Pending news.
Comments »Yearly Archives: 2012
JC Penny Out With A New Plan to Revamp Business
Market Update
Comments »Stocks have drifted off of session highs. Gains remain solid, though.
Fed Chairman Bernanke is currently engaged in a question-and-answer session. He stated that although the economy has showed some positive signs, there have been mixed results in such areas as retail sales. He also added that if inflation remains below target and employment remains slow there is a case for further policy action.
Before Bernanke took the podium, the Fed released a downwardly revised economic outlook for 2012. The Fed now expects GDP to grow in a range of 2.2% to 2.7% this year, down from a range of 2.5% to 2.9%
A List of Companies That May Be Facing Chapter 11
LINEBACKER RAY LEWIS WITH SOME AWESOME PERSONAL FINANCE ADVICE
I Don’t Trust My Baby Mamawith My Money!
NFL superstar Ray Lewis admits he fathered an 11-year-old boy in Florida … and he’s totally willing to provide support — with one caveat … he doesn’t want the baby mama to get her hands on the money.
According to court documents filed in Florida, Lewis has an ongoing paternity case over his son with a woman named Sharnika Kelly. In court papers, Lewis acknowledges being the father, but the issue of support is slightly more contentious …
According to the docs, Lewis is hesitant to fork over money to Kelly because he says she has an outstanding judgment against her in a civil case … totaling over $1,000,000.
In the docs, Lewis says he has “grave concerns about the Mother’s character” and feels she’ll siphon off money meant for his son … either to pay off her debt or support her other child … not Ray’s.
Lewis is asking the court to establish a guardianship for his son to manage any support Lewis eventually pays.
The couple had a hearing scheduled for last month, but Lewis had to reschedule because he had a game in San Diego. The judge has yet to rule on his request.
Live Fed Conference
Fed Sees Slower Growth But Offers No Hint Of More Easing
The Federal Reserve, ending a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, repeated its view that the economy faces “significant downside risks” but it offered little to suggest it was close to launching another round of bond-buying to prop up growth.
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Its forecasts pointed to somewhat weaker economic growth this year and next, compared with Fed estimates published in November.
It did say, however, that it would maintain a “highly accommodative” monetary policy stance.
Earlier Wednesday, the Fed pushed back the likely timing of an eventual interest rate hike until late 2014, much later than it had previously said, because of the still-sluggish economic recovery.
In a historic step that it has touted as an effort toward greater transparency, the Fed also announced an official inflation target of 2 percent, and for the first time published individual policymakers’ forecasts for the federal funds rate.
These showed quite a wide range of views, including three of 17 policymakers who expect rates will need to rise this year and two others who do not see any increase until 2016.
Still, the biggest concentration of estimates was around 2014.
The assurance that rates would remain near zero for at least some 18 months longer than previously believed was enough to drive a steep rally in U.S. government bonds and push stocks into positive territory.
Economic conditions “are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014,” the central bank said in a statement.
Many investors had expected the Fed to push its expectations for the first rate hike into 2014, but few had thought it would be late in the year. After every previous policy meeting dating back to August, the Fed had said rates were not likely to rise until mid-2013.
The central bank also appeared more sanguine on the inflation outlook, suggesting prices were now rising at a pace consistent with policymakers’ goals. The statement also dropped a reference saying the Fed was monitoring inflation and inflation expectations.
Aside from the 2014 rate pledge, the Fed’s statement hewed closely to its last policy pronouncement in mid-December. It described the unemployment rate as still elevated and said it expects inflation to remain at levels consistent with stable prices.
In a slight shift, it acknowledged signs that business investment has slowed.
“I think what they are seeing is that the rate of growth is not sufficient to bring down the unemployment rate,” said Brian Dolan, chief strategist at FOREX.com in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker, an inflation hawk who rotated into a voting seat this year, dissented against the decision.
He preferred to omit the description of the time period for ultra-low rates.
In response to the deepest recession in generations, the Fed slashed the overnight federal funds rate to near zero in December 2008.
It has also more than tripled the size of its balance sheet to around $2.9 trillion through two separate bond purchase programs.
The policy is credited with having prevented an even more devastating downturn, but it has been insufficient to bring unemployment down to levels considered normal during good economic times.
In December, the U.S. jobless rate stood at 8.5 percent, and some 13 million Americans were still actively looking for work but could not find it.
While forecasters expect the U.S. economy grew at a 3 percent annual rate in the last three months of 2011, they look for growth of just around 2 percent this year.
Fed officials appear likely to bide their time in determining whether more monetary stimulus is needed.
Many economists expect they will eventually decide on another spurt of Fed bond buying – probably one focused on mortgage debt.
Comments »Commentary: Jon Stewart is a Sniveling Little Douchebag
(via Ace of Spades HQ)
Straight-Shooter Jon Stewart: I Can’t Believe Mitt Romney Makes $57,000 Per Day
That’s So Much More Unbelievable Than My Own $41,000 Per Day
Gotta love a TV clown complaining someone else is overpaid and too rich.
“That’ses almost–that’s almost $57,000 a day!” Stewart exclaimed. “Here is the most amazing part: the guy doesn’t even have a job! That is f*cking interest! That is the kind of money that might lead a man to make stupidly extravagant out-of-touch impulse bets!”
Jon Stewart’s annual salary is $15 million per year (and I assume he’s also got interest income on top of that from previous banked salary), which is more than $41,000 per day.
Plus — interest and investment income, which is not reflected in that figure.
But he’s earned it. He was once on Remote Control or something.
$41,095 Per Day
At that level or below, you’re Middle Class.
Above that, you’re just taking too much damn money from The People.
Thanks to George.
Comments »Fed delays rate hikes from “never” to “never ever”
Comments »WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it will not raise interest rates until at least late 2014, even later than investors expected, in an effort to support a sluggish economic recovery.
Without making major shifts to its outlook for the economy, the central bank described the unemployment rate as still elevated and said it expects inflation to remain at levels consistent with stable prices.
It depicted business investment as having slowed, dowgrading its assessment from the December meeting.
Economic conditions “are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014,” the central bank said in a statement.
Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, an inflation hawk who rotated into a voting seat this year, dissented against the decision. He preferred to omit the description of the time period for ultra-low rates.
FLASH: U.S Equities Pare Losses Off Dovish Fed Statement
Rich unlikely to sit and take tax hikes
Read here:
Comments »The rich are different from you and me, F. Scott Fitzgerald famously observed. And it’s not just because they have more money, as Ernest Hemingway equally famously responded. Unlike the rest of us, they don’t stand still for taxes.
That comes to mind with the proposals outlined in President Obama’s State of Union address Tuesday that would effectively codify the so-called Buffett Rule — that billionaires should not pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries. With the secretary of the chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway seated next to the First Lady, the president proposed that those earnings over $1 million pay a minimum 30% federal tax rate. That would mean no deductions for mortgage interest, health care, retirement savings or child-care benefits, although the deduction for charitable deductions would be preserved.
It also presumably would do away with the preferential treatment of capital gains and dividends, which for 2012 are taxed at a 15% top rate. As things stand, along with the Bush-era ordinary-income tax rates, those taxes on investments are slated to rise to their previous levels: 20% top rate on capital gains and ordinary-income rates on dividends, which would be as high as 39.6%.
Under Obama’s 2012 budget proposals — which at this point are just that, proposals — the hike on capital gains and dividends would be limited to 20% to “upper-income” tax payers, which would be married couples with 2013 taxable income over $241,900. Joint filers below that would still pay 15% on dividends and capital gains — if the Administration’s budget proposals are enacted. For higher earners, it would be 20% on cap gains and ordinary-income rates on dividends.
And don’t forget that “unearned income” will be subject to the 3.8% Medicare tax for couples with “modified adjusted gross income” over $250,000. That would apply to interest, dividends, annuities, royalties and rents.
Along with Occupy Wall Street, it’s apparent Washington has the so-called 1% of top earners in its sights. No matter that the top percentile already accounts for 37% of taxes. And Obama’s call for higher taxes on million-dollar earners comes as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney published his 2010 taxes, which showed he was taxed at less than a 15% rate owing to his income coming from dividends and capital gains.
Romney gets flakey on tax loophole comments
Read here:
Comments »If elected president, Mitt Romney might consider ending a tax break that helped the former Massachusetts governor accumulate his fortune, an aide suggested Tuesday.
The comments came as the Romney campaign made available more than 500 pages of tax-return data for 2010 and 2011 amid signs the issue was hurting him with some voters.
Later in the day, in a signal of how the tax issue is roiling the GOP campaign, the Romney camp tried to step back from the aide’s remarks, underscoring that the former Massachusetts governor didn’t want to raise anyone’s taxes.
The back-and-forth Tuesday about Mr. Romney’s approach to one particular tax break began when Lanhee Chen, the candidate’s policy director, indicated in a call with reporters the candidate might be willing to reconsider a tax break known as “carried interest” as part of a comprehensive tax overhaul. The break gives private-equity and venture-capital executives a relatively low 15% tax rate on much of their income.
[More from WSJ.com: Megaupload’s Ripple Effect]Carried interest is a share of profits from an investment fund or partnership given to managers as compensation. Mr. Romney was aided by the tax advantage as founder of private-equity firm Bain Capital.
Mr. Chen noted Mr. Romney hasn’t recently addressed retention of the carried-interest break. He spoke favorably of it in 2008. There are “a number of exemptions, deductions, credits, administrative treatment of income…that would be addressed in tax reform,” Mr. Chen said.
No Change in Interest Rates… QE 2.5 Underway by Not Raising Rates Until At Least Late 2014
The Top 7 Reasons to Never Go on a Cruise {Slideshow}
{HILARIOUS VIDEO} AUSTRALIAN LAWMAKER HAS HERMAN CAIN SYNDROME!
(via NY POST)
CANBERRA, Australia — A senior Australian lawmaker was at the center of an embarrassing plagiarism gaffe Wednesday after he delivered a speech with lines taken straight out of the Michael Douglas movie “The American President.”
Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese’s stirring address to journalists at the National Press Club in Canberra was uncannily similar to a speech Douglas made in his role as US President in the romantic comedy.
“In Australia, we have serious challenges to solve, and we need serious people to solve them,” Labor Party lawmaker Albanese said Wednesday.
In the movie, Douglas’ character, Andrew Shepherd, tells a news conference at the White House, “We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious men to solve them.”
Albanese’s speech went on to attack the leader of the opposition, Tony Abbott.
“Unfortunately, Tony Abbott is not the least bit interested in fixing any of them. He’s only interested in two things — making Australians afraid of it and telling them who’s to blame for it.”
The rest of Douglas’ address in 1995 movie was, “And whatever your particular problem is, friend, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who’s to blame for it.”
The similarity between the two speeches was spotted by Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane, who put a video of Albanese’s speech along with the scene from the movie on YouTube.
“I was going through the torture of watching [Albanese] at the Press Club, when suddenly I thought to myself — I’ve heard all this before,” Loughnane told Australian political website The Punch.
Read more: http://trade.cc/acsi
Comments »Today’s Top Industries
IMF: Risk of Deflation is Rising in Some G20 Nations
HSBC Faces Investigation for Money Laundering
Tweets From Davos
Money Flows, Heat Map, and the S&P A/D Line
Money Flows
ISSUE GAINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Apple AAPL NASD 448.66 +343.7 1.24
Corning Inc GLW NYSE 13.22 +24.7 2.01
Guidewire Software GWRE NYSE 16.62 +23.7 4.86
General Electric GE NYSE 18.86 +18.5 2.36
EMC Corp EMC NYSE 25.40 +17.0 1.92
IBM IBM NYSE 190.22 +15.5 1.49
Boeing BA NYSE 73.08 +12.8 1.39
AT&T T NYSE 29.88 +11.3 3.08
Procter & Gamble PG NYSE 64.58 +10.5 2.19
Caterpillar CAT NYSE 106.58 +10.2 1.49
WellPoint Inc WLP NYSE 65.11 +10.1 1.20
Abbott Labs ABT NYSE 54.99 +9.2 1.50
Verizon Communications VZ NYSE 37.50 +8.8 2.06
Baker Hughes BHI NYSE 46.55 +8.6 1.67
Bristol-Myers BMY NYSE 32.37 +8.3 2.38
Occidental Pete OXY NYSE 100.34 +7.7 1.45
WW Grainger GWW NYSE 198.72 +7.3 1.73
Natl Oilwell Varco NOV NYSE 74.49 +7.2 1.70
Merck MRK NYSE 38.35 +6.8 1.78
Life Technologies Cp LIFE NASD 49.56 +6.8 1.36
ISSUE DECLINERS SYMBOL EXCH LAST PRICE MONEY FLOW RATIO
(in millions)
Qualcomm QCOM NASD 59.26 -75.7 0.32
Google GOOG NASD 571.40 -52.7 0.72
Williams-Sonoma WSM NYSE 34.33 -37.2 0.06
ConocoPhillips COP NYSE 70.18 -28.4 0.51
Microsoft MSFT NASD 29.25 -25.2 0.38
ExxonMobil XOM NYSE 86.38 -21.7 0.45
Goldman Sachs GS NYSE 107.09 -19.8 0.61
Illumina ILMN NASD 52.37 -19.3 0.75
Costco Wholesale COST NASD 81.49 -17.7 0.14
Intel INTC NASD 26.62 -17.1 0.51
SPDR S&P 500 SPY ARCA 130.84 -15.7 0.91
Kraft Foods KFT NYSE 38.20 -14.9 0.18
Chevron CVX NYSE 105.28 -14.1 0.52
McDonald's MCD NYSE 98.70 -13.5 0.62
Citigroup C NYSE 29.39 -12.6 0.54
CA Inc CA NASD 25.14 -12.5 0.65
KT Crp ADS KT NYSE 15.00 -11.2 0.01
Pfizer PFE NYSE 21.50 -10.1 0.48
Altera ALTR NASD 39.20 -9.8 0.67
PwrShrs QQQ Tr Series 1 QQQ NASD 59.94 -9.7 0.74
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