Category: US Economy
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Obituary of the Too Much Economy / Economics / US Economy
By: Submissions
Our economy is in the process of burying the corpse of Too Much at the corner of Wall Street and Broad. Pall bearers will carry this leveraged ponzi scheme past the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank seeking alms from the poor. Our elected Representatives have decided the corpse will lie in state at the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol until these United States are bled to third world status.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, January 23, 2009
Unemployment: How Do We Measure A Shortage Of Work? / Economics / US Economy
By: Ronald_R_Cooke
A Modest Proposal - According to the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL), employers cut 524,000 jobs in December, 2008. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 7.2%. That’s bad news for a struggling economy. Unemployed people have fewer spending options. They tend to buy only what they absolutely need. Food tops the list. Rent or mortgage payments come next. Then utility bills, emergency medical expenses, and money for transportation – most likely in the form of car or truck payments and fuel. Purchases of clothing, a new car, electronics, toys, and so on can be deferred. Savings erode all too quickly. Personal confidence ebbs. Family life is strained.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Social Mood Will Define The Economic Future / Politics / US Economy
By: Mike_Shedlock
Boomers have known only inflationary or reflationary conditions for most, if not all of their conscious lives. Here is the pattern: Want, work, borrow, spend, enjoy, and worry about the bills tomorrow, as if tomorrow would never come. Now tomorrow is dawning, the bills are due, and boomers are now entering end of life with a need to consume what they perceived would be a treasure chest of accumulated wealth that would allow them to sustain their inflationary lifestyles to life's end.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Last Nail in the Coffin for the U.S. Economy / Economics / US Economy
By: Money_and_Markets
Martin Weiss writes: The government has just released one of the most shocking federal budget reports of all time.
Even if you overlook the gaping holes in their economic assumptions, it's obvious the federal deficit is going to deliver a punch below the belt of the economy.
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009
U.S. Consumer Booms Inevitable Bust / Economics / US Economy
By: Oxbury_Research
A Nation Named Desire - Classic film buffs will be familiar with the 1951 film – A Streetcar Named Desire – which starred Marlon Brando and Vivian Leigh. My favorite scene in the film involves Blanche DuBois (Vivian Leigh) and Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando).
Blanche DuBois is a fallen woman – her family fortune and estate are gone. In an absolutely classic line, Blanche says to Stanley Kowalski - “I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”.
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Sunday, January 11, 2009
Obama Ups U.S. Job Creation Program to 4 Million / Economics / US Economy
By: Mike_Shedlock
While increasing his jobs creation forecast to 4 million jobs, Obama Calls for Sacrifice, Scaling Back Campaign Promises . President-elect Barack Obama said turning around the U.S. economy will require cutting back on some campaign promises and personal sacrifice from Americans.
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Friday, January 02, 2009
United States a Banana Republic? / Economics / US Economy
By: Michael_Pento
Well, agriculturally speaking the answer is no: the United States has minimal banana production and the four leading exporters of the fruit are all located south of the Tropic of Cancer. Sadly, however, once you “peel” away the façade, the U.S. has recently embraced economic policies that could soon lead us to carrying the moniker of “banana republic.” Hanlon, being the optimist that he is, gets a little queasy when I use such phrases, but since respectable figures such as Steve Forbes and Larry Kudlow have even raised the question lately, he'll hold his nose and indulge me here!Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
What Happened to the American Dream? / Politics / US Economy
By: James_Quinn
“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." --Historian and writer James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book Epic of America. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, December 12, 2008
Our Asset Value Trend Dependent Economy / Economics / US Economy
By: Tim_Iacono
The Federal Reserve's latest Flow of Funds Report contains some painful news about how our asset-dependent economy is faring in what is now an increasingly asset-averse world. This time around we have double the trouble as prices for both stocks and housing are declining. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 28, 2008
Retail Sales to Suffer in 2009 as U.S. Consumers Cut Spending / Economics / US Economy
By: Money_Morning
Jennifer Yousfi writes: Retail experts are predicting one of the most dismal holiday shopping seasons in decades this year – a crucial stretch that will set the stage for poor retail sales throughout 2009. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Obama Unveils Economic Team and 2.5 Million Job Stimulus Plan / Politics / US Economy
By: Money_Morning
Jason Simpkins writes: President-elect Barack Obama yesterday (Monday) formally unveiled his economic team, including the nomination of New York Federal Reserve Bank President Timothy F. Geithner as the new administration's U.S. Treasury secretary. The team's first challenge will be assembling an economic stimulus package that could be even larger than the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the Bush Administration has deployed.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Black Friday Approaches for Retailers as Holiday Shopping Season Begins / Economics / US Economy
By: Money_Morning
William Patalon III writes: As Thanksgiving approaches, the American people should be thankful for the declining gasoline prices that help enable many of them to afford holiday travel this year. Speaking of the holiday, after the traditional bird has been devoured, one additional time honored tradition remains – shopping. The Friday after Thanksgiving, known as “Black Friday,” represents the official start of the holiday shopping season. Historically, it is the day that retailers moved out of the “red” (losses) and into the “black” (profits).Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Obama's First Moves on the Financial Crisis and Foreign Policy / Politics / US Economy
By: STRATFOR
Three weeks after the U.S. presidential election, we are getting the first signs of how President-elect Barack Obama will govern. That now goes well beyond the question of what is conventionally considered U.S. foreign policy — and thus beyond Stratfor's domain. At this moment in history, however, in the face of the global financial crisis , U.S. domestic policy is intimately bound to foreign policy. How the United States deals with its own internal financial and economic problems will directly affect the rest of the world. Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
UK Inflation CPI Falls Sharply as Economy Heads for Deflation / Economics / US Economy
By: Nadeem_Walayat
UK inflation as measured by the CPI slumped by the largest amount since the series began in 1997, falling from 5.2% to 4.5%. This follows hard on the heels of the Bank of England's panic 1.5% interest rate cut earlier in the month which was accompanied by BOE statements that UK economy would contract by 2% GDP during 2009, that puts the UK on target to experience a worse recession than that of the early 1990's as Gordon Browns boom turns to bust. The RPI measure which the BoE also warned was heading towards deflation i.e. a negative RPI during 2009 fell sharply from 5% to 4.2%.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, November 15, 2008
End of the Era of Big Consumer Spending / Economics / US Economy
By: Michael_J_Panzner
Friday morning, the Commerce Department announced that October retail sales fell 2.8%, the fourth straight drop and the worst one-month decline since records began in 1992. Stripping out sales of autos and gasoline, the year-over-year total rose just 1.5%, less than the rate of inflation and the worst 12-month rate of change since February 2003. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Economic Forecasts and Analysis For U.S. Financial Markets (Nov 17-21) / Economics / US Economy
By: Joseph_Brusuelas
The week ahead in financial markets will see a modest quantity of data that will hit the tapes largely on Thursday and Friday. The major market moving events will be the Friday release of the October advance retail sales data and the Thursday release of the US Trade Balance, Jobless Claims and the US Budget Statement. On Friday in Frankfurt Germany, Fed Chair Bernanke and ECB President Trichet will lead a cast of global central banking all-stars that will address monetary policy within the current global financial crisis. Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, November 10, 2008
U.S. Economic Pain Precedes Greatest Investment Opportunity of a Generation / Economics / US Economy
By: Money_Morning
Shah Gilani writes: If there's a proverb that captures the outlook for the U.S. economy in the New Year, it's the one that says: “It's always darkest before the dawn.”
Regardless of any formal announcement of whether or not the United States drops into an actual recession, the ongoing credit crisis guarantees a contraction of the American economy by virtually every measure we know. That period of darkness will be marked by a dramatic slowdown in economic activity, as well as by rising unemployment, additional declines in U.S. stock prices, and constant volatility. It could last as long as 12-18 months.
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Sunday, November 09, 2008
Economic Forecasts and Analysis For U.S. Financial Markets (Nov 10-14) / Economics / US Economy
By: Joseph_Brusuelas
The week ahead in financial markets will see a modest quantity of data that will hit the tapes largely on Thursday and Friday. The major market moving events will be the Friday release of the October advance retail sales data and the Thursday release of the US Trade Balance, Jobless Claims and the US Budget Statement. On Friday in Frankfurt Germany, Fed Chair Bernanke and ECB President Trichet will lead a cast of global central banking all-stars that will address monetary policy within the current global financial crisis. Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Obama Could Avoid Depression by Rebuilding America's Crumbling Infrastructure / Economics / US Economy
By: Jennifer_Barry
On a daily basis, we drive on paved roads over bridges, take a hot shower, turn the lights on and off, and take out the trash. Most of us take these experiences for granted, expecting that our needs will be satisfied in a safe and convenient way. The universal availability of these services differentiates a modern country from a developing nation. Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, November 07, 2008
Jobs Contract 10th Straight Month; Unemployment Soars To 6.5% / Economics / US Economy
By: Mike_Shedlock
Before taking a look at the monthly jobs data, let's take a look at weekly claims. The US Department of Labor is reporting Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims continue to rise. Read full article... Read full article...