Liberals Already Compaining About Obama

It would suck to have to be beholden to these people. I mean Obama has not even taken the oath of office and they have already started to complain about his cabinet picks and him being pragmatic on some issues.

Liberals are growing increasingly nervous � and some just flat-out angry � that President-elect Barack Obama seems to be stiffing them on Cabinet jobs and policy choices.

Obama has reversed pledges to immediately repeal tax cuts for the wealthy and take on Big Oil. He�s hedged his call for a quick drawdown in Iraq. And he�s stocking his White House with anything but stalwarts of the left.

Why would he repeal tax cuts when the economy is in a recession? Herbet Hoover was great at that. Also how can you go after Big Oil now that oil prices are $45 a barrel? The "windfall profits tax" only works when there are "windfall profits."

I just don't understand the "progressive" agenda. Why do they want to throw us into another great depression and tax companies for something that they have almost no control over? It can't be to "get Bush" so I guess they just want Obama to have a harder time trying to right the economic ship.We also have a status of forces agreement that gets us out of Iraq no matter what. A "responsible" drawdown is what the generals want and Obama knows that. Do they really want to lose the war that badly at this point?

I found this part especially funny:

�At his announcement of an economic team there was no secretary of labor. If you don�t think the labor secretary is on the same level as treasury secretary, that gives me pause,� said Jonathan Tasini, who runs the website workinglife.org. �The president-elect wouldn't be president-elect without labor."

I think someone should tell this guy that the Big 3 Automakers would not need a bailout if they were non-Union like the Japanese automakers. The job bank paying people not to work and that $2000 markup on each US car is the direct result of the power of American labor unions run amok.

The Secretary of Labor is a joke compared to a guy that controls $700 billion in bailout money, the fate of millions of 401Ks, and the fate of the world economy. A bunch of union elections can wait until the world credit markets are off of life support and we have sorted our own economy out. Hell, Obama is already giving a huge sop to the heavily unionized construction industry in the form of the 2nd stimulus package.

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Solar Industry in 2009

There seems to be a glut of polysilicon going into 2009 and that should hurt the solar cell makers and poly suppliers.

Wang downgraded Chinese solar giant Suntech (STP) and set a price target of $4.50 - down sharply from HSBC�s earlier target of $55. Suntech was trading at near $10 Monday afternoon but still nearly 90% off its 2008 high. (SunPower (SPWRA), First Solar (FSLR) and other solar cell makers have also seen their share prices nose-dive.) �High portion of polysilicon based on contract prices will hurt Suntech,� writes Wang, who estimated that 80% of Suntech�s polysilicon supply is locked into contracts �on less favorable fixed prices.�

This might be a next positive for companies that are making their own solar panels like SunPower and First Solar since one of their input costs will be much cheaper next year. That means some pretty decent margin expansion and will allow for bigger projects installed at a cheaper price.

It just depends on how much prices are locked in. SunPower for instance has $421 million in non cancelable purchase orders coming up in 2009. The bad part is that even if polysilicon prices fall to new lows SunPower will still be forced to pay this amount during the coming year no matter what. They can still negotiate any spot market purchases if solar demand is high enough. I guess that part is really up to Obama.

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Free Wireless Broadband for the Masses Winners: Analysis Flawed

I was recently looking at these two articles from Motley Fool about the 5 Winners and 5 Losers of these potential changes by the FCC.

In two weeks, the FCC will vote on rules behind the sale of a sought-after chunk of airwaves. Chairman Kevin Martin wants to include the stipulation that the winning bidder must set aside 25% of the spectrum to roll out free Internet access to 95% of the country.

First the Winners:

Google: I agree here. The more people with broadband the more total web searches will go right to Google. They will clean up.

Logitech: His argument is that more Internet access means more webcams and headsets for Skype. Logitech will see larger sales but people currently use cellphones to communicate. Wireless broadband will probably be more useful for Android handsets that will connect to Skype and not computer headsets. If you have to boot up a laptop to use Skype then it will not have the same penetration as reaching into your pocket.

Amazon.com: I agree here since Amazon will get quite a few new buyers depending on how many new people embrace Free WiFi. Still there is like a 90% broadband penetration in places like Korea and Japan and they still have thriving shopping malls (well, when there isn't a recession.) The idea of people going to the store and trying on clothes, seeing an item up close, and having it the same day will probably stay with us no matter how deep the broadband penetration. However we will get more hybrid store/web-presence combos in the future. Kind of like how Circuit City has the web-order service that you can pick up at a nearby store in 24 minutes.

Ebay: He says that Skype and Paypal will dwarf the actual auction site in the future. I think Skype is only as good as its "always-on" access to mobile phones. If Skype has deep penetration into the mobile handset market then I will believe this. Also there needs to be a Skype enabled IPhone but AT&T would fight it tooth-and-nail. However, the first time your Skype enabled phone drops when you are in the middle of nowhere (i.e. where Free WiFi doesn't reach) you will be wishing for Verizon again.

Nintendo: I'm not sure about this one since free WiFi will probably help Xbox Live games more because there is just more network multi-player games for that console. Also digital distribution sound good on paper but Wired Broadband is barely fast enough to support very large downloads. Imagine having to download an entire Blue-Ray DVD game over a Wireless N or WiMax connection and then holding them on your fairly tiny Xbox 360 hard drive. Digital Distribution for consoles will only take off when you get that 10 Terabyte Drive add-on for the new Xbox 720.

Also in the Winners column but not mentioned in this article (for some unfathomable reason) is Cisco and other companies that make the routers that will channel all of this new bandwidth to 95% of the country. Everyone that wants to take advantage of this Free Wifi needs an N or WiMax enabled device that is conveniently sold by by Cisco and other network gear makers. I think Cisco will reap massive profits since in a way they will be selling the infrastructure that all of this Free Wifi will need to travel across.

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GameStop Buys Woolworth Stores: Whoops Not So Fast!

I think the SEC needs to look into what happened here.

In an article on its website, MCV quoted an unnamed "well-placed source" as saying GameStop had made a bid for about half of Woolworths' stores in a move that would step up competition to UK market leader Game Group (GMG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

However, a GameStop spokesman denied the story.

"GameStop Corp has made no bid for stores being sold by the administrator of British retail chain Woolworths. Claims originating from games industry publication MCV hold no merit and are completely inaccurate," spokesman Chris Olivera said.

I think MCV may have been taken in by some well-heeled investor trying to manipulate the stock price. He could have been short the stock or maybe was trying to pull some sort of volatility play or something. There wasn't any funny options trades as far as I can tell.

The stock dipped briefly to 19 on the news of the GameStop has lost their mind; and decided to buy a bunch of stores from a near bankrupt company that is selling things in an unrelated business for pretty much no reason at all. It would be like Home Depot trying to buy out the Gap or something. In any case the SEC needs to investigate.

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OJ Will Now Die in Prison

It seems that his feeling of invincibility has disappeared in a Las Vegas courtroom instead of a Los Angeles one.

A broken O.J. Simpson was sentenced Friday to as many as 33 years in prison for a hotel armed robbery after a judge rejected his apology and said, "It was much more than stupidity." The 61-year-old football Hall of Famer stood shackled and stone-faced as Judge Jackie Glass rattled off the punishment. Moments before, Simpson made a rambling, five-minute plea for leniency, simultaneously apologizing for the holdup as a foolish mistake and trying to justify his actions.

That means potentially OJ will be in prison until he is 94. I think there is some karma at work when someone beats a double murder rap only to be convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping only 13 years later. I think the worst part for OJ is that he will have to be kept in solitary or some Las Vegas inmate will shank him to get on the news.

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What the Automakers Want

This is a nice rounddown of exactly what the automakers are asking for and what they are going to do to restructure their business.

General Motors: Term loans of up to $12 billion through end-2009; $6 billion line of cred
Ford: $9 billion line of credit
Chrysler: $7 billion loan by end-2008

This is when they will be profitable (and when they would be able to pay back the US taxpayer) again:

General Motors: Trying to cut $30 billion from its debt load; dividend will remain suspended during the life of loans. Expects North America to break even by 2012
Ford: Expects a return to profitability in 2011.
Chrysler: Expects a return to profitability by the end of 2009.

I think Americans believe they are throwing good money after bad when it comes to these companies.

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What the Automakers Drove to Washington

Sigh, more stagecraft and stupidity from the Big 3 Automakers.

So, we know Ford�s Alan Mullaly is driving from Detroit to DC in an Escape Hybrid, and GM�s Rick Wagoner is pushing a Malibu Hybrid from Motown and exchanging it for a Cruze/Volt mule to drive (carefully!) the final two miles to the capitol. We even know that UAW Boss Ron Gettelfinger will be *gasp* flying to the hearings, thanks to the fine reporting at Jalopnik.

The Ford guy is actually driving the whole way in an Escape Hybrid. While the GM guy is driving a Malibu and then switching to a Volt for the last two miles? Of course the UAW guy is choosing to fly like the A in UAW stands for airline. You figure the head of the United AUTO Workers would drive an auto to a meeting where he will be begging for money. This part is the most funny.

Since Chrysler currently sells only two hybrids, the nearly identical Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango SUVs, it�s a safe bet that he will be rolling up to Capitol Hill in one of them, and so can you, if you hurry.

You see, just a week after the vehicles were launched this past October, Chrysler announced that it would be shutting down the Newark, Del., factory where they are made at the end of the year, discontinuing the entire Aspen/Durango lineup in the process.

Yes the Chrysler guy is driving to the begging session in a car that has been recently discontinued. Now that is case-in-point why this industry is going to be taken over by foreign carmakers. Toyota actually makes Hybrids that people are willing to pay money for.

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Impatient Dems Want to Shift Automaker Bailout to Obama

More finger pointing from the clueless Dems in the Senate when it comes to economic issues. They just can't wait for Obama to come in there and take some leadership which means take some of the blame if (more likely when) they fail.

"At a time of great crisis with mortgage foreclosures and autos, he says we only have one president at a time," Frank said. "I'm afraid that overstates the number of presidents we have. He's got to remedy that situation."

Obama will remedy the situation on January 20 when he is sworn in as President, Congressman Frank. Until then Bush is still President and Paulson is Finance Secretary whether they like it or not. Of course a pea-brain like Dodd can't wait that long:

"The Obama team has to step up," Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and one of the lead negotiators, said Nov. 21 in Hartford, Conn. "In the minds of the people, this is the Obama administration. I don't think we can wait until January 20."

The Constitution of the United States dictates that they wait that long Sen. Dodd. If the Dems fail to save GM and it pulls the other two automakers under then it is 100% on their heads. All the Congress has to do is figure out where the money will come from and what strings they need to attach and the problem will be solved. They should just drain it from that Fuel Efficiency loan that is already on the books. I mean GM won't be able to make *any* cars (fuel efficient or not) if they are closing their factories and showrooms.

I mean the automakers have submitted their plans even though Dodd probably can't read a balance sheet to save his life. In fact the automakers seem open to almost any strings that the Congress wants to attach to the money.

Following the marathon hearing, one auto executive said he was encouraged that some Republicans who seemed not to listen at all to their requests for government help last month were "more rational" on Thursday about the impact on the broader economy. "I think we can save the industry in the next month, but it will be a very different-looking Detroit Three in a few months, and probably will be the Detroit Two."

Ah the gunshot marriage of Chrysler and GM? The government is getting pretty good at these forced pair-ups so what will make them stop in the future?

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Mumbai Terror Plot Begins to Take Shape

It sure is a tangled mess that the Indians, FBI and Scotland Yard needs to sift through.

The surviving gunman, Ajmal Amir Kasab, 21, told interrogators he had been sent by the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and identified two of the plot's masterminds, according to two Indian government officials familiar with the inquiry.

Kasab told police that one of them, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Lashkar's operations chief, recruited him for the attack, and the assailants called another senior leader, Yusuf Muzammil, on a satellite phone after hijacking an Indian vessel en route to Mumbai.

I am just wondering if any of these guys have some ties to Al-Quida and its various offshoots?

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Firefox Debutes Open Source T-Shirt Store

I am really liking some of these Firefox T-Shirts which have been created by their users. This one is really pretty cool looking. The only problem I see is that Mars should be redder.

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Ford CEO to Travel to Washington Via Car

A day late and a dollar short but at least the Ford CEO is going to actually drive one of his products to beg for taxpayer money. I hope he drives a Hybrid or something in order to save some gas.

When the Big Three automakers come back to Washington for hearings later this week on the proposed auto bailout, Ford CEO Alan Mulally will be making the more than eight-hour trip from Detroit to the Capitol by car, the company said today. The company won�t say yet, however, what kind of car Mulally will take (a Ford F-150 pickup truck or a Ford Focus compact car?), whether he will be behind the wheel, or when he will arrive: �It depends on traffic,� says a spokesperson.

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Birinyi Associates Head Says Stocks Have Bottomed

This guy predicted the fall so he should be smart enough to predict the bottom as well. He mainly sites the low number of stocks rated "Buy" and the high negative investor sentiment as indicators that the bottom has been put in.

�The market will not again visit 750 on the S&P,� Laszlo Birinyi, who predicted the rout in financial stocks, wrote in a report today titled �The Stock Market Has Bottomed.� While he said that doesn�t mean the benchmark index for American equities is poised to rally, researchers at Bespoke and UBS said it may.

The S&P 500 might climb 17 percent in the next three months, based on the eight five-day rallies that were bigger than the 19 percent advance completed on Nov. 28, Bespoke wrote in a report. The S&P 500 rose 5.6 percent on average in the next month and 17 percent in the next three months, according to Bespoke, whose founders, Justin Walters and Paul Hickey, once worked at Birinyi.

Stocks will post �higher double-digit returns� in 2009, UBS AG�s global strategist forecast.

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House Stimulus Now at $500 billion

Well, it seems like there is now more spending coming down the pike as this stimulus bill is nearly 5 times larger then the last one.

The aide, who asked not to be identified, said the legislation would include a middle-class tax cut, billions of dollars for road, bridge and mass transit construction, expanded aid to states and investments in renewable energy.

I just need to see the actual bill before I can make any comments on it. In any case it will be a nice to be in construction in 2009.

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CNN Accidentally Reveals Mumbai Hostage Whereabouts

It seems that CNN just reports the news in some sort of bubble and doesn't think that terrorists watch cable news. At least CNN did not cause the death of these two Wales residents and other Westerners hiding in Taj Mahal Palace Hotel due to their loose lips.

From her home in Penarth yesterday, Mrs Shaw said: �We have been asked by the British terror police not to talk to the press.

�But the reason I would not want to talk to anyone is because our safety was actually compromised by CNN, which broadcast where we were.

�The terrorists were watching CNN and they came down from where they were in a lift after hearing about us on television. For that reason I would appeal to the media to be very careful about what they broadcast.

�When we left Mumbai there were still around 100 people trapped there.�

She added: �People talk to one another on mobile phones and that gets broadcast and the terrorists knew from that.�

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After a Long Courtship Obama Picks Clinton for State

The dance is finally over and Obama has his Secretary of State:

He introduced Clinton first, saying of his former presidential rival, "She possesses an extraordinary intelligence and toughness, and a remarkable work ethic. ... She is an American of tremendous stature who will have my complete confidence, who knows many of the world's leaders, who will command respect in every capital and who will clearly have the ability to advance our interests around the world."

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