“A national CNBC poll finds President Barack Obama holds a commanding lead over Mitt Romney on the key issue of who would be better for the economy over the next four years.

Obama gets that nod even though Americans, by overwhelming margins, believe the economy is worse now than it was four years ago whenObama’s term began.

Our latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey of 800 American adults across the nation shows Obama with a nine-point lead over Romney, 43 percent to 34 percent, on who would do a better job on the economy in the future.

At the same time, 55 percent say the economy is worse off than it was four years ago and just 22 percent think it’s better. Seventeen percent say it’s about the same.”

Full article

Comments »

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_s6ofhyqWw 450 300]

 

 

Comments »

Source

Since Obama has taken office ….
[through Q2 2012 for comparative purposes]

–> For every $1 added to the economy, we’ve added more than $3 in debt

–> added $5.23 trillion in debt vs. $1.68 trillion to the economy
–> 50% increase in debt vs. 12% increase in economic output

Total Public Debt:

$10,626T [Jan 20, 2009] $15,856T [Jun 30, 2012]

–> $5.23 trillion increase in debt

[source: Treasury Dept]

……

GDP

$13,923T [Q1 2009] $15,606T [Q2 2012]

–> $1.68 trillion increase in GDP

[source: BEA]

 

Comments »

From analysts to hedge fund managers we are seeing incredibly strong bullish sentiment across the board according to B.I.

Full article 

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-58-36lSqG4 450 300]

 

Comments »

Great article!

So here we find ourselves at the intersection of more QE, which has been highly anticipated for months by market participants, and an overbought and over bullish market.  I still believe this is a market top, and I am basing this upon the indicators, which I am suggesting to throw out the window for now as central banker interventions distort markets and market signals.  Hey, no reason to become roadkill in what might become a short covering stampede that will catapult prices higher.

Be sure to read the rest here to see the charts showing dumb and smart money metrics.

Comments »

Will September 12 be the day the markets get crushed. Bears are certainly going to know what’s up by then.

“Nearly one in two Germans has little or no confidence in European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, according to a poll released ahead of a closely watched ECB policy meeting later on Thursday.

The Italian ECB (learn more) chief is expected to lay out at the meeting the framework for the central bank’s new bond-buying program for stricken southern euro states like Spain and Italy.

Jens Weidmann, head of Germany’s influential Bundesbank, opposes Draghi’s plan and has not shied away from criticizing it publicly. Other German “hawks” have expressed concern that the ECB has been taken over by a southern cabal determined to bend the rules of sound monetary policy.”

Full article

Comments »

“This trick involves treating not just private-equity “performance-based fees” but management fees as capital gains rather than ordinary income.

This is wonky stuff, but for those interested in the details, here goes:”

Read more

Comments »

“As the income gap between rich and poor widens, a majority of Americans say the growing divide is bad for the country and believe that wealthy people are paying too little in taxes, according to a new survey.

The poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center points to a particular challenge for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose party’s policies are viewed by a wide majority as favoring the rich over the middle class and poor.

The poll found that many Americans believe rich people to be intelligent and hardworking but also greedy and less honest than the average American. Nearly six in 10, or 58 percent, say the rich don’t pay enough in taxes, while 26 percent believe the rich pay their fair share and 8 percent say they pay too much.”

Read more

Comments »

“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.”

Read more

Comments »

“U.S. small business sentiment fell for a third straight month in July as owners worried about sales revenue against the backdrop of weak domestic demand, an independent survey showed on Tuesday.

The National Federation of Independent Business said its optimism index eased to 91.2 last month from 91.4 in June.”

Full article

Comments »

“As American inequality rises, is the economy at risk of elite interest groups gaining political power and stifling competition?

Throughout history, this is how prosperous nations have lost their edge, according to “Why Nations Fail” byMIT economist Daron Acemoglu and Harvard political scientist James Robinson. Controlling elites block innovation to protect their own interests and growth eventually stalls.

Could that happen here?”

Full article

Comments »

I seem to remember something about upholding law, leading with ethics and morality…..

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmOZ3jtGtCc&feature=relmfu 450 300]

Comments »

Hit the bricks on these sites to help improve your knowledge and experience base.

Full article

Comments »

A little commentary from Ritholtz about the Sell Side Consensus Contrary Indicator…

Read the article and see the graph here.

Comments »

Does the latest bounce still have legs to run? Bespoke is out with there survey results showing there are more bears than bulls…

See the article and survey here.

Comments »

via NYPOST.com

Don’t like how stocks and bonds are performing? Here’s an asset you can wrap your arms around — literally.

Rising fears that traditional investing has become a lose-lose proposition have a growing number of wealthy folks seeing dollar signs in niche funds that invest in art, wine, musical instruments and even classic cars.

They’re known as “collectible” funds or “treasure” funds, and while they come with plenty of skeptics and potential pitfalls, they’re also promising returns reminiscent of the days before the Great Recession.

Sergio Esposito, founder of Union Square’s wine shop Italian Wine Merchants, said the wine fund he helped start in 2010, The Bottled Asset Fund, has been doing so well he hopes to launch another next year.

ANGEL CHEVRESST

ART OF THE DEAL: Sergio Esposito, in his Manahattan office, is seeing sparkling returns on his $8.2 million Bottled Asset Fund. Other funds invest in fine art and rare antique cars.

After selling its first batches of wine this year, the $8.2 million fund is now seeing profits upward of 30 percent, he said.

Try getting that out of the S&P 500 or even smart-money hedge funds.

It’s not just wine funds that are promising mouthwatering returns.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/vintage_returns_M3VjPkRiMdc8S0BY37Wp7I#ixzz221u2xpDs

Comments »

Via Bespoke, this is research is a must-read.

We track every Drudge headline at 9 AM, noon and 4 PM on daily basis going back to 2003 and tally the number of stories that were finance related using the Drudge Report’s massive archives service.  We essentially wanted to see how often a financial news story was a front-page headline and not just a Money section headline.  From a contrarian perspective, when financial stories dominate the front-page headlines on a regular basis, it’s probably getting close to an inflection point for the market, whether it’s a bottom or a top.  (We counted any story that involved the economy or any asset class as a finance related headline.)

Read the rest here.

Comments »

[youtube://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um1lA9m4wL0 450 300]

Time to check out South Park…Cheers !

Comments »

Mary J. Blige has learned a valuable lesson about running a charity since her foundation was slapped with a $250,000 lawsuit — telling TMZ, she let dumbasses handle her finances … and now she’s paying the price.

TMZ broke the story … Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now is being sued by TD Bank over a $250k loan it took out back in June 2011.

READ THE REST HERE 

Comments »

(AP) – U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply in May and is at the lowest level since January, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Conference Board.

The findings contradicted Friday’s survey by Thompson Reuters/University of Michigan, which showed consumer sentiment at its highest level in four and a half years.

Neither is wrong, economists said. They were taken at different times during the month and were affected by a range of changes in the economy, including slower job growth, lower gas prices and volatility in the stock market.

Economists say the two indexes usually track each other over time, though occasionally they diverge.

Brian Bethune, an economist at University of Amherst, said the two indexes will likely converge in the coming months.

“The truth probably lies somewhere in between,” he said.

Read the ways surveys differ here:

Comments »