Taking a Blood Oath / 2013 Version

" We are all faced with an economic situation unparalleled in our life times and all accounts are it is not getting better....the world economy is still rattled and NO ONE knows what is around the corner. "

I wrote those words in 2010, almost three years ago while I was in Afghanistan, just like i am right now. Little has changed as we have the same thick-headed President and the same bunch of business types spouting BS each week about the " Recovery "

The Record Highs on Wall Street are not a sign of good things but of more profit taking by those who wrecked the financial health of our country....remember all HIGHS are followed by LOWS and that LOW will only hurt the ones at the lower rungs of the economic ladder, not the guys on Wall Street or the lead-bottomed POLS in Washington, DC.

ALL the " Blah, Blah, Blah" from the Administration on the Sunday Talk Show circuit and all the " The economy's improving" talk has not improved a single thing....Americans are still hurting and it is likely that many will NEVER recover to the level they were at before the SHITE hit the fan.

The U6 unemployment number is still at 14.4% in 2013 and that means millions of Americans are without work or have settled for low wage crap jobs as they have no other choice.

The present "Lords of the Manor" in the White House seem more hung up on why they aren't being lauded than why people are still out of work...POTUS sputters as he thought he had all the answers but his “Messiah” act is getting panned around the world….the World still sees him for the empty suit that he is and that is why the confidence level in the American Administration is at an all time low all around the world.

 

The companies who have slashed employment are no better – they are taking full advantage of the crisis and reaping extra profits on the backs of the remaining workers…..

To the guy who is on his 85th week of unemployment, he could care less about politics or polls - He is worried about how he is going to get back to something that resembles a normal life…

This brings me to the point where I am today, working in AFGHANISTAN just as I was three years ago when I first wrote about taking a "blood oath"

I continue to do the best work I can while here in Kandahar Province. The 7500 mile commute is the real kick in the old "Hurt Locker", if you know what I mean... What has changed in the past three years is that the situation here is winding down very very very quickly.

In my life, I have had to make some tough deals and have always done what I felt was right, just and true to being honorable.

Now, I have to make a new "blood oath" when I get home to see what will be in store in the job market back home.  I have a few months here but by Summertime, I will be back in the Shire instead of hanging out here in the sandbox.

A "Blood Oath" is a solemn promise to keep an agreement using each party's sense of honor or reputation to uphold the deal.

Life for workers is now similar to the discussion that the two main characters have in the movie, The Untouchables –

Sean Connery plays an older beat cop and Kevin Costner is Elliot Ness, G-Man….They are discussing what they are willing to do to accomplish their goal – getting Al Capone…

Malone: You said you wanted to get Capone. Do you really wanna get him? You see what I'm saying is, what are you prepared to do?

Ness: Anything within the law.
 

Malone: And *then* what are you prepared to do? …. I'm offering you a deal. Do you want this deal?
 

Ness: I have sworn to capture this man with all legal powers at my disposal and I will do so

[Malone looks up at the ceiling of the cathedral as if seeking a sign…]
Malone: Well, the Lord hates a coward. 

[jabs Ness with his hand, and Ness shakes it]

Malone: Do you know what a blood oath is, Mr. Ness?
 

Ness: Yes.
 

Malone: Good, 'cause you just took one...

 

" What are you prepared to do??" – We have all taken a “blood oath” of sorts - We have sworn to do whatever is necessary to provide for our families – even if that means going to the Afghanistan desert for an extended period of time.... I made my oath and endured an extended separation from my family, friends & home.

Mainly due to a group of corporate fat-arses & Wall Street types deciding they needed another bonus for themselves and a politician or two allowing them to get away with it…..and eliminating jobs that would be available for me & others back home.

Somehow all of that was more important than correcting the problems and ensuring that people who needed jobs got them at a decent wage with good benefits…..

Seems as the Joker in "Dark Night" was right when he said:

"Things have changed…..Forever. There’s no going back."

"The only major beneficiaries of the recovery have been corporate profits and the stock market and its shareholders"

"The Horders" is not some reality show where we see a couple who has gathered too much stuff in their cramped quarters but rather the story of what businesses are doing in a period of record profits.

The heads of the corporations in questions are short sighted as the more they follow this path of grabbing profits and not sending that back to the workforce in the form of pay increases and benefits eventually (and likely already) have reached a tipping point where the workers (a.k.a. consumers) will not have the $$$ to spend on the goods and service which generate the profits.

Instead of allowing things to go along as they should, they are trying to strangle the very Golden Goose who supplies their profits. The Unions didn't help either as they are only interested in their own interests and that is not supporting workers but rather keeping things good for those in charge of the Unions. The Unions "use & abuse" the workers just like the businesses.

Northeastern economics professor Andrew Sum called the mismatch "historically unprecedented" and said it bodes ill for future growth..."Workers have no money, no purchasing power, so that's why consumption is not moving," he said.

A freshman economics student can tell you what happens next - The "GREED" factor causes the whole thing to stutter as the companies make it impossible for people to buy the new cars and other durable goods needed because they haven't been able to keep up with inflation. This is further evidence of the " I got mine" aspect in businesses and it will only result in prolonged recession and pain for the majority. The cost of gas and other consumer goods have risen steadily in the last two 1/2 years that the Feckless Fool in the White House has been in charge. This has happened on his watch and he is solely responsible for a failure to act.

And what does the Feckless Fool in the White House have to say about it??

" Time to eat your peas."- President Obama

Oh, and for the record, the Empty Suit and his family will still be going for their 10 day Martha's Vineyard Holiday (at taxpayers expense) even if the majority of Americans can't afford to have a vacation.

HEY, Mr. President - Have you ever heard the term, " Leadership by example ?" - No, I am SURE you haven't. He is the King of the " Do as I say, not as I do" set. And just for the record, he'll be on the government payroll for the rest of his life, regardless of how many people's lives he wrecked with his incompetence.

Companies churn out profits but not jobs

By Steven C. Johnson Reuters 24JULY2011

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The sluggish pace of hiring may be hobbling the U.S. economy, but it's not been holding back big U.S. companies' profits thanks to growth overseas and cost controls at home. And that's bad news for the more than 14 million Americans without jobs.

Big businesses would normally be desperate for surging job growth as it would feed into domestic demand but these aren't normal times. Massive growth opportunities overseas, especially in China and other buoyant Asian economies, have some of the largest American companies on track for record profits, even if they're businesses are mostly treading water in the U.S.

The message last week from the chief financial officer of one of the nation's industrial giants couldn't be clearer.

"We've driven all this cost out. Sales have come back, but people have not," said Greg Hayes, chief financial officer at United Technologies Corp. "It's the structural cost reductions that we have done over the past few years that have allowed us to see strong bottom-line results.

The company, the world's largest maker of air conditioners and elevators, said second-quarter profit rose 19 percent, and it is doing most of its hiring in emerging markets where demand for its products is growing fastest.

It isn't alone in seeing profits climb in the current earnings reporting season.

About 78 percent of companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index that have reported second-quarter earnings have beaten Wall Street expectations. Many benefited after slashing costs when the financial crisis hit and then keeping tight control on them even as sales recovered.

Economists say the ability to do more with less has helped create a two-speed U.S. recovery. The S&P 500 has doubled in value since the recession ended and per-share earnings are currently on track for a new annual record, while employment remains below the level seen in late 2008 when corporate profits troughed.

Employers added fewer jobs in June than at any time in the past nine months, and the jobless rate rose to 9.2 percent - not far below its level of 9.5 percent in June 2009 when the recession ended.

"We've never seen the kind of shedding of jobs that we saw in this recession. America's corporations have never been running so efficiently," said Ellen Zentner, senior U.S. economist at Nomura Securities in New York.

LITTLE WAGE GROWTH

What's more, workers have never claimed such a paltry share of real national income growth. Economists at Northeastern University in Boston recently found corporate profits captured 88 percent of income growth between the second quarter of 2009 and the fourth quarter of 2010.

Workers' take? Slightly more than 1 percent.

"The only major beneficiaries of the recovery have been corporate profits and the stock market and its shareholders," the study concludes.

The high jobless rate is also keeping wage growth severely restrained in the U.S., which is also good for profit margins.

Recent Department of Labor data showed unit labor costs edged up 0.7 percent in the year to March, though not enough to make up a 2.9 percent decline in the prior 12-month period.

Northeastern economics professor Andrew Sum called the mismatch "historically unprecedented" and said it bodes ill for future growth, especially given many companies are sitting on their cash rather than investing it.

"Workers have no money, no purchasing power, so that's why consumption is not moving," he said. By sitting on profits, firms are acting like earners "who take their money and stuff it in the mattress. That's happening across the economy."

U.S. economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter and was expected to remain below 2 percent in the April-June period.

Some blamed that on high energy prices and supply shortages caused by Japan's earthquake and are betting on a rebound in the second half.

A July Reuters poll put the median estimate for 2011 growth at 2.7 percent, down from 2.9 percent in 2010.

CHICKEN AND EGG

Businesses' ability to do more with the same or less -- what economists term increased productivity -- has been rising since the 1990s, thanks partly to technological advancements and the ability to tap markets in fast-growing, lower-cost developing countries.

Some of the most profitable firms are those with overseas markets. The largest U.S. conglomerate General Electric Co. tied its 21.6 percent rise in earnings partly to strong foreign demand for its heavy equipment, including jet engines and electric turbines.

In the United States, things are obviously different. Consumers are still trying to pay down large debts built up during the boom years, which suppresses spending and means there is little incentive for companies to hire.

"It's a chicken-and-egg thing -- whether demand or supply drives growth," Zentner said. "Studies show that lack of sales for small business is the biggest impediment to hiring."

Even companies selling basic consumer products are feeling the pinch as the jobless and those on low incomes watch the pennies. Pepsi Co Inc tempered its full-year outlook this week and said performance in its North American beverage business was worse than expected.

In the cost-conscious auto industry. General Motors Co's top U.S. sales chief, Don Johnson, told Reuters that its manufacturing managers have been "squeaking out extra units through improving line rates, adding on extra shifts". The company indicated it is in no hurry to build new factories or hire lots of new workers.

Uncertainty about future tax rates and policy, a by-product of the deadlock in Washington over whether to raise the country's borrowing limit and how to rein in a gaping budget deficit, has also made firms cautious, said Jacob Oubina, senior U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets.

But Doug Cliggott, U.S. equity strategist at Credit Suisse, said investors and CEOs alike should probably prepare for more subdued earnings in the second half and beyond.

For one thing, growth abroad appears to be slowing as booming economies such as China and Brazil try to tame inflation. Heavy machine maker Caterpillar blamed slower U.S. and global growth for disappointing quarterly earnings on Friday.

And while U.S. interest rates are likely to remain very low for some time, companies won't be able to rely on massive federal spending, which Cliggott said also helped boost profits over the past two years.

(Additional reporting by Scott Malone in Boston, Nick Zieminksi in New York and Clare Baldwin in Detroit; Editing by Martin Howell)

GREEDY BASTARDS - U.S. investigating Vast Insider Trading Probe - WSJ

GREEDY BASTARDS...if it isn't UNION thugs, Teachers, Public Employees (FED, STATE & LOCAL), it is the ones who work on WALL STREET that can try to get away with this SHITE...

I for one am SICK to DEATH of watching the average citizen who works hard, pays taxes, plays by the rules and does the RIGHT THING get screwed over by these bastards....I say throw the bums in Jail...Public Employees use the system to get all they can, they are no different than these Bastards and to see this kind of wanton greed makes me sick.

I swore an oath to protect the country with my life and even though I have retired, that solemn oath is no less in effect today - I still hold fast to that oath

" I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."

Maybe part of the problem with our country is that many of the citizens who think they can rig the system never dedicated themselves to anything BUT themselves....Those of us who have dedicated our lives to the greater good, service to our Country and taken a solemn oath hold that oath to mean more to us than any amount of $$$$ could ever mean.

I spoke to a lady from the OPM when I got my Military Clarence renewed...she asked if I could tell her about myself and why I should be trusted with renewed clearance.....I told her that even if she placed several million dollars on the table, and all I had to do was take it for something like info, why would I value my word so cheaply?? My family has been in Massachusetts since 1635 - 14 generations. Even if you offered me vast sums of $$$, where would I go?? My whole life is here and my family's heritage is tied to Boston. All I am is here. Visiting other places is fine but no amount of $$$ could get me to turn my back on my country, my home or my family.

Unfortunately, this is NOT how others operate and that is a sad fact. We have too many people who were raised without a "moral compass" and the GREED that is exhibited by the popular culture in movies, music (especially the urban hip-hop crowd) is sickening....Oprah is a perfect example of that....her sickening display of "her favorite things" is more greed on display as she hands out stuff, and people show that "things" matter more than having honor or pride in what you are ....it is sad to see that many in our country have become self-centered and greedy, like Oprah...She likes to "act" as if she is helping but it is really all about her & the way that material wealth is more important than anything to her....sickening. She honors idjits like JAY-Z, a former drug dealer and hip-hop mogul who sells the image that $$$, guns & drugs make you successful....truly sickening and without any integrity....and she HONORS him as a "role model" - Really?? how stupid can you get?

Many in this world would sell their own Mother for $$$ and the things that go with having wealth but to me, it would be hollow and empty. $$$ is fine BUT my HONOR is worth more than all the $$$ you could possibly place in front of me...nope, sorry -my integrity is not for sale.

Let's hope they catch the bastards and string em up by their imported Italian shoes!


NOVEMBER 20, 2010.

U.S. in Vast Insider Trading Probe
By SUSAN PULLIAM, MICHAEL ROTHFELD,JENNY STRASBURG and GREGORY ZUCKERMAN

Federal authorities, capping a three-year investigation, are preparing insider-trading charges that could ensnare consultants, investment bankers, hedge-fund and mutual-fund traders and analysts across the nation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The criminal and civil probes, which authorities say could eclipse the impact on the financial industry of any previous such investigation, are examining whether multiple insider-trading rings reaped illegal profits totaling tens of millions of dollars, the people say. Some charges could be brought before year-end, they say.

The investigations, if they bear fruit, have the potential to expose a culture of pervasive insider trading in U.S. financial markets, including new ways non-public information is passed to traders through experts tied to specific industries or companies, federal authorities say.

One focus of the criminal investigation is examining whether nonpublic information was passed along by independent analysts and consultants who work for companies that provide "expert network" services to hedge funds and mutual funds. These companies set up meetings and calls with current and former managers from hundreds of companies for traders seeking an investing edge.
.Among the expert networks whose consultants are being examined, the people say, is Primary Global Research LLC, a Mountain View, Calif., firm that connects experts with investors seeking information in the technology, health-care and other industries. "I have no comment on that," said Phani Kumar Saripella, Primary Global's chief operating officer. Primary's chief executive and chief operating officers previously worked at Intel Corp., according to its website.

In another aspect of the probes, prosecutors and regulators are examining whether Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bankers leaked information about transactions, including health-care mergers, in ways that benefited certain investors, the people say. Goldman declined to comment.

Independent analysts and research boutiques also are being examined. John Kinnucan, a principal at Broadband Research LLC in Portland, Ore., sent an email on Oct. 26 to roughly 20 hedge-fund and mutual-fund clients telling of a visit by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Today two fresh faced eager beavers from the FBI showed up unannounced (obviously) on my doorstep thoroughly convinced that my clients have been trading on copious inside information," the email said. "(They obviously have been recording my cell phone conversations for quite some time, with what motivation I have no idea.) We obviously beg to differ, so have therefore declined the young gentleman's gracious offer to wear a wire and therefore ensnare you in their devious web."

.The email, which Mr. Kinnucan confirms writing, was addressed to traders at, among others: hedge-fund firms SAC Capital Advisors LP and Citadel Asset Management, and mutual-fund firms Janus Capital Group, Wellington Management Co. and MFS Investment Management. SAC, Wellington and MFS declined to comment; Janus and Citadel didn't immediately comment. It isn't known whether clients are under investigation for their business with Mr. Kinnucan.

The investigations have been conducted by federal prosecutors in New York, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Representatives of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, the FBI and the SEC declined to comment.

Another aspect of the probe is an examination of whether traders at a number of hedge funds and trading firms, including First New York Securities LLC, improperly gained nonpublic information about pending health-care, technology and other merger deals, according to the people familiar with the matter.

Some traders at First New York, a 250-person trading firm, profited by anticipating health-care and other mergers unveiled in 2009, people familiar with the firm say.

A First New York spokesman said: "We are one of more than three dozen firms that have been asked by regulators to provide general information in a widespread inquiry; we have cooperated fully." He added: "We stand behind our traders and our systems and policies in place that ensure full regulatory compliance."

Key parts of the probes are at a late stage. A federal grand jury in New York has heard evidence, say people familiar with the matter. But as with all investigations that aren't completed, it's unclear what specific charges, if any, might be brought.

.The action is an outgrowth of a focus on insider trading by Preet Bharara, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney. In an October speech, Mr. Bharara said the area is a "top criminal priority" for his office, adding: "Illegal insider trading is rampant and may even be on the rise." Mr. Bharara declined to comment.

Expert-network firms hire current or former company employees, as well as doctors and other specialists, to be consultants to funds making investment decisions. More than a third of institutional investment-management firms use expert networks, according to a late-2009 survey by Integrity Research Associates LLC in New York.

The consultants typically earn several hundred dollars an hour for their services, which can include meetings or phone calls with traders to discuss developments in their company or industry. The expert-network companies say internal policies bar their consultants from disclosing confidential information.

Generally, inside traders profit by buying stocks of acquisition targets before deals are announced and selling after the targets' shares rise in value.

The SEC has been investigating potential leaks on takeover deals going back to at least 2007 amid an explosion of deals leading up to the financial crisis. The SEC sent subpoenas last fall to more than 30 hedge funds and other investors.

“Today two fresh faced eager beavers from the FBI showed up unannounced (obviously) on my doorstep thoroughly convinced that my clients have been trading on copious inside information.... We obviously beg to differ, so have therefore declined the young gentleman's gracious offer to wear a wire and therefore ensnare you in their devious web.” - John Kinnucan, of Broadband Research, in an Oct. 26 email to clients


Some subpoenas were related to trading in Schering-Plough Corp. stock before its takeover by Merck & Co. in 2009, say people familiar with the matter. Schering-Plough stock rose 8% the trading day before the deal plan was announced and 14% the day of the announcement. Merck said it "has a long-standing practice of fully cooperating with any regulatory inquiries and has explicit policies prohibiting the sharing of confidential information about the company and its potential partners."

Transactions being focused on include MedImmune Inc.'s takeover by AstraZeneca Plc in 2007, the people say. MedImmune shares jumped 18% on Apr. 23, 2007, the day the deal was announced. A spokesman for AstraZeneca and its MedImmune unit declined to comment.

Investigators are also examining the role of Goldman bankers in trading in shares of Advanced Medical Optics Inc., which was taken over by Abbott Laboratories in 2009, according to the people familiar with the matter. Advanced Medical Optics's shares jumped 143% on Jan. 12, 2009, the day the deal was announced. Goldman advised MedImmune and Advanced Medical Optics on the deals.

A spokesman for AstraZeneca and its MedImmune unit declined to comment.

In subpoenas, the SEC has sought information about communications—related to Schering-Plough and other deals—with Ziff Brothers, Jana Partners LLC, TPG-Axon Capital Management, Prudential Financial Inc.'s Jennison Associates asset-management unit, UBS AG's UBS Financial Services Inc. unit, and Deutsche Bank AG, according to subpoenas and the people familiar with the matter.

Representatives of Ziff Brothers, Jana, TPG-Axon, Jennison, UBS and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.

Among hedge-fund managers whose trading in takeovers is a focus of the criminal probe is Todd Deutsch, a top Wall Street trader who left Galleon Group in 2008 to go out on his own, the people close to the situation say. A spokesman for Mr. Deutsch, who has specialized in health-care and technology stocks, declined to comment.

Prosecutors also are investigating whether some hedge-fund traders received inside information about Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which figured prominently in the government's insider-trading case last year against Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and 22 other defendants.

Fourteen defendants have pleaded guilty in the Galleon case; Mr. Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty and is expected to go to trial in early 2011.

Among those whose AMD transactions have been scrutinized is hedge-fund manager Richard Grodin. Mr. Grodin, who received a subpoena last fall, didn't return calls. An AMD spokesman declined to comment.

Write to Susan Pulliam at susan.pulliam@wsj.com, Michael Rothfeld at michael.rothfeld@wsj.com, Jenny Strasburg at jenny.strasburg@wsj.com and Gregory Zuckerman at gregory.zuckerman@wsj.com