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In California there are a few rackets that are NEAR 80-90% illegal alien labor in isolated markets (regions) but certainly not statewide and certainly not anything resembling a SKILLED construction trade. I think you are picking from a very unrepresentative sample of tradesmen and projecting your personal experience well beyond the narrow scope from which your data is drawn.
Here in Mexifornia esidential landscaping, roofing those trades have the highest percentage of illegals-------has to be VERY small contractors though as the paperwork to shield the parent firms requires some sophistication. So they just can't be safe for long competing on larger jobs unless they have "protection" from some corrupt politicians or union bosses.
Outside construction there's small manufacturing like cabinetry, upholstery shops, car washes, transient agricultural labor (picking cotton) domestic help (The Nanny and the cleaning lady)------pretty much saturated and overwhelmed with illegal aliens but I seriously doubt we're talking 80-90% statewide.
All of these jobs still have many, MANY Americans beat down by the low wages, lack of respect, lack of benefits and TOTAL lack of bargaining power in their labor market due to the COUNTLESS MILLIONS of invaders from Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and whatevers left from there. But the harsh reality is they don't have the aptitude, education, initiative or resources to up and move away to better ground or move up the ladder economically to more competitive job opportunities. America ABANDONS these folks legally and culturally when we tell them------MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of them that they are doing work that American's wont do. Honestly pantmaker this horse shit rhetoric boils my blood.
None of the principles of fair, honest, quality competition apply when the referee is blind, crippled and crazy------meaning he's a political appointee.
OT Lee Kramer's head just hit the living room ceiling, when Salty jacked that 3 run homer to tie it at 5-5 in the bottom of the 1st against the Yanks.
Seek medical attention immediately, Lee. Probably a lot more to come with 26 or more innings to go! LOL
Should be a great weekend for all concerned.
Make it a great weekend all you little Zeevers out there. Plugger, stay out of the sand traps. Sox-Yankees, three games starting tonight.
Nq's got to just beyond 2610. Time to go but that was the trade.
Most Actives..
Symbol Price Change Volume
SPY -1.49 (-1.09%) 104.1M
BAC -0.16 (-1.98%) 86.3M
GE -0.34 (-1.65%) 41.4M
RIMM +0.38 (+4.94%) 38.1M
EEM -0.74 (-1.86%) 34.6M
XLF -0.11 (-0.75%) 33.3M
NOK -0.09 (-4.46%) 31.4M
QQQ -1.05 (-1.61%) 31.1M
ARNA -0.23 (-2.03%) 31.0M
MSFT -0.58 (-1.89%) 28.0M
Nq's 2707.25; may want to take half here, enter stop, smile.
Nq's 2604.50 last.
Nq's are talking to me, [yea, charts often talk] they're saying "buy me boobeleh, I look higher."
Nq 2603 could get you 2610; it's a trade.
Taibbi: Talking LIBOR Banking Scandal with Eliot Spitzer
By Matt Taibbi
POSTED: July 6, 2:09 PM ET
And I spy a bit of volume coming in. We'll see.
Nq's just under 2601 now; doesn't have to happen, but I got a "feel."
They both have good jobs, bought a modest home, no children, just pets, enjoy the ocean and the mountains, I could just go on, besides there mild weather of 70 degrees is envious.
Right now we are over 100 degrees agin, and we get wicked wind storms of late, had one last night, lost another tree, came real close to the house. Getting tired of the heat and bad storms, this place never had this kind of heat, or tornadoes, now it seems we are getting them all the time.
Nq's, if you see 2603 mit some volume you might want to play.
Portland is great, son, DL and grand daughter there. I am up the road about 400 mi. Spokane.
Like the fellow said, "There's always another girl coming 'round the corner."{
You must be dying with all these moves lately.
ARNA comes to mind.
Also zab, a stock you like that's eased off may take a last hour run.
No tinner, the broker is without me. Should be ready to go Tuesday.
Are you still without a broker?
Hopefully someone will step into buying this market, oops, maybe some machine might get turned the other way, at least for a few minutes, today has been so one-sided.
Rigged? Sure. But I see a nice chance for a long side futures trade.
So true, think I will to keep parts of that and put them up on one of my walls to read each day.
Besides you are describing my son, all he does is work to support his two children, I would say more, but he screwed up his own life and for the past 10 years has been barely keeping his head above water.
As opposed to my daughter, she married better, and between the two of them are living a charmed life in Portland, Oregon.
Life is about choices, and people have to live with them, but there is nothing wrong in trying to educate them into making better ones.
As for economics, it is true that there are winners and losers, but many times the game is rigged. As for me I might have the time to trade, as for the skill, its more of a matter of a little luck.
Some days it just pays to step aside and watch the game from a distance, clears the view.
As for not getting out here alive, this is so very true, but it sure would be nice to know that I have left a few marks along the way.
Just wondering what they will do in the market these next 90 minutes, everything feels so rigged.
Zab, you have the time and expertise to trade. It gives you an advantage over someone without the time and skill etc.
And that is what economics is, competition. Some win and some lose.
Longevity can be the luck of the draw or life choices. But, some people don't have good choices, so maybe everything is hanging by luck.
Some people are uncompromising some are easy. Some people sell themselves into bondage of sex, drugs, upmanship, money etc.
There is one equalizer, no one get out of here alive.
A buy-atop, futures, ABOVE, the market might do you well.
USG still trying to move ahead in this market. Watching this action today, such BS on a job's report that was still positive. The economy is far from good, but its not falling off a cliff either, besides where else are you going to put money nowadays.
SBGI- will probably not be a great mover, but its posting a NDH, and there has been some insider buying of late.
MAS trying to hold $ 14.00
LPX also has been well of late.
% Losers
Symbol Price Change Volume
INFA -13.07 (-30.14%) 15.6M
SCMP -1.80 (-25.90%) 0.3M
PFBC -2.48 (-17.60%) 71,239
NAV -4.36 (-15.14%) 3.8M
APKT -2.76 (-15.00%) 5.7M
ENMD -0.33 (-13.31%) 48,072
QLIK -2.58 (-12.69%) 2.5M
MSTR -16.34 (-12.11%) 0.2M
ALXA -0.55 (-11.65%) 0.8M
TDC -7.46 (-10.27%) 2.6M
MMR, SMBL and ARNA acting well today, despite this downdraft.
As for this afternoon's save, it might happen, but it might also be shortlived.
KBH chart getting better, IMHO.
Selected stocks still hanging in there, but with each downdraft, the list is getting smaller.
This was in 1917 and Zeppo invented a great lighter, 'cept he couldn't spell too good.
IMHO, 2:22 miracle on the way, as Zeev would say.
Note: not a trading advice, just a guess. It's a shortened holiday week.
Futures: Lower lows, lower highs. Patience boobelehs.
Thanks. I25 all the way. Colorado is beautiful.
Newly
Hey, west-- Some big pharma folks need to go to jail and another part of health care reform will be diet training in our schools. Not much we can do about our overweight adults but we must educate the next generation.
The metrics of US diabetes demand that be part of US health care reform.
50 % of US adults now pre-diabet-- or diabetic, 35 % of ouir kids the same. 10,000 boomers a day going on Medicare, $20,000 per year to treat a diabetic....
How much more of this can US society stand?
See you guys later-- off the Asheville and the blue ridge parkway.
Have to go out for 1 1/2 hours. You gonna miss me? Plugger won;t.
Newly,
If you come up the way I think you will, you'll be passing through Longmont, CO (my current hometown) on the way to RMNP. So close! :)
Hope you have a fine visit to the park.
Montrose
Exactly, Big Pharma steals 15 B and gets a fine of 3 B. Pretty good biz model.
And we catch some poor slob holding 6 joints and he may do 2 years.
How much more of this can US society stand?
Yes, it was raining in Mesa Verde, but now at Great Sand Dunes it is sunny again, despite a lot of lightening and thunder last night.
Off tomorrow to Rocky Mountain Natl Park. I've heard it fills up quickly and have been trying to make reservations with no luck, so I'll try to camp nearby and get there early enough to get a spot.
Yes the rain is helping with the fires. The Marcos fire is now, I believe, fully contained. I have to go through Colorado Springs, and will hate seeing the devastation there. I remember seeing fire-scarred lands in Yellowstone a few years ago and thinking they had had a recent fire. It turned out that fire was ten or twelve years ago, and the land had still not recovered. Sad.
Newly
How Not to Get Big Pharma to Change Its Ways
http://robertreich.org/post/26568286162
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Earlier this week the Justice Department announced a $3 billion settlement of criminal and civil charges against pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline — the largest pharmaceutical settlement in history — for improper marketing prescription drugs in the late 1990s to the mid-2000s.
The charges are deadly serious. Among other things, Glaxo was charged with promoting to kids under 18 an antidepressant approved only for adults; pushing two other antidepressants for unapproved purposes, including remedying sexual dysfunction; and, to further boost sales of prescription drugs, showering doctors with gifts, consulting contracts, speaking fees, even tickets to sporting events.
$3 billion may sound like a lot of money, but during these years Glaxo made $27.5 billion on these three antidepressants alone, according to IMS Health, a data research firm — so the penalty could almost be considered a cost of doing business.
Besides, to the extent the penalty affects Glaxo’s profits and its share price, the wrong people will be feeling the financial pain. Most of today’s Glaxo shareholders bought into the company after the illegal profits were already built into the prices they paid for their shares.
Not a single executive has been charged — even though some charges against the company are criminal. Glaxo’s current CEO came on board after all this happened. Glaxo has agreed to reclaim the bonuses of any executives who engaged in or supervised illegal behavior, but the company hasn’t officially admitted to any wrongdoing – and without legal charges against any of executive it’s impossible to know whether Glaxo will follow through.
The Glaxo case is the latest and biggest in a series of Justice Department prosecutions of Big Pharma for illegal marketing prescription drugs. In May, Abbott Laboratories settled for $1.6 billion over its wrongful marketing of an antipsychotic. And an agreement with Johnson & Johnson is said to be imminent over its marketing of another antipsychotic, which could result in a fine of as much as $2 billion.
The Department says the prosecutions are well worth the effort. By one estimate it’s recovered more than $15 for every $1 it’s spent.
But what’s the point if the fines are small relative to the profits, if the wrong people are feeling the financial pinch, and if no executive is held accountable?
The only way to get big companies like these to change their behavior is to make the individuals responsible feel the heat.
An even more basic issue is why the advertising and marketing of prescription drugs is allowed at all, when consumers can’t buy them and shouldn’t be influencing doctor’s decisions anyway. Before 1997, the Food and Drug Administration banned such advertising on TV and radio. That ban should be resurrected.
Finally, there’s no good reason why doctors should be allowed to accept any perks at all from companies whose drugs they write prescriptions for. It’s an inherent conflict of interest. Codes of ethics that are supposed to limit such gifts obviously don’t work. All perks should be banned, and doctors that accept them should be subject to potential loss of their license to practice.
I'm using ARNA Aug 13s, plenty of time with this volatile little puppy and 5K of OI, tight spreads and 40% delta so I get plenty of action--and did I mention--little to no risk, the magic ingrediant of trading against HF traders.
its in her past Monty
Humidity and religious fervor.
Your trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park puts you in my neck of the woods. We're supposed to be getting a little rain (hah!) and cooler temperatures, so the fire danger should decrease somewhat.
Think you'll enjoy the park. Try to get there early, as it can get crowded quickly.
Friday morning federal headlines - July 6, 2012
Friday - 7/6/2012, 7:53am 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.
• President Barack Obama appointed Richard Ginman as chairman of the Government Accountability and Transparency Board. For the past year, Ginman has been director of Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy. The retired rear admiral also worked in the private sector. He led General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems maritime information unit. The GAT Board is modeled after a board created to track stimulus spending in 2009. The new board will track all federal spending. Board members include chief financial officers and inspectors general. Ginman succeeds Earl Devaney, who retired in December. (Federal News Radio)
• Tracking federal programs to avoid duplication could be a costly undertaking. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Taxpayers Right to Know Act would cost $100 million over five years. Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.) sponsored the bill in the House. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) sponsored a similar bill. The legislation would force agencies to report spending, administrative expenses, number of recipients and number of employees involved for each program. For good measure, agencies would also have to track contractor support. In its scoring, CBO pointed out the cost of the bills has no offsetting revenue. (CBO)
• The Transportation Department is funneling new money into projects to help veterans and military families get around. DoT is distributing $29 million to local governments and transit agencies throughout the country. The Veterans Transportation and Community Living Initiative helps pay for tech upgrades. They include smart-phone apps and real-time transit bus locators, as well as software that helps connect drivers with people who need a ride and interactive kiosks at military facilities and veterans' sites. Agency officials said they were hoping these programs could help veterans find jobs and get to work. (Federal News Radio)
• One-fifth of the nation's postmasters may be leaving their jobs thanks to a buyout offer from the Postal Service. The Federal Times reported postmasters had until Monday to sign up for a $20,000 incentive. As many as 4,200 of the 21,000 postmasters nationwide did. The Postal Service plans to reduce hours at thousands of rural post offices to save money, mostly on labor costs. A smaller incentive for mail-handlers did not go over as well. It was just $15,000. Seven percent of mail handlers have taken it. (Federal Times)
• The General Services Administration is considering lowering the boom on hotel allowances by 30 percent, Federal Times reported. GSA isn't saying exactly what it will do, but travel industry people say they're hearing the drumbeats. They say GSA wants to lower its average per diems by taking higher-priced hotels out of the picture. That could relegate traveling feds to suburban digs even when visiting inner city locations. The White House has ordered 2013 travel spending to come down by 30 percent. (Federal Times)
• Slightly fewer feds retired this spring than the Office of Personnel Management projected. That helped the agency tackle its backlog of retirement claims. About 48,000 retirees are waiting for their benefits from OPM. That's down from a high of 61,000 in January. That's when the agency rolled out a new, low-tech strategy. It hired more people, expanded their work hours and planned to upgrade technology one component at a time. (Federal News Radio)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ECB Rate Announcement
Said Mario Draghi: "Please heed me:
Our 'zone isn't going agreeably;
The better to serve you
In line with our purview,
We'll pay you to borrow if need be."
-Dr Goose
http://tinyurl.com/7j7hewu
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News
July 6, 2012
Smartphones drive Samsung profit to new record. Samsung (SSNLF.PK) today estimated that operating profit hit a fresh record of between 6.5T won ($5.7B) and 6.9T won in Q2 vs. 3.75T won a year earlier, while revenue rose to 46T-48T won from 39.44T won. Earnings were boosted by soaring Galaxy sales, although, as one executive says, "that's distorting the overall trading outlook." Samsung's main concerns include Europe, and weak prices for chips and consumer electronics.
Unemployment seen holding steady. Employment figures are due out this morning, with economists expecting that nonfarm payrolls increased by 100,000 in June. That would be higher than the 69,000 in May but would still round off the weakest quarter in over two years. The jobless rate is estimated to have held at 8.2%. What the figures don't tell you is how participation has fallen to a three-decade low.
Card giants poised to settle lawsuit over fees. Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA) are close to settling a seven-year lawsuit brought by retailers over allegations that the credit-card giants fixed swipe fees, Bloomberg reports. While there's no word on the size of the agreement, Visa has set aside $4.28B to cover litigation, while MasterCard took a $495M charge in Q4.
Seagate falls after earings warning. Seagate (STX) yesterday warned that it expects FQ4 revenue of $4.5B, below a consensus of $4.9B, and gross margin of 33.6%, below prior guidance of at least 34.5%. The company also failed to increase its market share, which it blamed on a faster-than-expected industry recovery from Thai flooding, and a "supplier quality issue" that affected enterprise hard drive shipments by 1.5M. Shares were -3.4% premarket.
Yahoo narrowing down CEO search, or maybe not. Speculation is swirling about how far along Yahoo (YHOO) is in its CEO search. All Things D reports that the short list is down to interim chief Ross Levinsohn and Hulu boss Jason Kilar, although Reuters reckons News Corp. (NWS) digital media chief Jonathan Miller is also in the mix.
Duke cut Johnson over fears about suitability. Bill Johnson didn't become the CEO of the merged Duke-Progress Energy (DUK) - as originally planned - after the board decided at the last minute that he wasn't right for the job, the WSJ reports, although it was clear to some for a while that the arrangement wouldn't work. "Different personalities, different cultures," a source says.
Investors wait for Navistar update. Shares of Navistar (NAV) could be in for a wild ride today, as an operational update from the company is planned for this morning. Analysts don't have a firm handle on what Navistar will say, although there has been speculation recently that the firm will abandon plans to develop pollution-reducing engines following repeated problems.
Strauss Auto nearing the end after entering "Chapter 55." Strauss Auto looks set to be finally put out of its misery after probably becoming the first company ever to enter "Chapter 55" - i.e. to file for bankruptcy protection five times. The parts retailer first went into Chapter 11 in 1979; the latest filing was last month, but despite recovering from near death previously, Strauss now intends to sell its assets and file for liquidation.
How Countrywide tried to win friends and influence people. Countrywide Financial (BAC) used a VIP loan program from 1996-2008 to try to prevent legislation that would have hampered its sale of sub-prime mortgages, a report from a House panel said yesterday. The lender offered or gave discounts to members of Congress and their staffers, government officials and executives at Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB).
Central-bank triple play leaves markets unconvinced. The German 2-year Schatz yield has fallen into negative territory for the first time since the panicky days of early June, as Spanish and Italian yields surge higher following rate cuts from the ECB and People's Bank of China yesterday, as well as pledges of further money printing in the U.K. Markets either wanted more from the ECB or are worried that the central banks know something that we don't. Spanish 2-years were +38 bps to 4.99%, Italy +12 bps to 3.84%.
Bankruptcies fall but student debt burden gets heavier. The number of U.S. businesses and consumers filing for bankruptcy fell by 14% to 632,130 in H1, and the figure could end 2012 at the lowest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute's Samuel Gerdano. He attributes the decline to rock-bottom interest rates. However, student loan delinquencies are rising in what frighteningly looks to be a structural, not cyclical phenomenon.
Iranian oil exports likely to halve as sanctions kick in. Iran's July oil exports will probably be half those of last year, analysts forecast, as new sanctions stifle flows and cost the country more than $3B a month in lost revenue. Iranian exports have declined steadily from an average of 2.2M barrels a day in 2011; July exports could fall to 1.1M or less amid complications with shipping insurance and disputes with China over freight costs.
Today's Markets:
* In Asia, Japan -0.7%. Hong Kong flat. China +1.0%. India -0.1%.
* In Europe, at midday, London -0.1%. Paris -0.5%. Frankfurt -0.4%.
* Futures at 7:00: Dow -0.05%. S&P -0.1%. Nasdaq -0.1%. Crude -1.65% to $85.78. Gold -1% to $1592.80.
Today's economic calendar:
Monster Employment Index
8:30 Nonfarm Payrolls
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ECB Rate Announcement
Said Mario Draghi: "Please heed me:
Our 'zone isn't going agreeably;
The better to serve you
In line with our purview,
We'll pay you to borrow if need be."
-Dr Goose
http://tinyurl.com/7j7hewu
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