2008 Financial Thread

[the_idle_threat]

Gold paying off big today.

You're selling your gold?

Hell no.

So when exactly will gold pay off big? If you exchange it now, you just get devalued dollars, right? When are you planning to sell your gold and what do you think it will be worth then?

Now is the time for people who are holding gold to hype the shit out of it to entice late-to-the-party buyers. Pump and dump.

[Freak Out]

This shit is going to get ugly. Corporate and personal bankruptcies, bond defaults, bank failures, hedge fund meltdowns, rising food and energy prices and slowly rising unemployment. The FED is backed into a corner...catch 22 big time. Far to many people are caught in a credit trap and continue to consume more than they produce.

... human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!

And a good time to be dollar cost averaging.

Food fight!

[Freak Out]

Harvey did you say once you worked for NW? I hope this does not include you.

Northwest Air to Cut 2,500 Jobs to Blunt Fuel Costs (Update2)

By Mary Jane Credeur

July 9 (Bloomberg) -- Northwest Airlines Corp., the carrier being bought Delta Air Lines Inc., will cut 2,500 jobs to counter record fuel costs.

The reductions represent about 8.1 percent of Northwest's 31,000-person workforce. The Eagan, Minnesota-based carrier said today it will rely first on voluntary steps such as leaves to pare the number of dismissals.

Northwest's move means that U.S. carriers will shrink their payrolls by about 20,000 as they park 400 jets after jet fuel's 87 percent surge in the past year. Industrywide losses may top $13 billion in 2008, the Air Transport Association trade group has estimated.

``These reductions are the direct result of our extraordinary fuel costs,'' Chief Executive Officer Doug Steenland said in the statement.

Northwest, the sixth-largest U.S. carrier by traffic, also will begin charging $15 for the first checked bag, joining AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, the two biggest.

A $25 fee will be added to redeem frequent-flier points for domestic tickets, $50 for trans-Atlantic flights and $100 for trans-Pacific trips, Northwest said. Delta and US Airways Group Inc. charge as much as $50 to claim the mileage awards, while American has a $5 processing fee.

The new baggage and frequent-flier fees will generate $250 million to $300 million a year in additional revenue, which will ``help ease the burden of these record high oil prices,'' Steenland said in the statement.

Northwest fell 79 cents, or 11 percent, to $6.68 at 1:54 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Seating-Capacity Cuts

Northwest plans to cut its seating capacity by as much as 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter as part of its retrenchment. The airline has said it expects to complete its merger with Delta by year's end.

Details of Northwest's ``early-out programs,'' such as whether employees will get a cash payout, haven't been completed, spokeswoman Tammy Lee said. The company said all employee groups will be affected by the reductions.

Delta made cash payouts to 4,000 employees who took its voluntary buyouts, including severance that ranged from 2 to 20 weeks of salary and benefits. The Atlanta-based airline has said it expects second-quarter costs of $95 million for the buyouts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta at mcredeur@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: July 9, 2008 14:01 EDT

[Kiwon]

Harvey did you say once you worked for NW? I hope this does not include you.

Northwest Air to Cut 2,500 Jobs to Blunt Fuel Costs

I was thinking the same thing.

With the proposed Delta - Northwest merger and now NW's job cuts we hope that Harvey's job will be safe. Any updates, Harv?

[Kiwon]

Another government bailout in the works with Fannie and Freddie, sky-high gas prices, a weak dollar, the stock market the lowest its been in two years, on and on. The bad news just doesn't stop.

Of course there are many factors influencing the downturn of the US economy besides politics but as a Federal Republic we hold our representatives accountable for what takes places.

So I'm curious. Who do you hold more responsible for America's current economic problems, President Bush and the Republicans or the Congressional leaders and the Democrats?

[HowardRoark]

Another government bailout in the works with Fannie and Freddie, sky-high gas prices, a weak dollar, the stock market the lowest its been in two years, on and on. The bad news just doesn't stop.

Of course there are many factors influencing the downturn of the US economy besides politics but as a Federal Republic we hold our representatives accountable for what takes places.

So I'm curious. Who do you hold more responsible for America's current economic problems, President Bush and the Republicans or the Congressional leaders and the Democrats?

Al Greenspan.

[MJZiggy]

Another government bailout in the works with Fannie and Freddie, sky-high gas prices, a weak dollar, the stock market the lowest its been in two years, on and on. The bad news just doesn't stop.

Of course there are many factors influencing the downturn of the US economy besides politics but as a Federal Republic we hold our representatives accountable for what takes places.

So I'm curious. Who do you hold more responsible for America's current economic problems, President Bush and the Republicans or the Congressional leaders and the Democrats?

Al Greenspan.

(don't forget OPEC and China)

[Scott Campbell]

Greenspan is a pretty solid answer. You can make a pretty strong case that the cheap discount rate and lax oversight of lending rules did more to put us here than anything else.

[Kiwon]

Another government bailout in the works with Fannie and Freddie, sky-high gas prices, a weak dollar, the stock market the lowest its been in two years, on and on. The bad news just doesn't stop.

Of course there are many factors influencing the downturn of the US economy besides politics but as a Federal Republic we hold our representatives accountable for what takes places.

So I'm curious. Who do you hold more responsible for America's current economic problems, President Bush and the Republicans or the Congressional leaders and the Democrats?

Al Greenspan.

I get the Fed angle. The man held his position for over 19 years so he can't escape his share of the responsibility. (Personally, I can't fully trust anyone who would date Barbara Walters and then marry NBC journalist [if they still have those at NBC] Andrea Mitchell



I keep hearing how angry and worried the electorate is so what I was trying to get at was who does the average Packer Rat hold more personally responsible for helping to get us into this current situation, the Republicans or the Democrats?

[MJZiggy]

I'm more interested in who's gonna get us out of it and how.

[Freak Out]

The FED is really scared about what is going to happen with the markets and is making some moves to save the MACs before the morning opening. This is going to be wild.

[Freak Out]

I'm getting more pissed as I read about the MAC bailout. If the public is going to assume the risk for all those loans then things need to change starting with the hanging of all the upper management at both of them. The million dollar babies need to go. It's funny how "pleased" Congress is with the bailout plan. No shit fuckers, those sheisters dumped money into most of your campaign coffers.

[Kiwon]

Well, when you are talking about government sponsored enterprises like Fannie, Ginnie, Sallie, and Freddie you are talking about trillions of dollars in loans that the US taxpayer is on the hook for.

It is ridiculous the amounts of monies involved and the relative anonymity of the players involved which is exactly the way the politicans like it. America's future is being pissed away and next to no one even takes notice.

The lobbyists have bought and paid for so many elected officials that they know that they will escape serious scrutiny. We need a citizen's revolt led by whom I don't know but someone needs to expose this crap and get the press to do its job.

The implications of this sucession of bailouts are not being fully discussed in the halls of Washington nor in the media and instead the geniuses in D.C. demonize oil company executives over the price of oil in proceedings broadcast live. What about trillions of dollars in loans that never should have been made?

Congress is at a 9% approval rating and its disgusting to contemplate that elitist public officials doing a lousy job have sizeable control over America's financial future.

[Freak Out]

Well Dubya....you wanted more foreign investment in the US so the weak dollar didn't bother you......well it's starting to bother many Americans.

[bobblehead]

I didn't even read any of the topic ongoing in this thread, but if anyone wants a rock solid play for a shakey market right now IBM ordinary shares should have a very solid year with minimal risk. I don't generally get into recommending single stocks, but IBM is making some really strong moves.