Apple Bond Sale, ON SALE NOW!

And there it is. Moments ago Bloomberg disclosed the final terms of the just launched Goldman-led syndication of AAPL paper. The total size: $17 billion, which surpasses the previous record set by Roche at $16.5 billion, and makes it the biggest corporate bond syndication in history.

30 Year paper in a tech company whose market cap has fluctuated by roughly $500 billion in the past year, and yielding just under 4%?

Sold to you.

President Zero. Lost without a Teleprompter........

"If I get some credible info, I'm going to consider that a game changer with the stuff in Syria." (WTF does this even mean?)

"People don't seem intimidated going to Fenway Park." (Can people bring pressure cookers into Fenway? What about allowing stormtroopers to enter their houses?)

"People calling me chicken little on sequestration but it has happened. Flight delays, meat inspectors, no White House tours. It all happened." (No White House tours are ruining our economy? Why not cut the White House parties instead?)

Tenets of America.......

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.

4. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it!

5. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that is the beginning of the end of any nation.

Bart Chilton

No wonder this CFTC chief who is supposed to be a regulator is so inept.

He worked for Tom Daschle.   

Saying that we have a large problem with technology is rather vague.  Bart,  HFT guys DO NOT provide liquidity.  You best have lunch with the boys at Themis Trading to get some background.   Your interview is comical but then again it is CNBC. 

It's unbelievable that the most sophisticated trading vehicle in the history of mankind is taken to the cleaners by a 140 character tweet!

Taxpayers bent over and FISKERED

It appears, once again, that the government's inept approach to spending 'other people's money' has blown up in their face. As HotAir.com reports, newly obtained documents show the Obama administration was warned as early as 2010 that electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. was not meeting milestones set up for a half-billion dollar government loan, nearly a year before U.S. officials froze the loan. Just as with Solyndra, Congress seemed convinced to spend billions of taxpayer money 'investing' in green-tech startups - only to lose everything. Simply put, in our humble opinion, the pattern is explained by the 'monopoly money' perspective we suspect these funds are viewed as in light of Bernanke's inexorable funding of the government's largesse. None other than the great Joe Biden reveled in the news in 2009 that Fisker would re-open a closed GM plant creating jobs, jobs, jobs; it never completed the task and never created one job. When the money isn't yours, 'investing' public funds is oh so easy and it appears, with zero consequence for the decision makers - again.

Via HotAir.com,

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. An administration walks into Congress and insists on billions of dollars to “invest” in green-tech startups, then loses its shirt on bad bets - even while knowing the bets were bad. If that sounds like Solyndra, well, you’re right...

... Fisker Automotive, which continued to get millions in taxpayer funds even while failing to meet the conditions of its loan:

Newly obtained documents show the Obama administration was warned as early as 2010 that electric car maker Fisker Automotive Inc. was not meeting milestones set up for a half-billion dollar government loan, nearly a year before U.S. officials froze the loan after questions were raised about the company’s statements.

An Energy Department official said in a June 2010 email that Fisker’s bid to draw on the federal loan may be jeopardized for failure to meet goals established by the department.

Despite that warning, Fisker continued to receive money until June 2011, when the DOE halted further funding. The agency did so after Fisker presented new information that called into question whether key milestones — including the launch of the company’s signature, $100,000 Karma hybrid — had been achieved, according to a credit report prepared by the Energy Department.

Some may wonder what will happen to all of the American manufacturing jobs that the loans helped create. On that score, we don’t need to worry … because all of that cash didn’t produce a single job anyway:

Vice President Joe Biden announced in late 2009 that Fisker would reopen a shuttered former General Motors factory in Wilmington, Del., to produce plug-in, electric hybrid vehicles. The plant was never completed and never produced any cars.

...

Once again, we see that “investing” only works when the investor is managing his own money, and not public funds. How many millions of dollars have been lost because this administration couldn’t admit that it backed turkeys — and also admit that firms that can’t attract investors on its own are the worst possible bets in the first place? The biggest question that the White House should answer is the names of those who kept approving the cash disbursements to Fisker, Solyndra, and a host of others in its loser portfolio even after finding out that the companies were failing.

But this story is not over yet. As Reuters reports today, the CEO of the company is heading to Congress once again to explain that Fisker can be successful if the right "financial and stratgeic resources" are provided. We won't hold our breath...

"After resolving initial launch challenges, the cars perform well and customers love them," according to a copy of Henrik Fisker's testimony to the panel. "Fisker still has the potential to build on these achievements if the company can secure financial and strategic resources."

...

The House Oversight and Government Reform committee will focus on the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) decision to grant Fisker Automotive a $529 million loan in 2009.
The hearing comes as the automaker verges on collapse. Among the key questions is whether Fisker's prospects were strong enough at the start to warrant the DOE's backing, which helped trigger a flood of private financing for Fisker.

...

Forecasts in 2009 for the sale of hybrid and electric vehicles far outstripped subsequent demand.

"I'm not sure there is anything anyone can say or do to help Fisker," said Theodore O'Neill, an analyst with Litchfield Hills Research LLC. "The company is adrift without Henrik.
"The supply chain is broken, so they can't get parts on credit anymore, and while it is one of the most beautiful cars on the road, there is insufficient demand," he added.

New Mexico, 2013, 2B Mule Deer

Since 2006 I have been putting in for a New Mexico tag in Unit 2, next to the famed Jicarilla Apache Reservation. Finally, this year I drew a tag for the third rifle season, November 2 to November 6 in Unit 2B. I was really lucky. The odds were so small, somewhere between 3.39% and 7.41% using last years draw odds. To be certain, I am lucky and blessed. I never gave up the dream of having the opportunity. Like any hunter, I hope I have a shot opportunity on a great buck. May God keep my health intact until I get there! It's simply a great opportunity and privilege in a great unit to go as hard as I can and try to turn up a great muley. Turning 60 a month after this hunt I'll be hitting a milestone. I still believe the best is yet to come!

It's our only Mother..............

As usual, the big guy is first outta there

It's a game of inches.   Believe it.  Big boys blowin out first always.

Montana Rooster

Spring in Montana!   One of the few things imported from China that has retained it's high quality, good looks and great eating! 

Hunter Parisian @ Georgia Tech AF ROTC

Affordable Care Act

Monday, Regal Entertainment Group, the largest movie theatre chain in the country, announced that thousands of employees will have their work hours cut -- as a direct result of the added cost of the new ObamaCare mandates that become effective later this year.

In a memo to employees, management was blunt: “To comply with the Affordable Care Act, Regal had to increase our health care budget to cover those newly deemed eligible based on the law's definition of a full-time employee.”

Fox News reports that, as a result of cutting employees' work hours (which is, of course, the same as a pay cut), full-time Regal managers have resigned in "a wave" after their hours and pay checks were slashed by as much as twenty-five percent.

The manager told FoxNews.com ObamaCare has had the unintended consequence of taking food off his table.

“Mandating businesses to offer health care under threat of debilitating fines does not fix a problem, it creates one," he said. "It fosters a new business culture where 30 hours is now considered the maximum in order to avoid paying the high costs associated with this law.

“In a time where 40 hours is just getting us by, putting these kind of financial pressures on employers is a big step in a direction far beyond the reach of feasibility for not only the businesses, but for the employees who rely on their success," he said.

In order to avoid the added cost of providing health insurance for employees working 30 hours a week (as ObamaCare mandates), it only makes sense for companies to schedule employees for 29 hours. So anyone who was working full-time is now being hit with a 25% pay cut.

Moreover, in a jobless "recovery" like the one we've been suffering under for four long years now, employers hold all the cards. And even if someone is able to find another job, what are the chances that employer won't be making the same decision to avoid the expense of ObamaCare?

The most under-covered story in the media this year is and will continue to be the effect ObamaCare is having on America's working class -- those who are losing their health insurance and the crucial work hours that can make all the difference when you live on the margins. "

April 13,2013

Obama logic.............

We are told not to judge Muslims based on the actions of a few crazies, but DO judge gun owners based on the actions of a few crazies.

Common sense has been exterminated it seems.............

Muleys on the road..............

Shed hunting, Montana, April 2013

We hit the hills hard for a couple of days.  We were early as many bulls had not yet dropped their "bone".   When buying plane tickets well in advance it's hard to consult with bull elk as to their timing of shedding antlers.

A couple muley sheds from last year.   It's awful dry in Montana.

Weirdo's everywhere.................

I hope he worked with a sanitation department...............