Understanding the Second Great Contraction: Percent Off the Previous PeakJames Ross, the University Architect at UNC Wilmington and an avid student of the economy, called my attention to Martin Wolfe's recent essay at the Financial Times explaining that we're not at risk of a double-dip recession because the one that began in late 2007 hasn't ended.
Of course, the National Bureau of Economic Analysis (NBER) declared June 2009 as the end date for the last recession, a decision they announced in September of the following year. You can read their rationale here. According to the NBER's analytical method, which focuses on major peaks and troughs as boundaries, the June 2009 end for the last recession makes perfect sense. But if you expect the end of a recession to be a return to some semblance of economic normality, then, to paraphrase the immortal words of Yogi Berra, the last recession "ain't over 'til it's over."
Bill McBride, the economic wizard at Calculated Risk, is a master at graphing data series ..."
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
US mutual fund outflows surge after downgrade -ICI | Reuters
US mutual fund outflows surge after downgrade -ICI | Reuters: "Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:12pm EDT
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. mutual funds had the
largest outflows in nearly three years in the wake of the
downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor's, data
from the Investment Company Institute showed on Wednesday.
Investors pulled a net $40.3 billion out of those funds in
the week ended Aug. 10, the largest weekly withdrawal since
early October 2008, soon after the collapse of Lehman
Brothers."
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. mutual funds had the
largest outflows in nearly three years in the wake of the
downgrade of the U.S. credit rating by Standard & Poor's, data
from the Investment Company Institute showed on Wednesday.
Investors pulled a net $40.3 billion out of those funds in
the week ended Aug. 10, the largest weekly withdrawal since
early October 2008, soon after the collapse of Lehman
Brothers."
Phone-Hacking: The Smoking Gun - Crime, UK - The Independent
Phone-Hacking: The Smoking Gun - Crime, UK - The Independent: "News International executives were told four years ago that phone hacking was rife at the News of the World and subsequently paid a jailed employee a quarter of a million pounds after he claimed that Andy Coulson authorised and then tried to hide the extent of it at the newspaper when he was editor.
Previously secret papers show that Rupert Murdoch's most senior lieutenants paid...."
Previously secret papers show that Rupert Murdoch's most senior lieutenants paid...."
Majority of corporations avoid federal income taxes - study - Aug. 12, 2008
Majority of corporations avoid federal income taxes - study - Aug. 12, 2008: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Nearly two-thirds of U.S. companies and 68% of foreign corporations do not pay federal income taxes, according to a congressional report released Tuesday...."
Norton's comment: If corps. were the engine that created the most jobs, then this might be worth it; however, it is SMALL BUSINESS that creates the jobs AND PAY TAXES AND SUFFER UNDER COMPLEX REPORTING REGULATIONS! Regulation is NOT a bed word. It is those designed to be complicated to provide escape holes for corporate interests and to sustain legal fees / business that I object to! Currently, our system does NOT function as a democracy, does NOT benefit the populace or the voters. It serves the corporate interests that are contrary to benefiting the middle class that has always driven economic growth.
The Middle Class is DEAD. When do we have the funeral? Shall we wait until the whole economic system in the USA collapses or have it now? What do you think?
Norton's comment: If corps. were the engine that created the most jobs, then this might be worth it; however, it is SMALL BUSINESS that creates the jobs AND PAY TAXES AND SUFFER UNDER COMPLEX REPORTING REGULATIONS! Regulation is NOT a bed word. It is those designed to be complicated to provide escape holes for corporate interests and to sustain legal fees / business that I object to! Currently, our system does NOT function as a democracy, does NOT benefit the populace or the voters. It serves the corporate interests that are contrary to benefiting the middle class that has always driven economic growth.
The Middle Class is DEAD. When do we have the funeral? Shall we wait until the whole economic system in the USA collapses or have it now? What do you think?
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Ideological Crisis of Western Capitalism - Joseph E. Stiglitz - Project Syndicate
The Ideological Crisis of Western Capitalism - Joseph E. Stiglitz - Project Syndicate: "NEW YORK – Just a few years ago, a powerful ideology – the belief in free and unfettered markets – brought the world to the brink of ruin. Even in its hey-day, from the early 1980’s until 2007, American-style deregulated capitalism brought greater material well-being only to the very richest in the richest country of the world. Indeed, over the course of this ideology’s 30-year ascendance, most Americans saw their incomes decline or stagnate year after year...
A decade ago, in the midst of an economic boom, the US faced a surplus so large that it threatened to eliminate the national debt. Unaffordable tax cuts and wars, a major recession, and soaring health-care costs – fueled in part by the commitment of George W. Bush’s administration to giving drug companies free rein in setting prices, even with government money at stake – quickly transformed a huge surplus into record peacetime deficits.
The remedies to the US deficit follow immediately from this diagnosis: put America back to work by stimulating the economy;.."
A decade ago, in the midst of an economic boom, the US faced a surplus so large that it threatened to eliminate the national debt. Unaffordable tax cuts and wars, a major recession, and soaring health-care costs – fueled in part by the commitment of George W. Bush’s administration to giving drug companies free rein in setting prices, even with government money at stake – quickly transformed a huge surplus into record peacetime deficits.
The remedies to the US deficit follow immediately from this diagnosis: put America back to work by stimulating the economy;.."
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