Free Republic

Given the public outcry over news of Goldman Sachs's recent record earnings, you'd think many people would prefer Goldman had lost money. Does that really make sense? I can understand why some people are upset, since I've heard from many of them. Their argument is that Goldman Sachs, like other recipients of funds from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, might well have failed without taxpayer assistance. Now, without the slightest sign of being in any way chastened, Goldman bankers have gone out and earned so much that they stand to receive huge bonuses that rival those at the height...

General Electric Co.’s second-quarter profit fell by 49 percent, plagued by declining revenue in its financial services, industrial and technology units, including its GE Healthcare division.

Prophets of Doom has been around probably since the beginning of man’s existence on earth. Whether one believe man was created by God from the dust of the earth, or he evolved from a sea creature, a monkey, or matter from a collision of the planets commonly known as the big bang. Whatever your preference for the origin of man it is no secret that from the time he began walking on planet earth he began predicting its end. It’s now estimated that more than 50% of the world population give doomsday prophets some credibility regarding “End Time Events” thereby...

Mark my words. GM's first penny in profits will be celebrated and heralded as a major accomplishment of the Obama administration. Keep in mind that GM's future foreseeable profits will be made at the expense of you and I, the unfortunate taxpayers.

Hagan Suing Water Authorityby John Hammer Editor April 16, 2009 Your water rates may go up, and your newly elected Democratic US senator may be somewhat responsible; not in her official capacity, but personally. Sen. Kay Hagan's husband, Chip Hagan, and others have filed suit against the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority (PTRWA), which is the owner-operator of the Randleman Dam. The PTRWA board was told Tuesday that this year it was going to have to increase its budget for legal expenses by a considerable margin to pay for the cost of being sued by Hagan and other downstream hydroelectric...

The nation's largest banks have made quite a comeback. Having nearly brought the market to its knees a few months ago, the financial sector has surprised experts with impressive profits. Citigroup -- widely considered to be the country's weakest big bank -- reported this morning net first-quarter income of $1.6 billion, beating analyst expectations and making it the bank's best quarter since 2007, Citi CEO Vikram Pandit said. Citi's news comes on the heels of reports showing better-than-expected, first-quarter profits by three other major banks: $2.1 billion for JPMorgan Chase, $1.7 billion for Goldman Sachs and $3 billion for Wells...

Citigroup posted a smaller-than-expected loss thanks to cost-cutting and improved investment banking. Still there were missing details and the report left questions open like when will Citi be ready to repay its bailout funds to the government and are its taxpayer supported profits from this quarter sustainable? (See "Citi Profits, For Now.") Wall Street was unimpressed with Citigroup and the stock fell 1.5%, or 6 cents, to $3.94, in midday trading. The past 12 months have been unkind to the New York-based firm, whose seen its market value sink no less than 84.3%. Meanwhile, General Electric ( GE - news...

HOUSTON (AP) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. on Friday reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a U.S. company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago. The previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007. The extraordinary full-year profit wasn't a surprise given crude's triple-digit price for much of 2008, peaking near an unheard of $150 a barrel in July. Since then, however, prices have fallen roughly 70 percent amid a deepening global economic crisis. In the fourth quarter...

The New York Times Co. reported a steep drop in third-quarter profits on Thursday, the latest gloomy earnings report in an industry battered by online competition and falling print advertising revenue. The New York Times Co. said net profit fell by 51.4 percent in the third quarter to 6.5 million dollars, or five cents per share, from 13.4 million dollars, or nine cents per share, in the same period a year ago. The company, which owns About.com, The Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune and 16 other daily newspapers besides the flagship The New York Times, said overall advertising revenue fell...

GOP presidential candidate John McCain sounded more like a Democratic presidential candidate (a recurring trend) when he joined the Left’s oil industry bashers a few weeks ago. Asked by a North Carolina voter whether he supported a Jimmy Carter-era windfall profits tax, McCain responded: “Um, I don’t like obscene profits being made anywhere — and I’d be glad to look not just at the windfall profits tax — that’s not what bothers me — but we should look at any incentives that we are giving to people or industries or corporations that are distorting the market.” Here’s an idea for...

Jerry Taylor, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and Shepard Smith talk about today's oil markets. They make a good point about gas prices not rising proportionally with crude. Thank goodness for that!

WASHINGTON - Senators told oil executives Wednesday that high oil prices cannot be explained by supply and demand and the oil industry's concentration — and OPEC price collusion — is contributing to the costs facing consumers. ADVERTISEMENT Executives of the five largest oil companies were appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said there's an unexplained "disconnect" between prices — at nearly $130 a barrel — and legitimate supply and demand. "We need to get prices under control.... We can only conclude that the oil markets have failed," said Sen. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis. But Shell Oil...

AUSTIN — Maybe Texas’ transportation problems are a lot simpler to understand than recent fights over toll roads make it seem, North Texas leaders told state senators Wednesday. “My first recommendation: You need to provide a lot more revenue for transportation,” Michael Morris, transportation director for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, told the Texas Senate transportation committee. That was hardly the only suggestion from Mr. Morris or the many others who spoke to the committee, which is seeking input as it readies an approach on toll roads, TxDOT and more for the next legislative session. But it might...

Can we just stop whining about gasoline prices and oil-company profits? Do I enjoy paying $3.50 a gallon for gasoline? Of course not. I’d like it to be under $2 as it was a few years ago. I’m sure we’d all like it better if it were under $1 like the good old days. But what about those profits? Are they really that “huge”? Or “obscene”? Or “enormous”, or whatever adjective the congressional windbags and assorted crybabies are using. Let’s look at some numbers, shall we? Assume $100 per barrel for crude oil. The standard oil barrel contains 42 gallons....

One major concern I discussed a few weeks ago regarding the Trans Texas Corridor is where the land will come from. Another concern is where the money will come from. Official government websites for the TTC assure that public-private partnerships will shield the taxpayer from bearing too much of the cost burden, but a careful reading shows the door is definitely open to public funding sources, while at the same time there is no doubt of the intention to charge tolls on the road. Taxpayers already pay for their transportation system through hefty gasoline taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other...

I covered this on the Information Overload portion of the Boortz show yesterday. Web Guy and Cristina tell me that there have been hundreds of email requests to put the information here in the Nuze. Happy to oblige. The issue here is the profit figures for Exxon Mobile. This oil company has been a favorite target for leftist, anti-capitalist politicians. I'm sure you remember Hillary screeching about wanting "to take those profits" so that she could spend them. Recap: In 2006 Exxon reported profits of $39.5 billion. Politicians went nuts. In 2007 those profits went to $40.6 billion. Politicians went...

WASHINGTON - Missile technology, fighter jet parts, night vision goggles and other U.S. wartime equipment increasingly are being illegally smuggled to potential adversaries, such as China and Iran, the federal government said Thursday. Last week, two Utah men were arrested for allegedly trying to sell parts over the Internet for F-4 and F-14 fighter jets — which are only flown by Iran. The week before, two engineers were indicted in San Jose, Calif., on charges of stealing computer chip designs intended for the Chinese military.

Auditor under fire reaps big profitsFirm has been criticized for rejecting many hospital Medicare claims in state. By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, August 3, 2007 WASHINGTON -- PRG-Schultz International, the Atlanta auditing company under fire for its sweeping rejection of claims for California Medicare patients cared for by rehabilitation hospitals, announced soaring second-quarter profits Thursday. The announcement came a day after members of the California congressional delegation met with audit overseers in a heated meeting in which they complained that PRG-Schultz's wholesale rejection of claims is enriching its bottom line while jeopardizing health...

Stock market bulls like myself were on the losing side of this week’s trading, as the Dow gave back roughly 4 percent from its 14,000 peak. The big story was a wave of high-anxiety credit fears over the value of corporate and housing loans. Credit circuits blew a fuse, lending markets temporarily froze, and a number of buyout deals were postponed as analysts and traders worked through their problems. But this is no time to lose faith. The economy has found its legs with a 3.4 percent GDP report for the second quarter — a much-needed surge from only 0.6...

The government is on track to approve a new antibiotic to treat a pneumonia-like disease in cattle, despite warnings from health groups and a majority of the agency's own expert advisers that the decision will be dangerous for people. The drug, called cefquinome, belongs to a class of highly potent antibiotics that are among medicine's last defenses against several serious human infections. No drug from that class has been approved in the United States for use in animals. The American Medical Association and about a dozen other health groups warned the Food and Drug Administration that giving cefquinome to animals...