US Economy creeps along At 1.5% Growth Rate

from Bloomberg….

Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 1.5 percent annual rate after a revised 2 percent gain in the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 1.4 percent increase. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the world’s largest economy, grew at the slowest pace in a year.

Consumers are cutting back just as Europe’s debt crisis and looming U.S. tax-policy changes dent confidence, hurting sales at companies from United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) to Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) Cooling growth makes it harder to reduce unemployment, helping explain why Federal Reserve ChairmanBen S. Bernanke has said policy makers stand ready with more stimulus if needed.

“We have an anemic recovery with really no momentum,”

More….

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The Truth……Keith…..

The economy grows when the government spends money — period. Infrastructure projects are good for short term employment and the long term health of our nation’s transportation system. Republicans find deficits only when Democrats are in the White House. How many hot checks did GWB write throughout his long, long eight years in the White House — for wars of choice and unfunded medicare beneftis (just to mention a few) without a peep from the Republicans here.

It is tough to hold sensible political discussions with folks who believe “everyone in Cambridge hates the cops” or who say things like “politics ain’t fair.” In fact, it is impossible. Actually that may be one of the reason why we have the current crop of insane folks running the House of Representatives. People are just too myopic to see that forest as they look for those radioactive grains of sand in the desert, and would rather vote their sillly prejudices than vote for the greater good (wouldn’t want to give the other guy an advantage — especially the black boy in the White House). If the Speaker wants to play chicken with the world economy in an attempt to get back the White House when a worldwide recession starts –then so be it.

Keith….

From Politicaldog101….

I just paid $3.67 for a gallon of gas…..

Listen…..

I’m pissed…..

But the best thing about this  IS this……

While standing on-line at the Deli counter at the supermarket…

The topic of conversation was the GAS PRICES!……

 

The last time I remember this happening was the end of Carter’s one term wonder…

Now  I’m not suggesting that Obama is gonna be another Carter….

He’s far from that right now….

 

But…..

If things start to go sideways with the economy…..again..

And gas stays above $4.00 a gallon (It’s going there for sure)….

Then I don’t agree with Nate Silver’s assessment that the price of gas won’t have amajor impact on the Presidential races….

 

Plain and simple….

We all agreed that Obama is a lock for another term is the economy is doing okay…

That isn’t the case right now….

And the way the GOP newbie’s are tearing at the budget it looks like things are gonna get worst….

IF….and that’s a big IF….

The electorate blames Congress and the GOP for this …..

Than Obama

Is a lock….

But If things start to drop again and Obama stands by waiting to see which way the wind blows, as he usually does , before jumping in…

Then all bets are off…..

And….

That would be fucked up…..

The GOP newbie’s wreck the economy along with their rich friends on Wall Street, and in the Banks, who get a pss….

Just to get the Presidency?…..

 

Do these people have a soul?

From Politicaldog101…

 

Can Obama Emulate Reagan and Clinton — and FDR?….

 

From LOU CANNON @ PoliticsDaily…

As a biographer of Ronald Reagan, I’ve been asked if Barack Obama can recover from the catastrophe of the midterm elections to win a second term, as President Reagan did in 1984 when he carried every state except Minnesota, plus the District of Columbia. In a post-election press conference after the Republicans won the House last week, Obama took note of what Reagan had done and also of the comeback by President Bill Clinton, who was reelected in 1996 two years after the GOP captured the House for the first time in 46 years. Obama might also have mentioned the president with whom he claims the greatest affinity, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who two years after significant midterm reversals in 1938 won an unprecedented third term in 1940.

We learned in school that a valid analogy is a comparison in which the essential similarities outweigh the essential differences. Do any of these comparisons measure up?

There are certainly a number of similarities. Talking of hope and change, all of these presidents won election in hard economic times with messages that stirred the electorate. All had congressional coattails of varying length. Reagan, the only Republican in the group, especially benefited when his party captured the Senate, which proved critical to his success. Three of the four presidents — FDR, Reagan and Obama — rallied public support for major measures they had advocated as candidates and were able to get these bills, or most of them, through Congress.

And all these presidents saw their popularity fade when their reach exceeded their grasp or when the economy responded slowly to their favorite nostrums…..

More….

 

 

The Zeigeist ( economic data ) for the week of June13th……

From the Atlantic Magazine…..

Pollster.com Obama Average Job Approval

46.4%

Pollster.com Obama Favorability

52.6%

Pollster.com Right Direction / Wrong Track

33.8% / 58.7%

Pollster.com Congressional Approval

18.8%

National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Optimism Index

90.6 (up 4.4% from March)

ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index

43 points below zero

U.S. Department of Labor Initial Weekly Jobless Claims

456,000

RealtyTrac Newly foreclosed properties in April

333,837

U.S. Department of Labor Unemployment

9.7%

The Zeigeist ( economic data ) for the week of May 11……

From the Atlantic Magazine……

Pollster.com Obama Average Job Approval

48.84%

Pollster.com Obama Favorability

54.2%

Pollster.com Right Direction / Wrong Track

34.9% / 56.8%

Pollster.com Congressional Approval

19.9%

National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Optimism Index

86.8 (down 1.4% from February)

ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index

47 points below zero

U.S. Department of Labor Initial Weekly Jobless Claims

444,000 (down 141,000 since 1/20/09)

RealtyTrac Newly foreclosed properties in March

367,056

U.S. Department of Labor Unemployment

9.9%

Daily Manila…….

I am very grumpy this AM.

There is no reason to panic!

But there is a reason to put on a dress.

Because their are not enough life boats!

290,000 new jobs and unemployment goes up!

And 66,000 were part time Census jobs.

Were the rest lawn service jobs?

And yesterday did a “Market Maker” step out to go to the powder room and was not there to catch the ball thrown by another “Market Maker” or has the HAL 9000 computer from 2001 A Space Odyssey found a new job?

Is this chicken little or the boy who cried wolf? Or better yet the boy who got paid off by the wolf, ate the chicken,  and then said nothing. We can believe Goldman Sachs, can’t we?

This shows that the market has no real legs and if this was a mistake either it happened accidental on purpose or was a blessing in disguise.

When you let people buy homes that are over their heads or if your Europe and let someone into the club who has no business being there the term “There goes the neighborhood!” applies.

And is someone is laughing all the way to the bank?

Shorty Shorts the Circus bear is!

Real crisis or not, I think Congress might want to smell the coffee because we may not have a depression, we may have a manic depression and people may start doing stupid things like pulling out their funds!

Daniel….. Job Growth: U. S. Economy adds 290,000 Jobs in April; Unemployment inches slightly higher to 9,9% from 9,7

Hello Folks!

A GOOD DAY for Workers this is. This morning the new Unemployment Payrolls Report came out showing OUR Economy added 290,000 NEW JOBS in the Month of April – That’s slightly more as the expected Number of 250,000.

Unfortunately the UE Quote jumped slightly from 9,7 to 9,9 Percent.

Still, we’re on the right track here and I’m very happy.

Daniel G.

The Zeigeist ( economic data ) for the week of May 2……

From the Atlantic Magazine……

Pollster.com Obama Average Job Approval

48.0%

Pollster.com Obama Favorability

53.4%

Pollster.com Right Direction / Wrong Track

35.6% / 58.4%

Pollster.com Congressional Approval

20.0%

National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Optimism Index

86.8 (down 1.4% from February)

ABC News/Washington Post Consumer Comfort Index

50 points below zero

U.S. Department of Labor Initial Weekly Jobless Claims

456,000 (down 129,000 since 1/20/09)

RealtyTrac Newly foreclosed properties in March

367,056

U.S. Department of LaborUnemployment

9.7%

The Economy grows for the third Qtr in a row…..GDP up by 3.2%………

The Dog has been saying it’s going up!

You and I may not feel it…..

But it’s there……..

Now the hiring needs to start!…..

One down part…..Most states are still in a jam..and have budget problems….

The broadest measure of the overall economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2010, after gains of 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 2.2 percent in the third quarter.

While the expansion in output was welcome, it still has not brought the level of hiring growth needed to recover ground lost during the recession.

Speaking in the White House Rose Garden, President Obamaacknowledged that many Americans might find little comfort in Friday’s numbers because “ ‘you’re hired’ is the only economic news they’re waiting to hear.”

The administration’s focus, he said, is “to create the conditions necessary for those businesses to open their doors, expand their operations and ultimately hire more workers.”

Economists are hopeful that the news of three straight quarters of growth may breed more confidence about the future.

“It’s been a case of, when will they stop worrying and learn to love the boom?” said Robert Barbera, chief economist at ITG, who said that many economists and businesses had been too pessimistic about the turnaround.

But as the unemployment rate has hovered around 10 percent for the last eight months — most recently it was 9.7 percent in March — concern about the job situation has persisted.

“The economy is not any longer falling into a hole, but it’s also not getting out of the hole quickly enough either,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist at High Frequency Economics.

Even as job worries persisted, consumers were a major contributor to economic growth in the first quarter………

More……..