Three excerpts (see below) will tell you more about the 'state of the union' than bullshit speeches or bullshit townhall meetings with Barrage Obushwa (now I can just imagine what his lectures on constitutional law at U. of Chicago must have been like). The dude is like grade z canned ham marketed as 'gourmet luncheon meat'.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Regulators-shut-down-banks-in-apf-1868747589.html?x=0 excerpt Regulators shut down a big bank in California on Friday, along with two banks in Georgia and one each in Florida, Minnesota and Washington. That brought to 15 the number of bank failures so far in 2010 atop the 140 shuttered last year in the punishing economic climate. The failure of Los Angeles-based First Regional Bank, with nearly $2.2 billion in assets and $1.9 billion in deposits, is expected to cost the federal deposit insurance fund $825.5 million. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over the bank as well as the others: First National Bank of Georgia, based in Carrollton, Ga., with $832.6 million in assets and $757.9 million in deposits and Community Bank and Trust of Cornelia, Ga., with $1.2 billion in assets and $1.1 billion in deposits; Florida Community Bank of Immokalee, Fla., with $875.5 million in assets and $795.5 million in deposits; Marshall Bank of Hallock, Minn., with $59.9 million in assets and $54.7 million in deposits; and American Marine Bank of Bainbridge Island, Wash., with $373.2 million in assets and $308.5 million in deposits. First Regional Bank's collapse followed the shutdown of several large California banks in the last months of 2009. California was one of the states hardest hit by the real estate market meltdown, and many banks there have suffered under the weight of soured mortgage loans. Last year saw the failure of 17 banks in the state. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Underemployment-tops-20-pct-apf-2783967295.html?x=0 excerpt: President Barack Obama said in his State of the Union Wednesday that "one in 10 Americans still cannot find work." But in nine states the figure is much worse -- closer to one in five, according to Labor Department data released Friday. The figures are a stark illustration of how tough it is to find a full-time job, even as the economy has grown for two straight quarters. The official unemployment rate of 10 percent doesn't include people who are working part-time but would prefer full-time work, or the unemployed who have given up looking for work. When those groups are included, the devastation in many parts of the country is clear: Michigan's so-called "underemployment" rate was 21.5 percent in 2009, the highest in the nation. California's was 21.1 percent, while Oregon's was 20.7 percent. Many companies and state governments have cut back on workers' hours during the recession. And in the past six months, nearly 2 million unemployed workers have given up on their job hunts. Nationwide, the underemployment rate was 17.3 percent in December, just below the 17.4 percent reached in October, the highest on records dating from 1994. In another three states -- South Carolina, Nevada, and Rhode Island -- the underemployment rate is above 19 percent. And in three more -- Arizona, Florida and Tennessee -- it's above 18 percent. The figures also illustrate how much higher the official unemployment rate could go in these states. Many of the discouraged workers are likely to start looking again as the economy improves. That would have the effect of raising the unemployment rate. But in many states, people are still dropping out of the labor force, which might keep a lid on official unemployment but still adds to the underemployed population. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-fall-on-doubts-about-apf-1535724108.html?x=0 excerpt However, details within the GDP report also raised questions about how well the recovery can be sustained. Most of the growth came from companies replenishing low inventories. Rebuilding inventories tends to create just a temporary bump in growth. "The GDP report looks shiny and new on the surface," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Investments. "But once you open up the hood, you start to see it's not as great as on the outside." Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group said the report "is going to leave doubts" in the minds of investors who are looking for consistent economic improvement. Questions about the report added to the market's growing list of concerns. Investors were already uneasy after China said it was trying to limit its economic growth and as President Barack Obama announced plans to overhaul banking regulations. Shares have fallen sharply since hitting a 15-month high last week. _______________________________________________ Marxism-Thaxis mailing list Marxism-Thaxis@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism-thaxis
