I’m not too optimistic about 2010. Below are my prognostications in the areas of the economy, domestic politics, global geopolitics, and the investment markets. Words: 681

In further edited excerpts from the original article* James Quinn (www.seekingalpha.com) goes on to say:

1. Double Dip Recession Will Commence by June of 2010 To date, the Federal Reserve has printed a) $700 billion wasted on a bank bailout, b) $787 billion wasted on a stimulus package c) $3 billion wasted on Cash for Clunkers ($24,000 per vehicle), d) $28 billion squandered on the $8,500 homebuyer tax credit, and e) $300 billion of mortgage-backed securities purchased by the Federal Reserve and Treasury and all we’ve received is a 2.2 percent increase in GDP. As the government stimulus winds down in the first half of 2010, the true weakness of the economy will reveal itself.

2. Official Unemployment Rate Will Grow to More Than 11% by

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I send my warmest wishes to all those that will celebrate the anniversary of the 1848 Hungarian Revolution tomorrow.  That event was a defining moment in Hungary’s struggle for freedom, and continues to serve as inspiration for all those that advocate for freedom’s cause.  Our two nations are bound by our shared values and our solemn obligations to each other through the NATO Article 5 commitment to one another’s security.  On this occasion, I also wish to pay tribute to those many Americans that can trace their roots to Hungary.  They continue to make important contributions to our society, enriching the character and culture of the United States. 

FavStocks.com - Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution Copyright © 2010 FavStocks.com - Written by The White House Please visit FavStocks.com for more info on your Favorite Stocks. Also stop by the free ...

Apparently India's state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp may be invited to develop projects in Russia, and is looking for stakes in partnership with Rosneft and Gazprom in the Yamal Peninsula, East Siberia and the Sakhalin-3 project.  Improving nuclear ties also look promising, according to the WSJ.  ONGC has already agreed to collaborate with oil-to-telecoms group Sistema, which controls assets in Bashkortostan, and may also gain a foothold in profitable oil and gas projects in Russia's far north.  The Russian government has initiated construction of a pipeline designed to increase crude exports to Asia.  The new Ukrainian Prime Minister has said that Ukraine will hold talks with Russia on an optimal gas price.  The head of Russia's fourth-largest oil producer, Surgutneftegas, has claimed his company has no plans to sell its stake in Hungary's MOL, ...

Liberty Global Inc. (LBTYA) is rapidly deploying Wideband network based on EuroDOCSIS 3.0 technology in several European markets. Liberty Global, the largest cable MSO in Europe is facing intensified competition in several European markets from growing fiber-to-the home network deployment. Implementation of Wideband will enable the company to deliver superfast100 Mbps downstream speed.  Management has undertaken a plan to deploy EuroDOCSIS 3.0 in 80%-90% of all UPC broadband divisions in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe by the end of 2010. The company also decided to give some wideband trial runs at VTR in Chile (Liberty Global owns 80% of VTR) and at Telenet in Belgium (Liberty Global owns 50% of Telenet) in the second half of 2010.  At the end of 2009, Liberty Global’s 16.642 million customers in 14 countries. Recently, the company acquired 100% controlling stake of Unitymedia GmbH, the second largest cable TV operator ...

I hadn't seen an advance release of the a href="http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/EN/press/pr/2010/03/PE10__090__051,templateId=renderPrint.psml"January German export data/a, when a href="http://fistfulofeuros.net/afoe/economics-and-demography/the-german-economy-is-essentially-intact/"I wrote the following /aon Tuesday, honest injun I hadn't:blockquoteWell, this is only a hypothesis. But if the hypothesis has any validity we should be able to make some predictions on the basis of it. I would make two. Firstly, since East Europe’s economies are often dependent for their growth on exports to the West, and in particular to Germany, then we should be able to see some “shadow” of this German process cast out into the East.br /br /In the second place, we should see the process continue to some extent in Q1 2010. That is, based on what we have seen so far, in Q1 imports should rise, as industrial output in the early parts of the supply chain surges, and net trade should as a consequence be less positive than in ...

According to Bundesbank President Axel Weber, a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100sid=aYhQe.NDNByM"Germany’s economic recovery is “essentially intact”/a, and is now set to benefit from stronger demand in countries outside the euro region.br /blockquote“I firmly believe that the recovery process that began in summer 2009 is essentially intact, and that it will continue despite the slower growth dynamic in the winter semester. An additional factor in this context is that the German labor market continues to be in extremely robust shape.”/blockquotebr /br /What exactly it means to say that an economy is intact we will explore below, but it is clear that some confirmation for the view that the German economy is benefiting from increased demand originating outside the Eurozone can be found in the a href="http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/EN/press/pr/2010/03/PE10__087__421,templateId=renderPrint.psml"latest press release on manufacturing industry turnover from the Federal Statistics Office/a, where they note that while January's manufacturing sector turnover surpassed that of January 2009 – by a ...

The Bank for International Settlements says Britain needs a primary surplus of 5.8pc of GDP for a decade to stabilise debt at pre-crisis levels, given the ageing crunch as well. The figure is 6.4pc for Japan, 4.3pc for the US and France. It warns of “unstable dynamics”, posh talk for a debt spiral. www.telegraph.co.uk; By: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard; Words: 620

In further edited excerpts from the original article* Evans-Pritchard goes on to say:

Belt-tightening is the oppressive fact of 2010-2012 for half the world: - Hungary, Ukraine, the Baltics and the Balkans are already under the knife. - Latvia’s economy may contract by 30pc from peak to trough as it carries out an “internal devaluation”, ie wage cuts, to hold its euro peg. - The eurozone’s fiscal squeeze is well advanced in Ireland. - Brussels has told Greece to cut by 10pc of GDP in three years, Spain by 8pc, Portugal by 6pc.

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Front and center this morning consumer prices rose 0.2% in January, equaling the increases in December and November. Market expectations going into the report had been for a slightly larger 0.3% rise. Core prices surprisingly fell 0.1% in January following the 0.1% rise recorded in December and the flat reading in November. On a year-over-year basis, the overall CPI index rose 2.6% in December.

That’s funny… I recall just the day before, seeing wholesale inflation running at an annualized rate of 16.8%… And consumer inflation is falling? THIS is why I say CPI is stupid, and not even worth printing any longer!

The “lemmings” in the markets followed CPI, and thought that they had overreacted to the wholesale inflation figure the previous day, and began to sell dollars and buy higher yielding assets. Sure… They got it right in the end, but the damage to the currencies the previous day, well… That’s

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ (TEVA) fourth quarter earnings of 94 cents per American Depository Share (ADS) missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a cent. Earnings, however, increased 18% from the year-ago period. Annual earnings were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate at $3.37 per ADS, up 11%.   Teva’s top-line performance remained strong with fourth quarter revenues increasing 33% to $3.8 billion and 2009 revenues coming in at $13.9 billion, up 25%. The strong top-line performance was offset by higher operating expenses which led to the earnings miss in the fourth quarter.   Fourth Quarter in Detail   Strong sales of Copaxone and the respiratory business helped drive revenues in the reported quarter. Net revenues increased 33% to $3.80 billion, with the Barr acquisition contributing to revenues across different geographical segments. Exchange rate fluctuations boosted fourth quarter revenues by $98 million.   Revenue performance across key business segments ...

Given the current market recovery factor and valued growth indicators, we are upgrading our recommendation on the shares of MoneyGram International Inc. (MGI) to Outperform from Neutral.  Although the current economic turmoil has weakened both the revenue growth and the operating leverage of MoneyGram, we believe that once the economy stabilizes, it will have a substantial positive effect on its earning power of the company.  MoneyGram’s fourth quarter loss of 4 cents per share was higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 2 cents. However, the results came in better than the last couple of quarters, primarily due to a growth in its core money transfer business on higher transaction volumes and lower-than-expected operating expenses.  Despite the unfavorable economic condition of the US housing market and the growing concern for immigration, MoneyGram showed a modest growth in the money transfer business. Increasing ...