STOCK RESULTS AUG 18,2011

LUKE 21:25-26
25 and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

WHAT IS BRINGING THE WORLD MARKETS ALL DOWN TODAY.IT SEEMS EITHER A BANK OR COUNTRY BORROWED 500 MILLION EUROS FROM THE ECB(EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK)IN THE EARLY MORNING.THIS IS BRINGING WORRIES WE HAVE ANOTHER LEHMAN ON OUR HANDS.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Economic Government Would Integrate Europe To A Degree Not Seen Since The Roman Empire The American Dream Aug 18, 2011 Europe

Are you ready for The United States Of Europe? The integration of Europe is about to go to another level. As the European debt crisis deepens, there are cries all over the EU for full economic integration in Europe. On Wednesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel sent a letter to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy which stated that they want a new economic government for Europe to be formed. According to the letter, Sarkozy and Merkel want the leaders of the eurozone countries to elect a president for the new economic government. The idea would be that the president would hold twice-yearly summits to address the debt problems that Europe is facing right now. But many pro-EU critics are already howling that Sarkozy and Merkel have not gone nearly far enough. A whole lot of experts in Europe are proclaiming that without full economic integration and the creation of eurobonds, Europe is doomed. Jennifer McKeown, an economist for Capital Economics, put it this way when asked what would happen if eurobonds are not created fairly soon: The likely outcome is the eurozone ceases to exist.This is often how huge changes occur in our world today. First a huge problem is created, then there is a negative reaction and then a solution is presented to us. Right now in Europe, the problem is the sovereign debt crisis. We are being told that the only way that the eurozone can survive is if all of the countries agree to much deeper economic integration.In an article for Seeking Alpha, Cliff Wachtel broke down the choices facing the people of Europe in the following manner….

The continued existence of the EZ in its current form in exchange for vastly limited sovereignty. In particular, with limited financial autonomy, with some kind of centralized budget approval and or spending veto power over individual states.
Continued full sovereignty in exchange for a dissolved or radically altered EZ, probably one contracted down to member states with similar needs and reliable fiscal management.Some choice, eh? While some are applauding the possibility of increased integration in the eurozone, others are warning about the potential consequences.For example, a Daily Mail article entitled Rise of the Fourth Reich, how Germany is using the financial crisis to conquer Europe contained the following assessment of what deeper economic integration for Europe would mean….This would entail a loss of sovereignty not seen in those countries since many were under the jackboot of the Third Reich 70 years ago.For be in no doubt what fiscal union means: it is one economic policy, one taxation system, one social security system, one debt, one economy, one finance minister. And all of the above would be German.Nigel Farage was also deeply critical of the new proposal by Sarkozy and Merkel….

Bit by bit, eurozone members are losing their sovereignty as the European superstate is created. Nothing in these proposals will calm the markets. I am also prepared to bet that the European political elite will not ask the permission of their peoples via a referendum to make this happen.But Sarkozy and Merkel seem unconcerned about the critics. In fact, they have announced plans to have a common corporate tax rate by 2013 and to coordinate work on their national budgets.So if the leadership of the German and French governments both want deeper economic integration for Europe, will anyone else in the eurozone be strong enough to resist it? Probably not.EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso is already calling the proposals put forth by Sarkozy and Merkel an important political contribution by the leaders of the two largest euro area economies to this debate and the on-going work.Countries such as Greece, Portugal, Italy and Spain are already deeply financially dependent on Germany. Either they will have to leave the eurozone (which would be a financial disaster for them) or they will have to go along with what Germany and France want.

But economic integration in Europe certainly will not be easy. There is still a lot of resistance in the EU to the idea of a United States of Europe. Many in the northern countries are very opposed to further economic integration with the financially irresponsible nations of southern Europe.Craig Alexander, the chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, recently made the following statement regarding the problems of trying to more fully integrate Europe.The problem is the political system in Europe can’t cope with the jump from the current system to a fiscal union in one go.So it will certainly be very interesting to see what happens. There still is a very real chance that the EU could break up and the euro could implode. Absolutely nothing is set in stone right now.But the leaders of the EU are going to do whatever they can to keep it together. They truly believe that a fully united Europe under the banner of the EU is what is best for the continent.In the end, however, the real goal is to unite the entire world. Regional governments such as the EU are seen as an intermediate step toward a truly global government. As I have written about previously, the globalists hope one day to have a truly global economy that uses a new global currency.In a recent opinion piece, former EU bigwig Javier Solana made the following statement….Truly effective global governance is the strategic horizon that humanity must pursue today with all its energy.It sounds difficult to achieve, and so it will be. But it has nothing to do with pessimism. The challenge of governing global risks is nothing less than the challenge of preventing the end of history – not as the placid apotheosis of liberal democracy’s global victory, but as the worst collective failure we can imagine.People like Solana truly believe that if we can eventually unite the entire world that it will bring in a new era of peace and prosperity.Many of them believe that if they can get the world to form 10 or 12 regional unions first, eventually they will be able to get all of those regional unions to form one giant global superstate.Globalists such as Solana are convinced that they are doing this for the good of mankind. They really believe that war and poverty can be wiped out if we are all under one giant government.But as we have seen in the past, the larger the governments get, the worse the tyranny tends to become. Setting up a one world government may seem like a good idea to some people, but the truth is that it would set the stage for greater oppression than we have ever seen before.Those that love liberty and freedom should be 100% opposed to a United States of Europe and they should definitely be 100% opposed to a one world government.

Do You Realize That The Government Is Still Paying Banks Not To Lend…? Henry Blodget Business Insider Aug 18, 2011

One of the most outrageous open secrets of U.S. government policy these days is that the Federal Reserve is still paying big banks not to lend money.And it’s doing that while screwing average Americans who have been responsible and lived within their means.Huh? Seriously:The Federal Reserve is quietly continuing with one of the many outrageous bank-bailout programs it initiated during the financial crisis–the one in which it pays big banks interest on their excess reserves.What are excess reserves?

Money that the banks have but aren’t lending out–money that banks are just keeping on deposit at the Fed.The Fed is paying banks 0.25% interest on this money.0.25% interest may not sound like much, but it’s more than the banks are paying you to keep money in your savings or money-market account. It’s also more than you’ll earn if you lend the Federal government money for 2 years.Oh, by the way, why, exactly, are you earning so little interest in your savings accounts and money-market funds?
Well, because, thanks to another one of its bank-bailout programs, the Fed is keeping short-term interest rates at zero.In other words, the Fed is paying banks not to lend money and screwing you, American citizens, because you’re dumb enough to have saved money.This is just so bass-ackwards it’s not to be believed.Why on earth is the Fed paying banks not to lend? Well, back in the financial crisis, the Fed wanted to find ways to secretly bail out the banks without it being screamingly obvious to every American that that was what it was doing. And this particular bailout program was one of the more successful ways it discovered of doing that. Over the past few years, this program has secretly funneled about $10 billion in risk-free cash (rough estimate) directly to the banks, just for being banks and not lending. Don’t you wish you could get in on that game?

How much money are banks keeping in excess reserves that they might be encouraged to lend if the Fed weren’t paying them not to? Excess Reserves-Money for nothing.
Oh, only $1.6 trillion. (See chart)The Fed pays banks about $4 billion of interest a year on that money–the money the banks aren’t lending. And bankers get big bonuses based on that interest, for being so smart as to not lend money and instead just take the free interest from the Fed.Meanwhile, you earn next to nothing (or nothing) on the money you’ve saved.We don’t think GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry should have threatened to kill Ben Bernanke the other day, but we can certainly understand his frustration.God, it’s great to be a banker.Boy, does it suck to be an average responsible American.

Wall St opens sharply lower on renewed bank worries
Reuters By Ashley Lau | Reuters – AUG 18,11 9:50AM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled at the open on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq falling more than 3 percent on concerns that the European debt crisis might spread to the U.S. banking sector.The Dow Jones industrial average was down 317.00 points, or 2.78 percent, at 11,093.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 37.87 points, or 3.17 percent, at 1,156.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 92.33 points, or 3.68 percent, at 2,419.15.The New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex Cash Markets invoked a rule to smooth trading, also known as Rule 48, at the open on Thursday.(Reporting by Ashley Lau)

Wall Street tumbles after Philly Fed data
Reuters By Angela Moon | Reuters – AUG 18,11

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the Nasdaq down nearly 5 percent after data showed factory activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region unexpectedly fell to the lowest level since March 2009.The Dow Jones industrial average slid 480.86 points, or 4.21 percent, at 10,929.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 54.46 points, or 4.56 percent, at 1,139.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index sank 126.55 points, or 5.04 percent, at 2,384.93.The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index dropped to minus 30.7 from positive 3.2 the month before and was far below forecasts for positive 3.7, according to a Reuters poll.(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Fed concerned about European banks' U.S. units: report Reuters By Douwe Miedema and Steve Slater in London and Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore | Reuters – AUG 18,11

LONDON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve Bank is taking a closer look at the U.S. units of Europe's biggest banks, concerned that a euro zone debt crisis could spill into the U.S. banking system, the Wall Street Journal reported.The $2.5 trillion U.S. money market funds industry -- which supplies short-term dollar funding to banks -- has retreated from the euro zone in recent months, concerned that the continent's debt crisis is spiraling out of control.That and the drying up of interbank lending has led to a trebling of dollar funding costs for euro zone banks in the last month. One bank was forced to borrow dollars at the European Central Bank on Wednesday.In a dramatic shift, the U.S. branches of foreign banks became net borrowers of dollars from their overseas affiliates for the first time in a decade, Federal Reserve data released last week showed.The Fed's New York branch -- which oversees U.S. units from many European banks -- is now asking for more information about whether the banks have reliable access to the funds needed to operate in the United States, the Wall Street Journal said.New York Fed officials are very concerned about European banks facing funding difficulties in the United States, a senior executive at a major European bank who has participated in the talks told the Wall Street Journal.

The New York Fed was not available to comment.On Wednesday, one euro zone bank borrowed $500 million from the European Central Bank at a rate much above those at which banks can get dollars in the open market. It was the first time since February 23 a bank used the central bank's facility.Fed officials recently have held meetings with U.S.-based executives from top European banks to discuss their funding positions, the Wall Street Journal said.Regulators are trying to guard against the possibility European banks that encounter trouble could siphon funds out of their U.S. arms, sources told the newspaper.Regulators recently have ramped up pressure on European banks to transform their U.S. businesses into self-financed units to insulate them from problems at their parent companies, the WSJ cited a senior bank executive as saying.French banks are most exposed to U.S. short-term funding, and it is access to U.S. dollar liquidity that is of particular concern. BNP's short-term borrowings were $94 billion and SocGen's were $56 billion, Citi analysts estimated last month.European bank shares were 3.5 percent lower on Wednesday after hefty drops last week. But this time the fall was along with other sectors such as automobiles and construction shares, on concerns about global growth.Franco-Belgian Dexia was hardest-hit, standing 8 percent lower at 6:09 a.m. EDT. The bank was the biggest borrower of the Federal Reserve's so-called discount window -- an emergency facility -- during the financial crisis.(Reporting by Douwe Miedema and Steve Slater in London and Soham Chatterjee in Bangalore; Editing by David Cowell and Hans-Juergen Peters)

Pope demands greater ethics in economic policy
AP By NICOLE WINFIELD - Associated Press | AP – AUG 18,11

King Juan Carlos greets Pope Benedict XVI on his arrival at Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday Aug. 18, 2011. The Pontiff arrived in the Spanish capital of Madrid for a four-day visit on the occasion of the Catholic Church's World Youth Day. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)View Gallery-King Juan Carlos greets Pope Benedict XVI on his arrival at Barajas Airport in Madrid, …

MADRID (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI denounced the profit-at-all-cost mentality that he says is behind Europe's current economic crisis as he arrived in hard-hit Spain on Thursday, and said morals and ethics must play a greater role in formulating economic policy in the future.Benedict made the comments as he traveled to Madrid for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day, a weeklong Catholic festival that is taking place against a backdrop of the European debt crisis and social unrest among the young that exploded recently in the riots in Britain.Benedict said the crisis and sense of desperation among young people proved that ethics have been increasingly left out of formulating economic policy at local and international levels.The economy doesn't function with market self-regulation but needs an ethical reason to work for mankind, he told reporters traveling aboard the papal plane.Man must be at the center of the economy, and the economy cannot be measured only by maximization of profit but rather according to the common good.He said the current crisis shows that a moral dimension isn't exterior to economic problems but interior and fundamental.Benedict explored the theme more fully in his 2009 encyclical Charity in Truth, in which he called for a new world financial order guided by ethics, dignity and the search for the common good.

Benedict arrived in a cloudy Madrid to a boisterous welcome from young people with their faces painted the colors of the Spanish flag chanting: These are the pope's young people! A cordon of youngsters decked out in faux Swiss Guard uniforms greeted Benedict on the tarmac at Madrid's Barajas airport, along with Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and conservative opposition leader Marian Rajoy, the man forecast to take power in November elections, also were present.Clouds and a breeze kept Madrid's notoriously hot August temperatures down to a relatively comfortable 25 Celsius (77 Fahrenheit), though the mercury inched up as the sun broke through.In a speech delivered on the tarmac in Spanish, Benedict referred to the precariousness many young people see in their future. Unemployment in Spain is nearly 21 percent and is the highest in the eurozone.Many young people look worriedly to the future, as they search for work, either because they have lost their job or because the one they have is precarious or uncertain, Benedict said. He urged young people to keep fast in their faith.With God beside them, they will posses light to walk by and reasons to hope, unrestrained before their highest ideals, which will motivate their generous commitment to build a society where human dignity and true brotherhood are respected, he said.King Juan Carlos also referred to the sense of hopelessness many young people feel, saying today's youth are frustrated by the lack of personal and work possibilities, and rebel against the serious problems facing the world today.As Benedict was being driven from Madrid's airport to the Vatican Embassy through one of the capital's ritziest neighborhoods, streets and bridges were filled with youths waving flags, throwing white and yellow balloons — the Vatican's colors — and cheering. The popemobile was surrounded by security cars and motorcycles with blue lights flashing.

Later Thursday he is to be officially greeted by World Youth Day participants in Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles.This is Benedict's third trip to Spain as pope, cementing its reputation as ground zero in his campaign to reinvigorate the faith in European countries where Catholicism has fallen by the wayside. Laws passed under Zapatero allowing gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier abortions have deeply angered the Vatican, which sees the once staunchly Roman Catholic country as a battleground for the future of the faithful in Europe.Many Spaniards have balked at the cost of the visit at a time of economic difficulty. Many have cited the fact that pilgrims are getting deeply discounted subway and bus tickets with their accreditation packages, while such prices for everyone else went up 50 percent this month to $1.50.

Vatican Radio responded to the critics Thursday, noting that the euro50 million ($72 million) tab for staging World Youth Day is being paid for by the participants themselves, some private donors and the church. Critics say the organizers' estimate for the price tag doesn't include security costs and is a fraction of the total price tag for Spaniards.Hours before the pontiff's arrival, riot police and protesters opposed to his stay clashed in downtown Madrid. Police said eight demonstrators were arrested and 11 people were injured in the disturbances Wednesday night in the city's Puerta del Sol plaza.People were going really crazy but, at the same time, God wants all of us to be here and I know that he'll like protect us all while we're here, said Holly Springfield, a 17-year-old American who witnessed the protest.On Tuesday, police arrested a chemistry student working as a volunteer for the pope's visit on suspicion he was planning a gas attack on protesters opposed to the pontiff's visit, officials said. The 24-year-old Mexican student, Jose Perez Bautista from Puebla state, was ordered released on Thursday. He wasn't formally charged but remains under investigation with his passport seized.Organizers expect a million or more young people from 193 countries to attend the festival.The main events are a prayer vigil with the 84-year-old Pope and outdoor sleepover for pilgrims Saturday night at a sprawling air base, and Mass there the next morning.

Except for a trip Friday to a historic monastery in El Escorial, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Madrid, the pope will spend the whole visit in Madrid, meeting with young people, hearing confession from some of them, riding through the city in his popemobile and greeting young nuns, seminarians and university professors, among other activities.In Spain the church faces a congregation for whom being Catholic is more a birthmark than a way of life. A poll released in July says that while 72 percent of Spaniards identify themselves as Catholic, 60 percent say they almost never go to Mass and only 13 percent every Sunday.Daniel Woolls and Iain Sullivan contributed.

ITS ON ROSH HASHANA THAT I BELIEVE THE FUTURE 7 YR PEACE TREATY WILL BE SIGNED.SEPT OR OCT OF THE YEAR.ISRAELS NEW YEAR.

IDF on Bible Alert for September-Ground Forces Rabbi hints there may be a need for intense spiritual support for troops in September.by Gil Ronen Published: 17/08/11, 9:46 PM

The IDF is preparing for what may be a large scale assault by Palestinian Authority Arabs in September – with Bibles. Lt. Col. Rav Yitzchak Ben-Yosef, Rabbi of the Ground Forces Command, hinted in a report on the Hebrew side of the IDF Website that the Rabbinate is stocking up with Bibles in preparation for September. As [the former] Rabbi for Judea and Samaria I remember that we were often short of books, he told the Website's Daniela Bokor.In Operation Defensive Shield we had to carry in many books under fire, sometimes at risk to life. In the course of Cast Lead synagogues were set up around Tze'elim for the soldiers' benefit. That was relatively small, now we understand that it could be bigger than that and we must prepare for every scenario.We are preparing for September, too, he said, but added: We prepare for every scenario, not necessarily for next month. We always maintain readiness.A new Torah scroll was welcomed this week into the synagogue at the Ground Forces' main base, the Bar Lev camp near Kastina. The Ground Forces Commander, Maj.-Gen Sami Turjeman, was on hand, as were several other top officers, who took part in ceremonially inking in the last letters of the book. Also on hand was Rav Ya'akov Yisrael Ifergan, popularly known as the X-Ray.The book was donated by Noam and Simcha Magdisi, who dedicated it to the memory of a loved one. Also honored were the relatives of Chai-Ziv and Shani Krief, who served on the base and were killed in a road accident last month.

Palestinian reconciliation stalls over statehood
AP By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH - Associated Press | AP – AUG 17,11

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The Palestinians' surprise agreement to unite their dueling governments was supposed to have boosted their efforts to unilaterally declare a state.But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Abbas will head to the United Nations alone next month to submit a statehood bid, his unity deal with the Iranian-backed Hamas stalled — in part because Western leaders weren't eager to see this union happen.President Abbas was surprised by the international opposition to the reconciliation with Hamas, so he decided to slow down at least until September, a senior Fatah official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss official policy.Now, with all efforts focused on September, we want all voices to be with us, he said.We are not giving the Americans or anyone else a reason to shun us because of the reconciliation or anything else.The unity deal was struck in May after Palestinian youth, inspired by the revolts against entrenched Arab autocracies, took to the streets calling for unification of the dueling governments in the West Bank and Gaza.Unity would let Abbas project to the world that his Palestinian Authority represents not only his West Bank base but also the Gaza Strip, which Hamas violently overran four years ago. Because peace talks with Israel were going nowhere, unity with Gaza, it seemed, could be a key building block of his case for statehood at the United Nations.

But the pact papered over long-standing disputes that had undermined previous reconciliation efforts, such as who would control the Palestinians' powerful security forces, and how to deal with Israel, whose very existence Hamas rejects. Unity talks quickly snagged — most publicly over possible international fallout over the prospective government's makeup.Abbas insisted on retaining the internationally respected prime minister, Salam Fayyad, thinking that would ease donors' fears that their money would fall into the hands of Hamas, which the West, like Israel, considers a terrorist group. But Hamas resisted, viewing the U.S.-educated prime minister as a tool of the West.And because Hamas clung to its violent ideology, which inspired the killing of hundreds of Israelis, the international response to the unity deal was cool.Israel declared immediately that it would have nothing to do with a government backed by Hamas and called on Abbas to rip up the deal. The U.S. and European powers demanded that a unified Palestinian government renounce violence against Israel and recognize the Jewish state.While Abbas knew he could count on the U.N. General Assembly, with its pro-Palestinian majority, to support his statehood bid, the endorsement would never be diplomatically significant without the backing of key Western nations with strong ties to Israel.The reconciliation pact was therefore set aside, Palestinian officials said.We want a government that can assure continued international support, including support for September, said Ameen Maqbool, a member of the Fatah delegation to negotiations with Hamas.If we form a government with Hamas that Hamas wants, the U.S. and Israel will get the pretext they need to create troubles for us before September, and that would affect our efforts to gain the recognition we want at the U.N.,Maqbool said.At a recent meeting in Cairo, the two parties agreed to carry out confidence-building measures like releasing prisoners from the rival movement that each holds.Working out these small issues will lead to gradual reconciliation, said Azzam Ahmed, the head of the Fatah delegation to talks with Hamas.But the skepticism the pact elicited upon its announcement has not faded.Hani al-Masri, a commentator for the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, said the two parties signed the reconciliation agreement under pressure from ordinary Palestinians but did not really intend to unite.Abbas is not ready to share power with Hamas and Hamas is not ready to adjust its political agenda to have such partnership with him, Masri said. Unless President Abbas abandons the peace process for good, there will be no reconciliation with Hamas, and it's clear he didn't.

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all,(WORLD SOCIALISM) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU AUGUST 18,2011

09:30 AM -3.43
10:00 AM -352.50
10:30 AM -444.43
11:00 AM -442.03
11:30 AM -414.70
12:00 PM -411.96
12:30 PM -369.37
01:00 PM -402.52
01:30 PM -457.47
02:00 PM -464.89
02:30 PM -416.60
03:00 PM -478.09
03:30 PM -470.71
04:00 PM -419.63 10,990.58

S&P 500 1140.65 -53.24

NASDAQ 2380.43 -131.05

GOLD 1,827.10 +33.30

OIL 81.70 -5.88

TSE 300 12,186.70 -392.90

CDNX 1770.63 -49.56

S&P/TSX/60 695.58 -23.62

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -283 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -528 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,820.20.OIL opens at $84.89 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -528 points at low today so far.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -528 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,827.10 (NOT AT CLOSE)
NATURAL GAS +50BCF

EU Asks Israel to Reopen PLO Headquarters-The European Union has urged Israel to allow the Palestinian Authority to re-open PLO headquarters in the Orient House in Jerusalem.by Gavriel Queenann Published: 17/08/11, 10:42 PM

The European Union -- ignoring Israel's long-stated position Jerusalem will remain its undivided and eternal capital -- has called for Israel to allow the PLO to re-open its headquarters in the Orient House in the holy city.The EU firmly believes that these institutions should be allowed to re-open and resume their operations as focal points for Palestinians in east Jerusalem,an EU statement said. The EU urges Israel to reconsider the closure and to fully review its decision.Israeli police shut down the institutions in 2001, shortly after the launch of the Second Intifada.

Last week, the EU spoke out against Interior Minister Eli Yishai's decision to approve construction of 1,600 apartments in the northeast Jerusalem haredi neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo.European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she regrets hearing of Eli Yishai's decision about the Ramat Shlomo construction, saying that such moves threaten the two-state solution.The EU official said in a statement that she deeply regrets receiving information of the publicly stated intention of the Israeli government to continue settlement expansion in east Jerusalem, noting that the EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity.For the Palestinian Authority to headquarter itself in Jerusalem would be a step towards exercising sovreignty in the city.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Apologize to Turkey? Netanyahu Tells Clinton, No Thanks-Netanyahu turned down Clinton and will not apologize to Turkey for the IDF counter terrorist action that killed nine IHH terror activists.by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu Published: 17/08/11, 2:23 PM

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has turned down U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s requests and will not apologize to Turkey for the IDF’s counter terrorist action that killed nine IHH terror activists in the flotilla clash a year ago, Army Radio reported Wednesday.Senior members of the Cabinet have strongly opposed the apology that Turkey has demanded and they said that if anyone should say he is sorry, it should be Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. His country has funded and encouraged the IHH-terror linked organization in its effort to engage the IDF in conflict on the high seas by trying to challenge Israel’s sovereignty over the coastal waters of Hamas-controlled Gaza.Likud Ministers Benny Begin and Moshe Ya’alon, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of Yisrael Beiteinu and Interior Minister Eli Yishai of Shas have said that Israel has nothing to apologize for.The Obama administration has been anxious to improve ties between Jerusalem and Ankara, which was friendly with Israel for two decades until the three-week counter terrorist Operation Cast Lead campaign in the winter of 2008-2009.A United Nations report by the Palmer investigation committee is due to be published next week, but previously released reports stated that it determined Israel’s actions as legal but disproportionate. The report also is expected to partly blame Turkey for the confrontation, a charge that has caused Erdogan to work to suppress the report.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s refusal to apologize is bound to anger the Obama administration, but its foreign policy clout continues to be diminished. President Barack Obama so far has failed to keep the Palestinian Authority from moving ahead with its proposal to ask the United Nations to recognize it is an independent country, a move that would officially negate the moribund American-led diplomatic process.Washington also has failed to have any effect on Syrian President Bashar Assad, whose army and secret police continue to brutalize the civilian uprising now that began more than three months ago. His forces have murdered at least 2,000 people and arrested more than 20,000, many of them having disappeared.At the beginning of the uprising, Clinton called Assad a reformer.

ISRAEL WOULD JUST HAVE TO USE 1 OF ITS 300 NUKES TO TAKE CARE OF EGYPT,NOT POISONOUS HAIR PRODUCTS.....REDICULOUS BY ARAB-MUSLIMS AS USUAL.

Libel: Egypt Accuses Israel of Mass Infertility Plot-Egyptian state prosecutors have accused Israel's Mossad of attempting to perpetrate a mass infertility plot via hair products.by Gavriel Queenann Published: 17/08/11, 8:52 PM

In a report that may indicate Egyptian authorities believe the IDF-commando-turned-hairdresser from the 2008 Hollywood film You Don't Mess With Zohan is more fact than fiction, Egypt's official state paper Al Ahram reported Israeli citizen Ofir Harari -- recently accused by Egypt of spying for Israel -- was involved in a scheme to cause mass infertility in Egypt via hair products.Harari, accused by Egypt of being an agent of the Mossad, is set be tried in absentia on charges of spying for a foreign country with the purpose of harming Egyptian national interests, news agency MENA reported.Cairo alleges, in addition to Harari, Jordanian national Ibrahim abu-Zaid, a telecoms engineer, reportedly involved in the affair as well, was arrested in Egypt.According to the public prosecutor's office's investigation,Al Ahram reported. Mossad agent Ofir Harari instructed Jordanian Ibrahim abu-Zaid to set up a company in Egypt which would exclusively import an Israeli hair product, for both men and women, which causes infertility. This in order to completely destroy Egyptian reproduction abilities.It is not uncommon for Arab leaders to concoct anti-Israel blood libels as a means of diverting attention from their own government's domestic failings -- such as Mossad attack sharks and highly trained IAF surveillance vultures.

The infertility plot libel itself is a time-honored meme demonstrating little originality. PLO officials in Israel -- as well as Syrian officials -- have accused Israel of similar neafriously improbable plots in the past.On June 12, Egypt arrested American-Israeli Ilan Grapel on suspicion of spying for Israel, which denied any such charge. The charges against Grapel have been mocked by many in Egypt as being unadulterated propaganda.Egypt's string of espionage allegations come at a sensitive time when Israel is trying to understand where Egypt's new temporary regime is headed.Analysts in both in Israel and in Egypt suggest Egyptian allegations stem from a wish to appease Egyptian demonstrators protesting against close relations between Jerusalem and Cairo during the Mubarak era.Also on Wednesday, Dubai's police commander called for a Gulf version of Interpol to counter Israel's dangerous influence and said Egypt's trial of former President Hosni Mubarak was an Israeli plot.

Erdogan: Assad is Like Qaddafi-Turkish Prime Minister compares Syrian President Bashar Assad's behavior toward protesters to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's behavior.by Elad Benari Published: 18/08/11, 2:44 AM


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared Syrian President Bashar Assad to Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi on Wednesday, as the violent crackdown on protesters in Syria continued.We made our calls (to Qaddafi) but unfortunately we got no result,Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan was quoted by The Associated Press as having said. The same thing is happening with Syria at the moment.Erdogan made the comments after Syrian government forces began Wednesday morning to withdraw from the port city of Latakia, leaving 34 dead and more wounded, in their wake.Earlier in the week, troops rounded up some 10,000 Arabs in the al-Ramel neighborhood into a stadium, where they confiscated their identity cards and mobile phones. It is estimated that as many as 1,790 civilians have died since protests calling for Assad’s ouster began in March.On Monday, Turkey’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged Syria to immediately end its deadly suppression of the five-month-old uprising, threatening it with unspecified steps if it fails to do so.Davutoglu said the bloodshed must end immediately and without conditions or excuses.He had made the same demands from Assad in a direct meeting the two had in Damascus last week.

But Erdogan said Wednesday that despite him personally speaking to Assad and sending his foreign minister to Damascus, despite all of this, they are continuing to strike civilians.The United States has already slapped sanctions on Syria in response to the violence against civilian protesters, and the European Union has done so as well. But Erdogan stopped short of announcing sanctions against Assad, noted AP.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

THE FIRST JUDGEMENT OF THE EARTH STARTED WITH WATER-IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THE LAST GENERATION WILL BE HAVING FLOODING
GENESIS 7:6-12
6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.
8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
9 There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah.
10 And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
GOD PROMISED BY A RAINBOW-THE EARTH WOULD NEVER BE DESTROYED TOTALLY WITH A FLOOD AGAIN.BUT FLOODIING IS A SIGN OF JUDGEMENT.

Flooding in Sparta, Mich., Leads to Questions About City Drain Maintenance ContributorNetwork Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben – AUG 17,11

On Saturday, the National Weather Service had issued flash flood warnings, but the county that suffered the worst flooding wasn't even on the warning list: Sparta in Kent County. The flooding seems to have been caused by poor drain maintenance. Most of southwest lower Michigan was deluged in the torrential weekend rain. Sparta residents got hit with as much as four feet of flood water.WZZM interviewed homeowners who had been pumping water from basements and crawl spaces. They say this was not the first time this summer that they were flooded. They had just begun to dry out from flooding several weeks ago. Although rain in west Michigan was heavy, it was not intense enough to create the amount of flooding experienced in Sparta. Residents fault poor drainage systems, lack of drain maintenance and drains filled with debris for the flooding.Sparta residents are frustrated, not only by the damage and loss of property, but also the amount of labor it takes to clean up after a flood. One resident expressed concern that his furnace might be damaged. The City of Sparta has asked residents attend the next city council meeting to address flood damage issues.

Hunting up resources for floods, websites for flood insurance kept appearing. Even Floodsmart.gov, a government emergency preparedness site, promotes flood insurance for homeowners. Home insurance is expensive enough. Like vehicle insurance, homeowners insurance is as much about liability coverage as it is about property damage restitution. Oftentimes, the deductibles are so steep with homeowners' insurance that most people don't submit claims unless disaster befalls.It doesn't make sense that Michigan residents should have to purchase additional flood insurance when flash floods don't affect most homeowners. Those who live directly on the Grand River or another Michigan river, may need to add flood coverage. Flooding like the kind that occurred in Sparta is not conditional for residents. Even the NWS did not put Sparta or Kent under flood watch. This shows that the flooding was not a predictable weather condition. These floods waters occurred as a result of poor city maintenance and lack of emergency preparedness on the drain commission's part.Also, if residents purchase additional homeowners insurance, it sometimes gives city officials an excuse to avoid their own responsibilities. Property taxes are supposed to pay for city services, including upkeep, repair and maintenance. Homeowners should not have to pay extra to protect against damage caused by lack of preventative maintenance at city structures.Residents in flooded areas are reminded to observe these basic safety precautions. Pedestrians should avoid flood waters. Six inches of water is enough to sweep a person off his feet. Heavy rain can cause soil erosion and unstable terrain. Motorists should avoid flood waters and be on the lookout for falling tree branches and flying debris. Flood waters of two feet can sweep a car away. Car tires can easily embed in mud and wet sand.Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about weather from 25 years teaching environmental, life and earth science.

Tropical Storm Greg strengthens well off SW Mexico
AP – Wed Aug 17, 4:49 pm ET

MIAMI – Tropical Storm Greg is strengthening as it moves parallel to Mexico's Pacific coast but is not prompting any coastal watches or warnings.The storm is forecast to become a hurricane later Thursday but on a generally northwest track out to sea that will keep its center well away from land.The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Wednesday the storm had maximum sustained winds near 65 mph (105 kph). It was centered about 195 miles (315 kilometers) southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. It's more than 450 miles south-southeast off the southern tip of Baja, Calif.
Meanwhile, farther out in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Fernanda is moving slowly west-northwest with no change in strength. The storm's maximum sustained winds remained near 50 mph (85 kph).

U.S. sees growing losses from extreme weather
Reuters By Jane Sutton – Wed Aug 17, 3:11 pm ET

MIAMI (Reuters) – The United States has already tied its yearly record for billion-dollar weather disasters and the cumulative tab from floods, tornadoes and heat waves has hit $35 billion, the National Weather Service said on Wednesday.And it's only August, with the bulk of the hurricane season still ahead.I don't think it takes a wizard to predict 2011 is likely to go down as one of the more extreme years for weather in history, National Weather Service Director Jack Hayes told journalists on a conference call.The agency's parent organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, launched a campaign on Wednesday to better prepare Americans for violent weather.There have so far been nine separate disasters this year that caused an economic loss of $1 billion or more in the United States, tying the record set in 2008, NOAA said. The most recent was the summer flooding along the Missouri and Souris rivers in the upper Midwest.The new reality is that both the frequency and the cost of extreme weather are rising, making the nation more economically vulnerable and putting more lives and livelihoods at risk, Hayes said.The number of U.S. natural disasters has tripled in the last 20 years and 2010 was a record breaker with about 250, according to property and casualty reinsurer Munich Reinsurance America.Average thunderstorm losses have increased five-fold since 1980. For the first half of 2011 there have been $20 billion in thunderstorm losses, up from the previous three-year average of $10 billion, NOAA said.The rising costs are due partly to demographics, Hayes said. The population is rising and there are more people and more buildings in environmentally vulnerable areas, such as coastal regions.

CLIMATE CHANGE?

Asked if global warming was to blame for the rising frequency of wild weather, Hayes said that was a research question and that it would be difficult to link any one severe season to overall climate change.NOAA's effort to make America weather-ready is aimed at producing earlier, more precise warnings and helping people understand what to do to protect themselves, Hayes said.In the current fiscal climate, it mainly focuses on already-budgeted items such as upgrading the weather radar system and on better coordination among existing agencies.For example, one program aims to have rainfall forecasters work more closely with the agencies that build and maintain levees and operate flood-control canals.

Other steps include:
-Helping communities stage disaster preparedness drills.
-Dispatching specially trained meteorologists to emergency response centers during disasters such as wildfires.
-Asking behavioral scientists for advice on how to improve the wording of advisories so that the general public understands them, and how to deter risky behavior such as driving onto flooded roads.
-Expanding the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter and chatrooms to help spread weather warnings.

NOAA's warning was timed with the advent of what is traditionally the busiest part of the June-through-November Atlantic hurricane season. The United States has not been hit by a hurricane in three years.Those are the types of things that lull people to sleep. We want people vigilant, Hayes said.NOAA has predicted there will be as many as 19 tropical storms this year. So far there have been seven, but none have strengthened into hurricanes. Only one, Tropical Storm Don, came ashore in the United States but it quickly fizzled over the Texas coast without delivering the rain that is badly needed in the parched state.(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Merkel and Sarkozy offer no miracle cure for euro
Reuters By Noah Barkin | Reuters – AUG 17,11

BERLIN (Reuters) - Plans from France and Germany to move toward fiscal union in 2012 got a chilly response from other euro-zone countries and failed to reassure investors worried about the region's debt crisis and weakened economies.Austria, Finland and Ireland all questioned bold proposals from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to give up sovereignty over budgetary policies as a means to shore up their 17-nation currency union.Market analysts warned that political dissent coupled with failure to deliver any concrete pledges to increase the size of Europe's euro rescue fund, or launch of euro bonds, risks a renewed attack on heavily indebted countries.There is little in the way of concrete measures in these decisions, said Wolfgang Leoni, chief investment officer at Sal. Oppenheim. This is exactly what the markets don't want.In a sign of investor jitters, flight from the euro currency resumed on Wednesday as money sought the relative safety of the Swiss franc and the U.S. dollar. German debt, another safe haven, was also well bid compared with other euro-zone government debt. The region's stock markets were mixed.The message left by Merkel and Sarkozy was that, in the short term, responsibility for warding off any new attacks on indebted euro-zone countries rests solely with the European Central Bank. But the central bank, which already has thrown tens of billions of euros into the bonds of countries such as Italy and Spain is internally divided over the wisdom of that move, creating further anxiety for investors.I think the crisis in fact is likely to get worse before it gets better despite the announcements that we had yesterday, Jacques Cailloux, chief European economist at RBS, told Reuters Insider television.The ECB is trapped here, Cailloux said, adding that he sees the ECB could end up buying almost $300 billion (181 billion pounds) worth of Spanish and Italian bonds by late September to fight off waves of speculative attacks.

POLITICAL HURDLES

The prospect of the ECB essentially bankrolling countries with budget deficit problems throws the central bank into the heart of European politics, territory way beyond its monetary mandate causing tensions within its governing council.ECB bond buying acts as a bridge until euro-zone parliaments have approved enhancements agreed last month to Europe's rescue fund, which would allow it to start making bond purchases.That process passed an important hurdle late on Wednesday when the Dutch prime minister secured broad political support for the Greek bailout agreed last month by European leaders, a key test before an official vote due within a few weeks' time.The Netherlands is a solid backer of the euro project but its coalition government could face problems with a disillusioned electorate.Another traditional German ally Austria on Wednesday criticized the Franco-German move toward economic governance.Ireland reacted skeptically to a pledge by Berlin and Paris to press ahead with a harmonization of their corporate tax rates in hopes that other euro members would follow suit.A separate proposal to write German-style debt brake rules into national constitutions across the 17-nation currency bloc by mid-2012 faces big hurdles given Sarkozy himself is struggling to secure a parliamentary majority at home for such a plan.Finland's finance minister questioned whether the rule would work at all and said she was not too excited about making changes to her country's constitution.Some of the steps unveiled at the news conference in Paris on Tuesday would have seemed almost revolutionary as recently as a year ago.Merkel bowed to longstanding French calls to hold regular meetings of euro zone leaders and appoint a symbolic president, or spokesman, for the bloc -- steps that are bound to widen the divide between euro ins and outs in the 27-nation EU.

But in the midst of a crippling crisis that has threatened to engulf big countries like Spain, Italy and France, the announcements were criticized by many as too little too late.Spanish and Italian 10-year bond yields hovered near 5 percent, more than a percentage point below where they stood before the ECB first intervened in the markets earlier this month.Economists said markets could test the resolve of European policymakers again within weeks.Markets are looking for a magic bullet and that doesn't exist, said Julian Callow, an economist at Barclays in London. Instead of a magic bullet we have more of the same. Governments are trying to cut their deficits, that is eating into demand and driving economies weaker.Both Spain and Italy held out hope that Merkel and Sarkozy would change their minds and embrace joint euro bonds.

CONTENTIOUS DEBATES

One worry is that the Franco-German proposals re-open a number of contentious debates within the EU, further sapping investor confidence.Merkel and Sarkozy vowed on Tuesday to press ahead with long-stalled plans for a financial transactions tax. But the UK has long opposed this, and moving ahead without the City of London could end up hurting the financial sectors in Frankfurt and Paris.Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said he would insist that any such tax apply to all 27 members of the EU, not just the 17 that share the euro.Looming elections in key euro zone member states -- Spain votes in November and France in the spring -- could also complicate implementation of the proposals announced by Merkel and Sarkozy.France's Socialists have strongly opposed the government's plans to introduce a balanced budget rule to the constitution, threatening to turn it into a campaign issue.On Wednesday Francois Hollande, the leading Socialist candidate to challenge Sarkozy in next year's vote, urged a national debate on the issue.(Reporting from European bureaus; Editing by Ruth Pitchford and Andrew Hay)

Analysis: Fed may have bullets left, but are they blanks? Reuters By Steven C. Johnson | Reuters – AUG 17,11

NEW YORK (Reuters) - When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke takes the podium next week at the central bank's annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, his sense of deja vu may be overwhelming.Stocks have been giving up gains won after last year's speech, when Bernanke hinted at plans to pump more money into the financial system. Oil prices are higher and there's been little improvement in the job market. Bond yields are down, though, because the economic outlook has deteriorated.It's almost as if QE2, the Fed's $600 billion bond-buying program first mentioned at last year's meeting and designed to boost the struggling economy, never happened.That's not to say investors doubt the central bank's resolve to act again if the U.S. economy keeps losing steam. Last week, it surprised markets with an unprecedented pledge to hold interest rates near zero until at least 2013.But given questions about the efficacy of monetary stimulus to date and a growing political backlash against the Fed's policies, investors expect the U.S. central bank to keep its powder dry at this year's Jackson Hole symposium from August 25-27.The Fed already shocked the world when it indicated its ultra-low interest rate policy would remain in place until 2013, said Fred Dickson, strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co in Lake Oswego, Oregon. That telegraphed the economy is going to stay weak. But monetary and fiscal policies haven't worked very well, so I don't expect we'll get a QE3 announcement. That would really catch everybody by surprise.

It's not that the central bank doesn't have a few tricks left up its sleeve. Bernanke has previously detailed what he could do next. This includes buying long-dated Treasuries to push down long-term rates and cutting interest on bank deposits held at the Fed to encourage more lending.For graphics see http://r.reuters.com/kek33s

Still, there's the problem of ever diminishing returns. The benchmark S&P 500 index rallied more than 4 percent when the Fed on August 9 said it would keep rates low into 2013, but fell more than 4 percent the next day. At around 1,200, the index is off its August 8 low but trading remains volatile.Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart has said the central bank could buy more long-term bonds to lengthen the duration of its portfolio, which would flatten the yield curve and allow homeowners to refinance at lower interest rates.But with rates already low, the impact may be muted.What's more, investors said lower 30-year bond yields could actually complicate life for insurance companies that have to match liabilities and assets.

POLITICAL BACKLASH

Then there's the limited impact the Fed's quantitative easing, or QE, has had on the broader economy, which ground to a halt in the second quarter and, some fear, is flirting with a slide back into recession.Economists polled by Reuters now expect the economy to grow at just a 1.7 percent rate in 2011, well below the Fed's June forecasts of 2.7 to 2.9 percent.Including QE2, which ended in June, the Fed has spent some $2.3 trillion in recent years to prevent a slide into deflation, more than tripling its balance sheet in the process.On one hand, QE2 added to the U.S. market. On the other, a lot of the liquidity fled and went into emerging markets and commodities, and those commodities, including oil, went higher in price, said Ashish Shah, head of global credit at AllianceBernstein, with $216 billion in fixed-income assets. So you actually robbed consumers of purchasing power.That has put the Fed in the line of fire of some politicians and voters -- so much so that some investors fear the growing politicization of Fed policy could curb its independence.Texas Governor Rick Perry, a Republican candidate for president, even said he would consider it treasonous if Bernanke prints more money between now and the election in 2012.William Larkin, fixed income portfolio manager at Cabot Money Management, dismissed Perry's remarks as crazy talk, but did say the Fed faced increased political hurdles.The Fed is going to face a lot of push back, he said. Keeping rates low has caused talk of financial repression --- stealing from savers and giving to debtors.A weaker dollar, partly the result of the Fed's easing, also complicates things. While it in theory helps exports, it also makes imported goods more costly, putting more pressure on consumers. Against major currencies, the dollar is 11 percent weaker since the August 2010 Jackson Hole meeting.The Fed is being viewed as a political rather than financial actor, so their policy responses may have to be political as well as economic,said Boris Schlossberg, head of research at GFT Forex. As they lose their credibility among a certain segment of the population, that whittles away the kind of independence they used to have.Support for more easing isn't universal within the central bank, either. Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, one of three policymakers who voted against keeping interest rates low until 2013, blamed fiscal misfeasance in Washington for the economy's woes.

MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL

None of this makes investing any more straightforward, money managers say. While stocks still look more enticing than low-yielding Treasuries, many portfolio managers have grown more defensive given the worsening economic outlook.Dickson said he recommends clients increase cash and metals allocations just to be safe. But he still favors stocks over bonds, particularly multinational stocks that offer dividend yields above the 10-year Treasury.He said a D.A. Davidson & Co portfolio of such stocks has held up better than the S&P, shedding about half as much as the broader market between mid-July and August 8.Another option for equities investors is high-yield corporate bonds that offer comparable returns but half the volatility of stocks, Shah said, noting U.S. corporations are sitting on piles of cash.But for people who want to preserve capital, there aren't a lot of choices, he said.You're going to earn zero here.There may be reason to hope that the Fed won't need to act again. The central bank's latest senior loan officer survey showed some easing in lending conditions, particularly for commercial and industrial loans to businesses.
If the trend persists, that could encourage more hiring.Should things take a turn for the worse, though, investors had better bet on another round of QE, said Michael Cheah, senior portfolio manager at SunAmerica Asset Management in Jersey City, with $1.5 billion under management.With inflation low and wage growth stagnant, he said the Fed has the leeway to pour more money into the system. That would boost stocks at the expense of bonds and stoke demand for higher-yielding currencies over the dollar.I think quantitative easing is only creating the illusion of prosperity but my job is to trade that illusion,he said.That makes me bullish stocks.(Additional reporting Burton Frierson; Editing by )

Chavez: Venezuela recalling $11B in gold reserves
APBy FABIOLA SANCHEZ - Associated Press | AP – AUG 17,11

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez announced Wednesday he is nationalizing Venezuela's gold mining industry and intends to bring home $11 billion in gold reserves currently held in U.S. and European banks.He said the recall of the gold reserves is intended to help protect this oil-producing country from the economic woes in the United States and Europe.We're going to start to bring back our gold to the Central Bank, Chavez said in a telephone call broadcast live on state television.It wasn't clear how soon the overseas gold reserves are to be brought to Venezuela.The Central Bank said recently that the country has about $17.9 billion in gold out of a total of more than $28.6 billion in international reserves. Chavez said $11 billion worth of the gold is held in other countries.Central Bank president Nelson Merentes said on television that the decision to move the gold reserves was being taken out of prudence.At the time of these disturbances, it's preferable to recover our assets, in this case the gold, and have it here in the vaults, Merentes said.Venezuela has nearly $4.6 billion of its gold reserves in the Bank of England, according to a report by Finance Minister Jorge Giordani that was leaked to the news media Tuesday by an opposition lawmaker.The report said additional Venezuelan gold reserves are held by the U.S. bank J.P. Morgan Chase, British banks Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered, France's BNP Paribas and Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia.

As for Venezuela's other non-gold international reserves, officials are seeking more diversification in countries that have more solid economies, Merentes said. He mentioned China, saying it has a shield of protection against a potential deepening of the international economic crisis.Chavez has raised the idea of withdrawing Venezuela's reserves from U.S. banks repeatedly in the past. At a summit in 2008, he urged his Latin American allies to begin pulling their reserves out of U.S. banks, warning of a looming economic crisis in the United States.Giordani and Merentes, who appeared together on television Wednesday, said they proposed to Chavez that Venezuela's nearly $6.3 billion in non-gold international reserves such as bank deposits and bonds should be reviewed and transferred from U.S. and European banks to countries they consider safer, including China, Russia and Brazil, among other countries in Asia and Latin America.Chavez also said he would soon issue a decree for the nationalization of the gold mining industry so that the government can increase control over the gold produced.We're going to nationalize gold and we're going to convert it, among other things, into international reserves,he said.The Russian company Rusoro Mining Ltd. controls one of Venezuela's most important gold mines in the country's southeast. In February, the government canceled the gold mining concession of a Canadian company, Crystallex International Corp.It's unclear how Chavez's new decree differs from a 1965 law that nationalized gold mining in Venezuela. In 1977, the government granted itself exclusive rights for extracting gold.Chavez said the decree will allow the government to begin to take over the gold zone, where authorities have periodically carried out operations to evict wildcat miners from illegal mines.The president said the government aims to fight mafias that have been taking some of the country's gold.

Pope arrives in Spain in time of economic turmoil
AP By DANIEL WOOLLS - Associated Press | AP – AUG 17,11

MADRID (AP) — When the pope arrives in Spain this week, it's not just sweltering heat he'll be stepping into. The economy's in a shambles. Jobless youths are filled with rage and frustration. Politicians are gearing up for early elections that will be dominated by these hard times.Benedict XVI lands Thursday in the capital for a four-day visit to greet up to a million or more young pilgrims from around the planet for the Catholic Church's World Youth Day.The pope's attendance shows how much a priority he places on this economically troubled country, which has departed sharply from its Catholic traditions and embraced hedonism and secularism. In the economic bust, he may be hoping to lure back some of his straying flock.This will be the third time the pontiff visits Spain since his papacy began in 2005, and the second in less than a year.But many Spaniards take issue with the hoopla and hefty cost.

The euro50 million ($72 million) tab for staging the visit — setting up everything from giant screen TVs to portable toilets and confession stalls — has hit a raw nerve even among some churchgoing Catholics and priests.The visit also comes as Spain gets ready for early elections in November. And while the church officially keeps out of politics, it will be sure to be watching closely — as the outcome could affect Spain's direction on hot-button ethical issues.The election will pit the ruling Socialists, who irked the Vatican with social reforms including gay marriage and a law allowing 16-year-olds to get abortions without parental consent, against conservatives who tend to back church thinking on such issues and are heavily favored to win.Spain's economy is sputtering as it seeks to overcome recession, Madrid's stock market has been a roller-coaster of late, the government is saddled with debt woes, and young Spaniards feel doomed and angry over their grim prospects amid a nearly 21 percent unemployment rate.This bitter cocktail, or ingredients of it, is being served up in much of Europe and elsewhere.This is a time of uncertainty for young people. The pope is coming to Spain for World Youth Day, bringing a positive and challenging message from young people from all over the world, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, chief Vatican spokesman, said last week.Pilgrims echoed that need for solace and inspiration.The message is about hope, about the future, to move from the current situation — whatever it is, and now it is kind of devastating — but move forward toward the future and hope that things will be better, said the Rev. Father Stanley Gomes, a chaplain at Seton Hall University who is accompanying 15 students from the school near New York City.

Organizers say about 450,000 young people from 193 countries — some from as far away as Vietnam and Pakistan — have registered to take part. But signing up beforehand is not mandatory and from past experience the total will be about three times those who register.Two-thirds are expected to be Spaniards; among the rest Italy, France, the United States, Germany and Poland are sending the largest delegations.The main events are a prayer vigil with the 84-year-old Pope and outdoor sleepover for pilgrims Saturday night at a sprawling air base, and Mass there the next morning.
Except for a trip Friday to a historic monastery in El Escorial, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Madrid, the Pope will spend the whole visit in Madrid, meeting with young people, hearing confession from some of them, riding through the city in his pope-mobile and greeting young nuns, seminarians and university professors, among other activities.In Spain the church faces a congregation for whom being Catholic is more a birthmark than a way of life. A poll released in July says that while 72 percent of Spaniards identify themselves as Catholic, 60 percent say they almost never go to Mass and only 13 percent every Sunday.Church organizers insist the papal visit involves zero cost for Spanish taxpayers because the money is coming from corporate sponsors, private donations and fees paid by some of the pilgrims, among other sources.Pilgrims who buy the premium package get vouchers to eat at nearly 1,500 restaurants which have signed up to take part in the papal visit — from fast-food hamburger chains to others offering traditional Spanish tapas. And organizers have made created an iPad and smartphone application that will tell pilgrims where the closest participating eatery is and let them communicate with each other in their own social network.Critics are complaining of the cost of providing extra police security, tax breaks being granted to the corporate sponsors, discount subway and bus tickets for the visitors, and the price tag of opening up school gyms and sports facilities in a vacation month to set up makeshift digs for so many pilgrims.Even some progressive Catholics joined a protest march Wednesday night to denounce taxpayer money spent for World Youth Day, a globe-trotting meeting held every three years. The last was in Sydney, Australia, and the next will be in Rio de Janeiro.

At a time of crisis, and with so many people in need, we feel this visit should not be so massive and attention-drawing, so spectacular, but rather something more simple and closer to the grassroots of the church, said Raquel Mallavibarrena, a spokeswoman for a progressive Catholic group called Redes Cristianas, or Christian Networks.Yago de la Cierva, head of the World Youth Day organizing committee, insisted providing extra police for major, crowd-drawing events is the government's responsibility — as it was when Spaniards flocked to the streets last summer to welcome home the national football team that won World Cup in South Africa.Pope Benedict will be received and sent off by King Juan Carlos Queen Sofia and during his stay will meet separately with Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and conservative opposition leader Marian Rajoy, the man likely to be Spain's next prime minister.However, the Vatican insists Zapatero and Rajoy meetings are not about politics. It notes the visit was scheduled long before Spain called early elections and is a pastoral one, rather than a state visit.Jorge Sainz contributed to this report.