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Obama announces his Candidacy for 2012.

today: Gallup: U.S. Satisfaction Slides to Two-Year Low

Americans' satisfaction with the way things are going in the country fell to 16% in July, the lowest in more than two years. Satisfaction approached this level in December 2010, when it descended to 17%, but it has not registered as low as 16% since February 2009 -- President Barack Obama's first full month in office -- when it was 15%.

Satisfaction fell four percentage points just in the last month, from 20% in June. Among party groups, Democrats' satisfaction has dropped the most, from 35% to 25%. Independents' satisfaction in June and July was fairly steady at 17% and 14%, respectively, and Republicans' was unchanged at 9%.
 
today: Return of Mass Layoffs a Grim Sign for U.S. Workers | Daily Ticker - Yahoo! Finance

Putting pressure on an already lousy job market, the mass layoff is making a comeback. In the past week, Cisco, Lockheed Martin and Borders announced a combined 23,000 in job cuts.

Those announcements follow 41,432 in planned cuts in June, up 11.6% from May and 5.3% vs. a year earlier, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Meanwhile, state and local governments have cut 142,000 jobs this year, The WSJ reports, and Wall Street is braced for another round of cutbacks. This week, Goldman Sachs announced plans to let go 1000 fixed-income traders.

it's too late to turn around these markets before the campaign gets critical, you understand
 
today:

The troubled maker of BlackBerry phones is chopping 2,000 jobs this week. Research In Motion's (RIMM) cuts, announced Monday, amount to 10.5% of its work force. That's higher than analysts thought, The New York Times reported, leading some to wonder whether the company is worse off than expected.

RIM isn't the only one wielding the ax this summer. Cisco Systems (CSCO) recently announced job cuts of 6,500, rocking a tech sector that had been relatively stable in the recession. Lockheed Martin (LMT) also wants to cut 6,500. Borders is liquidating and laying off thousands of employees in the process.

Each of those layoff announcements is devastating for the families involved. Put them together, and we're starting to see a return of sweeping job cuts that could further erode the fragile economy.

Companies are laying off employees at a level not seen in nearly a year, The Wall Street Journal reports. It couldn't be happening at a worse time, with an unemployment rate stubbornly set at above 9% and an economy that doesn't inspire confidence in anyone.

The problem with these levels of layoffs is that they spread with alarming speed in a vulnerable host -- and the current economy fits that bill exactly. Companies see cuts at places like Cisco, generally considered a bellwether of the tech sector, and then look more critically at their own headcounts.

Are mass layoffs back?- MSN Money
 
today:

The Beige Book, which is based on information collected on or before July 15, said growth has slowed in the majority of districts, particularly those nearest the Atlantic seaboard, with the Minneapolis district hurt by the now-concluded state government shutdown.

That represents a slightly worse result than the June 8 Beige Book, when seven districts grew at a steady pace. And it confirms economic data showing limp growth from April to June. The Commerce Department on Friday will report second-quarter gross domestic product, and economists polled by MarketWatch expect a limp 1.6% growth rate, worse than the 1.9% rate of the first quarter.

very interesting:

Also positive: tourism, at least in areas unaffected by severe weather. Though the Beige Book didn’t specifically say a weaker dollar attracted tourists, the report did say Canadian shoppers flocked to a “large mall in Western New York” and New York City also reported a shopping boost from tourism.

Growth slows as labor markets soft
 
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Could be in for some very rough times ahead. The debt debate has only added to the "uncertainty" that's plagued us for months. Second quarter GDP estimates are announced Friday, and are predicted to be dismal. Follow that with Aug 2nd and then the jobs report on the 6th, and we may see a whole 'nother level of worry. I think people have traveled too many minor setbacks, temporary slides, and bumps in the road to buy into such explanations anymore.

With all of that going on, I wouldn't be surprised if the August jobs report goes back into the red, and that ain't good news.
 
In 2012 (as in 2010), this is what people are going to be thinking about when it comes time to vote:

Comparing Recessions and Recoveries: Job Changes
economix-08jobschart-custom1.jpg
Horizontal axis shows months. Vertical axis shows the ratio of that month’s nonfarm payrolls to the nonfarm payrolls at the start of recession. Note: Because employment is a lagging indicator, the dates for these employment trends are not exactly synchronized with National Bureau of Economic Research’s official business cycle dates.

There were actually fewer people employed in this country last month, June 2011, than were employed at the end of the recession in June 2009. Two years of recovery, and employment has gone nowhere.
 
Second quarter GDP estimates are announced Friday, and are predicted to be dismal. Follow that with Aug 2nd and then the jobs report on the 6th, and we may see a whole 'nother level of worry.

i appreciate your seeing moves ahead

I wouldn't be surprised if the August jobs report goes back into the red, and that ain't good news.

that's the direction we're heading, according to the typecasts cnbc likes to quote

Comparing Recessions and Recoveries: Job Changes
economix-08jobschart-custom1.jpg
Horizontal axis shows months. Vertical axis shows the ratio of that month’s nonfarm payrolls to the nonfarm payrolls at the start of recession. Note: Because employment is a lagging indicator, the dates for these employment trends are not exactly synchronized with National Bureau of Economic Research’s official business cycle dates.

you need to paste that graph 1000 times

thanks, friend, keep up the excellent work
 
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today: Americans cut spending for first time in 20 months - Yahoo! News

Americans cut their spending in June for the first time in nearly two years after seeing their incomes grow by the smallest amount in nine months. The latest data offered a troubling sign for an economy that is adding few jobs and barely growing.

Consumer spending dropped 0.2 percent in June, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. It was the first decline since September 2009.

Some of the decline was the result of food and energy prices moderating after sharp increases earlier this year. When excluding spending on those items, consumer spending was flat.

Still, consumers also cut back on big-ticket items, such as cars and appliances, which help drive growth.

Incomes rose 0.1 percent, the smallest gain since September.
 

Finally found a good definition of Obama, a "Post Turtle"

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75 year old rancher, who's hand was caught in the squeeze gate while working cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man... Eventually the topic got around to Obama and his role as our president.
The old rancher said, 'Well, ya know, Obama is a 'Post Turtle''.
Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him, what a 'post turtle' was.
The old rancher said, 'When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a 'post turtle'.
The old rancher saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain. '
"You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, he's elevated beyond his ability to function, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put him up there to begin with."
 
Because manufacturing has been expanding for two solid years

associated press (link above):

The disappointing report on manufacturing is the first major reading on how the economy performed in July. It suggests the dismal economic growth in the first half of the year could extend into the July-September quarter.

dismal economic growth---that'd be .4%

hang on, homies
 
Who was President in 2008?:confused:

This is 2011

Obama economic results in 2011, .4% GDP and 1.3% GDP growth in 2011, 24+ million unemployed or under employed Americans in 2011, 4 trillion added to the debt in less than 3 years, and a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Rising Misery index 7.83 to 12.67. First President in U.S. History to have our credit downgraded on his watch!
 
This is 2011

Obama economic results in 2011, .4% GDP and 1.3% GDP growth in 2011, 24+ million unemployed or under employed Americans in 2011, 4 trillion added to the debt in less than 3 years, and a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Rising Misery index 7.83 to 12.67. First President in U.S. History to have our credit downgraded on his watch!

That's right, ignore the reasons for the facts you robotically recite at all cost. The truth is that the trade deficit has been rising almost linearly for decades ... except that it fell off a cliff during the great recession. A rising trade deficit is an indication of recovery, just like rising oil prices. But conservatives when because the economy is bad, and then whine some more when it starts to improve and we see the inevitable results of an improving economy.
 
That's right, ignore the reasons for the facts you robotically recite at all cost. The truth is that the trade deficit has been rising almost linearly for decades ... except that it fell off a cliff during the great recession. A rising trade deficit is an indication of recovery, just like rising oil prices. But conservatives when because the economy is bad, and then whine some more when it starts to improve and we see the inevitable results of an improving economy.

That's right, ignore that the results posted are for 2011. Obama has been in office for 2 1/2 years and this is the reason his Job Approval ratings keep dropping. Guess people like you don't care about actual results.

Obama economic results in 2011, .4% GDP and 1.3% GDP growth in 2011, 24+ million unemployed or under employed Americans in 2011, 4 trillion added to the debt in less than 3 years, and a downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. Rising Misery index 7.83 to 12.67. First President in U.S. History to have our credit downgraded on his watch!
 
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