Archive for February, 2009
Feb
26
2009
 
$1.75T Deficit, Higher Taxes, "Bogus" Stimulus: But John Mauldin Sees a Silver LiningPosted by: yahootechticker in Yahoo Tech TickerPresident Barack Obama formally unveiled his budget blueprint Thursday and predicted the federal budget deficit will hit $1.75 trillion in the current fiscal year, ending Sept. 30.Obama aims to pay for the orgy of spending largely by increasing taxes on t The decision before us is being set up as a choice between nationalizing the banks quickly and “temporarily” as recommended by Alan Greenspan or slowly “as losses occur”, as recommended by Ben Bernanke. We should do neither. Insolvent banks should not be nationalized; they should go bankrupt. Many large American banks are insolvent, meaning their liabilities are greater than their assets. For such institutions a bankruptcy-type restructuring is the best solution for many reasons. Insolvent banks need not be liquidated. They should have their assets written down and then be put under the control of a conservator. The only question is, who should be the conservator? It should not be the government; it should be the debt-holders. Here’s the transcript of last night’s dynamic economic debate on CNBC’s The Kudlow Report between my two good friends — both terribly bright economists — Art Laffer and Steve Liesman. Art is my mentor. Steve is my valued colleague. LARRY KUDLOW: Let me bring in Arthur Laffer, I want to get his take on all this, and a few other things. Art Laffer, the head of Laffer Investments, former Reagan advisor and the co-author of “The End of Prosperity.” So Arthur, let’s have a quick lay of the land here from your perspective. ARTHUR LAFFER: Yeah, what they’re doing Larry is the government is borrowing all the private capital available in the marketplace, then they’re the only ones left to invest anywhere. And it is, effectively, a partial nationalization of not only the banks, but of the auto industries. It’s a catastrophe. And the market is giving it a huge thumbs down and raspberry on these policies. I’ve never seen anything so bad in my life. The administration’s $3.6 trillion spending outline slams health insurance stocks and Sallie Mae. Bank stocks mostly rally. Oil moves higher. GM reports a $9.6 billion quarterly loss and says it needs more help.
Feb
26
2009
Europe’s Crisis: Much Bigger Than Subprime, Worse Than U.S.Posted by: yahootechticker in Yahoo Tech TickerJohn Mauldin, president of Millennium Wave Advisors, was among the few analysts whose forecasts for 2008 proved accurate. Mauldin, author of the popular “Thoughts from the Frontline” e-letter, joined us to discuss the economic situation in Easte The automaker’s annual loss is its second worst ever. New-home sales sink to a record low. JPMorgan will cut 12,000 jobs. Bank of America could sell First Republic. CEDAR FALLS — On March 5, Goodwill will open its new 17,000-square-foot store as the focal business of a revamped strip mall, now called the Goodwill Center.
Feb
26
2009
Deere CEO warns of tough times aheadPosted by: wcfcouriernewsfeed in Cedar Valley BusinessMOLINE, Ill. — As the current economic crisis reaches around the globe, Deere & Co. chairman and chief executive officer Robert Lane told shareholders Wednesday that the company has weathered challenges for more than 170 years — often emerging stronger in times of adversity.
Feb
26
2009
General Motors Lost $85 Million Every DayPosted by: yahootechticker in Yahoo Tech TickerFrom The Business Insider, Feb. 26, 2009: As we mentioned this morning, GM’s total loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $9 billion. It’s hard to imagine any number that large, so we decided to break it down by the day. It turns out that GM lost somethi
Feb
26
2009
Alternative Energy Is a Giant Capital Pit, Kedrosky Says: "There’s No There There"Posted by: yahootechticker in Yahoo Tech TickerAlternative energy is one of the key pillars of Barack Obama’s budget “blueprint”, formally unveiled today. “We know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the 21st century,” Obama said in his The automaker expects another difficult year. The Treasury Department gives details of its ’stress test’ for banks. Bank of America could sell First Republic. LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis. “We’re likely to do that in the foreseeable future,” McCarthy said at the Jefferies 5th annual Internet and Media conference in New York. Netflix customers currently pay a fixed monthly subscription fee for access to the company’s popular by-mail DVD service, with about 100,000 titles, as well as its online streaming service, with more than 12,000 titles available for viewing. Netflix recently said it had hit 10 million subscribers, and said last month its stronger-than-expected quarterly results were propelled by growth in its Web video streaming service. The Watch Instantly streaming service was first available only on personal computers, but is now offered through various devices, including the Roku set-top boxes, Microsoft Corp’s Xbox, and LG Electronics Inc products. McCarthy stressed the company still remains focused on providing a bundled offering, but said he understands that some viewers will find a stand-alone streaming service to be compelling, particularly as more compatible devices become prevalent. (Reporting by Sue Zeidler; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch navigation systems company TomTom said on Thursday Microsoft had launched a patent lawsuit against it in the United States, but denied it had breached any patent rights. “We reject the claim and will vigorously defend ourselves,” TomTom spokesman Taco Titulaer said, adding that Microsoft sent a letter to TomTom’s U.S. office informing it of the action. Microsoft said it was taking the legal steps against TomTom, which makes portable navigation devices for cars and mapping software for handheld computers, after the two failed to reach a patent-licensing agreement after more than a year of talks. “When a reasonable business agreement cannot be reached, we have no choice but to pursue legal action to protect our innovations and our partners who license them,” Horacio Gutierrez, deputy general counsel of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Microsoft, said in a statement. Microsoft filed a complaint in a U.S. District Court in Washington and at the International Trade Commission. Shares in TomTom were down 6 percent at 3.10 euros at 1113 GMT (6:13 a.m. EST), near an all-time low of 2.81 euros and compared with a 0.3 percent rise in the Amsterdam AEX index. “We fear this news could depress the TomTom share price for a long time,” RBS analyst Wim Gille said. Martijn den Drijver, analyst at SNS Securities, said given that TomTom rival Garmin has already licensed technology from Microsoft, it is likely that TomTom will settle the case and pay a license fee. “A prolonged legal battle at this point, with an uncertain outcome, does not make sense,” he said in a note. Microsoft said the patents involved in the case related to innovations in car navigation technology and other computing functionality that Microsoft has licensed to other companies. TomTom reported this week a 989 million euro ($1.3 billion) fourth-quarter net loss as it made a 1 billion euro writedown on digital map supplier Tele Atlas, which it acquired last year. The company is now exploring options to prevent a breach of its loan covenants. ($1=.7853 Euro) (Editing by Mike Nesbit, John Stonestreet) Ben Bernanke says there’s a “reasonable prospect” the recession will end this year and 2010 will be a “year of recovery.”His caveats aside, the Fed chairman is making a big leap of faith considering the economic data continues to show Credit bureau Experian’s recent move means lenders can see FICO scores that you can’t. That’s just wrong, and the law needs to catch up with today’s credit scoring practices. |
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