The Great Recession Blog

At the beginning of last week a big financial advisor proclaimed that the markets’ little downturn meant nothing. The market would go right back up. He was certain that Europe’s problems that week would quickly be yesterday’s worries. He gets paid too much to be that certain about that much and be that wrong. I […]

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 […]

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: […]

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.

Last week was a slow news week when it comes to the economy. Nothing continued to happen just as nothing has happened for months with respect to any resolution on the euro crisis. Businesses turned in mixed results for the year, but mildly better in some quarters than expected. The Iranium Reaction continued to simmer. […]

The big news of the past week was that Standard and Poor’s followed through on downgrading the credit ratings of several European nations. European leaders responded with indignation as they fortified their delusion that they should be forever above credit downgrades so long as they are “working” on a solution. Beyond the borders of Delusia, […]

European leaders dawdle as if they have all the time in the world to solve their credit crisis. Their minds are so fixed around power and control that they do not understand they are not the ones in control of when the euro crisis will spin out of control: European leaders on Saturday called “incomprehensible” Standard […]

In making 2012 predictions, I cannot do worse than Harold Camping did in 2011. He missed the end of the world entirely — THREE times — yet he still kept his followers and collects millions! He may head a non-prophet organization, but he sure knows how to turn a profit. Let me start by predicting […]

The new year started off mildly as people digested their New Year’s Day meals along with the economic news. People are watching and waiting to see what the year 2012 will bring. For the U.S., signs of thaw appeared in the foreground, but on the European horizon hovers a foreboding storm — a sort of […]

The last week of the year ended flat. U.S. stocks, after months of near-record volatility, ended the year about where they began. Jobs, likewise, did not improve all year. A slight jobs uptick fed the market bulls, but it means little, as one should expect a temporary rise due to holiday hiring in the retail […]

To recap last week’s economic news: Concerns over the euro crisis continued to worsen. The BBC laid out a doomsday scenario for the eurozone. China explained why it is not ready to sign on to the euro deal. The U.S. stated no further help would be forthcoming, and credit agency, Fitch, concluded a comprehensive solution […]

“Everybody has an opinion about trade with China, and here is mine: let’s trade ‘em Ben Bernanke for Fu Ying [China’s Vice Foreign Minister]. Throw in a minor league pitcher if we have to – President Obama comes immediately to mind.” (The following is a guest editorial from Tim Nerenz, traveling in China on business)   […]