Posted on 03/27/2010 11:46:27 AM PDT by Attention Surplus Disorder
He took the oath to PROTECT the Constitution. He’s giving the finger to it.
The founding Fathers could run circles around little Barry. His intellect could fit into one of their little fingers.
We have NO state Income Tax in TN, living cost are lower, just stay the H out of Memphis!. Although Nike just built a big facility here last year out in Frayser a burg of Memphis.
They can well fund any Conservative candidate, cut off the flow of money to the demonrats. LOL
Can’t Barry be prosecuted for “coercion”?
“I have never read about a company later stating that its write downs were less than originally estimated.”
Without being able to give you specific examples, it has definitely happened. And, I’d suggest that underestimating adverse impacts vs overestimating isn’t anything like 100:1 in occurrence. Probably not even 10:1. It is largely a matter of corporate ethics and standards. Some companies are conservative in their estimates just as a matter of culture. Of course, the litigation aspects of underestimating impacts of adverse events can be pretty steep. CAT, DE, and T have been around for many, many years, and maybe their conservative ways of running their companies has something to do with that.
Also, consider two generic examples: CAT, I am 100% sure, has a precisely calculated line item in their financials that is based upon a tax advantage based upon existing law. Good, bad, or indifferent, it is there and they’ve been running their biz on the basis of said existing law for years. One day, their corporate attorneys and accountants read newly-enacted law, confer, and believe they will lose said tax advantage. Unless you or I or someone else thinks CAT is being run like Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme, where’s the argument?
On the other hand, suppose news comes out as to adverse effects from Vioxx, a drug made by Merck. Or, gas pedals and sudden acceleration issues with Toyotas. You know and I know that a litigation feeding frenzy will result and potentially thousands of cases will be brought. Neither Merck nor Toyota have any practical way of estimating what the impact of all those lawsuits will be over the next several years from the orig date of occurrence. They can state their inability to accurately predict the impact(s). They would be in serious hot water, however, if they made a lowball allowance and badly exceeded it. It’s in these cos’ interests, IMHO, to *overstate* the potential of their current snafus. Wall St. adores “less bad” news, at least lately.
Now if you were to say that *government* cost estimates rarely if ever come in under budget, you’d have my unqualified agreement.
That’s the gilded question: What higher authority exists to bring charges against and prosecute the chief executive?
Congress? Don’t make me laugh!
It’s coarsely analagous with the situation with the Pope and allegations that he covered up accusations of molestation against some Bishop somewhere. Who brings up the Pope on charges? SuperPope?
Get ready for a call from Tax-Cheat-Timmy.
Cat didn't even speak out against Obamanunism, they just reported the elimination of tax exemptions. Think what Zero would have done if anyone dared to exercise their free speech rights!
Thanks for your analysis. I find no holes in it. In the end, however, the results will be what they will be, regardless of what the initial estimates were. As a project manager, I learned you could slip your schedule once; you would be forgiven if your next estimate came in as re-promised and re-budgeted. I suspect most corporations have also learned this lesson, especially as it relates to Wall Street and perceived value.
At least they'll have nice tools down there.
Time for Barry to take his marbles and go home. You are probably correct, he’s King now.
What incentive would they have to understate their earnings? They don’t get a tax deduction for these charges.
CAT and Deere headquarters are located in both around the same area in Illinois, Obama’s own state, its going to hurt the economy big time. I know because I grew up in Knox county Illinois smack dab in the middle of Peoria and Moline, a lot of my friends were employed by either company.
*No* company has or should have an incentive to over or understate their earnings in filed financial statements; That would be a black-letter law violation.
*Some* companies habitually understate *estimates* of earnings pre-filing in order to give their stock a cachet of “upside surpise” potential. Cisco has probably beaten estimates by one penny in maybe 70 of the last 80 earnings announcements/filings. Estimates are not statuatorially regulated in the same way as actually-filed financial statements. IBM has generally reported roughly flat earnings for the past say seven years but somehow always manages to come out with a “beat” from currency offsets/gains/adjustments.
In the case of CAT, and I am not the world’s expert on this, my understanding is that under prior law, certain of their medically-related costs for retirees were subsidized by the gov’t, under the theory that CAT’s providing some benefit relieved the gov’t of having to provide same. Again, don’t take my analysis verbatim, but I believe I have the gist correct. Now, that subsidy is removed, yet CAT is contracturally obligated to continue providing it to their retirees. So, measured from before to after passage of the HC bill, they have in essence and in fact a brand new cost they have to shoulder.
So, at least as I understand it, it is not a tax deduction that went away, nor a tax treatment that has changed, it is by virtue of a loss of a subsidy a brand new burden that fell out of the sky that they suddenly have to pay for.
If Caterpillar isn’t careful, Obama and Geitner will take over their company with Stimulus Fund money.
Insurance executive, tobacco executives, equipment executives. They should all just go on the attack and not give an inch.
But we all live in fear of our government, don't we?
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