The Great Recession Blog

May

Economic News Articles in The Great Recession Blog, week of 05/06/2012

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic News

The news of the week centered on Europe where no one knows how to clean up the Greece stain that smears the euro image. Greece ironically elected Nazis to fight German austerity last week. France joined in the fight with a hard left-wing punch to Sarkozy, knocking him flat on his French derriere and replacing him with [… Read More]

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Tags: China, economic news articles, euro crisis

May

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/29/2012

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic News

The first and most notable thing I did while working on this website last week was laugh at the optimistic headlines I was posting. MSNBC reported, “New claims for unemployment benefits tumbled more than expected in the latest week, raising hopes that the job market remains on the mend.” NPR reported the same story this way: [… Read More]

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Tags: economic news articles, economic recovery, euro crisis, the great recession

May

Why I make economic predictions, and why I smell like a bear and brag about it

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic Predictions

Some people predict the economy is going down in order to sell gold. I call them the “gold bears.” Others make economic predictions as a way of guiding people in their stock or bond investments. They are the golden calves of the Wall Street bull. I have completely different agenda than either. The gold bears [… Read More]

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Tags: economic predictions, great depression, sustainable economics, the great recession

May

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/22/2012

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic News

Splintering sounds ruptured the euro zone as it, again, became the big leader in economic news last week. The prior week emitted a couple of loud cracks when Spanish bonds sailed to unsustainable heights. This past week the austerity pact, which was intended to stabilize those bond prices, became the new threat. Political instability broke [… Read More]

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Tags: economic news articles, the great recession

Apr

Hard landing for China’s economy not in the tea leaves

By David Haggith | Filed in Uncategorized

A year ago, the news was full of articles about China trying to slow down its growth to align its speed with that of the rest of the world and to keep inflation in check. Now, everywhere in the press you read concerns about China’s slowdown. How fickle can the press and market investors be? [… Read More]

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Apr

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/15/2012

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic News

None of the many reversals of fortune in the past week’s economic news was unexpected by readers of The Great Recession Blog. So, stay tuned, and you’ll continue to read the headlines before they happen! In the meantime, here are the headlines after they happened with a little commentary to make sense of them: Last week’s summary [… Read More]

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Tags: economic collapse, economic news articles, the great recession

Apr

British Reporters More Truthful About American News than American Reporters

By David Haggith | Filed in Uncategorized

I have heard people say for decades that, if you want objective news about America, you have to turn to the European press. As an American, that used to gall me more than the French with their snotty attitudes about everything that’s … well, not French. This week, however, seems to be providing plenty of [… Read More]

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Tags: economic news articles, the great recession

Apr

Economic News Biased by Relentlessly Rosy Glasses

By David Haggith | Filed in Uncategorized

Today is one of those days where I read conflicting headlines and reporting on the economy that are so rosy they make my eyes red. The writers of economic news must be guided by some angel of relentless sunshine. They almost gag themselves, trying to swallow bitter pills while smiling. Examples of biased news on [… Read More]

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Tags: economic denial, economic news articles, the great recession

Apr

More 2012 economic predictions

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic Predictions

The U.S. stock market lurched up and down, twice each way, last week, closing at its worst so far this year. Then bad news at the first of this week, boosted the Dow above 13,000 again, merely because the news wasn’t as bad as expected. Then

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Tags: economic bubble, economic collapse, economic crisis, economic predictions, the great recession

Apr

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/08/2012

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic News, Economic Predictions

Pessimism is creeping back into the U.S. business world, and even the Fed is now warning, as I did earlier, that student loans are in danger of becoming another economic crisis. This is the climate where desert dwellers like me thrive. According to the Federal Reserve last week, nearly one third of all student loans [… Read More]

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Tags: economic news articles, the great recession

Apr

Tiny Bubbles Make Me Warm All Over – European housing bubbles, student loan bubbles, even China bubbles

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic Predictions

Actually, these bubbles aren’t tiny like the ones Don Ho sang about, and they don’t make me feel warm and fuzzy either. They’re great big bubbles that make me pop….

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Tags: economic bubble, economic collapse, housing bubble

Apr

Are My 2012 Economic Predictions for the Great Recession in Recess … or are they just about to mature?

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic Predictions

I started the following update on my predictions a few weeks ago, but didn’t have time to finish it. It is interesting now to see how the update is already being fulfilled in the news this week. I finished it today, realizing I’d better get it posted before everything it says looks like hindsight.

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Tags: economic predictions, economic recovery, euro crisis, Iran nuclear crisis, the great recession

Apr

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/01/2012

By David Haggith | Filed in Economic News, Economic Predictions

If you’ve been following The Great Recession Blog, others are surprised by the jobs report at the end of last week, but you are not. You saw it coming. The year is already looking like a repeat of 2011 where all the experts were excited that

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Tags: economic news articles, the great recession

Apr

My Personal Story with Bank of America

By David Haggith | Filed in Uncategorized

I wrote the song that I posted earlier this week as a tribute to Bank of America, not just for what it did to me years ago, but for its role in the illegal foreclosure class-action case that was just settled in the U.S. Still, I think its time I tell my own story with [… Read More]

2 Comments so far. Join the Conversation

goi posted on April 20, 2012
I "WON" my house FREE & CLEAR in COURT....! The loan went from Countrywide to BofA, but the bank ...

Tags: Bank of America

Apr

Bank of America, How Are You? (A song for the Great Recession)

By David Haggith | Filed in Uncategorized

I’ve posted a new video for a song I wrote to give Bank of America credit that is due for helping to create a great recession for us all. The video is illustrated with photos from the Great Depression. My tribute to Bank of America with images of the time when it was born:

3 Comments so far. Join the Conversation

David Haggith posted on April 5, 2012
Thank you. It is a corrupt time when the people who were illegally foreclosed on (according to the government) pay ...
Tom posted on April 5, 2012
Well done. Don't know how they get away with still paying their staff unbelievably high bonuses with our money. Hope ...

Tags: bank bailouts, Bank of America, great depression, the great recession

Where is our economy going?

Follow The Great Recession Blog to discover what's on our event horizon. In this sidebar (below), you'll find articles I gather each day from news sources around the world to cover the most important economic events. I also choose stories that reveal the lay of the land ahead. If you track back in time through the commentary that fills the center column, you will find it has rightly predicted most major turns of the Great Recession. You can subscribe to the commentary -- which also includes a weekly wrap of the news -- or come by the blog daily to read the economic news updates below.

Economic News Articles

05/13 Drawing focuses on Iran’s nuke work A drawing based on information from inside an Iranian military site shows an explosives containment chamber of the type needed for nuclear arms-related tests that U.N. inspectors suspect Tehran has conducted there.

05/13 Exiles: Iran advancing active nuclear arms program An exiled Iranian opposition group said on Saturday that Iran has some 60 scientists and engineers involved in a concerted and expanding program to develop nuclear weapons under defense ministry auspices.

05/13 Francois Hollande threatens to block eurozone's new financial treaty The new French president wants the treaty to focus more on encouraging growth. Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on Thursday told France that there was no alternative to spending cuts and painful deficit cutting measures.

05/13 Greece, euro zone exit and the drummer in the band A year ago, it was nearly impossible to get a diplomat in Brussels to talk about the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone. Now, it’s the opening to most conversations.

05/13 Merkel's party routed in big German state Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives suffered a crushing defeat on Sunday in an election in Germany’s most populous state, a result which could embolden the left opposition to step up its criticism of her European austerity policies.

05/13 Obama pushes billion-dollar stimulus plan The president’s plan includes an expanded program to help homeowners refinance their mortgages, a proposal to give small businesses tax breaks for hiring more workers, a program that would help veterans find jobs, and an extension of tax credits for clean

05/13 Opinion: It’s too late for Germany to save the euro Greece must take back control of its own destiny by leaving the euro. As it is, the economy is condemned only to permanent depression. Youth unemployment was just revealed to have overtaken even that of Spain, at an almost unbelievable 54 percent.

05/13 Thousands march against economic gloom in Spain, UK Thousands of Spaniards fed up with economic misery and waving banners against bankers marched on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of the grassroots “Indignados” movement that has sparked similar protests around the world.

05/14 Despite Germany, euro zone sinks into recession European officials and economists have repeatedly said Europe’s recession will be mild, with a recovery in the second half of this year. But the strong economic data seen in January has unexpectedly faded and business surveys point to a deeper downturn.

05/14 Greek impasse prompts euro exit warnings, rattles markets With Greece set to run out of money as early as next month and no new government in place to negotiate the next aid installment, investors have begun betting that a chaotic Greek default and euro exit will happen sooner rather than later.

05/14 Greek parties try to form government, stocks tank “The dramatic drop in state revenues during the election campaign and the serious souring of the atmosphere in Europe toward Greece mean that after almost certain repeat elections there will be a need for even tougher austerity measures.”

05/14 Merkel tells Greece to back cuts or face euro exit Greece may be forced to leave the euro if the country refuses to implement spending cuts agreed with the European Union, Angela Merkel warned. An outgoing Greek minister warned that the country could descend into “civil war” amid the chaos of a euro exit.

05/14 Moody's downgrades credit of 26 Italian banks The ratings agency said the banks are suffering because Italy is back in recession and government measures are cutting demand for loans. Banks are facing more loan losses, limited access to funding and weaker profits.

05/14 Spain Hit By Fears on Banks, Greece Fears of a messy Greek exit from the euro zone washed up on Spain’s shores, pulling local stock prices to 8-1/2 year lows and driving T-bills up to 6.24% int., a level many analysts see as unsustainable. A bad omen for Spain’s bond auction this week.

05/15 Europe’s Banks Continue to Feel Pinch from Debt Crisis “The beginning of the year started off with a bang, but the optimism has definitely come to an end,” said a leading European banker. Greece’s exit from the euro could cost European governments and their banks a combined 400 billion euros ($512 billion).

05/15 Eurozone avoids recession after strong German growth The eurozone has narrowly avoided returning to recession after recording zero growth in the first three months of the year, figures have shown. The stronger-than-expected performance was in large part due to growth of 0.5% in the German economy.

05/15 Geithner: Bank rules will be heavily influenced by JPMorgan U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Tuesday that the recent $2 billion trading loss by JPMorgan “helps make the case” for tougher rules on financial institutions, as regulators implement the 2010 law aimed at policing Wall Street.

05/15 Gold falls to 4-1/2 month low on Greece risks Gold dropped to its lowest since late December as the euro sank against the US dollar on worries that a worsening debt crisis in Greece could spill over into its neighbors and as the U.S. dollar enjoys recovered status as a safe haven in investors’ minds.

05/15 Greece Faces Big Debt Payment Tuesday: Now What? As if the Greek situation wasn’t messy enough, a missing paragraph from a key legal document is throwing a wrench into a debt deadline. Greece has a 436 million euro principal repayment due today. So far, the country has not decided what to do.

05/15 How Israelis stopped worrying about Iran's bomb Here in Israel, we aren’t as scared of a nuclear Iran as people might think.

05/15 Israel fears nuclear deal between Iran, world powers Seven days before the next Iran nuclear talks, the media spins every trickle of information. Troubled by a possible deal between Iran and world powers, Israel views the talks with some bitterness, perhaps even with hopes they will fail completely.

05/15 New Greek elections as coalition talks fail Greece is set to go to the polls again after the final round of coalition talks failed to produce agreement on a new government, says the leader of the Socialist Pasok party, Evangelos Venizelos.

05/15 Powered By Germany, Eurozone Avoids Recession Huge economic disparities exist across the eurozone. Of the euro’s 17 members, 7 are in recession. Though the zone posted flat output, against expectations that it might slip into recession, the months ahead may be more difficult.

05/15 US retail sales slow sharply in April US retail sales barely grew in April, rising 0.1% from March’s level, while consumer prices were unchanged.

05/15 US stocks mixed; euro dives on Greece turmoil Stocks are having one of their worst months in the past eight. For the month, the Dow is down 518 points — about 4% — after hitting a four-year high on May 1. The average is on track to post its first monthly loss since September, when it fell 6%.

05/16 Bank of England governor warns of eurozone crisis 'storm' “We have been through a big global financial crisis, the biggest downturn in world output since the 1930s, the biggest banking crisis … and our biggest trading partner, the euro area, is tearing itself apart without any obvious solution.”

05/16 Debt crisis: Greek euro exit looms closer as banks crumble A tsunami of capital flight from Greece threatens to overwhelm the authorities. Greeks have pulled €4bn a week out of banks since the triumph of anti-bailout parties. Steen Jakobsen from Saxo Bank said outflows are becoming unstoppable.

05/16 Federal Reserve members ready to step up support for US economy Minutes of the central bank’s April 24-25 meeting stated that “several members” thought additional Fed support could be needed if the recovery lost momentum or if the risks to the economy became great enough.

05/16 Former Officials: 2012 U.S., Israel Attack on Iran Unlikely A U.S. or Israeli military strike on Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons facilities is unlikely this year, but could happen as soon as 2013, say several former senior American officials. Iran knows this and will use it to buy time.

05/16 Gold tumbles into the bear market, falls for a fourth straight session NEW YORK: Gold declined for a fourth straight session in New York and entered a bear market as concern that Greece will have to leave the euro boosted the dollar and cut the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset.

05/16 Greek euro exit talk ups chance of endgame, but uncertainty may drag on Speculation about an endgame in Greece’s protracted crisis has flooded markets with euro exit scenarios this week because public money will run out before the next elections, but there’s still every chance that uncertainty will simply drag on.

05/16 Greek exit 'somewhere between catastrophic and armageddon' The damage to the rest of Europe from Greece leaving the euro would be “somewhere between catastrophic and Armageddon”, said the chief negotiator for the private sector bond holders caught in Greece’s debt restructuring.

05/16 Greek turmoil spreads pessimism across markets The unending turmoil in Greece spread fallout across the financial markets Wednesday, as Greece called for new elections. The Dow Jones industrial average fell for the ninth day out of 10, and gold, oil, and the euro all dropped to multi-month lows.

05/16 Greeks withdraw money from banks as worries grow Bordering on panic, Greeks withdrew 700m euros ($894m) from the country’s banks in the week ending on Monday. The action comes as fears increase that the country may be forced out of the eurozone and on to a weaker currency.

05/16 Italy's banks furious at Moody's over mass rating downgrade Italy’s banking and business community responded angrily to a mass downgrade of Italian banks by the credit rating agency Moody’s, saying, “Moody’s decision is an assault against Italy, its companies, its families.”

05/16 Merkel and Hollande spell out Greek fear The new leader of France joined Germany to urge Greece to reaffirm its commitment to membership of the eurozone. François Hollande flew to Berlin for talks with Angela Merkel, German chancellor, within hours of being installed as French president.

05/16 US Leads Major War Drill in Jordan – Israel Not Invited The United States is leading what it described as the “largest military exercises in the Middle East in 10 years” in Jordan. “The message that I want to send … is that we have developed the right partners throughout the region … to … meet challenges.”

05/17 As Feared, JPMorgan’s Trading Loss Is Said to Have Already Risen at Least 50% When JJPMorgan’s CEO, announced the losses last Thursday, he indicated they could double within the next few quarters. But that process has been compressed into four trading days as hedge funds and other investors take advantage of JPMorgan’s distress.

05/17 Big-Time Players Soros, John Paulson and Pimco Bulk Up on Gold Several investment heavyweights maintained or increased their gold holdings through exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Shares in the first quarter, Securities and Exchange Commission filings show.

05/17 Gold Sparkles After Slump Gold rallied more than 2.6 percent on Thursday, its largest one-day gain since late January, as technical buy signals and new signs of a sluggish U.S. economy more than offset deepening despair over the euro zone.

05/17 Greeks not alone in bank savings exodus It is not only Greeks who are worried about their savings. Data shows depositors have also taken flight from banks in Belgium, France and Italy. And on Thursday, Spain’s Bankia was reported to have seen more than 1 billion euros drained in one week.

05/17 Jim Rogers: 2013 to Be Bad, 'God Knows What Will Happen in 2014 If investors think 2012 isn’t going their way, they need to brace for a bumpy ride, international investor Jim Rogers says. Election-year politics and loose monetary policies will keep the economy afloat this year, but get ready for a sell-off.

05/17 Jobless Claims in U.S. Unchanged at 370,000 Last Week More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign the labor market has stalled. Three consecutive weeks have shown essentially zero change in unemployment claims. Economists had called for a drop to 365,000.

05/17 Softening, Merkel Says She Is Open to Stimulus for Greece Chancellor Merkel of Germany said Wednesday that she was ready to discuss stimulus programs to get the Greek economy growing again and that she was committed to keeping Greece in the euro zone, signaling a softer approach toward the struggling country.

05/17 Spanish Bank Hit by Report of Withdrawals Shares for Bankia, just nationalized by Spain, plummeted Thursday after a newspaper reported that depositors were rushing to withdraw money under the fallout of higher Spanish bond rates and the Greek crisis. Bankia’s stock is down 70% in less than a year

05/17 Spanish Banks Downgraded as Borrowing Costs Soar Spain’s borrowing costs shot up at a bond auction on Thursday and its troubled banks suffered a double blow, with shares in part-nationalized Bankia diving and 16 lenders — including the euro zone’s biggest — having their credit ratings cut.

05/17 U.S. 10-Year Yields Approach Record Low on Economic Data, Europe Treasury 10-year yields fell to almost the record low reached in September as reports suggested the U.S. economic recovery is faltering and as investors sought a haven from Europe’s worsening debt crisis.

05/17 Wall Street goes bearish on US stocks Investor worries mount over the threat of a eurozone break-up and the outlook for the global economy. Stocks peaked in their best first quarter since 1997. Since March, however, the S&P 500 has shed more than half its prior gains for the year.

05/18 Chinese entities world's biggest economic spies: Pentagon “Chinese actors are the world’s most active and persistent perpetrators of economic espionage. Chinese attempts to collect US tech. and economic information will continue at a high level and represent a growing … threat to US economic security.”

05/18 Dow Sinks for 12th Time in 13 Session Blue chips extended a streak of declines the likes of which hasn’t been seen in almost 40 years, amid concerns about the euro zone and Facebook’s lackluster debut. It was the worst 13-session performance since October 1974.

05/18 European Stocks Post Biggest Weekly Drop In Eight Months The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 5.2%. Banco Espirito in Spain lost the most since 1993. Bankia lost 15%. Opap closed in Athens with the biggest slide since it sold shares to the public in 2001. “The markets are signaling … fatigue regarding … Greece.”

05/18 Gold jumps, heads for biggest 2-day gain since October; silver outperforms Gold rose more than 1% on Friday. The 2nd day of gains helped bolster confidence, which had been shaken by gold’s fall to a four-month low at $1,527 an ounce. Physical demand is mediocre and Europeans want the dollar, which is why it is so strong.

05/18 Krugman: Apocalypse Fairly Soon Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro — that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union — could come apart at the seams. We’re not talking about a distant prospect, either. Things could fall apart with stunning speed.

05/18 Pipeline Flip Turns U.S. Oil World 'Upside Down' For years, Cushing, Okla., has been on the receiving end of a 500-mile pipeline funneling oil from the Gulf of Mexico to the American heartland. Starting this weekend, that pipeline will start moving crude in the other direction.

05/18 Rogers: Buy Gold, Silver Before ‘More Turmoil’ Jolts the Globe Roiling capital markets aren’t going to calm any time soon so investors would be better off putting their money in hard assets like gold, silver and agricultural commodities, says international investor Jim Rogers.

05/18 U.S. Stocks: Global fear trumps Facebook debut U.S. investors resumed focus on the global issues plaguing world markets Friday, following a brief euphoric pop from Facebook’s debut. “People are talking about Facebook, but it’s really a sideshow.”

05/18 Wall Street banks facing slowdown Wall Street banks are predicted to report sharp declines in trading and investment banking revenues in the second quarter because of weaker client activity. The unusually sharp declines are due to less liquidity provided by the European Central Bank.

05/19 Days of turmoil for Europe and Greece The world avoided a repeat of the Great Depression by the skin of its teeth in the wake of the Lehman collapse. Now the threat has returned, this time in even more virulent form. Europe seems on the brink of one of its periodic collapses into chaos, divis

05/19 Iran attack decision nears, Israeli elite locks down Time for that decision is fast running out and the mood in Jerusalem is hardening. “The top of the government has gone into lockdown,” one official said. “Nobody is saying anything publicly. That in itself tells you a lot about where things stand.”

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Economic News Articles in The Great Recession Blog, week of 05/06/2012

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/29/2012

Why I make economic predictions, and why I smell like a bear and brag about it

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/22/2012

Hard landing for China’s economy not in the tea leaves

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/15/2012

British Reporters More Truthful About American News than American Reporters

Economic News Biased by Relentlessly Rosy Glasses

More 2012 economic predictions

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/08/2012

Tiny Bubbles Make Me Warm All Over – European housing bubbles, student loan bubbles, even China bubbles

Are My 2012 Economic Predictions for the Great Recession in Recess … or are they just about to mature?

Economic News Articles in the Great Recession — Archive for the week of 04/01/2012

My Personal Story with Bank of America

Bank of America, How Are You? (A song for the Great Recession)

Where is our economy going?

Economic News Articles