Libor scandal is whitecaps in a thimble

First some data, then Libor. Tempest or titillation? The effects from global markets to your adjustable-rate mortgage -- earth-shaking? Or teapot-tilting? June jobs data are as-was in May and April: 75,000 new jobs, poor, but afloat! The June data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) is more concerning, the overall manufacturing index (PMI) falling to 49.7 percent from 53.5 (a reading below 50 percent indicates the manufacturing economy is generally contracting). "Internals" also crashing: new orders down 12.3 to 47.8, and prices of raw materials collapsed another 10.5 to 37 (inflation risk is zero). For comparison, China and all of Europe are lower in the 40s, Spain below the 44 marking serious recession. Libor -- the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate, published by the British Bankers Association since 1986 -- is not an independently verifiable market benchmark. It's compiled by survey, and posted at 11 a.m. GMT each day, in maturities ranging from ove...