Coalition Fights Food Taxes

President Barack Obama has promised that health care reform will be deficit-neutral.A coalition of trade groups,businesses,unions and other organizations,as well as individuals,have banded together to resist proposed new taxes on food and beverages to partially fund the reform.In an open letter to the U.S. Congress,the coalition said they support the reform,but new taxes on food and beverages,especially those that single out a single product such as juice and soda,have no place in it.Such taxes,they say,will only burden working families already struggling in the trying economy.They will not make people healthier,teach children healthier lifestyles or change anyone's behavior.Only education and support for physical activity programs will do that.
Among those signing the letter were the National Taxpayers Union,the U.S. Chamber of Commerce,the League of United Latin American Citizens,the American Beverage Association,the National Retail Federation,Teamsters Local Union 812(New York,NY),the Pennsylvania Restaurant Association and the Wisconsin Grocers Association.The coalition,known as Americans Against Food Taxes,consists of nearly 400 groups,businesses and organizations,plus 60,000 individuals.

NYSE/Euronext Sheds Business

NYSE/Euronext,parent of the New York Stock Exchange,is selling its old AMEX options business to key liquidity providers,according to CEO Duncan Niederauer.NYSE/Euronext has an 8-9% share of options trading.Options are rights or obligations to buy or sell something,such as stocks,at a certain price,within a specific time frame.Mr.Niederauer says they see more initial public offerings,or IPOs,in the NYSE's future.The IPO pipeline is healthier than it's been in a while.IPO listing is considered an important indicator of economic vibrancy and the strength of a financial center such as New York.
On the other hand,we've had a 50% run-up in stocks since March,Mr.Niederauer pointed out,but the economy is not keeping up with the market right now.Every business leader he's spoken to said that.Is the market now ready to take on more supply in the form of these IPOs?Hopefully the market is the leader it always was.The challenge is,is there too much exchange consolidation?You're gonna see us do smaller deals in the next few months,Duncan Niederauer indicated.Mr.Niederauer had worked at Goldman Sachs for many years.

Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

Prostate cancer is highlighted in September.It is so prevalent,the numbers speak.In the U.S.,192,000 new cases will occur this year,and 27,000 men will die from it.One in six men will contract the disease in their lifetime;one in 35 will die of it.Of those who get it,63% are over 65.If men live to 60,6-7% of them will develop prostate cancer by the time they are 70.Those who contract the illness before age 65 are more likely to die from it.In older men,it grows so slowly,they will probably die of something else.
Obesity and heredity are factors in prostate cancer's occurrence.African American men are especially prone to it.Screening for prostate cancer consists of the PSA blood test,and possibly a digital rectal exam,or DRE.Ultrasound and biopsy are used to diagnose this cancer if the initial screening is positive.Treatments range from surgery to radiation to hormone therapy.Some choose not to treat it at all,but undergo a regimen of regular testing instead,to make sure it isn't getting out of hand.The treatments are less burdensome than they used to be,although considerable discomfort may be expected.

Philly Fed Chief Reflects

Charles Plosser,President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia,has been analyzing the problems in the economy.Our survey in Philadelphia shows manufacturers are more optimistic,Mr.Plosser said.Unemployment is clearly the big problem.The other issue that we're waiting to worry about is commercial real estate.The exit strategy for the Federal Reserve is quite simple:we have to shrink our balance sheet,or we could be setting the fires of inflation in the next year or two.Monetary policy works with some fairly long lags,and that means we have to look toward the future,making some politically undesirable decisions,Mr.Plosser observed.
Credit is not flowing at the easy rate it was a few years ago.That's gonna take some time.It's a balancing act between the demand for credit,and the supply of credit.In 2010,we will see the economy gaining traction,but there are still some risks out there,such as commercial real estate-also with fiscal policy.
We've had a very massive shock to this economy.The idea it's going back to where it was before is probably not true.There will perhaps not be the strong rebound we sometimes see after a recession,Mr.Plosser suggested.He was formerly an economics professor at the University of Rochester and a visiting scholar at the Bank of England.

Early Edition:AmEx As An Investment

As of the close of trading Friday,American Express shares were at 32.84,down 1.40.Their 52-week range was 9.71-41.80,so they have made up a lot of lost ground since the market's March low.AmEx's price/earnings ratio was 26,which is relatively cheap for a credit card firm,while its dividend was comparatively high,at 2.2%.Barclays Capital favors it as being among those with a declining default rate and prospects for improved earnings over the medium term.
Besides its core credit card business,AmEx offers deposit accounts and prints checks.It has extensive ties with the travel industry as well,offering special deals with a number of cruise line partners.Its brand is among the most prominent and prestigious worldwide,which in itself gets AmEx on many portfolio short lists.

Health Uncle:Vaccination Update

Novartis has reported that its version of the H1N1 vaccine is very effective.It only requires one dose,rather than two as was anticipated.In any event,given the projected initial scarcity of the vaccines,a priority list for vaccination has been established by the Centers for Disease Control.The list is as follows:children 6 months to four years;children 5-18 years;those of any age who are pregnant,live with or care for children younger than 6 months,or are health care or emergency services workers.Once those groups have been vaccinated,everyone age 25-64 should be vaccinated.
Vaccination schedules for regular flu shots are already being posted,so check with your local health department for that information.

The Final Demand Question

Mohamed El-Erian,co-CEO and co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO,says what we have in the market right now is a sugar high.It is caused by 1.the impact of the inventory cycle,but will we get a hand-off to final demand by the consumer? and 2.a tremendous amount of liquidity missed the rally and is coming in now.When we get personal consumption and retail sales numbers-these are critical numbers.
Unfortunately,Mr.El-Erian noted,there is a lack of excitement about the upcoming G20 summit in Pittsburgh,which is concerning.I hope we're gonna jump-start this whole summit process.We at PIMCO have positioned ourselves more cautiously in higher quality assets around the world.Asset prices reflect a lot about this third hand-off to final demand,which the data don't reflect yet.Up till 2019,the debt-to-GDP ratio is gonna continue to go up.The dollar is gonna weaken.It's part of the global rebalancing.The question is whether it will do this in a disorderly fashion.Without intervention or coordination,the risk of this is high,Mohamed El-Erian cautioned.