Comments »KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tougher sentencing laws and reduced prisoner programming budgets have Kansas officials discussing ways to balance the need to protect the public against efforts to reduce the state’s burgeoning prison population, Kansas Corrections Secretary Ray Roberts said.
A recent count found Kansas men’s prisons are housing 8,635 inmates, 266 over capacity. The state’s prisons are projected to be short about 2,000 beds in a decade, according to the Kansas Sentencing Commission. Prisons for women also will exceed capacity in about seven years, the commission said.
The solutions being considered would keep the public safe while releasing some prisoners sooner than planned or keeping them out of prison in the first place, Roberts told The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/tvMi9l ). So far, Kansas is not considering mass releases of prisoners.
Roberts has a mix of three broad options in mind: build more prisons, house prisoners in county jails or cut recidivism by helping paroled prisoners. Each idea would cost millions of dollars, he said.
Wyandotte County District Attorney Jerome Gorman said police and prosecutors won’t let up in efforts to bring prisoners to trial.
Monthly Archives: January 2012
German unemployment higher in December, lowest average in 2 decades
Comments »MIXED EMPLOYMENT REPORT: Germany’s unemployment rate edged higher in December, but the average number of people unemployed last year in Europe’s biggest economy was the lowest for two decades.
THE MONTHLY DETAILS: The government said Tuesday that the unadjusted jobless rate rose to 6.6 percent last month from 6.4 percent in November. But the seasonally adjusted jobless rate dipped to 6.8 percent from 6.9 percent a month earlier.
THE ANNUAL RESULTS: The number of people out of work averaged 2.976 million for the full year, 263,000 fewer than in 2010 and the lowest overall figure since 1991. Last year’s average jobless rate was 7.1 percent, down from 7.7 percent in 2010. Andreas Rees, an economist at UniCredit in Munich, said the German labor market still has “substantial” momentum.
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Italian public “servants” make big bank
Comments »ROME (AP) — A government-mandated report has confirmed what many Italians long suspected: The euro11,000 ($14,300) that Italian lawmakers earn each month far outpaces what their peers in some of Europe’s largest economies get.
Italy’s bloated public sector and the privileges of its political elite have come under fire as the country battles its debt crisis with tax hikes, labor market and pension reforms that are hurting ordinary Italians.
Premier Mario Monti has vowed to trim the cost of governing as part of his austerity measures, and has renounced his own salary as premier and economy minister.
The report, published Tuesday, looked at comparisons between labor costs for lawmakers in Italy compared to France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria. It also considered 34 public agencies in Italy to see if there were analogous ones in the other countries. The commission’s president hopes the findings will provide “food for thought.”
Consumer spending facing slowdown, headwinds
This piece from the Times follows a report from Moody’s on the 22nd of December.
Comments »American consumers are running out of tricks.
As the weak economy has trudged on, they have leaned on credit cards to pay for holiday gifts, many bought at discounts. They are dipping into savings to cover spikes in gas, food and rent. They are substituting domestic vacations for international trips, squeezing more life out of their washing machines and refrigerators and switching to alternatives as meat prices have risen.
That leaves little room for a big increase in spending in 2012, economists say, a shaky foundation for the most important pillar of the American economy.
“The consumer is far from healthy,” said Steve Blitz, senior economist for ITG Investment Research.
Even the seemingly robust holiday shopping season is raising concern. After a strong start on Thanksgiving weekend, a pronounced lull followed, causing retailers to mark down products heavily in the week before Christmas. While final numbers for the season are not in, analysts say they are worried that retailers had to eat into profits to generate high revenues.
Consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economy, so until it ignites, general growth is likely to be sluggish.
Macroeconomic Advisers, a forecasting company, projects growth of around 2 percent for the first half of this year, down from an estimate of 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 and just 1.8 percent in the third quarter.
For consumers, the reasons for the sluggishness are clear: incomes are essentially flat, job growth is modest, and more than 40 percent of the new jobs in the last two years have been in low-paying sectors like retail and hospitality.
While consumer spending is not “going to collapse,” said Joel Prakken, senior managing director at Macroeconomic Advisers, “there are some headwinds there.”
Flash: Silver Has Gone Parabolic to the Upside
Now up more than 6.6% for the day.
Comments »Construction spending rose in November
Comments »WASHINGTON (AP) — Construction spending in the U.S. jumped in November as builders spent more on single-family homes, apartments and remodeling projects.
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that spending on construction projects rose 1.2 percent in November, following a revised 0.2 percent drop in October. The increase was the third in four months and the largest since a 2.2 percent rise in August.
The November increase pushed spending to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $807.1 billion, still barely half the $1.5 trillion that economists consider healthy. Analysts say it could be four years before construction returns to health levels.
Home construction has begun a gradual rebound and likely added to the nation’s economic growth in 2011. The chief reason is apartments are being built almost twice as fast as two years ago. Renting is the only option for many people who have lost their jobs, their homes or both.
For November, private residential construction increased 2 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted $522.3 billion. It was the fifth consecutive gain.
Single-family construction rose 1.5 percent while multi-family construction including apartments rose 1.3 percent. The category that covers home remodeling rose 9.5 percent.
Money Flows, Heat Map, and S&P A/D Line
Money flows
ISSUE GAINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
SPDR S&P 500 SPY ARCA 127.93 +43.0 1.19
Sel Sec SPDR-Hlth Cr XLV ARCA 35.08 +25.0 3.45
IBM IBM NYSE 188.11 +23.1 1.58
Select Sector SPDR-Energy XLE ARCA 70.76 +20.5 1.91
JPMorgan Chase JPM NYSE 34.48 +17.0 1.75
PwrShrs QQQ Tr Series 1 QQQ NASD 57.01 +15.3 1.68
Pfizer PFE NYSE 21.95 +13.5 2.01
PepsiCo PEP NYSE 67.09 +12.5 2.65
Amazoncom AMZN NASD 177.41 +12.1 1.33
Ross Stores ROST NASD 48.19 +11.3 5.50
3M MMM NYSE 83.91 +10.5 2.78
United Technologies UTX NYSE 74.88 +10.2 2.47
Abbott Labs ABT NYSE 56.16 +9.6 2.05
Oracle ORCL NASD 26.46 +9.1 1.42
VISA (Cl A) V NYSE 103.01 +8.6 1.65
Alcoa AA NYSE 8.94 +8.5 2.04
Philip Morris Intl PM NYSE 79.13 +8.4 1.60
Mkt Vctrs-Agribusiness MOO ARCA 48.46 +8.3 7.43
Kraft Foods KFT NYSE 37.66 +8.3 2.74
Merck MRK NYSE 37.94 +8.3 1.60
ISSUE DECLINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Vanguard MSCI Emerg Mkts VWO ARCA 39.18 -76.9 0.12
Johnson & Johnson JNJ NYSE 65.45 -46.7 0.27
Apple AAPL NASD 411.20 -45.5 0.85
ExxonMobil XOM NYSE 86.15 -38.4 0.52
Procter & Gamble PG NYSE 66.85 -32.3 0.30
Google GOOG NASD 658.83 -28.8 0.81
AT&T T NYSE 30.39 -22.8 0.46
McDonald's MCD NYSE 100.84 -21.9 0.38
Halliburton HAL NYSE 34.21 -20.6 0.54
General Electric GE NYSE 18.38 -20.0 0.43
Coca-Cola KO NYSE 70.49 -17.7 0.40
Intel INTC NASD 24.72 -16.4 0.51
Baidu BIDU NASD 122.70 -16.2 0.74
Ford Motor F NYSE 11.13 -14.5 0.44
Microsoft MSFT NASD 26.52 -13.8 0.62
Cisco Systems CSCO NASD 18.73 -13.2 0.43
SuccessFactors SFSF NYSE 39.85 -12.2 0.14
ConocoPhillips COP NYSE 74.18 -12.0 0.54
Qualcomm QCOM NASD 55.48 -10.8 0.55
Freeport McMoran FCX NYSE 38.45 -10.5 0.60
Comments »
Winners and Losers by Sector
----- Percent Change ------
Sector Index Daily 1 Wk. 1 Mo. 3 Mo. 1 Yr.
Nonferrous Metals 6107.20 236.19 4.77 -1.80 26.34 -35.44 Consumer Electronics 7560.68 195.11 2.75 -5.52 24.84 -23.55 Software 7277.27 169.74 1.99 -2.72 7.15 -7.34 Coal 3311.77 155.85 7.03 -8.05 17.92 -44.95 Gambling 6278.80 143.97 2.55 -0.86 20.80 -6.11 Computer Serv 7003.56 141.01 1.06 -1.19 8.86 17.49 Commercial Vehicl & Trucks 10479.39 137.76 1.18 -3.56 27.19 -13.04 Farming & Fishing 5409.78 137.10 2.03 2.17 20.02 4.23 Telecom Equip 5639.63 128.65 1.75 0.67 18.81 -8.25 Computer Hardware 8617.90 125.41 1.45 2.16 11.24 5.57 Integrated Oil & Gas 5739.45 101.55 1.20 6.58 21.75 13.92 Exploration & Production 7082.76 100.86 1.34 -3.93 28.10 -4.41 Specialty Chemicals 5693.10 97.63 1.68 1.98 21.03 -3.50 Home Improv Retailers 7177.24 96.97 1.03 6.41 35.27 13.76 Oil Equip & Serv 5767.66 91.41 2.34 -4.84 26.03 -9.83 Asset Managers 5323.03 90.89 1.11 2.69 21.99 -20.03 Consumer Finance 5638.43 89.11 0.48 1.41 16.64 24.72 Medical Equip 5532.46 88.59 1.50 4.66 10.91 -1.03 Medical Supplies 6706.68 84.73 0.73 1.85 5.69 -3.18 Reinsurance 6116.33 81.12 0.59 0.47 11.77 -3.96 Broadcasting & Entertainment 3936.54 80.04 1.72 3.52 21.61 8.02 Footwear 7256.91 76.87 -0.11 -1.90 11.48 10.59 Restaurants & Bars 9725.90 76.24 0.14 4.82 20.32 27.71 Life Insurance 3066.37 74.28 2.10 2.52 24.64 -21.20 Electronic Equip 3342.52 71.00 1.70 -1.71 21.30 -7.81 Invest Serv 2989.23 69.24 1.71 -0.69 11.38 -34.00 Delivery Serv 7821.27 68.23 0.27 2.69 19.96 -6.70 Trucking 3508.43 66.57 1.29 4.17 19.43 -7.46 Toys 3471.04 66.19 1.37 -4.16 7.76 0.87 Hotels 2737.23 66.10 1.78 1.82 30.07 -15.56 Specialized Consumer Serv 3641.18 65.96 1.50 4.18 16.07 3.46 Pipelines 7168.90 64.02 1.76 4.92 43.20 49.73 Drug Retailers 6305.08 63.98 0.24 3.11 13.82 6.07 Health Care Providers 4874.34 59.56 0.89 1.75 20.80 9.68 Biotechnology 3833.08 58.23 1.53 6.16 13.60 5.82 Industrial Suppliers 4210.91 56.21 -0.03 4.48 33.89 25.84 Financial Admin 4363.13 55.37 0.91 4.31 19.31 7.23 Furnishings 2699.81 54.20 0.32 3.84 30.33 3.18 Banks -SS 2072.92 53.02 1.92 5.03 20.33 -25.48 Commodity Chemicals 2420.43 52.37 2.04 3.71 26.71 -3.37 Media Agencies 3859.54 52.07 1.63 2.28 26.04 -11.65 Water 5045.21 50.80 0.07 1.94 9.33 9.56 Travel & Tourism 2366.11 48.96 0.93 -1.58 11.67 7.68 Heavy Construction 4192.28 48.61 1.17 0.02 22.67 -17.55 Defense 4605.10 48.28 0.13 3.76 17.07 0.86 Apparel Retailers 3829.77 46.44 0.16 2.97 15.88 11.00 Automobiles 1776.10 43.50 3.09 0.73 15.37 -32.81 Diversified Industrials 2736.24 42.00 0.78 8.19 23.52 -1.15 Iron & Steel 2427.69 40.62 1.86 -2.21 35.96 -21.96 Broadline Retailers 3898.33 39.70 0.37 -2.14 3.83 3.66 Business Training & Employ 3909.20 39.38 0.80 2.22 25.18 -28.38 Aluminum 1179.82 38.93 3.69 -8.65 2.42 -41.83 General Mining 2247.02 38.07 2.54 -14.21 -0.99 -36.31 Marine Transportation 1383.16 36.51 2.62 1.52 20.17 -15.52 Prop & Casualty Insurance 3780.59 36.29 0.37 4.85 19.72 2.66 Food Prod 2971.50 36.26 0.58 1.36 8.66 12.55 Recreational Serv 2321.37 35.38 0.65 -0.73 18.53 -21.82 Specialty Retailers 2943.94 33.81 0.59 -0.91 13.16 -0.39 Soft Drinks 4010.10 33.44 0.49 5.13 9.19 6.36 Auto Parts 2321.77 31.81 1.44 -0.67 20.86 -15.68 Electr Components & Equip 2255.49 27.59 0.43 0.30 21.31 -14.17 Home Construction 2462.53 27.25 0.49 4.00 44.80 -9.08 Internet 2246.62 26.52 1.59 4.95 30.72 4.47 Durable Household Prod 1647.54 25.56 0.50 2.44 27.60 -10.53 Industrial Machinery 4653.73 25.32 0.00 -1.08 27.03 -8.35 Food Retailers & Wholesalers 1899.46 25.04 0.79 4.25 17.16 8.58 Containers & Packaging 2572.62 22.53 0.95 1.66 18.31 -1.88 Publishing 2337.78 22.45 0.48 3.72 19.11 -1.60 Waste & Disposal Serv 1301.66 21.12 1.30 3.97 8.38 -0.90 Insurance Brokers 2858.24 19.92 0.00 3.70 20.03 9.45 Real Estate Invest Trusts 2058.07 18.66 0.39 5.44 19.20 0.76 Transportation Serv 2462.77 18.01 0.39 1.19 30.71 -4.87 Build Materials & Fixtures 2582.21 17.76 0.31 5.75 34.16 -0.51 Electronic Office Equip 888.78 17.44 1.89 -0.46 16.19 -27.97 Clothing & Accessories 2782.23 17.15 -0.17 -3.91 14.94 13.91 Pharmaceuticals 2472.03 15.69 0.40 6.28 15.51 14.56 Business Support Serv 974.76 15.53 1.11 -1.47 13.60 2.69 Specialty Finance 3747.12 14.60 -0.03 0.09 20.38 -6.77 Mobile Telecom 1286.74 12.33 2.03 2.54 11.02 -11.83 Gold Mining 2104.13 11.05 0.15 -10.73 -3.17 -0.58 Tires 432.45 10.60 3.28 1.58 50.85 -0.30 Real Estate Invest & Serv 2040.56 8.43 0.54 -1.59 17.47 -21.98 Distillers & Vintners 5034.96 7.87 -0.09 1.96 19.38 0.43 Gas Distribution 2099.89 7.60 -0.29 3.73 20.95 17.75 Electricity 1900.96 7.13 -0.32 4.53 9.61 12.55 Multiutilities 1477.33 6.22 -0.19 5.45 11.89 18.18 Airlines 575.52 5.72 0.58 1.94 18.32 -32.15 Fixed Line Telecom 1143.97 5.44 0.69 4.57 8.57 0.27 Full Line Insurance 318.72 4.70 0.94 -1.28 13.91 -34.30 Mortgage Finance 177.29 2.85 1.57 5.53 19.90 -21.85 Paper 1258.77 2.79 -0.26 3.03 27.63 0.66 Forestry & Paper 1596.48 1.46 -0.48 2.72 26.57 0.57 Brewers 4723.25 0.17 -0.53 7.17 17.19 -10.44 Personal Prod 4641.04 -5.55 -0.85 2.18 7.29 11.03 Nondurable Household Prod 5746.50 -29.31 -0.93 2.59 5.78 3.12 Tobacco 4811.30 -38.84 -1.50 2.93 18.44 28.52Comments »
Most Active Options Trades
-CALLS-
OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE
PFE 1/19/13 22.5000 3559 1.5100 up 0.0700
F 1/21/12 12.5000 3042 0.0400 up 0.0200
BAC 1/21/12 6.0000 2696 0.1700 up 0.0600
MSFT 4/21/12 27.0000 2559 0.9900 up 0.1600
MSFT 4/21/12 25.0000 2500 2.1800 up 0.3400
STD 1/21/12 8.0000 2045 0.1000 up 0.0400
DIS 4/21/12 41.0000 2013 1.0200 up 0.1000
CSCO 1/21/12 19.0000 1486 0.3200 up 0.1600
BAC 1/21/12 5.0000 1450 0.8500 up 0.2000
AAPL 1/6/12 415.0000 1167 2.2000 up 1.3300
-PUTS-
OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE
FSLR 1/21/12 30.0000 14311 0.5600 dn 0.5400
KOG 1/21/12 10.0000 2213 0.6500 dn 0.1000
C1 1/21/12 2.5000 1664 0.0600 dn 0.0100
GLD 1/21/12 146.0000 1217 0.4000 dn 0.5800
AAPL 1/6/12 405.0000 933 1.4800 dn 2.4700
C 1/21/12 25.0000 882 0.4100 dn 0.3300
STD 1/21/12 8.0000 720 0.6000 dn 0.1500
EXC 1/21/12 40.0000 710 0.3000 up 0.2500
MMR 2/18/12 12.0000 698 0.9600 up 0.0100
DRYS 1/19/13 4.0000 642 2.1000 dn 0.0300
-VOLUME-
CALLS PUTS TOTAL
303954 237434 541388
-CALLS-
OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE
AKS 3/17/12 9.0000 987 0.8100 up 0.1800
AKS 3/17/12 8.0000 658 1.2900 up 0.2400
BTU 1/21/12 35.0000 252 1.5600 up 0.9000
AAPL 1/6/12 415.0000 230 2.2200 up 1.3400
DIS 1/21/12 38.0000 200 0.9600 up 0.2300
TZA 4/21/12 80.0000 134 0.6300 dn 0.2200
LVS 1/21/12 47.0000 126 0.4100 up 0.1400
AMR 5/19/12 1.5000 120 0.0100 up 0.0000
NVDA 1/6/12 14.0000 104 0.4200 up 0.1300
C 1/21/12 29.0000 99 0.6700 up 0.3100
-PUTS-
OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE
GLD 1/21/12 146.0000 504 0.4000 dn 1.1600
C1 1/21/12 2.5000 428 0.0600 dn 0.0200
AAPL 1/6/12 405.0000 164 1.5000 dn 2.5300
GRMN 1/21/12 40.0000 150 0.8800 dn 0.2200
GLD 1/21/12 145.0000 132 0.3300 dn 0.7900
FSLR 1/21/12 30.0000 128 0.5700 dn 0.5300
AAPL 1/21/12 330.0000 119 0.3200 dn 0.1900
AUY 1/21/12 15.0000 100 0.4400 dn 0.2800
MCP 1/6/12 24.0000 100 0.5500 dn 0.4500
AMZN 1/6/12 180.0000 100 4.4000 dn 3.2500
-VOLUME-
CALLS PUTS TOTAL
15377 11175 26552
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