Market Views:GM,Tesla and the Fate of Coal

Burberry's numbers were great,but the store numbers were bad,said CNBC analyst Jim Cramer.They were all digital.*
At Bank of America,your expenses are going down.Deposits are going up.I think the stock is more of a buy than Citigroup.*
I think GM stock going down is just a screaming buy.Whether there is a price war,what's far more important is the pension headwind going tailwind.
There's an element of rigour that Ford and GM have that Tesla has to stick to.This is a cult stock,so their recall of the word "recall" was tweeted.This is a press release company.When they go up from two to four cars in China,I'm talking about a big revenue increase.I'm not gonna get in the way and short this stock.Their cars are loved.These are sea change stocks.If you believe in electronics and solar,then you believe CEO Elon Musk is giving you two great stocks in Tesla and SolarCity.*
BMO has upgraded Intel from hold to buy on PC sales stabilising.There is a point at which I buy Intel.If the Hewlett-Packard comeback is for real,then Intel and Microsoft are possibilities.*
A lot of people think coal is coming back.Oh,will you give me a break?Coal is going away.The shrinkage of coal because of the EPA is just taking people's breath away.They're not even buying equipment to mine coal.*
BlackRock had an amazing quarter.CEO Larry Fink is doing a great job there.
American Express is doing very well.They're doing a remarkable job at expense control,but my charitable trust has sold it.That stock is not where I want it to be.I think Capital One is the leader in that category,master investor Jim Cramer observed.*
Captial One Financial(COF),General Motors(GM),BlackRock(BLK),Intel(INTC),Tesla(TSLA),SolarCity(SCTY),Burberry Group PLC(BRBY),Bank of America(BAC)

The Shutdown Begins:What It Means To You

There have been 17 US Government shutdowns since 1970,and the last one was 17 years ago,in 1996 under President Bill Clinton.At that time,18.6% of government workers were furloughed,and it lasted for 21 days-the longest shutdown to date.
Before that one,there were two shutdowns in 1995.The first of those shutdowns resulted in a market rally.The second 1995 shutdown caused a market plunge,then a flattening out.
According to Tom Switzer of the US Studies Centre in Sydney,the last shutdown,in 1996,cost the Republican party dearly at the polls.In the end,it also led to significant compromise that resulted in economic prosperity.
This time around,the debt ceiling issue in about two weeks' time is even more important than the shutdown.If that goes unresolved,it'll probably spike an economic downturn.Now it's a very polarised environment.A dysfunctional hegemon will be bad for the US and for world markets.*
On a practical level,essential services such as national security and law enforcement,as well as air traffic control and pension payments,will continue to be provided.National parks will close,however,and 800,000 government workers will be laid off,crimping retail sales and tax revenue.The shutdown will untimately cost the government 300 million dollars a day,IHS calculated,and Bank of America said a two week shutdown would shave a half percent off GDP growth.*
US stock futures rose slightly,along with Asian stocks,immediately the shutdown began at the stroke of midnight Tuesday.Apparently everyone who wanted to sell the news had already done so by the time it actually happened.In the commodities markets,gold was flat and oil declined about a half percent.*
If the US Government is dysfunctional,the Japanese government is anything but.The Japanese Tankan survey showed soaring business confidence;and the Abe government announced it will raise the sales tax from 5% to 8% in April 2014,then to 10% in 2015.There will also be a 50 billion dollar stimulus package to cushion the effect of the sales tax increase.

Consultant:The Outlook for Banking-should you buy bank shares

For the next 10 years,we probably will be seeing much tighter regulations for banks,says Dino Kos of consultancy Hamiltonian Associates.The returns probably will be lower for the next decade.Regulators want to see capital cushions-and the more the better-to absorb losses,and that's gonna have an effect on return on equity. Some of the banks are shrinking,but I don't see that the industry or big banks as a whole are going to be shrinking.For banks with legacy issues,such as Bank of America with housing,it's gonna take several quarters-perhaps a number of years-to resolve them,Mr.Kos believes. Hamiltonian Associates Ltd. is a consultancy specialising in analysis of recent economic and political developments in a relevant,timely and incisive way.It has associates in New York,London and Singapore.Dino Kos is former Executive Vice President of the New York Fed. Bank of America(BAC)

Gillard Holds On To PM Post

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is unpopular with the electorate,but she still commands the loyalty of her Labour Party.Labour MPs have just given their backing for her to remain in office.
Gillard wants to get the controversial carbon tax legislation through Parliament.She has been in office since June,2010.In her favor,the Australian services industry has reported growth for the first time in four months.
According to a Bank of New Zealand survey,New Zealand business confidence has risen in September.
China's service sector Purchasing Managers Index has fallen from 59.6 in July to 57.6 in August,indicating continuing but slower growth in the sector.
Three Chinese companies are buying most of Bank of America's stake in China Construction Bank.They are joined by Singapore and Qatar sovereign wealth funds in the acquisition.
In Sydney,it was 68F on Monday under clear skies.Winds were W at 6 mph,while the humidity was 60%.

Bank of America Needs Sales Staff

Bank of America has 312 openings for sales staff nationwide,especially in the mortgage loan area.To apply,visit careers.bankofamerica.com Type "sales-all states-all positions-all travel-all shifts" into the appropriate boxes.

Big Firms:The Hiring Outlook

The Fortune 100 top companies are adding 65,000 jobs.Among them are Sears Holdings,parent of Sears and Kmart stores.They have 21,800 openings across the board,from executive to hourly positions.Lowe's,the home improvement retailer,needs 15,000 workers,many of them seasonal.Privately held New York Life is adding 3640 staff,especially sales and sales management positions.Bank of America seeks 3400 new hires for a broad assortment of assignments.
About 15 million Americans are looking for work,so the big firms won't even make a dent with their hiring.Still,it's better than layoffs and,historically,small firms have employed the bulk of the workforce.Most of the economic recovery is contingent upon small business,not the captains of industry.

Geithner Exercises His Authority

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner invoked his statutory authority last week in a letter to the U.S. Congress.Mr.Geithner notified Capitol Hill that he has extended the Troubled Asset Relief Program,or TARP,until October 3,2010.He does not expect to deploy more than 550 of the 700 billion dollar war chest,and is looking for up to 175 billion in repayments by the end of 2010.Reduced commitments will allow significant resources to pay down the national debt.
Mr.Geithner said the extension will allow continued implementation of housing and small business support programs.He anticipates recovering all but 42 billion of the 364 billion in TARP funds deployed this year.Several banks,such as Bank of America and Goldman Sachs,have already repaid their TARP allotments.Citigroup is planning the repayment of its 20 billion dollar loan from TARP.At 9%,Citi's Tier One capital ratio is the highest in the industry,indicating its ability to repay the debt,in the company's opinion.Citi will sell 17 billion in common shares,plus 3.5 billion in tangible equity units.By 2010,Citi will emerge from the pay restriction regime.

BlackRock To Enlarge

BlackRock is purchasing Barclays Global Investors,which is comprised of the iShares investment products.BGI manages about 1.5 trillion dollars-or about half the exchange-traded fund industry.When the deal is consummated,BlackRock will be the largest money manager in the world,with more than 2.7 trillion under management.That is more than the Federal Reserve manages.Consolidation of financial firms is a typical response to crises.
Barclays PLC,the British bank which owns BGI,will hold on to a 20% stake in it.BlackRock is itself part-owned by Bank of America and PNC Financial Services Group.Laurence Fink is CEO of BlackRock.