Financial News

[KipWellsFan]

I have a friend who is in the financial field in Chicago and he thinks it'll be 2 more years before the economy even starts to turn around for the better.

 

I have a question: A.) Do you believe this? And B.) Why isn't the economy a national crisis issue. This issue needs to be ATTACKED as much as the terror issue and all other SERIOUS issues.

WTF? People are outta work.

 

 

Well I think that's exactly what Obama was trying to do with this tax cut deal. But government's can only create so many jobs in the short term. America has to make itself more competitive in the long term. Things aren't going to be the way they used to be.

[StrangeSox]

None at all, huh? Which piece of the cake and eat it too do you want to talk about here?

 

You're missing the point of the estate tax and being happy with philanthropy. They're not in conflict.

[NorthSideSox72]

Is it really? I mean... ya'll are SO concerned about the wealthy and their tax rates, why don't they just give it to the government? It would reduce the deficit, and we are all learning about how much better the government can put money where it needs to go so much more efficiently then these charitable organizations can do, right?

 

Or, another angle, if you'd like... you mean these people get to CHOOSE where their money goes? The government can't take it away from them? Really?

 

Think about the ironly here a little.

 

I assume this was not really directed towards me, because I'm pretty sure I have not been advocating taxing the rich into oblivion.

 

 

I have a friend who is in the financial field in Chicago and he thinks it'll be 2 more years before the economy even starts to turn around for the better.

 

I have a question: A.) Do you believe this? And B.) Why isn't the economy a national crisis issue. This issue needs to be ATTACKED as much as the terror issue and all other SERIOUS issues.

WTF? People are outta work.

A.) Every indication has been that the economy has been in recovery for a year or more, but more importantly, has begun to recover in a mroe meaningful way in the past few months. So it depends on what your friend means. If he really thinks it will be 2 years before it "even starts to turn around for the better", then your friend needs to keep up with the news a little better, because that's been happening for a while. If he/she means it will be 2 years before unemployment is substantially better, then I agree.

 

B.) It IS a national crisis issue, what indication have you see that its not?

 

 

[Balta1701]

A.) Every indication has been that the economy has been in recovery for a year or more, but more importantly, has begun to recover in a mroe meaningful way in the past few months. So it depends on what your friend means. If he really thinks it will be 2 years before it "even starts to turn around for the better", then your friend needs to keep up with the news a little better, because that's been happening for a while. If he/she means it will be 2 years before unemployment is substantially better, then I agree.

I'd say the real issue is that the stimulus and the QE1 bailouts brought us to a point where we're essentially hovering; we're sitting right around 9.6% unemployment and have been for basically 9 months, and although there's a more meaningful recovery slowly kicking upwards, we're still in such a deep hole that the pace of improvement right now will give us a full decade before we're back to reasonable employment levels, and that assumes another crisis doesn't happen.

 

So yeah, the question for your friend is "How you define starts to get better?" If he means "Unemployment starts slowly ticking down", probably by the end of 2011 if there's no tax package agreed on, probably earlier if there is one. If your friend means "below 7% unemployment"...well...

[Chisoxfn]

The company I work is up for sale. Stock price is skyrocketing. Announcement came in the Wall Street Journal last night.

[Cknolls]

You're missing the point of the estate tax and being happy with philanthropy. They're not in conflict.

 

 

They are with BUFFET, he owns how many insuarance companies. He is a f***ing turd.

[Balta1701]

They are with BUFFET, he owns how many insuarance companies. He is a f***ing turd.

Well, at least we're being civil.

[greg775]

I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means.

This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years?

[Rex Kickass]

I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means.

This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years?

 

No.

 

[Chet Lemon]

Treasury: Financial bailout income at $35 billion

(AP) – 1 day ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government's heavily criticized $700 billion financial rescue program has earned nearly $35 billion in income over the past two years, according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

 

The data showed that income from the Troubled Asset Relief Program rose nearly 17 percent through November, compared to where it stood in October. The income was boosted by the government's ongoing sales of Citigroup stock.

 

The $35 billion estimate will be included in the monthly report on the bailout that is due to be released later Friday. The AP obtained the data in advance.

The new total is up from the nearly $30 billion in income shown in the previous report covering the program's finances through October.

Much of the added income came from the government's sale of Citigroup common stock. The Treasury Department sold off the last of its stake in the giant banking company Tuesday, ending up with a profit of $12 billion on the government's investment of $45 billion.

 

Smaller amounts came from dividend payments from other banks that received support from the bailout fund, and also from dividends from the support provided to the former financing arm of General Motors.

 

While income from the bailout has risen, the estimates of its overall final costs have been dropping. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office slashed its estimate of the projected losses from the bailout program to $25 billion, down from an August projection of $66 billion and a March forecast that the program would cost the government $109 billion in losses.

 

The CBO credited TARP's brighter prospects to continued repurchases of preferred stock by banks that received the bailout funds, a lower estimated cost for assistance to insurance giant American International Group and automakers Chrysler and GM.

 

TARP, which was developed by the previous Bush administration and passed by Congress at the height of the financial crisis in October 2008, became widely unpopular with the public.

 

Republicans used voter unhappiness with the bailout and soaring federal budget deficits to pick up six Senate seats in the November elections and take control of the House.

 

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/articl...e13c24125d77357

[Balta1701]

I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means.

This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years?

[NorthSideSox72]

I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means.

This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years?

1. Too early to say how good or bad he is in any case, the guy's not even been Prez for 2 years yet. Usually can't really see them in good, full perspective relative to others until after they leave office.

 

2. So far, I'm not overly happy with him, but so far he's an improvement over the last guy (which isn't much of a hurdle).

 

Perceptions of Presidents change with time. For example, in terms of Presidents I actually remember... My opinions of Reagan and Bush 43 have gone downhill oveafter their departures, while my opinions of Clinton and Bush 41 have gotten better. Carter, pretty much the same at this point - good man, lousy President.

[KipWellsFan]

I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means.

This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years?

 

Do you even remember the last guy?

[Balta1701]

Wall Street is bracing for another round of indictments as early as next week in a massive insider trading probe, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.

 

The move by Federal prosecutors may include a number of arrests, according to these people.

 

The indictments right at the height of the holiday season may prove a tactical advantage for prosecutors, sources in the legal community say.

Link

[kapkomet]

Do you even remember the last guy?

 

 

LMAO. You guys have no sense of history at all. GWBDS.

[mr_genius]

I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means.

This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years?

 

we'll have to wait until his final 2 years are over. so far, he's been an obvious failure.

 

Edited December 12, 2010 by mr_genius

[NorthSideSox72]

Batch of morning reports...

 

November retail sales rose more than expected; 0.8% versus 0.5% expected. October revised up from 1.2% gain to 1.7% gain.

 

Survey of CEO's indicates confidence in increased hiring in 2011 on increased sales.

 

Markets rallying on news.

 

[Balta1701]

Link

During a private commission meeting last week, all four Republicans voted in favor of banning the phrases "Wall Street" and "shadow banking" and the words "interconnection" and "deregulation" from the panel's final report, according to a person familiar with the matter and confirmed by Brooksley E. Born, one of the six commissioners who voted against the proposal.

 

This would be sorta unbelievable if it weren't already so in-character. I can understand how "wall street" might be termed pejorative by some, and perhaps "Hedge funds" and "banks" and "Financial firms" is actually a more apt use. But "Interconnection"? "Shadow banking"? Those are pretty much the definition of how the crisis happened. Lehman Brothers's fall wouldn't have caused a run on the shadow banking industry if it wasn't for the fact that they were all interconnected. The fact that banks were keeping things off their books and using overnight lending to cover for that fact, aka "Shadow banking" is exactly where the real run/freezup happened. You can't tell the story without it.

[NorthSideSox72]

Jobless claims fell again, by 3k to 420k. Still below the magic 425k line, both in recent and the moving average.

 

Housing starts rose modestly but are still very low - that's actually a good thing.

 

FedEx, who is a good barometer of consumer and business spending, raised their 2011 earnings projections.

 

[Y2HH]

Link

 

 

This would be sorta unbelievable if it weren't already so in-character. I can understand how "wall street" might be termed pejorative by some, and perhaps "Hedge funds" and "banks" and "Financial firms" is actually a more apt use. But "Interconnection"? "Shadow banking"? Those are pretty much the definition of how the crisis happened. Lehman Brothers's fall wouldn't have caused a run on the shadow banking industry if it wasn't for the fact that they were all interconnected. The fact that banks were keeping things off their books and using overnight lending to cover for that fact, aka "Shadow banking" is exactly where the real run/freezup happened. You can't tell the story without it.

 

Well said.

[Balta1701]

This is solid. The Chinese housing bubble as seen through Google Earth.

[lostfan]

Well said.

holy s*** world is ending. Y2HH and Balta not arguing. If kap comes in and co-signs on a BigSqwert post I'm going to s*** my pants.

[kapkomet]

holy s*** world is ending. Y2HH and Balta not arguing. If kap comes in and co-signs on a BigSqwert post I'm going to s*** my pants.

 

 

It has happened before. Go wipe your ass.

[Balta1701]

Well, that's efficient.

On Nov. 30, employees at Sanofi-Aventis pharmaceuticals, the world's fourth-biggest drugmaker, received an email from the company wishing them a happy Thanksgiving and telling them to check their email again at 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2.

 

A.R., a Sanofi-Aventis sales representative in California who wished to remain anonymous, as her contract forbids publicly disparaging the company, said she and her coworkers each received one of the two mass emails the company sent out that Tuesday morning. Both emails contained a code, an 800-number and a call time, either 8:00 a.m. or 8:30 a.m. The employees who were instructed to call in at the earlier time were told they could keep their jobs, but the 1,700 employees who called in at 8:30 a.m. weren't so lucky: They were laid off by a voice on the other line that told them to stop working immediately, and had no opportunity for question or comment.

[Y2HH]

holy s*** world is ending. Y2HH and Balta not arguing. If kap comes in and co-signs on a BigSqwert post I'm going to s*** my pants.

 

There are rare times he says something that's actually true/right/correct.