Friday, May 30, 2008

The Twilight Zone Economy

"We are somewhere in the twilight zone." -- Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co."
Must be where Bush is...


Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!!!!


"Economy grows more than forecast in 1st quarter" by Bloomberg News | May 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - The US economy grew more than previously estimated in the first quarter as Americans shunned imports and exports set a record.

Shunned imports... or just can't afford them anymore?

The 0.9 percent annualized pace of the gross domestic product compares with an advance estimate of 0.6 percent, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Fourth-quarter growth was 0.6 percent. Separate figures yesterday showed the number of people receiving jobless benefits hit a four-year high this month....

Oh, the Commerce department said?

We know where that goes (flush).

So when you gonna revise down like you always do, government?

Trade remains the bright spot for an economy that is likely to slow this quarter as surging fuel and food bills and falling home values force consumers to cut back....

I've cut back to food only -- and man, do I stink!!!!

And what they are saying is CORPORATIONS are doing just fine because of this "globalization," but you are getting poked in the pants, 'murkns!!!!

"We are somewhere in the twilight zone between an expansion and a recession," said Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co.....

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!!!!

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 372,000 last week, higher than economists had forecast, from 368,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported. Those continuing to receive benefits jumped to 3.104 million in the week ended May 17, the highest level since February 2004."

But somehow the economy is better -- or so the lying business press of the Boston Globe tells us!!!

But IS IT REALLY?

"Foreclosure deeds in Mass. rise to highest ever in April"

"Massachusetts foreclosure deeds "soared to their highest recorded level in April," according to Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman and local real estate data. Foreclosure deeds rose 187.5 percent to 1,334 in April, from 464 in April 2007. Deeds recorded in the first four months of the year are up 152.2 percent, from 1,650 last year to 4,161 this year. Petitions to foreclose, the first step in the foreclosure process, rose 66 percent in April to 3,327 this year. Petitions recorded year-to-date rose 46.3 percent to 12,335 (Boston Globe May 30, 2008)."

NOT a GOOD SIGN!!!


"30-year mortgage rates at 11-week high of 6.08%"

"Mortgage company Freddie Mac reported that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.08 percent this week, up from 5.98 percent last week. It was their highest level in 11 weeks, since they averaged 6.13 percent the week of March 16. Analysts attributed the increase to rising concerns in financial markets about what the Fed might do to battle increased inflation pressures. Financial markets this week pushed the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds above 4 percent for the first time in five months. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to 5.66 percent, up from 5.55 percent last week (AP May 30, 2008)."

NOT a GOOD SIGN!!!


"Oil futures fall more than $4 a barrel to $126.62"

Now THAT'S a GOOD SIGN!!!

So prices at the pump will be coming right down, right?

RIGHT?


"Crude oil fell more than $4 a barrel, the biggest drop since March, on signs that record prices will prompt US consumers to reduce fuel purchases, and as the dollar rallied, diminishing oil's appeal as a hedge.

The two are linked!!


Fuel consumption averaged 20.5 million barrels a day in the four weeks ended May 23, down 0.7 percent from a year earlier, the Energy Department said. The dollar reached a three-month high against the yen as US stocks gained, brightening the economic outlook of the world's biggest energy-consuming country. Crude oil for July delivery fell $4.41, or 3.4 percent, to settle at $126.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since May 16 (Bloomberg May 30, 2008)."

Here's a thought
:

When are those "tumbling oil prices" going to be reflected at the pump?


And I don't mean a PENNY DROP!!!

I mean, when PRICES RISE it is a 10-CENT MARK-UP RIGHT AWAY!!

Bend over that barrel, 'murkn!!

But DON'T WORRY!! Government is ON the CASE!

Pfffffffttt!!!


"US regulators reveal probe of oil market" by Associated Press | May 30, 2008

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators are six months into a wide-ranging investigation of US oil markets, with a focus on possible price manipulation.

Oh, this has to be one of the most SELF-SERVING announcements I've ever seen -- especially when NOTHING is EVER DONE!!!!

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission yesterday said it started the probe in December and took the unusual step of publicizing it "because of today's unprecedented market conditions."

Yeah, because the American people are FUMING and FURIOUS about this PRICE-GOUGING RIP-OFF!!!!!

Crude prices have risen more than 42 percent since early December, even after a decline of more than $4 to $126.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline prices are nearing a national average of $4 a gallon, up from about $3.20 a year ago.

The commission said it is investigating potential abuses in the way crude oil is purchased, shipped, stored, and traded nationwide, but did not reveal details. Also yesterday the agency revealed a handful of other initiatives designed to increase transparency of US and international energy futures markets.

Pfffffftt! You like the smell of hot fart mist, 'murkns?

Maybe this government hot air could fuel our cars, huh?

Then the energy crisis would be solved!!

Hell, we would have an OVERABUNDANCE!!!!

For example, the CFTC said it will require monthly reports from institutional investors who manage funds designed to mimic the price of crude oil and other energy futures. The goal, the agency said, is to identify the amount of index trading and to "ensure that this type of trading activity is not adversely impacting the price discovery process."

The CFTC also said it has reached an agreement with its British counterpart and InterContinental Exchange Inc.'s Futures Europe to expand surveillance of energy futures contracts with US delivery points.

That's got to make you feel good, huh?

Yup, the SURVEILLANCE STATE is going to TOUCH EVERYONE!!!

Heck, if they are going after Big Oil, maybe this tyranny will be exposed and stopped!!

Oh, no, it would have to be targeted at Zionists for that to happen (they own the spy equipment and telecom companies).

And so much for the "free" market, huh?

"The implementation of today's measures will improve oversight of the energy futures markets to ensure they reflect fundamental economic forces of supply and demand, free of manipulation and fraud," the CFTC said.

Isn't this all a contradiction? Why am I smelling FASCISM, readers?

Analysts said the CFTC action would likely have a limited impact on oil prices, which have risen on a combination of factors including growing demand in China, the falling dollar, geopolitical tensions, and low interest rates, which have fueled a futures buying binge by institutional investors seeking to ride oil's upward momentum.

Blah, blah, blah, when WE ALL KNOW it is the DUMPING DOLLAR that is doing this!!!!

It is the last factor, exacerbated by the Federal Reserve's efforts to prop up the ailing housing market, that is playing the biggest role in the recent run-up, according to Howard Simons, a strategist at Bianco Research in Chicago."

Translation: The Fed's cutting of rates has EXACERBATED the PROBLEM!!!!

Maybe someday AmeriKa's shit-munching public will get off their asses like these people:

".... protests broke out across the Continent this week as irate port workers clashed with the riot police in Marseille and truckers stopped traffic in London to demand government fuel rebates. On Thursday, the protests spread to truckers in the Netherlands and French farmers blocked the entrance to oil depots. Italian and Spanish fishermen were planning strikes for Friday."

Gee, the AmeriKan MSM kept THOSE PROTESTS QUIET, huh, readers?

Wouldn't want to give Americans any ideas, huh, agenda-setting press?

Yeah, just take your shit bowl and sit in the corner!


"26% of workers at GM factories accepted buyout" by Bloomberg News | May 30, 2008

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - General Motors Corp., struggling to cut costs and end losses, said about 26 percent of its US factory workers accepted the latest offer to leave the biggest US automaker and help clear out its highest-paid workers....

The buyouts are part of chief executive Rick Wagoner's plan to add to the $9 billion in annualized savings achieved since 2005 as rising gasoline prices and a weakening US economy extend losses. Detroit-based GM hasn't had an annual profit in three years or a US sales gain in eight....

I wonder how much Wagoner brings down per year?

The departures will allow GM to install new employees who will be paid about $14 an hour, about half the wage of the current unionized workforce, while reducing healthcare and retirement benefits....

How come the U.S. worker always has to take the brunt for poor management and executive thievery?

GM's US truck sales fell 18 percent in the first four months of this year as buyers cope with record gasoline prices by seeking models that burn less fuel. GM's total sales fell 12 percent. The company has lost $54 billion since the end of 2004....

That's God repaying you for the plant closings and outsourcing, GM!

The automaker will tap its pension-fund surplus to finance the buyouts for employees with at least 30 years' service. The US pension was overfunded by $20 billion, including about $11.5 billion to $12 billion for hourly workers, at the end of 2007...."

Oh, so they are going to RAID the PENSION FUND to do this!!!

And then tell the current employees they must cut back on benefits.

How come I keep getting the feeling the American worker is getting bent over bad?

Well, at least you newspaper types still have jobs, huh?

"14 workers laid off by SouthCoast Media; Publisher blames falling ad revenue" by Don Aucoin Boston Globe | May 30, 2008

Layoffs yesterday hit the SouthCoast Media Group, which publishes the New Bedford Standard-Times, as part of cutbacks ordered by its parent company, Ottaway Newspapers Inc.

The Cape Cod Times, which is also owned by Ottaway, was similarly ordered to trim its budget, though it wasn't clear last night whether that paper had laid anyone off. Cape Cod Times editor Paul J. Pronovost did not return a call by the Globe.

Five full-time and nine part-time employees were laid off at the SouthCoast Media Group, according to a story posted on its website last night. In the story, president and publisher William T. Kennedy said declining advertising revenues meant that "we simply could no longer sustain the burden of the payroll costs we were carrying."

Seems to be happening to a LOT of NEWSPAPERS!!!

I can't imagine why (see links at bottom of linked post)!

:-)

The SouthCoast Media Group owns Hathaway Publishing, which publishes several weekly newspapers in southeastern Massachusetts and SouthCoastToday.com.

Ottaway spokesman Ken Hall said the cutbacks amounted to less than 5 percent of the company's workforce.

He said he did not know how many layoffs occurred companywide or at the Massachusetts and New Hampshire newspapers owned by the chain. Hall cited "economic conditions" and the increasing competition newspapers face in the age of the Internet as the reasons for the cutbacks. "Everybody is suffering from the same kind of forces," he said.

"See I AM BLOGGER, HEAR ME ROAR!" -- Mike Rivero of What Really Happened

Dow Jones & Co., which owns the Ottaway chain, is exploring a possible sale of the chain. In addition to the New Bedford and Cape Cod dailies, Ottaway owns the Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror, Nantucket Today, Cape Cod View, the Barnstable Patriot, and the Seacoast Media Group."

Oh, Dow Jones owns the chain and is loosing money!!

Maybe if AmeriKa's MSM tried TELLING the TRUTH once in a while, that would change.

Of course, that is why YOU and I are HERE, isn't it, readers?

But hey, despite all the problems, don't worry.

The Globe says everything is all right!!!!

It's a page called "Money & Markets" and it is not on the web.

Get a load of this
:

"Stocks rise again as economy looks a bit better.... Stocks rose for a third day as MasterCard's profit forecast spurred a rally in financial shares and tumbling oil prices helped the outlook for companies that rely on consumer spending. Target and Best Buy led retailers to their first three-day advance in a month. It didn't hurt that the US said the economy grew more than previously estimated in the first quarter.

Again, when are those "tumbling oil prices" going to be reflected at the pump?

And I don't mean a PENNY DROP!!!

I mean, when PRICES RISE it is a 10-CENT MARK-UP RIGHT AWAY!!

Bend over that barrel, 'murkn -- and be sure to use the MasterCard to pay for the fill-up!!!!

"MasterCard expects profits to go up, up, up.... The power of plastic: MasterCard Inc., the world's second-biggest credit card network, expects its net income to increase 20 to 30 percent annually for three years starting in 2009. The shares hit their highest level ever. MasterCard generates half its revenue from overseas, and "The rest of the world is far behind the US in the transition to plastics," said Dan Davidowitz of Polen Capital Management."

Yeah, especially the MUSLIM WORLD since THEY don't charge USURY, right, Davidowitz (Jewish!)?

Can you SMELL the ZIONIST/GLOBALIST STENCH, readers?

And ISN'T IT GREAT that MasterCard is SWIMMING in $$$, 'murkns, while YOU SUFFER?!

I guess THAT is where the $200 BILLION DOLLAR BAILOUT WENT!!!!

That's it, go back to your shit bowl....

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo!!!!