Hard hitting global and local news
The Bureau of Economic Analysis report on Personal Income and Outlays for January shows a 4% decline in real disposable income (the biggest decline in 20 years) following sharp gains in December.
"The Blame Game" Posted by Michael Shedlock at 12:13 AM Disclaimer: The content on this site is provided as general information only and should not be taken as investment advice. All site content, including advertisements, shall not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell any security or financial instrument, or to participate in any particular trading or investment strategy
See more here: Did Obama Tax the US Into Recession?
See the original article here: Walmart Slow to Stock Shelves as Consumer Sales Slump
France Unemployment Highest Since 1997 In the easy to see coming category (thanks to the socialist policies of French president Francois Hollande) French unemployment level hits 15-year high . Unemployment numbers in France rose by 43,000 in January to 3.16 million, an increase of 10.7 percent from last year, the labour ministry revealed on Tuesday. The figure is at its highest since January 1997, when it reached 3.19 million.  Rising unemployment is a setback for Socialist President Francois Hollande, who has pledged to curb the unemployment rate from the current level of more than 10 percent to a single-digit figure by December.
Less Than Useless: Goldman Sachs Lowers Gold Forecast Following Plunge (Purposely Late?); Downside Risks In the less than useless category, Goldman Sachs lowered its gold price targets by over $200 an ounce following the recent plunge. Goldman now says Gold’s Cycle Seen Turned . The cycle for gold prices, which climbed for 12 straight years, has probably turned as the recovery in the U.S
PIER LUIGI BERSANI – PARTITO DEMOCRATICO – 8,399,991 Votes – 27.43% GIUSEPPE PIERO GRILLO – MOVIMENTO 5 STELLE – 7,285,648 – 23.79% SILVIO BERLUSCONI – IL POPOLO DELLA LIBERTA’ – 6,829,135 Votes – 22.30% MARIO MONTI – SCELTA CIVICA CON MONTI PER L’ITALIA – 2,797,451 Votes – 9.13% The center-left received a higher percentage of votes than the center-right by a 31.63% to 30.72% margin. However, Senate seats are assigned based on regional totals and the result will be something like a 119 to 117 spit with the Five Star Movement picking up 54 Seats. A majority takes 158 so no coalition is likely
As the vote totals wind down, Beppe Grillo is the symbolic winner in the election.
"Great Rebalancing" Book Review: Two Thumbs Up; Investment Ideas for Unconventional Times With much pleasure, I highly recommend Michael Pettis’ newest book " The Great Rebalancing ". Pettis’ book covers global trade issues with a focus on current events in Asia, Europe, the United States, and the commodity producing nations. Read the book and you will see that much of the "common wisdom" espoused by others on global trade issues is not "wisdom" at all
With thanks to Yogi Berra, making predictions is hard, especially about the future. And with constantly revised forecasts for the EU, the European Commission decides the safe safe thing to do is Eliminate Forecasts for 2015 . Via Google Translate from El Economista ..