What's in a name? - Printable Version

+- InsaneTrain Forums (https://insanetrain.com)
+-- Forum: General (https://insanetrain.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: General Forum (https://insanetrain.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=8)
+--- Thread: What's in a name? (/showthread.php?tid=46699)

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-21-2008

Over 100 U.S. "blue chips" now selling for under $10 a share
Wed Nov 19, 2008 6:58pm EST

By Kristina Cooke and Dan Burns

NEW YORK (Reuters) - One hundred and one.

No, that's not Dalmatians but the number of stocks in the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index now trading for less than $10 a share.

In fact, $10 would get you 10 shares of online broker E*Trade (ETFC.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), now the cheapest stock in the index at 98 cents a share. At the other end of this low-ball spectrum you can get a small slice of the garbage business with a share of Allied Waste (AW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) at $9.90.

In between lies a raft of household names, many formerly held up as blue chips, including Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($6.40), Alcoa (AA.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($8.16), Xerox (XRX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($5.58), Motorola (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($3.44), Starbucks (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($7.97) and Yahoo (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($9.14), not to mention beleaguered automakers Ford Motor (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($1.26) and General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) ($2.79).

In all, the group makes up the greatest number of sub-$10 stocks in the index in at least 28 years, said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at Standard & Poor's.

In fact, Silverblatt said it could be the most in the post-World-War II era, though he cautioned that his data reaches only as far back as 1980.

"This is definitely unusual," he said. "I think you'd have to go back as far as the 1940s, when $10 was worth more to see a similar number," he said.

According to S&P data, 101 is almost double the 59 companies with share prices below $10 in October 2001 when the dotcom meltdown was in full swing and almost triple the 35 sub-$10 stocks in October 1987.

Ten dollars is more than just a psychological barrier. Some institutional investors cannot invest in shares below $10 and some bond contracts require companies above that level.

Some other gloomy facts: only five S&P 500 companies had share prices of more than $100 on Wednesday.

So far this year, the S&P 500 has plunged 45 percent. It is now worth just over $7 trillion, the index's lowest collective market value in 11 years.

Twenty-five stocks, or five percent of the index, don't make the $1 billion mark in market cap, and just 11 exceed the $100 billion level.

In fact, a third of the entire index is not even qualified to be in the index -- 186 stocks have market caps under $4 billion, the minimum value for consideration for S&P 500 membership.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

bump

---

What's in a name? - WoolyGoat - 11-22-2008

Penny Hardaway was $$$ in that movie.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

http://ejoh.zmolklife.com/fs/the-poo-poo-terrorist.html

ejoh / fs[definitely free from web 2.0]



The poo-poo terrorist has been arrested

One of the most feared criminals in Norway has been arrested. He has been called the poo-poo terrorist because he has vandalized his victim’s cars with, that’s right, human "shit". The first attacks were noticed in April 2007 when Elisa Viitamaa, 29, got her car filled with almost ten liters of a brown, smelling substance. The poo-poo terrorist has thrown frozen cubes of his own excrement into cars for almost a year. Something that has cost the car owners thousands of dollars to clean up. The attacks have been a riddle to the police in Østfinnmark. At least until now.

After a tip they have now arrested a 50 years old man. When searching the suspect’s house the police found human excrement in his freezer. They also found objects that can tie him to the crime scenes. The objects along with the excrement have been sent to be analyzed. The motive of the attacks is unknown. The man is likely to be charged for his crimes in January.



From Expressen.se - Swedish

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008




--------------------------------------------------------------------



--------------------------------------------------------------------

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

Citigroup May End Up With Government Rescue After Stock Skids

By Christine Harper and Bradley Keoun

Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government may step in to rescue Citigroup Inc. after a crisis in confidence erased half the bank’s stock-market value in three days, according to investors and analysts.

Citigroup’s $2 trillion of assets dwarfs companies such as American International Group Inc. that got support from the U.S. government this year. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may favor a rescue to avoid the chaotic aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy in September.

“Citi is in the category of ‘too big to fail,’” said Michael Holland, chairman and founder of Holland & Co. in New York, which oversees $4 billion. “There is a commitment from this administration and the next to do what it takes to save Citi.”

One option is for the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury to create a special vehicle to purchase bad assets from Citi. The Fed has already erected several such funds, such as the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, to provide liquidity to the financial system. Typically, the Treasury would provide some first-loss equity or insurance fee, such as $50 billion provided to the CPFF, to protect the central bank and give the fiscal authority a stake.

The arrangement allows the Fed to leverage the money provided by the Treasury with loans, enabling the purchase of assets worth a multiple of the money. Funding the purchases with loans makes them less onerous to the U.S. budget.

Working Relationship

“That is the working relationship they have settled into with the Fed providing $1 trillion of the funding and the Treasury providing the equity tranche,” said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC in Jersey City, New Jersey.

While Citigroup executives say the company has adequate capital and liquidity to ride out the crisis, its tumbling share price may shake the confidence of creditors, clients and rating companies. A similar scenario played out at Lehman, when Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld declared the firm was “on the right track” five days before the firm went bankrupt.

“The market may be implying some sort of regulatory intervention,” Jason Goldberg, a former Lehman analyst who now works at Barclays Capital in New York, wrote in a note to clients yesterday. “In situations where the government has stepped in, the equity holders have not fared well.”

Pandit’s Conference Call

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit told employees yesterday that he doesn’t plan to break up the company, aiming to reassure workers as the stock resumed its skid. Citigroup shares dropped 94 cents, or 20 percent, to $3.77 at 4:08 p.m. in New York, giving the company a market value of about $21 billion. The stock pared its loss after the close of official trading, fetching $4.07 as of 4:35 p.m.

Pandit and Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden, speaking on a worldwide conference call yesterday, also said they don’t expect to sell the Smith Barney brokerage unit, according to two people who listened to the call and declined to be identified because it wasn’t open to the public.

The call came as Citigroup’s board, led by Chairman Win Bischoff and independent director Richard Parsons, prepared to meet yesterday at the bank’s headquarters in New York, said a person familiar with the company’s plans who declined to be identified because the deliberations are private. Bischoff, interviewed at a conference in Portugal yesterday, declined to comment on any potential changes to the board.

“Providing stability” and “securing the future” are the themes of a new print advertisement that Citigroup plans to start running tomorrow in major markets in the U.S. and overseas. “Now, more than ever, you can feel confident that Citi never sleeps,” the ad reads.

No. 5 By Value

Once the biggest U.S. bank, with a market value of $274 billion at the end of 2006, Citigroup has now slipped to No. 5 behind Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. A plan by 51-year-old Pandit this week to cut costs by shedding 52,000 jobs and an endorsement by billionaire Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal didn’t assuage shareholders’ concern that bad loans and securities writedowns may extend a yearlong run of net losses totaling $20 billion.

“To be consistent with the last few government interventions, I don’t think Citigroup’s going to be allowed to fail,” said William Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Optique Capital Management Inc. in Milwaukee, which oversees about $1 billion and doesn’t own Citigroup shares. “This company’s too intertwined with the rest of the financial system to allow any further deterioration.”

Citigroup spokesman Michael Hanretta declined to comment. On the call yesterday with employees, Pandit said the company’s capital and liquidity are strong.

TARP Funds

Including a $25 billion capital injection from the U.S. Treasury under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, the company has at least $50 billion of capital above the amount required by regulators to qualify as “well capitalized.” Capital is the cushion banks must keep to absorb losses and protect depositors.

Deutsche Bank AG analyst Mike Mayo wrote in a report yesterday that the bank’s $25 billion of reserves, when combined with other resources, “should be enough to cover estimated cumulative losses of $50 billion on loans.’” Mayo rates the stock “hold” and has a $9 price target.

“With Citi being as big as they are, the government will make a special case and step in and find another reason to dispose of more TARP funds,” said Matt McCormick, a portfolio manager and banking analyst at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in Cincinnati, which manages about $2.9 billion and doesn’t own Citigroup stock or debt.

Deposits Are Safe

Pandit was appointed last December to succeed Charles O. “Chuck” Prince, who was ousted as mortgage-bond writedowns saddled the bank with a record fourth-quarter loss of almost $10 billion. Prince was the handpicked successor of former Chairman and CEO Sanford “Sandy” Weill, who built the company through a series of acquisitions over 17 years before stepping down in 2003.

Bischoff, 67, was Citigroup’s top executive in Europe until he was named chairman when Pandit became CEO.

Bank employees have been telling customers their deposits are safe, and so far corporate clients haven’t moved their money elsewhere, said three people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the accounts.

Crittenden, 50, has told colleagues it would be unwise to make hasty decisions to dispose of good businesses to satisfy investor demands for a show of action, one person familiar with the matter said.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

The Mets better not get too attached to the name Citi Field.

Team officials are said to be increasingly nervous as struggling Citigroup's stock continues to plummet - and potentially endangers their $20 million-a-year naming-rights deal for the new $850 million stadium.

Mets rep Jay Horwitz yesterday insisted, "There is no change in regard to Citi's commitment to the new ballpark."

But David Howard, the team's vice president of business affairs and main spokesman on the deal, for the first time deflected all questions back to Citigroup.

And the future doesn't look good for the financial giant.
Citigroup's stock woes are making it ripe for a takeover, and Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC and State Street Bank are already being talked about as potential buyers or merger partners.

The onetime banking titan closed at $3.77 yesterday, down 89 percent in the past year.

Despite its failing stock, Citigroup insists it will honor its record-shattering agreement to pay $20 million a year for 20 years for the honor of calling the ballpark Citi Field, where signs have already been made touting the name.
"We remain committed to the relationship to the Mets. They are an important part of our marketing priorities," said Citigroup spokesman Steve Silverman.

But if Citigroup is bought out, at least the stadium name would presumably change. Still, mega-bucks would in all likelihood be shelled out by the new company for the naming rights because of the prestige and recognition that such a high-profile stadium will bring, experts said.

Think "Goldman Sachs Diamond," "Morgan Stanley Stadium" or "HSBC Field."
And renaming is not necessarily a bad thing, the experts said.

"Most stadiums and arenas have been through more than one name. That's not at all unusual," said Neil deMause, co-author of "Field of Schemes: How the Great Stadium Swindle Turns Public Money Into Private Profit."

For example, the up state home of the Buf falo Sabres switched names to reflect a change of corporate ownership. When the 21,000-seat arena was constructed in 1996, it was named after Marine Midland Bank.

Two years later, Marine Midland's corporate parent, HSBC, decided to rebrand, and the Sabres now play in HSBC Arena.

On the West Coast since 2006 the San Francisco Giants have played in AT&T Park. For years the ballpark was named after Pacific Bell, but that company was swallowed by SBC Telcom.

Then in 2005 SBC took over AT&T and adopted its corporate name and changed the name of stadium yet again.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has banned, at least temporarily, the use of external computer flash drives because of a virus threat officials detected on Defense Department networks.

While defense officials would not publicly confirm the ban, messages were sent to department employees informing them of the new restrictions. As part of the ban, the Pentagon was collecting any of the small flash drives that were purchased or provided by the department to workers, according to one message distributed to employees.

Workers are being told there is no guarantee they will ever get the devices back and it is not clear how long the ban will last.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman would provide no details on the virus Friday, but he described it as a "global virus" that has been the subject of public alerts.

"This is not solely a department problem, this is not solely a government problem," Whitman said.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that its vast computer network is scanned or probed by outsiders millions of times each day. Last year a cyber attack forced the Defense Department to take up to 1,500 computers off line.

Officials said then that a penetration of the system was detected, but the attack had no adverse impact on department operations.

However, military leaders have consistently warned of potential threats from a variety of sources including other countries — such as China — along with other self-styled cyber-vigilantes and terrorists.

The issue has also been of concern at the Department of Homeland Security. A September audit by the DHS Inspector General recommended that the agency implement greater procedures to ensure that only authorized computer flash drives or other storage devices can be connected to the network there and that an inventory of those devices be set up.

DHS agreed with the recommendations and said some of that is already being done. DHS also said more software enhancements are in the works that will provide more protection.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-22-2008

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/147293/83_comics_being_made_into_films.html

and 74 more,

Super Max (2010)
More green goodness, with a Green Arrow sent to a super-Prison and bent on escape. Another superhero project abandoned by Kevin Smith (see Green Hornet above), this currently rests with Dark Knight writer David S. Goyer (Hack/Slash's Justin Marks also produced a draft screenplay).

X-Men: First Class (2010)
Chuck's Josh Schwatrz is attached to write this tale of the younger X-Men, presumably because the stars associated with the previous X-Men films would cost so much that the SFX would need to be done with string and washing-up bottles. Was the mass-cull in X3 actually a salary negotiation tactic?

Ex Machina (2010)
Wildstorm's post 9/11 tale of a more-than-usually empowered mayor of New York is once again resting with the indefatiguable Benderspink partnership. The tale concerns civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who is blasted by an alien device at the base of the Brooklyn bridge and decides to use his resultant superpowers in more orthodox channels than most heroes. The film is at the scripting stage.

Pet Robots (2010)
Perhaps we should just start a dedicated Benderspink section, because these boys love comic-book movies, and Disney have engaged them to bring Scott Christian Sava's comic to the screen. Stealing Time's Scott Trevorrow is scripting. The story tells of four students followed home by four escaped military robots hotly being pursued by their owners, the 'Rooty Tooty Toy Company'.

Flash Gordon (2010)
Sahara director Breck Eisner - currently prepping The Creature From The Black Lagoon - is heading up the new version of Alex Raymond's 1930s space opera, already adapted to huge success at the time and by Mike Hodges in 1980 (the TV version having enjoyed less success). The film is said to be in active development but without a start date, and could be one of the many safer bets Sony will need if 'straight' superhero movies start tanking.

One Plus One (2010)
Described at one site as "an interesting twist on The Sixth Sense", Oni press's One Plus One has just been optioned by Shinebox Media Productions, with the company's Elias Pate and Bryan Young writing the script with co-originator/writer Neal Shaffer.The story follows a central character called David Coulson, an auditor of evil capable of seeing the post-mortem faces of the living, who travels the world ensuring that the bad guys headed for a bitter end arrive safely at their doom.

Heavy Metal (2010)
Currently in turnaround, David Fincher has been disappointed by a studio apprehensive either about remaking the 1981 animated anthology (which did poor box-office despite achieving cult status) or returning to the rich 1970s magazine source material by writers such as Dan O'Bannon and visionaries such as Moebius Giraud. Zack Snyder, Gore Verbinski and Kevin Eastman are three of the directors attached to direct segments. Dropped by Paramount in July, the project needs a studio.

The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (2010)
Welcome back to the huge territory of this list occupied by Benderspink productions. The Adventures Of Luther Arkwright promises to be one of the most visually stunning and eccentric among the projects listed here, but it will need a lot of money to bring Brian Talbot's post-apocalyptic parallel universes (one where the English are in perpetual civil war) to life effectively onscreen. Arkwright can zap between parallel universes at will and is accompanied by telepath Rose Wylde, who gets intelligence from alternate versions of herself (!). 2010 my ass, unless they started shooting it 18 months ago.

Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future (2009)
Frank Hampson's jut-jawed man of the (retro) future is a very Brit proposition, and thus may face the same endless adaptation problems that The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy did for 25 years. Having relaunched the Eagle Comic's hero a second time (the first being courtesy of 2000AD in 1977) under Virgin comics, Richard Branson is backing the Dan Dare movie, which has been on the slate at various times for the last 30 years.

Deadpool (2010)
Contrary to earlier reports, Variety says that the hyper-acid mercenary played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (see above) will have to await that film's box-office fate to know his own. Deadpool is about as post-modern and ironic a superhero as Marvel has to offer, arguably their most Tarantino-resque hero, but he's a strong flavour that might not attract the requisite investment for a full-budget superhero flick.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-23-2008

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-23-2008

"This is an awesome Cajun recipe. Deep-frying makes the turkey crispy on the outside and super juicy on the inside (even the white meat). It also leaves the heat outside! You can deep-fry the turkey in either peanut or vegetable oil, your choice."

PREP TIME 30 Min
COOK TIME 45 Min
READY IN 1 Hr 30 Min


* 3 gallons peanut oil for frying, or as needed
* 1 (12 pound) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
* 1/4 cup Creole seasoning
* 1 white onion


DIRECTIONS

1. In a large stockpot or turkey fryer, heat oil to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Be sure to leave room for the turkey, or the oil will spill over. Layer a large platter with food-safe paper bags.
2. Rinse turkey, and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels. Rub Creole seasoning over turkey inside and out. Make sure the hole at the neck is open at least 2 inches so the oil can flow freely through the bird.
3. Place the whole onion and turkey in drain basket. The turkey should be placed in basket neck end first. Slowly lower basket into hot oil to completely cover turkey. Maintain the temperature of the oil at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), and cook turkey for 3 1/2 minutes per pound, about 45 minutes.
4. Carefully remove basket from oil, and drain turkey. Insert a meat thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; the internal temperature must be 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). Finish draining turkey on the prepared platter.

---

What's in a name? - who - 11-24-2008

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/projection-franken-to-win-recount-by-27.html

As we wrote yesterday evening, the ever-increasing number of challenged ballots in Minnesota is making it more and more difficult to determine the extent to which Al Franken is in fact gaining ground in the state's recount process. An analysis of precinct-by-precinct returns available on the Secretary of State's website, however, suggests that Franken's position is somewhat stronger than it appears, and that he may in fact be the favorite to prevail in the recount process.

Consider the following. In precincts where no challenges have been issued (these are the only precincts in which, in some sense, the results of the recount can be considered to be final and "official") Franken has gained a total of 34 votes, and Coleman a total of 6 votes, for a net gain by Franken of 28 votes. Moreover, in precincts where just 1 challenge has been issued, Franken has gained a net of 31 votes on Coleman, and in precincts where exactly 2 challenges have been issued, Franken has gained a net of 32 votes on Coleman.

By contrast, in precincts where 5 or more ballots have been challenged between the two campaigns, Coleman has gained a net of 57 votes on Franken.

In other words, the fewer the number of challenged ballots, the better Franken is doing, and the higher the number of challenged ballots, the worse he is doing; the relationship is in fact quite strong.

---