Online review company Yelp files for $100 mil with GS as lead underwriter
Comments »Monthly Archives: November 2011
Fun With Max Keiser: A Well Organized Criminal Plan by GS, the IMF, & the ECB
This describes exactly why people are rioting; quite a different view from the mainstream media.
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6Z8kTJ0WsU 450 300] Comments »BIG FREAKIN’ SURPRISE: 1 in 4 American Women Takes Meds for Mental Illness
One in four American women take medication for a mental disorder
- Women more likely than men to take antipsychotic drugs, according to new report
- Most often prescribed to females over 45
- Prescriptions for psychiatric problems in all adults have risen 22% since 2001
- Usage has quadrupled among men aged between 20 and 64 over the last decade
Last updated at 1:59 PM on 17th November 2011
More than one in four American women took at least one drug for conditions like anxiety and depression last year, according to an analysis of prescription data.
The report, by pharmacy benefits manager Medco Health Solutions Inc, found the use of drugs for psychiatric and behavioral disorders in all adults rose 22per cent from 2001.
The medications are most often prescribed to women aged 45 and older, but their use among men and in younger adults climbed sharply.
In total, more than 20per cent of American adults were found to be on at least one drug for mental health disorders.
A number of celebrities have gone public in recent years with their battles with mental health disorders.
More…
They include Catherin Zeta-Jones, who was treated for a form of bipolar disorder earlier this year due to the stress of coping with her husband Michael Douglas’s fight with cancer.
Model Brooke Shields admitted suffering postpartum depression after the birth of her baby in 2003, while fellow big screen icon Carrie Fisher, of Star Wars fame, told how she had turned to electroshock therapy to treat the worst symptoms of her chronic depression.
Needed help: Actress Catherin Zeta-Jones (left) was treated for bipolar disorder earlier this year, while model and movie star Brooke Shields revealed she had suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter in 2003
Ends of the spectrum: Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher, 54, turned to electroshock therapy to help treat her chronic depression, while Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps was diagnosed with ADHD when he was nine years old
In adults 20 to 44, use of antipsychotic drugs and treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) more than tripled, while use of anti-anxiety drugs like Xanax, Valium and Ativan rose 30per cent from a decade ago.
The statistics were taken from Medco’s database of prescriptions and is based on 2.5million patients with 24 months of continuous prescription drug insurance and eligibility.
The company said women are twice as likely as men to use anxiety treatments as 11per cent of women 45 to 65 are on an anxiety medication.
Women are also more likely than men to take antipsychotic drugs like Zyprexa, Risperdal, and Abilify, which treat disorders like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
However, among men 20 to 64, use of the drugs has quadrupled over the last decade.
Dr David Muzina, a psychiatrist and national practice leader of Medco’s Neuroscience Therapeutic Resource Center, said: ‘There has been a significant uptick in the use of medications to treat a variety of mental health problems.
‘What is not as clear is if more people — especially women – are actually developing psychological disorders that require treatment.
‘Or (it might be) if they are more willing to seek out help and clinicians are better at diagnosing these conditions than they once were.’
Pharmaceutical companies have also sought and received approvals to market their drugs to larger groups of people.
Drugs for ADHD, which Olympic gold medal swimmer Michael Phelps was diagnosed with when he was nine, are prescribed to boys more often than girls, but adult women now take the drugs more often than men.
ADHD prescriptions to adult women grew 2.5 times from 2001. However, ADHD prescriptions for children have been declining since 2005.
That reflects a decline in prescriptions for psychiatric and behavioral drugs for children.
Medco found that prescriptions of those drugs for children have dropped since 2004, when the FDA warned they were linked to suicidal thoughts when used in people under 19.
The company said less than 1per cent of children use antipsychotics drugs, although the figure has doubled since 2001.
In the ‘diabetes belt’ states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, about 23per cent of people are on at least one psychiatric or behavioral disorder drug.
Diabetes is particularly widespread in those states and the condition is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety disorders.
The lowest rate of prescriptions was found in Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan, where less than 15 per cent of people are using those medications.
Read more: http://trade.cc/hyh#ixzz1dzQViKfo
Comments »Calling All Gear Heads: Ferrarri 599 Pics
SHOCK PHOTO: PROTESTORS GIVE “SEIG HEIL” AT ZUCCOTTI PARK!
Analysts Expect Gasoline Prices to Remain High for the Holidays
The national average is $0.51 cent higher than last year. Consumers do not seem to catch a break these days.
Comments »Markets Erase Earlier Gains; Possible Rumor of Italy Not Getting Financial Assistance from the EFSF
Today’s Most Active Put/Call Option Trades
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE BAC 11/19/11 6.0000 2357 0.0500 dn 0.0400 BAC 12/17/11 7.0000 1177 0.1000 dn 0.0200 FCX 11/19/11 36.0000 966 1.0400 dn 1.3500 AAPL 11/19/11 385.0000 911 0.6200 dn 2.8300 BAC 12/17/11 6.0000 678 0.3800 dn 0.0300 AAPL 11/19/11 390.0000 671 0.2300 dn 1.2200 MU 11/19/11 6.0000 615 0.4500 dn 0.0200 INTC 12/17/11 26.0000 493 0.2800 dn 0.1000 TGT 11/19/11 52.5000 464 0.4500 dn 0.5900 AAPL 11/19/11 380.0000 454 1.8000 dn 5.4900 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE LNKD 11/19/11 75.0000 635 1.4000 dn 2.6000 EMC 12/17/11 22.0000 556 0.5100 up 0.2800 AAPL 11/19/11 380.0000 502 5.1000 up 3.1300 AAPL 11/19/11 385.0000 500 8.9000 up 5.5500 GLD 11/19/11 166.0000 406 0.8000 up 0.6500 BAC 11/19/11 6.0000 392 0.1700 up 0.0100 MS 11/19/11 14.0000 365 0.3100 up 0.1100 GLD 11/19/11 164.0000 271 0.1200 up 0.0300 FAS1 11/19/11 15.0000 263 3.1000 up 0.5500 AAPL 11/19/11 365.0000 252 0.4700 up 0.3100 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 102770 135578 238348
-CALLS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE ALL 1/21/12 29.0000 16295 0.2800 dn 0.0300 ALL 12/17/11 28.0000 7919 0.2200 dn 0.0100 INTC 1/19/13 30.0000 5030 1.0600 dn 0.0600 AAPL 11/19/11 390.0000 4908 0.1800 dn 1.1700 BAC 12/17/11 7.0000 4892 0.1000 dn 0.0200 AAPL 11/19/11 385.0000 4287 0.5600 dn 2.7900 ALL 4/21/12 30.0000 3645 0.7200 up 0.0200 INTC 12/17/11 23.0000 3511 1.8600 dn 0.3500 BAC 11/19/11 6.0000 3490 0.0500 dn 0.0500 INTC 2/18/12 23.0000 3485 2.2100 dn 0.4900 -PUTS- OPTION EXP.DATE STRIKE PRC. VOLUME LAST S/PRC. NET CHANGE BAC 1/21/12 14.0000 4975 8.0700 up 0.1700 JEF 11/19/11 9.0000 3638 0.2000 up 0.1500 AAPL 11/19/11 380.0000 3469 5.1000 up 3.1500 JEF 11/19/11 10.0000 3396 0.5000 up 0.2500 BAC 11/19/11 6.0000 3284 0.1900 up 0.0200 AXP 12/17/11 48.0000 2708 2.6900 up 0.7700 GE 12/17/11 15.0000 2618 0.4200 up 0.1400 AAPL 11/19/11 375.0000 2606 2.5300 up 1.5600 PEP 12/17/11 60.0000 2461 0.6900 up 0.2900 AAPL 11/19/11 370.0000 2142 1.1000 up 0.5200 -VOLUME- CALLS PUTS TOTAL 1500822 1686681 3187503Comments »
Angie’s List Bucks the Trend With a 39% IPO Debut Pop
Despite a bad day in the markets investors are hot on the chase for Angie’s List; a customer review site for just about everything.
Comments »FLASH: STOCKS GET CORZINE’D, SILVIO’D, UPPER-DECKERED, RIMM-JOB’D IN LUNCHTIME TRADING
Intraday woosh down at around 12:30pm EST. Nasdaq currently down more than 2%
Comments »UBS Cuts Profit Estimates and Plans to Pink Slip 2k
An Idea or Two
Reading and posting news for iBC has gotten me to read a bit more than i usually would. That is a good thing and I had some ideas I wanted to share with the interwebs.
My first controversial suggestion if to flat out cut all interest on money by 50%. It has been estimated that the cost of everything we buy has about 40% of the total price in interest.
Usury is a very disgusting concept when you think about money as an instrument of trade. When you trade something for something there is no interest. It is simply an exact exchange. Money should also carry this philosophy as it is an element that we use to trade for something else.
As an example if your neighbor came for a cup of sugar; would you insist on getting a cup of sugar plus say another 1/4 cup for your neighborly generosity ? Granted sugar is not as important as money when considering a time element, but you get the point.
I do not want to kill the banks of their usury ways, but if they are going to use the tax payers money to write down toxic assets and to pay themselves bonuses while main street suffers a fucked up economy; well then they should thank us for saving their skin, not putting them in jail, and make life a bit easier for all the citizens that are essentially helping to save this economy.
This 50% cut in interest would make it easier for existing business to breathe during the economic malaise and allow for new business to start up.
If we could take 20%, half of that 40%, off the top of everything we buy..well then we would all have a bit more money to stimulate the economy. It would result in more consumption.
The second thing I want to suggest is how to fix the housing market. Prices will remain depressed until most of the foreclosure inventory is largely expelled from the market place.
There is much trouble over trying to rewrite existing mortgages that are under water. Since the banks, who have the tax payers money keeping them afloat, do not want to suffer losses on a underwater property; they should devote some of this free money they are getting to bridge the loss gap.
If the banks do not want to do this then uncle Sam should create its own bank to borrow money at 0.25% and perform their own version of QE. They would make the spread off a 30 year bond and like the banks would generate free cash flow.
This free cash flow, which is the taxpayers money to begin with, could be used to to right size all the under water properties and help to speed up the process of helping America to refinance their home. This would freeze or at least dramatically slowdown the foreclosure process and ultimately heal the housing market quicker than what is currently being projected.
The last idea I wanted to share is how to create jobs. First and foremost education is the key to this answer over the long term. Please watch the documentary Waiting for Superman on your NFLX account.
In the short term we should take some of the free cash flow and retool America. Corporations have increased the amount of jobs available, but we have not enough educated and qualified people to fill those jobs.
We have many citizens that have been out of work so long that they are no longer current and are passed over for consideration. Why not help some of these citizens develope new skills, and or provide education so they could fill those jobs going to H1 Visas.
Sure we won’t fill those jobs right away, but at least we will get more people back into society as a producing citizen. I mean seriously how many citizens can work as a janitor or pizza maker ? There are only so many survival jobs out there.
Lastly, we must find a way to improve how institutions graduate students. Without limiting choice and the freedom of choice, we need to steer students towards those degrees that will be readily used in the real world.
My only suggestion to this would be to document the hardships of many lives that could have had better results if the right education was chosen. In a similar way of sending teens to a jail to show them why they do not want to end up there; perhaps we could make students better understand the consequences of their choices.
[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SybgWaQy7_c 450 300] [youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUTXb-ga1fo 450 300] [youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOaXTg3nAuY&feature=related 450 300]
Comments »
Allen Stanford Ponzi Victims Looking for Their Pound of Flesh
Victims of Allen Stanford’s alleged $7.2 billion Ponzi scheme may soon have a chance to submit claims, though it remains unclear how much of their losses they might ultimately recover.
Ralph Janvey, the court-appointed receiver for Stanford’s firm, asked a federal judge in Houston for permission to set up a claims process, more than 2-1/2 years after the financier’s arrest, a Wednesday court filing shows.
Approval of the request could pave the way for investors to recover at least some of their losses from Stanford’s alleged fraud, a sum believed to be $2 billion or more.
Stanford, 61, faces 14 criminal charges and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil charges over allegations he deceived investors who bought fake certificates of deposit from his Antiguan bank, Stanford International Bank Ltd.
His February 2009 arrest came two months after Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme was uncovered.
Wednesday’s filing is “a major step” toward returning money to victims, Kevin Sadler, a partner at Baker Botts representing Janvey, said in an email.
Though a court-appointed examiner and a committee of Stanford investors expressed disagreements over parts of the process at an Oct. 13 court conference, “the court made clear at the status conference that the process should begin, and the receiver has acted accordingly,” he added.
Peter Morgenstern, a lawyer for the investors’ committee, on Thursday declined immediate comment. John Little, the examiner, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is unclear how much money will be distributed, when payouts will begin, and how such amounts will be calculated.
“For investor claimants, the amount of the investor’s net investment in the Ponzi scheme will be one of the most significant factors” in determining payouts, Janvey said.
The $7.2 billion figure reflects CDs on Stanford’s books when the receivership was set up, not actual investor losses.
At the Oct. 13 conference, Sadler said at least $2 billion of investor funds had been lost through a series of backdated fictitious loans. “If one wanted to consider a floor of money that’s gone, that certainly would be a candidate,” he said.
HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS SOUGHT
According to a court filing, Janvey had $80.1 million of unrestricted cash on hand as of Oct. 31, after accounting for professional fees and costs.
The trustee is seeking another $955.3 million in litigation. This includes $610 million from other Stanford investors and vendors, and $335 million in British, Canadian, Swiss and other accounts.
Liquidators in Antigua have sought control of some of these accounts, court papers show.
Stanford recently moved to a Houston federal detention center from the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina, where he was treated for an addiction to an anti-anxiety medication.
His criminal trial is expected to begin in January in the federal court in Houston. Stanford is scheduled to be arraigned under his most recent indictment on Nov. 28. That proceeding had been delayed because of his treatment at Butner.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge David Hittner, who oversees the criminal case, barred Stephen Cochell, a lawyer for Stanford in the SEC case, from meeting his client at the Houston detention center until the criminal case is finished.
The judge said public comments by Cochell about Stanford’s current mental status could impact the criminal trial. Cochell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Madoff is serving a 150-year prison term at Butner.
The civil case is SEC v. Stanford International Bank Ltd, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, No. 09-00298. The criminal case is U.S. v. Stanford, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, No. 09-00342
Read more: http://trade.cc/hwl
Some More Morning Fun: Even the Little Ones Will Fuck You Up
Conspiracy or Reality ?
321 Crack Spreads Continue to Crash
Today’s Money Flows, Heat Map, and A/D Line
Money Flows
ISSUE GAINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO (in millions) SPDR S&P 500 SPY ARCA 123.31 +46.0 1.14 Cigna CI NYSE 42.90 +22.8 1.74 Micron Tech MU NASD 6.60 +16.0 2.10 ExxonMobil XOM NYSE 78.44 +14.9 1.65 Bank Of America BAC NYSE 5.96 +13.2 1.52 Intel INTC NASD 24.78 +12.0 1.82 LinkedIn Cl A LNKD NYSE 75.11 +11.8 1.55 Pfizer PFE NYSE 19.40 +10.4 2.16 NetApp NTAP NASD 36.38 +10.0 1.20 IBM IBM NYSE 187.49 +9.3 1.31 Qualcomm QCOM NASD 56.76 +8.6 1.60 Philip Morris Intl PM NYSE 72.14 +8.5 1.73 Boeing BA NYSE 66.94 +7.5 1.66 SPDR Gold Tr GLD ARCA 169.25 +7.3 1.07 Green Mountain Coffee GMCR NASD 54.58 +6.6 1.11 Wells Fargo WFC NYSE 24.88 +6.6 1.81 Salesforcecom CRM NYSE 130.24 +6.5 1.44 PwrShrs QQQ Tr Series 1 QQQ NASD 56.73 +5.6 1.18 McDonald's MCD NYSE 93.09 +5.3 1.57 Caterpillar CAT NYSE 95.33 +5.3 1.22 ISSUE DECLINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO (in millions) Goodrich Corp GR NYSE 123.17 -45.0 0.05 Delphi Automotive DLPH NYSE 21.73 -44.2 0.34 Apple AAPL NASD 383.59 -41.7 0.82 Google GOOG NASD 609.09 -22.0 0.76 Microsoft MSFT NASD 25.91 -14.7 0.50 Semiconductor HOLDRs Tr SMH ARCA 31.42 -11.3 0.18 iShrs MSCI Australia EWA ARCA 22.63 -10.9 0.12 Chevron CVX NYSE 100.50 -10.4 0.67 CF Ind Hldgs CF NYSE 158.50 -10.3 0.75 Citigroup C NYSE 26.46 -10.0 0.77 pricelinecom PCLN NASD 531.45 -7.9 0.80 Carnival CCL NYSE 31.20 -7.7 0.42 Johnson & Johnson JNJ NYSE 63.73 -7.6 0.50 Las Vegas Sands LVS NYSE 47.31 -7.5 0.70 Cisco Systems CSCO NASD 18.70 -7.0 0.57 Procter & Gamble PG NYSE 62.97 -6.6 0.48 Prologis PLD NYSE 27.62 -6.4 0.23 EMC Corp EMC NYSE 23.54 -6.2 0.62 PepsiCo PEP NYSE 63.76 -6.0 0.90 iShrs MSCI Brazil (Free) EWZ ARCA 60.68 -6.0 0.60Comments »
Today’s 52 Week highs and Lows
NYSE
New Highs 7 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Alliance CA Municipal AKP 14.06 5,586 BlkRk MuniYld Inv MYF 14.46 4,577 Healthspring HS 54.69 3,139,014 Invesco Qty Inv IQT 13.50 6,970 Invesco Van Kampen Mun Tr VKQ 13.90 32,034 Kansas City So 4% pfd. KSUp 26.34 770 Nuveen Ins CA NXC 13.65 827 New Lows 25 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Artio Global Invs Inc ART 6.30 6,914 Avon Products AVP 17.34 318,224 Bank Of Ireland IRE 4.45 191,211 Camelot Info Sys ADS CIS 2.14 102,329 China Mng Yng Wnd Pwr ADS MY 2.03 38,089 Daqo New Energy ADS DQ 2.14 60,093 DigitalGlobe DGI 16.50 19,806 First BanCorp Rts FBPr 0.00 12,743 FITrGSNotes6.75%ClA TFG 22.67 1,700 Furniture Brands FBN 1.06 97,330 ICICI Bank IBN 30.43 368,207 IFM Investments ADS CTC 0.39 4,086 Imation IMN 6.08 22,397 Invacare Corp IVC 20.24 7,780 Jefferies Grp JEF 9.72 2,514,269 Lloyds Banking Grp LYG 1.58 1,208,507 Maidenform Brnds MFB 17.02 105,072 Old Republic Intl ORI 7.86 121,256 Portugal Telecom PT 6.55 13,002 Reddy Ice Holdings FRZ 0.64 20,710 Renren A ADS RENN 4.31 675,624 SimcerePharm ADS SCR 7.23 12,876 Sun Life Fincl SLF 19.93 132,296 Thermo Fisher Sci TMO 47.38 599,264 US Airways Grp LCC 4.44 907,593
NASDAQ
New Highs 10 COMPANY SYMBOL HIGH VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Analysts Intl ANLY 5.20 20,110 Cobra Electronics COBR 5.33 10,043 Golar LNG GLNG 44.06 249,945 HealthStream HSTM 16.85 40,913 IntriCon IIN 7.01 2,440 Lumos Networks LMOS 17.99 7,569 MicroNetics NOIZ 8.38 8,290 Netlist NLST 3.75 1,365,935 SPS Commerce SPSC 23.00 18,005 Trans World Entertainment TWMC 2.26 6,661 New Lows 38 COMPANY SYMBOL LOW VOLUME ------- ------ ---- ------ Adept Technology ADEP 2.39 3,300 Ambassadors Grp EPAX 4.34 5,960 ApplEntrgtcs AERG 0.09 48,950 Bon-Ton Stores BONT 3.07 37,637 Broadvision Inc BVSN 7.84 3,521 Canadian Solar CSIQ 2.23 222,472 China Ceramics Un CCCLU 2.82 339 China Sunergy Co CSUN 0.88 74,818 Digital Generation DGIT 13.32 306,551 FNB United FNBND 12.75 1,009 FiberTower FTWR 0.22 461,810 Grupo Galicia GGAL 7.17 81,838 Hoku HOKU 1.21 7,160 Human Genome Sciences HGSI 8.45 447,654 Interactive Intelligence ININ 24.00 19,839 Kratos Defense & Sec Sols KTOS 5.31 14,322 Ku6 Media ADS KUTV 1.40 7,950 Marchex (Cl B) MCHX 5.81 73,609 Microvision MVIS 0.45 60,130 Myrexis MYRX 2.46 15,922 Orckit Comm ORCT 1.00 14,918 Perry Ellis Intl PERY 13.82 633,468 Pinnacle Airlines PNCL 2.31 5,055 Princeton National Bncp PNBC 1.40 2,900 Radisys RSYS 4.68 14,592 SRS Labs SRSL 5.59 3,001 Silver Standard Resources SSRI 13.69 646,018 Torm A/S TRMD 0.80 14,000 Thermogenesis KOOL 0.90 4,694 TransAct Techs TACT 6.31 5,629 USA Techs wt USATW 0.03 10,980 Utd Security Bancshares UBFO 2.18 2,271 Vertex Pharm VRTX 28.78 235,225 VisionChina Media Inc VISN 1.28 39,617 Wayne Savings Bncshrs WAYN 7.76 506 World Heart WHRT 0.19 93,600 Wowjoint Holdings BWOW 0.61 3,600 XenoPort XNPT 4.76 7,251Comments »
Spanish Yields Reverse Course on ECB Buying and Rumors of IMF Deal
Steven Walsh: “We Tried to Buy $100 Million Worth of French Bonds Yesterday”
Steven Walsh, CIO of Western Asset, manager of $433 billion, said in a CNBC interview that he believes French bonds are a good value. He did, however, complain about the lack of liquidity of the bond market, something he hasn’t seen since 2008.
Comments »