Analysis Topic: Economic Trends Analysis
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Economic Recovery Statistics / Economics / Economic Recovery
By: Pravda
Michael Snyder writes: Today there are two very different Americas. In one America, the stock market is soaring, huge bonuses are taken for granted, the good times are rolling and people are spending money as if they will be able to "live the dream" for the rest of their lives. In the other America, the one where most of the rest of us live, unemployment is rampant, a million families were kicked out of their homes last year and hordes of American families are drowning in debt. The gap between the rich and the poor is bigger today than it ever has been before. In fact, this article is not so much about "rich vs poor" as it is about "the rich vs the rest of us". Barack Obama and Ben Bernanke keep touting an "economic recovery", but the truth is that the only ones that seem to be benefiting from this recovery are those at the very top of the economic food chain.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
First they inflate, then there is a Boom, Then Price Inflation / Economics / Central Banks
By: Gary_North
You are on the back of a tiger. You had no say in the matter. You are part of the international economy, and central bankers run it.
First they inflate. Then there is a boom. Then there is price inflation. Then they stop inflating. Then there is a recession. To keep it from becoming a depression, they inflate. Year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation, this is what central bankers do.
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Saturday, March 26, 2011
U.S. Fourth Quarter Real GDP Economic Growth Upward Revision / Economics / US Economy
By: Asha_Bangalore
Real GDP of the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2010, revised up from the prior estimate of a 2.8% increase. The U.S economy grew 2.9% in 2010 after a 2.6% decline in 2009. The outlook for 2011 is for a slightly stronger performance, with most of the growth representing self-sustained economic growth compared with artificial support that has maintained economic momentum in 2010 to a large extent.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Hidden U.S. Inflation, U.S. Consumers Adjust Spending Habits Amid Soaring Prices / Economics / Inflation
By: Money_Morning
Kerri Shannon writes:
U.S. consumers have watched food and fuel prices eat away at their household budgets, and now those price hikes are spreading to other products - with the worst yet to come.
New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley recently got a taste of public frustration with higher prices. He spoke to a crowd in Queens, New York on March 11 to tackle a mountain of food inflation questions. Dudley told the audience that while some prices are rising, other products are cheaper - like the Apple Inc.'s (Nasdaq: AAPL) latest iPad.
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
U.S. Jobless Claims Maintain Downward Trend / Economics / Unemployment
By: Asha_Bangalore
Initial jobless claims fell 5,000 to 382,000 during the week ended March 19. Continuing claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, dropped 2,000 to 3.721 million.
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Weimer Hyperinflation Angst and the United States Today / Economics / HyperInflation
By: Fred_Sheehan
When Money Dies: The Nightmare of the Weimer Hyperinflation, by Adam Fergusson, was published in 1975 and became a best-seller in 2010. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's claim that "inflation expectations are contained" is refuted (once again) by this 35-year, dust-gathering incident, unless the public took a sudden interest in multiplying millions, billions, and trillions - a "delirium of milliards" - the phrase of soon-to-be-assassinated Weimer government minister Walter Rathanau.
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Top 10 Keynesian Ways to Boost the Economy / Economics / Economic Recovery
By: Submissions
Jason Kaspar writes: Keynesian economists are propagandizing the media with a unified message; in one breath lightly touching on the human tragedy in Japan, while in the next anticipating with delight the economic recovery it will (supposedly) create. The natural disaster in Japan is tragic both on a human level and economically. Japan may, possibly, enjoy a GDP boost in six months or so as a result of some rebuilding, but the billions in present-day lost productivity will easily negate any future upside.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
US Growth Expectations Neglect Weak Consumer Sector / Economics / US Economy
By: ECR_Research
Consensus on US growth this year is around 3.5%, and many economists and analysts expect the same growth rate, or a bit higher, the years thereafter. But where will this expected growth come from?
This is however the bright side of the medallion. There is, unfortunately, another side, which makes it really questionable how the US could possible attain a growth rate of 3.5% or higher for the coming years. There are several points to make.
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Thursday, March 24, 2011
Rumours of America's Economic Death Are Exaggerated: Credit Crunch Was a Blip / Economics / US Economy
By: Andrew_Butter
A good sign of impending economic death is when people stop lending money to you.
What’s strange is that in some quarters conventional wisdom has it that America is on death’s door with hyper-inflation just around the corner as a punishment for all the BAD money printing.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Insidious Economic Effects of Japan's Nuclear Disaster / Economics / Global Economy
By: John_Browne
While the world's attention has been focused on the physical destruction wrought by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, the desperate attempts to contain the fallout from the shattered Fukushima Daiichi plant, and the daunting problems that Japan faces in rebuilding its infrastructure, few have truly illustrated how long-lasting and widespread the radiation's effects may be. There has also been little mention of how large radiological events affect economies of countries outside the immediate fallout zone. In truth, the disaster could make as much of an impact on investors in New York, London, or Sao Paolo as it makes on an investor in Tokyo.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2011
U.S. Jobs, Housing, and Petroleum Usage Illustrates Stimulus Fed Led Financial Recovery / Economics / Economic Recovery
By: Mike_Shedlock
If the recovery was in full swing, why isn't petroleum usage?
Here are a pair of charts from reader Tim Wallace showing the percentage change in petroleum usage over time.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
U.S. Inflation Expectations is Key to Change in Fed Policy / Economics / Inflation
By: Asha_Bangalore
The Fed's forecast, published last month, has inflation reaching the threshold of concern only in 2012/2013 (see Table 1) based on the personal consumption expenditure price index and a little later if the core personal consumption expenditure price index, which excludes food and energy, is the preferred price measure. The recent upward trend of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), both the all items index and the core CPI has raised the level of concern.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
UK Inflation Shock and Awe, CPI 4.4%, RPI 5.5%, Real Hits 7.1%! / Economics / Inflation
By: Nadeem_Walayat
Whilst David Cameron burns £2 million per day by playing at being Monty in the Libyan desert to distract the British population from the unfolding inflation crisis in the UK which soared shock and awe style by rising in February from CPI 4% to 4.4%, which effectively means that the economy has lost £5 billion on the month (annual -£57 billion), whilst the value of accumulated wealth has been eroded by £12 billion (annual -£154 billion), against which the value of government debt has been eroded by £4 billion (annual -£44 billion) and total UK debt by £22 billion (annual -£242 billion), which illustrates the governments unofficial policy of stealth defaulting on debt by means of high inflation, the price for which is being paid by all workers and savers.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tsunami Accelerates Japan's Economic Meltdown Driven by Debt and Demographics / Economics / Japan Economy
By: James_Quinn
The linear thinkers that dominate the mainstream media and the halls of power in Washington D.C. are assessing the series of disasters in Japan without connecting the dots of history. Their ideological desire to convince people that things will go back to normal in short order flies in the face of the facts. It makes me wonder whether these supposed thought leaders lack true intelligence or whether their ideological biases convince them to lie. At the end of the day it comes down to wealth, power and control. If those in power were to tell the truth about the true consequences of demographics, debt, disasters, and devaluation, their subjects would revolt and toss them out. Before the multiple disasters struck Japan last week, the sun was already setting on this empire. The recent tragic events will accelerate that descent.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Why Is U.S. Unemployment So High? / Economics / Unemployment
By: Robert_Murphy
Everyone knows that the unemployment situation is very bad, but the official figures (not surprisingly) understate the problem. In this article I'll outline the severity of the stalled labor market, and explain some of the major causes.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Fed and Inflation / Economics / Inflation
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week, the subcommittee which I chair held a hearing on monetary policy and rising prices. Whether we consider food, gasoline, or clothing, the cost of living is increasing significantly. True inflation is defined as an increase in the money supply. All other things being equal, an increase in the money supply leads to a rise in prices. Inflation's destructive effects have ruined societies from the Roman Empire to Weimar Germany to modern-day Zimbabwe.
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Monday, March 21, 2011
Why Deflation Will Torpedo the Economic Recovery / Economics / Deflation
By: Clif_Droke
The rising price of food and fuel is garnering more and more attention in the economic news headlines. There’s a good reason for this since a continued increase in the oil price could easily upset the economic recovery and send the U.S. economy tumbling back into recession. It could also have an adverse impact on the financial market and not surprisingly, analysts are already beginning to draw parallels between today’s stock market and the one of 2008, which was hurt by (among other things) a record high oil price.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, March 21, 2011
American Jobs, Factories and Investment: The Picture is Grim / Economics / US Economy
By: Gerard_Jackson
The Washington Post recently published a story revealing that if the hidden jobless were included in the unemployment rate it would jump to 10.5 per cent. (Hidden workforce challenges domestic economic recovery) This is a damning indictment of Obama's economic policies and Bernanke's monetary mismanagement. Even more damning is the fact that Obama appears completely unfazed by the situation. Now he did not create this recession any more than Bush created the 2000 recession -- irrespective of what America's utterly corrupt media assert -- but his policies are responsible for making it worse. To say that America is in an even more frightful mess than would otherwise be the case because of this man's dogmatic leftism and mindless hostility to free markets would be a severe understatement. However, recriminations -- no matter how well deserved -- will not alleviate the situation.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Floating Dollar, Milton Friedman's Contraption / Economics / Inflation
By: Gary_North
On March 12, David Stockman gave a lecture at the Mises Institute in Alabama. I was in attendance. It was a rousing speech, filled with funny one-liners. It reminded me of Patch Adams' listing of euphemisms for death in the hospital room of the guy with terminal cancer. It got us all laughing.
The speech had four important points. First, the Treasury-Federal Reserve bailout in October 2008 was not necessary to save the financial markets. It was necessary to save three or four finance companies that had cooked their books and were facing exposure, meaning write-downs.
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Sunday, March 20, 2011
U.S. Real Unemployment Rate 10.2%, Underemployment at 20% / Economics / Unemployment
By: Mike_Shedlock
I am very skeptical of BLS unemployment rates inching lower. Not only do the BLS reports discount millions of marginally attached and discouraged workers but BLS seasonal adjustments seem more than a bit unusual.