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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amy J who wrote (266566)	12/30/2005 3:13:38 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1574854

Hi Tejek, the issue is they should have done it gradually, and smarter - they never should have extended it to 2nd home investors. I think it should have served only primary home owners, as it was originally intended. I don't think they did extend it to second home investors......at least not intentionally. You have to live in the home for 2 years out of the past 5 years. For many, that can be an inconvenience. At the time, I doubt they anticipated putting interest rates at a 46 year low. Hindsight is always 20-20. Trust me, Amy, the boom in housing has little to do with the break in capital gains provided by Clinton. If breaks in the capital gains tax were driving the price of housing, it would be driving the prices in a majority of the markets and not just in ten percent of them. Btw, did you click on both links? They were different stories. Here's a third, it's interesting: money.cnn.com; Yes. I posted a similar article to McMannis. Look at the markets that are the most overvalued.........a pattern will emerge. Think sun, water, coastline, mountains and a shortage of land and/or water. And also note that nearly a third of the markets are undervalued. The fact that only you, I, Ten and McMannis on this thread find this topic very compelling should tell you something as well. Did you see my post to you the other day (I replied to your post, at the bottom of a post to John.) No, can you repost it. Thanks. ted

To: Amy J who wrote (266566)	1/4/2006 5:34:50 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574854

Amy, just the facts. Since we last spoke on this subject, I have been looking more closely at GM and Ford. Having done that, I have to say that GM's and Ford's problems now seem to be less about poor quality and 20th century design.......their quality has improved in the last 5 years and their designs are better than they once were although both have a ways to go. However, they continue to misgauge the market.....and you can't blame the unions or even the consumer on that one. How can Toyota and Honda have hybrids all ready to go and GM and Ford are no where close??? GM is still working on a battery operated car that may be ten years down the road. God knows where Ford is at......I do know this past summer they had to buy hybrid engines from Toyota. GM and Ford both have insisted on putting most of their emphasis on SUV and other gas guzzlers. Even their trucks have lost fuel economy as they 'loaded' them up, expanding their length and width. I think we're going to lose GM at this rate. I suppose everyone will continue to blame the unions but I really think this has more to do with a case of mismanagement.......after all, upper management has been fired how many times at GM during the past ten years? Big Three's Sales Slide By Nat Worden TheStreet.com Staff Reporter 1/4/2006 3:52 PM EST Click here for more stories by Nat Worden Updated from 2:49 p.m. EST Market share continued to slip away from U.S. automakers in December, according to sales reports released Wednesday. The world's largest automaker, General Motors (GM:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take), said its U.S. sales fell 10.3% to 392,041 vehicles in December. Car sales dropped 19.4%, and truck sales were down 4.9%. December marks the fifth straight monthly decline in sales for GM after summer promotions temporarily goosed its results. GM's stock shed 48% in 2005, making it the worst performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while the company's credit ratings were reduced to junk and its Asian-based competitors continued to encroach on its North American and global market shares. In addition to declining sales, GM faces spiraling health care and pension costs, rising interest payments and regulatory scrutiny of its accounting practices. Its largest supplier, Delphi, filed for bankruptcy and is locked in labor negotiations that, if unsuccessful, could strike a crippling blow at GM. Kirk Kerkorian, the Vegas mogul who bought a 9.9% stake in the automaker in May with a $31-a-share tender offer, is deep in the red, with GM's shares languishing below $20. His firm, Tracinda, has been unable to negotiate a board seat with the company. Prospects at the No. 2 U.S. automaker, Ford, aren't much brighter. The company reported that its U.S. sales of cars and trucks fell 9% in December, with gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles leading declines. Ford sold 267,881 vehicles in the month, compared with 294,270 vehicles in the same month last year. Ford shares lost 45% last year. The company's market share declined in concert with its larger counterpart, along with its credit ratings. The company also is struggling under financial obligations on a similar scale as GM. Ford plans to reveal details about its turnaround plans for 2006 later this month. Elsewhere in Detroit, DaimlerChrysler (DCX:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) reported that its U.S. vehicle sales slid 2.3%. The company sold 220,641 vehicles during the month, down from last year's 225,887. The company's U.S.-based Chrysler Group, which consists of the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge brands, posted a 4.9% decline to 189,449 vehicles. This was partly offset by a 17.2% increase in sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Soaring gas prices, particularly in the wake of a devastating hurricane season, exacerbated the sales woes of Detroit's so-called Big Three. Consumers have increasingly favored the smaller, more fuel-efficient cars championed by the likes of Toyota (TM:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take), Nissan (NSANY:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) and Honda (HMC:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take). Toyota, whose production plans indicate it could overtake GM as the world's largest automaker in 2006, posted a sturdy 8.2% gain in U.S. December sales, while Nissan recorded a 1.1% decline.