According to a report released today by the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI), there have now been 1.046 million personal bankruptcies since the start of the year. This is the highest since the first nine months of 2005 when people were rushing to file before the draconian new bankruptcy act of 2005 took effect (still better than the Victorian days of debtor prisons, but not much).   The institute expects to see the total for the year top 1.4 million. I think they are being conservative, especially given the rise in the unemployed, particularly the long-term unemployed. In September, there were 124,709 consumer bankruptcies, up 41% from a year ago. The graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows the history of bankruptcy filings since 1996 by quarter. The third quarter numbers come from the monthly ABI numbers; the quarterly numbers are from the administrative office of the U.S. courts.   If ...

WASHINGTON - As the US Senate considers an appropriations measure setting aside funds for the US Department of the Interior, Sens. David Vitter (La.), Jim DeMint (S.C.) and John Barrasso (Wyo.) are working to include an amendment in the bill that would streamline and advance energy development along our nation's outer continental shelf (OCS).

Consumer Borrowing Collapses…What’s up with sterling? Option ARMs get ready to reset…Gold falls back to below $1,000…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well… The currencies, for the most part, kept the heat on the dollar throughout the day and in the overnight markets. The euro, did rise to 1.45 and change yesterday, while it is hovering right at that figure this morning, so it did give a little bit back.

There were no big announcements last night like we saw on Monday, so the currencies didn’t have anything to push them further. In fact, there may be a “letting the dust settle” period of time, with the Big Dog, euro, before we see any further advancement, given the euro’s huge gains yesterday…

We did have “Mr. Yen” Sakakibara, tell a crowd of people that he

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The rating agencies have to review their quality control procedure after all the legal hassles they have faced recently. A bill has been placed in the U.S. Senate to review the functioning of the rating agencies. But it is expected that it will be rendered ineffective by the time it reaches the President, and only a part of the problem will be addressed.   Rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s Investor Service (MCO), Standard & Poor’s Rating Services, and A.M. Best have recently come up against some strong criticism. This led to the Rating Accountability and Transparency Enhancement Act (RATE) of 2009, which was introduced in May. The bill has been referred to the Senate committee, but has not yet been passed. As per the new bill, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will be empowered to monitor the functioning of the rating agencies. Besides, both retail and ...

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

Tuesday August 11, 2009

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The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD) announced that it has entered into an exclusive, multi-tiered marketing and licensing partnership with China’s leading next generation mobile infrastructure and services provider, ZTEMT. Utilizing The Orchard’s top one hundred thousand songs, ZTEMT and The Orchard will power and program the English language genre sections of China Telecom’s new version of the service, iMusic. With this deal, The Orchard becomes the first international digital music distributor to introduce such a large selection of western music to China’s massive 388 million internet and mobile internet users.

Today, Occam Networks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: OCNW), announced that Stayton Cooperative Telephone has purchased Occam’s BLC 6000 FTTH

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 13, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today’s outlook from Zacks Equity Research analyst Steven Ralston discusses the Consumer Staples sector. Highlighted stocks include: Altria (MO) and Reynolds American (RAI).

Here is the latest on the Consumer Staples sector:

Additional regulation of tobacco products by the U.S. Federal Government is now expected. On June 8, 2009, the U.S. Senate again passed legislation, empowering the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products. Over the last several years, the House had not passed a similar bill, but in April, the House finally passed a comparable measure, indicating a more stringent regulatory framework for all domestic tobacco companies in the future.

The tobacco companies are losing product liability law suits. In late March 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal

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The stock market has begun to discount a recovery from the global recession. Prior rallies after major declines of similar magnitude (such as after the recession in the mid-1970Õs and the Great Depression in the 1930Õs) were sharp and unrelenting.

It is expected that stocks in the Consumer Staples sector will underperform as cyclical stocks begin to discount the recovery out of the current global economic recession.

OPPORTUNITIES

Stocks in the Consumer Staples sector have traditionally performed better than the stock market, and especially cyclical companies, during market declines. The fundamental explanation is that food, beverage, household products and cosmetics companies manufacture and market brand name consumable products, most of which are considered essential to daily life, such as food, drink, toothpaste, deodorants, toilet paper, etc.

Since product demand is relatively stable, the companies should report earnings in line with expectations and, hence, the stocks have outperformed. Generally speaking, food companies generate earnings growth

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The stock market has begun to discount a recovery from the global recession. Prior rallies after major declines of similar magnitude (such as after the recession in the mid-1970Õs and the Great Depression in the 1930Õs) were sharp and unrelenting.

It is expected that stocks in the Consumer Staples sector will underperform as cyclical stocks begin to discount the recovery out of the current global economic recession.

OPPORTUNITIES

Stocks in the Consumer Staples sector have traditionally performed better than the stock market, and especially cyclical companies, during market declines. The fundamental explanation is that food, beverage, household products and cosmetics companies manufacture and market brand name consumable products, most of which are considered essential to daily life, such as food, drink, toothpaste, deodorants, toilet paper, etc.

Since product demand is relatively stable, the companies should report earnings in line with expectations and, hence, the stocks have outperformed. Generally speaking, food companies generate earnings growth

...

The stock market has begun to discount a recovery from the global recession. Prior rallies after major declines of similar magnitude (such as after the recession in the mid-1970’s and the Great Depression in the 1930’s) were sharp and unrelenting. It is expected that stocks in the Consumer Staples sector will underperform as cyclical stocks begin to discount the recovery out of the current global economic recession. OPPORTUNITIES Stocks in the Consumer Staples sector have traditionally performed better than the stock market, and especially cyclical companies, during market declines. The fundamental explanation is that food, beverage, household products and cosmetics companies manufacture and market brand name consumable products, most of which are considered essential to daily life, such as food, drink, toothpaste, deodorants, toilet paper, etc. Since product demand is relatively stable, the companies should report earnings in line with expectations and, hence, the stocks ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 12, 2009 - Zacks.com releases the latest Industry Outlook. Today's interview is with senior analyst Steven Ralston, who talks about the Consumer Staples Industry, including Altria (MO) and Reynolds American (RAI).

A synopsis of today's Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678.

Additional regulation of tobacco products by the U.S. Federal Government is now expected. On June 8, 2009, the U.S. Senate again passed legislation, empowering the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products. In the last several years, the House had not passed a similar bill, but in April, the House finally passed a comparable measure, indicating a more stringent regulatory framework for all domestic tobacco companies in the future.

The tobacco companies are losing product liability law suits. In late

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