World will not to end on Aug 2nd

[Denny]

Senate votes down democrap plan, 50-49.

Is there an open Senate seat or something? Or was someone just too damn chickenshit to cast their vote?

My money is on Rand Paul voting "present." LOL

[Durantula]

Sadly. The republicans are in the greatest drivers seat in the past 50 years and are going to fucking ruin because they will come up with some half baked scheme that Obama will sign. Instead, they should pass EXACTLY what they want and force the democrats in the senate or Obama to speak up as to why they voted it down. And keep voting on the same thing, perhaps more aggressive, cast the blame on Obama and the dems and make them justify why it is exactly that they are not wanting to be fiscally responsible. Terms like 'Obama's Depression' should be used until the point that the people begin to realize what a bag of cluster fuck this POTUS is.

But...the speaker cries and lacks the fortitude to pull the fucking trigger like a man.

+1. Fuck compromise, amirite? Who needs it? All that matters is I think my beliefs are completely correct and without fault therefore my representatives should impose my will on their colleagues in an effort to create a completely one-sided deal that doesn't represent what others may want or need. Fuck 'em!

[Denny]

+1. Fuck compromise, amirite? Who needs it? All that matters is I think my beliefs are completely correct and without fault therefore my representatives should impose my will on their colleagues in an effort to create a completely one-sided deal that doesn't represent what others may want or need. Fuck 'em!

Are you on the government teet in some way?

I am glad to see this resistance by the GOP because stopping bullshit like this is what they were elected for. This is the campaign they ran on and they are taking their own words to task. I don't agree with ANYTHING but cutting the fuck out of spending. THAT is our government's problem. THAT is what will solve this issue. Without cuts and only cuts, we'll keep continuing this circus over and over.

[Forever_frost]

Are you on the government teet in some way?

I am glad to see this resistance by the GOP because stopping bullshit like this is what they were elected for. This is the campaign they ran on and they are taking their own words to task. I don't agree with ANYTHING but cutting the fuck out of spending. THAT is our government's problem. THAT is what will solve this issue. Without cuts and only cuts, we'll keep continuing this circus over and over.

Hell, I draw two government checks (Army retirement and disability) and I want this ride to be stopped.

[Denny]

Hell, I draw two government checks (Army retirement and disability) and I want this ride to be stopped.

At least your payments are earned, not an entitlement.

[Forever_frost]

I appreciate it Denny. I found out SSD when I called the Texas workforce commission and tried to get training. Guy told me that I shouldn't be seeking work, I should get SSD and I spent 20 minutes arguing that. However last job I tried, I had for less than a month before I snapped and threatened to fly to a customer's house (worked for Capital One) and beat his ass on his frequent flier miles and be back at work by morning.

[Denny]

I understand... more than I'd like to admit. Going back to work in the States is going to be interesting, to say the least. Maybe it is best if some of us DON'T return to the workforce. LOL

[Forever_frost]

They sent me all the abusive callers which was fine. Until one said "Fuck you, you're dismissed." and hung up on me. I snapped

[ceyko]

I understand... more than I'd like to admit. Going back to work in the States is going to be interesting, to say the least. Maybe it is best if some of us DON'T return to the workforce. LOL

Hang around any galleria mall and you'll want to fucking kill yourself.

In the workplace, I just generally keep my mouth shut. First 12 or so years of my adult life has been in the military or military related. No college stories or any of that shit. I learned early on that 95% of the people just don't give a shit about what goes on overseas, much less by the people doing it.

hehe, out of all the people in my current office - none really knew about WBC and only 1 was willing to come out to a Patriot Guard event for a solider (RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US) to show support.

Most people have different priorities.

[Broncojohnny]

Based on July manufacturing data I am now saying 60% chance of QE3. Friday unemployment report will be interesting. I don't think there is much chance of it going higher based on weekly numbers but if it comes in at 9.2% and August manufacturing is just as weak as July then I'd bet QE3 gets a green light for take off.

[Denny]

Hang around any galleria mall and you'll want to fucking kill yourself.

In the workplace, I just generally keep my mouth shut. First 12 or so years of my adult life has been in the military or military related. No college stories or any of that shit. I learned early on that 95% of the people just don't give a shit about what goes on overseas, much less by the people doing it.

hehe, out of all the people in my current office - none really knew about WBC and only 1 was willing to come out to a Patriot Guard event for a solider (RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO US) to show support.

Most people have different priorities.

My first trip home was a bit of a shock, but then again, there were two very active battle-fronts that were very new. I couldn't believe it was life as usual back home.

My son had to hold me back at a Rangers' game when some moron wouldn't shut the fuck up during the National Anthem (after I shot him one blatant stare, then a "SHHHHHH"). People threw ice at him, though, so I didn't feel too awkward.

Based on July manufacturing data I am now saying 60% chance of QE3. Friday unemployment report will be interesting. I don't think there is much chance of it going higher based on weekly numbers but if it comes in at 9.2% and August manufacturing is just as weak as July then I'd bet QE3 gets a green light for take off.

Well, this definately leaves the door open for it, that's for sure!

Ya, I think we'll either see QE3 or at least know 100% by the end of Q32011. I've been certain since I don't see how it can go on without it, but it is becoming clearer now.

[Denny]

Putin putting in his two rupies about this whole thing.



Anyone watching the metals? LOL

[Broncojohnny]

Putin just wishes someone would use his piece of shit money for a reserve rather than toilet paper. lol

Headline just came out that Chrysler and Ford blew away July sales numbers.

Here comes Uncle Ben though, in his helicopter to drop some money! Actually if you hate the Fed, you would hope they go full throttle with a QE3, it is going to be very politically costly if they do, cost of food and a lot of other things will go through the roof. The Chinese will be mad as fuck though, which is a positive, it really hurts them. That might be fun to see.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43984199

Debt Deal Done, Focus Turns Back to Fed on Economy

Published: Tuesday, 2 Aug 2011 | 7:58 AM ET
Text Size
By: Binyamin Appelbaum and Catherine Rampell
The New York Times

Even as Congress escapes from its brush with default, political divisions have all but immobilized the levers of fiscal policy, raising pressure on the Federal Reserve to address the nation’s economic lethargy.

CNBC.com
Failing to raise the U.S. debt ceiling [cnbc explains] could lead to an economic catastrophe. But even if the Senate on Tuesday joins the House in agreeing to let the government borrow more money, there is mounting evidence that the political turmoil has made a bad economic situation worse.

Manufacturing activity declined in July, a trade group reported Monday. Unemployment is climbing. So is inflation. And the high pitch of partisan rancor in Congress makes it difficult for either party to advance their incompatible economic agendas.

The deal to raise the debt ceiling would reduce federal spending this year by billions of dollars, exacerbating a broader downturn in federal aid as the stimulus peters out. A payroll tax cut and extended benefits for the unemployed are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

Ben S. Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said in the spring that it was time to see whether the economy could stand on its own. Last month he said the Fed would consider new steps if conditions deteriorated significantly. As the Fed’s policy-making committee prepares to meet Aug. 9, the drums are beating louder.

“I don’t think they can do anything until we see how much was lost and how much we can recoup,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. “But if we have persistent weakness, and stagnant employment growth through the third quarter, I just don’t see how they can’t step back into the game.”

The Fed already is engaged in a vast and unprecedented effort to bolster economic growth. It has held short-term interest rates near zero for almost three years, and amassed more than $2 trillion in Treasuries and mortgage bonds to hold down long-term rates. But since the end of June, when it completed its most recent round of asset purchases, the Fed has chosen to stand pat.

Its available options now are modest steps including replacing its promise to maintain low rates “for an extended period” with a more specific commitment, like a six-month minimum. More aggressive steps could include tilting the composition of its investment portfolio toward longer-term Treasury securities, to increase the downward pressure on long-term rates. The most drastic step, which analysts also consider least likely, would be a decision to increase the size of its portfolio.

For the moment, and for as long as possible, the central bank would like to do nothing. There is broad agreement that the unprecedented size of the Fed’s portfolio has complicated its ability to control the pace of inflation, and that additional purchases would exacerbate the difficulty.

Mr. Bernanke has said that growth must weaken and price increases abate. A vocal minority of Fed officials has gone further, arguing the central bank has reached the limit of its powers.

“It seems unlikely that the forces limiting the pace at which U.S. growth is recovering are amenable to monetary policy,” Jeffrey M. Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, said in a speech last week. “Additional monetary stimulus at this juncture seems likely to raise inflation to undesirably high levels and do little to spur real growth.”

The Fed is even less eager to renew its interventions into financial markets. The central bank has hovered on the edge of the debt ceiling debate like a homeowner riding out a hurricane, hoping for limited damage to the lethargic economy.

“I want to eliminate any expectation that the Fed through any mechanism could offset the impact of a default on the government debt,” Mr. Bernanke told Congress in July.

Even if the Congress meets President Obama’s Tuesday deadline for a debt ceiling deal, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has warned that it may downgrade long-term Treasury bonds, altering a basic premise of many financial transactions and unleashing smaller but still significant disruptions.

“If a huge amount of harm is being done to the markets and the economy, they will have to consider carefully whether there’s anything they can do to help,” said Donald L. Kohn, who stepped down last June after serving four years as vice-chair of the Fed’s board of governors. “The point of that would be to help the markets get through a chaotic period.”

During a previous debt ceiling standoff, which ran from the fall of 1995 through the spring of 1996, the Fed considered offering loans to banks that did not receive expected payments from the government, and honoring defaulted Treasurys as collateral, according to Alan Blinder, who served as vice chairman of the board of governors at the time.

“We had extensive discussions with the principal clearing banks in New York which then were Chase and Bank of New York,” said Mr. Blinder, now a Princeton economics professor. “What we on the board were most worried about was preserving the remnants of the Treasury market because of its central role in providing liquidity to the whole system.”

The Fed also could buy dollars in the event of a downgrade. Uncertainty already is driving investors to other currencies, and a sharper decline could undermine the dollar’s role as an international reserve currency—a status that has significant benefits for the American economy.

Such a step would be taken at the behest of Treasury, because the administration sets currency policy.

But there are strong reasons to doubt the government would try such an intervention. A weaker dollar could bolster growth by making American exports more attractive. In particular, it could improve the balance of trade with China—while intervening to prop up the dollar would undermine the credibility of American efforts to convince China to stop manipulating its currency.

Perhaps most important, intervening in exchange markets may not prevent the dollar’s fall. “If the dollar were just weak because people had lost confidence in the U.S. government, I don’t see why buying dollars is going to restore confidence,” said Mr. Kohn, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “The cure for that isn’t intervention. The cure is the government acting like adults."

[Denny]

See? They need to stop this shit. They know it makes my peepee hard.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-22/silver-may-more-than-double-to-100-citigroup-says-technical-analysis.html

[Broncojohnny]

I think you'd have to get a full bore QE3 with $600 billion in bond buying over the next year to see $100. Just my opinion but anything is possible.

All the industrial stocks are getting killed, the hedge funds are unloading them I'm sure. I wonder where all that money is going? Probably commodities, which makes sense if you know Uncle Ben's next move....