Monthly Archives: August 2012
Unemployment Benefits Go to Millionaires Because of a Loophole in Current Law
“Among the many Americans who collected unemployment checks during the Great Recession were thousands of millionaires who legally received jobless compensation.
People with incomes of $1 million or more are entitled to file and receive unemployment benefits — just like everyone else in the same situation. More than 2,800 millionaires were given unemployment benefits in 2008, and another 2,362 in 2009, according to a new reportfrom the Congressional Research Service (CRS).”
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J&J Sued for Misrepresentation of Health Benefits
Having lost a billion-dollar case over illegal marketing of its pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson is now being sued for misleading consumers about the artificial sweetener Splenda.
“Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary, McNeil Nutritionals, has claimed Splenda Essentials can help people lose weight and live healthier lives, according to Barbara Bronson, one of the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit.
The company’s advertising says Splenda Essentials provides B vitamins, antioxidants, and other ingredients that can lead to weight loss and the avoidance of disease, among other health benefits.”
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Paul Ryan’s ‘Path To Prosperity’ Hurts Americans In These 10 Ways
“Paul Ryan’s budget proposals have earned him recognition from his fellow party members in Congress, and the presumed Republican vice presidential nominee’s plans could have far-reaching effects on the American people if signed into law.
In Ryan’s 2010 “Roadmap for America’s Future” and the more recent “Path to Prosperity” in 2012, the Wisconsin congressman has laid out his vision for the role of the U.S. government and the future of federal entitlement programs.
Under Ryan’s most recent proposal, the way Americans pay taxes would be markedly different. Taxpayers would fit into two tax brackets: Individuals falling in the top tax bracket would pay a rate of 25 percent, while those who fall into the lower bracket would pay 10 percent. (Ryan’s 2010 Roadmap plan went further, eliminating all taxes on capital gains, inheritance and interest. Such cuts would have permitted individuals like Mitt Romney, who derives much of his income from those sources, to get away with paying nothing in taxes.)”
Comments »S&P Chart Analysis
U.S. Economic Confidence Stays Low — Gallup
“The latest data from Gallup indicates that confidence in the U.S. economy remains near January levels of -27. The index has been wobbling in a tight range of -23 to -29 since late May. Gallup’s confidence index consists of two parts, one which assesses current conditions and one that assesses the economic outlook.”
Comments »BoA: The Market Is Engaged In ‘Wishful Thinking’ And Things Are Going To Collapse Again In Europe
Dormant Software Said to Cause Knight Capital’s trading Fiasco
Market Update
U.S. equities rally a bit on good retail sales numbers, ignoring bad PPI data.
Europe is closing in the green as countries lie Germany and France sidede step GDP contraction..or at least their GDP shrank less then expected. Greece also provided a head fake for markets to rally. Media reported on a successful bond auction of 4 billion euros, but in reality the money is coming from the ECB to which the european banks are doling the money out for treasury auctions in Greece….great ponzi scheme indeud.
Overall a sleepy market today.
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BofA Poll: Investors Turn More Optimistic on Global Growth, Increase Equity Holdings
” Investors have increased their equity holdings and slightly trimmed cash this month as they became more optimistic on global growth in the wake of stronger expectations of ECB intervention, a closely watched fund managers’ survey showed on Tuesday.
Global investors also increased their holdings of real estate to their highest in five and a half years as appetite for risk somewhat picked up, the monthly survey by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch (BofAML) showed.”
Comments »Birinyi: I Am Still a Bull, Just a More Cautious One
“Noted stock-market bull Laszlo Birinyi, of Birinyi Associates, says he’s still upbeat on U.S. equities but just a bit more optimistic these days.
Steering currents guiding the direction of markets are hard to find, namely due to the European debt crisis and the looming “fiscal cliff” in the U.S., a combination of scheduled expiring tax breaks and government spending cuts that will kick in at the same time at the end of the year. A cooling Chinese economy also clouds the horizon, making it even more difficult to craft investment strategies.
“There are too many variables which are beyond our capabilities to absorb and forecast,” Birinyi said, according to USA Today. ”
Comments »Shilling: ‘We are in a Recession’ Already
“Many experts believe that the economy is stuck in slow-growth mode, but economist A. Gary Shilling, president of economic research and forecasting firm A. Gary Shilling & Co., thinks it’s worse than that.
“We are in a recession in the U.S., and indeed it’s global, that we’re either in a recession or entering one,” he told Yahoo.
“If you look at the U.S., the problem is you haven’t had the income to support consumer spending. That really goes back to the weak employment.”
Comments »Michael Kors Blows Away Expectations
Marc Faber Snoops Out European Stocks as He Foresees China in a Major Slowdown
“China’s economy will slow “considerably,” said Marc Faber, the publisher of the Gloom Boom & Doom report, who is buying European stocks.
“The growth rate we had in the last 10 years, which was around 10 percent annually, is going to slow down considerably,” Faber told Tom Keene and Ken Prewitt in a “Bloomberg Surveillance” radio interview yesterday. “I would rather wait to buy Chinese stocks until we see the result of the stimulus packages.”
Comments »Gapping Up and Down This Morning
Gapping up
ANW +9.2%, HD +2.6%, TTM +2.4%, SAN +2.2%, MLNX +1.8%, BCS +1.5%,
DEG +2.9%, MCP +2.4% , ARMH +0.4% , KORS +13.8%, VELT +10.8,
ANW +9.2%, WX +7.3%, ARRY +4.8%, EL +4.5%, CEL +4.2%, AGU +3.1%,
MNST +1.6%,
Gapping down
ENVI -43.9%, SUMR -31%, GRPN -18.7%, MWE -4.3%, EDR -3.1%, TRS -0.9%,
WEN -1.4%, LUV -1%, VALE -0.5% , CLSN -8.5%, TRS -0.9%,
Comments »Upgrades and Downgrades This Morning
CYOU, EMN, ELN, EXPE, GSK, GRPN, KYAK, MCP, OMX, PANW, ZZ, SCSS, LUV, VALE, WEN,
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
Good or Bad ? Fear in the Markets Have Nearly Vanished
“There are plenty of things to be fearful of these days: Europe could go back to explode mode at any second. US political uncertainty. A downturn in US data, etc.
But investors are showing plenty of signs of not caring.
From the latest note from BTIG’s Dan Greenhaus comes an important observation about the VIX, the index which measures how much investors are willing to pay for downside protection via options. It’s sometimes called the fear index because it rises with more fear.
Anyway, lately it’s been stunningly mellow, with the VIX dropping day after day.
Says Greenhaus:”
Comments »$HD Beats the Street and Ups Guidance
“Home Depot raised its fiscal-year earnings outlook on Tuesday as tight cost controls helped the world’s largest home improvement chain offset sales weakness and beat Wall Street’s profit estimates in the latest quarter.”
Comments »Americans Increase Credit Card Debt by 6% in Q2
“Americans are carrying more credit card debt than a year ago, yet the late-payment rate for card holders remains near an 18-year low, an analysis of consumer-credit data shows.”
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