Obama the Analyst
Stocks are trading higher today on rumors that China may release a new economic stimulus package soon.
At 1:35 pm ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is up 6.46, or 1.79%, at 367.47. The Dow is up 2.09% at 6,866.44, and the S&P 500 is up 2.03% at 710.45.
The Obama administration released a foreclosure prevention program today that also helped buoy stocks higher. The $75 billion plan targets 9 million borrowers, and aims to help more homeowners refinance into lower interest rates, and offers incentives to lenders to restructure mortgages to affordable levels.
ADP Employer services reported this morning that private employers cut 697,000 jobs in February versus a revised 614,000 jobs lost in January. The January job cuts were originally reported at 522,000.
Small caps on the move this afternoon include Toreador Resources Corporation (Nasdaq:TRGL), up nearly 30% after completing its Black Sea assets sale. DryShips (Nasdaq:DRYS) is 33% higher after announcing an update of its sale and purchase activities, and ADC Telecommunications (Nasdaq:ADCT) is flying 22% higher after reporting Q1 results and announcing it will cut 600 jobs.
Obama the Analyst
President Obama said stocks look like a good buy here, if you have a long-term perspective. Thanks for that, I feel much better now.
*****As much time as Fed Chief Bernanke spends before Congress, it's amazing he gets any work done.
I have to say, I'm starting to like Bernanke. His forthright talk is certainly a refreshing change from Greenspan's garbled speech. Yesterday, he expressed his feelings about all the bailouts. From Bloomberg:
"If there is a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can't think of one other than AIG," Bernanke said. "AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system, there was no oversight of the financial-products division, this was a hedge fund basically that was attached to a large and stable insurance company."
AIG "made huge numbers of irresponsible bets, took huge losses, there was no regulatory oversight because there was a gap in the system," Bernanke said. At the same time, officials "had no choice but to try and stabilize the system" by aiding the firm.
If I were former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg, I'd be nervous. And I think he is. He's suing AIG for misrepresenting its health, even though he was CEO until 2005. And he's suing to keep his testimony about the off-balance sheet mess that led to his dismissal by the Board of Directors.
*****Stocks are finally showing some life today. Let's hope it holds.
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As always, I'd love to hear from you. Got any thoughts on "Obama the stock analyst"? An opinion on AIG? Or just want to catch up? Drop me a line at editorial@247investor.com.
