Since bad news is good news when you are an equity investor, here are five recent reports that may well trigger a buying stampede when trading opens for business on Thursday morning (unless, of course, the "smart money" -- I use that term very loosely -- suddenly comes to its senses):
"Death and Joblessness" (Washington Independent)
Suicide Dogs the Long-Term Unemployed. What Can Be Done to Help Them?
He hit “publish” on the last Wednesday in July, in the middle of a long afternoon. “I also have become homeless and am on the verge of suicide. I slept out in the wood last night and didn’t gett very much sleep. I hate to bring you people down with my problems but I thought you would like to know this. I don’t know what else to say except I’m very sorry it turned out like this but I can take the strain of living like this very much longer.” (All posts are reproduced as published.)
The post went up as part of a conversation about homelessness on Unemployed-Friends, a popular online forum for the unemployed to connect with one another. Most were discussing how to live in homeless shelters after eviction or foreclosure. But his post went further. “This is killing me physically and emotoinally. I am at the end of my rope and getting to the point of letting go. I have tried everything I know to get help. DHS won’t help’ Salvation Army won’t help. 211 won’t help. I have no idea as to where to go from here. If you don’t hear from me by tomorrow I probably will be dead.”
Thousands of users visit the web site daily, offering one another everything from advice about applying for unemployment insurance benefits to emotional support. It is one of dozens of such sites helping the nation’s 14.6 million unemployed — particularly the long-term unemployed, the 6.6 million Americans who have been out of work for more than six months. “I am very tempted to walk in front of an oncoming semi right now. Sorry to go on ranting but I am getting to the point where I feel I have no choice. For those of you that want to know I am currently in Grand Rapids. I appreciate your words of encouragement but right now it doesn’t seem to be enough to keep me going.”
The post ended, “I will try to tough out another night. Goodbye for now.”
"Some Stores Finding Deep Discounts Aren't Enough" (Associated Press)
A dollar for a 40-ounce bottle of ketchup? Yawn. Four bucks for a 12-pack of Coke? No sale.
Even deep discounts on everyday items don't seem to be enough to get Walmart shoppers to bite these days, and other chains are worried Americans won't be in the mood to spend in the months ahead, which are critical for those companies.On Tuesday, quarterly financial results from retailers including Home Depot and Abercrombie & Fitch showed that profits are rising because retailers are cutting costs and keeping their inventories lean.
But with the economy slowing once again and consumer confidence falling, they expect less out of the rest of the year, and they already have to push harder to get shoppers to buy.
"More Iowans Seek Treatment for Gambling Addiction" (Associated Press)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - As the recession drags on, more Iowans are seeking treatment for gambling addiction.
From fiscal 2006 to 2009, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported a steady decline in the number of people seeking help for gambling addiction, from 1,205 to 905.
But that changed this year. State gambling treatment coordinator Mark Vander Linden says preliminary figures show 948 people sought treatment in 2010, about a 10 percent increase.
Experts say the down economy could be fueling the trend as some Iowans who are hoping for a quick fix to their financial problems head for the casinos or online gambling sites.
"Homeless in Longview: 'We Don't Have Anywhere Else to Go'" (KATU)
LONGVIEW, Wash. – Local business owners have enough to deal with in a recession, from paying for their employees to getting customers in the door.
Now Longview business owners have another concern, facing a growing problem that's right on their doorstep. They say they are tired of cleaning up after people who are homeless.
They say the outside of their businesses are turning into outhouses, and they're concerned about safety after dumpsters and shopping carts used by the homeless have caught on fire.
Just one block from historic downtown Longview is a problem business owners are tired of seeing ... and smelling.
"They pee over here and sleep over here in winter time," says one proprietor.
Restaurant owner Fay Chen describes the alley that backs up to several businesses as "a public toilet."
"They come out here all the time and smell so bad," Chen said.
The answer may not be as simple as building more shelters. Indeed, the director of the local Homeless Recovery Center said it is not a question of space. He says the people causing these problems won't obey basic rules and also cause trouble for the shelter.
"At Small Firms, Job Cuts Run Deep" (Real Time Economics)
The bulk of job losses at the end of last year were concentrated in the smallest firms, underscoring how small business is lagging in this recovery.
Businesses with fewer than 50 employees accounted for 61.8% of all job cuts in the private sector in the fourth quarter, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, while the same sized businesses created 54.1% of new jobs. Companies of this size employ roughly 29% of all workers.
The numbers are a reverse from the same time a year ago, when small businesses made up a larger share of jobs that were added as opposed to lost. Small firms made up half of all jobs lost at the end of 2008 but also comprised 53.9% of all job gains.
“Although small businesses account for a large share of gross hiring activity, they also account for a large share of gross firing activity. There is a huge amount of churn in the small business labor market,” says Zach Pandl, an analyst for Nomura Securities.
Many economists believe the recession had already ended by the fourth quarter of 2009 and the job market has slowly begun to improve. But small businesses have lagged, in part because access to credit is still tight.
Rep. Ryan’s Reverse-Robin-Hood Budget Plan
August 18, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Rep. Paul Ryan and his budget plan are getting a lot of respectful
attention in the press. (See here and here.) New York Times columnist
Matt Bai suggests Ryan’s plan might represent “the starting point in
what could be a serious negotiation about entitlements and spending.”
But a careful look at the plan shows it to be a radical blueprint to
shift massive resources from the broad majority of Americans to the
very wealthy, while leaving the budget on an unsustainable course for
decades.
Tax cuts for the wealthy; tax increases for the middle class. The Ryan
plan would give the most affluent households a new round of large tax
cuts by reducing the top income tax rates; eliminating income taxes on
capital gains, dividends, and interest; and abolishing the corporate
income tax, the estate tax, and the alternative minimum tax. To
offset some of the cost, the plan would place a new consumption tax on
most goods and services, which would increase taxes on most low- and
middle-income families.
The tax cuts for those at the very top would be historic. The richest
1 percent of Americans would see their taxes cut in half, and
households with incomes above $1 million would receive a $502,000 tax
cut each year, on average, according to the Urban Institute-Brookings
Institution Tax Policy Center.
In contrast, about three-quarters of Americans — those with incomes
between $20,000 and $200,000 — would face tax increases. Households
with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000 would pay an extra $900, on
average.
http://www.offthechartsblog.org/rep-ryan%E2%80%99s-reverse-robin-hood-budget-plan/
Posted by: How does this help us? | August 19, 2010 at 09:52 AM
And don't forget Obama stacked the cat food commission with wealthy elites who think we are the "lesser people." We know their recommendations will include screwing the old and disabled and trying--yet again--to privatize Social Security. Apparently Wall Street isn't making enough money with insider trading, they want the huge fees that come with "managing" our trust money.
It's time to get serious about a revolution. The Powers That Be need to be scared of us or they will keep stealing whatever we have left.
Posted by: sharonsj | August 19, 2010 at 10:50 AM