171 search results for "recession watch"
Dancing Chickens And The Fed
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Dancing Chickens And The Fed
Just Replace The Whole Kit And Caboodle With Asset Bubbles
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Just Replace The Whole Kit And Caboodle With Asset Bubbles
Fed digs in its heels, refuses to taper, though it could still start later this year, soon-to-be-ex Chairman Bernanke said. It would continue doing exactly what hasn’t worked for five years, in the hope that even more of the same might finally do the trick, rather than admitting, tail between its legs, that all QE has done is create asset bubbles.
The Power Of The Financial Lobby: “For 25 Years, It’s Never Been The Right Moment” To Tighten
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Power Of The Financial Lobby: “For 25 Years, It’s Never Been The Right Moment” To Tighten
Things move quickly at the G-20 when markets go south. The turmoil following Chairman Bernanke’s mere suggestion of a vague and slow taper of the Fed’s multi-year money-printing and bond-buying binge has already incited our illustrious finance gurus and central bankers at the G-20 to buckle – under the weight of the financial lobby.
Starving the World for Power and Profit: The Global Agribusiness Model
by Don Quijones • • Comments Off on Starving the World for Power and Profit: The Global Agribusiness Model
Contributed by Don Quijones: A daily ration of bread is now beyond the reach of roughly a billion people on planet Earth. What’s more, hunger is spreading like a pandemic, making incursions from its traditional strongholds in the global south to towns and cities across depression-hit Southern Europe. In Greece….
It’s Official: The Consumer (And The Economy) Is Alive and Dead
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on It’s Official: The Consumer (And The Economy) Is Alive and Dead
Friday’s plunge in consumer sentiment was hastily ascribed to the Fiscal Cliff. Like Sandy, it’s recruited to explain everything that goes wrong. But over the last few days, one monkey wrench after another has been thrown into the hope machinery, including the collapse of small-business hiring plans to the record low set during the catastrophic post-Lehman days.
From Horrid To Merely Dismal: Feeling Better About The New Reality
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on From Horrid To Merely Dismal: Feeling Better About The New Reality
The inexplicable American consumer, the strongest creature out there that no one has been able to subdue yet, has come to grips with a new reality, euphemistically called “New Normal,” though it isn’t normal by any means, but dismal. Feeling more upbeat, they nudged up the Consumer Confidence Index to a level not seen since February 2008—a level that caused people to tear their hair out at the time.
Fear of Impending Economic Collapse Or Just Manipulation?
by Wolf Richter • • 1 Comment
Two thermometers into the brains of corporate America plunged to depth not seen since the trough of the Great Recession when the US was losing hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. One was based on responses from CEOs of America’s largest corporations; the other was based on responses from analysts who’d listened to their industry contacts. Just before Lehman, these people had exactly zero predictive capabilities. So, could they now have ulterior motives?
Fear Mongering And Hysteria About The Fiscal Cliff
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Fear Mongering And Hysteria About The Fiscal Cliff
It’s been a phenomenal circus, the screaming and hollering on all sides about the “fiscal cliff,” in the media, from lawmakers, from chieftains of our industries, particularly those that feed at the government’s big trough, such as defense contractors, which include some of the largest global corporations. Even NPR this morning postulated that it would cause a million job losses. Hysteria comes to mind.
The German Economy Caves, And Eurozone Bailouts Take On New Dimensions
by Wolf Richter • • 1 Comment
Last year, German exports rode to a new record, jobs were being created in massive numbers, real wages rose, housing and real estate boomed, the federal budget was nearly balanced, and consumers felt good and spent money. There were moments in 2012 that made people dream of a repeat performance—despite the havoc that the Eurozone debt crisis has been wreaking. But now, the German export machinery is shifting down with an ear-piercing screech.