Are We Missing Something?
Ben Bernanke is a dubious choice to be named “Person of the Year” by Time magazine. While Time’s Managing Editor Richard Stengel credits him with recognizing early and reacting appropriately to the ongoing financial crisis, in reality, he was wrong time and again with both his predictions and his remedies. Just remember these gems…
Is it time to panic?
Baltimore-(TFN):Time to panic? If you are part of the Obama administration the answer is yes. If you are an American investor, hold off on the freaking out for at least another month or so.
With the nation’s unemployment rate officially in double-digit territory and the under-employed rate ready to the 20% mark, the politicians that promised bliss in the days ahead are eating their words today.
And that means Wall Street is eating its recent gains.
For nearly a month, the Dow has hovered around the 10,000 mark. After hundreds of billions of dollars were withdrawn earlier this year, it was relatively easy to put that money back to work and send the equities market higher.
But now that the economic data is showing…
The rebirth of the American consumer
Don’t look now, but a nation of shoppers is about to be reborn. Thanks to rising stock prices, stabilizing home values, increased savings, improved confidence in the economy, and reduced debt, there is building evidence that the quintessentially Amer…
Can Democrats Anchor Unemployment Without Doing More Damage to the Deficit?
With the unemployment rate soaring alongside the U.S. budget deficit, the Obama Administration and congressional Democrats are struggling to solve the nation’s problems before next year’s midterm election.
But they may be struggling in vain.
Since 1945, the party that has controlled the White House has lost an average of 16 House seats in the president’s first midterm election, according to the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan publication in Washington. However, losses for the Democrats could be far steeper next year if they fail to put unemployed Americans back to work.
Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton and the Democrats lost 52 House seats in 1994.
“Unemployment is the leading economic indicator when it comes to politics,” Democratic pollster Peter Hart told The Wall Street Journal.…
Jobs Disappoint…
September job losses soar to 263,000…G-7 does not make statement on currencies…RBA meets tonight…India & Brazil pull the right strings…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!Good day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! The Regular Season for Baseball is over, except… The Tigers and Twins have to play a one-game playoff today! Talk about exciting! And that’s just to see who gets to go the playoffs!
Well… Friday’s Jobs Jamboree did disappoint as I had the feeling they would, printing a disappointing -263,000 jobs lost in September. The Unemployment Rate also rose to 9.8%… Now we all know that when all the people that are truly unemployed are counted, that the Unemployment Rate goes to 16%, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will…
Is there hope for the labor market?
Friday saw the release of the latest employment situation report and boy was it a doozy. Payrolls fell by another 263,000 in September, well under the consensus estimate of a loss of 170,000. The unemployment rate inched higher to 9.8% — which now s…
A Jobs Jamboree Friday!
The dollar remains well bid…G-7 to hand currencies off to G-20? Car Sales collapse…Auditing the Lehman cash movements…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!
Good day… And a Happy Friday to one and all! Yesterday, I welcomed you to October. I had been prepared to tell you about a famous radio station here in St. Louis, that has long called October… Rocktober… But forgot, as usual! But anyway… It’s the first Fantastico Friday of Rocktober!
Today is a Jobs Jamboree Friday too! And… I’m not getting a good feeling about today’s labor report at the Jobs Jamboree. The forecast is for jobs losses to fall from -216,000 to -175,000, but the unemployment rate to tick up to 9.8% from 9.7%… I got the feeling, baby,…
Natural Gas’ Triple Could Give Us a 416% Gain by Year-End
The past 18 months have taken a serious toll on normal supply and demand in many industries. But no industry was impacted more than energy…
Oil peaked at $147 per barrel in July 2008 — right before the house of cards came crashing down on the global economy. Once banks started to fail and credit dried up, other businesses slowed production and laid off workers. This created a massive trickle effect on the overall economy.
Big corporations and individual consumers alike were using less energy. That meant the prices of every energy-related commodity plummeted.
This spring, things started to turn around… The unemployment rate quit falling at such a rapid rate. Inventories were too low in many industries, creating a ramp up in…
5 reasons the market could crash in October
This article is by InvestorPlace’s Michael Shulman.There are anywhere between one and 100 reasons the market could fall in October. Some of these reasons are technical; some are fundamental. Bing: More on Stock Market CrashesHere are five, all of which…
Think you’re busy? Chrysler chief has 5 jobs
No wonder the unemployment rate is so high. The new head of Chrysler has top jobs at five separate companies himself. Sergio Marchionne, the new hands-on CEO at Chrysler Group LLC in Detroit, is also the CEO of Fiat SpA in Turin, Italy. And he’s t…
Why Wall Street loves high unemployment
By Jim Jubak
You’d think that last week’s jump in the August unemployment rate to 9.7% — the consensus among economists was for just 9.5% — would have sent stocks tumbling. After all, if more people are out of work, consumers will buy less. And i…
A Rout On The Dollar!
Currencies rally strong! China is upset with printing of dollars…The UN talks of a new currency…Unemployment rate rises to 9.7% And Now… Today’s Pfennig!
Good day… And a Terrific Tuesday to you! A long Holiday Weekend, that was quite good for yours truly! A great tailgate, a great Missouri Tigers victory, 3 of 4 for the Cardinals, a great end of summer bar-b-que at the Butler House, and a day to recharge the batteries… Really couldn’t ask for much more… Yes, the weather could have cooperated a bit better, but, hey, that’s nitpicking!
Well… Last night I was checking the markets to see what was going on, since I had walked away from the desk on Friday afternoon… And much to my…
Jobless and no longer looking
My colleague Anthony Mirhaydari recently wrote that the true unemployment rate is already at 20%. That’s because some people who don’t have a job aren’t counted in the unemployment figures you see in the media.The New York Times spotlights one category…