What I was thinking about was that in the commercial loan sector the focus is really more on doing a job and getting a day's work done --and not as much on the triumph of good over evil. That's why I tend to see loan charge-offs more the result of economics than being caused by people's deadbeat mindsets. My reasoning is that it doesn't make sense to believe so many people decided to forsake character in '09 and then suddenly seek redemption a year later.
--and a very happy Friday morning to all! This is supposed to be the end of a busy week but for some reason or other everything's starting up more frantic than ever. OK, so yesterday metals'n'stocks were flat and they're tepid today (futures: mtls +0.12, stks -0.01) but it's a direction change w/ stocks hinting at rally-top/consolidation and metal switching to basing mode. Big report dump--
Nonfarm Payrolls
Nonfarm Private Payrolls
Unemployment Rate
Hourly Earnings
Average Workweek
Consumer Credit
--and the news is all over the place:
U.S. Economic Growth Is All an Illusion - John Crudele, New York Post
Doubting the Economic Data? Consider the Source - Floyd Norris, NYT
Did Wall Street Buy This Election? - David Weidner, MarketWatch
It's the Economy, and They're Not Stupid - Peter Schiff, Euro Pacific Capital
Opposition Congress Could Be Good for Growth - Jeffrey Dorfman, Forbes
Very Motivated Voters Shatter Monetary Delusions - Jeffrey Snider, RCM
GOP Congress Should Start Fixing the Fed - Seth Lipsky, New York Post