1. Cutest Super Bowl Ad? (Huffingtonpost)
    Lets face it. Selling financial solutions during a Super Bowl is far from easy. But E-Trade manages to capture our spirit and laughter with its clever ad. The baby reassures a new dad about planning for his daughters future with E*Trade Financial Consultants. His friend Bobby stops by for an unexpected surprise visit, too and even jokes hes speed dating in the nursery. Even if finance isnt your thing, the voice over and the hilarious expressions from this adorable baby make it well worth wa [...]
  2. How Skechers Replaced Kim Kardashian With a Bulldog For Super Bowl (Huffingtonpost)
    In the world of advertising, sometimes cute trumps sexy. Just ask Kim Kardashian after Skechers replaced her with a French Bulldog in this years Super Bowl commercial. Racing a pack of greyhounds, the pooch Mr. Quiggly appears in the ad sporting the brands GOrun sneakers. The dog not only takes first place, but also manages to moonwalk across the finish line to rapper Tone Locs hit single, "Wild Thing." Also starring in the ad? Billionaire entrepreneur and Dallas Mavericks owner [...]
  3. Somebody Won $50,000 On That Safety In The Super Bowl (Clusterstock)
    The first-quarter safety that gave the Giants a 2-0 lead over the Patriots made one bettor a very happy man. Benjamin Lyons bet $1,000 at the MGM Grand at 50/1 odds for the first scoring play of the game to be a Giants safety. And now hes rich. The Vegas sportsbooks probably still made money on this prop since the vast majority of first-score bets were on either TD of FG. UPDATE: Just got an e-mail telling us it wasnt Lyons, but rather a "buddy" of his who placed and won the be [...]
  1. David Paul: Back to the Drachma: Time to Let Greece Be Greece (Huffingtonpost)
    "The pace and composition of the deleveraging process needs to be consistent with the macroeconomic scenario of the adjustment program and should not jeopardize the provision of adequate levels of credit to the economy." Thus spoke one European finance official this weekend, as one more confab of ministers from the eurohood gathered to assure the world that all is proceeding apace toward "a more balanced monetary union governance model and effective firewalls." The tenden [...]
  2. Theres One Key Phrase To Help You Understand Where Greece Is At (Clusterstock)
    Okay, so any hope of a Greece deal before the Asian markets close is off. According to the FT, talks will resume on Monday. Theres really one key dynamic to understand here... You know the phrase: "If you owe your bank a thousand dollars, then youre in trouble, but if you owe your bank a million dollars, then youre bank is in trouble." Well for a long time, Greece was in the latter half of that, owing a ton of money, but seemingly holding all the cards, as a Greek bust threaten [...]
  3. GREECE: Debt Deal Talks Will Continue Through Monday (Clusterstock)
    ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Leaders of parties supporting Greeces coalition government say crisis talks for huge new debt deals will continue Monday. Coalition backers held a five-hour meeting late Sunday with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to hammer out a deal with debt inspectors representing eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund - but again failed to reach an agreement. Greece is racing to finalize austerity reforms needed for a new euro130 billion ($171 billion) without whic [...]
  1. Supply, Demand, and Outcomes, by Arnold Kling (Econlog.econlib.org)
    Reihan Salam has had a number of interesting posts recently. Here, he discusses Kevin Careys analysis of how subsidies to college education ultimately benefit not the consumers but the suppliers. Suppose that you want people to have more high-quality education and health care. You regulate the supply to ensure quality, and you subsidize demand to ensure that people can buy it. What happens? If you make the supply inelastic and you increase demand, then the quantity stays the same and the pric [...]
  2. The Austerity of 1946, by Arnold Kling (Econlog.econlib.org)
    John Cochrane writes, I ran across a fascinating article, "A Post-Mortem on Transition Predictions of National Product," in the 1946 Journal of Political Economy, by Lawrence Klein. Klein, who would go on to create the main macroeconomic forecasting models and a Nobel Prize, was confronting one of the first great failures of Keynesian economics: We all recall clearly the headlines in last Autumns press, declaring that "Government economists predict 8 million unemployed by 1946.& [...]
  3. Simpler Frank Knight, by Arnold Kling (Econlog.econlib.org)
    From FastCompany Magazine. "Uncertainty is when youve defined the variable but dont know its value. Like when you roll a die and you dont know if it will be a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. But ambiguity is when youre not even sure what the variables are. You dont know how many dice are even being rolled or how many sides they have or which dice actually count for anything." Businesses that focus on uncertainty, says Patnaik, "actually delude themselves into thinking that they have a handl [...]
  1. 6 Hour Greek Meeting Ends With No Agreement, Troika Demands Answer By 11am Tomorrow, EURUSD Drifts Lower (Zerohedge)
    The Greek endgame appears to be approaching... or not. After a "marathon" (in Greek terms) session between the Greek coalition cabinet members ended with no definitive agreement, and in fact LAOS president said that more austerity would "contribute to a recession that the country can not afford, and a revolution of misery which will then burn down Europe", while New Democracys Samaras stated he would "not permit any more austerity", even as Papademos on the other [...]
  2. Greek Official On Debt Deal: The Onus Is On Political Leaders (Huffingtonpost)
    * Venizelos says deal should be concluded by Sunday night * Wage, spending cuts remain key sticking points * Papademos expected to call in political leaders By George Georgiopoulos and Renee Maltezou ATHENS, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos faces a critical task of convincing international lenders and political party leaders on Sunday to agree to the stringent terms of a 130 billion euro ($171 billion) rescue plan to stave off looming default. Greece on Saturday warned it [...]
  3. Heres The Real Problem With Getting The Greek Deal Done (Clusterstock)
    Greece wants to have a deal on debt restructuring done by tonight, though technically it wont go into a real chaotic default until March. Heres the problem though, its not just about getting its creditors to agree to take a given haircut on their holdings. Reuters: Euro zone finance ministers told Greece it could not go ahead with an agreed deal to restructure privately held debt until it guaranteed to implement reforms to secure a second financing package from the euro zone and the IMF. [...]
  1. Gallop Points to Weaker Employment Report Tomorrow (Fso)
    Gallup released their latest employment poll today and the news doesnt bode well for tomorrows January employment report. According to the most recent survey U.S. employment, without... [...]
  2. CBO Report - OMG! (Fso)
    The Congregational Budget Office (CBO) is out with its annual report. It’s a blockbuster. This 165 page monster is filled with dozens of charts, graphs and detailed projections. It will be talked... [...]
  3. PRESENTING: Our Favorite Economic Report In The World (Clusterstock)
    Its obvious that we get pretty excited about the monthly jobs report around here -- especially when the numbers are awesome like they were on Friday. But while employment may be the most important aspect of the economy, its still only one part of the picture. So wed like to introduce you to our favorite economic report of the month: The Rail Time Indicators Report from the Association of American Railroads. Every month the AAR puts out a 36-page report detailing headline rail volume (how [...]
  1. Chinas Premier, Wen Jiabao, Stresses Importance Of Helping Europe (Huffingtonpost)
    BEIJING, Feb 5 (Reuters) - China has a stake in helping the euro zone countries get through their debt crisis, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in comments published on Sunday, pointing to Europes importance as an export market and as a source of technology. Wen urged sceptical Chinese citizens to understand that supporting Europe was in their own benefit, the official Xinhua news agency reported. "Now Europe is facing a debt crisis and we must consider relations with Europe strategically [...]
  2. As Anger Over Russian Syria Veto Mounts, Putin "Briefly" Leaves Europe In The Cold (Zerohedge)
    Yesterday we presented why when it comes to Syria, the UN Security Council can forget any attempt at "overhauling" a regime that is a cornerstone for Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean and the middle east. Today, in the aftermath of the UN reminder that it is the worlds biggest collection of post-facto hypocrites, not to mention, the worlds most irrelevant and ineffectual organization, anger at the Russian and Chinese veto has already manifested itself, as protesters have at [...]
  3. Europe Is Getting Some Help From A Most Unexpected Place (Clusterstock)
    You already know that the ECBs flood-the-zone liquidity strategy has helped alleviate bank/sovereign funding concerns, but theres more to the good-news party in Europe than just easy money. The #1 thing that heals all economic wounds is growth, and Europe is getting some. Well, actually its getting less negative growth, which is a start. Goldmans Huw Pill raised his 2012 Eurozone GDP outlook from -0.8 to -0.4. As we have recognised in recent European Weekly Analysts, we now have sufficie [...]
  1. Goldman Sachs CEO Speaks Up For Same-Sex Marriage (Clusterstock)
    Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has become the first national corporate spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an advocacy group that promotes equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. "Im Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. And I support marriage equality," says Blankfein in an HRC video posted on YouTube. Goldman Sachs is not well-known for supporting liberal causes. And unlike some of the more outspoken bank CEOs, like JP Mo [...]
  2. Gold Breaks Bearish Trendline; Key Target for Silver at $37 (Fso)
    The great GOP debate continues with Gingrich finally dropping behind the Mitt. Meanwhile, the stock market is caught in the puzzle of will Europe emerge whole from its current troubles, or... [...]
  3. What It Would Take To Buy A Manhattan Apartment With Ounces Of Gold (Clusterstock)
    Last year I got an email from a Matrix reader, Ben Tanen, a former VC now running his own investment partnership that invests in public companies, with an interesting take on the buying power of gold as it relates to Manhattan apartments. Like many things in my life, I let this “nugget” (sorry) slip through the cracks last year. He recently updated it with our new numbers in the recent release and it's quite compelling. The value of gold has risen sharply in recent [...]
  1. Should I Buy Facebook? (Fso)
    There’s no question that yesterday’s filing of Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) is the hottest topic on Wall Street. With over 845 million monthly active users of its social network,... [...]
  2. Should Potential Employers Be Allowed To Access Your Facebook Account? (Huffingtonpost)
    An Illinois legislator has introduced a proposal that would bar employers from asking prospective employees for their usernames or passwords in order to gain access to their profiles on sites like Facebook or Twitter. Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) introduced the bill (HB 3782) last spring, but the measure was recently taken up by the state legislatures Labor Committee. The bill would amend the states Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to make it illegal for employers to gain access to a [...]
  3. Max Kolonko: Facebook Is No Longer Cool (Huffingtonpost)
    With its Wall Street debut, Facebook, the rebel child of Generation Y, joins the establishment. Facebook launched eight years ago with $15,000 and a collection of photos of hot college girls, created a monster connecting today 800 million people on six continents. With an estimated market valuation of $100 billion, Facebook will become one of the largest companies in the world. If Facebook was a country it would have GDP larger than Slovakia and four times bigger than Latvia. If everything goe [...]
  1. Why Most U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Are Gone Forever: The Fiscal Times (Huffingtonpost)
    The day after the State of the Union Address, President Obama visited a Phoenix suburb to tour Intel’s still-under-construction computer chip manufacturing plant. Its price tag – $5.2 billion – making it the largest construction project in the world outside this summer’s London Olympics. When the plant opens in 2013, it will employ about 1,000 workers, a welcome boost for a state and nation hungry for new manufacturing jobs. [...]
  2. 10 Retailers With The Most Sales Worldwide (Huffingtonpost)
    Regardless of the number of mom and pops around the world, a small number of retailers continue to dominate the industry as a whole. Of the top 250 global retailers in 2010, 10 alone accounted for 29.4 percent of the all sales, according to a new report from Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and STORES Media. All together, sales for the worlds top 250 retailers were up 5.9 percent in 2010, compared to just 1.2 percent the year before, the report found. Whether an individual retailer thrives [...]
  3. The 29 Most BIZARRE Economic Indicators In The World (Clusterstock)
    Wall Street will be rooting for the home team at this years Super Bowl, and not simply because New York is home to the nations capital markets. Call it the Super Bowl Indicator, a forecast that markets will post gains for the year, if a team from the old National Football League (NFC division) wins. At least thats what some economists think might help guide your views on the economy. And it could be better than the often complex econometric models that arent always very accurate. But tha [...]
  1. On The Failure Of Inflation Targeting, The Hubris Of Central Planning, The "Lost Pilot" Effect, And Economist Idiocy (Zerohedge)
    As an ever greater portion of the world succumbs to authoritarian control (whether it is of military disposition, or as we first showed, a small room of economists defining the monetary fate of the future as central banks now hold nearly a third of world GDP within their balance sheets) we cant help but be amazed as the population simply sits idly by on the sidelines as the modern financial system repeats every single mistake of the past century, only this time with stakes so high not even Mar [...]
  2. Ingredients for Inflation (Fso)
    Many economists and investors have been singing the inflation song for some time now. So far theyve been wrong due to low velocity, but the market is coming to meet their story. [...]
  3. Inflation or Deflation? (Maxkeisercom)
    [...]
  1. Here Are The Key Market Moving Events For Monday, February 6, 2012 (SYY, BWP, HCA, NLSN, HUM, HAS, CSTR, AMLN, PXD, YUM, NCR, USG) (Clusterstock)
    Monday starts off a busy earnings week, while data streams out of Asia, Europe and South America. Nonetheless it will be a relatively quiet day, as Pioneer Natural Resources and Yum Brands announce. There are not any economic reports scheduled for release on Monday in the U.S. Heres what you need to know. Australia starts the day off with retail sales at 7:30 p.m. EST on Sunday evening. Sales are seen increasing 0.2 percent in December, after a flat reading the month before. Data goe [...]
  2. Five Myths About Free Markets, by David Henderson (Econlog.econlib.org)
    The talk I gave at Hoover on Wednesday, "Five Myths About Free Markets," is on YouTube. Here it is. (3 COMMENTS) [...]
  3. Naming the Puppy: Firing Aversion and the Labor Market, by Bryan Caplan (Econlog.econlib.org)
    In fiction (and "reality" television), firing workers almost seems fun. How many times has Mr. Burns gleefully hissed, "Fire than man, Smithers!"? In the real world, though, bosses dislike being the bearer of bad news. They feel guilty when they let someone go. So guilty, in fact, that some hire consultants to help them fire people. To coin a behavioral econ phrase, most employers feel "firing aversion."How does firing aversion play out in the real world? For [...]
  1. The Gigantic Conspiracy To Inflate Jobs Numbers In America (Clusterstock)
    After that strong jobs report on Friday, radio host Rush Limbaugh blasted the "corrupt" data, which he claimed were a total lie. From Newsmax: The jobless rate reported today is “corrupt as it can be” because President Barack Obama's administration has decreased the size of the workforce, Rush Limbaugh said on his radio show. According to the Department of Labor, employers added almost a quarter of a million jobs in January. According to Limbaugh, it eli [...]
  2. All About the Big Jobs Numbers (Fso)
    It is all about jobs today, as the market digests this morning’s significantly better-than-expected January jobs report. Not only do we have an impressive headline number, but the internals of the... [...]
  3. “Not in labor force” numbers leaped upward on an annualized basis (seasonally adjusted the “right way”) and what’s worse on a raw basis 1.572 million people exited the labor force last month. (Maxkeisercom)
    Employment Report: Blatant And Outrageous Lies [...]
  1. IRS Offering Free Tax Help For Modest-Income Earners (Huffingtonpost)
    -- Tax laws are so complex many taxpayers dont feel comfortable filing out their own returns, but getting professional help can be expensive. Believe it or not, the Internal Revenue Service wants to help. In addition to its online Free File service, which offers name-brand software at no cost for taxpayers with adjusted gross income of $57,000 or less, the IRS sponsors programs that bring together trained tax preparers and those who need help with their returns. The Volunteer Income Tax As [...]
  2. Loopholes, Subsidies, Incentives, and Taxes (Fso)
    The political arena has been filled recently with rhetoric on both sides of the aisle concerning how much taxes various people pay. Mitt Romney’s tax return for 2010 showed that he paid an... [...]
  3. Do Tax & Regulatory Policies Pose a Threat to the Dollar? (Fso)
    Which political party will do a better job at preserving the purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar? A common tenet amongst Treasury Secretaries, irrespective of their political affiliation, has been... [...]
  1. A Bunch Of Cool Things I Just Learned About The Commercialization Of Space... (Clusterstock)
    I went to the DLD conference in Munich a couple of weeks ago. One of the cool things about the DLD conference is that they throw in speakers and panels on topics other than the latest buzzy consumer web feature. Like space. Before I got to the conference, I got an invitation to a special breakfast seminar about space. That sounded cool, so I went. I sat in the back in the Google+ lounge eating three fried eggs and listening to folks from Virgin Galactic and Space Adventures (the company [...]
  2. MAULDIN: The US Still Faces Huge Problems, And In Just 3 Years Well Be Italy (Clusterstock)
    [...]
  3. Explaining Yesterdays Seasonally Adjusted Nonfarm Payroll "Beat" (Zerohedge)
    Since there still is confusion regarding yesterdays whopping "surge" in non-farm payrolls, which represented a 243K jump in the Establishment survey (of which 490K was temp jobs, same as in the Household Survey where temp jobs soared by a record 699K), yet only to arrive at an employment number last seen ten years ago, when the US population was about 30 million lower (think about that: 30 million increase in population and no change in the total employed), here is the final explanat [...]
  1. Corruption in Fascist Business Model (Fso)
    Few can define fascism. Many cannot recognize it. History provides shocking stories of its past episodes. But its root structural feature is the tight relationship between the state and large... [...]
  2. 15 Inspirational Quotes From The Greatest Business Movies Of All Time (Clusterstock)
    Gordon Gecko is probably Hollywoods most infamous businessman. Followed by "American Psychos" Patrick Bateman. Both movies were so loved that "Wall Street" received the redo treatment in 2010 and a remake of "American Psycho" is rumored to be in the works. Its no suprise that two of Americas favorite things-movies and capitalism-are a match made in heaven. Heres a look at some of the best business films that have inspired generations of Wall Streeters, CEOs a [...]
  3. Apples iPhone Business Alone Is Now Bigger Than All Of Microsoft (Clusterstock)
    Tech writer MG Siegler just noted a remarkable fact: Apples iPhone business alone is now bigger than Microsoft. Not Windows. Not Office. Microsoft. Think about that. The iPhone did not exist five years ago. And now its bigger than a company that, 15 years ago, was dragged into court and threatened with forcible break-up because it had amassed an unassailable and unthinkably profitable monopoly. The iPhone also appears to be considerably more profitable than Microsoft. In the December q [...]
  1. Robert Creamer: Last Friday the GOP Had a Really Bad Day (Huffingtonpost)
    Last Friday the GOP had a really bad day. It didnt come in the form of new polling results -- or some new political scandal. It was delivered to them by the economic statistics: Private sector jobs up 243,000 -- almost 100,000 more than expected. Unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent. Twenty-three straight months of private sector jobs growth. But you say, this is not bad news -- this is good news. Not for the GOP and its chances of ousting President Obama, seizing control of the Senate [...]
  2. GOP Lawmakers Seek Vote On PA Natural Gas Drilling Bill (Huffingtonpost)
    HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A final framework is at hand on sweeping legislation to impose an impact fee and update safety regulations on Pennsylvanias booming natural gas industry, top Republican state lawmakers say. Republicans notified rank-and-file lawmakers Saturday night that they hope to hold votes this week on a framework reached by negotiators from the House, Senate and Gov. Tom Corbetts office during closed-door negotiations over the past six weeks. "These discussions have progre [...]
  3. GOP Governor: Give Us Credit For The Economy (Huffingtonpost)
    WASHINGTON -- Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Sunday that Republican governors deserve credit for the improving economy. "Im glad the economy is starting to recover, but I think its because of what Republican governors are doing in their states, not because of the president," McDonnell said on CNNs "State of the Union with Candy Crowley." McDonnell did not elaborate on what the governors have done. But he said Republican governors are in charge of more states with posit [...]
  1. Robert Kuttner: Showdown for the Banks, Showtime for Obama (Huffingtonpost)
    The proposed $25 billion "settlement" of the mortgage servicing mess, scheduled to be made public any moment, must be a way station to much larger reductions of mortgage principal for underwater homeowners -- and much more serious consequences for the banks and their allies, whose fraudulent actions created the mortgage meltdown. If the settlement turns out to be the final installment of relief for homeowners, it will be a colossal failure, both as economics and as justice. However, [...]
  2. IRS: Offshore Banks Will Need to Disclose Precious Metals Held by U.S. Clients (Fso)
    FATCA imposes a 30 withholding tax on many types of U.S-source income and gross sales proceeds to what the law calls “foreign financial institutions” (FFIs) and “non-financial foreign entities” (... [...]
  3. SocGen Assesses The Impact Of Spains Real Estate Clean-Up On Its Banks (Clusterstock)
    The Spanish government has approved regulations that force Spanish banks to set aside an additional €50 billion in provisions, in an effort to clean up their real estate exposure. This reform could see Banco Santander, Spains biggest lender take a 42 percent hit on its 2012 profit, and BBVA take a 52 percent hit on 2012 earnings, according to a new Societe Generale report. At €26 billion, Spanish banks had the widest capital shortfall in Europe, based on the European Bank [...]
  1. Fannie Mae Ignored Crucial Warnings Of Mortgage Crisis (Huffingtonpost)
    Years before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game. [...]
  2. 2008 Mortgage Deal Shows How Not To Structure Current Settlement (Huffingtonpost)
    As states gear up to finalize a national mortgage servicing settlement, some are looking to avoid the painful lessons of a 2008 mortgage deal that failed to deliver the help promised to desperate homeowners. Nearly four years ago, 11 states settled with Countrywide, the giant subprime mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America in 2008 that was accused of knowingly making unaffordable loans that hurt homeowners. The bank agreed to provide up to $8.4 billion in assistance to 400,000 borrowers [...]
  3. Freddie Mac Mortgage Predator Alan Boyce on Inverse Floaters (Zerohedge)
    For Yves Smith Updated -- Below is a note from Alan Boyce at Absalon regarding inverse floaters, a subject that goes to the heart of the debate over whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are preventing millions of lower income home owners from refinancing. You can see my 2011 post on the Boyce-Mayer-Hubbard proposal for streamlined mortgage refinancing here: <" title=" Not only is the large bank-GSE cartel preventing millions of Americans from refinancing, but these same cartel p [...]
  1. WHAT NEXT? The Incredible History Of Secretive Swiss Banking (Clusterstock)
    Thanks to movies and television shows, swiss banking has become virtually synonamous with secrecy and shady dealings. But Switzerlands prized financials sector - which employs over 6 of its population and provides over 10 of its economy - is facing international pressure to provide greater transparency in a bid to end tax evasion, money laundering and fraud.Switzerland has been a banking haven since at least the 17th century Thanks to its centuries-old neutrality the Swiss franc remained [...]
  2. The Incredible Shrinking New York Times (Clusterstock)
    The New York Times just reported its fourth-quarter results to finish out 2011. And its still shrinking. Despite the launch of an online paywall that has, by any measure, been a big success, the companys revenue for its core news business shrank again in 2011. And because news expenses rose, profits shrank even more. The culprit, as ever, is the companys print-ad business, which has shrunk steadily for the past five years. The trends of the past five years are also likely a sign of the [...]
  3. The Incredible Shrinking Federal Government! (Clusterstock)
    This chart was just tweeted out by the St. Louis Fed. Federal government expenditures shrunk at an annualized rate of over 7 in Q4! Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story See Also:Ken Rogoff: Its Not Just GreeceGOLDMAN: The 5 Most Important Points From Todays FOMC StatementThe New Meme: 2013 Is When Were Really Screwed [...]
  1. Wow! The Economic Recovery Surprises Continue (Fso)
    The persistance of the 3-year economic recovery has been hidden by gloom and doom fears that began with the unpopular bailout and stimulus efforts in 2008, and continued with current fear that the... [...]
  2. THIS Is What A Self-Sustaining Recovery Looks Like (Clusterstock)
    Most of the monthly reports released this week were stellar. 243,000 new jobs were added, and the internals, including the leading indicators of manufacturing jobs and workweek, were positive. And no, as my colleague SilverOz pointed out, 1.2 million workers did not suddenly vanish. In fact, as Calculated Risk has shown, labor force participation increased 0.3 month over month. Factory orders, another leading indicator, also increased. Only consumer sentiment (of enhanced significance in th [...]
  3. Ben Bernanke: Dont Impede The Recovery By Cutting Spending Too Much (Huffingtonpost)
    WASHINGTON -- Ben Bernanke is urging lawmakers to balance their desire to cut deficits with policies that could help boost the weak economy in the short run. Bernanke told the House Budget Committee that he recognizes that huge budget deficits represent a serious threat to the economy. "Even as fiscal policymakers address the urgent issue of fiscal sustainability, they should take care not to unnecessarily impede the current economic recovery," Bernanke said. "Fortunately, the [...]