Continue reading Greenspan: Let Bush's Tax Cuts Expire

Greenspan: Let Bush's Tax Cuts Expire originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the year following Bush's dividend tax cuts, the Dow Jones rose 16%. When the tax cuts expire in a few months, will the market drop?

One method of evaluating stocks is that they are worth the present value of all the future cash flows. This can make dividend stocks particularly attractive to investors because they get paid rent or a dividend for holding a company. If conditions change and those future dividends are no longer expected, a stock can suddenly be worth a lot less. This is a large reason why we see stocks drop suddenly at earnings announcements or when companies revise outlooks.

Continue reading Dividend Stocks to Plunge 16% Due to Tax Increases?

Dividend Stocks to Plunge 16% Due to Tax Increases? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Jul 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When you spend $787 billion, there's a lot of pressure to show results. So, there's no surprise that success is being proclaimed across the country. States are saying that they've used the federal stimulus package money to create or save more than 388,000 jobs this year. Teachers, construction workers and other professions have realized the upside of stimulus cash according to reports from 33 states and Puerto Rico, with the remainder of the results being released on Friday.

Of course, the numbers "should be taken with a grain of salt," says Ethan Pollack of the Economic Policy Institute. The states were tasked to count the jobs created or protected, but the results have been of dubious accuracy. This doesn't mean the stats can't provide fodder to people on both sides of the aisle.

Columbia Business School's Frank Lichtenberg says the data shows a solid economic impact, and the Obama administration's Council of Economic Advisors believes the stimulus spending has taken care of between 600,000 and 1.1 million jobs.

And, there are those who disagree.

Continue reading Race to declare victory for stimulus

Race to declare victory for stimulus originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Mr. President, congratulations on passing your $787 billion stimulus bill. We hope it helps to lessen the pain of the declining economy. But the stock market has been tanking and record numbers of people are joining the ranks of the unemployed. Going to Canada for your first Presidential trip is the opposite of W's first trip to Mexico. And your talk about gloomy economic prospects stands in sharp contrast with W's out-of-touch proclamations of solid economic fundamentals. But doing the opposite of W is not going to cut it.

Are you wondering why there's bailout backlash? I think it may be because we need you to put your communications skills to work by giving us a recovery roadmap. In concept, this is a simple idea -- just tell us:

Continue reading Memo to President Obama: We need a recovery roadmap

Memo to President Obama: We need a recovery roadmap originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Rich got richer under Bush, but they paid more taxes

Rich got richer under Bush, but they paid more taxes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• 23% of the American people said they would miss Bush, 25% said Bush managed government effectively, and about a third said he would go down in history as a good president.

Continue reading When evaluating economic polls, subtract 15-20%

When evaluating economic polls, subtract 15-20% originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Exploiting a weakness in the U.S. Constitution, Bush became president in 2000 despite losing the popular vote. He ignored an August 2001 Presidential Daily Brief titled: Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S. Then he used that attack -- along with some trumped up evidence of WMDs -- to justify an invasion into Iraq that killed thousands of people and cost trillions.

Now as Bush goes on his self-pity tour before he (hopefully) leaves office in less than a week, bin Laden is apparently still alive and enjoying a last laugh at Bush. Bin Laden's latest video blames Bush for weakening America which permitted Israel to invade Gaza. Bin Laden is partially right -- Bush has weakened America.

Continue reading Bin Laden's latest video blames Bush's weakness for Gazan plight

Bin Laden's latest video blames Bush's weakness for Gazan plight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A Democrat as the new President. Usually the party favors unions. They give a lot of money. Democrats can also count on unions to endorse them and turn out the vote. Now it is time for the party which will control The White House and Congress to pay labor back.

It may not be that simple. According to The New York Times, "labor invested more than $300 million to help elect Mr. Obama and enlarge the Democratic majority in Congress, and it expects both to enact legislation that will make it easier for millions of workers to unionize."

The most obvious case that unions may not do as well as they had hoped is the UAW. Many car workers believe Obama may ride to their rescue. The Bush Administration said the UAW would have to go along with large cuts as their part of helping GM (NYSE:GM) and Chrysler. But, potential loans form the Obama Administration to the car companies may not push the union so hard.

The car companies are probably a bad example and the newspaper industry is probably a better one. It was once one of the largest employers in the US and is still a huge provider of jobs. No so long ago the unions representing reporters, drivers, and pressmen had the leverage with management to dictate terms which put their members solidly into the middle class. As the newspaper industry has moved into a downward cycle, these unions have lost their bite.

The Obama Administration could do something for the newspaper unions. It could help bail the industry out by giving papers loans. It could help guarantee jobs. But, that won't happen. The newspaper unions will die no matter what they did to get the Democrats in office. Obama knows there is only so much money to go around. If there is not enough to help unionized industries, that's tough luck.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

As unions look to Obama, their hopes may be false originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ray of light: Treasury extends $17.4 billion TARP loan to GM, Chrysler

Ray of light: Treasury extends $17.4 billion TARP loan to GM, Chrysler originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Texas Instruments Cuts Forecast
• For Now, Big Three Off Bankruptcy Brink

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: The end of Bush is the source of this rally

Cramer on BloggingStocks: The end of Bush is the source of this rally originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have not always agreed with your policies. But we're all human. You even apologized for the financial crisis and the Iraq War. This makes me think you've got legacy on your mind. If so, consider this: there is no way that pardoning Mike Milken, Bernie Ebbers and Conrad Black before you leave office will boost your legacy.

Granted, those pardons would be far less significant to historians than the things you've already apologized for, but why add to your post-presidential aggravation? Here are the reasons not to pardon these three:

• Milken - As i posted, Milken paid $650 million in fines and went to jail from March 1991 until January 1993 for securities law violations. He's a white-collar crook who's spent decades trying to burnish his image. It has not worked on me.
• Ebbers - Bernie Ebbers was convicted of orchestrating an $11 billion accounting fraud that brought WorldCom into bankruptcy, making it the second biggest in history. Lehman Brothers' recent $639 billion tops the list.
• Black - Black formerly headed Hollinger International Inc and was a member of Britain's House of Lords. He was found guilty of defrauding shareholders and entered prison in March 2008.

Continue reading Memo to the President: Don't pardon these crooks

Memo to the President: Don't pardon these crooks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

George W. Bush is beginning to realize he made some mighty big mistakes. He admitted today that he's sorry the stock market and economy have collapsed because it happened under his watch. And he thinks that there was an intelligence failure when it comes to those Iraqi WMDs.

He'd like us to believe that he was just a passive victim of all this bad stuff that happened around him. If he is really that clueless, I need help understanding how he got "elected" twice. In any case, there's plenty of evidence that Douglas Feith created the WMD evidence to please Dick Cheney.

And Bush repeatedly ignored warnings that subprime mortgages were being abused and that securitization was creating a huge risk for the economy. He also failed to apologize for two other memorable events during his presidency -- his August 2001 decision to ignore that President's Daily Brief called "Osama bin Laden determined to strike in U.S." and his famed New Orleans Katrina flyover, capped by his heck of a job Brownie comment.

Bush has left the U.S. in a sorry state -- and I'm sorry, but sorry won't cut it.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Bush says sorry, a little too late originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Banks were warned exotic mortgages were often inappropriate for buyers with bad credit. Anyone surprised about that?
• Banks that bundled and sold mortgages were told to be sure investors know what they were buying. We know that's not true. AAA ratings were given to much of this debt that proved to be of much lower quality and much more risky.
• Regulators urged banks to help buyers make responsible decisions and clearly advise people that interest rates might skyrocket and huge payments might be due sooner than expected. Do you believe that mortgage brokers or banks clearly warned people about the dangers of the loans they were taking? I don't.

Continue reading Bush administration ignored regulators' warnings of mortgage meltdown

Bush administration ignored regulators' warnings of mortgage meltdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Should Congress buy millions of Big 3 vehicles for government fleet?

Should Congress buy millions of Big 3 vehicles for government fleet? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Why we should invest in GM, Ford and Chrysler

Why we should invest in GM, Ford and Chrysler originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like the automobile industry is being led like a turkey to the slaughter as we approach Thanksgiving. While companies like General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) have been working overtime to produce a fleet of statistics to bolster their case for a Washington bailout, it's clear that President Bush and the Republicans are eager to wield a sharpened ax on its ever-more vulnerable neck.

The pre-bailout buildup follows the same narrative structure as the one for the Iraq war and the $810 billion bank bailout bill. With the Iraq War, the specter of a mushroom cloud was dropped on our unsuspecting heads. With Paulson's plan for a reverse auction to buy toxic waste, it was the threat of heavenly retribution. And now, the auto industry is promising 2.5 million lost jobs and $200 billion in government costs -- up from $125 billion last week -- if Washington does not bail it out.

The political forces lining up against the automobile industry appear more powerful than those who want to bail it out. While congressional Democrats want to divert $25 billion from Paulson's plan to bail out the auto industry, Bush and the Republicans oppose the idea. And until January, they appear to have the upper hand.

Continue reading Republicans to Detroit: Drop dead

Republicans to Detroit: Drop dead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading GM or Ford bankruptcy 'is economically and psychologically unacceptable'

GM or Ford bankruptcy 'is economically and psychologically unacceptable' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Pelosi backs tax cut as Congress eyes passing two stimulus packages

Pelosi backs tax cut as Congress eyes passing two stimulus packages originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will our 43rd president help the auto industry fend off the threat of bankruptcy? No. Over the weekend, General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler owner, Cerberus Capital, tried to get $10 billion of the $810 billion bank bailout bill to help finance their merger. Yesterday, Bush turned down the request. While Barack Obama supports help for the auto industry, John McCain does not. And since no reason was given for the turn down, we are free to draw our own conclusions for Bush's decision.

I think the case for not bailing out the auto industry has been severely weakened by the decision to bail out Wall Street. After all, if it's OK to give our money to the executives of big banks that got us into the financial crisis so they can pay themselves multi-million bonuses, there is no meaningful reason why everyone should not get a bailout.

I think that GM and Chrysler got themselves into their current mess by continuing to push gas guzzling, but highly profitable, minivans and SUVs rather than investing the profits in fuel efficient vehicles. And the industry has already gotten approval for $25 billion in loans to pay for fuel efficient vehicles that it should have built with profits earned during the boom years.

Continue reading Bush to GM: Drop dead

Bush to GM: Drop dead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yesterday, I posted on George W. Bush's parting gift for America -- a shrinking economy due to declining consumer spending and a swelling of the ranks of the unemployed. But President Bush left ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) with a far sweeter gift -- it's best quarter in history. Thanks to $4+ a gallon gasoline prices, Exxon made $14.8 billion in the third quarter. That 51% rise in profits set a record for a U.S. company and marked the 9th of the last 12 quarters in which Exxon made more than $10 billion in profit.

I think that's awfully generous of President Bush. But how exactly did he help Exxon? First, the government pursued a weak dollar policy supported by trillions of tax cuts for the top 1%, cutting interest rates from 5.25% to 1%, raising the national debt from $5 trillion to $11.3 trillion, and running a Federal deficit likely to hit $1 trillion in 2009. Since oil is traded in dollars, the weaker the dollar, the higher the oil price. Second, he allowed speculators to run through the Enron loophole to control 81% of the oil trading volume, which allowed them to drive up its price to $147 a barrel by buying oil and shorting the dollar.

Continue reading Does Exxon need a $40 billion bailout?

Does Exxon need a $40 billion bailout? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.