STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, September 1, 2011

[Pale Blue Dot]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Thursday, September 1, 2011

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON August 31, 2011

Dow 11,613.53 +53.58 (+0.46%)
Nasdaq 2,579.46 +3.35 (+0.13%)
S&P 500 1,218.89 +5.97 (+0.49%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.20 -0.04 (-1.57%)
30-Year Bond 3.57 -0.04 (-1.19%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 12

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[Pale Blue Dot]

1. Today's reports

Sep 01 08:30 Initial Claims 08/27 405K 407K 417K
Sep 01 08:30 Continuing Claims 08/20 3700K 3630K 3641K
Sep 01 08:30 Productivity-Rev. Q2 -0.4% -0.5% -0.3%
Sep 01 08:30 Unit Labor Costs - Rev. Q2 2.3% 2.4% 2.2%
Sep 01 10:00 ISM Index Aug 47.0 48.5 50.9
Sep 01 10:00 Construction Spending Jul -0.3% 0.0% 0.2%
Sep 01 15:00 Auto Sales Aug NA NA 3.93M
Sep 01 15:00 Truck Sales Aug NA NA 5.56M

Read more: http://www.briefing.com/investor/calendars/economic/2011/08/29-02/#ixzz1WhLxO1Mg

[Roland99]

30. Target and Dillard's same-store sales rise 4.1% and 4%, respectively

ooops...didn't mean to put this here! lol


Anyway...other retail news:

Kohl's August same-store sales fell 1.9%

Ross Stores August same-store sales rise 4%

J.C. Penney August same-store sales rise 1.9%

[Roland99]

31. U.S. jobless claims drop 12,000 to 409,000

[Roland99]

32. U.S. productivity revised down to 0.7% decline

[Fuddnik]

39. Let the beatings commence!

Ungrateful bastards.

[Roland99]

33. Continuing claims decline 18,000 to 3.74 million

[Roland99]

34. Four-week claims average rises 1,750 to 410,250

[Roland99]

35. Unit-labor costs jump 3.3% in second quarter

[burf]

37. No worries

With Uncle Warren's rescue money and Ben getting the helicopter ready for a September flight, the market will be juuust fine!

//end of sarcasm//

Happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!

[Roland99]

40. Aug ISM manufacturing 50.6; July construction spending down 1.3%; May, June outlays revised higher.

Markets rejoice!!

[Pale Blue Dot]

2. Oil hovers below $89 amid global stock rally

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hovered below $89 a barrel Thursday in Asia amid a global stock market rally that has boosted crude trader optimism the U.S. may avoid a recession.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 12 cents to $88.93 at mid-afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude fell 9 cents to settle at $88.81 on Wednesday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery was up 10 cents at $114.95 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Crude has risen 17 percent from August 9 amid a growing consensus that the U.S. economy will see weak growth, but not contract, in the second half.

http://old.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[hamerfan]

10. "the U.S. may avoid a recession."

A little late for this, isn't it?
:wtf:

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Retreat Before Manufacturing Report; Alcoa Falls

U.S. stock futures fell, indicating that the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index may snap a four-day rally, as investors await a report that may show manufacturing in the world’s largest economy shrank for the first time in two years.

Alcoa Inc. (AA), the largest U.S. aluminum producer, lost 1.1 percent as metal prices fell in London. Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) may be active after Robert P. Kelly stepped down as chairman and chief executive officer.

S&P 500 futures expiring in September lost 0.4 percent to 1,212.7 at 5:53 a.m. in New York. The benchmark measure had rallied 5.1 percent over the previous four trading days. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average expiring the same month slid 37 points, or 0.3 percent, to 11,566.

“Futures are broadly lower amid manufacturing weakness after some pretty broad-based horrific PMI numbers,” said Ioan Smith, a director at Knight Capital Europe Ltd. “Volumes are very light to the upside, which would suggest there remains a lack of conviction at this moment in time.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-01/u-s-stock-index-futures-retreat-before-manufacturing-report-alcoa-falls.html

[xchrom]

4. morning everyone!

:donut:

[xchrom]

5. europe: Lagardere leads fall for European stocks

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lagardere-leads-fall-for-european-stocks-2011-09-01?dist=beforebell

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stock markets fell Thursday as data showed manufacturing activity in the euro zone has contracted more than previously thought and as investors awaited a raft of U.S. figures, with French conglomerate Lagardere SCA tumbling after a profit warning.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/zigman/2380150 XX:SXXP -0.51% dropped 0.5% to 236.24 in morning trading following three days of gains for the index.

The fall came amid a busy economic schedule. Data indicated the euro zone‘s manufacturing sector shrank more than originally thought, hitting a two-year low. The final Markit purchasing manager‘s index fell to 49.0 in August from 50.4 in July and was below the initial estimate of 49.7.

Chinese data were slightly more positive, indicating a modest rise in manufacturing activity and helping drive gains for most Asian markets.

[xchrom]

6. Spain sells 3.6 bln euros of 5-year bonds

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/spain-sells-36-bln-euros-of-5-year-bonds-2011-09-01

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- The Spanish government on Thursday sold 3.6 billion euros ($5.2 billion) of new five-year benchmark bonds, producing an average yield of 4.49%. Bids exceeded supply 1.76 times. The result marked a decline in borrowing costs in the country's first bond auction since the European Central Bank earlier this month began buying Spanish and Italian debt in the secondary market in an effort to bring down yields and halt the spread of the euro-zone debt crisis. A previous sale of five-year bonds in July produced an average yield of 4.87%. In the secondary market, the 10-year Spanish yield /quotes/zigman/4869131 ES:10YR_ESP +1.43% rose 6 basis points to around 5.10%, according to FactSet Research data. The euro /quotes/zigman/4867933/sampled EURUSD -0.62% traded at $1.4272 versus the dollar, down 0.7%.

[xchrom]

8. Manufacturing sinks to 26-month low

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/manufacturing-sinks-to-26month-low-2347431.html

Manufacturing activity sank to a 26-month low in August, a key survey revealed today, fuelling fears of a double-dip recession in the UK.

The Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) recorded a level of 49 for August - a reading above 50 indicates growth - down from a revised reading of 49.4 in July.

The volume of new orders declined for the fourth month running in August, recording the sharpest fall since April 2009 and painting a bleak picture on the outlook for industry.

Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, said: "All in all the survey highlights the increasing risk that the industrial sector - and perhaps even the overall economy - is heading for a double-dip."

[xchrom]

9. Bank shares up as reform is delayed

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bank-shares-up-as-reform-is-delayed-2347367.html

Bank shares rose sharply today amid signs that a far-reaching shake-up of the sector will be delayed until after the planned 2015 general election.

The Financial Times reported that Vince Cable, the Cabinet's most vocal bank critic, had accepted it may be impossible to implement recommendations from the Independent Commission on Banking Commission (ICB) before the election.

Banks have argued that the ICB's proposed ringfencing of their retail arms from other banking operations will impose additional burdens at a time when they are being told to increase business lending.

Shares jumped on the speculation today, with Royal Bank of Scotland up more than 8%, Lloyds Banking Group ahead 6%, and Barclays 5% higher.

[xchrom]

11. Gurkhas and RAF staff to lose jobs

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/gurkhas-and-raf-staff-to-lose-jobs-2347363.html

Nearly 150 Gurkhas will learn today that they are being forced out of the Army under the first wave of sweeping cuts to the UK's military.

About 920 soldiers and 930 RAF personnel will be told they are being made redundant, 750 of them against their will.

The Ministry of Defence has not confirmed which units are affected, but it is understood that no members of the RAF ground crews based in Italy to support operations in Libya are being made redundant

The Army is making around 260 compulsory redundancies, 140 of them Gurkhas, as part of the coalition's efforts to tackle the deficit and bring the defence budget under control.



***any excuse to use the word gurkha -- which makes me want to get all rudyard kipling.

[Demeter]

44. I thought a gurkha was a small pickle

:hide:

[InkAddict]

52. No, silly, that's a gerkin, but don't look it up in the Urban Dictionary, LOL.

n/t

[xchrom]

7. Metals, mining stocks’ eureka moment

http://www.marketwatch.com/column/marketwatch-first-take

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — There was a sudden surge of cash flowing into some pretty parched industrial and materials stocks Wednesday, giving a lift to some good ol’ blue chips, especially those with a mining connection.

There were several reasons for the move. One was factory orders.

Factory orders don’t usually ignite Wall Street. Today was different. The Commerce Department reported that factory orders rose 2.4% in July, a bit better than the 2% economists had predicted. That’s good. It means manufacturers are being asked to build more stuff. And that’s good for companies that provide the basic materials with which that stuff is built.

Another buy signal was fired off premarket by Goldman Sachs, which issued a bullish note on metals and mining stocks. While steel companies didn’t make the cut, at least not yet, Goldman analysts warmly recommended a batch of metals companies whose stocks now present “a particularly attractive entry point.”

[xchrom]

12. south asia: RBI may hike rates as food inflation surges to 10.05%

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/rbi-may-hike-rates-as-food-inflation-surges-to-10-05/articleshow/9822763.cms

NEW DELHI: After a gap of over five months, food inflation entered the double-digit zone at 10.05 per cent for the week ended August 20, with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee describing the trend as "disturbing" and experts saying RBI may go in for another rate hike.

The weekly food inflation, measured by Wholesale Price Index (WPI), went up from 9.80 per cent on account of expensive onion, vegetables, fruits and protein-based items.

The last time food inflation crossed 10 per cent was in the week ended March 12.

"Food inflation has gone up... This is really disturbing. We shall have to ensure and remove the supply constraints on food items," Mukherjee told reporters here.

[xchrom]

20. Gold drops by Rs 110, silver gains Rs 200 Sep 1, 2011, 02.54PM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Gold-drops-by-Rs-110-silver-gains-Rs-200/articleshow/9822258.cms

NEW DELHI: Gold prices on Thursday declined by Rs Rs 110 to Rs 27,530 per ten gram in the billion market on sluggish demand amid weak global trend.

On the other hand, silver prices rose by Rs 200 to Rs 63,800 per kg on improved industrial offtake.

Trading sentiment in gold turned bearish after the metal declined in global markets as a rally in equities trimmed investor demand for haven investments.

Gold in global markets, which normally set price trend on the domestic front, fell by 0.5% to 1,817.22 dollar an ounce.

[Demeter]

13. GOLDMAN: The World's Going To Hell In A Handbasket -- Here's How To Cash In!

Goldman Sachs has published a semi-secret 54-page report for hedge-fund clients arguing that the world's going to hell and recommending ways to cash in. The WSJ's Susan Pulliam and Liz Rappaport got their hands on a copy.

The report is not an official Goldman research report. It's an unofficial Goldman research report--the kind you really want to read.

In the report, Goldman strategist Alan Brazil argues that:

• European banks need $1 trillion of capital (bailout)
  
• US small businesses are still sucking wind (and they're the ones that create jobs)
  
• China's growth is probably not sustainable
  
• Solving a debt problem (ours) with more debt doesn't work
  
  He also recommends ways to "play" this debacle:
  
  
• Buy a six-month put option on the Euro versus the Swiss Franc, thus betting the Euro will drop against the Franc (the Franc being the currency that an official Goldman report recently referred to as the most overvalued in the world)
  
  
• Buy a five-year credit default swap on an index of European corporate debt--the iTraxx 9. This is a bet that some of these companies will default, and your insurance policy, the CDS, will pay off

Unfortunately, lest you think your knowledge of this semi-secret report will finally allow you to out-trade hedge funds, it won't. The hedge funds got the report on August 16th. As usual, you're the last to know.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-the-worlds-going-to-hell-heres-how-to-cash-in-2011-8#ixzz1WhU2AnWz

[Po_d Mainiac]

22. Or if you bought PM's

in any given year after the start of QE, you're good.

[AnneD]

49. So when did the QE start....

I have never regretted buying or selling my PM. You try to earn interest when you can but the PM will help you preserve your wealth.

[Po_d Mainiac]

54. QE-Round 1

When the chairsatan started buying MBS's in Nov 08 is the date I associate with the beginning of the FED printing press going into sonic mode

at that time;
The e/s MINI was $900
Gold $750/oz
Oil $41/bbl
Corn $325
Silver $10.50/oz

The chairsatan has already stated there will be no interest paid for the next 2 years.

[AnneD]

64. When you figure that you really get....

zero interest with gold, it just retains your wealth.......I put my trust in gold. I hate to sound like a gold bug, but I just don't see a down side to having the physical stuff around (theft etc excluded). Believe me, I want a reasonable rate of return but I just don't see many honest brokers around.

[xchrom]

14. asia: Economic slowdown may dent capital flows in Asia: ADB

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/economic-slowdown-may-dent-capital-flows-in-asia-adb/articleshow/9821496.cms

SEOUL: Severe economic slowdown in major economies such as the US and Europe could destabilise capital flows in East Asian economies, a senior Asian Development Bank (ADB) official said Thursday.

"Economic growth in emerging East Asia remains robust, but fears of slower growth in mature economies are mounting. A severe slowdown or contraction in mature financial economies could impact on emerging East Asian economies, potentially destabilizing capital inflows," Iwan Azis, head of the ADB's Office of Regional Economic Integration, said at a conference held in central Seoul.

His remarks came amid the recent massive inflow of foreign funds into the South Korean government bond market emerging as one of key potential risks to Asia's No.4 economy.

When economic conditions are good, foreign fund inflow boosts economic growth by offering ample liquidity to the economy, but it could trigger financial market turmoil if foreign investors abruptly flow out of the economy when the global financial crisis happens as seen in the 2008 global crisis, reported Xinhua.

[xchrom]

15. Asia stocks rise, helped by consumer, tech

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/asia-stocks-rise-helped-by-consumer-tech/articleshow/9819711.cms

MELBOURNE: Asian stocks rose on Thursday following gains on Wall Street, with technology and consumer shares outperforming, and credit spreads tightened on optimism central banks around the world will have to do more to support industrial activity.

Slumping exports slowed factory activity in some of Asia's biggest economies in August, although China managed modest improvement thanks to solid domestic demand, a series of surveys released on Thursday showed.

Brazil shocked investors by slashing its key interest rate to 12 percent from 12.5 percent on Wednesday citing concern over the mounting global slowdown as well as weaker growth in Latin America's largest economy.

But investors cautioned that gains would likely be limited ahead of key U.S. manufacturing and jobs data due later this week. Signs of a weakening economy have led to speculation the Fed will step in with a new round of monetary expansion.

[xchrom]

26. South Korean Inflation Accelerates to 3-Year High, Pressuring BOK to Act

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-31/south-korean-inflation-accelerates-to-3-year-high-pressuring-bok-to-act.html

South Korea’s inflation accelerated to the fastest pace in three years in August on rising food prices, adding to pressure on the central bank to increase borrowing costs.

Consumer prices rose 5.3 percent from a year earlier, after a 4.7 percent gain in July, Statistics Korea said today in Gwacheon, south of Seoul. That was higher than any forecast by 11 economists, whose median estimate was 4.8 percent in a Bloomberg News survey. Prices rose 0.9 percent from July.

The Bank of Korea needs to weigh whether the threat of inflation is bigger than risks to growth as slowing global demand weighs on industrial output and corporate and consumer confidence. Stronger-than-expected exports last month may have strengthened the case for boosting borrowing costs.

“Today’s data shows the nation needs higher interest rates as inflation pressures will likely stay high and growth momentum is still intact despite the global financial market rout,” said Kong Dong Rak, a fixed-income analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities Co. in Seoul.

[xchrom]

27. Asia Stocks Set for Best Streak Since January on Factory Orders

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-01/asian-stocks-set-for-best-streak-since-january-on-u-s-manufacturing-data.html

Asian stocks climbed, with the regional benchmark index set for its longest streak of gains since January, as manufacturing in China and the U.S. expanded, boosting the outlook for exporters and machinery makers.

James Hardie Industries SE (JHX), a supplier of building materials that counts the U.S. as its biggest market, gained 3.5 percent in Sydney. Li & Fung Ltd. (494), a supplier of toys and clothes to U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., surged 5.7 percent after the company’s chairman said sales are recovering. Komatsu Ltd. (6301), Japan’s largest maker of construction machinery, jumped 4.2 percent after being rated “overweight” by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.3 percent to 125.32 as of 5:25 p.m. in Tokyo, paring an advance of as much as 1.4 percent earlier. Five stocks advanced for every three that fell in the gauge. The measure slumped 8.6 percent last month, the most since May 2010, amid concern global economic growth is slowing as Europe’s sovereign debt crisis spreads and after Standard & Poor’s cut the U.S. credit rating.

[Demeter]

16. Homelessness could spread to middle class, Crisis study warns (UK)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/aug/30/homelessness-middle-class-crisis-study

The number of people sleeping rough in Britain has risen for the first time in a decade...by 8% last year. Strikingly, more than half of the capital's 3,600 rough sleepers are now not British citizens: most are migrants from eastern Europe who cannot find work and, unable to get benefits or return home, are left to fend for themselves on the streets....

[jtuck004]

38. "Sleeping rough". That sounds so civilized, like camping or something. /nt

[DemReadingDU]

41. a camping trip that never ends

:(

[jtuck004]

43. Showers in the sink at the gas station, your stuff in a shopping cart

until it gets stolen, cots sometimes available at a shelter but with hours that don't coincide with working a job (like there are any) to get out from under this tragedy.

So many people hurting so badly - what is government good for if it can't fight an opponent called poverty?

[AnneD]

51. Very good question...

What is government good for if it no longer serves we the people. I am afraid more and more people are asking that very question. And as I always say......

"When you have nothing to lose, you have NOTHING TO LOSE." Unlike some of these suprised economists and beltway deadwood congressmen...I can tall you with almost complete certainty that we will have rioting here in this country before much longer.

We are not so special that we are the exception to the rule. Some place, some where, some one is at a breaking point and when they expolde, it will start a fire that will shock this nation to it's core.

Now before the agents come by my door, let me just say it won't be from me. As a student of history I am saying I see all the sign posts and I am begining to think not even Homeland Security could stop this. They will have to preserve the Republic via bread and circus...American Idol and food stamps.

[Ghost Dog]

59. Yeah. This report really hurt when I read it this morning

(serious Brit press arrives a day late here).

I was close to living like that in central London, years ago, fresh out of university. Squatting in the right part of town (Chelsea), meeting the right people (especially the London-Irish), helped.

I'll never forget the tramp-like guy who in the Troubadour coffee shop gifted me a (possibly shoplifted) copy of a compilation of George Orwell's essays and journalism and other works and including

"Down and Out in Paris and London".

and

"Homage to Catalonia".

But also

"The Lion and the Unicorn" and "England Made Me".

Still has pride-of-place on my bookshelf.

There were far fewer of us, then, though. And my state-paid education certainly helped me to survive and later thrive as a sort of latter-day bohemian. Hugely priviliged, though I didn't really understand it then.

[xchrom]

17. Four day rally in emerging markets stalls after PMIs

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/global-markets/four-day-rally-in-emerging-markets-stalls-after-pmis/articleshow/9823035.cms

LONDON: A four-day rally in emerging equities stalled on Thursday after data showing a clear slowdown in manufacturing activity worldwide highlighted risks to growth in the developing world.

The MSCI benchmark equity index touched a 3-1/2 week high early in the session but fell into negative territory to trade just under flat by 0945 GMT after purchasing managers' indexes (PMI) showed factory orders in emerging economies mostly contracted last month due to weak US and euro zone economies.

China's PMI expanded a touch in August to a below-forecast 50.9 while readings in export powerhouses Korea and Taiwan were under the 50 level that denotes expansion. In emerging Europe manufacturing decelerated or was stagnant.

"Looking at the PMIs it seems that export indicators and new orders are on the weak side in many countries and that will add to worries about the extension of the soft patch in the global economy," said Mats Olausson, head of emerging markets research at SEB in Stockholm.

[DemReadingDU]

29. Must be HFT computers

With so many worsening indicators, there is no way the markets could rally unless gambling by the computers.

[Demeter]

18. Search engine data a useful predictor of stock returns: study

Those looking for stock tips around the water cooler or on the golf course might try one more source ― online search engine data...New research by a team of researchers at the KU School of Business demonstrates that online ticker searches – for example, "XOM" for Exxon Mobil – can predict abnormal stock returns and trading volumes during the subsequent week. The research also shows that highly volatile stocks will be more sensitive to online search intensity than less volatile stocks.

The research was conducted by Kissan Joseph, associate professor of marketing; Jide Wintoki, assistant professor of finance; and Zelin Zhang, doctoral candidate in marketing, all at the KU School of Business. Their results will appear in an upcoming issue of the International Journal of Forecasting.

"There's growing evidence in various disciplines that online search data can predict behavior," Joseph said. "We've demonstrated that search engine data – the kind you can easily retrieve from Google Insights for Search, for example – is a reliable predictor of stock returns and trading volumes, especially for volatile stocks whose true value is hard to gauge."

According to Joseph, individuals who do online ticker searches are typically less sophisticated, non-institutional investors who are looking to buy stock for reasons that aren't always well-informed or justified. Thus, ticker searches serve as a valid proxy for "investor sentiment," a set of beliefs about a stock not necessarily related to its fundamentals.

WONDER IF FLOODING THE SEARCH ENGINES COULD MOVE STOCKS....ANYBODY WANT TO TRY IT?

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-predictor-stock.html

[Ghost Dog]

57. Interesting.Not exactly Chicago School, though. A little "imperfect market" theory

(ie. only human) could serve us all well.

[Demeter]

19. A Privately Owned Nuclear Weapons Plant in…Kansas City?

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/nuclear-weapons-plant-kansas-city

In Kansas City, Missouri, a local zoning fight is going nuclear, literally: A Monday-morning courtroom showdown between activists and politicians could determine whether the city becomes host to the world's first privately owned nuclear weapons plant.

The proposed plant, a 1.5 million-square-foot, $673 million behemoth, would replace an aging facility, also in KC, where 85 percent (PDF) of the components for nation's nuclear arms are produced. The new plant would be run by the same government contractor as the old one—Honeywell—and proponents say the only major change will be more jobs and city infrastructure. But there will be another big difference: The federal government will sublease the property from a private developer, who in turn will lease it from the city for 20 years…after which the developer will own it outright.

The developer that could ultimately own its very own nuclear weapons plant, Centerpoint Zimmer (CPZ), didn't even exist until the deal for the Kansas City facility. It's the product of a union between Zimmer Real Estate, a big swinger in local properties—"Their red signs are all over town," says Ann Suellentrop, a local anti-nuclear activist—and Chicago-based builder Centerpoint, which just happens to own a new 1,000-acre industrial park across the street from the planned production facility. In what it called a "competitive bidding process," the US General Services Administration awarded CPZ a contract to build the new plant—on a soybean field that the company already owned. The Kansas City Council, enticed by direct payments and a promise of "quality jobs," approved the deal and agreed to exempt CPZ from property taxes on the plant and surrounding land for 25 years. It also agreed to $815 million in bond subsidies to build the plant and needed infrastructure.

"It's one thing to be concerned about nuclear proliferation," Ed Ford, a Vietnam-era conscientious objector and the only city councilman to oppose the plan, told the Kansas City Business Journal. "It's another thing to have your city be an active partner."

[Demeter]

21. After a week full of Dragons

I'm going to need a nice long relaxing 5 hour community barbecue to run...somebody stop me!

[xchrom]

24. are you really doing that?

girl friend -- how do you do it?

[Demeter]

45. The real question is: Why?

The answer is nobody else does, and I have things that have to get done, and booting this place in the "boot" is the only way....

It's paying off, finally. There are no short-term gains in real life. You either work for the long term, or you are eating your seed corn and destroying your infrastructure and workforce.


The rest of it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3b9gOtQoq4&feature=related

[xchrom]

23. U.S. Self-Employed Struggle to See Opportunities

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-01/self-employed-struggle-as-u-s-recovery-offers-few-opportunities.html

More than 1 million self-employed Americans are no longer in business almost four years after the last recession began, as the economy constrains entrepreneurial activity and small-business job creation.

The 18-month contraction that started in December 2007 initially resulted in more would-be business owners, as the number of people who work for themselves grew to 16.3 million in July 2008 from 15.7 million at the end of 2007, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Since then, the total has fallen about 10 percent to 14.7 million in July, the data show.

Employer businesses -- those that provide work for individuals including the founder -- “have been starting in fewer numbers, with fewer workers and growing at a slower pace than in the past,” according to Robert Litan, a vice president at the Kansas City, Missouri-based Kauffman Foundation, which supports research on start-ups. “Therefore, these entrepreneurs are generating increasingly fewer new jobs for the U.S. labor market.”

The number of new employer businesses dropped 24 percent to 505,473 on an annual basis in 2010 from 667,341 in 2006, according to Litan, who co-wrote a report published in July on small-business job creation.

[xchrom]

25. BRICs Are No Cure for Global Economic Growth This Time

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-31/brics-no-cure-for-global-economy-this-time-as-avon-to-siemens-shares-sink.html

Stocks of international companies that depend most on emerging markets for sales show developing nations won’t be strong enough to buoy the global economy.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s gauge of U.S. companies with the most developing-nation revenue fell 15 percent since April, the biggest drop since the bull market began in 2009. Avon Products Inc. (AVP), which gets at least 74 percent of operating profit from emerging markets, sank 15 percent in New York last month. Siemens AG (SIE), which doubled sales from the nations in five years, lost 21 percent in Frankfurt, the most since October 2008.

During the U.S. recession from December 2007 to June 2009, the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China became the engines of the global economy, with Chinese gross domestic product expanding 7.9 percent even as America was still contracting. While emerging countries produced about 85 percent of global economic growth since then, China, India and Brazil are slowing after they lifted interest rates to curb inflation following at least $870 billion of fiscal stimulus during the financial crisis.

“The policy driven boom of the past couple of years will not be repeated any time soon,” said Stephen King, chief economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in London and author of “Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity.” It’s “difficult to see how emerging nations can ride to the rescue once more,” he said.

[xchrom]

28. Behavioral Finance

http://topics.bloomberg.com/behavioral-finance


i have no idea what to make of any of this.

[Demeter]

47. Sounds like how to break down sales resistance, scientifically

People need more sales resistance, not less, IMO.

[xchrom]

50. That was one of my impressions.

There's more in there - they seem to be putting some effort into it.

[Ghost Dog]

60. Human psychology. What more can I say?

Look into your own soul.

[Festivito]

36. Debt: 08/30/2011 14,622,644,937,576.90 (DOWN 2,147,752,216.96) (Tue, UP a little.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 328.645-billion dollars. Good day.)
An actual problem on the job. Fibers, fibers everywhere.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,990,126,772,846.86 + 4,632,518,164,730.04
UP 152,580,275.78 + DOWN 2,300,332,492.74

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,197.10 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.59, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 312,783,392 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $46,750.07.
A family of three owes $140,250.2. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 32 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 12,185,897,886.14.
The average for the last 30 days would be 9,342,521,712.71.
The average for the last 32 days would be 8,758,614,105.67.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 227 reports in 334 days of FY2011 averaging 4.67B$ per report, 3.18B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 509 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.3 and 19.1T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
08/30/2011 14,622,644,937,576.90 BHO (UP 3,995,767,888,663.82 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +1,061,021,906,685.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,159,499,987,844.61 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/10/2011 +000,350,635,620.42 ------------********
08/11/2011 +004,850,153,175.74 ------------*********
08/12/2011 +000,032,128,181.66 ------------*******
08/15/2011 +025,439,150,731.40 ------------********** Mon
08/16/2011 -000,111,149,424.58 ---
08/17/2011 -000,155,359,363.72 ---
08/18/2011 +006,258,648,233.06 ------------*********
08/19/2011 +019,892,825,521.14 ------------**********
08/22/2011 -000,213,053,000.99 --- Mon
08/23/2011 +000,814,357,949.50 ------------********
08/24/2011 +000,495,517,849.57 ------------********
08/25/2011 +015,444,082,130.78 ------------**********
08/26/2011 +001,003,663,200.19 ------------*********
08/29/2011 -000,073,220,970.90 ---- Mon
08/30/2011 +000,152,580,275.78 ------------********

74,180,960,109.05 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4979817&mesg_id=4979833

[Festivito]

65. Debt: 08/31/2011 14,684,292,994,743.93 (UP 61,648,057,166.96) (Wed, UP a lot.)

(UNDER the new 2011 debt limit of 14.694-trillion dollars by 390.293-billion dollars. Good day.)
Oh, no. An accident that is my fault. My first.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 10,024,253,354,407.00 + 4,660,039,640,336.86
UP 34,126,581,560.14 + UP 27,521,475,606.82

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 313-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.20 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,197.03 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.59, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 312,790,592 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $46,946.08.
A family of three owes $140,838.25. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 24 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 24 reports is 14,246,821,189.51.
The average for the last 30 days would be 11,397,456,951.61.
The average for the last 33 days would be 10,361,324,501.46.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 228 reports in 335 days of FY2011 averaging 4.92B$ per report, 3.35B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 508 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 15.4 and 19.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
08/31/2011 14,684,292,994,743.93 BHO (UP 4,057,415,945,830.78 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +1,122,669,963,852.20 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,223,207,572,555.38 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
08/11/2011 +004,850,153,175.74 ------------*********
08/12/2011 +000,032,128,181.66 ------------*******
08/15/2011 +025,439,150,731.40 ------------********** Mon
08/16/2011 -000,111,149,424.58 ---
08/17/2011 -000,155,359,363.72 ---
08/18/2011 +006,258,648,233.06 ------------*********
08/19/2011 +019,892,825,521.14 ------------**********
08/22/2011 -000,213,053,000.99 --- Mon
08/23/2011 +000,814,357,949.50 ------------********
08/24/2011 +000,495,517,849.57 ------------********
08/25/2011 +015,444,082,130.78 ------------**********
08/26/2011 +001,003,663,200.19 ------------*********
08/29/2011 -000,073,220,970.90 ---- Mon
08/30/2011 +000,152,580,275.78 ------------********
08/31/2011 +034,126,581,560.14 ------------**********

107,956,906,048.77 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4981369&mesg_id=4981456

[mnhtnbb]

42. Love the cartoon today!

[Demeter]

46. It's Certainly Accurate

depressing, though.

[Demeter]

48. Mass Marketing Goes Platinum by: Jim Hightower

http://www.truth-out.org/mass-marketing-goes-platinum/1314623441

In today's fast-moving world of consumer styles, when you're out, you're out. Not just out-of-style, but so far out that you no longer interest the big marketers.

Thus it is that advertising authorities have deemed the middle class itself (roughly 60 percent of us, depending on where you draw the income line) to be unworthy consumers. We're too poor to matter, they say...households with less than $200,000 in annual income are henceforth on the outs, holding little interest for advertisers. Sure enough, corporate executives in such diverse businesses as airlines, movie theaters, banks, and health care are focusing more and more on platinum-level customers.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

53. The SM eulogizes Amy Winehouse:

No, No, No, No, No, No, No, No...

[Hawkowl]

55. Global trade buckles in second quarter

Global trade buckled suddenly in the second quarter as Europe flirted with recession and Asia came off the boil, while Canada's bellwether economy contracted outright, adding to the darkening picture across the world.

Import growth in the large G7 economies and the China-led BRIC nations fizzled to 1.1pc compared to a 10.1pc pace in the first quarter, according to the OECD club of rich states.

Container Trade Statistics reports that shipping freight rates on the routes from Asia to Europe have dropped to almost zero as a dearth of goods meets a glut of vessels.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/globalbusiness/8733913/Global-trade-buckles-in-second-quarter.html

[Demeter]

56. Why to Buy Gold in a Deflationary Economy By Bill Bonner

http://dailyreckoning.com/why-to-buy-gold-in-a-deflationary-economy/

We’re in a Great Correction. Recently, this correction has given every indication of hanging around for a long time — a la Japan...We’re also in a period when the feds are throwing caution to the winds in order to over-turn the correction. But, here’s what has happened: the feds have not been able to do it. They’ve tossed a lot of caution to the winds already. But the winds don’t care; the correction continues. Just read the headlines. Consumer sentiment is sinking. House prices are still going down. The number of people on food stamps is going up.

This is fundamentally a deflationary economy. It’s not an inflationary economy. It’s not an economy that will take up the Fed’s EZ money and transform it into consumer demand. It’s not an economy that will borrow money from the banks and increase employment and the money supply. The feds have been unable to ignite the kind of ‘animal spirits’ you need in order to get inflation rates up. They’ve tried everything. It hasn’t worked.No, it’s an economy where demand is falling. We saw that yesterday. Gasoline use in the US has dropped to an 8-year low. Households are saving money. Incomes are going down. The real economy is shrinking. At the household level, thrift is on the rise. Among the investoriat, fear is the dominant emotion. This stock market could collapse any day; all it needs is the right headline.

The Fed has been forced to tell the world that it will keep its key lending rate at zero for two years. This is an admission that nothing has worked in the fight against the Great Correction. It is a clear signal that the US will follow Japan down that long, lonesome highway...towards a multi-decade slump. The US has already had one ‘lost decade.’ Most likely, it will now lose another one. For now, the feds have been beat...The victory of fear over greed means that investors are no longer concerned with the return ON their money; they’re worried about the return OF their money. And they think that the safest place for their money is in US Treasury debt. Lend money to the people who print it; what could go wrong?

Well...that’s what we’ll find out when this current stage of Great Correction/de-leveraging comes to an end.

[Demeter]

58. The Broken Window Fallacy By Chris Mayer

So hurricane Irene is over with, but it didn’t take long for economic commentators to make fools of themselves...David Kotok is the chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors. He was on the radio with Larry Kudlow, who asked him about the economic impact of Irene. Kudlow noted how Irene tracked over 1/10th of the nation’s economic output. Here is Kotok writing about it to his investors afterward about Cumberland’s response: “We are now upping our estimate of fourth-quarter GDP in the US economy. Billions will be spent on rebuilding and recovery. That will put some people back to work, at least temporarily. We speculate that Washington may set aside the usual destructive and divisive partisan political wrangling and act in the interest of the nation. That means there will be a flow of federal financial assistance to the disaster areas.”

This is horrible, horrible reasoning. It is the old broken window fallacy, which we see trotted out by otherwise intelligent people anytime there is a natural disaster. These people say that destruction is an economic boost, as we busily rebuild what was lost...It’s a shame people continue to repeat this. The great economist Frederic Bastiat killed this idea decisively in an 1850 essay, “That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen.” It remains a classic essay on economic reasoning.

In his usual witty manner, Bastiat wrote a parable about a boy who breaks a window. The “seen” is the glassmakers who have new business they didn’t have before. That’s what people like Kotok focus on. But as Bastiat wrote: “It is not seen that as our shopkeeper has spent 6 francs upon one thing, he cannot spend them upon another. It is not seen that if he had not had a window to replace, he would, perhaps, have replaced his old shoes, or added another book to his library. In short, he would have employed his 6 francs in some way, which this accident has prevented.”

Kotok’s point about federal assistance is particularly depressing, because he seems unable to recognize that this is simply money taken from someone else. Please don’t fall for the broken window fallacy. And please correct anyone you hear using it. It seems the first step in basic economic literacy. Hurricane Irene was a dead loss for the economy. Period.

Read more: The Broken Window Fallacy http://dailyreckoning.com/the-broken-window-fallacy/#ixzz1WjZnqiUe

[Ghost Dog]

61. Yes. The problem is with the way we measure "GDP".

Short-term, blinkered.

[tclambert]

62. Almost all my stocks were in the red today.

Which means my dividends are up to about 5.8% yield. Yay, dividends! I used to never invest for dividends, but this time around, with my savings account paying 0.045% interest, dividends look good. I still can't resist some speculation. A123systems has been way down, but iRobot (they make the Roomba and the military Pakbot) has done very well.

[Demeter]

63. Market Down Due to Goldman

getting dinged for criminal investigation...