Wal-Mart: "Families Are Adjusting To A Reduced Paycheck And Increased Gas Prices"

Wal-Mart reported a top-line miss, a bottom line beat, a dividend hike and a rather subdued full year forecast ($5.20-$5.40 on Exp. of $5.39), and nobody cared. The only thing that algos and carbon-based lifeforms alike honed in on, was the recap of the most recent 13 week period, to see if WMT was only kidding when it said that February sales, which obviously were not part of Q4 results, were a "total disaster." The reason WMT's stock is not doing to well in the pre-market is that they did not like what they found.

Here is the key section:

"We are confident that our low prices will continue to resonate, as families adjust to a reduced paycheck and increased gas prices," Simon said. "We see the underlying health of the Walmart U.S. business is sound, and sales trends are similar to what we've demonstrated in the last few quarters. However, February sales started slower than planned, due in large part, to the delay in income tax refunds. We began seeing increased tax refund check activity late last week in our stores, resulting in a more normalized weekly sales pattern for this time of the year. Due to the slower sales rate in the first few weeks of this year's first quarter, we are forecasting comp sales for the 13-week period from Jan. 26 to Apr. 26, 2013 to be around flat. We continue to monitor economic conditions that can impact our sales, such as rising fuel prices, changes in inflation and the payroll tax increase." Read more >>

Workers making $30,000 will take a bigger hit than those earning $500,000 under new fiscal deal

Middle-class workers will take a bigger hit to their income proportionately than those earning between $200,000 and $500,000 under the new fiscal cliff deal, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.

Earners in the latter group will pay an average 1.3 percent more - or an additional $2,711 - in taxes this year, while workers making between $30,000 and $200,000 will see their paychecks shrink by as much as 1.7 percent - or up to $1,784 - the D.C.-based think tank reported. Overall, nearly 80 percent of households will pay more money to the federal government as a result of the fiscal cliff deal.

'The economy needs a stimulus, but under the agreement, taxes will go up in 2013 relative to 2012 - not only on high-income households, as widely discussed, but also on every working man and woman in the country, via the end of the payroll tax cut,' said William G. Gale, co-director of the Tax Policy Center.

'For most households, the payroll tax takes a far bigger bite than the income tax does, and the payroll tax cut therefore - as [the Congressional Budget Office] and others have shown - was a more effective stimulus than income tax cuts were, because the payroll tax cuts hit lower in the income distribution and hence were more likely to be spent,' he added. Read more >>

Obama's stimulus plan a flop for small businesses

Image via WikipediaThe $447 billion stimulus plan that President Obama unveiled earlier this month won't change hiring plans for many small businesses, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Almost 70% of small businesses polled said that the plan, should it pass, would not spur them to add jobs, said Manta, a small business website.

Of the 1,648 businesses polled, only 11% of those businesses said they would hire if the jobs package becomes law. Another 13% said it depends on what version of the proposal is passed. Another 7% said they just weren't sure.

The American Jobs Act promises to cut the payroll tax businesses pay in half -- to 3.1% -- on the first $5 million in wages. Also, if a business hires a new worker or gives an existing worker a raise, all payroll taxes will be waived. The act would also extend a tax benefit allowing businesses to write off their expenses more quickly. More...

Social Security Is in Far Worse Shape Than You Think

Image via WikipediaFor years, politicians and policymakers have reassured the American public that the Social Security system, which sends monthly checks out to 53 million beneficiaries, is safely solvent -- and will be for decades to come. But federal spending and income data from the Treasury Department reveal that the Social Security program is already deep in the red, with outlays exceeding payroll tax revenues by $76 billion in 2010 alone.

This stunning shortfall calls into question the rosy fiscal forecasts made by the Social Security Administration (SSA) about the program's future solvency.

The annual report of the Social Security Trustees, published in August 2010, forecast that the primary Social Security program, the Old Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund (OASI), would not exceed its tax receipts until 2018. Unfortunately, it happened in fiscal 2010, which ended in October. Read more...

Social Security to start cashing Uncle Sam's IOUs

Image via Wikipedia

The retirement nest egg of an entire generation is stashed away in this small town along the Ohio River: $2.5 trillion in IOUs from the federal government, payable to the Social Security Administration.

It's time to start cashing them in.

For more than two decades, Social Security collected more money in payroll taxes than it paid out in benefits — billions more each year.

Not anymore. This year, for the first time since the 1980s, when Congress last overhauled Social Security, the retirement program is projected to pay out more in benefits than it collects in taxes — nearly $29 billion more.

Sounds like a good time to start tapping the nest egg. Too bad the federal government already spent that money over the years on other programs, preferring to borrow from Social Security rather than foreign creditors. In return, the Treasury Department issued a stack of IOUs — in the form of Treasury bonds — which are kept in a nondescript office building just down the street from Parkersburg's municipal offices.

Now the government will have to borrow even more money, much of it abroad, to start paying back the IOUs, and the timing couldn't be worse. The government is projected to post a record $1.5 trillion budget deficit this year, followed by trillion dollar deficits for years to come. More...