SAR #13337

The underlying problem is that the fiscal authority is doing something stupid. Stephen Williamson

For Want Of A Nail: For want of decent wages, customers stopped buying. For want of customers, factories stopped producing. For want of orders, extraction industries stopped extracting. And to top it all off, commodity prices fell. Who could'a guessed? Commodities brokerages say not to worry, things are getting better every day in every way...

Who Is This Massed Man? Of late, Pope Francis has been sending members of his Swiss Guards into the streets of Rome at night to feed the poor and comfort the homeless - must'a been something he read somewhere.

Perp Walk: Today was BofA's turn to play concerned corporate citizen and offer conscience money to atone for crimes of commission and omission in the mortgage-backed securities business, paying $404 million to Freddie Mac in lieu of pleading guilty to anything..

Say No Evil: Japan has passed a law requiring prison for “inappropriate reporting” - thought to be directly aimed at keeping the Fukushima cover-ups intact.

Fill 'em In: In ________, a tiny minority of families control most of the wealth. (Same rules, no prizes.)

Five/Eighths: In Rochester,NY, three boys, waiting for a school bus to take them to basketball practice, were arrested for “failing to disperse”. Their coach – who tried to intervene – was also threatened with arrest. In Minneapolis a professor was reprimanded for pointing out the existence of racism in today's America. She was black, of course. In Florida a student was given the choice of cutting her hair or being expelled. She, too, was black.

Multiple Guess: If the minimum wage had kept pace with the income of the top 1%, today's minimum wage would be: a) $7.25, b) $10.10, c) $22.62, d) Some really, really big number.

Comes The Dawn: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) admits that for months before the Republicans forced the government to shutdown, many Republicans were “basically afraid” of Tea Party groups, groups whose views and demands he now sees as “utter nonsense”. He now thinks “It’s time for people to stand up to this sort of thing.”

Buck Rodgers, Inc: Amazon has gotten a few million dollars worth of PR out of its latest PR gimmick – drones swooping down to drop packages on your doorstep. If you have a doorstep. If the FAA lets them. If some teenager with a shotgun doesn't 'shoplift' your purchase. If you don't live in a city. For now it's Primarily Air.

On The Down Low: Goldman Sachs has lowered its estimate for 4Q2014 GDP to 1.3%, which would suggest death had occurred some time previously.

Porn O'Graph: Steep grade, use lower gears.

The Parting Shot:

In Lisbon's Alfama neighborhood.