http://www.realclearmarkets.com/ en Copyright 2008 Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:43:35 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.33 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:34:37 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/complaints_of_the_us039s_collapse_are_exaggerated_98257.html 98257 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:44:34 -0600 Wild optimism about economic growth is at the heart of the Obama administration's plans to shrink the federal budget deficit. And that's not the only problem.Worried that the global financial crisis combined with the Great Recession in the United States has bankrupted not just ourselves but our kids and their kids?Good. You should be. Maybe then we'll do something about the problem before it's too late.First, here's the good news for those of us who live in the United States. (If you live in some other den of fiscal iniquity, just remember that the names of the...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/growth_won039t_dig_the_us_out_of_this_hole_98262.html 98262 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:41:05 -0600 Sign inBecome a MarketWatch member todayIrwin Kellner Feb. 9, 2010, 12:01 a.m. EST · Recommend (8) · Post: View all Irwin Kellner "º "¹ Previous ColumnFed already damaged by Congress' movesFirst Take "ºAnother blizzard could wallop store traffic By Irwin Kellner, MarketWatch PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. (MarketWatch) -- Beware of the law of unintended consequences. Judging by the testimony that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/the_silent_majority_fed_should_help_savers_98261.html 98261 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:56:03 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/reading_the_2010_homebuilding_tea_leaves_98264.html 98264 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:57:29 -0600 Editor’s note: With the markets offering up a seemingly endless parade of surprises, investors are looking for mutual-fund managers who can handle anything thrown at them. In this special report, SmartMoney focuses on funds run by managers who have successfully navigated years worth of market euphoria and panic - and helped keep investors ahead. We highlight funds that specialize in five categories: large company stocks, foreign stocks, global investments, balanced investments and real estate.For better or for worse, millions of Americans have staked their financial future on...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/fifteen_award-winning_funds_an_overview_98265.html 98265 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:45:52 -0600 Turn autoplay offTurn autoplay onPlease activate cookies in order to turn autoplay offPaul Volcker, Warren Buffett and George Soros have new status as America sees the value of age and experienceUS President-elect Barack Obama stands with former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker. Photograph: Charles Dharapak/APYouth, flair and intellect can only get you so far. As the worst recession since the 1930s grinds the nation into political disillusionment and economic hardship, America is turning for inspiration to grizzled veterans with a proven store of age, wisdom and experience.Seemingly...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/are_the_wise_old_men_back_fighting_recession_98263.html 98263 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:35:49 -0600 By Aaron Ricadela Late in January, just hours after SAP (SAP) reported its fourth-consecutive quarterly drop in sales, executive board member Bill McDermott said that he'd heard the customers' complaints about price increases imposed during a recession and that the world's largest supplier of business software was responding. "I'm not deaf," McDermott said in an interview. He also pointed to signs of a stronger 2010: After two years of belt-tightening, customers were starting to buy software. "CEOs need to grow their businesses again,"...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/what_sap_needs_after_leo_apotheker_98258.html 98258 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:27:13 -0600 NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Not so long ago, John Thain's legacy was that of the Merrill Lynch CEO who redecorated his office for $1.2 million before selling the dying investment firm to Bank of America in a controversial deal that is now under criminal investigation.But now that Thain has been tapped to steer CIT Group (CIT, Fortune 500) out of its post-bankruptcy wilderness, he could be remembered as much more than the man who bought a $35,000 office toilet. He could become one of finance's greatest turnaround artists.That is because Thain has stepped into the breach before and won big...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/john_thain039s_cit_group_turnaround_challenge_98255.html 98255 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:31:46 -0600 NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Want more proof that the U.S. economy is still in a fragile state? Consider this. People are still holding back on buying burgers, soda and beer. So much for fast food, soft drinks and booze being recession-proof.Sure, the worst of this downturn may in fact be over, but don't tell that to Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500), McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500) and Molson Coors (TAP, Fortune 500). All three reported Tuesday morning that demand for their products is stronger abroad than it is in the United States.Coke enjoyed a solid jump in fourth-quarter profit that...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/bugers_amp_brews_no_longer_recession-proof_98256.html 98256 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:37:26 -0600 By Louis Navellier of Investor Place We've seen a lot of merger activity in the market now that the economy has stabilized, most recently in the highly publicized Cadbury(CBY Quote)-Kraft(KFT Quote) marriage and previously in buyouts across big pharma during 2009. My hunch is that the electrical products and infrastructure sector is going to see a spate of mergers soon, with GE being the biggest suitor. More From Investor Place Top 5 Stocks for 2010 - Free Report Free Newsletters Investors Insights Here are the four possible...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/four_takeover_targets_for_general_electric_98259.html 98259 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:38:38 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/pigs_crisis_opportunity_for_euro_to_stand_up_98260.html 98260 PM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:11:15 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/stocks_and_the_populist_temptation_98237.html 98237 AM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:35:54 -0600 Go to PDF Version | Go to Recent Issues To save time in the future, you may select one of the preferences below. You may update your eIBD preferences at any time by going into My IBD and selecting Update Your eIBD Preferences. Set Web-Based Version as Default Set PDF Version as Default Set Recent Issues as Default ...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/washington_is_digging_a_deficit_hole_98241.html 98241 AM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:53:25 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/what039s_so_bad_about_losing_our_aaa_rating_98245.html 98245 AM Update Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:00:35 -0600 Dow Jones Reprints: This copy is for your personal, non-commerical use only. To order presentation-ready copies for distribution to your colleagues, clients or customers, use the Order Reprints tool on any article or visit www.djreprints.comBy RANDALL W. FORSYTH | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR THERE'S 100% CHANCE OF SNOW in Washington Wednesday, and that would be so even if the forecast weren't for another blizzard in the nation's capital. What's likely is a white-out of monetary mumbo-jumbo while the truly important questions won't get asked, much...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/09/the_notion_of_a_double_dip_isn039t_if_but_when_98246.html 98246 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:09:27 -0600 "But is it not conceivable that wants may some day be so completely satisfied as to become frozen forever after? Some implications of this case will presently be developed, but so long as we deal with what may happen during the next forty years we evidently need not trouble ourselves about this possibility."~ Joseph A. Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, p. 113. Last year's stock-market plunge unsurprisingly generated a great deal of commentary about the possibility of an economic depression that would rival that experienced in the 1930s. And with...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2010/02/09/searching_for_a_better_understanding_of_depressions_97626.html 98230 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:06:26 -0600 Where can you find them? Start by looking at which stocks performed the best over the past 10 years. Here are 25 -- and the keys to finding the next generation.Stocks, as I have said too many times to count, are meant to be long-term investments. So one challenge for investors is to figure out which companies will perform best over, say, the next 10 years. But how?A good way to start is to look at past performance, so I asked the number crunchers at Morningstar to calculate which stocks had gained the most over the past 10 years. I limited the search to stocks that trade on U.S. exchanges and...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/the_top_25_superstocks_of_the_next_decade_98223.html 98223 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:00:27 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/an_orderly_selloff_maybe_but_investors_fear_the_worst_98222.html 98222 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:23:30 -0600 NEW YORK (Fortune) -- World-renowned short seller Jim Chanos -- the hedge fund manager who called the fall of Enron and the systemic problems cause by subprime mortgages --recently turned his gimlet eye on China. He saw a country whose rapid rise was hiding massive flaws: grossly inflated real estate prices, irresponsible construction lending, massive overbuilding, a banking system larded with bad loans, and unreliable government data. Fitch Ratings weighed in this week saying that China's banks face the greatest "bubble risk" of any Asian country.If Chanos and his...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/what_happens_if_china039s_bubble_were_to_burst_98215.html 98215 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:36:59 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/bond_traders_slim_pickings_with_volcker_rule_98217.html 98217 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:55:33 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/tougher_to_have_clear_view_of_next_chapter_98221.html 98221 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:08:09 -0600 Sign inBecome a MarketWatch member todayCraig Stephen's This Week in China Feb. 8, 2010, 1:11 a.m. EST · Recommend · Post: View all Craig Stephen's This Week in China "º "¹ Previous ColumnLow follows stimulus high in ChinaFirst Take "ºNew Orleans provided perfect Super Bowl peg By Craig Stephen HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- As many countries face up to some of the biggest debt burdens in recent history, Hong Kong later this month should unveil a budget...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/hong_kong_trades_its_way_to_a_surplus_98224.html 98224 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:54:11 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/paulson_forgets_his_responsibility_for_the_meltdown_98220.html 98220 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:35:50 -0600 BloombergCommentary by Albert R. Hunt Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Social Security “is being used as a piggy bank” for the U.S. government as retirees are asked to “pay the price for the excess of Wall Street.” “We don’t have the courage to reduce spending so we increase taxes,” the approach politicians use “every time we get into a deficit situation.” The first observation was from former Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly of Connecticut, now a lobbyist for senior citizens. The other is from...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/hyperbole_amp_distortion_won039t_narrow_deficit_98216.html 98216 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:42:41 -0600 NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- gold prices could sink to $820 an ounce by 2014, in the absence of inflation or strong demand from China, says a Citigroup analyst. Over the last decade, gold prices have soared from $250 an ounce to an all-time high of $1,227 an ounce, with many analysts believing that gold is in a continued bull market despite short-term pullbacks. Heap broke with this bull view by saying in a research analysis, "Gold: Paper Problems," that prices will sink to $820 by June of 2014 and head lower long term to $700 an ounce. >>Read the bull's...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/are_gold_prices_headed_to_820_an_ounce_98218.html 98218 PM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:46:42 -0600 BRUSSELS — Carbon markets have had a rocky ride since trading began five years ago in the European Union.A blog about energy, the environment and the bottom line.The latest bump came last month, when swindlers used faked e-mail messages to obtain access codes for individual accounts on national registries that make up the bloc’s Emission Trading System.Traders and companies who fell for the ploy on Jan. 28 were directed to a rogue Web site and invited to enter their security codes — a practice known as “phishing” in the jargon of the...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/fraud_besets_eu_carbon_trade_system_98219.html 98219 PM Update Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:16:07 -0600 THE stock market has changed considerably since early 2000, when the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index traded at a record high valuation. Today, stocks are only about half as expensive, based on their price-to-earnings ratios. And they’ve become a bit cheaper lately: the S.& P. 500 has fallen by more than 7 percent since Jan. 19. Yet in at least one important respect, there may be a significant parallel to the situation at the height of the tech bubble. Many market watchers say the late-January sell-off this year could be a sign that the market is again...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/is_the_stock_market_039priced_for_perfection039_98195.html 98195 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:56:03 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/buy_stocks_to_ride_2nd_stage_of_bull_market_98210.html 98210 AM Update Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:23:18 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/myths_about_job_creation_98197.html 98197 AM Update Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:45:16 -0600 If you want to get good and depressed, go the Web site of the Office of Management and Budget and spend some time browsing through the plethora of materials related to the 2011 federal budget. That’s what I’ve being doing for the past couple of days, and, boy oh boy, it wasn’t much fun. Even if the economic recovery continues at a healthy clip, with annual GDP growth averaging about four per cent over the next five years, the budget deficit, currently running at about $1.55 trillion, will still be $700 billion in fiscal 2014, and thereafter it will start climbing...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/the_return_of_the_rosy_budget_scenario_98199.html 98199 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:31:20 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/we039re_handing_our_economy_to_china_98207.html 98207 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:12:40 -0600 Accessibility links Monday 08 February 2010 | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard feed Advertisement Website of the Telegraph Media Group with breaking news, sport, business, latest UK and world news. Content from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and video from Telegraph TV. Enhanced by...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/greek_mess_drives_global_margin_call_98212.html 98212 AM Update Sun, 07 Feb 2010 10:19:11 -0600 Billions of dollars were at stake when 21 executives of Goldman Sachs and the American International Group convened a conference call on Jan. 28, 2008, to try to resolve a rancorous dispute that had been escalating for months.Go to your Portfolio »A.I.G. had long insured complex mortgage securities owned by Goldman and other firms against possible defaults. With the housing crisis deepening, A.I.G., once the world’s biggest insurer, had already paid Goldman $2 billion to cover losses the bank said it might suffer.A.I.G. executives wanted some of its money back, insisting...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/gs_conflict_pushed_aig_to_the_edge_98196.html 98196 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 03:40:39 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/major_snowstorms_cabdrivers_and_interest_rates_98209.html 98209 AM Update Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:18:37 -0600 Last week, a little more than 24 hours after the FBI warned senators not to disclose the sensitive information that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was cooperating with the FBI, the White House shared the information with the news media.Attorney General Eric Holder has been the Obama administration's point man in revising the nation's approach to terrorism. Holder said last summer that it was his decision to reinvestigate CIA operatives who had employed enhanced interrogation techniques during the Bush administration, although these individuals had been cleared by the Justice...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/08/intervention_will_leave_lasting_hangover_98213.html 98213 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:04:50 -0600 Can the world be made safe for the return of securitizations? “We need a vibrant, credible securitization market.” JOHN C. DUGAN, comptroller of the currency. Go to your Portfolio »That is a question of great importance to those like John C. Dugan, the comptroller of the currency, who say they believe that the banking system on its own is unlikely to have the ability to provide enough credit to sustain an economic recovery in the United States.“We need a vibrant, credible securitization market to help fund the real economy going forward,”...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/desperately_seeking_a_safer_way_to_securitize_98170.html 98170 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:45:55 -0600 Should Greenspan and Bernanke have seen the bubble in housing and other assets and acted, or should we accept their defense that you can't know whether there is a bubble until after the fact? We will look at research that suggests they should have known, and, at the least, policy makers should no longer be allowed to say, "How could I have known?" Of course, the employment numbers came out this morning, and the results are mixed; but that is better than they have been for the past two years. We dig into the numbers to see what they are really saying. And finally, we...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/a_bubble_in_search_of_a_pin_98185.html 98185 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:07:56 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/debt_crisis_unsettles_european_economy_98172.html 98172 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:17:19 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/more_on_that_commercial_real_estate_shoe_98176.html 98176 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:48:02 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/will_we_ever_again_trust_wall_street_98186.html 98186 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:39:10 -0600 ]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/in_praise_of_mammoth_budget_deficits_98180.html 98180 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:12:54 -0600 (Fortune Magazine) -- When the Senate grudgingly reconfirmed Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman two days before his term expired, he was only a stand-in for the man 30 senators were really mad at. "I knew that he would continue the legacy of Alan Greenspan, and I was right," said an angry Jim Bunning, a conservative Republican from Kentucky who voted no. Fumed Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the Senate's only (admitted) socialist: "He said it publicly -- I want to follow in the footsteps of Alan Greenspan. Alan Greenspan's philosophy is a disaster." Jeff...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/alan_greenspan_fights_back_against_his_critics_98174.html 98174 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:53:23 -0600 How much worse can get it? It’s a question no investor wants to address, but with the Dow coming off a series of triple-digit losses, it’s one that demands at least a guess.Over the last few days, many issues were making investors uneasy, including concerns about Europe, the culture in Washington and the employment situation.Now, as traders venture into the new week, there’s a lot at stake. “We might be dealing with Armageddon,” says Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management. On the other hand, he says,...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/more_dow_carnage_ahead_what_to_watch_98188.html 98188 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:42:57 -0600 Unusually strong crosscurrents are creating chaos in markets all over. We need to step back to sort out what's happening with stocks, bonds, currencies and gold.Spending a week away with no TV or newspapers and only limited Internet access, as I did recently, gave me lots of time to think about the present investing environment, where there is mass confusion in all markets. Unusually strong crosscurrents make it difficult to ferret out what participants are thinking or anticipating.However, I'll take a stab at it by reviewing various markets -- stocks, bonds, currencies and gold --...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/confused_don039t_worry--so_are_the_markets_98183.html 98183 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:49:19 -0600 Skip navigation #headerOverlay{ color: #ccd6df; font-size:11px; line-height:130%; } #headerOverlay strong{ color: #ffd226; } #headerOverlay a {color:#ccd6df;text-decoration:none;} #headerOverlay a:hover {color:#ffd226;} #headerOverlay a:visited {color:#ccd6df;} #headerOverlay a:visited:hover {color:#ffd226;} Symbol Lookup onloadAutoSuggest(); All CNBC  |  News  |  Video var pgValue = "CNBSEB"; var cmsKeyWord = "fast money|final trade|rapid recap|web...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/cramer_your_game_plan_for_next_week039s_earnings_98187.html 98187 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:25:29 -0600 There is a popular mythology that January has particular significance as a leading indicator for the direction of the stock market for the entire year. One belief is that the first three (or the first five) trading days indicate the likely direction for the entire month. SHARE: ...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/data_say_don039t_ignore_the_january_effect_98178.html 98178 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:44:53 -0600 On Sept. 12, 2001, there were no commercial flights in the United States. It was uncertain when airlines would be permitted to start flying again"”or how many customers would be on them. Airlines faced not only the tragedy of 9/11 but the fact that economy was entering a recession. So almost immediately, all the U.S. airlines, save one, did what so many U.S. corporations are particularly skilled at doing: they began announcing tens of thousands of layoffs. Today the one airline that didn't cut staff, Southwest, still has never had an involuntary layoff in its almost...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/the_case_against_layoffs_they_often_backfire_98184.html 98184 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:21:08 -0600 By Chris Farrell It's not surprising that worker incomes have been under pressure during the Great Recession. Employers typically clamp down on wages when the economy slows, and the latest downturn was the worst since the 1930s. Most workers are well aware that employers aren't exactly going to be handing out huge wage hikes with an official unemployment rate of 9.7% and the government's broadest measure of unemployment, which includes those marginally attached to the workforce and people working part time who would like full-time employment, at 16.5%, according to the Labor...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/the_downward_spiral_of_us_wage_growth_98177.html 98177 AM Update Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:37:04 -0600 (ii) If you submit material to this site or to BLP or its representative, unless BLP indicates otherwise, you grant Bloomberg a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, copy, and display such content throughout the world in any form, media, or technology now known or hereafter developed. You also permit any other user to access, store, or reproduce such material for that user's personal use. You grant Bloomberg the right to use the name that you submit...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/06/sweet_revenge_for_skype_founders_98179.html 98179 AM Update Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:54:34 -0600 American jobs figuresFeb 5th 2010 | WASHINGTON, DC | From The Economist onlineA WEEK ago, Americans were told that their economy had expanded for a second consecutive quarter, and rapidly at that: output grew at an annual rate of 5.7%. This week, they are reminded that a return to growth has yet to benefit the jobless. The economy lost 20,000 jobs in January, a decline driven by the loss of 75,000 jobs in the construction sector. Economists had forecast an increase in employment of around 15,000. The unemployment rate, based on household rather than establishment data, showed a slight...]]>http://www.realclearmarkets.com/2010/02/05/falling_flat_more_evidence_us_is_in_a_jobless_recovery_98162.html 98162 PM Update