Analysis Topic: Economic Trends Analysis
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Thursday, December 09, 2010
No U.S. Economic Exit Strategy, Only Wall Street Speculators Are Profiting / Economics / Great Depression II
Policy makers within the Treasury and the Fed are only interested in delaying and extending the timeline trying to find and extricate themselves from one of the most dangerous fiscal and monetary failures of all time. They know they and their controllers have no solution. QE1 and QE2 have temporally saved them financially, but have not saved any economy, especially the American economy. In addition it has added to the severity of the crisis.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Wealth Confiscation Through Inflation / Economics / Inflation
A monologue on currency devaluation through the process of inflation.
Greetings, I would like to talk about a subject of which I believe to be of great importance. It is to do with the devaluation of our currency.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Fed’s QE2 Ponzi Scheme Sets HyperInflation Trend in Motion / Economics / HyperInflation
In a taped interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on December 5th, Federal Reserve chief Ben “Bubbles” Bernanke tried to brainwash the American public, into believing that “Quantitative Easing” (QE), is absolutely necessary in order to prevent further losses of jobs, and tried to assure his listeners that he has the skills to keep inflation under control. The US-jobless rate would have risen far higher, “something like it was in the Depression, at 25%,” -- had the Fed not provided tens of trillions in loans to Wall Street banks and other financial companies, he said.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Congress to Follow Fed to and Spend Money to Lift Economic Growth in 2011 / Economics / Economic Stimulus
The Fed's $600 billion purchase of Treasury securities, known as QE2, is the Fed's second chance to stimulate economic activity after the $1.725 trillion QE1 package expired in March 2010. Chairman Bernanke presented his case for the second package on "60 minutes" last Sunday. The Fed is focused on meeting its dual mandate of price stability and full-employment, both of which are not within the reach of the mandate at the present time.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
U.S. Jobs Off Shoring Tsunami Quantitative Easing 3, a Perfect Stagflation Storm / Economics / Unemployment
Whilst most of the recent economic data seem to demonstrate a steady, albeit slow recovery in the United States, the November employment figures from the Labor Dept. threw a curve ball into the mix as the unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 9.8% from 9.6% held since August.
That brought the jobless rate to its 19th straight month of 9% or more, which is the longest stretch since World War II, while the unemployment rate of people with a college degree (25 and older) also hit a 40-year high of 5.1%.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Debt Bubble Chronicles, Here’s Europes “Lehman Event” / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Earlier this year, I noted that the European debt crisis was mimicking the US’s 2008 banking crisis almost to a T. Greece was the “Bear Stearns” issue: a minor player that was swallowed up in the drive to maintain the appearance of stability.
Then came the $1 trillion bailout, the equivalent of the Fannie/ Freddie “blank check”: a massive sum of money thrown at a problem meant to convey the illusion that the powers that be have everything under control and that systemic risk is non-existent.
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Bernanke On the U.S. Economy, Fact, Fiction and Finally the Fix / Economics / US Economy
Fiction: In this 60 Minutes clip Bernanke tells Scott Pelley, “The other concern I should mention is that inflation is very, very low…”
Fact: There is massive inflation!
Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
China Inflation Taking Off, Declares Price Controls on Walmart / Economics / Inflation
China's is overheating. Consumer prices in aggregate rose at an annual rate of 4.4% as of October. Food prices are up 10.1 percent according to China Financial Daily.
Moreover, accelerating inflation is hurting profit margins in China's service sector. China's non-manufacturing PMI fell to a nine-month low in November, with new orders in consumer service industries showing outright contraction.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Bernanke Is 100% Sure He Can Control Inflation / Economics / Inflation
I don't know about you, but I'm not 100% sure about anything. The older I get, the less sure I am about everything. I question things that I was sure were true when I was 25 years old. I'm not sure I'll wake up in the morning. I'm not sure I'll survive my commute to work. That is why I was flabbergasted last night as I watched Scott Pelley interview Ben Bernanke on 60 Minutes. As a side note, boy this show has gone downhill. In the old days of real journalism, Mike Wallace would have scorched Ben Bernanke, pointing out his phenomenal ability to be wrong or clueless on every financial issue the country has faced in the last 10 years. Today, Pelley under hands softball questions to Bernanke and never challenges him. It was a pathetic display of journalism.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 06, 2010
No Economic Recovery in Sight, Reasons Why Global Capitalism Can't Recover Anytime Soon / Economics / Great Depression II
As the recession grinds on, politicians in most industrial countries have an incentive to make exaggerated claims about the supposed coming economic recovery. Some say the recession is over. Obama is in the group that claims we're on "the road to recovery,” while other nations can only spot recovery "on the horizon.” Below are seven important social phenomena that point to a more realistic economic and political outlook.
Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, December 06, 2010
Gold, Keynesian Economics and Wall Street Journal Deflation Idiocy / Economics / Inflation
Friday’s Wall Street Journal was full of “optimistic” news for the U.S. economy. It reported:
“Retailers’ reports of robust November sales offered more evidence that the lackluster U.S. economy may finally be gaining momentum, despite stubbornly high unemployment.
“According to 27 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters, sales at stores open a year or more rose 6% last month, sharply exceeding a year-earlier gain of just 0.5%. Online retailing also showed sizable gains.”
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 04, 2010
There’s Still Hope for Modern Economists / Economics / Economic Theory
A recent blog of mine, dated Nov. 12, 2010, suggested that modern economists have modeled the economic decision-making process for many years with a high degree of inaccuracy.
They implemented a methodology referred to as the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model.
Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, December 04, 2010
U.S. November Employment Situation Supports Fed QE2 Program / Economics / Employment
Civilian Unemployment Rate: 9.8% in November, held between 9.5% and 9.6% for five straight months. The unemployment rate was 5.0% in December 2007 when the recession commenced. Cycle high for recession is 10.1% in October 2009 and the cycle low (for the expansion that ended in December 2007) is 4.4% in March 2007.
Payroll Employment: 39,000 in November vs. +172,000 in October. Private sector jobs increased 50,000 after a gain of 160,000 in October. Revisions for September and October resulted in a net gain of 38,000 jobs in the economy and 6,000 jobs in the private sector.
Friday, December 03, 2010
More Economic Stimulus Means Fewer U.S. Jobs / Economics / Unemployment
Today's payroll report severely disappointed on the downside and left economists scratching their heads to explain the weakness. The explanation, however, is plain as day. As I have been saying for years, the US economy will not create jobs as long as the Fed keeps interest rates artificially low, and Congress keeps stimulating spending and consumer debt, punishing employers with mandates, regulations, and taxes, crowding out private investment with massive government borrowing, and preventing market forces from restructuring our out-of-balance economy.
Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, December 03, 2010
U.S. Labor Market Musings Prior to the November Employment Report / Economics / Unemployment
Labor market indicators are sending a mixed message. Today's jobless claims report continues to suggest that the economic recovery is not sufficiently strong to bring about a meaningful reduction in the number of jobless claims. Initial jobless claims rose 26,000 to 436,000 during the week ended November 27.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 02, 2010
How can the U.S. Economy Recover When its People Have Less Money? / Economics / Great Depression II
How in the world is the U.S. economy going to recover if the American people have less money to spend? Millions of American families are heading into 2011 knowing that either they won't be seeing an increase in income or that their incomes will be smaller next year.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Is Quantitative Easing (QE2) the Road to Zimbabwe Style Hyperinflation? / Economics / HyperInflation
Unlike Zimbabwe, the U.S. can easily get the currency it needs without being beholden to anyone. But wouldn't that dilute the value of the currency? No.
A month ago, the bond vigilantes were screaming that the Fed’s QE2 would be the first step on the road to Zimbabwe-style hundred trillion dollar notes. Zimbabwe (the former Southern Rhodesia) is the poster example of what can go wrong when a government pays its bills by printing money. Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed in 2008, when its currency hyperinflated to the point that it was trading with the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of 10 trillion to 1. On November 29, Cullen Roche wrote in the Pragmatic Capitalist:
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Auto Sales Held Steady in November / Economics / US Auto's
Sales of autos held steady in November at an annual rate of 12.26, which supports expectations of growth in consumer spending in the fourth quarter, close to the 2.8% increase seen in the third quarter.
Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, December 02, 2010
ISM Manufacturing Survey – Slight Moderation in U.S. Factory Activity / Economics / US Economy
The ISM manufacturing survey results for November show a moderation in the pace of activity. The level of the composite index during November (56.6) suggests that the manufacturing is growing but at a slightly slower pace compared with October (56.9). Indexes tracking new orders (56.6 vs. 58.9 in October) and production (55.0 vs. 62.7 in October) declined but are holding above 50.0. Indexes measuring employment and exports dropped, while the import orders index moved up during November. The national index points to a mild slowing in factory conditions, while the November regional surveys of Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York sent a more bullish message.
Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
U.S. Consumer Confidence Advances in November, Another Bullish Report for the Month / Economics / Economic Recovery
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 54.1 in November from 49.9 in October. Both the Present Situation Index (24.0 vs. 23.5) and Expectations Index (74.2 vs. 67.5) advanced in November. There is a bullish tone in economic reports of November - payroll employment, auto sales, factory production, retail sales, regional purchasing managers' surveys and consumer confidence measures among other reports that have been disappointing - home sales, jobless rate, durable goods orders.
Read full article... Read full article...