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Wednesday, March 12, 2003

US Equities: On the Mend?



Well I think John Snow really should get a Laureate for this one. Since when is it advisable for the US Treasury secretary to call stocks. If he wants the world to believe he really 'supports' a high dollar, then he'd better cut back on the 'I'm sorry they only just showed me my lines' stuff. No self-respecting professional actor would come out with this. I mean, he's seen a number of private sector estimates, doesn't the US Treasury have any competent economists to give him data? And this ignoring the fact that he's probably got the story wrong. Hadn't he better watch out for Eliot Spitzer here. Peter, Paul and Mary had it right a long time ago: when will they ever learn?

U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday stock prices could get a significant boost from the Bush administration proposals to stimulate economic activity, especially by eliminating taxes on dividends. Speaking to America's Community Bankers, a banking lobby group, Snow portrayed the proposal to end dividend taxes as a potential major benefit of the $695 billion stimulus program. "It will clearly make our corporations worth more because as the after-tax distribution of the corporations rise, the market will be able to capitalize it," Snow said, adding "I've seen a number of private sector estimates indicating increases from this proposal ... in market equity of 10, 12, 15, 17, as much as 20 percent," Snow said. Snow said the economy is recovering in a halting fashion and needs help to stay on track. "There is some concern now ... that the recovery could weaken and we need an insurance policy against it," Snow said.
Source: Yahoo News
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