More “Middle Class” Misery

Earlier this week we posted a report on U.S. President Barack Obama’s not-so-effective “championing” of the American middle class.
And while we (again) reject any effort to pit one class against the other – or force one class to subsidize government handouts for another – it is interesting to see how Obama’s so-called “North Star” focus [...]

U.S. Economy Contracts

The American economy contracted during the fourth quarter of 2012 – the first time that’s happened since the first quarter of 2009. And while the mainstream media pinned the blame for this unexpected decline on a modest quarterly decrease in government spending – private inventories and exports were also down.
According to the data – released [...]

Manufacturing Slumps Again

NEW ORDERS ALSO DOWN
America’s manufacturing industry contracted for the third consecutive month in August – highlighting concerns over the status of the broader U.S. economy.
The Institute for Supply Management’s widely read Purchasing Manufacturers Index (PMI) slipped to 49.6 percent last month, down from 49.8 percent in July and 49.7 percent in June.  Analysts were expecting the index to [...]

Confidence Plunges

CONSUMERS WARY OF WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
The nation’s most closely watched consumer confidence index plunged to its lowest level of the year this month as consumers expressed fresh pessimism about the state of the national economy.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Index fell to 60.6 from 65.4 in July – a precipitous decline that was driven by [...]

Economic Views Darken

RETURN TO MALAISE?
Americans have an increasingly pessimistic view of the national economy heading into the 2012 election cycle, a new CNN/ ORC International poll reveals.
Sixty-three percent of Americans now believe that the economy is doing poorly – a seven-point increase from four months ago.  Meanwhile just 36 percent say they are optimistic about the economy [...]

US Retail Sales Dip Again

For the third month in a row, retail sales in the United States have declined – providing further evidence that the American economy is cooling. In fact last month’s slippage was more than twice as steep as the declines seen over the previous two months.
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, retail sales declined by 0.5 [...]

The Private Sector Is …

HUH?
Hours after holding a Friday press conference in which he stated that the American private sector was “doing fine,” U.S. President Barack Obama started walking back this demonstrably inaccurate observation.
“Listen, it is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine,” Obama acknowledged hours after his media appearance. “That’s the reason I had the press conference. That’s [...]

Obama Blames GOP For Economy’s Woes

PREZ: “THE PRIVATE SECTOR IS DOING FINE”
U.S. President Barack Obama defended his economic policies this week – blasting Republicans for failing to move forward with his plans for additional government spending. It’s the latest example of the presidential “blame shift” strategy, which Obama routinely employs whenever he finds himself in a bind.
“The private sector is [...]

More Money Printing?

In the early 1990s, the federal government decided that lending practices in America were inherently discriminatory. Accordingly, the government began mandating loans to people who couldn’t afford them – resulting in a $2.4 trillion avalanche of politically-correct lending that led directly to the global economic crisis.
Government’s response to that crisis? To blame the private sector while unleashing an [...]

WTF, Economy?

While the U.S. unemployment rate has gone down in recent months, there is general agreement that this decline is due to a shrinking labor force – not sustained job growth (and certainly not job growth that’s sufficient to keep up with our nation’s expanding population).
Look no further than April’s disappointing data  … or this report.
Anyway, [...]

Recovery Hiccup?

Americans are increasingly optimistic about the status of the U.S. economy – although it remains to be seen whether the recent uptick we’ve been experiencing signals the onset of a real (i.e. non-jobless) recovery.
One troubling indicator? Last month’s employment report – which showed a dramatic slowdown in hiring from previous months. And while the Federal [...]

Fed: Job Growth To Rebound

A Federal Reserve report based on “anecdotal” data suggests that last month’s drop off in job creation is only temporary.
“The anecdotal survey found steady growth and stable hiring throughout most of the country,” The New York Times reported.
The American economy created an estimated 120,000 jobs in March – less than half the job growth of [...]