Economy

In the Bowels the Jobs Report: 15.4 Million Missing Jobs

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on In the Bowels the Jobs Report: 15.4 Million Missing Jobs

The long-term problem in the horrendous jobs report is the strangely inconspicuous “Employment-Population Ratio” that has been nosediving for over a decade. It’s the definition of a comatose economy.

The inexplicable American Consumer

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on The inexplicable American Consumer

Consumer confidence fell off a cliff and hit levels not seen since April 2009, and yet, consumers spent with abandon and made up the difference by piling on debt, at least for now. What gives?

Dear Ben, Please Print us More Money

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Dear Ben, Please Print us More Money

We want you to prop up the stock market. Everybody knows it’s a Ponzi scheme that will collapse without your support. You don’t want us to end up like Bernie Madoff’s clients. No, Ben, we love Ponzi schemes. We get in early and get out before they collapse. That’s why we’re rich. The bad thing is that they sometimes collapse before we can get out. But you’ve bailed us out twice in the last couple of years….

Oh No, The Inventory Correction Is Confirmed

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Oh No, The Inventory Correction Is Confirmed

Awful economic data and corporate announcements confirm: orders are plummeting, the dreaded inventory correction is here, and a recession is now guaranteed. In our already miserable economy, this is going to be a rough ride. Fasten your seatbelt.

Oops, Inventory Correction

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Oops, Inventory Correction

We really don’t need this. First it was rumors, now it has been announced in an earnings call. Two harmless sounding words: inventory correction. In a healthy economy, it causes a run-of-the-mill business cycle recession. In our economy, it can get ugly. Watch out, second half.

Fed’s Policies Slam Us Again

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Fed’s Policies Slam Us Again

July inflation is red hot, real wages are down, and real yields are more negative than ever, exactly what the Fed wants. The destruction of the American middle class continues.How these policies will pull us out of our economic debacle is mathematically unclear.

Importing Fiasco

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Importing Fiasco

$373.6 billion got vacuumed out of the USA in just six months. And was replaced by debt.

Downgrades Don’t Matter

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Downgrades Don’t Matter

… if you can print money and are in control of the credit markets. Look at Japan. That doesn’t mean the underlying problems don’t matter.

US Gross National Debt jumps $238 billion in one day, now above 100% of GDP

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on US Gross National Debt jumps $238 billion in one day, now above 100% of GDP

As reported in the foreign media, but curiously not in the major US media, the US Gross National Debt jumped by $238 billion in one day, to $14.58 trillion, the day after the debt-ceiling deal was signed.

Your Dollar—up to no Good

by Wolf Richter •  • Comments Off on Your Dollar—up to no Good

In case you didn’t stay up all night watching the spectacle, and tearing out your hair: Your very own… … your favorite one, the one you worked so hard to earn and even harder to save, yes, the ever shrinking one, well, it dropped to a new all-time low against the Japanese yen in Tokyo. And…