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Partisan politics will make any meaningful deal difficult to reach. The so-called Congressional supercommittee — a group of 12 politicians with the unenviable task of reaching a compromise on federal spending and our massive budget deficit — is running out of time. And so are American consumers and investors hoping for a deal to bolster a struggling economy and prove the stock market rally is here to stay. Only about a week is left for the group of six Republicans and six Democrats to craft a plan that will slash $1.2 trillion from the U.S. deficit during the next decade....

<p>The number is out, and it's HOT!</p> <p>PPI hs jumped 0.8%, well above the 0.2% analysts had expected.</p> <p>Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, was only up 0.2%, which is still above the 0.1% that analysts had expected.</p> <p>The culprit? Blame food and energy.</p>

Drowning in red ink, Greece has nowhere to turn to revive the economic growth that might put its debt on a sustainable trajectory, reassure angry foreign creditors and offer hope to its recession-weary citizens. Instead, the country finds itself in a vicious circle—a death spiral, some would say—in which it is borrowing ever more to keep up on its existing debts, crushing growth in the process and thereby worsening its all-important ratio of debt-to-gross domestic product. Springing the debt trap would not be a miracle cure either: a manageable level of borrowing is a necessary but not a sufficient condition...

The Stock Market Smells Deflation Stock-Markets / Stock Markets 2011 Oct 02, 2011 - 11:06 AM By: Clif Droke In previous commentaries we've talked about how the 6-year cycle is scheduled to peak around Oct. 1. That now appears to be all but certain following the last few trading sessions. Although the cycle has a 1-2 week standard deviation (plus or minus), it appears that it peaked on schedule last week and that the stock market has lost the last remaining cyclical support it had throughout most of September. Interestingly, it was the commodity stocks that performed the strongest in...

If you're simply looking at their public statements, Wall Streeters seem to be alarmed about the debt crisis, but don't appear to be sliding into panic mode. In fact, they're just really good actors. Across the financial sector, many are preparing for a debt doomsday scenario, in which the U.S does in fact default, the New York Times reports. Firms are "taking steps to reduce the risk of holding Treasury bonds or angling for ways to make profits from any possible upheaval." It's clear hedge funds have changed gears and many are in heavy de-risking mode, with billion dollar firms...

It Has Started: Wall Street Is Preparing For A Doomsday Scenario Katya Wachtel Jul. 21, 2011, 9:15 AM If you're simply looking at their public statements, Wall Streeters seem to be alarmed about the debt crisis, but don't appear to be sliding into panic mode. In fact, they're just really good actors. Across the financial sector, many are preparing for a debt doomsday scenario, in which the U.S does in fact default, the New York Times reports. Firms are "taking steps to reduce the risk of holding Treasury bonds or angling for ways to make profits from any possible upheaval."...

The American people are broke. When 25% of the people have no income coming in and prices for basic goods continue to rise, there will be no upward movement in the economy. Consumers cannot spend, because they have nothing left – their incomes have been eliminated and so too has their credit. The only hope for growth is more easing by the Fed and more stimulus from Congress, but even that is masking the problem. We may see positive GDP growth as a result, as we have “officially” seen in recent quarters, but this is strictly a mathematical result of...

That giant whooshing, and humming, sound you hear are all the printers at the basement of Marriner Eccles getting refills and start the warm up process. Because according to the Fed Charles Plosser the Federal Reserve is actively preparing for the possibility that the United States could default. Which can only mean one thing: an immediate paradrop of millions of $100 bricks to every man woman and child in the US since as we all know by know Tim Geithner has repeatedly confirmed the Treasury has absolutely no default plans. None.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Dow Jones industrial average dropped another 200 points today on fresh concerns about banks and about General Motors. In midday trading, the Dow is down 219.11, or 3.19 percent, to 6,656.73, a low not seen since April 1997. he Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 26.09, or 3.66 percent, to 686.78. The S&P has not traded below this level since October 1996. The Nasdaq composite index fell 42.29, or 3.12 percent, to 1,311.45. Investors are having another change of heart and are selling stocks once again after a one-day burst of optimism fizzled.