End of the Week is at Hand

Well that was a rough week! Hopefully things will get moving again with the kitchen next week. It has been harder to not have a kitchen than I thought it would be.

The BIS Gold Swaps
The only market item I wanted to discuss was some more color added to the BIS gold swaps that I covered a while back. Yes, I know I said I was not going to talk metals anymore, but this is important. Besides, why bother talking about GDP and all those nasty revisions down for the past years, that does not matter anyway.

Jesse was all over this from the beginning and so we can start with his commentary:
Financial Times says European Banks Lent their Customer's Gold to the BIS

The European Banks, including HSBC, Société Générale and BNP Paribas, were desperately in need of dollars because of a repeat of the eurodollar short squeeze which we had previously identified. Their customers were withdrawing dollars previously on deposit at the banks, which were unable to meet the demand because of the deterioration of the dollar assets they held, and because of the fractional reserve nature of their operations.

So the BIS stepped in, supplementing the swap lines the ECB has with the Fed, and swapped its dollar holdings directly for the some of the banks' customer's gold. Let us be clear about this. The gold is on deposit at the banks, in the same way that customer dollars had been on deposit. I do not wish to fuss too much about it, but at the time that the BIS swaps were revealed, a noted blogger pooh-poohed it with the toss off that 'everyone knows that the European commercial banks own quite a lot of gold.' Well, in this case, the ownership is greatly exaggerated. It is on deposit, owned by other people, but utilized as an asset by the bank. There is a difference.

You should read the rest of the article.

Zero Hedge had some more thoughts.

This is not too surprising, but I would wonder why any banks would need to use gold as an asset to raise cash with? Why not any other commodity? Why not MBS paper or other such "money". Maybe gold was the only thing they had on hand to use quickly, but surely a useless relic like gold is a silly thing to have on hand, yes?

Friday Night Entertainment
Ok, I need a break! Let's get insane like a looter in a riot.

This and That
Various things I thought you may find of interest.

-Lost in Arctic ice in 1853, the HMS Investigator was found this summer!
-This guy loses his stuff on the floor of the House of Representatives.
-The best essay answer to the question "Is Hell Exothermic or Endothermic?"
-George Carlin had it all figured out! (via C-T Hilltopper)
-Maybe the WORST FAIL ever (warning, a bit nasty!)

Photo Time
Because it's easier to just look at stuff!

Well, it is "as advertised" anyway:

Yup.

BOOM Goes the Dynamite on your head!:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Film Clips
Some cinema snippets to open your viewing parameters.

Well first off, for the boxing fans, here is the punch I discussed in the comments last thread; go to the 4:58 mark of this clip and see what I mean.

How about the Top 10 Moments from "Enter the Dragon" (via Watchtower):

Wow, the first guy was Jackie Chan!

Before Nicholas Cage made action films, he was a pretty good actor. Try out his explanation of losing his hand in "Moonstruck":

I love that scene!

This is an upcoming film, but this one I think will resurrect Ben Affleck's career. It is called "The Town":

That looks good!

Rock Blogging
Well, we do always hang in the Buffalo Stance, so away we go!

Sedentary State would like a little Tchaikovsky, "Serenade for Strings in C major":

Not my type of music in general, but that was a very nice composition.

Scharfy was looking for Bertie Higgins and the hit "Key Largo" and this was a song my Dad used to play on the guitar all the time:

That brings back memories.

From the year of my birth (the year of the Dragon also!) is Lurker's request for "Crazy on You" by Heart. I found a nice live version:

That was really great. See what REAL talent is, not the crap we are stuck with for the most part today.

A fun song is Georgia Satellites and "Keep Your Hands to Yourself":

The logic seems reversed here as compared to real life to me but what do I know........LMAO

The problem with new music is I hate most of it and the stuff I do like I already have played! I was going to play one of two songs I heard today (not really "new" but "newer") but I have played them fairly recently. Well what can you do! Toss up between Cracker and "Low" or the below tune of Shinedown and "Second Chance":

Sorry, had it on the mind!

Two songs left. Fret not, two to go and there is always next week or the archives!

The song every hopeful artist feels in his heart, Kenny Rogers and "She Believes in Me":

"While she lays waiting, I stumble to the kitchen for a bite
Then I see my old guitar in the night
Just waiting for me like a secret friend, and theres no end
While she lays crying, I fumble with a melody or two"

Ouch!

Last call! By now you must know what to do, so get to it!

Closing the show with "Still of the Night" by Whitesnake:

From 3:10 to 4:00 is really special. Sorry all the videos with Tawny Kitaen were disabled! I did try!

Have a good night.

Re-Fi the World, Re-Fi the Children

Another setback today in the remodel as the electrical inspector decided he was not going to come in today. Hey, it is beach weather right? Unreal.

I should be doing a Friday Night post and as always get your requests in. Already have a couple of good ones.

I did get one interesting post on my Thought Experiment last night, but only one. It is beach weather right?

Re-Fi the World, Re-Fi the Children
You will need this song (Steve Perry's part is the BEST!) and then switch the words:
"Re-Fi the World, Re-Fi the Children;
Free rides are sure to make a brighter day;
So let's start handing"

Up front I have to tell you bond duration issues, pre-payments, held to maturity off sets and other bond stuff is way over my head and thus I cannot really comment on the nuts and bolts of today's biggest story. Luckily there are many smart folks out there that can help!

The big "rumor" that made pages all over the place was a proposal to do a blanket re-finance (re-fi) for ALL Fannie, Freddie, and FHA mortgages at the low rate of 4.5%, at least until that drops below 4% soon! I am always cautious now whenever I hear the term "slam dunk" if you know what I mean, so here is the proposal (via CR thanks to Kid Dynamite):

If it were possible to inject a significant amount of stimulus into the household sector of the US economy over the near term and this stimulus had zero impact on the budget deficit, did not require an exit strategy, did not distort the markets, and took effect almost immediately, wouldn’t it seem like a slam dunk? Such an option actually exists in the form of a change to mortgage refinancing requirements. The Fed – and market forces – have pushed mortgage rates to historic lows. However, many homeowners are unable to take advantage of the low rates because they are blocked from refinancing by a high loan-to-value ratio (LTV), appraisal problems, unemployment, and low credit score, etc. This problem could be addressed if the Government merely recognized the guarantee that already exists on the principal value of a very large portion of the mortgage market – specifically, the mortgages that are backed by Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie – and acted to streamline the refi process

The above is from a paper written by Morgan Stanley analysts (sorry no link yet) called "Slam Dunk Stimulus".

Now we will not bother talking about such things as moral hazard, fairness, or anything related because if we stop helping home-debtors the terrorists WIN!

Here is where I have to point you else where. Calculated Risk has an extensive item up on this topic from Tom Lawler which is comprehensive. Again here is the link. I will not even snippet the article as it's really too complex and well written.

Simplicity can be provided by Zero Hedge, as always, and with fun titles like:
Already Bought A 3D LCD In Anticipation Of QE "Instarefi" 1.999? You May Want To Consider A Refund
There is a great list of consequences at the link and it's also a must read.

In closing I cannot help but wonder how in the world bonds have dislocated from stocks so much, and thus 30 year mortgage rates are at 4.5%!? It almost fits too perfect. Perhaps some of the roll risk is already gone via re-fi at such low rates? Something smells bad and I have a few ideas as to what it is but I need to work on it a bit.

I would add that I have long argued low rates are now STRUCTURAL to the economy and I often have brought up that a fixed government backed mortgage rate (from 4-5%) WOULD BECOME POLICY but that's just to remind myself!

Have a good night.

What If?

Inspections are slowing down the work here as they are only done on Tuesdays and Thursdays of course. What can you do. Living with no kitchen and trying to make do in other rooms is harder than I thought it would be.

What If?
Of course there were plenty of things I read today that stood out, but nothing that really grabbed me as a must read. It is Wednesday after all!

Instead I wanted to throw out a thought experiment for you at home to test out. Here goes;

-Say some technology advance and/or new law (robots take over jobs, some new Iphone app allows one person to do the job of 3, government ends corporate taxes and pays double their earning as a bonus on top, etc) resulted in business earnings going parabolic but the trade off was that unemployment going forward would be 18% for the foreseeable future (10 years); would higher stock prices by themselves be enough to make up for the lost income of the non-workers? Could ever escalating asset prices replace productive work in the economy?

Now of course this question bears NO resemblance to how the US economy is structured, so please try and think it through logically. Use the comments to sound off.

Have a good night.

Best of the Web Tuesday July 27, 2010

Day Two went a bit better, no real drama with the kitchen! It seems impossible that the room will ever be back together, but I guess everyone feels that way.

Looking to Open Positions
I have done a bit of homework using my proprietary trading system (my mind) and I think I will be opening up some positions in the following as I have not made any trades this year so far:
-Hormel (HRL)
-McDonald's (MCD)
-Budweiser/Inbev (BUD)

All three are showing clear ability to still get people's money for their products and the charts are favorable as well for the medium/long term trade (3 month-9 months). I will update with stops, buy prices and the rest of it if I can get it done.

Best of the Web Tuesday July 27, 2010
Today's must read comes from Housing Wire's Paul Jackson who pens:
The New Math Surrounding HAMP Doesn't Add Up
You will have to read this to believe it but here is the set up:

At HW, we chose not to run with the HAMP redefault numbers except to note that Treasury officials had added them into the latest report card. And this choice was made with purpose: we knew these numbers were fake. Nobody gets a 1.7% redefault rate 6 months after modification –- not even Uncle Sam — and any media outlet reporting that number with a straight face quite simply doesn't understand the industry it's covering.

The only way to come up with a 1.7% redefault rate is to change how redefaults are calculated. And that, dear readers, is precisely what our government did.

This should be a scandal and called out, but I don't think it will even make the Sunday paper. Hat's off to Housing Wire for the catch.

Have a good night.

Best of the Web Monday July 6, 2010

Ok, day 1 of the kitchen remodel and of course there was drama!

-The flooring we bought was supposed to come in in 5-10 business days which already would have been a problem with the work flow, but we were going to accept that. The wife gets a call today that the flooring will not come in until, ready for it?, September! I am not going to have a re-done kitchen with no floor for a month so the wife went out to Lowes and bought some in stock stuff that will have to do. Not ideal, but ok.

-We put the new microwave in the first floor bathroom for the time being. I had the computer on, the air conditioner and then the mother in law started to cook a TV dinner and all that draw was too much and tripped the breaker. Of course my new generator sprang to life to supply the needed power! I could not figure out the deal with all the switches (I have two breaker boxes due to the generator) and had to call the generator guys to figure it all out. At least the generator works!

So that's day one. So much more to look forward to!

Best of the Web Monday July 6, 2010
I think that trying to plan on posting is dumb at this point, I just have no idea what will happen next. Instead this week I will feature the very best article I came across in case you missed it.

I would worry that The Automatic Earth will lead every day, but what can you do? Ilargi has a classic post up today titled:
Extend and Pretend: The Russian Doll Version
This article meshes well with my last post. Just a snippet to grab you:

Yes, Fannie and Freddie are the ultimate in perversity. Not only does the government use every citizen's tax revenue to guarantee future losses on their neighbor's real estate purchases, both new and existing, it willingly causes that neighbor to pay two, three, four times more for their home than they would have without those guarantees.

A key concept that people either miss completely or do not care as long as their home keeps going up in value. Read the whole thing.

Have a good night.

In the Mind of a Child

My house is a complete mess right now. We are about set up for the kitchen project to commence tomorrow. Paper plates, paper cups, and easy cook meals via the microwave or the Steel Keg will have to do for the next 2 weeks or so. Of course waiting until the last minute to buy your range, hood, microwave, sink, faucet and flooring is not recommended.

In the Mind of a Child
Last week I was pressed for time so I did not really write much. After giving things some thought today, I came to the conclusion that global denial is in fact coordinated policy and the markets (via stock proxies) are willing enablers. Small business and the private sector have not been able to join in on the La-La Land Parade, but maybe they should it has been quite a party so far.

What do I mean? Take any of the following:
Kid Dynamite writes about the FDIC playing guarantee games. Read the whole entry and can see the next logical application of "extend and pretend".

Even more action involving the FDIC and said guarantees; even now issuing FDIC Bonds which is a first:

The FDIC must sell assets to continue the closings. It has about $37 billion of bad-bank assets to sell, but the stockpile would bring only 10 to 50 cents on the dollar.

Enter the FDIC's Securitization Pilot Program, the sale of U.S.-guaranteed FDIC senior certificates. This enables the FDIC to push much of the losses off its books, thanks to the U.S. guarantee of principal and interest. The program starts with a $500 million issue.

"They aren't really selling the bad assets. They're selling the equivalent of a Treasury bond without congressional approval," says William Black, a former thrift regulator. "It hides the economic substance of what's really happening—an unlimited taxpayer bailout."

The FDIC contests the characterization, saying it doesn't expect a claim on the guarantee because of an equity cushion to absorb the losses, and the use of only performing mortgages in the pools. The agency says a lot of resources stand between it and the taxpayer.

Of course this will get a total of ZERO discussion or review.

The Euro Stress tests were about as silly as expected, but note this observation:

First of all, you should be skeptical anytime EVERYONE is saying that the stress tests were too weak, if the market doesn't register the same disappointment.

Well then I guess the market knows all! Makes things easy, yes?

All is going so well we finally see some acknowledgement of what I have been saying forever; low rates are now structural in nature and no large economy will be able to function if rates rise:
Ernst & Young: The UK Recovery Is So Weak That They Won't Be Able To Raise Interest Rates For Many Years To Come
Exactly.

The Housing Time Bomb opines on all this with the following questions:

The problem longer term is there are too many questions that have no answers:
How long can the Fed replace the consumer?
How long can we continue to sell $189 billion in treasuries like we are about to do next week?
How long will unemployment continue to rise?
Where are the new jobs going to come from?
How are we going to pay down the deficit?
How are the states going to stay solvent?
How do we continue to fund Social Security and Medicare?

An excellent set of questions.

So what is the solution to all of this? It is simple really, you just have to think like a child.

Ignore it and pretend it does not exist.

For all that has been written over the past 2 years it really all boils down to that one line. The very essence of all the programs have been to enforce the denial.

Extend unemployment insurance? Why not? Jobless people will stay somewhat quiet if they get handed a few bucks rather than get nothing. There is now a large section of the "working"population that will be on extended UE for as long as 5 years before this is all said and done. These people would be the engine for change if they were motivated, and UE benefits keep that from happening.

FDIC, Fannie, Freddie, FHA, all these guaranteed debt issuers will never have to have their day of reckoning. Discussion on how broke they might be, or what their assets are really worth can be fun, but it is also useless. All these assets are what the US policy makers say they are one way or another.

Overall if you pile on all the uses of the following terms:
-Guarantee
-Backstop
-Explicit Backing
-Accommodating
-Shift Losses
-Taxpayer funded

A clear picture can be seen.

Just like a child, our policy is to ignore and pretend. I can say that I am amazed this has both worked and been adopted all over the global financial system. I guess we can really get away with this kind of stuff, someone or something would have stopped the process by now. It stinks to be wrong, but I guess I was foolish to think rules and reality were things that come to the surface. What can you do?

If you use the basic premise submitted here the news and events in things finance only make more and more sense. Strange days.

Have a good night.

Now Playing

Ok I am on a YouTube movie run so here's what's playing:


This scene always scared me. The though of being left out in a pod in space is cold.


Vintage Clint!


Maybe Stallone's best acting role.


Now that was some great special effects, yes?


Always loved this flick.


"No one will hire you!"


If you have yet to see this one, you really should.


Sick as all get out!


Yeah, that was me!

Have a good night.

Obstacles

I would think getting a new kitchen would be fun but this week has been a nightmare. I have had about enough and hope the work goes quickly over the next two weeks.

All I wanted to do tonight was write a little financial stuff and get the Friday Night show up and running when the cable and Internet go out for an hour right as I was setting up to write! Obstacles all around it seems. Anyhoo, I will have some commentary this weekend on these topics:
-The Euro zone stress tests (sad joke)
-Ben Bernanke's 18 hour flip flop on policy (total incompetence)
-Philosophical musings on the system as it stands

For now I have limited time and you know I hate to disappoint, so on with the show!

Fun with Pictures
P-A-R-T-Why? Because I've got to mister!

Seems harsh punishment for the crime, yes?:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures
Poor thing!

Another 99 week unemployment collector:

Did I ever mention the times in college I worked at convenience stores and folks in Mercedes and Lexus cars would come in and pay with food stamps? Sad stuff.

Interesting Stuff
Some wild stuff from this week that I came across.

You know you want a set of monster robot arms:

Watch out ladies!

Did you know?:
-The Stepan Company is the only legally operated firm that can process coca leaves yielding both cocaine for the pharma industry and spent coca leaves for the Coca Cola company?
-Rotary engines have less moving parts than regular engines?
-That Muad'Dib means a mouse like shape on a moon?
-Stephen King lists "The Door into Summer" as a major inspiration?

Film Clips
You know you want to rent it now......

Ahhh, the family truckster:

Too funny! And yes that is Eugene Levy!

Not a film but enjoy a great rapier/main gauche duel from the Highlander series episode "Duende":

Wow!

Rock Blogging
It is music time for the masses.

Loyal reader Watchtower wonders if I will play Van Halen when Sammy Hagar is the singer. I will if the tune is good, so here is "There's Only One Way to Rock":

Eddie is hot on the chords in this one! Great pick.

Reader Lurker would like some Kenny Loggins "I'm All Right" from Caddyshack:

Hee-Hee.

A friend of mine requested "Snakeskin Cowboy" by Ted Nugent and I had never heard it before:

Not bad at all!

I love Patty Smyth and thus run with Scandal and "Goodbye to You":

Nice!

You will have to turn this one way up, but I am sure you have heard Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" many times in so many films:

So wonderful.

Two to go! "Two minutes left; perhaps 2 minutes left in Julio Cesar Chavez's historic unbeaten streak"
Famous last words by Jim Lampley!

Let's stick with the instrumentals! Listen to the 30 second mark on to the 1:10 mark and try and remember this scene from "Conan the Barbarian":

I hear that all the time in my head, along with all the voices!

Last call!!!! Grab a girl or a reasonable facsimile thereof and close the show!

I am only putting this on so I can watch Lil Kim in action! Selfish, yes. Eye candy, yes. Can I help it? No:

Call me Kimmy!

Have a good night.

Puzzled

I have no time but wanted to chime in on today's events. I did my job to stimulate the economy in buying a faucet, range, and microwave. Tomorrow I have to locate a sink, flooring, and a range hood. What else can I do?

Puzzled
Cementing my "everyone is confused" line of thought as of late were the FED words, market reaction, and sudden admission of reality exploding all over the place. Here is my quick rundown.

The FED
"We did everything we could, then plenty we really cannot, and then some more. Things came back from the abyss, but what do you want from us? Ask the Congress for more cash already! We stand ready to change our minds in the future about this, but we will not tell you the how, why or when of that because we have no idea. That book from college never really made clear what "excess capacity" was dammit!"

The Markets
"Here we are after goosing this pig of a stock market way higher and the FED still will not throw us the bone we want: A set target for the DOW at 16,000; the S&P at 1800 and the Nasdaq back at 5000, which when you consider Apple, is where it rightfully belongs! They don't care (sniffle, sniffle)! They don't understand (wimper, wimper)! We need help now! Let's dump this market and let Bennie and the boys rethink our relationship on the whole bond sale thing. Oh yeah, those algos work both ways Ivory tower boys!"

The Commentary
We are told we are in a V- shaped recovery and that things are better than green shoots, there is grass growing all over the place. If that is so, why this headline:
Bernanke's Lack of Urgency Gives Stocks a Chill
Urgency for what? IF all IS well THEN why would he be urgent about anything?

For a year I have had "rate of change getting less bad" bullshit up to my ears. If that's so hot, wait and things will get even better by that logic.

It's a mess out there.

Fear not. Bernanke knows full well it is far better to "surprise" than pre-anounce. They will be doing some things soon, but why use that ammo today? The table is being set as I had wanted it to be, all that is left for my evil plan is a solid downdraft in stocks and metals with a scary unemployment surprise number on top and it will be position time.

Don't disappoint me Boom Boom!

Have a good night.

Under Construction

I will be having some work done on the kitchen next week and today I had errands to get done before meeting with the contractor tomorrow evening. No time to get anything done writing wise, so it will be Thursday before I post. Leave snide remarks, questions, or ideas I can steal in the comments section until then.

NOTE:
Had to add this one! Two girls in Harvard Square here in the Boston area cannot even sell a silver ounce for 25 cents. Lucky I was not around that day!:

Too funny.

Have a good night.

Another Mixed Bag

I am not sure where the time went, but I am a little late getting to the blog. A few things to look over.

They Seem Confident
At 7:35 am this morning I saw this headline over at Yahoo Finance and I knew I had to capture it for later in the day:

They seemed confident of a Wall Street up day! Why not? It is Monday after all.

I figured this would happen so I sent the link home; here is the address I copied:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/European-stocks-gain-ahead-of-apf-1007474471.html?x=0

When I punch it in now this is what I get:
US housing data weigh on world markets
Interesting, yes? I love this kind of stuff.

Throttle Linkage
Way short on time so here is the obligatory linkfest. Use the comments to give me a writing idea, I need inspiration!

Illusion of Prosperity highlights a nice article titled:
America's AAA Rating Is Cut in Land of Bubbles: William Pesek
Well worth a look!

Econbrowser struggles with how the FED can fight deflation and seems to come up a bit short on new ideas:
Fighting deflation

Clusterstock opens a can of worms with this post:
An Economic Recovery With High Unemployment Isn't So Crazy If Laid-Off Workers Weren't Producing Anything To Start With
Look out! Instant flame-a-thon sure to ensue. Still, worth a few minutes of reflection as there is merit to this line of thinking.

Zero Hedge item with great title:
McKinsey Study Confirms Sellside Analysts Are Conflicted, Slow, Biased And Generally Stupid
Stuff the people here would already be aware of, but still:

In what will come as a surprise to precisely nobody, a new study by McKinsey has confirmed that sellside analysts were "typically overoptimistic, slow to revise their forecasts to reflect new economic conditions, and prone to making increasingly inaccurate forecasts when economic growth declined."

Indeed.

Stoneleigh of The Automatic Earth has another wonderful essay up that relates to what can happen to trade given deflation and credit collapse:
The Rise and Fall of Trade

Over at the Keg boards a member used this quote from "Bladerunner" and it has been sticking with me all day long:

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attacked ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams ... glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost ... in time, like tears ... in rain. Time ... to die."

Little did I know the Tanhauser Gate was used in other films as well. Learn something new every day.

Have a good night.

Sunday Fajitas

Well you know it is Sunday and that usually means I cooked something involving meat!

Sunday Fajitas
I wanted to try out some fajitas and see if I could make some better than the ones at Applebees. Let's see how it went!

I bought some thin sliced chicken breasts and some skirt steak. I used a meat tenderizer hammer on the beef and this makes a HUGE difference to the skirt steak. You have to hammer that stuff thin! I used Stubbs marinade for both, and that stuff is really good:


I cooked the meats at 450 degrees; 12 minutes for the chicken and 16 for the beef. The foil packs hold the onions and peppers but they only need five minutes so I put them on at the end:


Some fajita rolls and 4 cheese Mexican mix round out the show. It is make your own this meal I don't do particular requests:


So how did it go? I think mine were better than the ones I usually get at Applebees, but I may be biased!

The Keg can do it all and even I can't seem to screw it up.

Is it really Monday tomorrow? Really?

Have a good night.

The Banks are Crooks

I already loaded the kayak on the RAV4 so that will be one less thing to do in the morning. Now if I can just get up tomorrow morning I should be good to go.

The Banks are Crooks
Just a short blurb this evening before the big show, I still have to rig my gear for the trip tomorrow and I am on weekend mindset already.

As the title says, the banks are crooks. Of course we all know this but today was especially grievous I think.

Many have been confused that the big 6 banks are sitting on loads of cash instead of doing something with it. "Banks need to make loans" is the call from all around. Now certainly the banks have been happy to sit on cash because they can borrow from the FED at 0% and then buy US debt to pocket the spread. Nice game of hide the salami. Perhaps there is another reason for the cash stash?

This just came across in the evening:
AIG Set To Pay $725 Million To The State Of Ohio
Now that is not monster dollars, but it is just one settlement.

Add this to the Goldman Sachs payout for fraud and things are getting interesting. Maybe the banks are well aware that broke states are coming after them, and with every decision or settlement that goes against the banks, they have to pay up. Perfect time to lower loss reserves, which all the banks did to meet earnings this quarter. BAC and C could not quite get it done even using those tricks.

Now one would think free money from the FED, accounting tricks made legal, and a steep yield curve would give the banks all the edge they need to make profits hand over fist. Record earnings and record bonus pools speak to this. What happens if they have to pay out a few small settlements? You guessed it! They want EVEN MORE:
Banks eye higher fees to boost declining revenue
The article has some crap about lost revenue from the new FinReg bill but this is just outrageous. I give up, there is no stopping these criminals.

Friday Night Entertainment
Who would not need a break after this week?

Funny Pictures
You know these rock!

A summer in college I got a job correcting grade school science tests essay questions and let me tell you things like this were the norm, not unique:

Nice Try!

From the cool site "Friends of Irony" comes this great way to save money in deflationary times:

Price Check!

Stuff Maybe You Did or Did Not Know
-Today July 16th is the 65th anniversary of the "Trinity" nuclear device test, the first atomic "gadget" ever attempted.
-If all official records say something is impossible then it must be so. Never mind German submarine U-869, sunk off the coast of Gibraltar, was later found off the coast of New Jersey. Governments never lie or cut corners with facts.
-Fresh pineapple will keep jello from forming a solid.
-There is a Supermassive Black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, that is our galaxy.
-At work I often use enzymes from Mung Beans and bacteria that love to live at about 212 degrees.
-Some things are not the same no matter what.
-I built 3 of these babies in college and they are my favorite engine. Well, how could you know that?
-If you try to grow trees inside with no wind they will collapse due to having not laid down "reaction wood". Ha ha, get your minds out of the gutter!

Film Clips
A few rentals you may want to procure.

Here is the Trinity test in the film "Fat Man and Little Boy":

That actor looks just like Oppenheimer!

In my mind, the greatest Western ever made was Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven". The final scene is the best, but perhaps the most insightful and moving scene is right before that. Take a look:

Always hits me very hard. Here is the smash up end.

Rock Blogging
If I only had a dollar, for every song I've linked, every time I've had to post while people sat there otherwise occupied.

Leading off the show is the birthday girl Soleil. My good friend is now 26 and tougher than anyone I know anywhere! My present for her is Dido and "Closer":

A moving tune and very good. Great pick! My favorite Dido (yes I do have a favorite!) is "White Flag". Happy Birthday "River Crosser"!

Loyal reader Lurker would like "Only Time Will Tell" by Asia and I have not heard this one in some time:

I can dig it.

Ultra loyal reader Watchtower would like to send "Natural High" by the band Bloodstone out to his wife. She must be one special lady!:

Good luck tonight Mrs. Watchtower! HA!

Ready to dance? Cus if they don't dance, well, there no friends of mine:

Men Without Hats and "Safety Dance"! Complete with synth base line.

Sorry for the replay, but I needed L.A. Guns and "Over the Edge":

Wowza!

Two tunes left, can you hold out?

How about a little Ben E. King and "Stand By Me"?:

So Saweeet!

Last call! Get set, get ready and get going on "Jump Around" by House of Pain:

You know you are ready to roll now!!!

Added:
BONUS

Have a good night.

Common Threads

It is Friday tomorrow! I think I may go fishing Saturday morning to dodge the yard sale the wife has planned. Yes, I think I will do just that! I also will be going for Carp this time. Carp in the Merrimack River can get up to 30 pounds! My own best was near 25 about 7 years ago. I have to use a salt water rod for these guys! Not sure how good an idea it will be to tangle with a fish like that in the kayak, but I never said I was that bright. Here is a good one (not mine, from this pic):


Birthday Shout Out
My blogger friend Au Soleil Levant is celebrating her birthday today! It's been quite a journey for the tough little lady. Happy Birthday!:

Soleils's song request will be leading off Friday Night Rock Blogging as a present.

Common Threads
It was a wild news day towards the end and there were plenty of developments that are worth a look. Many stories tie in to things I have been writing about lately so I wanted to pull some of them together and see if it makes a clearer picture.

China and Treasuries
I recapped a piece I wrote a long time ago on Monday that related to China and their massive US Treasury holding. This week Minyan Todd Harrison recalled a John Succo missive from 2004 that speaks to the core issue I was trying to cover:

Right now they [China] are acting in our best interest by using their dollars from trade to buy our treasuries to keep our interest rates low, but that is only because right now their interests align with ours. If they ever deviate, I think we can be certain that they will go their own path.
But what if it is even worse and they actually have a plan for their benefit at the detriment of ours? This is at least a possibility, the consequences of which are significant. Our government has left us exposed to this possibility.

It shocks me that the imbalance with China was allowed to progress so far for so long when thinking in theses terms. Is anyone thinking beyond the next 10 minutes that is in charge of policy?

Blood and Oil; Always a Pair
First the good news:
BP HAS STOPPED THE LEAK FOR NOW
The new cap is holding and things are looking positive at right now. Already I have seen plenty of writers railing that this will not work and/or make things worse as noted in the story:

But the drama is NOT over. BP will now test the pressure in the closed well. If pressure readings are low, that could mean oil is leaking from the ocean floor -- and BP will have to remove the cap to avoid causing an even bigger rupture.

We will know more in a bit. For now, this is a huge positive and one should be hoping it works, not that it fails.

On the other hand, we are reminded that oil is a nasty business without the spills and blood always figures into it:
CONFIRMED: BP Petitioned For Release Of Lockerbie Bomber In Exchange For Oil Contract
What could I add to that? This is how it's done.

Gold BIS Swaps; Twisted Stuff
Some more commentary by Jesse on the BIS gold swaps that have thrown things for a loop, quoting Reg Howe:

Not surprisingly, revelation of these swaps has generated considerable discussion, comment and analysis by students of the gold market. What appears to have happened is that one or more central banks loaned gold to one or more bullion banks, which then swapped the gold with the BIS for cash, leaving the physical metal in place. Under this arrangement, the accounting conventions promulgated by the International Monetary Fund allow the central bank or banks to continue to count the gold in official reserves while the BIS enjoys a high level of security on the gold side of the swap."

This is why I hate complex financial baloney (it's just a big hot dog). If you cannot explain something to somebody in 3 minutes, it's probably bullchit. If anyone can add any clarity to this, please do so in the comments.

Goldman Sachs Settles Even Though They Did Nothing Wrong
The biggest news of the day, besides every economic indicator coming in terrible, was that Goldman Sachs has settled the SEC lawsuit. It's classic lawyer stuff, and I will not bore you with the details.

What is important is what it means on a few levels.

Fitting in with my concerns that officials really have no idea what is going on you can sure the SEC will be touting the "monster" penalty GS has to pay. $550 million sounds pretty huge, but here is a fitting headline:
GOLDMAN WINS AGAIN! Settles With SEC For Chump-Change $550 Million
This amounts to a good week of work by Goldman Sachs! Amazing. Maybe they will have to trim bonuses a little. Martha Stewart was not so lucky!

Tim Knight has a great chart that may predict my call for S&P 1150 by noting that the last downtrend started with the GS lawsuit. Now it is over and the breakout is clear. Check it here as Tim does not allow using his stuff.

The Reformed Broker has an important summary and I am clipping it in here:

So in this era, with trillions of dollars in wealth demolished and incinerated, the big case was finally brought to serve as a symbol that "someone on Wall Street was gonna pay." Two government appendages, Goldman and the Commission, faced off in conference rooms and before the cameras on Capitol Hill. After months of wrangling, they came to an agreement that allows shareholders and regulators alike to carry on business as usual and hold their heads up high.

Just as I predicted would happen, word for word.

Remember kids, crime never pays, but institutional influence and deep pockets can absolve you of anything.

Wow.

Of course I could not just leave it there and offered in the comments:

I was going to use the analogy of the inmates running the asylum, but it does not fit.

The banks and the regulators/government are the warden and the guards and we little folk are the inmates. Sometimes if we play nice we get to have a few beers on the roof of the prison after working on the roof, or maybe a new library. In the end we just get jammed in the hole for a month.

An obvious "Shawshank Redemption" reference, but fitting I felt.

Perfect story to pair with the above comment was at Zero Hedge from a guest poster David Fiderer who correctly shows that GS was always going to get off easy because legally they did nothing wrong just trounced on fools who relied on another sham in place, the ratings agencies:

But the dirty little secret on Wall Street was that all too often, due diligence was a sham. People went through the motions without a thorough understanding of what they were doing, like kids who write a report by plagiarizing the encyclopedia. Investors saw triple-A ratings and stopped thinking. Goldman didn’t need to lie in order to sell “shitty deals.” It only needed to find a greater fool with an impressive resume at a multibillion-dollar institution who didn’t ask too many questions. And it was able to keep the scam going because all CDOs remain shrouded in secrecy to this day. The only people who can buy access to CDO performance data on ABSNet are actual investors, who are subject to nondisclosure agreements.

Your money (well, maybe not if you read this blog) is in the hands of these types of fools that play with other scammers on the scale of trillions of dollars. They have no clue and there is no recourse. GS was ugly but legal here. Sad thing is when all the banker games (finally, or the only time?) blew up, they got bailed out and not ended once and for all. That missed opportunity is already exacting a huge price. It will only get bigger.

Have a good night.

No Time to Post Dr. Jones!

No post tonight as I have been doing phone calls and emails for the last hour. Why? The kitchen project planned a while ago is about to begin, and there was a slight mix up with the contractor as to when. He wanted to start THIS MONDAY and we had listed two weeks from Monday as the start date. All seems settled now the 27th, but now my wife is already getting all anxious. Fun times for this writer.....

Points for the reader that knows from where I swiped that title.

Lobby Money
Fitting with last nights post about how our leaders really have no idea what is going on, Barry Ritholtz highlights a Time Magazine piece that show the wild return on investment lobbyist are able to get for their industries. Ritholtz writes:

The print edition specifically cites Derivative trading banks and Auto Dealers as examples of ROI. Derivatives trading banks spent $28 million, and got to avoid allocating $5 billion to $7 billion to back their trades. The gain in annual profits is about $3 billion — with the risk remaining on the taxpayers. A pretty nifty return on lobbying investment (minus the lobbyists soul burning in Hell for eternity — but that’s a small price to pay.

Auto Dealers made out even better: They dropped less than $10 million dollars ($6.3 million on lobbying, and an additional $3.4 million in campaign contributions). For their troubles, the dealers get to keep $20 billion each year in undisclosed added interest and fee kickbacks to over-priced loans.

It's probably better that I do not write anything!

Have a good night.

Financial Reform Bill Observations

I went out for a walk at work today for lunch and I must have noticed 5 different set ups all over Cambridge for clean up crews. It rained here fierce on Saturday, but it did not seem all that bad. Another 2-3 inches of rain to come overnight and if it is like last Saturday, there could be more of a mess.

Market Outlook
The indices have repaired almost all the technical damage done on the last down draft. Earnings are "blowing past" expectation as they like to write. Intel had big numbers after the close and here was a nifty little snippet:

Intel's net income was $2.89 billion, or 51 cents per share, in the quarter ended June 26. That compares with a loss of $398 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago, when Intel was forced to pay a $1.45 billion fine in Europe over antitrust violations.
Analysts expected net income of 43 cents per share in the latest period.
The last time Intel's quarterly net income topped $2.5 billion was in 2000 during the dot-com heyday, when Internet fever fueled spectacular computer sales.

Interesting.

I am looking forward to the bank numbers after recent reports have shown 100% perfecto trading days. Next stop could be S&P 1150 in short order. The ultra low volume walks up really help too.

Financial Reform Bill Observations
The financial reform bill is about a done deal, only a matter of timing. I have a few thoughts to share on this and it relates to my US Senator for Massachusetts, Scott Brown.

The finreg, as it's called, bill will not do much of anything to address the systemic issues facing the financial sector, nor end the policy of "Too Big To Fail". Absent also is any mention of the black holes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I think there can be some debate about various parts of the bill and perhaps they will be useful (there are a lot of parts, this is a huge bill) but over all no one serious in the financial media thinks this is anything more than a show.

Which makes the interview Scott Brown gave on WTKK-FM Talk radio (96.9) all the more disturbing.

Mr. Brown took time out of a very busy schedule to give a full on interview on the afternoon show. I was looking forward to his explaining how he at first carved out bank tax exemptions for Massachusetts area banks if there was to be a overall bank tax to fund a purse to be used when the banks get into trouble again. Now that the bank tax was scrapped totally, I just wanted to hear how he felt about the bill he supports.

I want to say that Mr. Brown has done some study and some real homework. He understood fully many of the major issues that needed reform and he also knew exactly what the people here (and everywhere I would hope) were most pissed off about:
-Mortgage Bailouts
-Banking Bailouts

So I was most disappointed during the interview because I think Mr. Brown is 100% sincere when he said he thinks this bill will really work. He was up front about the skip over of the FNM/FRE angle, but he did say that reform of the GSE's was the next priority and already in process. What grabbed me was he said on no less than 3 occasions that FNM/FRE were not backed by the US government which I think China would like to know about. In any case, maybe there will be some progress on this in a bit. We will have to see.

Mr. Brown thinks finreg will:
-End "Too Big To Fail"
-Protect Consumers (not auto consumers, that got pulled as well!)
-Save or create jobs
-Add clarity to derivatives markets
-A FED audit is in the bill, though he was not clear how far that goes nor if the FED will even play along
-Protect against the next financial crisis
I think he does believe all those things and thus I am feeling a bit defeated. After all the work so many have done over the past two years a smart, well researched, newly elected guy thinks all those things. Unreal.

Mr. Brown said those working on the bill talked to all the "right" people including:
-banking officials
-the Treasury
-the FED
-the FDIC
-Washington think tanks
To arrive at the final bill. While obviously those folks are needed, they are hardly the best place to go for reform ideas. Why not read Mish? Barry Ritholtz? Yves Smith? Why not indeed?

In the end I loved his summary. Things will be better protected because.....drumroll.....the FED and the Treasury will have EXPANDED powers as regulators and in oversight! Now that one had me laughing at the radio big time.

The same FED that played a monster part in building the biggest credit bubble of all time is now on the case. The Treasury, which threatened "tanks in the street" to get a hasty TARP bill passed now has the power to take over the big 6 banks if they are going bust? Can anyone take that as serious?

Now I could be wrong and Mr. Brown is just a savvy interview and knows full well this bill is all show and no go. That would be unfortunate. I believe he is sincere that he thinks this is going to be a good set of laws, and that maybe is even more unfortunate. For all of us.

Have a good night.

Monday Montage

I got home very late due to some inexplicable traffic problems so I apologise for the short linkfest type of post.

Monday Montage
When you are out of time just rip off the best posts on the Internet!

-The early earnings results are, surprise, coming in better than expected. Expectations have been taken down huge as of late, so no real surprise to this writer. I think some were maybe expecting some misses to come this go around, but I do not think that is going to happen.

-Kid Dynamite has several observation on the new individual "circuit breakers" in place for the market. Well worth a look for coverage you just will not get in the mainstream media.

-The Golden Truth muses on developments in the Vietnam gold markets.

-Love them or hate them, you have to admit Zero Hedge writes the funniest post titles in the financial blogosphere:
Entire Market Rally Engineered On Volume Fumes

SEC Chief Information Officer Finds God, Quits Regulator To Become Deacon

The next two are the must reads for the day.

-Pragmatic Capitalism has an item titled:
The FED Is Fractured
The whole thing is really worth your time. Just one small snippet:

The bank bailout and the gross ballooning of the Fed’s balance sheet has done practically nothing for Main Street. If that isn’t clear by now then people need to pull their heads out of the sand. Despite this, we continue to hang on every word out of this powerless Federal Reserve. We are all waiting for Ben Bernanke to save us from economic downturn. Why?

Indeed.

-Jesse's Cafe has another winning offering up today concerning a Chinese ratings agency downgrading US debt. Now this is not like a real downgrade, but as Jesse writes:

Governments like China do not take actions like this randomly, and their quasi-state organizations do not march to the beat of their own drummer. It will be interesting to watch this develop, and calculate the strategy, to figure out the next steps.

It has long been a central theme here at EconomicDisconnect that China learned from the Soviet Union collapse and in now way will repeat that process. I posted about this WAY back in October 2007, so I will include myself in my own montage post:

Revenge of the Communists
It is generally accepted that the USA won the Cold War with the Soviet Union, not through live combat, but through an ever escalating arms (Not those ARMS!) race that eventually bankrupted the old Soviet system. I do not want to debate the particulars of that story. I want to focus instead on what could be happening in a macro geopolitical sense.

Suppose you were a communist country, and saw what happened to the old Soviet Union. Perhaps you would learn that isolation from foreign trade really hurt them, and a weak economy meant ultimately they were doomed. Say you instead become a massive creditor to the United States. Your country, with terrible environmental rules, no worker rights, a police state that cracks down on dissent, and dirt cheap labor can manufacture every widget needed by the USA. Your economy is booming, and what's even better, you hold a silly (upwards of 2 Trillion?) dollars of US debt. Even sweeter, the US is totally dependant on your country continuing to buy their debt. So far so good.

Now the dollar is tanking badly. The US consumer has spent himself silly buying homes that moved in price like the old dot com stocks. The party is now ending, and massive financial losses are sure to come. The US is in a bad spot with huge budget deficits, massive entitlement programs, and facing a probable bank bailout on a historic scale.

By now you know the country is China. Faced with this tantalizing junction in history, what would be your next course of action?

There is more in the old link.

Have a good night.

AH-SO Sunday

Yes, another cooking post!

AH-SO Sunday
In New England there was a time when Ah-So sauce was a huge fad. My mom used it quite a bit, and I had forgotten about it. I saw some in the store today and figured to do a colorful cook!

Ever tried it?:


Here is the chicken all layered up in the stuff:


Went on the Steel Keg using indirect heat and a soda can with a little soda for moisture inside the bird. Try not to get upset Gawains. I cooked the redbird at 275 degrees for a little over 3 hours. The sauce gets all sticky and thick during the cook. Almost done:


Cut up some of the white meat for dinner:


So how was it? It was Ah-So good of course! You knew that was coming.

The best I can describe this stuff is sweet, tangy, and garlicky. I do remember the taste after having it again. Anyone else ever have this product? That was a fun cook to do for the visual effects.

Added:
Just so you know I am not a total BBQ nut, 80% of the time I cook stuff on the Keg that is actually good for me and its cool because these things cook fast during the week so I can have time to do deep thought economic posts (stop laughing!). Here is my "Green Thumb Chicken" using chicken tenderloins and assorted greens:

See, I can do healthy as well. This meal takes a total of 20 minutes round trip on the Keg.

Have a good night.

Saturday Stuff

Just some stuff because I have extra time.

Kayak Fishing
Amazingly I did get up at 5am and made my way to the river for about 6am. Reader Watchtower wanted to see how I rig up my kayak, and of course I always go the extra mile for my readers (unlike some other blogs!). Here she is about set to go fishing this morning (click for bigger picture):

The particulars:
-Kayak: Ascend FS-10 offered by Bass Pro Shops. Cool little boat and it has various rod holders front and rear so it is very well set up for fishing. When I am using the wind and current to drift fish I can set the rod in the front holder and sit back to relax until I get a hit.
-The black thingy in the front is a Hummingbird remote sonar system. It is wireless so I just tie the little green thing near the end of the boat to the rear clip and pull the transducer along with me. It sends the information out to the monitor up front. Not too bad, but I have a much better unit for the Quabbin trips.
-I strap in a milk crate to the rear section which was made especially to hold a crate. I put water, supplies, and the camera back there.
-I use a 10 pound hand weight for an anchor, though I usually will drift fish rather than set up at one spot.
-I use St. Croix rods; they are the finest rods you can get in my opinion.
-I fish mostly Yamamoto Senkos these days. The fish eat them like candy. It will outfish live bait most times! I use a mix of 3 inch "fat" senkos and 5 inch regular senkos to target any fish in the area. The black and pumpkinseed colors work best for me.

I think that about covers it all. And no, I have no affiliation with any of the product makers mentioned. If they would like to sponsor me I will gladly accept any money or products in exchange for my pumping their items!

Quotes from Last Night
I see, without Google help nobody could get the quotes!

Here are the solutions:
"You're just lucky we are in Uncle Jessie's House!"
"Well then you're unlucky; Cus we can always step outside."
-Episode of "The Dukes of Hazard" when Bo and Luke get in a fight.

"It’s not a payoff, it’s a gift. You already let me go."
-at the end of the film "Midnight Run"

"It was almost time to be reborn. He knew. Why else could he suddenly do magic?"
-from the novel "The Stand"; this was the introduction of Randall Flagg "the walking dude" and the last line of the entry was the line above.

"There's no going back, there's no going anywhere"
-From the film "Underworld". If Kate Beckinsale would like to call me, I have no problem with that!
CALL ME Kate!:


Random Stuff
Just some stuff I came across in my travels on the internets.

I stumbled upon this really well done remake of the trailer for the film "Excalibur". This film has so many big time actors in it!:

I love that flick.

I remember the Spring 2000 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway when Dale Earnhardt beat Bobby Labonte by the thinnest of margins:

After Dale died it was a rough time for me. I always loved the guy. Kevin Harvick took over the RCR car and in only his third start he wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway by beating Jeff Gordon, again, by the thinnest of margins! When Kevin won this race I can tell you honestly I was sobbing like a baby from the end and all through the post race tribute to Dale:

Still gets me!

Have a good night.

Let's Call it a Week

Still sweltering up here! EconomicDisconnect will attempt (must go to bed earlier) to get up at 5am tomorrow and drag the Kayak down to the river before the heat and the crazy boaters start running all over the place. Of course I get up at 5am all week, but this is the weekend!

Let's Call it a Week
An interesting week to be sure. I think I wrote all that I wanted to say and will leave it at that. One add on; at week end I saw the old pattern re-emerge of low volume ramp up jobs and that may stick with us for a while, it is the summer slow time after all. Be aware of that going forward for a bit.

A few things that caught my eye:
Housing Doom has a nice return to the July-September 2007 time frame collection up that is worth a look. Nice history lesson.

50 Ugly Facts about the US Economy

Jake at EconomPic had some really tight stuff this week, so recap it already.

Cool LONG term chart of inflation (blue) and deflation (green) in the US that is well worth really thinking about as something should jump right out at you:


And as always, the blogroll to the left is some of the best stuff out there.

Friday Night Entertainment
I know I need some fun to start the weekend off. How about you?

Cool and/or Weird
Some things I saw this week.

-Is it Magneto's blood or just magnetic silly putty?

-The commercial for the Kia Soul is just hilarious!

-The 10 Most Important Things They Didn't Teach You in School. #9 and #1 would have been most helpful.

-I always admire courage and wish I had anything near this kind of it.

-Ok, when I had to see the film "Eclipse" I saw the trailer for the next Harry Potter film and it looks brutal good.

Where's that From?
I LOVE quotes whether they are from songs, books, or films. I tend to annoy almost everyone I know by using a line from someplace for everything that happens. What can I do?

The following quotes need the answer "where's that from?" (be specific!) so give them a shot if you dare! I will try to make them Google proof for you smart folks out there. I would make it a contest but nobody ever wants the prizes if they win so what can you do? NOTE: When you cannot give silver away I fail to see how it is a bubble!

"You're just lucky we are in Uncle Jessie's House!"
"Well then you're unlucky; Cus we can always step outside."
-80's TV show quote.

"It’s not a payoff, it’s a gift. You already let me go."
-really wonderful film

"It was almost time to be reborn. He knew. Why else could he suddenly do magic?"
-classic novel

"There's no going back, there's no going anywhere"
-another great film

Have at them!

Clip Art
Film clips to get you buying or renting films to stimulate the economy!

The real proof education is over rated:

So sweet my teeth hurt! OOOhh step outside dummy! Would have been better.

A little film/music blend with Bette Midler doing "The Rose" in the film. I know I come back to this one, but great is great so what can you do?:

Ouch.

Rock Blogging
HAMMER TIME! Duh-duh-duh duh-duh duh-duh

Plenty of requests, some old, some new, so here we go! (not all embedded for ease of page loading)

Loyal reader Lurker asks for "I'm Not in Love" by 10cc, and I never knew the name of this tune!

Get this; A lady I know asked for ZZ Top and "Legs" so I can only hope that means something!

Ok, let's get the final show on the road.

From my friend C-T, who should write me more, check out Talking Heads and "Life During Wartime":

The 80's rule, all others drool!

Reader and contributor Gawains wanted Train's tune "Hey Soul Sister" and it is not a bad tune:

Not bad but I had this song in mind!

When I hear the song "Hey There Delilah" I just get all messed up. Plain White's simple, strong, and honest composition shows you do not need all kinds of crap when you have a good tune:

Wowza. For some reason it hits me like this tune.

I played a little Jimi last week and now this tune is stuck in my head, so try out "Little Wing":

OOOhhhh, "riding with the wind..." Too sweet.

We still have plenty of time and room, what to do?

The best I could do for this song is a nice cover so check Confederate Railroad's great tune "When You Leave That Way You Can Never Go Back":

My Dad's last favorite tune. Here is the best version.

We need some rippers to close the show!

I have had it on before, but try it out and Maiden tells us all we need to know with "Be Quick or be Dead":

NICE!

Last Call! Get up and get ready!

I need a base line and there is only one place for that, Motorhead and "Ace of Spades":

Nasty good.

Have a good night.