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Yes,, they didn't! Now the US should be eliminating every dime of aid spent there. Shut them off,, they will get hungrey. In the mean time thats billions that will not be spent every year keeping them afloat. We have some bases there that should also be closed-- another huge blow to their sinking economy and billions that remain in the US for decades. They were always worth helping as allies,,, why help them if they do not return it,,,
Too bad the news was not released @ &am Mon-- then a hellish pop would have ensued,, after the weekend the pop may be subdued..
George-- almost agree. WHEN, not if, the bombs drop the mkts will fall. That will be a great buying OP as the relief ralley that follows will be fueled by many that care less about technicals and the inst guys will jump on the bandwagon to thier last margined dime. How long it will last is another ballgame.
brain-- how about q over past year? A sick company in a sick sector that will take years to make headway without a lot of consolidation,, many in te sector need to go *poof*,, not be taken over. Still, a penny issue and deservedly so. Should it do a 2fer it should come back to this range or lower. Still, it can be fun to play-- not one of mine-- but there are better IMO. Of course the execs pled not guilty today,,LOL
mlsoft'-- and many easily recognized names come to mind. I rarely play penny stocks and certainly do not look to hold any. They can give a nice pop,, but a relativly unknown like UBET, FORG, etc usually stands a better chance of giving a decent ST return than the likes of Kmart or LU. Sad, but true. I know too many that retired on LU @ $65 and are now looking for a job paying more than min wage-- or offering some bennys. Like those at Enron -- no divertsity, greed, and hope "it will recover"! Dreaming-- they never took a profit and hate taking the huge losses. Very sad,, but hard to have sympathy for those that were not smart enough or had excessive greed to take care of their bux.
mlsoft-- recently read somewhere that the % of 'fallen angels' to recover are next to zero. I think the number for '02 was 87 and only Nisson came back. Since 1987 thru recent the % was no higher than 20s,, as usual-- ok to play but do not bet the bank of a complete recovery. Besides-- a reverse split is nearly the kiss of death!
goodluck-- Yes I thought it was a "keeper" also. For that very reason I have notified PIMCO I shall be eliminating their funds from all accounts as soon as clients can be notified of the reason.
bear-- NOT with EXPE, patience with UBET,,not as weak as I expected today
Me too bear,patience,eom
ajtj99-- hope those can drag AAI down a bit farther,, can you believe an airline growing AND MAKING MONEY??
MKT-- I have a junk bond fund that has been held since the beginning of time. My original investment has been recovered several times as the monthly divs are reinvested. Some can be sold at any time-- pick the LT, ST, w gains or loss.. when wanted a very nice monthly check can arrive,,
Not yet-- junk usually rises prior too and after equity mkts,, much more so than bond related..
Agreed-- was looking for 1.10 - 1.15,, then yesterday & today.. bailed way too early from 1.57 - 1.60.. like you,, looking to re-enter much lower,,
Actually, the scam has been going on for a long time by email & longer by post. The US Postal Inspection Service has shut some down,, with the penalties that come with mail & wire fraud.
<<" if Bush will be satisfied with
Saddam staying in Iraq under any circumstances for fear of him
keeping his finger in the "stew".">> Very true,, Bush may have less of a problem if the finger has been removed from the strong hand. Just the news, if true, should see a minor pop. Any indication it is being seriously considered and overall sentiment could change to slightly bullish for the mkts and more importantly,, for business.
PH-- You certainly popped my balloon. Agree China will be the king of exports and MFG for a very long time. Being heavily dependent on oil imports and a higher wage scale will make it difficult to compete with China and probably most other Asian countries. Coming from a lower level than they are today??? Thanks-- more to think about.
P H -- Japan getting close to govt support level you mentioned tonight. Last seen was at 8377. Thanks
P H -- if the Japanese govt continues to hold it around 8300 and working the currency mkt it will only make the situation more difficult. Keeping track of the latest policy is difficult. IMO it will be a great place to invest-- the only question is when. I thought it would have happened long ago.
jd-- OT-- the ignore button is available to you,, if you need instructions just ask,,
Tokyo blaming it on Iraq, NK, & Wall St. Sadly, they still do not see those things only influence the negativity of their economy that they fail to remedy. They have much farther to drop than the US and when the mess is finally cleard Japan will be a buyers paradise IMO.
smaglito-- That was received in my email today. Seems to track the US general population & media closely. OH, well-- Europe does not look bad but I'll pass on France & Germany. We will be able to live well there inexpensively. By not paying US taxes it could be like living free! Supporting the working poor is understandable,, but why do we feed those that do not work, never have & never will? A real waste of tax dollars.
bale-- guess we will not be visiting in Europe then??? LOL!
This is how the cookie crumbles. Read it carefully.
Subject: Tax Cuts - A Simple Lesson in Economics
Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand. Suppose that every day,
ten men go out for dinner. The bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like
this:
-The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing
-The fifth would pay $1
-The sixth would pay $3
-The seventh $7
-The eighth $12
-The ninth $18
-The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.
The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite happy
with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.
"Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the
cost of your daily meal by $20."
So now dinner for the ten only cost $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the
first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about
the other six, the paying customers? How could they divvy up the $20 windfall
so that everyone would get his "fair share?" The six men realized that $20
divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share,
then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being "paid" to eat
their meal.
So the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's
bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts
each should pay.
And so: -The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)
-The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings)
-The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings)
-The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings)
-The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings)
-The tenth now paid $49 instead $59 (16% savings)
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to
eat for free. But once outside the restaurant,the men began to compare their
savings.
"I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to
the tenth. "But he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too.
It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I
got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the
tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down
and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered
something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for
even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax
system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from
a tax reduction.
Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show
up at the table anymore. There are lots of good restaurants in Europe and the
Caribbean.
David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D
Distinguished Professor of Economics
<<"Some additional impacts will be preference of capital to go to slower
growing segments (that pay higher dividends since they do not have good
investment opportunities) rather than growing companies.">> Very true,, and also provide some future 'bubble' protection. Well thought out a good for many reasons. Many will look at div payers as relatively safe unless they find a means of paying 'pro-forma' DIVs.... maybe an IOU div?? <GG>
Agreed BM,, but employees are not very unhappy with that as they are seeing current tax benefits and employer matching = growth.
Joe---- very few of my employees are 100% in stock funds. Those that stayed are in their 20s - early 30s,, and all have reduced the % of contribution going to stock funds. Other than those close to retirement a smaller % of stock holdings was moved than I would have thought,, most are sittiing on a much higher % of cash than the 5% mentioned,,, Many MF charters require them to be fully invested,, a dumb move..and reason some fund buyers are looking at 'balanced' funds.
Bullwinkle-- two things come to mind with cc debt as deductable,, some (those that could afford it the least) borrowers would look at the interest bill as a means of a higher refund. It will also permit and encourage higher interest rates on cards which will elimiate the tax benny.
Everyone I know that did a re-fi did not add to debt. Nearly all reduced the amount of time on their current mortgage, example-- one with 27 years to pay added $40 per month to knock 12 years off. Others just dropped the rate to put more $$ in their pocket,which allows them to pay the principle down with the same payment if they wish. Since most were fighting to loan the bux, fees were low to non-existant.
Those that get into credit problems will do so no matter what. Add the fact that credit card lenders are not real pickey who they lend to or the probability of payback. Since they easily take the write down/off of defaulted bux they do not mind adjusting rates to those that actually pay in order to cover losses. Even bright & educated people can get caught up with the ease of credit,,,sad but true. Whatever happened to living within ones means? During periods such as this a higher default rate can be expected by those finding themselves unemployed for an extended peiod-- but bk is much too easy for all. It amounts to-- "ok, we still have college loans but everything else is gone-- lets begin down the same path again"! What have they learned? What is the downside? Why would they not do it again? Not just the 25 yo that was caught up in finally earning a decent buck and $10K in cc debt, but the business man with a working professional wife earning about $175K and declaring BK with $500K debt.
A writeoff of vehicle debt-- used to be-- many require a dependable vehicle to get to work or for use in their job,, A reasonable deduction,, remember the sales tax & fuel deductions? They ended a probably should remain dead,,,
The biggest economic assist mentioned would be the higher deduction for mkt losses. Such a deduction would make some feel OK with selling a loser. With luck some 'loser' companies would go *POOF* from that alone. Then some of that money would most likely be spent or put into stronger companies.
Bullwinkle-- AAHHhhhhh,, you go back to the "old days" of deductable interest. I could agree with your proposal with the exception of credit card interest deductions,, why encourage the use of CCs? Those that have the greatest use of such a deduction are those that should have a $500/ 1 card limit.
P H-- nope,, Saddam is hanging around at least until defeat is assured. Then he may try and bargain his way out but already has an exit plan. In order for the mkt to get a bounce that will be MOSTLY sustainable he must be captured or preferrably killed. Any trail for his crimes against humanity will prove costly as others (90% US) attempt to right his wrongs,, an impossiblity but good world politics. If he was wise enough to depart, he would have been wise enough not to do the crap he has done-- Bush is not bullshitting,, Saddam goes 1 way or another. War is much more likely since the ANTIs have given him some hope and a feeling of support. The ANTIs have been responsible for wars lasting much longer than required. NAS 2000 will have nothing to do with Iraq. It will take earnings in tech that are very far away. It will take growth that is not possible in the amount required for years. The required consolidation is not happening-- more need to disappear or be taken over first. Instead of consolidation, support is keeping some of the dead walking. NAS 1750 is a long way off. No one will remember Saddam by the time NAS 2K arrives. There are no MSFTs or INTCs about to bring the required growth, there is nothing to compare with the I-nut to bring hype. As proven Fri, people are so afraid of a terrorist act they are in constant panic mode. NAS 2K is Dreamland, IMO.
maine-- their stock price will one day fall. That may not be soon,, but doubtful too far into the future. Once the 'trendiness' becomes tired it will fall hard. They do not have a product value to support the hype or the SP. One day 1 yuppie will become honest and independent,, then its all over for them as the herd begins to look for (and easily find) a multitude of better products at a better price,,, patience,,
jdaasoc-- they best decide & buy a real company soon,,, as when the stock is at fair value they will not be able to buy a Hershey Bar. Sadly I missed the run on that one-- but will be waiting on the sideline for the drop as it should see a much larger % decline than any tech issue did..
punkle-- agreed,, great marketing and brand recognition. They are far from the only company with a great marketing arm that makes them very successful even though the product sux,,, AOL is the king of mktg an overpriced product that can be easily replaced with a better one... and like aol at some point KK will see its mkt cap become unrecognizable... Other than a couple yuppies following the IN trend, you are the only person I've heard say they actually like them,,,,,, but somebody has to or the trend would not have the following. As for Alberts--- it is much better not to bake donuts in house & charge KK for the shelf space + comm....
maine-- around my neck of the woods there is Dunkin Donuts. The donuts are constantly coming from the oven (baked on site) plus they have about the best coffee around. Less expensive, better selection, and 1000% better to the taste. The local bakerys donuts are better,, actually those made at the local grocery stores are better too,,, if KK would need my business they would be bk as I'm not into 'cults',,, and donut cult sounds very peculiar,,<gg>
maine-- agreed <<"may their jail cell food be limited to krispy creme donuts">>. Still trying to figure that one-- must be marketing & a yuppie thing,, there certainly are many that make much better donuts. Notice the close ABOVE 8K,,on low vol,, nice 'save' for today,,,,,,,
bale-- are you alluding to the prospects of Iranian aircraft going *POOF*?? Maybe Kolmini is not praying hard enough?? More people will be finding alternatives to flying in Iran,,, possibly due to a lack of breathing pilots and aircraft too..
bear-- ubet looking a tad weak today,, took my bux off the table & playing profits now,, any drop & I may reload,,
I have enough trouble keeping up with the changes on TWO screens,,guy must have 6 pair of eyes..
Hope that is correct on GE as I bought under 22,, however I'm not certain so stop is in and next buy area is an OB @ 20..
Really past time to ask "who gives a damn?" and just go get it done. They really are not needed.. so just friggin do it already. There is no reason to kiss the butt of those kissing Saddams ass. Then the direction of the mkts will no longer have the excuse of POTENTIAL war-- the direction may not change but it will be on fundamentals (or lack of) with a little more piece of mind in the world. It may cause a G&C or C&G but one more excuse will be gone and the price of oil will significantly drop-- right into the bottom line of companies and consumers wallets. Price at the pump will take away any benefits of GWs tax plan if not addressed,,,
No ba-ls!