Clem’s Chronicles: Dow 10K/Swine Flu/Sec of State Clinton interview

Hiya folks. Well the Wall Street recovery continues with the first close over 10K since October of last year. Hope it's helped you recoup some of your retirement nest egg! Here's what we are working on…..

DOW 10K-How you doin’? Not you personally, I mean your 401K. I bet you’re doing better today than six months ago….Mister Market has seen to that.  The Dow Jones industrial average rose 144.80 points, or 1.47 percent, to close today at 10,015.86. That’s above the psychological barrier of “DOW 10K”.  Which in and of itself doesn’t mean anything, I guess, but Betsy Stark, filing for WORLD NEWS, puts it in a context we all can understand. Stark: “We calculated today that mutual fund investors have recouped almost a trillion and a half dollars of losses since the March low point on the Dow. It’s much less scary these days to open up your monthly investment statement.” Stark notes that the Dow rebound since March has been “a broad-based advance led by financials and technology companies.” Today’s Dow bump has corporate America to thank. Stark: “Today’s push to 10,000 was powered by news of unexpectedly strong profits at the banking giant JP Morgan, which appeared vulnerable just a year ago. Yesterday, technology powerhouse Intel posted surprisingly good numbers. Goldman Sachs and Google are expected to wow investors some more tomorrow.” While corporate America might be on the way back, main street America seems a little slower to heal. Take Dolores Holmes, a bed and breakfast operator, who was quoted in Stark’s piece saying “there was a big increase this last (retirement savings) statement which was very positive, but as far as the business goes, it’s not going to come back as quickly as I need it to.” Too bad she’s not a banker. David Muir, filing for WORLD NEWS, tells us it’s (bonus) business as usual at the nation’s top banks “by some estimates, a record $140 billion in compensation this year.” But wait didn’t these financial institutions help drag us into the economic mess we’re in? If you answered yes to that question, this next bit from Muir might curl your hair a wee bit. Muir: “A new Wall Street Journal analysis finds workers at the nation’s 23 top banks are set to earn more than ever. 2007…before the banking meltdown…$130 billion was spent on pay. Now 2009, less than a year after many of these banks were bailed out, they’re going to pay out…even more than before.”  Well congratulations to those in the banking industry who have rebounded but they might consider celebrating quietly at this point. With the nation’s unemployment rate near 10% and only “1 available job for every six unemployed workers”, there seem to be plenty of people who haven’t been invited to the recovery party yet.

CLINTON IN RUSSIA:  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is on her way back to the U.S. after a European tour that ended today in Moscow and in the ancient city of Kazan, capital of Russia's religiously and ethnically diverse republic of Tatarstan.  Clinton spent much of the day speaking to audiences at two of Russia’s elite universities. At Moscow State University, she urged a crowd of about 2,000 students to put aside Cold War-era thinking in favor of a more open Russia that will form a partnership with the U.S.  Then it was on to Kazan, where she visited a mosque and Orthodox cathedral before speaking at Kazan State University, where Lenin once studied.  There, she urged students to continue the republic’s tradition of ethnic and religious inclusion and equality.  Earlier in the day, there was some time for reflection, during an exclusive interview with our Cynthia McFadden.  When asked about life after her tenure as Secretary of State, Clinton was emphatical:  “I have absolutely no interest in running for President again. None.” (McFadden) So let me ask you about some other persistent rumors. That you are frustrated at state, that you’re going to step down and go back and run again for your seat for New York. (Clinton) “No. I am neither frustrated nor planning anything other than being the best Secretary of State I could be.”  Clinton also revealed that her European mission did not keep her from taking part in President Obama’s National Security meetings on Afghanistan, having attended today’s session by video conference. So where does she stand on Afghanistan?  Secretary Clinton would only say she will “be prepared to offer the president my best advice when he asks for it.”   (thanks to Ed Bailey for this entry)

SWINE FLU:  The first injections of the H1N1 vaccine were administered today.  Vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur announced test results of its vaccine suggests that children under 10 are likely to need two shots to be fully protected.  Grace Huang notes that “federal officials said the news is not surprising, since this age group needs two doses of regular seasonal flu vaccine the very first time they ever are given a flu vaccine for full immunity to develop.”
On WORLD NEWS, ABC News reporters around the globe took a closer look at how countries are fighting the battle against swine flu.  In China, Clarissa Ward reports “more than 21,000 people in China have been infected with the H1N1 virus and last week the country announced its first swine flu-related death.  With flu season around the corner, officials are trying to stop the spread of the disease by launching a massive vaccination campaign.”
“Now France was not hit hard by the first wave of H1N1 in the summer,” Nick Watt reported from Paris, “but now that temperatures are dropping and kids are back in school, infection rates are climbing sharply…And the French government is about to start a vaccination program.  With 65 percent of French people in a recent poll said they would not get the vaccine. They’re more concerned about side effects than they are about swine flu itself.”  On the other end of the spectrum is Japan, where Margaret Conley reports people are “hygiene obsessed.  Every prefecture here has reported cases of swine flu, spurring sales of surgical masks and hand sanitizer.”  In Kenya, Dana Hughes reports visiting tourists from Europe and Asia “must fill out a form declaring they’re healthy before leaving the airport.”  Hughes also reports the country has experienced “minor outbreaks in slums and refugee camps where filthy, crowded conditions are common.  But malaria and water-borne diseases such as cholera are a much greater problem and greater public health priority.”  Reporting from New Delhi, Karen Russo reports health officials are taking precautions because “the number of cases is expected to spike here with the coming winter months, and the country’s already overcrowded hospitals, where care for tuberculosis is more pressing, may not be able to handle increased numbers.” (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

IRS DEADLINE FOR TAX CHEATS:  Midnight tomorrow, October 15, is the deadline for Americans to disclose to the IRS any offshore accounts. “The IRS tells ABC News that some 7,500 Americans have already come clean about their secret accounts and thousands more are expected to do so by tomorrow’s midnight deadline.  It is, in effect, last call for tax cheats, if they want to avoid the prospect of prison,” Brian Ross told us on WORLD NEWS.  The flood of Americans disclosing offshore accounts comes on the heels of the once-secretive Swiss bank UBS warning its American customers two weeks ago that their accounts would be disclosed to the IRS.  Customers’ reaction? “Panic, crying, hysteria,” Florida Tax Attorney Martin Press told ABC News.  “Now, with tomorrow’s midnight deadline nearing, officials at the IRS say there is a surge of people – beyond just UBS customers – willing to pay stiff penalties to avoid prosecution,” Ross reports.  Ross also notes that “the IRS acknowledges because it only goes back seven years to collect past due taxes that cheats who have had secret accounts for ten years or more will be able to turn themselves in, pay the penalties and still come out well ahead.  For some…crime will pay.”  (thanks to Marisa Bramwell for this entry)

HEALTH-CARE REFORM PRESSURE/DON’T FORGET THE LEFT- Another reminder that the Obama White House has more than one side to appease in crafting a health-care reform compromise. From Rick Klein: “We talked to Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., the chairman of the House Progressive Caucus, on Top Line today. He called it a ‘waste of time’ for Democrats to try to cater to the wishes of Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. And he said he and other liberal members are committed to opposing a health care bill that doesn’t include a ‘robust public option.’ A trigger — like Snowe wants — won’t cut it.
‘I venture to say that without a robust public option, a bill cannot get out of the House of Representatives,’ said Grijalva. ‘If that’s not in there, I can’t support it.’
‘Obviously it worries many of us a great deal that we’re going to basically write the legislation to cater to a vote or maybe two votes in the Senate on the Republican side,’ Grijalva said. ‘The fact of the matter is I think at the end of the day there’s going to be unanimity among the Republicans, both in the House and in the Senate, to vote against any health care reform.” You can read more in Klein’s blog entry at http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/10/key-house-liberal-no-public-option-no-deal.html

CAPTAIN LOU-“Well some say the man’s not wrapped too tight/Captain Lou Captain Lou Captain Lou/But when he’s on the scene everything’s all right/Captain Lou Captain Lou Albano!” America lost one of its last great pre-internet characters today, Captain Lou Albano, professional wrestling promoter, early music video star and facial rubber-band wearer. He was 76 and died of natural causes. BTW, the quote at the top of the entry is from NRBQ’s tribute to the man “Captain Lou” and you can find a music video of this song at your friendly neighborhood You Tube website.

ELECTION DAY/IOWA TOWN GOES ON BALLOT DIET-Looking for a career change? May I suggest a move to New Liberty, Iowa. Population under 140(we found several different population figures as low as 121). November 3rd is election day. Want to be mayor? The NNS moved an item today which mentioned that the town’s Election Day slate is blank. Empty. Devoid of candidates. Which is not to say that there won’t be an election-“nobody filled nominating positions for any of the spots, so the ballot will be blank, with spaces for write-in candidates.” Should your write-in candidacy fail, don’t fret. The towns of Attalissa, Iowa (population 305) and Andover, Iowa (population under 100) are looking for mayors too.

OTHER STUFF-
–NO RUSH FOR RAMS- Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from a group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams. Limbaugh was to be a limited partner in a group headed by St. Louis Blues chairman Dave Checketts. Checketts said in a statement
Wednesday that Limbaugh's participation had become a complication in the group's efforts and the bid will move forward without him.