The battle between seasonally-adjusted and non seasonally-adjusted rages on. I am skeptical of the adjustments made by the BLS, but must admit that this year’s seasonal decline is far tamer than in previous years.

The battle between seasonally-adjusted and non seasonally-adjusted rages on. I am skeptical of the adjustments made by the BLS, but must admit that this year’s seasonal decline is far tamer than in previous years.

This is a ridiculous amount of money. No wonder so many people are fooled repeatedly by sweet talk and false promises.
No, this isn’t a commentary on variations in diet…
- Observe how European countries emit far less than Canada or the US. This is because Europe wasn’t built for the automobile.
- Also observe how the biggest per capita polluters are the countries closest to the largest oil reserves. Unsustainable luxuries in a harsh environment (e.g. air conditioned indoor ski hills) don’t help.
According to this, the US economy is still headed towards recession sometime in the first half of 2012. Keep in mind this is a leading indicator, so coincident and lagging indicators won’t necessarily confirm what the ECRI index is telling us.
What makes this so compelling is that ECRI’s Lakshman Achuthan correctly identified the false positive that occured in 2010, but is now confirming the current reading. Watch the interview with Achuthan below.

Nothing new here…just a pie chart showing that Italy alone could take down the Euro-zone:

Job Openings: steady upward trend

Hires: Not keeping pace with job postings. Are employers fishing around for good deals but not finding them?

Quits: Employees are steadily feeling more comfortable quitting their jobs. Perhaps they’re seeing the rise in job postings?

Layoffs: Layoffs are below trend. With both layoffs and hiring at fairly low levels, one could argue the US economy has found its equilibrium employment rate, given current conditions.

It appears like certain real estate markets across America have reached a point at which prices are supported by rents.
Higher savings rates coupled with strategic mortgage defaults and consumer debt reorganizations have brought the debt payments to income ratio close to 1980 and 1994 levels. The lower this ratio goes the stronger the financial footing of the average American. A couple more years of this trend and we could actually have a consumer that is in good financial shape.




