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Latest Articles: Economy
The US is living below its “means”
Post Date: 2011-05-30 23:13:13 by lucysmom
28 Comments
The US press was awash with claims over the weekend that the US was “living beyond” its “means” and that “will not be viable for a whole lot longer”. One senior US central banker claimed that the way to resolve the sluggish growth was to increase interest rates to ensure people would save. Funny, the same person also wants fiscal policy to contract. Another fiscal contraction expansion zealot. Pity it only kills growth. Another commentator – chose, lazily – to be the mouthpiece for the conservative lobby and wrote a book review that focused on the scary and exploding public debt levels. Apparently, this public debt tells us that the US is living ...
Obama Economy Worse Than 1970s [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2011-05-29 08:53:25 by CZ82
113 Comments
Obama Economy Worse Than 1970s Written on May 28, 2011 by Floyd Brown The worst economic conditions in recent memory were during the Jimmy Carter era of stagflation. Stagflation was a term coined in the 1970s to describe high unemployment with high inflation. Stagflation is back. Translation: America’s middle class is getting poorer; a record number of middle class workers are out of work. If you are lucky enough to have a job, your wages aren’t going up, but you are facing higher prices for everything. “Recent data suggests that the current economic recovery is both sluggish and slowing with unemployment stubbornly high,” this from a page one story in Investor’s ...
Pete Peterson Using High School Courses As Trojan Horse for Anti-Social Security, Medicare Propaganda
Post Date: 2011-05-28 00:12:04 by lucysmom
17 Comments
It’s not a pretty spectacle when a very rich man tells little people they ought to get by with less, particularly when his firm benefitted handsomely from the pump and dump operation that led to the financial crisis. Pete Peterson, one of the two founders of the Blackstone Group, has had a longstanding campaign against Social Security and Medicare. He’s sufficiently aggressive that to combat consistent poll ratings that show that both programs enjoy substantial support, his foundation set out to generate different survey results by stacking the deck heavily in its favor. snip No one has done more than the billionaire private-equity investor Peter G. Peterson to stir ...
Initial unemployment claims rise unexpectedly
Post Date: 2011-05-26 12:36:23 by socalv8
6 Comments
First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week as the job market continues its struggle. The number of people seeking initial benefits increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 424,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. Although tornadoes and flooding have hit hard in some states, weather didn't factor into the increase, according to a Labor spokesman. Click for Full Text!
The Coming Deflationary Contraction
Post Date: 2011-05-22 17:46:37 by CZ82
3 Comments
The Coming Deflationary Contraction By Peter Raymond Determining when the next great liquidation will occur is impossible to predict with any degree of certainty; nevertheless it is fair to say the sooner the better. Economic liquidation is a restorative process that corrects the harm done by inflationary policies. If accepting of this premise, then liquidations or deflationary depressions cannot be considered the disease in need of cure which unfortunately has been the position of economic interventionists since the early 1920's. Instead, they are a necessary and unavoidable adjustment after years of excessive credit expansions have destabilized the economy. Efforts to further ...
How Germany got it right on the economy
Post Date: 2011-05-19 11:44:40 by Godwinson
21 Comments
How Germany got it right on the economy
By Harold Meyerson
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
BERLIN
It may be turkey week in America, but it's goose month in Germany. In many restaurants, you can get goose in your salad and goose in your soup to go with your goose entree. Diners fairly honk their way through November.
But then, Germans have something to honk about. Germany's economy is the strongest in the world. Its trade balance - the value of its exports over its imports - is second only to China's, which is all the more remarkable since Germany is home to just 82 million people. Its 7.5 percent unemployment rate - two percentage points below ours - is lower than at any time ...
Greece helps eurozone post 0.8 percent Q1 growth
Post Date: 2011-05-19 11:12:46 by Godwinson
8 Comments
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS May 13, 2011, 5:35AM ET
Greece helps eurozone post 0.8 percent Q1 growth
By PAN PYLAS
LONDON
After nearly three years of economic turmoil, Greece returned to growth in the first three months of 2011, helping the wider eurozone grow by more than anticipated.
Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said Friday that the economy of the 17 countries that use the euro grew by a quarterly rate of 0.8 percent in the first three months of the year. That was more than double the 0.3 percent growth posted in the previous three-month period and ahead of analysts' expectations for a 0.6 percent increase.
In year-on-year terms, the eurozone economy grew 2.5 percent, ...
Deutsche Boerse's $9.53 Billion NYSE Purchase May Lead to More Takeovers
Post Date: 2011-05-19 10:22:46 by Godwinson
24 Comments
Deutsche Boerse's $9.53 Billion NYSE Purchase May Lead to More Takeovers
By Whitney Kisling, Nandini Sukumar and Elizabeth Stanton - Feb 15, 2011 4:07 PM ET
Deutsche Boerse AG’s $9.53 billion all-stock purchase of New York Stock Exchange parent NYSE Euronext creates the world’s largest owner of equities and derivatives markets, and may spur additional mergers.
Just 23% Say Personal Finances Are Getting Better These Days
Post Date: 2011-05-17 17:01:49 by CZ82
0 Comments
Just 23% Say Personal Finances Are Getting Better These Days Rasmussen Consumer Index, Tuesday, May 17, 2011 The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of consumers on a daily basis, fell three points on Tuesday to 77.9. Consumer confidence is down five points from a week ago, down two points from a month ago, and down seven points from three months ago. The Rasmussen Investor Index held steady today at 92.9. Investor Confidence is down three points from a week ago, up four points from a month ago, and down three points from three months ago. Twenty-three percent (23%) of Adult Consumers say their personal finances are getting better these days, while just over ...
The True Story of the Financial Crisis
Post Date: 2011-05-14 07:30:20 by CZ82
25 Comments
The True Story of the Financial Crisis By Peter J. Wallison from the May 2011 issue As many readers of The American Spectator will know, I was a member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, a 10-member body appointed by Congress to investigate the causes of the financial crisis of 2008. The Commission issued its report in late January 2011, with a majority concluding that the crisis could have been avoided if the private sector had not taken so many risks and government regulators had not been asleep at the switch. I dissented from the majority's view, arguing in my dissent that the financial crisis would not have occurred if government housing policies had not fostered the ...
3 Myths About the Oil and Gas Industry
Post Date: 2011-05-12 13:08:23 by Badeye
13 Comments
3 Myths About the Oil and Gas Industry By Bob Beauprez Published May 12, 2011 | FoxNews.com Print Email Share Comments (28) Text Size As voters around the country wince at rising gas prices, panicked Democrats, in a rush to cover the failure of their all-or-nothing bet on the alternative energy industry have started singing a familiar tune – blame the oil and gas industry. Instead of facing the reality of his owned failed policies, President Obama is calling for an end to the "tax giveaways" he claims amount to $4 billion in “subsidies” to the energy industry. This tactic isn’t surprising given the effect that rising gas prices have on the president’s ...
The People vs. Goldman Sachs
Post Date: 2011-05-12 08:58:42 by _Jim
2 Comments
The People vs. Goldman Sachs They weren't murderers or anything; they had merely stolen more money than most people can rationally conceive of, from their own customers, in a few blinks of an eye. But then they went one step further. They came to Washington, took an oath before Congress, and lied about it. Thanks to an extraordinary investigative effort by a Senate subcommittee that unilaterally decided to take up the burden the criminal justice system has repeatedly refused to shoulder, we now know exactly what Goldman Sachs executives like Lloyd Blankfein and Daniel Sparks lied about. We know exactly how they and other top Goldman executives, including David Viniar and Thomas Montag, ...
Boeing Is Pro-Growth, Not Anti-Union
Post Date: 2011-05-11 15:27:47 by jwpegler
10 Comments
Deep into the recent recession, Boeing decided to invest more than $1 billion in a new factory in South Carolina. Surging global demand for our innovative, new 787 Dreamliner exceeded what we could build on one production line and we needed to open another. This was good news for Boeing and for the economy. The new jetliner assembly plant would be the first one built in the U.S. in 40 years. It would create new American jobs at a time when most employers are hunkered down. It would expand the domestic footprint of the nation's leading exporter and make it more competitive against emerging plane makers from China, Russia and elsewhere. And it would bring hope to a state burdened by ...
Obamanomic trade deficit jumps to $48bn
Post Date: 2011-05-11 12:36:56 by Happy Quanzaa
0 Comments
The Commerce Department says the trade deficit rose 6pc to $48.2bn (£29.4bn). That's up from $45.4bn in February. Exports increased to $172.7bn, the largest on records dating back to 1996. The dollar's decline in recent months has made US goods cheaper overseas, and exports have also risen due to rapid growth in developing countries. However, oil imports soared to $39.3bn, an 18pc rise from the previous month. That's the highest level since August 2008, and reflects steep price increases and more demand. The trade deficit with China decreased to $18.1bn. That's down slightly from $18.8bn in February.
America at the Crossroads
Post Date: 2011-05-06 20:37:24 by jwpegler
2 Comments
The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 9.0% in April. Economic growth is anemic. Gas is well over $4 a gallon is most states, and over $5 a gallon in Hawaii. Over the last couple of years the government has implemented several programs, that cost around $1 trillion each, designed to "stimulate" the economy, including the Bush TARP, Obama Stimulus, and the Federal Reserve's "Quantitative Easing". The economy has only gotten worse. Obama and the left keep talking about implementing more of the same type of programs to "stimulate demand". The problem is that the entire Keynesian notion of stimulating demand is obsolete in a global economy. Sure, the ...
Wall Street Jumps on Jobs Data; Oil Falls More [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2011-05-06 10:24:28 by lucysmom
53 Comments
The biggest corporate hiring spree in five years is reversing a weeklong slide in the stock market. Add to Portfolio The government, in its latest snapshot on employment, said the economy added 244,000 jobs overall last month, well above the 185,000 jobs that analysts had forecast. Private employers created 268,000 jobs , the report said. The unemployment rate rose to 9.0 percent from 8.8 percent in part because it counted more people who resumed looking for work. Indexes jumped sharply at the open, with the Dow Jones industrial average rising 131.08 points, or 1 percent. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index gained 13.72 or 1 percent, while the technology heavy Nasdaq ...
U.S. Payrolls Grew 244,000 in April; Unemployment at 9%
Post Date: 2011-05-06 09:36:25 by Badeye
18 Comments
The U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast in April, easing concern that higher fuel prices are slowing the economic recovery. Payrolls increased by 244,000 workers last month, the biggest gain since May 2010, after a revised 221,000 gain the prior month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Economists projected an April rise of 185,000, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. Employment excluding government jobs jumped the most in five years. The jobless rate rose to 9 percent, the first increase since November. More jobs and rising wages may give households, whose spending accounts for 70 percent of the economy, the means to overcome the highest ...
Unemployment Applications Hit 8-Month High
Post Date: 2011-05-05 10:58:42 by Badeye
18 Comments
Unemployment Applications Hit 8-Month High Published May 05, 2011 | Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people applying for unemployment benefits surged last week to the highest level in eight months, a troubling sign a day ahead of the government's report on April employment. The Labor Department said Thursday that applications rose 43,000 to 474,000 in the week ended April 30, the third increase in four weeks. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose for the fourth straight week to 431,250. Applications near 375,000 are typically consistent with sustainable job growth. Weekly applications peaked during the recession at 659,000. Rising unemployment ...
New jobless claims jump to 8-month high
Post Date: 2011-05-05 09:08:10 by Sebastian
4 Comments
New U.S. claims for unemployment aid unexpectedly rose last week to touch their highest level in eight months, pushed up by factors ranging from spring break layoffs to the introduction of an emergency benefits program, a government report showed on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, the highest since mid-August, the Labor Department said Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims dropping to 410,000. The prior week's figure was revised up to 431,000 from the previously reported 429,000. The four-week moving average of unemployment claims, a better measure of underlying trends, increased 22,250 to 431,250, ...
Treasury suggests $2 trillion debt cap raise: sources
Post Date: 2011-05-05 07:35:29 by Sebastian
5 Comments
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner answers questions from the audience during a meeting of the Detroit Economic Club in Detroit, April 28, 2011. The Treasury has told lawmakers a roughly $2 trillion rise in the legal limit on federal debt would be needed to ensure the government can keep borrowing through the 2012 presidential election, sources with knowledge of the discussions said. Obama administration officials have repeatedly said that it is up to Congress to decide by how much the $14.3 trillion debt limit should be raised. But when lawmakers asked how much of an increase would be needed to meet the government's obligations into early 2013, Treasury officials floated the $2 ...
US Debt Rating Should Be 'C': Independent Agency-only 2 notches above 'junk'
Post Date: 2011-05-03 09:08:25 by Happy Quanzaa
1 Comments
There have been increasing concerns about the fate of United States' prized triple-A sovereign debt rating. While Standard and Poor's recently downgraded its U.S. debt outlook to negative from stable, implying that a ratings cut could happen in two years, one independent ratings agency has given the U.S. sovereign rating a "C". "A 'C' is equivalent to approximately a triple-B on the S&P, Moody's and Fitch scales. It's two notches above junk and one notch above the equivalent of a single A," Martin Weiss, President of Weiss Ratings, told CNBC Tuesday. The grade reflects the U.S. massive debt burden, low international reserves and the ...
Remembering Calvin Coolidge: how he rescued America from a Depression
Post Date: 2011-04-30 17:27:32 by CZ82
40 Comments
Remembering Calvin Coolidge: how he rescued America from a Depression Written on April 28, 2011 by Nathaniel Davidson While we have recently been remembering the 40th President, Ronald Reagan, one of his heroes is almost forgotten today: the 30th President, John Calvin Coolidge, Jr., (1872–1933). If Americans remember anything about him, it’s for being a man of so few words that he was nicknamed Silent Cal. One story goes: a woman told him at a dinner, “Mr. Coolidge, I’ve made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you.” He replied, “You lose.” But he deserves to be known as one of our greatest presidents, ...
The Death of the 'Defined Benefit
Post Date: 2011-04-25 13:56:59 by CZ82
0 Comments
The Death of the 'Defined Benefit' by Michael Barone, 04/25/2011 The defined benefit is dying. Barack Obama is struggling to keep it alive, but it's apparent that it's something that even as bounteously rich a society as ours can't afford. Yes, I know that "defined benefit" is not a common household phrase. But most people know what a defined benefit pension is. It's when your employer promises to pay you a certain amount of money, pegged to your salary or according to some other formula, when you retire. Some 30 years ago, most big employers had defined benefit pension plans. Some private-sector employees still have them, and many government employees ...
Silver near $50-ounce; spot gold hits record
Post Date: 2011-04-25 08:16:15 by Sebastian
2 Comments
Gold and silver kicked off the week by climbing Monday, amid renewed Middle East tensions and as reports circulated that China may tap its $3 trillion foreign-exchange reserves stockpile to launch special commodity and forex funds to soak up excessive liquidity. May silver rallied as high as $49.82 a troy ounce. It later eased to $49.03, marking a rise of 6.4%, or $2.97 an ounce. The advance reportedly elevates silver to within a hair of its former 1980s high. Bullion prices for immediate delivery climbed $12.50 to $1,517.20 a troy ounce in mid-afternoon trade, after earlier trading as high as $1,519.20. The advance takes bullion prices to a fresh nominal high and marks a seventh session ...
America appears to be sleepwalking towards disaster – does no one care?
Post Date: 2011-04-24 09:32:20 by Sebastian
7 Comments
So let me get this straight. The Standard and Poor's rating agency last week took the historic step of putting the US government's AAA credit rating on "negative watch". There is now, according to S&P, "at least a one in three chance" that American debt will be downgraded from its top-notch status over the next two years – which would be a first in modern times. A New York Times/CBS News opinion poll has also suggested the US public is now more economically pessimistic than at any time since President Barack Obama's first two months in office in early 2009 – when the country was still caught in the "Great Recession". Amid renewed ...
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