The Decline Of The United States

[GET YOU HOT]

As it seems today's standards the sands of time have finally shifted favor away from the great country we once knew as the land of the free, the home of the brave.
With smaller countries resisting America's bullying(Venezuela), threats to premptive strike against the U.S.(China), and closure and taking their business elsewhere(Corporations),while awarding unprecedented dollar amounts to few elite corporations(Haliburton, Carlyle Group) , disagreements continue with countries that should be our allies (Canada, England, France, Germany, Mexico), while at war in foreign countries(Afganistan, Iraq), the making of ill advised deals with countries/religions known to be agressive towards one another(India vs Pakistan, Israelis vs Arabs, sunnis, muslims & shi'is), political scandal and corruption and abuse of power, at the highest levels(BUSH & COMPANY;this list is too large to include all names, lol), the NEW WORLD ORDER(Illuminati freaks) and last but not least, the ASTRONOMICAL FIGURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NATIONAL DEBT http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
The United States, WE THE PEOPLE and our way of life is in decline...

"the Roman government appeared every day less formidable to its enemies,
more odious and oppressive to its subjects."
—Edward Gibbon 'The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire'

 

[yureeka9]

This is damn ridiculous. I hope you bastards that put Bush in office are out dancing naked in the rain!

 

[QueEx]

GET YOU HOT,

You make it sound like a mofo doesn't have a reason to wake up in the morning.

QueEx

 

[GET YOU HOT]

GET YOU HOT,

You make it sound like a mofo doesn't have a reason to wake up in the morning.

QueEx

WHAT LEFT FIELD DID THAT COME FROM
THAT IS SIMPLY A RIDICULOUS STATEMENT AND YOU KNOW IT....
BUT, AS THE COLLOQUIAL STATMENT GOES....IF THE SHOE FITS WEAR IT

 

[QueEx]

It came directly from the pessimism laden opening post.
And, if you think it came from left field, perhaps you're
just a pessimist. As the saying goes - you is what you is.

Now, if you want a rational discussion, be my guest, but
drop the caps and the attitude.

QueEx

 

[QueEx]

 

[GET YOU HOT]

WHAT LEFT FIELD DID THAT COME FROM
THAT IS SIMPLY A RIDICULOUS STATEMENT AND YOU KNOW IT....
BUT, AS THE COLLOQUIAL STATMENT GOES....IF THE SHOE FITS WEAR IT

arr shiver me timbers...

 

[GET YOU HOT]

As it seems today's standards the sands of time have finally shifted favor away from the great country we once knew as the land of the free, the home of the brave.
With smaller countries resisting America's bullying(Venezuela), threats to premptive strike against the U.S.(China), and closure and taking their business elsewhere(Corporations),while awarding unprecedented dollar amounts to few elite corporations(Haliburton, Carlyle Group) , disagreements continue with countries that should be our allies (Russia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Mexico), while at war in foreign countries(Afganistan, Iraq), the making of ill advised deals with countries/religions known to be agressive towards one another(India vs Pakistan, Israelis vs Arabs, sunnis, muslims & shi'is), political scandal and corruption and abuse of power, at the highest levels(BUSH & COMPANY;this list is too large to include all names, lol), the NEW WORLD ORDER(Illuminati freaks) and last but not least, the ASTRONOMICAL FIGURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE NATIONAL DEBT http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
The United States, WE THE PEOPLE and our way of life is in decline...

"the Roman government appeared every day less formidable to its enemies,
more odious and oppressive to its subjects."
—Edward Gibbon 'The History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire'

bump

 

[GET YOU HOT]

wuz this? stompin to the A.M. in dem shoes, you goin wear dem bitches out

 

[VegasGuy]

It came directly from the pessimism laden opening post.
And, if you think it came from left field, perhaps you're
just a pessimist. As the saying goes - you is what you is.

Now, if you want a rational discussion, be my guest, but
drop the caps and the attitude.

QueEx

@QueEx

Co-Sign.

-VG

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Welfare Education Program Failing
By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer
Thu Mar 23, 5:23 AM ET

WASHINGTON - One group of welfare recipients worked at least 20 hours a week and agreed to take classes at the local community college.

Other recipients weren't offered the same educational opportunity; they had to keep their focus on the job.

So which group earned more money in subsequent years and relied less on federal assistance?

Conventional wisdom would suggest the group that worked and went to college would do better. But a study being touted by the Bush administration's point man on welfare reform suggests the conventional wisdom is wrong.

"What this reinforces is the idea that, when it comes to welfare reform, nothing quite works like work," said Wade Horn, assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families, part of the Health and Human Services Department.

Horn said he would like to see states take the study into account when developing their own welfare-to-work programs.

"We know from many other studies that quickly moving welfare recipients into full-time work is the most effective strategy in helping low-income families achieve self-sufficiency," he said.

Not so fast, say other welfare experts — and the study's own authors, who warn against sweeping conclusions.

The majority of the welfare recipients who agreed to take classes had math and reading skills below the seventh-grade level, said David Fein, a demographer with Abt Associates Inc. of Bethesda, Md., which conducted the study. Only about a quarter actually completed the program. It may have been too much to expect them to succeed at a junior college level, he said.

"The point is, can we really say we tested this kind of model if we didn't recruit the right people?" Fein said. "Maybe this model would work if you did recruitment right."

Fein also stressed that members of the group not allowed into the educational program often received other kinds of training or schooling.

He said the study may indicate that states will want to reduce the work requirements for participants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program if they are raising children and going to school.

"It's just an exhausting combination," he said.

Arloc Sherman, a senior researcher at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said he did not believe the study showed that work is more effective than education in helping people leave welfare. He said it showed that people who worked more than 30 hours have a hard time also attending college.

"The results show that it's awfully hard to hold down a 30-hour-per-week job, and to go to school, and to succeed at either one," Sherman said.

The study tracked 1,043 people in Riverside County, Calif. One group of 528 agreed to participate in work and the educational program called New Visions. A control group of 515 did not participate in that program.

The New Visions participants agreed to take part in 24 weeks of classes, followed by more courses tailored to their jobs.

The authors of the study said the earnings of participants who volunteered to take the extra classes averaged $2,301 below that of the control group over a period of 2 1/2 years.

The average welfare payments given to those in New Visions were $945 higher than the average payments to members of the control group.

Under the nation's welfare program, the federal government provides funding to the states. In turn, states oversee programs designed to move people into jobs. The states have latitude to determine what constitutes work, but can fund such activities as education, community service and drug counseling.

The bottom line, though, is that states must have 50 percent of all welfare families engaged in at least 30 hours of work activities per week to avoid losing funding.

The welfare rolls have drastically fallen since 1996. That's when Congress changed welfare from an entitlement program into one that had time limits for cash assistance.

Since then, the rolls have dropped from about 4.4 million families to 1.9 million. But the rate of decrease has slowed in recent years.

Congress recently passed changes in the nation's welfare laws that will require states to make more progress in reducing their welfare rolls or face losing federal funds.

___

On the Net:

Administration for Children and Families: http://www.acf.hhs.gov

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: http://www.cbpp.org


Good Morning Q

 

[QueEx]

Please don't "frame" stories from Yahoo as the link will die soon
and no one will know what the story was about. Please cut and
past the article or, at least, cut, past and [ hide] the article
with the frame so that when the link dies, the cut/paste can be
posted,

Thanks,

QueEx

 

[Fuckallyall]

Intersting article, GYH. This is counter-intuitive to both sides. The Socialists complained that just putting somebody to work usually resulted in dead-end jobs. I also thought that the schooled group would do better as well. Well, after reading the article, a thought occurs: is the income level they are talking about include ALL who only STARTED, or those who COMPLETED the program, as only 1/4 of those who started the courses completed them. I did not see any clarification on that. Holla.

 

[GET YOU HOT]

I see that too, i would have to assume that participants in the study remained in the program throughout the 2 1/2 year study...also, the financial incentive to remain on the program is very minimal, but, all participants were all are on aid.

I would also remark that "some" were not allowed to participate in the New Visions program. If analysts had been given several examples, a realistic conclusion may have served as a model program for other counties to implement!?

Keeping that in mind, i would justify that since the states' have the ability, they would be more succesful in determining the exact need for each case
(special education, apprentice programs, etc) and using the power appointed to them by the government to better serve needy people.

Upon researching more extensively...i found this link...seems that the Welfare to Work program has been renamed and privetized. I wonder which one of the shrubs buddies is running this corporation??? Check out the push to get "economically disabled" to work in the mines...
http://www.businessinterfaceinc.com/index.asp Globilization at work

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Russia signs gas deal with China

China is keen to utilise Russia's energy resources Russia and China have signed an agreement to pipe large quantities of gas from fields in Siberia to China.
Officials said the pipelines, which could begin supply within five years, would deliver up to 80bn cubic metres of gas annually. The agreement came as part
of a raft of economic deals signed between the two sides during the visit to Beijing of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But there was no deal on a separate pipeline to deliver Siberian oil. Mr Putin said the two sides had agreed on a deal to supply large quantities of gas through two pipelines from fields in west Siberia and the Russian far east.

Alexei Miller, head of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, told reporters that the timeframe and the scale of the deal had been agreed with China's oil and gas company, CNPC, but he said the financial details were yet to be negotiated.

Russia and China forging links both are keen to reassert themselves as resurgent powers.

Complicated dance on energy
Mr Putin is heading a 90-member delegation, which includes officials from Russia's oil and gas industries and other economic representatives, for the two-day visit.

The two sides have signed 15 agreements to promote commercial co-operation, including four relating to the energy sector.
But the deal China really wants is an oil pipeline from Siberia, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing, and that remains elusive. Russia's minister for industry and energy, Viktor Khristenko, said that there could not be further discussion on a timetable until a feasibility study had been completed.

Mr Putin and Mr Hu pledged to pursue stronger ties in the telecommunications and transport sectors.
They also discussed the Iranian nuclear issue and said they were committed to resolving it "through political and diplomatic means", Russia's Itar-Tass news agency said.
China and Russia are co-operating as never before, with China a booming economy hungry for Russian energy resources.
Both sides praised the relationship in the run-up to the visit, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang describing ties as at "a very high level".

China buys billions of dollars of advanced military equipment from Russia and this year the two countries will hold a second round of joint military exercises. But such ties should not be over-stated, says our correspondent. Last year Sino-Russian trade hit $30bn - just one-tenth of China's trade with the US.

A delegation of US senators is visiting Beijing this week in a bid to persuade China to take further steps to re-evaluate its currency amid concern in Washington that the yuan is artificially undervalued, letting China sell its products more cheaply abroad.

 

[GET YOU HOT]

What goes through George Bush’s mind when he sees the dead bodies of Iraqi women and children loaded on the back of a pickup truck like garbage?

Is there ever a flicker of remorse; a split-second when he fully grasps the magnitude of the horror he has created?

March 15 was another defining moment in America’s downward moral-spiral in Iraq. Eleven members of an Iraqi family were killed in a wanton act of slaughter executed by American occupiers. Photos taken at the scene show the lifeless bodies of young children, barely old enough to walk, lying motionless in the back of a flatbed truck while their fathers moan inconsolably at their side.

What parent can look at these photographs and not be consumed with rage?

The US military openly admits it attacked the house in Ishaqi where the incident took place. Reuters reports that, "Major Ali Ahmed of the Ishaqi police said US forces landed on the roof of the house in the early hours and shot the 11 occupants, including five children."

"After they left the house they blew it up", he said. "The bodies, their hands bound, had been dumped in one room before the house was destroyed," (policeman) Hussein said. Police had found spent American issue cartridges in the rubble." (Reuters)

The autopsy report at the Tikrit hospital said, "All the victims had gunshot wounds to the head".

Iraqi policeman Farouq Hussein noted, "It is a clear and perfect crime without any doubt".

The evidence provided by Reuters suggests that we have entered the "My Lai phase" of the Iraq war, where the pretensions about democracy and liberation are stripped-away and replaced with the gratuitous butchery of women and children. The carnage in Ishaqi illustrates the growing recklessness and desperation of Washington’s failed crusade.

Military spokesman Major Tim O’ Keefe justified the attack saying they were searching for "a foreign fighter facilitator" for Al Qaida in Iraq. He added, "Troops were engaged by enemy fire as they approached the building. Coalition Forces returned fire utilizing both air and ground assets….Two women and one child were killed. The building was destroyed."

In fact, 11 women and children were killed and there’s no evidence to verify that the house was being used as an Al Qaida safe-house.

The US military made similar claims after bombing raids in January and December when a total of 17 family members were killed.

The grim fact is that is that the lives of Iraqi women and children are of no real consequence to US officials. As General Tommy Franks boasted, "We don’t do body counts". The victims of American aggression are simply dismissed as collateral damage undeserving of any further acknowledgement.

The story has received scant attention in the establishment media, which prefers to highlight the stumbling oratory of our Dear Leader as he reaffirms our commitment to western "pro-life" values.

In truth, George Bush is as responsible for the deaths of those children as if he had put a gun to their heads himself and shot them one by one.

At present, we have no way of knowing how frequently these attacks on civilians are taking place. The Pentagon strategy of removing independent journalists from the battlefield has created a news-vacuum that makes it impossible to know with confidence the extent of the casualties or the level of the devastation. The few incidents like this that find their way into the mainstream create a troubling picture of military adventurism and brutality that is no longer anchored to any identifiable moral principle or vision of resolution. It is simply violence randomly dispersed on a massive scale; traumatizing the Iraqi people and bringing the United States into greater disrepute.

There were no Al Qaida fighters in the home in Ishaqi. The attack was just another lethal blunder by a blinkered military fighting an invisible enemy.

"The killed family was not part of the resistance; they were women and children," said Ahmed Khalaf. "The Americans promised us a better life, but we only get death."

Courtesy and Copyright © Mike Whitney

 

[berry984]

Nice Thread

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Nice Thread

Thanks

"I will go to jail for you, what will you go to jail for?"
--Caption accompanying picture.

www.dickgregory.com

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Music Industry's Sales Post Their Sixth Year of Decline

By JEFF LEEDS
Published: April 1, 2006

Global sales of music CD's and DVD's dipped for the sixth consecutive year last year and surging digital music sales failed to offset the decline, an industry trade group said yesterday.

Global music sales, including "physical" and digital formats, fell to about $21 billion in wholesale revenue, a decline of 3 percent. Measured in units, CD's fell 3.4 percent and music DVD's were flat, according to an annual report released by the trade group, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

Sales of digital music, included in the annual report for the first time, are rising sharply but did not compensate for the decline of CD's, which have been the industry mainstay for two decades. The number of single songs downloaded online or to mobile phones rose more than 190 percent, to 470 million units, the report said. Revenue from digital sales nearly tripled, to $1.1 billion from $400 million.

In a break from past practice, the organization based its report on wholesale figures instead of retail. A spokesman said the organization made the switch because of the difficulty of accounting for retail discounts and other variables. But on a retail basis, it said the industry generated about $33 billion in sales last year, a decline of 2.4 percent.

John Kennedy, the federation's chief executive, said the worldwide music market "is fast becoming a mixed economy" as fans purchase music from an array of outlets. Mr. Kennedy said that in Japan, digital sales already made up for the loss of physical sales and "other markets should go this way."

In the United States, overall shipments of music products, including CD's and digital albums and singles combined, fell 3.9 percent last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, which also released its annual report yesterday. It said wholesale revenue was about $7 billion, but did not give a comparable figure for the previous year.

Sales of CD's and DVD's combined generated about $6.4 billion, a decline of 9 percent, the report said.

The association did not release wholesale figures for digital sales, but said they were growing rapidly. According to the data, retail sales from various digital sources, including mobile phone ring tones and sales of songs sold online, rose to almost $1.1 billion, or about 8.8 percent of the industry's total retail sales. The overall retail sales were essentially flat, at $12.27 billion.

The association's chairman and chief executive, Mitch Bainwol, said that illegal file-sharing on many popular online networks had been "held in check" amid an industrywide crackdown on piracy. But he said different forms of piracy, including the distribution of music through internal networks on college campuses, remained "major factors" in the industry's declining sales.

 

[Jim_Browski]

History has shown that all "empires" from the Egyptians, through to the Romans, to the English, and now the USA begin...rise...and fall.

 

[QueEx]

History has shown that all "empires" from the Egyptians, through to the Romans, to the English, and now the USA begin...rise...and fall.

Serious question, would you be happy or sad, if it falls ???

QueEx

 

[tahbasco]

Good question, and honestly I have to say as long as half the country doesn't get destroyed by another WW I can care less if we slip to #2. Unfortunately, with us having the nukes and the military to take down damn near everybody in the world, I don't see us becoming #2 without some serious events taking place.

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Good question, and honestly I have to say as long as half the country doesn't get destroyed by another WW I can care less if we slip to #2. Unfortunately, with us having the nukes and the military to take down damn near everybody in the world, I don't see us becoming #2 without some serious events taking place.

oh brother! You don't care if half the country doesn't get destroyed??? Man, read up on some things...such as radiation poisoning for starters. And what if "it" is your half of the country? Then find out about a dirty bomb. Some whiskey pete? Where your beautiful black skin just peels the fuck off right under them jeans and white tee, where your skin come off right in them 20s?

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Shift in Gulf Currency Reserves to Increase Pressure on Dollar

Khaleej Times - 05/04/2006

DUBAI — A policy shift in foreign currency reserves held by the Gulf central banks favouring the euro is expected to apply major downward pressure on the US dollar, according to senior bankers and currency market analysts.

In the recent weeks central banks of UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman have hinted at a potential shift in their reserve holdings favouring euro against dollar.

Although the UAE central bank's board which held a meeting on Sunday has postponed the decision to May this year, forex experts said any concerted action by the Gulf central banks will apply significant pressure on dollar.

"With huge budget and fiscal deficits in the US the outlook of dollar is weak. Any big change in the reserves will add to the woes of dollar in the medium term," said Suresh Kumar, CEO of Emirates Financial Services. Although the size of the reserves held by Gulf central banks are small compared to the reserves held by central banks of countries such as China, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore, any policy shit in the Gulf will have a huge psychological impact on the currency market that will speed up the downward spiral of dollar, he said.

The Gulf central banks are increasingly favouring to hike the share of euro in their reserves because of the major gains made by the euro in the recent months and the overall negative long term outlook of dollar. During the first quarter of this year euro gained more than 2 per cent against the dollar. "It makes immense commercial sense for the Central Banks to diversify their assets in the context of the declining dollar. In fact the dollar peg which all the Gulf countries currently have also can emerge a liability in the context of a secular fall in the dollar," said the treasury head of an international bank.

Commenting on the Qatar's policy on foreign reserves, Qatar's Central Bank Governor Shaikh Abdullah bin Khaled Al Attiyah said yesterday that the country has the option to to hold as much as 40 per cent of its reserves in euros, and as much as 90 per cent in dollars.

Oman which holds 70 per cent of its reserves in dollars has also hinted at further increasing its euro holdings.

In the past, all Gulf countries with their currencies pegged against the dollar had favoured dollar as their reserve currency. Currently, all these countries hold more than 70 per cent of their reserves in dollars. Analysts feel that the currency pegs will not necessarily be a factor that will limit the Gulf Central Banks from shifting their reserves to other currencies.

"The current shift in favour of euro signals the evolution of euro as a major reserve currency. The dollar peg is not a major issue for the central bank while deciding policy on reserves. It can always revise the peg to reflect the current value of dollar against the domestic currency," said Kumar.

The six Gulf central banks together hold more than $250 billion in reserves.

Foreign assets at the central bank of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, more than tripled in three years to $159 billion from $42 billion. The Asian dollar reserves have been growing exponentially since 1998. While Japan holds a reserve of $776 billion, China has over $415 billion with a cumulative dollar reserve of $2073 billion in nine Asian countries.

Foreign exchange market, according to analysts has become a fund manager driven market.

Bond and equity portfolio managers are making their fund allocations based on the current and projected strength of currencies based on the deficit scenario of the respective markets.

Economists say that more than the political intricacies of Europe, the future of euro depends a great deal on the Asian central banks, which maintain exchange rate stability in their domestic market through intervention. Any brake down in the intervention policy (of keeping huge dollar assets to keep domestic currency stable) could cause a chain reaction resulting in further weakening of dollar.

SOURCE: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093108286

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Americans defying death

[published on Sat, Apr 22, 2006]

The number of people dying in the United States fell in 2004 by more than 50,000, the biggest decline in 70 years.

The 2 percent drop in deaths had some experts skeptical. With Americans getting older and fatter, how could fewer of them be dying?

Some pointed out that the report from the National Center for Health Statistics only was preliminary and the number of Americans dying likely would rebound in the final report.

The blame for this lies squarely with the media, which takes every piece of good news and seeks dread. The constant bombardment of reports, studies and warnings about things that might kill Americans apparently has taken its toll.

Americans are living longer and healthier lives. And it appears that death is taking a holiday.

Most years, the number of U.S. deaths increases. The last time death declined was in 1997 when 445 fewer people died than the year before.

The drop in deaths simply could be a statistical anomaly, but it could mean something else.

Might America be becoming healthier and safer?

Could it be that news reports of disease, flu epidemics, high cholesterol, deadly bees, mad cows and dangerous highways are overblown?

Apparently, the water is safe to drink and the air safe to breathe, regardless of what those nattering nabobs of negativism – to borrow a phrase from former Vice President Spiro Agnew – would have us believe.

The Census Bureau estimates that the U.S. population is more than 297 million people.Yet, fewer of us are dying. At this rate, the country will become too crowded.
The bottom line is that we all share responsibility for the depressed death rate.

Many of us have quit smoking. Others have stopped eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts. And still others have begun taking Pilate classes, or worse, jogging.

If we all work together, perhaps we can reverse this alarming trend.

SOURCE: http://www.nwherald.com/MainSection/opinion/285921252325544.php

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Ford Motor Co. has posted a massive quarterly loss of 1.2 billion dollars in the face of a sales decline and a restructuring plan that envisages up to 30,000 job cuts.

The US auto giant's loss in the January-March quarter compared with a profit of 1.2 billion dollars in the same quarter of 2005.

The results came to a net loss per share of 64 cents. But Ford said its adjusted earnings, excluding restructuring charges, would have produced a first-quarter profit of 458 million dollars, or 24 cents a share.

Wall Street analysts had expected Ford to earn 25 cents a share.

The first quarter included a charge of 1.7 billion dollars for costs related to Ford's "Way Forward" recovery plan.

Ford said this week that it would take charges of about 2.4 billion dollars in 2006 as part of the plan to shut down 14 facilities by 2012 and cut up to 30,000 jobs.

Revenues fell 9.0 percent to 41.05 billion dollars in the first quarter, Ford said.

"We are clearly in a period of transition," company chief executive Bill Ford said.

"However, I am pleased with the changes under way to make Ford a leaner, more innovative company," he said.

"This transformation isn't going to be quick, and it isn't going to be painless. It will involve risks -- and the financial rewards will not be immediate. But in the end, I believe we'll get there."

The news came a day after General Motors reported its loss shrank to 323 million dollars, or 57 cents per share, from 1.3 billion in the same period a year ago. The GM report was seen as a big improvement for the number one automaker and sparked a 10 percent jump in its shares.

Both of the Detroit giants are suffering from so-called legacy costs, including pensions and retiree health care, along with tough competition from foreign rivals, mainly from Japan. The surge in fuel costs has also pushed customers away from the sport utility vehicles that had been the main profit drivers for the automakers.

Ford is in the process of shedding some 30,000 jobs and shutting or reducing capacity in 14 factories as part of its reorganization.

"We are all mindful of the industry environment, the pressure on our suppliers and dealers, unfavorable market share trends, and the fact that our issues in North America are structural rather than cyclical," Bill Ford said.

"That is why we remind our people that we will either change ourselves -- or be changed by someone else."

Goldman Sachs analysts said Ford has failed to make as much progress as its larger rival GM.

"In contrast to its Detroit rival, Ford's North American revenue, mix and pricing all looked much worse ... perhaps not surprising given its focus on fleet sales and mid-sized cars and a generally weaker product cadence," the analysts said, reiterating their "cautious" rating for Ford.

"We think first-quarter results also begin to lower investor expectations about Ford's earnings power for the year, expectations that had been raised when Ford reported a better than expected fourth quarter in January."

Worldwide auto sales for in the first quarter declined to 37 billion dollars from 39.3 billion in the same period last year, even as vehicle sales rose slightly to more than 1.72 million units.

The company said all automotive operations outside the US showed a profit in the first quarter and that trend would continue through 2006.

The stock slumped four percent early Friday to 7.63, giving back almost all of its gains from Thursday.

The company blamed the decline in its Americas segment on lower market share, smaller increases in dealer inventories, accelerated costs to idle manufacturing plants, and increased incentives associated with a higher mix of leasing and fleet sales, among other reasons.

SOURCE: Http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/204282/1/.html

 

[GET YOU HOT]

Ford Motor Co. has posted a massive quarterly loss of 1.2 billion dollars in the face of a sales decline and a restructuring plan that envisages up to 30,000 job cuts.

The US auto giant's loss in the January-March quarter compared with a profit of 1.2 billion dollars in the same quarter of 2005.

The results came to a net loss per share of 64 cents. But Ford said its adjusted earnings, excluding restructuring charges, would have produced a first-quarter profit of 458 million dollars, or 24 cents a share.

Wall Street analysts had expected Ford to earn 25 cents a share.

The first quarter included a charge of 1.7 billion dollars for costs related to Ford's "Way Forward" recovery plan.

Ford said this week that it would take charges of about 2.4 billion dollars in 2006 as part of the plan to shut down 14 facilities by 2012 and cut up to 30,000 jobs.

Revenues fell 9.0 percent to 41.05 billion dollars in the first quarter, Ford said.

"We are clearly in a period of transition," company chief executive Bill Ford said.

"However, I am pleased with the changes under way to make Ford a leaner, more innovative company," he said.

"This transformation isn't going to be quick, and it isn't going to be painless. It will involve risks -- and the financial rewards will not be immediate. But in the end, I believe we'll get there."

The news came a day after General Motors reported its loss shrank to 323 million dollars, or 57 cents per share, from 1.3 billion in the same period a year ago. The GM report was seen as a big improvement for the number one automaker and sparked a 10 percent jump in its shares.

Both of the Detroit giants are suffering from so-called legacy costs, including pensions and retiree health care, along with tough competition from foreign rivals, mainly from Japan. The surge in fuel costs has also pushed customers away from the sport utility vehicles that had been the main profit drivers for the automakers.

Ford is in the process of shedding some 30,000 jobs and shutting or reducing capacity in 14 factories as part of its reorganization.

"We are all mindful of the industry environment, the pressure on our suppliers and dealers, unfavorable market share trends, and the fact that our issues in North America are structural rather than cyclical," Bill Ford said.

"That is why we remind our people that we will either change ourselves -- or be changed by someone else."

Goldman Sachs analysts said Ford has failed to make as much progress as its larger rival GM.

"In contrast to its Detroit rival, Ford's North American revenue, mix and pricing all looked much worse ... perhaps not surprising given its focus on fleet sales and mid-sized cars and a generally weaker product cadence," the analysts said, reiterating their "cautious" rating for Ford.

"We think first-quarter results also begin to lower investor expectations about Ford's earnings power for the year, expectations that had been raised when Ford reported a better than expected fourth quarter in January."

Worldwide, auto sales for in the first quarter declined to 37 billion dollars from 39.3 billion in the same period last year, even as vehicle sales rose slightly to more than 1.72 million units.

The company said all automotive operations outside the US showed a profit in the first quarter and that trend would continue through 2006.

The stock slumped four percent early Friday to 7.63, giving back almost all of its gains from Thursday.

The company blamed the decline in its Americas segment on lower market share, smaller increases in dealer inventories, accelerated costs to idle manufacturing plants, and increased incentives associated with a higher mix of leasing and fleet sales, among other reasons.

SOURCE: Http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/204282/1/.html

 

[PIMPINSINCEPIMPIN]

amerikkka been on the downfall. wat is an american . i kno i dont consider myself ameerican. the land of the free is far from free. "nacirema" dream. y u think this scientologist shit is gettin blown up? they r almost like masons, eva hear of the bohemian grove? look up on the skulls n bones. people just dont realize the "homeland" security act and the patriot act are just a few steps closer to a full fledged police state. and for the record, research shows that osama bin laden was a cia operative during the cold war. amerikka needs to wake up and make some changes

god bless

 

[Greed]

i kno i dont consider myself ameerican.

i hate being right all the goddamn time.

 

[PIMPINSINCEPIMPIN]

what r u talking about?

 

[Greed]

dont worry about it, you're not american.

 

[PIMPINSINCEPIMPIN]

fuck you u indian raping yankee

 

[Greed]

exactly, thats what it means to be american.

 

[PIMPINSINCEPIMPIN]

and your proud of it too

 

[Greed]

right now i'm more sad than anything.