Business Cycle & Economics Blog of Caleb Lawrence
January ISM Services index jumps 3.8 to 56.8. 243,000 new jobs in January, beating expectations as the unemployment rate falls to a nearly 3-year low of 8.3%.
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Q 4 productivity up .7%, unit labor costs jump 1.2%. CoreLogic reports home prices fell 1.4% in December to a new low, total 2011 decline is 4.7% nationally.
Stocks start the year in fine form as January comes in strong. Construction spending gains 1.5% in January. Subpoenas against 11 mystery companies for fraud?
Q 4 earnings are coming in weak. Freddie Mac bites the hand that feeds it. MF Global clients get the shaft. The regulators do nothing, Jon Corzine is free?
Q 4 GDP comes in weak at +2.8%. The CFNAI improves to -.08. Kansas City Fed Index jumps 9 points to +7. Euro zone slipping into recession, will we follow?
AG Kamela Harris declares the fraudclosure settlement inadequate because it grants immunity from prosecution, good for her. 2011 new homes sales just 302,000.
Stocks enter the final hour with modest gains on little significant news. As expected the Fed kept interest rates unchanged and more or less promised to do so through next year. That said QE 3 was played down as the Fed figures it doesn’t need to offer more stimulus besides rock bottom interest rates. Will [...]
Richmond gains 9 in January to 12. The fraudclosure settlement is out to the State’s AG’s for consideration. Another whitewash and giveaway for the banksters.
Pundits claiming that the US credit crisis is over?? Yet household debt is only down 4% and household debt service ratio is 115%, lies dam lies and statistics.
Existing home sales up 5% in December. For 2011 sales increase 1.7%, prices slip 2.5%, inventory falls to 2.38 million units. Fraudclosure scandal settlement?
Hi and welcome to The Profit Motive, I’m your host Caleb Lawrence. Once upon a time in America the media acted as the watchdog of the corporations and the state. In the modern era it’s all about ratings and profits, opinion has been substituted for news and frequently is presented as fact. Much like my daily radio show on KPIG 107.5 FM in Santa Cruz California and KPYG FM 94.9 Cayucos/San Luis Obispo California. A thousand Blogs were able to spot the current problems and many began discussing it years before it reached crises proportions. While there were exceptions, and these exceptions are becoming more common, the mainstream media failed to get it and largely continue to do so.
