Keeping a jaundiced eye on the corporate media.
Posted in Blogosphere, Class War, Fuck the Poor, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on May 5th, 2008
I really loved the outrage over Clinton’s comments about economists when it wasn’t so very long ago that the majority of them were still insisting the economy was In Great Shape and there was no recession, nope, everything was fine and getting better. But then, I’m not invested in protecting the academic class, which gives [...]
Posted in Media, Recession Depression on May 5th, 2008
Foreclosures are helping newspapers stay healthy!
Posted in Corporate Statism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Recession Depression on May 1st, 2008
Of course, we always knew what humanitarians they are:
At a time when parts of the world are facing food riots, Big Agriculture is dealing with a different sort of challenge: huge profits.
On Tuesday, grain-processing giant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. said its fiscal third-quarter profits jumped 42%, including a sevenfold increase in net income in its unit that [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on May 1st, 2008
But it’s not all bad. Soon swap meets will dominate the economy!
With the overall economy growing at a mere 0.6 percent annual rate for the second quarter in a row, consumer spending advanced by only 1 percent, the government estimated. That was down sharply from the 2.9 percent gain for all of 2007 and the [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 29th, 2008
Finally!
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 29th, 2008
Or half full? Depends on who you ask, I guess:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The share of vacant U.S. homes rose to a record level in the first quarter, the government reported on Monday, with homeowners finding it increasingly difficult to find buyers in a collapsed market and more homes in foreclosure.
The percentage of owner-occupied homes now [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Apr 28th, 2008
They just can’t seem to help themselves:
WASHINGTON — The mortgage industry, facing the prospect of tougher regulations for its central role in the housing crisis, has begun an intensive campaign to fight back.
As the Federal Reserve completes work on rules to root out abuses by lenders, its plan has run into a buzz saw of [...]
Posted in Politics As Usual, Recession Depression, Republicans Are Good With Money on Apr 28th, 2008
Larry Beinhart on how we got into this economic mess and how we’re stuck there:
The real estate bubble is now routinely described as the root of our current economic problems.
That’s not true. It’s merely a symptom.
The problem is that the government, the nation, and the individuals in our country have all taken on massive amounts [...]
Posted in My So-Called Life, Recession Depression on Apr 25th, 2008
Duncan points out that this could be a harbinger of serious trouble:
CHICAGO — Hundreds of thousands of utility customers are at risk of disconnections as the sagging economy drives up the number of past-due home heating bills and the amounts owed, utility companies in cold-weather states say.
Xcel Energy says 17%-19% of its 1.1 million Minnesota [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 22nd, 2008
Housing prices:
WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes fell in March while the median home price declined, as a severe slump in housing showed no signs of abating.
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of existing single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 2 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.93 [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Recession Depression on Apr 22nd, 2008
Wall St. Journal:
The next earnings nightmare for banks has begun.
Until now, losses at many banks have come from multibillion dollar write-downs on toxic debt. But analysts believe the costs of building bad-loan reserves could cause just as much pain — and for a lot more banks.
Banks establish bad-loan reserves as a cushion against expected losses [...]
Posted in Imaginary Global Warming, Recession Depression on Apr 21st, 2008
Somegirl sent this in:
Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.
At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 18th, 2008
People now understand something very bad is happening. They already knew the economy sucked, despite what the media elites continued to tell them:
The public’s ratings of the national economy continue to sour, with assessments deteriorating faster than at any point in Washington Post-ABC News polling. Views on the Iraq war have also turned more negative, [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 18th, 2008
And there’s the other side of the same coin - after layoffs, workers are “offered” overtime to pick up the slack. (”Offered” as in, do this or you’re in the next wave of layoffs.) I know a couple of people who have been working 50-60 hour weeks for months:
Not long ago, overtime was a regular [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Fuck the Poor, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Apr 16th, 2008
And taking with the other:
WASHINGTON — The Senate proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure. But while a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks — for automakers, airlines, alternative [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Our Booming Economy, Recession Depression on Apr 15th, 2008
AS go the malls, so goes middle-class America. And now, there go the malls:
Since last fall, eight mostly midsize chains — as diverse as the furniture store Levitz and the electronics seller Sharper Image — have filed for bankruptcy protection as they staggered under mounting debt and declining sales.
But the troubles are quickly spreading to [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Our Booming Economy, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression, Republicans Are Good With Money on Apr 10th, 2008
Paul Krugman cites a list of market measures, and says:
All of this involves fear of defaults by banks — despite what look from here (central New Jersey) like utterly clear signals from the Fed that bank debts will be socialized if necessary. I’m puzzled, and worried.
Posted in Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Apr 9th, 2008
Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink:
NEW YORK - Two hours north of New York City, a mile-long stream and a marsh the size of a football field have mysteriously formed along a country road. They are such a marvel that people come from miles around to drink the crystal-clear water, believing it [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 7th, 2008
Remeber Albert Brooks’ brilliant “Lost in America”? “You stand under the nest egg, and when it rains, you don’t get wet…” Nest eggs aren’t doing so hot lately:
SO far, not so good. The year began with the worst quarter for the stock market in six years, a decline of more than 9 percent in the [...]
Posted in Recession Depression on Apr 2nd, 2008
Yeah, this is one of those times where you have to take any job you can get:
In another sign of a stagnant economy, relatively few companies have plans to hire more workers over the next three months, according to a survey of employers released Wednesday.
Just 29% of managers plan to increase hiring in the second [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression, Republicans Are Good With Money, The Regime on Apr 1st, 2008
What Lance said.
Posted in Class War, Corporate Statism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Fuck the Poor, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Mar 31st, 2008
Paul Krugman on “This Week”:
Posted in Class War, Corporate Statism, Fuck the Poor, Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Mar 31st, 2008
Robert Reich on exactly who gets rewarded for risky behavior:
Indeed, the history of modern American business is littered with federal bailouts, loan guarantees, and no-questions-asked reorganizations. Some are well known, such as the Chrylser bailout of 1979, the savings and loan bailout of 1989, and the airline bailout of 2001. Most occur in the relative [...]
Posted in Class War, Corporate Statism, Fuck the Poor, Recession Depression on Mar 31st, 2008
Just another benefit of extended Republican rule:
Driven by a painful mix of layoffs and rising food and fuel prices, the number of Americans receiving food stamps is projected to reach 28 million in the coming year, the highest level since the aid program began in the 1960s.
The number of recipients, who must have near-poverty incomes [...]
Posted in Media, Recession Depression on Mar 30th, 2008
Dith Pran, 65.
Posted in Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Mar 28th, 2008
Krugman:
When George W. Bush first ran for the White House, political reporters assured us that he came across as a reasonable, moderate guy.
Yet those of us who looked at his policy proposals — big tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization — had a very different impression. And we were right.
The moral is [...]
Posted in Politics As Usual, Recession Depression on Mar 28th, 2008
Wheeee!
Posted in Politics As Usual, Recession Depression, Republicans Are Good With Money on Mar 28th, 2008
Once again, the Republicans want to socialize their losses - to the exclusion of everyone else’s:
For now, the parties seem to be worlds apart. This week, the two Democratic presidential contenders seized on the deepening economic crisis and proposed broad government rescue plans for homeowners that would each cost about $30 billion.
The Bush administration [...]
Posted in Class War, Our Booming Economy, Recession Depression on Mar 27th, 2008
If you have anything to spare, this is a really good time to give money to your local food bank:
ALTADENA, California (CNN) — When she was laid off in February, Patricia Guerrero was making $70,000 a year. Weeks later, with bills piling up and in need of food for her family, this middle-class [...]
Posted in Corporate Statism, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Fuck the Poor, IOKIYAR, Recession Depression, Republicans Are Good With Money on Mar 26th, 2008
Somehow, you just knew, didn’t you?
A sweeping five-month investigation into the collapse of one of the nation’s largest subprime lenders points a finger at a possible new culprit in the mortgage mess: the accountants.
New Century Financial, whose failure just a year ago came at the start of the credit crisis, engaged in “significant improper [...]
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