Calling it “unexpected,” Reuters reported that the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) from the Institute for Supply Management for November fell to its lowest level in over three years. A poll of economists by Reuters showed they didn't see it coming.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union has threatened 1,000 protests against Walmart on Black Friday, while the giant retailer has filed a complaint against such actions by the union with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Hard-money investment manager Marc Faber predicts that markets could decline by 20 percent, perhaps more, as the economy faces the continued recession and worries about the "fiscal cliff."
The goal of the secretive negotiations working out the TPP is the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) and economic integration of the member nations.
Small business owners, some of whom have spent their lifetimes building their businesses, are unloading them before the end of the year in order to save taxes.
The current capital gains tax rate is 15 percent, but in January it is scheduled to increase to 20 percent, plus the ObamaCare tax of 3.8 percent added on top brings it to 23.8 percent, a jump of 58 percent. Even if a lame-duck Congress extends the present rate of 15 percent, there is no conversation in Washington about repealing the ObamaCare tax, so at best capital gains taxes will increase by 25 percent after the first of the year.
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After learning that the White House had failed to enforce the law in order to protect President Obama’s reelection chances from potential negative feedback, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) wrote a letter dated October 25 asking the president to comply with the legal requirement that agencies publish their regulatory agendas on a semiannual basis.
The preliminary report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday about the nation's economic activity during the last quarter was called "a nasty surprise" by an analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.
In his October newsletter to clients of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), founder Bill Gross summarized the coming disaster that faces the country, and noted that “only gold and real assets would thrive…”
Gross manages the world’s largest bond fund along with CEO Mohamed El-Erian, with nearly $2 trillion of assets under management. His clients include individual retirees, pension plans, educational institutions, foundations, and endowments, each seeking safety of principal along with reasonable returns. Accordingly he must temper his words not to frighten away the very people he serves. But he’s courageous enough to tell the truth.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in an October 1 speech that his U.S. central bank would copy Japanese economic policy to get the U.S. economy moving, despite the fact that the Japanese economy hasn't seen significant economic growth since the 1980s.
In a speech to Arab leaders at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Friday, September 28, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton highlighted the economic casualties of intrusive regulations, contending that less government involvement in the economy is necessary because “too many people still can’t find jobs” in countries like Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia.
The hyperbole surrounding the White House's announcement yesterday of much higher fuel economy mandates is in sharp contrast to what consumers really want.