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The Budget Wars Begin With Paul Ryan Firing the First Volley
Could governing have finally begun? Congress finally seems to be taking its budgetary responsibility more seriously, with Paul Ryan presenting his budget and Obama’s to follow. John Avlon says it’s better late than never.
by John Avlon (/contributors/john-avlon.html) | March 13, 2013 4:45 AM EDT DAILY BEAST
The budget wars are under way. And that’s a good thing.
It’s been four years since our country has operated with a budget instead of careening between continuing resolutions, always one tantrum away from a government shutdown.
But now House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan has weighed in (/cheats/2013/03/12/paul-ryan-unveils-gop-budget-plan.html) with his base-pleasing blueprint. Soon Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) will add her take to the debate. Then, in April, we’re told that President Obama will finally present his budget, presumably building on some of the specifics he laid out in his proposals for a grand bargain. Don’t expect a lot of initial common ground in these competing documents but a process that looks suspiciously like governing has begun.
I don’t want to sound too hopeful here. Congress has shown an unerring ability to screw things up in recent years, propelled by 50 or so House radicals who would just as soon force our nation into default (/articles/2012/12/21/as-plan-b-fails-gop-imperils-fiscal-cliff-deal-boehner-s-speakership.html) to prove an ideological point. But along with the president’s welcome outreach to Republicans in recent days, there are signs of problem-solving alchemy at work, spurred at least in part by the passage of “No Budget No Pay” legislation that passed in February. With a bit of skin in the game, Congress seems to be taking its budgetary responsibility more seriously.
But the first step in this potentially constructive kabuki is positional bargaining. And so Ryan’s budget wasn’t intended to get anything resembling bipartisan support. Building on the budgets he has put forward almost single-handedly in the past two years but aiming for an even more ambitious 10-year timetable for a balanced budget, he would cut $4.6 trillion while leaving defense spending essentially untouched. Most of the savings comes from a make-believe repeal of Obamacare, and paradoxically, the accelerated timetable is mathematically plausible because of the increased revenues from taxes on the rich that came about because of the fiscal cliff deal. (Embedded in Ryan’s budget is the implicit acknowledgement that new revenues help reduce long-term deficits and debt.)
Many details are left out, including how an ambitious proposed tax reform to reduce the top rate to 25 percent would work. The Ryan budget is silent on the specific deductions that would be reduced or eliminated to make it revenue neutral, leaving the strong possibility that the effective tax rate for middle-class families could rise.
All that said, credit where credit is due: Ryan’s budget is the first volley in the budget wars, the beginning of a necessary national conversation.
“It’s a constructive effort on his part to put forward a blueprint for people to debate,” said Reagan secretary of state George Shultz, now at the Hoover Institution. “I am very encouraged to see them talking about a budget. We haven’t had a budget in four years, and the president still hasn’t put out a budget. But that’s the way to start getting people in a problem-solving mind-set.”
It was significant that Obama wasn’t just salty in his dismissal of the Ryan plan, he took care to present some outreach to the GOP in the form of an alternative plan.
“Ryan should be commended for laying something out that people can discuss and debate,” concurred David Walker, the former U.S. comptroller general who runs the Comeback America Initiative. “He’s clear about his goal—to balance the budget and to do it through reducing spending. He recognizes that the disease is mandatory spending, not discretionary spending.” On the skeptical side, Walker warned: “I don’t think that you can solve this problem politically doing it solely by spending cuts,” and he tempered his praise by noting that Ryan’s plan “doesn’t provide any specificity on Social Security and not enough specificity on tax reform.”
Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that Paul should get credit for putting out a plan. But she added: “It is clearly a highly political document…and it is nowhere near where it needs to be politically serious. For example, talking about the repeal of Obamacare—that’s not going to happen. And obviously there’s going to have to be a focus on a balanced plan for anything to pass both houses of Congress. So to that extent, Paul Ryan’s plan is a non–starter.”
Obama even weighed in on the Ryan budget in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, not surprisingly dismissing it by saying: “We’re not gonna balance the budget in 10 years because if you look at what Paul Ryan does to balance the budget, it means that you have to voucher-ize Medicare, you have to slash deeply into programs like Medicaid, you’ve essentially got to either tax middle-class families a lot higher than you currently are, or you can’t lower rates the way he’s promised…it’s a reprise of the same legislation that he’s put before.”
News flash: Obama and Ryan have fundamentally different visions of the role of the federal government. And the last time those visions were put to a national vote, Obama won. Yes, divided government exists, but conservatives are going to have to wait at least four more years before they can justify feeling like they have a mandate to impose their vision on the country. Compromise is required in divided government. That’s why it was significant that Obama wasn’t just salty in his dismissal of the Ryan plan, he took care to present some outreach to the GOP in the form of an alternative plan: “If we controlled spending and we have a smart entitlement package, then potentially what you have is balance—but it is not balance on the backs of the poor, the elderly, students who need student loans, families that have disabled kids. That is not the right way to balance.”
Budgets are where philosophy meets practicality. Cuts don’t occur in an ideological vacuum. They have real-world consequences. So does unsustainable public debt, which can bring a nation to its knees.
There are some rational reasons for optimism. Earlier this month, the president put forward specific proposals for a grand bargain that contains concessions guaranteed to alienate some of the activist groups on the left, including Social Security reform through chained CPI and more means testing for Medicare. These are significant proposals from a Democratic president that should send a serious sign about his willingness to work toward a long-term plan to reduce the deficit and the debt. “It’s an important, credible plan to have out there,” said MacGuineas. “People need to put budgets forward that show they’re willing to make hard choices from where they sit.”
“I’m convinced that the president wants to do a deal,” said Walker. “I’m convinced that Speaker Boehner wants to do a deal. I’m convinced that a deal is possible. But the president has to go from campaign mode to governing mode.”
The budget wars that are just beginning represent a transition back to governing from the permanent campaign, despite the inevitable attempts to rally the base in public debates that will occur on both sides. We’re never going to take the politics out of politics. But the process itself has a purpose, reinforcing the reasoning together that has been missing from our recent debates.
“Let’s get back to serious budgeting,” said Schultz, one of the wise men of American politics. “Hold hearings—start listening to department heads about what are their priorities and why. When people start getting into that discussion, they get into a problem-solving mind-set.” That’s when gridlock gets broken and constructive action across the aisle starts to occur. Better late than never.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/13/the-budget-wars-begin-with-paul-ryan-firing-the-first-volley.html
European Stocks Drop Before Euro-Area Data; Adecco Slips
By Sarah Jones - Mar 13, 2013
European stocks declined, after the benchmark index last week rallied to a 4 1/2-year high, before a report that may show euro-area industrial production fell in January. U.S. index futures were little changed, while Asian shares retreated.
Inditex SA lost 3.4 percent after the world’s biggest clothing retailer posted the slowest profit growth in five quarters. Enel SpA dropped 3.9 percent after Italy’s biggest utility reported a drop in 2012 net income. Adecco SA slid 4 percent as the world’s largest provider of temporary workers posted fourth-quarter earnings that trailed projections.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index 600 (SXXP) slipped 0.3 percent to 294.41 at 8:50 a.m. in London. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost less than 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index decreased 0.6 percent. Six companies on the British equity gauge trade ex-dividend today, wiping about 10.8 points of the index.
The benchmark Stoxx 600 last week climbed to its highest level since June 2008 as economic reports from U.S. payrolls to Chinese exports bolstered confidence in the global recovery.
Data today may show that sales at U.S. retailers climbed 0.5 percent in February for a fourth months of gains, according to the median economist forecast in a Bloomberg Survey. That would follow a 0.1 percent gain in January. The Commerce Department releases the figures at 8:30 a.m. Washington time.
Euro-Area Output
A separate report today in Luxembourg may show Euro-area industrial production fell 0.1 percent in January, after increasing 0.7 percent in December, economists predicted. The European Union’s statistics office will release the data at 11 a.m. local time.
Inditex dropped 3.4 percent to 104.75 euros in Madrid. The company said net income rose 12 percent to 705 million euros ($919 million) in the three months through January. The average of analyst forecasts in a Bloomberg survey called for 716 million euros.
Enel (ENEL) fell 3.9 percent to 2.67 euros in Milan after the company reported a drop in full-year profit to 865 million euros from 4.1 billion euros a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will be about 16 billion euros in 2013, and will rise to between 17 billion euros and 18 billion euros in 2017, Enel said.
Adecco lost 4 percent to 52.50 Swiss francs in Zurich after company reported fourth-quarter net income of 35 million euros, missing the average analyst estimate of 82.8 million euros. Sales were in line with forecasts.
Direct Line Insurance Group Plc declined 2.3 percent to 205.4 pence in London after Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc announced plans to sell a 530 million-pound ($790 million) stake in the U.K.’s biggest home and motor insurer as the lender complies with European Union rules.
The bank is selling 229.4 million Direct Line shares to institutional investors and a further 22.9 million if the over- allotment option is exercised in full. Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and UBS AG are joint bookrunners.
To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
What Lenovo Could Gain from Buying BlackBerry
By Bruce Einhorn on March 12, 2013
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-03-12/what-lenovo-could-gain-from-buying-blackberry
(Editor’s Note: Updates with comment from a Lenovo spokesman)
Lenovo (992) executives can’t seem to stop talking about BlackBerry (BBRY). First, the Chinese computer maker’s chief financial officer, Wong Wai Ming, told Bloomberg News in January that the company was “looking at all opportunities,” including the Canadian company formerly known as Research in Motion. Now BlackBerry’s share price is rising because Lenovo Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing suggested his company is seriously considering acquiring it. Yang told French financial newspaper Les Échos that a deal with Waterloo (Ontario)-based BlackBerry “could possibly make sense, but first I need to analyze the market and understand what exactly the importance of this company is.”
A Lenovo spokesman says the company has not done “any specific evaluation or activity” for a BlackBerry deal. “Lenovo confirms that the company evaluates all growth opportunities on a regular basis,” Brion Tingler said in an emailed statement. “We continue to focus on driving organic growth while at the same time, as we have stated many times in the past, we will consider M&A when it is aligned with our Protect and Attack strategy.”
It’s easy to see why Yang is interested in a foreign brand such as BlackBerry. Unlike many Chinese companies just beginning to move beyond their home market, Lenovo is already a global player. As the dominant brand in China, it is also growing fast in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In the fourth quarter, Lenovo was the only one of the top five PC companies to enjoy any growth in those markets, according to data from Gartner.
Lenovo has consistently shown it’s not afraid of buying down-on-their-luck Western brands to expand its reach. That’s the tactic the company followed for its computer business in 2005, when it bought the PC division of IBM (IBM). The rough integration that followed precipitated Yang taking over in 2009 from former Dell (DELL) executive William Amelio. Eventually, though, the deal helped Lenovo join the top ranks of global computer makers: The company is neck-and-neck with Hewlett Packard (HPQ) for bragging rights as the world’s largest PC company, having passed HP in the third quarter before the American company regained its lead.
Yang and others at Lenovo know they can’t afford to stick with computers. Lenovo is growing—sales increased 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter—but the overall pie is shrinking fast: PC shipments fell almost 5 percent in the quarter. That’s why company executives talk about a “PC+” era for the company. They’ve had success in China, where Lenovo has in three years vaulted from nowhere to No. 2 in the smartphone market, ahead of Apple (AAPL) and behind only Samsung Electronics (005930).
Repeating that success outside China will be challenging. Abroad, Lenovo won’t enjoy the same consumer brand strength or unmatched distribution network. BlackBerry remains a favorite among business customers, and it could be just what Lenovo needs to overcome its global weaknesses and compete against Apple and Samsung. Buying a tired brand with strong ties to the corporate world worked once for Lenovo. Yang might be looking for a repeat.
Emerging Stocks Drop to One-Week Low on China Property Concerns
By Saeromi Shin - Mar 13, 2013
Emerging-market stocks fell to a one-week low as Chinese real estate and construction companies slid on concern policy makers will step up property curbs. The won sank after South Korea’s unemployment rate rose.
China Resources Land Ltd. (1109) and Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co. slid at least 2.8 percent in Hong Kong after Sina.com said the southern city of Shenzhen banned developers from raising new home prices. Nine Dragons Paper Holdings Ltd. tumbled the most in seven months in Hong Kong after a shareholder sold a stake. The won weakened for a fifth day, the longest stretch of declines in 10 months.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.3 percent to 1,054.87 at 1:38 p.m. in Hong Kong, falling for a third day. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Property Index (SHPROP) retreated 2.5 percent, poised for the lowest close in three months. South Korea’s unemployment rate climbed to the highest in a year, a government report showed today, topping economists’ estimates.
“The continued news flow that triggered concerns over China’s property tightening are weighing on investors’ sentiment,” Kim Dae Young, a fund manager at KB Asset Management Co., which manages about $28 billion in assets, said by phone from Seoul. “The government seems to be trying to prevent the property market from overheating.”
The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2 percent to a two- month low, its fifth day of declines. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong lost 1.5 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex sank 0.6 percent, set for its steepest drop since Feb. 28. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index retreated 0.6 percent.
Trading Volumes
Trading volumes in the Shanghai Composite were 24 percent below the 30-day average, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. Volumes for Taiwan’s Taiex index were 19 percent lower. Malaysia’s ringgit climbed 0.2 percent against the dollar while the won fell 0.2 percent.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is little changed for the year, trailing a 7.1 percent gain in the MSCI World Index (MXWO) of developed-country stocks. The emerging-markets measure trades at 10.7 times 12-month projected profit, compared with the MSCI World’s 13.5 times, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Gauges of industrial stocks and financial companies in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index (MXEF) posted the biggest declines among the 10 industry groups. China Resources Land dropped the most since March 4. Greentown China Holdings Ltd. (3900) tumbled 7 percent in Hong Kong, bound for the lowest close since Nov. 29.
Biggest Declines
Shenzhen’s land authorities won’t approve the sale of property projects with higher prices, news portal Sina.com reported, citing unidentified officials with developers. Shenzhen adjoins Hong Kong.
Zoomlion Heavy, a Chinese construction equipment maker, headed for the lowest close since Nov. 20, while China Construction Bank Corp. (939) lost 1.4 percent. Nine of the biggest decliners on the emerging-markets gauge were Chinese companies.
Nine Dragons is headed for the steepest slump since July 25. Block trades of 61 million shares crossed at HK$7.23 each, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. A shareholder offered to sell Nine Dragons (2689) shares at HK$7.23 to HK$7.38 each, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported.
Delta Electronics Inc. (2308), a maker of power-supply packs for notebook computers, surged 6.7 percent in Taipei after earnings beat analyst estimates and Credit Suisse Group AG and Macquarie Group Ltd. recommended buying the shares. The stock was the best performer on the MSCI Emerging Markets index.
To contact the reporter on this story: Saeromi Shin in Seoul at sshin15@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Allen Wan at awan3@bloomberg.net
Stock futures under pressure ahead of retail-sales data
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY; @khjelmgaard
U.S. stock futures were moving lower ahead of Wednesday's market open. Government data on February retail sales are set to provide a focus for investors.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.03% to 14,445, the Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0.27% to 1,551.70. However, the Nasdaq-100 added 0.08% to 2,805.25.
On Tuesday, the Dow edged higher to gain for an eighth straight day. The Dow closed at 14,450.06. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to close at 1,552.48. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% to 3,242.32.
A retail-sales report for February is expected to show consumers boosted spending by a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, or 0.3% after excluding gasoline and cars, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
STOCKS ON TUESDAY: Dow sets another new high as S&P 500 slips
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.61% to 12,239.66 on Wednesday. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 index traded in and around the flat line.
Benchmark oil for April delivery was up 21 cents to $92.75 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 48 cents to close at $92.54 per barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.
Contributing: Associated Press
Asian markets slip, yen advances against dollar
Asian markets mostly fell on Wednesday, with few catalysts to drive buying after recent gains, while Wall Street provided a limp lead.
The yen edged up slightly as investors weighed reports that Japan's main opposition party will vote against one of the government's nominations for deputy governor of the country's central bank.
Tokyo fell 0.61 percent, or 75.15 points to 12,239.66, Sydney slipped 0.50 percent, or 25.5 points, to 5,092.4, while Seoul rose 0.32 percent, or 6.39 points, to 1,999.73.
In the afternoon Hong Kong lost 0.73 percent and Shanghai tumbled 1.00 percent.
Traders took a breather as they await fresh buying impetus, with the Dow extending its record-breaking run to six sessions but only by squeezing out a marginal gain of 0.02 percent.
However, the broad-market S&P 500 fell 0.24 percent, snapping a seven-session winning streak that had taken it to within a whisker of its all-time high. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.32 percent.
In Tokyo the Nikkei rolled back slightly as the dollar struggled to advance any further against the yen, having shot up by about 20 percent since November.
The greenback saw some selling pressure on Tuesday in New York after reports that Japan's largest opposition party said it would not back the nomination of Kikuo Iwata to serve as the Bank of Japan's deputy governor.
Iwata, along with the nominee for governor Haruhiko Kuroda, is a strong supporter of giving more control of the BoJ to the government and an advocate of further aggressive monetary easing.
His failure to win approval could raise questions about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's clout, analysts said.
The Democratic Party of Japan, however, did say it would support the nominations of Kuroda and Hiroshi Nakaso, in line for the second available post as deputy governor.
But Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac in Sydney, told Dow Jones Newswires: "The local press is confident that all three nominees will eventually be accepted."
On currency markets the dollar slipped to 95.70 yen in the afternoon from 96.05 yen in New York late Tuesday. It had been at 96.40 yen earlier Tuesday in Asia.
The euro bought 124.75 yen and $1.3036, compared with 125.19 yen and $1.3035.
And the pound bought 1.4932 from $1.4903 late Tuesday, with the British unit recovering slightly after a sell on weak industrial production numbers that fuelled fears the economy could slip into recession again.
Oil prices rose, with New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, gaining 21 cents to $92.75 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for April delivery adding six cents to $109.71.
Gold was at $1,593.33 an ounce at 0625 GMT compared with $1,582.70 late Tuesday.
In other markets:
-- Wellington fell 0.86 percent, or 37.62 points, to 4,341.15.
Telecom eased 6.0 percent to NZ$2.30 while Auckland Airport was down 4.2 percent at NZ$2.76 and Fletcher Building lost 1.76 percent to NZ$8.94.
-- Taipei ended flat, edging up 0.80 points to 7,995.51.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rose 1.95 percent to Tw$104.5 while smartphone maker HTC fell 3.98 percent to Tw$241.0.
dan-ac
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130313/asian-markets-slip-yen-advances-against-dollar
Swiss Stocks Decline From Five-Year High; Adecco Drops
By Adria Cimino - 2013-03-13T08:25:09Z.
Swiss stocks retreated from a five- year high before a report that may show euro-area industrial output fell in January.
Adecco SA (ADEN), the biggest supplier of temporary workers, slid the most since October after fourth-quarter profit missed analyst estimates. SGS SA, the world’s largest product inspector, gained after UBS AG added the shares to its preferred list.
The Swiss Market Index (SMI) fell 0.3 percent to 7,782.78 at 9:21 a.m. in Zurich after yesterday closing at its highest level since February 2008. The benchmark gauge has still climbed 14 percent this year as the U.S. unemployment rate fell and speculation mounted that central banks will continue to support economic recovery. The broader Swiss Performance Index also dropped 0.3 percent today.
Euro-area industrial production declined 0.1 percent in January, after increasing 0.7 percent in December, economists predicted before a release from the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg at 11 a.m. local time.
Adecco lost 4.2 percent to 52.40 francs, the biggest drop since Oct. 26. The company reported fourth-quarter net income of 35 million euros, missing the average analyst estimate of 82.8 million euros.
SGS (SGSN) advanced 0.9 percent to 2,419 Swiss francs as UBS added the stock to its most preferred list of shares.
Cytos Biotechnology AG (CYTN) jumped 8.4 percent to 4.24 francs. The company said a Phase 2a study for an asthma treatment met all clinical endpoints.
To contact the reporter on this story: Adria Cimino in Paris at acimino1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Rummer at arummer@bloomberg.net
<mish> Obama's Promised Transparency: Where the Hell is It?
When president Obama took office he promised transparency and open government. The question at hand is "Where the Hell is It?"
I have the answer: Obama's transparency is Where the Sun Don’t Shine.
President Obama has failed to deliver on few promises as miserably as his vow to create a more transparent and open government. Shortly after being sworn into office, he sent a memo to federal agencies promising, “We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency, public participation, and collaboration.”
At the time, I was a staffer on the Senate Finance Committee for Republican Charles Grassley and couldn’t help but laugh. Regardless of who occupies the White House, I understand that power wants power. Scrutiny just gets in the way.
President Obama is no different. Whether it’s responding to Congress, media questions, or FOIA requests, this administration is no better than its predecessor. The big difference: Obama is a Democrat. And because he is a Democrat, he’s gotten a pass from many of the civil liberty and good-government groups who spent years watching President Bush’s every move like a hawk.
In March 2010, the Associated Press found that, under Obama, 17 major agencies were 50 percent more likely to deny FOIA requests than under Bush. The following year, the presidents of two journalism societies— Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Professional Journalists—called out President Obama for muzzling scientists in much the same way President Bush had. Last September, Bloomberg News tested Obama’s pledge by filing FOIA requests for the 2011 travel records of top officials at 57 agencies. Only about half responded. In fact, this president has prosecuted more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than all prior administrations combined. And an analysis released Monday by the Associated Press found that the administration censored more FOIA requests on national security grounds last year than in any other year since President Obama took office.
One of the most glaring examples of Obama’s failure on transparency is his response to the “Fast and Furious” fiasco—the botched attempt by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to find Mexican drug lords by tracking guns smuggled from the United States into Mexico. The debacle came to light when ATF whistleblowers met with investigators working for Sen. Grassley. Grassley sent a letter to the Department of Justice demanding answers; not realizing Grassley already had documents that laid out the operation, officials at Justice responded with false and misleading information that violated federal law. When Grassley pressed the issue, the Justice Department retracted its initial response but refused to say anything more, which has resulted in multiple hearings and subpoenas.
The storyline is classic Washington: Whistleblowers run to Congress about bad behavior; Congress demands answers; the White House throws up a wall. But where is the outrage, especially from the very groups who are supposed to be holding the government accountable? It doesn’t exist.
The occasion is not yet ripe for many in Washington to admit that the Obama administration is no different from those who have come before it. But time will come when the cognitive dissonance between what Obama says and what he does will be too much.
Paul D. Thacker writing for Slate has a compelling story. I took a lengthy snip but there is much more to see. Inquiring minds will take a look.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
Read more at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/03/obamas-promised-transparency-where-hell.html#vJAe96ldePkMUwzL.99
I'm with the GloomyButt team as well! (But have no positions in anything)
Hello all.
Back from a nasty month mission out west of Afghanistan. Was supposed to be about a week. Ran out of underwear REAL quick.
1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It's Time For A National Conversation
by Ralph Benko, Contributor
From FORBES
The Denver Post, on February 15th, ran an Associated Press article entitled Homeland Security aims to buy 1.6b rounds of ammo, so far to little notice. It confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. Also reported elsewhere, at the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years. In America.
Add to this perplexing outré purchase of ammo, DHS now is showing off its acquisition of heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation. As observed by “paramilblogger” Ken Jorgustin last September:
“
[T]he Department of Homeland Security is apparently taking delivery (apparently through the Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico VA, via the manufacturer – Navistar Defense LLC) of an undetermined number of the recently retrofitted 2,717 ‘Mine Resistant Protected’ MaxxPro MRAP vehicles for service on the streets of the United States.”
These MRAP’s ARE BEING SEEN ON U.S. STREETS all across America by verified observers with photos, videos, and descriptions.”
Regardless of the exact number of MRAP’s being delivered to DHS (and evidently some to POLICE via DHS, as has been observed), why would they need such over-the-top vehicles on U.S. streets to withstand IEDs, mine blasts, and 50 caliber hits to bullet-proof glass? In a war zone… yes, definitely. Let’s protect our men and women. On the streets of America… ?”
…
“They all have gun ports… Gun Ports? In the theater of war, yes. On the streets of America…?
Seriously, why would DHS need such a vehicle on our streets?”
Why indeed? It is utterly inconceivable that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is planning a coup d’etat against President Obama, and the Congress, to install herself as Supreme Ruler of the United States of America. There, however, are real signs that the Department bureaucrats are running amok. About 20 years ago this columnist worked, for two years, in the U.S. Department of Energy’s general counsel’s office in its procurement and finance division. And is wise to the ways. The answer to “why would DHS need such a vehicle?” almost certainly is this: it’s a cool toy and these (reportedly) million dollar toys are being recycled, without much of a impact on the DHS budget. So… why not?
MORE: - http://www.forbes.com/sites/ralphbenko/2013/03/11/1-6-billion-rounds-of-ammo-for-homeland-security-its-time-for-a-national-conversation/
Quick thoughts on retail sales. My opinion, they miss due to:
1. The WalMart e-mails compalining about a crappy February. This is WALMART complaining about lack of sales!
2. Trucking mileage down, so not as much freight being delivered.
3. Did you see DKS notes on ZH? They boned their stocking pretty bad. How many others did the same?
4. Surprise cold February - Like the DKS call said, all of a sudden it got COLD in February. People had to pay to heat homes, probably took money away from buying crap.
5. Asteroids, the weather, Bush, North Korea, taxes, Drones, Sequestration, etc...
Notable earnings after Wednesday ’s close: $CWTR, $FTK, $HOTT, $SIGM
Notable earnings before Wednesday’s open: $AH, $AMRC, $ATRS, $EXPR, $KRO, $PERI, $SNSS, $TA
Wednesday's economic calendar:
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:30 Import/Export Prices
8:30 Retail Sales
10:00 Biz Inventories
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
1:00 PM Results of $21B, 10-Year Note Auction
Asian Stocks Drop After Three-Week Rally; Nikkei 225 Dips
By Jonathan Burgos - Mar 12, 2013
Asian stocks fell for a second day amid concern shares rose too fast in a three-week rally that drove the regional benchmark index to a 19-month high. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average retreated as the yen strengthened.
Canon Inc., the world’s biggest camera maker, slipped 2.1 percent as the stronger yen cut the outlook for overseas income at Japanese exporters. National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB) lost 2.2 percent as the country’s largest lender by assets announced plans to cut costs after full-year profit fell for the first time since 2009. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s No. 1 gold producer, gained 2.3 percent as futures for the precious metal capped the longest rally in six months.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.3 percent to 135.72 as of 11:34 a.m. in Tokyo, with almost two shares falling for each that rose. The gauge rallied 2.1 percent in the past three weeks amid signs the economies of U.S. and China are recovering. The Nikkei 225 last week erased losses from the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. amid speculation the Bank of Japan will step up efforts to stimulate the world’s third-largest economy.
“The market has run very, very hard and it is due for a pullback,” Andrew Pease, Sydney-based chief investment strategist at Russell Investment Group, which manages about $160 billion, told Bloomberg Television. “You wouldn’t expect us to be back to pre-crisis levels any time soon, given that we know we’re going to get sluggish growth going forward.”
MORE - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2013-03-13/asian-stocks-swing-between-gains-losses-after-rally.html
Interesting move in this one lately: DVAX
July $2.50 Calls are .30 right now
From dpoing some research, they have a drug that is EFFECTIVE, but there were some safety questions. Supposed to get an answer from FDA shortly.
Also, POSSIBLE takeover at these values? May cause a spike.
Just some of the talk out there.
Good work moving on like that. Still a lesson I need to learn, though I am MUCH better now than I was.
Ouch! Gonna get beat up even more in the morning.
Glad you liked it.
Speaking of the gym, I have been hitting the gym here REAL hard, I am looking sexier than ever, my wife had best take major advantage of it.
Yesterday was a run day. I have run about 100 times while out here, and I hate it MORE each time I do it.
That is what I mean, ANOTHER retail miss, not seeing the love for tomorrows retail report.
Hope to be back on later, picking up the boss at the airfield. Gonna stink for me!
I am sure in OTHER ways as well, but your hand is messed up.
SORRY! lol
Off until later. The boss is back from his trip, need to pick him up, and then MEETINGS until I am ready to eat my 9mm.
BBRY at 15.16 PM. And yet again I WATCH from the sidelines.
I need a scotch!
Ouch, that will leave a mark.
LOL, that is what my wife said at the time, when she was just my girlfriend. Then she took ADVANTAGE of me, and forced me to marry her. *sniff* I fear for Longhorn, he may be next!
Well, that may RAISE retail numbers, as supermarkets I am sure are seeing a nice rise in sales, thanks to all the 'free' money now out there for them.
WOW! Major miss.
What I am thinking we see tomorrow for the retail numbers. Just NOT seeing the rosey predictions.
Yep, not holding them more than a few days!
SEC testing customized punishments
By Aruna Viswanatha
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is experimenting with punishments that more closely fit the wrongdoing at issue in a bid to give its enforcement cases more bite.
Criticized for its traditional practice of a broad ban on wrongdoers breaking securities law again, the SEC is testing injunctions that specifically bar certain behavior, such as giving advice to pension funds or profiting from presenting investment seminars.
SAMPLE PUNISHMENTS -
MORE - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-testing-customized-punishments-090255960.html?l=1
Wassup Ske!? Hope you have a beautiful Kentucky day, sipping some Kentucky bourbon. I hope to be doing that soon, with a cigar in my right hand, and my wife in my left.
I am NOT a professional economist, but NOT seeing the bullish sentiment on retail sales. Car sales were down, most of the main retailers were hit with lousier numbers. If they do stink, they will blame the damn snow storm, the hurricane, Bush, rising gas prices, etc...