Positive Earnings Reports Coming In This Morning….

22 Jul

Ebay & Qualcomm report positive earnings

Caterpillar tops view and raises outlook

3M tops expectations and raises their outlook

Royal Carribean ups 2010 outlook

A.T.&T. tops view and raises forecast

UPS profits soar

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Economists say recovery continues, but pace slows

19 Jul

NEW YORK – Economists say the U.S. recovery continued during the second quarter of this year with more businesses hiring workers and fewer cutting jobs, but the pace of growth has slowed, a new survey shows.

The National Association for Business Economics said its latest survey, released Monday, found 31 percent of businesses added workers between April and June, the highest level in three years. And 39 percent of those surveyed say they expect to hire more workers over the next six months — the most since January 2008.

Read the full story HERE.

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Wall Street reform clears Congress

16 Jul

Although I’m not a fan of government intervention into our lives, the recent financial crisis in America underscores the importance of having an entity looking out for the public safety of our retirement plans and monetary system.  In this country we’ve had several financial crisis dating back to the Great Depression which started largely in part due to banks emptying their vaults in order to loan money, create profits and award bonuses, completely ignoring reserves they were supposed to hold back in the event a depositor actually wanted their money.

Flash ahead to the 80′s financial S & L crisis, and now the banking system crippled by activity that most of us (including myself) had no idea what was going on.  The flipside of capitalism is the insidious deceit that evolves in the name of maximizing profits.  Profits are good, honest profits are better….in the long run.  Legal profits are one thing, honesty and integrity are another.  For example, it’s not illegal to have an illicit affair on your spouse…but it certainly is not honest and calls into question one’s integrity.  So here we have a banking system, finding loopholes, engaging in extremely risky behavior, and deceitful behavior in order to maximize profits, share value, and generate wealth for themselves.  Again, wealth is not a bad thing, I’m all for it, but do it the right way without putting your customer’s financial well being in jeopardy, which is exactly what the system did.

So while I will once again say I’m not an advocate for big government involvement in our lives, I will say I’m glad we have a system where at least enough of our representatives saw clearly enough and avoided the great lobbying that took place to defeat this bill, and voted to protect our retirement savings and our ability to ensure a solid financial picture for future generations, save all the spending that’s going on, which is a completely different post…not to be covered here.

Read the full story HERE.

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May job openings dip but hiring near 2-year high

14 Jul

(Reuters) – Job openings slipped in May, but the hiring rate climbed to the highest level in nearly two years, government data showed on Tuesday. This accommodates for temporary census hires, but still reflects a slow and steady growth in employment.  Read the full story HERE.

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Everything’s Amazing, Yet No One is Happy…

12 Jul

Many of you may have seen this by now…but it’s a hilarious bit by Louis C.K. on the Conan show….  Funny, but also  makes a good point.  We have a lot of good going on, yet often times we focus on what’s NOT good and dwell on it… Enjoy!

IMF lifts world growth forecast

8 Jul

(Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund upgraded its 2010 global growth forecast on Thursday, citing robust expansion in Asia and renewed U.S. private demand, but warned the euro area’s debt crisis posed a big risk to recovery. Read the full story HERE.

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New jobless claims offer hope for recovery

8 Jul

(Reuters) – New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to their lowest level in two months, offering cautious hope for the economic recovery that had shown signs of fatigue. Read the full story HERE.

I harken back to a post I made several months ago pondering how many American’s that are being reported unemployed, are not seeking employment.  Rather I suppose that many American families have adjusted consumption to mediate the loss of one income and are making do with less, and enjoying the benefits of having a parent home, tending to the home and family.  After all, this was a big part of our “family values” of generations past…a hot meal on the table, taking care of the home during the day, so evenings could be reserved for the family.  And it’s not the woman doing the staying home all the time these days, men are having to learn the art of efficient home-making and from what I’m reading they’re doing quite well, and in fact enjoying it in many cases.

It could be that we just may be looking at these numbers for a while, not because of this or that administration or government actions…but because many families I believe, are just choosing to do with a little less “stuff” and a lot more “family.”  Of course, that’s not to diminish the harsh effects of families that have lost their single source of income due to the economies.  That is a complete tragedy of another kind.  And for those families, my heart goes out to them…especially once unemployment runs out.

But we keep doing what we do best…we get up and go to work each day, trying to stay focused on the positive, while preparing for the future, whatever it brings.

Warm weather and holidays help June retail sales

8 Jul

(Reuters) – Warm weather and promotions tied to Memorial Day and Father’s Day helped U.S. retailers post higher same-store sales in June, but analysts warned the discount-heavy month might eat into margins.  Read the full story HERE.

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US New Auto Sales, The Bigger Picture

2 Jul

I was watching MSNBC yesterday at lunch and one of their business pundits was bemoaning U.S. Auto Sales Report showing a dip from May and he claims (I am paraphrasing here) “And it’s obviously due to the drop in consumer confidence.”  I thought “what’s so obvious about that?”  I thought perhaps it was because well just maybe school is out and people have other things to do…or maybe it’s just a seasonal dip.  But again mainstream media focuses on one negative report and has a 15 minute segment why we should stock up on guns and butter because we’re going into a double-dip recession, employment will shoot to 64%, my dog will die, and I will have to have a double root canal.  C’mon mainstream…report the whole story.

So, here it is…  And it took me all of three minutes using Google (thank you Al Gore for the internet ;-)  to find this chart (one of many) directly from the WSJ that car sales compared to June 2009 are UP 9.4%, light duty trucks up 20.1%, Cross-over vehicles up 22.3%.  In fact if you want to visit this LINK you’ll see that nearly every car and light-duty truck manufacturer on Earth and beyond is UP for 201 compared to 2009…some very dramatically.

But once again “reporters” take one piece of bad news and run with it.  Which is why I ask myself I ever even bother to give Mainstream Media another chance.  Below is a clip of one of the charts. Contrary to many I hear from that warn me that the US is headed for disaster, we’re coming back….slowly but surely this country will muscle it’s way back to more prosperous times.  It’s what we do.  We’re fighters, not runners.  I simply request to those that are convinced we’re headed for doom and gloom to consider moving to a country where that type of attitude is more widely accepted.  Because here in the good old U.S. of A. we’re rowing this boat forward.  It may take time, and we surely will have hiccups and dips, but our general direction is positive.

I tell folks “what you’re looking for, you will usually find” so if it’s bad news, doom and gloom, you need to look about anywhere but here…because I’m not buying it.

Peace and happy 4th to all of you who are “keeping it positive!”

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Jobless claims, durable orders ease double-dip fears

24 Jun

(Reuters) – New claims for state jobless benefits fell last week while a closely watched gauge of demand for factory goods rebounded in May, offering assurance the economy’s fragile recovery remains intact. Read the full story HERE.

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