I think you just advocated for smaller government. Therefore, Apple not paying taxes or any corporations for that matter is addressing the fact government wastes capital and the Federal budget should shrink until it is sustainable.
Apple is doing the right thing for shareholders and as a shareholder I am happy they are returning capital instead of earning next to nothing on the majority of their assets in a low interest rate environment.
The real problem (as the Fed stated today) is government policy. Corporations have an obligation to put shareholders first, even before paying taxes to the U.S. government, and Apple is maximizing value for the owners of the company. When government learns to operate efficiently and produce real results then corporations won't be caught in these situations. There is a huge amount of cash sitting offshore, tax holiday would bring it back and it could be invested domestically. Somehow this concept is too complex for pigs in Washington.
Facebook Remains A Short For 2 Prime Reasons [View article]
Eventually they need to show bottom line growth. Right now their growth is slowing, saturation in western countries. They are trying to monetize everything they can to boost sales and leverage existing users. I think they can do well within the next year or two but long term not a buy in my mind. The valuation is obsurd as well. P/E over 100x in any company has to be accompanied with a higher growth rate. It's PEG is over 9. Apple's PEG is below 1. What's a better buy?
The Facts Dispute The Claim That The Short-Term Volatility ETF Drifts Lower And Spikes Higher [View article]
VXX is a horrible trading vehicle. I made the mistake of buying VXX recently when the CBOE - VIX index was at 5 year lows. The only trade on this ETF is to sell out of the money calls or go short. As long as there is contango in the VIX this ETN will always lose value.
Einhorn And Buffett Are Right: General Motors Is A Great Buy [View article]
The GM bailout was a joke. The Treasury is supposed to take a $40 billion (ballpark) loss on the bailout not to mention the ridiculous accounting gimmicks. Not to mention UAW memebers were getting bonuses (avg of $7k) at the tax payers expense. The bank bailout actually produced profits for taxpayers (although i think it went straight to paying interest to the Chinese). I would never buy this stock based on what it represents (chrony capitalism) not to mention they make crappy cars. Any company/industry run by unions is the worst place to put your money and those sectors almost always underperform.
Gold might not be correlated to CPI inflation but it is correlated to central bank balance sheets which is what most people buy gold on. Really more about expectations of future inflation, which there is no guarantee will come.
I was never advocating going back on the gold standard. We can't at this point. Gold would be something like $20,000 an ounce if we had to back our money again. Central banking and fiat money has never succeeded over the long term when inflationary policies were undertaken. The point of being at least partially backed by gold is the fact governments can't go out and spend as much money as they want.
evan37 is right, the byzantine empire lasted almost a millennia on the gold standard. It was wars (costs associated with wars) and politcal fragmentation that brought down the empire. They grew there money supply, which was more difficult, at around the rate of GDP growth which brought economic stability over the long term. I agree you have to be able to grow the money supply but not exponentially, which is what's happening now.
I'm not sure how people can advocate for the policies that are causing our standard of living to go down and screwing future generations.
Didn't something happen in Germany post world war with printing money? Eventually when your currency can't buy anything then you can't inflate your way out of a crisis. No empire in history with fiat money and wreckless money printing has survived. I don't think the U.S. will be an exception. Wealth destruction through the financial crisis and now it's being continued through inflationary policies and ballooning debt obligations.
A GOP counter offer to the White House includes $800B in new tax revenues (but without higher rates), and $1.4T in spending cuts. House Speaker Boehner calls the White House's original proposal a "la-la land offer." [View news story]
The highest tax revenue year in U.S. history was 2007 under the Bush era tax policy. The point of keeping taxes lower for eveyone is that there is more disposable income to go into the economy. Not to mention it's the peoples' money that they earned and not some piggy bank for the government to steal when they enact irresponsible spending policies.
A GOP counter offer to the White House includes $800B in new tax revenues (but without higher rates), and $1.4T in spending cuts. House Speaker Boehner calls the White House's original proposal a "la-la land offer." [View news story]
The reason wages seem poor for working class folks is because globalization makes it easier to move operations to the most efficient environment, ie. China, Vietnam etc. Until their wages rise, which the are, and american wages become competitive again you won't see companies hiring in droves here.
Second, your standard of living is going down due to the monetary (printing money) and fiscal policies(the reason we are printing money) implemented by the Obama administration. Because of these policies $8 an hour buys a lot less than it did ten years ago. The 4% difference in top tax rates has little effect on global economic trends.
A GOP counter offer to the White House includes $800B in new tax revenues (but without higher rates), and $1.4T in spending cuts. House Speaker Boehner calls the White House's original proposal a "la-la land offer." [View news story]
Free rides for the wealthy? Are you assuming every wealthy person in America is a trust fund baby and no one who is a millionaire worked for their success.
Their is already capital flight from the U.S. which will get worse as globalization matures. Tomlos is right, you could take the entire net worth of the worlds billionaires and it would fund the U.S. budget deficit for four years! If that doesn;t put the spending problem in perspective for you then nothing will.
Investors Don't Understand Apple's Math - A Mistake [View article]
Good article, I agree with most of it except a ten for one stock split. Stock splits usually mark the end of positive run for stocks. Look at ORCL, CSCO, DELL, MSFT going into their all time highs. All these stocks had several stock splits during their run-ups and subsequently fell apart.
Aren't concensus estimates more like $50/share and $58 the year after that. Growth rates on top and bottom line are still pretty strong considering the size of the company. Annualized EPS growth of 14%. Not to mention Apples presence in China will keep earnings strong for a while to come. There is saturation in the U.S. smartphone market but abroad is where you will see the most growth. The stock is trading at lower multiples than its rivals which makes me think this is a buying opportunity. If you look at hedge fund ownership of Apple, which is at an all time high or at least it was until all the recent selling, then it is expected they are booking profits for year end performance numbers. The funds that are selling at $550 are the losers here and will probably be upset when Apple gets back to $600.
Monster Beverage To Follow The Lead Of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters? [View article]
The allegations are pretty much bogus and if you think we live in a health concious society then you are oblivious. People drink soda like water and energy drinks are no exception. The fastest growing companies in this segment are Redbull, Five Hour and Monster. Look at the research, it's published with MNST's quarterlies. Also as someone points out before there is no fraud here. It's a financially sound company that built it's reputation on health concious drinks (used to be called Hanson Natural, remember?) Monster Energy drinks are no different. IF you are going to make the bear case then point out some deteriorating financials or unrealistic valuation, not your opinion on where the beverage market is going or should go.
Gold Price: A Chart Pattern Quick Glance [View article]
Definitely not a cup and handle. 1550 will get tested again most likely. Descending triangle is there but is more bearish after a downtrend. Not too bullish on gold anymore.
Shame On You, Apple [View article]
Shame On You, Apple [View article]
The real problem (as the Fed stated today) is government policy. Corporations have an obligation to put shareholders first, even before paying taxes to the U.S. government, and Apple is maximizing value for the owners of the company. When government learns to operate efficiently and produce real results then corporations won't be caught in these situations. There is a huge amount of cash sitting offshore, tax holiday would bring it back and it could be invested domestically. Somehow this concept is too complex for pigs in Washington.
Facebook Remains A Short For 2 Prime Reasons [View article]
The Facts Dispute The Claim That The Short-Term Volatility ETF Drifts Lower And Spikes Higher [View article]
Einhorn And Buffett Are Right: General Motors Is A Great Buy [View article]
Prepare To Short Gold [View article]
The Keynesian Depression [View article]
evan37 is right, the byzantine empire lasted almost a millennia on the gold standard. It was wars (costs associated with wars) and politcal fragmentation that brought down the empire. They grew there money supply, which was more difficult, at around the rate of GDP growth which brought economic stability over the long term. I agree you have to be able to grow the money supply but not exponentially, which is what's happening now.
I'm not sure how people can advocate for the policies that are causing our standard of living to go down and screwing future generations.
The Keynesian Depression [View article]
A GOP counter offer to the White House includes $800B in new tax revenues (but without higher rates), and $1.4T in spending cuts. House Speaker Boehner calls the White House's original proposal a "la-la land offer." [View news story]
A GOP counter offer to the White House includes $800B in new tax revenues (but without higher rates), and $1.4T in spending cuts. House Speaker Boehner calls the White House's original proposal a "la-la land offer." [View news story]
Second, your standard of living is going down due to the monetary (printing money) and fiscal policies(the reason we are printing money) implemented by the Obama administration. Because of these policies $8 an hour buys a lot less than it did ten years ago. The 4% difference in top tax rates has little effect on global economic trends.
A GOP counter offer to the White House includes $800B in new tax revenues (but without higher rates), and $1.4T in spending cuts. House Speaker Boehner calls the White House's original proposal a "la-la land offer." [View news story]
Their is already capital flight from the U.S. which will get worse as globalization matures. Tomlos is right, you could take the entire net worth of the worlds billionaires and it would fund the U.S. budget deficit for four years! If that doesn;t put the spending problem in perspective for you then nothing will.
Investors Don't Understand Apple's Math - A Mistake [View article]
Apple: Still Calm Before The Storm [View article]
Monster Beverage To Follow The Lead Of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters? [View article]
Gold Price: A Chart Pattern Quick Glance [View article]