Analysis Topic: Economic Trends Analysis
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Saturday, May 08, 2010
Economic Green Shoots Taking Root in Labor Market for Sustained Recovery / Economics / Economic Recovery
Civilian Unemployment Rate: 9.9% in April vs. 9.7% in each of the first three months of the first quarter. The unemployment rate was 5.0% in December 2007 when the recession commenced. Cycle high for recession is 10.1% in October 2009 and the cycle low for the expansion that ended in December 2007 is 4.4% in March 2007. Payroll Employment: +290,000 in April vs. +230,000 in March, net gain of 121,000 jobs after revisions of payroll estimates for February and March. Private sector hourly earnings: $22.47 in April vs. $22.46 in March, 1.6% yoy increase, slightly lower than 1.7% gain of March.
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Friday, May 07, 2010
Will China's Bubble Implode and Bring the U.S. Down with It? / Economics / China Economy
It's the world's biggest and fastest-growing economic powerhouse, the subject of countless daily discussions and conjectures in the news media and an endless source of controversy, fear and confusion among investors, businessmen, politicians, bankers and bureaucrats. For those who follow the global economic outlook, it's probably the single-most important focus in trying to solve the global financial crisis. And answers to the questions surrounding this country's near-term future will undoubtedly have a momentous impact on your own financial future. It's also the subject of our commentary today: The China outlook.
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Friday, May 07, 2010
Atlantic Ocean No Barrier to Greece Debt Contagion / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
As the price tag for the EU/IMF bailout for Greece has steadily grown over the past several months and contagion within the euro-zone has commenced, US investors are beginning to realize that the widening European sovereign debt crisis may indeed have some significant implication on our side of the pond.
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Friday, May 07, 2010
Greek Debt Crisis Turns Deadly; Will Governments Act Before Economic Disaster Hits? / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
This week, the financial crisis in Greece turned deadly serious. No longer are investors just losing boatloads of money. People are starting to lose their lives!
The latest bout of chaos struck on Wednesday during a general strike. Everyone from air traffic controllers to teachers left their posts. Tens of thousands of protestors hit the streets, hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails. Three people reportedly died in a fire that struck an Athens bank branch.
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Friday, May 07, 2010
European Union Economic Crash, France and Germany In Trouble? / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
You know that Greece, Portugal and Spain are in trouble.
You probably know that the UK is threatened by the sovereign debt contagion.
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Friday, May 07, 2010
Economic Slash and Burn, Greece’s Deadly Austerity Measures / Economics / Economic Austerity
Binoy Kampmark writes: The Greek government, and its citizens, are feeling the economic pinch. A brutal reaction to protestors who fear the winding back of the country’s social system has stunned visitors and the public alike. A general strike has been in progress that has crippled schools, hospitals, airline flights and ferries. Protestors have swarmed around the central square in front of Parliament.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
U.S. Anemic GDP Growth Rate Not Good Enough / Economics / US Economy
In normal times, a 3.2 percent GDP growth rate for the United States is good. In the 1980’s the U.S. suffered another severe recession. During that recovery, GDP grew at a 7 to a 9 percent rate for more than one year. A 3.2 percent GDP annual growth rate barely creates enough jobs to keep up with the expanding population. It does nothing for all those who lost their jobs and are looking for work. The U.S. unemployment rate is 9.7 percent and the underemployment rate, a more accurate measure of the true unemployment situation is running at the 16.5% level.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
Many Looming Crises Right Now, Who is Not in Fiscal Disaster? / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Following the great banking crisis of 2007/8 the world now is realizing that the old ways are gone forever. At least the world is getting closer to that realization. What follows is described by the appropriately chosen Chinese Proverb ‘May you live in interesting times.’ to their enemies.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
The Four Stages of Economic Collapse / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Are you still bullish?
As I write, the notion of a unified Europe is literally going up in smoke. Greece has yet to confirm a bailout (four months into this ridiculous comedy), Spain and Portugal have both been slapped with credit downgrades. These problems are hardly unique as the below chart reveals:
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
Greece Debt Default Would be Catastrophic For German Banks / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Edward Harrison writes: Apparently, Germany is now planning to make loans for Greece not just for 2010, but for 2011 and 2012 as well. This is a sea change in German thinking and is having a positive effect on all markets, with spreads on Greek debt and Greek sovereign CDS both coming in. I believe this indicates Angela Merkel understands the gravity of the situation and the impact a Greek default would have on Germany.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
IMF and Buffett Impressed by India and China / Economics / Asian Economies
The International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial situation of its 186 member countries. The IMF was formed with the goal of stabilizing international exchange rates and to provide financial assistance to countries that experience serious financial and economic difficulties with loans and other forms of financial aid.
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Thursday, May 06, 2010
Greece Spiraling Debt Contagion Fears Won't Derail Spain / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
Martin Hutchinson writes: It had a huge housing boom, and is now dealing with the fallout. It has a left-of-center government and a big budget deficit, but relatively low debt in relation to its gross domestic product (GDP). And it has a worrisome current account deficit.
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Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Gold Heats Up As Athens Burns / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
In the decades that preceded Greece's adoption of the euro in 2001 the country papered over its chronic inefficiency and lack of competitiveness with its northern neighbors through regular devaluations of its currency, the drachma. But as a prerequisite to join the Euro Zone, the dominant powers of the Continent, most notably Germany, required financial housecleaning and promises of fiscal discipline. When these goals were apparently met, the Greeks came aboard.
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Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Greece Economic Depression Resulting in INFLATION NOT DEFLATION Surge / Economics / Inflation
Greece, Europe's Achilles Heel continues to implode under its budget deficit and total debt burden sending a series of strengthening shock waves across Europe's credit and financial markets. Whilst many western economies bounce back from the Great Recession of 2008-2009, Greece's economic depression continues as the economy is set to contract by further 4% during 2010 which is much worse than the 2.5% contraction of 2009 and looks set continue contracting for several more years. Greek Unemployment is soaring to 12% this year up from 9.5% in 2009 and is set to continue higher to 13.5% in 2011.
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Tuesday, May 04, 2010
It Is Not the Aggregate Demand, Stupid! / Economics / Economic Theory
Jeremie T.A. Rostan writes: According to Obama's leading economic adviser, the current double-digit unemployment rate is obviously due to a "shortfall in aggregate demand." Indeed, former UC Berkeley professor Christina Romer even told the Wall Street Journal that, until her chief of staff advised her not to, she intended to title a recent speech "It's Aggregate Demand, Stupid."[1]
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Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Marc Faber Says China Could Crash Within a Year / Economics / China Economy
Investor Marc Faber said China’s economy will slow and possibly “crash” within a year as declines in stock and commodity prices signal the nation’s property bubble is set to burst.
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Monday, May 03, 2010
The Unfolding Debt Danger: Greece Today…America Tomorrow? / Economics / US Debt
I have been analyzing economics and financial markets for over a quarter century and my analysis always stopped at “financial”. In other words, I do not follow trough usually past the financial theme. After all, as a certified financial planner (CFP), you usually think in terms of dollars and cents, interest rates and all sorts of financially-oriented concepts. I have always been concerned about the financial and economic impact of many different kinds of policies and events but in recent years I started thinking “outside of my own box.”
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Monday, May 03, 2010
Is China’s Economic Recovery a Fraud? / Economics / China Economy
The China growth miracle has resumed its vertical trajectory. We know this because the Chinese government says it's so. And, of course, governments never massage economic numbers for public consumption, right?If you believe the data, China's GDP has tripled since 2000, with annual growth rates ranging from 8% to 13% over that time frame.
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Monday, May 03, 2010
Why Economic Policies Inspired by the Great Depression Fail / Economics / Economic Theory
The latest quarterly survey by the National Association for Business Economics reports that the stimulus did not promote recovery. (In case you didn't know, the country's phony media are frantically pushing the idea that happy days are on the way, something they would never do under a Republican administration.) Any conundrum here is a direct result of fallacious economic reasoning. The idea that the level of output and employment is a function of aggregate spending was a very old fallacy that Keynes successfully resurrected and which is now part of orthodox economic theory even though it has been thoroughly refuted by experience.
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Sunday, May 02, 2010
Global Financial Conflagration, Fiat Money Buckling Under Unpayable Debts Pressure / Economics / Global Debt Crisis
America and the world face a financial conflagration of immense proportions. The world of fiat money and massive credit is buckling under the pressure of unpayable debt. Each day the safe haven of gold and silver related assets become more attractive. We ask where else do you go for safety? A conflagration is a fire out of control and that is exactly the conditions the world faces today. The inflationary depression has smoldered for 14 months and it will soon accelerate.
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