All Posts Tagged With: "stocks"
Today’s Ebook – How Goldman Sachs Pumped and Dumped the U.S. Economy
Chris McClelland | RSS | Tue, Jul 07 2009 | 0 CommentsToday’s featured e-book download is How Goldman Sachs Pumped and Dumped the U.S. Economy (499 KB, 27 pg) – From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major manipulation since the Great Depression – and even worse they’re about to do it again.
What you can learn from this booklet
The bank’s unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump-and-dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere – high gas prices, rising consumer-credit rates, half eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts. All that money that you’re losing, it’s going somewhere, and in both a literal and a figurative sense, Goldman Sachs is where it’s going: The bank is a huge, highly sophisticated engine for converting the useful, deployed wealth of society into the least useful, most wasteful and insoluble substance on Earth – pure profit for rich individuals.
To download this e-book, or any of our current e-books, please visit the ebook page where you may choose the e-book(s) you wish to download. *Download an e-book by clicking on it’s title.*
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Tags: stocks, e book, pension funds
Beating Your Head Against a Wall… Street
Michael Bowler | RSS | Tue, May 12 2009 | 3 Comments
Last week we saw the most promise in the economy since the recession began. Wall Street totals began to spike over the last two months and everything seems to be in place for a rise. Unfortunately, traders were so cautious that the spike was misleading that they under sold and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 156 points. The four banks the government said were strong enough to survive a worse economy just turned to Wall Street to sell extra stocks in order to pay the government off, and they are going to trade well, strengthening the financial institutions.
Some analysts believe this is a small retreat after a big run, a good sign in a recovering economy. In fact, a healthy economy jerks up and down the scale a little bit as investors and traders get comfortable again. Despite the mistakes the government has made and the large, failing companies, the economy does seem to getting better. One key point is that as currency loses value and becomes less safe, gold becomes the alternate investment, and prices skyrocket. It is no secret the price of gold hit record highs during this recession. Gold prices are now going down.
If gold can stabilize where it was when the economy was better, life will be beautiful. Watch the gold prices. If gold goes down any further, especially in a constant downward motion, it is time to sell and invest in stocks, because the stock market is rising up the opposite direction. If anyone has invested in gold, now is the time to sell it, because gold is still technically at a record high, whereas the stock market is at record lows. Sell your gold and/or begin investing in the market again. A multitude of buyers and eager activity strengthens the economy, and if you get in on the ground floor, you can ride it up, like the wise investors you are. Bonds are also getting stronger. Keep an eye on both stocks and bonds, especially if you have gold to sell. That’s the way to ride the market back up.
At the same time, economies have always seen high points and gone right back where they were. No recession is finished until the afflicted economy has shown a habit of much higher numbers and job recreation. Right now, we still have an average unemployment of around eight or nine percent. The high point here is that we have been holding a steady unemployment rate and the economy has essentially bottomed out. When the only way to go is up, that is likely what you will do, If the economy does revive soon, it will be in spite of the efforts of Wall Street, corporate America, and even the government.
Director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York, Scott Fullman, noted that the Dow has risen about 30 percent since March, about twice as much as the market might do in a full year of strong gains. “To take a break here is healthy,” he said. Enter disagreement from Christian Bendixen, director of technical research at Bay Crest Partners LLC in New York, who said the economy remains troubled beyond what many analysts concede and that he expects the market will tumble again and perhaps breach the lowest levels of early March.
In trying times such as these, America deserves fiscal responsibility and a united society bent on resurrecting the market. America has yet to see either. The government is giving away tax money like it is indispensible, and that is hurting the market. It is likely that the economy would be much more promising without the ‘bailouts’ last year and early this year. Every time a financial bill was passed, the economy was sink lower in anticipation. The greed of the corporations has not helped either. In the words of country music artist John Rich, in his new song, “They’re selling make believe and we don’t buy that here.” When America doesn’t buy rhetoric from the lawmakers and economic “powers-that-be,” the economy suffers. That’s why the economy is still so bad and America is latching onto any glimmer of a reviving stock market, whether it is a sound movement toward prosperity or a candle in the wind.
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Tags: gold, rising, bailout
General Motors Bankruptcy is ‘Inevitable’
Michael Bowler | RSS | Mon, May 11 2009 | 2 Comments
At the risk of bringing on more bad economic news, the experts have been saying that General Motors will probably be heading to Chapter 11 bankruptcy since the economy began to unravel last year. This comes right after competitor Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy protection as well. More then ever, the experts who are “in the know” are screaming it. Despite the rescue payments in late 2008 and early 2009, they claim that General Motors is just in too deep.
In order to make it through, outside of the rescue payments, General Motors will have to somehow swindle its bondholders out of $27 million of debt for 10 percent of their stock, which is arguably the riskiest it has ever been since the invention of the automobile. On top of that, they will have to work out deals with the union, who has an ironclad contract, close more factories, cut or sell brands, and force hundreds of independent GM dealers out of business.
Bondholders are reluctant to take the deal because the government and UAW are getting far bigger stakes in the company, said Kevin Tynan, an industry analyst for Argus Research in New York. Tynan also made sure to comment that he thought bankruptcy is ‘inevitable’ for the Detroit-based automaker.
The worst part about all of this is that they have to make it work in just three short weeks. They face a June 1 deadline the government set as part of the ‘bailout’ agreement. “I just don’t see how it’s possible, given all of the pieces,” said Stephen J. Lubben, a professor at Seton Hall University School of Law who specializes in bankruptcy. Although GM intends to restructure out of court by making deals and changes, experts say they are all but in the trap now, and will soon have to restructure supervised by the courts. GM has also thrown around the idea of selling out 62 billion new stock shares, 100 times the 611 million currently on the market.
Last week, new GM CEO Fritz Henderson basically said that they will file for bankruptcy in an expeditious fashion if the need for bankruptcy presents itself. This is all assuming that the threat of bankruptcy is not a brilliant ruse to make the stock-debt swap more appealing. After all, they need a 90% bondholder agreement to make a move that was not government agreed. GM reported a $6 billion loss for the first quarter alone, as more of a reminder that bankruptcy is still in the list of top choices, and maybe the only viable option. After all, consumers have been avoiding purchasing from a corporation that has been flirting with bankruptcy for nearly a year.
At this point, GM needs to resolve the uncertainty and get in and out of bankruptcy as quickly as possible, Lubben said. Under chapter 11 bankruptcy, General Motors can continue business without interruption while restructuring under supervision of the courts. Cutting dealers also remains a huge hurdle, with GM hoping to shed 2,600 of its 6,246 dealerships by 2010. Dealers are protected by state franchise laws, and trying to shed them outside of bankruptcy would result in either millions of dollars in payments or multiple lengthy lawsuits, according to Lubbin. GM has also begun to temporarily close 13 assembly plants for up to 11 weeks through mid-July in an effort to control inventory, ultimately controlling spending.
At the beginning of the ‘bailouts,’ this author was less than optimistic that the government, or anyone else would be able to help General Motors out of their problem because they are too deep in debt and unrealistic contracts they cannot keep. Not only is bankruptcy inevitable due to these factors, but if the economy is supposed to come back strong at all, bankruptcy is best for everyone. General Motors will renegotiate contracts, especially with the UAW, time will be allowed to strengthen assets and new automotive prototypes will be designed. When General Motors comes out of court supervision, they will be stronger than ever. How can the economy come back any stronger than that?
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Tags: bailout, stocks, bankrupt
Stocks looking optimistic after first trading day of 2009
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Fri, Jan 02 2009 | 0 CommentsEven after a report about manufacturing being the lowest its been in 28 years, Wall Street enjoyed a nice rally today.
The Dow rose 258.30, or 2.94 percent, to 9,034.69, finishing the week up 6.1 percent. The blue chips last closed above 9,000 on Nov. 5, when they stood at 9,139.27.
The Dow, the oldest of the big market indexes, fell 33.8 percent in 2008, its worst performance since 1931, during the Great Depression.
Like the Dow, broader stock indicators also advanced for the third straight session. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 28.55 percent, or 3.16 percent, to 931.80, its highest close since Nov. 5. The Nasdaq composite index rose 55.18, or 3.50 percent, to 1,632.21.
For the week, the S&P 500 finished up 6.8 percent, while the Nasdaq rose 6.7 percent.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 6.39, or 1.28 percent, to 505.84. -AP
Perhaps the market is finding a bottom. I won’t judge anything because there were plenty of early predictions about 2008 that were horribly wrong. I won’t speculate, just enjoy a rally.
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Tags: great depression, stocks, nasdaq composite index
Stocks traded slightly up on Christmas Eve
Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Thu, Dec 25 2008 | 0 CommentsSanta brought a little gift to investors on Christmas eve; an end to the five day losing streak in the market.
Christmas Eve is a quiet trading day on Wall Street, but it was enough to increase the Dow Jones Industrial average by half a point. Companies like Delta benefited as oil prices fell further to under $38 a barrel. Large retailers Wal-Mart and Target also did well as last minute shoppers packed their stores.
It wasn’t exactly the “Santa Claus” rally of some people’s dreams, but it was an end to the 5 day slump.
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Tags: investors, cnbc, stock
