Zeev's Turnips Patch-No Politics (ZEEV)

[byankee]

Here is some California dreamin for both gt and Dan.

http://www.google.com/search?q=store+2012+1075007+Wingnut+stereotyped+California+versus+wingnut+sie:www.dailykos.com

Ah yes Texas, a few weeks ago I made mention of a theory of mine that it is something in the water in Texas that makes "warmongers" of its politicians (LBJ & GWB).
Upon some reflection, I have to add that sometimes it just makes them stooooopid, as in their present Governor who spent too much of his campaign praying up at his hunting camp (named Ni##erhead) instead of cutting brush.
And then we come finally to Ron Paul-who appears to have found the "antidote" to their water! There's no question that Ron has exibited some strange behavior over the years, such as joining the "War" party with his antiwar beliefs and more recently he has even backed away from his earlier racist writings. This all points to a serious "ibogaine" addiction and, were Hunter S. Thompson still alive, I am sure he (Thompson) would have brought this out, much as he exposed big Ed Muskie as an "ibogaine" addict during the early 70s Democratic Presidential Nomination Race. This (ibogaine) also explains the crazy youth that follow Ron around-probably ibogaine raves after the parties. Heheh!

[Emptyhead]

As well have Fridays. This too will change when the Sell Siders rule

[Emptyhead]

It is what it is. The US economic theory amounts to supply side deficit spending which is destroying the middle classes and below.
It will end ugly all over again.

You see the glass half full which is ok for you.
I see it half empty and expect it will be even lower soon enough

[cannabis]

I'd prefer to buy the pullback Tue-Thur into the jobs number Friday.

[borusa]

The Constitution and individual rights should be protected. That's a big ten four good buddy.

[zab]

Once Mondays are over with, it seems that markets digest those jams, and stocks retreat for much of the week.

It pays to be nimble and cautious in trading, and wait them out. But I am just a nimble of trader.

[postman]

We like mega-jams, don't we?

[cannabis]

Mondays are turning into mega-jam days.

[byankee]

That is most of what economic theory teaches-namely, when the private sector stops spending, due to an economic slowdown, it can help all for the gov. to spend (esp. during times of cheap borrowing) in their stead. This usually involves deficits but they (deficits) are picked back up due to the increased economic activity that results. Nothing in the theory for your "crash and burn" part-no gov. worth their salt would work their magic that way. That would upset the left wing. Heheh!

[gtober]

Are you talking about OP? I haven't heard from him in years. Too bad. I tried emailing a few times, but no response. I hope everything is OK with him.

I think I am going into a few calls on KGC. Heck, it's the only oversold sector in the markets. LOL.

[basserdan]

<<<So, what do you know about KGC. It's looking kinda tempting to me.>>>

Aw, c'mon Geoff.... That's a mid tier producer making lots of money and you know I'm pretty much mired in the sorrow of the junior mining sector....

It won't always be that way though...... <wink>

Fwiw, I think KGC under a dime has plenty of upside.

Presuming you are 'Frick', do you ever hear from 'Frack?'

Man, he was good!

[gtober]

Sounds like more right wing BS to me. :^))

So, what do you know about KGC. It's looking kinda tempting to me.

[basserdan]

<<<The full title is "Jump-Start our Business-Start-Up" act. Or, as I call it, Don't Regulate our Derivites>>>

Hi zz,
Though I don't understand where the regulation of rivets enters the picture <g>, I must confess that the NY Times 'Opinion Piece' you posted is one of the few instances that I've agreed with you on something....

Listed below are a handful of previously posted pieces by highly respected authors decrying the virtues of the Jobs Bill.

That the bill passed so easily is, imo, just an additional reason to believe that our lawmakers have been captured by big biznez and banking interests......


The JOBS Act is so Criminogenic that it Guarantees Full-Time Jobs for Criminologists
#msg-73491489

A Colossal Mistake of Historic Proportions: The “JOBS” bill
#msg-73496632

Last Ditch Attempt To Save A Little Bit Of Investor Protection In The United States
#msg-73579577

“The only winning move is not to play” —the insanity of the regulatory race to the bottom
#msg-73666060

How the JOBS Act triumphed over its critics
#msg-73711301

[lee kramer]

allt

[lee kramer]

apple charts

[cannabis]

That was one of the most ridiculous jams I've seen in awhile.ISM beat by 0.3...but you'd think it beat by 3.0.<g>

[zab]

When it comes to election years, both parties are quilty of one thing, doing whatever it takes to get enough money to run for re-election, and if it means doing something for those with all of that money, then the regular person gets screwed.

Back to cash, I try to trade these stocks, but the moves are just so small, managed to get out of ARSD this morning with a few pennies, they get listed on the NYSE, but the volume is so low that it scares me some days.

[tinner]

It's called the Pump and Dump bill. What a plan!

[basserdan]

Who Captured the Fed?

By Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson
March 29, 2012, 5:00 am

A hundred years ago, monetary policy – control over interest rates and the availability of credit – was viewed as a highly contentious political issue. People on the left of the political spectrum feared the central bank would be used to prop up Wall Street banks; those on the right thought it would unduly expand the role of government, giving too much power to politicians.

In the 1980s we entered a phase in which the Federal Reserve, along with other major central banks around the world, was seen as independent and run by technocrats supposedly immune from political pressure.

But in the light of the crisis of 2008 and its aftermath, we have to ask: Has our central bank fallen back under the influence of special interests?

The origins of the Federal Reserve System lie in an emotional debate, conducted more than 100 years ago, about whether the government should seek to affect interest rates – and support the credit of Wall Street firms during times of crisis – and, if so, how.

The Panic of 1907 convinced many people that the United States needed a central bank of some kind. A complete collapse of the financial system was too scary a prospect. But there was also a longstanding American aversion against ceding too much power to big banks.

At the dawn of the republic, Thomas Jefferson railed against the risks posed by government backing for concentrated power in the financial sector. President Andrew Jackson fought to abolish the Second Bank of the United States in the 1830s, the leading private bank of his day, which helped manage public finances and the banking system. Consequently, there was nothing resembling a central bank in the United States for much of the 19th century.

The Federal Reserve System, created in 1913, was a uniquely American compromise, trying to balance public and private interests. Banks controlled the boards of the 12 regional Feds – with big Wall Street firms holding great sway over the New York Fed, which had a disproportionate influence within the system as a whole — and still does.

This version of the system presided over a crazed and highly leveraged stock market boom in the 1920s and the catastrophic collapse of credit in the early 1930s, while protecting the big Wall Street firms.

Under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the role of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, based in Washington, was strengthened, and Wall Street was more generally constrained by effective changes to a wide range of banking and securities laws. These reforms and the effects of World War II pulled the central bank away from powerful bankers and further into the orbit of elected officials.

Unfortunately, as the United States and other countries learned after 1945, clever politicians can use central banks to manipulate the business cycle, boosting output growth and cutting unemployment ahead of elections. Richard Nixon, for example, famously pushed the Fed to ease monetary policy when it suited him.

The chairman of the Federal Reserve is nominated by the president to a four-year term (subject to confirmation by the Senate); anyone who would like be reappointed needs to please the White House.

The high inflation of the 1970s was interpreted by many observers as partly due to politicized central banks’ trying to help their elected masters and failing to control inflation expectations. The anticipated rate of increase in prices has a big impact on the actual rate of increase.

When monetary policy is not credible, meaning no one believes that the central bank will keep inflation under control because that might hurt the president’s party at the polls, wages and prices can easily spiral out of control.

In 1979 Paul A. Volcker became chairman of the Fed and tamed inflation by raising interest rates and inducing a sharp recession. The more general lesson was simple: Move monetary policy further from the hands of politicians by delegating it to credible technocrats.

Thus was born the idea of independent central bankers, steering the monetary ship purely on the basis of disinterested, objective and scientific analysis. When inflation is too high, they are supposed to raise interest rates. When unemployment is too high, they should make it cheaper and easier to borrow, all the while working to make sure that inflation expectations remain under control.

Increasingly, however, it seems that technocratic policy-making is just a myth. We have come full circle, and the Wall Street banks are calling the shots again.

Crucially, the idea that politics is just about electioneering misses the point. Politics is about getting what you want, not just through the ballot box but by persuading people in public office to take actions that help you. So declaring the central bank independent doesn’t move it outside the orbit of politics.

Monetary policy has an impact on inflation, output and employment. But it also has a major impact on stock market prices. Any central banker raising interest rates is reducing stock market values and thus eroding the bonuses of top bankers and other chief executives.

Those people will lobby, asserting that higher interest rates will undermine the economy and cause us to plummet into recession, or worse.

In principle, the Fed could stand up to the bankers, pushing back against all specious arguments. In practice, unfortunately, the New York Fed and the Board of Governors are quite deferential to financial-sector “experts.” Bankers are persuasive; many are smart people, armed with fancy models, and they offer very nice income-earning opportunities to former central bankers.

We have lost track of the number of research notes from major banks pleading for easier credit, lower capital requirements, delay in implementing financial reforms or all of the above.

In recent decades the Fed has given way completely, at the highest level and with disastrous consequences, when the bankers bring their influence to bear – for example, over deregulating finance, keeping interest rates low in the middle of a boom after 2003, providing unconditional bailouts in 2007-8 and subsequently resisting attempts to raise capital requirements by enough to make a difference.

As the American economy begins to improve, influential people in the financial sector will continue to talk about the need for a prolonged period of low interest rates. The Fed will listen.

This time will not be different.


Daron Acemoglu is Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and co-author of “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty.” Simon Johnson is the Ronald A. Kurtz Professor of Entrepreneurship at the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management and co-author of “White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters to You.”

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/who-captured-the-fed/

[zztops]

Here's a lulu for the market's long-term health. Just noted that both the House and Senate passed a little law called the JOBS act that president Obama is expected to sign.

The full title is "Jump-Start our Business-Start-Up" act. Or, as I call it, Don't Regulate our Derivites

NY Times

[pantmaker]

Oops now it looks like it may flow into the "who gives a crap reaction."

pants

[cannabis]

The market jammed on a slightly higher than exp ISM.LOL.

[gtober]

zz, I love ya, but the only people calling this a success are politically driven or keying into one specific area and ignoring many others.

"Shallow and specious is the politically-driven concept that brought this case before the highest court in the land. It is absurd to say the U.S. Constitution does not allow passage of a law... "

Yet, it does not. It just doesn't matter what you want or believe. The Constitution explicitly states - its not up for debate - that the Federal government cannot compel any citizen to purchase anything. Its just one of those pillars of freedom thingies.

Its too bad for those of you that believe health care at any cost is just too important. Health care can be done easily without shredding the Constitution. Its just that idiots that passed this law were not as concerned about healthcare as they were other things.

[zab]

Thats ok, think I have turned back into a spectator of stocks, just not much of a movement in all of my boards. Just not worth the risk.

[lee kramer]

Futures moving, AAPL +11.90 at 611.07

[See Shasta]

New life again in WLT. Zab, your coal stocks are catching a bid.

[cannabis]

Don't forget the completely bogus jobs data due Friday to erase any losses Mon-Thur.

[zztops]

LoL, you may be the most versatile person I ever met

[lee kramer]

Yes ZZ, and the occasional stock. Hey, I can be versatile once in a while.

[zztops]

you bet, my friend.

are you still clipping those e-minis for your daily pay?

[lee kramer]

Futures off a bit, [Ym's weakest of the three,] AAPL up a bit.

[lee kramer]

Hi ZZ. Thanks buddy.

[zztops]

Ok, now I'll say hello

Hi Lee and all

[zztops]

Hello all, whoaa, Health care reform

I came to say hello to Lee and all but since I just opened two of my four new websites that back up my newspaper columns, you might want to read the front page articles on both of the sites. I'm sorrey to tell you but a vast number of Americans have been conned by Big Pharma and buddies.

As you will soon read. Just released HHS, CMs, and GAO reports boldly state that ACA (Obamacare) is a resounding success--just what we have waited for for 60 years. Let us pray the Court protects the ACA. Recovering more than a thousand, thousand, million a year of theft and waste is good idea, don't you think?

Editorial on ObamaCare

Medicare insider info

[basserdan]

Blighted Retail Sector Contradicts ‘Recovery’

By Rick Ackerman,
Rick's Picks
Monday, 2 April 2012

With Friday’s late-breaking rally, the broad averages finished the week with their best first-quarter performance ever. Supposedly, it was upbeat data on consumer spending that helped push the rally into the record books. But if consumers are actually starting to loosen up – using credit, of course, since household incomes have been stagnant — the evidence is nowhere to be seen. The nation’s retail landscape in fact remains blighted with boarded up stores and gangrenous malls. Last week, Best Buy became a candidate for the death-watch list with the announcement that it plans to close 50 stores and lay off 400 workers as part of a plan to save $800 million in recurring costs. The consumer electronics giant also plans to move away from the big-box format that helped put so many competitors out of business. Now Best Buy is itself the victim of an even bigger player, Amazon, which, with free shipping and no sales tax, can meet or beat any price Best Buy can offer. How are you going to compete with that? Answer: You can’t. And that means that the closing of 50 of Best Buy’s 1100 stores could be the beginning of the end, just as it was for Borders and Blockbuster when they began to shrink to compete more efficiently with, respectively, Amazon and Netflix.

Best Buy’s retrenchment will not be welcome news for commercial real estate developers, who have yet to recover from an unending stream of big-box closures, including Comp USA, Borders, The Great Indoors, Circuit City and Linens ‘n Things, to name some of the more recent ones. Their bankruptcies have glutted the market with more space than could be absorbed in a decade — and that’s assuming there are new businesses ready to move in that can pay the rent on showrooms the size of football fields. That’s not to say there are no new tenants to be found, only that there’s a limit to the number of physical fitness centers, grocery stores and discount retailers that can step into the void. In the meantime, there are reasons to think that the growth in commercial vacancies will quicken rather than slow. One retailer alone, Sears, which has been in a death spiral for more than a decade, is going to blow a huge hole in the rental picture when the company finally goes down, probably within the next two years. And on Main Street, there will be yet more vacancies when independent movie theatres that have somehow survived until now close because they can’t afford the $65,000-per-screen digital conversion needed to stay in business after Hollywood stops shipping celluloid prints at the end of 2013.

Considering that America’s GDP is 70% consumption-based, we are mystified by all of this talk recently about a supposed recovery in household spending. Yes, we’re aware that each new 10-cent increase in the price of gasoline is trumpeted by the government’s sleazy, mendacious spinmeisters as an increase in sales. And the restaurant business, at least here in Boulder CO, is booming so strongly that one might think no one eats at home any more. But it beggars belief to suggest that such factors are leading the nation back to prosperity. Not that America’s middle class is likely buying any of it. With retirement dreams fading fast, home prices still falling, health care costs soaring beyond affordability and grocery prices inflating at a scandalous rate, probably few outside of Wall Street and the newsrooms believe there is any recovery at all. Do you?

http://news.goldseek.com/RickAckerman/1333375200.php

[basserdan]

Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. Announces Highlights and Year End Results for 2011

VANCOUVER , March 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. (TSX: YNG.TO; OTC:YNGFF - News) ( Frankfurt Xetra Exchange: NG6) today announced the financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2011 . This information should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited annual consolidated financial statements and the related notes contained therein, which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("GAAP" or "IFRS"), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"); and, the corresponding Management's Discussion and Analysis (''MD&A'').

The Company previously prepared its annual consolidated financial statements in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles ("Canadian GAAP"). A reconciliation of the previously disclosed comparative periods' financial statements prepared in accordance with Canadian GAAP to IFRS is set out in Note 27 to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011 .

The Company's 2010 comparatives in the MD&A have restated and presented in accordance with IFRS. As the date of transition to IFRS was January 1, 2010 , the 2009 comparative information included in the MD&A have not been restated to be in accordance with IFRS. All dollar amounts are expressed in United States Dollars unless otherwise specified.

Highlights for the period ended December 31, 2011 include:

• The Jerritt Canyon Mill shipped 13,864 ounces of gold during the quarter from purchased ore, stockpiles and mining operations, compared with 22,777 ounces of gold in 2010. Total ounces produced for the quarter declined significantly compared with the fourth quarter of 2010 primarily as a result of the Company processing higher grade (and higher cost) Newmont ore in the fourth quarter of 2010 and higher than normal down time as a result of continued delays in the annual shutdown (originally scheduled for June of 2011) as the site waited for key components required for completing the installation of the ore dryer. Jerritt Canyon shipped a total of 67,748 ounces from stockpiles, purchased ore, and mining operations for the year ended December 31, 2011 compared with 65,104 ounces for the year ended December 31, 2010 .

• The Company took delivery of sufficient mining equipment to ramp up mining of the SSX-Steer mine, as well as equipment for the mill facilities, completed significant upgrades to the lab, continued work on the structure for the new ore dryer, including installation of the bag house and scrubbers (used to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions), and completed the lining of the two new water storage reservoirs with the remaining lining of the second tailings facility to be completed in 2012. The Company also carried out extensive exploration activities in the fourth quarter in Starvation Canyon, Mahala, and existing areas of activity (Smith and SSX-Steer) as well as two of the historical pit areas.

• The Company closed a $120 million Forward Gold Purchase Agreement ("Gold Purchase Agreement") with Deutsche Bank AG ("Deutsche Bank") on August 12, 2011 for the delivery of 173,880 ounces over a four year period, commencing September 30 , 2011. The proceeds of the Gold Purchase Agreement are primarily being used for capital expenditures at the Jerritt Canyon property, including the winterization of the processing facility, construction of the second tailings storage facility and development of the existing underground and open pit mines in addition to further improvements to the gold production processes to enhance throughput at the mill. The proceeds were also used to repay the senior secured notes issued to note holders led by Sprott Asset Management LP in August 2010 (the "Notes").

• On May 24, 2011 the Company closed a non-brokered private placement for a total of 33.5 million units with Deutsche Bank AG at a price of C$0.43 per unit for proceeds of C$14.4 million. Each unit contains one common share and one warrant with a twenty-four month term at an exercise price of C$0.55. The Company also closed a non-brokered private placement for a total of 8.3 million common shares at a price of C$0.85 per share for proceeds of $7.2 million .

• The gross margin from mining operations at the Jerritt Canyon Mine was a loss of $2.8 million in the three months ended December 31, 2011 , compared with $8.0 million for the same period in 2010, a significant improvement as Jerritt Canyon reduced the processing of third party ore and focused on processing stockpiles and ore from the Smith and SSX-Steer mines. The benefit of processing lower cost ore was offset by the significant down time during the quarter as the operations carried out critical maintenance work while waiting for the arrival of equipment required for a complete shutdown maintenance and upgrade program. For the year-ended December 31, 2011 the operations lost $25.9 million compared with $11.6 million in the year-ended December 31, 2010 , primarily resulting from the processing of higher cost third party ores and significant downtime during the year.

• The Company had a loss of $7.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to a loss of $49.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. This lower loss in 2011 is largely due to the improvement in the gross margin from operations and the significantly lower loss on revaluation of warrants largely arose from the loss from mining operations noted above as well as the interest costs on the $25 million Notes and derivative losses of $7.2 million .

Jerritt Canyon Overview

During the fourth quarter of 2011, Small Mine Development delivered 81,843 dry tons to the mill containing 13,172 ounces from the Smith mine, lower than previous quarter deliveries of 87,330 tons containing 14,893 ounces as they focused on capital development during the quarter.

During the fourth quarter, the Company purchased 31,953 dry tons of ore from Newmont, containing 1,643 ounces, at an average cost per wet ton of $93 . The ounces purchased and the cost per ton, which is a function of grade and gold price, was lower than the previous quarter as Newmont delivered lower grade stockpiles throughout the fourth quarter and deliveries ceased by mutual agreement after November, with the existing contract expiring at the end of December 2011 .

With the commencement of mining at the SSX-Steer mine in the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company also took delivery of 9,051 tons to the mill containing 1,117 ounces. The rate of mining increased throughout the quarter as the Company continued recruiting mining personnel and took delivery of additional equipment.

Equipment failures during the year led to significant downtime for the mill operations. Most of the problems were the result of aging equipment and have largely been rectified following the outages. With the resulting low tonnages during the year, the largely fixed costs (82%) of operating the mill contributed to an overall higher cost of production. The combination of low tonnages and the high relative proportion of purchased ore processed resulted in a negative margin during the year. With the completion of the shutdown in January 2012 the Company expects to be able to increase the daily production amounts and, with a phase out of purchased ore occurring at the end of 2011, will be processing a larger portion of higher grade ore from the Smith, SSX-Steer mine and also from lower cost stockpiles, a significant improvement in margins will be realized.

The surface exploration program in 2011 has identified a number of areas of interest and proven the viability of the East and West Mahala resources which lie between the Smith and the SSX-Steer mine. Additional survey work in the Starvation area has identified further areas of interest that will need to be explored in the 2012 drill program as well. These results have largely been incorporated into a new reserve up date that the Company expects to release in the second quarter of 2012.

The Company will also continue building the necessary infrastructure and making equipment purchases in order to open a third mine on the property, Starvation Canyon, located on the south end of Jerritt Canyon.

Ketza River Overview

For the entire 2011 year, a total of 26 drill holes totaling 9,529 feet were completed at the Ketza River Project. All 2011 Ketza River drill hole assays were in progress as of December 31, 2011.

Questions are being addressed to the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board ("YESAB") regarding the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Application ("YESAA") that was submitted in late September of 2011. This report assesses the environmental and socio-economic effects of activities and will integrate scientific information, traditional knowledge and other local knowledge. The time schedule for the YESAA review will be a minimum of one year from the submission date.

Various other YESAB work have been completed during the quarter including several meetings with local communities ( Ross River , Faro, and Teslin) and local First Nations ( Ross River Dena and Teslin) were held to update everyone on the Company's proposed Ketza River Mine Project. Numerous meetings were also held with the Water Board, YESAA, Water Resources, and Energy, Mines and Resources to help address project needs and the water license application for the existing tailings pond. Bids for a new large capacity arsenic treatment plant have been acquired in order to help treat all tailings water prior to discharging into Cache Creek.

Chief Executive Officer Robert Baldock stated, "While the results for the period are an improvement, they do not yet reflect the improvement and progress achieved on the ground at Jerritt Canyon. The replacement equipment, new ore dryer, winterization and other improvements around the installation and commissioning of this equipment has taken priority over the last two months - and the company expects to see an improvement in tonnage through the plant once this commissioning stage is completed. Late deliveries of capital equipment and issues with commissioning this equipment have disappointingly extended this process and the company is working hard to finalize this last stage and achieve steady state operations."

Details of the Company's financial results are described in the audited annual consolidated financial statements and management's discussion and analysis, which will be available on the Company's website, http://www.yukon-nevadagold.com/s/FinancialStatements.asp and SEDAR, http://www.sedar.com

Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp. is a North American gold producer in the business of discovering, developing and operating gold deposits. The Company holds a diverse portfolio of gold, silver, zinc and copper properties in the Yukon Territory and British Columbia in Canada and in Nevada in the United States . The Company's focus has been on the acquisition and development of late stage development and operating properties with gold as the primary target. Continued growth will occur by increasing or initiating production from the Company's existing properties.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/yukon-nevada-gold-corp-announces-103000615.html

[Emptyhead]

All I'm saying is Federal Deficit spending is the reason our economy is net positive as related to GDP.
Take away the deficit spending and you crash and burn

[basserdan]

Monday morning federal headlines - April 2, 2012

Monday - 4/2/2012, 9:32am ET

The Morning Federal Newscast is a daily compilation of the stories you hear Federal Drive hosts Tom Temin and Emily Kopp discuss throughout the show each day. The Newscast is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com users more information about the stories you hear on the air.


• Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was supposed to receive a pay raise, but it's been blocked by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) Vitter said he would hold the raise until Salazar began approving six new deepwater drilling permits per month. Vitter's move received a rebuke from the Senate Ethics Committee, which took no other action. Salazar is paid less then other cabinet secretaries because he was a senator when he was appointed. That restriction was about to expire. Salarzar is eligible for a raise to match cabinet pay of $199,000. (Federal News Radio)

• The Air Force hopes a virtual tool can help it slash the time it takes to hire civilians. Agencies are trying to fill vacancies within 80 days. That's been hard for the Defense Department to do. The Air Force said its new onboarding tool would replace one that doesn't meet federal requirements. The USA Staffing Onboarding Manager should also reduce the number of documents that Air Force HR staff have to manually process. The service will phase it in this month. (Federal News Radio)

• What does NASA, the State Department, USAID and a leading sports brand have in common? It turns out they all want to cut the garbage. The three agencies and Nike are soliciting proposals for managing waste. They're looking for "game changing" business plans and prototypes. NASA said waste management was important for planning longer spaceflights. (Federal News Radio)

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection is ready to retire its legacy system for filing cargo information. After a six month trial run, the new Automated Commercial Environment will become CBP's system of record. But rail and ocean shippers must now begin submitting advance cargo manifests using ACE. David Aguilar, CBP's acting commissioner, said the launch of ACE marks a cooperative effort between government and the private sector. ACE has been under development since the late 1990s. (CBP)

• The 1940 census goes digital this morning. The joint National Archives and Census project opens a new window into the era marked by the Great Depression and black migration from the rural South. The 1940 census covered the standard questions but also surveyed Americans on their income, and whether they had worked for Depression-era public-works entities. The agencies took so long in releasing the data because of privacy concerns. The information includes 21 million people who are still alive. (Federal News Radio)

• The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program is expanding members' access to experimental drugs. It will require insurers to cover participation in certain clinical trials next year. The Office of Personnel Management said those trials would include federally-funded research into prevention, detection and treatment of cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The agency's "call letter" also tells insurers to stop limiting "essential health benefits" like maternity care and prescription drugs, although few limits exist now. The federal program is getting a head start on legal mandates that kick in in 2014. (Federal Times)

• The White House wants CIOs to know more about how their departments spend information technology money, and it wants CIOs to have more control over that spending. The Office of Management and Budget launched a series of review sessions it's calling PortfolioStat. CIOs have a lot of data gathering to do before the first PortfolioStats. Sessions start in July. The ultimate goal is to find ways to consolidate buying common across departments. Federal CIO Steven Van Roekel expects Portfolio Stat to impact 2014 budgets. (Federal News Radio)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







$2.50 Gasoline?

An economist, questioned on her view
Of the tools in the President's purview
To cheapen our gas,
Responded: "Alas,
Cheaper gas isn't what would best serve you."

"If to prices in Europe we liken it,
We should surely impose a tax hike in it,
For unless it is dear,
We're too cavalier
For pooling or busing or bikin' it."

~Dr Goose
http://tiny.cc/fnz4bw

[basserdan]

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

By Yigal Grayeff
April 2, 2012

Global Payments: 1.5M account numbers stolen. Thieves stole account numbers and other information from up to 1.5M North American accounts in the security breach at Global Payments (GPN), the company said last night. The hackers "exported" the information, although they didn't obtain cardholder names, addresses and Social Security numbers. Following the breach, which was reported on Friday, Visa (V) has removed Global Payments (GPN) from its list of "compliant service providers."

Eurozone unemployment hits 15-year high, PMI contracts again. The Eurozone jobless rate edged up to 10.8% in February - the highest in 15 years - from 10.7% in January, with 17M people out of work. There was further gloom in the final manufacturing PMI reading, which fell to 47.7 in March from 49 in February. That was the eighth consecutive month of contraction, with the malaise spreading to Germany and France as well.

Roche could let $6.7B Illumina bid go dark. Roche (RHHBY.PK) may drop its $6.7B bid for Illumina (ILMN), SonntagsZeitung reports. Sources say that Roche may run out of patience soon, and views Illumina as a "nice-to-have" but not a "must-have."

Singapore's DBS bids $7.2B for Indonesian lender. DBS Group (DBSDF.PK) has offered to buy PT Bank Danamon Indonesia for $7.2B in what would be the biggest takeover by a Southeast Asian lender. The Singapore-listed company wants to tap Bank Danamon’s 3,000-branch network to expand in fast-growing Indonesia.

GS eyes $3B property debt fund. Goldman Sachs' (GS) private-equity arm is looking to launch a $3B property debt fund to take advantage of a growing shortage of real estate financing across the U.K. and Europe, Britain's Times newspaper reports. The fund would provide senior and mezzanine loans to property investors, targeting higher-risk, higher-reward loans.

Pinnacle hits trough with Chapter 11 filing. Pinnacle Airlines (PNCL) has joined AMR in seeking bankruptcy protection, becoming the 43rd U.S. carrier to do so since the September 11 attacks. Pinnacle, which has assets of $1.5B and liabilities of $1.4B, will halt its United Express services by Aug. 1, but its Continental Express and Delta Connection units will continue to operate.

Telefonica reduces debt by €1.3B in Colombia deal. Telefonica (TEF) has shaved €1.3B off its debt mountain, which stood at €56B at the end of 2011, with a deal to merge its Colombian fixed-line and wireless units. The Colombian government - owner of 48% of the fixed-line ops - is taking on 48% of the unit's debt, and will receive 30% of the combined company in return.

Some DirecTV customers lose access to Tribune. DirecTV (DTV) subscribers in 19 markets, including New York and Chicago, lost satellite access to Tribune (TRBCQ.PK) TV stations over the weekend after the firms failed to renew a content deal. This was despite DirecTV saying they had reached an agreement, only for Tribune to say they hadn't. Affected programs include "American Idol" and Major League Baseball.

Argentina to take over YPF. Argentina is hardening its intentions regarding YPF, with the Pagina 12 newspaper reporting the government has decided to take over the oil giant. The debate is now over whether to expropriate YPF, which is 57%-owned by Spain's Repsol YPF (REPYF.PK), or buy a large enough stake to control its management.

LSE nears $1B takeover of Clearnet. LSE (LDNXF.PK) has moved closer to completing its $1B takeover of LCH.Clearnet, saying today that a majority of shareholders have approved the deal. The purchase is expected to close in Q4 2012.

Chinese factory activity shows mixed picture. Official Chinese PMI, which highlights larger factories, rose to 53.1 in March from 51 in February, although the HSBC index, which measures smaller factories, signalled continued contraction with a drop to 48.3 from 49.6. Factory activity was also weak in Australia and fell in India, although it expanded in the latter country. Meanwhile, Japanese manufacturers remained pessimistic, the Tankan Confidence Index showed.

Clinton skeptical as date set for Iran talks. Talks between Iran and world powers are due to take place on April 13-14, Hillary Clinton confirmed over the weekend while in Riyadh, although she expressed skepticism about Iran's intentions and warned that the window "will not remain open forever." Clinton also discussed with Saudi Arabia and other oil producers ways to ensure stable prices.

Today's Markets:
* In Asia, Japan +0.3%. Hong Kong -0.2%. China closed. India +0.4%.
* In Europe, at midday, London +0.3%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt +0.1%.
* Futures at 7:00: Dow -0.1%. S&P flat. Nasdaq flat. Crude -0.5% to $102.46. Gold -0.3% to $1666.80.

Monday's economic calendar:
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending
12:35 PM Fed's Pianalto: 'The Fed and the Economy: Striving for Balance'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~






$2.50 Gasoline?

An economist, questioned on her view
Of the tools in the President's purview
To cheapen our gas,
Responded: "Alas,
Cheaper gas isn't what would best serve you."

"If to prices in Europe we liken it,
We should surely impose a tax hike in it,
For unless it is dear,
We're too cavalier
For pooling or busing or bikin' it."

~Dr Goose
http://tiny.cc/fnz4bw

[zab]

AVP- mentioned this one on friday, wish I held a position over the weekend, seems like Coty is bidding on the company. Damn !!!

[lee kramer]

Ym's now -7, Nq's +0.75, Es +0.25, quiet. AAPL +2.45 at 602.

[lee kramer]

AAPL +4.70 at 604.25

[lee kramer]

We loosen up a bit on weekends when the markets are closed. This past weekend saw a spirited debate about healthcare.

Healthcare availability and cost affect most of us. It spills over into the economy and the market; healthcare firms and stocks.

I think it's healthy, interesting and important.

But I urge you to avoid politics and political agendas.

[lee kramer]

ISM Mfg. Index and Construction Spending at 10:00

[lee kramer]

Ym's +27, Nq's +9.75, Es +3.50. Quiet. No AAPL yet.

[pantmaker]

Fish- This might be more than you wanted but click on the "begin using data" tab and have a field day. Be sure to pack water and snacks and let a family member know your whereabouts before you begin. Ha!



http://www.bea.gov/iTable/index_nipa.cfm

[byankee]

Here is Calculated Risk's take on GDP and GDI.

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/03/q4-gdp-and-gdi.html

[gtober]

Oh Canada indeed.

To be truthful, Canada is doing pretty well IMO. This will hopefully lead off potential future problems, but in terms of deficits Canada is the best of the G7 and were it not for freeloaders in Eastern Canada ( :^))) ) we would not have a deficit.

Here in Saskatchewan we have no deficits. We have a right wing government, not coincidentally. Heck, even I have stopped calling it Saskatchewanistan. Best Premier in Canada.

BTW, for all you Obamacarites public health care started in Saskatchewan. We're going the other way.

[gtober]

And you're willing to put those decisions in the hands of a government bureaucrat. BTW, there are literally thousands of Canadians every year that seek health care in the USA because it is not available in Canada. Such is public medicine.

"There will always be things that can't be done." is very easy to say when you are healthy.

I used to go to a gym that was owned by a Doctor from Europe. He was also licensed to practice in Canada. We spent a great deal of time talking about the two systems. While I am not a fan of many things Europe, I have to say their approach to health care is very pragmatic. They do what they can to cover everyone. They let, and encourage, anyone that wants to seek their own treatment. There is very little of this power hungry cue jumping bullsh!t. Too bad the Dems didn't look there when they had the chance.

[basserdan]

<<<Why must you always use the Koch Brothers and radical right wing conservative newspapers to make your point on almost any issue. I am not trying to have a fight with you, but when you use them for your argument it makes me Google the story and read other sources>>>


Koch Bros?
Radical right wing conservative newspapers?

Piss off zab.... as the link indicated, that was an article as it appeared in GATA Bill Murphy's LeMetropole Cafe, a pro precious metals related blog that I subscribe to. I provided a link to it and as I recall, there were a couple of links in Helen Brown's impressive bio as well.

So you went elsewhere to read it again....

It's not surprising to me that your politically induced inflexibility lead you to choose to read the same article on a different site via Google..... but frankly, zab, it sounds like a personal problem to me and I couldn't care less!

Fyi, I also googled Helen Brown's article, and found about 40 sites that are carrying the identical piece in the first few Google pages and I didn't see any reference(s) at all to what you have accused me of "always doing".

Why must you always use the Koch Brothers and radical right wing conservative newspapers to make your point on almost any issue.

Here! See for yourself!

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp=crnk_fspiked&gs_nf=1&tok=HoAG9d5EXggaepQQAhbWEQ&pq=oh%20canada!%20&cp=61&gs_id=13&xhr=t&q=%20Imposing%20Austerity%20on%20the%20World%E2%80%99s%20Most%20Resource-rich%20Country&pf=p&sclient=psy-ab&oq=+Imposing+Austerity+on+the+World%E2%80%99s+Most+Resource-rich+Country&aq=&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=9fe171ac2f8cc631&biw=825&bih=667

And fwiw, Zab, I briefly scanned thru the URLs and didn't see more than a couple names I think I recognized, so tell me true..... how many of these happen to fit into your radical right wing conservative newspaper mindset?