- How about sin stock $PM (Philip Morris International)? A stronger dollar cut into Philip Morris International's bottom line in the fourth quarter as the global tobacco titan reported a drop in profit for the period. ... Volume was up 2% to about 217 billion cigarettes, with higher shipments in Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America offsetting a slump in the European Union markets. Stock took a hit today.
- Remember the political battle over SCHIP? President Obama signed that law today. U.S. President Barack Obama signed a law on Wednesday expanding a health insurance program for children and raising tobacco taxes to pay for it. Of course, as Dick Morris said on Fox Business today, there aren't more doctors to take on the workload, more office space, or more equipment. Basic econ supply-demand, if demand for medical resources goes up without increasing supply of medical resources, prices should go up.
- I don't want to spend too much time on politics. You can get that from Michelle Malkin. She calls it "Obama's first tax hike." On smokers! At least Katie (pictured) lives in Australia.
- You know those target date funds? Those are the ones that have a specific date in mind for your retirement, and reallocate your portfolio as time goes on from aggressive at a younger age to conservative at an older age. How are those funds doing? Indeed, the most conservative target-date retirement funds -- those designed to produce income -- fell on average 17% in 2008 and the riskiest target date retirement funds -- designed for those retiring in 2055 -- fell on average a whopping 39.8%, according to a recent report from Ibbotson Associates, a Morningstar company. I guess one just stays the course in those things and hope things average out over time. I don't know.
- Congress approves delay of digital TV conversion until June. So if you're still using some tin foil and an aluminum pie plate for your TV antenna, you have a few extra months.
- A new study concludes that viewers find TV more pleasurable when they watch commercials. Anyone with a DVR watching commercials? Kudos to you that are, because I'm certainly not. DVRs allow for "power watching." Zip right through an hour episode in around 40 minutes. C'mon.
