1. Gerard Lameiro: Will We Be Hit with a Double Dip Recession?
2. Tim Connolly: A Double Dip Recession on the Way?
3. Joy Tiz: Obama’s Housing Clunker
4. James Hirsen: Economist on ‘Bill Maher’ Says Buy Spam
5. Dr. Evelyn Higgins: ‘500 Miles to 50′
Will We Be Hit with a Double Dip Recession?
This week an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal discusses the real possibility that we might face a double dip recession. While many optimists have been claiming that the recession is over and that the economy is looking up, the stock market has been taking investors for a wild ride. Plus, over 17% of Americans are still unemployed or underemployed. Is the economy on its way to a healthy recovery? Or, are we headed instead for a double dip recession? On the plus side, The Wall Street Journal this week also reports on declining mortgage rates that might fall to 4.5% this summer. This is great for consumers that need a new mortgage or who might want to refinance their homes. Interestingly, this mortgage rate drop comes as a result of money from outside the U.S. that is seeking the safety of the U.S. economy. So, money has been flowing into U.S. bonds. While America has its own significant economic problems, we still look a whole lot safer than those European welfare state economies on the verge of potential or technical bankruptcy. [more...]
A Double Dip Recession on the Way?
By Tim Connolly
There are now numerous data points that indicate a double dip recession is now on the way for the U.S. First, contrary to most academic thought on how to recover from recessions, the Congress has chosen to raise taxes substantially, via the new taxes for healthcare reform, and now new taxes on capital gains and small business S-corporations that are called for in the new Financial Regulation bill. Don’t get me wrong – we need new controls on banks. There should be capital behind every derivative, banks should be prohibited from using leverage beyond ten times their capital, and taxpayers should never be paying for trading losses. Bank sponsored trading should be in separate subsidiaries with dedicated capital that is not covered under any FDIC insurance. Last, but not least, derivatives should be publicly traded for complete transparency. [more...]
Obama’s Housing Clunker
By Joy Tiz
The antiquated media would have you believe that an increase in home sales in April is a signal that the Obama economy is in recovery. Not only are they wrong; the worst hasn’t even hit yet. The recent up-tick in sales was caused not by a better economy, but by the homebuyers’ tax credit, which expired April 30th. Units under contract by April 30th will still be eligible for the credit, so expect more synthetic numbers to be released during the summer. There is no possibility of sustaining the current government driven sales numbers as long as unemployment stays high. [more...]
Economist on ‘Bill Maher’ Says Buy Spam
By James Hirsen
Back in 2005, Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University, warned that housing prices in the U.S. were riding a speculative wave that would harm the economy. Roubini was mocked and ignored, and his ideas were dismissed. Not any more. Now he’s considered an economic clairvoyant.
He was a recent guest on Bill Maher’s HBO show, “Real Time with Bill Maher.” He shocked the host and liberal audience with his apparent no-confidence statement on the Obama administration’s fiscal policies. Maher noted that television these days is filled with ads extolling the virtues of investing in gold and asked the economist his opinion on the subject.
“Gold has no intrinsic value,” Roubini said. “If you’re really worried about say inflation rising, I would buy Spam. You know, you can eat Spam; you cannot eat gold,” he explained. Guess if JFK’s White House years are fondly looked back upon as “Camelot,” Obama’s will regrettably be remembered as “Spamalot.” [more...]
‘500 Miles to 50′ with Dr. Evelyn Higgins
On April 7th Dr. Evelyn Higgins left on a 5-week journey to complete a 500-mile trek from Paris to Spain – to create awareness that health is more than simply the absence of disease. She arrived at the end of the journey on her 50th birthday. Call Sandy for Interviews with Dr. Higgins about her amazing journey! Read about her journey here.
