Ayn Rand’s Objectivism glorified wealth-creators over moochers, but Wall Street traders might surprise surprised to learn which category they’re in. <!--break-->
The motto of most police departments is to serve and protect. They might tack onto the end of that phrase banks, Wall Street and powerful people. The below photo, by Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian, captures people getting attacked with pepper spray when protesting in front of JPMorgan Chase Bank.
The October 2011 Residential construction report showed Housing starts decreased -0.3% from September, to a level of 628,000. This is +16.5% above October 2010, or 539,000 housing starts. New Residential Construction has a margin of error often above the monthly percentage increases, so take these monthly changes with a grain of salt.
The Nevada Attorney General just filed felony criminal charges for mortgage fraud, but wait for it, so far it is just two little fish. From the press release:
The Office of the Nevada Attorney General announced today that the Clark County grand jury has returned a 606 count indictment against two title officers, Gary Trafford and Gerri Sheppard, who directed and supervised a robo-signing scheme which resulted in the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent documents with the Clark County Recorder’s Office between 2005 and 2008.
According to the indictment, defendant Gary Trafford, a California resident, is charged with 102 counts of offering false instruments for recording (category C felony); false certification on certain instruments (category D felony); and notarization of the signature of a person not in the presence of a notary public (a gross misdemeanor). The indictment charges d efendant Gerri Sheppard, also a California resident, with 100 counts of offering false instruments for recording (category C felony); false certification on certain instruments (category D felony); and notarization of the signature of a person not in the presence of a notary public (a gross misdemeanor).
”The grand jury found probable cause that there was a robo-signing scheme which resulted in the filing of tens of thousands of fraudulent documents with the Clark County Recorder’s Office between 2005 and 2008,”said Chief Deputy Attorney General John Kelleher.
The October Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, decreased -0.1% from last month. The overall decline was caused by a -2.0% energy decrease for the month. Food increased 0.1%. Gas alone decreased -3.1% in a month and food at home, or groceries, increased 0.1%. Core CPI, or price increases minus food and energy costs, rose 0.1%. Core CPI is a Federal Reserve inflation watch number.
The Federal Reserve's Factory Production report shows a 0.7% increase for October 2011 Industrial Production, otherwise known as output for factories and mines. September's industrial production was revised down to -0.1% from 0.2%. Here is the Federal Reserve's detailed report.
October 2011 Retail Sales increased 0.5%. September retail sales were 1.1%. Retail sales are up 7.2% from the same time last year. Electronics and Appliance stores shot up 3.7% in a month, the highest monthly jump since November 2009. The pop up in electronics & appliances retail sales accounts for all of the gains in this category from last year, 3.5%.
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