Consider: lower oil prices unequivocally “make everyone better off”, Right? Wrong. First: new oil well permits collapse 40% in November; why is this an issue? Because since December 2007, or roughly the start of the global depression, shale oil states have added 1.36 million jobs while non-shale states have lost 424,000 jobs. * * * This should…
Recently, Tim Duy wrote an interesting piece entitled “Yes, I am Optimistic” wherein he stated that: “The lesson no one wants to draw from this recovery is that the US economy is both stronger and more resilient than commonly believed. Do not dismiss the real improvement in the economy since 2009. It is not unimportant that 2014…
On Monday, the third quarter earnings season will officially close out, with H&R Block as the final S&P 500 company to report. The season is ending with impressive earnings growth of 11.7%, paired with revenue growth of 4.8%, proving that companies are still closely managing costs and using share buybacks to get a pop on…
US companies added 208,000 workers in November, according to this morning’s ADP Employment Report. The gain was a bit softer than the consensus forecast,but overall the labor market continues to show a solid rate of growth. “At this pace the unemployment rate will drop by half a percentage point per annum,” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics,…
“Hey, Nikkei, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey, Nikkei!” OK, as a child of the 80s, I couldn’t help myself. Anyway……. The Japanese stock market seems like it’s just doing great guns. I mean, goodness gracious me, look at this – gee whillikers! Just for kicks, I decided to see…
Much to the chagrin of the financial elite, gold and silver are reentering the American consciousness and starting to shake the wing nutty image of their recent past. But it’s taken a global financial crisis to get the public’s attention – one that could wipe out our nation at almost any moment. The U.S. government’s…
Almost 40% of appraisers surveyed from Sept. 15 through Nov. 7 reported experiencing pressure to inflate values, according to Allterra Group LLC, a for-profit appraiser-advocacy firm based in Salisbury, Md. That figure was 37% in the survey for the previous year. “If you thought what was happening before was an embarrassment, wait until the second…
During the Great Financial Crisis, Hyman Minsky was rediscovered. Minsky’s insight was that long periods of steadily rising asset prices encourages financial engineering and leveraged bets that assume a continued rise in asset prices. The so-called Minsky moment comes when the asset prices stop rising and even fall. The virtuous cycle turns vicious. We are now…
In December’s Gold Videocast, Peter Schiff responds to the Swiss voters’ rejection of the “Save Our Swiss Gold” initiative. He explains why the results of the referendum spell the end of a stable Swiss franc, but also the long-term success of gold. With no truly sound, safe-haven currencies left in the world, both Swiss and international…
Ascena Retail Group Inc. (ASNA – Snapshot Report) reported first-quarter fiscal 2015 adjusted earnings from continuing operations of 28 cents per share, a penny ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate and in line with the company’s expectations. However, adjusted earnings fell 22.2% from the prior-year earnings of 36 cents per share due to negative comparable store sales (comps)…
