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"And you thought it was bad now... Since the onset of the recession in 2007, pundits have compared the crisis to the Great Depression of the 1930s - but this week's release of 1,000 photographs from that bygone era serves as a reminder of how truly harsh that period was. "

The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent because another 522,000 adults quit looking for work and are no longer counted. In the weakest recovery since the Great Depression more than four-fifths of the reduction in unemployment has been accomplished by a dropping adult labor force participation rate—essentially, persuading adults they don’t need a job, or the job they could find is not worth having. In the first quarter, growth slowed to 2.2 percent and was largely sustained by consumers taking on more debt, and additions to business inventory. Gains in manufacturing production have not instigated stronger improvements in employment largely...

By allowing the 2003 Bush tax cuts to retire, taxes will be increasing the bottom rate from 10% to 15% and the 20% bracket to 25%.   is this math correct? :    Raising the 10% bracket to 15% represents what percentage of increase? (Hint: The correct answer is NOT 5%)To those moving from the 10% bracket to 15%, their taxes will be increased by 50%!!   Raising the 20% bracket to 25% represents what percentage of increase? (Hint: The correct answer, again, is NOT 5%)it's s a full-blown 25% increase in taxes   Finally, raising the 35% bracket to...

The US economy has slowed to stall speed. A few lonely forecasters fear that America has already fallen back into recession, replicating the terrible double-dip of 1937. Obama's intended success? The Philly Fed’s manufacturing index dropped suddenly to minus 5.8 in May. The US Conference Board’s index of leading indicators fell in April. Job creation has slipped from 250,000/month to nearer 130,000 in March and April. The Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) says post-War personal income growth in the US has never been this weak for three months in a row without triggering a recession. It has happened ten out...

The Dow sinking.Gold sinking.Oil sinking.Copper sinking.Yields sinking.  We struggled with this, Dear Reader. We meditated. We prayed. We drank heavily.And finally…we overcame the rank desire to say: “We told you so!”As you know, Martin Wolf, of The Financial Times, is the voice of The Economics Establishment. All that is great and good in the field — which isn’t very much — is given voice by Wolf. Then, it is acceptable for policymakers, Treasury ministers, and central bankers, not to mention the people you talk to at cocktail parties.And lo! Here cometh the neo-Keynesian economist. What saith he?He says the world...

Correction Fighting: How Feds Prolong Economic Depressions By Bill Bonner05/16/12 Baltimore, Maryland – “Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate farmers, liquidate real estate… it will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up from less competent people.” — Andrew Mellon Down, down, down… Oil is at a 5-month low. Russian stocks are 20% below their high. Commodities are back to 2010 levels. Everything is going down. Even gold. Wait a minute. Since we...

The All-Important Question, Are Major Economies in Recovery? Economics / Global Economy May 15, 2012 - 04:58 PM By: David Galland David Galland, Casey Research writes: For pretty much everyone, no matter where they are located in the economic strata, few if any questions are more germane to making plans for the future than whether the US and other major global economies are in recovery. Getting the answer to that question right is of special importance to investors and businesses. Stating the obvious, if the broader economy really is in recovery, then investors would be well served by investing in...

You don't see much of President Carter these days. At 86, he keeps a rather low profile. But he does believe Barack Obama will win re-election next year, even though he seems to understand that Mr. Obama is in deep trouble. In fact, Carter believes the president is facing the same dilemma he did: JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Sen. Ted Kennedy had decided to run against me, and some of the more liberal Democrats didn't want to see me have successes. So I experienced a little bit of what President Obama experiences every day; that is...

The first 3 are from today, the bonus is from yesterday. Maybe, it is a sign of desperation? I hope.First: [sucker] - I've been getting a ton of questions about the George Clooney contest -- what are the odds? Will you pick my mom? Can staff win? (For the last time, the answer's no.) Honestly, I really don't care who wins unless you're talking about Election Day. But if you're counting the hours to when the winners are picked, I won't judge -- and congrats if you're one of them. What I'm counting is how many people step up between...

U.S. GDP Miss Far Bigger Than Announced, Real GDP Is 0% Housing-Market / US Economy Apr 29, 2012 - 10:21 AM By: Mike Shedlock The Advance Estimate for Q1 GDP came in at 2.2%, down from 3.0% in the previous quarter, and below most mainstream media estimates of 2.5%. However, my friend BC notes .... The GDP deflator is reported to have averaged 1.2% annualized in the past 2 qtrs. Had the trend rate from '11 persisted, the deflator would have subtracted 2.6% annualized from real GDP, resulting in a 2-qtr. growth of real GDP of 0%. ECRI's Achuthan would...

Economic Nostradamus: We Are Literally Witnessing a Collapse Mac Slavo April 27th, 2012 With the Presidential election cycle in full swing our incumbent administration, the media, and their financial pundits continue to maintain that the US economy’s green shoots have blossomed into fields of golden sunflowers. Despite what we’re being told, however, the actual data tells a stunningly different story. Richard Yamarone, a senior economist for Bloomberg Brief, has been called an economic Nostradamus for his prescient forecasting of the 2008 financial crisis, and now he’s warning that the worst is not over. In a recent interview with King World...

The Incredible UK Economic Catastrophe Chart That Everyone Is Talking About Joe Weisenthal Apr. 25, 2012, 10:25 AM Well, everyone is dumping on the UK today after that dismal Q1 GDP number, which confirms that the country has gone into double dip. David Cameron is taking a lot of heat for two reasons: The GDP stallout occurred right after he took office. He continues to be in denial, and so he's bragging a ton about low interest rates. Now here's another chart that everyone is tweeting, and which Paul Krugman has just posted. The UK recovery is now doing WORSE...

Did Bernanke Prevent Another Great Depression? Politics / US Economy April 22, 2012 - 07:02 AM By: Frank Shostak In a lecture given at George Washington University on March 27, 2012, the chairman of the Fed said that the US central bank's aggressive response to the 2007–2009 financial crisis and recession helped prevent a worldwide catastrophe. Various economic indicators were showing ominous signs at the time. After closing at 3.1 percent in September 2007, the yearly rate of growth of industrial production fell to minus 14.8 percent by June 2009. The yearly rate of growth of housing starts fell from...

The Anatomy Of Sovereign Debt Default Interest-Rates / Global Debt Crisis 2012 Apr 17, 2012 - 12:47 PM By: Michael Pento The three primary factors that determine the interest rate level a nation must pay to service its debt in the long term are; the currency, inflation and credit risks of holding the sovereign debt. All three of those factors are very closely interrelated. Even though the central bank can exercise tremendous influence in the short run, the free market ultimately decides whether or not the nation has the ability to adequately finance its obligations and how high interest rates...

A note to readers. This 2000-word commentary is a longer-term view; think in terms of years, not months or days. The essay is not in conflict with the fully invested position currently held at Cumberland. The words reflect my personal thinking only. Some of my colleagues disagree. In my personal view, the future is uncertain (of course) and may be unattractive for the longer-term outlook. In my view, our American political system is failing us. In my view, we are joining the list of declining world powers. The framework to support that argument follows. "The external menace ‘You'll end up...

. . . of online media manipulation isn’t exactly new. In fact, it goes back well before Romney’s 2008 campaign got underway in earnest. It seems to date back to sometime in 2005, when RNC operatives arranged a meeting between Matt Drudge and Matt Rhodes — a highly placed operative in the Romney organization. Last year, a delegation of RNC officials flew to Miami Beach, where Drudge lives, for a dinner at the Forge steakhouse to introduce the Internet maven to Matt Rhodes, the party’s new opposition research director. Due to Drudge’s now-close friendship with Romney’s chief aide and longtime...

Ronnie Montrose’s Death Caused By Self-Inflicted Gunshot by: Dave Swanson 5 hours ago Ronnie Montrose Mark Bowman It has been confirmed that Ronnie Montrose’s death last month was not directly due to his long battle with cancer. The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office reports the guitarist instead died from suicide in the form of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to family friend Michael Molenda, in a sad and touching article on GuitarPlayer.com, the Montrose family knew the findings would be made public soon. So they posted a statement on the guitarist’s website and official Facebook page, which reads in part:...

http://www.businessinsider.com/study-company-us-2012-4 NIALL FERGUSON: This Is The Study That Shows Why The US Economy Is Doomed Rob Wile | Apr. 5, 2012, 2:02 PM | 17,651 | 67 A Harvard Business School study that Niall Ferguson pointed us to today shows the U.S. has fallen severely behind in terms of international competitiveness. The study, from January, found that for Harvard alums personally involved in a company relocation decision, 57 percent said the decision "involved the possibility of moving existing activities out of the U.S." Meanwhile, only 9 percent considered moving existing activities from another country into the U.S. "A U.S.-based respondent...

Retail gasoline deliveries, already well below 1980 levels, have absolutely fallen off a cliff. .... Deliveries in November 2011 were 30.9 MGD, a staggering 47% decline. ..... What other plausible explanation is there for the decline from 42.4 MGD in July 2011 to 30.9 MGD in November 2011 other than a dramatic decline in discretionary driving? That 27% drop in a few months in unprecedented, except in times of war or sharp economic contraction, i.e. recession.

Marc Faber Predicts 'Massive Wealth Destruction' Through Hyperinflation, Social Unrest, Credit Collapse, Or War April 2, 2012Joe Weisenthal Marc Faber was on CNBC this morning, peddling his standard doom He had two good lines: The first was that the #1 question investors should ask themselves is not 'where can I make the most money' but rather 'where can I avoid losing the most money'? He then predicted that the endgame of all this easing will be "massive wealth destruction" through some combination of hyperinflation, credit collapse, social unrest, and WAR! Doom, boom, and gloom indeed. For what it's worth, he...