Keeping Tabs On $700 Billion Of TARP

Check out the below informative New York Times link Tracking the $700 Billion worth of funds being ALLOCATED by the U.S. Treasury Department via its controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) :

nytimes.com/creditcrisis/recipients/table


* Top 10 Banking TARP Customers :
1. Citigroup (C) - $45 Billion (marketcap = $45 Billion)
2. AIG (AIG) - $40 Billion (mcap = $5B)
3. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - $25 Billion (mcap = $118B)
4. Wells Fargo (WFC) - $25 Billion (mcap = $96B)
5. Bank Of America (BAC) - $15 Billion (mcap = $82B)
6. Goldman Sachs (GS) - $10 Billion (mcap = $31B)
7. Merrill Lynch (MER) - $10 Billion (mcap = $21B)
8. Morgan Stanley (MS) - $10 Billion (mcap = $16B)
9. PNC (PNC) - $7.7 Billion (mcap = $18B)
10. U.S. Bancorp (USB) - $6.6 Billion (mcap = $47B)


* Top 10 customers account for almost 30% (28% or $195 Billion) of total TARP funds...Citigroup and AIG alone account for over 12% of total TARP spending


* About $410 Billion in total TARP funds remain UNALLOCATED (approx 60%)


Data Courtesy: NY Times
Full Disclosure: I own shares of GS.

India's 'Big Dig' - The Rural ROADS Project

Since 2003, India's government has been working on a Large-scale, domestic project of building a MASSIVE Network of ROADS connecting previously unconnected sections of India's largest and most rural populations. For some perspective, India is adding 62 miles of ROAD EACH day. The project is expected to complete in two years (2010)...once complete, all Indian villages with 1,000 residents or more will have access to 'all-weather' roads (this figure is up from 40% when construction began in 2003).

In terms of stimulating India's slowing economy (by the way, India is still the 2nd fastest growing country in the world...China is #1...some annual IMF numbers are provided below), the ROADS project speaks for itself in terms of job creation and productivity enhancements. Expanding a little further on the idea of productivity enhancements, one should not OVERlook the impact this ROADS project will ultimately have on India's Retail environment and Domestic consumer. The below article details a couple of interesting and culturally significant examples about the various types of consumer productivity gains that can be had courtesy of the ROADS project :


bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=anT08lWTqguk&


Per the above link:
* India's National Rural Roads Development Agency is overseeing + in charge of spending for the $27 Billion ROADS infrastructure project...the Rural Roads program is being funded by India's government using revenue from a tax imposed on the sale of diesel fuel

* The International Monetary Fund forecasts India's economy to grow 6.3% in 2009 (vs. 7.8% in 2008)...The IMF expects China's economy to grow 8.5% in 2009 (vs. 9.7% in 2008)

* Domestic consumer spending currently makes up 55% of India's economy (GDP)...in comparison, domestic consumption only accounts for 37% of China's export-heavy economy

* According to Haier Appliances (China's largest home appliances retailer that now has operations in India) :

Only 20% of Indian households own a refrigerator

Only 27% of Indian households own a television

Only 3% of Indian homes have air-conditioning installed



Data Courtesy: Bloomberg

Citigroup Cuts 50,000 Jobs !

Due to the ongoing GLOBAL recession, Citigroup (C) Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit announced today his company's intentions to lay off more than 50,000 employees in the 'near term'. The job cuts are a direct result of Citigroup's COST reduction efforts and will enable the major New-York based bank to stay competitive by reducing total company expenses by approximately 20% in 2009 to $50 Billion (versus the $62 Billion they spent during 2008).


Per the below link:
* Citigroup will reduce employee headcount by about 15% to 300K employees worldwide (as of September 30th, 2008, Citigroup employed approx 352,000 employees)

* Citigroup laid off an additional 23,000 employees earlier in 2008

* Even with Citi's loss of about 75K jobs during 2008, Citigroup remains the largest U.S. bank by employee headcount

* According to data compiled by Bloomberg, banks and brokerage firms worldwide have now announced more than 200,000 Job Cuts in the financial sector since the beginning of the subprime mortgage market collapse in 2007 !


bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid


Data Courtesy: Bloomberg

Buffett's Largest ENERGY Bet - Conoco

According to Berkshire Hathaway's (BRKA) recently disclosed 3rd Quarter 2008 13F SEC Filing, Warren Buffett currently owns 84 million shares of U.S. Oil + Gas producer Conoco Phillips (COP). As a result, Conoco now represents Buffett's LARGEST Energy sector holding and his 5.6% stake makes him the $70 Billion oil company's LARGEST shareholder.


http://www.cnbc.com/id/27723341


Per the above link:
* Conoco Phillips is Berkshire's LARGEST energy sector holding and now accounts for about 7.3% of Berkshire's total U.S. stock portfolio

* Berkshire held 'only' 17.5 million shares of COP as recent as March 31st, 2008...meaning that Buffett's position in Conoco has increased nearly FOUR-fold in just over 6 months (!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Per Berkshire's 3Q08 13F SEC Filings :

* Buffett reduced stock holdings in: Bank of America (BAC), Carmax (KMX), Home Depot (HD), Lowe's (LOW), United Health Group (UNH), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Wellpoint (WLP)


* Buffett increased stock holdings in: Conoco Phillips (COP), Eaton Corporation (ETN), NRG Energy (NRG), US Bancorp (USB) and Comdisco (CDCO)


* Berkshire's CASH holdings as of 9/30/08 were $33.4 Billion (vs. $47.1 Billion a year ago)

Data Courtesy: CNBC.com
Full Disclosure: I own shares of COP and UNH.

WW 3Q08 Smart Phone Marketshare

According to tech survey firm Canalys, the global Smart Phone market grew 3rd quarter shipments by 28% year over year (from shipping 31 million units in 3Q07 to 40 million units in 3Q08). In terms of Handset marketshare during the most recently completed quarter - Nokia placed first, Apple (maker of the iPhone) took second and Research In Motion (maker of Blackberry) finished third.

* WW 3Q08 Smart Phone Marketshare:
1. Nokia (NOK) - 38.9%
2. Apple (AAPL) - 17.3%
3. Research In Motion (RIMM) - 15.2%
4. Motorola (MOT) - 5.8%
5. HTC - 5.8%
6. Others - 17.0%

http://www.canalys.com/pr/2008/r2008112.htm

Data Courtesy: Canalys + CNNmoney.com
Full Disclosure: I own shares of AAPL.

The U.S. Labor Dept's Oct 2008 JOBS Report

According to the U.S. Labor Department's monthly JOBS Report (October 2008):

* The U.S. economy lost 240,000 jobs in October:
- Manufacturing: Down 90,000
- Construction: Down 49,000
- Professional + Business Services: Down 45,000
- Retail: Down 38,000
- Financial: Down 24,000

* Since the beginning of 2008, the U.S economy has lost a total of 1.2 Million JOBS

* The current unemployment rate is 6.5%...6.5% is the country's highest unemployment rate since March 1994

* More than 1/2 of this year's job losses have occurred during the past 3 months:
- August: Down 127,000
- September: Down 284,000 (largest total since 11/2001)
- October: Down 240,000

Data Courtesy: The Wall Street Journal + U.S. Labor Department

Goldman Reduces 2008/09 S+P 500 Estimates

On Friday, the research arm of Goldman Sachs reduced their annual 2008 and 2009 profit forecasts for companies making up the U.S.'s S+P 500 stock market index. David Kostin, Goldman's lead portfolio strategist, now expects global losses from writedowns to total $1.6 TRILLION through 2011, more than his prior projection of $1.3 TRILLION.

* 2008 estimate: Reduced by 10% to $65/share

* 2009 estimate: Reduced by 9% to $63/share

* Given the S+P's current level of 930 + GS's updated annual 2008 and 2009 earnings estimates, the S+P 500 is currently trading at 14 times 2008 earnings and 15 times 2009 earnings.

bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aX.L37mmsROM

Data Courtesy: Bloomberg

Subprime Slime Checkup

Since the beginning of 2007, banks worldwide have taken $693 Billion in writedowns and losses on loans, CDO's and other investments.

www.bloomberg.com/apps/news

Data Courtesy: Bloomberg