As The Green Shoots Turn (Brown)

Let's get right to it shall we.

From Calculated Risk we get Treasury: Millions More Foreclosures Coming. Where Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael S. Barr testified, "Therefore, even if HAMP is a total success, we should still expect millions of foreclosures, as President Obama noted when he launched the program in February." OK, we need some extra housing inventory. I'm sure the home builders spiked on this news.

From The Underground Investor - The Coming Blowback of Banking Fraud. In this doozy of an article you'll get glorious tid bits like, "As of September 4, 2009, shadowstats.com reported that unemployment in the US is now near 21% and is showing no signs of improving any time soon (when factoring in discouraged workers, part-time workers that can’t find full-time work, unemployed workers that have fallen off the unemployment roll, etc.) In fact, yesterday, Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey reported that US employers’ hiring plans for the upcoming fourth quarter dropped to the lowest level in the history of its survey which dates back to 1962." So much for that highly touted 9.7% number you get from CNBS.

In a follow up to Mish's glorified employment post from yesterday, The Big Picture puts it in a nut shell for ya in Temp Hiring: No Imminent Jobs Recovery with two nice charts.

From Bloomberg - Record Plunge in U.S. Consumer Credit Signals Weakened Spending. "Sept. 9 (Bloomberg) -- A record $21.6 billion drop in borrowing by Americans added to evidence that consumer spending will be slow to recover as banks and credit-card companies tighten lending standards and households pay down debt."

And the most important story I may bring you today is from MSN Money - Why every cold beer costs you more. "While consumers shelled out more for their blue-collar Budweisers in the first half of this year, compensation for Bud execs advanced 92%. The top 13 executives made $73 million in the first half of 2009, or $5.6 million each, on average -- up from $38 million a year before." That is just wrong. What is with these executives and bonuses. Are they just trying to really piss off every person at every economic level?

The top callers all got shot down today. Not me! T minus 33 days to my top date. Some may begin to cry for a double top. That may work, but we'll have to see.

GL trading!