Hoss Cents Free Financial Money Magazine: January 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Job Creation Number One Focus in 2010 Obama

In his weekly address to the nation President Obama promised that job creation will be his administrations number one focus in 2010. He stated that even though during the last quarter the economy grew more than at any time in the previous six years, one in ten Americans is unemployed. Therefore, more must be done to provide jobs for …"folks who want them". To this end President Obama has proposed the following incentives:

Tax credits for business who hire new workers, raise wages, and invest in new plants and equipment

Eliminate capital gains on small business investment

Assist small business in obtaining loans

In addition President Obama pointed out that "it is critical that we rein in the budget deficits we’ve been accumulating for far too long". Therefore he has proposed a spending freeze that will cut spending on programs that are redundant, obsolete or ineffective. He also indicated his pleasure that the Senate has restored the pay-as-you-go law.

Last but not least he has called for a bi-partisan Fiscal Commission – a panel of Democrats and Republicans who would sit down and hammer out concrete deficit-reduction proposals by a certain deadline. He pointed out 53 Democrats and Republicans voted for this commission in the Senate. But it failed when seven Republicans who had co-sponsored this idea in the first place suddenly decided to vote against it.

The Hoss believes this move by the Republicans was strictly political and is a clear indication of their unwillingness to work together with the Democrats for the benefit of all Americans. They would rather do what ever it takes to score political points than be creative and work as a team for the benefit of all.

They are indeed the party of no "no cooperation".

Stay on Track,

Money Magazine Hoss

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Sunday, January 24, 2010

Obama Criticizes Supreme Court Ruling

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In a 5-to-4 decision The United States Supreme Court ended a 20-year ban on businesses using money from their own funds to pay for campaign ads.

President Obama, in his weekly address said,

"This ruling opens the floodgates for an unlimited amount of special interest money into our democracy. It gives the special interest lobbyists new leverage to spend millions on advertising to persuade elected officials to vote their way – or to punish those who don’t. That means that any public servant who has the courage to stand up to the special interests and stand up for the American people can find himself or herself under assault come election time. Even foreign corporations may now get into the act.

I can’t think of anything more devastating to the public interest. The last thing we need to do is hand more influence to the lobbyists in Washington, or more power to the special interests to tip the outcome of elections."

President Obama reminded the electorate that one of the reasons in ran for office was to reduce or eliminate the influence of special interests and lobbyists in Washington. He vowed to keep fighting to ensure the voices of ordinary American people will be heard over these special interests and lobbyists.

To this end he stated that following this ruling "I instructed my administration to get to work immediately with Members of Congress willing to fight for the American people to develop a forceful, bipartisan response to this decision. We have begun that work, and it will be a priority for us until we repair the damage that has been done."

The Supreme Court decision, according to the Conservative majority, was a vindication, of the First Amendment’s most basic free speech principle — that the government has no business regulating political speech.

The dissenters disagreed. They believe allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace would corrupt democracy.

The Hoss finds this ruling particularly upsetting.

For example a special interest group, such as health insurance industry, will have even more leverage to fend off reforms that would protect patients.

The Hoss encourages all Americans to support President Obama in his efforts to make sure that the most powerful voice in Washington belongs to the average American and not special interest groups.

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Money Magazine Hoss

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Sunday, January 10, 2010

PH&N Introduces Monthly Income Fund

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Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd. (PH&N) has introduced their first monthly-pay balanced fund. The fund appropriately named the PH&N Monthly Income Fund, will target a neutral weighting of 50% fixed income and 50% equities.

According to their press release the PH&N Monthly Income Fund is designed to meet the needs of investors seeking a reliable income stream.

The fundamental investment objective of the fund is to provide a relatively high monthly income that may consist of dividend income, interest income, realized capital gains and a return of capital, with the potential for modest capital growth, by investing in a well-diversified balanced portfolio of income producing equity securities, including but not limited to, common shares of Canadian companies that pay dividends and income trusts, and fixed income securities such as preferred shares, government and corporate bonds, debentures and notes. the Fund seeks to offer investors a target annual distribution of 5 per cent but does state that Payout rate may change according to market conditions.

The co-managers are Scott Lamont, head of fixed income at Vancouver-based PH&N, and Scott Lysakowski, a Canadian equity manager who specializes in equity income mandates. Lysakowski, who joined PH&N in 2009 after having previously worked for seven years as a research analyst at RBC AM, will also continue to manage PH&N Canadian Income.

The Management fee for the fund is as follows:

PH&N Monthly Income

Fund - Management Fee
Series D 0.90%
Series C 1.65%
Series F 0.65%

“The PH&N Monthly Income Fund provides a straightforward, quality solution that meets Canadian investors’ demand for dependable income in a low-interest rate environment – whether in retirement or as a supplement to their existing income.” said John Montalbano, head of RBC Global Asset Management. (Both PH&N and RBC AM are wholly owned subsidiaries of Royal Bank of Canada.).

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Money Magazine Hoss

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