http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/bhoeconomy/ en-us Mon, 13 May 2013 17:11:18 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018834/posts American investment banks dominate global finance once more. That’s not necessarily good for America FOR a few tense weeks in 2008, as investment-bank executives huddled behind the imposing doors of the New York Federal Reserve, Wall Street seemed to be collapsing around them. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch collapsed into the arms of Bank of America. American International Group (AIG) and Citigroup had to be bailed out and the rot seemed to be spreading. Hank Paulson, the treasury secretary at the time, recalled in his memoir that: “Lose Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs would be next in line—if... The Economist http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018834/posts#comment Mon, 13 May 2013 17:11:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3016827/posts J.C. Penney Co. (JCP -3.07%) forecast a sharper-than-expected decline in fiscal first-quarter sales, citing the effect of former Chief Executive Ron Johnson's strategies to turn around the struggling department-store operator. For the quarter ended Saturday, the company said it expects to post sales of roughly $2.64 billion, a 16% drop from the prior year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect sales of $2.74 billion, or a 13% decline. Same-store sales were estimated to be down 16.6%, after falling 18.9% a year earlier. WSJ.ocm http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3016827/posts#comment Tue, 7 May 2013 23:13:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014514/posts NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The S&P 500 fell after a spate of negative surprises in economic reports was balanced against expectations that the Federal Reserve will not be winding down its asset purchases in the near future. The latest employment numbers pointed to a slowdown in the economy with payroll processor ADP reporting that the private sector added 119,000 jobs in April vs. a downwardly-revised 131,000 in March. The number was below the consensus estimate of 150,000, according to Thomson Reuters. Similarly, the ISM Manufacturing Index dipped to 50.7 in April from 51.3 in March, falling further than the 50.9... The Street http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014514/posts#comment Wed, 1 May 2013 16:30:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014055/posts the last half-decade has proved far worse for black and Hispanic families than for white families when it comes to wealth — as measured by assets, like cash savings, homes and retirement accounts, minus debts, like mortgages and credit card balances — white families have far outpaced black and Hispanic ones. Before the recession, non-Hispanic white families, on average, were about four times as wealthy as nonwhite families, according to the Urban Institute’s analysis of Federal Reserve data. By 2010, whites were about six times as wealthy. The dollar value of that gap has grown, as well. By the most... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3014055/posts#comment Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:43:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012125/posts ALBERT EDWARDS: Stocks Will Crash, Hyperinflation Will Come, And Gold Will Go Above $10,000 Joe WeisenthalApril 25, 2013 This is always reassuring. SocGen strategist Albert Edwards remains an ultra-bear, and predicts everything will go to hell. In his new note he writes: We still forecast 450 S&P, sub-1% US 10y yields, and gold above $10,000 My working experience of the last 30 years has convinced me that policymakers’ efforts to manage the economic cycle have actually made things far more volatile. Their repeated interventions have, much to their surprise, blown up in their faces a few years later. The current... TBI http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3012125/posts#comment Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:58:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3011848/posts The terrible economic news released today is so terrible Reuters didn't even attempt to spin it. The headline reads, "Durable Goods Report Delivers More Bad News for Economy," and the story gets right to the point: Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods recorded their biggest drop in seven months in March and a gauge of planned business spending rose modestly, adding to signs of a slowdown in factory activity. Durable goods orders slumped 5.7 percent as demand fell almost across the board, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. That is twice the drop economists expected. Over at Hot Air, Ed... breitbart.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3011848/posts#comment Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:21:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3011762/posts The Economic Depression Is Deepening Economics / Great Depression IIApril 23, 2013 - 05:47 PM GMT By: Bill Bonner Gold seemed to be stabilizing at the end of last week. Commodities remained weak. Steel has fallen 31% this year. Brent crude is off 17% since early February. And copper is down 15%. Copper is the metal you need to make almost anything – houses, cars, electronics. When it goes down, it generally means the world economy is getting soft.At the start of last week, the conventional analysis of the gold sell-off was that the central banks' efforts to revive global... The Market Oracle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3011762/posts#comment Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:18:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3011725/posts The good times. Mortgage applications rose for a third week in a row, thanks in part to falling Treasury and mortgage rates. April 24 (Bloomberg) — Mortgage applications in the U.S. climbed for a third week as lower mortgage rates spurred gains in home purchasing or refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index increased 0.2 percent in the period ended April 19 from the prior week, the Washington-based group said today. Both the group’s purchasing and refinancing measures rose by 0.3 percent. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.65 percent from 3.67 percent in the prior week.... Confounded Interest http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/3011725/posts#comment Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:03:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3011330/posts Gold, Stocks And Copper Set To Crash Commodities / Financial CrashApril 23, 2013 - 06:34 AM GMT By: Clive Maund Failure of gold's key support at $1500 - $1550 triggered a stunning plunge as masses of stops were triggered. We can see what happened on the 6-month chart below. The plunge was the most severe since 1980 and was accompanied by colossal record volume, which is strongly bearish. It quickly lead to gold becoming critically oversold and it bounced later in the week as cheerleaders advised their readers to buy this "opportunity of a lifetime". Is it? In this update... The Market Oracle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3011330/posts#comment Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:35:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3010739/posts United States Decaying From Within! Stocks, Gold and Dollar Outlook Stock-Markets / Financial Markets 2013April 21, 2013 - 06:58 PM GMT By: Robert M Williams No one seemed to notice or care that on June 28, 2012 the City of Stockton, California filed a petition for chapter 9 bankruptcy protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California, Sacramento, Case No. 2012-32118. On Monday, April 1, 2013, a federal judge ruled that Stockton was eligible for bankruptcy protection, over the objection of creditors who argued the city could come up with more money. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein... The Market Oracle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3010739/posts#comment Mon, 22 Apr 2013 03:57:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3010676/posts I can't help but think that many of the *idealist* (dopey) young people who voted for Obama must be getting the shock of their young lives. Many college students who voted for Obama were only children when 9/11 happened, it may not have been real to them but THIS is their 9/11, they will not forget it. The massive coverage that the Boston Marathon bombing has had has penetrated their little air-head experience of tweeting, social media and celebrities. Maybe they will be more grown up and sober people next time they vote. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3010676/posts#comment Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:48:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3008533/posts Residential construction shot up significantly in March as homebuilders broke ground on the most multi-family homes in seven years, a report from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. Housing starts rose 7 percent from upwardly revised levels reported in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.04 million units, according to the Commerce Department, almost 47 percent higher than levels reported in March 2012. Construction activity significantly outpaced projections from economists polled by Bloomberg, which put starts closer to 930,000. Starts reported in March also inched toward what economists consider a more normal level of about 1.5 million annual... US News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3008533/posts#comment Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:04:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3008415/posts There's a real stigma associated with people who have been out of work for more than six months or those who are prone to job hopping. To find out how hiring managers view these candidates, economist Rand Ghayad conducted an experiment where he sent out 4,800 fictitious résumés for 600 job openings. Ghayad found that managers would rather hire people with no relevant job experience than someone who's been unemployed for a long time or has had several jobs in a short period of time. The resumes sent out described candidates looking work for different reasons across several industries, but... Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3008415/posts#comment Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:05:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3005870/posts That America created only 88,000 jobs in March, less than half the number anticipated, was jolting news, indicating the recovery that the White House has boasted about may not be at hand. But in that March jobs report, there was more disturbing news. While unemployment fell to 7.6 percent, the reason it fell is alarming. Half a million U.S. workers (495,000) disappeared from the labor force. They dropped out. They are no longer even looking for a job. Worse, this appears to be an inexorable trend. The participation rate of eligible workers in the United States has fallen to 63.3... Townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3005870/posts#comment Tue, 9 Apr 2013 17:26:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3005043/posts Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) plans to lay off more than 460 workers at a central Illinois plant that produces big mining trucks. The layoffs will shrink the work force at the Decatur plant by about 11%. The company said the reduction is needed to bring production at the plant in line with lower demand for mining equipment caused by falling prices for mined commodities and decisions by mining companies to shelve expansion projects. "While some cost-reduction measures such as temporary layoffs, shutdowns and shortened work weeks have already been implemented, more permanent measures must be taken in the near term," the... fox news http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3005043/posts#comment Sun, 7 Apr 2013 13:43:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3004093/posts WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose to a four-month high last week, although the increase partly reflects seasonal distortions around the spring holidays. The Labor Department says weekly applications increased 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000. That is the highest level since late November. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 354,250. Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3004093/posts#comment Thu, 4 Apr 2013 15:25:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3004047/posts here were 385,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, up by 28,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says. The news follows Wednesday's report of slower-than-expected job growth in the private sector: The ADP National Employment Report estimated there were just 158,000 jobs added at businesses last month. And the word that jobless claims have touched a four-month high comes just before Friday's anxiously anticipated report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It will release data on the March unemployment rate and job growth in both the public and private sectors. According to Reuters, economists expect... NPR http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3004047/posts#comment Thu, 4 Apr 2013 13:34:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002402/posts The Department of Labor estimates that some three million Americans with Bachelor degrees work in jobs that don’t require an education at all–janitors, barristas, bartenders and retail clerks.There are a lot of obvious reasons why junior is now living in your basement at age 25. Forbes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002402/posts#comment Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:48:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002367/posts Entertainment Television (BET) founder Bob Johnson said Tuesday that the nation would “never tolerate white unemployment at 14 or 15 percent” and yet unemployment for the black community has been double that of white Americans for over 50 years. “This country would never tolerate white unemployment at 14 and 15 percent. No one would ever stay in office at 14 or 15 percent unemployment in this nation, but we’ve had that double unemployment for over 50 years,” Johnson said while speaking at the National Press Club about the gap between whites and blacks in America. CNSnews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002367/posts#comment Sat, 30 Mar 2013 14:21:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002164/posts WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's failed job policies are facing bitter criticism from African-American leaders who say black unemployment has grown worse under his presidency. After four years of holding their tongues and remaining quiet in the face of sharply rising black unemployment and record poverty, political leaders from the Congressional Black Caucus to the NAACP have begun to open fire on the White House. Obama won 96 percent of the black vote in 2008 and about the same percentage in 2012, despite a worsening jobless crisis among African-Americans. At 14 percent for adults and 43.1 percent for 16-to-19-year-old teenagers, blacks... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002164/posts#comment Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:06:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002158/posts In an article titled, "Use of Food Stamps Swells Even as Economy Improves," the Wall Street Journal reports that "The financial crisis is over and the recession ended in 2009. But one of the federal government's biggest social welfare programs, which expanded when the economy convulsed, isn't shrinking back alongside the recovery." The report continues, "Enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as the modern-day food-stamp benefit is known, has soared 70% since 2008 to a record 47.8 million as of December 2012. Congressional budget analysts think participation will rise again this year and dip only slightly in coming years." The Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3002158/posts#comment Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:49:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2998539/posts I can just imagine Jay Leno taking to the streets in order to ask the average American citizen, “What do you think about Cyprus?” More than likely, the answer would be, “I really prefer oak or maple for my flooring, I never really thought about cypress.”  Jay would reply with, “No, the country Cyprus.  The IMF, EU, and ECB, the “troika,” just put a tax on bank accounts.  Well, no.  Actually, they just stole a portion and froze the rest of the money in spite of the increased guarantees.”  The average American would then respond, “There’s a country named Cyprus? ... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2998539/posts#comment Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:35:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996389/posts We started seeing this with the Reason/Rupe poll almost two weeks ago, which Sean Trende insisted wasn’t really an outlier. Barack Obama’s approval rating started sliding in Gallup, and last week Reuters had him at 43%. Today, the Washington Post reports that Obama has lost five points in approval in their latest poll, with the most significant decline in his economic policies: The afterglow of President ObamaÂ’s reelection and inauguration appears to have vanished as increasingly negative views among Americans about his stewardship of the economy have forced his public approval rating back down to the 50 percent mark, according... Hotair http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2996389/posts#comment Wed, 13 Mar 2013 13:59:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2995850/posts Despite the current stock market rally, legendary investor Jim Rogers say the U.S economy is poised for a major crash and is warning investors to protect themselves immediately. In a riveting interview on Fox Business, Rogers warned Americans not to trust any of the positive economic news coming from world governments. "I don't trust the data from any government, including the U.S., Rogers said. "We know that governments lie to us. Everybody's printing money, but it cannot go on. This is all artificial." Rogers, who for years has been an outspoken critic of the Feds policies of "Quantitative Easing" says... MoneyMorning http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2995850/posts#comment Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:09:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2993683/posts European bulls lauding the message "the worst is behind" received another dose of reality today. Data shows German car sales plunge as Europe's auto crisis deepens. New car sales in Germany fell by more than 10 percent year-on-year in February, signaling the crisis for Europe's auto makers is deepening as recession-hit consumers curb spending. New car sales in the region dropped to a 17-year low in 2012. Speaking ahead of the industry meeting in Geneva, the sales chief of General Motors' (GM.N) Opel brand said car sales for the whole of Europe might fall by as much as 10 percent... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2993683/posts#comment Tue, 5 Mar 2013 17:54:01 GMT