ragerunner

Yes, it will send your economy into a recession or even a potential depression. Ask Greece how that works and soon he can ask Italy, Ireland and Spain. When a country can no longer support its debt loads it has to pay the piper. He demanded the Greeks to do this, he demanded Ireland to do this, but now he is not sure he wants the French to have to do this. TO BAD. This same issue is coming to America very soon. Sarkozy: Austerity alone will lead to recession "SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday that using austerity alone to solve the economic crisis afflicting France and the rest of Europe would lead to recession and possibly even depression. He said such an approach would make the French people pay nearly the whole cost of trying to recover from the crisis. "It would end in recession or depression," Sarkozy said in a speech in the southern French city of Toulon. Sarkozy said that cuts and economic reform were necessary but were only part of what were needed to help Europe emerge from its sovereign debt crisis." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sarkozy-austerity-alone-will-lead-to-recession-2011-12-01

Back above 400,000 with previous numbers revised upward, again. Jobless claims back above 400,000 level again Applications for compensation increase in Thanksgiving week "Initial claims for unemployment compensation climbed by 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 402,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the highest level in a month. Applications from two weeks ago were revised up to 396,000 from an original reading of 393,000. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected new requests for jobless benefits to total 393,000 in the week ended Nov. 26, which included the Thanksgiving holiday." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-back-above-400000-level-again-2011-12-01

At least up to this point, yes. I think they will finally be broken into pieces with the 'government' holdening the leasted valued assets.

Slowly but surely, more and more info leaks out. Its becoming clearer and clearer who is the masters of our country. Banks made billions on secret Federal Reserve loans "The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing. The Fed didn't tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required emergency loans of a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn't mention that they took tens of billions of dollars at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed's below-market interest rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue." Dwarfed TARP loans "The size of the bailout came to light after Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, won a court battle against the Fed and a group of the biggest banks called Clearing House Association LLC. The amount of money the central bank parceled out dwarfed the Treasury Department's better-known $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/28/BUGK1M523B.DTL#ixzz1fD0vZKlR

The push is on to jet the system and drive interest rates even lower in an effort to spur an increase in home buying. Bond Dealers See Fed Buying $545 Billion of Home-Loan Debt in Third Easing "The company forecasts the Fed will buy $800 billion of securities, which may include Treasuries. Efforts to bolster the economy are taking on new urgency with $1.2 trillion in automatic government spending cuts slated to begin in 2013. The Commerce Department said last week that gross domestic product expanded at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, less than the 2.5 percent it originally projected, and Europe’s worsening debt crisis threatens to further curb global growth. The Fed is taking the view that “even if U.S. fundamentals look to be relatively OK, we’ve got to keep our eye on any contagion from the European stresses,” Dominic Konstam, head of interest-rate strategy at the primary dealer Deutsche Bank AG in New York, said in a Nov. 22 telephone interview. “It’s in that context that they’re willing to do more.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-27/bond-dealers-see-fed-buying-545-billion-of-home-loan-debt-in-third-easing.html Home Prices Disappoint, Hitting Futures "The latest example is the Case-Shiller home-price index for September. It fell 0.6% from August, a harder drop than the 0.1% economists expected. The year-over-year decline fell to 4.11%, the worst since march. This was the fifth straight monthly decline in home prices." http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/11/29/home-prices-disappoint-futures-cool-a-smidgen/?mod=google_news_blog

The Euro and Europe are truly on the edge, can they kick the can down the road any further, or is the game over? Maybe the US, China and the IMF will step in and try and slowly release the air out of the balloon over a longer period of time, instead of letting it bust. This is what the US has done with housing, can it work on a bigger scale? Should the Fed save Europe from disaster? "The dam is breaking in Europe. Interbank lending has seized up. Much of the financial system is paralysed, setting off a credit crunch just as Euroland slides back into slump." "The Euribor/OIS spread or`fear gauge’ is flashing red warning signals. Dollar funding costs in Europe have spiked to Lehman-crisis levels, leaving lenders struggling frantically to cover their $2 trillion (£1.3 trillion) funding gap. America’s money markets are no longer willing to lend to over-leveraged Euroland banks, or only on drastically short maturities below seven days. Exposure to French banks has been slashed by 69pc since May." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/8918784/Should-the-Fed-save-Europe-from-disaster.html Ireland demands debt relief, warns on EU treaties "Europe's plans for treaty changes to enforce fiscal discipline in the eurozone may fall foul of popular anger in Ireland unless the EU creditor states agree to share more of the pain." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8911146/Ireland-demands-debt-relief-warns-on-EU-treaties.html

Europe's shrinking money supply flashes slump warning "All key measures of the money supply in the eurozone contracted in October with drastic falls across parts of southern Europe, raising the risk of severe recession over coming months. The three main gauges – M1, M2, and M3 – have each begun to decline in absolute terms after slowing sharply over the Autumn. The broad M3 measure tracked closely by the European Central Bank as an early warning indicator shrank last month by €59bn to €9.78 trillion, a sign that Europe's long-feared credit squeeze is underway as banks retrench to meet tougher capital requirements. "This is very worrying," said Tim Congdon from International Monetary Research. "What it shows is that the implosion of the banking system on the periphery is now outweighing any growth left in the core. We are seeing the destruction of money and it is a clear warning of serious trouble over the next six months." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8921720/Europes-shrinking-money-supply-flashes-slump-warning.html

OECD issues stark warning on global economy "PARIS—The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday policy makers around the world must "be prepared to face the worst," as the economic impact of Europe's debt crisis threatens to spread around the developed world. The Paris-based OECD said in its latest Economic Outlook that continued failure by EU leaders to stem the debt crisis that has spread from Greece to much-bigger Italy "could massively escalate economic disruption" and end in "highly devastating outcomes." "Potentially, the ECB has unlimited financial firepower through its ability to print money. However, Germany finds the idea of monetizing debts unappealing, warning that it lets the more profligate countries off the hook for their bad practices. In addition, it conjures up bad memories of hyperinflation in Germany in the 1920s." "The OECD now forecasts the eurozone economy to be in a six-month recession lasting through the first quarter of 2012, followed by a slow recovery that will leave the 17-nation bloc with only 0.2 percent growth next year." http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/11/28/oecd_issues_stark_warning_on_global_economy/

Third-quarter economic growth revised downward "The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter, lower than an initial 2.5-percent estimate made last month. The government also said after-tax incomes fell by the largest amount in two years, reflecting high unemployment and lower pay raises." http://www.ibj.com/thirdquarter-economic-growth-revised-downward/PARAMS/article/30916

50% chance of recession? No wonder bonds are beloved "Two days later and bond analysts — a category of financial professionals highly sensitive to the gloomy view of the world — are still mulling the San Francisco Federal Reserve’s gloom-and-doom call on the economy next year. For those of you that missed it (and yeah, the Tell was in that crowd) the Fed’s researchers on Monday released a paper entitled “Future Recession Risks: An Update” that contained this forecast: Odds are greater than 50% that we will experience a recession sometime early in 2012." http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2011/11/16/50-chance-of-recession-no-wonder-bonds-are-beloved/

Some positive news on the economy. Of course its almost getting to the point you have to wait for the revision to see what the number really will be. (Example: September was reports as 0.2% but it was revised to negative -0.1, a -.3 percent decline from the first number.) Industrial production expands 0.7% in October "The October gain was the biggest since July and was stronger than the 0.4% increase expected by analysts. However, industrial output in September was revised to a decline of 0.1% compared with the initial estimate of a 0.2% gain." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/industrial-production-expands-07-in-october-2011-11-16 Still a bottom of the barrel number, but a least its going up a little. Home-builder index hits best level in 17 months "The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index rose 3 points to 20 in November, which is the best reading since May 2010 and above the 19 seen in a MarketWatch-compiled economist poll. October’s level was downwardly revised by a point to 17, but nonetheless the index has climbed 6 points over two months." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-builder-index-hits-best-level-in-17-months-2011-11-16 If oil goes up much more it will starting putting a major dent in any growth. Crude oil cracks $100 for first time since June "NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Crude oil futures on Wednesday broke through $100 a barrel for the first time since June, capping off a quick rise in crude futures from $75 since early October." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-oil-cracks-100-for-first-time-since-june-2011-11-16

This type of sewer infrastructure repair is hanging over many major US cities. Ala.'s Jefferson County to file bankruptcy: report "SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Alabama's Jefferson County, which includes Birmingham, the state's largest city, will file for bankruptcy, the Birmingham News reported in its online edition late Wednesday. The $4.1 billion bankruptcy would rank as the largest municipal-bankruptcy filing in U.S. history, edging out the largest-to-date 1994 filing by Orange County, Calif., which had $1.64 billion in investment losses. The Jefferson County Commission voted 4 to 1 in favor of the filing, according to the newspaper. The county is saddled with $3.14 billion in debt for the expansion and repair of its sewer system." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alas-jefferson-county-to-file-bankruptcy-report-2011-11-09?dist=afterbell IMF chief warns of a 'lost decade' for global economy "The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, has warned that the global economy is at risk of being plunged into a "lost decade". Ms Lagarde said the ongoing debt crisis in Europe has resulted in an uncertain outlook for the global economy. The IMF chief added that whilst efforts to solve the crisis were heading in the right direction, more needed to be done to restore confidence. Speaking in China, Ms Lagarde called upon Beijing to rebalance its economy. "Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and potential collapse of global demand," she said. "We could run the risk of what some commentators are already calling the lost decade," Ms Lagarde added." http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15649985

An the next one is almost down for the count with Spain waiting in the wings. Here is a thought, they simply have to much debt and not enough growth, even Germany is nearing a recession. Dollar surges as Italian bond yields spike Italian 10-year yield tops 7% after margin boost; sterling weakens "NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The dollar jumped against the euro on Wednesday after Italian government bond yields surged and raised fears the euro zone’s third-largest economy could need a bailout." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-up-euro-tumbles-as-italy-yields-spike-2011-11-09 Banks' use of ECB emergency-lending facility soars "FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Use of the European Central Bank's emergency overnight lending window hit an eight-month high Tuesday, amid growing concern about the health of the euro-zone banking system. Banks borrowed EUR7.735 billion from the marginal lending facility, which charges a punitive rate of 2.0%, up from EUR1.246 billion Monday, ECB data showed Wednesday. That was the highest level since March 1, when banks borrowed EUR15.104 billion." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/banks-use-of-ecb-emergency-lending-facility-soars-2011-11-09

Knife catching can really hurt sometimes. The great $26 billion real estate swindle Commentary: Pity anyone who took the tax credit to buy a house "BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Call it the Great Rock & Roll Real Estate Swindle. Call it a $26 billion Bait & Switch. Call it the Mother of All Boondoggles. Call it whatever you want. But as foreclosures surge again and house prices continue to slide, new data out Monday reveals more of the grim verdict on the $26 billion federal program in 2009 and 2010 to offer tax credits to home buyers." "According to Zillow, prices during that time averaged about $186,000. In other words, based at least on average prices, you’ve lost about $14,500 — nearly twice the value of the credit." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-great-26-billion-real-estate-swindle-2011-11-08

U.S. economy gains 80,000 jobs in October Unemployment rate falls to 9.0% from 9.1% "WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. only added 80,000 jobs in October, but hiring occurred at a faster pace in late summer than originally reported and the unemployment rate ticked lower to 9.0%, the Labor Department reported Friday." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-economy-gains-80000-jobs-in-october-2011-11-04

At this rate we have a LONG ways to go. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/hiring-in-us-likely-was-slow-in-october-2011-11-03?dist=afterbell

Considering they can't even project 6-8 months out correctly, these types of long term projections are worthless. But it will be interesting to track and see how they do. Fed slices growth outlook, ups jobless view "WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday sliced its growth outlook sharply for this year, 2012 and 2013, and also significantly increased its unemployment rate forecast. The Fed's board members and presidents now see 2011 GDP between 1.6% and 1.7%, 2012 GDP between 2.5% and 2.9%, 2013 GDP between 3% and 3.5% and 2014 GDP between 3% and 3.9%. Its last outlook -- published before the Commerce Department sharply cut its estimates of first- and second-quarter growth -- called for 2011 GDP between 2.7% and 2.9%, 2012 GDP between 3.3% and 3.7%, and 2013 GDP between 3.5% and 4.2%. The unemployment rate is now forecast between 9% and 9.1% this year, between 8.5% and 8.7% in 2012, between 7.8% and 8.2% in 2013 and between 6.8% and 7.7% in 2014. Even the Fed's long-term GDP and jobless forecasts changed, with the GDP estimate sliced by a tenth of a percentage point and the top end of the jobless rate up four-tenths to 6%. On personal consumption expenditure inflation, it now sees 2.7% to 2.9% inflation this year, 1.4% to 2% inflation next year, 1.5% to 2% inflation in 2013 and 1.5% to 2% inflation in 2014." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-slices-growth-outlook-ups-jobless-view-2011-11-02?dist=afterbell

We continue to be stuck just below the zero mark needed to deal with the incoming workforce. Reducing the unemployed levels will take a lot more jobs than this. U.S. private-sector jobs up 110,000 in October "Payrolls rose 110,000, as services employment gained 114,000 and goods-producing employment fell 4,000. Economists had expected an overall gain of about 100,000. “The recent trend in private employment is probably below a pace consistent with a stable unemployment rate and reflects the sluggish pace of GDP growth exhibited earlier this year,” said Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, which produces the report from anonymous payroll data supplied by Automatic Data Processing Inc." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-private-sector-jobs-up-110000-in-october-2011-11-02 Euro-zone Oct. manufacturing PMI falls to 47.1 "FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Manufacturing activity across the 17-nation euro zone contracted more than initially thought in October, according to the final reading of the Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index for the region released Wednesday. The index fell to 47.1 in October from 48.5 in September and came in below a preliminary estimate of 47.3. A reading of less than 50 signals a contraction in activity, while a figure of more than 50 signals growth. On a national basis, Ireland was the only country to show growth with a reading of 50.1. "The latest manufacturing PMI further emphasizes the marked reversal of fortunes for a sector that was the leading light of the economic recovery," said Rob Dobson, senior economist at Markit." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-zone-oct-manufacturing-pmi-falls-to-471-2011-11-02

Home Prices Heading for Triple-Dip "The besieged housing market has even further to fall before home prices really hit rock bottom. According to Fiserv (FISV - News), a financial analytics company, home values are expected to fall another 3.6% by next June, pushing them to a new low of 35% below the peak reached in early 2006 and marking a triple dip in prices. Several factors will be working against the housing market in the upcoming months, including an increase in foreclosure activity and sustained high unemployment, explained David Stiff, Fiserv's chief economist." http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/113725/home-prices-heading-triple-dip-cnnmoney?mod=realestate-sell U.S. manufacturing growth slows in October ISM business index paints mixed picture of factory activity "WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector decelerated in October as production and inventories declined, according to a closely followed index. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing gauge dropped to 50.8% last month, just slightly above a 2011 low, from 51.6% in September. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the closely followed index to rise to 52.1%." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ism-us-manufacturing-growth-slows-in-october-2011-11-01 We are not the only ones seeing a noticable drop in their manufacturing sector. China, U.K. Manufacturing "The Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.4 in October from 51.2 in September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in a statement today. The U.K. measure, based on a survey by Markit Economics and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, dropped to 47.4 from a revised 50.8 in September, according to an e-mailed report in London today." http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-01/ism-index-of-u-s-manufacturing-decreased-to-50-8-in-october-from-51-6.html

How is the Euro Zone 'fix' playing out so far? Debt crisis: live "Stock markets traded lower as Italy's government debt came close to unsustainably high levels, indicating investors don't believe the eurozone bail-out plan will protect the country." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8846201/Debt-crisis-live.html Portugal and Spain continue their downward sprial as well. Europe's rescue euphoria threatened as Portugal enters 'Grecian vortex' "Monetary contraction in Portugal has intensified at an alarming pace and is mimicking the pattern seen in Greece before its economy spiralled out of control, raising concerns that the EU summit deal may soon washed over by fast-moving events. Data released by the European Central Bank show that real M1 deposits in Portugal have fallen at an annualised rate of 21pc over the past six months, buckling violently in September. "Portugal appears to have entered a Grecian vortex and monetary trends have deteriorated sharply in Spain, with a decline of 8.4pc," said Simon Ward, from Henderson Global Investors. Mr Ward said the ECB must cut interest rates "immediately" and launch a full-scale blitz of quantitative easing of up to 10pc of eurozone GDP." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/8854267/Europes-rescue-euphoria-threatened-as-Portugal-enters-Grecian-vortex.html

$250,000 a year is it rich. No. Is it a very comfortable lifestyle, probably yes. Is it considerably more than what a majority of Americans live off of, yes. I also think it has to do with how you live. If you live within your means than $250,000 can be a very comfortable and financially stress free lifestyle in most places in America. If you make $250,000 and try and live like you make a million, you may very well feel 'poor' and part of the 'middle class'.

Not quite as good as what the 'economist' had predicted, but better than the first 2 quarters. If this number holds and is not adjusted downward in the future (like so many others) than a technical recession may not be in the cards in the near future. The one thing the article leaves out is how inflation plays in these numbers. If I remember right inflation was runing about 2.3 or 2.4% during the same time period. So real growth minus inflation is not very good. U.S. economy grows 2.5% in third quarter "WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. growth accelerated in the third quarter as consumers and businesses ramped up spending, a report that shows the economy remained resilient in the face of strong headwinds. Gross domestic product in the July-through-September period expanded at a 2.5% annual rate, the government said Thursday. That’s nearly double the 1.3% rate of growth in the second quarter and much faster than the first quarter’s tepid increase of 0.4%. “There was strength across the board,” said Ellen Zentner, an economist at Nomura. “Now we have some momentum heading into the fourth quarter.” Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had projected that growth would reach 2.8%." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-economy-grows-25-in-third-quarter-2011-10-27

Vatican Calls for 'Central World Bank' to Be Set Up "The Vatican called on Monday for the establishment of a "global public authority" and a "central world bank" to rule over financial institutions that have become outdated and often ineffective in dealing fairly with crises." “The 18-page document, "Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority," was at times very specific, calling, for example, for taxation measures on financial transactions.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/45013499/

Very nice addition to downtown OKC and its skyline.

I wonder what the neighbors next door will think if they don't meet the qualifications? Or the new home buyer that can't get the same interest rate? What a mess and we just keep making it worse. The effort to keep prices elevated is sad. Let prices readjust to income, this will create a stronger more stable housing market and economy in the long run. President Obama to Announce Major Revamp of Home Lending Program, HARP "Las Vegas – Seeking to breathe new life into a sagging economy, President Obama will attempt an executive branch rescue of homeowners trying to refinance underwater mortgages, with a new initiative that lets people with little or no equity get a better interest rate at a reduced cost. The initiative, the first in a series of announcements expected this week by the president, applies to homeowners with federally guaranteed mortgages who are current on their payments." Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/24/white-house-to-announce-major-home-lending-revamp/#ixzz1biCFrlrD