The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes at an all time high, which may or may not be anything meaningful. Common wisdom holds that the prices of this mix of 30 common stocks, selected, weighted and altered by a few Wall Street Journal Editors, reflects the over all health of the economy. The index is not prophetic but it is fair to say that at this moment in time the US economy is very good. National Review Online thinks the GOP is being way timid about taking credit.
The GOP Has Some Explaining to Do: The stock market and the 2003 tax cuts are directly linked . . . and Republicans need to say so. … The largest demographic shift in this country over the past 25 years is the number of Americans who own stocks directly. When Ronald Reagan entered the White House, only 17 percent of Americans were direct stockowners. Today more than 50 percent of households, and two out of every three voters, owns shares of stock. Investors, regardless of income, wealth, gender, or race, more often vote Republican than non-investors. This rapid rise of middle-class investors has made shareholders the most powerful voting bloc in the country.
Locally, Milwaukee based manufacturer Badger Meter announces a third quarter net loss. Before jumping to assumptions it is prudent to note the loss is entirely from expensing a decision to cease operations and completely close one business unit.
Badger Meter: “The performance of the French operations has been disappointing for some time, due to the weak automotive fluid meter market in France and difficulty in gaining acceptance of new products. We explored other options for this business, but in the end, the shutdown and orderly liquidation of the assets was the only viable alternative.”
