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Morning Market Roundup: Berkshire’s New Chairman, Unemployment Benefits for 2012

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

It may be that holiday spending actually is accelerating into mid-December. Some economists argued that the surge of Black Friday activity would burn out consumer activity. The contrary is true, based on recent data.

FedEx stuck to its forecast that it would ship 17 million packages today, about double its normal daily average. Comscore reported that e-commerce activity was up by 15 percent in the first week in December. Online retail revenue has reached $24.6 billion, the research firm reports, since the start of November — a record by a big margin.

1) Uncertainty in Europe: The sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which appeared to ease up a bit last week, isn’t any closer to being solved. Moody’s reported today that it may still downgrade the debts of some major nations in the region. The grand plan set by EU leaders is still short on details. The money added to a new fund will be inadequate to cover a default of Italy’s national obligations. Yields on Italian and Spanish paper are still near historic highs. Stock markets across the globe likely will tick down this week unless there is more evidence that the EU has its financial house in order.

2) The New Warren Buffett: A new mystery surrounds who will take Warren Buffett’s  job as head of Berkshire Hathaway if he dies or retires. It has been widely believed that the company would add a CEO to run operations and one or more investment professionals to oversee the huge investment portfolio.

A profile of Buffett on “60 Minutes” showed that the “Oracle of Omaha” plans to replace himself as chairman with his son Howard Buffett, who is a farmer on a nearly full-time basis.

Morning Market Roundup: Berkshire’s New Chairman, Unemployment Benefits for 2012

Howard Buffett (left) and Warren Buffett (right)

“You worry that somebody will be in charge of Berkshire that uses it as their own sandbox in some way; that changes the way that decisions are made in reference to the shareholders. The odds of that happening are very, very low. Having Howie there adds just one extra layer of protection,” Buffett Said.

Investors who do not want a farmer to play a key role in the conglomerate may not take the news well.

3) No Jobless Benefits Extension: Congress may not pass a bill to extend jobless benefits into 2012. The first effect will be that 1.7 million Americans lose their financial safety nets. The figure would rise to 6 million by the end of 2012. The debate about the extension revolves around several issues.

The first is whether, in a time of austerity, the federal government can afford the tens of billions of dollars it would have to pay to extend payments. The second is whether people who receive benefits are less likely to seek jobs because they have little economic incentive to do so. And another is how much the effect would be on the consumer economy, and thus GDP, if 6 million consumers drop out the number of Americans who currently can afford to buy goods and services.

(24/7 Wall St./The Blaze)

Comments (11)

  • heidilevy
    Posted on December 13, 2011 at 2:30am

    Indeed, workers lacking high school diplomas saw their unemployment rate jump 6.6 percentage points in June vs. a 2.3 point increase for college grads who has their degree from one of the High Speed Universities

    Report Post »  
  • heidilevy
    Posted on December 13, 2011 at 2:26am

    Unemployment numbers are comprised of those that are in the job market for the past 30 days. It does not include those that have not been in the job market in the last 30 days: people who have given up looking; those that have gone off unemployment because it has run out. One solution to unemployment is High Speed Universities check it out

    Report Post »  
  • fbanta
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 5:06pm

    The Obama Recovery Plan appears to be built on the $20 a week “Middle Class Tax Cut” which is no more than suspending payments into the Social Security Trust Fund that will either have to be made up with higher taxes or lower benefits, so is no tax cut at all-just a postponement; and the never-ending extension of unemployment benefits which average 36% of a working wage.

    It isn’t difficult to see why there is no recovery going on.

    Report Post »  
  • m2matarazzo
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 4:28pm

    How long can extending unemployment benefits continue? Our country is broke, 15 trillion worth, and some people want jobs but some use it as extended vacation time!

    Report Post »  
  • TommyGuns
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 1:25pm

    I can’t quite figure out how not extending unemployment benefits for another 59 weeks will somehow cause the GDP to plummet. With a few exceptions, unemployment benefits sure as heck don’t pay for a lot beyond rent, utilities and groceries. Paying someone not to take a job that doesn’t pay as much as they would like to earn is just sheer lunacy. If someone claims they cannot find work, then how about we put them to work cleaning up the roadways or parks, or in other areas that benefit the common good, and we continue their unemployment benefits? I’m willing to bet that a lto of people will be ready to take those jobs they now think are beneath them.

    Any extension of unemployment benefits and the payroll tax holiday needs to be paid for out of current spending. No more tricks or kicking the can down the road. If we need to spend a few $billion on these programs, you have to take it from somewhere else during the same time frame as you will be paying out the benefits,

    Report Post » TommyGuns  
  • jonbutterfly
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 1:09pm

    As Europe’s leaders roll up their sleeves and prepare to slug it out for the euro’s very survival, German parliamentarian Frank Schaeffler explains to RT why piling new debts on top of old ones can only lead to collapse.

    http://djia.tv/russia-today/eu-uses-euro-collapse-threat-to-blackmail-taxpayers/

    Report Post »  
  • AxelPhantom
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 10:27am

    With regards to consumer spending, I wonder what percentage of it is being put on credit cards, could lead to a big hangover in January.

    Report Post »  
  • Danzig
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 10:07am

    What do you mean about Buffet “if he dies or retires”? His billions will not save him from death.

    Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 9:52am

    I used To repect Warren Buffett, now i cant stand to here the man speak….. He is a wormy thief, and he is buying his insider info, he is not the oracle of Omaha, he is the Orafice of Omaha, and you which Orafice !!!!

    Report Post »  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on December 12, 2011 at 9:14am

    .
    1) Uncertainty in Europe: I‘m certain it’s gonna FAIL…………….

    2) The New Warren Buffett: Who gives a Damn………….

    3) No Jobless Benefits Extension: Good, I don’t care………..

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  

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