European Gloom and Look Ahead: Consumer sentiment
Submitted by
CalculatedRisk on Thu, 05/24/2012 - 7:28pm (294 comments)
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Gloom away!
You could reshuffle those words (and the colon) to make even more sense ...
You mean I won't be able to buy more FB on Monday?
Gloom? What's happening just proves we aren't crazy.
JPMorgan's Deficient Disclosures - NYTimes.com
Europe will be in major depression by the end of the year.
Then the rings of that stone dropping will ripple outwards.
I don't see a way around it.
Maybe they print, but I think printing simply means they have lost the game anyway.
EngineerJim wrote:
There should be a farmville share cropper option.
Thursday night thread music!
YouTube - Neve - It's Over Now
CR, do you have to be so pessimistic all the time?
Can't you post something cheerful?
EngineerJim wrote:
Another loyal poic newsletter subscriber.
E-GAD!!
(European Gloom and Doom)
The gloom is impentratable:
Monti Says Germany Can Be Persuaded on Euro Bonds - Bloomberg
I just got an email saying 3 $1MM plus homes are about to hit the market here in Sebastopol. There have already been 8 in the last 3 weeks. This is not a big pond and turnover is usually very slow. Looks like things are moving up the food chain.
Tom Stone wrote:
Facebook fairy?
My broker added a Pop up that they are trying to catch up on all the FB orders...I chuckle.
Lehman in $1.58 billion Archstone apartment deal: sources - Yahoo! Finance
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, one of three owners of Archstone, has reached a deal to buy the last portion of the apartment company it does not own for $1.58 billion, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
Lehman will buy the 26.5 percent of Archstone that it does not own from Bank of America Corp (NYS:BAC - News) and Barclays Plc (LSE:BARC.L - News).
In January, Lehman bought half the banks' stake, or 26.5 percent of Archstone, for $1.325 billion. That came after Barclays and Bank of America struck a deal to sell the 26.5 percent stake to Equity Residential (NYS:EQR - News), whose chairman is Sam Zell. Equity Residential was then also given the right to bid for the banks' remaining stake.
But Archstone's ownership structure gave Lehman the right to match the offer for the first slice. Lehman bought the stake and later filed a lawsuit against the two banks in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
MattFea wrote:
Rajesh wrote:
If I were the Germans I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot Pole.
Did you hear that Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden are going switch?
tg wrote:
Fantastic. In support:
Taliban's Ban On Poppy A Success, U.S. Aides Say - NY Times
What happened about 6 months later?
Probably the only way the empty suit gets re-elected.
EngineerJim wrote:
Is that some kind of key party thing?
Tom Stone wrote:
Seller churn
shill wrote:
Lay-offs on way.
First whiff of price authority and the shadow inventory resurfaces.
dryfly wrote:
Bonds or no more Euro.
How long before they have to say yes or no to the wedding?
CR quoted "Consumer Sentiment"
Here is some more consumer sentiment.
No. 438—PUBLIC COMMENT ON INFLATION MEASUREMENT
Consumer Price Index
May 15th, 2012
Consumer Price Index Has Been Reconfigured Since Early-1980s
So As to Understate Inflation versus Common Experience
CPI no longer measures the cost of maintaining a constant standard of living.CPI no longer measures full inflation for out-of-pocket expenditure.
With the misused cover of academic theory, politicians forced significant underreporting of official inflation, so as to cut annual cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security, etc.
Use of the CPI to adjust retirement benefits, private income or to set investment goals impairs the ability of retirees, income earners and investors to stay ahead of inflation.
Understated inflation used in estimating inflation-adjusted growth has created the illusion of recovery in reported GDP."
I would welcome objective metrics from anyone to disprove this abomination. I offer a free
to anyone that can shed light.
Consumer Price Index
dryfly wrote:
No. I have been expecting a high end correction this year with the mid and low ends stabilizing in late fall or next spring. It looks like this may be the beginning of the run to the door on the high end, way too many expensive spec homes were built during the boom. Quality will make a big difference in how far each drops.
Sure it will buy them a little time, but the Ponzi inflation rate over there will sky rocket.
EngineerJim wrote:
Spouse swap? Really?
Shadowstats.com - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Shadowstats.com is a website that analyzes government economic and unemployment statistics based on methodologies used by previous United States administrations, from the pre-Clinton era to the time of the Great Depression.[1] The author of the site claims that using Depression-era methodology, for example, the U.S. unemployment rate would have been 16.5% in January 2009, more than double the announced rate of 6.7%.[2] The site is authored by John Williams, an economic consultant with an economics BA and an MBA from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.[3]
Regarding inflation statistics, Williams says that some of the biggest changes to the Consumer Price Index were made between 1997-1999 in an effort to reduce Social Security outlays, using controversial changes by Alan Greenspan that include "hedonics", or the increased quality of goods.[4] Some other investors have echoed Williams' views, most prominently Bill Gross, who reportedly called the US CPI an "haute con job".[4] John S. Greenlees and Robert B. McClelland, staff economists at the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, have written a lengthy and detailed rebuttal to claims of CPI manipulation such as those of Williams.[5]..."
MattFea wrote:
Homes turn over once every 18 years on average here. It's remarkably stable. Or it was...
josap wrote:
So be it - I would not touch it with a ten foot Pole.
Will Joe Biden be replaced with Hillary Clinton? - - WickedLocal.com
Tom Stone wrote:
Dope Boyz
Isn't she happy over in... where is she again?
Rob Dawg wrote:
Lots of news stories claiming prices are going up,up,up. Median prices...Oh. I have spoken to several agents I know this last week. NONE see prices going up for individual properties.
dryfly wrote:
I didn't know Bill and Joe are Skull and Bones (!)
If it becomes public might raise some eyebrows, naww wouldn't make the head lines even if Barny Frank moved in with them.
Outsider wrote:
Page Not Found
WASHINGTON — The U.S. is taking the fight against terrorists online — by hacking into Web sites with jihadists’ advertising.
Secretary of State Clinton revealed she employs a team that’s constantly “patrolling the web” to find corrupt overseas Internet ads run by the likes of Al Qaeda in the Arabian in Peninsula.
The terror group, responsible for a series of failed bomb plots targeting U.S.-bound jets, was “bragging about killing Americans and trying to recruit new supporters,” Clinton told a Special Operations Command dinner in Tampa.
The ad showed coffins draped with American flags, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Thursday.
“Within 48 hours, our team plastered the same sites with altered versions of the ads that showed the toll Al Qaeda attacks have taken on the Yemeni people,” Clinton said.
The “counter-spoof” showed coffins draped with Yemeni flags, Nuland said.
It drove the propagandists bananas.
“And we can tell that our efforts are starting to have an impact, because we monitor the extremists venting their frustration and asking their supporters not to believe everything they read on the Internet,” Clinton said.
Probably a smart move for Hillary -- good position for 2016.
On the other hand, with Joe Biden as Sec'y of State, with his penchant for verbal gaffs, a nuclear war might be started.
Chained CPI for social security, scroll down for chart.
Chained CPI Cuts Benefits More With Each Passing Year: a New Analysis | Strengthen Social Security
Tom Stone wrote:
The fb zillionaire stories would have you think it's both 1999 and 2005 all over again.
EngineerJim wrote:
Oh come on - Joe's just being Joe...
Rickkk wrote:
Shadowstats? Trolling for business again!
Clearly John Williams doesn't deserve a lot of respect. His explanation of his methodology completely undermines his mojo.
Econbrowser: Shadowstats responds
The response was gentle. A load of BS would have been more apt.
Please....
josap wrote:
Should be coupled to income growth for those paying in - not CPI. No income growth for workers - no increased benefit for G'ma. I've been saying that since about 1985...
EngineerJim wrote:
OOHHHH, swaping Jobs.
My mistake, they are liberal Democ......never mind.
dryfly wrote:
The income cap should be removed.
I mean really, how hard could it be.
Also coupling benefit growth to worker wage growth aligns the interests of the workers and the retired ... in short the young and the old ... not a bad thing unless you are an oligarch.
Quake: mag 5.2, 11 km deep, Fri, May 25 2012 2:44 pm (NZST), 10 km east of Christchurch
GeoNet – New Zealand Earthquake Report - May 25 2012 at 2:44 pm (NZST)
Yes swapping positions -- Hillary would be on top.
dryfly wrote:
Stop making sense.
josap wrote:
In exchange for some means testing and/or tax law changes such that wealthier retirees pay in more ... more revenue and less pay out.
But the current COLA structure [at least for high end recipients] is a bit much for a 'safety net'...
EngineerJim wrote:
I'm thinking she always was...
TJ and The Bear wrote:
So we'll see those homes on the market in about ohhh 2015?
dryfly wrote:
Yep. Gets them out of a purely rentier mode think. Too many of those already.
.
Don't forget to vote in the Conjure Clock poll.
Do you want mp to provide Conjure Clock updates? | Hoocoodanode?
So far: 19 for, 0 against.
dryfly wrote:
Agree.
Although the chained CPI COLA will mostly hurt those getting minimum amounts. I'm not too worried about the high income earners who have the retirement funds, mostly about Granny with an $800. mo check.
Christchurch hit by strong quake - National - NZ Herald News
So far, no reports of damage or injury. It's a bit early though...
Antipodes wrote:
You all are snake bit...
"Homes turn over once every 18 years on average here. It's remarkably stable. Or it was..."
Location...location...location.
A home across the road from me sold for 3/4 of a million in Canuk $ and that is the third owner in >18years. On par for the rest of the homes on my street. I live next to Google, RIM, Open Text, universities, live theatre, country markets, corn fields are across the road, as well as horse and buggies.... I see wealthy people and a 4,000 square-foot B&B bungalow.
In my case, you'll have to drive a wooden stake through my heart to drive me from my home. Since I'm passing my home to my only child/ son, I wish to to appreciate my home both, passively, and actively, through renovations generating an additional income stream. My folks did the same, but they called it survival. They did well with their modest goals. Life comes full circle.
Europe has only one path:
in the ensuing turmoil.
1. Buy
2. Print
3. Navigate their
Why do I think so?
They have already been doing Item 1 and Item 2 and Item 3.
If something cannot stop, it will go on forever.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
Median prices are going up and several people came into a lot of $ with that IPO. Median and several.
zephyrum wrote:
Does it fix anything?
zephyrum wrote:
Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
josap wrote:
No. In fact, it can keep getting worse, as long as all the other paths also get worse at least as fast. So far, that seems to be the case...
josap wrote:
Why does the medium of exchange have to be a great store of value in a market economy? It isn't well suited to serve as both.
China Banks May Miss Loan Target for 2012, Officials Say - Bloomberg
Till morning
It's maddening to read that uncertainty in Europe is affecting the Geman economy, as if it were not something far more direct and tangible in operation.
Because our glorious leaders said it would.
Why do you hate America?
shill wrote:
may be even worse if Greece exits the euro and local policy makers don’t increase the stimulus, China Investment Capital Corp., the nation’s biggest investment bank, forecast this week. Economic expansion may drop to 6.4 percent in 2012 in that case,
albrt wrote:
LOL Times change and we need to adapt.
Oracle v. Google Juror: 'No Steak. Only Parsley' | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com
Judge Alsup — who has served on the federal bench for almost 13 years — said the case was the longest civil suit he’d ever presided over. And yet the fireworks never came. The most memorable moment was Alsup telling the court that he’d secretly learned to code in Java, a way of upbraiding David Boies, Oracle’s celebrity lawyer, for trying to claim huge damages on an almost insignificant amount of code. “You’re one of the best lawyers in America,” he said. “How can you make that argument?”
When it sued Google in the fall of 2010, Oracle sought as much as $7 billion as it asserted various copyrights and patents it acquired with its purchase of Java-maker Sun Microsystems. But after the copyright phase of the trial ended with a partial verdict and the jury rejected all of Oracle’s patent claims, the trial had merely shown that out of 15 million lines of Android code, Google had infringed with about eight decompiled files and nine lines of copied code. ..
zephyrum wrote:
Is that what the guy who jumped from the Empire State building said? 236 floors to go and we're still good.
edit: Whups, 94 to go.
Greek Police encourage stupidity:
Police urge Greeks to keep money in bank | World news | The Guardian
sdtfs wrote:
Perfect. Now imagine he has a gun and could shoot himself. Why pull the trigger?
Edit: and he's like on the 2700th floor and doesn't see the ground with his own eyes yet.
" Detroit, whose 139 square miles contain 60 percent fewer residents than in 1950, will try to nudge them into a smaller living space by eliminating almost half its streetlights."
Turn Out The Lights – The Largest U.S. Cities Are Becoming Cesspools Of Filth, Decay And Wretchedness
Why do I think of that movie " Escape from New York". The artical says it is an attempt to save money and move people together. The poorer neighborhoods will go dark, crime will go crazy. This truly is the end of a once Great City.
The artical went on to say 40% of the street lights are broken anyways and the City can't aford to fix them. They would most likely only get broken again anyways.
Apparently that must be what the people who run the neighborhoods want. I sure hope this is not a glimpse into Los Angeleses future.
Yancey Ward wrote:
The police are not here to create disorder, they're here to preserve disorder - Richard J. Daley
Bad Dawg Bobby wrote:
Think Blade Runner.
dryfly wrote:
TJ and The Bear wrote:
It's May up here in the midwest, and temperatures on Saturday are expected to reach 100 within the Chicagoland region, especially the southern sections.
Today, the strong winds, low humidity, and dry soil conditions prodded the weather service to issue a dust warning;
With a cloud of dust..... - Chicago Weather Center (for pictures of the conditions)
Perhaps the Europeans should consider creation of a bad country:
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Spain Plans to Merge All Nationalized Banks Into Gigantic Bad Bank; Merging Small Cesspools Creates Bigger, Deeper, Smellier Cesspools
dryfly wrote:
He never made a truer statement...
Tom Stone wrote:
May he rest in piece...
dryfly wrote:
YouTube - Women Of Ireland ( Helen O,Hara)
Haralambos here is a comment from a tourist in your neighborhood: Underbelly: It's Quiet...Too Quiet
I voted to keep the Conjure clock. I find it both relevant and entertaining. Same goes for mp.
Europe has long had weaker regulation of FIRE than the US. "Principles based accounting rules"
; bribery as business routine; tax havens all over the place.... the costs of this are going to bite hard. Oh, and there's the farce that was the growth and stability pact compliance when the Euro was introduced.
Larry Ellison is one of the most hate-able executives in the US. Yet he runs Oracle; with no STEM degree.
Participation in the Conjure Clock vote has been so good, I'm reducing the duration from 2 weeks to 1 week.
Do you want mp to provide Conjure Clock updates? | Hoocoodanode?
I don't think I could stand the suspense for two whole weeks.
From Wikipedia:
Somehow these two seem related...
Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban
Free news is unsustainable: Buffett
June glooms? I traveled to LA for a job interview one June years ago and was surprised by the muggy overcast. The job was with Long Term Credit Bank of Japan, which was one of the first Japanese biggies to croak. Glad I didn't get the job.
So, as far as I can understand, other than China and Europe the regions we plan to export to are looking good?
rosethorn wrote:
A friend of mine, who I will see this weekend, paid for the nose job.
I see that Buffet just bought a bunch of newspapers...must be getting senile.
Mom says hospital threatened to keep baby until bill's paid
Those Greek bill collectors would do just fine if they had to relocate to the good old US of A...
rosethorn wrote:
LOL... the Jokes write themselves.
poic wrote:
India's currency is collapsing, the Russian ruble is shaky, the Brazilian Real is on a steady downward path.
But other than Japan, Europe, BRICS, and a handful of developing countries, the fundamentals of the world economy are strong.
Rajesh wrote:
Are you channeling Seb tonight?
"Are you channeling Seb tonight?"
I'm a bit high after breathing in the smoke from Rajesh's
He's starting to look hawt
...India's currency is collapsing - [bullish for exports]
...the Russian ruble is shaky - [meh - not sure what to make about that thing - seriously]
...the Brazilian Real is on a steady downward path - [Lula was bitching just eight months ago the Real was too strong and blaming the US for 'manipulation']
Not really a compelling argument for or against doom... just sayin'.
RATM wrote:
And the basic idea (SQL) came from IBM (Codd).
rosethorn wrote:
The Ellison Files: Oracle Strikes Back - Businessweek
Is that like 'empire strikes back'
rosethorn wrote:
I was flown into Houston midwinter once for an interview - the sky was green - almost like another planet. Told it had to do with an inversion and all the petrochem plants. Gloom would have been a welcome change.
Bearish for gold. A silver lining so to speak.
Yancey Ward wrote:
You bwade runnah.
dryfly wrote:
It's called the smell of money, to those kinesthaesia confused.
dryfly wrote:
The new Indian middle class is for the first time encountering head winds. gas prices can get that high? Real estate can get that low? tough questions.
Rajesh wrote:
Risk off. I'm starting to nibble buy back into foreign bond funds that I've sold gains in over the last 2.5 years. One just triggered today, so I'll look at another lower bid and ladder in while the Greek debacle on-goes.
Iran has successfully stalled negotiations for another month....
"It's called the smell of money, to those kinesthaesia confused."
Have you ever read "The Man Who Mistook his wife for a hat" by Oliver Sacks?
Fascinating book as are many others that the author has written.
poic wrote:
Highly recommended!
The insight on Reagan was interesting.
REBear wrote:
From an biologist perspective, India is not even remotely survivable.
I think Pakistan may go over the cliff first though.
poic wrote:
I read a piece of it, along with the Robin Williams movie (loosely based on an earlier Sacks book on those temporarily awakened from comatose states). I should read the whole thing.
The smell of money is less used in Houston, more in Pasadena and Missouri City, where the refineries are located.
My intro. to Southern California was my first walk on campus at Riverside. I grabbed a cup of coffee in what seemed like a pea fog, sat down outside the Student Union, was startled by chimes coming out of the sky, then the wind blew and I suddenly saw the smog part like the Red Sea to reveal the Bell Tower about 100 feet in front of me. The smog steadily improved through the 80's but some claim government emissions regulations was a communist plot intended to rob medical providers of their income stream for black lung treatments.
Ive read almost all of Oliver Sack's books. The case studies are fascinating.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
He asks for his publishers to come up with their best ideas on how to monetize - I think its been there in front of their noses forever - too dumb to realize it.
They need the media equivalent of a monthly bus pass or the old Euro Rail Pass... one reasonable fee and it gets you access to a LOT of good content from a lot of publishers for a set period of time. If I 'buy' access to my local paper - it costs a lot - as much as if I buy the dead tree version on the stand and all I get is access to that journal. Plus I have nothing to start fires with or wrap fish heads in.
And how much of it will I read - not much. Not a good value.
But if they charged me the same amount [for a pass] and gave me access to lots of sources - I'd be temped to pay it. So would a lot of people other places. Result would be a lot of money would flow into the pass pool which could then be redistributed to the individual papers [maybe by clicks - giving them incentive to have good content].
My guess is they would sell a lot of those 'passes'.
Mr Buffett - where do I send my resume?
REBear wrote:
But export industry jobs a plenty...
It seems to me that the India collapse is the next
; haven't they been off the radar until just the last couple of weeks?
dryfly wrote:
Buffet's "investment" in Gannet is a dribble off a kegger piss, but apparently it is proof he is senile to those inclined to think that way. It's toy money, like the change my wife sweeps off the counter by my wallet.
poic wrote:
He's a good writer, even the book on ferns in Oaxaca is interesting.
adornosghost wrote:
Is. Is going - now. Had a conference call this morning with friend there - he is getting out - heading to Malaysia. Issues for sure but not like Pakistan.
This guy ran a family business - a factory - just inside Baluchistan. The stories he tells are chilling - really chilling.
adornosghost wrote:
You must mean as a population biologist,...remnants are always going to be there.
dryfly wrote:
I don't entirely disagree, but I think individual papers are irrelevant. I could see paying for a pass for a wire service, if they took away the free access one gets now. Local papers could become feeders to the larger services.
dryfly wrote:
Word. Our "failure" in Afghanistan has been a long-running failure with our "ally" Pakistan, or to be clear with our enemies in the security apparatus within Pakistan. This goes back before even the GWB administration, although they bungled it royally, as all else and Obama has continued the play book.
The Muslim unrest in Indonesia may end up being our problem as well.
Rob Dawg wrote:
I've always been more confident in Indonesia, but that confidence is probably (or maybe indubitably) born of ignorance.
Bubblisimo Gerkinov wrote:
That is what it would be - maybe even a collection of wire services, networks - you have it. Some 'rebranded' as papers but not really like papers used to be.
I get some biz journals that way - if I want full access its ridiculous what they want to charge - I told them as much. Said the would sell 100 times as many subscriptions if they cut the price by 10X. Probably sell a 10,000 times as many if they cut it by 100X. These people don't get it - they need to look at iTunes.
dryfly wrote:
It is hopeless. And the 5th largest country by population, as I recall.
Ecological nightmare, run by the military, and influenced by religious fundamentalists.
Most of the population illiterate.
Kinda sounds like the US?
sdtfs wrote:
Yea, and I almost added population.
I regret never have gotten to the Hindu Kush, and viewing K2.
Rob Dawg wrote:
Why? Can we just stay out of there business or is it to late.
Rob Dawg wrote:
It is unfair to label it as 'Muslim Unrest' - its Muslin vs Muslim there. Like calling the unrest in Greece 'Christian Unrest'...
Indonesia is a polyglot multicultural mess of a country. Religion being only one dimension.
adornosghost wrote:
didn't read it. but Sacks as a person is an arrogant shit.
Uh oh fap,fap,fap man has shown up.
Bad Dawg Bobby wrote:
Late--- we gave Suharto the names of 800,000 "communists", and they killed them all.
Mass murderer Suharto dead. US-backed Indonesian dictator killed millions - Afghanistan Genocide Essays
Re wrote:
" A load of BS would have been more apt"
"Shadowstats? Trolling for business again!"
Consumer Price Index - Wiki | The Motley Fool
"The CPI is calculate by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and has frequently come under fire for how it is calucated. The methodology of calculating the CPI has frequently changed over the years to the point that critics argue it no longer accurately tracks inflation. Critics claim that the CPI suffers from "garbage in garbage out"
adornosghost wrote:
He sent me a really long slide show of pictures from there and also the foothills - pretty wonderful. He'll miss it - but not the violence.
I think he leaves in two weeks...
I was referring to the efforts to promote Sharia law as the law of the and and the increasing oppression of non Muslims.
Rob Dawg wrote:
Can't speak for Indonesia or the rest of Muslim SE Asia, but Pakistan is very tribal and has areas like Waziristan that the govt. has no real control of ... and of course they have the ISI. WhoTF knows who they answer to?
adornosghost wrote:
best remembered in the movie The Year of Living Dangerously (early and excellent Mel)
adornosghost wrote:
We are working on it - take a couple more generations to get to their level. We got that long?
Police find three children abandoned in Southeast Portland shed | OregonLive.com
This is the land of opportunity and there is no excuse for an able body child to trespass on some hard working citizens shed when they could be earning their goddman keep. Lazy rugrats should buck the
up and get a job.
adornosghost wrote:
I think we are about to Get what we have coming !
robj wrote:
Don't change a thing - ignorance is bliss.
adornosghost wrote:
"I regret never have gotten to the Hindu Kush,"
There is always Jamican Sativa., bliss is much more pleasant.
dryfly wrote:
I'm knocking on wood for him.
Bubblisimo Gerkinov wrote:
I'm not sure the gov't has control of Karachi...
dryfly wrote:
Look around--- we can't keep the current complexity without serious discounts on the future.
It really is quite simple.
Rickkk wrote:
Lambs Bread.
Duke of Con Dao wrote:
That was a good movie.
dryfly wrote:
We need a knuckles to the woodenhead icon, rather than a keyboard icon.
dryfly wrote:
Than how come I'm not a "Very Happy Camper".
adornosghost wrote:
"Lambs Bread".
Thanks for the info. I'm a quick study.
I regret never having been in the studio with The Beatles.
I regret turning down flight school.
David Paul: Pension Bankruptcy in Tiny U.S. Territory Is a Warning of What May Lie Ahead
05/24/2012 8:47 pm
Bad Dawg Bobby wrote:
Maybe. But the common people are less likely to blame the Americans and more likely to blame the ones they see. I've heard from quite a few people who have traveled there over the past decade and never heard of any problems. And they're sending some really stunning freshwater shrimp from out of their lakes.
Sulawesi shrimp - Google Search
edit: and freshwater snails Sulawesi shrimp - Google Search
CP’s pricey pensions a big hurdle to labour deal - The Globe and Mail
Thursday, May. 24, 2012 7:40PM EDT
"Under the existing system, the average annual pension for a qualifying engineer is $73,000 a year but could be as high as $92,600, according to internal data."
Rob Dawg wrote:
Sharia is a
- it is nowhere near as 'draconian' as people here make it out to be. It is the Arab equivalent of common law and as such as variable. More important is who applies it and why [to whom]. The Wahhabists [Arabian peninsula] are especially harsh - we have enabled them directly - none more so than the Bush family. If they get to be the arbiters of the law - it will be bad. Not just for 'non-Muslims' either - every other sect of Muslim and none more than the Shiite.
I do not know who is behind what is happening in Indonesia - I would not be surprised if it was Wahhabi Madrasa educated 'extremists' funded by the Kingdom. That is what unglued Pakistan and fueled the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and 'the territories'.
The Credit CARD Act: It's Working | Demos
Ya know that discussion about how people are paying down debt? It turns out that if you let people know before ya
'em, they don't let you do that so much.
Bad Dawg Bobby wrote:
I will remember that response...
dryfly wrote;
"Sharia is ....nowhere near as 'draconian' as people here make it out to be."
It was viewed differently in my neck-of the-woods and turned down.
"When in Rome or Saudi Arabia do as ....."
Bad Dawg Bobby, I had a blue bottle coffee this week
robj wrote:
I wouldn't mind the :scarecrow: from Oz ... go great with the
.
For you Gulf and East Coasters: NOAA predicts a near-normal 2012 Atlantic hurricane season
"“NOAA’s outlook predicts a less active season compared to recent years,” said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco"
I'd like to say a word about Indonesia but I am too tired.
plus, who would listen?
...
time to put out the light.
Duke of Con Dao wrote:
Hey I would - especially if its about drugs and hookers...
"I'd like to say a word about Indonesia but I am too tired.
plus, who would listen?"
I would, plus I NEVER rag on you
Paul Krugman Is a AAA Rated Security Gone Bad - Forbes
Duke of Con Dao wrote:
If the word was 'penis gourd', I'd bet someone would. Oh wait, that's two words.
Rickkk wrote:
Nothing would make me believe Krugman might be right more than reading he's wrong in Forbes...
If the Duke is a bed, I'm up past my time.
Apropos of nothing, other than the Preakness and the up-coming Belmont:
YouTube - Sam Bush, Bobby Hicks, Alison Brown, Sierra Hull, "Molly and Tenbrooks," Harvard U 2/6/2010
robj wrote:
Me too...
Rickkk wrote:
Yes ... fortunately our experiment in legislated multiculturalism hasn't gone that far.
While I agree somewhat with Dryfly, Sharia does have a lot of misogynist family law bits which an open society wouldn't want available to a zealous judge and/or jury.
poic wrote:
I didn't see any Blue Bottle Coffee, and I was looking.
I saw Blue Bottle Beer but not coffee. I could be wrong, been wrong before. Maybe it was the way I read the sign.
yuan wrote:
Damn that heartless, conservative city.
Jamie Dimon And The Legitimacy Of The Federal Reserve System | The Baseline Scenario
Jamie Dimon Should Resign From the Board Of The New York Fed | The Baseline Scenario
Given the de facto and de jure power of the Federal Reserve, should CEO of JPM Jamie Dimon resign as a director of the NYFed? | Hoocoodanode?
adornosghost wrote:
pakistan is already over the cliff.
It occurred to me this evening that the reason partisanship in DC has become so bitter is because the Republicans and the Democrats are fighting over which one will be the surviving conservative party and the exclusive procurer of whores for the oligarchy. I just don't think we can go on with two of those forever - organized crime has a strong tendency to territorial monopoly.
Viewed in this context, I suspect Obama's secret service detail was actually on an important fact-finding mission in Colombia to help Obama improve his whoring skills. Their sacrifice upon being discovered was both selfless and necessary.
Meanwhile, the interesting question is who will get to be the liberal party in 2016?
albrt wrote:
Isn't this typical of empires in decline?
And what of Bear Stearns, and Maiden Lane?
Yes, although I would say having a military composed entirely of "volunteer" paid mercenaries rather than conscripts during a time of war is more precisely diagnostic.
Oligarchs and whores are everywhere to some extent.
TJ and The Bear wrote:
Uh, no a conservative city would have let the kids starve. The City of Portland rescued the kids and is providing for their welfare.
CR wrote:
"European Gloom and Look Ahead: Consumer sentiment"
"Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
Herodotus (484 BC - 430 BC), Inscription, New York City Post Office, adapted from Herodotus
"While I agree somewhat with Dryfly, Sharia does have a lot of misogynist family law bits which an open society wouldn't want available to a zealous judge and/or jury."
The last two case involving Sharia law up here, saw the male figures take matters into their own hands. They ended in strangulation and multiple drownings.
For the vicious irony:
YouTube - Laurie Anderson - O Superman - clip subtitulado!
"Neither snow, nor rain, nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds."
["Here come the planes."]
The ECB fiddles while the EZ burns.
End stage capitalism is both glorious and ugly.
It's been a while since gloom was uttered by CR, usually it's drama, or grandstanding types of phrases.
Could it be a slight move to the bearish side? Or maybe just slower growth but still positive as hot cash runs back to the U.S. as the least stinker for now?
Just when I was hoping for a muddle through thing.... Oh well.
1 currency now -yogi wrote:
And those entitlement-grubbing children were rescued by a bunch of corrupt unionized public safety officers with outrageous pensions and healthcare benefits. Another example of librul waste.
Occasionally in down town Chicago, I'll see a 60ish or older poor woman sitting on a park bench or a bench at a bus stop with several large bags or suitcases with what has to be all her earthly possessions. It happened again tonight in the park next to my condo building, The woman was also wearing a winter coat even though the temperature was still in to upper 80's. Very sad.
traderwalt wrote:
It isn't only sad, its criminal. Expect a tsunami of this if the current trends are maintained.
Women, who were responsible, worked more than one job in their lives to raise children often without any assistance, governmental or from absent spouses. Not to ding men because many men did this too but the majority are women who STILL do not enjoy wage parity. ALL of their emotional, physical and financial assets were required to do this. Their children may or may not be able to help them, often it is all those now adult children can do to keep their own skin intact. Often they have moved elsewhere in search of work.
But oh yeah,we are the land of the free and the home of the brave unless...that is....it actually means being civilized towards our own citizens.
Oh and I forgot. lol
Bankia shares suspended ahead of rescue details
| Reuters
ooops again and edit to add:
Moody's downgrades three big Nordic banks
| Reuters
Singapore Production Unexpectedly Declines on Electronics, Drugs - Bloomberg
Morning
NN whats up?
wowow
Moody's Investor Service downgraded credit ratings of three large Nordic banks on Friday, citing their reliance on market funding, tough competition for retail loans, and their exposure to the spreading euro zone debt crisis.
BarleyReturns wrote:
Good morning BarleyR.
Whats up? My doom-o-meter is up.
Whats up with you?
tick...tick...tick
Rescue Elusive as ECB Resists Rajoy Bond-Buy Urge: Euro Credit - Bloomberg
Not much. I must same Im puzzeled by the World Bank
and tptb wonder why there is negative sentiment in markets, in government(s), in finance and big business.
Dick Fuld to Have a Wonderful Memorial Day Weekend | The Reformed Broker
SEC Staff Ends Probe of Lehman Without Finding Fraud - Bloomberg
BarleyReturns wrote:
??
From the banner ad:
Isn't a MA a Master of Arts?
Shaun's prior history was a sales manager at a telecom company. He says:
Bankia to ask Spain for over 15 billion euros - source
| Reuters
So the spin du jour is that the market is lifted by "stabilizing consumer-confidence data from Germany" -- and an absurd head saying "European stocks inspired by German data"
How come no mention of data like this?--
Flash Germany Composite Output Index at 49.6 (50.5 in April), 6-month low.
Flash Germany Manufacturing PMI at 45.0 (46.2 in April), 35-month low.
Flash Germany Manufacturing Output Index at 44.6 (47.3 in April), 35-month low.
...and if you think that's bad, see French data.
nova wrote:
Caveat emptor that is IF you have access to the data necessary in performing due diligence (see FB 'investors') at any level these days.
Too good to be true usually means it is...
Whoa, meme alert. Bloomie paraphrases Fight Club, ZH basement land goes ape.
Frozen Europe Means ECB Must Resort to ELA - Bloomberg
C
BIG SIGH
Lehman to buy remaining Archstone stake for $1.58 billion - Yahoo! Finance
more than just ELA. It stood at 212.5 billion euros this week, up from 184.7 billion euros three weeks ago
ECB Board member takes unwise steps into fiscal territory.
UPDATE 1-Euro zone must head toward banking union-ECB's Praet
| Reuters
Don't plan on any trips to Berlin, dude. Take some leave. Take, like, until fall. Remember to look up in built environments. Don't sit by the window. Take big planes.
C
The ECB has given banks 1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion) into cheap loans which have been widely credited with helping troubled debtor states meet substantial portions of their 2012 funding needs early in the year, by encouraging banks to buy government bonds, as well as keeping the banks liquid as they manage bad debts
Paying bonuses is a b**ch
And stay as far away from Open Park benches as possible...people get shot on those
oooooh...look at all the pretty colors.
Map: Where are homes underwater? | The Big Picture
oh noooos....
Eric is early.
Brussels wants e-identities for EU citizens | EurActiv
Coming soon
Pretty! Red is so auspicious. Good for marketing in China.
C
Rob Dawg wrote:
Oh I wouldn't say that.....more like suicidal.
NYT: China's economy suffers 'sharp slowdown' - Business - US business - The New York Times - msnbc.com
“We didn’t really feel the global financial crisis, but this year, we’ve really felt it — I don’t see a solution unless people start buying,” Ms. Sun said, sitting in a spacious shop with no customers in sight."
The US is looking better and better....
Bonjour à tous!
gulp
FT Alphaville » On the ECB’s attempts to ring-fence its balance sheet
Wonder what the CDS market looks like?
These people are disgusting:
World News - Tens of thousands of elephants likely killed last year, experts say
http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/506/cache/lava-cauldron-nyiragongo-peter_50624_990x742.jpg
Stock index futures signal higher open - Yahoo! News
uh?
Money Funds Open to a Deal With SEC - WSJ.com
There's that auspicious color again.
shill wrote:
THROW IN THE
What do you think Eric, to early?
United States Brent Oil Fund LP, BNO Stock Quote - (NAR) BNO, United States Brent Oil Fund LP Stock Price
The average price for a gallon of regular gas has fallen each day since May 16 and stood at $3.676 on Thursday, according to AAA data.
Not looking good for the HCN gas-price gamblers. Prices on Monday might land on an unoccupied square. House wins.
curious wrote:
Most of the HCN prognosticators are frequently incorrect.......wait.......more like consistently incorrect.
Rob Dawg wrote:
What, no Eurabia concerns? Maybe it's just chinese hamburgers I'm smelling.
Wow, you guys and gals are extra doomy this morning, yay!
It appears the most houses are under water in areas....where people actually live! Shocking!
Comrade Kristina wrote:
Not me.
Personally, I think that you need help.
Mitt Romney Flocks To Fox News As General Election Season Ramps Up
Let's play softball with the GOPs mental giant.
I'm not sure if you realize this or not, you don't really count around here
Housing bounce a boon for battered mortgage REITs - MarketWatch
I just checked the stats for Bay County and we're at 41% underwater. The recovery is glorious, indeed!
WooHoo!
Dynamics of Cats has a new look!
<reckless eyeballin'>
Only one way to fix that....borrow more.
Anyone up for some fresh baked bread?
Merkel May Be Persuaded on Euro Debt-Sharing Compromise - Bloomberg
Is it the Special bread made with Special Butter?
That sounds delicious, HG.
The Germans will not be amused and or confident when they reed this(check Die Weimarer Republik) : The ECB, Ward said, could do more to restore confidence in the stalling eurozone economies by embarking on quantitative easing. "We need to move to full QE that would stabilize the economies … boost confidence and slow the deposit flight. But we might not have time for that......:
Police urge Greeks to keep money in bank | World news | The Guardian
Or this :
ECB's Weidmann says ECB has reached limit of mandate with tools ECB has take considerable risks with measures
LTROs didn’t solve structural reasons of crisis
We witnessed (from the day high) the LAST managed EUR rally...Burial preparations are below the surface ongoing and NOT only in Greece :
UK banknote printer readies for Greek call - source
| Reuters
New Signs of Global Slowdown - WSJ.com
"New signs of a global slowdown are darkening the economic outlook.
On Thursday, the U.S. reported that businesses were slowing their orders of computers, aircraft, machinery and other long-lasting goods. Measures of business sentiment in Europe slipped, and reports from purchasing managers at manufacturers around the globe turned down. Among them, China, the world's second-largest economy, registered its seventh straight drop in an important manufacturing index.
With the latest reports, a new economic threat is emerging: That activity is slowing in sync around the globe and not just in a few markets with their own isolated problems."
Morning...
Comrade Kristina wrote:
I count where it matters....unlike you.
KarmaPolice wrote:
A legend in your own mind.
Bruce in Tennessee wrote:
Save it, Bruce.
HomeGnome wrote:
Better than a depressed sociopath.
KarmaPolice wrote:
That's no way to talk about pavel.
HomeGnome wrote:
No, he is a delusional sociopath.
Penguin in 5.....4....3....2....1
GO!
KarmaPolice wrote:
quite right.
I need more
Well, I haven't seen you on twitter so obviously you don't count where it matters
Breaking up Chase: Good for shareholders and taxpayers -
The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blog
Term Sheet
If you break up JPM into smaller banks, does that mean there will be a bunch of evil DNA clones?
I think it's okay so long as you don't get them wet or feed them after midnight...
Keep shoveling Mitt...dig, dig, dig:
FACT CHECK: Romney off on Obama's love for unions - Yahoo! News
Comrade Kristina wrote:
What's "twitter"?
KarmaPolice wrote:
Economist's View
Facebook without the Face.
From Sheila Bair's JPM article:
Chickens are interesting social animals, resembling, somewhat, the way we in Washington interact with one another. They were always on the lookout for one vulnerable bird that they would corner in the coop and then peck relentlessly on its head.
Sounds like HCN.
Nice climb happening on the DXY
Outsider wrote:
Unproductive comment.
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
Outsider wrote:
It's a place you go to abuse people in 140 characters or less.
traderwalt wrote:
I'm not sure how OvenMitt can talk about the sanctity of marriage...one man, one woman....when he is the product of a polygamist cult.
Everything about him is pure sophistry.
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
Ouch. I'm only on
1. Need 
3 for that one.
Verily.
edit: OKAY I get it now. V for Vendetta. I liked that flick.
Brain cells starting to uncoagulate.
Comrade Kristina wrote:
Good thing I have a short safeword!
MMfmttptptp!
shill wrote:
Not even close.
You would be great there!
Later taters.
Trying really hard to get my 70+ hours of work in this week.
Play the Bank Failure Friday prediction.
DO IT.
NOW.
Have a productive day HG!
I'm thinking his 70 hrs. consists of laying on the couch flicking the remote. What do you all think?
Are Investors Running Out of Safe Havens to Put Money? - US Business News - CNBC
..Depends on the definition of safe I suppose..
I think he just is using today to plan how he can be more unpleasant tomorrow.
Unpleasant takes work...
Wow. https://twitter.com/57UN/status/205689327693463553/photo/1
FTL: Much has been made recently of how gold no longer offers its traditional buffer against financial turmoil, with the yellow metal in a sharp pullback since early March.
Actually, it doesn't. I know several people that do so effortlessly.
Outsider wrote:
State
Bruce in Tennessee wrote:
From the article:
"The problem is we're seeing safe-haven flows with shrinking instruments into which you can run," says Kim Rupert, managing director of global fixed income analysis at Action Economics in San Francisco. "Once the run for the exits gets started it's going to be an absolute stampede."
Translation: You are running out of places to shuffle money to rack up commissions.
You have a budget for that?
Comrade Kristina wrote:
Photoshopped. There aren't that many people in all of Montreal.
USD/EUR, EURUSD Currency Quote - (ICAPC) EURUSD, USD/EUR Currency Price
Photoshopped.
Benjamin Franklin: Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see.
And this was before Photoshop.
Outsider,
These people here are no more than electronic images on a computer screen..yet some folks, as they have normal day to day lives, shy away from confronting unpleasant people in these messages...it doesn't bother me in the least to make some fun at their anal retentive ways...the only thing that bothers me about it is that it takes away from the purpose here, which is the discussion of economic issues...
Analysis: Greeks not alone in bank savings exodus
| Reuters
.....
.....
N.B. : N.G.
Bruce in Tennessee wrote:
Ha...it's funny that I rarely see it other than from the writer of this blog.
Most of the financial information in the comment section is spurious, at best, and consistently wrong.
We r all pixelz now.
As long as no one gets hurt, diversion has its place.
From the looks of the currencies...Sorry, no euro bonds...........
Most of the financial information in the comment section is spurious, at best, and consistently wrong.
Oh yeah? What about my VXX call starting May 1?
HomeGnome wrote:
DID IT!
Rickkk wrote:
This should give you enough credibility:
US Daily Index » The Billion Prices Project @ MIT