JOBS REPORT: NOT A PRETTY PICTURE
by ilene - August 6th, 2010 12:02 pm
JOBS REPORT: NOT A PRETTY PICTURE
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
It’s becoming more and more clear that the government has failed in its efforts to create a sustainable private sector recovery. The monetarist bank bailout has failed to create the economic
“Private employers added new workers at a weak pace for the third straight month, making it more likely economic growth will slow in the coming months.The Labor Department says companies added a net total of 71,000 jobs in July, far below the roughly 200,000 needed each month to reduce the unemployment
rate. The jobless rate was unchanged at 9.5 percent.Overall, the economy lost a net total of 131,000 jobs last month, as 143,000 temporary census jobs ended.
The department also says businesses hired fewer workers in June than it previously estimated. July’s private sector job gains were revised down to 31,000 from 83,000. May was revised up slightly to show 51,000 net new jobs, from 33,000.”
It would be unwise to overreact to this news, but it’s certainly disheartening for those who are looking for a job or those who are looking for an economic recovery to actually materialize. The duration of this recession in the labor market is truly depressing.
(image via chart of the day)
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JUST ANOTHER BANK BAILOUT
by ilene - May 11th, 2010 7:50 pm
JUST ANOTHER BANK BAILOUT
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
Harsh fiscal austerity for Main Street and bailouts for the bankers. Sound familiar? Well that’s what we have here in this massive European bank bailout. The countries of (particularly Southern) Europe will now be forced into a government imposed recession and the bankers will be made whole. Michael Hudson calls the bailout exactly what it should be called – TARP for German and other European bankers:
“The “Greek bailout” should have been called what it is: a TARP for German and other European bankers and global currency speculators. The money is being provided by other governments (mainly the German Treasury, cutting back its domestic spending) into a kind of escrow account for the Greek government to pay foreign bondholders who bought up these securities at plunging prices over the past few weeks. They will make a killing, as will buyers of hundreds of billions of dollars of credit-default swaps on the Greek government bonds, speculators in euro-swaps and other casino-capitalist gamblers. (Parties on the losing side of these swaps now will need to be bailed out as well, and so on ad infinitum.)”
And just like in the United States, this bailout does nothing to resolve the actual long-term structural flaws that caused this whole mess to begin with. This is why, as Stephen Roach puts it, the crises are becoming larger and more frequent. And so here we are again. Stocks rally, bond yields come in, spreads tighten, bankers start counting their bonuses and the unemployment rate continues to tick higher ALMOST TWO YEARS AFTER LEHMAN BROTHERS! Ultimately, this system of Ponzi finance will reach its tipping point and at the rate we’re going the house of cards is going to be too large for any
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Europe Offers $957 Billion in Hope of Appeasing the Banks
by ilene - May 10th, 2010 3:11 am
Europe Offers $957 Billion in Hope of Appeasing the Banks
Courtesy of JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
The US SP futures are soaring almost 30 points, along with world equity markets, as the Europeans join the Americans in agreeing to monetize their debts by expanding their currencies. Make no mistake, no matter how they wrap this package and call it debt, it is the expansion of the money supply to prevent insolvency.
This does not cure the problems which remain, but rather provides time and latitude for the politicians to act. Discussion should begin at the IMF meeting on May 11, although this is unlikely to render any practical discussion of financial reforms, other than further debauching of the savings of the nations and their peoples.
These are dark days indeed that bring a false dawn that will quickly prove to be simply insubstantial.
The bribe has been given. Now there is the real work of reform and justice yet to be done. But will it be deferred and diluted in Europe as has been done in America.
NY Times
E.U. Details $957 Billion Rescue Package
By James Kanter and Landon Thomas Jr.
May 9, 2010BRUSSELS – European leaders, pressured by sliding markets and doubts over their ability to act in unison, agreed on Sunday to provide a huge rescue package of nearly one trillion dollars in a sweeping effort to regain lost credibility with investors.
After more than 10 hours of talks, finance ministers from the European Union agreed on a deal that would provide $560 billion in new loans and $76 billion under an existing lending program. Elena Salgado, the Spanish finance minister, who announced the deal, also said the International Monetary Fund was prepared to give up to $321 billion separately.
Officials are hoping the size of the program – a total of $957 billion – will signal a "shock and awe" commitment that will be viewed in the same vein as the $700 billion package the United States government provided to help its own ailing financial institutions in 2008.
Early reaction from world markets was positive, with Japan’s Nikkei index rising more than 1 percentage point after being battered last week.
In reaching the deal, European leaders were making yet another attempt to stem a debt crisis that has engulfed Europe and global markets. Underscoring the urgency, President Obama spoke to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the
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SP Futures Reach Apex of Fraud As Earnings Season Arrives and Bank Accounting Dodgy as Ever, Doing God’s Work
by ilene - April 12th, 2010 6:08 pm
"THE PROBLEM OF POWER IS HOW TO ACHIEVE ITS RESPONSIBLE USE RATHER THAN ITS IRRESPONSIBLE AND INDULGENT USE — OF HOW TO GET MEN OF POWER TO LIVE FOR THE PUBLIC RATHER THAN OFF THE PUBLIC." ROBERT F. KENNEDY
SP Futures Reach Apex of Fraud As Earnings Season Arrives and Bank Accounting Dodgy as Ever, Doing God’s Work
Courtesy of JESSE’S CAFÉ AMÉRICAIN
"At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step the Ocean, and crush us at a blow?
Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years.
At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide." Abraham Lincoln
Earnings season begins again this week in the States.
Investors remain skittish despite rosy predictions for earnings. This may be because of the suspicion that there are continuing misrepresentations of the true financial picture being permitted by the regulators, the ratings agencies, and the accountants.
For example, Bloomberg reports that if Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo were taking the appropriate reserves against loan losses, it would virtually wipe out all their expected profits for 2010. And I suggest that this loss estimate is likely to be conservative. But of course this is not going to happen in the land of ‘extend and pretend.’
Reserves against losses? We don’t need no…
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Philip R. Davis is a founder Phil's Stock World, a stock and options trading site that teaches the art of options trading to newcomers and devises advanced strategies for expert traders...
Ilene is editor and affiliate program
coordinator for PSW.