The "up-to-the-minute Market Data" thread

LAYOFF DAILY
4-4-2009

Pratt and Whitney -20
Nationwide Insurance -480
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools -107
Art Gallery of Ontario -23
Zippy's -47
City of Kansas City -100
WestPoint Home Closing Plant -134
Disney Update -1,900
International Paper Closing Plant -114
SandRidge Energy -60
University of TN Health Science -5

TOTAL - 2,290

and...

130,793 Bankruptcy Petitions In March

www.nytimes.com...

[edit on 5-4-2009 by spinkyboo]

This makes me happy



[edit on 5-4-2009 by projectvxn]

reply to post by projectvxn
Star 4 U!

Exclusive: AIG Was Responsible For The Banks' January & February Profitability
zerohedge.blogspot.com...

:snip:

For those to whom this is merely a lot of mumbo-jumbo, let me explain in layman's terms:

AIG, knowing it would need to ask for much more capital from the Treasury imminently, decided to throw in the towel, and gifted major bank counter-parties with trades which were egregiously profitable to the banks, and even more egregiously money losing to the U.S. taxpayers, who had to dump more and more cash into AIG, without having the U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner disclose the real extent of this, for lack of a better word, fraudulent scam.

In simple terms think of it as an auto dealer, which knows that U.S. taxpayers will provide for an infinite amount of money to fund its ongoing sales of horrendous vehicles (think Pontiac Azteks): the company decides to sell all the cars currently in contract, to lessors at far below the amortized market value, thereby generating huge profits for these lessors, as these turn around and sell the cars at a major profit, funded exclusively by U.S. taxpayers (readers should feel free to provide more gripping allegories).

What this all means is that the statements by major banks, i.e. JPM, Citi, and BofA, regarding abnormal profitability in January and February were true, however these profits were a) one-time in nature due to wholesale unwinds of AIG portfolios, b) entirely at the expense of AIG, and thus taxpayers, c) executed with Tim Geithner's (and thus the administration's) full knowledge and intent, d) were basically a transfer of money from taxpayers to banks (in yet another form) using AIG as an intermediary.

For banks to proclaim their profitability in January and February is about as close to criminal hypocrisy as is possible. And again, the taxpayers fund this "one time profit", which causes a market rally, thus allowing the banks to promptly turn around and start selling more expensive equity (soon coming to a prospectus near you), also funded by taxpayers' money flows into the market. If the administration is truly aware of all these events (and if Zero Hedge knows about it, it is safe to say Tim Geithner also got the memo), then the potential fallout would be staggering once this information makes the light of day.

We pretty much knew what was up with Citi's "leaked memo" about Jan/Feb profits, and knew AIG was probably the source, but, this for sure is the nail in the coffin...

As soon as those morons figure out, (or should I say if), it'll all be headed for the crapper...as those "profits" were the last rabbit to be pulled out of the hat...
========================================
GAO Recommends that Treasury Demand “Concessions” from AIG’s Counterparties “Including Seeking to Renegotiate Existing Contracts"
georgewashington2.blogspot.com...

Former AIG Chief: Government Used AIG "To Funnel Money to Other Institutions, Including Foreign Banks"
georgewashington2.blogspot.com...

Obama to Bankers: “My Administration Is The Only Thing Between You And The Pitchforks.
georgewashington2.blogspot.com...

Toxic Asset Plan Will Leave The Same Amount Of Toxic Assets In The System, But With the Taxpayers Now Liable For Most Of The Losses
georgewashington2.blogspot.com...

Senior S&L Regulator Says Government Engaging in Massive Cover-Up of Economic Crisis: “The Entire Strategy Is to Keep People from Getting the Facts”
georgewashington2.blogspot.com...

:snip:

Moreover, Black says that the government's entire strategy in dealing with the economic crisis is a massive cover-up:

[They] don't want to change the bankers, because if we do, if we put honest people in, who didn't cause the problem, their first job would be to find the scope of the problem. And that would destroy the cover up....

Geithner is ... covering up. Just like Paulson did before him....

These are all people who have failed. Paulson failed, Geithner failed. They were all promoted because they failed....

Until you get the facts, it's harder to blow all this up. And, of course, the entire strategy is to keep people from getting the facts....

[Question] Are you saying that Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, and others in the administration, with the banks, are engaged in a cover up to keep us from knowing what went wrong?

[Black] Absolutely....

They're deliberately leaving in place the people that caused the problem, because they don't want the facts. And this is not new. The Reagan Administration's central priority, at all times, during the Savings and Loan crisis, was covering up the losses.

[Question] So, you're saying that people in power, political power, and financial power, act in concert when their own behinds are in the ringer, right?

That's right. And it's particularly a crisis that brings this out, because then the class of the banker says, "You've got to keep the information away from the public or everything will collapse."

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Nice read...sounds right...sucks for us basically...scroomed (again)...

8 Reasons Why the Obama Administration Will Not Solve this Crisis by the End of 2009
www.theundergroundinvestor.com...

In response to US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s assertion that this global crisis will bottom before year-end, here are 8 reasons why the Obama administration will not pull America and the world with it, out of its current economic throes. For one, every major response of the Obama administration to counter this global crisis to this point has only served to exacerbate the current situation and has accomplished virtually nothing in attacking the root cause of this global crisis - an unsound monetary system. Secondly, it is next to impossible to solve a problem that has been decades in the making by implementing the same plan that created the crisis.

So without further ado, here are 8 reasons why the Obama administration will not end the crisis this year:

Follow the yellow brick road...

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]

I like it when I can understand in plain language:



Matthew Philips
NEWSWEEK
From the magazine issue dated Apr 13, 2009

Market To Market My Words

To most people, it's an arcane accounting rule. But to bankers, it's the whole ballgame: "mark to market" pricing is the practice of requiring banks to value their assets based on their current market value. Not what banks paid for those assets yesterday. Not what they could get for them in, say, a year or two when the financial industry has settled down. What they could get right now. Which is basically bubkes. Banks have been pleading for this requirement to be lifted since the credit crisis began, and last week they got their wish. Confused? Here are four things you need to know about "mark to market" in order to sound smart at a cocktail party.

1. Banks say mark-to-market pricing cost them billions.
When the housing bubble burst, the market for all those mortgage-backed securities vanished, leaving bank balance sheets larded with assets that no one wanted. So at the end of each quarter, banks had to write down billions of dollars of "toxic assets"—even though their value might've been artificially, and only temporarily, depressed. But if banks never intended to sell an asset in the current market, they reasoned, why should they be forced to value it as if they did?

2. The key players: five big-shot accountants in Connecticut.
Banks began lobbying Congress last year to do away with mark-to-market, arguing that they couldn't lend because it had bled away so much capital. Congress in turn put the heat on the Financial Accounting Standards Board, a group of five über-accountants based in Connecticut who write all the rules. After months of pressure, including threats to take away its authority, the FASB caved and voted to loosen the rule.

3. The new guidelines, and the fly in the ointment.
Banks can now use "significant judgment" to value assets. Translation: they can stop assigning doomsday values to securities they think will have more value down the road. The hitch: some investors fear the rule change will help banks disguise their garbage, which was part of what got us into this mess in the first place.

4. Bully for the banks, but will this actually work?
It'll help big banks like Citi recoup billions in losses. But it does little to solve the underlying problem: piles of troubled assets no one wants. And it might not help for long, because Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner plans to rebuild a market for the assets by handing private investors cheap credit so they can start buying them up.

reply to post by Hx3_1963

C'mon, Hex. Forget the economy thing for a sec. It's Sunday . . . Let's go to the movies.



www.geocities.com...



My name is Bond . . . Treasury Bond.








[edit on 4/5/2009 by stander]

Great thread and video here video is a must watch for sure. Interview

www.abovetopsecret.com...

About time...to bad it won't go anywhere...

US watchdog calls for bank executives to be sacked
www.guardian.co.uk...

Elizabeth Warren, chief watchdog of America's $700bn (£472bn) bank bailout plan, will this week call for the removal of top executives from Citigroup, AIG and other institutions that have received government funds in a damning report that will question the administration's approach to saving the financial system from collapse.

Warren, a Harvard law professor and chair of the congressional oversight committee monitoring the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp), is also set to call for shareholders in those institutions to be "wiped out". "It is crucial for these things to happen," she said. "Japan tried to avoid them and just offered subsidy with little or no consequences for management or equity investors, and this is why Japan suffered a lost decade." She declined to give more detail but confirmed that she would refer to insurance group AIG, which has received $173bn in bailout money, and banking giant Citigroup, which has had $45bn in funds and more than $316bn of loan guarantees.

Warren also believes there are "dangers inherent" in the approach taken by treasury secretary Tim Geithner, who she says has offered "open-ended subsidies" to some of the world's biggest financial institutions without adequately weighing potential pitfalls. "We want to ensure that the treasury gives the public an alternative approach," she said, adding that she was worried that banks would not recover while they were being fed subsidies. "When are they going to say, enough?" she said.

She said she did not want to be too hard on Geithner but that he must address the issues in the report. "The very notion that anyone would infuse money into a financially troubled entity without demanding changes in management is preposterous."

The report will also look at how earlier crises were overcome - the Swedish and Japanese problems of the 1990s, the US savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and the 30s Depression. "Three things had to happen," Warren said. "Firstly, the banks must have confidence that the valuation of the troubled assets in question is accurate; then the management of the institutions receiving subsidies from the government must be replaced; and thirdly, the equity investors are always wiped out."

Economic Calendar
04-06-09

US - 10-Yr Note Announcement () 11:00 AM
US - 3-Yr Note Announcement () 11:00 AM
US - 4-Week Bill Announcement () 11:00 AM
US - 3-Month Bill Auction () 1:00 PM
US - 6-Month Bill Auction () 1:00 PM
US - Treasury STRIPS (Mar, 2009) 3:00 PM Mar, 2009
US - Equity Settlements (4-13-09) 8:00 PM 4-13-09

Keep an eye on Treasury's around 11 & 1...up, up and away in my beautiful balloon...


This Article is way to long to post, but, a good read...

The Worst Economic and Cultural Crisis of all Time
worldvieww.blogspot.com...

IBM and Sun broke off acquisition talks: report
www.reuters.com...

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]

S&P 500 +4.10 844.70 4/5 7:04pm
Fair Value 838.83 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +5.87

NASDAQ +8.75 1325.00 4/5 6:37pm
Fair Value 1315.61 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +9.39

Dow Jones +34.00 8017.00 4/5 7:05pm
===
NZSE 50 2,618.15 7:18PM ET Up 3.66 (0.14%)
===
EURO 1.3535
GBP 1.4887
JPY 100.57
===
Gold $890.75 v

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]

Any of you have any guests on WHEN this whole proping up of the markets will stop working? I mean... we've had a 1.400 points rally... it's time to go down now.

reply to post by Vitchilo

Some are saying it's out of steam, others say it could go higher. I see every extra day as a gift to be used to the fullest. Gotta get back out to the garden now!

US May Oust CEO's at Banks Needing Exceptional Aid:

www.bloomberg.com...

April 5 (Bloomberg) -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said he’s prepared to oust the senior management and boards of directors at banks that require “exceptional” assistance from the U.S. government.

“If in the future, banks need exceptional assistance in order to get through this, then we will make sure that assistance comes,” while ensuring taxpayers are protected, Geithner said today in an interview on the CBS “Face the Nation” program. “Where that requires a change in management and the board, then we will do that.”

More job losses coming apparently?


[edit on 5-4-2009 by irishchic]

Nice catch Irish!

Fun for all of us Comrades.




[edit on 5-4-2009 by projectvxn]

reply to post by irishchic


Hey Irish, Sup!
Have you heard if Marge has recovered?
Did hugs and kisses get danger to put a trigger lock on his vivitar yet?
It's heck having to stay away from the thread, cranking on the Ka- Ching box.
What's your take on the opening bell?
Any cool charts?
toodels

reply to post by Hx3_1963


I back paddled to see some data.
Thank God you are still here Hx.
Gold down, Dow up
Ugh, a guess, that toasts your muffin.
Are all those gold bugs migrating to real companies ?
Ps I forgot to brag.
My point score is also in the GREEN.

[edit on 5-4-2009 by Donny 4 million]

reply to post by Donny 4 million
No problems...

Make it while it's there...

S&P 500 +4.70 845.30 4/5 9:51pm
Fair Value 838.83 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +6.47

NASDAQ +4.25 1320.50 4/5 9:34pm
Fair Value 1315.61 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +4.89

Dow Jones +41.00 8024.00 4/5 9:45pm
===
NZSE 50 2,620.18 8:54PM ET Up 5.70 (0.22%)
Nikkei 225 8,952.41 9:12PM ET Up 202.57 (2.32%)
Straits Times 1,853.25 9:15PM ET Up 32.38 (1.78%)
Seoul Composite 1,300.65 8:56PM ET Up 16.90 (1.32%)
===
Gold $884.22 v
Gold $878.81 v
===
DXY 84.00 v
DXY 83.75 v

GBP 1.4902 ^
GBP 1.4933 ^

EURO 1.3566 ^
EURO 1.3576 ^

JPY 100.80 v
JPY 100.92 v

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]

okay with M2M being suspended at least in response to banks income statment's does anyone believe that in creating the illusionary FACT on paper that these banks are now more capitalized that they will lend more?

I have seen support for the relaxing of these standards under the guise that the M2M is killing the real economy? and that people grudgingly support the change because this will free banks to lend or so the story goes.

remember the large banks holding most of the M2M crap (RRE) that has blown up so far (with commercial real eastate a big tsunami in the wings)...made about half of their lending this decade from the securitization markets? will M2M changes bring this market back? no

Will the changes in M2M do anything for the CDS exposure to the primary dealers of these fraudulent contracts...except keep the institutions out of receivership and allow them to keep writing these contracts as well as be the beneficiary's of back room bailout thru AIG...

more interestingly the SEC found that banks needing to hold more capital in loan loss provision (in case of defaults) was a large reason contributing to hits on capital positions BC MOST BANKS HAVE not agressively marked DOWN assets M2M even after the M2M rules went into effect in the 4'th Q....heck these april 2 m2m changes may just be so that banks pass the stupid stress test that geithner will be trying to provide.......

and lastly with all the above factored in *will the higher capital positions have a major effect on new credit lines being given to business's and consumer's in this enviornment (one where job losses are mounting and consumpition/business earnings is falling) or may they (the banks) actually just need less FED (3 letter loan faciities) to borrow money.... so they can meet their end of the bargain....... concerning existing line of credit that corporations secured 2 years ago? and finally this M2M change could position small reigonal banks as well as large firms to not have future need for writedowns as commercial real estate tanks this year*

Let us not forget that this accounting change basically improves bank's capital positions and makes it harder for the fed's to come in and break them down and put them into receivership (more like Zombie banks Japan style)...it also should they be able to retroactively edit past quarters financial sheets...get themselves in a position to garner past and future bonus'es............

i would really like some thoughts opinions on the 2'nd paragraph up...

[edit on 5-4-2009 by cpdaman]

[edit on 5-4-2009 by cpdaman]

reply to post by cpdaman
What I'm guessing...

The big banks will start buying up all the crap...

Use their blackrocks and pimpcos to bid against themselves with ppip and sop up more taxpayer money...

While more AIG back door wind downs go in banks back doors...

This will make the banks look great...

Meanwhile...loans are still defaulting and the toxic "assets" get more toxic

After AIG is wound down...No more back door infusions...

*blam* ???
==========
Hang Seng 15,057.50 10:59PM ET Up 511.81 (3.52%)
Jakarta Composite 1,524.19 11:14PM ET Up 23.83 (1.59%)
Nikkei 225 8,949.94 10:30PM ET Up 200.10 (2.29%)
Straits Times 1,860.66 11:15PM ET Up 39.79 (2.19%)
Seoul Composite 1,314.81 10:55PM ET Up 31.06 (2.42%)
===
S&P 500 +6.70 847.30 4/5 11:00pm
Fair Value 838.83 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +8.47

NASDAQ +8.75 1325.00 4/5 10:16pm
Fair Value 1315.61 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +9.39

Dow Jones +57.00 8040.00 4/5 10:51pm
===
Gold $878.12 v
Gold $875.15 v

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]

LAYOFF DAILY
Sun 4-5-2009

Hillsborough County Water Dept. -14
Essar Steel Algoma -500
Navistar -345
International Paper Closing VA Plant -100
International Paper Closing Polk Plant -96
International Paper Closing KC Plant -100
Times-Tribune Newspaper -18
AnchorBank Closing 3
Branches -19
MeadWestvaco Paper Mill -80
CertainTeed Plant -16%
The Oilgear Co. -24
Mason Companies -50

TOTAL - 1,350 approx

S&P 500 +5.90 846.50 4/5 11:41pm
Fair Value 838.83 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +7.67

NASDAQ +11.00 1327.25 4/5 11:30pm
Fair Value 1315.61 4/4 5:21pm
Difference* +11.64

Dow Jones +57.00 8040.00 4/5 11:41pm
===
DXY 83.74

[edit on 4/5/2009 by Hx3_1963]