How Will the Economic Future Unfold?

[Viperabyss]

About as willing as a 3 year old child with his/her favorite toy.

[Gneisenau]

Tell me again, when has the government ever willingly given money back once it has said money in its hands?

I remember they did it once.

[BaldEagle]

I remember they did it once.

No way you gotta prove that one.....

[Gneisenau]

No way you gotta prove that one.....

Bush gave back money. Remember that $600 rebate thing? The reps called it giving us back our money, the dems called it paying us money.

[Sailer]

I was taking a look back to find a chart showing the economic stress throughout the country and found that it was now showing through August.

The top news headlines on current events from Yahoo! News

Comparing it to the one from last May, things are getting worse. Imperial Country, just east of San Diego is showing 28.7% unemployment. San Diego County itself is showing 10.4%, undoubtedly help by all the military bases located there. Probably its worse now Quite a number of counties in the surrounding region are between 10% and 15% unemployment. Lyon County, where I live, is at 15.8%. Makes me wonder how much "better" things are going to get? Good thing that the recession is over, according to the what the guy on the TV news said last night.

Gneisenau-

I remember they did it once.

When? I sure don't remember it. May not mean a lot, as there are some things that I don't remember anymore, like soda pop selling for 5 cents a bottle. No wait, I can remember that.

[Gneisenau]

Iceland says goodbye to the Big Mac - World business- msnbc.com

Iceland's three McDonald's restaurants — all in the capital Reykjavik — will close next weekend, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona.

It appears Armageddon is upon us.

[BaldEagle]

Bush gave back money. Remember that $600 rebate thing? The reps called it giving us back our money, the dems called it paying us money.

The dems were right it was borrowed money because ours was already spent. Still not buying it...

[Sailer]

Iceland says goodbye to the Big Mac - World business- msnbc.com



It appears Armageddon is upon us.

Is this Armageddon, or is Iceland being saved from high fat and calorie Big Macs?

[Gneisenau]

New home sales take surprise tumble - Real estate- msnbc.com

WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes dropped unexpectedly last month as the effects of a soon-to-expire tax credit for first-time owners started to wane.

Really now, how was it not expected? Anyone here not see this coming?

[Gneisenau]

Is this Armageddon, or is Iceland being saved from high fat and calorie Big Macs?

Armageddon. Definitely Armageddon.

[BaldEagle]

New home sales take surprise tumble - Real estate- msnbc.com



Really now, how was it not expected? Anyone here not see this coming?

With Congress nearly certain to renew the $8K or possibly increase it to $15K we'll see it fall even further until the bill finally passes.

This government handout stuff is getting as bad last fall's bail-out bucks sweepstakes. Our econmy is now supported by government handing out money while borrowing more, and more, and more...

In other news we see the mortgage fraud is up though....
http://www.businessinsider.com/mortg...-again-2009-10

[BaldEagle]

Another pronouncement the recession has ended...

Economy grows in 3Q, signals end of recession - Yahoo! Finance

Economists say the jobless rate probably nudged up to 9.9 percent in October and will go as high as 10.5 percent around the middle of next year before declining gradually. The government is scheduled to release the October jobless rate report next week.

"A frequent question is: 'What happens when your fiscal stimulus wears off?'"

Well lets see...

Auto sales dropped like a rock in September.
Housing dropped just ahead of the credit expiration in November.
That whopping Obama tax cut... What was it $11 or $15 a week??

I think I've said it before what we'll see next year is Recession II the sequel. Of course the government can always give away more stimulus and reflate the party but it simply leads to a worse hangover when the party ends and our dollar is worth less or is that worthless.

[Sailer]

Another pronouncement the recession has ended...

Economy grows in 3Q, signals end of recession - Yahoo! Finance

I'm thinking hard on this.

A top concern is whether the recovery can continue after government supports are gone.

Many economists predict economic activity won't grow as much in the months ahead as the bracing impact of Obama's $787 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts fades.

Give a kid a pocket full of money and send him into a candy store. Does he buy lots of candy and stuff himself full? Ask him the next morning if he has a headache and/or bellyache.

We sent lots of people into stores with pockets full of money. They spent it. Now they don't have any free money to spend, but they do have payments to make on what they bought (headache). What starts happening in the next few months as they continue to loose jobs (rising unemployment rate). Ah, more foreclosures, more repossessions maybe (bellyache)?

So what will the government then do? Will it print more money, or give out more stimulus dollars? And wait, as the national debt heats up like a house on fire, taxes will have to be raised. Obama says he won't raise the taxes on the middle class and poor, but only on those evil, super rich people and big greedy companies. But the super rich usually own the companies and what will they do? They will pass the costs down to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

I don't see anything good coming from all this, though the Dow may continue to rise for a few more months.

[MagicLess]

Iceland says goodbye to the Big Mac - World business- msnbc.com



It appears Armageddon is upon us.

No two countries having McDonald franchises have ever gone to war with one another. I find this to mean Iceland is going to be pre-emptively striked in the near future.

[Gneisenau]

I'm thinking hard on this.



Give a kid a pocket full of money and send him into a candy store. Does he buy lots of candy and stuff himself full? Ask him the next morning if he has a headache and/or bellyache.

We sent lots of people into stores with pockets full of money. They spent it. Now they don't have any free money to spend, but they do have payments to make on what they bought (headache). What starts happening in the next few months as they continue to loose jobs (rising unemployment rate). Ah, more foreclosures, more repossessions maybe (bellyache)?

So what will the government then do? Will it print more money, or give out more stimulus dollars? And wait, as the national debt heats up like a house on fire, taxes will have to be raised. Obama says he won't raise the taxes on the middle class and poor, but only on those evil, super rich people and big greedy companies. But the super rich usually own the companies and what will they do? They will pass the costs down to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

I don't see anything good coming from all this, though the Dow may continue to rise for a few more months.

I pointed out somewhere earlier, the person who pays for the tax increase is the lowest guy on the totem pole that CAN'T pass the cost on. That's Joe Consumer.

No two countries having McDonald franchises have ever gone to war with one another. I find this to mean Iceland is going to be pre-emptively striked in the near future.

Good point. Iceland is toast. That could add up to a lot of ice melt when the bombs start dropping....... Global climate change will probably be blamed for that too......

[Sailer]

Last week I went to my local Wells Fargo Bank. I've done business at that bank since 1990, have direct deposit from my VA pension, and the bank told me I had a credit rating of 836 when I applied for the loan. The loan officer was all happy and said there should be no problem in getting a loan.

Today I got a letter from Wells Fargo Bank which reads:

"Thank you for applying for a loan at Wells Fargo. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you the credit you requested for the following reasons:

Excessive obligations in relation to income."

What??? I own my house, no payments. I own my cars, no payments. I don't have to make loan payments to anybody. So what obligations??? A credit rating of 836 isn't good enough? How high do they want it to be? If anyone wonders, I'll be looking for a new bank, and WB can forget the direct deposit. Of course, that's assuming there is a different bank that is willing to make a loan. Seems the banks are happy to take money from us though taxpayer bailouts, but they don't want to make any of that money available for loans.

[BaldEagle]

I'm thinking hard on this.



Give a kid a pocket full of money and send him into a candy store. Does he buy lots of candy and stuff himself full? Ask him the next morning if he has a headache and/or bellyache.

We sent lots of people into stores with pockets full of money. They spent it. Now they don't have any free money to spend, but they do have payments to make on what they bought (headache). What starts happening in the next few months as they continue to loose jobs (rising unemployment rate). Ah, more foreclosures, more repossessions maybe (bellyache)?

So what will the government then do? Will it print more money, or give out more stimulus dollars? And wait, as the national debt heats up like a house on fire, taxes will have to be raised. Obama says he won't raise the taxes on the middle class and poor, but only on those evil, super rich people and big greedy companies. But the super rich usually own the companies and what will they do? They will pass the costs down to the consumer in the form of higher prices.

I don't see anything good coming from all this, though the Dow may continue to rise for a few more months.

Or you have to redefine the "super rich" to anyone that makes more than what they would be paid in welfare and problem solved... Won't that be fun...

[BaldEagle]

Last week I went to my local Wells Fargo Bank. I've done business at that bank since 1990, have direct deposit from my VA pension, and the bank told me I had a credit rating of 836 when I applied for the loan. The loan officer was all happy and said there should be no problem in getting a loan.

Today I got a letter from Wells Fargo Bank which reads:

"Thank you for applying for a loan at Wells Fargo. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer you the credit you requested for the following reasons:

Excessive obligations in relation to income."

What??? I own my house, no payments. I own my cars, no payments. I don't have to make loan payments to anybody. So what obligations??? A credit rating of 836 isn't good enough? How high do they want it to be? If anyone wonders, I'll be looking for a new bank, and WB can forget the direct deposit. Of course, that's assuming there is a different bank that is willing to make a loan. Seems the banks are happy to take money from us though taxpayer bailouts, but they don't want to make any of that money available for loans.

Apparently they must have concern with that "income" side seeing that it's from the government...

WF isn't doing so hot after aquiring Wachovia who aquired all those Golden West bad loans.

[Sailer]

Looks like a good way to end the week:

Wall Street hit by financials, outlook concerns - Yahoo! News

Stocks slid on Friday as investors worried the economy's recovery might not be sustainable and financials sank as an influential bank analyst projected a $10 billion write-down for Citigroup.

Investors unloaded shares across the board. Wall Street's favorite measure of investor fear, the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX) vaulted to 31.25 -- its highest level since July.

What, the banks are having trouble and investors are having doubts? How can that be? Wasn't it just the other day that the government was proclaiming the recession over? I must be reading this wrong.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) slid 235.79 points, or 2.37 percent, to 9,726.79. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) dropped 27.71 points, or 2.60 percent, to 1,038.40. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) tumbled 50.01 points, or 2.38 percent, to 2,047.54.

The trading day has a bit to go yet, so it may recover. Then again, it might continue its present direction. We shall know in a little over an hour. Wonder what way the TV news will spin this tonight? Will it be called only a slight correction before going back up to new heights, or something else?

[Gneisenau]

Commercial lending giant CIT files bankruptcy - U.S. business- msnbc.com

NEW YORK - Lender CIT Group has filed for bankruptcy protection, in an effort to restructure its debt while trying to keep loans flowing to the thousands of mid-sized and small businesses.

CIT's move will wipe out current holders of its common and preferred stock, likely meaning the U.S. government will lose the $2.3 billion it sunk into CIT last year to prop up the ailing company. The government could have lost billions more, however, had it not declined to hand over more aid to the company earlier this year.