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ARNA +4.09% @ 10.43, 6.1M
ARNA sold off after the big news on June 27th of gaining FDA approval for its diet drug which will be marketed under the name Belviq.
It seems to be finding its legs in recent sessions.
I suspect some investors in competitor VVUS are switching horses.
MG
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=ARNA
Exposure of Banker Corruption
By Jim Willie CB
GoldenJackass.com
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Few observers make the connection, but the current LIBOR scandal is a middle inning of two important events. The first is the demise of the Western banker leadership crew. The executives from the most powerful banks will be last to be deposed, all sharing an ethnic strain. The second is the open fracture of the Western financial system. Over the past few years, to be sure a great many people have grown tired of Jackass descriptions of corruption within the banking sector and financial system in general. Well, hear this: TOLD YA SO! The London Interbank Offered Rate scandal will erupt into an uncontrollable firestorm, hitting one chamber and then the next, with rapid contagion. The Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve are both implicated, but they will skate until the end game. They control the prosecutors and the news networks. Few yet connect the LIBOR rigged prices to the important parts of the financial kingdom run by the harried banker elite. The supposedly informed experts point to the rigged low rates for adjustable rate mortgages, for credit cards, and for student loans. Only the ARM rate is important among these, since it kept and housing bubble going. If truth be told, the LIBOR anomalies have persisted since late 2008. The intrepid first class forensic bond analyst Rob Kirby linked the sordid trails and mismatched discrepancies of the LIBOR to the JPMorgan monster, the US Federal Reserve syndicate ring leader, and the USDept Treasury (haven for Goldman Sachs lieutenants). See his 2008 article on Financial Sense ( http://tinyurl.com/6lueop6 ). Regulators have done nothing for four years. It was not fully appreciated at the time, like it might be today. The LIBOR should match the settled EuroDollar contract, but it has not for years. The evidence for price rig has been glaring for years. The big banks have skimmed the difference for profit for years. Imagine selling milk or concrete with a variation in price at the wholesale level, enabling vast profits from skimming. It has been permitted for the big banks, a grand blemish on an already scarred sector.
Anyone with a solid intelligence quotient, a curious manner, and a suspicious streak can detect the recent trail. The MFGlobal client account thefts were a coming out event for the corruption. The JPMorgan margin calls on various positions had become an acute problem. They were very short on cash. With the upcoming December 2011 gold & silver delivery notices adding strain to the near breakpoint, JPMorgan made a decision. They stole the MFGlobal client accounts. They reneged on all precious metals contract delivery. They put all the to-be-delivered metal in their own account. Mission Accomplished, the catch phrase for unspeakable colossal permitted corruption in the USGovt and US financial markets. The losses in May by JPMorgan in the sovereign bond and Interest Rate Swap arena provided the Prima Facie case for the MFGlobal thefts, showing deep losses that will escalate over time. The officials at JPM have been telling scattered truths over the course of the last several weeks. They admit at times that their profound losses are tied to Interest Rate Swaps, which experienced analysts and traders can tell are for defense of the USTreasury Bonds and their entirely unwarranted 0% yield.
LIBOR CONNECTED TO INTEREST RATE SWAPS
The annual now chronic $1.5 trillion USGovt deficits must be financed. They should be financed at a Spain-like 7% yield. The two nations have equally wrecked finances and an equal unemployment rate. But doing so would be far too disruptive. But doing so would be far too costly. But doing so would take away the wellspring of cheap money for the speculation. The big banks enjoy a brisk carry trade off the USTreasury curve that makes easy profits. No other industry is granted such risk free profits. So enter the IRSwap to generate an artificial USTBond rally from a phony engineered flight to safety. The thought of a flight to the safety of massive uncontrollable USGovt toxic debt pit is laughable on its face. The LIBOR price rig has enabled virtually free funds for the IRSwap that supports the vast 0% USTBond tower.
The next connection will soon be revealed. The IRSwaps are fed by the deep source fountain of LIBOR, at virtually free cost. It bears repeating. Too much attention is given to the adjustable rate mortgage feeder process. Not enough is given to the derivatives that are abused by the financial sector in unregulated shadow systems. The big banks have sold too many multiples of Credit Default Swap insurance, to the point that both counter-parties are dead. No net neutrality is a reflection of reality. Too legless swimmers do not rescue each other in the deep waters. They both drown, just like the bank parties involved. However, the big story is the Interest Rate Swap contracts, those arbitraged long-term bond swaps versus short-term bond swaps that enable free money to finance the levers that control the long maturity for the USTBonds. Anyone who believes the TNX fell from 3.6% in 2011 to under 1.8% was from a flight to quality is either drinking Wall Street kool-aid or duped by their marketing flyers or captivated by media propaganda or just plain stupid. The vested interest in watching the 10-year USTBond yield go into ultra-low territory is all very understandable. Many financial asset prices depend upon a low benchmark bond yield.
But the reality is that foreign creditors abandoned the USGovt debt auctions. The reality is that primary dealers to those auctions found themselves stuck with inventory. The reality is that an avalanche of USGovt debt supply could not be handled with absent demand. The reality is that the USGovt borrowing costs required, if not demanded, ultra-low yields to prevent a worse explosion in deficits. The only true aspect of the flight into USTreasurys is that the European sovereign bonds have turned toxic. But the Europeans are far more likely to purchase German Bunds, and they have, driving their yields lower than the USTBonds. Some arbitrage has pulled the two to almost equal, evidence that IRSwaps are at work in the Bund backyard. The story will come out soon enough, how the LIBOR rate was rigged extremely low in order to facilitate management of the ultra-low 0% Fed Funds rate, and to enable the IRSwaps to do their magic in keeping down the long-term USTBond yield. The LIBOR has been and continues to be the feeder system for the IRSwaps that enforce the 0% and 1.5% yields on FedFunds and TNX. The factor is mentioned on financial networks with quick passing and no emphasis. They still sell the flight to safety rubbish story.
FASCIST BUSINESS MODEL FLOURISHES
The Fascist Business Model is not just showing its bitter fruit after the Bush II Admin came to office in 2001. It is flourishing in a climax of failure. The model does not simply permit financial crime. It encourages it. It promotes it. It rewards it. The higher powers organize it and run it. The result is not simply tolerated financial crime. It enables financial crime to flourish. The USAttorney General office sits on its hands. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission sits on its hands. The Securities & Exchange Commission sits on its hands. The financial press ignores the crime, or minimizes it, or explains it away. They all pay lipservice to enforcement of regulations and securities fraud. The outcome is a mindnumbing episode of financial fraud, theft, and collusion that the nation has never witnessed in its entire history. The outcome is an extreme strangle of the nation around its financial neck. In Jackass writings over the last several year, the word 'corruption' has appeared many times in almost every public article. That is because corruption appeared in every direction the trained eye was cast. For some articles, the word appeared over 20 times, and deservedly. My attention to corruption is steadfast and consistent. Corruption is Wall Street's calling card. It will bear the epitaph of the nation.
The Fascist Business Model practices brought the nation the Too Big To Fail rationale that permitted insolvency and corruption from syndicate strongholds. Worse, the practiced model has brought the United States as a nation to the doorstep of systemic failure. The ripening LIBOR scandal is an extension of the MFGlobal theft and a close cousin to the deep JPMorgan losses. The entire US and London financial structure is collapsing. Instead of perceiving the European sovereign bond problem as having a related plague in the US and UK, the arrogant bankers preferred to conduct business as usual with IRSwap props of the fake USTBond tower. They preferred to rig the LIBOR channel that feeds the derivative pool, which include the all-important IRSwaps for maintaining the 0% artificial world. They preferred to point to the United States as different. It is not different. It is rotten from the inside due to 0%, whereas Southern Europe is rotten from the outside, manifested by the 7% alarm level.
The following stories, themes, and factors all serve as symptoms of corruption and failure. The failure is in part a result of the corruption. The corruption is intertwined with grotesque inefficiency, since the best in class do not prevail. The corruption sidetracks capitalism to reward the corrupt while inhibiting the successful and efficient. The most connected and thus corrupt not only prevail, but they rule. The following stories, themes, and factors are the handiwork of the US and London banker elite. The list is long but in no way complete, as the criminal activity is laced throughout the entire system. They will someday appear on indictment lists. To date the court rulings have almost all featured non-admission of guilt or any culpability, only details on settlement for the charges to go away. That greases the civil lawsuits away from continued awards. Regard such deals as fascist justice, more queer fruit. The decay of the nation is best seen not in economic output but in ethics. To be sure, the USEconomy is mired in a powerful recession that has extended for almost five years. The true protection from the systemic criminality is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
NAKED SHORTS ON PRECIOUS METALS
For two decades the bank cartel has been selling Gold & Silver futures contracts without collateral. They are exempted from regulatory action and prosecution, as part of some absurd position in national security. The practice covers the USGovt gold treasure, long gone, gutted, pilfered. On February 29th of this year, JPMorgan alone sold a full year of global silver mine output in a single hour. This is obscene. Compared to several years ago, the Big Four US banks have twice as big naked short contract position for precious metals. Refer to JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs. They all have pretty logos. They are not making America stronger. They are extending the criminal financial structures and their lifespan, giving room for zombies to roam. They enable a fiat USDollar currency to continue longer, despite the absent faith and trust no longer held in it globally. A parallel takes place, like with the Alpha Group for naked shorting Canadian mining stocks through their handy outlet Canaccord. If individuals attempted to naked short any futures contracts, they would be prosecuted and tossed in prison, their assets confiscated. The criminality is vast. The true protection from toxic paper contracts and paper certificates is obtained and secured by owning physical precious metals, never in paper form of any kind. Best in bullion bars and coins.
QUANTITATIVE EASING & OPERATION TWIST
The magnitude of bond purchase is astronomical, best described as Weimar-like. The printing of USDollars on electronic devices for the purpose of buying USTreasury Bonds that the world no longer demands in order to cover the gargantuan USGovt debts is out of control. The entire process is obscene and loaded with deception. The public and investment community is told repeatedly of a flight to quality and safety. There is neither quality in a Weimar rag known as the USTBond, nor safety in a junk bond with $1.5 trillion in annual deficits put to securities each year. The USFed does not have in its charter any feature to purchase 70% of the total sale of USTBonds in 2011, for instance. Operation Twist is a grand lie, a deception to cover the monetization of all 30-year USTBonds ever issued. It is a deception to enable foreign creditors to dump unwanted long maturity USTBonds, in favor of very short-term USTBills. The foreign creditors are eager to let the clock run out and have these bonds mature. Think exit. If corporations were to issue bonds without the demand of buyers, and float them in the market like a huge tributary from a toxic river, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from the hyper monetary inflation is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
MORTGAGE MARKET LAWSUITS & OBSCENITIES
The entire housing bubble was made possible by broad and deep corruption of every conceivable process within mortgage finance. People were approved to purchase homes without verified income. Home loans were approved without down payment. Homes were approved for sale without proper appraisal. Interest rates assigned to loans were often linked to corrupted LIBOR rates. The Wall Street banks shoved the income stream from a given mortgage into multiple securitized bonds. They covered their tracks with the MERS title database, intended to facilitate the frequent sale of property and more importantly the bonds tied to their income streams. The MERS lacked legal standing though, and their entire process was fraudulent. The court cases in several states discarded bank claims on foreclosure, with rulings that a database could not hold a property title. Why anybody pays a monthly mortgage anymore remains a mystery. It could be associated with a Pavlov response to flipping the calendar to a new month.
The climax for the obscene mortgage market practices came with the openly publicized robotic signature process on documents to foreclose and evict homeowners from their homes. The process went so far as to evict with sheriff assistance some people who owned their homes free and clear, the loans fully paid. The insult to the nation was foreclosure and eviction of standing military soldiers in service for the syndicate and oil companies. The docket for investor lawsuits for lax and nonexistent loan underwriting, followed by misrepresentation of bonds for sale, is hardly complete. If small companies committed the same contract fraud, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from the fraudridden bond parade and obscene wreckage of home equity (lost American Dream) is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
T.A.R.P. FUNDS
The TARP Funds chapter will go down in US history as the biggest open visible scam perpetrated in public view. No close second. The big banks appealed for USGovt aid in order to keep their credit engines humming, to prevent a lockup in lending, to save the USEconomy, a noble gesture. Instead, they bought corporate preferred stock and handed out gigantic bonuses to the architects of the housing and mortgage finance bubble & bust. They did so without shame, in your face. The $700 billion might have served as effective smokescreen, since the USFed was very busy behind the scenes. The USGovt should have demanded clawback on the entirety of the ill-gotten funds. But the USGovt financial squad is run by the big US banks. Refer to the Fascist Business Model and its expansive bitter fruit. Also in the background was a nifty grant of $138 billion to JPMorgan on a Saturday morning session in Manhattan by a bankruptcy court, supposedly to replenish funds for private accounts assumed in a merger. It was more like a JPM reload for intervening in the gold and currency markets. If ordinary companies committed the same fiduciary violation for misuse of borrowed funds, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from the slush fund river is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
USFED $23 TRILLION GRANTS
While the nation was deeply entranced by the financial system breakdown marred by the Lehman Brothers killjob, the USFed was busy dispensing near 0% loans in $16 trillion volume to big banks across the world, but primarily in New York and London. It was like a Who's Who list, or more accurately owners of the USFed itself and their best friends. Disclosure forced by the USCongress resulted in mere observation of receipts long after the fact. The barn door once again was closed briefly after the horses were let loose for new owner capture. A repeat episode occurred only a year later, as another $7 trillion was dispensed to a similar gang. Al Capone himself would be proud of such patterned behavior. The United States is the only industrial nation that does not possess its own central bank. The nation is a colony for rape and pillage by trillionaire castle dwellers. If regional banks committed the same reckless loans as favors to Board members and friends, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from the slush fund river is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
PILFERING FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC
The raids, counterfeit, and other grand larceny of the OFHEO agencies is legendary. The Sopranos showed the modus operandi. Obtain a phony appraisal of a rotten property. Lock in the loan. Buy the property for a fraction of the loan amount. Then make no payments and abscond with the loaned funds. Easy as pie. The Papa Bush Admin and Clinton Admin went one further. They simply stole from the Fannie Mae cash register and snagged a mountain of counterfeit bonds with Fannie Mae markings, to the tune of $1.5 trillion, or $1500 billion for the math challenged. The audits conducted by Catherine Austin Fitts stand on the record in verifying the volume in theft. The funds are devoted to private accounts and to black bag operations by the agencies. After all, they must keep America safe and strong. When China began to sell in earnest from their vast supply of Fannie bonds in 2007 and 2008, the USGovt had to take action. So they nationalized the toxic cesspool. Their action served to conceal the criminality and to prevent an audit. Leadership has become privilege and license for theft. The Fannie stock shares went to zero, exactly as the Jackass forecasted in 2006 and 2007. If other financial firms committed the same embezzlement of funds and engaged in counterfeit activity, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from the toxic cesspool under USGovt aegis is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
LOOTING FORT KNOX
The Clinton & Rubin Admin had a mission. They pulled it off well. The experienced savvy Robert Rubin moved from the London Gold Desk at Goldman Suchs to take control of the USDept Treasury. His first act and deed was to mark the gold lease rate at near 0%, and thus to embark on the Gold Carry Trade. The big winners would the privileged Wall Street banks with access to leased USGovt gold held in Fort Knox. Their ill-gotten gains must have totaled at least $2 trillion from leveraged shorts in the gold futures market. Couple the counter-trade in rising USTBonds, also with leverage applied, and the gains must have totaled at least $7 trillion. Pretty handsome profit for the Syndicate during an eight-year span. They called it the Decade of Prosperity. But it rendered the United States as a nation a sure bet for systemic failure in a decade's time from hollowed out insolvency and ruin. Like now. The Jackass prefers to call it the Decade of Stolen Prosperity. Moronic political observers long for the good ole days of Clinton and all that prosperity, without realizing the pilferage of the entire Fort Knox, the Gold Carry Trade, or anything sordid in nature. They are naive fools.
A colleague has a personal friend in charge of security at Fort Knox. He reports they stand guard over Fort Knox alright, but it contains a vast inventory of nerve gas cannisters, and zero gold. The US as a nation has no collateral to back its USDollar currency. The US bank officials refuse to conduct an audit of the gold. The insiders declare that an audit would give emphasis to its importance and value. The laughter is raucous when reading the Office for the Comptroller to the Currency reports, when the ledger item of Deep Storage Gold is read. It is merely unmined ore in Western mountain deposits. The USGovt is in posssession of zero gold. If individuals in other nations were to make off with the national gold treasure, they would be prosecuted for treason and theft, then given a public hanging. The criminality is vast. The true protection from absent collateral to the USDollar is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
PHONY BANK ACCOUNTING
In April 2009, a critical event occurred. The Financial Accounting Standards Board in charge of setting accounting rules declared that the big US banks would be permitted to set any value they chose for their wrecked balance sheets. The prominent insolvent gang of banks teetering in ruins could set as they wished book value or original value for balance sheet items, when zero was the more accurate valuation. The defense of the Too Big To Fail mantra began. The excuse of challenges to find credit worthy borrowers hit the scene. That was a lie, since strong borrowers were routinely refused loans. The credit engines for the USEconomy had been wrecked, no longer functioning. Actually, the credit benefit had turned negative, evidence of slippage within the system. The obscenity continues with a charade of Credit Value Adjustments and raids to Loan Loss Reserves every quarter earnings report. Without such malfeasance to accounting, the big US banks would regularly show deep quarterly losses. Even the financial press objects, calling the earnings tainted. If ordinary corporations were to engage in such accounting fraud, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from fraudulent accounting and vast fiduciary violations is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
FLASH TRADING & UNIX BOX
In 2010, a nasty event struck with revelation of computers gone amok on the New York Stock Exchange. The deep decline on a single day demonstrated the absence of indigenous investors in a land overrun by computers. The details came out slowly. The NYSE volume had been at least 80% computer trades routinely. The big Wall Street firms were selling to each other, running up the stock prices in a levitation fraud process. It was an orchestrated internal Ponzi exercise. Yet the plum story was the Goldman Suchs internal unix box that caught a peek at the order flow, placed orders in front of the flow, and ripped small profits on millions of trades. When the unix box and software was captured by a Russian fellow in order to expose the syndicate, he was branded a criminal. The FBI rushed to arrest him at the airport. Rumors swirled that the software was being sold on the black market. He was quietly taken care of. The entire episode was contained. Goldman Suchs was never prosecuted, even protected by the vast USGovt army. The integrity of the New York Stock Exchange was kept at the same corrupt level. Activity resumed. If ordinary investors were to engage in such criminal insider devices, they would be prosecuted and tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from rigged and violated markets is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
AUCTION MUNI BONDS
Two years ago, a rigged falsified auction market was revealed. The items sold were typically municipal bonds. It was another corrupted market in a parade of corrupted markets, organized and led by the same cast of Wall Street characters. Lawsuits were settled. Settlements were cut. No admission of guilt was made. The game might have been shut down, unclear. If ordinary market makers were to engage in such criminal pricing activities, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from rigged and violated markets is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
INFLUENCE ON USCONGRESS
The big US banks have kept the scam going. They control the USDept Treasury through their Goldman Suchs conduit and headhunter passageway. They engage in lofty campaign donations to Congressional members. The list of donations is on the public record. To date, the Obama campaign and the Romney campaign have each received over $300 million from the banker lobby. These criminals have covered both red and blue on the political roulette wheel of bets. The irony is that one might consider the TARP Funds themselves as the slush fund for such political donations. The wheel of political influence turns. As H.L.Mencken said a century ago, the USCongress is the best that money can buy. The influence enables Wall Street banks to write legislation for its own reform. To be sure, compromises were made, like to split off proprietary trading but with fuzzy rules. The asterisk is the audit of the USFed itself. The devotion to the bankers was seen in June when JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon visited the Finance Committe for soft lobs. An opportunity was lost. The genuflection was obvious. The only tough questions came from two Senators who receive nothing from the banker lobby. All but those two kissed Dimon's ring. The unflappable CEO appeared to holding court before his minions. If ordinary individuals were to be confronted for their reckless and criminal activities, they would be subjected to a harsh line of questioning and possible prosecution. The criminality is vast. The true protection from compromised politicians is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
ROLE PROGRAMS LIKE MADOFF FUND
One of the biggest shocks to the Jackass in recent years was the revelation by a deep banker source of the so-called Role Programs. Many were described, all managed by the USDept Treasury and the Bank of England, its master. The volume of criminal fraud and scams is in the hundreds of $billions. One such scheme was the Madoff Fund thefts. The public was told repeatedly that Madoff made off with $50 billion in funds, with many victims left in the lurch. The true figure was $160 billion in stolen funds. The search was on to locate the funds, when the officials knew exactly where the funds were safely located and stored. Yet another charade, much like searching for the MFGlobal funds, all safely kept in JPMorgan London accounts. The Madoff funds were located in Switzerland for safe keeping. The banks involved all had one national trait in common, from a small nation on the Southern Mediterranean that looked northwest to Italy across the sea. The banks were all protected by some very strange laws in Switzerland that forbid investigation of fraud. Many other role programs continue to this day, details not to be provided here. Some nations have outstanding arrest warrants for US bank leaders, who travel only to England and Switzerland with confidence. If ordinary managed funds were to be scrutinized for criminal activities, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in to prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from profound high level fraudulent schemes is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
HIDDEN GREEK GOVT DEBT
Goldman Suchs was the focus two years ago when the actual Greek Govt debt was revealed to be greater than originally submitted for qualification entry into the European Monetary Union. The Greek Govt falsified their club application with collusion from GSuchs. The fraud was a big currency swap to conceal the true level of their government debt. They were made to look healthier than was actually the case. GSuchs has been given a pass, no prosecution in any nation. Arthur Anderson was not given such benefit. In fact, the GSuchs crew was invited to supply a lieutenant to lead Italy, no justice seen. Such bonuses are typical even after criminal fraud is revealed for syndicate titans. The wreckage of Greece is not yet complete, but far along. GSuchs had a big hand, spreading their special cancer wherever they roam. Victims are banks across Europe, London, and New York. More currency swaps are suspected in other Southern European nation financial submissions. If ordinary corporations were to engage in such accounting fraud, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from fraudulent accounting and vast fiduciary violations at the highest level is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
NARCO MONEY LAUNDERING
It is fast becoming a well known fact, even common knowledge in the financial industry. The big US banks are heavily dependent upon narcotics money laundering from sale conducted by the protected USGovt agencies. The American citizens seem the last to know. The details are dangerous to cite, surely not privy to the Jackass. The United Nations drug task force first identified the money laundering activity back in 2008 and 2009. Nothing has been done. In a case from 2008, Wachovia was found guilty of money laundering for narcotics activity in Mexico. The outcome was a veritable farce. The settlement involved a fine equal to 3/100ths of a penny per dollar processed. They could have at least forced a dime for dollar in the money laundering. The US press emphasized the fine paid and minimized the volume processed. The big US banks are all involved in such money laundering. They are big, broken, insolvent, and wrecked. They are as hollow from the criminal activity of bond fraud, accounting fraud, and laundering activity, as a cocaine addict is hollowed from the internal organs and rotten teeth. If ordinary corporations were to engage in such money laundering, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from organized crime is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
IRAQ & IRAN SHUN OF USDOLLAR
The 2003 charade was given focus on weapons of mass destruction posssessed by Iraq. A war was waged. A hefty supply of gold bullion bars was stolen from Baghdad at their central bank. The amount was not reported or learned. The charade went so far as to show video clips of snagged yellow bars, not gold, but wooden bars painted yellow. Quite the production to cover the theft of a national gold treasure. It belonged to the Iraqi people, not Saddam Hussein. A similar charade has been playing for the last several months over Iran. The public is told of a Iran nuclear weapons factory threat. The story is old and stale, having been recited to a foolish audience for a few years running. The weapons of mass destruction did not exist in Iraq. The WMD story was a cover for cause in war, to cover the fact that Saddam had been selling crude oil in Euros. The key fact was sale outside the USDollar. The USGovt reacted by protecting its sacred Petro-Dollar. The parallel to today is clear for the enlightened, who are few in number. The Iran threat is not nuclear, not of weapons of mass destruction. The common architect for the phony story is that small nation on the Southern Mediterranean. Keep it vague in identification. The parallel violation by Iran is selling crude oil outside the USDollar. The American and European public are being for fools again. Iran is accepting gold or trade credits in swap deals. This is a banker sham on the highest stage, putting the world at risk of a dangerous war. The extension to SWIFT bank codes used as a weapon shows the banker hand of involvement. Misrepresentation for war cause is not a crime, but it is a travesty nonetheless. It leads to lost credibility for international leading nations, like the United States and Great Britain. The betrayal of trust is vast. The true protection from unscrupulous brinkmanship is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
MOTIVE FOR LIBERATING LIBYA
To be sure, Muammar Qaddafi was an evil man, a psychotic man, and a thief to his own people. Liberation of the Libyan nation was a good deed. But the hidden motive has been revealed. The London and Western European banks hold 144 tons of Libyan gold. It has not been returned. It is too desperately needed. Conditions for its return to a legitimate Libyan Govt have been laid out. Do not expect them ever to be satisfied, in the eyes of the banks holding the gold tonnage. The actual events told of NATO armies working toward thel liberation might or might not be true. It makes one wonder if Syria owns any gold. Misrepresentation for war cause is not a crime, but it is a travesty nonetheless. It leads to lost credibility for international leading nations, like those holding the Libyan gold treasure. The betrayal of trust is vast. The true protection from unscrupulous brinkmanship is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
MISSING IRAQ FUNDS
In 2006 and 2007, a big story circulated about missing Iraqi Reconstruction Funds. The diminutive leader Bush Jr declared that $50 billion in missing funds was acceptable in the grand scheme of things, called ordinary leakage. It is not clear what grand scheme he referred to. Perhaps the grand scheme of big US bank and big US defense contractor fraud. The overcharging cases for Halliburton violations are like a mosaic on a billboard for all to see. They have regularly been deemed as minor in scope, not worthy of prosecution. They have usually be settled with small fines, a mere fraction of the fraud involved. But the missing funds continue to this day. It is in the Jackass opinion that one of the primary motives to continue to endless wars is to perpetuate the frauds and stolen funds. The guardians are nowhere. The enforcement is imaginary. The thefts are encouraged and permitted. If ordinary corporations were to engage in such fraud and thefts, they would be prosecuted and their executives tossed in prison. The criminality is vast. The true protection from pillbox raids is obtained and secured by owning precious metals, best in bullion bars and coins.
ALLOCATED GOLD ACCOUNTS
The revelation of banker criminality has only begun. The culmination in the opinion of my best banker source is come before too many more months. Attention focuses now on the LIBOR price rig scandal. It will extend to the USTBond and Interest Rate Swap artificial props. It will extend in a climax event for exposure that Allocated Gold accounts across the Western world have been confiscated, sold, and replaced with shabby paper gold certificates illegally. Numerous class action lawsuits are in progress in Switzerland, kept out of the news. They total several $billion in combined size. However, the account raid practice has been widespread in Europe, London, and United States. The scope of the seized and raided Allocated gold accounts is enormous. This will be the biggest banker scandal in modern history. The scope involves at least 20 thousand tons of missing gold, and possibly as much as 40 thousand tons missing. The lid will blow off the concealed story before long. The news networks in Switzerland have been dutiful in keeping the story quiet. Not for much longer. It is not the only nation involved, no way. Big important influential wealthy people have been victimized. They will seek justice and demand an open court. All in time. When that happens, the price of gold will double in a matter of months. The big banks that have criminally raided the Allocated accounts will be forced to retrieve and purchase the gold on the open market. Many complicit banks will simply collapse, since already insolvent. Some bank executives will face prosecution. Perhaps a few will go missing, like the gold bars. The story and its publicity of semi-stolen gold will bring much needed attention to gold as real money.
911 BANK HEIST
As the years pass, the evidence mounts. The AE1000 organization is expert and loud, the architects and engineers who provide expert testimony on the absurd official 911 story at the World be-Trade Tower. This is hardly the forum for such recitals. A secretive Russian Bond valued at $240 billion was to mature the very next day, most of which were held in the Cantor Fitzgerald offices atop the tower. Those bonds could not be redeemed at maturity, a theft. Nothing on the official story makes any sense, nor does it stand up to chemical scrutiny or to scrutiny from phsyics. Costa Rica has a richly dotted landscape of very well informed people with all kinds of legitimate contacts, such from Secret Service friends, bank executive friends, ex-USMilitary types, slush fund managers, obscure types, and more. My informed sources have been numerous that have shed light on the infamous event. It was a grand bank heist that involved perhaps around $100 billion in stolen bearer bonds, perhaps around $100 billion in stolen gold bullion bars, and perhaps around $100 billion in stolen diamonds. The 911 event marked in the opinion of many observers a coup d'etat of the United States Govt. Their grip on power continues through to today. The true story will come out, all in time, like veracity bubbles working toward the surface. Those holding the lid on the actual events are reducing in number each year. My expectation is that the true story will come out as the inevitability of a USGovt debt default becomes evident and unavoidable, when the JPMorgan machinery fails in full view to uphold the USTBond tower. At that time, the new trade settlement systems, the new barter systems, the bypass to USDollar settlement, they will come into place. Gold will be at the center of every new system. Much like how geophysics leads to iron forming at the core of a stable body, gold will form at the core of the stable financial body. But its price will be closer to $10,000 per ounce than $2000 per ounce. Gold price charts mean little, when the enter paper system is in the process of imploding, first bonds, then currencies, then sham gold markets.
Jim Willie CB, editor of the “HAT TRICK LETTER”
Posted Thursday, 5 July 2012
http://news.goldseek.com/GoldenJackass/1341518400.php
U.S. stocks fall to session lows after ISM
BY MarketWatch Equity 10:09 AM ET 07/05/2012
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks slid to session lows Thursday after the Institute for Supply Management reported a gauge of services activity for June that fell short of forecasts. Stocks had started broadly lower after a trio of central-bank actions to stimulate growth underlined the strains on the world's economy, and the euro dropped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 89 points -- versus a 72-point-drop before the data -- and was recently down 86 points at 12,858. The S&P 500 was off 10 points at 1,364. The Nasdaq Composite lost 15 points to 2,961.
Futures looking lower...for a while at least.
Pants - Did you hire them on contract or hourly and how much were you paying them. square foot or hourly? Just curious.....thanks
% Gainers
Symbol Price Change Volume
ASUR +0.99 (+23.57%) 30,272
PCX +0.37 (+20.11%) 3.5M
LIVE +1.76 (+11.47%) 15,123
CNDO +0.58 (+10.09%) 70,391
ENG +0.14 (+9.52%) 21,290
GTN +0.14 (+9.03%) 22,450
OSUR +0.87 (+7.19%) 1.0M
JRCC +0.21 (+6.69%) 0.2M
ISCA +1.70 (+6.48%) 38,796
CHU +0.82 (+6.42%) 0.1M
Volkswagon finished buying up Porsche this morning, and Volkswagon is clearning additional acres to build a possible 2nd Car Assembly Plant here in Chattanooga.
There was also some major ground clearing at Enterprise South for a new Tire Company. I keep mentioning these things only to point out that some companies are moving ahead in this economy, and Volkswagon is one of them, I am just glad it is happening here in Chattanooga.
Mary has to drive this way each morning to get to the Interstate, and she reminds that when I drive I am too slow, compared to her experiences in the morning. They refer it to as Volkswagon Raceway.
Hearing 100,000 numbers for tomorrow's unemployment numbers, anyone hearing anything lese ?
Thursday morning federal headlines - July 5
Thursday - 7/5/2012, 7:58am 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.
• The Army says it has enough tanks. Officials thought suspending production for a few years would be an easy way to save money as the military faces sharp spending cuts. But Congress begs to differ. Some Ohio lawmakers are trying to restore funds for the Army to keep buying Abrams tanks made in that state. About 800 welders and machinists are caught in the middle. General Dynamics operates the plant for the government. It says it would be cheaper to keep the plant open with minimal production than shut it down and restart it. But the Army says not all that money should come from the United States. It suggests the plant could fill orders from other countries. (Federal News Radio)
• The Veterans Affairs Department has called a moratorium on downgrading low-wage service workers at its health care facilities. Protestors had staged a march from VA headquarters to Lafayette Square in front of the White House last month. Many of the employees were represented by the American Federation of Government Employees. AFGE's Northern Virginia Council president Alma Lee reported the VA's change in stance. The department's HR Management Office issued a letter calling for a temporary stand-down on changes to lower graded actions. It agreed to establish a classification oversight working group. VA did not immediately respond to a request for comments. (Federal News Radio)
• While other agencies close regional offices in attempts to save money, the Patent and Trademark Office is moving in the opposite direction. For the first time, the office will expand operations beyond the Beltway. It plans to open four satellite branches. A Detroit office opens next week, followed by operations in Dallas, Denver and Silicon Valley. The expansion is mandated by a new law aimed to modernized the patent system. The agency says it wants to attract top intellectual-property experts who can work closely with entrepreneurs, as it tries to catch up on about 640,000 unexamined patent applications. (U.S. Patent and Trade)
• Computer giant Dell has acquired Quest Software. Dell, a major federal contractor, wants to expand its service business. Quest publishes identity management and access control applications, and system performance tools. It also has a large federal presence. Dell paid 2.4 billion dollars for Quest, beating out a private venture firm. Dell did about 1.8 billion dollars in federal sales last year, according to Washington Technology. The company's total 2011 sales reached 61 billion dollars. (Federal News Radio)
• Prosecutors are not filing criminal charges against former Commerce Secretary John Bryson. They say a seizure led Bryson to get into three car accidents on June 9. Bryson had hit one car twice, spoke briefly with the occupants and then drove on to hit another vehicle a few minutes later. Police found him unconscious in his Lexus. They had cited him for felony hit-and-run. But tests did not show any signs of alcohol or drugs...except for a sleeping pill...and two doctors had diagnosed Bryson with a stroke. He resigned from the Commerce Department two weeks ago, saying he did not want his health to interfere with his job. (Federal News Radio)
• Base realignment and closure, or BRAC, turned out to be a lot more expensive than the Pentagon predicted. A new GAO report pegs the cost of the most recent BRAC round at 35 billion dollars. That's 67 percent more than original estimates. GAO says the main culprit is construction costs. The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency's new headquarters more than doubled in cost to 2.6 billion dollars. The latest BRAC round started in 2005. It involved more than 800 locations and 125 thousand people. The Pentagon doesn't expect to see financial payback until 2025. (Federal News Radio)
• U.S. forces in Afghanistan are starting today, to reroute supplies through Pakistan. They're ending a seven-month run of using a longer and more expensive route to avoid that country. Pakistan agreed to let the United States use its supply routes after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton apologized for an incident that took place last November. 24 Pakistani troops were killed by U.S. forces. Causes of the incident are still in dispute. But the round-about supply routing has cost the military billions in fuel and other costs. Last month the Pentagon asked Congress to reprogram funds to cover the logistics overruns. (Federal News Radio)
• The Food and Drug Administration wants every medical device to have a unique ID. The agency says that could help it spot problems more quickly target recalls and improve patient safety. The FDA has conducted four pilot studies and is now seeking public comment on a new rule. It focuses on the highest-risk medical devices first — things like replacement hips, pacemakers and heart valves. It would exempt over-the-counter devices sold at retail stores. The FDA is acting in response to requirements in a 2007 law. (FDA)
• Twitter received 849 government requests for information about its users in the first half of 2012. The requests came from throughout the world. But 75 percent of them came from the U.S. federal agencies. Twitter has started providing biannual reports about U.S. and foreign government demands for information about its users. Google has been reporting its government requests for the last couple of years. Twitter, which is used by most agencies, says it provided the requested information in two thirds of the cases. (Federal News Radio)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why Did the Market Fall?
Said an equity trader, "I'll cop to this:
I can't tell why we tanked from the top to this,
But the punters of punts
All concluded at once -
There's no basis for being an optimist."
- David Lefkovits AKA Dr. Goose
@ www.limericksecon.com/
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News
July 5, 2012
PBOC lowers rates. The People's Bank of China has cut interest rates, lowering the benchmark lending rate 31 basis points and the benchmark deposit rate 25 basis points. U.S. stock futures moved higher on the unexpected decision.
BOE to print more money. The Bank of England has relaunched QE, adding £50B to its £325B asset purchase program. The bank's benchmark lending rate remains at 0.50%. Next up is the ECB, which is widely expected to cut its benchmark rate by 25 bps today to a record-low 0.75%, although it's unclear where the bank goes from there.
What did Diamond know about Libor and when? Bob Diamond yesterday testified to U.K. legislators that he only found out about the Libor accusations only very recently, which is strange given that reports about Barclays (BCS) being part of the global investigation stretch back to at least March 2011. In his testimony, Diamond also said he did not believe that the Bank of England's Paul Tucker was giving permission to lower rates.
VW to finally gain control of Porsche. Volkswagen has agreed to acquire the 50.1% stake in Porsche it doesn't already own for €4.46B ($5.6B), ending a seven-year takeover saga. The deal helps VW in its aim of speeding past Toyota (TM) and General Motors (GM) to become the world's largest automaker by 2018.
Bank investors in the dark about Libor liabilities. Bank shareholders have no idea what kind of liability they're facing from the Libor probe. Barclays (BCS), for example, dropped 16% the day after being blindsided by a $451.4M regulatory fine. More than a dozen banks are being probed, are providing minimal disclosures and are probably failing to put enough funds in reserve for potential fines.
British judge rules against Apple on four patents. HTC phones don't infringe four Apple (AAPL) patents related to touchscreen technology, and three of those Apple patents are invalid, U.K. Judge Christopher Floyd has ruled. The patents include a slide-to-unlock feature and functionality to touch the screen in two spots simultaneously. It's not an insignificant defeat for Apple, although it did enjoy another pretrial victory against Samsung (SSNLF.PK) on Tuesday.
ConEd, union to talk, possibly to discuss talking some more. Consolidated Edison (ED) and its biggest union are due to meet today under the auspices of federal mediators after talks over a new labor contract stalled and the New York power utility locked out 8,500 workers. The meeting doesn't mean the sides will renew negotiations, so it could be that they'll just talk about having talks, or how hot the weather's been, or whatever.
KKR among those bidding for Getty Images. KKR (KKR) and TPG are reportedly among at least five suitors still in the hunt for Getty Images after the first round of bidding, which attracted offers of $4B. An acquisition by KKR would add to its recent investment in New-York based image database firm Fotolia for $150M.
Best Buy turnaround strategy not convincing the skeptics. Best Buy (BBY) is testing a new recovery strategy, turning some of its cavernous stores into sleek, Apple-inspired retail outlets in the hope of boosting sales. Skeptics worry the makeover doesn't do enough to dissuade shoppers from browsing in the stores and then buying products online from cheaper e-tailers.
US Airways not rushing to catch AMR flight. US Airways (LCC) has said that it's in no rush to merge with American Airlines (AAMRQ.PK), and expects the bankrupt airline to defer review of a possible deal now that it's seeking more time to formulate a stand-alone exit plan. US Airways CEO Doug Parker said his company will "respect the bankruptcy process," so tie-up speculation will "continue for at least several more months."
German antitrust officials reviewing GM-Peugeot alliance. Germany's federal cartel office intends to take a closer look at the partnership between GM's (GM) Opel unit and Peugeot (PEUGY.PK) in a Phase II review. The assessment will examine the impact of the tie-up on car parts suppliers. The latest review comes after GM signed an agreement on Monday to transfer a majority of its business in Europe to Peugeot unit Gefco.
China's Beige Book tells an uplifting story. China's Beige Book, a new private survey of around 2,000 executives and bankers, shows that retail sales and manufacturing strengthened last quarter, property sales increased, and 80% of retailers expect higher sales in six months. The picture painted suggests an economic pick-up not fully captured in China's official statistics.
Cities mull seizure of underwater mortgages. California's San Bernardino County and two of its biggest cities, Ontario and Fontana, want to use the concept of eminent domain to forcibly buy underwater mortgages from investors, lower the loan principal to match the value of the property, and then resell the reduced mortgages. Proponents believe they have a strong legal case, but mortgage investors are unsurprisingly opposed. Robert Shiller likes the idea.
Spanish yields belie S&P optimism on eurozone crisis. S&P thinks the eurozone crisis might be finally easing, citing the stabilizing agreements that came out of the June 29 summit. There is significant implementation risk but the measures "can provide a more stable funding framework" while governments work to "implement growth-enhancing structural reforms and reduce their budgetary imbalances." Despite S&P's optimism, Spanish yields again rose in a bond auction today.
Farmers hurting despite high crop prices. Corn and wheat may be trading near ten-month highs, but farmers are hardly profiting. With razor-thin margins and food crops priced well-below the cost of production, many growers are quitting. From the U.S. to Australia, and from beef to vegetables, farmers globally are facing the same crunch.
Mammoth Lakes goes under water. Mammoth Lakes filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, becoming the second Californian city in six days to do so after Stockton entered Chapter 9 last week. Mammoth Lakes, which has assets of over $100M and debt of more than $50M, made the filing after its largest creditor refused to negotiate concessions on a $43M legal judgement.
Today's Markets:
* In Asia, Japan -0.3%. Hong Kong +0.5%. China -1.2%. India flat.
* In Europe, at midday, London +0.5%. Paris +0.1%. Frankfurt +0.9%.
* Futures at 7:00: Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +0.7% to $88.26. Gold -0.3% to $1617.60.
Today's economic calendar:
Chain Store Sales
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
7:30 Challenger Job-Cut Report
8:15 ADP Jobs Report
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
9:45 Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index
10:00 ISM Non-Manufacturing Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
11:00 EIA Petroleum Inventories
4:30 PM Money Supply
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why Did the Market Fall?
Said an equity trader, "I'll cop to this:
I can't tell why we tanked from the top to this,
But the punters of punts
All concluded at once -
There's no basis for being an optimist."
- David Lefkovits AKA Dr. Goose
@ www.limericksecon.com/
Sure we do, its just clouded over by stupid politics, take that out of the picture, and America could get back to what it does best, just plain old business and a modern society.
Thought provoking posting to say the least...
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=28246974
"If the 80% are not willing to sacrifice the 20%, and STOP the .01%, ALL 99.99% will perish, or wish they had, before the .01% are done playing their new game..."
To: SliderOnTheBlack who wrote (26115) 7/5/2012 1:43:52 AM
From: SOROS 1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) of 26132
Without saying "Life is not fair, and it is certainly not equal," they will never fix the problems, and the nation and world will eventually economically collapse.
Everything is not a RIGHT, just because a person is born. There are people born in Africa every day who will have a life of hunger, sickness, and early death, as will many others around the world.
To say that in America, everyone born in the country, as well as everyone who makes their way into the borders legally or illegally, is entitled to education, healthcare, housing, and food is not only unrealistic, it is suicide.
LIFE IS NOT FAIR. If governments attempt to make it so, they will eventually destroy what has made America be able to at least provide a higher standard of living for a much greater percentage of the population than any country in the world.
Will there still be those with not enough to eat and no medical care? Absolutely. But would most Americans rather see 10-20% not have the necessities, or would they like to see .01% have wealth beyond their dreams, while 99.99% have their standard of living brought down, or up (for the 10-20% on poverty now) to a level that is just above the poor in other countries?
The gov't can only raise about 2.5-3 trillion a year. The budget, with keeping approximately 20% of the people in poverty, and without having healthcare as a basic "right" of life, is about the same amount. However, I believe about 2.5-3 trillion is spent EVERY YEAR on healthcare in the US. The math does not support giving healthcare to every person living in the country. If you do, then you go in the hole 2 trillion every year and face economic calamity soon, while at the same time, lowering the standard of living and the quality of health care for the approximately 80% of the people who do have it.
No one wants pain, and that is why the country and world face calamity. The needs of the many (80%) MUST outweigh the needs of the few (20%). If the gov't steps in to try and change what cannot be done mathematically, by printing money from paper and diluting the world's currency, disaster will not just happen to 20%, but it will come to 99.99%!
The real kicker in this is that that 20% in poverty would be less, because there would always be charity, and Americans, if not overly-burdened by a gov't wanting to steal all they earn, WOULD take care of those in need, like they have for 200 years. Perfect? No. But WAY closer to it than ANY other country in the world.
Do the .01% care? Heck no. They are bored with life and everything that having too much money can buy, so they love playing this game with the sheeple's lives.
It is simple entertainment for them! That is the point the sheeple do not understand! Wealth, like to the Hollywood stars, brings boredom eventually. Then it's drugs, divorce, and all kinds of damaging activities. For the .01%, this push to total socialism under THEIR control, is their illegal drug! To be able to play a real-time game with billions of people's lives must be a hoot for them. "Let's kill off this group." "Let's drop healthcare for this sect." "Let's wage war on this people." "Let's see what happens IF we DO this?" GREAT FUN FOR THE PSYCHO-PATHETIC RICH OF THE WORLD!
If the 80% are not willing to sacrifice the 20%, and STOP the .01%, ALL 99.99% will perish, or wish they had, before the .01% are done playing their new game.
Just came to me; short fellow, white hair, baton in his right hand standing on the Hatch Shell...Arthur Fiedler.
What's an esplanade? Something in front of the Hatch Shell?
Futures volume quiet. Looking a bit lower for a while.
Yup. A blanket at he esplanade, lying on our backs, looking skyward. The final "song," The William Tell Overture if memory serves was stirring, anticipated, terrific. Many years ago.
Thanks for sharing that...neat stuff...good memories.
pants
OK this works but v small screen
I should leave this for the high techies- I'm like Lee with this stuff.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/07/04/revelers-scoop-up-best-spots-for-boston-pops-july-4th-spectacular/
OK Good advise Lee I am walking to the fireworks now with my northern Ireland friend from the building. Walk and watch- very efficient.
I'm southern Irish, and over religion we quarrel- kind of like this board.
Then I will watch from my high rise- able to see dozens of displays. And will watch the link to the Boston fireworks for nostalgia.
I bet you've been at the Esplanade for the Pops and fireworks.
MG
Oro Mining Update on Proposed Wexford Offer
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -07/03/12)- As disclosed in Oro Mining Ltd.'s ("Oro" or the "Company") (OGR.V; OTC:OMRGF) press release of June 14, 2012, the Board of Directors of the Company have established a Special Committee of independent directors to review and consider the proposed unsolicited takeover bid announced by Wexford Capital LP ("Wexford") to acquire any and all outstanding common shares of the Company at a cash price of $0.11 per common share. The Special Committee's review of the proposed offer is ongoing and final conclusions or recommendations have not yet been reached; however, the Special Committee wishes to keep shareholders and market participants apprised of developments in its review.
The Special Committee has engaged Ross Glanville & Associates Ltd. ("Ross Glanville") of Vancouver to provide an opinion on the financial adequacy of the proposed offer. While Ross Glanville's opinion has not been finalized, it has advised the Special Committee that, based on its preliminary assessment, the consideration proposed to be offered by Wexford to Oro shareholders is financially inadequate. The Special Committee also wishes to advise that, based on its review to date, its preliminary view is that the proposed Wexford unsolicited offer significantly undervalues the shares of Oro, is highly opportunistic in terms of timing and is clearly intended to take advantage of the pervasive fear that has existed in the market for junior resource companies over the last several months. The Special Committee also wishes to confirm that the Company has not, and presently has no intention to, provide support to Wexford in any form in connection with its proposed offer.
The Company again advises Oro shareholders not to deposit any Oro common shares to any offer made by Wexford and not to take any action concerning the possible Wexford offer until Oro shareholders have received further communication from the Board of Directors of Oro. In the event that an actual offer is made, the Board of Directors of Oro will issue a directors' circular concerning the offer. The directors' circular will contain important information including the determination of the Board of Directors of Oro with respect to a recommendation to Oro shareholders.
About Oro Mining
Oro Mining is a publicly-listed company on the TSX Venture Exchange with properties located in Sinaloa and Zacatecas, Mexico. Oro's priority is to advance its properties toward production. The La Trinidad property, which hosts the Taunus gold deposit, continues to be the priority focus of the Company's development activities. A complete NI 43-101 resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment for the Taunus deposit can be found at http://www.sedar.com or at http://www.oromining.com.
On behalf of the Board
Robert Kendrick, Chairman
Contact:
Oro Mining Ltd.
Robert Kendrick
Chairman
(604) 646-1580
(604) 642-2411 (FAX)
communications@oromining.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oro-mining-proposed-wexford-offer-192500545.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ORO MINING responds to wexford announcement
June 14, 2012
http://www.oromining.com/section.asp?pageid=21758
Boston Pops Orchestra/fireworks tonight! (link)
Live streaming of America's popular July 4th orchestra with guest Jennifer Hudson.
Spectacular fireworks display!
Starts at 10:00 PM eastern/9:00 central
http://www.cbs.com/specials/boston_pops/
The Boston "Pops" is the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer orchestra featuring light, classical music. The "Pops" plays outdoor at the "Hatch Shell" in downtown Boston along the Charles River, and also at Tanglewood in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.
Before renown from film compositions (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, etc), John Williams was the conductor of the Pops for fifteen years.
The Pops have sold more commercial recordings than any orchestra in the world.
For twenty three years I had the perfect pied a terre a stone-throw from the Hatch Shell and could just open the window to fill the room with music. I miss it as I write here in Miami- but I don't miss Nov-Mar, lol!
Happy Fourth of July!
MG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boston_Pops_Esplanade_Orchestra_2005-07-04.jpg
$3 oil would lower prices of many, many things. Sure would help us.
In my day, your ethnic culture was always used in the first sentence, like what are you, german, or english, and I said both. My father was English, and my mother German, but her family arrived in 1881, if you came in 1950, like my next door neighbors did, then it was a brand new issue.
My mother disliked almost everyone, while my father enjoyed everyone, even our neighbors who were Hitler youth children, and fought in World War II, my father couldn't care less. I think that was because after being in Normandy and going to Berlin he saw too much devastation.
Took me a lifetime to get him to open up about the war, and even when he did, he tried his very best to remember the nicer things, like liberties in Paris, a few extra days in Switzerland, and his days in England having tea and dancing at the USO. He did manage to tell me many stories before he died, drinking wine in the cellar during a bombing, and an archway at a blown up Hotel when a sniper had him in his sight.
Anyone' life is always there own, you can either make good, or bad out of almost any situation, the day they removed my lung was one of my best days, I learned how to breath again, still brings a smile to my face.
Warren Haynes and Dave schools stoned me soulshine
Maybe Suzy has cracked you over the head once too many times with that frying pan.
World banking domination is interesting, think we are already there, but what are living wills for those banks. Allowing them to die, but they keep on controlling everything from the grave.
Think of what could be done with millions and millions of telephone poles; Wood to help generate electricity, logs for rafts, and toothpicks! Enough toothpicks to do away with dental floss. And all the Polish jokes! Enough for a "roast." "How many poles does it take to....." Don't get in an uproar any of you poles. I'm Jewish/Yiddish. You can talk about my nose and I'll take no umbrage. Time to lighten up a bit.
Verily, empty. But not surprised
Distressed Lee? About Libor and its link to Global World Banker domination?
Hmmm...
Happy 4th of July ;)
I think we have a glut of oil. Invade Iran, [they've got gazilions of barrels of oil] Then we'll see oil at $3 a gallon, or less.
Selected gold and silver stocks had a nice day yesterday, seems like these investments have not quite lost there luster.
AG, AUY, GG, NEM, and many others for anyone to check.
Natural Gas looks to be challenging that $ 3.00 area soon, if it can get above it, coal might come back into play.
ACI, ANR, BTU are a few to watch.
Oil stocks have come back to life again, not quite sure how this latest emabrgo of Iranian oil will play out.
Saw something on the news late yesterday about " living wills" for the biggest banks, stii trying to understand that one.
Looking to be another 100 degree down here in the south, getting very dry outside, and almost impossible for some of us to go outside anymore.
"A little wind storm" he says. That's like saying Bill Buckner made a little boo-boo in '86 when the ball skipped past him.
Telephone poles and above-ground wires that can snap like a twig must go....underground, like cable systems.
You get safety from little or large wind storms, a new industry and a lotta jobs for an awful lot of people for a long time.
First goes the stock, then comes the news...usually, eh Gent?
10 sobering realizations the Eastern U.S. power grid failure is teaching us about a real collapse
Sunday, July 01, 2012
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...)
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/036355_natural_disaster_power_grid_preparedness.html#ixzz1zbXXu5RS
<In the wake of violent storms, the power remains out today for millions of Americans across several U.S. states. Governors of Virginia, West Virginia and Ohio have declared a state of emergency. Over a dozen people are now confirmed dead, and millions are sweltering in blistering temperatures while having no air conditioning or refrigeration. As their frozen foods melt into processed goo, they're waking up to a few lessons that we would all be wise to remember.
See some shocking photos of recent weather events, including a trampoline strung over power lines at:
http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/shocking-images-follow-sup...
Here are 10 hard lessons we're all learning (or re-learning, as the case may be) as we watch this situation unfold:
#1) The power grid is ridiculously vulnerable to disruptions and failureAll it takes is Mother Nature unleashing a little wind storm, and entire human cities are cut off from their power grid. Wind and trees, in other words, can destroy in seconds what takes humans years to construct.
#2) Without electricity, acquiring food and water in a major U.S. city can become a difficult taskRight now, masses of people across the Eastern U.S. are scrambling to try to find food and water. Fortunately for them, malls and gas stations are open, providing (processed) food, water and air conditioning. That's because the power outages are fragmented, affecting some neighborhoods but not others.
In a total grid down scenario, food and water supplies in a given U.S. city will disappear almost overnight. It's much the same for gasoline, batteries and even ammunition. All these supplies (and many more) will simply be stripped from the shelves.
#3) Most people are simply not prepared and therefore worsen any crisisThe average American citizen practices zero preparedness. They are 100% dependent on the power grid, the city water supply, and long-distance food deliveries to their grocery store. They have no backup plans, no stored food, no emergency mindset and no hope of surviving a real crisis. All they know to do is call 911 when something goes wrong... and 911 simply won't be there.
As a result, their lack of preparedness worsens any crisis. Instead of being part of the solution, these people become a burden on all the emergency services and supplies desperately needed across the region.
Hilariously, today's city goers actually consider malls and movie theaters to be places of refuge. As Fox News reported today, "On Saturday, many people flocked to places like malls and movie theaters in the hope the lights would be on again when they returned home." ( http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/01/millions-without-power-brace-for...)
#4) Cell phones are a fragile technology that can't be counted on in an emergencyOne of the more interesting observations about the current crisis is that many cell phone towers are out of service. That's because they have no electricity and / or they have been damaged by wind or debris.
As a result, people who depend on cell phones for their lifeline to friends, relatives and 911 emergency services were suddenly left with non-functioning devices. Even in areas where cell phone towers were still operating, many people had no place to charge their phones because their own homes were cut off from electricity.
When the grid is up, and there are no storms, solar flares or disruptions, cell phones are truly amazing devices, but they are vulnerable to even small-scale natural events, and they therefore cannot be relied on when you need them most.
#5) The internet is wildly vulnerable to natural disastersAccording to news reports, these storms took down a portion of the Amazon Cloud, and this in turn shut down Netflix, Pinterest and Instagram. Those services have now been restored, but they were offline for several hours during which many of their users no doubt thought the world was coming to an end.
#6) The government uses every crisis to try to tell everybody what to doConsider this quote about the CDC telling people what to do:
"The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention was among many government agencies trying to keep people informed -- from knowing when the food in your suddenly inoperable freezer can't be eaten to taking a cool bath if you don't have AC." ( http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/30/us/extreme-heat/index.html)
Seriously? Does the government have to tell people to take a cool bath in order to avoid overheating? Do people not know when food has spoiled? And even more strangely, is it now the role of the U.S. government to tell everybody what to do in every emergency?
Whatever happened to common sense? I can tell you what: It moved out to the country.
Out in the country of Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and just about everywhere else, ranchers and farmers still have common sense. They know about backup water supplies, and they can figure things out for themselves. It seems to be city people who need the most instructions from Washington D.C. because many of them have forgotten the fundamental skills of human survival. Their lives depend entirely on the grid.
#7) 911 and other emergency services are quickly overwhelmedAccording to MSNBC:
In Washington's northern Virginia suburbs, emergency 911 call centers were out of service; residents were told to call local police and fire departments. Huge trees toppled across streets in the nation's capital, crumpling cars. Cellphone and Internet service was spotty, gas stations shut down and residents were urged to conserve water.
( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48032427/ns/weather/)
Fortunately, there have so far been no reports of outbreaks of violence or social unrest. But that's a timing issue: If the power stays off for another few days, and food and water remain hard to come by, the "politeness" of society quickly erodes and you end up with desperate people doing desperate things. Calling 911 is, of course, completely useless. This is a scenario where home defense and self defense skills can truly be lifesaving.
#8) A national grid-down situation would be far more complex to repairThe recent storms that caused this "grid down" situation for millions of Americans was a local event, and its repair and restoration has been aided by workers arriving from outside the affected regions. In a national grid down scenario, however, there will be no excess human capital to lend to the situation. Every worker will be busy trying to restore the power grid in their own home regions.
This means repairs will take significantly longer, and according to some experts like David Chalk and James Wesley Rawles, a national grid down scenario has the potential of being unable to be repaired at all, resulting in years of no power grid which would obviously unleash mass death across the U.S. population.
Across all fifty U.S. states, only Texas has its own independent power grid, and even that grid has been strained by recent high temperatures.
#9) Many emergencies arrive unannouncedThe Eastern seaboard of the USA was shocked by this recent "derecho" wind storm. Unlike a hurricane which approaches over a period of several days, this derecho event arrived without notice and struck without warning.
This is yet another reminder to be prepared at ALL times because many events arrive with no notice whatsoever. The power grid can be taken down by an EMP weapon ( http://www.naturalnews.com/034344_EMP_weapons_electronics_modern_civi...), and a sufficiently strong solar flare could unleash hundreds of nuclear meltdowns across the planet ( http://www.naturalnews.com/033564_solar_flares_nuclear_power_plants.h...). These and other events would strike with virtually no warning. If you don't already have gas in the tank, a "go bag" ready to rock, and your self defense skills fine tuned, you may be caught unprepared.
#10) Mother Nature will humble humanityAny time human beings get too arrogant and too big-headed about all their amazing cell phone technology, hi-rise cities and nuclear power plants, Mother Nature just shrugs and sends forth a tsunami of water or wind as a subtle reminder to stay humble. All of humanity's greatest constructs are but fragile toys to the truly awesome power of Mother Nature and the resilience of planet Earth.
If the power grid goes down across planet Earth for just one year, 90% of human civilization will perish, and along with it all the DVDs, Nike shoes and designer bling as well. Even the entire fictional construct of society's laws and banking system will cease to exist. That's because they were all fictional to begin with.
Mother Nature is real. Consciousness is real. Seeds are real. But much of what humanity has so far created is paper-thin and temporary. It can all cease to exist in the blink of a cosmic eye. There is nothing humanity has yet done that contributes anything notable to the universe. We are but specks of irrelevant dust against a backdrop of a beautifully woven tapestry of life, energy and consciousness. If the universe is keeping score of lasting achievement, human civilization has still not risen above zero.
We are fragile beings exploring a sea of such greatness and scale that our own lives seem silly by comparison. What humans think of as a natural "disaster" is but a tiny expression of natural patterns to Mother Nature. If we truly hope to survive as a species, we would be wise to remember how insignificant we really are in the greater scope of things... and why we must learn to respect nature and the universe rather than arrogantly thinking we have conquered it with GMOs, nuclear power and a supercollider.
Humanity has much to learn and much to demonstrate before we count for anything. Only through humility do we even stand a chance of seeking to gain that understanding rather than destroying ourselves from runaway "scientific" arrogance.>
The two websites:
http://readynutrition.com/
http://www.naturalnews.com/index.html
Which Big Pharma Will Own the Next Weight Loss Blockbuster?
By Reza Ganjavi for The Motley Fool- July 2, 2012|
Reza is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=ARNA
Speculations are abundant around who and when Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARNA) will be bought out. Most investors I've talked to believe a buyout is inevitable because:
a) Arena has a blockbuster-potential drug just approved by the FDA.
b) Big Pharma is in dire need of a lucrative acquisition to boost its pipeline. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, by 2015 the top 10 Big Pharma companies stand to lose up to 40 percent of their revenue due to generics.
c) Arena sells pills that require simple distribution, unlike therapies like Dendreon's.
d) Arena is grossly undervalued.
e) Arena owns all its intellectual property rights globally.
Cash-rich and pipeline-starved Big Pharma is looking for good deals and Arena seems to be a delicious target.
Business Week quoted Stephen Brozak, president of WBB Securities:
“In every single board room, you have instructions from the chairmen and chairwomen to the chief scientific officers to ‘Find me something like Arena with freedom to operate and without the licensing agreements.’
According to Sierra World Equity Review, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) "is already talking to Arena Pharmaceuticals."
The prospect for a bidding war is strong. Besides Pfizer, a number of other pharmaceuticals may join the race to take over Arena, including Arena's own Japanese partner, Eisai, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), and others.
BMS has just announced a deal to acquire diabetes drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AMLN) in a $7 billion deal that includes covering Amylin's net debt and a contractual payment obligation to Eli Lilly. I anticipate a number of Big Pharmas will be talking with Arena in the coming months and I have every confidence that Arena's seasoned CEO, Jack Leif, will negotiate a great deal for the shareholders.
Eisai has a "standstill agreement" with Arena that prevents Eisai from purchasing Arena unless someone else tries to first. I don't think there will be a shortage of bidders. A couple of doctors I spoke to named Eisai and Pfizer as the most likely candidates. Pfizer has a lot of experience in this market segment, and both companies could use a boost to their pipelines, which are increasingly challenged by generics, especially Eisai's. To quote a dear friend and Arena scholar James "Danny" Stevens:
"Pfizer, through aggressive marketing and selling to the medical community, made Lipitor into a huge blockbuster. It is very possible they see that same potential with BelViq."
Prospects for a short squeeze given the astronomical short interest would further boost the price and inflame the bidding war.
Most of the discussion among investors is not around "if" but "when and how much."
The timing is anybody's guess, but some investors I've talked to believe it could happen before year's end as Big Pharma would be interested in sealing a deal before Arena signs up a European partner so they wouldn't have to deal with Arena plus a third party, if Arena signs up with a distribution partner before a takeover deal.
The NDA Approval Letter indicates the DEA scheduling is already in progress. It seems the company is being conservative in predicting a 4-6 month duration and it could complete sooner. Michael Murphy has predicted Belviq will be available to consumers by Labor Day. I don't think that's an unrealistic assumption given the company has stated they have half-a-billion pills ready to deliver to Eisai.
I found it interesting that Arena's management made it clear in recent public communications that they have not yet chosen a partner for Europe, perhaps implying that people should not assume Eisai is the European partner (as some investors have assumed).
As for the takeover price, it's difficult to say but I don't believe the Board of Directors would accept an offer under $40 per share
Obesity Drug May Be Goldmine For Arena
July 3, 2012 by: Ry Frank for Seeking Alpha
http://stockcharts.com/h-sc/ui?s=ARNA
Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) saw a jump of nearly 30 % in its stock price on the news that the Food and Drug Administration had approved its much-awaited obesity drug, lorcaserin, which Arena has branded Belviq. This is the first anti-obesity drug that the FDA has approved in almost 13 years, as many efforts in this direction by major pharmaceutical companies have been affected by side effects and issues concerning safety. The company CEO said that he believed that this represents a turning point for physicians in the treatment of overweight and obese patients. It is also a landmark for the company which has managed to survive for 15 years without launching a single new product in the market. The company was established in 1997 for the creation of drugs targeting G-protein coupled receptors, and it also has other drugs in development for treating pain, diabetes and other medical conditions. Obesity treatment is the jackpot for Arena.
Obesity has become a major global problem, prompting the CDC in Atlanta to call for it to be classified as a major disease. The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that nearly 36% of adult Americans can be classified as medically obese, and the numbers are increasing. Obesity is becoming a major issue in Europe and many other parts of the world. This means that lorcaserin has every possibility of becoming a major blockbuster drug. Edward Tenthoff, an equity analyst with Piper Jaffray, has calculated that even a penetration of just over 1% could mean almost $2 billion in sales in the United States. All this money will not find its way into the pockets of Arena because of its partnership agreement with Japanese drug maker Eisai, who will take charge of marketing and share a large portion of the revenues. However, if everything works out according to the plan, Arena would be entitled to receive milestone payments that could amount to as much as $1.2 billion.
Arena had previous problems with the drug when the FDA rejected the initial application in 2010, but it would seem that the additional data supplied by the company has shown less risk than was previously thought. Estimates show that the US weight loss market is worth more than $60 billion and that the market for OTC diet pills and medication is expected to grow at more than 3% annually. This puts Arena in the position of being a company with a multibillion-dollar market cap if they are able to capitalize on the potential of the drug properly. And you should bear in mind that this is a market where Arena will have few competitors and where there is a high barrier to the entry for new medications.
We must not forget that Arena has had competitors hot on its heels who could win FDA approval in the near-term future. Both Vivus (VVUS) and Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) have spent the last few years developing their diet pills needed to stem the epidemic of obesity in America. Vivus' diet pill, Qnexa, was backed by an FDA advisory panel in February, but the FDA has asked for more data and has delayed the approval until mid July. Orexigen is way behind in the approval process, but the company believes that it will be able to compete effectively even if it is beaten to market by Arena and Vivus.The FDA has moved cautiously in the approval of new weight-loss drugs after the withdrawal of previously approved drugs. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) withdrew diet pill Meridia in 2010 from the market because of mounting concerns about the possibility of heart attack and strokes. The diet-drug combination fen phen was taken off the market in 1997 by American Home Products, now a part of Pfizer (PFE), because of the risk of damage to heart valves.
When you have events with a known date such as an FDA drug approval, the price and volatility of the stock spike as investors take bets on the chances of approval. This can often lead to overvaluation of the stock concerned. Movements can often be 50% in either direction with a large downside if approval is held up for any reason. You only have to look at examples like Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN), which lost half of its value when the FDA did not approve Bydureon as a potential diabetes drug and asked for more testing. Similarly, the FDA rejected the GTx (GTXI) experimental drug to reduce fractures in men with prostate cancer asking for another study to be conducted. The stock subsequently took a beating. There has been plenty of action for Arena stock in anticipation of the FDA approval.
What happens next? When biotechnology companies see a sharp rally in the price following the receipt of an FDA approval, the next step is to make a secondary offering in the market to raise capital on favorable terms. Under the terms of its agreement with Eisai, Arena is required to manufacture and supply the drug from its facility in Switzerland for marketing and distribution in the United States. I think it is logical for Arena to raise more equity. It currently has about $90 million in cash and the same in debt, with total equity of about $45 million. It remains to be seen whether this cash will suffice for its requirements in the immediate future.
With this background, Arena is obviously a desirable stock for investment, and the question is whether it is a good buy now. I do not believe in timing the market and an investment must justify itself on the basis of fundamentals alone. Arena may be slightly overvalued at the moment, but I would still recommend buying this stock. While its competitors are on its heels and the potential of the anti-obesity drug treatment market yet to establish itself, I think now is the best time to get in.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Funny video. The fool actually believed his own propaganda:
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/06/krugman-gets-stuffed-trying-to-prove.html
With Total Viewers Sliding To 7 Year Lows, Is CNBC Fading Into Obscurity?
by Tyler Durden
6/27/2012 18:19
In the past 24 hours, some readers have been surprised to learn that as Jeff Reeves of InvestorPlace states, total Q2 CNBC viewership as calculated by Nielsen, has tumbled to to the lowest it has been since Q3 2005. This merely confirms that the trendline in our periodic observations of CNBC traffic was more than merely seasonal or VIX-related: it has been one long secular decline, peaking in the quarter of Lehman's demise and down hill ever since.
Reeves focuses on some specifics:
• Squawk Box (6-9 a.m.) is supposed to prime traders before the bell. The show posted its lowest rated its time block since Q4 2006.
• The Closing Bell (3-5 p.m.) is supposed to wrap up the day’s action. The slot posted its fifth-lowest rating in total viewers and second-lowest ratings in the key 25-54 demographic since 1997.
• Fast Money (5-6 p.m.) is focused almost specifically on swing trading stocks. That time slot showed the lowest rating for the 25-54 demo since 1997 — and lowest in total viewers since Fast Money launched in 2006.
Yet none of the above compares to the Nielsen-sourced data Zero Hedge compiled showing CNBC viewerships since the beginning of 2004.
The chart speaks thousands of words about the shrinking viewer engagement with either CNBC the financial news station, or CNBC the financial news station.
What the clearly chart shows is that despite occasional risk flaring episodes, and a general preponderance of either 'good news' or 'bad news' regimes, the prevailing trendline is one of anti-Gartman proportions: from top left to bottom right.
Reeves attempts to give some explanations of his own explaining this troubling for Comcast trend:
It must be noted that it’s not their fault the market is miserable, and bad ratings don’t necessarily reflect bad shows. After all, we don’t blame builders like Pulte or Lennar for causing the housing crisis with poorly made homes.
It’s also worth noting that many cable networks are experiencing a viewership drain as many younger folks take their eyeballs to the Internet — and CNBC is hardly ignoring the move to online content. Its website gets some 8 million unique visitors every month, and a shrewd partnership with Yahoo! is teaming up the megasite Yahoo Finance with CNBC to tap into an even more massive chunk of the financial media audience.
But for whatever reason, investors are tuning out CNBC on their TV sets. That’s further proof that the market is jaded, that volume will remain low in the summer and that most investors are scared or nervous about what to do next.
Zero Hedge being Zero Hedge will add one more: perhaps CNBC's viewers have gotten tired of getting just one side of the newsflow: the always rosy, and over the past 5 years, always wrong one.
Which also explains the growth of alternative financial media venues: those unconstrained in the type of data they can report on and analyze. More importantly: those unconstrained by what producers scream in their earpiece. In retrospect, they have much to be grateful to CNBC for- if for whatever reason the financial channel was not hemorrhaging eyeballs, there would be no new captive audience to, well, capture.
Finally, whatever the reason for the endless bleed in CNBC viewership one thing we can be sure of: the advertisers - that lifeblood of every media outlet - are certainly not happy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/total-viewers-sliding-7-year-lows-cnbc-fading-obscurity
Hi Geoff....
Here's an interesting wrinkle based on Constitutional law.
Hi Miami Gent. Talking to your teens is not gonna do it. Stay outta the car, off the roads. Hitch, if you must. Be well and safe my friend.
I am not freaking out, haven't since the 60's. But I am a bit distressed.
I had been in my train of thought when your post about the blind kids caught me just so. Thanks
My reasoning for relating the two events was due to the "absurdity" of them both.
I don't get the absurdity in the whipped honey situation, but that is probably due to my loving whipped honey. Who cares what the price of that air is. Heheh
Work For A State Or Local Government? Read This
by Karl Denninger
Posted 2012-07-03 12:06
I've tried to warn you all about this if you're a firefighter, cop, teacher or otherwise employed by a state or local government -- you are not going to get your pension!
(Reuters) - U.S. states and localities have run up more than $2 trillion of unfunded pension liabilities, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday, citing data on plans offered by 8,500 local governments and over 14,000 individual entities.
The Wall Street credit agency said that according to its estimate, the total liabilities for fiscal 2010 were more than three times the amount reported by local governments.
http://tinyurl.com/co6qzmz
Read that last sentence again. And again. And again.
You are being lied to. Actively. Intentionally. Repetitively.
The money does not exist to pay those pensions. The governments cannot tax sufficiently to pay those pensions.
You are not going to get your pension.
Oh sure, if you're retired now, or nearly so, you are likely to get a good part of it. But you won't get it all if you've got more than 10 years left (before you die) -- that is, if you're under 70 or so.
Keep threatening, teachers, firefighters and cops. Go on strike. Please. All those threats, protests and strikes demonstrate is that you are demanding that 2 + 2 = 5 -- but no matter how loudly you scream, you can't make it so.
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=208109
Taibbi: Why is Nobody Freaking Out About the LIBOR Banking Scandal?
By Matt Taibbi
July 3, 9:04 AM ET
Hedge fund manager Kyle Bass on the chaotic world financial situation...
Interview with Catherine Austin Fitts... Euro zone: the centralization battle rages on... no pulled punches.
Interview with Catherine Austin Fitts... Euro zone: the centralization battle rages on... no pulled punches.
July 4 Declared Deadliest Day for Teens and Americans on the Road
BY PR Newswire 2:56 PM ET 07/02/2012
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. Summer is supposed to be a time of celebration for teens and their families with prom, graduation and college on the horizon. Unfortunately, new analysis of crash data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) shows that July 4 is the deadliest day for teens on the road and is just as deadly for the motorists that will be driving alongside them.
In the U.S., car crashes are the number one cause of death for everyone ages 1-34, with teens crashing four times more often than any other age group. Based on the latest available data, IIHS reports that more than 800 people were killed on July 4 from 2006-2010, making July one of the deadliest months on the road for drivers. And if the projections remain true this year, an average of 140 people will lose their lives on July 4 due to car crashes. In 2010, Missouri lost 83 due to fatal car crashes during the month of July.
Teens accounted for nearly 10 percent of the fatalities that occur on July 4 and are particularly susceptible to fatal distracted driving incidents. Research from The Allstate Foundation found that 49 percent of teens report that texting is their biggest distraction behind the wheel.
"These tragedies are compounded by the fact that many crashes are preventable," stated Tracie Bibb, a St. Louis-based agent. "Driver error, speeding and distractions are the main causes of crashes, and seemingly simple activities such as switching radio stations or interacting with friends can significantly impair a teen's or adult's ability to react quickly to changing traffic conditions. Staying focused on the road, wearing seat belts and following the speed limit and other road rules are simple steps we can all take this July 4 to make sure that we return home safely."
Currently, legislation that would encourage the states to enact optimal teen driving laws, or Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) laws, is being considered by Congress as a part of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill. GDL policies have been shown to reduce traffic fatalities by as much as 40 percent in the states where they have been adopted. Additionally, recent research from The Allstate Foundation's License to Save report found that comprehensive GDL laws could save an estimated 2,000 lives and $13.6 billion annually.
Allstate (ALL) and The Allstate Foundation urge Americans to do their part in making roads safer for all families during the Independence Day holiday. The Allstate Foundation's website is a great tool for additional facts and resources that can keep everyone safe on America's roads. Parents in particular can take simple steps to help their teens be safer on the road:
For Parents:
Talk to your teen early and often. Discuss the risks and responsibilities of driving with your child at a young age and keep talking to your teen before, during and after the licensing process.
Don't rush the training process. Just because teens have a permit or license doesn't mean they are ready for every driving condition. By easing into the training process, you'll help ensure you and your teen will be ready for any situation.
Understand your state's laws. GDL laws are minimum standards that can help keep teens safer on the road; however, the more that parents are involved in their teen's driving experience, the more likely that teen will be a safer driver and passenger. To help educate parents and teens about the safety measures that keep drivers protected, The Allstate Foundation created a new free Parent-Teen Driving Agreement. The agreement can help parents and their teens make safer decisions when they get behind the wheel and when they ride as passengers with their friends.
Practice what you preach. Be a positive role model when you're behind the wheel. Your teen is more likely to be a calm and courteous driver, wear a seat belt and follow the rules of the road if they see you do the same.
Additional Resources:
X the TXT ® - Pledge not to text and drive, and help reduce distracted driving deaths and injuries. Join the X the TXT movement at www.facebook.com/XtheTXT
Educate your community – Start the conversation about federal legislation that can help make our teens safer on the road. Find out more about the life-saving legislation making its way through Congress at www.facebook.com/save11
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