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Gee. Doncha think the editors at Bloomberg
Should have told Weiss that there was already an article on the subject printed in June? Slanted way differently.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-03/icahn-buys-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-shares-from-fairholme.html
Russian bombers penetrated U.S. airspace at least 16 times in past 10 days
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/7/russian-bombers-penetrated-us-airspace-least-16-ti/
Russian strategic nuclear bombers conducted at least 16 incursions into northwestern U.S. air defense identification zones over the past 10 days, an unusually sharp increase in aerial penetrations, according to U.S. defense officials.
The numerous flight encounters by Tu-95 Russian Bear H bombers prompted the scrambling of U.S. jet fighters on several occasions, and come amid heightened U.S.-Russia tensions over Ukraine. Also, during one bomber incursion near Alaska, a Russian intelligence-gathering jet was detected along with the bombers.
“Over the past week, NORAD has visually identified Russian aircraft operating in and around the U.S. air defense identification zones,” said Maj. Beth Smith, spokeswoman for U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
Smith called the Russian flights “a spike in activity” but sought to play down the threat, stating the flights were assessed as routine training missions and exercises.
The bomber flights took place mainly along the Alaskan air defense identification zone that covers the Aleutian Islands and the continental part of the state, and one incursion involved entry into Canada’s air defense zone, Smith said.
The Russian strategic aircraft included a mix of Tu-95 Bear H heavy bombers and Tu-142 Bear F maritime reconnaissance aircraft, she said, adding that one IL-20 intelligence collection aircraft was detected during the flight incursions over the past week to 10 days.
The bomber flights are the latest case of nuclear saber rattling by the Russians.
However, other defense officials said the large number of aerial incursions is very unusual and harkens back to the Cold War, when Soviet bombers frequently sought to trigger air defenses along the periphery of U.S. territory as preparation for a nuclear conflict.
Moscow, under strongman President Vladimir Putin, is engaged in a major buildup of its strategic nuclear forces. The modernization includes new missiles of several ranges, new strategic missile submarines, and new long-range bombers.
As for its long-range aviation flights near U.S. coasts, Russia has been sharply increasing the activities, especially in the Pacific Northwest near Alaska, Canada, and the West Coast.
The Washington Free Beacon first reported that two Bear bombers flew within 50 miles of the California coast on June 9—the closest the Russians have flown their nuclear-capable bombers since the days of the Cold War. A U.S. F-15 intercepted the bombers.
A defense official disagreed with the spokeswoman on the increased bomber forays. Russian strategic nuclear forces appear to be “trying to test our air defense reactions, or our command and control systems,” said an official familiar with reports of the incursions.
“These are not just training missions,” the official added.
Northern Command and NORAD in the past frequently sought to dismiss the Russian bomber incursions as non-threatening as part of the Obama administration’s conciliatory “reset” policy of seeking closer ties with Moscow.
The Pentagon and other commands, however, have toughened rhetoric toward Russia and its activities after the Russian military annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea in June.
Relations between Washington and Moscow have soured. The State Department last month accused Moscow of violating the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty by developing a new cruise missile.
Moscow dismissed the charges as untrue.
Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, expressed concerns about the increase in Russian strategic nuclear activities during a speech in Washington June 18.
Haney said Russian nuclear activities coincided with recent tensions over Ukraine and included the test launch of six air-launched cruise missiles in a show of force.
A Russian Defense Ministry statement on the cruise missile test launches said a Tu-95 bomber “is capable of destroying the critical stationary assets of an enemy with cruise missiles, in daytime and nighttime, in any weather and in any part of the globe.”
Moscow also conducted several large-scale nuclear war games in May, Haney said.
“Additionally, we have seen significant Russian strategic aircraft deployments in the vicinity of places like Japan, Korea, and even our West Coast,” Haney said at a defense industry breakfast.
“Russia continues to modernize its strategic capabilities across all legs of its triad, and open source [reporting] has recently cited the sea trials of its latest [missile submarine], testing of its newest air-launched cruise missile and modernization of its intercontinental ballistic force to include its mobile capability in that area,” he said.
Russia’s recent Cold War-level aerial encounters over the Pacific near Alaska followed an earlier U.S.-Russian aerial duel in Europe.
U.S. officials confirmed that an RC-135 Rivet Joint electronic intelligence gathering aircraft was forced into violating Swedish airspace by a Russian fighter jet July 18. The U.S. jet was seeking to evade the Russian interceptor jet at the time.
That encounter took place a day after Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine.
While you are at it
Send the bum this Bloomberg link where they announced the sale from Berkowitz to Ichan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-03/icahn-buys-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-shares-from-fairholme.html
You got that backwards
We pay taxes and then we get swept.
Monday's status hearing should be a hoot
By now they probably have enough to convince the Judge that there is jurisdiction and more than enough to establish our case.
The one document that did surface showed clearly, that prior to the sweep, the Treasury knew FnF were going to be profitable going forward. They had no reason to enact the sweep other than to insure that FnF would go down.
very good
Not buying at all
Those are free shares which he immediately sells. Divide 4 million shares since Feb into the avg daily volume and see what % of total volume is Ihubbers buying from him.
Next, you have to get independent confirmation of the financials.
Google earth the company HQ and see if it is either a house or a mail drop.
"Walker & Dunlop's market share with Fannie Mae reached an all-time high of 18% in Q2. With the GSEs back as the dominant providers of capital to the multifamily market, the continued expansion in our other business lines, and the anticipated 73% growth in refinancing volumes between 2014 and 2015, we are very well positioned for future growth.
http://www.sys-con.com/node/3137669
Bank of America Near $16 Billion to $17 Billion Settlement
By ANDREW GROSSMAN, CHRISTINA REXRODE and DAN FITZPATRICK
Updated Aug. 6, 2014 4:16 p.m. ET
Bank of America Corp. and the Justice Department are close to a deal in which the bank will pay between $16 billion and $17 billion to resolve allegations of mortgage-related misconduct in the run-up to the financial crisis, according to people familiar with the matter.
The bank has agreed to pay roughly $9 billion in cash to the Justice Department, states and other government entities, these people said, with additional money aimed at consumer relief, such as reducing mortgage balances for struggling homeowners.
If finalized, the agreement would set a record for fines and damages in a civil settlement between the U.S. government and a company. It would eclipse the $13 billion pact struck between the Justice Department and J.P. Morgan Chase JPM +0.30% & Co. in November over similar issues. Citigroup Inc. C +0.52% recently agreed to pay $7 billion to settle similar claims that it sold shoddy mortgage-backed securities ahead of the financial crisis.
More
BofA to Raise Dividend for First Time Since Crisis
Bank of America agreed to the outlines of a deal after a phone call Thursday between Chief Executive Brian Moynihan and Attorney General Eric Holder, people familiar with the matter said. For weeks, the bank refused to offer more than $13 billion, including cash and consumer relief, while the Justice Department was seeking $17 billion.
Mr. Holder told Mr. Moynihan that if the bank didn't bring its offer closer to the government's demand, Justice Department lawyers could file a lawsuit the next day that had been prepared by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, these people said. That lawsuit dealt primarily with precrisis conduct by Merrill Lynch & Co., which Bank of America agreed to acquire while the housing meltdown was well under way in 2008.
The phone call between Mr. Moynihan and Mr. Holder came the day after a New York judge ordered the bank to pay $1.27 billion over an old Countrywide Financial Corp. mortgage program called the Hustle, which rewarded employees based on the number of mortgages they could churn out. Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide in 2008, had argued it should pay far less—if anything—given the Hustle ended before Bank of America's purchase. Judge Jed Rakoff's ruling may have reinforced for the bank the difficulty of litigating with the government—and that the government is adamant about holding Bank of America accountable for the misdeeds of Countrywide and Merrill Lynch.
Large banks are already paying more than $100 billion for cases related to the 2008 credit crisis.
The majority of mortgage-backed securities now credited to Bank of America were issued by Countrywide. Bank of America, Countrywide and Merrill Lynch together issued $965 billion of mortgage-backed securities to private investors from 2004 to 2008—far more than any big-bank competitors—but nearly three-quarters came from Countrywide. Of the $245 billion of securities that have since defaulted or become severely delinquent, Bank of America itself issued just 4%.
The two sides are continuing to hash out details and the deal could still fall apart, one person familiar with the matter said. An announcement isn't expected this week. On Wednesday, Bank of America General Counsel Gary Lynch met in Washington with Tony West, the Justice Department official responsible for negotiating with banks over mortgage securities, in hopes of ironing out some of the details.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/bank-of-america-near-16-billion-to-17-billion-settlement-1407355290
darrell00 Wednesday, 08/06/14 04:01:58 PM
Re: None
Post # of 236514
BoA settles with DOJ for 16-17 Billion. Wowzers!!
Fairholme has already gotten past that part.
Sweeney told the Govt to pack it!
But, that being said, the current discovery in Fairholme is to determine if Treas is calling the shots or not. If it is decided that they are, then the case is on.
Hence the argument that FHFA can be both a regulator and a conservator but never at the same time and never when anything happens that they could be sued for.
We are just as stuck as they are in the Standing question.
It's in the official SEC court filing. Have a peek. This is a very recent development as HSA last post was yesterday afternoon 1:30pm.
Quote:
8 45. Beginning on April 20, 2012, ISML was the subject of an Internet promotional
9 campaign by Mrowca’s stock promotion entity, Money Runners Group LLC, and other
10 promoters. ISML was also promoted by Mrowca on the Investors Hub web site under the user
11 name “HotStockAce.” The promotions urged investors to buy ISML and claimed that ISML
12 would trade at $.20 per share, although there was no news at the company justifying the
13 prediction or the buy recommendation.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2014/comp-pr2014-159.pdf p.11 line 11
Quote:
955 - is this true or a really good guess?
that this is hotstocksace
"Christopher Mrowca, aka, HotStockAce "
Bottom line
That suit is stalled at the "HERA does not allow courts to intervene. So you don't have standing" stage. The most recent court order stalls discovery and instructs the plaintiff to answer the "No standing" argument.
I am almost positive that the constitution does not allow the Govt to pass a law shutting out the Court system.
And they are all gone.
You folks bought them all.
Actually, from the last 3 form 4's
He sells all of his shares as fast as he gets them.
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=61775252
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=61735481
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=61809095
http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/sltd/insider-trades/buys
Looks like he has dumped over 3 million since Feb 2014
http://www.secform4.com/insider-trading/1172631.htm
Like I said, as fast as he gets them they are sold.
Here's your proof that not BS
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=63089429
And, If you don't believe the link, look it up on Edgar yourself.
But he sold 100% of his holdings.
Why would you buy at all?
When the CEO sold 100% of his shares?
http://ih.advfn.com/p.php?pid=nmona&article=63089429
Sold JNUG @ $25.36 Bot FNMA @ $4.09
Loading FNMA today
First buy @ $4.09
DirecTV Scammers Paul LaBarre and Ernest McKay of Mesa Get Five Years' Probation; Ran Shady Cable Company
Gee. His picture looks just like the CEO of this company.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2013/06/directv_scammers_paul_labarre.php
Don't hold your breath for the Perry injunction
Lamberth has put that case on hold while he holds a murder trial that is supposed to take 5 months.
That just isn't a problem for me
It may be a problem for a person like you who makes dummas decisions on a regular basis like you do here.
For the rest of us it just makes sense to take long term cap gains instead of paying short term taxes.
Russian Gang Amasses Over a Billion Internet Passwords
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/technology/russian-gang-said-to-amass-more-than-a-billion-stolen-internet-credentials.html
A Russian crime ring has amassed the largest known collection of stolen Internet credentials, including 1.2 billion user name and password combinations and more than 500 million email addresses, security researchers say.
The records, discovered by Hold Security, a firm in Milwaukee, include confidential material gathered from 420,000 websites, including household names, and small Internet sites. Hold Security has a history of uncovering significant hacks, including the theft last year of tens of millions of records from Adobe Systems.
Hold Security would not name the victims, citing nondisclosure agreements and a reluctance to name companies whose sites remained vulnerable. At the request of The New York Times, a security expert not affiliated with Hold Security analyzed the database of stolen credentials and confirmed it was authentic. Another computer crime expert who had reviewed the data, but was not allowed to discuss it publicly, said some big companies were aware that their records were among the stolen information.
Alex Holden of Hold Security said most of the targeted websites were still vulnerable.
Credit Darren Hauck for The New York Times
“Hackers did not just target U.S. companies, they targeted any website they could get, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to very small websites,” said Alex Holden, the founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security. “And most of these sites are still vulnerable.”
Mr. Holden, who is paid to consult on the security of corporate websites, decided to make details of the attack public this week to coincide with discussions at an industry conference and to let the many small sites he will not be able to contact know that they should look into the problem.
There is worry among some in the security community that keeping personal information out of the hands of thieves is increasingly a losing battle. In December, 40 million credit card numbers and 70 million addresses, phone numbers and additional pieces of personal information were stolen from the retail giant Target by hackers in Eastern Europe.
And in October, federal prosecutors said an identity theft service in Vietnam managed to obtain as many as 200 million personal records, including Social Security numbers, credit card data and bank account information from Court Ventures, a company now owned by the data brokerage firm Experian.
But the discovery by Hold Security dwarfs those incidents, and the size of the latest discovery has prompted security experts to call for improved identity protection on the web.
“Companies that rely on user names and passwords have to develop a sense of urgency about changing this,” said Avivah Litan, a security analyst at the research firm Gartner. “Until they do, criminals will just keep stockpiling people’s credentials.”
Websites inside Russia had been hacked, too, and Mr. Holden said he saw no connection between the hackers and the Russian government. He said he planned to alert law enforcement after making the research public, though the Russian government has not historically pursued accused hackers.
So far, the criminals have not sold many of the records online. Instead, they appear to be using the stolen information to send spam on social networks like Twitter at the behest of other groups, collecting fees for their work.
But selling more of the records on the black market would be lucrative.
While a credit card can be easily canceled, personal credentials like an email address, Social Security number or password can be used for identity theft. Because people tend to use the same passwords for different sites, criminals test stolen credentials on websites where valuable information can be gleaned, like those of banks and brokerage firms.
Like other computer security consulting firms, Hold Security has contacts in the criminal hacking community and has been monitoring and even communicating with this particular group for some time.
Continue reading the main story
How to Keep Data Out of Hackers’ Hands
For people worried about identity theft and privacy, the discovery by Hold Security of a giant database of stolen data is highly personal. But there are steps everyone can take to minimize the hackers’ impact.
The hacking ring is based in a small city in south central Russia, the region flanked by Kazakhstan and Mongolia. The group includes fewer than a dozen men in their 20s who know one another personally — not just virtually. Their computer servers are thought to be in Russia.
“There is a division of labor within the gang,” Mr. Holden said. “Some are writing the programming, some are stealing the data. It’s like you would imagine a small company; everyone is trying to make a living.”
They began as amateur spammers in 2011, buying stolen databases of personal information on the black market. But in April, the group accelerated its activity. Mr. Holden surmised they partnered with another entity, whom he has not identified, that may have shared hacking techniques and tools.
Since then, the Russian hackers have been able to capture credentials on a mass scale using botnets — networks of zombie computers that have been infected with a computer virus — to do their bidding. Any time an infected user visits a website, criminals command the botnet to test that website to see if it is vulnerable to a well-known hacking technique known as an SQL injection, in which a hacker enters commands that cause a database to produce its contents. If the website proves vulnerable, criminals flag the site and return later to extract the full contents of the database.
“They audited the Internet,” Mr. Holden said. It was not clear, however, how computers were infected with the botnet in the first place.
By July, criminals were able to collect 4.5 billion records — each a user name and password — though many overlapped. After sorting through the data, Hold Security found that 1.2 billion of those records were unique. Because people tend to use multiple emails, they filtered further and found that the criminals’ database included about 542 million unique email addresses.
“Most of these sites are still vulnerable,” said Mr. Holden, emphasizing that the hackers continue to exploit the vulnerability and collect data.
Mr. Holden said his team had begun alerting victimized companies to the breaches, but had been unable to reach every website. He said his firm was also trying to come up with an online tool that would allow individuals to securely test for their information in the database.
The disclosure comes as hackers and security companies gathered in Las Vegas for the annual Black Hat security conference this week. The event, which began as a small hacker convention in 1997, now attracts thousands of security vendors peddling the latest and greatest in security technologies. At the conference, security firms often release research — to land new business, discuss with colleagues or simply for bragging rights.
Yet for all the new security mousetraps, data security breaches have only gotten larger, more frequent and more costly. The average total cost of a data breach to a company increased 15 percent this year from last year, to $3.5 million per breach, from $3.1 million, according to a joint study last May, published by the Ponemon Institute, an independent research group, and IBM.
Last February, Mr. Holden also uncovered a database of 360 million records for sale, which were collected from multiple companies.
“The ability to attack is certainly outpacing the ability to defend,” said Lillian Ablon, a security researcher at the RAND Corporation. “We’re constantly playing this cat and mouse game, but ultimately companies just patch and pray.”
Nicole Perlroth reported from San Francisco and David Gelles from New York City.
A version of this article appears in print on August 6, 2014, on page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Russian Hackers Steal Passwords of Billion User
What would make it even sweeter
Would be if Sweeney orders the Gov to repay all the excesses from the sweep.
That would give Buffett all of his money back right from the get-go.
If Buffett goes in,
He will most probably buy the warrants from the Govt in one transaction for about $16 billion.
Goldman Sachs
The company that has as many ruling class alumni in the government as they have on staff. The company that is not afraid of aything now that it has its blood funnel firmly attached to the Fed Funds Window.
Now says they did due diligence and knew exactly what they were selling FnF.
In other words, "So What?"
Hedge Funds Cut Gold Bull Wagers by Most in Eight Weeks
By Marvin G. Perez Aug 4, 2014 7:21 AM ET 2
Hedge funds reduced bets that gold would rally from the longest retreat in a year as U.S. economic growth exceeded analysts’ estimates.
Money managers cut their net-long position by 10 percent in the week through July 29, the most since June, U.S. government data show. Prices dropped for a third week, the longest slide since July 2013. The decline helped to erase almost $610 million from the value of exchange-traded products backed by the metal.
Gold fell 3 percent in July, snapping a 10 percent rally in the first half of the year that outpaced gains for commodities, equities and Treasuries. Even as violence escalated in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, investors sold bullion as signs of quickening American expansion reignited concern that the Federal Reserve will raise borrowing costs. The U.S. grew 4 percent in the second quarter.
“The economic climate has become more moderate in the U.S., and there’s no sign of inflation picking up, so the fear factor that typically drives gold has subsided,” Bill Schultz, who oversees $1.2 billion as chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, said Aug. 1. “If we continue to see this reasonable growth rate, I think gold will stay in a narrow range.”
Futures fell 0.7 percent in the past 12 months to $1,293.30 an ounce in New York. The Bloomberg Spot Commodity Index of 22 raw materials rose 2.1 percent while the MSCI All-Country World Index of equities climbed 11 percent. The Bloomberg Treasury Bond Index advanced 3 percent.
Short Holdings
The net-long position in gold declined to 122,092 futures and options contracts as of July 29, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. Short holdings betting on a drop jumped 24 percent to 26,101, the highest in five weeks.
The U.S. economy expanded after shrinking 2.1 percent in the first three months of 2014, government data showed July 30. Analysts had predicted second-quarter growth of 3 percent. Fewer Americans filed applications for unemployment insurance benefits over the past month than at any time in more than eight years, the Labor Department said the next day. Sales of gold coins by the U.S., Mint fell 38 percent to 30,000 ounces last month, the lowest since March.
Bullion tumbled 28 percent last year, the most in three decades, as a stronger U.S. economy and the prospect of less monetary stimulus curbed demand for alternative assets. The Fed reduced its monthly bond-buying program to $25 billion on July 30, making a sixth consecutive $10 billion cut.
Jobs Report
Even as the central bank stayed on pace to end its debt purchases by October, policy makers repeated that they’re likely to keep interest rates low for a “considerable time” as they look for more improvement in the job market.
Employers added fewer jobs than forecast in July, and the unemployment rate climbed to 6.2 percent from 6.1 percent in June, data showed Aug. 1. Gold futures jumped 0.9 percent that day, the most in a week.
Investors boosted gold holdings through ETPs by 15.7 metric tons in July, the first gain since March and the biggest since November 2012. The appeal of the metal as a haven rose as tensions escalated between Ukraine and Russia. More than 1,500 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed after Israel’s attack on Gaza. More than 60 Israelis have also died, mostly soldiers, since the conflict escalated July 8.
‘Risk Premium’
“Although the risk premium has eased, if we continue to see geopolitical unrest in Europe and the Middle East, that could certainly be a driver for gold,” Brian Hicks, who helps manage about $350 million at U.S. Global Investors in San Antonio, Texas, said July 31.
Combined net-wagers across 18 U.S. traded commodities dropped 9.1 percent to 822,001 contracts as of July 29, the lowest since January, the CFTC data show.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. last week kept their 12-month recommendation for commodities at neutral. Citigroup Inc. said in June that interest is returning to the asset class as Societe Generale SA called raw materials a “really mixed bag” across the sectors.
Bets on higher oil prices slid 0.5 percent to 276,741 contracts last week, the government data show. Copper holdings dropped 12 percent to 38,859. Inventories tracked by the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 37 percent in July, the most since February 2012.
Farm Bets
A measure of net-long positions across 11 agricultural products declined 11 percent to 303,637, the smallest since January, the CFTC data show.
Investors cut bullish bets on cotton by 75 percent to the lowest since December 2012. Prices have fallen for 13 straight weeks, the longest slump since at least 1959.
Bullish bets on corn fell for a third straight week to 63,024, the lowest since February. The grain slumped 14 percent in July, the most since September 2011. U.S. production will climb 4.3 percent to a record 14.518 billion bushels, The Linn Group said Aug. 1.
“There is abundant supply of grains, and we just have a lot of corn,” Shonda Warner, the managing partner of Chess Ag Full Harvest Partners in Clarksdale, Mississippi, which oversees about $150 million, said July 31. “The price could drop another 10 to 15 percent. The only thing that could reverse the trend would be a surge in demand, or something that would reduce supply, like a weather event.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Marvin G. Perez in New York at mperez71@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Millie Munshi at mmunshi@bloomberg.net Joe Richter http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-03/hedge-funds-cut-gold-bull-wagers-by-most-in-eight-weeks.html
Fund Managers Cut Gold, Silver Positions In Latest CFTC Reports
By Debbie Carlson of Kitco News
Monday August 4, 2014 12:00 PM
(Kitco News) - Weaker prices likely spurred large speculators to reduce their net-long gold and silver futures and options holdings on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange in the latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data for the week ended July 29.
In this latest round of disaggregated and the legacy reports from the CFTC, large speculative traders reversed the modest rise in gold positions from the previous week. Meanwhile, this is the second week these traders reduced their bullish silver holding.
In the platinum group metals, activity was mixed. Large speculators cut bullish copper positions for the second straight week in both reports.
Metals prices mostly fell during the time period covered by the latest CFTC report. Comex December gold fell $7.50 to $1,300.50 an ounce. September silver slipped by 42.50 cents to $20.583. October platinum dropped $3.80 to $1,484.50 an ounce. September palladium bucked the trend and rose $3.45 to $872.90. Comex September copper slid 1.1 cents to $3.2190 a pound.
Managed-money traders’ gold net-long position fell on a combination of selling long positions and buying short positions, a bearish move, reducing their net-long position to 122,092 contracts. This is the smallest net-long position since June 24. These traders cut 9,039 longs and added 4,989 gross shorts. Producers’ net-short position fell as they cut more gross shorts than gross long positions. Swap dealers’ net-short position fell as they added gross longs and cut gross shorts.
Koun-Ken Lee, analyst at Standard Chartered, noted the strength of the U.S. dollar is bearish for commodities as a whole, but particularly for precious metals. Aakash Doshi, analyst at Citi Research, concurred. The “outlying risk for gold is if the U.S. dollar continues a sharp rally as it did last month,” he said.
The non-commercial traders in the gold legacy report took the same tack as did the disaggregated report’s money managers. They cut 9,298 gross long contracts and added 2,625 gross shorts. They are now net-long 154,773 contracts, also the lowest since June 24. Commercials are net-short and cut that position by dropping more gross shorts than gross longs.
“This latest data represent only the third time in two months in which net speculative length has fallen; net non-commercial positioning remains nearly twice that seen at the end of May,” said analysts at Barclays.
Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said, speculators likely trimmed their net-long positions when geopolitical tensions subsided.
As in gold, managed-money accounts in silver trimmed their net-long positions on a combination of long liquidation and new shorts. They are net long 41,699 contracts, having cut 3,542 gross longs and added 981 gross shorts, pushing their net-long to the smallest since July 1. Producers decreased their net-short position and did so by cutting gross shorts and adding gross longs. Swap dealers cut their net-short position by adding more gross longs than gross shorts.
In the legacy report, non-commercials cut their net-long silver position by chopping 4,204 gross longs and 439 gross shorts to reduce their net-long position to 47,242 contracts. This is also the smallest since July 1. Commercials are net-short and decreased that position by adding gross longs and cutting gross shorts.
“Silver tracked weaker along with gold and specs (speculators) got a little uncomfortable approaching historical positioning highs,” Melek said
Freddie Mac to Sell $659 Million in Defaulted Home Loans
6:42p ET August 1, 2014 (Dow Jones) Print
Freddie Mac to Sell $659 Million in Defaulted Home Loans
By Nick Timiraos
Freddie Mac has agreed to sell $659 million in defaulted home loans from its investment portfolio, the company said on Friday.
The sale is the first of its kind by the mortgage finance giant, which together with its larger rival, Fannie Mae, has operated under government control for six years.
For years, industry analysts and distressed-loan investors have looked for sales of nonperforming mortgages by Fannie and Freddie, but they haven't materialized until now.
Freddie didn't disclose the buyer or the terms. It said the deal will close later this month.
The distressed mortgage auction drew 22 bidders, the company said, a sign of strong interest that could presage additional sales.
"It was certainly well received in the market, and we're going to be looking for opportunities to reduce exposure in our investment portfolio, " said Thomas Fitzgerald, a company spokesman.
Fannie and Freddie guarantee around $4.5 trillion in mortgages, the vast majority of which are issued as securities. The companies also maintain investment portfolios that consist of whole loans and securities.
Both companies are required to shrink those investment portfolios while they operate under a legal process known as conservatorship. Freddie's portfolio stood at nearly $420 billion at the end of June, of which $169 billion consisted of whole mortgage loans. The company said it had around $40 billion of loans in nonaccrual status at the end of March, according to federal filings.
The firms' federal regulator last year directed the companies to reduce their holdings of illiquid assets, which could include nonperforming mortgages.
In recent years, executives at Fannie and Freddie have said that they regularly evaluate mortgage sales but that such deals wouldn't be economic. Prices for distressed assets have firmed up over the past year amid rising home prices.
Over the past two years, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has ramped up sales of thousands of nonperforming loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration. The prices reached on those loan sales have increased steadily.
Fannie and Freddie have generally resisted writing down loan balances for borrowers who fall behind on their payments, instead opting to cut monthly payments by reducing interest rates and offering forbearance, in which payments aren't required on a portion of the loan. Two years ago, their regulator barred the companies from participating in a government program that encouraged loan write-downs.
Sales of defaulted mortgages to third-party investors could allow for some of those loans to receive a principal write-down. Investors stand to make money if trimming the loan balance is able to get the borrower to resume making payments on the mortgage.
Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 01, 2014 18:42 ET (22:42 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.DN201408010132482014-08-01 22:42:00.0006362DIN4FOQKO5LU0LOT88NOQLDJNF
TROPICAL STORM BERTHA DISCUSSION NUMBER 9
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL032014
1100 PM AST SAT AUG 02 2014
While there has been some increase in the coverage of cold
convective tops associated with Bertha this evening, the cyclone
remains disorganized. Surface observations from the Dominican
Republic have not definitively shown a closed circulation, and it is
possible that what surface circulation there was has been disrupted
by land interaction. We will maintain Bertha as a tropical cyclone
for now, but advisories could be discontinued on Sunday if the
organization of the system does not improve. The initial intensity
remains 40 kt based on rain-adjusted SFMR winds reported by the Air
Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft well east of the center prior to 00
UTC.
The initial motion estimate of 310/19 is based on a blend of the
latest satellite imagery and continuity. The synoptic reasoning
for the track forecast remains unchanged. Bertha will continue
moving northwestward along the southwestern periphery of the
subtropical ridge tonight and Sunday. Then the cyclone will
turn northward on Monday between the ridge and a deep-layer trough
over the southeastern United States, followed by a northeastward
acceleration into the mid-latitude westerlies. The track model
guidance remains in good agreement on this general scenario.
However, the models have shifted to the left this cycle at 48 hours
and beyond, showing a more gradual recurvature. The NHC track
through 36 hours is largely an update of the previous one. After
that time, the official forecast has been adjusted to the left of
the previous one, but now lies along the right side of the guidance
envelope.
There continue to be three possible scenarios for the intensity of
Bertha. The official forecast assumes that Bertha will survive its
current lack of structure, land interaction, shear, and dry air
entrainment long enough to reach a more favorable environment in
24-36 hours. At that point, the environment would likely allow for
intensification until extratropical transition begins after 96
hours. The new NHC intensity forecast is similar to the previous one
and calls for Bertha to become a hurricane in 4 days, and is close
to the latest IVCN intensity consensus. An alternate scenario is
that Bertha degenerates to a tropical wave in the next 12 to 24
hours, with possible regeneration later when the system reaches the
more favorable environment. A third possibility involves a trough of
low pressure currently situated over the central and northwestern
Bahamas. The 1200 UTC runs of the UKMET and NAVGEM forecast the
low to absorb Bertha in 48 hours or so, while the latest GFS and
ECMWF runs keep this system weaker and maintain Bertha through the
forecast period. Later model runs should help refine the likelihood
of this scenario.
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS
INIT 03/0300Z 19.5N 69.7W 40 KT 45 MPH
12H 03/1200Z 21.5N 71.8W 40 KT 45 MPH
24H 04/0000Z 24.1N 73.8W 45 KT 50 MPH
36H 04/1200Z 27.2N 74.4W 45 KT 50 MPH
48H 05/0000Z 30.4N 73.8W 50 KT 60 MPH
72H 06/0000Z 36.0N 69.0W 60 KT 70 MPH
96H 07/0000Z 41.0N 60.0W 65 KT 75 MPH
120H 08/0000Z 45.0N 50.0W 50 KT 60 MPH...POST-TROP/EXTRATROP
$$
Forecaster Brennan
Bot JNUG @ 25.74
If the populace voted them in
Then the populace should be responsible for the repercussions.
They had a choice.
Until you break the will of the civilian population, there will never be peace.
Senate Bombshell Testimony Today: Citigroup and Bank of America Stock Worthless Without Implied Government Guarantees
By Pam Martens
July 31, 2014
Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, will take testimony at 2 p.m. today on market subsidies enjoyed by implied future government bailouts of the too-big-to-fail status of Wall Street’s bloated and serially malfeasant banks. The hearing is set to coincide with a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
An early peek at written testimony by three separate professors set to testify guarantees a belated July 4 fireworks display — one that is not likely to enjoy a welcome reception within the Wall Street corridors of power. Expect the phone lines of lobbyists and congressional campaign managers to be lighting up all over the nation’s capitol this afternoon.
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Kane then lands this bombshell: “The warranted rate of return on the stock of deeply undercapitalized firms like Citi and B of A [Bank of America] would have been sky high and their stock would have been declared worthless long ago if market participants were not convinced that authorities are afraid to force them to resolve their weaknesses.”
Continued at:
http://wallstreetonparade.com/2014/07/senate-bombshell-testimony-today-citigroup-and-bank-of-america-stock-worthless-without-implied-government-guarantees/