Yo-Yo Dow

DOW (DJIA) closes 485 points (4.68%) up at 10850. NASDAQ and S&P close 4.97% and 5.27% up.

Chilean lemons...

Photo: Michael Liczbanski

Do we really need Chilean lemons in the United States? Chile is so far away, dear Safeway, and Florida is so close...And so are California and Mexico...

What happens if we contract some incurable Chilean Evil, eh?

Laura

Subtropical storm Laura has formed today in the Atlantic; it is projected to wander a bit in the North Atlantic then hit Ireland/UK at the end of the week.

Subtropical, eh? I wonder if it's going to count as the 12th named storm of the 2008 hurricane season in the Atlantic...

Bailout fiasco

DOW falls (a lot) and closes at 10365, that's 777 (6.98%) down: the largest single-day point drop in history! S&P down by over 8.8% and NASDAQ by over 9.1%. Still, in terms of percentages not exactly a "black Monday" but pretty darn close...

Now, can we modify this failed strategy and (finally!) help the real victims, i.e. the individuals..? We don't need to prop up the very people (greedy crooks, AKA "bankers", most of them MBAs) who got us into this mess by betting (yep, that's the word "betting") that the value of homes will climb indefinitely. Geez, is there a chance that the Whartons, Sloans, Cornells and Yales of this world have produced a bunch of idiots who have finally succeeded in destroying our economy..? And isn't "a 10 000 MBAs at the bottom of the ocean" a good beginning..?

Quotes and headlines:

The Times of London: US bank bailout in chaos after shock vote

Washington Post: Lawmakers Scramble to Figure Out Next Move in Financial Crisis In 228-205 vote, lawmakers block bill that would have allowed the government to buy up debt held by cash-starved Wall Street firms.House Rejects Bailout; Markets Plunge

Paul Newman

Died late Friday (September 26 2008) of cancer at 83.
Great actor and an exceptional human being: his Newman's Own brand of condiments gave over $250 000 000 to charities!

Kyle again

Kyle has become the 6th hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. New England/Martimes will get a rare taste of tropical weather early Monday...

"The economy is fundamentally sound" (said you-know-who)

Yesterday, the US government made the largest bank seizure in the history of this United States: Washington Mutual got seized by the regulators and immedaitely sold (in pieces) to JPMorgan Chase.

Kyle

T.S. Kyle (the 11th named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season) that has formed in the Caribbean, today (September 25 2008) in the afternoon, is projected to hit New England/Canada as an entry-level hurricane early next week.

Deal or no deal...

On-line reactions to the meeting if the troika en La Casa Blanca (Thursday, September 25 2008 6 PM Eastern.)

Los Angeles Times
White House meeting on bailout ends
Lawmakers had seemed close to a deal, but none is reached

Denver Post
Congressional leaders agreed today on a tentative bailout plan for Wall Street. President Bush brought the two men fighting to succeed him to a historic White House huddle on how to sell a deal to lawmakers.

Miami Herald
ECONOMIC BAILOUT PLAN
Tentative meltdown deal: Bush, McCain, Obama meet

Washington Post
Bush Hopes for Quick Deal but House GOP Resists
President Stresses Urgency at High-Level White House Meeting

Washington Post at 6:27 PM
White House Meeting Fails to Yield Bailout Deal
Republicans Resist Agreement Made by House, Senate Negotiators

New York Times
Lawmakers Agree on Outline of Bailout

New York Post
Meeting of the Minds: McCain, Obama join Bush at White House

Boston Globe
Bush urges bailout unity

The Times (UK)
Wall St bailout - the deal is done

My take? Why throw good money ( that we don't have and need to borrow first, mainly from China and at what cost(!) ) after bad money, that we are not likely to recover..?

Bailout

I guess it is final...several trillion dollars (including the interest we'll pay to the Chinese) out the window to prop up, well, I'm not exactly sure whom or what. But, heck, a week ago the economy was "fundamentally sound." What the hell went wrong last week..?

Bailout

The "bailout" has been accepted with such exuberance that the price of crude oil ended up at $120/barrel...(That's $20 or 20% up...)

Hail! Hail! Heineken

Crypto Advertising Awards (also known as “Emmy Awards”) were given out yesterday (September 21 2008) in Los Angeles. Heineken won.

If you don’t know that yet, Heineken has been paying bazillions of dollars to have its products "integrated" into the TV show Mad Men on AMC. And since the show is on (paid) cable, the big business has finally succeeded in having the customers pay and pay and pay… Not only to purchase the stuff, but also to watch commercials for their products.

(Solution: watch less TV, be selective and discriminating. Can you..?)

Apparently mo’ (and mo’ and mo’ and mo’) money…

$700 billion, one trillion, two trillion…Not a soul really knows how much will the “bailout” cost but one thing is certain: the managers of the bailout will make $3,000,000/year, most brokers in excess of $500,000 and average investors will be paid 2 cents on every dollar invested. Oh, and the tab will be paid by my grandchildren’s grandchildren. So...the evil of socialized health service and the bliss of socialized banking... Irony, anyone..?

The dream of every capitalist financier has finally been fulfilled: leave the profits private but nationalize losses. Both Karls - Marx and Rove - are VERY happy dudes..!

No mo’ money

“Financial turmoil” headlines as seen in the on-line editions on Thursday, September 18, 2008 (AM.)

Los Angeles Times
Financial crisis deepens amid fear of continued stock dive

The Denver Post
Stocks head for higher open

Miami Herald
Next shoe to drop could be WaMu sale
(WaMu = Washington Mutual)

The Washington Post (three stories on the front page.)
Central Banks Move to Restore Confidence
Lawmakers Left on the Sidelines
Figuring Out How to Clean Up

New York Times
Central Banks Pump Cash Into Market . Coordinated Moves Meant to Head Off Credit Crunch

New York Post
More grief on the street of $creams

The Boston Globe
Money market funds battered

The Times (London, UK)
Central banks in $180bn emergency action

The Guardian (London, UK)
Central banks pump $180bn into money markets

Raising...

The price of crude oil is below $100/barrel (lowest in 6 months) yet, the price of gas has gone up – practically overnight – quite considerably: from ten or so cents on a gallon to more than $5/gallon is some places (the latter is obvious price gauging, hint, hint...) Of course, the increases are blamed on the hurricane that hit the Texas coast.

Now, here is a simple question: why it takes weeks, if not months, for the pump prices to dip after the price of crude oil decreases, but only a few nanoseconds to raise the pump prices considerably after practically EVRY event, even if it does not affect oil at all…

And why ALL gas vendors and retailers do it at the same time and by the same amount? Collusion anyone? Will it ever be investigated..? (We all know the answer to that question…a resounding NO! Oil industry, oil industry über alles!)

Early september cyclones (sans Gustav and Hanna)

If this blog is starting to look like a demented "hurricane hunter" pet project - my apologies... Unfortunately, the tropical storms of 2008 hit the poorest areas of the world (Haiti, Cuba, Dominicana...) inflicting unspeakable damage and suffering. I feel compelled to document just a bit of their history. Besides, there isn't much going on in the US... If you are after the US election coverage, read The Huff if you are a democrat (or change your party affiliation if you are any of the "others"...you'll be a much happier person...guaranteed..!)

Please help the hurricane victims everywhere, especially in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba!


Hurricane/TS Ike/Tropical Depression Nine Formed September 1 2008 (Labor Day in the US.) Upgraded to a tropical storm, Ike, the 9th named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season that afternoon. Initial bearing - the Bahamas (as a hurricane) on Sunday. September 3 (afternoon) - upgraded to Category 1 hurricane. Rapidly intensified and become Category 3 in the evening. September 4 (morning) become a Category 4 hurricane forecast to roughly follow the Hanna's path (Bahamas, then south-eastern US coast.) September 5 (morning) downgraded to Category 3. May hit Miami straight-up as a major hurricane next Tuesday or Wednesday. September 5 (evening) looks like it is going to squeeze between Cuba and Florida, hit the Keys and cross over into the Gulf heading straight for ..? September 6 (morning) sadly, it looks like Ike will be heading straight for New Orleans. September 6 (noon) downgraded to Category 2 due to hit Turks & Caicos, the Bahamas and Cuba later tonight and tomorrow September 6 (afternoon) intensified, upgraded to Category 4 heading straight for Cuba. September 7 (morning) category 4 hurricane heading for Guantanamo, Cuba and on to La Habana. According to the Turks and Caicos premier Michael Misick, Ike damaged more than 80 percent of the homes on Grand Turk and South Caicos islands. Lots of damage and deaths in Haiti (town of Cabaret seems to take the brunt of the Ike's force with tragic results - at least 22 deaths.) September 7 (afternoon) downgraded to Category 3. The outer bands of Ike have practically closed the city of Gonaïves in Haiti, already flooded by the previous storm, Gustav. September 7 (evening) landed on Cuba (near Punto de Sama) as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds. September 8 (morning) over Cuba, downgraded to Category 2. Haiti reports at least 500 deaths. Massive devastation in Cuba. September 8 (evening) downgraded to Category 1. Just off the south coast of Cuba. September 9 (morning) still Category1, battering Cuba. Thanx to hurricane preparedness in Cuba there is rarely any loss of life despite frequent storms and hurricanes. The new forecast calls for Ike to head for the central Texas Gulf coast. September 9 (evening) finally off the northern coast of Cuba. Sadly, at least 4 Ike-related deaths reported in Cuba. Still Category 1 and heading for the Texas coast.

Destruction in Pinar del Rio (Cuba.)


September 10 (afternoon) upgraded to Category 2.
September 11 (afternoon) still Category 2, but take a look at its size!


Image source: NOAA/NHC

September 12 (morning/noon) - still Category 2, heading for Galveston and Huston as a huge, destructive storm with "COASTAL STORM SURGE FLOODING OF UP TO 20 FEET...WITH A FEW SPOTS TONEAR 25 FEET...ABOVE NORMAL TIDE ALONG WITH LARGE AND DANGEROUS BATTERING WAVES..." (Source: NHC.) September 12 (evening) still Category 2 (borderline Category 3) September 13 - landed in Galveston, TX at 2:10 AM (CDT) as a Category 2 hurricane. Widespread damage from water, wind and fire in Galveston, Houston and outlying areas. September 13 (noonish) downgraded to TS.
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Image source: NOAA/NHC

TS Josephine/Tropical Depression Ten has formed near the Cape Verde Islands today, Tuesday, September 2 2008. Likely to be upgraded later today to the tenth named tropical storm of the season. Yep, and so it is - Josephine. So, on September 2, 2008 we had four named storms in the Atlantic (see picture.) The yearly average is 11 named storms in the Atlantic so we are almost certain to eclipse that number this year... Expected to peter out this Saturday or Sunday as a tropical depression in high seas without affecting any landmasses. September 5 - still a tropical storm in high seas. September 6 - downgraded to a tropical depression in the middle of Atlantic. September 7 - tropical cyclone no more, a mere disturbance with low potential for redevelopment, but it might strengthen and re-emerge as a tropical cyclone. September 9 - well it didn't redevelop and, poof! it's gone for good!

IC

50 years ago today (September 12, 1958) Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments demonstrated that the Earth is flat and can be shrunk considerably... Oh, well, not realy, but he did show that at least 5 earthly components could be put on a really small piece of silicone to form an "integrated circuit" called later a "microchip." It looked like this:



Kilby and the co-founder of Fairchild Industries Robert Noyce are considered co-inventors of IC.

(Picture source unknown - it is floating out there in the electronic wilderness...)

Paralympics Beijing 2008

September 6-17 2008.

The "other" Olympic games - in a sense more important than the "regular" Olympics: this year's Paralympics are held in China, country not exactly known for treating disabled people in equitable and compassionate way. Maybe something will rub off on them...

More Information on the official site of the Paralympic Games 2008.

Falling...

Crude oil at $102/barrel... My oh my...

The chairman of Exxon-Mobil was seen crying in public when told that the 3rd quarter profit will fall by thirty-nine dollars and seventeen cents to just $10,987,234,751.34

United Airlines and false rumors...

United Airlines shares fell down to one cent in late morning today (Monday, September 8 2009) on NYSE. (That's down 99.92 percent, or $12.29 from the pre-fall value of $12.30) on a false report about the airline's bankruptcy filing posted on the web. (The news item was from 2002...)

Trading in United shares was halted at 11:08 a.m.and resumed at 12:30 p.m. and by early afternoon its shares had nearly recovered, down only 70 cents, to $11.60. (All times Eastern.)

No "Rent" no more

The Musical ''Rent'' closed last night (Sunday, September 7 2008) after 12 years and 5,124 performances off and on Broadway. Poor rentheads ...

"Live long and prosper"

42 years ago today, September 8 1966, the USS Enterprise flew for the first time (if only on TV...)

Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner),
First Officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy),
Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley),
Chief Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan),
Communications Officer Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols),
Helmsman Hikaru Sulu (George Takei).
And the late arrival (season 2) Ruski navigator Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig),

I'm not a Trekkie but still...

Hanna

1 depression, 2 hurricanes, 3 disturbances in the tropics in the morning hours of September 1, 2008. Image source: NOAA/NHC.

Hanna formed as a TS and meandered near the Bahamas for a number of days then become the fourth huricane of the Atlantic Season (Category 1) on Monday September 1 2008 (Labor Day) hitting the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos and then heading for the US Atlantic coast possibly as Category 3 hurricane by the end of the week. Nearly stationary today (Labor Day.)

September 2 (AM) downgraded to a - nearly stationary - tropical storm. Sadly, 14 or so deaths in the islands, the majority in Haiti.
September 3 - still a TS near/at Bahamas. Likely to land on the N. Carolina coast on Saturday and continue on inland via D.C. to NYC and beyond. We'll see...
September 4 - still a TS with roughly the same predicted track
September 5 (morning)- it's gonna land in South Carolina and hit south of the D.C. area tomorrow as a tropical storm.
Septemebr 5 (afternoon) looks like it is going to land right on the South/Norht Carolina border and head for New England and beyond...
September 6 (morning) lands in South Carolina and is racing along the Atlantic coast as a tropical storm.
Septemebr 7 still a tropical storm just off the north-eastern coast of the US/Canada, predicted to head for the open northern Atlantic.
Southern Maryland got a solid soaking but no wind damage to speak of.

Please help the hurricane victims in Haiti, Dominican Republic and Cuba!

Old and new (or new and old...)

Old(er) names of some contemporary companies. Presented here for fun, and sometimes as a bad memory...lest we don't forget...

Dole
Used to be Hawaiian Pineapple Company and Standard Fruit Company

Chiquita
Used to be United Fruit Company. (Yeah THAT United Fruit Company...) and was later known as United Brand Company

Altria
Used to be Philip Morris Companies Inc. (They are still a cigarette maker...don't be fooled by "Altria"...)

Starbucks Corporation
Used to be Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice and Il Giornale Coffee Company

ValueJet
Used to be Airtran

LG
Used to be Lucky Goldstar

Nissan
Used to be Datsun

Pepsi Cola
Used to be Brad's Drink

International Business Machines (IBM)
Used to be Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation

Nintendo
Used to be Marafuku Company
Before that it was known as Nintendo Playing Card Company

Google
Used to be BackRub (no, seriously...)

Yahoo (Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle)
Used to be Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web

United Airlines and forced dieting...

United Airlines has abandoned its plan to charge the steerage passengers for meals on its transatlantic flights (first and business customers would still get meals for “free.”) Lemme see…8-9 hour flights (even longer on the way back) with no meals or some marginal chow for mucho dolares… What a splendid idea! They were supposed to run test on flights leaving Dulles first (thank God they did not!)

I don’t even know how to comment it: the word “stupidity” seems way too mild and I don’t wanna lace this blog with expletives…

Falling...

Crude oil is at the lowest level in 5 months, at $109/barrel. Hurricane Gustav was weaker than expected and didn't damage oil platforms and refineries in the Gulf.
Pump prices holding steady...

Gustav

Image source: NOAA/NHC.

Chronology of hurricane Gustav
Briefly become a hurricane on August 26.

Hits Haiti and the Dominican Republic - many deaths.
August 28 downgraded to a tropical storm. Impacted Jamaica.
August 29 upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane heading for SW Cuba.

August 30 upgraded to a Category 3 hurricane and then to Category four. Heading for Isla de Juventud and La Habana in Cuba. Sadly, there were over 90 deaths in the Carribean.

August 31, after hitting Cuba, downgraded to Category 3. Mandatory evacuation in New Orleans

September 1 (Labor Day) Downgraded to Category 2. Lands in Louisiana, approx. 80 miles west of New Orleans in the morning. Downgraded to Category 1 in the afternoon and to tropical storm in the evening. Some damage (not nearly approaching the aftermath of Katrina et al), 8 deaths and millions of people without electricity. As of tonight - the levees held...

News item: Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter pregnant...

A sampling of headlines as seen in on-line editions around 3 PM on Labor Day.

Los Angeles Times
Palin's daughter, 17, is pregnant
It is unclear how the news will affect the campaign, but it could further endear Palin to the GOP.

Miami Herald
GOP delegates stunned by VP's daughter's pregnancy

New York Times
Palin’s Teen Daughter Is Pregnant; New G.O.P. Tumult

Washington Post
Palin: Daughter, 17, Pregnant Republican vice presidential candidate makes announcement to knock down rumors by bloggers.

Boston Globe
Palin says her teenage daughter is pregnant.
Sarah Palin disclosed today that her 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant and that she plans to marry the father.