Thursday brainstorming - part 1

1. The pop-star Obama losses his myth -I had written a year ago that Obama's popularity might sink under the burden of the crisis but that was assuming he would do his best. As it turned out he did anything close to the best a decent a responsible leader might have done - he does not walk his talk at all.
He actually opposes the necessary things as he does not intervene with the massive bonus pays who are not deserved anyway. He does oppose the re-installment of Glass Steagal - he really works for Wallstreet and covers it up by some populist speeches but his actions do rather the opposite.
His choice of top advisers showed his real attitude right from the beginning. The polls give him a poor and deserved steep decline as does the whole DC operation since they should be fired altogether both parties ( a few exceptions as Senator Bunning or Paul to give just 2 names). lobbyists need to be banned from DC or rather as a function.

Excerpt

WASHINGTON -- Less than a year after Inauguration Day, support for the Democratic Party continues to slump, amid a difficult economy and a wave of public discontent, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

The findings underscored how dramatically the political landscape has changed during the Obama administration's first year. In January, despite the recession and financial crisis, voters expressed optimism about the future, the new president enjoyed soaring approval ratings, and congressional leaders promised to swiftly pass his ambitious agenda.

In December's survey, for the first time, less than half of Americans approved of the job President Barack Obama was doing, marking a steeper first-year fall for this president than his recent predecessors.

Also for the first time this year, the electorate was split when asked which party it wanted to see in charge after the 2010 elections. For months, a clear plurality favored Democratic control.

The survey suggests that public discontent with Mr. Obama and his party is being driven by an unusually grim view of the country's status and future prospects.

2. The strange U-Turn of FEDEX as the hiked their guidance 2 weeks ago the lowered it 2 weeks later - that is disturbing to say the least and does not put the management into a good light.

Excerpt

Shipping company FedEx reported quarterly earnings in line with earlier guidance Thursday, but its projections for profit in the current quarter was well below Wall Street expectations.

FedEx [FDX 85.75 -4.20 (-4.67%) ] reported a fiscal second-quarter profit of $1.10 a share, down from $1.58 a share in the same period a year ago. That matched a forecast the company gave on Dec. 7.

But for the three months ending February 2010, FedEx expects earnings of 50 cents to 70 cents a share, well below the 84 cents a share analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted.