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Latest Articles: Business
No Solution to the Global Credit Crisis, Rising Gold and Silver Prices
Post Date: 2011-07-05 14:40:10 by Capitalist Eric
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World markets and especially US markets are in a state of uneasiness and it is only a matter of time before they degenerate further. The real question is will everything break loose between now and the end of the year? The answer in part is yes, and it is currently in process. “The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets,” along with elitist insiders normally have the ability to make the stock and bond markets do what they want them to. That is, at least on a short-term basis. We believe the market is being deliberately taken down by them in order to impress upon politicians that if they do not extend the short-term cash debt limit that the market will fall even ...
Rise of the Barter Economy and Gold and Silver Currency [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2011-07-05 14:37:04 by Capitalist Eric
141 Comments
Imagine a day when you go to buy a quart of milk, ask the price, and the cashier says, "that'll be a tenth ounce silver." As the US dollar's decline accelerates, several efforts around the country are trying to make this vision a reality. Historically, paying for items in silver or gold was actually quite common. We happen to live in an unusual time and place where generations have grown up trading exclusively in paper. While my parents still used dimes made of silver, we have now gone several decades with no precious metals in any of our official coinage. But this system of money by government fiat is unsustainable. While the practice of bartering precious metals ...
Best Consumer Credit Since ‘06 Reveals Loan Rebound
Post Date: 2011-07-05 13:38:44 by Brian S
2 Comments
Michael Busick says his credit union “was shocked” to discover his credit score was 812 of a possible 850 when he applied for a $19,500 new-car loan. The loan officer told Busick he rarely sees scores so close to perfect, said the Charlotte, North Carolina, math teacher, who added that he always pays his bills on time and doesn’t “overextend.” He got the funds in May. The average U.S. credit score -- a predictor of the likelihood lenders will be paid back -- rose to 696 in May, the highest in at least four years, according to Equifax Inc., a provider of consumer-credit data. The ratio of consumer-debt payments to incomes is the lowest since 1994, and delinquencies ...
Orders to U.S. Factories Rose 0.8% in May
Post Date: 2011-07-05 11:12:16 by Brian S
1 Comments
Orders placed with U.S. factories increased in May, indicating manufacturing may rebound from a slowdown in economic growth in the first half of 2011. Bookings for manufacturers’ goods rose 0.8 percent, less than forecast, after a revised 0.9 percent decline in April that was smaller than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Demand for durable goods that are meant to last at least three years increased 2.1 percent, while unfilled orders climbed the most since September. Manufacturing is showing signs of recovering from parts shortages linked to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, at the same time commodity costs ebb and growing ...
Widening GM Truck Supply Looks Like 2008 Again
Post Date: 2011-07-05 11:08:49 by Brian S
1 Comments
General Motors Co. (GM) stocked Jim Ellis Chevrolet in Atlanta with plenty of Silverado full-size pickups in early 2011, part of a wager on a strong economic recovery. The strategy is backfiring. “We thought that this year would bring back the kind of economic activity that would translate into us selling more trucks,” Mark Frost, the dealership’s general manager, said in a phone interview. “It’s not happening.” Supply of Silverado has ballooned to 6 1/2 months worth at the dealership, a figure Frost, 52, calls “a little scary.” The Detroit-based automaker, 33 percent owned by the U.S. after its 2009 bankruptcy, has 280,000 Silverado and GMC Sierra ...
Corporate Pay Way, Way Up ... Average Pay Not So Much
Post Date: 2011-07-03 19:28:24 by Brian S
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A study of executive pay commissioned by the New York Times and published yesterday reveals that those at the very top of the economic food chain seem to have moved on from the doldrums of the Great Recession. The number crunchers found that median pay last year for top executives at 200 of the country's biggest companies was close to $11 million, a 23 percent jump from 2009. (Interestingly, many of the most generous pay packages went to the CEOs of media companies, with the head of Viacom topping off the list with an $84.5 million take.) All this at a time when the unemployment rate is flirting with the double digits and the average American's wages are flatlining — the Bureau ...
Goldman Sachs Firing In U.S., Hiring In Singapore
Post Date: 2011-07-01 21:15:24 by CZ82
1 Comments
Goldman Sachs Firing In U.S., Hiring In Singapore June 30, 2011 by Marcy Bonebright Goldman Sachs is reportedly firing U.S. employees in order to hire 1,000 people in Singapore. Goldman Sachs is cutting jobs in the United States so it can expand in Singapore. The company, which received $10 billion in preferred stock purchases from the Federal government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, alerted Washington to the move first, in order to avoid controversy. “Goldman is so concerned about the potential for criticism that the firm’s representatives have been alerting staffers of lawmakers in Washington of the hiring spree in recent weeks as a way to mollify any concerns ...
General Motors June Sales Up 10 Percent As Gas Prices Fall And Pickup Sales Rise
Post Date: 2011-07-01 12:01:00 by Brian S
2 Comments
GM sales rose 10 percent in June from a year ago. The Detroit car company said it sold 215,000 cars and trucks last month, up from 194,828 a year ago. The result indicates the auto industry's slow recovery from the recession is back on track after a brief slump in May. GM said that cheaper gas lured more pickup truck buyers with Chevrolet Silverado sales rising 5 percent and GMC Sierra sales up 8 percent compared with a year earlier. Any jump in pickup sales helps GM and other Detroit automakers, which sell more than five times as many pickups as foreign-based brands. Still, GM's sales were led by smaller, more fuel-efficient models like the new Chevrolet Cruze compact. Gas prices ...
Consumer Confidence in U.S. at 10-Week High on Fuel, Bloomberg Index Shows
Post Date: 2011-06-30 13:38:39 by Brian S
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Consumer confidence rose to the highest level in 10 weeks as falling gasoline prices provided relief to Americans contending with 9.1 percent joblessness. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index increased to minus 43.9 for the period ended June 26 after dropping to minus 44.9 the prior week. The change in the comfort gauge last week was within the survey’s margin of error of 3 points. The measure among those with a college degree or more was the least negative in more than two years. Retail fuel costs that have dropped 11 percent from a 2011 high of $3.99 per gallon are relieving stress on Americans’ pocketbooks. Lower prices at the pump are reassuring consumers coping with a ...
SHELL GAME
Post Date: 2011-06-30 12:11:59 by Capitalist Eric
3 Comments
The entire U.S. financial system has become a gigantic shell game. While it is still in motion, a shell game can be mesmerizing to watch. But when it ends the consequences can be painful. So exactly what is a shell game? According to Wikipedia, a shell game "is portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud." Sadly, that is exactly what is happening on the global stage today. The Federal Reserve is like a con artist that is desperately trying to stay one step ahead of everyone else. The folks at the Fed know that the debt that the U.S. government has accumulated is not sustainable and will eventually ...
Why We Need Rich People
Post Date: 2011-06-29 07:15:15 by CZ82
18 Comments
Why We Need Rich People The rich often get a bum rap. Liberals are incensed when it is suggested that “the rich” get any type of tax reduction even though the top 50% of wage earners pay 96% of all income taxes. Since they spend more money, the rich also pay a disproportionate amount in sales, property, entertainment, and excise taxes. Without the rich, most people would not have jobs. The first computer my company purchased in the mid-1980s cost $7500. That’s about $21,000 today. It was huge and could only perform a few simple tasks, mostly word processing. The floppy disks were the size of dinner plates and held very little data (360k). Almost overnight, computer prices ...
U.S. Consumer Confidence Hits Seven-Month Low
Post Date: 2011-06-28 11:26:01 by Brian S
1 Comments
Confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly fell in June to a seven-month low, indicating that slowing employment gains are weighing on Americans’ outlooks. The Conference Board’s index decreased to 58.5 from a revised 61.7 reading in May that was higher than previously estimated, figures from the New York-based private research group showed today. Economists predicted the June gauge would rise to 61, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The percent of respondents expecting an increase in job availability fell to the lowest in 11 months. Joblessness hovering around 9 percent, rising inflation and falling share prices may keep household sentiment in ...
Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fell 4% in April
Post Date: 2011-06-28 11:18:09 by Brian S
3 Comments
Home prices decreased in the year ended April by the most in 17 months, showing the housing market remains an obstacle for the U.S. recovery. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities fell 4 percent from April 2010, the biggest drop since November 2009, the group said today in New York. From March to April, prices fell 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, the smallest decline since July 2010. A backlog of foreclosures and falling sales raise the risk that prices will decline further, discouraging builders from taking on new projects. The drop in property values and a jobless rate hovering around 9 percent are holding back consumer sentiment and spending, which ...
Consumer Spending in U.S. Stagnated in May
Post Date: 2011-06-27 11:12:49 by Brian S
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Consumer spending unexpectedly stagnated in May as employment prospects dimmed and rising inflation caused Americans to cut back. Purchases were little changed, the weakest outcome since June 2010, after a revised 0.3 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 0.1 percent gain. Prices excluding food and energy rose more than forecast. Walgreen Co. (WAG) is among retailers that indicated 9.1 percent unemployment and higher gas and grocery bills have prompted shoppers to pare back purchases of less essential goods. Federal Reserve ...
Texas Clean Coal Power Plant Finds A Customer
Post Date: 2011-06-26 10:47:31 by CZ82
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Texas Clean Coal Power Plant Finds A Customer Jun. 26 2011 - 8:47 am By JEFF MCMAHON A coal-burning power plant that will capture a record volume of carbon will supply electricity to San Antonio, the Department of Energy announced. DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy provided $350 million to develop Summit Energy’s Texas Clean Energy Project, a gasification plant planned for Penwell, an ailing oil town 15 miles west of Odessa. The plant will convert coal to gas, clean the gas before burning, and then capture 90 percent of its carbon emissions. It is expected to capture 3 million tons of carbon dioxide annually – more than any commercial power plant now operating in the world, ...
Bill Gates vs FORD
Post Date: 2011-06-26 10:18:40 by CZ82
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At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, 'If Ford had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.' In response to Bill's comments, Ford issued a press release stating: If Ford had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics: 1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash.........Twice a day. 2.. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car. 3... Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would ...
Ayn Rand Was Right
Post Date: 2011-06-25 10:45:24 by buckeroo
4 Comments
The U.S. economy is crumbling. Businesses are collapsing in record numbers. Jobs have disappeared. Tax revenues are down dramatically. Coincidence? Everything happening today under Obama resembles the storyline of Ayn Rand’s famous book, Atlas Shrugged, one of the most popular books of all time, selling over 7 million copies. Now, under President Obama, Atlas Shrugged has come to life. Rand prophesized a country dominated by socialists, Marxists and statists, where looters, free loaders and poverty promoters live off the productive class. To rationalize the fleecing of innovative business owners and job creators, the looter class demonized the wealthy, just as Obama and his socialist ...
Welcome to Debtors' Prison, 2011 Edition
Post Date: 2011-06-25 08:01:19 by lucysmom
7 Comments
Some lawmakers, judges and regulators are trying to rein in the U.S. debt-collection industry's use of arrest warrants to recoup money owed by borrowers who are behind on credit-card payments, auto loans and other bills. More than a third of all U.S. states allow borrowers who can't or won't pay to be jailed. Judges have signed off on more than 5,000 such warrants since the start of 2010 in nine counties with a total population of 13.6 million people, according to a tally by The Wall Street Journal of filings in those counties. Nationwide figures aren't known because many courts don't keep track of warrants by alleged offense. In interviews, 20 judges across the nation ...
The GOP Myth of 'Job-Killing' Spending
Post Date: 2011-06-24 20:15:57 by NewsJunky
4 Comments
It was the British economist John Maynard Keynes who famously wrote that ideas, "both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed, the world is ruled by little else." Right now, I'm worried about the damage that might be done by one particularly wrong-headed idea: the notion that, in stark contrast to Keynes's teaching, government spending destroys jobs. No, that's not a typo. House Speaker John Boehner and other Republicans regularly rail against "job-killing government spending." Think about that for a minute. The claim is that employment actually declines when federal spending rises. Using the same ...
Durable Goods Orders Rebound In May; GDP Revised Up [Full Thread]
Post Date: 2011-06-24 11:43:56 by Brian S
67 Comments
WASHINGTON — Businesses boosted their orders for machinery, electronics products and airplanes in May. The pickup suggests manufacturing is rebounding after the Japan crises made parts scarce and slowed production of some factory goods temporarily. Orders long-lasting manufactured products increased 1.9% in last month, the Commerce Department said Friday. A key category that signals business investment plans rose 1.6%. The stronger demand follows a revised 2.7% decline in April that was largely the result of supply disruptions caused by Japan's March 11th earthquake and tsunami. The inability to get critical component parts in such industries as autos and electronics slowed U.S. ...
Ford Plunges to 23rd in J.D. Power Auto-Quality Survey as Toyota Rebounds
Post Date: 2011-06-23 14:41:13 by Brian S
2 Comments
June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., plagued by malfunctions of dashboard touch-screens, saw its namesake brand fall to 23rd from fifth in J.D. Power & Associates new-car quality survey, while Toyota Motor Corp.’s jumped to the Top 10. Toyota ranked seventh after its lowest-ever 21st ranking last year. Honda Motor Co.’s top-selling line finished second overall, replacing Ford as the top mainstream brand in the Westlake Village, California-based market-research firm’s Initial Quality Study, which measures consumer complaints in the first 90 days of vehicle ownership. Toyota’s Lexus luxury make topped the survey, up from fourth last year. Problems with new audio, ...
New Home Sales Slightly Less Horrible Than Expected
Post Date: 2011-06-23 11:37:01 by Brian S
1 Comments
New home sales came in at an annualized rate of 319,000 units from an upwardly revised 326,000 in April. That’s a smaller decline than economists expected. New home inventory fell to 6.2 months’ supply from 6.3 months in April. Prices rose a bit from April, but were down 3.4% from a year ago. All in all, not quite as horrible as you might expect, but still awfully low. This news may have helped lift stocks a little bit. The Dow is now down 183 points, compared with 200 before the release. So, yeah, not much of a lift, really. But this is the second bit of helpful news for the homebuilders. Lennar this morning reported better-than-expected earnings, and its shares are up more ...
Jobless Claims Jump 9,000 In Latest Week
Post Date: 2011-06-23 11:32:15 by Brian S
1 Comments
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, remaining above the 400,000 mark for the 11th straight week. There were 429,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended June 18, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was up 9,000 from the week before, and worse than the 413,000 claims economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected. While a level below 400,000 is typically associated with payroll growth, claims have remained above that mark since the beginning of April. The four-week moving average of initial claims, calculated to smooth out volatility, was unchanged from the week before. ...
Oil Drops to Four-Month Low After IEA Says It Will Tap Strategic Reserves
Post Date: 2011-06-23 11:21:36 by Brian S
4 Comments
June 23 (Bloomberg) -- Oil tumbled to the lowest price in four months after the International Energy Agency said its members would release crude from strategic reserves. Oil fell as much as 6 percent as the agency announced the release of 60 million barrels to help make up for a Libyan supply disruption. The IEA said 2 million barrels a day would be available in the first 30 days. Commodities and equities tumbled after U.S. jobless claims rose last week and the Federal Reserve cut its economic growth outlook yesterday. “The big driver is the IEA number,” said Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group Inc. in Villanova, Pennsylvania. “There’s been a constant string ...
Post office suspends retirement contributions
Post Date: 2011-06-22 18:48:01 by jwpegler
1 Comments
The financially troubled Postal Service is suspending its contributions to its employees' pension fund. The agency said Wednesday it is acting to conserve cash as it continues to lose money. The post office was $8 billion in the red last year because of the combined effects of the recession and the switch of much mail business to the Internet. It faces the possibility of running short of money by the end of this fiscal year in September. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., called the announcement "the canary in the coal mine moment for the Postal Service." "If we don't heed this warning and act quickly, the Postal Service as we know it will cease to exist in the very near ...
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