As part of his small business focus, President Obama wants to offer tax credits to companies that hire new workers. According to CNBC, Obama’s proposal would give companies a $5,000 tax credit for each net new worker they hire in 2010. “Businesses that increase wages or hours for their existing workers in 2010 would be reimbursed for the extra Social Security payroll taxes they would pay. No company could reap more than $500,000 from the combined benefits, one of several features meant to tailor the program more to small businesses than to large corporations. Startup companies could receive half that … …READ MORE
Monthly Archives: January 2010
SOTU: Devil's in the Details
President Obama’s state of the union address had something in it for everyone last night. The loudest bipartisan cheer occurred when President Obama said, “And tonight, I’d like to talk about how together, we can deliver on that promise. It begins with our economy.” For the markets, the most critical component came next.
“So I supported the last administration’s efforts to create the financial rescue program. And when we took the program over, we made it more transparent and accountable. As a result, the markets are now stabilized, and we have recovered most of the money we spent on the … …READ MORE
Posted in Front Page Tagged congress, federal budget, fiscal deficit, obama, State of the Union Leave a comment
Gomer Pyle AIG Outlook
Today, we have the financial odd couple of current US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and former US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson testifying in front of Congress on the AIG bailout. At 10:00 am, they will testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and discuss in detail the steps the government took to rescue AIG and how the consequences of AIG failing at that time, in those circumstances, would have been catastrophic for our economy and for American families and businesses” according to the US Treasury.
The FT says that Republicans on the House oversight committee are accusing … …READ MORE
CNBC Tonight at 7:30 PM ET
Tonight at 7:30 PM ET, I’ll be appearing on CNBC’s Kudlow Report discussing the Federal Reserve meeting and monetary policy changes.
After LK called me a squishy liberal on government spending, I can’t wait to be back on tonight!… …READ MORE
Simpsons Decision Making Time:
Today at 11:10 AM ET, I’ll be appearing on CNBC’s The Call discussing the negative impact on the markets due to the political uncertainty in the United States.
Last night, the White House leaked out a portion of their State of the Union platform and it was a good start. Actually at this point with spending, the markets want any start, hope, action on reigning in government spending that doesn’t contribute to job growth. Why is Obama shifting/morphing in this direction?
The NYT writes, “With his poll numbers down and Democrats fearing disaster in this year’s midterm elections, Mr. Obama … …READ MORE
Posted in Front Page Tagged fiscal deficit, obama, Simpsons, State of the Union, Thomas Friedman Leave a comment
US Housing: Walk Away?
US existing home sales (EHS) fell a disappointing 16.7% as the rush from the first time home buyers credit earlier in the fall depleted sales in December. However, sales had rebounded significantly from the lows last Jan-Mar and have reduced inventories significantly as well. It’s the inventory component that holds the key for prices as they move down from a catastrophic 11.2 months worth of homes down to 6.5 months of supply. Just put up a graph on EHS (as they decrease inventories) with S&P CS home prices and you will the relationship.
2009 was a terrible year for housing … …READ MORE
Posted in Front Page Tagged Andrew Busch, foreclosures, home sales, obama, State of the Union 3 Comments
The Obama Redirect To Uncertainty
After a stunning loss in the Massachusetts Senate race and loss of the critical 60-40 split in the US Senate, President Barack Obama did not wait long to change tactics and go on the offensive. Yesterday’s bank plan announcement is a fascinating turn in the political discussion. While the details are still a bit sketchy, the rhetoric is not. The speech had a direct negative impact on the equity markets as the S&P 500 dropped 1.89% and the financial sector dropped 2.93%.
While I (and others) believe the agenda of the White House will be pulled more mainstream due to … …READ MORE
Posted in Front Page Tagged Banks, Federal Budgett, Geithner, obama, State of the Union, stock market Leave a comment
Brown Victory=Obama Change
The victory in Massachusetts for Republican Scott Brown over Democrat Martha Coakley is seen by political strategists as a repudiation of the current health care legislation and the policies of the Obama administration. The Washington Post writes, “Republican Scott Brown’s win in a liberal state will do more than vastly complicate Obama’s bid to overhaul the U.S. health care system. It will send his party into a painful re-examination of voters’ anger and desires ahead of the November elections for Congress, governorships and state legislatures.”
Yesterday, I wrote about the ways that Democrats could still pass the bill if Brown … …READ MORE
Posted in Front Page Tagged Bill Clinton, congress, President Obama, Scott Brown, State of the uunion, US budget Leave a comment
Inflation: What If The Unthinkable Happens?
Currently, there are two places in the world that are experiencing significant increases in prices and more may be coming. India’s Federal Chief Statistician Pronab Sen told a private television channel on Tuesday that the monthly inflation may touch double digits by March according to the Times of India. “It is really possible,” he said. India’s wholesale price index rose to 7.31% in December from a year earlier, driven by higher food prices. Processed food items rose 26.40% in December and non-processed food items increased by 19.17%. The Reserve Bank of India had only projected a 6.5% overall inflation rate … …READ MORE
Currency Boulevard of Broken Themes…..
In December, we had better than expected NFP and the UE drop to 10% from 10.2%. The currency markets believed that this would make the Fed raise rates sooner than expected and the long end of the yield curve saw rates increase almost 65 basis points. This led to a strong US dollar rally against most major currencies. This rally faltered at the end of the month in December. As we headed into January, the expectation was for a positive NFP and it actually was -85k. This led to a sell off in the US dollar and we have retraced … …READ MORE
