Market Summary
Wall Street saw its 4th consecutive weekly decline Friday as traders have been given no reason to put fresh money to work. The current consensus with recent economic data is that growth is to lament sideways, rather than a move upwards that fueled the rally over the spring. The Dow fell 36.65, or 0.5 %, to 8,146.52. It was the lowest close for the blue chips since April 28. The broader S&P 500 index lost 3.55, or 0.4 %, to 879.13, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.48, or 0.2 %, to 1,756.03 as some tech stocks saw some analyst upgrades. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.71, or 0.4 %, to 480.98.
For the week, the Dow lost 1.6 %, the S&P 500 index slid 1.9 % and the Nasdaq lost 2.3 %. The Russell 2000 index fell 16.23, or 3.3 %, for the week.
Obama Says No to Second Stimulus
A conversation that was null and void before the June employment situation has surfaced again in Washington, with many Democrats and advisors stating that another stimulus plan may be in order. However, President Obama shot down any such notion in his radio address today, reiterating that the $787 billion package enacted earlier this year needs time to work, and was intended to be phased out over 2 years.
A second stimulus politically would be a killer for the administration, almost acknowledging that the first one, which cost every American household roughly $10,000, was wasteful.
New GM, Better GM?
General Motors emerged from a historically quick bankruptcy Friday, a mere 40 days after its initial filing. The good news is the one time largest auto maker in the world is back with a lower debt load, the bad news is it’s facing the worst auto sales slump in a quarter-century.
Besides the U.S. government’s 61 % controlling interest, the United Auto Workers union gets a 17.5 % stake of the company through its retiree health care trust, and the Canadian government will control 11.7 %. The remaining shares went to bondholders of the old company.
At a news conference, CEO Fritz Henderson said the revamped automaker will be faster and more responsive to customers than the old one. It will generate cash and repay billions in government loans ahead of a 2015 deadline.
The new company will build more cars and trucks that consumers want and launch them faster than in the past, the CEO said. GM also announced plans to experiment with auctioning new cars on eBay, expanding on an existing partnership covering certified used vehicles.
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July 11th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
The Porkulus is a train-wreck… these jobs figures are far worse than the ones the White House warned us about if we DIDN’T pass the bill- so it was passed, and then unemployment soars anyway?
Instead of creating jobs, interest rates were bumped up, the dollar slid… and it didn’t help anybody get any work. Much of this is due to the fact that Obama’s agenda has mortified almost every source of job-and-growth creation in the country.
The Dear Leader couldn’t deliver the type of “temporary, targeted, and timely” bill that he promised repeatedly. Regardless of his image in the MSM, Obama simply lacks the the political stature to control Pelosi and Reid… who hit the trough hard, while bickering like children.
And the lack of GOP co-conspirators exposed Obama politically… this legislation now looks to be a HUGE gamble. And when all this pork-n-welfare fails to generate any real economic gains, the Democrats face a bloodbath in 2010.
http://reaganiterepublicanresistance.blogspot.com
July 11th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
The Porkulus is a train-wreck… these jobs figures are far worse than the ones the White House warned us about if we DIDN’T pass the bill- so it was passed, and then unemployment soars anyway?
Instead of creating jobs, interest rates were bumped up, the dollar slid… and it didn’t help anybody get any work. Much of this is due to the fact that Obama’s agenda has mortified almost every source of job-and-growth creation in the country.
The Dear Leader couldn’t deliver the type of “temporary, targeted, and timely” bill that he promised repeatedly. Regardless of his image in the MSM, Obama simply lacks the the political stature to control Pelosi and Reid… who hit the trough hard, while bickering like children.
And the lack of GOP co-conspirators exposed Obama politically… this legislation now looks to be a HUGE gamble. And when all this pork-n-welfare fails to generate any real economic gains, the Democrats face a bloodbath in 2010.
July 12th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Those unemployment rates the White House used as a projection were a farce, I mean 8.5% at the top end?
There isnt anyway to do a targeted and timely stimulus other then sending out checks, and that had been done. It did stop the free fall and restored some confidence, but by no means was it a miracle pill.
The fed dropped the ball last fall when they didnt cut rates after Lehman fell, after that, both fiscal and monetary policy has been playing catch up. Never a good thing…
July 14th, 2009 at 3:20 am
Hi! Huge question——soooo, whenev there’s a bankruptcy….the shares of the stockholder’s r wiped out….like worth nothing, cuz the common shareholder is at the very bottom as far as getting $ from the B.rupt company. Sooooo…..why have the shares: GMGMQ still been trading? R they just being carried over to the new company? Or will they be worthless? I DO have some shares, so I’m hoping for a certain answer. The thing that also worries me is that today, Monday, there was ZERO VOLUME on that stock. What the heck does that mean? And there was no news anywhere about the stock….I’ve looked everywhere. Help! Thx!