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.
___
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