Would FOX news or Rush Limbaugh report this?
Anywho, I'm glad some areas are turning up.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101015/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy
Quote:
Sept. retail sales rise, third monthly increase
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger, Ap Economics Writer – 42 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Americans spent more money on cars, furniture and at hardware stores to boost retail sales to a third monthly increase in September.
The string of gains since July followed declines in May and June. Those had raised worries that the country could be in danger of toppling back into recession. Economists caution that while the economy is growing, the expansion is not strong enough to lower face high unemployment and offset weak income growth.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said during a speech Friday in Boston that the Fed is prepared to take further steps to rejuvenate the economy by buying Treasury bonds. But he said Fed policymakers are wrestling with how big the program should be.
The Fed is widely expected to announce a Treasury buying program at their next meeting Nov. 2-3. The Fed's bond purchases would be intended to lower long-term interest rates to stimulate buying and spending and help lower unemployment.
Bernanke also indicated that policymakers are trying to craft a plan to strengthen the economy and lift inflation from super-low levels.
His comments were delivered as the Labor Department reported inflation outside volatile food and energy costs was flat for the second straight month. And in the past 12 months, core prices rose only 0.8 percent, the smallest yearly gain in more than 49 years.
The sluggish economy is keeping a lid on prices. Consumers are holding back on spending, with unemployment high and wages stagnant. That makes it difficult for retailers to pass on any price increases.
Consumer spending is closely watched because it accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
Retail sales rose 0.6 percent in September, the Commerce Department reported Friday. That followed an even better 0.7 percent August increase, the biggest advance since March.
The gains have economists revising their forecasts for economic growth in the July-September quarter.
Paul Dales, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said he has changed his forecast for consumer spending to between 2.5 percent and 3 percent, up from 2 percent. That would support overall economic growth of around 3 percent in the third quarter — much stronger than the 1.7 percent in the second quarter, he said.
Excluding autos, sales rose 0.4 percent in September after a 1 percent August gain. Auto sales, which had fallen 0.5 percent in August, rose 1.6 percent in September, the best showing since March. Economists had predicted the September increase in auto sales based on reports from automakers. Those reports showed sales during the month had come in at an annual rate of 11.76 million units, slightly better than the August pace. Still, it was far below the pre-recession level of 16 million sales in 2007 — just before the recession began.
The strength outside of autos came in big gains at furniture stores. Sale in that category rose 0.5 percent, the best showing since July. Electronic and appliance stores posted a 1.5 percent rise, the best since February. Sales at hardware stores rose 0.6 percent, the biggest increase since April.
Sales at general merchandise stores, a broad category that includes department stores and the nation's big chains such as Wal-Mart and Target, showed no increase last month. But the flat reading followed a 0.5 percent jump in August, which had been fueled by back-to-school shopping and discounting by many retailers.
Sales at specialty clothing stores dropped 0.2 percent in August after posting a 0.5 percent rise in July.
Even with the solid overall gain in September, analysts did not view it as a sign the economy is getting set to take off.
The concern is that consumer spending will not rebound until households have the income growth to spend at a faster pace. And the income growth will not come until businesses start hiring back laid-off workers at a stronger clip.
The Labor Department reported last week that the nation's unemployment rate remained stuck at 9.6 percent in September. The country saw a net loss of 95,000 jobs.
Unemployment has been at or above 9.5 percent for a year and two months, the longest stretch since the Great Depression.
The overall economy grew at an anemic pace of just 1.7 percent in the April-June quarter. Many analysts believe the economy will limp along at a rate below 2 percent in the last half of this year.
___
AP Economics Writers Jeannine Aversa and Christopher S. Rugaber contributed to this report.
THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT ONE.
Good to see. Unemployment is still a concern, but the damage wrought by years of outsourcing and real estate madness will take at least as many years to heal as it did to happen. On the plus side, I am hiring again. Now that my overhead is less, I can afford more staff. So it goes in a down economy; we repair and heal our companies and the willing bounce back, stronger and more capable than before..
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Saturday, October 16, 2010 9:35 AM
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Would FOX news or Rush Limbaugh report this?
Actually, they did. Same exact AP news article on their site.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/15/september-retail-sales-straight-month/
It is good to see some upticks in economic reports, but the overall outlook is for a very slow recovery worldwide, EM excluded.
I work on Wall Street, but didn't force you to take out a loan you couldn't afford.
Quiklilcav wrote: As it stands, there is too much uncertainty as to what's going to happen, and too much indication that taxes are going to increase in many forms. That's not going to encourage anything.
Well, it may encourage one thing...debt reduction.
Unfortunately for the USA's drained coffers, there is no magic bullet or "debt consolidation" or bankruptcy option. What the far right needs to understand is that the good times are over for now. Those who put us in this situation had their fun and took their profit, and so the vulture thus created has now come home to roost on our tattered corpse. This is the most dire situation our economy has ever seen in modern times. A gutted industrial base and immense lost individual wealth is not going to reverse itself instantly based on the goodwill of telling businesses "no new taxes". In the meantime, revenue must come from somewhere.
You want a vital, successful business climate? Wait five to ten years, or take a time machine back five or ten. This ain't it, and it ain't gonna be on "hope and change" of the style you promote. Wishing it would just be so if we would just keep burrowing deeper into debt in a fruitless quest for "business optimism" is folly. We need to pay for the sins of our immediate predecessors before we can prosper again. It's the most simple of math, and the simple solutions are usually the most effective.
Mikey (drpdcavi) wrote:Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Would FOX news or Rush Limbaugh report this?
Actually, they did. Same exact AP news article on their site.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/15/september-retail-sales-straight-month/
It is good to see some upticks in economic reports, but the overall outlook is for a very slow recovery worldwide, EM excluded.
Technically you're right, Internet Fox News did regurgitate the AP report, what I meant was the actual TV channel, as the majority doesn't read and just go by the sound bytes.
Recovery will always be slow, it never goes as quick as a flick of a switch. Remember, it is millions of businesses and people affected, not a handful; hence the time it takes to see a change.
Take Back the Republican Party wrote:A bit more optimism:
Jobless claims drop, monetary stimulus seen
Good news too.
Considering that the Stimulus money was not totally spent, and there is still money left over, means the US's head will be kept above waters.
http://projects.propublica.org/tables/stimulus-spending-progress
THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT ONE.
Makes me wonder what the real unemployment rate is. That doesn't account for those who didn't file for benefits be it they are now off their 99 week benefits.
The real unemployment rate is a moving target, for it's not a static statistic by any means. Every hour, people are leaving the workforce via death, retirement, or leaving the country. While this is occurring, new workers are entering the workforce via coming of age and immigration. Meanwhile, some unemployed are, as you mention running out of benefits. Still others may be off the radar altogether. Other still are on Workmen's Comp. The mind boggles with all the variables.
What to do? Not much we can do, really. No matter what, none of the information we are being fed from any side can be fact-checked for veracity. As such, it's nigh useless to fault the official figures. How can anyone prove them wrong? Or right, for that matter? The reporting agencies have all the data, no one else does.
In my perspective, so long as the stats are reported using the same sources, in the same fashion, over time, that's about as good as it's going to get. Everything else just becomes wishing and hoping, and is equally as factual and provable, or even relevant, as yours or my wishes and hopes.
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Mikey (drpdcavi) wrote:Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:Would FOX news or Rush Limbaugh report this?
Actually, they did. Same exact AP news article on their site.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/15/september-retail-sales-straight-month/
It is good to see some upticks in economic reports, but the overall outlook is for a very slow recovery worldwide, EM excluded.
Technically you're right, Internet Fox News did regurgitate the AP report, what I meant was the actual TV channel, as the majority doesn't read and just go by the sound bytes.
Truthfully, I never watch/read Fox News, I just figured they would have reported an economic data release just like any other organization so I searched for it on their site.
I work on Wall Street, but didn't force you to take out a loan you couldn't afford.
Ever heard the term "falling on deaf ears"?
The economy
will recover. It will take many years. It will not happen solely by your preferred methods, which are based too heavily on ideology and non-applicable past scenarios. It will occur instead by consensus and a combination of methods. Seeing these other methods also employed will anger you.
And that is all.
Yes, that's it. Keep kicking and screaming. Don't seek moderate, non-partisan solutions. Don't give an inch, for it may be a sign of weakness (or compromise, but you've no time for that). Just keep insisting that you are the only one who could ever be right. Hey, it works for you, and that's apparently enough, right?
Those of us more concerned with the nation's progress, and less with our own ego, prefer you continue to just this, for it further minimalizes you. The more you scream, the less anyone hears, and that's the best thing possible.
Take Back the Republican Party wrote:The real unemployment rate is a moving target, for it's not a static statistic by any means. Every hour, people are leaving the workforce via death, retirement, or leaving the country. While this is occurring, new workers are entering the workforce via coming of age and immigration. Meanwhile, some unemployed are, as you mention running out of benefits. Still others may be off the radar altogether. Other still are on Workmen's Comp. The mind boggles with all the variables.
What to do? Not much we can do, really. No matter what, none of the information we are being fed from any side can be fact-checked for veracity. As such, it's nigh useless to fault the official figures. How can anyone prove them wrong? Or right, for that matter? The reporting agencies have all the data, no one else does.
In my perspective, so long as the stats are reported using the same sources, in the same fashion, over time, that's about as good as it's going to get. Everything else just becomes wishing and hoping, and is equally as factual and provable, or even relevant, as yours or my wishes and hopes.
My point exactly there a ton of variables and who knows if it is being consistently measured. My point is seeing just a little movement in a number that isn't concrete isn't going to make me happy in the pants.
