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Stocks fell on Thursday after anemic economic data underscored fears about slumping economic growth. An unexpected fall in regional factory activity and a third straight month of decline in producer prices raised concerns about deflation, cooling investors' enthusiasm for the strong start to the earnings season that had lifted stocks off recent lows. Earnings announced by JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM - News) before the market's open also raised concerns about major banks. Although its quarterly profit beat expectations, the company's investment banking arm showed a weak performance, and the stock fell 0.3 percent to $40.25. Commenting on several negative...

NEW YORK -- No matter where they look, investors are seeing economic trouble. Stocks and interest rates plunged Tuesday after signs of slowing economies from China to the United States spooked traders who were already uneasy about a global recovery. News that consumer confidence fell sharply this month did not help. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 268 points, or 2.7 percent, and dropped below 10,000. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 3.1 percent to close at its lowest level since October. Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/30/1707529/as-consumer-mood-darkens-markets.html#ixzz0sJQsKzcV

It sounds dreadful. After drifting down consistently since last fall, the unemployment rate has suddenly shot up again, from 9.7 percent in March to 9.9 percent in April. But don't despair: A rising unemployment rate is actually one of the best signs yet that the economy is bouncing back. The unemployment rate rose for the right reason. Instead of shedding jobs, employers added 290,000 jobs in April, the strongest showing since 2007. The reason the unemployment rate went up is that a lot more people are suddenly looking for work. About 195,000 formerly discouraged workers have now reentered the labor...

A $2.7 million federal grant will be used to create a job-training program to prepare 250 disadvantaged Fayette County residents to work in so-called "green" jobs. Fayette's program will be administered through the Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette Inc. [ACORN] The money is to be used to train people for jobs in the fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy. In Fayette, those fields will include the windmill, solar, and geothermal heating and cooling industries, among others, according to Sean Sypolt, project manager. The Private Industry Council and the Labor Department yesterday declined requests for copies of Fayette's grant application.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks slumped Thursday after a rise in weekly jobless claims sent an alarm ahead of the big monthly employment report. The dollar's surge versus the euro pummeled dollar-traded commodities, while Treasury bond prices spiked, lowering corresponding yields, in a classic flight-to-safety move.

If a formal architect of fascism can be identified, it is Benito Mussolini, the onetime Marxist editor who, caught up in nationalist fervor, broke with the left as World War I approached and became Italy’s leader in 1922. Mussolini distinguished fascism from liberal capitalism in his 1928 autobiography: The citizen in the Fascist State is no longer a selfish individual who has the anti-social right of rebelling against any law of the Collectivity. The Fascist State with its corporative conception puts men and their possibilities into productive work and interprets for them the duties they have to fulfill. (p. 280)...

The December payroll report was disappointing, with 85,000 jobs lost last month vs. expectations for a flat reading and "whispers" of a gain of as much as 40,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 10%, as expected. The December figures raise the stakes for President Obama, who is scheduled to speak about economic issues today at 2:40 p.m. ET. In the aftermath of Friday's jobs report, some observers are calling on the administration to do more to help the unemployed and spur job creation. Whether President Obama has the political capital to do more than jawbone remains to be seen....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew more slowly than initially thought in the third quarter, held back by strong imports and weak investment in nonresidential structures, according to data on Tuesday that hinted at a lackluster recovery. In its second reading of third-quarter gross domestic product, the Commerce Department said the economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate, rather than the 3.5 percent pace it estimated last month.

Demand weak at 30-year bond auction * Stocks, bonds fall after auction * Rising yields risk higher rates throughout economy (Recasts, adds quotes) By Burton Frierson NEW YORK, May 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. government auction of 30-year bonds met a dismal reception on Thursday, driving down bond and stock prices and raising fears the United States may face difficulty financing spending to stimulate the economy. The $14 billion auction met below-average demand from investors, who forced the government to pay a higher yield. An extended trend of rising yields could force up longer-term interest rates throughout the economy. It...

Gregg says Geithner, “You said you’re controlling spending but you’re not. ..You’re not addressing the Spending.”Gregg points out blow by blow the HYPOCRISY riddled through Obama’s Budget entitled ironically, “A New Era of Fiscal Responsibility.” Greg writes, “The argument that this budget doesn’t have tax increases is, I think, an Alice and Wonderland view of the budget.” -Raising the tax rate from 35% to 42%, eliminating deductions on mortgages and on charitable deductions. Small businesses will be feel the burden the most. -“Cutting the debt in half in four years is truly spurious, because you take the deficit and quadruple...