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Monthly Archives: April 2011

A Decision of Last Resort

“Despite increasing signs of a stabilizing U.S. economy, 19 percent of Americans — including 17 percent of full-time workers — have been compelled to take money from their retirement savings in the last year to cover urgent financial needs, the Financial Security Index found.”

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Doug Kass: This is 2008 all over again

“The “2011 is 2008 all over again”-meme has really exploded in the last few days, obviously helped by the fact that the dollar is near its 2008 lows, and oil is near its 2008 highs, combined with the fact that the market (for now) seems oblivious to it all.

Doug Kass is the latest to jump on the bandwagon.

In a Real Money column today, he writes:

It is clear to this observer that the U.S. economy’s forward momentum peaked in February as first-quarter 2011 growth, expected to be +3.5% 90 days ago, looks closer to +1.5% now…”

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Citi Analyst: 2 Rounds of Austerity Needed to Prevent a S&P Downgrade

“The U.S. government is going to need to enact two rounds of painful austerity measures if it wants to avoid and S&P downgrade, according to Citi Managing Director Steven Wieting.

Wieting says that it’s rising healthcare costs that will prevent one round from being enough. In fact, he believes it is “inevitable” that debt to GDP will rise as a result of the aging U.S. population.

From Steven Wieting:

According to quite reasonable estimates from the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. is on course to have the world’s largest federal healthcare system relative to GDP in under 15 years. Yet that system would cover only those aged-65+ and a segment of the lower income population, or roughly 1/3rd of the public. In most other advanced countries, lower spending levels provide limited, rationed, but fairly universal access to healthcare for all. Strikingly, the U.S. healthcare contribution to fiscal deficits is more severe than Japan’s despite far easier demographic challenges for the U.S. ”

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April Dallas Manufacturing Data Suggests “Slower Growth Output”

“….we get the second validation of the theory that the Q2 GDP is about to get the rug pulled from underneath it. The April Dallas manufacturing number came precisely at the borderline we expected earlier would mean an outright downgrade of Q2 economic data by Goldman, or 10.5%. Of note: The production index, a key measure of state manufacturing conditions, moved down from 24 to 8, suggesting slower growth in output.” We thing the proper word is “plunged.”

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Supreme Court rejects quickened hearing on ObamaCare

The Supreme Court announced today that ObamaCare will procede through the normal processes, and not be expedited for viewing by the justices.

This is the second time an expedited review has been refused. By this precedent, any review of the law by the Supreme Court will not take place for some time, probably a few years. The law needs to wind its way through the appellate courts.

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Early Morning Winners and Losers

No. Ticker % Change
1 SUF 37.00
2 HRZ 16.20
3 CEDC 15.49
4 PLCM 12.43
5 SOHU 11.30
6 IGT 10.23
7 HNSN 8.22
8 TZOO 8.05
9 PLUG 7.96
10 ACAD 7.59
11 APP 7.26
12 OCZ 6.54
13 LOCM 6.35
14 AIB 6.07
15 ZAGG 5.79
16 DANG 5.50
17 USAT 5.45
18 TTMI 5.43
19 DRL 5.38
20 CHINA 5.25
21 SODA 5.24
22 BWEN 5.23
23 UAN 5.16
24 OTIV 5.04
25 YOKU 4.96
——————————–
1 XPRT -19.80
2 LUNA -8.26
3 MMG -7.69
4 TRGL -7.68
5 GPL -6.89
6 IL -6.65
7 PANL -6.55
8 DCTH -6.30
9 ASTI -5.81
10 CHTP -5.80
11 BKS -5.76
12 AG -5.62
13 YRCW -5.45
14 PARD -5.26
15 BVN -5.18
16 ABX -5.16
17 EXK -4.92
18 JAG -4.55
19 CDE -4.52
20 UXG -4.42
21 BSFT -4.33
22 OME -4.30
23 MMI -4.29
24 INCY -4.18
25 CCRT -4.17

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Buy Brazil or Die

“China had the Olympic Games, South Africa had the World Cup.

Brazil will soon host both — within two years of each other.

Now that’s ambition and recognition.”

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EPA halts Alaska well drilling

The EPA board voted to withold air permits from shell, effectively deadlocking the companies efforts to drill.

Shell Oil Company has announced it must scrap efforts to drill for oil this summer in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska. The decision comes following a ruling by the EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board to withhold critical air permits. The move has angered some in Congress and triggered a flurry of legislation aimed at stripping the EPA of its oil drilling oversight.

Shell has spent five years and nearly $4 billion dollars on plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The leases alone cost $2.2 billion. Shell Vice President Pete Slaiby says obtaining similar air permits for a drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico would take about 45 days. He’s especially frustrated over the appeal board’s suggestion that the Arctic drill would somehow be hazardous for the people who live in the area. “We think the issues were really not major,” Slaiby said, “and clearly not impactful for the communities we work in.”

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