The Queenbee speaks again.

Well, I really don't have much to say (just kidding), but I will relate to everyone what it looks like outside my window. I follow a path to enlightenment and I take the wrong turn from time to time. Some people are lucky enough to walk a smooth path and others like me a rugged one. Some seek power over others and riches beyond their wildest imaginations. Others are content with a modest roof over their head, food on the table and a family to share it with. In the end it is not he who dies with the most toys that wins. The rich and the poor eventually take their last breath and take nothing with them.

Egotistically some think that what they've accomplished will matter and their legacy will be one that many will remember. How many people actually have any legacy at all? All these politicians and economists running around trying to save the world's economy that was built on quicksand. I cannot blame one person as it takes a village to mess things up as bad as they are. It befuddles me that they think by reorganizing debt forever, it will somehow bring us back to prosperity. They don't see the forest for the trees. They don't relate to the man on the street who actually has workable skills and cannot find a job. People who build things, people who care for others, people who teach our children, those who put out fires and protect us from those who would do us harm. Police, Teachers. Carpenters, Firemen, Engineers, Nurses, Doctors and so many more.

Instead we pay the biggest money to Sports Icons, Movie Stars, and CEO's that buy and sell companies only to cast these lifetime employees to the UE lines to increase the bottom line. We have a moronic population (The Tea Party, Republicans and Democrats) that votes against their own best interest as they do not understand the issues. They don't want to pay any taxes, but they want social services like Medicare and Social Security. They don't see that the bankers, rating agencies and politicians are raping and pillaging this great land of ours. Unregulated CDO's CDS's MBS's and stock manipulation all done so that they reap huge end of year bonuses. They don't want to fix it and they won't.

Evil people do exist and these people can be dealt with, but at what a cost? Now there are algorithms that determine the collateral damage associated with the value of "the target." Then the drone planes drop bombs right in the middle of main street killing innocent people. The soldier who pushed the button goes home to dinner with the family. As he is thousands of miles away from the battle field. They kill because they are told to kill with impunity. If an authority figure says it is ok, then people will kill each other without another thought.

So as the Eurozone continues to scramble to save their sinking ship, the US does nothing but print more money. This hurts J6P at the pump and the grocery store. We have government without representation and a Tea Party is not the answer this time. The OWS will dissipate in the cold of the winter. So there really are no statesmen that will ride into DC or any European country and call out the Moneychangers.

I don't have any answers and if I did, I wouldn't have the power to carry it out. This is my life and who am I to decide what path others should take. Maybe this is not the life you chose or the one you would prefer, but don't worry as no one gets out alive. I don't want to live beyond my ability to exist independently.

 

Enjoy life the best you can. Find peace within yourself. You only have one life in this incarnation and for some it will seem like it went by in the blink of an eye. Maybe we're not here to change the world. Maybe we are only passers by. However, it is enjoyable to laugh at the idiots whose ship has struck an iceberg and they are trying to bail it out with a bucket. Making jokes at the absurdity of their actions is all just part of the fun here Inside The Hive.

Cyber Monday on course for another record

(Reuters) - "Cyber Monday" was on course to set another record for retail sales on Monday, as the strong start to the holiday shopping season continued online.

Online sales as of 6 pm Eastern time in the U.S. were up 15 percent versus the same period last year, IBM Benchmark, a unit of International Business Machines, said.

ChannelAdvisor, a software company that helps retailers sell more online, said its clients saw same-store sales rise 40.2 percent during the first half of Cyber Monday, versus the same period a year earlier.

Cyber Monday is traditionally the first Monday after Thanksgiving when employees return to offices and purchase items with their work computers.

"Consumers are responding to retail promotions and are doing a greater percentage of their holiday shopping from their desk," said Eric Best of e-commerce firm Mercent.

Retailers that have been Mercent clients for at least a year saw online sales jump 37 percent during the morning of Cyber Monday, compared to the same period last year.

"It's better than we were expecting," Best added. "But this may be a shift to people buying earlier, rather than an increase in the total volume of online sales for the whole holiday shopping period."

In 2010, Cyber Monday sales topped $1 billion, making it the heaviest day of online spending ever, according to comScore Inc. This year, the firm expects Cyber Monday sales to exceed last year's tally.

"This will be the biggest day for retail sales online ever," said John Squire of IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative. "Retailers are doing a great job promoting and discounting to consumers on the days they want to shop."

AMAZON

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/28/us-usa-retail-cybermonday-idUSTRE7AR1VT20111128

Moody's says may cut EU banks' subordinated ratings

(Reuters) - Ratings agency Moody's said on Tuesday it could downgrade the subordinated debt of 87 banks across 15 European Union nations on concerns that governments would be too cash-strapped to bail out holders of riskier bank debt in times of stress.

Moody's said the greatest number of ratings to be reviewed were in Spain, Italy, Austria and France.

The review could lead to an average potential downgrade of subordinated debt by two notches, and junior subordinated debt and Tier 3 debt by one notch, it added.

Holders of subordinated debt are further back in the queue than owners of senior debt when it comes to a claim on a bank's assets, thus making it a riskier class of debt.

"Moody's believes that systemic support for subordinated debt in Europe is becoming ever more unpredictable, due to a combination of anticipated changes in policy and financial constraints," the agency said in a report.

Moody's noted there had been recent instances where losses had been imposed on subordinated debt holders without any significant contagion to other liability classes.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/29/us-europe-ratings-idUSTRE7AS02Q20111129

Gold Stock Price Update for Today, Nov-28

11/28/2011 10:00:14 AM

Gold stock prices for today, Monday, November 28, 2011. This is an overview of how gold mining stocks are performing.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:ABX) is currently trading at $47.59. ABX is trading -2.81% below its 50 day moving average and-2.82% below its 200 day moving average. ABX is -14.94% below its 52-week high and 12.24% above its 52-week low. ABX's PE ratio is 10.92 and their market cap is $47.58B.

Barrick Gold Corporation is engaged in the production and sale of gold, as well as related activities such as exploration and mine development.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE:GG) is currently trading at $47.84. GG is trading -1.68% below its 50 day moving average and -3.25% below its 200 day moving average. GG is -14.87% below its 52-week high and 23.38% above its 52-week low. GG's PE ratio is 21.17 and their market cap is $38.70B.

Goldcorp, Inc. is engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development and operation of precious metal properties. It continues to investigate and negotiate the acquisition of additional precious metal mining properties or interests in such properties.

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (NYSE:AU) is currently trading at $42.98. AU is trading -2.75% below its 50 day moving average and -4.61% below its 200 day moving average. AU is -16.60% below its 52-week high and 10.29% above its 52-week low. AU's PE ratio is 14.77 and their market cap is $16.43B.

http://www.beaconequity.com/smw/15771/Gold-Stock-Price-Update-for-Today-Nov-28

Record Gold Hoard Spurs Bullish Bets

Gold traders are more bullish after investors accumulated the biggest-ever hoard of the metal, with Europe’s deepening debt crisis driving them to protect their wealth with this year’s second-best performing commodity.

Eighteen of 26 surveyed by Bloomberg expect bullion to rise next week.Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold reached a record 2,350.8 metric tons on Nov. 23, now valued at $127.6 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Hedge funds and other speculators increased their net-long position, or bets on higher prices, for four weeks, the longest stretch since March, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show.

Almost $12 trillion was wiped off the value of global equities since May on mounting concern about slower global growth, driving investors to what are perceived as the safest assets. Yields on Treasuries fell to a near-record low and gold is heading for an 11th consecutive annual gain. Bullion beat every other member of the Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities this year except for gasoil.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-25/biggest-gold-hoard-ever-bolstering-bullish-bets-from-traders-commodities.html

U.S. Hiring Probably Failed to Cut Joblessness

The pace of hiring in November probably failed to reduce unemployment in the U.S., showing employers remain concerned growth will slow, economists said before reports this week.

Payrolls climbed by 120,000 workers after rising 80,000 in October, according to the median forecast of 59 economists in a Bloomberg News survey before a Dec. 2 report from the Labor Department. Thejobless rate probably held at 9 percent.

DirecTV (DTV) is among companies saying they will keep a tight rein on spending and employment in 2012 on concern Europe’s debt crisis and election in the U.S. will restrain the world’s largest economy. The lack of jobs will probably pressure wages, depriving consumers of the means to boost spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

“We have a labor market that’s improving, but it’s still not great,” saidStephen Stanley, chief economist for Pierpont Securities LLC inStamford, Connecticut. “Uncertainty over Europe and the U.S. fiscal situation is an impediment to firms expanding, whether it is labor or capital investment.”

Other reports this week may show manufacturing picked up, new-home sales stagnated and property prices declined.

The jobless rate has exceeded 8 percent since February 2009, the longest stretch of such levels of unemployment since monthly records began in 1948.

The projected gain in payrolls would bring the average for July through November to 118,000, compared with 131,000 in the first six months of the year.

Shares Slump

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-27/hiring-probably-failed-to-cut-joblessness-u-s-economy-preview.html

IMF readying 600b euro bailout for Italy: report

The IMF could bail out Italy with up to 600 billion euros ($800 billion), an Italian newspaper reported on Sunday, as Prime Minister Mario Monti came under pressure to speed up austerity measures.

The money would give Monti a window of 12 to 18 months to implement urgent budget cuts and growth-boosting reforms "by removing the necessity of having to refinance the debt," La Stampa reported, citing IMF officials in Washington.

The report said the IMF would guarantee rates of 4.0 per cent or 5.0 per cent on the loan -- far better than the borrowing costs on commercial markets, where the rate on two-year and five-year government bonds has gone above 7.0 per cent.

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However, traders this mornign were skeptical about the size of the required loan, pointing out the IMF doesn't have sufficient resources at its disposal for a bailout of this size.

A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that contacts between the IMF and Rome had intensified but added it was unclear what form of support could be offered if a market sell-off on Monday forced immediate action. Official sources in Rome said they were unaware of any request for assistance from Italy.

Italy needs to refinance about 400 billion euros in debt next year.

The size of the loan would make it difficult for the IMF to use its current resources so different options are being explored, including possible joint action with the European Central Bank in which the IMF would be guarantor.

"This scenario is because resistance from Berlin to a greater role for the ECB in helping states in difficulty -- starting with Italy - could be overcome if the funds are given out under strict IMF surveillance," the report said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/imf-readying-600b-euro-bailout-for-italy-report-20111128-1o1sx.html#ixzz1eyaumnYd

S&P 500 Has Worst Thanksgiving Week Since ’32 Amid Europe Crisis

U.S. stocks tumbled in the worst Thanksgiving-week loss for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 1932 as concern grew thatEurope’s debt crisis will spread and American policy makers failed to reach agreement on reducing the federal budget.

Bank of America Corp., Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) Co. and Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) dropped at least 7.6 percent to lead declines in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. (INDU) Energy stocks fell the most in the S&P 500as oil declined for a second week and as Chevron Corp. (CVX) lost 5.7 percent after it was blocked from drilling in Brazil while the government probes a recent spill. Netflix Inc. (NFLX) slid 18 percent after raising $400 million to bolster cash.

The S&P 500 slid 4.7 percent to 1,158.67, closing at the lowest level since Oct. 7. The Dow fell 564.38 points, or 4.8 percent, to 11,231.78 this week.

“We’ve resumed focus on the European debt issues,” Terry L. Morris, senior equity manager at Wyomissing, Pennsylvania- based National Penn Investors Trust Co., said in a telephone interview. His firm manages about $2.2 billion. “The situation in Europe doesn’t seem to be improving, which makes the market defensive,” he said. “Spending cuts kicking in in the U.S. will be a negative too because it will be a drag on economic growth.”

The S&P 500 (SPX) has fallen for seven days, the longest streak in four months, and has tumbled 7.6 percent so far in November. U.S. equities erased an early advance on the final session of the week as S&P lowered Belgium’s credit rating and Reuters reported that Greece is demanding private investors accept larger losses on their debt.

Debt Concerns

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-25/s-p-500-has-worst-thanksgiving-week-since-32-amid-europe-crisis.html

Canada’s Dollar Weakens to Almost Lowest Level in More Than Seven Weeks

Canada’s dollar dropped to its lowest level in more than seven weeks against its U.S. counterpart as rising Italian borrowing costs spurred concern that the euro zone’s debt crisis is worsening.

The currency declined for a second straight week before reports next week on gross domestic product and employment growth. Stocks and crude oil, two of the Canadian dollar’s primary drivers, also lost for the week as government-bond yields traded at almost record lows.

“The whole environment is very negative for risk,” said Jose Wynne, head of North America foreign-exchange research at Barclays Plc’s Barclays Capital unit, by phone from New York. Commodity currencies such as the Australian and Canadian dollars are “taking it badly,” he said, predicting the Canadian currency will weaken to C$1.10 by year-end.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-25/canada-s-dollar-declines-to-seven-week-low-as-economic-concern-grows.html

GFC II on its way: Norris

OUTGOING Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris has warned that the European debt crisis has entered a dangerous phase, likening the current turmoil to the global financial crisis of three years ago.

Mr Norris said global money markets ''effectively froze'' this week as Germany failed to sell the entire stock of €6 billion ($8.2 billion) worth of long-term bonds.

His comments came as the leaders of the euro zone's key economies, France, Germany and Italy, met in France overnight to resolve differences over how to handle Europe's debt crisis.

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But Mr Norris, who retires next Wednesday after more than six years in the role, cautioned that credit-crunch conditions were returning, which is threatening to choke off funding for banks around the world.

''This has potential to be significantly worse than the Lehman Brothers collapse and the subprime crisis because now we are talking about nation states,'' Mr Norris told BusinessDay.

''If you have a situation like you had today, where markets had effectively frozen, then it doesn't matter how good your name is, you are not going to be able to access markets,'' Mr Norris said. ''As of today, no banks could access these markets.''

http://www.smh.com.au/business/gfc-ii-on-its-way-norris-20111124-1nwx1.html

View: Black Friday Turns Freaky for Economists

Happy Black Friday! That’s the name the financial world has given to the day after Thanksgiving, which marks the opening of buying season. A fifth of all consumer purchases this year will be made between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

These weeks may be thought of as the Western answer to Ramadan, which is for Muslims a monthlong period of self-denial, reflection and prayer. For Christians and Jews and Muslims in the U.S., the next few weeks will be a period of self-indulgence and heedless consumerism. Some find the traditions of this holy period -- particularly shopping -- offensive and exhausting, but we should honor the indigenous culture of the West, of which Christmas shopping is a deeply ingrained part.

Black Friday is similar to another important Western holiday, Groundhog Day. The difference is that instead of a rodent emerging from the ground, taking a sniff and determining whether there will be six more weeks of winter, you’ve got economists and demographers going to the mall, taking a sniff and determining whether there will be six more months of recession.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-25/view-black-friday-turns-freaky-for-economists-politicians.html

Happy Thanksgiving to all

I thought about what I would put up for Thanksgiving. Then I decided to go with what really matters.  This is a day for the markets to rest. Thanksgiving should be about spending time with the family, eating a lot of good food and FOOTBALL!! I will be most happy if the Green Bay Packers defeat the Detroit Lions. Thank you all for being a part of my family Inside the Hive. Go Packers!!!

Only a Handful of Stocks are Up the last Five Days

There have been few hiding places over the last five trading days. The major indices are down sharply and all sectors are also down. As the Sector Market Carpet shows, stocks in the utilities and consumer staples sectors were down the least, while technology and energy stocks were down the least. The red box to the right shows the top five gainers and losers. 

Shaza sent me this from the blog Some Assembly Required

Problems are distorted by the lens used to examine them.

Dead On Arrival: Never mind the details of the IMF's new 'Precautionary Credit Line' proposal, the IMF does not have the money to fund it adequately (estimated at $3 to $4 trillion) and it will require the support of the GOP to get the 'contribution' it would require from the US.

Balance Beam: Attempting to position itself as a support of democracy and human rights in the Middle East without upsetting the dictatorships it has and continues to support, the US has called for “restraint on all sides” in the ongoing confrontation between armed police and unarmed demonstrators in Egypt. For example, the demonstrators shot by the police should ideally die quietly and off camera.

http://ckm3.blogspot.com/

And this:

The winners circle for 2011 (so far)

Richard HemmingNovember 18, 2011


Fossicking for gold

As the year draws to a close, it's worth noting some of the hits and misses of this column.

The big hits, as it turns out, include many of the gold stocks.

All but one or two of the gold stocks this column has written favourably on over the past eight or so months have done well, some more than doubling.
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These include Norton Gold Fields (ASX code NGF), Red Five (RED), Northern Star (NST), Papillon Resources (PIR), Doray Minerals (DRM), Troy Resources (TRY) and Resolute Mining (RSG).

http://www.theage.com.au/business/the-winners-circle-for-2011-so-far-20111118-1nm0d.html

Oil heading for $US200 a barrel?

David Lee SmithNovember 22, 2011

In May 2008, as crude oil steamed toward an all-time high of $US147 per barrel, a Goldman Sachs group predicted that the price could move as high as $US200 within the following 24 months.

Instead, during the second half of the year its price rolled over and began a free fall to near $US30 as December brought the eventful year to a close.

It now appears, however, that Goldman might just have been early in its prediction rather than simply wrong.
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Oh, I know, light, sweet crude is currently trading near $US100 a barrel, and it would require a host of major events to drive it to double that level, especially during 2012.

http://www.theage.com.au/business/oil-heading-for-us200-a-barrel-20111122-1ns4b.html

U.S. Debt Panel Fails to Agree on Cuts

A special debt-reduction committee in the U.S. Congress failed to reach agreement, extending partisan gridlock into the 2012 election year and setting the stage for $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts.

President Barack Obama blamed Republicans, saying in remarks at the White House they “refused to listen to the voices of reason and compromise.” The president said he would veto any move to avoid the automatic spending cuts that are supposed to start in 2013 as a result of panel’s failure.

Committee co-chairmen Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a Republican, and Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat, said in an e-mailed statement that “after months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’s deadline.”

Murray told reporters she would keep working toward a “fair and balanced” deal that could forestall the automatic cuts. “We have a responsibility to find that solution, and I’m going to keep working each and every day until we get there.”

Standard & Poor’s said it would keep the U.S. government’s credit rating at AA+ after the Hensarling and Murray announcement. S&P, which stripped the U.S. of its top AAA grade on Aug. 5, said it decided that the failure by the committee didn’t merit another downgrade. Moody’s Investors Service today affirmed its Aaa credit rating of the U.S. while maintaining a negative outlook.

Last-Ditch Attempts

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-21/supercommittee-fails-to-reach-agreement-on-1-2-trillion-deficit-reduction.html

Vets Join Tough Job Market


As the U.S. pulls troops out of Iraq, some companies say they are looking to add a few former soldiers to their ranks.

Dyron Snipe, with daughter Seidron, says his expectation of deployment could hinder his job prospects.

That may be easier said than done.

Following President Barack Obama's October troop withdrawal announcement, tens of thousands of service members are expected to leave Iraq by Dec. 31. Those who don't re-enlist, join the reserves or ride out a contract will re-enter civilian life and for most, that means getting a job.

But only about half of veterans felt they were prepared to assimilate into civilian life and look for work, according to an October survey by Monster Worldwide Inc. And nearly one in five recently returned veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan screen positive for post-traumatic stress disorder, according a 2008 study by RAND Corp., a nonprofit research institute.

Yet veterans and service members are known to have skills that managers consider essential to the workplace. Some of those skills include attention to detail, self-discipline, problem-solving, decision-making in stressful situations and ability to work in a team, say human-resources experts.

More than 60% of employers feel motivated to hire veterans based on their qualifications and prior work experience and a full 98% of employers that had hired a veteran would hire one again, according to an October Monster survey.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204517204577046320366010582.html?mod=WSJ_economy_LeftTopHighlights

MF Global Trustee Says Shortfall Could Exceed $1.2 Billion

The court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of MF Global’s brokerage now estimates that the shortfall in the firm’s customer funds could be more than $1.2 billion, double previous estimates.

Regulators currently suspect that MF Global improperly used customer money for its own purposes in the days before filing for Chapter 11 protection, according to people briefed on the matter.

The decision to release the updated figure on Monday came after authorities concluded that much of the customer money had left the firm, these people said.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/mf-global-trustee-estimates-shortfall-could-be-more-than-1-2-billion/?ref=business

Chinese Silver Investment Going Parabolic

BY DAN COLLINS on Financial Sense.

When 1.3 Billion people start investing in something…you might want to pay attention.

Chinese investment in silver has exploded since last year, with the trading volume going exponential. The China Daily reported today that the trading volume of silver forwards on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), China's only exchange for the precious metal, surged 751 percent year-on-year in 2010. Meanwhile, the volume in September of this year was more than six times that of the same period in 2010.

Chinese commercial banks are now selling silver to investors in the hundreds of tons. One example is the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC), China's biggest lender which launched paper silver trading for individual investors in August of last year. The other large Chinese Banks have also introduced silver trading. The trading volume of ICBC's paper silver products alone reached 300 tons in the first half of 2011, almost four times the figure for the whole of 2010. That's right, one Chinese bank alone sold 300 tons or over 10.5 million ounces of silver in only 6 months. In only their first year of trading, ICBC bank alone will sell over 20 million ounces of silver which alone would represent over 2% of the total amount of silver mined on earth for the entire year.

The key factor to pay attention to is that most of these silver purchases are forward contracts and not the actual physical silver. What happens when Chinese investors demand physical silver instead of paper silver?

Modern day commodity markets are characterized by a continuing divergence between the “paper” and the real “physical” markets. The Chinese silver market is no different.

Most commodities trading takes place between parties than have no physical supply of the materials. In the Silver market, the distortion between the physical and paper markets is extreme. Every day in the global markets, $50 Billion dollars of silver can be sold daily by parties that actually own no silver. The global silver market will trade 1 billion ounces daily in global markets which is more than the entire amount of silver mined each year, which is close to 900 million ounces.

http://www.financialsense.com/contributors/dan-collins/2011/11/01/chinese-silver-investment-going-parabolic

China gold imports soar six-fold on investment demand

Investors’ rapidly-growing appetite for gold has pushed up China’s gold imports six-fold in the first 10 months of the year, a Shanghai Gold Exchange official said on Thursday, highlighting the appeal of the precious metal as a hedging tool.

In a rare revelation of China’s gold trade data, which is not published by customs, exchange chairman Shen Xiangrong said the country imported 209.72 tonnes of gold in the first ten months of the year.

http://www.thechinamoneyreport.com/category/chinese-gold-silver-markets/