No Increase For Social Security Recipients
The millions of Americans who get social security will not see their payments rise next year and probably not the year after. The cost of living increases that have been in place for thirty…
All Work
Douglas A. McIntyre
The Double Dip: Roubini Tries To Stay Relevant
Nouriel Roubini became just like every other economist recently. He said that the recession was ending. He may believe that the recovery will not start as quickly as other experts, but his love of…
The Coming Swine Flu Recession
There was a lot of analysis that went on when the early cases of swine flu were reported from Mexico. The WHO began to talk about a pandemic which raised the specter of the…
Larry Ellison: The Return Of The Dollar A Year Man
Steve Jobs worked at Apple (AAPL) for $1 a year in 2000, just before the launch of the iPod which completely changed the company’s fortunes and made him astonishingly wealthy. Lee Iaccoca worked for…
Media Digest 8/24/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: A faltering stock market may make it hard for China to cut financial support to the capital markets. Reuters: Roubini warned of a double dip recession. Reuters: Warner Chilcott will buy the P&G…
Asia Market And Europe Open 8/24/2009
Markets in Europe were sharply higher. The Nikkei rose 3.4% to 10,581. The Hang Seng rose 1.5% to 20,500. Sinopec (SNP) and PetroChina (PTR) both jumped. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.2% to 2,993. At the…
The Unusual Suspects (MELA, FSLR, GENZ, GERN, JEC, SHLD, SIRI, CRM, SPPI)
It’s the weekend, and that brings about the review of “the unusual suspects” for strange activity or for being key stocks under review for the week ahead. There are some old hat names here…
White House Deficit Estimate To $9 Trillion From $7.1 Trillion
The Administration quickly and fairly quietly raised its budget deficit forecast for the next ten years to $9 trillion from $7.1 trillion, an astonishing 27% increase. The new estimate is much closer to the…
Meredith Whitney’s Good News… Only 300 Bank Failures (BAC, C)
Notorious bank analyst Meredith Whitney of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group is out with some new harsh predictions calling for the demise of more banks. It is actually not all really bad news, but she…
Higher Oil Brings Mixed Data on Rig Counts (BHI, OIH, USO, OIL)
Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) has released its weekly data on rig counts, and it seems that the suddenly higher oil prices are reversing some declines. There has still been no set direction between gains…
Are Housing Gains A Sham? (XHB, ITB, URE, HD)
This morning’s July data for existing home sales, or used homes, posted another gain and this makes it the fourth consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors. This created more excitement in…
Top Day Trader Alerts (SIRI, CRM, FNM, FRE, BRCD)
These are this Friday’s top day trader and active stock alerts. We have more detailed data on volume and price analysis with links through to VSInvestor.com on each stock: SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ:…
Analysts Duel Over Solar Stocks (ASTI, CSUN, ENER, ESLR, FSLR, SFUN, STP, SPWRA, YGE)
Jefferies has made some key downgrades in the solar sector this morning. There are few other calls that were upgrades from rival firms, but the downgrade seems to be more front and center as…
Prison For China Pirates Of Microsoft Products
There are a number of estimates of what piracy in China costs American software companies. Most are in the $2 billion to $4 billion range. It could be much more than that. China is…
Housing: The Well-To-Do Start To Default
No one was particularly surprised that the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey showed defaults reaching record levels. The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate…
Starbucks (SBUX) Lowers Prices, Or At Least Some Of Them
Starbucks (SBUX) has come up with a plan to lower prices on many of its drinks and raise prices on others. The process is almost certainly not random, but the company’s thinking will not…
Why GM Should Run The National Stimulus Program
In its history, GM never made an important decision in less than ninety days. That changed recently when the auto maker said it would reimburse its dealers for money they had given to their…
Media Digest 8/21/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg
Reuters: Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT) are battling to control home entertainment but consumers are slow to adopt their technologies. Reuters: The “clunkers” program will end on August 24. Reuters: GM is about to…
Asia Markets And Europe Open 8/21/2009
Markets in Asia were mixed The Nikkei fell 1.5% to 10,238. Shares in Toyota (TM) and Honda (HMC) fell. The Hang Seng was down .9% to 20,253. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.7% to…
The Cell Carriers’ Worst Nightmare: FCC Investigation Of Handset Deals
The partnerships between handset companies and cellular carriers in the US are too good to be true. The FCC has discovered that and the wireless industry may never be the same again. AT&T (T)…