Why Big Tobacco Must Enter $1.7 Billion Pot Industry [View article]
As a non-smoker myself, I don't think it's as much a social commentary as it is a realization of basic health facts. Tobacco in large and sustained doses kills. Pot does not.
House Republicans - including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor - are reportedly overwhelmingly opposed to the fiscal cliff deal approved by the Senate. The House appears poised to amend the deal and send it back to the Senate, setting up a legislative high-wire act. [View news story]
Hear that? That's the final nail being driven into the coffin of the modern Republican party. Nice job boys. I hope there are enough right wing think tanks to absorb all of you after the 2014 mid-terms.
The fiscal cliff deal will probably ensure that the U.S. avoids recession but it will also help cut GDP growth to 1% in Q1 2013 from 3.1% Q3 2012, JPMorgan and BofA economists forecast. "It’s going to definitely present a headwind for the economy," says JPM's Michael Feroli. "We’re looking for a downdraft in growth in the first half of the year, with the economy coming back in the second." [View news story]
Actuall, yes I do call 1.25%+ growth. I would call 0.50%+ growth as well. Is it the level of growth we would like? No, but it's still growth. If you think this is the level of growth (or worse) we will see in Q2 and beyond..I'll be happy to take the other side of your trade.
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
Three step plan that could be accomplished within the next 5 years to shore up our current situation. 1. Raise the SS minimum benefit age to 68 (but only for people under the age of 40). 2. Come up with plan to embrace the illegals who want to be here to work. Clean arrest record and you have a streamlined legal way to become a citizen. THEN....you can pay taxes and help support the massive amounts of retiring boomers. Many in these target populations have reproduction levels that dwarf what we currently have in this country. Educate them, welcome them, they are the next chapter in our country's prosperity. Insert the word Latino for Irish and Italian about 100 years ago and it's the same thing. 3. Legalize, regulate, and tax the hell out of marijuana. I say this as a non-smoker. Massive income stream for states. Funnel some of this windfall into early and regular education to help offset the need for new services as a result of #2.
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
@SouthernGent
I consider myself a responsible homeowner that has not been allowed to re-fi. HARP is useless in my situation as well as many of my friends and neighbors. Believe me, I have looked into everything. Without being in default or having an FHA backed loan, it is still very difficult to re-finance unless you happened to buy a house pre-2001. (where you probably still have enough equity). By the time home values rise enough to offset the negative equity, interest rates will have reverted to a more historical norm. I still think the spending impact of the "Savings Class" would pale in comparison to the class I am talking about. Most in the savings class have already raised families and are winding down their consumption. This would be a slam dunk boost to consumer spending, I'm still baffled as to why it has taken this long to even broach the concept.
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
If Congress actually comes up with a plan to let everyone re-fi that is underwater but didn't qualify for an FHA backed loan...look out above. These are the people that were responsible and actually have enough money to continue paying on a house that is underwater without walking away. With a few hundred extra in their pockets every month, the consumer spending bump will not be small.
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
"And the consumer is making less and less every year"
No...certain types of consumers are making less and less every year. Many more consumers are making more and it is their spending that overshadows the consumer that is on the downward trajectory. It's an ugly truth, but a large segment of our population is being relegated to the sidelines never to return (lack of skills, new technology, etc..). With the gains in innovation and productivity, it is no longer essential that they return either. This is a structural change that many have not accepted. There is a reason the growth and well-being of the stock market and many large companies have diverged from "joe main street".
The Obama Administration considers expanding its mortgage-refinance program to include those loans not held by the GSE's. Fannie and Freddie back just 50% of the nation's mortgages, leaving a big chunk of the 10.8M underwater mortgage loans not qualified for the HAMP. What happened to weaning the nation off of public mortgage finance? [View news story]
Actually, there is a reason. Its called negative equity. So, as another poster so eloquently stated, screw you. I want my refi.
If the U.S. goes over the fiscal cliff, the biggest impact in sheer dollars would land on relatively affluent households, but in terms of percentage of tax increases, low- and moderate-income taxpayers would face the biggest burden - an often overlooked part of the budget debate that’s beginning to draw attention as the year-end deadline nears. [View news story]
As an econ. student you should know the difference between elastic and inelastic products. Your shopping list is composed of all elastic products. Demand will change based on price. The food inflation totals assume that to most people your list is elastic...people will start to substitute similar things for a lower cost. When you compare your receipt, you don't take into account that maybe chicken has decreased 3% in that time frame but you did not notice because you continue to buy beef. Had you taken the time to be more flexible, you may not have seen such an increase.
The Fed is likely to stick with ZIRP through 2018, says David Rosenberg, in his chart-filled outlook for 2013. He's guardedly bullish on stocks, not because earnings or the economy are set to power forward, but because real interest rates are set to remain negative for so long. [View news story]
Somewhere over the past 8 years we turned a structural corner in our economic history. Too many people are still trying to make sense of it with outdated models and stats. Other people never made the jump and sadly never will. This is the new economic reality. It's not black or white, but more a shade of grey. It's also the natural course of progression. There is a good deal of opportunity and money to be made, but it will not be in the old ways.
2 High Dividend Yield Tobacco Stocks To Buy [View article]
Uncle Pie, I assume you do not own any Coke or Pepsi or Mcdonald's? All those companies contribute to heart disease and diabetes. While we are on the subject, I hope you also do not own any GE (weapons systems) or major utilities (coal-black lung).
Why Big Tobacco Must Enter $1.7 Billion Pot Industry [View article]
Why Big Tobacco Must Enter $1.7 Billion Pot Industry [View article]
Are Visa's Days Numbered? [View article]
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
House Republicans - including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor - are reportedly overwhelmingly opposed to the fiscal cliff deal approved by the Senate. The House appears poised to amend the deal and send it back to the Senate, setting up a legislative high-wire act. [View news story]
The fiscal cliff deal will probably ensure that the U.S. avoids recession but it will also help cut GDP growth to 1% in Q1 2013 from 3.1% Q3 2012, JPMorgan and BofA economists forecast. "It’s going to definitely present a headwind for the economy," says JPM's Michael Feroli. "We’re looking for a downdraft in growth in the first half of the year, with the economy coming back in the second." [View news story]
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
1. Raise the SS minimum benefit age to 68 (but only for people under the age of 40).
2. Come up with plan to embrace the illegals who want to be here to work. Clean arrest record and you have a streamlined legal way to become a citizen. THEN....you can pay taxes and help support the massive amounts of retiring boomers. Many in these target populations have reproduction levels that dwarf what we currently have in this country. Educate them, welcome them, they are the next chapter in our country's prosperity. Insert the word Latino for Irish and Italian about 100 years ago and it's the same thing.
3. Legalize, regulate, and tax the hell out of marijuana. I say this as a non-smoker. Massive income stream for states. Funnel some of this windfall into early and regular education to help offset the need for new services as a result of #2.
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
I consider myself a responsible homeowner that has not been allowed to re-fi. HARP is useless in my situation as well as many of my friends and neighbors. Believe me, I have looked into everything. Without being in default or having an FHA backed loan, it is still very difficult to re-finance unless you happened to buy a house pre-2001. (where you probably still have enough equity). By the time home values rise enough to offset the negative equity, interest rates will have reverted to a more historical norm.
I still think the spending impact of the "Savings Class" would pale in comparison to the class I am talking about. Most in the savings class have already raised families and are winding down their consumption.
This would be a slam dunk boost to consumer spending, I'm still baffled as to why it has taken this long to even broach the concept.
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
Outlook 2013: Americans Are Going Broke [View article]
No...certain types of consumers are making less and less every year. Many more consumers are making more and it is their spending that overshadows the consumer that is on the downward trajectory. It's an ugly truth, but a large segment of our population is being relegated to the sidelines never to return (lack of skills, new technology, etc..). With the gains in innovation and productivity, it is no longer essential that they return either. This is a structural change that many have not accepted. There is a reason the growth and well-being of the stock market and many large companies have diverged from "joe main street".
Get Rich From Retiring Baby Boomers With This Little-Known Stock [View article]
The Obama Administration considers expanding its mortgage-refinance program to include those loans not held by the GSE's. Fannie and Freddie back just 50% of the nation's mortgages, leaving a big chunk of the 10.8M underwater mortgage loans not qualified for the HAMP. What happened to weaning the nation off of public mortgage finance? [View news story]
If the U.S. goes over the fiscal cliff, the biggest impact in sheer dollars would land on relatively affluent households, but in terms of percentage of tax increases, low- and moderate-income taxpayers would face the biggest burden - an often overlooked part of the budget debate that’s beginning to draw attention as the year-end deadline nears. [View news story]
The Fed is likely to stick with ZIRP through 2018, says David Rosenberg, in his chart-filled outlook for 2013. He's guardedly bullish on stocks, not because earnings or the economy are set to power forward, but because real interest rates are set to remain negative for so long. [View news story]
2 High Dividend Yield Tobacco Stocks To Buy [View article]