http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/economy/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:43:33 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286385/posts A federal judge approved the sale of General Motors Corp.'s assets to a new government-run company, removing a key hurdle to the auto maker's plan to exit bankruptcy. Judge Robert E. Gerber of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York issued an 87-page ruling late Sunday allowing the sale to go forward. He rejected pleas from dissident bondholders and product-liability claimants who objected to GM's plans. The judge said the only alternative to GM's plans would be liquidation, "a disastrous result for GM's creditors, its employees, the suppliers who depend on GM for their own existence,... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286385/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 11:43:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286350/posts Paul Krugman gets his wish. So did Joe Biden just pull another "Biden" with his line this morning about "misreading" how bad the economy was? Some folks in the White House may chalk it up to "Joe being Joe," but make no mistake, the administration is laying the groundwork for the second stimulus. We predicted on Thursday, after the weak jobs report, that the second stimulus was no definitely on its way. The very next day, Paul Krugman, a reliable thermometer for establishment thinking, chimed in and said we must do a second, bigger stimulus. So when you have Joe... The Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286350/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 08:25:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286304/posts Grand Strand marketers turn eyes toward Europe. BY MIKE CHERNEY MYRTLE BEACH — When it comes to attracting foreign visitors to the Grand Strand, some local tourism leaders are looking to Congress for help. The Travel Promotion Act of 2009, which has been introduced in the House and Senate, would create a nonprofit corporation to advertise the U.S. as a travel destination in foreign countries. The campaign would be funded by industry contributions and a $10 fee on foreign travelers who do not have to pay for a visa. The travel industry, including the U.S. Travel Association and the American... McClatchy / The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286304/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:48:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286269/posts More than one reader has emailed me asking me how bonds work and why I am so concerned about what Obama's policies will do to them and the economy with them. I think it's time for a wonky economics lesson for all the laymen out there on how bonds work. First, it's important to know that U.S. Treasury bonds are traded on an exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, much like any other investment. As such, they work like any other investment in any market. It's ultimately determined by supply and demand. If there are more buyers than sellers the... The Provocateur http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286269/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 03:42:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286257/posts ... Tens of thousands of laid-off workers [...] have turned to retraining as a lifeline. Yet for all the popularity of these government-financed programs, there are questions about whether they actually work, even as President Obama’s stimulus plan directs $1.4 billion more to retraining and other services for people who have lost their jobs. In Michigan, where the unemployment rate in May was 14.1 percent, the nation’s highest, 78,000 people are enrolled in the state’s No Worker Left Behind program and 7,800 are on the waiting list. At the Michigan Works job center here, where Mr. Hutchins applied for retraining... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286257/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 02:52:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2286231/posts Nouriel Roubini | Jul 2, 2009 The June employment report suggests that the alleged ‘green shoots’ are mostly yellow weeds that may eventually turn into brown manure. The employment report shows that conditions in the labor market continue to be extremely weak, with job losses in June of over 460,000. With the current rate of job losses, it is very clear that the unemployment rate could reach 10 percent by later this summer, around August or September, and will be closer to 10.5 percent if not 11 percent by year-end. I expect the unemployment rate is going to peak at... Nouriel Roubini's Global EconoMonitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2286231/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:56:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286054/posts In a move set to infuriate and send many Zero Hedge readers over the top, the NYSE has taken action to make sure that nobody will henceforth be able to keep track of the complete dominance that Goldman Sachs exerts over the New York Stock Exchange. This basically ends our weekly Program Trading updates disclosed every Thursday indicating that Goldman has singlehandedly captured all of NYSE's program trading. In an information memorandum released on June 24 (09-31), the NYSE Regulation team has announced the Decommissioning of the Daily Program Trading Report (DPTR). From the memo: The New York Stock Exchange... Zero Hedge http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286054/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:28:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286051/posts Here is video of Vice-President Joe Biden admitting today on This Week with George Stephanopoulos that the Obama Administration "misread" the economy earlier this year when the pushed the stimulus bill. The administration thought Unemployment would not exceed 8% this year, and it is now 9.5%. They also discussed some economists who say there is a need for another stimulus package! Oh brother - if the first one did not work, do it again! . . . . (Watch Video) Freedom's Lighthouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2286051/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:23:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286022/posts Big admission from Vice President Joe Biden today. "The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," Biden told me during our exclusive "This Week" interview in Iraq. Biden acknowledged administration officials were too optimistic earlier this year when they predicted the unemployment rate would peak at 8 percent as part of their effort to sell the stimulus package. The national unemployment rate has ballooned to 9.5 percent in June -- the worst in 26 years. ABC News blogs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286022/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 18:04:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285984/posts More porn = less rape??? Yes, that's what he said... The Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285984/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 16:54:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285966/posts The present deflation is worth putting in context. Below (click to enlarge) is the annual rate of CPI change since 1913: We are in the first deflation since the Great Depression, albeit a mild one. In fact, raw materials prices have fallen just as far, but our consumption basket has shifted to items whose prices are slower to deflate. Note that the great deflation of 1929-1933 is followed by a brief increase in inflation (to a 5% year on year CPI gain) before falling back into negative numbers. This was the result of FDR’s devaluation of the dollar against gold,... SeekingAlpha http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285966/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 16:16:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285952/posts When Wall Street imploded last year, the Fed and Treasury took "some of the right moves" in order to revive the financial system, says William Cohan, author of House of Cards. But the government blew at least one crucial act of the saga, Cohan says: The backdoor bailout of AIG’s counterparties, notably Goldman Sachs, which received $13 billion of TARP funds via the AIG conduit last fall. Adding insult to taxpayer injury, Goldman Sachs is primed to benefit should AIG ultimately file for bankruptcy and default on its debt, Cohan reports, having invested about $200 million in related credit default... Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285952/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 15:30:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285941/posts ABC News: "The truth is, we and everyone else misread the economy," Biden told George Stephanopoulos during an interview on "This Week" in Iraq. Biden acknowledged administration officials were too optimistic earlier this year when they predicted the unemployment rate would peak at 8 percent as part of their effort to sell the stimulus package. The national unemployment rate has ballooned to 9.5 percent in June -- the worst in 26 years. "The truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited," said Biden, who is leading the administration's effort to implement it's $787 billion... Real Clear Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285941/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 15:07:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285913/posts The most troubling part of the June jobs report was likely not even the lost jobs (467000) but the average work week. In June, the average workweek for production and non supervisory workers on private non farm payrolls fell by 0.1 hour to 33.0 hours--the lowest level on record for the series, which began in 1964. The manufacturing work week rose by 0.1 hour to 39.5 hours, and factory overtime was unchanged at 2.8 hours. The Provocateur http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285913/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:17:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2285846/posts A nephew of mine is doing some project/study work on the Great Depression. I have tons of history books, but very little on economical history and the Great Depression. I'd like him to avoid Roosevelt adulating propaganda. What do you consider the authorative and most relevant books on the Great Depression and the (etatist) measures certain States (particularily US and Europeans) have taken against it? Thanks for your help. Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2285846/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 12:05:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285808/posts TOPEKA, Ind. -- Dan Bontrager is a 54-year-old Amish man with flecks of gray in his long beard. He's also treasurer of the Tri-County Land Trust, an Amish lending cooperative created to support the Amish maxim that community enhances faith in God. This past spring, Mr. Bontrager was startled when a number of men he has known most of his life tied their horses to the hitching post outside his office and came inside to withdraw their money from the Land Trust. "We had a run," Mr. Bontrager says. "I don't know if you know anything about the Amish grapevine,... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285808/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 08:35:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285800/posts Washington -- President Barack Obama's landmark bill on energy and global warming squeaked through the House this week only after the White House made dozens of concessions to coal, manufacturing and other interests. As the battle moves to the Senate, Obama faces demands for more concessions, including to open the coastline to offshore oil and gas drilling. The Senate will take up issues that were glossed over or omitted from the House bill. Among them is giving the government sweeping new powers to overcome local objections and approve thousands of miles of new transmission lines to carry electricity to coastal... The Baltimore Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285800/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 07:33:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285637/posts In the third installment of the TEA Party, the one here in Chicago was held at Navy Pier. The crowd size was decidedly underwhelming. The last one, on tax day, had several thousand people. This installment had several hundred at best. The organizer of the event was Christina Tobin of the Free and Equal Coalition. The Provocateur http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285637/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 21:50:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285480/posts he boss of Steve Perkins, the broker at the heart of a rogue trading scandal that rocked oil markets this week, issued a bullish report suggesting prices could go higher only hours after Mr Perkins made the unauthorised trades that caused prices to spike. The disclosure raises further questions about internal controls at PVM Oil Associates, the world’s largest oil brokerage. The London-based firm, which revealed on Thursday it had lost $10m (€7.1m, £6.1m) as a result of trades by Mr Perkins, one of its senior brokers, said the trading report was sent to clients at 08.44 in London on... Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285480/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 16:38:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285456/posts Video at site Live Leak http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285456/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 15:50:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285437/posts Stan Liebowitz took on this question in a study he headed and he summarized his results today in the Wall Street Journal. He makes this simple conclusion: more than anything no or negative equity caused the burgeoning foreclosure crisis. The Provocateur http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2285437/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 15:14:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285316/posts Mortgage defaults have surged to record levels amid rising unemployment and falling home prices. Lenders are expected to move quickly to clear up backlogs as moratoriums on foreclosures expire. Reporting from Washington -- Just as the nation's housing market has begun showing signs of stabilizing, another wave of foreclosures is poised to strike, possibly as early as this summer, inflicting new punishment on families, communities and the still-troubled national economy. Amid rising unemployment and falling home prices, mortgage defaults have surged to record levels this year. Until recently, many banks have put off launching foreclosure action on the troubled properties,... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285316/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 09:02:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285274/posts Fourth of July weekend is a time for celebration and relaxation, but also reflection on the critical juncture our nation faces. The U.S. has been on an "unsustainable cycle of buying and spending" that cuts across all strata of society, says TJ Marta, chief strategist at MartaontheMarkets.com. The problem is that with everyone having a hand out -- from illegal immigrants to Wall Street to state and local governments -- the Federal government has now extended itself to the limits of its ability, and perhaps beyond. Marta sees only two entities with the ability to bail out Uncle Sam -... Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285274/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 05:07:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285266/posts Online advertising's biggest players to government: Please stay out of our business. Google, AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft, along with a host of other advertising, agency and marketer associations, took another step in pressing their case that the government doesn't need to regulate the collecting of data for ad-targeting purposes by search engines, websites, advertisers and ad networks. They've crafted their own set of rules in the hope of heading off potential regulation in Congress. For months, a wide-ranging group of marketers, portals, publishers and ad networks represented by industry groups -- such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the American Association... The Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285266/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 04:28:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285255/posts n a wide-ranging interview set to air Sunday on CNN's State of the Union, one of President Barack Obama's most prominent Republican supporters says he is 'concerned' about the new president's ambitious agenda and the high price tags accompanying many of Obama's initiatives. "I'm a little concerned," former Secretary of State Colin Powell says. "I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them." Powell also seems to sound a note of warning to the young president. "I think one of the... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285255/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 03:44:49 GMT