Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Social Justice
What do you call it when someone steals someone else's money secretly? Theft. What do you call it when someone takes someone else's money openly by force? Robbery. What do you call it when a politician takes someone else's money in taxes and gives it to someone who is more likely to vote for him? Social Justice.
---- Thomas Sowell
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Higher Taxes Coming?
The confidence that the American people have in Obama is falling fast & furious.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Businesses hire based on demand
MERRY MEDIOCRITY
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
8/30/2011 9:29:55 AM Eastern Time
"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity."
-Andrew Carnegie
Well, there is one place where mediocrity can be the motivation, and that's the stock market. Of course, when the market has been flushed out of weak sisters and wobbly-kneed uncles, it is much easier to get the kind of session witnessed yesterday. What got the market going?
>; The Fed is still serving as a backstop that will try to jawbone stocks higher or resort to manipulation.
>; Consumers are back, albeit at the expense of savings, but who cares.
>; Valuations are dirt cheap and smart players tripped over each other for a piece of the action.
>; We faced down a once-in-century hurricane and earthquake so what is a little market risk.
There are many reasons for the market being higher because stocks were, and still are, oversold. The best reason, albeit somewhat disingenuous, is the expectations game. Expectations are so low that it means even if we miss on things like the ISM Manufacturing number or the jobs report, the downside will be limited. On the other hand, clearing those low hurdles could have an Olympian impact on the mood of the market and investors. I think the Fed will get in the game in several ways, and if there is a so-called Plunge Protection Team (White House operation to support the stock market) then it's going to get in gear, too. But, there is also another thing in favor of the market.
It's the only game in town to make money. Sure, gold has been amazing and is clearly a smart hedge even at these levels. But, Treasury bond yields are just too paltry in a world where so many people have to play catch up. I find it hard to imagine that a 65 year old person with less than $500,000 in liquid assets can settle for 2% for the next thirty years. But, there is enough fear to keep people in that foxhole a little longer. I will say with the appointment of Alan Krueger to head up the Council of Economic Advisers that scintilla of hope there could be even a slight altering of the grand game plan was dashed. This is another academic that believes in spending a lot of money, gained through a lot of taxes, to go to stuff like alterative energy.
The labor economist is something of a renaissance man, an expert on terrorism, taxes, and happiness, among other things. The problem is he is yet another guy with theories instead of dirty hands from doing the kind of work that America needs. I'm talking grassroots jobs that grow and along the way, enlarge the wealth of communities and the country.
I would have preferred someone that took risks, bet it all, and won. That person's victory and riches triggered a virtuous circle and he/she could bring that firsthand knowledge to the job. Instead, we are going to hear about the virtues of higher minimum wage and how great alternative energy is for the nation and economy. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for academics in searching for solutions.
Yesterday I had Dr. Burt Folsom from Hillsdale College on my 2PM Fox Business Show, and he made great points, many of them from his book: "The Myth of the Robber Barons." He pointed out that the first three railroads in this country were subsidized by the government, leading to massive waste and bankruptcy for all, while a fourth non-subsidized railroad survived. We looked at five alternative energy companies that have gotten millions of taxpayer dollars and visits from President Obama or Vice President Biden. The best performing name was down only 63% from its two-year high. Pull up a chart of these names and ask should they really get your hard earned money?
>; A123 (AONE)
>; Advanced Battery (ABAT)
>; Ener1 (HEV)
>; Evergreen Solar (ESLR)
>; Cree research (CREE)
As we get closer to the latest jobs speech more stuff is being leaked. It looks like the centerpiece of the program is renovating thousands of public schools and tax breaks for new hires. Who can say no to spending on public schools? The heartstrings and finger pointing are all wrapped in a neat bow. Of course, it would be something involving unions and government. I'd much prefer we renovate the insides of public schools beginning with curriculum, bogus tenure, and low expectations. As a sustained job creator this idea gets an F+. Sure, there will be a lot of money floating around and a big chunk will make it back into the Obama Victory Fund, but it's not going to trigger real economic growth.
On the topic of tax breaks for new hires, it's not going to work. Businesses hire based on demand, and save for a few more mall jobs to absorb those public school retrofitting checks no business is going to take the bait. With the new healthcare law kicking in and triggering devastating new taxes, businesses will be looking to save money not hire idle workers. (By the way, even the US Postal Service is getting wise to paying people not to work. While I can't vouch for the speed at the USPS, so far paying workers for "standby time" is down to $4.3 million in the first half of 2011 from $30.9 million in 2009. The story broke in the Washington Post, and it seems to me because of so many looming layoffs such largess, which was heavily abused, can no longer be tolerated or encouraged.)
Fox News is reporting the green jobs program in Seattle is being called a bust after 16 months and $20.0 million; it created just 14 jobs. The program was designed to weatherize homes, but has only been able to upgrade three homes so most of the jobs are administrative. Apparently this is the norm for the Department of Energy, which has allocated $508.0 million to 41 states for its Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. That investment has yielded 600 jobs created or retained, which means it cost taxpayers $846,666 per job.
One year into the program 9,000 homes have had energy audits and some type of upgrade. The goal is 150,000 homes by 2013 to save consumers $65.0 million annually
(Those supposed savings will go away when utilities are forced to close down coal plants...but that's another story.)
The Expectations Game- No Winners
I don't think the market is excited at all about the jobs speech, and that might be the best news because it's all about expectations and low hurdles.
Back to the market, I love the action in part because stuff that was stuck in the mud acted much better. US Steel (X) had a great session, banks rebounded, and retailers acted well, too. But, make no mistake, on weeks that lead up to the jobs report there is normally one big down session. In fact, a healthy pullback sometime between now and Friday will enhance low expectations, thereby building up any kind of beat on jobs.
This game of expectations goes beyond Wall Street and into so many parts of our everyday lives. Washington DC has made the shift from bold promises of sending a man to the moon and creating full employment to the point that a year from now our President will run for reelection on a platform that unemployment is only 8.5% as compared to "almost 10%", and that message will resonate with those that forgot how we used to demand more. I'm living through this game right now with my power company. Our power went out on Sunday and we were told it would take a week to get it back on.
Well, the power came back last night, and we were relieved. Then this morning the power went out again. I have a feeling they are actually rationing power, rotating it among different homes while they play the game of expectations. I'm supposed to be thrilled the company I pay money to each month is half-ass doing their job. With about a week's advance notice this shouldn't be a problem and no one in the modern world, let alone America, should be without electricity for a week, even intermittingly. But, it does remind us to be grateful and never relax or take anything for granted.
Today's Session
The market is going to give back gains at the open, and that's to be expected. The key now is to hold intraday lows from last week and build a new base of support. We sent out profit alerts on three ideas yesterday in part to this wild volatility and the need to be nimble and always have cash. At some point, I will ride out the gyrations for larger, longer term gains but am not sure the risk/reward dynamic has changed enough just yet.
Charles Evens, a voting member of the FOMC, said this morning he "would favor more accommodation" because we would be worse off without QEII. He says commodities are up on demand, not the Fed bludgeoning the dollar. His comments have sent gold soaring this morning but oddly added pressure on stocks. Maybe the sobering reality of the true state of the economy is mitigating the notion of more upward manipulation of the stock market...for the moment.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
8/30/2011 9:29:55 AM Eastern Time
"People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity."
-Andrew Carnegie
Well, there is one place where mediocrity can be the motivation, and that's the stock market. Of course, when the market has been flushed out of weak sisters and wobbly-kneed uncles, it is much easier to get the kind of session witnessed yesterday. What got the market going?
>; The Fed is still serving as a backstop that will try to jawbone stocks higher or resort to manipulation.
>; Consumers are back, albeit at the expense of savings, but who cares.
>; Valuations are dirt cheap and smart players tripped over each other for a piece of the action.
>; We faced down a once-in-century hurricane and earthquake so what is a little market risk.
There are many reasons for the market being higher because stocks were, and still are, oversold. The best reason, albeit somewhat disingenuous, is the expectations game. Expectations are so low that it means even if we miss on things like the ISM Manufacturing number or the jobs report, the downside will be limited. On the other hand, clearing those low hurdles could have an Olympian impact on the mood of the market and investors. I think the Fed will get in the game in several ways, and if there is a so-called Plunge Protection Team (White House operation to support the stock market) then it's going to get in gear, too. But, there is also another thing in favor of the market.
It's the only game in town to make money. Sure, gold has been amazing and is clearly a smart hedge even at these levels. But, Treasury bond yields are just too paltry in a world where so many people have to play catch up. I find it hard to imagine that a 65 year old person with less than $500,000 in liquid assets can settle for 2% for the next thirty years. But, there is enough fear to keep people in that foxhole a little longer. I will say with the appointment of Alan Krueger to head up the Council of Economic Advisers that scintilla of hope there could be even a slight altering of the grand game plan was dashed. This is another academic that believes in spending a lot of money, gained through a lot of taxes, to go to stuff like alterative energy.
The labor economist is something of a renaissance man, an expert on terrorism, taxes, and happiness, among other things. The problem is he is yet another guy with theories instead of dirty hands from doing the kind of work that America needs. I'm talking grassroots jobs that grow and along the way, enlarge the wealth of communities and the country.
I would have preferred someone that took risks, bet it all, and won. That person's victory and riches triggered a virtuous circle and he/she could bring that firsthand knowledge to the job. Instead, we are going to hear about the virtues of higher minimum wage and how great alternative energy is for the nation and economy. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for academics in searching for solutions.
Yesterday I had Dr. Burt Folsom from Hillsdale College on my 2PM Fox Business Show, and he made great points, many of them from his book: "The Myth of the Robber Barons." He pointed out that the first three railroads in this country were subsidized by the government, leading to massive waste and bankruptcy for all, while a fourth non-subsidized railroad survived. We looked at five alternative energy companies that have gotten millions of taxpayer dollars and visits from President Obama or Vice President Biden. The best performing name was down only 63% from its two-year high. Pull up a chart of these names and ask should they really get your hard earned money?
>; A123 (AONE)
>; Advanced Battery (ABAT)
>; Ener1 (HEV)
>; Evergreen Solar (ESLR)
>; Cree research (CREE)
As we get closer to the latest jobs speech more stuff is being leaked. It looks like the centerpiece of the program is renovating thousands of public schools and tax breaks for new hires. Who can say no to spending on public schools? The heartstrings and finger pointing are all wrapped in a neat bow. Of course, it would be something involving unions and government. I'd much prefer we renovate the insides of public schools beginning with curriculum, bogus tenure, and low expectations. As a sustained job creator this idea gets an F+. Sure, there will be a lot of money floating around and a big chunk will make it back into the Obama Victory Fund, but it's not going to trigger real economic growth.
On the topic of tax breaks for new hires, it's not going to work. Businesses hire based on demand, and save for a few more mall jobs to absorb those public school retrofitting checks no business is going to take the bait. With the new healthcare law kicking in and triggering devastating new taxes, businesses will be looking to save money not hire idle workers. (By the way, even the US Postal Service is getting wise to paying people not to work. While I can't vouch for the speed at the USPS, so far paying workers for "standby time" is down to $4.3 million in the first half of 2011 from $30.9 million in 2009. The story broke in the Washington Post, and it seems to me because of so many looming layoffs such largess, which was heavily abused, can no longer be tolerated or encouraged.)
Fox News is reporting the green jobs program in Seattle is being called a bust after 16 months and $20.0 million; it created just 14 jobs. The program was designed to weatherize homes, but has only been able to upgrade three homes so most of the jobs are administrative. Apparently this is the norm for the Department of Energy, which has allocated $508.0 million to 41 states for its Better Buildings Neighborhood Program. That investment has yielded 600 jobs created or retained, which means it cost taxpayers $846,666 per job.
One year into the program 9,000 homes have had energy audits and some type of upgrade. The goal is 150,000 homes by 2013 to save consumers $65.0 million annually
(Those supposed savings will go away when utilities are forced to close down coal plants...but that's another story.)
The Expectations Game- No Winners
I don't think the market is excited at all about the jobs speech, and that might be the best news because it's all about expectations and low hurdles.
Back to the market, I love the action in part because stuff that was stuck in the mud acted much better. US Steel (X) had a great session, banks rebounded, and retailers acted well, too. But, make no mistake, on weeks that lead up to the jobs report there is normally one big down session. In fact, a healthy pullback sometime between now and Friday will enhance low expectations, thereby building up any kind of beat on jobs.
This game of expectations goes beyond Wall Street and into so many parts of our everyday lives. Washington DC has made the shift from bold promises of sending a man to the moon and creating full employment to the point that a year from now our President will run for reelection on a platform that unemployment is only 8.5% as compared to "almost 10%", and that message will resonate with those that forgot how we used to demand more. I'm living through this game right now with my power company. Our power went out on Sunday and we were told it would take a week to get it back on.
Well, the power came back last night, and we were relieved. Then this morning the power went out again. I have a feeling they are actually rationing power, rotating it among different homes while they play the game of expectations. I'm supposed to be thrilled the company I pay money to each month is half-ass doing their job. With about a week's advance notice this shouldn't be a problem and no one in the modern world, let alone America, should be without electricity for a week, even intermittingly. But, it does remind us to be grateful and never relax or take anything for granted.
Today's Session
The market is going to give back gains at the open, and that's to be expected. The key now is to hold intraday lows from last week and build a new base of support. We sent out profit alerts on three ideas yesterday in part to this wild volatility and the need to be nimble and always have cash. At some point, I will ride out the gyrations for larger, longer term gains but am not sure the risk/reward dynamic has changed enough just yet.
Charles Evens, a voting member of the FOMC, said this morning he "would favor more accommodation" because we would be worse off without QEII. He says commodities are up on demand, not the Fed bludgeoning the dollar. His comments have sent gold soaring this morning but oddly added pressure on stocks. Maybe the sobering reality of the true state of the economy is mitigating the notion of more upward manipulation of the stock market...for the moment.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Monday, August 29, 2011
TERM LIMITS
TERM LIMITS
Barney Frank is the poster child for term limits in Congress.
2000: Frank called the concerns about Fannie and Freddie “overblown” claiming there was no federal liability whatsoever.
2002: Frank said “I do not regard Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as problems. I regard them as assets.”
2003: Frank opposed reforms saying he did not “regard Fannie and Freddie as problems.”
2004: With Fannie’s accounting scandal, Frank again insisted they were not in any crisis. “Even if the two went belly-up, he said, I think Wall Street will get over it.”
2008: Frank said the losses and foreclosures was the fault of Wall Street. “The private sector got us into this mess….the government has to get us out of it.”
2010: Frank is now supports abolishing Fannie and Freddie – a little late on seeing the problem.
Fresh eyes on a problem can usually see something that someone close to the problem overlook. Barney Frank obviously overlooked the problem year after year. If you feel this is an important issue please forward this email along with your own comments to your respective Representative/Senator and ask them for their opinion.
ABOLISH
I am also in favor of abolishing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac along with the retirement of old worn out politicians.
Personal Income & Spending
POST IRENE, THE WORLD LOOKS SUNNIER...FOR NOW
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
8/29/2011 9:51:09 AM Eastern Time
Personal Income and Spending
Personal income climbed 0.3% in July, which was in line with some estimates, and slightly below other consensus readings. On the other hand, personal spending surged by 0.8%, which is well above the 0.5% the Street expected. Spending came at the expense of savings, which tumbled to 5.0% from 5.5% month to month.
Friday sees the latest on employment, and it's one of those deals where the number could be miserable but also beat the Street. One thing for sure is our employment situation is dismal, especially among young adults and men of all ages. Only 48.8% of the youth (16 to 24) are employed, this is the lowest percentage ever, since this series has been kept. Back in 1969, more than 95% of men ages 24 to 55 worked; today, that number has plunged to 81.0%. So any kind of "positive" could move the market needle, although we need robust numbers to turn the country around.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
By Charles Payne, CEO & Principal Analyst
8/29/2011 9:51:09 AM Eastern Time
Personal Income and Spending
Personal income climbed 0.3% in July, which was in line with some estimates, and slightly below other consensus readings. On the other hand, personal spending surged by 0.8%, which is well above the 0.5% the Street expected. Spending came at the expense of savings, which tumbled to 5.0% from 5.5% month to month.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Monday, August 22, 2011
What We All Know About Obama Now
What We All Know About Obama Now
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-we-all-know-about-obama-now-2011-8#ixzz1VlOzpDth
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-we-all-know-about-obama-now-2011-8#ixzz1VlOi5Qck
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Why Business sits on the Sidelines
Right now, American businesses are sitting on enormous cash reserves, estimated at $1.93 trillion as of last September. The Obama team just can’t understand why business doesn’t want to get in the game. It would sure make their lives easier.
In February, EPA administrator Lisa Jackson complained that "even a portion of the $1.93 trillion invested in developing and installing new pollution control technology would result in good jobs right here for American workers.” Jackson made those remarks at a gathering of labor unions and environmental activists at something called the BlueGreen Alliance national conference in Washington, D.C. last February.
This is the same EPA that just finalized the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule that will cause power plants to close that generate up to 17% of America's most affordable energy and will result in soaring increases in energy costs for consumers and businesses. Worse, it will cost jobs at a time when we're supposed to be adding them.
In July, the New York Times trumpeted the good news while gushing that there would be "an additional cost to utilities of less than $1 billion a year"! Imagine that.
The usually reliable Obama ally Unions for Jobs and the Environment estimates that this will lead ro a loss of a quarter of a million jobs, while others estimate the total will be much steeper: up to 2.5 million lost jobs and as much as $7 trillion decline in economic output by 2029.
By last week, even the lap dogs at the New York Times seem to have seen the light. An article on Thursday headlined Number of Green Jobs Fails to Live Up to Promises reported that "Federal and state efforts to stimulate creation of green jobs have largely failed, government records show.
Two years after it was awarded $186 million in federal stimulus money to weatherize drafty homes, California has spent only a little over half that sum and has so far created the equivalent of just 538 full-time jobs in the last quarter, according to the State Department of Community Services and Development."
Even Maxine Waters has come to the conclusion that the White House jobs policy is just "a lot of talk".
The worst part of it is that none of it matters. Even if the entire Western Hemisphere completely eliminated all carbon dioxide emissions, the effect on global emissions would be offset by increased emissions from China within ten years. So why are we doing it?
Get the Motor Running
Want those jobs back? Get out of the way.
- Work with Congress to quickly slash corporate tax rates to single digits or less, and make American companies want to be American companies again and not have to take jobs and profits offshore.
- Suspend onerous regulations (like those proposed by the EPA) for five years to ten at least, and quit trying to push socialism under the cover of green.
- Encourage real energy jobs in the oil fields of the Northwest and let the natural gas industry fulfill its potential. Leave the green job fantasy to the hippies and radical leftists.
- Quit trying to convince the voters that we need to spend more money on stimulus or raise taxes: they see through all that.
- Perhaps most importantly, commit to a sensible program that ends uncertainty and lets the indomitable motor of American enterprise begin to pull us out of the ditch.
Mr. President, if you announced a program like this, the markets would jump, unemployment would start to drop significantly within 60 days, GDP would begin to grow again. And it wouldn’t be “unexpected”
Best of all? You and Michelle could stay at the Vineyard until January 2013, and then everyone would be happy.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-we-all-know-about-obama-now-2011-8#ixzz1VlOzpDth
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-we-all-know-about-obama-now-2011-8#ixzz1VlOi5Qck
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Friday, August 19, 2011
Gallup Poll: Obama Approval
71% disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Transforming America: How long will it take?
It is suggested that one should read Rich Lowry's article entitled "President Obama's Program In Shambles: Economy slip-sliding away" published May 1, 2011 to gather some background and appreciation for the opinions expressed here.
------------------------------
In my opinion, President Obama has stayed true to his convictions he espoused during the 2008 presidential campaign: He appears engaged and motivated to pursue the transformation of America into a vision of George Soros's New World Order.
Obama's transformation agenda for America is:
Consequences to American citizens if this agenda is allowed to be fully implemented:
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
------------------------------
THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICA
In my opinion, President Obama has stayed true to his convictions he espoused during the 2008 presidential campaign: He appears engaged and motivated to pursue the transformation of America into a vision of George Soros's New World Order.
Obama's transformation agenda for America is:
- to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels (by whatever means necessary)
- to significantly increase employee Union power and influence
- to significantly redistribute wealth to the poor (by whatever means necessary)
- to reduce the long-term global influence of America financially, politically, and militarily.
- thru legislation (ObamaCare) (Dodd-Franks) (Cap-and-Trade) - to increase entitlements - to put financial institutions under more federal control - to increase the cost of fossil fuels
- thru EPA regulations (federal register) - to prevent oil and gas companies from drilling - to prevent utility companies use of fossil fules - to increase the price of gasoline
- thru Federal Reserve: - to weaken the dollar - to encourage asset inflation -
- thru NLRB - empower unions and curb corporate management's ability to control employees and costs
- by demonizing Republicans (there is more to come if he is re-elected) to produce fear of any changes they suggest to social entitlements or financial controls of Wall Street - to produce class envy - to discredit any effort to alter his agenda as a racist attack
- by taking advantage of any opportunity to promote his agenda by using stealth, andobfuscation (Middle East unrest) (lack of immigration reforms)
- President Obama took advantage of the financial crisis during the Great Recession to successfully put America on the path to hopefully complete his agenda
- Increase income taxes on the most productive people
- the credentials and ideological background of his czars (communists, radicals, liberation theology, etc.)
- the credentials and ideological background of his political advisers and associates (communists, liberation theology, etc.)
- his public comments about redistribution-of-wealth during the last campaign
- his public support of cap-and-trade legislation (raising the cost of fossil fuels)
- his association with Bill Ayers and Van Jones and numerous other radicals (he openly admits to seeking out radicals in college)
- his acknowledged emotional support of SEIU and reliance upon their organizational support
- his professorial arrogance (he knows and understands more than anyone else and thus he does not need to consult or listen to the peasants)
- his apparent inattention to any racial issues - why does he not?
- his willingness to blame America for the ills of the world - Cairo, Egypt speech
- his indirect, yet continuous, inter-connectivity with George Sorros and/or George Sorros funded organizations
- his apparent inattention and leadership of the consequences of the large federal debt and budget deficits
- lawsuits filed against any state daring to interfere with his agenda
- Obama has almost tripled the amount of our national debt and about doubled the amount being spent on entitlement programs since he was elected
- he never offers a olive-branch to the other side to negotiate in-good-faith
Consequences to American citizens if this agenda is allowed to be fully implemented:
- reduction of wealth and prosperity
- reduction of America's global interests
- less long-term investment
- employment stagnation
- economic class warfare
- reduction in the standard of living
- ethnic polarization - the balkanization of America!
- ally distrust
- permanent increase in the cost of fossil fuels
- more regulation of personal liberties, freedoms, and speech
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The Economy
Political Cartoons - Political Humor, Jokes, and Pictures, Obama, Palin ~ August 16, 2011 - 90799
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Friday, August 12, 2011
Sunday, August 07, 2011
No Dent in Deficit Anytime Soon - Seeking Alpha
Bill Gross: No Dent in Deficit Anytime Soon - Seeking Alpha
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Latest Editorial News, Opinion, Michael Ramirez, Political Cartoons - Investors.com
Latest Editorial News, Opinion, Michael Ramirez, Political Cartoons - Investors.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Monday, August 01, 2011
The debt-ceiling deal in one flowchart - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post
The debt-ceiling deal in one flowchart - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
A PLEDGE TO AMERICA
A PLEDGE TO AMERICA
America is more than a country.
America is an idea – an idea that free people can govern themselves, that government's powers are derived from
the consent of the governed, that each of us is endowed by their Creator with the unalienable rights to life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America is the belief that any man or woman can – given economic,
political, and religious liberty – advance themselves, their families, and the common good.
America is an inspiration to those who yearn to be free and have the ability and the dignity to determine their
own destiny.
Whenever the agenda of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to institute
a new governing agenda and set a different course.
These first principles were proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence, enshrined in the Constitution, and
have endured through hard sacrifice and commitment by generations of Americans.
In a self-governing society, the only bulwark against the power of the state is the consent of the governed, and
regarding the policies of the current government, the governed do not consent. .
An unchecked executive, a compliant legislature, and an overreaching judiciary have combined to thwart the
will of the people and overturn their votes and their values, striking down long-standing laws and institutions
and scorning the deepest beliefs of the American people.
An arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites makes decisions, issues mandates, and enacts
laws without accepting or requesting the input of the many.
Rising joblessness, crushing debt, and a polarizing political environment are fraying the bonds among our
people and blurring our sense of national purpose.
Like free peoples of the past, our citizens refuse to accommodate a government that believes it can replace the
will of the people with its own. The American people are speaking out, demanding that we realign our country's
compass with its founding principles and apply those principles to solve our common problems for the common
good.
The need for urgent action to repair our economy and reclaim our government for the people cannot be
overstated.
With this document, we pledge to dedicate ourselves to the task of reconnecting our highest aspirations to the
permanent truths of our founding by keeping faith with the values our nation was founded on, the principles we
stand for, and the priorities of our people. This is our Pledge to America.
We pledge to honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers and honor the original intent of those
precepts that have been consistently ignored – particularly the Tenth Amendment, which grants that all powers
not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the
states respectively, or to the people.
We pledge to advance policies that promote greater liberty, wider opportunity, a robust defense, and national
economic prosperity.
We pledge to honor families, traditional marriage, life, and the private and faith-based organizations that form
the core of our American values.
We pledge to make government more transparent in its actions, careful in its stewardship, and honest in its
dealings.
We pledge to uphold the purpose and promise of a better America, knowing that to whom much is given, much
is expected and that the blessings of our liberty buoy the hopes of mankind.
We make this pledge bearing true faith and allegiance to the people we re
Monday, July 04, 2011
The Declaration of Independce
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connecte3d them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the cause's which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among,\ men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, then to right themselves by abloslig\shing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.
The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary of the public good.
He has forbidden his governnors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large district's of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has endeavored to present the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has made judges depedent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among,\ men deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, then to right themselves by abloslig\shing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government.
The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary of the public good.
He has forbidden his governnors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large district's of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has endeavored to present the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.
He has made judges depedent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
Saturday, July 02, 2011
The Bill of Rights - Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Social Networking, Toss the Rules and Get Real
Social Networking, Toss the Rules and Get Real
A number of rule lists, portrayed as inviolable, are circulating for how to properly use social media networks to build business. I have a problem with these “rules” because social media is evolving so fast, the list seems outdated before you have a chance to apply it. In this light, I offer the following observations on social media networking.
1. Think of your social media network as a business party. Here is a chance to interact with a lot of people in a fairly casual setting, who might be good business contacts in the future. Behave accordingly, this is a getting to know you a little more intimately chance, not a sales seminar or the moment to tell anyone everything about you.
2. Parties and conventions can lead to lots of new business and ideas, or can be a complete waste of time. Working almost always leads to more work, so work first, party later on a limited basis.
3. As in any casual business gathering, sales and results usually come slowly over time. And those successes are generally built on somewhat random chance encounters. Increase your odds by selectively limiting your network and interactions to those that are likely to pay-off, but patience and being ready for opportunity count most.
4. Direct sales pitches are supposedly forbidden on social media. Forget this notion. Regional businesses have used Twitter, Facebook and MySpace with great success for special events and promotions. This is the trick, don’t try to disguise a direct sales appeal as social interaction. Know the difference and be honest and upfront about it. If you can create a killer sales campaign delivered on social networks, go for it, just don’t try to disguise it as chit chat.
5. Don’t think chit chat is selling or will lead to sales. It might. But unless you are Oprah, nobody cares where you ate lunch.
6. Control your exposure. When you post yourself on a social media network, you expose yourself to the world. Polish that image, remember this is a big business party, your house slippers and sweats aren’t appropriate, nor are nutty family details.
7. Don’t combine family and close friends on the same site as business. Even if you have the most absolutely lovely photogenic perfect family. Keep business and family life separate to keep both sides happy.
In summary. The rules for social networking aren’t new. They are the same rules that have governed interpersonal communications for centuries. When presenting yourself as a businessperson, pay at least a little attention to crafting the best image possible. If it is a casual getting to know you kind of site or communication, don’t be a pushy sales person. When you are doing a direct sales appeal, don’t try to pretend that you are just sharing the details of your marvelously cool life. It’s all about honesty, treating others in a fair and considerate manner, and understanding the difference between your personal life, business life, and those areas where the lines begin to blur.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
7 Commodity Stocks Worth a Look - Seeking Alpha
7 Commodity Stocks Worth a Look - Seeking Alpha: "
Quote from Jim Rogers
“I am long commodities, long currencies, and short stocks. But we will see what happens. You should invest in only what you know, otherwise keep your money in cash. The reason people lose money is because they keep jumping around investing in things they don’t have a clue what they are doing. Normal people should just wait. Wait until there are good opportunities and take advantage of them. There are plenty of opportunities besides banks. Cotton is going through the roof, corn is making all time highs. Invest in farmers. Invest in agriculture. I think agriculture is going to be one of the great industries of our time.”"
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
The FED under pressure to get Obama Re-elected in November 2012
The FED under pressure to get Obama Re-elected in November 2012
Jim Rogers said:
"Mr Bernanke he has been out of ideas since he went to Washington , what's wrong with you , you kidding , why do people think that he knows anything for God's sake and he has never been right , please go back you should have somebody do a study how wrong he has been for the past seven or eight years so yes he says everything is OK but he also says he is going to stop QE2 I take him at his word cause he said it so many times but what's going to happen is when thing starting going tough again later in the year or next year when they are going to come back with more the same because that's all they know it's the wrong the wrong thing to do but they do not know any better , remember there is an election in 2012 and he knows where is his bread and his butter and Mr Obama knows there is an election in 2012 enormous pressure to get Obama reelected , Hold it ( The economy ) together for November 2012 that's everybody's plan right now , not my plan but their plan - in Yahoo Finance"
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Larry Henson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Monday, June 20, 2011
YAHOO! FINANCE TRADING RESOURCES
YAHOO! FINANCE TRADING RESOURCES
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Larry Henson
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Master Limited Partnership (CLICK for list of MLP's)
Three Good Buys
Possibly Play
Attractive Yield
Big Payout Good Prospects
List of MLP
Master limited partnerships are restricted by the U.S. government to natural resource companies and some real estate enterprises. However, there are certain indirect methods of investing in MLPs and avoiding the tax complications. The MLP Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) also has a counterpart called Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) that holds units of KMP and whose quarterly payout is treated like a regular dividend instead of a partnership distribution. Another alternative is closed-end funds like Kayne Anderson MLP (KYN) and BlackRock Global Energy and Resources Trust (BGR). KYN is currently trading at a 15.22% premium to net asset value (NAV) and a yield of 9.17%. In contrast BGR is trading at a 13.16% discount to NAV and a yield of 8.61%.
Possibly Play
Attractive Yield
Big Payout Good Prospects
List of MLP
Master limited partnerships are restricted by the U.S. government to natural resource companies and some real estate enterprises. However, there are certain indirect methods of investing in MLPs and avoiding the tax complications. The MLP Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP) also has a counterpart called Kinder Morgan Management (KMR) that holds units of KMP and whose quarterly payout is treated like a regular dividend instead of a partnership distribution. Another alternative is closed-end funds like Kayne Anderson MLP (KYN) and BlackRock Global Energy and Resources Trust (BGR). KYN is currently trading at a 15.22% premium to net asset value (NAV) and a yield of 9.17%. In contrast BGR is trading at a 13.16% discount to NAV and a yield of 8.61%.
Most MLPs tend to be concentrated in the energy sector but there are always exceptions such as the private equity firms The Blackstone Group (BX) and Fortress Investment Group (FIG), which also happen to be set up as MLPs.
As an MLP, KMP must distrubute at least 90% of its income from qualifying sources such as natural resource activities, interest, dividends, real estate rents, income from sale of real property, gain on sale of assets, and income and gain from commodities or commodity futures. Much of the distrubution is typically treated as 'return of capital', which causes a downward adjustment to U.S. taxable investor's cost basis. It is not taxable in the year it is recieved, but increases capital gains taxes in the year the MLP units are sold.
Where a company does business (e.g. owns/manages pipelines) in many states; owners may be required to file income tax returns in each state in which the MLP conducts business, even when no taxes are owed.
MLPs aren't suitable for U.S. investor's IRA accounts because earnings above $1,000 will be considered unrelated business taxable income by the IRS. Tax consequences for foreign owners are generally onerous.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of HappinessFriday, May 27, 2011
Memorial Day cookout will cost you 29% more this year thanks to inflation | Mail Online
Memorial Day cookout will cost you 29% more this year thanks to inflation | Mail Online
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Who besides Democrats, Obama, and Pelosi do we have to thank for the high prices this Memorial Day?
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
Fidelity Investment Information for Investors
Why wait for interest rates to rise before putting your cash to work?
Not long ago, the conventional wisdom was that interest rates had nowhere to go but up. Then, a series of crises—from euro zone debt woes to conflict in the Middle East and North Africa to the Japanese earthquake—unleashed a flight to quality that actually helped keep rates low, illustrating the difficulty of predicting interest rates, even for veteran investors. That's why, says Ford O'Neil, co-portfolio manager of three Fidelity bond funds, "we haven't made big short-term interest rate bets."
Nor should other investors, in our opinion. But that is exactly what people may inadvertently be doing by leaving too much cash for too long in savings accounts or money market funds, where interest rates are historically low and unlikely to go much lower. Of course, most people need an emergency fund to deal with life's unexpected demands. Others have obligations coming due shortly. Still others need to offset very volatile investments with very stable ones. And for those needs, low-yielding but highly liquid accounts can work well. But if you are an income-focused investor, there are many potentially higher yielding options to consider for money you won't need for three to five years.
What are you waiting for?
So why are investors holding near-record levels of cash in low-yielding accounts? Some may still feel paralyzed from the 2008 market meltdown. Others may have ridden the rebound that took the S&P up 80% from its March 9, 2009, bottom to its April 23, 2010, high, but sought safety in cash during any pullbacks.
If you're one of them, consider this: Since 1926, cash underperformed investment-grade bonds in 66% of all 84 one-year periods, and stocks nearly 68% of the time, according to Fidelity's Market Analysis, Research and Education Group (see chart below). Meanwhile, cash outpaced both stocks and bonds in just 12% of all those one-year periods.
So, ask yourself: Are you holding too much cash? Take the time to revisit your investment mix by using Fidelity's Portfolio Review1 to help make sure your allocation to stocks, bonds, and cash is consistent with your risk tolerance, investment time frame, and overall financial situation.
Other fixed-income investors may be waiting for interest rates to rise to capture higher yields. Many look at today's low yields, currently about 2.05% for a five-year Treasury bond, and conclude it's hardly worth the effort to move their money out of a very liquid account to lock in such a low rate for such a relatively long time. But at least for the cash you won't need in the next three to five years, the cost of waiting too long in low-yielding accounts may be steeper than many realize—unless rates rise sharply and quickly.
Let's do the numbers
Imagine you have $100,000 to invest, and won't need it for five years. Let's say you kept that money in an extremely liquid investment like a money market fund earning 0.07%. After five years, assuming those rates rose 0.2 percentage points every six months, the $100,000 would be worth $105,580. If you factor in inflation, which is now about 2%, you'd actually be losing money.
Let's suppose, hypothetically, that the money is invested in a five-year Treasury bill, currently yielding 2.05%. If you sell it after holding it five years, it would be worth $110,736 (assuming interest is reinvested annually at 2.05%), enough to keep pace with inflation. But locking up your money for five years at such a low rate bugs you, since you think rates are more likely to rise than fall. (Of course, rates could also go down, but at such low levels currently, they don't have much farther to drop.) So, you leave the money in the savings account with the expectation that you'll shift into higher yielding securities when rates rise and potentially do better over the five-year period.
The problem is there can be a high cost to waiting.
As the table to the right shows, the only way to make money by waiting is if rates go up fast—and even then, you don't come out that much better (see shaded green boxes). For example, if interest rates jump two percentage points in a year, the $100,000 invested would be worth $117,733 after five years, $6,997 more than if you had invested immediately at 2.05%.
But how confident are you that rates will jump that far that fast? After all, the Federal Reserve has been holding interest rates low. Wait two years for rates to rise one percentage point, and the investment would be worth $110,577, $159 less than what you'd have earned if you had bought the hypothetical investment immediately. Wait three years for a one-point rate hike and the hypothetical investment is worth only $108,451, $2,285 less than with an immediate purchase of the five-year Treasury.
If rates don't go up, or they don't go up quickly, you may need to find increasingly higher yields just to generate the same 2.05% return as the five-year Treasury bill. As the graph below right illustrates, if you wait a year, you'd need a rate of 2.48% for the following four years to break even. That's not so implausible. But if you wait two years earning money market rates (which we assume increase 0.2% every six months), the break-even rate for the next three years on the Treasury yielding 2.05% goes up to 3.40%. At three years, it's up to 4.08%, and at four years, 6.67%.
As the graph shows, if you wait a year before investing in a five-year corporate bond, you'd need to earn 3.78% just to break even. Wait two years, and that rate goes to 4.81%. At three years, it's 6.68% and four years 11.89%. Of course, you are taking on more risk with a corporate bond than a Treasury bond.
Consider the alternatives
So what are your options for that longer-term cash that you won't need for three to five years? Like most things, there are trade-offs; in this case, a higher yield may mean lower credit quality as well as less stability and liquidity.
Want high liquidity and safety?
For high liquidity and safety, there are bank checking, savings, and money market deposit accounts. You can withdraw funds quickly. They can be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank. And the value is stable. As of April 26, Bankrate.com reported that rates on money market deposit and savings accounts were averaging 0.672%. But that number includes teaser rates, so money held longer term in these accounts is likely to earn even less. Many checking accounts do not pay interest at all, though there are exceptions.
Or consider money market mutual funds, which are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC or any other government agency. Money market funds are highly liquid, but generally stable. Though it is possible to lose money in a money market fund, it's rare. Over the 35 years they have been in existence, there have been only two instances of a money market fund "breaking the buck"—that is, paying less than $1.00 per share. But yields tend to track the Fed's target interest rate, which remains in a historically low range. The average retail taxable money market fund yield was 0.3% as of April 26, according to iMoneyNet.
Willing to trade less liquidity for potentially higher yield?
Consider short-term Treasury bonds, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. Yields are higher than for shorter-maturity instruments like savings accounts or money market funds, with the five-year Treasury at 2.05%. And you can sell these prior to maturity, though you may end up with less than the face value if interest rates on newly issued bonds have risen.
Another popular option: certificates of deposit (CDs). Bank-issued CDs are FDIC insured, and rates are relatively high: 1.71% for an average five-year CD as of April 26, according to Bankrate, though you can currently find them as high as 2.65%. But they cannot be redeemed prior to maturity without an interest penalty—generally six months' worth. Brokerage firms typically offer brokered CDs, which are deposits at a bank and FDIC insured. While there is no early redemption penalty, brokered CDs will incur a trading charge if sold prior to maturity.
Willing to take on even more risk?
Then you could consider investment-grade corporate bonds. Five-year AA bonds were yielding an average 2.968% as of April 26, according to Bloomberg. Of course, like Treasuries, these carry interest rate risk: if rates rise, prices of existing bonds fall. Corporate bonds also carry credit risk, the risk that the issuer will default and fail to pay coupons and principal as expected. If credit risk rises, the price of the bond in the secondary market would fall. So it's important to keep to very high quality bonds for this strategy.
With individual bonds, you can build a ladder of varying maturities, say, one to five years. That way, if rates rise, you can roll the maturing bonds into higher yielding ones, potentially increasing your total return potential. Of course, if rates fall, you would get lower rates on the new bonds, but you would have locked in the higher rates on the longer-term bonds. Use our online bond ladder tool to help create your own bond ladder by answering a few straightforward questions.
Or, consider a short- or intermediate-term bond fund where professional managers use laddering strategies to help smooth out income and total return potential. An added advantage of a bond fund: you get automatic reinvestment of interest, which is easy to forget when you are managing individual bonds but can add up over time. You also get professional management, diversification, and in the vast majority of cases, lower implementation costs. However, with a bond fund you don't own the bonds outright. If rates rise, the net asset value of the fund is likely to fall.
Likewise, high-bracket taxpayers might consider short-term municipal bonds or bond funds, where interest is free of federal taxes and, in many cases, state taxes too.
Life, Liberty, & the Pursuit of Happiness
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