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If anyone wants to come over here and defend BGEM, please feel free to do that but come with facts and solid DD. Defend why you think BGEM is worth more than .23! That's why I put this board together a long time ago. Most I-hubbers get so caught up in their stocks they forget to do some simple math. Fundamentals will always win out in fully reporting companies in the long run.
FRHV just sent out a PR to use BGEM to distribute their products in Florida. That led me to look at BGEM as an investment. First I wanted to see what kind of revs they had been doing. Nothing! They haven't made a dime. They just converted from a mining company to a beverage distribution company. Looks like they'll have revs coming in in the next Q though. Is there any investment potential in BGEM attm? Not that I see. They are currently trading at .23/.24 with no revs and 107M outstanding shares. The industry average PE is 28.6 per a report that was done on BGEM so they need to make nearly a penny in eps to justify their current price. They are forecast to lose 560K this year, make 760K in 2011 and finally 2.7M in 2012 when there will actually be some return on investment potential. I have no idea why BGEM is trading above a penny right now. Totally ridiculous! FRHV may be a little overvalued right now but at least it's selling product and has a lot going on right now (and it's only .02). BGEM is .23! Crazy!
HYII down a third since I sold. That's why I told some on the board that it's never a mistake to sell winners. I've taken my beatings in the past but I've learned how to make money in penny stocks now. At least sell half your shares and ride free shares. Don't overdo on any one stock. Enjoy and have fun!
Winners are rolling in this year! HYII was another big winner! Not even sure it's a real company and with nearly 120M shares outstanding it would take a long time to catch up to its true valuation. Very nice!
DPDW 8K came out showing the bloated salaries of Smith and Butler and their plush bonus and severance packages (if ever needed). Pretty sad when they're losing millions every year. I once thought this company had a chance but I think they'll go under before they ever make a profit again. At .13 they're already way overvalued. With 180M shares outstanding, they'd have to make 1.8M net profit just to show .01 eps. Then the pps might be supported. Last I checked they had lost over 4.5M in the first 9 months of 2009! This really should be sub-penny.
DPDW down 33 percent since the latest Q. DPDW is in serious trouble now and I'm not sure the business model will work. I still think this is going sub-dime soon and I see no traction until and if they can ever turn a serious net profit. Can they? Even with nice revenues they still find a way to lose millions each quarter and the O/S is too bloated now to ignore the huge losses. Investors are in a show me state right now. Show me you can turn a profit (in the millions) for a couple quarters and then maybe I'll invest again. They could go under first.
BLTA Update:
Still waiting for the company to explain where their money will come from to get off the ground.
Still waiting for them to explain why their service frequency expired on September 30th.
Still waiting for them to explain what they will do when their fitness certificate expires in January. It will be revoked if they don't fly before then (one year from fitness finding).
It's amazing that people will pay .11 for a so called company like this that has 440M shares outstanding, no revenues and have accumulated a $21M deficit! And with their current PP and other shares given out and likely sold into the market, we can assume they'll max out their O/S. Run valuation models on 500M O/S. Even if they find the money to get off the ground, I don't see how they think they can make a 40% profit margin and have 100M in revs. If you believe that, I guess it's an easy 100 bagger from recent lows. Whatever... A more realistic outlook would be for them to break even at best or even a slight loss. I guess we'll see. I thought at sub .02 this might be worth a gamble and it was. Certainly a great time to sell now...not buy!
DPDW traders are trying to pump it back up because they lost money recently. They all bought in before the 10Q and now they underwater and trying everything they can to pump it back up and get out even. It's so obvious. Good luck with that. DPDW is headed lower and it doesn't look good in the short or long term anymore. With the economy getting worse and more government intervention at every turn, I don't expect any increase in offshore drilling for years to come now. What we need is a change of administration or this country is in serious trouble. Cash is the place to be for the next few years. Trade a little for fun but be very cautious with the serious money.
The BLTA board is a total joke. The latest post from someone with the id BLTA Shareholder (lol) expects BLTA to be at $5 per share after first flight. But then most people that have held this all the way down are losing their shirt. Disclaimer: I sold at .13 and made a nice profit eons ago.
$5...LOL! You realize how much net profit they would need to realize that kind of sp? At least 150-200M in net profit! They're optimistic pro-forma shows 100M in revenues in the first year with a very optimistic 40M profit. Even if they have enough money to actually fly next spring, they'll be lucky to make any money the first year. BLTA certainly won't be valued at 2.5B after their first flight. But then again, who comes on IHUB with the name of a stock as their handle? Hmmmmm. LOL!!!
Looking at their latest 10Q, it looks like they won't have enough money to make it to spring unless something else happens. Maybe they'll sell 500M shares to get a million or two over the next 6 months
And this:
EXHIBIT 2
Order 2009-3-7
Served: March 10, 2009
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Issued by the Department of Transportation
on the 5th day of January, 2009
Application of
BALTIA AIR LINES, INC.
for a certificate of public convenience and necessity under 49 U.S.C. § 41102 to engage in foreign scheduled air transportation of persons, property, and mail Docket DOT-OST-2007-0007
(11) In the event that the holder does not commence actual flying operations under this certificate within one year of the date of the Department's determination of its fitness, its authority shall be revoked for dormancy, unless the holder is conducting operations under another type of certificate authority.
Not sure if they have to fly by January 5th (never happen) or March 10th (still unlikely). Either way, looks like the certificate will expire before they fly.
I also noticed this:
EXHIBIT 3
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, DC
Issued by the Department of Transportation on March 20, 2009
NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN -- DOCKET DOT-OST-2009-0070
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This serves as notice to the public of the action described below, taken by the Department official
indicated (no additional confirming order will be issued in this matter).
Application of BALTIA AIR LINES, INC. (Baltia) filed 3/15/09 for:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Conditions: In submitting its polling results to the Department by letter dated March 18, 2009, Baltia states that it will institute its proposed service no later than September 30, 2009. Failure to inaugurate service with the allocated frequency by that date will result in the unused frequency reverting to the
Department. Consistent with our standard practice, the allocated frequency is subject to a dormancy
1 The Department is acting on Baltia’s request prior to the expiration of the answer period with the consent of all
parties served.
2 On February 13, 2009, the United States and the Russian Federation agreed, ad referendum, to revised Annexes to
the U.S.-Russia Air Transport Agreement and stated that, pending their entry into force, the respective aeronautical
authorities intend to implement the provisions of those Annexes on the basis of comity and reciprocity.
condition. Under this dormancy condition, if the frequency allocated here is not used for a period of 90
days (once inaugurated), the allocation with respect to the frequency would expire automatically and the
frequency would revert to the Department.
BLTA looks to be in financial trouble according to the latest 10Q
They have 20K in cash as of 9/30/2009 but have raised an additional 1.5M since then. However, they've already burned through 4.1M this year and almost a million just this past quarter. They just spent another 475K for the 747. Based on that, they only have about 1M left. They need to send the plane to Malaysia for repairs/renovation and that will be of considerable cost, and they need sufficient funds through the first Q of 2010 just to prepare for flight. They are supposed to have the first 3 months of expected expenses on hand (which should be about 4M) plus they need enough money to fix the plane, handle the FAA certification, pay employees and pay the bills (like JFK). They don't appear to have it right now based on the 10Q.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/869187/000116519509000013/b10q93009.txt
Boy is the attack squad on full alert on the BLTA board. Yikes! That company (if you want to call it that) is a joke. The have at least 440M shares outstanding, the money is running out and they bought a plane without engines that has to under significant work to make it flight worthy. I've said for a long time that this company would not have the funds and that's why I sold at .13 eons ago. It dropped 90 percent after that. And with the poor valuations going forward it's not a good investment even if they somehow get off the ground which is unlikely. Just ridiculous that a few pumpers are magically appearing even with BLTA in the handle. LOL!!!
Another DPDW down day on heavy volume. This baby may very well test it's all-time low around .076 or ???. I think the luster has finally wore off and many longs like myself have given up. The only thing that would save it now would be some huge contract which starts asap. Although I'm still not sure they know how to make a net profit no matter how much money they make. Everytime they make more money the cost of sales goes up even more. One of the three worst weeks this year. I am so glad I sold at .18. On to more productive trades.
DPDW closed at .14. Another huge down day on heavy volume. Depending on how many shares trade Friday, it could be the worst down week of the year. About 500K shares would do it. Little doubt this will be testing all-time lows in the coming weeks/months. Not sure what could stop it. At one time, I thought this was going to be a big winner but management has shown me nothing in the past 30 months. I gave them more than enough time to integrate all their acquisitions and start showing a profit but it hasn't happened. It even seemed to surprise management this quarter. I actually didn't expect a profit this quarter like some did but I did expect DPDW to show that the bleeding had diminished. It failed on all accounts. Plus now they are in risk of defaulting on loans that are now coming due. They better hope they get an extension asap. I'd stay far away from this one anymore.
Oil companies plan to curtail work on North Slope
by The Associated Press
39 mins 5 secs ago
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - BP says it's cutting its Alaska spending by 15 percent next year, but still plans to work on projects such as the proposed North Slope gas pipeline.
Conoco, however, says it won't drill a new exploration well in Alaska next year. The company says it's shifting its focus offshore.
The updates were part of the Resource Development Council's annual conference, which ends Thursday.
Gov. Sean Parnell addressed the conference, saying he will fight efforts to list more Alaska species as endangered.
http://newsminer.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Oil+companies+plan+to+curtail+work+on+North+Slope+%20&id=4558461-Oil+companies+plan+to+curtail+work+on+North+Slope+&instance=home_news_window_left_bullets
Thankfully EGMI was a big winner this year! Own a few others that may take off with time. Looking for a few more solid OTCBB and up now. Main focus will be cash and cautiousness. Overall market may start tanking soon with astronomical debt building and fed printing money to pay debt no one wants anymore. Mid term elections can't come soon enough.
DPDW tanking fast! So glad I got out at .18. Brutal...
And the slide continues. Sad for a company that had so much potential. Maybe in a booming economy they would still do ok but with the continued slide in the economy and more socialist developments by the day, it doesn't look good. Now is the time to build cash and be very cautious.
DPDW now down to .15! Yikes! They've got loans coming due that they can't pay (hoping for an extension). They're losing money by the millions (another 2M in Q3 and 4.5M for the year and 4.3M in 2008). And the economy is getting worse by the month. Not a good combination. I remember the interview with Gene and Ron when Gene said they expected DPDW to be a billion dollar company within 5 years. Right now we're at 21M+ through 9 months compared to 25M+ plus in the first 9 months in 2008. A far cry from a booming company that Gene said would be a billion dollar company. We need revs over 14M in Q4 just to match last year and we'd still probably lose another million or two. I have no faith in management or the business model.
Sold my DPDW today at the open for .18 (some as low as .17). My .18 prints didn't even show at 9:30:06. Whatever. I sold at the HOD! DPDW has had way too much time to make this profitable. Their time is over with me. Thankfully I made some nice money on those shares I bought between .09 and .13 this year. I may reenter if we get back to around a dime or less. Otherwise...I'm outta here! Good riddens...
EGMI:
Even though I was a late comer to EGMI, my spring purchases are already up 200%. I'll take that anytime.
DPDW:
Like I said in March, buy DPDW at these ridiculous prices under a dime as it will be an easy multi-bagger over the next 12-24 months. Well some of those purchases are already up over 100 percent! Nice!!!
Another great DPDW rally ruined by the clueless. We had a shot to close at .16 or greater and turn towards the .20s in the next few weeks but not now. Every time we get a rally going the idiots sell.
If people wouldn't keep selling into these DPDW rallies we could actually pop into the 20s and 30s. Good riddins...
DPDW: Green baby! While other were selling the smart money was buying...LOL! This will be a lot bigger than the last 8-10 bagger here. Give it some time though. 2010-2013 timeframe. More patience.
My response to the continued useless bashing posts on the DPDW board. Just plug in the name of choice...
You can't possibly be a shareholder. DPDW was a nice 10 bagger on the way up and was easy to make money in the past year. Now is the time to accumulate and wait for the next 10 bagger. Gotta love stealing from fools selling at .115 the other day. Top notch management and a rapidly growing company that is severely undervalued. I love the potential in the 12-24 month period. This will be a 100 bagger with time. Just not in the time that traders like.
Does anyone actually realize how many contracts are being worked on right now? Multi-million dollar ones. It really does take time to meld all these companies into one. The stock is trading at 12 to 13 cents not $12 or $13 bucks. It could pop again at anytime. The company could be sold off for considerably more than someone could buy up all the O/S. Undervalued! I believe DPDW would be trading for a couple bucks on the AMEX or NYSE just because of the forwarding looking potential. In OTCBB land, we're stuck in the past yet. Just more time to accumulate is all this is. Wake me in 3-5 years...
I'll check out CSSV as it is not one I've followed.
I'm been picking up some MMRF and EGMI recently and looking at a few others.
I'm not much into trading. I'd prefer to do the DD, buy and then wait. I believe the OTCBB is above and beyond your normal investing routine so why not enjoy it. I can't stand constant whining. Either do the DD and buy or sell and go away. It does no good to own a company and then complain every day. That's why I can't post on the DPDW board much anymore.
"It's obvious not much of these $5-11M contracts have showed up yet and they weren't expected to"
not expected by those of us who can read anyway
those who sold today are the type who want it NOW NOW NOW
I hate to see the bid whacking going on today only because I made a trade error and some powder I had expected to be dry, is not. More .12s slipping away and nothing I can do right now.
on another note, a wild card oil service play CSSV
their earnings are due out in a few days, and their financials are worth a browse if you have some time
Exactly! Who knows when an even bigger contract may be signed. It's obvious not much of these $5-11M contracts have showed up yet and they weren't expected to. Still waiting for that big $30-50M contract or bigger. It takes time to build a company with multiple facets.
I think you nailed it there except I think the widow will fade quickly on substantial news.
We know they have big contracts to be filled at FT and news of more or other big ticket contracts will validate the new sales team.
Impossible to know the $$ from the web cams but the shop has been very busy so far in Q2.
I can see the dumb money is selling DPDW already this morning. More time to buy this severely undervalued company. With all the outstanding contracts still to show up in 2009 and beyond, It will be a great time to buy before Q2 comes out. We may only have a 4-6 week window before the smart money starts to come back in advance of Q2 but in the interim, I'm buying! Should be a nice multi-bagger over the next 12-24 months!!!
Picked up more DPDW today! Will continue to add at these prices as long as possible. I love buying rapidly growing companies with no debt and an outstanding management team at a severe discount. Keep selling me your shares suckers!
Got out of MMGW just in time. Down 35% since. Yikes! Like I said it's always good to get out when traders show up. MMGW will probably rise again but we need more investors to learn about MMGW and less traders...especially ones that have their own agenda.
Time to take the 200% and get out of MMGW now that the scammers/traders have showed up. Bad news...
The problem with most Ihub investors is greed. They want all their stocks to go up immediately after they buy it and become a multi-bagger instantly. Going back to DPDW, why should an investor who has been accumulating shares of a rapidly growing company even care what the share price is right now. Anyone with half a brain can see how undervalued the company is and what a bright future it has. Just look at the growth since it became public. An investor buying shares recently between .08 and .13 should make an amazing return over the next 5 to 10 years and that's all that matters. Not the day to day or month to month price variations. Investors don't care! Only the uninformed, greedy and traders care about the hour to hour price. I'm looking ahead to 2015 and beyond and I see DPDW much, much higher. Probably a minimum of 50 bags and hopefully 100 bags or more. Either way, it will be a nice return from 10 cents.
If we can ever get these stinking traders out of they way, that would also help. The price manipulation and stoppage of any runs is very obvious. I really don't believe many of the .70 PP holders have or will sell. Why sell at .15 when you can actually make a profit by next year? These aren't stupid people. I'm still laughing at all the posters on the DPDW board that were selling at .08 while us longs were gobbling up shares. A nice 100% profit in just a few weeks. Nice!
Since the DPDW board is a joke, I think I'll stick to posting over here. I've never seen a board go from number 1 in DD to just trash, useless posts. You can certainly tell who has done DD and who just follows the crowd. DPDW had never been stronger and is certainly worth many times more than where it is trading. Looking forward to an incredible next 12 to 24 months. Those shares purchased under a dime should net a 50 to 100 bagger over the next 5 to 10 years. Can't beat that. I won't be selling any shares until at least $5. Just accumulate on dips and relax.
DPDW is coming alive! It looks like the 10K has finally opened a few eyes as to what is brewing. Recent visits be several investors has also returned a very positive outlook. DPDW is a monster brewing and money spent now should return a large multi-bagger over the next 12-24 months and beyond. Enjoy the ride!
Oil was around $100 when I wrote this in April. Now it's down about 33% actually. It spiked briefly as high as $147 but now it's down to where I thought it would be by this winter. OPEC is working hard to get it back to at least $100 but for now, it's not working. A lot will also hinge on the future direction of this country.
Oil is extremely overbought right now. I'm going against the grain here and saying oil will come crashing down in the next 3-6 months by at least 25%. Traders have created too much froth here imo!
Today: 7B plus
NYSE Group Volume Records - Top 10 Days
Rank Trade Date NYSE Group Volume in all Issues Traded
1 10/10/2008 8,954,520,053
2 9/18/2008 8,310,786,937
3 9/19/2008 7,416,357,043
4 9/16/2008 7,211,705,124
5 10/8/2008 7,090,452,337
6 9/17/2008 7,071,638,219
7 10/16/2008 6,676,199,722
8 9/15/2008 6,365,014,273
9 10/6/2008 6,331,636,676
10 9/29/2008 6,248,005,246
Oil prices fall on profit-taking after huge rally
Tuesday September 23, 12:39 pm ET
By Stevenson Jacobs, AP Business Writer
Oil prices down below $107 as investors take profits after previous day's huge rally
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices swung lower Tuesday, falling below $107 a barrel as traders cashed in profits a day after crude rocketed to its biggest one-day gain ever -- an epic rally apparently triggered in part by a technical fluke.
It was crude's first down session in five days. A slightly stronger dollar also weighed on prices as investors who had bought the commodity as a hedge against inflation sold their contracts; the dollar took a steep dive Monday, helping to fuel oil's 16 percent rise that day.
Still, oil market watchers say crude is showing early signs that it may be poised for another big climb. They say tightening global supplies, weakness in the dollar and nervousness about the U.S. government's $700 billion financial rescue plan could soon prompt edgy investors to shift funds out of equities and send a burst of capital back into safe-haven commodities like oil -- potentially pushing prices back toward record levels and causing consumers more pain at the pump.
Oil prices are up about $15 in the past week, momentarily halting a precipitous two-month slide from the all-time high of $147.27 a barrel reached July 11.
"We could be back on the road toward $150 a barrel," said Stephen Schork, an analyst and oil trader in Villanova, Pa. "If we can't get any stability in the dollar and there's further weakening in the economy, my fear is that it's deja vu all over again. We're going to see a lot of money piled back into commodities as an inflation hedge."
Tuesday's trading, however, was driven by investors seeking profits after previous day's run-up and the stronger greenback.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $2.73 to $106.64 in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $6.62 to settle at $109.37 on Monday.
The October contract, which expired Monday, surged as much as $25.45 to $130 a barrel before falling back to settle at $120.92, up $16.37 -- the biggest one-day gain ever.
Oil traders said the hyperbolic move was likely the result of an unusually severe "short squeeze," a trading occurrence that happens when investors who bet that oil prices would fall rush to cover positions before the contract's expiration. Failure to do so would require them to take delivery of the physical crude; traders almost always cover their positions rather than take delivery, even if doing so means absorbing huge losses.
Speculation grew Tuesday that a big purchase of physical crude may have forced the short-selling rally. Analyst said it appears that a major energy firm faced with crude shortages after the passage of Hurricanes Ike and Gustav was forced to step in at the last minute and secure supplies before it ran out. That would have sharply limited the number of Nymex oil contracts available for short-sellers to buy, a sudden injection of scarcity that may have helped drive prices skyward.
"I think one of the majors went off long contracts because they needed the barrels. So all of the sudden there weren't as many players available to sell," Schork said.
Still, the extent of the rise stunned veteran oil market watchers and prompted the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission to open an investigation into possible illegal manipulation.
Crude's climb over the past week comes amid greater uncertainty about the economy and a gradual shrinkage in global oil output. OPEC's decision earlier this month to cut production by 520,000 barrels a day and output shutdowns and damage to oil installations on the Gulf of Mexico coast caused by Ike and Gustav helped spark the jump in oil prices from $90 a barrel last week.
Because of the supply squeeze, oil pricing appears to have entered a trend known as "backwardization," analysts say, a trend whereby front-month oil contracts, or oil available for purchase in the near term, is being sold for more than contracts several months out, suggesting the market is reacting a coming supply crunch.
"The market is telling you that it's fearful about futures supplies, so it's starting to place a premium on current oil prices," Schork said.
A resurgence in crude prices would eventually lead to higher pump prices, which have steadily fallen since jumping to a record national average of $4.114 a gallon on July 17. A gallon of regular shed about a penny overnight to a new national average of $3.726, according to auto club AAA.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 5.82 cents to $3.0052 a gallon, while gasoline prices dropped 11.94 cents to $2.5844 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 20 cents to $8.143 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, November Brent crude fell $2.04 to $104 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Associated Press writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore and Louise Watt in London contributed to this report.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080923/oil_prices.html
Thankfully we still have some conservative republicans that believe in what this country was founded on. I have no doubt this ridiculous $700B socialistic bailout is going to happen but it's sad. The democrats what to add even more to this package. How about personal and corporate responsibility. We can't keep bailing out every homeowner or business that goes bankrupt because of poor choices and stupidity.
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned reluctant lawmakers Tuesday they risk a recession with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures if they fail to pass the Bush administration's $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry.
Bernanke sketched a scenario in which neither businesses nor consumers could borrow money as President Bush and top lawmakers leaders in both parties voiced hope for agreement within days on a plan to ease the crisis.
"Nobody is happy" about the bailout request, said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., although he spoke of possible passage of legislation by the weekend.
"Nobody wants to have to do this," agreed Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, the Republican leader. He said he was hopeful of a quick agreement, despite withering criticism from conservative GOP lawmakers, some of whom likened the plan to socialism.
With the stock market headed lower in early afternoon, the stakes were unmistakable. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Congress must pass the legislation this week.
"I understand speed is important, but I'm far more interested in whether or not we get this right," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., presiding over a a hearing by the Senate Banking Committee banking panel where Bernanke joined Paulson in appealing for quick legislation.
"There is no second act to this. There is no alternative idea out there with resources available if this does not work," he added.
Bernanke's remarks about the risk of recession came in response to a question from Dodd, who seemed eager to hear a strong rationale for lawmakers to act swiftly on the administration's unprecedented request.
"The financial markets are in quite fragile condition and I think absent a plan they will get worse," Bernanke said.
Ominously, he added, "I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way."
GDP is a measure of growth, and a decline correlates with a recession.
Across the Capitol complex, Vice President Dick Cheney and Jim Nussle, the administration's budget director, met privately with restive House Republicans, some of whom emerged from the session unpersuaded.
"Just because God created the world in seven days doesn't mean we have to pass this bill in seven days," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.
Added Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., "I am emphatically against it."
Dodd and other key Democrats have been in private negotiations with the administration since the weekend on legislation designed to allow the government to buy bad debts held by banks and other financial institutions.
Despite expressions of unhappiness in both parties, the prospects for legislation seemed strong, with lawmakers eager to adjourn this week or next for the elections. The legislation that the administration is promoting would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets held by endangered banks and financial institutions. Getting those debts off their books should bolster their balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in the credit crisis. If the plan works, it should help lift a major weight off the sputtering economy.
Differences remained, though, including a demand from many Democrats and some Republicans to strip executives at failing financial firms of lucrative "golden parachutes" on their way out the door.
The administration balked at another key Democratic demand: allowing judges to rewrite bankrupt homeowners' mortgages so they could avoid foreclosure.
Paulson, seated next to Bernanke at the committee hearing, objected strongly when Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., asked if $150 billion might be enough to get the program started, with a promise of more to come.
Paulson said that would be a "grave mistake," and would fail to give the markets the confidence they needed to rebound.
Paulson repeatedly fielded questions from committee members asking why taxpayers should accept the burdens of a bailout.
"You worry about taxpayers being on the hook?" he replied at one point. "Guess what — they're already on the hook." Paulson suggested that the fallout from the credit crisis was so dire it would hit people in their pocketbooks unless forceful action were taken. Moreover, the flawed and outdated regulatory system, which didn't catch abuses, needs to be overhauled, he said.
Despite the unresolved issues, President Bush predicted the Democratic-controlled Congress would soon pass a "a robust plan to deal with serious problems." He was speaking to the United Nations General assembly.
Stocks held steady in pre-noon trading on Wall Street as Paulson told senators that quick passage of the administration's plan is "the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people and stimulate our economy."
But even before Paulson could speak, lawmakers expressed unhappiness, criticism of the plan and — in the case of some conservative Republicans — outright opposition.
Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the panel's senior Republican, was even more blunt. "I have long opposed government bailouts for individuals and corporate America alike," he said. Seated a few feet away from Paulson and Bernanke, he added, "We have been given no credible assurances that this plan will work. We could very well spend $700 billion, or a trillion, and not resolve the crisis."
Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., added, "This massive bailout is not a solution. It is financial socialism and it's un-American."
But Bernanke said action by lawmakers "is urgently required to stabilize the situation and avert what otherwise could be very serious consequences for our financial markets and for our economy."
A third witness, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, urged Congress to regulate a type of corporate debt insurance that figured prominently in the country's financial crisis.
"I urge you to provide in statute the authority to regulate these products to enhance investor protection and ensure the operation of fair and orderly markets," he said. The debt insurance is known as credit default swaps.
So far this year, a dozen federally insured banks and thrifts have failed, compared with three last year. The country's largest thrift, Washington Mutual Inc., is faltering.
The U.S. has taken extraordinary measures in recent weeks to prevent a financial calamity, which would have devastating implications for the broader economy. It has, among other things, taken control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, provided an $85 billion emergency loan to insurance colossus American International Group Inc. and temporarily banned short selling of hundreds of financial stocks.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080923/ap_on_bi_ge/financial_meltdown
WOW! What a turnaround and a great trade on those QQQQs! Up 6% today including after hours!
As the market takes another hit on irrational fears today, when are we going to smarten up and just leave the free market to correct itself. We have to stop bailing out the financial industry every time they get themselves in a bind. It just creates the atmosphere of invincibility. Why worry about bad business practice? The government will come in and rescue us if we ever get in trouble. The same with the people who bought ridiculous interest only mortgage loans, or were enticed by low initial interest rates, etc. Where's the personal responsibility in all this? Stop bailing people and companies out! Enough is enough!
QQQQ's at $41. Looks like double bottom and extremely oversold. I'll take some for the long haul!
And while everyone was harping about oil going to $300 or even $500 a barrel, some of us were saying no way! And now look; oil is down around $90 a barrel off it's high of $147! Oil is a commodity and it was traded to ridiculous levels. We are not going to run out of oil. It is a renewable resource and we still have a plethora of untapped sources. I just hope we don't switch all our vehicles over to hydrogen or electric too soon. There's nothing like the sound of a good ol' V8 running on high octane gas! I'm sure at some point OPEC will look more seriously at cutting production but they are making more than enough at $90. They're not stupid. Higher prices mean more conservation and less profits. Lower prices means more oil being used and thus more profits. It wasn't long ago they were happy with $40 or so and now they're talking $100 or more is perfect. It's time to utilize all our resources and dump OPEC. We have more than enough oil to supply our needs. We just need to develop it. Time to throw out our liberal congress and restore "of the people, by the people, for the people".
Can you say historical buying opportunity in the market! The market is so oversold it's ridiculous. imo if McCain/Palin get in, the markets will recovery quickly as they will help lend stability and strong leadership. With Obama, the slide may accelerate with his plan of increased taxes, regulation and liberal belief that the government should do more not less. That's exactly why the Founding Fathers were so adamant that limited power should reside at the federal level. We've gotten so far away from that. Time to get some mavericks in there to cut waste and at least trend us back the way we should be.
If I hear one more poster complain about "big oil" ruining this country, I'm going to puke! A quick check of gas prices in Houston today (www.houstongasprices.com) shows prices varying from $3.33 to $3.79 a gallon. All below the national average. Anyone who has looked at the major oil companie's financials can see that their profit margins are in the single digits. Razor thin! The numbers are huge (revs/profit/taxes paid/etc) but I'm sorry to ruin everyone's story about the "evil" big oil but it's just not there. These are hard working folks who spend billions of dollars to find the oil that we use everyday. Give it a rest and do some research.
Do you know what XOM's net profit margin was last quarter?
It was 7.6%. And for the year? 7.7%. That's it. Hardly bilking the poor consumer. They had to pay almost half their profit in taxes the first 6 months of 2008. Their 5 year average profit margin is also single digits. McDonalds has a considerably higher net profit margin as does many if not most businesses. Can we put this to rest now. Good grief...
DPDW shares now up 100% since we talked about any shares purchased at the end of February as being "golden". New potential Flotation Technologies acquisition has lit another fire under the stock the last 2 days. A nice right side of the base will still put this over $1.50 by early June before we likely form a handle and break out towards new highs this summer. Forecast revs/earnings and this acquisition continue to support the idea we've been talking about for several months. It's quite likely that the dollar mark will be breached very soon imo!
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