Those of you who are familiar with San Diego know that the Gaslamp Quarter is one of the busiest areas in the city.  People who live around it get used to large crowds.  We're used to a typical Saturday night when the crowds spill off the sidewalk into the streets.  And… Read full post »

Ronald Reagan, the hero of the so called conservatives, once said "are great numbers of our unemployed really victims of the illegal alien invasion or are those illegal tourists actually doing work our own people won't do?  One thing is certain in this hungry world;/… Read full post »

One of the slowest segments of the economy to return to strength has been the jobs market.  We've seen three consecutive quarters of GDP growth.  All of the major indices are up by around two thirds since the lows seen in March 2009.  But jobs have been a laggard, with the…

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Greece has been the origin of many things.  Science, for example, traces its origin to ancient Greece.  Greece is also known as the birthplace of democracy, and it's also the place where coins were first used for money.  It's also given us the Olympics. /…

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So the report from ESPN is that Brett Favre says he is "highly unlikely" to return for another season.

Don't believe it for a second.

Favre changes his mind more than a woman getting ready for her first date changes her outfit.  Seriously, the entire closet would be on the floor… Read full post »

The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose to 474,000 for the week ending December 5.  That was an increase of 17,000 from the prior week's unrevised figure of 457,000.  The four week moving average, which smooths out the fluctuations that can occur with the weekly data,…

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Today's downgrade of debt from Greece and Dubai as well as a revision of Spain's debt outlook to negative show that while the financial system may have stabilized, problems remain.

Fitch reduced its rating on Greece's debt from A- to BBB+.  Greece's debt is still considered investment grade, howe…

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The story of AIG and its bailout has taken on new legs.  A story from Bloomberg highlighted what happened last fall, when AIG was bailed out by the government.  AIG, as you know, had sold credit default swaps, which are basically insurance against… Read full post »

Two days after the the Dow closed above 10,000 again, selling pressure is going to put that threshold at risk.  Market futures are pointing to a lower open on disappointing earnings reports from Bank of America, General Electric, and International Business Machines.

The Labor Department's release of September payroll numbers came in much worse than expected, with non-farm payrolls declining by 263,000. The rate of job losses has slowed, with the May through September period showing average payroll drops of 307,000 per month compared to a loss rate of 645,000 fr…

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The Commerce Department released its third and final revision of second quarter GDP this morning, and the revision was in a positive direction. The latest revision for second quarter GDP showed a decline of 0.7 percent on an annualized basis. That is down from a… Read full post »

Today brought us two reports which provided insight into the economy. The reports showed weakness in one area but strength in another.

First up was the release of the Case-Shiller home price index. This data, which was released at 9:00 AM, showed that home prices… Read full post »

Stocks broke a three day losing streak on gains fueled by merger announcements by Xerox and Abbott Laboratories today. The rally allowed stocks to recoup much of the losses they incurred last month. The Dow surged by 1.3 percent to 9,789; the S&P 500 rose… Read full post »

Today's data on initial unemployment claims showed that the economy is recovering. Later, we got data that shows how that recovery is likely to be weak. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released data on existing home sales which showed a drop of 2.7 percent… Read full post »

This morning, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims dropped by 21,000 to 530,000 in the latest week, down from an adjusted figure of 551,000. The previously reported number of claims for the prior week was 545,000, and the consensus estimate was for an increase… Read full post »

In a sign of the tensions that climate change is creating in the business community, Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility arm of PG&E, announced that it was leaving the Chamber of Commerce. In a letter announcing the split, PG&E's CEO said "we find it dismaying… Read full post »

Today, the Federal Reserve begins its two day meeting where it will ponder interest rates. It generally doesn't release information on the first day of the meeting. Nor is the Fed likely to raise interest rates. So, investors will anxiously be awaiting the Fed's… Read full post »

Today is the options expiration date for the month of September. Traders expect a choppy session with that happening. Yesterday, stocks slipped, but the major indices are still showing gains for the week and so far, the September swoon that many had expected has not arrived.

Options expiration…

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That is the question asked by Marketplace today. As you know, there are millions of houses on the market. Many houses remain unsold, and demand for houses is so low that some builders have left partially completed subdivisions unfinished. And foreclosures continue to increase,… Read full post »

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended, but warned that the economy is not growing fast enough to quickly bring down the unemployment rate. "Even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point, it’s still g… Read full post »

The release of retail sales and New York state manufacturing numbers showed an economy that's continuing to recover. Retail sales surged by 2.7 percent in August, influenced in large part by the Cash for Clunkers program. Economists had expected a 1.9 percent gain. Even after taking autos out…

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Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said that another financial crisis is inevitable due to human nature. During times of sustained prosperity, Greenspan explained, human nature will cause traders to move to "speculative excesses."

"That is the unquenchable capability of human beings when confronted…

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Republicans have been quick to say that the stimulus package isn't working.  For example, the head of the Colorado republican party said that the stimulus is a "failed economic experiment."

John Boehner, who kept his party from casting a single yes vote on the stimulus, said that the stimulus "d… Read full post »

Last week, we had Germany and France reporting growth in their GDP. And in another sign that the global economy is coming out of recession, Japan's GDP swung to growth. Japan's GDP grew at an annualized rate of 3.7 percent, ending the longest recession in… Read full post »

As previously noted, today was the day where the Fed would release its statement on interest rates and its outlook for the economy. Today, at 2:15 PM, the Fed released its statement.

The Fed said that while economic conditions will remain weak, economic activity is leveling out. The…

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