Hullabaloo broke out after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that a surprisingly robust 243,000 jobs were created in January, and that the unemployment rate was 8.3%. Cynics, academics, BLS heretics, hype mongers, and politicians waged a media battle over these numbers that President Obama serenely trotted out as validation of his policies. Even Rush Limbaugh jumped into the fray. Alas, suddenly, there is a sharp deterioration.
Monthly Archives: February 2012
That Giant Sucking Sound in California
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on That Giant Sucking Sound in California
There never was that “giant sucking sound” that Ross Perot had warned about during his quixotic presidential campaign in 1992—the sound that manufacturing jobs would make as they head south to Mexico. Turns out, he was wrong. The jobs went south silently. However, yesterday in San Francisco, there was that sound. From money going east. Lots of it. From fundraisers.
Ironic EU Begging Expedition to China
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Ironic EU Begging Expedition to China
Europe returned from its begging expedition to Beijing. Well, they called it a summit, one more in a series. They were trying to lure China into plowing part of its hard-earned foreign exchange trillions into the European bailout fund, the EFSF, and they made that dreadfully convoluted and opaque creature smell like a rose. Even a small amount would have been something. Anything really.
François Hollande Versus the German Dictate
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on François Hollande Versus the German Dictate
The Eurozone debt crisis has frayed a lot of nerves, particularly among Greek politicians, whose country is on the verge of bankruptcy, and German politicians, who no longer trust Greek politicians—they’d willfully misrepresented deficits and debt in order to accede to the Eurozone and had continued to do so up to insolvency. But now a far bigger confrontation at the very core of the Eurozone is shaping up. And it may bring epic changes.
Firewalls In Place, Markets ready: Greece Can Go To Heck
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Firewalls In Place, Markets ready: Greece Can Go To Heck
Luxembourg’s Finance Minister said it out loud: “If the Greek people or the Greek political elite do not apply all of these conditions, they exclude themselves from the Eurozone.” All of these conditions. And there are a lot of them. Then he added crucial words: “The impact on other countries now will be less important than a year ago.”
The White House & the Most Disparaged Profession, Again
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The White House & the Most Disparaged Profession, Again
Even the Soviets with their iron-fisted approach couldn’t come up with a reliable five-year plan. In the US, one-year forecasts are accurate only by accident. And ten-year forecasts, whether by the White House or Congress, are the ugly sisters of BS—hilarious gimmickry during the dreariness of politics. So President Obama unveiled his budget for fiscal 2013 through 2022.
Stewing At Ikebukuru Station
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Stewing At Ikebukuru Station
Greece at the Point of no Return
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Greece at the Point of no Return
“The European Union is suffering under Germany,” said Georgios Karatzaferis, president of the right-wing LAOS party. He accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of trying to “impose her will on Southern Europeans.” He called the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, and Luxembourg “satellite states” of Germany. And then, with a few words, he pushed Greece a step closer to bankruptcy.
Bait And Switch: California High-Speed Rail to Nowhere
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Bait And Switch: California High-Speed Rail to Nowhere
High-speed rail works if it links big urban areas and has lots of riders. The most successful is the Tokyo-Osaka Shinkansen: 150 million passengers per year. Even Amtrak’s slower route between New York City and Washington DC is profitable, though the rest of Amtrak is not. In theory, California’s High-Speed Rail Project falls into that category. In Reality, it has turned into a scandal before construction has even started.
Merkel’s Desperate And Risky Gamble
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Merkel’s Desperate And Risky Gamble
After the German-French council of ministers in Paris, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy gave a joint TV interview at the Elysée Palace, the official residence of the French president. Merkel berated François Hollande, Sarkozy’s top challenger in the upcoming presidential election. Then Sarkozy lashed out against him. Never before had a German chancellor campaigned so hard for a French president.