Continue reading NYC sales tax hike: A regressive tax the economy doesn't need

NYC sales tax hike: A regressive tax the economy doesn't need originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our feature on Money Winners of 2008. See them all.

In Michael Bloomberg, you're dealing not just with a person, but with a brand.

Bloomberg, of course, in 1982 founded what is now Bloomberg LLP, the firm that runs Bloomberg News, a financial news service that competes with Reuters, Dow Jones, and News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) to provide breaking news, features, data, and analytics, among other products, to financial players worldwide.

Bloomberg ingeniously developed a product that essentially aggregated, summarized, and presented financial market data at a time when financial institutions -- particularly bond market participants -- were ripe for such a product, and along with editor and former Wall Street Journal reporter Matt Winkler, built a financial news empire known for its speed, accuracy, and comprehensive coverage of the markets.

Bloomberg's reward for the above, in monetary terms? About $20 billion in estimated net worth, good for eighth place on Forbes magazine's 400 Richest Americans list.

Continue reading Money winners of 2008: Michael Bloomberg, the man and the brand

Money winners of 2008: Michael Bloomberg, the man and the brand originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Another good potential Treasury Secretary neither brought up is Michael Bloomberg. The founder of Bloomberg LP (where I worked for seven years) clearly knows the markets. He's rich and has shown savvy in navigating New York City's political landmines that Washington should be a walk in the park. Too bad he's got his heart set on a third time as mayor.

Continue reading Obama, McCain both want Warren Buffett as Treasury Secretary

Obama, McCain both want Warren Buffett as Treasury Secretary originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Want a classic example of how the real estate slump is affecting not only the construction industry and home owners, but also states and municipalities, as well?

Consider the plight of the nation's largest city, the City of New York.

Wall Street's mortgage losses have ballooned to such a degree that some firms may pay small or no taxes for years, Bloomberg News reported. That's right: no taxes for years.

Rising tax revenues, no more

For much of the current decade, indeed for much of the 1990s as well, the city could count on rising tax revenue from Wall Street firms -- based on increased securities industry business -- as a starting point for the city's budget. Not now: the city, which derives about 20% of its revenue from Wall Street businesses, is projecting a decline in revenue from Wall Street firms -- a contraction that is expected to widen the this year's $1.5 budget deficit in fiscal 2009 to $2.3 billion next year, fiscal 2010, and then to $5.96 billion in fiscal 2011 budget deficit, Bloomberg News reported. The city's budget for fiscal 2009 is $59.1 billion.

The Wall Street recession has put the social service goals of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on hold, for the most part. Bloomberg has already asked city department and agency heads to implement a 6.4% spending cut; he will likely ask department heads to identify other cost savings of up to 3%, should revenues continue to come in below projections.

Continue reading All economics is local: Wall Street slump cuts New York City tax revenue

All economics is local: Wall Street slump cuts New York City tax revenue originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Merrill Lynch may get offer for Bloomberg stake from Mike Bloomberg originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The logical buyer for Merrill's Bloomberg stake is Mike Bloomberg

The logical buyer for Merrill's Bloomberg stake is Mike Bloomberg originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Okay, I'm filing this under "things you get to do if you have more money than God."

On Thursday, Mike Bloomberg, mad genius, obscenely rich guy, and mayor of New York, announced that he would not be pursuing an independent Presidential run in 2008. The next day, he followed that up with a statement that he is considering backing another Presidential candidate ("Backing," in this context, translates into "roughly a billion dollars in campaign funding"). While everyone has assumed that he is planning on helping one of the three current front-runners, his vague wording opens up another possibility.

You see, when Bloomberg announced that he had decided not to run, he stated that an independent candidate "could win the race," but that it wouldn't be him. This makes perfect sense: the relatively poor showing of previous independents, coupled with the fact that being perceived as a "spoiler" tends to make one incredibly unpopular, convinced the big B that he didn't want to wreck his career on a failed candidacy. However, just because he doesn't want to be 2008's Ralph Nader doesn't mean that he is willing to completely turn his back on the White House. After all, why should he risk his neck when there are so many other people willing to put themselves out there?

Continue reading Help wanted: Crazy billionaire seeks Presidential figurehead

Help wanted: Crazy billionaire seeks Presidential figurehead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Media World: Merrill likely to sell Bloomberg stake to Mayor Mike

Media World: Merrill likely to sell Bloomberg stake to Mayor Mike originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 12:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's been three weeks since our Money Face-Off feature ran here at BloggingStocks and on AOL, offering you the opportunity to share who you though had the financial edge in a series of twenty head-to-head match-ups. So I thought I'd take another look and see how things have worked out.

It's hard to pick just one big winner. In terms of the largest lead over a rival, Ivanka Trump easily beats Paris Hilton with 89% of the vote. Others holding big leads over their opponents include Tiger Woods, Warren Buffett, Steven Spielberg, and Rupert Murdoch.

In terms of receiving the most votes, the clear leader is the Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart match-up, with just short of 150,000 votes. Other big vote getters were Tiger Woods vs. David Beckham, Rudy Giuliani vs. Michael Bloomberg, and Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs. In terms of the liveliest discussions in the comments, the winners are Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart, Erin Burnett vs. Maria Bartiromo, and Bono vs. Angelina Jolie. Also check out the comments for the J.K. Rowling vs. J.R.R Tolkien, Tiger Woods vs. David Beckham, and Ivanka Trump vs. Paris Hilton posts.

As for the face-off posts here that got the most attention, the clear winner is Erin Burnett vs. Maria Bartiromo, with more than 13,000 hits. Lindsay Lohan vs. Britney Spears and Oprah Winfrey vs. Martha Stewart also attracted lots of readers.

Results for all the face-offs follow below, but keep in mind that the voting is still open. It's not too late to add your vote or let us know what you think.

Continue reading Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett

Money Face-Off Big Winners: Oprah, Tiger Woods, Ivanka Trump, Erin Burnett originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Thomson Corp. (NYSE: TOC) and Reuters Group Plc. (NASDAQ: RTRSY) joining forces to fight a common enemy: Bloomberg Plc. LP

The company founded by New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg -- and my former employer -- is the 1,000 pound gorilla in the business data market. It has gained marketshare at the expense of both Reuters and Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ) for years.

Bloomberg and Thomson were on friendly terms until fairly recently. Then, Thompson wouldn't answer questions from Bloomberg reporters about the company's earnings estimates. Eventually, Bloomberg decided to do its own polls of analysts.

The combined company may be able to erode Bloomberg's pricing power. When I first started with Bloomberg, it was a mark of status on Wall Street to have your own Bloomberg terminal. Most users that I see now share a Bloomberg to save money.

Nonetheless, Thomson and Reuters have a tough challenge. In addition to Bloomberg, there's the potential that a Rupert Murdoch-owned Dow Jones can pour money into digital publishing products that compete against offerings of the merged company. The Bloomberg threat isn't theoretical.

Though the Bloomberg terminals aren't cheap and aren't very user friendly for the untrained, it's tough to beat their functionality. Many companies have tried and failed to develop a "Bloomberg killer" over the years. Bloomberg terminals even have survived the Internet age.

But it's going to take more than just data for the combined Thomson-Reuters to thrive. More and more financial data is available on the Internet for free. Most individual investors don't need the proprietary data that these companies offer. To survive, they will need compelling content, which in the old days was called news.

Can Thomson-Reuters take on Bloomberg? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 May 2007 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.