| Polaris Industries, Inc. Q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript Polaris Industries, Inc. (PII)Q3 2009 Earnings CallOctober 15, 2009 10:00 am ETComplete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Boeing: Cutting Edge Company, Profiting from the Military-Industrial Complex Joseph L. Shaefer submits: It was Dwight D. Eisenhower, America’s only 5-star General President, who first warned us of the “military-industrial complex.” (Less well-known is the fact that in the draft of the address, Eisenhower initially used the term “military-industrial-congressional complex,” but struck the word “congressional” in order to pacify members of Congress. Too bad – Congressional meddling and jockeying to get more dollars in their district is the largest single factor in defense cost overruns.) Still, even with Congressional posturing, jockeying and meddling, we manage to muddle through and support the best-trained and arguably the best-equipped fighting force in the world. I believe this is because true patriots occupy much of the military-industrial complex. Many, from security guards to the elder statesmen of the industry, are former military themselves.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Used Car Prices: Another Positive Economic Indicator Calafia Beach Pundit submits: Over time, one would expect the average selling price of used cars to climb in line with inflation and in line with new car prices. As this chart shows, that is indeed the case, if your time horizon is sufficiently long. Notable exceptions to this occurred in the early 2000s, and then in 2008. The first period was one in which the economy was feeling the after-effects of very tight monetary policy from 1996-2001. Tight money had led to declining commodity prices, declining gold prices, and a very strong dollar. Weak used car prices were reflecting deflationary pressures that were showing up in a lot of asset markets. The second period was dominated by the sudden collapse in confidence and spending that in turn was the fallout from the financial crisis. Prices fell because demand collapsed.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Disclosure Can Save Magna International Founder Stronach's Payday Streetwise Blog submits: By Andrew WillisFrank Stronach has always been the poster boy for all that’s wrong with corporate governance.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
All Aboard: Rail Traffic Shows Best Week of 2010 Wall Street Strategies submits:Remember way back when (like a few weeks ago), a lot of economists were calling for a double-dip recession in the economy? One of the data points they used was the drop in rail traffic (and trucking tonnage), however, both have rebounded over the pas t few weeks, with the most recent week (ended July 31) marking a record for both carloads and intermodal shipments for 2010. Year over year, total shipments increased 9.4% year over year, but was still down 10.6% from the same week of 2008. Shipments during 2008 were shaping up to rival traffic from the record years of 2006 and 2007, then the financial crisis hit and shipments fell through the floor. For comparison purposes, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports weekly traffic compared to 2009 and 2008.Intermodal traffic totaled 232,895 trailers and containers, up 20.2% from the same week in 2009, and up 0.9% compared with 2008. Compared with the same week in 2009, container volume increased 21.9% and trailer volume rose 11.7%. Compared with the same week in 2008, container volume increased 9% and trailer volume dropped 28.9%.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |