Nobody agrees on anything....Except everyone hates Washington.

The American public HATES Congress and Detests Obama.

Congress has a 9% approval rating. 85% Disapproval. That is the lowest since 1977. They didn’t track it before then.

Obama has a 39% approval and a 54% Disapproval. Lowest of his presidency.

“Most troubling for the president is Quinnipiac's finding that his honesty and trustworthiness numbers are upside down. Fifty-two percent to 44 percent say the president is not honest and trustworthy.”

All that spying on Americans (and our friends) have left everyone with a sour taste. The Obama Care debacle hasn’t helped either.

I am sure the health insurance companies are still big fans of his though. That is the important thing.

There is a reason Obama Care didn’t go into effect until after Obamas reelection. They knew once the public figured out the bait and switch there would be consequences.

The solution – Get rid of Republicans and Democrats. That is the only way to fix our broken system.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57612031/polls-congress-obama-approval-ratings-hit-record-lows/

Oil Price Fraud......

Oil price manipulation and fraud. 

They said oil prices went up because of supply and demand. They lied. 
They said oil prices went up because China was using so much oil. They lied. 
They said oil prices went up because we don’t drill enough in the USA. They lied.

Oil prices went up because of manipulation and fraud. Period! This was allowed to happen because of deregulation. The result is you have over paid for gas every time you have filled up for the last 13 years.

Some times people get robbed by a man holding a gun. Other times people get robbed when they pull into a gas station and fill up. If you have pulled into a gas station and filled up….. then congrats….you have been robbed.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/brent-crude-traders-claim-proof-bfoe-boys-rigged-market.html

Some of the world’s biggest oil companies including BP Plc (BP/), Statoil ASA (STL), and Royal Dutch Shell Plc conspired with Morgan Stanley and energy traders including Vitol Group to manipulate the closely watched spot prices for Brent crude oil for more than a decade

The North Sea benchmark is used to price more than half the world’s crude and helps determine where costs are headed for fuels including gasoline and heating oil.

The case, which follows at least six other U.S. lawsuits alleging price-fixing in the Brent market, provides what appears to be the most detailed description yet of the alleged manipulations and lays out a possible road map for regulators investigating the matter.

The traders who brought it -- who include a former director of the New York Mercantile Exchange, or Nymex, one of the markets where contracts for future Brent deliveries are traded - - allege they paid “artificial and anticompetitive prices” for Brent futures. They also outline attempts to manipulate prices for Russian Urals crude and cite instances when the spread between Brent and Dubai grades of crude may have been rigged.

The oil companies and energy-trading houses, which include Trafigura Beheer BV and Phibro Trading LLC, submitted false and misleading information to Platts, an energy news and price publisher whose quotes are used by traders worldwide

Over 85 pages, the plaintiffs describe how the market allegedly showed that the Dated Brent spot price was artificially driven up or down by the defendants, depending on what would profit them most in swap, futures or spot markets. They allege the defendants used methods including “spoofing” - - placing orders that move markets with the intention of canceling them later.

Platts’ methodology “can be easily gamed by market participants that make false, inaccurate or misleading trades,” the plaintiff traders alleged. BFOE refers to the four oil grades -- Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk -- that collectively make up the Dated Brent benchmark.

The suit provides an insight into one of the less-transparent corners of global trading -- the $5.7 trillion-a-year market in physical commodities, including metals and agricultural products as well as fuel, where spot trading is largely private. By contrast, stocks and futures transactions are conducted on regulated exchanges with prices visible to all.

Sears on its way out......

Sears is on its way out.......

Sears a once proud name with a 120 year history in the United States is in the process of going extinct. 

They executed the same (supposedly) winning strategy of filling their store shelves with Made in China merchandise, and then attempted to sell it to unemployed Americans.

Unfortunately (as we see over and over and over and over) the strategy is a failure.

You would think eventually somebody (other than me) would figure out what the issue is….. but nobody ever does.

If you like Sears you should go now because sooner (rather than later) they won’t be here anymore.

Think about that. 120 years Sears survived everything. Two World Wars. The great depression. Countless recessions. Social upheavals. Doughts, storms...... Whatever happened (decade after decade) Sears survived.

But one thing no company can survive is the offshoring of all the jobs. There is no way to survive that level of stupidity.

When Sears had store shelves full of products that were labeled "Made in the USA" they never had these issues.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/10/29/sears-considers-split-of-lands-end-and-auto-centers/?_r=0

To help raise cash for the future, Sears announced on Tuesday that it was looking to split off its Lands’ End and Sears Auto Center brands, two of the company’s best-known assets. It also said that Sears Canada, which it controls, had sold five store leases for $384 million.

Sears said the moves would let it become more focused company that is easier to understand and to manage,” (There is nothing complicated to understand. The American economy stinks. It has stunk for a very long time. It is going to continue to stink for many years to come. Until that changes, middle class Americans (the ones who shop at Sears) aren’t going to be buying anything. So liquidate away….It is your only option)

On Tuesday, the company also released limited information about its financial performance that suggested that its core retail business was plummeting. Sears said that comparable store sales fell 3.7 percent in the 12 weeks ended Oct. 26 and that it expected adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, of negative $250 million to $300 million.

Gary Balter, a retail analyst with Credit Suisse, said in a note that the early results represented “an amazing rapid deceleration into the abyss for the U.S. retail operations.”

The rich and The Poor.....The divide grows......

Like I have been saying….The rich are getting richer. The poor are getting poorer. The middle class is getting pushed downward. 

In a few years the middle class will be something your kids will learn about in their history books.

Even the President of Wal-Mart understands the problem…. Which is nice considering his company played a major role in creating it in the first place.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sales-at-wal-mart-macys-hint-at-two-consumer-realities/2013/11/14/b3c9ac52-4d6a-11e3-ac54-aa84301ced81_story.html

Wal-Mart U.S. President Bill Simon told reporters in a conference call. “Our customers’ No. 1 concern is still around jobs and employment. . Their income is going down while food costs are not.

China threats and the B-52 Response.......

Over the weekend China Unilaterally announced they are now in control of airspace (and waters) around disputed islands controlled by Japan. China announced anyone attempting to fly through this area needs to get their permission first.

This is like going to your neighbors house…… standing on their lawn………. and announcing it is now yours. Then stating if your neighbor wants to walk on the grass they need to get your permission.

The United States (who is sworn to defend Japan) responded by flying two B-52 bombers through the disputed airspace without permission. China did nothing about that. Japan also continues to fly commercial airlines through the airspace.

So everyone is calling China’s bluff….. and now we will see what they do about it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/28/world/asia/china-explains-handling-of-b-52-flight-as-tensions-escalate.html?_r=0

The Pope is against Republican Ideology....

Traditionally Republicans love the church. But the leader of the Church thinks Republican ideology is completely wrong. 

Now Conservatives are questioning the new pope.

“Conservative Catholics, however, have worried that his open tone is too unspecific and causes confusion on traditional teachings such as those against abortion and gay equality.”

Translation – Republicans miss the old days when it was acceptable to dislike gays, control women’s rights, and send all the money to the rich people……

Now things are changing. Nothing scares the h*ll out of Republicans like change.

You have to kinda feel bad for Republicans. The world is moving on without them…… and they don’t know what to do about it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/pope-francis-denounces-trickle-down-economic-theories-in-critique-of-inequality/2013/11/26/e17ffe4e-56b6-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_story.html

Zimmerman

When George Zimmerman murdered Trayvon Martin he had a lot of supporters.

A whole faction of right wingers jumped to his defense. They said he was a victim. They said he was a hero. They said he did the right thing by "standing his ground". They raised money for his defense.

According to them the sympathetic figure was the guy holding the gun.

The sympathetic figure was the guy who provoked a confrontation with an unarmed man. Then killed him.

The bad guy was the one minding his own business, walking home with a bag of skittles.

Now Zimmerman has been arrested AGAIN for assaulting his girlfriend. He is accused of choking her. Pointing a shot gun at her head. Throwing her out of her home. Breaking all her things.

This is after his last wife left him because he threatening her too.

For some reason today Zimmerman has no more defenders. I wonder why that is. He is the same guy. He is doing the same things.

Yet on social media there is nobody speaking up on his behalf (as had been the case when Trayvon was killed).

Maybe finally everyone realizes (what they should have realized the first time). George Zimmerman is a dirtbag.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/19/justice/florida-george-zimmerman-arrest/

Oil Market Fraud and Manipulation.....

Oil price manipulation and fraud. 

They said oil prices went up because of supply and demand. They lied. 
They said oil prices went up because China was using so much oil. They lied. 
They said oil prices went up because we don’t drill enough in the USA. They lied.

Oil prices went up because of manipulation and fraud. Period! This was allowed to happen because of deregulation. The result is you have over paid for gas every time you have filled up for the last 13 years. 

Some times people get robbed by a man holding a gun. Other times people get robbed when they pull into a gas station and fill up. If you have pulled into a gas station and filled up….. then congrats….you have been robbed.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/brent-crude-traders-claim-proof-bfoe-boys-rigged-market.html

Some of the world’s biggest oil companies including BP Plc (BP/), Statoil ASA (STL), and Royal Dutch Shell Plc conspired with Morgan Stanley and energy traders including Vitol Group to manipulate the closely watched spot prices for Brent crude oil for more than a decade

The North Sea benchmark is used to price more than half the world’s crude and helps determine where costs are headed for fuels including gasoline and heating oil.

The case, which follows at least six other U.S. lawsuits alleging price-fixing in the Brent market, provides what appears to be the most detailed description yet of the alleged manipulations and lays out a possible road map for regulators investigating the matter.

The traders who brought it -- who include a former director of the New York Mercantile Exchange, or Nymex, one of the markets where contracts for future Brent deliveries are traded - - allege they paid “artificial and anticompetitive prices” for Brent futures. They also outline attempts to manipulate prices for Russian Urals crude and cite instances when the spread between Brent and Dubai grades of crude may have been rigged.

The oil companies and energy-trading houses, which include Trafigura Beheer BV and Phibro Trading LLC, submitted false and misleading information to Platts, an energy news and price publisher whose quotes are used by traders worldwide

Over 85 pages, the plaintiffs describe how the market allegedly showed that the Dated Brent spot price was artificially driven up or down by the defendants, depending on what would profit them most in swap, futures or spot markets. They allege the defendants used methods including “spoofing” - - placing orders that move markets with the intention of canceling them later.

Platts’ methodology “can be easily gamed by market participants that make false, inaccurate or misleading trades,” the plaintiff traders alleged. BFOE refers to the four oil grades -- Brent, Forties, Oseberg and Ekofisk -- that collectively make up the Dated Brent benchmark.

The suit provides an insight into one of the less-transparent corners of global trading -- the $5.7 trillion-a-year market in physical commodities, including metals and agricultural products as well as fuel, where spot trading is largely private. By contrast, stocks and futures transactions are conducted on regulated exchanges with prices visible to all.

Ranbaxy......Fraud

Prescription drugs made in India and China.  Contaminated…. Illegal….potentially dangerous…… but sold to you and your family anyways. 

It makes corporations a ton of money.  Isn’t that great.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57611023/ranbaxy-whistleblower-reveals-how-he-exposed-massive-pharmaceutical-fraud/

Among the drugs prescribed to Americans, 80 percent are generic drugs, and 40 percent of drugs are now made overseas in countries such as China and India where U.S. oversight is weaker. (They meant to say oversight is non-existent.)

Dinesh Thakur, an American-educated chemical engineer, was hired by Ranbaxy, back in 2003. He would later become a whistleblower, exposing massive fraud by the generic pharmaceutical giant, a company that sold Americans drugs like the generic version of Lipitor. His information led to Ranbaxy pleading guilty to seven felonies in a U.S. court in May, and pay $500 million in fines and settlements.

"The expectations is the drug's supposed to work as intended," Thakur said. "What we saw in this particular case is that trust was broken."

Thakur reported his findings to the Food and Drug Administration in 2005. Their investigation found Ranbaxy had a "persistent" "pattern" of submitting "untrue statements." On at least 15 new generic drug applications, auditors found more than 1,600 data errors. This meant their drugs were "potentially unsafe and illegal to sell."

 "In essence, they used the fraud as a competitive advantage to build and grow the business here in the U.S." (That is what Capitalism is all about…God Bless America)

"Let's say you're treated with a generic cancer drug and -- and your cancer -- progresses. Is it because of the drug? Is it because of the disease process? No one would know. 

In 2008, shortly after Ranbaxy came under new ownership, the FDA blocked 30 Ranbaxy drugs from coming into the United States from two Indian plants. But the company continued to sell drugs in the U.S. from other Indian facilities.

Then in 2011, while one arm of the FDA was investigating Ranbaxy for serious criminal violations, another arm of the FDA was approving Ranbaxy for the exclusive rights to make the generic version of one of the most popular pharmaceuticals of all time: Lipitor. That decision by the FDA would earn the company a reported $600 million in the first six months.  (Awesome)

CBS News traveled to India to visit the rural Toansa facility. Active pharmaceutical ingredients -- the key ingredient that makes a drug work -- are made there. Despite the manicured grounds and catchy safety slogans, the facility has run into serious problems with the FDA.

In 2012, Ranbaxy issued a recall after finding glass particles in raw ingredients for generic Lipitor. Later that year at another Ranbaxy plant, FDA inspectors found faulty cleaning records and a failure to investigate problems. (Make sure you take your Lipitor with a large glass of water….It helps digest the GLASS)

"Ranbaxy is committed to providing high quality affordable drugs to patients in the U.S." and "will take all measures to keep our facilities in full compliance to all regulations..." (Clearly)

As for Thakur, his findings led Ranbaxy to plead guilty to seven felonies. For exposing the company, he was awarded $49 million in a U.S. court.  (Good for him)

Welfare For Wall Street Is All We Can Afford......

On Monday the S&P 500 closed at it’s all time high. It has done that several times in October 2013. 

On Tuesday the Federal Reserve confirmed its welfare for Wall Street program will continue unchanged. 

Every 31 days Another $85,000,000,000.00. It has been doing this every month since Sept 2012. 

It has pumped almost $1,000,000,000,000.00 into Wall Street. The Fed said this will continue until the jobs picture improves.

1 trillion dollars spent already. All time highs achieved. But still no jobs.

Yet the thinking is if they just keep doing this month after month somehow the results will change.

The Fed clearly doesn’t understand how our economy, or the stock market, work.

Meanwhile today 47 million poor people learned they will suffer from cuts in the food stamps program. The cuts will save 5 Billion. That amounts to about 2 days of Wall Street Welfare.

Nice going guys…. it is good to see such well placed priorities.