strutzma

GMAC Financial Services is reportedly in talks with the Treasury Department for its third lifeline: between $2.8B and $5.6B in fresh capital, on top of the $12.5B the lender has received since December, coming via preferred stock.

What ever happened to shooting the horse when he came up lame?

Chart of the Day: Median CPI vs. BLS CPI

Mark,
Are you beginning to lay out your case for stagflation, whereas we've had increases in inflation even while losing millions of jobs???

Surging Gold Not Sign of Inflation

How about comparing the price rise in gold from 1982-83 and from 1985-87 against the issuance of U.S. Debt during and around those periods. You may find a stronger correlation.

An Increase in Minimum Wage = A Decrease in Hours

On Jul 26 01:33 PM WAKEUP wrote:

> College professors of a quasi-literary bent are, essentially, unskilled
> workers. Therefore, Dr. Perry should be paid $7.25 per hour, at most.
> Of course, if the minimum wage standard is reduced, he should be
> paid less.

Yes, but he'd get more hours and still be paid the same, in his words~ Sounds like if everyone were paid nothing, we'd have 100% employment across the board.

The One Mega-Trend NO ONE is Talking About

"Thanks to easy credit and cheap goods from China (formal trade with the US opened on 1971), the Boomers operated under the illusion they were getting richer almost every year, when in reality they were spending their and their parents’ savings."

Note that during this time, the government was also spending the savings of the boomer's children. The cash cow has been milked dry.

Richmond Fed Index Rally Suggests Economic Recovery

How's manufacturing in Flint these days?

Will China Drop U.S. Debt? Unlikely

I agree with Wrixon, Option 1.5 is actually that they slow their purchases of Treasuries (note also that they're buying short term Treasuries lately, rather than longer dated paper) and increase their purchases of raw commodities with their existing dollars/Treasuries. This way they can talk tough to keep their own purchasing power while dumping their reserves for commodities or controlling stakes in their producers.

Negative Swap Spreads: Current Game in the Derivatives Market

Dave, what, then, are the near. term macro implications if this swap spread quickly corrects itself (goes back to positive)?

The Falling Real Price of New Cars

What Mark neglects to tell you is that Real Wages are zero to negative during this same period. There is no benefit to American Consumers over this time period except the availability of new and more exotic debt instruments that have buried Joe America to his eyebrows. You'll have to draw the flat line for wages across your computer screen for a better comparison, because Mark isn't going to reveal this dirty little secret.

Helicopter Ben Turns into Ballistic Missile

Could the Fed be buying 300bn in Treasuries because the Chinese told them they'd be selling?


On Mar 18 05:52 PM The Real Deal wrote:

> Fed took this step because of one big thing - all actions thus far
> failed to fix the banks, and as economy further tanks, even more
> banks will be hit. There is no way to arrest the spiral. Except to
> print the money to absorb the banks' bad assets, and to fund Obama
> stimulus package. It is also a reflection that foreigners no longer
> will by Treasuries.
>
> And so here we are. This is probably the last step in monetary policy.
> Either this is the beginning of a fix, or the beginning of hyper-inflation.
> Bernanke made the call. Now it's our turn.

Let's Twist Again, Like We Did Last Summer: FOMC vs. the Dollar

Could the Fed be buying 300bn in Treasuries because the Chinese told them they'd be selling?

Luckiest Generation in History: Young Americans

My apologies, Steve, that's Trillion with a "T"...

Luckiest Generation in History: Young Americans

Steve in Greensboro,
You forgot to mention that the "thousands of dollars in food, housing, cash, clothing, gifts, etc." were, in the larger scheme of things, funded by a loan that you took out on Susan's future and she will be paying for it with interest. My how the "borrow and spend" generations ignore this small (50+ Bn)detail...



On Mar 15 10:00 AM Steve in Greensboro wrote:

> I agree with Dr. Perry. The current generation live in a society
> that is an order of magnitude more wealthy than their parents (who
> were an order of magnitude more wealthy than theirs).
>
> It makes me wonder why this obvious fact didn't prevent more young
> voters from voting left. I know the answer of course. The public
> school system and leftist colleges turn out profoundly ahistorical
> graduates.
>
> Some of you might enjoy the following note from the comments section
> of one of my favorite websites.
>
> www.grouchyoldcripple....
>
> Comment begins:
>
> Guess you heard that 68% of the youth vote went to Obama. My granddaughter
> called this morning to tell me she was one of them. I replied with
> this e-mail:
>
> Dear Susan,
>
> The election of Obama comes down to this. Your grandmother and I,
> your mother, and other productive, wage-earning tax payers will have
> their taxes increased and that means less income left over. Less
> income means we will have to cut back on basic purchases, gifts and
> handouts.
>
> That includes firing the Hispanic lady who cleans our house twice
> a month. She just lost her job. We can't afford her anymore.
>
> What is the economic effect of Obama's election on you personally?
>
>
> Over the years, your grandmother and I have given you thousands of
> dollars in food, housing, cash, clothing, gifts, etc. By your vote,
> you have chosen another family over ours for help. So in the future,
> if you need assistance with your rent, money for gas, tires for your
> car, someone to bring you lunch, etc. ... call 202-456-1111 .
>
> That's the telephone number for the Office of the President of the
> United States. I'm sure Mr. Obama will be happy to send a check from
> his personal or business accounts, as we have, or leave cash in an
> envelope taped to his front door for you, as we have.
>
> It's like this. Those who vote for the President of the United States
> should consider what the impact of an election will be on the nation
> as a whole and not just be concerned with what they can get for themselves
> (welfare, stimulus checks, etc.). What Obama voters don't seem to
> realize is that the government's money comes from taxes collected
> from tax paying families. Raising taxes on productive people means
> they will have less money to spend on their families.
>
> Congratulations on your choice. For future reference, you might attempt
> to add up all you've received from us, your mom, Mike's parents and
> others and compare it to what you expect to get over the next four
> years from Mr. Obama.
>
> To congratulate Mr. Obama and to make sure you're on the list for
> handouts, write to:
> The White House
> 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
> Washington , DC 20500
>
> Love you Susan, but call the number listed above when you need help.
>
> Grandpa
>

What Does Annual Real GDP Growth Teach Us?

I second the point provided by bbzz24... Mark needs to break down these data to show the percent of GDP growth supplied by government spending, as well as include a separate histogram to show the increase in government spending throughout this same period. We need better presentation of these data.


On Feb 05 04:38 AM bbzz24 wrote:

> in short: it teaches nothing.
> since GDP numbers include government spending financed through debt
> as well (aka budget deficit) it makes no sense to look at GDP.<br/>zimbabw...
> has triple digit GDP growth (adjusted for inflation) yet they are
> not the envy of the world.

Thoughts on an Inflationary Depression

Do you see any chance that the current economic uncertainty will induce a significant increase in the savings rate, back to the rate(s) in the early '80s following the last bout of stagflation? This may be the only way to stem the rapid inflation you have otherwise indicated, however I would like your input on this possibility...?