It's now 1997 on the S&P 500
SORR Point
The wider Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 6.7 percent, adding to its
losses after tumbling 6 percent on Wednesday.
The Dow and S&P have dropped 50% this year, and still falling like stones
even when good news comes in.
An 11 year low point. But Paulson still says the TARP has saved the
Financial System from collapse, with $500 billion still to spend and not
much happening. Wasn't that supposed to be an Urgent priority? One month on
and barely nothing has happened handing out the TARP *Bailout* ... screw
pretending it's a "rescue package".
The slowest Emergency Rescue since Katrina !!!
Australian markets travelling at only a 5 year low, which reflects the
broader global economies with some exceptions.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/business/21markets.html?em
In a day dominated by fear and uncertainty, financial markets plunged in
late trading, carving new lows, in a melee of selling that cut across every
sector of the market. Energy companies took the heaviest blows as the price
of crude oil fell below $50 a barrel, and financial stocks sank sharply on
fears that billions in government aid have done little to cure the financial
and credit crises.
“The market can only take so many punches,” said Quincy Krosby, chief
investment strategist at The Hartford. “This market needs a break. It needs
clarity. The question is, when and how much?”
No one had an answer on Thursday afternoon.
The Dow Jones industrial average set another new low for the year on
Thursday, shedding 444.99 points or 5.5 percent to close at 7,552.29. The
wider Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell an even steeper 6.7 percent,
adding to its losses after tumbling 6 percent on Wednesday.
After Thursday, the S.&P. index had dropped beneath its bear-market lows of
2002, and was lower than any point since 1997.
As stocks hopped from red to green and back again before beginning their
final spiral, investors continued to seek cover in safe havens like Treasury
notes and gold, driving those prices higher. The yield on the benchmark
10-year Treasury dropped to 3 percent in a sign of how many investors are
seeking shelters for their money.
And a new report that jobless claims had crested to their highest levels in
16 years reminded investors that the frail economy continues to weaken.
“We think it’s going to continue to go lower,” said Ryan Detrick of
Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “We don’t think people are scared enough.
They’re just not showing enough fear. People are numb to this, they’re
almost immune to it.”
Financial shares, which took the brunt of Wednesday’s losses, continued
their bad streak on Thursday. Citigroup fell by double digits for a second
day, to less than $5 a share, despite news that Prince al-Walid bin Talal of
Saudi Arabia was increasing his stake in the troubled banking giant to 5
percent. Citigroup closed down 26 percent.
Financial companies including J.P Morgan, the Bank of America, Morgan
Stanley andMerrill Lynch all lost more than 10 percent.
On Thursday, new government data reinforced the economic gloom on Wall
Street. the Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment
benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 542,000 last week, the highest level
since July 1992.
“The profit drag on corporate America is widening and deepening, and this is
leading to more layoffs and cutbacks in capital spending, which is extending
and deepening the recession,” said Stuart Schweitzer, global markets
strategist for J.P. Morgan Private Bank. “We’ve gotten into a full-blown,
self-feeding downturn.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dow Jones and NASDAQ Composite, implacable heralds of depressions and crises
In a little over two weeks, the Dow has tumbled more than 2,000 points as
bad economic news continues to pile up. Word on Thursday that jobless claims
hit a 16-year high, combined with a dreary outlook for Detroit and a lack of
confidence in major financial institutions, helped drive the DJIA down to
7,552.29.
--
A SORR Point Memo
*Sean O'Reilly Report*
Fair and Balanced and Free
SORR Point
PAULSON IS FIRST UP
ECONOMY
Documents & Texts from America.gov
01 November 2007
U.S. Economy Ranks as World's Most Competitive
Washington -- The U.S. economy has regained its ranking as the world's most
competitive, largely as a result of its efficient markets and corporate
innovation, according to a major report.
Following the United States were Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden and Germany in
the 2007 edition of The Global Competitiveness Report, published by the
World Economic Forum (WEF), an international research and policy-support
group. In 2006, the U.S. economy ranked Number 6 in overall competitiveness.
"The efficiency of the country's markets, the sophistication of its business
community, the impressive capacity for technological innovation that exists
within a first-rate system of universities and research centers, all
contribute to making the United States a highly competitive economy," said
economist Xavier Sala-i-Martin, a co-editor of the report.
However, the report warns that macroeconomic imbalances, including current
account deficit, and some weaknesses of U.S. institutions "pose a risk to
the country's overall competitiveness potential."
In the 2007 edition, 131 countries were ranked on the quality of
institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic stability, health and primary
education, higher education and training, goods and labor market efficiency,
financial market sophistication, technological development, market size, and
business sophistication and innovation.
The United States scored high on innovation, labor market efficiency, and
higher education and training. The ranking was based on publicly available
data and a survey of more than 11,000 business leaders around the world. The
poll pinpointed tax rates and tax regulations as the most problematic areas
of the U.S. business environment.
Economist Michael Porter, another co-author of the report, said the index
helps governments identify policy areas ripe for improvements and provides
motivation for reforms.
Many private-sector and government economists said the resilience the U.S.
economy has shown in recent years in the face of many shocks such as the
2001 terrorist attacks, corporate scandals and high oil prices can be
attributed to its competitiveness, particularly the openness and flexibility
of its financial markets.
In October 2007, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he believes that
with these qualities the U.S. economy will be able to weather another
crisis -- the slump in the housing and mortgage markets and the related
credit crunch.
His optimism was supported by an October 31 Commerce Department report that
said the U.S. economy grew 3.9 percent in the third quarter. The news
surprised many market observers, who expected a slower growth rate.
The chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, Edward Lazear,
called the growth rate "quite remarkable," in view of the fact that the
housing market problems had begun to affect the economy during the third
quarter.
The full text of the report and accompanying materials can be accessed on
the WEF Web site.
http://www.weforum.org/en/initiatives/gcp/Global%20Competitiveness%20Report/index.htm
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov )
--------------------------------------
International Forecaster November 2007 (#2) - Gold, Silver, Economy + More
By: Bob Chapman, The International Forecaster
US MARKETS Posted Thursday, 8 November 2007
Someone doesn't believe the government's figures. Yes, we know there is a
credit crisis and that the banks and others will be writing off hundreds of
billions of dollars, but too many investors and professionals are finally
realizing that our government lies about everything. Inflation is over 11%
and government expects us to believe we have the lowest inflation in 50
years. They are not even believable liars. If you remember our government
and those on Wall Street and CNBC told us over and over that we had reached
the bottom of the real estate market. Now they tell us we may have a little
farther to go in what will be the worst correction since the 1930s. Our
economy has an inflation problem and the only resilience we see is the
result of massive amounts of money and credit being injected into the
economy. That is the result of a 15% increase in money and credit and a wide
open discount window. This is how economic growth is being manufactured and
the result is hyperinflation. You are supposed to believe that our inflation
is as low as it was in the 1950s. We guess the neocons and Wall Street are
hoping few remember the 1950s. Well, we do and this is nothing like that.
How can anyone conceivably believe with oil close to $100 a barrel that
inflation is 2-2/3%, never mind all the other inflationary factors? If we
are correct in our inflation estimate there is no growth. The economy is
hanging on by its fingernails even with massive stimulation.
The bogus third quarter GDP figures were a milestone in stupidity. If the
formula for the second quarter had been used, GDP would have been over 2%,
but that wouldn't have been good enough for the charlatans and crooks of
Wall Street and the beltway. This economy has been contracting for 1-1/2
years and official lies and massive amounts of money and credit have covered
that up.
The Fed knows the economy is in recession and now that they have committed
themselves to bailing out the economy and the financial sector we see
another rate cut in either December or January. Inflation is 11.3%, not 0.8%
monthly, as the Commerce Department would have us believe. The Fed doesn't
care about inflation - they just lie about it. They have abandoned the
dollar, so we see a good chance of another ź% rate cut on December 11th. The
housing collapse is still in stage one of three stages and there were not
166,000 jobs created in October. We will soon have the numbers that show it
should be close to zero. Do not forget they need 250,000 more each month
just to say even. Their birth/death ratio could be helpful if it was refined
and not politicized, but all it is used for is to justify the proscribed
results. If you look at the BLS's household survey there was no job growth
last month.
******************* mmmmm, this guy IS cluey
The credit market is still frozen and greater losses will continue to be
announced as more and more foreclosures disrupt the system. Foreclosures are
up over 200% and high numbers should prevail for 1-1/2 years or longer. As
many as 2.5 million homes could go into foreclosure. That is what we
predicted three years ago. We cut that figure in half to project losses in
the industry. That, of course, will have a devastating affect on homeowners,
real estate prices and mortgage-backed assets. The financial blood will flow
for sometime to come. Again, this is lots of ammunition for the Fed to lower
rates. At 4-1/2% presently they could drop another point to 3-1/2%.
Considering all the other problems we could see the dollar at 50 on the
USDX. The credit crisis will last years, not months.
http://news.goldseek.com/InternationalForecaster/1194537720.php
--------------------------------------
Q3 GDP Growth Revised Up
Thursday November 29, 2007
Bill Pugliano /Getty Images The BEA reported that preliminary U.S. GDP
growth for Q3 2007 was an astounding 4.9%. This revision was a full
percentage
------------------------------------------------------------------
Beige Book Reports Slowing Economy
Wednesday November 28, 2007
The Federal Reserve reported U.S. economic growth at a slower pace for
October/November as released in its Beige Book summary. Specifically, 7 of
the 12 Fed Districts reported slower growth.
What It Means to You The Beige Book helps the Fed set monetary policy. Its
gloomy outlook may influence the Fed to continue lowering interest rates.
----------------------------------------------
U.S. economy adds 94K jobs in November, above estimate
Posted Dec 7th 2007 10:47AM by Joseph Lazzaro
The nation's economy added 94,000 jobs in November 2007, the U.S. Labor
Department announced Friday, above the 65,000 consensus estimate, but still
below a level considered adequate job growth.
The 94,000 November job stat suggests that employers are still adding
employees at a modest pace, despite the housing sector's correction and
credit market turmoil created by subprime mortgage defaults.
Economic Analysis: The November 2007 job creation stat suggests a job market
strong enough to keep the U.S. economy out of recession, but not nearly
strong enough to accommodate the number of new adults entering the
work-eligible population.
------------------------------------------------------
The US economy relied heavily on its consumers' willingness to borrow
heavily to meet their wants, even as debt mounts. But the recent economic
slowdown has dampened the spending spree. Hints of renewed thriftiness in
the US contribute to global unease, and pessimists warn of a severe
recession, with a plummeting stock market, escalating unemployment and
declining value in the dollar. On the other hand, optimists argue that the
weak dollar could correct trade imbalances by increasing US exports,
resulting in overall healthier global trade. Regardless of the actual
outcome, it's evident that the fates of many national economies depend on
the US, whether by currency pegging or trade agreements. Easy credit and
money are in short supply, and so the US, other nations and businesses
should select carefully among their spending priorities, which could help
prevent disarray for individual economies and the global economy as a
whole. - YaleGlobal
-----------------------------------------
GO FIGURE
The U.S. Economy: Trying to Guess What Happens Next
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: November 25, 2007
YOU need not be a Wall Street chieftain to feel the anxiety that has wrapped
its arms around the American economy. The stock market seems locked in a
downward spiral as one bank after another suffers its day of reckoning with
bad mortgages. Companies are sharply cutting profit forecasts as the sense
takes hold that American consumers are finally too loaded with debt to buy
the next flat-screen television. The dollar has fallen to inglorious depths,
turning Manhattan department stores into something like a Tijuana street
market for Germans. One unpleasant word hovers large: recession.
How bad could things get? Pretty bad, say many economists. Not so bad that
your grandfather's prescriptions for enduring the Great Depression need
dusting off, but nasty enough to force many Americans to get reacquainted
with living within their means. That could make life uncomfortable. It may
also be an unavoidable step toward purging the United States and the global
economy of a major source of instability - an unhealthy dependence on the
willingness of American consumers to keep buying even as debt mounts.
Concerns that Americans must eventually grow thrifty, leaving factories from
Guangzhou to Guatemala City scrambling for buyers, now sows unease around
the world.
It is worth bearing in mind that the American economy has a history of
unexpected resilience in the face of supposedly grim prospects. Moreover,
some parts of the economy are enjoying good times, notably farmers able to
cash in on the making of ethanol. That said, most economists think the
American economy is headed for a significant slowdown, as housing prices
keep falling, consumers grow tight, and businesses cut investments.
The Federal Reserve last week said it expected the economy to grow 1.6
percent to 2.6 percent next year, a stark contrast from the 3.9 percent rate
registered in the most recent quarter. Some see signs of a worst-case
scenario - a severe recession that would feature a plummeting stock market,
a lower dollar and the loss of many jobs. That would make for an unpleasant
year or two for Americans from most walks of life. It would probably drag
down the world economy, as Americans put off purchases of everything from
computers made in China to Italian-produced sports cars.
The most bearish indulge frighteningly gloomy tones. "The evidence is now
building that an ugly recession is inevitable," declared Nouriel Roubini, an
economist who was among the first to warn of the dangers of a real estate
downturn, writing last week on his blog, the Global EconoMonitor. "When the
United States sneezes the rest of the world gets the cold. And since the
United States will not just sneeze, but is risking a serious case of
protracted and severe pneumonia, the rest of the world should start to worry
about a serious viral contagion."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/weekinreview/25goodman.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1__r=1_ref=business&oref=slogin
---------------------------------------------------------------------
now FAST FORWARD to September / October 2008
OH MY GOD - SHOCK HORROR - NO ONE EXPECTED THIS TO OCCUR - Why weren't we
warned? Why didn't the Government do somehting about this before it got so
bad?
Alan Greenspan:
"a rare event" "once in a century"
"I'm shocked" "in a state of shock and disbelief"
"took me by surprise"
October 23, 2008
But watch and listen to what he said to the Congress in 2005, after Rep.
Bernie Sanders screamed at Greenspan HE WAS OUT OF TOUCH WITH REAL AMERICA,
and didn't even know the real figures as to the state of the economy.
http://brasschecktv.com/page/454.html
The billionaire's best friend
Alan Greenspan, the "monetary policy genius" who was in charge of the
Federal Reserve Bank for over twenty years, justifies his anti-social
policies in 2005...and expresses his shock and surprise at their outcome in
2008.
The man is a straight up liar.
He was Fed Chairman during the Savings and Loan scandal. He saw nearly a
trillion dollar loss to the US banking system thanks to deregulation of the
real estate lending industry.
He knows fully well that banks can't be trusted to lend without oversight.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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"SORR Point" <Rela...@theBeach.DownUnder.org> wrote in message
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