Business Cycle & Economics Blog of Caleb Lawrence
Is the economic recovery transitioning to one that is self-sustaining or as government stimulus is withdrawn, will the recession rear its ugly head yet again? There is a great deal of debate in the media on the subject of double dip recessions, how rare they are etc., etc. Technically this argument is moot as the NBER have yet to date the end of the current recession.
With the first quarter in the books stocks continue to rise despite stratospheric valuations and poor fundamentals. While these fundamentals are being helped along considerably compliments of extremely weak comparisons. The first quarter of 2008 was a terrible time and represents the depth of the sub-prime induced panic that began in late 2007.
With 2009 into the history books I look to 2010 and hope that it will be the year things get better as life is a lot more fun when the economy isn’t going down the drain. Credit where credit is due the government did a yeoman’s job of arresting the panic of early 2009 and [...]
A new year, a new president and renewed hope for the future. Things are definitely changing and the Obama administrations is taking aggressive steps to address the financial crises including loan modification for homeowners that includes a reduction in principal and lower payments, critical components if one expects re-default rates to remain manageable. At the [...]
With 2008 officially entered into the history books the recession marks its first anniversary and is on its way to becoming the 2nd longest in US history, an event that will be achieved in June of this year. Current forecasts call for this period of economic malaise to last 21 months and end in September.(Moody’s [...]
Bank Bailouts First a few words on the bank bailout bill, or more accurately the bank handout bill as that is what it really is. Morally and personally I, like most of my fellow Americans, am absolutely outraged as this crises was not only preventable but also aided and abetted by the government largely since [...]
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.
