When it all shakes out... the economy is not a rosy as they want you to believe...
US retail sales rose less than expected over the holidays while new jobless claims climbed to a six-week high, underlining the slow pace of recovery from recession.
Retail sales increased 0.1 per cent in December to $400.6bn, missing forecasts of a 0.3 per cent rise and logging the weakest growth since last May, according to a commerce department report. (
http://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/ ... urrent.pdf
)
“December’s retail sales figures suggest it was not a happy holiday season for US retailers,” said Paul Dales, senior US economist at Capital Economics. “In other words, households have started to pare back their spending, most probably because their real incomes have continued to fall.”
The Worst Economic Recovery Since The Great Depression
The record of President Obama’s first three years in office is in, and nothing that happens now can go back and change that. What that record shows is that President Obama, with his throwback, old-fashioned, 1970s Keynesian economics, has put America through the worst recovery from a recession since the Great Depression.
And get ready for the printing of MORE FUNNY MONEY...
Federal Reserve officials are seriously considering giving the US economy—and especially the housing market—an added jolt with more quantitative easing. …
Two of the new voting members this year on the Federal Open Market Committee, which sets interest-rate policy, have recently suggested they would support more assets purchases.
San Francisco Fed President John Williams said that sustained high levels of unemployment, as forecast by many Fed members, “does make an argument that we should have more stimulus.”
Another new voter, Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto, said in a recent speech that economic models indicate the Fed “should be even more accommodative than it is today.”
And why? Read carefully... "San Francisco Fed President John Williams said that sustained high levels of unemployment, as forecast by many Fed members, “does make an argument that we should have more stimulus.”"
Sure President Obama... employment is getting better... bullsh**.
Inflation...really... I guess that's why this is the first year there's been a COLA for Social Security in how many years? (and a pretty darn small one at that...)
Yeah, an annual inflation rate of something less than 3%, while wages are stagnant, jobs are still on-hold, prices of goods can't rise because there aren't enough people with money to buy the products... Good job, GOP... (Of course, Obama has already created more private sector jobs in 3 years, than Bush did in 8 years...)
You are looking at the old numbers, I am in purchasing and we are seeing price increases in all sectors especially petrol products, steel, and other raw materials. This will eventually filter down to the general public, oh wait, already here, oil prices are going up and 6 major airlines announced price increases this morning including Southwest.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
And on the trade front... things aren't any better...
November trade gap widens, biggest since June
The trade deficit widened in November to its largest in five months, suggesting imports weighed on economic growth more heavily than expected during the fourth quarter. The trade gap totaled $47.8 billion, exceeding analysts’ forecast of a $45.0 billion deficit, Commerce Department data showed on Friday.[/i]
It was the biggest increase in imports since May, according to seasonally adjusted figures. The average price for imported oil rose to $102.50 per barrel, up 3.7 percent from October. The volume ofoil imports also rose.
The price increases announced by the airlines have nothing to do with fuel prices at the moment... Noticed the price-at-the-pump lately? They have to do with trying to get an increase to hold before the new regulations go into effect that make it illegal to hide fees in total ticket-prices, and forcing airlines to disclose the TRUE cost of a ticket...
