Does America really want a change?

[homedawg]

Schwarzenegger: $4.4B in tax hikes


Nov 6 02:27 PM US/Eastern



SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed $4.4 billion in tax increases and billions more in spending cuts to close California's worsening budget deficit, declaring: "We must stop the bleeding."

Schwarzenegger on Thursday called for a special session of the state Legislature to address a deficit that has grown to $11.2 billion, just six weeks after he signed the budget for the current fiscal year.

He said the state's economic condition has deteriorated significantly since then, with a cratering stock market and the continued decline of the housing industry.

California's budget relies greatly on capital gains taxes, which have dropped precipitously in recent months along with swooning stock prices. Sales and property taxes also have declined.

He said lawmakers will not be able to close the budget gap with cuts alone. He proposed a temporary 1.5 percent sales tax increase and other "revenue generators."

[homedawg]

Las Vegas Sands Plunges on Default, Bankruptcy Risk

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Las Vegas Sands Corp., billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, fell the most in New York trading since going public after saying it may default on debt and face bankruptcy.

The casino owner, which had $8.8 billion in long-term debt at the end of June, said in a regulatory filing today that it probably won't meet the requirements of loans arranged by Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. unless it cuts spending on developments, boosts earnings at its Las Vegas Strip casinos and raises more capital.

The reversal of fortune is a black eye for the 75-year-old Adelson, who was once America's third-richest man on the strength of his Las Vegas Sands holdings. The Las Vegas-based company's dwindling cash flow is threatening $16 billion worth of developments in Macau, China, and Singapore, where Las Vegas Sands is building resorts to cater to wealthy Asian gamblers.

``They need to raise money,'' said Keith Foley, a New York- based analyst at Moody's Investors Service Inc. ``It's getting to the point where they need to do something now.''

The shares dropped $3.81, or 33 percent, to $7.85 at 4:04 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest decline since its initial share sale in December 2004. Las Vegas Sands had tumbled 91 percent before today this year as investors dumped the stock, worried that falling casino winnings and the global financial meltdown would leave the company without enough cash.

More Capital

Spending declines on the Vegas Strip and restrictions on visas in Macau have stemmed the flow of cash into Las Vegas Sands. Today's admission comes after Adelson, who holds a stake of more than 64 percent, invested an additional $475 million in September to avoid violating the terms of a loan, and hired an unidentified investment bank to raise more capital with his help.

Las Vegas Sands' rush to raise capital ``points to the deterioration of fundamentals, not just for the company, the fundamentals of Las Vegas,'' said Dennis Farrell, a debt analyst with Wachovia Capital Markets LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The casino owner said it doesn't expect to meet a maximum leverage ratio covenant in the fourth quarter. That would trigger defaults that might force it to suspend development projects and ``raise a substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.''

``Sheldon still has considerable resources, and we doubt he will sit on the sidelines and watch LVS go bankrupt,'' Robert LaFleur at Susquehanna Financial Group LLLP, said today in a client note he titled ``Scary Post-Halloween 8-K Filing.'' ``The question is how much dry powder does he have, and what can he do?''

Deep Pockets

In a July conference call, Adelson suggested he would step in to help the company with any financing it might need, saying a friend described him as ``the tallest person I know when you stand on your wallet.''

``And I'm saying right now, the company will not have liquidity problems,'' he said at the time.

Ron Reese, a spokesman for Adelson, didn't return an e-mail seeking an interview.

Las Vegas Sands made a filing with regulators today to allow it to quickly sell stocks or bonds if it finds investors.

``The offering shows what their intent is, but it doesn't mean they'll be successful,'' said Foley. ``How and when is uncertain, and their ability to successfully do that is uncertain.''

Adelson founded the Comdex computer expo in 1979, later selling the business and using the proceeds to build the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

U.S. Projects

He is also building a $600 million condominium in Vegas and a $600 million casino resort in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The risk of default applies to some of Sands' U.S. unit loans.

``It would be prohibitively expensive to raise outside debt capital at this time,'' said Farrell. The company will probably sell more stock, which would hurt existing shareholders including Adelson.

Other alternatives might be another investment from Adelson, an injection of cash from an outside investor or a loan from foreign banks, said Farrell.

The filing, which affects its U.S. unit's debt, sparked new concerns that Las Vegas Sands won't finish Singapore's first casino or a 20,000-room complex of hotels and casinos in Macau. The Chinese territory overtook the Vegas Strip as the world's biggest gambling market in 2006.

`Other Alternatives'

Should Sands fail to raise capital, ``we would need to immediately suspend portions, if not all, of our ongoing global development projects and consider other alternatives,'' the company said in the filing.

Las Vegas Sands owns the Venetian and Palazzo casino resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, plus the Macau Venetian, Sands and Four Seasons, and had expected sufficient earnings from the properties to fund its expansion and pay loans.

Las Vegas Strip casino gambling revenue slid 6.7 percent this year through August, on track for its biggest annual decline on record, as airlines cut back capacity and consumers, battling declining home values, job losses and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, spent less.

China increased visa restrictions on some mainland residents traveling to Macau, causing casino gambling revenue in the former Portuguese colony to fall to 26 billion patacas ($3.28 billion) in the third quarter from 28.9 billion patacas in the second.

Adelson plans to sell Sands' Four Seasons apartment hotel in Macau as a co-operative and wants to sell the attached mall space.

[homedawg]

Just 2 days after the Obama win, we have a Snowball Effect.

[homedawg]

Economic downturn hits Disney, shares slide


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The global economic downturn hit Walt Disney Co's quarterly results harder and faster than Wall Street expected, with the company on Thursday reporting a sharp decline in hotel bookings and softness in advertising revenue at its networks.

Disney's shares slid 9 percent in extended trade but recovered a bit after executives announced plans to discount stays at Walt Disney World to stimulate bookings in the first half of 2009.

"Consumer confidence is the lowest we've seen in over three decades, and even the best product out there is feeling the effect," Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger told analysts on a conference call.

Disney's dour view came hours after U.S. retail chains posted their worst October sales results in more than 30 years as consumers cut spending sharply in the face of a financial crisis that has derailed the U.S. economy.

On the call, Iger said senior executives were looking at ways to cut costs companywide. "Significant savings will be delivered," he said.

The news came as the No. 2 U.S. entertainment company reported a 13 percent decline in quarterly net income due in part to a bad debt charge. Revenue, however, topped Wall Street analysts' estimates.

"We kind of expected a rapid deceleration, but this is even worse than even we or investors were expecting ... in its severity and in how fast this is affecting them," Pali Capital analyst Rich Greenfield said of the theme parks results.

Disney reported net earnings of $760 million, or 40 cents per share, down from net earnings of $877 million, or 44 cents per share in last year's fourth quarter.

Excluding items, Disney posted earnings of 43 per share. On that basis, analysts had been expecting earnings of 49 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 6 percent to $9.45 billion from $8.93 billion a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected revenue of $9.33 billion for the quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

A TOUGHER MARKETPLACE

Disney said the advertising climate had softened the performance of its cable and broadcast networks in the fourth quarter, and that its U.S. theme parks and resorts suffered under higher labor and fuel costs.

Executives said attendance at Disney's U.S. theme parks is down 1 percent so far in the current quarter and that bookings for the first two quarters of fiscal 2009 are down "a little under 10 percent" from last year.

"We are seeing a marketplace that is clearly tougher than it was in fiscal year 2008 and our ability to predict is very limited," Iger said.

He added, however, that consumers may be taking "a wait and see approach" to booking vacations next year. Typically, Disney said, consumers plan vacations 10 to 12 weeks in advance.

Caris & Co analyst David Miller saw a positive note in the fact that bookings in the current quarter were down just 1 percent versus last year's record attendance.

"People thought attendance would be down much harder," Miller said. "I think the stock price is reflecting Armageddon at the parks. Of course the parks are going to slow, but is that deserving of $20 a share?"

Shares of Disney fell 4.7 percent to $21.73 after closing down 5.9 percent at $22.81 on Thursday.

The company has seen its share price fall nearly 25 percent since its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 27, as the Dow Jones Industrial average declined about 20 percent.

Disney's theme parks showed a 7 percent increase in revenue during the most recent quarter, helped by higher guest spending. But operating profit at the unit fell 4 percent due to higher labor costs at Walt Disney World and increased fuel costs at the Disney Cruise Line.

Media networks showed 4 percent revenue growth but flat operating profit in the quarter due to lower advertising revenue at its broadcast unit and on higher costs for TV pilots and coverage of the U.S. presidential election.

Pricing for spot advertising was running low double-digit percentages ahead of last year's first quarter, Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs said. Ad sales for the first quarter were down at ESPN, as auto and electronics companies spend less on advertising, but up "nicely" at ABC Family, he said.

SEES RETAIL SPENDING DOWN

Consumer products, the bright spot in Disney's earnings report, saw its revenue rise 41 percent and profits jump 14 percent, driven by licensing revenue from popular brands such as "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical."

Iger said the company believes it will see a decline in consumer spending at retailers that may hit "possibly during the holiday season but almost certainly during calendar 2009."

Studio entertainment revenue and operating profit fell due to weaker movie titles and higher marketing expenses for fourth-quarter releases including "Beverly Hills Chihuahua."

Several titles performed well in the current quarter including "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "High School Musical 3" and DVD releases for "Tinker Bell" and "Sleeping Beauty".

[Fish2006]

Originally Posted by homedawg

Schwarzenegger: $4.4B in tax hikes


Nov 6 02:27 PM US/Eastern



SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed $4.4 billion in tax increases and billions more in spending cuts to close California's worsening budget deficit, declaring: "We must stop the bleeding."

Schwarzenegger on Thursday called for a special session of the state Legislature to address a deficit that has grown to $11.2 billion, just six weeks after he signed the budget for the current fiscal year.

He said the state's economic condition has deteriorated significantly since then, with a cratering stock market and the continued decline of the housing industry.

California's budget relies greatly on capital gains taxes, which have dropped precipitously in recent months along with swooning stock prices. Sales and property taxes also have declined.

He said lawmakers will not be able to close the budget gap with cuts alone. He proposed a temporary 1.5 percent sales tax increase and other "revenue generators."

The irony here is that it is the Republicans talking about tax hikes in California, while at the same time, I thought I was on acid when I heard Larry Kudlow on CNBC saying Nancy ******* Pelosi talking about a temporary, two year tax cut for everyone to help us get out of this mess.

I expect to wake up tomorrow morning to see a green sky with purple grass at this rate.

[homedawg]

Everything that has happend here and offshore, over the last 2 days, has to make everyone wonder: who voted for Obama?

[Kevin]

I didnt read many of the 1445 replies to this thread, and Im a homedawg fan, but Id just like to say that the stock market/real estate market would be crashing hard even if obama wasnt elected.

We have further to go too.

This will be the closest we get to a depression in our lifetime. Bet on it. 2 more years of stink minimum before **** starts turning around.

Look at it as a buying opportunity. Just dont buy something that may be in bankruptcy court next month! lol

[Fish2006]

I don't care which side you were for, this is funny:

South Park Episode Player

[homedawg]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I didnt read many of the 1445 replies to this thread, and Im a homedawg fan, but Id just like to say that the stock market/real estate market would be crashing hard even if obama wasnt elected.

We have further to go too.

This will be the closest we get to a depression in our lifetime. Bet on it. 2 more years of stink minimum before **** starts turning around.

Look at it as a buying opportunity. Just dont buy something that may be in bankruptcy court next month! lol

The market was moving upwards, including the best election day increase in history, with a slight hope that jmac would win!

Obama winning the election, along with his policy, is making everyone jump ship! Me too!

[Fish2006]

Originally Posted by Kevin

I didnt read many of the 1445 replies to this thread, and Im a homedawg fan, but Id just like to say that the stock market/real estate market would be crashing hard even if obama wasnt elected.

We have further to go too.

This will be the closest we get to a depression in our lifetime. Bet on it. 2 more years of stink minimum before **** starts turning around.

Look at it as a buying opportunity. Just dont buy something that may be in bankruptcy court next month! lol

Market had Armageddon priced in already. Then it went up like 20% in a 10 day period. There were bound to be some givebacks. Unless people stop eating (McD, Walmart), pooping (sewer treatment, utilities), watching TV (media, networks), showering (soap), drinking beer (Bud), and smoking - there will be economic activity, and companies who are worth money because of it. If I know the people on this forum, beer at least is a safe bet.

Just enjoy the lower oil prices. Should go below 60 tomorrow.

Companies that have cash will save this economy. Microsoft - whom my company is a major partner of - just announced that they are providing free software to all startup companies that have less than $1M revenue. They have been offering low cost loans to people who want to expand using their stuff for awhile (they have to do something with their $50B and growing cash hoard). Google had record profits that beat expectations.

Yes, there will be pain. GM is probably ****ed. I heard Ford has a much better cash position, and may survive because GM goes down (taking the marketshare). In this market, the baby is being thown out with the bathwater because hedge funds that were margined to the hilt are taking a bath and having to sell everything, good or not.

That all said, there is good news. Credit markets, which are much more of a leading indicator than stock markets - have loosened up. Libor came down significantly today, and has been for the past 2 weeks. Same with the TED spread. Commercial Paper is functioning again. 3 weeks ago, GE could not get reasonable loans. Now they can.

None of this has a thing to do with Obama. Traders are not that stupid. They knew Obama was very, very likely to win, hence why intrade had it at 80+ percent the last few weeks. What he does with his econ team in coming weeks will matter a lot. Watching closely.

[homedawg]

Originally Posted by Fish2006

I don't care which side you were for, this is funny:

South Park Episode Player

I enjoy the creativity!

just like this vid that was posted today at another political forum I visit:

[Q-Unit]

Originally Posted by homedawg

The market was moving upwards, including the best election day increase in history, with a slight hope that jmac would win!

Obama winning the election, along with his policy, is making everyone jump ship! Me too!

with all due respect, flawed logic imo.

- if Obama was the chalk, how does a market upturn coincide with even any slight hope of McCain winning.

- when the market was in turmoil back in September/October, McCain saw his lead shrink with what was perceived as his "flaw" in economics as opposed to his strengths in foreign policy.

- I cannot however dispute with the jumping ship, it takes various reasons for people to jump ship, if HD jumped ship economically because of Obama's election, its reasonable to conclude many others did as well.

*but in truth, volatile movements in the market can and are affected by anything, but I don't believe blame is relevant on Obama or even Bush, nor credit to Clinton during one of the better times in American economic history

[Q-Unit]

Originally Posted by Fish2006

None of this has a thing to do with Obama. Traders are not that stupid. They knew Obama was very, very likely to win, hence why intrade had it at 80+ percent the last few weeks. What he does with his econ team in coming weeks will matter a lot. Watching closely.

dammit he presented the argument better than I did

[homedawg]

Originally Posted by Fish2006

None of this has a thing to do with Obama. Traders are not that stupid. They knew Obama was very, very likely to win, hence why intrade had it at 80+ percent the last few weeks. What he does with his econ team in coming weeks will matter a lot. Watching closely.

Such drastic change in just 2 days? Let's just wait and see what tomorrow brings us!

[homedawg]

Originally Posted by Q-Unit

with all due respect, flawed logic imo.

- if Obama was the chalk, how does a market upturn coincide with even any slight hope of McCain winning.

- when the market was in turmoil back in September/October, McCain saw his lead shrink with what was perceived as his "flaw" in economics as opposed to his strengths in foreign policy.

- I cannot however dispute with the jumping ship, it takes various reasons for people to jump ship, if HD jumped ship economically because of Obama's election, its reasonable to conclude many others did as well.

*but in truth, volatile movements in the market can and are affected by anything, but I don't believe blame is relevant on Obama or even Bush, nor credit to Clinton during one of the better times in American economic history

Late money came in on McCain!