Free Republic

>Not enough of these signs have been seen around the country, feeding the public perception of failure of Obama's $862 billion stimulus spending, according to retiring chief economic adviser Christina Romer. Photo via CNS News. Yes, that is what is in Christina Romer's farewell speech to be given later today at the National Press Club as she steps down as head of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers.Reuters and USA Today report based on White House released excerpts previewing the speech:"Because the final bill was a mixture of hundreds of measures, many of which don't come with Recovery Act signs or...

The Obama administration, with VP Joe Biden playing head cheerleader, has been pushing the idea that last year’s $862 billion stimulus, the linchpin of the administration’s economic plan, worked and the economy is rebounding. Far from it. Indeed, things look to be worsening. The unemployment rate is stuck at 9.5%, though the stimulus was supposed to keep unemployment below 8%. Meanwhile, sales of new homes in July plunged 12.4% from June — to a level not seen since such records were first kept nearly 50 years ago — and purchases of existing home sales dropped 27%, to a 15-year low....

Congressional Democrats and the White House will continue their attempts to enact policies they believe will boost the economy—and which are also aimed at persuading voters they are working to make things better. ...And while the economic situation remained dire when President Barack Obama took office in January 2009, most Democrats assumed that the economy would rebound by the time they stood for office this year. A series of disappointing economic reports has made clear that won't be the case. The most recent one came Friday, when the government reported that the economy grew at a much slower pace in...

While the national unemployment rate stuck at 9.5 percent this summer, the youth unemployment rate hit 19.1 percent in July. It was the highest midsummer jobless rate for the 16-to-24 age group on records dating back to 1948, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. The jobless rates for young people in July — typically the peak month for youth employment — jumped from 10.5 percent in 2007 to 14 percent in 2008 to 18.5 percent in 2009. This year, fewer than half (48.9 percent) of that population group held jobs in July. That also was a record —...

I don't even know why anyone listens to all these "experts" and their economic predictions anymore. Have any of them even been close? They never get the unemployment numbers right, either missing estimates by many thousands and even then the "official" numbers are constantly being revised up or down... And good grief the housing numbers. I can almost understand them missing estimates by 1,2 or even 5%... but 27% WTH!??!?! Are they even looking at the same data the .gov is or what? And if we are dealing with mathematics here, with economics how can half of economists say things...

WASHINGTON – One in 10 American households with a mortgage was at risk of foreclosure this summer as the government's efforts to help have had little impact stemming the housing crisis. About 9.9 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment as of June 30, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sales of new homes dropped sharply last month to the slowest pace on record, the latest sign that the economic recovery is fading. The Commerce Department says new home sales fell 12.4 percent in July from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 276,600. That was the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — A few weeds have popped up on the fairways, and summer's heat has scorched the grass here and there, but the golf course at the Hampshire Country Club is still tidy and scenic, its little waterfall still burbling through the rocks. Not that there's anyone around to notice. The Hampshire's 18-hole course on Long Island Sound, along with its tennis courts, pool and restaurant, is closed this year. Members cited rising costs upwards of $25,000 a year for a membership as the roster fell from several hundred at its peak to about 100. "There was a lot...

In the wake of news about a spike in new applications for unemployment benefits comes another potentially troubling sign: A record number of workers made hardship withdrawals from their retirement accounts in the second quarter. What's more, the number of workers borrowing from their accounts reached a 10-year high, according to a report issued Friday by Fidelity Investments. The trends reflect the financial stress many workers find themselves in as the economy struggles to find sure footing, said Beth McHugh, Fidelity's vice president of marketing insight. High unemployment and companies cutting back on overtime or overall hours have reduced the...

The U.S. economy faces even more difficult times ahead with chronic high unemployment rates and slow manufacturing growth hurting the recovery, Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Elmendorf said on Thursday. The U.S. unemployment rate will not fall to around 5.0 percent until 2014, Elmendorf wrote in his blog about CBO's new economic and budget outlook. Without significant changes in U.S. tax and spending laws, the U.S. government will struggle to dig its way out of a fiscal deficit hole, the CBO said, and this may influence the outcome of the November 2 midterm congressional elections.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- If you are a responsible saver, the Federal Reserve isn't doing any you favors. The Fed unsurprisingly left a key short-term rate near 0% Tuesday, meaning that rates on money-market accounts, CDs and other savings products are likely to remain as anemic as they've been for the past two years. But the Fed is hurting those who look to Treasury bonds and notes for a steady yield as well. Still, it's unsettling that just as more consumers have finally woken up to the fact that they should be putting away more money for that proverbial rainy...

The Dow and Nasdaq were sharply lower as data out of Europe and Asia reinforced concerns that global growth is slowing. The Dow was down as many as 216 points in the first 30 minutes of trading. The Nasdaq was down as many as 58 points. The dollar rose against the euro in a sign of increased risk concerns. The price of oil dipped below $80 per barrel. Japanese wholesale prices and machinery orders were weaker than expected, and reports on retail sales and industrial output in China were also lackluster. The Bank of England cut its growth outlook. The...

Washington’s latest answer to the worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression is $26 billion in aid to state and local governments. [Blah blah blah blah... Don't bother reading the rest of this tripe. We're talking about Robert Reich-sha, after all].

Last year's August recess was hardly a placid respite for Congressional Democrats. As House members depart for the six-week summer recess beginning Monday, Republican leaders are hinting that Democrats may opt to dodge constituents rather than endure another round of overheated public events. Democrats will hit the campaign trail armed with talking points to draw distinctions between the two parties. And the Democratic leadership is predicting they will get a gentler reception this time. "The atmosphere has changed," Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says of last summer's vitriol. "I think that ran its course." (See portraits of the Tea Party movement.)...

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. on Tuesday announced it will close 30 of its 514 stores, and cut 120 jobs in its corporate and field support staffs as it deals with a continued weak economy. The Jacksonville-based supermarket chain wouldn't say which stores are closing until company officials can inform the employees involved, which should happen by the end of Wednesday. The stores being closed "can't operate efficiently or profitably" in this economy, CEO Peter Lynch said. "We just don't see a lot of good things down the road," he said. "These steps are being taken to position the company for another...

There is no more disputing it: the economic recovery in the United States has indeed slowed. The nation’s economy has been growing for a year, with few new jobs to show for it. Now, with growth at an annual rate of 2.4 percent in the second quarter and federal stimulus measures fading, the jobs outlook appears even more discouraging. “Given how weak the labor market is, how long we’ve been without real growth, the rest of this year is probably still going to feel like a recession,” said Prajakta Bhide, a research analyst for the United States economy at Roubini...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stock futures fell Friday after data showed the U.S. economy slowed in the second quarter and the government said the recession was deeper than earlier believed, adding to concerns over the recovery's strength. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were recently off 70 points at 10339, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures dropped 8 points to 1089 and Nasdaq Composite futures declined 15 points to 1842. Prior to the data, Dow futures had been off 42 points, S&P 500 futures were down 5 points and Nasdaq futures were off 9 points. Changes in stock futures do not...

President Barack Obama is taking a victory lap. When the president travels to Michigan on Friday, he’ll tout the revival of General Motors and Chrysler since the auto companies received billions in federal aid and government-assisted bankruptcies. “This is a bit of a metaphor for how the president has approached the overall economic picture – making tough decisions that may or may not poll well at the moment in order to create a foundation for economic growth going forward,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told a handful of reporters on Wednesday.

The unemployment rate in about three-quarters of the nation's largest metro areas rose last month as seasonal factors boosted joblessness nationwide. The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose in 291 of 374 areas in June from May. It fell in 55 areas and was flat in 28.

The number of bankruptcy filings in Massachusetts surged by 25 percent in the first six months of the year, as many consumers struggled with job losses, changing credit card terms and foreclosures. The Warren Group reported Thursday that through June 30, 11,847 filers statewide sought protection through Chapter 7, Chapter 11 or Chapter 13 of the federal bankruptcy code. That figure, which includes businesses and individuals, represents a 25.2 percent increase from the same January-June period in 2009. The sharp rise could put the state on track to surpass the rush of bankruptcies in 2005, before strict limits took effect....