January 2009

Stories I'm watching this Monday: Bernie Madoff remains free on bail, can stay in his multi-million dollar apartment 3.6 million new jobs?   Major economic group says that may need to be 5.6 million since another 2 million jobs may be lost Citigroup may still need more capital, likely to sell most of its Smith Barney unit BusinessWeek makes the case for tax cuts Circuit City ... read more

Stories I'm watching this Tuesday: Waiting for Madoff trial?  You may wait forever as his lawyer seeks plea deal Madoff not only remains in his elegant penthouse but he does it in very expensive clothes Bad sign for economy?  Two leading indicator companies give lousy quarter Seeking Alpha: Hold off buying that house, mortgage rates may fall to 3.5% Ah, ... read more

Stories I'm watching on this Wednesday: Report: Chrysler in talks to sell most of itself and end its post-Daimler solo run Shades of GM: Citigroup sells its most valuable asset. The question is now: which of the storied Wall Street names goes away - Morgan Stanley or Smith Barney? Yahoo! hoping for a little "Bartz magic."   Autodesk was one of the best performing stocks in the S&P ... read more

Stories I'm watching on this Thursday: Apple's Jobs takes medical leave. Who is Tim Cook? Bank of America please tell us this is some kind of "January fools" joke Why was Bernie Madoff wearing a bulletproof vest for his court appearance? The richest counties in America prove that government jobs pay much better than they would like you to believe NYC Mayor Bloomberg knows that tax ... read more

Josh Rosner of Graham Fisher penned an open letter to Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis.   Rosner is one of the smartest guys in the business and take a smart and humous tone with a clear message: Ken Lewis must not have listened if his parents told him what mine told me: -"Don't buy something you can't afford";" - "Chew before you swallow"; - "You just got a new toy (Countrywide), you don't ... read more

Stories I'm watching this Friday: Everyone lives, the pilot averted disaster by ditching in the river, and ordinary humans acted like heros.  So what's the over/under on how long before one of the passengers sues U.S. Airways? Why are birds becoming a much more common problem for air travel? Venezuelan dictator realizes he needs American help in the oil business Peru must not ... read more

Stories I'm watching this weekend: The $150 million dollar inauguration pricetag could keep a lot of people out of foreclosure Pelosi wants to raise taxes on some even as the economy suffers Even some economists are "Obama-ed out" of the coverage Where's the remote?   Employers get ready for very little getting done on Tuesday FT: How the Brits would fix our financial ... read more

Stories I'm watching this Monday: Warren Buffett says the U.S. is in an "economic Pearl Harbor" Corporate America will have to finance its own $700 billion dollar bailout Eco-friendly inauguration?    Think again as 450,000 commuters trump using horse dung as manure and organic salad for dinner We love our cars in America ... but not as much as Iceland, Italy and ... read more

Stories I'm watching on this historic Tuesday:  Obama elected President but the optimism in Washington doesn't translate into the economy as banks take another big hit No Obama bounce as Dow posts biggest inaugural day loss ever, Roubini says banks "effectively insolvent" How many people were really in D.C. today? Given the crowds in Washington today ... read more

Change is upon us.   Now the work begins. America starts its real new year Wednesday with a curious cocktail blend of hope and anxiety, chased with long-term optimism.   The beautiful festivities in Washington provided a brief cover from a fit of negative economic news, but the tarp comes off Wednesday.   Lost in the confetti Tuesday was massive declines by many large cap banks.    ... read more