Two cents in what currency?

At noon the President is hosting a town-hall style press conference called "Investing In America" on CNBC if anyone's interested.

Rarely do you see a President do this live on the business channel while the market is still open.

Funny we're having this discussion as today one of the analysts working on the floor or CNBC asked Obama how you can climb out of a deficit when 42 cents out of every dollar spent is borrowed. And the president's only response of course was to reference the 1.4 trillion deficit his administration inherited from the 2 Middle Eastern wars.

And while he stopped short of labeling the wars as completely contrived and unjustified like some board members here have (how could he? he himself increased troop level in Afganistan) it just angers me so much that those on the left somehow attribute the roots and causes of this war to the previous administration in office and not of the Islamic Jihadist terrorists themselves who destroyed our ECONOMIC center. And every time the president undermines the Middle East war in order to answer a question about the ECONOMY he puts the troops on the ground and the campaign as a whole in danger.

If the President (or anyone else on the left) wants to blame the economy on the sunken treasury facilitated by two escalating wars in the Middle East they have my support. But don't undermine the war and the roots of the war just to try and cover for the fact that the $1 trillion dollar Stimulus plan had no results in an attempt to deliver yet another low-blow to the GOP, all at the expense of national security.

Yes, the terrorists attacked The World Trade Center. They also attacked the Pentagon, which is the nerve center of our military. Did our military crumble to pieces? The bravery of a few prevented a fourth plane from hitting its intended target, which has since been determined as the US Capitol. That would have been an attack on our way of governing. Has our government collapsed?

If we were truly going after the man behind these extremists, then wouldn't we have been best served going after Osama bin Laden and the Afghan government that was sheltering him? If so, then why was our military concentration diverted from Afghanistan to Iraq? President Bush himself admitted that the information he received was wrong. Why can't you?

Leaders like Saddam Hussein and others throughout the region who help put in place and expedite terrorist growth cells will reconsider knowing it's their own head that will dangle in the hangman's noose.

Now you can argue that the moral-tonal ramifications of the war are reprehensible and the whole thing is a philosophical fallacy (Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert), but the bottom line is that going over there and kicking every ass we can find is the best way to deter future attacks. (Why aren't we attacking Saudi Arabia then? I don't know but I can only imagine that would fulfill any and all doomsday prophecies foretold in almost every major religious text.)

ENOUGH-WAS-ENOUGH about 20 years ago. The perpetrators of 9-11 knew full well that the breadth of the U.S army would befall them as was to their design.

But I'm willing to concede the middle and agree that our policy will either reflect the one I painted above or we pull everyone everywhere back home and go back to Isolationist America. But then which is it?? I don't think there's much middle ground there anymore.

Personalities on NBC's CNBC such as Jim Cramer, Maria Bartiroma, and of course, the "Street Sweetie" Erin Burnett, who along with Maria have become Wall Street sex symbols, really make the station worth watching (you can watch live broadcasts online, btw.)

Erin worked for Goldman & Sachs in the late 90's before moving to CNN and then CNBC and has become quite the mini-celebrity with appearances on both Conan and Leno. A few weeks ago she got into it with one of the regular guests on CNBC and called the guy "SO RUDE." haha which is SO very funny if you know her personality and what an opinionated little neocon she is.

Cutting the foreign corporate tax rate is the most expediate way to get ourselves out of this deficit quickly and both sides need to consider it...if a company already pays taxes in their home country we shouldn't tax them again when they come here with that money.
Now think about it we're missing out on a potential 1 trillion dollar investment everyday and the national deficit is 14 trillion we're simply cutting off our nose to spite our face. That trillion dollar foreign investment that's taxed at an established low-rate goes to improve our pension funds for one and of course increases our coveted supply of investment capital, leading to jobs, growth, and a stimulus, that's real.

Are we as a nation rich or poor?

Last I saw we are still the richest nation in world with household equity = 50 trillion total assets. And we are still the reserve currency of the world and largest buyer in the world not to mention still king of manufacturing and the world will be waiting for our grain this fall.

But when you start factoring in our debts we're looking at a 62 trillion hole that some believe would take double digit GDP growths over decades to climb out of...basically meaning we're possibly 3 years away from being the next Greece in terms of debt to GDP ratio.

With the exception of a few areas, there are many things that we as a nation take for granted. We have indoor plumbing, dependable power, reliable transit and infrastructure. We have access to medical care and medicine that, even at its worst, is better than what is available to millions. So, are we rich? By comparison to others? Yes.

My boss once gave me this analogy. If we (the USofA) were on a football field, we would be on the five yard line ready to score. The third world countries would be on the other five yard line with 95 yards to go.

Well it might help if other countries could pay us back from time to time. Like the 1 trillion dollar cost of the Iraqi Waar for example. Pretty much every nation throughout history other than England and the Us have demanded reparations from occupied nations, but not the good ole UsOfA. Iraqi oil sales are over 12 trillion dollars a year which means that just less than 9% of that annual total would be required to pay the cost of the war. But nope, it'll go down as a sunk cost for the U.S as we'll foot the entire bill and get virtually NOTHING economically in return. Because despite the claim that this country somehow benefits from Iraqi oil by means of this war, fact is Iraqi oil rights are PRIVATELY owned and we can't just go over there and start seizing them.

Wow! The DOW fell 78 points today. That's 7/10 of a percent; the exact amount the market dropped on August 18th 1937.
After a late-summer surge, are the markets now heading for a crash?

Well the DOW rallied strong with an almost 200 point climb today, but all of these fluctuations can't be good. I was certainly right about Gold though, it's at an all-time high today. If you had invested in Gold as late as August you could have made a bundle today.

Wal-Mart ends profit sharing with employees

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer Anne D'innocenzio, 18 mins ago

NEW YORK – Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest private employer, plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions for its employees in a revamp of its benefits package that it says will give workers more chance to share in its financial success.

The discounter will replace profit-sharing starting in February with retirement plan contributions of up to 6 percent of pay — as long as workers sign up and contribute an equal amount, Wal-Mart said in a memo it provided The Associated Press late Friday.

Austerity and Fallacy of Composition

Gas Climbs to $2.97-$3.00a gallon today.

County passes budget and says it will LOWER our taxes!

Great you think? Well they took ALL of the sales tax money and kept it at the county level, instead of sharing it with the City, towns and villages. So they could lower their tax rate. Added back many of the items that were cut before.

The bad news is that the City, towns and villages are now piss poorer and have no way to close the gap it leaves and they will raise their portion of the taxes higher, So you are still screwed, but by different people.

Also, all fees are up big amounts and so many new fees are added that your rear feels like your are prison bitch.

This morning we get a call from a police department fund raiser looking for funds to help the police officers protection fund? Give me a break! I told hito go see the county people-

Apparently, foreigners have more faith in the US economy than Americans do.

Foreign investors scoop up US debt By Michael Mackenzie in New York

Published: October 18 2010 17:15

Foreign investors scooped a near record amount of US debt in August and sharply increased their holdings of Treasury bonds, according to the latest Treasury International Capital report.

August was marked by fears that the US economy faced a possible double dip recession and yields on Treasury bonds fell sharply as bond investors priced in a move by the Federal Reserve to start another round of quantitative easing. The Fed announced in August that it would start reinvesting principal payments from its agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in longer-term Treasury securities

Big move today from the master currency-manipulators of the world. :roolleyes:

Surprise Move by China on Rates Rattles Markets
THE NEW YORK TIMES
October 19, 2010

BEIJING — A surprise announcement by China’s central bank that it would raise interest rates for the first time in nearly three years jolted world financial markets Tuesday, as investors worried that China, the world’s second-largest economy after the United States, could slow and crimp the global recovery.

“Any time China tries to tighten the reins on their economy, it will have a ripple-down effect on the rest of the globe,” said Brad Sorensen, the director for market and sector analysis at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 165.07 points, or 1.48 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 43.71 points, or 1.76 percent.

China’s effort to take control of its galloping economy contrasts sharply with economic policies in developed nations like the United States, where officials are trying to spur growth by keeping interest rates low. In Washington, the Federal Reserve declined to comment, in keeping with its policy of not remarking on the actions of other central banks.

“This move is symbolically huge,” Dong Tao, a Hong Kong-based economist at Credit Suisse, said by e-mail. “Yet it may only have limited impact on the real economy because overall rates are still at excessively low levels. This move probably will dampen sentiment in the property sector and equity market in the short run. However, we think excess liquidity will still prevail, if this is just a one-off rate hike.”

Full Article

We could have all made bundles of money in the past 24 hours if we'd bought and not sold that supposed Chinese weakness.

DOW up 124 today

No Soup for You
Campbells decides not to produce Halal foods in United States

Halal Campbell soup: Mm, Mm, not so good?
THE WASHINGTON POST
October 18, 2010

A food fight seems to be brewing. In North America and Europe, the last few months have seen simmering disputes over halal food products, a major part of Muslim life.

Halal is a certification; think of it as a Muslim stamp of approval. When something's deemed halal, it is "permissible or allowed according to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad." That's according to the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). They're one of a number of groups that certify halal foods.

The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America says that halal foods can't contain pork, carnivorous animals or birds of prey. Also not halal: alcoholic beverages.

In order for meat to be halal, when an animal is slaughtered, the name Allah must be pronounced during the killing, and the animal must be cut quickly, with a sharp blade and at a major artery in the neck, to speed death by the rapid loss of blood. Muslims are also taught that animals must be well rested, fed wholesome foods and handled in a way that minimizes suffering during slaughter.

Recently, Campbell's Soup in Canada sought and received halal certification for some of its products, but American bloggers are condemning the company's move. The bloggers claim that the Islamic Society of North America, which certified Campbell's, is tied to controversial Islamic groups like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. The ISNA denies those charges. (No halal Campbell's products will be sold in the United States.)

Across the Atlantic, halal food is causing controversy, as well. Quick, a fast-food chain in France, recently started selling halal hamburgers at 22 of its restaurants, to better accommodate a growing population of French Muslims.

But as The Post reported last week, "The decision to serve halal burgers, with its bow to Muslim buying power, has produced an outcry among some political leaders, who regard it as an affront to France's Christian traditions and official secularism." One French mayor even charged Quick with discrimination, leading to a criminal investigation.

Other cultures have had food controversies, too. McDonald's came under fire in India for using beef tallow in its fries. The company ultimately paid out $10 million in 2002 to vegetarian and religious groups in the country.

But the intersections of food, culture and religion don't always end in strife. For instance, one of the most popular hot dog brands in America is Hebrew National, maker of classic kosher beef franks.


Full Article

Who said we didn't

Good for you, FS!

Ignore all of those Bears in the media telling you to sell-sell-sell!

It's buy-buy-buy!

Well, along with election week in America the other big news right now is the Fed Reserve's much maligned new QE2 (Quantitative Easing) package, due out this week. Basically, the fed is going to come in with a bunch of liquidity and buy everything it can. The impact this will all have remains largely in debate, but investors need to remember that because the fed will in fact come in with so much liquidity, there will come a time (some time next year) when the fed will pull back dramatically, and we could be right back in the spot we're in right now, perhaps worse.

But this is a good time to invest. In addition to the q easing, likely extension of Bush tax cuts, and the changes in Washington on election day, commodities are worthy of buying right now based alone on price to earnings ratio and free cash flow yield basis.

Get in there and buy!!!

Is this post QE2 commodity rally going to continue?

I think so. Pretty much every nation and Reserve bank on the Earth has come out and said they're now inflating currencies, meaning either a huge commodity bubble is coming or we're actually getting an true reevaluation of today's new market paradigm.

IMF to play role in Irish bailout
EU official: Ireland in talks to accept dual bailout

Tuesday 16 November, 2010

A EUROPEAN UNION OFFICIAL has said Ireland has begun talks with both the EU and the International Monetary Fund officials about receiving foreign funding for both the government and the national banking sector.

Bloomberg quotes the official – who spoke on the condition of anonymity – as confirming that the talks were underway, and reports that the two-part package would spare Ireland from having to return to the international bond markets in the coming months, as it would itself remain funded in the medium-term.

The so-called ‘dual bailout’ would see the government supplied with fresh funds to help the Irish banking sector as it sees fit.

The current Irish debt crisis has been fuelled by the activities on second-hand bond markets in recent weeks; the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), the state agency which borrows on Ireland’s behalf, says the state is funded until the middle of 2011 already, but the scale of an international bailout would see the state being freed from the requirement of having to return to the market for further funding early next year.

The announcement of a finalised bailout would put an end to fears of other Eurozone nations – particularly Spain and Portugal – that nervousness about Ireland would force them into seeking outside help too.

The cost of Irish government borrowing has risen again today, standing at 8.238% at 3:30pm, having stood below 8% overnight.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has announced his indication to address the Dáil on the state’s financing at 5pm, as finance minister Brian Lenihan prepares to meet his finance minister counterparts from the other 15 Eurozone members this evening – a meeting at which it was earlier reported that the EU would insist a bailout be accepted.

Earlier, however, Europe minister Dick Roche denied reports he had told an ITV News reporter that he expected a banking bailout to be finalised tomorrow.

http://www.thejournal.ie/eu-official-ireland-in-talks-to-accept-dual-bailout-2010-11/

This Irish financial bailout crisis is becoming especially interesting considering Spain is the real problem right now in the EU, and earlier last week Austria pretty much told Greece to kick rocks if they want help for a bailout.

All of this rejection of artificial market maneuvering in the wake of the United States' QE2 printing more US dollars leaves little doubt that there are serious economic currency inflation wars going on right now in the world, and that, the US is at the center of this "economic coldwar", especially with regards to their economic relationship with china).

And now, the always sovereign-minded Irish government has apparently once again REJECTED EU bailout support offer, despite what the Wall Street Journal and others reported this afternoon.

Inflation is what the F*ck's going on the with the Economy right now

And everyone knows printing baseless currency is the last refuge of failed economic and banana republics

But when I'm not playing social contrarian I do like to make a few honest bucks off the stock market, just like my man Jim Cramer over there at CNBC. Cramer certainly supports Ben Bernanke and the Fed's second phase of quantitative easing and as investor I do too and so should you.

From the Cramerica blog:

Bernanke Is the Only Grown-up

"Why do people think everything is fine and Ben Bernake panicking?" asked Cramer. "This is an economy that will be Japan if we won't get it moving again. The only grown-up in the whole system is Ben Bernanke." Cramer praised the Fed Chairman for saving the U.S. from the fate of Japan's Lost Decade with policies that keep interest rates low and stimulate the economy. "It is time to applaud Ben Bernanke."

Marc, we're bigger than U.S. Steel -Reed Hastings
Netflix growth dwarfs U.S. Steel Giants'

From the Cramerica blog:

Answering the Twitics: Neftlix (NFLX), U.S. Steel (X)

While tweeting about his favorite stocks, Cramer received a complaint from a "Twitic" who asked how Cramer could say Netflix (NFLX) is undervalued when it has a larger market cap than U.S. Steel (X). The quick answer: The stock deserves to have a larger market cap than U.S. Steel, because Neftlix keeps growing by leaps and bounds while U.S. Steel is virtually stagnant.

U.S. Steel, while it is a legendary company and a symbol for the entire Steel industry, is beset with liabilities and debt. The company doesn't deliver on earnings and has very low growth. Netflix's balance sheet is clean and the growth momentum is strong. While Netflix trades at twice its growth rate, a level too rich for Cramer, at least its multiple is comprehensible. U.S. Steel's multiple is very difficult to figure out, which is not helped by the fact that its earnings are shrinking. While there are worries about Netflix facing competition, at least it is not a cyclical play like U.S. Steel, which depends on the strength of the economy. While hard assets might seem more secure at first blush, the fact is that "hard assets don't matter so much anymore," said Cramer.

The bottom line? Netflix deserves to have a larger market cap and is a better and cheaper stock than X.