Archives for August 2013

August 2013 - Page 9 of 14 - Money Morning - Only the News You Can Profit From

Obama Brings the Stick to Apple-Samsung Patent War

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President Barack Obama added an unexpected twist to the patent wars when he took the extraordinarily rare step of vetoing the International Trade Commission's own trade sanctions against Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) last week.

The trade commission had ruled that Apple violated some of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd's patents, and the commission was set to ban outright several key Apple products, such as the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and the iPad 2 and 3G models – all sold by AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), among others.

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Bank of America and JPMorgan, Oh How Illegal Activity Pays

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What a surprise. The big banks are not playing by the rules — the rule of law, that is.

News last week revealed that Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) are dirty, dirty, dirty.

The Justice Department announced that it is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Bank of America on the grounds that the bank lied about the quality of the mortgages underlying its mortgage-backed securities (MBS) prior to the housing collapse and financial crisis. The Justice Department is still on a high from its successful civil lawsuit against Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s (NYSE:GS) mid-level toxic securities shill, Fabrice Tourre.

The charges allege out-and-out fraud in Bank of America's soup-to-nuts loan origination and securitization of mortgages. Loans, bad from the start, were knowingly bundled and securitized into trade-able MBS, unbeknownst to buyers.

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The Political Plot Thickens As LNG Export Approvals Trickle In

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The anticipated liquefied natural gas (LNG) export boom has taken another small step forward.

After signing off on just two export licenses, a third proposal was given the green light by the Department of Energy on Thursday.

This one belongs to a joint venture of British major BG Group – available via American Depository Receipts (ADRs) in the U.S. (OTC: BRGYY) – and the Southern Union division of Energy Transfer Partners, LP (NYSE: ETP).

The joint venture is now approved to export of up to 2 billion cubic feet of LNG a day for the next 20 years from a new facility at Lake Charles, LA to any nation not on a sanctions list.

The Most Hated Man on Wall Street - And Why You Should Back Him

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Interview with Senator Angus King, Co-author of 21st century Glass-Steagall

A little more than two weeks ago a "little" story hit the news. And by little, I mean perhaps the biggest money story that you and I will likely see in our lifetimes.

That's because, for the first time in decades, it sets up two opponents, Wall Street and Washington, on opposite sides of the ring.

So who is "the most hated man on Wall Street" right now. That would be Senator Angus King, along with his cohorts Senators Elizabeth Warren and John McCain.

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President Obama, Champion of the Free Market

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This week, President Obama said something that made me shake my head.

While speaking outside Phoenix, AZ's Desert Vista High School on Tuesday, the president rejected accusations of favoring "socialism" in the housing markets.
"I know that sounds confusing to folks who call me a 'Socialist,'" he said. "I think I saw some posters there on the way in."
"But," he continued, "I actually believe in the free market."
Here's the thing…

After five years of top-down government policies that have done little to spur economic growth, we're skeptical about the president's love for unfettered capitalism.

Just look at the following seven "free-market" policies implemented by President Obama during his four-and-a-half years in office:

Why Congress Is Still the Best Club in the World

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Oh, to be a Washington insider… armed with what anyone else would call "material information," the kind that moves markets.

Not, of course, that anybody in Congress would ever use their positions as crafty, I mean crafters, of laws, or disseminators of dollars, to make a wager on the roll of the dice they have marked up in their sweaty little hands.

No way!

Those illustrious lawmakers and budget breakers, no doubt by accident or by mistake, tried that for as long as they could get away with it. Trading on "inside" information whispered on Capitol Hill.

But once they got wrist-slapped, they have, I am sure, sworn stock plunging off their daily routines. Or at least they swear they have.

No, they didn't swear off insider trading on their own. But inside the "club," anything goes.

The pump-and-dumpers in Congress were actually straitjacketed by a law they themselves came out with after some public outrage over a "60 Minutes" investigation put them in the hot seat.

European Stock Market Looks Stronger – But Don't Be Fooled

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A few economic reports over the past two weeks have fueled optimism that a Eurozone recovery will trigger bullish performance in the European stock market.

The German Economy Ministry released a report on Friday saying that economic activity has increased notably in Q2, supported by both private consumption and investment in building construction.

Last week, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) report for July, which surveys around 3,000 firms, came out to 50.3 points, up from an initial estimate of 50.1 points. This marks the first time Eurozone manufacturing was above a 50-point boom-or-bust trajectory since July 2011. The PMI also showed that production was up for the first time since February 2012, and that job losses are being staved off.

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Best Stocks to Buy Now: A Big Growth Case for Small Banks

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While the big banks may have the attention of the Street right now, it's the smaller regional and community banks that are among the best stocks to buy now.

These small bank growth stocks are starting to show dazzling growth as their balance sheets improve dramatically. And they are still very early in the recovery cycle, so there is still plenty of time for individual investors to catch this train…

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Where Silver Prices Are Trading Today - and What's Next

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Silver prices today continue to wander aimlessly around the $20-an-ounce level as the white metal is buffeted by many of the same factors restraining the gold price. This drifting comes after a dramatic drop of 35% in the first half 2013.

As with gold, much of the drop is due to fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin "tapering" purchases of bonds from its current $85 billion-a-month level. If this comes to pass, the financial markets currently believe this will reduce excess liquidity and therefore any possible inflationary fires.

Here's what investors watching today's silver price have to understand…

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Jon Corzine: The Face of American Crony Capitalism

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This week, House Republicans called for a criminal probe of Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor and former CEO of MF Global. Republicans allege that Corzine may have committed perjury when testifying in front of Congress after his firm's collapse.

Actually, Corzine personally ran MF Global into the ground.

In October 2011, MF Global declared bankruptcy after Corzine made a bad bet on $6.4 billion in European sovereign debt. After the collapse, more than $1.2 billion in client funds went missing.

Corzine has denied any wrongdoing, even though recorded conversations suggest that Corzine was directly responsible for illicitly redirecting customer funds.

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