Free Republic

Rasmussen Real Unemployment Rate: Again, Double the Official Rate... National unemployment was 8.7% in this month’s Rasmussen Reports Real Unemployment update, up from 8.4% last month and significantly more than double the 4.1% rate officially reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. The Rasmussen Real Unemployment rate is derived by asking American Adults who they work for. Those who respond “unemployed, but looking for work” are aggregated at the end of the month and weighted to match the nation’s demographic profile.

President Biden said Thursday that the US is “discussing” the possibility of Israel bombing Iranian oil facilities as payback for a volley of nearly 200 rockets fired at the Jewish state on Tuesday — causing a spike in global crude prices. Biden said the oil strike option was under consideration when asked directly by a reporter as he left the White House. “We’re discussing that. I think that would be a little… anyway,” the retiring 81-year-old president said ... Within 45 minutes of Biden’s remark, crude oil futures spiked to about $74 per barrel from its opening price of $70.10,...

The U.S. is entering an era of hyperinflation, warns Lynette Zang, Founder & CEO of Zang Enterprises, adding that the transition in the U.S. has already begun. "I believe with all my heart and everything that I know that we've already begun the transition to hyperinflation," Zang told Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News. "We're going to see more borrowing, more money printing, more inflation because they have not killed that beast that they created and continue to create. It'll become very obvious in 2025." Zang sees the economy holding up well through the U.S. elections on...

Did progressive women ever have brains to begin with? Or, were they… always this way? Here’s the story, from a report at Breitbart News:Harris Campaign: ‘Tough to Define’ ‘Price Gouging’ She Wants to BanOn Wednesday’s broadcast of ‘NewsNation Now,’ Harris-Walz surrogate and National Finance Committee member Lindy Li acknowledged that the ‘price gouging’ that 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris wants to ban is difficult to actually define.Per the article, host Connell McShane first broached the topic by asking Li if she agreed that it was a term “tough to define” — this is how she responded:Li answered,...

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Wednesday by the biggest amount in 16 years. The 50 percentage points reduction will make borrowing money less expensive, taking some of the pressure off consumers' wallets. Today's cut brings benchmark borrowing costs down to between 4.75 percent and 5 percent.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points Wednesday, the central bank’s first rate reduction following a two-and-a-half year crusade against inflation that raged in the wake of the pandemic. The new federal funds rate is 4.75 percent to 5 percent, a jumbo rate cut that signals the Fed’s confidence that its war against inflation is coming to an end. The pandemic hit the economy hard, scrambling supply chains, shuttering stores and leading to layoffs of millions of Americans. When the world started to reopen in the spring of 2021, however, the economy went into overdrive. The consumer...

Reporter: What are your specific plans to bring down prices? Kamala: "I grew up a middle class kid... I grew up in a neighborhood of folks who were very proud of their lawn. Ya know?

Most Americans took a slightly dimmer view of the U.S. economy in September but buoyant Democrat feelings led consumer sentiment to inch higher. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index ticked up to 69 in its preliminary September reading, the best score since May and 1.6 percent higher than the prior month’s reading. The rise in consumer sentiment, however, was confined to Democrats and their view about current economic conditions. The consumer sentiment index for Democrats rose to 92.6 from 90.9, with the current conditions gauge climbing to 90.8 from 86.1 and the expectations measure dipping slightly to 93.7 from...

Inflation fell to its lowest level in 3-and-a-half years in August, clearing the way for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates next week. Consumer prices in August were up 2.5% from a year ago, according to a report from the Labor Department Wednesday. That's the smallest annual increase since February 2021. Here are four things to know about the cost of living report. Housing costs are still climbing, but gasoline is getting cheaper Housing costs have been the biggest driver of inflation in the last year, rising 5.2%. Gasoline prices, on the other hand, have plunged more than...

The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average headed toward one of its worst days of the year Wednesday, after the latest inflation reading failed to support investors’ most optimistic hopes for the Federal Reserve to boost valuations with interest rate cuts. The Dow fell as much as 740 points, or nearly 2%, by mid morning, touching its lowest price since Aug. 14 and pacing toward its second-worst daily loss of 2024 on point and percentage bases, trailing only the Aug. 5 mini crash which wiped out nearly 3% from the index; losses moderated to a 1.3%, or 530-point, dip by...

Nine of the 12 Federal Reserve districts reported a decline in economic activity in August, up five districts from the July Beige Book report. Our system has warned that we are entering a period of stagflation, where inflation remains high but GDP declines. Now, the Fed is reporting that two-thirds of the US economy is experiencing “flat or declining activity.” The US economy advanced 3% during the last quarter, leading many to believe that the economy is recovering since Q2 posted a measly 1.4% advancement. Consumer spending, amounting to 70% of GDP, rose 2.9% last quarter as well, but people...

The Democrats let President Joe Biden back into the wild this week after he disappeared during the Democratic National Convention, hid in California and then napped on the beach in Delaware. It was a nearly three-week absence, and his latest appearance in a key swing state proves why they’re happy to have him missing in action. During an event in Wisconsin, Biden finally admitted that the “Inflation Reduction Act” was deceptively named and didn’t actually reduce inflation. In fact, it increased prices through excess spending and was a giant, corrupt handout to the so-called “green” energy industry. It’s why I’ve...

He states that there will be “Rapid Approvals” for the following: —— new drillings, new pipelines, new refineries, new power and electric plants, and new reactors of all types (nuclear) —— “This will quickly reduce the prices of everything almost immediately.”

Good news for the pay-TV industry, which suffered its worst quarter ever at the beginning of the year: The next three months were not quite as bad. The pay-TV industry lost 1.6 million subscribers in Q2 2024. While that's very bad, it's not a record. But there doesn't seem to be any reason for those losses to stop. Pay-TV distributors — that's conventional cable guys like Comcast, satellite TV outfits like DirecTV, and digital alternatives like YouTube TV — lost 1.6 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2024... That's very bad! But not as bad as other Q2s, like...

I am just back from a discount meat market. They are a very large store with prices typically far below regular supermarkets that don't specialize in meat and fish. For example, last year chicken wings sold at this market for just 99 cents per pound.Okay, so I like this market in particular because leading into holidays such as the Labor Day Weekend they typically slash the meat prices with some great sales so today I arrived there hoping to pick up Picanha cut beef for my BBQ this weekend. Imagine my shock when instead of a price reduction, the price...

A long-profitable niche for American car makers has been the all-American muscle car. Low-slung, two door sedans with enormous horsepower, wide tires, aggressive styling and the low rumble of those powerful V-8 engines. There’s nothing quite like them, and they sell for a premium. Ford made the Mustang, Chevy the Camaro, and Dodge, the Charger and Challenger. They were initially designed to go fast in a straight line, but as technology improved and suspensions became more sophisticated, they began to hold their own on the racetrack as well as the drag strip, and their internal amenities began to rival luxury...

“The goal of Socialism is Communism.” - Valdimir Lenin All we had to do was sit back and wait. Kamala Harris's a first quasi-solid policy proposal was plagiarized directly from Donald Trump. It was Trump's proposal to end taxes on tips. Then Harris decided that she thought of it. Now we have her first real policy and it's everything you'd expect from her. She needed a villain - it's the food industry- and she has decided on a plan to slay the demon. She will lower your food costs by making food disappear. Vice President Harris on Friday will outline...

Inflation rose again in July 2024 for the 42nd consecutive month since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took office in January 2021. Yet, corporate media demand that Americans celebrate the 2.9 percent price hike plaguing their pocketbooks as an “inflation milestone.” According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index for last month, Americans paid 2.2 percent more for food, 4.9 percent more for electricity, 5.1 percent more for shelter, 8.8 percent more for transportation, and 3.3 percent more for medical care than they did in July 2023. Even compared to May 2024, July’s inflation...

On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Inside Politics,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) stated that it’s been “frustrating” that voters don’t give President Joe Biden enough credit on the economy, “but I think people have gone through such a funk coming out of COVID. It’s been really hard, and frankly, we’ve seen price gouging.” And 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris will “build on” Biden’s economic record. Stabenow began by saying that Harris’ agenda will be “based on a foundation that was put in place in the last four years.” And touted the record of the Biden administration on the...

A Denny’s breakfast platter has apparently become extremely expensive amid choking inflation and labor costs. A post on Reddit shows an image of the restaurant’s menu where the price of the Lumberjack Slam sits at $17.99, the New York Post reported on Friday, noting that a decade ago, the meal cost around $5.99: Click here to see the post. “The hefty price tag doesn’t include the premium option of upgrading the pancakes to double berry banana, cinnamon roll, or ‘choconana’ for an extra $3.09, which would bring the pre-tax, pre-tip total to $21.08,” the Post article said, noting the location...