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Maine... I'm just a lurquer, but my wife and I went through the same emotions a couple years back... his name was Alvin -- he was 18. I did cry for weeks... but I want you to know the tears will dry and the mamories will make you smile again. Eventually I had to post something about our story at RainBowsBridge.com, not an add, just a place to share...
You will be fine and you are doing the right thing...
I am still getting blank messaage screens... are you running Microsoft...
It depends...here in the DC area, high end home sale prices are starting to fall...mid-range builders are making OTM offers to get buyers...existing homes in the $400 to $800 range are taking longer to push, but final prices are close to offer price...one realtor friend (long term pro) says market here has definitely slowed...nothing critical yet, but noticed...
it was close...don't know if it was the "speculated' reason...
US troops seal off Baghdad neighborhood, reportedly search for Saddam
1 hour, 45 minutes ago Add Mideast - AFP to My Yahoo!
BAGHDAD (AFP) - US troops backed by armoured vehicles sealed off a Baghdad neighborhood, saying they were searching for former regime leaders after what police said was a tip-off Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) was in the area.
AFP-CPA Photo
"We're conducting an operation against former regime loyalists and possible blacklist members," US Major John Frisbee told AFP.
"We have reports that some of these people have been spotted," he said, adding: "We will try to catch them."
He said the troops were also searching buildings in the area that may serve as safe houses for supporters of Saddam, who has been in hiding since US troops toppled him on April 9.
An Iraqi policeman, who asked not to be named, said one person claimed to have seen the fugitive (news - Y! TV) ex-leader in a car in the area.
An employee at the Cedar Hotel, within the area sealed off with barbed wire and several dozen armored military vehicles, said US troops asked him whether he had seen Saddam.
A Turkish guest at the hotel, Gulin Pasturk, said a US soldier had told her Tuesday evening "Saddam was seen here 10 minutes ago."
US forces searched the hotel, but declined to say whether they were looking for Saddam.
"We're sealing off the perimeter, that's all I can say," said one of the soldiers, who would only identify himself as Staff Sergeant Stevens, as the troops unrolled barbed wire between the Cedar Hotel and the Al-Rimal hotel facing it.
A large area of Baghdad's Karada neighborhood was sealed off with residents and guests, among them several foreign correspondents, prevented from entering or leaving the area where at least 100 soldiers were deployed.
You're right ...my one cup of coffee morning got the best of me...
Apparently BLS did a benchmark revision, going back to March to incorporate actual data...
Jim,
Hope you had a great weekend...loved Zeev's "arguments"...all in all he's not a bad guy...just stuck within his approach...your taking the high road is right on...
did you see this: just scary, just too scary...JQP will never know...
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/021020/tech_australia_microsoft_4.html
Reuters
Microsoft's Ballmer: Surge Is Anomaly
Sunday October 20, 11:50 am ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. said on Sunday a surge in first-quarter sales was not sustainable and forecast tough business conditions ahead.
"We're not trying to say that we think the sales results of our first quarter will be sustainable. It is kind of a one-time anomaly," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer told Australia's Nine Network.
"We're still seeing the business as being reasonably tough, at least compared to, let's say, the good old days, reasonably tough around the globe."
Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, said last week it had doubled September-quarter earnings and raised its full-year revenue and earnings outlook.
The result, which topped cautious Wall Street estimates, was boosted by new subscription-style licensing that encourages corporate customers to pay yearly fees for software.
Microsoft said last week its balance of unearned revenue could trend lower over the next few quarters following the initial surge caused by last-minute and new license sign-ups.
Unearned revenue is revenue that has been booked but not yet recognized as income.
Ballmer also hinted Microsoft was unlikely to partner with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for a second stab at satellite television provider Hughes Electronics Corp.
"A lot of our strategic interests have shifted since the deal fell apart the first time," Ballmer, who visited Australia last week to shore up relations with major corporate clients, told Nine's Business Sunday program.
News Corp and Microsoft lost the initial bid for Hughes and its DirecTV business earlier this year, but analysts say Rupert Murdoch's media empire may make a second attempt after the rival bid from EchoStar Communications Corp ran into opposition from U.S. government agencies.
Ford Back in Red; Pension Liability Soars
Wed Oct 16, 9:05 AM ET
By Tom Brown
DEARBORN, Mich. (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news), slipped back into the red in the third quarter, amid mounting concerns about the pace of its restructuring efforts, after snapping a year-long losing streak when it returned to profitability in the second quarter.
On Wednesday, the world's No. 2 automaker reported a third-quarter net loss of $326 million compared with a loss of $692 million in the same quarter last year.
Before special items, including a writedown of about $500 million for its loss-making sale of Kwik-Fit, a Britain-based vehicle repair chain, Ford said it posted a profit of $220 million or 12 cents per share.
While that was about four times better than Wall Street estimates, some analysts said the numbers were overshadowed by much larger concerns about a company that lost $5.45 billion last year.
"Third quarter I think is really a non-issue at this stage," said Bear Stearns & Co. auto analyst Domenic Martilotti.
Among those concerns, Ford said the return on its U.S. pension fund assets was down 15 percent year-to-date, pushing the fund's underfunding status to $6.5 billion in the third quarter from $3.2 billion at the close of the second quarter.
About 70 percent of Ford's pension fund assets are invested in stocks. In slides accompanying its earnings statement, Ford said its strong cash position, with a horde of about $25.7 billion as of Sept. 30, would facilitate the management of its pension obligations.
Tax rebates accounted for more than twice the increase in Ford's gross cash position over the second quarter, however, and cash flow may not be sustainable going forward.
Ford Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford Jr. has insisted that the company's nine-month-old turnaround plan, focused largely on cost cuts aimed at generating $7 billion in pre-tax annual profits by mid-decade, is gaining traction after a slow start earlier in the year.
But skeptical investors have hammered shares of the corporate giant to 10-year lows in recent weeks, as it was buffeted by analyst reports about cash and market share erosion, Ford's enormous debt and pension liabilities and the capital injections needed to support consumer incentives such as interest-free financing.
Chief Financial Officer Allan Gilmour said in a statement accompanying Ford's financial results that the company sees a slight profit for the fourth quarter and a full-year profit of about 40 cents per share, within the range of analysts' forecasts.
NARROW MARGINS
But Ford's results showed that it lost about $53 for every vehicle built in North America in the third quarter. That compares to a profit of $351 for every vehicle built by General Motor's Corp. (NYSE:GM - news), Ford's leading rival.
There are signs of improvement, however. Ford lost $1,044 for every vehicle it built in North America in the third quarter last year.
Ford's U.S. marketing costs, including incentives such as cash rebates, represented 15.9 percent of its revenue in the third quarter, up from 15.6 percent in the second quarter but down slightly from the third quarter last year.
Shares of Ford have fallen about 44 percent and underperformed those of GM by around 25 percent since the start of the year.
In preopen trading, Ford shares were down about 4 percent to $8.50 from Tuesday's close of $8.87.
In an interview late on Tuesday, David Cole, veteran head of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research, said no one should underestimate the issues confronting Ford and what he described as its worst crisis in 30 or 40 years.
"It's absolutely necessary for them to shrink, rationalize their business, restructure what they're doing and with that then create the platform going forward for success and profitability," said Cole.
"They have to do what they're doing and they have to do it as quickly as possible and the alternative to not doing it is pretty abysmal," he said.
Dow Jones Business News
JPMorgan Earnings -5: 3rd Quarter Trading Revenue $370 Million Versus $1.5 Billion
Wednesday October 16, 8:57 am ET
J.P. Morgan's third-quarter trading revenue, including related net interest income, plunged to $370 million in the third quarter from $1.5 billion a year earlier and from $1.12 billion in the second quarter.
The latest third quarter included investment securities gains of $465 million.
Investment banking fees fell to $533 million, off 34% from a year earlier and down 32% sequentially.
Underwriting revenues and other fees were down 34% from the second quarter and down 18% from the third quarter of 2001, driven by weakness in equity underwriting activity.
Fees and commissions rose to $2.77 billion from $2.3 billion a year earlier.
Securities gains rose to $578 million in the third quarter from $142 million a year earlier.
Total assets under management at quarter-end were $492 billion, down 15% from the year-ago period and 9% from the second quarter.
major funds flow out of bonds back to equities...ooops
Jim,
I am absolutely amazed at the manipulation going on...strongest rally, followed by Intel slider...what the hey..?? Now they'll spin it positive....AND GM...losing quarter, but the talking heads say awesome...!!!
The boys continue to suprise me...and scare me...
Tonka
Was watching Kudlow & Cramer last night (don't ask me why). They were discussing Ford Motor Company; they had two guests: Brock Yates...great auto enthusiast...knows the inside of Ford... not a finacials guy (said he failed long division in 7th grade.) I cannot remember the name of the other guy, with the Financial Times, out of Chicago. Long story short, all saw Ford in a heap of sh%t...in particular, Bill Ford's lack of leadership and experience...Ford Credit is major source of the problems (lowered credit ratings, source of funds, etc)...did not deal with the DEBT issue...imagine that...
Jim, makes me think: you need to update the company dead pool.
Lastly, I must agree with JWRPhD...you are providing all of us a vast amount of your time and resources to keep us informed, enlightened, and yes, entertained (not to diminish the other regulars here). I respect your opinions and views and make it a point to stay tuned to the real news at the Jackass Tobacco Shop. I hope you will continue, your efforts are most appreciated... :)
JW...re: auto sales...just heard local radio business reporter discussing GM's decision to not only offer 0% financing...they are also offering no payments for first 90 days...even he saw the desperation in the announcement...
Jim,
I agree the US Govies will step in regarding JPM...
If this happens I assume we add the equivalent of 1000's of Iraqi wars to the deficit...what are the implications...?? This would be the mother of all the other bailouts combined...guess the spin doctors would have their way and say this is a good thing...
Ken
Gold and $$ going up together... :^
JW...where are all these jobs that came out of thin air in August...just did a quick survey of 10 friends & associates in my industry (software)... 6 unemployed with 3 of these over three months; 2 are going to get their termination letters at month end; the remaining 2 were unemployed and recently took jobs not suited to their skills and experience (meaning pay cuts, less responsibility, something I will likely do shortly)... OF THIS GROUP -- 4 ARE/WERE IN MANAGEMENT....NONE OF THE 10 WERE SURVEYED BY THE US DEPT OF LABOR... :^/
Orkrious...thanks..
Yes, I believe VA is in the upper tier... $368 is the max one can receive...based on one's prior income...unfortunately many (most) are only getting half, or less... The rate was increased last year as a part of the national refund efforts...used to be $269...
I finally decided to collect as I figured I've been paying for it for the last 23 years of my career...have 20 weeks left...
tonka
JW,
Sorry about the incident at SI, very GLAD to see you unmoved.
Well, I'm still an unemployed software sales exec...for the first time I'm collecting unemployment -- $368/week, gross. Housing sales are taking longer here (Northern VA), especially high end...suspect price reductions needed to move them...glad we sold in March... :)
Disappointed in Gold miners but willing to ride them out...still have rest of our proceeds in cash accounts.
Like you, I was a die hard QCOM enthusiast...what are your thoughts now...??
tonka