Who is next for the easy money?
Today's Financial News - Posted January 2, 2009
The pigs are lining up at the trough. They are doing their best to get every penny they can out of Uncle Sam. As Pelosi and Obama hash out their stimulus package, make sure you are ready to take advantage of the easy money.
By Andrew Snyder, TodaysFinancialNews.com
Baltimore – (TFN): The next three weeks are going to be very important ones for investors. Nearly a trillion dollars is up for grabs. Smart investors will do all they can to ensure they get their hands on a piece of the action.
On Monday, President-elect Obama and Nancy Pelosi are scheduled to meet and start formally discussing their plans for a massive stimulus plan. Their goal is to have legislation waiting for Obama when he takes over the Oval Office on January 20.
Current estimates have the total package worth about $675 to $775 billion in taxpayer money. Nearly every industry in the country is lobbying with all its might to ensure they get a mention in the massive measure.
It is time to repay the voters
The next few weeks will look like pigs feeding at a slop bucket. Industry leaders will be pushing through the mud and the waste jockeying for a top spot in the handout line. Already, the steel and the newspaper industries are turning up the volume of their cries for help.
After spending nearly $20 billion to “save” Detroit and $350 billion to “rescue” the banking industry, the nation’s newspaper publishers want to get their hands on a few billion bucks.
Instead of proving that they are vital to the nation’s manufacturing sector and national security, news outlets claim without them, a strong source of free speech and a voice of dissent would be eliminated. Therefore, they are crucial to the health of the country.
Once again, the nation’s newspapers overlook the power of the Internet.
Steelmakers are taking a different route. Knowing that an infrastructure based stimulus would send their revenues skyward, the steel industry is not asking for a check from Uncle Sam. Instead, they demand that Obama’s package have a “buy America” clause is a virtual tariff that forces builders to buy American steel (regardless of the fact that it will be more expensive).
Over the last four months, steel demand throughout the United States has fallen by about 50%, dragging prices down an equal amount. So far this year, the steel industry has fired thousands of American workers. If the situation does not get better, executives promise (or is it threaten) that more cuts are on the way.
Might as well get your share
No matter what Pelosi and Obama hammer out, hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money will be spent over the next 24 months. Much of the cash will flow through the steel industry, making it a prime investment opportunity.
Look at companies like Nucor (NYSE:NUE), United States Steel (NYSE:X), and ArcelorMittal (NYSE:MT) to be amongst the leaders as the stricken industry returns to its feet and runs ahead of the pack.
The steel industry has typically been a strong leading indicator for the American economy. Thanks to help from Washington, it will gain a leadership position once again, whether it deserves it or not.
Next Article: Pick up shares of Service Corporation International (SCI)
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