Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kailuabruddah who wrote (23791)	2/17/2005 12:06:40 PM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

Greenspan comments on Social Security please Bush - Thursday, February 17, 2005 4:10:20 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) - President Bush on Thursday said Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's cautious endorsement of the White House's call to add private investment accounts to Social Security showed that the central banker recognized the entitlement program's long-term financing woes Greenspan "understands we have about $11 trillion of debt owed to future generations" and that policymakers "better do something about it now," Bush said at a White House news conference Greenspan on Wednesday backed the concept of private accounts, but urged a cautious approach to the transition, saying it was unclear how financial markets would react to trillions of dollars in required borrowing "If you are going to move to private accounts, which I approve of, I think you have to do it in a cautious and gradual way," Greenspan said, in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. Critics of the Bush proposal, which would require $754 billion in borrowing between 2009 and 2015 and trillions more in coming decades, contend that the entitlement program's future obligations are likely to be viewed less onerously than the burden created by the actual borrowing required to fund the transition to private accounts Greenspan "stated that a large increase in the national debt of as much as one to two trillion dollars, which is the minimum the President's plan would require, would be problematic for the nation and our economy," said Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J Bush's outline for private accounts would see workers divert up to four percent of wages, or nearly two-thirds of their share of payroll taxes, into private accounts. In order to continue paying benefits to current and future beneficiaries, the government would have to borrow trillions of dollars in coming decades. The White House has also indicated it would require cuts in guaranteed benefits in order to bring the system into balance over the long haul. Supporters of the president's approach argue that private accounts would give workers the opportunity to make up for the cuts in the traditional benefit, while opponents say that would be a tall order Bush said he still has much work to do to convince lawmakers that Social Security requires an overhaul and vowed to continue barnstorming the country to build support for the plan at campaign-style events Bush earlier this week told regional newspaper reporters that he would be open to lifting the cap on income subject to the Social Security payroll tax to help pay the transition costs associated with establishing private investment accounts Bush said he would not bar raising the $90,000 cap, but remained adamant that the payroll tax rate must not go up "The one thing I'm not open-minded about is raising the payroll tax rate. And all the other issues go on the table," Bush said in the interview, according to an account in published in Wednesday's New Haven (Conn.) Register Some Republican lawmakers have urged Bush to boost the cap, arguing that the borrowing required otherwise would make the effort to add accounts politically unfeasible Bush had previously insisted that payroll taxes must not rise, but the White House had been coy about whether that applied to the cap The Social Security system is funded by a 12.4 percent payroll tax - split evenly between employers and employees -- on every worker's first $90,000 of annual income. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has urged the White House to consider raising the cap as high as $200,000 The Social Security program now runs a surplus, but its trustees estimate the system will see a negative cash flow beginning in 2018 amid the oncoming wave of Baby Boomer retirements. By 2042, they estimate the system will have exhausted Treasury bonds held by the trust fund, forcing across-the-board cuts in benefits. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the trust fund will be exhausted in 2052

To: kailuabruddah who wrote (23791)	2/17/2005 12:09:32 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

U.S. January leading indicators fall 0.3% - Thursday, February 17, 2005 3:52:04 PM afxpress.com WASHINGTON (AFX) -- Momentum in the U.S. economy slowed in January, the Conference Board reported Thursday. The board's index of leading economic indicators fell 0.3 percent, while the coincident index was unchanged Economists expected the leading index to fall 0.2 percent, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. The leading index increased an upwardly revised 0.3 percent in December Four of the 10 leading indicators advanced in January, led by the factory workweek, money supply, building permits and new orders for core capital goods. Five of the indicators declined, led by supplier deliveries, consumer expectations, stock prices, interest rates and new orders for consumer goods. Jobless claims were unchanged. "The picture at the start of 2005 is positive, but more spotty than robust," said Ken Goldstein, economist for the Conference Board, an independent business-research group. While oil prices and the weaker dollar have taken "some steam out of the recovery," he said. "But the larger concern remains cautious attitudes." In other reports released Thursday, the Labor Department said first-time jobless claims fell to a 4-year low of 302,000 last week. Also, import prices rose 0.9 percent in January, led by a 4.6 percent rise in petroleum prices.

To: kailuabruddah who wrote (23791)	2/17/2005 3:46:02 PM
From: John Vosilla	Respond to of 116555

the disconnect between those stocks and the homebuilders is pretty noteworthy... in other words, one of those groups is going to be wrong... Also of note most small caps just got destroyed so far year to date even though many are already down to multyear lows. You are left with energy and natural resources, housing, financials, and large caps. Interesting also to see the disconnect between the Countrywide and Bank America's of the world and most subprime lenders.