Free Republic

Promise made, promise kept. That is the overwhelming feeling for Americans under President Donald Trump as they are more bullish on the U.S. economy and the stock market while being more hopeful about crushing inflation and borrowing costs than they have been in 10 years or more, a Gallup poll showed on Monday. Overall Americans’ current outlook on the stock market is the most optimistic Gallup has recorded, while the percentages expecting interest rates, unemployment, and inflation to worsen are among the lowest. Reuters reports some 53 percent of Americans predicted the U.S. economy will grow over the next six...

Donald Trump’s campaign has expressed cautious optimism about the Republican nominee’s chances of becoming the 47th president, with early voting numbers indicating the former chief executive is on course to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris. While officials have insisted that “anything can happen” and that it is “too early to declare victory,” the initial returns from key states look better for the 78-year-old than both the 2016 and 2020 elections. “Overall, both nationally and in battleground states, we are seeing strong returns for Republicans so far,” a Trump campaign adviser said on a surrogate call Wednesday. “From where we’re sitting...

President Joe Biden vowed Tuesday night that Democrats would make gains in next year’s midterm elections, a result that would defy the political odds as the White House grapples with a series of crises. “We have to keep making the case,” Biden said at a holiday party attended by 400 Democratic National Committee officials and donors in Washington. “And if we do, I believe we’re going to win. “Let me say this again for the press: We’re going to win in 2022.” Moments earlier, the president had told Republicans eyeing a return to the majority in the House and Senate...

Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan predicted President Trump will have no trouble defeating Joe Biden in the general election if Democrats pick the former vice president as their nominee. “You have to be able to call out shit that’s wrong on your side,” Rogan said on a recent episode of his podcast. "And this is one of the problems that the Democratic Party is having right now with this Joe Biden guy." Democrats, Rogan said, "got to be able to call it out." "You can’t let this slide, because everybody else sees it and Trump is going to eat him...

The worst could be over for oil prices, if the whims of a growing number of speculators are anything to go by. Hedge funds are taking their most bullish position on crude oil prices in two months. New data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shows that net-long positions on crude oil increased by 14,821 contracts, reaching a two-month high of 147,678 positions. These swings in investor sentiment can move the price of crude. In recent weeks, we had seen an inordinately pessimistic view of crude oil, with short positions hitting their highest levels in years. Short betting pushed WTI...

SNIP SNIP Mr. Doll is sitting in a conference room at one of BlackRock's two giant offices in midtown Manhattan. While his company remains obscure to most Americans, and has only existed since 1988, it is now the world's largest money manager. Born as a subsidiary of the private equity firm Blackstone, the company went public in 1999 and after a series of mergers and acquisitions, BlackRock now keeps watch on more than $3.6 trillion of client money. Mr. Doll's job is to allocate almost $30 billion among shares of large U.S. corporations and to advise clients on the most...

HANOVER, Germany (AFP) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, guest of honour at the world's biggest high-tech fair, told crisis-hit executives Monday to stop their whining and invest in the future. In a rollicking speech on the eve of the CeBIT fair, Schwarzenegger drew on references from his career as a body-builder, actor and entrepreneur to pump up his recession-knocked audience, which included German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "We are gathering in challenging times. Some may say this is the wrong time for a big trade show like this but they are wrong," the Austrian-born Schwarzenegger said. "Losers whine but winners move...

I'm getting a lot of hate e-mail these days. This onslaught is not entirely a bad thing. It reassures me that my bet against the crowd is a wise one. I'm bullish and have been steadily since the July 8, 2002 issue. In my Jan. 28 column I reiterated the upbeat outlook and reminded you that the fourth year of a presidency only rarely delivers losses to stockholders. Now, with stocks globally (as measured by the Morgan Stanley All-Country World Index) down 8.6% so far this year, people are telling me I'm an idiot. Someone posted to FORBES Web site,...

...I want to be the first to say we definitely are in a New Era of above-average returns. I'll keep buying stocks until we hear multiple pundits say we are entering a new period of high returns. That will be a time to sell. When will this happen, that the consensus will turn almost uniformly bullish? I don't know, but I doubt it will be before 2009 starts. Hence, I'm expecting another above-average year ahead, an easy one. Here are a few factors I don't fear as we enter 2008, either because they won't happen or don't matter: further collapses...

I’m not proud of this, but the parallels to Michael Schiavo are undeniable. When I was eight years old my little sister Joan was barely three. She could talk but no one could understand her. I remember teasing the crap out of her just to see her reaction as she went to dad to tell him how badly I was treating her. His reaction? “What’s the matter, honey? I can’t understand you.” She would then come back to me and complain about my treatment of her. And, what did I do? I teased her some more. It was really funny...

Rosie O’Donnell startled some guests with her profanity-laced speech at the Human Rights Campaign dinner this weekend. The “Taboo” producer presented an award at the gay-rights group's dinner at the Waldorf in New York Saturday, and a source says she stunned the well-heeled crowd with her salty, saucy language. O’Donnell spoke after Hillary Clinton, whose speech was very well received, says a source. “How do I follow that?” O’Donnell asked, according to the insider. She then made a Janet Jackson joke: “I know; I’ll take out my right tit. Everyone take out their right tit.” “There was embarrassed laughter,” says...

Sunday March 17 8:17 AM ETBullish Investors Need Reality Check By Pierre Belec NEW YORK (Reuters) - Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Chairman Alan Greenspan (news - web sites), in his most exuberant assessment of the economy in more than a year, recently spoke the words that launched stocks on a rocket ride: ``An economic expansion is already well under way.'' But some Wall Street veterans worry that the bulls may be rushing into a trap that could be called ``Irrational Exuberance, Part 2.'' In his semiannual report to Congress this month, the Fed chief seemed to signal...