Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Barack Obama

Obama Commits to Free Trade Deal With South Korea, But Auto Trade Remains Sticking Point

Money Morning — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:49:59 +0000

By Bob Blandeburgo Associate Editor Money Morning On the last leg of his four-nation tour in Asia, U.S. President Barack Obama revived the issue of a still-pending free-trade agreement signed in 2007 with South Korea (KORUS FTA), but an auto trade imbalance will continue to be a major obstacle to Congressional approval. At a news conference in [...]

Zoellick on the world economy and new hotspots

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:40:07 +0000

In this three-part video interview, Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank, discusses a range of topical issues concerning the global economy, new economic hotspots, the Chinese currency peg and lessons from the crisis.

Prieur’s readings (November 17, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:50:30 +0000

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy. Please also add the links to any other worthwhile articles you would like to share to the comments section.

The week ahead

Prieur du Plessis — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:16:00 +0000

The video clips in this post provide a handy summary of the reports expected on the economic, financial and corporate front around the globe during the week ahead.

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Nov 13, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:46:24 +0000

TODAY: Medvedev's state of the nation address warns opposition against using democracy to rock the boat; talks up modernization. Media unconvinced President can match word with deed. Topol-M problem for START replacement talks; Litvinenko suspect Lugovoi willing to speak to...

Prieur’s readings (November 13, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:33:38 +0000

The Three Key Economic Issues Obama Will Tackle In His First Asia Trip

Money Morning — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:16:03 +0000

By Bob Blandeburgo Associate Editor Money Morning When U.S. President Barack Obama this week makes his first visit to Asia as the nation’s chief executive, he will have no shortage of issues to... Money Morning is here to help investors profit h...

Prieur’s readings (November 11, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:45:15 +0000

GM U-Turn Startles

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:34:26 +0000

It felt as if negotiations would go on for an eternity, with months of stalling: search this site for 'Opel bid' and the stories of stops and starts come thick and fast. Now, just as it seemed that the deal...

Stonewalling Progress

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:19:11 +0000

Mikhael Gorbachev has penned an article in the New York Times reflecting on how the period since the fall of the Berlin Wall (the 20th anniversary of which will be celebrated on Friday) has not necessarily heralded a less distrustful...

Prieur’s readings (October 31, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:29:39 +0000

PWRM, BCRX, DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Power 3 Medical Products Inc. and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Dr. Stock Pick — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:33:48 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ Monday October 26, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! PWRM, BCRX ************************************************************** PWRM, Power 3 Medical Products Inc, PWRM.OB Power3 Medical Products, Inc. is a leading bio-medical company engaged in the commercialization of neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers, pathways, and mechanisms of diseases through the development of diagnostic tests and drug [...]

Energy Blast – Oct 26, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:30:30 +0000

Russia 'counts on a controlling stake' in the three small hydropower plants it is building in Tajikistan and 'hope[s] for the Tajik side's understanding' in the matter. The United Nations nuclear watchdog is in the process of inspecting Iran's uranium...

BCRX, AEMD, CVAT, DrStockPick.com Watch List! for Monday October 26, 2009, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Aethlon Medical Inc. and Cavitation Technologies Inc.

Dr. Stock Pick — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:03:10 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ DrStockPick.com Watch List! My Picks for Monday October 26, 2009, are: ************************************************************** BCRX, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. U.S. President Barack Obama has declared 2009 H1N1 swine flu a national emergency, the White House said on Saturday. BCRX designs, optimizes and develops novel small-molecule pharmaceuticals that block key enzymes involved in [...]

President Barack Obama Declares Swine Flu a National Emergency. Emergency Use Authorization Granted For BCRX’s Peramivir. BCRX, X-Treme Hot Stock Alert by DrStockPick.com

Dr. Stock Pick — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:25:06 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _______________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _______________________________________ Saturday October 24, 2009 DrStockPick.com Stock Report! ************************************************************** U.S. President Barack Obama has declared 2009 H1N1 swine flu a national emergency, the White House said on Saturday. ________________________________________________ BCRX, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BCRX designs, optimizes and develops novel small-molecule pharmaceuticals that block key enzymes involved in infectious [...]

Prieur’s readings (October 14, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:00:38 +0000

This post provides links to a number of thought-provoking articles I have read over the past few days that you may also find of interest. Please also add the links to any other worthwhile articles you would like to share to the comments section.

Revisiting the Carter Thesis

Justice Litle Editorial Director Taipan Publishing Group — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Back in May of this year, Taipan Daily posed the question, “Is Barack Obama the next Jimmy Carter?” (You can find part one of that discussion here and part two here.) The question is not meant as...div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?i=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?i=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:wd9GD17jvC4"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?d=wd9GD17jvC4" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=U4M65yve8RU:aPPsVheFPJs:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/taipan/~4/U4M65yve8RU" height="1" width="1"/

Energy Blast – October 1, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:21:10 +0000

Naftogaz Ukrainy apparently intends to pay the interest due on its debts, to avoid default on its eurobonds which mature today. 'With its debt considered quasi-sovereign, a default by Naftogaz would be a first for a sovereign company in eastern...

Prieur’s readings (September 25, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:43:23 +0000

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – September 24, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:53:58 +0000

TODAY: Russia relenting on Iran sanctions; calls missile defense decision constructive; arms reductions talks are apparently progressing apace; Medvedev urges for Middle East arms cuts too. Island cooperation for Japan and Russia; Georgia undecided on Guantanamo guests; Poland - officially...

U.S. Trade Spat with China Escalates, But is Unlikely to Cause a Significant Rift

Jason Simpkins — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:32:41 +0000

China is Investing Billions in Renewable Energy One firm has already built China’s largest wind turbine manufacturing factory. And it’s working with the Chinese Science Academy to develop new wind, solar, and geothermal technologies… for which it will own 70% of the rights. But this company’s business reaches far beyond the Chinese border, with [...]

Here’s Why the U.S.-China Tire Tiff Lead to Great Depression II

Martin Hutchinson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:28:38 +0000

[Editor's Note: When it comes to global investing, longtime market guru Martin Hutchinson is one of the very best - because he knows the markets firsthand. After years of advising government finance ministers, crafting deals with global investment banks, and analyzing the world's financial markets, Hutchinson has used his creative insights to create a [...]

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – September 22, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 08:44:04 +0000

TODAY: Chief of staff denies decisions on Kaliningrad plan; Churkin criticizes US 'cold war attitude'; arms reduction talks not progressing as smoothly as they may appear. Israel maintains choice in Iran; Russia suggests onus on NATO to improve ties;...

Global Stocks Retreat

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:30:55 +0000

pWorld stocks retreated further from last week#8217;s 11-month high on Monday as lower energy and commodity prices and caution ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting and G20 summit prompted investors to trim risky trades./p pLeaders of the Group of 20 meet on Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh and U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday he would push world leaders for a reshaping of the global economy in response to the crisis./p pWorld stocks, measured by MSCI have risen over 26 percent this year, recouping more than half of last year#8217;s losses, underpinned by repeated pledges by G20 policymakers to keep emergency support for the economy in place./p p#8220;The market might look slightly overbought near term, but the economy is definitely improving, corporate#8230;/p

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – September 21, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 07:57:56 +0000

TODAY: Obama firm on reasons for missile defense decision; Medvedev and Putin seem to take it as a positive sign; Putin wishes to see trade the next barrier broken; Russia will abandon Kaliningrad missile plans. Pressure mounting regarding Iran situation;...

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – September 18, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:37:22 +0000

TODAY: US missile defense in Eastern Europe plans officially scrapped in favor of 'more efficient' new program. A matter of concession or conviction on Obama's part; mixed reaction from former would-be host countries fearful of Russian dominance; is the...

Prieur’s readings (September 17, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:31:11 +0000

U.S. Trade Spat with China Escalates, But is Unlikely to Cause a Significant Rift

Jason Simpkins — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:53:19 +0000

Here’s Why the U.S.-China Tire Tiff Lead to Great Depression II

Martin Hutchinson — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:51:01 +0000

President Obama Issues Stern Warning to Wall Street and its “Reckless Behavior”

QualityStocks — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:33:01 +0000

We face the fourth quarter with hopes of reform and rebuilding paired with an obvious and earned distrust for the government, Wall Street and the mortgage and banking systems. Between bankruptcies, bailouts and layoffs, some feel that we hit the bottom of the worst economic storm since the Great Depression, and that the next step [...]

Viktor Yushchenko Winding Down

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:33:05 +0000

Things are looking pretty bad for the Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. Following Dmitry Medvedev's direct attack on his candidacy, Russia has successfully made itself indispensable in this election ... it seems they have learned from the last time. These comments...

Zacks Earnings Preview: Adobe Systems, Best Buy, FedEx, Kroger, and Oracle – Press Releases

Charles Rotblut — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:47:36 +0000

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 31, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Adobe Systems (ADBE), Best Buy (BBY), and FedEx (FDX). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

This week brings the initial batch of third-quarter results. Seven early reporters from the S&P 500 - all of whom have quarters ending in August - will report: Adobe Systems (ADBE), Best Buy (BBY), Discover Financial Services (DFS), FedEx (FDX), Kroger (KR), Oracle (ORCL) and Pall (PLL). In total, we will see results from 20 companies.

So how will the third-quarter look? The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for S&P 500 earnings of $13.50 per share, a 15.4% decline from a year prior.

Going back to the week's events, the economic calendar will stay busy with inflation, manufacturing and housing data being released.

Tuesday: August Producer Price Index (PPI), August retail sales, September Empire State survey, July business inventories
Wednesday: August Consumer Price Index (CPI), August industrial production and capacity utilization, September NAHB housing market index, weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage applications
Thursday: August housing starts and building permits, September Philadelphia Fed survey, weekly initial jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories

President Barack Obama will speak about the financial crisis on Monday, which is also the anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse. The same day, Fed Governor Elizabeth Duke and Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Lacker will give speeches. Duke will discuss regulation and accounting at the AICPA's annual conference in Washington D.C. Lacker will appear before the Charlotte chapter of the Risk Management Association.

Friday will be a quadruple witching day. Stock option contracts, stock futures contracts, market index options and market futures contracts will all expire. This could lead to increased volatility.

We are in a fear and greed market with a relatively small group of traders playing hot potato. Bonds are doing extremely well (fear), while the S&P 500 continues move higher (greed). It doesn't make sense, but stocks are trending higher. Dow 10,000 is only a few good days away and the fast money remains in control.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

One analyst just raised his fiscal third-quarter profit forecast on Adobe Systems (ADBE). The revision pushed the Zacks Consensus Estimate a penny higher to 28 cents per share. The most accurate estimate is more bullish at 32 cents per share. Though the software company has only matched expectations over the past 2 quarters, it did top during the previous 4 quarters. Adobe is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Sep 15, after the close of trading.

Three analysts raised their fiscal second-quarter projections on Best Buy (BBY) over the past few weeks. The changes have resulted in a Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents per share, a penny higher than the average forecast of a month ago. The most accurate estimate is slightly more bullish at 42 cents per share. BBY has topped expectations for 3 consecutive quarters. Best Buy is scheduled to report on Tuesday, Sep 15, before the start of trading.

FedEx Corporation (FDX) preannounced fiscal first-quarter earnings of 58 cents per share today. The number is well above both the company's guidance and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 43 cents per share. Fiscal second-quarter guidance also looks strong at a range of 65 to 95 cents per share. Though the surprise should be baked into the price, if reaction to the conference call is favorable, there is the possibility of additional upside. FDX is scheduled to report on Thursday, Sep 17, before the start of trading.

Charles Rotblut, CFA, is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com.

About the Zacks Rank

Since 1988, the Zacks Rank has proven that "Earnings estimate revisions are the most powerful force impacting stock prices." Since inception in 1988, #1 Rank Stocks have generated an average annual return of +26%. During the 2000-2002 bear market, Zacks #1 Rank stocks gained +43.8%, while the S&P 500 tumbled -37.6%. Also note that the Zacks Rank system has just as many Strong Sell recommendations (Rank #5) as Strong Buy recommendations (Rank #1). Since 1988, Zacks Rank #5 stocks have underperformed the S&P 500 by 111% annually (-0.8% versus +8%). Thus, the Zacks Rank system allows investors to truly manage portfolio trading effectively.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter offers continuous coverage of the industries and the stocks poised to outperform the market. Subscribe to this free newsletter today by visiting http://at.zacks.com/?id=5614.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978 by Leonard Zacks. As a PhD in mathematics Len knew he could find patterns in stock market data that would lead to superior investment results. Amongst his many accomplishments was the formation of his proprietary stock picking system; the Zacks Rank, which continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros by going to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5615.

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

Disclaimer: Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should always research companies and securities before making any investments. Nothing herein should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security.

Contact: Charles Rotblut, CFA
Company: Zacks.com
Phone: 312-265-9352
Email: pr@zacks.com
Visit: www.Zacks.com

Zacks Investment Research

The Return to “Normal”

Adam Lass — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

How to make 188% gains as the dollar returns to its “normal” path to destruction “It’s Time For Change: Barack Obama 2008” – Campaign Bumper Sticker “Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss.” –...div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?i=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?i=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:wd9GD17jvC4"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?d=wd9GD17jvC4" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.taipanpublishinggroup.com/~ff/taipan?a=1TYXF_4y2i8:TFoMqK_41_4:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/taipan?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/taipan/~4/1TYXF_4y2i8" height="1" width="1"/

Earnings Preview for Sep 14-18 – Earnings Preview

Charles Rotblut — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

So how will the third-quarter look? The Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for S&P 500 earnings of $13.50 per share, a 15.4% decline from a year prior.

Going back to the week's events, the economic calendar will stay busy with inflation, manufacturing and housing data being released.

Tuesday: August Producer Price Index (PPI), August retail sales, September Empire State survey, July business inventories
Wednesday: August Consumer Price Index (CPI), August industrial production and capacity utilization, September NAHB housing market index, weekly crude inventories, weekly mortgage applications
Thursday: August housing starts and building permits, September Philadelphia Fed survey, weekly initial jobless claims, weekly natural gas inventories

Friday will be a quadruple witching day. Stock option contracts, stock futures contracts, market index options and market futures contracts will all expire. This could lead to increased volatility.

Companies That Could Issue Positive Earnings Surprises

Companies That Could Issue Negative Earnings Surprises

Earnings estimate trends are not providing a clear indication that any of the scheduled companies will disappoint.

Charles Rotblut, CFA is the senior market analyst for Zacks.com.

Earnings Calendar

Here is a list of companies that we have confirmed will report during the week of Sep 14 - Sep 18. Prices are as of Thursday's, Sep 10, market close.

Company	Stock	Zacks Estimate	Year Ago EPS	Last Qtr Surprise	Date	Time	Price
Majesco Entmnt	CMM	$0.01	$0.01	0.0%	9/14	AMC	$1.69
Pall Corp	CFI	$0.52	$0.61	0.0%	9/14	AMC	$31.60
Sycamore Ntwks	SINA	($0.02)	($0.03)	66.7%	9/14	BTO	$3.21
Wpcs Intl Inc	ADCT	$0.01	$0.12	N/A	9/14	AMC	$3.52
Adobe Systems	CRMT	$0.28	$0.42	0.0%	9/15	AMC	$34.02
Best Buy	APSG	$0.41	$0.48	23.5%	9/15	BTO	$41.05
China Green Agr	BOFI	$0.19	$0.07	31.3%	9/15	AMC	$13.05
Cracker Barrel	CMED	$0.95	$0.91	18.2%	9/15	BTO	$31.58
Kroger Co	DCI	$0.43	$0.42	6.4%	9/15	BTO	$22.00
Apogee Entrprs	EDAP	$0.25	$0.43	8.0%	9/16	AMC	$13.92
Cke Restaurants	IIG	$0.21	$0.23	20.8%	9/16	AMC	$10.27
Clarcor Inc	PIKE	$0.45	$0.51	(13.2%)	9/16	AMC	$32.66
Dress Barn	TUTR	$0.37	$0.34	25.8%	9/16	AMC	$17.78
Oracle Corp	SEAC	$0.29	$0.29	2.3%	9/16	AMC	$22.76
Discover Fin Sv	TTWO	($0.16)	$0.37	35.7%	9/17	BTO	$14.47
Fedex Corp	PAY	$0.43	$1.23	25.5%	9/17	BTO	$72.66
Ihs Inc-A	ABM	$0.47	$0.42	19.0%	9/17	AMC	$51.36
Palm Inc	ADEP	($0.22)	($0.19)	44.4%	9/17	AMC	$13.75
Pier 1 Imports	AMSWA	($0.22)	($0.34)	44.4%	9/17	BTO	$2.60
Somanetics Corp	BRLI	$0.14	$0.23	7.7%	9/17	BTO	$13.75

BTO = Before The Market Open, AMC = After The Market Close

Zacks Investment Research

Prieur’s readings (September 2, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:10:46 +0000

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also find enjoyable. Please also add the links to any other thought-provoking articles you would like to share to the comments section.

Obama’s Bush-Like Foreign Policy [8/25/2009]

Frank Holmes — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:51:26 +0000

As a candidate, Barack Obama positioned himself as the Anti-Bush. But as president, his foreign policy actions and outcomes so far could be called Bush-Like....

Obama’s Bush-Like Foreign Policy

Frank Holmes — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

As a candidate, Barack Obama positioned himself as the Anti-Bush. But as president, his foreign policy actions and outcomes so far could be called Bush-Like. Thatrsquo;s the view put forth in an interesting analysis from Stratfor Global Intelligence, a geopolitical think tank based in Austin, Texas. Stratfor president George Friedman spins the globe and points out where the campaign rhetoric left off and the realities of being president set in. Wersquo;re still deeply entrenched in Iraq. We are still telling the Iranians to negotiate on nuclear development, or else. Our tense relationship with the Russians over regional dominance remains intact. The French and Germans are still holding us at armrsquo;s length despite Obamarsquo;s overtures. We are maintaining the status quo with China by focusing on our common economic interests and avoiding politics. Sure, itrsquo;s only been seven months since Obama took office, but contrary to the view of Obama purists, Friedman says the promises made on the campaign trail naturally give way to reality. ldquo;He has conducted his foreign policy as if he were Bush. This is because Bushrsquo;s foreign policy was shaped by necessity, and Obamarsquo;s foreign policy is shaped by the same necessity.rdquo; The same can be said for Obamarsquo;s approach to the U.S. recessionmdash;a heightened commitment to the Bush theme by more than doubling the economic stimulus spending. The Stratfor article is available here*. *This link goes to Stratforrsquo;s Web site. U.S. Global Investors does not endorse any information supplied by this website and is not responsible for any of its content. All opinions expressed and data provided are subject to change without notice. Some of these opinions may not be appropriate to every investor. 09-578

In the Race for a U.S. Economic Rebound, Growing Debt and Budget Deficits Remain the Biggest Possible Roadblock

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:33:22 +0000

pEven as investors get more and more bullish about the outlook for the U.S. economy, the economy’s underlying foundation continues to erode./p pIn a report to be released this week, the Obama administration will boost its 10-year projection for the federal budget deficit to about $9 trillion – an increase of roughly $2 trillion, or 29%, from its prior projection, strongemFox News/em/strong reported over the weekend, citing a source from the a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/" target="_blank"Office of Management and Budget/a (OMB)./p pThe new cumulative deficit projection – for 2010-2019 – replaces the a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/08/21/official-obama-increase-year-deficit-trillion/?test=latestnews#38;test=health" target="_blank"administration’s previous estimate of $7.108 trillion./a Changes in budget projections – whether they result in a surplus or a deficit – are often refined as economic conditions change. This new projection was necessary because the recession has#8230;/p

Monsanto Focused on Long-Term Growth, but DuPont Dustup Draws Attention from Regulators

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 19:24:35 +0000

pMonsanto Corp. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:MON" target="_blank"MON/a), the world’s largest seed maker, says it’s on track to more than double its 2007 profit by the year 2012 and is expecting a “technology explosion” to provide even stronger products going forward. But while Monsanto continues to build on its reputation as a cutting edge agricultural business, it is also under siege by competitors and advocacy groups who claim the company is a monopoly./p pThe St. Louis-based Monsanto said in June that its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell to $694 million, or $1.25 a share, from $811 million, or $1.45 a share, in the same period a year ago. Sales slipped to $3.16 billion from $3.54 billion last year. The company also said its annual earnings would#8230;/p

Rationing? I Have to Disagree – Analyst Blog

Dirk Van Dijk — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:17:10 +0000

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Martin Feldstein, Ronald Reagan’s top economist and a Harvard professor, claims the current health care proposals are all about rationing. I have to disagree. Excerpts from his article are below, along with my critique.

"Although administration officials are eager to deny it, rationing health care is central to President Barack Obama's health plan. The Obama strategy is to reduce health costs by rationing the services that we and future generations of patients will receive.

"The White House Council of Economic Advisers issued a report in June explaining the Obama Administration's goal of reducing projected health spending by 30% over the next two decades. That reduction would be achieved by eliminating 'high cost, low-value treatments' by 'implementing a set of performance measures that all providers would adopt' and by 'directly targeting individual providers . . . (and other) high-end outliers.'"

First and foremost, it is important to recognize that the current system already relies on rationing. It uses rationing by price. If you can’t afford the treatment, or are one of the over 47 million uninsured, tough.

However, insurance companies like Aetna (AET) and United Health (UNH) will also routinely decide that a treatment is not covered because it is too costly. For many conditions, there are several potential treatment alternatives.

The major health care reform proposals (there are currently 4 on the table, and one more is still being worked on) plan on looking at which methods work best, and eliminating costly treatment options that don’t work very well (but which might be highly lucrative to the doctor and/or hospital) in favor of lower cost, more effective options. If that be rationing, sign me up. Sounds like simple “best practices" to me.

"The president has emphasized the importance of limiting services to 'health care that works.' To identify such care, he provided more than $1 billion in the fiscal stimulus package to jump-start Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) and to finance a federal CER advisory council to implement that idea.

"That could morph over time into a cost-control mechanism of the sort proposed by former Sen. Tom Daschle, Mr. Obama's original choice for White House health czar. Comparative effectiveness could become the vehicle for deciding whether each method of treatment provides enough of an improvement in health care to justify its cost."

Could, could, could -- but Marty, you provide absolutely no evidence as to the probability of that occurring. If the CER finds, for example, that radiation therapy is more effective than surgery for the treatment of a certain type of cancer, and that radiation therapy is also 30% less expensive, it seems downright stupid to keep having doctors do a lot of that type of surgery. The surgeons might make less money, but that is not anything like the specter that has been floated of the government denying care to old folks.

"In the British national health service, a government agency approves only those expensive treatments that add at least one Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) per £30,000 (about $49,685) of additional health-care spending. If a treatment costs more per QALY, the health service will not pay for it.

"The existence of such a program in the United States would not only deny lifesaving care, but would also cast a pall over medical researchers who would fear that government experts might reject their discoveries as 'too expensive.'"

There is nothing in any of the proposals that would prevent people from paying extra to get these marginal treatments, either by paying out of pocket or through supplemental insurance. It would not deny lifesaving care, it would simply decline to pay for every procedure, regardless of how expensive or how ineffective.

It might also focus researchers to look for treatments that bring down costs and are more effective. Those procedures would get a much bigger market share and would be very lucrative.

"One reason the Obama Administration is prepared to use rationing to limit health care is to rein in the government's exploding health-care budget. Government now pays for nearly half of all health care in the U.S. , primarily through the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

"The White House predicts that the aging of the population and the current trend in health-care spending per beneficiary would cause government outlays for Medicare and Medicaid to rise to 15% of GDP by 2040 from 6% now. Paying those bills without raising taxes would require cutting other existing social spending programs and shelving the administration's plans for new government transfers and spending programs."

Note that government spending is about 20% of GDP now, so it is not just existing social spending programs that would have to be cut, but just about everything. That includes the military. Going on the current trajectory on health care spending has the potential to seriously harm national security.

"The rising cost of medical treatments would not be such a large burden on future budgets if the government reduced its share in the financing of health services. Raising the existing Medicare and Medicaid deductibles and coinsurance would slow the growth of these programs without resorting to rationing. Physicians and their patients would continue to decide which tests and other services they believe are worth the cost.

"There is, of course, no reason why limiting outlays on Medicare and Medicaid requires cutting health services for the rest of the population. The idea that they must be cut in parallel is just an example of misplaced medical egalitarianism."

“Misplaced medical egalitarianism" -- we are talking life and death here! Every year, 18,000 Americans die prematurely because they lack access to proper medical care. That is more than 6x as many who died when the Twin Towers came down.

Raising the deductibles and coinsurance for Medicaid? Just who does the good Harvard professor think is on Medicaid? Here is a news flash for ya, Marty -- it's poor people. This would result in rationing of the very worst sort, not you get treatment A instead of treatment B because A is more cost effective, but you get no treatment at all and just suffer or die.

If Grandma can’t afford the higher deductable and copayment then what happens? Does the plug get pulled? Does he seriously think that runaway medical cost inflation outside of Medicare and Medicaid is not a problem for the economy, even though costs in those two programs have already been rising slower than overall medical costs?

"But budget considerations aside, health-economics experts agree that private health spending is too high because our tax rules lead to the wrong kind of insurance. Under existing law, employer payments for health insurance are deductible by the employer but are not included in the taxable income of the employee.

"While an extra $100 paid to someone who earns $45,000 a year will provide only about $60 of after-tax spendable cash, the employer could instead use that $100 to pay $100 of health-insurance premiums for that same individual. It is therefore not surprising that employers and employees have opted for very generous health insurance with very low copayment rates.

"Since a typical 20% copayment rate means that an extra dollar of health services costs the patient only 20 cents at the time of care, patients and their doctors opt for excessive tests and other inappropriately expensive forms of care. The evidence on health-care demand implies that the current tax rules raise private health-care spending by as much as 35%.

"The best solution to this problem of private overconsumption of health services would be to eliminate the tax rule that is causing the excessive insurance and the resulting rise in health spending. Alternatively, Congress could strengthen the incentives in the existing law for health savings accounts with high insurance copayments. Either way, the result would be more cost-conscious behavior that would lower health-care spending."

The result would be to push people out of group employer-sponsored plans and into the individual health insurance market. That market is FAR more abusive than the employer group market. That is where people get rejected for pre-existing conditions. That is where people get their health care coverage cancelled on the flimsiest of excuses as soon as they file a serious claim and actually need the insurance.

While I agree that the self-employed and those who are working for small businesses that don’t offer health benefits deserve a break, absent something reasonable to replace it, it would be reckless to dismantle the employer sponsored system. Now if you want to argue for scrapping the system and replacing it with a single-payer Medicare for All system, that would make a lot of sense.

Our current system is not something that anyone designed, but an outgrowth of wage controls during WWII, and is not what anyone starting from scratch would design. It is the system we have in place, and without a replacement it would be dangerous to get rid of it.

"But unlike reductions in care achieved by government rationing, individuals with different preferences about health and about risk could buy the care that best suits their preferences. While we all want better health, the different choices that people make about such things as smoking, weight and exercise show that there are substantial differences in the priority that different people attach to health.

"Although there has been some talk in Congress about limiting the current health-insurance exclusion, the Administration has not supported the idea. The unions are particularly vehement in their opposition to any reduction in the tax subsidy for health insurance, since they regard their ability to negotiate comprehensive health insurance for their members as a major part of their raison d'être."

Funny, the AFL-CIO has long argued for a single-payer system, one that would completely eliminate that major part of their raison d’etre. It is not just about your preferences for spending more or less on health care. Demand is the combination of desire for something plus the ability to pay for it. If you are poor, your desire to live and not to suffer counts for nothing in the world that Dr. Feldstein inhabits.

"If changing the tax rule that leads to excessive health insurance is not going to happen, the relevant political choice is between government rationing and continued high levels of health-care spending. Rationing is bad policy. It forces individuals with different preferences to accept the same care.

"It also imposes an arbitrary cap on the future growth of spending instead of letting it evolve in response to changes in technology, tastes and income. In my judgment, rationing would be much worse than excessive care.

"Those who worry about too much health care cite the Congressional Budget Office's prediction that health-care spending could rise to 30% of GDP in 2035 from 16% now. But during that 25-year period, GDP will rise to about $24 trillion from $14 trillion, implying that the GDP not spent on health will rise to $17 billion in 2035 from $12 billion now. So even if nothing else comes along to slow the growth of health spending during the next 25 years, there would still be a nearly 50% rise in income to spend on other things.

"Like virtually every economist I know, I believe the right approach to limiting health spending is by reforming the tax rules. But if that is not going to happen, let's not destroy the high quality of the best of American health care by government rationing and misplaced egalitarianism."

For starters there is a typo in the article, it is to $17 trillion, not billion. Leaving that aside, using his numbers, if we could just keep spending at 16% of GDP (keep in mind the next highest level of spending in the OECD is Switzerland at 11% of GDP, and everyone knows what a hellhole Swiss hospitals are), we are talking about a difference of $3.36 Trillion a year by 2035. That is a lot of money in my book.

Dr. Feldstein must have an awfully small circle of economists he knows (doubtful) to make that statement. There are few questions in economics that are universally agreed upon, and that is certainly not one of them. Taxing “platinum plans" might be a useful way to raise some of the revenues needed to help cover the uninsured, but to think just changing the tax code would solve the problem by itself is just plain silly.

The high quality of the best of American health care means little if it is only available to a tiny fraction of the population. If a few people ride around in Mercedes and Bentleys and most people have to walk does that mean you have a great transportation system? The claim that America has the best health care system in the world is not one that Dr. Feldstein should be making.

On every major public health indicator tracked by the World Health organization the U.S. is way down the list, and overall we rank neck and neck with Cuba, and far below places like France, Canada or the U.K. Sometimes when you pay the most, you get the best, other times it just means you are getting ripped off. The latter is clearly the case with the U.S. health care system.
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Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) Signs MMR Information Systems, Inc. (MMRF.OB) as Independent Software Vendor

QualityStocks — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:04:45 +0000

Kodak, the world’s foremost imaging innovator, today signed MyMedicalRecords, Inc. (“MMR”), a subsidiary of MMR Information Systems Inc., as their independent software vendor in an agreement that will enhance how doctors provide electronic information online. Kodak Scanners and Kodak Capture Software, both of which are state-of-the-art in their field, will work seamlessly with the MMR Pro [...]

The Latest Western Insult to Russia

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:23:36 +0000

OK, folks, this has gone far enough. There's no need for the United States and Europe to continue in their unchecked and outrageous aggression against Russia, renewing Cold War tensions and antagonism, no matter how jealous they are of her...

German Investor Confidence Soars!

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:00:39 +0000

pZEW says Germany is on the mend#8230; UK inflation remains higher than expected#8230; Safe Haven, what safe haven? Housing data remains soft#8230; And Now#8230; Today#8217;s Pfennig!br / Good day#8230; And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Well#8230; I received an injection of steroids into my left knee yesterday, and already today, I can tell that they are working their magic! I guess I#8217;ll have to give up my plans to try out for the Cardinals next year, now! HA! So, my knee is recovering from 3-weeks of agonizing pain and swelling#8230; I#8217;ve got that going for me!/p pAnd the currencies seem to be recovering this morning too, from the recent go around in the ring with the risk aversion campers. The currencies (except yen), were last seen yesterday#8230;/p

High-Speed Rail Puts Investors on the Fast Track to Profits in China, but Languishes in the U.S.

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:36:23 +0000

pUnderstanding that high-speed rail (HSR) could provide millions of Americans with a cleaner, more efficient way to travel, President Barack Obama allocated $13 billion to its development over the next five years as part of the a href="http://www.recovery.gov/" target="_blank"American Recovery and Reinvestment Act/a (ARRA) passed in February./p pBut Obama’s high-speed rail initiative has gotten off to a sluggish start, while a much bigger, $300 billion plan to create the world’s largest and most sophisticated high-speed rail network is already rapidly unfolding in China./p p“Railroads were always the pride of America, and stitched us together. Now Japan, China, all of Europe have high-speed rail systems that put ours to shame,” Obama said in April./p pIn a proposal called “a href="http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/RRdev/hsrspfacts.pdf" target="_blank"A Vision for High-Speed Rail in America/a” Obama and#8230;/p

Nucor Corporation Will Get Is Due for a Boost from Government Spending

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:36:49 +0000

pSteel maker strongNucor Corp.’s (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=nue" target="_blank"NUE/a)/strong stock has rallied some 51% from its March 3 low of $29.84 a share and has twice bumped against its recent high of $49.91 a share. /p pThe stock is still a far cry from its record-high level of $83.56, but is only 0% below its 52-week high of $53.46. Much has changed since then, as the U.S. auto industry is no longer producing the 16 million cars it produced in 2007, nor the 13 million it managed to sell last year. This year we are looking at some 10 million units sold, according to a href="http://www.google.com/finance?cid=6301754" target="_blank"J.D. Power and Associates/a, the leading forecaster in the industry./p pBut there is encouraging news: The very quick restructuring of both strongGeneral#8230;/strong/p

Will This Week’s Earnings Reports Reflect a Recovery or a Relapse for the U.S. Economy?

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:00:21 +0000

pSeveral key second-quarter earnings reports could either validate or undercut assertions that the U.S. economy is poised for recovery./p pAfter the Commerce Department reported last week that retail sales fell 0.1% in July from June, and 8.3% year-over-year, retailers will stay in the limelight this week as several high-profile companies report second-quarter earnings.strong Target Corp. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=tgt" target="_blank"TGT/a)/strong, strongLimited Brands Inc. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:LTD" target="_blank"LTD/a)/strong, and strongGap Stores (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AGPS" target="_blank"GPS/a)/strong are among the big-name retailers set to report./p pMeanwhile, the strongHewlett-Packard Co’s (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=hpq" target="_blank"HPQ/a) /strongreport will provide a further glimpse into the world of technology, and strongThe Home Depot Co.’s (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AHD" target="_blank"HD/a)/strong results a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/07/30/housing-market-bottom/" target="_blank"will confirm or counter claims that the recent housing rebound is for real/a. On that note, the upcoming economic releases include July housing starts and#8230;/p

How to Survive and Prosper in the Twilight Zone Economy

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:19:11 +0000

pThis morning, MarketWatch tells us there’s been “a broad-based decline” of shares in Europe. Apparently, “capital adequacy worries” over banks are the cause. We presume this is a polite way of saying banks have no money. /p pAt least the Europeans are owning up to the fact; in the U.S. investors are still pretending that the emperor’s new clothes are real. The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index is down 1.2%, down the second day in four./p pShanghai stocks have also taken a bath. They’ve suffered their worst fall since November. This time, the worry is that the Chinese government will tighten its loosey-goosey monetary policy. According to MarketWatch, “The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 5.8% to 2,830.63, closing below the 3,000-point level for#8230;/p

An Economy Entering a Depression

Bill Bonner — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:30:58 +0000

pHey#8230; how ‘bout this rally! /p pThe Dow was up 120 points yesterday. Now, we’re beating the bounce of 1930. The post-crash bounce in 1930 lasted 5 months. Ours began on March 9 th#8230; so it is now in its sixth month./p pAnd like 1930, people are coming to believe that recession is almost over#8230; and happy times are here again./p pHeck, we’re sure the trouble is behind us now; 53 economists said so!/p pAug. 12 (Bloomberg) #8212; Recovery from the worst recession since the 1930s has begun as President Barack Obama’s fiscal stimulus #8212; derided as insufficient and budget-busting months ago #8212; takes effect, a survey of economists indicated./p p“The economy will expand 2 percent or more in four straight quarters through June, the#8230;/p

Video-o-rama: Stabilization benefits risky assets

Prieur du Plessis — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 06:29:05 +0000

Stock markets recorded another strong week as further signs of economic stabilization emerged. The S&P 500 Index worked its way back to above the 1,000 level on Friday, and more upside lies ahead said market strategist Abby Joseph Cohen, expecting the Index to reach the 1,100 mark by year end. This week's Video-o-rama not only covers the outlook for stock markets, but also discussions about the economy's transition from recession to recovery and other topical issues.

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! 8/05/09, JWN, NASB, SJI, MRK, SGP, NAV

Dr. Stock Pick — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:08:44 +0000

DrStockPick.com Stock Report! Wednesday August 5, 2009 ************************************************************** Seattle-based Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN), a leading fashion specialty retailer, announced it will open a 45,000-square-foot Nordstrom Rack, a unit of the company’s off-price retail division, in Tampa, Fla. in fall 2010. The new store will be located in the Walter’s Crossing neighborhood at the [...]

Russia Not Ready for its own Obama

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:28:32 +0000

Right before Barack Obama's first visit to Moscow, I recall reading some interesting quotes from a Russian observer - unfortunately I can't remember where exactly - who speculated that although he didn't expect any kind of revolution in U.S.-Russia relations,...

U.S. GDP Contraction Slows, but the Road to Recovery Will Be Rocky

Money Morning — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:42:45 +0000

Peter Schiff: Why this Money Should Replace the U.S. Dollar There’s a new universal currency, backed by solid gold. You can use it to make online purchases anywhere in the world. Converting some money to the new currency takes just 5 minutes. You can start with as little as $10…or as much as $10 million. [...]

Why the Obama Stimulus Has Us on a Collision Course with Inflation

William Patalon lll — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:59:11 +0000

Has the massive Obama stimulus plan put us on a collision course with virulent inflation? It sure looks that way. Let me explain … When the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday said the U.S. economy contracted at a 1% annual pace in the second quarter, the report was actually seen as good news: It was a slower decline [...]

U.S. GDP Contraction Slows, but the Road to Recovery Will Be Rocky

Peter D. Schiff — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:50:22 +0000

Why the Obama Stimulus Has Us on a Collision Course with Inflation

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:58:16 +0000

pHas the massive Obama stimulus plan put us on a collision course with virulent inflation? It sure looks that way. Let me explain …/p pWhen the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday said the U.S. economy contracted at a 1% annual pace in the second quarter, the report was actually seen as good news: It was a slower decline than in each of the two prior quarters, and economists had expected a contraction of 1.5%./p p“This is good news,” Nariman Behravesh, an economist with strongIHS Global Insight Inc. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AIHS" target="_blank"IHS/a), told emThe San Francisco Chronicle/em./strong/p pBut here’s the wild card: Although government spending did increase during the April-to-June quarter, only about 7.7% – $60.4 billion – of U.S. President a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president_obama/" target="_blank"Barack Obama/a’s stimulus package had actually made its way into the#8230;/p

Beware of the Obama Stimulus Trap

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:00:44 +0000

pUpbeat headlines have been everywhere in recent weeks, and they all seem to point to a single conclusion: The U.S. economy is in the early stages of a very rapid recovery./p pIn fact, when you peruse the news it’s difficult to come to any other conclusion. For instance:/p ul liA number of key earnings reports have been much better than expected, and company executives buttressed those profit figures with positive comments about the next 18 months./li liThe trading operations of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AGS" target="_blank"GS/a) and JPMorgan Chase #38; Co. (NYSE: a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3AJPM" target="_blank"JPM/a) a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/07/17/jpmorgan-chase-accounting-mirage/" target="_blank"both just reported record profits/a./li liU.S. housing prices rose in May a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/07/30/housing-market-bottom/" target="_blank"for the first time in three years/a. Initial jobless claims have plunged 15% since their April peak. The Conference Board’s Index of#8230;/li/ul

Boris Nemtsov: “Dictators are incapable of cooperation”

Robert Amsterdam — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:01:23 +0000

When I'm abroad, I often get asked who of the leaders of the Russian opposition I think stands out in some way. Usually I name Boris Nemtsov, Garry Kasparov, and Vladimir Ryzhkov. In doing so I always reiterate that I...

Dollar Rally Peters Out

Contrarian Profits — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:30:26 +0000

pObama defends his policies#8230;Commodity currencies should outperform#8230;Global Power Shift Index#8230;And Now#8230; Today#8217;s Pfennig!/p pGood day#8230; And happy Thursday to everyone! Hope everyone made it through the #8216;hump day#8217; with no worries. We started the morning here with rainshowers, but it ended up being a beautiful afternoon and evening. Currency markets were similar to the weather here, as most currencies started Wednesday in the loss column vs. the US$, but rallied as the day progressed. The dollar had strengthened over the past couple of days due to #8217;safe haven#8217; demand; but a surprisingly strong durable goods number (ex autos) combined with an #8216;all clear#8217; signal from President Barack Obama had investors moving back into riskier assets. The commodity based currencies also got#8230;/p

Prieur’s readings (July 23, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:49:32 +0000

This post provides links to a number of thought-provoking articles I have read over the past few days that you may also find interesting.

How Boone Might Boost Energtek, Inc. (EGTK.PK)

QualityStocks — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:03:30 +0000

The domestic natural gas industry has fallen on hard times due to a supply glut and a sharp fall in commodity prices over the course of the last year, but with last week’s latest news things are beginning to look up again. T. Boone Pickens, the long time crude oil bull turned alternative energy maven, [...]

Listening to Eastern Europe

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:14:37 +0000

Ever since Barack Obama's first relatively friendly state visit to Moscow, Washington and the Kremlin have engaged in a showdown of gestures over the elephant in the room: the legitimacy of Russia's claim to a privileged sphere of influences. Directly...

With Inflation on the Horizon, Gold Prices are Ready to Rally

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:22:08 +0000

pWith the global economy on the mend, could gold be gearing up for another record-setting run? It sure looks that way. /p pAfter peaking north of the $1,000 per ounce price level last year, gold hit a stumbling block when deflationary fears in the world’s largest economy sucked the air out of commodities prices and sent hoards of investors stampeding into the safe-haven of U.S. Treasuries, and helped spawn a rebound in the U.S. dollar./p pSince that time, the global economic outlook - especially beyond U.S. borders - has improved, and gold prices have stabilized./p pThe next step - many gold bulls say - is for the yellow metal to make a run for new highs./p h3Whipsaw Trading Patterns/h3 pGold started 2009 at about $870 an ounce#8230;/p

Prieur’s readings (July 17, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:30:11 +0000

This post provides links a number of thought-provoking articles I have read over the past few days that you may also find of interest.

With Inflation on the Horizon, Gold Prices are Ready to Rally

Money Morning — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:18:57 +0000

[Editor's Note: If you're new to the commodities-investing arena, and are uncertain about the landscape - or even if you're an "old hand" at natural-resource stocks, but want some insights into the new profit plays and new players - consider hiring a guide: Money Morning Contributing Editor Peter Krauth, a recognized expert in metals, mining [...]

A Letter to Obama

Robert Amsterdam — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:31:24 +0000

Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa, and a long list of other former leaders of Eastern European states have penned an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama expressing their fears over what kinds of sacrifices to their sovereignty might come along...

US dollar – a currency in decline

Prieur du Plessis — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:53:26 +0000

"Falling off a cliff - this would be a good technical description of what the US Dollar Index looks like," said Peter Greene in this guest contribution.

Natalia Estemirova and the Price of Courage

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:22:43 +0000

The following is a rant with little editing or consideration.No sooner had the news media reported on her abrupt kidnapping, did we hear of the discovery of the journalist and human rights advocate Natalia Estemirova's body. I am told that...

Imitation and Insincere Flattery

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:48:05 +0000

Stanislav Belkovsky is often quite a clown, but usually not a boring one. After all, how many pundits out there like to open an article by quoting themselves? That's exactly how he begins his latest piece of analysis posted...

Mark Mobius on the outlook for emerging markets

Prieur du Plessis — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 06:42:51 +0000

“The outlook for emerging markets remains positive thanks to their relatively strong fundamental characteristics and faster growth than their developed counterparts,” said emerging markets guru Mark Mobius in this guest contribution.

Will the Feds Use the California Crisis to Change the Rules on Munis?

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:30:27 +0000

pIf you live in the United States, there is a good chance the crisis in California is going to affect you. And if you own municipal bonds — either directly or indirectly through other investments — what’s happening in California could have a major impact on your finances.For years, state government budgets have been expanding as the economy grew and the rising housing market swelled property tax coffers. But the severe recession that has brought rising unemployment and a collapse in property values has drastically cut revenues from income, property, sales and corporate taxes./p pAnd state governments are feeling the pinch. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, there are only three states (Arkansas, Wyoming, and North Dakota) that do#8230;/p

Why Brazil and Germany Will Outperform IMF Favorites China and India in 2010

Martin Hutchinson — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:26:03 +0000

[Editor's Note: When it comes to global investing, longtime market guru Martin Hutchinson is one of the very best – because he knows the markets firsthand. After years of advising government finance ministers, crafting deals with global investment banks, and analyzing the world's financial markets, Hutchinson has used his creative insights to create a trading [...]

Why Brazil and Germany Will Outperform IMF Favorites China and India in 2010

Contrarian Profits — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:00:49 +0000

pMarkets were cheered Wednesday when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected global growth of 2.5% for 2010, a slight increase from its earlier forecast of 1.9% growth. That’s good news for investors – but consumers in the United States and investors focused on it may not see much benefit./p div class="entry" pa href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124705830081511403.html" target="_blank"The IMF forecast/a for the United States does not sound like a lot of fun: The organization is projecting growth of only 0.8% for this country next year. That forecast runs contrary to currently optimistic rhetoric about the recession bottoming out, and may account for the stock market’s weakness over the past year or so as the very real prospects of aa href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2008/12/26/recession-shape/" target="_blank"sustained economic bottom/a begins to sink in with investors./p pMy own view is that the#8230;/p/div

Video-o-rama: Fresh wave of risk aversion

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 08:17:23 +0000

The usual debate on the outlook for the economy and financial markets dominated the video channels over the past few days, but interesting snippets on the improved forecast of the IMF for the global economy, the viability of the Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP), the role of the US dollar as reserve currency and the prospects for the earnings-reporting season were also featured in the clips included in the Video-o-rama compilation.

Obama in “Rashsha”

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 20:38:36 +0000

The word "Rashsha" is a common way of poking fun at the mispronounciation of the country's name by English-speaking foreigners, similar to writing "Amerika" with a "k" for a foreign effect. It didn't take long for the Russian blogosphere to...

Energy Blast – July 8, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:30:17 +0000

ExxonMobil has complained that Russia's subsoil law, which curtails foreigners' access to oil fields, is the main hindrance in its attempts to develop further in Russia. TNK-BP is considering additional investment this year, although less than the $400 million that...

Today in Russian Business – July 8, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:16:14 +0000

Barack Obama has urged for increased trade between the US and Russia, as current annual trade stands at $36 billion, but has stipulated that the promotion of 'transparency, accountability [and] rule of law' are necessary. The US may drop the...

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 8, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:42:30 +0000

TODAY: Obama says trade comes with rule of law; criticizes Russia's idea of being neighborly; Russians indifferent to the visit?; 'less than what we wanted' say opposition leaders; Klebnikov case to be reinvestigatedIn Obama's speech to students at the New...

Obama’s Financial System Overhaul Would Give the Fed Broad Powers Over Wall Street

Don Miller — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:03:59 +0000

Grow Rich Automatically with the World’s Only Gold-Backed “Cash” The U.S. Treasury Dept. has finally approved the new gold-backed “cash.” And according to gold expert Peter Schiff, this new money, called “Gold Dollars,” is not only the best place for your savings today… it could prove very profitable. Why? Because every “dollar” you hold in [...]

Yen Gains, Dollar Edges Up as Risk Aversion Rises

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:30:09 +0000

pThe yen rose today as uncertainty about the global economic outlook and forthcoming U.S. corporate earnings increased the safe-haven appeal of the Japanese currency./p pSterling fell as weak industrial output data reinforced doubts about a UK recovery. The euro dipped against the dollar, but losses were capped by a surprise increase in German factory orders that initially pushed it to a session high above $1.40./p pWhen risk aversion rises, investors often cut holdings of stocks and higher-yield currencies and buy back the yen and dollars that were used to finance the trades./p p#8220;We#8217;ve been getting very mixed signals, with some positive data and some very poor data, so it#8217;s extremely difficult to pinpoint direction,#8221; said Fabian Eliasson, vice president of currency sales at#8230;/p

Oil Falls as Recovery Fears Spur Risk Aversion

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:35:31 +0000

pOil prices fell more than 1 percent to $63 a barrel today, Tuesday, as growing uncertainty over an economic recovery spurred investor risk aversion. A member of U.S. President Barack Obama#8217;s economic advisory panel said the world#8217;s top oil consumer should plan to possibly provide a second round of stimulus funds to prop up the economy, implying that recovery is still far off./p pU.S. crude futures traded down $1.01 to $63.04 a barrel by 1:13 p.m. EDT (1713 GMT) as investors sought safer havens. London Brent crude fell 74 cents to $63.31 a barrel./p p#8220;The worries are that the pace of the economic recovery hasn#8217;t materialized the way that people who plunged into the commodity markets thought, and now they are running for the#8230;/p

Grigory Pasko: Invasion of the Lawyers

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:29:47 +0000

Not long before U.S. President Barack Obama landed in Moscow, President Dmietry Medvedev commented to the press on the Mikhail Khodorkovsky case: "If one speaks of the pardoning of anyone at all, of Khodorkovsky, of other persons, then this procedure...

Today in Russian Business – July 7, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:34:15 +0000

Accompanying Barack Obama to Moscow are US business chiefs: a joint venture between Boeing and VSMPO-Avisma, a Russian titanium producer, may be among the projects kick started. Businessweek reports on Russia-US relations in terms of investment. Putin says that Russia...

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 7, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:31:25 +0000

TODAY: US and Russia will cut nuclear stockpiles by a third; Obama says possibility of 'extraordinary progress' at summit; no conclusion on missile defense; despite previous barbed comments, Putin-Obama meeting warm; Russian press quiet on the visitPresident Obama and President...

To Intervene or Not to Intervene

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:16:53 +0000

Arriving in Moscow today, President Barack Obama commented to Novaya Gazeta on the Mikhail Khodorkovsky show trial, adding his view that it is "improper for outsiders to interfere in the legal processes of Russia." I see nothing wrong with that...

Today in Russian Business – July 6, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:48:31 +0000

Reuters reports that US businessmen will press Barack Obama to urge for less corruption and greater openness towards foreign companies during his visit to Moscow. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer have joined in...

Who wears the pants in this diarchy?

Robert Amsterdam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:11:48 +0000

Is it a mistake for President Barack Obama to only meet with President Dmitry Medvedev? Andrew Kuchins thinks so. From the Moscow Times:There should be no illusions about where ultimate decision-making authority in Russia resides today. The "tandem" is a...

Energy Blast – July 3, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:10:18 +0000

The European Commission's Gas Co-ordination Group has warned Europe to brace itself for a potential gas disruption, and suggests that EU countries need to prepare themselves more actively for the possibility. The turnaround in Europe's attitude towards nuclear power, stoked...

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 3, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:34:34 +0000

TODAY: Obama taxes Putin with living in the past; Pepsi's role in Cold War thaw; reserve currency may be discussed at Putin-Obama meeting; is Medvedev really the host?; Chechens suspected in Klebnikov murder on wanted listBarack Obama has verbally...

The Economic Damage of Politicized Justice

Robert Amsterdam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:38:45 +0000

Stephen Blank has an interesting new article on Forbes in which he assesses the economic damage being caused by Russia's inability to effectively reduce legal nihilism and corruption, both of which are dragging on the country's attempt to recover from...

Video: Obama on Human Rights in Russia

Robert Amsterdam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:31:12 +0000

Glad to see we are not the only ones asking that President Barack Obama raise the issue of human rights during his visit to Russia. The following video, focused on the growing problem of hate crimes in Russia, was produced...

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – July 2, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:47:28 +0000

TODAY: Re-set still top of the headlines; military disarmament a benefit or a loss for Russia?; Caucasus talks see no resolution; Russian academy invitation to denounce 'falsifiers'; legendary Soviet singer diesThe Moscow Times reports on Barack Obama's comments on his...

Video: Gori Rebuilds While Russian Army Looms

Robert Amsterdam — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:57:25 +0000

The news from Georgia is pretty bad this week. Russia is conducting large scale war games right on the border, the OSCE monitors have left, protests continue to split the country, and observers are wondering if Barack Obama will even...

Will Week of Controversy Undermine Financial System Overhaul That Calls for Broad Expansion of Central Bank’s Power?

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:45:17 +0000

div class="entry" pDocuments brought to light by key by congressional investigators hightlight real disagreement between top-level U.S. Federal Reserve officials about how it should address the strongBank of America Corp.(NYSE:a href="http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ABAC" target="_blank"BAC/a)/strong acquisition of strongMerrill Lynch #38; Co. Inc/strong. are almost certain to fuel the ongoing congressional debate over a href="http://www.moneymorning.com/2009/06/18/obamas-financial-system/" target="_blank"the central bank’s push to expand its authority over the U.S. financial system/a./p pThis a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124606477050863921.html" target="_blank"growing concern/a manifested itself Thursday, when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke; was grilled by Capitol Hill lawmakers during a congressional hearing looking into the central bank’s conduct in BofA’s buyout of Merrill Lynch. Bernanke’s failure to resolve some of the most-pointed questions posed by congressional leaders – (especially Republicans) who wanted to discover whether the Fed overstepped its authority and interfered with merger-related decisions – may undermine a#8230;/p/div

Will Week of Controversy Undermine Financial System Overhaul That Calls for Broad Expansion of Central Bank’s Power?

Contrarian Profits — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:45:17 +0000

Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (June 22 – 28, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:37:06 +0000

“Words from the Wise” this week comes to you in a shortened format as I do not have access to my normal research resources while on the road in Europe. Although very little commentary is provided, a full dose of excerpts from interesting news items and quotes from market commentators is included.

Bye-Bye Muni Bonds? “Muni-TARP” to Follow?

Richard Shaw — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:39:04 +0000

June 25 (Bloomberg) – “Barack Obama may be the worst thing that ever happened to tax-exempt bonds …. “ We certainly agree and see more trouble for tax-exemption down the road. Obama Chief of Staff, Emanuel said, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.”, and the administration is taking that advice by sponsoring and subsidizing [...]

Prieur’s readings (June 25, 2009)

Prieur du Plessis — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:30:02 +0000

This post provides links to a number of thought-provoking articles I have read over the past few days that you may also find of interest.

Monday’s Market Recap (06/22/09)

Bullish Bankers — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:56:33 +0000

The markets opened up the week with a massive pounding, taking it on the chin across all three major U.S. Indicies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 200.72 to a level of 8,339.01 for a loss of 2.35%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 3.35% dropping 61.28 to close at a level of 1,766.19. The [...]

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – June 22, 2009

Robert Amsterdam — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 08:05:57 +0000

TODAY: Medvedev gives positive signs to US on START; Ingushetia President critically ill after assassination attempt; Surkov backs multiparty cooperation; political art unwelcome at the Kremlin Russia has announced that it is ready to 'reduce by several times the...

Sell Bonds, Buy Energy

Dan Denning — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:00:35 +0000

p class="MsoNormal"Prices of most natural resources will go up…a lot. That’s why lots of bears on the U.S. dollar suggest buying gold. We are sympathetic to this idea, but we’d suggest a slightly different strategy: Sell bonds. Buy energy./p p class="MsoNormal"When a large holder of U.S. dollars declares that the dollar is in “great shape,” should we believe him? My answer is, “Probably not.”/p p class="MsoNormal"Russia’s Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin told journalists this week that the U.S. dollar is in “good shape.” He added that, “It’s too early to speak of an alternative [to the U.S. dollar].” These remarks came after Chinese and Russian officials have quite publicly suggested that the world’s financial system would benefit from using a currency that wasn’t being run by#8230;/p