Word: credititis
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...recession has hit big companies. But it could also turn out to be a leg up for corporations in the recovery. All that red ink could turn out to be a little-noticed boon for corporate bottom lines. That's because companies are allowed to record a tax credit for current losses in order to lower their tax bill when they return to profitability. (See six year-end tax tips...
This isn't all that out of the ordinary for a recession. Typically, companies ring up tax credits in down years and use the credits to plump up the bottom line when business picks up. But what is turning the run-of-the-mill tax credit into a bonanza this recovery is the huge amount that corporate America has lost in the past two years. Also, stimulus spending has turned around the economy and corporate profits faster than normal for a particularly deep recession. The speedy turnaround in corporate profits, which are expected to soar 60% in the fourth quarter...
Even if the tax credit is extended, don't expect it to trigger a quick housing rebound. Although home prices have plunged about 30% on average from their peak in mid-2006, with certain markets in Florida, California and Nevada seeing prices plummet as much as 70%, they haven't troughed yet. With foreclosures still rising and unemployment expected to approach 10.5% in mid-2010, home prices are expected to tumble another 10% over the next six months before bottoming, says Robert Stevenson, managing director at Fox-Pitt Cochran Caronia Waller. And he expects prices to remain depressed until...
There are also some who see the credit as disruptive to market cycles. Sales and pricing ultimately have to be set organically, not by short-term government subsidies, says Bose George, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. "Pricing has to be determined by how much money people have to spend and the interest rates they have to borrow to buy the home," he says. "The tax credit - while it could help in the short-term - is not meaningful in the longer-term." Says Widner: "It postpones the inevitable reconciliation...
...Chrysler is also continuing to get support from credit unions. More than 2,000 credit unions in all 50 states have been promoting the "Invest in America" discounts on Chrysler products...