“Jobless recovery” continues to be the most apt descriptor of the employment situation for the period May 2010. New jobs were reported at +431,000 which would be a terrific number but 411,000 of those were census workers, i.e. temporary government employees. Worse, there is anecdotal evidence that some of these workers have been counted a second time having returned to their posts to help track... 

It has been quite a time since early May. Look at all that has happened. 1. The oil spill proved to be worse than first thought, 2. the S&P 500 is off 10% from the high (that’s an improvement from down 14% 2 days ago), 3. the European issues seem almost intractable, 4. Goldman Sachs problems have degenerated into pointing and shouting which will probably give rise to 5. a new financial regulation... 

The month of May started today, at least, from the standpoint of the markets and the international payment system. There is a lot of news and it all has a bearing on the level of the market and on things like the euro/dollar relationship and other issues. Let’s take the oil spill first. It is not possible to say yet what the ultimate amount of damage both ecologically and financially might be,... 

That is right…driving a car in the USA is not a Right, it is a Privilege. And a privilege that most Americans and people driving in the USA abuse everyday. I say ‘most people’ because there certainly seems to be a LOT of drivers in the USA that are not US Citizens, much less licensed drivers. Yes, it is against the law to drive without a valid driver’s license in the USA.... 

Almost all of the analysts pronounced that yesterday’s market disruption was related to Greece’s troubles. What’s more both Portugal and Spain, whose economies have slowed and whose debt levels have increased, are also mentioned as potential trouble spots. Greece’s sovereign debt was downgraded to BB+, below investment grade and Portugal has been downgraded to A- from A+. So, what went wrong... 

The Goldman Sachs hearings today represent a glimpse into raw capitalism by those involved in raw government. The outcome won’t be pretty. Today Goldman is being accused of playing a role in the housing market crisis that allowed them to make money at the same time that they hastened the decline in home values. If housing had still been in an uptrend when the company tried to “bet against it”... 

The Federal Reserve has determined to keep short-term rates low to re-stimulate the economy and to keep the housing market from falling further. In addition, the Fed has been concerned about the banking system which now shows a much better prospect of having turned the corner. Whether or not you like some of the objectives here, the good news has been that some interest rates have been very low... 

The March Employment situation report came out this morning. There was some good news here in that total new jobs, including census workers and other temporary positions, increased by 162,000. Further it is believed that some workers were counted in March instead of February because of severe winter weather which hit late in the reporting period in some east coast cities. That could have caused... 

“The Fed has lowered rates again!” This is a come-on you hear all the time from mortgage brokers to get you to re-finance your home loan or consolidate debt or to scare one into believing that the next move will be up! In fact, the Fed Funds rate (the interest rate off of which many other financial contracts are based)is near zero and has been there since December 2008. The Federal Reserve... 

The crisis in the big banks and on Wall Street seemed to come on very quickly and to some of us, seemed to get resolved almost as quickly. What happened and can it happen again? Up until the summer of 2007 bank and brokerage earnings and their stock prices appeared to be on an upward trajectory, which would never end. A steady flow of money into home mortgages and real estate projects fueled a...