Cknolls

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 4, 2009 -> 02:07 PM) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=news And who is the chair of the Ways and Means committee? Why none other than Charlie Rangel LMAO when I read this. Oh yeah, and holding my breath for the ethics investigation into Rangel.

I am starting to short the dollar via the UDN. I think it will print in the 60's(DXY). It may take a while but I believe risk/reward sets up nicely here. Look to buy the UDN under $24 if you wish.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 3, 2009 -> 02:55 PM) What happens March 17th? (Not that I'm going to disagree with you. I think we're still looking at a bottom in the 6000 area for the DJIA unless earnings fall off even more, and we've got terrible Feb. job numbers coming in about a week or so, just wondering why you picked 14 days) Technical reasons. Mar 11th squares out with the Sept 2008 decline in stocks, which was 7 years in time from 9/11. Also, there is a full moon on Mar. 8th. Actually I should have said Mar.11th not 14 days.

QUOTE (mr_genius @ Mar 3, 2009 -> 12:09 PM) I have a sinking feeling 2009 is going to be a disaster. Not only the stock market, but unemployment is going to go up substantially. We will sell off dramatically within 14 days..

http://www.cnbc.com/id/29471026

Shhhhhhh.... You hear that? I think 660 is trying to sneak up on us...... It may be a weigh station to 450-500 level....... Right back where we started from...1995...what a good year....my first year on the exchange floor.. what comes around goes around...

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 28, 2009 -> 12:47 PM) If they can keep Strom Thurmond voting as long as he did, then Kennedy's going to be voting until either he wins or the cancer wins. My point is, at some point Kennedy will not even know what he is voting for or against.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 06:09 PM) Honestly, what did you expect? They are doing what they said they would do. It amazes me that people who voted for him thought he'd govern "from the center". That's bulls*** and people are now starting to see that.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 04:15 PM) For what seems like the 3rd time this week, the Coleman legal team has made an effort to prove that they are in fact more inept than the team that was prosecuting Senator Ted Stevens. They're caught trying to cover up a witness. And yes, this is still going on. The Republicans want to keep this going as long as possible so that it keeps the Dems from getting that extra vote (and they've stated so publicly and repeatedly). Let's be realistic here, how many votes is Kennedy actually going to cast this year. I know from personal experience how this type of tumor ravages a body and I believe Kennedy is pretty much done. I am not trying to be Debbie Downer or wish any harm on him, but I know how a person's mental capacity and faculties decline from this disease. It isn't pretty and I wish him the best.

If Obama wanted to show real transparency and leadership, he would change, entirely, how budgets are constructed. Erase baseline spending, and you can have real change in the budget process and consequently, the deficit. If he were to change this one aspect of gov't. I would actually consider voting for him in 2012.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Feb 27, 2009 -> 11:06 AM) I think Dick Morris is a POS as a human being, so I'm inclined to disagree with whatever he says on general principle. He knows politics, but I'm not sure he knows economics (I admit I don't), and I think he has stretched his limited credibility in that piece. The Dow was near 13,400 in November 2007. It was 9600 on Election Day and its around 7,100 now. Obama has been president for 5 weeks. Yet the stock market has "crashed" because of him and his failure to lead? I somewhat agree with his point about Obama's economic fear-mongering, but that particular point's a tough sell for me, especially coming from Dick. Seems to me that the markets had been heading south for a long time before that. Dick's great at second guessing and playing contrarian opportunist, but would things really be that different if Obama whistled Dixie? I know confidence is great and all, but how does attitude solve the underlying credit crisis? ps. I love Dick's line about Obama's "failed policies." I guess if the markets don't immediately respond to them (long term consequences be damned), its okay to declare them "failures." But, since everyone here would agree that the stock mkt is a forward looking indicator, I believe we mark election day as Obama's Stock Market. It is down 25% since his victory. Not very optimistic. Must be the evil capitalists trying to damage the Messiah.

What happens if the richest 5% of the population start shedding assets in 2010 before tax cuts expire? What does that do to Obama's budget forecast for revenues in 2011? Where does he make up for the lost revenue?

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 26, 2009 -> 03:20 PM) So my boss was just telling me how he called his bank and wanted to refinance because the interest rate is so low now. He has 6.5%, so like many people he's thinking he can drop off a percentage point or something. He says they called him back and said for a fee of $150 or something like that they will just drop the interest rate down to 5.25%, no adjustments to his balance or the terms of the loan or anything. Has anyone else ever heard of this? That's the first I've heard of it. Because if so, I'm calling my bank ASAP and paying whatever they ask me to pay. That would save me like 300 a month on my mortgage. Also, does the bank lose money doing this? I'm thinking the bank ordinarily just makes off with extra cash in that case since they don't have to give the 1.25% back to the feds, and when they drop the rate they just make whatever they'd normally make before the Fed cuts the rates. Am I wrong? I am with you. that sounds too good to be true.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 26, 2009 -> 11:38 AM) By far the biggest key is finding a way to cut the rate of growth of health care expenditures. Health care costs of every variety are growing so much faster than the rate of inflation that it's just going to destroy everything barring a major, successful overhaul. And since gov't is good at controlling costs, they are the ones who should manage healthcare.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 26, 2009 -> 10:58 AM) Further, if the democrats do move on this and actually do have some evidence of this by 2010, the legs of the republicans are cut out from them. The congressional and senate dems would be wise to follow suit. Evidence of what? Tax cuts do not expire until 2011. And there is no way any spending will be cut.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 25, 2009 -> 10:08 AM) I saw a headline today pointing out that the major markets are now down approximately 50% from their peak. Half. Yikes. And still have a ways to go.

How do we measure jobs saved? Is it just a way for the Messiah to save his a** when the jobs numbers don't show him creating as many as he says. If any at all. Using a model to say you will save X amount of jobs based on X amount of jobs being lost with no stimulus is assinine. And I cannot believe everyone is o.k. with this nonsense. By now we all know govt's do not know how to predict/project. A good example is revenue projections from new/higher taxes. Are they ever close to projections?......

Anyone else hear Obama say this stimulus will not be enough and we will need MORE money in the months to come or did I mishear(Bushism)?

Allianz is the European AIG in waiting.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 23, 2009 -> 03:48 PM) This is what you get when insurance companies decide to become market speculators. Just a really bad business pairing model, fraught with risk, which should be the opposite of what an insurance company enters into. I believe I was criticized on this site a couple months ago by saying the insurance cos. would be the next to fall. Quite a handsome return since.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 03:20 PM) Of course, you also manage to leave out the data that totally undermines your point. California has really high income taxes, sales taxes, etc. But is there any tax, any tax that is typically a major fundraiser in other states, that California is totally out of whack low on? Yes, there is. Property taxes. Thanks to the ridiculous Prop 13, California's property tax base, especially on certain groups, is ridiculously low. Rewriting even a part of prop 13 to bring property taxes in line with the rest of the country would generate tens of billions of dollars per year. The reason every other tax in California is so high is that the cities are unable to collect normal amounts of property tax from most of the inhabitants. The state government has then put itself on the line to make up for the difference. Because of this one alteration, when you compile lists of the total individual tax burdens on residents, California is usually in the top half, but is no where near the top (link to data from 2005 that sat at the top of google search), because that one gigantic subsidy to homeowners exists. And when you factor in that California's going to be in the upper half of tax receipts anyway simply because of the high cost of living in so much of this state, the only reason it's out of the ordinary on so many taxes is that Warren Buffet pays significantly more in property taxes on his $500k home in Omaha than he does on the several million worth of homes he owns in California. So what is NJ's excuse? How about CT? I believe they are in the top 5 for property taxes in the U.S.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 22, 2009 -> 05:53 PM) Since you keep repeating this trillion dollar number, I assume you have a source to back it up? (And quite frankly, especially in California, there is certainly an argument for altering and in fact raising the property tax structure. The simple reality is, some people shouldn't be homeowners, and people shouldn't be locked in to homes because they can't deal with the alterations in property taxes if they move. The remarkable thing about California's screwed up Prop. 13 is, if you reform it, you might actually help the housing market, because you actually make it more affordable for people to move out of a house that they've held for a long time) $787 billion + $300+ billion in debt service on the $787 = 1+ trillion. That wasn't too hard to do.

What are the odds California is the first state to become insolvent, if they are not already considered insolvent, or file for bankruptcy? This budget is hilarious. I never thought a state could be worse than Illinois, but I fear California is a harbinger of the entire country in a few years. Although you could say the country is already there. Why can't these politicians just be honest and say we blew it, we spent too much money for too long and never thought the gravy train would end. California increased spending by some $40 billion over the last several years. Highest state income taxes? Ding Ding Ding Highest state sales tax? Ding Ding DIng Highest state gas tax? Ding Ding Ding Why is it that the states with the highest tax rates also have the largest deficits? Florida Illinois and North Carolina notwithstanding.

So they(White House) tries to b**** slap Santelli after he criticizes the mortgage plan. They say T.V. anchors should be more responsible with their words. How about U.S Senators? Should Dodd just STFU or is it o.k for him to talk recklessly affecting the mkt with every assinine word he says. These guys should be held accountable for what they say. Speech and debate clause was not meant to extend outside of the Halls of Congress. First Durbin with the vets and now Dodd with the nationalization of banks. These guys are morons and should be more careful with their words, right Robert Gibbs? Or is it just everyone who disagrees with you and your boss?

DID the NAACP b**** and moan when Condi Rice was called a house n***a in an editorial? Double standard? Eat s*** and swallow you hypocritical as****es. Black Conservative=O.K to make fun Black Liberal= Don't you dare say anything, you racists.