Archive for July, 2009
2Q GDP Fall Less Than Expected
…but consumption falls more. And 1Q revised downward. From Bloomberg: U.S. Economy: Contraction Eases as Recovery Beckons By Shobhana Chandra July 31 (Bloomberg) The worst U.S. economic slump since the Great Depression abated in the second quarter as government spending programs started to kick in, while the deepest retrenchment by consumers since 1980 augured a ...Read more.
Sarah Palin Capitalism (Naomi Klein)
From Alternet: The following was adapted from a speech on May 2, 2009 at The Progressive’s 100th anniversary conference and originally printed in The Progressive magazine, August 2009 issue: We are in a progressive moment, a moment when the ground is shifting beneath our feet, and anything is possible. What we considered unimaginable about what ...Read more.
Crunching the numbers on health care reform
The latest from the Economic Policy Institute: During another week of intense debate over the affordability of health care reform, EPI economists analyzed original and publicly available data and found that the proposed House health reform bill would pay dividends for small business and other groups, and that costs incurred by the federal government would ...Read more.
T. D.C.o.t.E (xiii): Flexibility Fundamentalism
The Dull Compulsion of the Economic (xiii) A series of blog postings by D&S collective member Larry Peterson Flexibility Fundamentalism Recently The Financial Times featured an analysis of the US labor market entitled End of the Line. The piece was interesting inasmuch as it hinted that the fragility–to put it charitably, indeed–of the US social ...Read more.
Bearish Roach Losing China Stimulus Optimism
From The Financial Times: I’ve been an optimist on China. But I’m starting to worryFinancial TimesBy Stephen RoachPublished: July 29 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 29 2009 03:00On the surface, China appears to be leading the world from recession to recovery. After coming to a virtual standstill in late 2008, at least as measured ...Read more.
Case-Shiller Home Purchase Index Up
For the first time in almost three years. This may prompt more purchases in months ahead, as buyers seek to secure rock-bottom prices, and with the Federal $8,000 rebate set to expire in November. But delinquencies and foreclosures are still sky-high, as are unsold inventories, and job losses are expected by many to top 10% ...Read more.
CFTC Reversal on Commodities Speculation
From The Wall Street Journal, Courtesy of Marxmail: Wall Street JournalJULY 28, 2009Traders Blamed for Oil SpikeCFTC Will Pin ’08 Price Surge on Speculators, in a Reversal From Bush By IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN and ALISTAIR MACDONALDThe Commodity Futures Trading Commission plans to issue a report nextmonth suggesting speculators played a significant role in driving wildswings ...Read more.
New Home Sales Rise Sharply in June
From The Financial Times: New US home sales surge in June By Alan Rappeport in New YorkFinancial TimesPublished: July 27 2009 15:57 | Last updated: July 27 2009 19:24 New house sales in the US jumped by 11 per cent in June, providing some of the strongest evidence yet that the market has bottomed out ...Read more.
The Looming Disaster of Credit Card Debt
From The Financial Times: How the cards are cut By Patrick Jenkins,Francesco Guerrera and Saskia ScholtesFinancial TimesPublished: July 27 2009 03:00 | Last updated: July 27 2009 03:00Mick Longfellow is teetering on the edge of financial chaos. A dedicated teacher married to an equally hard-working nurse, living in a modest house in Newcastle in the ...Read more.
AP: Senate To Drop Public Option
Via Huffington Post. Looks like the insurance lobby wins again. WASHINGTON After weeks of secretive talks, a bipartisan group in the Senate edged closer Monday to a health care compromise that omits a requirement for businesses to offer coverage to their workers and lacks a government insurance option that President Barack Obama favors, according to ...Read more.
