Apple's (AAPL) effective tax rate of 14% is just a smidgin lower than IBM at 15% and Google (GOOG) at 17%. And Apple's hardly on the lowest rung: Amazon's (AMZN) rate is just 6%, Ford's (F) 3%, and Carnival's (CCL) just 1%. In trying to untangle what S&P 500 companies pay in taxes, David Leonhardt finds top executives are exceptionally shrewd at holding tax rates down. (infographic) [View news story]
Finger pointing at either Corporations or Congress solves nothing. Herman Caine had the only solution to our tax code mess - simplify tax codes so much that Lobbyists/Congressmen could not manipulate the code without publicity exposing their 'deal making' . The country would be a far better place if 40,000 DC lobbyists were unemployed and congressional campaign donations (bribes) were lower. Maybe then Banks would go bankrupt when they lost all their money? Wow, capitalism.
General Motors Vs. Ford: What's In The Cards For Their Future? [View article]
This article is disingenuous. As has been stated countless times at Seeking Alpha, the $16 billion in Ford Credit debt is sound, and has a very low default rate. It is not "racially engineered" like mortgage debt. It makes money for Ford, it doesn't cost money like other debt categories. Please do not include this debt in financial evaluations of Ford. Exclude that debt, and Ford is clearly doing better than GM. Market share increase is critical, so long as the company is profitable. Roger Smith (the evil accountant) managed GM into bankruptcy by ignoring market share losses and giving into ridiculous Union demands for a decade or so...which destroyed their profitability. Ford has a technically grounded ex-aerospace guy in charge, while GM has non-technical government/union selected management. We'll see how this works out - my bet is on Ford!
Modest European Improvement Could Propel Ford Higher [View article]
Ryansdad, you are like a broken record on Ford...and now Boeing. Ford's closing of European plants came early and decisively - and not as a 'band-aid' solution. They saw that Europe was going seriously down hill while GM jawboned Opel and did nothing substantive as Europe slid. Who will stop their losses in Europe first? And where did you get the MPG comment on the Dreamliner? With its geared Turbofan Engine and Composite Frame it has between 17 and 20 % better fuel economy than any airplane it competes with. If you don't like being Fact Checked, please just stay on the Huffington Post.
Confirmed: Central Banks Now Buying Stocks [View instapost]
This explains a lot. Why do I have a strong feeling the government bureaucrats will not do a good job of investing - but will politicize their stock selections? This could end very badly.
The luxury automobile market in China could take a minor hit with a new regulation banning military license plates from high-end sellers including Lincoln (F), Cadillac (GM), Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF.PK), and Porsche ((POAHY.PK). Though official numbers are hard to come by, the practice of high-ranking officers driving luxury vehicles is common. [View news story]
Mao Tse Tung drove nothing but Buicks. So, I noticed that Buicks aren't on the list....advantage GM. He still has a huge influence on the Chinese people ... per a Chinese neighbor who grew up under Mao. Mao cachet.
Ryan dan. So, let's get some numbers out there, as you suggest. By the way, I do own Ford, and it's working quite well for me....3% dividend, retired at age 55 with 150,000 shares bought at $2, and complete confidence that this stock will go to $20.
Profit Margin (TTM): Toyota 3.5% GM 4.06% Ford 4.22% PE Ratio: Toyota 18 GM 10 Ford 9 Return on Equity: Toyota 8% GM 16% Ford 36%
Your unsubstantiated put-downs of Ford & Alan M.'s 'bandaids' just don't agree with my universe. I won't insult you, but I do hope you sold me your shares at $2 and that's why you're so bitter.
Ryandan. You clearly have a political agenda, which would be better appreciated on the Huffington Post blog. Seeking Alpha is a business blog, with factual analysis favored over opinions, misinformation and name calling. Please switch back to Huffington or MSNBC, you'll have more fun 'preaching to the choir'.
Could There Be A Silver Lining To Declining Labor Force Participation? [View article]
Thank you D. Kranzler. I read this and thought " this is why economists must never have any power in an economy". Talk about no common sense in an analysis! People are dropping out of the labor force because they can't find jobs, or would rather retire (myself) early or get added to the government welfare roles than take a crappy job.
Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally says the company will continue to oppose Japan's entry into free trade talks with the United States until the nation opens its markets for more U.S. cars and works on measures to strengthen the yen. The exec called the automobile market in Japan the most closed in the world. [View news story]
The Japanese manufacturers spend huge money in the US, influencing our politicians...google Bill Clinton's cabinet guy Ron Brown/registered Japanese agent for verification. The lawyers and bankers that rule this country really don't understand (or care) that manufacturing is the foundation of an economy. They say they do - but lying seems to come easy to these self-serving groups. While these folks dominate the country - this will not change and our manufacturing (jobs) will continue to disappear overseas. Asian power elites (China, Japan, Korea) understand this and have used it to their economic advantage for decades.
Electric vehicle wrapup: 1) A Reuters article takes a harsh look at the cost of Norway's government-assisted push into electric vehicles. Pure market share is up to 3%, but the numbers aren't adding up. 2) Another win for Tesla Motors (TSLA +0.4%) in its battle against auto dealers as Minnesota takes steps to allow the automaker to open retail stores in the state. 3) Henrik Fisker is reported to be leaving Fisker Automotive due to a disagreement with the management of the company he founded. [View news story]
Norway gets almost 100% of its electricity from hydroelectric power. This fact keeps its electric costs down, not the offshore oil. In the US environmentalists block new dams or even adding hydroelectric facilities to existing dams. We are sooooo dumb it hurts. Don't believe me, check electric rates in Washington state and Idaho, the most 'hydroelectric developed' area of the US.
Boeing's (BA) board may decide next month to start taking bookings for an updated 777, which would incorporate lightweight carbon-composite wings. Boeing is on the verge of deciding to offer airlines just GE engines for the plane rather than a choice, meaning that Rolls Royce would miss out. Separately, NTSB investigators are narrowing their 787 probe to the batteries rather than other components of the Dreamliner's electrical systems. [View news story]
I worked at the United Technologies Florida P&W engine plant and the Sundyne pump plant in Denver. I'd put P&W somewhere between GE and Rolls....generally closer to Rolls. United Technologies top management seemed pretty clueless, especially in Connecticut to Florida engine technology transfers and relations. Lots of bright engineers in Florida (15 years ago, anyway). Sundyne pump was a touch lower than whale manure...especially in configuration control, quality and overall engineering talent. I'd buy an Egyptian family on a 'treadmill bucket pump' before I'd buy a Sundyne centrifugal pump....just sayin.
Boeing's (BA) board may decide next month to start taking bookings for an updated 777, which would incorporate lightweight carbon-composite wings. Boeing is on the verge of deciding to offer airlines just GE engines for the plane rather than a choice, meaning that Rolls Royce would miss out. Separately, NTSB investigators are narrowing their 787 probe to the batteries rather than other components of the Dreamliner's electrical systems. [View news story]
I've worked in both GE and Rolls Royce's engineering departments, and this is a very good decision by Boeing. Rolls Royce was a complete cluster f***, while GE was the best managed technical company I have worked at.
Years ago I bought a brand new Audi Fox. Even though it had terrible reliability ratings at Consumer Reports, I had faith that the venerable Fox models would have had the bugs worked out. The cover on the sunroof panel was loose and hanging down on my head within a week. The dealer reglued it, but told me the Audi supplied glue didn't work very well. He was right. The car quit running on a mountain drive...which turned out to be a jammed electric fuel pump. I tore it apart, and found a spalled piece of metal that had fatigued off and gotten jammed in the tight rotor clearance (bad heat treat and/or stress analysis) This happened within a year. After about 3 years,(40,000 miles) I noticed I was using oil and blowing it out the pipes. The local Audi service man told the valve guide seals go out on all these engines around 40,000 miles and I needed a 'redesigned' engine for around half the worth of the car. I sold it to a nice young lady who (like yourself) was looking for 'German engineering'. Somehow, I don't feel guilty....
Celanese Announces Advancement of MOU with PERTAMINA to Develop Fuel Ethanol Projects in Indonesia [View article]
And our politicians still mandate that all US ethanol be made from corn? Even when drought conditions cause US food prices to soar due to lack of feed corn. About 44% goes to ethanol production. My understanding is that we are the Saudi Arabia of coal - so our own companies (CE) are building ethanol from coal plants in China and Indonesia? Huh? We must get the control freaks out of Washington, and let market forces work. Central planning has never worked, does not work and will never work in the long run.
Austerity Is Bad For The Economy (And The Sequester Is Even Worse) [View article]
LK. I think you missed the math point on gerrymandering. Restated: When some congressional districts vote over 90% for one party, but the rest don't vote that lopsided, it skews the ratio of Blue voters to Red Voters higher than their actual representation. This is math, not just lawyerly opinion - readily available on the web. Your recommendation to 'ungerrymander' the districts will not fix this - assuming you see it as a problem. I agree with you that gerrymandering puts radicals from both parties in office. The only way I can think of (Dottie Lamm of Colorado also proposed this some years ago) for fixing that would be a Constitutional amendment to force equal numbers of registered voters in as many districts as possible. Not likely to happen soon.
Apple's (AAPL) effective tax rate of 14% is just a smidgin lower than IBM at 15% and Google (GOOG) at 17%. And Apple's hardly on the lowest rung: Amazon's (AMZN) rate is just 6%, Ford's (F) 3%, and Carnival's (CCL) just 1%. In trying to untangle what S&P 500 companies pay in taxes, David Leonhardt finds top executives are exceptionally shrewd at holding tax rates down. (infographic) [View news story]
General Motors Vs. Ford: What's In The Cards For Their Future? [View article]
Modest European Improvement Could Propel Ford Higher [View article]
Confirmed: Central Banks Now Buying Stocks [View instapost]
The luxury automobile market in China could take a minor hit with a new regulation banning military license plates from high-end sellers including Lincoln (F), Cadillac (GM), Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF.PK), and Porsche ((POAHY.PK). Though official numbers are hard to come by, the practice of high-ranking officers driving luxury vehicles is common. [View news story]
Ford's Turnaround Story Continues [View article]
Profit Margin (TTM): Toyota 3.5% GM 4.06% Ford 4.22%
PE Ratio: Toyota 18 GM 10 Ford 9
Return on Equity: Toyota 8% GM 16% Ford 36%
Your unsubstantiated put-downs of Ford & Alan M.'s 'bandaids' just don't agree with my universe. I won't insult you, but I do hope you sold me your shares at $2 and that's why you're so bitter.
Ford's Turnaround Story Continues [View article]
Could There Be A Silver Lining To Declining Labor Force Participation? [View article]
Ford (F) CEO Alan Mulally says the company will continue to oppose Japan's entry into free trade talks with the United States until the nation opens its markets for more U.S. cars and works on measures to strengthen the yen. The exec called the automobile market in Japan the most closed in the world. [View news story]
Electric vehicle wrapup: 1) A Reuters article takes a harsh look at the cost of Norway's government-assisted push into electric vehicles. Pure market share is up to 3%, but the numbers aren't adding up. 2) Another win for Tesla Motors (TSLA +0.4%) in its battle against auto dealers as Minnesota takes steps to allow the automaker to open retail stores in the state. 3) Henrik Fisker is reported to be leaving Fisker Automotive due to a disagreement with the management of the company he founded. [View news story]
Boeing's (BA) board may decide next month to start taking bookings for an updated 777, which would incorporate lightweight carbon-composite wings. Boeing is on the verge of deciding to offer airlines just GE engines for the plane rather than a choice, meaning that Rolls Royce would miss out. Separately, NTSB investigators are narrowing their 787 probe to the batteries rather than other components of the Dreamliner's electrical systems. [View news story]
Boeing's (BA) board may decide next month to start taking bookings for an updated 777, which would incorporate lightweight carbon-composite wings. Boeing is on the verge of deciding to offer airlines just GE engines for the plane rather than a choice, meaning that Rolls Royce would miss out. Separately, NTSB investigators are narrowing their 787 probe to the batteries rather than other components of the Dreamliner's electrical systems. [View news story]
Ford Headed For Another Drop? [View article]
Celanese Announces Advancement of MOU with PERTAMINA to Develop Fuel Ethanol Projects in Indonesia [View article]
Austerity Is Bad For The Economy (And The Sequester Is Even Worse) [View article]