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How to Train a Link Builder Posted: 02 Sep 2011 03:54 AM PDT Posted by Peter Attia This post was originally in YOUmoz, and was promoted to the main blog because it provides great value and interest to our community. The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of SEOmoz, Inc. Training someone who doesn't know anything about SEO to link build can be very challenging even for someone who is quite advanced in the industry. You have to know how to dumb things down, while still giving adequate information. You also need to make sure you don't overwhelm the person you are training. I've taken several approaches to this in the past and I wanted to go through a step-by-step of what works for me. Again I'm going to assume the person you're training doesn't know anything about SEO. First things first! 1) Tool and Software Setup This will vary greatly depending on the type of link building they're going to be doing. Keep it simple at first. It's important to learn how to build links without tools in the beginning and slowly introduce new tools to them as they develop. If they hit the ground running, by all means, give them more advanced tools. However, you can't assume they'll do well right away and putting too many tools in front of someone can be really confusing. This should be tailored to the person training them. For example if you generally use Open Site Explorer instead of Yahoo Site Explorer (which will be gone soon anyways), make sure they're using the same thing you are during training.   Excel Trainees will most definitely need an Excel program for record keeping and looking at reports. Open Office is a great alternative if you don't have access to Microsoft Excel.   SEO Glossary This isn't really a tool, but for people who don't know anything about SEO, this is a reference they WILL need. I like SEO Book's Dictionary. Everything is on one page so you can do a quick Ctrl+F command.   Page Rank Tool Page rank is by no means a great way to judge sites or pages, but for someone new to SEO, it's an introduction to the concept that some sites are "voted" better than others. I like to use Search Status. It gives you a quick look at the page rank without having to click anything.   Back Link Checker Something that can give a quick look at the number of back links a page or site has is absolutely necessary. This way they can find an ideal page or site when you have multiples that seem equal. The SEOmoz Toolbar is a great on for Firefox or Chrome. There's also SEO Site Tools for Chrome, which pulls back links from Majestic.   Firebug This kind of depends on how HTML savvy your trainee is, but Firebug comes in handy on several occasions, especially if they're dealing with a site owner who usually outsources their development and doesn't know how to make changes on their own.   Bulk IP Checker This isn't always needed, but if your link builder is going to be working on a site that's getting tons of links, you may want to avoid getting several links on the same Class C IP address. This is useful if they're talking to someone who owns several sites. I like to use Authority Domains Bulk IP Checker. It has a CSV export function, which comes in handy.   Illustration Program At one point or another, your link building trainee will run into a picky site owner: someone who absolutely must have your logo in a 150x150 format or someone demanding images for a guest post they contributed, for example. Either way, it's usually not too complicated, but be sure they at least have a simple illustration program to use in those situations. 2) Reading Material You must be careful to not force too much information on them too quickly. I often see someone hand a trainee 30 links to articles and says, "read this". It can work, but for someone fresh to the SEO industry, it's very intimidating. They won't grasp all the terms and a lot of information will go in one ear and right out the other. Give them a few simple reads to go over that just explain basic SEO principles. SEOmoz's Beginners Guide to SEO is a great start. I would feel comfortable handing someone that and ONLY that, during training. Also, you need to make sure you (or someone else) will always be available for them to ask questions. This may seem obvious, but it's extremely important. If someone's not right there for them to ask every tiny little question they're wondering, they're not going to ask them at all. This also means not wearing your headphones and zoning out if they're sitting right besides you! You know who you are! (points to self) Side note: Once they start to get more advanced, have them subscribe to some SEO related RSS feeds or follow the industry leaders on social networks. They'll be able to keep up with current topics and expand their general knowledge on their own. 3) Site Discovery Now that your trainee understands the gist of SEO, the next step is teaching them how to find sites to build links to. I like to start by having them perform their own search queries as opposed to mining through a spreadsheet or a competitor's backlinks. This way they learn a productive pace and won't ever come to you with "I'm finished, now what?". They will always have to rely on the resources of search engines, which are nearly endless. Go over the basic search phrases they can use to find relevant sites. Again, you want to keep this simple and have them use simple search phrases like: "Keyword" "Keyword" blog Random word "Keyword" "Keyword" guest post When they start to pick up the pace, introduce them to alternative search engines. 99% of the time, they're going to use Google. Make sure they're aware of sites like Technorati, Blekko, Duck Duck Go, and etc. By providing this limited amount of information to them on how to find sites, they will eventually figure out alternative search terms to use when they've run into the same sites over and over. Creative people will be able to think of some clever ways to find related sites and this is a necessary skill for a link builder to develop. 4) Finding Contact Information There are little things that someone new to the link building world may not know or may not have thought about. Make sure you cover the basics like: a) Checking Whois data. b) Clicking "view profile" on Blogspot sites. c) Using advanced operator commands: I. site:website.com contact II. site:website.com mail III. site:website.com about IV. site:website.com gmail d) Contacting site owners through social profiles like Twitter and Facebook. e) Searching the site owners name or handle on a search engine. Some tools (like SEO site tools for Chrome) can pull contact information from a site, but it's a good idea for them to learn without any tools in the beginning. 5) Constructing an Opening Email This is perhaps one of the most important parts. For some reason, people tend to write long-winded emails when they're starting out and talk about how great their client's product is. This usually will have a very low response rate. Give the trainee some examples of opening emails you've used so that they have an idea of what works and what doesn't. Explain to them that the opening email should be tailored to a specific site and should be brief. For example: Buddy Guy, I stumbled onto your site while I was looking at some banjos and I saw that you play a 5 string Gold Tone in your band. I've heard a lot of good things about Gold Tone and wanted to get your take on it before I took the plunge and bought one. If you could hit me up when you have a minute, I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance! All the Best, -Peter This type of email is more likely to pull a response from the site owner, and once you get that first response, they're ten more likely to reply to any future emails you send. Michael King (iPullRank) recently wrote one of the best articles I've seen on personalizing emails when link building and why you should avoid using generic copy and paste form letters. Subject lines are just as important as their email! You need a subject line that's going to stick out and cause someone to actually click and read your email. When I'm training someone, I like to actually see the first few emails before they send them off. This gives me the chance to give them pointers, explain what I would've done differently, or give positive reinforcement. 6) Correspondence When they start to get responses, it's a good idea to guide them through their first few email exchanges. Have them construct an email they would reply with first. After that look for any issues that should be corrected. You don't want to give your trainee something to respond with. Obviously, there is no formula for how you should correspond with someone. It varies greatly depending on what exactly you're trying to get out of the site. It just requires some general SEO knowledge and site evaluation skills that your trainee just isn't going to have yet, so that's why you should help them through this process. 7) Record Keeping In the beginning, make sure you have access to everything they do so that you can correct any mistakes they're making. You don't need to loom over them constantly, but if something is obviously wrong, you need to be able to find the problem as soon as possible. I do this by making an excel template for them to record everything on. Ideally, you want this to be on a Google doc or a server so that you have consistent access to their files. I include information like: Date of contact Date the link went live Site owner's name Contact information The page the link went on Anchor text that was used You want to record as much as you can, but you also don't want it to be so time consuming that they're spending more time keeping up their spread sheet than link building. I achieve this by making two separate tabs on the Excel sheet. One for completed links and another for everyone they've contacted. The sheet for everyone they've contacted is super simplified so they can fill the information quickly. This helps if you have multiple link builders working on the same client. That way they can cross check before they contact a site owner, allowing them to see if another link builder has contacted them. 8) Letting go of their hand After the first 2-4 weeks you want to slowly wean your trainee off of reliance on you. They need to start making some of the simpler decisions like figuring out what page they should go after, on their own. By no means should you ignore them. You should still be available for them to ask questions, but instead of answering every one, ask them what they think they should do and correct them if they're wrong. I've had quite a few people ask questions they already knew the answers to, and once they realized that, they would stop asking and be more confident about their instincts. Other things to keep in mind: Finding an ideal candidate to train This can be a little tricky, as we don't always have the luxury to be choosy. The best article I've seen on this subject is the one Sir Justin Briggs wrote - What Makes an Effective Link Builder - it breaks everything down perfectly! I highly recommend you read his article even if you're not actively seeking a link builder. That way you know what to look for and if you meet someone you can at least keep them in your network in case you need them in the future! Personally I find that creative social geeks tend to be awesome candidates. If they have lots of friends on Facebook, and actively use Twitter, as well as other social networks, that's a good sign. If they love surrounding themselves with tech and are excited about new gadgets, that's also a good sign. If they run a Wordpress blog, a Tumblr account, and have some understanding of html, that's another good sign. You basically want to find someone who's already motivated and curious about all things Internet! Skill Set Requirements Requirement might be too strong of a word. I've seen people with no related skill sets whatsoever do really well. However, there are a few prerequisites that help. For example someone with sales or cold calling experience, already understand a little bit about what they should and shouldn't say in a correspondence with someone to achieve their desired goal. Another big one is being proficient with Excel. With any form of SEO you WILL have spreadsheets up to your elbows. If you're an SEO that never has to deal with spreadsheets on a daily basis, please let me know your secret! I've actually had to consider making a spreadsheet for my spreadsheets a few times. Lastly, they just have to be good with computers. You and the IT guys will save a lot of time if the person in training knows how to do simple things like removing spyware from their computer and finding what software they need for certain file types. You need someone that can be self-sufficient. I know it may be hard for some people to imagine that people still exist that don't know how to do these tasks, but I've seen it quite a bit and it's painful. Conclusion: Always keep in mind that different things are going to work with different people. You're going to have to approach problems in alternative ways depending on what the other person is comfortable with. This is especially true after they start develop and learn on their own. Don't ever try to force someone to stick to a specific tool, browser, platform, or whatever just because that's what you use. Obviously you want to keep things organized, but you need to give people some room to do their own thing and be creative. That's how you'll start to actually learn from the people you're training. Do you like this post? Yes No

Yes, You Really Can Build Links With Twitter - Whiteboard Friday Posted: 01 Sep 2011 01:46 PM PDT Posted by caseyhen Since Rand discussed a scammy link building tactics last week, he decided to tackle a good method that anyone can do. This week Rand has 8 tips on how you can build links using Twitter, yes Twitter! Rand discusses what methods he sees generating links and how you can use them. We'd also love to hear how you are using Twitter to generate links and what you see the future of linking building on Twitter will be.   Video Transcription Howdy SEOmoz fans! Welcome to another edition of Whiteboard Friday. This week I am super excited. We're going to be talking about something that a lot of have a big problem with and that is, how do I actually build real, substantive, long-lasting, valuable links for SEO to my website using Twitter? People are like, "Oh, you know, Twitter is a great way to do SEO, great way to build connections." I hear all these people on the sidelines like, "Yeah, really, I kind of like my article spinning robot, thank you very much. That works for me." To this I am like, if you took the time and energy that you invested in some of these lower quality tactics and put them into some higher quality, tactics like social connections, and this is where a lot of folks will stop you. They'll be like, "Social connections? Really, Rand? Twitter? Can you actually get direct links from that? I know you get little tweets. You get more followers. You feel good about yourself, like you're interacting in a community. But do you actually drive real links to your site?" Let me show you exactly how. I have eight tactics specifically designed to really get real high quality links right to your website. Let's walk through them Number one, the serendipitous connection. This is sort of the most ethereal and nondirect of these. The idea being that I am some guy on Twitter and here is some other nice friend on Twitter and we start chatting with each other. We start building a connection, and eventually that connection through good authentic participation and back and forth, the relationship that it builds, turns into links. This happens all the time. I know it is not very scientific, it is not very direct, and it is hard for a link builder to say, "Hey, I am tweeting back and forth with this person and eventually maybe I will get a link from them and then that will make the tweeting worthwhile." You're doing a lot more than that. You're obviously building something real and authentic through that connection, but certainly that serendipitous connection can yield a link. Now, let me give you seven, much more direct, very targeted ways to earn some links. Number two, the top X list. This is brilliant from a content perspective. Let me explain how it works. I build a list of like, oh, here's the number one guy, number two guy, number three guy, number four guy, and number five guy in some particular space. I take that list of those folks and essentially I build it out in the community or the hub or the area that I care about. Let's say I am in the business of selling snowboard equipment. So what I want to do is I am going to take the top five snowboarding videos of all time, snowboard stunts. In fact, I might even get more septic because getting more specific yields much better results oftentimes from a link perspective. So, what I want to do is I am going to say the top five snowboarding videos taken in Whistler BC, and I am going to make that a piece of content on my blog, on my website. Maybe it is a blog post, maybe it is just a piece of link bait, maybe it is a list, whatever it is. Then I am going to figure out all the Twitter accounts of all the people who appear in those videos, and I am going to use Twitter as a way I connect to them. I am also going to talk to all the people on Twitter and say, "Hey, does anybody know the best snowboarding videos? Do you have any recommendations?" I am going to reach out to people who have shared snowboarding videos in the past, who have the word snowboard in their profile that I find through a service like Follower Wonk, and I am going to create those top X lists. Then I am going to tweet at all those people and give them all badges for having won that they can place on their websites. Suddenly, I am getting links from all of the top places in industry X. You can repeat this ad nauseam in all sorts of industries. The wonderful thing that you're doing is you are curating content. You are finding really good stuff. If you build these great lists, it is not just useful to the people here. It is not just earning you links back to your site. It is also fantastic content itself. You are helping to collate good things on the Internet, good people on the Internet. Here are the top Twitter people to follow in the aerospace field. Here are the best sound engineers in Southern California. Whatever it is, you can build it. You can use Twitter to help build those connections. Number three, the let me build do find that for you. I know this sounds a little weird, but this is a phenomenal way to make those serendipitous connections turn into reciprocation relationships. So, for example, you see someone on the Web and they are tweeting I need a this or I'm having trouble with this. I will give you a great example. I tweeted recently that my WordPress blog was hacked. It happened to me about three or four months ago. Jeff Sauer from Three Deep Marketing over in Minneapolis reached out to me and said, "Hey, Rand, I'd be happy to help." I gave him my email address. We connected over email. I gave him my login. He fixed the site. He has been fixing it ever since. He is trying to plug up security holes. He is doing great work. He did it all for free. I couldn't believe it. I was like, "Jeff, dude, we have to get you a ticket to MozCon. We have to make sure we link into your website." I try to refer people over to him. What a phenomenal guy. Absolutely phenomenal guy. On the board at MIMA, too. It's just that effort of reaching out and helping someone. I don't know how long it took Jeff. I'd like to think it was an hour of Jeff's time, but I hope that over the course of the next 6 to 12 months I can reciprocate in a great way. People are like this, especially people on the Web who are active on Twitter and in the social word are like this. If you can do something to help them out, they are going to recognize you for it. It happens all the time. It is a great thing to do particularly with people who have active blogs and websites where they are contributing a lot. Number four, the storyteller, AKA the Summify. This is actually a very simple content building tactic, but the idea here is essentially that people are telling stories through social media, but they are very hard to track unless you are paying attention to every single tweet, like tweet here, tweet there, tweet there. Only this one and maybe this other one down here are relevant to a particular story. What you want to do is take that time and curate these into a followable, directionable narrative. Once you do, the people who are involved in those stories, the people who are mentioned in them are going to tweet and share and link to them. Other people are going to tweet and share and link to them if they are interesting. Essentially, you are taking content that is being lost on the social web because it is so temporal and you are bringing it together. You can do this from all sorts of places. Summify will let you pull from LinkedIn and Quora and Twitter and Facebook, I believe, from blogs. It's a great tool to be able to do that, but you can do this manually too, through screen shots and links and telling the story, those kinds of things. The storyteller is very powerful way, particularly in spaces where interesting stories are forming and people care about them on the social web, to build content that people are naturally going to be linking to, particularly the people who are involved. And, of course, you can use the standard Twitter tactic of tweeting at them to tell them about the content individually like @caseyhenry, what's you actual handle? [Response in background: Casey Hen] Casey Hen, that's right. @caseyhen, hey you were mentioned here. Hey, we're linking to your website here. Hey, we wrote about something that you did here. Of course, people want to share those things. Number five, I know this is a little light because it is in orange, the link suggestion. Perhaps nothing is more obvious and direct, but you really, really need a relationship first to make this work, which is why building relationships with people who are active in your industry or your space and are writing online or blogging or contributing in journalistic practices, run forums, run small business websites, whatever it is, directories, etc. The link suggestion is essentially when you find pieces of content on their site through reading their RSS feed or browsing, and you think to yourself, boy, they really missed out on this, which by the way, I have something written up about that on my blog, or I have that precise product or I have that service. When people ask for that or when they are not even actively asking for it but they have essentially written about it, they've curated something, you can suggest a link to them like, @marksuster, hey, I know you mentioned social media startups in Southern California, but you forgot about Awesome. He probably didn't. I think he is an investor. You should write about them. You should include them as well. Oh, well, great, perfect. That is a direct request for sort of a link for an inclusion in something. Fantastic way to build this up. Number six, the content to answer your query. I like this one because what happens is you see a lot in the social world. Not just on Twitter, but even on places liked LinkedIn, on Facebook, which I know sometimes can be private, on Google+, on all the networks. On Quora certainly tons of questions. If you can build up the content that answers that query . . . for example, someone might say, "Hey, what are the best thin and light laptops?" You say, "Huh, you know, I see that question come through quite a bit. I am actually going to build up my top recommendations for thin and light laptops." You can be like here are the top five, here's who has endorsed them, here is a blog post written about them, here is content from CNET, here are all their specs, here are some graphics, here is some video, whatever it is. You curate that stuff. Come on, man! And then you reply to the people who are asking and those questions come through day after day after day, boom, boom, boom, you can just be replying to them and saying, "Hey, you know, I built this thing because I saw a lot of people asking about it on Twitter," and yada, yada, yada. That is going to drive some great links and drive some great content too. Number seven, what I love about this one is the reciprocation aspect and the just general goodness that you add to the world. It's called the must have testimonial. The idea is simple. People out there on the Web are always looking for people to say nice things about their product that they can use on their website. If you can engage people on Twitter and find those people, particularly in sort of startup types of environments or small business environments or particular local businesses, they love to feature content from people. If you say, hey, I wrote a blog post about how much I loved your restaurant, how much I loved your video hosting service, how much I loved your t-shirt that you designed, how much I love the new eyeglasses that I got from your shop on the Web. Whatever it is, you essentially create kind of that testimonial for them and tweet at them, and say, "Hey, I just want to let you know I really love your stuff. If you would ever like a testimonial, just email me or direct message me. I am following you." You'll probably get a follower. You'll probably get a direct message. They'll probably put that testimonial on their website, and you'll get a link back from the testimonial. You've done something great for them. You've said, hey, I love their product, I want to endorse them. Now this great product or website that you like is linking back to you. It is a win. Huge win. All right. Last one. Number eight, the biz dev deal. This works so well all the time because essentially businesses, particularly small businesses, medium businesses, even big businesses, are always looking for ways to jumpstart their reach. Anyone who is participating on the social web, chances are really good they're trying to do a lot of other inbound marketing. That means that if you reach out to them and say, "Hey, you know, we really like what you guys are doing, and we'd love to talk about ways that we could potentially partner," if you build up that Twitter relationship first, you're definitely going to get a reply. You're going to get a reply to that email. They are going to be more likely to like the things that you are doing if they know who you are and they have seen you on Twitter for a while. Building up those serendipitous connections first is going to mean the world when you reach out for a biz dev deal, and biz dev deals almost always include some linking back and forth between your website and websites this other entity might own and that's going to mean good stuff. So, when folks say Twitter can't help you link build, Twitter is not that great for SEO, I want you to look down this list and look down the list below me in the comments where people are going to add tons more awesome ideas and tell you about great stories of how they got links on Twitter, and explain to me how anyone can believe that. Twitter is a phenomenal tool for link building. Great way to do inbound marketing. Such a better use of your time than so many other negative, useless, short-term tactics. So, I hope you will jump on Twitter. Follow me @randfish and @seomoz, and maybe I'll be happy to link to you in some future posts. Thanks, everyone. Take care. See you again next week for another edition of Whiteboard Friday. Video transcription by Speechpad.com Do you like this post? Yes No

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West Wing Week Double Feature

Your Daily Snapshot for Friday, September 2, 2011   West Wing Week Double Feature West Wing Week is your video guide to everything that happens at 1600 Pennslyvania Avenue and this week we've got a double feature. "Dispatches from Asia" Join the Vice President as he opens new channels of communication with China, gets to know Mongolian leaders and culture at a traditional Naadam festival and visits Japanese communities recovering from the March earthquake and tsunami before speaking to US troops in Tokyo and Hawaii. Watch the full video here. "Goodnight, Irene" This week, the President led the federal response to Hurricane Irene, made a key nomination announcement, and addressed the American Legion's 93rd annual conference. That's August 26th to September 1st or "Goodnight, Irene." Watch the full video here. In Case You Missed It Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog. Cleaner Air and a Stronger Economy – A Record of Succes The direct benefits of the Clean Air Act – in the form of cleaner air and healthier, more productive Americans – are estimated to reach nearly $2 trillion in the year 2020. The Employment Situation in August Private sector payrolls increased by 17,000 and overall payroll employment was flat. We the People: Announcing White House Petitions & How They Work Something exciting is coming to WhiteHouse.gov. It's called We the People and it will significantly change how the public -- You! -- engage with the White House online. Today's Schedule All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). 12:30 PM The President departs the White House en route Camp David Indicates events that will be live streamed on WhiteHouse.gov/Live Get Updates Sign up for the Daily Snapshot  Stay Connected     Facebook Twitter YouTube Flickr iTunes     This email was sent to e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com Manage Subscriptions for e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com Sign Up for Updates from the White House Unsubscribe e0nstar1.blog@gmail.com | Privacy Policy Please do not reply to this email. Contact the White House The White House • 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW • Washington, DC 20500 • 202-456-1111

Seth's Blog : The shower of data

The shower of data

When I was a kid at summer camp, a letter was as precious as gold (or perhaps candy). If you got five letters in a week, you were rich. Most of the time, we stood by the mailroom, plaintively waiting to see if there was some sort of message from the outside world--only to walk away disappointed.

Back home, missing a TV show was out of the question. If you didn't see this episode of Mannix or Batman, it was likely you'd never get a chance, ever again.

And so we came to treat incoming data as precious. A lost email was a calamity. Reading everything in your RSS feed was essential. What if I miss something?

A new generation, one that grew up with a data surplus, is coming along. To this cohort, it's no big deal to miss a tweet or ten, to delete a blog from your reader or to not return a text or even a voice mail. The new standard for a vacation email is, "When I get back, I'm going to delete all the email in my box, so if it's important, please re-send it next week."

This is what always happens when something goes from scarce to surplus. First we bathe in it, then we waste it.

 

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Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

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• Interactive Map: What States, Counties, Industries Have Job Growth?
• Fannie, Freddie Overseer Set to File Suit Against Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank
• Central Falls Set to File Bankruptcy Exit Plan; 50% Pension Reductions, 40% Slash in Police and Fire Budgets Coming Up
• Battle Brews in Germany Over Parliamentary Approval of EFSF Funding; Italian Prime Minister Vows to Leave 'Shitty' Italy in Recorded Conversation
• Unions Sue New Jersey Governor Christie Over Pension and Health-Care Benefits
• Manufacturing ISM Dips Slightly, Barely Above Contraction, Saved by Inventory Growth, Much Weaker than it Looks
• Recession Looms in Brazil and Canada; Asia Exports Sink; Global Economy Deteriorates Rapidly led by BRICs; Asia Stagflation; PIMCO Admits Mistake

Interactive Map: What States, Counties, Industries Have Job Growth? Posted: 01 Sep 2011 11:25 PM PDT The following interactive map shows job growth (or in many cases, loss) by state or county since 2006. Deep orange indicates very strong job growth, deep blue indicates large losses. Texas in particular stands out strongly. The chart also shows job growth by industry. Notice the strength of mining/extraction, healthcare, and educational services. This interactive map may take a while to load. Please give it extra time. Select a state from the drop down list or click on any county for details. The interactive map is via Tableau Software with data from EMSI, Economic Modeling Specialists. Specific thanks to Ross Perez and Ellie Fields at Tableau Software. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Fannie, Freddie Overseer Set to File Suit Against Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank Posted: 01 Sep 2011 07:30 PM PDT Shortly before a legal deadline passes, U.S. Is Set to Sue a Dozen Big Banks Over Mortgages The federal agency that oversees the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is set to file suits against more than a dozen big banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgage securities they assembled and sold at the height of the housing bubble, and seeking billions of dollars in compensation. The Federal Housing Finance Agency suits, which are expected to be filed in the coming days in federal court, are aimed at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, among others, according to three individuals briefed on the matter. The suits stem from subpoenas the finance agency issued to banks a year ago. If the case is not filed Friday, they said, it will come Tuesday, shortly before a deadline expires for the housing agency to file claims. The suits will argue the banks, which assembled the mortgages and marketed them as securities to investors, failed to perform the due diligence required under securities law and missed evidence that borrowers' incomes were inflated or falsified. When many borrowers were unable to pay their mortgages, the securities backed by the mortgages quickly lost value. Fannie and Freddie lost more than $30 billion, in part as a result of the deals, losses that were borne mostly by taxpayers. Private holders of mortgage securities are already trying to force the big banks to buy back tens of billions in soured mortgage-backed bonds, but this federal effort is a new chapter in a huge legal fight that has alarmed investors in bank shares. In this case, rather than demanding that the banks buy back the original loans, the finance agency is seeking reimbursement for losses on the securities held by Fannie and Freddie. Besides the angry investors, 50 state attorneys general are in the final stages of negotiating a settlement to address abuses by the largest mortgage servicers, including Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citigroup. The attorneys general, as well as federal officials, are pressing the banks to pay at least $20 billion in that case, with much of the money earmarked to reduce mortgages of homeowners facing foreclosure. Bank officials also counter that further legal attacks on them will only delay the recovery in the housing market, which remains moribund, hurting the broader economy. Other experts warned that a series of adverse settlements costing the banks billions raises other risks, even if suits have legal merit. As of June 30, Freddie Mac holds more than $80 billion in mortgage securities backed by more shaky home loans like subprime mortgages, Option ARM and Alt-A loans. Freddie estimates its total gross losses stand at roughly $19 billion. Fannie Mae holds $38 billion of securities backed by Alt-A and subprime loans, with losses standing at nearly $14 billion. I am all in favor of these lawsuits as long as the losses can be quantified. If one of these lawsuits takes down Bank of America, so be it. Indeed, it would probably be a good thing. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Central Falls Set to File Bankruptcy Exit Plan; 50% Pension Reductions, 40% Slash in Police and Fire Budgets Coming Up Posted: 01 Sep 2011 05:35 PM PDT Central Falls, Rhode Island set to file bankruptcy exit plan delayed by Irene Central Falls filed for bankruptcy Aug. 1, and receiver Robert Flanders said then that he wanted to submit an exit plan to U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Frank Bailey within 30 days. But Tropical Storm Irene forced Flanders to push back the self-imposed deadline. "Central Falls lost power in the middle of the storm and just recovered it yesterday, and that's hampered our access to servers and the Internet that we need to formulate the plan," Flanders said during a taping of Rhode Island Public Radio's weekly Political Roundtable segment. "So there's going to be a slight delay in us getting that before the bankruptcy judge, but our plan still is to get that in as soon as possible – hopefully next week or shortly thereafter – and we're well along on a five-year plan of recovery," he said. Flanders' plan is likely to meet with heavy opposition from lawyers representing the city's retirees and unionized workers. They have until Sept. 16 to file a first round of objections. Flanders has said he wants the city to be out of bankruptcy by February. Flanders has already ordered reductions of up to 50% in Central Falls retirees' pensions and suggested he will need to slash the police and fire budgets by 40%. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin said last month he's concerned about the impact that could have on public safety. No Impact to Public Safety Assuming the city budget is now balanced, the plan seems reasonable to me and taxpayers have rightfully been shielded. There should be no impact to public safety. Police and fire fighters should be told (not asked) to accept salary cuts of 40%. Not a single police of firefighter need be fired. Thus, the concerns of Attorney General Peter Kilmartin over public safety impacts are ridiculous. Any officer, firefighter, or teacher who can find a better job at more money in the private sector would be free to do so. I suspect few would. To prohibit future fights, the unions should be dissolved and collective bargaining ended. The Way Forward This is the way forward and unions better get used to it. If public unions do not agree to reasonable haircuts now, they can take larger haircuts in bankruptcy court. All it takes is for one major city to see the light and there will be a cascade of bankruptcies by cities to get out of onerous public union contracts. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Battle Brews in Germany Over Parliamentary Approval of EFSF Funding; Italian Prime Minister Vows to Leave 'Shitty' Italy in Recorded Conversation Posted: 01 Sep 2011 03:14 PM PDT Angela Merkel wants quick passage of EFSF changes and once in place wants to make bailouts without further parliamentary approval. This sounds much like the disastrous open-ended slush-fund bailout proposals we saw in the US at the height of the crisis. Merkel warns that parliamentary approval would slow things down. What's wrong with that? Indeed it might be better if things slowed to a halt, otherwise taxpayers are going to get screwed again. Der Spiegel does not see it that way. Please consider Parliamentary Influence over Euro Bailouts 'Naive' The German parliament is calling for increased authority in euro-zone bailout packages established by the EFSF backstop fund. But that could ultimately slow things down to a dangerous degree, economists warn. German commentators on Thursday make a plea for democracy. Germany's parliament feels ignored. Until now, the Bundestag has had very little influence on decisions made by Chancellor Angela Merkel and her government regarding bailout packages for heavily indebted euro-zone states. But with expanded powers having been granted to the euro backstop fund -- known as the European Financial Security Facility or EFSF -- at a European Union summit in July, German parliamentarians also want a greater say. On Wednesday, Merkel's cabinet agreed on the law necessary to expand the EFSF , a change which must be agreed to by all euro-zone governments. But the question as to how much influence the German Bundestag might ultimately have over EFSF bailouts was left unanswered, pending ongoing negotiations. Given the threat of a conservative revolt , Merkel has proven open to a compromise. Too many parliamentary defections from her Christian Democrats (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, in the late September vote could topple her government. But on Thursday, several struck a more cautionary note, including German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, a leading member of the CDU. The EFSF , he said, must be able to "act quickly." As such, he said that the parliament must act responsibly with any influence it is granted. Several economists went even further. "In a situation of market panic, the EFSF has to act quickly," Holger Schmieding, chief economist of Berenberg Bank, told the Financial Times Deutschland. "It could happen overnight or on a weekend." German taxpayer liability in the new ESFS proposal is €211 billion, nearly the national budget. And Merkel wants that at her disposal with no interference from parliament. Quite frankly it is nuts. Imagine Obama asking for a $1 trillion slush fund at his disposal to bail out other countries. The whole country would think he was mad. Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi is Finished If you did not know it before, it is crystal clear now, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi has had it. The Guardian reports Berlusconi vows to leave 'shitty' Italy in conversation recorded by police In a sign of his frustration at the investigations into his alleged crimes and misdemeanours, Silvio Berlusconi vowed in July to leave Italy, which he described as a "shitty country" that "sickened" him. The Italian prime minister's astonishing remarks are contained in the transcript of a telephone conversation secretly recorded by police investigating claims he was being blackmailed about his sex life. At dawn on Thursday, police swooped on a flat near Via Veneto – one of Rome's most expensive streets – to arrest Giampaolo Tarantini, a central figure in a scandal that threatened to bring down Berlusconi two years ago. Tarantini's wife, Angela Devenuto, was also taken into custody and a search launched for a third person. The arrest warrant shows that the three are accused of extorting at least €500,000 (£440,000) "as well as other benefits of economic significance". Berlusconi has admitted paying the couple, but said he did so voluntarily. The sex scandal at the origin of the latest allegations was one of several involving Berlusconi in the past three years. He is on trial in Milan charged with paying an underage prostitute and then using his position to cover up the alleged offence, but that case is not related to the one that has now come back to haunt him. Details of the latest investigation were leaked last month in a news magazine belonging to Berlusconi. The magazine, Panorama, claimed the prosecutors believed Tarantini was being paid to stop him contradicting the prime minister's claim that he was unaware that some of the women who visited his home were prostitutes. But Panorama said Tarantini had repeatedly confirmed in wiretapped conversations that Berlusconi was indeed oblivious of the payments the women were receiving. Italy's prime minister, who turns 75 later this month, has made much over the years of his talents as a playboy and has insisted he would never pay for sex. These stories of internal bickering show the fragile nature of the Eurozone bailout proposals. Finland's insistence on collateral is another piece of the fragile puzzle. This whole mess seems like it is attached together with rubber-bands, paper clips, and Elmer's glue. I fail to see how it can possibly last. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Unions Sue New Jersey Governor Christie Over Pension and Health-Care Benefits Posted: 01 Sep 2011 02:07 PM PDT Brain dead public unions think lawsuits will solve a problem resulting from untenable wages and benefits that cannot be paid. Instead of accepting the obvious New Jersey Governor Christie Sued by Unions Over Pension, Health Benefits New Jersey public employee unions, seeking to block a law reducing pension and health benefits, sued Governor Chris Christie and other state officials. More than 20 unions and individuals representing teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees claim the law enacted June 28 violates the U.S. and state constitutions by forcing them to pay more for pensions and health insurance. In a complaint in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, they asked a judge yesterday to block enforcement of the law and order the state to fully fund the pension systems. "Another lawsuit won't change the fact that the public employee pension system was on a collision course with collapse without the governor's and the Legislature's bipartisan intervention," a Christie spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said in a statement. 'Oblivious' Union "The union leadership is unaccountably oblivious to that," he said. "So, fine, file another lawsuit, keep your heads in the sand and ignore the problem. We will defend as necessary our pledge to fix the public employee pension system for all employees, former, present and future." The law deprives workers of their due process rights by suspending pension adjustments, increasing employees' contributions, underfunding pensions and delegating to pension committees an "unrestrained authority to reduce pension and change eligibility requirements," according to a copy of the complaint on the education group's website. The sense of entitlement of these overpaid, underworked, public union ingrates is stunning. The Governor needs to seek legislation that will end all collective bargaining rights of public unions as soon as possible. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Manufacturing ISM Dips Slightly, Barely Above Contraction, Saved by Inventory Growth, Much Weaker than it Looks Posted: 01 Sep 2011 10:06 AM PDT The August 2011 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business® is barely above contraction, buoyed only by rising inventories. "The PMI registered 50.6 percent, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from July, indicating expansion in the manufacturing sector for the 25th consecutive month, at a slightly slower rate. The Production Index registered 48.6 percent, indicating contraction for the first time since May of 2009, when it registered 45 percent. The New Orders and Backlog of Orders Indexes edged up slightly from July, but both indexes are indicating contraction in August at slower rates than in July. The rate of increase in prices slowed for the fourth consecutive month, dropping another 3.5 percentage points in August to 55.5 percent. The overall sentiment is one of concern and caution over the domestic and international economic environment, which is affecting customers' confidence and willingness to place orders, at least in the short term." Manufacturing PMI Components MANUFACTURING AT A GLANCE AUGUST 2011 Index Series Index Aug Series Index Jul % Point Change Direction Rate of Change Trend* (Months) PMI 50.6 50.9 -0.3 Growing Slower 25 New Orders 49.6 49.2 +0.4 Contracting Slower 2 Production 48.6 52.3 -3.7 Contracting From Growing 1 Employment 51.8 53.5 -1.7 Growing Slower 23 Supplier Deliveries 50.6 50.4 +0.2 Slowing Faster 27 Inventories 52.3 49.3 +3.0 Growing From Contracting 1 Customers' Inventories 46.5 44.0 +2.5 Too Low Slower 29 Prices 55.5 59.0 -3.5 Increasing Slower 26 Backlog of Orders 46.0 45.0 +1.0 Contracting Slower 3 Exports 50.5 54.0 -3.5 Growing Slower 26 Imports 55.5 53.5 +2.0 Growing Faster 24 OVERALL ECONOMY Growing Slower 27 Manufacturing Sector Growing Slower 25 Employment ISM's Employment Index registered 51.8 percent in August, which is 1.7 percentage points lower than the 53.5 percent reported in July. While this month represents the 23rd consecutive month of growth in manufacturing employment, the August reading is also the lowest reading since November 2009, when the index registered 50.4 percent. An Employment Index above 50.1 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on manufacturing employment. See report for details on other sub-components. Saved by Inventory Growth The headline number is an average of new orders, production, employment, supplier deliveries, and inventories. Rounding to the nearest decimal, that average is 5.6%, helped by rising inventories. This month both new orders and production are in contraction. Backlog of orders is also contracting. Exports are barely above contraction. The key trends are all lower. This could easily be the last hurrah after 25 months of manufacturing expansion. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Recession Looms in Brazil and Canada; Asia Exports Sink; Global Economy Deteriorates Rapidly led by BRICs; Asia Stagflation; PIMCO Admits Mistake Posted: 01 Sep 2011 02:32 AM PDT In spite of all the denials, the US, Europe, and Australia are in recession. Brazil and Canada just entered the recession zone as well. This economic turn of events has PIMCO CEO Bill gross admitting a mistake. Let's take a look starting with Brazil. 62 of 62 Analysts Miss Call on Brazil Interest rates Given that central banks most often telegraph their moves, the one place analysts are typically correct is on interest rate policy. That wasn't the case this time as Brazil Cuts Key Interest Rate to 12% as Recession Risks Outweigh Inflation Brazil's central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates as the risk of recession in Europe and the U.S. shifted policy makers' focus away from the fastest inflation in six years. The bank's board, led by President Alexandre Tombini, voted 5-2 to cut the benchmark rate a half point to 12.0 percent after raising rates at each of the previous five meetings. All 62 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast rates would be left on hold. "Re-evaluating the international scenario, the Committee considers there was a substantial deterioration, reflected in generalized reduction of great magnitude in the growth projections for the major economic blocs," policy makers said in their statement posted on the central bank's website. Stunning Reversal That is a stunning reversal and I would not have gotten it correct either. Normally there is some sort or warning or at least a pause. BRIC Growth Engine Dies Bloomberg reports BRICs No Cure for Global Economy This Time Stocks of international companies that depend most on emerging markets for sales show developing nations won't be strong enough to buoy the global economy. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s gauge of U.S. companies with the most developing-nation revenue fell 15 percent since April, the biggest drop since the bull market began in 2009. Avon Products Inc. (AVP), which gets at least 74 percent of operating profit from emerging markets, sank 15 percent in New York last month. Siemens AG (SIE), which doubled sales from the nations in five years, lost 21 percent in Frankfurt, the most since October 2008. "The policy driven boom of the past couple of years will not be repeated any time soon," said Stephen King, chief economist at HSBC Holdings Plc in London and author of "Losing Control: The Emerging Threats to Western Prosperity." It's "difficult to see how emerging nations can ride to the rescue once more," he said. Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. lender by assets, gets more than half its earnings from emerging markets, CEO Vikram Pandit said in March. While second-quarter revenue from the consumer bank's Latin American and Asian units rose 13 percent to $4.46 billion, profit fell 14 percent. Shares of the New York-based bank retreated 19 percent last month, more than the 11 percent drop in the S&P 500 Financials Index. Whirlpool, based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, relied on developing nations for at least 32 percent of its second-quarter revenue, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The world's largest appliance maker reported a 92 percent plunge in operating profit in Asia, more than the 62 percent decline in North America, the data show. Whirlpool's shares fell 8.7 percent in August, extending this year's retreat to 29 percent. China Suffers Sharp Drop in Export Orders Reuters reports Asia's factories quieter as exports slip The Purchasing Managers Indexes showed manufacturing contracted in South Korea and Taiwan as new export orders fell sharply. China's official PMI increased slightly, the first rise since March, but it also reflected the effects of slowing demand in the United States and Europe. China's overall PMI rose to 50.9 in August from 50.7 in July, according to government data, a touch weaker than economists polled by Reuters had predicted. The new export orders index dropped to 48.3 from July's 50.4. Beijing pinned the blame for the sharp fall in export orders at least partly on the debt crises in advanced economies. The National Bureau of Statistics said the export sector was "facing challenges." Taiwan's PMI dropped to 45.2 in August, the lowest reading since January 2009, which was in the middle of the global financial crisis that crushed world trade. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. China is battling inflation at a three-year high, and Premier Wen Jiabao said on Thursday that Beijing would try to engineer a bigger drop in consumer prices in the second half of the year. Chinese officials have said repeatedly that fighting inflation is the top priority despite sluggish growth abroad. Thursday's data showed input prices rose in China last month, suggesting price pressures remain acute. Brazil unexpectedly lowered interest rates on Wednesday because of concern about a global economic slowdown. China isn't the only Asian economy struggling to contain inflation. In South Korea, the consumer price index hit a three-year high, up 5.3 percent in August from a year earlier, marking the eighth consecutive month that inflation has exceeded the Bank of Korea's target. Thailand's CPI was also higher than expected. This puts Asia's central bankers in a bind. Hot inflation points to more interest rate hikes, but the darkening global outlook argues for a policy pause. Asia Stagflation Stagflation is one of those muddled terms that people debate over. The definition I prefer is inflation and recession at the same time. Using that definition, Brazil and parts of Asia are in stagflation now. Recall that Keynesian theory stated recession and inflation at the same time were impossible. The 1970's proved that theory to be rubbish. Keynesianism should have died in the 70's, totally discredited, but somehow it survived in academia where its nonsensical ideas still haunt us to this day. Canadian Economy Contracts The Globe and Mail reports Canadian Economy contracts for first time since recession Canada now has its own two-speed recovery, with the domestic economy holding firm even as exports falter amid a slumping global rebound. The economy shrank at an annualized rate of 0.4 per cent in the second quarter, the first contraction since the Great Recession, and a sharp reversal from the 3.6-per-cent growth rate of the first quarter, Statistics Canada figures showed. It's a sign that Canada, envied by many countries as a bastion of stability since the financial crisis, is not immune to global economic malaise. In fact, among the Group of Seven club of rich economies, only Japan had a worse second quarter. Sales abroad staged their steepest drop in two years, with exports plummeting more than 8 per cent on an annual basis. The high-flying Canadian dollar made it harder for businesses to sell their goods to weakening markets in the United States and Europe. Also, Japan's natural disasters created havoc in the automobile industry, while wildfires in northern Alberta and maintenance shutdowns in the oil industry curtailed energy production. But there's a bright side to Canada's performance. Company purchases of machinery and equipment in Canada soared at a 31-per-cent annualized pace in the second quarter, the biggest surge since 1996. That shows businesses remain upbeat about their prospects, but also illustrates the gulf in confidence between Canadian executives and their U.S. competitors, analysts said. No Bright Side to Canada's Performance There is no bright side to Canada's performance. The confidence is misplaced. The global economy is in complete shambles. The US, Eurozone, UK, Australia, Brazil, and parts of Asia are in recession. Moreover, austerity measures are about to smack Europe, the Australia housing bust is in full swing, and Brazil just joined the recession party. To top it off, China and India are fighting huge inflation problems. If Canada is ramping up productive capacity now, it is a huge mistake, not a bright spot. Moreover, Canada's enormous property bubble will collapse and perhaps a global slowdown is just the right catalyst this go around. PIMCO Admits Mistake Reuters reports PIMCO says betting against U.S. debt was a mistake Bill Gross, the manager of the world's largest bond fund, feels like "crying in his beer" for having bet so heavily against U.S. government-related debt earlier this year, the Financial Times reported on Monday. Showing a more bearish view on the U.S. economy, Gross said PIMCO had initially dumped all of its U.S. debt holdings in March as he expected economic growth to be higher, resulting in inflation down the road. That decision greatly undermined the performance of PIMCO's Total Return Fund. As Treasuries prices rallied, the fund lost 0.97 percent in the past four weeks, while the benchmark Barclay's U.S. Aggregated Bond Index rose 0.23 percent in the same period, according to Lipper data. So far this year, the fund has returned 3.29 percent, less than the 4.55 percent recorded by the Barclay's benchmark index. "When you're underperforming the index, you go home at night and cry in your beer," the Financial Times, in its online edition, quoted Gross as saying. "It's not fun, but who said this business should be fun. We're too well paid to hang our heads and say boo hoo." Gross, who oversees $1.2 trillion at PIMCO, said it was "pretty obvious" he wishes he had more Treasuries in his portfolio right now. "I get that it was my/our mistake in thinking that the U.S. economy can chug along at 2 per cent real growth rates. It doesn't look like it can." Six Reasons to Fade Bill Gross Flashback March 10, 2011: Pimco Dumps All Remaining Treasuries in Total Return Fund; Six Reasons to Fade Bill Gross Six Reasons to Fade Pimco I view this setup as favorable for US Government bonds. For starters there is no Pimco selling pressure, only potential buying pressure when Gross changes his mind. Second, everyone seems to think the end of QE II will be the death of treasuries. While that could be the case, sentiment is so one-sided that I rather doubt it, especially is the global recovery stalls. Third, the US dollar is towards the bottom of a broad range and any bounce could easily wipe out gains in higher yielding emerging-market debt. Fourth, the global macro picture is weakening considerably with overheating in China, state government austerity measures in the US, and a renewed sovereign debt crisis in Europe on top of a supply shock in oil. Emerging markets are unlikely the place to be in such a setup. Fifth, chasing yield means chasing risk, and that is on top of currency risk. Chasing risk is highly likely to fail again at some point, the only question is when. Sixth, several interest rate hikes are priced in by the ECB this year. Will all those hikes come? I rather doubt it, and if the ECB doesn't hike, look for the US dollar to rally, perhaps significantly. The US dollar has not significantly rallied yet, but otherwise I am pleased with what I said back in March. Pettis 12 Predictions I have to say that Michael Pettis' Long-Term Outlook for China, Europe, and the World; 12 Global Predictions is looking fabulous now, and possibly way ahead of schedule, even in China. If so, the much beloved BRICs and commodities in general (with the possible exception of gold), will not be the place to be. Mike "Mish" Shedlock http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com Click Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post List Mike "Mish" Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

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