. On Thursday the government tweaked its estimate of initial claims for the week that ended June 15 to 355,000. The average of new claims over the four weeks through June 22 declined by 2,750 to 345,750. Continuing claims, which are reported with a one-week lag and reflect the number of people already receiving benefits, ticked down 1,000 to 2.97 million in the week that ended June 15, reaching the lowest level in more than a month. The four-week average of these continuing claims fell 9,250 to 2.97 million.
Consumer spending climbs 0.3% in May
Consumer spending climbs 0.3% in May
Consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.3% in May and personal incomes rose even faster, the government said Thursday. The increase in spending last month mostly reverses a 0.3% decline in April, which had been the biggest drop in four years. Personal income climbed 0.5% as wages, investment income and payments for entitlements like Social Security all rose at seasonally adjusted annual rates. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% advance in spending and a 0.2% gain in personal income. Since incomes rose faster than spending, the individual savings rate moved up to 3.2% from 3% to mark the highest level since December. Inflation as gauged by the core PCE price index increased 0.1%, the Commerce Department said, and it's up a scant 1.1% over the past 12 months. The overall PCE index also rose 0.1%.
Consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.3% in May and personal incomes rose even faster, the government said Thursday. The increase in spending last month mostly reverses a 0.3% decline in April, which had been the biggest drop in four years. Personal income climbed 0.5% as wages, investment income and payments for entitlements like Social Security all rose at seasonally adjusted annual rates. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% advance in spending and a 0.2% gain in personal income. Since incomes rose faster than spending, the individual savings rate moved up to 3.2% from 3% to mark the highest level since December. Inflation as gauged by the core PCE price index increased 0.1%, the Commerce Department said, and it's up a scant 1.1% over the past 12 months. The overall PCE index also rose 0.1%.
McCormick profit falls, cuts full-year outlook
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mccormick-profit-falls-cuts-full-year-outlook-2013-06-27?dist=beforebell
McCormick & Co.'s
MKC
+1.21%
fiscal second-quarter earnings fell 2.2% as an acquisition charge masked the spice maker's improved sales.
The company also lowered its full-year earnings estimate to a range of
$3.13 to $3.19 a share on sales growth of 4% to 6% to reflect expected
weakness in the industrial business. The company's January forecast was
for per-share earnings of $3.15 to $3.23 on sales growth of 3% to 5%.
The distributor of spices, seasoning mixes and condiments has seen
improved sales for over three years. But higher costs for raw and
packaging materials and increased retirement-benefit expenses have
hampered its earnings growth of late. McCormick also has warned of weak
demand in certain markets, including quick-service restaurants in the
U.S. and China.
Expecting to get a raise next year? It could be eaten up by your health care bill.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obamacare-could-eat-up-your-raise-2013-06-27?link=MW_home_latest_news
Some 12% of companies used salary-based premiums in 2012, up from 10% in
2011, according to a study by benefits consultant Mercer. The practice
is especially common among large employers, with 20% of companies that
have at least 5,000 employees using the strategy last year. A separate
survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the approach of
varying premium contributions by wage level is more popular in the
Northeast, where 9% of companies used the strategy, and in the Midwest,
where 6% of employers did, compared with 2% of companies in the South
and the West.
While the strategy, which some employers have been using for decades, is
still not mainstream, more companies are adopting the system as a way
to prepare for the health reform law. It makes sense for some employers
to shift costs to wealthier workers, especially as health-care costs
continue to grow at a faster clip than wages, says Tim Nimmer, chief
actuary and chief broking officer with Aon Hewitt, a human-resources
consulting firm. Companies feel more comfortable “putting that increase
on their higher earners just because they can afford it,” says Nimmer.
If premiums increase by $100 for a company’s chief executive it may seem
“meaningless,” but “for someone making $25,000, it could be the
difference between going out to eat or paying electric bills or buying
gas,” he says.
As I've been clamoring since this Idiocy was passed in both the House and Senate, there is nothing affordable in ACA if anything this will impoverish the American people even further.
Maybe that's the plan? an impoverished people is a controlled people..Take North Korea as an example, sure we are not there yet, but it gets closer and closer by the day.
The Wikileaks Documentary
I hope the American people will one day wake up and see who rules them and how twisted our perception of life has become and who made the twisting of our minds.
Economists Tackle Puzzle of Libor Losses for Investors - Bloomberg
Economists Tackle Puzzle of Libor Losses for Investors - Bloomberg
Investors suing banks to recover losses must quantify those damages, which some analysts have estimated will total billions of dollars. While regulators have uncovered e-mails between employees trying to rig the London interbank offered rate, the benchmark for more than $300 trillion of securities worldwide, it has been harder to show that investors actually lost money.
Investors suing banks to recover losses must quantify those damages, which some analysts have estimated will total billions of dollars. While regulators have uncovered e-mails between employees trying to rig the London interbank offered rate, the benchmark for more than $300 trillion of securities worldwide, it has been harder to show that investors actually lost money.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Obamacare’s tariff on hiring American workers still plagues immigration bill
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obamacares-tariff-on-hiring-american-workers-still-plagues-immigration-bill/article/2532013
An unnamed staffer for Sen. Marco Rubio has caused the latest stir over the immigration bill by telling the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza that, “There are American workers who, for lack of a better term, can’t cut it…There shouldn’t be a presumption that every American worker is a star performer.” Rubio himself was quick to explain that the quote did not represent his own views. But in reality, the immigration bill Rubio is pushing, when combined with President Obama’s health care law, would actually do something much worse than make it easier for employers to hire immigrant workers over American citizens – it would provide a massive financial incentive to do so.
As I’ve outlined previously, under Obamacare, businesses with over 50 workers that employ American citizens without offering them qualifying health insurance could be subject to fines of up to $3,000 per worker. But because newly legalized immigrants wouldn’t be eligible for subsidies on the Obamacare exchanges until after they become citizens – at least 13 years under the Senate bill – businesses could avoid such fines by hiring the new immigrants instead.
An unnamed staffer for Sen. Marco Rubio has caused the latest stir over the immigration bill by telling the New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza that, “There are American workers who, for lack of a better term, can’t cut it…There shouldn’t be a presumption that every American worker is a star performer.” Rubio himself was quick to explain that the quote did not represent his own views. But in reality, the immigration bill Rubio is pushing, when combined with President Obama’s health care law, would actually do something much worse than make it easier for employers to hire immigrant workers over American citizens – it would provide a massive financial incentive to do so.
As I’ve outlined previously, under Obamacare, businesses with over 50 workers that employ American citizens without offering them qualifying health insurance could be subject to fines of up to $3,000 per worker. But because newly legalized immigrants wouldn’t be eligible for subsidies on the Obamacare exchanges until after they become citizens – at least 13 years under the Senate bill – businesses could avoid such fines by hiring the new immigrants instead.
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