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Monthly Archives: November 2012

Documentary: Goat Fucker Chronicles

 

I have made it to documentary Friday unprepared this week. However that does not mean i could not find something interesting.

In light of the alleged claim that DNA results show the Yeti exists  , i thought it would be fun to present some videos that may blow your mind…especially if you do the research. The third video takes things a bit too far to me. It had many interesting references to history  and religion which always holds my attention because they are some of the most mysterious subjects filled with half truths, myths, and subterfuge.

Cheers on your weekend!

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELu9ARLo0jc 450 300] [youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOSbRCg0B4g 450 300] [youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyPdBvul_as 450 300]

 

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Five States Where Residents are Fleeing From High Taxes

“The past few years have really put the squeeze on cash-strapped states to find new sources of revenue.

This environment has generated a level of tax aggression from certain states, which in turn has resulted in a net loss of revenue instead of the intended gain.

Residents have begun voting with their feet, deciding to move out of the state instead of thinning their pocket through unwanted taxation.

So which states are chasing away their residents? And how does it impact you if you live in one of them?

We track migratory patterns through our residency product data, and while some of the states are no-brainers, others may surprise you.

Following are our top five ‘shrinking’ states in ascending order:”

Full article 

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Boehner on ‘Cliff’ Talks: ‘We’re Almost Nowhere’

“House Speaker John Boehner lashed out Friday at President Barack Obama, saying negotiations to avoid the “fiscal cliff” are “almost nowhere.”

Boehner spoke after Republicans disclosed that the White House was $1.6 trillion in tax increases up front, as well as $50 billion in additional stimulus spending. (Read More:Speaker Boehner Discusses ‘Fiscal Cliff.’)

Boehner said the plan would be a “crippling blow” to an economy that is still struggling to find its footing.

“There’s a stalemate. Let’s not kid ourselves,” the Ohio Republican told reporters. “Right now, we’re almost nowhere,”

Even so, he added, he was determined to continue working with Obama.”

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Investment Grade High Yield Corporate Debt Hits Over $1.2 Trillion

“Record-low rates are driving a gusher of new corporate debt this year, but investors should be careful because the quality of those bonds has peaked, experts say.

The amount of investment grade and high-yield corporate bonds issued so far this year is already at a record $1.2 trillion, according to Thomson Reuters IFR. And corporate treasurers are rushing to issue more debt before the end of the year, when tax laws are likely to change.

This week alone, there has been about $35 billion in investment grade deals, including Disney [DIS  49.405    -0.315  (-0.63%)  ]Shell [RDS.A  67.00    0.11  (+0.16%)   ], and Costco [COST  104.10    2.22 (+2.18%)   ]That puts the November total at about $125 billion, the second highest monthly amount ever, according to IFR.”

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Market Update

Markets have gone nowhere today prompting me to eat many samwiches (sic) and to take a siesta.

Market update

3D heat map

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tq-UsaRchI 450 300]

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$MSFT Whiffs on Windows 8 Sales

” NPD research published some horrible news for Microsoft yesterday.

 

  • Despite releasing an entirely new operating system on October 22 of this year, Windows PC sales shrank 21% between 10/21 and 11/17 versus the same period last year.
  • Windows 8 tablet sales during that period were “almost nonexsistent” – just 1% of all Windows 8 sales”

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$HNZ Announces a Quarterly Dividend

 

“PITTSBURGH–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ) announced today that its Board of Directors declared quarterly dividends on both common and preferred stock.

DIVIDEND DECLARATION

The Heinz Board declared the following dividends:

Common Stock

51.5 cents per share on the Company’s 25 cent par value Common Stock payable December 26, 2012 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 11, 2012. This quarterly dividend payment accelerates the Company’s regular quarterly dividend, which is normally paid in early January.

Preferred Stock

42.5 cents per share on the Company’s Third Cumulative Preferred Stock, $1.70 First Series payable January 1, 2013 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 11, 2012.”

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Recent News From the Fiscal Cliff Front

In an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, McConnell elaborated, calling Geithner’s water-carrying “a serious blow to his credibility.” He said the treasury secretary “ought to be embarrassed.”

“Did he outline what other taxes he wants to raise?” Hewitt asked McConnell.

“Yeah, you know, it’s all on the usual poll-tested, oil and gas, raise the estate tax, there’s hardly anything they missed,” responded McConnell. “It is a massive, whopping punch right in the nose to the American economy. I can’t imagine the Democrats would support it. I mean, Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee, is certainly not going to support the estate tax proposal, Mary Landrieu, the Democrats from Louisiana, is not going to support the gas tax. Neither is Mark Begich of Alaska, completely unserious, and here we are witnessing the President running around the country thinking the campaign is not over yet. And they’re presenting laughable suggestions from the Secretary of the Treasury. He ought to be embarrassed to be asked to go up here and do something like that. It’s a serious blow to his credibility.”

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Fast Food Workers Strike at $WEN, $BK, & $MCD

 

“At 11:30 am on Thursday, the start of the lunch hour rush, 100-some raucous protesters swarmed a Burger King near New York City’s Penn Station, chanting and holding up signs decrying low wages at the restaurant and other New York fast food purveyors.

Standing behind a metal barricade outside the store, the crowd included clergy, union organizers and workers from Burger King and other fast food restaurants who had gone on strike earlier in the day.

Customers were avoiding the chaos. Inside, the usually bustling restaurant was empty save for its cashiers, a security guard and two customers.

“If there’s no workers inside, there’s no money for [Burger King],” said Saavedra Jantuah, a cashier who was scheduled to be working behind the counter. “I make $7.25 an hour and that’s barely enough to live on.”

At McDonald’s, Domino’s, Wendy’s and other fast food restaurants across the city, more workers went on strike Thursday, protesting what they say are wages that keep them in poverty. Strikers hope the walkouts will represent a turning point in the low-wage fast-food industry, where workers typically drift from job to job and the franchise-operated structure creates a hurdle for union organizing. The strikes come on the heels of nationwide strikes at Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, which is widely criticized for its low-paying jobs.”

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Unemployment Ticks Higher in Europe

“Eurostat reports that unemployment in the euro area has risen again:

The euro area (EA17) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.7% in October 2012, up from 11.6% in September. The EU271 unemployment rate was 10.7% in October 2012, up from 10.6% in September. In both zones, rates have risen markedly compared with October 2011, when they were 10.4% and 9.9% respectively…”

 

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Debt Ceiling to Be Hit by February – March of 2013

“The independent Congressional Budget Office issued its new estimate of when the federal government will reach its debt ceiling — late February or early March. In its “Federal Debt and the Statutory Limit, November 2012,” the agency reported that the Treasury Department could use “extraordinary measures” to extend the date for when the current limit of $16.394 trillion is hit. Congress and the administration may use the revision to claim that a compromise on budget matters and tax cuts can be extended beyond the end of the year. That will not allay the anxiety that both businesses and individuals have about year’s end and the automatic budget and tax changes to be triggered according to current law.”

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Bullish Sentiment Rises Above 40%

“Bullish sentiment registered above 40% for the first time since August 23, 2012 in the latest AAII Sentiment Survey. Bearish sentiment continues to stay above its historical average, however.

Bullish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will rise over the next six months, rose 5.1 percentage points to 40.9%. This reading ends a 13-week streak of optimism coming in below its historical average of 39.0%.

Neutral sentiment, expectations that stock prices will stay essentially unchanged over the next six months, edged up 1.3 percentage points to 24.7%. Even with the increase, this is the 10th time in the past 11 weeks that neutral sentiment is below 30%. The historical average is 30.5%.

Bearish sentiment, expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months, fell 6.4 percentage points to 34.4%. This is an eight-week low. Even with the drop, pessimism is above its historical average of 30.5% for the 14th consecutive week and the 30th out of the last 34 weeks.

More individual investors are describing themselves as bullish than bearish for just the second time in the past 10 weeks. The bull-bear spread, which measures the difference between bullish and bearish sentiment, is also at its most positive level since August 23, 2012. The current bull-bear spread is 6.5.”

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Rosenblatt Securities’ Reynolds: Credit Bubble Building

“A credit bubble is brewing that will carry stocks and bonds higher for the next two to five years and then burst with a vengeance, says Brian Reynolds, chief market strategist of Rosenblatt Securities.

“People always overdo it [leverage] while they’re doing it,” he tells CNBC. “It’s a positive for share prices. When this cycle ends, we’re probably going to have more leverage, and that means the next bear market will be worse than the last one.”

That’s not particularly encouraging given that the Standard & Poor’s 500 plunged 58 percent in the last bear market (October 2007 to March 2009).”

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$GE Uses Crowd Sourcing to Untangle Travel and Healthcare Bottlenecks

GE is a large company that creates and builds a wide range of products, but the industrial giant is now looking for a little outside help. The company is looking for some Silicon Valley-style innovation, launching two developer crowdsourced “Quests” that challenge scientists to create new ways to solve longstanding air travel and healthcare problems.”

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Berkshire Hathaway, CaixaBank Agree to Reinsurance Deal

“MADRID—Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRKB -0.34% will pay CaixaBank SACABK.MC +0.89% €600 million ($778.7 million) for the future cash flow from a portfolio of life insurance policies, the Barcelona-based bank said Friday, a rare dip into a fiscally stressed euro-zone country for the investment firm run by Warren Buffett.

CaixaBank—a lender that, like many of its Spanish competitors, has large insurance operations—said the reinsurance agreement will result in a one-off gain of €524 million for the bank, reinforcing its capital core.

A spokesman said the bank contacted a number of reinsurers on the possible deal after the summer. CaixaBank will continue handling the policies, the spokesman said, adding that the deal will have no commercial impact on its insurance operations.

CaixaBank is one of Spain’s strongest banks, but its operations have been hurt by the collapse of the country’s real estate market nearly five years ago. The ensuing economic crisis resulted in a decrease of new lending by the bank and the depreciation of its asset portfolio, including a stake in oil firm Repsol REP.MC -0.90%.”

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Income and Spending Go Flat to Negative

“U.S. consumer spending fell in October for the first time in five months as income growth stalled, suggesting slower economic growth in the fourth quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending fell 0.2 percent after an unrevised 0.8 percent rise in September.

It said it could not quantify the impact ofSuperstorm Sandy, but added it made adjustments where source data was not yet available or did not reflect the effects of the storm.

Though the storm, which slammed the East Coast in late October, put a brake on automobile sales, the drop in spending last month was in part a reflection of the weak economic fundamentals.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, would be flat last month.

When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending fell 0.3 percent, the first decline since June, after rising 0.4 percent the prior month.

It was also the largest decline since September 2009 and implied growth in consumer spending this quarter would struggle to exceed the third-quarter’s 1.4 percent annual pace, which was the slowest in more than a year.”

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The White House Releases Details on Their Fiscal Cliff Proposal, GOP Balks

“The White House is seeking $1.6 trillion in tax increases up front, as well as $50 billion in additional stimulus spending, as part of any “fiscal cliff” deal, Republican aides said Thursday, as talks aimed at averting the economy-rattling cliff turned testy.

President Barack Obama also wants a permanent increase in the federal debt ceiling, a one-year expansion of jobless benefits, and an extension of the payroll tax credit, these aides said.

The latest proposals were presented by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who visited Capitol Hill Thursday to discuss the so-called fiscal cliff with leaders of both parties.

After Geithner’s visit, Republican House Speaker John Boehner publicly lambasted the Obama administration, saying “the White House has to get serious.”

Boehner added, “No substantive progress has been made between the White House and the House” in the two weeks since Obama welcomed congressional leaders at the White House.

“I was hopeful we’d see a specific plan for cutting spending,” he said, but added that he “remained hopeful” a deal can be reached before the Dec. 31 deadline. “Jobs are on the line, the American economy is on the line, and this is a moment for adult leadership,” Boehner added.”

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