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Senators reportedly reach a compromise to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit through the end of April - and beyond those buying their first house.

Why the surprise? Like any other parasitic oraganism Government exists to perpetuate and expand its existence. Buy voters wth distributing money at will. They do not have to be around when there are any consequences. Just kick the can down the road. But TBT as somebody else wrote, to benefit from the devaluation.

In his weekly radio address, President Obama said too many small businesses are still finding it difficult to get loans: "These are the very taxpayers who stood by America's banks in a crisis - and now it's time for our banks to stand by creditworthy small businesses, and make the loans they need to open their doors, grow their operations, and create new jobs."

Perhaps Obama can send the bankers, with GS in the lead to Afghanistan. They can win the war for us and repay their debt to Obama by getting him reelected

September Existing Home Sales: up 9.4% to 5.6M/year, vs. 5.1M in August. Sales are 9.2% higher than the year-ago pace and are at the highest level in more than two years. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says the first-time buyer tax credit is fueling momentum that "needs to continue for a few additional quarters until we reach a point of self-sustaining recovery."

Why mess with tax credits at all. Ben can print money & buy off all houses. House prices will sky rocket, bank losses will turn into profits, - and we go back to 2004! Abolish all taxes while we are at it. We can print paper money and the silly chinese will keep lending their 'real' goods we all need to consume

Senate Democrats introduce legislation that would extend unemployment insurance benefits for up to two million Americans, some of whom could collect for up to 99 weeks.

Sweet! I can take a two year vacation thanks to all you slackers, working hard!

Falling Dollar: Finally Front-Page News

Well, if the fed can print massive amount of notes to bailout the banks, why not print some more to cover healthcare, education, shelter, & food for all. Why are the middleclass & poor less deserving of this largesse? Why tax anyone in fact - just print money and distribute evenly.

TALF 3.0: Will Government Step in to Rescue Consumer Credit?

Most people, unless they have a strong background in finance and have the time are clueless to the complex dealings that Fed & Treasury have put together. Making an informed decision at the polls is impossible. It is the spin & image that controls everything in the end. Successive governments have mastered this art.

Chart of the Day: The Billion Dollar Gram

If we can print money to bailout the bankers, why not print some more to grant free healthcare for all, to grant free college education, to eliminate hunger, to eliminate homelessness, etc... These are after all loftier goals than bailing out bankers, right? Why raise taxes to cover healthcare! Money grows on trees fellows, don;t you know that - what morons!

Another grim view on employment: Hours worked per person continues its nosedive, to the lowest average recorded (see chart) - another hint that the headline jobless numbers are hiding an awful lot more frustrated workers.

>>All the while the President is overseas in a failed trip for the Olympics scam for Chicago.

better there than here announcing (with a straight, grim face) his new handout program (with money we do not have) of the day will create millions of jobs. it costs us less money have all these govt jokers out of our pay roll. teach them what unemployment is.

Uh oh. "Goldman Sachs today said the economy probably lost more jobs in September than it previously anticipated, citing 'disappointing' economic data, including the number of people receiving jobless benefits." Firm now pegs tomorrow's nonfarm number at -250K vs. a previous -200K and consensus of -175K.

Perhaps GS can take 250K of the unemployed on its payroll, thereby making the greatest reversal in job numbers, and thereby pushing the market back up to 1500 in SPY. They can then fire them all and short the market while doing so. They certainly have the money to do so ($5 /hr would be the pay for doing nothing), and will make more money up & down. All legal.

The Next Major Crisis Brewing

>>I should add that there are laws and ways to settle bad debt other than putting the taxpayers on the hook to pay off the most privileged at 100% face value.

But laws apply to you and me not to GS, JPM or the unions. They get a full tax payer bail out funneled thru AIG or sticking it to the bond holders in case of unions. Law enforcement is there to keep the riff-raff in their place.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says that creating a new reserve "super-currency" favored by Russia and China would weaken the dollar and "we would have to watch for any inflationary consequences of that." Answering questions after his prepared remarks in the House, he said risk could grow for the currency if the U.S. doesn't put its economic house in order.

About time. Shamefully it takes China & Russia to threaten us to start this kind of talk.

GM's fling with eBay (EBAY) looks to be over, at least for now, as evidence suggests it drew a lot of lookers but not a lot of buyers. And some typical online-auction behavior: One bidder submitted a $2,500 bid on a $40,000 vehicle.

Perhaps the 'real value' of that vehicle is only $2500 for that bidder. Even a 1995 civic can cary 4 people from point A to B, and it will not break down like this GM vehicle will

Microsoft (MSFT) cut the total pay of its top five executives this year, and cut bonuses 29%, according to its proxy statement today. CEO Steve Ballmer - considered "underpaid" by the pay committee - got $1.2M and is not receiving stock compensation. The board approved a salary freeze for 2010 for the execs.

Well, they do not get the TARP/TALF bailouts like the swindlers in AIG/BAC/ML do. They need to actually earn their keep

The government's propping up of AIG (AIG +2%) has worked, averting a catastrophe, so now it's time to take it apart as quickly as possible, says Matthew Goldstein - it's not as if this company will stand on its own ever again, and another blow-up risks more damage.

'has worked'? For whom? For GS and other banks - not for the tax payers! GM/Chrysler bond holders were forced to swallow the losses when the auto companies went bankrupt. When AIG blew up, government swooped in to save GS and others with tax payer money.

U.S. Quantitative Easing Has Just Begun

>>If Obama wants to create jobs for US citizens he needs to permanently end the H-1B, H-2B, etc.. foreign worker programs.

That is it! Blame the unemployment on these earnest, hard-working, educated and under paid folks! Not the banksters, house flipping spend-thrifts and the union thugs that pocketed billions at the expense of tax payers. Of course not, the banksters own the treasury & fed, the unions own the politicians. They are untouchable.