When the average trader buys and sells stock, it’s typically the common shares that are traded. As in the importance of the different types of ways of being a shareholder, Owners of common stocks are at the bottom of the ladder. In cases of bankruptcy, common stocks are the last to “get paid”. First is the bondholders, perferred shareholder and any other debt holders.
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With the preferred shares, it works a little different. They don’t call it preferred for nothing. The share is almost like a bond in regards to having a fixed dividend. It preforms as a fixed income security, but it’s not necessarily guaranteed.
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The reason I bring this up to you is because I’ve been looking at the stocks of two companies that have been in the news lately, you have heard of them. The two stocks I speak of is General Motors and Ford Motor company. I will break each one down separately.
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General Motors (NYSE:GM), the common shares were recently as low as $1.70 a couple of weeks ago and now it sits at $4.70 per share (a gain of almost 280%). That would have been a great payday for you if you were willing to take a chance and gamble on the stock. I didn’t take advantage of it because I don’t consider stock trading a form of gambling. The dividend for the common shares will be history once the “bailout” is approved. In regards to the preferred, it will continue to pay out it’s 37% yield per share at it’s current price of $4.25 per share. The payout will be on January 15th, 2009 for shareholders on record on December 26th, 2008. The symbol for General Motors preferred is (NYSE:GPM)
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Ford Motors company (NYSE:F) is also another company that has had their common shares beaten up to their low of $1.01 just a couple of weeks ago too. It now trades at $3.23 per share ( a gain of over 300%). Again another beautiful gain for anyone willing to take that chance too. As for the preferred shares of this company, it’s trading at $9.20 per share and returns a 35% yield per share. The symbol for Ford’s preferred is (NYSE:FPS). I do know that the payout is due within the next month.
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The reason I bring this up is for my readers who are willing to take on the risk of trading the common shares, then let me recommend that you sell now and move into the preferred stocks. After doing the research on these stocks I will also pick up some shares this week. In this coming payout, it will be a 17% yield or better, depending on my cost basis.
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I just hope that I’m not too late since it’s expected that Congress will approve the rescue plan and I’ll miss the jump in the price (however big it may be), which is something else I’ll be banking on for this trade to be ideal.
Do your research and happy trading.

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What is going to happen to America? It seems that the true meaning of capitalism is being destroyed. The problem is capitalism is being destroyed by the very people who say they’re trying to preserve it. How can this be? It’s how I see it. What are your thoughts? here’s mine.

First we started with the financial sector, now it’s the American auto industry. When are the taxpayers going to see the return on their investment in these sectors? At the rate it’s going, I doubt it will ever happen in our life time.

Yes, I know that the government is saying that this will help the economy, but aren’t they the same people who put us in this mess?

In the 1990’s NAFTA was signed and many business’ went over the border to make the products that were being built here in this country. Ford and General Motors have opened factories in Canada and Mexico since NAFTA was past.

When the bill was past in 1996 to help all American buy their own home. I’m sure the politicians were aware of the fact that it would be done with taxpayer’s money through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with the help of adjustable mortgage rates. It helped people get into homes that they couldn’t even afford.

Twenty plus years ago we heard that there was going to be more energy efficient cars within ten years. How come my 2005 truck gets the same mileage as the 1985 Grand Am I owned fifteen years ago? What’s with these CAFE laws and all the other regulations that are put on the automakers when the cars haven’t really improved over the decades.

Now after all this crap that has gone on for too long, the companies that are in trouble are going to the people who caused these problems for help. All the while the American people sit in their living rooms watching mindless TV and are none the wiser. Go figure.

I know that this isn’t a political site, but in all actuality this post isn’t about politics. It’s about the way Capitalism is being destroyed by people who have their own agenda. Wall Street and Main Street are one and the same and from where I live, it doesn’t look like capitalism to me.

We need to stop bailing out these companies that don’t handle their business in a proper manner. If you can’t make the business profitable then you shouldn’t be in business.

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Again the CEO’s of the big three automakers are back in Washington to see if they can still get an auto bailout from Congress. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are still looking for money to help keep them afloat.

What amazes me is that the three CEO’s think that if they drive down in hybrid cars (instead of their corporate jets like they did last time), that they are going to have any more of a chance to get the money to fuel their needs.

After going back to the drawing board, the companies came back to show what they’re going to do to improve the condition of the three giants. Of course it’s no longer $25 billion that will be needed to save them, this week it’s at $34 billion. Who knows where it will be when it’s all said and done.

As long as the UAW has a hold on the three companies, they will go out of business. The legacy costs are out of control. There are over 15,000 retirees that get paid $31 per hour from their pension plan for not doing anything for the company. The UAW has caused the costs of cars, truck and SUV’s to get out of control. It’s said that $2000 of of the price of every vehicle is due to legacy costs.
With obligations like that how are these companies ever going to turn a profit? There is no way for any company to be able to stay in business if the payroll cost are going up while the workforce is shrinking. How are they to keep their prices in line with their competition?

If you haven’t noticed, you don’t see any of the foreign automakers that build cars here in this country in Washington looking for a handout. It’s because the UAW has no existence in their factories and before you say that it’s not fair that those workers don’t have the right to have an union. They don’t want it, they make on average $35 per hour to work on an assembly line that the robots do most of the work. Before you say that $28-$42 per hour isn’t much for someone living in New York City, these workers are in Alabama and Tennessee, two of the poorest states in this country.

I have always bought American made cars because I believe in keeping my money in this country. It’s not that I’m against the rest of the world, it’s because I’m an American and proud of it. I will continue to buy American made cars as long as they are still American made cars. I know that no matter what happens to these three companies, there will always be cars made here in this country.
Even if the three of them were to go into bankruptcy and close their doors, someone else will buy their equipment and start to build a new automobile made here in America.

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In America, if a company can’t make a profit and loses money, they have one choice and that’s to file for bankruptcy.  Just because a company is big doesn’t mean that the government has to lend them taxpayer’s money to save it.
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It’s amazing to see how the CEO’s of these big corporations have destroyed the company so much that they need the assistance of the U.S. government and the American taxpayer to save their skin. How can these men with such education be so stupid to take on the extreme risks that they did?
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What I really want to know is how stupid is Congress to keep on bailing out these companies that shouldn’t even be allowed to operate as a business after losing that much capital. Using the excuse that they’re such big business’ within the United States is a lame one at that. Yes, many people will lose their jobs and the unemployment rate will jump into the double digits, but what other choice do we have? Do we keep giving them money until the Federal Reserve runs out of paper to print more? The airline industry went through bankruptcy years ago and they’re still in business (except for Eastern of course).
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Do you really think that if the big three automakers go into bankruptcy that they (or we) won’t survive? We as American people have to not fall for the hype that the CEO’s, Congress and the mainstream media are trying to feed us. Look at all the money that’s was given to the financial industry and now it turns out it wasn’t used for what it was meant to be used for.
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What about the banking system mess? These companies along with Congress have also done the wrong thing to the American people. If it wasn’t for Congress passing all those bills in the 1990’s that allowed the financial sector to lend money out in sub-prime mortgages, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
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What has me really PO’d is that none of the people who are actually at fault, are being held accountable. Hank Paulson, Dick Fuld, Christopher Cox, Frank Dodd, Barney Frank and the President-elect are all to blame for the financial mess. Dick Wagoner, Alan Mulally and the UAW are to be blamed for the failure of the auto industry. I would like to blame Bob Nardelli from Chrysler too, but he just got there (I will blame him for the fall of The Home Depot).
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Capitalism is what this country was built on, if we are to continue as a capitalistic country we need to let companies fall when they fail to make a profit.
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When the decision was made to let Lehman Brothers filed bankruptcy, the company had no other choice but to restructure everything and sell of the assets that they had to clear their debt. If the American automakers are forced to do the same, they too will do what they have to to make the company survive. If they need to sell off assets, I’m sure that there’s an entrepreneur some where in this country that is willing to make profitable business out of the ashes. He could name the first model Phoenix.

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Henry “Hank” Paulson was the CEO of Goldman Sachs for many years. He has too many friends in the financial sector as well as on Wall Street. The man should never have been selected by President G.W. Bush, but he was and at the time everyone thought it was a great idea.
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Why was it a great idea? Because at the time the markets were recovering from the tech bubble collapse in the Stock market. He was also one of the guys who help redesign the hedge funds (another reason we have this financial meltdown) as well as pushing the idea of sub-prime mortgages. The Democrats loved him because he was full-filling the “American Dream”, getting everyone into the house they wanted, no matter what.
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It’s now come to a point that he’s out-lived his usefulness in the Treasury Department. He’s been having press conference after conference in just the last couple of weeks that shows that he doesn’t even know what to do for the economy while still trying to help his cronies within the financial sector.
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I’m counting down the days until Paulson will be out of the position. The job will now fall on Obama’s choice for Secretary of Treasury. Timothy Geithner will fill that position next month. The man has a long history with the economy and the Treasury department as well as being in charge of the New York Federal Reserve. Timothy Geithner has made a name for himself on Wall Street and some of the rallying in the markets last week was most likely due to the decision.
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Unfortunately the rally the only last so long in what is now “officially” a recession. That’s right the news was released Monday. The economic advisors and experts have now made it official. Like anyone with a half a brain couldn’t see that two months ago.
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The markets typically show the signs of a recession before it actually is made official. With that in mind, it’s nice to think that a recession is usually 8-12 months long. Looking back the markets have been showing signs of it for at least four months, which means that we can be half way through this mess already.
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As I’ve been saying for the last to months, build up some capital (40%-60% of your portfolio) and wait for the right time to buy to build a new position in the stock market. That time is just about upon us, so I say when the DOW reaches 7500 points again, start putting your money to work behind all that research that you’ve been doing.

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