FeedPosted Nov 6th 2009 5:00PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Industry, Market matters, Money and Finance Today, Politics, Headline news, Federal Reserve, Financial Crisis
US Senator Bernie Sanders, independent from Vermont, is known for his straightforward and unbiased positions.
His new legislative proposal is to break up big banks that are deemed "too big to fail." To quote Mr. Sanders: "if an institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist. We should break them up so they are no longer in a position to bring down our entire economy."
Continue reading Senator Sanders proposes legislation to break up large banks
Posted Nov 4th 2009 2:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Management, Rants and raves, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Serious Money, Headline news, Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNI), Best Stocks for 2009

Yesterday it was announced very loudly that
"my pal Warren" was
going to acquire the 77.4% of the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE:
BNI) railroad, that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) does not already own, for $100 per share, offering about a $24 premium to Mondays closing price.
Talk about putting your money where your mouth is --
yikes! Buffett has gone all in, betting the economy is healing, and silencing anyone that questioned his integrity or motives for cautious optimism saying it was all talk!
Continue reading Serious Money: Questions as Buffett's money & mouth converge on BNI
Posted Nov 3rd 2009 10:20AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Scandals, Mutual funds, Headline news
Investors are calling for an inquiry into mutual fund fees, but the Supreme Court is reminding them that it isn't beholden to public opinion. The mutual fund industry is being accused of charging "excessive" fees, which could be particularly harsh on individual investors who use these tools as their primary way to access the market. Currently, the mutual fund industry has more than $10 trillion in assets under management, some of it through retirement and 529 college savings plans.
The Court doesn't seem inclined to step into the fray, saying that regulatory agencies are better equipped to address the situation. Chief Justice John Roberts, for example, said during arguments that "It makes a lot more sense to have the SEC regulate rates than to have courts do it, doesn't it?"
Continue reading Supreme Court pushes back on mutual fund issue
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 2:20PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Rants and raves, Ford Motor (F), CIT Group (CIT), Kellogg Co (K), Serious Money, Headline news, DJIA, Federal Reserve, Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND)

What a week it was and it is starting off with more of the same! The day before Halloween the market gets spooked. The Dow drops 200 one day, rises 200 the next, and falls 250 to close the week. Yes, financial pundits could point to meaningful stories about the dollars rise, consumer spending sagging, the recession ending and so forth to explain market reactions but there is more to it than that.
Even among the 15 positions discussed in
Where should granny put $50,000? only the
Vanguard Total Bond Market exchange-traded fund (NYSE:
BND) and the
Kellogg Co (NYSE:
K) were up last Friday. Good thing I advised "granny" to put half her funds in the ETF.
Continue reading Serious Money: Jumpy stock market but Special 'K' doing fine
Posted Nov 2nd 2009 8:00AM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Press releases, Management, Industry, Annual meetings, Live coverage, Market matters, Headline news, Recession, Financial Crisis
Century-old CIT Group Inc filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District Court of New York on Sunday.
According to the terms of the bankruptcy, bondholders will hold new CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) debt worth about 70% of the face value of the old debt. Preferred creditors, including the U.S. government, will get money only after other creditors are paid back. Common shareholders will receive nothing.
In December 2008, the U.S. government invested $2.33 billion dollars in CIT under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Continue reading CIT files for prepackaged bankruptcy
Posted Oct 26th 2009 2:20PM by Connie Madon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major movement, International markets, Indices, Market matters, Commodities, Oil, Headline news, Agriculture, S and P 500, DJIA
Wow! What a difference a few hours makes. At the beginning of trading today stocks and commodities were steady. Then as the morning wore on, the US dollar
strengthened and it all broke loose. Let's look at the numbers: (as of 1:29 EDT)
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December euro is at 1.4866, down .0134
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The December S & P contract is down 10.60 at 1066.30
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December crude oil is at $78.40 per barrel, down $2.10
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December 30 year bond is at 118.10, down 23.
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December wheat is at 530.6 down 17 cents (each penny equals $50.00)
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December gold is at $1043.40 per ounce, down $13.00 (each $1.00 equals $100.00)
Continue reading US dollar rallies; stocks and commodities fall sharply
Posted Oct 5th 2009 9:00AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Good news, Economic data, Headline news, Housing, Recession
A year ago, Manhattan homeowners lived within the firm grasp of the worst recession in 70 years. A skyrocketing real estate market seemed ready to come back to Earth, as carnage in the financial services industry – which spread to just about every other business – decimated incomes and net worths throughout the city.
From the second quarter to the third, this year, the sale of co-ops and apartments spiked between 46% and 69% according to several reports from the real estate business. Sales are still lower than last year, but the recovery has been nothing short of amazing (to the chagrin of those of us who had dreams of one day moving up from the rental class).
Prudential Douglas Elliman reported a price increase of almost 2% from the second quarter, though the median was down 8% to 18% from last year – to the $760,000 to $850,000 range. Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a real estate appraisal and consulting firm, calls this good news, but cautions that it doesn't mean we're at the bottom.
Continue reading Pricey Manhattan homes are moving again
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