04.16.13
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Reuters: Stock Markets Rally, lifted by gold, earnings, and data

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, April 11, 2013. REUTERS-Brendan McDermid

Stocks jumped more than 1 percent on Tuesday, a day after their worst decline since November, as gold prices rebounded and earnings from Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson improved the outlook for first-quarter results.

Inflation data, which reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus plan in place, added to bullish sentiment.

The price of gold jumped 1 percent after its record daily drop in dollar terms on Monday. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (GLD.P), which fell 8.8 percent on record volume Monday, rose 1.1 percent to $132.80. The S&P 500 materials index .SPLRCMA climbed 1.9 percent, leading the benchmark S&P 500 higher.

The market’s advance followed the S&P 500’s drop of more than 2 percent drop on Monday, giving the index its worst one-day percentage loss since November 7. The S&P 500 is up 10.4 percent since the start of the year after enjoying a strong first-quarter run, partly as a result of the Fed’s continued stimulus efforts.

“Yesterday I think was a bit out of line … But I think the trend is that the market is consolidating, that we’re going to see a little bit of a pullback here over the next month and a half or so, and then we’ll get on to greener pastures,” said Brian Amidei, managing director at HighTower Advisors in Palm Desert, California.

Click below for the full article.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/16/us-markets-stocks-idUSBRE93006T20130416

04.16.13
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The Week Weighs In: Who’s behind the Boston Marathon bombings? 4 theories …..

aw enforcement officials don’t have any official suspects in Monday’s twin bombings at the finish line of the Boston marathon. And President Obama specifically urged people not to speculate on who’s behind the attack, which killed at least three people, including an 8-year-old boy, and wounded more than 100 others, including several amputations.

“We still don’t know who did this or why,” Obama said Monday night. “People should not jump to conclusions before we have all the facts. But make no mistake. We will get to the bottom of this. We will find out who did this. We will find out why they did this. Any individual or responsible groups will feel the full weight of justice.”

Click below for the full article on 4 theories of who was behind the attacks.

http://theweek.com/article/index/242773/whos-behind-the-boston-marathon-bombings-4-theories

04.16.13
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Rand Paul offers up alternative Immigration Plan From business week: Paul Looks to Broaden Appeal by Backing Immigration Shift

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky endorsed immigration changes that would give legal status to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. in a move to broaden his appeal ahead of a potential 2016 Republican presidential bid.

Paul’s plan, outlined in a speech yesterday, would create work visas for an estimated 11 million immigrants in the U.S. illegally and let Congress verify border security before revamping the nation’s immigration laws.

Paul set his proposal apart from one being crafted by a bipartisan group of senators, including another potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, Marco Rubio of Florida. Their plan would provide a pathway to citizenship.

“I’m not creating a new line for citizenship,” Paul said on CNN yesterday. “I’m just saying, you get in the current line that exists.”

“You don’t have to go back home, but we also don’t want to put you at the front of the line because that’s unfair to people who’ve been waiting legally,” he told reporters on a conference call yesterday.

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What do you think about Paul’s plans and the other bipartisan plan proposed?  Click below for the full article.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-03-19/rand-paul-endorses-legal-status-for-undocumented-immigrants

 

04.16.13
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More on Immigration Bill From Bloomberg Business Week: Criticism of immigration bill from left and right

To some conservatives, it’s amnesty.

To some immigration advocates, it’s unnecessarily punitive.

The Senate’s new bipartisan immigration bill drew criticism from the right and from the left Tuesday — convincing members of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” that wrote it that they’re on the right track.

“This has something for everybody to hate,” said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.

Said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.:  “No one gets everything they want.”

Schumer and another leader of the effort, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., met with President Barack Obama on Tuesday to brief him on the bill, a top second-term priority for the president. Obama issued a statement after the meeting supporting the Senate effort and urging action.

“This bill is clearly a compromise, and no one will get everything they wanted, including me. But it is largely consistent with the principles that I have repeatedly laid out for comprehensive reform,” Obama said. “I urge the Senate to quickly move this bill forward and, as I told Sens. Schumer and McCain, I stand willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that comprehensive immigration reform becomes a reality as soon as possible.”

Click below for the full article.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-04-16/bipartisan-bill-would-remake-immigration-system

04.16.13
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AP News: Bipartisan bill would remake immigration system

The U.S. immigration system would undergo dramatic changes under a bipartisan Senate bill that puts a new focus on prospective immigrants’ merit and employment potential, while seeking to end illegal immigration once and for all by creating legal avenues for workers to come here.

The bill would put the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally on a 13-year path to U.S. citizenship that would cost each $2,000 in fines plus additional fees, and would begin only after steps have been taken to secure the border, according to an outline of the measure.

The sweeping legislation also would remake the nation’s inefficient legal immigration system, creating new immigration opportunities for tens of thousands of high- and low-skilled workers, as well as a new “merit visa” aimed at bringing people with talents to the U.S. Senators planned to formally introduce the bill Tuesday, but a planned press event including immigration advocates, business groups, religious leaders and others was delayed until later in the week because of the tragedy at the Boston Marathon.

Click below for the full article.

http://news.yahoo.com/bipartisan-bill-remake-immigration-system-134409846.html

04.15.13
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Huffington Post: Explosives at the Boston Marathon, Believed to Be a Terrorist Attack

Two explosions rocked the Boston Marathon near the finish line, causing multiple casualties and sending the city into chaos. Another explosion occurred at the JFK Library, but authorities were unsure if the incidents were linked.

Click the link below for live updates.

[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/boston-marathon-explosion_n_3086665.html]

04.15.13
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More on the Stock Drop: Michael Belkin Predicts 40% Stock Market Drop; Other Opinions and Articles

Hedge Fund Consultant Michael Belkin spoke at The Big Picture conference, predicting a 40% stock market drop in the coming 12-15 months. Belkin joins Sam Mamudi to discuss his case for a market drop.

What do you think. Check out the video here:
http://live.wsj.com/video/michael-belkin-predicts-40-stock-market-drop/A1C9660A-0321-4E82-BA0E-EFD4CD092D40.html#!A1C9660A-0321-4E82-BA0E-EFD4CD092D40

More Articles on Today’s Stock Crash:

AL.COM: Stock market takes biggest drop this year
http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/stock_market_takes_biggest_dro.html

Huffington Post: Stock Market Suffers Worst Drop Of The Year On China, Commodities Concerns
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/15/stock-market-worst-drop_n_3087334.html?utm_hp_ref=business

Yahoo News: Stock market takes biggest drop this year
http://news.yahoo.com/stock-market-takes-biggest-drop-201935964–finance.html

UK’s The Telegraph: Business news and markets: as it happened – April 15, 2013
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/business-news-markets-live/9988168/Business-news-and-markets-as-it-happened-April-15-2013.html

04.15.13
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Daily Finance: Dow Has Worst Day This Year as Commodities Plunge

NEW YORK (AP) – A steep fall in commodity prices led the stock market to its worst day this year on Monday, as worries about the global economy resurfaced.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 265 points, its biggest loss in five months.

The first trigger came from China. News that the world’s second-largest economy slowed unexpectedly pummeled oil, copper and other commodities. In the stock market, companies that produce oil and mine for metals fared the worst. A slowdown in China, a huge importer of basic materials like copper, would stymie profits at those companies.

Click the link below for the full aritcle.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/15/dow-jones-stock-market-drop-commodities/

04.15.13
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More on the Gold Price Drop

Earlier we posted Peter Schiff’s thoughts on the gold price drop.  What do you think, is this a market correction?  Will the price of gold rise as the economy and the dollar weaken or has the economy stablized?

Below are a series of articles on the topic with information and varying opinions on the subject.

Gold plunges to lowest in more than 2 years
http://news.yahoo.com/gold-plunges-lowest-more-2-181027539.html

Zero-Hedge: What happened the last time we saw gold drop like this?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-15/what-happened-last-time-we-saw-gold-drop

Daily Paul: Gold and Silver Doom and Gloom or Crack Up Boom?
http://www.dailypaul.com/281931/gold-and-silver-doom-and-gloom-or-crack-up-boom

Ben Bernanke Swamps the Gold Bugs
http://news.yahoo.com/ben-bernanke-swamps-gold-bugs-173938980.html

Business Insider: The Gold Collapse Is Personally Costing Ron Paul A Fortune
http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-investment-gold-2013-4

CNN Money: Gold plunges to two-year low
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/15/investing/gold-prices-china/index.html

Reuters: Gold investors run for the exits, prices suffer biggest-ever drop
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/04/15/markets-gold-idINDEE93E0CK20130415

04.15.13
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Tax Day Special: With Both 2012 POTUS Tax Rates Under Attack, Just what is a fair tax rate?

Has President Obama been taking advice from Mitt Romney’s tax accountant?

Months after attacking Mr. Romney for his low tax rate, some critics are now turning the tables on the president, saying his 2012 tax rate is too low.

The president paid $112,214 in federal income taxes on an adjusted gross income of $608,611 in 2012, making his effective federal tax rate 18.4 percent. (The Obamas also paid $29,450 in Illinois income tax.)

Apparently, that’s a lot less than some folks at MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” pay.

“The president was talking about how shameful it is that Mitt Romney paid less in taxes than teachers paid in taxes, and yet Barack Obama, reportedly worth $14 million, paid less in taxes than teachers or Warren Buffet’s poor, overworked secretary,” “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough said on Monday’s show.

Is Obama’s tax rate too low?

Click below for the full article.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Wire/2013/0415/Obama-s-tax-rate-is-18.4-percent.-Is-that-too-low-for-a-millionaire?nav=topic-tag_topic_page-storyList