Q3 GDP Revisions Final Failure
The final revision for Q3 GDP is still indicative of a recession. The NBER already declared a recession was in effect since last December, but this was the first quarter to actually show negative…
Economy
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Newest first · Page 396More Bailout Cash For A New Bailout…Commercial Real Estate
The number of bailouts is becoming so large that new ones are hardly worth mentioning, But, when the lead story in The Wall Street Journal covers an fresh angle, it is hard to ignore.…
The Obama Bailout Plan: Spending Beyond The Imagination
"That’s nothing." Percy had leaned forward and dropped his voice to a low whisper. "That’s nothing at all. My father has a diamond bigger than the Ritz-Carlton Hotel." –F.Scott Fitzgerald, "The Diamond As Big…
Getting $120 Trillion Into The Global Economy
It used to be that $1 trillion seemed like a lot of money. Now the Obama administration-to-be says that it plans to put just short of that sum into the US economy over the…
Paulson Pressures Congress To Hand Over TARP Balance, He May Need It (C)(BAC)(WFC)
Henry Paulson wants the $350 billion still left in the TARP funding from Congress. He says the last part of the first $350 billion is going to Detroit. His logic seems to be that…
Obama At The Dike: What Does $1 Trillion Buy?
The new administration will ask Congress for close to $800 billion to stimulate the economy and get America back on the road to recovery without straining the capacity of the map makers. By the…
The Age Of City Bankruptcies
The process of cities going bankrupt has already begun. One of Michigan’s largest cities, Flint, is already in receivership. The state gets to help pay the bills. Several other large municipalities in The Wolverine…
For The Fed “There are no second acts in American lives.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald was right. One chance and one chance only. The Fed took its last step by cutting rates to zero and saying it will buy up all of the debt it can…
Consumer Prices: Things Get So Cheap They Are Almost Free
Consumer prices dropped so much in November that goods and services are almost free. Energy prices were down 17%, lead by the falling price of gas. The Consumer Price Index dropped 1.7% after falling…
Who Ultimately Bails Out U.S. Government?
The Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget has now released the Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Report of the United States Government. As you’d guess, there are deficits, shortfalls, warnings, and maybe…
Hedge Fund Business Gets Worse, Nice While It Lasted
The number of hedge funds topped 10,000 earlier this year. Watch for about 3,000 of those to be gone soon. According to Bloomberg, "Almost a third of hedge funds will shut or merge after…
No Help Yet in Manufacturing
Manufacturing in the NY FED district appears to be running at near-record lows. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Empire Manufacturing Index is still a fairly new index, but activity fell again down…
Is Consumer Spending Stabalizing? More Grand News For Wal-Mart (WMT) Apple (AAPL) And Amazon (AMZN), Bad News For Sears (SHLD)
One piece of data does not a trend make. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Poll shows a little uptick last week. But, coming in the holidays, people’s spirits many be brightening. Come the…
Jobless Lines Running At 3-Decade Highs
The new data for weekly jobless claims is still showing many pink slips are coming. The Labor Department said that new claims reached a 26-year high of 573,000. That is 58,000 above the revised…
Posted Without Comment: Deflation
According to Reuters, The "nasty" U.S. recession will tighten its grip next year as unemployment rises and weak home and stock prices imperil consumers, finance firms and debt-laden businesses, a UCLA Anderson Forecast report…