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Bulls & Bears
This past week's Bulls & Bears: Gary B. Smith, Exemplar Capital; Tobin Smith, ChangeWave Research; Eric Bolling, FOX Business News; Pat Dorsey, Morningstar.com, and Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist.
Swine Flu Scare Making Our Job Market Sicker?
Gary B. Smith, Exemplar Capital: When you start reading in your local paper that people you know have gotten sick or died from this illness, it's going to kill the consumer sector. People will start avoiding shopping malls, restaurants, etc. It's business that institutions will have a hard time getting back. When transactions can't get done, and people can't congregate, that will really, really hurt the economy.
Eric Bolling, FOX Business Network: Despite what has been going on with the swine flu, like the W.H.O. raising the flu level to five, the markets are higher and things are okay. This will have no effect on the market or the economy. If anything, this is just the Obama administration trying to push his national health care program forward. We are blowing swine flu out of proportion right now. It has been fear mongering.
Tobin Smith, ChangeWave Research: Flues like this go in waves. The first wave usually isn't that lethal and it looks like we'll do fine with this one. It's the second wave we should be more concerned about. People won't overreact is we don't stimulate them to overreact. Consumer purchasing, if it becomes delayed, will come back. What really gets hurt is travel. But generally, we have an excellent program in place to deal with this health crisis.
Pat Dorsey, Morningstar.com: I don't think we know yet how bad this will get. In this country, things obviously aren't as bad as they are in Mexico. Given our health care system, odds are we'll ID these cases earlier and probably treat them better. Consumer spending is already way, way down along with travel. So any consumer pullback will have marginal impact right now.
Stocks Pop as Chrysler Goes Bust, Are Free Markets Back?
Tobin Smith: Republicans are turning over in their graves right now because President Obama, a liberal Democrat, put Chrysler's feet to the fire. But this was more than just about Chrysler—this is about teeing up the ball for GM and playing hardball with the UAW. Finally, I think the government is allowing the market to work a bit by allowing Chrysler to go into bankruptcy.
Eric Bolling: The government is going to get a major $14 billion stake in Chrysler, not to mention owning a major piece of GM. My question is what's going to happen to all those UAW workers on the Ford assembly lines? They could start making cars they don't want to buy. I think we could see all three major auto companies go into chapter seven, not Chapter 11.
Pat Dorsey: I hope this is a warm up act for GM. General Motors has been on its last legs for six or seven years now. It needs to be a much smaller company with fewer employees. It's the only way it can survive in the future. I think this shows the government could take a tough line with GM bond holders and the UAW, not to mention the management, as we have with Chrysler. We've got zombie automakers in the form of GM, and it's time to realize that the old business model is dead.
Gary B. Smith: We have to stay away from the mentality that the government knows all. The Obama administration went kicking and screaming into this bankruptcy deal. They didn't want this to happen. In this instance, the administration is showing some capitalistic tendencies, but in every other case the administration is being anti-capitalistic.
Sen. Specter Flips to Dems; Ready, Set, Spend?
Eric Bolling: This is bad news for the Republican Party. Watch where Arlen Specter votes on health care and cap and trade.
Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist: This is absolutely not a green light to spend. I don't think Democrats are looking to automatically go out and spend as much as they please. We're looking to the future. I don't think anyone has any illusions that Specter is going to be an automatic 60th vote. To prove that point, Specter just voted against the budget.
Tobin Smith: The bigger issue is what happens in the 2010 mid-term elections. Cap and trade is going to be pushed aside for awhile. What the markets want to know is if there's going to be five or six new Democratic senators after those mid-terms. What happens when you pay taxes? It's not spending; you're picking up the government's tab.
Gary B. Smith: Health care reform could get by in a simple majority vote considering the way they're setting it up. It could very well pass. I think Specter will prove to be the automatic man. He's in it for himself now, and he needs cover and help from the Democratic camp. You can be sure that on any major bill, he's not going to want to anger or irritate the leaders of his party.
Pat Dorsey: Our focus should be on what the treasury and fed are going in terms of rescue provisions put into the economy. These are increasing the federal deficit tremendously—far more than any increase in the budget. If we can ramp those back, that will tell the tale about what the government's true mentality on spending is.
Predictions
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Gary B. Smith: Full steam ahead for $50B RR repairs! "CSX" up 100 percent in 1 year
Tobin Smith: Lose side effects when losing lbs! "GSK" up 35 percent by July 4
Pat Dorsey: Bet on Buffett! "BRK.B" up 50 percent in 3 years
Eric Bolling: May Day protests break U.S. stocks! "SSO" up 25 percent in a month
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Cavuto on Business
This past week, Neil was joined by: Ben Stein, author of "How to Ruin the United States of America"; Charles Payne, WStreet.com; Dagen McDowell, FOX Business News; Adam Lashinsky, editor-at-large, Fortune Magazine
Next Taxpayer Bailout: Mexico Due to Swine Flu?
Charles Payne, WStreet.com: I hope this doesn't become the case. We have our own issues right now. At some point, Mexico has to get its act together. You can't keep blaming America or the rest of the world for your country's faults. There's not doubt we should help them with financial aid or expertise. But bailing them out would be outrageous, particularly when hundreds of thousands of Americans are losing their jobs every week.
Ben Stein, author: First of all, Mexico hasn't asked us for any type of a bailout. If they do ask, as a senior member of the world economic community, the U.S. should help them. We shouldn't just give Mexico money, but guarantee their debt or loans. We have to do something. And if we do, we should expect them to be an ally in deed, as well as word. But generally, I think swine flu isn't that big a deal.
Dagen McDowell, FOX Business Network: There's always the IMF, which the U.S. is key in helping refund. The IMF is concerned about the health of the world. They are worried about containing this virus, particularly due to a potentially damaging economic impact. The best way to bail-out Mexico is for us to get our house in order. Mexico is our third biggest trading partner. We have to focus on making people comfortable doing business with and travel to Mexico. The healthier we are, the healthier Mexico will be.
Adam Lashinsky, Fortune Magazine: Even before the swine flu came up, we were concerned about what was going on in Mexico in terms of drug violence. It was just beginning to suggest potential problems for the United States and even beyond. We already thought this was going to be a major problem for the Obama administration, and then the swine flu happens. Near term and long term, we have to help Mexico.
Chrysler Bankruptcy: Proof Bailouts Are a Waste?
Ben Stein: Bailing out the auto companies wasn't a waste of taxpayer dollars, but we learned that we got the government in so deep that the government will in fact be the lender in bankruptcy. Either in name or fact, the government will be a lender in any bankruptcy proceeding. It will get done. The question is what is Chrysler going to look like afterwards? Or if GM goes bankrupt? It could become a government-owned auto sector.
Charles Payne: The government strong-armed the heck out of the banks that received TARP funds. We'll see a similar situation with the auto companies as the government takes them over. The government wants control, regardless of how it may affect investors.
Adam Lashinsky: Many government officials have said that we cannot allow the auto companies to collapse. And this is what in fact has happened. Bankruptcy would have been a better option last year, yet we didn't do it.
Dagen McDowell: It has been shocking to see the White House vilify investors who have been, by the right of law, looking out for their financial interests as secured creditors. What we didn't want is the auto companies to liquidate under already bad economic conditions. Who in their right mind is going to lend to a company controlled by a union now?
President Says Stimulus Already 'Saved or Created Over 150K Jobs'; Can He Prove It?
Ben Stein: There's no way Obama can prove the 150K figure. He just made it up. He might as well say it has saved life on Mars or Venus. Even if he's right, we're spending $787 billion to create 150,000 jobs? That's about $5 million per job. We can't afford that. I think the economy could be touching the bottom, and maybe nearing a turn around. But we don't even know whether the stimulus had anything to do whatsoever with turning the economy around.
Charles Payne: It's interesting. In 2007, when the Dow was at an all-time high, it was said only rich people were benefiting. Now what? It's sad for Obama to make a claim like that when 600,000-plus Americans are filing for unemployment every week and GDP is down 6 percent for the first quarter. I think to put a smiley face on all of this just insults people's intelligence.
Dagen McDowell: The White House can't prove this figure. When the CEO of Caterpillar comes out and says so little of the stimulus money has gone into infrastructure that we need a second package, that tells you something.
Adam Lashinsky: It's an empty assertion. I wish the President's didn't say things like this, but he does. Two weeks earlier, he said 150,000 jobs would be created by the end of the year, and now we already have them. Earlier in the week, he said the government has no intention of staying involved with the auto companies they've invested in. The problem is that when Obama says one thing, he may end up meaning the other.
Stocks to 'Buy' in May
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Charles Payne: Massey Energy (MEE)
Adam Lashinsky: SAP AG (SAP)
Ben Stein: iShares EAFE (EFA)
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Forbes on FOX
On Saturday, May 2, 2009, Stuart Varney guest hosted for David Asman. Stuart was joined by Steve Forbes, Mike Ozanian, Quentin Hardy, Victoria Barret, Jack Gage, Mike Maiello, Evelyn Rusli, and John Rutledge.
In Focus
Stuart Varney: The White House still flying in damage control mode after Vice President Biden sounded the swine flu alarm. Have a listen:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places right now. It's not that it's going to Mexico, it's that you are in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes, it goes everywhere through the aircraft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Stuart Varney: As if airlines didn't have enough trouble. Is this the worst thing our second-in-command could say about a key American industry?
Jack Gage: We have to remember, Joe Biden's first and foremost thing he wants is to be liked by the public. So he's sharing pearls of wisdom, usually reserved for his family, with the public at large. This is dangerous because Regular Joe doesn't have a regular job. We have to remember, he is vice president. And saying things like this can sound alarm bells that aren't necessarily reasonable. You would have heard this from health officials if it had any substance. That being said, it is awful for the airline industry, just like the demonization of executives for spending shareholder money on resorts, on retreats, on private jets was bad for companies in those industries.
Steve Forbes: Well, I think the real flu is what flies out of Joe Biden's mouth.
(laughter)
Steve Forbes: And the comedians are having a field day; foot-and-mouth disease and everything else. We have health officials for a specific reason, to tell you if you shouldn't go to a certain place or travel by a certain mode. And Joe Biden has given one more reason for the White House to search for who's going on the ticket four years from now.
Stuart Varney: Who's your candidate?
Steve Forbes: Well, my candidate, if I said who I like, they would probably send them to North Korea.
Stuart Varney: John Rutledge, is this the worst thing the second-in-command could say?
John Rutledge: Well, not for me, Stuart. I love a good panic – empty airplanes make my travel a lot easier. I fly every day.
(laughter)
John Rutledge: But this man is an idiot. Joe Biden is the 21st Century version of Spiro Agnew. We need to quarantine Joe Biden. Look. A leader does not yell "fire" in a theater. A leader clams people down so they can deal with their problems. We don't need politicians to use a crisis to pass a new bill. We need quiet leaders. The plain old flu, by the way, which is an old version of bird flu, kills 30,000 people a year in America all by itself, which is about 3,000 a month, or one every 15 minutes. We're not dying here. Advice? Don't get the flu. If you do? Go to the doctor. And fly. I'm flying today. I'm flying tomorrow. Don't let Joe Biden tell you what to do.
Mike Ozanian: I think John needs to tell us what he really thinks.
(laughter)
Mike Ozanian: We've survived the bird flu, mad cow… the airlines have survived all these things. I think that what Vice President Biden said wasn't the smartest thing, but I don't think it's really going to hurt the airlines. If the airlines have big problems, if some of them go under, it's going to be because they haven't properly managed their costs.
Stuart Varney: Let's not forget this is the vice president of the United States of America telling people not to fly because of swine flu. What do you say about this?
Quentin Hardy: I didn't see the airline stocks go down. The vice president of the United States is doing what the vice president of the United State does, and it tends to be harmless, it tends to be off the wall. If Sarah Palin were the vice president of the United State, you bet it would be equally off the wall in some other direction. The fact is, I'm for that. Because when a vice president actually has power, you get Dick Cheney. Now look. This is actually going to have a silver lining. Here's what it is: People are going to be aware of washing their hands more during flu season, of not traveling if they're sneezing, of looking after their symptoms. I'm willing to bet that we have net fewer deaths this flu season because people are aware of precautions. Swine flu has not manifested itself as a horrible, globe-killing disease.
Stuart Varney: Victoria Barret, Quentin says it's basically harmless. What say you?
Victoria Barret: You know? I agree. And I'm not usually in a position of doing Joe Biden's bidding. But, he was being honest, right? This is what he's telling his family. A lot of people in Washington aren't being very honest these days, and I don't think it's going to severely damage the airline industries. I think people realize, you know, if you don't have to travel right now, maybe you delay travel. But if you need to travel, that's fine. Just wash your hands more. And we want to contain this thing. We don't want it to spread more. So, it's smart that Americans should be taking precautions. There's nothing wrong with that.
Forbes on FOX Debate
Stuart Varney: To Detroit now. After billions in bailouts, is the president blaming capitalists for the Chrysler bankruptcy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: While many stakeholders made sacrifices and worked constructively I have to tell you some did not. In particular a group of investment firms and hedge funds decided to hold out for the prospect of an unjustified tax payer bailout. They were hoping every one else would have to make sacrifices and they would make none.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Stuart Varney: Steve Forbes says it's just another example of our president not being a friend to capitalism.
Steve Forbes: He equates capitalists, entrepreneurs and financiers with slumlords. There's no real appreciation for how wealth is truly created in this country, and that statement is an example. In the courts, they'll probably get $0.30 or $0.40 on the dollar. That's why we have bankruptcy laws. You don't bring politics into it. You don't give companies to unions that destroyed the companies in the first place. There's a political solution and a financial solution. We have the courts for a financial one, where everyone makes sacrifices, and not just the creditors. The creditors took the biggest hit on this.
Quentin Hardy: There are creditors and there are creditors. The fact of the matter is here you have Obama helping out a car company that's owned by a private equity firm. So how is that anti-capitalism? In this case, the people he was criticizing are speculators who came in after the fact and thought they could get a higher price on the debt. They were supposed to make arrangements that they didn't like to do. The government offered them $2.2 billion on $1 billion worth of assets. They played chicken with the government and they appear to be losing at this point. If they thought it was situation-normal after AIG and Lehman, they didn't understand what time it was and they made a big mistake.
Victoria Barret: What the administration is trying to do is re-write contract law and say "Hey, you were a creditor. Here's what you deserved. But we're going to tell uou now what you're going to get." Meanwhile, the unions are going to get a huge chunk. This isn't how capitalism should work. This is what happens when you've got the government deciding winners and losers. Frankly, Obama should watch it because he's asking those very same hedge funds for help to fix the financial crisis.
Evelyn Rusli: You can't call him an anti-capitalist because he yelled at a few hedge funds. The government became the lender, and they have a right to have a voice in the proceedings and they have a right to complain about it. They were this close to making a deal that would allow Chrysler some viability. And now we have to go through a messy bankruptcy. I think Obama's justified.
Jack Gage: Bankruptcy was the best path to viability from the start. Instead, we poured almost $75,000 per Chrysler employee down the toilet with the $4 billion we gave them to try and bail this company out. This is ludicrous. The creditors deserve their position as a secured lender in this structure going forward in bankruptcy as well. And look, this is not just another condemnation of capitalism by Obama, something like the AIG bonuses. This was scripted, this was deliberate. This is the way President Bush used to talk to terrorists over the television. This is very different. And this is an assault on capitalism.
Mike Maiello: I say Barack Obama is the ultimate capitalist here. He's "Larry the Liquidator." He's going to say, "You're going to stop making Jeeps and you'll start making slick vehicles. Come back and build slick Alpha Romeos that people want." The UAW has a claim here. They were promised health insurance benefits for their retirees. They have a legitimate claim on this company.
Forbes on FOX Debate
Stuart Varney: This week, the White House giving the OK for unions to be less transparent… while telling companies to be more transparent. Mike Ozanian says this isn't just a double-standard; it gives unions cover for corruption!
Mike Ozanian: Stuart, this is the ultimate in hypocrisy by a president who is becoming a huge hypocrite. He talks about this and does that. He's stabbing the average American worker in the back. He's opening the door to more corruption, while at the same time saying, "I'm going to go after corruption and get the rich guys." He's opening up a huge Pandora's Box of corruption here.
Stuart Varney: Mike this is the government saying that the union doesn't have to reveal quite so much financial information about salaries, perks, and all the rest of it. That is a lack of transparency, isn't it?
Mike Maiello: It is. But, we require public companies to give financial information about things like how much they pay their executives and stuff like that. Is a union a public company or a private company? We don't require private companies to publicly disclose that information. A union is a private organization, and if the members want to make the disclosure rules, they should.
Stuart Varney: Legalism, legalism, legalism.
(laughter)
John Rutledge: I think that Obama is owned by the pensions, lock, stock and barrel… from his quaffed hairdo to his shiny shoes. Look, since he's been president, he's systematically paid off the unions. It's sad, because it helps the union leaders screw the union workers at a time when they're scared and can't afford it. There are lots of stories about pension fund unions, including a teacher's union that received $3 million a month from an insurance company that sells an annuity product. Look, we need transparency. Corporate unions, corporate pensions, all of them. Shame on you, Obama. Turn on the lights for everybody.
Quentin Hardy: Why don't we spend a moment on what actually happened this week. In 2007, the Bush administration found a law that had been in existence since 1960 and had not been enforced by the labor department. The Bush administration then enforced it to the max. They passed another law late in 2008, making things harder for unions. The Obama administration took down both regulations this week. I thought you guys like deregulation. And Mike's got a point. These are private organizations. Why should they have to disclose everything? I thought you believed in private property.
Steve Forbes: This is covering up potential corruption. They are not just private associations. They are sanctioned by law in states. In states don't have right-to-work laws, you have to join a union to work. That's quite a bit different than setting up your own private business. On things like pensions, if you have a pension plan, you have to make filings with the federal government. So there are public disclosures out there, and the unions should be part of it.
Informer
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Stuart Varney: Week after week these guys tell you what to buy. But today, they're going to tell you what they bought:
Victoria Barret: SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
John Rutledge: Blackstone (BX)
Mike Maiello: Vanguard Small Cap Index (NAESX)
Jack Gage: Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX)
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Cashin' In
Bigger Risk to Economy: Swine Flu or National Health Care?
Jonathan Hoenig, CapitalistPig Asset Management: Government should take steps, as it is, to control these contagious outbreaks, like the swine flu. But that's different than the belief that you have a right to be cured of any analyst you get, no matter how much it costs, no matter how irresponsible you've been with your health, all paid for by society. I'm not an MD, But swine flu, that is a national health emergency. This one is insulin, this one's kidney is not, and it's a shame that it's being used to further that agenda.
Wayne Rogers, Wayne Rogers & Co: But I think we, as citizens, have to take some responsibility for this, you know. Keep our hands clean, do all of those things, you know. When you cough, cough into something, do all of those things. Be responsible. And to use this, like Jonathan says, is an excuse to further a political agenda, and that's somewhat outrageous and disingenuous.
John Bradshaw Layfield, www.layfieldenergy.com: No doubt about it. If you compare it to the Avian flu, which was 70 percent, with this it's about 5 percent. Half a million people die every year worldwide with the regular flu. Right now you're talking about 12 people. This is honestly overblown. I hope it doesn't spread. But they're making a lot to do about not very much.
Julian Epstein, Democratic strategist: No, I think this is a strawman. Unless you've been living in a cave, you would realize that the debate about — or the issue on swine flu and the debate about National health insurance have nothing to do with each other. The issue on swine flu is about a public health effort to contain the spread of the disease. Almost all epidemiologists are in agreement as to how to do that. The issue on national health insurance is how to fix a broken health insurance system that wastes 25 cents on the dollar, that is suffocating small businesses, and that leaves one out of five Americans out in the cold. These two things have nothing to do with one another. And the opponents of national health care reform try to argue that people are making an unfair connection between the two and are really creating a strawman argument. They have nothing to do with one another.
Tracy Byrnes, FOX Business Network: The administration is being opportunistic. The administration has said that it is time for national health care, using this as a little prop to push the agenda further.
Jonas Max Ferris, MaxFunds.com: Trips to the emergency rooms have gone up a lot in the last few weeks because of this media scare. Why are they going to emergency rooms? Because they don't have health care. They burden the system with their costs. So I would say they are related. I don't think the administration is putting the two together, but that's a direct relationship. Does that mean the government should pick up all the bills here? This is not a very dangerous thing yet, and there are more ways that people die that are more casual. I'm surprised that Jonathan even thinks this is a national emergency. It's unlikely. More people will die driving to the emergency room than they will the flu.
'Scare Force One' Photo-Op Cost $330K: Proof Government Doesn't Get It?
Tracy Byrnes: Well, they certainly don't know how to use Photoshop. This is ridiculous. They could have paid somebody's mortgage with this money and superimposed me. I'll go fly for they will. Even my mom could do something like this. It's obscene. And the worst part about it is the lack of communication with the city and they blew it off thinking it wasn't going to affect the people in Manhattan. That's especially insensitive.
John Bradshaw Layfield: These guys are completely out of touch. People in New York lived through 9/11. People in New York, you're starting to see beggars on the streets, people losing their jobs. The vice president had 56 himself. 40 percent of those were Republicans. Every one of them maybe put on this plane, flown somewhere else and left there. Our world would be better.
Jonathan Hoenig: Listen, I think you guys are making a good point, though. The government often times doesn't have a good sense of the unintended consequences of it's actions. Oh, let's take the plane for a spin. No one will mind. Whether it's ethanol or public health or some of these other issues, when the government makes a move, the ramifications are felt by so many folks that they're not even considering. We shouldn't spare an expense on keeping us safe of the proper role of government. But, by God, a photo shoot? Use Photoshop.
Wayne Rogers: I disagree to a certain extent. I think the cost is the point. Yes, they should notify the city of New York. The mayor was outraged. He wasn't told. He was right. And it can cause panic. The government never, ever considers costs in anything that they do, and it's outrageous. They just take your money, your taxpayer money, and spend it however they see fit and without any consideration whatsoever. Nobody in any business, nobody in a family in the United States, particularly one who is not earning a lot of money, does not look down and see what he's spending on food and things like that every day. He has a budget. The government has a budget that is unlimited and they managed to exceed it.
Jonas Max Ferris: We don't photo shop things in America…that's what the Soviet Union does. When our President goes on a brush-cutting thing, you know he's actually there. Second of all, people are getting wrapped up about $100,000. You know what? People get nabbed when the government is spending money not on them. The same week $13 billion in checks went out to social security recipients for no apparent reason, other than stimulus, because they don't need, because they're not getting laid off, because they're retired. No one is mad about that, because people are getting the money. But if the government wastes some money and they're not recipients of it, they go bananas.
Is Wall Street and Washington Telling Us to 'Sell in May and Go Away'?
Hoenig: Seasonal anomalies are a bunch of "malarkey." Go by the Super Bowl index or the Big Mac indicator or any other indicators people come up with. The market, in the summer of 1961, has nothing to do with the market in the summer of 2009. I think you need to invest based on your own outlook, certainly your own portfolio and in today's market, not back 40, November years ago.
Rogers: It's hard to ever argue with history, in the sense that history tells you something. But Jonathan is right in the sense that you might as well get a Ouija board. I happen to think in this year we're still in a decline and the economy is not going to recover in the next six months. So I don't see any bright lights out there. So, yes, I would probably, if I had to, I would probably sell in May this year. But that has to do with this particular year and this particular economy. It doesn't have to do with some crazy notion that, as Jonathan says, it's some spooky air that makes it work out this way.
Jonas Max Ferris: If you blow back 100 years, this period actually does OK. Stocks do better from November to May. But they have a positive return from May to November. So where are you going to go? It's not like you're avoiding losses. Second of all, cash yields nothing right now. Third… if you ignore the history and look after a 50 percent correction, which is what we had in the correction, you missed a big upside.
Byrnes: 2007 saw an increase as well, May to October. It was up maybe 5 percent. But still, it was up. I think, so, Wayne is right. This is a different market, different time. You look at where we are right now. You cannot compare, unfortunately, to what has happened, because things are so different now. One can even argue, you'll be buying on the dip certainly, because things will eventually start to turn.
John Bradshaw Layfield: Absolutely. Sell in May. There's a disconnect between reality and what's going on. We have a new president. He said we turned the corner. We have not. It will continue to deteriorate. So the market will likely come down.
What I Need to Know for Next Week
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Tracy Byrnes: After hours on Thursday we're going to hear the results of these Bank stress tests. They're worried that any bank that fails will see their stock go tumbling into the ground. We know Citibank and Bank of America need cash. The fact that we know them will still probably not going to help the stock price, once the information comes out. Analysts feel Suntrust, Regions Bank and Key Corp will likely fail.
Jonathan Hoenig: I think the Mexican Peso, which has not been so good to me, rallies, as swine flu fever fades. Keep an eye on FXM. This gets off the front page, this is a currency that can do well.
John Bradshaw Layfield: New home sales numbers next week will show the housing market is still in trouble. The comps are getting easier, because you have declining sales from a year past. Don't be fooled. Home prices will probably fall another 10 percent to 15 percent. Coming off the horrible comparisons that we saw a year ago when housing really was in the tank, you're still seeing further decline. Absolutely.
Jonas Max Ferris: Credit card debt is going to come out next week. It will be lower, because for the next few weeks people will be cutting back on the amount of debt they have, partially because credit card companies are cutting off their limits. The debt to consumer, that era is over. That is ridiculous. Consumers will borrow again and I will be back to normal eventually. The era is never-ending. America is a borrowing nation.
Wayne Rogers: Investors got a big wake-up call this last week, when Arlen Specter, for reasons that were totally selfish, immoral and all those other reasons, changed parties. It was self-preservation. A typical congressional individual who says I don't care about the people I represent, I don't care about the people at all. I'm only interested in me. Let's talk about what I want. And that's a guy who just sabotaged — the Congress sabotaged the people. I hope that's a wake-up call for this week, next week and the week following.
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