Economy:1-1-09 Microsoft planning big layoffs for January?

[herm0016]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: herm0016

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

Not in dave's bizzaro world. You see, since he can't invest wisely then anyone else who can and makes money from it is evil....

 

[jackace]

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: herm0016

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

Not in dave's bizzaro world. You see, since he can't invest wisely then anyone else who can and makes money from it is evil....

I think he was talking more about people born rich, who have never worked a real job in their lives living off investments of a trust fund or some other family wealth. I don't think he was talking about Joe Schmo down the street working a construction job who invests his savings in a retirement fund like an IRA and/or 401k.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: jackace

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: herm0016

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

Not in dave's bizzaro world. You see, since he can't invest wisely then anyone else who can and makes money from it is evil....

I think he was talking more about people born rich, who have never worked a real job in their lives living off investments of a trust fund or some other family wealth. I don't think he was talking about Joe Schmo down the street working a construction job who invests his savings in a retirement fund like an IRA and/or 401k.

That still doesn't change anything since there are very very few who are like you describe.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
A little. MrsSkoorb said flatly and summarily NO to my garage expansion, which means that I can have no more than five cars ready to go at any one time and the '09 Gallardo I picked up recently as a daily driver is probably going to have to sit on the driveway. I will probably have Manuel cover it when it's parked, but if it's raining we have the old Manuel-carries-my-umbrella-while-I-walk thing and I still get the occasional drop on me

i've had to cut back on jaunts to the virgin islands. i may have to let go one of the staff. that'll be hard, because they all do such good work. but do i really need a full time gardener? the cartwrights down the street have a guy that just comes tuesdays, thursdays, and saturdays. he does a really good job with the azaleas.

 

[cubeless]

Originally posted by: jackace

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: herm0016

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

Not in dave's bizzaro world. You see, since he can't invest wisely then anyone else who can and makes money from it is evil....

I think he was talking more about people born rich, who have never worked a real job in their lives living off investments of a trust fund or some other family wealth. I don't think he was talking about Joe Schmo down the street working a construction job who invests his savings in a retirement fund like an IRA and/or 401k.

what he said was what he meant... he means to confiscate anyone's wealth, no matter how it was accrued... that's how idealistic commies living in a free society think... amazing how they get sad real quick when their dream becomes reality, unless of course they are of the ruling class... and they are the first ones to get eliminated when they start complaining that the bosses aren't following the creedo after the worker state is put in place...

 

[Michael]

dmcowen674 - I have been working hard to get to the goal where I live on my investments. Not too far away. Is that my fault somehow? Plus, most retired people live on their investments. You hate old people as well?

Michael

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Michael
dmcowen674 - I have been working hard to get to the goal where I live on my investments. Not too far away. Is that my fault somehow?

Plus, most retired people live on their investments. You hate old people as well?

Michael

Apples and Oranges

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: jackace

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: herm0016

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

Not in dave's bizzaro world. You see, since he can't invest wisely then anyone else who can and makes money from it is evil....

I think he was talking more about people born rich, who have never worked a real job in their lives living off investments of a trust fund or some other family wealth.

There is even a commerical on TV now featuring a silver spooner.

 

[StageLeft]

Well thanks for coming out in the open.
What makes you guys finally admit to being rich while denying it for so many years?
What is different this time?

For me, it's the shame. My father always taught me to look on the lowers (that's people who don't run in our circles) for the rabble they are--or I thought they were, but then I realized that they are people, too. Although we'd sometimes go on those human safari hunting trips in Africa before the end of the apartheid (as an aside, even lower class people can be inventive from time to time--far more than a lion--when they know that you're hunting them for sport), something never quite settled right in my head and I am trying to make ammends for it. I actually said thank you to the person who pumped my gas last night. Baby steps.

 

[BoberFett]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Michael
dmcowen674 - I have been working hard to get to the goal where I live on my investments. Not too far away. Is that my fault somehow?

Plus, most retired people live on their investments. You hate old people as well?

Michael

Apples and Oranges

Really? Tell us how. Explain the difference.

 

[dmcowen674]

As predicted by yours truly:

8-4-2008 Satellite TV Sees First Quarterly Subscriber Loss Ever

Dish loses 25,000 TV customers to economy, competition

Dish network added 170,000 new satellite subscribers. This quarter? Not so much.

According to the company's latest earnings report, the satellite company lost 25,000 video customers, leaving them with 13.79 million subscribers total.

It's notable because this is the first time a U.S. satellite TV operator has ever posted a quarterly subscriber loss.

According to an SEC filing by Dish, the losses were caused by "weak economic conditions, aggressive promotional offerings by our competition" and HD competition by rivals.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
As predicted by yours truly:

8-4-2008 Satellite TV Sees First Quarterly Subscriber Loss Ever

Dish loses 25,000 TV customers to economy, competition

Dish network added 170,000 new satellite subscribers. This quarter? Not so much.

According to the company's latest earnings report, the satellite company lost 25,000 video customers, leaving them with 13.79 million subscribers total.

It's notable because this is the first time a U.S. satellite TV operator has ever posted a quarterly subscriber loss.

According to an SEC filing by Dish, the losses were caused by "weak economic conditions, aggressive promotional offerings by our competition" and HD competition by rivals.

While it could be the economy, I'm willing to bet it is more due to Direct TV.

 

[Michael]

dmcowen674 - "Apples and Oranges" . Sorry, you're complaining about "rich' people that live on their investments and used living on your investments as par tof your definition of rich. Like I said, most retired people live on their investments. You didn't explain yourself with your answer.

As a matter of fact, if you look at just about any age/wealth graph, you'll se ethat the passage of time makes a huge difference. Older people tend to be wealthier than young people because they have had longer to accumulate assets.

Some people are luckier in their start (I had nothing to do with who my parents were or where I started my life). I have traveled all over the place because of my career and have met lots of Thai rice farmers or Chinese rural workers etc. that are bright, hard working and if they had started with the same advantages I had then I can almsot guarantee that they would be further ahead than me today. However, I am also benefiting from the decisions the society I live in made in the past while they are suffering for some poor choices their societies made in the past. Again - investment gives capital for the future.

That said, I made many choices earlier in my life and have lived in a way that it may not be too long before the requirement to work to have a comfortable living will go away. So you hate me because I'm smarter than you is my guess. You sit there consumed by envy because I am where I am becuase of my hard work.

Since I cannot vote in the USA and cannot donate to political parties, you can't lay anything related to that on me.

So, are you going to answer the questions you are being asked or are you going to change the topic title and skate off into la-la land like normal.

Michael

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: jackace

Originally posted by: CADsortaGUY

Originally posted by: herm0016

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

There is a huge difference between those that work for it Vs those that don't.

Living on interest and funds/stocks != working for it.

so making good decisions and investing as much as one can is not considered working for it??

Not in dave's bizzaro world. You see, since he can't invest wisely then anyone else who can and makes money from it is evil....

I think he was talking more about people born rich, who have never worked a real job in their lives living off investments of a trust fund or some other family wealth. I don't think he was talking about Joe Schmo down the street working a construction job who invests his savings in a retirement fund like an IRA and/or 401k.

Which in Daves world apparently consists of everybody when in fact is a very small % of the people. Besides what is the problem? If they want to sit on their ass and spend their money that is their business. Leaves an open spot for somebody who isnt born with the silver fork to replace them.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
As predicted by yours truly:

You did, eh? Mind saying when? A prophet who can make some wildly out-there predictions that always come to pass--I'm really surprised you are not rich from investing and knowing the market/economy so early.

 

[Lemon law]

I gave up satellite TV a number of years ago. More on principle than economic need, the price kept rising, 90% of the choices they had in their forced programming packages did not interest me in any way, and I finally told Dish point blank, either let me pay for just the channels I want or you can shove it.

There are two basic economic models Dish can use to get the revenues needed to operate, either charge a few people a lot of money or charge far greater numbers of people less money. So I am thrilled to see their former model failing because I will not subsidize a policy that rips me off.

I hope someone at Dish is listening, I still own the equipment, but you are not getting a dime from me until you straighten up your act.

 

[Pliablemoose]

DISH Network profit up 50% amid fewer subscribers
By Steve Goldstein
Last update: 6:19 a.m. EDT Aug. 4, 2008
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- DISH Network (DISH:
DISH 29.85, +1.94, +7.0%) said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that second-quarter net income rose 50% to $335.9 million, or 73 cents a share, with revenue up 6% to $2.91 billion. DISH Network lost approximately 25,000 net subscribers during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, ending the quarter with approximately 13.79 million subscribers. But monthly average revenue per subscriber was $69.38 during the three months ended June 30, 2008 versus $66.06 during the same period in 2007 on price increases, increased advertising services revenue and increased penetration of HD programming. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected a profit of 60 cents a share on sales of $2.91 billion

There's going to be this kind of churn when the market is near saturated, and with a bump of 50% in profits, I don't think the Dish execs are going to be jumping out of windows any time soon, but hey, the sky is falling...

Personally, I'm pissed at all the HD providers, they freak out if you ask for HD signal to more than one TV. I have everything but the tuner cards for a new HTPC and I'll be going all rental & OTA. My rental program is a whopping $24/month, and the OTA is free.

IIRC, I have 4 months left on my contract.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Pliablemoose

DISH Network profit up 50% amid fewer subscribers
By Steve Goldstein
Last update: 6:19 a.m. EDT Aug. 4, 2008
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- DISH Network (DISH:
DISH 29.85, +1.94, +7.0%) said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that second-quarter net income rose 50% to $335.9 million, or 73 cents a share, with revenue up 6% to $2.91 billion. DISH Network lost approximately 25,000 net subscribers during the quarter ended June 30, 2008, ending the quarter with approximately 13.79 million subscribers. But monthly average revenue per subscriber was $69.38 during the three months ended June 30, 2008 versus $66.06 during the same period in 2007 on price increases, increased advertising services revenue and increased penetration of HD programming. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected a profit of 60 cents a share on sales of $2.91 billion

There's going to be this kind of churn when the market is near saturated, and with a bump of 50% in profits, I don't think the Dish execs are going to be jumping out of windows any time soon, but hey, the sky is falling...

Personally, I'm pissed at all the HD providers, they freak out if you ask for HD signal to more than one TV. I have everything but the tuner cards for a new HTPC and I'll be going all rental & OTA. My rental program is a whopping $24/month, and the OTA is free.

IIRC, I have 4 months left on my contract.

Another reason satellite sucks. I had it for a few years and dropped it because a) it DOES fail in truly bad weather and that is wholly intolerable to me, b) no package deals with internet (granted, that generally saves very little and is more BS than anything else), c) impossible to have multiple tvs without a stupid receiver (very messy/hassle), d) contracts (cable has none, almost invariably across the nation)

 

[dmcowen674]

8-6-3008 Freddie Mac reports loss of $821 million

Freddie Mac on Wednesday posted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss, set plans to slash its common stock dividend and warned of more difficulty ahead amid the steepest U.S. housing market slump since the Great Depression.

The second-biggest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding also affirmed a commitment to raise $5.5 billion in additional capital, but it provided no immediate details of its plan.

 

[dmcowen674]

You're doing a heck of a job Bushie

8-7-2006 Jobless claims rise to highest since March 2002

The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits last week climbed to its highest point in more than six years as companies cut back given the faltering economy.

Among the companies announcing job cuts in late July or early August were: General Motors Corp., Weyerhaeuser Co., and Starbucks Corp. Bennigan's restaurants owned by privately held Metromedia Restaurant Group, are closing, driving more people to unemployment lines.

Economists expect another half million jobs to be eliminated this year alone. The jobless rate could hit 6.5 percent by the middle of next year.

The country is getting pounded by many negative forces, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

"Labor markets have softened further and financial markets remain under considerable stress. Tight credit conditions, the ongoing housing contraction and elevated energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters," the Fed said.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
You're doing a heck of a job Bushie

8-7-2006 Jobless claims rise to highest since March 2002

The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits last week climbed to its highest point in more than six years as companies cut back given the faltering economy.

Among the companies announcing job cuts in late July or early August were: General Motors Corp., Weyerhaeuser Co., and Starbucks Corp. Bennigan's restaurants owned by privately held Metromedia Restaurant Group, are closing, driving more people to unemployment lines.

Economists expect another half million jobs to be eliminated this year alone. The jobless rate could hit 6.5 percent by the middle of next year.

The country is getting pounded by many negative forces, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday.

"Labor markets have softened further and financial markets remain under considerable stress. Tight credit conditions, the ongoing housing contraction and elevated energy prices are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few quarters," the Fed said.

"softened" I love it. Whenever a gov puppet uses the term "soften" when speaking of the economy, the real term is "getting f***ed".

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
You're doing a heck of a job Bushie

Instead of just baseless insults, maybe you have a suggestion for how to do better. To improve the situation - and then you can push that idea and insult those who oppose it based on the merits of your idea.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
You're doing a heck of a job Bushie

Instead of just baseless insults, maybe you have a suggestion for how to do better. To improve the situation - and then you can push that idea and insult those who oppose it based on the merits of your idea.

Here's an idea. Change sides for a change.

Republicans have had control for nearly a decade.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: Jaskalas

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
You're doing a heck of a job Bushie

Instead of just baseless insults, maybe you have a suggestion for how to do better. To improve the situation - and then you can push that idea and insult those who oppose it based on the merits of your idea.

I agree that insults really don't get us anywhere and complaints without solutions are not the most productive means to fix anything, but I do believe that the more people that realize how bad unemployment is getting in the US the better. It is very difficult to find a job in most industries and in most places in the US right now and it seems to only be getting worse. Unemployment is not just a result of a bad economy. It further weakens the economy. If for no other reason, it directly ties in with how little the people are spending.

Some people believe that unemployment isn't that bad and really doesn't need as much attention as it does right now to be resolved. That blows my mind. We need many more jobs in America. We need for people to start spending again.