Economy:1-1-09 Microsoft planning big layoffs for January?

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Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Originally posted by: Yoxxy
We put up 700B as far as I remember. We held some of the assets for 7 years to actually make a profit.

So we made the entire 700B back and then some?
 

The-Noid

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2005
3,117
4
76
Through capital gains, asset appreciation, job creation, absolutely.

The S and L crisis would have costs trillions in lost tax revenue had their not been a backstop.
 

glugglug

Diamond Member
Jun 9, 2002
5,340
1
81
Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
Market up 410 today. Looks like the end of the world has been temporarily postponed.

I hope that doesn't prompt suicidal thoughts in some of our doom & gloom AT regulars.

Look at the reason its up today.

The government is taking over bad debt. That means its now the government (taxpayers) bad debt, which will be paid off by simply printing more $$$$.

So while FDIC might stay afloat and you can be insured for $100,000 on your bank account, that $100,000 may or may not be enough to afford a big mac next year.

The market being up 4% today is an illusion. What actually happened is the dollar dropped at least 4% on the news - the index values haven't gone up.
 

alchemize

Lifer
Mar 24, 2000
11,486
0
0
Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
Originally posted by: senseamp
I love how the people think we can indefinitely escape the consequences of our own stupidity and denial by even more stupidity and denial.
Escape? I haven't seen a person here claiming we can do so such a thing. Can we overcome these problems? Sure. We've been through worst in the past. This doesn't appear to be even as bad as the S&L debacle let alone others we've been through.

It's all so tiresome. People have been proclaiming for millenia that the end of days are near. It's as if there's a genetic diposition within us to have a few that must broadcast woe unto us. The internet is just a more public voice for them, so we get them in here too. The internet is the new sandwich board, with cheese and special sauce added.
I think he was talking about Dave ;)

 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
For years I have said Short Selling is criminal.

For years I have been rebuffed that it is not.

Today the SEC agress with me it is criminal.

9-19-2008 SEC bans short-selling

Cox, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress.

A recent wave of the market maneuvers ? where traders seek to profit by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop ? has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.

The SEC said its action calls a time-out to aggressive short-selling in financial stocks and said it would consider measures to address short-selling in other publicly traded companies.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.

Short-selling, in a normal market, contributes to efficiency while adding liquidity to the markets. But now, the SEC said, it appears that "unbridled" short-selling was contributing to the sudden price declines in the securities of financial institutions.


 

Engineer

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
39,230
701
126
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
For years I have said Short Selling is criminal.

For years I have been rebuffed that it is not.

Today the SEC agress with me it is criminal.

9-19-2008 SEC bans short-selling

Cox, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress.

A recent wave of the market maneuvers ? where traders seek to profit by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop ? has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.

The SEC said its action calls a time-out to aggressive short-selling in financial stocks and said it would consider measures to address short-selling in other publicly traded companies.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.

Short-selling, in a normal market, contributes to efficiency while adding liquidity to the markets. But now, the SEC said, it appears that "unbridled" short-selling was contributing to the sudden price declines in the securities of financial institutions.

Per CNBC, it's not all companies that are banned on the short selling list. It's alot of banks both national and regional along with many other financial institutions.

 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: Engineer
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
For years I have said Short Selling is criminal.

For years I have been rebuffed that it is not.

Today the SEC agress with me it is criminal.

9-19-2008 SEC bans short-selling

Cox, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress.

A recent wave of the market maneuvers ? where traders seek to profit by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop ? has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.

The SEC said its action calls a time-out to aggressive short-selling in financial stocks and said it would consider measures to address short-selling in other publicly traded companies.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.

Short-selling, in a normal market, contributes to efficiency while adding liquidity to the markets. But now, the SEC said, it appears that "unbridled" short-selling was contributing to the sudden price declines in the securities of financial institutions.

Per CNBC, it's not all companies that are banned on the short selling list. It's alot of banks both national and regional along with many other financial institutions.



Yes, I bolded the financial part, they have to get off the fence.

It's either legal for all or not.

This is bullshit.
 

LegendKiller

Lifer
Mar 5, 2001
18,256
68
86
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: Engineer
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
For years I have said Short Selling is criminal.

For years I have been rebuffed that it is not.

Today the SEC agress with me it is criminal.

9-19-2008 SEC bans short-selling

Cox, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress.

A recent wave of the market maneuvers ? where traders seek to profit by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop ? has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.

The SEC said its action calls a time-out to aggressive short-selling in financial stocks and said it would consider measures to address short-selling in other publicly traded companies.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.

Short-selling, in a normal market, contributes to efficiency while adding liquidity to the markets. But now, the SEC said, it appears that "unbridled" short-selling was contributing to the sudden price declines in the securities of financial institutions.

Per CNBC, it's not all companies that are banned on the short selling list. It's alot of banks both national and regional along with many other financial institutions.



Yes, I bolded the financial part, they have to get off the fence.

It's either legal for all or not.

This is bullshit.


Short selling isn't illegal, nor should it be. In normal times it aids in price discovery. However, it can be abused, which I think it has been.

Stop with your bullshit though, Dave.
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,811
126
Today the govt has declared martial law on the financial market. So much for free market bullsh*t. It's only free market when it works for them. All profits from the past years and all bonuses and wages should be returned. Patient investor who sidestepped this mess gets screwed again. Way to reward the undisciplined and the reckless asshats.
 

LegendKiller

Lifer
Mar 5, 2001
18,256
68
86
Originally posted by: Naustica
Today the govt has declared martial law on the financial market. So much for free market bullsh*t. It's only free market when it works for them. All profits from the past years and all bonuses and wages should be returned. Patient investor who sidestepped this mess gets screwed again. Way to reward the undisciplined and the reckless asshats.

Blah blah blah. "free markets" don't mean..."free to slit your own risk".
 

BansheeX

Senior member
Sep 10, 2007
348
0
0
Holy crap, I actually agree with LK on something. Naked short selling is bad, but if you're going to blame regular short sellers, you may as well blame the longs for not having enough confidence in the stock to take the other side of the bet. This is merely an overreaction, a desperate move by a person trying to save his job to make it look like he is combating some kind of enemy. Speculators have been the most popular scapegoat for government since... a long time. Notice how no one in congress praises short selling when it drives commodities down. It's just a scapegoat when the bets aren't going their way. It's just hilarity watching these clueless tards try and justify themselves to the public.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Interesting how France owns up the the fact they have hit a Recession immediately.

10-3-2008 Economy in U.S. Will See Long, Harsh Recession, Zuckerman Says Economy in U.S. Will See Long, Harsh Recession, Zuckerman Says

The U.S. should brace for ``the worst and longest recession since the end of World War II,'' Boston Properties Inc. Chairman Mortimer Zuckerman said.

``Where we are is in this extraordinary double bubble of financial crunch and housing crunch, and we are not at the bottom,'' Zuckerman said at a meeting with investors today. ``Nobody knows where the bottom is.''

Boston Properties bought the General Motors Building and three other midtown towers earlier this year ``at a price which was 20 to 25 percent below what it would have been'' a year before, he said.


10-3-2008 France officially falls into recession

French officials said Friday the country's economy had posted consecutive quarters of contraction, putting the French economy into a technical recession.

The National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies said the French economy contracted 0.3 percent in the second quarter and would shrink by 0.1 percent in both the third and fourth quarters of the year, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

The French Finance Ministry confirmed the news. "Finance Minister Christine Lagarde now regards the risk of negative growth in autumn for the second quarter in a row as real."

A recession is defined as at least two consecutive quarters of contraction.
 

Firebot

Golden Member
Jul 10, 2005
1,476
2
0
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Originally posted by: Engineer
Originally posted by: dmcowen674
For years I have said Short Selling is criminal.

For years I have been rebuffed that it is not.

Today the SEC agress with me it is criminal.

9-19-2008 SEC bans short-selling

Cox, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke held a closed-door meeting Thursday night with members of Congress.

A recent wave of the market maneuvers ? where traders seek to profit by selling unowned shares of companies in the anticipation their prices will drop ? has been blamed in part for the demise of venerable investment firm Lehman Brothers and other big companies.

The SEC said its action calls a time-out to aggressive short-selling in financial stocks and said it would consider measures to address short-selling in other publicly traded companies.

The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest pension fund, said that starting Thursday it is no longer lending out shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley, joining a growing number of public pension funds that are attempting to curb short-selling of two investment banks' stocks.

Short-selling, in a normal market, contributes to efficiency while adding liquidity to the markets. But now, the SEC said, it appears that "unbridled" short-selling was contributing to the sudden price declines in the securities of financial institutions.

Per CNBC, it's not all companies that are banned on the short selling list. It's alot of banks both national and regional along with many other financial institutions.



Yes, I bolded the financial part, they have to get off the fence.

It's either legal for all or not.

This is bullshit.

The bulls are the ones who created this bubble fiasco and overflated market to begin with, not the short sellers. The short sellers are the only one profiting right now though. It was the exact same with the ridiculous tech bubble inflating the worth of companies that never even had a product.

Short selling is perfectly fine and keeps the market in check. Naked short selling is a different story.
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
Wow

About to lose an entire Country.

What happens to these 320,000 people?

Anyone see the common theme?

I'll bold it below for the MRR's.

10-7-2008 Iceland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy

REYKJAVIK, Iceland - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown.

Home to just 320,000 people on a territory the size of Kentucky

Everything is closed. We couldn't sell our stock or take money from the bank," said Johann Sigurdsson as he left a branch of Landsbanki in downtown Reykjavik.

The government had earlier announced it had nationalized the bank under emergency laws enacted to deal with the crisis.

"We have been forced to take decisive action to save the country," Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde said of those sweeping new powers that allow the government to take over companies, limit the authority of boards, and call shareholder meetings.

A full-blown collapse of Iceland's financial system would send shock waves across Europe, given the heavy investment by Icelandic banks and companies across the continent.

One of Iceland's biggest companies, retailing investment group Baugur, owns or has stakes in dozens of major European retailers ? including enough to make it the largest private company in Britain, where it owns a handful of stores such as the famous toy store Hamley's.

Kaupthing, Iceland's largest bank and one of those whose share trading was suspended last week to stop a huge sell-off, has also invested in European retail groups.

Thousands of Britons have accounts with Icesave, the online arm of Landsbanki that regulators said was likely to file for bankruptcy after it stopped permitting customers to withdraw money from their accounts Tuesday.

Iceland's reinvention from the poor cousin in Europe to one of the region's wealthiest countries dates to the deregulation of the banking industry and the creation of the domestic stock market in the mid-1990s.
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Yesterday (?) The icelandic native currency dropped 30% of its value. Definitely a bad situation for them. I hope it doesn't hit us that severely. Wow, this sure is happening quickly now that we're all completely on board with it and can no longer deny that we're in a bad way.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
Are you saying that Iceland's financial problems are our fault? Are we supposed to prop up their economy too DuhMcowen? :confused:
 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
10-8-2008 Sheriff in Ill. county won't evict in foreclosures

CHICAGO - Residents of foreclosed properties in Chicago and other parts of Cook County don't have to worry about deputies forcing them out. Sheriff Tom Dart says that starting Thursday his office won't take part in evictions.

Dart says he's concerned that many of the people being evicted are renters who were unaware that their landlords have been failing to pay their mortgages. He says his deputies have no way of knowing whether they're removing someone who has defaulted on a loan or someone who has been faithfully paying rent.

Dart says he thinks he's the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop such evictions during the ongoing foreclosure crisis.

 

dmcowen674

No Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
54,889
47
91
www.alienbabeltech.com
STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS

Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman said
the company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will
let the stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next
month

Eddie Bauer to close more stores
Eddie Bauer has already closed 27 shops in the fir st quarter and
plans to close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.

Cache closing stores
Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores
this year.

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide
The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus
Sizes will close about 150 underperforming stores this year.
The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and
can't say when it will offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry
said today.

Talbots, J. Jill closing stores
About a month ago, Talbots announced that it will be shuttering all
78 of its kids and men's store s. Now the company says it will close
another 22 underperforming stores.. The 22 stores will be a mix of
Talbots women's and J. Jill , another chain it owns. The closures
will occur this fiscal year, according to a company press release.

Gap Inc. closing 85 stores
In addition to its namesake chain, Gap also owns Old Navy and Banana
Republic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal
2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap brand.

Foot Locker to close 140 stores
In the company press release and during its conference call with
analysts today, it did not specify where the future store closures -
all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be
immediately reached for comment

Wickes is going out of business
Wickes Furniture is going out of business and closing all of its
stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old retailer that targets middle-income
customers, filed for bankruptcy protection last month.

Goodbye Levitz / BOMBAY - closed already
The furniture retailer, which is going out of business. Levitz first
announced it was going out of business and closing all 76 of its
stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard
Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA. In the
1960s, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the forefr
ont of the furniture industry. The local Levitz closures will follow
the shutdown of Bombay

Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores
The owner of Zales and Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to
close 82 stores by July 31. Today, it announced that it is closing
another 23 underperforming stores. The company said it's n ot pro
viding a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations
planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.

Disney Store owner has the right to close 98 stores The Walt Disney
Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from
subsidiaries of The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number
of stores acquired will depend on negotiations with landlords. Those
subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for bankruptcy protection in
late March. Walt Disney in the news release said it has also
obtained the
right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press release
didn't list those stores.

Home Depot store closings (E. Brunswick, Rt 18 just put up their
closing sign)
ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were
no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, The Home Depot
Inc. announced Thursday that it is shuttering 15 of them amid a
slumping U.S. economy and housing market . The move will affect
1,300 employees. It is the first time the world's largest home
improvement store chain has ever closed a flagship store for
performance reasons. Its shares rose almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-
based company said the underperforming U.S.stores being closed
represent less than 1 percent of its existing stores. They will be
shuttered within the next two months.

CompUSA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings Any extended
warranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by
a third-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks,
and rebates purchased prior to Dec ember 12 can be redeemed at any
time during the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in
for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the
gadget will be returned to owners.
http://www.news. com/8301- 10784_3-9834177- 7html
<http://www.news. com/8301- 10784_3-9834177- 7.html>

Macy's - 9 stores

Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit
bankruptcyThe video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 Movie
Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations the
video rental chain closed last fall.

Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores

Pep Boys - 33 stores

Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse
appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the
thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on
4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000
postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a
tot al of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last
year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while
remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its
headquarters in Kansas . Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or
nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.

J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back

Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of
300+
stores in an effort to cut costs.

Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores

Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review of
strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four
underperforming Demo stores closed last May.

Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection
and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer
will still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these
stores have performed poorly and also may close.

Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) The company unveiled
plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The
company's online storefront has discontinued operations.

KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is closing around the
United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the
list of s tore closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and
click on Press Information

Dillard's to Close More Stores
Dillard's Inc. said it will continue to focus on closing
underperforming stores, reducing expenses and improving its
merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder meeting,
CEO William Dillard II said the company will close another six
underperforming stores this year.

10-17-2008 Mervyn's says it will liquidate all stores

"We are disappointed with this outcome but the company's declining liquidity position and the extremely challenging retail environment, together with the fact that we have exhausted all other possibilities, requires that we take this action," said John Goodman, chief executive of Mervyns.

The 59-year old retail chain has been struggling to keep in business in the midst of a nationwide financial crisis.

 

GoPackGo

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 2003
6,531
605
126
The Credit boom caused the retail store boom.

As credit contracts, so will retail stores.

Did you know K-Mart is emphasizing that they are the last nationwide store that still has lay-away?
 
Oct 30, 2004
11,442
32
91

Sounds like we'll be seeing lots of empty storefronts in the malls soon. I guess that sort of thing can happen to your nation's economy when you send manufacturing jobs and college-education-requiring jobs overseas, when you hire foreigners on H-1B and L-1 visas to displace Americans from college-education-requiring jobs at home, and when you import millions of impoverished immigrants, both legally and illegally, to displace Americans from lower-middle class construction jobs and meatpacking jobs. Good job free market dogmatists.
 
Oct 30, 2004
11,442
32
91
Originally posted by: GoPackGoDid you know K-Mart is emphasizing that they are the last nationwide store that still has lay-away?

I have no idea how Kmart continues to survive and compete with Target and Walmart.