Daily Digest - December 6

• The Days Ahead 
• This week’s bank closings & the ability of the FDIC to pay claims
• John Williams Interview
• Feds Investigate CalPERS Officials Ties With Fallen Financier
• An In-Depth Look At The Jobs Report
• 25% Borrowers In Anti-Foreclosure Program Behind In New Payments
• Foreclosures Can Offer Deals, But Buyer Beware
• Saudi Oil Minister Says Oil Prices Are Perfect
• When The Performance Looks A Little Too Good
• Bad Habits Boom In Bad Economy
• Questioning A Cancer Drug That Costs $30,000 A Month 
• Aetna Dropping 600,000+ Insured Clients To Raise Profits
• Young Professionals Seek Speaking Skills For Edge In Job Market
• Ghosts Of Christmas Past
• UK Weather Service To Publish Worldwide Climate Records
• Why The Copenhagen Climate Talks Matter
• Forecast: Expect Temperatures To Rise In Copenhagen
• Thousands March In London For Climate Action
• On Thin Ice
• La Nina And Variable Weather Patterns
• Destroyed US Town A Model Of Sustainable Living
• The $7 Billion Global Seaweed Industry

Economy

The Days Ahead (Claire H.)

In this interview John discusses looming hyperinflation, staggering unemployment, the reality of the US economy, the Fed’s inability to stimulate the economy, consumer’s inability to spend, the coming collapse of the US Dollar, how listeners need to prepare themselves for this crisis, the Fed’s debasement of the Dollar, an intensifying great depression, disappearance of cash as we know it and more.

This week’s bank closings & the ability of the FDIC to pay claims (hucklejohn)

This week’s bank closings continue to warn of U.S. banks’ deteriorating balance sheets and of the FDIC’s inability to resolve troubled banks before they cause extraordinary losses. Nationwide, banks are going broke much faster than the FDIC can close them. This creates a domino effect whereby the FDIC loses the ability to mitigate losses at the same time it exhausts its capacity to pay claims.

John Williams Interview (Davos)

Feds Investigate CalPERS Officials Ties With Fallen Financier (M.W.)

Federal officials are investigating possible ties between CalPERS' former chief executive, a controversial former board member and financier Elliot Broidy who pleaded guilty Thursday to felony charges that he showered nearly $1 million in illegal gifts on state officials in NY.

An In-Depth Look At The Jobs Report (M.W.)

In November, employment fell in construction manufacturing, and information, while temporary help services and health care added jobs. While the unemployment rate dropped last month, the overall trend is still rising.

25% Borrowers In Anti-Foreclosure Program Behind In New Payments (M.W.)

Government data raise new questions about the program's effectiveness.The delinquency figures reflect the latest troubles of the program, known as Making Home Affordable.

Foreclosures Can Offer Deals, But Buyer Beware (M.W.)

While the banks have been careful not to flood the market with all their properties at once, there are hundreds of thousands of listings now, and half a million more expected in the coming year. Despite the seemingly high inventory, though, anyone considering buying a distressed property should heed the classic warning: Caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware.

Saudi Oil Minister Says Oil Prices Are Perfect (M.W.)

Several key OPEC members indicated the group was unlikely to change output levels when it meets later this month. OPEC, which supplies roughly 35 percent of the world's crude, has held its quotas unchanged since last year's record 4.2 million barrels per day in cuts. Since December, OPEC has focused on boosting compliance with output quotas of its 12 member states.

When The Performance Looks A Little Too Good (M.W.)

To an extent not seen in decades, shares of companies with weak balance sheets have been soaring, generally outperforming firms with stronger fundamentals. The performance gap between the weak and the strong has rarely been as pronounced as it has been since March’s market lows. The extreme outperformance of the more speculative stocks could make them vulnerable to another market shock.

Bad Habits Boom In Bad Economy (M.W.)

From smoking and drinking to shoplifting- the things we do under stress.

Questioning A Cancer Drug That Costs $30,000 A Month (M.W.)

Drug makers in general have been raising prices sharply in advance of the possible passage of health care overhaul legislation, according to various studies.“We believe we are fairly priced and we’re benchmarked” against other drugs.

Aetna Dropping 600,000+ Insured Clients To Raise Profits (M.W.)

"The pricing we put in place for 2009 turned out to not really be what we needed to achieve the results and margins that we had historically been delivering," said CEO Ron Williams. Aetna is one of the largest insurers in the private market, covering roughly 17.7 million people. It is also a major player in the current health care debate and spent more than $2 million on lobbying just in 2009.

Young Professionals Seek Speaking Skills For Edge In Job Market (M.W.)

Many young professionals and students have seized on public speaking as a way to stand out in a competitive job market. Such training, experts says, is especially needed by a generation that has grown up sending text messages peppered with LOLs and whose speech is filled with verbal tics such as “like” and “so,” which may be fine for Facebook or a chat room but hardly proper in a conference room.

Ghosts Of Christmas Past (M.W.)

America’s holiday shopping season will bring little yuletide cheer to ailing retailers.

Environment

UK Weather Service To Publish Worldwide Climate Records (M.W.)

The UK's MET is to publish station temperature records that make up the global land surface temperature record. If you look at the land data, the sea surface data temperatures and mean air temperature data, those 3 records independently show a 0.7 degree warming trend over the past 100 yrs. That's all published by the IPCC. NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) each have independent data sets that show the same trend over the past 100 yrs, as well.

Why The Copenhagen Climate Talks Matter (M.W.)

They won't likely deliver a new global treaty on global warming, but the decisions made here may still change our lives. It's a massive jamboree, with tempers on both sides of the issue running hot and no final deal in sight. But even so, we'd better pay attention to what transpires here, the consequences of action or inaction may be massive.

Forecast: Expect Temperatures To Rise In Copenhagen (M.W.)

With the scientific consensus more or less settled that human activity is contributing to a warmer and less hospitable planet, one might ask, why is it so hard to agree on a plan to curb those activities? The answer lies with the many fault lines that cut through the debate over climate change. Those deep divisions will be on display this week as representatives of 192 nations gather in Copenhagen. Here’s a primer on some of the major themes and fissures.

Thousands March In London For Climate Action (M.W.)

Thousands of people calling for a deal on climate change at next week's UN conference in Copenhagen marched through central London on Saturday, encircling the Houses of Parliament in a human wave of blue-clad demonstrators. PM Gordon Brown said that "the world must not be distracted by behind-the-times, anti-science, flat-Earth climate skeptics. We know the science. We know what we must do."

On Thin Ice (Video) (M.W.)

Brancaccio and Anker-- one of the world's leading high altitude climbers-- trek to the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas to witness the great melt and its dire consequences first-hand. They also visit Glacier National Park to see the striking effects of global warming in the US. Brancaccio and Anker talk to both scientists and swamis, bathe in the River Ganges, view a water shortage calamity in India, and come as close as any human can to seeing the tangible costs of climate change.

La Nina And Variable Weather Patterns (M.W.)

While temperature readings in North America dropped back to about the level of 1996 last year, that does not mean the end of global warming. North America wasn't as warm as expected because of cooler water in the North Pacific - a condition called La Nina.

Destroyed US Town A Model Of Sustainable Living (M.W.)

With all eyes on US efforts to combat climate change at next week's UN summit in Copenhagen, one Kansas town is going green in a big way -- and setting an example for American communities. In May, 2007, a Cat 5 tornado swept through the midwestern town of Greensburg. But this community is rebuilding stronger than ever, in a remarkable comeback billed as a "model for sustainable building and green living."

The $7 Billion Global Seaweed Industry (M.W.)

"It tastes better than it looks," said Olson, holding a shimmering frond of brown horsetail kelp he had just plucked from the cold gray waters of Casco Bay. "Really." Dobbins and Olson run America's only commercial kelp farm. Inspired by mega-aquaculture sites in Asia, and a $7-billion global seaweed industry, the two entrepreneurs started cultivating kelp here last year and have begun marketing it as an exotic frozen vegetable.