Rant of the Day – Whirlpool fires 5000 Employees
On behalf of citizens: Hey Mr. Obama, We need jobs! Mr. Bernanke you’re not helping either! The first headline I read this morning: Whirlpool to fire 5000 employees. Our economist John L. Chapman has been pleading for less costly regulation since coming aboard back in the summer. This administration has a central ideology which, in practice, imparts .. read more
The Illusion Of Stability
Scott Grannis posts this chart at his Calafia Beach Pundit blog: Mr. Grannis’ post concerns the use of Owner’s Equivalent Rent in the CPI calculation rather than actual house prices. The BLS switched to this method in the early 80s because they felt house prices were too volatile. For similar reasons they started reporting “core” .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
It appears the markets are finally waking up to some of the myriad of worries I’ve been scribbling about for the last few months. Commodities have taken a header over the last two weeks on fears about slowing global growth and the impending end of QE II in June. Stocks have held up better, especially .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
Last week’s economic data continued the recent pattern of the recovery. Manufacturing remains strong, inflation is rising, housing is weak and employment remains a major issue. The economy is continuing to slowly recover but there is no sign of an acceleration that is sorely needed to reduce the unemployment rate. I suspect the next few .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
Well, I think its official now. Everyone is bullish. On CNBC last week, Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom, the famous bear who allegedly predicted the financial crisis (stopped clocks and all that) pronounced that the bull may carry on for a while more. I think tactically for the next few months equities could rise because .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
GM sold shares to the public last week some of which were previously owned by….the public. Anyone lucky or well connected enough to be allocated shares in the IPO was able to book a near 10% profit almost immediately while the less fortunate previous owners – that would be you and me – took a .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
Stock markets rose last week even as the economic data – or at least most of it – continued to deteriorate. The S&P 500 rose roughly 1.5% while the NASDAQ rose over 3%. Foreign markets also generally rose with the hottest markets continuing their winning ways. India rose 4%, Hong Kong 3.3%, Turkey 5.3%, Indonesia .. read more
Weekly Economic and Market Review
Is there a bubble in bond land? That’s become the hot question of the moment with everyone from Jeremy Siegel (yes) to Randall Forsyth at Barrons (no) offering an opinion. I was even quoted in an article this week at CNN Money concerning the present state of the bond market. Goodness knows, if reporters are .. read more
