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Initial jobless claims rose to 439,000, their highest level since May 2011. And no, it isn't due to SuperStorm Sandy. Rather, it was increases in Ohio and Pennsylvania that led the surge. Continuing jobless claims spiked as well, their highest point since March 2012. Meanwhile, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey of General Businesss Conditions improved from -6.16 in October to -5.22 in November. The Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook of General Conditions fell to -10.7 from an October reading of +5.7. Meanwhile, The Dow Jones Industrials continue their post election slide. Oogh!

As recently reported by USA Today, one third of millennials have earned four-year degrees. In my previous blog entry I discussed the financial perils facing these students, who often graduate unable to find a job in their major (unemployed or underemployed) and saddled heavily with debt. However, it looks like the job market for those with Bachelor’s degrees is creeping upward somewhat, according to a new report issued by Michigan State University (pdf). “The new college labor market inches ahead with a 3 percent gain over last year across all degrees,” it states. “Strong demand for marketing, finance, human resources,...

WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) – As President Barack Obama is set to begin his second term, new statistics on America’s poverty rate indicate that nearly 50 million Americans, more than 16 percent of the population, are struggling to survive. New figures released by the Census Bureau this week found a spike in poverty numbers last year, going from 49 million in 2010 to 49.7 million last year. The numbers may come as a surprise to Congress, which estimated in September that the poverty rate would drop to 46.2 million. One of the most startling findings showed that almost 20 percent of American...

There may actually be some good news coming out of academia. “This really is a profession that has run amok,” Robert Whitaker, author of Anatomy of an Epidemic said of psychiatrists in a recent interview with Celeste McGovern which appeared in Citizen magazine. “People are beginning to question its legitimacy and they are beginning to mistrust its values, its diagnoses and its treatments.” McGovern writes that, “Even medical students are avoiding it, he adds, as the average age of psychiatrists is now 57.” Citizen is published by Focus on the Family. McGovern is based in the United Kingdom. “Every day...

A very important article came out from the Wall Street Journal yesterday titled “FHA Nears Need for Taxpayer Funds,” and it outlines the serious financial problems facing the Federal Housing Administration. For those that are unaware or need a refresher, the FHA has been the key element to the phony “housing recovery” the government has been trying to create. In the wake of the collapse of 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac blew up and what was left to pick up the pieces was the FHA. No private player would issue loans with down payments of 3%, but this was...

"The unbridled growth of crony unionism and government corruption will destroy the United States as we know it." This statement may strike many as sheer hyperbole. But its author, Mallory Factor, a political scientist at The Citadel, knows whereof he writes. His new book, "Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind" (New York: Center Street), makes a credible case, and a well-sourced one, that our country may be in the early stages of a ruinous dystopia, courtesy of public-sector unions. In pursuing their interests, argues the author, these labor organizations hold taxpaying citizens hostage to unsustainable wage/salary, pension,...

Samsung Introduces 10nm 64GB eMMC Memory Storage Solution for Slim Smartphones and TabletsSamsung Electronics said this week that its new 64Gb eMMC NAND flash memory storage chip for smartphones and tablets memory went into production late last month using 10nm-class process technology.Samsung is applying eight 64Gb high-performance NAND memory layers produced using its 10nm-class technology to the new 64GB eMMC Pro class 2000 memory solution. The new embedded memory solution exceeds the performance levels of the conventional 64GB eMMC Pro class 1500 based on an eMMC 4.5 interface by 30%. The 64GB eMMC Pro class 2000 measures 11.5mm by 13mm,...

Did you travel to Alaska since August 2008? Please tell us about your trip(s) and Sarah Palin's influence on them This unscientific survey is one tool to help determine the impact of Sarah Palin and her policies on Alaska tourism through the use of anecdotal evidence. The survey consists of 10 questions. No personal or contact information is requested on this survey.

Stryker Corporation has announced that it will close its facility in Orchard Park, New York, eliminating 96 jobs next month. It will also counter the medical device tax in Obamacare by eliminating 5% of their global workforce, an estimated 1,170 positions. Jon Stryker is heir to the Stryker Corporation, one of the largest medical device and equipment manufacturers in the world. Stryker’s grandfather was the surgeon who invented the mobile hospital bed. The company now sells $8.3 billion worth of hospital beds, artificial joints, medical cameras, and medical software every year. Stryker, a member of the Forbes 400 list, was...

WINSTON-SALEM — Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center will lay off 76 employees this week and cut a total of 950 jobs by the end of next June, the center's chief executive said today. Dr. John McConnell said most of the cuts are administrative positions, but some faculty members could lose their jobs due to cuts in federal research funding. He also said 2012-13 revenue is being affected by "deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments, which constitute nearly half of our health-care reimbursements."(continued)

Chipmaker Texas Instruments said Wednesday that it will lay off 1,700 workers in an effort to shift focus away from its struggling mobile business. The job cuts represent about 5% of TI's staff, and they are part of a previously announced restructuring initiative aimed at cutting costs and increasing its presence in the burgeoning embedded device market. Shares of Texas Instruments rose about 1% in afterhours trading. The Dallas-based company had made some headway in the smartphone market a few years ago. But recently the biggest mobile phone makers, including Samsung and Apple have opted to design their own chips...

<p>Microsoft is in deep trouble, their two main product lines are failing, and the blame game is intensifying. Steve Sinofsky gets the blame this time for the failure of Windows 8, but the real problem is the patterns that are so clearly illustrated by these actions.</p>

We, the people of the US, are heading for a disaster of epic proportions. And when it hits, due to the US influence abroad, the world will feel the hurt at the same magnitude. Why? Fiat currency, that’s why. Combined with rapidly increasing national debt, and interest rates kept artificially low, with massive infusions of "cash" into the market place, the foundation holding up the confidence in the US dollar is starting to crumble. Given more credit ratings downgrades by the various international credit foundations and agencies, the point of irreversible damage is quickly approaching. When that happens, hyper-inflation will...

Old school mobsters liked their Cadillacs, and boss Joseph Bonnano Sr. liked them so much that in 1977 he offered to buy out a Caddy dealership owned by Lou Peters in Lodi, CA as reported by the FBI. Peters went to the FBI, and the G-men put a wire on him. Peters recorded Bonanno instructing him to destroy any records linking the pair, and Bonanno subsequently "was found guilty of obstructing justice and sentenced to five years in prison -- the first felony conviction in the mob boss' long life of crime." Peters was a former Marine who told the...

It has been one week since the reelection of Barack Obama and the reality of Obamacare’s permanence in the American landscape is beginning to set in for many business owners. Papa John’s founder and CEO, John Schnatter made headlines last week along with a slew of other companies when he announced some changes that would likely occur as Obamacare continues to be implemented. Schnatter commented that many of his company’s franchise owners will have to cut employees’ hours in order to avoid falling under Obamacare’s coverage requirements, and stay fiscally sound. “That’s probably what’s going to happen,” he said according...

It has been one week since the reelection of Barack Obama and the reality of Obamacare’s permanence in the American landscape is beginning to set in for many business owners. Papa John’s founder and CEO, John Schnatter made headlines last week along with a slew of other companies when he announced some changes that would likely occur as Obamacare continues to be implemented. Schnatter commented that many of his company’s franchise owners will have to cut employees’ hours in order to avoid falling under Obamacare’s coverage requirements, and stay fiscally sound. “That’s probably what’s going to happen,” he said according...

AMD’s Management Considers Sale of Company, Patent Portfolio Advanced Micro Devices has hired JP Morgan Chase to investigate future strategic options for the company, which has been losing money, market share and talents for many years in a row. AMD officially denied that the plan is to sell the company or to merge with a bigger partner.The options that AMD asked JP Morgan Chase to explore include sale of the whole company as well as a sale of its portfolio of patents, reports Reuters news-agency citing three sources with knowledge of the matter. It is claimed that the primary...

Microsoft is largely irrelevant to computing of late, the only markets they still play in are evaporating with stunning rapidity. Their long history of circling the wagons tighter and tighter works decently as long as there is not a credible alternative, and that strategy has been the entirety of the Microsoft playbook for so long that there is nothing else now. It works, and as the walls grow higher, customer enmity builds while the value of an alternative grows. This cycle repeats as long as there is no alternative. If there is, everything unravels with frightening rapidity.A company that plays...

I don't want to be insensitive but depending on what he is willing to share with nothing left to lose - talking about his potential vulnerability to becoming a victim of sudden suicide could help inoculate him....

BRADENTON -- Workers targeted in the area's largest single round of layoffs in more than a decade have begun this month to hit the unemployment rolls. The first wave of job cuts in what will eventually grow to 325 are now underway at Pierce Manufacturing in Bradenton, an Oshkosh subsidiary that earlier this year announced plans to discontinue its ambulance line just 18 months after the operation was moved to Florida. The maker of emergency response vehicles has let go some of its contracted workers in a process that will continue through early next year with many full-time laborers when...

The city’s Civil Rights Commission has pushed to bring attention to housing discrimination based on how a tenant pays rent, including low-income tenants who qualify for and use Section 8 housing vouchers to help pay for housing. At the commission’s Fair Housing Conference here on Thursday, the regional fair-housing director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development took time to emphasize the value of the sometimes maligned “Section 8″ housing vouchers to both extremely low-income households and to the overall economy. Betty Bottiger, who works in HUD’s regional office in Kansas City, Kan., noted that the agency’s “housing...

Citigroup Inc. plans to lay off 100 employees in its Reckson Plaza office in Uniondale, the bank said in a regulatory filing Tuesday. The bank cited "economic" reasons for the layoff, which is part of a larger plan to cut about 5,000 employees because of volatile financial markets and declining trading and investment fees. "These actions were part of a restructuring plan previously announced at the end of 2011," the bank said in a statement Tuesday. The Uniondale workers are part of a unit that focuses on consumer operations, such as processing statements. The office will remain open, staffed with...

A great deal of discussion has taken place on conservative message boards today due to the fact that Glenn Beck has referred to those in twenty states who have signed petitions to “secede” from the union. These petitions seemed peculiar to me since it would be the job of their elected state legislators to secede if such an activity were to take place, not individual citizens. As I elaborated in my video today, on his radio program Glenn has repeatedly urged listeners to move from northern states to Oklahoma and Texas. The inference is obvious. Yet, he implies that people...

Think about how a new IEA projection – that our vast shale resources will let the U.S. overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2020 – fits with last week’s decision by the administration to remove more than 1.5 million western acres from oil shale development. Short answer: Not very well. Although we’re talking about two different shale resources – one that yields oil and/or natural gas when fractured and one containing solid material that converts to liquid oil when heated – this is about two approaches to America’s energy future and what’s possible if...

AMF Bowling Worldwide Inc., the world's largest bowling operator, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to restructure its mounting debt. The Hanover County-based company said this morning that it filed a pre-arranged petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond. AMF said it expects completing the restructuring process and exiting Chapter 11 within five months. AMF operates a location in Lynchburg near the intersection of U.S. 29 and Candlers Mountain Road, near James T. Davis Paint Center. The company said it will continue its normal business operations during the Chapter 11 process, and its bowling centers will maintain normal operating...

If doubts lingered about a major shift in supercomputer technology, the latest ranking Monday of the 500 largest scientific systems should dispel them–as well as any fears that China might claim a lead in the field anytime soon.The latest Top500 list–compiled twice a year based on results of standard speed tests–anoints a machine called Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as the speediest on the planet. This wasn’t too much of a surprise based on the lab’s recent comments about the system.But the Titan’s ascendance nevertheless is a milestone for efforts to popularize system designs that use two varieties of...

Glens Falls Hospital announced Tuesday morning it is eliminating 29 jobs and reducing five other employees to part-time status, as part of a cost-reduction program being blamed on “declining reimbursement levels and other economic challenges.” “We deeply regret the pain and anguish this difficult decision will cause for so many of our co-workers, but sustaining the fiscal health of Glens Falls Hospital so it can and will continue to ensure quality health care for the southeastern Adirondack region is our paramount responsibility,” said Glens Falls Hospital President and CEO David Kruczlnicki, in a prepared statement. Tuesday’s announcement comes less than...

The Gambino crime family allegedly is strengthening its ties to the old country, and the supposed move may prove its undoing under a recently issued Executive Order by President Barack Obama which authorizes the Treasury Department to designate transnational crime groups in order to freeze their assets and ban American citizens and companies from conducting business with them. The Treasury Department through its Office of Foreign Assets Control was granted the authority to take enforcement action against designated transnational crime groups under Executive Order 13581 issued on July 24, 2011 pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and in...

This begs the question of what Obama knew about Petraeus and his "lifestyle" when he appointed him. The Soviet style of this regime makes me wonder about John Roberts. This is just pure speculation about a public figure, not an accusation. But my first reaction to the inexplicable Roberts decision is "what the hell does Obama have over this guy?". Obama didn't appoint Roberts of course but I'd bet he, Axelrod and the Chicago gang know everything there is to know about his personal life and are adroit when in comes to influencing behavior.

Student debt has seemingly been the transmission channel of choice for pumping credit into the US economy for the last few years as the government addition of $1 trillion has done nothing but leave those under-55 with fewer and fewer jobs (especially above-minimum-wage jobs) while saddled with non-extinguishable debt. Of course, this 'pump' of credit has had the usual unintended 'inflationary' consequence of raising tuition prices (which as we noted this morning was the main driver of inflation in the UK overnight). So what would be fair? Cue: A Petition to "Provide University graduates the ability to trade their...

Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Mark Bertolini, who is among a dozen chief executives meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama later this week, on Monday warned that companies are preparing backup plans that include layoffs if the White House and congressional leaders are unable to reach a deal to avoid the combination of tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff." "The American people are going to suffer because we'll lay them off--because we know how to respond to these kinds of situations," Mr. Bertolini warned at a Wall Street Journal CEO Council event. The comments come seven weeks...

It is official. The US will overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world's top oil producer by 2017. The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its world outlook for 2012 this morning that the US will be a net exporter of gas by 2020, with all the vast implications of abundant cheap gas for its chemical, plastics, glass, and steel industries. "The United States, which currently imports around 20 per cent of its total energy needs, becomes all but self-sufficient in net terms – a dramatic reversal of the trend seen in most other energy importing countries," it said. This...

Via Lance Roberts of Street Talk Live,This weekend I had my first opportunity to watch "Newsroom," an HBO series, and I was struck by the opening sequence of the show as Jeff Daniels, aka Will McAvoy, discusses why America WAS the greatest country in the world - but no longer is.   Here are the stats as he breaks them down:The U.S. is: 7th in literacy27th in math 22nd in science49th in life expectancy178th in infant mortality3rd in median household income4th in labor force4th in exports But here are some other stats where the U.S. ranks as well: 19th is...

A nonprofit group called the DREAM Bar Association is lobbying every state in the union to grant law licenses to undocumented immigrants. The group wants all 50 states to enact laws allowing graduates of ABA-accredited schools to receive law licenses after they pass the bar – regardless of their immigration status. "This is a fundamental question of fairness," Jose Magaña, president of the group, said in a written statement issued ahead of a Tuesday press conference. The DREAM Bar Association filed friend-of-the-court briefs with state supreme courts in Florida and California, which are both weighing whether lawyers can practice if...

DALLAS -- Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a Carrollton-based loan servicing company, will layoff more than a quarter of its workforce at the end of the year. Wingspan issued a Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) letter on Nov. 5 to the Texas Workforce Commission informing them all 459 employees at the Dallas location will be terminated effective December 21, 2012. The business is "an award-winning diversified servicing company" and "offers a wide-range of services to assist the mortgage industry in virtually every aspect of delinquent loan servicing," according to the company's website. The site says the company has nearly 1,700...

A new CBO report released yesterday finds that Taxmageddon’s economic impact for 2013 would be disastrous for the economy. The report projects that gross domestic product (GDP) would fall by 0.5 percent for 2013, a recession by economist standards. The loss in growth would then result in millions of lost jobs by raising unemployment from 7.9 for the current quarter to 9.1 for the fourth quarter of 2013. In contrast, the CBO expects growth to reach 2.25 percent (not including an additional .75 percent in growth from extending payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits) by the end of 2013...

Last week’s election results undoubtedly left many readers deeply disappointed, if not disaffected, including those of you who couldn’t bring yourselves to cast your ballot for Mitt Romney for any number of well documented reasons. The prospect of a president unencumbered by electoral consequences, whose administration has already shown itself to be flagrantly indifferent to-if not contemptuous of-the rule of law and quaint Constitutional notions like the separation of powers, seems daunting to ordinary, patriotic citizens. What’s more, the same malleable, anemic species of Republican which has represented GOP voters for the past two years, and whose leadership has led...

With little pushback from law enforcement within its borders the United States increasingly is serving as a global distribution hub for the Mexican drug cartels. Last week police in Melbourne, Australia busted two suspects including a reputed "high ranking member of the Comanchero Motorcycle Club" for their alleged roles in receiving cocaine shipments from an unidentified Mexican drug cartel in the United States as reported by Andrew O'Reilly for Fox News: "while it is unclear which cartel the outlaw motorcycle club members were working with, it is well known that Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's Sinaloa cartel has a major stake...

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver and the local development authority insist they are following a playbook that could stop a planned Proctor and Gamble "downsizing" from being a total loss for the city. "We are downsizing and restructuring," said plant manager Marian Futrell. The announcement comes just a few years after the launch of two new brands -- the Bounce Bar and Gain in a Bag. "The morale is high, the energy is wonderful, life is good at P&G Augusta," proclaimed Futrell back in 2009. Sources have confirmed to News 12 that Procter and Gamble will be phasing...

(Associated Posers) – NEW YORK CITY – As a wave of layoffs sweeps the country, some observers are critical of businesses that cite new rules and regulations as reasons for the cut backs. Restaurant chains such as Applebee's, Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Papa John's have all announced plans to cut worker hours to below the 30-hour threshold for ObamaCare regulations kicking in. Gorden Systems, which manufacturers plastic pipe, says it will layoff 40 of it's 79 employees, the rest will see reductions in work hours. John Gorden, founder and President explained “This is a very unfortunate situation. The cost...

The CEO of a huge New York Applebees franchise decided to join fellow fast food CEO John Shattner of Papa John’s in saying that he will layoff workers and stop hiring new ones if the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, is implemented. Applebees franchise owner Zane Tankel, announced his plans almost immediately after President Obama’s reelection. The Twitterverse immediately went crazy with plans for boycotts. One tweet read: “So far I’ve seen Papa John’s and Applebees threatening to fire people since their choice didn’t win the election. Disgusting on either side.” Others said: “BOYCOTT APPLEBEES NOW.” “Add @Applebees...

According to The Hill, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) is optimistic that there is a deal to get beyond the fiscal cliff. Really? The fiscal cliff is simply the foothills of a much larger mountain (of debt) range, much like the Andes of South America. So, what Senator Corker is talking about is getting past the foothills right in front of us. President Obama’s preferred habitat of tax are households with adjusted gross income of $250,000 and above. He defines this group as “the rich” and wants them to pay their “fair share.” Households with adjusted gross income of $250,000 or...

The Colombo family was a principal target in the January 2001 FBI raid against the Italian Mafia in the Northeast, and on Friday the feds announced that with the exception of reputed soldier Ralph Scopo Jr. it has wrapped up the case as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News: "Scopo, 63, claims he is suffering from liver failure and thus is too sick to stand trial on extortion charges relating to the Cement and Concrete Workers Union Local 6A, according to court papers. He was scheduled for trial in January but Brooklyn Federal Judge Kiyo Matsumoto adjourned the...

By Michael, on November 9th, 2012 The victory by Barack Obama on election night has resulted in a huge wave of firings and layoffs all over America. A large number of businesses seem to have suddenly shifted into panic mode. The number of layoff announcements that we have seen in the last 48 hours has been absolutely shocking. So why is this happening? Well, the truth is that the federal government is absolutely suffocating small businesses all over America with rules, regulations and taxes. If you have never tried to run a small business, then you have no idea...

Bankrupt Bakers Footwear Group on Friday began liquidating 150 stores across the country, including 21 in the Los Angeles area. The St. Louis-based company's stores are being liquidated by Tiger Capital Group and SB Capital Group and the process should be completed by year's end. Stores being closed have about $30 million in inventory, the companies said in a statement. There are 33 stores in California. The going-out-of-business sales involve 70 percent of the group's Bakers and Wild Pair mall-based stores, which are familiar to shoppers throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Bakers Footwear Group sells a private-label and national-brand...

Job seekers will soon have a harder time finding full-time work, thanks to Obamacare. As of 2014, the law will attempt to force employers to provide insurance — but in doing so, it will have the unintended effect of making part-time employees more desirable than full-timers. That’s because if a business with more than 49 full-time employees fails to offer insurance coverage, it will be required to pay a fine. And the fine will apply starting not with the 50th employee, but with the 31st. At $2,000 per employee after the first 30, these fines add up fast. A business...

More at Reaganite Republican... (NSFW: language)

Gun sales are headed for a boom following President Barack Obama’s reelection. In October, the number offirearms background checks performed on potential gun buyers across the U.S. jumped 18.4%, according to data released by the FBI. The number of applications for gun ownership is considered a leading indicator for future gun sales. Experts believe the spike is linked to jitters that a Democratic administration might try to tighten gun control laws. Gun sales also rose in 2008 after Obama was first elected. The FBI conducted 12.7 million background checks that year, compared to 11.2 million the year before, a 13.4%...

Ann Barnhardt Economic Presentation in 8 Parts Here is the link to the workbook in PDF. Part One Topics: Systemic Counterparty Risk Money is a Fungible Proxy for Your Very Humanity All Currencies are Fiat The Gold Standard is Not Necessary The Economy is Going to Implode Pt. 1 of 8 Part Two Topics: The Gold Standard is Not Necessary Continued WE Are the Gold The Morality and Economically Essential Nature of Interest The Real Problem in Banking System: Unbacked Unsecured Lending Bank Balance Sheet Exercise The Economy is Going to Implode Pt. 2 of 8 Part Three Topics: Sample...

Should we put it on life support and hope that it survives or attempt to displace it gradually with something better?Yesterday, I received a gracious e-mail from the Obama-Biden campaign thanking me personally for all that I had done: Friend -- I hope you saw Jim's note with the video of President Obama thanking supporters and staff. I wanted to single you out especially because you've gone above and beyond in your support of the President. (Emphasis added.) I only wish I could have done even more to support his defeat; after all that he had done, it was past...