Category: US Economy
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
How Strong is The U.S. Economy Really? / Economics / US Economy
By: Clif_Droke
In the six years since the recovery began, there has been endless debate over the strength of the U.S. economy. There are basically two sides of the debate. Those taking the positive side maintain the economy has almost returned to its pre-crisis levels and is on a firm footing. The opposing camp maintains that while the upper classes are in fine shape, the middle class is still hurting from the residual damage inflicted by the housing bubble implosion and credit crash. Is one side entirely mistaken or is there truth to both assertions?
Thursday, April 14, 2016
The Winter of Discontent / Economics / US Economy
By: Peter_Schiff
The Winter of 2015-2016, which came to an end a few weeks ago, has been officially designated as the mildest in the U.S. in 121 years according to NOAA. While this fact will certainly add a major talking point in the global warming debate, it should also be front and center in the current economic discussion. The fact that it isn't is testament to the blatantly self-serving manner in which economic cheerleaders blame the weather when it's convenient, but ignore it when it's not. If economists were consistent (and that's a colossal "if"), the good weather would be taken as a reason to believe the economy is weaker than is being reported.
Friday, April 08, 2016
Oor 'Lawnmower' Economy - Financiers Skim Profits While Main Street Stagnates / Economics / US Economy
By: Gordon_T_Long
Charles Hugh Smith and Gordon T Long share their thinking on why the middle class in America has been experiencing a steady decline in their real standard of living over the last four decades and why the decline has recently accelerated. Their is a fundamental reason why productivity is falling while corporate profits soar and the employment participation rates falls.
Thursday, April 07, 2016
Can We Grow Out Of Our Economic Problems If We’re Not Actually Growing? / Economics / US Economy
By: John_Rubino
The rationale for today’s easy money policies is pretty straightforward: Falling interest rates and rising government deficits will counteract the drag of excessive debts taken on in previous stimulus programs and asset bubbles, enabling the developed world to create wealth faster than it takes on new debt. The result: a steady decline in debt/GDP to levels that allow the current system to survive without wrenching changes.
Sunday, April 03, 2016
What New Economic Recovery? / Economics / US Economy
By: Chris_Vermeulen
The rise of the ‘dollar store business model’ caters to a disappearing ‘middle class’ who are incurring shrinking incomes. This has made ‘dollar stores’ prosper, in the last decade. Dollar stores, for most Americans, have carried an odd sort of stigma. In the past, these stores were seen as shopping for the poor, only. We are all now aware that many people who were in the once strong American ‘middle class’ were thrown off of the prosperity path and into ‘lower income’ brackets from business layoffs, downsizing, and salary reduction. While regular product companies struggle the expanding ‘dollar stores’ have found a niche in this economic climate. The shrinking ‘middle class’ means more customers for ‘dollar stores’.
Friday, March 25, 2016
BEA Revises U.S. GDP Economic Growth Upward to 1.38% for Q4 2015 / Economics / US Economy
By: CMI
In their third and final estimate of the US GDP for the fourth quarter of 2015, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the economy was growing at a +1.38% annualized rate, up +0.38% from their previous estimate for the fourth quarter, but still down -0.61% from the third quarter.
The improvement was broadly based, with the revision to consumer expenditures for services having the greatest impact (+0.34%). Exports (+0.09%) and imports (+0.02%) also improved, as did commercial fixed investment (+0.04%) and governmental expenditures (+0.03%).
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
Greenspan Now Worried About Inflation, Says 'Entitlements Crowding Out Investment, Productivity is Dead' / Economics / US Economy
By: Mike_Shedlock
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke with Tom Keene and Mike McKee for Bloomberg TV & Radio. He discussed the ramifications of negative interest rates, entitlement spending, and declining productivity.
On the state of the U.S. and global economy, he said: "We're in trouble basically because productivity is dead in the water."
On whether he is optimistic going forward, Greenspan said: "No. I haven't been for quite a while. And I won't be until we can resolve the entitlement programs. Nobody wants to touch it. And that is gradually crowding out capital investment, and that's crowding out productivity, and it's crowding out the standards of living where do you want me to go from there."
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Monday, March 14, 2016
President Obama is the One Peddling Fiction on State of US Economy / Economics / US Economy
By: Michael_Pento
In his final State of the Union Address, President Obama chided, "Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction." Following the recently released February Non-farm Payroll Report, which showed a net increase of 242 thousand jobs, he doubled down on that same contention. The seemingly robust number of new jobs created prompted the President to remark, "The numbers and the facts don't lie, and I think it's useful given that there seems to be an alternative reality out there from some of the political folks that America is down in the dumps. It's not. America is pretty darn great right now."
Friday, February 26, 2016
BEA Revises U.S. 4th Quarter 2015 GDP Growth Upward to 1.00% / Economics / US Economy
By: CMI
In their second estimate of the US GDP for the fourth quarter of 2015, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the economy was growing at a +1.00% annualized rate, up +0.31% from their first estimate for the fourth quarter, but still down -0.99% (nearly half) from the third quarter.
All of the net improvement can be attributed to one line item, inventories -- which were up the same +0.31% as the headline aggregate -- while the sum of the changes in the other line items netted out to zero.
Monday, February 08, 2016
Falling Oil Prices Not the Reason for U.S.’s Economic Woes / Economics / US Economy
By: Antonius_Aquinas
The dramatic fall in the global price of oil is being cited by the financial press, government officials, and academia as the catalyst for the recent abysmal U.S. economic data which shows that the economy is, in all likelihood, sliding into a recession or worse.
While falling oil prices sound like a plausible explanation for the abysmal financial numbers, anyone with a modicum of economic sense (which excludes much of the financial Establishment) can see that it is merely a smokescreen to obfuscate the real culprit.
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Friday, January 29, 2016
BEA Estimates U.S. Economy 4th Quarter 2015 GDP Growth at 0.69% / Economics / US Economy
By: CMI
In their first "Preliminary" estimate of the US GDP for the fourth quarter of 2015, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported that the economy was growing at a +0.69% annualized rate, down -1.30% from the third quarter.
All of the key line items in this report showed meaningful deterioration relative to the third quarter. The reported growth in consumer spending was less than half of that recorded during the prior quarter. The growth in fixed investments nearly disappeared, as did growth in governmental spending. Exports continued to crater, showing outright contraction.
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Thursday, January 28, 2016
How The Fed is Suffocating The U.S. Economy / Economics / US Economy
By: Clif_Droke
Investors are worried over the prospects that the long-term momentum behind the stock market recovery of 2009-2015 may be in danger of complete dissipation this year. That would mean a certain date with an extended bear market and, potentially, an economic recession perhaps sometime later this year.
Normally, within the context of an established bull market, worry would be a good thing given that the bull tends to proceed along a "wall of worry." In view of recent actions undertaken by central banks, however, those worries are legitimate as I'll explain in this commentary.
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Sunday, January 17, 2016
U.S. Economy - The Chart that Explains Everything! / Economics / US Economy
By: Mike_Whitney
Why is the economy barely growing after seven years of zero rates and easy money? Why are wages and incomes sagging when stock and bond prices have gone through the roof? Why are stocks experiencing such extreme volatility when the Fed increased rates by a mere quarter of a percent?
It’s the policy, stupid. And here’s the chart that explains exactly what the policy is.
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Friday, January 15, 2016
U.S. Consumers Drowning Their Sorrows At The Bar / Economics / US Economy
By: James_Quinn
Month after month I watch as the MSM mouthpieces try to spin declining consumer spending in a positive light. They are practically out of excuses. They are befuddled, because month after month they report “awesome” job gains and can’t understand why all these gainfully employed Americans aren’t buying shit they don’t need like they used to. These faux journalists, spouting propaganda for their ruling class bosses, are willfully ignorant of the fact the job gains are in low paying part-time jobs and the fact that Obamacare and record high rents are sapping any discretionary income households would use to buy stuff.
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Thursday, January 14, 2016
The American Dream is Dying But it Can be Revived / Economics / US Economy
By: Gordon_T_Long
Charles Hugh Smith and Gordon T Long follow-up to their discussion last month of the puzzle of the falling US Civilian Labor Participation Rate. In this session they tackle the issues associated with "Universal Basic Income" which the public narrative has begun to 'offer up' as a solution.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Dow Down Nearly 1,500 Points This Year While Obama Claims U.S. Economy Is Great / Economics / US Economy
By: Jeff_Berwick
America, the individual triumph of millions of individuals through the generations has now become the “United State” and like any fascist or communist dictatorship, lies have increased as freedom has decreased. Many huddled around their TV sets (although in decreasing numbers – which is the real hope!) and heard a concentrated dose of untruths last night from the Great Leader for the “State of the Union”.
I didn’t watch. Politicians make me sick to my stomach and the sight of an entire throng of welfare-recipients (Congress) cheering for minutes on end for a man who has never held a real job in his life as he reads from his teleprompter is too much of a chore.
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Thursday, January 14, 2016
Dallas Fed's Kaplan: Market Swings May Not Reflect U.S. Economy / Economics / US Economy
By: Bloomberg
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan told Bloomberg's Michael McKee that the stock market swings may not reflect the underlying economy, and officials shouldn't overreact.
On Bloomberg TV's "Bloomberg <GO>" this morning, Kaplan said: "This has been a very tough start to the year. It says a lot though about the turmoil in the markets in China....You've got to watch these market moves, but you've got to realize that they may or may not reflect what's going on with the underlying economy in the United States. I'd say you've got to watch it, and understand it. But not over read or over react."
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Wednesday, January 13, 2016
This Current Spending Cycle Boom Will Not Continue / Economics / US Economy
By: Rodney_Johnson
In November of 2001 I was on an investment panel with three other people, including David Tice of Prudent Bear fame. He was riding high because, in addition to the recession of 2001, the markets had sold off after 9/11. His fund was doing well and he saw nothing but bad news for the economy and for him in the years ahead.Relying on demographics, I told him and the audience that America’s economy would rebound as consumers spent more, but would then suffer a terrible blow between 2008 and 2010.
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Tuesday, January 05, 2016
Are We Headed for Another Economic Bust? / Economics / US Economy
By: Frank_Shostak
On Wednesday December 16, 2015, Federal Reserve Bank policymakers raised the federal funds rate target by 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent for the first time since December 2008. There is the possibility that the target could be lifted gradually to 1.25 percent by December next year.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
U.S. Secular Economic Stagnation? / Economics / US Economy
By: Steve_H_Hanke
Stagnationists have been around for centuries. They have embraced many economic theories about what causes economic stagnation. That’s a situation in which total output, or output per capita, is constant, falling slightly, or rising sluggishly. Stagnation can also be characterized by a situation in which unemployment is chronic and growing.Before we delve into the secular stagnation debate – a debate that has become a hot topic – a few words about current economic developments in the U.S. are in order. What was recently noticed was the Federal Reserve’s increase, for the first time in nearly a decade, of the fed funds interest rate by 0.25 percent. What went unnoticed, but was perhaps more important, was that the money supply, broadly measured by the Center for Financial Stability’s Divisia M4, jumped to a 4.6 percent year-over-year growth rate. This was the largest increase since May 2013.
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