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ICAP's Tinker Says GE No Longer a Growth StockSource: Bloomberg - All Podcasts | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:25 pm Bank cuts rates by 50 points to 0.5%The Bank of England's monetary policy committee cut its key rate by half a percentage point, as was widely expected, and unveiled plans to combat slumping demand through 'quantitative easing'Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:22 pm Bank of England cuts interest rates and announces plans to print £150bnIn a radical new policy to fight recession the Bank directly pump billions into the economy.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:20 pm Wall St. to drop at open on GM warning, GE worry (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:18 pm Wall St. to drop at open on GM warning, GE worry (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:18 pm Fertilizer Triangle Now a Twosome, Maybe (TRA, CF, AGU)
In a letter to shareholders, Terra’s board recommends that shareholders reject CF’s offer. In addition to the Agrium offer for CF, Terra says the CF offer “is opportunistic and substantially undervalues Terra” relative to CF. It believes its worth more on the order of its 52-week high, $57.64/share, than the $30 or so that CF is offering. CF may need the deal with Agrium more than Terra needs the deal with CF. CF’s all-stock offer hides somewhat the company’s weak cash position. At the end of 2009, CF reported cash and equivalents of just $625 million, and $177.8 million of auction rate securities, for a total of $802.8 million. CF, itself, noted that the auction rate securities “remain illiquid.” Terra claims to have about $857 million in cash. CF’s market cap is about $1 billion higher than Terra’s, and Agrium’s is almost $2 billion more than CF’s. Terra’s board appears to have made the right decision here. The company doesn’t gain anything from being taken over by CF. CF shareholders, however, could realize a nice premium if the deal with Agrium goes through. Terra has probably done CF a favor today. Paul Ausick       Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:17 pm New jobless claims unexpectedly drop to 639,000The number of new jobless claims and the total number of people receiving unemployment benefits both dropped more than expected last week, though they remain at elevated levels and are...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:17 pm Target February same-store sales fall 4.1 percent (AP)AP - Discount retailer Target Corp. said Thursday that its same-stores sales fell 4.1 percent in February, a better figure than analysts had expected as shoppers bought necessities such as groceries but steered clear of apparel and home products.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:16 pm General Dynamics cutting plane production, jobsGeneral Dynamics Corp. says plummeting sales of business and personal jets has forced it to cut production, lay off 1,200 workers and reduce its profit guidance for the year. The Fall...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:13 pm WellPoint drug benefits business up for sale: reportNEW YORK (Reuters) - WellPoint Inc , the largest U.S. health insurer by membership, has put its pharmacy benefits management (PBM) business up for auction, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:11 pm Euro rates hit record low of 1.5%The European Central Bank cuts interest rates for countries using the euro to 1.5% from 2.0%, a record low.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:09 pm New U.S. jobless claims ease, productivity plummetsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but remained at high levels consistent with a severe recession.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:09 pm New U.S. jobless claims ease, productivity plummets (Reuters)Reuters - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, a government report showed on Thursday, but remained at high levels consistent with a severe recession.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:09 pm Wall Street set to slip on auto concernsUS stocks looked set to fall back after strong gains made during the previous session as bad news came through overnight from US car makersSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:08 pm EU Warns of Dangers of InternsAs Bill Clinton found out, female interns can be dangerous. Now the EU central government is issuing an official warning about dangerous femme fatales within its perimeters. From the UK Telegraph: Paranoid Brussels security officials fear that Eurocrats might be susceptible to the attractive guise of the “pretty trainee with the long legs and the blonde hair”. Every year hundreds of “stagiares”, or interns, work at the Commission’s Berlaymont HQ in Brussels. Many of them are young, female and some, it has been claimed, are engaged in espionage. Other covers said to be assumed by spies or agents, hired by industry or foreign powers, include people who have day to day contact with European Union officials, such as lobbyists or journalists. A confidential memorandum sent in December by Stephen Hutchins, the Commission’s director of security, warned that “the threat of espionage is increasing day by day”. One woman, working in an EU institution on a six month internship, suggested that the idea of glamorous female spies might be more about male fantasy than reality.”I think men working here in boring jobs would love to believe that sexy women spies were after their bodies and their secrets. I personally think it is unlikely,” said Petra, a 24-year old stagiare from a Baltic country. Now, would you ever hear a CEO warning people about dangerous secretaries? Not so much. Source: Business Pundit | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:08 pm Not So Productive After AllThe revised numbers for American productivity are in. For the fourth quarter of 2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics had calculated that nonfarm productivity -- the total output divided by the total hours worked -- grew by 3.2 percent. Instead, folks, it shrank, by .4 percent. "So much for the surprising strength in productivity late last year; the only bit of good news from Q4 is gone," writes economist Ian Shepherdson. Output and hours worked are in unsettling territory, ground not crossed since the recessions of the 1970s and '80s. More noise out there about unemployment numbers. February's figure is due out tomorrow. Weekly new claims were down 31,000, to 639,000. It's all just buzzing until we get the figure Friday morning. » E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us Source: NPR Blogs: Planet Money | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:07 pm CNBC Makes Daily Show's Shit ListThe Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c So Rick Santelli was slated to appear on The Daily Show last night, to discuss the "riot" he incited last week. Unfortunately, Rickles chose to "bail" on the interview, which did not please Jon Stewart. Above, Stewie lets us know how he feels about the cancellation, which sort of snowballs into his thoughts on the biz "news" network in general. Didn't see the Carl Quintanilla hit coming (especially when there are so many who are more deserving) but what can you do. 
Source: Dealbreaker | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:07 pm U.S. retailers February sales weak, but Wal-Mart shinesNEW YORK (Reuters) - Top U.S. retailers saw anemic same-store sales in February as shoppers kept a tight hold on spending, but Wal-Mart Stores Inc again beat expectations and said lower gasoline prices had relaxed some household budgets.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:05 pm U.S. retailers February sales weak, but Wal-Mart shines (Reuters)Reuters - Top U.S. retailers saw anemic same-store sales in February as shoppers kept a tight hold on spending, but Wal-Mart Stores Inc again beat expectations and said lower gasoline prices had relaxed some household budgets.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:05 pm Stocks set to drop on China spending letdownStocks are set to resume their plunge Thursday, as China deflated investors' hope that the country will boost spending. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the government's stimulus plan...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:04 pm Stocks set to drop on China spending letdown (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:04 pm A Dual Defense, A Duel, of General Electric (GE)
But CFO Keith Sherin gave an interview to CNBC early this morning, and of course GE owns CNBC via the NBC-Universal unit. The CFO came out with what appeared to be very strong language and posture, and he really wanted to put many market fears to rest. On the flip-side, Sherin did address that he has been working with the ratings agencies. He did address up front that a downgrade is possible and that a AA rating could replace its beloved AAA status, but he also said they might not downgrade it and that is not up to them. In short, G.E. has come to grips with that risk of the Triple-A rating being at risk. He addressed that there are no provisions that he foresees which would generate a run on the bank via triggers that would take away its billions of cash. This is important because that is what has been part of the speculation on Wall Street lately. Sherin also said that GE Capital “should be profitable” in the first quarter. Then he said it “will be profitable.” Most importantly though, the official line is that the company said that it needs no capital right now. It feels it can run its business through 2010 and that he thinks the company will do $14 or $16 billion in cash flow under a stress scenario. He also called the recent fears overdone about the company. They are conducting a “deep dive” analysis in the company for March 16. GE stock is indicated lower by about 1% this morning with the market. The stock was negative, then up, and then negative again. Frankly, trying to predict the price of GE depends on the way the wind blows and which direction traders are facing at that moment. The long and short of it is that you can make the same argument for a 10% rise or a 10% drop in the stock. As the saying goes, “One thing you can always count on with the pendulum is that it will swing.” Jon C. Ogg       Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 2:00 pm Economics blogHow the Bank of England's new strategy will workSource: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:58 pm New jobless claims unexpectedly drop to 639KThe number of new jobless claims and the total number of people receiving benefits both dropped unexpectedly last week, though they remain at elevated levels unlikely to fall substantially...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:54 pm ECB cuts eurozone growth forecastsThe European Central Bank said on Thursday it expected the eurozone economy to shrink by 2.7 percent in 2009, a cut from its previous forecast of a contraction of 0.5 percent. Releasing...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:49 pm GM auditors raise the specter of Chapter 11General Motors Corp.'s auditors have raised "substantial doubt" about the troubled automaker's ability to continue operations, and the company said it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if it can't...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:49 pm GM auditors raise the specter of Chapter 11General Motors Corp.'s auditors have raised "substantial doubt" about the troubled automaker's ability to continue operations, and the company said it may have to seek bankruptcy protection if it can't execute a huge restructuring plan.Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:49 pm UPDATE 2-Handelsbanken says exposed to Plastal bankruptcy* Handelsbanken says exposure to Plastal 2.1 bln crownsSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:45 pm Stocks set to drop after jobless claims dataWall Street is set to resume its decline even as the government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in jobless claims. The Labor Department said Thursday new unemployment claims fell toSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:44 pm Stock futures trim losses after data, but GM woes weighNEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures cut losses further on Thursday following reports on weekly jobless claims and fourth-quarter productivity, but a warning from General Motors of substantial doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern weighed on sentiment.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:44 pm The Home Depot to Present at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch 2009 Consumer ConferenceATLANTA, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, announced today that Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, will present atSource: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:44 pm XL Capital Ltd Announces Changes Within Board of DirectorsHAMILTON, Bermuda, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XL Capital Ltd ("XL" or the "Company") (NYSE: XL) announced today that the Chairman of its Board of...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:44 pm GE CFO says worry about GE Capital "overdone"NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Electric Co's finance unit has no short-term liquidity issues, and speculation about its ability to maintain sufficient capital is "overdone," the company's chief financial officer said.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:43 pm Target February same-store sales fall 4.1 percentDiscount retailer Target Corp. says its same-stores sales fell 4.1 percent in February. That was better than analysts had expected, as shoppers bought necessities such as groceries and...Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:43 pm GM warns it may be forced into bankruptcyDETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp on Thursday said its auditors had raised "substantial doubt" about its ability to survive outside bankruptcy if it fails to stem its losses and stop burning cash.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:38 pm GM warns it may be forced into bankruptcy (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:38 pm General Motors' audtiors warn over bankruptcy riskGeneral Motors on Thursday said its auditors had raised "substantial doubt" about its ability to survive outside bankruptcy if it fails to stem its losses and stop burning cash.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:36 pm Imagine That, Jobless Claims Softer Than EstimatesThis morning we have seen the weekly jobless claims. While economists are always noting that unemployment is a lagging indicator, go ask anyone in the weekly jobless claims lines how lagging this feels. The numbers came in at 639,000. This is horrible on the surface, but it is actually less than what is expected. As a reminder, the FEB-2009 unemployment numbers are out tomorrow morning. Bloomberg stimates have 7.9% as consensus (up from 7.6% in January) and the change in non-Farm Payrolls is expected to be -648,000 (up from -598,000). Jon C. Ogg       Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:35 pm Government will have to justify retirement age of 65 in High CourtBritain's default retirement age of 65 will have to be justified by the Government in the High Court.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:34 pm 'Substantial doubt' for GM futureThere is "substantial doubt" about the ability of General Motors (GM) to stay afloat, the firm's auditors say.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:31 pm UK interest rates lowered to 0.5%The Bank of England cuts interest rates to 0.5% and says it will boost the money supply to help revive the economy.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:30 pm GE CFO says worry about GE Capital "overdone" (Reuters)Reuters - General Electric Co's finance unit has no short-term liquidity issues, and speculation about its ability to maintain sufficient capital is "overdone," the company's chief financial officer said.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:23 pm Extraordinary US Performance For Wal-Mart (WMT)
For the month, the huge retail chain’s revenue was up 8% at its core Wal-Mart US stores to over $20 billion. Sam’s Club revenue was up 3% to $3.5 billion. The Achilles Heel at Wal-Mart continues to be its international operations which had a revenue drop of 11% to $6.5 billion. Currency exchange rates undermined the numbers from overseas. On a constant currency basis, revenue would have been up 8.8%. If the company could fix that problem it would be a growth stock again. US comparable store sales were up 5.1%, which is nearly a miracle in this economic environment. Douglas A. McIntyre Tagged: WMT      Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:18 pm Stock market falls hit AvivaShares in insurance giant Aviva fall 28% on concerns over its financial position amid the financial market turmoil.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:15 pm GM auditor warns carmaker may not surviveGeneral Motor's (GM) auditor has questioned whether the ailing carmaker can continue as a going concern, the company revealed in its annual report.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:12 pm Report: 1 in 5 Mortgages Are Underwater (BusinessWeek Online)BusinessWeek Online - It's bad enough when the value of your house is sinking like a lead balloon. But for a growing number of Americans, their woes are compounded by owing more on the mortgage than what that house is now worth. It's called having negative equity -- the opposite of what happens when a home appreciates and a homeowner builds positive equity above and beyond his initial investment.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:08 pm Mortgage Bailout: Details on Rates and Incentives (BusinessWeek Online)BusinessWeek Online - On Mar. 4 the Treasury Dept. released final guidelines for banks and homeowners looking to participate in a new $75 billion program called "Making Home Affordable." Among the new details of the program, which is now up and running: cash payments for mortgage holders who choose not to foreclose on borrowers and new rates as low as 2% for borrowers. The Obama Administration also indicated it will seek changes in bankruptcy laws to allow judges to restructure home loans in court.Source: Yahoo! News: Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:08 pm Presented By: Kingdom of the Blue Whale – Sun Mar 8 8P
Source: Dealbreaker | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:04 pm Opening Bell: 03.05.09
Aside from the standard arguments of creating disincentives for entry into banking, we have to consider what long term affect will it have on a structure that values predictability and independence. Moreover, we have to consider where this could potentially lead; given the amount of money the American financial system is responsible for internationally, how far should government intervention into the markets be tolerated? Barclays Questioned Over Use Of Lehman Funds (FT) The liquidators' analysis of Lehman's internal documents concluded that the total amount of compensation set aside for the investment bank's global workforce until the end of August was $1.3bn. But because Barclays bought only Lehman's North American operations, whose 10,000-plus employees accounted for 55 per cent of the compensation pool, its expenses should have been about $700m. The agreement between Barclays and Lehman also provided for the transfer of cash and collateral, including $2.25bn to pay for liabilities to be settled after the takeover, according to people who have seen the letter. However, in the document Alvarez & Marsal calculates that Barclays' payments for these liabilities have been about $200m, and the estimate for the final amount is much lower than expected, these people said."
InBev Reports 95% Fall In Profits Over 3 Months (BBC) It blamed costs linked to InBev's $52bn takeover of Anheuser - completed in November - mainly redundancy payments. The brewer of Budweiser, Becks and Stella Artois is in the process of cutting 2,400 jobs." BOE Considers Rate Cut To Zero (Bloomberg) The central bank's nine-member panel will probably cut the bank rate by a half point to 0.5 percent, the median of 60 economists' forecasts in a Bloomberg survey shows. The Treasury may also give King and his colleagues authority to create money and pump it into the economy by buying assets." Chavez Seizes Cargill Plant (Reuters) Merrill Execs Taken In Madoff Scam (Reuters)
Source: Dealbreaker | 5 Mar 2009 | 1:04 pm Bank of England cuts rates, to buy govt bonds to boost economyLONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England cut interest rates by 50 basis points on Thursday to a record low of 0.5 percent, and said it would buy 75 billion pounds of assets to expand the money supply and aid a recession-hit British economy.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:59 pm Jaguar Land Rover workers accept fourday week and pay freeze to avoid jobs cutsWorkers at Britishbased carmaker Jaguar Land Rover have agreed to accept a shorter working week and a oneyear pay freeze to avoid compulsory job cuts unions said on Thursday.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:58 pm Interest rates: Where savers can take their cash in search of better returnsLow interest rates are causing savers to look elsewhere to get a return on their money. Here are some of the alternatives on offer.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:56 pm UBS made to disclose Luxembourg documents: lawyerBRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Luxembourg court ordered Swiss bank UBS to disclose certain documents relating to its Luxembourg subsidiary's handling of investments in Madoff products, according to a lawyer.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:49 pm GM auditors warn of bankruptcy riskAmerica's largest carmaker said that its auditors had expressed 'substantial doubt' about its ability to continue as a going concern, and that it might be forced to file for bankruptcySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:44 pm Top Analyst Upgrades (CCL, IAG, LAMR, LZ, OVTI, RCL, SIGM)
JON C. OGG Tagged: CCL, IAG, LAMR, LZ, OVTI, RCL, SIGM      Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:43 pm China targets 8% growth despite crisisPremier Wen Jiabao assured that China will achieve 8% growth this year despite a deepening financial crisis, setting out export support and spending programmes to shore up the economySource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:43 pm FSTE 100 extends falls after interest rate cutThe FTSE 100 fell further after the Bank of England cut interest rates by half a point and unveiled radical plans to inject £75bn of new money into the economy to combat recession.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:39 pm Top Analyst Downgrades (ETN, BEN, GYMB, HL, LGCY, MAN, RHI, ROK)
JON C. OGG Tagged: BEN, ETN, GYMB, HL, LGCY, MAN, RHI, ROK      Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:39 pm US heralds 'fresh start' with RussiaHillary Clinton, US secretary of state, said Nato's 26-member alliance 'can and must find ways to work constructively with Russia where we share areas of common interest'Source: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:28 pm GM: 'Substantial doubt' about futureGeneral Motors Corp. said Thursday that it hopes to get additional loans from the government and that there is "substantial doubt" about the automaker's ability to remain a "going concern."Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:19 pm When ethical investing pays offLowell, Blake & Associates is a small, socially-conscious private investment advisory firm with an uncommon approach that's paid off well for clients lately.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:15 pm Text of Bank of England's statement on rates, buying securitiesThe Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee today voted to reduce the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.5 percentage points to 0.5%, and to undertake a program of asset purchases of £75 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:14 pm Interest rates: Capped tracker mortgages make a comebackLenders are reintroducing caps on tracker mortgages to protect borrowers from possible higher interest rates in the future.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:11 pm Bank of England cuts interest rates and announces plans to print moneyBank of England cuts interest rates to an historic low of 0.5pc and unveils radical plans to inject £75bn of new money into the economy to combat recession.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:11 pm No momentum for stocksU.S. stocks may find it tough to follow through at Thursday's open on a big rally that took the Dow and S&P off 12-year lows.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:10 pm Confusing credits for homebuyersQuestion: I purchased a home last December and qualified for a $7,500 first-time homebuyer's tax credit that I must repay. But I now see that the stimulus package is offering an $8,000 first-time homebuyer credit for purchases from January 1 through November 30, 2009 that doesn't have to be repaid. Will I still have to pay back the $7,500 even though I bought my house just two weeks before the beginning of this year? This sort of timing would be just my luck. --Jeremy, West Lafayette, IndianaSource: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:07 pm Bank of England cuts key rate, sets quantitative easing planLONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Bank of England on Thursday cut its key lending rate nearly to zero and announced it would launch an unprecedented program to effectively print money by buying assets from financial institutions.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:07 pm Indications: U.S. futures slip after China disappointment, GM warningU.S. stock futures failed to extend gains Thursday following a rare up day, with disappointment over a lack of new Chinese spending and a warning from General Motors on its ability to survive dampening sentiment.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:07 pm Bank to 'print' £75bn of new money as it cuts rateAlistair Darling's letter to Bank of England Governor/ Mervyn King's letter to ChancellorSource: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:02 pm BA hints at job losses as revenue fallsBritish Airways has raised the possibility of significant job losses in the coming year and warned that its revenue will fall by 5 per cent.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:01 pm Earnings Watch: Updates, advisories and surprisesA roundup of the latest corporate earnings reports and what companies are saying about future quarters.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:01 pm Interest rate cut: How your mortgage repayments will fallFollowing the Bank of England's decision to cut its base rate to 0.5pc our table shows how much lower your mortgage repayments will be.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 12:00 pm Former Merrill execs invested in Madoff funds: reportNEW YORK (Reuters) - Top former Merrill Lynch executives, including two former CEOs, invested in hedge funds that lost money with alleged fraudster Bernard Madoff, becoming the highest-level Wall Street victims of the scandal to date, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:58 am China's hard landingIn the early evening light, on a block that once bustled but is now deathly quiet, Li Zhong-he walks to the front gate of the factory where he used to work. There he looks for his name on a sheaf of papers. They are notices from a local administrative court, granting small unemployment payments to workers like Li and the hundreds of others who were left without jobs when their company, Hejun Toy Manufacturing, ceased operation.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:58 am Smaller tax breaks for the wealthyOne of the most controversial provisions in President Obama's proposed budget might have a short shelf life on Capitol Hill.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:54 am Aviva shares tumble as dividend is heldAviva slides 29pc after the insurer maintains its dividend dispelling speculation of a cut but reawakens fears over its capital strength.Source: Telegraph Finance | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:54 am China's lawmakers weigh stimulus, though details vagueHopes for a major increase in Beijing's economic rescue plan are dashed, as China's Premier Wen Jiabao pledges to bolster the economy and increase outlays on social programs, but offers little more in terms of changes to the government's earlier-announced $585 billion stimulus package.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:50 am CORRECT: British Air won't return to profit until fiscal 2011British Airways tells investors it expects to follow a loss for the March-ending year with another one as the U.K. carrier anticipates that revenue will fall.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:49 am Demand down for foreign worker visasKevin Chou has had his fair share of visa woes. For the past two years running, his Silicon Valley social networking start-up, Watercooler, has applied for an H-1B work visa for the same Canadian employee. Both times, the petition lost out in the government's annual visa lottery, which selected only 85,000 from a pool of more than 120,000 hopefuls.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:46 am Chinese plans boost Asian sharesAsian shares jump following the announcement of details of China's stimulus package and a speech from Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:45 am GM, auditor express doubts over survivalGeneral Motors and its auditor, Deloitte & Touche, on Thursday express doubts over the automaker’s ability to survive, which in part will depend on car sales rising next year.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:45 am World stocks mixed as China stimulus hopes fade (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:44 am Europe Markets: Shares in Europe give back some gains, rate calls on tapEuropean shares trade broadly lower, as oil producers give back some of the previous session’s sharp gains, with interest-rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on tap later in the session.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:43 am The “No News” File: GM (GM) May Not Make It
The idea that GM might not make it has been hovering around off and on for about three years. The auditor’s opinion show the huge weakness in the public accounting profession. It is set up to make these proclamations once a year. Often they are made so late that they have no value to shareholders. At this point, it does not matter much, GM is effectively bankrupt. The only issue is who will hold the assets. Douglas A. McIntyre Tagged: GM      Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:41 am European judges order ministers to justify retirement age of 65Britain's compulsory retirement age of 65 will break European law if the Government cannot prove that there are social reasons for it, judges ruled today.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:33 am Changing The S&P 500 To The S&P 199
According to MarketWatch, companies such as E*Trade (ETFC) may get the boot soon. But the list of companies that should be taken off does not end with weak financials. The publishing company Meredith (MDP) is still on even though it has a market cap of just over $536 million. So is Office Depot (ODP), which is now a penny stock. Looking at the list of S&P 500 stocks there are a large number that either have market caps below $1 billion or have stocks trading under $1. The S&P 500 should probably be the S&P 199.       Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:33 am Malaysia in $2.7bn economy boostThe Malaysian government unveils plans for a second stimulus package in a further attempt to revive its economy.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:25 am European stocks dip before rate decisions (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:24 am Saving The PC Industry By Selling Computers To Farmers
Gartner and other research firms expect PC sales to be down in almost every major region this year. This has driven stocks in companies such as Dell (DELL) and HP (HPQ) to lows. It has caused the large Chinese computer operation Lenovo to restructure to cut costs. Lenovo has come up with an innovative solution to its sales problem. It will market its product to farmers in the rural sections of the most populous country in the world. According to The Wall Street Journal, “Lenovo Group Ltd., refocusing on the Chinese domestic market, said it will target rural customers with lower-cost computers and 700 new retail stores.” The price of the computers will be cheap, but with most of its manufacturing in Asia, Lenovo has a low cost of goods. Can Dell and HP get in on the action? Each does sell a lot of PCs in China. Of course, they would have to go to a lot of trouble to set up stores in remote regions. That may be too costly. But, China is not the only nation with a lot of farmers. Dell and HP may be better off focusing on the rural markets in the US, Canada, Argentina, and Eastern Europe. So, the PC business has come to this. Its last frontier of growth is in a corn field. Douglas A. McIntyre Tagged: AAPL, DELL, HPQ, MSFT      Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:18 am US urged to re-engage with AsiaA senior US Democratic senator has said that the United States needs to re-engage with Southeast Asia or risk becoming an irrelevance in the face of the expansion of China's influence in the regionSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:14 am British house prices fall 2.3% in FebruaryHalifax, the mortgage lender, said today that house prices had fallen by 2.3 per cent last month but they were now at their most affordable for six years.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:10 am Barclays questioned on fundsLehman Brothers' US liquidators have asked Barclays to explain what happened to an estimated $3.3bn earmarked for bonuses and other liabilities that the UK bank received when it acquired part of the bankrupt Wall Street company last yearSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:03 am 'Underinsured': The cost to youAmericans already shouldering the cost of millions of people without health insurance should brace for a double-whammy, thanks to a surge in the number of "underinsured" - consumers who have some but not enough health insurance coverage.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 11:03 am Leaving Merrill’s Banker Alone To Enjoy Their Money
People who made a lot of money on Wall St. are a perfect target. It plays to the news media, and Cuomo loves to see his picture in the papers. The next victim of Cuomo’s zeal will be bankers at Merrill Lynch, now owned by Bank of America (BAC), who made $10 million or more for their work last year. As the media has pointed out, much of that compensation was in stock, which is probably worthless now. According to The Wall Street Journal, “New York state’s attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, has issued subpoenas to several top Merrill Lynch & Co. executives.” Lost in the media frenzy about the compensation is the fact that these traders and investment bankers almost certainly made every last dime of what they were paid. While their employers were losing tens of billions of dollars, most of these executives ran operations that were highly profitable. To a large extent, they kept their firms from losing more money than they did. It is fair enough for Cuomo to launch his attack dogs on the CEOs who made decisions which brought down their companies. The managers who were making the firms tremendous amounts of money at the same time should really be left alone. Douglas A. McIntyre Tagged: BAC      Source: 247 Wall Street | 5 Mar 2009 | 10:58 am China set 8% target for economic growthChina's Premier today set an economic growth target of 8 per cent for a fifth successive year, but in 2009 the difference will be that his country will struggle to meet a goal that it had far exceeded for half a decade.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 10:32 am Currencies: Dollar higher as equities head southThe U.S. dollar rises against major rivals again Thursday, edging higher as investors again turn away from most global equity markets.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 10:25 am London Markets: Aviva, other insurers fall sharply in downbeat LondonShares of Aviva and other insurers drop in London on Thursday ahead of an interest-rate decision from the Bank of England, after Aviva reported that it swung to a hefty loss for 2008 as investment markets fell.Source: MarketWatch.com - Top Stories | 5 Mar 2009 | 9:58 am UK car sales 22% lower last monthSales of new cars in February were 22% lower than a year earlier, the latest industry figures show.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 9:39 am European shares, FX fall before ECB, BoE moves (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Mar 2009 | 9:38 am Designers wanted: India launches a contest to come up with a symbol for the rupeeThe Indian finance ministry begins a public competition to select a design for the symbol of the rupee.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 9:30 am Profit down 95% at Stella brewerThe world's biggest brewer blames the cost of last year's takeover of Anheuser-Busch for plunging profits.Source: BBC News | Business | World Edition | 5 Mar 2009 | 9:21 am YouTube, Universal mull pactGoogle Inc's YouTube and Universal Music Group are in talks to create a premium online music video service, sources familiar with the situation said Wednesday.Source: Business and financial news - CNNMoney.com | 5 Mar 2009 | 9:02 am Stocks fall at the start of trade (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Stock Markets News | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:45 am Balfour Beatty cautious on slowing private sectorBalfour Beatty, the UK’s largest construction and services company, this morning warned that it is seeing a slowdown in several parts of its business.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:36 am Insurers' shares plunge on Aviva solvency fearsShares across the insurance sector tumbled today after Aviva crashed to a £1.3 billion annual pre-tax loss and wrote off a sizeable chunk of its corporate bond and mortgage securities portfolio.Source: Latest Business News from Times Online | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:14 am Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao outlines aggressive plan to stimulate economyHe says the government will boost spending on healthcare and other social programs and take further steps to offset rising unemployment but does not specify spending beyond the $586-billion stimulus.China's annual legislative session opened today with the premier, Wen Jiabao, outlining an aggressive plan of increased stimulus measures to keep the economy growing rapidly and maintain social stability. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Video game maker THQ plays defenseA big decline in sales prompts the Calabasas firm to cut costs, invest in 'fewer, better bets.'The video game industry is splintering into the haves and the have-nots. THQ Inc. falls in the less fortunate camp. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Northrop plans to lay off up to 750 workersThe aerospace company is consolidating administrative staffs in Redondo Beach and El Segundo, but still has more than 850 open positions for skilled, technical jobs. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Bishops give thumbs down to technology for LentSome Catholics urge doing without texting during the season to honor 'concrete' relationships. They say idle hands...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Cutting school? When will the state learn?As they starve the university system of funds, budget authorities are undermining California's investment in its economic future. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Dearden's store in Los Angeles survives for a centuryThis is just the latest recession that the downtown seller of furniture and other items has faced. The ability to change is seen as a factor in its staying power. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Video game maker THQ plays defenseA big decline in sales prompts the Calabasas firm to cut costs, invest in 'fewer, better bets.' The video game...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Cutting school? When will the state learn?As they starve the university system of funds, budget authorities are undermining California's investment in its economic future.In the spirit of the New Reality of today's world, I'd like to propose a change in the California state motto. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Don't get taken by these stimulus scamsThe FTC is warning against Web ads that promise you a chunk of the federal stimulus package -- for a fee or your personal information. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Panel votes to put California unemployment bill on fast trackThe Assembly measure would make the state eligible for $839 million in federal stimulus money. But a technology deficiency could delay benefits until 2010.A legislative committee Wednesday gave fast-track approval to a bill to funnel $839 million in federal stimulus money into California's insolvent unemployment insurance fund, but the benefits may not help California's 1.9 million jobless before late next year. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Dearden's store in Los Angeles survives for a centuryThis is just the latest recession that the downtown seller of furniture and other items has faced. The ability to change is seen as a factor in its staying power.In today's retail environment, stores are lucky to keep their doors open. Dearden's, a furniture, electronics and appliances store in downtown Los Angeles, has done it for 99 years. And fingers are crossed for many more. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Obama plan aims to help 'responsible' homeownersThe program, with a goal of offering mortgage relief to up to 9 million borrowers, targets those who've kept up with payments and those whose mortgages are underwater, officials say.Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington E. Scott Reckard -- The Obama administration's plan for a housing rescue aids two groups of homeowners largely left out of previous efforts and aims to deny benefits to those who have been unwise or greedy, according to details released Wednesday. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao outlines aggressive plan to stimulate economyHe says the government will boost spending on healthcare and other social programs and take further steps to offset rising unemployment but does not specify spending beyond the $586-billion stimulus. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Chinese, U.S. policies spur stocks and commodities after days of sellingStocks broke a five-day losing streak Wednesday as hope spread that China and the U.S. were taking convincing action to restart their economies.Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Don't get taken by these stimulus scamsThe FTC is warning against Web ads that promise you a chunk of the federal stimulus package -- for a fee or your personal information.Want a personal piece of the $787-billion stimulus pie? Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Obama plan aims to help 'responsible' homeownersThe program, with a goal of offering mortgage relief to up to 9 million borrowers, targets those who've kept up with payments and those whose mortgages are underwater, officials say. ...Source: RSS feed - channel BNPaperBusiness | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Bishops give thumbs down to technology for LentSome Catholics urge doing without texting during the season to honor 'concrete' relationships.They say idle hands are the devil's tools. But this Lent, it may be texting thumbs doing the dirty work. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 8:00 am Taiwan restructures its D-Ram chip industryTaiwan has unveiled a long-awaited plan to restructure the country's struggling D-Ram chip industry, announcing a new government-backed company to buy key technology from foreign competitors and consolidate the domestic marketSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 7:40 am US urged to take lead against recessionAddressing both houses on Capitol Hill, the prime minister pleaded with Congress to 'seize the moment' to lead the world in the fight against recession, global warming and protectionismSource: Financial Times - US homepage | 5 Mar 2009 | 7:35 am Australian stocks: Market closes slightly higherMELBOURNE - The Australian stock market closed higher in choppy trading on Thursday, as the resources sector strengthened on expectations that Chinese efforts to boost its economy would increase demand for minerals. However, some...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 7:27 am Google letting cash "pile up": CEOSANTA BARBARA, California (Reuters) - Google Inc plans to let its cash "pile up" as it weathers an economic recession but doesn't expect to see a fall in revenue, the Web search leader's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Business News | 5 Mar 2009 | 6:57 am NZ stocks: Market continues recoveryThe New Zealand share market continued yesterday's recovery but as the day went on it lost some momentum. The benchmark NZSX-50 index closed up 22.058 points, or 0.893 per cent, at 2491.401, following on from a 51.4-point gain...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 6:51 am Automakers to skip EPA hearing on tailpipe emissionsTwo trade groups will represent the industry in the debate over a waiver sought by California and 13 other states to regulate pollution standards.The Environmental Protection Agency will hold a hearing today at the behest of President Obama on whether California and 13 other states should be allowed to regulate vehicle tailpipe emissions. Source: L.A. Times - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 6:22 am Currency: Dollar climbs back over US50cThe New Zealand dollar rose today as investors felt more comfortable with the global economic outlook as they anticipated China will stimulate its economy more. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who is expected to unveil a new stimulus...Source: New Zealand Herald - Business | 5 Mar 2009 | 5:51 am 5 Stocks Worth Braving (Screens)Heir to "Jackass" (and I mean that reverently), MTV’s new stunt show "Nitro Circus" treats viewers each Sunday night to a fresh half-hour of daring and idiocy (and I mean that appreciatively). Cast members dangle from helicopter skids, race tricycles at high speeds down winding hills or just put antlers on a chubby, shirtless pal and have at him with paint ball rifles. All this, with hope but no promise that the show will achieve the financial success of its predecessor. That’s about what it feels like to buy stocks today. Once considered a place for safe money, General Electric (GE) shares have lost four-fifths of their value in 17 months. Eastman Kodak (EK) has shrunk to a point where it’s arguably free; its stock market value of less than $800 million is less than its last reported surplus of cash. “Buy low” says history, but somehow the antler stunt seems as safe, and as likely to yield a profit. To boost your bravery (for the shares), improve your odds by shunning companies with heavy exposure to credit losses, especially on mortgages. One in five U.S. homeowners now owes more than their home is worth, and prices are widely expected to fall further. Also, favor companies with minimal debt and sales that, if not growing at the moment, are dipping only modestly. And above all, look for rich dividends. Those are getting a bad name at the moment because a rash of companies have cut payments in recent weeks. But more have increased them. Among America’s 500 largest companies, 48 have boosted payments this year, nine more than have trimmed or quit them. The five companies listed below seem like survivors that can keep the payments coming. Their yields top 4%, which is enough to double an investor’s money in 14 years, assuming flat share prices and reinvested payments. Coca-Cola (KO) pays 4%. The Warren Buffett holding is barely growing at the moment, but isn’t shrinking, either — except for its stock price, which has lost a third in a year. As a result, Coke now has a defensive valuation to match its defensive product line. Shares fetch less than 13 times earnings. Intel (INTC) might stay out of favor for a while. The offloading of processing power over the past decade from personal computers onto Internet servers has given consumers less cause for frequent upgrades. Still, Intel dominates its key businesses and invests heavily on research — something studies suggest is a pretty good predictor of earnings growth. The company holds more than 10% of its stock market value in spare cash and pays a 4.4% dividend. Emerson Electric (EMR) has aggressively lowered costs as world-wide demand for things like compressors, thermostats, motors and switches has slowed. As a result, the company remains solidly profitable and earns a handsome return on the capital it invests. Emerson is only modestly indebted and its dividend works out to about half this year’s forecast profits. Current yield: 4%.
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Who's Talking: Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist and managing director of equity research at Raymond James & Associates.
The Gist: With the markets trading at levels not seen in more than a decade, extreme bearishness is the order of the day. And no wonder: A seemingly endless procession of lousy corporate and global economic data has only confirmed the market's worst assumptions about the length and breadth of the recession, making hopes for a second-half recovery more remote every day. But that doesn't mean there are no opportunities for investors in equities these days, or so the thinking goes at Raymond James (RJF).
For anyone looking to call the long-awaited bottom in U.S. equities, Jeffery Saut, chief investment strategist and managing director of equity research at Raymond James, has found an interesting contrarian indicator: The strategist was met with a telling wave of invective for trying to stay somewhat constructive on stocks. "Ladies and gentlemen, in my 38 years at this perch, such a string of 'hate mail' has typically been associated with downside inflection points," Saut told brokerage clients. (Read the full report on Raymond James's site here.)
Saut is by no means a bull, but he does want investors to be prepared for the next bear-market bounce. The strategist is advising that clients stay keen for a "pornographic plunge" type of trading hour similar to the ones that became all too common last fall. Saut's thinking is that if the market experiences that “I-think-I-am-going-to-be-sick” type of hour, it might be sufficient to lock in a tradable low.
No one knows where the market will bottom, of course, and it looks to be range-bound at best for some time. As we've noted recently, this environment does indeed require investors to take a more active approach. It's also imperative that they stick to a disciplined system like the one suggested by SmartMoney's own James B. Stewart, who has long advocated a strategy of buying into declines and selling into rallies.
Raymond James's thinking isn't groundbreaking; nor does it come without risk. But it's a strategy that's working for Keith McCullough, chief executive and chief investment officer at Research Edge, a New Haven, Conn., investment research outfit, whose asset allocation portfolio is essentially flat in 2009, compared with a 20% decline for the broad market.
"The S&P 500 was down another 0.64% [Tuesday] so I added to my exposure to U.S. equities, taking my asset allocation model up to 22% in the U.S. versus the 9% I had allocated in the U.S. as of Monday morning,” McCullough wrote in an email. "Immediate-term bottoms are processes, not points...so when prices are lower than my entry point, I buy more."
The good news is that sort of daily jumping in and jumping out of the market can allow you to eke out gains. And it will help you avoid missing those rare big-rally days that will be so critical to your portfolio's eventual recovery.
The bad news? The more you trade, the more commission and fees you'll cough up to your broker.
SMARTMONEY ® Layout and look and feel of SmartMoney.com are trademarks of SmartMoney, a joint venture between Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst SM Partnership. © 1995 - 2009 SmartMoney. All Rights Reserved.
IF YOU'RE A stock or mutual-fund investor, then you probably know that investments held for more than a year and sold for a profit are subject to lower tax rates as long-term capital gains. Generally speaking, if you're in the 25% tax bracket or higher, you will owe no more than 15% of your profits to the Internal Revenue Service.
But what you might not realize is that more than just stock and mutual-fund shares are eligible for favorable capital-gains tax treatment. If you sold, say, your vacation time share or your country-club membership, then you just might be pleasantly surprised to discover you'll owe no more than 15% on the gain (assuming that you held the asset for more than a year).
Here's a list of some of the most common types of assets potentially subject to these lower rates:
1. Securities options (as in puts and calls) held as personal investments.
2. Stock of closely-held corporations.
3. Collectibles held as personal investments, like baseball cards, stamps, rare coins, art, etc. In this case, a 28% (not 15%) maximum federal tax rate applies.
4. Personal residences (including vacation homes). In this case, the 15% maximum rate generally applies to gains beyond what you can exclude (not pay tax on) under the $250,000/$500,000 home-sale gain exclusion privilege. However, a 25% maximum rate applies to gains triggered by certain depreciation deductions claimed against your property.
5. Vacation time-share interests.
6. Country-club memberships.
7. Personal autos (that aren't collectibles). Keep in mind, this means that you've sold your car at a profit, which is unlikely.
8. Personal-property items (that aren't collectibles) in general — such as jewelry, furniture, a lawn mower and so on.
9. Rental real estate owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. (The standard 15% maximum rate applies, but gains from depreciating property may be taxed at up to 25%.)
10. Land held as an investment by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation.
11. Your ownership interest in a partnership or a limited-liability company. In this case, the 15% maximum rate usually applies, although depending on the assets of the partnership or limited-liability company, part of your gain may be taxed at higher rates of up to 35%.
12. Land used in a business owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. This could be the actual land that your small business is located on, or it could be land held by your small business, such as an apple orchard.
13. Options to buy investment land when the option is owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. This is the option to buy land at a certain price over a set period of time. It could be, for example, that you've purchased the option to buy a plot of land that you think is going to appreciate because of future development in the area.
14. The right to receive money for release of a restrictive covenant in a land deed when the deed is owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation.
15. The right to a condemnation award when the right is owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. This would apply if, say, your property were condemned by the city so that it could take over the land and build a civic building.
16. The right of a tenant to receive a lease-cancellation payment when the tenant is an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. This would apply if you were renting property and your landlord cancelled your lease.
17. Contract rights owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. For example, you might own a license giving you the right to use a software program. If you can sell that license to someone else for a gain, it will be taxed at no more than 15%.
18. Most other intangible business assets (such as intellectual property, trade secrets, goodwill and so on) owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. In these cases, the 15% maximum rate generally applies. However, if the business intangible was amortized, gains attributable to the amortization deductions are taxed at your regular rate (up to 35%).
19. A stock-exchange membership owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. Obviously, there aren't too many of these, but this does apply to regional exchanges as well.
20. Depreciable or amortizable assets used in business — provided the asset is owned by an individual, partnership, limited-liability company or S corporation. Gains attributable to depreciation or amortization deductions are generally taxed at your regular rate (up to 35%). The 15% maximum rate generally applies to the balance of the gain.
SMARTMONEY ® Layout and look and feel of SmartMoney.com are trademarks of SmartMoney, a joint venture between Dow Jones & Company, Inc. and Hearst SM Partnership. © 1995 - 2009 SmartMoney. All Rights Reserved.
$$$ Bethany McLean: "The five hotshots who took Fortress Investment Group public were worth billions at first. Today they look like arrogant showboats, and their story helps explain why hedge funds are imploding by the thousands--and why there's still a truckload of money to be made." [VF]
$$$ Beautiful Banker Yields Interest: Life After Goldman Is a Catwalk! [Observer]
$$$ Specialists Pay $70 Million to Settle S.E.C. Charges [Dealbook]
$$$ Goldman lays off down under [The Deal]
$$$ Bubba To Talk Green [Fortune]
On today's Planet Money:
-- President Barack Obama says the $787 billion economic stimulus plan will create jobs and help pull the country out of the recession. The exact amount of lift depends on a concept economists call "velocity." Ian Shepherdson of High-Frequency Economics catches up.
-- The Obama administration has repeatedly called nationalizing the banks the wrong approach. U.S. policy analyst Sean West of Eurasia Group says the White House is still leaving the door open to that option, but quietly.
-- Jason Bailey is living the good life in Greater Detroit. Seriously, he's got it lined up.
Download the podcast; or subscribe. Intro music: Irene Cara's "Fame." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Flickr
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Planet Money went to Capitol Hill today -- or at least, its stories did. Check out this exchange between Sen. Max Baucus and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. The good stuff starts at about the two hours, 20 minutes mark.
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The B-man celebrates New Year's Eve on a yacht, 2005. [VF]
Excellent! Things are looking up. Obama's call is looking pretty good after a day.
Obama Portfolio (Since Inception): +1.20%
Go team!
 Blue whales are the planet’s largest creatures, yet we hardly ever see them. Their calls travel thousands of miles, but we can barely hear them. Now, National Geographic embarks on a mission to witness what nobody ever has in these waters; blue whales eating and giving birth. Click to Learn More natgeotv.com/bluewhale |
Cityfile reports that Merrill Lynch is in the process of hosting a Global Wealth Management "training session" at the Orlando Ritz Carlton Golf Resort. Before the lot of you get your knickers in a twit over this being an inappropriate use of TARP funds or something, 1) please realize that it's been a really long time since MER last took a vacay (22 days) and 2) step off, bitch.
Depends on what you think of mark-to-market accounting. Apparently, even in the face of the turning tides, mark-to-market was saved.
The recently departed top accountant for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday he refused to suspend mark-to-market accounting rules last year despite intense political pressure.Mark-to-market, or fair value, accounting rules require financial companies to value assets based on what they could fetch in a current market transaction. Some bankers and investors have blamed new accounting rules requiring broader use of the standard for exacerbating the financial crisis, saying banks were forced to mark down assets to artificially low prices.
Wonder why he "departed."
Ex-SEC accounting chief refused to nix fair value [Reuters]
Blue whales are the planet’s largest creatures, yet we hardly ever see them. Their calls travel thousands of miles, but we can barely hear them. Now, National Geographic embarks on a mission to witness what nobody ever has in these waters; blue whales eating and giving birth. Click to Learn More natgeotv.com/bluewhale |
It could've been worse!
HR Web Café has an interesting post about so-called “Love Contracts,” which are set to replace traditional workplace dating bans:
Forty percent of U.S. workers have dated an office colleague, with 31 percent of those romances progressing on to marriage, according to a recent workplace dating survey survey by CareerBuilder.
(Times are changing). Yesterday’s employer policies banning or restricting workplace dating are giving way to the so-called love contract, a written acknowledgment that a workplace relationship is consensual. Generally, the terms of such a contract would involve both parties agreeing to abide by company policies, both while dating and should the relationship end.
Attorney Marilyn Sneirson…suggests several key elements that should be addressed in love contracts:
• Dating employees are expected to follow certain guidelines, such as refraining from displays of affection at work or work- related events
• Either employee “can end the relationship without fear of work-related retaliation”
• Dating employees agree to waive their rights to pursue a claim of sexual harassment for any event prior to the signing of the contract
Does anyone actually follow these kinds of protocols? Let me illustrate the kinds of office debauchery I’ve witnessed in the past, when dating bans were still the norm:
- A makeout session on the ground, between cars in the parking lot, at 11am.
- A very active Jacuzzi at an office offsite
- Don’t get me started on offsite hotel rooms
- One couple kept late nights. Really late nights.
Perhaps the Internet and publishing industries, where I’ve worked in the past, employ more young people than others, making these cases exceptional. But I can’t imagine that adapting laws will do much more than serve a few litigious individuals and ensure compliance to state or local standards. People have incentive to fall back on these laws, but not to follow them.
The nice part about love contracts is that they admit the inevitability of office romances. Better to structure the verbiage around an existing phenomenon than try to ban it entirely, which only adds guilt to the equation.
I'm reading through the Obama administration's new foreclosure plan. In addition to the word "responsible" showing up a lot, I'm seeing hints of political strategy -- like this one:
"The Home Affordable Modification program has a simple goal: reduce the amount homeowners owe per month to sustainable levels to stabilize communities."
The boldface there is mine. The Treasury Department says a single foreclosure pushes nearby home values down by as much 9 percent.
So far, much of the conversation on Planet Money has been about whether homeowners who owe more than their houses are currently worth -- the 20 percent of families thought to be underwater -- can be enticed to stay in their homes, even with lower monthly payments.
I wouldn't expect any given person with an outsize mortgage to be persuaded to stay put, just for the good of the neighbors. But I do think it's interesting to watch President Obama sell the plan to America that way. He's got two jobs: Get the homeowners to stay, and get the public to support his approach.
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A Journal of Consumer Research study has concluded that people are more likely to buy and savor products when time (rather than money) is mentioned in marketing campaigns:
When consumers are primed to think about time, they are more likely to feel personal connections with products, explain authors Cassie Mogilner and Jennifer Aaker (both Stanford University).
(Using) surveys, researchers directed participants to think about either money or
time. They then measured consumer satisfaction with products using questionnaires.
In the case of the lemonade stand, the researchers rotated a sign that read “Spend a little
money and enjoy our lemonade,” “Spend a little time and enjoy our lemonade,” or
“Enjoy our lemonade.” The stand’s customers who responded to the “time” sign
expressed the most satisfaction with the product.
“The effect was demonstrated amongst consumers purchasing a cup of lemonade from a
lemonade stand promoted by a sign that mentioned time (vs. money), amongst university
students led to think about the amount of time (vs. money) they had spent on their iPods, amongst restaurant patrons considering the amount of time (vs. money) they spend eating out, and amongst typical consumers evaluating their cars,” write the authors.
“Despite marketers’ frequent decisions to references to these concepts in their
communications, surprisingly little is known about the downstream effects of directing
consumers’ attention to time or money,” write the authors. “This research offers insight
into not only how marketers can make their products more appealing, but also how
consumers can extract greater enjoyment from the products they consume.”
It sounds like consumers value time over money. Wired lifestyles have made time a more important commodity than it used to be; from that standpoint, the study makes a lot of sense. A slogan like “Make Time” would be mighty effective for some product or another. Much better than “Make Money,” in any case.
Ever gotten one of those calls, the one where they say, "Can you come down to HR?"
(Video made by bickerman on Xtranormal: Text-to-Movie)
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Robert Hart sends this picture of the Rhode Island Mall in Warwick. He writes:
My local mall in Rhode Island, which I haven't visted in about a year, has only five stores left in it. I was talking to the employees in several stores and they all thanked me for stopping by. I saw many vacant storefronts with signs saying, closing in Feb 2009 which were vacant. There is a Sears that has everything on sale, a Walmart and a Kohl's left. I think it was in decline due to Providence Place Mall, but this recession is killing it. Walking inside felt almost post apocalyptic, it was scary.
Bonus: Credit crisis puts another mall owner on the ropes
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My friend Owen (inspired by the above comic) started poking around on the simple english version of Wikipedia for various economic terms.
It's like the Wikipedia you know and love, except that all the definitions are supposed to only use the most common 1,000 words in the English language. It's intended for people around the world who are just learning the language. But it has the happy side effect of eliminating all that awful economic jargon.
Owen particularly liked the entry on money, which begins:
"Besides being easier to carry than cows, using money had many other advantages. Money is easier to divide than many trade goods. If someone own cows, and wants to trade for only "half a cow's worth" of wheat, he probably does not want to cut his cow in half. But if he sells his cow for money, and buys wheat with money, he can get exactly the amount he wants."
He laments there is no entry for collateralized debt obligation. Anyone want to take a whack at it?
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@aimeesblog sends a great article from Bloomberg: Hidden Pension Fiasco May Foment Another $1 Trillion Bailout.
Pension funds are major investors -- returns from the market are a key part of the model. The funds have been leaning on long-term stock market returns of 8 percent or more, but in reality getting closer to 3 percent, or less. From Bloomberg:
"It's pitiful, isn't it?" says Frederick "Shad" Rowe, a member of the Texas Pension Review Board, which monitors state and local government pension funds. "My experience has been that pension funds misfire from every direction. They overstate expected returns and understate future costs. The combination is debilitating over time."
Guess who gets to help when the pension funds come up short?
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President Barack Obama told reporters yesterday that stocks are starting to look enticing again:
"[W]hat you're now seeing is profit and earning ratios are starting to get to the point where buying stocks is potentially a good deal, if you have a long-term perspective on it."
The Wall Street Journal has the best take I've seen on why sitting presidents usually steer clear of talking about the Dow:
"It is dicey for a president to talk about stock prices. In effect, he is assuming some responsibility -- at least in the mind of some investors -- for the gyrations of their savings and retirement funds. Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin warned then-President Bill Clinton not to discuss stock prices, for fear of influencing market behavior, or having his credibility undermined when prices went against the White House line. George W. Bush's first Treasury secretary, Paul O'Neill, was lambasted for imploring Americans to buy stocks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But two weeks after the signing of his $787 billion stimulus law, the selling of the president's economic program has hit high gear. The stock-market plunge has given new voice to naysayers who say the president is in part to blame for reeling financial markets. They see halting policy efforts and a stimulus plan that is too cumbersome and slow-acting.
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Barely a week ago, we noted that Terra Industries, Inc. (NYSE: TRA) was likely to refuse an unsolicited offer from CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CF) because the deal included only 0.4325 shares of CF stock for each Terra share, and 
There are a couple issues around the defense of a battered and tattered General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) this morning. An analyst note is defending the stock, and CFO Keith Sherin gave an interview early this morning on CNBC which was addressing all of the rumors and concerns that have been passed around Wall Street. We recently ran what 
People who don’t have much money still need to buy the essentials somewhere. That place seems to be Wal-Mart (WMT) which still sells a lot of nifty stuff at low prices.
These are some of the top pre-market analyst upgrades and positive calls from Wall Street we are seeing this Thursday morning with about two hours until the market opens:
These are some of the top pre-market analyst downgrades and negative calls we have seen from Wall Street this Thursday morning with about two hours until the open:
GM’s (GM) auditors expressed doubt that the car company will remain a “going concern”. Accountants often offer these opinions. They don’t usually mean much. If GM gets $100 billion from the federal government tomorrow it no longer has the problem.
With the drop in stock prices there are a lot of companies that don’t belong in the S&P 500. As a matter of fact, there may not be enough large cap firms to keep the S&P 500 at a level where it contains 500 companies that really matter.
Around the world, PC sales are dying. The global recession is causing consumers and businesses to defer purchases until their current machines break down. Their older computers have powerful enough processors and adequate versions of Microsoft (MSFT) Windows to last until kingdom come.
Andrew Cuomo spends most of his time running for the governor’s job in New York State. In his spare time he acts as Attorney General and will investigate and prosecute anything he can get his hands on.
