Overstretched state budgets are the next credit crisis casualty, Meredith Whitney says, and here's part of the reason: fat-cat pensions for government workers. Nina Easton predicts a "new rebellion" when cities are forced to "lay off current cops to pay for the vacations of retired officers" and other drastic cuts. [View news story]
Promised pensions can only be null and void if a municipality or state government declares bankruptsy. If the municipality or state tries to nullify the contract they can and will be successfully sued. i believe that those localities who overreached with these promises should be forced into bankruptsy, then parks, or other properties owned by the government divied up among the bondholders, pensioniers, etc. Kind of like Bernie Madhoff and all those he swindled. It is the only way it won't happen again.
Examining the Chances of a Market Crash Before the Mid-Term Elections [View article]
If that were true that the party that holds the White House could and would do such a thing, to manipulate the market prior to an election, then why did the Market crash so badly prior to the general election that brought Obama to power. I believe it slid three weeks prior to election.
Second, it won't matter. Republicans are so far ahead in the generic poll the Dems are going to get slaughtered anyway.
Third, it appear Obama wants Congress to go republican. Gibbs announced the Republicans are going to win the House. An article in Time magazine pointed out that now donors will give more to republicans based on what Gibbs said (eg admitting defeat) and it is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps Obama wants to run against a Republican congress in 2012 due to his poor ratings. Sounds plausible to me.
For these reasons I don't believe intervention will occur, but this is a great article nonetheless.
July Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment:66.5 vs. 75 expected and 76 in June. Expectations 60.6 vs. 70.7 expected. It's the lowest reading in 11 months, just 2.5 months after peaking. "Income and job prospects were extraordinarily weak and those bleak prospects have made consumers much more cautious spenders," the survey said. [View news story]
wall street is similar to hollywood in that only a select few get hired to work there. Wall street creams the crop. Most broker/market types make good not great money. If you want to bemoan their success, then let's go after movie stars and sports greats and inflict them with out hostile, jealous attitudes.
Why Banks Are Self-Defeating on Housing [View article]
I am currently under contract for a short sale, and can tell you that my negotiator rates big banks differently in terms of who is handling them efficiently. For example, Well Fargo calls owners nearing foreclosure and encourages them to short sale--also gives them the price they will accept. Deal close in 6 to 8 weeks. In contrast, JPM Chase takes from 6 months to a year in many cases and is unpredictable in what they will accept or counter. This makes me think that should I buy a bank stock it would be WFC as they are smartly and methodically writing down their loan losses over time.
States and municipalities should have to fund what they promised. Stop paying pensions and do 403b plans instead. Sell off state and municipal assets (eg parks, land) to pay for it. It is the only way politicians will learn to stop this nonsense.
Workers made a decision to take specific job based on benefits and those benefits must be honored. Courts will uphold this unless the state of municipality goes bankrupt.
Meredith Whitney on Housing Double Dip [View article]
Thank you, Mr. Harrison, for pointing out the sexist tone of those comments. I think if someone referred to an analyst as "our boy", there would be an uproar. I appreciate your sensitivity to this issue. Now I know why I am following you.
Once "Obama's favorite banker," Jamie Dimon can’t even get a seat at the president’s recent state dinner, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is leading Wall Street’s pushback on new derivatives regulations. Dimon now views the proposals to overhaul financial rules as punitive and harmful: "There are good banks and bad banks just like there are good politicians and bad politicians, and I’m not going to sit here and accept that somehow it’s OK." [View news story]
Ha. Chase a good bank? No way. All you have to do is see how they handle short sales of homes. Takes them over a year to make a decision. And they are losing money all that time. Wells Fargo is rated number one in this area. They complete it in 6 to 8 weeks. Also, Chase is cutting limits on individuals with high credit lines for no reason other than they want to lower "risk". And they are proud of it. They have the worst customer service in banking sector. They are one of the worst banks in the US. THey cozy up to Obama while stabbing Americans in the back.
The New York Times has a great article about the lack of regulation. One example provided is that these deep water rigs could have been required to have the containment cap on site in the case of a spill. It took BP 2 1/2 weeks to build one while the leak occurred. I am only saying from my reading that the government played a role, obviously BP bears more responsibility. Also, previous administrations never properly regulated as well. What annoys me is the Obama administration not taking responsibility for their contribution. It is hypocritical. They need to apologize like BP did.
BP has no choice but to mount a PR campaign given the Obama's administration's focus on deflecting all the blame on them. It is become clearer by the day that the federal government's lack of regulatory oversight contributed to the catastrophic event. Blame BP. Blame Bush. Anything but take responsibility. I liked the commercial although the press is trying to say it is a wasted effort. BP has the right to defend itself. I bet Eric Holder won't criminally prosecute BP because it will expose the incompetence of the US government.
i have been following my local real estate market for the past year looking to buy. Hardly any houses ever sell. And I am in Colorado where it is not supposed to be that bad.
If only the government would stop interfering we could get a bottom established. I am hesistant to purchase a house now, but would if I felt bottom were near. I know it is hard to tell when a bottom occurs, but you feel it won't happen if the government keeps messing with the natural markets.
Obama's upbeat comments on the U.S. job market earlier this week "suckered [people] into thinking this was going to be a good number," one mutual fund manager says. "No way should the president be commenting on the employment number ahead of time," an economist adds, claiming he and his advisers "need to better understand what the private sector is looking at." [View news story]
To Just Say Whoa:
He didn't warn the American people. He said the job report was going to be GOOD and it was not good. There are two explanations; First, he is incompetent and didn't understand that the jobs report was BAD. The second possibility is he is corrupt and has some Chicago cronies going short as some type of pay back. You know, I am going to say some good things about the market, it won't be true, and you can go short. So these are the two possibilities. You look like a fool to defend him and don't even have your facts straight.
Sure, taxpayers hate bailouts, whether of banks or nations, but they need to stop and consider the "costs of the panic and destruction" that would have ensued without them, James Pethokoukis argues. TARP bought U.S. banks time to raise private capital and restore confidence; the European plan "is in the same vein." [View news story]
It would have been better to not have the bailout and take the hit then. It would have been better to not provide real estate credits and take the hit then. We are removing the band-aid inch by inch rather than all at once. If we had taken our medicine then we could look forward to a bright tomorrow rather than postpone the inevitable.
Overstretched state budgets are the next credit crisis casualty, Meredith Whitney says, and here's part of the reason: fat-cat pensions for government workers. Nina Easton predicts a "new rebellion" when cities are forced to "lay off current cops to pay for the vacations of retired officers" and other drastic cuts. [View news story]
Examining the Chances of a Market Crash Before the Mid-Term Elections [View article]
Second, it won't matter. Republicans are so far ahead in the generic poll the Dems are going to get slaughtered anyway.
Third, it appear Obama wants Congress to go republican. Gibbs announced the Republicans are going to win the House. An article in Time magazine pointed out that now donors will give more to republicans based on what Gibbs said (eg admitting defeat) and it is a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. Perhaps Obama wants to run against a Republican congress in 2012 due to his poor ratings. Sounds plausible to me.
For these reasons I don't believe intervention will occur, but this is a great article nonetheless.
July Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment: 66.5 vs. 75 expected and 76 in June. Expectations 60.6 vs. 70.7 expected. It's the lowest reading in 11 months, just 2.5 months after peaking. "Income and job prospects were extraordinarily weak and those bleak prospects have made consumers much more cautious spenders," the survey said. [View news story]
Double Dip Is Figment of the Crowd's Imagination [View article]
Why Banks Are Self-Defeating on Housing [View article]
From Neutral to Decidedly Poor [View article]
Workers made a decision to take specific job based on benefits and those benefits must be honored. Courts will uphold this unless the state of municipality goes bankrupt.
Meredith Whitney on Housing Double Dip [View article]
Once "Obama's favorite banker," Jamie Dimon can’t even get a seat at the president’s recent state dinner, and JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is leading Wall Street’s pushback on new derivatives regulations. Dimon now views the proposals to overhaul financial rules as punitive and harmful: "There are good banks and bad banks just like there are good politicians and bad politicians, and I’m not going to sit here and accept that somehow it’s OK." [View news story]
BP's (BP) decision to run an apologetic ad campaign isn't garnering quite the reaction the company had hoped for. Critics, including Obama, say the company should be spending money on cleanup efforts, not PR blitzes. [View news story]
BP's (BP) decision to run an apologetic ad campaign isn't garnering quite the reaction the company had hoped for. Critics, including Obama, say the company should be spending money on cleanup efforts, not PR blitzes. [View news story]
BP has the right to defend itself. I bet Eric Holder won't criminally prosecute BP because it will expose the incompetence of the US government.
Is Housing Already Double Dipping? [View article]
If only the government would stop interfering we could get a bottom established. I am hesistant to purchase a house now, but would if I felt bottom were near. I know it is hard to tell when a bottom occurs, but you feel it won't happen if the government keeps messing with the natural markets.
Obama's upbeat comments on the U.S. job market earlier this week "suckered [people] into thinking this was going to be a good number," one mutual fund manager says. "No way should the president be commenting on the employment number ahead of time," an economist adds, claiming he and his advisers "need to better understand what the private sector is looking at." [View news story]
He didn't warn the American people. He said the job report was going to be GOOD and it was not good. There are two explanations; First, he is incompetent and didn't understand that the jobs report was BAD. The second possibility is he is corrupt and has some Chicago cronies going short as some type of pay back. You know, I am going to say some good things about the market, it won't be true, and you can go short. So these are the two possibilities. You look like a fool to defend him and don't even have your facts straight.
Sure, taxpayers hate bailouts, whether of banks or nations, but they need to stop and consider the "costs of the panic and destruction" that would have ensued without them, James Pethokoukis argues. TARP bought U.S. banks time to raise private capital and restore confidence; the European plan "is in the same vein." [View news story]
If we had taken our medicine then we could look forward to a bright tomorrow rather than postpone the inevitable.