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Latest Articles: Business
Executive truth-tellers about Obama's disastrous policies
Post Date: 2011-07-21 18:03:35 by CZ82
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Executive truth-tellers about Obama's disastrous policies Thomas Lifson Two billionaire magnates, the founds of huge successful enterprises, have dramatically spoken out against President Obama's management of the economy. They have been joined in criticizing the president by several CEOs of big companies. Normally, the heads of huge enterprises are cautious about offending presidents, but the magnitude of the disaster apparently has caused these men to speak truth to power. Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus did not mince words speaking with Investor's Business Daily: Having built a small business into a big one, I can tell you that today the impediments that the ...
Fiat Paid $560M For Final US Stake In Chrysler, Allowing Government To Exit Investment
Post Date: 2011-07-21 12:51:58 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department says it has ended its investment in Chrysler LLC after Italian automaker Fiat SpA purchased the U.S. government’s remaining holdings in the auto company. Fiat paid $560 million to the Treasury Department for the government’s 98,000 shares. Fiat has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in June 2009. Treasury provided a total of $12.5 billion to Chrysler and its financing arm after the recession hampered auto sales and sent Chrysler and General Motors to the brink of collapse. The funds came from the government’s $700 billion bank bailout fund. Since then, $11.2 billion of the assistance has been repaid, ...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Show Modest Increase In June
Post Date: 2011-07-21 12:37:31 by Brian S
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(RTTNews) - Leading economic indicators in the U.S. saw a modest increase in the month of June, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Thursday, with the leading indicators index rising in line with economist estimates. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.3 percent in June following a 0.8 percent increase in May. The index rose for the second consecutive month after slipping by 0.3 percent in April. Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at the Conference Board said, "The U.S. LEI continued to increase in June, but the strengths among the leading indicators have been balanced with the weaknesses in recent months." The increase by the ...
Jobless Claims in U.S. Rose 10,000 Last Week
Post Date: 2011-07-21 12:30:18 by Brian S
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More Americans than forecast filed claims for unemployment benefits last week, reflecting the volatility of applications during the annual auto-plant retooling period. Applications for jobless benefits increased 10,000 in the week ended July 16 to 418,000, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 410,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The data included about 1,750 additional job cuts due to the Minnesota government shutdown, the agency said. Employers have been reluctant to hire more workers over the past two months on concern the recovery was slowing and growing unease over stalled negotiations to extend the federal debt ceiling and ...
U.S. Consumers Relying on Credit for Basic Necessities
Post Date: 2011-07-21 12:27:37 by Brian S
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Consumers in the U.S. are increasingly using credit cards to pay for basic necessities as income gains fail to keep pace with rising food and fuel prices. The dollar volume of purchases charged grew 10.7 percent in June from a year ago, while the number of transactions rose 6.8 percent, according to First Data Corp.’s SpendTrend report issued this month. The difference probably represents the increasing cost of gasoline, said Silvio Tavares, senior vice president at First Data, the largest credit card processor. “Consumers, particularly in the lower-income end, are being forced to use their credit cards for everyday spending like gas and food,” said Tavares, who’s ...
Beef Prices May Jump As Drought Creates Cattle Surplus
Post Date: 2011-07-20 16:36:05 by Brian S
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DECATUR (CBSDFW.COM) – For 17 days straight, the Dallas-Fort Worth Area has reached triple digit temperatures. With the hot weather and lack of rain, nearly the entire state remains in a serious or severe drought. Currently, 246 of Texas’s 254 counties are under a burn ban. That is creating a surplus in the number of cattle heading to auction, as livestock owners can’t afford to feed them and are looking to sell. Jess Elrod, of Sanger, has been in the cattle business all of his life, but right now, keeping his cows seems to cost more than they’re worth. “The hay prices and feed prices have gone up and the grass is all burned up. There’s nothing to ...
AP Exclusive: 'Robo-Signing,' At Center Of Foreclosure Probe Last Year, Is Still Rampant
Post Date: 2011-07-19 11:47:15 by Brian S
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Mortgage industry employees are still signing documents they haven't read and using fake signatures more than eight months after big banks and mortgage companies promised to stop the illegal practices that led to a nationwide halt of home foreclosures. County officials in at least three states say they have received thousands of mortgage documents with questionable signatures since last fall, suggesting that the practices, known collectively as "robo-signing," remain widespread in the industry. The documents have come from several companies that process mortgage paperwork, and have been filed on behalf of several major banks. One name, "Linda Green," was signed ...
U.S. Housing Starts Reached Five-Month High in June
Post Date: 2011-07-19 11:31:37 by Brian S
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Housing starts in the U.S. jumped more than forecast in June as better weather allowed the struggling industry to break ground on delayed projects. Work began on 629,000 houses at an annual pace, up 15 percent from May and the highest level in five months, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The level topped the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 71 economists. Building permits, a sign of future construction, unexpectedly climbed 2.5 percent. “A lot of this was due to some catch-up in activity that didn’t occur in April and May,” said Paul Dales, a senior economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in Toronto, who had the highest ...
Government Electric Car Boondoggle Fails
Post Date: 2011-07-18 17:49:51 by jwpegler
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A Salinas car manufacturing company that was expected to build environmentally friendly electric cars and create new jobs folded before almost any cars could run off the assembly line. The city of Salinas had invested more than half a million dollars in Green Vehicles, an electric car start-up company. All of that money is now gone, according to Green Vehicles President and Co- Founder Mike Ryan. The start-up company set up shop in Salinas in the summer of 2009 after the city gave Ryan a $300,000 community development grant. When the company still ran into financial trouble last year, the city of Salinas handed to Ryan an additional $240,000 in investment money. Salinas Mayor Dennis ...
Homebuilder Confidence in U.S. Rose in July
Post Date: 2011-07-18 11:57:02 by Brian S
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Confidence among U.S. homebuilders improved in July from a nine-month low as executives turned less pessimistic on the outlook for sales. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo sentiment index climbed to 15 this month, higher than forecast, from 13 in June, data from the Washington-based group showed today. The median projection of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a gain to 14. “It’s still at a very low level,” Michelle Meyer, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York, said about the homebuilders’ measure. “In order to see a brighter future for housing, we need to see a stronger economy.” Builders are facing ...
Comex Gold Hits New Record High above $1,600.00; Silver Pushes Above $40.00
Post Date: 2011-07-18 11:51:45 by Brian S
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(Kitco News) – Comex gold and silver futures prices are trading higher Monday morning on more safe-haven investment demand amid the debt crises playing out in Europe and the U.S. The debt problems on both sides of the ocean have rattled most of the world’s currency markets, and gold is now standing out as the “currency” of the world, in many investors’ eyes. August gold last traded down up $12.30 at $1,602.40 an ounce. Spot gold last traded up $7.20 an ounce at $1,601.75. December Comex silver last traded up $1.274 at $40.365 an ounce. There is still keen trader and investor nervousness on the European Union sovereign debt front and on the U.S. debt-ceiling debate. ...
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Falls to 2-Year Low
Post Date: 2011-07-15 11:04:38 by Brian S
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Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in July to the lowest level in more than two years, adding to concern that weak employment gains and falling home prices may keep households from spending. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment decreased to 63.8, the weakest reading since March 2009, from 71.5 the prior month. The gauge was projected to rise to 72.2, according to the median forecast of 62 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Smaller jobs gains, falling home values and concern over the outcome of government debt talks may be jarring Americans, underscoring Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke comments to Congress earlier ...
United States on the Road to Perdition
Post Date: 2011-07-14 15:17:24 by Capitalist Eric
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David Galland: You were involved with Harry Browne during the last great inflation in the U.S. How does the increase in the money supply that kicked off in 2007-2008 compare in terms of scale to what went on leading up to the inflation in the ‘70s? Terry Coxon: The comparison is pretty muddled. In terms of the M1 money supply – the total of checkable deposits and hand-to-hand currency – we haven’t yet gotten near the persistently high growth rate that occurred in the 1970s. But the growth in the monetary base has been far more rapid than what happened in the 1970s. There is some time delay between growth in the monetary base and growth in M1, but to make the picture ...
Obama Recession Symbol Elkhart Mends as U.S. Manufacturing Grows
Post Date: 2011-07-14 12:13:25 by Brian S
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Indiana’s Elkhart County became a symbol of what was wrong in the U.S. economy when President Barack Obama traveled there in February 2009 to make an appeal for more federal spending during a “deep and dire” recession. Today, the county’s rebound is evident in the “Employment Opportunities” sign at truckmaker Utilimaster Corp., the return of laid-off workers at recreational-vehicle producer Jayco Inc., and the restoration of a downtown theater. The manufacturing community, which was losing jobs faster than anywhere in the U.S. as its unemployment rate soared to 20.3 percent in March 2009, is now a leader in the year-over-year drop in joblessness. ...
June Retail Sales Edged Up On Autos, Gasoline Drops
Post Date: 2011-07-14 12:10:36 by Brian S
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(Reuters) - Retail sales unexpectedly edged up in June as a rebound in receipts from auto dealers offset the biggest drop in gasoline sales in a year, a government report showed on Thursday. Total retail sales rose 0.1 percent, the Commerce Department said, after a dipping 0.1 percent in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales slipping 0.1 percent. Sales excluding gasoline rebounded 0.3 percent after declining 0.2 percent in May.
U.S. Jobless Claims Declined More Than Forecast Last Week
Post Date: 2011-07-14 12:09:18 by Brian S
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July 14 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since April, a sign weakness in the labor market may be starting to abate. Applications for jobless benefits decreased 22,000 in the week ended July 9 to 405,000, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists forecast 415,000 claims, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The data included fewer layoffs in the auto industry than typical this time of the year, according to an agency spokesman. A sustained reduction in firings is a first step toward a pickup in hiring after employers in June added the fewest workers in nine months ...
Fed Prepared With Stimulus If Needed: Bernanke
Post Date: 2011-07-13 11:25:37 by Brian S
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Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress the central bank is prepared to take additional action, including buying more government bonds, if the economy appears to be in danger of stalling. “The possibility remains that the recent economic weakness may prove more persistent than expected and that deflationary risks might reemerge, implying a need for additional policy support,” Bernanke said in prepared testimony before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington today. “The Federal Reserve remains prepared to respond should economic developments indicate that an adjustment of monetary policy would be appropriate.” The comments are ...
Gold Advances to Record on Debt Crisis (1586.14 +20.98)
Post Date: 2011-07-13 11:24:22 by Brian S
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Gold climbed to a record in London and New York as concern about Europe’s debt crisis spurred demand for the metal as a protection of wealth. Bullion rose to an all-time high in British pounds. Ireland joined Portugal and Greece yesterday as the third euro-area nation to have its credit rating cut to below investment grade. Concern about default in the euro region, faster inflation and a weakening dollar spurred investors to hold $125.4 billion of assets in exchange-traded products backed by precious metals, and has also sent bullion to an all-time high in euros. Gold “is still going to go for a significant period of time,” Martin Murenbeeld, the chief economist at ...
Mounting U.S. Public Debt Prompting Looting of Pensions, Social Security and Medicare
Post Date: 2011-07-11 17:17:14 by Capitalist Eric
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Government debt will be in the vicinity of $1.5 trillion this year. Ever since May 16th short-term debt has been frozen at about $14.3 trillion. Up until May 16th the year-to-debt fiscal debt was $783.135 billion. That means if no August 2nd agreement is reach, $275 billion will be needed up to August 2nd, a total of about $700 billion will be needed by 9/30/11, the end of the fiscal year. Those funds are to come from federal pensions, Social Security and Medicare. How will these funds be paid back? We do not know, but we would guess there could be legislation to commandeer private pensions, 401Ks and IRAs. On the other hand an alternative is for the Fed to create $700 billion and buy ...
Greek Tragedy Goes Global
Post Date: 2011-07-11 17:14:41 by Capitalist Eric
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After Greece's government surrendered to banker occupation, trends analyst Gerald Celente told Russia Today that: America's "economy continues to decline. There's no recovery in sight." Across Europe in Greece, Britain and elsewhere, people are reacting against forced austerity to assure bankers get paid. In fact, Trends Journal months ago called it "off with their heads 2.0....The global ponzi scheme is under collapse....whether it's in Egypt, Tunisia, whether it's in the UK, Greece. Watch out for Spain. Here comes Italy. Ireland's coming up the backstretch. It's only going to get much worse." "The people know the score....What ...
Main Street America's Great Depression Continues
Post Date: 2011-07-11 17:13:27 by Capitalist Eric
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Friday's jobs report threw more cold water on so-called recovery. Since 2008, Main Street America's been in Depression. Conditions have worsened, not improved, because of force-fed austerity, not badly needed stimulus to create jobs, reemploy people, and revive real economic growth, not the illusory kind since the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) officially declared June 2009 the end of recession. At 11:05AM on July 8, Obama commented from the Rose Garden, doing what he does best - dissembling and distorting reality to conceal what's going on and why. His best shot was saying: "We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the ...
Inventories at U.S. Wholesalers Jumped in May
Post Date: 2011-07-08 13:51:00 by Brian S
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Inventories at U.S. wholesalers rose more than forecast in May, led by the biggest jump in auto stockpiles in five years. The 1.8 percent increase in goods on hand compared with a 0.7 percent gain forecast in a Bloomberg News survey and followed a revised 1.1 percent increase in April that was larger than initially estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Sales decreased 0.2 percent in May, the first drop in three months and also reflecting a slump in vehicle demand. Slowing purchases may prompt distributors to keep a tight rein on inventories, a sign orders to factories may diminish as companies gauge the sustainability of the expansion. At the current sales ...
In 2 Years Since Brush With Death, Auto Industry Has Added Jobs Faster Than Rest Of Economy
Post Date: 2011-07-06 17:26:54 by Brian S
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Volkswagen opened a plant in Tennessee last month with 2,000 workers. Honda is hiring 1,000 in Indiana to meet demand for its best-selling Civic. General Motors is looking for 2,500 in Detroit to build the Chevy Volt. Two years after the end of the Great Recession, the auto industry is hiring again _ and much faster than the rest of the economy. As an employer, it's growing faster than airplane manufacturers, shipbuilders, health care providers and the federal government. The hiring spree is even more remarkable because memories of the U.S. auto industry's near-death experience are fresh. In 2009, General Motors and Chrysler both got government bailouts and entered bankruptcy, and ...
U.S. and Mexico Sign Trucking Agreement
Post Date: 2011-07-06 17:24:14 by Brian S
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WASHINGTON – Mexican truckers will be able to carry goods deep into the United States, and vice versa, under the terms of a deal signed Wednesday in Mexico City to end a 17-year-old trade dispute. As part of the deal, Mexico will eliminate tariffs on a wide range of American goods and agricultural products as soon as the first Mexican truck is allowed to enter the United States, a process that will require approvals and permits. As a preliminary step, those tariffs will be reduced by 50 percent by the end of this week. The United States had refused since 1994 to honor a condition of the North American Free Trade Agreement allowing trucks to carry cargo across the border to a final ...
US Service Sector Grew In June, But At Slower Pace
Post Date: 2011-07-06 11:51:59 by Brian S
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(07-06) 08:30 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. service sector, which employs nearly 90 percent of the country's work force, expanded for a 19th consecutive month in June. But growth slowed from May, a sign that the economy remains sluggish. The Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday that its index for service companies dipped to 53.3 in June from 54.6 in May. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The private trade group measures activity for a broad range of industries, including retail, health care, financial services and construction. The index reached a five-year high of 59.7 in February. But since then growth has retreated. The index fell to 52.8 in April, the lowest ...
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