Contrarian Stock Market Investing News - Featuring Bargain Stocks » Private Equity Firm http://www.contrarianprofits.com Access market-beating ideas from the world's top investment gurus on stock market investing, the gold market, ETFs, Forex trading and real estate values. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:13:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Washington’s Lies Will Only Delay the Recovery http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/washington%e2%80%99s-lies-will-only-delay-the-recovery/16010 http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/washington%e2%80%99s-lies-will-only-delay-the-recovery/16010#comments Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:06:53 +0000 Contrarian Profits http://www.contrarianprofits.com/?p=16010 The dogs in the street know Washington is going to have to come up with more cash to plug the gaping holes in banks’ balance sheets. Of course, our Orwellian government doesn’t want us to think that major banks such as Citigroup and Bank of America are insolvent.
Instead, we are to believe the “doublethink” that banks are simultaneously profitable and in need of billions of dollars in fresh capital. (Tax dollars, of course. Private investors, for some strange reason, aren’t so keen to invest in these zombies.) And so confident are the Washington bureaucrats in the power of their propaganda that they really expert us to believe that this extra capital is not need because banks are insolvent, but because…

]]> The dogs in the street know Washington is going to have to come up with more cash to plug the gaping holes in banks’ balance sheets. Of course, our Orwellian government doesn’t want us to think that major banks such as Citigroup and Bank of America are insolvent.
Instead, we are to believe the “doublethink” that banks are simultaneously profitable and in need of billions of dollars in fresh capital. (Tax dollars, of course. Private investors, for some strange reason, aren’t so keen to invest in these zombies.) And so confident are the Washington bureaucrats in the power of their propaganda that they really expert us to believe that this extra capital is not need because banks are insolvent, but because they need the extra cash to cover future losses.
This pernicious form of reality control will delay any real economic recovery by completely undermining investors’ confidence in the financial sector. Team Obama may think the ends justify the means. But lying to the public will only damage the system as a whole.
3 – ‘Wonder Boy’ Says $2 Trillion More in Stimulus Needed
Bank buying “Boy Wonder” J. Christopher Flowers says the government will need to come up with a stimulus package in the region of $2 trillion “to really get the economy moving again.”
Flowers heads up the J.C. Flowers & Co., the largest U.S. private equity firm focusing on the financial sector. He got his “Boy Wonder” moniker at Goldman Sachs, where at 31 he became the firm’s youngest partner. To say he knows a thing or two about the financial sector is a gross understatement.
Here’s Flowers on the TARP, the economic stimulus program and need for smart regulation of the banking sector (hat tip, Zero Hedge).
In my view, there appears to be insufficient funds allotted for both the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the economic stimulus package. In addition, we need to take strong action and new measures addressing areas including regulatory reform for the financial services sector; government rescues and investments; Basel II international capital standards; US accounting standards; and, of course, the securities and company rating methodologies applied by rating agencies.

]]> http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/washington%e2%80%99s-lies-will-only-delay-the-recovery/16010/feed 0 Global Investing Roundups Friday, November 7th, 2008 http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/global-investing-roundups-friday-november-7th-2008/8050 http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/global-investing-roundups-friday-november-7th-2008/8050#comments Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:40:02 +0000 William Patalon III http://www.contrarianprofits.com/?p=8050 Retailers 3Q Earnings Dismal; Cisco Sees Small Biz Sales Growth; Blackstone Posts $502 million 3Q Loss; IEA Sees $100 Oil Average; Mattel Toying with Job Cuts; Direct TV Earnings Up; Fidelity Cuts 1,300 jobs; Jobless Claims Fall

  • October sales dropped for big-name retailers Macy’s Inc. (M), Target Corp. (TGT) and Gap Inc. (GPS) a result of continuing job losses and widespread credit drought that took the spirit out of consumer spending. Same-store sales climbed 2.4% at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), as tight-budget shoppers searched for cheaper prices, Bloomberg reported.
]]> Retailers 3Q Earnings Dismal; Cisco Sees Small Biz Sales Growth; Blackstone Posts $502 million 3Q Loss; IEA Sees $100 Oil Average; Mattel Toying with Job Cuts; Direct TV Earnings Up; Fidelity Cuts 1,300 jobs; Jobless Claims Fall

  • October sales dropped for big-name retailers Macy’s Inc. (M), Target Corp. (TGT) and Gap Inc. (GPS) a result of continuing job losses and widespread credit drought that took the spirit out of consumer spending. Same-store sales climbed 2.4% at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT), as tight-budget shoppers searched for cheaper prices, Bloomberg reported.
  • A day after forecasting a 5% to 10% annual revenue drop, Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) said it will invest $100 million sales to small businesses, Reuters reported. Despite a weaker global economy, Cisco said it sees a window to expand sales of routers, switches and other equipment.
  • Blackstone Group LP (BX) posted its biggest quarterly loss, shedding $502.5 million in the third quarter, or 44 cents a share, Bloomberg reported. Blackstone is the world’s largest private-equity firm who went public 18 months ago, right before the credit crisis depleted the value of its holdings and made acquiring financing more difficult.
  • The International Energy Agency said that import prices for crude oil will “likely” average $100 a barrel from 2008 to 2015, MarketWatch reported. The opposite happened Thursday, as December crude futures fell $3.51 to $61.77 a barrel. The official IEA 2008 Energy Outlook will be released on Nov. 12.
  • DirecTV Group Inc. (DTV), the nation’s largest satellite TV operator, yesterday (Thursday) announced third-quarter earnings rose 14%. The company reported net income of $363 million, or 33 cents per share, up from $319 million, or 27 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 15% to $4.98 billion. Revenue in Latin America jumped 49% to $658 million.
  • Fidelity Investments said yesterday (Thursday) it is cutting nearly 1,300 jobs this month, with more layoffs coming early next year. The layoff notices, set to go out later this month, amount to about 2.9% of Fidelity’s total work force of 44,400. A second round of cuts is planned for the first three months of 2009.
  • The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell by 4,000 last week to 481,000, the Labor Department reported yesterday (Thursday). The department revised up its estimate for jobless claims the week prior to 485,000. The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, was unchanged at 477,000 last week.

Source: Global Investing Roundups Friday, November 7th, 2008

]]> http://www.contrarianprofits.com/articles/global-investing-roundups-friday-november-7th-2008/8050/feed 0