Archive for March, 2008
Bear Stearns Implodes
Mar 17th
Shares of Bear Stearns (BSC) took a dive today amid news of a $2 per share buyout offer from JP Morgan and a government bailout. I’m truly upset that the federal government has had to resort to bailing out institutions who made horrible investing decisions and lost billions of dollars. It just really burns me that the American people as a whole are being punished for the stupid investments and lending practices of some of the largest banking institutions in the country which are run by some of the most educated financial minds in the world. Considering this is a field I wish to enter someday I’m appalled at the lack of foresight these professionals possess when immediate profits are stake.
Bear Stears is just the beginning. I’m sure we will see more bank implosions in the coming months and subsequent government bailouts designed to “protect” the American public from further losses and home equity bleeding.
For now I am focusing on companies with strong balance sheets, stable profits during any economic condition and a good dividend. Some of those companies include:
Altria
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
Diageo
Reynolds American
Technorati Tags: investing, economy, bear sterns, jp morgan, shaun carter, dow jones, nasdaq, retirement, google, altria, diageo, reynolds american, burlington northern, federal reserve
Omarosa Gets Fired By Trump… Again!
Mar 7th
In, what I consider to be the best Apprentice episode yet, Omarosa gets fired by Donald Trump for the second time. I really wish they had dumped her off the show much sooner than they did, but she manages to pull in viewers because of the drama that inevitably surrounds her being.
What strikes me as shocking is that she would stoop so low as to accuse Piers Morgan of “being in the closet” in an attempt to avoid being fired. What her thinking was on that front is beyond me. Trump wasn’t happy with the things coming out of Omarosa’s mouth and felt that Piers should be allowed back into the boardroom to defend himself against Omarosa’s seemingly baseless attacks. His defense was hilarious… Piers walks in, plants a kiss on Trace Adkins cheek and declares him a “Beautiful Cowboy” and then leaves the room. Omarosa says she thought he was going to hit her and Trace looked pretty pissed off, but all three Trumps (Donald, Don Jr. and Ivanka) thought it was hilarious and immediately picked up the Brokeback Mountain joke that Piers was playing on Omarosa.
I just wish Trump had added the word “again” after saying to Omarosa, “You’re Fired.”
Technorati Tags: apprentice, donald trump, ivanka trump, piers morgan, omarosa, trace adkins, shaun carter, brokeback mountain, nbc, reality, steve baldwin, tito ortiz, gene simmons
Warren Buffett – Richest Person In The World Once Again
Mar 6th
Warren Buffett, the world renowned CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has once again earned the title of World’s Richest Person. Buffett beat out Bill Gates after having been the wealthiest person on the Forbes list for the past 13 years.
It seems inevitable though that Warren Buffett’s newfound glory will be short lived as Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim is generating wealth at an extraordinary pace – doubling his net worth in only two short years. His stranglehold on the Mexican telecom industry is very lucrative, success that in the US would most likely result in landmark anti-trust investigations of a scale larger than Microsoft’s troubles with the European Union.
Technorati Tags: warren buffett, bill gates, carlos slim, microsoft, mexico telecom, united states, antitrust, forbes, ceo, berkshire hathaway, world’s richest person, european union
Air Force Sends $35 Billion Contract Overseas
Mar 2nd
In one of the most hypocritical moves of the year thus far, the Air Force has contracted with a European company to build refueling tankers for a price of about $35 Billion. I say hypocritical because of the Federal government voting in a stimulus package and warning of an economic slowdown or recession… but then they send a ton of work out of the country and into Europe. Had Chicago-based Boeing won the contract they would be employing American workers and keeping the money stateside to help the economic recovery.
Another irony is that the EADS planes that the Air Force will be receiving cost about $35 million more a piece than their Boeing counterparts… but there are certain features the Air Force prefers in the European plane.
Some of the final assembly will be performed here in the United States and will produce about 2,000 jobs in Mobile Alabama and increase the work available for parts suppliers nationwide, but still a good majority of the work will be performed in Europe and any profits from the deal will be paid to shareholders of the company – most likely residents of Europe.
Technorati Tags: eads, northrop grumman, boeing, air force, shaun carter, refueling tankers, mobile, alabama, military
