The 5 Dumbest Things on Wall Street: Sept. 10

5. Obama's $50 Billion Highway to Nowhere The New Deal. Sending a man to the moon. "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall...." And what does President Obama come up with to inspire our national malaise? Jumpstart the stalled U.S. economy by spending $50 billion to ... pave roads. Clearly, Obama Stimulus 2.0 is merely a bid for positive press during a midterm election fight -- and lord knows it doesn't ring as hollow as, say, President Bush's vague and farcical call for manned spaceflight to Mars. But for a president who came into office promoting a new era of innovation, a warmed-over retread of the New Deal ain't exactly the time machine we had in mind. Granted, some of the money in Stimulus 2, Electric Boogaloo is intended for rail systems that will connect the country coast to coast. The plan also intends to fund itself by cutting off oil and gas industry tax breaks. That should play well in Peoria, as will the part of the infrastructure spending plan aimed at improving runways so that there are fewer air travel delays. That will play well just about anywhere with flying machines. But what is truly needed -- and the opportunity Obama has squandered -- is to present a comprehensive plan to overhaul our transportation infrastructure for a greener future. Photo-ops for the President at a wind turbine plants or at solar company assembly lines aside, a true energy plan appears to have fallen off the Obama "To Do" list. Indeed, energy legislation introduced earlier this year to enact modest reforms of the energy status quo and lay the groundwork for a real federal push to build a nationwide network of natural gas vehicles and fueling stations failed miserably. It's fitting that on Wednesday, Ernst & Young's latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices showed that China had finally surpassed the U.S. as the best country in which to pursue renewable energy projects. Among the reasons for China taking the top spot: the U.S. failure to enact a federal renewable energy standard. TheStreet Says: We were kind of hoping for 2035, Mr. President -- not 1935. 4. HP Unleashes Hurd, Gets Trampled by Hurd Employees apparently loathed him. The company he worked at for five years abruptly ushered him out and now wants to block him from his plum new job. He even had to pay a female contractor to dine with him. But boy, oh boy, does Wall Street love Mark V. Hurd. And what exactly is the value of that unconditional investor love, you ask? Apparently, about $6.74 billion. On Tuesday, when rival Oracle ORCL -- helmed by super-special tennis buddy Larry Ellison -- said Hurd was joining the company, Oracle shares jumped 6%, boosting Oracle's value by $6.74 billion. And believe it or not, he's depreciating. Indeed, just a month earlier Hurd had apparently been worth $8.5 billion to Hewlett-Packard HPQ (proving that unlike a fine Malbec, Hurd's value doesn't have a great shelf life). On Friday, August 6, Hewlett-Packard's board had decided it needed to distance itself from Hurd's "ethical malfeasance," and tossed him out like a bad expense report. By the end of Monday's regular trading session, HP had fallen 8%, making Hurd's departure from HP worth an eye-bulging $8.5 billion in market value lost. But of course the dumbness had only just begun. Now happy to see him go -- but not happy that he's going to a rival -- HP claims Hurd will violate his trade secrets agreement, and filed a Hail Mary lawsuit Tuesday to block Hurd's move to his new $11 million job at Oracle. Oracle's Ellison quickly fired back, saying HP will lose a valuable business partner if the company sticks with its lawsuit. It sure is much ado about a man that nobody can seem to stand. But for now, Hurd has at least one tennis buddy with benefits -- and the stock market -- on his side. TheStreet Says: Anyone care to wager how long it will be before Ellison and Hurd are slicing backhands at each others' heads? To read the rest, head over to TheStreet.com