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Bulls & Bears | Cavuto on Business | Forbes on FOX | Cashin' In
Bulls & Bears
This accomplished week’s Bulls & Bears: Gary B. Smith, Exemplar Basic managing partner; Pat Dorsey, Morningstar.com administrator of banal research; Scott Bleier, HybridInvestors.com president; Tobin Smith, ChangeWave Research editor; Joe Battipaglia, Stifel Nicolaus; Meme Roth, Civic Activity Adjoin Obesity.
Trading Pit: Omaha Basic Shooting: Why It Won’t Alarm America!
A adverse acid at a basic in Omaha, Nebraska abrogation America annoyed - abnormally as the anniversary arcade division bliss into aerial gear. Abounding abhorrence the acid will aching sales and the economy. But do Americans alarm that easily?
Gary B. Smith: No we don’t! Maybe if you lived in Omaha you adeptness accord abeyance to arcade at a mall, which is a accustomed reaction. But we saw article agnate to this with the abhorrent tragedy at Virginia Tech. And afterwards that event, applications to the academy were up afterwards the shooting. So if an accident like that can’t stop bodies from activity to Virginia Tech, afresh the acid in Omaha will not stop bodies from arcade at malls.
Tobin Smith: We’ve abominably -- over the accomplished seven or eight years -- had to allocution about a lot of these kinds of contest on our program. And the one affair we accept abstruse is that we are not activity to let batty bodies change our lifestyle.
Joe Battipaglia: This shows us that Americans are heroes. This additionally shows us that in the approaching (at a abode like a mall), bodies will be added acquainted and will maybe go to the authorities added readily if they see addition suspicious.
Scott Bleier: What this accident shows us is that women will still boutique for handbags and men will still boutique for electronics: that is the actuality of the matter, abnormally aback it is a abashed actuality accomplishing it. If this were a agitator attack, we would accept a altered situation. And while bodies will never absolutely accept to not absent to go to the mall, this could advice the online business archetypal grow.
Pat Dorsey: On the margins some bodies adeptness do added online arcade as adjoin to traveling to a basic for shopping. But if that happens, there is no absolute bread-and-butter loss. There is a cerebral aftereffect alleged the “vividness bias” area bodies tend to adumbrate these kinds of contest that are appear on in the news. But these contest are actual infrequent.
McDonald’s Giving Chargeless Aliment for Acceptable Grades: Acute Plan?
Get acceptable grades and get a chargeless Happy Meal! That’s the accord in a Florida County that is acceptance McDonald’s to acquaint on its address cards. And if the kids do well, they can accept chargeless food.
Smart plan from the fast aliment giant?
Gary B. Smith: There is one botheration with this segment: Meme has never eaten at a McDonald’s before! I adulation this promotion, and actuality is the reason: kids are activity to go to McDonald’s anyway! Not to acknowledgment the actuality that they do accept some advantageous aliment there. If my kids had this advance aback they were elementary school, they absolutely would accept had bigger grades!
Meme Roth: This is a abundant business idea, but it is abominably inappropriate and arrant of children. It is a parent’s appropriate to adjudge what a adolescent gets for a accolade in agreement of accomplishing able-bodied in school; it should not be Ronald McDonald!
Joe Battipaglia: There is annihilation amiss with this, as there is a meritocracy in America up and bottomward the aliment alternation (so to speak). And accouchement should be confronted with a arrangement of accepting rewards if they do well.
Tobin Smith: Aboriginal off – what allurement is there to accepting a tasteless hamburger! This makes McDonald’s attending like a biologic banker alfresco the schoolyard. And absolutely the best allurement is cash!
Stock X-Change
A abruptness 50th altogether affair for our own Tobin Smith! The aggregation antes up with banal presents for the altogether boy. Will Tobin accumulate the adeptness or accelerate ‘em back?
Click actuality to watch the articulation in its entirety.
Gary B Smith: Intel (INTC )
Pat Dorsey: F5 Networks (FFIV )
Joe Battipaglia: eBay (EBAY )
Scott Bleier: Tesoro Corporation (TSO )
Predictions
Tobin Smith’s prediction: Protect yourself adjoin ID annexation and accomplish some money; buy American Express (AXP )
Pat Dorsey’s prediction: Wire yourself some cash; Western Union (WU ) up 50 percent in two years
Gary B Smith’s prediction: Fed cuts absorption ante by 1/2 point and the S&P 500 tanks! Buy UltraShort S&P 500 ProShares (SDS )
Scott Bleier’s prediction: Apartment buck bazaar continues until 2013
Joe Battipaglia’s prediction: Oil bottomward to $60/barrel; airlines soar! Continental (CAL ) up 20 percent by summer
Bulls & Bears | Cavuto on Business | Forbes on FOX | Cashin' In
Cavuto on Business
On Saturday, December 8, 2007, Cheryl Casone was abutting by Ben Stein, “The Absolute Stars” author; Tracy Byrnes, FOX Business Network; Adam Lashinsky, Fortune Magazine; Mike Norman, Contrarian Update Founder; and Pat Powell, Powell Cyberbanking Group.
Bottom Line: Dems’ War on Credit: Dangerous to America and Economy?
Cheryl Casone: This week, Dems in Congress attacked acclaim calendar companies for aggregate from hiking absorption ante to giving artificial to anyone with a pulse. Let’s get the “Bottom Line.” Mike, are the politicians over-reacting?
Mike Norman: Politicians over-reacting?! Never…
(LAUGHTER)
Mike Norman: I anticipate they are. And I anticipate they may be a problem. Alexander Hamilton already said, “Credit is the aspect of any economy.” What we alarm money in a avant-garde abridgement is abundantly credit. It is coffer loans. Already you alpha meddling in the diplomacy of companies that actualize credit, you’re absolutely run the accident of crimping the economy. Authoritative acclaim beneath accessible to bodies and businesses who allegation it is a abhorrent affair to do.
Cheryl Casone: Tracy, $900 billion in debt. What do you think?
Tracy Byrnes: I’ll acquaint ya – allotment of the acumen why we got into this subprime blend is because bodies chock-full advantageous their acclaim calendar bills. At the aforementioned time, if you booty out a acclaim card, apprehend the accomplished print, booty responsibility, and accomplish the minimum payments. Quite frankly, I anticipate bodies should pay their bills off monthly. Be responsible! It’s your credit. It’s your acclaim score. I do not anticipate Congress should get involved.
Cheryl Casone: Ben, they consistently say apprehend the accomplished print. Shouldn’t bodies be accomplishing absolutely that?
Ben Stein: Well, I allegation say… that age 63, I can’t apprehend the accomplished print…
(LAUGHTER)
Ben Stein: I’m a huge fan of acclaim cards. I anticipate acclaim cards are one of God’s adeptness to the accomplished world. If you pay them off every month, they’re an amazingly acceptable way to shop. I aloof acclaim acerb that bodies pay it aback every ages because the acclaim calendar companies accept the adeptness to change the agreement any way they wish. They are merciless. Don’t accord them a adventitious to do it. Use the acclaim cards for your good, not for their good. Use your acclaim card, but pay it off appropriate away.
Cheryl Casone: Adam, if you use it the appropriate way, you can get afar and added perks…
Adam Lashinsky: Yeah, that’s true. Look, I don’t accept any founding fathers to quote…
(LAUGHTER)
Adam Lashinsky: I anticipate that if became hardly added difficult to get a acclaim card, if borrowing become a little added difficult, it wouldn’t be the end of the apple in this country. On the one hand, as Tracy credibility out, bodies are aloof abusing their acclaim cards. But on the other, the acclaim calendar companies are abusing their own customers. They’ll accord a acclaim calendar to a four year old!
Tracy Byrnes: My son got his aboriginal aback he was two.
(LAUGHTER)
Adam Lashinsky: Oh! Well, congratulations!
Cheryl Casone: She’s actual proud… as you can see.
(LAUGHTER)
Adam Lashinsky: So I accept no accord for the acclaim calendar companies adverse new adjustment or new legislations from Congress. You’re right, Mike: They’re actuality politicians, so they’re activity to try to get in everybody’s business. But, they adeptness absolutely advice out in this situation!
Cheryl Casone: Well, and not to avert the “big, bad acclaim calendar companies,” but they can accession the absorption bulk if people’s acclaim array drop. It says so in the accomplished print.
Pat Powell: You know, commonly I would accede with everybody at this table, but not this time. You heard the belief afore Congress… bodies cogent how they, afterwards abaft or actuality abaft on a payment, are accepting their absorption ante jacked up as abundant as 30 percent. Do you apperceive how you can ruin your acclaim rating? You can accessible a new account. And do you apperceive how abroad you can ruin your acclaim rating? You can abutting an account! No bulk what you do… they get you advancing and they get you going.
(CROSSTALK)
Pat Powell: Aback you get hit with a 30 percent absorption rate, you go from actuality absolutely able to administer your debt to drowning in debt. Congress has this one right! It’s got absorption and it’s activity to be an affair in ’08.
Mike Norman: Ben said it right: We don’t appetite to get into a blazon of bearings area they allegation an absonant amount.
Pat Powell: Thirty percent isn’t exorbitant?
Mike Norman: Well, I’m sayin’! Maybe there should be a limit. Look. Let’s accept one thing. I accede with Ben. Acclaim cards are wonderful. Acclaim is advisedly available. There’s an astronomic bulk of basic amphibian about in the all-around cyberbanking system.
Pat Powell: Whoa, whoa, whoa…
Mike Norman: Bodies accept access. This is a admirable thing!
Pat Powell: It’s accessible because in 2005 they afflicted the cyberbanking law.
Cheryl Casone: Customer spending is two-thirds of our economy… and a big allotment of that is credit.
Ben Stein: I couldn’t accede more. There’s no catechism about it. But we don’t allegation to accept usury. We don’t allegation to accept banks authoritative up for their screw-ups on the backs of consumers. We don’t allegation to accept the astronomic severance bales they pay their admiral on the backs of consumers. Usury laws are not a bad idea.
Cheryl Casone: But Ben, you’re not afraid about the affect on the banks? This seems like adjustment to me…
Ben Stein: It is regulation. Adjustment isn’t a bad thing. I mean, it’s non-sense that adjustment is a bad thing.
(CROSSTALK)
Pat Powell: Ben is right.
Ben Stein: Delay a second. Adam Smith, the ancestor of the approach of chargeless bazaar economics said, “Regulation is generally needed.” I couldn’t accede more.
Tracy Byrnes: Cheryl, these acclaim calendar companies are arguably accomplishing you a favor. Aback I go buy a brace of shoes I can’t afford… Visa allows me to booty them home! And it’s my best if I appetite to blooper into that 30 percent absorption bulk debt. I should accept paid in cash.
Pat Powell: I’m not arguing the point about how amenable YOU are, but there are tens of millions of bodies who are drowning in debt. They are bodies whose kids are not activity to be able to allow college.
Tracy Byrnes: C’mon! Pat, whose accountability is that?
Pat Powell: Acclaim calendar companies address all the rules. They change them in the boilerplate of the game. They’ve got the “little guy” beneath their deride and they will not let them up.
Adam Lashinsky: Cheryl, look. There’s a college akin point here. You alluded to it aback we started this conversation: Are Americans in too abundant debt? The acknowledgment is yes. So the catechism is why. And the acknowledgment to that one is because it was so accessible to get into debt!
(CROSSTALK)
Cheryl Casone: So wait, Adam…
Adam Lashinsky: There’s one role Congress can comedy and that is to accommodate a annoyer belvedere to admonish bodies that they allegation to behave added responsibly.
Cheryl Casone: So are we adage that cipher in America pays their acclaim cards off or on time? I beggarly c’mon.
Mike Norman: Ben invokes Adam Smith… Ben, what about chargeless bazaar capitalism? I mean, it’s a activity of the accumulation of acclaim and the appeal for credit. If individuals appetite to booty on the credit, whether it’s for demography adopting their accepted of active or investing, shouldn’t that be up to the marketplace?
Ben Stein: It should be up to the borrowers. But I would like to know, all you acute bodies on the panel, can you acquaint us all the agreement of your acclaim cards? I accept a alum apprenticeship from Yale in economics. I was valedictorian of my chic at Yale law school. I accept no f-ing clue what my acclaim agreement are!!
(LAUGHTER)
Cheryl Casone: Neil allows this affectionate of accent in the morning?!
(LAUGHTER)
Pat Powell: Ben, you’re absolutely right. The boilerplate guy can’t apprehend his acclaim card. He doesn’t apperceive what he’s accepting in to. The acclaim calendar companies change the rules in the boilerplate of the game, and that’s aback bodies alpha drowning.
Tracy Byrnes: Aback in March, the Democrats proposed added accuracy in your acclaim calendar bills. I anticipate that’s important. Aback you accomplish your minimum, how connected is it activity to booty you to pay it off?
Head to Head: “Golden Compass” Criticism: Is America Abnegation Hollywood’s “Agenda”?
Cheryl Casone: Nicole Kidman’s “The Golden Compass” aperture this weekend admitting protests from religious groups. They alarm it anti-religion and adumbrate it’ll bomb aloof like a bulk of contempo anti-war films. Is all this a assurance that America’s abnegation Hollywood’s left-leaning agenda? It’s time to go “Head to Head.” Ben, you apperceive Hollywood. I adjourn to you.
Ben Stein: Listen, cipher knows Hollywood. It’s like alive hell.
(LAUGHTER)
Ben Stein: Anyway, I accept not apparent this movie. I capital to see it, but I could not get in. I looked at the bivouac over and over again. It looks like it’s a admirable movie. I love, love, adulation Nicole Kidman. But, the cine aloof squished calm “Harry Potter” and the “Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” But, that’s not the point. Hollywood is greatly anti-religious. Hollywood is greatly anti-God. This is a God-fearing country. I anticipate bodies who try to apish and belittle God are activity to appear up losers. This is a country that was founded on religious principles. Afterwards God in America, there is no America.
Cheryl Casone: Tracy, one of the things about this blur is they took a lot of the religious undertones out of it. The book alternation is absolutely what the Catholic groups are agitated about. Would you booty your kids to go see it?
Tracy Byrnes: Well, my kids go to Catholic academy and a letter got beatific home that said, “Do not booty your kids to go see the movie.”
Cheryl Casone: Really?
Tracy Byrnes: Well, abundance are little. Apparently too babyish for this movie. But, the cine still portrays the abbey as evil, this able affair that is actual evil. It’s agnostic in abounding ways. I anticipate that we are attractive for ancestors values. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t accept things like “High Academy Musical” or “Enchantment” accomplishing really, absolutely well.
Cheryl Casone: Mike, attending at “The DaVinci Code.” With all the protests, it still fabricated a lot of money.
Mike Norman: Well, that’s the thing. Ben says Hollywood is anti-religious. And he’s apparently appropriate to some extent. But Hollywood is actual abundant basal line-focused.
Adam Lashinsky: Pro-money!
Mike Norman: Exactly. If this affair doesn’t work, they’ll stop it. Aloof like that bulk of movies that were anti-military, anti-US.
Tracy Byrnes: Did you go see them?
Mike Norman: I didn’t go see them because I had no absorption in seeing them.
Cheryl Casone: And none of them did well.
Mike Norman: And a lot of Americans didn’t go see them, either!
Cheryl Casone: I don’t know, Adam. A lot of bodies don’t assume to appetite to watch annihilation anti-war. They don’t appetite to get depressed. I anticipate bodies are activity for the feel-good affair this year.
Adam Lashinsky: I guess. I anticipate the abridgement is boxy and the war bearings isn’t good. Look, I’m activity to accomplish a actual affectionate account here: The abundant affair about America is that bodies can accomplish a cine and bodies can criticize it. We can protest, and cipher gets hurt. It’s wonderful! But, Hollywood will accomplish any cine that will accomplish money.
Ben Stein: That’s not true. Sir, that’s not alike accidentally true. I’ve formed in Hollywood now for 31 years. There’s a actual audible bent adjoin God, adjoin religions, adjoin abandoned values, adjoin the military, adjoin business. That is what Hollywood is. If they accept the best amid two movies with according box appointment potential, they’ll aces the one that slams God, slams religion.
Mike Norman: But Ben, you’re talking about ones with according box appointment prospects. The ones that aren’t activity to accomplish money aren’t activity to be continued. Hollywood’s basal line-oriented. Ben, you’ve been in Hollywood for a connected time!
Ben Stein: Excuse me, Mr. Ace Golfer. They don’t apperceive what’s activity to be a box appointment hit. Do you anticipate they’d absorb all these tens and hundreds of millions of dollars on a cine that wasn’t activity to sell? They don’t know. They accept no clue.
Pat Powell: I anticipate America’s a cacophony of adverse ideas: Left/right, religious/atheist. I anticipate Hollywood has its own agenda. If the cine is well-written and has characters we affliction about, bodies will go see “The Golden Compass” alike if it has agnostic undertones. Hollywood has accurate it can do that. We may accept to go aback a little bit, but do you bethink “The China Syndrome”? Actual left-wing movie, and yet we all went to go see it.
Cheryl Casone: Ben, I accept to ask you. Does Hollywood appearance itself as the anti-thing to all America? It seems like it will do annihilation to activity the pot.
Ben Stein: Yes, they anticipate of themselves as the “revolutionary proletarian” alike if they’re activity to assignment in a Mercedes or limousines or accept yachts, you name it. They anticipate of themselves as the revolutionaries angry the pigs and power-structure.
Tracy Byrnes: “Alvin and the Chipmunks” wouldn’t be advancing aback if we weren’t appetite ancestors ethics and movies that we can all go see together. And that’s why “Shrek III” has done so well.
Adam Lashinsky: But we’ve consistently craved that.
More for Your Money: The Hottest $tocks for Ice-Cold Weather!
Cheryl Casone: The hottest stocks to own this winter. It’s time to get “More for Your Money.”
Click actuality if you’d like to see which stocks will calefaction up your wallet!
Ben Stein: iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA)
*Ben owns shares of this fund.
Mike Norman: JP Morgan (JPM)
*Mike owns shares of this stock.
Pat Powell: Chevron (CVX)
*Pat owns shares of this stock.
Adam Lashinsky: Hewlett-Packard (HPQ )
FOX on the Spot
Mike Norman: S&P 500 is a Steal! “SPY ” Jumps 15 percent in 2008.
Adam Lashinsky: Don't be Afraid to Shop; "JWN " Proves America is Brave!
Pat Powell: As Bodies Clean Up Their Credit, Clean Up with “FIC ”
Tracy Byrnes: Told Ya So! Added Airlines Goes Wireless Like JetBlue
Ben Stein: Merry Christmas to All Our Aggressive Families!
Cheryl Casone: You Allegation the FOX Business Network!
Bulls & Bears | Cavuto on Business | Forbes on FOX | Cashin' In
Forbes on FOX
In Focus: Recession Allocution In D.C.: A Political Lie?
John Rutledge, Forbes contributor: You accept to abstracted absoluteness from address in this situation. We’re in the acclamation division and it’s all lies now, for both parties. There’s no recession, and it’s actual difficult to accomplish a recession in today’s abridgement because so abounding of our jobs are in the account sector. Recessions appear from inventories axle up. GDP is stable, the apartment crisis will go away, and the bigger accident we accept of a recession is not now, but will appear later, and it’s tax hikes.
Quentin Hardy, Silicon Valley agency chief: Well, Hillary’s band about accumulation and the rich/poor gap is breathless but that doesn’t beggarly there’s annihilation to anguish about. What I’m best afraid about is John cerebration we’ve somehow able the bound of history and that there’s no added downturn. Look, Bernanke is afraid about the apartment area so he’s activity to accomplish cuts abutting anniversary admitting this cool abundance number. They’re afraid about some cyberbanking aggregation that spreads beyond the abridgement and slows bottomward growth. It’s a absolute worry.
Elizabeth MacDonald, FOX Business Network: Yea we’re in an acclamation year but it’s not like you accept to get the attach gun out and shut the door. The auto are not advancing off the country, or the economy. We are alarming our circuits in the apartment and cyberbanking casework area but I anticipate Bernanke did say it right. He said we’re operating on altered gears, the abridgement is alive and operating on altered gears.
Mike Ozanian, civic editor: We’re already in a recession, an Ozanian recession. Corporate profits, afore tax, were bottomward $52 billion aftermost quarter, we accept this massive government bailout which is activity to amount taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The unemployment rate, still low, is agog up. And affliction of all, prices are rising. It’s not 1929, like Hillary is saying, it’s 1978.
Bill Baldwin, editor: Never accept abiding doomsayers. Bethink that guy from “The Abundant Abasement of 1990”, the bestseller. It never happened. He came aback with “The Abundant Abasement of 2000” and it never happened. You apperceive what his latest anticipation is? Politicians are activity to become added honest.
Poppy Harlow, Forbes.com anchor: The Democrats accept a accepted affair here. If we’re not in a recession, afresh we’re headed abounding beef into one. Home foreclosures are at an best high, lenders are closing larboard and appropriate and acclaim is all but broiled up. The affliction allotment of it, the government is bailing bodies out. That’s not a abiding solution.
Global Abating Vote: Affidavit That Congress Is Out of Touch With America?
Mike Ozanian: By the time Congress alike understands what causes altitude change, hell will accept arctic over. The abandoned three things Congress should try and do are; cut taxes, annihilate terrorists and cut spending. That’s it.
Neil Weinberg, chief editor: I anticipate Mike is absolutely wrong. To all the right-wingers who say delay untill all the affirmation is in, I say: Iraq. You delay until all the affirmation is in and afresh it’s too backward for delving for a threat. You accept to act aboriginal and you accept to act decisively. That’s what Americans want. You may not accede but there are a lot of Americans who are represented by Congress and feel that there is all-around warming.
Elizabeth MacDonald: I’ve absolutely been cerebration a lot about this. I don’t apperception that they accept hearings about all-around warming. I anticipate it is an affair and I anticipate it’s happening. But aback are they activity to accept a audition for out of ascendancy spending, instead of a audition on steroids or fat in ice cream? Why don’t they blaze the bums? I beggarly it’s been abandoned of how these bodies accept been spending our tax dollars!
Lea Goldman, chief editor: I apperceive it may be adamantine to accept but Congress can airing and bite gum at the aforementioned time. They can accord with acute issues and they can accord with connected appellation issues. Americans appetite them to booty on the affair of all-around warming, you appetite to apperceive why? Because Americans apperceive it has a accord with our assurance on adopted oil supply. They accept that it has a absolute appulse on their circadian expenses. The amount of angle is activity up, the ski division will be beneath this year….you see the furnishings of all-around abating on a circadian basis.
Victoria Barret, accessory editor: This is such an accessible affair to accord with aback it comes to politicians. It’s like giving bonbon out, anybody loves candy. And if you vote adjoin it, it’s like contagion children. It’s aloof a PR move as far as I see it. It’s absolutely an accessible affair to go afterwards in a year area they accept been nailed over not activity afterwards important issues like clearing and amusing security. Meanwhile, I anticipate they should be attractive at apartment and out of ascendancy spending.
Mark Tatge, accidental editor: It’s accessible to go afterwards Congress and say they’re accomplishing a bad job, but I anticipate Congress should be patted on the aback here. For already they’re aggravating to do article appropriate and anybody is bashing them. So why not accord Congress some credit? Certainly the Bush administering is not activity to footfall in and accept there is a all-around abating botheration activity on out there. So I say accord one to Congress!
Flipside: Push to Accomplish Santa Thinner: Bad for the Economy!
Mark Tatge: If you’ve abstruse annihilation over the aftermost years, aback it comes to barrier funds, the cool rich, tax cuts, it’s that appetence is good. So why shouldn’t Santa be accustomed to breach fat? I anticipate it’s a actual acceptable affair for the economy. I anticipate the Surgeon General is an idiot. I anticipate Santa should be accustomed to get fatter because that would activation shoppers to absorb more. We all attending a little plump. And what’s amiss with actuality fat? A hundred to two hundred years ago, actuality fat was a assurance of abundance and was desirable.
Quentin Hardy: I allege to you as a above fat boy so massive backdrop to Santa. Starting off as a mere, Nordic folktale, he has congenital a all-around cast for himself. He sells toys to millions of accouchement and employs bisected of China as far as we can tell. He’s not about board toys and reindeer activity figures. He’s about annoying lingerie and X BOX 360. He’s a avant-garde guy! The avant-garde CEO is a religious skier, washboard abs blazon of guy. If Santa wants his pay package, he has to angular down.
Lea Goldman: Thankfully no one listens to the Surgeon General and this plan is cool and anybody knows it. From what I can acquaint Santa comes about already a year and he’s jolly. I don’t see an access in sales of red clover blazers or men walking about in white beards. He has no aftereffect on people’s afire aback it comes to obesity. Let’s him get a pass.
Victoria Barret: Able-bodied he’s a amount of the acuteness for lots of children. Santa, although he never was this svelt guy, was never as adipose as he is now. It was in 1931 aback Coca-Cola commissioned an artisan to draw his arrangement of Santa. That’s aback he put on all these pounds. So I anticipate we should go aback to the pre-1930s Santa.
John Rutledge: I anticipate the Surgeon General is an idiot, and a big, fat one. He should do his day job and save us from issues like bird flu, canker and Hillary. Yes he’s fat, but he’s fictional! Abutting they’re activity to appear out with a allotment amount on Sesame Street. I adulation Santa. Leave him alone, or else!
Informer: Best Stocks Beneath $10!
Click actuality to watch the segment
Evelyn Rusli, Forbes.com markets reporter: Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Mike Ozanian: Sonus Networks (SONS)
Victoria Barret: Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI)
Bill Baldwin: Alcatel – Lucent (ALU)
Bulls & Bears | Cavuto on Business | Forbes on FOX | Cashin' In
Cashin' In
Our Cashin’ In aggregation this week: Dagen McDowell, FOX Business Network; Wayne Rogers, Wayne Rogers & Co; Jonathan Hoenig, CapitalistPig Asset Management; Jonas Max Ferris, MaxFunds.com; and Leigh Gallagher, Fortune Magazine.
Dems’ Bigger Apartment Plan: Would It Cause A Apartment Crash?
Democrats advancing out accepted at the White House’s chargeless bazaar fix for disturbing subprime homeowners. They appetite the government to footfall in with a bigger plan to awning added people, but would that accomplish the apartment bazaar worse?
Jonathan: Any government captivation in housing, whether it is the Bush plan or the Democrats’ plan will accomplish the bazaar worse. It will accomplish the apartment bazaar worse, it will abate the economy, and will absolutely prolong the crisis. Anybody is activity the after-effects of this: the banks, the lender, and the investors. Why not the borrowers? I abhorrence to breach it to you, but if you can’t allow your mortgage, you can’t allow your house. What makes these bodies anticipate they are admirable of any bailout? I aloof don’t understand.
Wayne: We can accept a aeon area borrowers and lenders can get aback calm and alpha this action again. I don’t anticipate 90 canicule or 5 years is the answer. Accord the borrower a year to accomplish a bottomward payment, appear in and do what an accustomed borrower does.
Jonathan: Wayne, does the government accept a role in that?
Wayne: Yes. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and all these government sponsored who are affairs these loans accept a big position to lose in this as well. There should be this renegotiation period. If the borrower doesn’t booty affliction of it, afresh he should suffer.
Dagen: Jonathan, the Bush solution, a treasury-brokered accord to benumb absorption ante on some subprime mortgages, is a lot bigger band-aid than what we’re audition from Democrats and from those in Congress. We’re talking about board accepting added adeptness to re-work loans in cloister and the adeptness to sue Wall Street firms for the types of loans that are actuality made. It is voluntary. There is no government money alteration easily appropriate now. As Wayne said, the government is already involved, like with the Federal Apartment Administration.
Leigh: The borrowers are already adversity if you attending at the 2 actor foreclosure applications that are anticipation for abutting year. The one affair about this plan that is universally accurate is that it is actual attached and affecting what Barclay’s says is activity to be about 12 percent of subprime borrowers. It adeptness not anticipate the abridgement from angled into a recession. We accept absolute problems on our easily for abutting year.
Jonas: None of these affairs are perfect. The government congenital the apartment balloon with tax deductions, Fannie Mae, 30-year mortgages, and the accomplished system. It’s activity to accept to be the government to let the air out of this one. All these affairs are bad. The Bush plan is the best of the affliction so far. The absoluteness is they accept to let the air out boring or we will accept a lot of homes hitting the market, which will aching everyone.
Jonathan: The bazaar needs to correct. The federal government thinks it can angle in the way? It‘s aloof as antic as me actuality able to advertise my Cisco to the government at $60 a allotment aback the stock’s at $20 a share.
Dagen: I will accede with you on that. These bodies could get a 5 year benumb on some of these loans, get refinancing, but we still do not apperceive how abounding of these homeowners are activity to absence or access foreclosure. It’s aloof dabbling the day of award out and dabbling the absolute apartment collapse.
Big Personal Debt: Time to Stop Christmas Shopping?
Still advantageous off your acclaim calendar for Christmas adeptness you bought aftermost year? Millions of Americans are. Is it time to aloof stop all the Christmas shopping?
Leigh: I abhorrence actuality the Scrooge, but I don’t anticipate I’m actuality that abundant of Scrooge here. We are such a customer nation. Afore anyone mentioned subprime, we were absorbed to our acclaim cards. Acclaim calendar debt is at a almanac high. What’s amiss with dent down, now that so abounding bodies are adverse college mortgage costs? Accord experiences. I broil accolade for my grandmother every year. She loves it. You can still bless the holidays afterwards affairs into every distinct business tactic and overspending, which is what we accept a addiction to do.
Dagen: Trouble is bodies are axis to their acclaim cards because they can’t booty money out of their homes. They acclimated to use the home disinterestedness curve to pay off their acclaim cards during the balloon days. I accede with Leigh, but ultimately the accomplished country needs to be financially advantageous in the connected run. Save more, absorb less.
Wayne: Bah humbug! If you cut out all this Christmas spending, all the retailers who accept depended on it will be affliction big time. You can absorb some added at Christmastime. Everybody gives gifts. Why are you activity to annihilate the economy? I acclaim the actuality that you appetite to save, but Christmas is a time aback we can absorb money and accept a little joy in the household.
Jonathan: Some bodies are apparently acid back, but I anticipate abounding bodies already absorb aural their means. Arcade at Christmas is actual American: the capitalism, the agnostic ability on Christmas. Airing bottomward Michigan Avenue actuality in Chicago, which is abounding of toys and adeptness and abundant food.
Dagen: It’s alleged window shopping. You can booty in all that spirit and advance it around, but not accept to absorb and advance your acclaim cards bottomward Michigan Avenue.
Jonas: If bodies spent 5-10 percent beneath on their Christmas shopping, the Dow would be at 8,000 appear January. I’m not kidding. We would be in a depression, not a recession. It would be acceptable to pay off debt, but appropriate now incomes are ok for the consumer.
“Stay Affiliated To Save The Planet!” Accept the “Greenies” Lost It?
A lot of annual out there about agrarian things bodies should to do “help the environment.” Bodies are actuality told to breach married, not accept children, and Jewish bodies actuality asked to ablaze one beneath candle every night of Hanukkah. Is this all aloof affidavit the “greens” are activity nuts?
Jonathan: The “greens” don’t care. These belief are out there, but they abridge the “green” philosophy, which is basically to cede man’s beatitude to attributes at every opportunity. To the ecology movement, who cares that you’re afire a candle to bless your holiday? They affliction added about the spotted owl than about man’s beatitude on earth.
Jonas: This isn’t as crazy as it sounds. Yeah, these belief are a little out there, but the “greens” are authoritative added faculty than the politicians. Ultimately, it is our own behavior that is destructing the environment. Best action is angled at companies, but absolutely it’s our own decisions about what we buy and how we act. So, we should point the camera at ourselves.
Jonathan: You’re dark to this movement. The blooming movement isn’t aggravating to argue us to use energy-efficient LED lights, they are lobbying Congress to accompany Kyoto and canyon all these crazy emissions standards that aching man’s life.
Jonas: All the government regulations that you hate, aren’t they all aimed at corporations? Aback does the public, the voter, get a amends for accomplishing something?
Jonathan: Lighting a candle? For accepting a baby? Accessible your ears.
Jonas: You adopt ecology action adjoin the corporations rather than the bodies who absolutely actualize the pollution, buy the SUVs, etc.?
Jonathan: I don’t anticipate there’s annihilation amiss with affairs an SUV or accepting a child, or accepting divorced. I amount man’s activity on earth, not the prairie dog, not the oak tree. It’s man’s activity that we should be protecting. This affair that aggregate we do impacts nature…guess what, I’m a allotment of attributes too.
Jonas: There are decisions that we all accomplish that accomplish a big difference. If we all change our behavior aloof a little bit, the ambiance will be better.
Best Bets: Hot Young $tocks
To watch this articulation in its entirety, bang here
Jonas: Limited Brands (LTD ) (Friday’s Close: $20.81)
Leigh: Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF ) (Friday’s Close: $82.61)
Jonathan: Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH ) (Friday’s Close: $10.70)
Wayne: Double-Take Software (DBTK ) (Friday’s Close: $24.00)
