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HomeMarch Unemployment Report: Where’s the Dough?
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 6th, 2011 9:30 PM |
The Unemployment report released this past Friday would seem to have some good news for everybody:
1. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 8.9% and economists project it to head even lower.
2. Non-farm payrolls increased by 192k jobs with the private sector adding over 220k jobs while state and local employment lost approximately 30k jobs.
3. Last month’s report was revised to show even greater job growth.
All good and we can start thinking of March Madness on the college hoop circuit, right? Well, not so quick. What is the fly in the ointment? Despite the perceived improved job situation, the overall number of unemployed has barely budged off the bottom of the barrel. How does that work? The fact that so many of our fellow brethren whom have given up looking for work altogether remain out of the labor pool completely and thus are not counted in the unemployment rate. If they reenter the labor pool, the overall rate of unemployment could very quickly move higher. (more…)
Amerivet Wins Round in Amerivet v. FINRA
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 5th, 2011 10:01 AM |
Did the Wall Street regulator FINRA have funds from its own internal investment portfolio invested directly or indirectly in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme? Did FINRA effectively front run the auction-rate securities market in 2007 when it liquidated a position of approximately $647 million ARS from that same internal portfolio?
Do you think investors and all Americans would like to know the answers and details to these questions and much more? Do you think we deserve to know these answers? You think?
After developments this week, we are that much closer to learning answers to these questions and potentially much more about Wall Street’s regulator FINRA. How so? Let’s navigate.
The donnybrook legal battle continues between Amerivet Securities of Moreno Valley, California and the Wall Street self-regulatory organization FINRA. For those keeping score, the latest round this week was a decided victory for Amerivet. Why do I believe this specific case and the allegations made by Amerivet are so important? (more…)
My Thoughts on Wisconsin
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 4th, 2011 6:36 AM |
What is really going on in Wisconsin?
Are Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his Republican colleagues trying to ‘break the unions’?
Are the ‘Wisconsin 14’ senatorial contingent true patriots standing up for the rights of the working man?
Given the level of heated protest on the streets of Madison and on the airwaves throughout the nation, clearly people have strong opinions on both sides of this topic. What does it all mean? (more…)
Thomas Sowell: Freedom and Democracy Can Not Be Taken for Granted
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 1st, 2011 9:14 PM |
America needs more men like Thomas Sowell.
A regular reader of Sense on Cents brought Thomas Sowell to my attention a few months back. Sowell was born in North Carolina and moved to Harlem at the age of nine. His personal story is beyond inspirational. I recommend it to anybody looking for evidence of how to succeed in the face of real odds.
America should embrace and elevate Thomas Sowell and his work. I am happy to do just that today. Sowell knows a thing or two about real freedom and democracy. Are we to merely assume because some in the Middle East may want freedom, that freedom will be theirs? We should not be so naive. (more…)
Bill Gross: Who Will Ultimately Finance Uncle Sam and at What Rate?
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 3rd, 2011 6:47 AM |
If Ben Bernanke had never stepped into the markets via the Fed’s quantitative easing program, where would our level of interest rates currently be? What about equities, commodities, and our greenback? I think the following are easy assumptions to make:
1. Interest rates would be higher.
2. Credit spreads would be wider.
3. Equity markets would be lower.
4. Commodity prices would be lower.
5. The greenback theoretically would be higher, but I am less confident of this.
What will happen to our markets and our economy when Ben Bernanke ultimately does pull the punch bowl–that is quantitative easing–away from those utilizing the easy money provided by the Fed to prop our markets and our economy? (more…)
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