All Blog Posts (1,487)

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 12, 2009

Economic stimulus legislation at the heart of President Obama's recovery plan is on track for final votes in the House and Senate after a dizzying final round of bargaining that yielded agreement on tax cuts and spending totaling $789 billion.

The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 623,000 in the week ending February 7th. Analysts were expecting 610,000 claims.

The Commerce Department said… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 12, 2009 at 10:54am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 11, 2009

In The News

Facing a disgusted public and Congress, bank CEOs agreed with demands for greater accountability in the first testimony on how they're spending money from the taxpayer-funded $700 billion bailout. The eight top bankers appearing before a Congressional panel were contrite and conceded they have work to do to win over a bitter public and an exasperated Congress.

House and Senate negotiators agreed to pare economic stimulus legislation below $800 billion and… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 11, 2009 at 2:19pm — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 10, 2009

Senators approved an $800 billion-plus stimulus bill, handing President Barack Obama a legislative victory on his chief economic priority. The bill is a mixture of tax cuts, targeted spending on infrastructure projects and money to cash-strapped states. The measure must now be reconciled with a House version before being sent to Obama for signature.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the new administration will wage an aggressive two-front battle against the worst financial… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 10, 2009 at 1:30pm — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 9, 2009

President Obama went on the campaign trail to push his economic stimulus plan, while a crucial procedural vote looms in the Senate. Obama traveled to one of the hardest-hit cities in the United States -- Elkhart, Indiana -- to rally support for an $800 billion plan to boost the flagging U.S. economy and prevent what he's called a "catastrophe" for America. Obama will return to Washington for a prime-time news conference to pitch his economic plan to the nation.

General Motors Corp.… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 9, 2009 at 1:32pm — No Comments

Business Owners - Back to Basics

For all business owners out there, it’s time to get back to basics. Remember how you got started, and remember what got your business off the ground in the first place? Today the economy is spiraling out of control, we are in a recession, and sadly, it might get worse before it gets better. BUT - that's okay; we can look at this unfortunate economic scenario as a necessary evil. It's like trading the stock market, what goes up must also go down at some point. In fact, this may be just what we… Continue

Added by James Dicks on February 6, 2009 at 11:39am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 6, 2009

The Labor Department reported the effects of the recession intensified in January, as the unemployment rate jumped to 7.6%, and non-farm payrolls fell by the largest amount in 34 years. Non-farm payrolls fell by a seasonally adjusted 598,000 in January after a revised loss of 577,000 in December- the largest payroll loss since December 1974.

Canada lost 129,000 jobs last month as the unemployment rate surged more than half a point to 7.2 percent. It marks the worst monthly employment… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 6, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

im looking for the greenback to gain against most majors into the afternoon.

The Jan US employment report is released at 13:30 GMT. Similar to consensus (-540k) and previous (524k), expect -525k, with the jobless rate jumping to 7.5% from 7.2% (its monthly average rise has been 0.3pp the past three months). We expect a number in-line with consensus to be overlooked by the dollar. However, if we take heed to the seasonal factor we could see the number come in better than expected as fewer workers were hired in the run up to the end of year, hence less workers to lay off… Continue

Added by Adam Horak on February 6, 2009 at 8:48am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 5, 2009

President Obama warned that failure to act on an economic recovery package could plunge the nation into a long-lasting recession that might prove irreversible, a fresh call to a recalcitrant Congress to move quickly. In an op-ed in today’s Washington Post, the president argued that each day without his stimulus package, now exceeding $900 billion in the Senate, Americans lose more jobs, savings and homes. He painted a bleak picture if lawmakers do nothing.

The Labor Department… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 5, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 4, 2009

Responding to concerns about Wall Street excesses, President Obama introduced rules limiting to $500,000 compensation paid to executives at financial institutions receiving "exceptional assistance" from the government. Any additional compensation would be made in restricted stock that won't vest until taxpayers are repaid. Banks getting help as part of the bailout program would face new prohibitions on "golden parachutes." The rules also give shareholders of banks receiving capital infusions… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 4, 2009 at 11:47am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 3, 2009

The National Association of Realtors reported that the number of new sales contracts on existing homes increased a seasonally adjusted 6.3% in December as buyers took advantage of lower mortgage rates and falling prices.

Chrysler LLC says U.S. industry sales could drop as much as 35 percent in January to the lowest rate in 25 years. The annualized sales rate for the month could drop below 10 million for the first time in a quarter century, led by a large drop in fleet… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 3, 2009 at 11:03am — No Comments

Making the Tough Decisions during Troubling Economic Times

Yet another week and the uncertainty continues to grow. The time has come to do something proactive; I mean, you can't just sit on the sidelines and hope you aren’t affected. Chances are you are already affected at some level. If you own your own business then you must simply take a step back and decide what it will take for you to weather this economic storm. Success is measured by your ability to hold on through the rough times and prosper in the good times.

I’m sure you’ve heard… Continue

Added by James Dicks on February 2, 2009 at 2:48pm — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - February 2, 2009

President Obama promised to establish a review board to oversee the government's $700 billion rescue package aimed at averting a financial meltdown, declaring that some of the nation's banks would have to write down bad debts, while other banks may fail. The president said he was taking full responsibility for rescuing the U.S. economy, in its worst downturn in 80 years.

The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose to 35.6 in January from an upwardly revised 32.9 in… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on February 2, 2009 at 12:13pm — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - January 30, 2009

The Commerce Department said gross domestic product, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, plummeted at a 3.8 percent annual rate, the lowest pace since the first quarter of 1982, when output contracted 6.4 percent. GDP fell 0.5 percent in the third quarter.

The Labor Department reported that its employment cost index was up 0.5 percent for the quarter, weaker than the 0.7 percent rise that economists had expected. For the whole year, employment costs,… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on January 30, 2009 at 10:21am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - January 29, 2009

The Commerce Department said that new orders for durable goods dropped by 2.6 percent last month, an even bigger decline than the 2 percent decline that economists expected. Orders fell 5.7 percent for the year, the second biggest drop on government records, exceeded only by a 10.7 percent plunge in 2001.

The number of new claims for state unemployment benefits increased, up 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 588,000 in the week ended Jan. 24th. This put the number just 1,000 below the… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on January 29, 2009 at 10:28am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - January 28, 2009

Boeing Co. (BA) just announced that it plans to slash about 10,000 jobs across its businesses, compared to a prior announcement of 4,500 job cuts from its commercial airplane unit. Job reductions will primarily occur in areas that support productivity and infrastructure, driven through a combination of attrition, retirements, cuts in some contracted labor, and layoffs.

The U.S. House is set to approve today President Obama’s proposed $816 billion economic stimulus package designed to… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on January 28, 2009 at 11:24am — No Comments

Value Added Goals

If you have read my articles for any length of time, you know that I am a zealot when it comes to goal setting. I constantly set my personal and professional goals. I write them down and watch them come to life and I hope you do the same. But one thing you should keep in mind is that your goals must match your personal value system. If any projected goal doesn’t mirror what you personally believe then your chances of success diminish greatly. Your core values, your personal desires and what you… Continue

Added by James Dicks on January 27, 2009 at 4:01pm — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - January 27, 2009

President Obama heads to Capitol Hill intending to work out differences with Republicans over his proposed economic-stimulus plan. Obama is scheduled to hold separate meetings with both House and Senate Republicans, spending about an hour and a half with lawmakers. The meetings come a day ahead of an expected vote in the House on the stimulus plan, which Obama says will create or retain 3 million to 4 million jobs.

The January Conference Board consumer confidence index fell to 37.7… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on January 27, 2009 at 10:35am — No Comments

Markets go up, markets go down – How is it affecting you?

Routinely, the stock and bond markets pretty much follow the sentiment of the day. And, at times, it actually gets to be pretty ridiculous. For instance, the stock exchanges were extremely weak the other day based upon the idea that the Asian and European economies were beginning to show some definite weakness. So, it’s not enough for us to concern ourselves with our own economy, now we have to worry about what’s happening in China? Investors seem to worry about just about everything. Some… Continue

Added by James Dicks on January 26, 2009 at 2:17pm — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - January 26, 2009

The index of leading U.S. economic indicators unexpectedly increased in December as the money supply expanded, masking signs of a worsening recession. The Conference Board’s gauge rose 0.3 percent, the first gain in six months, after a 0.4 percent drop in November. The index points to the direction of the economy over the next three to six months.

The National Association of Realtors reported sales of existing homes rose 6.5% in December to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on January 26, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

James Dicks Daily Digest - January 23, 2009

President Obama and top Democrats and Republicans from the House and Senate are meeting to discuss the status of the spending and tax cutting legislation that Obama has demanded to confront an ever weakening economy. The stimulus legislation, priced at about $825 billion and likely to grow, advanced in House committees this week. Republicans were unable to make inroads with their proposals.

Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner says President Obama believes China is… Continue

Added by Jack Lott on January 23, 2009 at 11:22am — No Comments