The Really Useless Thread

Yes. As guilty as the other bunch.

A day ahead of a crucial gathering of European Union leaders in Brussels, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have outlined their plan for solving the euro crisis through deeper fiscal integration.

In an open letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, Sarkozy and Merkel issued an ultimatum to the 27 EU governments, saying they must decide whether they will accept greater central control over their national budgets.

Should some countries decide not to participate, the 17 countries in the euro zone will press ahead with a more integrated union by signing a new agreement outside EU treaties, they said.

It came as U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, on a three-day tour of Europe, appealed to euro-zone officials for stronger action to calm the Continent's deepening debt turmoil.

TODAY'S HEADLINES

--Sarkozy and Merkel Submit Treaty Change Proposals

--EU Banks Seek Dollars From ECB

--Geithner Says Europe Will Succeed

--A Greek Tragedy Ends Happily

--Seeking a Shortcut to Treaty Change


3:21 p.m. S&P Puts EU, Local Governments, Big Banks On Watch For Downgrade, by Drew Fitzgerald

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Wednesday added the European Union to its list of entities on watch for possible downgrade after it took similar action on most of its member nations earlier this week.

S&P on Monday placed 15 of the euro zone's 17 countries on watch for downgrade, citing the currency area's deepening political, financial and monetary problems. Greece's status was already very close to default and Cyprus was already on negative watch.

Euro zone members directly contribute about 62% of the EU's total budgeted revenue this year, so the ratings service said the union's triple-A rating was also at risk. The U.K. and Denmark are among the EU nations that don't use the euro.

S&P said its review will focus the ability of the euro zone's member states to support the EU's overall debt service should the institution face financial distress.

Ratings actions usually take place within 90 days after a credit watch starts, but S&P repeated its intention to reach a decision soon after Friday's regional summit. The ratings service said it would likely downgrade the EU by one notch, if at all.

The credit rater also put a swath of European local and regional governments and public finance entities on watch for possible downgrade, including the cities of Paris, Rome and Vienna.

The watch status on the smaller governments will be resolved once the sovereigns are. It also placed Finish public finance entities and some Spanish regions with special standings on negative watch.

S&P said the following groups could be downgraded by one notch, if at all, in line with the rating on their respective sovereign:

--In Austria, the city of Vienna and the states of Tyrol and Upper Austria

--In Belgium, the region of Brussels and the community of Flanders

--In Finland, Municipality Finance PLC and Municipal Guarantee Board, which are Finnish public finance entities

--In Germany, the states of Saxony and Bavaria

The firm said the following groups could be downgraded by up to two notches, if at all, in line with the rating on their respective sovereign:

--In France, the city of Paris as well as the region Ile de France

--In Italy, the cities of Rome, Bologna, Milan, Genoa, Turin, Florence; the province of Rome; the regions of Marches, Sicily, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Umbria and Campania; and finally the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia

--In Spain, the city and province of Barcelona and the autonomous communities of Aragon, Galicia, the Canary Islands, Madrid and Andalusia

Also in Spain, S&P said the autonomous communities of Basque Country and Navarre and the historical territory of Bizkaiawere also placed on negative watch but aren't capped by the sovereign rating. Their ratings may be lowered as a result of rising systemic problems in the euro zone, which may prompt the firm to individually reassess their overall links with Spain.

Meanwhile, S&P also put its credit ratings on some of the largest banks in the euro zone on watch for downgrade and warned it will take similar ratings actions on other large banks soon.

Among the banks under review are BNP Paribas SA, Fortis Bank SA, Commerzbank AG, Credit Agricole SA, Deutsche Bank AG, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, and UniCredit SpA.

S&P said it intends to resolve the credit watch placements on the banks soon after resolving the ratings on the related sovereigns.

2:30 p.m. IMF May Need an Extra $120B With New Loan Facility, By Ian Talley

The International Monetary Fund's executive board said Wednesday the IMF may need more cash resources to help finance a new lending facility created last week.

Although IMF staff said in a policy paper that potential resource needs are difficult to determine, they estimate the fund may need an additional $120 billion in its reserves to help finance countries short of cash.

IMF staff also said its new short-term lending facilities designed to prevent crises getting out of hand would work well if coordinated internationally, such as with central banks providing foreign exchange swap lines.

It pointed to Europe in particular.

2:12 p.m., JPMorgan Not 'Cutting and Running' From Europe, by Matthias Rieker

JPMorgan (JPM) Chief Executive Jamie Dimon continues to put his money where his mouth is, even in Europe. The bank's net exposure to the "Euro 5"--as JPM calls the Southern coastal countries and Ireland--rose some $800 million this quarter to $15.9 billion, even as the exposure to corporations in those countries as a percentage of total exposure slid to 72% from 75%. Mr. Dimon told investors Wednesday, "You can peruse them at your own leisure." He quipped in July, "I hope that one day some of these European nations appreciate the fact we're not cutting and running."

2:04 p.m., Breaking News Headlines, by Dow Jones Newswires

IMF: Short-Term Credit Lines Can Co-Finance With EU's Bailout

IMF: May Need $120B In Extra Resources With New Loan Facility

IMF Calls For Internationally Coordinated Use Of New Lending Facility

IMF: Precautionary Lending Can Be Coordinated With Central Bank FX Swaps

1:59 p.m. Stocks Claw Back in U.S., by Jonathan Cheng

The Dow industrials clawed back morning losses ahead of two major meetings in Europe this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31 points, or 0.3%, to 12180, in early Wednesday afternoon trading, after falling as much as 90 points. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was off less than one point, at 1258, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped one point, to 2648.Developments in Europe again seized the spotlight in the U.S. in a week that has been billed as a critical one for the euro zone's future.

1:45 p.m. Geithner To Meet With Trichet In Europe, by Sudeep Reddy

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will have a private meeting with former European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet on his three-day trip to Europe.

Mr. Trichet, who has been a central player in managing the debt turmoil, stepped down from his post in Frankfurt at the end of October after leading the ECB for a decade. He had regular meetings and calls during Mr. Geithner's three years as Treasury secretary and the two interacted before that when Mr. Geithner led the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Before heading the ECB, Mr. Trichet led the French central bank for a decade.

1:29 p.m. Breaking News Headlines, by Dow Jones Newswires

*S&P Places 7 Portuguese Banks On Watch Negative After Putting Country On Watch Negative

*S&P Intends To Resolve Watch On Banks Within 4 Wks Of Resolving Watch On Portugal

*S&P: Portuguese Banks Caixa Geral de Depositos S.A., Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. On Watch

*S&P: Portuguese Banks Banco Espirito Santo, Core Subsidiary Banco Espirito Santo De Investimento SA On Watch Neg

*S&P: Portuguese Banks Banco Portugues, Subsidiary, Santander Totta On Watch Neg

1:10 p.m. U.K. PM Comes Under Pressure From Euroskeptics, by Ainsley Thomson and Jason Douglas

U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Wednesday vowed to protect the country's national interests during negotiations to amend the European Union treaties, as he came under increasing pressure from members of his Conservative Party to hold a national referendum on the treaty changes.

The prime minister tried to placate the euroskeptics by saying the treaty negotiations could provide an opportunity for Britain to regain some regulatory control over its financial services sector.

"The more that countries in the euro-zone ask for [during the negotiations], the more we in Britain will ask for," he told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

However, the prime minister is coming under increasing pressure from members of their Conservative Party to hold a referendum on the changes to the treaty.

In an interview with the Spectator magazine, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson said a referendum was inevitable.

In addition, London Mayor Boris Johnson, a member of the Conservative Party, told the BBC a referendum should be held if the treaty changes result in a "dominant economic government" across Europe.

The prime minister's office has repeatedly said the treaty changes currently being considered will not necessitate a referendum because they don't concern a transfer of powers from London to Brussels.

12:48 p.m. Fears of Euro Collapse Make Companies Jittery, by Harriet Torry

With no concrete solution to the euro crisis in sight, German companies like builder Hochtief and engine maker Tognum are taking steps to improve liquidity as a potential buffer should the bloc's financial crisis continue to deepen.

12:28 p.m. EBA to Publish Bank Capital Shortfalls Thursday, by Geoffrey T. Smith

The European Banking Authority said Wednesday it will publish its final estimates of European banks' capital shortfalls at 1700 GMT (1200 ET) Thursday.

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

December 07, 2011 15:28 ET (20:28 GMT)

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/koch...to-a-believer/

The planet goes through long term changes in temperature, cool to hot, hot to cool. I think some people forget that we are on cosmic marble, whipping around space going weeeeeeeee.

Shit is hardly consistent. The fact we haven't smashed into anything sizeable as of recent should be enough to be happy about.

Like it matters anyways. Our star is going to die and kill the planet when it goes super nova.

Edit: Ok, maybe a little too doom and gloom. Bit tired today... hah.

thanks for clearing that up.
wrong about what? Tea party, oil, or climate change?

It's sounding awful negative in here

Just work hard, don't cheat, pay ur taxes, say yr prayers, eat ur flintstone vitamins, and do ur pushups.

AMERICA!!! YEAH!!! Live the dream!!

http://i811.photobucket.com/albums/z...eeep/hogan.jpg

You know what's funny about all these? First off. It's all about money. Nothing else. I yet have to read a study that takes into consideration the cyclic activity of the SUN. Wouldn't that be the first thing to look at? Oh, no it's my 10 years old Ford exhaust they are worried about (only 50K miles though, ).

One thing I know. Where I sit here in Chicago there were 3 miles of ice on top of me at times and tropical wild life roaming around at other times. It's all BS.

Broad topics too... from politics, to climate change, to the galaxy. LOL

Hindsight, just completely missed one of my entries @ 3389 on the 15m.

Shit, that was a big one on the 1h as well. I am fricken all over the place today.

All of the above. I dread people with money and an agenda.

it does. but you or me saying it "does" or "does not" makes no difference.

I see we are back to the days of the moronic 3pm EST complete bullshit rumors

i hear ya.
i guess we all get religion in a foxhole.

http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/5...-and-rule-scam

Not sure, this one was all on the charts. Had a spread draw down entry, powered by 15m/1h. Higher low.

N pattern?

Amen brother!!!

OK, I've seen it all. From the same article.

Labor groups like the nurses’ union and the A.F.L.-C.I.O. see the tax as a way to finance job creation programs to fight high unemployment in the United States and Europe.

Other advocates hope it will slow the speculation that many blame for undermining the euro and causing wild swings in financial markets.



Leveraged or unleveraged 10K? That would add 30 bux to a 1 lot trade or 3 pips.

Their legislation would impose $3 in taxes for each $10,000 in transactions. Other proposals, including those from the nurses’ union, call for a tax of $50 per $10,000.

PA + RA= $$$$

before it made the headlines 20/25 years ago.. long before i knew who gore was. i read a story about this. it stated there would be weird patterns. this included cold and snow where it wasn't before.

Btw everyone the g-20 apparently saved Europe


Todayse rumor du jour

Now wtf is going on? lol. I was afraid to sell that supply because of momentem. Now were back down again.

Edit: Long aussie