Kovacevich: WFC on the hunt!

Wells Fargo May Increase Acquisitions, Chairman Says

Excerpt:

Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, will increase acquisitions this year, and the targets are likely to be larger than the banks bought recently, Chairman Richard Kovacevich said.

Wells Fargo may acquire about 15 companies in the coming year because prices have declined to reasonable levels, Kovacevich said during a Bloomberg TV interview today. The bank, ranked second among U.S. mortgage lenders, also expects real- estate prices to fall another 10 percent before bottoming out, he said.

Comment: Sounds like it won't be a major bank. I would think that BBT, National City Corp, or Sun Trust would be good targets.

Slime at the Times

Slime at the Times Update: The Full Story Emerges

Comment: The backstory to the nostory: "institutional tensions". The Wall Street Journal weighs in: "The allegations are insubstantial to begin with ..."

Maurice Cheeks National Anthem sing along

Wiki: Maurice Cheeks

HT: The Cynical Christian

Comment: Maurice Cheeks was with the Philadelphia 76'ers when we lived in South Jersey. On April 25, 2003, during a game between the Trail Blazers and the Dallas Mavericks, Cheeks aided 13-year-old Natalie Gilbert in singing the National anthem. After Gilbert forgot the words at "At the twilight's last gleaming", Cheeks rushed over to help her and they finished it together, as the entire Rose Garden Arena crowd sang with them. Cheeks and Gilbert received a standing ovation after the song was over. Portland would go on to lose to the Mavericks that night.

Pentagon Briefing, Missile Strike On Satellite

Comment: Interesting (I will sleep better tonight knowing that satellite will not crash into my home :))

WWJDD: Barack Obama

Why Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama

Excerpt:

In February 2004, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, sent a fund-raising letter with the "alarming news" that "right-wing politicians" had passed a law stopping doctors from stabbing half-born babies in the neck with scissors, suctioning out their brains and crushing their skulls.

Michelle called partial-birth abortion "a legitimate medical procedure," and wouldn't supporters please pay $150 to attend a luncheon for her husband, who would fight against "cynical ploy[s]" to stop it?

But that's not why Obama's opponent Alan Keyes said Jesus Christ wouldn't vote for him.

HT: The Vote That Will Cost Obama the Presidency

Comment: WWJDD = "What will James Dobson do"? I wonder if James Dobson would consider this when he considers why he could never vote for John McCain?

The Fed: "between a rock and a hard place"

Higher inflation makes Fed’s job a lot tougher

Excerpt:

With the economy slowing and the housing market stuck in reverse, Wednesday’s surprise pop in the government's monthly inflation data was not good news for the Federal Reserve.

The problem: Central bankers now find themselves between a rock and a hard place in trying to meet their dual goal of setting interest rates low enough to get the economy moving again while keeping rates high enough to keep prices in check.

The Fed can’t do both. But given the ongoing turmoil in the capital markets — and the risk of a credit crunch that could do even more damage to the fragile economy — Fed watchers say inflation-fighting is taking a back seat.

Comment: Add this: The need to avoid Stagflation

---

Funny thing at work today:

The three rules of public speaking: know your audience, your your limitations, and keep it simple.

I was in a meeting today that was over Net-Meeting. I was in a conference room with the presenter and a guy from finance. The presentation was via PowerPoint and had over 30 slides. Midway through the meeting, my eyes were growing dim but I fought to stay awake. The finance guy to my left dozed off completely. At one time he had his head on the conference table. The humor of this kept me alert.

List Barack Obama's accomplishments

Comment: Hillary finally gets it! Barak has done nothing as a Senator!

Downtown fire

Comment: Taken with my LG VX8300 phone from the 14th floor conference room of 100 Washington. (2/20/08 @ 11:15 a.m.)

Kare11 reports:

A 2-alarm fire has broken out in downtown Minneapolis.

The building houses Maxwell's American Cafe and is located at 1203 Washington Avenue South.

Flames were seen shooting out of 2nd and 3rd floors of the building. It is believed that apartments are above Maxwell's.

Crews have been ordered out of the building and it has also been evacuated.


Updated: Maxwell's, furniture store fire started in storage area

A favorite lunchtime spot for downtown workers and a neighboring furniture store sustained heavy damage in a large fire this morning in downtown Minneapolis..

Crews responded to a blaze on the roof top of a building at 1203 Washington Av. S. around 10:30 a.m., said Sean McKenna, a fire department spokesman.

"It was a heavy fire when crews arrived," McKenna said.

No one was hurt, but parts of the building housing the Scandia Furniture Company and Maxwell's American Cafe collapsed, he said.

The fire broke out in a storage area on the third floor of the building where there are a few apartments. All the residents escaped unhurt, but one lost a cat in the fire, he said.

Washington Avenue was closed while crews battled the fire, but the street reopened around 1:40 p.m.



Location:


View Larger Map

Standard goody-bag politics

The Obama Delusion: The gap between his rhetoric and the reality of his views


Obama's economic plan:

1. Provide a $1,000 tax cut for most two-earner families ($500 for singles).
   
2. Create a $4,000 refundable tuition tax credit for every year of college.
   
3. Expand the child-care tax credit for people earning less than $50,000 and "double spending on quality after-school programs."
   
4. Enact an "energy plan" that would invest $150 billion in 10 years to create a "green energy sector."
   

More:

A favorite Obama line is that he will tell "the American people not just what they want to hear but what we need to know." Well, he hasn't so far. Consider the retiring baby boomers. A truth-telling Obama might say: "Spending for retirees—mainly Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—is already nearly half the federal budget. Unless we curb these rising costs, we will crush our children with higher taxes. Reflecting longer life expectancies, we should gradually raise the eligibility ages for these programs and trim benefits for wealthier retirees. Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame for inaction. Waiting longer will only worsen the problem."

Instead, Obama pledges not to raise the retirement age and to "protect Social Security benefits for current and future beneficiaries." This isn't "change"; it's sanctification of the status quo.


Comment: Surprised to see this in Newsweek!

Madman Alert!

Ahmadinejad: Israel filthy bacteria

Madman Quote:

"The world powers established this filthy bacteria, the Zionist regime, which is lashing out at the nations in the region like a wild beast,"

Comment: The Madman alert archive.

Questions about Universal Health Care

Questions about Universal Health Care ... that the Democrats will not answer!

Health Questions for the Candidates

Excerpts:

1. A question about young adults. They think of themselves as invincible and are not apt to buy insurance. Your "mandate" would force them to do so, and more than that, to pay the same premium as middle aged people whose health care needs generally are much greater. You defend the one-price rule as "shared responsibility," but isn't it an unjust, hidden tax on the younger generation? Today in Austin, Texas a 25-year-old man can buy a $1,000 deductible policy for $70, according to e-healthinsurance.com. A 55-year-old man pays $270 for the same policy. In nearly all states, young adults currently get price breaks, and for good reason. They need, on average, about $1,500 a year in health care. Your health plan bars insurers from giving these price breaks to the young.
   
2. Texas lawmakers have made insurance less affordable by requiring that every plan include in vitro fertilization, acupuncture, marriage counseling and some 50 other features. This is like passing a law saying that the only car you're permitted to buy is a fully loaded luxury sedan. Would you allow Texans (and all of us who live in states with similarly costly insurance requirements) to shop for cheaper insurance outside our own state?
   

Democrats: Putting the "party" back in politics

The Delegate math

Excerpt (will need to scroll down the article for this section):

After last night’s contests, here’s where things stand: The NBC News Hard Count is Obama 1,168, Clinton 1,018. There are 53 delegates unallocated, including 19 in MD, 10 each in CO and GA, 6 in WI, 4 in HI, and one each in DC, TN, NY and IL. We estimate a conservative 27-26 split here. The Superdelegate Count: Clinton 257 versus Obama 185. That’s a grand total of: Obama 1,355, Clinton 1,276. Counting only the superdelegates he has now, plus his pledged delegates, Obama needs 65% of remaining PLEDGED delegates to hit the magic 2025 number. Reaching that is probably unrealistic, but when you add in the unaffiliated 353 superdelegates (76 of whom are not yet known yet and won't be appointed until April, May and June), his magic percentage number is down to 48%. On the flip side, Clinton needs to win 58% of all remaining pledged delegates simply to get the pledged delegate lead back. Forget 2025. And if you assume Obama wins Vermont, Wyoming, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota, then the magic percentage number in the states Clinton wins rises to 65% -- SIMPLY TO GET THE PLEDGED DELEGATE LEAD BACK...

The way to win? The Clinton campaign, meanwhile, has unveiled its own Delegate Hub, a Web site listing “facts and myths” about the Democratic race for delegates. What’s most interesting here is that the campaign moves the 2025 magic number to include Florida and Michigan (thus 2208). And as Harold Ickes tried on Saturday, they want to erase the pledged vs. super distinction. This is the clearest signal yet that the Clinton campaign knows they can’t win as things stand now and need to win this on the perception front

Comment: Hillary wants those contested Florida & Mighican delegates (and to win - and winning is everything for the Clintons!): From Delegate Hub:

An important part of the debate over delegates is the role of Florida and Michigan. Hillary Clinton believes that the voices of 600,000 Michigan primary voters and 1.75 million Florida primary voters should be heard at the Democratic convention.

In the 2004 presidential race, the turnout in Michigan was only a quarter of what it was this year - and the 2004 turnout in Florida was less than half of what it was this year. With such dramatically increased turnout, Hillary won those two states and she did it with all candidates on an equal footing. In Florida, all presidential candidates were on the primary ballot and all followed the rules (except for Sen. Obama who broke the rules by running television ads in violation of his pledge to the early states and to the other presidential candidates). In Michigan, Sen. Obama voluntarily withdrew his name from the primary ballot to curry favor with Iowa. He was under no obligation to do so. However, his supporters organized a substantial vote for 'uncommitted' on the ballot, thus he is represented in the delegation. Hillary Clinton obeyed all the rules in Florida and Michigan and came out ahead. She had no intrinsic advantage over her opponents other than the will of the voters. The voters of Florida and Michigan should be heard and the delegates from Florida and Michigan should count.

Comment: Consider earlier post: How will the Dems handle Michigan and Florida?

"Oracle of Omaha" buys WFC

Time to Buy On-Shore Bank Bargains... Buffett Thinks So

Excerpt:

Berkshire Hathaway disclosed last week that Warren Buffett & Co. has been busy adding to its already sizeable stake in Wells Fargo.

In fact, the big west-coast bank is Berkshire’s second largest holding. Buffett now owns 289 million shares of Wells valued at $8.6 billion. That’s nearly 9% of Wells Fargo’s outstanding shares.

Comment: More on Warren Buffett. If Berkshire Hathaway combined their votes with mine, I could be on the board of Wells Fargo!

Obama: 'Eloquent But Empty'

McCain Rips 'Eloquent But Empty' Obama

McCain:

"I will work hard to make sure Americans aren't deceived by an eloquent but empty call for change,"


Comment: The irony is that his empty words are not original!:

WSJ: An American Unoriginal

But isn't it a bit heavy-handed to accuse Obama of plagiarism? This is a serious charge in academia and journalism, professions in which words are the final product. By contrast, language is a mere instrument for politicians. They hire speechwriters to put words in their mouths, something that would also be frowned upon in academia and journalism. Are voters really going to be dissuaded from backing Obama because as a politician he failed to adhere to the ethical standards that would have applied if he were a professor or a reporter? Not likely.

Wolfson's comment is a striking example of the Clinton campaign's clumsy aggression. Obama's use of Patrick's rhetoric actually does bolster Mrs. Clinton's argument against him, but in a more subtle way. How ridiculous is it that Obama is borrowing someone else's empty rhetoric in order to defend his own?

And empty it is. Although the other two examples are arguable either way, "We hold these truths . . ." and "I have a dream" were anything but "just words." They were words that held enormous meaning because of the historical context in which they were, respectively, written and uttered. Can the same be said of Obamanalities like "Yes, we can," or "Change we can believe in"?

Computing 65 BC

Mysteries of computer from 65BC are solved

Excerpt:

A 2,000-year-old mechanical computer salvaged from a Roman shipwreck has astounded scientists who have finally unravelled the secrets of how the sophisticated device works.

The machine was lost among cargo in 65BC when the ship carrying it sank in 42m of water off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. By chance, in 1900, a sponge diver called Elias Stadiatos discovered the wreck and recovered statues and other artifacts from the site.

The machine first came to light when an archaeologist working on the recovered objects noticed that a lump of rock had a gear wheel embedded in it. Closer inspection of material brought up from the stricken ship subsequently revealed 80 pieces of gear wheels, dials, clock-like hands and a wooden and bronze casing bearing ancient Greek inscriptions.

Since its discovery, scientists have been trying to reconstruct the device, which is now known to be an astronomical calendar capable of tracking with remarkable precision the position of the sun, several heavenly bodies and the phases of the moon. Experts believe it to be the earliest-known device to use gear wheels and by far the most sophisticated object to be found from the ancient and medieval periods.

Using modern computer x-ray tomography and high resolution surface scanning, a team led by Mike Edmunds and Tony Freeth at Cardiff University peered inside fragments of the crust-encased mechanism and read the faintest inscriptions that once covered the outer casing of the machine. Detailed imaging of the mechanism suggests it dates back to 150-100 BC and had 37 gear wheels enabling it to follow the movements of the moon and the sun through the zodiac, predict eclipses and even recreate the irregular orbit of the moon. The motion, known as the first lunar anomaly, was developed by the astronomer Hipparcus of Rhodes in the 2nd century BC, and he may have been consulted in the machine's construction, the scientists speculate.

Remarkably, scans showed the device uses a differential gear, which was previously believed to have been invented in the 16th century. The level of miniaturisation and complexity of its parts is comparable to that of 18th century clocks.

Some researchers believe the machine, known as the Antikythera Mechanism, may have been among other treasure looted from Rhodes that was en route to Rome for a celebration staged by Julius Caesar.


Previous CFG post: Antikythera mechanism

Dick Kovacevich: Merger advice

Neal St. Anthony: Merger advice from a man who's been there, done it right

Excerpt:

Kovacevich put together a string of mergers, capped in 1998 by Norwest Corporation's stunning acquisition of the larger Wells Fargo.

Most bank mergers were disasters because they focused most on short-term cost cuts that were designed to please Wall Street analysts and investment bankers. Too often, they aggravated overworked employees and shortchanged customers, many of whom fled to smaller competitors.

"Revenue is the gift that keeps on giving," Kovacevich said in an interview last week. "My belief is that you should never do a merger unless revenue growth of the combined companies in the future will be greater than the sum of the two had they remained independent.

"Many times you see cost cuts, but revenue goes down because you cut the heart out of the service. Many mergers have resulted in less revenue. In about 80 percent of mergers, the stock of the buying company goes down."

A lot of big bank mergers were premised on promises to Wall Street that the buyer would cut up to 30 percent of the acquirer's costs within a year. Running against conventional wisdom, Kovacevich, in his capstone Wells Fargo deal, told Wall Street he would cut 6 percent of cost over three years.

"The employee has got to be the No. 1 stakeholder," Kovacevich said. "You should have seen eyes roll when I would talk to employees [at the outset of a merger] about our competitive advantage," Kovacevich said. "And we reduced some positions over time. But they saw how we did it. And we listened to them. And we did stop some things that weren't working ... employees watch what you do, not what you say.

"I'm not expert in airlines, but it is about that pilot and flight attendant. We've proven in banking, if they don't like coming to work every day, it won't work."


Comment: The last sentence is sound organizational advice!

Taking responsibility for sin

Flock forgives minister who confesses to 1994 slaying

Excerpt:

Calvin Wayne Inman, 29, remains jailed without bail since he was charged Wednesday with capital murder in the stabbing death of a convenience store clerk during a robbery. He was 16 at the time.

During Sunday's service at the 800-member Elim Church, congregants praised the recently ordained Inman as a born-again role model taking responsibility for his sin.

"He's a hero, really," said Kelley Graham, 24. "I don't know how many people would do what he did. The Bible says you just need to confess to God. Calvin took an extra step."

Inman went to authorities on February 5 and admitted that he stabbed Iqbal Ahmed, 64, nearly 14 years ago in suburban Pasadena.

According to police, Inman said he and a 13-year-old friend planned to rob the convenience store. When Ahmed asked to see identification before giving them tobacco, Inman stabbed Ahmed in the chest with a kitchen knife, police said.


Comment: Elim Church. I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"

Dwindling donations force sale of jet

Financial Woes Force Church To Sell Private Jet

Excerpt:

Dwindling donations to the Living Word Christian Center in Brooklyn Park have prompted its high-profile pastor, Mac Hammond, to put his private business jet on the market.

Church spokesman the Rev. Brian Sullivan says Living Word has also cut its hourlong Sunday morning television broadcast to 30 minutes to save money.

He says the church has fallen $40,000 to $70,000 short of its weekly budget in recent weeks. Sullivan says the church is adjusting its budget accordingly.

Sullivan says the church's problems could be a combination of the recession and the recent bad publicity about churches preaching the "Prosperity Gospel."


Comment: Post from a year ago: Not all pastors want to become blessedly rich and Mac Hammond and the Properity Gospel

Pawlenty: "a rising star" in GOP

Steadfast McCain ally sparks veep talk

Excerpt:

“First of all, his age is attractive,” Weber says, hinting at the nearly quarter-century difference between his fellow Minnesotan and the 71-year-old McCain. “Second, he’s from outside Washington. Third, he represents a battleground part of the country. And he has a nice balance of, on one hand being totally acceptable to the conservative wing of the party, especially to social conservatives, but at the same time sharing a couple of key maverick strains of thought with McCain.”

Comments:

HT: Race 4 2008
More VP speculation: Former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating

Neatorama

Comment: An interesting site. Highlights:

Early Photography

Car logos

Tech logos