SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Out on the Lows

A failed bond auction in Germany cast a pall over the holiday markets in the US.

Stocks went out on their lows in thin trading.

Pigs 'R' Us - The Wall Street Groupon IPO

And it is...

When I play cards with the little girls, they make up new rules on the fly and sometimes cheat outrageously, palming cards and sneaking money from my pile of coins, so that we all laugh about it. They know that I know, and that I am being tolerant. They enjoy sneaking up on me, and jumping out of cupboards and behind doors. And I always act surprised, but never am.

After all, it is a duty and the joy of a father to occasionally indulge his children, and especially the little ones, to show them the tender side of his love.

But what is amusing in 10 year olds is not becoming in grown men acting like spoiled little boys, abusing other people's money, betraying trusts,  and taking personal and selfish gains from the livelihood of the public and the nation's future, stealing from their clients.

And Wall Street is even worse than the Congress.

While I never had the heart or even the need for it with any of the children, a stern look being enough, perhaps a spanking is in order for such miscreants as these. Where's the wooden spoon? I am counting to three. lol.


From Le Cafe on 3 November:

"The wolf thought to himself: 'What a tender young creature! what a nice plump mouthful.-- she will be better to eat than the old woman. I must act craftily, so as to catch both."

The Brothers Grimm, Little Red Cap

The Wall Street wiseguys are shoving the Groupon IPO out the door tonight I hear.

It *could* do well, but it strikes a kind of a chord for a high water mark in the post 2008 equity echo bubble.

From Le Cafe on 4 November:

GroupOn = LinkedIn?

La la la, whatever. La la la, doesn't matter. As cynical an IPO as seen since 1999 they said today.

CME Boosts MF Global Guarantee - Corzine & Gensler Called to Testify At House Hearing

It is good to hear of the increasing likelihood that the customers will be repaid. It may take some time for full repayment.

It is also good that Corzine, Gensler et al. are being asked to appear before the Congress. The article does not mention subpoenas, or whether the testimony will be sworn.

The facts of the case will most likely be buried under a smokescreen of 'accounting errors' and misunderstanding.

But the Congressmen will have their chance to express their 'outrage' as they did with the bank bailouts, and put on a good show for the folks at home.

I wonder if they will ever reveal who had taken the customer funds from MF Global as last minute collateral before the bankruptcy filing?    I notice no one from JP Morgan has been called.  Although I doubt it, it would be interesting if Corzine pleads the fifth.

Like resistance becomes support, so the glass ceiling becomes a glass floor once you pass through it and join the club.

Even with the money returned, without stronger guarantees it is hard to understand why anyone would put money into a US futures account.

Bloomberg
Corzine Called to Testify at House Hearing
By Zeke Faux and Phil Mattingly
Nov 22, 2011 6:45 PM ET

Jon S. Corzine, the former U.S. senator and New Jersey governor who ran MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MF) until the firm filed bankruptcy last month, has been called to testify at a House hearing on the failure next month.

Corzine, who was chairman and chief executive officer of the New York-based firm, will face questions “on the decisions and events leading to the collapse of MF Global” at a Dec. 15 hearing before the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigations panel, according to a statement released today...

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Robert Cook, director of trading and markets at the Securities and Exchange Commission; William C. Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and Bradley Abelow, MF Global’s president and chief operating officer, have also been asked to appear at the hearing, according to a person with direct knowledge of the panel’s plans...

Press Release
CME Group Increases Guarantee to $550M to Accelerate Return of 75 Percent of MF Global Inc. Segregated Funds to All Customers

- CME Group confident reports of significantly larger shortfalls are incorrect
- Distribution would result in return of roughly $4 billion total cash returned

CHICAGO, Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To accelerate the return of additional securely held funds to MF Global Inc. customers, CME Group today announced it has increased its financial guarantee to the SIPC Trustee from $250 million to $550 million. CME Group's proposal to the Trustee is designed to increase the payout percentage from 60 percent to 75 percent in early December. This distribution would include customers holding cash balances and warehouse receipts, as well as customers who received non-sufficient funds checks from MF Global. As a result of this proposal, roughly $4 billion of the $5.5 billion that was supposed to be held by MF Global in segregation will be returned to customers. With this offer, the entire $2.5 billion securely held at CME Clearing will have been distributed.

While the final accounting of customer segregated assets and claims will occur in the bankruptcy process, CME Group is confident that recent reports of significantly larger customer segregated shortfalls are incorrect. CME Group continues to work with the Trustee and the CFTC to finalize this accounting....

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - Bounce Back from the Smackdown

Silver would not be denied.

Keep an eye now on the December delivery process in the metals at the Comex.

All eyes on Europe and the US financials.